If you do enjoy Bear & Cub, please read some of my other works on Nifty & AO3 (TuxEdwards): Counting, Counting Down (the sequel to Counting), Not Capable of Love, Fire (Boys of Grizzly Valley on AO3), Go Bag (Boys of Grizzly Valley on AO3), and Jaded (on AO3). Please take a few minutes to drop me an email to let me know if Bear & Cub is for you: Foxfire3730@proton.me

 

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"The Universe is Made of Stories, Not of Atoms" -Muriel Rukeyser

 

Ferris Wheel

Clyde Burns

Smith's voice can be heard on the other end of the cell connection, asking, "Hello, Burns?"

"Yeah, it's Burns. Hey, Gus recognized Toby right away. Why don't you bring in that rich shit and let him sweat it out in lockup until I get there? I will admit that Toby is definitely the lesser of two evils. Let's see if we can use him to get answers."

"We entered the photographs of the individuals who attacked the hospital into the Interpol Crime Database, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we discover a match. Are you on your way in?"

"I've got another lead I'm going to check out..."

"Did the boys tell you something about the Armenians? You want some backup?"

"I have no idea where it may possibly lead, but I'll give you a ring on my way back to SCU to let you know."

I put the cell in my pants pocket and collect our empty Beach Burger containers so that I may take them to the garbage can. Ryder is still not comfortable getting more than his toes wet in the ocean, and even when he does, he runs away giggling as the tide comes in. Gus is out there standing in the water up to his knees, pleading with Ryder to join him. 

Ryder has only ever seen the ocean for the first time thanks to the fact that he lives with me, and he is quite terrified of it. I was correct in my assumption that it would take some time for him to become accustomed to it. Perhaps after a few more trips he'll enjoy it more. It appears as though he is still hesitant, but we can only hope that Gus will make the adjustment simpler. Knowing all that, I think it's funny that this wacky kid just adores coming all the way down here to the beach to spend time playing in the sand and surf.

I head out so I'm close to where they're splashing around and take a seat on the sand. Ryder is sent running and bursting out in fits of laughter as Gus kicks a great deal of water at him that soaks him to the bone.

When Ryder begins to feel the effects of the water, he immediately comes to seek me out. He always does this, and every time he does, I make it sound as if I have no idea what he has planned. However, I do know what is going to happen next. He comes up to me while dripping wet and stands there giggling innocently in my direction.

"What?" I ask, attempting to appear as clueless as possible.

Without giving me any advance warning, he rushes on top of me and transfers all of that saltwater to my clothing. He screams out, "Hey, uncwe, you're aww wet!" as he scrambles back up onto his feet and heads back towards the water. I made up my mind to stick with him this time. It is not until we are very close to the water's edge that he sees my shadow, and until that point, he has no idea that I am keeping pace with him. He starts laughing uncontrollably and begins that cute little dance that I've grown to adore. It's almost as if the thrill bursts out of his body like a volcano, causing him to laugh and swat at me. He is very adorable.

I grab him up under his arms and head towards Gus, who has been giggling during our little performance. As I make my way to Gus, he starts to splash me and Ryder with water while I laugh and move Ryder's legs back and forth in the water.

It appears that Ryder is somewhat anxious about being submerged up to his chest in the water, as he clings to my side while we watch Gus diving and somewhat swimming around us. "See, you're okay. Isn't this nice, Ryder? You're doing great, kiddo. We'll have you surfing really soon."

After some time, Gus focuses his attention on Bear in an effort to coax the dog into running into the chest deep water. The dog is not very enthusiastic to comply with his master's pleading, and he would much rather just sit on the beach and howl than do as he is asked. After overhearing Ryder and my chat, Gus returns to us all excited and asks, "Burns, can you teach me to surf?" 

"Sure, but you have to be a hell of a swimmer. Let me see you swim around," I respond. He immediately jumps into the water next to me and swims around me. I'm using the term `swim' loosely. "How about we start with swimming lessons first and then we'll do surfing, okay?"

Ryder is so excited that he is virtually shouting as he hops up and down: "Can we! Wiww you teach us to swim and surf?"

"Sure, why not? I'll sign you both up for lessons." I agree with them, and then my cell alarm goes off. "Sorry boys, fun's over for now. I've got to go catch bad guys." 

Ryder whines, like he always does when I have to leave, and Gus says, "Cool, let's go."

"Cub, I told you already; you two are staying here," I tell him with a little authority in my voice. 

He gives me a look that says, `Fine!' He heads towards the beach, kicking as much water as he can. "Well, at least take Bear. You know, so he can watch your back." 

My heart is touched by the boy's show of affection. "That's so sweet, Cub, but you don't have to worry for my safety. I'll be okay."

His embarrassment is hard to see on his sun-tanned body, but his body language gives it away when he responds quickly, "It's not that! It's just... Bear likes all that cop shit, that's all."

I chuckle at his explanation as I wrap him up in a towel. As I dry his hair rough enough to make him laugh, I say, "Well, that's so nice of you to think of Bear like that, but do me a tiny favor. Stop cussing in public, please."

He gives it a little thought and says with a shrug, "I'll try, but that's just how we talk on the streets."

I swat his little muscular bottom and switched the towel to the shivering Ryder. I wrap the towel around him and pick him up, then we all head to the Jeep. 

By the time we get back to the hotel, Jen's mother, Janet, is there waiting for us. Ryder hops out of the Jeep's backseat and hurries into her arms. "Ryder, you're still wet!" I try to both scold him and warn Janet. 

"Oh, he's fine. Hey little bug, did you have fun today?" She says it with lightness in her voice. 

Ryder begins to talk a mile a minute, trying to squeeze in every timely moment we shared on the beach before I rein him back. Once I get a turn to talk, I introduce Gus: "This strapping young man is nine-year-old Gus." He shyly says hi, and she promises him they will have fun together. "Alright guys, take the keys and head upstairs and change and put on dry clothes."

They head upstairs, and Janet and I stay by the Jeep. "Well, they look a handful. What are you doing, collecting them?" Janet asks with a chuckle. 

"You have no idea. Hey, do me a favor. Watch Gus closely. I'm not saying he'll be trouble; I'm just saying he might need a hand getting used to having a home."

 "Are you taking the dog?" She asks as she pets Bear's head. 

I look down at Bear, and he returns my look. "Looks like you're with me today, Bear," I tell man's best friend. I get the SCU Police Dog Kevlar vest from the Jeep and secure it to the black lab. He shakes it to get it comfortable, and I check to make sure it remains tightly on his back. 

I say good-bye to Janet and yell up to the boys, and they come up to the railing to say goodbye before Bear and I drive off. 

Across LA

The Not-So-Nice Part of Town

Sitting outside the building in the picture, Bear and I finish off some popcorn I picked up at a gas station a few blocks back. The building looks worn and rundown on the outside. The windows are boarded along with the doors. The van is gone, obviously, but everything else seems to be just as the picture shows it. "Well, Bear, nothing is happening outside. No one is even walking around. I'm thinking we'd best head inside if we want to find anything. What do you say?"

Bear's ears perk up and then tilt his head as I pick a random popcorn kernel off my shirt and toss it to the dog, saying, "I'm going to have to ask Cub to teach me your commands if you're going to be my backup." 

I hop out of the Jeep, and the dog follows me. I toss my bucket hat into the Jeep and open the glove box. I dig out my spare gun and a few clips among a handful of parking tickets and a metal flask. It's about the size of a back pocket and curved so it hugs your ass cheek. The engraving on the front shows the six names. 

I rub my thumb over the names and remember them. A dog's whine brings me out of my self-pity. I look down at Bear, and he tilts his head as if he's trying to ask me what's wrong. "I thought I lost this," I tell him, shaking the flask and realizing there is still booze in it. "Sounds like I lucked out."

I unscrew the cap and take a shot of whatever is inside. It's strong, and my face just about implodes as I choke it down. I look back at the dog, and I swear he rolls his eyes at me. "What? It's good shit," I tell him as I put the cap back on and slip it into my front chest pocket. 

I have to wait for traffic, but we get across the street just fine. The building is mostly brown and black brick, with wood-boarded windows and the front door. I jump the fence, and Bear finds a hole in it to squeeze through to meet me on the other side. I draw my gun, and the dog reacts in kind. He heels and moves with me as I look around outside. 

I can still see the van tracks in the dark mud. They're forever molded, or at least until the next heavy rainfall. I kneel down and draw my finger along an eight- to ten-foot-long, thin crevice from the door to the van tracks. On one side of the crevice are many little foot prints molded in the mud. They can't be any bigger than Ryder's shoe size. They are coming from the building and lead towards the van. Shit, I have a bad feeling about this. 

I head inside the building and light my flashlight. It should be empty in here; there is a ten-foot-long folding table next to the door. The side of it has another board hinged to the length of it to make it taller. There should be no furniture, appliances, or anything else that a person would need to do in their day-to-day life. But not this place. The kitchen is fully stocked with appliances, and there's even food in the refrigerator, or what passed for food a couple weeks ago. Couches and chairs fill the rest of the space in the bottom rooms. Bear is smelling everything but hasn't made a single noise. 

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone is home, Bear. Maybe we should check upstairs," I tell the dog as I look through some papers in a makeshift office. I strolled up the creaky stairs to the next floor. At one time this was an office building, and today it's nothing more than a dark, creepy hallway with a lot of doors. 

The coast is clear, so I take a right and head to the first door. On the door, there is a clean sticker with a number on it. This particular sticker has numbers: `4, 5, 6.' I open the room and see that it is separated into three rooms with a six-foot-tall sheet used as a wall. Each little room has a little bed and a shelf on the wall. One of the shelves has the dust outline of a paddle and a left-behind dildo. Memory flashes of walking into Bucky's room come out of nowhere, and I quickly pull out my flask and take a hit. 

I back out of the room and fight to control my panic attack. The closer I get to solving this case, the worse it gets. I take another hit of the dark, golden liquid that has been waiting for me since I lost it so long ago. It burns as it goes down my throat, and I concentrate on the pain, bringing me back to the creepy hallway. 

I take out my phone and call SCU. "Jen, hey, I need two units and forensics at this address." I tell her the address and continue, "Who took picture 4A?"

"Um... it looks like Mac Miller," she answers, and then asks, "Why?"

"Transfer me to his phone, please."

A few seconds pass, and I stand up, expecting to hear the cell phone ring. I whistle for Bear, who comes trotting out of one of the rooms with something in his mouth. I kneel down, and he gives me a small pair of shorts and a pair of underwear with some superhero on the ass. The clothes look smaller than what Ryder would fit into. I pet the dog and tell him what a good partner he is when the phone rings. 

"Mac?"

"Yeah, it's me, boss."

"Remember the picture of the broken-down building and the van you took?" I asked him, feeling my rage build up inside me.

"Yes, of course," he answers, sure of himself. He has no idea what I've found inside. 

"Tell me, tell me everything!"

"Um, okay, I was following Aram Kevson's youngest son, Lenny. He pulled into that alley next to that building. They tried to load some tables and chairs into the van. I watched for a while, and eventually they stopped trying and brought the tables back inside the building. Then they got back in the van with two new guys and drove off." 

"Where did they go?"

"I followed them to that new nightclub called `The Warehouse.' They drove the van right into the docking area and closed the doors. I waited and never saw Kevson leave, so I figured I'd lost him, and I left. Why, what's going on?"

Gus

"Janet! I'm getting a soda?" I yell outside the door, down to the pickup truck. Janet is strapping Ryder into a booster seat in her truck's back seat. 

"No. You can't have any more soda. Can you drink something else? Do you guys have juice boxes or something better than soda?" 

"Prime! Yes, we do! Grab me a `Meta Moon' Prime too, pwease!" Ryder yells at me from inside the truck. 

Who is she to tell me `no.' I've never had someone tell me I can't do what I want before. "I'm getting a soda! Ryder, do you want one?" I yell over the railing at her and stomp my foot down. 

Ryder is overly quiet; I've come to learn that he has no balls. She closes his door, looks up at me, and sighs. "Look, Cub..."

"It's Gus to you!" I defiantly interrupt her.

"Gus, if you get a soda, I'm not buying you any soda or food at the pier. Understand?" She threatens me. Damn, she's got me over a barrel. Soda now to prove a point, or cave and drink some later at the pier. 

"Fine!" I shout and follow up with, "But only because I don't want any right now!" I turn and rush inside the apartment to get our bottles of Prime. I hurry down and get into the truck's backseat. 

"Do you need help getting into your seat?" She asks me from the front seat. 

"I don't need a booster seat either; I'm not a little kid!" 

She watches me climb in the truck and push the booster seat to the floor before I sit down and buckle up. Janet looks at me crossly and then begins to back up the truck. I hand Ryder his'Meta Moon' Prime and open my bottle.

"Hey, this doesn't say `Meta Moon," Ryder says a little disappointed.

"Sorry man, there are so many different bottles in that frig, I just grabbed the wrong one I guess," I apologize and check his face real quick to see if he is going to let this go. With everything going on today, the last thing I need is Ryder mad at me all day over me grabbing the wrong one. I mean, what do you expect, there are so many similar blue ones.

The truck ride was about thirty minutes of silence, with me mostly staring out the window and Ryder trying to get me to be nicer. 

"Janet's reawwy nice, Cub; you'ww see, we'ww have wots of fun at the pier," Ryder whispers. 

I scowl at him and finish off my Prime. 

We pull into the parking lot, and Janet parks the truck. The pier is packed, and Janet and I do our best to keep up with Ryder. He acts like he's never seen things on the pier before. He's grabbed my hand and is pulling me from store to store and from park ride to park ride. 

"Wet's ride this one," Ryder says excitedly, pulling me into the line for the ferris wheel. I look over my shoulder to see the `babysitter' not far from us. I can't believe she has been able to keep up with Ryder. Her eyes dart back and forth, looking around the crowd. She's been true to her word, though; we've had candy apples, elephant ears, and soda. 

Ryder pulls me onto the Ferris wheel cart by the hand, and the control man shuts the pod's door. I glare at Janet as she watches us, smiles, and waves. "Have fun, boys!" She yells and goes back to watching the crowd for bad guys. 

Ryder asks me, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, of course not. Why would you think that?" 

"You're just acting... mad aww the time," he says as he picks at the belt buckle nervously.

The ride turns on, and as we go around, I reassure him, "I'm just not used to people telling me what I can and can't do. Don't you think Janet is being kind of bossy?" He takes my hand, and suddenly I lose control of my breathing and feel all warm inside. Everything I wanted to complain about Janet and being bossed around is gone. All I can think of is how soft Ryder's hand is. I love his little fingernails and it's smoothness. 

"Um, this is nice, right?" I ask, not really sure what to say. 

Ryder lays his head on my shoulder and says, "Is this okay? Couwd you just howd me?" 

I didn't know what to do, so I held him. I'm so nervous for some reason. The Ferris wheel slowly climbs, and the wind begins to whistle through the pod, making Ryder shiver. I pull him close and comfort him, saying, "I'll hold you anytime you want me to."

He snuggles into me as we both look out over the pier and the ocean. It's a moment that I wasn't expecting. A moment that I've never had before. The ride felt like it lasted forever, and I never wanted to let his hand go. I didn't even realize that the ride was over, and the noise of the pod's door unlocking brought me out of the dream world I was in. 

"Hey, guys, did you enjoy yourselves?" Janet asks, and when I look at her to answer that it was wonderful, I see her smirk. 

Ryder exits the pod and comments on how much fun he had, and I can only see people staring at two young boys holding hands. They can see how embarrassed I am and think that we were doing all sorts of nasty things. "What! Nothing happen!" I yelled and let go of Ryder's hand. He turns and sees my red face. 

"What's wrong? What did I do?" He asks, and the hurt in his face is unmistakable. 

Clyde Burns

The sun is about to set, and I'm pulling my Jeep into my parking lot as the security gate closes behind me. Bear and I get out of the Jeep and head up the stairs. At the top, Bear takes an abrupt turn and trots over to the balcony, where I see Gus sitting and watching the sunset. I head inside and am met with a crying Ryder. "Oh, what's wrong, kiddo?" I ask as I pick him up and hold him tightly. 

"Gus has been on the balcony ever since we got back. You're right, he's going to be a handful. Good luck," Janet says, patting my back as she leaves, shutting the door behind me. 

"Cub is reawwy mad at me. I'm not sure what I did," Ryder says while I wipe his tears.

"I'll talk to him. I'm sure he's fine and not mad at you. I know he doesn't show it or act like he's having a hard time, but he is. We should just be as nice as we can to him, okay?"He nods his head, and I wipe the remaining tears before setting him down and saying, "No more tears. I'll go talk to him and you. Go take a shower."

He nods again and reminds me, "But you're going to dry me off, right?" 

I look at him and say as silly as I can, "and missed the chance to touch this gorgeous body, I'd never miss that." He half-giggles as I tickle him, and he dances in place. I swat his butt and sent him towards the bathroom. He is in his underwear before he gets to the door. 

Stepping outside, I work my way over to the balcony and sit in my usual chair. "What a day, huh? You will not believe me if I tell you. How was your day?"

Gus is positioned such that he is facing away from me while he is standing on the balcony. When he looks across to me, the waning light of the day glints off the trails of tears running down his face. When our eyes meet, a slight tremble can be seen in his lips. Once again tears roll down his cheeks, and he completely loses it at this point. He attempts to share his thoughts with me, but I can't make out what he's saying through his sobs. "Come're, kiddo."

Gus awkwardly climbs up the lounge chair I'm sitting in and crawls into my open arms. He rests his head on my shoulder while clinging to me for support. I give him a back rub and try to make him feel better, but I think he would benefit more from simply sobbing. "It's okay, Cub, let it out. Cry all you want; I think you need to." The young kid that I rescued from the ventilation duct a few days ago is at last allowing some of that pent-up frustration to escape. I've made a number of abrupt changes in his life, and I anticipated that he'll find it challenging; nevertheless, rather than allowing me to assist him, he's been keeping everything to himself. This young man needs me, and I want to be here for him. I want to be the one that he confides in and shares his deepest thoughts and feelings with, but I'm realizing that becoming that person will take some time. I have to keep in mind that neither of these two lads considers me to be that person yet. Things are going to get significantly worse for them before they start to improve. Being there for them is the best I can do for them.

"Let it out, Cub; take your time. We've got all night."