Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2004 11:29:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: dante umbero <danteumbero@yahoo.com>
Subject: The General-8

This is a story of erotic Gay fiction.  If you are a
minor or it is illegal to view this material in your
area, please go away.  If this sort of thing floats
your boat, read on and enjoy.

This story took place in a fantasy world free of
things like diseases; don't make love without a glove!

This chapter doesn't have much in the way of sex
scenes.  Sometimes you just can't move a story forward
with a hot sex scene...hard to believe I know.  Thanks
to all for the comments, especially the ones that have
pointed out the weaknesses, they make me a better
writer, I hope.

Dante-

The General-8

Suk hung up the phone, she was furious and jealous and
very angry.  She had always thought Dan would come to
his senses one day and they could get back together.
Now she knew the real reason behind his isolation and
their subsequent breakup.  "He's Gay!"  She thought
for awhile, seeing for the first time how that made
all the pieces fit together, her legal training came
to her rescue as she schooled her feelings and tried
to think how this affected things legally.  She calmed
down and made a few phone calls.

Jock had been back at the base for a few days, nothing
new was going on.  Their mission was on target,
information was being gleaned and sent on to
Washington.  He was sitting in his office completing
yet another report when the Sergeant buzzed and told
him he had a call.

"This is General Ramirez," Jock said into the phone.

"Jock, see you made it back from vacation.  Have a
good time?"  The Colonel asked.

"Well Hey, Colonel, yeah I had a great vacation,
something wrong with Eric's mom?"  He asked.

"No, Ellen's the same.  Still doing fine."  He sighed
then continued, "I got a call from Bill Marlow
yesterday, you know Bill he's an Under Secretary of
Defense for the Army."  He asked.

"Yeah, Colonel, I know him."  Jock remembered the man
who had run the investigation into Eric's death well.
Except back then he had been a Colonel.

"Listen Jock, he called me yesterday to talk about
playing a round of golf with him, I told him Ellen and
I would love to, he mentioned some old business that
involved Eric, said I should check with you.  I told
him I was sure you would know.  He mentioned someone
named McClean, an attorney, who was asking around the
department about it; thought you ought to know."  He
paused again and then, "Glad you had a good vacation,
you deserved it.  Take care of yourself, Jock." He
said.

"Thanks Colonel, I will.  Give my love to Ellen."
Jock said in a strained but cheerful voice.  They hung
up.

Jock was very calm, his training taking over.  "Fuck,"
he mumbled under his breath.  "How'd they find out so
quick?"  He knew the Colonel had just delivered a
veiled message, he didn't play golf, in fact hated it
and Ellen was a vegetable.  All that shit was for any
listening ears.  "Dan's ex-wife was asking about
Eric's death, impossible.  She couldn't know about
that.  She must have guessed about Dan and my
relationship...how?  Dan must have told her."  He
thought..."Fuck!"  he said more loudly.  He went
through his day without further incident pretending
everything was as it should be.   He couldn't contact
Dan while on duty, it was too easy to trace.  He
thought that at the earliest central command would
have heard the rumor yesterday so unless they got
really on the ball, it wasn't likely the Colonel's
conversation was overheard, but you couldn't be too
careful.  Jock knew what he was dealing with, he'd
been through it before when Eric died.  He was looking
at a dishonorable discharge and loosing his pension.
The big boys already knew he was leaving at the end of
this tour so hopefully they wouldn't be too anxious
for a witch hunt, if Suk would stop pressing.  He had
to get through to Dan, but couldn't think of a way at
present.  He'd have to bide his time.

I was at my desk, wading through piles of paper trying
to find the install plan for a little Podunk place in
Vermont.  My desk was buried under its normal clutter
compounded by being out of the office for over a week.
 "Hell's bells how'm I suppose to find anything in
this pile of shit!"  I exclaimed to the blank walls.
I was still upset about Suk's conversation the night
Jock left.  I couldn't believe I'd been so stupid.  I
figured she would file a motion to limit my visitation
rights if the kids didn't throw a fit.  "Fuck!"  I
said as a pile of paper toppled to the floor.  Just
then the phone started ringing muffled under a pile of
paper.  I unearthed it with the finesse of an
archeologist digging up a pharaoh.

"Yeah, this is Dan."  I barked.

"Yes Mr. McClean, you don't know me, but I think we
have a mutual friend, Jorges Ramirez.  Can you spare
me a few minutes?"  The voice asked.

"Uh, who is this?"  I asked.

"Well, it's doubtful that Jock has told you about me,
but I'm the father of an old friend of his.  Did he
ever mention Eric to you?"  The voice quavered
slightly sounding old.

"Uh yeah, he might've mentioned an Eric.  What can I
do for you?"  I said curious now.

"I just wanted to tell you that there is an attorney
named McClean that is inquiring around the Pentagon
about the General and while no accusations have been
made yet, she is asking questions that are leading
certain friends of mine toward a conclusion that the
Army has regulations against.  If an inquiry was held,
and Jock found in violation his career would be over,
he would loose his retirement and might go to jail."
He paused letting the news sink in, "I don't think
either of us wants that, do we Mr. McClean?"

I was frozen, I couldn't believe Suk could be so
vindictive, I cleared my throat and then, "Well hell
no, I'd hate to see Jock in any trouble.  How can I
help prevent that?"  I said.

The Colonel sighed and said, "One, you need to be more
careful who you tell secrets to.  At least until
Jock's safely out of the service.  Two, you can call
that ex-wife of yours and get her to back off.  Not
much damage has been done yet, but the blood hounds
don't take much of a scent to set off down a trail.
There are some at Central Command that think Jock
should have taken the fall when Eric died.  They are
only looking for an excuse to go there again.  Neither
Eric's mother nor I want Jock to go through that
again.  I've called in all the favors I have out in
Washington, but I've been gone so long now that I'm
not sure that's enough.  Jock needs to keep his head
down and away from you until this blows over."

"Why do you care so much?"  I asked slightly miffed at
the reprimand.

"Because my son loved him, and I believe he loved
Eric.  Jock is like one of my own children, I want to
see him happy.  If you are the one to make him happy,
then you need to take care of that trust."  He said
and hung up.

I sat stunned for a few minutes, the install plan
forgotten.  Then I called Suk's office.  "Suk..."I began
only to be cut off.

"Damn it Dan, I don't want to talk to you!"  She said,
"I'm not going to be reasonable about this.  We spent
12 years together, you said you loved me.  We had two
children together, and I'm supposed to be reasonable
when you decide to be gay?"  She laughed, "Gimme a
break, Dan."

"Suk, I'm not asking for you to be reasonable to me,
but you're trying to hurt someone who isn't in this
fight.  Jock doesn't deserve the witch hunt you are
gonna sick on him."  I said evenly.  "What do you
want, Suk, I'll do anything to get you to back off
Jock."

"Fuck!"  she said, "I'd like to have you castrated and
your balls bronzed and hung over my desk!"  Dan could
hear her sob, "Why, Dan, why the fuck did you ask me
out, ask me to date, ask me to marry you?  Why can't I
get the hole you've left in my heart fixed?  I feel
like my life is worthless because I was never what you
wanted."  She was crying.

"Suk, I'm sorry.  I don't know what else to say.  I
thought you were what I wanted. Hell I'm from a little
redneck town in South Georgia, I didn't even know
there was such a thing as being gay til I went to
college.  When I said I loved you, I meant it, when I
asked you to marry me I thought I wanted it.  Suk it
isn't your fault, hell the medical community doesn't
even think it's my fault but a damned programming
error in my DNA.  I loved you until we fought our way
out of love, and I realize that the fighting was
really about my hidden self.  I only found it when I
went into therapy.  Do you think that I was happy
about it, I was only happy that I'd found the problem.
 I love our children, OUR children Suk.  In a way I
still love you, as their mother.  Would this have been
easier if I'd fallen for another woman?  Think about
this, would you have felt better knowing that I'd
found another woman more compatible and attractive
than you?  I don't think so.  It isn't your fault
Suk." I stopped out of breath.

Suk's sobs were still evident but they were quieter,
"I'll lay off him Dan, you're right, he isn't to
blame.  You're right another woman would have been
worse.   Damn you.   I'm gonna hang up now and go home
and try to get my shit together.  Don't call me
anymore, Dan, I need room to try and forget you
finally.  I'll have Janine call with anything
concerning the kids, you can contact me through her or
through my service.  The line went dead.

"Fuck!" I said.

The days slowly went by, they turned into a couple
weeks and still I hadn't heard from Jock.  Because he
was stationed in that God forsaken Top Secret
installation, I couldn't call him.  I could only wait
for Jock to contact me.  Saturday morning dawned, and
found me sleeping fitfully; I had tossed and turned
all night unable to sleep for longer than an hour at a
stretch.  I still hadn't heard from Jock and could
only assume that he agreed with Eric's dad that we
needed to stay apart for awhile.  I was drifting back
into sleep when the phone rang, I was so close to
sleep that I didn't for a minute recognize the sound.
Then I sat straight up and lunged for the phone,
knocking a book off the table.

"Hello?" I said

"Hey, Dan, sorry to wake you up."  Jock said

"Fuck! Jock, God I'm glad to hear from you.  Did
Eric's dad talk to you?"  I said.

"Yeah, Dan, he did.  That's why you haven't heard from
me.  I had to wait until I got off base and to a
payphone to call."

"Damn Jock, I'm sorry...I never dreamed Suk would do
something like this.  I shouldn't have told her
anything, it just slipped out.  Babe I'd never do
anything to hurt you, you know that right?"  I said
quietly.

"I don't know what I believe anymore, Dan.  It's like
it was when Eric died, I don't think I can stand that
again.  I can only wait and see what the Army decides.
 If they investigate it won't be too hard to find
enough evidence, we haven't been overly secretive."
Jock said and sighed.

"Where are you babe?"  I said as I was pulling my
jeans on.

"I'm in San Antonio, I got a flight into Ft. Sam.  We
need to keep our heads down for a while."

Dan felt his chest tighten with emotion; he could feel
the sadness in Jock's voice and was devastated that he
was the cause.  "What are you gonna do, Jock?"  I
asked nearly sobbing.

"I'm gonna go visit my family, it's been awhile and I
have a couple new nieces and nephews to meet.  Then
I'm headed back.  I'll call you when I'm off base
again.  Take care Dan."  Jock whispered.

"I love you Jock, please believe that.  I talked to
Suk and she said she would back off.  I believe her,
Jock, I'm the one she's mad at."  I said.

"I don't know what I believe anymore, Dan, but thanks
for getting her to lay off.  I need time to think."
he hung up.

Dan spent the rest of that weekend and the next month
thinking about Jock and wishing he could talk to him
face to face, somehow let their bodies communicate
more effectively than their mouths.  But Jock stayed
away, he waited for the call to come on the next
weekend cycle and it didn't.  He got drunk and slept
the weekend away.  He plunged into the blackest of
depressions and was seeing his shrink a couple times a
week and taking some god awful pill to make him feel
better, it failed miserably.

While at work he was told his line was being downsized
as they were trying to sell off the military source
code.  Dan climbed out of his funk long enough to
angrily tell his boss he would buy the shit himself if
they would name him a price.  The company came back
with an offer, Dan thought about his contacts in the
business and the numerous programming consultants he
knew and talked to his bank.  He made a counter offer
and with the collateral of his 401k and his share of
his father's estate he purchased the software.  The
challenge of the negotiation and the subsequent string
of meetings trying to come up with financing managed
to take his mind a little way away from Jock and that
disaster.  He was now faced with the challenge of
starting a business and all that entailed.  At first
he tried running the business from his apartment, but
that proved too difficult, the company allowed him to
stay in his current office for a month while he got
the business off the ground.  Finally, as he was
sitting in his father's old study in Thomasville he
thought seriously about moving back there, the house
hadn't been leased yet, he had been staying in it on
his frequent trips to take care of his Mom.  He
realized that three months had slipped by since he had
last talked to Jock.  He clamped down on his heart and
tried to forget about him.

"Hell there certainly is enough space here."  I
thought, "I could gut the third floor and upgrade the
wiring and add a T-1 connection.  Most of my work is
done on the client site anyway, and I'm gonna be in
D.C. a lot.  All my programming is gonna be
outsourced, marketing is almost nil."  The idea
appealed to me the more I thought about it.  It would
allow me to be near my Mom and away from Suk.  My kids
would have to make the trip down every other week.

I was sitting in the airport in Atlanta waiting for my
flight to National when my cell phone chirped.  I
didn't recognize the number and thought about not
answering it but decided it could be my contact in
D.C.  "This is Dan."  I said.

"Hey Dan, "Jock said, "I thought...I mean, I wanted
to...Dan, please....Fuck."

My heart stopped, I was plunged into a whirlpool of
conflicted emotions at the sound of Jock's voice.
Part of me wanted to cry and beg Jock to forgive me;
but another part wanted to tell Jock to fuck off.
It'd been nearly four months.  "Jock," I paused, "It's
good to hear your voice again."  I said neutrally.

"Dan, I tried your apartment and the phone had been
disconnected and then I tried your office number and a
stranger said you didn't work there anymore and gave
me this number.  I...wanted to talk to you.  Where are
you?"  he asked

"In the airport, waiting on a flight, in fact their
calling my flight to board as we speak, can I call you
back when I land?  Or can you call me back in a couple
of hours?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll call you back...Dan, I ...I'll call you then."
 Jock said.

On the flight up to National I was torn between
elation and anger.  What could possibly be gained
after all this time apart?  What did I still feel for
him?  Did I feel anything for him now?  What did he
feel for me?  "Shit!"  I thought, anger winning out.

I was waiting at the rental car counter when the cell
phone chirped again.  "This is Dan."

"Dan, I forgot to ask where you were flying to."  Jock
said.

"I'm in D.C., I've got to meet with OAI and the AG's
office to sign support agreements on this fucking
piece of shit software.  I'm at National and the
fucking rental counter is backed up as usual."  I said
pissed.

"Come out front and I'll pick you up in about 20
minutes."  He said.

"What? Aren't you in the fucking desert somewhere?"  I
asked astonished.

"No, just shut the fuck up for a few minutes and meet
me out front in 20, I'm driving a Fucking GI minivan."
He said and hung up.

"Fuck!"  I thought, "not only do I have to deal with
the bureaucrats I get to have a fight with Jock!"

I saw Jock as he slammed the brakes on the puke green
minivan with the GI license plates.  He popped the
door locks and I threw my stuff in the back and
climbed in.  He threw the van in gear and speed off
out of the airport, traffic was it's usual congestion
around National but we were soon onto the expressway.


"Where're you staying?"  he asked

"The Marriott over off Dupont Circle."  I said

Silence descended as we made our way through traffic.
He seemed pretty comfortable driving around the
District, something I didn't think I ever would be.
He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the
engine.  I reached for the door handle and was about
to thank him for the ride, when he reached out and
touched my arm.  I froze, "Please don't Jock."

"Dan, please, let's talk out here."  He said and I
looked into his eyes and could see pain and something
else there, that maybe I was afraid to describe.

I sighed and said, "Jock I said I was sorry about Suk,
I know it was probably the stupidest fucking thing
I've ever done, but it was an honest mistake.  It
really just slipped out without my thinking about it.
I don't know what else I can or could have said.  I've
beat myself to death with regret but its past Jock, I
fixed it the best I could and you didn't call again.
You just about sent me around the bend Jock; I'm just
now starting to see light again, why would you
suddenly want to talk to me again."

"Dan, it's my turn to say I'm sorry.  I felt betrayed
and like a dirty secret again.  I've had a longtime to
think about that and when I realized I was being pig
headed it had been so long I was afraid to call.  Dan,
I needed to see you again, see if there was anything
to salvage even if it was just friendship.  I remember
you told me once, in the desert, that no matter how we
shook down you always wanted to be my friend."  He
paused and silence descended.

I stared out the window at nothing thinking about what
he had said, sure I could understand it, maybe even
believe it.  Hell I felt responsible for it.  What did
I still feel?

"Dan, do you still love me?"  Jock asked and I could
hear a sob in his voice.  "You know I still love you."

"Fuck, Jock...it's been so long...Fuck!  Of course I still
love you.  I never stopped loving you.  That's what
nearly sent me off the deep end.  I'd found the one
person in the world that could touch the deepest chord
in me.  I can't just stop loving someone like that.  I
don't think I ever can.  I understand what Suk was
telling me about a hole in the heart that can't be
fixed."  I said.  I felt his hand touch mine, I looked
over at him and saw tears running down his face also.

"Dan, let's start again.  Please?" He said.

To be continued.....