One Plus Two Equals... - 44

"Locking up means turning on the security system, too!" Auden glared at Julyan as he armed the system.

"Sorry," Julyan whispered.

"Just be damned glad… Aw hell, I'm the one who should be sorry for yelling at you."

"Why are you here and not Duane?"

"Because I'm the protector in this outfit."

Julyan frowned. "Why would I need protecting here?"

Auden sat down on the arm of the sofa. "You probably don't. Remember what we told you about being bait? I have the distinct feeling that's what's happening. Not that whoever called you expects you to show up tomorrow. They know you'll tell Duane and figure he'll be there instead of you. And if they happen to know what he is, they might be hoping it'll be me instead."

"Well, then don't go."

Auden shook his head. "If one of us doesn't show then they'll try something else, like just taking you instead of making you the messenger."

"Maybe they really think I'm just the houseboy."

"Don't count on it. They were trying to panic Duane by letting him know how close they were to you."

"That means they do know what he is, or at least that he works for the agency."

"I suspect so, all things considered. What's worse, they know you're you despite this." Auden reached over to ruffle Julyan's hair.

Julyan caught his hand before he could take it back, gripping it tightly. "You're not going there to meet them."

"Since when do you make the rules?" Auden spat out before he could stop himself. Seeing the hurt look on Julyan's face, he brought his temper under control again. "Don't you see I don't have a choice? It's better to end whatever game they have in mind before it goes any farther and you get hurt."

"What about you? You know you'll be walking into a trap and they have to know you're not stupid enough not to know it, so they're going to be very prepared."

Auden chuckled. "That’s a somewhat convoluted sentence, but I get what you're saying. I'll just have to be better prepared. It's not like I haven't faced down more than one at a time before."

"I know." Julyan worried his lip with his teeth. "Will you have backup?"

"If the boss here can spare someone. It's not like we're a huge organization."

One Plus Two Equals... - 43

Grocery shopping took three-quarters of an hour, during which Julyan kept expecting his phone to vibrate again. When it didn't, he figured it really had been a wrong number. He paid for the groceries, stowing them in his backpack, and started back home.

"Not again," he grumbled, opening his phone. The number was blocked, tempting him to ignore the caller. Instead he answered.

"How do you like the neighborhood?" the same voice as before asked. When he didn't reply the caller chuckled. "Guess your mother told you not to talk to strangers. Smart woman. Six words, boy. Verdi Square, tomorrow night after dark." The caller hung up.

Seconds later there was another call. He answered, saying, "No way in hell."

"Juls, no way what?"

"Duane." He let out a sigh of relief, realizing at the same time that he was in front of their building.

"What was that all about?"

After a second's debate Julyan told him, "I got a strange phone call. Well three if you're counting." He had his keys in his hand by then, opened the door and went in; making certain it was closed before heading to the elevators.

"I'm counting," Duane was growling as Julyan pushed the 'up' button. "How strange?"

"Give me a minute, I'm getting on the elevator." As soon as he stepped off again on their floor, he said. "Weird."

"Weird? Oh, the calls. Tell me." Julyan did, which made Duane say firmly, "You're to get inside, lock the door, and not answer it or the phone until either Auden or I get there."

"I'm in, the door is now locked. What if you call?"

"I won't." Without another word, Duane ended the conversation.

"Gee, thanks for worrying," Julyan muttered as he went into the kitchen to empty his backpack. When everything was stored away, he flopped down on one of the living room sofas only to immediately jump up again to go change clothes.

Dinner, got to fix dinner. He looked at the time. Too early. He went to stare out the living room windows, wondering if the person who had called was down below, looking up at him. They can't see me if they are, he thought hopefully.

Grabbing a book from the shelves he curled up on the sofa to try to read, thinking that would calm his nerves. It might have if he hadn't picked a Stephen King horror anthology. He snapped it closed halfway through the first story, jumping to his feet again to move to the sofa in front of the entertainment center. "No, no, you're not serious, they put crap like that on, no, and no," he mumbled as he flicked through the television channels.

He leaned his head on the back of the sofa, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thoughts about the calls and what they meant. The sound of a key turning in the front door had him bolting upright.

One Plus Two Equals... - 42

Julyan had been afraid being cooped up in the condo with nothing to do would drive him crazy after the first day or two. Unlike in New Orleans, where he worked publicly with Duane, here he wasn't able to. He was relegated to entertaining himself.

Deciding to make the best of it, he took care of the place and began learning how to cook more than the basics. That way when Duane returned home in the evening, there was a hot meal waiting. Julyan had chuckled to himself at one point when he'd thought, I'm becoming a regular little house-husband. If he hadn't loved both of them so much he might have found the idea distressing rather than amusing. As it was he was more than willing to make himself useful in whatever way possible.

Being useful included, of course, doing the food shopping. And that meant he got to get out of the building and rove the streets in the neighborhood on his way to and from the surprisingly well-stocked grocery store he'd discovered not too far from the condo.

Two weeks after they'd arrived, Julyan decided to venture farther afield before shopping. From the window of his bedroom he could see the Hudson River and the path running beside it. After bundling up in his warmest clothes and a jacket, he headed out, his empty backpack slung over one shoulder. Being Louisiana born and bred he'd expected to hate the chilly northern climate. Instead he found it marvelously different and invigorating. Even the cold breeze off the river didn't bother him in the least.

As he rested his arms on the railing, looking out over the river, he thought, I could really get hooked on this place. It's sort of a cold New Orleans, minus the voodoo shops and the Cajun restaurants and the carriages and the trolleys. He shook his head, amused. Okay, so it's not at all like New Orleans except for the river but I still think I'll get used to it.

He glanced at the time, and with a slight sigh took off to the grocery store. As he did, his cell vibrated. He answered without checking to see who was calling since only Duane and Auden had the number. So when a voice he didn't recognize asked if he'd been enjoying himself he figured it was a wrong number and hung up. Seconds later there was another call. This time he checked only to find the call was blocked. Curious, he answered anyway.

No one spoke but he could hear breathing and traffic noise. Then a horn honked and breaks squealed. It took him a second to realize he heard that both through the phone and a few hundred feet away from him. Keeping the phone pressed to his ear he turned slowly, trying to see if he could spot the caller. No one stood out, which didn't really surprise him.

He felt reasonably safe; the sidewalks were full of pedestrians and there were plenty of shops he could dart into if necessary. His only problem was deciding if he should continue on to the grocery store or return home. Seeing the store half a block ahead he thought What the hell? I'm here, I might as well do what I came out for.

One Plus Two Equals... - 41

Julyan soon discovered there were two over-sized bedrooms in the condo, as well as an open chef's kitchen filled with top of the line appliances. "How the hell do we justify living like kings?"

"Because this time around Duane's a VP at an investment firm."

"He knows investments?" Julyan looked stunned at the idea.

"He knows quite a bit about a lot of things, all of them business-related in one way or another."

"So what am I supposed to be in this whole…whatever?"

Auden grinned. "You're the houseboy."

"Excuse me? I'm just a servant? Even a waiter has higher status than that."

"Calm down. It gives you a legit reason to be here most of the time and still have the hotel room when needed."

Julyan thought about it and then nodded slowly. "As long as you don't expect me act like a servant when no one else is around. Will there be other people around?"

"On occasion. As a VP, Duane will be expected to do some entertaining."

Now Julyan frowned. "Is it illogical to think some of the people he'd invite here are ones the agency is interested in, not humans?"

"It's possible. It's happened before."

"They'd be the good ones, right?"

Auden nodded. "Mostly."

"Mostly? Now there's a cheery thought."

"Sometimes he has to find out if a specific one is friend or foe. It's part of what he does. If he discovers they're an enemy then I get to handle the problem."

"That makes sense. So…" Julyan looked around, "where are the servant quarters?"

Auden grinned. "Follow me." He walked into the hall between the living room and the kitchen, turning left.

"Unless there's a hidden room…"

"There isn't. You get the smaller bedroom, the one with fewer windows and just a king-sized bed."

"I think I could get to like this houseboy gig."

"I suspect the perks will make it tolerable."

Julyan dropped his backpack on one of the chairs before returning to stand in front of Auden with a grin on his face. "Are you one of the perks?"

"I'd hope you think so, but not right now. I have to do my vanishing act so Duane can take care of something." When Julyan's grin widened Auden put his hands on his shoulders, turning him around. "The 'something' is not you, so unpack."

"Well damn," Julyan muttered although truth be told at the moment he was more tired than anything else. It had been a long day.

One Plus Two Equals... - 40

Several hours later, Julyan slipped out of the building with his belongings in a carry-on bag and a large backpack. When he was several blocks away he flagged down a cab to take him to the airport. While that was happening, Duane was making a much more public departure, carrying a garment bag and two suitcases which stood by his feet as he waited for the airport shuttle to pick him up.

Once at the airport the two men ignored each other while they waited to board their flight. When they took their seats Duane was in first class with Julyan behind him in the economy section. The whole scenario played out in reverse when they arrived in New York, although this time Julyan took the shuttle while Duane shared a cab into the city with two other passengers.

Julyan exited the shuttle at the small residence hotel which would be his home for the foreseeable future, at least technically. Once he settled in, he called Duane. "I'm here," he announced when his lover answered.

Duane chuckled. "I would hope so since we took the same flight. Do as we planned and I'll pick you up in half an hour."

As soon as Duane hung up, Julyan unpacked the bag, hanging the shirts and slacks in the small closet. Necessities—duplicates of what were in the backpack—he stashed in the bathroom. Undressing, he tossed what he'd been wearing on the bed and put on jeans, a T-shirt, and a warm hoodie. Then he closed the pack, slung it over his shoulders, and left, locking the door behind him.

He felt like someone out of a spy movie as he made his way down the fire stairs to the ground floor of the hotel, leaving by the side exit. Following the directions Duane had given him that morning, he made his way to a small coffee shop. Ten minutes later a cab pulled up in front. Julyan smiled to himself when he saw the driver was Auden.

"Ready to see your new digs?" Auden asked after Julyan was seated in back.

"Damned straight. I hope they're better than the hotel's."

"Trust me, they are."

It took fifteen minutes to arrive at the building. Auden pulled into the parking garage, returned the cab to its real driver, and led the way to the elevator. When they reached the tenth floor and he opened the door to the condo, Auden couldn't help laughing at the look on Julyan's face. "Told you it was better than your hotel."

"That would be the understatement of the year."

The living room was huge with a highly polished wood floor and banks of windows on two of the four walls. The third wall held a large fireplace with a sofa facing it. There were two more sofas, one in front of an entertainment center, the other in front of one long window at the end of the room, flanked on either side by bookcases.