Brian, Marc and I blended into the crowds for a while, working our way around town. From there, we found a car parked in an alley. It didn’t take me long to hotwire it and then we were mobile. By the time the sun came up, we were hours away. We took I-84 west from Hartford. In a little over two hours we were out of Connecticut and were in the town of Bethel, New York. There, we ditched the car in another little parking garage and set off on foot to find a place to stay.
I knew we needed somewhere, fast. This had been a lot for Brian to deal with and he looked beat. I was doing ok for having been injured. I was tough enough to handle it ok. I also tended to heal quicker than most people, if you guys remember that. Just one of my little quirks, I guess you’d call it.
Anyways, I found us a small little motel. A little hole-in-the-wall where I knew no one would be looking for us and where no one asked questions. I didn’t even have to give ID for us to get two rooms. One for Marc and one for Brian and me. It was easy to get Brian into bed and asleep. I sat there in the bed with him for a while, a gun within reach on the nightstand, just stroking his hair.
I was in a little shock myself, not quite sure what to do. Somehow, even with my mind racing, I fell asleep. A peaceful, dreamless sleep. When I woke again, it was late afternoon. We weren’t going to move again until the evening, so I had the rest of the afternoon to figure out what to do with myself and to wrap my brain around everything that had happened…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AJ glanced around the small hotel room, trying to figure out in his mind what needed to be done next. He wasn’t used to working with partners. No, he was more used to being solo when it came to this part of his life. He was having a hell of a time trying to merge together the two people he’d become. AJ, the man who loved Brian, who had become a partner in a wonderful relationship, who was a member of a boy band. And the other part of him, the part that didn’t have a name, the one that had traveled everywhere in the world, in the darkest parts of the world. The part of him that had killed, time and time again.
Eyes drifting, AJ couldn’t help but look back down at the body curled up next to him. AJ had sat against the headboard when he’d climbed in the bed, with Brian curled up against his hip. One of Brian’s arms was flung over AJ’s lap, allowing him to snuggle even closer.
Amazement and loved coursed in equal measures inside of him. Brian’s response to everything had been absolutely amazing. Never, in all the scenarios that AJ had imagined, had he ever thought that Brian would react so easily to everything. He hadn’t thought that Brian would want to be in the same room with him once he knew the truth, let alone lying snuggled up with him. God, he loved this man.
What were they going to do now? Someone was after him, obviously. Someone had tried to take him out, a professional, and when that hadn’t worked, someone had sent the damn Feds after him. Who on earth would involve the Feds in this?
There were only a few things that seemed to make sense to AJ. Either he’d been made on a job and they were after him because of that, or someone had turned him in. But how on earth had they discovered his identity? He’d made it up when he’d arrived in the states and he had never used it on the work site that he logged in to. Hell, he’d protected his computer from being hacked every single time he’d logged on. Barring that, he had a program set up to tell him if someone managed to slip in despite his precautious.
That meant someone had seen him on a job. That was the only logical thing left. But, whoever had seen him…it had to be someone on his side of the playing board. It had to be. Twice a man had tried to assassinate him. It was the same man, both times, of that AJ was sure. He recognized the face. But like recognized like; the man had been trained the same as he was.
None of them killed unless on orders. Unless given a mission. So that meant that someone high in the pecking order wanted him dead. This also meant that the worlds most talented killers were after them. They wouldn’t stop until either he was dead or they were, or their orders were revoked. Son of a bitch. How the hell was he supposed to keep Brian safe in all of this?
AJ looked down, stroking his hand over Brian’s hair. How would he manage to keep his lover safe?
The only way to guarantee their safety was to stop this. That meant finding some way to get to the bottom of what was going on. That meant that AJ needed to gather information. To do that, he needed to be able to access money so they could eat and travel. They needed to travel, to go to different places and gather up necessary equipment.
If he could secure an internet connection, he needed to try and log on to the work website. See what exactly it said. It was a risk, one he’d have to plan for, but it was necessary that he tried. Later he needed to try and break in, something he’d never done before. But if he could get in there and steal all the information possible, he might know who he was up against. He also might know where to go.
When he’d first left the facility, they’d told him that he wouldn’t find them again. They were moving. He’d even gone back, years later, to find the place he’d been in abandoned. So, where they were set up now he had no idea. He would find out, though. Then they would see what was what. If he was going to do this kind of search, he computers, time, and a safe place to hide out at.
Only one place came to mind. AJ mentally shuffled through the ID’s he knew he had here. Only three would he trust to use. Plus, the ID he needed to pick up from the little bank, which was the whole reason they were here in Bethel, of all places. There was a bank here that he used under a different name.
To get in there, he needed to make a few changes. Do a few things to make himself less recognizable. Brian as well. It was time to shed the identity of AJ Mclean and pick up one of the many others in is possession. One that he had prepared, but had only once used for his ‘work’. Otherwise, he had used it solely to maintain the identity, to keep it as a backup. That meant that, out of all his choices, it would most likely be the safest.
Ever so gently, AJ extracted himself from Brian’s embrace, sliding out of the bed. He took his gun with him, heading to the bathroom. Casually he hooked the gun into the back of his pants, within easy drawing distance, before he pulled his shirt off. Time to make a few changes.
“What’re you doing in there?” Brian’s sleepy voice called out. It didn’t startle AJ, who had thought he’d heard him shifting. Apparently he hadn’t been careful enough when getting out of bed.
He looked in the mirror, using it to look out the door into the bedroom. Vaguely he could see Brian rising up on one elbow. “Go back to sleep, honey.” He called out. “I’m just shaving and such. Getting ready for later.”
“You changing what you look like?” Brian asked.
“A little.” Shrugging, AJ dug through the backpack that was in the bathroom until he found his toiletries items. He pulled out the shaving lather and spread it over his face. “My face is going to be plastered everywhere, and not like normal. Those were Feds after us. I need to make sure they can’t find me.”
“Don’t make yourself ugly.” There was the sound of laughter in Brian’s voice. AJ heard the bed rustle as his lover rose. “I have to look at your face every day.”
Humor brightened AJ’s eyes. No matter what, Brian had always been able to make him laugh. Now wasn’t any different. “I wouldn’t want to offend your eyes.” He taunted back. “Heaven forbid you have to look at an ugly man.”
Brian laughed. He walked into the bathroom, shutting the lid to the toilet and perching himself there so he could watch AJ. It wasn’t the first time that Brian had watched him shave. The normalcy of it was actually rather soothing to the both of them. As AJ shaped his mustache and beard, Brian continued to tease him. “It would be a crime. Someone as pretty as me, you know, needs to be around other pretty people.”
“Shit, Bri.” Chuckling, AJ stretched his chin up to shave down his neck. “We’re changing you a little too, so don’t get too smarmy.”
“Me? Why, I’m perfect!”
“When I’m done with you, Littrell, even you won’t recognize yourself. New hair color, a haircut.”
Whatever Brian said was lost as AJ bent down and splashed water over his face, rinsing off the shaving lather. He only sported a thin mustache now, as well as what they call the ‘soul patch’, which was just a small tuft of hair under his bottom lip. It was a look he’d used before. Then, to Brian’s amusement, AJ pulled out tweezers from his bag and leaned in, refining his eyebrows.
He didn’t cut his hair, wanting to let it grow some more. Longer would be better for hiding his looks. He straightened up, smiling over at Brian. “Your turn, lover.”
In no time, AJ had Brian’s shirt off and had him bent over the sink. It pained AJ more than he would ever admit to stand there and put the hair dye on Brian’s beautiful locks. But he did it. He’d chosen a darker brown, knowing that it would come out lighter than the box said. He even flipped Brian enough so he could reach his eyebrows and dye those as well. “You’ll have to keep clean shaven, babe.” AJ told him as Brian stood bent there, letting the dye set in. “At least for a little bit. Once we’re over there, it wouldn’t hurt to let it grow out.”
“A beard.” Brian rubbed a hand over his chin. “That has potential.”
Nothing more was said as they rinsed the dye from Brian’s hair. When the water ran clear, AJ sat him up and towel dried his hair. Next he wrapped the towel around Brian’s shoulders. Here came the hardest part. AJ stood there, biting his lip. Could he make himself do it? Could he?
Brian quirked an eyebrow. “Just cut it, Age. It’s just hair.”
“Just hair?” AJ squeaked. He took a second to modulate his voice. “It’s not just hair.”
“If you can’t do it, just give me the clippers and I’ll buzz it. Not that hard to do.”
That image pained AJ even more. One of his favorite things about Brian was his curls. AJ loved to run his finger through Brian’s hair, stroking those springy little curls, twining them around his fingers. Bad enough Brian’s hair was brown now; it looked so wrong on him. But cutting it? The practical side of AJ said that it was necessary. His heart, however, was rebelling.
The look in Brian’s eyes said he’d spoken honestly, though. For some reason, AJ couldn’t let Brian do it himself. So he turned and plugged in the pair of hair clippers he’d pulled out of the bag. After picking one of the shorter attachments, he turned it on and gave Brian’s hair one last look. Then, with a sigh, he set about cutting off those gorgeous curls. It made it a little easier that Brian’s hair was still damp and the curls hadn’t sprung back yet.
When he was done, he gave Brian a pained look. Oh, God, he’d done it. He’d shaved Brian’s hair down short. An inch in length, maybe. God.
Brian ran a hand over his head, his lips curved in an amused smile. “You don’t have to look like you just found out your mother died, Alex. It’s hair. It’ll grow back.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Taking a deep breath, AJ forced himself to stop overreacting. Like Brian said, it’d grow back. One day they’d be safe to let it grow back. He met Brian’s eyes and mustered up a smile. “Why don’t you go shower off all the little hairs and such while I put a few things away. We need to go hit the bank before it closes and I need to be ready.”
“Join me?”
The invitation was tempting, no doubt about that. For a moment AJ just stood there, chewing on his lip, debating. Did he have time? But Brian read him well, just as he always had. He rose to his feet and leaned in, stealing a quick kiss. “Take care of business, honey.” Brian said with a smile. “Go on. We’ve always got later, right?”
The corner of AJ’s mouth twitched. “Yeah.”
Only minutes after AJ heard the shower turn on, he was tapping on the wall that separated his hotel room from Marc’s. Another minute passed and then Marc was striding in, a garment bag slung over one arm. “Bout time you rang for me.” Marc told him, shutting the door.
“Hey, a man needs his sleep after a day like I had.” AJ said defensively. He eyed the bag Marc carried. “What’ve you been up to, Marc?”
Marc tossed the bag onto the bed, right beside AJ. “I figured the only way we’re getting out of here, out of the states, is for you to be someone you’re not. Looks like you’re thinking the same thing by your shave and such. I guessed that there’d be one identity you’d use. One I know about, that is. Lord knows how many you have that I don’t know.”
“More than you’d ever believe, Marc me boy.”
That had Marc snorting. “Yeah, well, I know you and I have used this one before, me being your ‘bodyguard’. So I got you some clothes and some for your lover too.”
“What about you?”
“Mine are in my room. I don’t need to change much, no one will know me. I used a friend to rent the place, so it’s not my face with the lease and such. Plus, there’ll be none of my fingerprints in that place if they managed to get in without blowing it up.”
Shit. Fingerprints. AJ hadn’t thought about those. Then again, there hadn’t been a need to. If the FBI was after him, they already knew who he was. He was famous. Even if he’d wiped the place clean, they’d know he was there. They’d had surveillance outside. But that meant they’d have proof he and Brian had been there. “How’d you make sure there were no fingerprints there, Marc?”
Smirking, Marc held up his hands, wiggling his fingers. “Got on the wrong end of some fire about six years back. Burned my fingertips pretty good. Had to get skin grafts, all that jazz. Left me with no fingerprints.”
It had been something that AJ had actually contemplated doing on purpose once before. “Lucky you.” He teased him.
Looking down at the bag, he grabbed the zipper and opened it up. One look inside told him that Marc and he were on the same page. The bodyguard remark had already clued him in on that.
“I didn’t know what you’d want for your friend.” Marc told him as he perched on a chair. “So I just got him something nice, but not quite as nice as you. Maybe he could just be an American friend you’re bringing over with you, showing around, that kind of shit.”
“That could work.”
AJ pulled out a pair of designer slacks, a button up green silk shirt and a black vest to match the slacks. There was a suit jacket to go with it. Brian would look good in that. Too good. AJ could already imagine his lover in it and had to work to keep himself from humming at the mental image it gave him. Imagine peeling those clothes off of him…
He shook his head, chuckling as he took the clothes in his hands and carried them into the bathroom. Brian was just shutting off the shower. “Hey, love, Marc brought us some clothes.” He called out, gently laying the items on the counter.
Out in the main room, Marc called out that he was going to get dressed. A moment later came the sound of the door opening and shutting.
Brian stepped out of the shower, snagging a towel and hooking it around his waist. It made him smile when AJ’s eyes gave him a one over from head to toe. “Looking good, Littrell.”
“As always.” Brian quipped.
Chuckling, AJ pointed to the clothes. “Just put those on while I go change, would you?”
Brian’s laughter followed him back out to the bedroom. Just to be ornery, AJ shut the bathroom door behind him. It only made Brian laugh harder.
A smile on his lips, AJ pulled his own clothes out of the garment bag and set about changing. Moments later, when Brian opened the bathroom door, AJ stood waiting. He was curious to see how Brian was going to react to the change in him. It was sure to surprise him.
That was an understatement.
“Holy cow.” Brian whispered. He stared wide-eyed at his lover. Bemused, AJ winked and did a little spin. He adopted a pose of indifference, nose up in the air, hands clasped behind his back. Dressed in his fresh new clothes it was quite a difference in look.
He wore light grey slacks, the fit nice for not being tailored. Next, a turtleneck sweater, very form fitting. It was diamond pattered in shades of white and grey and black. Over that he wore a coat known as a covert coat, which was a darker shade of grey than his pants. The three buttons on the front of the coat were undone, left open so that his sweater showed. He moved his hands to either coat pocket. On his feet were shiny black leather shoes and he had leather gloves to go with it. Lastly, he had a hat known as a trilby hat on his head, black, that was almost like a fedora. All in all he presented the image of someone very wealthy.
“What do you think?” AJ asked teasingly. “Bad boy AJ has transformed.”
“Into what?” Brian whispered.
Winking, AJ pulled out a French accent, so perfect it was impossible to know that it wasn’t his own accent. “I am Comte Renatus de Moreau, at your service, Sir.” Dropping the accent, AJ giggled. Then he saw the look on Brian’s face. Worry started to slide in. “It’s still me, Bri. I’m still AJ.”
“Which one of you is real?” Brian’s voice was hesitant, unsure. The way he watched AJ was unsettling. “I thought it was a little fun at first, the idea of watching you play a part. But looking at you, I have a hard time seeing it as a part. This seems just as natural to you as being AJ. That accent was natural. It’s almost like you’re really this Comte.”
How could he answer but with the truth? “I am.” He lifted his chin, his eyes level with Brian. “This is me, just as much as AJ is.”
“Where’s the man I love? Does he even exist anymore? Did he ever?”
Those words hurt AJ more than anything else ever had. None of his training, none of the pain he’d lived through in life, could have ever prepared him for that sharp stab to his heart. He staggered slightly under it, one hand coming out to grip the bedpost beside him even as he hissed in a breath at the shock of it. “You doubt that?” Somehow he managed to force the words out past lips that felt almost numb. “You doubt me?”
Brian’s eyes looked lost, confused, and oh so sad. “The man I knew? No. But this man…” Weakly he gestured at AJ. “…I don’t know him.”
Oh, he’d never believed it before, but a heart could break. It could well and truly shatter inside of a person, little shards dropping down to your stomach, slicing you to ribbons as they fell. He almost couldn’t breathe beyond the pain of it. Of all people this would come from, he had stopped expecting it from Brian. He’d stopped being afraid that he’d do something and scare Brian away after the way Brian had so lovingly accepted him. Apparently he’d relaxed too quickly.
There must have been something on his face then, something that reached out to his partner, because Brian was suddenly staring more intently at him. One of his hands rose, trembling only slightly in the air. “Alex?”
“No.” AJ jerked back, not capable of having Brian touch him right then. If he did, there was no telling what might happen. AJ didn’t want to yell at Brian. He didn’t want to rant at him or scream or beg. No, this wasn’t Brian’s fault. Who could blame him? “Don’t touch me right now.”
“Alex…I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“Just a side benefit, then.” The snide retort slipped out before AJ could control it. He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing against them with his fingers. “No, let that slide. That was snide of me. I know you weren’t. Trust me, I understand, more than you think I do. What I am is hard to accept. I can’t blame you for feeling this way.”
Brian’s voice was soft in the quiet of the bedroom. “I don’t know what I feel. I’m confused more than anything else. I feel, lost.”
“I told you, I understand. I shouldn’t have asked so much of you.” In that moment, AJ made a decision that hurt him; God, did it hurt. But he had to say it. “You don’t have to do this with me, Brian.” He said softly.
Surprise filled Brian’s eyes. “What?”
“You heard me. You don’t have to do this.” Taking a deep breath, AJ squared his shoulders. “You could go to the cop shop here, tell them I kidnapped you. Tell them you’re famous and there’s people trying to kill you and that I was going to hurt you. They’ll get the Feds here and the Feds would protect you. You could go back to the fellas, back to your family.” Apparently, with a love this strong, pain became stronger too. AJ could barely stand up with it. But he kept his spine straight. “You don’t have to live this life. You’re not the one who fucked up. I am.”
For one single, charged instant, Brian just stared at him. Then he did the last thing AJ had ever expected him to do. He threw his head back and started to laugh. He laughed so hard he had to lean against the doorframe for a moment.
Flabbergasted, AJ could only stare. What the hell was going on here? He watched with confusion as Brian wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. When he straightened, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling still with humor, his lips still curved with that familiar laugh, AJ felt something in him start to loosen a little. Then Brian was striding forward, his hands clasping AJ’s face to pull him in for a soul-shattering kiss.
When they pulled back, Brian was smiling again. “God, Alex. Thanks for that.”
“For what?” AJ was still confused. Happy, but confused.
Brian smiled. “For being you. Just when I’m confused, wondering what’s going on and where the man I love is buried under all this, you go and do something so perfectly stupid and totally you. It reminded me that no matter how much you change the outside, you’re still the same wonderful idiot on the inside that I fell in love with.”
It was a toss-up if he felt more insulted or amused by Brian’s speech. “I suppose I should say thanks, I guess.” He said wryly.
Chuckling, Brian gave him another kiss. This time, when he pulled back, his hands dropped from AJ’s face and down to his coat, smoothing out the wrinkles there. “If you think I’m going to be anywhere but by your side through this, Alex, you’ve got another thing coming. I’m not going anywhere. You’re pretty much stuck with me now, you hear me?”
The love in AJ filled him almost to overflowing. “Loud and clear.”
“Good. Now, tell me what I need to know to play our parts.”
AJ stared at his lover for a moment, marveling at the strength that Brian had shown recently. Was there anyone in the world more perfect than the beautiful man standing before him? To AJ, the answer was no.