PART XII~EXACTING A POUND OF FLESH~

After Brian checked on a few key accounts, and introduced Justin to Murph and the Art Department, he took Justin by the hand and led him out of Kinnetik. Harry opted to stay behind and get a firsthand look at how things were run in legal. Although he had a hand in creating the initial contracts for Kinnetik when it first started, alongside Melanie, it had been years since he had been involved. He was curious to see on paper, how the company had grown from domestic to now a global force to be reckoned with. That was fine with Brian and Justin, as it had already been a trying day and it wasn’t even halfway over. He could tell that Justin was still a bit shaken up from the episode with Brandon and decided that some comfort food was in order. Since most of the eateries around Kinnetik were so close, Brian decided that the best thing for them to do was walk.

“Feel like going to the Diner, Sunshine?”

“Not really, but I guess now is as good a time as any.”

“Well tell me how you really feel, Justin…”

“I apologize, Brian. It’s not you. It’s just… well, I don’t think I can handle all the questions and sly speculations right now. I might take someone’s head off just for daring to imply...”

“Imply what?”

Justin took a deep breath before answering. “That the only reason I’m with you, is for what I can get out of you. Whereas, yes, we have a contract between us right now, it still has nothing to do with the fact that I am enjoying your company.”

“So this is about…”

“Your reputation, Brian. Yes, I know that you are known as the Stud of Liberty Avenue. If Michael didn’t confirm it for me that you were that Brian Kinney, I may never have put two and two together.”

“So, it’s going to bother you to be seen in public with me?” Brian asks, getting a little upset. But whether it was at Michael’s litany or at Justin’s thoughts about it, he wasn’t sure.

“Not at all. You’re an amazing person, Brian. I feel privileged that I’m one of the few getting to know you outside of your supposed infamy. But it won’t stop people from saying shit they shouldn’t, and today is the day that I’m more apt to punch someone in the mouth if they come out of it wrong.”

Suddenly, Brian knew exactly who he was speaking about. “Don’t worry, Justin. I don’t think Michael or Lindsay are there. But even if they are, I promise not to let you spend even a half hour within a jail cell for decking them. Hell, I might even do it for you with the way I’m feeling right now. Either way though, I don’t think Debbie will let them speak a word against you.”

“But what about you? For some unexplained reason, I feel quite protective of you.”

“The feeling seems to be mutual, Justin.” Both men grew quiet at Brian’s revelation. There wasn’t a doubt in Justin’s mind that Brian was telling the truth. After all, look what’s he’s done with Craig and Marlene, by standing up for and with Justin against them.

“The point is that you shouldn’t have to even be willing to stand there and get ragged on for being with me.”  

Brian looked over at his companion and what he saw there made his heart go out to the young man. In the few short days they’d known each other, it was just one drama after the next. Between Craig and Marlene, discovering Molly was married, someone trying to have Molly kidnapped, and then the fuckery of Michael and Lindsay, Brian couldn’t really blame Justin for feeling overwhelmed right now. Hell, Brian felt a little out of sorts himself, but if they were really going to do this, he knew they had to start as they meant to go on. And the largest part of that was going to the Diner for lunch.

Brian wanted to do something to ease the young man’s troubled mind, at least in this moment. So he swung Justin around to face him. Not hesitating for even a second, he swooped down and captured the plushest lips he’d ever kissed. At first, the action was met with resistance, but Brian could feel the exact moment that Justin gave in. Brian pressed his lips against Justin’s until the younger man had to gasp. Taking full advantage of Justin’s need to breathe, Brian slipped his tongue inside. A soft moan escaped Justin at the first teasing touch against his bottom lip. As one kiss melded into another, both men found it almost impossible to keep some semblance of control. The longer they connected in this way, the more the heat ratcheted up. They were just about to hit Supernova when a harsh throat-clearing next to where they were standing sounded.

“Justin, Sweetie, you might not want to start that particular climb out here,” Emmett said, laughter in his voice. “You might cause a riot. Between the fact that most men want to jump Brian’s bones, and the unhindered vision of your hind parts clad in that suit, you two are bound to start a fuckfest right here in front of the Diner.”

“What are you doing here, Honeycutt?” Brian asks, still a little dazed, and angry from having the kiss cut short.

“Preventing free porn, first and foremost. If you two are going to fuck in public, people should pay for the privilege of watching. But secondly, it’s to tell you that Deb said to get your asses into the building.”

“Well, Sunshine. I suppose we’d better get in there. It’s not like we can put this off any longer. Besides, you told Deb that we’ve been involved for a while, so…”

“Well if I may, I’ll say that the kiss I saw along with everyone else spoke of a long familiarity. I’ve always believed that passion is passion, whether cultivated over years or there from the onset. You and the Big Bad here, have it in spades.” Emmett grinned as he watched Brian and Justin during his little pep talk. The scorching looks passing between them would be hard to miss, even to a blind man. “Well come along, kiddies. Let’s satisfy a little curiosity, shall we?”

Emmett led Brian and Justin into the Diner, keeping up a steady stream of conversation, even as the patrons quieted down while being passed by the trio. Justin couldn’t help but notice some of the looks they got: shock, envy, confusion… those were just a few of the looks that graced the many faces of the onlookers. But when they got to Debbie, hers was one of intense scrutiny.

“So Brian, how did you meet Sunshine here?” she asks, hands on her ample hips. “And why am I only just hearing about this relationship now?”

As Brian got ready to retort with one of his usual remarks, he felt the small hand of his partner stay him. “Deb, Brian and I already told you that we met awhile ago, but if you must know, we met at home.”

“Home?”

“Yes. It turns out that I live in the last occupied loft remaining in the building on Tremont. As I have been away, Brian and I couldn’t settle matters ending with him owning the entire building.”

“But what does that have to do with how you met?”

“Well there are any number of ways that could have happened. There was the elevator, the laundry room, the lobby in the front of the building… all of which are ways that we could have met up. But the actual details of how we did are something we prefer to keep private, much as we have so far. Okay, Deb?”

“You heard him, Sis. Let Brian and his young man alone,” Vic says, chuckling at the put-upon expression on his nosy sibling’s face. “Anyway, I know that your name isn’t Sunshine, even if it does suit you. My name’s Vic and who might you be?”

Justin smiled and took the proffered hand. “My name is Justin Taylor, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, I detect WASP, Brian. Am I right?”

“Most certainly Vic, and he has already gone against the other one still in our lives for the moment. I’m happy to report his stinger is much bigger and better aimed though,” Brian said with a naughty wiggle to his eyebrows. He had to admit that he really liked to see Justin blush. On other men, he may have found the trait annoying, but on his blond, fair-skinned companion, it was plain adorable.

“Brian, please behave,” Justin pleaded, much to the amusement of the others.

“Nope. Not in my nature. Besides, I’m standing here wondering if you’re pink all over, instead of just the cheeks on your face.”

“Hey, the bathroom’s over there in case you’ve forgotten, Brian. Let me know what you find out,” Vic said, chuckling.

“Victor Grassi!” Deb reprimands, but he just shook his head.

“Old, not cold, Deb. A well-seasoned man can dream of young tenderloin if he so chooses.”

“Oh my god, I’m never going to look at tenderloin the same way again,” Emmett laments, but is laughing.

“There are worse things, trust me,” Vic snarks before sobering. “So have you two heard anything else about the latest round of the Lindsay Blues?”

“Mel is doing some checking, but there actually may be a third party involved here, too,” Brian tells them.

“My, my, she sure gets around, doesn’t she?” Debbie said, rolling her eyes. “So who is the third possible mystery man?”

Brian looked at Emmett and Justin, who in turn just shrugged. “Might as well tell her all of the theories, Brian. If anyone could badger the truth out of him, she can,” Emmett answered.

“What? What are you talking about? Badger the truth from whom?” Deb squawks. They could all tell that she’s been chomping at the bit for any information she could glean from this whole mess. They’ve deliberately kept her in the dark about most of the details so far, but now they had to let her in on some stuff in order to turn her loose on Michael.

“We need you to talk to Michael,” Justin stated calmly.

“What? Why? Brian, you’re his best friend. You talk to him.”

“No, Deb. That’s not a good idea for several reasons, but mainly because he’ll find a way to make this all about the fact that Brian and I are together and will withhold important information out of spite. We need to know when he decided to basically take up residence at the loft while Brian was on his business trip, and if, when he had arrived, had Maria been there already,” Justin tells her.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It will kind of give us an idea of when Lindsay was inside of the loft, if at all. If Michael was there, she wouldn’t have been there long. Also, if Maria had cleaned the loft before Michael came, it would explain…”

Vic gasped then. “Brian, you think he might have had someone over? Or that he may have used a condom all the other times except the day you arrived home?” At Brian and Justin’s nod, he continued his train of thought. “Well it would certainly explain a few things.”

“What? What things? Will you all stop talking in fucking riddles and get to the fucking point?!” Deb yelled, clearly out of patience.

“Debbie, remember the reason I told you that Brian and Michael barely speak anymore?” Emmett asks her. At her look of disgust, they all could tell she did, so he continued. “Well the theory is that if Maria had gone to the loft when she was supposed to, which was very early the morning Brian left for Chicago, than Lindsay wouldn’t have been able to pull a condom from the garbage bin since Brian actually went home early and alone from Babylon the night before. Mel found the paperwork that she had forgotten she’d signed just after Lindsay had given birth to Gus. Since Lindsay was suffering from Postpartum psychosis for a time, Melanie exercised her power of attorney in all of Lindsay’s medical care, which included having the extras of Brian’s samples on record destroyed when the clinic called to ask about it.”

“So that means even if she entered the loft and stole a condom out of any of the trash bins, it still wouldn’t have been mine,” Brian finishes, waiting for what he said to register with Debbie.

“You think… but… oh my god, he can’t even take care of the one he’s got!” Debbie yells. “I’m gonna fucking kill him!”

“No, you’re not. You’re going to remain calm and simply ask him if Maria had come to the loft before he tried to move in or afterwards. Then you are going to let me know and let Mel and I handle it.”

“But…”

“No buts, Ma. This has to be handled by Mel and I. The welfare of both Gus and Jenny depends on it.”

Debbie sighed deeply. “Okay, but I expect to be kept in the loop. No more of this sneaky shit the two of you have been doing for however long you have been doing it!”

“Okay, but only on the stuff pertaining to this. Everything else stays between me and Brian.”

“So that means you’re sticking around, Sunshine?”

Justin looked at Brian, liking the sparkle in the hazel eyes directed towards him. He knew that with Debbie’s acquiesce, they had just passed the ‘partners’ test. “Yeah. I think I’ve finally been given a good enough reason to put down some roots.” And with that, Justin stood on tiptoe, bringing his and Brian’s lips together in a heated exchange.

“That’s right, people,” Emmett gloated. “Now run and tell that!”   

~LS~

Ben sat in his office within the house he used to call a home in shock. He had received a phone call from Michael, basically ordering him to come down to the police station to bail him out after Brian had him arrested for trespassing. And Ben had been extremely close to doing it… until he received that fateful call from Melanie.

“Hi, Ben. Are you sitting down?” She asked by way of greeting. He had been gathering his things: car keys, jacket, wallet with his identification and atm card.

“Not exactly. I just got a call from Michael, from the police station. Something about Brian having him arrested.”

“Yeah, he and Lindsay decided to invite themselves to ‘wait’ at Kinnetik for Brian to return there. Cynthia called Brian to let him know of the disturbance.”

“Disturbance? Since when does Brian consider Michael and Lindsay a mere disturbance?”

She sighed heavily in his ear. “Look, Ben. There are factors about this whole situation that you don’t know. No doubt, Michael only told you what he wanted you to know, like he always does. He’s not innocent in any of this. Tell you what… Are you at home or the office at CMU and do you have access to a fax machine in either place?”

He was puzzled by the question but answered anyway. “I’m at the house and yeah, the fax machine is turned on. It’s on a separate line from the house phone.”

“Good, let me have the number and I’ll forward you some information that’s going to make matters all too clear for you real quick.”

He waited as the fax came through… all thirty-six pages of printed material that at first, he didn’t understand. “Mel, what the hell is all of this? I don’t have time to look through it! Michael is in jail.”

“I know, since I was with Brian when he got the call. And if you ask me, Michael and Lindsay should stay there!”  At the start of Ben’s protests, she cut him off. “Ben, look at the documents. They are financial records, which include copies of cancelled checks. Pay specific attention to the memo section of the checks.”

Ben did as she asked, growing confused, and then angrier by the second. Grabbing his calculator, Ben quickly tallied up the minuscule amounts of the child support checks. Over the course of eight years, Michael had only sent a total of three hundred dollars for the continual care of Jenny Rebecca. Yet, when tallying the amounts of the checks in Lindsay’s name, Michael had spent a total of fifteen thousand dollars over the last year alone. He gasped as he took a closer look at the checks for Lindsay.

“You mean to tell me that he used the money I was giving him for the store and for child support to pay for some fucking P.I. at Lindsay’s behest? To what purpose?!”

Melanie laughed bitterly, the sound chilling Ben from the inside. He had never heard such a sound come from the lawyer in all the years he’d known her. “To what purpose do you think, Ben? Ever since Brian bought the manor, Michael and Lindsay went into hyperdrive, trying to figure out where he was going, what he was doing and whom he was doing it with...”

“But he sold the house…”

“That’s what we all thought, Ben. But the P.I.’s report that arrived a few days ago confirmed that Brian still has the house. Although Michael and Lindsay don’t know that, since I kicked her out before it was delivered.”

“You kicked her out?”

“Yeah, Lindsay’s penchant for dick had her fucking Sam Auerbach in my bed while the children were playing downstairs. I had already overlooked her indiscretion, such as it was, with the curator of the museum where she worked part-time, before she was fired by the man’s wife.”

“Oh Mel, I’m sorry. I had no idea…”

“That Lindsay was and is a dick-hounding whore? Well she had us all fooled with that Mother Earth persona, but she now she’s pregnant and looking to be financially supported by…”

“Brian?! What is it about that guy? Fuck!”

“I used to think the same way you are right now, Ben. But I have to tell you that none of this is his fault. In fact, he’s involved with a young man who looks to be sticking around for awhile.”

Ben laughed. “If Brian is in a relationship, I just turned into the fucking Pope.”

“Nice to meet you, Your Excellency.”

“You’re serious?! Since when?!”

“I don’t know all the particulars, but suffice it to say, that it’s the real deal. I’m in the process of moving back to the Pitts as we speak and picking up in the law firm where I was before making the disastrous move to Canada. Although I hate to admit it, and will never admit it to him, Brian was right when he uttered his parting words to me.”

“What were they?”

“He told me ‘don’t fuck up’. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I do. He was telling me in his own way not to let Lindsay pin her shit on me, which she did the first time she cheated. She made it all about the things I wasn’t doing, although I was pregnant with Jenny at the time. Well, she had no excuse this time, especially since Sam couldn’t have known where we lived or gotten her new number if she hadn’t given him the information. Same with the curator. So I’m going to say the same thing to you, Ben. Don’t fuck up! Don’t let Michael somehow make you think that you owe him anything, except a swift and stiff kick in his ass! Michael and Lindsay deserve each other.”

Ben sat there and absorbed all Melanie had told him as he reached over to pull some papers he’d just received out of the bottom drawer. Looking them over, he was now glad they came, even if they were a surprise in the first place. “Mel, I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything. As long as it’s legal.”

“Michael has done me one of the best favors he could have ever done in his life. Six months ago, he applied to the Canadian government to have our marriage dissolved. I didn’t know about it when he’d done it, and it certainly was a shock to received the papers in the mail yesterday while he was missing in action. Can you draw up civil litigation papers for me to sue Michael for every dime of money he has used to fund his inch-high private eye endeavors, as well as the rent I paid on his store over the years. Really, since I know he won’t be able to afford any of it once I remove all of my money from the joint account, I want the one thing that means the most to him.”

“You can’t have Brian.”

Ben laughed. “Been there, done that, and rode the cock all night. So no, it’s not Brian I want again; although he was beyond an excellent fuck. No, what I want is the entire contents of Red Cape Comics. I already took care of everything he had stashed here that he thinks I still don’t know about. Hunter found them as we were cleaning out the attic and the garage. Do you know the fucker had a vault- an actual vault- installed inside the cellar?! Well, I already had Hunter list all of his secret stash on E-bay, and we’ve already made a pretty penny on the items I wasn’t supposed to know about. Since it’s only my name on the mortgage and he has never contributed to the financial management of the household, and since it was my money that bought those items that were here in the house, I basically issued myself a refund, with interest. Let’s see what happens with the rest.”

“Ben, he’s going to shit himself when he finds out what you did,” she warned him.

“That’s not all he’s going to do in a little while. I have to drop something off at the police station for him. Can you have those papers ready for me within the hour so I can pick them up on my way there?”

“Sure, I’ll have the paralegal at Harry’s firm file the petition electronically. Although it still has to receive an official court date, the good news is that it will issue a docket number automatically after the information is entered into the system. You’re sure you want to go through with this?”

“Mel, after Brian’s last trip to Chicago and another argument about Hunter, Brian arrived home to find Michael naked in his bed. I found the stained silk sheets and matching duvet buried in our closet with Michael’s scent on them. When I asked about them, Ted told me exactly what happened. This was before I received the papers for divorce in the mail. So yes, I’m completely sure that there is nothing left for Michael here. And since we were not legally wed in the States, nor did we file a domestic partnership agreement, I don’t owe Michael anything. We all know that he’s going to expect that he be taken care of and that I will be forced to support him. He’s about to find out just how wrong he is. But never doubt that I am taking care of him; it’s just not in the manner he bargained for!”

After he hung up the phone with Mel and got over his initial shock about the information he’d received via an in-depth conversation and a very informative fax, Ben walked upstairs, gathering every piece and parcel of what remained of Michael Novotny within the home he and Hunter shared. Stuffing clothes- both clean and dirty-, shoes and other personal effects, including the loud cymbal-clapping monkey and those worthless tin robots Michael valued so much, into garbage bags. He then loaded the trash bags into his car and drove to meet Melanie at Harry Donaldson’s law office. As promised, Mel greeted him with the latest docket to enter the Allegheny County Judicial system in hand. He thanked her, and it wasn’t long before he was hauling Michael’s personal effects into the precinct. He had asked to see Michael and was granted access into one of the interrogation rooms for his audience.

As he waited, he thought of all the times he had tried to be a good husband to Michael; all the times he had covered for the idiot brunet’s fuckups. He had a feeling that Melanie had been doing the same type of soul-searching he did, and found the roles they were mandated to play by Michael and Lindsay something akin to spousal abuse. The door opened and Michael came through, still shackled. As he was being cuffed to the chair sitting opposite Ben, Michael scowled at him and the officer who refused to leave the room.

“Well? When am I getting out of here?” Michael demanded to know.

Ben swallowed hard at the tone, forcing himself to remain calm when all he really wanted to do was something that would get him into a jail cell of his own. He couldn’t believe how willfully dumb and blind he had been to all Michael said and tried to do. Clearing his throat, he answered, “You’re not.”

“What the fuck do you mean ‘you’re not?’ Ben, I thought I told you…”

“That’s the thing, Michael. You told me; you didn’t ask. And frankly, I got sick of hearing that entitled tone coming from your mouth when you have absolutely nothing.”

“What do you mean by that? You’re my husband! It’s your duty to take care of me in my times of need. And I need to get the fuck out of here!”

Ben laughed harshly. “Husband? Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes of course I’m sure. I did you the honor of marrying you, remember?”

Ben barely contained his snicker at the self-righteous tone before replying. “Interesting choice of words, since I feel the opposite. I feel like you did me the honor of divorcing me. The dissolution packet arrived yesterday from Canada, and not a moment too soon if you ask me.” He took great satisfaction in seeing Michael’s eyes widen at his pronouncement.

“Ben, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was just mad…”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s always ‘I’ with you, isn’t it Michael? Well now it’s about me and Hunter, and we don’t want you! When you’re finally released from here, if you’re released at all, you’ll need to find someplace else to stay. Your things are already waiting for you here at the precinct. Oh, and you’ll need these papers as well.” Ben looked to the officer, who came over for them. He handed over the papers so that the officer could peruse them before turning them over to Michael.

“What the hell are these?” Michael frowned as he scanned the documents. “Civil litigation papers? What? Wait… you’re suing me?!”

“Sure am,” Ben retorted calmly. “You see, I have a big problem spending eighteen grand without a plausible explanation. Sure, three-hundred of that figure only went to Jenny, but the rest of it went to Lindsay, to hire a private investigator to keep tabs on Brian.”

“How…”

“How do I know? How did I find out?” Ben laughed. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, but if you look closely at the name of the attorney who is representing me, I’m sure you’ll have your answer.”

Michael did as Ben told him, turning an unholy shade of white from fear, then red from embarrassment, and finally purple with rage. “Melanie?! You’re doing this because of some trumped up shit she made up because Lindsay left her?!”

“No. Actually, I’m doing this because of you. Mel just provided legal advice and the documents she had to back up her claims. What do you have to refute them? And don’t say your word, because we both know you have selective amnesia when it comes to the truth!”

“Ben…”

“Don’t, Michael. It’s over, and I suggest you look at the documents and read them carefully, not that it will matter much. I mean, once this goes in front of a judge and he or she takes a look at all the evidence against you, the case will be over as quickly as it starts.” He gets up and smiles at Michael. “Enjoy your stay at Club Criminal and have a nice day. In fact, have a nice life, Mr. Novotny. I know I will!”

And with that Ben left the room and precinct, feeling lighter than he ever had since ever meeting Michael Novotny.