Home Away From Home - 31. Chapter 31

“Carlo, your dad wants to talk to you."

"Hello. Yes, I think that is best. Really, ok the sooner the better. Right, we’ll call you from there.”

“Dad has contacted a military base close to here. They will send copters for us. Once we get there, Dad will have another plane and crew to fly us to Guam.”

“Tony seems to have a lot of military connections.”

“I agree. Maybe he's CIA”

It was an hour before we heard the copters. Watching outside, we could see them descend. As soon as one landed, a young man entered the terminal and ask us if we were the Wyman party , we said we were. “Let’s go.”

Forty-five minutes later we landed at a military airport. There was a plane, waiting for us. Our bags were put into the baggage compartment. “Just a check guys, have you had your bags with you all the time after packing them?”

We all said yes. This plane was larger than the first plane. The pilots went and check with the pilots that were sitting in the cockpit. Melissa checked with the steward, this time there was a male.

“Gentlemen my name is Dan and it’ll be my pleasure to serve you this trip.” I laughed.

“What is funny?”

“He's gay and I know what he'd like to serve.”

Puppy laughed, “He may be cute, but he is way out of luck here.”

“Come on it's a long flight, sit here and rest.” I put the seat back and pulled Puppy’s head to my chest. He put his arm around me and was soon asleep.

Dan came back to see if we need anything. Vic and Mario asked him if had any beer. He gave them a can. On the way back to the galley, he sat in a seat opposite me. “May I ask you a question?”

“Or two? Yes, you may asked me a question.”

“I was getting ready to leave for a vacation when this call came through. I needed the money so I said I'd do this run. But when I asked any questions as to who the passengers were, I received no answer.”

“And you wanted to know.”

“Yes.”

“Ok this is Dr Wyman who will be working at the hospital in Guam, if you didn’t know, that's where we're headed. There are three couples on board, who are married, and two straight guys, I’m sorry to say. Some of us are in danger of being killed. Our plane was blown up just outside of Paris. Mr. Wyman made this arrangement.”

“So which one of you is the one in danger?

“We all are” I looked at Vic and Mario, they were asleep. I noticed Larry looking at me. I looked quickly to Dan. As Dan’s hand slowly moved to his jacket, I knife was pressed to his throat. I leaned over and removed the knife. “I’m really sorry Dan. You seemed like a nice guy. Larry make him talk. Get all the information you can then throw him out the rear door. If he tells us everything, then we might let him live.”

Larry and David took him back to the rear of the plane. I couldn’t hear everything. “David, is he talking? I tried to wake Vic but he's out of it. I think he’s been drugged and so has Mario. I hate to say this Dave, but I’m really disappointed in them. We need to find out if the pilots are in on this?

“What’s up?”

“I’ll tell you in a little while, Puppy but I need to talk to dad first.” I took the phone and dialed dad’s private number. “We're on the plane. The steward was a plant. I need you to vouch for the pilots. Ok hang on for a minute, Melissa get me the pilots names and I want their code numbers. Just ask them. Yea he was sleeping but he is awake now. Sure, say hi to Dad.”

“No, I’m fine. Carlo has been taking good care of me. I really don’t worry when he’s around. It was he who thought the plane deal was phony and he was the one that told us to land. I don’t know how he knows these things, he's mouthing reads a lot. Here he wants to talk.”

“I have the names of the pilots but no codes numbers. They gave Melissa their social security numbers. The pilot is John Rampston and the co-pilot is Richard Hessions. Yes the social security numbers are, Rampston 001 24 9566 and Hessions is 002 25 6778. Good thanks. Yes we'll call from Guam.”

“Those are strange social security numbers aren’t they?”

“I don’t think they are social security numbers, I think they are code numbers. Dad asked for names and codes, so I think identifying a social security number as a code is smart. Melissa any food on board.”

“Should we eat the food knowing who Dan is?”

“Good point. Melissa is the food sealed or fresh.”

“I’m sorry but there is no food.”

“Check with the Captain. I don’t believe Dad would not provide food on this plane.”

“The pilots said the food is in the luggage compartment. It was never placed in the food compartment because of the necessity to get airborne.”

“Ok I know there has to be a way to get to the luggage compartment from inside. Where are our original pilots?”

“They are in the cockpit talking to the pilots flying.”

“Tell them, for me saving their lives, they are requested to go to the luggage area and retrieve our food. Dan, why did you try to do it. He hasn’t hurt you. He’s a Doctor, helping people.”

“They took my boyfriend and said if I didn’t do this they would kill him.”

“If I was able to arrange to get your boyfriend freed, would you be willing to testify against these men?”

“Yes, I’ll do anything to get him free.”

“Ok, give me his name, address and any information that will be helpful. How long have you known him?”

“I met him 6 weeks ago at a gay club. I was sitting there with a beer looking around. He came up to me and we began to chat. I liked him. About two weeks later we started to date and one thing led to another. We moved in together this week. “

“Is he the one that suggested you move in together?”

He nodded his head yes. “Did he suggested you take this job when the opportunity arose?”

Again let he nodded yes, “You told him no right.”

“How did you know?”

“Because he was a plant. He isn’t kidnapped and isn’t a hostage. He set you up but how did he know you would be asked and better yet how did they know that we would need this plane.”

I picked up the phone, and called Dad again on the special number. We talked for a while, I explain what Dan told me. He said he'd check and get back to me.

I went to the cockpit. “Dad thinks there's a bomb on this plane. He wants the luggage compartment checked thoroughly. He said even check the wall panels to be sure none are loose. How far are we from an airport?”

“Rich, check the luggage department. There's a NATO airport about 45 minutes out.”

“Make for it. Contact them by code and tell them we have a mechanical problem and must land.”

“Ok, we will.”

Rich came into the cockpit, “There is a small bomb in the wall between the tail struts. If it goes off, we'll lose the tail section.”

“Is there a way to isolate the bomb.”

“Do you have dry ice on board? Good, put the bomb into a container add water and freeze it with the dry ice. Hopefully it will crack and you’ll be able to remove the detonator.”

Rich took the dry ice, a container large enough to hold the bomb and water. He was gone a long time. Meanwhile the pilot contacted the NATO base and received permission to land. The landing was smooth and foam trucks, fire department trucks and police where all around us. “Carlo, what are you going to do with Dan?”

“I’m taking him with us. If someone told me they kidnapped you and I had to blow up the White House, I'd try. He thought there was no way out. I can’t blame him for his action. It must have been hell for him. If he really was a bad guy, he wouldn’t say anything and we’d been dead by now and if it ever came out that he blabbed he would be dead. No, we’ll take him with us, we can use him as our valet. Don’t worry, we'll find something for him.” Maybe in Rita’s resort, I thought.

Now you would think Puppy would think I was crazy, not the case; I got a toe curling kiss from him.

The bomb was removed in a frozen block of ice. The plane was checked over again by a special group assigned to the base. Vic and Mario finally woke up, with a head ache. The pilots with the help of the NATO staff checked the plane out. We threw away all of the beer, restocked the plane with food, and this time Dan and Melissa worked as a team. From the base, I called Dad and related all of the information. He faxed a picture of Dan’s so called boyfriend. The picture showed him with another kid and the clock on the wall showed 9pm but the day was yesterday. I didn’t know if I should show the picture to Dan or not. I decided that if that was me, I'd want to know. “Dan, you remember what we talked about. Look.”

“That son of a bitch, he used me. I could've been killed because of him.”

“Here, talk to a man who can help you even the score.”

“Hello. Yes, this is Dan. I’m really sorry, I'd never attempted to do this if I had known that he was using me. Yes, Yes, of course, he wants me to go with you. OK I will. Thank you’”

He handed the phone to me, “Yes I think he’s a good guy. Right now if he doesn’t stop crying, he'll flood the plane. Yes, Dad it’s hard to find a partner in the gay world. Sometimes you think he’s the one and then you find he’s cheating. Of course, but in your world there are a lot more opportunities. If a girl cheats, there are ten waiting. In the gay world, maybe one is waiting, if you’re lucky. Yes, I’ll find him a friend. We’ll call you from Guam our plane is ready. Bye love you too.”

“Dad says he loves you.”

Puppy smiles. “Let’s go guys, Guam awaits. Melissa, Dan, Are we all set?”

“Yes, stocked and ready.”

“Good, tell Santa to get this reindeer flying.”

The rest of the trip to Guam was uneventful, which was nice.

When we arrive, we were met by a car and driven to our Guam residence. To say it was big was an understatement. There was a really large kitchen, the dining area could seat 20, the living room was huge. The upstairs had 10 bed rooms with ensuite bathrooms, Five on the second floor and five on the third floor. There was a Captain’s Walk around the third floor and balconies off the second floor. The view was fantastic.

The gardens were very neat and there were all kinds of tropical fruit. Doc was anxious to see the hospital but he had a full week before he needed to start. Mario was anxious to get into the water. After everyone unpacked, we thought we would take a stroll down the beach. Didn’t happen, we had a party that we hadn’t planned. Some of the wives stationed on the base, thought it would be nice to throw a party and invite our wives to join them in the woman’s club. You can imagine their surprise when they learned we were all men, no women and that all but two were gay.

“I thought they told us a Doctor was coming to the hospital.”

“That is true and you thought all doctors had wives or were eligible. There are only two eligible men here. All the rest are married or looking for a gay mate. Sorry ladies, I hope we didn’t disappoint you.”

“I’d say disappoint is too strong a word. In fact, I think having gay men in a meaningful relationship offers some insight. For example, I have a 16 year old son who I think might be gay. I have no problem with him being gay, but this is a military base. Not the place for someone to come out gay. Maybe you can help him clarify his feelings.”

“We could help certainly but there’s a problem. If, I say if, he’s gay, he may fall in love with one of the gay men here. We are all married. That could lead to a major crisis and disappointment. He would have to know up front that we're married. You can do that by telling him that we'd help him but we’re married. You should tell him you think he may be gay and if he is, you are fine with it and still love him. That's so important to him at this stage.”

“Thank you, I’ll tell him and talk to him.”

“I’m sorry, what is your name?”

“I apologize, I’m Brenda Thornton, my husband is Doug Thornton.”

“That name is familiar. I think I might be working with him on a project. I work for Tony Wyman Consulting and if I’m not mistaken we have a meeting in two weeks.”

“That’s fantastic, you could find out how he feels about gay people.”

“Yes, that is definite.”

“We brought this food, would you like to have it?”

“Yes, we haven’t gone shopping. We just arrived, but stay and enjoy it with us.”

Vic came into the room, “Party?”

“Yes, this is Vic. He’s one of the straight guys here. In fact, why don’t I introduce you all to every one. Let’s put the food on the table. I’ll call my gang here and we can eat and chat. Dan, will you please get some plates and silver ware, I thought I saw some when I was in the kitchen. Vic, can you round up the guys for me.”

“He’s a very handsome man and he’s straight?”

I nodded yes. Puppy came in and stood by me. “Vic said you wanted to see all of us.”

“Yes, I want to introduce you all to our lady friends. This is Doctor Wyman and before you get excited, he’s my mate. We are married. This is Larry and that coming into the room is David, Larry’s mate, following is Mario, the other straight, this is Dan, gay and unattached at the moment. And here are last two, this is Joe and Roy also married. That’s it, ladies let’s eat. Dan, did you find any tea in the kitchen?”

“No but there is water in the refrigerator. You’ll have to go shopping?”

“Sorry ladies, only water. Dan please bring some bottles and glasses for whoever wants it. Leaning into Puppy, I have already found a place for Dan,” he hit me on the leg.

“Where do you go to do your grocery shopping?”

“There are a few markets in town. But if you're military, you can shop at the PX which is cheaper. And if you're willing to drive around the Island, you can find fruit and vegetable stands. I’m sure you won’t starve.”

I chuckled thinking of all the rich cream I can get. As we were eating making small talk, a refrigerator truck drove up to the kitchen door. A guy knocked on the door, Is your name Carlo Wyman. I looked at Puppy. He smiled.

“I have a delivery for you. Need to sign here.”

The first thing he brought in was a freezer. Then a box of frozen meat, several boxes of canned goods, packaged goods, a french press, coffee and Earl Grey tea. Dan helped to unload everything, he put the frozen meat into the freezer. The rest he filled the cupboards and pantry.

“Well, ladies may I offer you tea of coffee?”

Between Dan and I, we had cups of coffee and tea ready in no time. I kept watching the ladies as they looked the guys over, me as well. I'd give anything to know what was going through their minds. As time passes, so do all good things. I said good night to the ladies, thanked them for the food. “Carlo, since you don’t know your way around the Island, I could ask Doug to show you.”

“I can’t ask him to do that. I’m sure he’s a very busy man.”

“No, not my husband, my son, his name is Doug also.”

“Oh, ok, but not until you have had your talk. I think my mother-in-law has started us on our initial food supply.

“What was that all about?”

“They heard the new Doctor is here and they wanted to invite his wife to join their woman’s club. They were disappointed when I said that we are all married gay men except for two. Then there eyes lit up again. I think Vic and Mario will have their hands full.”

Walking into the kitchen, “Thanks Dan, you were a big help tonight. Have you picked out your room yet? No, well you better. Where is everyone sleeping? We are on the third floor. Joe, where are you and Roy?”

“3rd as well.”

“Larry, you and David are on what floor?”

“We are on the 2nd floor along with Vic and Mario . Anyone coming for you has to get beyond us.”

“Dan, take the third floor.”

“Carlo, do you mind if I do some snorkeling tomorrow?”

“Only if you bring enough fish for dinner.”

“Let’s call tomorrow a free day. The only stipulation is that 2 security must be with us all the time. You can trade off whenever you want. At least until new security arrives.”

“Babe, do you think we still need security?”

“Yes, I do. The guys that set up Dan are still out there, they won’t give up. We need to stay on our toes all the time. Ever alert until they are all either behind bars or dead. Dad will call the shots. And by the way Carlo Wyman? Did we agree to take your last name?”

“No but would it hurt, how about we make a duel name like some women do, they keep their single name and husband name. Like your name would be Carlo Tomas Wyman Romano and my name would be Anthony Marco Romano Wyman what do you think?”

“Yea, I could live with that or we adopt a new name all together.”

“No, we might hurt our parents feelings. If it’s ok with you, let’s do the double name for now. This is the first night in our new home. We have to start off right.”

“You naughty boy. Shower first.”