April 12, 1935: 4:45 p. m.: Hotel Windsurf in Malibu:

Johan took another deep swallow of his drink and tapped the rim of the glass, letting the bartender know that he was ready for another. It would be his second one and he would have to stop after that. He had no intention of having his mind befuddled when he got ashore later tonight. He watched as the young man poured the amber liquid into his glass and let a slight grin flash across his face. He was a very happy man right now... not as happy as he would be by tomorrow, but happy enough.

It was really amazing, if you thought about it. Yesterday he had sat in his upper class hotel suite in Los Angeles without a clue as to what he would do next. His frustration had grown to enormous proportions in the last few days. The detective that he had hired to keep a close watch on Justin Taylor had little to report. The man revealed that he would see the young man dressed as a woman entering his hotel every evening and not see him again until morning. Apparently all Justin did was work and hang around the hotel with his co-workers when he wasn't on the job. He didn't even venture out alone during the short break that the band got from their filming duties. The only time that he wasn't at work or in the hotel, he would always be in the company of a large group of the other girls from the band, with their boss often in attendance. Johan had fared no better on those occasions when he shadowed Justin himself. There had never been an opportunity to strike at the young man without exposing himself to danger.

The only good news for Johan had been when he heard from his police source in New York that the Detective they had sent after Justin had been given permission by his boss to use up some of his vacation time while in sunny California before coming home. They had apparently given up searching for young Taylor. His source told him that they were looking elsewhere closer to home for the runaway suspect. Of course he was completely unaware that Captain Horvath had planted this story after research into Jaeger's background revealed that he had connections inside police headquarters. Now that Johan had become a prime suspect, thanks to all they had learned about him in Vanderbeke's secret files, Horvath had quickly put a lid on any true information about the investigation.

Johan still had a tiny nagging doubt as to whether the Detective knew he was protecting Justin Taylor or a damsel in distress when he interfered on the train just as Johan was about to kill the kid. He was ninety-nine percent certain that the cop wasn't aware of the truth at all. Otherwise he surely would have gone ahead and arrested Taylor right then and there. The kid was obviously quick-witted and probably did a great job of snowing the Detective after his skin had been saved. Anyway, all signs were that the kid had no protection, but only if he could get him alone in a vulnerable spot. And this morning, Fate finally smiled on Johan.

That morning, Johan had gotten up and ordered his breakfast from the hotel's room service. With it came the 'Los Angeles Times' and 'Daily Variety' papers. He sat munching on his eggs and ham as he perused both papers. That's when a small article in 'Variety' caught his eye the moment he saw the name of 'DeeBee's All Ladies Orchestra'. Knowing this was the group that Justin Taylor had joined, he sat his fork down and began reading. By the time he had read the last word, he knew what he had to do. So they were saying that 'Sunny' would be taking a little trip out of town to recuperate by the sea... well, Johan would help him get over his sore throat permanently.

It didn't take Johan more than a minute to call his P.I.'s office and put him on the job of finding out all he could about a beach house owned by the Chanders family in Malibu, California. The detective got right on the job. After all, Johan was paying him twice what he normally made for such work. He was a priority client. Less than an hour later, Johan had the address of the only residence on the Malibu beach owned by anyone named Chanders. Another hour later, Johan was on his way to Malibu in his own rented car.

A careful inspection of the area showed Johan that this was not going to be as easy as he had hoped. The property was not open and easily accessible. Upon further exam, it appeared that the only way to reach the house safely, without giving any warning, was by way of the sea rather than by land. That would require the use of a boat and someone who knew how to operate it. Johan didn't have time for niceties. He used his vast underground connections to provide a boat and skipper who were less than lawful and aboveboard and quite capable of keeping their mouths shut for a hefty price. Now all he needed was the cloak of darkness. In the meantime, he hired a local thug to keep an eye on the house. The man reported back that he had spotted a lone blond man on the beach several times while using a pair of binoculars, but that he hadn't stayed out more than a few minutes at any one time. He also mentioned that he had a towel wrapped around his throat. It sounded like Taylor was nursing a sore throat just as reported. It certainly sounded like he was alone, since no one else was ever spotted with him during his short jaunts outside. Everything was ready. Now all Johan needed was to be patient. The dark would be here soon enough.

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Same time: Chanders Malibu Beach House:

Justin came in through the back entrance and pulled the towel off his neck again. He was shaking just a little, but not from cold weather. It made him nervous every single time he stepped out the door. Brian had assured him that it was important that Johan knew he was in residence in case he was watching, but that there should be no danger, since even a long range rifle couldn't reach him from any vantage point near the house. Justin trusted Brian with his life, but he still felt like a sitting duck with a bulls-eye painted on his back every time he walked out. He was more than happy to be back inside. Justin hurried off to the front of the house where all four of the bedrooms were located. He found Brian sitting at a desk cleaning his gun. He walked up to him and leaned down for a kiss.

"How many more times do you think I should go out and put myself on display?" he asked Brian.

"Not too much longer. I have a strong hunch that Jaeger will strike after dark, if at all. That seems to be his modus operandi. I'm just not sure how he'll get to you. I've tried to put myself inside his head, and unless he knows how to get hold of a key for the lock on the gate and get it open without setting off the alarm, I only see one way for him to make it."

"By way of the water.... right?"

"That's what I would do. All he needs is a boat and I'm sure he has enough resources to get that. Are you scared?" Brian asked.

"No, of course not! I love being bait for a homicidal maniac determined to end my life! Shit, Brian, I've never been more scared in my life. If we don't stop him now, he could kill me and then I'd never have the chance to see how far I could go in life. I have so many dreams and hopes for the future... not the least of which is spending a lot more time with you."

Brian put down his weapon and wiped his hands on the kerchief he was using. He wrapped his arms around Justin's middle and pulled the young man close to him. He knew he had to be on guard with his ears perked for any sounds, which meant no loving with Justin for now, but all he wanted to do was make the fear go away for the young artist. He actually prayed that Jaeger would show up tonight. The sooner he did, the sooner this whole thing would be finished.

"It's almost over, Justin. You'll live those dreams. You have my word, and my friends back home will tell you that I never break my word."

Justin leaned down and kissed Brian passionately. He believed Brian. He felt a little better, at least for now. He dreaded the dark of night, but now he wished more than anything that it would hurry up and get here. He and Brian knew what they had to do as soon as the sun set. They were as prepared as they could be. Justin moved away, once Brian let him go in order to resume cleaning his gun. He kissed Brian on the top of his head and went back out to the kitchen area which led outside. He'd wait another half hour and then wrap the towel around his throat again and step back into the late afternoon sun once more. Soon, he thought... soon.

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Same Night: 2:45 a.m.: Just Off-Shore From Chanders Beach House:

Johan stepped to the side of the larger boat his criminal connections had provided for him. He looked over the side and saw the little motorboat he would take to get ashore, as it bobbed up and down in the water. He waited for the signal from the disheveled Skipper of the boat, who had greedily pocketed the large bills Johan handed over shortly before pulling out into the water. The man was an ex-rum runner from Prohibition days and had drunk more than his fair share of the profits, surviving now on whatever charters he could muster up, half of which were less than legal runs. He had even ferried a body out to sea for burial by a well known gangster a few years back. Johan knew he could be assured of the man's discretion.

It was around 3:00 a.m. when the Skipper gave Johan the signal he had been waiting for. The killer didn't hesitate. He slipped quickly over the side and lowered himself onto the waiting vessel. He started the engine, which was a bit louder than he had hoped, and pulled away from the bigger boat. It was pitch black outside with very little light from the Moon. He prayed that the motor's sound would be drowned out by the sounds of the surf. He crossed his fingers and reminded himself that it didn't matter. Once he was on shore he would move swiftly to the house, and once there he knew the kid would never escape him. He would cut the telephone lines to the house and Justin would be totally vulnerable. He almost chuckled in anticipation of ridding himself of his threat.

As he approached the shore, he could plainly see that there were no lights on in the house, as was expected this late in the night. He knew from the reports that Taylor was still at the house and there had still been no signs of anyone else. Just before reaching shore, Johan shut off the engine and let the surf bring him the last of the way to the sand. He pulled the boat up on shore and quickly made his way towards the back of the house. He had drawn his gun once he hit the sand. One could never be too careful. He doubted the kid was armed, but better to be cautious than sorry. Johan found the telephone line leading into the house and quickly snipped it. Taylor was now at his mercy, but he had no intention of showing any. It was either him or the kid, and he knew what that meant.

As soon as Johan took care of the telephone line, he began checking out windows. The back door was locked, but he knew that people often forgot to lock up their windows. He soon found that he had been right and luck was on his side. The first couple of windows he checked were securely locked, but the one over the sink in the kitchen was not. It was pitch black in the house, so Johan was unable to see that the sink was half full of glasses and utensils. He cursed under his breath as his foot hit the mess and made a loud noise. He froze where he was, his gun pointing into the darkened room! He waited with bated breath to see if a light would go on or anyone would call out. There was nothing. He waited a few more moments before moving forward again, swinging his other leg over the sill and making sure to avoid the large sink this time.

Johan gingerly and silently slid to the floor. He had removed his shoes outside so he now crept noiselessly through the kitchen and towards the front of the house. It was a very large place, and he wasn't sure where he should look first, but as he entered the hallway leading to the front he heard the low sound of music for the first time. He crept forward until he reached the door leading to where the sound was coming from. Just then he heard the music stop and the low sound of a radio announcer talking about the next number. Lucky for him, it appeared that Taylor liked to go to sleep with the sound of the radio on. It was probably why he hadn't heard the motorboat or the sound of the cutlery in the sink. Even luckier, it told Johan where to look for the sleeping young man.

Johan opened the door just a sliver. The room was extremely dark, but another break came because of the light coming from the big circle dial on the radio. It wasn't very bright but it was enough to vaguely make out a large lump under the blankets on the bed. Caution was no longer needed. He had his victim in his sights. Johan moved to the light switch and flipped it on. Simultaneously, he moved further into the room and pointed at the covered body. Shots rang out... one, two, three, four, five, six. The blanket jumped and feathers went flying. There were no other sounds. It was now dead silence.

Johan moved over to the side of the bed. He grabbed a corner of the blanket and pulled it away. His mouth dropped open. The sheet was covered in feathers, not blood, from all the pillows that had been used to simulate a body lying under the covers. Before his anger could fully develop, he heard a sound from the doorway. He whipped around and saw, to his horror, that the same son-of-a-bitch cop who had stopped him from killing Taylor earlier was standing in the doorway with his own weapon drawn and pointed right at him.

"Drop your weapon, Jaeger," Brian ordered.

In less than a heartbeat, Jaeger dropped to the floor using the bed to shield him. He came up again around the end of the bed with his gun aimed at the doorway. In that second, Brian had already crouched down and moved to the other side of the bed. When he saw Jaeger's head pop up, he launched himself over the bed and the men became entangled in a deadly duel for survival. Fists flew and weapons were knocked out of hands. Brian was strong, but eventually Jaeger had Brian pinned to the floor on his stomach. He had somehow grabbed the belt from the pile of clothes that had been left on a chair to further set the scene, and now he had it around Brian's neck, pulling on both ends with all his strength. The belt cut into Brian's throat and choked off his oxygen. His attempts to free himself were weakening.

Suddenly the grunting noises of the struggling combatants was shattered by the sound of gunfire. A piercing yelp of pain filled the room. Justin stood in the doorway, Brian's gun shaking in his hands. Everything now seemed to move in slow motion. First a tiny dot of pink appeared on the back of Johan's light blue shirt. It then darkened to red and began to spread. Johan looked behind him once the pain had registered and saw the blond standing there. He had no time to react. His eyes closed and he slumped forward.

Brian's strength returned the moment he got a lungful of air. He pushed the dead weight of Jaeger off him and flipped the killer over onto his back. He jumped up when he saw how pale Justin was turning. He threw his arms around Justin and hugged him close to his body. He could feel the blond shaking from head to toe. He carefully lifted Justin's arm and pried the gun from his cold fingers. Suddenly Justin felt bile rising in his throat. He pulled free of Brian and ran for the bathroom. Brian could hear the sounds of retching but he had to check on Jaeger first. A couple of minutes later, he joined Justin who was sitting on the floor with his cheek resting on the toilet bowl.

"Did I kill him?" Justin managed to squeak out.

"No, Justin! He's still breathing, but it's serious enough that we'll need to get him to a hospital. I think he'll live for you to see justice done. You know that you saved my life just now, don't you? Looks like we're even now."

Justin smiled for the first time this whole night. The waiting for Jaeger had been excruciating. Once all the windows and doors, except for the one over the sink, had been checked and locked, and once the sink had been fixed up as an early warning signal... and once the bedroom had been prepared with the made-up bed and radio on, the couple had been forced to wait together across the hall with the door slightly ajar so they could see when Jaeger showed up... if he showed up. They had shared a few kisses in the dark while sitting it out, but no more. They knew they had to remain alert or they would be dead men. By the time Jaeger did arrive, both men were ready to jump at any sound.

Now Justin couldn't believe it was over. Jaeger had just proven that he was the killer. There was no other reason for him to want to silence the only witness to the murder of Vanderbeke other than to protect himself from accusations. That, along with what they had learned about his dealings with Vanderbeke were all they would need to shift all their focus off Justin and onto Jaeger. All these thoughts tumbled around inside Justin's head and he almost missed what Brian was saying.

"Are you feeling better? We don't want to delay much longer. We want this bastard alive, not dead. I checked and it looks like he cut off our telephone service so we'll have to drive him to the hospital and I'll call the local authorities from there."

"It's over?" Justin whispered, as if in disbelief.

"It's over, Justin. Nothing left but the clean-up."

Justin threw his arms around Brian's neck. Brian hugged Justin close to him. They shared a kiss that was full of promises to come. It was over, and yet it was just beginning.... a beginning of a lifelong love affair born from the ashes of violence and deception.

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Epilogue: One Year Later:

Debbie opened the door to her New York apartment and happily welcomed the newly licensed Private Detective and his boyfriend into her home. She gave Brian a huge bear hug and an equally snug one for Justin. She had never been so happy to see her boys. The last year had been rough on them, but everything was finally over. The trial was over and Johan Jaeger was cooling his heels inside a maximum security prison in New York. He had gotten a fair, yet extremely exhausting trial and been found guilty of multiple crimes which included Murder in the First Degree. He was now awaiting his date with the electric chair.

So much had happened in the year since Brian and Justin had captured Jaeger. Justin's shot had hit Jaeger in the back but luckily missed any vital organs. Luckier still, it had stopped him from hurting Brian seriously. As soon as the couple had gotten Jaeger to the hospital, Brian put in a call to the local police first and Captain Horvath next. Horvath ordered Brian to remain in California until Jaeger was fit for travel and then return with him to New York. Of course, he ordered him to bring young Taylor back too, since he would be expected to testify even though he was no longer a suspect. Brian had no problem with this request. He had no wish to lose sight of Justin, especially now that he was a free man.

Justin called Daphne and filled her in on all the excitement. She cussed him out properly for risking his life and then praised him for his heroism. He thanked her profusely for the use of her family's vacation home. He promised to tell her even more when he saw her once he got back to New York City. He was eager to tell her about Brian too but decided to wait for that news once they were face to face.

It took a full week for Jaeger to be able to travel. They went by train, which was a lot slower than a commercial flight but much cheaper for the New York City budget to handle. Neither man was complaining. They got adjoining bedrooms on the trip back and found a number of opportunities for private time while Jaeger was handcuffed to the railing of his bunk and unable to escape. Of course they were extremely discreet, making sure that no one saw any intimacy between them. This was especially true in front of Jaeger.

The only fly in the ointment was Justin's guilt over leaving Debbie high and dry without a singer when they went back to shooting of the film. The studio had felt put out by the whole thing, but their publicity department ended up salvaging it by using the drama of Justin's story in their advertising of the film. They kept the footage that included Justin singing as 'Sunny', and a new female singer was hired to finish up their scenes. Justin was even offered a contract with the studio, but respectfully declined. He let them know that he enjoyed singing as a hobby but his first love was art. They reluctantly let him out of the contract for the one film.

It took a while for the trial to commence, because Jaeger was being investigated for much more than just the murder. Further investigation revealed a great deal about the arrangement between Vanderbeke and Jaeger. More than one person ended up in courts by the time the case was wrapped up. Brian had quite a time explaining why he had not mentioned finding the man he was supposed to arrest and bring back to New York City. In the end, Brian received an incident report on his record and two week's suspension without pay. In most cases he might have received a demotion too, but the end result of his failure to follow procedure saved him.

It didn't matter to Brian. First, he used the two weeks off to spend every moment he could with Justin. The two men made love repeatedly and spent long hours talking about their lives, hopes, and dreams. Brian knew Justin was 'the one' because he had never opened up to anyone else before, and this time he wanted to put himself totally out there for Justin. Secondly, Brian took the time to re-evaluate his life. He knew that Justin had changed him in a very short time, and his discontentment with having to be so closed off while doing his job grew to huge proportions. The end result of hashing it out with Justin was that Brian decided to go Private. As a P. I., he wouldn't have anyone looking over his shoulder anymore. He would be his own man. He would even spread the word through the gay community that he was the man for them to see if they had legal problems.

After turning in his resignation, something that frustrated the hell out of Captain Horvath, Brian studied for his Private Investigators license. Now, a year after saving Justin's life, the couple were happily ensconced in their own small loft apartment and full of confidence about the future. Justin returned to school and moved on to his third year at the Art Academy. Daphne had instantly fallen for Brian's charms and supported her best friend's relationship wholeheartedly. Once Debbie returned to New York with her band, they all became close friends. Cherry, with her usual positive outlook on life, cheerfully accepted Justin's apologies for deceiving her. Her one complaint was that she had wasted time flirting with Brian on the train when she never stood a chance with him. However, she was happy for her good friend, Justin.

It was Debbie's idea to throw a First Anniversary Party for Brian and Justin. Many of the girls from the band showed up since they had taken quite a liking to the young man they had met as 'Sunny'. Naturally, Daphne was there, along with a few of their old friends and some new ones that Brian and Justin made during their first year together. The party was a lively affair with an eclectic mix of gay and straight, artists, entertainers, and just plain folks. As the party wound down, Brian and Justin slipped off to the bedroom to get their coats and hats. Brian found his first and slipped it on.

As Justin pulled his from the few remaining coats on the bed, Brian came up behind him and encircled his waist with his arms. He hugged Justin tightly to him and buried his nose in his soft blond hair. He let his lips linger on the smooth skin of Justin's neck. Justin's head fell back onto Brian's chest. He sighed deeply. He couldn't believe how happy he was. One year ago, he was a frightened young man who believed he was doomed. Today he couldn't imagine a happier life. It was all due to Brian. He knew he was loved by this man. There was a time when Justin felt sorry for himself when he realized he was born gay, but no longer. Maybe it wasn't safe to shout out to the whole world how he felt about Brian Kinney, but he wouldn't trade his life for anyone else in the world. With luck, they would live out the entire balance of the twentieth century together as a couple. But it didn't matter whether they lived for a brief time or for decades. It was only a matter of time. What did matter was that they would do it together for as long as life allowed them to.... and maybe even longer.

The End