This is a story of erotic Gay fiction. If you are a minor or it is illegal to view this material in your area, please go away. If this sort of thing floats your boat, read on and enjoy.
This story took place in a fantasy world free of things like diseases; don't make love without a glove!
This chapter doesn't have much in the way of sex scenes. Sometimes you just can't move a story forward with a hot sex scene...hard to believe I know. Thanks to all for the comments, especially the ones that have pointed out the weaknesses, they make me a better writer, I hope.
Dante-
The General-8
Suk hung up the phone, she was furious and jealous and very angry. She had always thought Dan would come to his senses one day and they could get back together. Now she knew the real reason behind his isolation and their subsequent breakup. "He's Gay!" She thought for awhile, seeing for the first time how that made all the pieces fit together, her legal training came to her rescue as she schooled her feelings and tried to think how this affected things legally. She calmed down and made a few phone calls.
Jock had been back at the base for a few days, nothing new was going on. Their mission was on target, information was being gleaned and sent on to Washington. He was sitting in his office completing yet another report when the Sergeant buzzed and told him he had a call.
"This is General Ramirez," Jock said into the phone.
"Jock, see you made it back from vacation. Have a good time?" The Colonel asked.
"Well Hey, Colonel, yeah I had a great vacation, something wrong with Eric's mom?" He asked.
"No, Ellen's the same. Still doing fine." He sighed then continued, "I got a call from Bill Marlow yesterday, you know Bill he's an Under Secretary of Defense for the Army." He asked.
"Yeah, Colonel, I know him." Jock remembered the man who had run the investigation into Eric's death well. Except back then he had been a Colonel.
"Listen Jock, he called me yesterday to talk about playing a round of golf with him, I told him Ellen and I would love to, he mentioned some old business that involved Eric, said I should check with you. I told him I was sure you would know. He mentioned someone named McClean, an attorney, who was asking around the department about it; thought you ought to know." He paused again and then, "Glad you had a good vacation, you deserved it. Take care of yourself, Jock." He said.
"Thanks Colonel, I will. Give my love to Ellen." Jock said in a strained but cheerful voice. They hung up.
Jock was very calm, his training taking over. "Fuck," he mumbled under his breath. "How'd they find out so quick?" He knew the Colonel had just delivered a veiled message, he didn't play golf, in fact hated it and Ellen was a vegetable. All that shit was for any listening ears. "Dan's ex-wife was asking about Eric's death, impossible. She couldn't know about that. She must have guessed about Dan and my relationship...how? Dan must have told her." He thought..."Fuck!" he said more loudly. He went through his day without further incident pretending everything was as it should be. He couldn't contact Dan while on duty, it was too easy to trace. He thought that at the earliest central command would have heard the rumor yesterday so unless they got really on the ball, it wasn't likely the Colonel's conversation was overheard, but you couldn't be too careful. Jock knew what he was dealing with, he'd been through it before when Eric died. He was looking at a dishonorable discharge and loosing his pension. The big boys already knew he was leaving at the end of this tour so hopefully they wouldn't be too anxious for a witch hunt, if Suk would stop pressing. He had to get through to Dan, but couldn't think of a way at present. He'd have to bide his time.
I was at my desk, wading through piles of paper trying to find the install plan for a little Podunk place in Vermont. My desk was buried under its normal clutter compounded by being out of the office for over a week.
"Hell's bells how'm I suppose to find anything in this pile of shit!" I exclaimed to the blank walls. I was still upset about Suk's conversation the night Jock left. I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid. I figured she would file a motion to limit my visitation rights if the kids didn't throw a fit. "Fuck!" I said as a pile of paper toppled to the floor. Just then the phone started ringing muffled under a pile of paper. I unearthed it with the finesse of an archeologist digging up a pharaoh.
"Yeah, this is Dan." I barked.
"Yes Mr. McClean, you don't know me, but I think we have a mutual friend, Jorges Ramirez. Can you spare me a few minutes?" The voice asked.
"Uh, who is this?" I asked.
"Well, it's doubtful that Jock has told you about me, but I'm the father of an old friend of his. Did he ever mention Eric to you?" The voice quavered slightly sounding old.
"Uh yeah, he might've mentioned an Eric. What can I do for you?" I said curious now.
"I just wanted to tell you that there is an attorney named McClean that is inquiring around the Pentagon about the General and while no accusations have been made yet, she is asking questions that are leading certain friends of mine toward a conclusion that the Army has regulations against. If an inquiry was held, and Jock found in violation his career would be over, he would loose his retirement and might go to jail." He paused letting the news sink in, "I don't think either of us wants that, do we Mr. McClean?"
I was frozen, I couldn't believe Suk could be so vindictive, I cleared my throat and then, "Well hell no, I'd hate to see Jock in any trouble. How can I help prevent that?" I said.
The Colonel sighed and said, "One, you need to be more careful who you tell secrets to. At least until Jock's safely out of the service. Two, you can call that ex-wife of yours and get her to back off. Not much damage has been done yet, but the blood hounds don't take much of a scent to set off down a trail. There are some at Central Command that think Jock should have taken the fall when Eric died. They are only looking for an excuse to go there again. Neither Eric's mother nor I want Jock to go through that again. I've called in all the favors I have out in Washington, but I've been gone so long now that I'm not sure that's enough. Jock needs to keep his head down and away from you until this blows over."
"Why do you care so much?" I asked slightly miffed at the reprimand.
"Because my son loved him, and I believe he loved Eric. Jock is like one of my own children, I want to see him happy. If you are the one to make him happy, then you need to take care of that trust." He said and hung up.
I sat stunned for a few minutes, the install plan forgotten. Then I called Suk's office. "Suk..."I began only to be cut off.
"Damn it Dan, I don't want to talk to you!" She said, "I'm not going to be reasonable about this. We spent 12 years together, you said you loved me. We had two children together, and I'm supposed to be reasonable when you decide to be gay?" She laughed, "Gimme a break, Dan."
"Suk, I'm not asking for you to be reasonable to me, but you're trying to hurt someone who isn't in this fight. Jock doesn't deserve the witch hunt you are gonna sick on him." I said evenly. "What do you want, Suk, I'll do anything to get you to back off Jock."
"Fuck!" she said, "I'd like to have you castrated and your balls bronzed and hung over my desk!" Dan could hear her sob, "Why, Dan, why the fuck did you ask me out, ask me to date, ask me to marry you? Why can't I get the hole you've left in my heart fixed? I feel like my life is worthless because I was never what you wanted." She was crying.
"Suk, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I thought you were what I wanted. Hell I'm from a little redneck town in South Georgia, I didn't even know there was such a thing as being gay til I went to college. When I said I loved you, I meant it, when I asked you to marry me I thought I wanted it. Suk it isn't your fault, hell the medical community doesn't even think it's my fault but a damned programming error in my DNA. I loved you until we fought our way out of love, and I realize that the fighting was really about my hidden self. I only found it when I went into therapy. Do you think that I was happy about it, I was only happy that I'd found the problem.
I love our children, OUR children Suk. In a way I still love you, as their mother. Would this have been easier if I'd fallen for another woman? Think about this, would you have felt better knowing that I'd found another woman more compatible and attractive than you? I don't think so. It isn't your fault Suk." I stopped out of breath.
Suk's sobs were still evident but they were quieter, "I'll lay off him Dan, you're right, he isn't to blame. You're right another woman would have been worse. Damn you. I'm gonna hang up now and go home and try to get my shit together. Don't call me anymore, Dan, I need room to try and forget you finally. I'll have Janine call with anything concerning the kids, you can contact me through her or through my service. The line went dead.
"Fuck!" I said.
The days slowly went by, they turned into a couple weeks and still I hadn't heard from Jock. Because he was stationed in that God forsaken Top Secret installation, I couldn't call him. I could only wait for Jock to contact me. Saturday morning dawned, and found me sleeping fitfully; I had tossed and turned all night unable to sleep for longer than an hour at a stretch. I still hadn't heard from Jock and could only assume that he agreed with Eric's dad that we needed to stay apart for awhile. I was drifting back into sleep when the phone rang, I was so close to sleep that I didn't for a minute recognize the sound. Then I sat straight up and lunged for the phone, knocking a book off the table.
"Hello?" I said
"Hey, Dan, sorry to wake you up." Jock said
"Fuck! Jock, God I'm glad to hear from you. Did Eric's dad talk to you?" I said.
"Yeah, Dan, he did. That's why you haven't heard from me. I had to wait until I got off base and to a payphone to call."
"Damn Jock, I'm sorry...I never dreamed Suk would do something like this. I shouldn't have told her anything, it just slipped out. Babe I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that right?" I said quietly.
"I don't know what I believe anymore, Dan. It's like it was when Eric died, I don't think I can stand that again. I can only wait and see what the Army decides.
If they investigate it won't be too hard to find enough evidence, we haven't been overly secretive." Jock said and sighed.
"Where are you babe?" I said as I was pulling my jeans on.
"I'm in San Antonio, I got a flight into Ft. Sam. We need to keep our heads down for a while."
Dan felt his chest tighten with emotion; he could feel the sadness in Jock's voice and was devastated that he was the cause. "What are you gonna do, Jock?" I asked nearly sobbing.
"I'm gonna go visit my family, it's been awhile and I have a couple new nieces and nephews to meet. Then I'm headed back. I'll call you when I'm off base again. Take care Dan." Jock whispered.
"I love you Jock, please believe that. I talked to Suk and she said she would back off. I believe her, Jock, I'm the one she's mad at." I said.
"I don't know what I believe anymore, Dan, but thanks for getting her to lay off. I need time to think." he hung up.
Dan spent the rest of that weekend and the next month thinking about Jock and wishing he could talk to him face to face, somehow let their bodies communicate more effectively than their mouths. But Jock stayed away, he waited for the call to come on the next weekend cycle and it didn't. He got drunk and slept the weekend away. He plunged into the blackest of depressions and was seeing his shrink a couple times a week and taking some god awful pill to make him feel better, it failed miserably.
While at work he was told his line was being downsized as they were trying to sell off the military source code. Dan climbed out of his funk long enough to angrily tell his boss he would buy the shit himself if they would name him a price. The company came back with an offer, Dan thought about his contacts in the business and the numerous programming consultants he knew and talked to his bank. He made a counter offer and with the collateral of his 401k and his share of his father's estate he purchased the software. The challenge of the negotiation and the subsequent string of meetings trying to come up with financing managed to take his mind a little way away from Jock and that disaster. He was now faced with the challenge of starting a business and all that entailed. At first he tried running the business from his apartment, but that proved too difficult, the company allowed him to stay in his current office for a month while he got the business off the ground. Finally, as he was sitting in his father's old study in Thomasville he thought seriously about moving back there, the house hadn't been leased yet, he had been staying in it on his frequent trips to take care of his Mom. He realized that three months had slipped by since he had last talked to Jock. He clamped down on his heart and tried to forget about him.
"Hell there certainly is enough space here." I thought, "I could gut the third floor and upgrade the wiring and add a T-1 connection. Most of my work is done on the client site anyway, and I'm gonna be in D.C. a lot. All my programming is gonna be outsourced, marketing is almost nil." The idea appealed to me the more I thought about it. It would allow me to be near my Mom and away from Suk. My kids would have to make the trip down every other week.
I was sitting in the airport in Atlanta waiting for my flight to National when my cell phone chirped. I didn't recognize the number and thought about not answering it but decided it could be my contact in D.C. "This is Dan." I said.
"Hey Dan, "Jock said, "I thought...I mean, I wanted to...Dan, please....Fuck."
My heart stopped, I was plunged into a whirlpool of conflicted emotions at the sound of Jock's voice. Part of me wanted to cry and beg Jock to forgive me; but another part wanted to tell Jock to fuck off. It'd been nearly four months. "Jock," I paused, "It's good to hear your voice again." I said neutrally.
"Dan, I tried your apartment and the phone had been disconnected and then I tried your office number and a stranger said you didn't work there anymore and gave me this number. I...wanted to talk to you. Where are you?" he asked
"In the airport, waiting on a flight, in fact their calling my flight to board as we speak, can I call you back when I land? Or can you call me back in a couple of hours?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll call you back...Dan, I ...I'll call you then."
Jock said.
On the flight up to National I was torn between elation and anger. What could possibly be gained after all this time apart? What did I still feel for him? Did I feel anything for him now? What did he feel for me? "Shit!" I thought, anger winning out.
I was waiting at the rental car counter when the cell phone chirped again. "This is Dan."
"Dan, I forgot to ask where you were flying to." Jock said.
"I'm in D.C., I've got to meet with OAI and the AG's office to sign support agreements on this fucking piece of shit software. I'm at National and the fucking rental counter is backed up as usual." I said pissed.
"Come out front and I'll pick you up in about 20 minutes." He said.
"What? Aren't you in the fucking desert somewhere?" I asked astonished.
"No, just shut the fuck up for a few minutes and meet me out front in 20, I'm driving a Fucking GI minivan." He said and hung up.
"Fuck!" I thought, "not only do I have to deal with the bureaucrats I get to have a fight with Jock!"
I saw Jock as he slammed the brakes on the puke green minivan with the GI license plates. He popped the door locks and I threw my stuff in the back and climbed in. He threw the van in gear and speed off out of the airport, traffic was it's usual congestion around National but we were soon onto the expressway.
"Where're you staying?" he asked
"The Marriott over off Dupont Circle." I said
Silence descended as we made our way through traffic. He seemed pretty comfortable driving around the District, something I didn't think I ever would be. He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine. I reached for the door handle and was about to thank him for the ride, when he reached out and touched my arm. I froze, "Please don't Jock."
"Dan, please, let's talk out here." He said and I looked into his eyes and could see pain and something else there, that maybe I was afraid to describe.
I sighed and said, "Jock I said I was sorry about Suk, I know it was probably the stupidest fucking thing I've ever done, but it was an honest mistake. It really just slipped out without my thinking about it. I don't know what else I can or could have said. I've beat myself to death with regret but its past Jock, I fixed it the best I could and you didn't call again. You just about sent me around the bend Jock; I'm just now starting to see light again, why would you suddenly want to talk to me again."
"Dan, it's my turn to say I'm sorry. I felt betrayed and like a dirty secret again. I've had a longtime to think about that and when I realized I was being pig headed it had been so long I was afraid to call. Dan, I needed to see you again, see if there was anything to salvage even if it was just friendship. I remember you told me once, in the desert, that no matter how we shook down you always wanted to be my friend." He paused and silence descended.
I stared out the window at nothing thinking about what he had said, sure I could understand it, maybe even believe it. Hell I felt responsible for it. What did I still feel?
"Dan, do you still love me?" Jock asked and I could hear a sob in his voice. "You know I still love you."
"Fuck, Jock...it's been so long...Fuck! Of course I still love you. I never stopped loving you. That's what nearly sent me off the deep end. I'd found the one person in the world that could touch the deepest chord in me. I can't just stop loving someone like that. I don't think I ever can. I understand what Suk was telling me about a hole in the heart that can't be fixed." I said. I felt his hand touch mine, I looked over at him and saw tears running down his face also.
"Dan, let's start again. Please?" He said.
To be continued.....