Caught in Your Wake

by Darien Cox

  And with that, they were gone, loading Tyler into the waiting chopper.

  Tim followed them outside and watched the chopper fly away, a huge lump in his throat. The shock of the evening hit him all of a sudden and he bent over, hands on his knees, taking deep breaths. Gone, just like that. Tyler was suddenly gone, and Tim felt like his guts had been ripped out.

  “Patterson.”

  Tim straightened and turned. “Hey Nolan.”

  “Tyler’s okay?”

  “Yeah. He will be.”

  “Are you?” Nolan’s brown eyes were pinched with worry, his dark hair tied back in a ponytail, a few strands whipping in the wind. “You look like shit, Tim.”

  “I need to...I should really...get home.”

  “Whoa!” Nolan caught him as he started to stumble.

  “Shit. Sorry. Getting...beamed down didn’t agree with me.”

  “You’ve had a hell of a night from what Baz reported.”

  “Yeah. Can we talk about it tomorrow?”

  “Of course, now’s not the time for briefings. I’m taking you home.”

  “Okay. Shit.” He patted his pockets. “I don’t even have my keys. I’m not sure if the house is even locked. George...he...”

  “I’m not taking you to your house, Tim. You’re coming to mine. Let’s go.”

  Nolan led him to his truck and they got in. Tim felt dazed, surreal, like he was in a dream. “Why am I going to your house?” he asked as Nolan drove them out of the lot.

  “Because you’ve been through an ordeal and you need someone to look after you tonight.”

  “Did Ogden say that? I’ll be okay, Nolan. You don’t have to.”

  “Ogden didn’t say shit. I’m looking after you because you’re my friend.”

  Tim nodded, and that lump rose in his throat again. “Thank you.”

  “No worries.”

  “He’ll come back. Right? Tyler?”

  “Of course. He always does eventually. But I’m sure he’s got better reasons now.”

  “Ogden called him ‘My boy’ just now. His boy. Like he was trying to tell me something. It was like he knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “That I love him. That I love Tyler.”

  Nolan was quiet as they turned onto the rural mountain road. “Did you tell Tyler you love him?”

  “No. A maniacal mutated eight-year-old genius hybrid abducted us and threw Tyler against a wall. So I didn’t get the chance.”

  “Yeah. Shit like that happens sometimes.”

  Tim chuckled, but he felt hollow.

  “You’ll get your chance. To tell him you love him.”

  Tim nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get my chance.”

  He wanted to believe it, but he felt less than confident. Maybe it was the stress, but his mind kept conjuring images of Tyler walking into some top-secret bunker, big iron doors slamming closed behind him, swallowing him up. Never to be seen again. What if when he recovered Ogden sent him away, somewhere else? What if he forbade Tyler from seeing Tim again? What if once Tyler got home, back to that place he’d come from, that place that understood him and his life, he decided he didn’t need Tim? That Tim no longer took up all that space inside him. That the empty spaces had been replaced with other things.

  When they arrived at the house, Elliot came out to meet them. “Had a rough night, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Tim said softly. “Rough night.”

  “We’ll get you fixed up,” Elliot said. “A hot bath and a martini. You’ll be right as rain.”

  Elliot and Nolan both wrapped an arm around him from either side and led him into the house. At the top of the stairs, Christian grabbed Tim and pulled him into a hug. “You’re okay. God, I was freaking out.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Good. I have to call Myles and JT. They’ve been freaking out too.” Christian looked him over. “You’ve got...blood all over you.”

  Tim began laughing, and everyone looked at him strangely. “Sorry. Just thinking of a conversation I had with Tyler. About how I’d never been covered in someone else’s blood. Now I’m covered in his.”

  He laughed until it the laughter threatened to turn to sobs, then Nolan grabbed him with strong, gentle arms and led him toward a bathroom. “Let’s get you out of those clothes. Elliot? Find something of mine for him to wear, some jammies or something.”

  “I’m on it,” Elliot said. “Jammies and martini coming up.”

  As Nolan ran him a bath and Elliot mixed him a martini, Tim felt a little less raw. A little less empty inside. Because it turned out these assholes, as he’d always called them, weren’t such assholes after all.

  They were friends. The best kind.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Ugh. That was so bad.”

  “You okay, Baz?” Tim asked.

  “I knew Hoggin to be angry but did not expect to be that angry.”

  “Yeah, you caught the brunt of it,” JT said. “But you handled yourself well.”

  They’d just come upstairs after a meeting in JT’s basement, in which Ogden tuned in on the big screen. Now the entire group sat around in JTs living room. Even Christian, though he was positioned on the opposite side of the room from Baz.

  But if Baz was attracted to Christian, it didn’t seem to be a factor right now. Baz sat on the sofa, rocking back and forth rhythmically like he was trying to soothe himself. Ogden had really laid into him.

  It had been three weeks since the incident. Three weeks since Tyler had been gone. Tim had spoken to him on the phone twice. Tyler was recovering and told Tim he would try to get back to the village soon. But Tim was not feeling good about things.

  Tyler’s voice gave little away, but he supposed it had always been that way. But not being able to look in his eyes and see his expressions? It left Tim at a disadvantage. He couldn’t discern Tyler’s mood over the phone, and he wasn’t sure where his head was at. If he still felt the same way about him.

  At the end of the meeting, Nolan asked Ogden what was going on with Tyler. “He’s recovered,” Ogden had said, then cut the feed. That was all they got. Tim wasn’t sure how he felt about Ogden. Especially after the way he’d torn into Baz. But then he supposed Ogden’s anger was justified, if misdirected. The shit-show with George had almost lost them Tyler.

  But Baz held his own in the very tense exchange. Tim wasn’t as familiar with the protocols as everyone else, the delicate dynamic between the Whites and Ogden’s crew. But from what the guys had been saying the past week, things were as bad as they’d ever been. That was pretty obvious during the meeting. Baz had to represent the Whites, and Ogden was on the warpath against them. Too many times, the Whites had been careless, Ogden said. Too many times they’d lost control of hybrids at their base. And this was the second time one of his team members ended up bleeding because of it.

  It would not happen again, Ogden warned, or he’d be forced to retaliate. This made everyone nervous, as they knew even with the most advanced weapons, the humans were no match for the Whites. But Ogden promised to make things very unpleasant for them if they didn’t get their shit together. Baz, per instruction by the Whites, presented options to placate Ogden. First the hybrid tried to play hardball for the Whites, mentioning the spying equipment in the lake. It turned out George was wrong—Baz was not dumber than him. Baz claimed to have known about the lake monitoring sensors since they’d installed them, but decided not to mention it, since they’d be ineffective regardless, and he didn’t want to make things awkward with the team.

  But the Whites made him bring it up as a bargaining point, to highlight that Ogden had been dishonest with them. The tactic went nowhere, as Ogden refused to apologize for doing all he could to keep the village and his team safe from ‘more potential mistakes due to the Whites’ unforgivable carelessness’, and then proceeded to list each infraction that had occurred already.

  Baz backed down on the topic, and they moved on.

  Ogden had the gator-worm but had no
t been able to figure out the technology that allowed it to pass through solid matter, like the Whites’ ships. Ogden asked that the Whites provide him with this.

  The Whites, through Baz, refused the request, saying humans were not ready to possess such technology. This did not go over well. Ogden went off like Yosemite Sam, flapping about and shouting. There was more arguing, more threats. But Baz hadn’t come to the table empty-handed. Instead of the technology Ogden requested, the Whites offered a plan to eliminate much of the plastic polluting Earth’s oceans. Ogden seemed almost angry that the Whites had presented such an irresistible option, likely because it was going to lose him his leverage. But ultimately, he could not refuse the Whites’ offer, and a deal was made.

  As for Tim, he’d been back at work the past few weeks, and his life had strangely gone back to the way it was before. But it all felt weird now. Too normal. False. Boring. He went about his daily tasks, spent time with his friends in the village. Ate. Slept. But he felt husked out inside. Incomplete. Empty.

  He missed turbulence. He missed Tyler.

  “You all right, Tim?” Myles asked.

  “Yeah.” Tim stood. “If this is all over for now, I’m gonna get out of here.”

  “No, Tim, stay!” JT said. “Rudy’s gonna fire up the grill, I figured we’d all have a cookout on the beach. We deserve it after that fucking meeting.”

  “Thanks, but I’ve got a poker date at the pub.”

  He said his goodbyes and left JT’s house. It was getting close to dinner time but he wasn’t hungry. And he wasn’t feeling particularly social either, but he forced himself to drive to the pub. Inside, he found a group of his friends gathered round a table near the bar. “Timothy!” Tammy said. “We were starting to give up on you.”

  “I’m here.” He sat down next to Darwyn. “Deal me in.”

  As they played cards, he tried to pay attention to the banter and conversation around the table, but he felt like he was on autopilot. It took Darwyn nudging his shoulder before he realized he hadn’t been listening to him. “What?”

  Darwyn chuckled. “I asked what you think of that guy Brett. The teacher. You know. With the dreadlocks? Do you know him?”

  Ah, shit. No, Darwyn. You do not want any of that.

  Tim scowled. “Yeah. I know him.”

  “He’s hot, right?”

  Staring into Darwyn’s big brown eyes, looking at his good friend, Tim faced down the conflict that had been plaguing him. How to maintain his old life, with his old friends, when none of them knew he was living another, secret life. Hidden, but right before their eyes. Darwyn was still innocent to the truth about this town. The last fucking thing Darwyn needed was to get involved with Brett. Tim could spare him that. Spare Darwyn the pain and shock of being drawn into this secret world. Let him have his peaceful illusions about Singing Bear Village.

  But then he thought of Tyler. Would Tim spare himself that experience if he could? Would he go back and erase it from his memories?

  “Brett’s all right,” Tim said. “Not sure if he’s your type, though. He’s a little old for you.”

  “I like older men.” Darwyn grinned. “I think I’m gonna ask him out.”

  Sighing, Tim took a sip of beer. “Well, good luck with that, Darwyn. He’d be lucky to have you.”

  “Oh no!” Tammy shouted as she slapped her cards down on the table. “No way.” She pointed at something over Tim’s shoulder. “I’m not dealing him in. With that poker-face, he’ll rob us all blind.”

  Tim turned around and saw Tyler walking toward the table. He stood. “Ty.”

  “Hey.” Tyler looked fantastic. Healthy. He’d gotten his hair trimmed. Dressed in jeans and a thin yellow tee shirt, he gave Tim a tight smile. He nodded, then looked around the table. “Hello. Village people.”

  “Hi Tyler,” Tammy said. “I was just teasing. You can play if you want! Should I deal you in?”

  “I can’t,” he said. “But thanks.”

  “You’re back,” Tim said softly. “When did you get back?”

  “Just now. Can we...um...can you break away from this?”

  “Yes.” Tim pushed his chair in. “I’m out guys.”

  “Oh, man,” Darwyn said. “You have to go already? You’ve barely come around lately.”

  “I know, I’m sorry. Next time I’m down for the whole night, I promise.”

  “Let him go.” Tammy smiled up at him. “Tim just needs to get a little sun on his face. We’ll catch him next time. Nice to see you, Tyler.”

  Tyler nodded, then turned and headed for the door. Tim followed him outside into the parking lot, watching as Tyler approached a shiny black SUV with tinted windows. “Go for a ride?” He glanced at Tim. “Got some things I need to tell you.”

  “Yeah. Sure. Is this yours?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s very...shadow government chic.”

  Tyler chuckled. “I suppose it is. Get in.”

  The inside of the vehicle was meticulously clean with comfortable leather chairs. Tim frowned at the cartoony robot air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror. He flicked it with his fingers. “This yours too?”

  “Yeah.” Tyler smiled as he put the car in gear. “Saw it at a gas station. Made me think of someone who calls me his robot.”

  Tim smiled, hope rising a little. As they pulled out onto the road, Tim said, “Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I did. I talked to you two days ago.”

  “I mean why didn’t you call and tell me you were coming to the village?”

  “You not happy to see me?”

  Tim stared at Tyler’s profile as he drove. “You know damn well I’m happy to see you. I just wasn’t expecting you to show up tonight. We had a briefing with Ogden and all he said about you was ‘He’s recovered’ then he fucked off.”

  “I told Ogden not to say anything about me. I wanted to talk to you face-to-face.”

  “Well, shit. That doesn’t sound good.”

  “I thought I was supposed to be the cynical one.”

  Chuckling, Tim said, “Sorry. I just...it’s been hard. You being away. Going so suddenly.”

  “I know.”

  “I’ve only been able to talk to you a couple times. I didn’t know if you still...” He looked out the window, then frowned as Tyler pulled into the driveway of a little brown lake house. A familiar house. “Why are we at Nolan’s old house?”

  Tyler killed the engine. “Because it’s still empty. We can talk inside.” He got out of the car.

  Taking a deep breath, Tim got out and followed Tyler to the door, then watched him use a key to get inside. They stepped into the kitchen, and Tim closed the door behind him. The house smelled a bit stale, cabinet doors open and empty. “No one’s bought this place yet, huh?”

  “Come on,” Tyler said and left the kitchen.

  Tim followed. “Where are you going?”

  “We need to sit down and talk.”

  “There’s no furniture, Tyler.”

  Tyler opened the basement door, and Tim followed him down the stairs. It was strange being here. Nolan used to use the basement as his workout room. But there was no weight bench, no pullup bar, no more threadbare sofa in the corner. But there was a bed with a quilt and pillows. On top of it, a green duffle bag.

  Tim stopped short. “That’s your bag.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You staying here?”

  Tyler sat down on the bed and patted the space beside him.

  Tim walked over and sat, looking into Tyler’s eyes. “Tell me what’s happening, Tyler.”

  “This house is shadow government property. Ogden owns it.”

  “He bought it from Nolan?”

  “No, he always owned it. That’s why Nolan was living here before.”

  “Oh. Okay. That’s why you have a key.”

  “No. I have a key because I’m gonna be living here now.”

  Tim’s pulse swished in his ears. He swallowed. “You’re gonna be li
ving in the village?”

  “After all the shit that went on with George and the base and the Whites, Ogden’s decided the village needs a permanent head of security.”

  Blinking, Tim let his hand creep over and rest on Tyler’s thigh. Tyler grabbed his hand and squeezed, a smile dimpling his cheeks. Tim laughed. “And that’s you? You’re gonna be head of security in the village?”

  “I am.”

  “You’re staying. You’re gonna be living in the village.”

  “You’re a little slow, aren’t you? I just said that.”

  Tim tackled Tyler and dragged him down onto the bed, making him laugh. “Tell me something. Was this all Ogden’s idea?”

  “I may have put the suggestion in his head. But he ultimately agreed.”

  Tim shifted onto his side and traced Tyler’s face with his finger. “Ogden didn’t have any objections? He seems a bit...possessive of you.”

  “He had a few. And I still might be called out of town on missions now and again. But this is my home now. Ogden didn’t want to lose me, so he agreed.”

  “You threaten to quit?”

  Tyler shrugged. “I just told him this was the best option. He could retain me as part of the team or not. But that I was going back to the village either way. That I needed to be close to you.”

  “Really? You did this for me?”

  Tyler stared at Tim, a half-smile curving his lips. Tim saw more expression there in Tyler’s eyes than he’d ever seen before: humor, contentment, a flicker of excitement, and something deeper. “Being with you makes me...happy,” he said. “And I’ve decided I like being happy. I don’t want to go back to whatever I was before. Tim I...I don’t want to live my life without you. Ever again. Is that...are you okay with that?”

  Tim closed his eyes as emotion welled. “I’m in love with you, Tyler.”

  “Open your eyes.”

  Tim did.

  Tyler’s eyes were wide, lips parted. “You mean it?”

  “Yes,” Tim said. “With all my heart.”

  “Does...” Tyler’s lashes dipped as he frowned, then he met Tim’s eyes again. “Does this mean I can love you, too?”