THE DRIVE WAS A VERY tedious venture. Josh took Julien Capo in his car instead of mine, probably to question him, seeing as he is the one who decided to do tow cars instead of three. When we get to The Bureaus office, the building is pitch black. I park my car down the road a little ways and get out. Josh pulls in right behind me. "Do you think they're on lockdown or someone cut the power?" I ask looking around with my hand on my gun. "Scratch that, someone got in. Something doesn't feel right." Right as I finish the sentence a shot rings out. It hits me in the chest right over my heart. I tumble like a sack of potatoes and drag Julien Capo down with me. I push him under the car so it can work as a shield. I draw my weapon, careful not to look like I am moving too much. I hear another shot ring out, this one from Josh. I am guessing he knows the bullet didn't go through my vest, or he would be all over me instead of returning fire. I pull out my radio and set off the panic alarm. I put a spoof on the GPS so it looks like I am in the building. Hopefully whoever is shooting at us thinks I went there. I hear an incoming transmission "VonRichter, do you really think you can hide in this building? In case you've forgotten, You are not exactly liked in these parts. You might be very effective, but you are gay, making you a liability. People don't like different," the voice pauses and I hear Julien Capo shift under the car. I look over at him and he's looking at me slightly wide-eyed, with a look of calculation and panic. "We are searching the building now. When we find you, we will kill you and anyone who gets in our way.'' The transmission goes dead and I look around. I need to get out of here. I pull Julien Capo from under the car and put the radio in his place. I crawl behind the car and look for a place to go. I see an alleyway with some apartment entrances. I signal to Josh and point at one of the staircases, He nods and we take off at a sprint. Right as we mount the stairs, my car explodes. Josh's car catches fire. The SUV the FBI gave Josh stands intact, minus the fire, but for how long? We look around for the source of all this, not thinking about the fact that they think we're at the office, and probably dragged all their guys in to search for us. I look for a way into the building, before starting down the alleyway. I walk with the other two following close behind, looking for some sort of outlet.
"This is taking forever!" Julien Capo suddenly exclaims, startling Josh and I. "Why can't we just rent a car or something?" In a different situation, his cluelessness would be cute, but here it could be deadly.
"All of our aliases are probably on a blacklist, our true identities as well, all on the run from the FBI. If they know you are with us, you've been blacklisted too," I try to explain without making it sound like I thought he was dumb or something. He gives me a strange look, before continuing my search. "Right now, our only option is to go back to the house and lock it down. Luckily, we don't have school for a few days," he turns back looking at me quizzically.
"You do realize today is Thursday, right?" he looks at me as if asking if I am ok. "I think all of this is starting to get to you. Maybe we should just get back to your place and get you some sleep."
I finally find the outlet, and as we start the trek home, I think about what he said. Maybe I should get some sleep. The walk home was pretty long, and I almost considered waiting for a bus. When we finally get home, I think we are all spent. All of us find a place and lay down, taking a good power nap. Josh went to his bed, Julien Capo went to my room and curled up in a ball at the foot of my bed, and I sat at my desk, planning on getting some work done while the others slept. Before I knew it there was a pressure on my shoulders from the blanket someone draped over me. I look up long enough to see Julien Capo standing over me looking pleased with himself, before putting my head back on the desk and falling back asleep. When I woke up again, the house is dark, and Julien Capo sprawled out across my bed and sound asleep. I go to the kitchen and get a glass of water, before going to the bathroom and going back to sleep. When I wake up the next morning, the smell of coffee is in the air. I turn around looking at the bed. Julien Capo sitting there staring at me, but looks away quickly, blushing furiously when I notice him.
"You know looking away quickly doesn't help you, right?" I chuckle as his blush deepens. "It is alright if you stare, I know I am drop-dead handsome."
"I- I wasn't staring," he stammered thickly, looking anywhere but in my direction. I walk over to him, putting my hands on the bed on either side of his body. He slowly turned to face me, finding my face only a few inches from his. He leaned forward and I backed away a little but stopped as he curved away from my face towards my shoulder. With his forehead resting on my shoulder, I felt him trembling. I wrapped my arms around him and scooched closer to him. I felt him melt into my body as he cried into my shoulder, for reasons unbeknownst to me. Maybe he wasn't staring at me. Maybe he was zoned out, crying to whatever was going on in his head, and saw me move, turning away not wanting me to see. We sat there for around ten minutes with him crying and holding on to me like I would vanish if he loosened his grip on me. I held him while he let out whatever was troubling him. When he was done, I got up to get a tissue from my desk. I handed him the tissue and changed my shirt, not caring that he was standing right there. When I turned around with my new shirt from my drawer, he was appraising my body with his eyes.
"Do you need a new shirt?" I ask, breaking him from his trance. He shakes his head tensely and walks out of my room. I finish changing and go to get coffee. "Morning Father," I say briskly, walking into the kitchen and going straight for the cups. "You want a cup of coffee, Julien Capo?" I ask, peeping over my shoulder.
"Sure," he sounds bored.
"Do you want sugar?" again peeping over my shoulder, after grabbing two mugs.
"Uhm, sure. Two spoons?" he sounds unsure.
"Two spoons it is then," I say, scooping his sugar, then my own. "Milk or cream, or just sugar?"
"Cream is fine," he says. "Honestly, you don't have to make my coffee. Tell me where everything is, and I can make it myself."
"Well I already started making it, so deal," I shoot around with my tongue out, like a child. He laughs as I hand him his coffee. "So Dad, do you think it is safe for us to go to school?" I look at Josh, taking a sip of my coffee. My phone rings at that moment. I answer quickly. "Hello?"
"No one likes an aardvark, VonRichter," Robbins says. "I don't have long to speak, so listen and don't talk. The Bureau has been trying to track the IP address while being held hostage. VonRichter, the IP address is your father's. You need to go to school and find a way to not go back to your house for a while. There are a couple of grand on your company card. Withdraw the money you need, but don't make any other transactions. I need you to stay as off the grid as possible. Oh no, they're coming back. Don't play the violin," the call disconnects, and I realize it is a code so I can trust the next call.
"Ok then," I shake my head, frowning at my phone. "Julien Capo and I are going to school, we'll be back later. Come on Julien Capo," I call over my shoulder, walking towards the door.
"But my coffee!" he exclaims.
"Bring it with you!" I shout over my shoulder, already out the door. I walk out to my '69 Mustang, the only vehicle I have left. I get in and wait for Julien Capo. When he gets in the car, I back out of the driveway, without making sure he's buckled in.
"VonRichter, what's going on? You are acting like a madman. And honestly, you are kinda scaring me," he spits out the words like they were fire on his tongue. I look over at him.
"Robins, my boss, called while we were in the kitchen. The FBI traced the mole as quickly as they could with the people holding them hostage breathing down their necks. The IP address belongs to my father," Again I look at Julien and find him looking back at me with pure terror. My phone starts to ring. "Can you answer that and put it on speaker?" I ask Julien Capo, and he complies. "Hello?"
"Don't play the violin, VonRichter. You have some of our kidnappers moving towards you. They put a tracker in your car. Ditch it and get the hell out of there VonRichter. I want an apple," the line goes dead.
"That was weird," voiced Julien Capo, not knowing about the code. "Why would she tell you not to play the violin and she wants an apple?"
"She hates violin music, and I used to bring her apples when I stopped by the office," I lied quickly.
