Farewell to Falwell

Part 2

They called themselves "Beziers", an inner sanctum branch of "The Army of God Church", committed to waging holy war against heresy. Members of this growing number of religious extremists had already claimed responsibility for terrorizing, and closing down several gay establishments along Liberty Avenue. Some called their tactics nothing more than hate crimes, while others called their efforts divine……………………………

Babylon was an inferno by the time Justin and Tony arrived on the scene. Clouds of black smoke made visibility nearly impossible for firemen, and terrified patrons alike who were both running toward, and attempting to flee the pandemonium. The sirens of emergency vehicles blended with the screams of victims that were being carted away on gurneys, or left sitting on the curbside while they awaited assistance. Hundreds, still in shock, wandered aimlessly through the chaos, while others scurried about in search of friends, and lovers who may have been lost in the stampede to the fire exit doors.

Justin pushed his way through the frenzy in search of any familiar face. "Todd! Todd!"

It took the jolted young man several moments before he realized who was addressing him. "Justin?"

Justin grabbed Todd by his shoulders. "What happened here? Where's Brian?"

"I…I don't know. I don't know where anybody is." Todd said, then drifted back into the crowd.

"STAND BACK! PLEASE, EVERYBODY STAND BACK!" A police line began to form around the burning building.

Tony took advantage of his height to see over the crowd. The soot from the smoke made everyone look pretty much the same. There, over to his right, seated on the curb he happened to spot a vaguely familiar figure. "EMMETT!" Tony yelled out as loud as he could.

Emmett lifted his head. "Oh my god…Tony." He left the curbside, and followed Tony's voice.

"WE HAVE TO LET THE FIREMEN THROUGH! IF YOU'RE OK, PLEASE KEEP MOVING!" The police encouraged Emmett, and others away from the burning building.

"Where's Brian?" Tony asked.

"I don't know." Emmett wept. "Teddy went to look for him. The last time we saw him he was headed upstairs to his office. That whole back of the building is gone now."

"KEEP MOVING PEOPLE!" The policemen pushed them further away from the building.

Ted was next to come through the police line.

"Did you find Brian?" Justin called over the noise.

Ted shook his head no, as he fought back his tears.

"Oh my god." Tony suddenly felt weak.

"GODDAMN IT, LET ME THROUGH!" Debbie's voice rang out. The frantic mother had heard the explosion over at the diner, and came looking for her son.

"DEBBIE, OVER HERE!" Emmett waved to her.

Justin's eyes suddenly lit up. "Michael. Ted, where's Michael?"

"Michael is hurt. Someone saw him being loaded into the ambulance that was headed for St Mary's Hospital." Ted said.

Justin turned to Tony. "That's where Brian is," he said.

"What?"

"Brian would never leave Michael behind, even if it meant risking his own life. If Michael is at St. Mary's Hospital, then that's where Brian is." Justin was certain. "We have to get to St. Mary's."

Debbie pushed her way over to the others. "Has anybody seen Michael?" She struggled to catch her breath.

"He's with Brian at St. Mary's Hospital. That's where we're going now!" Justin told her.

At that moment a second explosion shook the ground of Liberty Avenue, followed by cheers from a small mass of breeders that had joined the onlookers on the other side of the street. "LET IT BURN!" The cry of hate went up.

"Oh sweet Jesus!" Debbie cried out.

"We've got to get the fuck out of here." Tony looked around for an exit. With Babylon burning behind them, and now an angry mob threatening to block the only exit out to Liberty Avenue, Tony's worst premonition was coming true. Their situation was rapidly deteriorating from dangerous, to grave before his very eyes.

"How are we going to get to the car?" Justin looked at Tony.

"Give me a minute to think." Tony said.

Ted watched as the hate mongers continued to gather, and began attacking anyone attempting to leave the fire scene. "They're not going to let us through," he uttered.

"They're corralling us like cows to the slaughter." Emmett observed the carnage.

Debbie was outraged. "WHERE'S THE GODDAMN POLICE?" she demanded.

"The police doesn't give a shit about us." Justin reminded her. "The only thing Stockwell, and his goons care about is this piece of near downtown, prime Pittsburgh property. It doesn't matter that gay men are being bashed. That's just the mayor's way of keeping his campaign promise to clean up Liberty Avenue."

"We're going through." Tony finally decided. "Everybody grab a hold of each other!"

Ted's eyes widened as large as teacups. "What? T…T…Tony, are you out of your mind?" he stammered.

"Stay behind me!" Tony grabbed Justin's hand.

"You heard him! Grab someone's hand!" Debbie took hold of Emmett.

Tony pulled his car keys from his suit jacket pocket, and handed them to Justin. "When I tell you to run, I want you to take the others to the car, and wait for me. If I'm not there in five minutes, I want you to drive to St Mary's Hospital," he said.

"I'm not leaving you." Justin protested.

"Do as I say." Tony turned toward the angry vigilantes.

"Sweet Mary, mother of Christ." Debbie whispered a prayer when she saw the bats in some of their hands.

"COME ON FAGGOTS!" They goaded them on.

"Stay together!" Tony tightened his grip on Justin's hand, and began a soldier's advance with Emmett, Debbie, and Ted bringing up the rear. It was too late to back down now. The bloodthirsty mob had already slotted them as next. Any sudden attempts to flee now, and the Budweiser-boys would surely chase them down like a pack of wild dogs. "Stay together!" Tony called out again.

A splinter group of the overzealous breeders decided to make the first move. With bats in hand, they broke away from the others, and charged toward Tony's small band.

"Oh my god!" Emmett screamed. "We're going to die." Ted was certain. "Sweet Jesus!" Debbie cried out, while Justin clung even tighter to his man's hand.

Tony showed no signs of retreating, as the angry mob moved closer. Instead, he stepped up his pace, and without breaking his stride, once again reached inside the breast pocket of his suit jacket. This time Tony pulled out an arsenal. "DESERT EAGLE, SEMI-AUTOMATIC, WITH CUSTOM LASER SIGHT! WHO'S FIRST?" he roared.

A now furious Anthony Massey took aim at the lead breeder, landing the small, red beam of light squarely in the center of his antagonist's forehead. "Dear god, don't shoot!" The man stopped dead in his tracks, and dropped his bat to the ground.

"GODDAMN YOU, WHO'S FIRST?" Tony roared again, and scanned his laser over the crowd. This time the Red Sea parted.

Upon Tony's order, Justin, Emmett, Ted, and Debbie made a mad dash down the dark, water soaked alley, where the vintage, Lincoln Continental Brian had given Tony for his birthday awaited them. They quickly climbed inside, then waited for their leader.

"Come on, come on. Where is he?" Justin impatiently stared into the pitch blackness.

Suddenly in the distance, a tall figure came walking. Tony proceeded over to the driver's window, and leaned over to take a look inside. "Is everybody ok?" he asked.

"We're fine." Debbie let out a long sigh of relief.

Justin took note of how Tony's skin was as pale as a ghost, his hands were shaking, and the sweat of his brow had trickled down onto his face "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, princess." The shaken lion said more to convince himself, than to convince the others. "But maybe you'd better drive." he smiled.

Tony rounded the car, and climbed into the passenger seat next to Justin. He then closed his eyes, and leaned back, resting his head on the headrest behind him, as Justin pulled out of the alley, and into traffic. The short ride to St Mary's Hospital was made much longer by the influx of emergency vehicles, along with the arrival of those searching for loved ones, and Debbie's endless fussing. Poor Michael. If he wasn't dead already, his mother was surely going to kill him.

"What the hell was he even there for? He should have never been at Babylon in the first place! He's already got a man at home for fuck sake. Ben, oh my god, we have to call Ben." Debbie suddenly remembered.

Ted banged his cell phone against the palm of his hand. "I'm not getting any dial tone," he said.

"I'm sure Ben has been watching the news." Emmett said. "We'll find a pay phone, and call him when we get to the hospital."

Justin continued to drive. "I know Brian is alright." he told himself yet again. "There's no way Brian could have been in his office when the explosion occurred. You know Brian, he never stays in his office. He likes to be out where he can see all the hott guys."

"Brian had just gotten a call on his cell phone." Emmett recalled. "He said he had to leave, and was headed back upstairs to his office to make sure everything was locked up. Michael went to pee, and I had just coaxed Teddy onto the dance floor when we heard the blast."

"Thank god for the extra fire exits I had Brian install." Ted said.

"We're here." Justin illegally parked, and turned to Tony. "We're here, Tony." he said again.

Tony didn't answer.

NEXT WEEK: Farewell to Falwell, the conclusion

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