NOVEL: The Panic Pure, by Harper Kingsley [mm suspense] – Chapter Four

Title: The Panic Pure
Author: Harper Kingsley
Genre: mm suspense thriller
Rating: mature

Summary: Daniel Worth, billionaire and CEO of Worth Enterprises is questioned by FBI agent Marshal Newman about the disappearance of one of his employees. They strike up a conversation and soon are regularly meeting and begin dating. However neither realizes just how close danger is lurking.

 

CHAPTER FOUR

 

“So what’s got you glowing like a schoolgirl with a crush?”

Marshal jumped a little, then hunched his shoulders over his desk. He’d been pretending to work for the last hour, though he figured his goofy grin and squirming had given his daydreaming away.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, finally giving up on pretending. One look at her across from him made him a hundred percent sure that she hadn’t believed for a second that he was actually working.

“Come on, are you stupid or something? You’ve been grinning like an idiot all morning and there’s a definite ‘I’ve got a new girlfriend’ vibe hanging around you,” Joanna said. “So why don’t you just spill before I end up having to beat it out of you?”

“You know, they say it’s highly unethical to use the threat of violence to get information out of a suspect.” Marshal wriggled a little on his chair. “Besides, there’s nothing to tell. Really.”

She crossed her arms and gave him a look of such disbelief that it almost burned his skin. “You are the worst liar I’ve ever met. One look at your face and I can almost see the name of whoever you’re jonesing over. So just spill the beans so I can live through your smoochies vicariously.”

Marshal glanced around, but as usual none of the other agents were paying their corner any attention. “Don’t you ever worry that one day we’re going to get in trouble for how much time we spend gossiping and just basically not working?”

“Don’t try to change the subject,” she growled. “Tell me what’s going on with you or things are going to get pretty hardcore in here.”

Marshal sighed heavily. He could tell by the look on her face that there was no way she was going to buy his “Nothing’s going on” story. “Fine,” he said, rubbing his hand across his face. “I went out last night and had a really wonderful time, and we’re going out again tonight.”

“Ooh, that sounds sexy,” she cooed. “Tell me all about her. How did you meet? Where does she live? What does she look like? How fabulous is she and when are you getting married?”

He rolled his eyes. “Come on, we just went on our first date last night. There’s no way either one of us is thinking about getting married. And if we did think about it, that would be completely crazy considering we just met.”

“What kind of romantic guy are you?” she asked, shaking her head. “Sometimes I have to wonder what goes on in your head.”

“And I wonder what’s going on in yours,” he said. “You’ve been single for how long, and you want to tell me to just rush out there and buy an engagement ring? Pft.”

“Don’t ‘pft’ me,” she snapped. “And I’ve been single of my own free will.”

“Sure,” he said. “Why don’t we get back to work before the Director comes around and we end up on shit duty for the rest of our natural lives?”

“Fine, whatever.” Joanna went back to researching on her computer.

Marshal secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she was going to let things go without him having to tell her anything.

“And don’t think I’m going to just let this go,” she said, not looking up from her screen. “I’m going to give you time to think on what you’re going to tell me, but I want to know everything about this girl. If she’s going to end up marrying my partner someday, then I want to make sure she’s completely on the up and up. That means full background checks and I want a meet and greet with her before you get too invested in a relationship with her.”

“Has anyone ever told you that I’m not one of your possessions?” Marshal asked.

“No,” she said.

He sighed and went back to highlighting pertinent information in his case files. They had about three cases they were working on at the moment, but one of them was in the closing report stage, which was a good thing since he didn’t want to chance missing out on dinner with Danny.

Just thinking about Danny made his lips curl in a catlike smile of pleasure, though he kept his head ducked down so he didn’t give Joanna anymore ammunition. He just wasn’t up to dealing with her questions.

 

After work he made his way to a department store downtown. He figured he should bring Danny a gift, though he didn’t want to get anything too personal and risk freaking him out. On the other hand, he didn’t want to give him anything so boring and banal that it seemed like the gift of a stranger. It was a pretty hard choice to make.

“Can I help you find anything?”

He twitched a little, then turned to face the saleswoman that had crept up on his left shoulder. “I don’t really think so. I’m just looking for a present for somebody, but I don’t know what I’m looking for.”

Her eyes flicked over his suit quickly, then flashed back to his face. “Well, perfume can be a nice gift, or there’s always the electronics’ section.”

“Thanks,” he said, for doing nothing. Even knowing it was kind of rude, he just walked away from her. He figured he would have better luck browsing around by himself then he would being fawned over by a lady that looked at him like she was a starving leopard and he was made out of meat.

While browsing around, he couldn’t help thinking. His mind drifting away from him while he wandered the store.

When he’d been a young boy, he’d lived with his grandparents for a couple of years while his parents “got their heads together.” His Pawpaw and his Meemaw had been together for fifty years and had still been as happy as when they’d first married. They’d had the kind of relationship that he’d only ever heard of in storybooks and on TV but had never seen in real life, where everyone seemed to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat.

He’d been ten years old when he’d asked his Pawpaw how he and Meemaw had stayed together and happy for so long. It was during one of their early morning times together making banana pancakes, freshly squeezed orange juice, and thick slices of bacon. He could still see that bright cheerful kitchen in his memory and could almost smell the good scents that had always filled it.

Pawpaw had laughed and said one of the things that kept Meemaw with him was how he made her breakfast in bed on Sunday mornings. Then he’d gotten serious, looked Marshal straight in the eye, and told him that sometimes being in love with someone wasn’t enough. The key to a relationship that lasted was communication, caring, and the ability to forgive the little things that drove you crazy without ever really letting them drive you crazy.

Then he’d told Marshal that most people never found the one person they were going to love forever. Most people just found someone that would make them happy. But he and Meemaw had been two of the lucky ones and had found each other without having to really look all that hard, though there had been some drama and a shotgun since Meemaw had had a fiance when they’d first met. But that was a long time ago, things had settled themselves without anyone getting shot, and they’d been together ever since.

“You’ll know you’ve found the right person for you when your heart aches whenever you think she’s sad, when you can’t help smiling stupidly whenever you know she’s happy, and every part of your body screams out that she’s the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with. There’s a good chance you’ll never find your soul mate, and I don’t want you to waste your whole life looking or you’ll always be alone, but if you happen to run into her by chance… never let her go.” Pawpaw had looked at him so seriously that Marshal had never been able to forget what he’d said, though later when he’d grown up he’d been forced to decide that Pawpaw was just old and soul mates were nothing but fiction.

Except everything in him screamed that he wanted to be important to Danny. He wanted Danny in his life and it didn’t matter that it was going to probably take more work than he’d ever faced in his entire life to have this relationship.

He chewed on his thumbnail as he tried to decide which smiley face mug was better, the light blue one with the smirk or the dark green with the goofy look and the crazy eyes. It had taken him nearly half an hour to realize that he didn’t want to get a gift that made him look too needy or too demanding and he’d finally decided on getting Danny a cute mug, the only problem was which one.

Finally saying screw it, he closed his eyes and used the old “Eeny meeny miney mo” technique to end up choosing the green mug. Then a second later he decided “What the hell” and grabbed the blue one too for himself.

He headed toward the front of the store and the checkout line, passing by the display cases in the jewelry section with very little attention. Until his eye was caught and held by a man’s platinum watch with a black face.

Staring down at the watch, he had to wince a little at the price tag. But there was something about it that just screamed “Danny” to him. Danny just seemed like one of those people to whom gold meant next to nothing, and platinum shone just the right amount to highlight Danny’s looks.

So even knowing that things might possibly not work out for him and he would end up broken hearted and poor, he bought the watch along with the silly mug. It was like a promise for the future, a physical manifestation of his belief that he would date Danny long enough for the watch to become an appropriate gift.

A very expensive promise that he couldn’t help wincing about when the salesman rang him up. It looked like he was going to be eating Top Ramen for a few nights after his statement came, but he could only hope the expense was worth it.

Walking through the doors toward the parking lot, he couldn’t help the little smile that quirked the corners of his lips at the thought of how happy Danny would be over the gifts. One for tonight, and one for a future he could only dream about.

* * *

He really didn’t know what was going on. There was just this sense that someone else had taken hold of his life, and that someone was maybe a little bit like him, but was mostly some adventurous newcomer that was intent on grabbing all that he could and never letting go. He had simply never felt so courageous.

He felt a little as though he was in some kind of dream. He was still himself, but he had the bravery to do all the things he had only thought about. It was a little bit like madness… creeping in through the cracks of his mind until he was doing things he had never done before and there was no room for second thoughts.

“So, that nice man is coming back again tonight?” Olivia asked, bustling over with a plate of cookies.

Though he hadn’t done it in years, Danny had found himself wandering into the kitchen and settling at the heavy wooden table. “Yes.” He didn’t know what else he was supposed to say.

She smiled at him. “That’s wonderful. It’s nice that you’ve made a friend.”

He looked at her for a long moment, then bobbed his head in a nod. At her urging, he took one of the soft, warm cookies and began to nibble at it. “It’s good.”

She had been the closest thing he had to a mother for years. She was everything that had been warm and kind and caring in his life. Hers was the only food that he was willing to eat, the only food that he wasn’t afraid to eat.

“Did you want me to make anything special for tonight?” she asked gently.

He nibbled on his cookie for a second, then glanced at the cat-faced clock on the wall. It was five minutes past five “Um, it’s too late for you to make anything really special, isn’t it?”

She set to peeling potatoes into a bowl, her large hands as smooth and graceful as an artist wielding the peeler. “Oh dear, it’s a little late for anything really over the top, but you know I would be happy to try and make you something if you wanted.”

“No, it’s alright,” he decided. “Your food is always delicious and Marshal will just have to put up with whatever you already had planned. Besides, I can’t think of anything that I really want. You always know what’s best.”

She reached out her hand for her mug of herbal tea. “You’re sweet,” she said, then took a drink, her throat working noisily.

He watched her for a long moment, feeling a little sad. She was getting older and he knew she’d been talking to some of the maids about going to live with her son and his family in Washington state. The only reason she had stayed was because she was worried he would starve to death without her. It made him feel a bit guilty. She could have been pampered by her family, but she was here instead. Peeling potatoes and baking delicious cookies.

Danny stared down at the golden wood of the tabletop. He took another cookie and stood up. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome, dear.” Olivia’s smile was sweet and motherly.

He nodded at her once more and left the kitchen.

* * *

Every time he drove up that long, winding driveway he got this fist-like sensation in his gut. It was half nerves, half an overriding need to urinate.

He parked in front of the house and grabbed the small box that held the mug before he got out of the car. His shoes made crunching sounds on the gravel as he walked toward the front door.

There was a nervous fluttering in his stomach and he had a sense that he was walking toward the rest of his life and he really didn’t want to mess anything up. To that end he had dressed carefully in an outfit that wasn’t too formal, but that he hoped wasn’t too casual. Black slacks, a blue dress shirt, and a black jacket, along with a spritz of a cologne that he didn’t think smelled too heavy. He really didn’t want to make Danny uncomfortable.

The doorbell made that eerie gonging sound when he pressed the button. It was like something from a horror movie, though the house itself was beautiful and furnished accordingly.

The door opened and a brown-haired maid was looking at him. “Mr. Newman? Follow me.”

The click-clack of her heels on the hardwood floor made him think of horses and carriages, though he would never say so. He followed her to the same dining room he’d been to before, though this time the flower arrangement in the middle of the table was yellow roses. He wondered if someone was giving him the message to back off. Then he had to wonder if he even cared.

“Mr. Worth should be here shortly,” the maid said. There was something in her tone that told Marshal not to touch anything. He just got this feeling that he had been judged and found wanting.

Nerves jangled through him, but he’d always been almost stupidly brave when it came to something he wanted, so he wasn’t going to run away unless Danny himself gave him the brushoff.

He thought about sitting at the table, but he wanted to meet Danny standing. He wandered around the room, taking in the artwork on the walls and pretending at a casualness he didn’t really feel.

His family had always been solidly in the lower middle-class. He’d grown up in a single story ranch style house and shared a bedroom with his brother Stephen. There’d been vacations to Disneyland, but only when there were discounts involved and the whole family had shared a single hotel room with the kids on cots. There had been no extra luxuries in his life and he had never missed them, was actually rather uncomfortable with the idea of such a large house and servants catering to his every whim.

There was just something about Daniel Worth that he couldn’t ignore though. Something that called out to him and made him want to get as close to the man as possible.

He’d given up on the idea of soul mates or whatever when he was a teenager, but now the idea was kind of growing on him again. The look on his Pawpaw’s face whenever his Meemaw came in the room floated in front of his eyes. That was how he had always wanted to feel about another person and knew that he never would.

Except that was kind of how he thought he would feel about Danny if he gave himself half a chance. And that was actually kind of terrifying since they’d barely even met.

He just couldn’t help himself.

 

He had just reached out to brush his fingers across the surface of one of the paintings–he was curious about the texture of the brush strokes–when the door opened. He jerked his hand back like a guilty child and turned to give Danny a smile.

“Hey,” he said suavely.

Danny gave him a tiny smile, seeming once again to be uncomfortable in his own skin. He was tightly wrapped up in one of his hand-tailored black suits and there was that twitchy look to his eye again, just like on their first meeting. “Hello,” he said, resolutely staring at Marshal’s chin.

Marshal sighed a little, realizing that things were going to be difficult tonight. But he was sure that Danny was worth it, so he would just soldier on. “I’m glad to be here,” he said, smiling. “So what’s on the menu tonight?”

Danny looked at him for a long moment, then his smile widened a little bit and some invisible tension in his shoulders released. “Olivia said something about Cornish game hens and stuffed summer squash along with her famous mashed potatoes.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious,” Marshal said. “Oh, here, I brought this for you,” he held out the little box.

“Thank you,” Danny said, though he didn’t take it for a few seconds, his fingers twitching at his side before he finally raised his hand. “You didn’t have to bring me anything.”

“I wanted to,” Marshal said. “I just saw it and thought of you.”

There was a small furrow between Danny’s eyes as he fumbled the box open. There was an air of fear about him. “Oh!” he said when he got it open. He pulled out the mug. “Thank you!”

Marshal shrugged. “Everyone likes a hot beverage, so I thought you might like something to put yours in.” He winced slightly, feeling a bit dorky even as he said it.

Danny cradled the mug in his hands. “This is really nice.” He looked at Marshal from underneath his lashes and Marshal felt a jolt go through him. There was a bit of the ingenue in that look.

“It’s just a mug,” Marshal said. “The next gift I give you will be something truly awesome.”

“Awesome?” Danny raised an eyebrow. “Do people still use that word anymore?”

“Always, yo. Dude, it’s a part of language history, man, peoples don’t be forgetting the ways of talking, fo’shizzle.” Marshal grinned at Danny’s surprised laugh. It was a nice sound that he would really like hearing more of.

“Come on,” Danny said, “dinner should be served shortly.”

They wandered over to the long table, Danny settling at the head and Marshal at the place setting on his left hand. Marshal felt a surge of delight at how Danny positioned the mug in front of himself, his fingers occasionally going out to touch the smiling face.

The door slid open and the same maid from before came in, pushing a wheeled cart before her. From beneath the metal dome lids there came some truly mouthwatering aromas that had Marshal excitedly laying his napkin across his lap and clinking his silverware around in readiness.

He glanced over and saw Danny smiling to himself. It brought a warm feeling to his chest and he just knew that he had found what he’d spent his whole life looking for, but never expected to find.

Pawpaw had been right.

Just seeing Danny smile made his heart almost burst from joy.

* * *

The way that Marshal looked at him made him feel self-conscious. He just got this feeling that the man wanted something from him, though he didn’t really want to imagine what it could be.

He’d been burned too many times before by people pretending to care for him. It was one of the reasons why it was so hard for him to trust–he still cringed at the memory of pain.

Linda gave him a sideways smile as she cleared away the dishes. “Will there be anything else, sir?” she asked.

Danny shook his head. His belly was pleasantly full and he was maybe feeling a little sleepy. “Please tell Olivia that the meal was delicious, as usual.”

“Yeah,” Marshal said, dabbing at his lips one last time with his napkin. “That has to have been the best meal I’ve had since yesterday.” He grinned, showing a dimple at the corner of his mouth that Danny hadn’t noticed before.

Once the maid left, Danny carefully pushed back his chair. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

“What, you don’t have any plans ready?” Marshal teased.

Danny felt heat brush his cheeks. “Sorry, I wasn’t really…”

“I’m kidding,” Marshal said, holding his hand out. “We can watch a movie, or talk, or whatever you want to do.”

Danny bit his lip. “Do you want a tour?”

“You’re really going to show me your house?” Marshal asked. “Aren’t you worried I might turn out to be an ax murderer or something?”

A chill went down Danny’s spine. He’d been trying so hard to get over his fears and phobias that he hadn’t really thought of that. Hadn’t let himself think that Marshal might be someone he’d seriously have to worry about. “I… I…”

Marshal winced. “Whoa, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to freak you out or anything, I was just teasing you. I promise I don’t have any nefarious plans or anything.”

“It’s okay,” Danny said. “I just… I got worried for a second.” He drew in a deep breath. “That happens sometimes.”

“What, you get worried?”

Danny nodded. “Yeah. I can’t really help myself.” He had made the decision to be honest, no matter how uncomfortable it made him feel. “Sometimes I get scared even when there’s no logical reason for it. I have an anxiety disorder,” he admitted.

There was no surprise on Marshal’s face, just gentle understanding. “I see. I hope I don’t make you too nervous?”

“No, it’s all right,” Danny said, shaking his head. “I just… I thought that I should tell you myself why I am the way I am. Sometimes I just can’t help myself, and I don’t want you to think it’s your fault if I act strangely.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Marshal said. “You don’t ever need to pretend to be something different than you are. I want to get to know the real you, not the mask you think you should wear.”

“Thank you.” That was all Danny could think to say. He’d been strange in his own skin for so long that he didn’t really know how to respond to the idea of someone wanting him to just be himself.

He shifted a little uncomfortably, his fingers rubbing against the bottom of his suit jacket. “Um, why don’t I take you on that tour?” he asked.

“Sure,” Marshal said, standing up with him. “You don’t have to show me any family secrets or anything. Just whatever you’re comfortable with.”

“Don’t worry,” Danny said. “There aren’t any family secrets here because this isn’t the family home. I had this place built for me when I turned twenty.”

“Really?” Marshal cocked his head.

Danny shifted uncomfortably. “The old place has a lot of unpleasant memories.” Blood, screaming, Daddy don’t go… He closed his eyes a second to clear away the disturbing imagery. “I just couldn’t stand the thought of living there anymore.”

He looked at Marshal, waiting for him to make some kind of remark about him being weak or something. But Marshal just shrugged. “This is a really nice house. Er, mansion. I think you made a good choice.”

Danny smiled faintly. It felt as though a weight of nerves had been lifted off his chest. “Come on. Let me show you around.”

“Just promise that you’ll stay with me,” Marshal said. “I don’t want to get lost in this place. I’d never find my way back out again.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave you alone.”

“Excellent.” There was a low warmth to Marshal’s voice that made something shift in Danny’s stomach, though he didn’t know why.

He chose to ignore whatever he was feeling and led Marshal out of the dining room.

* * *

The house was undeniably beautiful. The architect had been aiming for a kind of old-world charm crossed with a modern functionality and had managed to hit the idea right on the head.

The only problem Marshal could see with the place was that it seemed very lonely. It was the kind of place that Daniel Worth would live, but he had a hard time imagining Danny being happy here.

He knew it was foolish to assume a close familiarity to Danny, but he already felt that he knew the man well enough to know that he deserved happiness in his life, and it was hard to imagine him finding it locked up alone in this house. No matter how beautiful and luxurious it happened to be.

“And this is one of my game rooms,” Danny said.

“One of?” Marshal asked, raising an eyebrow.

Danny looked nervous. “Well, I call them game rooms, though I don’t really play a lot of games. It’s just what my mother called the room where I used to play when I was a child, and the name kind of stuck with me.” He reached toward the door, but his hand hesitated in the air.

“Hey, what are you so worried about?” Marshal asked.

“I…” Danny shrugged. “It’s kind of embarrassing. I’m a grown man, I know that. I should have stopped playing with such things ages ago.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” More than anything, Marshal wanted to reach out and rest a comforting hand on Danny’s shoulder, but he knew better. The man was very uneasy about physical contact, and there was no way Marshal wanted to put him more on edge. “What’s in there?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?” Danny asked. He wouldn’t meet Marshal’s eyes, focused entirely on Marshal’s chin, but it wasn’t hard to see the expression on his face. He truly was worried that he was about to be mocked.

“I promise,” Marshal said, not hesitating. No matter what was in that room, there was no way he would ever mock Danny.

“Okay.” Danny drew in a deep breath and pushed the door open, stepping out of the way so Marshal could enter first.

The first thing Marshal thought when he walked into that room was that someone was suffering from a severe case of OCD. But that thought was fleeting, and mostly he was left in awe by what he was seeing.

It was a complete Lego workshop, with every piece imaginable stored in plastic storage tubs and waiting to be used. Pinned to one wall was a large sheet of blueprint paper depicting a carefully drawn diagram of Tokyo city, including notes written in a careful hand. Next to the blueprint was a glossy image of the city and surrounding area. And right in the center of the room was Tokyo itself, scaled down perfectly but still standing taller than seven feet.

Unable to help himself, he moved further into the room until he was standing right next to the model. It wasn’t completely finished, but what was there was awe inspiring. Every building was placed exactly, there were parks and fountains and windows in the buildings, everything. He half-expected to see little mini-people walking the streets, talking into their tiny cellphones.

When he felt Danny draw up next to him, he couldn’t help turning to the man with a wondering smile. “Wow, this is amazing.” Marshal was genuinely impressed. The detailing was beyond anything he’d ever imagined anyone doing.

Danny shrugged, a blush staining his cheeks. “I’ve always liked architecture, and I guess Legos just seemed like the perfect way to express things.”

“This is way beyond playing with Legos,” Marshal said, waving his hand at Tokyo. “This is full-on art. I’ve never seen anything like this, and you really made it look exactly like the real city and everything. I mean, even the completed buildings match the colors from the poster over there.”

Danny shrugged as though it meant nothing. “I just coat the finished buildings with polyurethane so they stay together, then I paint them to match the real ones. It’s time consuming and I have to watch out I don’t end up poisoning myself with the vapors, but it’s really not that impressive. When I’m all done, the entire city will be one piece and I’ll move it to another room so I can start another project.”

Marshal turned to look him right in the face. He kept moving his head until Danny was forced to meet his eyes. “This is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a long time,” he stated firmly. “It’s obvious that you put a lot of time and effort into your city scenes, and it shows by how realistic this looks. You have a real talent.”

Danny met Marshal’s eyes for as long as he could stand it, before he ducked his chin. His cheeks were bright red and there was a small, pleased smile tugging at his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Marshal grinned. “I don’t know why you’re thanking me. I just told you the truth. You’re a Lego genius.”

“You’re exaggerating,” Danny said.

“No, I’m not. I’m sure that there are people out there that would pay tons of money to have a city built out of Legos like this. You go way beyond a little kid playing with toys, so I don’t understand why you were so embarrassed about showing me this.”

“Kids play with toys, not grown men,” Danny insisted. “The fact that I’m twenty-five years old and still play with Legos is stupid.”

Unable to help himself, Marshal slowly reached out to rest his hands on Danny’s shoulders. Beneath the expensive fabric of Danny’s suit jacket, there were his bones and sinews and all the bare skin Marshal ached to see. “You know what, you’re twenty-five years old. You can basically do whatever you want as long as it’s not illegal. Because if you do something illegal, as an employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigations I am required by law to report it. But other than the illegal stuff, you can work with Legos all you want and it’s perfectly all right.”

Danny smiled a little at his mock-serious tone. “You’re kind of strange man, do you know that?”

“Why yes, yes I do know that.” Marshal squeezed gently for a second before letting go. He didn’t want to push his luck when it came to invading Danny’s comfort zone. “Do you have any other cities hidden away in this mausoleum?”

Danny examined him closely, then licked his lips. “Really, you want to see more?”

“Sure,” Marshal said. “This is an awesome representation of Tokyo. I’m hoping you’ve got Atlantis somewhere around here too.”

“No, no Atlantis,” Danny said. “But I do have Paris, Manhattan, San Diego, and Metropolis.”

“Wait a minute, Metropolis? You’ve got a fictional city in with the real ones?”

Danny shrugged. “Everyone needs a bit of Superman in their life.”

Marshal chewed on the inside of his lip. It had been obvious on first meeting the man that Danny had some serious issues. Somewhere in his life, someone had done some terrible damage to him, and on getting to know him a little, Marshal was pretty sure that it went beyond just the death of Kevin and Leanne Worth.

“So,” he said, deliberately lighthearted, “where exactly do you place Metropolis on a map of the United States?”

“It’s hard to know where exactly Metropolis is. Most information suggests that it’s actually a fictionalized version of New York city, some people have suggested that it’s an alternate form of Batman’s Gotham city, while a lot of people want to think that it’s somewhere in Kansas, since some sources say it’s two hours from Smallville. I’m not sure where I would place it, but I like to think that Metropolis is a state of mind rather than a real place, right? I mean, Metropolis is synonymous with Superman, and in the end you can’t really have one without the other. So… and… I’m babbling aren’t I?”

“Huh. So you’re a comic book geek too?” Marshal teased.

Danny ducked his head. “I just liked reading them growing up, that’s all.”

“It’s all right,” Marshal said. “I still collect the occasional Batman, though I’m not as serious about it as I used to be.”

“Oh, and how serious are you?” Danny asked.

Marshal felt a jolt of pleasure when he realized that the other man was teasing him. “Very serious. Back in the day I was a massive collector. Nowadays, I guess you could say that I’m an average collector. You know, just every single issue as they come out, rather than the tee shirts and collectibles I used to save in my underground vault.”

“You’re being facetious, aren’t you?”

“Just a little bit.” Marshal tucked his hands in his pockets. “How about you show me the rest of your cities? I’m very curious about how Metropolis came out. Plus, I’ve always wanted to go to Paris, and I’d be kicking my own ass later if I didn’t visit it while I’ve got the chance.”

“Okay. I’ve got them in another room,” Danny said.

Following the billionaire around, Marshal felt a level of comfort that he was honestly surprised by. He probably should have been stumbling over his words and just generally making an ass out of himself, but there was just something so awkwardly endearing about Danny that Marshal was driven to reassure him through word and action.

As he was marveling over the scale model of Paris, he couldn’t help thinking that if it came down to it, he would be quite happy following Danny around for the rest of his life.

* * *

For some reason, he had thought following an FBI agent around would be a lot more interesting. He had kind of figured it would be like one of those TV shows and there would be a lot of crazy stuff like aliens and cults and witchcraft.

Instead, it was even more boring than his own life.

Slouching down behind the wheel of the car he’d borrowed from his step-mom, he sighed heavily. The only good thing that had happened so far was that he’d been able to use some of the tailing skills he’d picked up off the Internet.

Adam perked up a little when he saw Agent Joanna Starkweather walk out of the bakery with a white paper bag clutched in her fist. He idly wondered if she was going to nosh on some bagels or some donuts, then had to ignore the way his stomach growled. It probably would have been a good idea to have packed a lunch, but he hadn’t realized how bored and hungry he could get sitting in a car all day.

He kept low as he watched her walk down the street and back into the FBI office. Once she was gone, he sat up with a heavy sigh. This was boring and he figured he was done with it.

Adam picked up the small notebook he’d written all his observations in. He knew where Starkweather worked, lived, did her laundry, and her grocery shopping. He was pretty disappointed with her and how careless she was.

He’d been stressed out at the thought of following an FBI agent around, but she hadn’t noticed him at all. So either he was better at surveillance than he’d thought, or she was incredibly unobservant.

He was voting on her being unobservant.

He glanced at his watch. He didn’t have to be to work for another four hours. So he figured he might as well go to the mall and see if there was anything–anyone–interesting.

Tomorrow, he would start following Agent Newman around. Hopefully he would be a lot more interesting than his partner.

/CHAPTER

[table “22” not found /]