“Here now! I rather resent your implications, implicated that I was implicit and whatnot,” Jack said waving his hands frantically. –Jack Sparrow (The Age of Bronze)
Cal and James reached the judge’s house without much trouble. A few fangirls had recognized Cal, much to his chagrin. They had demanded autographs, hugs and photos. Some wondered aloud if James was Cal’s “special friend”. The two men got a cab after that.
“Why do people always think that?” Cal raked his hand through his hair.
“Because you occasionally wear purple like the gay Teletubby and you’re walking around with an obvious gay man?” James suggested.
“Well, maybe I should have gotten you a less queer suit.”
“No, I like it.” James felt his jacket, almost petting himself.
“Ugh. Stop that!” Cal glanced at the cab driver nervously. “People already think I’m gay. I don’t need you petting yourself.”
“I wasn’t petting myself. I was feeling the fabric.” James stretched his hand out to Cal. “Let me feel your suit.”
“Don’t touch me.”
“Me thinks the gentleman doth protest too much.”
“In your wet dreams.” Cal hurriedly got out of the cab, walked up to the door and rang the bell. James followed more slowly. Cal tapped his cane on the ground absentmindedly.
It was soon answered by the judge himself. He was an average height man with graying hair. He had a sharp pointed face filled with laugh lines. He was wearing a royal blue robe and house shoes. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Cal Hardwick. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Uh, sure. Come in.” The judge led them into a sitting room. It was modestly decorated with a few art prints. A colored rug covered the wooden floor. The room could probably have fit inside Cal’s bathroom. “What can I do for you?”
“What is the sort of relationship you have with Sabrina Pepper?” Cal asked.
“Well that’s getting right to the point,” James said.
“Is that what this is about?” The judge asked pouring himself a glass of sherry.
“Basically, yeah,” James said and flopped down on one of the couches.
“Who are you?”
“He’s uh… my bodyguard,” Cal replied to the judge.
“Not a very good one.” The judge eyed James’s posture and clothes.
“I’m exceptionally quick when Cal’s life’s in danger.” James leaned back, his eyes almost closed.
Cal rolled his eyes and sat down on the same couch as James, but at the other end. “You haven’t answered my question.”
“We are lovers,” the judge answered succinctly.
“Whoa, just get right to the point, will ya. No beating around the bush for you,” James said sitting up. He turned to Cal. “You two should be right at home together.”
“Why should I? I have nothing to hide. It’s not as if she’s married or even engaged.” The judge took a sip of his sherry.
“She’s mine! I’ve claimed her,” Cal said trying to keep his voice at a normal level.
“If so, how come she came to me?”
“She’s using you. You have power,” Cal said.
“She’s using you too,” James pointed out.
“Yeah, but she was using me first!” Cal pouted and glared at James.
“Don’t pout, Cal. It doesn’t look good on you,” James replied.
The judge laughed a long belly laugh. Cal couldn’t decide who to glared at.
“We are planning on turning you into the government for corruption and terrorism,” Cal responded crossly.
“What? Terrorism? What are you talking about? I’m not a terrorist.”
“We know you have ties to the North Korean government. And are going to or are selling secret information to them.” Cal folded his arms and sat back, a satisfied grin on his face.
A stunned silence filled the room before the judge burst out laughing. “So, let me see if I understand you. You think that I’m a traitor to my country that I was born in, that I’m selling information, that I don’t have access to, to my cousin’s country and therefore, that’s why Sabrina would be with me?”
James nodded enthusiastically and Cal frowned.
“My intentions are not so ambitious. I admit I may be corrupt, but only to give Sabrina what she wants, which isn’t world domination,” The judge explained.
“Then, what does she want with you?” James asked.
“The power to put people in jail that deserve to be, but have more contacts than she does because of the power their wealth provides.”
James looked confused and glanced at Cal.
“He means me.”
“I know that!” James snapped.
“Well, gentlemen, if you have nothing else to say and are done insulting me, I would like you to leave.” The judge stood up and motioned toward the door. “Besides, I haven’t seen Sabrina in at least a month.”
Cal narrowed his eyes. “At least a month?”
“At least a month,” the judge confirmed.
James and Cal got up and walked out the door to their waiting taxi. James turned to Cal. “Why did you believe him so easily?”
“He has no reason to lie to me. The truth is generally much more painful. We still don’t know what Sabrina wants though,” Cal replied as he got into the taxi.
James got in after Cal. “If she’s not up for world domination, what does she want?”
The taxi dropped the men off near the edge of town. They weren’t mobbed by fangirls this time. It was starting to get dark and it was hard to tell who they were. They stood near a bus stop.
“Do you want to call Arthur to see if he’s alive or shall I?” Cal asked.
James put a finger to his lips in thought.
“Why don’t I call Arthur?” said a voice behind them.
The two turned around to see Arthur standing with his back against a darkened store front.
“Hello? Arthur? Yes, we’d like you to come pick us up because we’re too lazy to walk. Thanks,” Arthur said miming a cell phone to his ear. “It’s good to see you two didn’t kill each other.”
“Not only that, but have you seen this suit?” James modeled his suit for Arthur.
“I feel all left out. Why didn’t I get a new suit, Cal?” Arthur said coming very close to sarcasm.
Cal raised an eyebrow. “How was Sabrina?” he asked, sounding more worried about her than Arthur thought he should be.
“She was fine. I didn’t learn anything new. She wouldn’t tell me anything important.” Arthur paused and shrugged. “Or anything really. What about you two?”
“Nothing on our end either. Cal was wrong. Sabrina isn’t after world domination,” James answered nearly waltzing in the sunset light. Blue, purples, reds and oranges danced off the designs on his suit making it almost rainbow colored. It almost made Arthur want to dance because of the disco-ness.
“Is it possible for you to get any more gay than you already are?” Cal asked watching James.
James grinned at Cal and kept dancing.
Cal sighed and turned back to Arthur. “Something’s going on with her. I know there is. Something happened.”
“Okay, let’s think this through.” Arthur said and sat down on a bus bench. Cal sat down next to him. “When did this change first occur? When did you first notice it?”
“After our trip to Brazil. She seemed edgy, jumpy, more aggressive. I chalked it up to flight jitters and jet lag.”
“How long ago was this?” James sat down on the other side of Cal, much closer than the billionaire appreciated.
Cal frowned slightly. “Not that long actually. Only a month or two, if that.”
“That’s not enough time to entirely change a personality unless something drastic happened. And you would know if anything drastic happened, wouldn’t you?” Arthur asked Cal.
Cal nodded and jumped when his cell phone started vibrating and ringing.
“You should switch to decaf,” James noted and tried to see who the caller id said it was.
Cal stood up and walked a few steps away. “Hello? Yes, who is this? Okay. How much? Fine. Where? You sure? Okay, calm down. We’ll be there. My associates and myself.” Cal laughed. “Oh hell no. They couldn’t be bodyguards if you paid them. As soon as possible, got it.” Cal closed his phone and turned to the two expectant men on the bus bench. A silence stretched between them, a smirk growing on Cal’s face.
“Well?” James demanded. “Who was it?”
“A man.”
“What did he want?” Arthur asked.
“Money.”
“Well, obviously.” James rolled his eyes. “What did he have in exchange for the money?”
“Information.”
“Nero Domitius Hardwick, just tell us!” James yelled exasperatedly.
Cal and Arthur laughed. Arthur smiled at Cal until he remembered who he was and what he was capable of.
“He says he has information concerning Sabrina’s change and he wants four million in exchange,” Cal said and sat back down.
The trio of guys was silent for a moment. Arthur looked at James. James looked at Arthur. They looked at Cal.
“So are we going to do this?”
“Are we going to meet him?”
Cal nodded. “Yes. We aren’t going to bring money. I don’t think he actually has any relevant information.” Cal smirked. “Even if he did have good info, I still don’t think I’d pay him for it.”
“When did he want us to come?”
“Now, actually. Let’s go.” Cal stood back up and James pointed at his forehead. The cut above his eye had started bleeding through the stitches. Cal touched it and his fingers came away covered in blood. “Ah, hell.” He fainted.
James rolled his eyes. “Just like him to be of weak constitution. Fainting at the sight of blood? Who does that?” He paused and looked at Arthur. “I suppose you want me to carry him?”
Arthur shook his head. “No. I’m stronger. I’ll do it.” He picked Cal up easily. “Do you know where we might be going from all your research? Did you ever find out where Cal does his shady business?”
“Yeah, at his mansion.” James replied. “But if I was to guess where this would take place, I would say Carnage Quarter.”
“Good thinking. Let’s go.” Arthur put Cal in the backseat of his SUV again and the trio started off to the sleazy, dangerous, red light district of Saddler.
