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"Jesus Christ, let him go!" TJ jumped like a dog at the end of a rope, lunging against the hands that held him. "He don't got nothin' to do with this!"

Harry stooped, picked the black leather hat up off the ground and carefully dusted it off. His cigar stuck out of the side of his mouth like a satanic parody, and if it hadn't been so true about Harry then it would have almost been comical.

"Now, TJ," Harry said, settling the cap on TJ's head, tucking strands of his shaggy, almost-black greasy hair behind the young man's ear, "he has to do with you. And you have to do with this. We talked about it."

Dark eyes looked pleadingly up at Harry, the usual aloof martyrdom gone. "H--" he tripped over the name, eyes flickering down to the bound and gagged figure on the wet pavement.

Harry's mouth quirked upward as he followed TJ's gaze, and one of his men drew back and kicked the figure viciously. It whimpered, but made no other sound through the dirty white cloth.

"You're a reasonable man," TJ said, licking his dry lips and looking back up at Harry. "I got a bum deal, an' the work I was supposed to do--it fell through. I don't got the money. But tomorrow--I can have it tomorrow. Only if my friend there," he looked down at the black haired youth, "is hurt, I gotta be in the hospital with him instead. You're reasonable, you understand, right?" He looked back up, silently begging the larger man.

Harry sighed and took his cigar out of his mouth, rolling it between his fingers. It smoldered, smoke drifting up into the cloudy twilight sky. "I can see how that would be a predicament. But tell me why I shouldn't just let your friend here go to the hospital, and that way I'll know where he is in case you . . . well, in case something should happen to you on the way to my place."

TJ closed his eyes, bile rising in his throat. "I'm sorry," he said softly, trembling. "I'm sorry. I don't have it right now. I can get it tomorrow--I've always been good on my word. Please don't--" he opened his eyes, the world swimming, and looked at Blue curled in the alleyway. "Please. He don't got nothin' to do with this."

Harry's chin lifted, and for a moment TJ thought he was going to order Blue beaten. Again.

Instead he nodded once, motioned for his men, and walked briskly away.

They let go of TJ quickly, leaving him almost staggering under own weight.

"Tomorrow, TJ," Harry said over his shoulder, while a man opened a car door for him. "Tomorrow."

TJ nodded, hands on his knees, fighting down the urge to vomit. The car drove away, pulling sedately onto the road, signaling even though traffic was sparse.

Stumbling, half falling onto his knees, TJ knelt by Blue and carefully started untying his hands. Blue struggled, noises vaguely audible beneath the gag.

"Hey, hey--it's okay. It's me. They're gone," TJ said, stopping to brush a hand over Blue's silky black hair. He calmed, and TJ quickly turned to undoing the bonds.

It took a few minutes to get Blue's hands and feet untied, and longer to get the blindfold off. It was tangled in his hair; whoever had tied it hadn't been gentle.

"Jesus, kid," TJ murmured, watching hair that had been pulled out fall to the concrete. "How long did they have you?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Seeing them beat him, however briefly, had been hard enough.

Blue opened his eyes, thickly framed with lashes, and blinked. They were red and swollen, and a purple bruise was well formed just under one of them. The normally crystal blue of his eyes was washed out, overshadowed by the pink.

As quickly as possible, trying not to hurt the young man any more, TJ undid the gag and pulled it free. "Move your jaw a bit," he said, frowning, "it'll help."

Blue's cheeks were rubbed raw, another bruise on his jaw.

"What happened?" He didn't know if he expected an answer; Blue's eyes were wide and panicky looking, and he was shaking all over. Quickly, TJ ran his hands over Blue's arms and hands, then down his sides and legs, watching carefully for any sign of a flinch and checking for broken bones.

"I was coming out of the club," Blue said, not making any effort to sit up, "and they grabbed me."

TJ cringed. That had been last night, then. Blue'd been missing for almost twenty-four hours, and he hadn't realized it.

"It hurts."

TJ looked up at the whisper, and saw with alarm Blue's skin go white and his jaw clench. "All right, kid," he said, hurrying to scoot up to where Blue's head was, "take it easy. Try and relax. I'm gonna go get a doctor."

Blue nodded, once, and TJ jumped up. He was shaking, but better. He was always better in an emergency.

He headed toward the side door of the bar, paused to look back at Blue, who was still huddled in on himself, then went in.

It was after the emergency that he knew he'd suffer.