Michael had initially thought to take on some long overdue house projects while Evan was away with his grandmother. However, he quickly remembered that there was a more pressing matter to attend to. The court mandated restraining order against him by Tom had been lifted at midnight. That meant that Michael could go over to his place and begin asking him for the ring again. Wanting to take the first opportunity available to him, Michael quickly showered and put on new clothes. When he was clean, he headed back out into his car and drove over to his neighbor’s house.
In the six months since Tom had filed the restraining order against Michael, his life had spiraled further downward. After the mayor got wind of his intention to sell the ring, his office contacted all of the pawn shops and jewelry stores in town, threatening them with fines and criminal investigations if they bought it from Tom. When Tom had continued his quest to find the best offer for the ring, he found that no one would take it from him. The previous offer of $50 from the second pawn shop he went to was mysteriously rescinded, without explanation.
Exhausted from his attempts to try to sell the ring, Tom was about to try to drive out of town one day, before he found that his car had been towed. When he tried to get it back from the township, they would not give it to him, for reasons they would not explain. Aggravated with the trouble the ring was giving him, Tom had thrown it in the house, accidentally losing it when it fell in a space behind a wall in his bedroom. Despite his efforts to retrieve it, he could not reach it. Fed up, he soon gave up trying to get it back.
The ring sat behind Tom’s wall for six months, until Tom needed to begin clearing his things out of his house. Falling behind on his tax payment plan and not able to make an income, his house was at risk of being brought into foreclosure. On the advice of a “friend” of Tom’s, he reluctantly put his house up for sale; a place that his step mother had hoped would be his permanent home.
During the initial cleanup of the house, which would be paid for with a cut of the final sale price of the house, Tom managed to get one of the workers to open up a space in the wall where the ring had fallen into. Retrieving it, Tom was greatly relieved, as he planned to hold onto it and sell it after he moved out of town. The night after he retrieved the ring again was when he read the spell twice on a call with his friend. This was the cause of Freddy’s transformations into Buddy when the first assassin nearly took his life a few nights before.
The ring in Tom’s possession was on more than just Michael's mind, however. At his office, in an unusual sight for a Saturday afternoon, the mayor, with an advisor by his side, sat around waiting for Freddy’s webcast to begin.
“What’s taking this man so long?” the mayor asked gruffly, with a hint of impatience.
“I have no idea” the advisor replied, as the webcast countdown was projected onto the wall in his office.
“I guess it’s true what they say about pinkos. They are lazy and can’t get anything done. Hey, speaking of the commie, I had a thought the other day.”
“Yes sir? It’s not another assassination attempt, is it?”
“No. What ever happened to that guy Tom? The one Michael got into that argument with.”
“Well, sir…”
On the orders of the mayor, the judge that had initially granted Tom’s restraining order against Michael was put under pressure to lift it. When Tom went into court a few days ago, he found that the judge was not willing to extend the order.
“You have no cause for a further extension” the judge said dismissively. “Case dismissed.”
Tom had fumed at this, fearful that Michael would try to harass him again about the ring when the order’s time limit ran out. He would be proven right about this worry, but a powerful person wanted to see this meeting occur.
“You know that today is supposedly when that guy Tom’s restraining order was to expire.”
“It did, sir. At midnight this morning.”
“I have a feeling that Michael is going to go over there today to try to confront Tom about that ring again. I want someone to go over there and see if the commie’s husband shows up at the guy's house.”
“You’re not suggesting another hit on him, are you sir?”
“Not yet. I have another idea. Have someone watch Tom’s house. If Michael confronts him, I want to know what they discuss with each other. And if for some reason Tom should have the ring in his possession…”
The mayor rubbed his hands together, as a big smirk formed across his face.
“Then have them take it and bring it to me.”
“Sir….”
“That’s an order!”
“Yes sir.”
“Go do that, while I wait for this stupid webcast to start.”
The advisor got up from the office and went into the hall to make the call. Meanwhile, outside of Tom’s house, Michael pulled up to the block in his car. Immediately upon approaching the house, he spotted Tom pacing back and forth across his front lawn. Tom was yelling angrily into his communication device.
“I’m not ready to move yet!” Tom yelled. “I still need some more time! Give me a few days and I’ll be out of the house! No, I get that potential buyers don’t want me to be here! I just need a couple more days! I’ll be out by Halloween, which is Monday night! Fuck you, Pamela! Goodbye!”
Tom aggressively ended the call, as he noticed Michael parking his car across the street. Getting visibly angry, Tom watched Michael get out of his car to run up towards him.
“Tom!” Michael yelled out, as he quickly approached the house.
“Oh, son of a bitch” Tom mumbled, as he tried to run into his house.
“Tom! We need to talk!”
“Stay away from me, asshole! I have mace!”
Tom turned around and pulled out a bottle, one that was not filled with mace. He pointed it at Michael in an aggressive manner.
“That bottle is empty” Michael noted calmly.
“Fuck you!” Tom yelled, as he tossed it onto his lawn. “I can’t believe the judge wouldn’t grant me the extension on my restraining order! Not even one day passes before you show up to my house again! That’s it! I’m going inside now and calling the cops on you! I don’t have time for this shit right now!”
“Tom, please. We need to talk.”
“No! Fuck you, asshole!”
“Tom please. I know you’re being evicted from your house that’s in foreclosure.”
“I’m not in fucking foreclosure, asshole!”
“Then why are you selling the house?”
“Because I’d rather go live in a better neighborhood than this piece of shit dump” Tom lied, as he continued to try to get Michael to go away.
“Tom, you know that’s not true. Stop lying to me.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything, asshole!”
“Tom, please hear me out. I want to help you.”
“I don’t need your help, butt fucker! Fuck you!”
“Where’s your car, Tom?”
“It was stolen” Tom half lied in response.
“Did it get towed?”
“No!”
“Then why was a car that looked very similar to yours being auctioned off by the town online?”
“A mere coincidence!”
“That was your car, Tom. They towed it and you couldn’t afford to pay to get it back.”
Tom walked up to Michael and aggressively put his finger in his chest.
“Listen, you nosy ass, fucking little stalker! I don’t have anything to say to you and I’m not interested in hearing anything you have to say to me either!”
“I want to help you, Tom. Please hear me out.”
“No!”
As Michael and Tom continued to argue, a mysterious man watched them from several houses down. Hiding in a bush, he turned on a listening device and was able to hear their conversation crystal clear.
“Tom, just listen to me” Michael continued. “I know you’ve been trying to sell that ring you have and you haven’t been able to get anyone to buy it from you.”
“That’s not true!” Tom lied. “I got several offers and I’m just waiting for the best one!”
“Six months later?”
“The market is volatile right now! It’ll go up again soon!”
“Let me guess? That pawn shop guy offered you $50 for it, as I said he would, and you refused to take it.”
“He did not!”
“Then what did he offer you for it, then?”
“It’s none of your business!”
“It was $50.”
“No!”
“Tom, I’ll offer you whatever you want for it. Just please let me have it.”
“How many times do I have to keep saying this to you, you fucker?! I’m not interested in selling it to you for any price!”
“Not even for enough money to be able to stay in your home?”
“I….”
Tom paused for a moment, as Michael looked at him with a sympathetic expression on his face.
“Tom, cut the crap” Michael said. “You’re getting forced out of your house because you’ve fallen behind on paying your taxes.”
“That’s not true you fucking liar!” Tom yelled with a lie.
Michael pulled up the town website on his communication device and showed a document of a delinquent tax hearing for Tom.
“Then explain this?”
“Fake news!”
“Come on…”
“It’s fucking fake news! That’s a bunch of lies!”
“If it’s a bunch of lies, then why not sue the township? Or why not tell my husband, Freddy? He’d be more than happy to publicize this in his campaign for mayor. If what you’re saying is true, and it’s a bunch of lies, then the town shouldn’t be posting false and misleading information like this on the internet. It unfairly damages people’s reputations and—“
“Fine, you fucker! I have to sell my house!!!!!!”
Michael stood quietly, feeling vindicated that he got this confession out of Tom.
“There!” Tom admitted honestly. “I fucking said it! I have to sell my house because I can’t gather enough money to pay these unfair taxes they’ve levied on me! They are forcing me to sell my home so I can take the cash and move out!”
“See?” Michael replied “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
“Fuck you!”
“I’m being serious here, Tom. I’d really like to help you avoid having to leave your home.”
“What makes you think I still want to live here?!”
“If you wanted to leave so badly, then why didn’t you go years ago before the tax issues came in?”
“I’m not selling you my ring! Not for any price!”
“Why? Do you really plan to bring the ring with you to wherever you happen to move to?”
“No!”
“Then why do you still want to keep it?”
“To sell it elsewhere!”
“Tell me how much you want for it.”
“No!”
“Come on, Tom. Who else is going to give you a better offer?”
“I’ll find somebody!”
“Can I at least see that you still have the ring?”
“Stand back, so you don’t take it from me, like you stole my dog Buddy!”
“I didn’t—“
“Stand back, fucker, or I’m not going to pull out the ring!”
Michael sighed, as he took a few steps back. Tom dug into his pocket and pulled out the Ruggeri ring.
“See!” Tom yelled.
In that moment, the mysterious man saw Tom pull out the ring.
“Time to move into position” the man thought to himself. “Operation: Ring Heist is set to begin.”
“Tom” Michael said. “I’ll pay you whatever you want for it. Just give me a price and I’ll send you a payment right now.”
“I wouldn’t—“
“Hand over the ring, mother fucker!” a mysterious voice yelled.
Gasping, Michael and Tom jumped back. They were both startled, as they turned around to see a masked man standing in front of them. He was dressed in all black, like Freddy’s would be assassins. The man pointed a gun directly at Tom’s chest.
“Who are you?!” Tom yelled.
“Doesn’t fucking matter, you fucking ass little pussy” the masked man replied. “Now hand over that ring to me, before I take your life.”
“Tom” Michael said nervously. “Don’t give him the ring.”
“Fuck you, asshole!” Tom replied. “I’m not risking my life for some fucking $50 ring! Take it, you motherfucker!”
“Tom, no!”
Tom threw the ring at the masked man, who caught it in his free hand.
“Fucking easiest job I’ve ever done” the masked man muttered to himself, as he put the ring in his pocket and sped off down the street.
“Son of a bitch, Tom!” Michael yelled, as he watched the man bolt off faster than Michael could run after him.
“I wasn’t taking a bullet for your fucking stalker obsession with my ring!” Tom yelled.
“Oh my god! No!”
“But it does prove one thing.”
“Huh? What, Tom?”
“It proves that maybe you didn’t steal my dog, Buddy after all.”
“I’ve told you this the entire time! I didn’t fucking steal your dog!”
“Let me call the police.”
“As if that’s going to do you any good.”
“Shut the fuck up, asshole! You’re lucky I’m not going to call them to have your ass arrested for stalking me again!”
Michael groaned loudly, as Tom pulled out his communication device and called the precinct.
“Precinct” the man on the other end of the line answered.
“Officer” Tom replied “I was robbed in broad daylight.”
“One second.”
The officer at the precinct typed up information on his communication device, before he continued talking.
“We still don’t know where your dog—“
“No! There was an armed robber with a gun and he stole this ring from me.”
“Can you describe it to me?”
“It was this weird bug ring and it has some weird Italian inscription on the back. I don’t know Italian, so I don’t know what it means.”
Before Tom could respond, the precinct officer hung up the call on his end of the line.
“Hello?!” Tom exclaimed. “Son of a bitch! That fucker hung up on me!”
“Told you” Michael replied.
“Shut the fuck up, butt fucker!”
Tom tried five more times in a row to reach the precinct, but found his calls would not go through.
“Fucking mother fucking bastards!” he yelled, when he finally gave up.
Tom sighed, before he looked up at Michael.
“You know” he said more calmly “maybe your husband has a point about the fucking cops in this town. They steal my car, don’t take my missing dog report seriously and now hang up on me after I was robbed in broad daylight. What the fuck?”
“Yeah” Michael replied nervously.
“I guess you didn’t steal my dog after all, huh?”
Michael shook his head.
“Well, then I’m sorry for accusing you of doing it and filing the restraining order against you.”
“I have to get back home now” Michael replied nervously.
“Listen, if you happen to find Buddy again, will you promise that you’ll bring him back to me?”
Michael thought for a moment, before letting out a sigh.
“Yes, Tom. If I see the dog again—“
“Buddy” Tom corrected.
“Buddy…then I will bring him back to you.”
“Thank you.”
Michael nodded, before he quickly made his way back to his car. After driving a block away from Tom’s house, he frantically pulled over and tried to call Freddy. When he dialed the number, he found that Freddy’s communication device was already shut off.
“I need to reach him ASAP” Michael thought to himself, as he frantically searched for a way to get a hold of his husband.
A few towns over, an auditorium was filled with young college students, eagerly awaiting the chance to hear Freddy Benson speak to their assembled gathering. Although he was not running for mayor of their town, Freddy’s national profile was making him a prominently sought after speaker at colleges and conferences in the area. If his political ambitions didn’t pan out, Freddy felt he could always work the circuit on a more flexible schedule.
If there was any reason to be at this particular Q&A session today, besides it being broadcasted online, it was that he was hoping to get a last minute army of young volunteers to help coordinate a get out the polls operation. Hoping to enlist as many volunteers as he could, the goal was to help get voters who couldn’t drive or had limited mobility to the polls. It was a critical plan for helping to close the 4% gap against the mayor. This was his audition to get their support.
Standing backstage, Freddy paced across the floor, as Chris watched him closely. Chris had only been on the job for a few days now, so he was getting used to his boss’ little quirks. He felt that he would learn more of them as they got to know each other better. That is, he hoped to get to know them better once Freddy was elected mayor.
“I really want to continue working for this guy” Chris thought to himself, as he watched Freddy do some breathing exercises to calm himself down. “Sure, the ogling can make a bit uncomfortable at times, but putting that whole thing aside, Freddy’s a great man with a great family. I may have been too hasty to say that I wouldn’t have taken this job if I had known about the ogling going in. Seeing all these kids here today gives me hope for the future. I couldn’t trust anyone else to do this job but me. No matter what issues we might have that we’ll need to work out, I’m with this guy to the end. He can count on me.”
The auditorium erupted in applause, as the moderator came out to greet the audience. She was an elderly African American woman with gray dreads and a flowing, gray smock. She briefly spoke to the audience, before she introduced Freddy to the assembled gathering of students.
“That’s your cue” Chris said, as he gently pushed Freddy to go onstage.
Freddy smiled and waved to the audience, as the full to capacity room of college students stood up, cheered and applauded. Shaking hands with the moderator, Freddy sat down and began with his usual spiel.
While the webcast took place, Michael frantically tried to reach his husband.
“Son of a bitch” Michael thought to himself. “His communication device is off. That must mean he’s already started the webcast. I just hope I can find a way to reach him in time. I don’t want someone to read the inscription on the back and then he turns into a dog in front of all those college students.”
Unable to get a hold of his husband, Michael had another idea.
“Chris” he thought to himself, as he pulled up the bodyguard’s number and dialed it on his communication device.
Inside the auditorium, Freddy began taking questions from the audience.
“What do you think the federal government should do to address the issue of homelessness in America?” a student asked.
“That’s a great question” Freddy replied, with a big smile on his face “because I have a personal connection to that issue. You see, my brother Josh…”
As Freddy told the audience of the struggles facing his brother Josh, Chris listened with intense interest. Soon into the story, Chris could feel his communication device buzz.
“I wonder who that could be?” he thought to himself, as he pulled the device out of his pocket to look at it. “Michael?”
Seeing Michael’s name flashing on the screen, Chris moved away from the stage and into a more secluded area.
“Yes, Mr. Scavolini” Chris answered.
“Chris!” Michael yelled. “You have to get Freddy off that stage and home immediately!”
“Jesus, Mr. Scavolini. Is everything alright?”
“No! We have an emergency on our hands!”
“Oh my God! Is it about Evan?”
“No, it’s—“
“Mr. Scavolini, I—“
“I don’t have time to explain this to you right now, Chris. You just have to get my husband off that stage right this second.”
“He’s in the middle of a live webcast right now. I really don’t want to have to interrupt him, unless it’s an absolute emergency.”
“I can’t say what it is over an unsecure line like this. Just get him off the stage and have him call me back right now.”
“I really can’t do that right now, Mr. Scavolini. Can’t it wait until after this is over?”
“No! Just mouth to him the words ‘the ring’ and I promise you he’ll get off that stage.”
“What about the ring?”
“I can’t tell you more right now. Just get Freddy home and I’ll explain it you when you get back here.”
“I really don’t think this is a good idea, Mr. Scavolini.”
“Just do it, Chris!”
Chris sighed, before he agreed to Michael’s demands.
“Fine, Mr. Scavolini. I’m just warning you that Freddy isn’t going to be too happy about you doing this.”
“I don’t care. He’ll understand when he finds out what’s wrong. Just have him call me back right now.”
“Fine, I’ll try.”
Chris hung up his communication device and walked over to the stage. Freddy had finished talking about his brother Josh and moved on to answering another audience question.
“Like any good progressive” Freddy said “I believe in giving aid and support to all sex workers who are trying to make a living in this society.”
The room clapped loudly, as Chris tried to get Freddy’s attention.
“Psst.”
Freddy ignored this, as he continued to speak to the audience.
“And I believe that—“
“Psst.”
“What’s going on?” the moderator asked, as she raised her eyebrows.
“Uh…” Freddy replied, as he turned to look at Chris.
Chris signaled with his hands to come over, mouthing that he needed to get over there right away.
“What?” Freddy mouthed.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Benson?” the moderator asked, with concern in her voice.
“The ring” Chris mouthed.
“What?” Freddy mouthed.
“The—“
“Mr. Benson?” the moderator asked again.
“Huh?” Freddy asked, as he was jolted into turning around.
The moderator sought to get his attention.
“You were saying…”
“Uh, can we take a five minute break?”
“A five minute break?”
“I have to take this call. Excuse me everyone. I’ll be just a moment.”
A murmur of nervous voices fell across the room, as Freddy quickly got up from his seat and ran over to Chris in the backstage area.
“This better have been urgent!” Freddy quietly hissed to Chris.
“Your husband was calling me all frantic just now” Chris said, as he urged him to get on his communication device.
When Freddy got onto his device, he saw fifteen missed messages from Michael.
“Jesus” Freddy thought to himself, as he dialed Michael back.
Inside of his car, Michael had waited patiently, in the hopes of Freddy calling him back right away. He was about to give up and drive off to go home, before he saw Freddy’s name flash across his communication device.
“Thank God!” Michael exclaimed with a relief in his tone, as he went to pick up the call. “Freddy!”
“Do you not understand the definition of what a live webcast is?” Freddy asked with anger and sarcasm in his voice.
“I know what a fucking webcast is, Freddy.”
“Well, this better be urgent. I had to put on hold a live, streaming Q&A with an audience of critically vital college kids to answer this call of yours. This better be—“
“Someone stole the ring from Tom!”
Freddy gasped, as Chris looked at him with a worried expression on his face.
“What?” Freddy asked, in disbelief of what he just heard Michael say.
“Yes, Freddy. Someone stole the ring from Tom.”
“How do you know this?”
“I went over to try to talk Tom into selling me the ring again just a few minutes ago and some masked man comes out, in broad daylight, by the way, and holds up a gun to his chest. He was demanding Tom hand over the ring right on the spot and he gave it to him.”
“Holy shit!”
“What’s wrong, boss?” Chris asked, with a hint of concern in his voice.
Freddy waved his hand dismissively.
“Did you get a good look at the guy?” Freddy asked, feeling his sense of panic increase dramatically by the second.
“No, Freddy” Michael replied in an irritated tone. “It was one of those masked men again. This seems to be a trend. I have a feeling it’s a lackey of the mayor.”
“Which means he’ll soon be in possession of it. Oh my God! I have to get out of here right this second!”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you, Freddy. You need to come home right now before someone reads the inscription.”
“You’re right, Michael. I’ll get out of here right now. If I—“
Chris looked at Freddy curiously, before his boss continued speaking.
“I’ll see you at the house.”
“Catch you over here” Michael replied.
Freddy ended the call and looked at Chris nervously, hyperventilating as he did so.
“Are you alright, Freddy?” Chris asked.
“We have to end this webcast and get out of here right now!” Freddy replied anxiously.
“Is something wrong with your son, Evan?”
“No. I don’t have time to explain this to you right now. Just help me find a way to get everyone out of here, so I can go home right away without getting spotted.”
“Sure boss.”
Chris pulled up an app on his communication device and played the sound of a gun shot.
“Oh my god!” Chris yelled. “Someone’s been shot!”
The audience in the auditorium screamed, as the room turned to pandemonium. The students quickly ran from their seats and out all of the exits they could reach. Trying to avoid the mad rush, Chris quickly escorted Freddy to the back of the auditorium and had him escape through an emergency exit. Running out the door, they quickly made their way to Freddy’s car, before Chris straddled them in and drove out of the parking lot in a frantic rush.
Driving quickly down the road, Chris tried to get Freddy to talk to him.
“You better have a good explanation for what just happened back there” he said sternly. “When they find out no one was shot and you just went missing after that, your campaign is really going to take a huge hit over this.”
“There’s bigger things than my campaign, Chris” Freddy replied nervously. “Just get me home and I’ll explain what’s going on.”
“You sure you don’t want to tell me now? No one else is around to hear it.”
“I’d rather wait until Michael is with me to talk to you about this.”
“Suit yourself. From the looks of you and how you’re sounding right now, I have a feeling that, whatever it is, it’s not going to be good.”
Going at a speed many miles over the limit, Chris raced Freddy home as fast as he could. He didn’t know what his boss was panicked about and why he would cause a room full of college kids to be thrown into chaos like that. However, from the looks of his boss, it seemed like it was serious. He hoped there was a good explanation involved, because a bad one could end his boss’ political campaign permanently.
When they got to the house…