| Part III Lance pressed even harder on the gas pedal as he roared into the parking lot, stopping his car only metres away from the front door. He swung open the door and sauntered in, ignoring the words �Joey�s Lounge: Get in or get lost!� pasted carelessly on the windows. �Joseph asked to see me,� Lance said offhandedly to the girl behind the �counter�. The place was crawling with rats and cockroaches and, more often than not, Lance wondered why the hell Joseph put up with the pests when he had the money to get a bigger place. �It�s all about the memories,� Joseph had once told him. �Once you latch on to a place, you can�t seem to let go.� But, being spies, they were supposed to be devoid of emotions. Or had Joseph forgotten that? Lance never questioned. Joseph could do what he wanted. He could look after himself just fine. �You can go in now,� she replied, her voice sweet and melodious. Even remotely familiar. Lance glanced down at her and almost cried in shock. �Britney? Dang, girl, when did you come back?� Britney�s tired face lit up when she recognized her old friend. �James? JAMES! Oh my god! I haven�t seen you since you dropped out of school! Oh my god! How are you?� �Okay,� Lance smiled at the girl, remembering Britney from the �old days�. Ever since he had turned seventeen, Lance had dropped out of school and Joseph had taken him in. He hadn�t ever been very expressive with his feelings, so for him, hiding them had not been a problem. He had, however, needed a bit more practice on his aiming. Thank god Joseph hadn�t decided to kick him out of the firm. Well, that�s what he had thought AT FIRST. Now he wished Joseph would just fire him and get it done with. But he knew that would NEVER happen. It couldn�t. Why? Because Lance knew too many things to ever be allowed out of the firm alive. He was stuck with the job. Forever. Lance shook his head at Britney�s shock, allowing a small smile to cross his face. He heard Joseph cough impatiently, signalling for Lance to enter. Lance shrugged nonchalantly at Britney�s questioning look and gave the petite blond a half-hearted wave as he disappeared into Joseph�s office. �The new assignment?� Joseph slid a picture towards Lance, face-down. �Do you want to accept the assignment? I called you because you�re the best man for the job, but you know, the decision�s still ultimately yours, James. You choose. You take the job, you see the face. Otherwise, forget it.� Lance shrugged and nodded, reaching slowly for the picture. It can�t be that bad! I was dragged out of bed in the damned middle of the night! Might as well freaking take it. But as he turned the photograph over, Lance had to stifle a gasp. His face drained of its colour, leaving him seemingly pallid. �Oh. God.� He whispered, under his breath, his exterior mask crumbling quickly. �No� Oh god, oh god, oh god�� The face of the man staring back at him from the photo was none other than his boyfriend � JC. Joseph didn�t seem to have noticed Lance�s distress. �So, good catch, eh? Seems we need him eliminated quickly. The boy�s messing around a little too much. Needs to learn this lesson sometime. You�re as good as anybody to give this little session to him.� Lance shook his head numbly, a million thoughts racing through his mind. I can�t do this, he thought, panic-stricken. I can�t! But Lance didn�t say it out loud. He didn�t freaking DARE. Lance knew what would happen if he did. Not only would he be killed, - he didn�t mind THAT � but Joseph would find someone else to get the job done. �James? JAMES! Lance?!� At the sound of his middle name, Lance�s head jerked up. He narrowed his eyes at Joseph, not giving a damn that the brunette was twice his size and probably could have killed him with one blow. �No one ever calls me that. EVER!� Lance warned, his low voice dropping a notch even lower than usual. �The name is JAMES. Lance is frigging OFF-limits.� �Whatever man. It�s your call.� Lance sighed, and fell back into his chair, drained of energy. JC popped into his mind and Lance somehow managed a tired smile. �James? What pisses you off more than anything?� �Being called by my middle name.� �Why?� Lance sighed and wrapped his arms tighter around his lover. They had only been together for two weeks, and yet Lance felt as though he wanted to spend forever with JC. He knew somehow that it was where he belonged. �Because, when I was younger, my dad�� Lance�s voice actually broke, and JC was shocked to see the tears glistening in the younger blond�s eyes. He kissed Lance deeply, trying to erase as much of the pain as he could. His hands snaked around Lance�s waist, and the two men huddled together, as JC waited for Lance to continue. �My dad used to call me that. And one day� the day I told him� about being� GAY.� Lance spat out the word like it was poison and JC flinched. �He called me a damn sinner. A freaking... FAG. And he said that his son had died and he had no son. Told me to get lost. Never go back.� JC�s eyes were wide with shock. He pressed a tender kiss against Lance�s wet cheek, reassuring his lover that no matter what, they would always be together. ALWAYS. �I�m so sorry, baby.� Lance shook his head, refusing to say more. �What IS your middle name?� Lance looked up in curiousity at his lover. He was somewhat hesitant to repeat the name but the sincerity in JC�s eyes begged with him and he relented. �L� Lance. It�s Lance.� JC smiled, his cerulean eyes twinkling with love. �Lance�� he said softly, trying the name out. It sounded good and he liked the way it seemed to roll off his tongue. �I like it.� Lance blushed, but didn�t say anything. �I didn�t piss you off, did I?� Lance shook his head �no�. JC smiled and kissed the blond on the forehead. �Good, cos I like Lance. And I like being special. And I want you to love your name. I want you to think of love, of ME, when you hear your name. Kay, Lance?� Lance had never objected to JC calling him Lance ever again. Lance found a growing lump in his throat and he swallowed thickly, trying to hide his emotions as he had always been able to do. Damn JC and his freaking passion. Joseph still didn�t notice anything. He smiled serenely at Lance. �If there�s nothing else, you can leave.� Without a word, Lance stood shakily and headed for the door, but the sound of Joseph�s voice stopped him, �When�?� Lance turned around slowly, his pale green eyes ablaze with fury as they slammed into Joseph�s brown ones, replying roughly with biting sarcasm and yet meaning every single word he said. �When I freaking FEEL like it.� Joseph looked stunned as Lance exited the room, slamming the door angrily behind him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ �Hey Lance,� Britney said cheerily as he emerged from the room. Her face turned into a mask of concern when she saw the pale, shocked look on Lance�s features. �What�s wrong?� �Nothing,� Lance shook his head numbly, still not trusting himself to speak. He slipped his hand into his coat pocket, feeling the portentous presence of the gun and almost laughing at the irony of it all. The gun was supposed to be used to shoot your enemies, not your loved ones. And yet, this gun would be the instrument he used to kill JC, his boyfriend, the man he loved so much he ached inside. Britney heard the infamous click of the gun and collapsed into her seat. �God, not another one,� Lance heard her whisper as he clutched even tighter to his gun, sweeping out of the building quickly. Yes, another one. Usually Lance wouldn�t mind as much. It was just �another one�. Another freaking target, that�s all. But this one was special. This was the man who held his heart. With a broken heart and a thousand unshed tears, Lance set off home. To find the man he loved with all his heart and soul. And kill him. TBC... |