Earlier in the afternoon, the mayor had continued to sit around in his office, waiting for Freddy’s live webcast to begin.
“Son of a bitch is taking forever” the mayor thought to himself, as the screen continued to show a countdown clock.
At a certain point, the clock went away and the auditorium appeared on screen, filled with eager college students sitting in the audience.
“Finally.”
The mayor watched the televised portions of the Q&A, including the moderator’s introduction and Freddy’s first few answers to audience questions.
“This commie is giving all these naive, young losers the answers they want to hear, without any plan for making any of these things possible. When are they going to learn that suckers like this bozo are a dime a dozen?”
Before long, the mayor became intrigued, as Freddy became distracted by something out of shot.
“Is something the matter, Mr. Benson?” the moderator was heard asking him.
Freddy mouthed at Chris, who was off camera, before the moderator spoke again.
“Mr. Benson?”
“Huh?” Freddy asked.
“I wonder what’s going on there?” the mayor thought to himself, as he let out a little chuckle at the scene playing out during the webcast.
“Uh, can we take a five minute break?” Freddy was heard asking the moderator.
“Five minute break? Is this bozo serious? Ha! This might be one of the most unprofessionally run political campaigns I have ever seen in my entire life. It’s amazing that this clown is anywhere close to me in the polls.”
The mayor watched the scene unfold on screen, as Freddy got up from his chair and ran backstage. Soon after, the countdown clock came back up, blocking off the stage on screen.
“Amateur.”
The mayor snorted, before his advisor came back into the room.
“Sir” the advisor said. “Good news. We got a hold of the ring.”
“Excellent!” the mayor exclaimed. “You’ve finally done something competently for once. No wonder that bozo pinko got up and left in the middle of the webcast. That ring must have some importance to him, too. I knew this was a good idea to steal it.”
“Oh my god!” a voice could be heard from the audio feed of the webcast. “Someone’s been shot!”
Screams and pandemonium could be heard on the audio feed from the auditorium, before it was turned off from the webcast.
“What was that all about?” the mayor asked curiously.
“Sir” the advisor replied. “You didn’t order another hit on Freddy Benson, did you?”
“No! You know I didn’t do that! You’ve been here with me the whole time!”
“But maybe you ordered it yesterday and forgot—“
“I most certainly did not!”
“Ok, sir.”
“But now we have a crisis on our hands. Work on getting a hold of the ring and see what happened to my commie rival.”
“Yes, sir.”
The advisor scrambled out of the room, as he made calls to the mayor’s other advisors from his communication device. Several hours passed, as the mayor impatiently waited for the ring and news on Freddy Benson’s whereabouts. He got increasingly more agitated as time went on, going from throwing pens at the wall to heavy books which caused dents. It was not in the mayor’s list of expectations to be held up from getting what he wanted, when he wanted it. He wanted answers fast and his advisors weren’t working fast enough to get them.
Finally, as the evening approached, several of the mayor’s advisors made their way into his office. They were normally off on the weekends, except for important political functions or urgent matters of public safety. However, on this night, they were being called in to handle these latest developments. Sitting around with Marley and his other advisors, the mayor screamed loudly at his staff.
“It’s been six hours now!!!!!!!” the mayor yelled at the top of his lungs. “I don’t have the ring and I have no idea whether that fucking asshole is still alive!!!!!!! Does anybody know how to do their job around here?!?!?!?!?!”
“Sir” Marley replied. “We’re working on getting all that information as quickly as possible.”
“I got the ring sir!” an advisor exclaimed, as he bolted into the mayor’s office.
“Finally!!!!” the mayor exclaimed in reply. “What took so damn long anyway?!”
“It’s a long story” he replied, as he placed the Ruggeri ring down on the mayor's desk. “What happened was some bone headed cops saw our guy speeding in his car and pulled him over. He had no license on him, so they took him down to the precinct. When the commander got word of it, he pulled the officers off the case and got the ring directly to us as soon as he could.”
“Jesus, those fucking cops sure are dumb.”
Unbeknownst to the mayor and his advisors, two pairs of eyeballs were watching the scene in their room unfold before them.
“In their defense” an advisor replied “they weren’t given a memo to hand over the ring until we sent one down to the precinct. Once word made its way down there that we wanted it, they got us the ring as quickly as they could.”
“Six hours though?” the mayor asked in an annoyed tone.
“There were some holds up, but it’s here now.”
Staring at the ring on his desk, the mayor gently took it and placed it into his hand. The bug on the top of the ring seemed to glow, as he carefully eyed it over.
“This thing seems like a piece of junk” he noted with a grunt, as he continued to examine the mysterious ring. “No wonder none of the pawn shop guys wanted to buy it from that guy Tom.”
“That had more to with us without threatening them not to buy it from him than from their not waning it” Marley commented.
The mayor glared angrily at Marley, who nervously gulped and looked down at his lap for a moment, before looking back up again. When the mayor turned the ring around to the bottom of the band, he noticed the Italian inscription written there. He didn’t know the language too well, but one word in particular caught his attention.
“Cane” the mayor mumbled aloud. “Cane means dog.”
“Sir?” an advisor asked. “Is everything alright?”
The mayor let out a chuckle, before he turned his attention to his advisors and spoke.
“Tell me something, gentleman. That guy Tom and his missing dog. Has Freddy ever been spotted at the same time that the dog has been around?”
“I don’t know, sir” Marley replied.
“That first interview that Freddy guy did. He disappears on the crew for an hour and one of them says they spotted a dog leaving the house. They thought it was a figment of their imagination, but it makes more sense when you look at it in conjunction with the other incidents. Freddy goes to that communist function. He makes his speech. Michael rushes him off the stage. He disappears without a trace and then some dog shows up and runs out of there in a hurry. The dog goes with Tom and then Michael goes after them. The dog is then ‘stolen’ and Freddy just happens to be spotted in public again, naked as they day he was born.
"Then we have the mysterious dog bites on the leg of our hitman. No one has been able to explain to me how those got there, before we burned the body. Couple all of that with Freddy hurriedly leaving the stage during his webcast earlier, just after we got a hold of the ring, and a bigger picture begins to form. Do you see a pattern developing here?”
“I’m not sure what you’re getting out, boss” another advisor replied.
“That dog and Freddy have never been spotted at the exact same time. Considering that husband of his wanted this ring so badly and it has the word ‘Cane’ written on the back of it, I have a feeling this ring has some powers beyond our comprehension. This ring, I suspect, can turn Freddy Benson into that dog.”
“Sir” one of his advisors said nervously. “I think this campaign has gotten to you a little bit. Perhaps you should consider getting some sleep.”
“I don’t need sleep! And I’m not crazy, as all you mother fuckers have been saying about me behind my back! I’m telling you that this ring can turn Freddy Benson into a dog!”
The advisors sat around his office, nervously looking at each other. Today was the last day to try to remove the mayor from the ballot for election day next month. They had discussed the possibility of it, seeing as their boss was seemingly losing his marbles. However, he was not crazy and the opportunity to file a petition for his removal had passed. Today was the deadline to remove the mayor from the ballot and the courts were closed for the day. The ballot slate was frozen for that coming election. His advisors just hoped they could keep their boss from doing something rash until the campaign was over.
Gulping, one of the mayor’s advisors spoke up.
“Sir, are you sure you don’t want to just go home now? You have the ring. We can work on this tomorrow when you’ve had some time to rest up.”
“I don’t need rest right now, you fucking moron!!!!!!” the mayor yelled out in response. “I’m on the verge of rubbing my opponent out permanently!!!!!! All we need to do is figure out if Freddy Benson is still alive and then my master plan can begin!!!!!!”
“Sir” another advisor spoke up. “We still haven’t been able to determine where Freddy Benson is. He’s been missing since leaving the auditorium during the webcast when the chaos occurred. He hasn’t been seen since.”
A communication device buzzed in the room, which caused the mayor to look at his advisors angrily. Pulling out their device with the intention of shutting it off, the advisor got a fortunately timed piece of good news.
“Sir” the advisor said happily. “The computer system said Freddy Benson was spotted with his husband landing in Sacramento just a few hours ago.”
“Excellent!” the mayor exclaimed. “That means he's still alive! But I wonder what he’s doing there.”
“Visiting someone named Sofya Roshkovich. We haven’t been able to determine what her connection to them might be.”
“Well, work on getting that information right away.”
“Yes sir.”
“As for the rest of you, does someone have Freddy Benson’s number?!”
“I do!” an advisor piped up.
“Then give me the number and let me try to reach him. If he’ll take anyone’s call, it’s certain to be mine.”
Back in Sofya’s apartment, Freddy gulped nervously, as he processed what had just transpired in the mayor’s office. Sofya continued to close her eyes, as she moved her hands over the crystal ball.
“Do you have a location yet?” Sofya asked with a strain in her voice.
“Don’t leave yet” Michael replied, who was both fascinated and worried about what he had just seen take place. “We need to keep an eye on the mayor now. He’s about to call up Freddy’s communication device.”
“Presuming he has my number” Freddy grumbled.
“I can’t keep the image up for that much longer” Sofya said, as she let out a painful groan. “It’s taking a lot of my energy to keep this going.”
“Just wait a couple of more minutes” Michael insisted. “We need to see what’s happening in the mayor’s office when he calls Freddy. Speaking of which, Freddy?”
“Yes Michael” he replied.
“If he has your number, don’t answer his call right away. If you pick up the call too soon, then the mayor is going to suspect something is up and he’ll be bound to get suspicious. Wait two to three rings before you answer it.”
“Ok.”
In that moment, Freddy’s communication device began to ring. He could see a number traced back to the mayor’s office appear on the screen in front of him.
“Guess he has it, then.” Freddy noted.
“One” Michael counted.
A second ring could be heard.
“Two.”
A third ring could be heard.
“Three.”
“Hello?” Freddy asked, as he calmly answered the communication device.
“Is this Freddy Benson?” the mayor asked.
“Who is this?”
“I asked you first.”
“This is he. Who is this?”
“Ah, good, then I have the right number after all.”
The mayor briefly held his communication device away from his face, in order to address his advisors.
“You haven’t been totally incompetent today” he commented sarcastically.
They looked at him nervously, before their boss put the communication device back to his face and continued speaking to Freddy.
“This is your political rival just calling to have a little chat with you” he continued.
Michael watched the mayor through the crystal ball, as his husband continued his conversation through his communication device.
“What do you want?” Freddy asked with an irritated tone in his voice.
“Just to make a friendly proposition” the mayor replied. “Something that can work out for the both of us.”
“I’m not interested in any of your propositions, Mr. Mayor. I’m in this race to the end.”
“I’m sure you will be interested in my proposition, if you would be willing to hear out what I have to offer you first.”
“I’m not dropping out of this race for any reason.”
“I’m not so sure your opinion will be so set in stone if you knew what I could do for you.”
“I’m not interested in making any deals with you.”
“I may have found something that your husband has been looking all over town for these last few months.”
Freddy gulped, knowing the mayor already had the ring in his possession, but still nervous about his control over the magical object.
“Why don’t you come down to my office to discuss this with me in person?” the mayor continued. “These lines of communication aren’t always so…discrete, if you catch my drift.”
Freddy gulped again, before he gave the mayor his answer.
“I’ll come down in a little while” he replied. “However, I’m not interested in making any deals with you."
“I’m not so convinced that that’s so. How long will it take you to get here?”
“Well, I’m out with Michael right now. When I get back home, I can make my way down to your office after that.”
“Good. I can stay up late to wait for you. I’m a patient man like that. I’m a man who needs little sleep. Just get down here tonight as soon as you can get here. Oh, and Freddy?”
“Yes Mr. Mayor?”
“Don’t bring that security guard with you. This is just between us. Man to man, if you catch my drift.”
“No” Michael hissed quietly.
Freddy shushed him, before he continued to speak.
“I’ll come down there alone” he replied “but this better not be an attempt of yours to try to ambush me.”
“It won’t be” the mayor lied with a smile. “Just come down here so we can talk, just you and I.”
“I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Just tell the secretary at the front desk when you arrive that you’re here to see me and she’ll bring you back to my office. Oh, and if you have the security guard with you, consider the meeting as called off. Understand me?”
“Yes, Mr. Mayor.”
“Good. I’ll see you soon.”
The mayor chuckled as he ended the call. In Sofya’s apartment, Michael spoke up.
“You can stop now” he said to Sofya.
Sofya let out an exhausted moan, as the image from the mayor’s office disappeared from the crystal ball.
“Holy shit” she said, as she began to heavily pant. “That took a lot out of me. I need a minute to catch my breath.”
“Is it really that draining?”
“Very much so. I was only expecting to hold up the image for a minute, so you two could see where the ring was at that very moment. I didn’t think I’d be holding that image up for ten minutes like that. I don’t think I’ve ever done it for that long before. That totally wiped me out.”
“Well” Freddy replied with a smile “I’m sure you’ll get a good night’s sleep after this.”
In that moment, the front door to Sofya’s apartment opened up.
“Uh oh” Sofya thought to herself, as she got up from her chair. “I wasn’t expecting him home tonight.”
A man walked into the apartment and closed the door behind him. He wore a gray suit, had olive skin and slick, black hair. Sofya approached him and gave him a kiss on the lips.
“Honey” she said, with a coo in her voice. “I wasn’t expecting you home tonight. I thought you’d be staying at your apartment by your office.”
The man looked over at the sofa and saw Freddy and Michael turn to look at him.
“Who are they?” the man asked gruffly, as he walked over to approach them.
“Uh…” Sofya replied nervously. “They’re—“
“Freddy Benson” he replied, as he got up to extend to his hand to Sofya’s husband. “I’m a friend of Sofya’s from high school.”
The man eyed Freddy warily, as he went to shake his hand.
“I’m Roberto” the man replied. “Sofya’s husband. And who is that?”
“I’m Michael” he replied hesitantly, as he got up to look at Roberto more closely. “I’m Freddy’s husband.”
“Oh, so you two are gay” Roberto said matter of factly.
“Yes” Freddy replied. “We’ve been happily married for fourteen years now.”
“Congratulations. Sofya, why are they here? I’ve never seen them or heard about them before.”
“I was just helping them out with something” Sofya replied, as her eyes turned pink and she stared at her husband. “No need for you to be jealous or get alarmed. Everything is fine.”
“We were just about to leave, anyway” Michael added, as he grabbed Freddy’s arm and quickly made his way to the door.
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye first?” Sofya asked with an annoyed tone in her voice, as her eyes returned to normal and she bolted towards them.
“Sofya—“ Roberto called to her angrily.
“It was great to see you” Freddy said with a smile, as he gave Sofya a hug. “Let’s keep in touch.”
“Of course” she replied with a smile.
Michael shrugged, before he gave Sofya a hug.
“Bye Sofya” he quietly muttered.
“It was good to see you too, Michael” she replied. “Even if you are a pain in the ass, at times.”
Michael groaned, as Sofya opened the door and let them out into the hall. When Sofya closed the door behind her, Freddy and Michael made their way back down the lobby and then to their car that was parked on the street.
“No ticket” Freddy commented happily.
“I knew we wouldn’t get one” Michael replied.
When they got inside the car, Freddy started it up and drove them back to the air field. When they got to the gate, the security guard approached his vehicle.
“Heading home?” the security guard asked, as he scanned Freddy’s documents.
“Yes, sir” Freddy replied quietly.
“Have a safe flight. Be careful up there. It’s a cloudy night and visibility is low. Lift off from runway 1, over there.”
Freddy nodded, as he drove towards where the security guard pointed his finger. After setting himself up for lift off, he flew up into the sky to head back to the town they lived in. On the flight over, Michael kept sighing. Freddy noticed this and decided to address it with him.
“Everything is going to be ok, Michael” Freddy said, trying to be reassuring.
“I’m so nervous about this” Michael replied. “I really don’t think you should be going into a meeting like that all by yourself.”
“It’s the only chance I have to try to get back the ring.”
“I’m sure there are other ways to get it back than trying to snatch it from him. More than likely, the mayor is just going to read the inscription on the back and change you back into a dog again.”
“It’s a risk I have to take, seeing as I don’t have another one right now.”
Michael let out another sigh, before Freddy patted him on his lap.
“Things will be ok” he insisted.
“Just keep your hands on the steering wheel” Michael replied. “Visibility is poor and I want you to be fully prepared for any potential turbulence.”
Freddy nodded, as he put his hand back on the wheel and flew them to the nearest air field to their home. When they landed, they were allowed to leave without being stopped by the security guard.
“That was weird” Michael noted, as Freddy drove out of the gate. “Why did they stop us in Sacramento and not here?”
“I guess they know where we landed” Freddy replied “and we landed where we said we would.”
“I don’t know.”
Michael continued to feel his anxiety building, while Freddy drove them back to their house. When they got inside, they saw Chris sitting on the couch waiting for them.
“So” Chris said, as he got up to greet them “what happened?”
“Sofya used a crystal ball to find the location of the ring” Freddy replied.
“The mayor has it” Michael added.
“Oh no” Chris said nervously. “That’s not good.”
“He wants Freddy to go down to his office right away to talk to him. Freddy sees this as his only chance to try to snatch it from him.”
“That’s not a good idea, boss. The mayor might have his army of goons try to beat you up or kill you. He could even read the inscription and turn you into a dog. I really have to go in there with you.”
“He said he wouldn’t meet with me if you went with me” Freddy replied. “I have to go alone.”
“You can’t go entirely alone, Freddy. At least let me be nearby to help you out in a pinch.”
“More than likely” Michael added “he’s not going to kill you, Freddy. He’s probably going to test the ring and see if it turns you into a dog. Once you’re Buddy again, it would be a good idea to have Chris nearby to take you back here, so we can hide you from the mayor and the police.”
“I guess you’re right” Freddy replied with a hint of hesitation in his voice. “Chris, you can drive me to the mayor’s office, but I’m going in alone. Be nearby in case I need to make a quick exit.”
“An exit most likely as Buddy the dog” Michael added. “Chris, Freddy will go in there, but more than likely, if he even comes out alive, it’ll be as a German Shepherd dog. If you see a dog racing towards your car, remember to let him in.”
“How will I know if it’s Freddy, though?” Chris asked.
“Roll down the windows and ask me a question only I would know the answer to” Freddy suggested. “Make it a yes or no one. I can bark once for yes and twice for no.”
“Or you can just nod your head yes or shake your head no” Michael suggested. "You don't want to make too much noise."
“Either one works” Chris replied, as he got ready to go. “Do you need to get changed or anything, Freddy?”
“No, I’m good” Freddy replied. “Thanks though.”
Chris nodded, as he went up to his boss' bedroom to put on another outfit. As he was getting dressed, Freddy pulled into Michael tightly and gave him a big hug.
“I may not be able to do this for a while” Freddy said, as he tightly embraced his husband “so I want you to know that I love you and that we’re going to get through this.”
“I don’t know if you’ll get out of there alive” Michael replied, as he began to sob. “I’m starting to have second thoughts about this.”
Freddy gave his husband a long, passionate kiss on the lips.
“This is not good bye. This is see you later. We’ll hug again soon. We’ll kiss again soon. Even if I have to lick my canine tongue in your face to say hello to you, we will be together again soon. I promise you this. I know it.”
Michael sniffled, before Freddy gave him another long smooch. Standing at the top of the staircase, Chris looked down and smiled at the couple’s show of affection for one another. He hoped to find a woman someday that would give him that kind of passion in their love life. Walking down towards them, he stood at a distance, patiently waiting for their kiss to end. When they were done, Freddy looked at Michael with a tear in his eye, before giving him another kiss.
“Later, Michael” Freddy said, as he walked towards the front door. “Let’s go, Chris.”
“Right” Chis replied, as he opened the front door and walked towards Freddy’s car.
"I love you" Michael said quietly, as he watched Chris drive Freddy out of their driveway.
Sitting on the couch in the living room, Michael continued to sob. It was already getting late, but the night was just beginning. He was worried about what could happen to Freddy in his meeting with the mayor.
The mayor could easily kill Freddy, despite the completely insane logic behind it and the unlikelihood of him doing it in such a public place. He could have him arrested for some crime of unknown origin. He could have him beaten up so badly that he’d need to go to the hospital. More than likely, though, Michael believed that he wouldn’t see his husband as a human again for a long time.
“If the mayor reads that inscription” Michael thought to himself “then he’s not reading it again for a long time, if ever. He’ll probably want to keep Freddy as a dog until election day, so that way the mayor wins by default. He could also keep my husband as a dog forever, so he’ll never be a threat to him again. Either way, something bad is going to happen in that meeting. I just don’t 100% know what it is yet…and the uncertainty of it is eating me alive.”
At the mayor’s office…..