***

These characters are the product of my own twisted little Psyche, and belong to me. This story is copyrighted as of the above date.

***

As always, many, many, many thanks to Regina for being the rock and keeping me on the straight and narrow. And to the Puff who will always live up to her name, especially when it comes to the guys.

~~~~~~

A cancelled appointment leaves Justin unexpectedly free for the evening.

~~~~

Justin scowled angrily at the face of the wall clock. It showed 8:30, thirty minutes past his last scheduled appointment. He squirmed in annoyance. Tate was his only student Thursday night. Justin should've dropped him weeks ago, but he had such raw potential, young Evers wanted to see it through. Tate's star could shine brightly, if he'd just apply himself. No, Justin didn't want to turn the boy loose just yet.

But the asshole could've at least called to say he wasn't coming or that he'd be late. Young Tate, not only lacked self-discipline, he was inconsiderate to boot.

Like Justin had nothing better to do with his evenings. He could be spending it with his Neanderthal. Playing primal games of. . .

Snatching his coat, Justin flew out of the music room.

"Pam," he said to the receptionist as he rushed past her, "if Tate does this to me again, I'm dropping him like a hot rock."

Pam smiled. Justin said the same thing every time Tate did this.

Once in the car, the flustered young instructor dialled Choate's cellular. His service answered.

"This is Justin Evers."

"Hi, Justin," a pleasant voice acknowledged him. "I thought you had a class."

"The student was a no-show. Would you ring Paddy for me?"

"I'm sorry, Justin. Mr. Choate left word no ring-throughs, except in extreme emergency." She paused. "Is this an emergency?"

Justin thought about telling her 'yes', but he didn't think his lover would consider his erection an extreme emergency. "Do you know where he is?"

"No. Just that he left word not to be disturbed."

After clicking off with the service, Justin beeped his father. When the Councilor returned the call, he told his son Choate wasn't with him and he didn't know his whereabouts.

Justin sighed dramatically, wondering once again about the mysterious stranger he loved. Well, there was always tonight. He had to come home sometime and when he did come home. . . Young Evers smiled as he dialled Gideon's number.

"Speak," Gideon snapped, answering after the third ring.

"You sound like you're talking to a dog, Giddy."

"Who is this?"

"You know who this is."

"The voice's vaguely familiar--"

"Stop it, Gideon, we just talked the other day."

After an exaggeratedly long pause, he said in a surprised voice, "We did?"

"And we went to a concert just last week."

"That's right. You deemed me worthy of your presence, didn't you?"

"Come on, Giddy. I've been busy, but so have you."

"Not too busy for my friends."

"Oh? Since you met Beck, you don't answer the phone. I've left tons of messages."

There was a guilt-ridden pause. "Well," he said at last. "I guess I have been kinda busy."

"So you don't have a right to pout."

"But I do it so well," Gideon said, laughing.

Justin laughed with him. "So, what's up?"

"Beck and I were going down to the playroom."

"Playroom? When did you get a playroom?"

"Lower level, downstairs, then." Gideon huffed. "We can call it anything we want."

Justin smiled. "And just what kind of games do you play in this room?"

"Beck wanted to play cowboy."

Justin gave a short bark of laughter. "Who gets to be the 'horse' this time?"

Gideon let a few seconds of silence pass before asking, indignantly, "Did you have another reason to call, besides poking fun at my love life?"

"I've got a little free time--"

"Oh? And again you deem me worthy? Where's the Greek god?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? You two are joined at the hip. What happened?"

"Joined? We do things without the other. Gideon, don't start."

"Start what? I just asked a question. Hell, Justin, he's lasted longer than the rest of them. But, if you're finished with him let me know, 'cuz I want him."

"Not hardly, but I'll keep you in mind if I ever do plan to get rid of him. What about Beck?"

"Mmmm, let me think on that. Beck, or a Greek god? Beck, or a Greek god? This's a tough choice. Give me a minute--"

"Gideon, I'm hungry. I was going to invite you to dinner, but I can see you're not interested--"

Justin's friend perked up. "Food? Since when do I turn down a free meal?"

Justin snorted. "I don't remember saying I'd buy."

"Come on, Justin. I'm strapped for cash. The check from Grammy's trust hasn't come yet."

"You're always strapped. If you budgeted your money better--"

Gideon gasped dramatically. "Oh my gosh! This isn't the real Justin! You're starting to sound like him! He's absorbed you! It must be from swallowing all his. . ."

Justin sputtered as he turned bright red. "Goodbye, Gideon!"

"No! Wait! I was teasing. Damn, Justin, where's your sense of humor? Of course I'll go to dinner with you. Can Beck come?"

Justin shook his head and smiled impishly. "I don't know, Giddy. But if he can't, doesn't that mean you're doing something wrong?"

~~~~~~

Young Evers felt in a good mood, so he chose one of the classier restaurants for their dining pleasure.

They were ushered to a table by the wall-sized glass windows in the front of the room. Justin sat with his back to the rest of the patrons. Gideon and Beck had full view of the dining room.

The waiter had just served their wine and they were still pondering the menu when Gideon looked across the room, and then went pale.

He reached over and touched Justin's hand. "Justin, let's go some place else," he whispered, desperation in his voice.

"Why? I have a taste for teppan yaki and they have the best here." He went back to the menu.

Gideon took his arm and pulled to get his attention. "Justin--"

"What's the matter with you? We just got here! Stop pulling on me! I swear, Gideon, sometimes your dramatics are wearing on the--" Justin pulled away from his friend's grasp and turned to follow his stricken gaze.

~~~~~~

"Hoss, where are ya, mate?" Stealth's voice came through the transmitter in his earpiece.

"Same place I was a minute ago. Level One, section three, why?"

"I've got a new blip on screen coming in from the west. Fast. Ya got visual?"

Hoss scanned the area briefly before catching a glimpse of the small body, with a definite purpose in mind, marching across the length of the restaurant. "Shit," he hissed.

"What's the ID?" Stealth asked.

"The little china doll."

"Did you say doll?"

"Viper's SO."

"Shit, what's he doing here?"

"I don't know, but he's made him, and he's coming in hot."

"Intercept, ya fruit loop! He's going to jinx the mission!"

Justin saw Choate, and the woman clinging to him, rise from their table and head towards the elevators. Switching direction to head them off, the angry young man punched up his speed.

He'd almost reached his goal, when strong hands snagged him by the shoulders and spun him into a nearby doorway.

Justin immediately lashed out violently with elbows and feet.

"Owww," came the low hiss of pain. "Stop, dammit! Quiet down, will you!"

Justin halted his assault. He recognized that voice.

"You hit pretty hard for a china doll," the great man rumbled as he rubbed vigorously at his shins and chest. "What's Viper been teaching you?"

"Hoss?"

The big man smiled down into the astonished face. "Tagged."

Justin pointed at the closing elevator doors as he tried to step around the human barrier. "Paddy. . .that woman. . ."

Hoss caught Justin and drew him deeper into the concealing darkness. "You can't follow him. He's on a mission. It's only a simple AQ." At Justin's puzzled look, he elaborated, "Acquisition."

"What's he acquiring from her?"

"She's the acquisition."

Justin's eyes grew round. "That's kidnapping!" he exclaimed loudly.

Hoss clamped his hand over the younger man's mouth. "Keep it down, China Doll. The bad guys are watching."

"If you're planning to snatch her," Justin said in a milder voice when Hoss took his hand from his mouth, "why not just do it?"

"She's a heavy hitter. Real bad news. The room's full of her men. They're with her all the time. This is the only way we could get close to her."

"Close to her? Paddy's close to her? You mean, what I saw. . .the two of them. . .it looked. . ." Justin sputtered to a halt.

"You saw what you were supposed to see. Two people, pleasant evening, dinner, then upstairs for a quick fuck. If her people suspect anything different, there could be trouble."

Justin paled, hearing only the one word. "Fuck?"

Hoss' smile widened. "Yep. That's what she thinks. Viper's the type she's attracted to." His voice dropped to a grumble. "Don't know what women see in that action hero type. There's nothing wrong with big and burly. More of us to cuddle."

Justin frowned, finding it difficult to process the information. "They aren't going to the room?" he said hopefully.

"Yep, but just for a few minutes. Our team's waiting at strategic positions to take them up to the roof, over, then down and out into a waiting car. We'll take care of her people in the hall in an adjacent room, so we should have enough time to pull this off." Hoss looked down at Justin, finally noticing the stricken expression on the young man's face. "What did you think?"

Justin looked away in mortification. "She's a long, leggy blonde. What do you think I thought?"

Hoss tried not to laugh. "I'd rather you tell me."

"I don't need to. You are not that dumb." Justin said, frowning up at him.

Now Hoss did laugh as he took Justin by the arm to prevent him from walking away. "I'm not dumb at all, just slow."

Justin lost patience and snapped, "Let go, Hoss. I've made a big enough fool of myself for one day."

"Hoss. They're away," Stealth's voice sounded in his ear again. "Viper's called the team in. At the van in five."

"What about the china doll?"

"What about him?"

"He's madder than a wet hen." Hoss laughed at Justin's glare.

"He saw them then?"

"Yep, and went after them fully-loaded, the safety off. Good thing I caught him or we'd be scraping our mark off the walls with a spatula. I saved her, but my shins could use some first aid." He laughed again as Justin's blush rose.

"Well, it's over, here. Swat his bum and send him on his way home. We've got debriefing in 30. You know how our leader is when we're late."

"Yeah, sure, 'mate'," he said sarcastically. "Like I'm gonna trust myself trying that move." Hoss looked down at Justin. "Gotta go, C. D. You all right?"

Justin nodded, but his face showed his distress. "Yeah. I guess so," he said, no where near convincingly.

Hoss finally released his grip on the smaller man. "You need a ride home?"

Justin shook his head, intensely studying the pattern of the floor tile to avoid the larger man's eyes. "No. I got friends with me."

Hoss took the miserable young man by the chin and lifted his face until he could see the deep green eyes. "Yes, you do," he said, emphatically. "Don't ever forget that." And he planted a gentle kiss on the furrowed brow before releasing Justin's face and walking away.

~~~~~~

The briefing room had just cleared. Choate cleared the shimmering image from the center of the table and turned towards the door.

Hoss and Stealth were in an animated discussion just outside in the hall. As the Marine approached, the conversation ceased abruptly.

"Taking about me?" he asked quietly.

Both looked like guilty little boys. Choate crossed his arms and waited.

"We need to talk to you," Hoss said after shifting on his feet uncomfortably.

"WE?" Stealth squawked. "Leave me out of this, mate! I was just surveillance!"

"You saw him first."

"Yeah, but you stopped him."

"But I wouldn't have stopped him if you hadn't saw him."

Choate held up his hand. "Enough." Pinning them with a glare he asked, Now, tell me about what?"

Stealth pressed his lips together and frowned.

Finally, the big man answered, "C.D."

"What CD, Hoss?"

"It's not a what, it's a who," Stealth told him.

Choate frowned impatiently at both of them. "Is this a joke?"

"He was at the restaurant."

The Marine turned to Hoss. "Who was at the restaurant?"

"C.D."

Choate grabbed Hoss and Stealth by the arms and hauled them into the briefing room. He pointed a finger at Stealth. "You, don't speak." Then at Hoss. "You, first grade English. Simple sentences consisting of a subject and a verb. Who was at the restaurant, subject."

"C.D."

"Sit," he barked at the big man and turned to his cohort. "I will hurt you," he warned.

"The little China Doll," Stealth answered quietly.

"Justin?"

Stealth nodded warily. "Behind you. You didn't see him."

"Did he see me?"

Stealth nodded again. "Hoss stopped him."

"Hoss stopped him from what?" he asked, turning back to Hoss.

"He looked really mad," the big man said, studying the floor.

"You talk to him?"

Hoss nodded, looking up miserably.

"What did he say?"

"He thought. . ."

"He thought what?"

"Come on, Viper, I feel like a snitch."

"You're an informant, you're giving Intel, it's what we do."

"Yeah, but I like the little guy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hoss gave him a speculative look. "I don't want you mad at him."

"He doesn't need your protection, Hoss."

"I told you he'd be mad," Stealth hissed at the larger man from around Choate's shoulder.

"You two act as if I'm going to. . .hurt him."

"I don't know, Viper. The kid seemed pretty shaken up about the whole thing."

"Not as much as he's going to be."

"What're ya going to do?" Stealth asked.

"Did he ask you not to tell me?" Choate asked them as he headed for the door.

"No." They both answered at the same time.

Hoss caught him by the arm. "Wait."

"Wait for what?"

"He's just a kid."

"Hoss, Justin's almost thirty years old."

"Come on, Viper. Don't you think you're overreacting? So he got jealous. You should be flattered."

"Let me go, Hoss."

"Sorry, boss. Not until you calm down a little."

Any response Choate would have made was interrupted by his cell phone.

"Choate."

"When are you coming home?"

"I thought you'd be in bed by now," Choate said as nonchalantly as he could manage.

"Tate stood me up again," Justin replied softly.

"You should have a serious talk with him. This makes what, the third time?"

"Fourth. I will," Justin promised in the same hushed tones.

"So, how'd you entertain yourself this evening?"

"You talked to Hoss, didn't you?"

That question caught him completely off guard. "Hoss? Yes. Why?"

"He told you, didn't he?" There was a long paused. "What happened with me."

"What could you do that would concern Hoss?" Choate asked as he watched his two teammates watching him.

"I was at the restaurant tonight," Justin said, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. "I saw you."

"You saw me what?"

Another pause. "When are you coming home?"

"Why?"

"We need to talk."

"About?"

"What almost happened."

"And what almost happened?"

"When are you coming home, Paddy?"

"I don't know, Justin."

"You're mad. I didn't know it was an assignment. I only know I saw you with. . .with that woman. And I got so. . .so angry." He took a shaky breath. "All I could think of was grabbing you and dragging you out of there by your hair. I'd have blown the whole thing if Hoss hadn't stopped me." The silence stretched.' "I knew you'd be mad. You tell me all the time to think before I act. But I saw you, then I saw red." Justin's voice trailed off as if he suddenly realized his words weren't helping. "I thought it'd be better if I just waited for you here. Maybe you'd be less angry, if you didn't have to go looking for me."

Choate's eyes seemed to go flat as he watched the two men in front of him. "So you understand you put yourself in danger."

"What danger, Paddy? We were in a crowded restaurant. What could've happened?"

"With that, woman? That depended on the mood she was in. She could've asked you to join us in a threesome, that is, if her bodyguards had let you get close enough for her to notice you. Or she could've just had you taken away and disposed of."

There was a stunned pause. "You're making that up."

Choate frowned. "I told you I wouldn't lie to you."

"You wouldn't have let that happened," Justin replied with confidence.

"It was a stupid thing to do," he said, heatedly. Then took a deep breath. "No, I wouldn't have." He paused. "If I could have stopped it."

"I didn't think, Paddy."

"No," he snapped, "you didn't." Suddenly, the Marine turned his back on his two soldiers..

"I suppose I'm in big trouble now?" he said faintly.

"Why?" Choate asked, not turning back to look at the two concerned faces.

"I imagined you'd want to spank me now."

Choate took a deep breath. "I don't think so."

"You're not angry?" Justin said in disbelief.

"It's not anger." The big Marine graced him with the same unreadable, flat eyed look. "I could've lost you," he said sadly at last.

Justin's tone betrayed his panic. "I didn't think, Paddy. I said I was sorry."

It seemed as if Choate wouldn't answer, then he said. "I know you are." He paused. "I don't know when I'll be home." And closed the phone, turning it off.

"Viper?" Hoss called out.

Choate turned back to the room.

"You're going to go home, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, mate, don't leave the li'l bugger flappin' in the wind."

"Thanks for what you did tonight, guys." Choate headed for the door. "Stay out of my love life."

"Come on, Viper. Cut the kid some slack, so he made a mistake."

"You know what that woman's capable of, Hoss. You saw some of the things she's done."

"That wouldn't've happened to C.D," the large man answered confidently.

Stealth confirmed with equal confidence. "No, man, not while one of us was left."

"This's the reason they don't want us to get involved," Choate growled.

"They don't want us to get involved with each other, Viper," Hoss corrected him. "You dump the little guy because of this and it'll kill him."

"He made a mistake," Stealth said. "Swat his bum, stand him in a corner, make him do penance of some kind, but don't dump all over him."

"Like I said, stay out of my love life," Choate snapped as he stormed out the door. ~~~~~~ (to be continued. . . )