For Disclaimer and Author's Notes, see Prologue.
Chapter One
The business man wanted nothing more than to get on the bus to go home and then eat a quiet dinner with his wife. Work had been especially difficult for him that day; by quitting time, he had found himself possessed by the urge to scream his frustration from his office window. Not that he'd ever give the job up. It paid well enough so that he could have his own car if he wanted. The only reason he still used the bus was that he and his wife were saving up for a new house and needed to buy it before the baby came.
Tonight, however, the desires of the business man were put on hold as he heard a man groaning in pain while on his way to the bus stop. With a respectable amount of fear, the business man stepped into the alley from which the sounds had emanated and said quietly, "Is somebody there?"
"I'm… here. Help me. Please-please help me."
The business man moved cautiously towards the speaker, only spotting him when he tripped over the poor fellow. Turning quickly, his eyes widened.
The man cowered in the corner, completely naked and shaking. The streetlights reflecting off his skin showed the business man the black bruises that were liberally scattered across his body and the gashes still flowing with fresh blood. The beating had been recent and his muggers had obviously been desperate since they had taken everything from the man except for his underwear.
"Oh my God," the business man said, starting to tremble.
"Please," the man pleaded.
The business man quickly took off his jacket and held it out to the other man. "Here," he said. "Can you walk?"
A sharp jerk of the man's tawny head was the business man's reply. "Yeah. Think I can."
"Do you have anywhere to go?"
This time, the head moved sideways, hair caked with filth flying in his eyes. "No. Just got here. Please d-don't take me to the hospital."
"Why not?"
"They'd make me talk to the cops."
Realization drained the color from the business man's cheeks. "They threatened you, didn't they?"
Again, the man nodded. "Said they'd-they'd finish the job."
A decision was reached quickly in the mind of the business man. "Okay. You can stay with me and my wife."
"But-"
"No but's. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't help you somehow and this is, as far as I can tell, the only solution to your dilemma."
The man smiled, wiping salty tears from his eyes with a shaking hand before they could irritate the open wounds on his face. "Thank you."
"Come on." The business man held out a hand to help the man up and then threw the proffered arm over his shoulder when the man stumbled almost immediately. "My name's Charlie Winfield."
"Thank you, Mr. Winfield. My name's William Ashton. You can call me Will."
"Well, Will Ashton, welcome to the outskirts of Los Angeles, California."