Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Other Authors
Rating:	NC17
Pairing:	Joe/Levon Joe/Other
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Smith's House
Author:	Etch
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

SMITH'S HOUSE
By Etch

Joey sat propped up on two chairs in a control room in one of the buildings behind the house General George Washington Smith had built for him. What looked like a barn was actually a complex set of rooms, some large, and some small. All were off a main corridor. Each had a security sensor handprint pad, which opened and closed doors off the corridor. As each Marine tried his hand at opening a door, they soon discovered that Joey's prints were the only ones programmed in. And they surmised that General Smith's probably were also. Joey figured some of the rooms could be turned into barracks-type sleeping quarters. Two rooms near the front of the barn were linked together. One was what appeared to be a small dressing room, and the other had some real kinky M/S stimuli. Hawk would love to know that his Captain had a playroom just for him.

Joey LaFiamma didn't care what Doc Baker had said. Three weeks in the hospital and already a week at home were driving him nuts-oh. Against his Marines better judgement he had ordered them to take him to Smith's so they could check the place out. They were all amazed at the size of the place.

A second out building that Shadow thought looked like a horse barn held a two- bedroom apartment, the control room and three rooms marked 'Interrogation #1,' 'Interrogation #2,' and 'Interrogation #3.'

It was through R.G.'s inquisitive nature that the control room was found at all. He was running his hands over an odd-looking mosaic in the living room when his hand knocked something to the floor. It was the oddest shaped penis he'd ever seen. When he attempted to put it back, he couldn't make it fit anywhere. Stepping back to look at what the mosaic represented, the Marine was flabbergasted to discover it was two men lying together. R.G. looked at one and then the other, and replaced the one who was missing what he held in his hand. As he did so, the mosaic disappeared into the wall and an elaborate control room with monitors, keyboards, and microphones lay before him.

"You doing okay, Major?" R.G. asked as Joe shifted in his chair. "You really shouldn't be here."

"R.G. we have to see what is in this house before anyone accidentally trips into it. You sure Shadow and Hummer agreed to do this?" Joey asked for the umpteenth time, looking at one of the monitors.

"They glanced through the manual with me... they know...like going on a mission. You don't know what to expect. Just have to use your training."

Pushing a button on a microphone in front of him, LaFiamma asked, "Give me a thumbs up if you two morons really want to continue."

Joey waited, then went on as they gave the signal, "Okay, the door behind you is being closed. Follow the directions on the door in front of you. You will not hear my voice again, unless we spot some potential danger ahead of you. Remember ... we have absolutely no idea what Smith has already programmed into these rooms or this house."

Reggie and Joe watched as the two Marines stripped down to their underwear in a room no bigger than a closet. Carefully they folded their clothes and put them as the instructions on the door stated on a small shelf to their right. As their shoes and socks were deposited on the top of their clothes the shelf began to descend and the door in front of them opened.

Sam and Jake stepped into individual cubicles totally isolated from each other.

"Oh shit," Joey gasped, "it's an interrogation room..." Before LaFiamma could continue a video began playing in each room. It played upon the white wall in front of each Marine, calling them names, swearing at them, telling them they were incompetent ... that they would never see daylight again ... that their comrades had written them off.

"Major, you all right," R.G. asked, leaving his part of the control panel to come to Joe's side.

"Oh, damn. DAMN! DAMN! Those are the exact words they used on me! My god this man has duplicated everything!" Joey screamed as Gerald walked into the apartment.

"Joe, there's no way, they can tattoo..." Reggie began, but Joe cut him short.

"Oh hell...R.G..." Joey said taking his eyes off Shadow who was repeating his name, rank and serial number. "... a lot more went down before they ever got to the tattoo."

"Why don't I take you into the living room or into the bedroom, you should be laying down --- please. Let me call Levon, he's just next door." R.G. pleaded, glancing from Joe to the monitors and back again.

They both saw Hummer fall to his knees sobbing. Joe reached to the mike, but R.G. stopped him. "You didn't order them in. They volunteered. They are experiencing what you did. Hummer is sensitive to that, you know that. We can't stop it, and you know if there were any other Marines in there -- that you wouldn't."

Joe simply nodded and told R.G. to go ahead and call Levon.

When Lundy arrived R.G. explained what was going on. Levon looked at the pain on his partner's face, pain from his injury and the pain of his Marine being attacked the way he was. "Come on, Joe." Levon said reaching out his hand. Taking his other hand Lundy touched Joe's chin and turned it toward him. "They are going to need this training someday...it will probably save their lives...now come on."

It took both Gerald and Levon to ease LaFiamma out of the chair, and still Joe cried out in pain as he straightened up.

"Too sore to do what you want, cowboy," Joe said quietly as they left the control room and emerged into a corner of the living room.

"You don't even know what I want," Levon countered softly, steering the man toward the bedroom.

"It's been awhile since... we..."

"We love each other, Joe. We don't got to do IT every time we are together."

"I know. It's just that I miss the togetherness we had before General Smith arrived. So much has changed. It will never be the same as it was before, never. And I miss that already." Joey replied, leaning against the wall while his partner turned down the bed.

"And I don't appreciate you pushing me to marry Lucia. Not sure that was such a good idea now. Oh, god ... Levon, my whole world is upside down. It's as bad as when I shot Rick...the whole world changed and was never the same again."

"I didn't push you into...." Levon stopped remembering the words he had told his partner as he had watched Joe and Lucia kiss. "All of us want kids, Joe. And she loves you. Wants you in spite of the fact she knows you and I are lovers and will continue to be. Hell, I'd like to have kids, but don't see no prospect for that."

Joey moaned slightly as Levon walked him from the wall to the bed. "Seems to me she said she'd be a surrogate mother for you."

The Italian watched Levon make a face, "Besides, I think it would be cool to have Italian kids and blond haired Texas kids grow together in the same house. Society might frown on it, but what the hell."

Just as Levon was easing his partner onto the bed, R.G. rushed in to say Hummer had found a way out of the room and was in some kind of a tunnel.

"You are not going in there, so just forget it!" Levon growled staring into Joe's face.

"You heard what Mother said," Joey said with a chuckle, "keep me posted. What about Shadow?"

"He hasn't broken. Still standing firm."

"How did Hummer get out?"

"There was a slit of light in a corner of the room, he crawled to it, and when he tried to force it up...it opened."

"Is there a monitor inside? Do we know what's in it? He could be crawling into anything," Joey groaned more worried about his Marine than his pain.

"According to the manual it leads to the house... goes under the bath house and up the wall into one of the bedrooms."

"The prison room...what do you bet it comes out in the prison room. Levon, come on, I've got to get back...."

"You ain't going no place, LaFiamma," Levon said his left hand dropping down to touch his partner's genitals.

Joe swallowed, staring at the Texan, "You're right. I'm not going anywhere."

"R.G., make sure you keep notes on this...how long it takes each one to get to where."

Levon walked R.G. to the bedroom door quietly talking to him as they went, telling him to ask Gerald to help him in the control room. Levon closed the door and locked it. Then walked to the opposite door and locked that.

"You see this invisible key, LaFiamma?" Levon asked, holding nothing out in mid-air, then grasping it tightly as he unbuckled his belt buckle and unbuttoned his jeans. "I'm dropping it here!

Joe laughed at the gesture.

"If you want out of here...you will have to search around through the other stuff that is in there and see if you can find it."

"This is what I miss, Levon...this is exactly what I miss." Joey said with a grin as he sat on the bed.

][][][][][][][][][]

Hummer was half way to nowhere when he heard a noise. He couldn't tell if it was behind him or in front of him. He knew he couldn't go back because the escape hatch had closed behind him as soon as he was out. His knees were hurting and getting scraped but he pressed ahead hoping that maybe Shadow had already arrived to wherever they were going. Suddenly his head hit a wall. Feeling around in the dark he discovered that the only way to go was up. Kind of like spelunking he thought, no ladder, no hand or foot holds, just work yourself up like a spider. He glanced upward but saw nothing; still he began his ascent. His thoughts turned to Joe, and the beauty of the man. The beauty of his naked body as he stripped for a shower this morning. Muscles taunt and firm...body tanned, all over...no swimsuit marks...he was so handsome. The most handsome man Jake had ever seen. Hummer stopped short almost losing his balance altogether. Something was poking him. Something big. He swallowed, putting his head back. "Got to stop thinking about that man," Hummer whispered. "Damn I got a hard-on big as a cow. Don't got room for that too."

Hummer also missed the turn. If it weren't for his cock being so hard, he would have. He had released the hardening object from his shorts, and had started to change positions. He waited for his cock to hit the cold bare metal hoping it would zap it down but it didn't. He reached into the space in front of him and found an opening. Ducking his head he gazed into another part of the tunnel only this part had a light coming into it.

[][][][][][]

R.G.'s eyes were on the prison room monitor when he saw a chair that was up against the wall start to move. A smile crossed his face; relief swept through his body as Hummer emerged, crawling on his hands and knees his hard cock swinging under him like a stallion hot for a mare.

Gerry looked at Reggie, "Shadow is still standing. Still giving his name, rank and serial number. How we going to make him break?"

"Am looking that up right now...here we go...let's see what he does now," R.G. replied pressing coded numbers into a keyboard in front of him.

The two watched as the floor in Shadow's interrogation room let loose with a small ripple throwing the man off his feet. As Sam struggled to get his feet under him, R.G. sent another ripple and another until the man let out a scream. Only then did the ripple effect stop.

Then Smith's voice echoed around Sam, "I'm going to have your ass, boy. By the time I'm done with you I'm going to have your ass ten times over!"

"Where did that come from?" Gerald asked glancing from the monitor to R.G. and back again.

"Got me? That's the trouble. Smith pre-programmed so much of the house. This manual only gives us some of it. And according to this manual there is more than one manual ... we just haven't found it yet."

"Well I found the people who put part of the special effects in ... who worked with the builder anyway. Some California movie company. My wife has been calling them everyday for a week. Just before I came, I called Admiral English about it. He said he'd have the Marines at Long Beach track the people down."

[][][][][][]

"So what do we do if I can't find this invisible key," Joey whispered, his hands reaching up to unzip his partner's jeans.

"Reckon, R.G. will just have to slide food under the door for us," Levon responded smiling, a shiver going through him as Joe's thumbs slipped inside his waist band and began to push his shorts and jeans over his hips.

"Good way to lose weight. Not much will fit under those doors," Joey replied, grinning at the navel in front of his face. Sticking out his tongue, cupping his mouth around Levon's bellybutton, Joey made the biggest raspberry sound he could.

"YYYEE-OWW!" The sound burst forth from Lundy's throat startling both men. Levon was pulled onto the bed and they both began laughing hilariously.

"God, I love you cowboy," Joey said, ignoring the pain in his muscles as he moved to give his partner a kiss.

"I love you too, Chicago," Lundy replied, opening his mouth for the tongue he saw approaching. Knowing Joe's condition, Levon was determined to let Joe lead the way as to how far they were to go.

"Come on, cowboy, help me get undressed...and get yourself naked too. I am so hot for you...want you so much...come on."

"Joe, don't you think...."

"Come on Lee-von. My need for you is greater than any pain I have. And that, Sergeant Lundy is saying a lot."

[][][][][][][]

R.G. reached for the microphone, and shouted to Shadow over the din of Smith's words. "SHADOW! WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING! HUMMER GOT OUT BY SEEING A LIGHT NEAR THE FLOOR...LOOK FOR IT. WHAT'S BEYOND WE DON'T KNOW BUT IT LEADS TO THE HOUSE!"

Gerald and R.G. watched Shadow start to crawl around the floor. It seemed to them that he'd been around once already when he finally stopped and pressed one hand against the wall. The two men gasped. Hummer's opening had been small and tight. Now Shadow's was visible, tubular.

"Damned if it doesn't look like a water slide," Gerry said in stark surprise. R.G. and Gerald exchanged glances. "Wonder if Smith was planning to put some man-eating fish into that pool. If he was...that man would be dead soon as he hit the water."

"You know we're going to have to ask Sam to go into Room Number 3," Gerald said getting up from his chair and walking into the living room. He reached the picture window overlooking the back of the house and the swimming pool just as Sam Jones' head broke through the water. Hurrying to the hall closet, Gerald took out a large beach towel and headed out to meet Sam.

Back in the living room, Sam stood shivering, drying himself off. "Geez, when that floor started moving, I thought I was in another earthquake. And the scariest part...when I started down that slide I couldn't stop. It's tilted in such a way you just keep going. Then as you approach the bottom --- there's....there is this sign that says...'nice knowing you, hope you had a good life, goodbye.' What do you suppose Smith planned to put in that pool? Where's Hummer? He out yet?"

Stepping out of the control room, R.G. looked at his saturated Marine buddy. "Shad? We're going to have to ask you to go into Room Number 3."

"WHAT? I already put in my time."

"Hummer's tunnel lead him into the house. We have to have someone go through the next room and you are the only one. Now come on. I can hold the door for you on Number 2 so you can get your clothes and put them in Number 3." R.G. stated authoritatively.

"Where's the Major? Where's LaFiamma? I want to hear him tell me that." Sam Jones replied defiantly. "Where is he? In the bedroom?"

Gerald stepped between Shadow and the room, saying in a half whisper, "We called Levon over to make Joe lay down and rest."

"I ain't going, unless he tells me too!" Shadow stated firmly.

[][][][][][][]

"We're not getting undressed Joe. Not with what is happening out there. Hummer's in your prison room. If something happens and you're...." Levon stopped in mid-sentence, and watched a cloak of fear close over Joe's face.

"Help me up, partner. If that is like my prison room it is going to be crawling with cockroaches real or projected, and Hummer hates bugs. I mean HATES bugs. We have to get him out of there before nightfall...come on...lover...retrieve that key."

Levon opened the bedroom door just as Sam raised his hand to knock. As if reading the Marine's thoughts, Joey eyes scanned Shadow from head to toe, before saying, "get in some clean underwear ... you're going in room number three."

Sam Jones stared back at his commanding officer. Silence filled the living room for several seconds before Shadow muttered, "I'll wear what I got on."

"Good boy," Joey said patting his Marine on the shoulder. "Gerald will hold the door open while you retrieve your clothes from number two."

"Come on, Levon, prop me back up in that chair. You're going to be my button man," Joey said with a grin.

"Button man?"

"You're going to push the buttons, so he doesn't have to lean forward," R.G. ventured with a smile.

Joey grinned at R.G. who grinned back. LaFiamma shook his head as he sat back down in one of the swivel chairs in front of the control panel. He found it hard to believe sometimes how much he loved each of 'his' Marines and Levon too.

Joe asked Lundy to press button IR3, and as the monitor came up the two detectives saw a coiled shadow against one wall. LaFiamma lunged for the loudspeaker microphone almost slugging his partner in the process.

"GERALD!! GET HIM OUT! GET HIM OUT NOW! GET HIM OUT! GET HIM OUT NOW!!" Joey shouted at the top of his lungs. "R.G. get outside... get them out ... hurry, man, hurry!"

"You okay, Levon?" Joey asked looking at his shaken partner.

"Next time, warn me, okay? Lundy replied, shrugging his shoulder as he moved his head in a circle. "What button does the Button Man push to find out what that thing is?"

Joey pointed to the mouse that controlled the monitor, "Move it slow, remember, slow."

"Why the hell did you pull me out?" Shadow groused walking up behind the two detectives. "I didn't see a thing in the roo......holy shit....what is that?"

"That, Samuel Jones, is one hell'ava big snake. A coiled, ready to strike snake. I would venture to say he is one damn hungry snake too. Probably would have started with your arm or your head while he crushed your ribs. Damn, what else does Smith have in this house? R.G. what's happening with Hummer? Bring his room up."

As the room came up on the monitor, Joey began muttering, "Oh, damn. Oh, damn, no. Oh damn."

Touching his lover lightly on the shoulder, Levon whispered, "Joe, tell us what's going on? What can we do?"

"I don't know! God, Smith was a mad man! A mad man! There is no light in that room. No light bulb...no switch...when it gets dark the wall will start to glow and when it does the bugs will come..."

"Bugs? Crawly bugs?" Shadow gasped knowing the answer without his Major saying a word. "We have to get him out, Sir. We'll lose him for sure. You know how his Dad tortured him... having spiders crawl over him to prove he was a man...we got to get him out!"

"Do we have a loudspeaker for that room?" Joey asked as R.G. pulled open the manual and began searching the index.

"I think so...try it." Renegade replied after pressing three buttons on the keyboard in front of him.

"Hummer! Can you hear me? Do a thumbs up if you can. Okay, you have to find a way out...and it is not the way you came in." Shielding the mike with his hand, Joey whispered to R.G., "there should be a speaker in there for us to talk back in forth...that is a duplicate, except bigger, of my cell in Lebanon."

Levon glanced around the board and asked, "What about this one that says ... speaker?"

The Marines all stared at Lundy. In unison, Gerald and Shadow said, "Feed him to the snake."

Levon pressed it as Joey spoke again to Hummer. Hummer's answer came back loud and clear. "I already tried the way I came...there is nothing but a wall there now. Tried to move the dresser...nothing. Looked under the waterbed...nothing. Got some funny looking things inside the waterbed...Joe...I don't like this place...you got to get me out!?

"We're trying, Hummer, we're trying." Joey replied softly, trying to calm Jake's fears. "I want you to take a slow walk around the room. Look for any mark on the wall or on the door. A slash. An X... anything out of the ordinary."

The minutes dragged on as the foursome in the control room watched Jake Hummerstein walk slowly around the prison room. "The only thing I see, Major, is a green X on the middle of the door."

A half smile crossed Joe's face, and those around him relaxed a little. "Remember when you kicked in the door of that white slaver's trading post? I want you to do the same thing here...only Hummer...you have to do a direct hit on that green X or it won't work."

LaFiamma held his breath as did R.G., Levon, Gerald and Shadow. One unison gasp was let out when the door opened and Hummer stepped into the hall.

"Hummer! Don't touch the walls! Walk down the very middle of the hall. When you come to the stairs...be careful...one step at a time...hang onto the railing. Make your way to the kitchen...repeat do NOT touch the walls...anywhere."

"This should be a piece of cake," Shadow said watching his Marine buddy gingerly walk toward the stairs. "He could just slide down the railing."

LaFiamma half turned in his chair, glancing over his shoulder to Shadow. "You ever been captured, Samuel?"

"No, sir."

"Then keep your damn mouth shut ... or it will be taped shut." LaFiamma growled.

"MAJOR! SOMETHING'S HAPPENING...ITS MOVING!" Hummer screamed as he reached for the railing, grabbing it with both hands.

Joe turned back to the monitors in time to see the stairs turn into a slide ... then ... they parted revealing a huge empty black space.

"Hummer...can you jump over that to the floor?" Joey asked, watching as the Marine did as he was told.

"Okay...my protector...again...don't touch the walls. Walk into the kitchen and look for a long handled spoon, or fork or something that is about the length of your arm. Don't touch any metal. If you have to open drawers do so cautiously by taking the bottom edge and doing it slowly. If you can't see what's in it...close it."

"There's a long spoon in the sink," Hummer said, reaching for it.

"*NOOO*! Don't touch it. Find something else."

"But... it's just what you said."

"Trust me Hummer...find something else and do it quickly."

"How... how about this umbrella? It was on the table."

"Okay, stand there facing the sink for a minute...I have to work something out." Joey said, bringing a hand to his head, he began rubbing his forehead. Immediately Levon and Shadow were on either side.

"If I am standing with my back to the sink...then turn around...what was my right hand is now my left ... is that correct?" LaFiamma watched R.G. act out what he said.

"Shadow, I want you to take a radio, and go to the front porch of the house and wait for Hummer to come through."

"Come through?"

"Just do it...take a radio...tell me when you have him. Put some pants on too." Joey waited until he heard the door slam, and knew Sam was on his way before giving Hummer his instructions.

"Hummer. I want you to squat down on your haunches. Don't kneel. Don't sit. Use the umbrella to open the first bottom cupboard left of the sink. Don't touch anything...just use the umbrella...push it open as far as it will go."

LaFiamma heard a radio crackle behind him and Sam's words that he was on the porch.

"Still ... without touching the sides of the cupboard or your knees to the floor ... lean in and push on the back panel with the umbrella." LaFiamma watched as Hummer obeyed his directions. "What do you see?

"A --- it looks like a white deck...and trees."

"Okay, this is the same as the swimming test you had to pass. Dive through the opening without touching the sides. Push off on your feet, and propel yourself through...Shadow is on the other side. This is your last chance to get out of the house. Do it now! NOW!"

They watched as Jake sprang off his feet and dove with his arms in front of him through the cupboard. They stared as seconds later the cupboard door that Jake had opened with the umbrella slammed shut, and a recording blared..."you think you won this one LaFiamma but you haven't...you haven't. You're alone...alone. Lundy's dead...you lost your badge...you're mine...mine."

"I knew he was sick," Gerald said quietly, "But this borders on lunacy."

Suddenly the radios on the kitchen table all squawked at once. "I GOT HIM. I GOT HIM." Shadow shouted.

Leaning on Levon's arm, Joey pulled himself to his feet. "Lundy I want you to get some of that police tape the crime lab uses to close off areas... two or three rolls. Want to wrap this house so no one will go in."

"Gerald...we need some signs for the front and back door. Something like ... House unsafe...No Admittance. I don't want anyone going into there until we can find the people who put this thing together."

"He's here!" Shadow called as they came in the back door of the apartment.

Joey hurried to where they stood, calling for a blanket for Hummer. As the blanket was draped around Jake's shoulders, LaFiamma embraced him, hugging him close.

"I was so scared, Major. I don't think I've ever been that scared in all my life. It's like the house has its own life..." Hummer muttered his head resting on his Major's shoulder. He didn't want to move. Just wanted this feeling of love that was flowing through him to go on forever.

Moving slightly, Joey lifted Hummer's chin and gave him a light kiss. Jake asked for more, and Joey smiled. Joey pointed to the second bedroom, not the one he and Levon had been in earlier.

"Levon, you want to call Estaban or someone and get that stuff out here. I want that house taped off before it gets dark. Shadow...make some coffee, hot chocolate or cider...R.G. keep looking at those monitors, see what else we can find out about this place. Gerry print out those signs and get them up...and one more thing...no ONE goes to that house alone. Teams of two only...we need to get Hummer clothes too."

Levon watched as Joe turned and walked to the room that Hummer had disappeared into. "I can't get used to this... him walking into a bedroom to have a hot time with one of you."

"Don't worry, Levon," R.G. said, ruffling the blond's hair with his hand. "Hummer's a virgin... all they will do is kiss...unless Jake gets so hard Joe has to jack him off. Come on...hold the door for me while I get Jake's clothes."

Hummer was just stepping into a clean pair of shorts when Joey opened the door and walked in. LaFiamma pulled off his tee shirt as he walked exposing his bruised and scarred chest.

Jake greeted him warmly, turning down the bed covers as Joe took his shirt off.

"Its just to remind you not to hug me too tight," LaFiamma said, answering the distressed look on Jake's face.

They stood next to the bed just looking at each other. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you," LaFiamma finally said tenderly reaching up to push Hummer's sandy hair out of his eyes. "I didn't want to see you hurt...I don't ever want to see you hurt."

Joey reached out and took Jake's hand, and motioned to the bed. Together they sat, eyes not leaving the others. They smiled together. Licked their lips together; then Joe leaned forward and started the kiss. Hummer's legs jerked straight out as Joey pushed him gently backwards. LaFiamma pulled Jake fully onto the bed; his mouth never leaving the mouth it was attached too. Joey hummed as his teeth caught Jake's tongue sucking it into his own mouth. Hummerstein's body jerked erratically on the bed like a man who had touched an electric wire. Joey's hand slowly moved inside Jake's shorts jacking the man off in short sharp bursts as his hand ran over a hardened cock.

Slowly withdrawing his mouth, his hand, Joey looked at the peaceful face of Jake Hummerstein. "Sleep," Joey whispered as he moved off the bed. Quickly picking up his tee shirt LaFiamma left the room. Standing in the living room, Joey heard voices coming from the control room, and a mixture of hot chocolate and cider drifted out of the kitchen. He decided to head to the kitchen first, and found mugs of both hot chocolate and cider. Taking one of the ciders he walked back into the living room to the picture window and watched Levon and Estaban Guiterrez wrap yellow police tape around the outside porch of Smith's house.

It was Estaban who saw Joey first, standing in the window with a light behind him. "Looks like he wants you back," the Hispanic officer said quietly nodding toward the house.

As Lundy looked up, Joey raised his mug to him, a sure invitation if Estaban ever saw one. "You don't take that offer, I will," Estaban replied into the Texan's surprised face.

"You too?" Lundy gulped.

"I could name ten cops who would love to be in your shoes, Lundy. In fact some of us wonder how you two ever got together, you're such opposites. Now get going before I hate myself in the morning and tie you up and take him myself."

Levon waved to LaFiamma, then bid farewell to Esteban. Esteban's words peaked Lundy's imagination. Walking back to the complex, as they now called it, Levon wondered which ten cops had the hots for his partner.

LaFiamma waited for his partner just inside the door, so he could corner the man and steer him directly into the bedroom. Joe had already told Shadow and R.G. what he was going to do, and had bid goodbye to Gerald who was going to make a concentrated effort to find this movie company.

Standing in the bedroom, in various stages of undress, Levon still wasn't sure he should be doing this. But when Joe begged him as he had when he came in the door Levon usually couldn't say no. And it had been a while, Levon had to admit that.

Joey waited until his partner was naked before stepping nose to nose to him. "Flesh against flesh, cowboy." LaFiamma whispered pulling the man to him and initiating the first kiss. Before Levon knew what was happening they were rolling around on the double bed in a tight embrace, legs tangled together, mouths, tongues locked in mortal combat, bodies pumping hard against each other. Lost was the fact that Joe was probably in great pain. All they wanted was each other, and their raw passion for one another was stronger than anything else.

It was R.G. who checked on the two detectives a couple hours later, finding them sound asleep in each other arms, he covered them with a blanket, then went out and told Shadow it looked like they would be spending the night here. Neither one was anxious to venture into the blackness of Smith's world. Shadow pulled the drapes across the picture window, while R.G. moved the sectional sofa into pieces so they each had something to sleep on.

THE END..............