Eric drove back to his current apartment - one of those flats that's already fully furnished. He always got put in places like this. They never felt like home, but Eric knew he would never have a permanent home again the day he decided to join the Impossible Missions Force.
The IMF sent Eric to Atlanta originally so that he could infiltrate a sect of yet another goddamned covert organization. These fuckers - "The Enforcers of Karma," as they liked to call themselves - would gather information on anyone they considered to be deserving of their "karma" and then that individual would vanish. Eric assumed he was going to go undercover to investigate, then pull the plug when he had all the information he needed.
24 hours ago, though, Eric realized, to terrifying effect, exactly who The Enforcers' latest target was: Agent Eric Cartman, adult male in his late 20s or early 30s, likely caucasian. While they had little information on the agent, one source out of Denver, CO, of all places in the world, gave the Enforcers a name. One name. In that moment, Eric realized that the mark the Enforcers had taken from the city police force wasn't just another stupid officer in way over their head - it was his stupid officer in way over their head.
At least, Kyle used to be his.
He was Stan's now, Eric supposed.
Eric threw his helmet onto the dining area table, vexed with the whole fucking situation. He needed to protect Kyle - again. This sort of thing was the exact reason they had left each other years ago. Eric couldn't risk Kyle being used against him, and Kyle couldn't handle being a hostage in the hands of every other terror and covert operation across the globe. After Kyle got pushed on a plane going from Denver to Tokyo, he said enough. It broke Eric's heart to hear Kyle finally say it, finally tell him they were over, but it made sense. Eric didn't even try to keep track of where Kyle ended up. He just… let him go. Not in his heart, not really. But there were no photos or trackers kept. That put Kyle at risk, too much risk.
Until two weeks ago, when Eric used his resources in the IMF to find out where Kyle was living, working, getting his coffee, where Stan bought his car, where Stan was working, where Stan was applying to. That day, Eric learned he was in the same city as the man he loved. He swore to himself he wouldn't seek Kyle out. But it seemed Kyle had stumbled into Eric, unfortunately enough for the both of them.
Eric took a shaky breath as he sat down at the table, staring his laptop down. The Enforcers knew his name, but that was all, really. His question was, how did they know? And could they learn more?
He opened his laptop and began searching.
Kyle went home.
Two days before, he had been investing a locally-based group that seemed to be responsible for several disappearances in Atlanta, not to mention what they might have done outside the city. Kyle had mentioned to Stan that he was investing something - something potentially big. Stan had warned him to be careful, kissed his cheek, and jumped in his car to go to work.
Stan had just landed a job with the company Lush, and while not Stan's usual thing, they were dedicated to animal rights and humane testing, as well as paying livable wages. Stan was the new region manager, which was one hell of a daunting task, but also a respectable position. And it paid well. That part helped as well.
Kyle could only imagine the stress and terror Stan felt when Kyle never came home from the station.
The driver let him off on the curb outside his apartment complex. They were nice apartments, and the area was safe enough, but Kyle still palmed his handgun as he climbed the stairs to the third floor. The gun was tucked in the side of his jeans, out of sight, but likely still noticeable for anyone who might be watching.
Kyle didn't have his keys, annoyingly enough. His phone had survived with him - not without damaging the screen, but still - but his wallet had been taken from him and his keys had been left in his car, which had also been stolen.
Kyle had been getting into his car when he was kidnapped. They took his keys, his gun, his handcuffs - which then ended up on his wrists - shoved him in the back seat so that one of their guys could drive, and all before Kyle had time to yell for help. He'd been knocked unconscious by one of the two guys who had climbed in the back seat with him.
So he had to knock on his own damn door. What time was it even? Was Stan awake? Kyle checked his phone. Through the cracks, 01:53 glowed too harshly for Kyle's tired eyes. Stan might be asleep by now. Even if worry kept him awake, exhaustion might've pulled him asleep anyway.
Kyle kept knocking for another fifteen minutes before he decided to give up. Sure, he could keep knocking, hoping that Stan would answer, or he could just head down to the station and investigate these guys further. He'd heard what they called themselves. The Enforcers. Kyle needed to research, to find out if that name had ever been mentioned before.
In the back of his mind, Kyle knew he shouldn't. If Eric was here, then maybe the IMF was tangled up in this. Maybe these "Enforcers" were much bigger than one Sergeant should be tackling.
But Kyle called another Uber anyway. He wanted to know who these guys were. And, if he pushed the issue, maybe Kyle would see Eric again.
Guys I... I have no idea how police work. Please... never expect that from me.
Also, this fic is sort of a writing warm-up I do. The continuity is going to be awful and so... I tried a bit harder with this chapter, but I can't promise it's great. I'm working on a separate kyman fic if you want to read something, uh,,, better. Lol. Sorry, this note is getting long.
Reviews are welcome, btw! I love to hear back from people.
