Fearless Leader (Juxtapose City) (16 page)

"Yeah, we'll see about that won't we?" Sola snorted, turning around to click something on the computer. The screen changed to the JCPD logo screensaver. Sola stood and approached Calyx in the doorway. "Sure, I'll watch your back, freak. You'd better hope that no one tries to bury a knife in it though, because I may be looking the other way when it happens."

Calyx sighed, rolling his eyes. "So dramatic. If I didn't know better I'd say you're suffering from a classic case of homosexual denial."

Calyx ducked beneath the fist that swung towards his head. Dancing back into the computer room with a wide grin, Calyx wagged his finger. "Temper, temper. You're trying to get on our leader's good side aren't you? It wouldn't help your case if you beat up the resident empath."

Red-faced, Sola glared at the other man. "It's just a matter of time, Starr. One of these days Black won't be around. Too bad if the freak gets accidentally taken out by friendly fire, yeah?"

With a last dark sneer, Sola left, slamming the door behind him.

Calyx shook his head. He would have to make sure that Black gave the psycho an emergency supply of Bliss tabs to ensure he never ran out. The empath shuddered to think what feeling Sola 'naked' would be like now that the man had given free rein to his prejudice.

His eyes fell to the computer Sola had just vacated. Eyebrow quirking, Calyx sat down at the terminal and checked the browser. Ah, Sola had been too distracted to clear the cache. Calyx brought up the department's human resources page. Sola had been looking at his new teammates' personnel files. No surprise there.

Calyx looked at his own file. "Need to upload a new picture," he sighed, gazing with disgust at his fuzzy, less-than-flattering mug shot. Honestly, it looked as though someone had hosed him down with water before taking the photo. That had definitely not been the case. Calyx remembered quite clearly looking especially hot that night because his new dealer friend was an attractive, blue-eyed red-head. Too bad said red-head would later turn out to be an undercover officer. What a waste of a good outfit.

Tsk-ing, Calyx scrolled through the long list of his dubious 'offenses'. Petty theft... mmm, maybe. Calyx couldn't quite remember that incident. Assault on an officer... yes, he supposed kneeing a cop in the balls who'd tried to force Calyx to give him head counted as assault. Dealing a controlled substance, under the influence of the same... absolutely, guilty as sin. Prostitution... not always. Calyx grinned. Sometimes he gave it away for free.

He looked through the rest of his stuff and found nothing new. Captain Dickerson hadn't altered anything despite their 'arrangement'. Boring.

Sola had brought up the other men's files as well and Calyx briefly scanned them. Nothing exciting there either. Bee had been in the marines for a few years before joining the JCPD. Haney and Cole had both followed the usual progression from the Academy up through the department's ranks. Calyx scanned the brain-dulling letters of recommendation that led to each man being selected for JC2. Calyx found one little tidbit of notice: Bee had been suspended once for assault on a fellow officer. Interesting, but not exciting. Calyx found more entertainment snickering at Cole's Academy photo. Cole looked like a hick from Nebraska. Come to think of it he
still
looked like a hick from Nebraska.

Calyx gave the rest of the files a cursory glance but his main interest, as he was sure was Sola's, was the smallest file. Unlike the other men's files Black's consisted of only a medical record, his proof of graduation from the Academy and a handful of recommendations from some bigwigs in the department. These citations, Calyx noted curiously, all managed to cite Black's commitment and dedication to the job without referring to any specific accomplishment whatsoever. If Calyx didn't know better he'd say they were fudged.

Calyx read a little further. On paper Black appeared to exist only at the Academy. Nothing before, nothing after. Calyx found nothing about Black's parents, where he'd been born, his schooling. Nothing in the files hinted at what Black had done after leaving the Academy -- the man could have left the country for all the information that was available on his whereabouts. Black appeared out of nowhere to complete his training and then vanished again. To Calyx it was as though Black had attended the Academy to prove that he was real and for no other reason.

Calyx pulled up Black's medical report. Even this was sketchy. First name was left blank, last name listed as Black, male, age twenty-three. Height: five feet, ten inches. Weight: one hundred seventy pounds. For some reason hair and eye color had been left blank. The attending physician at Black's most recent physical had declared the lieutenant as fit as a fiddle with no ailments to speak of beyond an occasional headache which the doctor had chalked up to tension.

Frowning, Calyx dug further but there was nothing more to be found. The rest of Black’s files either didn't exist or were listed as 'Sealed by order #CD445-62'. The 'CD' part Calyx guessed referred to Carl Dickerson, the Captain. Calyx fell back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. It was almost as if Black had been invented. Either that or Black was undercover within the department, which sounded strange but Calyx wasn't about to dismiss any possibility considering his own deal with the captain. Calyx straightened and looked at the screen again.

"Darkness, my man of mystery," he breathed. "Are you deliberately trying to catch my interest or is this something you just can't help?" He stared at the photo of Black that presumably had been taken upon graduation from the Academy. It looked like it had been taken yesterday.

Jake's eyes rolled up as his head fell back against the back of the sofa. This was the -- what? -- fourth time they had viewed this vid? Twice from one angle and twice from another. How much more did Black need to see? The fucking sweat coming out of their pores?

"Video: stop," Black announced, rubbing a hand down his face. He had long since vacated his spot beside Jake on the sofa and was now kneeling on the carpet in front of the screen to better see the details.

"Got it memorized now?" Jake asked tiredly. "Jeez, Black, I knew you were anal but this takes the cake."

Black returned to the sofa and dropped down onto the cushion beside the larger man. "I want to be sure."

Jake studied his former lover, hearing what didn't need to be said. He patted Black on the shoulder. "Hey, Sola bugs the hell out of me but he's damned good, Black. Don't worry about him. He'll take up the slack just like you want him to."

"Jake's right," Bee added, catching Black's eye. "Things are looking good. Real good."

"I suppose you're right. I'm obsessing," Black said. Jake could hear the effort at nonchalance that the other man put into the words.

"Hey, obsessing is your job," Jake teased, trying to lighten his leader's mood. "We're supposed to be the no-good slackers and you're supposed to whip us into shape. It's the natural order of things."

That garnered a faint smile of amusement from Black. "Is that so?"

Jake grinned, his heart twitching as he met Black's eyes. Damn, how he missed Black. "That's how it goes," he said lightly. He hoped to god he didn't look as puppy-eyed as he felt.

"I ordered pizza," Haney announced cheerfully, giving Jake a moment to take a deep breath. "It should be here any minute. I figured no one wanted to cook tonight."

Black attempted a smile for the other man. "That's fine. Sounds good."

Haney beamed. It made Jake chuckle to himself and brought a smile to Bee's face as well. Haney made no secret of the fact that he looked up to Black. It apparently didn't matter to Haney that Black was younger and probably less experienced in the field. Any word of praise from their leader was like the word of god to Haney. Jake studied Black while the man wasn't looking. Black was good at that: presenting himself in a way that made others respect him even without knowing why they did it. Jake could probably take some pointers from him. For some damned reason everyone seemed to take him for granted, he thought sourly.

Black sighed. "I almost forgot: Captain Dickerson wants us to take a break for the rest of the week. That means we're not allowed anywhere near department facilities. Any of them."

"And if something bad happens in the meantime?" Haney prompted worriedly.

"I assume he'll call on JC1," Black replied.

"It's because of Starr, isn't it?" Jake demanded, sitting up straighter. "It's because we still have to teach him everything, that's why we're being taken off of active duty."

Bee waved his hand behind Black's head, trying to signal for calm. Jake pretended not to see him as he faced Black. "Come on, isn't that what this is about? We're handicapped because of Starr. Because he's a walk-on from the street and he'll probably get us all killed. Why can't we get rid of him, Black? You know he's nothing but trouble."

"Is that truly your concern or is something else bothering you about Starr?"

Jake's mouth worked, but no sound came out. He met Black's eyes and felt his cheeks heat as the other man's meaning sunk in.

"It's not that," he protested weakly.

A brunette eyebrow lifted skeptically. "Isn't it?"

Fuck, he hated when Black saw through him. Or at least when Black thought he did.

"Come on, Black. We all know Starr's not ready to go into the field. I'm only saying what we all think."

"That's
my
decision to make, not Dickerson's, not yours," Black told him icily. "Which also means that if the captain says we stay out of the game it's for reasons other than Starr. Do you understand?"

He nodded glumly.

"Don't make this personal, Jake."

"I'm not."

"Don't."

Jake fell back into the cushions. He hated sounding like a jealous lover but he realized that's
exactly
what he'd just sounded like. Damn it. He raised his eyes to the other men. Bee was shaking his head with an I-told-you-so look on his face; Haney was looking at him with sympathy, which might have been worse. Jake's only consolation -- and it was a small one -- was that the empath hadn't been here to hear him.

The doorbell rang.

Haney leaped over the back of the sofa. "I got it!"

Bee pulled out his PRU. "I'll call the others."

With the others distracted, Jake leaned forward, pleased that Black didn't pull away. Chocolate brown eyes watched him expectantly. "We need to talk," Jake said in a low voice so Bee wouldn't hear. "Please, Black."

Black's eyes shifted away. "If we do," he began slowly, "will it put a stop to this?"

"Probably. I just need to clear the air with you. You've got a bad impression of me right now. I want to change that." He could see Black vacillating between wanting closure for them and wanting to avoid another fight. Jake counted on the fact that Black rarely backed down from confrontation. He was right.

"Alright. Later tonight," Black told him. "I'll meet you on the catwalk when the others are asleep."

Jake grinned. Half of this battle was won. "Thanks, Black. You won't regret it."

Black didn't say anything as Sola and Starr entered the room. Upon seeing the empath Jake forced a pleasant smile onto his face. He took his time leaning out of Black’s personal space, letting Starr know that he wasn't giving up easily. Of course, if Black would have seen this he would have smacked Jake on the side of the head. But he didn't, and Starr's smirk told Jake that the empath had gotten the message loud and clear.

"You're not a vegetarian are you?" Jake asked with pretend concern, secretly hoping Haney had ordered extra pepperoni and sausage.

Starr smiled blandly. "There's no such thing as a vegetarian when you grow up on the streets, Cole. You eat what you can get. I'm very adaptable."

As if Jake gave a shit about Starr's childhood. Boo-hoo, pass me another Bliss tablet. Jake blinked, realizing what he sounded like.
Better watch it, guy. You're turning into a bitter old bitch.

"Jesus, Haney! Did you have to order onions? I
hate
onions! Damn it!"

Everyone leaned away in surprise at Sola's outburst. Wide-eyed, Haney looked from Sola to Black to Bee.

"And I'm sure they hate you just as much," Starr drawled into the ensuing silence. Haney tittered nervously.

That guy is a nutcase,
Jake thought to himself as Sola accepted a piece of pizza and immediately began flinging off the onions. Jake was beginning to think this whole team was a disaster waiting to happen regardless of what he'd said to Black earlier. Sadness swept through him as he munched on his own slice of pizza. What he wouldn't give to have Max and Lucas back. Back then they'd been a team. A real team.

His eyes slid to Black who was eating quietly, legs drawn up beneath him on the sofa. Black was staring straight ahead, lost in thought. Probably thinking about Max and Lucas too. Jake scooted closer to him.

"Hey, Black," he said quietly.

But Black wasn't lost in thought, he was studying something. Jake followed the line of his vision to the opened pizza box. Some kid had scrawled a picture on the inside of the upper lid. It looked like a bad rendition of a dog standing next to a circled letter 'c'.