Jack

[Craiger]

Wow! Martin is more evil than one may think. However, he had better be careful. Benny still may report his transactions from the past to the police. Though with threat of death he will probably allow Martin to win in this particular situation. Jack is the one right now to worry about. The revenge Martin desires it strong............. Nice update, Auto.

Craiger

 

[Autolycus]

Chapter Thirteen

Peter was convinced that it had been Martin that stole the clock.

‘But I don’t know why he should have taken it. I have helped him off the streets and given him a job,’ Jack said; still full of doubt about the possibility of Martin’s involvement in the loss.

‘You had no trouble at the office until he came on the scene,’ Peter replied.

‘It’s probably just a coincidence. How would he have access to the premises once every one had gone for the night?’

‘Easy, your security is dismal. He had only to hide in the office until everyone had left and the place would be at his mercy,’ Peter observed.

‘But then there is the intruder alarm. That would go off if anyone was to break in,’ Jack replied.

‘What if Martin had discovered the code? He could have watched the cleaners set it before they left. Maybe some idiot either gave it to him or had it written down some place. I knew a woman who had the safe combination code written on the calendar on her desk for all to see and her desk was right next to the safe. People are quite lax when it comes to security you know. Folk think as it has never happened before a burglary is unlikely to happen in the future.’ Peter was not prepared to let his suspicions regarding Martin rest. The man had to be the guilty party, he was sure. Jack on the other hand could not readily agree with him.

Martin seemed to be performing his duties as a company courier to everyone’s satisfaction. He delivered packages promptly and was willing to help in other ways whenever asked. Consequently, Jack became ever sure that he had not been the mysterious thief. Peter had not found out anything further to back his theory and the thefts were no longer a major topic for consideration. That is not until one morning a package arrived in the mail addressed to Jack. He let out a frustrated gasp when he opened it and a small brass cog fell out onto his desk. It was all too obvious that the small wheel was a component from a clock and Jack felt a pang of concern wondering whether whoever had sent it to him was destroying the precious item piece by piece. He looked inside the package and found a note that said, ‘If you want the rest of the clock back in working order follow the instructions that follow to the letter and do not involve the police.’

The note had been printed out using a computer and gave no clue as to who had set it or where it could have been printed; any one of tens of thousands of machines could have been used but most likely one in a public library or Internet café. That evening, Jack showed Peter the note and the cog wheel.

‘I don’t think this could have come from your clock,’ Jack said. ‘It looks like one that has been factory made rather than hand cut as would be the case of the antique clock that was stolen.’

‘Never-the-less, I’m going to take this seriously. I guess whoever stole the clock is after a ransom payment, he’s clever enough to know that he has stolen something of value and that trying to sell it could be a problem.’

Later that same evening, Martin had made his way to his temporary home in the basement of the office building and was sitting propped up in the comfort of his sleeping bag. His imagination, if nothing else, was fertile and he was thinking up ways of using Peter as a means to humiliate him and so through him cause his to his arch enemy, the successful Jack. Martin’s obsession with vengeance on Jack was difficult to comprehend. The one mistake that Jack had made all those years ago had preyed on Martin’s mind and as he sought a reason or cause of all his misfortunes rather than blame himself he saw Jack as a suitable candidate. This was in spite of the fact that Jack had the decency to offer him employment and so give him the opportunity to get his life back on track.

Martin fantasized over the idea of enticing Peter to some remote semi-derelict factory or barn where he could not only have sex with him but record the event and then send the video to Jack. In his mind’s eye Jack would feel betrayed by Peter and their life together would be at an end. Jack in his despair would take to drink and end up losing everything and become a destitute addict on the streets. In his wildest imaginings, Peter would be stripped naked and tied to a post and subjected to the kinds of ordeals that bondage had to offer. He would become Martin’s willing slave and denounce his partner. For such a plan to work, Martin realized he would need the assistance of an accomplice. Who better but Benny, he thought. Benny would have access to a video camera and computer so that the movie could be made. It was only a matter of finding a venue and the means to entice Peter into the trap.

Martin turned off the light and snuggled down into his sleeping bag and his night was filled with erotic dreams. When he awoke next morning he had a hard on that was crying out for relief even though during the night he had spilled his seed during one or more of his wet dreams.

 

[Craiger]

Goodness! Martin is demented, isn't he! I guess we will have to wait and see if Benny will do as Martin wants. Also, how will they trap Peter into such a dastardly plan? Keep going, Auto.....

Craiger

 

[Autolycus]

Chapter Fourteen.

Sam Harborne had been retired for six years but was still spritely and alert, which is why Jack relied on him to check out the heating system and the electrics in the office on a regular basis. Sam had worked for Jack’s father way back when, so Jack had known him for a very long time and was happy to rely on him rather that call in a younger man. Today was one of Sam’s routine days for looking over the heating system that not only kept the building at a comfortable temperature during cold weather but also provided the hot water for the wash rooms and staff kitchen. One of Sam’s attributes was a very sharp sense of smell and it was this that alerted him to something unusual when he was checking out the radiators in the basement. There was a feint smell of cooking in an area where he had never encountered it before. The smell reminded him of camping days long ago when he would take his sons hiking in the woods. He walked down the corridor and the smell grew stronger as he approached the unused storeroom at the end.

The sight that met his eyes when he used his pass key to unlock the door was really odd as it was not difficult to surmise that someone was using the room as a place to live. There was a sleeping bag in the corner and bundles of clothes scattered about as well as a tell-tale camping gas stove, a small billycan and some tins of beans on a shelf. Sam knew Jack’s office building well enough to know that this was not quite right so he locked the door again and made his way up to Jack’s private office.

‘Hi Sam; great to see you – your good lady well?’ Jack said as Sam stuck his head around the door.

‘Sure Jack, we’re both good, thanks for asking.’

‘Something troubling you? I hope the boiler is not playing up again,’ Jack replied.

‘Oh the boiler’s fine. I thought I would look in on you to check whether you knew you had a lodger in the old storeroom in the basement.’

‘A lodger… You’re joking!’

‘No, there is stuff there that shows someone is camping out and even doing a bit of cooking, which is a fire hazard of course.’ Sam said, showing his concern. Jack thought about this piece of information and straight way it occurred to him that if someone had access to the building and was camping out there, then that was the person who had been walking around stealing things.

‘Thanks, Sam. Don’t do anything – I’ll keep an eye open and hope to catch the individual.’

When he got home that evening, Jack told Peter what he had learned from Sam. Peter’s immediate reaction was, ‘I am willing to bet all the tea in China that your mystery camper is that artful bugger Martin.’

‘I thought you would say that,’ Jack laughed. ‘But you could be right. I have no idea where he is living; the only thing is how does whoever it is get round the intruder alarm system?’

‘Most probably because he has discovered to code – quite few of your staff know it and the cleaners do as well. I have always said that you are too lax but it’s your business and I am not on your payroll,’ Peter, the ever cautious member of their partnership replied. ‘What do you propose to do?’

‘I’m going down to the office later when I know the cleaners will have done for the evening and watch to see who follows them into the premises.’

‘I’ll come with you as you may need some back up if the intruder turns nasty,’ Peter volunteered.

‘Great, I think we should go now and find a suitable spot to watch the door.’

***​

Martin had been out for most of the afternoon as he had to deliver some packages to the other side of the county. He checked his watch and saw that he should just make it back to the office in time to see the last of the cleaners leave if they were working to their usual schedule. He drove the company car that he used for his business trips into the parking lot and sat waiting for the lights to be extinguished in the building as the cleaning supervisor set the alarm and left to go home. He was unaware that two pairs of eyes were watching him from the shadows. The building was plunged into darkness, the back door opened and the warning beep… beep… beep of the alarm could be heard only to be silenced as the supervisor stepped out and closed the door and locking it. The supervisor climbed into his van and sat long enough to light a cigarette before driving off onto the road. Martin waited a while and then walked over to the door and taking a bunch of kepys from his pocket, let himself into the building.

Jack and Peter had seen his every move, ‘Crafty sod!’ Jack exclaimed. ‘Peter, I owe you an apology, I’ve been a fool defending Martin against your suggestions that he was not to be trusted. He is up to no good otherwise why would he be lurking here all this time.’

‘Are you going in after him now?’ Peter asked.

‘No, I’ll leave it until the morning. Another night won’t do any harm.’ Jack said his suppressed anger audible in his voice. They walked over to where they had parked Jack’s car and left for home.

 

[Craiger]

Good old Martin is about to hit the streets again if not jail. Jack has to be cautious though if he wants to get his clock back. Maybe Jack will believe Peter from now on. Benny will be off the hook as well if Martin goes to jail. Exciting things are about to happen.....

Craiger

 

[Autolycus]

Chapter Fifteen


When he arrived in the office the next morning, Jack found a new note on his desk. This one explained that if he wanted to see his clock returned in one piece, Peter would have to collect it. Separate instructions for him to follow were enclosed. The second envelope was addressed to Peter, so Jack phoned him and asked him to come over to the office from his own place of work. Peter said that he could be there within the hour.

‘Have you seen Martin this morning?’ Peter asked when he arrived.

‘No. I have not bothered to seek him out in view of this note. If he is the one that is behind all this, I thought we should give him all the rope he needs to hang himself.’

‘I hope that is merely a figure of speech and that you do not intend to lynch him?’ Peter laughed as he opened the envelope addressed to him.

Jack did not bother to respond knowing that the question was rhetorical, ‘What does the note say?’ he asked.

‘There are instructions as to how to find some premises up a back alley. I have got to be there at nine o’clock tonight and I have to go alone.’ Peter said handing the note to Jack so that he could read it for himself.

‘You can go alone but I will be close behind you,’ Jack said.

* * * * *

Martin had everything in place. He was sure that Peter would arrive on time and he had recruited Benny to act as camera man. Nor that was too difficult as Benny quite liked the idea of recording a live sex act as a change from watching porn up in his bedroom on a small screen. The whole idea was to humiliate Peter in front on the camera and then send the finished product to Jack. The clock was merely the bait in the trap. Martin couldn’t care less about it beyond the fact that it had given him access to funds when he pawned it. When he had finished with Peter, he would send him off with the pawn ticket so that Jack could redeem it. Martin checked his watch, fifteen minutes to go so he told Benny to stand by in his hiding place in the darkened room with his camera while he went down to conceal himself in the alley below and wait for Peter to arrive.

Martin was not kept waiting for too long. He heard the sound of a car draw up near the entrance to the alley and a single door slam and Peter stepped out. The alley was dark and reeked of stale cooking, that acrid odor that is created by frying oil that has passed it best. The over-spilling dumpster with the rotting remnants of food scraped from customer’s plates that attracted rats by night and flies by day added to the unwholesome atmosphere as Peter walked toward the dim light that showed the door he was to enter. He was about to knock on the door when someone came out of the darkness to throw a hood over his head and grab his arms to cuff them behind his back. The door opened and Peter was pushed inside. His assailant warned him that he was about to walk up a flight of stairs and stumbling slightly Peter ascended to the upper floor. Unable to see anything, he had no idea where he was or who was in the room with him.

He then heard the voice of the person who had put the blind fold on him gasp, ‘What the fuck!’ The next thing he heard was Jack saying, ‘The game is up Martin, release Peter.’

Jack had got out from the car without making a sound and kept his distance as Peter entered the alley. He saw the shadowy figure grab his partner and push him though the door. Martin had wrongly assumed that the door had slammed shut behind him but Peter had dropped the slim maglite torch he had been carrying as he was shoved over the threshold and it presented the door from closing properly. Jack who was a short distance behind Peter and Martin was able to enter the building and quietly follow up them the stairs.

Confused Benny came out from behind the screen, camera in hand, ‘Do I start recording now?’ he asked.

‘I think we had all better sit down and talk about this,’ Jack said as he helped Peter out of the blindfold and indicated to Martin that he should remove the handcuffs. Grudgingly Martin complied.

Knowing that his plan had been scuppered Martin collapsed in an arm chair and admitted that he had been stupid. When asked why he had acted as he had he said that he was motivated by jealousy. He had fallen for Jack when they had met all those years ago and his disappointment that Jack did not return his affection had led him to seek to destroy everything that Jack held dear. He considered that Jack had been the cause of all that had gone wrong in his life.

‘Why? What on earth makes you think that?’ Jack asked in amazement.

‘You always came out on top. You always seemed to get what you wanted… a successful business… a loving partner… money. All I got was grief.’

‘That was entirely of your own making,’ Peter interjected. ‘You allowed your unrequited lust for Jack to turn into a bitter hatred. Your descent into drunkenness was entirely your own fault and it is possible that you ruined Michael’s life as well. You have much to answer for!’

Martin could not counter what Peter had said. He realised that every word was true. All he could do now was to apologise to both Jack and Peter for the spiteful and crazy way he had acted. Benny had remained silent through this and now he turned to Martin and said, ‘I’ll get him the clock and the other things you took from his office. I’ll cover the cost with my boss. Now is the time for you to forget the past and if you want a friend or even a partner I’m here for you.’

Martin looked at Benny and saw for the first time that the skinny guy was near to tears. He admitted to himself that he had been completely mad to treat Jack in the way that he had and that Benny was most likely to be his salvation. Jack was happy to forgive and forget although Peter had to be persuaded not to press for the matter to be reported to the police and Martin duly punished for all he had done.

The last Jack heard of Martin was that he and Benny had moved to the coast and had gone into some kind of business together. Only time would tell if their paths would ever cross again.

 

[Craiger]

I'm somewhat in agreement with Peter. I think Martin needs to face the responsibility of evil deeds he caused. However, I'm glad Benny made his plea and Martin was intelligent enough to accept. We'll see if their paths cross again. "Who knows what lurks in the hearts of men......only the Shadow knows." Thanks, Auto.

Craiger