Date: 19 Jun 00 13:26:48
From: rimshot@planetaccess.com
Subject: Tango and Taz 6

Tango and Taz 6:  Eliza, where the devil are my slippers?


	"They've been up there an awful long time."  Taz sat cross-legged
on the floor in front of the entertainment center and watched Tango pace,
then look at the window, and then pace some more.  "I hope he didn't hurt
that Brock kid."

	"Brett won't step on a spider, Taz.  Chill out, okay?"  Tango
chewed on his knuckle as he moved.  "We got a bigger problem, man.  If one
psycho can find us, so can another one."  He threw up his hands in
exasperation.  "I wish we'd never fucking done the web site!  This is
exactly what I expected!"

	"We can always turn it off."  Taz said quietly.  He looked down at
his hands and played with a piece of string in the carpet.

	"By now every fucking site on the web has those pictures, Taz!  We
didn't copyright them or anything, they're public domain.  Anyone can use
them, and we let them have 'em."  Tango threw himself onto his recliner.
"I've done some dumb shit before, but this takes the cake."

	Taz looked up and noticed feet on the top landing of the stairs.
He patted Tango's leg and pointed.  Their eyebrows rose and their jaws
dropped simultaneously.  Brock was the first one to start down the steps,
with Brett right behind him, his hand on Brock's shoulder.  Brock was
dressed in Taz's blue board shorts and a yellow tank top, and his face was
unreadable.

	"Guys, I want you to listen to what Brock has to say.  If you don't
like it, then you can kick his ass out the door, but I want you to hear him
first."  Brett led him to the couch and sat down.  Brock's face was red,
but he met their gazes steadily.  He sat next to Brett and exhaled slowly.

	He didn't know exactly what to say, or where to start.  It was
getting harder and harder to hate these guys, and that had always been his
safe retreat.  He cleared his throat.  "Uh, I don't really know what to
tell you guys.  Brett's right.  I kinda had a crush on you in school, but I
didn't really know you were gay."

	"Neither did we."  Tango said, resting his chin in his hand.

	"Oh.  Well, when I saw the pictures, it sort of, well,......I kind
of lost my mind.  I had to see you, I don't know why."  Brock shivered and
felt an arm go around his shoulders.  He felt reassured as he continued.
"See, I used you guys as an escape, but my life really sucks, and it was
easy to blame you guys.  You're beautiful, you know?  And popular.  I'm a
nobody."

	"I hate to break it to ya, dude, but we ain't that popular.  We
damn sure weren't 'In Crowd' material."  Taz snickered and leaned against
Tango's leg.

	"I admit I imagined a lot of shit."  Brock settled back against
Brett's arm.  It felt very natural to do so.  "But I was a loner, you know?
You guys always had friends.  I wanted to be you."

	"Fine."  Tango smiled, meeting his eyes, then looking at Brett and
noticing the strange expression on his face.  "Tomorrow morning, when my
mom gets home, you be me, okay?"

	Brock blushed and looked at his hands.  "I really am sorry about
that.  I'll pay for it."  He winced as Brett accidentally touched his ribs.

	"What happened to your ribs anyway?"  Brett asked, repositioning
his arm.  "You look like you pissed off a prize fighter."

	Brock fumbled with his hands, ashamed to tell them, but not wanting
to screw up.  He wanted them to like him, and to tell the truth, he wanted
to tell someone his story, just to tell it once.  He was oblivious to the
tear that ran down his cheek.

	"My brother likes to throw me around."  Brock's voice lowered to
near a whisper.  "He drinks a lot, and I'm his favorite toy."  He sniffed
and took Brett's offered hand.  "Uh, my dad used to beat us both before he
left.  When he did, he'd drink too.  My mom is too small to stop either of
them.  She just kind of goes inside her head, you know?"

	"Why do you stay there?"  Brett asked, trying not to cry him self.
It was stupid, but he knew that he was falling into something, maybe love,
and it made him sick to hear about this kind of abuse.

	"Where would I go?"  Brock asked matter of factly.  "I'm gay,
eighteen, unemployed, and not likely to land a millionaire, right?  It's
what I have open."

	Taz shook his head.  "You can get a job, dude.  It's not hard."

	Brock chuckled.  "If you want the truth, I never had a reason to
change things."  Brett squeezed his hand, and Brock looked into his eyes.
"Well, maybe 'til now, anyway."

	"So I'm guessing you're adopting him into the family?"  Tango asked
Brett, knowing full well what the answer was.  Even Taz, who would never be
a genius at relationships, could see that Brett was falling hard.  "I admit
he looks a lot better in those clothes than in those Johnny Cash starter
suits, but Taz might want to wear his own clothes once I've washed them."

	"Hey, I wash my clothes!"  Taz said indignantly and then realized
he'd missed the point.  "Oh."

	"I'm sorry."  Brock went to stand up to change, but was pulled back
down.

	"He was kidding, Brock.  He meant you look better in color, like I
said."  Brett smiled.  "Maybe we can go up to the lake and take you to get
some sun."

	"Really."  Tango laughed.  "You look like a ghost."

	Brock laughed a little.  "I never liked to go out much.  I was
either in school or in my room."

	"I couldn't live like that."  Taz stood up and headed for the
fridge, catching a smoke from Tango as he passed.  His voice traveled to
them from the kitchen.  "I gotta see the sun.  I'd fucking shrivel up."

	They chatted until almost three am.  Tango looked at his watch and
his eyes opened wide.  "Oh, shit.  Guys, we have to be to work in three
hours."  He stood up and started gathering all of the pop cans.  "Looks
like you're staying tonight, Brock.  Hope that doesn't get you in to much
shit."

	"My brother doesn't get home until seven.  I'll leave with you guys
and drive home."  Brock let go of Brett's hand and wiped it on his pants
sheepishly.  He grinned, and then closed his eyes as Brett kissed him.
"Oh, I could get so used to that."  He whispered to Brett.

	"So could I."  Brett smoothed Brock's bangs back.  "A whole lot."

	Taz caught Tango's arm as he passed into the living room and pulled
him into the launder room.  "Are you okay with that?"  He asked and pointed
towards where Brett and Brock were on the couch.  They stopped what they
were doing and watched the other two as they kissed.

	Tango sighed.  "I guess I am.  Brett's a good friend.  Maybe this
is like his big chance to have someone, you know?"

	"Tango, that guy was watching us, you know, through the windows and
jacking off in here!"  Taz whispered loudly, waving his arms.

	Tango caught his hands in mid air and held them.  "Calm down, you
dumb little shit.  I don't want you to embarrass Brett.  Let's just go to
bed, and we'll sort it out in the morning.  It raining so hard I doubt
we're gonna be working."

	They went back into the living room and Tango set some spare
blankets and pillows on the end of the couch.  "Brett, I'll call your dad
at 5:30.  It's raining really hard, and I don't think we're going in
tomorrow."

	"After me and Taz did both of those sod trucks yesterday, I won't
be to sad to have a day off."  Brett stretched his arms way up over his
head and yawned hugely.  "When we get up, I'll buy us all breakfast
someplace."

	"Cool!"  Taz turned at the bottom of the stairs and grinned.

	"Now you've done it."  Tango wandered towards the stairs.  "You
volunteered to feed the bottomless pit."  They all chuckled and said their
goodnights, and Tango pushed Taz up the stairs.  Without even noticing
anymore, they took off their shorts and underwear and climbed into bed.  It
had become so natural that they kissed goodnight without a thought and
settled in.

	After a few minutes of quiet, Taz rolled to face Tango.  "Have you
ever thought about us maybe getting an apartment?" he whispered quietly.

	"Not really."  Tango stroked the side of Taz's face.  "I don't
think it would suck, though."

	Taz smiled in the near darkness.  "Me either, dude."  He kissed
Tango again and rolled back over, pushing his back up against Tango's
torso.

	Brett spread out the blankets on the floor and tossed the pillows
at one end.  Together, he and Brock turned off the lights and checked the
doors.  They stretched out a little ways apart on the floor.  "Do you think
they like me?"  Brock asked, looking into Brett's perfect eyes.

	"I think they will when they get to know you."  Brett yawned.  "You
made a pretty weird entrance, but they'll get over it."

	A huge crash of thunder went off right over the house, causing
Brock to jump.  He stared at the ceiling wide eyed and pulled the blanket
up.  Brett's arm snaked its way over his stomach and gently pulled him
closer.  "I told you I wouldn't let anything hurt you."  Brett whispered in
his ear.  Relief trickled through Brock's mind, and he wrapped his arms
around Brett's massive arm.  It was warm and comfortable to be so close, a
feeling that Brock couldn't remember having before.  With amazing speed, he
fell asleep and dreamed about being rescued by a blond god.

	A few hours later, Tango hung up the phone and yawned.  Joey had
called off the crews for the rain, which still fell hard, and Tango reset
the alarm for 8:00 so he could get everyone up and moving before his mother
got home, and cook her breakfast.  It was chilly in the house as he climbed
back into bed and pulled a blanket over he and Taz.  He was asleep before
he hit the pillow.

	Brock woke up to Brett's eyes looking down at him.  It would be
perfect, he thought, to have this view everyday.  Please please please
please!  He put his hand on Brett's warm bare chest and sighed.  Brett's
hand went under his shirt and up his chest, lightly caressing his skin.
Brock closed his eyes, wishing this could go on forever.

	"Spend the day with me."  Brett whispered.

	"I'd really like that, but I have to go."  Brock forced himself to
move away and sit up, regretting that Brett had to move his hand away.  "My
brother is probably home.  He'll have a fit that I've been out all night."

	"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble."  Brett sat up with a look of
concern on his face.

	Brock laughed quietly.  "Until last night, my life was complete
shit."  He leaned in and kissed Brett on the lips.  "I'd face Dorn any day
to have that happen again."

	"I washed your clothes.  They're on the dryer in the laundry room."
Brett stood up and pulled Brock to his feet.  "In the pocket is a paper
with my cell number on it.  Will you call me when I can see you?"

	Brock smiled and nodded, wrapping his arms around Brett.  It felt
so good to rest his head on someone's chest.  He could hear Brett's
heartbeat.  With a sigh, he moved away and walked into the laundry room and
changed clothes.  It felt so wrong to put on those black pants and shirt.
He wasn't in mourning anymore, and they looked out of place.  He put Taz's
clothes in one of the baskets and looked at them, longing to put them back
on.

	Brett walked him to his car and leaned in the window to kiss him
goodbye.  "I love you."  Brett mouthed silently.  Brock felt a lump in his
throat and mouthed it back.  The hardest thing he had ever done was to
start that car and pull away.

	Tango, Taz, and Brett sat at a booth in Denny's eating breakfast an
hour later.  Tango spoke to a glass store on Brett's phone, and Taz looked
through an apartment magazine.  Brett ate, but really wasn't paying
attention to what was going on.  His mind was on other things.

	"This one's cool.  It's the whole top floor of a building down
town.  The bathroom is finished, and so is the kitchen, but those are the
only walls."  Taz showed the picture to Tango.  "It says you can build the
walls to suit.  We could do that."

	"You mean frame them in and finish them?"  Brett asked, barely
catching what was being said.

	"Yeah.  The place is fucking huge.  We could do like eight giant
rooms if we wanted to.  They only want seven hundred a month, and that
includes utilities except for the phone."  Taz set the book down and
tackled his Grand Slam Breakfast.

	"You going in with us, big guy?"  Tango asked and handed the phone
to Brett.  "If we like that place, we could design it however we want.  I
know your dad would loan us tools, and you're damned talented with a
hammer.  I saw the family room you and your dad did."

	Brett thought about it and nodded his head.  "Yeah, I'd like that.
We practically live together anyway."

	Taz laughed out loud.  "Just think, your mom would finally get some
sleep during the day."  He elbowed Tango in the ribs.

	They paid their bill and piled into the 4runner, dodging through
the rain to get to it.  Brett called the number for the apartment, and a
thin, short, funny looking little man met them at the building to show it
to them.  He shook all of their hands vigorously, causing Taz to get a
serious case of the giggles.  Listing to a running line on how wonderful
and scenic the old place was, the three of them followed the little man up
two flights of stairs to a huge metal door.

	"You don't get security like this."  The man tittered in a strange
laugh and pounded on the door.  It was obviously quite solid.  Brett looked
at Tango and Taz and smirked, causing Taz to start snorting into his hand
again.  Tango rolled his eyes and elbowed Taz hard.

	The building, one of the oldest in town, hard ornate window
moldings and hard wood floors, and had been everything from a tavern to a
dance hall to a dance studio.  As they entered, they looked up into an open
ceiling where you could see air ducts, lights, and electrical lines.

	Towards the back of the building, where they had parked, the
kitchen sat in the right corner, very modern, with white cabinets and
appliances.  It had obviously just been built.  In the left corner, there
were pipefittings for a bathroom that hadn't been built yet, and windows
ran the entire length of the back wall.

	The finished bathroom was halfway along the inside wall, and had no
windows.  It sat like a box out into the room.  Towards the front of the
building, the windows were taller.  The floor was in good shape but dusty.

	While Tango talked numbers, Taz and Brett poked around and drew
lines on the floor in the dust, imagining walls.  They pictured four large
bedrooms, one for the computer room, and a not so huge living room.  Brett
walked around pacing off the measurements, figuring board feet.

	Taz stopped what he was doing and looked up at Brett.  Together,
they looked over at Tango, and noticed he was alone, leaning on the wall
with his hands on his pockets.  They walked over to him.

	"Where'd the little guy go?"  Taz asked.  "Don't we get the place?"

	"You're not in a position to call anyone little, Taz."  Tango
smiled hugely.  "We had an ace in the hole the whole time and didn't know
it."  He looked at Brett and cocked his head to the side.  "Your dad owns
the fucking building, Brett.  That guy almost shit his pants when I told
him who you were.  We don't even have to sign lease papers."  He pulled a
key out of his pocket and flipped it to Taz.  "We could buy it if we wanted
to."

	"No shit?"  Brett laughed.  "I knew dad invested all his retirement
when he left the plant and started the landscaping company, but I never
asked him what he did with it."

	"So it's ours?"  Taz was so excited he couldn't hold still.  Tango
always teased him about looking like a nervous happy little dog when he got
excited, but he didn't care.  "We really got it?"

	Tango nodded, and then almost fell as Taz wrapped his arms around
him.  "Dude, I can't breath."  He pushed Taz back.  "Besides, it was Brett
that did the deal, Taz."

	Taz jumped up and grabbed Brett's neck and wrapped his legs around
his waist.  "You are the fucking bomb, you know that?"

	Brett staggered under Taz's weight.  "Jesus, Christ, I think a hand
shake would work, man."  They fell on the floor.  "Before you get to
excited, we have a shit load of work to do, and I need to call my dad."

	"Here's your phone."  Tango picked it up off the floor where it had
fallen and handed it to him.  Brett smirked and pushed Taz off his lap.

	They met with Joey, who was only to pleased to let them have the
apartment, and made arrangements for them to pay three hundred a month, one
hundred each, and gave Brett the company credit card to buy materials.
Brett didn't know it, but Joey planned to transfer title to the building to
his son for his twenty-first birthday anyway, and routed the rent money
into Brett's college fund.

	"You little shits do a good job on them walls."  Joey pushed up the
brim of his cap.  "No cuttin' corners, and you go get Linus Barkley to do
the 'lectrical, you hear me?"

	"I got it, Pop, I got it."  Brett hugged his dad and slapped his
back.  "Thanks, Dad."

	"You thank me when you get the place cleaned up."  He mussed
Brett's hair and hugged him back.  "There's a lot more work there than it
looks like, boys.  I think you bit of a chunk of shit, but if that's what
you want, go get it."

	They spent two and a half hours in the lumber store, ordering wood,
wallboard, wiring, and fixtures.  They sketched the layout of the walls and
got help with paint and pre hung doors.  "Sorry, boys."  The man at the
counter leaned back on his stool.  "We can use the lift truck to deliver it
to the second floor, but you'll have to wait until the rain breaks,
probably late tomorrow afternoon."

	"That's okay, we have a lot of cleaning to do first."  Brett shook
the man's hand and took a copy of the receipt for his dad.  "I think the
yard truck is at my place isn't it?"  Tango and Taz nodded and followed
Brett towards the doors.  "My bike is at your house.  Let's go get it and
I'll take it home and grab the truck."

	"Will you take me to my house for some clothes, dude?"  Taz asked,
climbing into the back door of the 4runner.  "All I have at Tango's is good
stuff.  I need some work clothes."

	They stopped at McDonald's on the way and grabbed grub, as Taz put
it, and then ate in Tango's kitchen.  There was a note from his mother on
the counter explaining that the window man had come and put in the new
glass, and that there was a letter for him on his computer.  He ran up and
got it and opened it on the way back down the stairs.  He stopped dead in
his tracks in the middle of the kitchen.  His jaw dropped.

	"What is it, Tang?"  Brett asked around a mouthful of Big Mac.  Taz
looked up and saw the look on his face and raised his eyebrows.

	"Uh, Taz?"  Tango swallowed hard and blinked rapidly.  "I'm holding
a check for over thirty two hundred dollars."  He wobbled unsteadily and
leaned heavily on the counter.  "It's from the AVS Company, in my name."

	"YEAH!"  Taz jumped up and threw his arms up, jumping in circles.
"I told you so!  I told you so!  I so fucking told you so!"  He wrapped his
arms around Tango's neck and nearly pulled him down onto the floor.

	"We can pay the rent for the whole year in advance!"  Tango
laughed.  "I'm such a money whore!"

	"We can make more, too!  We have those pictures from last night
that Brett hasn't posted yet!"  Taz pounded up the stairs followed by the
others.  Brett worked for almost an hour formatting the pages, then stopped
short.  There were several pictures of him and Brock.  Apparently they had
forgotten to turn off the camera until Tango turned off the computer.  He
found a picture of them on the floor in each other's arms, and impulsively
formatted it into a page, created a link that said 'Brock, go here', and
set it up on the web page.  On the page with the picture on it, he put the
caption 'To B, Love B'.

	"Dude, Brock left this here when you showed it to us."  Tango
handed Brock's wallet to Brett.  "You guys can drop it off on the way to
Taz's house."

	With Taz in tow, they went down to his bike and pulled off the
tarp.  He tossed the helmet to Taz and kicked the kickstand up.  He climbed
on and held it steady as Taz got situated.  "Hold on."  He felt Taz's hands
around his waist and he started the bike and pulled out.

	It was really hot and humid, but the rain had stopped.  Brett was
careful to avoid the puddles as they wound through the streets.  Brock's
house was easy to spot.  Taz raised the visor on the helmet and leaned up
to Brett's ear.  "It looks like a dump."

	"I don't think Brock gets much of a vote."  Brett slowed down and
pulled into the first six feet of the driveway, the only part of it that
wasn't cluttered with boxes, broken furniture, and two inoperable vehicles.
Brock's battered Subaru was parked across the street.  An old pick up truck
was parked where the front lawn used to be, now nothing but weeds.  The
house had a tired look to it.  Once green shutters hung askew by the
windows, and the screen door was off its hinges sitting next to the front
door on the porch.

	Taz stayed with the bike, sitting on the seat and looking around in
disgust, while Brett carefully picked his steps to the front door.  When he
got there, he wiped his hands on his pant legs, nervously hoping he wasn't
going to upset Brock by showing up.  He knocked on the door and was
relieved when it didn't fall down.

	A loud crash from inside the house made him jump.  The door opened
just a crack, and an obviously over weight jowly face glared at him through
the opening.  "What the fuck do you want?"  Dorn Hendricks growled,
narrowing his eyes at the stranger.

	"Uh, hi.  I'm Brett Donovan, a friend of Brock's.  He left this at
a friend of our's house last night."  Brett held up the wallet.  "Is he
in?"

	"I'll give it to him."  Dorn grumbled, opening the door just a
little bit more to take the wallet.  Brett held it up, but then heard a
sound, like a strained voice.  Dorn's eyes opened wide, and he kicked at
something Brett couldn't see.  A sound like a sack of lawn seed rolling
over thumped against the door, and Brett looked up quickly to meet Dorn's
eyes.  They were cold and hollow, and Dorn's cheek twitched.  The door
slammed shut.

	"Brock!"  Brett bellowed and rammed his shoulder into the door.
The impacted splintered the wood, and he backed up to do it again.  His
heart thudded in his chest.  "Brock!" he shouted again, and hit the door
like a steam engine.  The door jam shattered and gave away, and Brett
landed on his knees just inside.

	Dorn snarled and let fly with a vicious kick, nailing Brett in the
ribs with his steel toed work boots.  Brett crashed against the wall and
landed near Brock's out stretched hand.  He had only a second to meet
Brock's glassy eyes before he had to throw himself to the side, missing
another kick.

	Dorn picked up a scarred baseball bat and threw a recliner chair
out of the way to come after Brett.  He lifted the bat and brought it down,
destroying a folding TV tray and missing Brett's head by a half an inch.
Brett crab crawled towards the kitchen; feeling pieces of broken furniture
and shattered glass rain down on his back.

	Taz's eyes went wide as he watched the happenings on the porch.  He
couldn't see who answered the door, but he heard the door slam, and he saw
Brett batter it open.  "Holy shit!"  He jumped off the bike and ran for the
house, seeing someone throw a kick at Brett.  "Oh, shit!"  He jumped onto
the porch and ran into the doorway, just in time to see a one huge fucking
guy swinging a ball bat at Brett's head.  He jumped forward to grab for the
bat, but crashed to his knees, tripping over Brock's arm.

	Brett stood up and felt anger wash up through his body.  The bat
came at him again, and he grabbed it with both hands and yanked it out of
Dorn's hands.  Dorn's eyes opened in surprise, and the bat impacted with
the side of his head as Brett swung it.  It was a glancing blow, not very
damaging.

	Dorn roared like an animal and charged Brett, carrying him into the
wall.  Brett saw stars as he tried to take a breath, and then nearly
blacked out as the bat hit him in the head.  Dorn turned back towards Taz
and Brock and trudged through the mess.  His eyes burned as he towered over
them, and he brought his foot back.  Taz used his body to cover Brock,
waiting for the kick.  After a second, he stole a glance at Dorn, who
hadn't moved.

	A look of confusion came over Dorn's face, and a little blood
trickled out of the corner of his mouth.  He blinked a couple of times,
then his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell forward, shaking the entire
house when he hit.  An aluminum leg off one of the TV trays stuck out of
his back.  Brett stood in the middle of the floor panting, blood coming out
of his nose and mouth.

	Taz sat up slowly, the situation dawning on him.  "Oh, Brett."  He
whispered.  The giant of a man that he respected and admired looked like a
truck had hit him.  Brett had come up behind Dorn and rammed the leg into
his back, stopping the dinosaur that threatened them all.  With out
realizing it, Taz had tears in his eyes.

	Brett staggered over to them and fell to his knees.  They could
hear sirens coming, and he took Brock's hand in his.  "Please stay with
me."  He wheezed.  "Don't leave me Brock."  Brock's eyes focused a little,
and the corner of his mouth moved up just a bit.  'Love you' he mouthed
silently, then closed his eyes.  Brett sobbed, and screamed an animal yell
of agony.

	Policemen ran in with their weapons drawn, and Taz was taken
outside.  They found Dorn dead, and searched for anyone else in the house.
Paramedics showed up and immediately went to work on Brock, pushing Brett
out of the way.

	A tall thin officer in street clothes came over to Brett and
squatted down.  In a fog, Brett explained what happened, watching as they
put Brock on a stretcher and took him out the door.  The officer asked more
questions, and Brett tried to think, but he couldn't.

	The detective stood up and motioned to two of the officers.  "Cuff
him."  He said.  They pulled Brett to his feet and put his hands behind his
back.  "Brett Donovan, you're under arrest for the murder of Dorn
Hendricks.  You have the right to remain silent.................".


Rimshot@planetaccess.com

Dan