1 – ‘Come gentle night…’

Kemp crept wraithlike through the silent, rain washed streets, listening intently for any followers. He didn’t need this. Didn’t deserve it. All he’d wanted was to check the dumpster behind the bakery. Sometimes they tossed out the day-old breads and rolls, and if he was lucky he could beat the others to them. It wasn’t like he’d starve if he didn’t find something there. But he got tired of cheap burgers that were about all he could afford. That and soup kitchen slop. Almost every cent he made went to pay for the hole-in-the wall room at the cheap hotel. Day labor didn’t pay well, not when he didn’t get hired much. They’d take one look at him and figure he probably couldn’t even lift a shovel, much less use it correctly. So he got chosen when there was no one else, or when someone needed a flunky to do janitorial work. 

That’s why he did the dumpster-diving thing behind places where he knew he’d get something halfway edible to flesh out his meager diet. Like tonight. He’d been about to see what might have been in the bakery’s dumpster when he’d heard footsteps, several pairs. Pulling back into the corner between the dumpster and the wall he’d cautiously peeked over the top to see who was coming.

Two men came into sight, hauling a third one between them. When they were next to the dumpster one of the haulers had pulled out a knife. “You shoulda minded your own business,” he told the haulee, pressing the blade to his chest. The victim shook his head wildly, opening his mouth as if to yell for help. He didn’t get the chance as the knife entered his chest again and again, the rain washing the blood down to blend with the filth in the alley.

Kemp gasped. He couldn’t help it; he’d never seen a man killed before. Beat up, yeah. Hell that had happened to him a time or three. But murdered, never.

The two men dropped the body and turned towards him. Kemp took off running like the devil was after him, and as far as he was concerned it was. Two devils, their footsteps echoing down the alley behind him as he sped to the entrance. If he could make it to the street maybe he’d be okay. Maybe.

Skidding around the corner onto the sidewalk he gasped for breath. Ahead was a small all-night deli. He checked behind him for a second, saw the men a few yards away, and ran like hell, pulling the deli door open. It was almost empty. The lone waiter’s eyes followed him as he sped towards the rear of the deli. He’d been here before; he knew there were stairs at the back that led up to the roof. Not a safe place, but safer than here. Now.

“Open, open,” he panted as he pressed against the hatch. It fought him and then with a loud screech popped up. Climbing onto the roof he slammed the hatch shut again.

The rain beat down on him as he half ran, half stumbled to the roof’s edge. A rusty fire escape led back down to the alley. Hearing the sound of the hatch opening, he swung onto the fire escape and clambered down. As he got to the bottom he looked up, saw one man on the way down, the other looking over the edge of the roof at him. He dropped ungracefully into the alley and sped down it, taking only a quick, terrified glance at the body as he passed it.

He made his way through two more alleys, dodging in and out of shadows, checking behind him until he thought he’d finally lost the killers. Then he took to the streets again, slipping from shadow to shadow like a wraith as he made his way back to the hotel.

The Cabbie and the Cop – 43

Another fare, another dollar. I gotta find a new job Simeon thought as he pulled his cab back into traffic. Not that he would, he liked what he did---both jobs.

 

It was still too warm, the pavement holding the heat of the day with no breeze to dispel it. Half the city folk who were still awake were happily ensconced in their air-conditioned homes or the local bars. The rest were wondering what they'd done to deserve another night with no respite from the heat. Or at least so he supposed.

He cruised down the avenue towards the nearest hotel, keeping an eye open for anyone who might need him while as usual ignoring the dispatcher. It was after all fifty-fifty that a potential fare who'd called in would either cancel, or grab another cab going by before he could get to the location.

As he started to pass the police station he saw a slender, blond-haired man standing in front of the entrance, his phone to his ear. Simeon honked then pulled over to the curb and Vergil jumped into the passenger seat.

"Did you call for a cab, sir?"

"Actually…" Vergil leaned over to give Simeon a hungry kiss. "I was going to but since one just happened to show up…"

"Pure luck; or happenstance."

"Either way it was fortuitous." Vergil sighed, sinking into the comfort of the seat, resting his head on the headrest. "Seems while I was gone someone decided to siphon the gas out of my car. I was about to call you when you showed up."

Simeon glanced worriedly at him. "Damn. I hope it didn't have to do with the job." 

   

"No it was just random but it still sucks. The job itself is over, successfully. Now…" Vergil grinned at his lover, "I have two days off to do what I please, or…" his grin widened, "who I please."

Without bothering to reply, Simeon called the dispatcher to let her know he was taking the rest of the night off and then turned the cab towards home—their home. They had a lot of catching up to do as Vergil had spent the last two weeks undercover, but before any of that happened there were more personal things which needed taking care of, such as reinforcing once again their love for each other. And the best place to do that was naked in their bed.

The End

The Cabbie and the Cop – 42

Vergil looked as if he was going to break into laughter, which he quickly suppressed, saying quite seriously, "You're right, that's always such a pain. You never know who might be listening in, even here, whereas your house probably has more security than the Pentagon."

"Exactly. Ergo… if you were living there it would make the whole thing a lot easier and safer and more convenient," Simeon said, his words almost meshing together in his hurry to get them out before he lost his nerve.  

"It would make a lot of things more `convenient'," Vergil agreed with a straight face. "So…" He looked guilelessly at Simeon, "when do you want me to move in?"

Simeon tried not to sigh in relief. It would sound so juvenile if he did. "Yesterday?"

"Well, it's a little late for that. Would tomorrow work? I'm off."

"Yes! I mean," Simeon tempered his voice, "Yes, tomorrow would be fine, except maybe tomorrow evening would be better so I can help?"

"Sure. It would give me time to pack up." Vergil was on his feet seconds later, closing the small distance between their chairs. Putting his hands on Simeon's shoulders he bent to kiss him. Suddenly he was in Simeon's lap as the kiss became passionate.

"I was afraid you'd think I was crazy, moving so fast," Simeon said when they finally came up for air.

"You are, and I do, but then I'm not exactly sane at the moment either." Vergil tangled his fingers in Simeon's hair, tugging lightly to urge him closer for another kiss.

"You're sure…"

"That I want to kiss you again? Oh yeah."

"No I mean…"

Leaning back, Vergil nodded. "Quite sure. Surprised as hell, but very, very sure."

"It won't be easy. Our hours are completely contradictory for starters."

"We've managed so far," Vergil pointed out.

"You like to cook, I rarely eat."

"But you can, and even if you don't, heck I'm used to cooking for one."

"I have enemies."

Vergil shrugged, even though he had been unaware of that fact. "We both do although mine are probably less inclined to set me on fire or decapitate me than yours are. If anyone shows up wanting to destroy one of us, well we'll have each other's backs so…" He chuckled, causing Simeon to look at him in question. "Are you trying to back out already?"

"Hell no! I just wanted to lay out what you, what we're getting into."

"Your orderly mind at work again. At least we're both neat-freaks so we won't be arguing about picking things up."

"But about other things?"

Vergil smiled, pressing a chaste kiss to Simeon's lips. "We wouldn't be human if we didn't argue occasionally."

"As you've pointed out, quite often actually, we aren't human."

"Semantics." Vergil rolled his eyes.

Simeon laughed. "Our favorite game."

Vergil snorted. "Second favorite maybe. My favorite game with you is…" His hand slid between them and he palmed Simeon's semi-hard erection through his slacks.

From that second on, for the next hour or more, all thoughts of future plans vanished as they lived totally in the present.

The Cabbie and the Cop – 41

Simeon had a plan. The problem was it involved Vergil and he wasn't sure he'd go along with it.

All right, not a problem really. Or so he hoped as he sat outside of Vergil's house. Just an exercise in convincing him it's to both our advantages if he agrees. But don't say `advantage', it makes it sound like a business deal. You'd think I'd know how to do this right after all these years.

He sighed, deciding to just play it by ear, and got out of the car.

A knock on the door got no response. Neither did ringing the bell once he found it. He tried both again. Still nothing so he made his way to the back of the house. If he remembered rightly Vergil's bedroom windows were the two on the far end. Bending, Simeon picked up a handful of gravel from the side of the path, tossing it against one of the windows. Then he waited.

It took two minutes until he saw a shadow on the windowpane and the window open. Vergil looked out sleepily.

"Why are you throwing stones?"

"Because you didn't hear me ring or knock?"

"Okay that makes sense I guess. Give me a minute and I'll be down to let you in."

Simeon figured he'd have more than a minute to kill so he went to the area Vergil had made into a small but very varied vegetable garden. Across the path from it wild flowers grew in profusion. He bent to sniff one that looked like a daisy and frowned. "Chocolate?"

"It's a Chocolate Daisy, or a Green Eye."

Spinning around, Simeon grumbled, "How did you manage to sneak up on me?" Then he realized Vergil was only wearing jeans. "You're going to catch a chill."

Vergil rolled his eyes. "If I can sleep next to you and not, trust me I won't out here."

"Good point I suppose," Simeon muttered. "Still…"

"You didn't come over to stand in my backyard discussing the temperature." Vergil laughed, sliding his arm around Simeon's waist. "So come on inside and tell me why you are here."

"It couldn't just be because I wanted to see you?"

"Of course, but…" Vergil cocked an eyebrow quizzically as he opened the back door.

"But… Yes. Well, so I do have an ulterior motive." Simeon followed him into the living room, wishing as he did that Vergil had a sofa there. But he didn't, so he took one of the chairs by the fireplace, waiting until Vergil sat as well. "Alright, I have a proposition of sorts for you." Well two but one at a time.

"Which is?" Vergil responded with a slight frown.

"Nothing illegal, I'll say that from the start. At least I don't think it is. You understand what I do and why. It occurred to me you're in a position to know if strange things happen. Things beyond the normal crimes so to speak."

Vergil tilted his head in agreement. "I am. Not that I've ever heard of anything which might match what you're implying." He smiled slightly. "Or if I did, I didn't think of it as being more than just someone going off the deep end, so to speak."

"That's exactly the sort of thing we're interested in. I'm sure ninety percent of the time it's just that. It's the other ten percent which might indicate someone non-human was involved."

"And you'd like to know about it. Sure, I don't see why I couldn't clue you in on the sly."

"Thank you." Simeon drummed his fingers on his knees. "Of course it would be easier to do so if… well… we didn't have to set up a meeting, either here or at a coffee shop or a park or what have you."

Cover reveal

One day after signing a contract with Fireborn Publishing for 'The Housemate' I have a cover by the very talented Allison Cassatta.