The trip back from Washington was anything but pleasant; Kevin was beside himself with worry. Jack had not returned any of his messages, and he'd left quite a few in the past two days. The only way to find out anything was to get on the train and go home.

Austin had a feeling all was not well in Chicago. Several times he had been tempted to call Alan and ask what was going on, but Kevin was always there. It was as if the boy was coming unglued.

They'd had loads of fun, spent lots of money and seen just about everything they could in Washington. But those good feelings were gone, replaced by a certain dread of what they would discover when they got home.

All night long Kevin had paced about their tiny sleeper, moving from one bed to the other, throwing himself against the window and looking out at the darkness sliding by. And in several bouts of panic he had slammed himself against Austin, beating the boy with his fists.

This was a side of Kevin he didn't understand, but he couldn't distance himself from the boy. This week away from the business had brought him some understanding about their relationship.

In the beginning he had seen Kevin as his savior. The love that developed early on had been born of gratitude for giving him freedom. And once he became involved the fire was fed by the physical needs of them both. But now ... now it was as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on their passions.

Kevin's only thoughts were of Jack; Austin felt he should have known that would happen all along. The boy was overwhelmed with grief that something might have happened to Jack. There was nothing for it; Austin knew his boyfriend was lost to another.

But over the months Austin had harbored feelings that Kevin knew all about the dirty little secrets of Golden Hand. He was in the middle of it all, he had to know. But how could he ignore these terrible things? Boys had disappeared, been taken off the list ... and Kevin knew their fate, he was sure of it.

Of course he had blamed Bucky, telling Austin that the man was crazy and that he should have been finished long before. But Austin had come to know Bucky; the man never did anything without orders from somewhere. Jack gave orders, but Kevin was in charge of the operations.

And John, there was something creepy about that man. Austin had hesitated to leave the boys alone with him, it just didn't feel right. And just as Kevin grieved about not being able to contact Jack, Austin felt sick to his stomach with worry about the boys.

The sun rose almost two hours before they were due to arrive at Union Station. Kevin looked a mess from the lack of sleep and Austin felt like there was sand in his eyes. He just couldn't sleep with Kevin in this state of mind, he could only hope Frank was there waiting to pick them up.

The conductor knocked on their door to give them notice, Chicago was the next stop in about twenty minutes. Kevin laughed nervously.

"Oh great, I must look a mess," he said. "What will Jack think?"

"Why don't you wash up and change?" Austin suggested.

"Yeah ... I need a clean shirt," Kevin agreed.

But Austin knew the boy was thinking about his appearance only for Jack's sake. He sat back on his seat while Kevin used the small bathroom facility. He suddenly felt sad, it was the moment he recognized that the love between them was gone.

Maybe it had been a sham from the beginning. The craziness of life within the Golden Hand had swept them both away. Only now, as the reality of his situation dawned upon him did Austin feel anything like fear. What if Kevin knew they were finished, would he be made to disappear as well?

Austin felt the cell phone in his pocket and thought of Alan. The man had been nothing but honest from the beginning. He had known this moment would come and that's why he had offered protection.

At some point after they arrived he would get away from Kevin and make that call. Alan had been there all along but he had been too blind to understand his need. Now he could only hope the promise would be kept.

The train rolled slowly into the station and they gathered up their bags and squeezed down the narrow corridor towards the exit stairs.

"Watch your step, please," the conductor warned each person as they stepped down onto the platform.

Kevin immediately began looking around for Frank as Austin wrestled his bag down the steps.

"Here, let me help you, young man," a voice said. Austin looked up and saw a portly man smiling up at him. The guy took his bag and set it down on the platform as Austin negotiated the steps.

A tall slender man stood a few feet away looking directly at Kevin. The big man saw Austin watching, and then they moved.

The tall man pushed Kevin up against the side of the rail car, holding him with an arm locked behind his back. The big man shoved Austin in the other direction and another pair of hands grabbed his arm. Austin turned and looked right into Alan's face.

"Good to see you, Austin," Alan said.

By that point Kevin had been handcuffed and several uniformed officers had appeared to escort him away.

"Alan ... but ... how ... how did you know?" Austin stammered.

Alan smiled. "We know everything. Got a few years? I'll tell you all about it."

Austin threw his arms around Alan's neck and sobbed with relief. His savior had come ... the promise had been kept.

Eight boys sat in the living room of the house, amazed as the evening news showed the SWAT team invading the house where they used to live. The news was old now but the media just couldn't seem to let the story go. One by one the photos of Jack, Shelby and Desmond flashed up on the screen.

There were ooh's and ahh's as the faces of some prominent men were shown being led away from the courtroom in handcuffs. Once upon a time they had known these guys as clients. And then there were cheers as Detective Alan Malloy was interviewed regarding the downfall of Golden Hand.

He made a statement saying that a dangerous ring of predatory men had been arrested here in Chicago, and that there were arrests being made in other cities across the country. None of the boys had known of the wide reach Golden Hand had enjoyed for many years.

The group had been hustled into state custody almost overnight. The Cook County officials had been only too glad to hand them over, they were embarassed enough by members of the local government being swept up in the investigation.

Now the boys were kept together at an undisclosed location away from the media. A state trooper was on watch across the street, two male social workers rotated shifts to provide for the boys. Everyone was cautious, for they now had a retired federal judge as their lawyer, the lawsuits would go on for years, long enough for the boys to reach legal age.

Kevin was locked up as well, only his was a padded cell after the mental breakdown he suffered. Legally he was not allowed to see Jack, they weren't related except by crime. He had broken down under questioning, especially after learning Austin was on the other side now. His lawyer had him committed for an indefinite amount of time, there was no hurry, the police had all the information they needed.

The reporter finally asked Alan if he had any final words for their viewers. Alan looked right in the camera and said he had a word of advice for parents.

"Love your kids, but be aware of their activities. Don't think that this couldn't happen in your town, it will if you let your guard down for one minute. Trust your kids, but make them aware that not everyone they meet online can be trusted."

Alan smiled and brought a finger up beside his nose. "I love all my kids; they're the best bunch of boys you'd ever want to meet."

And in the privacy of that living room eight boys jumped to their feet and cheered as one.

"Did you see that, he touched his nose just like he said he would ... that was for us," David said, grinning ear to ear.

"Hey look," Kyle said.

The television camera had panned back as Alan strode up the steps of the courthouse building, and there at the top stood Austin ... waiting.

"So Austin is living with Alan now?" David asked.

"Yeah ... that judge arranged it. Austin is gonna be eighteen in a few months, lucky man," Kyle said.

"I'm glad Austin finally got what he wanted," Brandon said. He felt sad for only a moment, but then he smiled. "Anyone want to play games on the PS2?"

A tangle of boys ran for the controllers, they were normal kids ... for now.


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"On the Wire" Copyright © 16 November 2008 by Chris James. All rights reserved.
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