by Aqualegia

Tuesday, September 26

Victor sat at the table in the briefing room idly wondering what mission the Director was going to send them on this time.

He'd been woken by a phone call from Dobrinsky, telling him to get here by 10 am. So, he was here at... he looked at his watch, 9:57 and he was still alone in the room. He leant back in his chair, put his feet up on the highly polished table, and stared up at the ceiling.

He hadn't yet spotted a camera up there, but he was almost certain that the Director would have one hidden somewhere in the room.

The door behind him opened and he tilted his head back to watch Mac wander across the room and take a seat, leaving the usual empty chair between them.

Mac's watch chimed as he sat down, and he grinned impishly at the older man. "Dead on time," he boasted, gesturing to the timepiece.

"You'll be dead if you don't turn that chime off," Victor muttered.

"Aw, c'mon Vic. Where's your sense of humour? Don't you just love people looking round for where the sounds of "Big Ben" are coming from?"

"Not when they are also shooting at me," Victor replied, angrily.

"Boys, boys, boys. Can't I leave you in the same room for just a few minutes without you arguing?"

The Director, carrying four files in the crook of one arm, came up behind them.

Mac slouched down in his chair. Vic took his feet off the table and sat up straighter.

The Director placed a hand on Mac's shoulder and squeezed hard. "Remember, Mr. Ramsey, that I would be very annoyed with you if you should cause the death of one of the team. I would probably put you on the first plane to Hong Kong myself. Just because Michael Tang is dead, doesn't mean that the bounty on your head has been removed."

She shook him slightly, hoping that her words would penetrate his sullen disposition, then ruffled Victor's hair as she moved past him to take her place on the other side of the table. The door from the corridor opened again and Jackie almost ran to her seat on the other side of Mac.

Looking pointedly at her watch then at the empty chair between the two men, the Director asked, "Does anyone know where Li Ann is?"

The three agents looked at one another, then back at her, shaking their heads.

With a moué of displeasure pulling at her mouth, the Director placed the files she'd been carrying on the table in front of her chair, then stood glaring at the door as if the force of her will would make Li Ann appear.

For almost five minutes the four people in the room were frozen in place... waiting. Finally the sound of heels tapping on the floor brought them out of their stasis. Li Ann strode through the door and said good morning as she slid into the chair between Vic and Mac.

"You're late." She got stereo sound as both men spoke at the some time.

The Director slapped her hand in the table to get their attention, then sat down. "Now that Miss Tsei has deigned to join us, I can brief you on your next assignment." She picked up a remote control and pointed it at the wall monitor. "This," she said, as an aerial view of a town appeared, "Is the town of Leggett Falls. It has been expanding steadily in the last few years, as a growing number of computer and electronics companies have moved into the area. The population has expanded too. As you can see, new housing almost surrounds the original town. Naturally, with such an expanding economy, people from all over have been drawn to the employment opportunities being offered in just about every profession."

She touched a button and another slide came up showing a pleasant looking young man with dark brown eyes and almost black hair. "This is Christian Fawcett, a distant cousin of Brian Fawcett-Smythe, of whom I'm sure, you have all heard.

"A leading member of GAC," Vic interjected.

The Director smiled at him in approval, then went on. "It would seem that Brian has a soft spot for his young cousin. Although a distant relative, their families have always been close, and as he has no children of his own, Brian has always taken an interest in Christian." She paused, then went on in lecturing mode.

"To cut a long story short, Christian Fawcett has drifted from job to job in the six years since he dropped out of college and about eight months ago he went to work in Leggett Falls. Much to his family's surprise, and relief, he seemed to have finally found a job that he liked."

The Director looked at her audience over the top of her spectacles to make sure they were still paying attention.

"Brian has been in the habit of bankrolling Christian's "enthusiasms", and though he seemed settled in this job, the pay until he was more senior was a bit low, so he'd decided to continue to provide a small quarterly remittance, paid directly into his cousin's bank account. The last payment, due five weeks ago, was returned 'account number unknown'. Brian, naturally, queried this with the bank, as it was a regular payment, and was told the bank account had been closed the week before..."

A derisory snort from Mac made her raise an eyebrow. "You had a comment to make, Mr. Ramsey?"

"No way can that be real," came the unabashed reply. "I mean, if I were receiving money on a regular basis, I'd make damn sure my benefactor knew where to send it."

The other three nodded in agreement.

The Director gave a slight smile, inwardly pleased that they now seemed to be thinking more like a team instead of always trying to score points off one another.

"What about his employers?" Vic asked.

"Or his Landlord, if he rented?" was Li Ann's query.

"Car?" Mac asked almost at the same time.

"Has he any credit cards?" was Jackie's contribution.

"If so, has he used them?" Vic followed up on Jackie's comment.

The Director's smile widened. "According to his employers, Chris Fawcett had sent in a letter of resignation. His landlord had also received notice that he intended to quit his apartment. His debit card was returned and the outstanding amount on his credit card was paid up before the bank account was closed. A watch has been put on the credit card, but so far it has not been used.

His car, a two year old Lexus, has not been seen, despite a request to both local police and the RCMP to report any sightings."

She pointed the remote at the screen and the picture changed to Fawcett leaning against the hood of his car.

"After the mandatory delay, a missing person report was filed. The local police investigated but didn't manage to find out much more. He was last seen by his neighbours on the day that his resignation was dated. His employers were surprised he'd left, as he was in line for promotion, but thought that he had been head-hunted by another company. He had booked two weeks off of work for a vacation, and on the first Monday, his employers received the resignation letter. Another week had gone by before the police report came in, and Chris still hadn't got in touch with Brian."

The Director swung round in her chair to face her team. "The most damning piece of evidence for foul play is the next part of the report. After he had been in Leggett Falls for a couple of months, he opened a bank account there and had the bank here in Toronto close the account and send him a cheque for the balance. He also notified his cousin's bankers of the change of account. Until then he had always just used a debit card to access his account with the Dominion Bank. This was compelling enough for the RCMP to take up the case."

She glanced down at the notes in front of her. "They put one of their best undercover agents on the job, and while he didn't manage to find out any more about Christian Fawcett's disappearance, he reported there had been at least three other people, two male, one female, who had 'left town' in similar circumstances. Unfortunately, before he could make another report, the agent was killed in a car accident. His death was investigated closely, but they couldn't find any sign of foul play, which is when Brian and Captain Taylor from the RCMP came to me for help— neither man was convinced that the agent's death was a coincidence."

The Director gave a slight smile. "While the agency made their inquiries as to the whereabouts of the four missing people, I had you sent on some training courses which would better fit you for the roles you are about to play. Even if we had decided not to take part in the investigation, the training would always be useful for any future undercover work. The plan is to integrate you into the community. These folders detail your public biographies: that is, that which can be verified. We have put in answers to any question you are likely to get asked about your pasts, and why you have chosen to go live in Leggett Falls."

She opened the top folder and took out some loose pages on the top. "Most of Jackie's training time was spent getting the appropriate certificates to enable her to get employment as a professional trainer. Her application for a job in the gymnasium at Neville's has been accepted and she starts work there next Monday. Neville's is a large leisure complex to which all the known victims belonged. She is your point of contact. You will all join the club and be able to pass messages along without seeming to be connected."

She looked up and smiled at the former mob queen. "Well done, Jackie. Your trainer in computer skills also had high praise for your willingness to learn."

The telephone shrilled, and the Director scowled at the interruption. Picking up the handset, she asked irritably, "Yes? What is it?" Her face smoothed out as she listened to the caller, and before she replaced the receiver, said, "Thank you for telling me."

Ignoring the curious expressions on the faces of her agents, the Director consulted her notes again. "An apartment near the leisure centre, which has a nice view of the golf course, has been rented for you. Dobrinsky will give you the keys and final instructions after the briefing. Neville's is on the west bank of the Leggett River, running along the north side of Main Street which was extended across the river when they built the new civic centre and commercial district."

She put her notes aside and pushed the file part way along the table towards Jackie, then turned her attention to the notes she took from the next file.

"Li Ann already has excellent language, organization and logical skills, so her assignment was to gain secretarial and personal assistant experience, coupled with basic accountancy."

She looked directly at the oriental woman with a neutral expression on her face, "Apart from your timekeeping, which must be improved, your tutors were impressed with your grasp of the subjects you were being taught, and the abstract concepts of being a PA. Your presentation skills also garnered high praise. An appointment has been made for ten o'clock Monday morning with the Reid Agency. Please try to be on time.

"Again, an apartment has been rented for you, south of the commercial district, near the 5th street bridge. Dobrinsky tells me it's got a view of the river and Leggett Fort Park. He will give you the details later."

Placing the notes aside, she pushed the folder towards Li Ann, then opened the third file and frowned. In the growing silence, Vic and Mac glanced at one another, obviously wondering which of them had earned her displeasure, then the former cop looked down at this hands and Mac fidgeted in his seat.

"Mr. Ramsey!" The whipcrack of her voice made all four agents jump. Vic felt a certain amount of relief that she wasn't glaring at him.

Mac looked wide-eyed into the Director's stare.

"What am I going to do with you? I set you two tasks. One, learning to build and maintain PCs you seem to have been able to perform adequately; the second, software support... well, you proved so disruptive in the class, hitting on the female instructor and two of your fellow students, that you were asked to leave. I am most displeased. Your constant cavalier attitude is putting your companions' lives at risk."

The Director waited to see if he was going to make any comment. When he remained silent she went on, "Fortunately for you, we have found a trainer that will take you on a one to one basis to bring you up to speed. The company you are going to work for has been informed that your move to Leggett Falls has been delayed by last minute problems with the purchase of your new home."

She leaned forward, almost threateningly. "I do not give out these assignments on a whim, Mr. Ramsey. They are designed to prepare you to support your colleagues in the field. Victor is due to start work Monday of next week, and you are his back up should he need it. Dobrinsky will see that you get your training completed by this time next week, get you moved into your new apartment, and are ready to start work next Wednesday... Got that?"

Mac managed to look contrite and worried at the same time, then nodded hurriedly when she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Good."

Pushing Mac's folder towards him, she opened the last one. "Victor did very well on most of the courses we sent him on... though database design was a little shaky. You two will be moving in to your new home before the weekend. The company you will be joining is called Excalibur, which specializes in web design, hosting and so on for that area. Many of the companies in Leggett Falls are customers of Excalibur. You are going to become part of the design team. Sometimes the team works in-house, but they also do contract work, on site, for other companies. You are to take possession of your house on Thursday, and make sure you know how to reach the offices of Excalibur. On Friday morning you have an appointment with the personnel department. Again, Dobrinsky has the details."

She closed the file and pushed it towards Vic, then looked around at her most successful team. "As you've probably realized by now, we are taking this case very seriously. To be honest, we do not expect quick results, which is why we have put so much care and attention into your training and your cover stories, which you will be able to read later."

Taking off her glasses and polishing them, she added, "Please remember to become members of Neville's Leisure Centre and make regular use of the gymnasium to keep in touch with Jackie— fix a regular schedule for exercise and send Jackie an email if you are unable to make your normal meeting. You will find that your new homes come equipped with a PC and mail software. The passwords etc. have been put in your files."

Putting the spectacles away, she gathered her notes together. "Jackie, Li Ann, Mac, you'll find Dobrinsky waiting outside for you. Victor, I'd like a few words before you go."

Victor turned his head to watch the others file out of the room, then turned his attention back to the woman opposite him.

The Director sighed, knowing that whatever she said, her news was going to stir up some painful memories for the former cop.

"I have two pieces of news for you, Victor. Firstly, the phone call I received earlier was from Judge McHugh's office. The jury in the case against your former colleagues have returned a 'guilty on all counts' verdict when they resumed this morning."

"One of the defendants was persuaded to turn Queen's evidence and exonerated you of any wrongdoing, testifying to the fact that he saw MacDowell put the drugs in your locker.

"Officially, you were already out on parole when your ex-buddies came after you. Burns of Internal Affairs has been warned off your case. As far as his department is concerned, given the circumstances, you don't have a case to answer too. They tried to kill you, the video footage from the apartment proved that. Though it couldn't be used in evidence itself, they were able to utilise it in inducing the gang member to turn against MacDowell and the others. However, the fact that you admitted you would have transferred rather than report them to Internal Affairs counted against you." She paused, "The bottom line is that your conviction will probably be quashed, although your discharge from the police force will still stand. At some point in the future you will get a formal acknowledgement of all this."

Victor had dropped his head to stare at the tightly clenched fists resting on his thighs at the mention of MacDowell and an unaccustomed feeling of sympathy softened the Director's eyes. In the eight years since she had recruited him there had been other times when she had gone against her usual inclinations, and helped, or comforted him rather than scolded. Wondering if it might have been something to do with the fact that, unlike the others, he hadn't really been a criminal in the first place, she got to her feet and walked around the table to lay a consoling hand on his bent neck. "Another item which will be in the news today is that your friend Donny has been attacked in his cell; stabbed three times. He is in intensive care... When I hear any more, I'll let you know."

Victor nodded his head slightly, letting her know he had heard what she was saying.

She squeezed his shoulder, then said, "Stay a while... when you're ready, Dobrinsky will go over the final details with you." After ruffling the hair at the nape of his neck with her thumb, she moved away and disappeared up the stairs.

Left alone, Vic let his mind drift, going back to the night his friend Stan had died. He had almost managed to talk him into turning state's evidence, but MacDowell had made sure he didn't succeed... Carrying Stan's body down to the parking lot and putting it in the trunk had been one of the worst moments of his life. The good news that the nightmare accusations of drug dealing being lifted was tempered by the fact that he would never be completely free of the stigma of association... And then there was Donny... He shook his head. He didn't want to think about it... His relationship with Donny was a can of worms he didn't want to open.

With a deep sigh, he got to his feet and left the room, figuring that whatever this new case held in store for him it would, at least, take his mind off the events of the past.

Thursday, September 28
South of Leggett Falls

The helicopter carrying Victor came to rest in a field next to an 18-wheeler. Gripping his briefcase and the map he had been studying on the flight, he climbed out of the chopper and walked towards the trailer. As he did so, in a move that reminded him irresistibly of the TV series Knightrider, the back of the trailer was lowered to the ground and a very distinctive looking car was driven down the ramp, followed by two men in pristine coveralls.

Victor opened his eyes in surprise. He was being given a brand new PT Cruiser. He'd read about the new-old car in the press, and had been impressed by its specification, but had some reservations about the shape.

As he got closer, the driver got out and walked towards him.

"Mr. Mansfield. My name is Jack Edwards," he said as he handed Vic a wallet of papers. "These are your owner documents. You'll also find my telephone number in the wallet; phone me if you have any problems with the car. Its colour is Aquamarine metallic. As you can see, it is a PT Cruiser, Limited Edition. The Director asked me to remind you to memorize the licence plate."

Victor gave the map and briefcase to a silent assistant, licked his lips, and took a deep breath. Obediently, he studied the plate as directed, then took the papers from the wallet to study them too. He needed to make sure that there wouldn't be any nasty surprises lurking in the paperwork in case he should get stopped.

When he was ready, Jack showed him how the different features of the car worked, then stood aside as Vic placed his briefcase and map on the front passenger seat, and drove off.

Vic had been miffed to find that he would not be allowed to take anything of his own; not even any of his music tapes. All of the clothes he would need would either be in the suitcases in the trunk, or already at the house. The biography he'd been given had been very specific about how he was supposed to dress, what music he was supposed to like... He'd even been given a list of clubs he could frequent; any club not on the list was out of bounds. Not that there was a paucity of choice; his eyes had opened wide in amazement at the descriptions of some of the clubs appearing on the 'approved' list, complete with pictures of the patrons to enable him to dress appropriately.

As he drew nearer to Leggett Falls, it was easy to see that most of the buildings had been erected recently. There were builders' signs directing people to where new housing estates were rising from the ground.

After he entered the town limits, he only took a couple of wrong turns before he managed to find his new home and turn into the driveway. He sat in the car for a few minutes just relaxing and using his mirrors to take a look around. The houses were a lot bigger than he had imagined when he'd looked at the photographs. For some reason, he'd got it into his mind that his house would be small.

Suddenly realizing that he still had the engine running, he switched off and got out of the car, and walked up to the front door.

Taking the keys from his pocket, he let himself in and took a quick tour to acquaint himself with the layout. On the first floor, there was a dining room, lounge, kitchen, cloakroom and study, besides the double garage. While in the kitchen, he checked the contents of the fridge, the freezer, and the cupboards, making a mental note of the items he would need to buy.

Upstairs, there was a family bathroom, four bedrooms, two of which had en-suite bathrooms.

Going back outside to the car, he lifted the tailgate and emptied it, carrying cases and boxes into the house.

As he came out again to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, he came face to face with a good-looking blonde woman who held out her hand to him.

"Hi. I'm Tracy McMillan, and I live next door at 1014."

"Victor Mansfield," Vic introduced himself, shaking her hand warmly.

"Hello Victor," another voice said, and a statuesque brunette hove into view. "I'm Caroline Pelling, and I live the other side of you in 1012."

"I'm pleased to meet you both," Victor replied with a smile.

Tracy made herself the spokeswoman. "We saw the furniture arrive at the beginning of the week, and the agent called in yesterday with groceries and stuff. He said to tell you that if you needed anything, or if there's anything you're not satisfied with, you should contact his office and speak to Lillian, as he will be away for a few days. His sister's suddenly decided to get married this weekend. Howie said he really didn't want to go, but that he'd never hear the end of it from his family if he didn't." She paused for breath and Caroline took over.

"What Tracy's trying to say in her roundabout way is, if you need any help finding the stores or anything, we're willing to help."

Victor smiled, completely oblivious of the effect he was having on them. "Thanks. I appreciate the welcome, and I'll be sure to ask if there's anything I need to know..." Wanting to end the conversation, Vic checked his pockets to make sure he still had both sets of keys, then pulled the front door shut behind him. Giving them both another smile, he said, "Please excuse me, ladies, I have some errands to run before I can finish unpacking."

They moved aside and let him through. He got in the car and pulled away, following the Director's instructions to locate the office building where he had an appointment in the morning. Not that it was difficult to find; a few blocks north, and a couple east, found him looking across some formal gardens at the building housing Excalibur Inc.

He calculated the time it had taken him to get there, and what time he would have to leave home to be on time for his appointment, then went to find a supermarket to buy the extra items he'd noticed were required to make the meals he enjoyed.

Li Ann looked around her new home and was pleasantly surprised to find she actually liked the apartment that had been chosen for her. Going out on to her 17th floor balcony, she found she had a magnificent view of most of the town north and west of the 5th street bridge. As she looked around, she was able to identify the area where the Leisure centre was and couldn't help wondering whether she could see where Victor and Jackie were going through the moving-in process... and eventually Mac, of course. She grimaced; he was so juvenile at times. She sighed sadly as she recalled her adoptive father's words, "no sense of responsibility". He had been reckless then, taking unnecessary risks, and he hadn't really changed very much.

She knew she had. Where she had laughed at his exuberance, and loved him for it, she was now only irritated. It was, she realized, because she had grown to like her job at the Agency, and was finally beginning to understand the way the Director worked, and why she didn't always give them all the information at once. It made them better investigators, finding out more things than they might have otherwise. She, and the others, owed a lot to Victor for their investigative skills. His experience in law enforcement had, as the Director had prophesied, been invaluable, even if Mac didn't want to acknowledge it...

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she went back inside to see what shopping she needed to do to make herself at home— a bunch of flowers or a pot plant, possibly both, was definitely high on her list.

Friday, September 29

The next morning, Victor, smartly dressed in a dark grey suit, joined the morning commuter traffic and was pleased to find that his estimate of the amount of time it would take him to drive to Excalibur House had been just about right. He had arrived outside the building ten minutes before the usual start time of 9am, although he wasn't due here today for another hour and a half.

He looked at his map and found a small mall marked nearby, so he went and found a coffee shop to while away the time before his appointment.

Mac woke early and crawled out of bed into the shower. He sighed in relief as the hot water started to relax muscles that had stiffened up overnight, and thought back over the last couple of days. After the reaming he'd received from the Director, he'd expected to be immediately hauled away for punishment by his nemesis. Instead he, like the other three, had spent the next two days immersing himself in his new biography; learning the layout of Leggett Falls and who were its most prominent citizens.

He stretched and grimaced as the sore muscles protested. Then yesterday, with the others already on the way to their new homes, Dobrinsky had collected him from his apartment and he'd spent the day washing and waxing all twenty-three of the man's cars.

In a reflective mood, he started lathering himself, thinking over what Li Ann had said to him before she'd left, and sighed. She was right of course, and it was something his adoptive father had said too; he had no sense of responsibility. He sighed again. He really should know by now that the Director didn't get them to do things with no reason, even if it wasn't obvious to them at the time.

Jackie, of course, had grinned annoyingly at him, flaunting the fact that she had done far better than had been asked of her.

Vic hadn't said anything about his lack of commitment, but he felt guilty that the older man would be without backup for a few days and had been cautioned against taking any unnecessary risks.

Ever since Vic had hauled his ass out of Pucci's trap at the warehouse two years ago, their relationship had been different. For one thing, it had forced him to take a really good look at the man who'd risked death to come back for him. Up until that moment, he had always seen a not-quite-hated rival for Li Ann's attention. With the Director injured, Vic had taken charge, getting their boss medical attention, reporting the death of Gerald Pucci to Dobrinsky, and ordering the medic to check Mac over to make sure that he hadn't suffered any cuts or other injury from when the light fitting had hit him.

He realized that what he had been doing, acting irresponsibly and saying more and more outrageous things, had been just to get a reaction out of Victor. His latest stunt, the watch with the 'Big Ben' chimes, was a joke which had backfired in spectacular fashion. Somehow, probably while trying to illuminate the face in the dark, he had managed to turn the chimes on, and, of course, they had split the silence at just the wrong moment.

Vic had been right to be angry. It had ruined their silent approach and any chance to gather valuable information. One of the suspects had opened up on them with a machine gun. It was only Victor's quick reactions that had saved him from being cut in half, then to cap it all, only the ex-cop's mania for having more than one, or even two, guns on his person, had saved them both that night.

He sighed again. These days, just thinking about Victor was enough to make his dick rise to attention. Closing his eyes, he turned his head up to the spray to rinse off, allowing images of Victor to flow across his mind's eye as he thrust into his hand. An image of Vic, working alongside him in tank top and cut-offs, was more than enough to send him over the edge, and his semen spattered the tiles, then he had to lean against the frosted glass side until his legs stopped trembling.

Sensing that he hadn't left himself a lot of time, Mac quickly dried himself, dressed and grabbed a couple of breakfast bars to eat while riding with Dobrinsky.

Going back to Excalibur, Vic parked in one of the visitors spaces at the front of the two story building.

Precisely at 10:30, Victor was shown into the office of David Prentice, the personnel director, who got up from behind his desk and shook hands with him.

"Welcome to Excalibur, Victor," he said genially. "I have some papers here that you need to fill out. Then at 11:30 you have an appointment with Dr. Patterson at the Harper Medical Centre, which is a short walk along the road, for your medical. When that's over I'll take you to our restaurant for lunch. We'll talk more then. If you'll come through into the next room, we can get started. I'll have Alicia get you a drink."

Victor nodded, then followed the rotund little man into what was obviously a conference room next door. A petite young blonde was already there, and as soon as Prentice had introduced her as Alicia, she asked him what he would like to drink.

Settling for coffee, Victor sat at the highly polished oval table, where some forms had been placed on a pristine blotter.

"Alicia sits outside," Prentice told him, while making sure that everything was in order. "As soon as you've finished, let her know and she'll contact me."

"Yes sir."

Prentice nodded, and went away.

Victor had just started the first form when Alicia came back bearing a tray, which she placed on the table beside his blotter. On it was a thermos of coffee, cream and sugar and several two-finger packets of Walkers Shortbread. Thanking the girl, he helped himself to coffee and a couple of the shortbread fingers before turning his attention back to the forms.

Jackie looked around the compact apartment, not quite sure if she liked it or not. She was annoyed that she hadn't been allowed to bring any of her own clothes apart from her gym kit, the rest having been vetoed as being too expensive for a person in her supposed salary bracket. Still, it could have been a lot worse. At least it was new; light and airy, and she had all the essentials, living room, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom.

On thing that had surprised her was a small bouquet of flowers from her new boss, Adrian Marston, and a three day guest membership so she could use the facilities before she took up her post on Monday. It was a very nice gesture, and she made a mental note to say thank you when she met the gym manager again.

For a while she pottered around the apartment, finding out where things were stored and rearranging some of it to suit her own tastes, but the three day pass kept catching her eye, and eventually, she gave in to its siren call. Picking up her gym bag, the pass and her purse, she left the apartment to take a good look around the leisure complex. While she was there she would make the most of being a 'member' and use the coffee bars and restaurant, deciding she might just as well enjoy herself while getting information for the Agency.

Victor followed David Prentice into Dr. Patterson's office and shook hands with the tall woman who stood up from her desk as they entered.

Having made the introductions, Prentice told Vic to come back to his office when the medical was over, and left when his new employee nodded.

Victor eyed the Junoesque woman warily. She was within an inch of his height; with well coiffeured dark hair, and dark eyes set in a face that was neither pretty, nor plain. Striking was perhaps a better way to describe her.

Miranda Patterson stared back at the handsome man who was appraising her, noting the long legs and broad shoulders with the hint of muscle underneath the stylish suit.

Before their silence could become uncomfortable, she gave herself a mental shake. "Mr. Mansfield, I have read the preliminary reports from the clinic in Toronto, which gives you a clean bill of health. However, to validate your participation in the company's health cover, I am obliged to run certain tests, even if they have recently been done elsewhere." She paused and raised an interrogatory eyebrow.

"I understand," Vic replied quietly, trying not to show how disturbed he was at the thought of being naked in front of this woman.

She indicated a door on the other side of the room. "If you would go in there and undress please. I'll be with you in a few minutes." She watched him go into the examination room then turned to her PC as he closed the door.

Vic removed his clothes with economical movements and put them neatly away in the space provided. When he had finished undressing, he sat on the edge of the table, waiting for the doctor to appear.

He'd been sitting there for maybe 30 seconds before the door opened to admit Dr. Patterson. Vic stood up politely, awaiting instructions as to what she wanted him to do.

First she checked his height, weight and chest expansion, then did some calculations which proved he was within the weight limits for his height and build. Next she had him blow into a machine to test his lung capacity.

Vic stared stoically at the ceiling while she examined his testicles, and tried, unsuccessfully, not to react when the doctor had her fingers up his ass feeling his prostate. He was more than half erect by the time she had finished, and couldn't help feeling that she was laughing at him. There was definitely a twist to her lips when she then got him to touch his toes so that he was almost kissing his dick.

As she turned away, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Mansfield. Please come back into my office when you are ready."

By the time he was dressed, she had signed the medical forms. She gave them to him to take back to personnel.

Lunch was next on the agenda, and although the staff restaurant was comfortable and the meal superb, Victor was glad when it was over.

Prentice had taken him into the department where he would be working and introduced him to his soon-to-be colleagues. Frank Prowse, the department director, Martin Pridmore, Steve Noyes and Steve Benton, the other members of the team he would be joining, then invited them along for lunch. There seemed to be some animosity between Prentice and Prowse, which soon stifled conversation. Though Vic felt better about joining them when one of the Steves grinned and mouthed "see you on Monday" at him as they parted after the meal.

When he arrived back home he felt drained, tired, and relieved that the ordeal was over. He stripped out of his clothes and flung himself down on the bed for a rest, wondering if the house was bugged as much as his apartment was, although the more he thought about it, he didn't think so. In this environment where anyone could be an enemy, it would be taking too much of a chance. He wriggled on the bed, feeling a long-unaccustomed burn where Dr. Patterson had gotten 'intimate' with him. Which reminded him, it was a long time since he'd got laid, and on this assignment he was actually being encouraged to 'get to know' the other inhabitants of the town... he grimaced when he thought of the comment written on his biography by the Director.

Your time in the vice squad should tell you how to act... just don't do anything that would get you arrested.

When he'd looked in the closets, there were, besides the expensive suits to wear to work, some outfits which rivalled those he'd worn while working the clubs.

He felt a frisson of excitement. Maybe it was time he ditched the 'responsible' image and went out to enjoy himself... he'd start at some of the more conservative places first though... until he'd got settled into his job, knew more about the town and had Mac for backup.

He would be on an induction course on Monday, and sitting in on various meetings as an observer to see how the Company operated. In an odd way he was looking forward to this job; the courses on web design had tapped into a hitherto unknown creativity within him and he reckoned that, given a chance, he could produce some innovative designs.

Deciding he'd had enough rest, he showered and dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, then drove to the leisure centre to sign up to become a member.

After a good workout and dinner in one of the centre's restaurants, Victor, dressed in a skimpy T-shirt and tight blue jeans with a matching jacket, went to the first club on his 'conservative' list, Zeros.

Looking at his reflection in the bar mirror, Vic compared himself to the crowd around him and to the vice-cop he'd once been. He came to the conclusion that he wasn't much different from those around him, nor did he look much older, now he had shed his more staid clothing, from when he had worked in Vice.

Shaking off thoughts of the past to concentrate on the here and now, he settled in to enjoy himself and to immerse himself in the club scene; he felt alive for the first time in a long while.

By the time he climbed into bed in the early hours of Saturday morning, he was feeling rather smug. He'd received quite a few subtle, and some not so subtle, invitations to spend the rest of the night in another person's bed.

Mac had taken one look at his new instructor and groaned inwardly. It was the same one who had rebuffed his advances, and who was now frowning impatiently at him.

"Mister Ramsey," she said in an authoritative tone, "Mr. Dobrinsky has assured me that you will behave yourself this time, so I am willing to give you one more chance."

Mac smiled, keeping the need to be there to back up Vic in the forefront of his mind...

Monday, October 2

After his first full day at work, Victor was glad to get home. He closed the door behind him and headed for his study to check on his email. While waiting for his computer to boot up, he cast his mind back over the day.

He'd spent the morning on an induction course, learning about the company and its aims. Then, during the afternoon, he'd been taken on a tour of the offices and shown some of the diverse websites the company had created for their clients.

After leaving Excalibur, he'd gone to the gym for a light workout and to check in with Jackie. He quickly told her about his day, but she didn't have any information for him. Not feeling like cooking for himself, he again used one of the centre's restaurants.

Not very exciting, to be sure, but there was that list of clubs for him to pick from...

Having passed the various password checks, he opened the mail program and read the two messages waiting for him. The first was a forwarded message from his sister, Alice, telling him how she was getting on at University. He was pleased that she had decided to go back to school, to get the qualifications which would help her in her chosen career. He replied to her, sending some encouraging words about the one part of the course she was not enjoying very much, then read the second email. This was from the Director, which just gave the URL for a web page. Following the link, Vic was presented with a newspaper article reporting the death, in hospital, of his one-time friend, Donny.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep hold of his emotions, but was unable to prevent a tear escaping from his brimming eyes. Setting the PC to do its auto shutdown, which would also clear his cache of any trace of the messages, he went into the living room and took a bottle of Glenfiddich and a tumbler from the sideboard.

With somewhat unsteady hands he poured himself a generous measure and gulped it down, then went to sit on the sofa. After pouring himself another drink he placed the bottle on the coffee table, leaned back, tilting his head up to stare unseeingly at the ceiling.

Why was it, that practically everyone whom he had called 'friend' had betrayed him in one way or another? Of the "Three Musketeers" who had gone through the Academy together, only he was left. He and Donny had gone into Vice, and Stan had been taken into Narcotics.

Donny had been his first male lover; they had been thrown together in an undercover operation. One thing had led to another and they'd ended up in bed together. Then Gloria had come along, and although he and Donny had remained friends, their more intimate relationship had ended.

It was partly because of his growing frustration with the situation between himself, Donny and Gloria that he had been so eager to accept the position in Narcotics when Stan and Joe MacDowell had put the proposition to him. Then had come another betrayal, which had ultimately led to him sitting here, in the dark, contemplating the past and choices he had made...

Wednesday, October 4

Mac arrived at Tolehurst Computers full of apologies about his tardy arrival, having taken possession of his apartment late the night before. Ms. Fernandez, the personnel officer, sympathized with his moving problems, saying that she had been subjected to quite lengthy delays when she had moved into the area.

She filled out the final details of his employment, then gave him a large envelope to take to the Harper Medical Centre, telling him that they had made an appointment for him at eleven o'clock, and requested that he returned to the personnel department when the medical had been completed. Almost as an afterthought she gave him a map with both the Tolehurst offices and the Medical Centre marked on it.

He arrived early for his appointment, and was settled in a very pleasant waiting room by the receptionist, who told him that Dr. Patterson would call him in when she was ready.

Just after eleven, Dr. Patterson looked out of her door and called out, "Malcolm Ramsey please". Mac put down the daily paper he'd been reading and followed her into her office.

"Come in, Mr. Ramsey. I'm Dr. Patterson, and I shall be conducting a few tests to validate your company health insurance. Please go into the examination room, and undress." She gestured to a door on the other side of the room, "I'll be with you in a few minutes."

Suppressing an urge to come to attention and salute, he went into the examination room and closed the door behind him. As he removed his clothes, Mac was reminded of the first day at the Agency, when he had been told to strip, and the Director had walked in on him. He remembered that he hadn't come out of that encounter very well, and wondered if Vic had fared any better, since she'd said 'I meet all my new agents this way'. He sat on the bed, waiting for the doctor, imagining how his staid partner had dealt with the embarrassing situation, and wondering if he had ever been subjected to her sexual predations.

His musings were interrupted by the doctor coming in to start the tests. Although he was fairly well prepared for some of them, the anal exam and then having to touch his toes straight afterwards brought a flush of embarrassment to his cheeks.

He was very glad when the examination was over and the doctor told him to get dressed. Back in her office, she gave him the signed forms then ushered him out.

Back in the personnel department, Ms. Fernandez looked over the forms, then took him to see his new boss, George Varney.

After the usual tour around the department, introducing him to those colleagues who were present, Varney welcomed his new employee by taking him to lunch, explaining the workings of the department during the meal. Then, in the afternoon, he sent the new recruit to answer his first service call.

Friday, October 6

Feeling a little uncertain about what to expect, Victor walked into Octavian's, described on his list as 'a rather uninhibited place to spend an evening'. It was a member's only club, and they were rather picky about who they accepted for membership. The applicant had to be a resident of Leggett Falls and be able to prove they were in full time employment.

When he stated that he wished to become a member, he was taken into an office near the entrance. There, Victor presented his credit card, his company identity card, and the telephone installation bill as proofs of his identity.

The initial membership fee was expensive, then he had to pay quite a high entrance fee, but that did include some differently shaped tokens and a free buffet, which, as he hadn't eaten any dinner, he investigated first.

The food was plentiful and good, with something to please everybody. He discovered from one of the servers that the square tokens, with a fountain design etched on to them, could be exchanged for a bottle of beer, a goblet of wine, a shot of spirits, or a tall glass or fruit juice. Water came free.

While eating he read the small member's booklet he'd been given with his membership card, which, amongst other things, listed the tokens and what they were for. The blue round ones with different numbers on them were gambling chips, white rectangular ones could buy thirty minutes of time in a semi-private alcove, or fifteen minutes in a private room. The red hexagonal ones, again available in different denominations, could be used for buying services from the bazaar. More tokens could be bought, or exchanged, at booths located on each of the three floors of the building.

There were a few restrictions which would cancel his membership. Staff were off limits; don't have sex with them or proposition them. No fighting. No drunkenness. Sex and other games with fellow members was encouraged, so long as it was between consenting parties. The management would prefer you to use an alcove or a private room, but they didn't insist on it.

When he'd finished eating, he found the money changer and traded some of the round tokens for hexagonal ones, just to see how the system worked. He then set off to see what the rest of the club was like.

A tall, patrician-looking woman, who had followed him up the stairs, accosted him when he reached the top. Holding a hexagonal chip with 100 inscribed on it in one hand so he could plainly see it, the other caressed his leather-clad ass while she suggested he accompany her to an alcove so they could get to know each other better.

The tips of his ears burned red as he politely declined her invitation, explaining to her that he was a new member and he was just taking a look round.

"Well, maybe later then," she laughed, not at all put off by his refusal.

He had a good look round the floor. Where the floor below had been decorated in modern style, this was more classical looking, with ionic columns and friezes of naked men and women, and the staff were dressed appropriately. Ignoring the private rooms, he, like many other members, prowled the corridors and public rooms.

So, hugs and kisses on the first floor, raw sex on the second, and 'the Bazaar', whatever that might be, on the third.

He looked around him, many of the alcoves were in use, their heavy velvet curtains drawn closed. However, a few users had eschewed privacy, couples, trios, and more, enjoying each other's bodies, totally oblivious of the audience gathered just a few feet away.

All this sex on display was making him feel horny, the front of his leather pants now distorted by a growing erection. He really needed to do something about that... he had the choice of his own hand in a bathroom cubicle, or of finding a companion, which wouldn't be difficult... However, there was still one floor to investigate, so before taking the decision on how best to deal with his 'problem', he climbed the stairs to the third floor.

He pushed through the doors from the foyer, and was surprised how different the atmosphere was on this floor. It wasn't just the décor, either, which depicted masters and slaves amongst the naked bodies. There were no alcoves here, only public or private rooms. He wasn't really into BDSM, though he doubted that there would be any really heavy play here.

He was just thinking about going back downstairs, when the woman who had approached him earlier was by his side again, eyeing the now much larger bulge in his pants.

"Are you sure we can't get to know one another better" she asked.

He grinned. "Depends on how good you are at spanking," he dared her.

She ran a finger along his trapped erection. "We deal with this first, then you'll get what you deserve."

Vic nodded and allowed her to take his hand and lead him towards the private rooms. He had a feeling he was going to enjoy this.

Later that night, after his shower, he looked into the mirror and studied his reddened butt. He'd been right, he had enjoyed himself. She'd straddled him and made him come, then laid him over her lap and spanked and caressed his ass until he had come again. He smiled to himself as he switched out the lights and climbed into bed. He was very tempted to go back to the club another night, just to see if she would care for a repeat performance...

Mac had spent some time reading through the list of clubs, picking out those he felt would benefit from a visit by him. One of them in particular had immediately piqued his interest: The Jack of Clubs. It was noted that only groups of two or more people were allowed inside, and one of the group had to be a club member. How one became a member was not known, although the investigator had questioned some of the men and women who hung around outside, hoping to catch a member's eye and be taken inside. The investigator had not managed to get inside.

Never able to resist a challenge, he had dressed with care, and at about the same time that Victor went into Octavian's, Mac got out of a taxi in front of a large well-lit building.

As expected, he was refused entry. What he hadn't expected was the stony silence that met his enquiries on how to become a member. Frustrated, he joined the growing number of men and women who were standing under a cluster of lights a short distance from the entrance, hoping to catch a member's eye. He hung around for a while, and although he didn't gain an invitation, he studied how those who were picked, dressed and acted so that he could try again another night.

Mac then moved on to plan B, a rave club not too far away called Arthur's. He paid the fee to get in, and enjoyed himself dancing while keeping his eyes open to see whether this was a cover for any other kind of action. When he was satisfied it wasn't, bearing in mind he had to get up early the next morning, he left and hailed a taxi to take him home.

On the way, they passed a place called Octavian's. He was surprised to see Vic come out and get into a taxi.

So, Octavian's is on Vic's list, but not on mine. I wonder why? Maybe I'll do some extracurricular activities and find out.

Saturday, October 7

At eight the next morning, the four agents met at Mario's Motors, an abandoned motor shop provided by the Agency for their use, situated on the same block as Mac's apartment. On the first floor they found a sleek black van with their breaking and entering tools locked inside, plus changes of dark clothing for all of them. On the upper floors they found bedrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, a conference room and an office complete with the latest in equipment. In the office, they found a locked document chest in which were the building plans for the companies which had employed the four missing people.

Taylor, Drew & Associates, Inc. had employed Chris Fawcett as a software engineer in their offices near the centre of the town.

JayCee Consultants Ltd. had employed Gina Martino as an Administrative Assistant, again in an office near the centre of town.

Graham Precision Engineering Inc. had employed Lee Whiting in their accounting department.

Gascoigne & Partners had employed John Bolton as a paralegal. Their offices were right next to the new civic centre.

They studied the plans and read the reports compiled by the Agency's surveillance teams, and were agreed that getting inside Graham Engineering without alerting anyone to their presence was going to be their greatest challenge.

The second most difficult would be the lawyers' offices, not only because of the high security building, but because lawyers often started their working day early and finished late.

Deciding to concentrate their first effort on the one person they knew really was missing, they devised a plan to get into the building. They would put it into action that evening.

Sitting in the van outside Taylor, Drew & Associates, Inc., they synchronized watches and set the vibrating alarms. Then Vic, Mac and Li Ann left Jackie keeping watch from the van, and slipped through the shadows to the side of the software company's building.

Vic kept watch while Mac and Li Ann worked on getting them into the building. Once inside, they made their way to the personnel department, then waited for the guard to go past them on his rounds, adding on fifteen minutes more, by which time the guard should be back in his office, then they got to work.

Mac slipped a floppy disk into one of the PC's and hacked into the system, while Vic and Li Ann hunted for Fawcett's file, hoping that it hadn't been either destroyed or sent away for archiving.

Once they found the cabinet holding the ex-employee's files, Vic took Fawcett's to a Xerox and started copying it, while Li Ann checked to see if any of the other presumed missing people had ever been employed by the company. She drew a blank, and after Vic had returned the file, she stood watching Mac copy files to the drive he'd brought with him. Vic put the copied sheets into the bag, then tried out his fledgling safe-cracking skills as a way to pass the time. He was so engrossed in his task that when the door opened and Li Ann congratulated him, he visibly started.

He flashed a grin at her when she chuckled, then said, "Let's see if there's anything interesting inside."

They rifled through the contents and gave the two floppy disks they found to Mac to copy; otherwise there wasn't anything else that seemed to be of any use to them.

Vic felt the alarm vibration on his wrist as he took the disks back from Mac and returned them to the safe. He spun the dial and put it back on the number on which he had found it.

They methodically shut everything down, then waited for the guard to do his round again before leaving the building the way they had entered.

Back at their HQ they each took a bedroom and got some sleep. Then, after breakfast, they studied the information they had gathered. Later they transmitted everything to the Agency via email and fax for a support team to work on, then returned to their own homes.

Monday, October 9

When Li Ann walked into the Reid Agency offices on Monday morning, she was greeted with a huge smile from Judy, her employment co-ordinator.

"I've got a plum job for you this week," Judy said without preamble. "One of the Partner's secretaries at Gascoigne & Partners broke her leg over the weekend and they are desperate for a replacement."

"I'm sorry to hear about the accident, and of course I'd be happy to help them out for the week." Li Ann found it hard to keep calm; she was being handed access to the Legal offices, and possibly their files, on a plate.

Judy filled out the forms for Li Ann to take with her, then wished her good luck.

Li Ann presented her credentials at the building's reception. After they had confirmed her identity, she was told to take an elevator to the 6th floor and report to the receptionist there.

Two days later she was able to report to Jackie that she had copied the files and had delivered them to their HQ at Mario's Motors.

Vic, Mac and Li Ann all visited various night-clubs during the week, but none of them were anything out of the ordinary, and didn't appear to be a cover for any criminal activities.

On Friday night Vic was tempted to revisit Octavian's, but in the end decided that as he was working the next day, it might be a little too awkward, and uncomfortable, with a sore butt.

Saturday, October 14

Their second foray into breaking and entering, this time at JayCee Consultants Ltd., was very much like the first. The guards were not so conscientious and did their rounds in the minimum time they could, while still clocking in at their checkpoints.

Again the personnel department still had the file they wanted, but there was nothing else of interest.

Also as before, they slept at the Agency's house and studied the data before transmitting it to Toronto, along with the file that Li Ann had collected on John Bolton during the previous week.

With the two 'easy' jobs done and the apple that had fallen into their laps via Li Ann's temping job, they discussed how best to tackle the last organisation on their list.

Victor mentioned that Excalibur had a contract with Graham Engineering to provide contract staff, but that there weren't any vacancies on the contract at the moment.

"We need to get someone on the inside," Mac stated. "Maybe we ought to take one of them out."

Victor laughed. "Even if we did, there's no guarantee that I would be the one to take their place."

"There's no harm in trying it though— get the Agency to give one of them an all expenses paid trip somewhere, that has to be taken immediately, or offer them a high paying contract with another company."

"I like the sound of the second idea better," Victor replied thoughtfully. Using the auto dial on the phone, he called the Director, asking if this course of action was something that she could arrange.

When she said yes, he arranged to email the names and, if possible, the addresses of the contract staff currently working at Graham's.

After arranging a schedule of check times with Jackie, they went to their own homes.

A few days later, they heard from the Director that Excalibur had been offered a high price for the use of a couple of their most experienced contracting staff on a Government project. Naturally, Excalibur agreed. When the design director asked for volunteers for a week's work at Graham Engineering, Victor put his name down and, rather to his surprise, was accepted.

Letting Jackie know that he was starting his secondment on the following Monday, they arranged to meet on Sunday morning to do some surveillance of their own before Victor went to work on Monday, when he would be able to have a look around at ground level during his break times. They also arranged for the delivery of some ultra small communication devices they could use to talk to Victor without compromising his cover.

Friday, October 20

Just before midnight on Friday evening, Mac swivelled around on his stool, rested his elbows on the bar behind him, and studied the men on the dance floor. The majority of them were taking notice of a lithe figure who was dancing on the far side. The crowd parted and he got a good look and felt his mouth go dry. Tight, well-washed jeans seemed almost moulded to an ass so like the partner he lusted after, that he downed his drink with one swallow and wended his way across the highly polished floor as if drawn by a magnet. If he couldn't have Vic, his straight, uptight, gorgeous partner, then maybe this stranger could at least assuage the ache while he was on this assignment.

Almost mesmerized by watching the muscles ripple and move under the faded denim, he came to a standstill. Two men immediately bumped into him, both telling him in no uncertain terms what they thought about his abrupt halt.

He started forward again, aware that not only did he have a bulge in his pants, but so did many of the other watchers.

He started to dance himself, so he didn't draw too much attention while he took a close look at the man who was obviously fuelling more than just his fantasies tonight.

Trying to ignore the tempting ass, he took in the long shapely legs and the well muscled torso, enhanced rather than hidden by the skimpy tank-top.

Mac took another couple of steps forward, joining a ring of dancers who were slowly circling the sexy man and his lanky dancing partner. For a while Mac lost himself in the music as the dancers sidled and swirled, until he got a good view of the other man's face.

He stopped dead in his tracks, unable to believe his eyes. His sudden halt threw those around him into total confusion and quite a few profanities were yelled at him as the other dancers were forced to come to a halt too. The disturbance around him caused the dark-haired, centre of attention to look around.

Two pairs of shocked eyes met.

"Mac?"

Mac stared as green eyes opened wide in surprise and pink, bow-shaped lips mouthed his name. He took a couple of steps forward, his hand reaching out to touch, as if still unable to believe what his eyes were telling him.

"Victor!" Mac gasped, the messages from his brain finally getting through.

Vic grabbed hold of the outstretched hand and pulled Mac towards him, tilting his head up as the other man wrapped his arms around him and brought their mouths together. Completely oblivious to their surroundings, they stood kissing and rubbing against one another, until they were interrupted by a huge hand being placed on their shoulders, and Mickey the bouncer shook them to get their attention.

"Get a room, guys," he growled.

Vic and Mac broke apart and grinned sheepishly at Mickey before making their way out to the lobby to a chorus of whistles and catcalls.

Stopping by the desk Mac asked, "Yours or mine?"

"There's a motel across the parking lot which should do us just fine," Vic replied, opening the main door and holding it open for Mac to pass through.

Halfway across, Mac asked, "Why this motel?"

"There are cards for the Motel in the club lobby, so they probably get quite a few clients from the club, and are less likely to ask awkward questions about two guys wanting one room."

Mac laughed. "You have a point there. But, why not your place or mine?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I have nosy neighbours, and until we get some leads on this case, everyone's a suspect." Vic sighed. "I guess we shouldn't even be doing this..."

"Aw, c'mon, you're not going to back out now, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Since we made it obvious we know one another, it would be stupid to deny we've met before. But I do think it would be best if we don't talk about our shared past, other than to admit, if asked, that we have met before, but were both in other relationships."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Mac admitted, then fell silent as he followed Vic into the Motel reception.

The clerk behind the counter, Bobby Keown according to his name tag, smiled as they approached, and asked, "Can I help you?"

Vic pulled some cash out of his wallet, and said, "We'd like a room, please."

Bobby looked from Vic to Mac, who was almost plastered against his partner's back, then turned to the key rack, plucked one from the bottom row and placed it on the counter. "That'll be seventy-five dollars."

Vic counted the notes out onto the counter, picked up the key and looked at the room number.

"Last one along the corridor to your right," Bobby told him helpfully.

"Thanks." Vic led the way through the fire door and along the corridor to the last room.

"A bit expensive, isn't it?" Mac queried.

Vic shrugged. "I'll settle for cash and no questions asked over cost, any night. Besides, I've heard a couple of good reports about the rooms here; or didn't you read the agency information sheets?"

There was a guilty silence, then Mac mumbled defensively, "I read the bits about night clubs, but motels..."

Vic shook his head. "When are you ever going to learn, Mac?"

"I'm learning a whole lot of new stuff today, maybe I'll even learn that."

"I wouldn't want to bet on it," Vic muttered as he opened the door at the end of the corridor. Going in, he ran his hand across the bank of switches on the wall beside him, setting the room ablaze with light. To his right was the dressing room with closets and the fridge, to his left a very large bathroom with an enormous sunken bath, and ahead, a super king-sized bed dominated the main room.

Vic walked over to the bed. He unlocked the night table's drawer taking out a handful of the foil packets and small tubes he found there then dropped them, and the key, on the polished surface.

The noise of metal striking wood finally galvanized Mac into action. He closed and bolted the outer door, and while Vic was toeing off his boots, he switched off some of the bright lights. Then, kicking off his loafers, he stalked towards the bed, discarding his other clothes as he went. Vic turned as he got close and Mac took him in his arms and kissed him, taking up where they had left off.

Thoroughly kissed, and thoroughly aroused by his lover's wandering hands, Vic found himself lying naked on the bed with Mac hovering above him, grinding their groins together.

Mac pulled back and grinned down at his partner thinking that he had never seen anyone so fucking gorgeous in his whole life: he looked good enough to eat. He leaned in and fastened his mouth on one of the rosy brown nubs, alternately gently biting and licking, teasing it to hardness before kissing his way across the chest to start on the other one.

Victor started to squirm. Mac grinned at the effect he was having. He licked one then blew gently on it. Victor squirmed some more. Mac studied the nub, frowned, then looked closely at the other, before raising his eyes to his lover's face.

"Victor."

"Hmmm?" Vic half-opened aroused green eyes.

"Your nipples are pierced."

"Um hum," Victor confirmed the discovery with a smile that went straight to Mac's groin. Shelving thoughts of asking more questions about those intriguing holes, he grabbed a condom and lube from the night table. They were both much too aroused for finesse, so he quickly prepared Vic and himself, then rocking their hips together, he thrust further and further, until his cock was completely buried in Vic's ass.

Taking Vic's cock in hand, he stroked it until he felt the first clench around his cock, then started thrusting in counterpoint to the strokes.

Vic's head tossed and his skin flushed pink before his body arched upwards, splattering Mac and himself with his come, the action of his internal muscles taking Mac over the edge with him.

When he felt able to move again, Mac disposed of the condom, grabbed a handful of tissues to clean them both up, then laid down beside Vic and pulled him into his embrace. Vic snuggled close... and they slept.

Just before dawn they woke, feeling chilled, used the bathroom, then climbed under the covers and snuggled down again.

When Mac woke again, the sun was shining around the edges of the thick velvet curtaining. He looked down at the darkhead lying on his left shoulder and with a tender smile, he touched his lips to the tip of Vic's nose.

After a moment Vic's eyes slowly opened and he smiled sleepily up at him, then frowned when he realized the sun was shining outside. Leaning forward, he gave Mac a quick kiss on the lips then got up and padded towards the bathroom.

"C'mon Mac, up and at 'em. We have to check out and get breakfast. We also need to have a talk and I don't have a lot of time this morning, as I have to be at the golf club by ten-thirty."

"Golf?" Mac sat up, staring at his partner. "You don't play golf," he went on, following Vic across the room.

"No, but my boss does. He's meeting a client for a round of golf and I have to be there."

"Oh." He started picking up their discarded clothing. "Erm... Vic... surely you're not going to wear these to the golf course..."

He heard Vic laugh over the sound of the shower. "Not likely! I've got a change of clothes in the car."

"You mean you were... ?" Mac grappled with the idea that Vic had been on the prowl.

"It never hurts to plan ahead."

Mac shook his head in amazement, then went into the bathroom to take a piss then started shaving. He'd learnt a lot about Vic last night, most of it very surprising, and couldn't help wondering if Li Ann knew anything about what was hidden under the normally staid exterior.

He changed places with Vic in the shower and gave himself a quick scrub. When he went back to the bedroom, Vic was just putting on his shirt, so he hurried to get dressed too.

Vic watched his partner for a moment, then turned away, checking round the room to make sure they'd left nothing behind, and to give himself time to fight the urge to get on his knees in front of the other man.

Breakfast was eaten in an awkward silence, neither quite knowing what to say. It seemed as if checking out of the motel had moved them into a different world, and they were unsure how to deal with it.

Finally, over the dregs of their coffee, Vic said, "We can't let this happen again, Mac. Not so publicly, and not while we're working." He qualified this when Mac stared at him, aghast. "I do not want my sex life to be the butt of any of the Director's jokes and I don't think either of us want any accusations to be flung at us of not keeping our minds on the job."

Mac sighed and nodded, not able to disagree with what his partner had said, but unable to hide the disappointment in his eyes.

Vic leaned forward and placed his hand over Mac's for a moment. "I don't mean we can't spend the night together, we just have to be very discreet, maybe even a little devious, so as to keep our private lives out of the Director's files."

"Devious?"

Vic grinned. "Yes, devious. Like if we don't get asked about last night, don't say anything about it. However, if we do get asked, then say we were surprised to see one another, and decided to establish a willingness to engage in casual sex, so we spent the night in the same room. Sandwich a lie between two truths and most times you'll get away with it."

Mac grinned. "In other words, we meet on neutral ground, only arranged in advance, and not talking about it at any other time."

Vic nodded. "Exactly. I don't suppose we can keep it secret forever, but the longer we do, the less likely it is that the Director will make jokes about it. Hopefully, by then, we will have proved that it won't interfere with our work."

Mac thought of rejecting the suggestion just for the sake of argument, then remembered the vow he'd made to act responsibly; this was his chance to show Vic that it was something he could be. "Okay, that makes sense."

Vic, who had been braced for a smart-ass reply, quickly masked his surprise at the easy acquiescence. "Right. Unless we are working during the weekend, I'll meet you outside the Go Live at nine next Friday evening. If we are working, then make it the following Friday. During the time we're together we'll work out where to meet next." He paused while Mac nodded, then looked at his watch and went on, "I really must go, or I'm going to be late." He gave Mac's hand a squeeze, then paid his bill and left.

Mac watched the jean-clad ass out of sight, still coming to terms with having had his cock buried inside the fantasy that had become reality. Vic's uninhibited reaction had been a big turn-on— the image of Vic laid open before him, his cock thrusting inside, was so vivid that he was instantly hard again, and was suddenly glad that the table was stopping anyone else from realizing his condition.

The waitress came over and asked if there was anything else he wanted. When he said no, she gave him the check. Wondering how he was going to walk to the door in this condition, Mac had a sudden vision of being stuck here until he managed not to think about Vic, which would be the talk of the town, which would get back to the Director— and just the thought of the scathing words she would say was enough to make his cock shrink back to normal.

Sunday, October 12

They met for lunch in the rooms above Mario's, and discussed their impressions of the case so far. Mac told them about the 'dead' PC that he had been called in to fix only to find that someone had unplugged it from the power socket. Vic reciprocated with a description of his walk around the golf course the day before carrying a notepad and jotting down comments from his boss and their client.

After they'd eaten, they went to take a look around the area where Graham Precision Engineering was located. Jackie drove slowly along the surrounding roads while the other three agents studied the steel-fence enclosed factory and office buildings through binoculars.

When they were almost at the end of the second side, Jackie called their attention away. "Hey, guys! There's a building site just over there that looks like we could use."

"Pull over," Mac ordered. When the van had stopped in front of the padlocked gates he made short work of picking the lock and opening them for the van to go inside.

They stared up at the partly completed building. It was obvious from the lack of machinery that no work had been done here for some time. Also, if there was any kind of security, it wasn't in evidence.

"I don't need to see inside, so I'll keep watch down here in case anyone comes around," Jackie said.

The others picked their way over the rubble and went inside the shell of the building. After climbing up to the roof, they found they had a perfect view over the engineering company's grounds.

They took some photographs of the area and tentatively discussed ways of getting inside, then arranged that Li Ann would take the day off from Reid's and help Vic to find the weak spots in the company's security.

Feeling satisfied with their day's work, they left the building site and made their way home.

Monday, October 23

Early Monday morning, Li Ann climbed up to the roof of the high-rise overlooking the premises Graham Precision Engineering they'd used the day before, to check on the comings and goings of the employees. During his meal and 'thinking' breaks from work, Vic walked around the compound, listening to Li Ann and answering some questions. He also checked out the lie of the land for her, making sure that the parking spot she'd picked out was not covered by any of the cameras, and the area wasn't overlooked by any windows.

Tuesday, October 24

The next day, Vic smuggled their gear inside the perimeter hidden under the 'shelf' of his Cruiser. He made sure that the vehicle was parked in the spot they had picked out on the plans, and went inside the building to get on with the work he'd been sent there to do. When it was the normal time to leave, he said he was in the middle of something he would rather not leave unfinished, and arranged to work late that night.

After dark, Mac and Li Ann came in over the fence. Taking their gear from Vic's Cruiser, they approached the building where the contractors were working, and Victor got them inside. Leaving him working, they clipped on facsimile IDs and walked through the almost empty building until they found the offices they needed.

After making sure the area was deserted, they searched for the file they required. Once they had found all they could, Vic let them out, and, having given them some time to reach his car, left the building and ferried them out, hidden in the back.

Wednesday, October 25

The Director looked up from the reports she was reading with an irritated frown when Dobrinsky came into the room. "I thought I asked not to be disturbed," she said abruptly.

The black man shrugged, then announced, "Brian Fawcett-Smythe and Captain Taylor would like to talk with you about the investigation."

She considered her options for a moment, then said, "Show them in here. It won't hurt for them to know about some of the progress we have made."

He nodded and smiled, obviously in agreement with her summation. "I'll send them in," he replied, then turned and left.

A few minutes later, he showed the two visitors into the briefing room. The Director took off her glasses and walked round the paper-strewn table to shake hands with both men, then offered them a seat. Returning to her own place, she asked what she could do for them.

The two men looked at one another, then Brian blurted out, "Have you found anything yet?"

She looked at them for a moment, then said, "Not that I don't trust you, but I don't necessarily trust who you might trust with the information, so I'm not going to go into details about the operation. I can tell you that I have four of my best agents living undercover in Leggett Falls, and five surveillance teams there. The papers you see on this table are their reports. I also have a team of analysts looking at some of the data that has been gathered." She paused for a moment, then went on in a sympathetic tone, "I did say at the outset that I did not expect to get quick results, as there is so little to go on. But, ultimately, I do expect to be able to tell you what happened to your nephew."

"Is he alive?"

"I have no reason to believe otherwise at this point. Much too much work has gone into making people believe he has moved away."

"That's what I said, too," Taylor remarked.

Brian relaxed slightly, then nodded. "I know you did, but the waiting, not knowing what has happened, is getting me down."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Fawcett-Smythe got to his feet. "Thank you for seeing us. We'll leave you to get on with your work." He walked away, and after a moment, the RCMP captain followed him.

The Director stared thoughtfully after them for a while, then turned her attention back to the report she had been reading before she had been interrupted.

Friday, October 27

On Friday evening Vic left work exactly on time. He was looking forward to his date so much that he had found it very hard to concentrate.

He drove to the leisure centre to check in with Jackie, and was pleased to find that she didn't have any instructions for him, so he was free to meet Mac later.

While using one of the exercise machines, he let his mind drift back over the week since he and Mac had got together in the early hours of Saturday morning. Fortunately, he'd been in time for the game of golf between his boss, Frank Prowse, and their client, Jonathan Tolehurst. Between shots the prospective new web site was discussed at some length. During lunch Vic had got out his pad and made a few suggestions. The upshot of it had been a meeting on Thursday to view a slide show presentation of the proposal.

Feeling on a high after great sex and a good morning's work, Vic found the address of a jeweller which also specialized in body piercing, and went along to have his nipples checked to see if the holes were still open. Two hours later he walked out with two pairs of rings. One of fine gold to wear every day to get used to wearing them again, the other larger, and heavier, gold hoops which came with a chain that could be strung between them.

No one had seemed to notice the rings at work, or if they had, they'd been too polite to comment. Each evening, as soon as he'd got home, he'd swapped them for the heavier pair to get used to the weight dragging on his sensitive nipples. Then, last night, he'd tried the chain for the first time. The way it had pulled at the rings as he'd moved had been a big turn-on. Tonight he would just wear the rings, and maybe take the chain with him; after all it might be fun to watch Mac's face when he saw it.

Jackie touched his arm to bring him out of his reverie. "Enough," she told him.

Vic grinned at her. "Okay. I'm going to leave my stuff in the locker. I'll check out a couple more clubs tonight. I'll pick everything up, including my car, tomorrow morning."

Vic said good night, showered and dressed, and asked the receptionist to get him a taxi for eight-thirty, then went into the restaurant for dinner.

He visited the locker again, changed into his 'club gear', and left almost everything else in it, except for his billfold and the gold chain, both of which he slipped into the back pocket of his tight jeans.

Going outside, he got into the waiting taxi and gave the address of his destination to the driver.

By the time Friday arrived Mac felt as if each day had been a week. He'd seen Vic the day before, when he'd been called in to fix a PC which had 'died'. Having stripped it out he started testing the components. As he worked he became aware of a sudden increase in sound as if someone had opened a door. At first there was a bass rumble, then had come Vic's husky voice... and he had stopped just to listen, until the door had closed again to bring him back to reality.

He arrived outside the Go Live club a few minutes after nine, and was surprised not to see Vic waiting for him. Not that he had meant to be late; his taxi had been caught up in a traffic jam caused by an accident. He stood there for about ten minutes in case Vic had been delayed by the same accident, then crossed the road and stood in the shadows, wondering what to do next.

Going over the conversation in his mind, he was certain that Vic had said outside the club. Shrugging, he crossed the road and went down the alley and around the back of the building, still no sign.

He went back out front, retreating into the shadows again to consider his next move. Vic was now forty minutes late. He needed to find a phone, to see if he'd left a message for him with Jackie. The nearest phone would be inside the club, so he could check to see if he'd mistaken the meeting place at the same time.

Paying the entrance fee, Mac went inside, got himself a drink at the bar and went upstairs to lean on the rails and take a look around. As it was still early, there weren't all that many people in the club, so it didn't take him long to make certain that Vic wasn't there.

Going out to the bank of phones near the rest rooms, he checked the men's room, then chose the phone furthest away from the door leading to the club. He dialled the leisure centre's number and asked for Jackie, but he wasn't really surprised she wasn't there. He left a message, asking that she call him as soon as possible, as he had to rearrange a training session. His second call was to the taxi company for a pickup immediately outside the club.

By the time he got home it was almost ten-thirty. He checked his phone and email for messages before dialling Jackie's home number. It was engaged, so he sent her an email with just two words in it: phone me.

A few minutes later Jackie called him and he launched into the speech he'd been mentally preparing since he'd left the club.

"Jackie, have you heard from Vic?"

"Not since I saw him at the gym this evening. He said he was going to change at the gym and check out a couple of clubs. Why?"

"We'd arranged to meet up at the Go Live, then look in at the Jack of Clubs."

"Oh yeah, I read about that place," Jackie giggled.

"Yeah, well, he was supposed to meet me, at nine, outside the Go Live... I checked all round the building; inside and out; he's not there. I phoned the centre and left a message there for you, then came home to see if there were any messages, then I tried to phone you." Mac took a deep breath and told himself to calm down; babbling on was not going to help, and might raise unwanted suspicions. "Anyway, I think we ought to contact Dobrinsky and let him know."

Jackie was silent for a moment, and Mac could almost hear the wheels turning in her brain. "Yeah, I agree," she finally replied. "I'll call him now and get back to you."

Mac put the phone down and paced around his apartment. He couldn't help worrying, wondering what had happened to Vic; wondering if there was anything else he could have, should have, done. Although he knew it was no use berating himself, there was the nagging thought that if he'd managed to get to the club on time, he would have found Vic waiting for him.

He was still walking aimlessly round the room, picking up things and putting them down again, when Dobrinsky called to tell him to be at The Meeting House in twenty minutes. Glad of something to do at last, he changed into suitable clothing and left his apartment. He was going to be early at the meeting, but he couldn't stand being alone with his thoughts any longer.

Li Ann arrived not long after he did. She made coffee and they sat drinking it in a strained silence. When Jackie arrived, she joined them at the table, and helped herself to coffee, saying, "I was told to pick Vic's things up from the locker and bring them here. We have to be in the briefing room, upstairs, in ten minutes."

Picking up their coffees they went upstairs to the briefing room together. A large, flat-screen monitor hung at one end of the room and a speaker-phone stood alone in the middle of the conference table.

The phone rang and Li Ann pushed the button on it to answer the call, then followed Dobrinsky's instructions on how to set up the visual part of the call. A few minutes later they were looking at the Director sitting in the briefing room in the Toronto agency building.

Jackie was sent to bring up the contents of Vic's locker. The clothes were searched then neatly put back in the carry cases. The contents of the pockets made a very small pile near the phone on the table.

After sorting through it, Mac said, "As near as I can tell, the only thing he had on him last night was his billfold."

"When did you last see him?" the Director wanted to know.

"We found ourselves at the same club last Friday night," Mac volunteered. "Then Thursday I was called to Excalibur to fix a PC and I heard him talking in one of the offices."

"And why were you meeting this evening?"

"We were going to take a look at The Jack of Clubs."

The Director nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Shouldn't we be watching Vic's house?" Li Ann broke the silence. "In case someone tries to make it look as if Vic has moved out."

The Director gave a predatory smile. "It's already been taken care of. If anyone goes near his house we shall know immediately."

"Is it bugged?"

Their boss shook her head. "No. Each of your apartments was chosen where a similar property was available nearby for a 'family' to move in. These families have been keeping an eye on your homes, watching for any signs of intruders, or indeed, anyone, trying to cover up the disappearance of any one of you. The fact that Victor appears to have become a target is a trifle surprising, but not entirely unexpected, since we had set all four of you up as targets.

"We have also activated a tracer the agency installed in Victor's car so that we will know if anyone tries to move it.

"In his last report to me, Victor mentioned that he had been sifting through the data you had retrieved from the personnel offices on the missing people. He had come up with one or two interesting statistics. It would appear that as well as membership of the leisure centre, each of the victims had at least one other thing in common. They all had their company medical at the Harper clinic, and in each case their forms were signed off by Dr. Patterson, and the company health insurance was arranged through the same broker's office."

Mac dropped his eyes and squirmed uncomfortably, remembering the ordeal of his medical with Dr. Patterson.

"Mr. Ramsey?"

He looked up to see the Director regarding him quizzically. "I had my medical with a Dr. Miranda Patterson. She was very— er— thorough."

"Yes, Victor mentioned her thoroughness in his report, as he'd also had his medical done by her."

Both Mac and the Director turned their eyes towards the two women as she asked, "Did either of you get to meet Dr. Patterson?"

Li Ann and Jackie shook their heads.

"Victor's disappearance could be totally unrelated, of course, but if it is related then we can't go around overtly looking for him. His biography says that he has cut all ties with his family. However, this could be a trial run to see if there is anyone who would miss him. It's possible that he could turn up sometime between now and Monday, with a perfectly reasonable explanation for his disappearance."

"I think it might be an idea if we took a look at Dr. Patterson's office," Mac offered.

"I agree," the Director replied, "But not during this weekend. If she is involved in any way we don't want to arouse her suspicions."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Mac asked, sounding a little desperate.

The Director steepled her fingers and contemplated her highly polished desk for a while.

"Everything that we can do is already being done. Dobrinsky is doing a discreet check of the hospitals in case he was caught up in the traffic accident that delayed your arrival at the Go Live. There weren't any deaths, but there were a lot of injuries, and not everyone has been identified yet. I know it's hard, but the best thing you can all do is go home and pretend that nothing has happened. I'll get in touch with you on the usual schedule as soon as I know any more."

Mac got to his feet and fetched himself a cup of water to hide his expression from the others. When he was sure he could talk without giving himself away, he said, "Okay. I guess there's nothing useful I can do here. So, unless there's anything else, I'll go home to bed."

"Good night, Mac, Li Ann, Jackie," the Director said, then the screen went dark.

"Good night." Mac flung the words over his shoulder as he left the room, leaving the two women to shut everything off. He went home and tried to get some sleep. It was going to be a long weekend...

Victor felt like shit. His head ached and when he opened his eyes he shut them again quickly. The light in the room stabbed into them, making his head worse. He groaned and lifted his right hand to cover his eyes, becoming aware that his whole body hurt as his muscles protested at the movement.

Leaving his hand shading his eyes, he cautiously lifted the lids to take a look at his surroundings. There was a IV line snaking down to his left arm, and it looked as if he was in a hospital room. But, if he was, then how had he got here?

He thought for a moment, then looked around for a nurse's button, Finding one lying on the bed near his head. He pressed it.

Almost immediately, his summons was answered. A nurse in a grey dress with pink piping came into his room. "Hello, Mr. Mansfield. How are you feeling?"

Victor grimaced. "I've got a headache and, it would seem, most of my body aches too."

"I'll tell the doctor you're awake and get some medication for you." She left before he could ask how he'd got here.

Five minutes later the nurse returned accompanied by a woman who was introduced as Dr. Leillard.

"It's good to see you awake, Mr. Mansfield," the doctor said.

"How did I get here?" Vic questioned her, determined to get his question in first.

"You don't remember?" Dr. Leillard looked concerned and checked his eyes.

Vic shook his head and winced.

The doctor took a syringe from the nurse and inserted it into the IV tubing. "That should help with your aches and pains," she said as she withdrew the empty syringe. "As to what happened, it's now Sunday evening. You were involved in a serious accident on Friday night and suffered a concussion. Your wallet and other personal effects are being held at the nurses station for you. If you need to contact anyone there's a phone on the night table you can use; dial nine for an outside line.

"As you've been unconscious for such a long time, we will be keeping you in for observation. If there are no other complications we'll see how you are tomorrow evening."

Vic frowned. He seemed to remember getting into a taxi Friday evening, but he was damned if he could remember anything else.

As if divining what he was thinking, Dr. Leillard patted his arm, saying, "Don't rush it. Memory usually returns, given time." She gave him a sympathetic smile, then left.

As much as he wanted to contact Mac to let him know what had happened Vic resisted the temptation, just in case he was being watched.

With the painkillers making him feel tired again, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

Just after nine the following morning, Victor phoned the office and left a message for Frank Prowse, telling him what had happened, that he didn't yet know when he was going to be released, and that he would be in touch again as soon as he knew any more.

Then he phoned the leisure centre and left a message for Jackie, telling her of the accident, and that because of it he wouldn't be working out that night. He added that he would contact her as soon as he left the hospital.

A short while later the nurse came in to change his IV bag.

"Do I still need that," he enquired. The needle in his arm was restricting his movement and beginning to get uncomfortable.

"Dr. Leillard said you still need hydrating, and she doesn't want you trying to move around yet." After changing the bag she put the television on for him, then left, saying she would be back before too long.

Vic watched the flickering screen for a while, then drifted back off to sleep.

On Monday evening when Mac and Li Ann arrived in the briefing room, they found the Director waiting for them in person. "Have either of you heard from Victor?" she asked as they approached the table.

They both shook their heads. "Jackie will be here soon. She hasn't had any messages from him either, so we're hoping that he will turn up for his workout this evening. If he does, she will tell him to come here. In case he was caught up in the accident, Dobrinsky spent the weekend touring the hospitals. He managed to get a look at all of the victims who had yet to be identified. Victor was not amongst them."

Li Ann studied her hands and Mac leaned back to look up at the ceiling, trying hard not to show how lost and scared he was feeling.

While they waited she studied their faces. Neither of them looked as if they had slept well over the weekend, and Mac looked particularly haggard. He was probably blaming himself for being late at their rendezvous.

The door opened and everyone looked towards the entrance. Jackie came in alone and sombrely took her place at the table. "After Vic missed his training slot, I went to reception and asked them to make sure that there hadn't been a message from him. Nothing."

The Director slid a slim file across the table towards Mac who was, as usual, sitting between the two women. "This is what we have on Dr. Miranda Patterson, so far. It gives her home address and where to find her office, though Mac already knows were that is. I've put people onto finding out more about her, clubs she belongs to, previous hospital positions. You may be able to add to this knowledge once you've had a look round her home and office." She paused, pleased to see her agents' gloom lighten a little at the prospect of doing something, then said, "A word of caution. Do not do anything which might compromise your position in the community. No grand-standing. I do not want Dr. Patterson, or anyone else, knowing that we are interested in her."

Recognizing a dismissal, the three subdued agents went downstairs to get ready.

Dobrinsky was already there, and when they entered the garage, he said. "I've packed everything you might need into the van, and I had a few special items sent to me from Toronto which might help."

"Thanks," Mac said, for once not even trying to needle the older man.

When they had changed into their dark clothing, they met back at the van, Jackie asked, "Where shall we go first?"

"Office," Li Ann replied quickly. "At this time of night a doctor in her position is more likely to be at home." She got into the driving seat and waited for the others to get inside before driving off towards the Harper Medical Centre.

Victor woke again, and looked around him. He appeared to be still in the same bed, in the same room, and much to his disappointment, still have the same headache. He moved his free arm to reach for the nurse's button and winced. He must really have wrenched his shoulder in the accident if he still felt this sore three days later.

The same nurse he'd seen the last time he'd been awake came in to answer the summons. He explained the problem to her and she promised to get the doctor.

About fifteen minutes later, just when Victor was thinking about pressing the call button again, Dr. Leillard arrived with the nurse in tow.

"I understand that you are still in pain, Mr. Mansfield," she said, picking up the chart from the bottom of the bed and studying it.

"Yes." Victor decided that nodding was superfluous, besides which, it hurt.

"In that case, we certainly won't be releasing you this evening. I did suspect that might be the case, so I booked you some time with our physiotherapist. I'll give you a mild analgesic for your headache, and get Lawrence to come along to see you as soon as possible." She accepted a syringe from the nurse and injected the contents into his arm. She then removed the IV needle and asked the nurse to take the stand away.

"Thanks." Victor murmured as the two women left the room. He drifted for a while and the headache was starting to abate when the door opened again and two muscular men came in, pushing a table hung about with towels and bags. The taller of the two came over to his side, while the other started setting up their equipment.

"Hello, my name's Lawrence Beck. Dr. Leillard has asked that I give you a massage to help get the blood moving around your joints again. Now just relax," he continued, as Vic made a move to sit up, "Maurie and I will do all the work, until your limbs have loosened up a bit, then, depending on how you feel, we might get you to do some gentle exercises. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." Beck turned away and adjusted the lighting so that the massage table they would be using was well lit. Then he and his assistant helped Victor to lie down on the table. Beck started the massage from his hands, and Maurice started on his feet. The aromatic oil they were using was quite strong and on top of the painkilling injection it made his head swim a bit.

The two masseurs had worked together for a long time and their practised movements soon made Victor feel a great deal better. Once the front was done, they turned Vic over. Beck took a small pillow out of a plastic bag and placed it under Victor's head to raise it slightly from the hard table, then they got on with the job of massaging the oil into Victor's back.

The doctors' consulting rooms were deserted when the trio of agents made their way into that part of the medical centre. Leaving Jackie to keep a look out, Mac and Li Ann went through Dr. Patterson's office with great care. Putting his anguish about Vic's disappearance on hold, Mac used all his skills to hack into the state-of-the-art PC sitting on the doctor's desk.

Most of what was on the PC was standard medical stuff, but he was intrigued by the fact that it had a second, very large, hard disk with video authoring software.

In the folder named 'Video' there was only one file at the top level: instructions.txt. He opened the file and found step by step instructions on how to start the cameras and software up. Following them, he was startled to see the examination room, which Li Ann was currently searching, come up on the monitor. He called her over to see what he had found. He then shut the cameras off, and they started searching the folders to see if any of the videos were still on the disk. They found five videos in all, and amongst them were the ones that Patterson had taken of Mac and Victor during their medicals.

Mac took a look at the rest of the instructions; they were on how to create a CD-ROM of the resulting video file. As much as he wanted to, he knew they didn't have time for him to actually follow the instructions, so he changed his line of inquiry to her email program, copying the contents of her Inbox, Sent Items, Contacts and Calendar for them to study later. When they had all of the data they could find, they collected Jackie and left the building as unobtrusively as they had arrived.

Since their temporary HQ was between the medical centre and Dr. Patterson's home, they stopped to give the data to Dobrinsky as they went past, so that experts could get started on analyzing it.

"Come on! Wake up!" Victor was shaken vigorously, and he moaned as he climbed from the depths of sleep. He tried to lift a hand to push whomever it was away, but his wrist seemed to he tethered at his waist. He tried to lift the other one, and felt a jerk at wrist and waist as he did so.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed, his eyes opening wide in shock.

Lawrence Beck grinned down at him. "Good, you're awake."

"Let me go," Victor demanded angrily, trying to kick out with his feet, only to find that they were chained up, too.

"Keep quiet!" Beck ordered.

"Why should I?"

Beck held his nose until he was forced to gasp for breath, then a ball was inserted into his mouth. "I shall only warn you this once," the man told him in a conversational tone. "Speak only when you are given permission or asked a question. If you disobey this rule you will wear this all the time. Do you understand?"

Victor nodded, his eyes flashing green fire, but he kept quiet when the ball-gag was removed.

Beck waited to see if was going to be obeyed, then said, "Maurice, Paul, whom you haven't met before, and I are going to be your trainers. We work on a reward system. If you obey orders you will be well treated. If you disobey you will be punished."

Deciding that with three men at least as well developed as he was controlling his movements, now was not the time to make any strenuous objections. He docilely allowed them to get him on his feet and got the first sight of himself in a full-length mirror. A leash in Beck's hand was attached to a black leather collar around his neck. A network of leather straps and chains ran over his body from ankles to shoulders, and his skin gleamed from the oil that had been rubbed into his skin earlier. The other two men each held tethers attached at shoulder and hip.

He took a step forward to ease the tension on his throat, and frowned as a object in his anus made its presence known.

Beck smiled as the captive wriggled, knowing full well what was causing the discomfort. His smile broadened as he took a remote control from his pocket and pushed the on button.

Victor's body twitched as the plug that had been inserted in his anus started to vibrate against his prostate, and his penis started to rise in response to the stimulation.

Having made sure that it was working, Beck switched the device off, then tugged lightly on the leash he was holding to start the captive moving. He led Victor along the corridor to a large room. The only light in the room was a spotlight trained on the lower portion of a metal column, where the three men chained him, then disappeared into the gloom.

Dr. Patterson's house was in darkness when they glided to a halt nearby. There hadn't been any alarms marked on the plans they had been given, but things could have changed since they had been drawn. Mac got out and walked around the outside to see if he tripped any sensor lights. Perhaps fortunately for his peace of mind, no lights caused him to seek cover, and he was able to verify that the house appeared to be deserted. He checked the garage; that too was empty.

Calling Li Ann, he opened the door and let them both inside, again leaving Jackie to warn them if it looked as if Dr. Patterson, or anyone else, might interrupt their search.

Another computer yielded yet more contacts, some club memberships complete with membership numbers. Again he downloaded everything he could find, while Li Ann looked around for any possible clues. A diary on Patterson's desk yielded some rather cryptic entries, which she painstakingly copied.

Feeling that there was nothing more to find, they left the house and went back to their HQ.

When they entered the briefing room, the Director and two men they hadn't seen before were waiting for them. They were introduced as Bill and Ben, the researchers that had been brought in from Toronto to deal with the data they had collected.

After they had passed over their latest haul, and Li Ann had pointed out the cryptic diary entries to the researchers, Bill and Ben had gone into another room to work.

The Director picked up a piece of paper, and said, "While you were out, I had someone go through Victor's file at Excalibur. According to a note dated today, Victor had phoned in to request emergency compassionate leave because his mother was ill. So we now have no doubts as to what happened to him." She paused and gave a tight smile, then said, "Now all we can do is wait until our analysts come up with the answer to where he is being held."

Victor was feeling very tired. The drugs still in his system, combined with being chained to the pillar for what seemed like hours, made standing upright difficult, yet sleeping in this position was not an option either. Twice he had dozed, and each time he had been woken by the pain in his shoulder muscles as they were forced to bear his whole weight.

He was almost asleep again when someone he couldn't see started to switch on spotlights illuminating other pillars. Then, a short time later, the rattle of chains heralded the arrival of eight more people, naked except for their chains. They were tethered to the lit pillars in the same way he was.

Some doors opened nearby and a chattering crowd of people entered the room. They wandered around the pillars, touching and probing the people chained to them, and Victor had a sudden vision of the annual horse sales where prospective owners went round the stables inspecting the horses before the bidding started.

He snarled a string of oaths and struggled against his chains when one expensively dressed man got overly familiar with his genitals, which startled the man into stepping away from him.

Beck grabbed him by the hair, glared at him, and shoved a whip in front of his eyes. "Keep still and be quiet, or you'll get a taste of this."

Victor glared back at him, but refrained from making any comment.

A gong sounded and Beck let go of him and faded back into the darkness as a tall woman dressed in white, Grecian-style robes came on to the stage.

She waited until the buzz of conversation died, then said, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Doulos Agora. You may have noticed we have an extra item not in your catalogue. In the past, many of you have asked us to include an agrios in our auctions. For those not familiar with the term, an agrios is a 'savage', or one who has not been subjected to any training. Which brings us to doulos number 62262. He was added to our collection on Friday night. If you would look at the screen to your left we have the usual style of promotional video of him being selected and tested."

Victor looked at the same screen as the audience and saw a video of his medical examination being shown. Enraged, he surged forward in his bonds, and shouted, "No-" He suddenly found the lash of the whip between his teeth, and he was pulled back to the pillar.

"Behave," Beck whispered in his ear.

His shout and the scuffle caused the audience to turn round to see the agrios fighting against the restraint.

Seething, but realizing that he was powerless to stop the show, Victor became still, and the audience turned back to the screen.

The second video clip showed the medical from a different angle; the third, obviously taken after his acquisition, showed him caught up in the rope web of a posing frame. His unconscious body was twisted this way and that to show off his muscles and other attributes.

Victor growled around the leather gag. No wonder his muscles had burned if that was what they had done to him while he'd been unconscious.

The screen then reverted to showing a live picture of Victor chained to the pillar, his nipple rings catching the light as be breathed.

"As you can see, he was kept sedated for the last part of the display. To fill in the last details missing from the catalogue, he is six foot one inch tall, has brown hair and green eyes. The bidding will start at the normal opening price of twenty-five thousand Canadian dollars,"

"I'll start the bidding," the man whom Victor had snarled at earlier, called out.

The woman on stage had already started to walk towards the opposite end of the line of pillars, obviously intending to start the auction from that end. She turned towards the speaker with a raised eyebrow. "I don't..."

"Thirty!" A voice from another part of the room interrupted her.

Recognizing that the buyers were obviously very interested in the agrios, she plastered a smile on her face and walked to the pillar where Victor was chained. "Any advance on thirty?" she asked as she stopped beside the angry man.

"Thirty-five," the first man spoke up again.

A flurry of bids came from all sides, pushing the price higher and higher. The pace finally slowed when price topped two-hundred thousand, and the number of bidders had dwindled when twice that was reached. The original bidder was still in, seemingly determined to buy the man who had sworn at him, and it was he who had the winning bid of seven-hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

As soon as he had been declared the winner, the man, called Mr. Black by the auctioneer, walked up to the desk at the front of the stage to pay for his purchase. Taking out a palm pilot, he transferred the money from one Swiss bank account to another. A few minutes later the transfer of money was confirmed on the auctioneer's laptop.

When the transaction had been completed, Mr. Black was given a key tag, with a set of keys dangling from it.

Beck's two assistants helped get Victor ready. They put pads over his eyes, held in place by a loop of elasticised material. The whip was removed from his mouth and a ball gag was inserted in its place, then they released the locks which had held him fast to the pillar.

Rendered completely helpless by the blindfold, and unable to register any vocal protest, Victor was forced to allow himself to be manhandled off the stage and led out of the auction room.

As they approached the elevator, Beck broke the silence. "Do you want to take him straight to your car, Mr. Black?" he asked, glowering at the captive.

Black looked speculatively at him, then at his new acquisition. "Perhaps a little chastisement first. It will give him something to think about on the journey to his new home."

Beck took them up one floor, and into one of the bedrooms. He expertly tied Victor to what look like a low vaulting horse, removed the blindfold and gag, then went to one of the closets and took out a suede cat-o'-nine-tails. He trailed the suede strips across the closed eyes, then down the exposed back and muscular legs. Then he struck a hard blow across Victor's shoulders. Satisfied with his aim, Beck rained further blows down on the tanned body, working his way down the back to the tops of the thighs, then turned his attention back to the ass. His concentration on the task was suddenly shattered when a cold, round object was pressed into his neck.

"Enough," a cold, female voice stated, and the whip was taken from his grasp.

The two men turned and found themselves facing a tall red-headed woman, accompanied by four men dressed in black from head to toe, training automatic pistols at them. The four black dressed men efficiently searched and cuffed their two prisoners, reading them their rights as they did so. Then, after giving the set of keys to the woman, they hustled the two captives away.

The Director looked admiringly at the body laid out before her, stroking her hand up from his ass to his shoulder, then, starting from his ankles, she used the keys to release him from his bonds.

Victor stood up and stretched, working the kinks out of his back, arms and legs, trying to ignore the appraising looks he was receiving from the Director.

"We found Victor's things..." Jackie, carrying a clear plastic bag, bounced into the room, then stopped. "Oh my..." she breathed, catching sight of Victor mid-stretch.

The Director took the bag from Jackie, handed it over to Victor, and led the ex-mob queen back out of the room.

Victor took the nipple rings off, grabbed a quick shower to rid himself of the oil, and got dressed. When he left the room he found the Director leaning against the corridor's wall beside the door.

"Where did all the men with guns come from?" he asked.

"Mostly from the RCMP. Captain Taylor was only too pleased to provide a strike force. Kidnapping people is frowned on; selling them into slavery... Well, they are looking at some very, very long prison sentences." She tucked her arm through Victor's and guided him out of the building to where his partners were waiting in the van. They both climbed inside and Mac drove them all back to the HQ.

Back in the briefing room, the Director smiled at her best team seated across the table from her. "Well done boys and girls, I'm very pleased that we managed to solve this case so quickly. You'll be pleased to know that Christian Fawcett was amongst those we rescued tonight. We have found masses of documentary evidence that will put the slave ring out of business, permanently.

"Victor, your car has been recovered from the warehouse it was taken too, and is being delivered directly to your house.

"Now, so that you are not identified as being part of the investigation team, we are going to practice a strategic withdrawal. All record of Victor as doulos number 62262 has been erased. "Mr. Black" and Lawrence Beck, the only ones who really know that Victor isn't on his way to the Middle East, are in the Agency's care and will be dealt with by us. Victor will return to work on Wednesday, and I have arranged for him to be 'recruited' by the Government department which temporarily employed the two Excalibur contractors. His secondment will become permanent, and Excalibur will be compensated.

"Li Ann will tell the employment agency that she has found a permanent job, and will be moving away. Jackie, your contract at the leisure centre doesn't expire until the end of October; you will rejoin us in Toronto then. Mac will give his notice in, giving the excuse that he wants to move back to Toronto. They may let you leave this week, or you may have to wait until the end of next. Either way, you can move in with Victor until you have both been released by your respective employers. The surveillance teams we had in place are being withdrawn tonight."

Victor tried to smother a yawn.

"Mac, take Victor home." she ordered.

Mac nodded, and led the older man out of the briefing room and back to his car. On the drive to his house Victor remained silent, leaning back in his seat, trying to ignore the discomfort he was experiencing.

When they arrived outside the house, Victor said, "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Mac got out of the car and followed his partner into the house and upstairs to the main bedroom. He watched as Victor started to undress, and got his first look at the marks left on Victor's skin by the whipping he'd received. He went over to stand beside Vic as he divested himself of the last of his clothes. "Are you all right?"

Victor shrugged. "Yeah, I'll survive. My back is a bit uncomfortable at the moment, that's all."

Mac thought about that statement for a moment. Then, after quickly stripping himself, he laid down on his back in bed and held his arms out to the other man.

Victor needed no further invitation, he crawled under the bedclothes and snuggled into Mac's arms. Resting his cheek on his lover's shoulder, he sighed contentedly and drifted off to sleep.

Alone in her office, the Director sat watching the surveillance tapes of Victor, which had been confiscated from the offices next to the auction room. There was quite a pile, each with #62262 written on the label. The originals of the medical, and the final version where they had been edited together; videos of after he had been captured, and his body being displayed.

There was also a nice one of both Vic and Mac in a hotel room. The lighting was a bit low, but they seemed to be enjoying it; this was no cold-hearted exhibition for the camera, and she couldn't help wondering if that was what they were doing right at this minute. She made a mental note to get a camera installed.

When it came to an end, she replayed the one she had enjoyed most. Victor getting his ass spanked by a woman, in a private room somewhere. She gave a predatory smile as she watched the woman's hand descend on to the reddened ass, and murmured "Oh Victor, how cute, if only I'd known before..."

It was late when they woke again, for neither of them had given any thought to setting the alarm. Mac looked at the time and decided to phone in sick. He told them that he had been up all night, and that he would be back the following day.

Meanwhile, Victor had stiffly got out of bed and gone into the bathroom, hoping that a hot shower would loosen his muscles and make him feel better. He was still standing under the hot spray when Mac joined him.

Mac picked up the sponge, liberally coated it with shower soap, and started to wash the still figure. He was pleased to note that Victor's back was looking almost normal, no longer the angry red it had been when they had gone to bed. When he was done, he took Victor into his arms and kissed him. Victor melted into his arms, but then his stomach grumbled. He pulled back and laughed.

"I guess I'd better get something to eat," Vic murmured softly, "I can't remember when I last had a proper meal."

"Didn't they feed you?"

"Sort of. I had an IV line in my arm for most of the time."

Feeling very angry on Victor's behalf, Mac pulled his partner out of the shower cubicle and wrapped him in a warm towel, then grabbed one from the cupboard for himself.

Dr.essed in jeans and T-shirts, they went downstairs to the kitchen. Victor got Mac to make the coffee and cut some thick slices of bread. While Mac was doing that, Victor took a lasagne out of the freezer and popped it in the microwave. He took the bread and made garlic toast, got some prepared salad out of the fridge, and by the time the lasagne was ready, they had everything else laid out on the table.

After brunch, and after he'd finished putting away the last of the dishes, Victor went over to stand in front of Mac. Pulling the other man's arms around him he said, "Now where were we?"

Mac grinned and kissed him wetly on the nose. "I believe I was going to take you to bed..."

Vic wiped his wet nose on the side of Mac's neck. "In that case, perhaps we'd better go back

upstairs... "

Mac needed no further encouragement. He peeled himself away, then grasped one of Vic's hands and made his way into the bedroom with his lover following close on his heels.

Vic went into the adjoining bathroom, saying, "I'll get the supplies." Once he was hidden from view, he lifted his T-shirt to put the nipple rings back in, then retrieved a small pouch from his washbag. Back in the bedroom he emptied the contents of the pouch onto the night table on the right hand side of the bed. Then, his eyes sparkling with anticipation, he shed his clothes and lay down in the centre of the bed, ignoring the slight discomfort that was a carry-over from the whipping he had received the night before.

The erotic sight of Victor splayed across the bed halted Mac in his tracks. His eyes feasted on the long, narrow feet, then travelled up the muscled legs to the already half-erect cock in its nest of curls. Unconsciously he licked his lips. Tearing his eyes away, his gaze moved up the broad chest so fetchingly adorned with gold rings, past the partly open, moist, pink lips, until finally meeting sparkling green eyes.

Victor smiled and held out a hand to him.

Mac responded the only way he could. He growled deep in this throat, scrambled on to the bed, and fastened his lips over Vic's while his hands roamed over the tanned skin. Encountering one of the rings, he pulled back slightly, then gave each nipple a swipe with his tongue.

"I like these, Vic." He tugged gently on one with his teeth and felt Vic's cock twitch against his thigh in return. "I like these very much."

"I bought them just for you," Vic replied, his husky voice sending a rush of blood to Mac's groin to join that already filling his erection.

Mac lifted himself away from the other man. Every little thing about Vic turned him on, and he had really wanted to be deep inside him before he came. Reaching over, he picked up the lube and a condom. Preparing Vic was the work of moments, his anus, still slack from wearing the butt plug for hours the night before, needed little persuasion to open up for Mac's lubricated fingers to slide inside. He ran his fingers over Vic's prostate and watched, fascinated, as his body arched up off the bed, and some pearly drops of pre-come leaked from the tip of the now fully erect cock. He leaned forward and caught the liquid on his tongue before it could reach the nest of curls. Then he pulled back, rolled a condom on himself, lifted Vic's legs on to his shoulders and thrust himself deep inside his lover, unable to contain his need any longer. Setting a steady rhythm, he jerked Vic off in time with his thrusts, and as Victor's seed sprayed across them both, he came deep inside his lover.

Panting, he somehow found the strength to withdraw and discard the condom, before rolling on his back and pulling Vic into his arms.

Sometime later, Mac murmured sadly, "I'm going to miss this when we go back to Toronto."

Vic sighed, then replied, "Don't worry about it, I'll find some way for us to be together..."

"Mmmm, good..."

Content and sated, they slept.

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