Kidnapped!

" 4 "

By midnight Brian wanted to scream. There had been no contact from the kidnappers. The police had not called, and they were all resisting the urge to call Detective Lopez. They knew she would call if there were any developments, but they wanted to speak to her in hopes that something was happening.

Brian found a sleeping pill that Lindsay could take and she finally crawled into the big bed. Brian and Justin closed the glass partitions giving her … and them as much privacy as possible.

Justin finally convinced Brian to come and lie with him on the futon cushions. He knew the likelihood of Brian sleeping was small, but he could at least hold the man in his arms and try to get him to rest. Naked they lay holding each other tenderly.

"Would you take a sleeping pill if I got you one," Justin asked after a while. He could feel the tension in Brian's body and wanted to relieve it somehow.

"I don't want to sleep," Brian said bluntly.

"You need to. If they contact us tomorrow you need to be alert and ready for whatever happens."

"I can't sleep," Brian said. "Every time I close my eyes I see Gus' face, crying, and … begging me to come get him." Justin felt the hitch in Brian's voice as he said those last words.

"I wish we could go get him," Justin whispered.

"We didn't do anything wrong today, did we?" Brian asked.

"No, we didn't. We can't hold Gus' hand every second. You know how many times we have taken Gus to that park and he has done the exact same thing. That fucking skateboarder knocking me down was the source of the problem."

"I wonder if he had anything to do with the kidnapping, or if it was just a coincidence," Brian asked.

"It seems far too convenient to have been accidental. It made the perfect distraction so they could grab Gus."

"If that's true, then it must have been very well thought out," Brian said thoughtfully. "That's even scarier."

"I know. I've been wondering about that ever since it happened. Who could have done it?"

"I wish the fuck I knew," Brian snarled. "I'd kill the son of a bitch."

"No, you wouldn't, but I understand the feeling. Gus was kind of like my son too."

"And your playmate," Brian said trying to find something to smile about in the midst of this horrible mess.

"Yeah, sometimes," Justin smiled. "I miss him already."

"You … you don't think they'll hurt him, do you?"

"Jesus, I hope not."

"I mean I'll give them every penny I've got if they'll just return him safe and sound."

"We'll get him back, Brian. We will." Justin wished he was half as sure as his words sounded.

"What are we going to do if…"

"Don't say it. Don't even think it."

Lindsay lay up in the bedroom listening to the discussion between Brian and Justin. She realized how hard everybody had been on Brian today, even her. They all had blamed Brian when it could just as easily have happened to any of them. There were lots of times she had taken Gus to the park and let him play on the slide by himself while she sat on a bench talking to Melanie or absently watching the boy. Somebody could have taken her son any of those times and she would have been as helpless as Brian had been today.

Gasps and moans from below told her that the boys were using sex as a means of escape from the reality of what had happened. She wished she had someone who could help her escape even for a second from the thought of never getting Gus back. She listened as the moans intensified.

"I love you, Brian," Justin whispered.

"I know, baby. I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm close."

"Me too."

There were a few more intense moans and then silence.

Lindsay wondered if they would sleep now. She was glad Brian had Justin. He must be hurting so much. She knew that he loved Gus as much as he was capable of loving anyone, anything. And now she knew just how much he loved Justin too. It was good that they were together. Tomorrow she had to try to make Brian feel a little better.

And they would hear something about Gus. They had to.

The night was spent in tossing and turning both by the men and also by Lindsay. A couple of times Brian and Justin heard Lindsay cry out in her sleep. At one point they were both awakened to her sobs. They held onto each other not knowing what else to do. Their hearts ached as much as Lindsay's even though they might not show it so openly.

The rising sun found Brian standing in front of the window once again. Lindsay came down the steps quietly and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Brian heard her rattling around looking for what she needed and came over to help her.

"Did you get any sleep?" Lindsay asked.

"Not much."

"Me either."

"I was afraid to sleep. I thought I might miss the call or dream about Gus or … never wake up."

Lindsay ran her hand down Brian's cheek. "I know," she said. "I felt the same way."

"Where the fuck could he be, Lindz? Why haven't we heard something?"

Lindsay shook her head. "I don't know. I wish I did."

They started the coffee and then stood staring at each other without really seeing, lost in thought about their missing son.

"Thanks for letting me stay last night. I just couldn't face that empty apartment."

"That's okay."

"I … I'm sorry I was so hard on you yesterday, but I wasn't thinking straight. I was so upset."

"You didn't say anything I haven't thought myself."

"Surely we'll hear something today."

"Yeah," Brian said non-committally. He hoped that would be the case.

"Is the coffee ready yet?" a sleepy voice from the futon inquired.

"Yes, lazy bones," Brian said softly. "Come and get it."

"Any news?" Justin asked as he pulled on some underwear.

Brian and Lindsay both shook their heads.

"We'll hear something today," Lindsay said softly. "I'm sure we will. I don't think I could take another night of not knowing."

"I'm going to walk to the bagel shop on the corner and get us breakfast," Justin said. "Anything special that you guys want?"

Both people shook their heads.

"Get whatever you like," Brian said as he watched Justin pull on some clothes.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Justin said as he went out the door.

"I'm going to call Melanie and see if she's heard anything."

Brian nodded to Lindsay and went to take up his continuing position at the window. Lindsay looked at his back and sighed as she dialed Melanie's number.

"Mel? Have you heard anything? No. No, we haven't either, but it's still early. Are you coming over? Oh, okay, I see. Maybe later then. Bye."

Brian listened to the side of the conversation that he could hear, and he knew Melanie wasn't coming. She didn't seem to be worried enough about Gus to make the effort, although she was about the last person he wanted in the loft right then.

"She's not coming," Lindsay said to Brian's back. "This custody case must be some big deal. She's still working on it. Doesn't have time for me … or Gus."

"Cunt!" Brian mumbled. He would never forgive her for the things she had said about him yesterday.

"Breakfast!" Justin called coming through the loft door. He had bagels, cream cheese and lattes for each of them.

With some gentle cajoling and wheedling they managed to get Brian to sit down to breakfast. He picked at his bagel, but drank the latte. Justin and Lindsay looked at each other wondering what they could do. Neither could think of a thing that would make matters better.

After some excruciatingly long time the phone rang. They all jumped. Brian raced to the phone and practically yelled, "Hello" into the receiver. Lindsay and Justin watched his face and held their breath. Brian's face fell as he listened. "No," he said. Then he hung up.

"Who was it?" Lindsay asked.

"Detective Lopez."

"What did she say?"

"There's nothing new. She was just reporting in. Wanted to know if we had heard anything."

"Fuck!" Justin reacted.

"I don't think I can take another day of this," Lindsay said tears springing to her eyes.

"We have to," Brian whispered. "We don't have any choice."

Justin heard the defeat in Brian's voice. He knew it must be killing the man who was always in control. Only now everything was out of his control. There was nothing he could do except wait, and that was driving him crazy.

They finished what breakfast they could stomach. It sat like lead inside them. Nobody had much to say. Each was lost in his own thoughts or worries. Somehow it got to be afternoon. The buzzer sounded and Melanie announced her arrival.

Brian groaned and went to work on the computer, anything so he didn't have to deal with her. Justin let Melanie in.

"Where's Jenny Rebecca?" Lindsay asked as Melanie entered empty handed.

"I dropped her off at Debbie's for a couple of hours. I have something I need to talk to you about."

"And what might that be?" Lindsay asked noticing how agitated Melanie seemed to be. "Are you all right?"

"I … I'm fine."

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not much. I was working on my case. I'm not sure what to do about it."

"What is this case that's taking so much of your time?" Lindsay asked.

"I told you that it's a custody case."

"So, you've handled lots of custody cases before and they never affected you this way."

"They never involved the Garoni family."

"Garoni," Lindsay said with a frown. "That name sounds familiar."

"They're mafia, aren't they?" Justin asked. "I think I've read about them in the newspaper."

"Yeah, they are. Only, I … I'm not dealing with the father who is the one with the mob connections. His son Gianni is fighting for custody of his own son, three year old Leo."

"There's a divorce in a mafia family?" Lindsay asked. "I thought they were all catholic and nobody ever got out once they were in."

"That's exactly why this case is so important. My client is Maria Garoni. She married Gianni five years ago, but not in the Catholic Church. It was a spur of the moment thing in Las Vegas. Gianni's father never approved of it, but his mother dotes on Leo, and learned to accept Maria. Now everything is falling apart and Maria is counting on me to help her keep her child. I'm sure I can win."

"Against all the power and influence of the Garoni family?"

"Exactly."

Brian had been listening to all this. His blood pressure kept rising. "Could you tell me why the fuck you are here discussing this lame ass custody case and the biggest mob family in Pittsburgh, when your own son is missing?" Brian spit the words at Melanie finding her attitude and behavior totally unbelievable. It seemed like everything was more important to her than Gus.

"I … I had some news this morning."

"News? About what?" Lindsay asked.

"About this case."

"Why the fuck would we want to know about your goddam case?" Brian demanded.

"Because…" Melanie began but then hesitated.

"Melanie," Justin interrupted seeing Brian working up to a major hissy fit. "Maybe you should leave this for another time."

"But…"

"Justin's right," Lindsay said seeing the look on Brian's face. "We need to focus on Gus."

Melanie shrugged. She looked at Lindsay and then over at Brian. "I guess," Melanie said slowly. "It looks like I have to handle this myself. I'll go."

"But I thought you wanted to talk to me about something," Lindsay said.

"It doesn't matter now. I know what I'm going to do." She glared at Brian.

"What are you talking about?" Lindsay asked.

"I do love Gus despite what some of you seem to think," she said haughtily. "I will do what's best for him." She marched to the door. With a hard tug she slammed the heavy door behind.

"What the fuck got up her twat?" Brian grumbled.

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