Away From the Sun - Part 8

“I don’t understand,” Ben said for what seemed like the hundredth time.  “Why would Justin do this?” 

He was the only one speaking, trying to rationalize what had just happened.  Daphne, meanwhile, hasn’t said a word since Brian handed her the gold necklace, sitting in stunned silence at the desk.  Brian found a spot away from her, in a chair under the window.  Head in hands, he ran the events of the last forty-eight hours over and over in his head, trying to remember if there were any clues to Justin’s plans, his whereabouts – a task that was made more difficult by the fact that Ben would not stop pacing in front of him.

“It’s clear he made some sort of a deal,” Ben continued.  He stopped and turned to Daphne.  “You mentioned before that you walked in on him talking to somebody on the phone right before he left.”

Daphne nodded.  “He said it was just an informer he used while he was working in Ukraine,” she spoke up for the first time.  “I didn’t have any reason to think otherwise.”

Ben, obviously disappointed that this led them nowhere, resumed pacing the room.  “I would have understood if Justin agreed to some sort of a favor, or payment.  But going back like this…It just doesn’t make sense.”

Brian’s head shot up at the realization of exactly what Justin’s plans were.  “It makes perfect sense,” he said, standing up. 

Ben, who stopped pacing, and Daphne both stared at him with the look of hope.  Unfortunately, Brian couldn’t offer them any. 

“Who is the only person with the resources to get me out of a military base who always wanted Justin on his side?” He continued.

From Daphne’s widened eyes, Brian could tell that she understood him.

“You’re talking about Craig Taylor,” she said.

Brian nodded.  “It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Justin needed help, so he went to the one person he knew he had something to bargain with.”

“But…Justin despises his father,” Ben said.

Daphne’s gaze bore into Brian.  “But he also loves Brian.”

Brian turned away, unable to look the young woman in the eye.  He should have known.  Somehow he should have realized that Justin was ready to do anything to save him and making a deal with his father was the first option on the table. 

Even with his back turned, Brian could feel two pairs of eyes focused on him.  They were expecting him to tell them what to do, to somehow make it all go away, but he couldn’t.  He didn’t know how.  He had no clue where to even begin to get out of this mess. 

“So, what do we do now?” Ben asked. 

Brian leaned against the window, staring out into the street.  “The only way to find Justin is to find Craig Taylor.”

“Yeah, that’ll be easy,” Daphne said behind him.  “The CIA only spent years trying to do exactly that and accomplished absolutely nothing.”

“This is different.  Justin is with him now.  He could make a mistake or…” Ben, in his usual manner, tried to keep hope alive. 

“No,” Brian cut him off, turning around to face them.  “She’s right.  If anything, he’ll be even more careful.  At least until he knows that Justin is not going to deliver him to the authorities.”

“So what?  We just give up?”

Brian closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.  “No,” he said, opening his eyes again.  “We look for Craig Taylor, but in our own way.  We contact everybody we know who might have any knowledge whatsoever about his whereabouts.”

While Ben agreed with him, Daphne seemed to have lost all hope.  Shaking her head, she slumped back in her chair. 

“But we have to be careful,” Brian made sure to add.  “The CIA cannot know about this.  If they find out that he’s working for his father, Justin’s as good as dead.”

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

“He’s not dead?” Justin asked, looking down at the picture in his hand.  The image was of Ludwig Darmstadt – a man wanted by the CIA and Interpol, as well as intelligence organizations around the world.  He was a major arms dealer, supplying terrorist groups with every-day arsenal as well as newly developed weapons. 

“No.  He faked his own death a couple of years ago,” his father responded.  “Figured it was his only way to get out of the game alive.”

“And now he’s back?  Why?”

“I’m not sure,” Craig answered.  “And, frankly, I don’t care.  There is word on the street that he’s developing something new.  Something very powerful.”

Justin felt a chill run down his spine.  “You mean something dangerous.”

Craig held Justin’s gaze, remaining quiet for a few seconds.  “I arranged a meeting with him in Berlin to discuss a deal.”

Justin tossed the picture on the desk in front of him, feeling disgusted.  One didn’t need to be a psychic to know that whatever it was that Darmstadt was developing, would cause deaths of innocent people. 

“Why are you telling me this?” Justin asked, trying to keep his emotions in check. 

“Because next Tuesday you will be on the plane to Berlin,” Craig replied.

It was as if all the air was suddenly sucked out of the room.  He wanted to believe that he had heard his father incorrectly, but Justin knew it wasn’t the case.  “You want me…you want me to meet with him?”

Craig nodded. 

“With Ludwig Darmstadt?”

His father nodded his head once again.

“The man that blew up the municipal building in Prague?  Killed almost four hundred people.  You want me to just go and have lunch with him?”  Justin rose from his chair.  “Well you can just forget it.”  He turned to leave the room.  It was one thing to read about all the things his father had done.  It was a completely different thing to see it first hand, to be a part of it.

“No, I WON’T just forget it,” his father roared behind him. 

Justin stopped and turned to face him.  Craig was already up and crossing the distance between them.

“You will do as I tell you,” he hissed in Justin’s face.  “What did you think was going to happen?  You were going to sit on your ass all day drawing pretty pictures?  You’re working for me now, Justin.  And that means doing the dirty work.”

Justin grit his teeth.  “You can’t ask me to sit across from a known murderer and drink coffee while making deals to kill even more people.”

Craig leaned in even closer, their faces mere inches apart.  “I’m not asking you,” he said, his voice steady and cool.  He stepped back.  “Next week you WILL get on the plane to Berlin and you WILL meet Darmstadt.”  He glared down at Justin.  “Am I making myself clear?”

Justin held his father’s gaze.  “Crystal,” he said through his teeth.  Unable to stay in the same room as his father, Justin turned around and walked out of the room.  Being in the same room with that man was making him physically ill. 

Ignoring the looks from the guards sitting at the end of the corridor, Justin walked out of the apartment.

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

“Here you go, sweetie,” Debbie said, placing the paper bag  with Brian’s order in front of him.  The moment he walked in, the woman was all over him, hugging him, kissing him, and fussing over him like a baby.  And while outwardly Brian acted like he would rather be anywhere but here, inside he couldn’t help but smile – for the first time in days.  While most times Debbie was a pain in the ass, she was really the only mother figure in his life.

He pulled out his wallet and tossed a couple of bills on the counter before grabbing the bag and standing up to leave.

“You want to come over for dinner tonight?  I’m making ziti.” Debbie said. 

“Can’t,” he simply replied.

“You work too hard,” the red-wigged woman told him.  “You’ll work yourself straight into the ground at the rate you’re going.”

Brian smiled.  “I always wanted to die young.”  The next thing he knew Debbie’s hand was connecting with the side of his head.  “Hey,” he exclaimed, scandalized.  It took very little for Debbie to make him feel like a teenager once again. 

“You better take care of yourself, you hear?”

Brian leaned over the counter and kissed her on the cheek.  “You worry too much.”  He smiled.  “Ma,” he added.  Offering her a parting smile, Brian moved toward the exit.  He stopped immediately when his eyes settled on a brunet standing in the open door. 

“Hey, Mikey,” Brian said, walking up to his best friend.

“Is that all you have to say?” Michael asked, following Brian out of the diner.  “Hey, Mikey?”

Brian shrugged.  “How’s it going?”

“Brian!”

Brian stopped.  Sighing, he turned around to face the irate man behind him.  He knew he’d have to deal with this, but he had hoped to put this conversation off to when things had calmed down.  When that would be though, Brian had no idea.  And now there was no escaping Michael.

“Where the fuck have you been all this time?” Michael began.

“Working,” Brian replied, annoyed.  It wasn’t a complete lie. 

“I haven’t talked to you in weeks.  How hard is it to pick up a goddamn phone and call your best friend?”

Brian rolled his eyes.  “You realize you’re starting to sound like your mother?”

“Shut up, asshole,” Michael responded.  “Am I gonna get an answer?”

Brian let out another exasperated sigh.  “What the fuck do you want me to say?”

“Something.  Anything!”

Brian turned away.  “I don’t have time for this.”

“You owe me an explanation,” Michael insisted.

“I don’t owe you a fucking thing,” Brian snapped. 

Just then his cell phone rang.  Reaching inside his leather jacket, Brian pulled out the phone and answered it.  “What?”  There was no one on the other line – just silence.  “Who is this?”  Still silence.  Brian was about to tell whoever it was on the other end of the line to fuck off when suddenly…he knew who it was. 

“Justin?”  He was barely able to keep his voice from shaking.  “Justin, are you ok?” 

No answer.

“Justin, come on…talk to me, tell me where you are.” 

The line went dead.

“FUCK!” The first sign of Justin, the first glimmer of hope in days – and now it was gone.  Forgetting that he was standing in the middle of the street or that his best friend was standing next to him, Brian kicked the wall of the building as hard as he could.  Leaning against the wall with his both hands, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, taking in deep breath.  He couldn’t lose his head right now. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder.  He completely forgot that Michael was still there. 

“Brian, what’s going on?” his friend asked.

But the last thing he wanted to do right now was make up some little white lie.  “I gotta go.”  He moved to cross the street where his motorcycle was parked. 

“Brian, wait,” Michael called after him.  “What’s going on?  Is Justin in trouble?” He asked again when he caught up with Brian, who was already in the process of putting his helmet on.

“I told you, I don’t have time for this.”

Michael grabbed the front of Brian’s jacket and turned him around.  “Well, you better make time.  I think I deserve to know.”

“Fine,” Brian replied, teeth clenched.  “I work for the CIA.  For the last three weeks I was in Ukraine tracking down new biological weapons.  Then I was captured and tortured.  Is that what you wanted to know?” 

Michael’s response was exactly what Brian had expected.  “Very funny, Brian.”

Brian put the helmet and on and turned on the ignition.  “Don’t believe me?” He asked.  “Ask Ben.  I gotta go.”  And with that, he pulled away from the curb, leaving his bewildered best friend behind.

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

An hour later he was back in his loft, working with Daphne on trying to figure out where Justin had called from.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Same as when you last asked me two minutes ago,” Daphne replied without looking up.  “And would you stop pacing?  You’re driving me nuts.”

Brian bit back a caustic comment and stopped behind her chair, looking over her shoulder as she tried to navigate her way through different phone and computer networks. 

They were quiet for a long time, the only sound coming from the keyboard.  Finally, Daphne shook her head.  “He hung up too soon,” she told him. 

Brian swore under his breath.  He was afraid of that. 

“The closest I can get is somewhere in Eastern Europe,” Daphne continued.

Brian pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to concentrate.  He didn’t have the luxury of just giving up.  He had to find another way to track down Justin.  “Check all calls to Jennifer Taylor’s house.” 

“You think he called her?” Daphne asked.

“I’m sure he’d find some way to let his mother know he was ok,” Brian replied. 

The young woman nodded and returned her attention back to the monitor as Brian stood behind her, nervously tapping his foot. 

He didn’t bother to turn around when he heard the door slide open, then close.

“Do you want to tell me what the fuck you were thinking?” Ben asked, quickly crossing the distance between them. 

One didn’t need to be a genius to know what Ben was referring to.  Brian exhaled sharply and turned to face the other man.  “It was time for him to know,” he calmly said.

“It’s not your place to decide when it’s time,” Ben shot back. 

“Bullshit.  I’ve known him a lot longer than you have.”

“Really?  Then why the fuck did you wait all these years to tell him?”

 “Why did you?” Brian asked.

Ben looked away, then back at Brian.  “I didn’t want him to worry.”

Brian sneered.  “Look, if you want to attempt to play house like a couple of happily married breeders, fine.  But I don’t have time to cuddle you or him right now.”

The two men glared at each other.  Ben was the first to look away, his features softening slowly.  “Did you find anything?” he finally asked.

Brian was about to answer, but Daphne spoke before him.  “Yes.”

“What?” he asked, not hiding his surprise.

 “Two minutes after he hung up with you, a call was made to Jennifer’s house,” Daphne informed them.  “From Odessa.”

Brian’s eyes widened.  “Odessa?  He went back?”

“I guess so.  He called from a payphone somewhere in the center of the city.”

Brian nodded, already coming up with a plan in his head.  “Alright.  Get me on the first flight out of here.”  He started to move toward the bedroom, but was stopped by protests from the other two people in the room.

“No way, Brian,” Daphne told him.  “You can’t go back there.  You barely got out of there alive.”

“That was different,” he argued.  “I’m going with legal documents and an American passport.  If they detain me, they’ll have an international conflict on their hands.”

“Well, even if Justin is still in Odessa, which is a very big ‘if’ considering Craig Taylor never stays in one place for more than two weeks,” Ben chimed in.  “How are you going to find him once you’re there?  Odessa isn’t exactly a tiny village.”

“I’ll figure something out,” was Brian’s response.  While Ben’s concern was quite valid, Brian also knew that if he didn’t go now, they might lose Justin forever.  He couldn’t risk it.  His facial expression said as much.

“Just stay away from military bases,” Ben said, conceding. 

Brian managed a tiny smile before turning toward the bedroom to pack.

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

He walked through the crowded street.  Even at this time of day Deribasovskaya street, which was the main street of the city, was packed.  Hands in the pockets of his coat, Brian walked past the City Garden, where dozens of artists displayed their work.  But Brian only had eyes for one artist in particular.

He searched the benches inside the park, but nobody even closely resembled Justin.  He didn’t stop to think once about it until he landed in Odessa’s airport, but now that Brian was here, he had to admit to himself that he had no idea where to even begin looking for his lover.  All he had to go on were a handful of places that he had listened to Justin talk about or seen in Justin’s drawings. 

Buttoning his coat, Brian moved past the artists and down the street walking toward the Opera Theater.  It wasn’t really cold, not compared to Pittsburgh.  The trees only now had begun to shed leaves and most people only wore light jackets.  But Brian could feel the moisture in the wind blowing from the sea, could smell the salt water in the air and it seemed to penetrate every part of his body. 

He still remembered the countless times Justin described his experience while living here and as he walked past the famous Opera Theater, under the chestnut trees, Brian could certainly see why Justin had such a fondness for this city. 

Brian quickly made his way through the Primorskiy Boulevard and down the Potemkin Stairs, heading for the only place he hadn’t looked yet – a tiny church right behind the Port building that had been built a little over ten years before.  He knew it was a long shot, but Brian didn’t have anything else to go on.  So he headed to one place that he knew Justin visited often while living here. 

If he was honest with himself, he would admit that he did not expect to see Justin there.  That is why Brian paused, unsure whether his eyes were deceiving him, as he stared at the back of a blond head.  He stood still for a few minutes, just watching Justin – fingers wrapped around a pencil, a sketchbook in his lap, eyes focused on the dark blue waves washing against the walls of the pier. 

Taking in a deep breath, Brian moved toward the bench, thankful that there wasn’t anybody else around them.  He walked around the bench and sat down next to Justin.  He could immediately feel Justin’s body tense up next to him.  Justin knew it was him without even looking up. 

“Relax, there’s no cavalry behind me,” Brian said, eyes focused straight ahead. 

Justin lowered the pencil in his hand.  “What are you doing here?”  There was a definite hint of panic in his voice.

Brian looked over to his left.  “I’m pretty sure that’s my line.”

Justin closed his eyes, then opened them, finally meeting Brian’s gaze.  “Brian…”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I couldn’t let you die,” Justin defended himself.

“There are other people who could have helped you,” Brian argued. 

The blond shook his head.  “No, there weren’t.  Look, I did what I had to do.”

“Making a deal with Craig Taylor?”

“Whatever it took!” Justin shouted.  “I was ready to do whatever it took to get you out.  Even make a deal with the devil if I had to.”

“Congratulations.  You did,” Brian said quietly.  He understood Justin’s reasoning for doing what he did, he really did.  And if the roles were reversed, Brian would given up everything to save Justin as well.  But knowing it and understanding it all didn’t make any of it easier. 

Justin let out a long sigh and looked away.  “You should go.  You shouldn’t be here.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t be here,” Brian replied.  This wasn’t going the way he thought it would. 

Justin laughed bitterly.  “No, Brian, this is exactly where I should be.  This is my life now.”

“That’s the biggest load of crap and you know it,” the brunet said angrily.  “So, stop playing the martyr.  You’re coming home with me.”

Justin shook his head as he met Brian’s eyes.  “I don’t have a home anymore, Brian.”

“Yes, you do.  You have a home and family and friends who are worried out of their fucking minds right now.”

Justin closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.  He looked like he was about to say something, but at the last minute changed his mind.  Instead he rose from the bench.  “I have to go.”  He turned to Brian.  “Don’t look for me again.” 

Desperately, Brian grabbed Justin’s hand before the blond could leave.  “That’s not gonna happen.  So you might as well just get over your drama queen moment right now and get on the plane with me.”

“I can’t,” Justin said forcefully.  “I made a deal.  He kept up his end of the bargain.  Now it’s my turn.”

“Who gives a shit about the deal?” Brian exclaimed, exasperated.

“I do,” came Justin’s calm response.

Taking a deep breath in, Brian tried again.  “You know as well as I do that even if you bail right now, he’s not gonna hurt you.  You’ll be safe no matter what.”

“There are other people that he could hurt,” Justin replied.

How could he not realize this earlier?  There would be only one reason why Justin would stay with his father.  He was afraid that Craig Taylor would go after those he loved.  After Brian, more specifically. 

Brian stepped closer and cupped Justin’s face in his hand.  “It’s not your job to protect me,” he said softly. 

Justin’s eyes closed as he leaned into the touch and for a moment Brian thought that maybe he got through to his lover.  But another second later, Justin took Brian’s hand in his and pulled it away. 

Brian’s heart was pounding inside his chest as he felt Justin slip away from him.  He was losing him, but Brian couldn’t muster another word to convince Justin to go back with him.  They stood still for what seemed like forever, eyes fixed on each other, no words spoken. 

Then, suddenly, Justin moved closer and was kissing him.  A hard, passionate, desperate kiss that sent Brian’s entire world spinning.  

Just as sudden as it began, the kiss ended abruptly when Justin pulled away.

“Just promise me something,” he said.  “Whatever happens from now on, you’ll do what you have to.”

Brian stared back at him, confused, unsure of what Justin was asking and a big part of him didn’t want to find out. 

“You do your job, Brian,” Justin explained. 

A chill traveled down Brian’s spine, freezing everything inside him.  He knew what Justin was asking him.  He tried to say no, tried to argue, but no sound came out, muffled by the enormous lump stuck in his throat. 

Justin wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck, hugging him tightly.  “Please,” he whispered in Brian’s ear.  “Please, promise me.  Otherwise, I won’t be able to do what I have to do.”

Brian held Justin close to him, pressing their bodies together.  It was all he could do to keep from crying out. 

“Promise me,” Justin pleaded.

Brian swallowed hard and closed his eyes.  He couldn’t believe this was happening.  “I…promise,” he finally said, his voice cracking. 

His entire body trembled as he felt Justin slip out of his embrace.  The blond took a step back and stared up at him, his eyes filled with tears. 

“Good bye, Brian,” Justin said quietly.

Brian wanted nothing more than to run after him, to make him stop somehow.  But his legs wouldn’t move, his mouth wouldn’t open.  All he could do was stand there frozen as Justin walked away from him. 

Go to Part 9

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