Fearless Leader (Juxtapose City)

by Tricia Owens

  It isn't fair.

  But he’d learned long ago that life wasn’t fair. That life was now linked with Captain Dickerson’s and for that reason alone Black couldn't fight any of it. He patted his pocket, looking for the extra tab he'd carried just in case the range had been too much for Starr. But his pockets were empty. He'd changed clothes when they'd returned to the house.

  Across from them, Razzy peeled off one of the tabs and stuck it to the end of his forefinger, extending it over the desk. "Ca--lyx," he sang. "You know you waa-nnt it."

  Black turned to look at the empath. Starr's light golden lashes were lowered, hiding his eyes from Black. His fair skin was shiny, beads of sweat glinting beneath the red light of Razzy's office. A pink tongue swept across the empath's dry lips. Then again.

  If you don't do something he's going to dump you off his lap and take the Bliss.

  Reluctantly, Black reached down and took one of Starr's hands in his. The empath looked up, a flash of fever-bright eyes. Strain showed clearly in those shiny green orbs. He was desperate. Holding the gaze, Black brought up the empath's hand and settled it on the back of his head. He guided Starr's fingers to massage through his hair.

  ~~~~~

  Calyx stared, unable to believe that Darkness was actually initiating physical contact much less encouraging the empath to massage him. Even more amazing was the sudden wash of warm pleasure that trickled through his senses, distracting him from the cravings. Black was allowing Calyx to feel him.

  Calyx couldn't tear his eyes away from the man in his lap. Under the wide-eyed scrutiny Black turned his face away, hiding his expression. Calyx massaged a little more deeply and was rewarded with a burst of grudging pleasure. The brunette’s head dropped, just a little. If Black had been the vocal type, Calyx knew his leader would have moaned.

  Calyx's own gratitude and confusion battled with the pleasure Black was sending his way. Black's intent was obvious and Calyx could hardly believe that the man would be willing to do this for him. Strangely enough it made him abruptly lonely. He wanted to wrap his arms around Darkness and hold him as tight as he could, hoarding the man's pleasure and making it his own. He wanted to live off of Black's emotions like a parasite, never again feeling that emptiness, never again feeling that ache.

  With his other hand Calyx lightly squeezed Black's thigh, trying to convey his gratitude. He saw Black's lashes lower as he looked down at the pale hand on his leg. Calyx expected the other man to remove his hand. But Black didn't, and the pleasure continued to flow into the empath unabated.

  If Genesis wanted to take out JC2 he would discover that his job had gotten that much harder. Calyx had no intention of letting anyone hurt Black. Simply put, the man was rapidly becoming Calyx's favorite new addiction.

  When Calyx waved Razzy off, the dealer shrugged and popped the pill into his mouth. The conversation rapidly deteriorated from there. Whatever additional information Calyx had hoped to squeeze from Razzy was impossible to get now that the short man was high. Listening to Razzy and the kids laughing hysterically, Black recognized this as well.

  "Let's go," he muttered, sliding off the empath's lap and breaking their connection.

  Calyx sat for a moment, feeling the loss of sensation like a spike of ice in the gut. It took a lot of effort to find a smile and plaster it on his face as he followed Black out of the liquor store.

  ~~~~~

  Black tried not to think of much of anything as he led the way back to the house. Starr was silent, almost brooding, which was fine with him. Black didn't want to have to explain his actions back in the liquor store; especially since he had the feeling the empath was curious. Let him stay that way. Black wasn't admitting to anything.

  Certainly he wasn't admitting that Starr's hand in his hair had felt nice. It was a purely physical reaction. There were hundreds of nerve endings in the scalp. A monkey could have been pawing him and he'd probably enjoy it as much. Somewhat.

  No, the pleasure he'd felt and had allowed the empath to share had had nothing to do with Starr's particular touch or the scent of his citrusy cologne or the soft breath that had blown across the back of Black's neck. Black had hardly noticed any of that. He'd done what he had to in order to prevent any more laws from being broken. Any pleasure he'd taken from the act was inconsequential.

  When they reached the house Black let them in without a word. The Clubhouse was dark as they made their way upstairs. Passing Sola's closed door, Black was surprised and annoyed to find himself stopped by a cool hand.

  He glared back at Starr. The empath smiled unfazed. "What you did back there was very generous of you," the empath said softly with none of his usual teasing. "I wanted to thank you."

  The sincerity of the words made Black uncomfortable. "I didn't want to deal with you all drugged up," he replied.

  Starr continued to smile, undeterred by the coldly spoken words. "I enjoyed feeling you. It was nice."

  Black met his eyes and didn't like the emotion he saw in the green gaze. Starr was a drug user, a prostitute and a criminal -- therefore a master manipulator. Black told himself he couldn't trust anything coming from Starr. He felt a slightly disappointed at the realization but grimly pushed the feeling aside. That's simply how it was.

  "Goodnight, Starr," he said, opening his bedroom door.

  As he shut the door behind him, he heard Starr murmur, "Sweet dreams, Darkness."

  Sweet dreams.

  Black shuddered as he shrugged out of his shirt. He hoped he didn't dream tonight. He needed a full night's rest. He hadn't gotten one in what seemed like a long time.

  He walked into the bathroom and flicked on the light. The blood drained from his face, making the dark marks scattered across his neck and chest stand out all the more vividly. Ugly memories assailed him and though he tried with all his might -- shutting his eyes tightly and clutching the sink with whitened knuckles -- he couldn't push the nightmares out.

  With a groan he staggered to the toilet and collapsed against it. He vomited until he thought he would see blood and then slid to the tile floor and curled up on it, cold and shivering.

  Across the hall, Calyx stood in the doorway of his bedroom biting his fist.

  "Stop, just stop!" he whispered. He covered his ears with his hands as if he could block any of it out.

  The pain that he felt wasn't his, but he wished desperately that he could take it into himself and spare Black from whatever it was that tortured him. It wasn't right for such a strong man to be brought to his knees like this. He didn't understand the feelings rushing over him -- the self-hate, the fear and disgust. He was afraid to imagine what had caused them.

  Because maybe you already know.

  One of these days, Calyx told himself, after he'd found his sanctuary in the Silent City and found his revenge he would find the person who had hurt his Darkness. Whether it took a week or a year, he wouldn't rest until he found them.

  And when Calyx found them he would tear them apart, piece by bloody piece. He knew he would enjoy every minute of it.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Calyx fell asleep somewhere around five in the morning, long after sympathy had given way to something less charitable. He was awakened two hours later when it sounded as though every door in the house was systematically slammed on its hinges. He groaned in misery and dragged a pillow over his head. The silence lasted about thirty seconds before his own door rattled in its frame beneath heavy pounding.

  "Go away, Mom," he groaned. "There's no school today."

  "Open the door, Starr."

  Hell. Of course it would be the very bastard responsible for Calyx's current state of mind-numbing exhaustion. Cursing, he tumbled out of bed and staggered to the door, flinging it open hard enough to leave a dent in the wall where the doorknob impacted with it.

  Black stared at him, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "You're naked."

  "At this point I could be wearing a goddamn prom dress, sweetheart, and I wouldn't know the difference." Calyx sen
t him a scathing glare. "You so kindly forgot to give me my Bliss tab last night before your little 'performance'."

  Brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "What performance?"

  Calyx covered his face with his hands, trying not to sway on his feet. "The damned horror movie that you apparently star in every other night." The empath dropped his hands and glared at Black. "You have no idea how close I was to breaking into the gun locker and shooting us both."

  Black jerked down the neck of the black turtleneck he was wearing, revealing a line of vicious bruises. "You marked me like an animal last night! I look like someone's abused boyfriend, you asshole. If you ever touch me like that again I'll save you the trouble of breaking into the locker and shoot you myself!"

  Calyx took a step forward, unconcerned with his nudity. "What's the matter, sweetheart? Did it bring up some nasty memories?" When Black continued to glare furiously at him, Calyx went on recklessly. "From what I was feeling last night it's not my touch that got you worked up. That's some old pain you've got simmering in your head, Darkness. I'm insulted that someone's been there before me. I'm beginning to think you're used goods."

  The crack of knuckles against his jaw dropped Calyx like an anvil to the head. He blinked stupidly at finding himself sprawled sloppily across the carpet. He rubbed his sore jaw and looked up at the younger man. Calyx snarled, "You little--"

  He flinched when Black threw something at him. But it was small and light, fluttering to rest in the empath's naked lap.

  "There's your Bliss," Black snapped. "Get high, jump out the window... I don't give a shit. If you manage to actually become functional and realize that JC2 is an opportunity for you and not an invitation for you to fuck with everyone's minds report to Sergeant Cole. I've instructed him to go over hand-to-hand combat with you."

  "Oh, joy," Calyx drawled carelessly. But his fingers trembled as he peeled off one of the tabs and eagerly slipped it beneath his tongue. As the familiar tingle spread through his mouth he sighed, dropping his head back on his shoulders. God, yes. Feeling more languid, he opened his legs, smirking as Black's eyes fell to his crotch. Mmm, Darkness looked particularly hot when he was flushed and angry like this. "Forget Sergeant Cole, sweetheart. Why don't you and I do a little hand-to-hand?"

  Black sneered as he tugged at the neck of his sweater. "You're a slow learner, aren't you Starr? I don't want you near me. That's not a hint, I'm telling you." He shook his head. "It's amazing to me how you managed to last on the streets as long as you have."

  Calyx idly touched his slowly hardening cock. "It's because I know how to make people like me, sweetheart. Let me show you how I do it."

  "No thanks." Black spun crisply on his heel. "Nothing from the streets interests me. That goes double for you."

  "Self-hate is so terribly unattractive," Calyx called after him.

  Black flipped him the bird as he slammed his bedroom door behind him.

  "Someone's in a snippy mood today," Calyx muttered, rising to his feet. Not that he cared anymore. Nothing could upset him now that he had his Bliss. Sighing blissfully, he dropped back onto his bed and crawled happily between the sheets.

  ~~~~~

  Calyx had never learned restraint when it came to Bliss. What was the point of rationing the drug when he had always been able to find a way to get more when he needed it? Black had thrown two days' worth at him -- probably as a test -- and Calyx promptly consumed all four pills the first day. He never had been a very good student.

  He slept a day and a half as much to avoid Black as to get some much desired rest. When he eventually rolled out of bed he was stone cold sober. How people did this every day he had no idea.

  He delved through his clothing and came up with something he knew would cause Black and the others the most pain: a long-sleeved fishnet top that revealed the pink discs of his nipples and beneath it electric blue bondage pants with four straps crisscrossing his waist and legs that swung and chimed with every step.

  "Perfect," Calyx purred, looking himself over in the mirror. He finished his outfit with four-inch platform boots and headed downstairs to find the others.

  The rest of the team was gathered in the Clubhouse's kitchen much to his surprise. His surprise however, didn't match Jake's.

  "What the hell are you wearing?" Jake sputtered, lowering the beer he had been about to chug from.

  Calyx smirked and slid around the stunned man to enter the kitchen. He winked at a flustered Haney as he pulled open the refrigerator door. "You're supposed to be thinking, 'Damn, Calyx is sexy in those pants. I'd love to tie him to the bed with those straps.' Go ahead, Cole, it's alright if you're attracted to me."

  He smiled as Jake choked. "You must be having a bad trip, Starr, because there's no way in hell I'd ever be attracted to you. Freaky whores aren't my type, thank you."

  Calyx leaned back against a counter, beer in hand, and smiled lazily at the larger man. "No, your tastes run more along the lines of tall, Darkness and handsome, am I right?"

  To his delight, Jake flushed, looking in embarrassment at Bee and Haney who were trying their best to appear occupied in the small kitchen.

  "You, uh, been in your room these past couple of days, Calyx?" Haney asked, trying obviously to spare his teammate. "We haven't seen you around. You missed out on the excitement. Or, well, er, lack of excitement, I guess."

  Jake rolled his eyes. "Nice, Haney."

  Calyx looked between the men with interest. It was Bee who finally explained.

  "The lieutenant had us gear up to apprehend a dealer who'd been selling to little kids."

  Calyx picked at the label on his beer, keeping his eyes averted to hide his sudden anxiety. "And?"

  Bee sighed. "Guess the jerk had gotten a tip that we were coming. He'd up and gone."

  Calyx smiled faintly. "I'd imagine that Darkness -- excuse me, Lieutenant Black was quite upset to miss such an opportunity."

  "You're lucky you weren't around," Jake sneered at the empath. "I'm sure he would've taken you down a notch or two."

  Oh, he tried, alright. At least that explained Darkness' bitchy mood the other morning. Black should have known better. Despite being idiotic enough to abuse his own product, Razzy wasn't that stupid. Black's intentions of taking the dealer down had been all over his face that night in Razzy's office.

  Calyx smiled to himself. Poor Darkness, constantly trying to be the good guy but the bad guys just wouldn't cooperate.

  "And where's our fearless leader now?" he asked casually.

  Jake tossed his beer bottle into the recycling module. It ground the glass quietly as he shook his head. "Out. Though why he's there..."

  "Why he's where?"

  "Black has a meeting with JC1," Bee explained.

  "Sundhill," Calyx hissed.

  "The Golden Wonder is such a suck-up," Jake muttered, stepping out of the kitchen. "I don't know what the hell Black was thinking by going there to see him."

  You're so blind, Calyx thought in pity as he looked at Black's former lover. No wonder you're no longer together. But although Black and Jake's apparent break-up meant that Black was now available to Calyx's advances, it opened him up to Sundhill's as well. Calyx's brief interaction with the Golden Wonder at the range had told the empath all he needed to know: Lieutenant Sundhill had designs on Black and was the type of smooth playboy who knew how to get what he wanted.

  "You should have stopped him," Calyx snapped out before he could stop himself. He felt Bee's thoughtful gaze upon him and turned away. In a calmer voice, he added, "Like you said, Sundhill’s nothing but cheese and slime."

  "As if stopping Black from doing what he wanted has ever been an option," Jake grumbled. Something in his tone made Calyx look closer at him. Hmm, perhaps the sergeant wasn’t as stupid as he looked. The displeasure on Jake’s face probably matched Calyx's own.

  "It stings when they stray, doesn't it?" Calyx said.

  Jake's eyes widened briefly as if he couldn’t tell if Calyx was commiserating with h
im or mocking him.

  Jake shook it off to smirk. "Black told me that he wants me to go over some combat techniques with you. You up for that... freak?"

  "Jake..." Bee warned.

  Calyx held up his hand to the big man. "No need to defend my delicate sensibilities, Bee. I can handle Cole on my own, thanks." He tossed his own beer into the recycling module and looked at his rival for Black's affections. "You think you can put me on my back, Cole? Sorry to disappoint you but I'm actually selective about who I allow to top me. I have certain--" he glanced meaningfully at the other man's crotch "-- requirements."

  Jake's face went red. "Why don't you let me give it a shot?"

  Calyx thought of Black at JC1, probably being seduced out of his pants at that very moment. The empath's teeth flashed in a feral grin. "Give it your best shot, sweetheart." He had a feeling he would enjoy pounding Jake's face into the mats very much.

  ~~~~~~

  Across town, Black still had his pants on. But not much else.

  He circled Lieutenant Sundhill and felt the sweat slide down his spine and disappear beneath the waistband of the shorts the other man had lent him.

  "You're good, lieutenant," Sundhill panted, facing him across the black mats. "I'm impressed. Whoever it was who taught you to fight taught you well."

  Black had allowed such praise to distract him before. He didn't this time and it saved him from being dropped to his back as Sundhill made a dive for his legs. He used the larger man's forward momentum to send Sundhill tumbling past him to the floor.

  Sundhill rolled over, propping himself up on his elbows as he grinned up at Black. "You're making me look like an ox."

  Black relaxed slightly. "Hardly. That's the first time I've managed to get you off your feet since we started."