Stinger - Part II: Recovery

JAMIE

"Did you think for one minute that Charlie was caught up in some fucking gun running or terrorism? He's Danny's flesh and blood, for Christ's sake!"

"Sir." I added.

Captain Morgan glared at me. I could feel my nuts shriveling under that gaze, but I held my ground. "That was completely uncalled for, Cap. Charlie didn't deserve that treatment. He's a good kid and a damned fine officer."

Tanner looked away and the spell was broken. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Reardon. You're right. Hawke didn't deserve the way I treated him. But we can't have the Feds sniffing around the precinct. Garland knows information was being withheld from him ... now I have to concoct something that'll put his mind at ease."

We had left the hospital and the two of us were in the parking lot. Morgan got into his car. "I'll see you back at the station, Sergeant." He closed the door and drove away.

I let out a deep breath. I had my own worries about Charlie. How the hell did he manage to get hauled into a warehouse that wasn't even remotely near his patrol? What the hell was he involved in, or for that matter, who?

* * *

I had already done some background investigation on Mateo Castillion, so I made my way though the crowded Manhattan traffic to 347 Park Avenue. A cathedral of glass and steel, Castillion’s company - Kriatos Shipping - owned the entire building - and I was directed to the 44th floor. When the elevator opened, I found his secretary waiting for me.

She was a looker - if you liked women - long brown hair, matching dark eyes and tanned legs that looked amazing in the white pencil skirt. A dark blue blouse framed a nice set of cleavage, too.

"Sergeant Reardon? I'm Chara Apostolos - Mateo's assistant. The front desk said you needed to speak to him? Is there something I can do?"

"Well, Ms. Aposotolos, it's a private matter ... and it is somewhat urgent. Is Mr. Castillion available?"

Perfectly arched brows furrowed. "I'll get him. Come with me."

* * *

She left me in his office. I was staring down at the city from the huge windows when I heard the door open behind me.

"Sergeant ... ??"

Damn, his voice was like velvet and he had a soft accent to boot. I turned around to look at Charlie's lover. That wallet photo didn’t do him justice - he was nearly as well-built as Charlie, with brown hair and the most amazing green eyes I've ever seen. My cock was already starting to thicken just looking at him. He was handsome as hell and he also looked worried sick.

"... oh, my God, has something happened to Charlie?"

"You'd better sit down, Mr. Castillion." He shakily made his way to his desk. "Charlie was abducted and beaten up. He's in the hospital with a concussion and some cracked ribs.”

"Madre de Dios ..." He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Thank you for coming and telling me personally, Sergeant, I appreciate it. Do you know how it happened or who did it?”

“Well, the ‘who’ I can answer. It seems that Charlie got caught in the middle of an arms deal being brokered by a Ben Van Sant - one mean sonofabitch and a stone-cold killer for hire. Van Sant pistol-whipped him and then had some of his thugs beat the shit out of him. Then, he time-locked him up so he could make a getaway. The ‘how’ is more of a question - do you have any idea why Charlie would be completely off his patrol - and in a different borough no less? Did you ask him to do some investigating for you?”

Green eyes blazed as he stood up. “If I needed some ‘investigating’, Sergeant I have a very large, very capable and very well-equipped staff to manage that! Do you think I would do anything to put Charlie in harm’s way? Are you mad?” He was furious.

I was looking for tells - a twitch, breaking eye contact, a tremor – anything that might uncover guilt in the man in front of me. I had to make sure that he had nothing to do with the incident or Charlie's injuries. Lucky for me - and for him - there wasn’t any. If there had, I could guarantee he would not have lived to see another sunrise.

I put up my hands. “Sorry. I had to ask. I needed to make sure that you weren’t using him or anything. Charlie’s very special to me.”

Now that that trial by fire was over, Mateo calmed down. “I would say the feeling is mutual. You've made quite an impression on him, Sergeant. Charlie thinks the world of you, you know. He sees you as the big brother he never had. He’s told me a great deal about you and I can see that he didn’t exaggerate at all."

Just listening to his voice, I could feel my cock slithering down my pants and hoped he didn’t notice. Fat chance. Those verdant eyes caught the growing bulge and a knowing smile creased his handsome face.

I felt myself starting to blush. Last time that happened, I was sixteen. There was something about Mateo ... combined with that slight accent there was a wicked playfulness about him wrapped around a core of power, determination and capability ... I was glad that Charlie and he were together.

"I've arranged for you to go visit him without any hassles. I know you'd want to see him. He's at Presbyterian."

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

I stood up. “Well, unless you can get your hands on Van Sant and his crew, not really. I gotta get back to the precinct.” I put out my hand. “It was great meeting you, Mateo. I’m really glad you and Charlie found each other.”

He had a grip like iron and that brilliant white smile had me achingly hard. I was gonna have to breed one of the rookies when I got back. At least one. Maybe three.

He winked. “Me, too, Sergeant. I hope we’ll see you again soon ... under more ... pleasurable circumstances."

I could just imagine what he meant by "pleasurable" -- I had to get out of that office before I came in my blues.

He continued. "I'll clear my calendar so I can go over to the hospital and stay as long as he needs me.”

Chara walked me to the elevator. As the doors closed, I was wondering how Mateo would be at an initiation. I could just picture him and Charlie double-teaming a baby cop...

* * *
CHARLIE

Despite the fact that I felt I had been beaten with a hose (which I probably was) and dizzy to the point of wanting to throw up constantly, I felt good. Really good.

I didn’t realize the strain of keeping my secret had been that bad. When I told Captain Morgan who Mateo was, I felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my chest – okay, it’s still something that has to be kept down low everywhere else, but at least at the precinct, I didn’t have to worry any more.

Even with Jamie swearing to me it was safe, seeing the complete and unrestrained acceptance in my CO’s face was amazing. And, if I wasn’t the way I am, I said to myself, I’d be lying in a fucking coffin instead of a hospital bed.

Agent Garland had been right – someone up there does like me. I grinned – thinking of my guardian angel as some kick-ass, take-no-prisoners Batman-type with big off-white wings. Still, that’s no reason for me to have gotten overconfident – I had been a jackass for going out half-cocked and trying to do some sleuthing by myself.

At that moment, an orderly came into the room. He was about 6’6" tall, 250 pounds of solid muscle and his name tag had the name “R. Alvarez” on it. His top was strained to the ripping point across a slabbed chest and his scrub pants were obscenely tight through his muscular ass and quads. I could see the outline of a jockstrap holding up his huge package through the thin material. Alvarez was light brown with a shaved head and beautiful hazel-brown eyes surmounted by thick, but sculpted, black brows. He was pushing a wheelchair and gave me a big grin.

“Hey, handsome! I’m Bobby. I’ll be taking you down for an MRI. The docs want to make sure there’s no intercranial bleeding from that concussion. How you feeling?”

“I want to puke every time I move, but other than that, great.”

He laughed and moved the chair next to the bed.

I sat upright in bed and swung my legs over the side. I stood up and swayed on my feet. My vision started to darken and I thought I was going to pass out.

Powerful arms gripped me gently and I stared into those concerned, brown eyes. The dizzy spell passed.

“Easy does it, Charlie ... don’t want to add a busted arm to the rest of the menu ...” Our faces were inches apart. Something passed between us – I moved closer and laid my head on his massive shoulder as he wrapped powerful arms softly around my body. The events of the past two days finally caught up with me – shivers wracked my body and I started to cry.

Bobby rocked me gently and stroked the back of my head as I sobbed. “Shhhh. It’s okay, Charlie ... it’s okay. You’ve been through a lot these past few days.”

It felt so good to be cradled by those strong arms and feel the warm hardness of his chest against mine. This was something I couldn’t have done with any of the guys – Jamie included – but it was something I just had to do. I don’t know how long this tableau lasted, but eventually, I stopped weeping and the tremors died out.

I straightened up and looked at Alvarez. I felt like I was drowning in those soft, dark eyes.

“Feeling better?” he asked. The orderly brushed some hair away from my forehead.

“Yeah. A lot better. Thanks, Bobby. I really needed that.”

He gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead. “C’mon. We still have to get you down to Radiology.”

* * *

The MRI took about an hour, and from the look on the technician’s face, everything appeared to be okay. Alvarez wheeled me back to my room and I actually felt improved enough to get out of the chair and into the bed without (much) of his assistance.

“You’ve really been great to me, Bobby. Thanks. I really appreciate everything you’ve done above and beyond.”

He gave me another beautiful smile. “That’s my job, Charlie. Taking care of you. Whenever you need me, call and I’ll be there.” He looked at his watch and gave me a mock-serious look. “And you need to take a nap.” He stroked my forehead. “Go to sleep, Charlie.” His fingers made me instantly drowsy and before I knew it, I was out like a light.

* * *

I woke up to find Mateo sitting in the chair next to my bed. When he saw I was awake, he bent over and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

“You look like shit, amor.”

I chuckled. “Don’t make me laugh, Mattie ... it hurts.” Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as it had only a few hours ago.

He sat on the side of the bed and stroked my face. “Your Sergeant Reardon came to my office to let me know about you. I got the third degree from him in the process. He thought I had asked you to spy for me.”

It must have been something in my eyes. Mateo stopped stroking my forehead. “Charlie ... what did you do?” There was a hint of anger in his voice.

I swallowed. “Remember when we were together on Thursday you told me about those union guys that were acting suspicious? I figured I could scout around and see if I could find anything out for you...”

“Charlie! You could have gotten yourself killed! That’s what I have my security teams for! Amor, don’t ever do that again! Please!” His eyes started to fill with unshed tears.

“I’m sorry, Mattie. I won't. I was an overconfident jackass. It won’t happen again."

I changed the subject. "You saved my life ... you know that?"

He looked surprised. “Really? How was that?”

“The guy that chained me up found the picture of us I keep in my wallet. He said that was the clincher why he decided to let me live. He was gay too.”

Mateo let out a deep breath. “Your guardian angel must be working overtime, sweetheart.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. At that point, I noticed his cufflink – a beautifully sculpted golden sun glittered in the overhead light. My eyes widened.

“Heliopolis!”

He looked startled. “What?”

“That was the name of the ship that the missiles were loaded onto! Your cufflinks made me remember the name!”

* * *

The good news was that Captain Morgan was able to pass that information over to the Agent Garland and the Feds. It had checked out. The Heliopolis had been in port at that time. Also, my "transient non-global amnesia" was chalked up to the concussion.  The bad news was that the ship had docked ahead of schedule and all the cargo had been unloaded.

I was also well enough to leave the hospital. I was still all sore and bruised, but the concussion had seemingly disappeared completely. The MRI hadn’t shown anything amiss. I was given three weeks of medical leave and Mateo was taking me on a slow Carribean cruise. He was with me and had a car waiting for us downstairs.

There was one last thing I wanted to do before I left the hospital. I buzzed for the duty nurse. In a moment she came in.

“Is Bobby Alvarez around? I wanted to thank him for all his help while I was here.” I also wanted to give him something for being there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on.

The nurse gave me a puzzled look. “That name doesn’t sound familiar. Was he another nurse?”

“No, he was an orderly. He had been helping me and brought me down for my MRIs and other tests. Big, muscled Latino. Bigger than me. Shaved head. Really nice guy with a beautiful smile.”

“Officer Hawke, I can check, but I’m almost positive that we don’t have anyone here by that name. Certainly no one that fits that description. We have fixed orderlies assigned and there hasn’t been anyone out sick or any roster changes for a month.”

A chill crept down my spine. A lot of people had been saying recently that someone up there likes me and even I had been thinking of my guardian angel. Bobby’s words now took on a completely different meaning: “That’s my job, Charlie. Taking care of you. Whenever you need me, call and I’ll be there.”

Could it be? There were too many things that just happened for it to be a coincidence.

“Amor? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost...”

“I’m fine. Let’s go. I’m looking forward to that cruise ...”

* * *
(Four months later)
MATEO

The two men had been stripped naked and were tied painfully to heavy wooden chairs. They had been professionally beaten and were unconscious in their bondage.

Mateo turned to his enforcers. “Wake them up.”

The men left and returned with large buckets of freezing cold water. They threw them onto the prisoners who regained consciousness choking and sputtering.

Mateo was dressed in a pair of tight leather breeches tucked into high black field boots. A black tank top highlighted his muscular torso and short, tight leather gloves covered powerful hands. A grim, wolfish smile split his face. He circled the two slowly, his green eyes watching the fear growing in the captives’ faces.

“Four months ago, Ben Van Sant ordered you to bludgeon a young policeman. That man was my lover and I swore to God in Heaven that I would track down the men who nearly killed him.”

He put out a gloved hand and the other enforcer gave him a wicked looking knife. “I intend to see justice done.”

One of the thugs screamed as Mateo plunged the knife into his chest to the hilt. He let out a weak cry as Charlie's lover pulled the weapon out and the last breath rattled from his body. Castillion looked with satisfaction on his handiwork and circled around to face the remaining thug; his nose wrinkled – the other man had soiled himself in terror.

He drew the razor-sharp point lightly down the captive’s chest, leaving a trail of ruby droplets in its wake.

The prisoner blubbered. “P-please, mister … please don’t kill me! Van Sant only told us to soften him up, not to kill him!”

Mateo grabbed a handful of hair and pulled the man’s head up. “Really?”

“Y-yeah. He was gonna work him over himself. Find out what he was doing there...”

Charlie’s lover drew the knife across the captive’s throat, nearly decapitating him. The pool of blood from the two dead men spread slowly across the concrete. He tossed the weapon onto the floor.



A disgusted look crossed his handsome face. “Pousths!! If you expected to score points by whining, you should have joined a European soccer team.”

With a nod, he motioned his enforcers to leave. After a few moments, Mateo called out.

"Sergeant?"

A shadow detached itself and Jamieson Reardon stood next to the shipping magnate. He stoically observed the mutilated bodies of the men who had beaten the rookie policeman. Reardon looked into the satisfied green eyes and Mateo gave the older policeman a malicious grin.

"No one harms Charlie the way these two did and lives. I'd spit on their bodies, but as you said, no DNA evidence."

"Are you going to tell Charlie?"

Mateo looked pensive. "I haven't decided yet. The nightmares finally stopped only a week ago. I can't put him through that again."

Jamie nodded towards the bodies. "He's got a right to know about them, Mateo. You're his life, kid. Nothing - not even the fact you killed for him - is going to separate you two. Ever. When Charlie gives his heart and soul to someone, it stays given."

Mateo turned to him and gently stroked a gloved hand across the chiseled face of the other man. Reardon shivered under that touch. A dazzling, unforced smile split the Greek's handsome face.

"You're very perceptive, Sergeant. That was the biggest reason holding me back. Thank you."
 

"You'd better get out of here Mateo. Do you have the disposable?"

Castillion took the cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He left it on a table.

"The police may not understand the message I left here, but he will. Gamo tin ratsa sas, Van Sant - you’re next, you goddamned bastard ..."

The two left the building.

(Gamo tin ratsa sas - Fuck you and your family (and your race) – one of the most derogatory Cypriot Greek expletives around - ed.)

* * *
Well, the story is proceeding, but I still don't know what really makes Ben Van Sant tick. The continuation did take a somewhat odd turn, in the form of Charlie's guardian angel, but I think it worked out quite well. Initially, I had actually thought that Mateo had asked Charlie to do some sleuthing for him, but the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I also seemed to be getting Castillion involved with Lucio, and even though it may eventually occur, it didn't seem right at this juncture.

In the fullness of time, we'll see who and what Ben Van Sant really is and whether or not Mateo will have his revenge. Van Sant remains an enigma for the moment.