Fearless Leader (Juxtapose City) (3 page)

Fun. Never a concept Black enjoyed hearing from his Captain. Dickerson's humor tended to stray to the perverse. Black had long ago learned to turn a blind eye. Every man was due his idiosyncrasies, he told himself. And Black owed the man too much to be judgmental...

He opened the small envelope and felt his insides turn cold.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

When Black said nothing the other man took the envelope from him and upended its content into his palm. Two small patches the size of coins slid out. They were flesh-toned and looked like Band-Aids. But they were nothing so innocent. Black recognized them immediately.

"Put them away," he said beneath his breath. He met Dickerson's amused gaze. "Since when does the JCPD supply its force with Bliss?" he demanded in a tight voice. "What the hell is this?"

"New issue on special cases." Dickerson watched him expectantly."We've started using an empath. Gratifying results, I must say."

Empath. The word and everything associated with it made Black grab the envelope back and clench it in his fist. Empaths and telepaths were steadily becoming Juxtapose City's most voracious consumers of Bliss. They used the serotonin-inducing drug to drown out the psychic feedback that they were unable to block on their own. Along with being the drug's most frequent users psypaths were rapidly becoming its next generation of dealers. With the exception of Riddy Kingman, JC2's last three run-ins had been with either psypath users or dealers.

"Psypaths on the police payroll?" Jake blurted incredulously. His handsome face reflected his distaste of that growing segment of society. "I can't imagine those freaks working alongside us. How do we trust them? They could be fucking with our heads."

Dickerson's look was indulgent. "The JCPD would never employ the services of telepaths. That's pure idiocy and I’m not an idiot." He paused, waiting for Jake's flush of contriteness. "We've started working with an empath. One. Call it a test run, although I'm pleased with the results so far."

Jake scratched his head, looking almost comical in his confusion if he weren't 200 pounds of solid muscle. "But why would any empath want to work for the police? Don't they need Bliss to keep themselves from going crazy?"

"Let me guess," Black said coolly, watching the spreading amusement on his captain's face, "you've given this man no choice. Either you've placed him in a position in which he can’t refuse you or you've promised him something he can’t resist." He opened his fist to reveal the Bliss tablets lying within his palm.

"Correct on both points." Dickerson extracted a slim electronic notepad from within his trench coat and handed it to Black. "He was arrested two months ago on four counts of possession. Combine that with intent to sell, prostitution, assaulting an officer and it's an easy twenty years in Hangway." He smiled. "Unless he chooses to play. Then it's no jail-time and we sweeten the deal with access to limited amounts of Bliss when he cooperates with us. Saying no," Dickerson said smugly, "was never an option for him. And now that he's worked with us on two cases he's as good as dead if he tries to step back into his former lifestyle. We can leak the details of his involvement in a heartbeat."

"So he's screwed," Black muttered beneath his breath, activating the notepad to scan the information there.

McCahill strode over, speaking quietly into his headset. He covered the mouthpiece and said to Dickerson, "They're on their way up. Guess Aines had some problems with him on the way."

"How unsurprising." Dickerson inclined his head at the tablets Black still held. "I suggest you put those on. They're only a few grams worth, a low enough dosage to blur your brain wave patterns so he can’t sense you but not enough to affect your awareness. Trust me, you won't want him reading your emotions. He's rather--" Dickerson paused, searching for the right word, "-- intractable. Letting him get to you would be a mistake." He reached into his coat and pulled out several more waxed envelopes and walked to the other men to distribute them.

Black stared at the tabs in his hand. Dickerson knew how much Black didn't want to use the Bliss. The captain knew this better than any man alive and yet he was pushing this. A cold fury burned behind Black's eyes, aggravating his headache.

"You gonna give me one of those?"

Black held out his hand as though offering the other man poison. Jake removed the backing from one of the patches and stuck the tab behind his ear. As a member of JC2 Jake had experienced the effects of Bliss as part of his training. Using such a small amount didn't faze him. He hesitated though, when he noticed Black had not applied his patch.

"Black?"

Black shoved the unused tab into his pocket. "I don't need it."

"But he'll read you--"

"Let him."

Jake crossed his arms angrily. "If you weren't my commanding officer I'd tell you what a stupid, stubborn--"

"Sergeant Cole." Black's voice had taken on that intense control that signaled he was on the verge of explosion. "Your comments have been noted. That's enough."

"I think that concussion was more serious than any of us thought," Jake muttered just quietly enough that Black had to strain to hear him. "Knocked your last brain cell out of your ear."

Black tightened his lips and said nothing, dropping his attention to the electronic pad he held. The notepad contained the empath's file. Not an unusual police record. Various arrests for drug possession and being under the influence of a controlled substance, assault. Brought in twice for prostitution but both cases dismissed for lack of evidence... He checked the empath's stats. Twenty-six years old and no known family. Perfect for Dickerson's needs. Black was immersed in reading the file when loud voices from the hallway raised his head.

"Hurry up, you freak! Captain's gonna be pissed we're late. We should've been here ten minutes ago."

"As if I care about pleasing
him
."

The hairs on the back of Black's neck rose at the sound of that smooth, unconcerned voice. It wasn't alarm he felt, for he was well familiar with that particular sensation. This was something different. Not understanding his own reasons he backed along the wall, urging a confused Jake with him until they stood in the corner of the room nearest the door. Whoever entered would have to turn to see them, providing Black with the advantage.

A tall, slender figure stepped through the apartment's doorway. Black quickly scanned him, registering black boots over skin-tight silver pants and a sheer, long-sleeved black top that barely covered the midriff -- club wear; he'd seen similar outfits often enough in the Blue Square. Had the empath been dragged from the middle of a club? Slightly confused, Black's eyes traveled up and took in the waist-length blond hair so pale that it was nearly white. It was tinted purple at the ends. He hadn't the chance for a more detailed study for suddenly the man turned around-- ignoring everyone else in the room -- and looked directly at Black.

Feral green eyes caught and held him like an insect pinned to a wall. Full lips curved into a surprised, delighted smile as they studied Black as blatantly as he himself had been looked over. In the abrupt silence caused by his appearance the man purred, "Hello, Darkness. What a pleasant surprise."

The eyes of McCahill's men shot to him accusingly. Black recovered from his temporary shock and returned the feline stare. "You must be Calyx Starr."

Long lashes swept down lazily, half lidding the intense eyes. "Mmm, and you must be bold. Bold to not hide from me like these other boys. Or are you simply stupid? Think you can block out an empath?" Starr regarded him from beneath his lashes, a still air about him as though he were listening to something. "No one can hide all of
that
darkness, sweetheart." His smile widened. "Though you're trying."

"What the fuck?" Jake mumbled.

The voice of his teammate broke the odd spell Black had started to fall under. "Bliss is a controlled substance within the limits of Juxtapose City," he told the empath. His eyes noted the fine tremors that ran the length of the other man's slender hands. "Being a cop, I'm sure you understand why I don't feel comfortable taking it." He knew his disapproval was patent
.

Starr didn't appear to care. "Yes, but all these other boys are JCPD's finest also and I can't feel any of
them
." His verdant gaze panned the sneering faces watching him. "Maybe they're just lapdogs, hmmm? Doing whatever their master tells them to." His eyes returned to Black. "Or maybe they're just not as reckless as you. You like danger, sweetheart. I can feel it."

"Give up the head games, Calyx," Dickerson growled, emerging from the bedroom. He threw a disapproving look at Black before facing the empath. Starr's chin rose slightly, a hint of stubbornness in the action. Dickerson's eyes swept the taller man, smirking slightly at the minute lines of stress on the other man's coolly beautiful face. "How you feeling, Calyx? Got any... cravings?"

Starr was in need of a hit. Black recognized all of the signs. Dickerson must keep the empath clean before an interrogation so his senses would be clear enough to give a good reading.

"Just an urge for a nice hot bath," Starr replied snidely, making it obvious whose contact made him feel the need to bathe.

Dickerson reached up, chasing the other man when he leaned away and grabbed a handful of purple-tinged hair. "Maybe while you're there you can wash this shit out. You look like even more of a freak than you are."

Black frowned when he saw the familiarity with which his captain touched the empath. It wouldn't be the first time Dickerson had taken liberties with hookers and their ilk but Black continually hoped that the man would give up his indiscretions and stick to his wife. It would make it a hell of a lot easier to defend the man.

The officer who had brought Starr in sidled up to Jake. "Fucktoy," he whispered knowingly.

Black's stomach clenched. Wonderful.

Starr reached up and yanked his hair free of the captain's grasp. "Captain Dickhead, as much as I loathe-- excuse me,
enjoy
-- the feel of your hand upon me I'd rather get this over with so I can return to my dreams of firebombing police headquarters." He smiled sweetly. "Just dreams, of course."

Dickerson chuckled, stepping back. He threw a glance at Black to ensure he was watching then waved a hand at the surviving kidnapper who sat propped against a wall. "Yes, let's get this over with. There are many things
I
would rather be doing in bed also."

Starr ignored his innuendo and looked down at the handcuffed man. The kidnapper was sallow-skinned with ragged brown hair. He was young enough to still have pimples. R&R had roughed him up some but the black eyes that returned the empath's stare were bright with challenge. Starr nodded, "He's fine. Get on with it."

McCahill stepped up and knelt beside the bound man. "What's your name, kid?"

Silence.

McCahill pulled out his handgun and pressed it to the kidnapper's forehead. "You're not dealing with the usual police here, kid. Notice how there's nobody here taking evidence samples? This ain't going to court. You either answer my questions or I shoot you in the head and toss you into the Turandot Bay. Captain here won't care either way."

The man visibly swallowed before answering in a scratchy voice, "Kelpy. Eric Kelpy."

"Truth," Starr said, sounding bored.

McCahill lowered the gun. "Smart move, Eric. Now tell me who set you up to kidnap the lady?"

Kelpy's eyes darted to the empath nervously. "N-no one. It was Skiv's idea," he said with a nod towards one of the dead kidnappers.

Starr rubbed at his eyes. "Lie."

Kelpy looked at the empath in desperation, obviously realizing the futility of resisting. "If -- if I tell you, I'm a dead man. They'll send someone to kill me in jail. I won't last--”

"You're dead here too, if you don't tell the truth," McCahill interrupted. The leader of R&R shared a look with Dickerson as though they had discussed this possibility already. McCahill raised his gun again. "You're dead no matter what, Eric," he said in a softer voice. "The moment you kidnapped Lord's mistress you started digging your own grave. You know that."

Black hid his surprise. So the woman in the bedroom wasn't just a nobody-- she was the lover of one of Juxtapose City's most powerful Bliss dealers.

Kelpy let out a quiet sob and dropped his head, sweat-matted hair hanging over his face. "I didn't have a choice. They were gonna kill my sister--”

He started to cry then, his voice loud in the silence of the room. Black ignored him to watch Starr. The empath was rubbing the back of his neck in agitation, shifting from foot to foot. The tremors Black had seen earlier had progressed to visible shaking. "Hurry up," Black thought he heard him mutter.

McCahill patted the kidnapper's raised knee. "You know what's going to happen now, don't you, Eric? When we take you in whoever it is who hired you is going to think you ratted, even if you didn't. You and I both know that they'll kill you but they might take out your sister first just to teach you a lesson."

"No!" the handcuffed man wailed.

"You know it's true. You're dead either way it's just who you take with you that matters now. Give us a name, Eric. We'll put him in a bag and send him after you."

The young man sniffed and raised his head, his helpless state beginning to sink in. "And my sister?"