This is Detectives Log - Chapter Twenty-Two - Rifts, Regrets and Reconciliation
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO - Rifts, Regrets and Reconciliation
Eddie didn't say anything as we drove back to our place, just kept holdin' his arm and starin' ahead. Even when we got back, he just sat on the couch in the same pose, nursin' his sore arm and starin'. I was feelin' the spoils of victory. We really got those guys, the Poor Sap is gonna get his cash back and pay us outta that, and we can just take it easy, at least for a day or two.
EDDIE - I didn't say anything because there really wasn't anything to say. I started feelin' stuff I never thought I would. My arm was hurtin' so I kept nursin' it for as long as it did. I just had superficial puncture wounds, they would heal by themselves. But what was goin' through my head hurt too much to say, so I didn't say anything. I started to feel like I was bein' used. Sure, I worked for the guy and he was my lover and all, but I really wondered where I stood. He knew I was bein' tortured in there and yet he still didn't talk. He just kept lettin' those awful things happen to me. He barely got by with a couple of scrapes, but as for me, that thug kept pumpin' them darts into me, the next one hurtin' worse than the one before. The boss-man laughed when he killed Chesterton. Holy hollow victory. What's goin' on in this guy's mind, I wondered. He comes up and says, "well, those two guys got what was comin' to them", and I finally broke my silence, "yeah, so did we". "What?" "Yeah, all that stuff goin' on, we deserved it."
Of course I thought the kid had flipped his lid. "what the hell are ya sayin'?" "The guy liked me. He really liked me." "Hey, Sally Field, he ripped off our client. We had to do everything we did. It was right." "We deceived him. He checked me out in the suit and liked what he saw, then he invited me over to the new place. Then ya had me spy on him, real classy, Mike." "He was torturin' ya!" I shouted. trying to get some sense into this idiot. "Oh, yeah, I'll say he tortured me. You heard every scream I let out. All that happened to you was ya got slapped around a little and a scrape on your hand."
EDDIE - Boy I was tearin' him a new one. The more I thought about the night, the madder I was gettin'. I showed him my puncture wounds on my arms and on my fingertip, I showed him the burn mark from the electric shocks I got. "I was a freakin' human pin cushion. I thought the shots were never gonna stop. I was goin' outta my skull and you just let it happen!" He came back with, "I couldn't say nothin' about our client, I had to protect him and put this crumb away for rippin' him off! They were usin' you as a pawn against me, to try to weaken my resolve. I was fightin' for him, you and me! What the hell are ya cryin' about, I won, didn't I?" I was really hurt by that - "I won". I couldn't believe he said that. "So it's just you, huh?" "Yeah, I'm a detective and I had a job to do!" "What the hell about me?" "You're not a detective, ya never was! I always worked alone. It was only 'cuz ya carried on like some fool that I had to take you on just to shut you up. Now , let's get somethin' straight, ya stupid little shit. I never really needed ya! Ya know, no one put a gun to your head and made you take on that thug in the alley! I coulda handled both them crums myself! Without any help from you! I'm the Dashin' Detective and you're just some kid who hangs around me! Get it? Got it? Good!"
I was furious. He really talked down to me. I sat there, plottin' my next move. I knew I couldn't just sit there and take this crap. I decided I was outta there. "You mean I used to just hang around you!" "What're ya goin' on about?" "I'm goin' on about how I'm splittin'."
Holy shit, no! Eddie leavin' me? I know I said somethin' rotten to him, but he started it. I had to defend myself, even if it was sayin' somethin' dumb I never meant. He went to the back room and started packin' his stuff. I was desparate. If there was anything I coulda done to erase what I said, I would. My cardinal rule as the Dashin' Detective is that if I got somethin' comin' to me, I stand there and face it head on. I never beg for my life. I ain't gonna let them see me sweat. But Eddie's different. I couldn't care less if I get shot to death, but to have to live without this beautiful young, effervescent, enthusiastic, energetic boy with a drop-dead gorgeous face whose very touch sends me reelin', who emits the perfect blend of freshly-washed cotton, cologne and just a hint of sweat around the neck, who smells more like boy than anyone I've ever known, who rocks slightly back and forth when he stands, whose biceps ripple a little when he clutches his fist, who looks so commandin' when he folds his arms, whose teeth are gritted when he's really into something, whose hair is so soft I can't stop runnin' my fingers through it, whose face is so silky smooth to touch, whose body heat electrifies me when I touch him.
"Eddie, please sit down. I wanna talk to ya." "I gotta pack, I'm gettin' the heck outta here, gonna find someone who appreciates me." "But I do" "You never wanted me around. How can you say you appreciate me?" "Eddie, I was just full of it - I'm a typical guy who just says stuff when I get worked up. We all do that." "I don't" "Well, you're one of the lucky ones." I had to grab him and sit him down physically. When we made eye contact, my heart turned to mush. "Eddie, please listen to me. I've been lonely most of my life. I did do it with a few dames from time to time thinkin' that was it. It wasn't anything to me. They came onto me and I just went with it. Didn't mean nothin'. I made like my whole life was crimefightin' so I could go off by myself. Yeah, I was lonely, but no one out there meant a hill of beans to me. So, when I was gettin' pummelled, I thought, typical day in the life, all in a day's work, and all that jazz. I heard another punch and I looked up and saw you goin' at it with that other thug. I saw your legs spread, I watched your arms extend throwin' them punches, reelin' back just a little when you were hit back, but then comin' back and kickin' him in the face on the rebound, without skippin' a beat, runnin' over to me to see if I was okay. You were the hottest good samaritan I ever saw. It was like God givin' me you for Christmas. I was lookin' ya up and down, tryin' to remember you so I could go home and whack off to ya. Ya know - things you see when ya ain't got a camera." "You did try to blow me off, though, I was so hurt I didn't know what to do. It felt like my life was startin' up and endin' in the time it took to wail on someone." "Yeah, I know I did, and it ate me up inside. I felt like I didn't deserve ya. When I started to take ya home that day, I felt like cryin'. This was gonna be the last time I'd ever see ya again, so I thought. I didn't know you were gay, I thought I was too old for ya, and I especially didn't wanna draft ya into what can sometimes be an ugly life. It was an ugly life for me, that's for sure, but I didn't feel like doin' nothin' else for money, so I became a Private Eye." Eddie nodded a bit, and said, "well, I didn't know you were gay, either, not at first. When it looked like we were never gonna see each other again, I thought I'd whack off to you, too, I was just gonna pull out my scrapbook and get into it. I'd done that a bunch of times before. I got an erection when I saw ya savin' my life as a kid. I didn't know what was goin' on, I just felt somethin' funny goin' on. I thought it was because I had to pee so bad." I chuckled a bit, and so did he. "Would ya have been like that if it was someone else, takin' a punch tryin' to bail them out, that is." "I still would've done that, but I don't know if I was gonna try to hang out with 'em, no." "I couldn't even think of a young boy like you takin' the crap I gotta put up with, gettin' shot, tied, beaten, and all that, then I saw ya wanted to go through all that for me." I started strokin' his shoulder. "Eddie, my love, my sweet, sexy samaritan. I'm so in love with you. You made my life worth livin'. I don't dread comin' home no more. I love it when a case is wrapped up, so we can spend time together, just you and me. Thank you for makin' my life so perfect I think I'm dreamin'." Eddie thought for a moment, then said, "you know, I did think it was kinda awkward with Chesterton, that is. I thought he was a really nice guy at first, it seemed a shame to bust this one. I think I got a little too involved." "Ya thought he was a friend of yours?" "Yeah, that's all I wanted. He was just a nice guy to talk to and all." "Yeah, that's the first thing to remember, but it's the first thing I forgot when I was startin' out. I was pretty broken up at first. See, that's when ya kinda gotta act a little, always bear in mind that you represent law and order, which these crumbs is against. Me and you are protectors, security guards out there. Like bein' a cop or in the army, it ain't you they strike out at, but what ya stand for. Ya said it yourself, ya wanted to take a bullet to protect me. That's what happened in that bimbo's house, and that's what happened in that warehouse. If I broke and told them everything, just for the sake of us gettin' outta there in one piece, the Poor Sap would've been toast. He didn't take an oath to go to the mat for justice at all costs, I did. And you're gonna, too." "Huh?" "We're gonna get official. We're gonna put your name in lights. You're gonna go from Boy Friday to Boy Gumshoe. Ya done some good stuff out there and now we're gonna do it nice and legal. You're gettin' a detective's license."
EDDIE - Holy hearing impairment! I couldn't believe what he just said. He's makin' me equal. I'm gonna do this. As I stared in disbelief, Mike put his hand out. "Ya wanna seal the deal?" I put my hand in his and we shook on it, then I put my hand on his shoulder, bringin' him close to me. We also kissed on it. I put my tongue in his mouth, and he did mine. I made my way down to his chin, his neck as I unbuttoned his shirt. He reached for my shirt and said, "hands up, pal, I got ya covered", which made me laugh and I immediately obeyed his command. I put my arms all the way up and he took my t-shirt off with one hand and caressed my arms with the other. I lowered my arms as he lowered his hands during his sweet, gentle caress. He licked and kissed my shoulders, bi-ceps, went straight across my chest, bein' kinda careful around my dart wounds and scars from the bullet grazing. He felt them slightly and kissed them, too. I hope them scars stay there forever and I love seein' how he sees them as a manifestation of my love for him. Like the awe of Doubtin' Thomas touchin' the wounds of Christ, like the joy of a man seein' his wife give birth to his first child. I wanted to give myself to him even more, I couldn't give enough of myself, I didn't think. "Mike, I wanna give myself to you, to do with me as you wish." And that, he did. With his cock in my ass, gently movin' back and forth, the juices flowin' inside him, makin' him moan, makin' me moan. That firm, yet gentle, supple movement inside me, sendin' shivers in me up and down. I never wanted it to stop. I was laughin', cryin', lovin' every minute of it. He came inside me, which was the most beautiful sensation ever, the best, the greatest bullet I ever took, more powerful than the rest. He then pulls out and sprays my back, and lay on top of me as we shared my fluids. Wet, warm, beautiful, sweet. We spent hours kissin', cuddlin', sayin' "I love you" over and over again. In real time it was hours, but in our time, it felt like seconds. We wrapped our arms around each other, I buried my face in his chest and he caressed my body up and down as we lay together nude, yet wrapped in that shimmerin' shiny, satin cape which is our love for each other.