Double Down - 2. Chapter 2

The next morning came sooner than I was ready; Ry ran out and got coffee and doughnuts. I snickered a little when he came back into the apartment holding on to his goodies.

“What,” he said indignantly. “It's not like you have anything here to feed anyone. Besides, they're kind of like cops.”

That got a laugh out of my other guest where he was folding up my cheap futon. “Typical you, Ry,” Nat chuckled, “always thinking about what to put in your stomach.”

I laughed with him. “I see you're aware of Ry's status as a human vacuum.” I chuckled again. “Don't get too close, he might swallow you whole!”

We were having fun just joking around, Nat fitting into the groove that Ry and I always had, even now. It was as if he was meant to be there with us, so I was a bit startled when the knock came to the door; I'd forgotten who we were waiting for. Remembering, I tensed up, my black coffee and glazed doughnut churning in my suddenly roiling stomach.

I let Nat get the door since he knew what Anna looked like; I figured it would be the smartest idea. I wasn't surprised when I saw Miss DEA walk in the door. She was smoking hot; all feminine curves and long blonde hair. She was dressed smart in a black pants suit, all professional and shit. The two suits with her didn’t seem too bad; pretty much your standard issue government men.

Introductions were made all around, the requisite handshaking and nods gotten out of the way. We all sat down with our coffee and doughnuts, before Anna cleared her throat delicately.

“So, Mr. Whitson, Nat tells me you have some insider information on Phillip Mestrick?”

I nodded, taking a small sip of my coffee, not sure if it would soothe the lump starting to settle in my guts or make it worse.

“He was pretty vague on the phone, care to tell us more?”

So, I told my story, yet again. I was unable to pick my gaze up off the floor; I couldn't stand to see the look I was sure to be getting from the others over how stupid and gullible I had been. I was trembling by the time I was done; for some reason the act of telling other people made me feel so much worse. Early on as I spoke Ry came to sit with me; he put an arm around my shoulders and rubbed my arm in a comforting gesture.

After that the three agents questioned Nat and me at length about our knowledge of the suit, or as they called him, Mr. Mestrick. It was hard to think of him by name, I had never known him as anything other than the suit; hell, I’d never wanted to know him as more than that.

"Well, Mr. Whitson, I think that we can help each other. You help us take down Mestrick and the rest of the gambling clubs in this town and we'll help you get your life back. What do you say?"

"I don't know, it's just... Look, these guys aren't just after me, they said they'd hurt Rylan too. I won't risk my brother, not unless can guarantee that you will protect him too."

"Why? He doesn't have anything to offer in exchange," countered one of the suits.

I exploded. "Screw you! This isn't a negotiation! Both you want what only I can get for you, and you do as I ask or I walk!" I stood over the man and let my temper blaze, fists balled up and my jaw clenched. My anger allowed me to forget my fear at the idea of actually going through with getting evidence about the criminal activities I had unfortunately become immersed in.

"Deal!" he said smugly.

I gaped, stunned by the sudden switch in his attitude, the sudden capitulation confused me. Then I groaned, slapping myself on the forehead as I realized I had let myself be played, again.

"Oh, you're good... You're very good!" I said in a bitchy tone as I sat back down, knowing that I would follow through on my end of the bargain anyway, if only to protect Ry. One day that I would become too much of a liability and Mr. Mestrick would decide to take me out of the rotation. Well, they had made it clear what would happen. I thought I could protect him but it had become clear that neither Ry's nor my life would be worth much.

"Nah, we both know you want to do this; you need out. You just needed that extra little push to get you off the fence and make you realize how angry you really are about how your life has been royally screwed over by these thugs."

The look of pity in agent's eyes was more than I wanted to see. They screwed my life over? Yeah right, I had done that all on my own, simply by trusting someone. I had let Pres in and given over control of my life to him instead of standing on my own two feet. Worse, that had an effect on Ry's life, something I would do anything to prevent. Even if it meant that I had to risk death to make sure that his life stayed safe.

“When will you be going to the next game?” Anna asked.

“Should be in a day or two, he's been spacing out my games more, making me lose a few times here and there so that when I score big it looks like a lucky night.”

“What do you do with the money afterward?” This time the other suit spoke up.

“I take it to his office if it's a big score; otherwise I turn it in about every two weeks. It's not like I will filch any of the money since I’m supposed to be trying to pay him back, not working for a cut. He doesn't check up on me too much as far as I can tell.”

“Do you know if the game in a few days will be a large enough pay out for a full drop right after?”

“Probably. I heard a big game is in the works with some of the fat cats that are in town for the electronics symposium. You'd be surprised at how much those tech geeks like to gamble. Mestrick and some of the other goons who run the circuits have been negotiating on nights and locations, so I should be able to make more than just a single game score. If I'm right, it'll be on Saturday, last night of the symposium.”

“Good,” said Anna thoughtfully. “That will give us a few days to prepare. You need to win big so that you can go back to Mestrick and check out his base of operations. We need copies of his computer files to corroborate the evidence we might get. You've been pretty cowed and naïve so far, I would guess he doesn't bother too much with guarding you while you are there.”

“No, other than a pat down by the guards on the gate and a search of my vehicle I am allowed inside with only one escort. But how am I supposed to get this 'evidence'? Do you expect me to just go rifling through things randomly? Not to mention why you think he'll leave his office while I am there?”

“We'll take care of that,” said the FBI suit confidently. “After a suitable amount of time we’ll figure that you are in place in his office we'll create a distraction by raiding the gambling location. I'm quite sure that we will find more than just a little bit of illegal activity still going on.”

I was nervous, the idea was risky and dangerous, plus the timing would be tricky. I had no idea how to hack computers and the idea of being in Mestrick’s office when a raid of a location I just left happened scared me to death. Suit number two assured me they had ways around those little hurdles, which both scared and calmed me.

“How exactly am I supposed to get all this “proof” you need?” I asked.

“That's actually where I come in,” Nat explained. “I've a nice little bug that will do the trick.”

Anna snorted. “Yeah, nice isn't quite the word I'd use.”

My raised eyebrow was all the question she needed to go on.

“Nat is a bit of a genius when it comes to anything technical. Hand him something made of components and wires ...he'll take it apart and give it back to you smaller, faster, and ten times better than the original. He's the most animated when he's talking about or touching something electronic. It's just the things made out of blood and flesh that he has trouble with.”

Nat blushed and looked uncomfortable. I was guessing there was a bit of history there that he wasn't quite so proud of.

“If you're so good at that stuff, why don't you work for the government too?” I asked. Someone with those types of skills ... Well, I could only imagine that they were in high demand.

Nat shrugged and didn’t say a word. Anna let out an exasperated breath. “We've all been trying to recruit him for years, but he just won't budge. It's one of the reasons I got the go ahead on this case.”

“I won't work for you, Anna. Or you either.” Nat shot down the suit before he could do more than open his mouth.

“Why? You could do this all the time, help people, and get paid to play with your toys.”

He snorted. “Look ... I'm still getting help from you guys when I need it, I can play with my toys anytime I want to, and I get to help people already. Not to mention I get to help the people I feel deserve it or need it, not whoever my boss says to help when I'm told to do it. I'm the boss.” An uncomfortable silence fell after that little speech. Nat was breathing a bit heavily and avoiding looking at anyone. Oddly enough it was Ry who broke the silence.

“So ...what am I supposed to be doing?”

“You go back to school.” I was firm on that, I wasn't going to budge one inch. “You don't need to be involved in this any more than you already are, and you don't need to fail any classes. School is important.”

“But ...I want to help!” Ry protested.

“No.” I was emphatic as I glared at him. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared back at me. “I will not have you at risk.” I turned to the FBI men, “You'll make sure someone is protecting him when this whole raid thing goes down? Mestrick has always made sure I know how fast he could have Ry grabbed.”

“We'll give him a panic button before we leave and someone will be with him during the actual raid and the aftermath until we are sure Mestrick isn't on to you.”

“In the interests of that, I think we should get going,” Anna said, gathering up her briefcase and coat. “Nat knows how to get in touch with me. When you know the details of the next game give us a call and we'll mobilize our teams.”

I nodded my head mechanically, the knots in my stomach tightening as I realized this was really going to happen. I showed my government guests out and then sat down heavily on the futon next to Nat. Ry was in the kitchen rummaging around looking for something to eat. Good luck to him.

Ry came in munching on some chips in a rumpled bag. “You seriously need to go shopping; these are so stale I almost can't eat them.”

“Oh yeah right! You, not eat something?” I shook my head in disbelief. “It is definitely time for you to go home! In case you forgot, almost every cent I have brought in has gone back to Mestrick, so there is no way I can support your appetite. Not like I was born a bottomless pit like you were! Dad used to say that he didn't work so we could live, he worked just so that you could eat.”

Ry laughed. “I know, it was so much worse when I was in middle school and just starting to grow. Remember, Mrs. Perlis, Mom’s friend? I remember back when I was fourteen and came home from school. I think her eyes were going to bulge out of her head when I sat down with my snack.”

“Well, it's not every day you see someone who looks like a skinny beanpole eat half a chicken for a snack!” I said hotly as I defended the poor lady. Our mom had garnered much sympathy from the neighboring mothers at meal times, especially if any of them had actually fed Ry. He didn't look like much but he could sure pack it away!

“Seriously? For a snack?” Nat was a bit skeptical.

“Oh yeah, Mom made sure to bake at least three whole chickens every time she made roasted chicken. There was one was for Ry and one for the rest of us for dinner. The third one… well, that supplied either lunch the next day or a few snacks for him. Ry's always been a pig.”

Nat's eyes were round with surprised shock; I guess Ry had toned it down a bit. Ry stood up and frowned at me. “Alright ... I'm going, I'm going ... Jeez, let me get out here before I start getting compared to any other unfavorable animals.”

I stood up and hugged him, holding Ry tight to me. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Without you; none of this would be happening.”

He just held me tighter, the hug a comfort to each of us. I let him go first, putting my hand on his cheek and wiping the few tears away with my thumb. He gave me a weak smile, then took a deep breath and stepped away.

“You take care of yourself, Nat. I can't thank you enough for helping my brother.”

“It's no problem, Ry. I would do anything I could to help a friend out of a situation like this. Besides, if something happened to you who would live below me and feed my cats when I'm gone?” Nat chuckled. “Keep yourself safe and listen to the agents, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah ... I'll let them wrap me in bubble wrap,” Ry quipped as he walked out the door, his seemingly unfailing good mood restored.

So now it was just Nat and me in my tiny apartment. Great. This was going to be a fun couple of days. There was an awkward silence for a few moments then Nat suggested we go get something to eat since it was after lunch and my kitchen was pretty much bare. We could stop for groceries after.

Sitting down at the first bar and grill we came to, we ordered some burgers and cokes and then sat in silence as we waited. I looked down at the sticky table in front of me, toying with the paper napkin and dinged up silverware. I took a sip of my tar-like coffee; it must have been on the warmer since the morning rush. I took a breath, unable to stand the silence.

“So, Nat, what made you go into private investigating?”

“Well, I'm not one in the traditional sense, not really. It's just there's not really a computer system that has been made that I can't break into and I am really good at collecting data.” He winked, “Let's just say it won't be the first mission my little buggie friend has been on.”

“So, not a hard bitten, pound the pavements, chasing down the leads, kind of guy then?” I joked with him. I enjoyed the way he tilted his head back as he laughed, flashing the long column of his neck, letting me see all the smooth sensitive areas that I was just itching to get my mouth on.

“No, I think it's safe to say that's the last type of thing I'd ever do. People, well, people are complicated and not so easy to talk to. Computers now, they're simple, nothing to confuse a person.”

“Tell that to my tenth grade Computer Lab teacher. He would swear I could barely manage to turn a computer on, and that was on a good day!” We both laughed this time.

The cheap plastic squeaked as I slid back in my seat when the tired waitress brought us our meals. We assured her that we didn't need anything else. We ate in a comfortable silence this time, some of the awkward newness had worn off. I was enjoying having someone around as some of the stress of the last year started to lift away.

The burgers were juicy and delicious, the fries golden crisp. We both ate every bite before draining our cold drinks. I sighed; it had been a while since I had treated myself to anything like a meal out. I grabbed the check when the waitress came by, waving down Nat's protests.

“Least I could do,” I insisted.

“Well, I'm paying for my share of the groceries then, cause we are so going to need to stop and get some. Hell man, you don't even have any of those sad little ketchup packets in your fridge.”

I shrugged, knowing it was true. I had been giving Mestrick nearly every penny I had coming in, desperately trying to pay down Preston's debt. Food, well, it wasn't important as long as I didn’t starve.

We stopped by a grocery store on the way home, one of those big chains. Nat grabbed a cart and we walked up and down aisles. I put a few things in the cart, peanut butter, some cheap bread, and milk ... those sorts of things. Nat shook his head a bit, and then grabbed some spices, tomato sauce, and noodles.

“I'm going to make you some of my famous spaghetti tonight. Gotta put some meat on those scrawny bones of yours.” Nat looked at me with a glimmer of humor in his eyes. I sighed, a man this hot and all he wanted was to fatten me up; what a waste! Why were all the good guys straight?

I turned away, embarrassed at my thoughts. He was just joking; not to mention he was right. I had lost weight. So scrawny was apparently something I needed to add to my list of detractions. I followed silently brooding as Nat kept shopping, buying fresh fruit and vegetables, lunchmeat, and cheese. Well at least I thought it was cheese, it had these green steaks through it which I thought was mold and should be thrown out.

“No, no,” Nat chuckled. “It's supposed to look that way.”

“Oh...” I blushed crimson, clamping my lips shut before I could make myself look any more idiotic than I already had. After that I stayed silent until we were in the line for the register. He loaded up most of the cart on the conveyor belt before I slapped down a divider and put my own up before he could grab it all. Hmm ... Something was missing.

I tried to be furtive as I reached over to the candy section, filching a packet there. I held it in my hand, hoping that the movement hadn't been noticed.

“What's that?”

I sighed. Nope, certainly not that lucky. Ah well, might as well put the last nail in my coffin. The package of pink bubble yum bubble gum looked so silly next to my coffee it was all I could do to not squirm in place. It was juvenile, but I couldn't help but love the stuff. I'd even been known to blow a bubble or two, not that I'd ever admit it.

“Oh, that gum is good. It doesn't lose flavor quite as quickly as the other kinds. I detest the mint flavors.”

I think my jaw dropped to my knees. I'd expected ridiculing laughter or an eye roll at my childish treat choice, but instead Nat agreed with me. I groaned inwardly, this man was just too good to be true. Stupid straight man.

We each paid for our groceries then loaded up the car. On the ride home we listened to the radio, a bit of classic rock. Turns out we had similar tastes in music too, though he thought my love of country a bit much. Back at the apartment the cupboards and fridge were fuller than ever before.

“So, before I get down to starting the spaghetti sauce, how about I show you my little toy?”

“Okay ...” I said. “You know, I'm really not good with electronics. I was a math major and you'd think something like that would go hand in hand with electronics know how, but nope. I can barely program a microwave.”

“That's alright, my baby is math geek proof, no programming, no popcorn button needed.”

I grinned. “Well, I'll give it a shot.”

“All I need,” said Nat, his voice muffled as he bent to dig around in his bag. He straightened up and then came over and sat next to me on the futon, putting a sleek black case the size of a calculator on my secondhand coffee table. He pressed a button on the side and the top clicked open. Nestled inside the black foam was a small chip, green with little coils and dots on it. It was pretty much indistinguishable from any other bit that is inside of a computer, at least to my eyes.

“This is my baby. All you have to do is take this and change it out for the same chip inside the computer. No tools, no programming, no worries.”

“Really? That's it?”

“Yep. It doesn’t look like much but it has a bunch of nifty tricks. It can act like a bug, listening in to any conversations in the area through the computer microphone. It can also hijack any electronic signals in the room, like phones, pda's or computers. It copies everything it reads and then sends the data out on the host computer’s own signal. All while remaining virtually undetectable.”

“I would guess that's a pretty special baby then?”

“Oh yeah. What the government wouldn't do to get their hands on this! I could only imagine the data they would accumulate if they were able to get my plans on the chip.”

“You have it patented?” I was curious about how Nat kept it such a secret.

Nat snorted, “Yeah ... a patent would stop the government, sure.”

I got embarrassed, then a bit angry. I was sick of looking foolish in front of such a hot guy and it was making me cranky and easily irritated.

“How exactly would I have known that? I told you, I don't know anything about this stuff,” I snapped, looking him full in the face instead of just glancing like I normally did.

“Well, c'mon. Do you really think the government is going to worry about the niceties of a piece of paper and ownership rights? Hell no! Jeez. You are naïve, no wonder why your boyfriend conned you so easily.”

Ohhh, that son of a bitch!

“I can't believe you just fucking said that! That was over the line, you barely know me!” I stormed out of the room, ignoring the stricken look on his face. He should feel guilty, damn it! The nerve of him! I could barely restrain myself from flying off the handle with him throwing something I was still so sensitive about in my face. I slammed the door to my room, hoping he got the hint to stay the hell away from me.

Several hours later I started smelling a mouthwatering aroma drift through the room where I lay on my double bed reading an old science fiction book. The edges were worn and the pages yellowed but it was something I found one day at the local used book store and just couldn't put down. Books were my small luxury in an otherwise barren life. But even that couldn't hold my attention. Gods, I hoped I was going to get to eat whatever was making that smell.

I was still salivating and trying futilely to focus on my novel about ten minutes later when I heard a quiet knock on my door.

“Marc? Look, I'm really sorry, okay? I can be a real idiot and say stupid shit I don’t mean. Just ask everyone who I've ever dated. It’s why most of them broke up with me,” Nat sighed. “Anyhow, I made dinner if you want you can come out and get some, and you don't have to eat with me if you don’t want to. You can eat in there. Not that I don't you to eat with me, I do, but if you are still mad at me then you don't ...”

At that point I had to open the door. I sensed that he wouldn't stop babbling if I didn't. He stopped in mid sentence and just looked at me. He looked a bit flushed and had an apologetic look on his face. Damn, he was just too cute to stay angry with!

“I'll eat with you,” I said quietly as I watched his expression lighten. “I'm sorry I blew up.”

“I'm sorry I was such an ass,” Nat said back.

We smiled at each other as the tension eased. “Well, it's in the kitchen if you're hungry.”

“Oh yeah, I've been smelling it cook for the last half hour, my pillow is just about soak with all the drool.”

He snickered. “Dude that is really gross. But ... thanks I guess.”

We both dished up generous plates and went to sit on the futon. I got a huge forkful, twirling the noodles around the tines neatly. The first bite was pure nirvana. Oh man, this was just about the best thing I had eaten ever. And there was French bread too, all warm, crusty and slathered with butter. My taste buds were in heaven, I swear I could hear angelic choruses.

“OH MY GOD.” My eyes closed in rapture as I chewed. I opened them to see him watching me with an amused look on his face. “What? I don't think my plates have ever even seen food this good. Hell, I didn't know you could make food like this in my kitchen.”

“Well, I almost couldn't. I swear man, one pot and one pan? I had to toast the French bread on the burner instead of the oven. I was shocked when I found more than one plate, fork, spoon, and knife.”

I shrugged. “Those things come in sets, even used. I usually eat food out of a can; don't need much to make that.” I didn't want to think about that though so I concentrated on my food. I almost moaned out loud, it was so good.

Nat must have taken the hint because he tucked into his plate too. It was silent in the room, but a comfortable silence as we both ate until we groaned. I swear, even one more bite would see me explode. I slid my plate onto the coffee table and fell back completely sated on the futon, letting out a burp.

“Oops. Excuse me.” I blushed a bit, causing Nat to chuckle.

“No worries,” he said, “I'll take that as a compliment! You may not always be searching for food or eating it the way Ry is but man, you guys can both put the food away!”

That caused another laugh, until I moaned. “Oh, don’t make me laugh, my stomach hurts.” That set Nat off laughing again but we slowly wound down, the tension from our earlier argument forgotten and the easy companionship from before returning. We sat on the futon, talking about innocuous things, our favorite sports, sharing tidbits from our childhood, books we love. Turns out we had a lot of interests in common. A few hours passed in easy chit chat, it was midnight before we knew it. Nat stretched and yawned prompting me to look at the clock.

“Oh wow, look at how late it is. I should get off your bed and let you get some rest.”

“Sounds good. Do you have anything you need to do in the morning?”

I picked up our plates and walked into the kitchen. The little bit of spaghetti sauce and noodles left had stuck to the pan so I filled the sink with warm water and dish soap, deciding to soak them overnight and wash them in the morning.

Looking over my shoulder I said, “No, no plans. We can sleep in and then figure out what we want to do. I don't have a phone anymore, but someone pages me and I go to a pay phone and call the number I’m given. I have a crappy job I'm supposed to show up to, but I'm close to being fired anyhow. What's the point to keeping it now?”

Nat shrugged. “Alright, we can figure out what we want to do in the morning then.”

I shut off light in the kitchen and helped Nat move the table out of the way so we could pull the bed down. I handed him the extra pillow and blanket then moved to go to my room. I was just turning to say goodnight to Nat when I was surprised by his hand wrapped around my shoulder, his thumb just grazing my neck.

“We're going to bust these guys and get your life back, you know. You'll be free again to do what you want, be with whom you want to be with, no more fear.” His hand squeezed my shoulder, his thumb stroking up and down just a little.

I shivered, looking up at him. “I hope so. I’d like to be close to Ry again. It's not like being with someone worked out so well before all of this though. Seems like my choices in that aspect is what brought me here. Probably best if I don't try that again.”

“Try what? Being with someone or just someone like Preston? I am sure you will find someone who is truly decent and cares about you. You're a great guy, you deserve to be happy.”

“How do you know? We barely know each other,” I said. I couldn't help but hope he would tell me why he thought I wasn't a total loser. I guess I was desperate and anxious for someone, anyone, in my life to tell me that I wasn't the stupid ass that Pres had managed to convince me I was.

“I've been around a lot of people, good and bad, in my line of work. A guy who gives up his life, does something that is a violation of everything he believes in, to keep his brother safe? You've been beaten down a lot lately, but you still have the courage to stand up and do something about it, to make yourself and Ry safe again. That makes you one hell of a person in my book, no matter anyone else might say.”

I was dumbstruck; the way Nat said everything, made it seem as if I had done this for some noble reason, instead of simply being conned and having to deal with it. I guess, maybe if you looked at it in a different way ... I shook my head, the old guilt and emotional scarring was smoothed away just a little, but I still found it hard to believe.

Nat gave my shoulder a firm shake. “What are you shaking your head at? Everything I said was true.”

“I guess you could see it that way, but--”

“No buts, I do see it that way and there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. Not even torture by uncomfortable futon.”

“I can take the futon; you don't have to sleep on it. Take the bed, I really don't mind. It's not big but it's much better than this lumpy old thing,” I offered quickly. “Two nights in a row on this thing should be considered torture.”

“I didn't mean it like that.”

“No, I insist, please, take the bed.”

“I am not going to sleep in your bed. Believe me; this is way better than my seat in the car where I wait for reports from my little bug. Having a pillow and being able to stretch out? Pure luxury!”

That reminded me he was simply here for the job, as a favor and paid for by my brother. The heavy hand still sitting on my shoulder, the cheeky grin inviting me to share its humor, the sparkling eyes, all of it wasn't real. I doubted I would even see Nat again after this was all over. I stepped back from under Nat's hand, watching as his grin faded to a puzzled look.

“Well, then, umm, I think I'll go to bed. Have a good night,” I said a bit coolly, trying to keep a bit of detachment. I had almost let myself do it again. I knew better, damn it! He said some nice things to me but that didn't mean anything.

Nat's forehead wrinkled and he stared at me for a minute. “Alright, goodnight I guess.”

Closing the door behind me, I smacked myself in the forehead, smacking it again each time as I said to myself, 'remember, remember, remember'. Nat was straight and I was a piss poor judge in men. He was someone here helping me out as a favor to a friend, nothing more. I had vowed to keep it simple, I could feel myself developing a crush on Nat as I got to know him, and that was not keeping it simple!

Climbing into bed in just my boxer briefs, I shivered a bit as the cool sheets wrapped around my body. I lay on my side, head facing the door. I hoped against hope that Nat would be unable to sleep and would come to my bed instead. I dozed off daydreaming about what might happen if only he were gay. I knew doing this wasn't keeping it simple but gave myself one last night to dream. And what great dreams they were too!