SNOWSHINE

Chapter 13

7:00 PM

       All over Pittsburgh, thousands of people hunched over thousands of laptops, IPads or other computer devices. They watched breathlessly, as the final seconds counted down...03...02...01... and then the entire countdown flashed three times all zeroes. The countdown disappeared.

       A dark video screen had been waiting on the center of the screen. Underneath it was a good sized chat box with a type in box underneath that.

       At the stroke of seven, the dark screen burst to life. It was indeed live, webshow style. Snowshine was there, in a smart, black suit. He was sitting in a comfortable but unostentatious chair.  In front of a glass coffee table in what could have been a living room setting except for the fact that behind him on the wall was a large rainbow Flag on the left and an American Flag on the right.

       "Hello Folks! I hope you are all doing as well as I am!" Snowshine greeted in his joyful way. His blue eyes crackled with blue electricity.

 I'm doing this webcast because I want to know you better and I want you to know me! After all, the only thing you've seen of me is a recording and some posters and I can hardly expect you to vote for a recording! So let's get started!"

       As you can see at the bottom of your screen there is a chat screen. If you type in a question, it will show up here. If you see your question typed in, please don't repeat it.  We'll try to get to all of them but remember we only have an hour. But we'll do our best and continue on the next day. We also have a skype ID where you can call in that will be communicated now. There was a ‘bling!' sound and an ID appeared in the chat window. "I'm very sorry but I still cannot tell you who I am or where I am, for my own safety. I can only call myself Snowshine. Others may remember me as Officer White or Officer Snow. Many of my co-workers would call me Snow White. It is to these officers that I speak to now: Even if you still hate me, please look at me as the lesser of two evils and do not identify me, instead feel free to call in and call me by the name you meant as scorn. Otherwise, please be advised we are on a 5 second time delay and you can be bleeped out. Thank you."

       "Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!" Stockwell ground his teeth in frustration from the big room in the police station where he and dozens of other officers were watching. That wily snow rabbit had thought of everything and outsmarted him on every turn here.

        "So...without going into too much detail...who am I and why would I make a good mayor? As I said, I'm a former police officer who specialized in drug busting. I made many arrests. I was head of operations for many of them and know what it is to be in charge. Granted being in charge of a special ops team is different than being in charge of an entire city but I believe I am up for the challenge. And I will not be alone."

       Snowshine gestured behind him. "These flags may seem fairly straight forward to you but they mean something deeper to me. When I first came to...my refuge, these were the first things that I saw. And being gay myself, I took a chance and found the best friends a Joe could ask for. Also, Proposition 14 still looms. I trust many of you have read the entire contents of Prop 14 on the site and know it spells certain doom for our orientation. If you haven't, I urge you again, read it as soon as possible and send it on to as many friends as possible. This is the second reason, I have decided to make the Rainbow Flag my backdrop. As for the American Flag, well that's very simple. I love my country and most of all what it stands for, the main two things being, freedom and democracy. Please allow this race to be a democracy and vote for me for a free city instead of the dictatorship and police state that Jim Stockwell has planned as outlined in this terrible bill, the Proposition 14."

       "Well, I've yammered on long enough. Let's open up the floor, so to speak. Please message in with your questions now."

       Stockwell was so mad he could have chewed through nails like popcorn. How had that little bugger gotten ahold of a copy of his beloved Proposition 14? And how dare he put in down like that? It wasn't fascist, it just made a chaotic world seem more orderly. And there was nothing Jim Stockwell despised more that chaos and nothing he loved more than order.

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       "Hi Ben. How are you doing?"

       "Oh, hello Sir. I was just doing some paperwork. I was just finishing up for the night."

       "Oh OK. Don't let me stop you."

       Ben nodded absently. He bent back over his work and signed a few things, dotted a few i's and crossed a few t's. Michael just stood there looking off at nothing and rocking forward and back onto his toes and heels.

       Ben looked up nervously. "Uh, Sir? Was there something else?"

       "Uh....I was just wondering...I mean if you don't have anything else to do...When you're done..."

       Ben looked up at him impatiently.

       "I mean...Would you want to go have a beer with me?"

       Ben was startled. "Sir, are you asking me out?"

       Michael sat down in a chair next to Ben's desk. "I wish you'd stop calling me that, Ben. My name's Michael. Or Mike if you want. And yes. I guess I am...asking you out."

       Ben blushed. It was adorable.

       "I'm sorry, I'm not used to such attention. I've been such a homebody for such a long time, I've forgotten what it's like to get out. I didn't know you were interested, Sir Mike."

       Michael chuckled. "Oh my, Sir Mike! Now you make me sound like a chivalrous knight in a fairy tale land. I hardly deserve such a title."

       Ben chuckled as well. "I guess it did sound strange....sorry...Mike. How long have you been interested?"

       "Since the first time I laid eyes on you in the diner. I've been gathering up courage to ask you out ever since.'

       "Well, I don't know how I feel about you. I was trying to keep it on a professional basis. You are the boss, after all. But OK. I'll go out with you. How ‘bout dinner instead? I'm not much of a drinker. And I'm a vegetarian."

       "That sounds great!" exclaimed Michael happily.

       Ben watched Michael's face light up and something in his gut twisted. "Wait!" he said, "Oh, si...Mike...maybe this isn't such a good idea! There's something you don't know about me."

       "What is it?" asked Mikey in concern.

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       Bling! The first question popped up.

       You mentioned equal taxes and salaries for everyone. How will this be possible?

       Justin read the question for everyone and then answered it. "Taxes will remain largely the same as they are now, if I'm elected. There will still be existing sales taxes. However taxes will not be levied against or raised against any specific gender, race...or sexual orientation. I also want to put forth a bill to make it a requirement to pay women the same salary as men who are in the same job. The fact that women police officers for example...or fire fighters...or coffee barristas...or whatever are getting paid a slightly lower salary for doing the same job as men must and will end...at least in Pittsburgh. I believe this will make for happier workers and a better output of work and prosper our city over time."

       Bling! Bling! Bling! Questions started popping up, thick and fast, some of them repeats and Blake and a few other volunteers started to field them and pipe in the most relevant ones. Justin fielded each one adeptly.

       Alas, all good things must come to an end. All too soon, about a half hour into the program, there was a Skype notification and after checking that it was OK, Justin pulled it up and opened the call.

       "Well, if it isn't Officer Snow White!!" an ugly voice rasped and an even uglier face appeared on the roll down screen that Justin had set up for callers with a cam.

       Justin whirled and faced the screen and his foe. "Stockwell! I was expecting you to call! How did you get through?"

       Stockwell adopted this cheesy, frail, old lady voice. "I told them I was sweet old Ellie Mae concerned about the potholes on main street and rising taxes for seniors. HA!!" he switched back to his regular voice which was now ugly with hate. "And now I've got you! Officers are even now homing in on your location and you and everyone helping you will be arrested!"

       Justin yawned noisily with unconcern. "Oh please! My team is bouncing this signal over 12 servers all over the world. I figure we have 3 minutes to have our little chat before I need to cut you off. And anyone who works for me would gladly pay the price for helping me. They understand the good work I am trying to do and are loyal to me and I to them. I trust them completely. Can you say the same thing about your men, Stockwell?"

       Stockwell's face blackened with rage. "Damn you, Snow! You shouldn't even be allowed to run for mayor! You're a filthy law breaker! You're nothing but a drug possessor and runner!"

       "Nevertheless, I AM running! AND moving up in the polls, thanks to exposing the truths about Proposition 14! And you and I know YOU planted those drugs in my locker and tried to frame me. I did nothing but help you, your department, and this city and still you tried to destroy me because of your jealousy. Ethan managed to confess everything to me before, I suspect, YOU blew up the car to murder him!"

       "Oh I did, did I? Why don't...you...prove it?" Stockwell snarled venomously.

       "Unfortunately, I can't. But cars don't flip over and explode on their own, Chief!" snarled Justin right back, ‘And who else would do it? And at that exact moment?"

       "I have no idea," Stockwell smirked in this disgusting, mealy-mouthed tone.

       "Liar. And fool." Justin declared in his steely but gentle way. "The voice of the people of America and of Pittsburgh will always choose what is fair and good and against fascism every time. And they will choose such again, this time. You will fail. Over and out."

       Stockwell's face was now a lovely cherry shade of red. His face was so contorted with rage it looked like he could have reached through the computer screen to grab Justin by his fair and slender neck and squeeze till there was nothing left.

       "DAMN YOU, SN-..." he yelled before he was cut off.

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       A short while after the webcast started, a pair of soft soled shoes stalked silently up a corridor. Hands encased in tight fitting black leather gloves pulled a key out of a pocket. Eyes glanced around furtively. There was no one about. The coast was clear.

        The key went into a lock. As quick as thought, the gloved man was through the door, the door was shut and locked from the inside and the corridor was empty again, as empty as if the man had never been.

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       "Mike...there's no easy way to tell you this...the thing is...I guess the only way to say it is the direct approach..."

       "You have a partner," Mike finished for him in a dead voice.

       "NO! I'm available! Very much so! It's just...well the thing is..." Ben took a deep breath. "Mike, I have AIDS."

       "Oh." Was all that Michael said.

       There was a short silence. Then Ben started in on his speech, which was memorized by heart and spoken so often that when it came out now, it was as if he were reading it.

       "It's undetectable right now. I don't have the exact number on me right now but my T-cell count is quite high." Unable to face the dead expression in Mikey's eyes or what he knew what was yet to come, Ben looked down at his desk.

       "It happened about ten years ago. Broken condom. The guy didn't give me the courtesy that I'm giving you now so I never knew until symptoms started showing up. But I keep in shape, take my meds, watch my diet. That's why I'm a vegetarian. But we'd always have to be careful. There'd always be a chance...a chance that you'd...well, you know. So...yeah, that it. So...any comments? Questions? Anything?"

       There was a short silence.

       "Mike? Did you have anything you want to ask about? Mike? Did you still..."

       Ben looked up and he shut up. His face twisted in pain. What he had feared and expected to happen and yet with Michael, especially hoped would not happen, had happened.

       Michael was gone.

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       Justin took a deep breath and tried to center himself after that unpleasant episode. When he turned back to the audience his Snowshine smile was back in full force.

       "Well!! Wasn't that an unpleasant blast from the past! Alllll-righty then....moving on! I see we have another question from....Chris Hobbs who asks...well this is more like a comment/question...but he writes: I've been keeping up with your website and I've been listening to what you're saying but I'm still not sure if I'm cool with having a gay mayor. I'm a straight family man. In high school, I remember there was this skinny gay kid I was very mean to and I guess you guys would have called me....a homophobe. Fortunately, nothing happened but it could have, I was so angry. Nowadays, I've mellowed out a little and as I said I have a family and a job in my family business. If you become mayor, are you going to paint all the streetlights pink and make laws that will benefit gays and hurt my business, and humiliate me and other straight people? You talk about homophobes. But are you heterophobic? And if you are, how is this going to affect me, my business and other straights?"'

       "Wow!" Justin exclaimed, and walked slowly over to his chair and sat down. He teepee'ed his fingers and closed his eyes for a moment and sat there deep in thought for a few moments. Then he looked up and directly into the camera.

       "Believe it or not, I'm glad for this question and for the opportunity to answer it. And the answer is a definite and unequivocal no! The streetlights will remain the neutral color they are and there will be no retribution or humiliation for straights by me. Heterophobia will be discouraged just as much as homophobia. We all need to try and live together, in peace and although we may never agree on certain points, it is my hope and dream that there be no more segregation or hostility between our two orientations. Haven't we seen how segregation between two races was doomed to finally fail? Isn't it about time we tear down a few more walls? Oh, and Chris..." Here Justin looked straight at the camera. "I remember high school too. And I remember you. You see, I was that skinny gay kid. And I'm so glad you called in. I'm so sorry that I caused you distress and I forgive you for any bad thoughts or intentions you may have had toward me. We can only be thankful that nothing serious happened."

       There was a pause and then...Bling! "My wife is delirious for joy and so am I. Thank you...Snowshine for your forgiveness and apology. You have my vote. Thank you."

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       The man pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. He moved the light around the room, illuminating the desk, the filing cabinet, the pictures on the walls. He smiled a small cruel smile. He knew exactly where to begin.

       Then he sprang into action. He moved over to the right picture and swung it open as he knew it would on well oiled hinges. He keyed in the digits that had been supplied to him and the door unlocked with a happy beep.

       Inside, were files, money, some jewels, a special trophy. The man cared nothing for these, and placed everything on the desk. He reached and removed a last file that was standing up against the back of the safe innocuously. Behind it was another door, this one with a camera lens and no handle. There was a green pad on the right that lit up. It bathed the man's face in a garish green glow as he smiled toothily, ferally. At the same time a red light over the camera lens lit up.

       "Welcome Mayor Stockwell. Please provide your thumbprint for DNA evidence on the pad. Thank you." said a pleasant female robot voice.

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       Ben packed up, still kicking himself for opening his stupid trap too soon. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything at all. No...That would be really wrong. But maybe he could have waited until...

       Oh, what was the point? Then Michael would have ditched him in public in a further and more crushing humiliation.

       He got up and closed his briefcase and slowly and sadly put on his coat, his shoulders stooping a little in depression. He felt like a sad old man, which he supposed he was. He was just...

       "Ready to go, big guy?" a voice said at his shoulder and just behind him.

       Ben whirled. "Michael! What are you doing there!? I thought....I thought..."

       Michael's grass green eyes twinkled in amusement and then clouded over as he saw Ben's alarm. "You thought what, Ben?' he asked quietly.

       "I - I thought - I thought you left," admitted Ben.

       "Left? Why would I leave?"

       "Michael, I just told you I was HIV positive/with AIDS. Before I'd finished you had vanished. Besides....it's happened before...many times."

       "Oh Ben! I'm - I'm so sorry! I didn't think! I just heard you tell me you had AIDS and I wanted to get something real quick, I didn't know you weren't finished. I just wanted to give you this."

       He took a thornless red rose out from behind his back. In his other hand was a photograph.

       "What's all this!?" cried Ben.

       "Well....the rose is for you. A company who wants to advertise on the site is wooing me and sent me a dozen. But I figure I can do with 11." He held it up and Ben took it and smelled it and put it in his button hole. Suddenly he was smiling and he couldn't stop smiling.

       Michael showed him the photo. "This was my Uncle Vic. He had AIDS too. He died a few years ago, peacefully, thank goodness. He was almost undetectable by then too but it took a long time to get him there. My point is, I know what it is to live around and with someone with AIDS. It's going to take a lot more than that to deter me."

       "You weren't having a relationship with your Uncle though," reminded Ben, "It's going to be a lot different in our case."

       "No, that's true," conceded Michael, "We'll have to be extra careful but it's going to take a lot more than that to scare me off."

       Ben grabbed him by the forearms. He pulled him forwards and then shook him a little.

       "You stupid little man! Don't you get it? Don't you understand? This is your LIFE! We'll have to use separate razors, separate knives, separate....almost everything. If we have sex, (and don't deny that that's not going through your mind as we speak) we'll always have to use condoms. You'd never be able to have bareback sex again, as long as you were with me. And I'm a jealous, jealous man Mike. I don't do one timers. If you are with me, it could be for a very long time. Are you scared now!?" He stared down into Mike's wide, green eyes, intensely, hypnotising him.

       "A little."

       "Just a little? And what if I told you that even with the condoms, you could still catch AIDS? If you had waited instead of trotting off you would have heard me say that I got it from a broken condom. Scared now!?"

       "Like I said, a little. But I've played it safe for my whole life and look at where it's gotten me. Alone, sitting at home...with my mother! And more than that, I'm scared to death of never feeling the way I'm feeling right now! Because this macho bullshit is turning me the fuck on. Are we allowed to kiss?"

       "Yes."

       "Then do it then!! Kiss me now and kiss me hard!"
       "You stupid...you stupid sh..." But Ben got no more out because his lips had smashed down onto Michael's almost against his will, as inevitable as the way a wave crashes down against the shore. The kiss was incredible. To Mike it was like a supernova, the Fourth of July fireworks, and the best Christmas present ever. For Ben, the emotions and sensations that coursed through him were so intense it was as if he were being smashed in the head with a gold brick that had been wrapped up in a silk cloth with a twist of lemon.

       Many, many minutes later, they pulled back and looked at each other with heavy lidded eyes. They had their arms around each other's waist and neither ever wanted to let go.

       "Wha - What the hell was that?" gasped Ben, "Where have you been all my life?"

       "I've been here. I've been right here...waiting for you," answered Michael.

       And then they smashed together again for long minutes and there was no more talking. Their tongues were otherwise engaged, and besides, there are times when talking is overrated.

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       After the Chris Hobbs call, Justin became more and more animated, his smile even brighter and his eyes like two stars. Everyone out there in computerland could feel his palpable joy and fed off of it, becoming joyful themselves.

       Justin took a few more questions and then a skype request buzzed through.

       "Uh oh, folks! Let's hope it's not another call from "Ellie Mae" again!" He laughed delightedly and confidently as if he could hear the crowd of watchers laughing along with him, as indeed they were.

       ""Well, who is it? Oh my! It's a real one this time! Oh I know who this is! Oh folks, it s a very dear friend. I'm going to be so glad to introduce you to him!" Justin shouted for joy as he waited impatiently for the person to show up on screen. At last a familiar face popped up on screen and Justin shouted the name in a rapture of happiness.

       "Luigi!"

       "Officer White! Officer White! Can you hear Luigi yet!?"

       "Yes! Yes Luigi! I can hear you! I can hear and see you too! But how did you manage this!? I didn't know you knew anything about computers!"

       "Guido help me," Luigi answered, "Guido still pretty stupido, but..."

       "Hey!" yelled a voice in the background.

       "But Guido, he knows about the computer machine. He hook me up. Now Luigi get to see and hear old friend again!"

       "Yes Luigi! Oh, I can't tell you how much I've missed you!"

       "Hmmph!! You miss Luigi so much, why you no visit old friend no more?"

       "Oh Luigi, I want to! And if I'm elected, I'll come by your place a lot more. Would you like that? Will you vote for me!?"

       "Si, si, I vote! I vote! But what Luigi really want to ask is why Chief Stockwell say such terrible things about Officer White. Luigi remembers you arrest molti stupidos, molti animali nocivi! (many vermin) Why he say you drug runner when Luigi know this to be not true!?"

       "Oh Luigi! Stockwell is hoping  to discred- to make me look bad so people will be confused or angry with me so they will not vote for me and he can become mayor. But like I said before, my partner Ethan confessed everything before he was killed. Stockwell planted those drugs in my locker to frame me. Even then, he was jealous of me and hated that I have...have amici speciali," he explained.

       "Ohhhhhhhhh!!" Luigi said, understanding.

       "But I have no proof. So I have to hide for a while longer, ok Luigi?" Justin asked.

       "You no worry! Luigi always have a table ready for Officer White! You no worry! And everybody else...You no listen to Stockwell! Officer White is good, good man! He arrest lots of stupidos! He in danger many times! He get promoted! He make good mayor! You vote White! Oh and don't worry, I make sure Guido vote too!"

       "Hey!" yelled a voice offscreen.

       Luigi was enraged. "You stupido! You vote! You vote for White or you get outta my place! You'll vote or I'll..."  Snatching up a meat cleaver, Luigi swung it indiscriminately and ran off camera . The rest of his death threat was screamed in furious Italian and grew fainter and fainter.

       "Luigi! Luigi! Are you there!?" When there was no response, Justin broke the connection.

       "Ahh well! Just as well, as we're almost out of time anyway. Luigi is an old friend and I often ate at his restaurant, Luigi's Palace. He's a great chef, even if he is a little temperamental. And I'm a lucky man to have his recommendation. Well Folks, it looks like we're out of time for now. Tune in tomorrow for another question period. Many of you will be relieved to hear there will be no more snowstorms of flyers. Good bye for now everybody! See you tomorrow!

       The camera fuzzed and went dark and people could see the webcast was over. Above the dark screen a new countdown appeared and started counting down: 23:00:00.

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       The man in Stockwell's office moved quickly. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass slide, the kind they use for microscopes and peeled off a piece of tape from it. The piece of tape held a fingerprint lifted from a shot glass the day before using hot chocolate powder mix.

       The man smiled cruelly as he thought back to when he had toasted to the downfall of Snowshine and then, the instant Stockwell's back was turned, had used a handkerchief to quickly pocket the shot glass. The arrogant fool hadn't even noticed that the glass was missing, as if he had simply assumed it would clean itself up.

       The man carefully stuck the piece of tape onto the green, glowing pad and the computer just as carefully and dutifully scanned it.

       "Identity confirmed. Welcome, Mayor Stockwell," said the clueless robot prematurely.

       There was a hiss of a vacuum seal opened and the inner door cracked open. The man reached in opened it all the way.

       Inside, was a photo album and a CD in a plastic case. The man thumbed through the photo album and nodded in satisfaction. He pocked both items and shut the inner door which re-locked.

       He was just replacing the items that had been in the outer safe when a noise attracted his attention.

       Someone was at the door to the office. The knob jiggled.

       The man moved like lightning. He replaced the rest of the items in two moves and slammed the door shut and then the picture closed.

       Outside, Stockwell cursed as he found his office door locked. He didn't remember locking it. He fumbled around his pockets looking for it.

       The man cursed inwardly. "Dammit Snowshine, I was supposed to have the whole hour! What the hell went wrong! And what am I going to do now!!?" he thought.

       Outside, Stockwell had found his key. The key slid into the lock.

       Brian stood there, frozen, a lump of ice. If he didn't do something, anything and NOW!...he would be caught!

       The lock clicked open. The knob turned. Slowly, the door began to open...

TBC