| A Matter of Trust |
| Sunday morning, Jack woke up on the sofa with a hangover the size of Texas. He groaned as he hauled himself up, trying to stretch a kink out of his back, and stumbled into the bathroom. A couple of aspirin and a long hot shower later, he still wasn�t happy, but at least he could walk into the kitchen and make some coffee. // I�m getting too old for this, // he thought. For lack of anything else to take his mind off the situation last night, he�d gone out and bought a bottle of scotch. He hadn�t dared go to a bar; if he�d gotten drunk, he might have talked about what was on his mind, and he absolutely did NOT want anybody else in on this little snafu. So he had brought a bottle home and gotten quietly drunk here. Once again, he desperately wished he had someone to talk to. The others who had played his game in years past were pretty much out of his life now. For all their closeness at the time, they had moved on with their lives, while he had basically stood still. Maybe it was time to reach out to Jamie? She couldn�t play the part of secret lover, but maybe she could become a friend? He sighed. She had her daughter and a special guy. And a really nasty ex-husband. She didn�t need him cluttering up her life. The coffee was helping him feel almost human. He decided some food might actually help at this point as well, so he got dressed and went out to find something breakfasty � ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie called the precinct Sunday morning and confirmed that there were results from the forensics team for him to go over. He left a message for Rey and headed in, knowing his partner would probably join him after the family got home from church. He found the report on his desk. A property tag indicated the computer belonged to a big pharmaceutical manufacturer. Most of the data was pure gobbledegook as far as Lennie was concerned. He dug through the papers until he found a summary at the end. Hmm� that was interesting. Lennie checked the pile of papers on his desk. Somewhere in here should be the LUD�s from Travers� phone and the ME�s full report if it was done. Yup, there they were � When Rey got in to the precinct, he found his partner with papers covering both of their desks. �Morning, Lennie.� Briscoe grinned up at him. �About time you got here. Wait till you see this. Travers worked for Abings Pharmaceuticals. I can�t make heads or tails of this crap, but the forensics guys say it�s a formula for a new drug.� Rey sat down at his desk, looking at Lennie, intrigued. �OK, a new drug. Any indication of what he planned to do with it?� �Checked his LUD�s. Last week a flurry of calls back and forth to a specific number. I called it � it�s a little shop in the Russian district.� Rey did a double take. �You�re thinking he�s selling the drug to the Russian mob?� Lennie nodded. �He got a call from there Friday evening, probably what interrupted his video-watching. So they set a meet for late that night; he takes a copy of the drug info. Decides to kill time at the Jade Palace since the meet�s not till the middle of the night.� �OK, so how do we track this?� Lennie grinned. �The ME�s report says his stomach was full; he�d eaten right before he was killed. So I�m guessing he left McCoy�s place, found an all night diner. Hell, maybe the diner was even the meet spot, that�s why he picked a club in that neighborhood. I�m betting we find that diner, we�ll find somebody who saw him and can confirm that he was alive after he left McCoy�s. Maybe even saw who he left with.� �Well, then, let�s go find us a diner!� They started at McCoy�s apartment and fanned out, presuming Travers would have stopped at the first open place he found. A few blocks away they found what they were looking for. They asked the girl at the register if anybody was here who had been working Friday night. �Yeah, actually I was. What can I do for you, detectives?� Rey handed her the picture of Travers. �Do you recognize this man?� She looked at it, bit her lip. �Yeah, I think so. Real late Friday, around 12:30 or so. Actually, Saturday by that time.� �Was he with anyone?� She shook her head. �Nah, came in alone. Place was pretty quiet. He just sat there like he was waiting for somebody. Hey wait, somebody did join him, maybe an hour later.� Lennie looked meaningfully at Rey. �Do you remember what this other man looked like?� �Short, dark hair. Oh, hey, he spoke with an accent. Russian, I think.� Cha-ching! Lennie�s hunch paid off. One other question, just to be sure. �Have you ever seen this guy before? Maybe with a tall, grey haired man?� �Nope. Never saw the guy before.� They thanked her and left the diner. As they left, Curtis sighed with relief. �Well, I�d say that pretty well clears McCoy. Travers was seen alive and in the company of somebody else much closer to his time of death.� Briscoe nodded. �Now all we�ve got to do is track down this Russian guy he was selling his company�s secrets to. But that can wait for Monday. No need to pull any more OT on this one.� Curtis grinned. �Great. I can still spend the rest of the afternoon with my girls.� Lennie smiled. Rey�s family meant everything to him. �Why don�t you go on home, Rey. I want to stop by McCoy�s place and let him know he�s off the hook, then I�ll catch a cab home.� �You sure, Lennie?� Curtis had the oddest feeling that Briscoe was trying to get rid of him. Lennie nodded. �Enjoy the day with your family. Go!� As Rey drove off, Lennie walked into McCoy�s apartment building. He felt strangely nervous; he wasn�t sure what he was going to say, if anything. He took the elevator up to the fourth floor and found himself staring at number 417. He took a deep breath to calm himself and pressed the doorbell. McCoy came to the door wearing a pair of battered old jeans and a t-shirt. There were dark circles under his eyes � Lennie guessed he�d had a rough night. Well, this news would be welcome. He managed a smile. �Good news, Jack.� That simple phrase triggered a release of all the tension that had been building up. McCoy sighed and sagged against the door. Briscoe chuckled. �You gonna let me in, or are we gonna discuss this out here?� That got a wry grin from the DA. �Sorry, Lennie. Come on in.� As Lennie sat down on the couch, McCoy cocked his head looking at the detective. �Where�s your partner?� �I sent him home. After what we just found, this one doesn�t rate any more OT, so no reason for him to miss a Sunday afternoon with his family.� McCoy nodded. �So what did you find?� Lennie told him the story, including the verification from the waitress at the diner. �So somebody ELSE saw him and was seen with him after you. We�ve got a good motive, now all we have to do is zero in on this Russian guy.� Jack shook his head. �Damn. I just had breakfast at that diner this morning. Weird world.� Lennie nodded. �Jack, you�re definitely cleared as a suspect here. But I can�t promise your � liaison with Travers won�t be dragged into this at some point.� McCoy nodded. �I know, Lennie. Especially if it goes to trial. I�ll have to tell Adam.� He sighed heavily. It was hard not to know that Adam Schiff considered McCoy his prot�g�. The two had worked together for 20 years. Lennie found it hard to believe McCoy had never confided in him before this. �Jack, can I ask you a personal question?� McCoy raised an eyebrow. Lennie took it as a yes. �Why all the secrecy? I mean, I understand a cop hiding that he�s gay, it could get him killed if some bigot decides not to back him up. But why you?� McCoy gazed at Briscoe. The man�s face was a study in concern and curiosity. And the way he said the word bigot convinced Jack that he really wasn�t one himself. He suddenly realized that now there was somebody who knew, maybe could become somebody he could talk to. Starting now? // Why the hell not. // �I don�t know, really. I guess habit more than anything else at this point. Back when I first figured it out, the world was a different place. I guess most of all, my old man was still alive, and he would have flat out killed me if he found out.� Lennie frowned. He�d never understood the reactions of some parents to the news that a child was gay. So what, they�re still your kid. But he knew that for some people it was a big deal. �Sounds like your old man was a real piece of work.� Jack nodded. �I used to worship him. But I finally figured out he was the world�s biggest son-of-a-bitch.� He shuddered at the memory. �Claire used to say he�d haunt me to my grave.� Lennie took the opening. �I really thought you two were lovers, Jack.� McCoy managed a small smile. �That�s what we wanted you to think.� Lennie�s turn to cock an eyebrow. �Hiding behind your assistants?� Jack shrugged. �It worked, didn�t it? We were good friends, Lennie. I trusted them and they agreed to help me. But Claire was special. She was like a kid sister. And when I lost her �� His voice trailed off. The pain was still too recent. Lennie now realized why Jack looked so haggard � he hadn�t had anybody to share his worry with. That also explained the nearly empty bottle of scotch he�d noticed by the couch. Claire had been his best friend, his confidant. He hadn�t yet been able to replace her. Lennie understood what it was like to be alone. He�d spent too many years in the bottle himself. Now that he�d finally dragged himself out � ok, except for that one slip a few months back, the same day that haunted Jack � he�d made a point of letting people in to his life. People he cared about, people he could talk to. Like Rey�s family. And Mike Logan before him. Without even consciously thinking about it, he reached out and touched Jack�s arm. �I know, Jack.� McCoy looked up into his eyes, seeing the compassion there. He managed a wry smile again. �Sorry, Lennie. I just haven�t had anybody to talk to since then.� Lennie nodded. �And our visit yesterday didn�t help.� McCoy shook his head. Lennie smiled and gently squeezed the arm. �Did today?� That got the desired laugh. �Yeah, Lennie. Today helped a lot.� �You know, Jack, now that I do know your secret, if you need somebody to talk to �� McCoy smiled at him. �Thanks, Lennie. That means a lot.� Lennie realized that some distraction would do both of them a world of good right about now. They�d pushed the limits of emotional connection as far as either was willing to go at the moment. He nodded toward the TV. �Aren�t the Mets playing this afternoon?� Jack had to chuckle at the sudden shift in the conversation. But he was glad Lennie had suggested the game rather than just leaving. He found he truly welcomed the company. �Yeah, I think so.� He switched on the TV and turned toward the kitchen. �You want something to drink?� ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the game, Jack had insisted on taking Lennie out to dinner to thank him for saving his sanity that afternoon. The whole afternoon had been wonderful; it had been nice to just kick back with a friend for a while. And he was beginning to realize that Lennie could be a very good friend. They had a lot in common; and most of all he found Lennie easy to talk to. As they left the restaurant, Lennie flagged down a cab to head home. �Thanks again for dinner, Jack.� �No, thank YOU, Lennie. I really needed this afternoon, especially after yesterday.� Briscoe nodded. �I hear you. Anytime you need to talk, Jack. You know where to find me.� He gave Jack�s arm a gentle squeeze. McCoy smiled at the gesture. �Thanks.� He turned to walk down the street back to his apartment as Lennie got into the cab. // oh, boy, Jack, gotta watch yourself here. // He realized that this was a first. He�d never had a male friend who knew his secret. He had a feeling this friendship was going to become very important to him � hell, it already was. But he�d have to be careful. He�d have to constantly remind himself that Lennie was straight, not interested. Besides, he was out of bounds for other reasons. Jack didn�t want a relationship; just the occasional one-night-stand, like the one that had started this mess. He already knew Lennie much too well to even consider having sex with him. No, he kept his love life strictly anonymous. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lennie parked the car in his usual space in the alley. He�d had the cabbie drop him off at the precinct parking lot rather than have to take another cab into work in the morning. Finally, he opened the door to his apartment. Today he actually hung up his suit coat, but tossed the pants in the direction of the laundry, sending the underwear after them. They�d need it after today. Finally alone, he flopped down on the bed. He�d had a low grade hard-on on and off all afternoon. There was no question about it; the thought of sharing his secret desires with Jack turned him on. But today, something inside made him hold back. He realized Jack needed this friendship more than he needed a novice lover. And besides, now that there was a real chance something might happen, he found himself strangely afraid. Before, he could fantasize, safe in the knowledge that he�d never have to actually DO anything about it. Better to let things develop a bit before he tested that particular water. Of course, there was no guarantee Jack would even be interested in him. He might prefer an entirely different �type.� // yeah, right. Take a look at Travers. He could almost be my brother. // In any event, the afternoon had been quite enjoyable. Most of the people he knew who had good, solid, long term relationships said they had started out as friends. Not that he wanted a long term relationship � Right now, the only relationship he was having was with his own hand. He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the fantasy of Jack�s fingers gently tracing over his thigh, getting closer and closer. Warm lips pressed against his as his fingers wrapped through the thick graying hair. He opened his mouth with a gasp as the fingers found their target, letting in a probing tongue. He grasped his cock with just his fingertips, not wanting the excessive friction of a full hand grasp right now. He wondered what Jack�s cock would feel like in his hand. Maybe even in his mouth? The image sent a jolt through his body. Apparently he liked the idea; he had never gone there before. His brain grabbed on to the image, playing it out in his mind. He moaned, his hand sliding down for a full grip now, as he pulled himself over the edge. Laying there gasping for breath, he realized that he had it bad. He wondered how long it would be until he actually got up the nerve to talk to Jack � Continue on to Chapter 3 Send me some Feedback Back to the Story Index Disclaimer: These characters belong to Dick Wolf and NBC. I'm just borrowing them for fun, not profit. |
| Chapter 2 |