Chapter 9 - Part B
Brooklyn sighed in relief when Roberto's balcony window slid open. Only after separating did it occur to him that it could be locked.
But luck was on his side and he made his way into the room.
Roberto stirred as Brooklyn set him down on the bed. A couple moments later, Roberto shot right up, crying out in unmistakable anguish and fear, causing Brooklyn to reach out and comfort him, drawing him into his arms.
Roberto struggled against him for a few moments as Brooklyn held him tight and murmured soft words into his ear, words of comfort and safeness.
Roberto settled down, his body shuddering from left over fear. Soon the shivering deceased, and his eyes fluttered open.
"Brooklyn?" The voice held so much hope in it that it angered Brooklyn and made him wish that he had been able to hurt Roberto's attackers even more.
"You're safe now," he said softly.
He sat on Roberto's bed, holding him and gently rocking, until he was sure that the man had fallen back asleep.
With extreme care, Brooklyn tucked Roberto into his bed, one hand running through the soft brown hair.
He couldn't help but wish he were Brody at the moment to give him a kiss.
With a sigh and a whispered hope for sweet dreams, Brooklyn turned to the balcony, stepped through, closed it, then took off.
X
"It's amazing he hasn't lost his licence yet," muttered Matt as Mike took one sharp turn.
Elisa was too busy clutching the dashboard to answer.
"I heard that," Mike said. "It's just that we're running a bit late to pick the Doc up."
"I thought you said we had plenty of time," commented Elisa.
"We will by the time we get there," responded Mike, with a devilish grin.
"Oh, brother," groaned both resident detectives.
Seven minutes later, while they were in the vicinity of the airport, the police scanner picked up a call for backup.
"All units in the area, please respond to kidnaping in progress. Victim's a latin male in early twenties, perpetrators are a red and a yellow gargoyles."
Elisa and Matt froze as the dispatcher named the location. They were nowhere near the area, but both feared that Mike would respond, considering that the description of the victim could very well be applied to one of his colleagues.
"Son of a bitch!" Mike shouted, turning around to face both detectives.
"Don't bother," Elisa said in a firm voice. "The force is split into two over the matter, but we can all agree that the gargoyles in this city have never harmed any of the innocent civilians."
Mike sneered. "Are you fucking telling me that your city is coexisting with a bunch of filthy gargoyles?"
"To a degree," responded Matt, trying to keep his temper in check. "There are people that want to destroy them, and there are those that want to befriend them."
"Humans and supernatural creatures are not meant to coexist peacefully," argued Mike, facing the road again, the muscles in his jaw twitching. "They are nothing but trouble, especially to those like Jack and Roberto, and the only good gargoyle is the fucking non living pieces of stones that decorate churches and castles! If Roberto is that victim, I will personally hunt down those gargoyles and see that their heads are mounted on my wall!"
Mike continued to rant as he pulled into the roads leading into the airport's parking. "It's bad enough that Roberto has been, and is being targeted by enough human freaks, he doesn't need to be molested by any more non-human freaks. Wait here!"
Mike swerved into an empty spot, turned off the car, stepped out and slammed the door shut.
Matt and Elisa watched as Mike stormed his way towards the entrance, yanking out his cell phone and dialing it.
Elisa immediately pulled out her private communicator. "Brooklyn, Lex. can one of you hear me?"
"Loud and clear," came Lexington's voice.
"What's going on? It's being reported that you and Brooklyn have kidnaped a human!"
"Oh, that! No, we had to get him out of there. It's Roberto. It looked like he was being mugged. We went down to help him, but..."
"But what?"
"He was knocked out cold by one of the attackers before we could reach him."
"Where's Roberto now?"
"Brooklyn took him to his hotel. We split up to keep anyone from following us."
Elisa sighed. "Good."
"He better get some medical attention, though," added Matt.
"I'm sure Brooklyn will take care of him."
"I just hope he doesn't mention the rescue to Mike. Who knows how he'll take it considering how he reacted to the broadcast."
"He'll have to, Matt, otherwise the police will continue hunting the gargoyles."
"This is getting awkward."
Twenty minutes later, both detectives were standing outside of the car when Mike returned with a bespectacled man, a duffel bag at his side.
"This is Doc Brian Octavion, our own specialist on the abnormal."
"Good evening, a pleasure to meet you," said the fair skinned man. His eyes were a warm bluish grey, and his light brown hair was combed back in a neat manner. There was a soft touch of an English accent in his voice.
"I got in touch with Gary. He told me he swore he saw Roberto on the streets before the alleged kidnaping, and by the time his taxi turned around to double check, he was no longer there. So we're heading there now." There was a steely edge to his voice that left no room for objection.
Dr. Octavion gave a start as Elisa and Matt shared a look.
"Mr. Quintanar has been kidnaped?"
"By gargoyles, no less," Mike growled.
"How odd... were they made of stones or are these the rumored sentient creatures of flesh?"
Elisa forced herself not to say anything to avoid making the situation more volatile.
"Fleshie," responded Mike.
"But real gargoyles are protectors! It's preposterous to think that of a gargoyle kidnaping a human for any reason other than revenge. Surely Mr. Quintanar hasn't done anything to upset or offend such a creature!"
"I don't know, and I don't care. We're leaving. Now."
X
It was the constant beeping of the phone that he heard as he drifted awake. Roberto fumbled about as he reach over to pick it up. "Hello?" he greeted, in a scratchy voice.
"Roberto?"
"Yeah?" Half asleep, he wondered who else would have picked up the phone in his room.
"Thank god! Were you sleeping? Never mind that, were you sleeping this entire time? Why haven't you answered the phone? Or your cell? Is it dead? Baka!"
Cow? Roberto thought momentarily, before recognizing Mike's voice on the phone and realizing that the man had reverted to Japanese.
"Hey!" he exclaimed, with a bit more force as his head cleared. "Why did you wake me up to insult me?"
"Because more than half of us are worried sick, I mean, the others -- I'm pissed -- because they all think, or thought, that you were kidnaped by a gargoyle!"
Roberto's heart stopped a moment as he looked out towards his balcony. The door was shut but the draperies had been pushed aside.
"Roberto? Hello? Fuck! Answer me!"
"Mike?"
"Nani?"
"You've had enough of whatever you're drinking. Have someone drive you to your hotel, or call a cab, yes, a cab, and go to bed just like I'm gonna do. Okay? Okay. Buenas noches." Roberto sighed in mild relief as he hung up the phone on a sputtering Mike. He glanced outside again, his hand resting on his mouth as he tried to remember what had happened. How did he end up back at the hotel? Wasn't he out with someone?
He sighed in frustration as he ran his hand through his hair, wincing when he hit a tender spot on the back of his head. As the pain flared, a memory surfaced.
He had been attacked out in the streets. But before? After?
He couldn't remember.
A moment later, the phone rang again.
Roberto answered it, still grimacing from the pain.
"Mike, if this is you again..."
"Mr. Quintanar? It's Detective Maza."
"Elisa?"
"Look, Lex told me about the attack. Are you all right?"
"Uh, yeah..." Brief flash of a flying sensation.
"You need to get that head wound checked out and we have to find a way to quiet down the hysteria your supposed kidnaping caused."
Roberto nodded before remembering that Detective Maza wouldn't see it and responded out loud. Hanging up the phone, Roberto tried to think of what to do. He snapped his fingers and began to dial a number.
X
Detective Lee was still ranting about how Roberto had hung up on him when Elisa and Matt pulled up into the entrance of the doctor's hotel. "I'm going in with the doc and get him all settled and caught up. I'll have one of my own pick me up," he told them, as he helped Dr. Octavion with his luggage.
Elisa and Matt both sighed in relief as they pulled away.
"Thank God they had to stop at the convenience store," commented Matt. "That was pretty close."
"Tell me about it. I just hope that Roberto is able to find a way to ease the panic because I'm fresh out of ideas. In the meantime, I say we head to our homes to rest up a bit."
A moment later, Elisa wished that she had kept her mouth shut. The police radio flared to life. "Shots fired, all nearby units, please respond."
X
Roberto ignored Mr. Jay's pouting as Jay's personal physician checked him over.
"I don't know why I let you use me like this," he was saying.
"Because despite you saying that it's all in an effort to woo me, you really are a good man that wouldn't leave a person in need stranded. Did you talk with your friend?"
Mr. Jay sighed. "Yes. She should be broadcasting now how the kidnaped victim was dropped off at an undisclosed hospital location, and due to your line of work that requires anonymity, you are unable to make an appearance but wish to thank the gargoyles, yada, yada, yada."
"I didn't say anything about thanking them!"
"I know, but being a pro-gargoyle activist, she thought that that would aid their cause and if you don't like it, tough, consider it as a form of payment."
Roberto grinned. "Remind me to send her some flowers."
"And what am I getting out of this?"
"My never ending gratitude?"
"Pfft. I'd rather have a dinner and a movie."
"Nick..."
"I know, I know, but I think hearing you say my first name like that was payment enough."
Roberto groaned as the physician declared that there was only bruising and that the wound had bled only a little.
"Thanks."
The physician left the room, and Mr. Jay glided over to where Roberto sat.
He cupped Roberto's chin in one hand and tilted his face upwards as he leaned down.
"I won't give up," he murmured. "Someday, you will be mine. And I'll worship you like you deserve to be worshipped." He planted a chaste kiss on Roberto's lips before letting go, turning around, and leaving the room.
Roberto sighed and shook his head. "There's no way in hell I'll allow myself to become another notch on his bedposts." Then he paused before he gasped out in shock and let out a string of curses. "Oh, that bastard kissed me!"
X
Maza, Bluestone, and Mike looked like shit in Gary's opinion. Late last night, they had received a call of gunshots in a high class area. He still didn't know the details of it. Apparently, Mike hit major mother hen mode and was releasing information on a need to know basis.
He turned his attention back to the center of the room where Cutter sat in a chair. The doc was already speaking to him in that calm hypnotic tone, manipulating Cutter into believing that he was doing this willingly.
He could see that Maza and Bluestone were a bit hesitant about the process, if not completely skeptical.
By the looks of it, Cutter was completely convinced that the Doc was a therapist evaluating him, and it looked like he had forgotten that he was most likely being observed from the other side of the mirror. He was also acting like there was no one else in the room.
Jack, Stacey, and Christina stood to the back of the room, behind Cutter. Their presence was the least threatening, so they had been chosen to remain in the room with the doc.
Roberto was another one who tended to have a relaxing effect on people, but with the possibility that Cutter's actions were spurred on by sexual feelings, the doc decided that it would be safer for Roberto to remain out of the room unless needed.
Gary glanced over at Roberto and eyed him critically. He seemed a little worn out and was, to Mike's frustration, completely evasive to questions regarding last night's activities. What bothered him as well were the looks Maza and Bluestone shared each time Mike moved in to give Roberto the third degree.
The sound of Maza snorting interrupted his thoughts.
"None of this is by the book, nor will it be admissible in court."
"The purpose of this is not to implicate Cutter. He will do that on his own, eventually." Mike looked at the resident detectives. Bluestone remained quiet, his fascination for what was happening overruling his need to defend his partner.
"If anyone finds out we had to resort to hypnotism, they'll laugh at us!"
Mike shrugged. "You get use to it after a while. Then it's funnier when they find out that you were right all along."
Gary couldn't help but grin when he saw that Bluestone failed to keep a straight face while Maza glared at Mike and her partner, a pout slightly forming on her lips.
"Shh!" The detectives became quiet as Jimmy hushed them. He sat at a control panel next to the window, hand poised above the record button. They all turned to look at Cutter and Dr. Octavion. Judging by the look on Cutter's face, Gary could tell that the man was in deep.
"What do you remember about that night?" Dr. Octavion was asking.
Everyone on the observation side became utterly quiet.
"It was a normal work day," Cutter murmured. "Ms. Rice came in, looking as radiant as ever. The day went on just the same. Ms. Rice stayed late. I offered to walk her to her car when she was done, but she said she would think about it. So I went back to my post."
"Did you do anything after that?"
"I went home."
"What about during the time you stood your post? Did you do anything else? See something? Hear something?"
"No... just daydreamed. Made the time go faster."
"And what did you dream of?"
"The usual stuff."
Gary stiffened. One thing he had learned from listening in on Dr. Octavion's sessions were that even under a trance, people with something serious to hide tended to resist the probe automatically. Vague answers were one example of resistance.
"What is the usual stuff?"
This time, the answer took longer to come from Cutter. "Fantasies," he finally said, in a hushed voice.
Dr. Octavion lowered his voice as well, sounding secretive. "You can have one of those now. Have the one you had that night. What do you see?"
"Ms. Rice. Always Ms. Rice. I usually dream of her tied to my bed, eagle spread... all ready and waiting for me. Ready to be owned and completely claimed by me. Ready to be fucked hard, so hard that it hurts, and she cries, but begs for more."
Gary watched as Elisa squirmed, a look of utter disgust on her face. It was the same look mirrored on Roberto's face, and Gary didn't blame him. Roberto had been on the receiving end of such obsession many times before. The rest, like him, showed no reaction. On the other side of the mirror, Christina and Jack looked horrified. Stacey was seething, judging by how her eyes were narrow slits, eyebrows pointed down so low.
"Is this what you dreamed of that night? The one you dream of now?"
"No... this one is... different."
"How different?"
"I had a knife. I was marking her, fucking her... and she screamed. She was scared. It made me feel powerful."
"Did your dream start out like this?"
Cutter's face looked confused.
"Did the dream start with you in control?"
"She was available."
"What do you mean?"
"She was available."
Gary grimaced as resistance was met yet again.
Elisa shifted beside him. "This isn't making much progress," she commented.
"Give him some time," Gary whispered.
Suddenly he stiffened when he saw Octavion look towards the mirror and give a quick nod.
Roberto sighed in disgust next to him, a look of resignation on his face. He left the room, and a few moments later, entered into the interrogation side.
Mike fished out two pins from his pocket and tossed them to Maza and Bluestone who questioned their reason. Gary frowned as he recognized the stones. He turned his attention back to the interrogation room, barely hearing Mike shoot out some half truth that the pins were a way to be recognized and accepted by their network and to have it on them at all times.
His fists clenched as he watched Roberto drop to his knees in front of Cutter so that he had to look up at him. One hand was placed on Cutter's knee. While it resembled the pose of a trusted adult comforting a child, one couldn't deny the sudden sexual charge it seemed to take.
"Look at me," Roberto murmured, gaining Cutter's complete attention. "What are you thinking of?" he purred. "What are you dreaming of?"
"What is he doing?" Matt asked, bewildered.
"His own form of hypnosis," replied Mike.
It was as close to the truth as one could get without stating it. The pins given to Matt and Elisa were a type of ward against the magic that Roberto wove. Had Mike not given them the pins beforehand, he knew that both Maza and Bluestone would have been at high risk of being seduced by Roberto from his voice alone. A glass between them did little to buffer the effects as Roberto's magic required multiple senses. Sight and sound were often enough, and seeing it work was rather unnerving for those immune. Once Roberto put touch and taste into the seducing attempts, there was no hope for the victim. The stones that Mike had given the detectives protected them from the spell, and those protected could only be seduced by talent, which Roberto had plenty of. There were a few people who were immune to the effects. Both he and Jack were the only ones in their group, everyone else wore similar pins or pendants.
But going back to Mike's half truth, Roberto was able to drag out the most deepest, secret, and shameful feelings of lust. So in a way, it was hypnosis.
"I'm dreaming that same dream. The one from work." Cutter's face began to take a glazed look again.
"Tell me about it," Roberto whispered, staring directly into Cutter's eyes, never flinching.
Cutter's face began to look flush. "It's the one where I'm at work. And I'm following her to her car. I surprise her, and have her sit in the passenger seat. She looks startles, almost scared, but I know, I know she's really pleased and turned on."
Cutter gave a lazy grin.
X
Roberto could feel nothing but disgust as he attempted to seduce the information out of the man. He didn't want to do this any longer than necessary, but it was his task, no matter how much he hated it.
"Why do you think she is pleased?"
"She shudders at my every touch. It's always a gentle touch."
Roberto forced himself not to flinch as Cutter's hand slowly reached out to caress his face. Cutter's eyes were blank, seeing not Roberto, but whatever 'fantasy' he had that night. "And then?" Roberto asked.
"We go to the park. No one is there. We make love. She has such a nice body. And she is so vocal. And she begs me to hurt her."
"She tells you this?"
"Through her eyes."
Roberto did his best now to shudder as Cutter purred, his hand stilling, cupping the left side of Roberto's face. "Does she beg you to kill her as well?"
"In the end. She wanted to play. She wanted it..." Cutter paused, tensing. "She wants it rough." His body relaxed.
Roberto felt a small twitch in the corner of his eye. There was a switch between past and present tense, which indicated that Cutter had temporarily switched from describing a fantasy to reliving a memory. Subconsciously, Cutter realized it and reverted back to present tense.
"What makes you think she's begging for it? Why isn't it a plea to stop?"
"The voice in my head translates for me. It looked into her mind and told me her fantasies."
There was the switch again.
"And what were her fantasies?"
"To dominate her..."
Roberto winced as he found himself being grabbed by the hair in the back of his head and being yanked forward. Jack leapt towards them, hand at his holster.
Roberto raised a hand, motioning him to stop. Dr. Octavion took a step back, looking nervous.
"What else?" Roberto asked, finding himself staring into Cutter's vacant eyes.
"To hurt her..." His hand slowly let go of Roberto's hair and slid down to his throat, grabbing it firmly.
"And?" Roberto pressed, his voice becoming softer each time.
"To make sure that she would never belong to anyone else ever again." Cutter's hand let go of Roberto's neck and went back to his hair, running his fingers through it. Roberto slowly pulled back a few inches, not daring to stay too close, nor move too far in a short amount of time.
"Did it end at her death?"
Cutter frowned. "I don't understand."
"Your fantasy. Does it end with her dying? Or is there more?"
Cutter began to look like he was struggling. His eyes blinked several times, and sweat began to dot his forehead. "I-I went home... to clean up."
"Is that normal?" Roberto winced as the hand in his hair tightened its grip.
"No, no! I don't go home to clean up. I made that up! I woke up and I was back at work! A daydream. Only a daydream!"
Cutter released his grip, hands going to the sides of the chair, clenching them hard. His breathing had become hard, and Roberto slowly stood up, not wanting to make any sudden movements.
"A daydream that lasted long enough for someone to steal the stone?"
"I...I don't know."
"Any injuries?"
"Scratches."
"Made by Ms. Rice?"
"Yes. No! No! That never happened! I didn't do it! I... it was only a dream! It felt like a dream! It has to be a dream!"
Dr. Octavion nodded at Roberto. It seemed that Cutter had woken up from his trance, the mental blocks having been slowly chipped away. And now, through denial, trying to rebuild them.
Cutter's knuckles began to turn white as he gripped his chair even harder.
"I didn't want to hurt her that bad..."
"But you wanted her." Roberto circled behind Cutter and gently grasped the back of his chair.
"I wanted her so badly...but the bitch refused to even hold a conversation with me!" Cutter's attitude quickly turned from fearful and remorseful to one of outright fury. He turned his head and looked upward, trying to look at Roberto.
A smug look crossed Roberto's face. "There was a lot of anger in that statement, Mr. Cutter. Perhaps you really did want to hurt her. But maybe you needed someone to tell you it was okay first."
The look on Cutter's face was murderous. "Nonsense!"
"You heard a voice telling you to kill her, didn't you? Was it your own voice you heard?"
"N-no!" Cutter began to look unsure of himself, turning to face forward again.
Roberto lowered himself, leaning forward to whisper into Cutter's ear. "How about now? Were you fantasizing about me when you touched me? Imagining me in her place?" Cutter shifted, his legs closing shut, breath coming out rapidly. "Is that voice present, telling you how to hurt me? Or is it your own voice this time?"
A tear rolled down Cutter's cheek. "I woke up after it happened. But then I found myself back at work. It was so much easier thinking that it had been all a dream, a vivid fantasy! But Ms. Rice really is dead... and they have genetic proof that I did it. And to top it off, that stupid piece of rock was stolen otherwise no one would have investigated into the matter!!"
Roberto straightened up and glanced towards the mirror, giving it a quick nod before looking at the doctor. Dr. Octavion moved forward to try and calm the man down as Jack relaxed his grip on the gun in his holster. Roberto moved towards the exit.
On his way, he couldn't help but glance at the mirror again, and wonder what Elisa and Matt thought of his performance. A flash of self hatred coursed through him. He hated this line of work and couldn't help but feel used.
A moment later, Roberto heard Jack call out his name in fear.
Turning around, he spotted the doc on the floor, a look of utter shock on his face, Jack falling, having been kicked in the stomach by Cutter.
As for Cutter himself, he was glaring at Roberto, Jack's gun in his hand. Roberto barely had time to move as Cutter came barreling down at him, raising the gun and aiming it. Roberto jumped to one side and deflected the gun with one hand, grabbing onto Cutter's wrist. A split second later, Cutter's free hand reached forward and grabbed Roberto by the throat. They both tumbled down, Cutter ending up on the top most position, allowing him to apply more pressure to Roberto's throat. The impact on the back of his head from hitting the floor stunned Roberto enough to weaken his grip.
As Cutter pulled his arm free, Roberto could feel his body losing consciousness. As his eyesight began to go, all he could see was the end of the barrel of the gun pointing at his face. "At least with you gone..." he heard Cutter shouting, "I won't have to think of you that way anymore!!"
The sounds became all muffled, and everything faded to black.
A gunshot...
Then silence ...
X
Camera flashes kept going off as several officers took pictures of the dead body on the floor. Gary, Matt, Christina, Jack, and the doctor were all being questioned by other cops. Stacey, Jimmy, and Elisa had already been questioned. In another corner, Detective Lee was being given a stack of papers by some IA investigator.
Elisa couldn't help but feel awe in the precision that Lee had shot the perpetrator. Back in the academy, every officer was taught to aim for the biggest target, which was usually the torso. That would result in incapicitating the suspect. But Lee had just charged into the room, lifted his gun, and fired. One clean shot to the head, with no regards to the safety of Luxer and Octavion who were coming up from behind Cutter.
She turned back to the stretcher where the paramedics were strapping Roberto in. He let out a moan and his eyes flickered open. He hand slowly went to the back of his head.
Elisa moved towards him, wincing internally. This was the second time within 24 hours that he had received a blow to the head.
"What happened?" she heard him ask, as the paramedics told him to remain still.
"You nearly took a trip to the morgue, you stupid mother fucker," growled Gary, breaking away from the officer talking to him. He snatched the ice pack away from the paramedic and slapped it on top of Roberto's head.
"Mierda!" cried Roberto, jerking his head away and weakly slapping Gary's hand away.
"Payback's a bitch," Gary said, smirking. The paramedics shoved him away, asking him to stay back. Christina came up behind him and smacked her brother. "Jerk."
Michael approached them. "Well, I would have asked if you were gonna get that checked... but the paramedics have decided not to give you a choice."
"Thanks for the update, Mike. I was wondering why I was strapped down."
Elisa couldn't help but smile as she looked away. Despite the dazed look in his eyes, Roberto was alert enough to be sarcastic and look disgruntled.
"So now what?" asked Stacey, approaching them. "Our two main leads are dead... well, three if you count the suicide."
"Three?" asked Roberto.
"Busy night last night," replied Mike. "There's been another robbery, only this time the guard committed suicide after killing the proctor. Our guess is that he woke up before he was suppose to, since we were basing it off of the trance theory."
"And then there's Kane," added Christina.
"Kane?"
Elisa couldn't help but notice how disturbed Roberto suddenly looked... and nervous. And judging by the look on Gary's face, it seemed that the visiting detective noticed it, too.
Meanwhile, Christina prattled on. "Yeah, he was found in the bathroom in boxers, completely reeking like alcohol, brains leaking out of his head and all... Autopsy's suppose to be performed later today."
"I see..." Roberto said weakly.
Roberto was hiding something, and Elisa wanted to know what it was.
X
Brooklyn paced in front of Elisa's workplace. Despite it having been only a little over a day since he last saw Roberto in his human form, it felt like forever. He had thought it would be a good idea to visit Roberto at Elisa's work place. But when he got there, he remembered that not once did Roberto ever mention to "Brody" where he worked. So now he was stuck trying to find a way to explain his presence, and that was if Roberto was even there.
The sound of a siren startled him, and an ambulance pulled out from somewhere behind the building. He watched it go, slightly curious. An ambulance at the police station wasn't unheard of, but it definitely meant bad news.
A few more minutes passed by and Brooklyn decided to give up. He just couldn't come up with a good reason to go in there and ask for Roberto. As he turned around, he spotted Elisa, Matt, and some of Roberto's colleagues exiting the police station. As he wondered whether or not to approach them, he overheard the one named Stacey speak.
"While Mike finishes with IA, I'll head on over to see how Roberto's doing."
The one named Gary snorted. "At this rate, the hospital just might save him a room for the duration of our stay here."
"Hey!" Stacey raised a fist and Gary flinched, pulling away from her.
Brooklyn jogged up the steps. "Um, excuse me."
They all turned to stare at him.
"I, uh, sorry, I overheard your conversation. What about Roberto? Is he okay?"
He was mildly disconcerted to see the glare Gary threw in his direction as recognition flared in his eyes.
A moment later, Jack and Christina followed suit with more amicable reactions.
Jack stepped forward, raising his hand and opened his mouth to say something. Christina beat him to the punch however, stopping him, and the others, dead in their tracks.
"Oh! You're the dude who's trying to get freaky with Roberto!"
Jack, Brooklyn, and Elisa went bright red at her comment, Matt looked away, unsure of how to react, Gary glared at his sister, and Stacey just groaned as she lowered her head and covered her eyes.
"You lack of tact never ceases to astound me," she muttered.
Christina bounded down the steps and stopped right in front of Brooklyn. "Aw, you look like such a sweety. Anywho, Roberto had to go to the hospital to get his head checked. Things got a wee bit rough in there and he took a blow to his noggin. Pfft, out like a rock, poor thing. He did wake up though before they took him, so we all know that's like, you know, great news." She smiled.
"How did you know where Roberto was working?" Gary interrupted.
Brooklyn turned to face him, realizing he'd much rather face this hostile person than the huge overflowing canister of joy named Christina. "I didn't. He never told me. I just recognized you as I was passing by."
Gary looked doubtful but couldn't put in another word as Christina latched onto Brooklyn's arm. "Well, I'd take you to the hospital but we got to get to the morgue. We had several dead bodies last night. I'm sure Roberto will be out of the hospital by this evening. He never listens to the doctors and sticks around. Gary's hard headedness has apparently rubbed off on Roberto."
"Hey!"
Stacey chuckled.
Brooklyn was disappointed. If he did go to the hospital, there was a strong chance he wouldn't make it back in time to the castle for nightfall. "I have, uh, work to do. Could you tell him that... no, uh, never mind. I'll try to drop by and see him tomorrow." With a wistful smile, Brooklyn stepped back, waved, then walked away.
X
"I don't like him," Gary muttered, as he watched the long haired man walk away.
"He kind of reminds me of someone," said Elisa.
"I think you're just jealous," quipped Christina.
"What?!"
"Well, no matter how much you complain about Roberto being your partner, every time someone threatens that partnership... you get all huffy-puffy-blow-the-house-down about it."
"I do not!"
"Yes, you do," said Stacey, walking past the siblings.
Elisa chuckled as she also walked down the steps, and Matt could only stare in interest at the conversation going on.
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "He does get all weird about it. I'm not quite sure why, but the others have fun teasing him about it."
Matt just shook his head. "Your professional lives interest me... but I think I'll draw the line on your private ones."
Somewhere up ahead, Christina's ears picked up only part of that conversation. "What? You're drawing a line on Jack's what?"
X
The sun had set almost half an hour ago. Roberto's head was still hurting, but there was no way in hell he was going to spend an evening in a hospital. With a tired sigh, he entered his suite, hoping that none of his colleagues would come looking for him. Although, he did hope for some company tonight. He wondered if Brooklyn had arrived and was waiting for him.
He also felt a small twinge as he realized that he hadn't seen Brody in a couple days. He wondered if the slightly younger man thought he was avoiding him.
With a disheartened sigh, Roberto plopped down into the couch, not bothering with the lights. It would be a good idea to distance himself from the man, for who knew how much longer he was staying in New York. He wanted to kick himself for letting things go on the way they did.
He remembered the first time they had kissed. The outcome was dangerously close to something more than a heavy make-out session. And instead of completely breaking away, what did he do? He told Brody that kissing was okay.
But each time Brody kissed him, Roberto couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be able to have a relationship with the young man. And each time he ran his fingers through Brody's hair, he found himself comparing its softness with that of Brooklyn's.
Roberto leaned back with a moan, eyes closed. Another soft sigh escaped his lips.
Someone was watching.
Roberto's eyes flew open, catching a glimpse of furious green eyes. With a startled yelp, Roberto attempted to push himself off the couch, only to be grabbed by the shoulder with one hand, his mouth silenced with another, and slammed back down into the seat.
"Now what the fuck is really going on?" asked a low and deadly voice.
tbc...