Them!

Title: A Door Into a New World 

Author/pseudonym: Tinnean 

Fandom: Them! 

Pairing: Bob Graham/Ben Petersen 

Rating: NC-17 

Disclaimer: These characters belong to the movie studio that gave birth to them (sorry, can’t remember which one). They’re not mine, but I thought they could use a break after what they’ve gone through. Although I might be making things a little hard for them. 

Status: new/complete 

Date: 8/00 

Series/Sequel: This is A Door Into a New World series. The whole series is offered in one, easy to access (I hope) place. 

Summary: When FBI agent Bob Graham is sent to the New Mexico desert to investigate reports of several missing people, he meets Ben Petersen, a cop after his own heart. 

Warnings: m/m graphic sex, language, spoilers for the movie, implied m/f 

Notes: I watched this 1954 movie again after years, and was suddenly struck by the slash potential. This is one of those man screws up the earth type movies. 

“When man entered the atomic age, he opened a door into a new world. What we eventually find beyond that door, no one can predict.” -Dr. Harold Medford 

Episode 1: A Door Into A New World

I had been with the FBI since the end of the war. One of the OSS' youngest officers, the government agency snapped me up once I had been discharged. I was given cases that no one else wanted to touch, dared to touch. I had a reputation for being cool, thorough and tough. 

But then everything turned to shit, if you'll pardon my French. I had too much to drink one night and something happened that wiped out eight years of loyal service, not to mention all the torturous work I had done during the war. 

My superiors reacted predictably. They started shutting me out of the loop. I began getting piss-poor performance reviews, in spite of the fact that I was at the top of my game. My assignments were bottom of the barrel types, more suitable for the inexperienced members of local law enforcement agencies. 

So when J. Edgar called me into his office, I wasn't totally unprepared for the orders he gave me. But I was still devastated. 

"Bob, I think you need a vacation." 

"Sir, I just came back from two weeks abroad. If I could just..." 

"No. There is no getting around this, Bob. Things are becoming too delicate with this administration. I need you out of town, and I need you out of town, now! I'm sending you to New Mexico to look into some missing persons cases there." 

"Sir, I think I deserve better than that!" I couldn't resist saying bitterly. 

J. Edgar sighed. "You're a good man, Bob. But right now you're just too hot! I can't keep you here in DC. If you don't take this assignment, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to request your resignation!" 

I had to fight to keep a stiff upper lip. Thirty-three fucking years old, and I would have cried like a baby! The Bureau was my life, and they were kicking my ass out without a second thought! 

"Will..." I had to stop and clear my throat, fighting to retain my composure. "Will I be allowed to return?" 

J. Edgar's eyes were cold. "I can't promise anything." 

In other words, don't hold your breath waiting. 

I knew why he was doing this to me. He didn't trust me to keep my mouth shut. 

And all because someone couldn’t keep his hands off my dick. 

The paranoid son of a bitch! What went on behind Bureau walls, stayed behind Bureau walls! 

I left J. Edgar's office, barely able to see through the tears in my eyes. The Bureau was all I lived for, and now I was being cut loose. I avoided the elevator and took the emergency stairs that led down to the first floor. Studiously I made it a point not to look anyone in the eye. I couldn't bear for them to see how far I had fallen. 

**** 

I left town later that day, catching the red eye to the coast and then making the connection from there back to New Mexico. 

The New Mexico state police sent an officer to meet me at the airport, and I nearly stumbled over a crack in the runway when I saw him. 

He had to be a few years my senior, but the stripes on his dark blue uniform sleeve proclaimed him a sergeant. A warm smile greeted my raised eyebrow and he thrust out a welcoming hand. 

"I'm Ben Petersen. It's good of you to come out and give us a hand!" 

Obviously he had no idea that my presence in his state was in the nature of a demotion.

He still believed his government gave a rat's ass about its citizens. 

Reluctantly I took his hand and received a jolt as the calluses on his palm pressed against the calluses on mine. 

"Bob Graham," I said as I released him, surreptitiously shaking my fingers, wondering where that almost electrical shock came from. 

"Nice to meet you Bob. Town's filled with tourists this time of year, so you’ll have to stay at my place, if that's okay with you?" 

I was almost numb. I felt as if my dearest wish had been granted, as if my deepest fear had risen up to strike at me. I was torn. 

"Oh. That's... fine, Ben. Thank you." My lips were stiff. 

He clapped me on the shoulder and hoisted up the suitcase that was at my feet. "Great! Let's go! My car's just over there." He led the way to where a battered ‘49 Ford was parked, chatting cheerfully. 

I didn't hear a word he said. I couldn't concentrate on anything except the smooth lines of his police issue slacks as they concealed the hard muscles of his thighs and his tight ass. 

Somehow, I just knew he had a tight ass. 

His hair was dark and hugged his scalp in a cap of tight curls. He was compactly built, shorter than me by a good six inches, and all I wanted to do was have him inside me. 

I was shocked and horrified. 

Had that one drink too many unleashed a beast I had unknowingly housed within? 

Ben looked back over his shoulder and I jerked my eyes up from were they had been feasting on his butt. "Everything okay, Bob?" 

"Yes. Uh...yes." I had to get myself under control. I fiddled with my hat. "Is your place nearby?" 

"It's on the edge of town. It's small, but it's home!" He shrugged and grinned. "I like it." 

Petersen stowed my gear in the back seat of the old Ford and climbed in behind the wheel. I just stood by the door, staring at him helplessly. He turned sideways and winked. "Come on, big guy, time's a-wasting! Let's get you settled and then head out for a bite to eat!" 

I swallowed hard and got in beside him. The front seat was very narrow and my knee brushed against his thigh. I could feel the heat coming off him in waves. I jerked away as if I had been burned and tried to shrink in on myself, hugging the door to avoid touching him.   

"It's okay, big guy. I don't bite!" 

I lit a cigarette and looked out the window. 

The drive to Ben's house took five minutes. They were the longest five minutes of my life. 

**** 

Ben wasn’t kidding when he said his house was small. There was only one bedroom, which he graciously offered to me. “I don’t mind sleeping on the couch,” he said easily. "And you're so tall, you'll be more comfortable on the bed." 

Oh, sure. Me sleep in his bed, on the pillow that would still carry his scent, in the room that was redolent of him? Not in this lifetime! 

“Thanks, Ben, but that’s not necessary. The couch will suit me fine.” And all the while my cock was begging ‘please, please, please!’ 

I caught him looking at me with a strange glint in his eye, and I suppressed a shudder of desire, but only just barely. He grinned cockily. “Go get cleaned up, Bob. We’ll have time to get acquainted ...later.” 

I locked myself in his bathroom and reached in to my trousers. I was so hard I actually hurt. Pre come was beading at the tip of my cock. I smeared it over the broad head and squeezed it, then began jerking off. It took me less than a minute to come. 

I didn’t utter a sound. 

Quickly I cleaned up the evidence of my passion for the state cop and got myself in some semblance of order. 

And I despaired. I was still just as hard! 

I washed my hands and walked into his living room, then lit up another cigarette and waited while he used the john. 

**** 

Ben took me to a tavern called The Dew Drop Inn. They served food there, as well as liquor so strong it could eat away the lining of your throat just going down. He ordered for the both of us, chicken fried steak, which was surprisingly good, and refried beans. As we ate, he explained the details of the case that was baffling the New Mexico state police. 

A tourist family of four that had camped out in the desert was missing. The little girl had been found wandering alone in the night, clutching a tattered Teddy bear, almost catatonic. The police officer who found her brought her to the town’s only doctor. She sat and stared at nothing, seemingly deaf and mute. Old Doc Green couldn’t find a physical reason for her retreat into a world of silence. 

In an effort to shock her back to awareness, the doctor had waved a vial of formic acid under her nose. It had shocked her out of her trance, all right. Her screams had been heard at the end of town. 

“And no one knows what happened to her family?” I asked gently. I could see how upset Ben was by the little girl’s condition. 

He shook his head. “Their trailer was torn apart. The mother, father and older brother weren’t anywhere around.” 

“Why call in the FBI? This hardly seems like something that would be up our alley.” 

“The woman who’s missing is the governor’s niece. We’re at a loss. Who would you suggest we call in?” 

I had to agree with him. Politics was a bitch! 

**** 

We were just having a piece of apple pie a la mode with our coffee when the police issue radio Ben carried with him chirruped annoyingly. 

There had been a break-in at Gramps Johnson's place out in the desert. County Mounties had been sent there, and reported back that the little store had been ransacked, the side of the building ripped out and Gramps was nowhere to be found. In the middle of the report, the listeners suddenly heard shots being fired and a challenging shout that rose to a terrified scream. And then the phone had gone dead. 

Ben thumbed off his radio, his face ashen, and threw some bills down on the table. He was halfway out the door before I could get to my feet. I got my hat on my head and ran after him, managing to get into the Ford just as he stomped down on the clutch and threw it into gear. The tires spun in the gritty soil until the treads gained traction and the little car leaped forward. 

Dusk had already fallen in the desert, but Ben knew where he was going. With casual ease he swerved past cactus and tumbleweeds and rocks that stood guard in the night, and I watched him with hungry eyes. 

The dark hulk of the patrol car sat like a brooding animal, crouched and waiting to spring. The doors of the vehicle stood open and the headlights, piercing the night, were starting to dim. The Ford slid to a stop next to it. 

Ben got out and drew his gun, and my mouth went dry. He looked so competent, so in control. So goddamned sexy! 

I scrabbled for the door handle and stepped out into the cool night air. 

"Jesus!" I heard Ben whisper. 

I joined him next to the destroyed shell of the old man's general store. "Oh, my God!  What could have done that? A tornado?" 

Ben shook his head, unable to speak, and took a deep breath, stepping over the torn boards that were once a wall. He was approaching the counter that held an old fashioned cash register when his foot shot out from under him. I jumped forward and caught him before he could land ass backwards in the pool of blood. 

My eyes closed in bliss as I relished the feel of him in my arms, snug against my body. I breathed in the scent of him, soap and something that was undefinably Ben. My cock was hard and I had to struggle to avoid rolling my hips and thrusting forward. I could stay with him like this forever! 

A hand feathered through the short hair at the back of my neck, and I opened my eyes reluctantly. I didn't want to see Ben looking at me with mockery, or disdain. 

"Bob, it's okay!" Warm lips caressed the side of my neck and then Ben pushed himself upright. "We'll talk about this later, if you have no problem with that?" 

I shook my head and managed to tear myself away from those deep blue eyes. Then I glanced down at the huge stain on the floor. "That's an awful lot of blood!" 

"Yeah, and look at that shotgun on the counter!” Covered for some reason with sugar, the barrel of the weapon had been bent back upon itself. “Gramps is too neat to leave a mess like this!" Ben said in disgust as he flicked a finger through the powdery stuff that was already drawing ants. 

I nudged his arm and nodded toward an open hatchway in the floor behind a row of shelves. Ben found a flashlight hanging under the counter and carefully went down the ladder into the crawl space under Gramps’ place. "Aw, Jesus!" 

"Ben, what is it?" 

His head appeared over the edge of the opening. "I found Gramps! Give me a hand getting him back up." 

Together we wrestled the stiffening body of the old man up into the light. His face and bare arms were covered with bruises and puncture wounds. He'd been dead for some time. 

"Where are the two officers?" Ben demanded suddenly. "Blackburn! Newbury!" he shouted into the darkness of the night. 

I shuddered as the deep timber of his voice sent shivers dancing up my spine. And I was ashamed. 

Here we were, in a perilous situation, with one dead man and two missing officers, and all I could think of was taking his cock deep in my mouth and sucking him until he came, of   his cock fucking my ass until I was weak with it. 

"Bob," he called, holding up the severed cord of the telephone. "I guess this is why the call was disrupted. Use the radio in the patrol car and get in touch with headquarters, will you?" 

"Right. I'll tell them to send out a meat wagon. And I think we may need dogs to track down Blackburn and Newbury." I was a professional law enforcement official, dammit: it was time I started acting like one! 

And then Ben smiled at me. 

**** 

It was almost morning by the time we got back to Ben’s house. The officers hadn’t been found and the search had been temporarily suspended. They were calling surrounding ranches to bring in their tracking dogs. 

In the meantime, Gramps Johnson was in the freezer of the butcher shop. The town was too small to have a morgue. Doc Green was scheduled to do the autopsy after his normal office hours. There was no one else to see his patients. 

And I had a thought that scared the piss out of me. 

I needed to get in touch with my friend Pat. We had met when I was taking some night classes and we’d dated a few of times, even slept together once or twice, but now we were just friends. She and her father, Dr. Harold Medford, were experts in the field of entomology, specializing in all types of ants, from the little red grease-eaters, to the inch long soldier ants of the Amazon basin, known as mara bunta. 

I shook my head tiredly and trudged up the path behind Ben, swatting my hat rhythmically against my thigh. He smiled at me over his shoulder and opened his door. 

“No need for locks in this town,” he grinned at my look of disbelief. He went into his tiny kitchenette and pulled open the icebox. The interior resembled iceboxes of bachelors around the country: it contained beer and some moldy cheese and a bottle of milk that was starting to turn. 

He took out two beers and handed me one. I waited patiently for him to get out a church key, but Ben held the cap against the countertop and hit the bottle with the flat of his hand. The cap popped off and went spinning on the floor. He tilted the bottle toward me in a toast, then raised it to his lips and I watched avidly as his adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow. 

I licked my lips and followed his actions, popping the cap and tipping my head back as the cold beer flowed down my throat. When I finished, I sighed and took the bottle from my mouth. I opened my eyes to find Ben standing right in front of me. 

He took the bottle from my suddenly nerveless fingers and set it down next to his on the sink. “I need to know if you’ve ever done this before, Bob?” His mouth nuzzled against mine, and the warmth of his breath washed over my lips. 

“Just once, when I was really, really drunk,” I managed to say. “It...wasn’t pleasant.” 

Ben sighed in disappointment and stepped away from me. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to do this. We’ll just pretend nothing ever happened.” 

So there it was: I could let him walk away, and everything would be like it was before. I would never know what it felt like to have him inside me. I would never know what he tasted like. My life would be the way it had been: safe and bland and boring! 

Well, that was bullshit! 

I reached out and grabbed his shirt before he could get too far away from me. “No, we’re not going to pretend anything! Do you know what I did in your bathroom this afternoon? I jerked off thinking about you!” 

Ben’s eyes widened and I felt like kicking myself in the ass. That was more information than I really needed to give him. My face flamed and I tried to turn away from him, but he wouldn’t let me. 

“Bob, what do you think I was doing in the bathroom while you were waiting in the living room?” He laughed softly. 

And then Ben’s mouth was caressing mine, tugging my lower lip between his teeth, suckling it gently. I gasped to catch my breath and he took advantage of my parted lips to slide his tongue into my mouth. It began a passionate duel with mine. My cock was hot and hard and begging to be touched. I could feel his arousal rubbing high against my thigh. 

“We’re not going to have much time, big guy. Let’s go to bed!”

####

Note: The plot thickens, as they say. Ben is trying to get

close to Bob, but the danger lurking in the desert keeps

interfering, to say nothing of Bob's past life in Washington. (I

*told* you not to say anything about that!)  

Ben’s POV 

From ghosties, and ghoulies, and long leggity beasties, and

things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us! --Olde

English prayer  

Episode 2: Long Leggity Beasties 

My old Ford had tangled with one desert wash too many and was now laid up in Pete Grave's Garage, waiting for me to decide if it was worth coming up with the massive chunk of change it was going to cost to send out for a replacement part. I hated like hell getting rid of the old girl, but those new '54 models sure were looking good. 

In the mean time, the department had seen that I was issued a replacement vehicle. The case I was working on was too vital for me not to have reliable wheels. 

I was giving my partner in this investigation a lift to the airport. He had a bug up his ass about what was causing the sudden rash of missing persons this relatively small area of New Mexico was being hit with. 

And truth to tell, I kind of envied that bug. I'd like nothing better than to be up his ass myself! 

**** 

Bob Graham, discredited FBI agent, had come to town not quite a month before. Oh, he wasn't aware I knew his assignment to this case was a major step down for him, but I'm not stupid. Washington doesn't send its top gun to assist in a local investigation out in the boondocks under ordinary circumstances.  

Somehow he had blotted his copybook, but that didn't matter to me. Bob was tall, solidly built, and definitely on the edge, just the way I liked 'em. Joe College, down to the gray fedora on his head that matched the conservative suit he wore like a uniform, and the Chesterfields he smoked liked a chimney. 

And that type was always intrigued by me. A little dangerous, a little rough around the edges, I promised a walk on the wild side. I had met a lot of that sort in the Navy, when I served in the Pacific Theater. They were so anxious for me to get in their pants that I was never alone. 

That didn't stop me from being lonely, but I quickly shook off that uncomfortable thought. 

I had figured some judicious touching, a little innuendo, and I'd be inside his tight ass before the night was over. I didn't even have to use my standard line on him. 'You're very special, you know that? I've never felt like this about anyone before!' That always melted them, but he didn’t need words: he was ready to fall into my hand like a ripe plum! 

And then, don’t ask me why, I had to go and ask if he had ever done this before. 

He had flushed a painful red, and then turned white. Not white like something brand new that was pristine and untouched, but the dingy color of sheets used too often and indifferently washed. I got a really bad feeling about this. 

Something odd happened when he admitted he had been taken after someone had gotten him drunk, and he had been fucked and fucked over, mind as well as body: I felt murderous! 

Someone had gotten his rocks off, and it hadn't been him. He hadn't enjoyed it. 

That could make all the difference with men like him, who had been indoctrinated since birth to scorn those of us who prefer members of our own sex. I sighed. He wanted me, but he hated himself for that wanting. 

Somehow, that night, I managed to get past the first barrier, and I kissed him. I could feel his arousal jutting against my abdomen, and I knew that if I acted on the mixed messages he was sending out, I could have him, but at the risk of screwing up the investigation. And that would put me in deep shit with my captain, who would not be pleased if a top government cop packed up his tent and vanished into the night because I couldn't keep my pants zipped. 

I had an arm around him, and I could feel the tremors running through his body, see the hesitancy as well as the desire in his dark eyes. Surprising at it seemed, I was starting to like the big guy. So--- I kept my dick behind my zipper. 

"I have a feeling you're going to be in town for a while, Bob. How about we give whatever this is between us some time?" I don't know which of us was more surprised by my unexpected act of chivalry. 

The next thing I knew, warm, dry lips were pressing against mine, demanding entrance for an insistent tongue. I nearly came in my pants right then, and I hadn't done anything so juvenile in over twenty years! 

I groaned and feasted on his mouth, threading my fingers through the softness of his hair, running my nails over the hollow at the base of his skull. "Ah, Bobby, I want you so badly! But I don't think you're ready for what I can give you!" 

"Ben..." he started to protest as I eased away from him. He shuddered as I stroked a thumb along the line of his jaw, and his eyelids lowered, hiding whatever he was feeling. 

"Don't rush it, baby. If it's for real, it won't be going anywhere!" 

An involuntary laugh sputtered from him. "That sounds like something a father would be telling his daughter." 

I wasn't too thrilled that he could laugh, when all I wanted to do was strip those trousers off his long legs, shove him onto his hands and knees on that couch and show him what life was all about. 

Instead I sighed again, kissed him one last time, licking his lips to take the taste of us with me and left him to sleep alone on the couch in my living room. 

**** 

Now here it was, almost four weeks later, and we were progressing pretty satisfactorily. He'd jerk me off while I went down on him, and sometimes he'd lick my cock like it was a lollipop he had a massive craving for, but I wasn't pushing him past that point. 

He was a good man, and I lived in hope that one night soon he'd let me love him the way he deserved. 

I let him off by the runway and went to find a parking spot. The Air Force transport that was bringing in the experts was just landing as I joined him. 

Two gorgeous, female legs descended the gangway and I not so much heard as felt Bob suck in his breath. 

And I became concerned. I was willing to wait as long as it took, but I didn't need any competition, thank you very much. And even less did I want his attention distracted from me. 

"Bob!" 

"Robert!" 

Two voices called his name at the same time; one was the owner of those endless legs and the other an older man who was following the woman across the tarmac. 

Bob had a broad grin on his face. I scowled, but he wasn't looking at me. "Pat! Dr. Medford! It's great to see you again!" 

Drop-dead gorgeous, in a pencil slim skirt and a snug suit jacket that emphasized her small waist and shapely hips, Pat held her hands out to him and Bob took them in a welcoming grip, leaning forward to brush a self-conscious kiss on her cheek, as he shot me an awkward glance which I ignored. 

Even the silly little hat on her head looked good. I was depressed. 

"It's good to see you too, Robert! It's been much too long." Dr. Medford turned to order a disgruntled military type to retrieve their luggage. I couldn't help grinning at his cavalier attitude. That was a full bird colonel he was treating like a bellhop! 

The woman turned away to assist her father with some of their more carefully packed instruments and I took the opportunity to whisper in Bob's ear, "Should I be jealous?" I was so close to him I could feel his heat, drown in his scent. 

He jumped and nervously touched the tip of his tongue to his upper lip. I could feel my gut tighten in response to his action. 

"Do that again, and I'll take you down, right here, right now, in front of God and the Air Force!" I was only half joking, but his eyes darkened and his breath hitched. A quick glance down revealed the sudden tenting of his trousers and I shuddered that my words had gotten that response from him. 

"Why don't we discuss your obvious obsession with my mouth over dinner?" Finally! He finally felt comfortable enough with me and with our budding relationship to tease! 

I let out a breath I didn't realized I was holding and grinned at him. "Oh yeah, big guy! You can count on it!" 

And then the entomologists were back with us and Bob was making the introductions. 

"Dr. Medford, Pat, this is Ben Petersen, New Mexico State police. He’s the officer who's in charge of this investigation. Ben, this is Dr. Medford, and Dr. Medford!" 

Dr. Medford extended his paper-dry hand and greeted me. "How do you do, young man?" 

'Young man'? I'm thirty-seven years old! No one has called me 'young man' since before I joined the Navy! "Um, it's nice to meet you, sir. You as well, Miss...er Dr. Medford." 

She smiled wryly and I found myself liking her in spite of the possible threat she posed. "It's okay, Ben. I'm used to it. And let me introduce you to Colonel Kibby. Before he has a coronary!" she added under her breath, and I liked her even more. I didn't have much use for officers, which is why I never rose above the rank of sergeant although I had the years and the experience necessary for a promotion. 

"Colonel," I acknowledged shortly. I couldn't help but notice that Bob seemed wary around him, and I stepped between them, offering my hand although it went against the grain. "My vehicle is just over there. Why don't you all wait here while Bob and I go and bring it around?" 

**** 

I got what I considered mine away from those people and hustled him over to the car. 

"What was that all about, Ben?" he asked, confused by my somewhat proprietary behavior. 

"I could ask you the same thing! What's with the Colonel?" I demanded in response, and he had the grace to look uncomfortable. A sudden thought hit me. "Is he the one who got you drunk?" 

"What?" His voice rose sharply and he looked around, distressed. He dropped his tone and fought for calm. "Sorry. No, it wasn't him. The FBI and the Air Force don't mix. I've run across Kibby a few times in DC, but only in an official capacity. He's an all right guy." 

"Then why did you almost shy away from him?" 

Bob looked really unhappy. "I don't know who in Washington is aware of what happened. No one was supposed to know about it. But I feel like everyone in DC is talking and pointing and snickering behind my back." 

"That's really paranoid, you know that, big guy?" 

He shrugged. "Doesn't mean it isn't true." 

I rubbed his shoulder and opened the driver's door. "Hey, big guy, I still love you!" 

He froze, half in and half out of the car. I swallowed hard, wondering where those words had come from. I tried for an innocent look and raised my eyebrows. 

I'll never know what he would have said. He probably doesn't know himself what he would have said. The radio squawked and drew my attention. 

"Petersen." I was still trying for a suave, insouciant smile when what dispatch was saying got through the fog of lust that constantly surrounded me. 

The smile vanished and I felt myself go dead white. I know my eyes took on a haunted look. "Ben?" Bob sounded shaken. 

"Get in, get in! The utility company has reported several of their linesmen never came in off the range to clock out after their regular shift and a rancher has notified us that about twenty head of prime cattle on his southwest range have been rustled!" 

"But you don't think it was rustlers! Oh shit! Wait, we have to get Dr. Medford and Pat and Colonel Kibby!" 

I was frantic. This was my domain, these were my people! I slammed the car to a halt by the Washington contingent and urged them to get in. "Leave the luggage; I'll have someone get it later. We've got big problems!" 

Dr. Medford was almost dancing with glee. "Wait, wait, my boy! We have the ability to search the desert right now! Colonel Kibby can have us up in helicopters at a moment's notice! Isn't that right, Colonel?" Whatever information Bob had seen fit to forward to him had tweaked his scientific interest. He had the bit between his teeth and he was raring to go! 

It never fails to amaze me what it takes to make some people happy. 

**** 

We were airborne in no time, but I definitely was miserable. True, Bob was with Dr. Medford in one of the two helicopters Kibby had commandeered, but it was the wrong one. I listened sourly as my Dr. Medford persisted in mangling the radio communication with the other helicopter. "You need to say 'over and out'," I told him as he ended the conversation with his daughter. 

He looked at me in disgust. "Why?" 

"So she knows you're finished talking." 

"She knows I've said everything I needed to say!" 

"You have to say 'over and...' Never mind!" I took the headset from him. "Over and out," I said into it. 

This time he huffed and glowered at me, as if I was being unreasonable to want him to follow procedure. 

We had been flying over the desert for almost an hour, quartering it again and again.  Then, "Dad!" 

"Yes, Patricia! I see it! There! There!" 

He pointed to a spot just to our starboard side. Below us on the desert floor was a huge mound of soil piled around an enormous opening. Sagebrush dotted the sides, ripped out and left to die in the hot desert sun. 

I taped the pilot on his arm and gave him the signal to bring the chopper down as low as he safely could. We came in from the west and Bob and Pat came in from the opposite direction. The two helicopters hovered about ten feet above the mound that looked like nothing so much as a...huge anthill! 

We could see bleached bones tumbling down the side of the mound, tibias, femurs, pelvises, and skulls, human skulls! And a couple of utility belts like those a linesman would wear, and police issue holsters, the pistols missing, the type Blackburn and Newbury carried. 

A screeching so shrill we could hear it over the 'whup, whup, whup' of the chopper blades suddenly assaulted our ears. 

An immense dark shape appeared shockingly in the mouth of the burrow, yard-long antennae waving as if it sought to discover the source of the vibrations that shook its home. Its wicked-looking mandibles tossed a rib cage out of the way and it emerged further into the heat of the desert afternoon. 

I had never seen anything so horrifying, not on those miserable, tiny islands during the war, not when we liberated our guys from Nip death camps. I wanted to crawl into a deep hole and hide. I was so scared the spit in my mouth dried up. 

Colonel Kibby was yelling, "Abort! Abort!" 

The pilot uttered an obscene curse and pulled back on the joystick, narrowly avoiding a collision with the other helicopter. "Ah shit!" he yelled. "What the fuck is that?" 

"Bob?" I shouted over the radio.  "Bob, you okay over there, big guy? Over." 

Dr. Medford was disappointed that even in the stress of the moment I hadn't forgotten to say the magic word. 

"We're fine here, Ben." Amazingly, his voice was steady. In the face of actual danger, he was like the Rock of Gibraltar. "We've got to get back to headquarters and call in the military! This is..." He was at a loss for a term to describe the surrealistic dreamscape that we had stumbled upon. "We don't have enough manpower to handle this!" 

"Right!" I pounded on the pilot's shoulder. "Get us back to the airport. Colonel Kibby, who needs to be notified about this?" 

Kibby was looking green, and for once I could sympathize with him. What we had just seen was mankind's worst nightmare. "General O'Brien," he said shakily. "It's General O'Brien. He's my C.O. Dr. Medford, I have to ask you, what will be the best way to deal with those things?" 

"I'll have to give that considerable thought, Colonel, and discuss it with Patricia as well," the old man said calmly. 

"What I want to know is how the fuck they got there? That was a giant ant, wasn't it?" I was about ready to piss my pants, and I hated feeling that out of control. 

"Yes it was, Sergeant Petersen. How astute of you to notice." 

I curled my lip at him, but his gaze had become unfocused. "How close are we to Los Alamos?" he asked suddenly, and his eyes lit up when he learned of its proximity to the area where we spotted the giant ants. "Ah, that might very well explain it!" 

"Explain what?" Colonel Kibby demanded, and I was glad the scientist's obscure remarks weren't getting to me alone. 

**** 

While Colonel Kibby was setting up a command post at police headquarters, and bringing his superior officer up to speed, I was doing the same with my captain. He frowned at me when I finished, as if I had cooked up the whole thing to ruin his weekend. 

"Get the fuck out of here, Petersen! I think you've caused enough trouble for one day!" 

"Sorry, sir." And I swallowed an evil grin. I lived for seeing my captain sweat. He was the reason Newbury had been out on patrol with Blackburn instead of me. "I'll just let myself out!" 

As I gently closed his door, I could hear him requesting a call be put through to the governor. 

**** 

Dinner was long past. Dr. Medford and his daughter were examining all the reports that had been compiled since before we knew we had an official crisis. They were being put up at the mayor’s house, and had ruthlessly appropriated his telephone, exhausting the operator, making calls to all parts of the country, contacting colleagues in Great Britain and in the Far East. 

“C’mon, Bob, there’s nothing we can do right now. Tomorrow is going to be a bitch on wheels. Let’s get some rest.” 

The two Drs. Medford absently waved us away, and I got him out of there before he feel asleep on his feet. 

“Why’d you do that, Ben? They need us!” 

“They don’t need anybody: they have each other and science. I, on the other hand, desperately need you!”

We walked through the cool night air to my house. It never failed to amaze Bob that the nights could grow so cold here, in sharp contrast to the stifling heat of the day. I relished it, and let my thoughts dwell on my partner’s powerful body. 

I had caught him coming out of the shower, just that morning, a towel draped low over his hip. It was all I could do not to strip it off and back him up against the wall, trapping his hands by his head, letting my lips wander over his flat nipples, biting and suckling. 

We arrived at the house before I knew it, and Bob opened the door, then stood aside for me to enter before him. I was halfway through when I froze. His hands were caressing my ass, sliding into my back pockets and squeezing my buttocks. A soft, needy moan whispered past my lips. 

He pushed me forward and kicked the door shut. When I turned to face him, he had tossed his jacket aside, his hands already on his belt, undoing the buckle. “Tonight, Ben! I need you to fuck me tonight!” 

Without any instruction from my brain, my hands began tearing at my tie, and I flung it aside with abandon. “Why, Bob?” I took his lips with hot, open-mouthed kisses,  exploring the uneven edges of his teeth,  the roughness of his tongue, the hot interior that was begging to be licked. 

I couldn’t close my eyes; there was too much to see, too much I didn’t want to miss, and I became more and more frantic to get into him. And my fly was still buttoned. Desperately I rocked my hips forward, needing relief, on the verge of exploding as I hadn’t since I was a boy. 

He still hadn’t answered my question, but now I didn’t care. It wasn’t my birthday, but I felt as if I had been given the best present in the world. 

Somehow we got into the bedroom and I was naked and Bob was there with me, moaning and writhing as if he wanted to get inside my skin. “Now, Ben!” he demanded gutturally. 

I flipped him onto his stomach and spread his legs, kneeling between his thighs. He was beautiful. The long, elegant muscles of his back flowed into tight buttocks that were clenching with tension and mounting passion. I leaned forward and ran my tongue from that sensitive spot just above his tailbone to the small of his back. 

He whimpered. 

I had been praying nightly for this, and I wasn’t unprepared. A tube of lubricant sat ready on the night table and I reached for it with a hand that shook. The cool gel was slick on my fingers and I gently spread it between Bob’s cheeks, finding the puckered opening and teasing it with light strokes. 

Before he could stop himself, Bob was thrusting back onto my finger, and I was able to slip another one into him. I found the spot that electrified him with unexpected pleasure, and I knew he was mine. Quickly I coated my cock and positioned myself for entry. Distracting him with nips and bites on his shoulders and neck, and lightly pinching his nipples, I nudged my way in, pausing whenever he stiffened. As his muscles relaxed and loosened around me, I pressed forward another inch, and then another, until I was balls-deep in him and he could feel my hair-roughened thighs against his ass. 

He backed up onto his knees, squeezing my cock, caressing me with his inner muscles. I thrust forward and then pulled back until only the head of my cock was still imbedded in him. He groaned. “Fuck me, Ben! Please fuck me!” 

It had been too long, I wanted him too much, and the horror out in the desert was still waiting for us. We were alive, unlike Blackburn and Newbury, and we celebrated that fact the way mankind has done through the ages. We fucked each other senseless. 

“I’m going to come, baby!” I whispered in his ear, my tongue running along the edge of it, while I reached for his cock and jerked him off with long strokes. “I’m going to come so deep inside you you’ll never be free of me!” I bit down on his neck, and hit the perfect spot at the same time and he began to shout. His semen spurted all over my hand and his chest and the bed, while I was pouring myself into him. 

His knees were trembling too much to support us and he collapsed onto the bed, struggling to bring his breathing under control. He was wheezing like a bellows and I was beginning to get concerned, when I realized that my full weight was pressing down on him. With a satisfied groan, I eased myself out of him and rolled over. 

“Are you okay, Bobby?” I asked as I gathered him against me. 

“No wonder all those guys wanted you to fuck them!” His shoulders were shaking. 

I stiffened. Talking about past conquests was the last thing I wanted to do. “You’re not a notch on my bedpost you know.” 

He laughed mirthlessly. “Even if I was, you’re worth it! I’ve never been fucked like that! I don’t know why I fought against it for so long! It was...Ben, where are you going?” 

I got to my feet and staggered until I could get my bearings again. “I’m going to take a shower. I ...” ‘feel dirty,’ but I didn’t say that aloud. 

Go figure. I had fucked more guys than I could remember. And I wanted Bob as I hadn’t wanted anyone in years... since the captain broke up my partnership with Blackburn. There was no reason for me to feel anything except sated. 

So why did I feel so used? 

I stood under the shower and let the tepid water pelt down on me. I thought I was the hottest thing since ginger ale, ole love ‘em and leave ‘em Ben, and here I was, ready to weep because I had finally given my heart away. And it didn’t matter; he didn’t care, he didn’t want it. 

And then the shower curtain was pushed aside and he stepped into the tub. I didn’t want him to see me like this. I turned away. 

His arms went around me and turned me back toward him, and his hand tipped my chin up. He looked into my eyes and my breath caught in my throat. “If you say, ‘Here’s looking at you, Kid!’, I’m going to stake you out in the desert for those ants to find!” 

He laughed gently and hugged me tight against his body. “Tonight meant a lot to me, Ben. I needed what you gave me; I had no idea how much I needed it. You’ve made me complete again.” 

Oh shit. Here’s where I get left for the girl! 

“Okay, Bob, I can take it. Just drop the other shoe and let me finish my fucking shower in peace.” 

He rubbed his cheek against my hair. “I used to date Pat. I even slept with her. But it never felt right. And I could never understand why. Then that thing in Washington happened and I felt adrift. Until I met you. But I was still confused and I wasn’t sure what path to take. When I saw Pat again this afternoon, it began to make sense. And then those things in the desert... I don’t know how much time I have left here, how much time we have left...But this is where I want to be. In this town. In this house. If you’ll have me...with you.” 

I couldn't believe a classy guy like Bob would want someone like me for anything more than the sex. And I did something I had never done, much less in the arms of a man I had taken to my bed. 

I cried.

####

Note: With the nest discovered, a way must be found to destroy

the threat of the ants. Meanwhile, Bob and Ben's relationship

deepens. 

Bob’s POV 

"We've only had a close view of what may be the beginning of the

end for us!" --Dr. Harold Medford            

Episode 3: The Beginning of the End?           

I was having the most erotic dream! Oh, I had had dreams of this sort before, where I would be helpless and some strong, anonymous male would fuck me until I pleaded for release. 

But then, after that drunken incident in D.C., it had become a nightmare. I questioned my responsibility for what had happened, I questioned my manhood, I questioned my worth as a human being. 

Now, however, I knew what someone with a knowledge of male anatomy could do, what a cock in my ass could make me feel! 

I hummed with pleasure and turned partly onto my stomach, raising a leg and leaving my anus and scrotum exposed. Gentle fingers stroked down my spine, followed the curve of my buttocks and explored the shadowed cleft between. 

Mindlessly I pressed back onto the questing finger, slick with lubricant, and accepted it easily. It stretched me and prepared me for the greater invasion. A hand reached around my waist and took my cock into a firm grasp, caressing me, spreading pre come along my hardened length. 

Teeth nibbled along my shoulder to my neck and then lips began to suckle. That's going to leave a mark! I thought hazily and then dismissed it as unimportant. The fingers in my ass were removed and I moaned in protest, until something blunt and hot replaced them. 

Inch by slow inch it pushed forward until my dream lover was buried balls deep in my ass. Lazily the shaft was withdrawn until only the swollen tip remained, held by the ring of tight muscle. With a powerful thrust forward it stroked across a spot that caused me to cry out in ecstasy. "Again!" I begged. "Please, again!" 

The hard cock in my ass fucked me as the hand around my own weeping erection masturbated me. 

And my lover proved that his movements were not random, as again and again he found that spot and drove me closer and closer to a climax such as I had never enjoyed, not with a woman, and certainly never with a man. 

I was pushed over completely onto my stomach and bruising hands sank into my hips, raising them up off the bed. The speed of his fucking increased and he took my cock in his fist once more. I thrust back onto him, desperate for more, and then suddenly it was all there, just within my grasp. He rocked forward one more time and I began spurting semen through his fingers, onto my chest, onto the sheets and the pillows. 

Muted cries spilled from my lover as he poured himself into my scarcely virgin passageway. My eyes flew opened and I realized it was not a dream, it was actually happening, and hard male flesh had impaled me and made me come. 

Ben moaned as he collapsed bonelessly over my back. My arms trembled and then gave way beneath our combined weight. 

"I thought I was dreaming!" I managed to croak out. 

"If you ever have a dream like that, I'd better damn sure be in it!" He carefully disengaged us. 

I rolled over and he lay sprawled on me, chest to chest. He wedged my legs apart and settled himself against me, our cocks touching and growing semi-aroused. I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. His early morning stubble abraded the tender skin of my neck. 

"This is going to be very difficult to explain!" I complained mildly. I wasn’t really worried, I decided. I carried a gun: I’d just shoot anyone who made a snide remark. 

"Nah, it'll be a snap! They'll see that monster hickey I gave you and think you're some kind of stud! Which, may I say, you are! I've never had a fuck like that before!" 

"It was pretty wonderful for me too," I said, somewhat shyly. "You made it so good for me.  You've replaced a really bad memory with one that will give me wet dreams for the rest of my life, Ben. Thank you." 

"You're really special, you know that Bobby? And I don't want to be just a memory. I want to be a part of your life!" 

I felt uncomfortable. He was the best fuck I ever had, but did I want to take him back to Washington? My job, such as it was, would be at extreme risk, and my family and friends would cut me out of their lives. Could I accept being ostracized by everyone who mattered to me? 

Then again, could I deny how he made me feel, what he made me feel? 

I pushed the thought away. There would be time enough to worry over it once we resolved this crisis in the desert. In the meantime, his lips were wandering over my cheek and jaw, seeking my mouth. My cock stirred to life and his fingers stroked my ass. I palmed the firm cheeks of his butt and pulled him against me. 

"Again?" I asked breathily. 

"Again!" he agreed. 

**** 

We strolled into town hall where the command post had been set up. Dr. Medford was already there, explaining his findings to General O'Brien, who had arrived sometime before breakfast. He was still munching on a piece of dry toast the old man had absently given him. 

"You see, General, we're very close to Los Alamos. When the first atomic bomb was detonated there in 1945, it released a cloud of radiation that must have affected plant and animal life in this region." 

"But Dr. Medford, that was almost ten years ago. Would it have taken that long for us to become aware of the results?" 

"Yes, indeed, General. This area is so vast, that if it weren't for the people who were reported missing, we might have gone on for more years than I care to think about, ignorant of the danger we, the human race, were in!" 

The General flushed an angry red. "If the danger is as imminent as you say, why was nothing done about this sooner?" 

"You must understand the nature of the beast, General." Pat Medford joined them and spoke for her father, who hadn't gotten any sleep at all and was running on caffeine and candy bars. 

General O'Brien was running short of patience. He had been getting half-assed information for the last week. His commander-in-chief expected him to have everything under control, and he did not want the press involved. The press, meanwhile, was hounding him relentlessly. 

Without facing her he barked angrily, "I must understand nothing, Miss! You are not involved with this investigation, so please keep your interfering nose out of it!" He wheeled around to confront her and snapped his mouth shut as he got the full benefit of her beauty. 

‘Start kicking yourself, boyo,’ he thought miserably to himself. ‘Here’s a prime piece of loveliness, and you’ve thrown a spanner in the works before you could even get to know her!’ 

"This is Dr. Medford, the younger, General. She actually has a great deal to say about all of this!" I told him easily, enjoying his discomfort. I wouldn't let him denigrate Pat's accomplishments. She had gone far in a field that stubbornly persisted in denying women its ranks. "While her father may be an expert on insects, Pat is the one who specializes in ants. We're going to need her expertise, if we want to survive this catastrophe!" 

The General's mouth opened and closed in impotent frustration. I could tell it really annoyed him to be taken to task by a civilian. And then he folded his lips together and took it like a man. 

"I beg your pardon, Dr. Medford, " he said, addressing Pat. "I am under great duress, but it was extremely rude of me to refuse to consider your accomplishments. Please forgive me, and tell me why we couldn't have destroyed this nest last night." 

O'Brien hadn't reached the rank of general by being a fool. He knew when he had overstepped the bounds, and he knew when to kiss ass. And he had just noticed how very shapely Pat’s was. 

As I said, the man was not a fool. 

"Thank you, General." From the way she lowered her eyes and then looked up at him through her lashes, I was willing to bet that she had realized the same thing. 

I wondered if Ben would be pleased to know he no longer had a rival for my affections? 

Pat was showing General O’Brien a grid that marked the area where we had spotted the huge anthill. "These ants are night foragers. They stay within their nest during the oppressive heat of the day. If we had tried to destroy it last night, we would have failed miserably, because most of the workers would have been away from it. However, if we go in at, say around noon, the hottest time of the day, we'll be certain of wiping out the entire colony." 

"So we go up and drop bombs on it in three hours?" the General wanted to know, glancing impatiently at his watch. 

"No, that would be too random. And I must have access to the egg chamber, to be certain that no new queens have hatched out." 

"How are you going to do that?" Ben asked. He had been thumbing through black and white photos of ants at war, and he paled a little at the thought of confronting their big brothers in person. 

"We'll lay down a suppressing line of phosphorous. The heat it generates will keep them in the nest. They we'll fire canisters of cyanide gas into the opening to kill them. Once the temperature has cooled enough for us to safely approach, we'll go down into it and find and examine the egg chamber." 

"Dr. Medford, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to expose yourself to such danger!" General O'Brien protested. "Dr. Medford!" He turned to her father for support. 

"I would love to agree with you General, but Pat is the only one of us here who has the knowledge of what to look for." 

"She could describe it to Graham!" 

"Bob would never be able to tell me what I need to know, and there isn't time enough to give him a course in ant physiology and social structure. I go in. There is no other option!" 

Ben poked me in the ribs, a smirk on his face. The General looked hopelessly enthralled by her strength of character. 

On the other hand, I hadn't been attracted by it at all. I didn’t want a strong woman; I wanted a strong man! 

"C'mon, we've got to round up those supplies!" 

**** 

To coin a phrase, it was hot as hell out on the desert floor. General O’Brien had been able to mobilize a National Guard unit to deal with this. Colonel Kibby had protested that regular soldiers would follow orders better, but Ben had argued that the guardsmen were all locals who were familiar with the area and the territory surrounding the nest. 

Colonel Kibby would be loading up my bazooka, while General O'Brien did the same for Ben. It made me a little uncomfortable to see the General so close to my...lover. That was the first time I had ever referred to Ben as that, even to myself. I could feel the heat in my cheeks. 

I altered my position slightly so Kibby wouldn't notice the bulge in my trousers. 

The Colonel tapped my head, signaling that he was clear, and I fired the first phosphorus round. Ben wasn't far behind, and then the other bazookas were depositing their deadly shells around the opening of the anthill. 

One of the ants tried to emerge, and Dr. Medford screamed, "Aim at its antennae! Its senses are in its antennae!" 

Our backup guardsmen began firing the machine guns they had been armed with for just such as occasion. The ant dropped back into the hole and we continued firing the phosphorus. 

It took about ten minutes before Pat was happy with the results of our barrage. At her signal canisters of cyanide gas were dropped into the opening. 

"Is that saturated enough?" General O'Brien asked. 

Ben groaned and rolled his shoulders. "If I can raise an arm after we get out of this place, I'll show you just how saturated I can get!" 

"Lush!" I said softly, but he heard me and flashed me a cocky grin. 

Approaching me on the excuse that he needed to give me my equipment, he leaned in close and whispered, "And I love you too!" 

I got so hard so fast I nearly doubled over with it. He heard my gasp and moved in closer. "Do you know what you do to me? I want to fuck you so badly, I don't care who's around to watch!" 

My face flushed with the images his words drew in my mind and I bit my lip. Ben's eyes were on my mouth, and I remembered his promise the day before to take me down and take me. Ripples of desire washed through me. "You're lucky we have a job to do Bobby! Just wait until I get you home!" 

I leaned toward him, oblivious to our surroundings. 

"Bob! Ben! Are you ready?" Pat had her gas mask on and was waiting for us to set up the stakes and ropes to descend into the nest. 

Ben made sure no one was watching us, then pursed his lips and sent me a kiss. Before I could respond to his outrageous gesture, he had turned and was putting on his own protective gear, preparing to go down the hole. 

We rappelled down about twenty feet, into an ocean of deadly mist. The area right below the opening was like a muted twilight. Pat switched on her lantern and in the fitful light our shadows grew and shrank upon the walls, giving an eerie otherworldliness to the cavern. Outcroppings appeared to leap out at us, and I could feel clammy sweat pooling under my arms. 

Ben took the point, sweeping the area ahead of us before motioning for us to follow. The first corridor angled down and the gas lowered as it cooled, to swirl around our knees. 

Suddenly Ben shouted a warning, and I lunged forward, the machine gun I carried at the ready. Not a meter before him was the largest ant I had ever seen. I didn't know then that it was a worker, and at nine feet, one of the smaller members of the nest.  My finger tightened on the trigger. 

"No!" Pat cried. "It's dead! It would have attacked us long before this otherwise!" 

The hairs on the back of my neck were stiff. I was glad something was, because my cock was so limp, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to use it again for anything except taking a piss! I was positive something was coming up behind me, but when I whirled around there was nothing there. 

Pat held the lantern up so the light fell on the sides of the tunnel. She was utterly fascinated by the intricacy of the structure. "Look at this! Isn't this amazing?" Her voice was filled with awe as her hand stroked down the wall. "Held together by saliva!" 

Ben swallowed audibly and began walking forward again. "Yeah, well spit's all that's holding me together right now too!" 

I would have smiled, but I shared his feeling. All it would take was one more sighting and I was afraid I’d piss my pants. 

And then the worst that could happen, happened. A wall caved in on itself and two HUGE ants, their antennae waving, came toward us. The screeching sound we had heard in the helicopters echoed in the cavern, piercing our ears like knives. Those savage mandibles came together like pincers and my mouth flooded with bile. 

Fortunately, my finger didn't need direction from my brain, because somewhere along the way my neural pathways were short-circuited. Some atavistic instinct went to work, and I was squeezing the trigger and yelling and dodging forward to shove Ben out of the way without any conscious decisions. 

Another part of the wall collapsed and when the dust settled, there were ant body parts everywhere. And Ben was down. 

I could feel the blood drain down to my gut and I staggered before I could regain my equilibrium. “Ben! Baby!” I tossed aside the machine gun and dropped to my knees beside him. My hands were shaking as I slid an arm under his shoulders. “Come on, Ben! Don’t be dead! You can’t be dead!” 

It was becoming really difficult to breathe and the goggles of the mask were fogging up. And then Ben groaned and pushed weakly at the carcass that had trapped his lower body. Together, we shoved the insect off his legs, grimacing at the sticky ichor that was oozing out of the bullet holes we had drilled through it. 

I helped him up to his feet and supported him until he steadied. Unable to contain myself, I grabbed him and held him close to my shaking body. Suddenly my cock was hard and aching and I rubbed it against his hip, needing to have his hands on me more than I needed to breathe. 

“Um, excuse me, gentlemen?” 

Pat! Oh, Christ, I had forgotten all about her. What could I possibly say that would convince her she hadn’t seen what she had seen? 

“Adrenaline sure plays hell with a body’s emotions, doesn’t it?” Ben remarked genially and stepped away from me. “Thanks, big guy. I’m glad you were watching my back.” 

Pat gave a seemingly unconcerned nod and gestured for us to continue on down through the nest. 

“How do you explain those two, Pat? I thought the gas was supposed to kill them.” I was coming up the rear again. 

“That chamber looked as if it had caved in. The original charges must have caught them in there and sealed them off so the gas couldn’t do its job.” She drew in a deep breath. “Please God that was the only pair that escaped the cyanide.” 

I shuddered and seconded her prayer. 

We rounded one last bend and found ourselves in an enormous cavern filled with large white capsules. Pat wandered through the field of ant eggs searching for only she knew what. 

“Oh shit!” 

My jaw dropped open. I had never heard her swear before. “Pat, what is it?” 

She pulled out her radio and switched it on. “Dad, are you there?” 

“Yes, yes Patricia! What have you found?” 

“It doesn’t look good, Dad. They seem to hatch out directly as adults, skipping the larval stage. There’s an extremely strong brood odor here as well. At least two queens have hatched out! There are no wings.” 

“Oh, dear God! Are you sure?” 

“Have you ever known me to be wrong, Dad?” 

“No! Destroy everything in the egg chamber and return to the surface at once!” 

“We’re on our way, Dad.” 

She thumbed off the radio and turned to us. “Burn it!” she ordered tersely. 

“What?” 

“Burn it all!” Her voice was almost shrill. 

Ben caught my eye and shrugged. We detached the flamethrowers from the webbing that secured them to our backs and sprayed the entire chamber with gouts of flame. The eggs caught fire and exploded, crackling and hissing as the contents cooked into a large ant omelet. 

Pat was heading back up to the surface, almost at a run. I motioned Ben to follow her, and I guarded our backs. The odor of burning insect following us up into the sunlight. It clung to our clothes. 

Once back up top, we shed the protective gear we wore along with the gas masks. Dr. Medford was almost beside himself. 

“Are you very sure, Patricia?” he repeated once again. 

She sighed and ran her hands through her tousled curls. “Oh, yes Dad.” 

General O’Brien stood next to Pat, and she leaned against him, letting him support her weight. I don’t think even she realized what she had done. “How bad is it?” he asked as he rubbed her back. 

Pat was lost deep in thoughts that were not pleasant. Her father answered the General. 

“I’m afraid it’s as bad as it can get! What we have here are two queens who hatched, dried their wings and took off on their honeymoon flight, followed by two or more of the smaller males. They’ll mate. The males are no problem; they will die soon after. But the queens...” He shook his head. His eyes looked old and tired. “A normal queen can lay eggs fertilized on that one flight for up to fifteen years! These giants...who can tell?” 

“Do you know where they’ll go?” 

“Their wings are generally useless, and the queens will drift on the air currents until they drop off. They’ll feel the need to reproduce at that point, and they’ll seek a spot suitable to start their colony. And we have no idea know where that might be!”

“None at all?” The General looked appalled. 

“Not here. Not now. Come along. We had best get back to headquarters. Washington will need to be notified.” 

“And then...?” 

“And then, we find them and kill them!” 

#### 

Note: Our little band finally gets the break they've been

waiting for, but at what cost? Ben and Bob are ordered to

California to investigate a very strange theft.  

Ben’s POV 

"Man, that's real coffee!" -unknown actor successfully completing the stunt for a Hertz Rent-a-Car commercial, and reading the wrong tag line. 

Episode 4: And Now a Word From Our Sponsors! 

"’And when we find them, we destroy them!’" 

Dr. Medford's words came back to taunt them. A month had passed and they were still working on the first part of the old man's edict. The blackout on the press was in effect, but the reporters were breathing down their necks, demanding information that they didn’t have and couldn’t give if they did. There would be rioting in the streets if the general populace were aware of the magnitude of this disaster! 

If the threat of the giant ants was not neutralized before the queens could hatch out new queens, then the human race would be extinct in not much more than a year! 

The military had sent out word that any unusual incidents reported in the papers or over the newswires were to be sent on to the New Mexico contingent. In the four weeks since they had set up the command post there, they had been bombarded with bizarre items, from spontaneous combustions and rainfalls of frogs to people claiming they had been abducted by bug-eyed monsters from space. 

It was amazing how many unexplained occurrences made it into print. Each one needed to be investigated, and they were stretched paper-thin in an effort to do so. 

The little group badly needed a break. 

And then they got one. A desperate SOS came over the wire. The SS Viking was under attack in the Pacific. One of the queens had made her nest in an empty cargo hold that had been left uncovered while the ship was docked in Acapulco. The sailors were on shore leave, and the skeleton crew never even noticed anything was amiss. And then her eggs reached maturity and the crew became just so much breakfast for the newly hatched ants. 

General O'Brien ordered the nearest vessel to the site, but the SS Milwaukee was only able to rescue two sailors from the sea. When it was determined that no crew members were alive on the ill-fated vessel, the Milwaukee was ordered to fire on her sister ship and the Viking went down with whatever was on board. 

Although the Milwaukee's captain assured the General that all possible measures had been taken to be certain no one was alive on the Viking at the time of her sinking, he was devastated. It was by his order that the ship was shelled, and ultimately it was his responsibility. 

Pat put her arm around his shoulders and helped him from the room. There was too much to do, and not enough hours in the day to get it done. He seldom slept, ate if he remembered, and now it was taking its toll. The lovely scientist led him to his quarters and firmly closed the door behind them. Gently she removed his clothes, and then striped hers off as well. 

She pushed him back onto his narrow cot and followed him down. "Shh, shh," she murmured into his ear. "Let me take your mind off this, for just a little while!" 

And Bob O'Brien took what she offered and dropped his burden. For an hour he found oblivion in the entomologist's arms. 

**** 

I saw the look on Bob's face when Pat led the General out of the command center. "You okay with that, big guy? She was your girl, once!" 

"No, Ben. She was never my girl. We spent time together, for a while. Her father even hoped that we would get married. But she was never mine!" 

I couldn't prevent a frown. "You wanted to marry her?" This was the first I had heard of that. If he was willing to contemplate marriage, even knowing what he was, then there was still a chance that I could lose him. 

Bob met my eyes, and shrugged. "I...didn't know what I wanted." 

"And now?" I wasn’t sure I needed to hear his answer, and yet for some twisted reason, I pressed him for one. 

A soft smile curved his lips and all I could think of was swallowing that smile. He shook his head. "Now, that's a long-gone dream. I could no more marry Pat than I could marry...you." He looked down to where my hand was suddenly gripping his arm, startled. My nails were digging painfully into his biceps. "Ben?" 

"You're mine, Bob! Don't you ever forget that! No matter what happened before, I was the one who showed you what it could be like! You'll always be mine!" 

"So you're saying I'm your bitch?" 

"That's not what I..." 

"Robert, Ben!" Dr. Medford was hurrying toward us, waving a sheet of paper in his hand. "I think we've finally got our breakthrough!" 

"We'll finish this later!" I hissed at my lover and dropped his arm. "What is it, Dr. Medford?" I asked, trying to sound as if my world wasn’t falling down around my ears. 

"Look at this, my boy! A pilot in Texas claims that he crashed his plane when he was attacked by flying saucers!" 

"Well, he was either drunk or crazy! There's no such thing as flying saucers!" Bob snorted. 

"Who told you that, Bob? The Air Force?" I couldn't help sneering. 

"No, no, of course they weren't flying saucers! This pilot, Craddy, didn't know what else to call them. He said they looked like giant ants!" 

"Oh, hell! I guess we're going to Texas to question him." The thought cheered me. I'd be able to spend some time alone with the big guy, and maybe get this whole thing straightened out. 

"No." 

My hopes deflated. He was going to send his daughter and my lover. 

"I'll send Pat and Colonel Kibby to do that." 

Like magic, they rose again. "I don't think General O'Brien will be too happy about that!" I murmured into Bob's ear. 

He turned to scowl at me, and sucked in his breath. I was standing so close to him he actually bumped me, and I could feel his reaction to the contact. As angry as he was with me, his eyes darkened and his cock was hard as it brushed against my abdomen. "Want me to fuck you, big guy?" I asked so softly he needed to lean in closer to hear me. His lips parted and I found myself caught in my own trap: my cock felt like an iron bar in my pants, and I wanted to put it into him so badly! 

"Yes!" he whispered, and his eyes looked bleak. 

"Bobby..." 

"I need you and Ben to go to California," Dr. Medford was saying, oblivious to what was passing between the FBI man and me. "A sugar theft has been reported!" 

That got Bob's attention. "Um, Dr. Medford, what's the big deal?" 

"The amount of the theft, Robert! Forty tons!" 

"Oh, shit! We're on our way!" 

**** 

The flight seemed endless, and I was bored. Bad combination. 

Bob had charmed a blanket and pillow from the attractive stewardess and turned his shoulder to me. He was giving me the silent treatment. We were alone in this part of the plane, and I slid my hand under the blanket. "Ben!" he said warningly. 

"C’mon, big guy, lighten up! No one's watching! Close your eyes and pretend you're sleeping, baby." 

To my surprise, he let me have my way. “I make it too easy for you!” His eyelids slid shut and he wriggled a bit, getting himself more comfortable, giving me greater access to him. 

I unbuttoned his trousers and eased his zipper down. He gasped, the merest exhalation of breath, and bit his lip, and I just knew he did that on purpose, aware of how it drove me crazy. I wanted to lean in and take that lip between my teeth, lick it and bite it, and let him feel the consequences of toying with me. 

Instead I shut my eyes and pretended I was sleeping as well. I slid my hand into his pants and traced the outline of a very hard, very hot cock. Bob's moan was a soft sigh, and I deepened my strokes. "Ben!" 

"I want you in my mouth, Bob! I want to take you deep in my throat and suck you until you come!" I shuddered at my own words and sat up to look around the cabin. I was so hot I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself. There weren't too many people on this weekend flight, but it was still more than I was comfortable with. I'm a lot of things, but an exhibitionist isn't one of them. 

"Do up your pants!" I told him. He gave me a confused look. 

"What? Why?" It was almost a whine. 

"Just do what I tell you!" 

I could see his hands moving under the blanket. "Okay, it's done!" he groused. 

"Good! Now come with me!" I grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of his seat and into the aisle. The back of the plane was empty, and the path to the lavatory a straight run. 

"Where are we going?" Bob asked. 

I paused at the lavatory door and rubbed my erection against him like a dog humping his master’s leg. "We're going to join the Mile High Club!" And I shoved him into the tiny bathroom and latched the door behind me. "Get up on the sink!" I ordered. “Hurry!” 

Bob's hands went back to his belt and he stripped his trousers and shorts down and eased his luscious ass carefully onto the counter. I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the hook on the door. 

"What are you going to do?" 

"Don't know, I've never done this in an airplane john before! I thought we'd just play it by ear. Okay?" 

"Sounds good to me! But you’re talking too much! Can’t you think of anything better to do with your mouth?" 

I groaned and ran my nails over the muscles of his thighs, then sank down until my mouth was level with his cock. The tip was beading with pre come, and I licked it off with a broad swipe of my tongue. "Oh, God, Ben!" 

"You like that, baby?" I blew on the dampness of his swollen flesh and then took him into my mouth. My teeth scored his length as I moved my head back until only the tip of his erection was between my lips. Then I traveled down, taking him deep in my throat, relaxing it so I wouldn’t trigger the gag reflex. My fingers feathered his balls with teasing strokes. 

Bob rocked his hips forward, thrusting hard, fucking my mouth, and I worked his cock with a deep, sucking motion. I released his beautiful male flesh and he moaned in protest. "I'm not done with you yet, big guy!" I told him. I put my finger in his mouth. "Wet me, baby!" 

He drew on my finger, and I could feel it in my balls. I went back to suckling his erection, until I couldn't stand it any more. Then I took my finger back and pressed it between his buttocks, finding the puckered opening and easing it in. 

The combination of the blowjob and the finger fucking pushed him over the edge, and he began to come so hard I could barely swallow it all. He was whimpering, and I was so pleased with myself I could have crowed like a rooster. 

Bob's head tipped back and he hit it against the wall of the lavatory. Another groan and a muffled laugh and he pulled me to my feet. His lips found mine and took my mouth so forcefully that I melted against him, letting him taste himself on my tongue. I had never bottomed for anyone, but at that moment I would have gone on my hands and knees for him. 

"Let me take care of you!" he murmured in my ear, then took the lobe between his teeth and bit down. He slid to his feet and turned me around, boosting me up onto the counter. His fingers rapidly worked at my fly, hampered by the dampness of the material, and he pulled out my cock. 

His head reared back and he looked at me with shock and puzzlement. 

Limp was not the word for the condition of my cock, although exceptionally satisfied might have suited the situation. I couldn't suppress a laugh. "Sorry, big guy! You just pushed me out of control and I couldn’t help myself! You're not upset, are you?" 

The smile on his face was so smug I laughed again. "Do you have any idea what knowing that makes me feel like?" 

"I know you're dying to tell me! So go ahead: what does having me like putty in your fantastic hands do to you?" 

"It makes me feel like I'm the king of the world!" 

#### 

Note: In Los Angeles, Bob and Ben manage to locate the ants.

And Bob realizes that as much as he wants Ben, they may not have

a future together.  

Bob’s POV  

"Remember, no matter how right you are, no matter how hard you

work, sometimes the dragon wins." -message pinned to the

chaplain's door  

Episode 5: Sometimes the Dragon Wins 

I stalked across the tarmac. To the casual observer, I was just a traveler completing a tedious journey, tired and perhaps a trifle out of sorts. 

Ben Petersen knew differently. A member of the New Mexico State police, and lately my lover, he was the cause of the irritation I was experiencing. 

And the anguish. 

The most emotionally confident male I had ever met, he was still a mass of contradictions. He persistently questioned my friendship with Pat Medford, an entomologist I had dated in Washington. 

Whatever relationship I might have developed with Pat, it fizzled long before I was assigned the New Mexico case, although her father had once hoped that we would marry. Pat had slept with me a couple of times, strictly out of compassion, and it left me with a nasty taste in my mouth. When she finally told me she valued our friendship too much to jeopardize it by continuing to see me on a romantic basis, it was a relief to both of us, and I vowed to never again be anyone's pity fuck. 

That was before I lost control of my life. I had gotten drunk at a Bureau function and woke up in bed with... Well, let's just say it was someone extremely influential with a penchant for virgin ass. And for taking it the roughest way possible. 

Sometime after that I found myself, one of the best agents to come out of the FBI, banished to the wilds of New Mexico as liaison in the series of missing persons cases that had suddenly been plaguing a small town near Los Alamos. Ben was the officer I was assigned to liaise with. 

After what had happened in D.C., I suspected that I must be a slut, to have allowed what was done to me. Now I was positive of that. Within twenty-four hours of meeting Ben Petersen, I had fallen into bed with him, reacting in amazement as he sucked me off. 

Amazed that I was jerking him off as he did that, making him come all over my chest! 

The last thing I wanted him to know was that I had been questioning my feelings for the scientist even as Pat was ending our affair. The result was that we quarreled. Not a knock down, drag out, clear-the-air argument, but the kind of slicing at one another that cuts to the bone and leaves gaping wounds. 

Finally, I retreated into silence, refusing to speak to him at all. We boarded the plane that was to take us to the City of Angels and I stared stonily out the window, promising myself that I was done with him. 

It would be better that way. 

And then his wicked fingers wormed their way under the blanket I had draped over myself. He undid my trousers and began to fondle me through my shorts. I was struggling to keep silent under his sensual assault when he swore and ordered me to close my pants. 

I was confused. And hurt. 

And then he dragged me back into the small lavatory at the rear of the plane, locked us in and sucked me to a climax that just about fried my brains. 

How could I stay angry with him after that? 

Actually, it was remarkably easy: the man had a talent for shooting himself in the foot! 

The stewardess was rapping briskly on the panel. "Sir, we have a line out here!" 

Ben poked his head around the door, then yanked it back in, muffling a snort of laughter. "Come on, big guy! And try to look sick!" 

"Hmm?" That was the best I could come up with. I was floating on a cloud of sheer sexual satisfaction, a silly smile on my face, certain I could reach out my hand and heaven would be within my grasp. 

My lover opened the door and sauntered past what looked like the entire passenger list. "He gets airsick!" he had the gall to tell them. "I have to hold his head!" 

I didn't need to look sick; I knew I was green. There went my job, my reputation, my whole fucking life! And Ben had done this to me! I ducked my head and slunk down the aisle. "Sorry." I could barely force the words out of my throat. "Excuse me!" 

The groan I uttered as I threw myself back into my seat was not an act: I was mortified. 

The stewardess gave us an odd look as she hurried back to the forward cabin and I sank down as deep into my cushion as I could go. 

Ben had the nerve to laugh. I snarled at him and went back to staring out the window.

When we landed I was out of my seat and down the aisle before Ben could unfasten his seatbelt. Unfortunately, I had to wait for him by the car the LAPD had sent to meet us. 

"Afternoon, sirs," the young uniformed officer said as he snapped to attention. "I'm your transport. I'll take you right down to the railroad yard, if that's all right with you?" 

I nodded and reached to open the back door, but Ben was there before me. The angle of his body prevented the cop from seeing his hand run over the curve of my ass and squeeze a cheek. 

"Do you think that will make it all better?" I demanded coldly, still not willing to forgive him. 

"I'm working on it, Bobby!" 

Huffily, I got into the vehicle, determined to ignore him. And then he took my hand and wound his fingers in mine, and I knew that no matter what he did, no matter how this ended, I was his. I would always be his. 

The young officer was apparently awestruck to be in the company of an FBI agent and a representative of the New Mexico State police. He only answered our attempts at conversation with a "Yes sir" or "No sir," and nervous glances in the rearview mirror. In sync with each other, Ben and I decided to address our questions to the insurance investigator who was looking into the massive theft of sugar. 

The vehicle came to a halt outside the train yard, which was surrounded by an ancient, rusted chain link fence. Ben followed me as I got out and walked to the boxcar that was reminiscent of Gramps Johnson's store and the trailer that had been discovered in the desert. The side was a gaping ruin, as if ripped out violently by a powerful force. The investigator was shaking his head as he examined the devastation, a clipboard in his hands. 

He looked up at us as we approached him and introduced ourselves. "FBI, huh? New Mexico, huh? Now why is that?" He frowned when he saw no answer would be forthcoming. 

"Well, it has to be an inside job! There's no other way that much sugar could have been trucked off site! The night watchman has to have been in on it!" 

Ben squatted down and sifted something through his fingers, then tossed it away. "Where's the night watchman now?" 

"He's in jail! He claims he saw nothing! That's impossible! It's just a matter of time before we get him to confess!" 

I caught Ben's eye and frowned, uncomfortable with the venom in the investigator's voice. What could the old man have done that would have caused the dapperly dressed insurance man to harbor such ill-will? 

Ben jerked his head toward the police car and I nodded. We started toward it, Ben calling a brief thanks over his shoulder. "Take us to the precinct where the night watchman is being held," I told our driver. 

We sat in brooding silence, lost in our own thoughts. I was startled when Ben began to speak softly. "I'm sorry about Pat. It's none of my business if you want to keep seeing her. I know I don't have the background that she does. It just...hurt that with everything we have going for us, you can't see a future with me!" 

My head snapped around and my jaw dropped open. I stared at him in numb shock. "Is that what you think this was all about? Her pedigree?" I whispered. 

"Isn't it? I'm just a sergeant. I barely made it through high school. She's a well-known scientist. She's beautiful, and she's got a father who has more influence than J. Edgar Hoover!" 

"Well, he never used any of that influence on my behalf! But there is one other thing in her favor," I couldn't resist taunting him. 

"Oh yeah?" He was thoroughly disgruntled. "What could that be?" 

"Her legs are prettier than yours!" Before he could respond to that outrageous statement, I continued. "Ben, this isn't the time or the place. Can we finish this conversation tonight? In our hotel room?" 

His eyes lit up at the thought of us spending the night together. "Oh, that's an aye-firmative, big guy! That's a big aye-firmative!" 

**** 

The night watchman was brought into an interrogation room. Not only was he nervous, but he was scared. He didn't have many years to go before retirement, and to spend that time in jail, or without a job to fall back on frightened the piss out of him. 

I offered him a Chesterfield and lit it for him, then lit one for myself. Tobacco got on my tongue despite the force I had used to tamp it down. As I removed the flakes I found Ben watching my mouth, and I became hard and breathless.  He raised his eyes to mine, and then dropped them to my lips again, and I almost groaned. 

The old man was hurrying to his own defense. "I didn't hear nothing, I swear it! I didn't see nothing! It's sugar, for Chrissake! Is sugar a hot commodity? Is there a black market for sugar?" He took a deep drag of his cigarette, his fingers shaking. "I swear..." His voice broke and his shoulders began to shake. 

Awkwardly, Ben patted him on the back. "It's all right, Pop. We'll square this with the railroad." 

The old man looked up at him, tears running down his face, gratitude welling in his tired eyes. "You won’t let them put me in jail? You won't let them fire me?" 

I couldn't face him. "We'll see to it, Pop. Take it easy for now." 

We left him finishing his cigarette. "Don't let him go!" I ordered the precinct captain. 

His look soured. "I didn't think we had enough evidence to hold him!" 

"Captain," I said, "your government wants this man kept in custody until further notice. If anyone speaks to him, you will be held personally responsible! You'll be notified when he can be released!" 

We were about to leave when uncontrolled sobbing drew my attention. The captain followed my line of vision and sighed. "This has been an insane weekend! Mrs. Lodge's husband crashed his car in a residential neighborhood." 

“Anyone hurt?” 

“Just the tree he hit.” 

"Was he drunk?" Ben asked idly, clearly wanting to be away from the uncomfortable storm of emotion. 

"No, he was dead! His arm had been torn off at the shoulder and he bled to death!" 

"Oh my God!" I felt sick. 

"Oh, that's not the least of it." The captain was not happy with having to take orders from a government man, and clearly relished having information that we might need. "Their two boys are missing!" 

"Shit!" Ben and I locked glances, and both of us went back to talk to the distraught woman. 

Between sobs, she poured out the story. Thom, her husband, was in the habit of taking their boys out early on Sunday mornings because that was the only time he had available to spend with them. "He would take them for pony rides, or boat rides in MacArthur Park. Last week he arranged for them to go to the zoo before it opened so the boys could see them feed the animals. They always came home so dirty! I'd spend the rest of the day washing their clothes. I kept telling Thom to take them places were they wouldn't get so dirty!" 

And she collapsed in her chair, sobbing as if her world had ended. 

I caught the eyes of Ryan and Sutton, the police officers who had found Thomas Lodge. They were standing by the door, at a loss to help the weeping woman. Thankfully, they followed me out of the room, while Ben did his best to console Mrs. Lodge. In the other room I spotted a map on the wall. "Where can a man take his kids for pony rides, or boat rides in this vicinity?" I asked the older of the two cops. 

Ryan pointed out MacArthur Park, and some local areas that offered slot car racing, hills where kites could be flown, things geared toward children. They were all too far from the spot where Thom Lodge crashed his car and died. 

Ben joined us, rubbing his eyes. "She wants a glass of water." One of the police officers left to get her one. "Do you have anything else that you wrote up between six and noon?" 

Sutton pulled out his pad and read off his arrests. "Just three ‘drunk and disorderlies’. Sorry." 

Ben looked at me. "Maybe they spotted something?" 

"We can look into it!"

Two of the men arrested that morning had been put in the drunk tank to sleep it off. They scrounged cigarettes off me and conducted a conversation that held meaning only to the two of them. If they had seen anything out of the ordinary, they were too befuddled to realize it. 

"This is a waste of time!" I spat, losing what little patience I had left. Between the giant ants in the desert, and Ben in my bed, I had not been getting much sleep, and now it was catching up with me. 

"Take it easy, big guy," Ben murmured, rubbing my shoulder.  I was tempted to shrug away from him, I was tempted to lean into his touch. "We'll figure this out. Where's the third drunk?" he asked Sutton. 

The officer shook his head. "Jensen. He's over at the VA hospital. He's got the DTs. We send him there every few months to dry out." 

I looked for the young uniform who had driven us to the precinct. "Can you take us to the VA hospital?" 

**** 

General James himself escorted us to the ward where Jensen was a frequent visitor. The grizzled veteran watched the General with a gimlet eye. "I won't enlist, and you can't make me!" he stated belligerently. 

The General wasn’t easily ruffled. "No, Jensen, I won't try to make you re-up." 

The confused old man's face took on a crafty look. "Make me a sergeant and gimme the booze, and I'll re-enlist!" he wheedled. 

"Did you see anything unusual this morning, Mr. Jensen?" I asked, trying to regain control of the conversation. 

"Nope!" he said, but he cast an uneasy glance out of the window by his bed. "They're gone now." 

"Who's gone?" 

He seemed to be off on another tangent. "They looked like they was too big to fit into them little airplanes!" 

"What was too big, Jensen?" Ben persisted. 

But Jensen was watching the General now, saying in a singsong voice, "Make me a sergeant and charge the booze! Make me a sergeant and charge the booze! Make me a ..." 

Ben lost his temper and grabbed the old man's shoulder. "What was too big, Jensen?" He gave him a shake. 

Suddenly sober as a judge, the old drunk responded with a lucid answer. "The ants! I usually see 'em at night! Over there, by those big holes!" 

He lost whatever touch he had with reality and went back to singing. “Make me a sergeant, gimme the booze!” 

"Stop that! Please!" begged the occupant in the next bed. "My nerves!" 

Ignoring the patients in the ward, we all turned to look out the window. A dry watercourse ran as far as the eye could see in either direction. 

"The riverbed! Oh Jesus, that's where they are!" 

**** 

By the time every one in New Mexico had been notified, it was too dark to do anything but scut work. 

We had gone out to the riverbed while it was still daylight and searched the area that could be seen from Jensen's hospital window. Near the opening of one of the storm drains, we found a small, battered model airplane, the kind kids build and fly; the kind Jerry and Mike Lodge, the missing boys, owned. 

The army was mobilized, the city was put under martial law and an eight o'clock curfew went into effect. There were over seven hundred miles of storm drain under the city, and the ants could be anywhere in there. 

General James took one look at the two of us and bit back a curse. "When was the last time you two got any sleep?" 

My eyes crossed trying to concentrate on a likely answer. The drinks I had had at dinner were suddenly hitting my system. Ben grinned and shrugged. 

"Well, apparently it's been too long! Get some rest!" the General ordered. "We'll have to wait until Dr. Medford and General O'Brien fly in from New Mexico, anyway. Tomorrow is going to be a long day!" 

I needed to get off my feet; I had never felt this tired in my life: not when I was in Europe during the War, not afterwards in Washington! It wasn't just physical, but emotional as well. I was almost staggering with exhaustion by the time we got to our hotel room, and Ben had to prop me up while he fished for the keyhole. 

Once we were inside, he made sure the door was locked and then stripped off his clothes. I sat on the edge of the bed, stupid with fatigue and alcohol. "Come on, Bobby, help me here! You'll feel better once you've had a shower!" He manhandled me this way and that until he got me out of my suit. His shoulder was just the right height to fit under my arm and he supported me into the bathroom. Getting the shower turned on became a major production, but when it was done he got me under the pounding spray. 

I braced my arms against the wall of the shower and let the warmth of the water ease the kinks out of my neck and back. "Ahh, that feels good!" I moaned and spread my legs a little. "You gonna fuck me, Ben?" 

He froze, a bar of soap in his hands as he prepared to build a lather to wash us. "Do you want me to?" he asked cautiously. 

I turned around and leaned back against the wall, smiling at him sadly. "’t's only fair, doncha think?" My words came out a little slurred from the culmination of the last hours: weariness, alcohol, depression. “You’ve been fucking me all along. I figure, one last time...?” 

"You want to explain that to me, big guy?" 

"Well," I said slowly, as I twisted a strand of his chest hair around my finger. "no. I don’t think I do. Not now. Just wanna fuck now. Doncha wanna fuck me?" 

"I thought you were mad at me." 

"I was. An’ I’ll be mad at you again tomorrow. Tonight I just want you to put your big dick into my ass. Okay?" 

"So, you're going to be mad at me again tomorrow, anyway?" 

I nodded somberly. 

"Then I guess I might as well give you something to be really angry about!" 

Before I could question his meaning, his mouth slammed against mine, knocking my head back against the wall. I could taste blood as he split my lip, and then nothing mattered except his hands on my body and his cock rubbing demandingly on mine. 

"Ever do it in a shower, Bobby?" he asked gutturally. He shoved me around and angled my hips sharply back toward him. 

I had to shake my head, I couldn't speak. I ached with excitement as I felt soapy hands stroking the crevice of my buttocks, finding my puckered opening and entering with two fingers to stretch me. 

I was breathing heavily through my mouth, quivering with anticipation. And then the hard tip of Ben's cock nudged at me for entry. He toyed with me, taking his time, pushing in an inch and then pausing until I begged for more. 

And he made me beg. By the time he was all the way in and I could feel his thighs against my ass I was almost frantic with unslaked passion.  

He would bring me to the edge and then stop until I moaned and pleaded with him to finish me. Again and again he hit the spot that almost had me sobbing with need. 

"Please, Ben! Please!" 

He grunted in my ear. His mouth fastened on my neck and he sucked on it strongly. Finally he seized my cock in both hands and jerked me off, almost painfully, until I began to spill myself between his fingers. “Mine! You’re mine!” 

At the same time I could feel the heat of Ben's semen pouring into me. We had been in the shower so long that the water had become cold. The chill of it pouring over me contrasted so sharply with the hot come inside me that I shuddered in mindless pleasure. 

With a groan, Ben eased himself out of me and rinsed us both off. He twisted the faucets and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around me while he took another one and dried himself with vigorous swipes. 

"You know something, big guy? I wasn't kidding when I told you I loved you. That's why I was so hurt when you said you wouldn't want to marry me." 

I followed him into the bedroom and looked at the twin beds. Ben already had the covers of his bed stripped down. He got under the sheet and turned on his side, leaving me standing alone. 

"I didn't say I wouldn't marry you," I told him, a thread of pain in my voice. He didn't say anything, but I could see he was listening to me. Don't fuck this up now, Graham! I said to myself. But I knew, even as I took a deep breath and jumped, that it was futile. There could be no future for us. "I said I couldn't." 

He turned over to look at me, his eyes bitter. "What do you feel for me, Bobby?" 

Why did he keep pushing me? I had given him everything that I dared. "It doesn't matter what I feel. I'm FBI, Ben. I can't have any kind of relationship with you! And oh, Christ, I'd cut off my right arm if I could!"

He ignored my outburst. "Say it, College boy!" 

All I could do was look at him with my heart in my eyes. 

"Say it!" 

I felt as if my heart was being ripped out and devoured by wild animals. I sat down on my bed and shook my head. "It doesn't matter.” I felt defeated, deflated. “When this is over, I'm going back to Washington. That you say you love me won't mean anything. 

"And the fact that I love you..." 

My words hung in the air. I got under the covers and turned out the light. 

#### 

Note: The final confrontation with the giant ants. Bob guards

his heart too well. All things must end. 

The mission that Bob is involved in after this is settled is chronicled in The Thing from Another World.  

Ben’s POV 

"Can I forget the dismal night that gave my soul's best part forever to

the grave?" -Gray  

Episode 6: My Soul's Best Part 

I woke up in the FBI man’s bed, my arms wrapped around him, nuzzling the fine hairs at the nape of his neck. If I could only get through the wall he had built around himself. “Bobby...” 

“No. I...this is as far as it goes, Ben. Once this thing with the ants is finished, then we’re finished!” 

“Why won’t you give me a chance? Doesn’t how I can make you feel in bed count for anything? Is it all the men I’ve fucked? I swear I’m through with that! You’ll be the only one in my life!” 

“Leopards can’t change their spots, Ben. Sooner or later you’ll grow bored with fidelity and start looking at other men. And it’s not only you. I can’t deal with this, with us! My family, my friends, my job, I’d be trading all of that for you.” 

I felt as if something inside me was shriveling up and dying. “I see. And you don’t think I’m worth it. Fine!” I rolled over and got out of bed. 

“Ben...” 

“Put a stone on it, Graham and get dressed! Like General James said, this is going to be a hell of a day.” 

It was the day from hell, thanks to those goddamned, fucking ants. It was filled with anxiety and tension and simmering passion as well. 

And that was thanks to the man I loved. 

I had nothing more to say to Bob. In spite of the fantastic sex I'd given him the night before he believed...I don't know what he believed, but I do know it wasn't that I loved him. For some reason he couldn't, or wouldn't accept the fact that I spoke the truth. 

And goddamn it, I had my pride! I didn't have to go begging some tight-assed FBI agent to love me. He was just a neophyte, a rank amateur when it came to the game of love! Whereas I've gotten any guy I wanted, just by looking interested! 

I didn't need Bob! I would be back to my tom-cattin' ways in the blink of an eye! 

Just as soon as I got over the big guy. And it wouldn’t take me too long to do that, either. 

Only about fifty or a hundred years. 

**** 

Dr. Medford, Pat and the two generals were already at the command post by the time we got there. Bob walked over to Pat and kissed her on the cheek. His stride was so stiff, I would have sworn he had a roll of quarters up his ass. It took a conscious act of will to tear my eyes from him. 

To find that Pat was watching me with dawning awareness. I bit off a curse and turned away, but not before I saw her regarding the FBI man's swollen lip with unconcealed interest. The last thing I wanted was to screw up Bob's life. If his superiors in D.C. ever discovered he had developed a preference for his own sex, he's be bounced out on that ass I admired so greatly. 

Meanwhile, General James was giving the beautiful entomologist an extensive and thorough once-over. General O'Brien frowned as he observed the army man's appraisal. He draped his arm possessively over Pat's shoulders and pulled her close to his body. 

Pat was so focused on the problem at hand that she had no idea the two males were ready to square off over her. Her attention was riveted on the city grid that displayed the miles of storm drain that ran under Los Angeles, pointing out possibilities to her father. 

Dr. Medford was aware, however. The old rogue rubbed his hands in delight. Bob might no longer be a contender in the marriage stakes, but here were two fine specimens of potent male! Whoever his daughter wound up with was immaterial to him. She might be unconcerned with starting a family, but he wanted her to settle down and produce a brood of little scientists. 

And he wanted her to do that while he was still alive to enjoy them! 

He smiled and turned back to the map, calling the two military men to join them. He made sure Pat was between their toned bodies. They might be generals, but they were both in excellent physical shape. Dark brown eyes dueled with fierce blue ones until Pat unwittingly made the choice by leaning against General O’Brien. 

Well, that settled her love life. Now if I could only do something about mine! 

Bob was dressed in fatigues, and it was all I could do not to swallow my tongue. He settled a steel helmet over his light brown hair and strapped a pistol to his trim waist. “Colonel Kibby and I are taking the first set of drains. General James will be traveling with you. Keep your dick in your pants, okay, hot shot?” 

I grabbed his arm. “Are you jealous, College boy?” 

He stared pointedly at his arm but I refused to release him. Then he seemed to surrender and sighed. “Yes I’m jealous. We’re all wrong for each other, but I can’t bear the thought of you being with someone else.” 

“You’re the only one I want!” 

“Right.” 

I dropped Bob's arm as if I was burned. I was his dammit! Why didn’t he realize that? 

He turned on his heel, his experience in the military evident in the fluid motion of his body. Colonel Kibby joined him, gave me a tight smile. They took a jeep and headed out to examine the storm drain Pat thought might be a likely site for the nest. 

And I was left standing there with my dick in my hand. 

'You stupid, fucking idiot!' I castigated myself, weary beyond belief. 'Did you really expect better from a college boy? Did you think he'd bring you home to meet Mom and Dad?' 

Well, yes. I had thought that... hoped that. 

I couldn't believe I had left myself open for such hurt! All these years, in the Navy, on the State force, I had protected my heart, knowing there was more out there, but not willing to risk reaching for it. 

A soft touch on my arm jerked me out of the funk I had tumbled into. I pulled myself together. "Right, Pat! I'm good to go. Who's my partner?" 

"My guess would be Bob!" Her eyes were so compassionate I had to bite my lip to keep it from quivering. "No, don't say anything. I only look as if I couldn't hold two thoughts together. Listen Ben. Bob is a good man, and he's worth fighting for." 

"You didn't seem to think so!" 

"It just didn't work out between us, Ben. And considering how he seems to feel about you, I guess now I can figure out why. Don't let him go. He needs to be loved so badly." 

"And you think I'm a likely candidate for that?" I laughed harshly. "I wish he thought so, but he's already pushing me out of his life. Why would he want a New Mexico State police sergeant when there are high-ranking men in the FBI and the armed forces who would kill for a taste of him? And don't you think he knows that?" 

"And men say women are emotional!" Pat shook her head and turned away as General O'Brien approached us. "Hi, Bob," she said softly, her eyes caressing his well-muscled torso. 

General James watched them morosely, and suddenly I felt much better. 

The General was my partner, not only in this bug hunt, but in the misery that kept us company as well. We got into our jeep and began scouting the drains, searching for any sign that the ants, or the two little boys were nearby. 

And then I caught a whiff of an odor that caused my gut to tighten. "Stop the jeep!" I ordered in a harsh whisper as I fought back the urge to vomit. I was out of the vehicle and ghosting cautiously toward a join in the drain. General James had the sense to let me search out the terrain alone. 

"Petersen?" The General was getting nervous. 

"Oh, God, formic acid!" I sprinted back to the jeep to get the chart. My hands were shaking as I spread it out over the hood. "Radio Dr. Medford! Let him know where we are and tell him there's a strong smell of formic acid in this drain!" 

I was trying to trace the line when the General came back. "They're converging on this site. They want us to wait until they get here!" Carefully he examined the schematic I was following. "It's 267." 

"Huh?" 

"This drain. It's 267. They're still working on it, and there are work lights rigged up the whole length of it!" 

"Well, there is a God! Tell them to get the lights turned on!"  I pulled a flamethrower from the back of the jeep and strapped it on. Its weight was comforting. "You wait here, Sir! Tell them which way I've gone. I'm going to look for those boys!" I paused for one brief moment. "If anything should happen to me...tell Bob Graham I meant every word I said to him!" 

"You can't..." He grabbed my arm.

"Move it, or lose it, General!" I said shortly, glaring down at his hand. If I didn’t act soon, I’d fall apart. I was so scared I wanted to be anyplace else but there. 

"Petersen!" 

I turned sharply from him and began to make my way to the joining drain. The odor was almost overpowering, and I put a hand over my mouth and nose and began breathing shallowly. 

And then I heard that sound, that high-pitched scree, scree, scree and the muzzle of the flamethrower slipped in my sweaty palm. I needed two hands to hold it, and when I took my hand away from my nose, the smell washed over me. 

Brood odor! I had to be near the egg chamber! 

"General, tell them I'm getting a strong brood odor, like in the nest in New Mexico!" I called back as I edged on down the tunnel. "Mike! Jerry! Are you there, boys?" 

I held my breath and heard nothing. And then, 'Here! We're in here!" 

My breath hitched in my chest and I closed my eyes and breathed a silent, "Thank you God!" I was so relieved. "It's all right, Mike. It's all right, Jerry! We're going to get you out of there! Just stay put!" 

"Hurry! Please hurry!" I could hear the terror in the little boy's voice. 

"I'm on my way, Mike!" 

"I'm Jerry!" The reply was almost reproachful, and I gave a snort of laughter. He was a scrapper, and his quick thinking had kept him and his younger brother alive for over twenty-four hours. 

"Sorry, Jerry. Hold on tight, I'm on my way!" 

The drain turned once more and the join became narrow and low and I was down crawling on my belly. For about twenty feet I inched my way forward. It felt as if I was crawling inside Jonah’s whale, it was so dark. 

And then wonder of wonders, the lights went on! Just a few feet in front of me was the end of the tube. I edged forward until I was able to get a clear view of the chamber below me. 

Twisted metal rods, slag heaps of broken concrete, loose sand. And there in the corner, cowering away from one of the larger ants, were the two Lodge boys. "Don't move until I say!" I ordered them as I eased the weapon into position. 

"Okay, now!" 

The boys scrambled out of the way and I triggered the flamethrower. The screeching reached a crescendo and then abruptly ceased as the ant collapsed and died, its appendages crisping. I swung my legs around and got my feet out of the tunnel and dropped to the floor of the chamber. 

Still in a crouch, I scanned the large area. I could hear the ants, but I could see none. I bolted across the open space and got to the boys. 

"You kids okay?" I asked as I gave them a quick pat down to make sure everything was in working order. 

They nodded. Mike, the younger one, looked shame-faced as he ducked his head. "I threw up all over myself!" he whispered. "I was so scared!" 

I put my arms around him and gathered him close, then pulled his brother into the hug as well. "It's all right, Mike. I want to toss my cookies myself every time I see one of these big babies!" 

"You do?" The thought that an adult could lose his lunch when confronting the ants seemed to give him some consolation. 

"How about you, Jerry? How are you?" 

"I wanted to throw up, but I had to be strong for Mike. Daddy would have wanted me to!" 

"Yes, he would, son. And your Dad would have been so proud of you." 

"Is he...? His eyes were frightened, and I knew he didn't want to ask the question. 

"We'll talk about that later. Right now your Mom is really worried about you. What do you say I get you back to her?" 

Jerry buried his head in my shoulder and I could feel the material grow damp as he silently wept. He wasn’t stupid. He had seen all that blood, and he knew his father hadn’t made it. 

The ear-piercing sound of an approaching ant had the three of us spinning around toward the direction it came from. "Okay, boys, time for all good little scouts to make like an egg and beat it!" 

I hustled them over to the opening of the drain and hoisted up Mike. The weight of the flamethrower encumbered me too much, and I had to put him down and wriggle out of the harness. 

I could hear the ant somewhere behind us. 

The boys were whimpering in fear. Escape was so close, but so was the ant. I boosted Mike back up to safety and then reached for Jerry, glancing frantically over my shoulder. 

It loomed up, filling my vision, as big as the world, and I bit back a whimper of my own. 

“C’mon, Jerry, let’s get you up there with your brother!” I tried to keep my voice even, but my mouth was so dry I could hardly get a word out. Mike reached down to grab his brother’s wrists and pull. “That’s the boy, Mike. Pull hard. Jerry, here you go!” 

The small boy toppled backwards as his brother catapulted onto him. They were safely out of harm’s way. 

I ducked down to pick up the flame thrower when the cement wall I was facing shattered and exploded, shards striking my face, narrowly missing my eyes. A piece sliced my forehead and blood poured out, obscuring my vision, but not enough that I couldn’t see the huge mandibles draw back for another blow. 

My hands were trembling as I aligned the weapon and managed to pull the trigger. A stream of flame rolled toward the ant, engulfing it. The chamber was suddenly silent except for the crackling of fire as the creature roasted. 

I dropped the flamethrower and jumped up to catch the lip of the opening. My toes scrabbled for a foothold and I began to chin myself up to the shelter of the drain. Blood dripped into my eyes and I tried to clear my sight by mopping it up on my shoulder. 

The boys’ shrill cries rang in my ears, but I resolutely ignored them. Just a couple of feet now, just a little bit farther. 

And then something closed around my ribs and began to squeeze. The blood rushed to my head and a haze of pain blinded me. It was so great I couldn’t even scream a protest. Not now, not when I had finally found the one man I had spent my entire life looking for! 

It was becoming harder and harder to breathe as the pressure on my ribcage increased. 

A shout of rage pierced the cloud that was enveloping my senses, and the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun vied with the ant’s high-pitched screeches. 

And then there was just the sound of the burp gun as the ant died and the mandibles went slack, releasing me. I dropped to the floor of the chamber, waves of pain washing over me. 

“Ben!” Somehow, Bob was there. “The boys, Ben!” 

“Safe,” I choked out around a mouthful of blood. I spit it out and winced as I tried to breathe. “Up there.” 

The boys were looking down from what seemed like a million miles away. Bob switched on his radio. “The boys are safe. Tell Mrs. Lodge we have them. And get me a goddamned medic!” He left the channel open.

“You forgot to say ‘over’,” I laughed weakly. 

“Ben, you’re going to be all right!” 

“Don’t think so, big guy. That was one huge, fucking ant! I think I’m about ready to buy the farm!”

“No, you can’t die! I WON’T LET YOU DIE! BEN!” 

I opened my eyes. It couldn’t be raining, we were underground. Another drop fell on my lips, and I could taste the salt. 

Tears. “Bobby, ‘sokay. I love you, big guy. Never lied to you about that. I lo...” It was too difficult to speak. And I was so tired. I’d just sleep for a little while. When I woke up, I’d find some way to make him believe me. I’d... 

**** 

The two figures stood in the doorway of the hospital room. “You’ll make sure he gets my message?” Bob was saying to Pat. 

“As soon as he comes to. You know he’s doing much better now. The doctors are confident he’ll make a complete recovery. Are you sure you don’t want to stay and give him the message yourself?” 

“No. There’s no future for us, with me in Washington and him in New Mexico. You can’t have a bi-coastal relationship. It just can’t be done!” 

“I think you’re just too afraid of your feelings to give it a chance.” She held up her hand to forestall his protest. “I’m won’t try to argue you into anything Bob. Just do me a favor: remember how you felt with me, and then remember how he made you feel.” She reached up to kiss his cheek. 

The FBI agent looked torn, twisting his hat in his hands. “It’s better this way Pat, believe me. Whatever we might have between us, it just wouldn’t work. Can you see how my father would react if I brought him home to dinner? Can you imagine how J. Edgar would respond if I took him to a company function? No, I can’t do this!” 

He walked over to the bed. The hand placed limply on the covers was losing its tan. Bob touched it, then took it in his own hand and raised it to his lips. He pressed a brief kiss to the palm and closed Ben’s fingers over it. “I do love you, Ben. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I do. Take care of yourself!” He leaned over and kissed the pale forehead, marred with scars that would be a while fading. 

“Pat.” There wasn’t anything left to say. He returned her kiss and left the room. She listened until she could no longer hear his footsteps. 

General O’Brien joined her. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

She rubbed his cheek gently. “You’re a dear, Bob. Can you get him reinstated at the Bureau?” 

The General smiled and put his arm around her shoulders. “There’s no need for me to do that: Haven’t you been reading the papers? He’s a national hero! Hoover won’t dare deny him a promotion. The President has already announced his plans to honor Graham with the Congressional Medal of Merit! Hollywood wants to make a movie about the whole thing!” 

Pat shook her head and smiled tolerantly. “That’s the most amazing aspect of this terrible, horrible experience! A movie!” 

“Well, we can relax about it now, but it really was a close call. You found those queens hatching out just in time to destroy the whole egg chamber. One more day...” 

“Yes.” She shuddered. “Don’t think about it, Bob. It didn’t happen.” 

“No it didn’t.” He drew a deep breath. “So, when are you going to marry me?” 

****

Bob’s POV 

I was miserable. I thought with enough time, enough space, I’d get over Ben. But it was almost a year later, and it constantly surprised me that I could walk around without a heart. Apparently, I had left mine in a Los Angeles hospital room. 

J. Edgar hadn’t been too happy to see me back at the Bureau. He still didn’t understand that I would say nothing about what had happened. 

President Eisenhower was so pleased with my performance, and how it reflected on the Bureau and his administration, that I was reinstated, with a raise and a promotion, and all lost back pay! 

And J. Edgar watched it all with a sick smile on his face. 

He was back to giving me the tough assignments no one else could handle, but that was all right with me. I didn’t have much to live for anyway. 

I had just returned from the latest investigation, this one in Alaska. An unidentified flying object was reported to have crashed and sunk into the ice, and it’s pilot had been recovered. He? It? Whatever it was had somehow managed to survive. 

According to the small band of scientists and military personnel who were stranded at the base by severe weather, they had been under some kind of assault. Dr. Carrington, the chief scientist, had suffered injuries from the attack. 

Actually, the injuries he sustained were caused by me, when he tried getting closer to me than I liked. Since Ben, there had been no one, neither female nor male, in my life. Or in my bed. 

My arm had been broken when I tripped over my own feet, during the final confrontation with whatever had piloted the craft. 

Of course, human know-how had triumphed, and Earth was once again safe for all mankind! 

**** 

So, now I was back in D.C., my feet up on an ottoman, a scotch on the rocks in my good hand. I was scheduled to get a partner, the first time I had ever been assigned one, and I was in a generally sour mood. 

All I wanted was Ben. I figured I had fucked that up so royally, I could kiss any chance of having him again goodbye. 

But I was getting desperate. As soon as the cast came off my arm, I planned on flying back to New Mexico to see if there was any thing I could do to win him back. 

I lost myself in my favorite daydream, the one where I wasn’t such a coward and took Ben back to Washington with me. The one where he let me fuck him, sliding my cock into his ass and stroking him as he had often stroked me, making him beg and plead, until he cried out with fulfillment. 

I was hard, and I put down my drink to do something about it, when there was a soft knock on my door. “Fuck!” 

“Bob? It’s Pat! Let me in?” 

What did Pat want? She had let me know, in no uncertain terms, that she was most unhappy with my behavior toward the New Mexico cop. I wasn’t in the mood to get chewed out. 

Unless Ben was doing the chewing. 

For a moment, I sat silently, hoping she would think no one was home. Then, “I know you’re in there, Robert Arthur Graham! Now let me in!” 

When Pat used my full name, it didn’t pay to try to fight her: she meant business. I sighed and went to the door. “Hi, there, Pat!” I said, a false smile pasted on my face and jocularity in my voice. 

“You look like hell!”  Never one to mince words, Our Pat. 

“And I love you too!” 

“No you don’t. You never did! You’re still pining for that cop out in New Mexico!” 

“That’s my affair, I believe,” I said shortly. “Why are you here, Pat? I thought you and the General were on your honeymoon.” 

Her face glowed. She had never looked like that when she was keeping company with me. 

“We were. We are. I just had to stop by and see you. How is everything going, with you, Bob?” 

I shrugged and picked up my drink. “Want one?” I offered. 

“No, I shouldn’t have any.” 

“You’re not pregnant are you?” 

She looked affronted. “Of course not! I have a very important seminar I am giving tomorrow and I will need to be extremely alert!” 

“Oh. So, if I’m not about to be an uncle by proxy, what, exactly, did you have to see me about?” 

“Well, J. Edgar wanted you to meet your new partner.”

“Now? It couldn’t wait until my wing heals?” 

“Listen, Bob Graham!” 

Hmm, she was still angry, but not as much as before. 

“Dad went to a lot of trouble to get this guy transferred into the Bureau, and he had to pull even more strings to have him assigned as your partner. I had to spend a lot of time tutoring him so he could graduate with the rest of his class! So a little appreciation on your part would be nice!” 

“Oh, really? Why? Why should I be so excited about a partner, especially since I don’t want one, and I don’t need one?” 

Pat went to the door and flung it open with a flourish. 

“Bobby.” 

The glass fell from my hand. 

He stood there, dark, curly hair, and blue, blue eyes, crushing his hat in his hands. 

The door closed quietly behind Pat, but neither of us noticed. 

We were locked in each other’s arms.

~End~ 

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