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Warning there are references to anal sex in this chapter, nothing too graphic.

CHAPTER 26

"We have no way of tracking where they took Mr Lyman Sir. Not from the crash site." Major Murdoch's report was not what anyone wanted to hear.

"Can we ascertain the cause of the crash?" Leo asked for everyone assembled.

"On first inspection it looks like a small explosive device went off damaging some of the electrical systems. The pilot would not have been able to keep the plane in the air. Sir there really is nothing more we can do here tonight."

"Okay Major, get your team back, and thanks." Jed Bartlet sounded as dispirited as the rest of his staff looked.

"Thank you Sir." Leo disconnected the call at the Major's words.

"Any news from GW?" CJ was asked as she entered the room.

"Carl is still unconscious but stable. He has a severe concussion but is otherwise uninjured. They are sure he'll make a full recovery. Donna is staying down there and will continue to keep us updated" She informed the President and everyone else.

"Thank God." The President breathed. He looked towards the door as Mike Casper came in with Ron Butterfield behind him.

"What have we got?"

"We don't know where Josh is but we do know that the hold on the vote was a ploy to get him travelling by some non-commercial flight."

"Feldman was behind this?" Sam spoke directly to Mike with fire in his eyes.

"We don't think he was behind the actual attempt to kill Josh or the abduction; however we do believe he and others were being blackmailed to pretend to change their votes and insist that they would only deal with Josh." Mike explained.

"Have you spoken to him?" Leo voice and face betrayed the emotions he was feeling.

"Yes we have agents interviewing him now. He knows more but won't say anything else until he is promised immunity." Ron told the assembled Whitehouse staffers, but looked directly at The President.

"You are sure he wasn't in on more than the vote?" It was an important point as far as President Bartlet was concerned.

"We are sure Sir." Ron confirmed and Mike nodded.

"You can't be seriously considering this. He was involved in trying to kill Josh!" Toby was outraged but was staring intently at his deputy, who was silently looking at the floor.

"I understand, but we need find Josh and get the people who really tried to kill him. We need to do this quickly or who knows what might happen to Josh." Mike explained as Sam shuddered.

Leo and The President exchanged looks and nodded. "Okay give him immunity, but he will have to resign. We can't deal with this man on a daily basis knowing what he did."

"Yes Sir." Mike left the room.

"Sam when is Rachel getting in?" Leo stood in front him hand on his shoulder.

"Uh! Ahm 10 am. Yeah 10 this morning." Sam looked up with red eyes.

"We'll get someone to meet her and bring her straight here." Sam nodded at Leo's words and looked back down.

"Charlie has organised some food and blankets etc for you all in the Mural room. We need to get some rest while we wait for news. I want you all to go in there and try to eat something at least." The President left no room for discussion and they all filed out of the Oval office towards the Mural room.

CHAPTER 27

I feel like I've been in this room for days. It can only have been a couple of hours. My head and arm hurt like crazy. Maybe I should have told that doctor guy and got some drugs. I don't understand what these guys want with me. I'm a Cause not an Infector, but I don't know what that means. Caused what? Marco seems to be important. I can't remember ever knowing anyone called Marco. I really am confused. I need more information and Donna to put it on note cards for me! No I wouldn't want Donna to be here, in danger. Stupid thought. Carl's dead. Carl's dead, because of me. How come I keep surviving and people around me die? It's not fair. Joanie and Carl are both dead and here I am alive, if not kicking. I got shot and survived when many don't. The year my car slid off the road on the ice, 50 people died that winter in car accidents. I looked it up. Maybe this is it, karma, or my comeuppance as my mom would say.

Here comes the doctor with the armed Nurse Ratchet.

"Mr Lyman I'm just going to add something to your IV." The doctor was drawing up a clear liquid from a glass ampoule into a syringe.

"W -what is it?" Great now I'm so scared I'm stuttering.

"Something to keep you awake." He explained as he added it to the small bag of saline already up.

"W-why do I have to stay awake?" The tremor in my voice was there for all to hear. Nurse Ratchet actually smiled.

"Marco wants you to know why you are here before he arrives. You are going to watch a film he made. It is more effective if you are able to watch it multiple times on a loop, without sleeping."

I felt my heart rate surge as he sped up the IV and the drug hit my system. I began to sweat and shake slightly.

"Looks like it is working." He adjusted the rate again before leaving the room.

I watched Nurse Ratchet aim a remote control at a digital projector on the ceiling. He smirked at me and turned off the lights before leaving the room.

My heart was still thumping in my chest but at least it slowed down a little. I took deep breaths to try and calm myself and combat the fear and nausea, as well as the effects of the 'speed' that was now coursing through my veins.

The entire wall in front on me had been converted into a screen. There was sound coming from unseen speakers around the room. Loud and grating like canned laughter it put me even more on edge.

The projection was a collection of home videos and photos featuring a child. He looked to be possibly of Italian descent. He was playing by the sea, sitting on a man's lap (his father?), blowing out candles on a cake, and later riding a bike. There was something familiar about him but I couldn't place him. The presentation went on as the child got older. Then I saw it. He turned as a teenage to smile in to the camera. That smile had made me go weak at the knees all those year ago. "Joey Capelli!"

CHAPTER 28

The memories came flooding back. We met at a baseball game. He was a friend of a friend of a friend. We had all gone to a party afterwards and we ended up talking to each other nearly all night. I was 17 he had just turned 18. We kissed that night and after that saw each other as often as we could. We made out in the backs of our cars as neither of us had come out to our folks, in Joey's case his dad as his mom died when he was little. It was heavy petting with blow jobs and quite innocent exploration. I was going to Harvard soon; he worked in his dad's restaurant. He wanted to go to college but his dad wouldn't hear of it. His dad was a nasty piece of work. He would beat him for no real reason. Joey often had bruises on his body and even burns a couple of times. He was brutal; I can still feel the pain as he beat the shit out of me when he found us in Joey's room.

I was down from Harvard for the weekend. We thought his dad was away overnight. We had decided to take our relationship a stage further. We were very good friends and to some extent I suppose safe fuck buddies. Neither of us had ever had anal sex before but both wanted to try. We figured we were safe to experiment with each other. We knew we wouldn't laugh at the other man if he did or said something stupid. I also wanted to seem more experienced in case I met a guy I liked at college. I always believed everyone else was more sexually advanced than me. So we got lube and condoms and read up what to do and thought we had the privacy and time to give it a go. Joey went first topping me. It was scary and exhilarating and such a turn on. I had never been so hard in my then short life. Once we had rested a bit, not long at that age. We switched over and I topped. The entire experience top and bottom was amazing and something I have repeated as often as I can in later years; especially with Sam who, like me, likes to top or bottom depending on our mood. I should say liked as due to the obvious I am no longer fully functioning in that department, but I remember all those times fondly and anyway I can still take the lead we just have to be a little more inventive nowadays. God I miss Sam.

Joey as a teenager in front of me brings me back from my Sam moment. His dad went nuts when he found us. He opened Joey's door without knocking as usual. Joey was not allowed respect or privacy. I had just come out of Joey and he was lying on the bed ass in the air, big grin on his face. I was getting off him with a matching big grin on my face. Then the door opens.

Mr Capelli dragged Joey off the bed and went to hit him. I jumped in between them and before I could think about it basically told him I had all but raped his son. He grabbed me, slung me against the wall and just kept hitting me. Eventually Joey pulled him off me and said he didn't want his dad to go to jail and begged him to stop before he killed me. I was bundled with my clothes to my car and went home after being threatened to never come near his son again.

I smiled to myself thinking about Mallory and that stunt she pulled. What a terrible weekend that was. I never saw Joey again. Dad said he had come round to apologise. I guess he still works in his dad's restaurant. Marco's! CJ is right I am an idiot boy. Marco Capelli. Fuck! Why now though it was years ago? Surely it's not worth killing me over. Even if he does think I forced myself on his son. I sit back heart thumping as the images of Joey play over and over in front of me. I can't stop shaking and I don't know if it is the drugs or fear.

TBC

Another 2 chapters of this story to go.