The thing that really irked Danny the most about it all was that he hated watching video footage, and yet now he found himself determined to do his best to get Jack to put him back on the job. He tried to tell himself that it was pure professionalism, but that was crap and he knew it. The truth was that Bradley's accounts of that mystery man had grabbed Danny's interests in a big way, and he wanted to see the face of the man who had been so willing to do those things with Larabee. Maybe for once Danny could envision someone other than Martin Fitzgerald while jerking off? Danny snorted, yeah, fat chance of that happening.
He turned and used his back to push open the door to Jack's office, then dropped the box of video tapes into the chair in front of Jack's desk. Jack was looking at him, an amused expression on his face, and that just pissed Danny off even more.
"That's the morning footage from the lobby for each day this week," Danny said. "Look Jack, whatever it is that you're pulling me off of this to do, well, can't you give that to Martin? I've got a rapport going with Bradley, and if I can find a few guys that might be our mystery man for him to try to identify, it'll go easier."
"I have the feeling that Mr. Bradley has no problems developing a rapport with just about anyone with a penis," Jack said, his voice neutral. "You need to go home and pack, then get back here. You and Martin are going out to Denver tonight. I've got seats for you on a flight that leaves LaGuardia at 9:45, so you've got just enough time to pack, get back to be updated and get to the airport. While on the way back here, I got a call from Vin Tanner, and they've got some promising leads on some recent cases. I'll want you and Martin to split up while out there, with one of you going over Larabee's house and anything from when he was a cop, and the other one of you searching his office and going over the ATF cases. His team should be able to help you two find people to interview. Provided he hasn't turned up, then by this time tomorrow night, I want to know everything there is to know about Chris Larabee."
Oh. That was different, then, Danny thought. He could handle going out to Denver, especially if he was going out there with Martin. They worked well together when away from New York, they'd proved that back when they'd worked together in San Diego. Pity that they never had a chance to actually go swimming at the beach; Danny would have loved seeing Martin's choice when it came to swim trunks.
"Okay," Danny replied, no longer pissed. "I take it that Martin's already packed and ready to go?"
"I sent him home about thirty minutes ago, so he'll be here when you get back." Jack held out his hand. "I need your notes from the interviews today. And if you've got Mr. Bradley's number, then I'll need that as well. I might need to contact him before he gets here in the morning."
"Sure." Danny reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out his notebook, handing it over. "His numbers for work and home are at the top of the page," he informed Jack.
"Great. Now, get going. Viv and Sam are on their way in, and I'd like for us to have a chance to go over everything before you and Martin have to leave for the airport."
Dismissed, Danny quickly headed for the elevators, silently thanking Chris Larabee for being from Denver and giving him the chance to spend some quality time alone with the object of his fantasies. Sure, he hoped they'd find the guy alive and well, but when it came to spending time with Martin, Danny tended to be glad of what little bits he got, even if the cause wasn't always good.
When Martin returned to the office, he found that Viv and Samantha had come back from the conference center. The only person missing was Danny, and Jack told him that Danny had gone home to pack and would be back shortly. He tried to get a good, hard look at Jack, wanting to know if there was now disdain in his eyes, but Jack had settled in at the conference table, and it was almost impossible for Martin to get that look without coming off as if he were staring at his boss. Any other time and he wouldn't have minded being caught staring. God knew he'd had plenty of fantasies about Jack. The man had a lot of qualities that Martin looked for in another man. He was older, an authority figure and not bad looking. Martin also had a feeling that if Jack ever let himself go, he'd be one Hell of a top. But, there was a big flashing stop sign, and that was that shining ring of gold on the third finger of his left hand. Aside from coming across as firmly heterosexual, Jack was a confirmed family man. Granted, Jack didn't seem to always be a happily married man, but Martin knew that Jack's children meant everything to him. There was no way that Martin was going to take a step in Jack's direction to test the waters and be the cause of Jack losing his girls.
Martin's gaze shifted to Sam, and he smiled slightly, getting one from her in return. He liked her smiles. He liked her long legs and full breasts, and he'd had more than one wet dream that starred Samantha Spade. Sam was definitely the kind of woman that Martin preferred. Hard as steel inside, but soft and curved in all the right places on the outside. The big drawback to her, aside from the fact that she seemed to be attracted to tall, dark, New York policemen, was that she'd probably be bossy as Hell, and while Martin didn't mind that in another man, it just wasn't what he wanted in a woman. No, with a woman, Martin liked there to be a bit of equality, each of them sharing what they liked and alternating being in charge of the encounter.
Martin next looked at the empty seat at the table, and beyond that to Danny's desk. Danny was the other co-worker who'd starred in a lot of Martin's fantasies, but like Jack, Danny was firmly heterosexual. A shame really, because Martin had a feeling that Danny was capable of dishing it out but good. There was this tightly controlled person beneath the happy-go-lucky attitude that Danny tried to project. Martin had seen it come out in interviews, and damn, each time it had been arousing to see. But he knew that there could never be anything more than him sitting there admiring his partner. Yes, Danny flirted with him, but Danny flirted with anything that breathed, so Martin had never read much into that. He valued the friendship that was between the two of them, and that friendship was what kept him from testing the waters. He'd been afraid that Danny would say no and be horrified, and their friendship would come to a screeching halt. And so Martin had kept quiet, only to now find himself at the point of having to confess to Danny that he'd been spending time with Chris Larabee. Danny had been the one to interview the waiter, and Martin had no doubt that the waiter had talked quite a bit about what had gone on in that hotel room. Looking back, he found himself wishing that he had made a pass at Danny before any of this had happened. If the end result was going to be the same, then at least he would have gotten a kiss out of it first, or maybe even a grope or two before Danny slugged him.
The subject of Martin's musings came into sight down the hallway, grinning as he made his way to the conference table, taking the only empty chair as he grumbled about the evening traffic.
Greetings were exchanged and the briefing began. For Martin though, it was a waste of time. His mind was still reeling from Chris being missing, and having to make that confession to Jack. He was glad that Danny paid attention at briefings, because he knew he'd be relying on Danny's recollections more than once come tomorrow. Provided of course, that Danny was still talking to him by then. Maybe he wouldn't tell him about Chris tonight, but wait until later the next day? Or the day after that even?
Martin was still trying to decide about that when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into Jack's concerned eyes.
"Time for you two to get out of here," Jack said as he gave Martin's shoulder a squeeze.
Martin nodded as he realized that everyone else was gone from the table. Jack leaned down, "You don't have to say anything to Danny, you know. We might be able to solve this case without anyone else knowing about you and Chris," Jack whispered, having figured out that that was the course of action Martin would take.
A part of him knew that Jack was right about that. But another part of him knew that if he withheld that information from Danny, then the man would never trust him again. That is, if the mere knowing about the sexual affair didn't send Danny running.
"I know, but it's the right thing to do," Martin softly replied.
Jack sighed and gave the shoulder another squeeze, then he walked away. Martin got to his feet and went to his desk, where he'd left his carry-on bag. Danny was standing nearby, his foot tapping an impatient beat on the floor.
"Ready whenever you are," Martin said, trying his best to look and sound cheerful. The calculated look that he received in return told him that he'd failed in both regards.
"Let's get going then," Danny said as he turned and headed for the hallway. "Flying's bad enough without having to add in waiting at the airport. At least I can pass the time by filling you in on the briefing we just sat through."
Martin fell into step beside Danny and frowned at the man's teasing, even though he knew he deserved it. "I'd appreciate that."
Danny cocked his head to one side and grinned. "Anything to please you, partner."
Martin's breath caught in his throat at hearing Danny use that word. Chris had called him partner on more than one occasion, and Martin had put it down to Chris being from Denver, so he never said anything about it. Now, hearing the same word coming from Danny's lips, even though Martin knew that Danny meant it so very differently, was disconcerting. It also wasn't doing much to help Martin's nerves.
Danny came to a stop, an odd look on his face. "You okay?"
"Sure," Martin lied. "I just never thought I'd hear you referring to me as your partner, that's all."
Danny grinned again. "Sounds good, doesn't it?"
Martin couldn't agree more, and he nodded, smiling back at Danny. "It does. C'mon, let's get out of here."
They made their way downstairs and quickly hailed a cab. Once at the airport, the lines at the security checkpoints were small, and they were at their gate in plenty of time. The waiting area wasn't full, and the men had no trouble finding two seats that were a bit apart from the rest of the passengers.
"So, ready to fill me in?" Martin asked as he got settled in the chair. He'd been tempted to wait until they were on the plane to ask Danny about the briefing, knowing that it would distract the other man for a while and get his mind off of his fear of flying. But thoughts of Chris and what might have happened to him kept swirling through Martin's mind, and he found himself needing the distraction.
"Sure." Danny pulled out a small notebook. "We have one witness as to what Larabee was up to when he wasn't at the conference, and Jack wanted to follow up with that interview. It turns out that Larabee had a very active sex life, at least here in New York. He had the same guy in his room each night, and the room service waiter saw him each of those nights. If we're lucky, he'll be able to ID the guy, since we don't even have a name for him right now."
Martin nodded, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. This would be a good time to admit to Danny that he was that unnamed man, but the courage that had been present when Martin told Jack about Chris, had disappeared now that he was faced with making that came confession to Danny.
"The conference personnel and attendees were pretty much a bust. Larabee showed up on time and left once the day's activities were over. There were a few people present that he knew, and they asked him to go out to dinner with them, but each time he'd just tell them that he had something better waiting back at his hotel." Danny grinned and waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And judging from what that waiter told me, Larabee wasn't joking about *that*. It sounds as if he was quite a player, and I'd bet anything that this wasn't a side of himself that Larabee let be seen back in Denver."
"How can you say that about him? Judging him like that just because he was with another man. You don't even know Chris Larabee," Martin said, feeling irritated and more than a little angry that Danny would just jump to conclusions about Chris. So, yes, Chris didn't like women the same way that Danny did, but Martin doubted if Danny would be using that tone of voice if Chris's 'guest' had been a woman and not another man.
Danny had been doing his best to fill Martin in about what Chris Larabee had been up to, and it wasn't easy by any means. Danny had spent the entire cab ride to the airport going over different scenarios, and choosing his words carefully. He had no desire to risk losing Martin's friendship by letting on just how much he wished he could have changed places with Larabee in that hotel room. And then substituted Martin for that mystery slut.
And so when Martin's eyes flashed angrily and Martin tore into him for what he'd said, Danny was confused on more than one front. First, Martin had never met Larabee, so why was he being so protective of the guy? Second, all Danny had said was that the guy was a player, and not even hinted at anything else. Also, the 'player' comment had been about the mystery man, not about Larabee.
It was all very puzzling, and Danny found himself once more choosing his words carefully as he looked at Martin. He wanted answers, and he also wanted to assure Martin that he wasn't judging Larabee or anyone else. Maybe Martin was just being overly politically correct? Danny opened his mouth to tell Martin that he'd not been judging anyone, but before he could get a word out, Martin got to his feet.
"I'll be right back."
Danny closed his mouth and watched as Martin made his way across the concourse to the men's restroom. He sat forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees as he went back over all that he'd said to Martin, just in case he had used a wrong word or two. But no matter how many times he ran through his words, Danny couldn't see anything to them that would set Martin off that way. There were times when Martin left him perplexed, and this was definitely one of them.
After ten minutes had gone by, he began to look worriedly toward the men's room. Martin had left his carry-on bag by his chair, and Danny couldn't leave both of their bags there and walk away just to check on Martin. And he sure as Hell wasn't toting both bags to the men's room with him! For one brief moment, Danny thought of using his FBI credentials to get the attendant at the desk to watch the bags for him, but he decided not to try that. While he was pretty sure that she'd say yes, he didn't think she'd be too happy about it once she saw him going across the concourse, and with his luck, she'd call and complain. So, no going into the men's room after Martin. The boy was on his own.
Reasoning that Martin must have eaten something that disagreed with him, Danny leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest before getting on that cleverly disguised death trap. He must have dosed off, because the next thing he knew, a voice was announcing over the loudspeaker that their flight was now boarding.
Danny was standing and reaching for his bag before he realized that Martin wasn't there. He noted that Martin's bag was still sitting there on the floor, and he turned to look toward the men's room, wondering if Martin was still in there. He glanced at the clock and frowned as he saw that twenty minutes had passed since Martin had rushed off in that direction. Danny was about to head that way when he saw Martin approaching from further down the concourse, a magazine in his hand. Chuffing in annoyance, Danny shook his head as his partner got closer.
"Time to board," Danny said, although by the way everyone else was up and holding their bags, it was pretty noticeable.
"Good timing. I'd just bought this," Martin said as he tucked the magazine into his bag, then picked it up. "Have they called our row yet?"
"Not yet," Danny replied. Inside, he was relieved that Martin hadn't spent all that time in the men's room, but he still found himself wondering if Martin had ever returned to the waiting area once he'd left there. Problem was, there was no subtle way to ask that, and even though he was curious, Danny wasn't sure if he was curious enough to risk being on the receiving end of a Fitzgerald eye-roll that spoke volumes.
There was no way to resume their earlier conversation as the line snaked toward the flight attendant. But once they were on the plane and seated, Danny was pleased to see that the two of them were isolated from the rest of the passengers. When he'd first looked at the ticket information and seen that they were seated in the back of the plane, Danny had felt irked. Flying was bad enough, but being stuck in the tail section made it far worse. But now, seeing that a few rows separated him and Martin from the rest of the passengers, Danny was glad that Jack hadn't tried to get them better seats. Not only could he find out just what had set Martin off earlier, but there was nowhere for Martin to run. Sure, he could head for the lavatory, but there was no way he could stay in there indefinitely.
Danny waited in the aisle as Martin stowed his bag in the overhead bin and then slid into their row, taking the window seat. He put his bag in beside Martin's, grabbed a couple of pillows and blankets and took the aisle seat, grinning as he now had his partner trapped. He dumped the pillows and blankets in Martin's lap, then commenced buckling his seat belt, completely aware of the steady gaze that Martin was giving him.
Once the belt was secure, Danny took back one pillow and one blanket. "It's going to be a long flight, and I don't want to have to keep getting up every time you decide you need a pillow or a blanket."
"You make it sound as if I hoard them," Martin replied as he settled the other items over his lap.
"Need I remind you that I flew back from San Diego with you? On a non-stop flight no less? Let's see if I remember this correctly," Danny said, grinning, "I'm pretty sure that by the time we landed at LaGuardia, the count was three pillows and four blankets. You made the flight attendant scour the plane to get you the last blanket, and I think that two babies froze on that trip because of the blanket shortage."
Danny grinned as Martin gave him a one-fingered reply. It hadn't been all that bad. The flight attendant had practically fallen over herself to get Martin everything he wanted, and probably would have offered to have his babies if he'd given her the slightest bit of encouragement. The temperature on the plane had been nice, at least for Danny. Not too hot, not too cold. They'd only been in the air for a minute or so when Martin declared that he was freezing, and he'd crawled over Danny to get to the aisle so he could search through the overhead bins for a blanket. Twenty minutes later, Martin had announced that his neck was sore, and he once more crawled over Danny to get to the aisle to get a pillow. Thirty minutes after that, it was time for another blanket, only this time Danny made Martin ask for one. Not that he minded Martin crawling over him, in fact it was the opposite. He liked it far too much, and he had no blanket to use to cover the erection that kept starting each time that fine looking ass passed by just inches away from Danny's face. And he was almost positive that Martin deliberately placed his hand on his upper thigh the last time he'd crawled out of their row. The only thing that kept him from being totally positive was the knowledge that Martin was straight.
Then there were the trips to the lavatory. When out on surveillance, Martin could spend hours on end drinking cup after cup of coffee, and never once hint at needing to take a piss. Put the man on an airplane, and within five minutes of reaching the cruising altitude, he was headed for the lavatory. And when Martin wasn't walking the aisle to and from the lavatory, or seeking out more pillows and blankets, he was sleeping or reading. To say that Martin wasn't exactly good company on an airplane would be downplaying the reality. The man was lousy as a flying companion, unless you were the type of person who shunned all human contact while flying. Danny was not one of those kinds of people. His apprehension over flying made him anxious for human contact. Talking to another person helped to keep his mind off of the fact that an oversized metal can full of humans was not only staying up in the air, but moving forward at the same time. Talking kept Danny from straining to hear if the engines sounded any different, or if the landing gear was raising or lowering, or if the metal seams of the plane were slowly coming apart.
Jack was always a good companion on a flight. For a man who was so quiet and reserved at work, he was a chatterbox when on a plane. Or maybe he just knew that the talking put Danny at ease and was putting his psychology training to work? Either way, Danny liked flying with Jack. Viv was about as bad as Martin, but not because she didn't talk, but because once she got away from the office, the talk was either about her family or the case. Samantha was another quiet one, but not as bad as Martin. The one good thing about flying with Martin was getting to sit next to him in close quarters, inhaling his scent and always letting Martin take the window seat so that he had to touch Danny in order to go anywhere. It was a good trade-off, he thought.
The plane began to taxi, and Danny decided that it was an excellent opportunity to get back to their talk. Martin couldn't get up now.
"So, why'd you get so bent out of shape before?" Danny asked.
Martin had been looking out the window, and he turned to look at Danny. "What do you mean?"
"You got all mad with me about Chris Larabee. Why? I didn't say anything about judging him. All I did was point out the facts. And I still need to fill you in on more."
Martin sighed. "Look, just because Chris likes men is no reason for you to be calling him names or insinuating that he acts one way at home and another way when away from home. For all you know, he's like that all the time. Or maybe this was a one-off thing for him."
Danny's eyebrows rose, as much from the idea of Larabee's activities being a one-time thing as from the tone of Martin's voice. He was still defending the guy, and sounding more than a little touchy about it, too.
"From what the waiter described, this was not a one-off thing for Larabee. Besides, my comment about the guy being a player wasn't about Larabee. It was about the guy who was with him. Can you believe that this guy let Larabee use him as a tip for the waiter?"
Danny saw Martin's expression change, and he thought that maybe Martin didn't understand what he meant. "You know, use him as in having him give the waiter a blow-job, Martin. And from what the waiter said, that wasn't all that this guy did."
"I know what he did, Danny," Martin snapped. "You don't have to go into details."
Danny frowned, then remembered that Jack had heard that last part of the interview and most likely told Martin about it. "I guess Jack told you what the waiter said. Anyway, I don't hold that against Larabee..."
"It's me."
Danny's mouth snapped shut and he stared at Martin, slightly shocked by the revelation. Then it dawned on him that this was why Martin had gotten angry before. He hadn't been angry with Danny about judging Larabee, but had been angry at himself. Of course, now Danny's problem was trying to figure out if Martin had judged Larabee for being gay or for the kind of sex he seemed to enjoy. That answer could make a world of difference if Martin ever found out that Danny was gay. Well, the plane was no place to have a talk about sexual preferences, even as isolated as they were, and it would just have to wait for later. But Danny was determined that there would be a later.
"Okay." Danny said, nodding as he looked at Martin. Martin looked relieved at that simple word, and Danny found himself relieved as well. It was a sure symptom that he had it bad for Martin when anything that made Martin feel better, made him feel better, too. "Anyway, the important thing to keep in mind is that his teammates in Denver might not know about what Larabee likes as far as sex goes. So, unless they bring the subject up, Jack thinks we shouldn't mention it. Of course, if the investigation goes in that direction, then we'll have to bring it up, but unless that happens, Jack advised extreme caution. This is a fellow Fed, and there's no need to out him if he's not already out to his team."
Martin nodded. "Sounds reasonable. How do you want to divide things tomorrow? I'm thinking that under the circumstances, it would be best to keep me out of their office as much as possible, so I should be the one to go search Chris's house and check on his cases from when he was with the Denver P.D."
"Ah, so you did pay attention to some of the briefing?" Danny asked. "I guess that you also heard the bit about Larabee's wife and son getting killed when someone tried to kill him. According to Jack, the perp's never been identified, so that's a possible suspect or suspects right there."
"I heard that part," Martin softly replied.
"Okay. I don't have a problem with you going through Larabee's house and the police files. I'll tackle his office and ATF files. Hey, we're in the air." Danny had been so busy talking that he hadn't even felt it when the plane had lifted off from the ground.
Beside him, Martin shoved the pillow against the window and leaned his head against it, then covered himself with the blanket. Time for his nap, Danny noted with a bit of sadness. He'd really hoped that this time Martin would spend more time talking. Ah well, at least one of them would be rested by the time they reached Denver. He settled back in his seat and waited for the 'fasten seat belt' light to go off. Martin had left that copy of "Sports Illustrated" in his bag, and Danny wanted to get it. If he couldn't talk with Martin during the flight, then the least he could do was spend time reading, and since Martin had been thoughtful enough to buy a magazine they both could enjoy, Danny figured he might as well take advantage of it.
Part Four