The phone rang twice before Vin snatched the receiver from its cradle. "Special Agent Tanner." But, upon hearing the voice on the other end of the line, Vin turned away from the agents with whom he shared the office. "You're not supposed to call here," he said in a harsh whisper. "Well, make it fast. What's up?"Vin stole a glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him, or listening in. His co-workers were also his friends, so they sometimes tended to be nosier than Vin might like, though he knew they all meant well. It's just that, well, there were a few things about himself that he hadn't told them yet and, while he hadn't decided how to tell them, overhearing a phone conversation was definitely not one of the options he was pondering.
"Yeah, I can do tonight. Wait, let me get a pen...." Vin searched around his desktop, but then finally found the writing implement tucked behind his ear.
"Okay. Ah, huh, yeah," he said as he began to write on a handy Post-It Note: The Bangkok Club. 18th and Broadway. "Yeah, I'll find it. 10 o'clock. See ya," he finally said, hanging up the phone, and then taking another quick look around the room. The other men he shared the office space with were all intently working at their desks — unusually quiet, but oblivious to Vin's phone call just the same.
Vin sighed with relief, and then he picked up the note and read it over once more before stuffing it into the pocket of his jeans. The Bangkok Club was a new bar Paulie had been dying to try out. Vin wasn't really into the club scene — oh, sure, he'd go to a bar to have a beer with his co-workers, but that was different. Paulie loved to club hop. Loved the music and the lights and all the different men to drool over.
And this thought made Vin smile. Paulie was a new addition to Vin's life. They'd only met a few weeks before — a friend of a friend of an acquaintance or something — but Paulie had taken a shine to Vin's quiet demeanor and had made bringing him out of his shell his newest project.
Vin was reluctant at first. He'd never felt comfortable going to gay bars to pick up guys — and that's all he thought went on in those places. But Paulie showed him what really went on, and they ended up having a lot of fun, much to Vin's surprise. Vin especially liked all the different events that went on — contests, charity fund-raisers, karaoke — though he just liked to watch, not participate. But that would change, Paulie had assured him without making it sound like he was pressuring Vin in any way.
The Bangkok Club had only opened the week before. It was supposed to have an exotic, Far-East theme and Vin expected it to be quite busy. He didn't know how long he'd stay tonight — it would depend on the atmosphere, on how uncomfortable the large crowd made him feel — but for Paulie he'd agreed to at least make an appearance.
Again, the thought of his new friend made him smile; Vin didn't think Paulie was the "typical" gay guy, but, all the same, he was rather enthusiastic. Paulie always told people he was a musician: "Master of the Skin Flute," he'd say and, though everyone would laugh, Vin had found out the man had a right to boast. He was incredible! But he was also just a lot of fun to be around and Vin found that he was less self-conscious around Paulie, simply because Paulie himself was so free and expressive.
And, Vin had to admit, though he was as apprehensive as always, he was actually looking forward to tonight.
One of the first things Paulie had done was school Vin in how to dress for the club scene — it just wouldn't suit the man to have his "pet project" turned away at the door.At 10 o'clock, he found Paulie waiting for him — always prompt, Vin smiled to himself, and well groomed. Maybe he should introduce him to Ezra some time, he thought with a laugh; that would be the day!
Inside, the decor was stunning — lots of red and gold and green, with stone statues and potted palms here and there to complete the atmosphere. Above the bar was an illuminated stained-glass panel of a long, green dragon, like the type one always saw at the Chinese New Year parades. Vin looked around awed, and Paulie had to keep patting beneath his chin to make certain Vin kept his mouth shut.
"Stop looking like a tourist, honey," he'd admonished. "Tonight, we are one of the crowd and we must act like we belong!"
Paulie found them a small table near the dance floor, and then left Vin to grab a couple of drinks. Vin wanted beer, but he knew Paulie would bring him something more exotic, something containing juice, fruit, or maybe even an umbrella. More alcohol as well as more show than Vin really wanted, but for Paulie he smiled and drank and tried his best not to let the closeness of the crowd get to him.
When he was successful, he had a great time. And that kept Paulie asking him out and him accepting. And, he really didn't have anything against having a good time. Just, sometimes, it was hard for Vin to put himself out there.
Tonight, the drink was a murky reddish orange, like the sunset on a particularly smoggy day. There was also a stick with a cherry and a couple pieces of pineapple partially submerged for effect. Vin offered the garnish to Paulie, who had Vin hold the skewer while he made a show of wrapping his lips around each piece of fruit and wiggling it off the stick.
This brought a crowd fairly quickly — it seemed every gay man liked other gay men who were good with their lips and tongues. Of the men who had come for Paulie's opening act, more than half remained, talking and laughing with the man. Vin was only too happy to just sit back and watch, sipping his hazy sunset of a drink. He smiled and laughed along with everyone else, and tried not to get too uptight when he felt a casual hand on his shoulder, waist, ass, or crotch — it wasn't an easy thing for Vin to do, but for Paulie....
It wasn't long before someone got just a little too friendly for Vin's comfort. Uninvited, and completely unexpected, lips locked with his for a long, lingering, probing moment, until Vin pushed the man away. He clenched his fist, prepared to fight off another assault, but by then the man had moved on to someone else, completely unaware of Vin's reaction.
"It's okay, honey," Paulie leaned over, tickling Vin's ear with his soft breath. "He was just being friendly. Drink a little more, it'll loosen you up."
Vin wasn't sure if he wanted to loosen up, but for Paulie.... He chugged the last half of his drink, then smiled indulgently.
A fresh drink arrived in front of Vin a few minutes later, and, to keep Paulie happy, and his mind off the casual, wandering hands around him, Vin downed the second glass, then the third that Paulie pushed from in front of him across the table to in front of Vin.
It wasn't long before the loud music began throbbing in Vin's ears and the lights seemed to dance behind his eyes instead of in front of them. He wasn't used to these strong mixed drinks and the warmth of the crowded club didn't help. Still, he didn't care too much. This night had actually turned out to be a lot of fun he decided, as he smiled at a tall, blond stranger. It suddenly didn't even occur to him not to reach over and run his hand up and down the man's tight, hot body.
Paulie seemed to notice Vin's unusual behavior, as he swayed slightly in his seat. He slid up beside Vin and whispered, "Come on, I know just where you need to be."
He took Vin by the arm and helped him off his stool, then escorted him through the crowd to a long hallway that should have led to, maybe, bathrooms, Vin thought, but it didn't. The hall was lined with lots of doors, like dressing rooms, except without names or stars on them like you always saw in the movies — instead there was a round dial of colored pie-sections and a center pointer, like the spinner found in a game of Twister.
Vin reached out to twirl one of the pointers, but Paulie pulled his hand back before he got close. A moment later, they paused before a door halfway down the hallway. Further down there were open doors, but Paulie produced a key attached to a huge brass ring — which Vin had failed to notice before, even though it was big enough to stick your head through — and used it to unlock this door.
Inside the room, hanging in the center from two exposed, metal beams, was what looked like a small hammock. Vin staggered over to the thing and ran his fingers across the smooth, leather netting.
He turned to smile at Paulie, to ask what the heck the room was for, only to see the man turning the dial on the door to a bright blue section. He then joined Vin and began to undress him.
Vin giggled. He knew the door was still open and one part of him cared — he was embarrassed and nervous — but that part of him couldn't secure the attention of the rest of him. Still giggling, he allowed Paulie to strip him naked. Then the man helped him into the small hammock, which was really more like a swing, Vin decided, with a smile and a laugh.
He really was having a hell of a good time.
Paulie dropped his pants then and, producing a tube of lubricant, set immediately into preparing Vin. A few moments later — and with little priming necessary due to his relaxed state — Vin felt Paulie's large, hot cock drive home. Paulie pushed and pulled on the heavy, metal chains supporting the sling to move Vin back and forth, which thrust him in and out of Vin.
Vin laughed again. He'd never imagined such a thing existed and it was so much fun: swinging back and forth, feeling Paulie's length inside of him. Vin threw his head back and the walls of the room began to spin. He laughed again, though he couldn't manage to bring himself back upright. He didn't care.
Soon, he felt Paulie becoming limp inside of him and knew the man had come. He pulled out, but a moment later, Vin felt Paulie inside of him again — hard and hot. He wasn't sure how that was possible. Paulie never recovered that quickly.
When Paulie moved around to kiss him, Vin wanted to ask him how he'd gotten it up again so quickly, not even realizing that if Paulie was standing behind, holding his head, he couldn't be in front of him, thrusting inside of him.
Vin didn't care. It felt incredible. Amazing. He wanted to sing, to laugh, to yell. "Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!" his happy mind screamed with glee.
Paulie kissed him again, then eased Vin's head back even further until he was able to reach Paulie's cock with his mouth. He tongued the limp flesh, urging it back to life as someone kept shoving his rod incessantly into him.
Soon another cock joined Paulie's and Vin's mouth was full of hot, throbbing flesh. The thrusting into him continued — slow at first, building to a hard pounding — for a few moments before he would feel empty, but then he'd be full again and the movement would resume.
The world soon became nothing but sensations to him. The low, recessed lights above blurred and all Vin could see were the dark outlines of so many Paulies. He tasted warm skin and salty jizz. He heard laughter and moaning, but he thought that might be his own voice. He felt tingles and tensing in his loins which built and then faded, never peaking into the release he craved, until, the feeling slowly turned into a burning pain which flared and faded but never ceased.
Vin woke to a blinding light. His eyes burned, his head throbbed, and his throat felt like it was filled with sand. His gut clenched as if he was going to heave, but no bile rose in his throat.He tried to sit up, but the pain in his belly was too severe and he merely rolled himself up into a little ball, praying for the pain to ease. It didn't.
Whatever he was laying on was cold and hard, but Vin somehow knew it wasn't the ground. He suddenly began to wonder where the hell he was. He knew it wasn't his apartment. He was pretty sure it wasn't Paulie's apartment, either — that place always smelled of, what was it? Potpourri? Yeah, cinnamon and dried flowers. This place smelled like ... urine ... and ... and stale sweat, and something else Vin didn't even want to think about.
He struggled to open his eyes again, steeled himself to the pain he felt as the light bored into him once more until, finally, his vision began to clear.
The room he occupied was small, lined on three walls with hard benches like the one he was laying on. The urine smell, he decided, was coming from his own trousers, but the other odors were definitely emanating from the men with whom he shared the room — one who lay sprawled on the bench across from him and another who was sitting slumped in the corner, with his head against his chest, snoring.
The fourth wall was made of metal bars and it was only then that Vin's mind realized where he was. The drunk tank. He'd never seen it from the inside before. How the hell did he get here? he wondered, though, with his memories offering no clues, he might as well have been asking his new roommates.
What was the last thing he recalled? Talking to Paulie on the phone. Leaving work. A frozen dinner. Dressing and going to the club....
The club. What had happened there? He remembered the exotic decor. He remembered the large crowd. Men, dancing and moving to the music. Men pressing against him, smiling, laughing, touching him. Paulie was there, happy, showing off, reveling in the attention. Vin remembered drinking ... something, not beer. Pineapple came to mind, but he wasn't sure. After that it was pretty hazy.
What else? He forced his mind to think, to concentrate, to focus. What else? Laughter. Being touched. Touching someone else. More laughter.
There was more, but he couldn't quite bring it into focus. A hallway maybe? Pie charts? No, that didn't make any sense. A swing?
Vin shook his head. He couldn't recall what had happened. He'd been at a club with Paulie, he was certain. But after that.... Paulie? Where was Paulie? Vin sat up, instantly regretting the sudden movement and having to close his eyes in order to bear the pain. But then he slowly looked around the small room. Paulie definitely wasn't one of the occupants.
Vin stood and went to the bars. "Hey!" he called out, hoping there was a cop nearby. "Anyone!"
A few moments later, a man in blues approached. "Feeling better?" he asked, obviously not caring.
"Yeah. Can I go?"
The man shook his head. "You got someone who can come pick you up?"
Vin thought for a moment. He could call Paulie, but he wasn't sure where Paulie might be at the moment. Who else? Someone from work? He didn't like that thought. What the hell would he tell any of them? Josiah would get that pious look, right before lecturing him. Ezra would be appalled at his appearance and wouldn't even let him into his Jag, but he'd still lecture him. Nathan would lecture him, in the guise of worrying over him. Buck, if he were in town, which he thankfully wasn't, would just out-right lecture him. And Chris, well, did he really want Chris seeing him like this?
"Yeah, there's someone," he finally told the cop.
The man picked up the receiver on a pay phone just out of Vin's visual range, just outside the bars. Vin told the man the number and he dialed it before handing Vin the receiver through the bars of the cell.
"It's Vin. Sorry to bother you, but can you come pick me up? ...I don't know. Wait a minute." Vin put his hand over the mouthpiece, and then looked at the cop. "Where am I?"
"East Colfax," the cop supplied, like he was doing Vin some huge favor by telling him.
"East Colfax Police Station ... yeah. Great neighborhood, I know. Watch yourself. Okay. Oh, and can you bring me some sweats, something clean to wear? Thanks. I really appreciate this, JD." Vin handed the receiver back to the cop, who hung it up and then walked away without another word.
He hated that he had to call JD, but of all his friends, the kid was the least likely to get on his case about this. And he was the most likely to keep his mouth shut about it, if Vin asked him to, which he would.
It was close to forty-five minutes later when JD finally arrived. In the lobby of the police station, JD handed Vin a paper bag containing a change of clothes. Vin was very grateful and immediately excused himself to the restroom to change.
He pulled a few paper towels from the holder, and then moved to the sink, but before he could turn on the tap, Vin noticed his reflection in the mirror. He was stunned. His face looked pale and drawn. His eyes red-rimmed and blood-shot. He looked ... hollow and haunted beneath the harsh white glare of the fluorescent lights.
But he shook it off, then wet the paper towels before entering the larger of the two stalls. Inside, he slipped off his shoes, which were still wearable and set them aside, then squirmed out of his soiled pants and underwear. He immediately noticed the bloodstains, bright red against the white of the fabric.
Blood. Oh God.
Vin plied the rough paper-towels between his legs but there wasn't much more blood to be wiped away. The dampness from the towels, however, did create a sticky slickness between his cheeks and down his thighs, which Vin knew was semen. He also knew that there was more than there should have been from a single encounter.
What the hell had happened to him last night?
He really couldn't remember, though he tried as he continued to clean himself up. Finally, he pulled the navy blue sweats from the grocery bag JD had brought, only to find them silk-screened with the letters ATF. "Great."
A few minutes later, Vin rejoined JD in the lobby, only to frown at JD's puzzled stare. Then he realized the kid was probably wondering why he was wearing the sweats inside out. Vin knew better than to bandy about the Bureau in a situation like this, even if JD didn't.
But that wasn't what JD was staring at. "Vin, you look terrible," he finally said once they'd exited the station house.
"Thanks a lot, kid," Vin said, taking the helmet JD handed to him.
"I just mean, what happened?" JD straddled his motorcycle and started the engine, then slipped into his own helmet. "You don't look like you're feelin' too well."
Vin hopped onto the bike behind JD and threaded his arms tight around the kid's waist. "Just don't take the corners too fast or yer gonna need a change of clothes when ya get home," was his reply, but it wasn't even remotely true. When he'd first woken up, he'd taken the stomach cramps for nausea, but now he knew better. He didn't know what was causing them, but he knew he wouldn't be throwing up.
"You know, Vin," JD said as he steered the motorcycle down the center lane on Broadway, in the direction of Vin's apartment, "I've seen you drunk and I've seen you hung-over: you don't look either right now."
Vin closed his eyes for a moment and remembered his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The kid was right. He didn't even feel hung-over. Oh, sure, he felt like shit rolled in battery acid, but that wasn't how he ever felt when he was hung-over.
He thought again about the night before. How long ago had that been? Ten o'clock he remembered Paulie saying to meet up at the club. And it was now, what? Vin didn't know, but he could see the beginnings of dawn just edging over the horizon. God, how early had he woken JD up? Five o'clock, maybe? That would make it six or seven hours since he and Paulie first met up. Six hours since his first drink — how much had he drank? He thought, but could only remember two or three of those sweet concoctions Paulie was so fond of buying him. Three drinks — hell, three shots — weren't enough to get him this pissed out of his mind. Not unless....
That Goddamned-fucking bastard! Vin nearly screamed, but, with JD so close, he had wisely kept his mouth firmly shut. Paulie must have slipped something into the drinks. Fuck!
By the time he reached his apartment, Vin was livid. He could barely contain his anger long enough to thank JD for all that he'd done for him at this God-awful hour of the morning. And to ask him to please not tell the other fellers about it. He owed the kid big, they both knew it, and Vin wouldn't forget, even if JD would allow him to.
Inside his apartment, Vin immediately picked up the phone. He dialed Paulie's number, knowing it unlikely that the man had arrived home yet. But, surprisingly, the phone was answered.
"Paulie! What the hell did ya do?" Vin nearly shouted into the receiver. "Steve—? No, I don't care who's in yer bed! What happened ta me last night?" He had to know. Paulie had to tell him and if he wouldn't, well, Vin would just go over to the man's apartment and make him tell him.
"A good time? How can ya say that? Do ya know where I woke up?" Vin couldn't believe what Paulie was saying. "No, not in some guy's bed. In the police station! In the drunk tank!" How could Paulie not know this? "What do ya mean I looked pretty happy when ya left? Ya left me?"
Vin's head was spinning. "Ya drugged me, didn't ya? Didn't ya?" Paulie wouldn't admit to it; neither would he deny that maybe someone else had. "But ya knew. And then ya left me, ya little piece of shit!"
Had Paulie been standing in the room, Vin would have decked him right then and there.
Vin sunk down to the couch. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't him. Vin Tanner didn't do these things. He didn't go to clubs to get rolled or fucked. He didn't. "What'd I do last night, Paulie?"
Oh, my God. Vin's mind reeled. A room in the back of the club. A party room. "How many?" He didn't want to know, but he couldn't stop himself from asking the question. "Five that ya know of? That ya know of?!"
Now Vin really was nauseous. He looked around for a wastebasket just in case.
"Five by the time ya left?" Oh God. Who knows how long it went on after that, how many more, after Paulie had left the room? No wonder his underwear was bloody and his ass and legs had been coated in jizz.
Oh God.
"What? NO, I don't wanna go out again tonight!" Asshole! "It's not a good time, Paulie, if ya can't fuckin' remember it!"
Vin slammed down the phone. He was done talking. He'd heard too much already, even if he still couldn't remember any of it. Thank God he couldn't remember any of it.
Vin dropped his head into his hands and just sat on the couch for the longest time. He was starting to get shaky and cold, and his stomach, as well as his back and legs were cramping. He wanted to take a shower, but he decided he didn't have the energy to stand under the running water for as long as it would take to wash away the dirt he now felt covered in after talking with Paulie.
As he curled up on the couch, pulling the afghan off the back to tuck around him, Vin knew he'd never again call Paulie. He never wanted to see that bastard again. He'd trusted him and this was what he got. Fuck!
He felt like he wanted to cry, but no tears would come. His body felt sore and empty, used and discarded.
If this is what it was like being gay, then, screw it, Vin thought.
It was better to just be alone.
~ fade ~
April 2001Please do NOT repost this story anywhere outside of the Blackraptor Fiction Website.Characters from "The Magnificent Seven" were used without permission and this story in no way signifies support of, or affiliation with, The Mirisch Group, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment, CBS Worldwide, Inc., or their affiliates. The M7-ATF universe was created by Mog, and extra thanks go to her for allowing other people to play so liberally within it. The story itself and any non-Magnificent Seven characters belong to the author. This story will not be sold for any reason.