Nothing Special V, page 27
part #5 of Nothing Special Series
“I don’t know. In this line of work, I stopped asking that question long ago and trying to understand why people commit the crimes they do. Criminal psychologists are still stumped by that question,” Day said sadly, wishing his friend wasn’t going through this. Day’s business was narcotics. The entire organization of drug lords had one root cause… money. People did horrible things to get it.
“Ya know, the more I think about our past meetings, the more it’s making sense and pointing at him. He’s been wanting to do way more critiques overseas and advertise in more publications. Even suggested starting our own magazine, which would, no doubt be lucrative, but I’ve been focused on other ventures. Damn, what a shark. I never saw this coming.” Pres turned to look at him. “So, if God’s plan goes right and this Mercer guy confesses or has proof it was Adam, then what happens?”
“He’s arrested and the district attorney presses charges. There’ll be a trial, but he’ll probably have his attorneys plead it out.”
“Will I have to talk to him?” Pres asked uneasily.
“Absolutely not. For one, it’s prohibited… you’re the victim. You won’t have to face him. But when you go to court, you’ll see him.”
“That’s it. He’s arrested and that’s the end of it?” Pres shook his head.
“Yeah, honey. It is. You’ll need to contact your lawyers to handle his share of the critique business. Obviously, he’ll lose his rights to it when he’s found guilty.” Day hugged his friend. “You don’t deserve this.”
Pres hugged him for a long time before pulling back and cupping his face. “Enough about that for now. Let’s talk about your wedding. For instance… who’s catering it?” Pres flashed that gorgeous smile.
God
God let Ro hug Pres and his partners. They’d all hung out in the past, and like all men, Pres loved Ro’s company. God had known Ro would get in here and do everything he could to help. After they were done with pleasantries, Ro was handed the file containing all the information that Free and Tech had gathered. They were quiet again around the large conference table while Ro fingered the papers quickly.
“This looks pretty clear-cut.” Ro shrugged. With his blond hair a little longer on the top and his beard grown out to more than just stubble, Ro looked good, rested and ready to work.
“You can get a confession out of him?” Ric asked, pacing back and forth.
“Oh, he’ll talk.” Ro nodded. “He has no record at all. Even the threat of going to jail will rattle the shit out of him.”
“We don’t have a damn thing useful, Ro. One image of him at a public café isn’t probable cause to arrest him. Question him, yes, but that’s it,” God told Ro, although he was sure he already knew it. Ro was a vet at this.
Ro straightened his holster and walked with the rest of them to the interrogation rooms. He turned to Tech. “Tech, in three minutes come give me a few pieces of paper and say it’s from the cyber division and leave. Day, come in two minutes after with more papers and say it’s from forensics, then Syn, if he hasn’t cracked, come in with a CD and say it’s from the backup camera at the condominiums.” Ro nodded when they all agreed and turned the knob into room four.
The rest of them hurried into the viewing room. Ro’s entire face had changed from handsome and fun to uninterested. He looked at the man in front of him. Mercer had a bruise on his right cheek and a painful looking cut over his left eye and God was sure no one would know how they got there. Ro sat down, his sharp eyes locked on their suspect. He sat back and crossed one leg over the other like he was at a lounge and waiting for a waiter to bring him a cognac. Ro casually flipped through each page of the file. He took out the one legal piece of evidence they had, an image of Mercer in the café, hacking Pres’s security system, and slid it in front of him. Mercer looked at it and shrugged, rambling on about how he always went there… so what. Ro had yet to speak. Right on time, Tech went in with some papers he probably got from the recycling bin, said his lines and left. Their suspect’s Adam’s apple bobbed while Ro nodded his head and looked across the table at him. Mercer asked questions, but Ro didn’t answer.
“That’s it. I want a lawyer. This is bullshit,” Mercer snapped. “I want a fuckin’ lawyer in here, right now!”
“Why isn’t he asking him anything?” Pres whispered into the dark room. “He has to hurry up.”
“It’s one of his many tactics. Works every time he uses it. Ever been looked at for so long you began to squirm? The unknown making you crazy nervous?” Day asked.
“No,” Pres responded.
“Then keep watching, you’re about to.” Day left the room to do his part.
Ro stared, his eyes blinking maybe once a minute.
Mercer shifted. “What? What was that from cyber?”
Ro kept staring.
“Say something. Whatever it is, it wasn’t me.”
“He’s already cracking,” God said. “Come on, Ro.”
Day went in next but let Ruxs and Green go in with him, the Enforcers doing their usual intimidation.
Mercer jumped back in his seat, shaking his head for no apparent reason. When Day turned and left, Mercer clenched his fists repeatedly, the metal of the handcuffs clinking. “Hey, hey, I want to talk to that officer. Come back! What forensics did he give you?” Mercer snapped, looking more and more afraid.
Ro looked at the papers, still as silent as a mouse.
“I don’t know what’s going on here.” Mercer paled, his body reacting to the situation, his chest rising and falling like he was running a race. “Say something, goddamnit. Talk!”
Syn went in and slammed a CD down in front of Ro, his dark eyes staying on Mercer’s until he left the room. The man stared at what was most likely a blank disk; his face turning a sickening pale shade, thinking it was a video of him. “Oh my god.”
Ro began to put everything back in the file like he didn’t even need to ask any questions, he had all his answers.
“No. No. Wait, this wasn’t my idea. I didn’t do it. There’s someone else!”
Ro began to stand, the file tucked under his arm, the exact same expression on his face that he’d entered with like Mercer wasn’t saying enough to make him stay.
“Don’t leave! No, I’m not the one you want. Hold on, please! The guy you want is still out there.” The man was begging to be interrogated. “I have his number. He’s expecting my call.”
Ro silently slid a piece of paper across the table and Mercer began scribbling fast. “I’ll tell you everything. I didn’t do this. I swear. But I know who did.”
Ro took the paper, got up, and left the room.
“No. Don’t go,” Mercer yelled at the closed door. “I got proof!”
Ro met them in the hallway and handed God the paper with Mr. AC – Mr. Adam Carbone – written on the front along with a phone number, probably a throwaway cell. But with the positive ID from a witness, they had enough to arrest him.
“Is this admissible, even though he asked for an attorney?” Ric asked.
“Yes. You have to stop interrogating immediately after they ask for counsel. Ro never asked a single question, before or after he asked for a lawyer. It’s all one hundred percent admissible. He got a confession and never uttered a single word.”
“Damn.” Ric went over and shook Ro’s hand before coming back to stand in front of God. “I… I have no words. I’m sorry. I underestimated you, doubted you… it’ll… it’ll never happen again.”
God shook Ric’s hand. “I understand. I’m glad we could help.”
They headed back to the office while Ruxs and Green took Mercer to processing. They’d get him to make the call and set Pres’ business partner up. They’d have Hart and his men at the man’s front door to arrest him as soon as he did.
Steele
Steele called his shot and sank the number six ball in the corner pocket. “So what does this mean for your company? It’ll be a lot of negative press, won’t it?”
They’d all gathered at Ruxs and Green’s to wait for Hart to call and tell them the situation was contained. The set-up call by Mercer had been a success and Hart’s arrest of Carbone was an easy one, apprehending him right there in his office. Hart insisted God and Day stay out of it, not wanting any force that may have to be used on Carbone to come from men so closely connected to Prescott. They needed a clean arrest. Once Pres’ business partner was in custody, they’d let the DA handle it from there. Their work was done. Pres would meet with the DA to give his statement, and their office would handle acquiring Carbone’s records and evidence to build their case.
“No. This probably won’t be negative. I don’t want people feeling sorry for me, though. It took a long time for the public to stop seeing me as blind and vulnerable. I’ll see if my publicist can keep it quiet.” Pres pulled one of his partners between his legs, holding him around his waist while the bigger one held him from behind.
Steele wondered, briefly, what it was like to have two men all over you, but any thoughts of that quickly vanished when he heard Tech come through the front door with Free. Steele stood up, dropped his cue, and began walking towards him.
“Hey, asshole. We’re in the middle of a game. Tech’s scrawny ass ain’t going anywhere,” Day bitched, standing there with his arms out at his sides.
“Let Blair finish the game,” Steele yelled over his shoulder.
“No. I’m going back into the kitchen with Green. The food’s almost ready.” Blair detached from Pres’ grip.
“Okay, then Ric, you play.” Steele wasn’t paying any further attention to Day’s complaining when Tech turned in his direction and headed straight for him.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Steele said, kissing Tech softly on his mouth. Those moist lips making Steele want some alone time. They’d had a very long day and even longer evening. “Did you get Free all settled in?”
Tech nodded, both arms still wrapped around Steele’s waist. “I did. He’s having his RV shipped here in a couple days. I told him he could stay with me but he loves his home.”
“Come outside with me while I smoke.”
“It’s cold out there.” Tech frowned, still wearing his jet-black pea coat.
“I’ll keep you warm,” Steele whispered in his ear.
“Okay.” Tech bit his bottom lip, his eyes looking Steele up and down.
He watched Tech look to be sure his friend was okay and noted that he was already chatting it up with Furi and Ro. Steele took Tech’s hand and pulled him outside, ignoring the catcalls that followed them.
When they got to the bottom floor, Steele led them to a small opening between the two buildings where he usually smoked, sheltering them from the biting wind. Steel maneuvered Tech so that his back was pressed against the wall and crowded the front of him, spreading his legs wide and tilting his hips in so that their pelvises were connected.
Tech stared up at him, watching while Steele lit his cigar with the heavy Zippo and flipped it shut, stuffing it back in his inside pocket. He took a long inhale of the cherry-infused tobacco and blew it in the opposite direction. When he turned his head back, Tech was staring at his mouth, and Steele pressed in tighter, smirking at the rigid bulge that could be felt even through the thick layers of Tech’s clothing.
“Is it too cliché to say your smoking turns me on? I think it’s hot.” Tech’s hands were inside Steele’s leather jacket, his fingers digging into the muscles of his lower back.
Steele’s voice was low and gritty when he replied, “You like that, huh?”
“Yes.”
Steele kissed Tech hard and long, letting him taste the sweet smoke that lingered in his mouth. Tech sucked on his tongue while he thrust against him. Steele took his other hand and pushed open Tech’s coat, brushing the back of his hand over Tech’s nipple, making him arch and hiss loudly. Steele smiled against his mouth. “You still a little sore here, baby?”
“Hell yeah, I am. You practically sucked my nipple off my chest today.” Tech moaned, still letting Steele rub circles over the tender point.
Steele took another pull. “Let me come over tonight and make it better.”
Tech shook his head and Steele pressed in even tighter, making Tech shudder at the feeling of being trapped by him. “Why not?”
“Because it’s Free’s first night. I want to make sure he’s comfortable. Hearing you fuck me into the mattress in the next room probably wouldn’t make him feel all that welcome,” Tech said, nuzzling against the warmth of Steele’s body.
Steele reached down and cupped Tech’s dick through his khakis and squeezed hard enough to make him grunt and close his eyes behind those sexy glasses. “You’ll miss my mouth here tonight.”
Tech groaned. “Unh. I already do.” Tech rocked back and forth as best he could, but Steele didn’t give him much moving room with the way he had him covered. “I told Vasquez that I was seeing someone. That I had a… a boyfriend.”
Steele pulled back and looked at Tech’s face. He looked unsure of the word he’d used. Steele didn’t think anyone had ever called him their boyfriend, no scratch that, he was sure of it. He liked that Tech thought of him that way. Maybe it was too soon to be considered partners, so he’d take the boyfriend title for now. Getting to know the man in his arms made coming to Atlanta the best decision he’d ever made. And to think, when his uncle called, he almost hadn’t come. Next week, while they had some time off, he’d start looking for his own place. Between work and wanting to spend as much time with Tech as he could, they hadn’t been able to do any apartment hunting. He couldn’t stay with Ruxs and Green forever – besides, he liked his privacy. He wanted to walk around his place with his balls and ass out whenever he felt like it. Maybe he’d check out the condos across the street, that way he could still come over and have breakfast in the morning. He was starting to get used to that. He was getting used to his team… his friends… his new family.
Steele kissed Tech on his red cheeks. “Good. Now he can find his own and leave my boyfriend the fuck alone.”
Tech’s smile warmed his heart like it always did.
They heard a vehicle pulling into the parking lot and Steele began putting out his little cigar. “Come on. Since everyone else is already here, I think Hart just pulled up. Let’s go back in.” Steele took one more kiss. “You’ll call me before you go to sleep tonight?”
“It’ll probably be late, but yes, I’ll call. I’m sure Free and I will catch up tonight.”
“Late is good. That way, you can dream about me.” Steele licked Tech’s mouth, their noses and lips brushing together while they nestled against each other and stole a few more kisses.
God
“Hey, Hart. Thanks, man. You always come through for us. I owe you,” God told the big captain and his lieutenant when they stopped in front of him. He noticed a few other guys from Hart’s team were coming through the door with coolers, their arms loaded down with brown paper bags. God looked at Day, who shrugged. “Hart, what the fuck are y’all doing?”
“You didn’t think we would let you guys get married without a proper send-off, did you?” Hart’s devious but charming grin had God groaning and dropping his head in his hands. Day threw his head back and laughed, just as the door buzzed again.
“That’s right you slave-driving motherfuckers! Bachelor party!” Ruxs yelled from across the room. Everyone threw up their hands and yelled along with him. A couple seconds later, some of the lights went down and the music came on, blasting through Ruxs and Green’s monster sound system.
No wonder Pres and Green were making so much damn food, but God hadn’t thought twice about it. How’d they do all this in such a short amount of time? They couldn’t’ve known everything would go smoothly with Pres’ case, so what the hell?
“Ahh, look at you guys’ faces.” Ruxs slung his arms over God’s broad shoulders. “As soon as Hart said everything was a go and Carbone was in custody, we started making calls. You know it doesn’t take much for guys to drop whatever the hell they’re doing and come have drinks and act like asses for a few hours.”
Day shoved Ruxs away, looking as stunned and amused as God. “You guys are nuts.”
A few more guys showed up, ready to party. One guy from vice thanked them for saving him from a boring night of Family Feud with his lazy brother. Another detective actually admitted to canceling date night with his wife, lying that there was a last minute, job-related emergency. There were a lot more rounds of what they were doing before they got the call, and next thing God knew, there were at least thirty guys hanging around, drinking and congratulating them. The later it got, the drunker everyone got and the more outrageous the stories became.
God had to admit he was having fun. Day was in his arms, warm and inebriated. His ass pressed against his cock while he sat on the stool and Day leaned against him. God couldn’t resist licking on his neck while Vasquez and a few of his buddies stood in front of them complaining about the process of getting in with their team.
“We’re not looking for new recruits right now, Vasquez.” Day half chuckled and half moaned when God bit at the back of his neck.
“Can you guys stop that for a second?” Vasquez’s buddy asked, turning his head.
“No,” God growled.
“Not hiring? Come on. You just picked up two new members in the past few months,” Vasquez bitched, tossing back the last of his drink and slamming the glass down a little too hard on the bar.
“You just want to get in so you can flirt with Tech, but you can let it go, man. That ship has sailed.” Day nodded towards the pool table where Tech was practically wrapped around Steele’s body while he waited to take his next shot.
“I see. Whatever, though, his loss. But his friend is a pretty good substitute.” Vasquez’s ogle was predatory and he adjusted himself in his pants.
God ignored it for now – Vasquez was drunk – still, he was getting on his nerves. The beat officer was a pig, a horny pig that used his uniform to chase ass. God and Day both despised officers like that. Now that he thought more about it, he didn’t know why Vasquez was even there. He’d probably caught wind of a party and invited himself.
