Chapter 3 – Chương 3

Twilight was marching along although it was barely 8:00 p.m. when the foursome was broken up into three separate, supposedly unrelated segments—the couple of Ashur Khoury and Jamila Maloof and then Floris Bourek and Jared separately—who left the tennis stadium by three separate routes. Bourek had called ahead, and the Lincoln Town Car was waiting in the shadows outside the outer gate to whisk them off. Bourek took the front passenger seat and Khoury sat in the center of the backseat, between Jamila and Jared. There was a bit of touching and whispering in the backseat as they moved north into downtown Bethesda, but everyone was still a bit stiff.

They were taken to the Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club for a late meal and an early start on boozing. There was little talk at the tables as they ate. Only Jared seemed to be mesmerized by the sweet jazz sounds that accompanied the meal, and he did most of the talking, even though they had separate tables. Khoury and Jamila were sitting at one and then, at the table next to theirs, Bourek and Jared. Khoury and Jared were sitting beside each other even though at separate tables, and Bourek had to intercede from time to time when it became too obvious that Khoury was following what Jared had to say and not paying attention to Jamila. Still, Jamila and Khoury sat very close together, establishing to anyone around and not paying deep attention to them that they were a couple.

Bourek and the driver had left the others in the car and checked the supper club out before they'd entered. He had told them that, if something looked "amiss" in the club, only Jamila and Khoury would go in. But they hadn't found anything or anyone in the club to disturb their comfort level.

After a couple of cocktails each and two bottles of wine, they drove back toward downtown Washington to Night Club 9:30, where they loosened up considerably in a crowded room with a hard rock band and free-flowing booze. Bourek wasn't that worried about who might see or listen in on them in this club, because it was hard to tell in a smoky room with high-decibel sound going and strobe lights bouncing off the walls that anyone was with anyone else.

Khoury obviously wanted to dance, as Bourek observed him from the adjacent table, moving his body and feet with the beat of the music. Bourek rose and went behind the table and barked something in the ear of Jamila, who had been just a step or two above passive all night. She shrugged, pulled Khoury up on his feet, and pulled him out to join the morass of people swaying against each other on the dance floor.

After observing the dancing for several minutes, Bourek turned and said something in Jared's ear. Jared smiled and left the table for the dance floor. He too had been dancing in his chair, straining at the bit to be out on the dance floor. After a few minutes, Jamila came back to the adjacent table and sat and found, without too much trouble, where she had placed her vacant stare.

Bourek knew that Khoury and Jared would be dancing close together—and probably touching each other. He wasn't shocked. This was part of the plan. Jamila hadn't been a decoy just in terms of being flashy looking and being a distraction from Khoury and Bourek. It had been made clear to Bourek that Khoury wanted the company of a young man while he was in Washington. But to have gone straight to that in a date for the man for his two days here would have been to invite attention. Attention was the last thing Bourek wanted to invite during his talks to sell surplus arms to Syria through a London cut-out company. Everything about that transaction was illegal, but Khoury's company had demanded to settle the deal face to face.

Beyond knowing that Khoury wanted a young man, Bourek had had no idea what kind of young man. He had provided for two kinds. Khoury had rejected the athletic blond, but he seemed quite pleased with the willowy and somewhat effeminate young black musician.

He didn't care if Khoury and Jared were lost in the tangle of the dancers on the Night Club 9:30 dance floor and were feeling each other out. He knew, though, that Khoury would not come back to the table satisfied with the night continuing just as it was. He left the club room and went back to a more quiet hallway, where he made a phone call.

Where Bourek had stopped to make his call was right outside the door to the men's room. What he didn't know was that in a men's room stall and backing onto the wall just on the other side of him, Khoury had Jared pinned to the wall, the young man's trousers and briefs on the floor of the stall, his legs hooked on Khoury's hips, and his mouth open wide and sucking in air, as Khoury thrust up inside him hard with his cock, again and again and again.

Khoury and Jared came back—hand in hand until they hit the edge of the dance crowd—to their tables and reached immediately for their liquor glasses. Khoury looked happier than he'd looked all day and showed every indication that he wanted to go right back out on the dance floor—and wanted Jared to go with him.

Bourek laid a hand on Khoury's arm, though, and leaned into his ear. "We are leaving—going to the next place."

"But we just got here. I'm having fun here," Khoury said, showing a pouting and obdurate expression.

"You'll like it better at the Green Lantern," Bourek said. "It's a gay nightclub. I've already booked a private room there for you and Jared. They have some interesting toys. After that we'll go directly to the hotel. You can have Jared for the night there."

Beaming, Khoury reached for his jacket that was draped on the back of a chair.