Brian ran for his phone and dialed 911, while running up the bedroom's stairs. “Justin! Wake up!”

Justin stirred slowly but jumped of the bed when he heard Brian report an ongoing fire in his studio. He ran to the window, cursed, grabbed his trousers and ran of the loft's door. Brian called after him but ended up putting some sweats on and running after him.

Down the street, the smell of smoke was very strong. Brian caught up with Justin just as the blond had reached the door to his building and was unlocking the door.  Brian grabbed him and pulled him back. “No! Ever heard of backdraft? With all the chemicals you have in here? There's nothing you can do Justin! The firemen will be here in a couple of minutes, let them do their job ”. Justin was frantic and tried to push him away but Brian dragged him back to the sidewalk. Justin tried to plead with him “Brian, please, all my work is there, all my life, I can't let it all burn !”.

“Fuck Justin! No!”. Thankfully, at that moment, the sirens could be heard and less than a minute later, two firemen squads stopped in front of the building. Not letting go of Justin's wrist, Brian rapidly explained that it was an art studio, containing many inflammable material, then Justin told them that they could use the massive back sliding door to enter and he ran towards it. Brian and 3 firemen followed him. They saw Justin stop in front of an industrial sized door and watch it motionless. The lock was completely broken, the door pulled shut.

Brian had managed to get Justin back to the loft once the firemen started working. Some news crew had already arrived and were pestering them with questions, so at least they would avoid them there. There was nothing they could do anyway. It was obvious that the whole building was on fire, it was so bad that the firemen had warned him that maybe they would have to ask him to evacuate his building.

Back at the loft, Justin sat on the floor by the window and stayed silent. Brian made some phone calls, the first one to Ophelia Yoly. She promised to be here in the morning. Then he made them both coffee and sat behind Justin, sliding a leg around him and pressing his chest to his back. They stayed this way, not talking,  with Brian just happy that Justin let him hold him. He felt that he had let him down and that Justin should be angry with him.

After all, he had known for months that there was a threat on Justin, and yet the thought that someone would try to destroy his work had never crossed his mind. He had only taken measures to have Justin protected and therefore no real measures to protect the building had been taken.

When dawn broke, the fire was still raging. It was 8 am when finally the firemen managed to extinguish it. From the outside, the two men could see the exhausted firefighters covered in soot walking in and out of the building. Brian got up and pulled Justin on his feet. He hugged him and held him his arms for a moment. “Ready?” he whispered gently. Justin nodded, so the two men dressed up and went back down.

Brian spotted one of the firemen that he had first talked to and they walked up to him. The tired man told them what they already knew, that everything inside was destroyed, including Justin's apartment. He also told them they wouldn't be allowed inside the building because it was not secured yet and probably wouldn't be for a day or two. The man hesitated before adding. “Also, the police is going to close the place for investigations. It was obviously arson fire and we found a charred body inside.”

* * *

The rest of the day was exhausting. During the morning, they were assaulted by the visits of Brian's family, who all rushed to the loft when they heard the news. Catherine Dell also came and immediately took charge of handling the press. She wanted Justin to accept an interview, but he refused adamantly. Mrs Yoly arrived too with the insurance people that wanted detailed statements from Justin and Brian.

Among this chaos, Brian's phones, cell and land-line, never stopped ringing. The fire had made the news and all of his acquaintances who knew of his relation with Justin called to make sure they were safe and asking for details. Justin had left his own phone in his apartment so all the people that tried to join him and knew Brian called him too; that included Daphne but also all the students and art teachers that were at the party.

Later on, Brian and Justin had to go the police station to give their statements. Brian explained that they had left the building around midnight, shortly after the catering team. He mentioned Anatol's appearance at the party, and why Justin had a restraining order against him.

Carl was there and told them that the alarm in the building was set off at 2h39 am but was stopped almost immediately. The bodyguard on call had been the first one to call 911 when he had smelled the smoke but that he hadn't seen anyone enter or exit the building. The body found was too burnt to be identified but it was already known that it was a tall and large male so Anatol was the prime suspect, specifically more so since no one had seen him since the party. The cause of his death was unknown at that point.

While waiting for Justin, Brian went outside and called the bodyguard agency. He was furious and let them know. Not only did they let Anatol enter the building during the party, they also let him break in at night and set the fire. The owner tried to negate his responsibility, stating that they had been hired to watch over Justin, not the building, and that since Justin had been at Brian's place that night, they were not at fault. Brian threatened to sue them and asked for a refund for the money he paid since they had been incompetent in their jobs.

When Justin finally came out, Brian saw how exhausted he was. He decided that it was enough for one day, after a sleepless night, so he called the loft to make sure anyone that was still there would leave and not come back until tomorrow. Then both men got in the car and headed back home.

“I can't believe it.” Justin said, looking out of the window.

“Well, unfortunately, it happened.”

“I know. It's just...Anatol, doing such a thing...I though I knew him, you know? Crazy but harmless. I'm sorry, Brian.”

Brian turned his head sharply. “What the fuck are you sorry for?”

“I didn't believe you, I never took you seriously when you said he was dangerous. I could have gotten you killed; can you imagine, if we had stayed at my place last night?”

“Don't think of such things. It didn't happen, we're fine.”

Justin didn't answer and the rest of the ride was silent.

As soon as they got home, Justin collapsed on the bed and fell asleep. Brian stood a while smoking in his living room, looking at the sight in front of him. The building was a desolate sight, all the windows had imploded or had been broken by the firemen, and it was totally covered by ashes and soot. Nothing remained in Justin's apartment, the walls had fallen. Part of the ceiling even had collapsed. Brian doubted that it could be rebuilt, it would probably have to be razed to the ground.

There was a knock on the door and Brian hurried to open it before it woke Justin. It was Michael who hugged Brian tightly, obviously in shock, explaining that he had just learned about the fire and had come running to check on him. Once he had calmed down, he went to sit on the couch, but Brian stopped him, telling him that he was exhausted and about to join Justin in bed. Michael glared at him.

“For Christ's sake, Brian, that kid is trouble. He already got you in a bar fight, now you could have died in the fire. What's next? A serial killer after him? Get rid of him before he gets you killed!”

Brian was not in the mood for this kind of talk.

“Keep your voice down, Michael, and go home.”

“Like I can go back to Emmett's. After what he did! I spent last night in the store, and the day looking for a new place.”

Brian sighed. “You should talk to Emmett, he was worried about you, and so was Deb, they couldn't reach you all day. Now good night, Michael.”

“Brian? Please, can I stay for one night? I'll sleep on the couch.”

Brian was about to refuse, but he remembered all the nights he had crashed Michael's room when they were teenagers. He knew Michael was going through difficult times on his own. He nodded.

“One night, Michael, and don't piss off Justin in the morning.”

Michael smiled gratefully; Brian gave him a sheet and a pillow and went to lay next to Justin.

* * *

He woke up next morning to the ringing of his cell. It was Carl.

“Brian, sorry to wake you up, I didn't want you to learn this in the news. We have a killer on the loose. Anatol was murdered, he was shot. I don't know if he was shot by an accomplice, or if someone else is implied, but I'm putting Justin under police protection now. A police car will be in front of your building in the next minutes.”

Brian hung up and saw Justin's expectant blue eyes fixed on him, waiting to learn what Carl had just told him.

Then he heard Michael getting up and sighed. It was not going to be a pleasant morning.

Curiously, Justin seemed relieved by the news; as he told Brian, he was certain now that Anatol had nothing to do with the fire. He was even convinced that Anatol was shot because he tried to stop the arsonist.

Michael just smirked and told Brian to consider if he really wanted to be associated with someone who had a murderer after him. At that point Brian told him to leave the loft. Michael glared at Justin but left without further comments.

Brian was listening to Justin on the phone with his insurer; Justin had lost absolutely everything in the fire, including his wallet, cell phone, clothes, computer, artwork, including Brian's portrait...and had to have everything replaced. He particularly needed a credit card as soon as possible, even if Brian already had told him that he could use one of his.

Brian was pondering and feeling increasingly worried. First, he had thought that the arsonist knew Justin was not in the building and just wanted his work destroyed. But whoever it was had gone in the building with a gun; why bring a gun if not to kill? Then he thought back about Michael, how furious he had been when he had let the party and how he had disappeared during the night. But just as Justin with Anatol, he couldn't picture Michael doing something so horrible. Yes, Michael was clearly presently disturbed and hated Justin. But breaking in a secured building, setting it on fire, even if he had known it was empty at the time? 

“He's right, you know.” Justin's voice interrupted his thoughts.

“What?”

“Michael; he's right. I am trouble. Have you seen how devastated Mrs Yoly was? It meant so much to her, the residency. It was such a beautiful project. And it's all gone. Now I have an arsonist and a murderer after me, I need police protection. You really want me around? Around your son? Your business?”

Brian went to sit next to Justin. He took his face in both his hands and looked him straight in the eyes.

“I want you around.”

* * *

Brian and Justin spent the rest of the day together. It was Monday and Brian should have gone to work, but he decided to take the day off, not wanting to leave Justin alone. The young man was not his usual self, he was obviously depressed. Brian had to force him to go out and buy some clothes and hygiene products, a cell phone and a laptop.

In the middle of the afternoon, as they were riding back to the loft, Brian's cell rang; it was Carl, asking for both of them to meet him at the station.

Carl brought them to his office, where Brian was surprised to see Alan Green, the owner of the bodyguard's agency. Before he could speak, Carl motioned for him to sit and listen.

Alan Green started. “Mr Kinney, Mr Taylor, I'm truly sorry that one of my employees failed to his duty at such a crucial moment. However, this man's idleness may turn out to our profit. You see, part of his job was to regularly circle Mr Taylor's building, to make sure it was secure. To avoid doing this, he hid a camera in the back alley, facing the backdoor. When I threatened to fire him today, in exchange for keeping his job, he told me about the camera and sent me the files it recorded. I hope that once you view this, Mr Kinney, you may reconsider what you told me yesterday.”

“Ready, boys?” asked Carl.

Justin and Brian nodded. Carl turned his laptop and hit the play button. Both men watched, fascinated. A lone figure appeared on the screen, carrying a screwdriver and a hammer. He was seen repeatedly hitting the lock of the door, then sliding the door open. He walked out of camera range in the alley and came back on film carrying two large tanks and disappeared inside the building, sliding the door shut. Less than a minute later, a tall figure appeared, that they immediately recognized.

“Anatol!” whispered Justin.

Anatol was seen standing outside the door, shifting from one foot to another. Then he opened the door and cautiously walked in. There was nothing for a few minutes, so Carl hit the forward button. 9 minutes later, the figure of the first man appeared, running out. He hurriedly pulled the door shut and, his back to the door, looked around him anxiously. It was the first time his face was caught on film.

Cody Bell.