Assignment -Part 16:

 Over

It was a day like any other.  At least to everybody else.  For Justin, though, this was the day he saw his last hopes crumble in front of his eyes.  He knew he should have let those hopes die when he saw Brian pull the trigger in the hotel in Vermont, but a part of him still hung on to the hope that there was some sort of logical explanation for what Brian had done.  Even as he briefed Melanie and Lindsay regarding the events in Vermont, he hoped.  When he was getting all the required equipment from Daphne to spy on Brian, he still couldn’t help but pray that this was all just some sort of misunderstanding. 

But as he listened to the data guy tell him that the disk they got in Madrid was empty, Justin realized that the man he was in love with was, in fact, the man that Lindsay and Melanie told him he was – Brian was a traitor.

“What are you gonna do now?” Daphne asked as she handed him a steaming cup of coffee and sat down next to him on the couch.

Justin held the cup with both hands, staring down at the brown liquid, breathing in the white steam.  He shrugged his shoulders.  “What I have to do.  I have to finish this assignment.”

“Justin, you can’t,” Daphne argued.  “Come on, look what it’s doing to you already.”

The blond looked up at his friend, managing a small smile.  “I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t,” the woman argued.  “You shouldn’t be required to spy on someone you care about.”

“That’s the job.”

“Fuck the job,” Daphne snapped.  “And you can tell Lindsay and Melanie to go fuck themselves too.”

Justin’s eyebrows arched in amusement as he snickered.  “I don’t remember when was the last time I heard you use language like that.”

“I think it was that day you got suspended from school,” Daphne reminded him.

Justin smiled.  “Ahh, yes.  The wonderful days of St. James academy I worked so hard to forget.”

The young woman grinned, both of them remembering the not so fond memories of their high school days.  She moved closer to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. 

“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered, squeezing his shoulder tightly.

The smile was long gone from his face and all Justin felt now was exhaustion.  He was emotionally drained and all he wanted was to stay here in the small condo of his best friend and hide from the rest of the world. 

Unfortunately, that option wasn’t on the menu.

Justin leaned his head on Daphne’s shoulder and closed his eyes, letting his friend’s embrace comfort him for the moment. 

“Someone has to stop Stockwell,” he finally said.

“It doesn’t have to be you,” Daphne argued.

Justin took a deep breath and sat up, opening his eyes.  He turned to her and smiled with determination he hadn’t felt in a long time.  “I’m the only one who can.”

~~~***~~~***~~~

Brian pressed the button of the intercom in front of a large, metal gate.

“Who is it?” soon came the response.

“Kinney,” Brian replied.  He then waited as the camera, positioned at the top of the gate, turned toward him.  A few seconds later he heard a loud noise and the gates slowly opened.

Brian directed his bike down the long alley that led to the big mansion.

Getting off his bike, Brian was immediately greeted by two guards. 

“We were expecting you earlier,” one of them said.

“Traffic,” the brunet replied caustically as he followed the two men inside the house.

It was only the fourth time since this working relationship had begun that Brian had been to the house.  It was safer for both of the parties involved to meet on neutral grounds and preferably where they couldn’t be followed or watched. 

But this occasion called for a more private meeting.  Which was why Brian was now making his way down a long, wide hall toward a large office on the other side of the house. 

Stopping in front of the heavy wooden door, Brian waited as one of the guards knocked on the door and then peeked in. 

“Kinney’s here,” the guard informed the man inside.

Brian assumed he got the approval, since the guard, whose name Brian could never remember or cared to, held the door open wider for him to walk through.

Brian stepped inside, hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket, and waited for the door to close once again before he turned to the other man.

Finally they were alone. 

Brian took four careful steps.  Taking out the object from his left pocket, he tossed the disk on the desk.  “As requested,” he said.

Jim Stockwell looked up at him, satisfied.  He reached out and picked up the small object.  “Any problems?”

Brian shook his head.  “Easy as taking a toy from a baby.”

The senator laughed.  “I have two sons.  Trust me, taking a toy from a baby is not as easy as it sounds.”

Brian offered the man a smile, which appeared to be more of a scowl as he sat down across the desk from Stockwell.  “So, what do you need it for anyway?”

Stockwell looked at him suspiciously.  Brian, who prided himself on being able to read most people he came in contact with, could never quite get the read on this man.  He eyed him carefully.

“This can open all the doors,” the senator replied.

“I figured you already had all the doors open,” Brian commented. 

Stockwell laughed and Brian felt the chill run down his spine.  No matter how much he got to know the other man, how much time he had spent around him, Brian still couldn’t get used to the feeling he got any time he met with him.  In his years in the CIA Brian had met his share of killers, terrorists, mobsters.  People who had lots of money and very little respect for human life.  Yet, for some reason Stockwell was different.  It could have been the position he was in – U.S. Senator – Brian wasn’t sure. 

“I do,” the man simply responded.  “But this thing…” he held up the disk Brian switched during the mission.  “This little piece of plastic can make all the walls come down too.”

Brian nodded.  “Glad I could help.”  He began to rise from his seat when Stockwell stopped him.

“How are things going with your little blond friend?”

Brian’s eyes shot up at the other man’s face, startled by the question.  He held Stockwell’s gaze for a few seconds before standing up straight, forcing Stockwell to look up at him.  “That is none of your business,” Brian said, his voice calm, but leaving no room for the argument.

He turned to leave, but once again was stopped by his boss.

“If it’s going to affect me, you’re damn right it’s my business,” Stockwell called after him.

Brian turned around to face the other man.  “Who I fuck does not affect you in any way or form,” he ground out.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Brian.  When you’re fucking a CIA agent, there is a very big possibility that it would affect me.”

Brian clenched his jaw, trying to calm himself down.  “He’s not a threat.  He doesn’t know anything,” he tried again.

“Are you sure about that?”

To that Brian had no answer.  Instead, he turned to leave.  This time neither Stockwell nor anybody else tried to stop him.

~~~***~~~***~~~

“What’s the new intel?” Justin asked as soon as he sat down in the chair across from Lindsay.

He waited while Melanie closed the door and walked to sit next to him. 

“We got more information about the man that Brian killed in Vermont,” the brown-haired woman told him.

Justin was grateful that he was expecting the news and was prepared for it – or at least, prepared to not show what he was feeling inside.  Inwardly, however, it was a completely different story.  A big part of him wanted nothing more than to get up and walk out of the office and the building and to never look back.  But as he told Daphne, he couldn’t do that.

So, instead he focused his attention on the two women with the information.

“His name was Brady Coven,” Lindsay began.

“American?” Justin was a little surprised, knowing from the massive research he had done on Stockwell that the senator dealt mostly with foreigners. 

“Yes,” Lindsay replied.  “From what we could gather, he was an informant for Stockwell for the past six years.  Getting the dirt on lots of wealthy and important people all around the world.”

“For blackmail,” Justin stated, understanding what a man like Stockwell could do with such information.

“That’s right,” Melanie confirmed.

“So, then, why would Stockwell want Coven dead?” was Justin’s next question.

“That we don’t know,” Lindsay answered. 

“Could be a number of reasons,” the other woman continued.  “Coven could have become too demanding, or wanted to use the information he had to blackmail Stockwell.”

“Or Stockwell just wanted to cut off any ties he had with Coven,” Lindsay added.

Justin let out a loud sigh, having heard enough.  The point being was that it didn’t really matter to him why Coven was killed.  The fact remained that Brian was the one who pulled the trigger. 

The blond looked up at Lindsay and Melanie.  “So, what now?”

~~~***~~~***~~~

Now, the plan remained the same – get all the information he could from Brian about Stockwell and Brian’s role in the senator’s terrorist organization.  The task was not becoming any easier with time, which was what Justin had hoped for.  Instead, he found it only harder to share the bed with a man that he knew to be the mole. 

“That was fucking hot,” Brian commented as his breathing was finally under control after a blowjob that Justin had given him. 

The blond smiled as he settled down on the pillow next to the older man.  “Glad you approve,” Justin replied, smiling when a sly smirk appeared on the brunet’s face. 

Brian rolled on his side and propped himself up on the pillow.  “I more than approve, Agent Taylor.  You should get a medal for the quality of service you provide.”

Justin snickered.  “I doubt the United States Government would consider a blowjob worthy of a medal.”

“Well, then they never had a decent blowjob in their little, pathetic lives.”

Justin nodded.  “You should write a letter to your senator about that,” he teased. 

Brian snorted.  “Yes, I’ll get right on that.”  Instead of getting up and getting to writing any letters, Brian leaned down and covered Justin’s mouth with his own.

They parted only when they heard a quiet ring of Brian’s cell phone.

Reluctantly, Brian pulled away from Justin and rolled on his other side to answer the phone.

“Kinney,” was his standard greeting.

Justin watched intently as Brian’s expression changed, darkened as he listened to whoever it was on the other end of the line.

“Yes,” he heard Brian answer yet again.  “Ok.  Yeah.”

Finally, Brian hung up.

“Work?” Justin inquired.

Brian put the phone down and looked at him over his shoulder.  “Sort of.”

Justin couldn’t help but wonder what ‘sort of’ meant.  He would bet anything he had that ‘sort of’ meant Stockwell.  But what did he want Brian to do now?  That remained to be answered.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” Brian said as he got off the bed.

Justin only nodded. 

Brian stopped and gazed at him, a tiny smile playing on his lips.  “I’d ask you to join, but I gotta go.”

“That’s ok.”  Justin smiled back at him.  “How about I order us something to eat while you get ready?”

Brian strolled back over to the bed and leaned down, planting a soft kiss on Justin’s lips. 

“The menus are in the drawer in the kitchen,” he informed Justin before disappearing behind the bathroom door.

Justin waited until he heard the water running before getting out of bed as well.  He quickly pulled a pair of pants  and a sweater he wore earlier and headed out into the kitchen.  Stopping next to the counter, he looked back in the direction of the bathroom.  The shower was still on, which, Justin believed, gave him at least a couple of minutes to do what he had to do.

Justin moved toward the computer desk where Brian put his briefcase earlier that day.  Looking inside, Justin took out a stack of papers, flipping quickly through them, looking for something - anything that would give him the much-needed proof he had been looking for to put Brian and Stockwell away.

Suddenly, Justin felt something cold and hard pressing against the back of his head.  He froze, realizing quickly what it was.

“I thought you were ordering food,” he heard Brian say behind him.

Justin didn’t have time to wonder why he didn’t hear Brian come out of the bathroom or walk toward him.  Right now he had to focus on getting himself out of this situation. 

Justin slowly put the documents down on the desk, staring straight ahead.

“Turn around,” came a quiet command.

Justin swallowed hard, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to still his rapid heartbeat.  Breathing out slowly, Justin opened his eyes. 

He began to turn around as ordered, but at the last moment swung, grabbing a hold of Brian’s hand that was holding the gun while punching the brunet in the face with his free hand.

While the punch was strong enough to allow Justin to get a better grip of the gun, it wasn’t enough to make Brian let go of the weapon or to disorient him.  Justin turned, hitting Brian in the stomach with his elbow as the two struggled for the control of the gun. 

Justin’s advance was stopped by a punch in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.  Justin moved away slightly from Brian, enough to give him a few second to recover, but not enough to give Brian the opportunity to fire.  The blond then used a high kick to send the other man tumbling down on the floor while the gun was sent flying the other way. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Justin saw where the weapon had landed.  He started to move toward it, but went stumbling down as well after being hit in the knee.  Almost immediately Brian was on top of him.  Justin struggled to free himself, but the other man was bigger and stronger.  Nevertheless, Justin wiggled out of Brian’s hold enough to be able to use his foot to send the brunet down on the floor once again. 

Once he was free, Justin focused on getting to the gun once again.  Brian seemed to have a similar idea and both men rushed toward the weapon peacefully lying near the steps leading into the bedroom, mere inches away from where the two men were lying. 

Justin was the first to gain control of the weapon.  Gripping it tightly in his hands, he pointed the gun at his lover, silently stopping the other man’s advance toward him.

Slowly, without as much as blinking, Justin rose to his feet.  Both men were breathing hard after the hard struggle.  Justin stood towering over Brian, who was still sitting on the floor, looking up at him.

Justin knew that it was his fault it got to this.  Not only did Brian manage to get out of the bathroom and walk up behind him without Justin hearing, Brian also had enough time to pull on a pair of jeans.  Although, Justin realized, the brunet probably had it all planned out to begin with and the pair of faded blue jeans was waiting for Brian while he pretended to be taking a shower. 

“Get up,” Justin ordered.

Brian made a move to quickly get up and Justin moved backwards. 

“Slowly,” the blond gave another order. 

Brian glared at him.  Not taking his eyes off Justin as well, Brian wiped his bleeding lip with the back of his hand before slowly getting off the floor.

Without taking his eyes off Brian and with the gun still pointing at his lover, Justin moved carefully toward the couch where his coat, as well as Brian’s black leather jacket and shirt were tossed as soon as they got to the loft earlier that day.  Holding the gun with one hand, Justin rummaged in his pockets with the other.  Finally, he got a hold of his cell phone.

Pressing the speed-dial, Justin was immediately connected with the CIA.

“This is Agent Taylor.  I need back up,” Justin said into the receiver, his eyes still glued to Brian’s.  Getting a confirmation that a team was on the way, Justin put down the phone and tossed it on the couch.  Now all he could do was wait.

“Justin,” Brian started, taking a step toward him.

“Don’t move,” Justin ordered, gripping the handle of the gun tightly.

Brian stopped.  “You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand?  That you’re working for a terrorist?  Or that you’re a fucking traitor?”

“You have to trust me.”

Justin laughed bitterly.  “Trust you?  You’re a liar, Brian.  A liar and a murderer.”  Justin shook his head, still in a state of disbelief.  “You know, I could understand why Jack would turn.  I can even understand my dad and Stockwell’s reasons.  But not you.  Why?  How could you work for someone like him?”

“Justin…”

“No!  Answer me,” he insisted.  “He’s a killer, Brian.  He KILLS people.” 

No answer came. 

“Tell me why?!” Justin shouted.

Brian only dropped his head and looked away, guiltily.

“You know, for a moment there I thought…” Justin shook his head, trying to get rid of the emotions that were threatening to overtake him.  He had told himself a thousand times that it was his job to stop Brian.  But standing there now, in the middle of the loft, staring at Brian, seeing the man he loved stand before him like that; Justin realized that he couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t be the one to put Brian in jail.

Slowly, Justin lowered the gun.  “Go,” he said quietly.

Brian’s eyes shot up to his, in surprise.  “What?”

“Go,” Justin repeated.  “They’ll be here any minute.”

Brian stood still for what seemed like forever, holding Justin’s gaze.  “Justin,” he finally said, taking a step toward the blond.

Justin’s quickly raised the arm that was still holding the gun, pointing it at Brian once again.  “GO!  Get out of here!”

Brian nodded slightly before slowly moving toward the other end of the couch to pick up his shirt and his jacket.  He turned to Justin.  “What about you?”

The blond shrugged, a sad smile crossing his lips.  “I’m a big boy.  I can take care of myself.”

Justin felt as if the large lump that had formed in his throat was about to suffocate him as he watched Brian walk over to the door.  The brunet threw one last glance at him over his shoulder before walking out of the loft.

Only when Justin watched the door slide close behind Brian did he lower the gun.  He stood frozen for what seemed like forever. 

Leaning back on the metal post, Justin slid down to the floor.  He put the gun down next to him and hugged his ankles. 

He thought that when all of this was over, he’d feel relieved, free.  But all he felt now was empty.

Go to Part 17

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