Dangerous Love (ONC 2019 - LGBTQ)

11. The Cave

☆ Dedicated to Hafferby and his story "Hand of Fate" a sophisticated thriller for the ONC 2019 ☆

~~~

"'You'll have to get rid of him.'"

Patrick woke to the sound of those words. Who were they talking about? Not Rik, surely. He struggled to sit up, a difficult task with his arms tied, and stared around rather blankly at the surrounding cave. Where the fuck were they?

Everyone was staring at him, and it dawned on Patrick that Kam had been talking about him. His eyes flew to Harlan.

The sight of Harlan amongst the raiders at the campsite had been a huge shock. For a second there he'd thought his heart had actually stopped, which was pretty weird considering the very short time they'd known each other. Less than a full day, for stars' sake! And then, when he'd been about to utter a protest, to demand an explanation, Harlan had shot him with the stunner. That, he could understand, if not forgive. Harlan didn't want Patrick blurting out something that would undermine whatever story he'd told his new friends. But what Patrick didn't understand, was why he was here now, a prisoner with Rik. Why had Harlan brought him along, instead of leaving him at the camp?

"We're looking for Quinn. It's manslaughter..." The memory of Officer Miller's words slid into his mind with the coldness of a steel dagger. Patrick swallowed. At the time he hadn't wanted to believe it, but now, here was Harlan keeping company with kidnappers. It certainly looked as if he had tossed his Patrol background entirely out into space and thrown in his lot with criminals.

He waited, holding his breath, for Harlan's answer.

Harlan didn't look at him. His eyes were fixed on Kam. He gave a rueful grin. "Much as I'd like to sometimes, I can't do that. He's my lover. We have a rather volatile relationship. I'll take responsibility for him and see that he isn't any trouble."

Patrick was almost sure his jaw had dropped open with surprise.

"No fucking way!" exclaimed Lu, loudly.

Kam stared at Patrick with narrowed eyes. "He doesn't look like he's too fond of you at the moment!"

"No, well, I did just stun him and carry him over my shoulder for a couple of kays."

Patrick finally got his voice back. Whatever Harlan's long term game might be, right now he was obviously trying his best to protect him. He added his bit to the story Harlan was trying to spin.

"You promised me you'd go legit! No more jobs, you said!" He didn't have any trouble sounding reproachful.

"I will," said Harlan earnestly. "One day. Come on, sweetie, you know this is what I'm best at. As soon as I have enough credits, we can retire and be as legitimate as you like."

"'Sweetie'? Don't call me sweetie," spluttered Patrick. "You know I hate that," he added hastily.

Kam turned back to Harlan, a disgruntled look on his face. "You say you'll be responsible for him. I'll hold you to that. And you'll have to share your quota of supplies. I only got enough for three." He wasn't happy but at least he looked resigned to Patrick's presence.

"But boss-" Lu tried to protest.

"Enough. He stays—as long as he behaves himself."

~~~

Rik was swivelling his head, looking from one man to the other. Could it possibly be true, that Patrick and the kidnapper, Hal, were lovers? Kam, the ring leader, didn't appear to know Patrick, but Rik couldn't help wondering if he'd been part of the plan all along. Was the whole tour a setup from the beginning, orchestrated with the goal of kidnapping him and Georg? He felt sick.

And he'd liked Patrick, he really had.

He shivered slightly in the cool air. If only he had his proper clothes. He felt too vulnerable sitting here in his sleeping shorts and boots.

Kam was speaking again. "Andre and I will take the shuttle and leave a false trail for anyone watching. If everything goes to plan, the focus should soon shift away from here to Syden, and we'll be able to come back and collect you in a few days. As soon as we have the ransom agreement."

~~~

With a last look at Lu, Kam and Andre left, squeezing out through the narrow gap. There was a moment's silence as Hal and Lu locked gazes. Rather to Patrick's surprise, Hal dropped his eyes first.

"So what supplies do we have here exactly?" he asked, crossing over to the stack of boxes. "Are there any clothes? It's cold in here. We don't want the boy to catch a chill."

Lu shrugged. "There might be. Have a look."

He strode over and pointed to two of the six boxes labelled "Rations" and a backpack lying behind them. "Those are mine." He waited for Harlan to nod briefly, then pointed to the remaining four. "Yours, and the boy's."

There were three more boxes simply labelled "Supplies".

"Let's see what we've got," said Lu, opening one. "Should be a charger for the light somewhere..." He rummaged through the box.

Harlan, meanwhile, pulled out couple of fluorescent-yellow singlesuits from another box.

"Wow," Harlan blinked. "You couldn't miss these on a dark night! I'm guessing they're meant for Rik, but they'll have to share. One for Rik and the other for Patrick. Not the height of fashion, I admit, but warm. Better than sleeping shorts at any rate."

He looked around. "Where are they going to sleep? In one of those caves at the back?"

"Sure," said Lu, looking as if he hadn't given the matter any thought. "We'll need to dig a latrine pit, too. No hygiene unit here!"

Harlan stood and went to explore the back of the cavern. There was a cosy looking space with no visible exits which would do for sleeping quarters for Rik and Patrick, providing them with a bit of privacy. The next cave was actually the opening to a tunnel. He made his way over the rough ground to see how far the tunnel extended, but it narrowed quickly and soon became too dark to make out any details. This section would make a good place to dig the latrine, he thought, far enough away from the main cavern and not too enclosed.

"Where does that lead?" he asked Lu on his return, gesturing to the cave with the tunnel exit.

"No idea," said Lu, then grinned unpleasantly. "But I wouldn't want to try and leave that way, if I were you. There's a sudden drop not far along. If you toss a stone over the edge, you can hear the splash... eventually!"

Lu looked thoughtfully at Rik. "You know, annoying as it was at the time, him tearing a muscle in his leg has actually turned out for the best. He's hardly likely to get very far by hopping!"

He pointed. "See that ring bolted into the cave wall, down low? I was going to tether him to that, but no need now.

"You and I will take it in turns to sleep," Lu told Harlan, "And I've rigged an alarm over the exit. If anyone tries to leave, we'll all know about it."

Harlan nodded, having expected as much. "In that case, will it be okay with you if I untie Patrick? It's not like he can go anywhere and it will make things easier for us, when he has to take a leak or whatever."

Lu chewed his lip for a moment and then nodded.