Self Sacrifice

Andy woke up in pain. He fought back a grunt as memories of the rough encounter came flooding back. A hollow sort of feeling hit him as the fact that he'd actually been raped came clearly into view. He realised as he sat up that there was a glass of wafer and a painkiller on the bedside cabinet and he scoffed, making a point of not taking it. He got up and dressed quickly, Carlile was nowhere to be seen in the massive hotel suite that now made Andy feel nauseous rather than privileged. The lavish furnishings, the marble pillars all making the anger in his stomach churn away more.

He saw a note left on the table as he was pulling on his shoes.
- Come back at 8pm today. I have a business proposition for you. A.C -

"Right, cause that's happening." Andy left with glares to as many people in the hotel lobby as he could manage while they all looked at him in distaste and whispered about him, why he was in Austin Carlile's room all night.
Andy realised, when he got home and had a shower, that he had no intention of going to the police, or telling Craig, and that he fully intended to go back to the hotel that night, to see what Carlile had to say. The man just had a way about him, if he told you to do something, you did it. Although, if there was to be another encounter like that again, Andy would make sure to do exactly what he did the night before - don't do anything that could make it better, and don't show any pain. He didn't want to make it good for the other man, he'd exercise every last bit of control he had until it was over.

The day seemed to pass slowly. With no article to write, ignoring Craig's calls and just waiting for the hours to pass, Andy ended up going to sleep and setting his alarm. When 8 o'clock came about, he was ready to face the other man again. He got changed into the shabbiest ripped jeans, vest and open shirt that he could find, determined to piss off the people who worked at the hotel. When he got there, more distasteful looks, and more whispers about why he'd returned for a second night.
"You're late." Carlile announced slowly the second the elevator doors opened.

"I know. What's this business proposition?" The other man looked him up and down, and Andy thought it may have been a mistake to wear such a tight-fitting outfit. His eyes then focused on him, and Andy smirked ever so slightly when Carlile realised that he hadn't broken him like he'd wanted to, that Andy still had plenty of fight left.

"Sit down." He would've said no, just for argument's sake, but he wanted to prove that he had no fear of the other man, so he sat down bouncily, grateful that he'd healed up quite quickly and there was only a slight sting.

"I didn't want you to submit that article, and you haven't, so I'm offering you another article, on someone else. It is guaranteed to have as much value to you as the previous one you were writing." Andy frowned.

"Why would you care about that?"

"You are a talented writer, like I said, and you dealt with this whole matter discreetly, which I didn't think you would. Therefore I'm willing to give you something in return. It's a fair exchange."

"Ok. What's the story?"

"It's on a man named Dennis Charleton." Recognition sparked up inside Andy and he tried to remember where he knew the name from.

"Dennis Charleton....doesn't he run the children's libraries and fostering projects over the city?"

"Yes."

"How could there be a good story on him? He's an all-round good guy."

"There are very few men who are all-round good guys as you put it. Dennis Charleton is a pedophile." Andy's jaw dropped.

"How do you-"

"He bought thousands of dollars worth of....material, shall we call it, from a man who works with Hendleston, a man called Killian Jackson." Andy shook his head slowly, in shock.

"I'm going to report him to the police, they'll arrest him, I want you to get this story before all the other journalists do. You'll immediately gain respect for finding out about it before the others, and with your writing skill, I know you'll represent him in the worst light possible. So we both win."

"Why do you care so much about getting him arrested? What has he done to you?"

"I'm no angel-"

"Really? You shock me." Carlile looked at him with an expression Andy couldn't identify before continuing.

"..but...I can't stand people like him, people that would do something like that to an innocent child deserve no place in this world, and I would do anything to ensure that he's never allowed near one again." Andy blinked at the other man's speech and nodded slowly.

"I may not exactly be good, Andrew. But I'm not evil either." His voice was surprisingly soft and Andy looked at him.

"I'll send you the details. I take it you want them?" Andy nodded.

"Yes, thank you." He nodded and reached out to shake Andy's hand. He did so, a little hesitantly, then left feeling more shaken up than the night before.

The next day Andy had the details and he got to work on everything immediately. Without having to do much research, it was written up in a day, so by the time the evening came, he was ready to do the interview with Carlile. He felt nervous as he made the journey back to the hotel, not necessarily in fear, but of the new found softness that he was displaying.

The older man dismissed his bodyguards the second Andy stepped into the room, and he must've looked nervous as they left because Carlile looked at him with that same unidentifiable expression:
"I'm not going to anything. I prefer to be able to concentrate fully when you're here, especially under the interview circumstances." Andy nodded and set about assembling the video camera, recorder and his notepad, feeling increasingly under scrutiny as the other man's eyes remained fixated on him.

"So, Mr Carlile, you reported Dennis Charleton to the police?"

"Yes, that's right."

"How did you find out about the..illicit material he had purchased? And who from?"

The interview flowed smoothly, and as they embedded themselves in the facts of the investigation which had begun two hours earlier, as soon as Carlile had reported Dennis Charleton to the police, Andy became increasingly relaxed.

"Thank you very much for taking the time to speak to us, Mr Carlile." He nodded and Andy shut off the camera and recorder before breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for letting me do this tonight, everyone else will be all over it tomorrow morning." The businessman nodded, still watching him silently.

"Right, I suppose I'll be on my way now, thanks- oh, I forgot my phone-" Andy stopped talking as the other man stood, his phone in hand and offered it out to him, his eyes intense and dark. Andy repressed a shiver and accepted it, stuffing it into his pocket.

"I'll send you any other details of other cases I happen to come across in the future."

"Thank you- don't." Carlile stopped, much to Andy's surprise, as he leant in, and he searched for an answer in his eyes as he asked:

"Why?"

"B-because I.....I don't...I don't want this-" Carlile's lips cut his off, and Andy hated how a deep curl of fire twisted in his stomach, and he couldn't help but kiss back before stumbling towards the door.

"I'm sorry.." He left without another word, Carlile stood watching him as the elevator doors closed, back to his hard, icy self.

"Congratulations, Andy!!" Andy smiled as yet another colleague clapped him on the back and congratulated him for the article and internet interview's success before entering Craig's office.

"Andy! Well done, well done, it's been a complete hit! Good thinking with the video interview as well - nice touch. It's had one million hits since this morning alone. Everyone's in total shock over this case, I can't believe it myself. But it's clearly true. Charleton even admitted it himself, it's horrific to think how many kids he's been allowed near all this time." Andy nodded.

"So tell me what happened with the other article? I'm guessing Carlile influenced your decision to send that to me for publishing?"

"Yeah...but he gave me the details for this, and this is just as, if not more prominent in the eyes of the public as the other one-"

"Relax, Andy. I'm not angry. Far from it, this article has really done it's job. Besides, it's raised your name up in journalism and publishing circles. You've gained a good reputation for yourself. Good work, that's all for now."