DIFFERENT

23 -- ... And Dusted

Warning  --  Violence

Oh, my lovlies !!

A new beginning for our two handsome Princes ...... but first, some unfinished business ....

It was the quintessential beautiful sunny day in downtown Washington Heights.  Watery, early morning sunshine was appearing over the rooftops, casting long imaginings of shadows on the sidewalks and trees.  Larry and Laurent hadn't even been to bed yet, and didn't think it worth the trouble, as they probably wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.  Their lives, even though seemingly at the beginning of something new and exciting, still seemed to hold some hidden, dark corners these days, that seeped into their days, and consumed their nights.  Like the call from....... hell.  Tonight they had stayed up until silly o'clock, and decided it wasn't even worth trying to sleep, now that the sun was up.

They headed to a little cafe they both loved, just a couple of blocks from home, to indulge in some great coffee and pastries.  Still trying to get Larry fat.  And it was working.  As they sat at their little bistro table on the sidewalk, they chatted amiably, sharing sweet kisses, watching the runners and the dog walkers, reading the morning papers, ordering more coffee.  Larry had missed decent coffee, and he was happy to be enjoying his so much this morning.  Before they knew it, time had slipped away from them, and it was almost noon.   

"Let's stay for lunch"  Laurent suggested excitedly.  More chance to get more food into Larry.  He needed more food.  He had been starving himself lately for some reason, and Laurent didn't like it.  But, as Larry was always hungry, he agreed.  

Just then, a beautiful woman approached them, and asked politely if she could share their table with them.  She was tall and willowy,  her skin a gorgeous milk chocolate.  She had her short black hair in a beautifully cut bob, her hazel-green eyes were mesmerizing  to Laurent.  He  looked to Larry for confirmation that it was OK for her to join them, only to be met with a cold shrug of his shoulders, and an "I don't care" as a retort.  

"Of course, madame"  Laurent cooed at the older woman, finding her another chair, placing it close to his, Larry on the opposite side of the table now.  Larry just glared at him.  This was what he was afraid of.  What he was afraid would happen.  Laurent was too nice for his own good, and he couldn't say no to a beautiful woman.  Larry was only just beginning to find this out, and today, watching his love and this older, sophisticated woman begin to flirt with him, he felt something roiling through his body.  Not jealousy, not even anger, just ...... something extremely unsettling.  He trusted Laurent, with his life, and he knew he wouldn't do anything foolish.  

Would he.

"I'm going home, Laurent.  I'll see you there.  You have FUN."  he snapped, walking away quickly, looking out to the river, wondering if he were doing the right thing, leaving them alone.  But he couldn't be there to watch.  He didn't want to watch as Laurent did what he was going to do.  Laurent called after Larry as he watched him walk away, sighing in frustration.  He really did not understand the situation at all.  What Laurent didn't know was that Larry had had second thoughts, and had hidden behind a large lamp post, far enough away that Laurent couldn't see him, but close enough to observe whatever might happen next.  

Although he didn't like the idea of Larry walking away upset, Laurent sat beside the gorgeous woman, and started to make small talk with her.  Where was she from, what brought her here to New York ?  Was she a model, she was so beautiful.  She was feeling at ease with him now, the flirting getting more serious, at least on her side, and she was touching him often.  As his hand lay next to his coffee cup, a gentle rub of his arm, and he was allowing it.  He knew what he was doing wasn't right, and it made him cringe inwardly, if he thought too hard about it.  He had always wanted to get this woman on her own, he had known of her from the past.  So he could do with her as he wanted.  To treat her in the way a woman like her deserved to be treated.  But it was a necessary evil, he told himself.  Larry would understand, of course he would.  And if he didn't understand, he would forgive him.  He always did.  He was doing it for him, after all.  

The cafe was busy now, a crowd arriving for the after work rush, the sun low on the horizon, casting an orange glow around the diners on the sidewalk.  He had been here all day, first with Larry, and now with this seemingly well educated, sophisticated woman.  Now was the opportune time to put his plan into action.  He attracted the waiters attention, and whispered something in his ear.  The waiter returned quickly with Laurent's request.  

Larry had been watching them, still behind the lamp post.  He was tired now, changing his position every so often, from standing to sitting to kneeling, and back to standing again.  He was thirsty, and guess what, hungry.  

"Goddamit, Lau, get on with it !  If you're gonna do it, just do it !  Put me out of my misery !"  he yelled inside his head, the same words leaving his lips as a whisper.   As Larry saw what the waiter handed Laurent, he started making his way slowly, unobtrusively, towards the cafe again.  He wanted to be close when this all went down, so he could see the look in both their eyes when they saw him.  

"Shall we ?"  Laurent offered her his hand to help her up.  She obviously thought she was going somewhere with him, as a wry, triumphant smile flicked across her face.  As she looked deep into his eyes, Laurent struck the first, gut wrenching blow.  He loved how he had wiped the smile right off that bitches face, seemingly seeing her face morph into red jelly as her head moved in slow motion, sending her body sideways on to the sidewalk.  He could see Larry in the distance, closing in on them slowly, a smug smile on his face, feeling an even brighter smile form on his own lips.

Covered in blood, she tried to get up from the ground, now kneeling, holding her hand out to any stranger that might help her.  No one did.  No one dared.  Fellow diners gathered around now, though not too close, Laurent pushing his hands out to them to stay back, he didn't want them ruining their clothes with blood and brain splatter.   He waited for her to stagger to her feet, letting out a frustrated sigh, leaning on the bat, because in his opinion she was taking far too long to get to her feet.  And he would not kick a man, or in this case, woman, while she was down.  Holding on to the small rickety table, a quizzical look adorning her features, she looked Laurent deep in his eyes, trying to work out the meaning of what was happening.  With a tighter grip on the baseball bat, now weighing heavily behind him, he launched another huge swing in her direction, the full head of the bat connecting with the side of her skull, making a loud splintering sound, blood and bone and brain matter flying into the closest bystander.  

Larry was closer now, standing at the edge of the crowd, slightly taller than most, watching Laurent do a splendid job.  To think he didn't want to watch.  He was grinning, trying not to laugh out loud.  That would have been too callous, too mean.  The crowd were cheering, the man with the splatter covered T shirt, pumping his fist in the air, ecstatic at being the apparent chosen one.  

"She's not getting up from that one !"  Laurent yelled to the crowd, thrusting the bat into the air in victory, the crowd baying for more blood.  As they quietened down, Laurent leaned over the woman, half her skull missing, her face crushed and bloodied, almost unrecognizable.   He himself splattered in blood from his conquest, he squatted down beside her face, and felt her throat for a pulse.  There was none. 

"Ain't Karma a bitch"  he spat in her concave face.  He called a waiter over who had been watching from the cafe, and asked him to contact the appropriate authorities to come and collect the body.  As he walked away from the crowd, he collected Larry, who had been watching, with more than a small smile on his face, at Laurent's prowess as a batsman.

"Let's go home, mon amour"  he said, kissing the top of Larry's head, an arm slung casually around his shoulders, swinging the bloody baseball bat to and fro as they walked.

"Does anybody know who she is..... was ?  Does anyone know her name ?"

Laurent shot up in bed, eyes wide.  Breathing heavily, his heart hammering inside his chest, sweating profusely.

"Deborah.  Her name's Deborah."