Little Big Man

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: THE WRONG MAN

Previously: Dmitri discovers that over a million euros have been embezzled from the Little Big Man Europe account. He calls in investigators, who finger Grigory as the culprit and arrest him. Dmitri urges Ruslan to apply for membership in IAMSO (i.e., become a slave-owner) and intends to send him off for a `practicum' in the Greek Isles, where he will have to spend 48 hours as a slave, as part of his training to become a master. Later, his absence was extended for more than two days, for unexplained reasons.

This is revealed in emails to Dmitri's old mentor, Nikolai, whom Dmitri asks for advice on how to handle Alexei, believing Alexei's affection and concern for Matti are interfering with his ability to be a good slave. Nikolai volunteers to fill in for Ruslan in his absence and assess the situation. The two of them discover that someone has altered the section of Alexei's narrative in which he recognizes that he is gay. Not sure he could trust his own staff to recover the original document, Dmitri calls in his FSB contact Tcherepnin and his assistant Bobrovsky.

DMITRI: WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER – LATE AFTERNOON, CONFERENCE ROOM.

The FSB men were up in my bedroom trying to torture a confession out of my computer. I was sitting at the conference table, fraught with indecision. And the reason for my quandary was standing patiently nearby.

I could have avoided this internal dilemma if only I had taken up one of the offers I had received at the convention. I could have sold him to the Australian for more money than he would have fetched on the open market. Or I could have taken the Prince Regent up on his wager of Alexei versus Minnesota in the diving contest; the P.R. would surely have provided me with a satisfactory replacement. And my brain would be freed from this incessant debate about whether or not to keep a boy I couldn't solve.

In September, selling or trading Alexei was unthinkable. Now, it was . . . thinkable.

I was mulling over these thoughts when Bobrovsky materialized before my eyes.

• We've got it, sir.

I followed him upstairs to my room, Alexei trailing behind obediently. Tcherepnin was seated at the computer, with Nikolai looking over his shoulder and shaking his head.

• You need to take a look at this, Dmitri.

He scrolled up to the top and I read the account along with Nikolai. [Author's Note: the document Dmitri has just now read comprises Alex's chapters 38 and 39, including the gang-rape at Ilya's direction, and Alex's realization that he was, in fact, gay.]

We looked at each other and then at Alexei. The document contained a word I would never have expected to see in an account of Alexei's experiences here in my home: Latronius.

Latronius! You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather.

Bobrovsky turned to me:

• We recovered the document for you. Can we fuck your slave now?

This man had a one-track mind, and that mind was located below the belt. I glared at him.

• Not until I straighten this out.

I turned to Alexei.

• This is an accurate account of what happened during my trip to Sochi in July?

• Yes, Master.

• Latronius was here. Latronius, from the boat. He was here.

• . . .

• I am wanting answers, Alexei – you do not have to wait for me to form a question.

• Yes, Master, Latronius was here.

• How?

• I do not know for sure, but he is a friend of Bogdan who is a friend of Anatoly who is a friend of Ilya. And I believe Ilya pressured Pyotr into letting them into the estate.

• And the Daniil who was part of the group – this is the same Daniil who is now my gardener?

• Yes, Master.

• And this is Ilya's doing.

• Master, it is not for me to judge. But the events occurred as I have described them.

I turned to Nikolai.

• We need to get Ilya up here right away. And Pyotr. And Daniil.

I reached for my phone to text Sasha to send Ilya to my room. Nikolai stopped me.

• Wait! Not yet. I think there's more to be gotten from Alexei.

• (Bobrovsky, fondling his crotch) I know what I want to get from Alexei.

This time Tcherepnin and I both glared at him.

• Go ahead, Nikolai.

• (Nikolai) Alexei, you said that Pyotr had a boyfriend he brought in from town. What do you know about this?

• Sir, I heard about it first from Henri. And then – as you read – I saw the two of them together. I have not seen him since that time, but I . . . well, the servants say that it . . . happens.

• So the night that you saw him with Pyotr was not the only time the boy has been here.

• That is my understanding, Sir.

• Daniil? Was he here another time?

• Not to my knowledge, Sir. Just that once.

• Anatoly?

• He came one more time that I know of, Sir.

• Bogdan?

• One other time, Sir.

• And this Latroclus?

• Latronius, Sir. He was here five times.

• (Me) FIVE TIMES!!

• Yes, Master. Every time you were away, Master, he was here.

• Pyotr let him in?

• That is my understanding.

• And did he use you sexually on those occasions?

• Yes, Master. I believe that was his reason for coming.

• (Tcherepnin) You're asking us to believe that this Black American who is somehow now in Russia came into this house every time your Master was away in order to fuck you?

• Yes, Sir.

The conversation switched to Russian. I needed to explain to Tcherepnin.

• On the ocean voyage, Latronius intimidated Alexei and, though he couldn't fuck him on board, promised he eventually would, claiming to have connections where Alexei was going. I guess he did.

• And how do you know this?

• From an earlier section of Alexei's writing.

• Hold on. The only reason you know anything about this Latronius fellow is from what you've read in this slave's diary?

• Well –

• He could have made it all up. This Latronius might not even exist.

• He exists. We hired him for Little Big –

• Did you observe him `lusting' after your slave? Do you have any independent corroboration of his story?

• No. But my boy does not lie.

• I just read about a big lie. He told you he wasn't gay when he knew he was. And you're saying he doesn't lie? You are being foolish, Dmitri. Taking the word of a slave on something as serious as this.

• (Nikolai) Tcherepnin is right in this respect, Dmitri. I believe your boy is telling the truth, but you need evidence – real evidence – if you're going to act on this. If Ilya or Pyotr files a complaint with IAMSO – which they're entitled to do, living in an IAMSO household – because they lost their job solely on the word of a slave –

• I'd be reprimanded or worse.

• (Tcherepnin) Do you have security tapes from the gate? If he came here in broad daylight, there'd be a record of it. How long are the security tapes kept?

• They're changed every two weeks.

Tcherepnin resumed interrogating Alexei, in English.

• When was the last time Latronius was here?

• About three weeks ago, Sir.

• Damn, three weeks. Do you remember which day?

• That would be Thursday the 17th, Sir. He always comes when Master is away. Someone must tell him when Master takes a trip.

• . . . Oh, my god.

• (Me) What?

• (Tcherepnin, to Alexei) Does he only come in the daytime, like the incident in this document?

• No, Sir. Usually he comes at night – I think so that the others won't see him.

• But YOU see him.

• He hides in the bathroom until Ruslan delivers me to Master's room for the night. And then he appears and . . . takes me.

• On the 17th, was he here at night?

• (Me) Gennady, why are you so agitated?

• Because I'm a fucking idiot. And so are you, Dmitri. Alexei, was he here at night on the 17th?

• Yes, Sir. Well, it was after midnight, so it was technically the 18th.

• (me) Are you saying what I think you're –

• Was he here with Grigory the night you saw him at the computer?

• Yes, Sir.

• (Nikolai) And you didn't tell your Master this?!

• (Tcherepnin, in Russian) Nikolai, it's my fault – and Dmitri's. I asked him if he had seen anyone on the staff other than Grigory at the computer. He answered truthfully – he said no. And then when I asked him if he had seen anyone WITH Grigory that night, he specifically asked on the staff?' and you, Dmitri, you interrupted like he was asking the stupidest question in the world and said of course on the staff, no one else has been here.' Only someone else HAD been here and Alexei would have told you that if you'd have given him the chance. You've trained this slave too goddamned well, Dmitri. He answers questions literally, exactly what is asked. (in English) Alexei, how long was Grigory at the computer?

• Only a few seconds, Sir.

• And how long was Latronius at the computer?

• Several minutes, Sir.

• Fuck! We've arrested the wrong man.

• (Me) You mean Grigory –

• (Tcherepnin) Is probably innocent, yes. Alexei, you'd better tell us about that night, in your own words, start to finish.

• (Alexei) Yes, Sir.

ALEXEI: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1:00 A.M. – MASTER'S BEDROOM (ALMOST THREE WEEKS EARLIER)

Master had departed earlier in the day, so I knew to expect Latronius. He would always come in the late afternoon so that Pyotr could let him in and then get back to the house in time for dinner. Then while everyone was eating, Latronius would enter by the slave tunnel, sneak up here and wait for Ruslan to deliver me.

After my discipline session, Ruslan gave me my good-night fuck and took me up to Master's room. I was expecting to see Latronius but he wasn't anywhere in the room. Pyotr had been late for dinner, so I thought maybe he had waited for Latronius, but Latronius hadn't come. There was nothing for me to do, so I went to bed. By which, of course, I mean, on the floor, in my doggy-bed, at least that's what I call it.

I fell asleep and then I heard footsteps in the room. The clock on the wall said it was just after 1:00. And then I heard voices. One of them was Latronius. And the other was Grigory.

Latronius was telling him to whisper and Grigory was like, "What? You afraid to wake up slave? Is obvious you don't live around them." But Latronius kept shushing him and he did lower his voice, but by this time I was wide awake. I pretended I was still asleep, though.

I heard Latronius say, "So enter the password," and I heard Grigory ask why Latronius needed to write an e-mail at this time of night. And then he asked why he needed Grigory to enter the password – he could have just given it to him.

Latronius answered that he didn't know this computer and was afraid he'd have trouble signing on. Then he'd have to go find Grigory to sort it out and he couldn't risk that much time in the hallways. Someone might see him and he'd be in deep shit. Besides, Grigory was still awake, so what was the big deal?

I noticed that Latronius didn't answer Grigory's question about why he was sending an e-mail this late but maybe he was writing to America where it was still daytime. Anyway, Grigory left as soon as he got Latronius signed on.

Latronius then sat down and put on a pair of gloves. I thought that was odd, but maybe Latronius was a germophobe or something. Though I didn't remember that from the boat.

Anyway, he stayed there for about fifteen minutes. When he first sat down, he pulled out a sheet of paper from his back pocket and unfolded it. He kept looking at it as he was entering stuff into the computer. I couldn't see the screen from where I was lying on the floor, but it didn't seem like he was writing a letter. It was more like he was filling out a form, typing something and then pressing ENTER, it had that sort of rhythm. I thought maybe he was applying for a job or something.

And then he finished, put the paper away, and took off his clothes. The next thing I knew he was lifting me up, tossing me on the bed and lubing me up. And then – you know.

DMITRI: WEDNESDAY, 7 DECEMBER (back to `real time') - CONFERENCE ROOM

• Why wasn't Latronius hiding in the room like usual?

• (Nikolai) Something we'll have to ask when we catch him.

• If we catch him.

• (Tcherepnin, confidently) We'll catch him.

• (Nikolai) We have to. We need him, or else your entire case is the testimony of a slave.

• (Tcherepnin) True enough. For Grigory, we had fingerprints, his undeniable access to your computer, his knowledge of the LBME account, and the name GriMe, although that now looks like a frame job. Plus, we had Alexei's taped testimony, and were able to pass him off as an American employee. For this Latronius fellow, we have nothing to back it up. Alexei can't make another audio testimony – they'd want to ask why he changed his story and demand to see him in person.

• Impossible.

• (Nikolai) Of course. You can't bring a naked boy into a courtroom. And if you clothed him, IAMSO would go nuts. That aside, it looks like Latronius was making the transfer on behalf of someone else. Someone gave him written instructions.

• (Tcherepnin) Which is why he kept looking at the paper. Someone else is the real culprit here.

• (Nikolai) Based on Alexei's account, it sounds like Ilya. But that could be wishful thinking on Alexei's behalf. He doesn't like Ilya because of that gang-rape in July.

• (Bobrovsky) You need an undercover agent here. Someone who could talk to your staff in a way that you can't.

• (Tcherepnin) Why do I think you're going to suggest yourself for that role?

• (Bobrovsky) Could I be your gardener? You're going to need a new gardener – you have to fire this Daniil; he was one of the ones who broke in here and raped your boy.

• (Tcherepnin) Nikita . . .

We were both reading his mind.

• The gardener only gets to fuck Alexei on Thursdays and Saturday nights.

• (Bobrovsky, brightening) Tomorrow's Thursday.

• (Tcherepnin) No, Nikita. It's not altogether a terrible idea, but the timing is wrong. Dmitri, you're not to fire Daniil – not yet, anyway. We can't give away our hand. Whoever did this thinks they've framed Grigory and we've got to let them believe they've gotten away with it. In the meantime, I'll move Grigory into a comfortable cell and make sure he's not reassigned until this is resolved. It's still possible he's the culprit – he could have written out the instructions for Latronius, after all. If he's innocent, you can have him back as gardener, if you still want him.

• Yes, I want him. He has to make some amends, but I'll take him back. I'm sure he's a better gardener than Bobrovsky, anyway.

Most of us laughed at that.

• (Bobrovsky, not quite giving up) I'm actually an excellent chef, if Henri would like a vacation.

• So what do we do? How can we catch Latronius? He could be in the Caymans by now.

• (Tcherepnin) He's not. I'll stake my mother's honor on that. He's still here and you know what's keeping him here?

• What?

• (Tcherepnin) The same thing that's making Bobrovsky tent his trousers. He wants a piece of that ass. And we're going to make sure he gets it.

• How?

• (Tcherepnin) Dmitri, I think it's time for another business trip.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER FORTY-NINE - A TRAP IS SPRUNG]