The Man in the Big Muscle Suit 2
by dymondbolt
Disclaimer: This is a Science Fiction Story with Male to Male Sex and Love relationships. If you are under eighteen years of age, you should not be here. You have been warned.
"Thank you, my friend. I can't think of a more appropriate scenario for these unholy three."
As the Ferrington group got up to the table, another group of possible Backers entered the bar.
"Larry, Diane. So glad you could come for the demonstration. And you've brought Larry's cousin."
Larry was oblivious to the hatred Cal's false smile was sending Trent. But Diane and Trent could see it clearly. Diane chose to slap a false smile on her face and return Cal's greetings. She must have threatened Larry with canceling his credit cards or withholding sex; so he would let her do the talking.
"Hello Cal, hello Gray. We were so happy you decided to forgive and forget, when we got your invitation to this demonstration. And that DVD of your first test trials was just amazing."
Gray smiled at the thought of how much money they must have paid someone to examine the DVD with a fine toothed comb, only to discover the it was real and not some Silicon Graphics creation.
Cal knew it couldn't last. No matter how many times Diane told Larry to keep out of the discussions when she was negotiating, Larry couldn't control his urge to dominate and domineer.
Larry burped out "Yeah, Amazing. Gray, Calvin. Weren't you a bit shorter?"
Larry had started to shake Cal's hand and was suddenly on the wrong end of a powerful mechanical system, hooked into an angry humans nervous system. It must have been the combination of seeing Trent and hearing Larry's voice. Cal was still glaring at Trent and missed what words Larry was saying completely. Only his warning system beeping in his ear, kept him from crushing Larry's hand.
Cal released Larry's bruised hand. "Oh I am so sorry, Larry. The feedback systems are all very sensitive. But when you add the element of emotion into the equation, there's bound to be a few little glitches, that'll crop up. Isn't that right Trent?"
Trent sneered. "Not with the proper planning."
Cal knew that was going to be Trent's response. "Like planning a demonstration for months and then having a coworker slash boyfriend decide the night before the demonstration, that you need to relax with a good bottle of wine. Very powerful wine as it turns out. I didn't wake up till eight o'clock the next night. Trent really should have rinsed out the bottle. Then I wouldn't have been able to tell it was drugged at all. Not enough planning, I suppose. Diane could you remind me just exactly how you kept your Limy hating, older brother, Stefan, from showing up at your wedding and getting into a fist fight like he did at your engagement party?"
Diane had completely forgotten that she had let that slip out when her brother visited her at Ferrington Automation. She also apparently never told her husband that she had to resort to drugging her brother to keep the peace at their wedding. But she hadn't been shy when Larry needed a way to keep his cousin employed and get the shorter and more expendable coworker slash boyfriend fired. The accountants insisted the company only really needed two engineers. That meant the Head Engineer and Trent.
Larry was just getting over the pain when he showed how much of an engineer he really was. "You're not trying to tell us you're already in it, are you? Why.. your arms are too long, to begin with."
Cal smiled at the stupidity of it. Hadn't the man just escaped having his hand crushed? Cal spread his arms wide and then up. The span from finger tip to finger tip was well over eight feet. It gave Cal the Gorilla look, but also gave him wider reach. It had taken a week and a half of practice before he stopped dragging his knuckles on the ground. While his hands were up he waved at the other group that had clustered near the entrance.
Millie Taverty was the CEO for the only group Cal and Gray really liked. Homeland Support Systems was a group that had their heart in the right place. Help the soldier do his job and help him get back home. They had been instrumental in lowering the price on a number of radio controlled Soldier Recon and Supply devices. And they helped get more sophisticated medical equipment for the medics to use in the field.
Millie was giggling as she walked right up to Cal. "My boy's grown up. Way up. Give me a hug, Cal."
Only Millie would be brave enough to trust his machines without any proof they were safe. Cal whispered "Millie. It's been much too long." He hugged her gently and lifted her off her feet.
While her gender did nothing for Cal's libido, he was still a big guy in the love muscle department. And Millie always loved to remind him of that.
Millie giggled again when he set her down. "I know something else that is much too long. But I've only heard of one man who would complain about that." She got Cal laughing when she glanced at Trent with a sneer.
Cal told her "I have missed your way with words."
She turned to Gray and covered her mouth as she chuckled. "Gray you better give me a hug, even if you're wearing a .. a forty pound battery?"
Gray didn't lift her off the floor but he didn't have to worry about giving her a big hug. "Right on the money. And a ten pound counter weight to give my back some relief."
She mumbled "I bet its covering you butt. I was right. As if any self respecting gay man would want a straight arrow like you. How's Helen and the twins?"
Gray smiled "Just great. We had a little girl three years ago. Gracie is bossing around her older brothers. They turned eight this last June, and let her get away with everything, even though they both say she's a silly girl."
Millie shook her head at how quickly time flies. "Do little boys still claim that little girls have cooties?"
Gray nodded. "Yes, and little girls still think little boys have them, too."
Gray and Millie realize Cal hasn't joined in with a joke about the Breeders updating each other, or trying to raise Larry's blood pressure by saying something that would set off Larry's Homo Phobia. They looked over at the three from Ferrington Automation and found them nervously glancing at Cal and then looking away. Cal wasn't helping to settle the mood with the expression of loathing on his face as he still stared at Trent.
Gray was sort of proud of Cal. Trent had messed with Cal's head from the first day they discovered they were both gay. And after Trent's betrayal of Cal's Love and Trust; Cal had been finding it hard to give those emotional Icons to anyone but his closest oldest friends. Five years and Cal had only gone on two dates. And Gray had been the one to hear some of the doubts and fears that surfaced after those dates.
Gray wanted to play with the Ferrington Group a little more and if Cal scared em off, they wouldn't get to see them grovel or eat any kind of crow or other c word. "Cal, why don't you go see if that room is available for our demonstration. I'll watch the door and make sure the potential Backers are all on the same page."
Cal tore his gaze away from Trent like he wasn't there. He smiled down at Gray and put his hands on Gray's shoulders.
"Excellent idea. I really didn't have anything constructive to say to a certain individual. All of my thoughts seemed to be destructive in nature and ended with the individual torn limb from limb. And that's no way to get Backers for our invention. Don't forget to ask the other groups to bring in their test hardware. And I'll be right back."
Cal turned and Millie stared at a very fine looking Fake rump walk over to Bartender Jeff at the bar. "He made that covering over his backside didn't he?"
Gray chuckled. "Like what ya see, Millie? Well he did all of the Covering Skin and Padding that resembles muscle, for the suit, as well as the entire head piece. We both worked on the guts of the thing and we had a little help with the programs running in there."
Millie tried to goose Gray but the covering he was wearing just left her pinching plastic. Gray chuckled as he watched her try to get him. "Sorry Millie but the plastic is there to keep up the illusion I weight a ton."
Millie reached up and pinched his cheeks. "But there are still a few places vulnerable. But you know what I'm really going to ask, involving the model for the suit. It's all Cal, isn't it?"
Gray nodded. "Yeah, Cal had a full body scan done and then went into a Morphing program and expanded it to make it look like Cal was seven feet tall. Then he molded pieces to fit over the actual suit."
"Well it looks good. That is one hurdle for the Covert Ops part of our concern."
Gray frowned. "I didn't know HSS had a Covert Ops division. When did that get started?"
Millie smiled and shook her head "The Pentagon would prefer that the advising and the company we advise for remain anonymous. Whether we get the contract or another group that associates closely with the Pentagon, we are being asked to submit an evaluation. And so far you boys are making this real easy to get in back of."
Another group walked into the bar and Gray excused himself to greet them and explain the demonstration. Then he recalled what Cal reminded him about. "Millie? Could you have your Tech adviser bring in the Test Hardware we asked for in the invitation? And that goes for you, too, Trent. I'm going to have each group go back out and retrieve their Test Hardware before the demonstration starts. No one will be leaving half way through, unless they no longer wish to make a bid for the contract."
Larry looked at Diane and then stopped Gray. "The invitation didn't say anything about making a bid tonight. We'll need to talk things over with the rest of the Board before we can make a bid."
Gray wondered just what Larry really was good at. "Diane, could you please explain to your husband the significance of inviting the CEO, CFO, and a Tech advisor to a Bid Demonstration? We all know that you two with Trent's help are Ferrington Automation. The board doesn't do a thing that you don't want them to."
He walked over to the next Potential Backer group while he shook his head.
At the Bar Cal was juggling four shot glasses, then grabbed each and set them on the bar top with a neat snap.
Jeff clapped a few times. "Pretty good. I used to juggle the bottles as I made a drink, years ago. But now you can't be sure of the quality of bottle. Broken glass and alcohol flung onto the customers? We have better ways of entertaining the customers."
Cal saw Fred-Fred slipping through the gathering crowd with a smile on his face.
Jeff told him "That better be a smile cause we're making a customer happy and not because you get to strut your stuff, tonight."
Fred-Fred frowned for just a second then his smile won out. "Why can't it be for both. Cal, my Boss told me to say he would be delighted to provide a venue for your demonstration of Manly prowess. He asked if he could provide a prop or two for you to use?"
Cal smiled down on the big guy. He was smarter than he looked. "I would be honored for the chance to use any prop your Boss wished to provide. I have to warn you, it may not get back to him the way it was given to me. Some things are just so fragile."
Fred-Fred giggled and that sounded real cool in that deep voice of his. "Boss said you might say something like that and made sure I told you that what ever you saw fit to do to the props would be fine with him. He just wants to watch you alter them. I'll be collecting them for you after I help get the Audition room to your liking." Fred-Fred pointed to the back wall of the Bar with a large double door in it. A buzzing sound came from the door and Fred-Fred opened it and propped it open. Just inside was a portable sign that said 'Private Party'. "I'll be watching the door when all your guests arrive and are shown to the Audition room."
Cal looked around and found a cart with folded chairs on it. He swiftly pulled out every one and lined them up for the groups invited. Then he added about ten more, just for the house. He had arranged them around the small six foot square piece of dance floor that sat on the carpet in the room.
"I was supposed to do that for you but, You just did it faster that three of us could have done. Is there anything else you want or need, Cal?"
Cal smiled over at Fred-Fred and slowly walked over to him like he was something real tasty. His head just kept tipping back to keep his eyes on Cal's eyes. Oh this kid had it bad. The bigger the better for ol' Fred-Fred. Cal looked down at the big guy and pulled him into a light hug. "You know what you could do for me, Fred-Fred?" A shake of the guys head and Cal continued. "You have to collect those props your Boss wants me to Adjust. But while you are doing that, I would love it if you found a thong that you would look good in for your Audition. I still want to take a break from my Demonstration about an hour and a half into it. And I can't think of anything finer than watching a big muscled stud like you show those skinny little wimps how a real man does a dance and strip, to get mens hearts pumping and cocks throbbing. Could you do that for me, Fred-Fred?" By that time Fred-Fred had his arms around Cal and was nodding."
"Good."
"Thank you Cal, for giving me a chance to show the Boss what I can do. I have just the right thing to wear in my locker. I better get the props together and I'll take a minute to change into the right clothes for the job."
Cal saw the sly grin. "I love a man who loves his job. I'll see you back here."
Fred-Fred walked out and Cal walked to the door and was able to get Gray to send the groups over to the Audition Room.
Millie's group got in with their duffle bag of Test Hardware, The Ferrington Automation struggled with their own bulky canvas bag of tricks.
Dahlgren Robotics was the next to enter. Steve Dahl had his CFO helping his Brother-in-Law with their Test Hardware. Steve tried to use his same old hand shake of death and Cal had to laugh. "Steve. Come on. Half of a crushing hand shake is in the pain you produce. The suit has threshold values that it will not transfer back to the operator. So I can feel you really trying to hurt me, but all I have to do is.." Cal looks at Steve's hand before he.."Roll you hand in mine with the superior strength of the Pneumatics, and I can hear bones grind." Cal let go when Steve's face went a little white.
Steve rubbed his hand, but he still was smiling. "Don't apologize. That is some excellent work. The operator response and subtle feedback along with the architecture is spot on. There is no way I could tell it was mechanical. All parts of that felt like a huge hand. And you were kind enough to remind me of my old fowl ways without exacting an eye for an eye. I honestly never knew I broke two bones in your hand that first day we met. My sister set me straight at the company picnic right before that idiot manager fired you and Gray. I never did get the chance to say, I'm sorry for hurting you and I'm sorry my company fired. We lost two great employees."
Cal just hugged Steve and said "I forgive you. That idiot was draining your company of the best and brightest just from him liking or disliking an employee. You've paid enough for that mistake and I heard you got him on charges of embezzling Company funds. That was the day I forgave you and Dahlgren Robotics."
Steve said "Glad to hear it. I better get out of the way of the rest of the Bidders."
Cal nodded and looked for the next group to head his way. Then it got weird. Like it wasn't already with Trent showing up.
Peter Grant was an Ex-boyfriend of Cal's. Over ten years ago Pete got Cal fired from a company because he would not stop stalking him after Cal told him they were through. It took restraining orders and martial arts training to get Pete to leave and in fact he left the state. But there he was, standing in front of Gray and it looked like he was arguing with Cal's partner. Pete had been the kind of weird jealous type that could see how happy Gray was with his wife and still accuse him of fooling around with Cal. Or Cal with Gray. Or Cal with Helen. Or the lamppost. It didn't matter. Pete had a knack for lying and he just assumed everyone else did it, too. Like a national pastime.
Cal liked the next idea he had. Hell. No matter what Cal told him, Pete would think it's a lie. But would he still refuse to leave after he was turned into a human Volleyball?
Cal put his hands on Pete and turned him around. Pete took a swing and was stopped by Cal's suit strength. Oh the look was priceless. Pete was a domineering boyfriend and a bully when he could get away with it. So he had a whole list of ways to make Cal feel smaller than his five foot four inch frame. Now Pete was presented with a boyfriend he abused being ten inches taller than him and considerably stronger.
Pete still couldn't speak. "Yes. Yes, Pete. It's Cal. That boyfriend you loved to abuse." Cal slipped his hands under Pete's arms and lifted him up to his face, just like Pete used to do to Cal.
"Strange feeling isn't it? No control of your own body." Cal tossed him up a foot and caught him. "But you will believe me now Pete. You will walk out that door and not look back. If you do not walk away and stay away, I will recall every physical abuse you ever heaped upon my foolish head and I will add to them and then I will promptly perform them upon you from start to finish." Cal's expression had been manic before, but he suddenly became furious. "And I can do it now!"
Cal shook Pete like a rag doll for a few seconds then held his head closer to his own. "You taught me evil, Pete, and now I'm gonna use it all on you. Unless you GO AWAY." With that he dropped Pete flat on his feet and Pete barely stayed on them.
Cal started to recall every thing Pete did to him. And his expression clouded over even more. Fred-Fred was the man that got Evil Pete moving. "Do you even have one friend in the world let alone in this bar? NO? Then there's the door. Leave! Now!"
Pete finally started walking and it looked like that was the last Cal and Gray would ever have to see of him. They didn't see him turning around when he was a few cars into the parking lot. He had already decided to get a change of clothes and come back and beat up fat old Gray. Pete was thinking of knives, too. Pete really was crazy, but knew how to hide enough of it to be able to stay out of prison or a mental institution. But he hadn't been man handled since he turned seventeen, and that snapped something in O'l Evil Pete. He planned on somebody getting hurt tonight. Yeah, Pete was thinking of knives.