Untouchable (LGBT - SciFi - Romance)

Chapter 19

Robin Lang looked down at the body on the floor.

A stranger's face stared blindly back at him. Pulling the scarf away was the first thing he had done after Master collapsed, but as far as he knew, he had never met the man before in his life. Outside the Sahara, that is. He had black hair, olive skin and brown eyes set in an ordinary looking face, hardly in keeping with the role he played. In a weird way, he felt the very ordinariness of his face was an insult; he had expected something far more sinister for someone who had had such a destructive influence on his life. The brown eyes continued to stare at him, unblinking.

A flicker of uneasiness crossed his mind. The eyes weren't blinking. The man was lying completely still, as expected after having been stunned at close quarters, but surely he should have been able to see the rise and fall of his chest, even through the black cloak he wore. Lang took a step back and drew out the second stunner from its strap around his ankle, the one he hadn't fired. It was set to 'kill' as he had thought. He breathed out a sigh of relief and knelt down beside the body, just to double check. Those staring eyes were starting to get to him.

He stayed there, frozen in disbelief. There was no pulse. There was no breath. He checked three times and got the same result. He had chosen the weapon set to 'stun', but he had killed him anyway. How could he have guessed the man had a weak heart? How could anyone possibly believe it was an accident?

Lang was in shock. He couldn't think what to do, all he knew was that he couldn't be found there with the body. A manslaughter charge would be the least of his worries if his personal history with Master was exposed. He would be humiliated in front of his colleagues, a laughing stock to all the criminals he had arrested, his career and reputation in ruins. And Max! Max would be so ashamed of him. He thought he'd rather die.

Unthinkingly, he did what had had done in the past when he was in serious trouble. He called Alan Stewart.

~~~

Stewart couldn't believe it. Robin Lang was calling him urgently on his wristcom. His first thought was to turn it off and ignore him, but then the sheer unexpectedness made him reconsider. He looked apologetically up at Banner.

"It's Robin. I'm sorry, but I think I ought to take this. It must be an emergency for him to contact me after what's happened between us."

Banner nodded reluctantly, already getting to his feet. "Has anything happened to Max?" It was the first thing that occurred to him.

"I don't know." Automatically, Stewart stood up and moved away to take the call in private. Banner tried desperately not to feel hurt and jealous. After all Lang had done to him, Alan still jumped at his bidding.

Alan Stewart listened in grim silence as Robin told him what had happened in a few short sentences.

"I found the man who attacked Max. I shot him with the stunner but something went wrong. He's dead. It was an accident!" he insisted.

"Where are you?"

"The Sahara. One of the back rooms. I can't be found here, Alan! Not like this!"

Stewart drew in his breath, trying not to waste time speculating on the rest of the story ‒ that could come later. The important thing now was to help Robin out of this disaster. His brain raced at top speed.

"Okay. Try this. Leave as unobtrusively as you can. Get rid of the scarf and anything else you're wearing that could be recognised. Then come back in openly as yourself, no mask. Go to the bar and order a drink, sit somewhere visible but not too obvious and tell them you're waiting for someone. I'll be there as soon as I can. We'll find him together." He ended the call on Robin's shaky agreement.

Stewart came out of the bedroom looking grim, to find Banner standing anxiously near the couch, where he had left him. He hoped he would understand. He didn't want to tell him anything until it was over, the last thing he wanted was to drag him into another mess.

Banner looked questioningly at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you later, Michael. I'm sorry to do this to you, but I have to go." He was already straightening his clothes and striding towards the door. "I'll call you when I can."

"I don't trust him, Alan!" the other man couldn't help protesting.

The Lieutenant turned back and gave him a quick, hard kiss. "But you can trust me! I'll call you," he repeated. In another moment he was out of the room, the door closing behind him, leaving Banner alone with his thoughts.

~~~

Alan and Robin Lang had been best friends for years until the disastrous split over Max. What if this crisis, whatever it was, brought them back together? Now that Alan suspected Lang's sexuality, what if Lang decided he wanted him, wanted him to be more than friends? How could he compete against that?

The call from Lang had left him feeling insecure and vulnerable. Banner told himself he should have made sure he had sex with Alan, gone to bed with him tonight when he had the chance to stake his claim more firmly. But he had been having fun ‒ he had enjoyed being the one in control, teasing Alan a little, taking things slowly as Alan had promised.

He gave himself a mental shake. He had to do as Alan had asked and trust him. He poured himself another drink and sat down to wait for his call.