All Queers Must Die

by Gerald Lopez

  “Subconsciously he probably wants to be punished for his crimes,” Jenna said. “Which means on a very real level, he wants to see vengeance for what was done to him and more. He’s trying to rewrite his past. And if that happens like he wants it to happen—that will definitely be shaking the tree.”

  “It’s going to happen,” Bart said. “We’re going to make sure of that. We’ll talk to Simon and get him to find us a ten-year-old look-alike, then we’ll let Mr. Orion become the soldier.”

  “But in his state of mind, you know what he’ll try to do,” Frank said.

  “Which is why you’ll be watching him on the monitors ready to call the police in at the proper moment,” Bart said.

  “And they’ll catch him, gun in hand, ready to perpetrate a crime,” Jenna said. “He goes down, and while he’s in custody, his friends will begin to worry he’ll spill the beans and make their move.”

  “That’s if Mr. Orion goes the peaceful route with the cops,” Bart said. “But the way he talked about me unburdening him, he may try something more drastic, like fighting the cops.”

  “In which case, we do what?” Frank said.

  “We let him go out the way he wants,” Bart said. “He’s dying anyway, and we can’t play God in this situation—not completely.”

  “A type of mercy killing,” Frank said. “You think he’s gonna goad the police into shooting him, if it comes to it.”

  “Yeah, I do, Frank,” Bart said.

  “He will have taken control of his own life again—right at the end,” Jenna said. “He wants us to do this on some level, I think. Maybe it’s his final justice for what was done to him and for what he did to others. I say we let it play out—let the man have his chance at directing his own path for once. The tree will get shaken either way, and we’ll get what we need.”

  “Don’t forget what he said about Rachel,” Frank said. “She’s another connection to the drugs.”

  “We need to get to her source,” Jenna said. “However we can do it, we need to do it.”

  “That’ll involve us going out on the town with Rachel and her groupies to see how she works and what she’s delivering,” Frank said.

  “I need to get my hands on the specific drugs she’s selling before other people suffer the consequences of them,” Jenna said. “The police certainly won’t help us without hard evidence , and we haven’t been able to find a pure source of what we’re dealing with.”

  “Do you think Rachel’s using the stuff herself?” Frank said.

  “Hang on!” Bart said. “You two have been here over a month, wouldn’t you know that much.”

  “Remember, she doesn’t include me in her activities, and the bouncer at Club Zanzibar has strict orders not to let me in,” Jenna said. “I think you need to arrange a play date for the three of us and Rachel’s friends for tomorrow night at club Zanzibar, Jeremy. You’ve got an in with Reese—use it.”

  “I’ll do that,” Bart said.

  “God, the whole situation just grosses me out,” Frank said.

  “Look at it this way,” Jenna said, “if the plan works we’ll be stopping a child molester. Tara told me earlier that a few more drug overdose cases showed up at the ER last night. Jeremy, I found out the boy Reese told you about—the one Mr. Orion’s people took away, died in the hospital. Apparently he’d taken some of the drug cocktail Rachel’s selling. We really need to find out the ingredients of that’s cocktail. If Rachel herself is using, you can bet her personal cocktails have a lot less lethal a dosage of drugs than the cocktail she’s selling; otherwise, she would’ve been at the ER long before now. The woman has got to be stopped from distributing the goods. ”

  “Rachel’s helping the people in charge distribute their goods, and if something happens to keep her from distributing and collecting money—the head honchos will come looking around to see why,” Bart said. “That’s what Mr. Orion said.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Frank said. “And when they do come around; we’ll have a lead to the source of the goods.”

  “I’ve got to go,” Jenna said. “I’m expecting a call from Dr. Farrow.”

  “OK,” Bart said. “Frank, do you think maybe you can stay and keep me company. I’m still sort of freaked out about things.”

  “Sure, as long as you promise not to put the moves on me, seeing as how you’ve been making the rounds,” Frank said, then laughed.

  Jenna looked at him and rolled her eyes upward.

  “What… too soon?” Frank said.

  FRANK SAW Jenna out, locked the door behind her, then went back and got in bed next to Bart.

  “This is like when the three of us… you, me, and you know who… used to go camping—before you two became an item,” Frank said.

  “Yeah,” Bart said. “Those were happy times. Frank?”

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  “Do you think he’d be happy with what I’ve had to do?”

  “He’d understand,” Frank said. “He wouldn’t be happy about it, but you’d always be his hero… and he’d never let you quit the mission when so many people have been hurt. If it helps, I think you’re one of the strongest people I know… I always have thought that.”

  “Thanks,” Bart said. “I don’t feel brave; I just feel like I’m doing what I have to do.”

  “That’s how we all feel right now,” Frank said. “But you’re a lot more up close and personal in your dealings here than Jenna and I have had to be. And let’s face it; none of us are used to these types of folks.”

  “That’s for damn sure,” Bart said. “Frank, while I was with Mr. Orion, I lost myself for a while. Those boys, I know they weren’t underage, but it was so… so, screwed up.”

  “Try not to think about it,” Frank said. “You didn’t do anything wrong—if they really had been underage, you never would’ve done it—we all know that… including you. You’re not starting to feel sorry for Mr. Orion, are you?”

  “No, not like that,” Bart said. “Not at all really, it’s more like I feel sorry and horrified about what happened to them all as kids. How could you not… and still call yourself a human?”

  “That makes sense,” Frank said. “But the child in them died the day those soldiers went into the orphanage. The men they are now are the same as those soldiers—don’t ever forget that.”

  “I haven’t,” Bart said. “I have no sympathy for Mr. Orion, or any of the others. I’m moved and affected by their childhood plight, but I’m disgusted with who they are today.”

  “Good,” Frank said. “That’s good.”

  “Frank, do you think Mr. Orion will really forget what we talked about tonight, like he said.”

  “Probably—the guy seems pretty screwed up, and the type of medicines he’s taking probably do screw with his mind a lot. We’d better get some shuteye. Love ya.” He kissed Bart on his forehead, then turned on his side to sleep.

  “Good night, Frank, thanks for staying,” Bart said.

  Morning came early, and Frank and Bart were awakened by a loud banging on the front door.

  Chapter 21

  An Angry Man

  “WHO THE hell can that be?” Frank said, having been jarred awake by the banging noise.

  Bart looked at the clock on the bed stand before responding. “It’s eight o’clock in the morning—time we were getting up anyway. Stay in here, Frank. Nobody needs to know you spent the night.”

  “Not that anything happened, but I hear ya,” Frank said. “I’ll stay put, unless you yell for help.”

  “Trust me, I won’t be the one yelling for help,” Bart said, then flung his bedsheet off and got out of bed naked.

  “Damn, man, put some pants on, will ya,” Frank said?”

  “No need to… I have a pretty good idea who’s banging on the door,” Bart said, then walked into the hallway toward the door, and looked out the peephole. When he saw who it was, he opened the door all the way. “Come by for another peek at the goods?” He shook his cock at James, who was
dressed in his white shorts and shirt uniform again. When he saw James enter and look down at his cock, Bart slapped him hard across the face then slammed the front door shut.

  “What the hell?” James said, rubbing the side of his now red face. “You missed our seven thirty meeting… and I know why.”

  “So, what?” Bart said, sneering at James.

  “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Jeremy, or what went on during your meeting with Mr. Orion,” James said.

  “No, you don’t,” Bart said, before swiftly grabbing James by the front of his shirt and slamming him hard against the front wall. He had his arm pushed firmly down on James’s neck and his hand holding James’s wrist against the wall, so he couldn’t get free. It was time for Bart to deal with the guy in front of him. Looking James straight in the eyes, Bart moved his face in closer, until their noses were touching.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Jeremy; you just got out of the hospital and everything… but—”

  “Shut it, James,” Bart said. “And here I thought you’d enjoy my naked body up against yours.”

  “Stop this,” James said. “It’s not fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair,” Bart said, reaching down and grabbing James’s crotch. “You really are upset, James—you’re not even hard.”

  “I don’t like this, or how you’re acting,” James said. “What happened at your meeting with Mr. Orion?”

  Bart spoke with his lips almost touching James’s while still locking eyes with him. “Why would I tell you anything, when I know you’re a liar?”

  James gulped loudly, then spoke, stammering. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “No?”

  “No,” James said, getting even more upset.

  Bart let his tongue glide across James’s lips, then kissed him before grabbing his shirt again, turning him hard, and pushing him onto the floor. He lifted his leg as if to kick James in the chest, but stopped short. James had responded by putting his arms in front of him to try and block the move.

  “You lied to me when you told me we’d never met before I returned to the resort, James,” Bart said. “I now know that we have, and that you tried to put the moves on me.”

  “Oh, God,” James said. “I’ve never ‘put the moves’ on an employee before, I swear.”

  “What I want to know, James….” Bart said, calmly. He sensed that James was too shocked to hear him correctly, so he put his bare foot on James’s chest firmly, but not in a way that would cause pain. “I’m going to speak slowly now, James; and I want you to pay very close attention to what I’m saying. Nod your head if you understand.” James nodded, and Bart continued, “What I want to know is who told you to put drugs in my drink at the club that night and why?”

  James tried to stand up, but Bart held him down with his foot. Looking in James’s eyes, Bart saw genuine surprise, shock, fear… and traces of guilt—he hadn’t done the crime.

  “I swear to you, Jeremy… I could never ever hurt you… I think too much of you to be able to do that,” James said.

  “Then tell me the truth,” Bart said, and he lifted his foot from James’s chest.

  James put his hands to his face to hide his embarrassment. After a few seconds, he put his hands down and spoke. “You and I had worked together for two weeks—nobody told you because I told them the doctors didn’t want us to say anything to you about how things were when you were here before. I’m sorry for lying to you—I was just so ashamed of having made a pass at you in that club. I’ve always tried to be the most professional I could be at my job—but you were so warm and kind… and I so needed someone to be kind to me. I misunderstood and ruined everything… I thought maybe I’d gotten a second chance at a friendship with you when you came back with amnesia… but… but I’ve screwed up again.” He hid his face again behind his hands.

  Bart leaned down and helped James off the floor. He was worried that James was going to completely lose it, so he held him close. When he felt James’s body relax, Bart led him to the sofa where they sat next to one another.

  “James,” Bart said. “Do you have any clue at all about who could’ve drugged Delia and me that night?”

  “Rachel would’ve done it just for kicks, but she wouldn’t want to waste her products. Her bosses wouldn’t have liked that, and she would’ve paid a price.”

  “What sort of price?” Bart said.

  “In just my short time here I’ve seen her come back to the hotel with bruises on her arms, and black and blue marks on her face. I’d assumed she’d made someone high up a very angry man on several occasions, and had to recover here, so her father doesn’t see the marks from the beatings.”

  “Because her father would take action against them, right?”

  “Yeah,” James said. “The guys that keep an eye on her drug dealings, for her suppliers are small time hoods and expendable. Nobody knows who holds the real power there, and everyone’s afraid.”

  “Would Mr. Kristoff let his people hurt Rachel to teach her a lesson?”

  “No, but I see what you’re getting at, Jeremy. People around here are afraid of Rachel’s father, and everyone knows he has no love for his daughter; but the man is too concerned about appearances to let Rachel walk around bruised and beaten.”

  “It doesn’t fit with the respectable image he tries to project,” Bart said.

  “Exactly,” James said. “I thought Mr. Orion was the power behind it all, which is another reason I want him out of here.”

  “Mr. Orion’s just an investor,” Bart said. “He told me that last night, and I believe him.” He looked in James’s eyes and saw a very hurt and wounded individual. There was no need to continue what he’d been doing to him, so he decided to let him off the hook. Jeremy could be the nicest guy to people who really needed a friend, and often times that would be misinterpreted. Bart could understand how James could’ve confused that attention for something more. “I’m sorry, James, truly sorry.”

  “What?” James said. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m sorry for how I’ve acted toward you since I’ve come back,” Bart said. “I’ve been playing you, because I was scared, and trying to find out what happened to me. I don’t want to be hurt again. But I know everything you’ve just told me is the truth; and more importantly, I really believe I can trust you now, and we can be allies.”

  “Thank you, I’d prefer that to being thrown against a wall and pushed on the floor—not that I didn’t have that coming.”

  “You didn’t have that coming—I just didn’t know… the only thing I knew was that you’d lied, and I didn’t want to be played,” Bart said.

  “You’ve come back preferring to be the player, rather than the played,” James said.

  “God, I really did leave a red mark on that cheek of yours,” Bart said, lifting his hand and ever so gently touching James’s cheek.

  “It’s my pale British skin, it shows any little mark,” James said, then smiled.

  Bart looked closely at him, trying his best to do so in a Jeremy-like warm and gentle way. “James, I really do think you’re an incredibly handsome man. I don’t know why I pushed you away when I was here before, but if the situation was different and there wasn’t so much going on… I could definitely see something happening between us. But I can’t keep playing you—I don’t want to hurt you. I’m not lying to you anymore, but I really can use your help; and I’m pretty sure I can help you get rid of Mr. Orion. That’s if we can go forward and trust one another from this moment onward.”

  James held out his hand and Bart shook it, then pulled James in and gave him a hug.

  “Ok, listen, big guy,” Bart said to James. “Why don’t you go round us up some breakfast at the restaurant while I get dressed?”

  “I can do that,” James said. “And for the record, I wouldn’t have put the moves on you again… even if you are naked.”

  Bart stood and stroked his half-hard cock. “It wasn’t you I was worried
about—you really do things to me, James. Now, get on outta here while I can still restrain myself.”

  James laughed, then left. Bart locked the door behind him, turned, and saw Frank dressed and staring at him from the hallway—or to be more precise, staring at his cock.

  “Damn, man!” Frank said. “You can just sprout wood on command, and better, and more often than most guys I know.”

  “I thought you didn’t know guys in that way,” Bart said, then smiled.

  “Don’t be an ass… you know what I mean—I’ve heard other guys talking about their abilities to get it up. I’m sure you probably hold the record for sprouting wood on command. That was kind of you to let James off the hook, and leave him with a nice memory too. I bet it did wonders for him, thinking that he made you get at least half-hard.”

  “Poor guy,” Bart said. “But I wouldn’t have let him off the hook, unless I was sure he wasn’t involved in things here.”

  “I know that… and for the record—you are one scary bastard when you want to be, buddy.”

  “Thanks, Frank,” Bart said. “Now get the hell out of here before James comes back. By the way, you, me, and Jenna are going clubbing tonight—make sure Jenna gets the message.”

  “I will… and good luck with getting us into the club.”

  “I don’t need luck, just a talk with a certain lifeguard who owes me a favor,” Bart said.

  BART DRESSED in shorts, a Polo shirt and deck shoes, then waited for James to return. While they ate the breakfast James had brought for them, Bart gave him the details of his meeting with Mr. Orion. He left out the part about Jenna and Frank helping him.

  “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, including the vomiting bit,” James said.

  “So am I,” Bart said. “The part with those hustler boys was more disturbing than I would’ve ever thought. Even knowing the truth about their age, it still turned my stomach.”