Homony

The following is part of a novel in progress. There is some sex but not highly explicit. It is a fantasy set in the not so distant/possible future. Please let me know what you think. E-mail me at: rwig@hotmail.com

Legal stuff: The story is mine so don't steal it or I'll be pissed.

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RClayton

*** SIX

Two doctors and a nurse stood over Heath who lay prone and unconscious in the hospital bed. His face was wrapped in bandages, his ribs taped and a case encased his left arm. The injuries were bad but not nearly as severe as first believed from the blood loss and bruising. The worrisome problem was that the young man had yet to regain consciousness. CAT scans and an MRI showed no significant damage from the attack. It actually looked as though the person who had beaten the man had known exactly how to go about causing the least physical damage with the most visual shocking effect possible. Sure, there were a few broken bones would take time to heal and a couple of teeth that would have to be replaced with bridge work but once the young man woke up he would recover nicely.

"Why would he take in a stranger in the first place?" The nurse asked. He stood examining the monitor which kept track of vital signs.

"Loneliness does things to people. I suppose the man just played a good game and the boy fell for it. No telling what set him off though." The doctor said. He didn't believe the man he had spent an hour with that very afternoon had gone home and attacked this boy though. It just didn't seem possible. The man was certainly stressed but he seemed to be a rather harmless man physically speaking. He knew they would just have to wait until the boy awoke to get answers to this little mystery. He was willing to bet the man he knew as Jerrison or Zackary or whatever did not beat the shit out of his new boyfriend. It had to be part of whatever game was being played on the man.

"You seem distracted Mathew." The other doctor said.

"Just thinking Harry. It's been a long day and I'm ready to go home and rest."

"Too true, my friend. Hy don't you take off. I'll cover the night shift. It should be relatively quiet tonight."

"If you're sure you don't mind..."

"Not at all. I'll probably sit at my desk working up today's reports and drinking old coffee, maybe read a novel or take a nap later." The man smiled.

"Okay, I guess I'll head out then. Good evening." Mathew left the room and went down the hall to the elevator, then rode down to his office.

"I want someone in here all night. No visitors."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse said.

He looked at the monitors, made a note on the chart and replaced it on the foot of the bed and left the room.

The nurse sat in a lounge chair in the corner and picked up the Stephen King novel he'd been reading before the two doctors had entered the room. He glanced up to check the patient periodically, but paid more attention to his book as the evening rolled on into night.

Jerrison sat in the small cell and waited. There was little else he could do. The officers had processed his through the system, stripped him down and handed him a white one piece jump suit to wear along with boxers and socks and a pair of slip on shoes. He was then escorted to a three man cell where only one other man lay sleeping. He was locked in and left alone and that was more than four hours ago. The other man still slept the sleep of the dead. Jerrison wondered if the man might not actually be dead but he heard a loud snore from time to time as the man would toss and urn, changing position on the narrow bed.

Who would break in and beat up Heath? What would be the point? There was no money in the apartment. Had Heath made someone mad? A former lover maybe? Or did this have something to do with his trying to find out with what got him sent to the island? Would they try and kill an innocent person to get him off the trail. It didn't seem logical. The smart thing to have done would have been to just kill him to begin with instead of shuffling him off to this island. Someone wanted to be rid of him but didn't want him dead for some reason but why? None of it made any sense.

The lock clicked and the door swung open, "Draper, got a visitor." The officer said. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

Jerrison did as he was told. The cuffs clicked tightly on his wrists and he was snatched around roughly by the shoulder. The officer led him out into the narrow hallway and relocked the door.

The two men went down the hallway in silence and stopped outside another door. The man unlocked this door and pushed Jerrison in harshly. "Fifteen minutes. He slammed the door shut and locked it. He did not remove the handcuffs.

The tall man near the barred window turned to face him. There was something familiar about him but Jerrison couldn't place him.

"You probably don't remember me." The man turned and faced Jerrison. "I was a friend of Chad's, in another life. Seems like another life anyway."

"You look familiar but I can't place a name to the face." Jerrison said. He thought back to his college days but there were just a lot of blank spots. After Chad died he had spent a great deal of time drinking in a depressed race to drown the pain or kill himself whichever came first.

"Frank Hess." Frank supplied. "You and I rarely spoke actually. I was only in Chad's life when you were to busy to notice him."

"It was never to busy to notice Chad." Jerrison said defensively.

"The memory plays many tricks over time, Jerrison. You actually became quite adept at taking Chad for granted there for a while. He actually thought you might be having an affair. Of course you weren't, you were just buried in school but I encouraged his affair scenario."

Jerrison just looked at the man.

"That's right, I was in love with him too; but he only thought of me as his funny, somewhat fat geeky friend. He was so far up your ass he never noticed how I felt. Doesn't matter though. I have a happy marriage to a great guy now."

"Why are you here?" Jerrison asked. "I guess it isn't to actually help me or you would have already."

"Very perceptive of you. You see, Heath works for me and I a happen to be very fond of the young man. I'm not pleased that you used him for a punching bag."

"I didn't." Jerrison said.

Frank smiled. "No, I don't suppose you did. Someone did though. Who have you pissed of since you got here?"

"Nobody that I know of, I've only been here a few days and had contact with about seven people total."

"Then someone here is working for whoever it was on the outside that arranged this little vacation for you." Frank sat at the table and crossed his left leg over his right. You rich enough to have enemies that powerful?"

"I didn't think so. I had some money, a little power and a decent job, hardly what you would call a mover and shaker though." Jerrison took his seat with great care. It took a great deal of effort with his hands cuffed behind his back.

"Then it must have been personal."

"You sound more and more like you want to help."

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet, to be truthful."

"Are you in a position to help?"

"I'm a representative with a back ground in both criminal law and all the homosexual statutes on the books, so yes, I would say I'm in a position to help. You see, I told Heath to put us in touch the day he was assaulted.

"He didn't tell me he worked for a representative."

"Because he was under orders not to. You see I work mostly for the government as a prosecutor. I only rarely take a defense case. I have to be... moved, to become involved."

"Okay, Frank. What do you want from me," Jerrison asked.

"Well, right to the point, aren't we? Okay then. What I want is for you to be very good to Heath. You see I was at the hospital before I came here and he is going to be just fine. Oh, he's still unconscious but they expect he'll wake up soon."

"He looked so... dead." Jerrison said.

"Most of the damage was superficial. He'll need some cosmetic surgery and a good dentist when the bruising and swelling goes away but he'll heal."

"If I can get my hands on my money I'll take care of it." Jerrison said.

"Already taken care of, I ordered everything while I was at the hospital. As soon as he is able the island's best plastic surgeon will get to work on him, and we do have one of the best, he was one of Hollywood's highest paid surgeons for years; surgeon to the stars you might say."

"Well, that's good to know." Jerrison said. At least Heath was being taken care of.

"I'm inclined to help you. Not because I like you personally, because I don't; but two men that I have known in my life have both found things in you that they found worth while enough to love. I take their belief in you as a sign that you are a person of some worth."

"I appreciate that." Jerrison said, there was some degree of sarcasm in his voice but he tried to bury it as best as possible. He needed this man and despite his giant ego, he was probably the only person on this island that could save his ass.

"Who in the outside word is your number one suspect for setting this all up?"

"Well, if she had the power and the connections I'd say my wife, Gloria. Since I doubt it could be her, I'd say it was one of my business partners. Probably Phillip Carter, my wife has supposedly married him since I was declared dead."

"Would he have this kind of power?"

"Oh, yes. The power the connections and the jealousy that would lead him to send me to a place like this for his own amusement; if he didn't know about my gay past he would find send a supposed womanizer to an island for homosexuals highly amusing."

"Why wouldn't he just have you killed?"

"Not his style. He would have more fun this way, controlling me from a distance while living with my family."

"I see your point. He's not just jealous of you, he hates your fucking guts."

"Not to put to a fine a point on it, but yes, he does."

"Any particular reason?"

"He's not me. I have more money, I'm well respected within the company and the community and have the power to crush him to dust and he knows it. He's been pretending to be my best friend for years and fucking Gloria behind my back for almost as long."

"You knew he was screwing your wife?"

"Better him than me. I hate the bitch."

"Okay, I get the picture." Frank nodded. "how did you live straight all those years?"

"I buried who I was and had affairs with women I didn't like much less love. I devoted myself to my kids and my job in that order. Those two kids were my world. I don't think my daughter ever appreciated that but my son does. Cynthia is her mother's daughter in every way. Ricky is my boy, from head to toe. I look at him, listen to him; I see myself at that age."

"Is he going to be like you were?" Frank asks, the implication obvious in the words.

"I don't know. I saw signs but he's still so young. I met Chad when I was nine and we became best friends. Ricky doesn't have a friend like that. I can't see how he'll develop. I guess I never will now."

"We'll see about that." Frank said.

The fifteen minutes had long passed by but the officer hadn't returned for him.

"I thought I only had fifteen minutes?"

"The officer came to the window some time I go. I signaled him to leave us alone. You see, I have a great deal of authority here. I wasn't sent to Homony. I came of my own free will and was paid handsomely. In the outside world I was about to face some very unpleasant circumstances due to an unfortunate choice of sexual partner. Before the authorities got hold of the information I made a deal with the government to come here as their lead prosecutor for a substantial fee and a rather nice beach house."

"What happened to the case against you?"

"No idea. It went away, I suppose. I packed up my possessions and took a rather pleasant cruise to Sydney then another boat trip to Homony and the rest is history."

"So you would have ended up here anyway, you just turned the circumstances in your favor."

"You can look at it that way, sure."

"Well, at least you know how to manipulate the system. Maybe you can help me after all." Jerrison said. He was not happy having to deal with this man but he could see no other options. The evil you know versus the evil you don't.

"I suppose I should go see what I can get done. It's a new day you know. I need to contact some people in Los Angeles and see what I can find out about this Phillip Carter." Frank stood up. He couldn't push the chair under the table as it was bolted to the floor.

"What about getting me out of here?"

"Not going to happen. Not until Heath wakes up and clears you of the assault, anyway, that or your found innocent. You see, there is no bail here. You stay locked up until trial and since we only have one judge that could take a while." Frank walked to the door and knocked.

"If you are the lead prosecutor and your going to defend me, who's going to prosecute?"

"My assistant DA. He's a good man. Very diligent and he hates assault cases. He lost his first lover to assault. Someone beat the poor man to death with a metal baseball bat ten years ago. That was back in New Jersey."

"Well, I didn't do it, and you know it."

"Yes, we just have to prove it." The lock clicked and Frank walked out, the door closed and locked again.

Five minutes later it was opened again and the officer who had led him in and took him back to his cell and took the cuffs off and shoved him across the room to the metal bed which was connected to the wall.

"Hey!"

"Shut the fuck up!" The officer locked the door and was gone.

"Be glad he didn't kick you in the nuts." The man said from the upper bunk. He was finally awake.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were in a coma." Jerrison said.

"Near about, I guess." The man said. "I took a night stick took the head a few times and got thrown in here. Don't know when."

"What for?"

"Disagreement over funds owed for services rendered."

"Okay," Jerrison said. He said on his bunk.

They sat in silence for a while. He could hear the man breathing as though he gone back to sleep.

"What'd they get you for?" The voice called out.

"Something I didn't do." Jerrison replied.

"Yeah, ain't it always the way," the voice dripped sarcasm.

"I'm accused of beating someone up."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't do it?"

"Nope, came home and found him just as the cops showed up."

"That sucks, man. He okay?

"That's what I hear from my lawyer. I won't be comfortable until I see him though."

"Yeah, I get yeah. I haven't had a real boyfriend in many a year. I tend to lean toward the companion trade. Pay for what you want and walk away. You get the lay without the complications."

"What happened this time?"

"I was a little short of funds, or so the kid said. He actually stripped my wallet while I was out cold from the Mickey he slipped in my drink."

"I thought there were no drugs or alcohol here on the island."

"Yeah, right, if you believe that, I got pass back to the states I can sell ya." The man laughed.

More new information for him to take in, so there was vice on the island; he had kind of thought there might be. He wondered what other secrets Homony held close to its heart. The vices of Homony weren't his problem, knowing them wouldn't get him out of this mess. He would just have to file the information away for future use should I time come when it would do him some good. If this all worked out he could see himself building a life here, a life where he and Heath were together as a couple. A life where he could actually practice law, maybe defense law. It was take a great deal of study but it could be done.

He forced his thoughts back to the present problem. His future may never come to pass if he couldn't fix the present. What he needed most was for Heath to wake up and tell the authorities that it wasn't him that attacked him, otherwise he could be locked up here for God only knew how long.