Away From the Sun - Part 1
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Jeremy,” Justin said, his face relaxing into a smile as he addressed a student sitting in the first row.
The young man smiled back. “Why not?”
“Because some people on the Board might have a problem with displaying soft porn.”
The entire class laughed.
Justin glanced back at the painting they were critiquing. The painting was extremely well done, especially for a sophomore, but at the same time it was obviously a drawing of two people having sex. There was no ambiguity or uncertainty about it. And while he would not hesitate to give top grade for it, he did not think that his boss would appreciate anything this explicit being displayed in the annual art show.
It felt good to smile, though – something that Justin hadn’t done very often in the last three weeks. He tried his best to act normal, tried to tell himself that this was no different than any other time when Brian left on a mission. After all, Brian always came back. Always. Look at the glass as half full. Silver lining and all the other optimistic bullshit. That’s what Justin had been telling himself every minute of every hour of every day ever since he watched Brian disappear in that alley.
“Ok. Now that you’ve gotten the entire class ready for a Friday night,” he continued, returning his attention to the boy in front of him. The laughter erupted once again. “No assignment for the weekend.”
There was a loud roar of approval as the students hurried to put their things away. As they began piling out of the classroom, Justin noticed a familiar face in the doorway. Daphne waved at him as she worked on making her way through the crowd.
“Girlfriend?”
Justin turned to Jeremy, who was putting away his drawing.
“Friend,” the blond responded as he made his way over to his desk.
“Oh,” the younger man said behind him. “I think you might need this tonight.” He pointed at the drawing they were discussing moments before.
Justin chuckled. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
“That’s a shame,” Jeremy replied, flirtatiously.
“Good bye, Jeremy,” Justin said, staring at the other man pointedly.
Jeremy flashed him a smile before leaving the classroom.
“Is he the one with the crush on you?” Daphne, who finally made her way through the horde of students and the desks, asked.
“He doesn’t have a crush on me,” Justin replied as he tried to organize his papers before leaving. “And I thought we were meeting at the café.”
“We were,” Daphne replied. “I…I got here earlier, that’s all.”
For a moment Justin thought that she was avoiding his gaze, but figured he was just being silly.
The weather was still fairly warm, so they decided to walk to the coffee shop where they met once or twice a week to catch up on the happenings in their lives. Daphne, Justin realized, was being uncharacteristically quiet, but it was Friday and Justin chucked it off on her being tired after a busy workweek.
Having ordered their drinks, the two of them grabbed their usual table near the window. He expected Daphne to burst out with information about her new boyfriend and her plans for the weekend, but she remained silent, methodically avoiding his gaze.
He now knew that he wasn’t imagining it.
“Everything ok?” he finally asked her.
“Yeah, sure,” the woman responded, briefly glancing up at him before moving her gaze back to the window. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“You tell me.”
“I…it’s fine…everything’s fine.”
Justin was not convinced in the least. “Daph, as someone who has known you your entire life, I have to say that you were never a very good liar.”
She sighed, moving her eyes up to his face.
“So, you want to tell me what’s wrong?” He tried again.
“I…” She bit her lip, hesitating for a moment. Finally, she let out a loud sigh. “Look, you know as well as I do that I’m not supposed to tell you, but…”
Justin felt his heart skip a beat, realizing immediately what it was that his friend was trying to say.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know much. I wasn’t even supposed to see it.”
Justin attempted to breathe – a practice that proved to be quite complicated. “Is he ok?”
“Justin…”
“Is he ok?” he demanded again.
She sighed, looking down at her cup. “I don’t know, I’m sorry.”
Justin nodded, feeling completely frozen for what seemed like forever. And then…he bolted out of his chair, ignoring his friend’s calls for him.
He was going to someone who had answers to his questions.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Justin rang the doorbell. When, within a couple of seconds there was no answer, he knocked hard on the door, making it shake under the force of his fist. It was all that he could do not to storm through the door.
Finally, he heard footsteps and in the next moment Melanie was standing in front of him.
“Justin?” She was obviously surprised to see him there, at least at first.
He didn’t bother with pleasantries. “Is she here?”
“Uh…yes,” she said, stepping aside to let him through.
Not waiting to be told twice, Justin walked inside and followed her into the living room.
“Linds,” Melanie said, stopping in the doorway. “You have a visitor.” Her announcement was, however, unnecessary, since Justin was already in the room, staring at the woman he hadn’t seen in over six months.
Lindsay, Justin quickly realized, did not seem at all surprised to see him in her house after all this time. It was almost as if she was expecting him. Which made it that much easier for him.
“Is it true?” he asked her.
“I think I should take Gus upstairs.” Melanie quickly picked up the little boy sitting on the floor in the middle of a pile of trucks and cars.
Justin didn’t move or speak until he heard the door upstairs close, his eyes not leaving Lindsay’s face for a second.
“Is. It. True?” he asked her again, more forcefully this time.
Lindsay exhaled loudly. “I think Daphne needs a refresher course in what ‘Top Secret’ means.” She slumped down on the couch.
“Is it?” He already knew the answer to the question, but for some reason he still waited for the confirmation.
She held his gaze for what seemed like forever. “Yes,” she finally said.
A part of him still hoped that the answer would be ‘no’. That she would tell him that there was some sort of a misunderstanding and Brian was really somewhere in the tropics, drinking margaritas and baking under the sun.
Shoulders slumped; Justin walked over to the couch and sat down next to Lindsay. “What happened?”
“It looks like somebody warned the Russians in advance. The team was ambushed. Three men were killed on the spot. Brian was captured.”
“Is he…” Justin closed his eyes, taking a moment to compose himself. “Is he ok?”
“As far as we know.”
Justin nodded. “So then what’s being done to get him out?”
The silence that followed was less than comforting.
“Lindsay?”
She stood up and moved a couple of feet away from the couch, keeping her back to Justin for a while before finally turning around to meet his eyes. “This was a black ops mission, Justin.”
Justin felt like an Antarctic blast just hit him head on and all his insides became one block of ice. He knew all too well what that meant, yet he still needed to ask. “Are you telling me…” His voice quivered. “You’re telling me that the CIA is not going to do a damn thing? Not even send a rescue team?”
“Sending another team to Ukraine would mean admitting that the United States government sent spies into the country. This would destroy any diplomatic relationship we have built with most of the former Soviet Union republics.”
He couldn’t believe how very by-the-book she sounded at that moment, as if she was talking about someone else entirely. “Brian went there under their orders.”
“Brian knew what he was getting himself into when he volunteered for this mission.”
Justin was shaking, he was so angry, as he stood up, moving closer to Lindsay. “So, you’re just going to leave him there? Just let him die?”
“I’ve tried everything I could think of. But I’m under direct orders not to…”
He couldn’t take it anymore. “He’s Brian, for fuck’s sake! Your best friend. The father of your son!” He shouted.
“I know who he is! But there is nothing I can do.” Lindsay almost whispered the last words, her eyes glistening. “My hands are tied.”
The air in the room had become so thick, he could hardly breathe. He couldn’t stay in this room even for one more minute. Couldn’t look at Lindsay anymore without wanting to scream at her, without wanting to shake her to bring her back to her senses. But it would not accomplish anything. So, Justin turned on his heels and rushed out of the house, not even bothering to close the door behind him.
He seemed to finally start breathing again only when he got into his car. His hands gripped the wheel so tightly, his fingernails dug into the worn leather, Justin looked around in desperation, looking for some kind of answer…any clue as to what he should do next. He could not remember ever feeling this helpless before. The panic, the desperation, the anger, and fear that he was able to suppress for the past hour were now coming up to the surface and he couldn’t control them anymore.
Justin startled when he heard a loud cry. It took him a few seconds to realize that the cry came out of his mouth. He buried his face in his hands, letting the emotions finally overcome him.
He wasn’t sure how long he sat like that. It was already dark when he pulled away from the curb, his mind racing once again, looking for solutions.
He knew that the CIA was not going to go after Brian, so he was Brian’s only hope. He was going to Ukraine.
The problem was that he had absolutely no information on where Brian even was, not to mention who he was up against. Whoever it was, he knew he couldn’t do it alone.
Making a u-turn, Justin drove his Porsche in the direction of Liberty Avenue.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Standing in front of the door, Justin took a deep breath in and then slowly let it out. He knew that acting like a complete lunatic was not the best way to convince somebody to risk their life.
When he felt that he had his emotions under control, or as under control as they could possibly be at this moment in his life, Justin knocked. Ten seconds later he was standing face-to-face with Brian’s best friend.
“What…what are you doing here?” Michael asked. Justin was obviously the last person he expected to see at his doorstep.
“Your mother said that Ben lives here,” Justin replied. He had absolutely no desire to get into it with Michael. “Is he home?” When Michael continued to eye him suspiciously, Justin added, “It’s about work.”
“I thought you didn’t work there…” Michael’s voice trailed off as Ben showed up in the doorway behind him.
“Justin,” he exclaimed, his face showing almost as big of a surprise as Michael’s.
“I…I need to talk to you.” Justin tried to keep his voice steady for Michael’s sake.
“Oh…right.” Ben glanced nervously down at Michael, then back at Justin. “Sure.” He stepped outside of the apartment, closing the door behind him and walking over to the staircase away from the apartment.
Justin followed him. “You didn’t tell Michael yet, did you?” It was more of a statement than a question.
Ben shook his head. “I guess I’m still hoping the big wigs change their fucking minds and send a team in.”
Justin let out a bitter laughter. He had very little time to reflect on the situation, but he knew that there was no miracle in the making. He had to do it himself. “Look, Daphne told me that when I got shot last year and Brian went after Stockwell, you offered to help him.”
“Yes.”
Justin inhaled sharply. “I was hoping that offer still stands.”
He waited with baited breath for the answer.
Ben remained quiet for what to Justin felt like eternity before he finally replied.
“Where do we start?”
Go to Part 2