Disclaimer: 'Power Rangers' is property of BVE or someone along those lines. No infringement is intended.

MAD SEASON

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Five: Speed of the Wind

Conner looked around the conference room. More hostages had been released than he had originally thought. Perhaps the dwindling numbers escaped him because everyone had been so scattered around the room. Now the large gaps between people and the lack of nervous conversation struck him more than ever. One dead. At least there was only one casualty and not more. There could have been so many more…

And Chang… Cam… whoever he was seemed to genuinely want to help them. Did he become some kind of undercover agent? That explained why he had gotten Hayley, the girl and her mother out so quickly. It also explained why he had attempted to get them out, but he was thwarted by the terrorists. Conner also figured it would be in his and Tommy's best interest to keep the fact that they suspected something under wraps.

"That was the samurai amulet," Tommy muttered.

"You've said that already," Conner reminded him. The few remaining others in the room looked at them like they were nuts for conversing in the face of such a tense situation. He honestly didn't see what the big deal was. Maybe they thought he and Tommy were in denial and needed mental help. Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone had asked him if he had seen his therapist lately.

"I know," he whispered in reply. "But it doesn't make any sense. Why would Cam have gone to such an elaborate charade?"

"If he is undercover," Conner hissed. "Then he probably doesn't have much choice."

Tommy gave him an appraising look. "How do you know?"

"Murder mystery writer, remember?" He tapped his temple. "I had to do a lot of research on the FBI and their methods, especially surrounding undercover agents."

The former Black Ranger smiled. "Sorry. I temporarily forgot. It's hard to imagine you as a writer in the larger scope of things."

"That's not the only thing people have a hard time with," he muttered.

Tommy looked genuinely concerned and surprised. "What else?"

He shook his head. "You don't want to hear about it."

"Why?"

"Do you really want me to tell you I'm bisexual?"

The minute those words came spilling out his mouth, he regretted it. He hadn't meant to say that aloud. The shocked look on Tommy's face was enough to let him know that he was dealing with a straight man who hadn't had previous dealings with people who pronounced themselves gay or bi. A sick feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. Now that Tommy knew, the rest of the group would know and then the rest of the red rangers and his ostracism really would begin. He'd only have Eric to talk to and end up old and alone living in a house on a hill with a million cats… even if that was only stereotypical of old ladies. He'd be the first old man to do it. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him.

"I was beginning to think I was the only one."

Conner snapped to attention, swiveling his head around to face Tommy so that any observer might have assumed he had given himself whiplash. "Wha-what?" he stammered.

Tommy gave him a sidelong glance, his features carefully neutral. "You heard me," he said in a tone of voice Conner knew for a fact he only used with disruptive students.

He gaped for a minute, his jaws working for a reply, but nothing came. He settled for the first question that came to mind. "How long?"

Tommy sighed. "I've been accused of it since college. However, I came to the realization about five years ago."

"When we all went to college."

He nodded, no change in his expression. "It didn't have anything to do with you guys specifically, but I didn't want to be thinking about it around high school kids." He paused. "What about you?"

"I was in college. Early on my girlfriend accused me of it." He shook his head. "I've never been with a guy, I've just been thinking about it."

"Join the club," Tommy replied wryly.

Conner didn't know why, but a warmth spread over his entire body. It wasn't just because he was starting to find his former science teacher and teammate extraordinarily attractive… for a guy. It was nice to know that the man he had previously viewed as completely straight and someone who wouldn't understand… did. It was like finding a kindred spirit in a vast wasteland where no one spoke the same language. He shouldn't have been so happy to find out that Tommy was bisexual—he was still his science teacher from high school and at least ten years older than him. Perhaps his earlier idea of kissing him in some other situation had not been quite all that farfetched.

And he was aware once more of how close they were. He could feel that same heat radiating from Tommy's body and smell his cologne… God, if only they hadn't come to this under these circumstances. He would have gone back to being authoritative and bold in his love life and thrown Tommy down and made love to him right then and there. How, he wasn't entirely sure, but how difficult could it be? Unfortunately, they were still hostages held by some terrorists. To add to that, he wasn't even sure if Tommy felt remotely attracted to him. Maybe he was. Maybe what he was interpreting as mixed signals was nothing more than an old friend being concerned about him.

He softly touched Tommy's knee, withdrawing his hand the moment it made contact with the soft denim of his jeans. "Hey," he whispered. "Have you ever been attracted to a man?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering."

Tommy took a breath and slowly exhaled. "I think I have. However, I just never recognized it for what it was."

"Who?"

"You sure have gotten nosey."

Conner shrugged. "It's what happens when you become a writer. You suddenly learn to question everything, because you have to question it for your characters."

"Have you been attracted to a man?" he said evasively, neatly sidestepping the question. He inwardly groaned. Perhaps this heart-to-heart, baring their souls thing wasn't going as completely honest as he had thought.

"I don't know," he replied. "I think I have."

"Nice answer," Tommy muttered. Conner grinned, knowing that his answer had been almost identical to Tommy's.

"I aim to please."

"And the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

His mind froze for a moment, the implications of what Tommy was saying weighing down on him. There was a reason no one beyond Eric and Kathleen knew that he was bisexual. There was a good reason for it. He didn't want to be ostracized and… alone. If there was one thing he had learned about himself during college, it was that his biggest fear was ending up alone and unwanted in life. Maybe that was the real reason he had played the part of the dumb jock womanizer for so long—it got him attention and love, however superficial.

"Listen, Conner," Tommy said softly. "Just don't get hurt."

He drew in a deep breath. "I'm going to get hurt, no matter what I do." He paused. "I can't hide forever. I don't want to hide forever."

"No one wants to hide," Tommy agreed. "Just don't advertise."

"I thought this was California."

His former science teacher motioned to the terrorists in the hallway. Conner nodded, understanding what he meant. It didn't matter how liberal a society either of them lived in, they would still endure some ostracism. His thoughts went to the other members of the red ranger distress signal. Would any of them understand and still accept them if they knew?

"Release some more hostages," came a voice from the hallway.

Chang—Cam—came into the conference room, another apologetic look on his face as he glanced at the pair of them. Conner almost wanted to tell him to stop that. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't get them out as easily as he had gotten Hayley out. He motioned to a group of middle-aged women in one corner.

"Come on," he said to them.

Conner glanced into the corner and saw the women fearfully get up. He suppressed a shudder as he glanced passed the body… he was glad one of the terrorist had thought enough to scare up a tarp and cover it. He leaned heavily against the wall, grateful for Tommy's presence if nothing else.

He was confused as the women left the room, following Chang. What did he feel for Tommy or about anyone for that matter? He wanted Tommy, but was it something more? Was it worth risking everything both of them had worked so hard for? Maybe… but he couldn't be sure of anything until he could figure out what Tommy felt for him. That whole incident with wiping his tears away led him to believe something.

"You all right?" Tommy asked softly.

He nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Conner…" He trailed off, his hand going to the back of Conner's neck, massaging gently and stroking his hair at the same time. Conner sighed and closed his eyes, reveling in the sensations—Tommy's fingers touching his skin. He felt Tommy's thumb come around his neck to trace his jaw line. He opened his eyes and caught Tommy's gaze. Those dark eyes were smoldering with a fiery passion. His breathing hitched.

Tommy suddenly pulled his hand away like something had bit him. That passion immediately faded from his eyes and was replaced with something akin to horror and self-loathing.

"You didn't have to stop," he whispered.

"No," Tommy replied, shaking his head. "It's not right."

Conner didn't reply, disappointment and frustration creeping upon him. Why couldn't life be simple and fair?

Tommy inwardly smacked himself at the greatly disappointed look that settled over Conner's face. Why did he have to pull away when Conner obviously had no objections? Well, because Conner was ten years younger than him and had no idea what he was getting himself into. He may have matured, learned some things about himself, gone on to shock everyone with his true literary career… but he did not know what he was doing. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he was doing in this situation. How could they both just stumble blindly into something that needed much more thought than this?

It had been a shock for Conner to admit to being bisexual. That was the last thing that Tommy had been expecting to come out of his mouth. Sure, the books and the painkillers had been a shock enough, but that… the only logical thing to do in that situation was to assure Conner that he was not the only one struggling with it. Now he wasn't sure if that had been the smartest thing to do. What was this sudden attraction? He had been Conner's high school science teacher for Christ's sake! He had graded his papers, given him Cs because he felt sorry for him, watched him botch relationships and repair them, heard him say scathing things to Kira and Ethan and then wonder why they were mad at him… He had truly known Conner when he was still a child. He had no idea who the man sitting next to him was.

Sure, he knew the base facts. Conner was a writer, author of an extremely popular mystery series, and he was going to be an English teacher and soccer coach at an elite boys' prep school in Reefside. He had been addicted to painkillers. He had had precisely one girlfriend since college and was bisexual. That meant nothing in the long run. He thought back to his previous relationships—he had known lots of pointless things about the girls before he dated them, like how they took their coffee, what their favorite color was, their favorite song and drink, their favorite place to think… hell, he had even known if they liked their feet or their back rubbed. Now… did he know anything about Conner that would be helpful in a relationship?

He cleared his throat. "How do you drink your coffee?" he asked. The words came out quickly and he stumbled over them. God, now he was going to start acting like a high schooler again. What was next, blushing?

Conner snapped his head to face him, a confused look on his face. "Why?" His voice was guarded and he looked almost… angry.

Tommy shrugged, expelling a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. If Conner was mad, that meant there was still hope, didn't it? "I was just wondering," he replied, making sure his words were carefully neutral.

That angry, guarded look on Conner's face slowly melted, as if he knew what Tommy was trying to accomplish, as if he knew Tommy were trying to make amends. "Black," he replied slowly. "Unless I'm at Starbucks and can get a white chocolate mocha." He paused. "But that depends on if I have the money for it." Conner gave him a tentative smile. "Why? How do you drink yours?"

He shrugged. "Black. I don't go to Starbucks though."

Conner gaped at him. "That's a crime against nature," he muttered.

"That's what you think."

"So now that we're playing Twenty Questions, what else do you want to know?" He paused and looked thoughtful. "Now that we've established you don't want me."

"I never said that," Tommy snapped. "This just needs more time."

Conner glanced to the door. "Unfortunately that is the one thing we don't have." He gave him a sidelong glance. "So, what else do you need to know?"

The subtle rephrasing of the question did not go unnoticed by Tommy. "I think I know what your favorite color is…" Conner grinned, absently plucking at the red shirt with a loose plaid pattern on it he was wearing. "So where do you go to think?"

"My laptop," Conner replied promptly.

"Really?" Tommy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," the former Red Ranger said enthusiastically. "It's where all my writing and stuff is. If I need to think, I go there and things usually sort themselves out."

"Interesting."

"Writer," Conner claimed. "Can I ask a question?" he asked, not waiting for a reaction from Tommy to his latest answer.

"Sure," he replied.

"Do you think I'm hot?"

If he had been drinking something, he would have choked on it. He gave Conner an incredulous look. Conner just flashed him a patented look of pure innocence. How in the world was he supposed to answer a question like that objectively? He glanced at Conner and glanced away, not daring to let his eyes linger on that eager, hungry expression any longer. He closed his eyes, hoping it would be under the pretense of a headache. But he could still see him clearly when he closed his eyes. Those light brown eyes, strong features, wavy brown hair that curled just a little at the ends… and that didn't say anything of items below his shoulders… Was he supposed to be acting like a horny teenager here?

"I suppose," he replied, purposely making the response airy and noncommittal.

Conner's jaw dropped in indignation. "What kind of an answer is that?" he sputtered.

Tommy grabbed a handful of fabric at Conner's shoulder and pulled him close enough so that he could say his response directly in his ear, since the few other remaining hostages had started listening into their conversation in interest. "I don't want an audience," he whispered in Conner's ear, his voice tight with controlled anger and practiced patience.

"Why?" Conner asked. Instead of looking like feigned innocence, he looked more curious and interested.

"Am I supposed to tell everyone here that I think you should be the poster boy for hot gay sex?" He said it directly into Conner's ear, almost laughing as Conner squirmed went hot breath went directly into his ear. He glanced up at the other hostages, but they appeared to have lost interest.

When Conner registered what he had said, he pulled back, blinking in surprise and shock, his mouth hanging open. "Really?" His voice was small and timid.

He relented under that slightly scared look on Conner's face. "Yes," he replied, feeling tired. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. He was so confused. What was going on with him? Was he supposed to tell Conner something like that? It appeared that both of them couldn't stop things from coming out of their mouths today.

"Get the rest," a loud voice came from the hallway.

Tommy suddenly snapped to attention, the reality of the situation coming back to him in vivid colors. This was not the time or the place to be talking about whether or not he found Conner attractive. Why did he manage to forget that the minute Conner started talking?

Chang walked into the room and gestured to some people huddled in one corner and a random shopper or two left. Tommy looked around as he led them out of the room. All of the hostages had been released except for them. He listened to the footsteps fading, distant voices… soon the footsteps returned. Chang came back in the room.

"They're negotiating," he said in a neutral tone.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked.

Chang growled softly and pulled his ski mask off. That revealed a slightly frazzled man with Asian features and messy black hair and eyes. It was Cam Wantanabe… Tommy broke into a smile, watching Conner mirror the expression. Conner knew who Cam was from the archives and having met him once or twice when Hayley called him in for backup technical support.

"Cam," Tommy said softly.

Cam gave a reluctant smile. "Tommy," he replied with a nod. "Conner," he said in the direction of the former Red Ranger.

"What are you doing here?" Tommy asked.

To his surprise, Cam scowled. "I was sent here. Undercover FBI agent."

"You're an FBI agent?" Conner said loudly.

Cam shushed him. "No one's supposed to know that." He paused and sighed. "This was not supposed to be this complicated. I was supposed to temper them so that no one would get hurt." His eyes flicked to the corpse. "But things got complicated."

"How?" Conner questioned.

He shook his head. "I hadn't expected either of you or Hayley to be some of the hostages. I tried to get you out, but they want to teach you guys a lesson."

"How did Tommy get labeled in all this too?" Conner asked sarcastically.

Cam gave him a sharp look. "Process of association. They listened in on that lovely heart-to-heart the two of you were having. They may be stupid, but they're not deaf." He paused, shaking his head. "I don't care if you guys are bi and want to be lovers, that's your business… But be careful. Don't talk about it anymore and, for God's sake, do not try to kiss or anything."

Tommy nodded. "Will we get out of here?"

"Hopefully," Cam said slowly. "Things may get ugly first. I have no problem opening fire on them if it comes to that. But there's only one of me and a bunch of them."

"We wouldn't win in a fire-fight."

"No. The governor is offering generous terms for them, if you two are released unharmed." He sighed. "I don't know if that is going to happen."

"CHANG!" came an annoyed voice from down the hall.

"That's my exit cue," Cam whispered, pulling his ski mask into place. "Be careful," he repeated. "And do not act like you know me."

They both nodded as Cam stood up and walked out of the conference.

"Damn, chink! We need you to take a vote."

"Cool it! I'm coming!"

Tommy met Conner's gaze. This was starting to look more and more hopeless. He only hoped that Cam would be as successful as he thought he was going to be. If there was anyone who could help them it was Cam.

He leaned back against the wall. He was confused and was getting a headache.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Sorry I'm a bit late with this update-- but I had to drive home for Christmas break and then deal with the fact that at home we only have dial-up. No spiffy cable like at school. Also, thanks to Warstock Leonhart for helping with the quotes. I do have all the quotes I used on DVD somewhere. The problem was finding time before now to sit down with the DVDs and check my work. And thanks to all my reviewers for this particular story. You guys are the best! --EK