Millennium - 63. Chapter 63

February 17, 2000

 

“It’s so frustrating,” I told Robbie. I’d been bitching about Alexandra Carmichael since I got home.

“I know, I understand,” he said, trying to soothe my frayed emotions, but just irritating me instead. I manfully controlled my emotions and fought the temptation to vent my frustration at him. “How is Wade handling this?”

“We talked about it on the plane, and I almost think he’s glad it’s something like this. His mother has been a pretty twisted person for a long time now. I think he’s happy there’s actually a reason for it, and it’s not just the way she is.”

“His family sure is fucked up,” Robbie observed unnecessarily.

“I’m just not sure what to do next. We’re going to have to share this contract, and probably all the others that come down the pipeline, all because Mrs. Danfield likes to dress up like Scarlett O’Hara and fuck black men.”

“Don’t knock it unless you try it,” he joked. “Maybe you should dress up like Scarlett O’Hara, I’ll fuck you, and you can see if it’s worth it.”

“If you were fucking me, no matter what I was dressed like, it would be worth it,” I told him honestly, and got a loving smile in return.

“Something has to give. Omega will fuck up something, probably some program, bad enough that not even a handful of senators will be able to save them from being sidelined.”

“I don’t think that’s the way Washington works,” I said cynically. “I think they’ll continue to work with Omega, but they’ll admonish them along the way. Like Omega gives a shit about that.” I was about to go off on my anti-Washington tirade when my phone rang.

“Hello,” a familiar voice said after I’d answered it. “This is Alejandro.”

“How are you?” I gushed, so glad to hear from him, the gay son of an organized crime leader we’d raised through his teen years.

“I am fine, but I must be brief,” he said seriously, truncating my enthusiastic greeting. “You must meet someone in Cabo this Saturday. He will be looking for your boat.”

“Who?” I asked.

“I cannot say because I do not know. I was asked to pass this message on because my phone is not monitored, at least as far as I know. Still, I must keep this short.”

“Alright. Thanks Alejandro,” I told him as I hung up the phone. He was still difficult to deal with even now that he was in college, I thought to myself.

“What was that all about?” Robbie asked.

“I have to meet someone in Cabo on Saturday, and I have to do it on a boat. I hope Stef’s yacht is free,” I said. He looked at me, probably confused about what he should do since I hadn’t included him. “It looks like you planned the wedding, but I’m planning the honeymoon.”

“You want to leave when?” he asked petulantly. “I have to be at work sometime, you know.”

“I want to leave tomorrow morning,” I told him. “We’ll be back by Sunday.” He still looked irritated. “There’s actually something I want to try again, so this works out well.”

“What?”

“Remember that time we went on Stef’s yacht when we were in high school, and I fucked you in sync with the motion of the ship,” I said.

“I remember,” he said with a grin. “I could do that again.”

“I’m sorry about this,” I told him, giving him what he really wanted. “It sounds important. Alejandro wouldn’t have called and been so terse otherwise.”

“I know, it just seems like we’re so busy running around, going places, that I can never get anything done.” He sensed my next comment and pre-empted me. “But it will be fun. I’m going. We’re supposed to take a honeymoon trip anyway.”

I called Stef and got lucky that his boat wasn’t on a charter. “What do you think Joaquin wants?” he asked, referring to Alejandro’s father in Mexico.

“Who says it’s Joaquin?” I asked back.

Stef paused as he thought about it. “It could be any number of people. I am sure it will be interesting.”

“I will call you as soon as I know anything,” I said.

 

February 19, 2000

 

Robbie and I stood with our arms around each other, watching as the port of Cabo San Lucas opened up in front of us. He sensed how badly my emotions were frayed, but there really wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. “You want to tell me why you’re so wound up?” he asked.

I thought about denying that I was, but that would never work with him. “I’m nervous and curious about what we’ll find out here, I’m pissed off that the waves didn’t cooperate and kept messing up our sea-fuck again last night,” I said, making him laugh, “but most of all, I’m mad that my wicked stepmother is beating me at this battle. Maybe Mike was right. Maybe she is too big for me to take down.”

“I’m curious too, but I had a blast last night. I was kind of glad the seas weren’t smooth and consistent enough; that way we can try again tonight. And she’s not beating you; she’s just got some strong cards to play. You act like this was supposed to be easy. Did you really think that?”

“No,” I said as I shook my head sheepishly. “You’re right. I just don’t like to lose.”

“You haven’t lost yet, and you’re not going to. I have faith in you. You have to have faith in yourself,” he said earnestly.

“You have bad judgment,” I teased, flashing him a smile. “Thanks for helping me work out of my bad mood.”

“I’ve got better ways than that,” he said, and led me down to our cabin where we fucked again.

“We have sex more now than when we were 17,” I said.

“We can stop doing it if you want,” he joked.

“Like that’s happening. My goal is to keep you completely drained and satisfied,” I said.

“See, you achieved that goal.” I chuckled.

“Sir,” one of the deckhands said as he knocked on the door. I called for him to come in. “There’s a Scott Slater here to see you.”

“Scott Slater?” Robbie asked. I thought for a minute, and then really smiled big.

“You can escort him to the lounge. I’ll be right there,” I said. As soon as he was gone, I turned to Robbie to explain who Scott Slater was. “It’s Lark.”

“Lark? Why’s he go by Scott Slater?”

“He picked his two favorite surfers: Scott Farnsworth and Kelly Slater,” I said, making it sound like it should be obvious when in fact, no one who wasn’t into surfing or didn’t know Lark really well was likely to get that. We threw on some clothes and headed up to the lounge.

The man that used to be Lark looked completely different, with the exception of his blond hair, but that was pretty nondescript. His round features had been chiseled, his big nose had been trimmed down to where it was almost too small, they’d altered some of the features around his eyes, and pinned back his big ears. He saw me and smiled, and that gap in his front teeth, a quintessential Lark characteristic, was gone, replaced by dazzling white caps. “Mr. Slater,” I said formally, trying not to laugh. “Welcome aboard.”

“Cut the crap, B. You knew it was me,” he said as he gave me a hug, a big hug. As we embraced, I could feel that this was a whole new Lark.

“You seem to be doing well,” I said, digging.

He ignored me and gave Robbie a friendly hug too, a gesture which kind of freaked Robbie out since he and Lark didn’t usually like each other all that much. “I’m doing great! The surgery fucking hurt, but my face is finally not swollen, I can get out and hit the waves again, and I have a whole new identity. It’s such a relief not to have to worry about sins of the past biting me in the ass.”

“So how did you create this new identity?”

“Your friends down here helped me, especially Jason. He said to say “hi” by the way, and asked you to tell Stef and JP he’s doing very well. We sat down and created this whole new person, all kinds of facts and dates and shit, then he took it all and turned it into reality. Then shazam, here I am, a brand new person: Scott Slater.”

“You look good,” Robbie said.

“You think so Rob?” Lark asked him. “You trying to get into my pants?”

“No,” Robbie said, embarrassed.

“Too bad. It would have worked,” Lark joked.

“Quit hitting on my partner,” I commanded forcefully, but it was all in fun.

“Partner, oh that’s right. The gay wedding of the decade,” Lark said sarcastically, then got serious. “Sorry I missed it.”

“It’s alright. I know you have other things on your mind,” I said.

“I do, as a matter of fact.” He paused. “I need more money.”

“You asked us to come all the way down here because you needed more money?” Robbie asked, not a little pissed off. I was impressed that one look from me was enough to shut him up.

“Well yeah, but I’m not asking for handouts. I’ve actually got a trade for you, and it’s the best deal you’ll ever get.”

“OK,” I said patiently. “Describe this trade to me.”

He handed me a DVD, but he couldn’t stop grinning. “I give you that in exchange for $5,000,000.”

“$5,000,000?” Robbie asked, outraged.

I ignored Robbie and Lark followed my lead. “What’s on this DVD that makes it a bargain at five million dollars?”

“Play it. You’ll see,” Lark said. He was upbeat and animated, and that’s when he was the most fun to be around. “I’ll bet even you’ll think it’s a bargain,” he said to Robbie.

“We’ll see,” Robbie said dubiously. We locked the doors to the cabin after I told the staff I wasn’t to be disturbed, and then I put the DVD in and hit “play”. The first voice I heard was Alexandra’s.

“Fuck him harder,” she ordered. On the screen was a scene that was so grotesque it was hilarious. Alexandra was sitting in a chair naked with a fingertip vibrator, working on her clit. She was yelling at David, who was plowing into Brian.

“It gets better,” Lark said. “I’m not in it yet.” I rolled my eyes and kept watching. Alexandra got up and now we could see her in full dominatrix regalia. She had leather chaps, a tight leather bra, and a whip with a studded handle.

“I said harder!” she yelled as she whacked David on the ass. He grunted and plowed into Brian with more energy. She walked over to a cabinet and pulled something out, and began fiddling with it, putting it around her waist. We watched her until we finally figured out that she was putting on a strap-on dick. It was big and black.

“Alexandra likes black cock too,” I joked to Robbie. Lark looked at me curiously, but I didn’t say any more on that. I felt my mood go from good to jubilant as I began to calculate the true value of this video, but it only got better. Alexandra moved up behind David, slathered some lube on her dildo, and drove it into him. Now we grew speechless and stared open-mouthed as she fucked her own son with her strap-on dick.

A handsome man ambled into the picture, although all we could see was his body from the neck down. Still, I’d know that dick anywhere. It was Lark. He walked up to her, lined himself up behind her, and slid his cock into her pussy. It was really funny to watch her shriek and moan with ecstasy as Lark’s dick worked her cunt at the same time the strap-on slammed into her clitoris. It went on for a few minutes, and then she came in what appeared to be a very long orgasm. After that, Lark moved in and fucked David, getting himself off. Shortly after that, the DVD ended.

I recovered my voice to ask, “How the hell did you get this?”

“Don’t ask,” Lark replied with a conspiratorial tone.

“Lark,” Robbie said, “you were right. It’s worth five mil.”

“You want the money wired to the same place?” I asked.

“That will work,” he said, beaming with pleasure at having even more money to live the good life, and at burning his former benefactor at the same time. “Here’s a second copy for you to keep.” He handed me the case.

“Thanks Lark. This will really save my ass,” I told him.

“It’s about time I did that for you, B. You’re usually the one that has my back. I’m just sorry I have to shake you down for more money.”

“Don’t think like that. Like you said, it’s a bargain. I really appreciate it.” And then the mood changed, from euphoric and playful, to a much more emotional one.

“I shouldn’t be seen here,” he said. “When Alexandra gets that video, she’ll move heaven and earth to find me and have me killed.” I just stared at him, my mind whirling with yet another diabolical scheme, until he interrupted me. “Is something wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I was just thinking. I have an idea on how we may be able to pin the blame for this on someone else. Besides, you’re dead anyway.”

He chuckled and then got up and so did I. He pulled me into a big hug and gave me a kiss that was way more passionate than you’d expect from a friend. I peeked over at Robbie and saw him remain impassive, and it made my heart leap to see how much he trusted me, even here with a new, handsome Lark. “I love you B, in my own twisted way. You are still my best friend.”

“I love you too, Scott,” I joked. Lark walked up to Robbie, grabbed his head, and planted a lip lock, complete with tongue on him, totally freaking him out.

“Damn, I’ve wanted to do that for the longest time,” Lark said, flirting. Robbie was floundering, totally unsure as to how to handle this playful Lark that was hitting on him. Before he could react, Lark was gone. I gave the captain orders to get us home as fast as possible, and then went down to hang out with Robbie.

“He’s not a bad kisser,” Robbie joked.

“He’s not a bad guy,” I said. “This is the most amazing present he could have given me.”

“At five million bucks, I wouldn’t call it a present,” he said skeptically.

“Do you know what this means?” I asked. “What it really means?” He shook his head. “It means that I don’t have to worry about chasing Alexandra Carmichael to the ends of the earth in order to burn her sorry bones into a pile of ashes.”

“Why not?” he asked curiously.

“Because when I give this DVD to Elizabeth Danfield, she’ll do it for me.” He grinned, getting it now, getting the fact that this battle that had so dominated my life would now slide back in priority to a thing of import, not a thing to obsess over.

 

February 22, 2000

 

“So what is this that you could not tell me over the phone?” Stef demanded as soon as I walked into the house. I’d had to deflect his questions ever since we’d reached port yesterday, but there was no way I was going to talk about this DVD over a cell phone. I’d flown up to Escorial just to brief him, and to meet with my team tomorrow.

“I would say that it must be important enough for me to annoy you, wouldn’t you?” I teased. He gave me a foul look for my sarcasm, but he quit bitching. “Don’t you want to hear all about my trip?”

“I do,” JP said, just to antagonize Stef. It was something he rarely got to do.

“The captain made the trip back from Cabo remarkably fast, but that worked with the waves. I was trying to fuck Robbie like I did back in high school, in sync with the roll of the boat, and it finally worked.” I grinned at JP and he grinned back.

“That is wonderful. I am so glad that you had good sex on your return voyage. Now quit tormenting me,” Stef said.

“I bought this for $5,000,000.” I handed the DVD to Stef.

“What is on it?”

“It is the key to our victory over Omega and to a secure political future for Triton,” I said mysteriously. He took it and headed into the television room while JP secured the doors behind us.

Stef fiddled with the television and DVD player for a minute, and then got frustrated. “You do it,” he said to JP. “You have installed this massive and complicated television, and it is so hard to figure out no one but you can watch a simple television show.”

“It’s not that hard to figure out,” JP said to him in a patronizing way, then turned the video on by pushing a few buttons. Their argument was cut short by the video that started playing. We all sat there watching it, I with a self-satisfied expression, while JP and Stef were simply stunned.

“I think perhaps we should try kinkier sex,” Stef said to JP. “It would appear to be all the rage.”

“I like what we do just fine,” JP said lovingly. “Still, it might be fun to whip you with one of those studded riding crops.” He turned to me. “Where did you get this?”

“From a man named Scott Slater,” I said.

“I do not know a Scott Slater,” Stef said.

“Neither do I,” JP said, looking at me to fill in the void.

“Yes you do. You know him really well. Only you knew him by his former name. It’s Lark.”

Stef smiled. “He is safe and sound?”

“He is, and he’s even more handsome after his surgery,” I told him.

“I am so glad,” Stef said sincerely. He’d always had a soft spot for Lark.

“Jason helped him get his new identity squared away. Jason also asked that we let you two know that he’s doing just fine.”

“That is good to hear,” JP said sincerely. “So what will you do with this?”

“I’m going to give it to Elizabeth Danfield,” I told them. “This will get her out from under Alexandra’s thumb. I’ll bet she’ll be a little irritated about all those years of bullshit she had to put up with.”

“I suspect you are right,” JP said grinning. “When will you do this?”

“I’m flying out to DC tomorrow morning right after I meet with my team,” I told him.

“They will be excited,” Stef said. “I think they are more enthusiastic about Triton and this new direction than they are in destroying Omega.”

“They’d rather create than destroy,” I confirmed. “I don’t think we’ll have to devote much energy to putting nails in Omega’s casket.”

“You think Elizabeth Danfield will do it for you?” JP asked.

“I do, but I want to talk to Wade about it first. I asked him to come up here in a bit.” I swallowed hard before going on, and then talked directly to JP. “I need to talk to Stef about Brian. I know you disowned him, but I don’t want to upset you.”

“You don’t trust me?” he demanded with outrage.

It was the same old pattern: the more emotional he got, the less emotional I was. I responded with calmness, almost serenity. “If I did not trust you, I wouldn’t have even offered you the option to stay in the room. I was trying to be thoughtful, to let you avoid a situation that was possibly touchy.”

He mellowed. “I understand. I think I’ll go get ready for dinner anyway.” He walked out of the room frustrated.

“He will probably ask me about it later anyway,” Stef said. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I have a plan to pin this video on Brian.” He looked at me quizzically. “I’m going to tell Elizabeth Danfield that I got it from him, and I’m going to wire $500,000 into his bank account. Then I’m going to let Jerry, that mole we have, find the records.”

“So Alexandra will think that Brian was the leak?” he asked.

“She will,” I told him. “At least I hope she will.”

“He will probably end up dead.”

“Does that bother you?” I asked. “It doesn’t bother me, not one bit.”

“No, it really does not,” Stef said, although I could tell he wasn’t as convinced of that as I was. “You were probably wise not to involve JP. He would end up feeling guilty over it.”

I went down to my room and got cleaned up for dinner, then hustled back up to find that Matt and Wade had already gotten there. After our normal, affectionate greetings, Wade pulled me off to the side. “What do you want to talk to me about?”

“I’m going out to DC tomorrow to meet with your mother. I wanted to talk to you about it first.” I looked at the clock on the wall. “So either we talk now and you miss dinner, or we wait a bit.”

“So we’ll talk after dinner,” Wade said, shooting me his cute grin. Ever since I’d gotten that video, I’d known I was going to win this battle with Omega, and my mood had soared. I was a social dynamo at the table, thoroughly enjoying myself. After dinner I led Wade into the television room and hit play. Wade watched the DVD while I watched him. It was so good, so juicy, that not even his impervious shell could hide the glee he felt.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“From a spy,” I teased.

“What are you going to do with it?”

“I’m going to give it to your mother,” I told him. I watched him process that. Wade was a better politician than any of us, and he understood the implications immediately.

“You’re emancipating her. She will be in your debt forever.” He looked nervous.

“Why does that bother you?”

“It’s just that she’ll be exchanging one master for another, at least in her eyes.” He must have seen my brows furrow. “Brad, I’m not comparing you to Alexandra, or suggesting you’d do anything to my mother like she’s done. I’m just trying to tell you what Mother will see.”

“Yeah, but I’m a better master,” I said, grinning.

“Damn, would I love to find out how much better,” Wade replied, flirting.

“My intention was to let your mother have this, and ask her, in return, to completely destroy Alexandra Carmichael and Omega. A quid pro quo.” I studied him thoughtfully. “Do you think that would make it more palatable?”

“I think so,” Wade said. “I mean, the way she looks at you, she’d probably be OK if you handed it to her and said you were in her debt for the rest of her life.”

“She’s not looking at me that way; she’s looking at a memory.” He nodded. “Will I have any trouble seeing her?”

“I’ll make sure you don’t,” he told me. “I’ll set it up so you can stop in and see my father too.”

He seemed kind of disturbed about the whole thing. “What’s bothering you?”

He was going to deny it, but realized that was pointless. “All these years, I just thought she was a twisted and fucked up person. Now that I know what Alexandra was doing to her, her behavior actually makes more sense. I’m wondering, when this burden is lifted off of her, what kind of person she’ll become.”

“You seemed relieved when we were in DC. You had an explanation, an excuse for her. If she’s just as bad after I give her this, you’ll have to grapple with the fact that she’s just an awful person?”

He nodded sadly. “Yeah.”

“I’d see what your shrink has to say about that, but I wouldn’t sell your mother short. She seems like a pretty tough woman.”

He grinned. “You have no idea. Alexandra Carmichael is going to rue the day she crossed Elizabeth Danfield.”

And Brian Parnell is going to rue the day he fucked around with Brad Schluter, I thought to myself.