The Coffee Shop Pt. 05

"Yes, I did. And I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. Are you ashamed at what we just did?" Andy looked me dead in the eye, daring me to lie to him. The glow in his eyes had faded away.

I gulped. I loved Andy, and I had sworn to myself that I would never lie to him. "You could have warned me," I countered.

"If I had, you probably would have come up with some logical reason to avoid the situation, Paul. I DO know you, remember. It was time to see how serious our relationship really is. It was forced partly out of the closet when you were in the hospital, and I apologized to you for that. Over the past few months I've come to realize that our relationship is still very much a secret. I've decided I won't be anyone's 'dirty little secret'," Andy declared as he looked sternly at me. He was daring me to contradict him.

I looked at Andy, slightly puzzled by his actions. I had not expected him to do something like this. He had seemed content with our relationship as it was. Now, I had learned differently. It galled me to admit it, but he was right. I had been holding our relationship back. He had taken the next logical step. I'd never felt so lost and alone in all my life. Andy was only a foot away from me, but he might as well have been on the other side of the Grand Canyon. There was a gulf between us, which I had blindly chosen to ignore until now. I didn't know how to bridge it.

"The ball's in your court, Paul," Andy said, breaking the silence that had descended upon us.

"So what would you have me do?" I asked. I didn't know what Andy wanted from me. I didn't know what the 'right' answer was.

"Follow your heart, young cowboy. Follow your heart," Andy said with a sad smile. Without warning he turned about and walked away from me. Before I realized it, I was standing there on my own and Andy was disappearing in the misty rain that continued to fall. I looked at him, still too stunned to follow after him. Sometimes he could be frustratingly mysterious. Here he was talking like wise old Tibetan yogi, and I hadn't a clue what he wanted from me. When he did that, it really annoyed me, especially when what he was saying was correct. I stewed in my frustration for a few moments. I knew one thing, I could not let him just walk away like this. Above everything else, I wanted Andy in my life, and if the price I had to pay was to come fully out of the closet, so be it. I sighed softly to myself as the scope of this decision I'd just made dawned on me. There was no turning back. I gathered up my courage and got ready to run after Andy.

I didn't get more than three steps before my way was blocked by a strange man whom I did not recognize. To add to my problems, I got that creepy crawly feeling across my forehead and along the back of my neck as I looked at the strange man. Trouble, with a capital 't' and I was on my own. Andy was long out of sight and probably long gone. For a second or two I thought about whipping out my cell phone to call 911, but I realized the phone would easily be taken from me. This guy was as big and strong as Andy, from the looks of him, which meant I was way out of my league, physically. The fact that he was wearing a stocking over his head was a dead giveaway that this was not a social call.

Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and had my right arm pinned up behind me. I groaned out loud due to the sudden pain that shot up my right arm. A cloth gag was shoved into my mouth cutting off any chance of my calling for help. A third person grabbed my left arm preventing me from struggling. I was in deep shit now. It was turning into one hell of a Saturday.

"You just don't learn, boy," the man said.

I wanted to ask what was going on, but the gag prevented me from talking. The ice cold lump of fear that had just appeared in my stomach only confirmed that this experience was not going to be pleasant. 'Where the hell was Andy?' I wondered to myself.

"It seems you didn't understand our message the first time. We will have to explain it to you again," the man said. "Only this time, we won't be so gentle."

I listened carefully to the man's voice. I could not be sure if it was the same voice that I had heard in the alley those many months ago. He was trying to frighten me with his words. He was succeeding, but I'd be damned to hell before I'd let him see fear on my face. Maybe I couldn't stop the beating that was about to happen, but I would not cower before this bully and his friends. It might not help but I closed my eyes and started to project a compulsion field around me to put these guys to sleep. The fear was playing havoc with my concentration. I could tell that the field I was forming was very weak and fluctuating wildly.

I waited for the first blow to fall. After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only ten seconds nothing happened. The grip on my arms suddenly slackened, and then the hands that were holding me let go. The gag was removed from my mouth. I had been released.

I opened my eyes. The thug standing in front of me was swaying slightly on his feet and his head was nodded forward. He looked like he was asleep on his feet. Standing next to the thug was Mister Black, one of my slave boys from the Coffee Shop. I had not seen him in several months, since the last time he had been over to help me during my recovery from my hospital stay. Mister Black was wearing a dark blue waterproof jacket over his white dress shirt and dark blue jeans. He was oddly enough, wearing a plain black silk tie. A quick glance down showed he was wearing nondescript sneakers.

"You're safe, sir," said Mister Black. "They didn't hurt you, did they, sir?" He asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine aside from a sore right arm," I answered as I turned and looked about. It was only a small surprise to see that the other two thugs, who were wearing stocking masks, were also asleep on their feet. Behind them stood Mister Red, Mister Green and Mister Yellow, each smiling at me warmly. Like Mister Black they too were wearing waterproof jackets over white dress shirts and dark blue jeans with sneakers. Each man wore a plain silk tie in the same colour as his name. Their jackets though did not match. All in all they looked casual and did not call attention to themselves which was probably the general idea.

"We would never let anyone hurt you, sir, if there was any way we can prevent. it," Mister Red said to me.

"Thank you so much for saving my ass, boys. How did you even know I was in trouble? Did the Council put you up to this? Are they behind this?" I asked. I was fairly certain the Council was not involved. I suspected that Andy's dad had tried to send me a second stronger message to stay away from his son.

"The Council approved this course of action, sir, but they did not originate it, nor are they responsible for it. If you would give me a moment, sir, I will have your answers for you directly," Mister Yellow replied. He took a cell phone from his jacket pocket called a number and whispered a few words before hanging up a few seconds later. He returned the cell phone to his jacket pocket. "The answer to your questions is headed your way now," Mister Yellow said as he pointed somewhere behind my right shoulder.

I turned slowly about so that I was facing the direction indicated Out of the rainy mist a figure slowly appeared. It was Andy.

"You okay Texas?" He asked as he walked up to me and hugged me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered stunned at seeing him again. "What the hell is going on here, Andy?"

"I'll explain in a few minutes. First we have to deal with these creeps. Wake them up boys and have them take of their masks," Andy directed Mister Black. "I want to get a good look at their faces.

"Done, sir," Mister Black replied.

I watched as these thugs calmly raised their heads and opened their eyes. They each reached up and removed the stocking masks they had been wearing and placed them in an inside pocket of their windbreakers. They then stood there looking out in to space with a mindless peaceful expressions plastered on their faces. It was clear that there was a powerful compulsion field in place and they were responding to it.

Andy walked about the three men for a few minutes studying their faces. In the meantime I noted that these men were casually dressed in light coloured windbreakers, dark jeans and casual shirts, of various colours. I wasn't paying much attention to what they were wearing. I was still in the dark as to exactly what was going on here.

"Fred Hummer, Mark Brent, and Kyle James. All good friends of my Dad. Mister Black, ask Fred to tell you what they were supposed to do here and who put them up to it," Andy said coldly. It was clear that the identities of these men had upset him.

"Done sir," Mister Black replied.

"We were supposed to wait for Andy and that cocksucker he's been hanging out with, Paul Walton, to appear in this park at about 11 A.M. Once Andy left we were to warn Walton to leave Andy alone and to beat him up again. Not as badly as before but a lot more painfully. Simon Anderson asked us to do him this favour. We all agreed that Andy deservers better than to have some limp wristed fag chasing after him and ruining his life and his career," Fred Hummer said as dispassionately as if he were reading names from a phone book.

"Well that proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt, Paul. My dad is behind your assault. We can't prove it in a court of law, though, so we can't take any legal action," Andy said as anger began to build on his face.

"Hold on a second, Andy. You've lost me. Just what the heck is going on here?" I asked in surprise.

"I'll explain everything in a few minutes, Paul. Just let us deal with these guys first," Andy said as he brushed off my question. I could see that he was exerting a lot of effort to remain calm and controlled, despite how upsetting this information was to him. He looked at the three men for a few more seconds before he spoke.

"I'd like to beat the living shit out of all three of you, but that would only make matters worse. What am I going to do with you three now?" Andy asked out loud.

"Might I offer a suggestion, Mister Anderson?" Mister Black asked.

"Please do, Mister Black you know more about this mind control stuff than I do," Andy answered.

"It would be a simple matter for my associates and myself to walk these three men over to one of the picnic tables and sit with them for fifteen minutes or so, keeping them calm and peaceful. We will alter their memories so that they never saw you or Mister Walton. The men will think that neither of you showed up for the meeting. They will report that to Simon Anderson," Mister Black said.

"What about next time? My dad will not stop. I know him," Andy said.

"It is also a simple matter to have each of these men report to me or my associates any information regarding new actions they are directed to take against either you or Mister Walton. These gentlemen will not even be aware that they are reporting to us. When such a situation arises we can take the necessary action to see that neither you nor Mister Walton are harmed." Mister Black looked as if he was enjoying this idea.

"I'm sorry, sir, I should have asked your permission before suggesting this course of action," Mister Black said as he turned his attention back to me. "All of us, all your boys, would dearly like to punish these three men for what they have done to you sir. Couldn't we make them feel the pain you felt, if only for a few minutes?" Mister Black looked me in the eye as he spoke to me. He gulped once. It was clear that he was serious in his request as well as nervous about not having asked my permission beforehand.

"Your suggestion seems fine with me, Mister Black. I will not sanction you punishing these three men in any way for what they did to me. While I understand your desire to do so, and in fact I share that desire, it would lead to undesired complications. You do see my point, I trust?" I replied.

"I do sir," Mister Black said.

"Well off you go then. Andy and I have some talking to do," I said.

"Yes, sir," Mister Black said, softly.

"Wait just a second, boys," I called out to them as they started to turn about to leave.

"Yes, sir?" Mister Black said answering for all of them.

"Thank you very much, boys. All of you have been very good boys and I am very happy and proud of all of you. Let me give each of you a big warm 'thank you' hug, before you go," I said with a smile.

"Oh, thank you sir!" Mister Black said happily as he walked up to me, eager to get a hug from me. It took me only a few minutes to give each of those men the hug that they had more than earned. I whispered to each of them how thankful I was that they were keeping an eye out for me. They each blushed at my praise.

Hugs concluded, Mister Black and his three associates headed off towards one of the picnic tables a few minutes' walk away from Andy and myself. I watched them go in silence, knowing that the problem of future attacks from these men appeared to have been solved.

"Okay, Andy. Out with it. What the hairy heck is going on here?" I asked as I turned about and faced Andy. I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I do that when I am annoyed or upset with the person I am talking with. Andy was well aware of that fact. He sighed once as he looked at me. Then he started to speak.

"Paul, I had to have clear incontrovertible proof that my Dad was behind the attack on you. As much as I love you, I could not take your word on something like this. Also, I knew it was killing you to have to keep such a secret from me, knowing that you couldn't tell me something like this because you didn't have any objective proof."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I asked even more confused now. I had never mentioned even a hint to Andy that I knew his Dad arranged the assault on me. If anything, I had tried to divert suspicion from Andy's dad. 'Where had he gotten such an idea?' I wondered to myself.

"Paul, I know that you knew about this months ago," Andy said softly. "Please don't lie to me and tell me that you didn't know."

I looked at Andy, and then I lowered my head and looked at the ground. I couldn't lie to him when he confronted me directly about this. Slowly I raised my head and looked Andy in the eye. He expected the truth from me.

"Alright, then. Yes, I knew about this months ago and I did not tell you. How the heck did you find out that I knew?" I asked him.

"You talk in your sleep, Paul," Andy said with a grin. "You also answer questions in your sleep too."

"Oh great blooming blueberries!" I cried out in disbelief. I looked at Andy and said nothing further for a few moments. Andy stared back at me as if he were waiting for me to ask more questions. Finally my brain started to work again and new questions popped into my mind.

"So you took my midnight ramblings as facts and acted upon them? Don't you think you overreacted? I could have been dreaming, Andy," I said to him.

"I'm a cop, Paul. Give me some credit for having a brain in my head. I went down to The Coffee Shop, and talked with Mary about your midnight ramblings, as you called them. She was most interested to learn that you do in fact talk in your sleep. She also explained to me how you acquired the information through the accidental mind scan you did of my dad's mind. She was very careful to explain that what happened was out of your control, and your actions were not intentional," Andy explained.

"As for your boys, again I talked with Mary to contact them. They were more than happy to agree to help me in setting up this little trap for my dad's friends. In fact, when they first found out who was behind the assault on you, they wanted to dispense some justice of their own on my dad. I was able to convince them that you would not approve of something along those lines. Do you have any idea how much they care about you, Paul? If they don't love you, then is it something that's damn near close to that."

"If I have any regret about this, it is that I had to use you as bait. I told my dad that you and I would be meeting here today and that I planned to have us openly express our affection for each other in public. I know my father well enough to presume that he would try to take further action to discourage you." Andy finished speaking and looked at me, waiting for my reaction.

At first I was upset at being used as bait. Maybe it was standing the gentle rain that cooled my anger. More likely it was the realization that what Andy had done was correct. Not only had he solved the problem of those three guys attacking me in the future, but he had taken a huge burden from my shoulders. He was a sweet, thoughtful, caring, loving and smart man.

"Whatever did I do, to deserve a man like you, dear heart?" I said to him as I stood there looking at him.

"Damned if I know, Texas," Andy said with a lopsided grin on his face.

"You were right you know," I told him as I walked up to him and placed my gloved right hand in his left hand. "I needed a good swift kick in the ass, to come all the way out of the closet. Thank you for that." I leaned my head on his shoulder as best I could, careful not to bump my cowboy hat into his.

"First time a guy has ever thanked me for kicking him in the butt," Andy said with a chuckle. "Come on. Let's walk around the park a few times before we head home."

"Sounds like a great idea to me. Can we stop by The Coffee Shop on our way home? I want to pick up some coffee and thank Mary if she's there," I said.

"Sure thing," Andy agreed. We walked for a bit before Andy spoke again. "Paul, do you think you will ever join the Council of Coins?"

"I don't know, Andy. I really don't know," I said after a moment's thought.

We talked about many things as we walked around the park for an hour or so. Then it happened.

"Two fags walking in the rain. Your kind make me sick! Someone needs to teach you fags a lesson!" A voice behind us called out.

We stopped walking, stood up straight and turned around. We faced a group of young men who looked both tough and mean. There were six of them against the two of us. With those odds, I guess they thought that they could overcome Andy's obvious brawn. This was my second encounter today with a group of men who wanted to harm me. I was starting to wonder if my cowboy hat was some type neon sign that attracted trouble like a flame attracts moths.


"Might I ask which of you fine young gentlemen made those remarks?" I asked in a cold and hard voice. I had no intention of showing these guys any sign of weakness. I'd already had to deal with somebody trying to scare the crap out of me today. I was in no mood for more of the same.

"I did, faggot. You want to do something about it?" the biggest young punk sneered at me. He was at least six inches taller than I was. He would have been a challenge if not a match for Andy.

"Not in a group brawl, where the odds are against us, no. However, one on one, just you and me, now that's a different story," I answered.

"You? A pipsqueak like you? Don't make me laugh," The young mountain sized punk cackled at me. His buddies standing around him started to laugh as well,

"Are you nuts, he'll mop up the floor with you. All of them could do the same with both of us," Andy whispered to me, as he looked over at me.

Andy was right. I had to be nuts to keep on acting the way I was. Oddly enough I did not feel frightened at this group of punks about to pummel us. If anything I felt pity for them. With a degree of self confidence and self assurance I had never felt before, I slowly, calmly walked over to the big young punk who had spoken. so that I was standing in front of him and he was towering over me. He smiled down at me, and his smile was far from friendly. I raised my head and looked him dead in the eyes. I did not inject any commands into his mind, although the opportunity presented itself.