PETS Chapter 3
Ok, finally got around to the good old Roy/Ed smut.
TITLE: Pets Chapter 3
PAIRING: Roy/Ed, other pairings implied.
RATING:NC-17
WARNINGS: Non-con. Intimidation. Squick. Breif mention of torture and rape. SWEARING!!!
SUMMARY: The situation was utterly insane. Roy shouldn't even BE in this room right now, much less sitting naked on a bed while a boy half his age molested him. Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
( Prologue )
( Chapter 1 )
( Chapter 2 )
CHAPTER 3
Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
The situation was utterly insane. Roy shouldn't even BE in this room right now, much less sitting naked on a bed while a boy half his age molested him. How in the world was he going to write this up?
Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes needed a favor. He needed an alchemist to do a little investigative work, check up on an illegal alchemy factory, and report back. Who could be better for the job than his smooth-talking friend, Roy? The intelligence officer had already done all the preliminaries, making the contacts, coming up with a backstory. Roy's charm would carry him the rest of the way. All he had to do was fast-talk Greed into blabbing about his alchemical practices. Then when Roy had gleaned what he could, he was to shake hands with the man and report back. End of story.
It was honestly supposed to be an afternoon's worth of work, tops. A diversion from the normal grind. A break from paperwork, which was even now piled precariously high on his desk, waiting for his attention.
He should have left hours ago, but the information kept coming. Prostitution, drugs, money laundering, forgery, all very ordinary crimes. Easily dealt with. In fact, Hughes already had those rackets well mapped out. The illegal alchemy should have been minor as well.
Chimeras, a homunculus, Hohenheim's children, a building booby-trapped to the hilt with deadly arrays that were triggered by a person's thoughts alone. The existence of even one of those things would be enough to cause a stir at headquarters, but to find all of them, together in one place…
Greed likes you. And you know what he does with things he likes, don't you?
I've got to get the hell out of here, thought Roy.
"If I walk out this door," he said to Ed. "What will happen?"
"Dorchet will ask you if you need anything. And if you don't he'll send you back." The boy regarded him sympathetically with his large amber eyes. Beautiful eyes. Roy shifted uncomfortably. This would be a lot easier if Edward weren't so attractive. It was distracting having him so close, especially when he was…
"Cut it out," Roy growled, and pushed Ed's hand off his thigh. "I need to think." Roy put his hand to his face. "If I went out the window… what then?"
"The alarms will be triggered and you will have a lot of explaining to do to Greed." The boy flashed a wide toothy smile, as though Roy had suggested something obviously stupid. "Sneaking out is really difficult. But I've done it a number of times."
"How did you do it?"
"Uh-uh." Ed shook his head. "That's risky for me, and pointless anyway." The boy's hand was back on his thigh. "Though, I may reconsider, if you give me what I need."
Not that again. Roy colored. Absurd, there was no way he was going to collaborate in this child's degeneracy. His earlier weakness was a fluke. He attempted to remove the offending hand again, but the kid resisted.
"Oh, just stop being so fucking noble," said Ed fiercely.
The boy suddenly shoved him away and stood up. "What do I have to offer you? Want me to make you a map of where all the traps are? I can do that. Want me to give you a tip off on how to escape? I can do that, too, not that I think it's going to do you a bit of good. All I fucking ask you is for is that you scratch my back, too."
It struck Roy how different Ed was now from that clingy, submissive child Greed had held on his lap. Was that an act the kid put on for Greed's benefit? Or was it just that there was a pecking order, with Greed on top and Roy decidedly at the bottom.
"Do you hate me or something? Why the hell won't you cooperate?" The kid was undeniably agitated. His automail hand closed into a fist and Roy worried that Ed might actually hit him, but instead the kid hit the mattress. "Do you have any FUCKING idea what will happen to me if I walk out this door like I am now?"
"No."
Ed sucked in a deep breath. "Last time I circumvented one of Greed's punishments, he broke my leg. Then he gave me to the chimeras. Then he called the doctor to set it."
Roy's mouth went dry.
"Worse, he made Al watch the whole thing. And he told me the next time I defied him like that he might do it the other way around, and make Al suffer and me watch. I'm fucking not going to let that happen to Al."
Roy's stomach bottomed out.
"So, do us both a favor, and stop being such a fucking nice guy."
"Maybe we can both escape…"
There were tears in the kid's eyes. "Roy, do you have any clue how many times I've tried to escape? Any clue? I've been trying to get out of here for FIVE STINKING YEARS. Getting the military involved was my last fucking hope, and all they did was send you." Ed collapsed on the bed. "They might as well have given Greed a present."
Roy reached out a tentative hand and stroked the child's naked back. "I give up already," said Ed. "All I want is to not be hurt. To keep Al safe. It's all my fault anyway for wanting what I shouldn't. For not being content with what I have. Al was right. Every time I fight back I just make things worse. You are a nice man. I'm sorry I got you involved."
Roy continued to stroke the boy's back. It was wrong, all horribly wrong. He didn't want Ed, and Ed didn't want him. To touch this child would be degrading for both of them.
And yet, the array he'd witness earlier was wrong as well. It was an illegal deadly weapon, and he'd stood by and watched this boy make it and Greed use it, and he hadn't felt a twinge of guilt. He'd gone on and negotiated for more of them. He'd left the basement workshop knowing that Ed and his brother were making more of them for someone else. Every single one of those sigils meant the death of a human being.
And here he was making a fuss about having sex.
"If we do this," said Roy, "Let me lead."
The boy's chest heaved with relief. Roy gently stroked his hair. It honestly wouldn't be that hard. Greed had called the kid pretty, but that wasn't doing Edward justice. He was flat out breathtaking. His hair was soft and thick and felt good under Roy's fingers. The back was lean and already taking on the musculature of adulthood. If one disregarded his size, it actually wasn't difficult to imagine the boy to be a bit older. Enough older to soften the edges of Roy's guilt.
Stop thinking of me as a child.
Roy took Ed's shoulder and gently flipped him over on his back. The boy's -- no, young man's - face was a bit red, and his eyes a bit bright, but there was hardness to his face. A grim set to the jaw that spoke of maturity. Eyes that spoke of experience.
I'm not a virgin. I haven't been one for years.
Roy pulled the long fringe of bangs away from Ed's cheeks and stroked the side of his face with a tender finger. Then swept across his cheek to his lips. He traced the upper lip first, then the lower one. Ed opened his mouth just a little, and Roy let his index finger slip within.
The boy's mouth drew him in further, his tongue curled around the digit, caressing the tip, then sucking. Roy pulled and Ed immediately relaxed and allowed him to withdraw his finger.
Roy leaned down, holding Ed's face cupped between his hands, and began kissing. Softly, small gentle brushes of his lips against the others, against his cheeks his forehead, his eyelids. Ed responded with quick shuddering breaths, arching his back and pushing up with his arms to make their connection firmer. Ed's lips found Roy's and took them in, not tenderly at all. Forcefully, heatedly.
"You taste good, " Ed breathed.
Ed tasted warm and clean. His skin felt like satin. Even the faint smell of mechanical oil from his automail had an exotic allure. Roy slipped his arms under Ed's shoulders and pulled him up to his chest, he put a hand at the nape of his neck, sliding through the hair, supporting his head. Ed's lips parted for his tongue. His mouth was hot, ready.
Roy felt Ed's arms embrace him, felt the young man shift to balance his weight better, to lean in. His chest felt hot against Roy's. Roy was free to let his own arms slide over Ed's back, following the line of his spine down to his hips where skin gave way to silk.
Ed wiggled a little then changed positions again, pulling away from Roy a little to bring his own legs up under him and then lifting himself off the bed. Roy hooked his fingers under the waistband and pulled, sliding the pants down the thighs. They both looked down at what was revealed.
Roy felt some relief to see not only an erection, but also a generous supply of dark golden curls framing it.
You want to sleep with me?
Very much.
With a little wiggling and a bit of effort Roy pushed the pants down further. Ed adjusted himself to help, and soon the silk pants joined the rest of the clothes on the floor. Ed's flesh hand found Roy's thigh once more and this time Roy didn't object. It followed the hard muscle up until it reached his testicles, and then gently cupped them. Roy's cock responded, coming to full hardness.
Ed slid back and leaned down to take the cock in his mouth. Roy sucked in a breath, his toes curled and an almost unbearable pleasure engulfed him. Ed's mouth was wet, his tongue moved slowly against the shaft and then he began sucking, rhythmically, head bobbing in time to the gentle pull.
It was almost too good, but the position put Ed's erection out of reach, and Roy refused to be a selfish lover, so he carefully pushed Ed away. Ed released him without complaint.
"Do you…" Roy asked. "Have you taken it before?"
"Many times," Ed snuggled into his chest, his hand taking the place of his mouth, continuing to stimulate Roy. "In the night table - if you can reach it."
Roy looked around and saw the table with a small drawer. He pulled it open. There was a bottle of lube and a few other toys. Roy couldn't suppress a dry chuckle. "I suppose I should have expected this from a man who runs a prostitution ring."
"Greed likes his clients to be happy. He does his best to accommodate them."
Roy opened the lube. It appeared untouched, which suggested the other toys might be as well. However he didn't completely trust that to be true and he carefully avoided touching anything else.
Ed took the bottle and opened it, spilling some on his hands and then working it over Roy's erection. "Would you like to do it, or would you rather watch me."
"I'll do it." And Ed poured the liquid over Roy's fingers as well.
Roy pushed Ed onto the covers and enjoyed for a moment the way Ed looked stretched out, hair spayed against the fabric of the coverlet. The look on Ed's face wasn't merely accepting, but intoxicatingly needy. But not quite there. Not yet.
Roy spent a little time attending to Ed's cock, stroking and teasing it. It was already at full attention, but Roy wanted more. He wanted that just-on-the-edge quality that would make the teen not only desire intrusion, but to downright demand it.
Soon enough Ed supplied him that satisfaction. "Aw, fuck me already, you cock-tease. Goddamn it, fuck me. Please."
Roy slid a finger in and felt Ed buck and shift to draw it deeper. The boy was relaxed.
I'm not a virgin.
The second finger slid in easily as well, and there was only a hint of effort in sliding in a third. Ed threw his head back; his eyes closed, and drew his legs up wantonly. Roy accepted the invitation and pulled himself up between those thighs. His fingers withdrew, to find his own cock for a quick pump and then to guide it home.
Ed was warm and tight, but not too tight. Roy allowed gravity to guide him in to the hilt, then waited until Ed pushed with his hips before settling into a slow rhythm.
Ed was ready to push further before Roy, thrusting up, trying to encourage a faster pace. His lips opened to reveal clenched teeth, and he grunted out his frustration. Roy felt Ed's hands grasp his hips pushing them to go deeper, harder, quicker.
Roy resisted, keeping up the slower pace until his own need complained. "Yes, " said Ed as soon as he sped up. Roy's fears of hurting the young man evaporated as he watched him respond ecstatically.
Roy leaned back, changing his angle just a bit and freeing a bit of space between them so that he could better rub Ed's erection. Ed suddenly opened his eyes and let out a half-shout, "YES!" Roy wasn't sure if that was due to his cock or his hand, but he was pleased either way.
Ed came suddenly, violently, grabbing the mattress to either side of him and pushing himself upwards, his knees pressed against the hollows of his shoulders. Inwardly he clenched and Roy found himself suddenly teetering on the brink. The expression, the sensation, too much. He felt the first wave of orgasm overcome him. He continued to thrust until he was completely dry and the sensation became too acute. Then he pulled out.
Ed uncurled and splayed out across the bed, a look of sleepy contentment on his face. Roy relaxed next to him, gently fingering the ends of the teen's hair.
Half my age. Fifteen years old. Roy's stomach tightened.
This would not be in the report, but he imagined it would get out eventually. He could hear the kid talking to Hughes. An accusing finger. He did it.
He could see Hughes shaking his head, looking at his friend wonderingly. I'll cover it up, Roy, but man. I didn't think you had it in you.
I had to…
No one HAS to fuck a little boy, Roy.
I had to…
"I sincerely hope that will satisfy Dorchet," Roy said after a while.
"It will,' said Ed. "I suppose you want the map of the house and it's traps."
Part of Roy wanted to say, no. Don't pay for this. You need to give me nothing more than you already have. But the realistic part of him clicked in. He needed that map. "And suggestions for how to get out of here as well."
Ed rolled over on his side. He had that sympathetic look on his face again. "It's too bad you aren't a Xing middle man," he said. "You would have been a good addition to the Family."
Thank goodness, I'm not, thought Roy. Much as he felt badly for Ed and his situation, the sooner he handed off this problem to Hughes, the better. Maybe he would be able to forget this happened. Maybe.
Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
Chapter 4 with PSA
TITLE: Pets Chapter 3
PAIRING: Roy/Ed, other pairings implied.
RATING:NC-17
WARNINGS: Non-con. Intimidation. Squick. Breif mention of torture and rape. SWEARING!!!
SUMMARY: The situation was utterly insane. Roy shouldn't even BE in this room right now, much less sitting naked on a bed while a boy half his age molested him. Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
( Prologue )
( Chapter 1 )
( Chapter 2 )
CHAPTER 3
Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
The situation was utterly insane. Roy shouldn't even BE in this room right now, much less sitting naked on a bed while a boy half his age molested him. How in the world was he going to write this up?
Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes needed a favor. He needed an alchemist to do a little investigative work, check up on an illegal alchemy factory, and report back. Who could be better for the job than his smooth-talking friend, Roy? The intelligence officer had already done all the preliminaries, making the contacts, coming up with a backstory. Roy's charm would carry him the rest of the way. All he had to do was fast-talk Greed into blabbing about his alchemical practices. Then when Roy had gleaned what he could, he was to shake hands with the man and report back. End of story.
It was honestly supposed to be an afternoon's worth of work, tops. A diversion from the normal grind. A break from paperwork, which was even now piled precariously high on his desk, waiting for his attention.
He should have left hours ago, but the information kept coming. Prostitution, drugs, money laundering, forgery, all very ordinary crimes. Easily dealt with. In fact, Hughes already had those rackets well mapped out. The illegal alchemy should have been minor as well.
Chimeras, a homunculus, Hohenheim's children, a building booby-trapped to the hilt with deadly arrays that were triggered by a person's thoughts alone. The existence of even one of those things would be enough to cause a stir at headquarters, but to find all of them, together in one place…
Greed likes you. And you know what he does with things he likes, don't you?
I've got to get the hell out of here, thought Roy.
"If I walk out this door," he said to Ed. "What will happen?"
"Dorchet will ask you if you need anything. And if you don't he'll send you back." The boy regarded him sympathetically with his large amber eyes. Beautiful eyes. Roy shifted uncomfortably. This would be a lot easier if Edward weren't so attractive. It was distracting having him so close, especially when he was…
"Cut it out," Roy growled, and pushed Ed's hand off his thigh. "I need to think." Roy put his hand to his face. "If I went out the window… what then?"
"The alarms will be triggered and you will have a lot of explaining to do to Greed." The boy flashed a wide toothy smile, as though Roy had suggested something obviously stupid. "Sneaking out is really difficult. But I've done it a number of times."
"How did you do it?"
"Uh-uh." Ed shook his head. "That's risky for me, and pointless anyway." The boy's hand was back on his thigh. "Though, I may reconsider, if you give me what I need."
Not that again. Roy colored. Absurd, there was no way he was going to collaborate in this child's degeneracy. His earlier weakness was a fluke. He attempted to remove the offending hand again, but the kid resisted.
"Oh, just stop being so fucking noble," said Ed fiercely.
The boy suddenly shoved him away and stood up. "What do I have to offer you? Want me to make you a map of where all the traps are? I can do that. Want me to give you a tip off on how to escape? I can do that, too, not that I think it's going to do you a bit of good. All I fucking ask you is for is that you scratch my back, too."
It struck Roy how different Ed was now from that clingy, submissive child Greed had held on his lap. Was that an act the kid put on for Greed's benefit? Or was it just that there was a pecking order, with Greed on top and Roy decidedly at the bottom.
"Do you hate me or something? Why the hell won't you cooperate?" The kid was undeniably agitated. His automail hand closed into a fist and Roy worried that Ed might actually hit him, but instead the kid hit the mattress. "Do you have any FUCKING idea what will happen to me if I walk out this door like I am now?"
"No."
Ed sucked in a deep breath. "Last time I circumvented one of Greed's punishments, he broke my leg. Then he gave me to the chimeras. Then he called the doctor to set it."
Roy's mouth went dry.
"Worse, he made Al watch the whole thing. And he told me the next time I defied him like that he might do it the other way around, and make Al suffer and me watch. I'm fucking not going to let that happen to Al."
Roy's stomach bottomed out.
"So, do us both a favor, and stop being such a fucking nice guy."
"Maybe we can both escape…"
There were tears in the kid's eyes. "Roy, do you have any clue how many times I've tried to escape? Any clue? I've been trying to get out of here for FIVE STINKING YEARS. Getting the military involved was my last fucking hope, and all they did was send you." Ed collapsed on the bed. "They might as well have given Greed a present."
Roy reached out a tentative hand and stroked the child's naked back. "I give up already," said Ed. "All I want is to not be hurt. To keep Al safe. It's all my fault anyway for wanting what I shouldn't. For not being content with what I have. Al was right. Every time I fight back I just make things worse. You are a nice man. I'm sorry I got you involved."
Roy continued to stroke the boy's back. It was wrong, all horribly wrong. He didn't want Ed, and Ed didn't want him. To touch this child would be degrading for both of them.
And yet, the array he'd witness earlier was wrong as well. It was an illegal deadly weapon, and he'd stood by and watched this boy make it and Greed use it, and he hadn't felt a twinge of guilt. He'd gone on and negotiated for more of them. He'd left the basement workshop knowing that Ed and his brother were making more of them for someone else. Every single one of those sigils meant the death of a human being.
And here he was making a fuss about having sex.
"If we do this," said Roy, "Let me lead."
The boy's chest heaved with relief. Roy gently stroked his hair. It honestly wouldn't be that hard. Greed had called the kid pretty, but that wasn't doing Edward justice. He was flat out breathtaking. His hair was soft and thick and felt good under Roy's fingers. The back was lean and already taking on the musculature of adulthood. If one disregarded his size, it actually wasn't difficult to imagine the boy to be a bit older. Enough older to soften the edges of Roy's guilt.
Stop thinking of me as a child.
Roy took Ed's shoulder and gently flipped him over on his back. The boy's -- no, young man's - face was a bit red, and his eyes a bit bright, but there was hardness to his face. A grim set to the jaw that spoke of maturity. Eyes that spoke of experience.
I'm not a virgin. I haven't been one for years.
Roy pulled the long fringe of bangs away from Ed's cheeks and stroked the side of his face with a tender finger. Then swept across his cheek to his lips. He traced the upper lip first, then the lower one. Ed opened his mouth just a little, and Roy let his index finger slip within.
The boy's mouth drew him in further, his tongue curled around the digit, caressing the tip, then sucking. Roy pulled and Ed immediately relaxed and allowed him to withdraw his finger.
Roy leaned down, holding Ed's face cupped between his hands, and began kissing. Softly, small gentle brushes of his lips against the others, against his cheeks his forehead, his eyelids. Ed responded with quick shuddering breaths, arching his back and pushing up with his arms to make their connection firmer. Ed's lips found Roy's and took them in, not tenderly at all. Forcefully, heatedly.
"You taste good, " Ed breathed.
Ed tasted warm and clean. His skin felt like satin. Even the faint smell of mechanical oil from his automail had an exotic allure. Roy slipped his arms under Ed's shoulders and pulled him up to his chest, he put a hand at the nape of his neck, sliding through the hair, supporting his head. Ed's lips parted for his tongue. His mouth was hot, ready.
Roy felt Ed's arms embrace him, felt the young man shift to balance his weight better, to lean in. His chest felt hot against Roy's. Roy was free to let his own arms slide over Ed's back, following the line of his spine down to his hips where skin gave way to silk.
Ed wiggled a little then changed positions again, pulling away from Roy a little to bring his own legs up under him and then lifting himself off the bed. Roy hooked his fingers under the waistband and pulled, sliding the pants down the thighs. They both looked down at what was revealed.
Roy felt some relief to see not only an erection, but also a generous supply of dark golden curls framing it.
You want to sleep with me?
Very much.
With a little wiggling and a bit of effort Roy pushed the pants down further. Ed adjusted himself to help, and soon the silk pants joined the rest of the clothes on the floor. Ed's flesh hand found Roy's thigh once more and this time Roy didn't object. It followed the hard muscle up until it reached his testicles, and then gently cupped them. Roy's cock responded, coming to full hardness.
Ed slid back and leaned down to take the cock in his mouth. Roy sucked in a breath, his toes curled and an almost unbearable pleasure engulfed him. Ed's mouth was wet, his tongue moved slowly against the shaft and then he began sucking, rhythmically, head bobbing in time to the gentle pull.
It was almost too good, but the position put Ed's erection out of reach, and Roy refused to be a selfish lover, so he carefully pushed Ed away. Ed released him without complaint.
"Do you…" Roy asked. "Have you taken it before?"
"Many times," Ed snuggled into his chest, his hand taking the place of his mouth, continuing to stimulate Roy. "In the night table - if you can reach it."
Roy looked around and saw the table with a small drawer. He pulled it open. There was a bottle of lube and a few other toys. Roy couldn't suppress a dry chuckle. "I suppose I should have expected this from a man who runs a prostitution ring."
"Greed likes his clients to be happy. He does his best to accommodate them."
Roy opened the lube. It appeared untouched, which suggested the other toys might be as well. However he didn't completely trust that to be true and he carefully avoided touching anything else.
Ed took the bottle and opened it, spilling some on his hands and then working it over Roy's erection. "Would you like to do it, or would you rather watch me."
"I'll do it." And Ed poured the liquid over Roy's fingers as well.
Roy pushed Ed onto the covers and enjoyed for a moment the way Ed looked stretched out, hair spayed against the fabric of the coverlet. The look on Ed's face wasn't merely accepting, but intoxicatingly needy. But not quite there. Not yet.
Roy spent a little time attending to Ed's cock, stroking and teasing it. It was already at full attention, but Roy wanted more. He wanted that just-on-the-edge quality that would make the teen not only desire intrusion, but to downright demand it.
Soon enough Ed supplied him that satisfaction. "Aw, fuck me already, you cock-tease. Goddamn it, fuck me. Please."
Roy slid a finger in and felt Ed buck and shift to draw it deeper. The boy was relaxed.
I'm not a virgin.
The second finger slid in easily as well, and there was only a hint of effort in sliding in a third. Ed threw his head back; his eyes closed, and drew his legs up wantonly. Roy accepted the invitation and pulled himself up between those thighs. His fingers withdrew, to find his own cock for a quick pump and then to guide it home.
Ed was warm and tight, but not too tight. Roy allowed gravity to guide him in to the hilt, then waited until Ed pushed with his hips before settling into a slow rhythm.
Ed was ready to push further before Roy, thrusting up, trying to encourage a faster pace. His lips opened to reveal clenched teeth, and he grunted out his frustration. Roy felt Ed's hands grasp his hips pushing them to go deeper, harder, quicker.
Roy resisted, keeping up the slower pace until his own need complained. "Yes, " said Ed as soon as he sped up. Roy's fears of hurting the young man evaporated as he watched him respond ecstatically.
Roy leaned back, changing his angle just a bit and freeing a bit of space between them so that he could better rub Ed's erection. Ed suddenly opened his eyes and let out a half-shout, "YES!" Roy wasn't sure if that was due to his cock or his hand, but he was pleased either way.
Ed came suddenly, violently, grabbing the mattress to either side of him and pushing himself upwards, his knees pressed against the hollows of his shoulders. Inwardly he clenched and Roy found himself suddenly teetering on the brink. The expression, the sensation, too much. He felt the first wave of orgasm overcome him. He continued to thrust until he was completely dry and the sensation became too acute. Then he pulled out.
Ed uncurled and splayed out across the bed, a look of sleepy contentment on his face. Roy relaxed next to him, gently fingering the ends of the teen's hair.
Half my age. Fifteen years old. Roy's stomach tightened.
This would not be in the report, but he imagined it would get out eventually. He could hear the kid talking to Hughes. An accusing finger. He did it.
He could see Hughes shaking his head, looking at his friend wonderingly. I'll cover it up, Roy, but man. I didn't think you had it in you.
I had to…
No one HAS to fuck a little boy, Roy.
I had to…
"I sincerely hope that will satisfy Dorchet," Roy said after a while.
"It will,' said Ed. "I suppose you want the map of the house and it's traps."
Part of Roy wanted to say, no. Don't pay for this. You need to give me nothing more than you already have. But the realistic part of him clicked in. He needed that map. "And suggestions for how to get out of here as well."
Ed rolled over on his side. He had that sympathetic look on his face again. "It's too bad you aren't a Xing middle man," he said. "You would have been a good addition to the Family."
Thank goodness, I'm not, thought Roy. Much as he felt badly for Ed and his situation, the sooner he handed off this problem to Hughes, the better. Maybe he would be able to forget this happened. Maybe.
Hughes owed him for this. Big time.
Chapter 4 with PSA