by Katsura
Jobs like this one were few and far between and only really offered to a special kind of cop as of course the one doing the bribing ran the risk of being turned over to the authorities, losing his money and his liberty all in one go. It was not a trustworthy nature that made him so special; no one was trustworthy in this business, and if anyone appeared to be they should be avoided at all cost. No, what made the cop ideal for the task was that he had something to hide. Wilson's particular something was a nineteen-year-old rent boy that he had ensconced in a cheap flat in the student lands of the west end, so there would be an uneasy truce here. He would do as he was told and in exchange he would receive a goodly amount of readies. His darling wife, who also happened to be the daughter of the chief constable, would never be any the wiser about his dodgy little bit on the side.
He looked around and noticed a man in the corner beckon him with a flick of his fingers, and he carried the drinks over to the booth and sat opposite him, sliding a glass across the table to the man and receiving a brown padded envelope in exchange.
Wilson took it immediately, placing it into the inside pocket of his raincoat, and then looked furtively around to see if anyone had noticed. Not that it really mattered if they had. "I'll count it later." He relaxed a little. Everyone in this room was a crook of some sort anyway, whether they were a villain or a policeman. It was just a matter of what team you played for. The cops and the robbers were all essentially cut from the same block.
"It's all there. First half like we agreed."
The hooded man inhaled on the cigarette.
"You'll get the rest when I know the job is done right."
"Don't worry. It will be done right."
Wilson laughed. The mere suggestion of anything otherwise was hilarious, but the other man didn't laugh. He simply downed the rest of his drink in one, and Wilson did the same, not wishing to spend any more time in the place than was absolutely necessary. "I'll call you when it's done."
They each stood up then parted in silence.
* * *
An odd scent hung in the air when Fergus entered the hallway of the home that he shared with Hugo. The aroma was strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. It reminded him of something in his past, but what? There were only random fleeting images in his head, too brief and vague to get a proper hold on.
Hugo appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in a long black satin robe, and he stood there looking down at his husband with a seductive smile on those carefully reconstructed lips of his. "You are home. I wondered if you would come home tonight or if you had forgotten." He came down the red carpeted steps slowly, the satin falling open every now and then to give a brief glimpse of thigh and show that he was naked under the robe.
Fergus gave an inward groan.
It was their anniversary.
Shit.
That scent was the same as the massage oil that Hugo had used on him one night so many years ago. They had made love with the knowledge that it would be their last chance in a very long while, and they had practically devoured each other. Hugo had really gone overboard that night with the exotic positions and everything to give Fergus something to "keep him warm." Of course, if he had really wanted, Vinny or any number of other people would have kept him warm, but surprisingly Fergus had stayed faithful until he was actually a free man. So in fact the memory of that night really had kept him warm. That and the one-sided attempts at phone sex. Too many people in the queue for the phone could listen in, so Fergus couldn't really fully participate in the rather sterile act so it was all "yes?" and "that's nice" in response to the filth that Hugo breathed down the line and into his ear.
When Hugo finally descended the steps and stood in front of him, looking small as he had no shoes on, Fergus put his hands on his arms and placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head. Although he had seen the young man kill like a pro, he knew that Hugo sometimes liked to be treated like a child. Maybe if he treated him like one now, he could make up for the fact that he hadn't brought home a present.
"Happy anniversary, Hugo."
Hugo looked up into his eyes, and he tilted his face to kiss Fergus on the lips in a chaste manner. Then he broke away again and padded across the hallway to the sitting room. "The fire has been lit, and I have poured you some wine." He glanced back over his shoulder. "I have had no wine today in case you wondered. I thought I would wait for you."
As Fergus followed him, he wondered if there was any way out of this so obviously staged seduction that wouldn't cause Hugo to fly into a rage. But he couldn't really see how to do this without offending him.
Right now all that he really wanted to do was to sit in front of the TV with a much needed cigar.
Well, that was not strictly true. He wanted to sit in front of the TV with a much needed cigar and Mikhail.
He didn't want to fight, either. Slapping Hugo around was not a new development in their relationship. That had practically happened from day one as the boy was so wilful, but tonight he really didn't want the hassle.
Fergus sat down on the sofa and lifted his wine, looking down as Hugo came over and sat at his feet. Hugo put a cigar between his lips and lit it in a way that used to thrill Fergus. Fergus let him put the cigar to his mouth, but he immediately snatched it away with his fingers when Hugo let it go.
"Thank you." He looked into his spouse's face. Hugo was still quite beautiful, even with the scars, and it seemed as though he hadn't aged at all, but deep in his heart Fergus knew that he was in no way attracted to him anymore and making love to him would have been like making love to any random person. Not love at all. Just sex. And that was another thing that he wasn't in the mood for right now. But Hugo clearly was. Fergus suddenly had the amusing thought to invite Judas round and pair them off. Judas would do it with anyone.
Hey, Jude. Come on over and fuck Hugo for me, will you? There's a good man.
That was really just a little joke. Although Fergus was not in love with Hugo, he still belonged to Fergus and if anyone touched him, they risked losing more than their hand. He had told Mikhail that Hugo was possessive, and that was true, but Fergus had never liked it if anyone so much as looked at Hugo. Some part of him saw the young and lethal psychopath as a trophy conquest, and he hadn't quite let go of that notion yet.
Hugo placed his hand on Fergus's thigh and stroked his long slim fingers along the fabric towards his crotch. Fergus felt uncomfortable, certain that when the fingers finally found their prize, it would not be the great solid hard-on that Hugo clearly hoped for. There would be nothing but a sad semi brought on by the brief thought of how Mikhail had once stroked Fergus's thigh in a similar manner.
Hugo opened his mouth and gave a slight glimpse of his tongue as it moistened his lips, and Fergus stared at it trying to find something erotic about it. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't. He didn't want to be inside that mouth or any other part of Hugo. He didn't want to have to please him after Hugo would make such a great show of swallowing him down.
Hugo loved to be stroked inside that tight, insatiable hole of his, and he would writhe and beg for more just at the merest touch in there. Now would that be so difficult? Endure a quick and uninspiring blow job then bring Hugo off quickly while Fergus could keep his mind on other things?
A long time ago, making love with Hugo had been quite an amazing thing and on their first night together Fergus had been blown away by how wonderful sex with a man was. The thing about having a male partner was that they always knew exactly what to do to please you. No mystery or trial and error involved. Before Fergus had settled down, he'd had a string of unsatisfying relationships with women who had no clue about how to please a man. It had seemed that all they wanted was a ring on their finger, not a mutually fulfilling love life, and he'd begun to see women as inherently selfish creatures.
Being
inside
someone
while
they
climaxed was an incredible sens
ation, and that always happened when he had sex with men, but if he was honest, there were times when he was with women, that he couldn't really tell if they had or they hadn't. Then, other times he had been pretty sure he was being lied to about the whole thing.
Two amazing things about sex with men: you always knew when they had come and there was no risk of unwanted pregnancy.
It had taken him a good few years to appreciate those facts, but he was glad when he finally did. More likely than not there were at least a few little Ferguses running about somewhere, but he was happy that he didn't know about them and that they didn't know about him. He would be the first to admit that he wasn't really father material.
The straying of his thoughts to lying women and screaming babies had crushed even the sad semi. When the bold fingers finally found Fergus's cock, he saw the look of disappointment flit across Hugo's face when the younger man realised that the sensual tension in the air was all one sided.
"It's been a long day, Hugo." Fergus reached out and stroked Hugo's face gently and with the pretence of sympathy. "I'm sorry. It's nothing personal." He leaned back against the cushions and took a draw on the cigar, then shifted to let Hugo climb up onto the sofa and sit next to him. Hugo's slim frame felt light against Fergus's body, something that always made him appear vulnerable.
Hugo never ate. All of his calories came from alcohol. He leaned his head against Fergus's broad chest and let out a small and defeated sounding sigh. "You don't love me anymore." His voice was quiet and quite unemotional.
Fergus rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Hugo, it's not the time for this. I got a job coming up and it's making me tense, so I just want to sit here, okay? Is that too much to ask?"
Hugo slid his fingers over Fergus's tie. He touched it softly as though it was a part of Fergus and the movement would somehow please him. "Will you tell me all about it?
I like when you tell me about things. I miss being out on jobs myself."
"I will tell you tomorrow if you are good, okay?" Fergus sighed and absently stroked the silk that covered Hugo's hip.
"Will Judas be there?" Hugo snuggled closer to him.
"Yeah." Fergus nodded and then a thought occurred to him and he snapped, "Did he touch you? When I was away? Was he sniffing round you because if he was..."
"No." Hugo continued to play with Fergus's tie. "He occasionally brought me things. Asked if I was okay for money. But he never touched me."
All that was fine. That was just what crooks did for each other. If a guy was in prison it was down to the others to look after whoever he left behind. It didn't change how Fergus felt about Judas. He had just done what he was supposed to do for once.
"Will Vinny be there?" Hugo still played with the fine patterned silk, and Fergus sighed.
"Yes. Me, Judas, Vinny, Ewan and Rasputin. We will all be there, and if you are looking to join us forget it. You are way too hot headed, and I don't want anyone to get their face blown off." He hoped that would be an end to it and he leaned to sip some of his wine.
"What about the blond?"
Fergus stiffened.
"What about the trashy looking blond I saw at the fight. Will he be there?"
Without warning Fergus hit Hugo, a violent slap on the face that sent him flying clean off the sofa and across the floor. He lay against the fireplace, his robe pulled open to reveal his slight form and the numerous scars that covered it.
"You keep your fucking nose out of my business, okay?" Fergus got up swiftly from his seat and gripped Hugo's face firmly with one hand. He squeezed tightly and forced Hugo's lips into an unattractive pout.
"It was just a question!" Hugo breathed raggedly and clawed at Fergus's wrist.
"Why the reaction?"
Fergus couldn't answer that without betraying his true feelings for Mikhail, feelings that grew stronger every day and surprised him with their intensity, so he just looked at Hugo with as much threat as he could manage then let him go. He walked across the room to the door then glanced back as Hugo moved to cover himself, curling at the fire and looking almost like a frightened child.
"I'm warning you, Hugo." He fixed Hugo with an unwavering stare then left, slamming the door behind him.
From his place on the rug where he had hoped to have sex with his husband on their anniversary, Hugo stared ahead with a bitter frown. He picked up the wine bottle and threw it, and its expensive contents, into the fire. The flames rose then hissed, illuminating the hatred that was now written all over Hugo's face.
Chapter Six
What would Judas do?
The night before a big job it was never really a wise thing to get too drunk, much as the idea seemed very tempting. It wouldn't do to wake up with a hangover as it could ruin your concentration, and that might be okay if you worked in an office somewhere. The worst that could happen then would be that you put an extra zero
on
some
unimportant
figure
somewhere and your manager would get on your case. But in his line of work, it could have any number of disastrous consequences. For you and for the people who were relying on you.
But still, in the back of your mind you couldn't ignore that this might be your last night, and you would want to do something special. Maybe if you had a partner somewhere you could spend the night with them, having sex, eating good food or watching a great movie. Like Fergus was probably spending it with Hugo for instance. But Judas had always dodged that particular relationship bullet, and there was no one special in his life. Well, no one that he would call a partner or even a lover, though obviously Vinny was special to him, so he decided to spend the night with Vinny.
He waited at the corner of the street, happy because when he'd invited Vinny out for the night he seemed so genuinely pleased and Judas wasn't used to that. The guys at the brothel all appeared thrilled when he arrived there, but he couldn't really call that enthusiasm genuine, much as he liked to pretend that it was. Vinny, on the other hand, had sounded ecstatic, and as Judas watched the younger man walk towards him along the grey street, Vinny had a big smile on his face.
Yes. Vinny was always genuinely pleased to see him.
Judas hugged Vinny when he got close enough and laughed as Vinny's arms circled his shoulders and practically crushed them.
"Ha!" Judas laughed and extracted himself from the embrace. "I thought you'd be busy, you know? I'm really glad you could make it."
They walked along the street side by side, still smiling, and several people who passed them gave them a second glance.
Judas knew that he looked like a blast from the past with his penchant for fur and snakeskin and never even took the term often thrown at him by Fergus, "second rate pimp," as an insult. These days people looked way too drab. Suits were nice on occasion, but nothing said success more than an expensive coat and a nice pair of shoes. If Judas walked into a room, he knew that he stood out in amongst all of the black Armani, and that was how he liked it. It made him memorable.
Vinny was striking for different reasons.
That hair was amazing and Judas playfully flicked some of it over Vinny's shoulder as they continued on down the street.
"Naw. I am never busy." Vinny smiled, looking at Judas from the corner of his eye. "I thought maybe you would be, though? Not got like...a girlfriend waiting somewhere? A boyfriend maybe?"
So Vinny had been thinking along the same lines? That this could be their last night.
But they were probably all thinking like that. Judas laughed and shook his head.
"Me? Fuck no." It amused Judas that Vinny would think that anyone could pin him down to a steady relationship. "You know me. I like to play the field, and, well, who'd have me?"
Vinny pressed his shoulder against Judas's amicably. "Naw, shut up. Loads of people.
You're a nice guy, Jude." Vinny smiled and then laughed a little as though he was about to say something else and then reconsidered it. Judas looked at h
im with playful disbelief.
"You are serious? I'm no nice guy. I'm a selfish bastard who can't keep his cock in his pants. I've been told that quite a few times, you know? Naw...I am no nice guy, Vinny. But you are, and I thought you'd have a date or something like that. Glad you didn't, though, as I wanted to treat you."
Vinny's eyes widened a fraction and he shook his head. "Naw, no date, Jude." He smiled. "I was actually gonna call you, but then, I was pretty sure that you would be tucked up with some blond somewhere."
"Well, you see, I know that gentlemen are meant to prefer them, Vin," Judas laughed again, "but you know that I am no gentleman. I prefer dark hair actually. I always did. Nothing nicer than some hot Asian guy, you know? Like maybe Japanese or something?"
"Some folk say I look a bit...Oriental?"
Vinny had a smile on his lips as Judas stepped in front of him. Judas walked backwards and looked at Vinny with a grin as he appraised him carefully to see if that opinion was accurate.
"Well yeah I guess you do." Judas laughed and nodded as he took a draw on his cigarette. "About the eyes maybe? And yeah the hair colour...the natural hair colour, I mean. What the fuck colour is that you got now, eh? Purple? Purple is for birds, Vinny."
Vinny laughed and shoved him gently in the chest.
"It's wine...or burgundy...or some such crap." He grinned as Judas fell into pace at his side again. "I had to get it smuggled in for me you know, so I never had much choice."
Judas put one arm around his friend's shoulder and squeezed it, drawing him closer for a moment. "Looks good on you, Vin. I mean that."
"Thanks." Vinny smiled. "So where you taking me? Somewhere nice?"
"Oh, somewhere very nice indeed, Vinny."
Judas gave him a cheeky wink and then began to walk up the path towards the brothel.
"Here? Is this not a knocking shop?"
Judas thought he could detect an air of disappointment to Vinny's tone but quickly dismissed it. No one could possibly be disappointed at the promise of a trip to a brothel.