Heading Down The Long Road chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Heading Down The Long Road (the 4th book in The Long Road series) is up. You can find the chapter here.

If you have not read the first 3 chapters yet, you can find them here.

Here's a little preview of what you'll find:

The next morning as they lounged in bed, Dave noticed a series of scars dotting Greg’s back. “Wow, you have a lot of scars. Are they what I think they are?”

“If you think they’re bullet-hole scars, you’re right, seventeen in all, covering my chest, back, stomach and legs.”

“I read that you had been shot in the line of duty, but I didn’t know you were shot so many times.”

“Yep, seventeen times.” Greg reiterated, wishing he hadn’t when he saw the wounded expression on Dave’s face. “I was in the hospital for seven months, three of which were spent in intensive care. Both lungs were punctured and my spleen and right kidney had to be removed, as did part of my stomach and small intestine. The doctors gave me about a ten-percent chance of survival. I got lucky.”

A tear escaped Dave’s left eye. “Oh, God, baby. I wish I had known you then. I would have been by your side every step of the way taking care of you however I could.” He slowly traced the scar on Greg’s hip. “What about this? Where's this from?”

“It’s from the same shooting incident. My left leg was badly shattered and my right hip was basically turned into a baby rattle. It took me fourteen months to be able to walk again. I can run, but not nearly as fast as I used to be able to. The doctors told me that it was unlikely that I’ll ever do a hundred-yard dash in nine-point-five seconds again. The Boston PD wanted to give me either a desk job or a medical retirement, but I didn’t want either, so I worked my ass off to regain as much of my mobility as I could.”

Dave gently caressed Greg’s ass and leg.

“Mmm, that feels good. Keep it up, though, and you might wake the sleeping giant.” He murmured, referring to his more than generous endowment. “Oops, too late” He lazily turned over, revealing his rapidly filling dick.

“I still can’t believe I had that monster all the way inside me.” He said, slightly in awe.

Blog special of the day: Gay Cruise Flash Fiction

Today, in celebration of Gay Pride Month, the Wednesday Briefers have come together to write a series of Flash Fiction stories set on a gay cruise on the Queen Bee. Each of us have our own characters, plus a host of secondary characters and settings that will be shared among the various stories. All of these will be posted throughout the day on the Beth Wylde's Yahoo Group.

Check it out. There you can chat with the Wednesday Briefers (most of whom have multiple best-sellers published...M.A. Church, Rob Colton, Julie Lynn Hayes, Alicia (Cia) Nordwell, Jon Keys and many others). There will also be contests and giveaways.

Many thanks to Cia and Julie for their awesome editing on my flash fic. That being said, please enjoy my flash fic, Handi-capable which, at some point in the not-too-distant future will be expanded into a full length short-story.

Handi-Capable

Eric Jones cursed as he looked at himself in the mirror, trying to decide whether to shave the forest of red hair off his torso or not. Damn this complexion of mine. I can never get a decent tan. All I ever do is burn. Fucking red-headed, green-eyed bastard! Since all he was going to do was go to the lounge for a few drinks and listen to the entertainment, he decided against shaving and simply got dressed in a pair of snug dress jeans and a cobalt-blue button-down shirt. Combing his hair, he declared himself ready and headed out.

The lounge was crowded, but he managed to snag a table in the corner next to a small stage. “Can I get a vodka cranberry with a splash of orange juice please?” he asked the perky, attractive cocktail waitress. As he sipped his drink, he turned his mind inward. Why did I let those idiots I call friends talk me into taking a cruise on the gay version of the Love Boat? What a waste of time. Looking around the lounge at all of the happy couples, his thoughts turned bitter. How can I get over breaking up with Chad when all I see are happy couples? Three years. Three fucking years. I thought he loved me for me, not my wealth. Obviously he didn’t, since he demanded I buy him a Porsche or he was going to leave me.

After they were together for a little over two years, Eric decided to tell his boyfriend who he really was. Eric Vincent Johnson III, son of a multi-billionaire. He did his best to hide his true identity by living way below his means, three states away from his family, in a simple two-bedroom apartment. He volunteered as an orderly in a local hospital. Only his two best friends, Tommy and Sandy, knew who he really was. They didn’t care if he was rich or not. They liked him for who he was.

Suddenly, the lights slowly went out in the crowded seating area. In fact, there were only two open seats in the entire lounge, both at his table. Eric jumped about fifty feet in the air at an unexpected tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see a petite blond woman in uniform standing over him. Remembering his manners, he immediately stood.

“Hi, I’m Lisa, the cruise director.”

“It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Eric. Would you like to have a seat?” He smiled warmly as he shook her hand gently.

“No, but thank you. I’m here to ask a favor of you. Do you see that man standing over there?” She pointed to a man standing off to one side of the room. “He has a bad hip and can’t stand very long. Would you be so kind as to allow him to sit at your table?”

I hope this isn’t a matchmaking attempt. I’m not looking for Mr. Right, or even Mr. Right Now, he thought. Remembering what his grandmother went through when she broke her hip and had to have it replaced, his innate compassion kicked in. “Of course. Bring him over.”

A spotlight lit up a corner of the room where a man appeared. Without realizing it, Eric started checking him out. He appeared to be about six-foot two-inches and in good shape. He had shoulder-length jet black hair and emerald green eyes, flawless olive skin, and a perpetual five o’clock shadow. When he smiled, adorable dimples adorned his face. “Hi, I’m Anton. I’ll be entertaining you for a little while. I’d like to start by taking you all somewhere this cruise can’t take you.”

At that moment, Julie reappeared with the slightly limping man in tow. “Eric, this is Jim. Jim, Eric.” The two men shook hands and exchanged pleasantries as Julie left them alone.

Eric groaned as the opening measures of “Over The Rainbow” began to play. Oh great, he thought. Another Judy Garland wannabe. His distaste quickly took a backseat to his fascination with the quality of Anton’s voice, which held him mesmerized throughout the entire performance. ‘The Impossible Dream’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘500 Miles’, ‘Exodus’, ‘A Time For Us’, all songs that formerly belonged to his parents, were his now. Wow. I could listen to him sing all day.

Two wonderful hours later, Anton announced, “I’d like to close the show with a song I personally feel would be an awesome National Anthem.” This announcement was followed by the most incredible rendition of ‘America the Beautiful’ Eric had ever heard. He found himself in agreement. It would indeed make an awesome National Anthem. Eric found himself chanting “Encore! Encore!” with just about everyone in the room. Anton came back out and brought the house down with a song he’d sung many times during his time with the Air Force Travelling Entertainment Showcase, ‘Tops In Blue’. By the time he finished singing “God Bless The USA” there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

“Wow. That was incredible. He’s fantastic. I wonder if he has any CDs available.” Eric was totally in awe.

“I don’t know. Excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.” Jim left and came back a few minutes later and handed him a CD. “Here. This is for letting me share your table.”

Eric accepted the CD, saying, “You didn’t need to do this, but thank you.” It was strange being on the receiving end of a gift. The two men chatted the afternoon and evening away; enjoying dinner and getting to know each other. Jim seemed completely genuine, open, and down-to-earth. Eric found himself becoming attracted to the other man, an attraction that appeared to be mutual.

“Tomorrow we dock at Hawaii. Would you like to tour the island with me?”

“I’d love to, but I’m not sure how much walking I can do with my hip.”

“We can worry about that tomorrow.”

“It’s a date.”

Sunday's the big day!

Kinda-sorta-maybe-weekly book review

I've just posted my latest kinda-sorta-maybe-weekly book review (I really need to work om posting them more regularly).

This review covers the Galactic Conspiracies series from Rob Colton, which includes The Degan Incident and The Cassini Mission which, in my opinion, are absolute must reads.

You can find the review here.

Wednesday brief - Love Across Time chapter 13

 Chapter 13 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 13:

“This isn’t over. Not by a long shot.” Duncan growled.

“I don’t understand. Ryan’s dead Duncan. There’s nothing more we can do.”

“There’s something I can do. If I have to do it myself, I’ll go back in time and prevent Ryan from being attacked in the first place.”

“Can you really do that?”

“Legally, no, but try and stop me!” He grabbed his CompCom and called Liam. "Liam, set travellator 3 to the date in Evans' obituary and the geographic coordinates to the woods Ryan described behind the Evans property. Send Connor back to confirm the obituary. I wouldn't put those three hags on the tribunal to have manufactured the obit. Prepare travellator 4. Set the geographic coordinates for my basement and the temporal coordinates for noon, three days ago. Have Aisha get me a prison guard uniform and credentials."

"Boss, what are you up to?"

"Getting the truth and preventing the attack on Ryan, no matter how many fucking trips back in time I have to take."

Heading Down The Long Road chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Heading Down The Long Road (the 4th book in The Long Road series) is up. You can find the chapter here.

If you have not read chapter 1 or 2 yet, you can find them here.

Here's a little preview of what you'll find:

The alarm rang, waking Greg out of a sound sleep, the best he’d had in a long time. As he became aware of his surroundings, he realized that he was naked and spooned up against an equally naked man, his morning erection nestled snuggly between the man’s butt-cheeks. Okay, I must have gotten really shitfaced last night. Where the hell am I and who am I in bed with? When the alarm was finally silenced, he sat up and looked over at the man lying next to him and memories of the previous night came flooding back. Holy shit! I just spent the night with the Deputy Mayor. I’m really in a world of shit now with that dickhead captain of mine. As if those thoughts were projected directly into his brain, Dave stirred and rolled over to face Greg.

“Good morning, baby. Sleep well?”

“Better than I have in a very long time.” He bent down and gave Dave a kiss then laid back down with his head on Dave’s shoulder. “You know, I’m going to be in a world of shit when my captain finds out about my transfer, and that I went to you instead of him.”

“You have nothing to worry about. I came to you, remember? Actually, as I recall, I didn’t give you any choice. Besides, you don’t even have to go back to your former” he paused to allow the word ‘former’ to sink in “precinct. You have to go to the Commissioner’s office to get your transfer paperwork, and if I know him, he already has a new partner lined up for you, someone who will more than make up for your last partner. The Commissioner’s secretary will forward the transfer papers to your old precinct.”

“I still have to go back and clean out my locker.”

You can do that anytime, and if you want, I’ll go with you.” He started giggling. “Can you imagine the look on that asshole Jenkins’ face if you and I walked into his office to hand-deliver your transfer paperwork holding hands? He’d shit his pants for sure.”

Greg was silent for a few moments then started laughing. “Let’s do it. Let’s walk into Jenkins’ office with my transfer paperwork holding hands.”

“Are you sure that’s what you want to do? You’ll be outing yourself to everybody there. Everyone already knows that I’m gay.”

“Absolutely! I could give two shits what they all think about me. I want, no, I need to come out of the closet. I’m so sick of living a double life, of watching every word I say and having to remember to switch pronouns even in the most basic of conversations. I’m tired of being alone. I want to find a man that I can spend the rest of my life with, and I can’t do that if I’m in the closet, constantly looking over my shoulder.”

Dave was silent as he digested what Greg had said. Finally, he spoke quietly. “And where do I fit into the equation?”

 “What do you mean, where do you fit into the equation?”

“Exactly what I just said.”

Wednesday brief - Love Across Time Chapter 12

 Chapter 12 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 12:

Doctor Thomas’s brows furrowed as he examined Ethan’s chart. “Michelle,” he said to the attending ICU nurse, “why aren’t there any recent notations of seizures from Ethan Evans.”

The nurse took the chart from the doctor and examined it carefully. “It would appear that they have stopped. I personally haven’t seen any kind of seizure activity.” She sat at one of the computers and typed in a few commands. “The EEG log shows no seizure activity of any kind for the last two days. Wait a minute…” She glanced at the chart again. “Kea, can you come over here and take a look at this for a minute?” She asked one of the Neurology Technicians. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“I see that this patient shows no sign of any neurological disorder in the past 48 hours. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Yes!” She practically yelled. “Doctor Thomas, Ethan Evans’ seizures stopped approximately 3 days after you discontinued his HIV medications.” She looked expectantly at Kea.

“While I’m not a neurologist, it looks to me that all of his neurological functions are completely normal. Doctor Morris is the neurologist on call today. Let me get a hold of her and ask her to check it out. She can access these monitors remotely from her office.” Kea went to make the call while Doctor Thomas continued to peruse Ethan’s chart.

Just then a micro-cellular specialist, Rob walked into the ICU. “Ah, Phil, I’m glad you’re here. Here are the results of the micro-cellular scan you requested on,” he paused to confirm the patient’s name, “Ethan Evans. It’s very peculiar.” He flipped through the papers he brought with him until he located the one he wanted. “I haven’t put this into the computer yet. We’re rerunning the scans to be sure, but there are two protein markers in his cells that I’ve never seen before. Their composition is completely unknown.” Rob handed the paper over to the doctor.

“You’re right. This looks like something you’d see on Star Trek.” Doctor Thomas agreed.

They were interrupted by the sound of a CompCom unit beeping. Doctor Thomas pulled the unit out of his pocked, swiped the screen and the image of the on-call neurologist filled the tiny screen. “Alicia. Let me guess why you’re calling. Ethan Evans.”

Doctor Alicia Morris, one of the top neurologists in her field, un-customarily dispensed with any pleasantries. “Phil, what in hell is going on with your patient? From the day he was admitted until about two days ago, he suffered from almost non-stop tonic-colonic seizures. Since two days ago he’s been seizure free. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Guest authors blog

Hi, everyone,

I have set up a separate blog for my guest authors, which has a link to it on the top of the page.

I will still continue to host the guests on the main blog, but I will also copy their blog entry to a separate page on the Honored Guest Authors blog to make it easier to find them.

I welcome anyone and everyone (still waiting on a certain author to get back to me, hint, Hint, BIG HINT - you know who you are) to come visit me.

June 29th appearance

On June 29th, I will have the incredibly awesome honor of joining multiple-best-selling authors Julie Lynn Hayes, MA Church, Alicia Nordwell, Rob Colton, Jo Hayan, Tali Spencer, Andrew Q. Gordon and many others from the Wednesday Briefers group in a chat and presenting a series of gay cruise-themed flash (500-1000 word) stories.

This is an incredible honor for me to be included in such a prestigious group. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Wednesday Briefers, for including me, and special thanks to Michelle, Cia and Julie for your support and encouragement.

I love you all.

Blog face lift part 3

All of the story blogs have been updated to the new format.

I've added a new section, Projects I'm working on, which will be updated within the next few days.

Stay tuned... :)

Blog face lift, part 2

Continuing with the blog face lift, the Continuing Down The Long Road (book 2) is now completed.

On to Aaron's Journey Down The Long Road (book 3)

Blog face lift

As you can see, I'm in the process of giving my blogs a face lift.

Each story blog will have links at the top of the page to the home blog page, the Wednesday briefs blog page and the other The Long Road series books blogs.

In addition, each story blog will have a "table of contents", and each chapter will have links to the Previous chapter (if applicable), the table of contents and the Next chapter (if applicable) pages.

Currently, the Wednesday Briefs and The Long Road (book 1) blog pages have been updated. Over the next few days, the Continuing Down The Long Road (book 2), Aaron's Journey Down The Long Road (book 3) and Heading Down The Long Road (book 4) blog pages will be updated.

For those of you who may be in the middle of reading a story, these updates will not affect any of the current links, so you may continue your reading without interruption.

I hope you all like the new changes. I think it makes the blogs look a lot better and easier to navigate.

Love Across Time chapter 11

 Chapter 11 of my Wednesday briefs story, Love Across Time is now up. You can read it by clicking here.

If you have just come across my blog and would like to read the entire story, you can click here to get to the Wednesday briefs page.

Here is a sneak peek at what you'll find in chapter 11:

 

Liam knocked on Duncan’s office door. “Got a minute?”

Duncan sighed and looked up from his computer screen. “Sure. What’s up?”

Liam shuffled through some of the papers he was carrying and selected one, laying on Duncan’s desk. “Since Ryan’s tribunal, I’ve been pouring over the timeline logs to see if there was something -anything- there that could help him. I found something very curious. Look at this log chart. The current timeline skew started back in the 1980s and has been skewing continuously.”

“Why didn’t our equipment pick it up?”

“Our equipment can only sense radical skews in the timeline. This skew has been gradual up until recently when we finally detected it.”

“Explain that one more time,” Duncan said, puzzled as he looked over the charts.

Liam tapped the chart, tracing the red line which gradually move upwards as it traveled across the page. Black vertical lines indicated the years as they were passed. “I have no clue what’s causing this, but if I were to hazard a guess I’d say we have a temporal causality loop on our hands.”

“Unfortunately, because the effect precedes the cause, they’re hard to pinpoint, let alone prove. This could possibly help Ryan. Find out everything you can about this and let me know as soon as you have something.”

Just then Duncan’s secretary burst into the room visibly upset. “I just got a call from the prison warden.”

“Oh jeez, now what?”

“It’s Ryan. He’s been raped, stabbed several times and beaten. He’s in critical condition.”

Heading Down The Long Road chapter 2

Chapter 2 of the 4th book of The Long Road series, Heading Down The Long Road, is now online. Click here to read it. Here's a little teaser of what you'll find...

Several months later he received a call in the weapons cage, instructing him to report to the desk sergeant. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, Peters. I need you to go to the Kyle Matthews residence, 3479 Cedar Oak Drive and find out if he wishes to press charges against Corey Collins for assault stemming from an incident that happened at the County General Cafeteria two days ago. Here’s the paperwork on the case. Take patrol car 217. Here’re the keys.”

“Okay. I’ll head right on over there.”

Officer Peters arrived at Kyle’s house a few minutes later and rang the doorbell. “Officer Peters. What can I do for you?”

“I need to speak to you for a couple of minutes. May I come in?”

“Sure. Come on in. Can I get you anything to drink, water, coffee, iced tea?” Kyle asked, ever the thoughtful host.

“I’d love some tea, thank you. Nice place you have here.”

Kyle froze momentarily when he heard that phrase, remembering the last time he heard those words from a stranger in his living room. He nervously handed the officer a glass of iced tea. Noting his nervousness, the officer reassured him. “Relax, Mister Matthews. I just need to talk with you about the incident that happened two days ago at the hospital.”

“Sorry. The day I was raped the guy said the same thing you did about my house. It just brought back a painful memory.”

Officer Peters placed a hand lightly on Kyle’s arm. “I’m so sorry. The last thing I want to do is cause you any discomfort.” There was no doubting the sincerity in his voice.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?”

“The man you got into the altercation with is attempting to file assault charges against you. According to him, you kicked him in the groin several times.”

Guest author - Jon Keys

Today I have the honor and privilege of welcoming Jon Keys to my blog.

Jon is the author of one of my favorite books, Heart of the Pines. Here's a little blurb from Heart of the Pines:

Christmas is the worst time of the year to find yourself alone. Chris Moss, owner of a tree farm, knows this down to his bones as he makes his way through his first holiday season after losing his wife to cancer. When Wade Hart, an annual customer at the farm, visits, they find common ground: Wade lost his own longtime lover to a parting of ways and is lonely too. The constant, gentle companionship provides fertile soil for an attraction neither expects, but nurturing a new relationship is a tough proposition. With the encouragement of family and friends, Chris and Wade may yet find that a second love later in life can be just as fulfilling as the first.

I highly recommend this heartwarming and enchanting book.

Welcome, Jon! Thanks for visiting.

Crossfire

Hi Jim, thanks for letting me visit! I’m really excited about the release of Crossfire as part of Men in Uniform anthology from Torquere Press. I had decided to make 2014 my year to try out some short stories. I was excited when I found the Torquere Press call for Men in Uniform. I mean, look at the cover, they’re hot!

~ Jon ~

blurb

Rick Anthis, a forty-five year old veteran of the Colorado State Police, and his husband, Gabriel Thorkelson, a deputy sheriff in a nearby county, enjoy the peace of their suburban Boulder home. Until three gunshots rip through the tranquil neighborhood and Rick witnesses the kidnapping of his buddy, eight year old Jacob.

The clues are sparse until Gabe reminds Rick of something Jacob had said. Rick has a starting point. He and his CSI team locate the remote hideout, only to find the the kidnappers are gone, and Gabe is missing too.

Excerpt from Crossfire.

Rick dried the last dish and handed it to Gabriel to put away. Gabriel settled the last plate into the white cabinets. He loved their house and the quiet, older neighborhood it was in. He hoped Mark and Rachel could work out their issues, keeping Jacob in the forefront.

Rick put his hand around Gabriel's slender waist. He's as sexy as he was in college. Damn just being next to him makes me randy. Releasing Gabriel, Rick folded the dishtowel carefully and laid it beside the sink. "Supper was great. You're a damn fine cook."

Gabriel snickered and spun to pop Rick with a wet towel. "It should taste good. Your mother gave me herbs from her garden the last time we visited."

"Mom's just trying to fatten me up. I'm kind of skinny for a forty-three year old Greek man."

The towel snapped against Rick's butt again and he grabbed at it. Gabriel danced away, his face lit with delight. "Where does that leave me?"

Rick swept Gabriel up and kissed him. "It leaves you in my arms, just where you should be."

Rick paused as he remembered the note in his pocket. Leaving his hand on the small of Gabriel's back he reached in his shirt pocket and fished out a small piece of yellow paper. He gripped it between two fingers and dangled the sheet in front of Gabriel.

"Speaking of, I found another note in my lunch."

Gabriel studied the symbols on the page as if he'd never seen them. "Huh, what do you think that means?"

Rick smiled. "I know what it's meant the last dozen times I found one in my lunch."

"Really? And what was that?"

"It meant I was going to be exhausted the whole next day."

"You don't say. Let me see that." Gabriel took the paper from Rick's hand and appeared to study the content. "Looks like Native American symbols. Hmm, maybe 'bear' and 'hunt'." He smiled at Rick with a glimmer in his eyes. "Are we going on a bear hunt this fall?" Gabriel reached up and tugged on the short hair coming from the top of Rick's T-shirt. The slight touch shifted his libido into high gear.

He nuzzled his face against Gabriel's throat and sighed at the spicy fragrance that curled through his nostrils. Rick slid his hand under Gabriel's shirt; the rub of his chest hair on Rick's palm ignited his desire. "What's the sign for otter? Because I think I need to hunt one of those little furry things." I still can't believe Mom gave Gabe my Eagle Scout pictogram project.

eBook Link:

Torquere Press

Amazon

All Romance

Bio:

Jon Keys’ earliest memories revolve around books; with the first ones he can recall reading himself being “The Warlord of Mars” and anything with Tarzan. (The local library wasn’t particularly up to date.) But as puberty set in he started sneaking his mother’s romance magazines and added the world of romance and erotica to his mix of science fiction, fantasy, and comic books.

A voracious reader for almost half a century, Jon has only recently begun creating his own flights of fiction for the entertainment of others. Born in the Southwest and now living in the Midwest, Jon has worked as a ranch hand, teacher, computer tech, roughneck, designer, retail clerk, welder, artist, and, yes, pool boy; with interests ranging from kayaking and hunting to painting and cooking, he draws from a wide range of life experiences to create written works that draw the reader in and wrap them in a good story.

E-mail: jon.keys@ymail.com

Blog: http://jonkeys.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jon.keys.773

Twitter: @Jon4Keys

Heading Down The Long Road chapter 1

Chapter 1 of the 4th book of The Long Road series, Heading Down The Long Road, is now online.

Welcome, everyone to the latest installment of my The Long Road series. This is book 4 (for those who read the original manuscript, The Long Road was split into The Long Road (book 1) and Continuing Down The Long Road (book 2) due to it's length).

Some of you will no doubt notice a lot of similarities between Heading Down The Long Road chapter 1 and The Long Road chapter 16. They are very similar, but the events are being told from two different character's perspectives.

Please feel free to leave comments, questions, suggestions or feedback in the comments section. You may also contact me directly at playmaster0023@yahoo.com. It may take a couple of days for me to respond, but I will definitely respond.
  
Click here to read chapter 1. Here's a little teaser of what you'll find...

Okay, the lunch dishes are done, there’s a load in the washer. Should I mow the lawn or should I prepare my letter of resignation? I know the Mayor wanted me to succeed him, but I’m fed up with the petty politics and being stonewalled every time I tried to do something good for the community. I can do more working for the LGBT Center in their Public Policy office. Dave mentally checked off items on his to-do list when his phone rang. “Dave Barton”.

“Hi Dave, its Tommy.

“Hey T-Man, how’s things?”

"Not so good. That's why I'm calling you. I'm over at Kyle's. He's just been raped and had the shit kicked out of him by someone wearing an FBI hat."

"WHAT?????? Is he okay?" Dave collapsed into the nearest chair, eyes glistening with moisture. First he comes home and finds Jayson cheating on him, now this. Poor Kyle.

"No, he's not. He's a mess. But that's not why I'm calling you. There's a cop here who's being a total dick to him. He just threatened to shove his nightstick up Kyle's ass, saying that all fucking faggots love to have things shoved up their asses. Kyle's going through enough without pricks like him making things worse."

"What's the officer's name?" He asked. If it’s that fucking Kenson, Burke’s getting a call. Something’s got to be done about that asshole.

"I don't know. Hang on a sec and I'll find out." A minute later Tommy came back on the line. "Kenson."

"Shit! Here we go again. I'm sorry, Tommy. I'll take care of this immediately." Dave seethed.

"What can you do?"

"I'll make sure both the Commissioner and the Mayor hear about this. Can you write me up a statement as to what happened?"

"I'll be glad to." Tommy responded, his anger very much in evidence in his voice.

"There have been a lot of complaints against this guy from the gay community. The Chief of Police may turn a blind eye, but I guarantee the Commissioner won't. Nor will the Mayor." He told Tommy, furious that the Police Chief refused to act upon the multitude of complaints against the obviously bigoted officer.

"I know. That's why I called you. Sorry to have to call you on your day off with this."

"I'm glad you did. Something like this can't wait. Let me call you back." He hung up and dialed the Police Commissioner’s phone number. Please be home. He prayed.

"Commissioner Burke."

Okay, here we go. He’s going to have a cow over this. "Fred, its Dave Barton. Sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but I just got a call from a friend of mine. A mutual friend of ours has just been beaten and raped in his home. One of the investigating officers just threatened the victim with bodily injury. I'm on my way over to check out the situation and thought you would want to know."

"You wouldn't happen to know the officer's name would you?"

"I think you know who it is." Dave replied with anger and disgust in his voice

The Commissioner’s deep sigh of resignation was quite audible coming through the phone. "Don't tell me, let me guess. Kenson." The Commissioner’s response held the same anger and disgust as Dave’s did.

"A-yep."

"That fucking ass-wipe has stepped over the line for the last time. What's the address? I'll meet you there.”