3 comments/ 8019 views/ 9 favorites Anonymous Guest By: RalphyNJ Anonymous Guest By the time they got back to the apartment, with a stop at an all-night pharmacy to fill the prescription, Evan was so sleepy from the new medication and his recent ordeal that he seemed barely aware as Travis undressed him and put him back into pajamas. After getting Evan tucked in on the couch, Travis went to the kitchen and put up a pot of coffee; by now it was 7 AM and there would be no point in going to bed for an hour before he had to leave for work. He drank two cups and then went into the living room to check on his anonymous guest. Evan was fast asleep. Gazing at him lying there in quiet slumber, Travis had a sudden desire to stay home and keep watch. However, being late for work was one thing, breaking a perfect attendance record would be too much. He left the room and completed preparations for his departure. Fifteen minutes later, as he was opening the door to leave he stopped and went back to make sure the blanket was snug all around so that Evan would be warm and comfortable. Satisfied following a few adjustments, he looked once more at the sleeping face, and impelled by a flood of affection he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Evan's forehead. Evan groggily opened his eyes. Travis felt a flush of shame. "I'm sorry I woke you. I've left a note on the kitchen counter telling you where to find things. It has my number at work; call me if you can't find something or you have a problem. Definitely call if you have another seizure. It's all in the note. Now go back to sleep. See you this evening." He waited to see if Even knew what had awakened him and had been shocked by the kiss. Evan just smiled lethargically at Travis before closing his eyes again. On the bus, Travis thought about what a shambles his schedule had become these past few days. There was also the matter of his impulse to stay home and take care of Evan, and most alarming was the spontaneous kiss. It was all very disturbing. He concentrated on the reassuring fact that soon Evan would be identified, he would leave, and things would return to normal. ===== When Travis got home from work, Evan was sitting on the couch, still in pajamas. He greeted his host with a cheerful "Hi, thanks for the note." "You're welcome. What have you been doing?" "Mostly I've been sleeping." "That's good. What were you doing when I came in, you weren't reading and the TV is off." "I've been trying to see if I can remember ... anything." "The neurologist said no intense mental activity. Besides, I don't think that's the way it works. I believe the memories will come back on their own, or they'll be triggered by something you see, or hear, or maybe even by a smell. You can't force them back. Trying might even make things worse. So relax, let your brain recover. I'm going to order takeout, are you ready for dinner?" ===== Shortly after they finished eating, the phone rang. Evan heard only Travis's side of the conversation, consisting of: "You did? That's excellent. Yes, he is. Oh that's interesting. Yes, we'd appreciate it very much, thank you." Travis hung up the phone. "That was the police, and I know why you were thinking of 'hill and dale': Dale is your first name, you're Dale Williams, a naturalized American citizen born in Australia. You're some kind of consultant and you must be very successful at it because you own a condo in an upscale section of the city. They're sending over all the information." The former Evan sighed heavily. "I finally have an identity. Wait ... are they sure?" "It's definitely you. They identified you through your fingerprints." "I have a police record?" "No. Seems you've been fingerprinted in connection with some work you do for the government. They didn't say what kind." "The government. I wonder what I do for them. Anyway I guess the police can ignore any missing persons report for me." "There probably won't be any. You have no immediate family and since you're self-employed there's nobody to notice that you're missing." "Wow." "They also have your wallet and smartphone. A kid they arrested for shoplifting had them. He claims he got them from a dumpster where he saw someone toss them." "That's great! The phone could give me a lot of information! Is he the one who mugged me?" "The police don't think so; he has a rap sheet but all for petty stuff, nothing at all violent." Within an hour there was a knock on the door, and a police officer turned over a thick manila envelope. Inside was a folder full of information about Dale, as well as his smart phone and wallet. He switched the phone on and looked through the contents. "It has an address book. That will give me a head start. I was hoping for some photos too, but there are none here. There's also nothing about what kind of work I do." He read through some of the papers in the manila folder. "A fancy section of the city, huh?" he mumbled when he saw the address of his apartment. Seeing him yawn, Travis snatched the papers from him. "I think you'd best go to bed now and continue this in the morning." In spite of Dale's protests, Travis refused to give the papers back. He waited, with arms crossed, until Dale had washed up and gotten to bed on the couch. Then he took the papers and the other items with him into the bedroom. He spent an hour going through the past two days' unread newspapers and then went back out to check on Dale. Finding Dale asleep, he retired for the night. In bed, he lay thinking: He was happy for Dale -- and unhappy for himself: Only two days ago he had been looking forward eagerly to having the apartment all to himself again, and now he was sorry that Dale would no longer be there. That troubled him. Was he falling in love? The possibility was not welcome. Chapter 5 The next morning, Dale picked at his breakfast, engrossed in a review of the papers from the manila envelope and the entries in his smartphone. Travis watched him. "And I thought I was impatient. Can't you wait until you finish eating?" "I'm anxious to find out about myself." Following their meal, Dale removed the sheet and blanket from the couch and began folding them. "I'll do that" Travis said, "You don't have to bother." "It's the least I can do, after all you've done. I can't thank you enough. I'll bet when you stopped to help me you didn't expect me to be this much trouble." "To tell the truth, I'm sorry to see you leave." He smiled. "I liked having you here." "And I liked being here ... with you." Travis looked at him uncertainly. Visibly ill at ease, Dale said: "Now that I'm leaving, I can tell you something: I think I'm gay." That was a surprise. "Why?" "Because I've been wanting to kiss you ever since that first day. I was afraid that if I told you it would make you nervous to have me here. Would it have?" "Let's see." Travis took Dale's face in his hands and kissed him, holding the kiss long enough to make it clear that this was not an experiment. Then, stepping back from the astonished man, he said: "I guess not. Dale, I'm gay. And you're very attractive. I kept my feelings from you partly for the same reason you kept yours from me." Dale's first response was: "Whew! That was some kiss!" "Did you like it?" "You bet I did! And I'll tell you something else: The boner I spiked when you gave me the sponge bath? It wasn't from the warm water." "Neither was mine. I managed to hide it, but trust me it was a doozie. I loved bathing you." They stood smiling at each other for a few moments, then Dale had a question: "You said you kept your feelings to yourself partly for the same reason as me. What was the rest?" "I was ... afraid of what it might lead to. I don't want to fall in love with anyone. A few years ago I went through a bad breakup, I'm gun-shy about any new relationship." "I understand. I'm sorry you had a rough time. Thank you for telling me." He paused. "I'll be going to my apartment now." Another pause. "Any chance you'd come too? I'm asking because ... I confess I'm a little nervous about what I might find. Your moral support would be welcome." "Tell you what: I have to go to the office, but if you spend the day here I'll pick you up after work, ok?" Dale didn't answer. He was staring into space. "Dale?" It was almost a minute before Dale turned and looked at him. "So will you come with me?" "I told you I will. You were zoned out. I think you had an absence seizure. They used to be called petit mal episodes. Was that one of the mild seizures the neurologist said you might have?" "Yes. And she mentioned another kind, it sounded like some sort of enema." "Myoclonic." "Right! I see you've been doing your homework. Or rather mine." "I wanted to know what we're dealing with." "We?" "Yes, 'we'. I didn't expect you to be identified so soon, I thought you would be here a while longer. No let me rephrase that: I was hoping you would, so that I could take care of you. Now get some more sleep, I'll pick you up after work and we'll go to your apartment." Chapter 6 The doorman at Dale's building greeted him warmly as he and Travis approached. "Good evening, Mr. Williams, welcome back. Been away on a quickie vacation?" "You might say that" Dale replied. He went to the reception desk and said that he had lost his key. "Do you have a duplicate I can use?" "Of course, Mr. Williams." The concierge went to a large, compartmented box and withdrew a key. "You're welcome to keep this one until you find yours, or I can order a copy for you." Dale's apartment was 26-H, on the top floor of the building. They took the elevator to 26 and searched until at the end of the hall they saw two doors on opposite walls, both marked "H". They made an arbitrary choice and tried the key. The door opened and they found themselves in a large, fully-equipped kitchen. Travis looked around and said: "Now we know why there are two doors." "I don't." "Who would have reason to come from the hall directly into the kitchen?" Dale briefly looked puzzled. Then: "Oh my god, this was the servants' entrance!" From the kitchen they proceeded down a hall past several rooms and turned a corner into another hall. At the end was a closed door. They opened it, walked through, and both said "Holy shit!" before looking at each other and laughing at their simultaneous outburst: They were in an enormous, thickly-carpeted living room, two of whose walls consisted almost entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a panoramic view of the city, which was beginning to light up in the gathering dusk. Turning from the spellbinding panorama, Travis noticed a staircase. "Dale, it's a duplex!" Exploring further, they found the master bedroom with its adjoining full bath. The bedroom was as opulently furnished and decorated as the rest of the apartment, and its king-sized bed, topped with a luxurious quilt and pillows, looked almost small in the spacious room. Dale turned to Travis. "I hope you've been keeping that tab." They explored several other rooms, and then Dale said: "I'm going to search for financial records. I'm also going to call the credit card issuer and if the card in my wallet is still good would you have dinner with me?" "I'd be happy to." Travis went into the living room and watched the evening news on the large-screen TV while Dale searched. As the sports portion of the program was starting, Dale came in and told Travis "I found bank statements and a lot of other stuff. I also have a safe, but unless I eventually remember the combination I may never know what's inside it." "Don't' worry; there are experts who can open safes." "I'll keep that in mind. Oh the good news is that there's no indication of servants, there are just receipts from a weekly cleaning service and a catering company; apparently I throw parties from time to time." "You're relieved not to have servants?" "Yeah, I don't like the idea of ordering people around. Hey I also tried the bed. Travis, it's like a cloud. Now I'm going to look upstairs." When Dale came back down, he said wonderingly: "There are three more bedrooms up there, two with full baths and one with a half bath. That makes five bedrooms and six bathrooms total. And that level is the roof. I have a roof garden." "You must be one hell of a consultant" Travis remarked, "This place is larger than the average house." He pointed to the pictures that stood framed on various pieces of furniture. "Do you have any idea who these people are?" "Not a clue" Dale replied unhappily. "Let's find a restaurant." They had a good dinner, including wine (Dale knew that he preferred a dry white) and then returned to the apartment. As soon as they sat down, Travis saw Dale yawn. "I'm going to leave so you can sack out. Or better yet, some back to my place. You had a seizure even with the medication. Admittedly it was a mild one, but even so I'd feel better if you stayed with me at least until the follow-up exam." "I'd like to stay with you, but how about we stay here? You could use one of the guest rooms. Or if you want ... there's my bed." Travis was tempted but reluctant. He didn't answer. "It's a big bed, we don't have to have any physical contact" Dale promised. "It's a great bed, Travis." For another minute Travis stood deep in thought. Finally, he said: "Alright, we'll stay here and yes, I'd like to sleep in your bed." He smiled. "It's not the bed that attracts me though, it's the man I'll be joining." Hearing that last, Dale asked with a smirk: "Did I mention that there's a price?" Travis knew this would not be a serious demand for payment. "What's the price?" "Another one of your dynamite kisses. Payable in advance." Travis put his arms around Dale. "This is one bill I'll be happy to pay promptly." In the aftermath of the kiss, Dale let out a breathy "Whoosh! Could you teach me how to do that?" "I will" Travis told him, "on one condition." "What's that?" "I saw a lot of computers in one of the rooms. Will you teach me about computers?" "It's a deal." Suddenly Dale pulled away slightly, squinting at Travis. "Did you stop that day because you liked my looks?" Travis guffawed. "Are you kidding? You wouldn't ask if you had seen yourself with the scraggly hair and the bloody face. And it's not why I invited you to stay with me either; what you looked like once you were cleaned up was a bonus." They decided to view a film from the wide selection available through Dale's streaming service. Watching the screen as he sat next to Dale on one of the couches, Travis became so engrossed that it was a while before he noticed that Dale's head was resting on his shoulder and Dale was fighting to keep his eyes open. "Why don't you get more comfortable?" Travis suggested. "I've been told that my thighs make good pillows." Dale smiled. "Ok." He lay down with his head on Travis's lap and let his eyes close. Within minutes he was asleep. He was still sleeping when the film ended. Travis looked down and resisted the desire to run a gentle hand over Dale's face. He leaned back. Soon he too was dozing. When he woke up, it was dark in the apartment and Dale was sitting in a chair, watching him. "What time is it?" Travis asked. "About eleven. I didn't want to wake you but now that you're up, we need to talk." "We need to talk always means something ominous." "It's not anything terrible, I was just thinking ... I might have been too hasty with the invitation. I'm pretty sure I'm gay, but I don't know whether I'm out. If you stay overnight the doorman will assume that we slept together, in both senses of the word. I'll be alright by myself; there's a phone on the bedside table if I get into trouble." "I have a better idea: Come back to my place as I originally suggested. I can't offer you a cloud, but if you share my bed you'll have an attentive companion." "What excuse would I give for leaving with you and being gone all night?" "You went bar-hopping with your old friend Travis who you hadn't seen in years." Dale nodded. "Ok." He packed the things he would need for the next few days in several large paper bags to camouflage them, and then he and Travis went down to the lobby. When the night doorman saw them, he said "Good evening, Mr. Williams, welcome back." Opening the door for them, he glanced at Travis. "Is this your new boyfriend? He's a hunk." For a moment, Dale was at a loss. Then he turned and smiled at Travis. "I hope so, Ralph, I'm working on it." Without a further word he took Travis's hand and led him back to the elevator. Chapter 7 As soon as they were in the apartment again, Travis said "You called the doorman Ralph." "That's his na..." Oh." His eyes widened. "Oh!" "What's the day man's name?" "Tom." "So you remembered both names." Dale's face lit up. "Yeah!" "Dale, you're beginning to get your memory back." "I am!" ===== In the master bedroom, they asked almost in unison: "Do you wear pajamas?" "Not usually" Dale said, and Travis said "No." They undressed, each with his gaze fixed on his companion. When Travis was naked, Dale declared: "Ralph's comment was an understatement. You're a hunk and then some." "You sure know how to flatter a guy. You're not trying to seduce me, are you?" "Heavens, no!" Dale grinned. "I was hoping I had already accomplished it." "Then I have good news for you." "So when can we consummate it?" "How about now?" Travis grabbed Dale's hand and jumped onto the billowy bed, pulling Dale with him. "It's been a struggle to keep my hands off you" he whispered, kneading Dale's muscular shoulders. "While I was giving you that sponge bath I was in heaven." He began kissing his way down Dale's chest and running his hands downward in back. He reached the cheeks of Dale's behind at the same time his lips reached a rod-rigid penis. He kissed it while he caressed the shapely cheeks. "Oh how I wanted to do this while I was drying you the other night." Dale was a vision of pure transport: His head was thrown back, his eyes were closed, and his mouth was open. Still caressing, Travis licked the purple crown of Dale's erect penis, producing a little stream of precum. Then he plunged forward and engulfed the entire shaft. Dale's ecstatic shout drove him onward; his tongue did a dance on the bottom of the shaft that had Dale babbling like an infant. Travis felt him approaching climax. He pulled away. Dale whimpered. "Not yet" Travis teased, and continued kissing his way down, moving along Dale's thigh and his leg to his foot. He took the foot in his hand. "What cute toes." He took the big toe into his mouth. That moved Dale closer to the brink. "Please, Travis" he begged. Travis relented. He moved back up, took Dale's leaking penis back into his mouth, and started to move. In moments his throat was deluged by shot after shot of warm semen. He had to swallow in such rapid succession that he almost choked. When it was over, Dale said "That was unbelievable! I don't think I can move." "Everything about you is appealing" Travis responded, "even your cum." He moved in until his mouth met Dale's, and he shared some of Dale's semen. After waiting a minute, he asked: "Taste familiar?" "What do you mean?" "Do you know whether you've ever tasted cum?" Dale considered. "I don't think so." They lay quietly for a while, and then Dale said: "Now I want to do something for you. Your choice." "There are lots of possibilities. What would you like to do? You know what kind of food you like, does anything occur to you?" "Yes. I'd like you to be inside me. Would you like that?" Anonymous Guest "Very much. Do you think you've bottomed before?" "Since it was my first thought, most likely I have." He got out of bed and went into the master bathroom, followed by Travis's appreciating gaze. He returned with a tube of lubricant and some condoms. "I found these when I was looking around before." He handed the lube and a condom to Travis. Just the thought of making love to Dale had Travis almost painfully erect. He pulled the condom on and slathered it with lubricant as Dale turned onto his stomach. Travis spread Dale's cheeks and applied a liberal coating of lubricant. Then he moved Dale's legs apart and knelt between them. "Let me know if you want me to stop" he said, and pressed the head of his erect manhood against Dale's pucker. Dale bore down like an experienced bottom. He opened, and Travis slipped inside. Dale stopped after advancing a short way. "How are you doing?" "It feels good." He pushed forward, sliding in easily, and soon had his belly pressing on those shapely cheeks. "I'm all the way in. Still ok?" he asked. "Yeah" Dale answered. "I like it. I'm sure I've done this before." Travis began slowly, moving just a little bit faster with each stroke, aiming for Dale's prostate and generating a thrilled gasp from Dale each time he hit it. Dale's penis, having risen to full hardness, was twitching in reaction to his excitement. Soon Travis was slamming in, swept by waves of pleasure as he felt the grip of Dale's tight sphincter sliding up and down his shaft, tightening further on each of his thrusts as if the ring of muscle were hugging his penis. He held out as long as he could, trying to make it last, but finally, unable to withstand the urgent need, he yelled "I'm cumming!" and sent such a copious load of semen into the condom that he overfilled the reservoir tip and caused some semen to push up the sides. When his climax was over, he lay on Dale's back, panting, his penis still erect and buried in Dale's hot rectum. Slowly, the penis wilted and he pulled out. As he withdrew, the slippery semen made him slide out of the condom, leaving it in place. He rose to his knees and grinned at the sight of the collapsed tube of latex extending from inside Dale's cleft and lying draped over a cheek. He pulled the condom out and settled down next to Dale. "Well?" Dale asked, "Was I a good lay?" "You're a glorious lay" Travis said, putting his arms around him. "But you're so much more than that: You're ... captivating." Chapter 8 The next morning, Travis was awakened by a kiss on the side of his head. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into those of the man he had made love to the previous night. Dale was smiling at him. "Good morning." Travis pulled him down and planted a big, sloppy kiss on the mouth. "Good morning." Holding Dale, he rolled over so that he was on top, his morning erection rubbing against Dale's. "If I didn't have to go to work I'd ask you to spend the whole day in bed with me." And he gave Dale another big, sloppy kiss. As Travis was heading for the bathroom to take a shower, he said: "By the way, you're right - it is like sleeping on a cloud." In the shower it occurred to Travis that he had been so distracted by looking after Dale these past few days that he had forgotten to take a handkerchief each morning -- and being without it hadn't bothered him. For that matter, his entire daily routine had been demolished and the world was still intact. They sat down to breakfast with smiles on both their faces. Abruptly, Travis began: "While boyhood yet was young in me, I knew of cool and silent glens wherein there grew..." "Bright ferns" Dale continued, taking up the recitation, "and hillsides where the sudden whirr of startled quail... I know that poem. What is it?" "It's by one of your countrymen, John Le Gay Brereton. It's entitled..." "Hill and Dale! Oh my god! That was my mother's favorite poem! She said it's why my parents named me ... Travis, I know where I grew up. Fremantle. It's near Perth. My parents were ... were ... " His face fell. "That's all I remember." He went into the living room and was gone for several minutes. When he returned, he said "I looked at all the pictures again. I thought that I might recognize someone. A lot of them look familiar now but I still don't know who anybody is." He sat back down, crestfallen. Travis rose and went in back of Dale's chair. He leaned down, put his arms around Dale's shoulders and his lips against Dale's ear. "First the doormen's names, and now the poem, and the pictures that didn't look familiar at all do now. Your memories are coming back." He kissed the ear. "Be happy about it." "It isn't much." "It's a beginning. I told you that something might jog your memory, and now something has. Hang in there, be patient, there'll be more." "I hope you're right. How did you happen on the poem?" "The fact that you kept thinking of 'hill and dale' intrigued me. Why hill and dale I wondered, why not just dale? So I did an Internet search yesterday while I was at work. When I came across the poem and saw that it was by an Australian, I hoped you had been familiar with it and would remember." "I keep having more and more to thank you for." Half an hour later, as Travis was leaving for work, he said: "You know, something puzzles me: The mugger took your wallet and your cell phone but not your watch. I know watches, and that one looks like it costs about as much as a midsize car. Why didn't he take it?" "Maybe he didn't want to risk the delay." "How much time would it take to get it off you, maybe two seconds?" "Yes. You're right, that is puzzling." Chapter 9 After work, Travis stopped at his apartment to pick up his mail and the newspaper, as well as some clothes for the next day. When he got to Dale's duplex they chatted briefly and then he said: "I'm going to get us some takeout for dinner, my treat. How's 'Thai Palace'?" "Sure. Judging by the credit card bills I found, it's one of my favorites." They agreed on the menu and Travis phoned the restaurant. When Dale heard him say "for pickup" he whispered "They deliver." Travis waved him away, completed his order, and hung up. "This will be a lot faster. They'll have the order ready for me when I get there and I'll bring it right back. A delivery man would have to wait for several orders, and we wouldn't necessarily even be his first stop." With that, he left the apartment, saying "Back soon." As he was walking down the hall, two men in suits approached him. One of them flashed a badge and said in a low voice "Come along quietly unless you want us to use the handcuffs." "Am I being arrested?" "You'll find out everything when we get to the precinct." Walking to the unmarked car they indicated, Travis wondered whether this was some sort of Homeland Security operation gone awry and he had been mistaken for someone else. Some wanted man, maybe a terrorist? He took out his cell phone and said he was going to call a friend. They said no and took the phone. He was put in the back seat of the car, where a man was already present. The two other men got into the front and he heard all the doors lock. No one spoke. The car moved off. All at once the man sitting next to him tied his arms and yanked a hood over his head. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" he yelled. No one answered. Now he was sure he had been mistaken for some terrorist. They drove for a while before turning. From the sound of the tires, Travis could tell that they were now on an unpaved road. The car proceeded only a short way before stopping. Travis was pulled out, still hooded. He was marched along, stumbling, for a few steps, then he heard a heavy door open and when he was propelled ahead his shoes made contact with a concrete floor. He was pushed onto a chair. His arms were untied, pulled around the chair back, and handcuffed. The hood was removed. He was in a room with cinder block walls and a single, unshaded light bulb. A man he hadn't seen before was standing at a small table on which was a laptop computer. The man looked very annoyed. He closed the computer, held it aloft, and turned to Travis. Pointing to the computer, he said "Password" in a heavy Slavic accent. Clearly, these people were not law enforcement. The badge had been fraudulent. "Password" the man repeated. "The password for that computer? I have no idea." The man held the computer a little higher and repeated more loudly "Password." Travis too raised his voice: "How the hell would I know the password? I've never seen that computer before." The man looked angry. He pointed to the machine and shouted. "YOUR COMPUTER! PASSWORD!" "THAT IS NOT MY COMPUTER AND I DON'T KNOW THE PASSWORD!" The man gestured, and Travis screamed in pain as someone behind his chair forced something sharp under a fingernail. "PASSWORD!" the man shouted again. "I DON'T KNOW!" Travis shouted back, trying not to break down. "THAT IS NOT MY COMPUTER!" Another scream as a second finger was added to his suffering. After his third denial he was yanked from the chair, propelled roughly down a short passage, and pushed so hard through an open doorway that he fell to the cold floor. Behind him he heard the door being pulled shut and locked, followed by retreating footsteps. He was alone in a room with no furniture. At least they had removed the handcuffs. He painfully yanked a needle from under each of two fingernails and sucked on the bleeding fingers; even in the absence of the needles there was still considerable pain. It seemed like hours before he was taken out and handcuffed again in the chair. The man held up the computer but didn't speak. His demand was implicit. Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Travis guessed a password at random. The man put the computer down, opened the cover, and pushed a button. The screen came to life and a request for a password appeared. The man carefully entered the word Travis had told him. The screen went blank; the machine had shut itself off. The man uttered a few words in a foreign language. Travis didn't know their meaning, but from the tone he knew it was a curse. The man picked up a handgun, walked to the chair, and put the gun to Travis's head. "Lie again, I kill. Password." Travis knew this was his last chance. He hazarded another guess. That one didn't work either. The gun was put against his head once again, and he heard the release of the safety. He squeezed his eyes shut. Chapter 10 Just then there was a loud banging on the door and shouts of "POLICE! Almost simultaneously, the front door banged open under the force of a battering ram and men in riot gear swarmed in with guns raised. The three men who had kidnapped Travis stood immobilized by terror, but his interrogator darted to a rear door and flung it open. Only to find more weapons pointing at him. He slowly lowered his gun to the floor and raised his hands. One of his rescuers used a cell phone to report: "Machine retrieved, suspects in custody." An ambulance was summoned, but Travis tried to decline medical help: "I'm ok, I just want to get out of here." He was not given that choice; he was kept in the chair until two paramedics arrived with a stretcher. As he was carried from the building, drained of energy by his ordeal, he saw Dale. He smiled and managed a weak wave. Dale shouted "Travis!" and tried to run to him but was held back. The next time Travis saw Dale was in the Emergency Room, when Dale ducked past a guard and ran to his side. Looking at the bloody fingertips and the fingernails darkened by the blood underneath them, Dale said "They tortured you. Oh Travis, I'm so sorry." Travis reached out and grasped Dale's hand but said nothing; he was too weak. Meanwhile the guard rushed in, took Dale by the shoulders, and began pulling him away. "No" Travis croaked, summoning the energy to speak as he held tight to Dale's hand. "Best friend. Stay." The guard looked at the attending physician, who said "Let him stay; it will help the patient." Reluctantly, the guard let go and returned to his station at the door. Travis breathed a sigh of relief when the damaged fingers were bathed in local anesthetic and the pain slowly waned, but he looked away when he was told that the fingernails were about to be removed. While the doctor worked, a man in a business suit entered, showed Travis government credentials, and asked him for an account of his ordeal. Still holding Dale's hand, Travis began. As he spoke, he started to tremble. Dale put a comforting hand on Travis's shoulder. It stopped the trembling and he managed to conclude his account in spite of frequent interruptions with the government agent's requests for additional details. When his fingers had been bandaged, he was given care instructions and lifted into a wheelchair. Dale gasped. "My god, what did those thugs do to your legs?" "His legs are fine" the attending physician assured Dale, "This is hospital policy." Travis reached again for Dale. "I guess they don't want patients falling on their way out and suing the hospital." ===== Travis's trembling returned during their taxi ride to Dale's apartment. Dale pulled him into a tight hug and said: "Oh Travis, this is all my fault. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you." "How is it your fault? And how did the police find me?" "I'll explain everything after I get some whiskey into you; I want to see some color back in your face. Right now you look like death warmed over ... sorry for the cliché, but it fits; you look terrible." "You sure know how to flatter a guy" Travis said with a wink, managing a wan smile. In the apartment, Dale brought Travis the whiskey, which he sipped while Dale phoned for delivery from the restaurant where Travis had been headed when he was abducted. Dale was told that their delivery man had gone home for the night. He asked to speak to the manager. When she got on, Dale explained the situation. He also reminded her how often he ordered from the restaurant and how many people he had brought there (information gathered from the credit card bills he had found). After a moment's thought, she said she would make the delivery herself. Turning down a second drink, Travis asked "Now will you tell me what's going on? Who were those men? And how did you find me?" "The key was your comment this morning about my watch. You pointed out that the mugger could have gotten it off me in a few seconds but he hadn't taken it. I thought about that after you went out for the food, and a vague recollection formed: I became sure that there was something else I had with me when I was mugged. I was still thinking about it when I noticed that you had been gone too long. I called the Thai Palace and they said you hadn't shown up. That scared me. I tried to reach you on your cell phone, but you didn't answer. Now I was really scared, maybe that was what triggered something: As I was about to go out searching for you, I remembered what I had been carrying when I was attacked: It was my laptop computer." Travis broke in: "Ah! So since the watch could be sold for a lot more than the computer, you knew that the computer was what the mugger was after." "Yes, and that's not all; I remembered what was in the computer and what kind of consultant I am." "Dale, that's terrific! More and more is coming back! ... Oh ... what was in the computer?" "A lot of information about the software and device designs I provide to the people who use my services. I'm an expert in cyber security, and I'm considered tops in the field. I'm the only one who puts firewall code in the BIOS, the boot sector, and the OS kernel of every server and workstation on a network. I also encrypt sensitive files using a 256-bit AES algorithm, and my routers ..." He stopped, noticing that Travis was looking at him blankly. "I'm sorry, I tend to lapse into technical jargon. Let's just say that using my software and hardware is like having a belt, suspenders, gaiters, and a chastity belt." "Ok, I get the idea." "Good. Anyway, everyone whose organization has a computer network knows their sensitive information is at risk from hacking by individuals, corporations, and governments. They're desperate for effective protection. If they can afford the best, I tell you without modesty, they come to me. My clients even include US government agencies." "So you figured the computer was taken for its content." "Yes. Anyone who gets their hands on my software and my device designs would have a leg up on gaining access to critical government information." "So who stole your computer and was trying to get the password from me?" "I don't know yet. After they gang has been questioned, a friend will call me with the details." "You have a friend in the police department, that's cool." "The police weren't involved." "But they shouted..." "Yes they shouted 'Police' at the door as a quick way to identify themselves, but that was a federal SWAT team." "You called in a federal SWAT team? Wow, you must have connections in high places." "In a way: When I remembered the computer, I phoned someone at a government agency I've been working for and notified him that it had been stolen. I also told him that there might be a related kidnapping. Ordinarily he would have referred me to the FBI, but I mentioned that the computer has some of his agency's highly classified information. That made it a matter of national security, so he took immediate action himself. His focus was on the laptop computer, and of course I was concerned about that too but I was worried primarily about you." Travis snickered. "You think it's funny that I cared more about you than about national security?" "Oh Dale, no." He went to Dale and put his arms around him. "The last thing I would do is laugh at you for being worried about me. I never knew you cared so much." Dale stroked his face. "I care more than you know." "I'm beginning to see that." "Then why were you snickering?" "I was remembering the SWAT team guy's report back to headquarters. The first thing he said was that they had the computer, and the second thing was that they had the gang." "And you were only mentioned third." Travis shook his head, smiling. "I wasn't mentioned at all. As you said, I wasn't their focus." They stood for a moment in silence before Travis asked: "How did you find out where I was?" "I was getting to that: Turns out that I keep good records: I was able to find the Wi-Fi address of my computer and give it to the government guy. He had his electronics team set their monitoring equipment to listen for the signal. They picked it up right away, but it kept disappearing. The guy who had the computer must have been trying one password after another, and each time a wrong one was entered the machine switched itself off." "Yes, I think he had been trying since before they brought me there, because he looked really pissed." "And so he had you brought there for the password, which of course you couldn't know. The machine was on for only about half a minute at a time, but during each of those half-minute intervals the electronics guys were able to increase the accuracy of its location. When they had it down precisely enough, the SWAT team was dispatched. Civilians aren't allowed to go along, but I called in a favor. A big one. I was praying that we'd find you with the computer." At this point they were interrupted by the doorbell; their food had arrived. Dale kept an eye on Travis as they ate, and after dinner he said: "You look exhausted. I don't know whether this is early for you but I'm putting you to bed. In the morning, call your boss to tell him you're taking some sick time."