Nothing Special V, page 12
part #5 of Nothing Special Series
Steele walked behind Ruxs and Green to their truck, which sat under a wide carport on the side of the building. He was so full he almost wanted to get back in that cozy bed and go right back to sleep. They’d offered up their spare room again over breakfast and Steele accepted. It made no sense to waste so much money on a hotel that wouldn’t be near as nice as their place. The only thing he’d need was those headphones, and he’d have to start utilizing Green’s workout equipment because he saw him take out a decent sized pack of turkey legs, saying they were for dinner tonight. Eating like this would go straight to his gut at his age.
“God gave us the go-ahead to check out the dockworker at his job instead of trying to catch him at home. Maybe he’ll get nervous around his coworkers and want us away from there. Might make him talk if his job is threatened,” Ruxs informed him, backing out of the carport. “But we gotta stop by the office real quick. I need my new knife and God wants you to have your earpiece.”
Tech messing with his ear again. Steele hid his smile behind his fist. His morning was looking better and better.
Day
Day was already dressed in his usual blue jeans and t-shirt. He had his badge clipped to his studded belt and covered with the hem of his shirt. He’d slept in the den and his back was killing him, so he was already in a mood when God came downstairs looking fully rested. His long hair was still damp from his shower and tucked behind his ears. Day wanted to go up to him and smell that bold aftershave fragrance that always clung to the bottom of God’s jaw, but he held back. He looked so sexy in his black cargo pants and tight as sin black APD t-shirt. His gold and chrome weapons gleamed when the sunlight from the kitchen window hit ’em. Desert Eagles weren’t for just any man since most men couldn’t handle them, but God could. Could handle both at the same time, his forearms bulging and tensing with each fire. Day closed his eyes and blew a defeated breath. He wasn’t supposed to be getting hot and worked up over his partner right now, he was mad at him. And for God to come downstairs looking like he did made Day even more upset, because he couldn’t bend over the counter for him.
Day had come straight home from the DA’s office to make God’s favorite dinner of ribeye, asparagus, and twice-baked potato, even throwing in a few red velvet cupcakes he’d picked up from their favorite bakery. They talked about the usual: work and schedules of what was coming up. As soon as God mentioned it’d be quiet for a couple months, Day used the opportunity to segue into some extremely minor wedding details – not even a date – just the mention of tuxedos, and the man had scarfed down his dinner and left, using the excuse of having to check on his mom. Something about her toilet leaking. Mrs. Godfrey lived in a senior facility with maintenance men on site, so Day knew it was bullshit. God didn’t even bother to eat dessert with him.
Now, after a terrible night of hardly any rest, his eyes were gritty and his head had the start of what was sure to be a tension headache. But what was worse was how his heart ached when he saw the slender gold band he’d slid on God’s finger when he proposed, resting there, taunting him. When God said yes, Day thought he’d buy him one as well, but he’d been wrong. He didn’t think it a huge deal, knowing he’d have one when they said their I dos. That day didn’t appear to be in the near future, either. Day couldn’t help feeling like a sucker, and to a man like him, there was no worse feeling. Why was God even wearing it? He didn’t want to get married. If God finally manned up and told him the truth, Day wondered if he’d be able to handle it. Would he be able to still work beside the man, feeling he was only good enough to shack up with? If he was being completely true to himself, he didn’t think he could. Day felt his stomach drop, and an overwhelming feeling of grief hit him hard enough make him choke.
God watched him curiously while he poured himself a cup of coffee and took the sections of the morning paper Day always set aside for him. “You good?” he asked. But Day didn’t bother to answer. “Did you eat already?”
Day usually fixed them something quick before they had to go in, but his kitchen was as spotlessly clean as he’d left it last night. He wasn’t in the mood to eat and could care less if God was hungry or not.
“I’ll pick up something on the way,” Day mumbled, tossing the Life section of the paper to the side and yanking his heavy jacket off the back of his chair.
“Sounds good, let’s go.”
“I’m gonna take my car. You can go ahead and go. I got some stuff to handle after work.”
“What stuff? Are you taking it by Furious’ shop?”
Day didn’t answer
“Leo.” God frowned, looking like he had no clue what the hell was going on.
Day grabbed his duffle bag and walked out the side door that led to the garage. It’d been a few weeks since he’d even cranked up his classic Mustang – he and God always choosing to ride together – he’d feel like an ass if it didn’t turn over. He climbed in and his beauty purred to life at the first turn. Of course, you won’t let me down. Day used the remote to open the garage and made quick work of backing out the driveway and coasting through the neighborhood. He had so much to think about, but the knots in his stomach and throbbing in his head wouldn’t let him.
God
God remained at the breakfast bar for another hour, trying to come up with a way to say what was way overdue. Maybe Day wouldn’t care about not walking down an aisle. Even though he was far more sentimental than him, he still might be okay with using a justice of the peace like God wanted. God had never even worn a tux and had absolutely no aspiration to. They’d go down to city hall and do it one morning and spend the entire day in bed, or even have an exchange of vows right here at the house. Then a couple weeks later, he and Day could go somewhere and be alone. He’d make it up to him for not being honest from the beginning. He’d tried to work it out in his head, figure out how to just do whatever Day wanted. Until he saw the pricing. He had no desire to empty his meager savings for a wedding that’d last for a few hours. He’d looked at some prices for venues, caterers, open bar, DJs, and all that shit. The least he could see it coming to was about ten grand, and that was on the cheaper side. That figure alone scared the shit out of him. They were detectives, not surgeons. With the economy how it was, he was always leery of his department having to do mandatory cutbacks like so many others had already done. What if he took a huge loan for a wedding, which he couldn’t repay?
He’d sit Day down and tell him his concerns real soon. If Day loved him half as much as he loved Day, then his partner would marry him in the middle of the Chattahoochee River on a pontoon boat. God grabbed his keys, locked up and headed to work.
Tech
Tech rolled on his back and fired two shots, hitting the hologram image of a bank robber in the center of the chest. He jumped to his feet and leaped over the concrete barrier set in the middle of the obstacle course and fired three times at the target moving on rails, hitting the image once in the thigh and twice in the stomach.
“Dive! Dive!” his instructor shouted at him from behind the bulletproof viewing window.
Tech dove behind a concrete pillar when the sound of shots being fired at him registered. When they ceased, he sprang up and fired, hitting the last image in the center of the forehead before ducking back down. He breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth while he loaded another clip into the 9mm handgun. The sound of the buzzer alerted him that his ten-minute simulation was over. Tech gasped and shook out his arms, shaking off the nerves. He loved this part of his training, mainly because it looked so realistic and the state of the art program – that he’d help design – was unlike any he’d ever seen. Although he fired real bullets that went through the holograms and hit beanbags surrounding the room, there were never real bullets fired at him. But the sounds were loud enough to portray a real gunfight and if he was hit… he’d definitely know it, and so would the computer.
“Great job, Shawn. I liked that last shot. Dead center. I think your score is even higher than last time.” Chen nodded approvingly. “I can tell you’ve been putting in extra time at the shooting range, too.”
“Yeah, I have,” Tech answered. He took off the hi-tech helmet and set it down by the others on the shelf, along with the electronic vest that would vibrate if he got shot.
“When you go in the field, you’ll be ready. I promise you.” Chen looked like he truly believed what he was saying. “Everything you do now is just keeping you sharp, Tech. You’ve got this.”
“I’ve been working on some new simulations, too. The algorithms are almost done and I can send them over by the end of the week so you can see what you think.” Tech had designed most of the real-life law enforcement simulations for Chen’s training program so that the user didn’t have to enact the same scenario repeatedly. It would defeat the purpose if the programs could be memorized. The unexpected was exactly why his heart always tried to beat out of his chest when he did the simulations.
“Sounds great. You’re making my business skyrocket. I’ve never imagined the program would end up like this.” Chen laughed, looking around the massive structure.
“I’m just glad I get the discount, otherwise I’d never be able to afford to train like this.”
“Well, I feel guilty for even charging you one hundred a month, but you won’t let me go any lower.”
“Nope. That’s already a crazy discount. I at least want to pay for the personal instruction you give me. I get all the program benefits for free. So this works for me. I spend more than a hundred dollars a month on Starbucks.” Tech laughed.
“Alright, then. We’ll call it even. I’ll walk you to the lockers; I wanted to ask you about that Marine at your job. Is he giving you any more problems?” Chen asked, looking serious. Tech appreciated his concern, but he really felt he had it under control… especially after yesterday.
“Oh, he apologized. Even patched me up, I guess you can say. I really believed his apology was sincere and that it won’t happen again.” Tech pushed open the heavy door to the locker room.
“Okay, if you’re sure. Because I’ll be happy to come down there and do a little friendly sparring with the guy,” Chen offered.
Tech didn’t want anyone fighting for him. He knew his teacher meant well, but this was exactly why he was getting up so darn early and driving the hour and a half to Gainesville three times a week. He could take care of himself.
“I appreciate it, Chen. But I’d rather spar with him myself.” Tech winked.
“Oh god. Okay fine, too much information, Shawn.” Chen waved dismissively at him. “I’ll see you on Friday.”
Tech made his way to the sauna to relax before he had to head back to Atlanta. He tilted his head back against the warm bamboo walls, sighing and letting the heat encase him. Tech’s mind immediately wandered to Steele when all was calm and quiet. He wondered if the man would be surprised by Tech’s skill if he’d seen his shooting. Maybe he could invite him to see it one day. No, that was dumb. They weren’t partners at work or privately. He was probably far from Steele’s type, although Steele seemed to love flirting with him. That was kind of trending right now if he recalled correctly. Dating nerds. Tech shook his head at his silliness. A man like Steele probably wouldn’t mind bedding him a couple times before he moved on. And not just to the next buff lover, but to the next city. The guy just didn’t strike him as the settling down kind. Steele had lived in six cities in the four years since he’d been discharged.
Tech had tried a relationship and gotten burned hotter than the coals of hell. He wouldn’t put himself through that again. Maybe just tapping that fine Marine a few times wouldn’t be a terrible idea – he’d just leave his heart out of it.
Tech
He no longer needed the bandages Steele wrapped around his elbows yesterday. The bruises were gone and both arms felt wonderful, maybe that’s why he’d done so well in target simulation this morning. But now he was hiding in the equipment room, pretending he was checking inventory. God and Day came in separately this morning and it was clear they weren’t in good moods. Tech liked the funny, teasing Day. Seeing him hurting and depressed was not only affecting Tech but their entire team. He shook his head and tried to think of a way he could help, but nothing came to mind. He’d just do his job as efficiently as he could, in hopes of making things flow easier for his lieutenants. Besides, he was confident Syn would take care of everything.
Tech sat on the stool, making a few adjustments to Steele’s earpiece when he felt a warm presence close to him. He didn’t flinch this time. He smiled and kept his back to him when he spoke. “You must like doing that. I prefer a person to announce themselves when they enter a room. It’s rude to stalk.”
“If you say so. I don’t mind a little surprise.” Steele’s dark voice was full of amusement.
He was closer than Tech had thought. He pivoted on his stool and looked up at him, immediately getting lost in those deep eyes. “Good morning, detective.”
“Good morning,” Steele answered, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “You look good this morning.”
Tech looked down at his tan Polo vest over his pink- and white-striped dress shirt. The beige Levi’s were nothing to write home about but they were one of his favorite pairs. Was Steele making fun of him or was he really pleased with his look? Did Steele look forward to seeing him like he did Steele? Tech wouldn’t, but after his thoughts this morning, he wondered – if he asked Steele to his place – would he refuse him? He didn’t want to know if he was the big Marine’s type, just if he was interested in a little fun while Steele cooled his heels here in Atlanta for the time being.
Not ready to go there just yet, he chose to stay on small talk. “How was your night? Do anything fun?” Tech cinched his lips together. That question sounded probing. Like he wanted to know if Steele had company or something. He didn’t wanna know that.
“My plan was to get some much-needed sleep.” Steele seemed to move in even closer, his thighs brushing against Tech’s knees. He never took his eyes off Tech when he spoke. “That day I hurt you, I didn’t sleep at all. The next day was kind of the same. I was looking forward to resting, but my neighbor had other ideas. I had to go stay with Ruxs and Green when my neighbor threw beer bottles through my windows in the middle of the night.”
Tech sucked in a sharp breath and began looking Steele over. It sounded horrible to him. Waking up to some crap like that. “I’m sure Ruxs took care of your neighbor.”
Steele’s smile told him he was right. “You sure know your teammates. How’d you know it was Ruxs and not Green?”
“Because Ruxs is the one that likes to have fun. Green likes to watch Ruxs have fun.” Tech shrugged. “But don’t tell me what he did. I don’t wanna be an accomplice.”
“Nothing too bad, but I don’t think the guy will report anything.” Steele stood there staring at him and Tech fought not to squirm.
“I have your earpiece ready and your watch is programmed. God said you guys would be out all day, so I’ll be monitoring you today.” Tech turned and busied himself pulling the device out of the protective case.
“You can see us?” Steele asked, sitting in the same place he had before.
“Ruxs has a dashboard cam that points outside, but I’m able to tap into video feeds or street cameras when they’re on a chase so I can get a bird to your location.” Tech stood next to Steele, focusing on keeping his hands steady. Being so close to him was intoxicating. He still couldn’t believe he’d confessed that to the man yesterday but was glad Steele hadn’t brought it up again.
“You can run the world from behind those monitors, can’t you?” Steele’s voice held a smidge of amazement, like he was impressed with what Tech could do when it was so much the other way around.
“There’s a lot I can do with them.” Tech sighed. “But it’s not all—” Tech stopped himself. Cut off before disclosing his far-fetched dreams. Steele didn’t need to know this. Didn’t need to know how he longed for the same opportunities God gave his other guys. How he wanted at least the chance to prove his brain could be useful out there as well as in here. His lieutenants looked at his body and wrote him off as a man that belonged behind a desk. Instead of confessing this to a practical stranger, Tech picked up the small cream-colored earpiece and placed it inside Steele’s ear canal. There, done. He turned to walk away when Steele’s hand shot up and caught his wrist.
“Finish,” Steele whispered gravely. “What’s not all?”
“It’s not important.” Both their voices were low, as if there were someone else around to hear.
“I didn’t ask if it was important.”
“This is my job and I do what I’m required.”
“But....”
“There’s no but. It’s nothing. I’m happy where I am.” Tech looked down at his wrist, which was still in Steele’s grasp, but instead of just holding it, Steele was rubbing his thumb across his pulse, carefully watching him. Tech exhaled slowly. He could feel himself vibrating with hunger for this man. He wished he could stop it. All he could do was pretend he wasn’t fazed by it all. By Steele’s magnificence. Yes, he was just a man. An amazing man who wasn’t afraid to risk his life for a stranger. Who fought for something bigger than himself. That meant something to Tech… it meant a lot. Steele was the exact type of man, soldier, like the ones that’d tried to save his brother in a war he should’ve never been in. Even though that black ops team wasn’t able to save his brother’s whole squadron, they’d saved a lot of them. Steele was that type of man, and it made Tech feel empowered just being near him. Not wanting Steele to see his infatuation, he tried to appear casual.
