Part 5-Errands

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to my beta, Invisible Ranger. Thanks so much for the inspiration!-Maumauka

"Good morning, Faceman! It's such a beautiful day, I decided to make blueberry pancakes." Murdock, clad only in Woody Woodpecker boxers, held a mixing bowl on his hip as he whipped the batter around with a spoon. His chest was already covered with splatters.

"Morning. You better wash that off before it gets sticky." Face rummaged in the cupboards for coffee until Murdock tapped him and pointed to the drip machine on the counter.

"I will as soon as I get it to the exact right consistency. Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, but I thought you said Johnny Black never sleeps alone? As far as I can tell, I was the only one in the bed last night."

"He was with me."

Face had no desire to ask the pilot to elaborate. He poured himself a cup of coffee and added sugar and cream. Murdock flicked some water into the skillet he was heating on the stove. "We've got a lot to do today, Facey. Amy messengered a list of Blaine Taylor's usual haunts. Well check them out this morning and then we've gotta rest up for tonight."

"What happens tonight?"

"We go to Spartacus. It's one of the biggest clubs in the area-caters to every flavor in the candy box. Johnny should be very popular."

"I'll bet. So where is he this morning?"

Murdock shrugged. "I dunno. I don't keep track of him every second. I don't know where Fireman Fred or Captain Cab are, either."

"Mm. How did you come up with this particular character, anyway?"

"All right! There she is, sizzlin' hot and ready for butter!" Murdock grabbed a stick of butter off the counter and cut a hefty chunk into the skillet. Face waited, but Murdock didn't say anything else. Instead he began dipping out the batter and the usual mouthwatering smell of Murdock-cooking filled the room. Face's stomach growled. "Well, how did you come up with him?"

"Come up with who?"

"Johnny Black."

"That'd be telling, Faceman. You're just gonna have to wonder." Murdock winked at him.

"All right. Is he coming with us today? Do I need to wear a leash?"

"Don't be silly! You don't even have a collar yet. He might drop in, he might not. Johnny Black is a law unto himself."

Face tried not to think of the humiliation he'd suffer if he actually had to wear a collar and leash in public. Maybe he should disguise himself, dye his hair or something. That way he'd be less likely to be recognized by anyone he knew. If anyone he knew even went to a club like Spartacus, that was.

The pancakes were perfect. Murdock somehow managed to get them both fluffy and crispy around the edges. "You know Murdock, I said it before and I'll say it again-you'd make someone a wonderful wife."

"You think these are great, you should try one of my back rubs" the pilot said with his mouth full. "By the way, did you pack my Underoos?"

"You mean the Fruit-of-the-Looms with the Batman logos that you drew on? Yes."

"They must be behind the lettuce. I also can't find my Droopy Dog boxers, and you know I'm not happy when I can't gird my loins with funny animals."

"Those were in the wash when we left."

The post-breakfast cleanup took longer than usual, since Murdock's batter-splatter was on the ceiling as well as on the floor, on the counters, and just about everywhere else. By the time Face had finished and gotten himself dressed and ready, Murdock was sitting on the couch watching Captain Kangeroo. Face blinked. The only item of his usual apparel that Murdock was wearing was his leather jacket. The rest of his outfit consisted of a tight black T-shirt, black jeans that were actually the right length, and combat boots. He was not wearing his cap; instead he'd pulled his hair back into a short ponytail, and was that an earring in his left ear?

"Wow Murdock, you look really different."

"Shh! Here they come!"

Murdock chortled with glee as ping-pong balls cascaded down on the luckless Captain's head, then turned the TV off. "Sorry, but I've got to see the ping-pong balls. Did you know they all have names? There's Barry and Ethel and Frank and Margaret and Cecil and-"

"That's nice" Face tapped his watch. "We need to go."

Jackie's list included clothing shops, restaurants, music stores and a bookstore. It was a pretty long list; Blaine Taylor clearly wasn't a homebody.

The first place they stopped was the bookstore. A woman who looked nearly as big and strong as B.A. grinned at them as they came in. "Hi! Can I help you?"

"Hi there!" Face pasted on his PR smile. "My name's Steve Taylor. I'm looking for someone. Do you know this guy? His name's Blaine Taylor?" Face held up the snapshot Jackie had provided.

The woman tilted her massive, buzz-cut head. "Yeah. He comes in here sometimes to get the papers. Good-looking kid. Seems like he has a new boyfriend every time I see him."

Out of the corner of his eye, Face noticed that Murdock had wandered over to a nearby bookshelf and was rummaging through it. He prayed the pilot wouldn't make too big of a mess. "Blaine's my cousin. I haven't seen him in a few years. We lost touch after college, but my family in Indiana's planning a reunion for next summer and I thought it would be nice if Blaine and I could re-connect. His sister gave me an address for him out here but I guess he moved. The person that answered the door never heard of him. Do any of his friends come in here? Someone who might know where he is?"

"Some of them" the woman nodded. "People come through here at all hours, though, and I'm only here three days a week. Tell you what: leave me your number and if I see any of them, I'll ask them to call you, okay?"

"That's so nice of you! Thank you very much, Miss-"

"Marion. Just Marion."

"Well thank you, Marion." Face scrawled the apartment phone number on a slip of paper. Murdock chose that time to pop out from behind the bookshelf with three books. "I'll take these please, ma'am."

Marion read the titles grinned. "You like Harry Dickey?"

"Yup. He's my favorite."

"One of mine too. I don't usually read the boy books, but there's just something about him. He knows how to be sweet AND dirty. It's rare."

Face glanced at one of the paperbacks and instantly felt his face turn red. What kind of author would title a book Cockpit Canoodling?

"I agree. It's a tough balance, but I think Lance Fokker is right when he tells Tim the Mechanic it's all about knowing what people want."

"Tim the Mechanic?" Face muttered under his breath. Murdock beamed at him. "I'll loan em' to you when I finish reading them. You're gonna love Harry Dickey, darlin'!"

Face couldn't help rolling his eyes. "I can't wait."

Marion gave a rumbling laugh and rang up Murdock's purchases. In addition to the books, he had a purple t-shirt that said, "Gay? I prefer 'Enchanted!'", a rainbow flag, and a leather cap with a chain across the front. He paid for these items with his own money, to Face's considerable relief.

The rest of the day was a busy one as they worked their way down Jackie's list. A few people knew Blaine Taylor, but nobody knew where he'd gone. Opinion seemed to be divided, with half the community believing that Blaine had gotten a better job and the other half that he'd "finally bagged a sugar daddy" and taken off for Europe.

"I guess you're not the only one with expensive tastes, Faceman" Murdock commented once they were back in the car.

"Well it stands to reason, doesn't it? If he's a habitual gambler, he needs to have deep pockets, whether they're his own or someone else's"

There were messages on the answering machine when they got home. Face listened to the messages. One was from Hannibal and BA. They'd discovered that Blaine Taylor's last visit to Vegas had included a handsome older guy who seemed to be very well off. He'd covered all of Blaine's losses and even paid some of his back debt. The older guy was described as tall and dark, muscular, with a little gray showing in his hair, and deep green eyes.

That sounded promising; Face could ask about him on their next round of errands. There was a message from Jackie, asking how they were settling in and the last message was from someone unfamiliar. "Hi, is this Steve Taylor? My name's Chad Hicks. Marion at Lambda Books gave me your number, I heard you're looking for Blaine. You can get ahold of me at 555-2323. Thanks!"

Face picked up the phone and dialed the number. "This is Steve Taylor. Is this Chad Hicks?"

"I'm glad you called" Chad said. His voice was soft, with a gentle Southern lilt. "I've been worried about Blaine."

"We're in the same boat with that, I guess" Face shifted into the con, widening his blue eyes even though there was nobody else in the room." My family in Indiana are planning a reunion next summer and we'd like it an awful lot if Blaine and Jackie could come. Jackie gave me his last address here in San Francisco, but he doesn't seem to be living there anymore. Do you have any idea where he might have moved to?"

"No idea" Chad sighed. "We haven't spoken since Blaine hooked up with some older guy who watches him like a hawk. Every time he goes on a business trip, the guy whisks Blaine away to go with him. Married of course; probably doesn't want his wife to know he's picking fruit from the other tree" The young man sounded sounded bitter, making Face pretty sure he was talking to an ex. "Do you know who the older guy is?"

"No. I've seen him once or twice at the clubs downtown, but he's a high roller. A guy like him will have a membership somewhere like Noir or Odile's. Somewhere he can show off his boy candy to other rich daddies."

Face hastily jotted down the names of the clubs. "So, these places you mentioned are exclusive?"

"You bet. You have to be sponsored to be a member, but you can come once as a guest. Blaine was always dying to be asked. He liked the heavy stuff."

"The heavy stuff?"

"You know. Whips and chains. Bondage. Stuff like that."

So Hannibal had known what he was doing when he told Murdock to bring "Johnny Black" out of retirement. Face wondered why Jackie hadn't said anything to him and Murdock about it.

"You don't think this guy hurt him or anything do you?"

"I hope not. I hope Blaine turns up tanned and happy and walking funny, but it worries me that he hasn't called. You see, we used to date."

Bingo, Face thought.

"We stayed friends after we broke up-it was a mutual thing. He used to call me before he went away anywhere and I would house-sit for him, water the plants, that kind of thing. He didn't do that this time. It's not like him; he's very picky about his house."

"Well Chad, I appreciate you calling me back." Face thought he'd better bring the conversation to a close. He wasn't sure Chad had much more information to give.

"Anytime. And please tell Blaine to call me if you hear from him."

Face agreed and hung up. After a quick snack, Murdock stayed in the living room to watch cartoons while Face stripped off his clothes and prepared to spend some quality time in the Jacuzzi. Unfortunately, when he got to the bathroom, the first thing he saw was that the tub was full of a mysterious purple glop that was being gently percolated by the jets. "MURDOCK!"

"Yeah?!" Murdock yelled back from the living room.

"WHAT IS THIS GUNK IN THE HOT TUB?!"

"Grape soda!"

Jesus Christ, what next?! "AND WHY IS THERE GRAPE SODA IN THE HOT TUB?!" Face wasn't even sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Because it's homemade, Faceman! My own private recipe! You're gonna love it."

Wrapping a towel around his hips, Face stomped into the living room. "Murdock" he said in what he thought was a fairly reasonable tone of voice. "I have never, ever drunk anything that was made in a bathtub. I don't plan to start now. Go in there and clean it up."

"Can't. It needs to perk until tomorrow."

"You'll ruin the pump!"

"No I won't. Not if I run it clean for 24 hours."

Face fought the urge to grab the pilot shake him. Instead, he gritted his teeth and spoke very slowly. "Murdock, we are in a very nice place, lent to us by a very nice lady. I do NOT want to have to explain to Jackie that she will need to put in a new Jacuzzi because you embarked on one of your insane cooking experiments! Now get in there and clean it up!"

"You like my insane experiments, Faceman." Murdock said in an insufferably patient way. "So why don't you trust me on this one? This is gonna be some of the best soda pop you ever had in your life, so just relax. Take a nice shower; use some of those pretty-smelling soaps you like, and rest up for tonight."

"Damn it Murdock, would you quit talking to me like I'm the mental patient? Until we go out on the job tonight, I'm not speaking to you. Got it?"

Murdock pouted and turned the volume up on the TV. Face stormed into the shower and turned the hot water on full blast. He knew he was overreacting, but he didn't know why.

He chose not to think about it. Or about the gurgling noise the tub was making.