Bring Me the Dead, page 23
Ki-tae shook his head. “No. There might have been some kind of link, I don’t know. But it…dissolved. I don’t hear the whispers anymore. I can’t even clearly recall what they sounded like. They’re gone.” He snuggled close against Beau’s chest. “If there was a lingering effect, destroying that thing freed me of it. I don’t think I’ll even dream about the voices again.”
“You’ve been dreaming about them?” He kissed the top of Ki-tae’s head. “I wish I’d never let you go near that thing.”
“You don’t tell me what to do.” He looked up at Beau. “Let’s go to bed.”
They took the master suite, which nobody else had claimed yet. Ki-tae was slightly stunned at the level of luxury, but he kept quiet about it, especially when Beau seemed to barely notice it.
“Kind of tacky,” was Beau’s only comment before he led the way into the bedroom, which held an enormous bed, easily big enough for five people to sleep in comfortably. Beau dragged the covers off. What looked like several thousand credits’ worth of silk landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. Ki-tae was about to ask where they might find clean sheets when Beau tapped a button on a wall panel and it opened up to loose a hovering robot that flew out carrying sheets and pillows and began to remake the bed.
“I suppose you have one of these at home,” Ki-tae said.
“Yeah, sorry, I know; you grew up making your own bed every day, and you’re a better man for it, I’m sure. Let’s take a shower while it finishes up.”
Beau got a little frisky in the shower, which was easily big enough to share. But Ki-tae pushed him away when the robot chambermaid came sailing into the room and replaced the towels with fresh ones.
“What?” Beau said, following his gaze. “It’s just a machine.”
“It’s moving about. It’s putting me off.” Anyway, Ki-tae didn’t much like shower sex. He always felt sure he was going to slip and crack his head open. So he finished rinsing off, and when the robot left, he stepped out and took one of the clean, thick, and fluffy towels it had left. They were warm. Despite his own tendency to asceticism, he thought he could get used to such luxuries—for a while at least. Beau left the shower too, and they helped each other dry off.
When they went back into the bedroom, the panel for the robot was closed again. The sheets were gone from the floor, and the bed was remade with sky-blue silk sheets with a white comforter on top. The sheets were turned down, the bed ready and welcoming.
“That’s too beautiful to mess up,” Ki-tae said.
“Don’t be so bourgeois,” Beau said. “You want to sleep on the floor? Get your ass in there.” He swatted Ki-tae’s naked ass.
“Do you mind?”
“Not if you don’t,” Beau answered, making no sense as usual. He slipped into the sheets first, and Ki-tae joined him. They were cool and light, soft as clouds against his skin.
“Ahh,” he sighed out, finally unable to retain his cool about the luxuries of the suite. “That’s so good.” He had some lingering bruises from the fight in the cargo bay, though his ribs were healed up by the bone knitter. The silk was as good as someone kissing them better. Or maybe not, because Beau began to do just that. He leaned over Ki-tae to kiss him on the lips, before moving down his neck, his shoulders, and began to lick and suck a nipple.
Ki-tae moaned and ran his hands through Beau’s hair. He wrapped his legs around Beau’s waist, trapping him close. His cock, which had gone down after a bit of bathroom foreplay, rose again and tapped at Beau’s chest for attention. Beau’s cock pressed against his thigh, rubbing on it as Beau moved his hips slow and steady, warming up.
Beau reached for Ki-tae’s cock and stroked it, then wrapped his fist around it and pumped it a few times, until Ki-tae was thrusting up against him. Beau moved back up to kiss him, then spoke into his ear.
“I want to ride you. I want you in me.”
“Yes, yes,” Ki-tae gasped, nodding in quick agreement to that.
“Hold on.” Beau slipped out of the bed, tipped his duffel bag out onto the floor, and crouched down to rummage in the heap of clothes. Ki-tae hoped the robot maid didn’t come popping back out because of some kind of automatic detection of mess on the floor.
Beau straightened up, grinning, carrying lube in one hand and condoms in the other. “See, always prepared. I’m getting as sensible as you.”
“If I was as sensible and careful as you claim, I wouldn’t be sleeping with you.”
“Good point.” Beau climbed back on the bed and tossed the condom to Ki-tae, who caught it in his right hand, and then the lube right after, probably expecting to take him by surprise. But Ki-tae’s reflexes were far too good for that. He caught the lube with his left.
“Good catch. Get me ready, then.”
“Come here.”
Beau did, lying at Ki-tae’s side, facing away, spooned against him. Ki-tae lubed up Beau with fingers that explored and stimulated as well as prepared him. Beau moaned and gave his cock a few strokes, then gripped the sheets. He thrust back against Ki-tae’s fingers, making needy, whimpering noises that were good to hear. Very good.
“I’m ready,” Beau gasped out. “Need you now.”
Ki-tae slapped him on his ass—a little payback—and rolled away from him onto his back. He wiped his fingers on the sheets, all thought of their sacredness forgotten, and slipped the condom on. He tossed the lube to Beau when Beau sat up and smirked when Beau fumbled it.
“You need to work on your hand-eye coordination,” he advised.
“Yeah,” Beau said, retrieving the lube and squeezing a good measure of it into his hand. “Careful I lube your cock here and not your elbow.” But he reached unerringly for Ki-tae’s cock and rubbed the lube on it until it glistened and Ki-tae was breathing hard. He didn’t try to rush him, though. Beau, despite his boasts, was not as experienced at bottoming; Ki-tae could tell that. Plenty of lube was good.
“Ready?” Beau asked.
“What kind of silly question is that?”
“Just checking. Don’t want to rush you. You’re definitely okay for me to ride you? I’m heavier than you. I don’t want to squash you.”
“Do it and stop talking.”
Beau grinned and moved across him, leaning down for some kisses before kneeling over him, straddling him. He reached behind himself and held Ki-tae’s cock steady. Ki-tae forced himself not to squirm or thrust up into the hand. He lay as still as he could and let Beau take the lead. But he let out a deep groan when Beau lowered himself and Ki-tae’s cock pushed against the first resistance, and then it was inside, deep, as Beau sank lower until he was close to sitting down on Ki-tae, his knees splayed wide on the bed. Though he still held up some of his weight.
That was good, because it allowed Ki-tae some movement of his hips, even if it was quite limited. He rocked up and down, and Beau’s eyes went hazy with pleasure.
“Oh, yeah, you found the magic button right away. Like we fit together. Like we were made to fit together. Will you touch me, please.”
Ki-tae had held off on touching Beau’s cock, not wanting to bring him off too soon. But it was soon slapping Ki-tae’s stomach as Beau moved up and down, so he took it in hand and held it steady, stroking it and feeling it grow in his fist. Thicker, longer, harder. So good.
“By the way,” Ki-tae said, as he worked the cock, “I did look up what Johnson is slang for.”
“Oh yeah?” Beau panted.
“And now I’m sad to think of all the opportunities I’ve missed to tease you for being named handsome penis.”
Beau laughed, spluttering, then moaned, speeding his bounces up and down. Ki-tae thrust up at him, rhythm a bit disjointed, lying on his back with Beau atop him. But it was a glorious sight to see his man riding him, both giving and taking, dominating and submitting.
His man. He wanted to laugh. He was a cop. He always got his man. That had worked out a little differently than usual on this trip. He did laugh, because he could hold nothing back as he reached for his orgasm, feeling like it was a ball of starlight hovering over him, not quite in touching distance yet.
Beau laughed too, simply sharing the joy, and maybe understanding the unlikeliness of this situation. His hair hung limp over his face when he looked down at Ki-tae grinning, still a little damp from the shower and from sweat.
“Always the best,” he panted out. “Never forgot that first time. Never as good with anyone else. I love you.”
“I…I love you too.”
Beau laughed joyfully. “It’s still driving you nuts that you do, though.”
“That won’t change.” Then he ran out of breath for any coherent words, his mind focused only on thrusting into the hot, tight space, his cock squeezed and rubbed by Beau’s movements until the pleasure was right at the tipping point, almost…almost.
Beau cried out, head back, and shot onto Ki-tae’s chest in a creamy stream. Ki-tae instinctively coaxed the last of it out with a few more pulls before that waiting ball of star fire burst into him and his brain was nothing but a supernova of light and pleasure.
* * * *
Beau slipped back into bed as Ki-tae stirred from sleep.
“Beau?”
“Yeah.” Beau waved at the dim nightlight he’d used to find his way back to bed after getting a glass of water from the bathroom.
“Is it time to get up?”
“Not for hours yet.” They’d only been sleeping a couple of hours, after some pretty mind-blowing sex, when Beau had woken and decided it was not going to be conducive to sleep, having a mouth as dry the Great Heptack Desert of Blixar Seven, where it had not rained for two million years. He drank his water, which he suspected was imported from the crystal caves of Kaf, source of the purest mineral water in the galaxy. It cost as much as champagne, and King had it in a dispenser in his bathroom and probably brushed his teeth with it. The thought worried Beau, because it reminded him how powerful an enemy he’d made.
He finished the water and lay down again, spooned against Ki-tae, trying not to dwell on all that. They had some time for the next few days when they had nothing to do but whatever they wanted.
He thought Ki-tae had gone back to sleep, but he suddenly turned into Beau’s arms, and in the dark their lips met. Like they fit together. Made to fit together. Found each other instinctively.
“You okay?” Ki-tae asked quietly.
“Fine. Just sweated all the water out of my body, is all.” A soft chuckle was his reward. He liked it. He liked Ki-tae in the dark when he let his mask slip.
“How long did you say it will take to reach the hyperspace gate?” Ki-tae asked. “I forget.”
“Five standard days at current speed. Any ideas on how we entertain ourselves?”
Ki-tae sighed. “I should be preparing my report.”
“You work too hard.”
“Yes.” He was silent a moment. “No, you’re right. I can do it during the hyperspace passage. I’ll prepare a summary report for the authorities at the gate.”
“Who says I’m going to let you have any out-of-bed time during the hyperspace passage either?”
“Ah…I think there’s something you don’t understand about what will happen next.”
“What’s that?”
“They’ll keep us all apart for probably the whole trip, to question us separately. They won’t allow us to confer about our interviews.”
“What? But we’re the good guys.”
“Maybe, but it’s standard procedure. I’d do the same if I was leading the investigation.”
“Damn, that’s going to be…frustrating.”
“Work on your fitness and your tai chi. The former will work off steam, and the latter will help you endure the trip with patience.”
“There you go being all wise again. Must be all that tea you drink.” He snuggled in closer to Ki-tae, relishing the heat of his skin, the tautness of his muscles. If they were going to be kept apart for weeks, he wanted to make the most of every moment they had together here.
He had years of not being with Ki-tae, when he should have been, to make up for. As he started to drift into sleep he murmured in Ki-tae’s ear.
“I think I can train the cat to carry messages between us.” Ki-tae’s laughter lulled him into a deep slumber.
Chapter 25
This time Director Lindsay didn’t offer Ki-tae a chair. And she had two other high-ranking Institute Security officers flanking her. Ki-tae didn’t falter when he was called in, though. He marched smartly to the long table, snapped off a salute, and stood at attention. Each officer had a portable terminal in front of them. Lindsay picked hers up.
“Agent Park, I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Ma’am.” It wasn’t much of an answer, but he didn’t think offering suggestions would go over well.
“We’ll start with one of the milder aspects. Your loss of a Dragonfly-class ship.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’m afraid the ship is a complete write-off.”
“So I understand. As is any chance of you ever convicting Beau Johnson of anything. If you even want to.”
He felt a blush rising past his collar, which felt suddenly very tight. “I have no excuse, ma’am. I acted unprofessionally.” One of the other panel members snorted.
“That’s one way to put it,” Lindsay said. “Your only saving grace is that you’re admitting it so it doesn’t cause any surprises later at the trial.”
“Yes, ma’am. I believed that was the best way, given what King knows.”
“I might say that’s another saving grace, bringing in King. But you know accusing him and convicting him will be two different matters.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will cooperate fully with the case being built against him. I offered full cooperation with the agents who questioned me on the way back to Earth.”
“You did. Even Johnson and his crew did. That’s a mark in your favor. But now we come to the Enivakara.”
Ah…
“The artifact you found. Was it definitely the real thing?”
“I’m quite certain of it.”
“And you destroyed it,” one of the other officers said.
“I’ve given a full explanation in my report.” Beau had offered to take the entire blame for destroying the artifact, since he couldn’t get in trouble for doing so. But Ki-tae wouldn’t hear of it. “I had to. It was dangerous beyond imagining.”
“Rather fanciful,” the officer on Lindsay’s left said.
“I don’t think so. With respect, ma’am, you were not there. I was. I interfaced with it, as I explain in my report. Any of my colleagues can tell you that I’m not a fanciful man. But that device was dangerous and evil and would have led to catastrophe if it fell into the wrong hands.”
“And you don’t exclude the Institute from your idea of the wrong hands?”
“Nobody could have kept it safe. Not once people knew it was here and wanted it. If not King, someone else.”
Lindsay drummed her fingers on the table. “That would have been the greatest discovery ever made in the Imperial sector.”
“Ma’am, when I left to go on the mission, you didn’t believe it existed. I know from the news networks that many people still believe it didn’t and that this whole story is some kind of gigantic hoax. The Enivakara was a legend for a long time. We can’t miss something that to most of us was never real. Let it return to being a legend.”
She sighed and laid down the pad. “You have a point there. All right, Agent Park, we came here to accuse you of any number of things, but you’ve rather taken the wind out of our sails by admitting to them already. We might as well skip to the end. Nothing you said was going to make any difference anyway. This is all pre-decided.”
“I understand, ma’am.”
She sat up straighter, put on her serious face, the one used to tear a strip off agents who failed to meet her standards.
“Agent Park Ki-tae, you are suspended from duty, effective immediately, until the outcome of the trial of Ronald King and his associates. Your future as an agent will then be considered again. Meanwhile, you are not to leave Earth, and you will make yourself available for interviews by police officers, Institute investigators, and legal staff building the case against King. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Your badge is deactivated, and you no longer have power of arrest. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You will be escorted out of this building at the end of this hearing. If you need to return for interviews with investigators, you will be accompanied at all times in the building. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Finally, your access to secure Institute computer systems is suspended. Anything stored on your user account can be accessed for the investigation, without either your permission or your knowledge. Anything deemed evidence will also be passed to the legal team of the defendant. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.” They’d find nothing incriminating in his computer records. Except perhaps a preoccupation with Beau Johnson.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Agent Park. You’re dismissed. An officer will be waiting to accompany you out.”
He gave the panel a final salute. As he was turning away, Lindsay spoke again. “Ki-tae.” He turned back. “The Enivakara is gone, but you interfaced with it, and people know that. They might consider getting at the knowledge you have of it to be a good enough second best. You should watch your back.”
He nodded in acknowledgment of the advice.
“Thank you, ma’am. I will.”
He left the room to find an agent outside. Not one from the investigation branch like him, more the security side. The heavies. He didn’t know the man. They barely exchanged more than a nod; then the agent gestured for Ki-tae to walk ahead of him. He walked at Ki-tae’s shoulder like a bodyguard as Ki-tae headed out of the building. He wasn’t allowed to visit his office. He’d have to put in a request later to have some of his personal items sent to him.
