Title: Clubbing Part One Saturday night ‘Wait for me outside. It’s members only. Don’t want you upsetting the owner, okay?’ ‘Yes Leo.’ Leo dropped Josh at the door to the night-club, then drove a little way from the entrance before parking. Josh watched him walk back to the club’s entrance, then smile at the enormous man in the doorway. ‘Hi Jimmy, how are you?’ ‘Fine thanks Sir. Yourself?’ ‘Okay thanks.’ Josh followed Leo inside, trying not to think too hard about Leo being a regular at what appeared to be an expensive night-club. ‘Katherine.’ The middle-aged woman in the obviously expensive dress turned at the sound of the familiar voice. ‘Leo McGarry. How are you, darling?’ ‘Okay. This is Josh Lyman.’ The woman gave Josh a very quick look up-and-down before smiling, stretching out her hand. ‘Josh, I’ve heard a lot about you. Come and meet some people.’ She looked at Leo who nodded. ‘Go ahead.’ Josh didn’t have time to wonder why the woman had sought Leo’s permission before leading him away. Or why Leo was already surrounded by a group of people before they were even ten feet apart. ‘David, this is Josh. Josh, this is David. He’s a congressional aide.’ The younger man gave Josh the same kind of appraisal and smiled a moment later. ‘So, you’re Leo’s? You are so lucky.’ Josh imagined he’d misheard. The music was loud, and the club crowded. ‘Yeah I work at the White House. I’m Deputy Chief of Staff. Leo’s deputy.’ David laughed. ‘His ‘deputy’. Nice phrase. How did you meet him? Here?’ Josh shook his head. ‘I’ve never been here before. I was with John Hoynes.’ David scowled. ‘I hear Hoynes is not nice.’ Josh shrugged. ‘He’s okay.’ ‘Ian, Henry, get over here. This is Josh.’ David beckoned two other younger men over and they smiled, nodding at the stranger. ‘He’s with Leo.’ Josh didn’t miss the look the two men exchanged. ‘How the Hell d’you get such a top?’ The background noise left Josh with only a vague idea what the blond man had said. Something about how he got his job. ‘Just lucky I guess.’ ‘Josh used to be with John Hoynes.’ David’s face showed his feelings. And his two friends apparently agreed with his assessment of the Vice President. ‘You having a good time kid?’ Leo came up behind Josh while he was talking with the three younger men. Who all walked away immediately. ‘This is a great place Leo.’ ‘Yeah. I used to come here when Katherine’s mother owned the place. When she retired, Katherine took it on.’ ‘I must have driven past this place a million times. I never knew it was a night-club.’ Leo smiled. ‘Good. They don’t let just anyone in.’ ‘David Solomon’s a member here.’ ‘Well, no. But his…well, he knows someone who is.’ Leo nodded towards the bar. David was standing beside an older man who was surrounded by younger men as Leo had been earlier. Josh frowned. ‘What do those guys think he’s gonna do?’ Leo steered Josh towards a quiet table in the corner of the large room. ‘Siddown kid.’ ‘Leo?’ ‘This isn’t just a night-club kid.’ Josh was unsettled by Leo’s comment. ‘What are you, all members of some secret society or something?’ Leo shrugged. ‘Something like that. Did you talk to David?’ ‘Yeah. He seemed pleased I wasn’t working for Hoynes.’ Leo frowned. ‘Did he say that?’ ‘He told some other people I wasn’t with Hoynes any more, and they were all pleased, apparently.’ Leo laughed. ‘Hoynes used to be a member here. Then something happened, and now he isn’t.’ ‘What?’ Leo shook his head. ‘Sorry, kid.’ Josh pouted crossly. ‘I’ll bet David’ll tell me if I ask him.’ ‘David doesn’t know. And if he tells you he does, he’s lying.’ ‘But you know, right?’ Leo nodded slowly. ‘Yeah. Me, Katherine, Hoynes.’ ‘What did he do Leo, run up a huge bar tab?’ ‘Stop fishing kid. I’m not gonna tell you. Now, you want another drink?’ ‘Yeah. I’ll get them.’ Josh nodded at Leo’s glass. What is that?’ ‘Diet Coke.’ ‘Okay.’ Leo watched Josh standing at the bar. Despite the crush around the bar, Josh was served immediately. The hand on his shoulder startled Leo. ‘He is cute. And smart. But he told some people he’d been with Hoynes. You need to talk to him Leo.’ ‘He was with Hoynes, Katherine. He worked on his campaign until I pulled him off.’ Katherine dropped into the seat recently vacated by Josh. ‘And he’s been with you ever since?’ Leo laughed. ‘Hell no! But he’s worked for me ever since.’ ‘Thank you for bringing him here. We’ve missed you. How have you been?’ ‘Busy.’ ‘Yeah. So what did you tell him about tonight?’ ‘That we were going to a club.’ Katherine frowned disapprovingly. ‘Leo!’ ‘Hey, the kid’s gotta get used to it. I didn’t wanna push him, okay?’ Leo reinforced his tone with a look that said ‘I don’t wanna hear it.’ And he didn’t. He had no intention of scaring Josh away by telling him exactly what kind of club Katherine ran. If they came again, he resolved, he would. But not this time. Katherine got up as Josh walked back to the table. ‘Don’t be a stranger Leo, okay?’ Tiredly, Leo said: ‘Yes Katherine.’ ‘You might have warned me.’ Josh handed Leo his twenty-dollar soft drink. He had stuck to a beer the barman recommended. Which had been forty dollars. Leo shrugged. ‘You did offer. And this isn’t your local bar. The club has to make money somehow.’ ‘Yeah, next time, you get ‘em in.’ Leo nodded. ‘Okay.’ Josh sipped at his drink as he watched the people around him. There were a few women, but only a handful in a room full of men. ‘You said this isn’t just a night-club. What is it?’ ‘You can’t go into the office tomorrow and tell people we came here, okay?’ Intrigued, Josh would have agreed to just about anything at that point. ‘Okay.’ ‘I’m serious Josh. No-one.’ ‘Okay Leo! Jeez. What do you do, worship Satan?’ Leo laughed uneasily. He hadn’t planned on telling Josh this tonight. ‘Not quite. But the people here do have a lifestyle which some people would find…different.’ Josh’s patience was rapidly running out. ‘Leo!’ ‘Most of the people here are in a relationship with someone else here. But it’s not exactly an equal relationship. Do you understand?’ ‘No.’ Leo sighed, draining almost all of his drink. ‘For some of them, it’s a basic sub/dom thing. For a few others, David, for example, it’s a more in-depth relationship.’ Although he wasn’t enjoying the explanation, at least Josh had understood so far. But now he was lost again. ‘In-depth?’ ‘They have a master/slave relationship. David’s master is an industrialist.’ ‘The older guy he was at the bar with?’ ‘Yuh.’ ‘And David is his slave? What, does he fetch and carry stuff?’ ‘Probably. Everyone has their own rules.’ Josh frowned, trying to understand. ‘Is it a sex thing?’ ‘Sometimes. Not always.’ ‘So why are we here?’ ‘I’m a member of the club.’ Trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere, Josh joked: ‘I don’t see you as a slave.’ Leo didn’t smile. ‘I’m not.’ ‘Whose master are you then?’ ‘No-ones. Yet.’ Leo looked directly at Josh, his meaning clear. Josh’s hand jerked and his glass toppled over, spilling the few inches of lager onto the table. Both men got up and a young man came over, mopping at the puddle with a sponge cloth. ‘Don’t worry. No harm done. Shall I get you another drink Sir?’ Leo nodded at Josh. ‘It was his. No thanks, we’re just leaving.’ ‘Not because of this I hope Sir?’ Leo shook his head. ‘No.’ As they walked to the door, Leo stopped and detoured to the bar. ‘Edward.’ ‘Leo. How are you?’ ‘Okay. And yourself?’ ‘Working too hard.’ Leo laughed. ‘I can’t imagine what that’s like.’ Edward chuckled. Nodding at Josh, Edward asked: ‘That your new boy?’ Leo shook his head slightly. ‘I wanted to ask a favor.’ ‘Anything, Leo. Unless you want to swap David for him, in which case, no way.’ ‘D’you think David might come over?’ ‘You want him to talk to the kid?’ As always, Edward was tuned into the gossips circulating round the club. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Sure. Give me a call.’ ‘Great. Thanks Edward. I owe you one.’ ‘I’ll bear that in mind next time I need a few strings pulled.’ But they both knew Edward would never ask Leo to use his position in the White House to help him. So they laughed, hugged, then parted. ‘Katherine, we’re leaving.’ ‘Leo?’ She looked across to the doorway where Josh waited, clearly anxious to leave. ‘It’s okay.’ She kissed him gently. ‘Take good care of him, you hear?’ Leo let himself be hugged. ‘Yeah.’ ************* Without asking, Leo dropped Josh at his own apartment. As he pulled away, he watched Josh in the rear-view mirror. Sighing quietly, he drove home.   On to the next part Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index

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