Title Clubbing Part Eleven ‘Leo, it’s John. You free for lunch? I want to talk to you.’ ‘About?’ Leo didn’t like Hoynes. He knew he wasn’t on a list of John’s top ten friends either, but they had to work together. They definitely did not have to socialise more than absolutely necessary. ‘Somewhere away from the building.’ Leo sighed. He’d known this was coming. But just not when. Apparently ‘when’ was now. ‘Yours or mine?’ ‘Both Leo.’ ‘I’ll get Margaret to book somewhere.’ Leo was surprised at the sharpness of the reply: ‘No! It’s not…government business.’ Leo enjoyed making John squirm, but he was busy. ‘Fine. Johnsons. One-thirty.’ ‘Okay.’ Replacing his cell phone in his jacket, Leo got up. ‘Josh.’ A couple of minutes later, Josh walked into Leo’s office. Trying to deflect Leo’s inevitable anger at the delay in his appearance, he said quickly: ‘I was on the phone.’ Leo smiled. ‘You free for lunch?’ Josh nodded. ‘Yeah.’ ‘We’ll leave at one.’ Wondering what was going on, Josh shrugged. ‘Okay.’ ************** Hoynes saw Leo and walked across. Then he saw Josh. ‘Leo. Josh.’ Josh was surprised to see Hoynes. And how uncomfortable he looked. ‘Er, Leo, um…I thought…’ Leo smiled. Josh knew this was not a friendly smile. He was becoming very good at judging Leo’s moods using the smallest signals. Leo had been tense for the previous ten minutes, and Josh suddenly got the feeling he was being used. He just had no idea what for. ‘It’s okay John, Josh understands.’ Leo said smoothly. ‘Maybe this wasn’t a good idea.’ Hoynes began to get up, and Leo saw his agents moving. ‘Siddown John. I’ve interrupted my day for you. Now what do you want?’ Looking incredibly uncomfortable, John looked quickly from Josh to Leo. ‘I want back in Leo.’ ‘No.’ ‘Leo, I’ve paid the price for my mistake.’ ‘Really? How do you work that out?’ John’s face changed from uncomfortable to angry. ‘Leo, don’t make me beg.’ Leo smiled. ‘I think we’d like to see that, wouldn’t we, Josh?’ Josh realised just in time he wasn’t expected to contribute to the conversation and concentrated on the menu. This wasn’t a conversation between the Vice-President and the Chief of Staff. This was between John and Leo. ‘No-one wants to play with you John. They’re all afraid they’ll end up like Daniel.’ ‘It was an accident!’ Hoynes hissed. ‘Breaking a plate is an accident John. Letting a kid almost die in the Residence is beyond stupid.’ ‘He asked for a glass of water. I was only gone five minutes.’ Leo stared at Hoynes until he looked away. ‘I need to talk to Catherine.’ ‘Fine.’ ‘I’ll call you this evening.’ ‘I appreciate this Leo.’ Leo smiled. ‘I know John.’ He made eye contact with the waitress who came over as Hoynes walked away. ‘I’ll have the salmon. Josh?’ ‘Er…’ ‘Josh, you have been looking at the damn’ menu for ten minutes!’ Quickly, Josh said: ‘I’ll have the same.’ The waitress smiled. ‘Sure thing gentleman. And to drink?’ Leo interrupted whatever Josh had been about to say. ‘We’ll have a bottle of water.’ ‘I’ll be right back with it.’ For some reason Josh didn’t understand, Leo was still extremely unsettled. He’d seemed to have the upper hand in the conversation. Josh decided he’d let the fact that he was enjoying a really nice lunch override his curiosity. Until later. ************* ‘I’m gonna be out this evening. Your month is up. If you wanna leave, I’ll expect you gone by the time I get back.’ Leo had been deciding on the form of words he was going to use all day, and in the car on the way home, he managed to come out with something completely different. Josh was obviously shaken. He hadn’t realised the time had gone by so quickly. ‘Okay.’ ************ ‘Catherine, I need to talk to you about Hoynes.’ ‘I don’t want him in here Leo. It’s my club.’ ‘Catherine, my name might not be on any paperwork, but…’ Angrily, Catherine snapped: ‘You want him back. Well, fine. But the next time he almost kills a teenager, you sort it out.’ ‘Catherine! The kid was almost twenty. And he wasn’t dragged outta here.’ ‘I don’t want to hear it Leo. You let him back, you take responsibility for him.’ ‘You know, that’s not a bad idea.’ ‘What?’ Leo smiled. Like Josh, Catherine recognised the smile. She frowned. She could almost guess what Leo was thinking. ‘How in the Hell am I gonna organise it?’ More sharply this time, Catherine asked again. ‘What?’ ‘I think a little subbing might just do it.’ Catherine looked at Leo in amazement. ‘Who would take him on?’ ‘I would.’ ‘What about Josh?’ ‘The kid’ll cope for a couple of days.’ Finally Catherine understood. ‘You mean a slave weekend?’ ‘Yup.’ ‘Where would Josh stay?’ ‘Here.’ ‘And where would I go?’ ‘My place.’ Catherine looked at Leo, her smile matching his. ‘Oh, I am gonna so enjoy this.’ ‘Unlike Hoynes. Who probably isn’t.’ ‘Did you tell him already?’ Leo shook his head, unfolding his cell phone. ‘No. Let’s do that now.’ Folding the phone closed, Catherine took it from Leo. ‘Something’s bothering you.’ ‘I gave Josh a month. It’s up today.’ ‘Go home Leo.’ ‘I’ll pick you up early Saturday.’ ‘Go home. And call me if you want to talk.’ If Josh is gone when you get home. Leo hadn’t been going to. All the way home, he’d decided he’d wait until the morning to look in Josh’s room. If he was there, he’d see him. And if he wasn’t, he’d check if he’d taken his things or just stayed out. As he walked through the front door, he changed his mind. He knew he’d never sleep until he’d found out. Josh was lying on the couch watching a movie. He looked up sleepily as Leo came in. ‘Leo.’ Leo smiled, walking across to the couch. ‘Bed kid. Now.’ Getting up slowly, Josh smiled too. ‘Yes Leo.’ ************** Hoynes dropped his holdall on the floor. ‘Where’s Josh?’ ‘He’s away this weekend John.’ Leo nodded at the cupboard. ‘You can put your stuff in there. You won’t be needing it.’ Hoynes stared at Leo for a moment, his gaze flicking to Catherine. Shrugging, he dropped his holdall on the floor of the cupboard. Leo pushed the door closed. ‘Where are your guys?’ ‘They’ve taken the next door apartment.’ ‘Are they listening?’ ‘Maybe.’ Leo smiled. ‘Then they’re in for a fun-packed two days, right Catherine?’ Hoynes wasn’t sure why, but Catherine seemed less than pleased he was there, and he tried to control the butterflies that were multiplying inside his stomach. ‘Yes Leo.’ Hoynes groaned inwardly. Leo was in charge. Hoynes had hoped that Leo would be too busy with Josh to stay, leaving him with Catherine. He was clearly mistaken. He shivered, suddenly horribly nervous. Unlike Leo who was rolling up his shirt-sleeves. ‘So, you ready John?’ Leo wanted Hoynes to realise that this was his last chance to back out. He waited until Hoynes nodded. ‘What about a safe word?’ Leo stared at him. ‘You won’t need one. You’re just gonna have to trust us John. Go into the living room and wait for us.’ ‘Lose the clothes, slave.’ John swallowed hard. Although he’d agreed to Leo and Catherine’s terms, he was having second thoughts. And Leo’s instruction, although not unexpected, rammed home the message that he was in for a rough ride if he stayed. Sensing his hesitation, Leo took a step towards Hoynes. ‘Either you didn’t hear me, in which case we need to clean out your ears, or you’re being difficult, in which case we need to remind you of your place. Which is it, slave?’ As quickly as he could, Hoynes stripped off his shirt and jeans. Wrapping his arms around his chest, he stood in front of them in his boxers. He saw Leo staring at him. ‘Well?’ ‘Leo, you’re not…’ The slap was so sudden, he didn’t have time to move before Leo’s hand connected with his cheek. ‘What did you call me, slave?’ Hoynes’ cheeks burned with his humiliation. He dropped his gaze to the floor. ‘I’m sorry…master.’ ‘Better. I think you need to cool off, slave.’ Leo shoved him towards the bathroom, Catherine ahead of him. Leo waited until Catherine turned on the shower, briefly pushing her hand under the powerful stream of water. ‘Get ‘em off, slave. Now.’ Turning slightly, Hoynes pulled his boxers off, leaving them on the floor. ‘Two minutes. Get in, slave.’ Leo looked at his watch as Hoynes climbed into the tub. He gasped as the freezing water hit his back. ‘Christ, Leo, please…’ ‘Five minutes. Careful slave. One more word out of place, you get something when you come out too.’ Shivering, John stepped out of the tub, dripping cold water onto the tiled floor. ‘Something you want to say to me, slave? ’ Trying to warm himself up by rubbing his arms and torso, John gasped: ‘I’m sorry Master. I’ll try harder to behave from now on.’ Tossing him a towel from the rack above the bath, Leo snapped: ‘Dry yourself. ‘Catherine needs a footstool. Get in there, slave.’ Hoynes tried not to move, despite the muscle cramps which were stabbing at his limbs and the discomfort of having the weight of Catherine’s legs stretched across his back. He shifted slightly, trying to lessen the discomfort, only to receive yet another smack across his thighs from the rolled-up magazine Catherine held. She looked up at the clock directly in front of her and moved her legs. ‘Up slave.’ Hoynes got slowly to his feet, his muscles complaining at the sudden movement after almost an hour of inactivity. ‘Leo needs a table, slave. Go in the kitchen.’ Hoynes knelt at Leo’s side, one hand holding Leo’s coffee mug, the other a plate of biscuits. Letting his mind drift, he was startled when Leo took the mug from him, and the plate slid downwards, the biscuits dropping to the floor. Leo cuffed him around the back of the head. ‘Hopeless, slave. Does the slave want to be punished?’ ‘No Master.’ ‘Too bad, slave. Catherine!’ ‘Yes Leo?’ Appearing in the doorway, Catherine stared at the mess on the floor around Hoynes. She sighed, shaking her head. ‘Corner time, while we decide how to punish our slave.’ Hoynes started to get to his feet. ‘Clear up the mess first slave!’ Hoynes looked round for a dustpan. ‘Lucky for you the floor’s clean. You so much as think about using your hands, slave will regret it. Get to it, slave.’ Hoynes hesitated only a moment before bending down and picking the first of the biscuits up and dropping it from his mouth onto the plate. Hoynes saw the look Catherine and Leo exchanged. Catherine went to the counter and pulled a wooden spoon from the utensils jar. She sat on the chair and waited until the floor was cleared of biscuit crumbs. ‘Over my knee slave. You make a sound and you’ll be wearing a duct tape gag for the rest of the weekend. Understand?’ ‘Yes mistress.’ Hoynes got up and leaned across Catherine’s lap. When it became obvious that he was going to be unable to maintain his balance, Leo pushed a chair across and Hoynes rested his hands on the seat. He was horribly aware of how his butt was now raised. The stinging blows merged into one another, until John at last felt the endorphins kicking in. It was almost more difficult to keep quiet as the pleasure/pain sensations assaulted his brain and body than it had been when he was aware only of the pain of the punishment. He moaned slightly and bit his lip to stop himself making any further sounds. Immediately, Catherine stopped and pushed him off her lap. He dropped to the floor, his limbs unable to support his weight. ‘Now get in the corner slave.’ Catherine nodded at the far end of the kitchen. Hoynes got up and walked slowly across to the wall, standing with his back to Leo and Catherine. If they were having a discussion, he couldn’t hear it. He was tempted to rub his stinging butt cheeks. He was just too scared of the consequence if either of them saw him. ************ ‘Comfortable, slave?’ Leo looked down at Hoynes who lay curled up on the floor at the end of Leo’s bed. ‘Yes Master.’ ‘Slave will need a good night’s sleep to be ready for tomorrow.’ Hoynes forced himself not to think about how hungry he was – the biscuits and a few scraps from the two meals Leo and Catherine had had were all he’d eaten all day – or how humiliated he’d been having to drink from a metal bowl on the kitchen floor. The one thing he couldn’t ignore was the burning heat still radiating from his stinging butt. He had been relieved when it became obvious that Catherine, not Leo, was going to punish him. After he had been reduced to a sobbing, pleading wreck huddled on the floor of the kitchen, he wished it had been Leo. He closed his eyes and shut out the sounds of Catherine and Leo climbing into bed. He sent up a silent prayer of thanks that they were, apparently, not going to do anything other than sleep. ************** ‘Wake up slave.’ John opened his eyes slowly and moved away from the insistent foot which was kicking his upper arm. Then he remembered where he was. He looked up into Catherine’s face. ‘Make the breakfast. Toast, juice, coffee, scrambled eggs. Up slave!’ Pulling himself to his feet, John walked into the kitchen, aware of Leo’s eyes on his back as he left the room. ‘Clear up this mess then stand in the corner in the living room and wait for us slave.’ Catherine gestured around the kitchen. A few seconds later, Hoynes could hear Leo and Catherine laughing in the bedroom. Without a clock or watch, Hoynes had no idea how long he was left staring at the slightly uneven patch of plaster on the wall in front of him. Thinking about how, in such an expensive apartment the contractor had got away with such shoddy workmanship, Hoynes didn’t hear Catherine until her mouth was at his ear. ‘Breakfast time slave.’ Startled, he was still breathing heavily as he was pushed towards the kitchen. Hoynes swallowed the mouthful of the orange juice/milk mixture, grimacing at the taste. ‘Would slave prefer the water in his bowl?’ ‘Yes Mistress.’ ‘Slave’s preferences are of no interest to me. Drink.’ Hoynes tried to imagine the foul-tasting mixture was coffee. He half-closed his eyes and the glass was pulled from his mouth seconds before a blow landed on the back of his head. ‘Concentrate, slave.’ Biting back a response, Hoynes watched Leo sit down with his newspaper before Catherine pressed the glass to his lips once more. ‘Is slave refusing to eat his breakfast?’ Catherine’s voice was a perfect mix of anger and disbelief. Hoynes almost changed his mind. But the mush of leftovers in his bowl was such a disgusting sight, he knelt over it without moving. ‘Leo!’ Leo appeared in the kitchen doorway. ‘Catherine?’ ‘Slave won’t eat his breakfast.’ Hoynes only stayed still by a massive act of self-control. ‘Really?’ Leo’s voice was amused, but Hoynes wasn’t fooled. He knew he was shaking, and he eyed the metal dish but still couldn’t bring himself to eat the contents, whatever the consequences. ‘Slave must keep up his strength.’ Leo nodded. ‘Agreed. Perhaps slave doesn’t understand the importance of good nutrition?’ Hoynes heard Catherine’s amused reply. ‘Possibly. I think a reminder might be useful. Corner time slave. In the living room. Go!’ Bent over the armchair, John knew he could only wait until the endorphins took away the burning pain of the slim paperback book Catherine was hitting him with. At last, he felt the pain diminish, and the warm feeling cover his buttocks and thighs. Again, as before, Catherine stopped immediately and the pain flooded back. ‘Prepare the dinner. Be imaginative slave. Go.’ Leo nodded at the kitchen. Hoynes suddenly realised he could probably sneak something from the fridge or one of the cupboards to take the edge off his hunger. His hopes were dashed when Leo and Catherine followed him in and read their papers while he tried to work out what he could cook. ‘Down.’ Catherine waited while Hoynes knelt at her side before picking up a little of the chicken casserole on a spoon and feeding him. After a few mouthfuls, Catherine snapped: ‘Corner time. In the sitting room. Go!’ Only just stopping himself from a reaction which would be bound to result in further punishment, Hoynes walked slowly out of the kitchen. ************** Hoynes guessed it was late evening. He had just finished clearing up the kitchen when Leo called from the living room: ‘Finish John. Get dressed.’ Picking up the remainder of the packet of biscuits, John went into the hallway to collect his holdall. Trying not to scatter biscuit crumbs on the polished wood floor, John said wearily: ‘Please tell me you’re gonna let me back in.’ Leo shrugged. ‘It’s Catherine’s club.’ Catherine looked at Leo. ‘But you’re a part owner Leo.’ Realising he was still being played with, Hoynes waited. Catherine looked at Leo, who nodded slightly. She looked Hoynes up and down. ‘We pick who you play with until we’re sure you can be responsible.’ Hoynes sighed. ‘Agreed.’ ‘And if I hear you so much as turned your back on someone in restraints of any kind, I’ll tear your head off.’ Leo waited for Hoynes’ response. ‘Anything else?’ Leo smiled. ‘Yeah, you’re a dreadful slave. Your brain and your mouth did not communicate with your ass at all, did they? It would have told you to behave a Hell of a lot better than your brain or your mouth did. Let’s hope you don’t have to do much sitting tomorrow, huh?’ Rubbing his stinging butt, Hoynes winced. ‘I think you were always gonna let me back. I think you two dreamed this up just to humiliate me.’ Leo nodded. ‘Yup.’ Catherine opened the door for Hoynes. ‘By the way, your membership’s lapsed. You’ll have to re-join.’ ‘You want cash or cheque?’ Catherine looked from Leo to Hoynes. ‘In your case, I think cash.’ Hoynes picked up his holdall and walked out, collecting his two agents as he emerged. ************** ‘Leo, it’s John. Do you have a few minutes today?’ ‘Hold on.’ Putting his hand over the receiver, Leo yelled: Margaret!’ When his assistant appeared in the connecting door between their offices, Leo asked: ‘Do I have any free time today?’ Running a finger down the diary she held, Margaret shook her head. ‘No. But you don’t have the security briefing until 9.30. You have an hour now.’ Leo nodded. ‘Thanks.’ Putting aside the thought of how much he could get done in the hour he was about to give up, Leo sighed. ‘John, I’m free now. You want me to come over?’ ‘Yeah. Please.’ ‘Okay. I’ll be a few minutes.’ ‘Thanks Leo.’ ‘No problem Mr Vice-President.’ ************ ‘Leo, come on in. Sit down. I wanted to talk to you about, um, the weekend.’ Leo noticed Hoynes didn’t sit down, pacing the room instead. ‘Okay.’ ‘I heard you never did that kind of stuff to Edward. Do you punish Josh?’ Leo frowned. Sharply, reinforcing the word with a shake of his head, he snapped: ‘No.’ ‘It’s just…’ ‘Look John, I’m sorry we just let you walk out. We should have talked about what happened. Catherine and I both know that. But…well, you’re not just a member of the club.’ Hoynes smiled. ‘Yeah. Do you have time now?’ Dropping into the armchair, Leo nodded. ‘Sure.’ ‘You were both completely in control. I felt really scared but totally safe.’ Leo shrugged. ‘No point in doing something half-heartedly.’ ‘How long did you and Catherine spend planning it?’ ‘A while.’ Leo admitted. ‘We haven’t done anything like that before. We wanted to give you a hard time but be sure you could still come into work this morning.’ ‘I’ll be standing during our security briefing. Bad back.’ ‘Bad butt more like.’ Leo teased. ‘I never realised how much I’d still hurt this morning.’ Leo laughed. Then his smile faded. ‘Sure we were teasing you, but we were also serious about it.’ ‘I remember. When you stood over me at the end of the bed, I was really scared you were gonna make me stand up all night. Or something worse.’ ‘I was tempted.’ Leo admitted. ‘But Catherine kinda distracted me.’ ‘I can see why. She is really pretty.’ ‘Yeah John. And way out of your league.’ Leo said warningly. He looked at his watch and got up. ‘You didn’t punish me. You let Catherine. Why?’ ‘I’m not comfortable with it.’ ‘But you didn’t mind watching.’ ‘No.’ Realising he wasn’t going to get anything more out of Leo, Hoynes filled the silence. ‘How’s Josh?’ Looking at Leo’s face, Hoynes realised his attempt to change the subject had backfired. Leo looked even more cross than he had ten seconds earlier. ‘He’s mine.’ Leo’s face tightened and Hoynes put up his hands. ‘Leo, I’ve seen what you can do when you’re not really trying. I’m not gonna risk finding out what you’d do if you were really pissed with me.’ His hand on the door, Leo turned. ‘Catherine and I did agree on one thing.’ ‘Which is?’ ‘Our slave should have an opportunity to stay with us again.’ Relaxing slightly, Hoynes smiled. ‘I’d like that. Master.’ Holding the door open, Leo stood back. ‘After you, Mr Vice-President.’ 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