CHAPTER 18- Suspension of Disbelief   

One month later...

William Wainwright was in trouble and all because he had originally sought fame and fortune through nefarious means. He couldn’t understand how his life had gone from very bearable to hell-in-a-handbasket in the span of a sixty-second spot of one of the most prominent magazine shows on television. What was worse is that he hadn’t done what they had accused him of doing, but he was powerless to dispute the truth. His name was out there. Not only that but he was being hounded by the media. Just this morning he had to sneak down the fire escape at the back of the company apartment complex so that he could avoid the vultures camped out in front.

How had this happened? Why had this happened? Ever since he and Justin Taylor had come to an understanding within the confines of the empty art department, things had been looking up for him. He and Justin still bumped heads a lot but it was because they were both passionate about their jobs. William gave Justin the respect he was due as his boss and Justin in turn gave him mutual respect as a fellow artist. So why would someone deliberately try to sabotage him?

Sure, William could definitely own up to the fact that he’d made a lot of enemies on his way to the top, some even within the walls of where he lived and worked. But in his mind, he hadn’t caused enough harm to warrant this type of retribution. Toilet papering his car? Maybe. A gut-punch or an uppercut? Well yeah...those too, but never something that would take away his livelihood. Except now the thing that he had ‘supposedly’ done was looming over him. It was not to be borne!

Arriving at the office a half an hour earlier, William decided that the first thing he would do was to level with his bosses and proclaim his innocence. He didn’t know who had set him up, but he didn’t do it. Brian and Justin Taylor-Kinney were usually fair-minded, unless one of them was threatened. He had seen it firsthand within the Diner that fateful morning.  They protected each other. With this thing looming over him, he was sure to be the one left unguarded.

“William? What are you doing here this early?”

William had been pacing and didn’t hear the soft-footed approach of Kinnetik’s Chief of Operations. “There’s trouble coming for Brian and Justin, Cynthia. And I promise I had nothing to do with it.”

“What are you… you know what, I think you’d better tell me everything and start at the beginning.”

“I can’t! I promised Justin that what he disclosed would remain between him and I when we declared our truce. I won’t break faith with him!”

Cynthia rolled her eyes. Whereas she appreciated that the normally-contentious artist had finally begun to see reason regarding sowing discord amongst the staff, if there was anything that was a bonafide threat to their bosses and the future of the company, it was her duty to know. Brian and Justin could not walk into whatever was troubling William blind. “Listen to me Wainwright, if it’s as bad as you say, I may be the only one who can save your job. So you WILL tell me what the fuck is going on unless you would rather keep your secrets while you collect unemployment and no hope for a career.”

“You would ruin me that way?”

“You bet your ass I will. Brian and Justin are my bosses but they are also very dear friends of mine- more family to me than my own. I protect what’s mine and that includes the Taylor-Kinneys. So start talking.”

William released the pent-up breath he wasn’t aware he held during Cynthia’s speech, acknowledging that if he had a shot of having a life, he would rather take it with the owners of Kinnetik than be out there on his own. “Alright, I’ll tell you Cynthia, but you have to understand that this is NOT my fault.”

“How about you just tell me the situation and then we’ll determine just who’s at fault here. I’ll keep an open mind but you better be honest with me William. I’m not fucking kidding around.”

“I know you aren’t.” William inhaled and exhaled again as he settled into the comfortable chair within Cynthia’s office. “Remember that huge shitstorm that happened at the Diner last month?”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“Well it’s all stemming from there…” For the next half hour William spilled everything from his original plan to blackmail Justin, to his potential deal with Ethan Gold, to the truce and truth-telling between him and Justin and finally the news report this morning. “I swear to you Cynthia. I didn’t divulge anything about Justin. In fact, the following morning, I erased the entire video off my cell phone. The only person who could have leaked the video was Ethan who had spent the night over, the same night Justin and I cleared the air between us. I remember telling him that I wasn’t going to go through with it and that he should just forget about trying to get between Brian and Justin since they had formed the LDP. I went to bed thinking everything was fine and settled but when I woke up the next morning, he was gone. He left a note thanking me for a wonderful couple of days during his visit and said that next time he was in town he would call me. We haven’t had contact since.”     

“Fuck William. This shit… this is… Well come on!”

“Wait...where are we going?”

“To see Brian and Justin before they get here. Like I said, they shouldn’t walk into this blind. The only good thing right now is that no one knows where they are at the moment except Ted, Mel, Donovan, and me. If you’re as innocent as you say you are, then you should have no problem relaying all of this information firsthand. And be warned Wainwright… I have an excellent memory for detail. Your story better not change one fucking bit or you won’t have to worry about them; I’ll kill you right where you stand my damn self.” She regarded him with steady eyes, gratified when he swallowed hard.

“I swear Cynthia, it’s the absolute truth.”

She relaxed her stance a bit but not enough for him to feel completely at ease. “For what it’s worth, I believe you. Ethan Gold has a much bigger axe to grind against the Taylor-Kinneys than you could imagine. The goal now is to protect them first and then Kinnetik Corp. As for what they will do about you… I have to leave that up to them since you were the one who recorded the contretemps in the first place.”

William bowed his head in shame, knowing that she was right. If he hadn’t been so blind in his own revenge against Justin- a gripe that wasn’t even the man’s fault- this wouldn’t be happening. But William had never been a coward and he wouldn’t start being one now, no matter how scared he really was. Squaring his shoulders, he followed Cynthia out of her office in search of the only two men in creation that might give a fuck enough to save him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Allegheny County Jail

Michael sat there in the interrogation room, waiting to be questioned once again. During the arraignment a few weeks ago, he had pled ‘Not Guilty’ to the list of charges against him. Due to the nature of the case, Michael was remanded to the jailhouse to await his trial.  His mother had come to see him only once and it had not gone well.

“How could you do that to Brian and Justin, Michael? There are so many things about their situation that you don’t understand and yet you take the word of a stranger who was clearly using you to get to them?” Debbie railed at him. “I didn’t raise you to be this vindictive or stupid! Do you not realize you could have been killed?”

“Over that good-for-nothing piece of blond boy ass? Oh please Ma! Justin has all of you fooled. He’s a trashy whore who enjoyed every fucking minute of what Brandon and Connor did to him.”

“Why would you think that? Is it because you apparently enjoyed it? Let me remind you that you are the one sitting in jail, accused of theft because of your newfound friends.”

“This is all just a misunderstanding. Brandon will clear up the matter once he’s returned, you’ll see.”

“I really can’t believe that you are this blind. They don’t want you. They want to own another human being who didn’t choose that life.”

“You’re a goddamn liar Ma! They want me! They told me that when I did what I needed to do to Justin and he came back, they were going to come back for me and give me the life I was meant to have! You don’t know anything!”

“I know that the son I raised would never have betrayed his best friend for a bit of romp and tickle. The son I raised would have been happy to see Brian happy. Instead, the asshole sitting before me now, is nothing but a jealous fool who is going down for a crime he didn’t commit, but is willing to sacrifice himself for. Michael, I really don’t know what the hell is wrong with you except that you need psychological help!”

“I’m not the one who needs help; you do! You all do! You need to take your head out of Justin’s ample overused ass and realize that he’s playing you. I can’t believe this. My own mother is sitting here defending that whore while her own son is stuck in jail. If you can’t get me the fuck out of here, what good are you? You know what… go be with Brian- he’s the son you’ve always wanted anyway. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t exist anymore. Go be with Brian and his fucked up whore of a husband. And when I get out of here, forget that you ever knew me. You’re such a bitch! And a user! Go, since you can’t be happy that I’ve found someone who actually cares for me. Instead of telling me that you will try to contact Brandon and Connor, instead of supporting me, YOUR SON,  you’re sitting here berating me for helping them to get Justin back after telling the truth about the little blond. Well FUCK YOU!! I NEVER want to see your face again, you traitor!”

That had been the last time he had seen her, and although he meant most of what he’d said to her, he was still sorry that she wasn’t going to visit him anymore. He was lonely and he couldn’t even contact Brian. No one came to see him except the police detective that his mother was dating, and that was only because he was working the case. Whenever he tried to ask about her or his friends, he was meant with stony silence, before the questions turned back to the investigation. To top it all off, life was not pleasant for him behind bars.

Michael had been in several altercations but they weren’t his fault. He only spoke the truth regarding what he knew about Justin. How was he to know that some of the prisoners knew the kid personally or were the supposed victims of Brandon and Connor James, and who escaped from them, but ended up in jail because they had nothing when they did get away and ended up stealing to survive on the streets? When Michael told them that they deserved prison time for what they did but he didn’t because the situation wasn’t the same, he was beaten for his opinion. After the last one, Michael learned to keep his head down and his mouth shut.

The door opened to admit Detective Horvath and his court-appointed attorney, Clarence Stevenson. That was another thing he learned. No matter how much the ‘court-appointed lawyer’ was supposed to work for the client, their main goal was to bargain for how much jail time the client actually served and not to find them innocent. In Michael’s case, because he was in possession of property that was reported ‘stolen,’ Stevenson treated his case as a simple formality instead of a trial to prove him innocent.

“So Mr. Novotny, are you ready to recant your statement?” he asked in a nasally voice that grated on Michael’s nerves. He would be surprised to know that they both actually sounded similar in tone and pitch to Carl, who also cringed when Michael answered.

“There’s nothing to recant. I told the fucking truth. How many times do I have to tell you both that?”

"Be that as it may Mr. Novotny, there is nothing to corroborate your story other than the fact that you were with Connor and Brandon James the night before you stole the watch…”

“I didn’t steal it! How many times do I have to tell you that it was given to me as payment for exposing Justin Taylor?” Fuck… I didn’t mean to say that!

“So now we’re getting to the actual truth Michael,” Carl said. “Before you said that it was given to you as a gift. Why would you say now that it was ‘payment’?”

Michael took a deep breath, understanding that whatever the motive for receiving the watch was in his mind, it obviously wasn’t the case anymore. “Look, according to Brandon, Justin belonged to them. They bought him from his father and his term of whoredom- I mean service- wasn’t up. So I agreed to help them force Justin to go back to them.”

“Did you know what that service entailed, in detail?”

“Of course. They even demonstrated what services Justin provided for them. I didn’t see any harm in what they did; I even enjoyed it.”

Carl closed his eyes at the idiot his girlfriend had birthed. Granted he didn’t engage in the BDSM lifestyle, but he understood that there was a difference between the acts committed in that realm and the atrocious abuse Justin Taylor-Kinney had suffered at the hands of these men. After investigating this case for over a month, he was surprised to know that Justin wasn’t the only one- man or woman- and that the case was so much larger than they could have ever imagined. Which brought about his next question.

“Michael, did either Brandon or Connor James receive or make any calls while you were… engaged?”

Michael furrowed his thick eyebrow, trying to recall anything he might have heard outside of the pleasurable moans and screams he was making while being fucked. Carl could tell when Michael had finally come out of whatever disgusting fantasy that had put that dreamy look on his face. Carl didn’t even want to contemplate that, already knowing that if brain bleach was marketable, he’d need to drink an entire bottle to cleanse his mind of the images.

“Come to think of it, the morning before I left their hotel room, he spoke to Lindsay.”

“Lindsay? As in Lindsay Peterson? And who spoke to her?”

“Connor. He was telling her not to worry about getting Brian’s sperm, but then he yelled out at whatever she said next. Knowing what I know now, it probably would have been at the news that Brian and Justin are now Legal Domestic Partners, which I still can’t believe. In fact the idea still makes me want to hurl!”

“Kindly save that for when you are back in your cell,” Carl encouraged before asking his next question. “So what was it about Connor’s part of the conversation that stuck out the most?”

“Something about a clinic and a baby, and then he laughed and told her not to worry.”

“What happened next?”

“Connor said that it was time for me to get a parting gift. And after they each took their turn with me again, Brandon sat me down and explained the book to me, and what I was supposed to do with it. Then he told me that when I’d finished, I could trade the watch in at a pawn shop because although he would like to pay me, they didn’t have cash on them or a check. I asked if I could see him later and he said, he would find me.” Michael shrugged as if what he’d just said was no big deal.

“Okay Michael… that’s all the questions we have for now,” Stevenson said. “But we’ll be visiting again soon, to determine your defense. I will be honest with you, it’s not a matter of jail time- that’s a given- but a matter of how much.”

“What the fuck do you mean ‘how much?’ I thought your job was to get me out of here.”

“It would have been if you hadn’t committed another crime.”

“What crime?”

“Conspiracy to kidnap, unlawfully detain, and a host of other infractions that your involvement with Brandon and Connor James has surfaced. In the meantime, Stevenson, I’m going to ask that you postpone Michael’s trial until the investigation is finished. You may have to request that he be put in solitary for his own safety. This is part of a human trafficking network with some pretty high-powered people and they will do anything to shut the person up with information that could incriminate them. If Michael has been true to form, which based on the bruises he’s sporting, he has been, Michael is in immediate danger although we aren’t exactly sure from whom.”

“Now wait just a damn minute…” Michael began to protest before being cut off.

“No Michael, you wait… You and Lindsay have no fucking idea what you have done, involving yourselves with these people in your quest to keep Brian Kinney under your thumb. He has his own life to live, with whomever he chose to live it with. And instead of respecting his choice and being true friends, you’ve led the people who mean him and Justin the most harm right to them. Regardless of how this turns out, you deserve every bit of punishment you get. Be it at the hands of the law or by some nefarious asshole. Hopefully you’ll be kept alive so that the law can punish you because it will be more humane.

Carl arose from his chair along with Stevenson. Issuing last minute orders to the guard and on their way to see the Warden, they looked back to see a blank-faced Michael. But it was his eyes that spoke of the fear he should feel. Carl knew that despite everything, he had to warn Deb, that her son- the same one who denounced her- may not make it out of prison alive. And all because he couldn’t let go of his childhood fantasy; a dream that never had a chance in hell of happening, but one that would bring Michael Charles Novotny the worse reality imaginable.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been one of the most peaceful months in Brian’s life that he could remember. He hadn’t heard from Lindsay or Michael in all that time. But then again, he’d changed his personal phone numbers so that he wouldn’t, although Kinnetik’s number stayed the same. Mel said that beyond the first week after he and Justin became Domestic Partners, she hadn’t heard from the harridan from hell either.

At first, Justin was worried about the fact that they hadn’t. He knew that Brandon and Connor had left town after Michael had been arrested, but he still couldn’t rest easy. Brian would have to console him at the oddest times, especially at night when the nightmares would still plague the young blond. It had become so bad that Brian had sought the counsel of long-time friend and former fuckbuddy, Alex Wilder for advice, and to ease his own conscience or feelings of helplessness, knowing that this was something that Justin would continue to go through until the situation was resolved in its totality.

As for family life itself, Brian was so surprised to find that he had taken to it as a fish to water. He and Justin balanced having Gus with them well. It helped that when they had to work, they had a mountain of family willing to keep Gus until one or both of them could get off. During the day, Gus was at Summer Camp which he enjoyed immensely. Melanie had decided to move into one of the loft units within the Squirrel Hill building that Brian had bought within a month of being back from New York. On the nights when the little family stayed in Squirrel Hill, Melanie would come for dinner and then take Gus for the night. It was an easy arrangement and agreeable to all of them. What surprised them the most was that Gus didn’t miss or ask about Lindsay.

After the initial explanation of why Lindsay left, Gus was fine, saying that it was Mama Mel who always took care of things for him anyway, where Mommy Lindsay just followed through with the plans. Whatever time he spent with Justin was spent cooking or drawing and that was just fine with him. It seemed that everything was working out better than any of them could have hoped for, being able to co-parent without all of the conflict that Lindsay constantly caused between Brian and Melanie.

As was his habit, Brian turned on the television without the sound as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He needed the visual stimulation but not the noise first thing. He always left Justin in bed to have a little bit more sleep after their initial morning fuck. After coffee, Brian hit the treadmill, the whir and steady sound of his workout the only sound in the otherwise silent house. It was the time of day that Brian generally set his achievable goals and impossible dreams in order, reminding him of what he worked for and the things he had yet to do. He nearly laughed aloud as thoughts of Gus and his obsession with Dory the Fish singing ‘Just Keep Swimming’, invaded his thoughts as he continued his morning routine.

Just as Brian was about to hit his stride, he noticed that Justin had awoken and was standing stock still, staring at the television in horror. Moving his eyes to focus on what had captivated Justin so, Brian turned off the treadmill and began to move closer to the screen. There were no words to describe his thoughts on seeing pictures of himself and Justin standing in the middle of the diner, being confronted by Michael Novotny. Part of Brian felt absolutely murderous at having their personal business displayed so prominently and impersonally across the screen. Justin reached out to turn up the sound before Brian had a chance to grab the remote from the young man. Both of them stood in shock as every derogatory accusation flew fast and furious from Michael’s mouth, screeching out Brandon and Connor James’ names in his quest to embarrass Justin into retreating from Brian’s life.

Brian was saved from having to do or say anything mundane to Justin by the buzzer and his cell phone ringing. He knew that there wasn’t much that he could speak in that moment which would set the young man at peace, especially having just seen and heard his deepest, darkest secret exposed by a person who hated him.

“WHAT?!” Brian barked into the phone, keeping a close eye on Justin, watching helplessly as he shut down again. Why couldn’t they just catch a fucking break?

“Brian, let us up. I have Wainwright with me. I think he has something to say that you really need to hear,” Cynthia says, her tone walking the fine line between being compassionate and belligerent. It was a tone she had perfected when dealing with Brian many years ago.

“Does his explanation have anything to do with Justin and I watching us being betrayed publically right now?”

“Brian, he didn’t betray you. In fact, if you’ll listen to what actually happened, I think you will have confirmation of who is really responsible. That said, OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!”

Brian heard the buzzer being pressed before he had a chance to respond to Cynthia. When he looked over to Justin, he was already on his phone in conversation with Melanie and Donovan on three-way.

“Donovan I want you and Ted on a fucking plane within the next hour. If the plane leaves, drive into Newark and catch the fucking plane from there. I won’t tolerate any excuses… and Brian won’t either. Get your asses here immediately! Melanie, Gus needs to go to Debbie for a bit today. I need you to explain to her what’s happening but not in front of him...please?” Brian could hear the slight tremble in Justin’s voice and moved over to wrap his arms around him. There was no doubt that there were few men stronger than Justin Taylor-Kinney.

“No problem Justin. In the meantime, I will work on getting some gag orders and injunctions together for the news stations. Whoever is responsible for this, isn’t getting away with the shit! What do you want to do about Ron Peterson’s offer.”

“What offer?” Brian demanded, just as Cynthia and William arrived into the condo.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you about it Brian, not that it matters now.” Justin answered.

“How about you tell me and we can decide what the fuck matters. Fucking hell Justin, were you alone with that fucker? He’s just as depraved as his daughter!”

“No Brian. He showed up at the office while you were in the conference room. He asked for the journal in exchange for protection from Brandon and Connor, as well as the other fuckers involved.”

“Well what did you tell him?”

“I told him that I would think about it. There’s no way I would trust that fucker easily, knowing that he’s cut from the same cloth as Craig. I wanted to know what his motive was, so I’ve had Donovan and Ted doing some digging which is why I demanded they bring their asses to the Pitts ASAP.”

“So basically with the exception of the gags and injunctions, no action towards the network yet, Justin?” Melanie asked.

“That journal is my only bargaining chip for now Mel; I can’t lose it. In the meantime, we need to know where your bitch of an ex is. I doubt that the tramp is as far removed from this as she would like us all to believe, including her cohorts Brandon and Connor.”

“If she’s at the bottom of this, they are going to fucking kill her,” Mel gasped.

“Yeah well… sorry but it’s no more than she deserves, same as Michael,” Cynthia growled.

“Where do you fit into this Wainwright?”

“My name is being slandered, since I didn’t do this shit!” he answered, a slight tremble in his voice as Brian and Justin’s angry stares reached him.

“Well if you didn’t, who did?” Justin asked.

“Ethan. He must have sent the video to his phone or email from my phone before I had a chance to erase it the next day.”

“That’s a mighty convenient story…” Brian narrowed his eyes on the squirming young man before him.

“But it’s no less true! Hell guys, if I had any intent on harming you- either one of you- I’ve had several opportunities to do so over the last month. But I haven’t betrayed your trust, not one fucking confidence! Don’t second guess me or my motives now! Please?” he finished his impassioned entreaty piteously.

Looking at William’s posture and knowing his arrogant little ass a whole lot better than Brian, Justin took note that Wainwright was practically begging them to believe him. Like himself, William Wainwright would rather suffer than ask for help in any way, shape or form. It came from being the products of their environments with unreliable adults all around them. Although Brian knew what that was like with his parents, he still had Debbie and Vic. And whereas Justin had Jennifer, he hadn’t when Craig had sold him to the James’ Brothers for his own personal gain. Having two murdering parents serving life in prison hadn’t exactly made William trusting of adults meant to take care of him either.  

“So you think Ethan did this?”

“I know he did,” William answered vehemently.

“The easiest way to prove it is by way of your email,” Brian told him.

William asked if he could use their computer. After getting permission, he logged into his account, amazed to see that he had a new email from someone he didn’t recognize. Going to his sent folder, it showed that he just sent an email to the unrecognizable person a few moments ago. “This is impossible. I’ve been with you the entire time Cynthia, I couldn’t have sent this email! And who the fuck is BKBMG86187JTK@gmail.com? I don’t know who the fuck that is! What the hell is happening?”

“The easy answer is that your account is being hacked while you are being set up,” Justin said, moving Wainwright out of the way of the chair. “The harder answer is to find out who is doing it and how.”

“Wait a minute…” Melanie said, walking through the door of the condo.

“Where’s Gus?”

“Leda stayed over last night so he’s with her. At Brian’s raised eyebrow, she smiled briefly and promised, “Later. In the meantime, I think I can solve the mystery of the email… or rather Leda did.”

“And?”

“Brian Kinney’s Baby Mama Gus- 86 187 Justin Taylor-Kinney. Any of that ringing a bell?”

“Fucking Lindsay? She’s behind this?!!” Brian asked, incredulous at the thought of what 86 187 JTK meant.

“I think it’s safe to say that the bitch wants to murder me and that she’s in LA,” Justin said, his tone matter of fact about what he just voiced.

“How do you know that? And furthermore, how do you know where she is?” Brian asked.

“Easy Brian, and I’m shocked you don’t know this after living in New York for the last five years. 86 is kind of the universal code for cut, demolish, or destroy. It’s used a whole lot in New York for a various amount of reasons. But 187 is the California Penal Code for Homicide. There is only one place that Lindsay could be in California and that’s at Brandon and Connor’s home in the Hollywood Hills. Care to take any guess who she’s talking to, since William is standing right here?”

“Well then it’s time to shine the light back on the shadows intent on staying hidden. And it should start with the bitch that has fed the chin-rat the information to release to the press. Justin you need to call Ron Peterson. I have a feeling that there is something to this puzzle that we’re missing and it’s time he comes clean with what it is.” Brian ordered. He was fucking tired of he and Justin being played with. This time the gloves are coming the fuck off. Actually it was past time….