Set was on his knees before Lucas's desk. With small pliers, he tried for the tenth time to grab the little piece of wire that was peeking out from Lucas’sdesk drawer. He silently murmured to himself, "Saying 'let's take a quick shower' but then really meaning 'let's take a quick shower --' who does that? I thought an invitation to take a shower meant hanky panky, damn it, or maybe just a little heavy petting, but no, 'I'm sore, hon.'"
Set fumed, not that his heart was really in it, he just needed to vent. He managed to grab the wire, and with a firm grip on the pliers, shifted the wire as he pulled it out. "Is that something you say to your new lover during your first shower together, 'Not now, I'm sore?'"
It wasn't as though he had tried to push Lucas against the wall and fuck him, he just wanted a little snuggling and making out, that was all. It bothered Set that Lucas treated him as if he were a sex addict and as if he had enough stamina to go for another round. Well, thought Set, maybe he could have, with the right encouragement, but that was beside the point. When he finally decided to voice his displeasure, Lucas simply pushed him out of the bathroom, ordered him to get dressed, and locked the door behind him.
Click.
Sets' eyes dilated as he looked toward the drawer. As quickly as he could, he opened it and pulled out a black and white notebook. He grabbed a blank piece of paper and a pen from the desk, opened the notebook, and began to pore over it until he reached the last page with writing on it. There were three three-digit numbers written on the page. Below each set of numbers were written addresses. Set copied it as quickly as he could. As soon as he finished, he put the notebook back in the drawer and began to examine what he had written.
The three-digit numbers must be a frequency for the GPS and the addresses were probably the subjects' homes, he thought. He studied the addresses more closely. Five of them were written under the first number and of those five, he knew three. Two belonged to Helen's firm and Uncle Herman's house, and the third address belonged to the largest casino in town.
He then noticed that the two unknown addresses appeared again under the other two frequencies. I should look as soon as possible in the telephone directory and find out what those two addresses are, he thought to himself as he put the paper into his back pocket and began to tinker with the lock again.
Click.
Damn, he was good. Set rolled his eyes. Or just lucky. He adjusted his grip on the pliers. Then, putting all of his strength into a single pull, successfully removed the wire from the lock.
He stared for a moment at his hand holding the pliers before grinning. He put the piece of wire in the trash bin beside Lucas's desk as he walked out of the room and into Lucas's apartment.
Set went into the kitchen where he found Lucas behind the stove preparing lunch for the two of them. Chris and Tian had disappeared somewhere. Set didn't know where, but he could bet that Lucas did. He put the tool he was holding into its rightful place under the sink.
He stood there fidgeting for a moment behind Lucas, discreetly admiring the blonde's figure with a shy smile on his face. Why the hell not? he thought to himself, as he slowly began to close the distance between them. He timidly wrapped his arms around Lucas's waist and pressed his cheek against Lucas's back.
"What's up hon?"
Set rubbed his cheek against the spot between Lucas's shoulder blades. "You owe me cuddling and I'm claiming it now."
"You mean you owe me cuddling."
"What?" Set straightened and tightened his embrace; a goofy smile appeared on his face. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. I'm the man."
"I guess you are."
"I'm the man and you are my bitch."
Lucas chuckled.
Set narrowed his eyes. "Are you laughing at me?"
"At the man, I wouldn't dare." Lucas quickly patted Set's hands. "But hon, are you sure this is the right approach to get into my pants?"
"Are you saying there's a chance to get into your pants again?" Set's right hand slid under Lucas's shirt, and his palm was now resting on Lucas's navel.
"Maybe, if you play your cards right." Lucas removed the pot from the fire. "Now be a good boy and prepare the table for us, please."
With reluctance, Set unwound himself from Lucas's body and moved toward the cabinets. He took two soup bowls out, then went to the drawer containing silverware, and took out two spoons. He then went around the counter that divided the kitchen and the dining corner, put the items on the table, and sat down.
Lucas joined him, carrying the pot containing stew in one hand and in the other a basket with bread. He set them both on the table and then sat down across from Set.
Set poured some stew into his bowl and took a piece of bread, which he put beside his bowl and then watched Lucas do the same. They had already had a meal alone, but this time was different. The time before Set hadn't felt like a blushing bride who had just cooked her first meal for her husband. Set felt that there were just too many things wrong with that picture.
First, he wasn't a girl, he and Lucas hadn't just gotten married, and he hadn't cooked the food that was before them. He took the first spoon of stew.
"How is it?"
" Good." Set took a bit of bread. So why was he feeling like that? He did suspect that if he were a girl, or a really feminine, marriage-hungry boy, he would probably be scheming a plan for how to get that gorgeous piece of flesh. On top of being good looking Lucas was also nice, polite, handy with tools -- Set had seen him do some repairs -- and a good cook. He seemed like the perfect man.
Set was imagining how magnificent Lucas would look in a tuxedo and he licked his lips. Oh, god, he was so head over heels in love with the man.
He peeked under his lashes at Lucas and wondered where he would sleep tonight.
#
Set lifted his arms high in the air and stretched. He picked up the cup of tea from his desk, leaned back in his chair, and took a sip while looking at the paper before him. The list of addresses now had additional information written on it.
For most of the unknown addresses, he had found additional information in the telephone directory, except for one, and that was one of the two that appeared under all the frequencies; the other was the address of some bar.
One of addresses that appeared under both of the last frequencies was a shooting range in the suburbs, which in Set's opinion, didn't mean anything good. One was a private 'house' under the name of John Kress, another was an electronics shop that specialized in spying devices -- well, what else would an electronics shop named Spy'R'U be? The others were some shops within close range of the unknown address, which Set thought could be some kind of headquarters belonging to the two frequencies.
Set took another sip of tea and thought for a moment. He decided that the first frequency was probably from his uncle Herman and that the second two possibly belonged to people that were in the security, private eye or mercenary business and that had probably been hired by his uncle. This meant that there was a big possibility that Lucas's main suspect was his uncle.
But why, why would Herman want to hurt Geb? There was nothing to gain from it, was there?
Set put his cup down on the desk and decided he would just have to go and see what was at the unknown address.
There was just one big problem.
Lucas.
How was he going to get past Lucas?
He rubbed his temples. Maybe if he hadn't so enthusiastically accepted the offer to sleep in Lucas's bed the night before,-- when, as it turned out, except for cuddling, snuggling, and some light kissing nothing happened despite his hinting -- he could have sneaked out from the guest room. Now the only possibilities left to Set were either to fight with Lucas or to act like he didn't want to be with him anymore. Neither were good choices since Set didn't want to ruin his chances with Lucas; it felt too good being with him.
Set folded the paper, put it back in his back pocket, and looked at his watch. It was eleven and high time for some snuggling. Again, Lucas was consuming his every thought and it made him think maybe he was a little too clingy, but it seemed that Lucas didn't mind. Hell, it seemed like he welcomed it. He stood up, went into the kitchen where he took a cup from the cupboard and poured some fresh coffee in it, and then went toward Lucas's office.
He knocked on the door, opened it, stepped into the room, and closed the door behind him.
At Lucas's lifted eyebrow, Set raised the coffee mug and closed the distance between them. He stopped beside Lucas, put the cup down on the desk, and tapped his foot silently as he waited for Lucas to get the hint.
Lucas smiled up at him as he pushed his chair slightly away from his desk. "Is that what you want?"
"Yes." Set sat down on Lucas's lap, wrapped his arms around Lucas's neck, and snuggled close to him. "You know, you really shouldn't sexually harass your employees during office hours."
Lucas's arms embraced Set's waist as he smiled. "I don't pay you, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, I remember now. So there is no reason why you can't stop talking and kiss me." Set lifted his face and pouted his lips.
"You really are a very demanding thing."
Set's body stiffened. "Are you complaining?"
"Of course not." Lucas's hand settled on Set's back. He moved his palm up and down in a comforting manner before he cupped Set's neck and brought him up for a kiss, for a long, deep, playful kiss that lasted and lasted….
"Oh, my god. My eyes, my eyes, they burn."
They broke their kiss as both of their heads turned toward the voice.
Chris was moving toward the desk with a blank expression on his face. "You two do know that this is a workplace right?" He put the papers he was carrying down on the desk and sat on the edge of it. Looking down his nose at them, he shook his head and said, "I would never expect something like that from you, Lucas. Corrupting my little secretary like that. Tsk. Tsk."
Set looked between Chris and Lucas. He couldn't tell if Chris was serious or if he was making fun of them, but he could tell that it annoyed Lucas; the eye twitch told all. He snuggled closer to Lucas.
A big grin broke across Chris's face.
So he was just teasing Lucas. Set looked at Lucas. The eye twitch became even worse. He turned back toward Chris and said, "How do you do that? No matter what I do his eye never twitches."
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Set. "You want to annoy me?"
" No. No." Set shook his head, and rubbed his cheek against Lucas's. "You just never get really angry at me and I-."
Chris reached out his hand and flicked Set's forehead. "God, Set, you are so stupid."
" No he's not." Lucas's embrace tightened.
"Don't call me stupid." Set pouted.
"Okay, just ignorant then."
"Chris, just get out." Lucas said pointing at the door. "Out."
Chris got down from the desk and with his arms folded, he frowned. "So that's how it is. First you promise me the stars, get me into bed with your sweet nothings and then as soon as I turn my back you find somebody else and throw me out." He grimaced. "Well… don't come to me when you find out that your new boy toy isn't working out for you." He tossed his head, turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a loud slam.
Set thought he heard laughter, but wasn't sure. "Lucas?" He knew that Chris was probably just kidding, but he couldn't help himself. He felt a slight throb in his left eye.
"He's just kidding, hon." Lucas ran his fingers through Set's hair. "And don't worry; I'll get him someday."
Set looked like Lucas, with the slight twitch in his eye. He shook his head and started to laugh; Chris was good. Obviously, he'd made Set's eye twitch.
#
Set scratched his nose. It was eight o'clock and the entrance door had just shut behind Lucas. He'd said he had some errands to take care of -- at least that's what he had said before adding not to wait up. This happened a lot lately, the Lucas going out part. He never used to tell him not to wait up, he used to just disappear without saying a word. Set sighed; how thoughtful of him. Comforted by the caring thought, Set decided to go watch some TV and then go to sleep.
Thinking for a few moments, Set realized that no one was home. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to see what was at the unknown addresses. After all, he wasn't a coward.
He went into the guest room and took from his bag black pants, a black shirt, and a black hoodie and proceeded to change. From under the bed he took a small black backpack containing binoculars, a protein bar, black leather gloves, some handkerchiefs and a few other things he thought might be useful, all of which he had prepared before he started working for Lucas. Using the internet, he checked out which metro would get him to the unknown address, wrote the information on the scrap of paper, and added that address.
He went toward the door, put on his only black shoes, a pair of sneakers, and went down the stairs to the entrance door. He crossed the small hallwayshared by the apartment and the office, unlocked the door with the set of keys that Chris had given him one week after he had started, and went out, locking the door behind him.
He found the closest entrance to the Tube and boarded his train. He switched trains and rode the second until he came to the right stop and got off. The trip took about an hour and night had already descended when Set stepped onto the surface.
He was at the very edge of the industrial district, where the second and third-rate companies were hidden between private houses or shaded by large buildings made of glass, which were usually successful companies such as banks. Even though the large buildings were a considerable distance away, they still seemed to loom over the small ones that were only two or three floors high.
Set adjusted the strap of his backpack, and with his heart wedged in the back of his throat, stepped toward the signpost. He took the little paper out of his pocket as he looked at the sign. He wanted to make sure there was no chance he was at the wrong address since he was really terrible with addresses sometimes.
He found the street he was searching for on the left. He went toward the first building, number 24, and he needed number 65. He looked over at the next building, 22, so he had to go in the opposite direction and cross the road to get to the odd numbers.
23. 25. 27… 51… 61. He continued on his path and passed building 65. There was no sign on the entrance; nothing that would tell what kind of business was conducted in the building. He went a few rows forward and came to a little alley.
Set went into the alley hoping that it would lead him behind the houses so that he could have a peek through the windows. To his luck and surprise, it did. He counted the houses and stopped at the garden of the house that should have been 65.
He looked over the fence. There were no lighted windows. Set couldn't decide if that was good or bad. He looked around for a few seconds, and after deciding that nobody was watching him, climbed over the fence.
He tiptoed through the small garden toward the building. When he came to the wall, he peered over and looked inside through a window. He tried to discern something in the darkness.
A hand covered his mouth and another one pulled him back against a body.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit. He was in some deep shit now. He kicked back, aiming for the shin. His captor's grip loosened slightly with a puff of air.
Set used his elbow, slamming it into the soft flesh of his captor's solar plexus; another puff of air was released. Just one more kick and he would be home free.
"Damn it, Set. Stop it." A whisper stopped Set in the middle of his final kick.
"Lucas?"
Lucas's arm pulled him toward the fence that separated that garden from the next one. "You are so going to get it when we get home if you can't distinguish my voice. You just managed to make my eye to twitch; I hope you're happy."
Lucas forced Set to kneel down. He pointed at the hole in the fence that was behind the bush. "Go through it."
"Into another garden?"
"Set, move now or I swear to god I'm going to hurt you," Lucas whispered into his ear.
Set shivered. Lucas's whisper sounded more threatening than any yell. He didn't want to find out if the threat was serious, so he obeyed and was on the other side of the fence in a few seconds.
Lucas followed and sat near the hole in the fence. He grabbed Set's arm and tugged him closer. "You stupid shit. You are lucky I saw you. They are on their way here. What if they were already here? And worse, saw you? Oh, god. I could just strangle you."
"I --"
"Shut up. I don't want to hear a word from you." Lucas released Set's arm and pulled a black bag from the bush. He opened the bag and pulled out headphones connected to something that looked like a miniature satellite dish.
Set opened his mouth, but Lucas's finger rose in warning and stopped whatever questions he had. It seemed that he was to be still and wait quietly until Lucas finished whatever he had come here to do.
The light from the ground floor window on the left illuminated the garden of building number 65. Lucas put on the headphones and directed the miniature satellite dish toward the window. With his free hand he adjusted something on the plate, then with an intent expression on his face, focused on whatever that dish was transmitting, ignoring Set all the while.
As silently as he could, Set took the binoculars out of his backpack and directed it toward the window. The angle of his position wasn't right, so he moved a little, earning a really ugly look from Lucas. Set brushed it aside; well, actually, he tried to brush it aside. It hurt too much to see Lucas looking at him like that. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes again. He didn't see much, just a man pacing before the window, and then another man came into the view.
Set couldn't distinguish the features of the man, but he looked familiar and very similar to his uncle Herman. Another man joined them. He hit the man that could be his uncle Herman across the face so hard that he fell. The one that was pacing stopped and helped the man on the ground to his feet, then said something to the one that had hit him. After that, they all walked away from the window and its light, and moved to the right side of the building.
Set directed his binoculars there, but the angle was so awkward that, except for the upper right corner of the window, he couldn't see a thing. He dropped the binoculars into his lap and sighed.
He hadn't found out anything, nothing but more questions. He looked at Lucas who was still intently listening. He would bet that Lucas could have answered a few, if not all of them.