EARLY OCTOBER 2020

GUS’ THOUGHTS	

 I, Gus Peterson-Marcus am in deep shit. I’m chained to a u-bolt fastened into the wall of a vacation cabin, that has seen better days, with a chain just long enough to allow me access to the bathroom and shower.  My only clothing is a pair of shorts that open with snaps on the side so I can take a shower without getting them wet.  The shorts had obviously come from some sex paraphernalia store and were barely big enough to cover my Kinney attributes.  Unlike my Dad, and even Uncle Justin, I've never liked the idea of others being able to see my attributes through my clothes and these shorts emphasize them rather than hide them. 

I've lost track of time since I was kidnapped on a Friday afternoon.  I 'd been on my way to Pittsburgh for a weekend at home.  I thought I 'd been a prisoner for about a week but since I don’t know how long I was unconscious when the psycho first drugged me I can’t be sure.  I don’t have anything to do but think and talk to myself since the nutcase hasn’t seen it necessary to give me anything that I could use to keep myself occupied.  So of course I continually think about the chain of circumstances that led to my current predicament and what I should have done differently. Not that I have thought of anything I could have done differently once I decided to go home to Pittsburgh for the weekend.  Would I have been safe from the nutcase if I had stayed in State College?

Does my family even know that I'e been kidnapped?  I hadn’t told anyone that I planned on coming to Pittsburgh, other than my roommate. Last year during my first semester at Penn State I had made a point of calling to let my folks know that I was coming home for a weekend stay.  Other than the Thanksgiving break I had only come home 3 times during the semester.  On those occasions it had been just like it had always been when I still lived at home. (Technically my home was with my mothers but once I had started High School I had spent most nights with my Dads so that I could go to Cheif Joseph High.)  My Dads and I would go to a movie and dinner on Friday night and watch a ball game on Saturday.  I would go out with my girlfriend Katherine Saturday night.  Then my Dads and I just lazed around on Sunday until it was time for me to return to State College.  

During the semester break I had overheard Mikey talking to Deb at the family Christmas party.  They didn’t realize that I was on the other side of the tree, since Dad always got one of the biggest and fullest trees available in Pittsburgh they couldn’t see me, and had talked about things that they probably wouldn’t have wanted me to hear.  But then I'd been used to this sort of thing all of my life.  My family members had a problem with realizing that I was in a room.  I'd always figured that since I was so much younger than the rest of the family group they just forgot that I was so much younger and talked in front of me like I was one of the group.

“Brian and Justin were at Babylon again last week.  That makes more times in the last four months than they were there in the last ten years.”  

“Well Michael you have to remember that they have an empty house now.”  

“I know but it's just funny to see the two them out on the dance floor again.  It's like they never quit coming, they act like Justin is 17 and Brian still only 29.” 

“They've been very concerned about setting the proper examples for Gus and going dancing at a gay club was something they just didn’t feel was proper. Now that he is off at college they aren’t quite so worried about being seen there.”  

“It's sure hard to believe that Gus is old enough to be in college Ma.” 

“Shit don’t I know it. It means that I’m more than fucking old enough to have a grandson in college. When did all of you kids get so old?  I remember when you and Brian first met. I remember when Brian first got you drunk. I remember the first time Brian broke your heart.  Don’t get upset Michael I remember the good times you and Brian had too.  

I remember the first time I saw Brian with Gus.  Who would have ever thought that Brian Kinney would be a father let alone a good father? I remember the first time I saw Brian let his guard down with Sunshine. Who would have ever thought that Brian Kinney would ever admit to being in love?  Who would have ever thought that Brian Kinney would be monogamous?  

I remember Gus asking me once if I had to play the kissing game with you like he had to play it with his Dads.”  

“What was the kissing game?”  

“He must have been in the 1st or 2nd grade at the time.  I asked him what he meant.  I’ll never forget since I almost choked trying not to laugh.”  

“What was it?”  

“He said that he would pretend to be looking at something away from Brian and Justin so that they could sneak a kiss when they thought he wasn’t looking at them. That otherwise they never kissed when he was around them.  He wanted to know if I had to do the same thing with you and your boyfriend.  I told him that no I didn’t play that game since you'd never been worried about kissing guys in front of me.  That you had kissed Brian a time or two in front of me as well.  He didn’t really like that information though.”  

“I wonder why Ma?”  

“You know as well as I do Michael. He actually said “Daddy never kissed anyone besides Uncle Justin and me." "Oh the naiveté of the young.”  

“I was being funny Ma.”  

“Michael you have never been any good at being funny.”  

“Oh Ma.”  

I knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but I had found the conversation interesting. I'd forgotten about the kissing game but even as I got older my Dads had very seldom kissed in front of me.  My mothers on the other hand had always been very affectionate around home.  So I decided that I wouldn’t let my Dads know I was coming home so that they wouldn’t change their plans just because of me.  If they had been denying themselves fun, because of me for 19 years, then I wouldn’t be the cause of it anymore.  So other than scheduled vacations my parents didn’t know I would be in Pittsburgh until I showed up, that way they wouldn’t cancel their plans because of me. I just told them that it was a last minute decision to come home when they asked why I hadn’t called.  It really wasn’t a lie I just didn’t tell them what day I made the last minute decision.

So when I had decided that in the 3rd week of  my sophomore year at Penn State that I was homesick I didn’t let anyone in Pittsburgh know that I was planning to come home for the weekend.  I still wondered why I was homesick. Being homesick had surprised me to no end.  I hadn’t been homesick during my freshman year at Penn State so I didn’t understand why I would be so during the first month of my sophomore year.  It probably was because my relationship with Katherine Napoli had gotten much more serious during this past summer and I missed her company much more than I had the previous year.  Or it could be that I was less impressed with college life than I had been the previous year and so the goings on in State College were less diverting than they had been.  The least likely was that for the first several weeks of my freshman year I had still been mad/upset at my Uncle Justin.  When I finally went home the first time we had spent several hours clearing the air between us and our relationship had returned to normal.

I had decided that I would make the trip home Friday after my last class.  The Nitanny Lions were playing the Nebraska Cornhuskers, in Lincoln, Saturday and it would be on national Vid so I could watch it with Uncle Justin in Pittsburgh just as easily as watching it in the Dorm lounge.  Plus it was always more fun to watch any game with Uncle Justin.  Since the drubbing the Lions had taken in 2018 Rose Bowl from the Huskers no one in Pennsylvania was really looking forward to this game that had been on the schedule since I was in the sixth grade. Having decided to go home for the weekend made it easier to get through the week and before I knew it I was in my last class of the week.  Economics is boring to begin with but when it is the last class before you can get on with your plans for the weekend it really drags.  This economics class was really making me question my accounting major.  Finally the professor dismissed the class, reminding us that the first hour exam would be in a week.  

I rushed to my dorm room to get the stuff I'd packed the previous night for my weekend at home.  My roommate was getting ready to go to his last class of the week when I got to the room.  

“Hey George, I’ll see you Sunday night when I get back from Pittsburgh.”  

“Don’t have too much fun in the big city Gus.”  

“That will depend on how the game turns out.”  

“Then I don’t have anything to worry about then do I, the Nits will get clobbered and you and your Uncle Justin'll drown yourselves in sorrow at the nearest club.”  

“Sure. More likely we won’t leave the house under those circumstances. You would be surprised how straight laced Uncle Justin and Dad have been whenever I was around.”  

“Well the Nits might win. Then he can take you out to celebrate.”  

“That's even more unlikely George.”  

“Bye Gus drive carefully. I’ll see you Sunday night” 

“So long George.”

Carrying my bag I walked over to the Dorm parking lot where I got my car. It was always amusing to think how much I looked like my Dad yet acted like my Uncle Justin.  Here I was going to spend a weekend and was only taking one bag of belongings, my Dad would have at least 2 suitcases and a suit bag for the same length of time.  Uncle Justin might not take anything at all.  I’m like Uncle Justin with never having problems expressing my feelings but Dad still finds it hard to tell me or Uncle Justin how much he loves us.  

My car was one of  Dad’s old Jeeps that I'd gotten  for my High School graduation present.  I 'd decided to take I-80 on this trip.  First I went up US 220 to the intersection with I-80 then I went west to I-79 which I would take south to I-279 which would lead me to the exit to get to my Dads house.  This route was somewhat longer than other options but with the higher speed limit on the Interstates and the fact that my Dads house was on the northwest side of Pittsburgh it actually would get me home sooner.

Since I left State College with a full tank I didn’t have to stop for fuel and I could let Dad fill up the car before I returned on Sunday I only had to pull off the highway for the occasional pit stop.  I'd stopped at a rest area on I-79 and was at the urinal when an older guy bumped into me.  

“Hey guy watch what you're doing. I’m not interested.”  

“Sorry I just slipped on the wet floor.”  

I hadn’t noticed the small pinch in my arm when the guy bumped me.  As I went back to my car I started feeling funny and  I wasn’t happy when I found that I had a flat tire.  As I got the spare out of the back I felt even woozier and had to sit on the curb.  

The older guy from the restroom walked up and asked. “Anything wrong? Need help with that flat?” 
 
“I’m feeling funny for some reason and sure I could use the help.”  

But instead of helping with the flat the guy just reached down and pulled me to my feet.  He then walked me over to his car and put me in the passenger seat.  I was just getting more and more confused and couldn’t bring myself to resist what the guy was doing to me.

The next thing I could remember was waking up in this cabin and finding that I was naked and chained to the wall.  After what seemed forever the older guy from the rest area came into the room.  

“What the fuck is going on? Who the hell are you? Why do you have me chained up?  Where the hell are my clothes? I told you I don’t fucking swing that way.  Aren’t you going to say anything?” 

“Why should I talk to you.  You are just bait in my trap.”  

“What the fuck are you talking about?” 

“My what a foul mouth you have.  Your father has obviously raised you to be just like him.  He certainly was a foul mouthed bastard back in the day. You certainly look like him as well. The sooner I get Taylor away from him the better.”

“What're you talking about?”  

“Just shut up boy and listen.  I finally decided that it was time for me to claim my love and you're the bait that I’m using to get his attention.  Your Dad stole Taylor away from me  20 years ago and it's time that situation is corrected.” 

“What the fuck are you talking about. My Dad didn’t steal Uncle Justin away from anyone.”  

“Shut the fuck up boy, you don’t know what you're talking about.  Taylor and I should've been together for the last 20 years and we would've been if not for your asshole of a father stealing him away from me.  So I decided that I would take you and use you as bait.  My plan's working out great, it's just a matter of time until Taylor is with me like he should've  for all of these years.”  

“Uncle Justin never loved anyone besides my Dad so you're crazy if you think Dad stole Uncle Justin from you.” 

The guy just looked at me like I was a monkey in a cage screaming at the world.

“Why the fuck am I naked?”  

“You're naked so that you can use the shower without getting your clothes wet.  I’m not completely indifferent to your needs. Sitting around in wet clothes wouldn’t be good for your health.  But don’t think that means I care about you, I'll do whatever I need to in order to get Taylor back.  You really aren’t his son so I would have no problem in hurting you to prove to him that I mean business.  In fact it might speed things up if I were to send a body part with my first communication with them.  Any part you wouldn’t mind losing?” 

“You fucking monster let me go.  My Dads aren’t going to let you do anything to me or to them.”  
“Now how can they stop me since they don’t even know you're missing let alone where you're at.  If I decided to walk over there and cut off a finger or toe or an ear what could they do about it?  Maybe something more dramatic would work even better. Maybe it's time you were circumcised?” 

I started to get worried as I listened to the madman threaten to cut off parts of my body.  I decided that it might be better to not rile him anymore.  

The guy brought me take out food for dinner and supper and on the second day he brought the snap on shorts so that I wouldn’t have to be naked all of the time; not that there was much difference between being naked and wearing the tiny little shorts.  While for the most part the guy just dropped the food off and then left the room a few times he would start in on how he was going to get Taylor back from that fucking thief Kinney.  I didn’t say anything since I didn’t want to set him off again.

The situation got very bad when I woke up one morning and saw that my Dad was tied up and unconscious on the floor.  I rushed over to Dad and started untying him.  I soon found that in addition to the ropes Dad was also chained to the same U-bolt that I was chained to.  I got the ropes off and straightened my Dad out so that he would be more comfortable.  I also got the bedding off of the bed and put it under my Dad.  Then I waited for Dad to wake up.  

When the nutcase brought dinner I was still waiting for Dad to wake up. 

“Don’t worry Gus, he'll wake up sometime this afternoon.  It surprised me how foolish he was and how easy it was to drug him.  You didn’t have any reason to suspect anything; he should've been on his guard. After all he knew that I'd kidnapped you. But then Kinney always did think he was better and smarter than everyone else.”  

“He's going to be all right?”  

“Yes but remember I don’t care what happens to either of you.  You and Kinney are just the means of making Taylor realize that we should've been together all of these years.”  

“You have to know that isn’t going to happen.  Uncle Justin loves Dad and is never going to change his view.”  

“I don’t know, when I start cutting things off of you two he might change his mind.  Then of course he doesn’t really love Kinney so it probably won’t bother him at all if I cut up Kinney.  He does think of you as a son so I suppose I'll have to at least start with hurting you to get his attention.”  

“If you really knew Uncle Justin you would know that hurting me or Dad isn’t going to make him change what he believes.” 

“Don’t be so sure Sonnyboy.  He'll do anything to prevent you from suffering.  Since I'll have no problem with sending him body parts from you to make the point, I have the advantage.  Plus I'll have the added pleasure of watching Kinney watch you losing body parts.”  

“You really are crazy.  Why won’t you tell me who you are?”  

“Because it isn’t your business.  Maybe Taylor and I'll take you in once we set up our new household.”  

“As if my Dad is ever going to let you set up a household with Uncle Justin.”  

“Silly boy, do you really think that Kinney lives through this situation?”  

“You fucking son of a bitch.  Who the hell are you and why do you think you have the slightest chance with Uncle Justin?”  

“Because I love him and he loves me even if he doesn’t know it yet.”  

“Even if he did love you once he certainly would lose any feelings for you if he finds out that you hurt me or Dad.”  

“Boy you just don’t understand true love do you?  We were meant to be and we'll be a couple and nothing'll get in the way of that true love.  But don’t worry about your body yet Sonnyboy, I'll give Taylor a chance to come back to me without any inducements.”  

“Why don’t you just leave and let me take care of my Dad? ”  

“Sure kid I don’t have any desire to look at Kinney throwing up and drooling.”  

“What do you mean by that?”  

“Now do you really think that there isn’t a bad side to drugging someone enough to cause them to pass out for this length of time?”  

With that he left the room and I soon heard his vehicle leaving the cabin.

I got one of the towels and got it wet so it would be ready if and when Dad had a bad reaction when he finally woke up.  A few hours later Dad started stirring and just like the maniac had predicted; Dad emptied his stomach, not that there was much to empty.  I used the towel to clean my Dad up and to cool down his forehead.  Eventually Dad became aware of his surroundings.  

“Dad are you OK now?”  

“Sonnyboy, where are we?”  

“I don’t know exactly, some vacation cabin as best as I can tell.  Some madman drugged me at the rest area on I-79 and I’ve been here ever since, how long has it been?  

“When I made the mistake of meeting with him it was Tuesday night so I suppose that it's now sometime on Wednesday.”  

“This madman thinks that you stole Uncle Justin away from him and he has decided to get him back.  I’m just bait in the trap.  I guess it worked since he caught you.  How could you let him catch you Dad?”  

“Gus don’t fall apart on me.  He caught me because I was stupid.  I didn’t think he would try anything in a restaurant but then I didn’t realize that he was crazy.”  

“He's crazy all right. About the only thing he's talked about was how you stole Uncle Justin away from him.  I told him that he didn’t know what he was talking about since Uncle Justin never loved anyone but you. He just brushed off everything I said and kept coming back to the idea that Uncle Justin really loves him and not you.  He really thinks that he and Uncle Justin'll become a couple.  He might even consider taking me in once he's gotten Uncle Justin to live with him and gotten rid of you.”  

“Gus nothing's going to happen to us.  Justin'll have enough sense to get the cops involved.  Justin has always been the sensible one in our relationship.”  

“I hope so.  I’m tired of being chained to a wall and dressed in nothing but these tiny pornographic shorts.”  

“Has he done anything to you Gus?”  

“Other than threaten to cut off various body parts and send them to you and Uncle Justin, no.  

He originally had me naked so that I could use the shower without getting my clothes wet, but he did show up with these things so that I didn’t have to be naked all of the time.  He hasn’t been cruel to me yet because he knows that Uncle Justin thinks of me as his son.  But I've no doubt that he'll hurt me if he decides that will get Uncle Justin’s attention.” 

“Over my dead body.”  

“Dad don’t do anything stupid.  I can take a little pain but I couldn’t handle you being killed.  Who could possibly think that you stole Uncle Justin away from him?  I don’t remember Uncle Justin ever mentioning anyone else in his life besides you.”  

“We've been trying to figure that out since Sunday night when he called to tell us that you were missing and that he had you. Neither of us has been able to come up with a name.”

Later the madman dropped off a single meal without saying anything to either of us.  We split the meal which meant neither of us got our fill but neither of us went hungry.  The next day, which I figured was Thursday, he brought two meals for dinner.  

“Why did you bring two?” I couldn’t help asking.  

“I’m in a good mood because my beloved is coming to see me today.”  

He then left and we heard him running down the stairway but I didn’t hear his vehicle leave so he had to be somewhere in the vicinity if not in the cabin itself.  

“I don’t like the sound of that Dad.” 

“Me either Sonnyboy but we have to believe that Justin won’t do anything stupid.  I’ve already done enough stupidity for this family.”

A few hours later I heard another vehicle drive up to the cabin.  I woke Dad up from the fitful nap he was taking.  

“Dad someone else has driven up.”  

“Hopefully it's the police.”  

Just then we heard shouting.  

“Hey you crazy son of a bitch where are you?”  

“Uncle Justin?”  

“Justin you fool why're you here?”  

The shouting continued. “Show yourself, where're my son and partner? I’m here just like you said, show yourself and prove that they're OK or I’m gone.”  

The madman entered the room that I and Dad were in and stated.  “My love is finally here. You heard him. Let him know you're OK, open the window and tell him.  Remember though that your lives are in my hand so don’t do anything too stupid.” 

We noticed that for the first time the madman had a gun.  I rushed to the window and pushed up the sash.  

“Uncle Justin get away from here.”  

“Justin I thought I was the stupid one in the family get the police.”  

“Don’t worry guys I have it under control.”  

“Shit Justin the guy is a nutcase.”  

“That is enough close the window while I go talk to my beloved.”  

With that the madman left the room and we could hear him running down the stairs.  Soon we saw that Uncle Justin was talking to the nutcase.  We were horrified when Uncle  Justin moved into the cabin.  

“Dad what's he doing?”  

“I just hope he knows Sonnyboy.”

BRIAN’S THOUGHTS

How the hell did I get into this mess?  Besides being my typical arrogant self.  How could I think that a maniac who kidnapped my son in broad daylight at an Interstate Rest Area wouldn’t do something in a restaurant.  I’m chained to the wall in some cabin, at least I can keep Gus calm, or will he have to keep me calm?  I can only hope that Justin'll do the right thing and get the authorities involved; even if I was the one that argued that we couldn’t risk getting the police involved because of the maniac’s threats against Gus if we did.  Why hasn’t some of Justin’s common sense rubbed off on me yet?  

Where did this all begin. Well if the madman knows what he's talking about it must have started 20 years ago even if neither I or Justin can think of who he is. 

Last Saturday after the Nebraska-Penn State disaster Justin was in the dumps, partly because of the Huskers whomping the Nits again but mainly because Gus hadn’t come home to watch the game with him. As much as I love Sonnyboy it pales against the love Justin has for the boy.  

“Brian I still can’t get over the fact that Gus didn’t come home for the weekend.  Or that he hasn’t called yet to commiserate over another Penn State loss to Nebraska.  This makes 5 losses in a row to them, the last time PSU beat the Huskers was during the month I was living with Ethan and I wasn't following football back then.”  

“Well Justin he must've had something more important to do this weekend.  He's 20 years old now and spending the weekend with his old Dads isn’t as important as it used to be.  How in the world can that little boy be 20?  I remember like it was yesterday holding him for the very first time, the same night I first met you. Asking you to pick his name.  Letting you into my heart even if I didn’t know it at the time. How can that be 20 years ago?”  

“Time flies when you're having fun?” 

“Well we can still go to Babylon and have a good time whether Sonnyboy has called or not.  Or we can stay home and have an even better time.” 

“Sorry Brian I’m just not in the mood for either.” 

“Justin Taylor not in the mood to dance or fuck with me.  This really is a first.”  

“Brian I’m serious.  You go to Babylon with “The Boys” and I’ll stay home and mope.  I’m entitled to a blue night once in awhile.”  

“I remember that we used to have a lot of blue nights back in the Loft.  How come we didn’t have those lights installed here in the house?”  

“As I remember it you didn’t want anything to remind you of a certain little ditty a certain young man made up in the light of those blue lights.”  

“Oh yeah, how could've I forgotten that little ditty.”  

“Brian why don’t we go eat someplace that we have never gone to before.  Maybe a new place will get me out of this funk.”  

“Sure Sunshine, any ideas.”  

“No just get the restaurant guide and we can look for something interesting.”  

We went to a Swedish Smorgasbord place. That got Justin back into a good mood. Lots of food always gets Justin into a good mood.  37 and he still can eat like a teenager and not gain an ounce.  We'd gone home and hadn’t thought about Gus for the remainder of the night, hadn’t thought much about anything but each other’s bodies and the pleasure that those bodies gave us.  

Sunday had gone just like any Sunday until 8 PM when the phone rang.  

“Let the machine get it Brian.”  

“Kinney-Taylor residence, I’m sure you know the drill.”  

BEEP  

“Kinney, you fucking thief, I know that you're home so answer the damn phone.”  

I'd just looked at Justin then moved to the phone.  “Who the hell is this and what the hell do you want?”  

“Well asshole I was calling to see if you've checked up on your precious Sonnyboy lately?” 

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”  

“What the hell does it sound like?  Do you know where Sonnyboy is, at this moment?”  

“Are you trying to tell me he isn’t at school?”  

“Duh, you get a gold star.”  

“Who the hell are you and what're you up to?”  

“I think you might be more worried about Sonnyboy you fucking thief.”  CLICK.

“Brian what was that about?” 

“The asshole insinuated that Gus isn’t at school.”  

“Then you better call and find out for sure then.”  

“I guess that is my only option, though I’m sure it is just some jerk trying to cause us problems.”

“Hello.”  

“Hi George this is Mr. Kinney, may I speak to Gus?”  

“Gus isn’t back from Pittsburgh yet Mr. Kinney.  Do you want me to have him call when he gets here?”  

“Sure George, thanks.”

“Justin, George says that Gus isn’t back from Pittsburgh yet.  Would he've come back to Pittsburgh without letting us know he was in town?”  

“I can’t think of any reason why he would do that but I suppose it's possible if very unlikely.  I don’t like the sound of this at all.”  

“You and me both.” 

An hour or so later the phone rang again.  I'd almost flown through the air to answer. “What?”  

“Kind of a rude way to answer the phone Kinney.  But then you always were a rude bastard.” 
 
“Where's Gus?”  

“So you believe I have him now?”  

“What else am I supposed to believe. He isn’t here, he isn’t at school, so where is he?”  

“Oh it's much too soon to talk about where he is.  But I'll give you some proof that I have him.  His Jeep is at the southbound I-79 rest area with a flat tire, unless it has already been impounded.  I’ll get in touch, but don’t call the authorities, since I can have the boy dead long before they can get to him.”  

“Look you bastard you better not do anything to Sonnyboy.”  

“Like you can stop me you asshole.  You stole Taylor away from me but I’ve gotten even by stealing Gus away from you.” 

"What do you want?”  

“What I should have had for the last 20 years.  Taylor.”  

“What the fuck are you talking about?”  

“You stole Taylor from me and I want him back.”  CLICK

“Well what did he say?”  

“He told me where we can find Gus’ Jeep to prove he has him.  He says not to get the authorities involved because he can kill Gus before they could rescue him.  He claims I stole you from him 20 years ago and he's kidnapped Gus so that he can get you back.  Do you have any idea who could think that?”  

“Since the only person I've ever had a real relationship with is in this room right now, I've no idea.  We must be dealing with a madman.”  

“He called Gus Sonnyboy so he can’t be some random maniac.  He has to know us somehow.  Justin we have to get him back, I don’t know what I would do if something happens to Sonnyboy.  How're we going to tell the Munchers.”

“We won’t tell anybody anything until we know more. Brian I’m sure this idiot'll call back sometime tomorrow and give us more information to go on.  We'll deal with the situation and we'll get Gus back.  But I think we'll have to get the authorities involved at some point.  We'll have to tell Mel and Linds as soon as we know something definite.”

I'd then called my assistant Cynthia at her home, something in all the years she had worked with me I'd never done.  

“Cynthia this's Brian, an emergency has come up.  Justin and I won’t be into the office until further notice.  Do whatever is necessary to keep the business running.  Cancel meetings, reschedule them or delegate them to others but don’t bother calling either of us until we contact you.”  

“Brian this sounds pretty serious.  I'll do everything necessary. Don’t worry about the place it will still be there when you solve whatever is going on.”  

“I wasn’t worried Cynthia, you run everything anyway.  One other thing, find out in the morning if Gus’ Jeep was impounded by the state patrol or if it's still at the south bound rest area on I-79.  Then send someone to get it.  It probably has a flat. If it's been impounded send the money from my personal account.”  

“Something has happened to Gus then?  Don’t worry I’ll take care of everything, I’m assuming there's copy of the key to his Jeep in your office?”  

“Yes like every other vehicle in the family, you know me way too well Cynthia.”  

“I would hope so after 24 years. Where's the time gone?  Let me know everything when you can.”  
“Sure Cynthia and thanks again for everything you've ever done for me.”  

I called back to State College and told Gus’s roommate that Gus had a small accident and was in the Hospital for a few days and asked if he could get his assignments for him. I didn’t want George alerting anyone at Penn State that Gus was missing.  I would apologize to the boy for my lies when the situation was over.

Justin and I hadn’t slept much Sunday night, we'd spent the night talking and trying to figure out who the nutcase, who'd kidnapped our son, could be.  

“Justin, we'll have to do whatever this maniac asks since we can’t risk getting Gus hurt.” 
“Brian just wait and see what he has to say.  Maybe he'll give us a clue as to who the hell he is.  I just can’t imagine who would think you stole me from him.”  

“Probably some idiot at Babylon who you danced with and has fantasized ever since about being in love with you.”

Finally around 11 AM on Monday the phone rang.  I had the composure to put the phone on speaker this time so that Justin could hear both sides of the conversation.  

“I’m out buying your son dinner does he prefer anything in  particular?”  

“He prefers his freedom you asshole.”  

“Being nasty to me Kinney isn’t going to help.  What does he like?”  

“Fried Chicken is always his favorite.”  

“Thanks Taylor.”  

“What do you want from us?”  

“I told you last night I want Taylor back where he belongs.”  

“Where's that?”  

“With me, you idiot, if you hadn’t stolen him away all those years ago he would be where he should be instead of wasting his time with such a waste of skin like you.”  

“You're crazy, you know that don’t you?  Justin never loved you, whoever you are, and so how could I have stolen him from you.  Just let our boy go and we won’t send the authorities after you.”  

“That sure is a weak argument Kinney.”  

“I'll trade Sonnyboy straight up for Taylor.”  

“Look you asshole, let Gus go and then we can try to figure out why you think Brian stole me from you.”  

“Taylor my beloved, you shouldn’t be in the same room as that thief, he corrupts you by his presence.”  

“Do you have any idea how crazy you are?”  

“Crazy in love my beloved.  Just admit our love and come to me and I'll let the boy go.”  

“How can I admit loving you when I don’t even know who you are?”  

“Look into your heart and you'll know who I am.  Well I’m next in line so I suppose I better let you guys go.  I’ll call soon with my instructions on how you can get Sonnyboy back in more or less one piece.”  

“What the fuck does that mean.”  

“You better not hurt a hair on that boy if you ever think I'll go with you.”  

“Taylor I would never cause you any harm, but you have to let the true love between us start to work, then you'll realize that Kinney is just the thief that stole you from me and Gus just a distraction.” CLICK

“God Brian what're we going to do; the man is completely crazy.”  

“We'll do whatever it takes to get Sonnyboy back except letting him have you.”  

“Brian if that's what it takes then that's what we'll do.  I can take care of myself.”  

“Justin you know what would happen to me if I lost you.”  

“And I know what would happen to the both of us, Mel and Linds if we lose Gus.”  

“We're fucked then aren’t we?”  

“We're just going to have to wait for him to call back and try to get some more information out of him.  If we figure out who he is then we'll have a better chance of doing something to get Gus back safe and sound.”  

“Maybe we better talk to the authorities.”  

“Not yet but we probably should get “The Boys” involved, they might be able to help figure out who this nutcase is.” 

“How about Melanie and Lindsay?”  

“Not yet Brian.”

***

“Mikey”  

“Brian what's the problem?”  

“What do you mean?”  

“I mean you wouldn’t be calling me at noon on a Monday if there wasn’t some problem.”  

“Michael you know me too well, yes there's a family problem.  Can you get Ted and Emmett and come to the house as soon as possible?”  

“What's the matter Brian?”  

“It'll be easier just to tell all of you at one time.”  

“Brian what've you done this time?”  


“Nothing Michael just get the guys over as soon as possible.  Don’t tell anyone else though.”  

“Brian this is sounding more and more ominous.”  

“Mikey just get them here.”

***

“Hello.”  

“Emmett this's Michael, drop everything and be ready to go when I get there.” 

“Michael what is the problem?”  

“I don’t know for sure but it's bad otherwise Brian would have told me more than he did.”  

“Brian?”  

“He called and told me to get you and Ted over to their house as soon as possible.  He sounded worried, almost as bad as when Justin was bashed all of those years ago.  Something bad has happened Em and he thinks we might be able to help, don’t say anything to anyone though.”  

“I’ll be waiting at the door to the store.”  

"See you in half an hour or so then.”

***

“Ted, something is wrong with Brian and Justin, I'll be at your door in 45 minutes be ready to go.”  

“Michael I just can’t drop everything of a whim of Brian’s.”  

“Teddy you know Brian doesn’t have whims during a work day.”  

“That’s true, what's the problem?”  

“He wouldn’t tell me said it would be easier to tell all us at once.  I’m picking Emmett up and then coming by your studio.  Don’t tell anyone anything though.”  

“Sure Michael.”

***

At 1:30 PM Michael had pulled into my drive way and the 3 of them went up to the door.  They didn’t get a chance to knock since I opened the door before Michael could get his hand out of his jacket pocket.  

“Brian what's the matter, you never wait at the door for someone.”  

“Mikey it's a terrible situation.  Come on guys we need to talk and see if you can remember anything that Justin and I can’t.  They followed me to the living room where it was obvious that Justin and I'd been spending a lot of time, there were dishes scattered on every flat surface most with only partially eaten food stuffs.  

“It really must be bad if you two are leaving such a mess.” Emmett joked.  

“Gus has been kidnapped we haven’t been worried about housekeeping.”  I snapped.  

“He didn’t mean anything Brian.”  

“I know Justin the pressure is just getting to me.  Sorry Em.”  

“No Brian don’t worry about me, what do you mean Gus has been kidnapped?”  

“Some maniac kidnapped him Friday at the southbound rest area on I-79 while he was coming home for the weekend.  This madman called us last night asking if we knew where Sonnyboy was.  He's taken Gus from me so that I'll give Justin to him.  He thinks that I stole Justin from him 20 years ago and now he wants him back.  We were hoping that you guys would be able to help us figure out who the madman is.”

“Justin were you involved with anyone else we don’t know about?”  

“That's the problem Michael, there's no one that I can think of who could even possibly think that we'd been a couple.  Brian was my first experience and from that moment I knew that he was the only man for me.  Certainly there were other tricks during that first couple of years but there was never anyone who could legitimately think that we were ever more than that.  It must be someone who has expanded something from nothing to a supposed passion.  Do you guys remember anybody who might have such a passion?”  

“Jeez that was a long time ago Justin.  I don’t remember anyone ever saying anything other than that they knew better than to poach on the King of Liberty Avenue’s property.” 

“Ted he was never my property.”  

“Well Brian you might think that now and might've thought it then but let me tell you there was no one else in Gay Pittsburgh who thought that.  You made it clear to anyone with eyes that Justin was yours and yours alone.”  

“This isn’t helping.”  

“Yes Sunshine it is, it means that whoever took Gus is totally insane.  Now is that a good thing or a bad thing in getting Gus back?”  

“God I wish I knew the answer Brian."  

"Have you told Mel and Lindsay anything yet?”  

“No Em and we're not going to tell them until we absolutely have too.  We're also not going to get the authorities involved either.  He threatened to kill Gus before they could do anything and I believed him.” Brian replied. 

“This is just getting worse and worse.” Michael muttered.  

We had spent the next several hours trying to figure out who the madman could be.  While Justin had tricked some during the time before he and I'd hooked up permanently the majority had been during group sessions when I'd been involved had in fact caused to happen.  This had been one of the reasons Justin had left me around the time of Gus’ second birthday.  He wanted only me and I couldn’t seem to realize the fact.  So we ruled out any guy who had been part of a 3 or 4 way since we didn’t know most of the names anyway and no one could have possibly thought they had a chance with Justin when I'd been there at the time.   That'd left the few men Justin had tricked with by himself. It hadn’t taken long to go through that list and we had no likely suspects.  

“It can’t be Kip Thomas, he was killed about ten years ago in a car crash.”  

“Brian why would you think of him?”  

“Justin did you truly believe I wouldn’t find out about your little incident of blackmail.”  

“You never said anything.” 

“Well at first I was waiting for you to try to use it against me.” 

“Brian Kinney-Taylor I'd never have used it against you.”  

“I soon figured that out and then I just put it out of my mind.”  

“Well then how did you know about his death?”  

“I just saw his obituary by accident.”  We'd continued to try to come up with a name for most of the evening but had no luck.

“What about that Ian?”  

“Brian while it's nice to think that you're still jealous of Ethan that didn’t last a month after I left the loft.  Ethan was just a symptom of our problems not a cause.”  

“I know that in my head Justin, but it's always easier to blame it on someone else other than my bullheadedness.”  

“But it can’t be Ethan because I've kept in contact with him over the years, strictly as friends, and I would recognize his voice.  Besides he's in Europe right now on a concert tour.  How many guys can claim a college fling with one of the preeminent violinists of the world?” 
 
“Knowing that punk, more than you would think.”  

“Brian be nice.  Like I said it can’t be Ethan since he's in Europe and he's too famous to simply disappear without it being noticed.”

“Then it must be some random nutcase who happened to overhear one of us call Gus Sonnyboy.”
  
“That just doesn’t sound right to me Brian.”  

“Well I guess we'll just have to wait for him to call again, Justin.  Guys I guess we'll let you go home.  Thanks for all your help.  We'll keep you informed but please keep this quiet.” 
 
“Sure Brian you can count on us keeping it secret.” 

“I know Mikey.”   

“Ted you better stay away from Mel, you know you've never been able to keep a secret from her in all the years you've known her.”  

“Thanks Em, thanks a lot.  I’ll admit that my sarcasm would work better if your statement wasn’t true.”  We'd chuckled at Ted’s comment.

Justin and I'd another night of very little sleep though we both had dozed off when the phone rang around 1 PM Tuesday.  I woke and answered the phone, Justin'd remained asleep and I didn’t wake him.  

“Well Kinney are you prepared to meet with me so that we can set up the exchange?”  

“Look you asshole you know I’m not going to give you Justin.”  

“Then I guess I should stop buying your boy his meals?”  

“What the fuck are you talking about?”  

“Why should I feed him if you aren’t willing to even talk about an exchange,  I've no other interest in him why should I waste money on something that can’t do me any good?”  

"OK OK I’ll meet you but it has to be in public.”  

“What you don’t trust me, you fucking thief?”  

“You kidnap my son and demand my lover in ransom, why would I trust you?”  

“I guess I have to give you that point.  But seriously we do need to meet.  Just know that if you bring the police Gus will die before you find him.”  

“I believe you, you are too crazy to not believe.”  

“Good, then be at Aunt Lu’s Diner in Warrendale at 5 PM.  Make sure you're alone, I’m not ready to see Taylor yet.”  

“I thought he was your true Love?”  

“He is but  I don’t want him to see me until we're ready to become a couple.”  

“Do you have any idea how crazy you are?”  

“Just be at the Diner and don’t try anything if you value Sonnyboy’s life.”  CLICK.

I'd thought about waking Justin and telling him about the meeting but then I figured he would either talk me out of going, insist on going with me or follow me to the meeting.  So I just left him a note that I was going to the gym in order to work off some of my fears about Gus.  I wrote that I'd be home no later than 7 PM and to not worry about me.  I was sure being my typical stupid self.  I didn’t think that there was any problem meeting with the guy in a public restaurant.  I thought that if I saw him I would figure out who he was at the least and at the best convince him to let Gus go.  Typical Kinney bravado.

I'd gotten to the diner early and was sitting at a table in the middle of the dining room drinking a cup of coffee with a piece of cherry pie ALA mode.  At 5 PM I heard the guy announce to the room. 

“Uncle Brian there you are.  How've you been.”  

Then the guy walked up to me and grabbed my hand.  I felt a pinch in the palm of my hand and then things started to get unclear.  

“What the fuck are you doing?  I’m not your Uncle.”  Unfortunately I spoke very quietly and no one in the diner heard me.  

“Uncle Brian what's the matter you look kind of funny?  Have you been drinking again?”  

I could hear what the guy was saying but I was losing control of my body and getting woozier by the second.  He'd drugged me and I'd walked right into his trap.  Whoever he was he certainly was a smart maniac. 

“Uncle Brian are you able to walk?  Let’s get you home Uncle Brian where Aunt Michaelina can watch over you.”  

The last thing I remembered was the guy pulling me up by the arms from the chair and then walking me out of the diner to his car.

When I next became aware of the world Gus was hovering over me.  

“Dad are you OK now?” 

“Sonnyboy, where are we?”  

“I don’t know exactly, some vacation cabin as best as I can tell.  Some madman drugged me at the rest area on I-79 and I’ve been here ever since, how long has it been?"  

“When I made the mistake of meeting with him it was Tuesday night so I suppose that it is sometime on Wednesday.”

“This madman thinks that you stole Uncle Justin away from him and he has decided to get him back.  I’m just bait in the trap.  I guess it worked since he caught you.  How could you let him catch you Dad?”  

“Gus don’t fall apart on me.  He caught me because I was stupid.  I didn’t think he would try anything in a restaurant but then I didn’t realize that he was crazy.”

”He is crazy all right.  About the only thing he's talked about was how you stole Uncle Justin away from him when I was a baby.  I told him that he didn’t know what he was talking about since Uncle Justin never loved anyone but you.  He just brushed off everything I said and kept coming back to the idea that Uncle Justin really loves him and not you.  He really thinks that he and Uncle Justin'll become a couple.  He might even consider taking me in once he has gotten Uncle Justin to live with him and gotten rid of you.”  

“Gus nothing is going to happen to us.  Justin'll have enough sense to get the cops involved.  Justin has always been the sensible on in our relationship.”  

“I hope so.  I’m tired of being chained to a wall and dressed in nothing but these tiny pornographic shorts.”  

"Has he done anything to you Gus?”  

“Other than threaten to cut off various body parts and send them to you and Uncle Justin, no.
He originally had me naked so that I could use the shower without getting my clothes wet, but he did show up with these things so that I didn’t have to be naked all of the time.  He hasn’t been cruel to me yet because he knows that Uncle Justin thinks of me as his son.  But I've no doubt that he'll hurt me if he decides that'll get Uncle Justin’s attention.”  

“Over my dead body.”  

“Dad don’t do anything stupid.  I can take a little pain but I couldn’t handle you being killed.  Who could possibly think that you stole Uncle Justin away from? I don’t remember Uncle Justin ever mentioning anyone else in his life beside you.”  

“We've been trying to figure that out since Sunday night when he called to tell us that you were missing and that he had you.  Neither of us has been able to come up with a name.”

That evening the madman left us a single combo meal from Burger King and left without saying anything.  Gus insisted that we split it instead of going with my suggestion that he eat the whole thing.  Gus had told me that the guy never brought anything for breakfast but the next day he did bring two meals for dinner.  

“Why did you bring two?”  Gus asked the nutcase. 

“I’m in a good mood, my beloved is coming to see me today.”  

He'd then rushed down the stairs but we didn’t hear his vehicle leave the area so he was either in the cabin or outside somewhere.  

“I don’t like the sound of that Dad.”  

“Me either Sonnyboy but we have to believe that Justin won’t do anything stupid. I’ve already done enough stupidity for this family.

A few hours later Gus had wakened me from a nap that I couldn’t believe that I'd fallen into.  

“Dad someone else has driven up.”  

“Hopefully it's the police.”  We then heard shouting and I was amazed at who it was that was doing the shouting. 

”Hey you crazy son of a bitch where are you?”  

“Uncle Justin?” 

“Justin you fool why're you here?”  

“Show yourself, where're my son and partner?  I’m here just like you said, show yourself and prove that they're OK or I’m gone.”  

The maniac had entered our room, he had a gun for the first time.  “My love is finally here.  You heard him.  Let him know you're OK, open the window and tell him.  Remember though that your lives are in my hand so don’t do anything too stupid.”  

Gus rushed to the window and threw up the sash.

“Uncle Justin get away from here.”  

“Justin I thought I was the stupid one in the family get the police.”  I couldn’t help myself from shouting at Justin.  

“Don’t worry guys I have it under control.” 

“Shit Justin the guy is a nutcase.”  

“That's enough, close the window while I go talk to my beloved.”  

He left the room and we left the window open.  We could hear him rushing down the stairs and then we saw him come onto the porch steps and start talking to Justin.  Then Justin horrified me when he followed the nutcase into the cabin.  

“Dad what's he doing?”  

“I just hope he knows Sonnyboy.”  Justin why're you risking yourself with this nutcase, I couldn’t help but think.  I knew the answer though, Justin has always thought that he could solve any problem.



MARK’S THOUGHTS

My beloved is here and is going to come with me into the cabin so we can talk like civilized people.  I hope he won’t notice how mussed my hair is or how disheveled my clothes are or how dilapidated this cabin, and it’s furniture, is.  He hasn’t been this close to me in almost 20 years.  I've dreamed about this moment for years.  We'll finally be together like we should've been for all of these years.  He'll show me how a gay man makes love.  He'll take every cherry I have to offer.  He'll make my life worth living again with the love he'll shower upon me.  Those two upstairs will just have to live their lives without my beloved.  Taylor I love you and I know that you love me even if you don’t know it yet.  How did we get to this point in our lives?

One hurtful act by some homophobe and I thought that I'd lost him forever but luck was with me and he didn’t die.  I would've killed that Chris if I could've but he was kept away from everyone.  How could anyone hurt a hair on Taylor’s head?  But then that fucking Kinney was able to steal Taylor away from me before I had the chance to show him how much I loved him.  It hurt so much to see them together that I had to leave Pittsburgh.  But then 2 years ago my father died and I returned for the funeral and I saw Taylor on Liberty Avenue one afternoon and I knew that our love was still present.  

So I began to plot how I could get him back.  It was in the gay paper how Gus had recreated the Prom for his Dads so that they could have something to remember instead of what happened in '01.  He really is a wonderful boy, it has to be from Taylor’s influence since Kinney is such an asshole he would only cause a boy to grow up corrupted.  Then when Gus went off to Penn State Kinney started taking Taylor to that horrible Babylon place and I knew that I had to rescue him before he was corrupted even more than he has been in the last 20 years.  It occurred to me this past summer how I could get Taylor with me.  I just had to get the right bait and Gus was the obvious bait.  Taylor loves the boy like his own son even if he looks like that fucking thief Kinney.  So I found a supplier of a knock out drug and waited until Gus decided to go to Pittsburgh for a weekend visit.  I just followed him from State College and when he stopped at the rest area I made my move.  He thought I was making a pass at him when all I did was inject the drug into his arm.  Then as the drug took effect I just took him by the arms and put him into my car.  I drove him to the cabin my parents bought all those years ago when some chiropractor moved away from Pittsburgh and sold it cheap.  I stripped the boy and put the manacle on his leg and attached the chain to the u-bolt fastened into a stud in the wall.  I made sure the chain was just long enough so that he could get into the shower.  I didn’t want him stinking the place up too much.  I have to admit that he's a beautiful young man, well built and hung.  But he fades in comparison to the beauty of Taylor.

When he woke up he was understandably upset and said things that he would regret.  I said things in reply that I regretted.  I had to make him believe that I would hurt him if that was necessary to get Taylor back with me.  But I could never hurt someone who is so important to Taylor.  But I did let him know how rotten his father was and that Kinney would pay for stealing Taylor away from me.  Gus was very brave and stood up to me everytime I threatened to harm his Dad.  He'll be a very good son for me and Taylor once this situation is sorted out.  I did feel a little sorry for the boy and stopped at a sex shoppe and bought a pair of shorts that opened up the sides so that he could cover himself yet still be able to take them off in spite of the chain and take a shower.  They were a couple of sizes too small but then what experience did I have buying clothes for a child.

Sunday night I called Kinney and asked him if he knew where his Sonnyboy was.  I then hung up so he could start worrying and trying to find out where Gus was. After giving him some time I called back and told him where he could find Gus’ car to prove that I had the boy.  Monday morning I called while I was out getting Gus’ dinner.  This time Kinney had enough sense to turn on the speaker option on his phone so that Taylor could be a part of the conversation.  It was so wonderful to hear his voice, even if he did threaten me.  He's just fighting the true love that exists between us.  He's been corrupted by the 20 years of Kinney.  He'll come around, true love can never be defeated.  He'll be mine and I'll be his forever and forever.  I had to threaten to harm Gus again to get their attention.  I just hope that Taylor will forgive me for using that baseless threat.  He has to know that I wouldn’t hurt someone that he truly loves.  He doesn’t truly love Kinney so I can do anything I want to that bastard.

Tuesday I called again and got Kinney to agree to meet with me in public.  Knowing how Kinney thinks he is invincible I knew that he would agree and I knew that I would be able to catch him without him being able to do anything about it.  When I got to the diner he was already there eating pie.  He was sitting in the middle of the dining room so that I wouldn’t be able to do anything.  Ha, I just walked up to him making sure that everyone in the place heard me.

“Uncle Brian there you are.  How have you been.” Before he could do anything I grabbed his hand to shake it, of course I had the needle ready and it injected his hand. 

“What the fuck are you doing?  I’m not your Uncle.” But he spoke so quietly that no one else could hear him. 

“Uncle Brian what is the matter you look kind of funny?  Have you been drinking again?  Uncle Brian are you able to walk?  Let’s get you home Uncle Brian where Aunt Michaelina can watch over you.”   With that comment made I just reached over and pulled him from the chair and started walking him out of the diner.  No one said anything they just assumed I was taking my sick(or drunk) Uncle home.  As I went by the cash register I said to the waitress. 

“I’m sure his Jeep is in your parking lot I'll send one of my cousins to get it in the next day or two, as soon as I can reach one of them.”  She just nodded and I got Kinney out the door and into my car.  I took him back to the cabin, I'd put a few sleeping pills in Gus’ drink and he was sound asleep.  I figured it would be easier to get Kinney chained to the wall if the boy couldn’t get in my way and I really didn’t want to threaten him with the gun.  Once the chain was on I tied Kinney up with some rope just to make him uncomfortable, I knew that Gus would untie him as soon as he woke in the morning. 

After I had Kinney chained to the wall I called Taylor to let him know that I had the thief as well as Gus.  He blustered and threatened me but I knew it was all for show.  He was beginning to realize that we're meant for each other.  He has to struggle with the idea but he'll eventually admit to himself that we're meant by the heavens to be a couple.  But while I knew he had to do what he had to do it was hurtful to hear him say such mean things about me that I had to hang the phone up.

Wednesday morning when I brought Gus his dinner I found that I was right.  Gus had untied his father, put bedding under him and was doing the best to take care of him he could under the circumstances.  I told the boy that Kinney would wake up sometime in the afternoon but that he would be sick when he did.  I only brought one meal at supper time.  I could see no reason to feed Kinney.  Of course I knew they would share the meal, Gus would make sure of that.
Wednesday night I called Taylor again, more to hear his voice than anything but he surprised me when he offered to meet with me wherever I wanted to meet.  I emphasized to him that if he tried to trick me he would have a dead son and dead lover.  I think he believed me, how I don’t know, deep in his heart he has to know that I wouldn’t hurt Gus.  I told him I would call again in the morning to let him know where to go.  I then tried to decide where would be the best place to meet my beloved Taylor.  I decided that the cabin was the best place, we would get the situation under control and get on with our lives together.  We would dispose of Kinney, send Gus back to college and start making the cabin our love nest.

Thursday morning I called Taylor and gave him directions to the cabin and the time I would expect him.  I reminded him not to bring the authorities if he expected to see Gus or fucking Kinney alive again.  It was hurtful that he believed that I could be so mean as to threaten our wonderful son Gus.

I was so happy that Taylor was going to come and see me that I actually bought two meals for my houseguests.  When I brought them up to Gus and his fucking father the boy asked my why I'd gotten two.  I told him that I was happy since I was going to see my beloved.  I then went downstairs to wait for Taylor to get to the cabin.  He was on time, he drove up and then started yelling.  I went upstairs and told the guys to let Taylor know that they were all right, but I did take the gun with me for the first time so that they would know I meant business.  What they didn’t know was that I didn’t have any bullets in the gun.  Someone could get hurt if there're bullets in a gun.  After they yelled out the window to Taylor, basically telling him to go home, I ran back downstairs and out onto the porch.  My beloved then agreed to come into the cabin so that we could talk to one another instead of having to yell at each other.  

My beloved Taylor is going to be in the same room as me for the first time in almost 20 years.  We'll soon be making passionate love over and over again.  He'll teach me everything I need to know.  He'll forget that he even knew that bastard Brian Kinney.  We'll live happily ever after and Gus'll be the perfect son and he'll give us perfect grandchildren.  Kinney will admit that Taylor never really loved him and will gracefully exit from Taylor’s life.  I’ve been day dreaming again, Taylor is sitting down on the couch and is ready to talk to me.  I hope that I don’t come across as an idiot.  I know that his beauty will make it hard for me to talk sensibly if I look straight at him so I'll avoid looking into those wonderful blue eyes.  Oh Taylor our perfect life is about to begin.

JUSTIN’S THOUGHTS

It's finally over.  All I have to do is walk up the stairs and free my two ‘boys’.  We can then just go home and forget that this nightmare ever occurred.  One thing for sure is that Gus is going to get into the habit of letting someone know when he plans on coming home for the weekend. If we'd known that he was coming home we could have started looking for him sooner.  I don’t care what reason he had  for not calling; he's going to start calling from now on.  Or I'll keep him locked in his room myself.

It began last Sunday night when we got a phone call from some nut who basically claimed that he had Gus.  Brian then called Gus’ room at Penn State which was answered by George, Gus’ roommate, who told Brian that Gus hadn’t gotten back from his weekend in Pittsburgh.  Since we hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Gus that weekend we became worried.  After a while the guy called back and told Brian where he could find Gus’ Jeep as proof that he had kidnapped our son.  Monday morning he called back and told us that he would trade Gus for me, that the two of us were a couple mandated by the heavens and that he had loved me for almost 20 years but that Brian had stolen me from him.  He threatened to hurt Gus if we didn’t do as he said.  That if we got the authorities involved that he could kill Gus before they could do anything to rescue him.  As crazy as the guy sounded I believed him when he threatened our son.  The idea of Gus being hurt because of someone from my past was just horrifying.   Try as we might Brian and I couldn’t figure out who would think that he and I'd ever been a couple.  There had been so few men in my life, other than Brian, it didn’t take long to go through the list.  

We even had Michael, Ted and Emmett come over so that they could help us remember, that of course turned out to be a mistake of sorts.  They couldn’t remember anyone and Ted couldn’t keep a secret from Mel if his life depended on it.  I suppose we could of locked him up and then she couldn’t have seen him, that would have been the only way to keep the secret safe.  Actually I was almost happy when she and Lindsay showed up Tuesday night.

I'd woken up from a fitful nap and Brian had gone to the gym to work off some of his worry, at least that's what his note said.  I heard banging on the door and when I opened it there was a very angry Melanie and a very worried Lindsay on our doorstep.  

“I suppose you two were never going to let us in on the story?”  

I knew better than to try to deny it.  “Mel please, we were going to tell you as soon as we knew something positive.  We didn’t want to worry you any sooner than necessary.”  

“You mean Brian didn’t want to worry us.”  

“No it was a mutual decision.  How long did it take Ted to spill the beans.”  

“Justin you know Ted didn’t have a chance, as soon as Mel saw him she knew something was up and he tried to keep the secret but Mel can open him up like a hot knife through butter.”  

“That’s OK Lindsay we probably should've called you when we first found out.”  

“You’re damned right you should've let us know.  When we agreed to let Gus stay with you two, most nights, back when he started High School we never imagined that you'd keep us in the dark on something so important.”  

“Mel we never imagined something like this happening and we've been playing it by ear.”  We'd moved into the living room which was still a mess. 

“God things are bad if you two haven’t cleaned up this room for as long as you obviously haven’t.”  Lindsay said.  

“Who gives a fuck about clean rooms, what do you know and who's behind it?”  

“That's the problem Mel we don’t know who it is.  He called Sunday night to let us know that he had Gus and called again on Monday to tell us that he'll trade Gus for me.”  

“What?”  They both had exclaimed.  

“He thinks that Brian stole me from him 20 years ago and he wants me back.  We can’t figure out who it could possibly be.  We have been racking our brains over it and his calls haven’t helped matters any.  He's threatened to hurt Gus if we get the authorities involved.  I just woke up when you two started banging on the door, Brian has gone to the gym to work off some of his frustration and fears.  Can I get you anything?”  

“Oh Justin just for once forget about being the good host.”  

“Thanks Linds I needed some humor.”  

“I didn’t mean it humorously.”

“Brian should be home soon, then the four of us can decide what to do from now on.”  

“Justin you know that this isn’t your fault.  Some maniac develops a crush on you and steals our son so he can pretend that you'll become a couple.  It isn’t your fault and it isn’t Brian’s fault either.  I’m sure he's blamed himself as much as I’m sure you're blaming yourself.”
  
“But Lindsay it has to be my fault in some way, I had to have led this madman on at some point in the past otherwise why would he think we're destined by the heavens to be a couple?”  

“Linds is right Justin it isn’t your fault and you just stated the reason, he's a madman, who knows what causes a madman to think what he thinks?”  

“Mel I know that in my head but my heart still says that if something happens to Gussy it'll be my fault.”  

“Nothing is going to happen to Gus.  Don’t even think that.”  

“Lindsay I know that but still, I wish Brian would get home.”  

“At least we don’t have to worry that he's in some backroom.  You certainly tamed King Brian.”
  
“Mel I know that your sniping is a way of handling the stress but please don’t set Brian off when he gets home.”  

“Sorry Justin, I’ll try but you know Brian hasn’t taken my comments seriously since about the time you two got back together. “

The phone then started ringing.  “That'll be the nutcase with his latest diatribe about that fucking thief Brian.”  

“Answer the phone Justin.”  I put the phone on speaker so that Mel and Linds could hear him, maybe they would recognize the voice.  

“Taylor I just wanted to call and tell you that I now have the fucking thief in my possession.  It's amazing how stupid the man is.  Gus had no reason to worry yet Kinney should have known that I wouldn’t worry about meeting him in a public place.  There he was sitting in the middle of the diningroom at Aunt Lu’s Diner, by the way his Jeep is in their parking lot you should send someone to get it, thinking that would keep me from doing anything.  Ha Ha, I just walked up shook his hand and then when the drug took effect I just walked my drunk Uncle out of the room and no one said a thing.” 

I was dumbstruck but managed to speak. “What do you want now?”  

“Oh Taylor I want the same thing as always.  You and me together forever.  I've been watching Gus, he's an amazing young man, you raised him well.  I’m sure that the thief had little to do with the man that he's become.  Once we're together and have disposed of the thief then we'll take Gus in as part of our family.”  

“Look you crazy bastard, you better not hurt a hair on either one of them.  Who the hell are you?  How can you think that we'll ever be a couple when I don’t know who the fuck you are?  How can you think I will ever love you when you've stolen my love away from me?  How the fuck crazy are you?  

“Well I better go make sure that Gus wasn’t harmed by the sleeping pills I put in his drink.  I also need to check and make sure Kinney isn’t too comfortable.” 

"Look you bastard how dare you drug my son, do you know what danger you put him in?”  

“Good bye my beloved.”  With that he hung up the phone and I just collapsed, luckily onto the couch instead of the floor.

“Brian you fool, how could you think to do something so stupid by yourself.”  Lindsay stated.
  
“Linds get a glass of water for Justin, he's in shock.”  

“No I’m OK but you understand how crazy this guy is don’t you?”  

“Still Justin how could Brian be so stupid?”  

“He was just being himself, trying to save his family from pain.  Mel, Linds did you recognize his voice?”  

“No Justin, Mel did you?”  

“No, but he's totally insane so we're going to have to be very careful in how we deal with him.  Justin you said that he has threatened Gus, and it's very obvious he isn’t a Brian Kinney fan.  It probably will be wise to not call the authorities, someone that crazy might very well carry out his threat to hurt Gus or Brian.”  

“What are we going to do then?”  

“Well Justin we'll have just do what you have been doing and wait for his next call.”  

“Can you two spend the night?  I don’t think I could stand being here alone.” 

“Sure sweetheart, Mel why don’t you go home and pack us an overnight bag.  I’ll start cleaning up this room, we wouldn’t want Gus to think that his getting kidnapped caused us any alarm.  Justin why don’t you go lie down on your bed and try to take a nap.”  

“Lindsay I’m not a little boy.”  

“I know that Justin but someone has to look out for you.  Should I call Deb or your mother and have them come over?”  

“Going to play dirty are you Lindsay?” 

“If I have to Sunshine.” 

“OK you win but you wake me at once if anything happens.”  I went to my room and laid down thinking I would take a short nap.  It was noon on Wednesday when I woke up.

I figured that nothing had happened so I took the time to shower and change clothes.  When I got to the living room the whole gang was there including my mother and Deb.  

“Sunshine how could you two think that you could keep this horrible news to yourself.”  

“Well Deb I don’t think we were really thinking past the next five minutes.  Mom by any chance did you bring any cookies?”  

“Justin Taylor, of course I brought you your comfort food.  Haven’t I always made you peanut butter cookies when you needed comfort?”  

“Yes Mom but I’m not thinking too clearly right now.  

Is there anything to eat, I’m suddenly hungry.” 

“I should hope so, when was the last time you had a real meal.”  

“I don’t know Deb, Sunday night.  It's Wednesday isn’t it?”  

“Yes darling, is there anything more that we can do for you?”  

“All of you being here is enough, since all we can do is wait for the madman to call back.  Has anyone had thought of anyone else this madman could be?”  

“No honey but we're here for you as long as you need us.”  

“Thanks Emmett.” 

Lindsay brought me a tray full of food, I don’t really remember what I ate but I do remember eating 3 plates of whatever it was.  We'd spent the remainder of the day reminiscing about Gus and Brian.  Everyone had a story or two about each and it did pass the time.  

I was amazed when Deb told us about Gus’ kissing game.  Everyone else found it very amusing as well.  

“You mean that the little scamp pretended to be looking someplace so that Brian and I could kiss?”  

“Yes, that's what he told me, that the two of you wouldn’t kiss in front of him so he had to make sure that you got your quota of kissing by playing the game.”  

“Deb didn’t he realize that we kissed all of the time when he wasn’t around?”  

“Well I don’t imagine that he thought about that he just knew you didn’t kiss when he was looking.  Why didn’t you by the way?”  

“Brian was afraid that people would think we were trying to recruit him.”  

“Brian actually said something that stupid?”  

“Yes Teddy he did,Brian wasn’t quite the monster everyone thought he was.  He did worry about what people would think and he didn’t want Gus to suffer from anything that we did.  That's why he was so proud of Gus when he was in Kindergarten and handled that situation so well.”

Eventually I sent everyone home, Mom and Deb wouldn’t leave until I ate something for supper.  I had to promise that I'd let everyone know if anything happened.  Michael didn’t want to leave but I convinced him that the madman might be watching the house and wouldn’t call if anyone else was there.  So I was all alone when the maniac called again.  

“Taylor it's so good to hear your voice.  I hope that you're taking care of yourself in this difficult time.  I know that your family was there today and I hope that no one does anything foolish.  I hate to keep harping on this but don’t do anything stupid if you want to see Kinney alive again, though why you would ever want to see that fucking thief is beyond me.  Gus is well and sends his love.  I suppose I should let you go.”  

“Wait, I’m willing to meet with you so that we can get this mess settled.”  

“Do you mean that beloved?”  

“Yes I want to settle everything as soon as possible.”  

“I’ll call in the morning to give you directions.  But remember don’t get the police involved if you want nothing to happened to Gus or Kinney.”  

“I’m not going to do anything stupid.”  CLICK

I knew that I had to get this situation over and meeting with the madman was the only way.  I knew that I couldn’t let him get close enough to drug me but I wasn’t worried about that.  I was pretty sure that I could out talk him and hopefully I would be able to get him to let Gus and Brian go.  If I had to go with him then that was a price I was willing to pay.  I had to get the two men in my life away from this maniac who kept threatening to harm them.  Once they were free I could always get away from the madman and then we could get the police involved.  I just hoped that when I finally saw the fool I would recognize him and that knowing who he was would make it easier to solve the situation.

I surprised myself by actually falling asleep Wednesday night.  I suppose knowing that the situation was coming to an end allowed me to drop off.  The next morning I woke to the phone ringing.  I quickly answered but it was just Michael wanting to know if anything new had happened.  I lied and told him that the guy had just called to gloat a little more about having caught the fucking thief.  I told Michael that I needed to keep the line free in case the madman called back.  I asked him to call everyone else and tell them not to call either.  No sooner than I'd hung the phone up it rang and it was the madman.  

“Taylor I thought long and hard about where to meet you and I decided the best place would be where we'll set up our new home.  I'll expect to see you and only you at 2 PM at our cabin.  Here're the directions but remember that if you bring the authorities Gus and Kinney will be dead before they're found.”  

“OK I'll be there, by myself, at 2 PM.  We'll settle this once and for all at that time.”  

“Thank you Taylor, you'll know that you love me once you see me.  The heavens have destined us to be together forever.”  CLICK

AT 2 PM I drove up to the cabin got out of my car and yelled at the door of the cabin. 

“Hey you crazy son of a bitch where are you? Show yourself, where're my son and partner? I’m here just like you said, show yourself and prove that they're OK or I’m gone.”    

A window in the second floor opened and Gus and Brian started yelling at me.

“Uncle Justin get away from here.”  

“Justin I thought I was the stupid one in the family get the police.”  

“Don’t worry guys I have it under control.”  

“Shit Justin the guy is a nutcase.”  

Just then the madman came running out of the door and stopped on the porch.  It was in the shade so I couldn’t see his face clearly.

“Taylor come into the cabin where we can talk like civilized people.”  

“Will you let Brian and Gus go if I stay with you?”  

“Come inside and we'll talk about everything.  You're so beautiful.”  With that he went back into the cabin and I followed him.  I could hear Gus and Brian though I didn’t really comprehend what they were saying.  I just knew I had to get this mess over with and the two of them back home where they belonged.

Once he sat down on a decrepit couch I saw who he was and I was amazed.  He was the absolute last person I would have ever thought of.  This really proved how crazy he was if he thought that there was anyway the two of us had ever been a couple.  

“Chris Hobbs how in the world can you think that we were ever a couple.  The last time I saw you at the Hospice you threatened me.  Before that I just remember you swinging a bat at my head yet you think we're destined to be a couple?”  

“Chris is dead, my name is Mark.  I would've killed him myself if I could have.  How he could've hurt you is beyond my understanding.”  

“What do you mean he's dead, he's sitting right in front of me.”  

“No I’m Mark he died soon after he saw you at the AIDS Hospice.”  

It finally started to sink in, the guy was totally insane.  He must've shed the Chris persona and adopted the Mark one so that he could forget his involvement in my bashing.  I would have to use this to get Brian and Gus free.

“Taylor we'll be so happy.  We're going to be the perfect gay couple.  You'll be able to show me everything since I'm a total virgin.  I'll be putty in your hands and what beautiful hands they are.”  

“Mark you have to know that we aren’t going to be a couple.  I don’t love you, I don’t know you and the only reason I'm here is because you have my son and partner under your control.”  

“No Taylor you're here because the heavens have fated that we'll be together forever.  We're destined to be a couple.  You're destined to show me the bliss of being gay.  You're destined to take every cherry I have to offer.  I'm destined to make you as happy as humanely possible.  Kinney stole you from me before I had the chance to show you how much love I have for you.  You've lived with him thinking that you were in love but he corrupts you at every chance he gets.  I've never been with another man how many has he been with?  You deserve the perfect partner and that's what I'll be.”  

“You have no idea how crazy you are do you?”  

“As I said before I'm crazy in love.  Taylor we're destined to be together.”  

“If we'e destined to be together then you would call me by my name.”  

“That would be disrespectful until we've become a couple.”  

“I can’t believe this, we aren’t a couple and we'll never be a couple.”  

“Taylor just let your true nature come through and you'll know that we're destined to be a couple.  We're destined to make passionate love at every chance.  We're destined to be together forever.”

“Look Mark we aren’t destined to be anything, that's a bunch of claptrap.”  

“Taylor you have to believe, let the past go and look to the future.”  

“All I know is that there's no future for the two of us.  Sure you can make me go with you, so that Brian and Gus are freed.  You can’t make me love you.  You can’t make me enjoy having sex with you.  You can’t be my lover if all I can think of is the man you made me leave.  You can’t think that I'll ever forget how you forced me to be with you by kidnapping my son and partner.” 

“Taylor stop this, we'll be the best of friends as well as lovers, just go with the flow and realize that we're meant to be a couple.”  

“Mark, listen and listen well.  We'll never be a couple.  We're not destined to be a couple.  You're bigger than me so yes you can force me to do whatever you want.  You have Brian and Gus and I'll do what I have to do to make sure they aren’t hurt.  None of this is love.  You can forcibly kiss me, you can forcibly suck my cock, you can forcibly face fuck me, you can forcibly fuck me and you can even fuck yourself on my cock.  But I'll never do anything with you that isn’t forced.  Is that the relationship you want? Is it sinking into your head that we're never going to be a couple?  Do you want to be guilty of rape and murder to go along with kidnapping and gay bashing?”  

“I told you that Chris is dead, he's the one that gay bashed you.”  

“No Mark you are Chris and this whole mess is just an attempt your subconscious is making to get you over the fact that you hit me in the head with a baseball bat.  If we were to become a couple then that would mean I forgive you and that would make you feel better.  Well understand this Chris, I'll never forgive you and we'll never  be a loving couple.  Now are you going to free my loved ones or are you going to kill all of us.” 

“Taylor how could you think I would harm you, it hurt me that you thought that I could hurt Gus.  Let me come over there and hug you and kiss you to show you how much a couple we're destined to be.”  

“Mark if you come within my reach I'll hit you with every iota of strength I have.  You can do whatever you want because we both know that you can physically overpower me but I'll be just a limp body that you force yourself on.” 

“How could I have been so stupid as to think that we could be a couple, Kinney has corrupted you too much for me to save you. To HELL with you I don’t need you, stay with the fucking thief for all I care.  The key to the manacles is in the master bedroom, you'll have to look for it.  We could've been the perfect couple Taylor but you’ve blown it again.  I’m gone you'll never see me again and one last time Chris is dead.”

He'd then jumped up and ran out of the cabin leaving his gun behind.  I'd just sat there not believing that everything had worked out for the best.  Then I heard a huge explosion and I knew that he was right we would never see Mark or Chris again.  He'd run his car into a tree or something and was finally paying the price of his actions.  I slowly went up the stairs and found the room where my son and partner were chained.

“It's over guys,  I’ll just go find the key and get the two of you free.”  

“Not before I hug the stuffing out of you.”  

“Me too Uncle Justin, get over here where we can reach you.”  After a few minutes they let me go.
 
“What happened Uncle Justin?”  

“I made him realize that we would never be a couple, that was more than he could take and he ran out of the cabin and then ran his car into something. We'll never have to worry about Chris Hobbs again.”  

“Hobbs, it was Hobbs?  Why didn't I recognize him?”  

“Yes it was Chris but he called himself Mark and claimed that Chris was dead.  How many times did you ever see him Brian?  Plus it was 20 years ago so of course you didn't recognize him.”  

“Well now that you mention it I remember that the judge at his sentencing called him Christopher Mark Hobbs.”  

“It's over thank God.  I’ll go get the key and then we can go home.  I guess we'll have to call the authorities and explain what happened.  Then we'll have to explain everything to the family.”  

“It's over Justin you saved the day again.”  

“Brian how could you've been so stupid?”  

“Well Justin you’ve known me long enough to know that I don’t think when I should.”  

“Don’t I know it.”  

“Uncle Justin go find the key I’m tired of being practically naked and I want to go home.”
  
“Don’t worry Sonnyboy we’re going to be home before you know it and then we've some things to talk about.”  

“What?”  

“Why didn’t you let us know that you were coming home for the weekend?”  

“Can’t that wait?”  

“Sure Gus just don’t think we'll forget it.”  

“Brian you’ve been quiet.”  

“I’ve just been thinking about the party we're going to have to celebrate getting out of this mess.”  

“Don’t think that having a big party is going to get you off the hook for acting like a fool.”
  
“I was hoping Justin.”  

“It might work with me and the guys but don’t forget that we have four women in our lives who aren’t going to let us live this mess down anytime soon.”  

“Shit, I forgot about the Munchers and the Moms are going to be even worse aren’t they?”  

“They're probably going to make us wish that we were all still chained to this wall when they get done with us.”  

“Uncle Justin, Dad.” 

“Yes Gus.”  

“I’m going to go over to the window and look out at the sky for a few minutes.”  

“What does that mean Gus?”  

“Brian it means that he's giving us permission to kiss. So get your ass over here before he finishes his part of the game.”