Page 30 of Bazooka

The Man with the Plan

Bazooka

I woke up at dawn and made some coffee before going out on the balcony to get some fresh air. I watched the sunrise while sipping the strong liquid and forming a plan in my head.

The man with the plan—that was me. You needed a plan?

I got one. You needed a solution? I got one too.

In the present situation, I had both a plan and a solution, and I hated them both equally.

I arranged the details with Jordan, but this morning was about to turn into a giant shitshow, and I knew it.

I could smell it in the crisp morning air.

I could feel it in my bones. My soul was plagued with doubts.

My heart ached. Still, I was the man with the plan, and I was sticking to it.

When I heard the bedroom door open, I headed back inside, only to see Luz standing in the doorway. As always in the mornings, he was cute in the way puppies were, all sleepy and cuddly and innocent. He wrapped the blanket around him, blinking against the sunlight streaming through the window.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “You’re not going to the station?”

“Soon,” I replied. “Before that, you should know there has been a new development. Mendoza has been threatening me left and right recently, so I arranged for you to stay at Jordan’s place.”

He paled. “What?”

“Jordan can protect you, and you two get along, so it’s for the best. I’ll deal with that fucker Mendoza my way.”

For a few moments, Luz was just staring at me. A bereft look crossed his face, making me doubt myself.

“You don’t mean that,” he said.

“I do. It’s for the best.”

“Will you stop saying that?”

He looked fucking crushed, and I hated myself for it when something else crossed his face. Sadness was still predominant, but anger was snapping at its heels, and I could see it.

“If you want me gone, you will have to throw me out,” Luz said, raising his chin in defiance. “And don’t you dare say it’s because of your case.”

I didn’t have an answer to that, so I remained silent.

“It’s the L word, isn’t it?” he said, gulping. “It’s not even the best blowjob you’ve ever received, or the fact that a man gave it to you. It’s that fucking L word that I knew, I knew I would regret, but I had to fucking say it because I’m an idiot.”

I lowered my gaze, not knowing what to say to him, when he reached for the glass on the counter and threw it at a wall.

“Fucking say something!”

I rested my hands on my waist with a weary sigh.

“What do you want from me, Luz?”

“You know what I want.”

“That’s not happening.”

His eyes narrowed into slits.

“Why? ‘Cause I don’t fit in a duffel bag?”

Again, replying became an impossible mission for me.

The vase joined the glass on the floor with a loud crash.

“Stop breaking things, Luz,” I said, closing the terrace door so the neighbors wouldn’t hear us.

“No, you stop breaking things!” he hissed, pointing at his chest. “You fucking monster.”

“Jordan is waiting for you downstairs,” I said coolly, when everything inside me was on fire. “Pack your things. Don’t make him wait.”

Luz laughed maniacally. “Things? I don’t need things. I just need to be rid of you.”

He stomped into the bedroom, only to return with a phone in his hand, wearing nothing but boxers.

“The rest of my stuff?” he said through his teeth. “Keep it. I don’t need anything from you… In fact, you know what? I’m taking my fucking curtains.”

He marched to the window and yanked at the flimsy fabric until the curtain rod fell to the floor. He was at the front door when he suddenly turned, glaring at me.

“And by the way, I can fit in a duffel bag!”

He walked up to my duffel bag and started taking things out, throwing them around the place. My T-shirt ended up on the floor behind the armchair. My jeans landed on the windowsill. My underwear, under the table.

“I will fucking show you!” he growled, throwing things left and right. “I will show you I can fit in here. And when I do, you will…”

Suddenly, he paused, staring at the thing in his hand. It was a piece of paper, but what was written on it had the power to demolish things. And people.

When he looked at me, all his hostility from earlier was gone. Only confusion remained.

“Why do you have my father’s card in your bag?”

Shit.

I lowered my cowardly gaze instead of replying.

It took him a few moments to figure it all out.

“He made you do this, didn’t he? Let me stay here. Put up with me. Fucking tolerate me when you could barely stand my presence, right? Well, of course. Why else would you let me stay here? You hate me.” He paled. “Did he pay you?”

“No!” I said grimly. “He did not pay me.”

For a few moments, Luz was staring at me as if he’d never seen me before in his life, and it fucking hurt.

“Did you know my father sent me to one of those reform camps when I was a teen?” he asked me, breaking my heart. “None of them worked, but you… You’re a special kind of camp, aren’t you?”

I had no answer. I had no voice. And I cared for him so much. I didn’t know how much until this moment.

“I would have forgiven you for just about anything, Baz,” he said, lowering his eyes. “But this…”

I heard him open the front door, and then he was gone. He didn’t even slam it on his way out. He left the same way he confessed his feelings… gently.

After that, I sent a text to Jordan.

Me: Luz is on his way to you. Text me when he gets there.

A few minutes passed before I got a reply.

Jordan: He’s here. He’s safe. We’re going to my place, but what the hell, Bazooka? What did you say to him? He’s… he’s fucking sobbing, man.

Me: The truth.

After that, I called General Zablonsky.

“Detective Bradley,” he answered. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I said, clearing my throat. “I just wanted to let you know Luz doesn’t live with me anymore. For the time being, he will stay with a colleague of mine, Detective Slade, who will ensure his safety. Just in case, you should get Luz a bodyguard who will keep an eye on him from a distance.”

“Consider it done. May I ask what happened?”

“More or less what we knew would happen. Luz found your card in my bag and figured out the rest.”

The silence that ensued was deafening.

“I’m sorry, Detective Bradley. I never wanted this to happen.”

“Not as sorry as I am,” I said grimly. “By the way, if you’d told me that you sent Luz to the conversion therapy, I would have told you to fuck off the moment I saw you. So, I’m telling you this now. Fuck off and never call me again.”