Cat and Mouse - Part IV

The restorer gently took the portfolio and laid it on the examining table. After the accident with the chandelier and the broken case, he had been summoned to examine the damage - if any - and attempt repairs before returning it to the British Museum.

He turned on the lights and slipped on a pair of cotton gloves and then his magnifying goggles. Looking at the notebook, he shook his head. The page to which it had been opened had been dented by a heavy shard of glass and there appeared to be a slight tear in the center of the parchment. I can probably press the dents out with some light steam on the opposite side...

He turned the torn page and blanched. His hands were shaking so badly that it took him three attempts to call the museum curator.

DaVinci Pinched!

Interpol humiliated as tables turned on agency

Versailles. Interpol, the international police agency, was dealt a humiliating blow today when it was discovered that a trap set for an art forger was sprung on the agency itself. The ongoing investigation led by Detective Chief Inspector Iain Goddard of Scotland Yard attempted to use a rare DaVinci notebook as bait to catch a thief who has perpetrated several daring heists over the past few years. Due to an accident in the museum - or perhaps as part of the theft itself - the folio was determined to be a forgery. "I was examining the damage to the pages when I received the shock of my life." said Giovanni Batista, the museum's art restorer. "I turned the page and I saw a perfect drawing of the Autobot Optimus Prime in Leonardo's style. My son has many of those action figures, so that's how I knew what it was right away. I called the curator immediately. I was having heart palpitations." 

Interpol and Inspector Goddard have been unavailable for comment.

* * *
Sebastien threw the paper on Iain's desk. "Have you seen this? Have you? God DAMN you, Iain! You've embarassed me, the Art Crimes Division and Interpol itself! How could you have been so incredibly STUPID?" He paced the small office, running a hand vexedly through his hair and muttering curses under his breath.

Iain rubbed his chin as a wry grin creased his face. "You have to admit, Paul ...  that it was an incredible heist. Alec probably switched the folios between museums. And that Autobot thing was completely brazen. Do you know that we just got the carbon dating results back? Everything was in accord with the original notebook. Ink, paper, leather bindings - even the glue. That was an amazing forgery, if I say so myself. And you should be more concerned about recovering the folio and catching the thief versus whinging over your embarrassment." Goddard, of course, knew more of the details of the job than he was admitting after the tryst with Reynard the night of the incident.

The Interpol chief whirled on the ginger-haired Scot. "You and your ghost again! You actually admire him, don't you? I wouldn't be surprised if you and he were complicit in this!! It would have been better for everyone if you had been ki-" The Art Crimes chief clamped his mouth shut as his statement remained incomplete but perfectly understood.

Iain had had enough. He grabbed the slender man by the lapels of his jacket and lifted him off his feet and flung him against the wall.

SLAM! "You sonofabitch! I've been treated like dirt since I came here from London! You set me up with that drug operation! You set me up and left me to die, you goddamned bastard!"

"Iain ... I ..."

SLAM! "Interpol didn't even bother trying to find out what happened! Was Egon just an acceptable casualty? He just had a baby! What excuse did you give his wife?"

SLAM! "And I don't know who mounted the operation to save me, but whoever they were, they cared fucking enough to find me no matter what and get me out alive! But I know ..." SLAM! "... that it wasn't anyone here!"

He let go of his superior and watched him slump down onto the floor, dazed from the assault. Goddard bent down and whispered to him. "I'm also certain if you try anything like that to me again, they will hunt you down and do the same thing to you as they did to Francois Bertrand." Iain had a bitter taste in his mouth as Sebastien's eyes widened in guilty fear. Goddard grabbed his jacket and stalked out of his office.

Sebastien sat on the floor, breathing heavily. He was not only shaking from the pounding the ginger-haired Scot had given him, but the knowledge that had been imparted. He knows. God in Heaven, he knows. It had all been planned so well - an indiscretion some years back had been used to blackmail the Interpol chief into providing information to the Syrian-French drug gang on a regular basis. Sending Goddard into the lion's den would have eliminated both the gang itself and the Scot when he sent forces in to storm the warehouse - both terrible dangers to his own position. But the situation had morphed into something horribly different - yes, the gang had been murdered - but not by Interpol - and Goddard had been rescued and found waiting in an ambulance at the local hospital. From the few eyewitness accounts, whomever had gone in to rescue the inspector were highly trained and completely remorseless; Francois Bertrand had been found mutilated and skinned - the gangster had died screaming in agony. He should have never underestimated the inspector's deductive powers. Goddard's threat froze his heart - he knew that the Inspector was was correct ... and he knew for him, there was no escape from the prison of his own making.

* * *

After a long soul-searching walk, Iain returned home and wearily climbed the two flights to his apartment. I'm going to call that number Alec gave me. There's no future for me here. I can see that now. Ever since his abduction, he had the prickling feeling of being watched  - but that frisson of unease had never reached the level of a threat - it was always more of a careful observation. Nevertheless, he had taken some precautions and as he removed his keys, he noticed that the hair that had been placed across the doorframe was gone. Quietly, he took the H&K from his shoulder holster and opened the door. Before he could flip on the lights, he was thrown to the ground and the gun torn from his hand. Goddard was pinioned flat to the carpet when a familiar voice chuckled above him.

"My, my, my ... someone must've had a bad day at the office..."

"JD!!"

The handsome bearded face came into view above him from the dim lights of the outside hallway. The dark-haired soldieri gave him a kiss on the tip of his nose and flowed to his feet. He reached down and pulled Iain up. JD flipped on the lights and softly kicked the door shut. He was wearing a slim leather jacket with a tight gray t-shirt beneath. A hint of his tattoos peeked above the scooped neck as he gathered the inspector into a quick embrace.

"I've been reading the papers and figured you'd like to see a friendly face. You okay?"

"Yes. No. Oh, hell... I don't know. My boss thinks I was in on Alec's heist and I'm being stared daggers from more than half the people in the department. It was bad enough when I got those dirty looks because of my clearance rate, but now they look at me like some piece of thieving scum."

Iain quickly realized his gaffe. "No offense intended."

"None taken. Your boss is an asshole and your co-workers don't seem much better, bud."

Iain walked into the kitchen and took two beers from the refrigerator. JD followed. He handed one to the other man. "I nearly beat the shite out of my boss today as well. I believe he had something to do with my abduction and I think he set me up to be killed. Bastard."

He took a swig of beer.

"Well, we can talk about Sebastien and everything else later. I'm taking you out to a party and some fun and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer." He grinned. "Now, get yourself cleaned up and into something comfortable."

He curled into a chair like a large, amorous cat. "I'll be waiting."

* * *

Iain stripped off his clothes and threw them into the hamper. Then he turned on the shower full blast and luxuriated in the clean scent of soap and the massage of the hot spray against his tense muscles. After a bit, he turned off the spray and stepped out of the shower. Only to find JD holding out a towel with a wicked grin on his face. He grabbed the fluffy cotton and wrapped it quickly around his waist.

"I can't see anything to be ashamed of, Iain. You're a damned impressive man, in every way possible." He glanced fixedly at the swelling bulge beneath the front of the towel, and slowly licked his lips.

Goddard blushed scarlet at the compliment. JD gave him a pat on the ass and strolled out of the steamy bathroom. "Make sure you wear something to show off that body of yours, Inspector. Can't let a physique like that go to waste."

* * *

The ginger-haired policeman debated as to whether he would comply with JD's request. He pulled out his baggiest pair of chinos that he owned, and then, thought better of it. He put them back on the hanger and took out a tight, faded pair of jeans. He stepped into a tight pair of briefs and approved of the way they pushed his package out and cupped his cheeks as he looked at himself in the mirror. He then pulled up the jeans and finished with a black polo shirt fitted tightly to his upper body. Finally, he rolled the sleeves up to further accent his guns and then slipped into a pair of black soccer shoes. Keys, wallet and watch were added and he stepped back into the living room.

JD gave a low whistle as Goddard entered. " 'He came out of the north to Paris with a mind like Aristotle and a form like mortal sin...' Impressive, Inspector ... very impressive."

Iain grinned. Despite the travails in his life at the moment, the jewel thief's mere presence brightened him. Over and above the physical attraction, he was genuinely happy to have him around. "... 'We shattered the Commandments on the spot.' Y'know, JD ... beneath that sexual predator veneer of yours, there's quite an acuate mind in there. There's not a lot of people that can quote from 'The Lion in Winter'. "

"There's not a lot of people that would recognize it, either. Gotta keep all my weapons honed sharp enough to draw blood. But I'll leave shattering the commandments to Alec and you." He looked at the white G-Force around his wrist. "We should get moving. Grab a jacket and let's go."

The two men descended the stairs and left the building. Iain slipped on a pair of mirrored blue sunglasses as the bright afternoon sun wreathed him in golden fire. They walked across the boulevard and JD's silver sportscar beeped as it's alarm was turned off. Iain and his companion slid into the leather seats and buckled in. JD gunned the motor and the car leaped into traffic.


* * *

Goddard watched as JD expertly slid around the heavy Parisian traffic and headed north-northeast out of the city on the A3. The inspector noticed as the car took the Le Bourget exit and soon found himself at the private hangars of the older airport. The two exited the car and JD tossed the keys to a mechanic who exited the building as they pulled up. They walked into the hangar.

"Where are we going?"

"Juan Les Pins. The Hotel Du Cap to be exact. You'll like it."

Goddard stopped. "JD, I can't go there ... I have to be at work tomorrow. I ..."

Franklin sighed and grabbed him by his belt buckle. "No one is going to say anything, Iain. It's going to be expected you stay clear of the office after what happened today." He gave him a mock frown. "Now stop acting like a dick and come on. Enjoy yourself for once." He wrapped an arm around the inspector's waist and the two continued.

The men threaded through several buildings and arrived on the tarmac of a runway. Ahead of them, a sleek white Learjet was being loaded; it had a stylized "K" on its tail. Iain sauntered over to the open hatch and gestured Iain into the plane. In  a few moments, JD joined him. "Want to sit up front with me?"

"You can fly?"

JD gave him a happy wink as he slipped on a pair of aviator glasses. "Yup. One of my varied talents. Strap in and let me do the pre-flight. We'll be up and away in a few." The jewel thief flipped several switches and examined dials and meters as the jet came to life under his hands. He pulled a headset over his raven hair and began his conversation with the tower for departure instructions.

True to his word, the plane soon taxied to a runway and in a few moments the men were in the air. As soon as they reached their cruising altitude, JD entered some commands into the flight computer built-in to the cockpit. Iain felt a change in the jet engines and felt himself being pressed deeper into the plush seat.

"I've engaged the afterburners. The flight normally takes about 90 minutes, but we'll be there in about half the time."

Iain gave him a troubled look. "JD ... only military jets have afterburners. There's a great deal of things going on right now that don't make a lot of sense to me. Everything started to go sideways since I met you and Jessie. That operation in Rouen, being abducted by a group of Syrian drug runners and rescued by who knows what black ops group, the fuck-up at the museum and now, this."

JD's normally sunny face settled into a more somber mask. He turned to the inspector and gently ran his hand through the short, ginger hair. "You're right ... this jet isn't exactly a commercial plane, bud. We also have other equipment you won't see on a regular Learjet. Or any fighter jet in the world. Like beam weapons.  And as far as things going sideways, it actually started when you began investigating the art forgeries. You got the attention of a certain organization - and some very highly placed people in particular - that determined they - and you - would be better served having you work for them instead of being a policeman. They've been keeping an eye on you to make sure no one tries another attempt on your life. You're far too valuable to them." He paused. "And to me and Alec as well. I can't disclose any more details than that right now. It's above my pay grade."

At least one part of the puzzle fell into place. "They've been watching me?" He now knew his feelings hadn't been due to mere paranoia.

JD nodded. "Very discreetly. We've been sort of like your guardian angels since the cluster-fuck at Rouen.We mounted the rescue operation to get you out of there."

Another piece of the puzzle. Iain was shocked at the revelations he was hearing. 

"And you're part of this 'organization' ?"

JD nodded again.

"And this 'party' we're going to ...??"

The pilot's face brightened once more and his hand squeezed Goddard's thigh. "It IS a party. A graduation party, truth be told. And I'm one of the graduates. And I wanted YOU as one of my guests. You'll also get to meet a number of the people that have taken such an interest in you."

Iain leaned back into the seat and rubbed his eyes. His mind raced with the revelations and he thought of the ancient Chinese curse - 'May you live in interesting times.'

* * *
I can safely say that I know what is going to happen next - it's just a matter now of sequencing the events of how Iain and Alec are going to get together and the aftermath of the revelations from JD. My last few stories have been moving in fits and starts and as I've said many a time, I really don't want to write when I know the quality will be sub-standard. 

Nevertheless, I did want to get my "Holiday Episode" done before the end of the year and I also wanted to whet your appetites as to what will happen next. The final installment will definitely include sex and violence! At times, I can't really believe I've been doing this now for six years ... more than half a decade!

The idea of Iain had come from seeing a handsome red-haired guy from a Google search. However, there wasn't any name associated with him, which drove me crazy. Thanks to Facebook, I was able to determine that the guy I was looking at was Jelle ten Rouwelaar - a Dutch soccer player. I could have had the character as a soccer player, but I decided I wanted something that would fit a little better into my secondary world  - cops and criminals are definitely characters I relate to best.

So, readers ...on behalf of militant and not-so-perfect angels, rubber-encased slaves, masters and shark-men, struggling cops and gang members with their hearts in the right place ...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and have a wonderful and very Happy New Year!

Candid Shots: Charlie Hawke

After repeated urgings, Charlie finally agreed to do some modeling for Mateo's cousin Alexander Masiokos - a world-famous fashion designer. Of course, he had to let his hair grow out a little for the photoshoot....