Authors Notes:
I can't believe it's been a whole month since I updated! Ahhhh! "Bad Smev" *spanks self*. But anyways, sorry this chapter took soooo incredibly long for me to write, my life has been going crazy. BUT I have a new computer due any day now, and I promise that the next chapter will be up very very soon (and it will have some B/J lovin' for compensation *wink*).
Enjoy!
June 3rd
Pittsburgh – Rosewood Safe House
4:55am
Justin stared expressionlessly out of the jeep window, trying to focus his remarkably tired eyes on the blurred streetlights that sped by. The combination of soft leather seats, and gentle humming of the jeep’s engine had a comforting effect on the blond, and he struggled against the ever-increasing desire to sleep.
“We’re almost there,” Brian announced in to the silence, taking his eyes off the road, for just a moment, to glance reassuringly at the exhausted young man seated beside him.
“I’ve never been so fucking tired in my life,” Justin complained, yawning loudly to emphasize his point.
“Yeah, well, at least you get to sleep it off tomorrow,” Brian huffed. “I’m due back at the Field Office by ten.”
“Do you think they’d let you start work later?” Justin asked. “I mean, after all that happened tonight, you should get some rest.”
“I work for the FBI, not the Big Q, Sunshine,” Brian answered, not quite sure why he felt it necessary to refer to the blond as Sunshine. “Somehow, I don’t think that they’ll appreciate me taking a nap when we have a major investigation on our hands.”
“Yeah, I suppose not,” Justin yawned again and let his eyes close, not really paying much attention to Brian’s sarcastic reply. The pair were immersed in silence once more, neither of them having enough energy to continue the conversation.
Brian forced himself to concentrate on the road ahead, but couldn’t help stealing fleeting glances at the dozing blond. ‘Focus Kinney’ he thought to himself, knowing that it was irresponsible to divide his attention between driving the jeep and gazing lustfully at Justin, especially in his weary state.
“You want to cause an accident over some blond piece of boy ass? Then go right ahead,” he mumbled quietly. Deciding that he’d rather not damage his beloved jeep, Brian resolved not to stare at anything but the road ahead, and blocked out all thoughts of Justin.
Almost five minutes had passed, and Brian was feeling rather pleased with himself for ignoring the younger man, when a small noise compelled him to look at the blond. Justin was leant awkwardly against the jeep window, his bangs partially stuck to the glass and his crimson lips parted in a continuous sigh. As Brian watched the steady rise and fall of the younger man’s chest, he finally realised where the muffled sound was coming from.
Justin was fucking snoring!
If Brian was honest, it was probably more of a slight wheeze than a snore. Most likely brought on by a combination of the younger man’s allergies and the vast amount of tears that he had shed earlier that night. But still, as Brian turned away from the softly sleeping Justin, he couldn’t help but smile at the adorability. “What the fuck? Adorable?” Brian mentally chastised himself for thinking something so incredibly lesbianic. Putting it down to tiredness, he forced the ridiculous notion out of his mind, and tried unsuccessfully to think of something else. He just couldn’t help but contemplate what might have happened if he and Justin had met in different circumstances.
If they had met on Liberty Avenue, Brian was certain that he wouldn’t have wasted any time in seducing the remarkably handsome young man and escorting him back to the loft for an unforgettable night of blow-jobs, rim-jobs and hand-jobs. Then, of course, they would fuck. Brian couldn’t even begin to imagine how amazing sex with Justin would be, but if the intense kiss from earlier was any indication, he could only assume that it would be one of the best fucks of his life. The older man could almost feel the tightness of Justin’s ass around him, as he fantasized that he was plunging deep in to the blond for the first time.
Lost in thoughts of blue eyes, blond hair and that incredible bubble butt, Brian almost didn’t realise that they had arrived at the safe house, and he was supposed to be making a right turn in to the driveway.
“Fuck,” Brian hissed, wrenching the steering wheel clockwise just in time. Rudely awaked to the sound of tyres screeching, and his head being knocked against the windowpane, Justin’s eyes shot open.
“We’re here,” Brian smiled calmly, as though nothing had happened. He killed the engine, removed his keys from the ignition and promptly exited the jeep. Justin was more hesitant, fumbling apprehensively with his seatbelt, still somewhat bewildered from being awoken so brusquely.
“Are you going to stay in there all fucking night?” Brian snapped, abruptly pulling open the car door and startling the drowsy blond.
“Sorry,” Justin muttered, unsteadily removing himself from the comfort of the jeep.
“Agent Kinney?”
Following the sound of the unidentified voice, both men looked in the direction of the safe house to find a man standing in the doorway.
“Gerry,” Brian acknowledged, walking up the drive to shake the agent’s hand.
“Gerald,” the man corrected, returning the handshake with a distinct look of disapproval at his name being shortened to ‘Gerry’.
“This is Justin Taylor,” Brian gestured to the sleepy young man behind him by way of introduction.
“Nice to meet you Mister Taylor,” Gerald extended his hand to the blond. “I’m Special Agent Gerald Greene. I’m one of three agents that have been assigned to-”.
“He’s been assigned to keep an eye on the safe house, haven’t you, Gerry?” Brian interrupted, placing a hand on the agent’s shoulder and squeezing purposefully.
“Well, I-” Gerald tried to continue.
“No one can occupy the safe house without agents patrolling the perimeter. It’s just one of those stupid regulations.” Brian shot Agent Greene a look.
“Oh, yes, yes, of course. A formality,” Gerald eventually nodded, realising that Brian didn’t want Justin to figure out the severity of the current situation.
“Shall we?” Brian indicated to the inside of the house. Gerald retreated down the gloomy hallway, allowing Brian and Justin to follow him in to the dark recesses of the safe house.
“One of the police officers dropped off your bag and suitcase,” Gerald stated, “I’ve put them in the bedroom so- “
“Oh, shit!” Justin suddenly exclaimed. Both agents turned back to look worriedly at the blond, wondering what on earth had made him shout out so unexpectedly. “I forgot to pay the cab driver,” Justin finally revealed with a shrug, when he noticed that both men were staring at him anxiously. Brian couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the absurdity.
“Remind me to inform the FBI,” he chuckled. “Not paying cab drivers, when you’ve just been tackled by the Pittsburgh P.D., is definitely a major felony.”
“Asshole,” Justin smirked, as he playfully smacked Brian’s arm.
“Verbally abusing and physically assaulting an FBI agent is also a felony, isn’t it, Gerry?” Brian grinned.
Gerald didn’t answer, but a distinctly bemused look crossed his face as he continued to lead the way to the bedroom.
“Here we are,” he declared, pushing open a door at the very end of the hall, and gesturing for Brian and Justin to go ahead in to the room. “Is it okay if I sort some things out while you debrief Mister Taylor?” he asked tentatively.
“Sure. Go ahead, Gerry,” Brian replied, sitting down on the bed and indicating for Justin to do the same.
“Debrief?” Justin snickered, “That sounds a bit… kinky.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not as great as it sounds,” the older man said quietly, not wanting the conversation to take a serious turn, but knowing that it had to. “So,” he sighed, “How’re you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess,” Justin shrugged, “It wasn’t really how I expected to be spending my first night back in Pittsburgh.” Brian chewed his lip, slightly unsure of what to say next. What exactly was he meant to tell the blond? Your mom got shot, and you might be next? He didn’t think that would go down too well, so the brunet decided to try a different and more FBI agent-like approach.
“I know that tonight’s events were quite unpleasant for you-”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Justin interrupted.
“Yeah, well, your mom’s still alive, so be thankful that it didn’t end differently tonight.” Brian fired back, more harshly than he’d originally intended. Both men stared silently at the floor, unable to make eye contact. It was perplexing how easily they could switch between emotions, one moment laughing and joking, the next, completely pissed off with each other.
“I’m glad my mom’s going to be okay,” Justin admitted, after a while.
“Me too,” Brian smiled faintly but sincerely, and placed his hand reassuringly on Justin’s back. “I mean,” the brunet’s mouth curved in to a smirk. “What would I have done without your mom to boss me around at the Field Office?” Justin laughed softly, his gaze shifting from the dull carpet to the handsome man beside him.
“I’ll tell her you said that,” the blond teased, flashing Brian one of his patented smiles.
“You can guarantee that I’ll chop off your balls, if you do,” Brian returned, with a grin of his own. Once again there was silence, but this time, instead of staring at the floor, the men stared at each other, losing themselves in alluring eyes and dazzling smiles. “I’d better be going.” Brian exhaled deeply, finally managing to tear his eyes away from Justin to look at his watch. “If you need anything else, just ask Gerry,” he offered, rising from the bed and making his way toward the door. “I guess I should take advantage of the four hours sleep that are left of tonight.”
“Brian?” Justin called to the retreating back of the taller man. Brian stopped and turned round to find the blond standing right in front of him. Justin hesitated for a second, before reaching up and wrapping his arms around the brunet in an affectionate embrace. “Thank you,” he murmured against the older man’s chest.
“For what?” Brian asked quietly, returning the hug with just as much enthusiasm, his strong arms pulling tighter around the smaller frame, and his chin repositioning so that it rested against the blond’s shoulder.
Justin refused to answer, partly because he didn’t really know why he owned this man gratitude, and partly because he wanted the close physical contact to last for a long as possible.
“You should get some sleep,” Brian whispered in to the younger man’s ear, before the two men unwillingly drew apart.
“Can’t you stay here with me?” Justin asked hopefully.
“I would, but there’s only one bed,” the brunet explained.
“I don’t mind sharing,” Justin persisted, smiling broadly at the older man.
“Goodnight, Sunshine.” Brian stated, exiting the room with a small wave of his hand.
“Goodnight.” Justin whispered to the silence of the room.
Pittsburgh – Brian’s Loft
9:20 am
Brian reluctantly awoke to the incessant ringing of his alarm clock. He wearily stretched out his hand from the entanglement of his blue Egyptian cotton duvet, and tried to set the fucking thing to ‘snooze’.
After feeling around the nightstand ineffectually, for thirty seconds, Brian unenthusiastically opened his eyes to try and locate the clock. He immediately closed them again, however, as he tried to block out the harsh morning sunlight that streamed through the sizeable loft windows.
“Fuck,” Brian cursed to himself, as he cautiously opened his eyes once more, hand raised to create a shadow across his face. Blinking against the intense light, he finally managed to switch the damn alarm clock off, using his fist to hit the button with much more force than was really necessary.
He lay back against the pillows, running his fingers though his messy hair and ineffectively attempting to rub the tiredness from his eyes.
“Oh, great, that’s just great,” Brian complained sarcastically to the expanse of his expensively furnished loft, realising that there was an unmistakable ache radiating from his groin. “What am I?” he thought irritably, “A fucking teenager?”
Knowing that he had to shower, groom himself, dress and find some very strong coffee in the space of about twenty minutes, Brian decided that it was probably in his best interests to ignore his morning hard-on.
He rolled grumpily out of the comfort of his luxurious bed sheets, and set off in the direction of the bathroom. Carefully stepping inside the spacious-enough-for-two-people-shower, he twisted the knobs until hot, steamy water rained down on to his weary face. He quickly grabbed some expensive soap, running it over his body and creating a substantial lather, as he tried to remove any lingering trace of last night’s events.
His torso thoroughly cleansed, Brian moved downward and deftly slid a soapy hand over his cock, definitely an essential part of any cleanliness routine. He desperately wanted to ignore how good it felt, but his dick had other plans, and soon, Brian was stroking his hard-on with enthusiasm.
Trying to push all thoughts of a certain blond out of his mind, he caressed his long fingers gently over his balls, working them upwards until they reached the head of his cock.
Lost in the pleasure, Brian conveniently forgot that he wasn’t actually meant to be thinking about Justin, and began to fantasize that, instead of his fingers; it was the younger man’s incredible tongue that was teasing his dick.
The brunet returned to fisting his cock once more, convinced that Justin’s perfect lips were now sliding up and down over his almost painfully hard erection. A drop of pre-come trickled from the end of his dick, and with the added lubrication, Brian was able to pick up the pace.
His breath came in short gasps as he neared the edge, and he had to place his free hand on the tiled wall for support. One final tug of his cock, and Brian came with a grunt; eyes closed with the intense release and his come forcefully shooting against the glass of the shower stall.
Once Brian had regained his composure, he quickly washed the rest of his body, and exited the shower. The next few minutes were spent rushing between the bedroom and bathroom in a frenzied attempt to regain the lost time that he had spent in the shower.
Precisely eleven minutes later, and Brian was at last ready to leave, looking remarkably immaculate for someone that had been awake for most of the night, and had been forced to get ready in hurry.
Leaving a half-consumed mug of ridiculously strong coffee on the kitchen counter, he departed from the solitude and calm of his loft, setting off for the certain chaos of the Pittsburgh FBI Field Office.
Pittsburgh – FBI Field Office
10:20am
Brian had only been at the Field Office for twenty minutes, and already his mood was verging on remarkably pissed off. From the moment he had stepped through his office door, he was inundated with people asking him questions.
With Jennifer in the hospital, everyone was turning to Brian for guidance, and it was annoying the hell out of him. Eventually, he decided that the only way to resolve everyone’s queries, and get them off his back, was to call an emergency meeting.
Brian left his office, and made his way to the array of desks, wall-partitions and computers that was the main area of the Field Office.
“Can I have your attention, please?” he yelled over the hum of computers and the chatter of the employees. A hush fell over room, and everyone focused their attention on Brian. “Last night, as I’m sure you know, Jennifer Taylor was shot in her home at approximately eleven pm-”
“Actually, the cops reported hearing gun shots at precisely eleven thirteen pm,” Ethan interrupted. Brian glared at Agent Gold before continuing.
“We already know that it was not the intention of the shooter to attack her. Our main objective, for now, is to discover why he broke in to Jennifer’s home. Do we have an I.D yet?” He looked around the room, hoping that someone would respond.
“We ran his fingerprints through the system,” Cynthia offered. “It came back with the name Lee Clark. He was on file for a DUI four years ago. No other convictions since then.”
“Any belongings on the body?” Brian asked.
“Six dollars and seventy eight cents were recovered from one of his pockets, but nothing else.” She confirmed, looking through her notes
“Car keys? Cell phone?”
“Nothing. Although, the police did find a backpack at the scene. It contained several photographs and some personal documents.”
“What kind of personal documents?”
“Well, oddly enough, a lot of them were somehow related to Justin Taylor. There was everything from official college letters, to a list of his allergies.”
“Okay, I want all of the items found in Lee Clark’s backpack to be analysed. We need to see if we can establish a link between any of them. Any problems or questions, report directly to me. Understood?” A murmured ‘yes’ passed through the room, and everyone began to disperse.
“Theodore,” Brian called after the Decryption Specialist.
“Yes, Brian?” Ted turned back to face the taller man.
“You’re good with computers, right?”
“I decrypt outrageously complex files for the FBI, I think I’m a little more than ‘good’ with computers,” Ted replied, not quite sure where this conversation was headed.
“Is there a way that you could set up the computer in my office to receive live surveillance of a safe house?”
“Do you have the clearance?” Ted asked suspiciously.
“Does it look like I have the fucking clearance?” Brian hissed, so that no one else would hear him.
“When do you need it done by?” Ted sighed, knowing that he had no choice but to relent.
“As soon as possible,” Brian grinned. Ted rolled his eyes and nodded, slightly unsure why Brian would want surveillance of a safe house, but knowing that it wasn’t his place to question one of the special agents.
Safe in the knowledge that Ted was going to sort out his computer for him, Brian set off in the direction of his office, pleased that soon he’d be able to check up on Justin.
Pittsburgh – Rosewood Safe House
4:25pm
Justin was bored out of his fucking mind. The time spent at Rosewood seemed to drag by excruciatingly slowly, and he had been stuck sketching for the best part of three hours. Justin was sure that if he had to spend one more day here, he would go crazy.
He didn’t even completely know why he wasn’t allowed to leave the safe house. No one had explained to him what was going on, and when he tried to ask Gerald, the agent gave vague answers or simply told him not to worry about it.
Page after page in his sketchbook had now been filled, and the blond was sure that he was going to run out of space soon. Just as he began to wonder whether Gerald would take him to the art store to buy another sketchpad, his cell phone started to vibrate on the sofa beside him. Justin glanced at the screen to see who was calling and answered,
"Hi, Daph,” he said brightly, trying to mask his extreme boredom.
“How did you know it was me?” she asked.
“Duh, I have caller ID,” Justin teased.
“Oh yeah,” Daphne laughed, “Anyways, do you want to go shopping with me?”
“When?” Justin asked, not sure how long it would be before he could go somewhere without FBI protection.
“Tomorrow.”
"I don’t know, Daph. I might not be allow- I mean,” Justin quickly corrected himself, “I might have other plans.”
“I thought, seeing as you were back in town for two weeks, that you might actually want to hang out with your best friend,” Daphne huffed.
“I do, it’s just, erm,” Justin couldn’t quite figure out a way to tell his best friend that he was staying at an FBI safe house and that he probably wouldn’t be permitted to leave for a trip to the mall. It was especially difficult to explain because Agent Greene had told him that he wasn’t to inform anyone what had happened, or of his whereabouts.
“If you don’t want to go, you can just say,” Daphne’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“It’s not that at all, Daph. It’s just… kind of complicated.” Justin absentmindedly flicked through his sketchbook.
“It’s shopping,” Daphne persisted, “What’s complicated about that?”
“Well… erm…” Justin stared at an incredibly detailed sketch of Brian, searching for some inspiration on what to tell his best friend. “You know what my mom does for a living, right?” he finally asked.
“Duh, we’ve known each other since we were seven, of course I know. What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Well, there’s some FBI stuff that I’m… sort of involved with…” Justin trailed off.
“Oh my God, Justin!” Daphne exclaimed, “That is so cool!” Justin laughed at his best friend’s enthusiasm, glad that he was finally off the hook. “I bet you’re like sworn to secrecy or something,” Daphne continued excitedly. “Do you have one of those cool badges? Oh, wait, you’re probably not allowed to tell me!”
“You’re such a freak,” Justin laughed.
“Yeah, that’s why you love me.” Daphne giggled. “Anyway, I better let you go. I’m sure you have lots of bad guys to shoot, and I don’t want to keep you.”
“Yeah, right,” Justin smirked. “Later, Daph.”
“Bye-ee!” she sing-songed in to the phone before the call disconnected. Feeling in a considerably better mood after talking to his best friend, Justin decided to start a new sketch.
Half an hour later, and yet another breathtaking drawing of Brian was beginning to emerge on the sheet of paper. Justin was about to start work on Brian’s perfect lips, when he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. He quickly flipped his sketchpad to another page with a bowl of fruit on it, slightly less incriminating than Special Agent Kinney’s face. He was inconspicuously pretending to shade a banana as Gerald hurriedly walked in to the room.
“Justin,” Agent Greene whispered, remaining in the doorway, and beckoning the blond to him. Justin quickly got up off the sofa and made his way over to Gerald, noticing that the agent had his gun drawn and kept glancing back nervously in to the hallway.
“What’s going on?” Justin asked, his voice also hushed. Gerald turned to face the younger man, but before he could reply, the piercing sound of two gunshots filled the air. Gerald’s body jerked twice from the force of the bullets as they ruthlessly sliced through his skin.
He staggered forwards and fell to the ground, unable to support his own weight. Justin fearfully backed away from Agent Greene’s sprawled form, his mind utterly blank, consumed by terror.
He was sure that he should scream, run, or at least do something, but as his back hit a wall, he just stood completely still, barely breathing, and frozen by panic. Gerald continued to cough and twitch against the carpet, blood clearly seeping through his clothes as he tried to drag himself away from the doorway.
Before Agent Greene could make it another inch across the floor, a man swept in to the room and shot him for a third time. The agent flinched before gasping out a short breath, and then lay unmoving on the ground. Justin could do nothing but stare at the bloodstained and lifeless body of Gerald, unable to look away, but feeling like he was going to be sick if he didn’t.
“Move,” Agent Greene’s attacker gruffly instructed Justin. The blond almost didn’t hear what the man had said; his entire attention was focused on the fact that he had just witnessed a brutal murder. “Move,” the man repeated loudly, with a harsher tone, gun aimed directly at the blond’s head. Justin knew that he would die if he didn’t obey this man’s stern command, but he just couldn’t seem to make any of his limbs work.
“Please,” he managed to breathe out, raising his trembling arms in surrender.
“What part of fucking move don’t you understand?” the man yelled, advancing on the terrified blond.
“Please, I’ll do whatever you want. Please!” Justin begged, as the man pressed the gun to his temple.
“Now, you’re going to do as I say,” the man snarled in to Justin’s face, “Or you’ll end up like him, understand?” Justin swallowed and nodded weakly, wondering why none of the other agents were coming to help. “I didn’t hear you,” the man taunted, grabbing Justin’s chin and forcing the blond to look at him, “Answer me!” Enraged that he couldn’t force Justin to reply, the man unexpectedly lashed out, striking the blond across the face with his gun.
Completely taken by surprise and overwhelmed with pain, Justin fell to his knees, landing heavily on the ground. His head throbbed and he could feel blood trickling from the wound and running slowly down the side of his face.
Suddenly aware that his attacker might hit him again, Justin cowered against the wall. He raised his arms across his face in a desperate attempt to protect himself, assuming that he was going to die.