Chapter 3

"Daphne, I just have to get out of here, somehow. I swear that Michael is stalking me! He's showing up just a little too frequently at places I don't think I should be seeing him."

"I know, Jus. It kind of freaked me out when we came out of that little restaurant the other day, and he was leaning against the building."

"Yeah, and that was in our neighborhood."

"True. It has to be at least a half-hour ride by bus to come over here from Liberty Avenue. I wonder what he wants?"

"He's probably trying to warn me that he means it when he said he wanted me to stay away from Brian. It's been close to three weeks now since we visited Babylon, and I'm sure we've seen him five times."

"Seven."

"What?"

"You said five. It's been seven."

"How do you know that?"

"Duh! You underestimate the power of a pissed-off woman. You know that little device called a cell phone? It takes pictures. And I just happened to have my options turned on, so it's stamped with location, time, and date."

"You're a good friend; the best, Daph. I don't know what I would have done without you these past few weeks. But what good are all these pictures going to do us?"

Daphne lets out a heavy sigh as she peers over at me. "Remind me to never get pregnant. It's apparently impairing your brain cells. Justin, you're one of the smartest guys I know! Think about it! What would be a good reason to have this information?"

Justin can't help smiling at his friend's sleuthing. "Ahh, okay, Nancy Drew. Who do you suggest we send the pictures to?"

Daphne's eyes twinkled as she grins. "That's my Jus!"

~ ¤ ~

Liberty Diner

I have to smile affectionately as my mother licks the end of her pencil before holding it over her order pad. How many times in my life have I seen her do that? "Morning, boys! Besides Mr. Wonderful here, what will the rest of you have?"

I huff back at her in irritation. "Ma, lay off Brian."

"Why?" She counters, her hands on her hips. "He kicked Sunshine out! Do you even know where he is? How he's living? Where he's living?"

I snort. "He's back over in rich LaLa Land."

Brian's eyes narrow. "How do you know that, Mikey?"

"Uh, well, of course, he is, Brian," I stammer. "Where else would he be?"

"But you said, "He's back in LaLa Land. You didn't say that's where he probably is. You said it like you know that for a fact."

I briefly avoid his eyes, focusing on our other friends in the booth; I can feel the heat on my face. "Brian, it was just a slip of the tongue. I mean, come on, guys! Isn't that where you think he is?" Silence reigns then, making me squirm, until at last Emmett speaks up.

"Deb, I'll just take water this morning," Emmett says as he places the menu down and folds his hands on top of the table.

"Come on, Em. You need to eat some of your protein off a plate."

I laugh when Em explains, "I read that for every thirty pounds you lose, you gain an entire inch of cock."

"Mmm... You lose thirty pounds, and you'll be too weak to get it up!" Debbie exclaims with a snap of her gum.

"Coffee, Deb?" Brian reminds her with a roll of his eyes, flicking his long index finger at the napkin in front of him.

"Me, too!" Emmett chirps. "Uh... and some bacon and scrambled eggs." Debbie grins with satisfaction.

"It's Friday; who's all up for Babylon, tonight?" I ask, thinking about how much fun it will be to dance with Brian without a certain stalker hanging around.

"Not me. I'm passing tonight."

My face contorts with dismay. "Briiaannn, you said that..."

"Stop, Michael! Don't even go there! Keep your mouth shut. I've already warned you twice. Open it again, and you aren't going to like the consequences." Brian abruptly slides out of the booth and stands up, announcing, "I'm leaving, cancel the coffee."

And with that, he turns and leaves without another word. I swear, I thought once we got rid of that blond boy ass, things would go back to normal. But this past week he won't even come out with us, he's touchy, and he's even been snapping at me. He acts like he misses that fucking little twink! If I could just get that little shit alone instead of him always having his little fag hag with him...

"Ted, Em, what do you think is wrong with Brian lately?"

"Seriously, Michael?" Ted asks. "Justin has been gone for almost a month now! Nobody has heard from him. Jennifer won't take Debbie's calls. I'm sure Brian is regretting being so harsh with him."

I scoff. "Brian doesn't do regrets."

Emmett shook his head at me. "Aren't you even a little bit worried about him?" Before I can even respond with a retort to that, Em, too, slides out of the booth and stands to face Ted and me. "You know what, Teddy? I don't feel like coffee, either this morning. You stay if you want. I'm leaving."

"Hold up. I'm coming with you, Em. Goodbye, Michael." I sit here, alone, with my mouth open in shock. What the hell's wrong with everyone?

 ~ ¤ ~

Big Q

Bob Barbarosa's Office

"Come in!"

"Bob, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, Andrew. What can I do for you?"

"There are two police detectives here to see you."

The other man sighs. "Shoplifters again? You can handle it. I've got a shitload of paperwork to do here."

Andrew shakes his head. "No, they say it's a personal matter."

Barbarosa frowns, thinking about how they've never had to summon the police here, unless it was related to theft. "Okay; send them in." He watches as Andrew opens the door wider to allow two men to enter as he stands up to greet them. "What can I do for you gentlemen?" He shakes one of the policemen's hands as he motions for them to have a seat in front of his desk while he resumes sitting.

"Mr. Barbarosa, my name is Detective Horvath, and this is Detective Stewart. Do you have a Michael Novotny working for you?"

Barbarosa exchanges a look with Andrew, who has chosen to remain in the room; he's standing off to the side, silently observing. "Mike? Why, yes. But may I ask why the police are looking for him?" Novotny was one of the most innocuous - if not bland - employees he managed. He's the last person he would expect the police to be asking him about.

"First, can you tell us if he is a full-time employee? The information we received indicates that he normally works the day shift."

"Yes, Mike works 9-6, Monday through Friday. Again, may I ask why all these questions?"

"We received some photographs in the mail, and it was suggested we come and speak to you regarding them. The pictures show what appears to be your employee tailing a couple of people during business hours. Can you verify if he was at work during the time in question?"

"Bob, may I interject here?"

"Yes, Andrew?"

"If you recall, I informed you on three different occasions when we couldn't locate Mr. Novotny. When he was questioned, he claimed one time that he had to go home and change after he spilled something on his clothes. Another time he said his mother called with an emergency regarding his Uncle Vic, and the other time, he said he'd been busy in the storage room. And the two times when he admitted being out of the store, he didn't clock out, supposedly because he had been in such a hurry that he forgot." Andrew hides the smile that threatens to escape his lips; he detests that sniffling weasel.

"Thank you, Andrew. Detectives, how can you be so sure that these photos were taken during business hours? I'd like to see them to verify it really IS my employee."

"Here's the seven we received. It's definitely the same man in each photo. This is your employee, Michael Novotny, correct?"

"Yes, yes it is. Again, though, how can you be so sure of the time?"

"Mr. Barbarosa, we've checked the Metadata of each photo and found that most of them were taken in the middle of the afternoon, except for one taken early in the morning. By using Metadata, we have pinpointed the date, time, and location of each photo."

Barbarosa nods, rendered momentarily speechless and angry that someone he's trusted has apparently betrayed that trust. He curtly tells his employee, "Andrew, please go tell Mr. Novotny to come to my office immediately."

Andrew nods. "Sure thing, Bob," he replies politely; as he turns his back on them, smiling smugly. Someone's ass is in big trouble...

"We're sorry you have to take time away from your responsibilities, Mr. Barbarosa. But this is the only contact information we have regarding Mr. Novotny's whereabouts."

"That's quite alright. No problem. I want to get to the bottom of this as much as YOU do."

"Bob?" Barbarosa peers up from his desk, looking over at the door.

"Yes, Andrew? Where's Mike?"

Andrew sighs as he shakes his head. "There's a problem, Bob. It seems Mike has not shown up for work yet today."

"Damn."

~ ¤ ~

St. James Academy

"Hey, kid. I need to speak with Justin Taylor. Can you get him for me?"

"Why should I help you?" The unidentified student smirks at him. "What? Are you one of his fuck buddies? Do you take it up the ass, or does he?"

Michael glares at him; he doesn't have time for this bullshit. A new tactic is needed. He chooses to ignore the kid's smartass questions as he replies, "Listen," he tells the burly-looking student. He reaches inside his pocket to retrieve the bundle there. "Here's a hundred bucks if you do what I say... fifty now, fifty once I see you've followed through on my instructions. Go tell him that Brian is waiting for him over by that big oak tree." He points toward a large, sprawling oak located approximately fifty yards away. "Well? Do we have a deal?" he asks the kid, peeling off five tens and holding it out to the guy.

The student grins a crooked smile; with THAT kind of money, he didn't care WHAT the queer did as long as he wasn't there to witness it. "Why the hell not? Give me the cash; I'll give him the information."

~ ¤ ~

A Few Minutes Later...

"Brian, are you out here?" Justin asks, his heart racing in anticipation.

"Boy Wonder." Michael steps out from his position behind the large trunk of the tree. "Just who I wanted to see."

Justin glares over at him in irritation, now aware that he's been tricked. "Michael. What the fuck are you doing here? What do you want?"

Michael smiles grimly. "I'm going to do you a favor and give you a warning. Disappear. Leave Pittsburgh. I don't care where the hell you go, but I want you gone. If not, I know a couple of bears that would love to have a piece of that fat ass of yours. And don't even think about telling anyone about this conversation, or your little Miss Fag Hag will be the recipient instead, and when she least expects it."

TBC