PRECINCT BLUES: CHAPTER 13: YO QUIERO DINERO

JUSTIN

Coming into the house today feels so different. I’m still pissed as hell at Michael for doing this; for the bullshit he intended and tried to set into motion. But that’s not what is making me feel as if nothing can affect me right now. No. That’s all down to the man still holding onto my hand and caressing his ring upon my finger. 

Brian Taylor-Kinney is an amazing man, a man who has seen me at my worst and still loves me. ME! Not the shelled-out, hollow version of myself I was after the bashing, although he loved me then, too. But he loves the person I was, the person I am, and the person I’m constantly evolving into. How could I not feel on top of the world with that knowledge so clear in my mind? 

It’s in his every breath, permeating through the air and cloaking me in his strength and courage. Because that’s what loving me entails: courage, and Brian has shown that he embodies the word in all the ways that matter. I think back over the many times we made love last night, and my body still sings. First, because my fondest dream came true- the one I never thought was even possible, especially after we found out about Ben. But the second was because of the wealth of words, and the feelings he let go of when he entered me bareback for the first time, and every time afterward. 

‘Thank you, Justin. Thank you for loving me, Sunshine. Never stop… please NEVER stop! So HOT, so beautiful. You’re like fire: mesmerizing, alluring, and dangerous, yet you heat up every cold part of me. I love the way you make me burn just knowing you! Never stop doing that, Sunshine… NEVER! You’re the only one who knows me, who understands me… who loves me without caution or conditions. This is the beginning of our forever. Fuck! We’ve earned it, it’s OURS. This is US, WE, OURS, Mine and Yours, and NO fucking ONE is ever going to take this from US, Justin. My name, my heart, my soul, EVERYTHING I am or will ever be belongs to you.’

He punctuated each word with a powerful thrust of his hips, keeping me compelled to hold my eyes open with that hyper-focused gaze he has so that I would see as well as feel the truth of his conviction. All I could do was moan or gasp out my acquiescence; to give him all he could have needed and wanted of me in those precise moments of solidifying our new way forward. Even now, I shiver at the memories while wishing I could rewind time so I could relive it all, over and over again. Just the two of us in that place and space, full of peace and on the same page makes all of this bullshit we’re about to face worth it somehow. I lean into him, briefly allowing my shoulder to nudge him the way we used to do when we needed a little extra contact.

“You okay, Sunshine?” He asks, draping his arms around me as we stop in the hallway leading to the back of the house. His fingers immediately begin to play with the hair falling over the nape of my neck. 

I smile up at him, while meeting his eyes. Wordlessly, I tell him what I’m thinking and exactly what I need from him in this particular moment, before we go in there. He smiles back, before bending his head in my direction stopping just short of pressing his lips to mine. I don’t hesitate in closing the distance between us, and God! The gentle exchange is so sweet, I almost want to cry from it.

We’ve only shared this particular kiss twice before: once on the night when our lives were irrevocably changed, and again when I finally remembered how ridiculously romantic the night of my prom really was. It’s this feeling I want us to hold onto right now. Before everything went to hell, it was the moment when I saw in Brian’s eyes that he really believed in us; that we were so much more than anything people thought of us. Much more than Stud and Twink; much more than Master and Protege; much more than Experienced man and Know-nothing boy… it was the moment we were becoming the ‘WE’ that he and I are right at this moment. I won’t let anyone- especially NOT Michael Novotny- take this feeling away from us.

I deepen the exchange, trying my best to ignore the subtle throat-clearing happening to the side of us. I recognize the chuckle at my sudden brazen brattiness, even as it becomes a full-on laugh. “Alright you two, break it up. No need to make all the rest of us jealous,” Alex laughs.

Brian smirks against my lips, before placing one last kiss there and detaching. “Aww, Alex. You’re no fun. Sunshine and I surely would have put on a show more entertaining than the one we’re about to watch.”

“No doubt, and I for one would have gladly paid the price of admission to see it. But alas, I will have to wait until the two of you decide to grace the Backroom again for that to happen.”

“How do you know we will?” Brian asks, then scrunches his nose in obvious distaste. “It would mean we’d have to don condoms again, although it would be just for appearances.”

I snicker, even as Alex once again laughs. “No way would you two give up public sex with each other. Monogamy does NOT mean DEAD.”

I look down meaningfully at my crotch, before raising my eyebrow in mirth and innuendo, “Don’t I know it.”

“Cheeky man,” Alex swats at my shoulder. “And absolutely adorable to boot! But on a serious note, I’m so glad to see you guys happy again. Brandon filled me in a little on what happened the night before last. Let’s not have that particular misunderstanding again, eh Gentlemen?”

I smile at Brian before looking to Alex again, “No more running for either of us, Alex. We promise.”

He looks at us for a brief moment, knowing that we’ve never meant anything more than we do right now. “Good! Now let’s get this mess over with. Most people don’t need a reason to be an occasional asshole, but with clown-boy, he’ll surely feel the need to explain his reasoning.” 

“Which reminds me, I need to make a call,” Brian tells us. At my questioning look, he says, “To the insurance companies. I remember him saying that he changed the beneficiary on all my important paperwork. I need to tell them to change it back the way I had it.”

“Be sure to ask them to forward both recordings to the District Attorney’s office, Brian,” I remind him.

“You think they still have them?” Alex asks.

“I’m almost sure they do, and even if they don’t the last call would have been thoroughly transcribed. However, I know for a fact that the insurance company Brian and I deal with keeps their recordings for up to a year, in case there’s a dispute similar to this one. Usually, it’s some spiteful ex calling to change their former spouse’s policy without their knowledge, mostly during divorce proceedings or some other such nonsense. It comes in handy when absolving the company of any liability should the policy holder try to sue them,” I explain.

Alex smiles in response, knowing exactly why I told Brian to have them forward the recording of today’s call and the one prior, when the policy was changed. “You’re really not playing with his ass, are you, Justin?”

“Not even with someone else’s fingers,” I say, shivering at the thought, innuendo, and metaphor regarding me doing ANYTHING to Michael’s ass other than kicking it from one end of the globe to the next. “He grossly miscalculated in so many ways it isn’t even hilarious anymore. Even with a voice alterer and a cold, there’s no way in hell that nasal-sounding bastard could sound anything remotely like Brian.”

“Not nasal-sounding anymore,” Alex informs me, and repeats himself when I ask for confirmation of what I thought I heard. “When the stupid fool gulped undiluted bleach, it affected his nasal membrane and vocal cords so he’s no longer able to screech like he’s Mickey Mouse’s evil twin. Instead, now he sounds a lot like Michigan J. Frog. From my sources at the prison, they say he’s been rather quiet for the last few days. Apparently, his voice is embarrassing to him now.”

I laugh loudly at the prospect. “It should have been embarrassing before. Although I love the nasally voice on Fran Drescher, having a grown man sound like she was dressing in Drag has not been a wonderful experience.”

“Damn! The visual you just created, Justin…” Alex laughs again. “I can most certainly see why you and Brian are entirely compatible. Your quick rapier wit is as dangerous to a person’s psyche as are your innocent looks. Brian always said you were Trouble walking.”

“And he’s Trouble seven-times-seven so I guess it all works out. I’m still trying to catch up to him though.”

Brian comes back in, and immediately comes to stand next to me. Bending down to bite my ear briefly, which he knows gets me instantly hot and bothered, he stands back up quickly before I have a chance to pop him. “All taken care of. They changed it back to my revision before Michael did the Stupid, and said that they would forward the electronic copy of all three calls to the DA’s office. They are also going to mail a hard copy.”

“We have to advise Mel to have Ben do the same thing.”

“You think he did this to Ben, too?” Alex asks us, and we nod.

“It’s been discovered that Michael cashed in one of Ben’s policies. It happened while he was in the hospital some time ago. Somehow, he got them to change the policy while Ben was incapacitated and release the money just before Ben was released from the hospital.”

“There’s only one way they would have released that money, but…” Alex trails off for a moment, before asking, “Is Ben still paying on the policy?” 

“I’m not sure, but I would imagine so, especially since he has Hunter now,” Brian says.

“We need to let Daris know your theories immediately, guys. I think I know exactly where those stacks of cash we found in Michael’s hidden treasure trove came from, at least partially.”

We pass through the bedroom, heading to what was supposed to be Brian’s prison. Thankfully, they have moved some chairs into the space beyond just the small sofa in here. Looking around at Michael’s attempt to return Brian to the helpless fourteen year old he was, but with a grown man’s physical needs pisses me off to no end! But I promised Brian that I wouldn’t blow up, just as he said the same to me. It’s the reason we agreed that we should go ahead and view the tapes here, instead of down at the station.  

But it doesn’t make it any easier that I see part of Michael’s true motive so damn clearly. However, I know we need to hear his explanation as Alex calls it, while I just named what it is inside my mind: The Sociopathic Ravings of a Bullshit Malignant Narcissist. It’s the same with Lindsay, who is also an ego syntonic-aggressive psychopath, as demonstrated recently, resulting in her needing to have an emergency hysterectomy. That situation alone makes me so damn glad we got Gus away from her as soon as absolutely possible. Otherwise, we each would be inhabiting our own jail cells awaiting trial right now.

Hmm… When I think back to what Jason must have endured with one or both of them, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps Michael and Lindsay are really more alike than I initially thought. Strangely, I’ve always thought of Michael as incredibly lazy, and yet I’m standing within a house he worked hard to make happen so that he could have complete control over Brian. He had gone to extremes to convince Brian that I was dead, no matter what point they would have arrived here in Palm Springs. And he’s been working this particular campaign since high school, at some point with Claire’s help, he enlisted Jack Kinney to be his metaphorical muscle in trying to beat Brian into submission when whining him to death wasn’t working. All of that speaks of an entirely different Michael but... 

“What’s on your mind, Justin?” Alex asks me.

“Malignant Narcissists versus Toxic Narcissists.”

I notice when we are joined by Samantha Reid, and Judge Stone. She advises, “They are essentially the same thing, but with slight differences.”

“But what exactly is it that you’re thinking?” Stone, as he’s insisted we all call him, asks me.

“Other than that Michael and Lindsay are a match made in hell, while the others- including my father- are their minions, it’s the type of Malignant Narcissist they are that’s bothering me.”

“You mean in terms of labeling their disorder?” 

“Yes,” I answer, and he nods with a smile.

“I can understand why you would feel the need to, since…”

“I guess I’m trying to reassure myself that no matter what their disorder supposedly is, that they will end up with very lengthy jail sentences,” I say seriously. “I don’t want there to be some option where they are sentenced to a psychiatric hospital, and then they are miraculously cured and released only to terrify the people on whatever lists they have in their fucked up minds. In retrospect, I wouldn’t put it past any of them, including the supporting casts in this drama, to aim for some type of insanity plea in order to not be held accountable for being a group of egomaniacal assholes.”

“Yeah, I thought that was what your concern is, and I’m happy to tell you that I’ve been taking specific measures to ensure that won’t happen,” Stone informs me with conviction.

“None that will jeopardize the case, right?”

He looks affronted for a moment, but then calms down considerably. “Not at all, Justin. In fact, it was me who asked for the cases to be reviewed as they have been developing. Based upon the arrests records alone, and their current individual behaviors while awaiting trial, it gave me the basis to make the formal requests with the Judicial Review Board.” 

“Justin, look at me please,” Alex demands, and I do closely. For whatever reason, I continue to trust in what Alex tells me, beyond the sessions I’ve had with him in the past. I think it’s because he never tells me what I should think, the way others tend to because of some misguided notion regarding my age. Alex has proven himself to be Team Taylor-Kinney, even before that was a thought or option for me and Brian. So yes, I’ll believe what he says to me right now, and hold onto it like the lifeline he means it to be. “Barring short of getting another judge like Russo, there is no way possible that everyone involved won’t get what they deserve. 

“And even if by some string of bad luck there was another Russo-esque judge on this case, he or she is already going into this case being held completely accountable and under intense scrutiny by the Judicial Review Board, which under Stone’s advisement assigned me to this case and honored my request to have Samantha assist me with it. There are many people who need to see justice served correctly on your behalf this time, and they will make sure it happens within the parameters of the law, so there isn’t a need for an appeal, even though they are entitled to file one by law.”

And just like that, Alex made me feel better about things. I think that’s his gift, since I also felt the tension leave Brian, who had come up behind me as Alex was speaking to me. Clearing his throat, he said, “Everyone is gathered. So let’s get this next phase done. You okay, Sunshine?”

“Better for now, but even better later,” I say to him.

Brian smirks, knowing exactly what I’m implying by that statement. “Count on it, Sunshine.” 

As Brian and I take our seats, we opt to sit on the sofa which is furthest from the bed. After seeing the firsthand attempt of what Michael’s intention was in regards to where Brian’s placement within the room would have been, we decided that someone else with profiling experience should sit in the center seat. It was already going to be enough to hear what the fucking idiot had to say, without adding to the trauma of him looking at us. And speaking of the Dweebus, as he comes on screen, “What the FUCK is he wearing?” explodes from several of us, including Melanie and company on the opposite television screen. 

“You cannot be fucking serious?!” Melanie adds, and I can’t help but laugh in response as opposed to hurling, which is really what I want to do. 

“Oh my God! SOMEONE MAKE HIM SIT THE FUCK DOWN ALREADY!” Mel yells as he stands there for a good five minutes posing from all sides. 

“Is there any way to fast forward this shit?” Brian growls. 

“Please say yes, or I’m going to look for the nearest spoon to gouge out my corneas,” I add, laughing to keep the disgust as far away from spewing out of me. He looks like the Borat version of Slimer from Ghostbusters. I just… I just…

Thankfully, someone hurries into the next room. Locating a way to speed up Michael’s clownish ass trying to look sexy for the camera, believing Brian to be at the other end of it, we finally get past the ‘What the YUCK!’ episode of this entire experience. For now, I couldn't stop that last thought from taking root in my brain, and already I’m dreading the end of this video. Fortunately, he’s finally taken a seat with a piece of paper covering the weird looking squirrel that has taken root in the center of his chest. God, I hope someone figures out a really painful way to remove that shit from his person. 

Hopefully, someone will think it’s an NYC sewer rat moving around in the dark and finally kill it!

“Bad Justin! Just simply awful, Sunshine!” Brian mumbles to me, as if picking the thought right out of my head. “Did you see that shit?! And that color...”

“How the hell could I have missed it? I really do want to pluck out my eyes and mail them to parts unknown,” I answer, as Brian pulls me against him a little tighter as if trying to ward off an evil spirit.

“Guys, pay attention,” Melanie admonishes, even while still wiping the tears of horror from her eyes. I know the feeling.

“Do we have to?” Brian asks, with his head tucked behind my back.

“Stop being a fucking punk, Kinney!”

“That’s Taylor-Kinney, fuck you very much, Mel. And you can’t tell me that the shit we just saw isn’t trying to take root in your nightmares as we speak!”

“Okay, point well taken, Brian. But seriously, we have to all get through this, and that most especially includes YOU,” she says kindly. “Now buck up, put on your big boy thong and let’s dance. I’m sure you in a thong is a damn sight better than what the hell we just saw.”

“Why Mel, did you just compliment my ass?” Brian perks up.

Her blank stare at him is followed by a bunch of snickers, and then outright laughter from everyone in the room, including me. Trust the banter between these two to bring back the focus to where it belongs in a really odd way. Daris clears his throat before calling out, “Okay, Detective Johns, you can put it back on again. But before you do, have you located the remote in case any more embarrassing moments are scheduled during the video?”

“Only just now, Sir,” the young CSI agent answers. He specializes in Forensic Science and Profiling. Unfortunately for him, he’s been chosen to sit directly in the middle seat where he will have an unobstructed view of Michael. “This was one smart ass perp. At first, the only way to shut it off was inside the vault directly. However, the remote itself was embedded within the center of the Batman emblem. You wouldn’t have found it unless you were specifically looking for it.”

“I wonder how many more compartments are within this place like that,” Stone mused aloud, before turning to Belle, who apparently was having the same exact thought. He pats her hand placatingly. “Later, my dear. Definitely right after this, okay?”

She nods, and it isn’t hard to see just where Daris gets his tenacity from. Already, she’s glancing around, looking for other hidden nooks and crevices in the room that could hold evidence no one would even think to look for. It won’t surprise me any if she does. Between the two of them, it’s like watching the AP course in Criminology as an elective in high school happen in real time. It’s fascinating, but right now, I have to give my full attention to the asshole on screen.

“Hey Honey!” He begins to address Brian. “What did you think of my new outfit? I knew that you would love it! I’ll be in to model it for you in person in just a few moments. But first, you and I need to have a little talk. As I already told you, I’m doing this so that you fulfill ALL of your promises to me. I’ve gone to great lengths to remove all obstacles that kept us from being together, but you have to do your part. It’s why I’ve taken to keeping you drugged for now. It’s not that I want to do that to you, but I can’t trust you just yet. I know you want to be with me, but undoubtedly, you’re still feeling the pull of Pittsburgh beckoning. I already told you that as far as that city is concerned, we’re dead and our bodies won’t be recovered. As for your Bitch, your Boy Ass, and your little Bastard, I’ve made sure that two are dead and one will take the fall for killing at least one of them. As for your slut, he’ll just be another victim of circumstance, which is what he always was in the first place.

“In the meantime, I’m expecting several direct deposits from Lance, but until they come through, including your pension from Ryder, now Vanguard, I’ve made provisions for us. You see, while Ben was in the hospital, I had Lance do the necessary hacking to announce Ben’s death to them. Of course, I was the beneficiary on his policies, so I tapped into the larger of the two. Can you believe that it was worth eighty grand?! Now don’t worry. I’ve already cashed the check, and now have the cash on hand. I also had Lance change the record back, minus that particular policy, stating that Ben was alive.

“I guess you’re wondering how I could do something like this, huh? How I could do whatever I have had to do in order to have you? Well, the simple answer is that I have loved you for a long time; so long that we should have solidified this relationship back when you first graduated college. I tried to get you to find a place more affordable for us to share, but NO! You just had to have your way, didn’t you? But that’s okay; we’re okay now. But rest assured that I’m not going to let you out of my sight again, which brings me to the rules.

“If we are going to make this work, we have to have some simple guidelines that you have to follow. Don’t scoff since I got this idea from you and that fucking Boy Wonder you insisted on keeping around past his allotted usage. UGH! I’m so GLAD that by now my plan has caused him to kill himself… or hopefully, he was literally fucked to death. I mean, seriously what a way to go, eh Brian?! Anyway, the rules:

“First, no more fucking tricking! You wanna fuck, YOU FUCK ME and ONLY ME! For more years than I care to count, I’ve watched you fuck every Tom, Dick, Harry, Larry, Moe, and Curly and I’m outright SICK OF IT! Understand this once and for all, Brian. The time to play house without commitment is OVER. YOU FINALLY BELONG TO ME and I’m NOT letting you go. If you even look at another guy, there will be consequences! See why I have to keep you in a cage for now? Your sex drive needs to be redirected to the only ass that should matter… MINE! 

“Second, you’re not to speak to anyone unless we- YES I said WE- agree. Your friendship with Lindsay is a prime example of why this rule needs to be in place. She was such a manipulative little cunt, latching onto you, hanging onto your every word... talking you into having a fucking brat with HER! I could’ve allowed you to have a kid with a woman I chose, even though there was no way in hell you were going to raise it, Brian. If that’s what you wanted after many years of it being just the two of us, I would have let you have that. But NO! You let that thunder-twat, money-grubbing WHORE, sweet talk your babymakers into a cup to squirt inside of her. It’s NOT going to happen again, and I mean NEVER, Brian. You blew your chance to have immortality when you took up with that bitch, so your punishment will be to see everyone else with their kids, while you suffer the loss of your own. Just remember you bought that on yourself. 

“And speaking of money, you need to understand that I control EVERYTHING. Consider yourself permanently retired! First of all, your face is too well known because of the career you have, which I absolutely despise. Secondly, anything that takes you away from me and my needs is no longer an option for either of us. But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to use your talents of advertising to a degree. You see, in my possession, and upon the official announcement of your boy toy’s death, I plan to restart Rage under a different name. Of course, the general plot will be the same- You are Rage after all- but this time it will be as it should have been in the first place where Rage and Zephyr fight together, fuck together, and have a future together. And just for the fun of life creating art, I think I will invent another imitation JT, only to kill him between the pages of the comic, too. Any original fans of the comic will probably notice the similarities, and ultimately applaud me killing his useless ass off. I know that many of the fans thought that of Zephyr, but hey, it’s MY comic like it should have been in the fucking first place, and that’s what the fuck I WANT! 

“And speaking of wanting, ah… It’s time for your dose, since you’re the thing I want most right now. I know you need a couple of enhancements at the moment; hopefully that won’t last too long. I really hate drugging you to fuck me, but until you get it into your head that your dick is all for me now, I’ll do what I have to. Or better yet… I think it’s time for me to really stake my claim to you, don’t you? See you in a minute, lover…”

At first, we all sit there stunned as Michael grabs the syringe and vial out of the cabinet before twirling it in his hand, much like he did the day I saw him in the office. I can’t stop the rage beginning to take hold of my nervous system, seeing him filling that fucking needle gleefully. Then he gloats about being sure that Brian is able to get it up, as he crushes two pills I recognize almost immediately. As if this little display isn’t bad enough, he stands up again where his little dick is more than noticeable and turns around to the camera to smack his own ass with a lascivious smile on his face. It makes me wonder if he already has some unsuspecting asshole in this room where he’s imagining Brian was. 

“So we officially have him confessing about where the money we found in the safe came from,” Daris recaps.

“And what his intentions were, including his alluding to the future kidnapping and murders of both Justin and Brian’s son,” Belle notes. “Oh, and you have a couple of people from yesterday’s video confession to round up.”

Daris nods. “Lorenzo and Spahn have some answers that need to be given, even though I still intend to bust them on drug charges. But I would really like to know what happened to the young man who looked so much like Justin. It’s entirely possible that whatever was in that syringe…”

“Don’t even speak that into existence yet, Daris,” Stone said, voicing the same thought I was having myself. He looked too much like me to just disregard as some kid. I’m almost afraid to find out what happened to him.

Brian muttered, “Well if I wasn’t sure before that Michael hates me, I am now.” 

And my heart breaks for Brian to have heard some of Michael’s machinations to entrap him. The only saving grace we have right now is that he fucked up before he could make any of it happen; Brian and I have to hold onto that thought. That he could enlist Lance’s help in stealing eighty grand of Ben’s money in order to make sure he and Brian were dead, while everyone else suffered so he could have what he wanted… I really feel like taking a plane back to Pittsburgh just to kick Michael’s ass up and down the prison. But no, I’m where I should be, with the man I should be with right now.

I’m with the love of my life, so in the light of that knowledge, Michael really doesn’t matter.

“I don’t think there could possibly be any doubt of that left, Brian,” Melanie says, quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t, Mel,” he says, looking directly at her. “You couldn’t have known. Besides, you had your own delusional tragedy you were living with at the time. Like you’ve said before, we were just guilty of seeing what we wanted to see.”

She nods, even as the screen finally goes to black indicating that this video is over. But something is still bothering me about the end of that video. It wasn’t just the happiness on Michael’s face at finally being able to fulfill his delusion. His smile was both knowing and secretive. And that’s when it dawned on me, that this wasn’t Michael’s first time testing these particular items.

“Oh fuck!”

“What is it, Sunshine?”

I look in concern at Brian, and then the rest of the occupants of the room before asking, “Just where the hell is Brian-lite?”