The second Chris pulled into the driveway, Freddy bolted out of his car and ran into his house as fast as he could. Chris parked the car and quickly made his way inside as well.
“Jesus” Chris thought to himself, as he locked up and went inside of his boss’ house.
Inside the house, Chris could see Freddy yelling out in a panic.
“Michael!” Freddy yelled. “Michael! Where are you?!”
Quickly opening up their bedroom door, Michael ran down the stairs and embraced Freddy in a tight hug.
“Michael” Freddy said nervously, as he hugged his husband. “What happened? How did you know this?”
“I explained most of it to you when I called you” Michael replied, as he let go of Freddy “but the gist of it is a masked man stole the ring from Tom. He pointed a gun in Tom's chest, told him to hand it over and he did. I tried so hard to have Tom sell it to me, but he was being an adamant, autistic asshole about it and wouldn’t sell it to me for any price.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake. Now we’re in big trouble.”
“What’s going on, exactly? Chris asked, with a confused expression on his face.
Sighing, Freddy and Michael sat Chris down to explain what was going on. They started by mentioning their original adventures with the Ruggeri ring when they were teenagers. They went over Freddy’s time as Fido and the plan to defeat the wizard. When they got to the part where Freddy spied on Sofya undercover at her house, Chris began to blush.
“Wait a minute” he said nervously. “So when I was over at that girl Sofya’s house that one time, does that mean…”
Freddy and Michael nodded their heads.
“So that dog was….”
Another nod came from the couple.
“And you saw….”
Freddy blushed, as he nodded his head once more.
“Wow….”
Chris paused for a minute to process what had been told to him so far.
“Jesus fucking christ. I hate to swear and all, but wowzers. You mean to tell me that Sofya’s stray dog in her house, the one who got the boner in front of me, was actually you, Freddy?”
Freddy nodded his head, embarrassed at making this admission.
“Oh my God. Wow. I can’t believe you’ve had the hots for me since we were friends in high school. I had no idea.”
“I think Freddy turning into a dog at the reading of an inscription is a little weirder, don’t you think, Chris?” Michael replied with an annoyed tone in his voice.
“But didn’t you say that Freddy turned back when got turned on and ejaculated? Hence, why Freddy was so nervous to cum at the house while I was over with the other guys?”
“That was the way it was triggered originally” Michael said.
“But now, we’re no so sure” Freddy finished.
“Have you thought about trying it again, if you turn into a dog, to see if you change back?” Chris asked.
Freddy looked down at his lap nervously, while Michael continued to give a more neutral expression.
“I haven’t really had the chance to try it yet” Freddy replied. “Every time I’ve turned into a dog recently, I change back before I get a chance to pleasure myself.”
“Not that we should focus on being given another opportunity to try it” Michael added. “Listen, Chris, we don’t have a lot of time here. We should get right to the point.”
Freddy and Michael finished telling Chris of their original adventures and then got him up to speed on their current one. When they were finished, Chris let out a loud groan.
“Oh man” he said. “This is not good. No wonder Freddy was in such a panic at the auditorium. If he had turned into a dog in front of all those people, that would have been really bad, maybe even worse than what we did just now to get him out of there.”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you on the call, Chris” Michael replied. “I knew once Freddy found this out, he’d want to bolt out of there as quickly as possible.”
“It was the only thing” Freddy said “besides something happening to Evan or my husband, of course, that would have gotten me to end the webcast that early. I would not chance this, not until we find out who is currently in possession of the ring.”
“Speaking of which, that needs to be our next order of business. Since we no longer know who has the ring anymore, we need to find someone who can help us figure out who does. Freddy?”
“Yes, Michael.”
“I need your assistance with something.”
“Uh, what is it?”
“So, obviously, I would have preferred that the old man from the magic shop when we were kids just barge in and tell us what’s going on and what we have to do to save our skin here. However, if he hasn’t made an appearance by now, then that means he’s either not interested in helping us again or he’s dead. I have no idea what his name is or know any way of figuring out how to contact him. That means we only know one other person who could be of assistance to us in finding the ring.”
“Who might that be?”
“Sofya.”
The room fell silent, as Chris continued to listen intently. Freddy and Michael’s discussion of the ring, magic and the supernatural was intriguing to him.
“This campaign gets stranger by the second” Chris thought to himself, as he scratched at his beard.
“Ok” Freddy said. “So then why don’t you get a hold of her?”
“Freddy” Michael replied. “I don’t want to get a hold of her.”
“Why not, Michael? You know that time is of the essence here. If she can help us, then we need to reach out to her.”
“Freddy, I can’t do it.”
“What do you mean you can’t do it? Do you not have her number or something?”
“No. I have her number.”
“Then what seems to be the problem?”
“I just can’t do it.”
“Why not?”
“Freddy, I can’t bring myself to call her.”
“Michael, you know how important this is to making sure I can remain human and making sure the ring doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Why are you being so difficult about this?”
“I just can’t bring myself to do it, Freddy, that’s all.”
“Why?”
“I’m too fucking scared and I can’t find the courage to call her!”
“It’s not a big of a deal, Michael. You just pick up your communication device, get Sofya’s number and call it. How difficult is that?”
“As difficult as it was for me to call Diya, which, by the way, if I hadn’t, your campaign never would have taken off in the first place! You owe me for that one, Freddy, so the least you can do is call her for me so I don’t have to talk to her!”
Freddy appeared stunned for a moment, before he began to develop empathy for Michael’s position. Wanting to ease the situation, Freddy put his hand on Michael’s shoulder and gently patted it.
“There, there Michael” Freddy said calmly. “I get it. You’re absolutely right. I owe you one for helping me out with getting the donation from Diya. Pull up Sofya’s number and I will talk to her.”
Michael sniffled, before he pulled out his communication device. After scrolling through his list of contacts, he found the last known number of Sofya’s he had available. Giving Freddy the number, Michael watched as his husband dialed the number on his own communication device and then waited for the call to go through.
In an apartment in Sacramento, a little boy could be seen running around the living room.
“Slow yourself down, young man!” a woman could be heard yelling from another room.
The boy continued to run around, as a woman entered the living room. She was youthful looking, but with a maturity in her appearance. She appeared to be middle aged, despite being hundreds of years old. The years since the age freezing spell had been undone saw her grow up rapidly from an eternal teenager to an older, but still beautiful woman. Although she looked like a mother, most people who had known her would still be able to recognize her. This woman, the mother of this child, was Sofya, the daughter of the evil wizard.
“I said—“ Sofya tried to say again, before a buzzing could be heard.
“Mom” the boy said “I think you have a call coming in.”
Sofya looked down at her communication device, confused as to who might be calling her today. She didn’t have a lot of friends. The ones who she still spoke to on a regular basis knew to call her at night, when her son was already sleeping. She herself was not a big sleeper, so she could talk late into the night without issue. For someone to call her now was extremely unusual, to say the least.
When she saw the screen of her device light up, the name “Freddy Benson” appeared.
“Freddy Benson?” Sofya thought to herself, as she picked up her communication device from the coffee table. “I haven’t heard from him in years. I wonder what he wants now.”
Answering the call, Sofya did her best to put on a friendly demeanor.
“Freddy!” she exclaimed happily. “I haven’t heard from you in ages!”
“Mom?” Sofya’s son asked. “Who is that on the phone?”
Sofya shushed him, using some magic to send him away. Her son ran into his bedroom and shut the door behind him.
“Uh, hi Sofya” Freddy replied nervously, as Michael held onto his hand tightly. “Listen, I—“
“I haven’t heard from you in so long” Sofya interrupted. “It’s been over twenty years now. I really thought I’d never hear from you again. How are things going these days?”
“Alright, I guess. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to catch up right now. I just really need your help.
“Oh.”
Sofya paused for a moment, as she began to stew in anger.
“So that’s what this call is all about” Sofya continued, with a bitterness in her voice.
“I mean, yes” Freddy corrected “but I’d like to catch up with you, too. It’s just that I have a crisis on my hands and you’re the only person I know who can help me.”
“The only person? What kind of problem could you possibly have that—“
“Someone stole the Ruggeri ring from the National Museum in Rome again.”
The call fell silent, as Sofya processed her thoughts. When she took a moment to compose herself, she responded carefully.
“Wow. That is a pretty big problem.”
“It is, Sofya, and that’s why I need your help.”
“Let me guess, to track it down?”
“Precisely.”
“When was it stolen, exactly?”
“Well, about six months ago. It—“
“Six months ago?! Freddy, you waited six months from when the ring was stolen to try to contact me?! What the hell were you thinking?!”
“Well, for a long time, we knew where it was, but—“
“Then why didn’t you get it sooner?!”
“It’s a long story. We—“
“Oh my God, Freddy! You never should have waited this long to try to contact me about this! What were you possibly thinking?!”
“We were thinking of trying to take care of this ourselves” Michael said with an irritated tone in his voice.
“Uh, who is that?”
“That’s Michael” Freddy replied. “He’s here too.”
“Hi” Michael said coldly.
“Oh, hi Michael” Sofya said nonchalantly. “I’m assuming you two got married or something.”
“We did, Sofya. Fifteen years ago.”
“Oh, well congratulations for you. Anyways, what the hell, Freddy? You never should have waited this long to—“
“The past is the past, Sofya” Michael interrupted.
“We just need your help now” Freddy added. “When can we come over to talk about this?”
“Right now, actually” Sofya replied. “I’m just at home watching my son. I don’t have any other plans this evening. If you guys can stop by now, we can talk this over in person.”
“We can make it out there now” Freddy replied.
“Great. Do you guys need my address?”
“We do.”
“Ok. Pull out the address app and let me tell you now.”
“Can you text it to me?”
“Uh, sure, ok. Where are you guys living these days?”
“In our hometown.”
“Seriously? You never moved out of that God forsaken place?”
“Actually” Michael corrected “we lived in Sacramento for about ten years before we moved back to our hometown ten years ago.”
“Oh my fucking God” Sofya said. “You two lived so close to me all these years and you never thought to stop by and pay me a visit. Jesus.”
“We’ve just been preoccupied, that’s all” Freddy said, trying to ease the tensions. “Life has been very busy for us. We'll talk more about it when we come over.”
“What compelled you to move back to your hometown?” Sofya asked with a genuine interest.
“It’s a long story. Can we talk about it in person?”
“Of course. I’ll send you over the address now. How long will it take you to get here?”
“About an hour and a half or so” Michael replied. “Give or take traffic and any issues at the air field.”
“Gotcha. Alright, well, I’ll see you guys soon. Can’t wait to finally see you again after so many years.”
“See you soon, Sofya” Freddy replied, as he ended the call.
“Worst fucking call of my life” Michael said, as he groaned incredibly loudly.
“Come on. Let’s get ready to go.”
“Shouldn’t I be going along with you?” Chris asked.
Freddy paused for a moment, before he gave his answer.
“It’s best that you don’t for now, Chris. Michael and I can handle this on our own. Let us try to ease you into the conversation with Sofya so the next time you see her, it won’t be so awkward.”
“How would it be—“
Freddy stared at Chris with an expression that said “come on, man, are you serious?” Thinking for a moment, it dawned on Chris what his boss was getting at.
“Oh. Yeah, that might be awkward.”
“Mhmmm” Freddy replied. “Let’s wait to have that conversation here in the privacy of my home, in case it comes to that. Michael, get your things and let’s get out of here pronto.”
“Yup” Michael replied, as he scrambled to gather his necessary belongings.
Before long, the two of them made their way out the door and into Freddy’s car. Starting it up, Freddy pulled out of the driveway and headed to the nearest air field. After a relatively quiet ride to the air field and an uneventful lift off, Freddy sought to talk about their game plan for dealing with Sofya at her apartment.
“Try to be on your best behavior this evening, Michael. I know it’s not easy dealing with her, considering her personality and what she’s done to us in the past. However, we really need her help and I don’t want to risk you or I doing anything that could have her turn us down. Unless you have another witch or wizard on your speed dial that we can talk to, which I’m all ears about if you do, by the way, then I suggest you let her little slights go and we focus on the topic at hand.”
“I will try my best, Freddy. You know how Sofya is, though. She does these little things that agitate me so much.”
Freddy placed a hand on Michael’s lap briefly, before putting it back on the steering wheel.
“I’m aware of them. That’s why I needed to bring this up with you before we got to her apartment. I will be right there next to you and will make sure she doesn’t overstep her boundaries. You are the love of my life. When I say nothing and no one will come between us, I mean it.”
Michael smiled, as they continued the rest of the flight in silence. Sofya lived in a part of Sacramento that was further north than where Freddy and Michael had lived years earlier. As such, their preferred air field was too far removed, so they had located a different air field to target for landing. When they approached it, they called down to air traffic control.
“Air traffic control” Freddy said into his headset. “This is Freddy Benson speaking. I would like permission to land at your air field.”
“Your business?” the air traffic controller was heard asking in the speaker.
“We’ve never had to answer that question before” Michael noted with concern in his voice.
“Uh” Freddy replied nervously. “We’re here to see an old friend.”
“Name?” the air traffic controller asked gruffly.
“Sofya Roshkovich.”
“One moment.”
Freddy became nervous that he’d have to circle the plane to another air field. They were about to find another place to land, before the air traffic controller responded.
“You’re clear to land. Runway 2 on your left.”
“Thank you” Freddy replied with a sense of relief in his voice.
“That was extremely odd” Michael noted. “And concerning, too. Why were they asking us that?”
“I have no idea, Michael. Let’s just land the car and get this meeting over with.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, though? What if this is a trap? Or some crony of the mayor’s trying to spy on us?”
Freddy ignored him, as he positioned his flying car for landing. He successfully landed on the runway without incident. When they got to the gate, they could see a man approach their vehicle. Coming up to the car, a security guard knocked on the driver side window. Reluctantly, Freddy rolled it down.
“Can I help you?” Freddy asked nervously.
“I just have a few questions to ask you” the security guard answered.
“Uh, sure.”
“Has this vehicle flown in the last thirty days?”
Freddy thought for a moment, before he answered the question.
“Not that I can recall, no.”
“Has your registration and insurance been paid in full?”
“Yes.”
“I need to see your license, registration and insurance, sir.”
“Uh, sure.”
Michael watched warily, as Freddy handed the security guard the requested documents. When he was done scanning them, the security guard handed them back to Freddy.
“Alright, so here’s the deal” the security guard continued. “There was a red flag placed on your vehicle by someone in the town you registered this flying car in.”
“Of course” Freddy groaned. “The mayor.”
“We just had to ask those additional security questions because it’s required when a vehicle is marked like that. Unfortunately, that also means all of the answers you’ve given will go back to the town that this vehicle was registered in.”
“Son of a bitch” Michael mumbled under his breath.
“Uh, is all that really necessary?” Freddy asked.
“It is, sir” the security guard replied. “Federal aviation rules require that any vehicle flagged by the location it was registered in have its take off and landing information reported to the place the mark was reported from. It’s to prevent potential terrorists from just crash landing anywhere they feel like it. These things, although they aren’t as big as commercial planes, can still do a lot of damage under the wrong hands.”
“I understand.”
“Let me send these details over now and you can be on your way.”
As the security guard made his way over the air traffic controller booth, Michael whispered into Freddy’s ear, as he rolled up the window.
“Do you think we should try getting out of here and landing in another air field?”
“You heard what he said, Michael. It doesn’t matter where we take off from or land into. This vehicle is marked by the town, likely because they want to follow my every movement. The good news is this only applies to air travel, so they can’t stalk me when I’m driving. At least, not in such an official capacity like this.”
“I just hope this is the only flight we need to make from now until election day. I don’t want the mayor being able to keep tabs on your movements like this.”
“I agree. I’m not happy about it either.”
The security guard opened the gate, which allowed Freddy to drive out of the air field. After a ten minute drive, they approached the apartment complex that Sofya mentioned in her text message.
“This is the place” Freddy said quietly, as he pulled up to the building.
“Some place” Michael remarked. “There’s no parking lot and all of the street parking is taken.”
“I found a spot.”
Freddy moved the car over to a tight, empty spot on the street. Carefully maneuvering the car, he parallel parked into the spot, narrowly avoiding dinging the cars to the front and back of his vehicle. When he was securely parked, Freddy and Michael got out of the car and checked the street sign above them. The monitor was a digital one, which would give you the exact rules at that very moment.
“We should be good” Freddy noted. “Street cleaning already happened today.”
Michael nodded, as he walked with his husband to the entrance of the apartment complex. There was a digital key pad with a camera. Pulling out his communication device, Freddy typed in the code Sofya gave him in the text message and waited for the call to go through.
When the call was answered, it was….