Fearless Leader (Juxtapose City) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the familiar rant. Aines was painfully unoriginal. If Calyx had actually had a place worth escaping to it would have been worth it to teach the idiotic officer how inept he truly was. As it was, Calyx had nowhere to go so he was stuck enduring this bore's ravings. Calyx sighed. At least he had encountered one person in the police department who looked to provide some entertainment. Assuming Calyx ever saw him again.
    It looked as though he might. Calyx heard his voice coming down the stairs. Anticipation urged him to push away from the crumbling brick building but he stayed where he was in his casual slouch. His long legs were crossed at the ankles, pushing his hips forward, and his shirt rode up just slightly, baring the pale skin of his stomach. He knew the image he presented. It was deliberate.
    "-- just saying I told you he would be an ass, Black. You're gonna have to keep a close eye on him so he doesn't go ballistic."
    Black. What a hilariously appropriate name for his new source of interest.
    The two men, who unlike the rest who had gathered in the dingy apartment upstairs were dressed in civilian clothes, stepped into the light overhanging the front door of the walkup. The taller man was beefy with muscle. He had light brown hair cut short on the sides and light-colored eyes that Calyx hadn't really noticed enough to determine their color. A good-looking man, though not one to look at twice.
    Unlike his companion.
    "Hello, Darkness," Calyx said again when the two men's heads swung his way.
    His interest frowned. "The name is Black. You will address me by that or 'sir' if we are on a mission."
    "Ah, yes. Mission. Captain Dick mentioned something about that." Calyx took a drag on the cigarette, knowing the brief flare of light would highlight his cheekbones in the dark. "Seems I'm being passed to you like a bad cold. What is it I'm being required to call you 'sir' for?" He smiled slyly. "Though if that's what gets you off I'll do it anytime you like. Sir. "
    The man called Black didn't react, simply turned to his large friend and said, "Give us a moment. I'll meet you at the bike."
    Calyx grinned at the glare of warning sent his way by the bigger man. Overprotective teammate? Or lover?
    "C'mon, Aines. Let's get some fresh air."
    Calyx's watchdog was all too eager to scamper away. Left alone, the empath allowed his eyes to drink their fill of the other man. Dark, yes. This man had registered on his brain like a shadow in a white room. The second he had stepped into the apartment Calyx's senses had been overwhelmed with darkness -- grief, guilt, anger. A heady cocktail made all the more intriguing by the iron will that tried to dampen it all.
    "You've lost someone, haven't you?" Calyx asked, blowing a ring of smoke.
    No flinch from those gorgeous brown eyes. Chocolate sin, Calyx thought with an inward sigh.
    "Two of my teammates," Black replied, shoving his hands into his leather jacket. He didn't look defensive, merely stood there. "They were part of JC2. My team. Ever hear of it?"
    Calyx couldn't help his laughter. Of course he'd heard of it. He lived on the streets didn't he? Or least he had. JC2 was like the bogeyman. Get sloppy, screw up a deal and JC2 might get you. Kill the wrong person, don't watch your back and JC2 will be there. Calyx was well aware that the so-called 'special team' was backed by private citizens and did not answer to Juxtapose City's police department despite its outward claims to the contrary. JC2 was a rogue outfit as quiet and deadly as a knife in the dark. How appropriate that its leader was the very embodiment of shadow.
    Ash tumbled from the end of Calyx's cigarette as he studied the dark-haired man. Was it normal for a man in Black's position to be as young as he appeared to be? Calyx had only been 'working' with the JCPD for a few months but he knew this had to be an oddity.
    "I'm being asked to join you ?" 'Asked' was a loose term. Calyx knew he either joined JC2 or Captain Dickerson