welcome to crvboy - Vision of Love By James Hogue

The lone car sped rapidly down the dirt road, stirring up dust behind it. Suddenly it began to slow, and then turned into a paved driveway. It continued on its journey until it came to a small shack, and then stopped. The car door opened and a large man got out. He stretched, and then ran his bloodstained hand roughly through his dirty-blond hair. He looked around, surveying his surroundings, and absently scratched the long scar that ran down the left side of his face. Except for the shack-there was nothing but open pasture. Satisfied that he hadn't been followed, and that no one had him or the hovel under surveillance, he walked toward the building.

As soon as he stepped inside and the door closed behind him, he was surrounded by darkness. There were no windows to allow the sunshine in from outside, and the only light was a small, red glow coming from the wall directly in front of him. He took off his aviator-style sunglasses and blinked until his eyes adjusted to the dimness. He walked over to the source of the luminescence and leaned over until his right eye was lined up with it. An electronic beep followed by a computerized female voice penetrated the silence.

"Retinal scan confirms identity of Executioner Five. Enter when ready."

The wall slid open to reveal an elevator. The man stepped into it, the wall slid back into place, and with a hum the elevator began its descent. When the elevator stopped, the display on the panel indicated that the man had traveled a thousand feet underground. The door opened into a long hallway and the man exited, then looked at his watch. Seeing that he was forty-five minutes early, he began to walk down the corridor.

He stopped when he came to a door marked with the number five. Leaning forward, he lined up his right eye with another retinal scanning device, and after the door slid open he went inside. The room was furnished sparsely - a desk with a laptop sitting upon it was along the wall to his right, next to it was a chair, and a queen-sized bed was situated on the other side of the room. He immediately took off his bloodstained clothes and placed them into a paper bag. Taking the bag, he padded naked over to the other side of the room where a small door with a glass window was situated in the middle of the wall that ran parallel to the bed. He opened the door and placed the paper bag inside, then shut the door securely. He pushed the button to the side of the door, and then smiled to himself as he watched the bag be consumed by flames.

He was extremely proud of himself. He had just rid the world of another of Satan's evil minions, and even though he had to perform his duty in secret, and therefore received no public accolades, he still felt a sense of personal fulfillment. Besides, he had no need of external praise. He was perfectly happy knowing that because of him the world was a safer place.

His mission was to defend the innocent from those they themselves foolishly tried to protect. The majority of mankind were such simpletons. For some reason that he didn't understand, they couldn't or wouldn't see the threat that these demonic criminals posed to society. In fact, most people denied that the malicious fiends even existed. That was why he had to be extremely careful and take precautions, such as burning his clothes and later he would be showering with a special shower gel that contained a powerful enzyme that would remove all traces of blood from his body, or he would find himself being persecuted by the very ones he was trying to safeguard.

Wanting to look his best for his debriefing, he walked into the bathroom that was connected to his room and quickly shaved and showered. After toweling himself dry, he emerged from the bathroom and got dressed. Worried that he was going to be late for his meeting, he glanced at his watch. Good, he still had five minutes to spare. He departed his room and made his way once again down the long corridor. He stopped when he came to a door with a small plaque that indicated a conference room was behind it. He opened the door and walked in.

The man shivered and gooseflesh rippled across his skin. This room never ceased to inspire profound awe and humility within him. It always served as a reminder that he was one of the Chosen. That he had the responsibility of being a protector of mankind. It was a duty which he took very seriously, and from which he derived a great deal of satisfaction.

The space was not set up like that of a usual conference room. Instead of a long table, there were five leather chairs lined up in a row. The chairs were situated in front of three high-tech television monitors. To the casual observer the number of chairs and monitors might seem odd, but to those who had been initiated into the sacred mysteries it would make perfect sense.

Glancing at his watch he saw that it was time. He sat down in one of the chairs and waited. Suddenly the darkened television monitors flickered with light as they came on. At first, there was only static, but soon the images of three people, two men and one woman, appeared, each on their own individual monitor. Their faces were shrouded by shadows that ensured their anonymity. It was slightly annoying and hurtful to the man that during the entire eleven years he had acted as one of the Chosen he had never been allowed to know the identity of the triad. They trusted him to carry out the missions they assigned to him, but they didn't trust him to know who they really were.

Sweeping his feelings aside he addressed the trio, "Greetings, Excellencies. I, as always, am your humble servant."

"Executioner Five, report," the woman demanded in a clipped tone.

"The demon has been eliminated as per your instructions. He will no longer be a threat to the innocent and unsuspecting."

This time it was one of the men who spoke. "Good. You have once again carried out your duties exceptionally well. Since you have performed two consecutive executions in your present location it is time for you to move on. Executioner Two is currently en route to your location to replace you. Report to the Madrid facility at once."

The man nodded his head in acquiescence and then replied, "Yes, Triumvir. I will carry out the will of the Triumvirate immediately."

Sole looked around the restaurant and slowly shook her head. "You're a millionaire ten times over and you bring me to a soda shop for dinner?"

Archie's Soda Fountain was a quaint little spot that hearkened back to the soda shops of the nineteen forties era. It was famous for its old-fashioned ice cream sodas that were made by an honest to goodness soda jerk. The décor of the restaurant was meticulous in its re-creation of a teen hangout of the era, complete with restored antique booths and counters, and there were even antique posters that urged the patrons to 'Buy War Bonds' and 'Drink Coca-Cola™'. There were also posters recruiting women to join the military as nurses and that encouraged them to be like Rosie the Riveter and join the workforce, taking over the jobs that had been vacated by men who were overseas fighting for our freedom. The employees were even dressed in period costumes.

"I never confirmed that I inherited the ten million dollars. Of course, I never denied it either," Zach stated with a mischievous grin that lit up his face.

"Besides, I'm not the one who chose this place--Chase and Ridge did. If you have any complaints take them up with them," he indicated the investigator from the Sheriff's Department and the nurse from the Medical Examiner's Office, who were speaking to the hostess just ahead of them. He shrugged his shoulders. "I just told them that you and I weren't that familiar with McKinney and that we would trust them to choose a place for us to eat. Anyway, what's wrong with it?" He looked around them at the interior of the soda shop. "I happen to find it charming, and it looks like a great deal of fun."

"There's nothing wrong with it. In fact, I've heard great things about this place. It's just that with the kind of money you have we should be dining on a gourmet meal at a five star restaurant. You're right, however, this place does look like fun, and after the day we've just had a little fun is exactly what we need," Sole replied with a smile.

The hostess led them to a booth and they sat down. Zach and Sole sat on one side of the table and Chase and Ridge sat on the other. After they were seated, the hostess placed a menu in front of each of them and left. While they were waiting for their server, Chase took the opportunity to ask the question he and Ridge had been dying to ask all day. "Sole, Zach, how did the two of you know that we were going to find that boy's body at the rock quarry? Since there was no one else there, I assume that the body wasn't found by a bystander and reported."

"Yeah, I'd like to know that as well, and what did that guy Alex have to do with it?" Ridge chimed in.

Zach sighed heavily. He'd hoped to avoid this, but since both Chase and Ridge were a part of the joint task force he knew there was no way that he could. The only problem was how he was going to do it. He was still having a hard time accepting this psychic business himself, so how in Hell was he going to explain it to Chase and Ridge? Before he had a chance to respond, his partner came to the rescue and answered for him.

"Mr. Marshall came in today to report a vision he'd had about the Janet Donaldson murder, and while we were questioning him he had another vision about the murder of the boy we found in the rock quarry," Sole said.

Zach braced himself for Chase and Ridge's vocalized disbelief.

"He's psychic? Cool!" Ridge gushed with excitement.

"That's wonderful. With a psychic assisting us maybe we'll stand a chance of finally catching this guy," Chase said, echoing Ridge's fervor.

Zach was stunned. Instead of the incredulity he'd been expecting, they were both accepting Alex's psychic abilities without question and with obvious enthusiasm. "I don't believe it," he said as he shook his head. "Has the world gone mad? First it was Sole, and now the two of you. All three of you accepted that Alex is a bona fide psychic without any skepticism whatsoever. I mean...it just doesn't make any sense. You're all three well-educated people. How can you so easily believe in something as illogical as psychic phenomena?"

Ridge smiled, and then replied, "It's because illogic is in the eye of the beholder. What's illogical to you may seem completely logical to someone else. Just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. To quote Shakespeare, 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy'."

Zach let out an exasperated sigh. "You've been talking to Sole behind my back, haven't you?" he snapped in an accusatory tone of voice.

"Excuse me?" Ridge questioned, a puzzled expression on his face.

Sole guffawed, and then addressed Ridge, "Zach is accusing you and I of being in collusion. I said something to him earlier today that was similar to what you just said, and now his paranoia is kicking in. Ridge, you'll have to be patient with Zach. He's not a having a very good day. First of all, he found out that a serial killer who was never captured eleven years ago is still out there and has begun to kill again. Second, one of his core beliefs was not only severely challenged, but was proven to be incorrect. So, you'll have to forgive him if he gets a little testy," she teased.

"Don't apologize for me, Sole," Zach said, chagrin written all over his face. "I'm more than capable of doing that for myself."

He turned to Ridge and said, "Ridge, please forgive my rudeness. This whole psychic thing is difficult for me to accept, and the fact that you three seem to have no trouble with it at all, frustrates me to no end. I just don't get it, but that's no reason to take it out on you. So, please accept my apology."

"No problem, buddy. I understand completely," Ridge said with a smile.

"I don't know what your problem with psychics is Zach, and it's certainly none of my business, but I don't see what harm will be caused by allowing Alex to assist us," Chase interjected. "It's not like the use of psychics in murder investigations is unprecedented. Law enforcement agencies all around the world have made use of the supernaturally gifted. Although it's true that some of them were proven to be fakes, there were a significant number of them whose psychic gifts were instrumental in bringing the murderers to justice. If Alex can assist us in putting a stop to the monster who's committing these murders, then I say let's use him."

Zach fidgeted with the silverware, carefully unwrapping the paper napkin and placing it on his lap as he contemplated the things that Chase and Ridge had said. He then looked the investigator from the Sheriff's Department square in the eye and said, "Even though I don't like admitting it, I must say that I agree with you, Chase. I've always thought that whenever people claimed to have psychic abilities it was time to put on my wading boots because the bullshit they'd be spewing out of their mouths was going to be knee deep, but I have to acknowledge that something beyond my understanding happened today."

He paused and then looked away a moment before continuing. When he turned back to Ridge and Chase, the ambivalence he was feeling about this situation was clearly reflected on his face. "I can't explain it, but when Alex had his vision I knew he wasn't faking. I didn't want to admit it to anyone, most especially myself. However, much to my dismay, when he led us to that boy's body I was no longer able to deny that there was something supernatural going on," he stated with reluctance. "I'm still not that comfortable with psychic phenomena, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be. However, I'm open to using whatever or whoever can help us stop this killer."

Sole smiled broadly at him. "Welcome back, partner. You're now being the man I knew you to be. I was worried there for a while, but thank God my worries were groundless."

Ridge cleared his throat. "Far be it from me to interrupt an intimate moment between partners, but I was wondering something about this Alex Marshall. Is he the same Alex Marshall who writes murder mysteries?" he inquired.

"Yes, he is," Sole gushed enthusiastically, and then giggled like a schoolgirl. "He's my favorite author. He's even promised to give me an autographed copy of one of his books."

"I love him, too," Ridge stated in agreement. "Not only is he a fantastic writer, but he apparently knows a great deal about forensics. His descriptions of homicide investigations are extremely accurate."

"He is also, as I found today, one hot and sexy piece of man flesh that I wouldn't mind having a taste of," Sole said with a wicked grin.

"Well, I hate to tell you, Sole, since I don't like to rip fantasies to shreds, but you don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell," Ridge stated.

"And why the Hell not?" she replied with indignation. "I just happen to be a total babe. Men have begged for my favors."

Ridge grinned. "I have no doubt that they have, and I can certainly understand it. You are a goddess among women. However, you lack certain things that would be required to attract a man like Alex."

"And what would they be, pray tell?" she asked.

"For starters, a penis?"

"Sole, he's gay," Ridge replied.

"How do you know that? Have you slept with him?" Sole asked skeptically.

"No, I haven't, but I read an interview with him in the Dallas Morning News in which he confirmed that he's gay," Ridge said with a triumphant smile.

Zach had been following the exchange between his partner and the nurse from the Medical Examiner's Office with amusement, but when Ridge made mention of Alex's sexual orientation, that amusement suddenly blossomed into excitement. He thought he'd sensed a sexual vibe from Alex, but now that he knew the other man was gay he was certain of it. He'd never before experienced as strong an attraction to another person as he had with Alex, and now that he no longer thought the other man was a mental case, that attraction was even stronger. But sadly, nothing could ever come from it. It wasn't ethical for him to have a sexual relationship with someone involved in the investigation.

His thoughts and Sole and Ridge's conversation were suddenly interrupted when a popping sound caught their attention. Everyone turned their heads in unison toward the end of the table where a teenaged girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old stood. She had a huge wad of bubblegum in her mouth and was blowing bubbles then sucking them back in, causing loud popping noises. She held a pad of paper in her left hand and a pen in her right. She smiled sweetly and said, "Hi, Uncle Chase, Ridge. What are you two doing here? You guys usually only eat here at lunch time."

She paused while her eyes glanced over at Zach and Sole. "Obviously, either my grandmother neglected to teach my Uncle Chase some manners, or he just didn't listen. I'd like to welcome you both to Archie's Soda Fountain. My mother and father own it. I'm Chase's niece, Shannon," she stated as she extended her hand to Sole.

"Hi, Shannon. My name is Sole, and the handsome guy next to me is Zach," Sole said as she shook Shannon's hand.

"Nice to meet you both. I've never seen you around before. Do you work with Uncle Chase and Ridge?" Shannon asked as she shook hands with Zach.

"Yes, but only temporarily. Sole and I are Texas Rangers," Zach explained.

"Texas Rangers? Oh, my God! That must mean you're investigating the murders of that boy and Miss Donaldson," Shannon said all in one breath.

"Shannon, what are you talking about?" questioned Chase.

"The body that was found at Lake Lavon this morning was Miss Donaldson, and the news said that the body of an unidentified thirteen year old boy was found at the rock quarry this afternoon. I just assumed that if there were two Texas Rangers in town they must be working with you on the murders," she answered.

"What makes you think that the woman found at Lake Lavon was a Miss Donaldson?" Zach asked sharply. How in Hell had this teenaged girl come to possess information that had not yet been released to the press? Was there a leak in the Sheriff's Department or the Medical Examiner's Office?

Shannon was momentarily taken aback by the anger she heard in the Texas Ranger's voice. She took a deep calming breath before replying, "Because her mother, Mrs. Donaldson, is best friends with Sally, the lady who makes our pies. Mrs. Donaldson called Sally after she got back from identifying her daughter's body at the morgue, and Sally told me."

Zach, realizing his faux pas, immediately jumped at the opportunity to correct it. "Shannon, please forgive my tone of voice. I was upset for a moment by the thought someone involved in the investigation had been speaking to the press. I wasn't angry with you. Please accept my apology," he said with contrition.

"I'll gladly accept your apology if you promise me that you'll find the bastard who killed Miss Donaldson, and make him pay dearly for what he did," she said, anger pouring out of her.

"Shannon, did you know Miss Donaldson?" Sole jumped in.

Tears started to form in her eyes, and she took a deep shuddering breath. "Yes, she was my English teacher. She was the best teacher I ever had. I'm going to miss her a lot. It wasn't just a job for her. She really cared about us. She always seemed to know when there was something bothering one of us, and she would get us to open up and talk to her. She would do everything she could to help us. She was so wonderful. Why would anyone want to kill her?" she asked as tears began to stream non-stop down her face.

Chase pushed himself out of the booth and enveloped his niece in his arms. She returned the embrace for a moment, but then quickly extricated herself. As she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand she said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Chase. You know I don't normally do this. I'm so embarrassed." She turned to the others and stated, "Please, forgive me for blubbering like a baby."

"It's no problem at all. Miss Donaldson obviously meant a great deal to you. You can rest assured, Shannon, that we will do everything in our power to bring the one who murdered her to justice. I promise you," Sole said, her voice full of conviction.

Alex pulled his car into one of the parking spaces in front of Secrets, which was located on the Square in downtown McKinney. After he turned off the ignition, he rested his forehead on the steering wheel and exhaled loudly. It had been one Hell of a day. He'd only intended to go the Sheriff's Department, tell them what he'd seen in his vision, and then wash his hands of the entire thing, but that's not what happened.

Alex had expected some skepticism, had even prepared himself for it, but he'd been almost besieged by the antagonistic disbelief that came in the form of Texas Ranger, Sgt. Zach Sluder. Even more disconcerting than the disbelief itself was the man from whom it came.

Never in his entire life had he been as affected by a man as he was by Zach. The man was not only gorgeous, but he also possessed an overwhelming masculinity that left Alex breathless. In fact, right now just thinking about the other man, Alex could feel his cock hardening. Even when Zach had handcuffed him, Alex felt a jolt of sexual awareness course through him like none other he had ever experienced in his entire life.

Damn! He was so pathetic. Here he was pining away over a man who obviously couldn't stand him, and who thought that just because he claimed to have visions that he was either a fake, a criminal, or a nutcase. To make matters worse he'd had a vision right in front of Zach, and even though the vision had been proven correct when they found that young boy's body, Alex still felt Zach's keen disapproval of him. If he had any sense at all he would have nothing further to do with Zach or the murder investigation. However, he knew that his part in all of this was far from over, and being a part of the investigation meant being around Zach. Oh, shit, what was he going to do?

A tapping on the car window broke into his thoughts. He raised his forehead from the steering wheel and turned to look out the window. Tamara and Ariel were both standing outside the car with concern written all over their faces. He unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.

"All you all right?" Ariel and Tamara both asked in unison.

"I'm fine," he tried to assure them.

"Are you sure? We've been so worried about you. We expected you here a lot sooner. Where were you?" Ariel spoke in a rush of words.

"I've been out at the rock quarry," he stated quietly.

"The rock quarry! You had another vision didn't you? When the six o'clock news reported that the body of a thirteen-year-old boy was found out there, I just knew that is was connected to the murder of that woman you saw in your vision," Ariel stated with conviction.

"Yes, I had another vision while I was at the Sheriff's Department. Just like in the last one, I actually saw the murder being committed. It was horrible. That boy was begging for his life, and that monster just ignored him," Alex said despondently.

"Was it like last time? In the vision, were you seeing everything through the eyes of the victim?" Ariel inquired.

"Yeah, it was exactly like last time. I was the victim. I felt the machete slicing through my neck, and I could feel myself dying. I could feel death taking me away, and there was nothing I could do about it. The only thing that pulled me back was the two Texas Rangers wiping my face with a wet cloth and calling my name," Alex stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, no! We had trouble calling you back when you had the vision of the first murder. This could be dangerous. You shouldn't have another vision," Tamara commanded.

Alex started to laugh raucously. "And how do you suppose I do that, sister dear? Remember, I don't have any control over my visions. They happen when they happen."

"Well, there must be something we can do? We can't let you die over this," Tamara stated.

"I'm not going to die. Besides, I wouldn't stop these visions even if I could. There's a madman out there killing innocent people, and if there's anything I can do to stop him I'm going to do it."

"So, if you were at the rock quarry, they must have believed you then," Ariel jumped in.

"Not at first. In fact, one of the Texas Rangers in charge of the investigation handcuffed me and accused me of committing the murder myself. It was while I was handcuffed that I had the vision of the second murder," Alex responded.

"Oh, my God! Those bastards! They didn't hurt you did they?" Ariel asked with angry concern.

Alex smiled sadly, and shook his head before he replied, "No, I told you I was fine. I don't blame Sgt. Sluder. He, like most educated people, doesn't believe in psychics. When I came in giving him details of the crime that weren't common knowledge, he had no other choice but to arrest me for suspicion of murder. If I didn't experience these visions for myself, I wouldn't believe me either. And if it wasn't for the fact that I had that second vision in front of him, I'd probably be in jail right now."