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Be
He walked down the hall to the massage rooms. A hatchet-faced girl with big hands was heading for a closed door.
“Excuse me,” Be
“Yes?”
“I know this is odd, but I work with the doctor. There’s been an incident at the lab. I need to speak to him right now. It’s urgent.”
She hesitated, then said, “Well, I suppose I-”
“Thanks,” he said, one hand on the door handle. She stood there for a moment, and he said, “Sorry, but as I’m sure you know, our work is sensitive.”
“Umm…”
“I appreciate it.” Then he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him.
The doc lay on his belly on the massage table, a towel across his ass. Candles glowed from a Zen stone arrangement in the corner, and soft music came from somewhere. Swank.
“Cindi,” the doc said to the floor. “Afraid you’ve got your work cut out for you. My shoulder’s killing me. I think I pulled something.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Be
The man’s head whipped around, and he planted his hands on the table, came partway up, then hesitated, seeming to realize he was naked under the towel. “What-”
“Easy, Doc.” Be
“You filling in for Cindi?” His eyes narrow, but no fear in them. The kind of guy who saw the whole world as the help.
“Let’s talk about who you are.”
“Who I am? I’m sorry, I don’t understand-”
“You’re a senior chemist at K &S Laboratories. You guys have a couple of steady contracts supplying medium-sized pharmaceutical companies with organofluorine compounds. Word is you’re likely to be ru
The man’s face went through a series of expressions, his eyebrows raising, then lowering, nostrils flaring, mouth falling slightly open. He looked like he’d been trying to tell a joke but at the last second forgot the punch line.
“You also have a bit of a naughty streak, don’t you?” Be
The guy began to push himself up, saying, “I don’t know who you are or what-”
Be
“U
“Hurts, right? They say that in a fight, you should strike with an open hand, aiming the heel of your palm into your opponent’s nose. Disorienting as hell, the world spins, the pain slows them down. Plus, if you keep your hand at the right angle, a lot of times your fingers will go into their eyes. Why I went with a closed fist that time.”
Blood was flowing between the man’s fingers-another benefit to a good nose punch, it looked dramatic-and the fear was in him now, that arrogant assumption of control gone. He scrambled backward on the table, the towel slipping off to reveal his bare white ass.
“Sit still, Doc.” Be
The man froze halfway up, flaccid penis dangling, looking for all the world like he was about to take it doggy-style.
“Good boy.” Be
For a moment, the man just stared, that prey gaze they all got when you put the screws to them. Then he reached out with a trembling hand and unfolded the papers. First a gasp, then a low moan that dragged on as he moved from photograph to photograph.
“Walking the wild side, huh? Obviously, black-and-white can’t really demonstrate the full-color glory of the originals. But I think you get the point.”
The man’s hands were shaking and his face had gone pale. “Where did you…?”
“You’re too smart to ask things you already know the answer to. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten your little adventure. So why don’t you use that big brain of yours and come up with a better question? There’s really only one.”
The doctor stared at him, then at the pictures. Slowly he eased himself to a seated position, one hand on his nose, the other covering himself. Helpless to stop his whole world slipping away. Be
“Right neighborhood, wrong address.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t want money.”
“Then what?”
“Nothing that will take much time or effort. Just want you to cook me up a little something.” Be
The man focused on the page, his eyes growing wide.
“I’ll take that as a yes. You make that for me, you got my word, I’ll delete the originals. They aren’t really my taste anyway. Though if you like, I’ll be happy to send you copies first, give you a little souvenir.”
“I… you know what this is?”
Be
“You think I’d be asking if I didn’t?”
“I don’t know how to make it.”
“You’re a smart guy. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. And you have one heck of a chemistry set at your disposal. A lab like yours, deals with pharmaceutical companies, you probably have most of what you need in stock, right?”
Looking like it hurt, the man nodded.
“Good. You’ve got three days.”
“Three days, that’s not enough-”
“There you go again.” Be
The man swallowed, said nothing.
“Better. Now”-Be
An excellent performance. Hitting the right tone was key. He strolled down the hall, feeling good. He was almost to the stairs when the masseuse stopped him.
“Everything OK?”
“Right as rain,” he said. “But you know what, hon? I’ve got a feeling the doctor’s going to skip his massage.”