Fearless Leader (Juxtapose City) (31 page)

(Lean back. Tilt your head up.)

Jake bit his tongue, using the pain to distract him from the order. To his relief it worked. He lowered his chin on his own and met Starr's approving nod.

"Let's go, sweetheart."

They stopped at the end of the alley, Jake in front. He hadn't lost his gun and he allowed the weapon to lead as he darted his head around the corner of a building. He saw JC2's utility craft parked up on the sidewalk.

"They're close," he whispered back to Starr.

(Ah, yes. Open your legs for me. Don't be shy.)

Jake's legs trembled as he resisted the order. Oh, God, Black! His leader must be fighting Genesis good for the telepath to be sending out like this. Jake was by turns proud of his former lover and disturbed by what Starr had suggested about Black and Genesis. It couldn't be true. There was no way it could.
But listen to what he's saying to Black.

"What are you waiting for?" Starr hissed behind him.

Jake clamped down on his stray thoughts and moved forward, gun extended. Instinct told him that Black and Sola had sought his and Starr's old location. With Starr in tow he carefully traversed the sidewalk, heading towards the alley that he and the empath had first been flushed from. At the mouth of the alley he paused before slowly peeking into it.

"Bastard!" Starr snarled. It was Jake's response, exactly.

Sola sat on the ground, weapon abandoned at his feet, both hands covering his ears. The man's eyes were tightly clenched and Jake thought he could hear the man moaning as he rocked back and forth.

Genesis had fucked with him. Sola was out of commission.

Jake discarded the man for what really mattered to him: Black and Genesis.

It was Jake's first glimpse of Genesis, the telepath the JCPD claimed to want to catch but was too afraid to touch. The last Jake had heard of the man Genesis had been a drooling idiot, abandoned on the streets by his gang and presumably shot. What he saw before him was no idiot and no ghost.

Genesis was tall and had a build similar to his own. He wore a long black PVC duster that came to the tops of his thick black boots. The boots had wickedly pointed toes that Jake would have normally laughed at as being sissy shoes but he'd bet his balls that the points on those boots were there for more than just style.

Genesis was facing him and the front of his duster was opened at the chest, cinched at the waist by a belt. Jake could make out the suggestion of a broad chest and shoulders beneath the electric blue shirt the man wore. Genesis was strong.

Medium-length, glossy black hair flowed over the raised collar of the coat, brushing the tops of Genesis' shoulders. The solid color was stark contrast to Genesis' face.

Genesis was a handsome man, square-jawed and smooth-skinned beneath the pale powder he wore. He wasn't classically beautiful like Starr not did he possess the angry, male model look of Black. Genesis was just handsome. And slightly scary, in Jake's opinion. Besides the pale makeup, Genesis' face was decorated with swirling blue face paint. It wasn't a tribal pattern; Jake guessed that it was some psypath thing. The blue swirling pattern traveled from ear to ear in an arc over the top of his face, extending from his hair line to an inch or so towards the center of his face. The blue framed his eyes which were lined thickly in kohl. They too, were a brilliant blue.

He was the freakiest freak Jake had encountered yet and just seeing him so close to Black made him want to scream.

Genesis was smiling down at the lieutenant with lips painted a matte black. Genesis whispered something that Jake couldn't hear and bent to run his tongue up Black's cheek. Black had his eyes clenched shut and was drenched with sweat, shaking as his assault rifle hung uselessly in his slack fingers.

Genesis moved closer, backing Black against the wall of the alley. One knee was inserted between Black's legs and was moving up and down against him. Black's flak jacket and the heavy black shirt he wore beneath were both open, baring his naked chest to the gloved fingers that were pinching Black's nipples.

"Fucker," Jake seethed, surging forward.

But his attempt to make a glorious rescue was foiled before he could take a step. Excruciating pain lanced through his head. He stopped, floundering in agony where he stood. Something smashed together in his mind like two invisible fists pounding against each other, knuckle to knuckle. He groaned as his eyes rolled up into his head. The pain escalated. He thought he could hear voices... He dropped to the ground unconscious.

Calyx stepped over him, clutching at his head but retaining consciousness by sheer willpower. His head throbbed, stuffed with too much input. He heard things that made him want to gape in wonder. But there was no time for that. He bent and picked up Jake's gun, intending to do what the sergeant couldn't.

Before he could, the alley erupted into a spray of bullets.

The brick wall overhead seemed to explode, raining shards of concrete onto his head. He ducked down and yanked at Jake's body, trying to pull him out of the line of erratic gunfire. He looked up to see Genesis jumping backwards, his face a mask of surprise. Black's assault rifle rattled wildly in the narrow alley like hail on a tin roof.

Genesis laughed amidst the wreckage. "That's what I was looking for." His eyes flicked to Calyx, kneeling over Jake's inert body. "We'll do this again when we don't have an audience."

Black's answer was the clatter of his gun, bullets stabbing the asphalt at the telepath's feet. Genesis jumped out of the way and grabbed Sola, dragging the insensate man to his feet. Genesis used him as a human shield as he backed down the alley. Black's face was sheened with sweat as he stared after them. A roar of fury ripped from his lungs when Genesis finally dropped Sola at the end of the alley and he disappeared into the shadows. Black brought a hand up to his face and sobbed once.

Calyx murmured in shared anger. The sound made Black drop the hand from his face and swing his gun towards the empath. Calyx froze. The look on Black's face made Calyx very, very nervous.

"You could do it," Calyx said, trying to be calm but finding his nerves strung out like he'd been off of Bliss for a month. "You could shoot me and blame it on a stray bullet. Cole would vouch for you."

"You think you deserve it?" Black asked, his voice raw.

"Maybe." Calyx swallowed, rising to his feet. "Maybe we both do, sweetheart. Or maybe--" he took one step towards Black "-- maybe we both deserve a second chance."

"Don't try -- don't try to know me," Black said, his voice cracking.

Calyx took another step forward. Then another. The gun followed him, its muzzle aimed at his chest. "You know I can't promise that, Darkness." Calyx approached him until the hot tip of the gun threatened to sear a hole through the ragged remains of his shirt. "But I can promise that I won't use what I learn to try to hurt you."

The gun wavered. Black's eyes were huge. "I'm sorry for what he did," Black croaked. "I should have protected you. You're my responsibility."

Calyx’s smile was pained. "There was nothing you could have done, sweetheart."

"Yes, there was. I could have prevented it." The gun sagged, its tip dragging on the concrete. Black slumped back against the wall and closed his eyes. "My head hurts."

Calyx wanted to touch him but he didn't. He said, "Everything will be alright. We survived. That's all that matters."

But the affirmation didn't help. Black kept his eyes closed and his smile was defeated. "No," he murmured, "nothing can ever be right again."

Captain Dickerson looked up as his office door slammed. Black stood before him.

Dickerson waved him away. "There's no reason for you to be here. I have your report on Genesis on my PRU. It was a bit sketchy in some places but it was adequate."

"I want you to stay away from my team."

Dickerson pushed away the keyboard he'd been working on and sat back in his chair. "What are you talking about, lieutenant?"

"You gave me command of JC2. That means it's mine." Black braced both hands on Dickerson's desk and leaned forward until he could see the veins in the captain's eyes. "I protect what's mine. No one is allowed to hurt them. Not even you."

He knew he'd surprised Dickerson. Black had never defied him before.

"You forget who holds the cards here," the captain responded angrily. "You don't tell me what to do, lieutenant. You're lucky to be standing where you are."

But Black wasn't afraid. Black was determined. "I haven't forgotten. I'm well aware of the situation, captain. That's why I'm willing to make a bargain with you."

Dickerson's eyes narrowed. "What is this bargain?"

Black's voice cut through the silence like a surgeon's knife, slow and precise. "I want you to leave Starr alone. I don't want you to touch him and I don't want you to talk to him. That goes for the rest of my team as well. You don't go near them unless it's for official business."

Dickerson smirked. "And in return?"

The coffee-brown eyes muddied. "I'll give you what I haven't before. I'll give you everything."

Dickerson shook his head. "I'll get that from you eventually anyway, lieutenant. Unlike you I know how far your resistance will stretch before it breaks. It's only a matter of time."

Before the other man could guess his intentions, Black whipped out his gun and placed it against the captain's temple. Dark eyes smoldered with rage as they glared back at Black.

"How dare you--"

"It's not a big drop for me, captain. You know I could do it."

Dickerson's lips curled. "You don't scare me, boy."

In an abrupt flip, Black pulled the gun on himself, pressing the muzzle beneath his chin. "Then what if I threaten something else of yours? How much do you want me? You know I don't care. A bullet in the brain or continuing on the way it is isn't much different to me."

The seconds stretched, their eyes locked. Black wasn't bluffing. Dickerson had to see that. After a long taut moment the captain held up his hands. "Put the gun away, Black."

Black kept the gun where it was. "We have a deal?"

Dickerson nodded and held out his hand. "I stay away from your team. You submit to what I want."

It was a deal with the Devil. The Devil's hand was hot and dry as it engulfed Black's. "This may have worked out for both of us," Dickerson purred, the tip of his middle finger stroking the inside of Black's wrist.

Black let him, holding back a shudder until the captain released him. He quickly backed to the door and opened it. Looking back, he said, "JC2 will be fully functional by the end of next week. We'll be ready for anything you require of us."

"That's good to hear, lieutenant. I'm sure I'll have need of your
services
in due time."

Black shut the door, banishing the image of Dickerson smirking behind his steepled fingers. Black told himself that he'd done the right thing. It was the only thing. If he was going to lead this team he had to keep it safe.

He felt the glances following him out of the station. He heard the whispers. He knew what they said about him. At long last he didn't care. What they thought of him was true in many ways. He had finally come to accept who he was. He was Dickerson's boy. He was the department's slave. He was also JC2's leader and he was proud of it.

JC2 would soon be a force to be reckoned with in the JCPD. Black would stake his career and his life on it.

Thanks in part to Calyx Starr, he just had.