A Common Man - A Tangled Web Pt. 03

As her stomach roiled at the thought of what she had done with George, Chelsea did something she had never before done. She dialed one of the dancers she worked with and that she knew was taking drugs.

"Christina? This is Chelsea. Yea I'm ok. Listen, can you...aw...would you...I need something to make me feel better. Huh? Yeah like that. Can you...aw...can you get me some? Okay, cool. Yeah, bring it over when you get it. How much? Ok, I'll have the money for you when you get here."

A half-hour later the doorbell rang. When Chelsea opened it, it was Christina. She was tall, with dark hair, a trim, lithe dancer's body and moved with a cat's grace.

"Here you go." The dancer said, handing Chelsea a small baggy.

Chelsea handed her the money and as she did Christina appraised Chelsea. Her eyes were swollen and her face was puffy. Christina knew Chelsea had been crying, and it appeared it was hard and for a long time. The two had worked together for over three years so Christina knew that Chelsea was a happy person overall, knew whatever was bothering her was very bad.

A moment later an epiphany hit her, "I know that look. George got to you didn't he?"

The mention of his name made Chelsea sob. Christina stepped in the door and pulled Chelsea to her, hugging her tight.

"The bastard!" Christina snarled, "We knew he hadn't gotten to you. The rumor was you were too valuable to him. But I guess the nasty old bastard couldn't keep his hands off you!"

Chelsea didn't have any close friends in LA, so before she knew it she was telling Christina about David, the campground, her trips there, the fun the two of them had together, what he was like. Then she told her about what George had done, the threats to David, the demands he had placed on her.

"The bastard!" Christina grated, "He can't be satisfied with the others he has already raped, he has to do it to you too!"

"Others?" Chelsea asked as she stepped back and wiped her eyes.

"Yes. It's almost a requirement if you work for George. You either give him sex or he will take it. When he takes it, when he rapes someone he is always so damned smug about it. He tells them that no one will believe them, hammers it into them until they believe it to be true."

"How do you know that?" Chelsea asked.

"Because I refused to fuck him. He got me in his office one day handcuffed me and raped me, twice. But that wasn't the only thing that happened that day. Because I fought him, because I resisted, he called his lawyer Madison Chance to come over and he raped me too. Then he made sure I knew if I told anyone he would deny it and that if I didn't fuck him when he wanted it I would be fired and he would blacklist me. That's when I started using. When he calls, I get high and it helps me get through it. "

Chelsea stared at Christina wide-eyed, "He did that...to you?"

"Yeah. From what you told me he's planning that for you. Do yourself a favor, get high before you go to him. It helps." Christina said as she left.

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"...that's where all his money has gone." Garr finished, then took a sip of his beer.

"We can't let this happen." Susan spit out, a look of disgust on her face, "From what you've told me your friend is too good a man to let it happen. That and I'm totally sick about working for people who would do things like George and Madison have done."

"Well, I'm sure Madison will soon find out the connection between me and David. When he does, he'll fire us both then we won't be able to get any inside information. If I know Madison he's got files on George and what he's done. He likes to have some kind of leverage on his high-profile clients. You said Madison doesn't know about us?"

"Nope. I've made sure never to mention anything about us. In fact, I've made disparaging remarks about you to him to throw him off." Susan replied.

"Do tell!" Garr said with a grin, "What kind of remarks?"

"Oh that you have an itty bitty weenie and you have no idea how to use it or eat pussy!" Susan replied with a sly grin.

"I'm just going to have to show you how wrong you are!" Garr replied in a fake growl.

Susan grinned, "What I told him was I thought you were too much of a goody-two-shoes to be a PI and that you wouldn't get your hands dirty with some of the things he needed to be done."

"Perfect!" Garr grinned, "how about if you go to him and tell him that you discovered I was friends with David? He's going to find out eventually. This way you win his confidence and make it appear like you're turning on me."

"Oh hell yes! I'll throw you under the bus so fast you're heads going to swim!"

"You would! Just for that I get the top this time!"

Susan batted her eyelashes and replied in a falsetto, "Oh please Mr. don't stick that thing in me again!"

"Sorry girl, you asked for it!" Garr said with a mock frown, then added, "Back to business. Once you have cemented his confidence in you, you have to find a way to get to his files. I'm sure he has all kinds of security on his computer and office, but I think I know a way to bypass it if you can get us access to it."

"How's that?" Susan asked.

"Well the last time I talked to Ted Green he was working for the military as a computer code breaker. If anyone can crack computer security, it's him."

"What about the security in the office? The locks, the safe?"

Garr looked pensive as he said, "I'm still figuring on that. I'll come up with something."

Susan grinned, "Cool! It looks like we have a plan!"

"Once we set it in motion though, I won't be able to see you again until it's finished." Garr said, a look of worry on his face, "and you have to be careful. Those two are bad business. They could do anything if they think they are in danger of losing their little empire."

"Don't worry about me big man. Now I think you need to take me back to your place and jump on me like you threatened to do!"

"You are one insatiable female, you know that right?" Garr replied as he stood.

Susan turned, wiggled her ass at him as she said, "You love it and you know it!"

Twenty minutes later Susan was on her back with Garr's face planted between her legs.

"Oh fuck yes!" She groaned as she clutched at the back of his head.

A moment later she yelped, "Now! Now!"

Gar slid up and slammed his hard rod balls deep into her, grabbed her ankles, spread her legs wide and began to hammer his cock into her. It took all of 30 seconds before Susan moaned a long, deep moan as an orgasm filled her. A minute later Garr followed suit as his cock exploded inside her. He finally rolled to the side, stretched out on his back with a huge sigh of contentment. As he did Susan giggled, scrambled up and mounted him.

"What the hell are you doing you insatiable woman?" Garr asked as Susan held his still hard cock up and settled down onto it.

Two things...oh yes..." she groaned as she began to move her hips in a circle, "Getting enough of your cock to see me through until this is done and making sure you remember that if you get any strange pussy, it's never going to be as good as mine!"

Garr grabbed her hips and pushed upward, picking her right up off the bed, pushing his cock into her until the crown touched her cervix as he grunted, "Yeah I know our agreement is we aren't exclusive, we can fuck whomever we want. And you've told me numerous times that you don't love me, you just want the sex. So, I'll keep in mind how good your pussy is but you need to keep in mind how hard I make you cum!"

"Oh...oh..." Susan groaned as he hammered up into her, then gasped, "Oh...Hell yes!"

________________________________________________________________

As Garr stepped through the airport doors he looked around and spotted Ted Green standing at the curb. Ted was dressed in a business suit, tie and highly polished shoes.

Garr walked over to him, grabbed his hand, pumping it as he said," Damn Teddy! You look like something out of a business ad!"

Ted grinned, "Don't let it fool you! I'm still the same beer-swilling roughneck inside. I just have a veneer of respectability now! So why the hell did you need to talk to me personally? Couldn't you tell me what you wanted to over the phone?"

"How about we go back to your place and you offer me a beer, then we can talk?" Garr replied.

"A beer sounds good. I just got off a 14-hour stretch at work." Ted replied, weariness creeping into his voice.

"Hey if you want to sleep first so you're fresh, that's ok with me," Garr said.

"I would but your cryptic call has got my damned curiosity up!"

They climbed into Ted's car and exchanged small talk as Ted drove across town. It took them 20 minutes to get to Ted's house, a nice suburban two-story.

As they climbed out of the car Ted said, "Charleen is still at work and will be for a while, so we have time to ourselves and can sit out in the back and talk."

As they entered Ted pointed down a short hallway, "Kitchen is that way. Beers in the 'fridge. There's also more in the small 'fridge on the patio. If you think I'm going to wait on you, your nuts! The door in the kitchen leads out to the patio. Get comfortable and I'll be right out. I'm going to change and get out of this monkey suit."

As Ted climbed the stairs Garr wandered into the kitchen, pulled two beers from the 'fridge then wandered out the back door. As he stood sipping his beer, he idly looked around. There was a small fire pit in the middle with several single chairs arranged on one side and two 3 person outdoor sofas on two other sides. The fourth side had a small bar fully outfitted with glasses, an ice maker, a beverage cooler and a selection of liquors. Garr meandered over and flopped down onto one of the sofas. He sipped his beer and thought about the last couple of days as he waited for Ted.

Their plan had played out like clockwork. Susan had gone to Madison and told him that she had discovered that Garr knew David and was his close friend. Madison had asked Susan if Garr knew she knew. She told him he didn't and that she wanted to make sure Garr didn't screw up any deals that Madison and George had in the works. Madison had asked Susan why she had brought that information to him. She told him that she didn't trust Garr and hadn't for a while, because he had made some comments that lead her to believe he didn't agree with what Madison had been doing. Garr knew how convincing Susan could be and was sure she was in Madison's confidence with that ploy.

Madison had called Garr to his office the next day and informed him that he was being released from his PI contract with the Carlisle Agency because they were downsizing and didn't need both him and Susan. When Garr had left Madison's office he had grinned all the way to his car knowing the ploy had worked.

Garr heard Ted come out the door and looked up to see him walking toward the Gazebo. He was barefoot, dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt. Garr's eyes were drawn to the three puckered scars punctuating the mahogany skin on Ted's right thigh, as well as the one on his right arm, evidence of the 7.62mm hardball bullets that had ripped through him. Ted flopped down in a lounge chair, took the beer Garr held out to him and chugged a third of it before pulling it away from his mouth.

He smacked his lips, "Damn! That hits the spot. Now what the hell is this all about?"

"First I have to tell you this has to do with David," Garr said.

"David? David O'Connor? You found him? Damn!" Ted replied with a huge grin, "What's he doing? Where does he live? Is he okay?"

"He lives out west. He owns a small campground on the Washington coast. He's fine. He loves the place he lives, but it appears he may lose his campground."

"What?? Why? How?"

"Let me start from the beginning. You know Chelsea Fornier?"

"The singer? Yea. She's a talented one. What about her?"

"Well, it's like this..." Garr said as he began his narrative.

Ted said nothing as Garr talked. It took Garr 20 minutes to brief his friend. As Garr got into the story Ted's face began to crease in a frown. By the time Garr finished telling Ted about what Susan had done, Ted's face was filled with a dark scowl.

There was silence for a moment then Ted said in a voice filled with anger, "What the fuck! What...the...fuck!"

There was another silence then Ted added, "I take it you need my help to break into Madison's computer? You know, if I do that and get caught I'll be jailed for a long time, don't you? It isn't a matter of just the break-in, but I'm not supposed to use the skills and equipment I have to do anything but government work."

"I understand. I was hoping you could help us with this, but I don't want you putting yourself in jeopardy. I'll find another..."

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Ted interrupted, "They're fucking around with a guy who saved my ass! He put his on the line for me, it's time I returned the favor! I haven't taken any time off for three years. I've got all kinds of vacation time coming. I'm just finishing up with a project so I'll be in between. When do you want me out there?"

Garr grinned and replied, "Would next week work for you?"

"Done deal!" Ted replied as he held up his bottle and said, " To comrades in arms."

"Here, here!" Garr responded as he touched his bottle to Ted's.

"You haven't heard from Tele have you?" Garr asked.

"Not since he got back from Iraq with that contractor agency he worked for. Of all of us, I wouldn't have ever guessed that Tele would turn out to be a mercenary. Remember we use to give him a bad time about being a Samoan mouse?"

"Yea he was quiet, but he was a pretty damned good guy to have around. Sometimes though I think his nick "mouse" was a bit of a misnomer."

"You know as well as I do he didn't get that name because he was timid or small. He got it 'cause the fucker was quiet as a mouse when he was sneaking around. I've never seen anybody as good at stalking as he is. Do you think we ought to see if he wants to help?"

"Why not? At a minimum, he'll want to know we found David." Garr replied before he tipped his beer up and finished it.

"I have his number on my phone. Hang on a minute and I'll call him."

Ted pulled out his phone, dialed a number and a few moments later said, "Tele! It's Ted...I'm doing good bud. The reason I called is we found David...Yeah, he lives on the West coast...you are? Seattle?...Perfect! Listen this is the situation..."

Ted spent 5 minutes talking to Tele, then said, "Ok. We'll meet you there. I'll tell him. See ya bud."

As Ted hung up Garr asked, "So??"

"He said if we hadn't have dealt him in he would have kicked both our asses! He's going to meet us in LA."

Garr and Ted sat talking for the next few hours. Garr told Ted about his life as a PI, David's campground and his relationship with Susan.

"You two are just casual lovers? So it's not serious? You just fuck when either of you feel like it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Garr replied.

"And you can bed anyone else you please?"

Again Garr replied, "Yeah, that's pretty much the agreement. I don't though. I haven't fucked anyone but Susan for years, but I guess I could if I wanted to."

"Charleen and I left that kind of hedonistic behavior behind when we got married," Ted replied.

"To each his own," Garr said with a grin, holding his bottle up.

"Here, here," Ted replied touching his to Garr's before tipping it up and emptying it.

A moment later a cry of "Garr!" came from the direction of the back door, then Garr found his arms full of a caramel-skinned beauty.

Her mahogany-toned skin had a soft sheen to it. Her full lips were parted in a huge grin and her dark brown eyes were creased with a smile as she said, "When did you get here?"

"A few hours ago." Garr said, then pulled her tighter to his chest as he said, "So when are you going to leave this turkey and move in with me?"

Charleen laughed and replied, "The same old Garr. Well if I ever leave him you're the first guy I'll be coming to find."

"Hey, asshole!" Ted said with a fake frown as he pulled his wife away from Garr, "Hands off!"

Charleen turned put her arms around Ted's neck, smiled and said, "I'm all yours handsome."

"I'm hungry." Garr said, "I haven't had anything since the little snack they call lunch on the plane."

"We'll take you out for a bite." Charleen said, "What brings you here and when are you going back?"

Garr looked a question at Ted, who shrugged, " She needs to know too."

Ted took Charleen's hand and headed for the back door, "I'll fill you in at supper."

They decided on sushi. Ted took them to his favorite lunch spot. As they were waiting for their order, he filled Charleen in on the situation. As he did, he could see a frown spread across his wife's face and as he got to the end she was scowling.

"So," Ted finished, "Garr has asked me and Tele to help him with this. I know some of what I might decide to do is illegal, but we can't just leave David on his own. He saved our collective asses. We owe him."

Ted could see the scowl on his wife's face deepen and couldn't decide if that was her agreeing or disagreeing with his assessment. They had been married five years and he still couldn't tell what she was thinking. They sat in silence, surrounded by the noise and bustle of the restaurant as the seconds ticked by. Ted knew he couldn't hurry her. Charleen was mentally weighing the facts. She would respond when she was ready.

Finally, she locked her gaze on his, saying in a tightly controlled voice, "First things first. You haven't told me what you plan to do. Whatever you decide to do, you CANNOT tell me about it! As a federal prosecutor, I'm bound by law to report it. So far it has only been vague talk about the situation, so I am not required to take any action and as long as it stays at that stage I don't have to report it. That being said I agree you owe David. But there is something else too. Chelsea is caught. You need to consider her as well as David."

Ted looked at Garr, who nodded, "Ok. We can do that. I think though that's a given since David wouldn't let us forget about her. However, we're just letting off steam about a friend in trouble."

Charleen's frown slowly disappeared, then she changed the direction of the conversation as she said," Ok. Garr, have you found a girlfriend yet?"

Garr grinned, "Well, kinda'. She worked with me as a PI. Her name's Susan. We aren't a couple, but we've been, how shall I put it, doing the horizontal Mambo a lot recently."

"What?" Charleen laughed, " The horizontal Mambo? That's funny!"

Garr nodded, "Yea, but we've agreed we aren't exclusive. She's told me many times she can't love me, but she still wants to do the horizontal Mombo."

Garr stopped to consider how much he should say about where Susan was and why they couldn't get together before he added, "She's still working for the agency I quit so we decided, for now, not to date."

As he finished his sentence he noticed a small smile tip the corners of Charleen's full lips.

A moment later Garr said, "If you'll excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

As the big man walked away from the table Charleen turned to her husband, "Maybe we should take him to the Cave? I could introduce him to Timone."

Ted grinned, "Sure."

When Garr returned, Ted asked, "Charleen wants to go see a show. Care to accompany us to a nightclub?"

"Sure, why not? I don't fly out until late tomorrow night."

They ate and talked for the next hour, then hailed a cab to take them to the Cave.

When they arrived at the Cave the line to get in was half a block long.

"Damn!" Garr grumped looking at the line, "This place must be popular! It's going to take us a while to get in."