Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 22:21:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Paul Jennings <success66@yahoo.com>
Subject: Michael -- Chapter 16

Reader's Note: Yes, Michael has returned.  I have been hiatus a bit longer
than expected but in the early part of Indian Summer in this part of the
world, I've chosen to get this story going again.

Disclaimer: If you're too young or your community standards don't permit
you to read this, then don't.  It is a work of fiction.  The people, the
events, and even the sex-without-consequences is made up (a.k.a. if you're
gonna stick it...cover it!).

Write me with kudos...keep your flames to yourself.  It'll keep you warm on
those cold winter nights!

Enjoy!


"Who could it be?" Thomas asked himself as he drove to his office at Wylie
& Sons.  Thomas kept thinking over who would want to bring him down, but
just couldn't come up with an answer to the question.

Thomas knew that Michael and Robert would be meeting with the Dillingham
project people today.  He knew he had to have some answers ready for them
if the question of funding came up, but he also needed to think about the
name of his company; the company his father worked hard to build.  So much
corporate scandal had gone on recently; he didn't need his name or the name
of his family's company being mixed in with those of Enron, MCI, and
others.

As usual, Helen was at her desk as Thomas exited the elevator.

"Good morning Mr. Wylie, how are you this morning?"  Helen made direct eye
contact with Thomas.

"I'm actually very good today."  Thomas was only lying just a bit.  "And
how are you?"

"I'm good too, thank you for asking."  Helen picked up her pad.  "I want to
remind you of your meetings today and I received a call from Mr. Wright
wondering when you'll have an answer about their project completion."

Thomas thought for a moment.  "Oh right, yes, I do need to give him a call.
Is my mail on the desk?"

"Yes, as always, Mr. Wylie."  Helen waited for instructions.

"Very good, I don't have anything for you.  If anyone should need me, I'm
going to be holed up in my office for awhile.  Thank you."  Thomas walked
through his doors and allowed them to close securely leaving the outside
world to its own agenda.  He wanted to ponder his findings a bit more.  He
started to reach for his desk phone to call Randy but then pulled out his
cell.  While he trusted Helen, she could be a busybody at times and he
didn't want to hear this conversation.

"Hey Thomas, how's it going?"  Randy answered still trying to search for
some information.

"It's okay, I guess.  I figured out why those receipts were bothering me."
Thomas had Randy's attention.

"Oh really?" Randy stopped what he was doing. "Well I've got some news for
you too.  I think I might have an idea of who is embezzling money from
you."

"We both have some startling revelations then, huh?"  Thomas felt like a
detective.  "But before we mutually share here, don't you think we should
call that Det. Manning in?"

"No, I don't." Randy stopped short of saying anything more though he had a
lot to say.

"Why shouldn't we?  Wouldn't that make me look better?"  Thomas was unsure
of Randy's answer.

"Well speaking as a former cop, even though you'd come forward with this
information, I'd still be suspicious of you."  Randy stopped again then
continued.  "I think you need to know who it is and why they're doing it so
that the case is airtight and closed before opening yourself up to media
scrutiny."

"Yeah, I guess you might be right."  Thomas smiled.  "I'm sure you are
watching my backside on this whole thing."

"You can say that again."  Randy snickered.

Thomas chose to ignore the innuendo of the comment and continued. "Those
slips that Henry brought me?  The signature looks good but there's a
problem.  I was out of town when the withdrawals were made.  I couldn't
have done it."

Randy was surprised.  "Look at the signatures, is it your signature?"

Thomas took a moment to carefully look at each of the slips.  "Well it
looks like my signature, but I can't be sure, I sign so many things."

"But Thomas, you're writing out large checks, wouldn't you know what you're
signing?" Robert was surprised.

"Hey Randy, you've got to understand, to write a $25,000 check really isn't
a big deal for me.  I sign and it goes out to whomever it's written to be
paid." Thomas stopped to think how his Dad always instructed him to read
everything he signed.  Now he wishes he heeded that advice.  "But the thing
that bothers me is that checking my schedule, I couldn't have written a
couple of these, maybe more because I was out of town and while I know I've
written a few of those checks to cover fees for the project, it would have
needed me to be in town to do it in case there were questions."

Randy paused.  "That is interesting news.  Do me a favor, get some proof
you were out of town.  I have copies of the checks; I'm going to have Steve
look over the signatures.  He's pretty good at eyeballing a fake
signature."

"I can do that, so who do you think it is?"  Thomas asked.

"That, I'm sorry to say, is going to stay a secret.  I just want you to
trust me while I gather information, okay?"  Randy started digging for the
check copies.

"I guess I've trusted you this long."  Thomas was anxious again.

"Hey, just be cool.  We're gonna get this figured out soon.  Later."  Randy
hung up.

Steve came down from the upper level wrapped in a towel and drying his
hair.  He walked over to Randy and looked over his shoulder.

"You're thinking counterfeit, aren't you?"  Steve didn't hesitate.

Randy was not surprised at the comment.  Steve and he connected like this
when they worked a job.  But just to see where he was going, he questioned
Steve.

"Why do you think that?"  Randy interest was piqued.

"Cuz', you dumbfuck, you're sitting there looking at those check stubs and
the check that Wylie wrote you last week, and anyone worth their weight can
see that the signatures are different."  Steve reached for a cup of coffee.

"Are you so sure?"  Randy wasn't going to acknowledge Steve's thoughts
until they were finished.

"Yeah, you can see the loop is different in the way the "T" is formed."
Steve moved behind Randy and pointed out the differences.  Randy could
smell Steven's cleanliness and outline of Steve's dick on his
back. "Counterfeits can usually be caught by the little stuff they think
passes for a signature.  I can't be sure, but it has to be someone close to
Thomas that's doing this."

"Do you think you know who it is?"  Randy was keeping his comments simple.

"I don't but I think you do."  Steve drank his coffee and sat down across
from Randy.  The towel opened just a bit to allow Randy a view of Steve's
big hairy balls.

"Actually, I think I do." Randy moved his gaze back to the work in front of
him.  "There has to be some counterfeiting.  That call was from Thomas.  He
said that he couldn't have made some of the withdrawals because he wasn't
in town and in order for those to be made, it had to be with him in town.
I can't get a lead on where the money was transferred to but we've got to
nail down that account to make my story stick."

Steve reached under the towel and scratched his balls knowing that Randy
was distracted by his not so subtle show of his manhood.  "Well I guess
we'd better get going then.  I have a feeling we're going to be very busy
today."


"Alright Andy, it's time again for the bars."  Peter directed Andy's chair
to the beginning of the path of pain.

Andy wasn't as pissy today as he had been the previous day.  He knew he
needed to do this.  Randy, Robert, and Michael were all rooting for him.
He needed to walk.

Slowly he stood up.  His ribs had been taped and weren't in as much pain as
they had been the day before.  He had never been injured to this extent
before so he had no idea how long it would take to heal but it was amazing
what a night in bed with his lover did for him.

"Do you want me to walk behind you?"  Peter asked.

"Nope, I want to do this myself."  Andy was sure he could do this.

Slowly, he put one foot in front of the other.  He continued to look at his
feet but this time he didn't feel detached from them.  He felt the rubber
flooring below him.  He slowly let go of his grip on the bars and allowed
his body to rest on his legs.  As the weight transferred, he felt like it
was time to step again but without holding onto the bars.

"What are you doing?"  Peter was cautiously watching.  He didn't want
Andrew to fall.

"Just watch."  Andrew paused.

Andrew took his hands off the bars and then proceeded to step.  He wobbled
a bit but grabbed onto the bars not so much to hold them but to keep him
from falling over.  He took another step, then another.  He was at the
halfway point.

"Very good, Andrew, very good!  You are doing very well." Peter clapped for
his patient.  "You need to be careful but what made you think you could do
that?"

Andrew sweated and beamed, "because I can."

Andrew balanced against the bars and finished out his walk.  When Peter met
him at the end, Andrew was sweating.

"So do I get a gold star today?"  Andrew teased.

"Well no gold star but I think we need to try again, don't you?"  Peter
turned Andy around.

Andrew sighed and laughed.  "You are a sadistic son of a bitch."

"Yep," Peter laughed too.  "I'm the best at it too.  Now turn around and
walk!"


The Dillingham architect, contractor, and director were all in the meeting
room when Michael entered.  Robert brought them up to speed on their
findings and that financials were still being reviewed but felt they could
proceed with the project.  Just as Michael sat down, Thomas entered and sat
next to him.

"Thomas, this is a surprise."  Michael really wasn't surprised but thought
he should at least act like he was.

"I wasn't sure I was going to come but I wanted to be here to see about the
progress of this project."  Thomas was confident in his speech.

"We were discussing the building before you came in."  Robert took control.
"We've decided that we're going to do a two-story building, completely
handicapped accessible and wired for technology."

"That is very good but what about expansion?"  Thomas was genuinely
interested in the project.

"Well," Ms. Baker chimed in, "I think it's safe to say we won't need to
expand in to the 2nd floor for awhile but if we need to, we could possible
rent out the space temporarily and get some reinvestment on the property.
We discussed a lease buy-back thing but it's too complicated.  Our program
has grown tenfold in the last five years.  I could see us occupying that
space in about 2 to 3 years, but it is cheaper to build now."

"Does this include an activity area?"  Michael hadn't heard the details.

"Yes it does."  The architect brought out her designs.  "As you can see, it
will be an open room, two stories high and can serve as a gymnasium or
broken up into smaller rooms depending on the need."

The conversation eventually turned to what it will take to get the building
under way.  The contractor said that he had all the information he needed
and they would begin the bidding process for the facility's needs.  He felt
confident that the building would be built within a year if not sooner if
the weather held out.

Both Michael and Thomas felt confident that the building would be built but
in the back of their minds, they knew Thomas and Wylie & Sons would need to
be cleared first.  It never left their mind throughout the meeting but
whatever resolve they had before the meeting, this project gave them
further resolve so they could see it built and put to use.

"I think we need to proceed."  Robert took the lead. "Let's meet again at
the end of the next month once the bids are all completed.  We can then
develop an accurate timeline.  We then can tap into the media and get their
help for the groundbreaking."

Michael tuned Robert out but looked at his lover.  Yes, he was a confident
young man.  He's going to go far.  He hoped that distance would be covered
with Michael being by his side.  Michael was startled to hear his name
called.

"Michael?  Earth to Michael?"  Robert was teasing him in front of the
others.

Michael straightened up and apologized.  "I was caught in a thought.  What
was it you needed?"

"I said did that sound like an acceptable plan to you?"  Robert was smiling
but knew Michael was deep in another train of thought.

"Yes, I believe we should wait until the end of next month and to get the
media involved would be a great idea.  I think you folks can work with
Robert on the details, can't you?"  Michael covered his ass.

Thomas smiled.  "I agree, Mr. Jennings is doing an excellent job and I
think we can be assured that this will be completed in a timely manner."

Before leaving the meeting, everyone shook hands and exchanged more
information.  On the surface, there was no hint of impropriety but Robert,
Michael, and, especially, Thomas knew they would have to work fast to
resolve the financial mess.  It was time for war.


"Jack Giardi?"  Randy had a hard time hearing the connection.

"Yeah, who is dis?"  Jack answered.

"This is Randy Duncan?  Remember me?"  A tensioned silence was heard on the
line.

"Yeah, I remember yah, what do ya want?"  Jack was less than pleased to
hear Randy's voice.

"It's time for some payback and I need your services now."  Randy knew by
Jack's voice, this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Fuck, I thought I was done with ya."  Jack wasn't going to make this easy.

"Ah, you should know you're never done, especially when I've saved your ass
a time or two from `the family.'"  Randy could hear the sigh of release in
Jack's voice.

Jack couldn't deny that he was being held by the balls.  "What's duh job?"

"I want you to do some digging.  Find any offshore accounts in the names
I'm faxing to you.  You have 24 hours."  Randy wasn't in the mood to fuck
with this guy.

"24 hours?  How the fuck do ya expect me to do dat?"  Jack was pissed now.
"I need at least 4 or 5 days."

Randy called his bluff.  "No you don't.  You're the best.  Don't tell me
you can't find shit because I have a pretty good idea you'll find something
pretty fast."

"I can't do it, not in 24 hours."  Jack was being stubborn.

"Listen up fuckhead.  You have 24 hours from the time I fax this sheet to
you.  If you don't produce, I'll come looking for you and I can guarantee I
won't be alone.  Do you understand?"

Jack knew he had his balls to the walls.  "Yeah, I'm not too happy about
`dis.  Send over da shit, I'll get on it now."  Jack hung up.

"Well that was pleasant." Steve laughed.

"I hate that fucker."  Randy hung up his phone and pushed the send button
on his fax machine.  "I busted his ass for doing some work for a crime
family a few years back but instead of breaking every bone in his body, the
crime family and I came to an understanding.  Actually, they're still
clients of mine, to some degree.  No one can touch Jack when it comes to
locating off shore accounts."

"You're doing business for a crime family?"  Steve was shocked.

"Not really, just when they want me to locate someone.  I don't ask and
they don't tell me why.  It's been about 4 years that I've known Jack.
Let's just say, Jack owes me his life."  Randy shredded the document after
it cleared the fax machine.

"Fuck, you'd better be careful with that shit.  It could come around to
hurt you bro."  Steve was concerned.

"What?  "The Family" is definitely small-time potatoes.  I've got too much
on them and I could go to the cops.  They know it too.  I don't play on the
dirty side too often."  Randy drank his coffee.  "But thanks for the
concern."

"So you think this Jack will find what you want."  Steve looked at Randy.

"Definitely and when we do, we're gonna have a party."  Randy smiled with
an evil glint in his eye.  He knew he was on the right track.


Nick was hot on the trail of Tad Reynolds.  Tad left work at 5 p.m. and
headed for a local bar near his home.

"This guy is definitely a creature of habit."  Nick took some mental notes.

Tad bellied up to the bar and ordered a shot of whiskey and a beer.  Nick
took a table down from him to observe.  While Nick got his drink from the
bar maid, Tad did a quick scan of the room.  He saw Nick but didn't know
who this new guy was.  He was intrigued, especially when Nick returned the
stare.  Nick wasn't afraid of blowing his cover.  He knew how these types
worked.

Tad went back to watching the television.  After about a half hour, he
finished off his beer, and went to his car.  Nick waited long enough before
exiting the dark smoky bar.  He saw Tad drive off and got into his Hummer
and hit the ignition.  He stayed back enough and watched Tad from a
distance.

"Yep, pretty fuckin' boring this one is.  I think he's about to get a good
dose of a new life very soon."  Nick grunted.  "Breaking this piece of ass
is going to be real fun."


Thomas, Michael and Robert converged on Robert's office.

"So what do you guys think?  Did I do okay?"  Robert put down his files,
loosened his tie and sat back in his chair.

"I couldn't have done better myself," said Michael.  "Thanks for not
embarrassing me too much for daydreaming."

Thomas laughed.  "You're face was pretty red.  I thought it was funny
myself."

Michael blushed.  "Well, I, um..."

"I never thought that I'd see the day when the great Mr. Michael McManus
would be a loss for words."  Robert was now pitched forward in his chair
laughing.

Michael gained his composure.  "Now we have bigger fish to fry, don't we
gentlemen?"

"Yes," Thomas continued, "you're right.  We need to find out what's
happening and fast."

Robert leaned back and sighed.

"What are thinking?"  Michael asked Robert.

"I think Randy and Steve are on to something.  Randy is one of the best at
what he does.  I'm sure Steve will only help to speed things up."  Robert
had his hands behind his head.

"For my sake," Thomas stood up to leave, "I hope so.  Good night gentlemen.
Good job again today, Robert."

"Thanks Thomas, I appreciate that."  Robert looked over at Michael.

Michael was sitting on the leather couch in the office.  His eyes were open
but he wasn't there.

"What are you thinking about now, Michael?"  Robert got up to stretch
before going to close the door and lie on Michael.

Michael didn't answer.  When he felt Robert's body on top of his, he
relaxed.  He looked into his lover's eyes and smiled.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"  Robert pushed his groin into
Michael's.

"No."

"I love you."  Robert smiled.

"Ditto."  Michael smiled too.


Randy's phone rang.

"I found sumpthin'" Jack's raspy voice was grasping for air.

"Already?  I'm impressed."  Randy was impressed but not surprised.  He knew
his hunch was right on.

"Yeah, you won't believe it though.  Not only does both deez names register
on off shore accounts, but der is a third dat has a connection to one of
duh names."  Jack could be heard clicking in the background.

"Who is it?"  Randy was interested.

"I'm faxing the information over to you now.  Hope you got a shitload of
paper in your machine, it is long."

"Cool, if I like what I see, I might even pay you for this."  Randy
laughed.

"Yeah, whatever.  Call if you have questions."  Jack hung up.

Less than a minute later, Randy's fax machine rang and paper began feeding
out of the tray.

About 20 minutes later the fax machine stopped whining and Randy pulled all
the information off the tray.  The paper was warm because the machine was
hot.

Randy didn't need to look far before he knew he was right.  "I'll be
fucked."

"Found something interesting?" Steve just came in from being out on
business.

"Oh hell yeah, we've hit the mother lode.  This is going to be real good."
Randy got on the phone immediately.



"Anton?  You home?"  The dark figure called out for his sometime
lover-fuckbuddy.

The condo was silent as the figure moved about the room.  He went up the
steps to the bedroom to see Anton taking a nap.  Anton was lying naked, on
his stomach, just under the sheets.

The figure pulled the sheets down and began to undress quietly.  Anton
shifted to widen his legs a bit.

"Oh yeah, open up for me babe.  I'm going to do so much to you tonight."
The figure stood for just a second as he stared over the body he was about
to overtake.

As the figure slid on the bed, he let his tongue down the crack of Anton's
ass, stopping to lap up the tangy goodness of his hole.  Anton groaned a
bit and shoved his ass against the tongue.  The tongue continued its
assault on the hole until it wet and loose with anticipation.

"Gawd Jerod, I hope that's you because only you can make me crazy like
this!"  Anton smiled.

Jerod stopped only grab the lube from the side of the bed applied a
generous amount to the hole and to his dick.  "Baby, I'm gonna take you
like the bitch you are and you're gonna want me to cum in you over and over
again."

Slowly Jerod's unsheathed dick entered the tight hole.  Anton gasped but
soon relaxed as he knew this is what he wanted.  Jerod continued to slowly
enter waiting for Anton to adjust to Jerod's girth.

Jerod leaned over to kiss Anton's ear.  "You ready for this?"

Anton didn't answer but started to grind his ass into Jerod's hips.  Jerod
knew what Anton wanted and there wasn't a word spoken during their intense
lovemaking.  As Anton received each thrust, he concentrated on making his
hole tight for his lover.  Gasps of pleasure where heard.  The smell of sex
permeated the room.  Jerod's sweat dripped of his tight body as he thrust
harder into his lover.

Finally breaking the silence, Jerod says, "Oh baby, I'm gonna cum soon, you
ready to join me?"

Anton gasped.  "I've been waiting to cum with you; let me turn over so we
can cum together."

The switching of positions took seconds as Jerod barely waited for Anton to
turn over before entering again.  He was close.  The two lovers kissed as
Jerod's thrusts became even more heated.  Anton pulled on his dick feeling
the cum starting to move on its way to explosion.  Without as much as a
word but only wimpers of pleasure, Anton exploded his wad of cum between
the two while clamping down on Jerod's exploding pole inside of his ass.

The two collapsed in a heated pile of passion; neither wanting to move, nor
neither one wanting to separate anytime soon.


"Good evening, this is the Wylie's."  James answered the phone the same he
had for over thirty years.

"Hey James, this is Randy, is Victoria around?"  Randy asked.

"Yes sir, I believe she is.  Just one moment, please."  James dismissed
Randy's informality but was curious about why Randy would be calling
Victoria.  He put Randy on hold while he found Victoria.

Victoria was in her room just reading a book when a gentle knock was heard
at her door.  She was still in her clothes.

"It is okay, come in."  Victoria looked up to see James.  "Yes?"

"Mr. Duncan is on the phone for you ma'am.  Would you like to take it here
or in the study?"

"I'll take it here."  Victoria was getting up when she turned to James.
"James, why are you still on duty?"

James smiled.  "It's alright; I was about finished for the evening.  Do you
need anything else tonight?"

"Yes," smiled Victoria, "for you to take the rest of the night off!  Now
go!"

James closed the door as Victoria picked up the phone.  "Mr. Duncan, how
nice a surprise.  What might I do for you this evening?"

"Actually, it's what you can do for me."  Randy replied.  "What can you
tell of me about Helen Dawson?"

"Hmmm, well she's been around the company for a long time.  She was my late
husband's secretary and she is Thomas' now.  She probably knows the company
as well as I do."  Victoria paused.  "Why do you ask?"

"Let's just say that I'm suspicious of everyone at this point, including
you."  Randy laughed a bit.

Victoria could tell he was teasing her.  She responded in a Scarlett
O'Hara-type drawl. "Me?  Why little ol' me?  Certainly you wouldn't suspect
little ol' me in all this mess?"

Hearing Victoria toying with him over the phone only made him laugh harder.
"Okay, okay, maybe not you, but everyone is suspect at this point.  I have
another question though.  She's got a son, right?"

"Yes she does.  I've never met him but from what I hear, he's quite
handsome, but I don't know much about him.  Helen is a very quiet regarding
her personal life."

That only made Randy's eyes narrow a bit more with suspicion.  "Okay, well
thanks for the information, I was just curious.  Have a good evening."

Victoria didn't like the abruptness in which the conversation ended but
figured Randy was just being careful.  However, as Victoria went back to
reading, she couldn't help the nagging feeling like a dam was about to
burst.


Anton and Jerod recovered from their third round of lovemaking when they
finally got up to get something to eat.

"You'd better watch that late-night eating or those abs will disappear."
Anton joked.

"I think the aerobic exercise tonight has been enough to burn off anything
I could eat right about now."  Jerod smiled.

Anton was making a sandwich when he asked, "So how was work today?"

"It was okay, I guess."  Jerod got quiet.  "I just wish I could be doing
more.  I mean, I love my kids, I love teaching, but some of them just don't
get what I'm teaching them."

"I actually wish I would have been a better student, I know I would have
paid attention to you as my teacher."  Anton smiled.

"Cute."  Jerod smiled as he took a bite of Anton's sandwich.

"Why don't you try a different approach?"  Anton was inspired.  "You're
teaching poetry, why not trying to equate it to some of their lyrics of
today?  Rap, hip hop, whatever, make them understand that this was the "hip
hop" of an earlier time."

Jerod was awestruck.  Sometimes Anton could be very shallow but there were
times, like now, he could really be lucid and creative.  He came around the
island that they both leaned against and hugged Anton from behind.

"You're only using me for my money, right?"  Anton smiled.

"I don't think so.  I think I'm actually falling in love with you."  Jerod
sighed.

Anton was taken aback.  He never had anyone want him for him.  "Why are you
telling me this?  It is a cruel ploy to get at my money, isn't it?"

Jerod was hurt.  He stopped hugging Anton and turned him around so they
were face to face.

"You know you're an ass, don't you?"  Jerod was serious.  "I don't care
about your looks, though you are sexy as hell, I don't care about your
money, though I know you're richer than I'll ever be, and I don't care
about your name.  I just care about you.  Is that so hard to understand?"

Anton felt like a heel.  His head bowed in shame.  "I'm sorry; I'm just not
used to this.  It's not something that...well, I just feel like the
prodigal son most of the time.  I don't know if I'm being used for who I
am, what I am, or whatever.  I know it doesn't make sense."

"Yeah, it does."  Jerod lifted Anton's head up so their eyes met.  "You
just have to trust me, I care for you....I love you."

The two shared a hug.  They finished the sandwich in silence and went back
to bed.  For the rest of the night, they just snuggled and held each other
closely.


"So what are you thinkin', bro?"  Steve pulled Randy out of his thoughts.

"I don't get the connection.  I know Thomas isn't to blame, that's pretty
clear.  When he shows his travel expenses, we'll be able to clear his name.
But what's unclear is why he has a private account in the Bahamas?"  Randy
continued.  "But the coincidence that Helen also has an account at the same
bank is what really concerns me.  I feel a set up."

Steve was now deep in thought.  "Yeah, you've got the "where" but where is
the "why" in all of this?"

At this point the phone rang.  Randy was surprised at the name on the
caller ID.

"Hello?"  Randy answered.

"We need to talk immediately tomorrow morning." The voice was mysterious.

"Okay, where?"  Randy said.

"Denny's on 12th, 6 a.m.  Don't be late."  The voice hung up.

Randy just sat there and looked at the phone.  "I'll be damned, we've got a
6 a.m. appointment at Denny's in the morning."  Randy shook his head.

"With who?"  Steve asked.

"James."

The two knew something was up.