The Lure

     [Image] By Aramis [Image]

     The characters belong to MCA/Universal (but if they ever get tired of
     Iolaus they can give him to me). Not surprisingly, the writer is not
     making any money from this.

     [Image]

     Hercules and Iolaus were on their way to Athens. They had received an
     urgent request from a group for help from help from a leading group of
     citizens, but did not know the nature of the problem.

     They were about four hours walk from their destination when Autolycus
     hailed them. Hercules smiled a greeting, but Iolaus glowered. "What
     the hell do you want?" he snarled.

     "Iolaus, is that any way to greet a man who surrendered himself to the
     authorities to save your life?" the amused thief demanded.

     "I wouldn't have needed saving if it hadn't been for you and you
     wouldn't have given yourself up if Hercules hadn't forced you to do
     so," the hunter retorted.

     "Well if you hadn't interfered in my business in the first place none
     of it would have happened."

     "Yeah, and you would have been dogs' meat," Iolaus pointed out.

     "Come on, you two, stop squabbling," remonstrated Hercules. He knew
     both sides of the story. He was aware that Autolycus could easily have
     abandoned him to battle with the serpent and not gone to the court of
     King Menelaeus, but he was also aware that Iolaus had had to survive
     ordeals of near-drowning, pressing and imprisonment with an enraged
     boar and Autolycus knew nothing about this. However, during his time
     in Autolycus' company, he had developed an affection for the rogue and
     so he said, "We're on our way to Athens. Would you like to join us?"

     Autolycus' first impulse was to decline, as he felt that the demigod's
     well-known moral rectitude would cramp his style but, looking at the
     resentment on Iolaus' face, he could not resist replying, "I'd be
     delighted." He always enjoyed a bit of mischief-making and, by his
     standards, the score was even and he didn't owe Iolaus anything. He
     would enjoy tormenting the blond warrior.

     Iolaus turned his back on the two of them and stalked off down the
     road. Damn Herc, he thought, why does he always have to be so nice to
     people? Can't he see this guy is nothing but trouble?

     Hercules and Autolycus enjoyed each other's company and for them the
     next few hours passed swiftly. The normally talkative Iolaus
     maintained a stony silence and only answered in monosyllables when
     addressed. Autolycus deliberately went out of his way to speak nicely
     to him and to present a relaxed and friendly front to his surliness.
     Hercules accepted the surface appearance of this, but Iolaus knew that
     it was an act designed to annoy him more than hostility would. He was
     also aware that the guileless Hercules saw him as being the
     unreasonable one of the pair. However, knowing these things did not
     enable him to counter them.

     They reached Athens and located the address they had been given. News
     of their arrival quickly circulated amongst the men who had sent for
     them and soon a group of about ten of Athen's leading citizens had
     joined them. They proceeded to relate a horrifying tale. Fifteen women
     had been murdered in Athens during the previous month and another five
     were unaccounted for. The bodies had been found on the streets. All
     had been tortured before having their throats cut. Eleven of those who
     were dead were hetairai, but the other four were ordinary citizens,
     who just happened, for various reasons, to be alone on the streets at
     night. All efforts to find the man responsible had failed. It was as
     if the murderer was psychic, as well as psychotic, and knew their
     every plan. In desperation, the group had decided to ask Hercules for
     help.

     The newcomers and the Athenians discussed the measures taken thus far
     and pondered on what could be done. Autolycus' devious mind came up
     with an idea; an idea that appealed to his sense of humour. It was a
     way of dealing with the problem, but also getting at Iolaus. "We need
     to set a trap for the murderer. What we need is someone to act as a
     decoy," he stated. Having sown the seed he waited eagerly for it to
     take root.

     Novatus agreed, but added, as Autolycus had anticipated someone would,
     "The trouble is I would hate to ask any woman to risk herself in case
     something went wrong."

     Odite concurred, but added, as Autolycus had hoped, "Does it have to
     be a woman?"

     "Of course it does!" Novatus responded.

     "Not necessarily. Remember it will be dark. We could get a man to
     dress as a hetaira."

     Autolycus, who had been waiting for this suggestion as he wanted it to
     come from someone else, said, "He's got a good point there and I
     suggest there's only one of us here who could pull it off." He looked
     pointedly at Iolaus and the others followed his gaze.

     "Oh no! Not me!" the hunter responded, taking a step backwards.

     "Yes, you! You're the logical choice. You're the right height, the
     rest of us are far too tall. You're clean-shaven and I'm sure those of
     us with facial adornments would prefer not to have to sacrifice them
     if it can be avoided. You're not too old. Finally, with a mop of curls
     like you've got, you could probably get away without a wig."

     "He's right, Iolaus," Hercules observed, unable to avoid grinning at
     his friend's look of panic.

     "No, I couldn't! I couldn't convince anyone."

     "Of course you could," Hercules pointed out 'helpfully'. "You should
     be an expert on how women act as you spend enough time watching them
     and chasing after them."

     "Anyway the local hetairai are quite stirred up over what's been
     happening, so I'm sure they'll be prepared to give you some advice,"
     laughed Anaxis. Indeed, the whole group seemed to be getting a good
     deal of amusement out of Iolaus' reaction in spite of the agreed
     seriousness of the problem.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     So a protesting Iolaus was taken, by Novatus, Hercules and Autolycus,
     along to one of the local whorehouses, whose madam had a reputation
     for discretion. Novatus explained the plan and the hope that she could
     arrange the reluctant Iolaus' instruction.

     Pania, a large middle-aged woman, was in favour of any measures to
     catch the murderer as she had lost three girls from her house and the
     others were reluctant to venture forth alone. She surveyed the
     embarrassed Iolaus with interest and commented, "You've made a good
     choice, he's very pretty. I'm sure I could find him work any day. I've
     got plenty of gentleman clients who would adore him and, if he doesn't
     like dressing-up, most would prefer him as a male anyway."

     Iolaus blushed and tried to back out of the room, but his sniggering
     friends closed ranks behind him and stopped any exit.

     "That blush is just beautiful," Pania continued. "Many of my clients
     are most attracted to apparent innocence." She reached out and stroked
     his cheek. Autolycus couldn't suppress a chuckle.

     That did it! Iolaus turned and tried to push his 'friends' aside, but
     to no avail. "Come on, Iolaus," Hercules encouraged, "I know we
     shouldn't be teasing you. Remember at least fifteen women have died
     already. It's vital that this man be caught."

     "Yeah, I know it is, Herc, but surely someone else could do this."

     However, all the others concerned were determined that he would do it.
     It was arranged that he would stay at the whorehouse to be prepared
     for his role and would then use it as his base. He would be taken out
     by a couple of the women for the first two nights, but would then be
     expected to go out on his own. Hercules and the others would take
     turns at acting as clients to give him practice at the role and also
     to give an air of authenticity in case he was being observed by the
     murderer. At midnight, one of the men, in the guise of a client, would
     escort him back to the whorehouse as it appeared that all the women
     had, as far as could be ascertained, disappeared before that time.
     Another of the men would keep watch, from hiding, at all times.

     The first job was to train Iolaus for the role and to disguise him
     suitably. Pania enlisted the aid of two of the older whores for this
     task. She had put aside a room for Iolaus and informed him that during
     his time with them, he was to be kept there apart from the rest of the
     inmates of the house because the fewer who knew what was going on the
     better. The girls, as she called them, were to be told that the locked
     room contained a new girl from the country, who had been sold to the
     house and who was reluctant to accept her new life. The room had
     obviously been used for such purposes before as it was windowless and
     had a solidly barred door. It made the hunter feel quite
     claustrophobic.

     He had been escorted to the room by Pania, Hercules and the others.
     Once he was inside, the door had been closed and locked behind him. He
     sat there full of apprehension, cursing the other men, in particular
     Autolycus, who he recognised as the guiding hand behind his plight.

     Half an hour later, Pania an her two selected assistants entered the
     room. "These are Lucretia and Cadra," she stated. "They will be
     helping you." 'Helping' was not the word the hunter would have chosen.
     Pania left them to it, carefully locking the door behind her.

     So a protesting and embarrassed Iolaus embarked on an intensive series
     of lessons in such useful subjects as how to swing one's hips
     seductively while walking. If that wasn't bad enough, they also set to
     work to alter his appearance. They painted his face with white lead,
     plastered kohl around his eyes and darkened his lashes. His lip were
     carmined and a beauty spot was affixed to his right cheek. A Minoan
     corset was used to narrow his waist, while a carefully padded dress
     was the final indignity.

     Pania came in to view the finished product. "I can't do this. I must
     look ridiculous," Iolaus protested.

     "Rubbish!" she retorted. "You look beautiful. I'm tempted to go back
     on the deal and keep you. I could make a fortune out of you. Look!"
     She handed him a mirror.

     Iolaus stared in horrified wonder at himself. She was right. The
     make-up was a bit over the top for daylight, but he would have given
     himself a second glance at night and possibly more than that....No, it
     didn't bear thinking about.

     "You'll go out with these two for a couple of nights so you can
     observe and practise their techniques," Pania stated, thoroughly
     enjoying his discomfort.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Those two nights went reasonably well. Only one of the women would
     engage a client and the other would inform anyone making a subsequent
     approach that the two of them were already booked, However, Iolaus
     continued to feel very uncomfortable with the whole deal. He longed to
     see Hercules, as he felt there must be another way of solving the
     problem and that if he was left alone with Hercules he could persuade
     the demigod to get him out of it. However, it had been arranged that
     none of the men should visit the whorehouse in case they aroused any
     suspicion and a visit from Hercules, if it became known, would
     certainly have aroused comment.

     He was not to know that Hercules was actually having some misgivings
     as well. Although Hercules had enjoyed teasing Iolaus about the plan,
     he had felt some twinges of guilt since and had not liked the idea of
     his friend being locked in. He also felt, on reflection, that not
     enough consideration had been given to the fact that Iolaus was to
     risk himself against a brutal murderer when they press-ganged him into
     the role. He hoped Iolaus was coping okay and found it hard to resist
     going to check on him. Accordingly, when the men planned the next
     stage of the operation, he insisted he be the first to approach
     Iolaus.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     The third night was Iolaus' first night out alone. Pania informed him
     that it had been arranged that Hercules should approach him, in the
     role of a client, fairly early on and that the two should retire to a
     nearby alley for half an hour to give the impression that Iolaus was
     'working'. One of the other men would approach him after that. If
     approached by a person unknown, he was to judge the likelihood or
     otherwise of the person being the one they were seeking and to say he
     already had an appointment if he doubted it. If necessary, the man
     acting as lookout should intervene and claim to be the one expected.
     Certainly, the guard had to be ready to intervene in the case of
     'unpleasantness' arising when the client was finally rejected in the
     alley.

     Hercules wandered drunkenly up to his nervous friend and put an arm
     around his shoulders. "C'mon, Iolaus," he muttered, "we have to make
     this look realistic in case anyone's watching." Iolaus stepped back
     and held out a hand. Hercules pulled out a pouch and fumbled for a few
     coins. He then pulled Iolaus to him and gestured towards the alley. He
     held Iolaus tightly against him as he guided him into the darkness.

     Once out of sight of prying eyes, he felt Iolaus relax. "Damn it,
     Herc, I can't do this."

     "Yes, you can. Just keep thinking of the women who have died and the
     others who are at risk from this maniac. He has to be stopped."

     "There has to be another way."

     "No one's come up with one yet." He didn't like to admit that the
     others were so into this scheme they'd lost interest in alternatives.

     "How long to they expect me to do this for."

     Hercules had to admit they hadn't considered that.

     "If it's more than a few days I'm giving up."

     Half an hour later, Hercules emerged and wandered off. Iolaus appeared
     a few minutes later and reluctantly resumed his original position on
     the street.

     Some minutes later, Odite arrived and approached Iolaus. He seemed to
     be as nervous as the hunter and this time the latter had to make the
     approach. Somehow he forced himself to go up to Odite and to gradually
     wrap his arms around him. To his surprise, Odite began to get into his
     part and embraced him in turn. As before, the two retreated into the
     alley.

     At midnight one of the other men arrived and the performance was
     repeated, but this client was obviously a better payer as the two of
     them headed for the greater comforts of the whorehouse. The guard
     shadowed them the whole way.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     The next night, Iolaus was unhappy to find that his client was
     Autolycus. The thief stood watching him so that the hunter was forced
     to make the approach. He had just reached Autolycus, when both men
     heard footsteps coming. Autolycus immediately grasped Iolaus and,
     bending him backwards, kissed him passionately, not letting him up for
     air until the men had passed. He then quickly released the stunned
     hunter, grabbed his arm and hurried him into the alley. "Sorry,
     Iolaus, it was the only thing I could think of at the time." An
     outraged Iolaus could hear the amusement in his voice. Autolycus had
     obviously seen the whole thing as a huge joke and Iolaus could picture
     him laughing about it while telling the others.

     "It's all very well for you, but I have to keep going out there," he
     complained. "You might enjoy kissing people with moustaches, but I now
     know that I don't."

     "All in a good cause," Autolycus laughed, "and I can assure you the
     ladies love moustaches."

     Iolaus retreated into a grumpy silence.

     Some time later, Iolaus returned to the street, but received no
     further approaches until midnight when Anaxis arrived to escort him to
     the whorehouse.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Meanwhile, Hercules was still concerned about his friend, When
     Autolycus met him later in the evening, and commented about his air of
     abstraction, he confided his concern to him. Naturally, Autolycus had
     made light of his worries and, being somewhat tipsy at the time, the
     self-styled King of Thieves ventured to make a comment about how it
     served the hunter right for his behaviour towards him. The implication
     behind this stunned the demigod as he realised the part Autolycus had
     played in the formulation of the plan. Without mincing his words, he
     informed Autolycus exactly what the hunter had suffered during the
     three ordeals because of him. The thief was somewhat taken aback by
     this and suffered a feeling of guilt which however, typically for him,
     didn't last long. Indeed, he was soon telling the rest of the group
     about his encounter with Iolaus that evening and laughing uproariously
     about it.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     There was trouble on the next night, although not of the kind for
     which they'd been hoping. Three drunken youths spotted Iolaus and
     decided to have a bit of fun. They surrounded him. "How much,
     Blondie?" one demanded.

     Iolaus turned away, reluctant to speak as he didn't trust his voice.
     The youth persisted. "Come on, how much? Look at me when I'm talking
     to you." He grabbed Iolaus by the shoulder and swung him to face him.

     "I'm waiting for someone," Iolaus ventured.

     "Never knew a whore to turn away customers," another of the youths
     commented. "Come on, darling, let's have some fun. We've got money."
     He reached for Iolaus, who pushed his hands away.

     Fortunately, on this occasion, the guard turned out to be Hercules. He
     appeared stating, "Leave the lady alone, boys, she's with me." They
     turned ready to dispute this and, although the size of the demigod
     gave them pause, drink gave them the courage to attack. A frustrated
     hunter was forced to watch as his friend easily defeated them. He
     would have liked the chance to take out his feelings on the three, but
     knew he had to keep in character and, in any case, was hardly dressed
     for ease of fighting.

     The three staggered off, two of them supporting the third. Hercules
     moved to Iolaus and whispered, "C'mon, show your gratitude, Iolaus."
     He was expecting a hug but, misunderstanding, Iolaus snaked his arms
     up around Hercules' neck, pulled his head down and kissed him full on
     the lips, thinking, If I can kiss Autolycus, surely I can do this.
     Hercules' lips were sweet and a surprised Iolaus did not find it at
     all distasteful. In fact, somewhat the opposite. The two drew apart
     breathing heavily and more than somewhat disconcerted. This time it
     was Iolaus who led his friend into the alley, where each sat lost in
     his own thoughts.

     When they emerged, Hercules commented that his spell on watch would be
     over soon and one of the others would be taking over.

     The rest of the evening passed without incident, until a shape
     materialised out of the darkness. "I've come to collect you, Iolaus,"
     the man breathed.

     Iolaus recognised Mandrocles, a large and unattractive man, aged
     somewhere in his fifties, and running to fat. He had not contributed
     much to the discussions and Iolaus was a bit surprised to find that he
     was taking an active part in the ruse. He was also surprised as he
     usually had a fairly good sense of time and could have sworn that
     midnight was still about half an hour off.

     Mandrocles put an arm around Iolaus' shoulders as the others had.
     Iolaus found this even more unpleasant than on the previous occasions
     as Mandrocles was sweating profusely, in spite of the chilliness of
     the evening. I suppose he's as nervous as I am, he thought, trying not
     to let his repugnance show.

     "This way," Mandrocles whispered, as Iolaus went to follow the route
     of the previous evenings.

     "But..."

     "We decided it's more natural to vary the route." This seemed
     reasonable and so Iolaus did not object when he was taken into another
     alley.

     About half-way down the alley, Mandrocles suddenly stopped. "Did you
     hear that?" he asked.

     "What?'

     "Look!" He pointed at something on the ground ahead. Iolaus turned to
     see what it was and was struck down by a heavy blow to the back of the
     head. He fell unconscious to the ground.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Twenty minutes later, Novatus arrived to escort Iolaus back to the
     whorehouse. To his surprise there was no sign of the hunter. He looked
     around for Mandrocles, the currently designated guard. The latter
     emerged breathing heavily.

     "Where is he?"

     "He's gone back to the whorehouse. He left about thirty minutes ago. I
     intercepted him when I saw him walking off. He said he was feeling
     cold and had had enough for the night. I tried to persuade him to
     wait, but he refused. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if he's
     thinking of giving up on this as he seems very unhappy about it. I
     thought I'd better wait here and tell you what's been going on."

     "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow. We'll need to discuss this with the
     others. We don't want him pulling out at this stage."

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Iolaus came around to find himself lying face down, gagged and tied
     spreadeagled on a bed. He struggled, but the knots were expertly tied
     and he couldn't budge them. He gave up as his head was aching badly
     and he felt sick.

     A short time later, Mandrocles entered the room. "Good, you're awake
     at last. I hoped I hadn't hit you too hard." He looked at the bright
     blood matting the hunter's golden curls and ran his tongue across his
     lips. He reached out and removed the gag. "You don't need this now.
     Nobody can hear you from here."

     "What the hell are you playing at?"

     "Oh, I'm not playing I'm deadly serious."

     "What do you mean?"

     "You mean you still haven't figured it out? I'm the one you've been
     waiting for."

     "You're the killer?"

     "Of course," Mandrocles smirked.

     "You won't get away with it. What about the guard?"

     "You still don't understand do you? I was the guard, not the client. I
     was your lookout and I picked you up half an hour before your escort
     was due to arrive. I've since been back and told him that you were
     cold and packed it in early. Nobody will look for you until at least
     tomorrow night."

     Iolaus felt his blood run cold. A knot of fear started to form in his
     stomach. "Why are you taking this risk? Why didn't you just wait until
     we gave up on the scheme?"

     "I've outwitted everyone so far. I just couldn't resist doing it
     again. I'm too clever for them You can't imagine how I've enjoyed
     listening to their schemes over the past weeks and acting to thwart
     them."

     "Since you were the last person with me, you'll be suspect now."

     "No. I won't. Obviously something happened to you when you were
     returning to the whorehouse alone. Perhaps you met the murderer or
     some potential clients who wouldn't take no for an answer. You might
     even have decided you'd had enough and cleared out. Maybe something
     happened to you in the whorehouse itself. I must suggest that at the
     next meeting. According to Autolycus and Novatus, the madam saw great
     potential in you. They thought it was a great joke. I'm sure I can
     stir up sufficient distrust to break up the unnatural alliance of
     madam and our citizens' group." He was positively gloating over his
     cleverness.

     "Now let's get down to business. You can't imagine how much fun I've
     had with my ladies. It's so nice to be able to exactly what I like.
     You're so pretty. I'm going to enjoy introducing you to my little
     games. So far I've only tried these on women as I was a bit concerned
     about resistance if I tried to pick up a male. Of course, most of my
     ladies have entered my premises willingly. It's only when they're here
     that they seem to want to leave and I don't like that." His voice
     hardened ominously on the last phrase.

     As he spoke, he ran his hand up Iolaus' dress and squeezed his thigh.
     "Yes, I find the thought of you very appealing." Iolaus felt a cold
     shudder pass through him.

     Mandrocles grasped the neck of the dress and ripped it down the back
     to the waist. He removed the corset and then stroked his pudgy fingers
     down Iolaus' back. "You've got beautiful, smooth skin," he commented.
     "It's almost a pity to mar it, but I must have my fun."

     He produced a small, knotted whip and proceeded to lay it across the
     hunter's shoulders. Iolaus bit his lip, but made no sound even when he
     felt blood beginning to trickle down his back. He decided that a
     stoical response would disappoint his tormenter. This proved to be
     true, but was a bad decision.

     Aware that Iolaus was determined to try to restrict his pleasure,
     Mandrocles stopped. He reached for Iolaus' skirt and pulled it up
     around his waist. He then concentrated his punishment upon Iolaus'
     buttocks and thighs. Humiliated, Iolaus buried his face in the pillow
     and lay as still as possible. He could hear Mandrocles breathing
     heavily. "You don't like this much do you?" his tormentor whispered,
     enjoying his discomfort. "Perhaps you'll like my next game more." He
     glanced towards the fire.

     He spent the next few minutes, torturing the hunter with the heated
     poker. Most of the burns were shallow, although painful, but he
     inflicted a couple nasty ones on Iolaus' shoulders. Iolaus could not
     suppress some gasps of pain.

     This excited Mandrocles even further. Suddenly he dropped the poker
     and ran a finger along the cleft in the blond's buttocks. The hunter
     tensed, his mind full of terrified apprehension. Surely Mandrocles
     wasn't going to...but he was. Without warning, he thrust two fingers
     into Iolaus' anus. Iolaus cried out. "Ah, I've got your attention at
     last, haven't I?" Mandrocles purred.

     "Damn you! Leave me alone!"

     "Not a chance, Iolaus. I don't usually include intercourse in my
     little games and I've never had it with a man before, but you're too
     deliciously tight for me to resist." He withdrew his fingers and began
     to remove his clothing.

     Iolaus struggled frantically against his bonds, but they held tight.
     He was in a state of panic. He would have abandoned his pride and
     begged, but he knew that would just excite Mandrocles more. He tried
     to relax, tried to detach his mind from what he couldn't prevent, but
     when Mandrocles slammed into him he was lost. With no lubrication and
     in his tense and frightened state, the pain was bad. The assault
     seemed to go on endlessly. When Mandrocles finally climaxed and
     withdrew, a shaking Iolaus turned his head to the side and was
     violently sick.

     This reaction infuriated Mandrocles and he grabbed the whip and beat
     the hunter viciously before raping him a second time.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Sometime later, a naked and semi-conscious hunter was vaguely aware
     that his hands were being freed from the bed and then shackled behind
     him. He was then lifted awkwardly and carried for a short distance and
     then down some stairs. He was dropped, without warning, onto a stone
     floor and heard a key rattling in a door and the door opening. He was
     then raised slightly and thrust forward to land on the stone floor
     again. The door clanged shut behind him.

     "I wonder who he's grabbed this time." It was a woman's voice.

     The room was pitch black. Iolaus couldn't see a thing. He felt hands
     touching his hair and then feeling down for his shoulders to help him
     sit up.

     "Are you all right?" another voice asked.

     "I've... I've been better," he managed.

     There was a gasp. The supporting hands let go immediately and he sank
     down.

     "It's a man!" The voice was incredulous.

     "It can't be," another said.

     "Who are you?"

     Iolaus hesitated, reluctant to give his name and then admitted,
     "Iolaus."

     "What on earth are you doing here? Don't tell me the bastard's
     branching out."

     "Who are you?" Iolaus asked. As he suspected the women were those
     reported as missing. He gave a brief explanation of his presence.

     Although he endeavoured to speak normally, his voice betrayed his pain
     to his listeners. "How badly are you hurt? We can't do much, but we've
     got some water and we've been using bits of our skirts for bandages."

     "I-I'm okay."

     "You don't sound it."

     "I'm p-probably no worse than any of you." He couldn't tell them that
     his worst injury was psychological. Sure his anus was sore and
     bleeding, but it was the shame he felt at what had been done to him
     that was searing his soul.

     "Tell us," one of the women ordered. "Come on, we'll help if we can."

     "If you've got enough water, I w-wouldn't mind some on my shoulders.
     The...the deepest burns are there."

     "I suppose he's beaten you as well."

     "Yeah," Iolaus responded, quickly adding, "but that's okay."

     "I doubt it."

     Another woman intervened to offer him a drink of water. "Thank you,
     b-but I can't take the container. He's got my hands sh-shackled."

     "That's okay. I'll help you." He drank and then couldn't suppress a
     gasp as the first woman poured more water over his shoulders. He lay
     shivering on the cold, stone floor. The room had been cold enough
     before the water had been poured onto his burns, but now he felt
     freezing. He wondered about the condition of his companions. From what
     they'd said, they did, at least, have clothing and the three who had
     spoken sound okay.

     A hand touched his shoulder and he winced and sucked in his breath as
     it came into contact with his worst burn. This must have been audible
     because she apologised, "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just
     wondering whether you were cold and you are. You're freezing. We all
     huddle together to keep warm. You'd better join us."

     Iolaus hesitated and then said, "I'm not...I mean I haven't...I..."

     "What are you trying to say?"

     He tried again. It was hard to tell five strange women he was naked.
     "He took...took...

     m-my clothes."

     "And now you're embarrassed, right?"

     "Yeah."

     "Well if you're going to be locked in with us for any length of time,
     it's going to get more embarrassing, so you'd better just try to
     forget it. In any case, all but one of us are hetairai, so it's not
     going to worry us. Now, are you going to be sensible?"

     "Okay." He moved across the cell. Hands reached for him and he was
     drawn down into their midst. It was hard to get comfortable because of
     his shackles and he was tormented by thoughts of what had been done to
     him, but eventually he drifted off to sleep.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Mandrocles had planned his moves well, but there was one thing he had
     not known. He did not realise that Iolaus was being virtually
     imprisoned when at the whorehouse and so his absence would be noticed
     relatively quickly. Pania waited for his arrival, so she could lock
     his room after him, until about 1am. By that time, she had become
     concerned that something had gone amiss. Of course, it was possible
     that the men had successfully captured the murderer, but she felt they
     would have sent her word and, in any case, Iolaus would have returned
     to reclaim his own clothes and to discard the hated dress. She then
     decided she had better seek out Hercules and the others.

     So about 1.30am, Odite's household was roused by Pania's loud,
     imperious knocking. A bleary-eyed Odite staggered to the door. "Who is
     it?"

     "Pania."

     "What on earth do you want at this hour?" he asked, as he opened the
     door.

     "Is Hercules staying with you? I need to see both of you."

     Given the hour, he hesitated, but she insisted, "It's important. I
     think something's happened to Iolaus."

     "Come in. I'll fetch him."

     Hercules had been roused by the knocking, although he had not risen in
     case the matter was of household concern only. "Hercules?"

     "I'm awake, Odite."

     "It's Pania. You'd better get up. Something's wrong."

     Hercules felt an emotion that could only be described as a mixture of
     fear and panic. He dressed quickly and joined them. "What's happened?"
     he asked.

     "Iolaus hasn't returned to the house. He's normally back just after
     midnight," Pania stated.

     "Who was to escort him tonight?" Hercules asked.

     "It was Novatus," Odite replied.

     "Right, we'd better go and see if he's home. Do you know where he
     lives?"

     "Yes, not far from here."

     "Okay. We'll look into this, Pania. Thank you for coming to us.
     Perhaps it would be best if you returned home in case Iolaus shows up.
     We'll let you know if we find anything."

     A few minutes later, Hercules and Odite were rousing Novatus. He told
     them that, according to Mandrocles, Iolaus had left as early as 11.30
     and repeated Mandrocles' other comments.

     "Something must have happened to him on his way back to the house,"
     Hercules said.

     "Unless he's given up and taken off," Novatus commented. "Mandrocles
     did say he thought Iolaus was considering it."

     "He wouldn't have done that," Hercules insisted. "He would have told
     me if he'd decided to give up on the plan."

     "Maybe, but how could he?" Odite asked. "He hasn't been able to leave
     the house during the day."

     "You forget that I was the guard earlier tonight. I had to intervene
     when he was approached by three drunken youths, so he had an
     opportunity to say something then." However, even as the words left
     his mouth, Hercules recalled the aftermath of the incident. It had
     been Iolaus who had initiated the kiss, but Hercules had an uneasy
     feeling that the latter had done so because he had misinterpretered
     Hercules' instruction to "show your gratitude". Hercules had been
     shaken by his own response to this and suspected that Iolaus had been
     as well. Perhaps this had made him too embarrassed to face the
     demigod. He certainly hadn't said anything while in the alley, but
     then neither had Hercules. I hope he doesn't think I'm angry about
     what happened, he thought. Surely he wouldn't be too ashamed to face
     me. The possibilities whirled through his head. Yes, he had to admit
     the incident could have led to Iolaus giving up on their scheme,
     especially given how unhappy he already was with it. However, that was
     only one possibility, though, considering the alternatives, it might
     be the one to hope for no matter what complications it offered for the
     future.

     "Let's assume, for the moment, that he didn't walk out," Odite said,
     interrupting Hercules' thoughts. "We need to think about the other
     possibilities."

     So Hercules talked about the three youths first of all. He felt that,
     especially after their bout with him, they would have been in no shape
     to overcome the hunter if they had been waiting for him to seek
     revenge. Unless they'd managed to take the hunter completely by
     surprise, and Hercules considered that to be unlikely, Iolaus should
     have been able to defeat them easily enough.

     That left the chilling possibility that he had encountered the
     murderer or murderers. They had all tended to assume that it was the
     work of one man, especially as no helpful rumours had come to light
     and the more people involved in something the more chance that someone
     would let something slip. However, that wasn't necessarily the case
     and Iolaus, for all his fighting skills, might have been overpowered.
     Even if it was all the work of one man, he was obviously very cunning
     and might have been able to surprise the hunter.

     If he had been captured, the question was what would happen next.
     Those who had been killed had not been murdered where their bodies
     were found. They had usually been missing for at least a couple of
     days and during that time had obviously been tortured. Given the
     difficulty of taking an unwilling victim through the streets of
     Athens, the women had obviously gone willingly or had been
     unconscious. That being the case, Iolaus had probably been taken to
     the man's hideout.

     The next question was how would the man react when he discovered the
     sex of his victim? Would he kill Iolaus outright or would he decide to
     torture him as he had the women. Hercules didn't like to dwell on
     either possibility, so he returned to the previous issue. "I think the
     murderer's hideout must be somewhere near here since nobody has
     apparently seen either an unconscious or a dead woman being carried.
     There are too many people around the streets here for someone not to
     have noticed. Has there been any attempt to search the surrounding
     premises?"

     "Yes, Mandrocles and Crito both live nearby and they undertook to do
     this since they know the people and the area, but neither found
     anything," answered Odite.

     "Perhaps they missed something. The murderer is obviously very cunning
     and covers his tracks well."

     "That's possible. Crito's okay, but Mandrocles is a bit of a
     self-important old fool. He could have been suckered by the man. What
     do you think we should do next?"

     "I'm going to check out the various alleys between the street where
     Iolaus was and the whorehouse."

     "We'll help," said Novatus.

     " I'll go and wake up Autolycus to help as well. He might have some
     useful ideas of what else to do."

     So Hercules went to the tavern where Autolycus was staying and roused
     a very resentful landlord to let him in. Autolycus was also not
     pleased to be disturbed, but listened carefully to what Hercules had
     to say. Then he said, "Well I guess that narrows the possibilities
     down somewhat, doesn't it?"

     "What do you mean?"

     "It sounds like it's either Crito or Mandrocles?"

     "How can you jump to that conclusion?"

     "Well you know that members of the citizens' group reckoned that the
     murder was psychic as he seemed to know their every move, so it's
     likely he is actually one of the group. Then given that Crito and
     Mandrocles failed to find anything in an area of town where, it stands
     to reason, there must be something to be found, I reckon one of them
     is our man or at least knows who he is."

     "I suppose it's possible."

     "You should go and see them now. You could ask them to join the search
     and see if there's any places they try to avoid. While you've got them
     occupied, I'll slip in check their own homes."

     "The murderer surely wouldn't operate from his own home."

     "Why not? What could be more private and, if the murderer is one of
     our group, what would be least likely to be searched?"

     Hercules had to admit there was something in what the thief said.
     "Which one shall we try first?"

     "Crito would be my pick. He's been in on every discussion, but has
     been observing rather than participating."

     Unfortunately, when they roused the latter's manservant, he told them
     Crito was staying with a friend about ten miles out of the city having
     gone there early the previous day. The two felt obliged to travel to
     the place to check because, if true, it would certainly provide Crito
     with a cast-iron alibi and if untrue would make his guilt likely.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     The sound of a key woke the hunter. He was instantly alert, but
     remained where he was. The door opened and light from a lantern
     flooded into the room. Iolaus tried to cringe back into the shadows,
     but Mandrocles was not having that. "Come here, Iolaus!" The hunter
     didn't move. "Didn't you hear me? I expect instant obedience from my
     guests or someone will suffer and it might be one of these lovely
     ladies." He waved a sword towards the group.

     Iolaus stood up. He was blushing hotly. He walked towards Mandrocles.
     "There, ladies, isn't he a pretty sight?" He grasped Iolaus' shoulders
     and swung him back to face the women. "I hope you appreciate my
     efforts in providing you with such a companion."

     "I know it's only daybreak, but I've been thinking about the fun we
     had last night, Iolaus, and I couldn't wait to continue. Besides when
     they finally discover you're missing tonight, I'll no doubt get
     involved in the search for you and there'll be meetings and I'll be
     too busy to devout the time to you that I would like."

     Iolaus' mind was racing. Now would be the best time to try something
     while the cell was unlocked. He was handicapped by his shackles, but
     hopefully the women would come to his aid. Unfortunately he hadn't
     anticipated such an early visit and hadn't discussed possible moves
     with them. He needed a bit of space in which to operate. Suddenly he
     flung himself sideways against Mandrocles and then darted towards the
     door. Caught off balance, Mandrocles stumbled and cursed, but
     recovered himself and started after Iolaus. The hunter whirled around,
     crouched slightly and launched himself at Mandrocles, catching him on
     the chin with a foot. Both crashed to the ground, Iolaus on top of his
     stunned opponent.

     Rolling off Mandrocles, Iolaus appealed to the women for assistance.
     Three piled out of the cell to help, but the other two remained in the
     cell crouching in fear. A wrestling bout began. Mandrocles proved
     surprisingly strong and, freeing a hand, punched one of the women
     laying her out cold. The hunter didn't know what to do for the best.
     Shackled as he was, he could not give the two women much help. He
     flung himself back across Mandrocles and shouted, to the women in the
     cell, "One of you run for help!" Unfortunately neither moved, but one
     of those helping him did.

     Once she had gone there was no holding Mandrocles. He flung Iolaus and
     the remaining woman violently aside. She struck her head against the
     wall and lost consciousness. Mandrocles lurched to his feet, grabbed
     the hunter by the hair, pulled him upright and began to hit him.
     "You'll pay for this, you little bastard," he shouted.

     The woman seeking help reached the street door, but found it locked.
     All the windows were barred and she could find no way out. She flung
     herself desperately against the heavy door. Then she realized she
     could hear voices outside. "Open up!"

     "I can't! It's locked! Please help us! He's going to kill us!"

     "Stand well back." The door was meant to open outwards, but then the
     builder had never envisaged a frantic demigod seeking entrance.
     Hercules flung himself against it and it smashed in, jamb and all.
     Hercules rushed in, with Autolycus at his heels. Having verified
     Crito's absence as legitimate, they had raced back to Athens.

     "Where are they?"

     "In the cellars! This way!" At that moment, they heard screams. They
     three rushed downstairs. The two women were still in the cell,
     clinging together and screaming in fear. Two more lay unconscious on
     the floor. Iolaus was lying facedown, naked, bleeding and only
     semi-conscious, on the stone floor. Mandrocles, apparently in a
     demented fury, was thrashing him with the buckle end of his belt.

     Hercules did not hesitate. He moved swiftly forward, caught the belt
     in full flight and turned on Mandrocles. Normally Hercules pulled his
     punches when dealing with humans but, in this case, he made no such
     concession. A single punch flattened Mandrocles' nose into his face
     and propelled him ten feet across the room to smash his skull to
     pieces against the wall.

     Hercules didn't give him a second glance. He fell to his knees beside
     Iolaus. Autolycus watched in amazement as the demigod snapped the
     shackles from his friend's wrists as if they were twigs. Those same
     lethal hands then gently raised the hunter as though he was the most
     precious and fragile object in existence. He had no time to spare for
     anyone else. His whole world was centred on Iolaus. "See to the ladies
     please," was all he said to Autolycus, as he gathered his friend into
     his arms.

     Well so that's how the land lies, Autolycus mused to himself. I'll
     have to be more circumspect when teasing Iolaus in the future, I don't
     want an irate demigod after me. Then he smiled to himself as he
     wondered whether the hunter was aware of his friend's feelings. From
     the way the hunter had reacted to the kiss Autolycus had given him,
     maybe that sort of thing was not for him. I'll definitely have to keep
     a close watch on this interesting situation, he decided.

     Hercules carried Iolaus upstairs and put him on the bed. Autolycus
     emerged carrying a woman, while two of the others supported another.
     Hercules got some water and began to bathe blood from the hunter's
     face. He asked Autolycus to fetch Odite and Pania.

     Both arrived a few moments later and took charge of the female
     victims. Pania looked at Iolaus and commented, "I've brought his
     clothes, but by the look of him you'd better just wrap him in a
     blanket and get him to a doctor."

     "Can I take him to your home, Odite?"

     "Of course. Send one of my servants to fetch a physician."

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     Hercules carried his precious burden to his room in Odite's house. He
     placed Iolaus on the bed and started to turn, to summon a servant to
     fetch a doctor, when the hunter stirred and gasped, "Herc?"

     "I'm here, Iolaus. I'm just going to send for a doctor."

     "No!"

     "You need one, Iolaus."

     "No, I...I can't...I don't want...."

     "Why not?"

     "Please, Herc, I don't...I don't want anyone to...to..."

     "Why?"

     "I can't..." Tears began to run down his cheeks.

     Hercules wrapped his arms around his friend and held him close,
     stroking his golden curls.

     "Calm down, Iolaus, it's all right now," he murmured soothingly.

     "N-No, it's not." His body was shaking and his face was bone-white.

     "Iolaus, tell me what's wrong. If you don't explain, I'll have to send
     for the doctor."

     "I d-don't want anyone to know."

     "To know what?"

     "What he did to me." His voice was a whisper.

     Hercules blood turned to ice. He'd seen the burns and the whip marks,
     but surely it wouldn't upset Iolaus if these were seen. He held Iolaus
     tighter. "Tell me."

     "He'd tied me down...I c-couldn't s-stop him."

     "Iolaus, please tell me. Only me, I promise."

     "Herc, he...he..." He began to sob harder.

     "He what?"

     "Raped me." His voice was so low, Hercules could hardly distinguish
     the words.

     The blood drained from Hercules' face. He felt faint. "No!" he gasped.

     The hunter nodded. "I don't...don't want anyone to know."

     "A doctor should examine you, Iolaus. A doctor wouldn't tell anyone."

     "No! Please, you promised only you, Herc."

     "Will you let me help you?"

     "Only you."

     Hercules laid him back on the bed and then called for a servant to
     fetch salve, hot water and bandages. He tended the cuts and burns on
     Iolaus' back first. He was aware that the hunter was wincing with
     pain, but was biting his lip and keeping quiet. Finally he lowered the
     blanket and uncovered Iolaus' buttocks and thighs. He felt the hunter
     tense and heard a stifled sob as Iolaus buried his face into the
     pillow. The marks from the beating were clear and obviously painful
     but, more horrifying, were the bruises and dried blood around the anus
     and inner thighs.

     "Please don't touch me!" Iolaus' voice was muffled by the pillow.

     "Just lie still, Iolaus. I'll be as quick as I can." He washed off the
     blood and applied the salve and then swiftly pulled the blanket up to
     Iolaus' waist. He then gently rolled the hunter over onto his back.
     His face was chalk-white and stained with tears and his eyes were
     tightly shut. "Iolaus, it's okay. I've finished." He reached out a
     hand and stroked his friend's face. "Please, Iolaus, look at me."

     "I can't."

     Hercules raised him into his arms and cuddled him. Iolaus kept his
     head down and made no response. Hercules cupped his friend's chin and
     raised it. Without conscious thought, he leaned down and put his face
     against the hunter' cheek, murmuring, "Please, Iolaus, can you forgive
     me?"

     That sparked a reaction. Iolaus opened his eyes wide with shock.
     "Herc?"

     "Can you forgive me?"

     "For what?"

     "For making you take part in the plan."

     "It wasn't your fault, Herc. You c-couldn't have anticipated this."

     "But I should never have put you at risk. You're too...too important
     to me."

     An expression of relief passed over the hunter's face. "I thought you
     m-might be angry with me."

     "Why would I be?"

     "You know...You know when I kissed you before...y-you were so quiet
     and...and..." His voice trailed off.

     "Iolaus, I'd never...never experienced anything like that kiss."

     Misunderstanding again, Iolaus apologized, "I'm...I'm sorry, Herc. I
     th-thought you meant me to...to k-kiss you." He lowered his head to
     hide his distress.

     "I'm not complaining, Iolaus. Anything but! I just couldn't believe
     how much I enjoyed it."

     Iolaus voice was a mere whisper, "So did I." Hercules looked at Iolaus
     in wonder. He saw the golden curls, the gorgeous features and the
     satin skin, but most of all he saw the impossibly blue eyes gazing at
     him with what he realized was nervous longing. For all his beauty, the
     hunter was obviously terrified of rejection.

     Then he said something he'd never imagined himself saying, had never
     consciously wanted to say, "I love you, Iolaus." As soon as the words
     were out, he realized he'd been meant to say them all of his life.

     "I've always loved you, Herc, but I never...I never dared to dream
     that you'd...that you'd ...love me."

     "Iolaus, loving you has been so much a natural part of who I am, I
     guess I've never really thought about it until now." Hercules reached
     out and gently, but firmly drew the hunter to him. "I don't know if
     it's possible, my love, but let's see if we can improve on that kiss."
     The joy with which the hunter responded showed they could.

     ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     The citizens' group and the citizens themselves were very grateful
     that the murderer had at last been stopped. They wanted to organize a
     suitable celebration to express their thanks, but the demigod said he
     and the hunter had a pressing previous engagement and the pair left as
     soon as Iolaus could travel. Only Autolycus, who had decided to stay
     an enjoy the fruits of the Athenians' gratitude, suspected that the
     engagement would only involve two people, two who had been together
     for many years but had only just found each other.

                             [Image] The End [Image]