After they cleaned up, Jason drove Drew back to his car. As he got out, Drew paused at the Jeep's window. He looked at Jason for a moment, obviously thinking.
"What?" Jason asked.
Drew seemed to decide something and took a small notebook out of his back pocket and scribbled his number on the paper. He tore the page free, folded it, and leaned toward Jason. He slid the folded paper into the pocket of Jason's flannel shirt.
"Here." He patted the pocket, then withdrew from the Jeep. "I'll see you around."
Drew turned and walked to a green Saturn, got in, and watched as Jason drove away. He slowly let his head drop and rest against the steering wheel. A war of emotion roiled within him. He felt thrilled with meeting Jason, aghast at his conduct and lack of control when around him, and utterly confused about his sexuality.
He inhaled a deep breath in the attempt to clear his mind. After a while, he raised his head and started the car.
"Something's got to give here." He mumbled. He put the Saturn in drive but still sat with his foot on the brake and stared blankly at the exit leading to the road. Not able to find any easy answers to the issues confounding him, he finally crept out of the parking lot.
He drove to Bangor Submarine Base and flashed his ID at the man guarding the gate to the installation. He was waved through and he drove to a small building that housed some administrative offices.
Drew parked in the near-empty lot, got out, and slid his door key through a magnetic reader attached to the heavy metal door on the side of the building. The door clicked, Drew opened it and entered a hallway. At the end, he entered an unlabeled door and shut it securely behind him.
"Hey Maloy." A man sitting at a desk said to Drew after he shut the door. Drew expected to see his office-mate.
"Hey Riley." He sat down at the other desk in the room. "How's your case going?"
Riley made a face, and his tanned skin wrinkled up in a frown. "Wrapping things up with it. Paperwork's taking forever."
Drew grunted. "Always does." He put his elbows on his desk and propped his chin with his hands. He let the smallest of sighs escape him as he did. Riley noticed.
"Everything all right?" Riley had moved into the office about a year ago, and Drew liked the man. He was driven, did good work, and was extremely perceptive. He was also one of the few agents who knew what Drew really did for a living. All the rest thought Drew was a simple data jockey.
"Just sort of a slow weekend for work." The lie came easily. Drew's job demanded that he be good at spinning fiction. Drew tried to give Riley a genuine looking smile. "Guess I'm not pretty enough anymore."
"Oh Maloy. You're as pretty as you always were." Rile went along with the banter, but he didn't look convinced that Drew was telling him everything. He let the matter drop. They all had their own lives, and Riley respected the privacy of his co-workers.
"Hey, here's something right up your alley." Riley threw a folder so it slid across Drew's desk. "Looks like Silverdale has a group of fag bashers running around." He pushed his chair over to Drew's desk as Drew opened the folder. "Take a look."
Drew glanced at the pictures and the accompanying description of the investigations so far. There were three different sets, each with a different guy.
"My god." Drew stared at each picture in turn. The men had all been struck on the head with something heavy, then beaten badly. Broken limbs and ribs were listed among the injuries, along with concussions and even one with partial amnesia. He read the notes attached and felt himself get a bit dizzy. Each man that was attacked was questioned by NCIS, and a few details about the attackers were gained, but not many. Additionally, all three men admitted being homosexual. In their disoriented states, the admissions were easily gained, and no nasty complications, like lawyers, were called upon by the dazed men in their defense.
Drew closed his eyes against the revulsion he felt in his soul. He regained his composure and cleared his throat. "When? When did these happen?"
"All last night." Riley put the cases in sequential order for Drew. "They get successively more brutal as they go. The third guy had a concussion and partial amnesia." He looked at Drew's face. "I'm kind of worried here, Maloy. These attacks were thought out, and they caught the men on the way to their cars, and in one case, they followed a guy home and jumped him when he got out." He looked seriously at Drew. "This could happen to you."
"I'm not gay." Drew said, a little too quickly.
Riley blinked. "I ... I didn't say you were. But any man that leaves a bar with a different guy every week will LOOK gay."
Drew thought about what the man was saying. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah. I see what you mean Riley." He forced a grin and closed the folder. "Don't stress. I'll be fine. Just gotta be careful."
"See that you are." Riled wheeled himself back to his own neat desk. "We can't afford to lose you. I sure as hell don't want to get stuck doing your job!"
Drew chuckled, but only for Riley's benefit. He didn't realize how many times a day he heard (and told) gay jokes. Now he was all too aware of their frequency.
Drew began the daily task of paperwork, and filing reports to superiors. It didn't take long as there was nothing to report for last night. He finished with his computer and papers in only about an hour, then stood and grabbed the folder.
"See you Riley. I've got to get ready for tonight."
"See ya." Riley looked at a calendar. "Oh, Saturday night. You're bound to catch somebody tonight." Riley grinned. "You're the only guy to turn in at least one queer a week that works for NCIS. You'll get somebody."
That used to be a compliment. Drew swallowed after Riley said it. "Yeah. Thanks for the pep-talk Riley. See you later." He turned and left the room, holding the folder tightly. His face was pale and his knuckles were white as his free hand balled itself into a fist. Drew felt two of his fingers pop from the pressure and he forced himself to relax. He exited the building and got into his car.
'God, I'm working for the devil.' Drew thought. His stomach gave a sickening lurch and Drew scrambled to open his door. He threw up on the pavement of the parking lot, as the stress of his situation really began to sink in.
About fifteen minutes later, Drew pulled into the driveway of his rental home. He got out, one hand on his stomach and the other holding the folder. As he opened the door he heard the phone ringing. He walked to it and answered.
"Hello?"
"Drew? Hey, this is Jason." Even through the phone Jason's voice was a turn on to Drew.
"Hey Jason. What's going on?"
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come over tonight for a movie or something?" The sailor's voice was hopeful, and Drew found himself wanting to say something that would make him happy.
"I ... I'm busy for a while this evening, how about a late movie? Is 2300 too late?"
"Nope. That's fine." Jason got quiet for a moment. "Are you going out tonight?"
'Shit.' Drew thought. His mind whirled in the attempt to come up with something that'd both keep Jason away from the bar, and sound believable. "Sort of." He said. "I'm meeting some people from work at the bar." He paused. "I don't want to have you there, you're a bit distracting."
Jason laughed. "All right. Where do you work?"
This was a lie Drew had told over and over again to marks, and it flowed from him instantly. "I work in administration on Bangor. Not very glamorous work, but it pays nice." A pang of guilt speared through his chest as he said it.
"Oh, all right." Jason sounded convinced. "Well, I guess I'll see you tonight then."
"Ok. Bye Jason."
"Bye Drew."
Drew hung up the phone and stood there a moment, thinking. 'This is going to get out of my control way too quickly.' He walked to the living room and sat down on his couch. 'Why did I give him my number?' Drew tried to convince himself that what he was feeling for Jason was temporary. But it out-shone all other attachment he had ever felt. In less than 24 hours he felt more for Jason than for any woman he'd ever dated. And he was so very attracted to the sailor.
"Maybe it'll pass ..." Drew said softly to himself. "I can't keep feeling this way. This has to pass."
Drew shook his head and forced himself to think about tonight. He was trying to come up with a plan to turn in the fewest men possible and still keep his job. He already knew that the average number of gay men turned in by the guys doing his work was about 2 a month, while his own average was 5 a month. If his numbers suddenly dropped, he'd be scrutinized by his superiors. He couldn't afford that, especially now.
He bit his lip and his stomach churned angrily. "God I can't do this." He stood and paced. "I can't keep doing this. I feel like the bad guy here." He thought about quitting his job, and his mind instantly tallied up his bills and how much money he had in savings. It wasn't enough to get by on for longer than a couple of months if he wasn't earning anything.
He decided to go one more month and save absolutely everything he could. Then, he was out. He sat back down on the couch and thought about his rather quick decision. He began to realize this course of action was actually less stressful and felt more right than staying with NCIS.
"Ok." He said to himself. "It's a plan. It's a crazy plan, but it's a plan." He took in a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for tonight's work. "Let's get this over with."