Meanwhile, Across Town
by Londonboy
Todd knew he didn’t have much time. He also knew he should have gone to work today. It would have been safer there. No one would have tried to get him in such a public place. Todd forced himself to quit thinking about what should have been and focused on the task at hand. He had to hide the disc, but he also desperately wanted to see if the new program worked. There was not enough time for him to test it. He would have to give it to someone else. But who? Who would believe him when he explained what the program could do? He knew they understood and that is why they would be at his place very soon. Maybe he could call Mike and explain it to him. Todd glanced at the clock. It was 5:30pm. Mike would already be ordering drinks for Andre and himself at O’Riley’s pub. No, it couldn’t be Mike. Todd quickly finished the publishing job on his screen and pushed print. As the printer began Todd grabbed a CD case and carefully picked up the silver disc. He placed it in the case and then took the paper out of the printer. He folded the paper and placed it in the front of the case.
Todd grabbed his keys and stepped out of his apartment into the hallway. He was trying to think fast. He was searching his brain to remember the apartment number of the guy who had moved in about a month ago. He knew the guy was gay and he hoped this CD would grab the man’s interest. He started toward the stairs at the end of the hall. Was the guy’s apartment two floors up or three? Todd could not believe he had not introduced himself to the guy. He was pretty cute, well, in a shy geek sort of way. Todd suddenly remembered that it was apartment 6A. Mrs. Johnson, the apartment building’s resident busybody, had mentioned the guy’s name and the apartment to Todd a week ago. She was constantly trying to set Todd up with some new guy. This was one time Todd was thankful for Mrs. Johnson’s big mouth. He went up one more floor and walked quickly down the hallway. He had not thought about what he was going to do. He couldn’t leave the CD in front of the guy’s door because they might find it there. As he got closer to 6A his heart jumped in gratitude. The guy’s paper was still folded up in front of the door. Todd silently slipped the disc into the folded paper and then pushed it closer to the door. Todd lightly pressed his hand up against the door and tried to send vibes to the guy inside. He whispered, “Make sure you try the program. For me, man, for me. I really need you to do this.”
Todd rushed back to his apartment. He grabbed his backpack and threw in a few clothes, his laptop, and some blank CDs. He realized he had to make them think the CD was with him. He knew they’d eventually search his apartment, but he hoped a couple of hours would give Mr. 6A enough time to test the program. As Todd stepped out into the street he could sense that they were close. He quickly joined the mass of people walking to their homes or out for the evening. Todd was thankful that it was Friday because it made the crowds larger. Todd had no idea where he should go. He just kept walking. When he was about three blocks from his building he began to relax a little. Maybe he had gotten away from them. Maybe he could begin to think about a place to go and hide. He knew he had enough money in his wallet for a plane ticket, but he could’t figure out where to go.
Suddenly strong hands grabbed him on both sides. He struggled to break free, but he realized there was no way he could get away. Todd felt the needle pierce the skin of his arm through his jacket and then he began to lose control of all his limbs. The two men on either side were supporting him completely. He saw a black SUV pull to the curb ahead at the corner of the street and then everything went black.
Meanwhile, across town, Mike Dakota was trying not to spill two full glasses of beer as he maneuvered through the happy hour crowd at O’Riley’s. He finally slid into the booth across from his co-worker Andre and was proud of making it without any spillage.
“As I was saying, Mike, you gotta start choosing a different kind of woman.” Andre had a habit of continuing conversations that clearly made other people uncomfortable.
“Man, I thought if I bought you a beer you’d let up on the lecture,” Mike said taking a quick sip of his beer.
“I will, I will. I promise. But let me just end with this thought. You tend to choose women that are out of your league, man. You like them all intelligent and cultured. That’s not you, Mikey. You are a beer drinking, swearing, hand resting halfway in your pants kind of guy. The women you are choosing don’t mate with that kind of man. See what I’m saying? You need a rougher kind of girl. You need someone who will watch football with you. You really need to stop going to those wine and cheese get togethers at the museum. Why do you do that, Mikey?” Andre finally stopped talking to take a swig of beer. “Thanks for the beer, man.”
“Where do you think Todd was today?” Mike asked hoping to change the subject. “It was kind of weird he didn’t call in. He knew we had that presentation today. I mean the thing was mostly his idea.”
“Who knows with that guy,” Andre said peering around the room. “We got the deal anyway, didn’t we? It was a sweet presentation. But now the real work begins. We don’t have much time. We have to finish the program before the holidays. That is going to suck.” Andre paused for a minute and then looked directly at Mike. “You know he has a thing for you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know. It used to bother me, but Todd’s such a great guy I sort of overlook it.” Mike suddenly remembered a night when he and Todd worked really late on a project and the guy had confessed his infatuation. Mike had known Todd was gay, the guy didn’t hide it, but the confession had made things awkward for a while. Mike was really happy that their friendship had lasted through the rough time. He knew that they and Andre made a great creative team at the software company. He also knew they were each destined for greater things. Mike hoped that they would all stay with the company and one day each run a different department. He could sense that management wished the same thing.
“Don’t get me wrong, Mikey. Todd is a great guy and he’s one creative bastard. That’s for sure. I just don’t see how you can work so close to him. I mean, knowing that he wants to get his hands down your pants.” Andre started laughing and Mike immediately realized the guy was just yanking his chain. Mike crumpled up his napkin and tossed it at Andre. “Ah, come on Mikey. Don’t you want to take a walk on the wild side with Mr. Todd?”
“Don’t joke that way Andre. It’s beneath even you!” Mike said as he glanced up at the television.
“I see something that I want beneath me,” Andre whispered as he nodded his head toward a woman standing at the bar. Mike glanced over and recognized Andre’s type immediately. She was blonde, big breasted, and cheap looking. “That’s the kind of woman you need to start chasing, Mike. But right now, this one is for me. Catch you later, man.”
“Go get ‘em tiger,” Mike said as Andre left the booth. Mike stared back at the television as he thought about Todd not showing up at work today. It really wasn’t like him. Mike had called his home phone and cell phone a few times, but there was no answer. Todd really had done most of the work on the program they presented today. It was a simulation process that was going to change the face of computer games. Management had quickly seen the potential in the program today and had ordered their “three musketeers” to work only on that. Todd had mentioned that he might not be able to make it to the presentation, but Mike had thought he was joking. When he noticed that Todd wasn’t pulling his leg, he had asked why he wouldn’t be there. Todd had replied that there was something else he had been working on and there was a potential buyer coming into town. Todd said he needed to be ready to meet with them at a moment’s notice. When Mike asked what Todd was working on he gave a jumbled answer Mike didn’t understand. Todd was being very secretive and Mike knew better than to press the issue. Mike figured Todd had been called today to meet with this secret buyer. Mike was a little jealous that Todd was working on something alone, but he knew that’s what most computer guys did. Mike finished his beer and decided to head for home. He waved to Andre, who seemed to be a big hit with the blonde woman, and then stepped out into the dark street.
Meanwhile, across town, Chip Stewart was folding up the final moving box in his apartment. He had been in the place for almost a month and just now finished unpacking. He looked at his watch and saw that it was about 6:30pm on a Friday. He had taken the day off so he could finally finish getting his apartment in order. He still couldn’t get used to the fact that a day off was so easily obtained for a senior lawyer at the firm of Graves, Thompson, and Hopkins. He had just informed his secretary that he would not be in on Friday and that was that. It helped that this close to the holidays was a slow time for business. Chip decided to take the stack of moving boxes down to the recycling bin, especially since it was the last evidence of the move. He walked down the hall to prop open the door and noticed that he had not even stopped to bring in the paper. He thought about tossing it with the boxes, but decided that he’d keep it for the crossword puzzle.
Since it was Friday he knew the puzzle would be pretty hard and that always made it more fun. He tossed the paper on the table and noticed something slid out. Chip thought the case must be a special advertisement and ignored it. He left the apartment with the boxes and took the elevator to the basement. Upon returning from the recycling bin he gave himself permission to have a beer and take time out to do the crossword puzzle. He grabbed the beer from the almost empty refrigerator and sat down at his dining room table. He glanced at the headlines on the front page of the paper and then pulled out the section with the crossword puzzle. The first clue for across was about some country that had changed its name many times over the last century and Chip was stumped. He moved to the second clue and knew the answer immediately. It was Donna Reed. As he filled in the spaces Chip realized the name wouldn’t fit. That was two answers wrong right away. Chip dropped the paper and pen on the table. He lifted the beer bottle to his mouth and noticed the CD case on the table as he took a drink. He leaned over and picked up the slender box.
The cover of the case immediately surprised Chip. The title read, “Build the Perfect Man” and was decorated with pictures of numerous hunks. Chip smiled to himself. He could not believe how progressive this part of the city was. For a second he was shocked that they would advertise this type of product in the paper. Then the lawyer part of his brain kicked in and he knew that, legally, you could not put something like this in a paper. What if some small kid put this disc in his or her computer? That was a lawsuit just waiting to happen. Chip did like the pictures on the cover, though. He opened up the case, noting that there was no cellophane wrapping. This was another sign saying this was not a real advertisement. Chip saw that the CD inside was actually store bought. Someone had deliberately placed this in his paper. Ignoring how scary that thought was, Chip began to hope it was the cute guy two floors down. The one that Mrs. Johnson had mentioned on his second day here. Chip had realized right away that Mrs. Johnson was a big gossip, but that didn’t prevent him from getting information about the guy named Todd. He worked for some computer company and Mrs. Johnson had confirmed that he was gay. Chip marveled at the fact that Mrs. Johnson figured out he, himself, was gay until she blurted out, “Only a gay man would dress as nice as you, honey.”
Chip focused again on the inside of the case. It had some more pictures and, in small print, said: “A fun way to spend a lonely night at home. Create the perfect man. You design the guy to your ideal specifications and he then fulfills your every desire. Give it a try.” Chip laughed to himself as he closed the case and laid it back on the table. Wouldn’t that be nice, he thought, to have the perfect man. He doesn’t exist. Chip had recently ended a three-year relationship with someone he thought was the perfect man, but had ended up being the perfect jerk. Chip went to the kitchen to get a second beer. He had finished the first one quickly and it had given him a pretty good buzz. Chip remembered he had not eaten all day as he opened the second beer. He opened a cabinet and grabbed a half bag of chips, returning to the table. He tried to focus on the crossword puzzle again, but his mind kept wandering back to the disc on the table. Chip decided to watch a little television. He moved into the living room and flipped through all the channels three times before deciding there was nothing to watch. He went back to the kitchen for his third beer. By this time Chip was feeling no pain. He decided to check his email. After sorting through emails from his secretary and a few from friends, Chip went to the dining room table and got the disc. What the hell, he thought, if it is going to ruin my computer I’ll just buy another one. I need a new one anyway. Part of Chip knew that the beer was making this decision, but he didn’t care. He slid the CD into the computer and the icon of a man’s torso appeared on his desktop. He clicked on the icon and a program immediately began running. Chip noticed that a guy named Todd Fuentes created it and he guessed it was the guy two floors down. This made Chip a little excited. The program finally finished installing and Chip opened it up to the main menu. It was really easy to understand. Basically, it was like a computer game, but it used information you gave to create the scenes. They weren’t pre-created situations. Chip thought that was pretty cool. You were prompted to first go and create your perfect man who would be the main character in the scenes. Chip was hooked immediately. He went and got his fourth beer and began to think about what characteristics to give his perfect man.
It first asked you to give your perfect man an address in town and it required the street and number to be real. Chip tried to type in his own address, but when he pushed return the computer showed 327 Maple Drive, Unit 7. Chip thought this was odd, but continued with the rest of that page. The second page began to ask some specific questions. Chip really liked the way the program was designed. The first field required Chip to name any special abilities that his perfect man should be given. Chip was feeling mischievous and typed in: “gay, the best kisser, deeply in love with Chip Stewart, able to seduce any man.” Chip laughed out loud and said, “That is the perfect man!” The next question dealt with the guy’s strength. It gave a scale for how strong the perfect man should be. It went from “as strong as two men” to “as strong as a hundred men”. Chip’s dick started to get hard. He really liked the thought of a strong man. He decided to go for the strongest and clicked on the box beside “as strong as a hundred men.”
Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. It made Chip jump a little. He forced himself to sober up a little and pushed the save button on the top of the page. He quickly exited the program and went to the front door. When he opened it there was Mrs. Johnson with a cute young police officer.
“Hi Chip. I’m sorry to bother you, but one of the apartments was broken into and I knew you were here all day. I told the officer you might have seen or heard something.” Mrs. Johnson seemed to be proud of her role as “apartment building lookout.”
“Yes sir,” said the young officer, “we just wanted to see if you knew anything.”
“I’m sorry officer, I’ve been inside all day unloading boxes. I only went to the recycling bin this afternoon. I didn’t hear or see anything.” Chip tried to act as sober as possible, but was sure they could smell the beer. “What apartment was it, Mrs. Johnson?”
“The apartment of that nice man, Todd. Remember, I told you about him,” she said.
“Yes, yes I do,” Chip said and suddenly remembered the CD.
“Well, if you think of anything else please give us a call,” the officer said as he handed Chip a card.
“I will officer,” Chip said taking the card.
“Chip, we tried to call Todd at his office, but they said he didn’t come in today. I hope he is alright.” It was obvious that Mrs. Johnson was truly concerned.
“I’m sure he’s fine, ma’am,” said the officer as he turned to go back downstairs.
“Chip, I’m a little scared,” Mrs. Johnson said watching the officer walk away, “Would you please come and have some coffee with me until Todd comes home?”
“Sure, Mrs. Johnson. Some coffee would be good for me right now. Let me grab my shoes and keys.” Chip turned back to the entry table, grabbed his keys and slipped on his shoes. As they walked down the stairs and past Todd’s apartment Chip looked inside the door and saw that the place had been completely torn apart. It made Chip a little scared. He was glad he was going to have coffee with Mrs. Johnson.
Meanwhile, across town, Mike Dakota was entering his condo. He had lived here about twelve years and really liked the place. The building was pretty old and had very spacious rooms. He had lucked into the three-bedroom condo when prices were pretty low and knew he would not be able to afford this place now. He also liked the fact that he lived on Maple Drive. It was the same name of the street he had lived on back in Akron, Ohio, growing up. There was some security in that. As he turned on lights and picked up his phone to check for messages he looked around the room. Maybe Andre is right, he thought. When I look around this place I see framed posters from museums and art books from all over. Maybe I am trying too hard to be someone I’m not. Maybe I should go back to the days when I had posters of ball players and pictures of nude women. I really believed that a little bit of culture would help me, but maybe I’m just destined to be a redneck all of my life. As he listened to a message from Andre explaining that the woman he had been chatting up at the bar had a husband, Mike turned on his computer. After listening to the drunk Andre for a few seconds, he returned the phone to its cradle in the middle of the room. He could hear the computer warming up as he sorted through the mail he had carried in.
Suddenly there was a bright glow and a burst of warmth surrounding Mike. He turned to see that the computer screen was a bright neon green and filling the entire room with a blinding light. At the same time he saw his giant TV across the room come on and was giving off the neon light, as well. Mike put his hands up to his face and backed slowly toward the kitchen. As he moved around the wall into the kitchen the microwave came on and sent the same bright light into the room. Mike was now completely blinded and stumbled back into the living room. He suddenly felt very dizzy and, catching the side of the sofa with his leg, he fell onto the floor and blacked out.
Mike opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He had a massive headache and the sunlight pouring in from the window hurt his eyes. He suddenly realized that he should not be seeing the window from this angle and raised his head. He saw that he was on the floor and the circumstances that put him here came flashing back into his memory. He forgot about his headache for a second and looked over at the computer. It was off. And when he sat up he saw that television was off, as well. The entire condo was silent and not glowing green. Mike rested his head in his hands. His headache started to subside a little. He grabbed hold of the sofa and pulled himself up. He was still slightly dizzy but moved toward the kitchen. Mike was beginning to realize that he had been asleep all night. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:00am. He felt like he had a very bad hangover. He opened a cabinet and pulled down a bottle of aspirin. He took a glass from beside the sink and filled it with water. Mike noticed the bottle had one of those childproof caps that made it almost impossible to open. This, on top of the headache, made him a little angry. As he grabbed the top of the bottle he was surprised how easily it twisted off. As he took three aspirin he noticed that he had actually just ripped the top right off the bottle and it was now unable to go back on. What a piece of crap, he thought. He put the bottle on the table and got up to go to his bed. He suddenly remembered that he had an appointment to get his hair cut at 11:00am. As he got into bed he set his alarm clock for 10:30am. He just needed a little more rest. Mike was actually asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Meanwhile, across town, Chip Stewart was waking up to the smell of bacon. He had fallen asleep on Mrs. Johnson’s couch. They had waited up until around 2:00am, but Todd had never come home. Mrs. Johnson had asked him to stay until she fell asleep and he had promised he would. He, unfortunately, had fallen asleep first. Mrs. Johnson came into the room as he sat up.
“Good morning sleepy head. It’s about 10:00am. Thank you very much for staying with me. It made me feel very safe. I’ve made breakfast as a thank you present. Give me just a few seconds to pour the orange juice,” she said leaving the room. Chip stood up and followed her into the kitchen, mainly because he hadn’t eaten anything but chips for two days and the smell of the food was incredible. “I’ve already been up to Todd’s place. He never came home last night. There is yellow police tape across the door and it hasn’t been touched.” Mrs. Johnson was putting eggs, bacon, and toast onto Chip’s plate.
“Has he ever not come home before?” Chip asked, sounding like some kind of would-be detective.
“I don’t think he has ever slept away from his apartment, except when he went on a trip. But he’s always really good about telling me that he’s going to be gone. I tell you, Chip, something is very wrong.” Chip could hear the worry in Mrs. Johnson’s voice.
“Mrs. Johnson, I am sure there is a logical explanation for where he is. I bet he met some cute boy and stayed over for the night,” Chip replied as he began to stuff his face with food.
“Maybe you’re right, but I don’t think Todd is that kind of boy. I just have a feeling that something has happened to him.” Mrs. Johnson looked straight at Chip to emphasize how worried she was.
“Well, what would make you feel better Mrs. Johnson?” Chip asked innocently.
She pulled her chair closer and said, “I am so glad you asked, Chip. Todd gave me a spare key to his apartment in case he ever locked himself out and I think we should go in and take a look around.”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Johnson,” Chip said staring in disbelief at what this Miss Marple want-a-be was suggesting. “The police have marked it as a crime scene. I’m not sure we should be in there.”
“It’s not like someone was murdered in there, Chip. Come on. We can probably solve this mystery a lot sooner than the police,” she said grabbing Chip’s wrist.
“Solve what? Todd’s probably just been at an all night party or something. Don’t make something out of nothing.” At this point Chip just wanted to finish his food and go back to his apartment.
“I don’t think so. Come here, I want to show you something,” Mrs. Johnson said getting up from the table and heading toward her living room. Chip obediently followed She walked to her front window and pulled back the curtains a little. “See that SUV across the road?” Mrs. Johnson’s apartment was in the front of the building on the second floor and you could see everything up and down the street from her front window. “It’s been there all morning and the two guys sitting inside have binoculars focused on Todd’s window.”
Chip looked out the window, being careful not to be noticed. He saw the black SUV that Mrs. Johnson was referring to and was about to say something in protest when he noticed that the guy sitting in the driver seat put some binoculars up to his face and looked at the building somewhere above. It was clear that the guy was watching the building. This really didn’t mean anything, but considering the circumstances Chip did find it suspicious. He turned to Mrs. Johnson and said, “Let’s have a look at that apartment.”
Meanwhile, across town, the alarm clock beside Mike Dakota’s bed was ringing loudly. Mike tried to ignore it for a few seconds but the volume seemed to be increasing. Mike swung his arm over to the clock as he had done millions of times before but this time it was very different. As his open palm came down it flattened the clock. The noise ceased immediately. It was as if the clock were made of paper. And when the force of his hand met the mission style bedside table it flattened the table as well. The legs of the oak structure buckled and splintered into tiny pieces. The sound of the destruction made Mike sit up quickly. He looked over the side of the bed and saw the remains of the table, the smashed clock, and the mess created from all that had been on the table. Mike looked back at his hand. “What the…” he said out loud. Mike was confused, but suddenly realized he had very little time before his appointment. He moved over and got out of bed on the other side to avoid any broken glass on the floor. He took a quick shower and then left for his haircut. Halfway down Maple Drive he realized his headache was gone. But then Mike noticed something else. He realized that he felt really good. He felt better than he had in years. It was hard to explain but Mike felt like he had more energy than every before. He actually felt . . . felt, oh what was it? Strong, that’s what it was, strong. Mike actually felt a strength he had never known before. This was turning out to be a great day.
To be continued