It was pitch black outside on this cold moonless night. Officer Brian Kinney drove slowly through the streets cursing his partner for the third time this month. If Andy Macon was fed up with the fucking job, why didn't he just turn in his badge and stop jerking around with a possible suspension. Brian was getting fed up patrolling the streets alone. They were too short staffed to give him a temporary for what amounted to a nothing job. This neighborhood was in the best part of town and the crime rate was all but nil in the area...or at least out in the open on the streets. God only knew what kind of nefarious crap was happening behind those fancy closed doors, but unless Brian finally made detective as a result of this last test he'd taken he'd never get to know about white collar crimes or some of the more juicy aspects of police work.

Brian was almost thirty and it was now or never. He sure as hell wasn't staying a beat cop for the rest of his life. He'd quit and go private if it came down to that. He often wondered if he was being held back because of his captain's suspicion that he was gay, but he had no proof of that theory and he didn't want to stir the pot any more than necessary without the proof. This was his fourth attempt to make detective...and his last. If he didn't get the promotion this time, it wouldn't be Andy who quit the force first.

All these thoughts were running through Brian's head just as he approached one of the nicest houses on the block he was moving down. There were three ultra expensive cars parked in the wide driveway in front of the three-story colonial house. Brian took one second to admire the vehicles that were clearly evident from the outside light illuminating the driveway and started to turn his face back to the street when he caught a glimpse of stealthy movement between two of the cars. He slowed to a stop and threw the patrol car into reverse. He inched his way back until he could see between the cars again. He was right. There was someone crouched low in the space between the vehicles right near the driver's door of the cherry red sports car. If it was the owner, he was acting mighty suspicious.

Brian put the car in park and pushed his door open. The night air was totally calm so the sound carried to the crouching figure, who jumped straight up. The instant he saw Brian approaching he turned tail and ran like a scalded cat, heading for the tall bushes that separated the property from the neighbors. Brian yelled 'stop' and took out after the retreating figure. Brian was in excellent physical condition....the result of countless off duty hours in the gym he shared with his best friends. He was a sprinter in school so it didn't take him long to reach the much smaller figure. Another call to halt went unheeded so he did the next best thing short of whipping out his gun and shooting...he got close enough to tackle the runner. As the guy went down and Brian flipped him, the knit cap he was wearing slipped off and fell to the ground. That's when Brian could clearly see that this was no grown man.

The kid he had tackled stared up at him in shock mixed with a healthy dose of fear. His eyes, which were a brilliant shade of blue, were as large as saucers. They held fear, but there was also a hint of defiance growing in them. He had the palest blond hair that looked almost white in the glare of a nearby street light. Brian's attempts to hold the kid still gave him the chance to feel that the kid was rather small, with no muscular build to his body at all. He couldn't have been older than sixteen or seventeen at the very most. He suddenly stoppled struggling and hissed at Brian.

"Get off me, you big jerk. I wasn't doing anything wrong. You have no right to attack me."

His voice cracked, but was more angry than frightened. Brian stood back up, bringing the kid with him so that they stood face to face. He didn't let go of the kid, but at the same time he didn't cuff him like he would have normally done with someone older until he found out what was really going on. He did flip the boy around and quickly pat him for weapons but found nothing except a tube of quick drying glue. He then pulled the kid back to his squad car, which wasn't that far off. When they got there he opened the back door and ordered the kid to sit.

"Okay, kid. Now do you want to tell me what you were doing that made you think you had to run away when you saw a cop? But first, give me your name and where you live."

The kid just sat there looking surly. Brian waited for a full minute and then tried again.

"Look kid, would you prefer that I take you up to the front door of that house you were just visiting and let me see if they know who you are and where you live?"

The blond's face took on a nervous look, but he still defiantly refused to talk. Brian decided to give it one more try.

"Okay. Up you go. We'll go ahead and check with the homeowners and then I'll take you downtown and we'll find out who your parents are one way or another. Once we do, we'll call them and have them come down to the station and then ......."

"Justin. My name is Justin Taylor, and I live four blocks from here on Piedmont. And you can't arrest me for just thinking about doing something. You fucking stopped me before I could get done what I came here for, so you can't hold me."

"Well Justin Taylor, just what was it you came here to do?"

Justin hesitated, weighing whether he should reveal any more to the officer. There was something about the cop's tone of voice that helped him make up his mind. He decided to come clean, with the hope that the man would let him go back home and forget the whole thing.

"Okay. I came here to glue the fucking lock on the door of that souped up sports car Chris Hobbs is always bragging about. But I didn't get the chance to do a damned thing. Look, I was really pissed but I'm over it now and I'll just go on back home and we can forget it ever happened. I'm not stupid enough to do anything now since the cops now know my name and where I live."

"So what got you so pissed you risked being arrested for vandalism. How old are you kid?"

"I'm seventeen, but I'll be eighteen in a couple of months. Why?"

"Because it would make a difference whether you went to jail or juvie, kid. So why take the risk?"

"It's personal. Let's just say that me and Chris don't see eye to eye on some things and I'd had my fill of his bullying. I thought it was time to give him a taste of his own medicine. See how he liked being targeted for a change."

"So how do you know this Chris?"

"We go to school together and live way too close to each other on top of that." The surliness was beginning to fade slightly. "Look, I know I should just ignore him. Hell, we'll be graduating in just a few months, but I guess I'd just had it up to here...you know. Look, I'm glad you stopped me, but can't we just drop the whole thing now. Please."

There was something very appealing about the way that the young kid looked at him, but Brian had a job to do and he'd be damned if sympathy for a picked on kid would make him risk his future chances with his job. He sure as hell wasn't going to take the kid in to headquarters since he hadn't done anything illegal yet, outside of trespassing maybe, but it was his job to make sure he got safely home and his parents were aware of what was going on.

"Alright kid, I won't take you to the station or the Hobbs house..." Justin's face broke into a smile, something rather nice to see, until Brian continued talking. "...but I do have to take you home to your place and make sure you stay there." Brian saw how the kid's face fell. "Look, I'm sorry but at least you aren't being arrested. Not this time, but you can't be pulling stunts like this again. Understand?"

Justin nodded his head, but the frown on his face clearly showed his displeasure at being taken back home in a squad car. It didn't take long for them to arrive at Justin's residence. The kid's house was only slightly less impressive than the Hobb's house, and there were only two nice cars in the driveway. Brian followed the kid to the doorstep and then stepped around him to knock firmly. He could hear rustling behind the large glass fronted door and a second later it was answered by the spitting image of the kid in female form, only much older. Her look of surprise at seeing a uniformed officer on her doorstep couldn't be missed. Just then, Justin moved quickly around Brian and tried to pass the woman. She instinctively grabbed his arm, stopping his progress.

"Justin...what is going on? Officer, can I help you?"

Brian began explaining his presence immediately but was stopped halfway through by the sound of heavy footsteps from behind. Another blond appeared. Brian could see the resemblance in him too and knew right away that he was talking to both parents now. He waited for the lady to bring her husband up to date on what had already been said and then Brian picked up where he had left off.

"As I was saying, your young man here didn't actually cause any harm but the intent was there. That's why I felt it was necessary for you to be aware of your son's activities so you can explain to him the foolishness of vandalism for any reason, especially at his age. He could easily be arrested as an adult in some circumstances."

The young man kept his head down throughout Brian's speech but looked up when it was clear he was finished. The look he gave Brian was difficult to read. Surprisingly, it left a funny feeling in Brian's stomach...as if he had betrayed the kid in some way, which was ridiculous since he was actually giving the kid a break. The lady of the house thanked Brian for bringing her son back home in one piece and promised that the officer would never see him doing something so stupid again. Brian nodded his head and gave the kid one last look. As he glanced over the mother's shoulder, he could see the father grab the kid forcefully by the arm and yank him further into the house. Brian had an instant urge to step in and pull the kid away from the man who had at least forty pounds and five or six inches on the kid. His angry face gave Brian an uncomfortable moment of deja vu remembering the many times his own father had been royally pissed at him. His common sense kicked in, however, and he backed off the porch knowing he really couldn't interfere. Brian accepted the mother's thanks with a word and turned to step away. As the door began closing behind him, he could hear the father's voice clearly.

"I've just about had it with you Justin. First you get into a fight at school, then you get suspended for three days, and now you go out and pull a bone-headed stunt like this. One more stupid move on your part and I'll send you away to a fucking military academy to finish out your school year. Maybe they can make a man out of you. You've become nothing but a disapp......"

The door finally shut fully, closing off the rest of the tirade. Brian walked back to the squad car. He sat in the driver's seat for several minutes, looking at the front door of the upper middle class home. He had grown up in a much smaller and more lower middle class house, but the father's voice and attitude were eerily familiar to Brian. He could still hear his father's disapproving words that assaulted him continuously from early childhood until he had finally escaped to attend college. For a minute he wondered if Justin had always been a disappointment to his father or if it was just a teen thing. Again he saw the kids eyes silently begging him not to take him home. Now he understood why, but he knew he had to do it. For a brief moment he wondered what the Hobbs kid had done to make Justin so mad. He could remember a few things that got him angry enough to strike back when he was still in school...and he did. He just never got caught. Well whatever it was, the kid would survive. He had, he thought to himself.

Brian started the engine up and went back to patrolling the boring upper crust neighborhood. Nothing else of any interest happened for the rest of the evening and he was finally able to get off duty at midnight. Brian changed into street clothes and made a bee line for his favorite hangout to meet his friends. A couple of hours of unrestrained dancing, a few drinks, probably a quick backroom fuck with an anonymous trick and he'd be able to unwind enough to get back to his bachelor pad and have a good night's sleep. He was off the next day so he could even indulge in a little party snack to take the edge off and sleep in as late as he wanted. This was Brian's life....work hard, keep his nose clean with his bosses to earn that fucking promotion, party with his friends, and go home alone. No muss, no fuss, no complications, no deep attachments...just the way Officer Brian Kinney liked it. Just the way it was going to stay, as far as he was concerned. He'd had his fill of family commitments years ago. That poor kid, Justin whatever, would probably say the same thing some day.

Brian stepped into Babylon and let the loud thumpa thumpa of the music wash away all the worries of the outside world. He joined his friends Mikey, Emmett, and Ted at the bar and accepted his first drink of the night which they had so thoughtfully ordered for him. As the cold beer slid down his throat, he dropped all thoughts of law and order, badly needed promotions, and frightened but cute blond twinks from his mind. He searched the dancing throng for his first hook up of the night, zeroed in on a good prospect, and made eye contact. Brian Kinney was in his element and nothing else mattered.

To be continued..........................