“Boss?”
“What is it?”
“Why me?”
Jay turned around and looked at Gordon who sighed and averted his gaze.
“Everyone else has families,” he said softly.
“They wouldn’t leave them behind, wives, husbands, kids… parents.”
The room fell silent for a minute but Jay wasn’t one to let the atmosphere fall in his presence, he painted on a smile and nodded.
“You can count on me, boss,” he said in a chipper tone.
“Yeah, yeah, now go pack, you’ll be gone for two months.”
***
“Can I take this thing off yet?” Jay yelled over the sound of the loud chopper as he sat between two well-built men whose shoulders forced the slender man to scrunch up.
“Fine,” one of them sighed as he ripped the black lining away from Jay’s eyes, sick of hearing him ask every ten minutes for the past two hours.
Jay turned his head immediately, gazing out of the window of the helicopter as they circled a small structure below. It was a metal warehouse-shaped building built into the left overs of sandy, stone ruins with tents propped up around the edges and vehicles down one side. Its color pallet contained greys, browns and yellows so that it blended in perfectly with its surroundings but was still visible from above. It was only in that moment that Jay realized he was getting involved with something much larger than his regular work.
“Is that a tank?!” He got overly excited as he locked onto the large vehicle, pulling out his tiny notepad to write bullet points down.
The helicopter circled around the building once more before settling down in front of it, the door was swung open and Jay was told to get out. He grabbed his bag, dragged it off the helicopter and then ducked and ran across the sand as it lifted back into the air and took off leaving him stranded for the next two months.
He looked around; there were no signs of anyone, no noise apart from the wind strolling over sand dunes in the distance and no signs of life in the base.
“I guess there’s no welcoming party,” he muttered as he grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder.
Jay walked into the large, sand-covered structure by pulling on a metal, sliding door. He reached around the side of the wall and flicked a light switch on. One by one the strip lights flickered down a long corridor, there were broken down vehicles either side creating a straight-path for Jay to follow.
The place looked old, there were cracks in the stone walls that were badly patched up with metal and wire, the base had been built in the ruins of something, using the original structure where it could making the mesh of stone and metal as noticeable as oil and water. Jay followed the path to the end of the hallway where the place began to look a little more modern, he could hear something coming from a double-door to his left and followed the noise.
He took a deep breath, smiled and opened the door slowly. He walked into a fully functional canteen with dining tables and a cafeteria-style kitchen. There were seven men sat in the middle of the room, all of whom stopped eating the moment they locked onto Jay.
“Who’s that?” One said as he chewed his food loudly, his shaven head reflecting the strobe light’s rays.
“I don’t know, who are you?” Another called out as he chugged back a beer.
“I’m Jay Jay, a reporter with the Eagle Times,” Jay walked closer to the men, placing his bag on a dining table as he looked around.
“Is this all of you?” He asked.
“Eagle Times, eh?” One guy jumped up, a face full of freckles and dark, red hair cut short with blue eyes coldly piercing Jay.
“Yes, is this all of you?” Jay repeated himself.
“We gonna’ be celebrities when we get home?” The guy got closer.
“Because we all know that women love heroes,” he turned around and laughed with his friends.
“Aren’t you married Josh?” One guy asked.
“Like that would stop me?” He replied.
Jay noted down that Josh might be difficult on his pad as he waited for the men to calm down.
“This is all of us,” another of the men spoke out, breaking through the loud noise of the rest of the crowd.
Jay looked up from his pad. A tall, muscular man with a face full of stubble and messy, brown hair that had outgrown its shaven state walked up to him. He towered over Jay, at least six-three and had dark-brown eyes. There was a small scar on the right side of his jaw running from his ear to his chin like a small crater of red but it could barely be seen through the dark hairs housed on his face. It looked like a slash from something sharp and if that wasn’t a sign that this man had seen action then his cold gaze definitely was. Jay almost felt scared looking directly at him.
“And you are?” Jay’s hands shook as he tried to grip the pen and pad tightly and calm himself down.
“Karl Kent,” he replied swiftly and in a formal tone.
“We’re the ‘special’ unit you’ve been assigned to; there is also medical staff, communications staff and mechanics on sight.”
Jay nodded as he continued to write his notes, he tried not to look up into the dark eyes of the man before him but he couldn’t help himself. He gazed at him, his tall, muscular body pushing outwards against his plain, white t-shirt. His biceps filling the short sleeves, pushing the cotton, almost tearing the fabric apart – he was at his peak and everything about his presence dominated the room.
“Okay, well first I’d like to sit down with all of you and get interviews, then…” Just as Jay began to plan his stay the men got up from their seats ignoring him completely.
“C’mon lads, let’s go for a run,” one said as he led the other’s out of the room via a door on the opposite end.
“They won’t listen to you,” Karl said as he turned to leave.
“Get their respect first, and then you’ll get your story.”
With that Karl took off and Jay followed at a distance, he held open the door on the far end of the dining room to see a courtyard with training equipment set up. He noted down the location and then turned for his bag to be met by two people.
“Jay Jay?” One asked.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Please, follow us to your room.”
***
Jay paced his small room back and forth and he looked out of the hole in the wall that acted as a window. The bright, red sun was beginning to rise over the sand dunes and Jay hadn’t gotten a minute of sleep. He had a mattress on the floor covered in thick, fur blankets, a desk to write on with a small, steel stool to sit on and a door that led to the courtyard where the bathroom was. Thankfully plumbing wasn’t an issue; unfortunately it was shared between the entire staff.
He hadn’t been there twenty-four hours and already he felt the fatigue of living at the base. It was freezing at night, boiling in the day, the lack of his daily basics such as internet and the sound of the city made Jay feel intensely isolated and there was something both peaceful and terrifying about being in the middle of nowhere. Every time he heard a noise he jumped to his feet and huddled into the corner holding his blankets over him. It was going to take some getting used to and he still had one month, three weeks and six days to go.
“Attention!” Suddenly a loud yell made Jay jump, he gathered his pad and pen and left for the cafeteria which then led into the training courtyard.
When he arrived he saw Karl pacing up and down whilst the other six members of the unit lined up, stood tall with their backs straight and arms firmly placed by their sides.
The line disbanded and they each made their way to the start of the course. It was a long strip that started with an uphill run, a leap over a puddle of sludge, a run down a ramp, climbing up a wall via a rope, monkey bars, a crawl over a net and finally a jump down into more sludge and crawl under barbed wire. It was something out of a Friday night, 90’s game show but it looked like it pushed everyone to their limits.
Jay watched from the side-lines as Kar
l made his way over and stood next to him making Jay very aware of the fact he looked a mess without his usual products.
“So, are you their leader, commander, chief, sorry I’m not sure about the titles here.”
“It doesn’t work like that with us,” Karl replied.
“How does it work?”
“We’re a democracy here, we get orders from home via radio transmission.”
“So you’re not in charge?”
“They respect me so I keep them in shape.”
“Okay,” Jay jotted some more notes down as Karl spoke.
“So, you said you needed to interview each of us?”
“Yes, it would really help if I did,” Jay replied, looking up at the tall man with the sharp jaw.
“Do the course,” Karl said coldly.
Jay turned to him confused - where did that come from?
“What?”
Karl faced Jay, his eyes glaring down at the smaller, thinner, young man before him.
“You want respect; you want your story, do the course and earn it. You’re a reporter, how can you report on something you’ve not lived?”
Karl’s words made sense but Jay wasn’t anywhere near as muscular as the other guys and all of them had almost finished the entire course in less than two minutes.
“Fine,” Jay sighed as he threw his notes to the side. Luckily for him he was still in his early morning sweats which gave great flexibility.
By the time Jay got to the start of the course he felt the eyes of all seven men watching him from the side lines.
“Twenty-bucks says he cries,” Josh shouted loudly.
“You’re on,” Karl replied before looking at Jay and nodding.
Jay took a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this.
“Three, two, one…” He whispered for jolting from the starting line.
Jay ran up the ramp and leaped, his left foot hitting the other ramp perfectly but his right slipping causing him to dangle off the edge for a moment; he scrapped his knee on the side as his elbows hit the ramp hard and held him on the ledge. His toes were almost in the mud between the ramps but he managed to pull himself up and continue onwards. The entire group of men hissed as they heard the smack, Josh laughed loudly but Karl remained silent watching the young man continue.
Next was the wall, the kind you’d find in an indoor climbing facility except instead of colored pads there was a rope and nothing else. Jay grabbed the rope tightly and began to pull himself up, jabbing his feet into small cracks in the wall to help him up, as he reached the top he hand to use his feet to hook around the ledge and pull himself inwards. If he fell down the single story drop he would definitely feel it.
He managed to get onto the roof, rolling onto his back and panting like a dog in the middle of summer. There was no time to rest yet though. He got up and grabbed hold of the monkey bars that led to a giant net. He struggled on every, single bar, his fingers burning as he used all of his might to keep going, in-between each one he told himself he had nothing left to give but before he knew it he’d made it to the other side, his feet hooking into the net as he began to descend to the final part.
“Impressive,” Jay heard one of the men at the side.
He climbed down and looked at the ground. It was covered in mud, wet-mud and there was barely any room between the ground and the sharp wires. He got onto his hands and knees took a deep breath and fell flat onto his stomach. He crawled under the wire, forcing his eyes shut as the hairs on the back of his neck stuck up.
“Shower, warm, clean shower,” he muttered to himself as he envisioned it.
Before he knew it he was out and the men began to clap. He pulled himself to his feet and the unit walked over.
“Nice one Jay,” one of the guys said as they ruffled his hair.
“Welcome to the team Jay,” another added.
Although he wasn’t fond of his new nickname the faintest smile crossing Karl’s face told Jay that his time at the base was going to get much easier now.
***
“Yo, Jay!” One of the guys banged on Jay’s door energetically.
Jay answered in a fresh, white t-shirt and grey sweat pants after taking two showers throughout the day.
“C’mon man, you’ll miss it.”
The guy left before Jay could ask any questions, he grabbed his pad and headed down to the dining room which acted as the social hub for the unit too.
When he entered he noticed a projector set up displaying a video of a woman and child on the far wall. The men were all sat at the table quietly, it was the first time Jay had seen them show any emotion.
“I miss you Joe,” the woman spoke, her voice cracking as her eyes watered.
Karl was stood at the back of the room at the doors that led out to the courtyard, Jay decided to make his way over and stand next to him, whispering softly so that he didn’t disturb the others.
“What is this?” He asked.
“Once a month we get video messages from home, they come with our supplies so we throw a party.”
Jay looked around; everyone in the base was in the dining hall. All the medical staff, the tech guys and the engineers stood around the room with the military unit sat in the center. There was beer littered about, hotdogs and pizzas on the table and a much more relaxed vibe lingering in the air. It was a beautiful moment, one that Jay hoped he could capture with his writing.
Karl left the room and went out into the courtyard silently. Jay looked on at everyone watching videos of their loved ones; it was a bittersweet moment for him because whilst he enjoyed being a part of what was happening it only reminded him that he had no one waiting for him back home. He jotted down his notes, took a deep breath and left for the courtyard to see what Karl was doing.
Karl stood still gazing up at the stars. It was so clear out in the desert, not a single cloud for miles, only starlight and a bright, full moon glowing in the sky. Jay put his pad away; he stepped next to Karl and enjoyed the scenery.
“You’ll miss all the good food,” He mumbled quietly.
“I’ve grown to like the tinned stuff,” Karl responded.
“What about the videos, not hoping to hear from anyone special?” Jay asked.
“No, there’s no one.”
“No one at all?”
“Not a single person.”
Jay looked at Karl; there wasn’t any pain or sadness in his eyes which indicated he’d been alone for a long time. Not like Jay, who still struggled with the loss of his parents daily.
“I get that,” Jay responded which caught Karl’s attention and gaze.
“You too?”
“Yeah…”
The pair stood in silence for a moment, nothing but the stars and the calm breeze which soothed the pain they both felt. Then, suddenly a loud crash came from inside the building.
“Every damn time,” Karl said before turning to head back in.
Jay followed and saw two of the men fighting one another, there was already three times as many beer bottles opened and all of the guys seemed to be slurring their words at one another.
“Go back to your room,” Karl shouted back to Jay.
“This happens every month, they’ll calm down soon, just stay out of their way.”
Jay went back to his room as instructed but not long after Karl came knocking, when he walked in no words were spoken, only actions.
Karl got closer to Jay, using his big arms to pull him in closer and running his hands down to his firm behind giving it a gentle squeeze that caused Jay to whimper. They looked at each other for a moment, nothing but the sound of the wind outside swaying back and forth, Karl brushed Jay’s blonde hair back as he leaned in and planted his lips onto Jay.
Jay welcomed the taller man into his mouth, their tongues meeting as little jolts of pleasure ran up Jay’s thighs and made him throb.
Jay fell back into the sheets of the mattress, the smooth fabric stroking his back as he crawled backwards. Karl slowly m
ade his way onto the bed, placing his hand, then his other, his knee and then his other until he had made his way up to Jay who rested on the headboard, he grabbed Jay’s legs, spreading them and pulling him down so that his head fell into the pillows. Jay instinctively wrapped his legs around Karl’s waist as Karl pulled him up, grinding, forcing a kiss out of him as they both smirked at one another.
“Are you sure?” Jay’s innocent eyes looked on with worry.
“I am,” Karl said; brushing Jay’s cheek with one hand as the other held him in place.
“Are you?” He asked back.
Jay pressed his body down, feeling that huge, pulsating bulge tucked into Karl’s pants and smirked.
“Fuck yes,” he moaned as he went back for another kiss.
Karl hopped off the sheets, he couldn’t undo his jeans fast enough and once they’d dropped he kicked them off with such force they flew across the room. He jumped back down to Jay who lay still looking up at him, admiring his muscular frame and thanking every deity he could that Karl played as much sports as he did.
Karl was wearing tight, white briefs that cut off above his thick thighs whereas Jay had on a black jock-strap.
“That looks hot on you,” Karl said as he gently played with the elastic waist.
Jay reached up; Karl was kneeling over his stomach with his shaft poking out of his briefs, Jay used his hand to gently stroke Karl, rubbing his throbbing dick until he began to moan.
“Want me to suck it?” Jay asked.
Karl nodded with a smile, he moved forwards and pulled down the fabric so that his dick was dangling in-front of Jay’s face and his nuts were at the tip of his chin. His cock twitched wildly with pre-cum seeping from the tip. Jay gulped heavily and hungrily before opening up his mouth and looking up at Karl who grabbed his shaft with one hand as the other held the headboard, he kept moving his hips forward until he watched his entire length vanish inside of Jay’s mouth who took every inch without trying to pull back once.
Interracial Romance: Gay Romance: Bound By His Own Desires (MMM Endowed Black Men Bondage Threesome Romance) (A Billionaire's Freedom Book 3) Page 39