Retribution

by Evelyn Drake

  “What am I supposed to be seeing here?” Steve asked .

  “Wait for it.” Michael titled the stone first one way and then the other, changing its angle by the smallest of degrees. The blurred darkness sharpened, and the walls became painted with dots, clumped together in uncountable variations .

  Steve sat back, staring at the walls .

  “Did you know ?”

  “No,” Steve answered, still staring .

  “Any idea what it means ?”

  “No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Charlize would have been able to figure it out .”

  Silence dragged between them as they stared at the shifting display of dots as it moved through set after set of endless codes .

  Steve sucked in his breath. “She had a mentor. She talked about him all the time when we were first partnered up. I never could figure out if she loved him or hated him .”

  “Remember his name ?”

  Steve studied the walls as if he could find the name in the stone’s display. Slowly, he shook his head but then snapped his fingers with sudden energy. “Professor Grunion! He studies hieroglyphics, but he started out as a code breaker for the NSA .”

  “Okay,” Michael said, nodding his head, his entire being brightening. “We’ve got a plan .”

  “We’ve got a plan,” Steve parroted, reaching a hand across the distance between them, an unbalanced gleam in his eye. “Let’s blow their shit up .”

  22

  Michael

  W ith his feet bare, Michael padded noiselessly across the blacked out room to stand next to the edge of a king size bed. There he gave a wide wave of his hand above his head .

  The room flooded with light, causing Michael to blink several times. His face scowled as he looked back at Steve where he stood next to the light switch. In the bed before him lay a sleeping man, bald save for a horseshoe of grey hair .

  Michael waved his hands in silent exasperation, and Steve gave him an answering and equally as silent shrug of his shoulders. In the bed, Professor Grunion lay undisturbed with a sleeping mask fitted snugly across his eyes. As Michael watched him, the older man’s mouth dropped open and he released a long snore that halted and paused with a few snorts thrown in .

  Michael took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest, giving Steve a “what now” look .

  Steve coughed .

  Dr. Grunion stirred, shifted, and then settled back into sleep .

  Steve coughed again, this time masking a barked “Sir!” inside of the sound .

  Dr. Grunion gave a heavy snort as his head jerked and his hands went to his side. His body remained motionless until with a hesitant movement, he lifted a hand to his face, lifting his mask away .

  “Yes?” the doctor asked, his voice even and showing no outward surprise, though he peaked one eyebrow as he looked first at Michael before following Michael’s gaze to Steve. “Can I help you ?”

  Michael’s intentions had been to wake the man up gently to save him from a start. He and Steve had agreed that he was the less visually imposing of the two of them, and that was why he had moved so carefully to stand next to the professor’s bed. But, it seemed, their concerns were unwarranted .

  Michael cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to disturb you, Dr. Grunion .”

  Dr. Grunion glanced at Michael but dismissively returned his attention to Steve. He sat up in bed until his back rested against his pillows .

  “You’re Charlize’s, uh, friend, aren’t you ?”

  Steve looked startled at having been called out so directly, and Michael wasn’t sure if he felt annoyed or amused. Over the span of his career, he’d broken into hundreds of houses. Many of them he’d broken into just for the sake of breaking in. He’d walk around to get a feel for the place, disturbing nothing, and leave, wondering all the while if the homeowners ever got the sense that their private sanctuary had been paid an uninvited visit. Now, on the one occasion he went out of his way to be discovered, his presence seemed to be of complete unimportance .

  Just as the professor had done, Michael raised an eyebrow at Steve and waited .

  “Uh, yes, sir,” Steve said, stepping forward with an apologetic air as he clasped and unclasped his hands. “She was—” his voice faltered as he realized the error of his word choice .

  “Was?” the professor asked, sitting up and retrieving a round-rimmed pair of glasses off his bedside table. “As in, not any more ?”

  “Yes, sir,” Steve answered and looked as if he would rather crawl in a hole .

  Just like me, hundreds of jobs but the first time he’s had to talk to a person. Michael studied the man in his life, realizing that he had so much more to learn about him .

  “And has she been assigned a different partner?” Dr. Grunion probed further, working his way through the options on his way to the truth, but his mouth was pinched and it was evident that he already had his strong suspicions about where the conversation would ultimately go .

  “No, sir,” Steve said, his voice soft .

  “I see,” the professor said, nodding his head solemnly. “Well then, what can I do for my number one’s number two ?”

  Michael smiled at the professor’s expression of affection for Charlize and his generous connection of Steve within that affection. Michael longed to take the professor’s hand and thank him, but the moment wasn’t about him. So he stood back and watched as Steve did his best to fumble through .

  “We have something, but we don’t know what and we need your help figuring it out .”

  Dr. Grunion glanced over at Michael but dismissed him again to return his attention to Steve. “He’s not Operations .”

  “No, sir .”

  The professor remained quiet a moment, contemplating the new information as he folded his hands in his lap .

  “And Operations doesn’t have consultants... or outside partnerships. That means you’re burnt, aren’t you ?”

  “Yes, sir.” It had been more a statement than a question, but Steve answered anyway .

  “Do they know you’re here ?”

  “I don’t think so .”

  “But they might eventually figure out that you’ll be coming .”

  Steve remained silent .

  “Oh well,” Dr. Grunion said as he flipped his covers back and slid his feet into slippers tucked at the edge of his bed. “I’ve been considering a trip to Paraguay.” He stood and clapped his hands together, then vigorously rubbed his palms. “What do you have for me?” This time he included both Steve and Michael in his questioning address as he glanced from one to the other .

  Fifteen minutes later, Michael and Steve found themselves in the professor’s basement as the man excitedly positioned the uncut diamond on an eight inch pedestal at which was pointed a total of six unlit lasers. “And where did you say you found this? No, wait! Don’t tell me, don’t tell me. Better that I not know .”

  His glasses sat on the tip of his nose as he moved to a panel of controls at the end of the table. With his bottom lip between his teeth and his gaze locked to that diamond, he flipped a switch. Each laser came on one after the other until all six were lit .

  Michael looked at Steve, worried, as not even the light in the room changed. But then, the lasers shifted positions—some up, some down, and all by minute degrees. Within moments the room was lit with the patterned dots that both Michael and Steve had previously seen, but this time they were three dimensional as the patterned dots layered over each other to create a seemingly endless variation of code .

  “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” the professor said, excitedly moving to another section of the table. With his eyes wide and his lip captured between his teeth, he arranged a collection of mirrors that threw all of the collective data back over itself, layering it even further until, finally, he angled the last mirror toward a camera lens .

  Michael leaned forward on his toes in an attempt to see the results without actually moving for fear of interruption the professor’s groove. What he s
aw looked nothing like what they had seen on the walls, and only deepened his confusion as to what it might mean .

  The professor hovered his finger over the lens until his finger was perpendicular to a button on its top. He slowly pressed down and then lifted his finger again moving just as slowly, as if in fear of jostling the lens or moving it in any way .

  “Okay!” the professor’s voice boomed as he clapped his hands together again, his eyes wild with excitement .

  He took a seat at a computer and, stretching his hands with palms forward, he cracked his knuckles before settling his fingers over his keyboard to start tapping. As he worked, his eyebrows lifted as if it helped him see and his jaw slackened. He became lost in his work and gave no notice when Michael stood closer to Steve .

  “Think this will work?” Michael asked .

  Steve shrugged. “Don’t know, but I’m impressed so far. I can see why Charlize looked up to him so much. The guy’s scary good .”

  The professor’s typing paused and then he started again with a flurry of tap tap taps, leaning forward more and more as he worked. Suddenly he sat back and clapped his hands .

  “Okay! The data is downloading and will get crunched. Anybody hungry? This will take some time .”

  Two hours later, they were in the kitchen at a small dining table. The professor was analyzing the data via a laptop connected to his basement computer. He was sitting back in his chair, chewing on the end of a piece of celery. He had pulled the celery out three times to look at it like it was a foreign object, but he’d soon be chewing on it again once he lost himself in his work .

  “Got it,” he whispered as his face lit in a slow smile. He tapped the air with the celery. “This... this is a hacker’s dream. Scratch that. This is a government’s dream. People will be able to hack into any system using this and then completely erase any signs that they had been there. Hacks will become untraceable. Except with the key!” He uncrossed his legs and sat forward. “That’s with this part. The entire set of code, it’s variable. But, it all adds up to the same thing when the key is used. The key would make the hacking traceable .”

  He sat back in his chair, falling silent as he chewed the end of the celery again. His gaze lifted and moved from Steve to Michael and then back to Steve. “What do you want for it ?”

  Michael and Steve looked at each other. Steve shrugged and then answered for them both .

  “Our freedom .”

  The professor’s smile broadened as he nodded his head appreciatively. “How can I help ?”

  23

  Steve

  S teve stood with his hands on the tiled shower wall as Michael kissed a trail down the spine of his back. He hissed in air when Michael spread his cheeks and buried his face between them. His tongue swirled in a circle around Steve’s hole, and Steve moaned his appreciation, trying not to get too loud lest their host hear .

  They had been staying with Dr. Grunion for just over a week, and the man had been their consummate host while they formulated a plan for what to do next .

  Every night, Steve had the gift of going to sleep in Michael’s arms, their legs tangled together. And every morning he woke up to the face and touch of the man he loved. It was a beautiful normal, or as close as they were likely to ever get to it. They’d been given the chance to experience the life they could have. But it was bittersweet in the moments when Steve doubted that it would last, that they would ever be free .

  Michael’s hand slapped Steve’s hip when he moaned a little too loud, and Steve bit his lips as he did his best to keep quiet about the pleasure Michael was giving him .

  Five minutes later and Steve was on his back, his knees up to his shoulders as Michael held himself above him. He gasped and then groaned when he took Michael’s thickness inside of him, but then a sigh of contentment followed as he felt his body ease into acceptance .

  Michael chuckled .

  “What’s so funny ?”

  “You,” Michael said, dipping low to kiss Steve’s lips. “I’ve never seen such bliss as when you take me. Your face scrunches up and then you just... melt. I love it.” He paused. “I love you .”

  “I love you too,” Steve said, running the tips of his fingers over Michael’s sides. The bruises left on him by Sigmund had worsened for days until they’d become black knots. Finally, they were beginning to fade, just as were the memories of all the bad things that had happened .

  Michael leaned in and Steve’s toes curled in response. Closing his lids, Steve let his eyes roll up as he extended his neck for the kiss and nip of Michael’s mouth. They’d gotten used to each other and their love making was the better for it. Steve’s breath caught in his throat, and without having to be told, Michael knew to adjust the depth at which he sank himself inside Steve’s depths .

  They were good together. They felt right, and Steve had never known so much happiness. The nightmares had stopped, and when he went to sleep curled into Michael’s arms, he let sleep take him without fear of what he would wake to. He knew that even if he wasn’t okay, Michael would be. Michael’s strength was a constant reassurance to him, one that he’d never known he needed .

  Soon the headboard was slapping the wall and all efforts at modesty were lost. Steve moaned Michael’s name as a pressured pleasure intensified within him. His fingers dug into Michael’s back, exhilarating in the shift and flow of his lover’s muscles beneath his touch .

  Michael’s body shook and Steve could tell that he was close to coming, but Steve hadn’t come yet and Steve could hear in his groan the effort of his holding back his release .

  Steve relaxed his body, willing it to let go of all its tensions. The process of doing so had helped him most of all since the time he’d met Michael. He had better control over himself than he once did. He could let go of the moments that threatened to go from simple nightmare to reality. He could let go, just as he did now for Michael. In his core, his pleasure bloomed and spread throughout him like a warmth that reached its height of pleasure in his core but then followed his spine up to his head to fill him with an ahhhh that he’d learned would linger with him for hours .

  Michael came three seconds later with a stuttered thrust that finished in quick, pounding fury. His groaned his pleasure as his eyes fluttered to their whites before giving Steve his full weight .

  Steve loved this moment best of all, the moment when Michael let go and let Steve be the one to take care of him. Steve wrapped Michael in his arms and legs and held him tight, kissing near his eye and his hair. Michael just breathed, giving up his flight or fight against the world. He just stayed wrapped in his lovers arms .

  This was their heaven, and during conversations that had stretched deep into the night, they would do anything it took for them to stay in heaven together .

  * * *

  “I isolated all of the elements of the key last night,” Dr. Grunion said as he got another scoop of mashed potatoes. “Michael, you’ve truly outdone yourself tonight. I love these... what are they, Brussels sprouts? I never imagined they could be so delicious !”

  “I don’t know, professor, I’m still having dreams of that beef stroganoff you made the other day,” Michael said .

  “Dreams or nightmares,” Steve teased, taking a bite of the lightly coated cod that Michael had prepared for dinner. His comment earned him a seething eye of rebuke from the professor, but the man was smiling by the time he took a drink of his wine .

  “I’ve enjoyed having you here,” the professor said. “Mirabel, God bless her soul, couldn’t toast bread. Yes, yes... she could split atoms, as she liked to brag, but put her in a kitchen and the fire brigade had better be on speed dial .”

  “To Mirabel,” Steve said, lifting his glass of wine in salute .

  “To Mirabel,” Michael echoed, lifting his glass as well before they all drank .

  A quiet settled on the group. Steve contemplated all that had come before in life and, as he looked at Michael, all that he wanted next. He suspect that the
others were similarly lost in thought, thinking of their lives in all their past, present, and future glory .

  “Well,” Dr. Grunion said after a time, clearing his throat before he spoke further. “Are you two boys ready for tonight ?”

  Steve looked at Michael and was rewarded by Michael’s assured smile. “We’re ready,” he said returning his gaze to the professor, and they all raised their glasses again and drank .

  24

  Michael

  M ichael stood back as Steve pummeled the top of a guard’s head with the butt end of a knife. One pile driving hit to the top of the guard’s head and he was down and out. Breathing, but out. A small trickle of blood seeped out onto the hardwood floor, but the spread was slow as the injury was more jarring than damaging .

  Maybe I’m softening the big lug up. Michael couldn’t keep the small smile from his lips as he took the lead once more. Breaking and entering was an art, and Michael was a craftsman. He’d had him and Steve inside Chandler’s mansion within five minutes of their arrival. That he’d been there a hundred time before helped, for sure, but Michael still enjoyed giving himself a pat on the back for a job well done .

  Climbing the stairs from the kitchen normally reserved for the house staff, Michael and Steve reached the house’s top floor .

  He moves so well, Michael thought of his new love in surprised admiration. In contrast, he moved with one hand on a satchel that hung from his belt. He kept it lightly pinned to his thigh so that its contents didn’t rub or jingle and alert any ears that might be listening .

  Once they reached the top floor, Michael gave the sign for them to pause as he got his bearings, before moving forward with silent yet sure strides. While he’d never been to Chandler’s bedroom—he’d always made every excuse imaginable to avoid it—Michael selected the room with enormous ornate doors as the one most likely to house his lordship. The double doors stood fourteen feet tall with arching tops, and they both had intricate, hand carved, wood filigree that adorned the expanse of their centers .