Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:22:53 -0800 (PST)
From: Deep Diver <deepdiver_pr@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Master and the Mate - Chapter 9

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detailed descriptions of sex between consenting males age eighteen and
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Ryan looked up with a haggard expression on his face and turning toward
Bill, he uttered the single word "Gone." Bill could only stand transfixed
by the look on Ryan's face as he seemed to be staring off into space,
oblivious to Bill.


The Master and his Mate - by Deepdiver

CHAPTER 9 - Man Overboard


That night Kyle remembered the pool house at Dr. Ryan's friend's house and
decided to crash there for the night.  He thought that by the next day he
would be able to sort things out.

Ryan barely slept that evening and then left early for the University the
next day, where he was giving a graduate course.  There was no word from
Kyle and he didn't want to leave the yacht, but his sense of responsibility
was too strong to skip his lecture.  When he reported to the faculty office
the Dean was all smiles and came out of his office to congratulate him.
Ryan was baffled by the greeting until the Dean explained that Ryan had
been given an award for an article that he'd published on prevention
therapy to counter the cycle of domestic violence.  He would be
representing the University at the Convention of the American Psychology
Association (APA) to begin the next day in Washington, DC.

Ryan was very reluctant to leave town, but the Dean insisted on the
importance of him accepting the award for the attention it would draw to
the university's graduate program.  The Dean handed him a voucher for the
hotel and his round-trip tickets for an early evening departure.  Over the
years, the Dean had backed Ryan on many innovations in the program and Ryan
could not let the man down now, even though he was not personally disposed
to be out of town.  There was no time to drive back to White Plains.  He
went home, gathered his papers and packed a small bag and took a cab to
Laguardia Airport.

                                      * * *

Kyle spent that day totally confused.  In the evening he went to his class,
because of his sense of responsibility, but he could not bring himself to
return to the 'Gardie.'  So for the second night he slipped into the pool
house thinking maybe tomorrow he would find Kirk and talk the situation
over with him

He was just getting comfortable on a lounge chair when the pool house door
was suddenly opened forcefully, and a bright light and gun was aimed at his
face.

"Don't move.  You are under arrest."  Said an authoritative voice.

There was a shuffle of others entering the shed and finally the light was
turned on.  Kyle found himself surrounded by policemen all pointing their
guns at him.

"Please don't shoot.  I was only sleeping here.  I'm not armed."  Kyle
pleaded.  But he was quickly pulled off the lounge and pushed face down on
the floor and cuffed.  After the police had searched the shed he was pulled
to his feet and taken outside.

"So what are you doing in here?"  A policeman asked.  Another officer had
taken his wallet and was looking for his identification.

"Please, I had permission to sleep here."  Kyle protested.

"From whom?"  The officer inquired.  But Kyle didn't know the names of the
owners.  The next door neighbour soon came over accompanied by an officer.

"This is the neighbour who called us, a Mr. Anderson" said the policeman
accompanying the neighbour as he led him to the officer in charge.

"I see you caught him."  said Anderson.

The arresting officer said to Anderson, "he says he had the owner's
permission to sleep here."

"I know nothing about that.  They have alway asked me to look after their
place; I'm sure they would have told me if they had given someone
permission.  I think he's lying, but I can call them and check."  Anderson
offered; but the phone rang unanswered when he tried.

Kyle was taken to the precinct and placed under arrest and charged with
breaking and entering.  He tried explaining to the police that he was a
friend of Dr. Ryan's, but Ryan was not known to the police of White Plains
and the yacht was still in his brother's name.  When they finally allowed
Kyle to make a call to Ryan's cellphone, he was already out of the NYC area
and Kyle heard the taped voice say that the number was out of the service
area.  Kyle began to fall into a desperate state as the only thing that he
could think was that Ryan didn't want to receive his call. .

                                       * * *

Later that evening, Ryan called Bill and Kirk, but neither had heard
anything from Kyle; Ryan began to think that he had pushed the kid to far
too fast.  Again Ryan slept poorly that evening, and the next day made his
presentation; but it was a very lack lustre performance as he was so
emotionally drained by Kyle's disappearance.  As soon as there was a coffee
break in the morning session, he found a phone and again called Kirk but to
no avail.

"Sorry, Ryan, I haven't seen or heard from him.  Give me the number of your
hotel and I'll let you know if he comes around." Kirk said, promising also
to check with Bill.

Eventually, Kyle's father showed up at the city jail and got Kyle released
on bail.  Kyle didn't want to go home, but he didn't see any alternative.
As soon as he got home, he called Ryan's secretary, who merely informed him
that Ryan was away on a trip and she was not sure of when he would return.
This again reinforced Kyle's belief that Ryan was avoiding him.

When Ryan finally returned that Friday he went straight to the yacht, but
there was no sign of Kyle.  He then looked for Bill, but the berth of 'Mon
Cheri' was empty.  He then walked over to the machine shop to locate Kirk,
but it was already closed.  Ryan's heart was broken; he couldn't understand
why Kyle had not even called; even if just to let him know he was all right
and where he could be reached.  Ryan thought he was such a typical youth:
one moment pledging their undying love and the next putting you completely
out of their minds..  His depression began to combine with anger.  He
decided he needed a break and undid the moorings and headed the 'Gardie'
out into the sound to do some fishing.

Ryan anchored the yacht about five miles out of the marina, baited a line
and began his vigil.  He soon fell asleep from exhaustion.  When he awoke
several hours later from the noise of the reel, he grabbed the pole and
pulled in a nice sea bass.  He also noticed that a very heavy fog had
overtaken him and decided it was to dangerous to try to return to the
marina and decided to pass the night where he was anchored.  After
preparing his catch in the galley he went up to the main salon and ate
while watching the late night news.  After the news he went back to his
cabin and turned in so he could head back in to the marina at first light.

That same evening Kyle had convinced his dad to drive him to his navigation
class and afterwards they stopped by the marina to try and catch up with
Ryan.  But they only found the berths of both the 'Gardie' and the 'Mon
Cheri' vacant.  Kyle felt so guilty; enough time had passed since he ran
from Ryan and he was now able to see how he had over-reacted to the maturer
man's wise caution in expressing his feelings.  He now realized that it was
his immature need for immediate gratification which had set off the
feelings of panic.  He recalled Ryan's words about not letting panic get
the best of him when they were in the pool.  He now found himself yearning
to be floating in Ryan's protective arms.  But as far as he could
determine, Ryan was not to be found..  He got back into his father's car
and tried desperately to hide his tears as they streamed down his cheek
while wondering if he would ever see Ryan or Bill again.

                                    * * *

The next morning Ryan was up at first light, but the fog had still not
lifted.  The yacht was equipped with radar, but Ryan didn't want to take
the chance especially since he was alone.  So he made himself a leisurely
cup of cappuccino and sipped it while watching the morning news.  Later
when the fog was beginning to lift he decided to head back.  He had just
turned on the motor to hoist the anchor when he heard an explosion.  He
quickly scanned the horizon and saw smoke billowing some distance off the
starboard side.  At first he was relieved that it was not his own boat that
had exploded, but apparently there had been a another craft in the water
and it was now afire.  The smoke was drifting toward him and between it and
the thinning fog it was difficult for Ryan to make anything out.

He started the yacht's engine and headed towards the distant smoke, and
drawing closer, he began to circle the source of the smoke as he got on the
radio and called in an SOS.  There was an immediate response from some
radio buff who reminded him to get onto the emergency frequency where the
Coast Guard would be listening.  He adjusted the digital radio and again
called in the SOS.  He quickly got a response from the Coast Guard and had
soon given them his coordinates; but was unable to explain what exactly had
happened or what vessel was involved.

He continued to circle the burning wreck and there were some additional
small explosions and popping noises.  Ryan keep his eyes glued to the
water, searching for survivors.  Suddenly he saw a young man floating on a
piece of board, who was obviously hurt.  He killed the engine and flew down
the stairs to the lower deck, grabbing the first rope he saw, and flinging
it in the direction of the drifting youngster.  The survivor had little
strength but he did manage to grab hold of the rope and Ryan pulled him in,
not noticing how closely his own craft was drifting towards the burning
wreck.  Ryan had to jump into the water to help the young man up onto the
back platform of his yacht and never noticed the WCBS news helicopter
circling above.

Kyle was just tuning his radio to his favourite station when the breaking
news report got his attention.

"We have a live report from our Eye Witness News Team's helicopter of a
boating accident in the Sound: Two yachts have apparently collided in the
Long Island Sound.  We can only see one yacht, the 'Gardie,' which seems to
be on fire.  There are two men struggling in the water."

"Oh my God," Kyle thought.

Meanwhile Ryan was thanking God that he had kept himself in decent shape
because getting this guy up onto the platform was a real physical
challenge.  He slowly managed, inch by inch, to get him up and onto the
lower deck.  He then ran to the galley and grabbed some towels to use as
bandages to help the hapless victim.  Once he began cleaning the kid, Ryan
saw that his cuts weren't as serious as he'd first thought: they looked
worse than they actually were.

"Please, my parents are out there, you gotta try and find them." The boy
wailed despairingly.

Ryan was torn between continuing to help this young boy of around sixteen
and looking out for other possible survivors.  Once he realized that the
bleeding wasn't as bad as it looked, he ran up the stairs to get a better
vantage point and to steer the 'Gardie' away from the burning oil on the
surface.  He called the Coast Guard and notified them that he had taken one
survivor from the wrecked boat aboard, a young lad, but he had seen no sign
of the boy's parents who were still missing.

The news team was eavesdropping on the emergency frequency and relayed the
news to their listeners.  Kyle heard the reporter say that the Coast Guard
was reporting only one survivor, a boy of about 15.  Kyle ran into the
bathroom and began vomiting his insides out and crying hysterically.

"If I had been there, this wouldn't have happened." he cried.

His dad hearing Kyle cry out came running to him.  He wasn't very good with
words, but he did reach over and put his hand on Kyle's shoulder.  Kyle
immediately turned toward his dad and wept bitterly.

                                           * * *

Ryan thought he saw one of the young man's parents and dove off the upper
deck toward them.  However, there was something under the surface of the
water on which he hit his head as he entered the water.  It didn't knock
him out, but it did open a gash and left him somewhat dazed.  Fortunately,
a Coast Guard helicopter had arrived in time to see his dive and the
result; within moments there was a rescuer from the Coast Guard in the
water next to him and they soon had him strapped in and winched him up to
the safety of the helicopter.  Whilst this had been going on, a Coast Guard
cutter had arrived and hove to next to the 'Gardie' and a boarding party
had taken control of the yacht, and finding the boy on the lower deck
called the chopper to airlift him to hospital. Once hoisted up into the
chopper they were both flown to the merchant marine hospital.  The boarding
party on the 'Gardie' checked her over and then started her engine and
closely followed by their own ship took her back to their base pending an
investigation.

The news of the accident was repeated constantly that day, on both radio
and TV, but actual details of what had happened failed to emerge: there
were just so many differing versions being put out.  Kyle was unaware of
what had really happened, and went along with the main thing that most of
the versions agreed on: the 'Gardie' had been one of two boats in a
collision and only a boy had survived from them both. So, thinking that
Ryan had been killed in a boating accident, Kyle gave up any hope of ever
seeing Ryan alive again.

                                     * * *

Once in the emergency room of the hospital, Ryan was easily fixed with a
small bandage, but the young man was very upset by the loss of his parents,
the only living relatives he thought he had.  Ryan quickly identified
himself as a licensed psychologist and was allowed to stay with the boy as
he grieved.  An official from the police took a statement from the boy, who
said his name was Mark Benning.  He thought that their boat had been hit by
a speed boat.  His parents were still asleep in their cabin but he had been
out on deck when it occurred.  Mark made sure that the officials understood
that he was alive thanks to Ryan and that the 'Gardie' was not involved in
the accident.

Ryan called his boss, the Dean at the university, who was relieved to hear
he was unhurt and came directly to the hospital to pick him up.  Since Mark
was a minor, a social worker was called in now that he had just become a
ward of the State.  Ryan immediately offered to care for him until a more
permanent arrangement could be worked out and as Mark was clinging to Ryan
the social worker agreed a temporary foster license for Ryan.  The Dean
drove them to Ryan's apartment in the Village and once he made sure that
Ryan had all he needed, headed back to the university.

Ryan got Mark settled in his guest room and then thought they'd better go
out and get him some clothes.  They just walked a couple of blocks til they
came to a men's store and what should have been a shopping adventure, was a
very draining experience with Mark still so traumatized by the earlier
events of the day.

The sales assistant who knew nothing of what had happened to the boy, just
presumed it was a typical New York dad taking an unwilling teen to buy some
decent clothes.  He began to wonder about the two both sporting bandages,
but working in a men's store so close to the village he had learned to
overlook such strange occurrences.  After they left the store, they grabbed
a cab which took them to Mark's family apartment on East 43rd Street.  The
doorman recognized Mark and opened the door to the apartment, located on
the tenth floor, after expressing his condolences.  Together Mark and Ryan
located his dad's phone directory and called his lawyer and made an
appointment for the following day.

"If this is too hard for you, we can just get what you will need for the
next few days and then come back when you are feeling better."  Ryan
whispered to Mark.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you for all this."  Mark said sadly.

"Your being alive is thanks enough and your accepting my hospitality is
more than I need,." Ryan said reassuringly.

At one point Mark expressed a desire to stay in his own room that night.
Ryan was about to agree, but the more Mark looked about the apartment, the
more upset he became and on his own he requested that they go back to
Ryan's place.  Before they left the boy broke down and began to weep.  Ryan
engulfed him in his arms and allowed him to sob.  Mark, had been raised by
very affectionate parents and took much comfort from Ryan who was rubbing
his neck and shoulder as he wept.

"Good boy, let your feelings flow.  Each of your tears are precious jewels
which go directly to the hearts of you mom and Dad for all eternity."  Ryan
said groping for words to comfort the newly orphaned boy.

"Do you really believe that?  My mom and dad, didn't believe in an
afterlife."  Mark said somewhat choked.

Ryan was stunned.  He wondered if Mark's parent's had considered how much
harder it was going to be for their son to cope with their death, without
the consolation of the hope an afterlife would have provided.  He
understood that he would have to instill some hope in the boy to help him
through the deep pains of the next few weeks and months.

"Mark, I am a man of empirical science, and the art of counselling based on
scientific inquiry.  However, my lived experience reconfirms almost daily
that life never ends, it is merely changed.  I can tell you that all of my
clients who believe in a living forgiving God respond qualitatively better
to therapy than those who don't.  But more important, I think as you learn
to deal with your own grief, you will find signs each day that passes that
God will reunite you and your parents."

Mark's weeping subsided as he contemplated what Ryan had said.  But the
feelings that Mark experienced being held by Ryan as he verbally reassured
him had a far more powerful effect.  Once he was calm they gathered what
they needed and called a cab to take them back to Ryan's apartment.

That night Ryan connected with Edwin online and brought him up to date on
the recent events.  Edwin was somewhat shocked that so much had happened in
such a short time.  He also expressed real concern for Mark and wondered
how Ryan was going to be able to handle being a full time father.  He also
wondered about Kyle's disappearance.  He could tell from Ryan's comments
that he had grown very fond of the young man and knew another break up
would be very hard on Ryan, so soon after his brother's death.

Edwin felt frustrated that he could not be there for his former lover when
he most needed him.  Ryan however was much comforted by Edwin's expressions
of concern and drew strength from his friend and lover in spite of the
feeling of frustration that the distance was imposing on them.  At one
point, Edwin joked and suggested that Ryan should write up his story and
put it on the Nifty archives that he was always reading.  Ryan laughed and
said, "I just may do that one of these days!"

After parting from Edwin, and being reminded by him, Ryan surfed over to
Nifty.Org hoping to find another chapter uploaded in one of his favourite
stories: 'The Road Home' by Tyler Peel or 'Danny's Rehab Program' by an
anonymous author who hid behind his web address but was a fellow eminent
psychologist aided by a loyal proofreader who lived across the lake.



Please consider making a donation to Nifty and for me a friendly email
might be just what is needed to get me to write the next chapter....  Come
on.... I need your support.

(   ) I don't find you story erotic.
(   ) I get off while ready your story.
(   ) I think Edwin and Ryan will get back together eventually.
(   ) Kyle will forget Ryan and fall in love with Bill
(   ) Your proofreader does an excellent (   ), very good (   ),
      or good (   ) job.