Chapter 8
A Change of Plans
When Joseph felt that they were far enough from town to be safe, he slowed the horses down to a comfortable trot, giving both he, and the horses, a chance to catch their breath.
Joseph had sat in the driver's seat the whole time the commotion was going on in the tavern, just waiting for the three men to come bursting out of the back door. It seemed to him that the fight inside was going on forever. So much shouting, and the gunfire he heard made him nervous. He couldn't help but wonder if he was going to drive away with all three.
Joseph never questioned his employers. He took this job thinking it was a cushy way to earn a nice, fat purse. After all, his employers were wealthy and spared no expense on this trip. They made sure he had whatever he needed, so that he didn't have to spend his own money, something he had never experienced on other jobs. Even though Joseph saw that his employers were always armed, he figured it was just for show, or perhaps as a precaution. He never expected the men would actually be using their weapons. This trip was becoming quite an adventure. He stopped the carriage just long enough to light the lamps, and then proceeded on.
Klaus and Francois leaned back in their seats and breathed a sigh of relief. They were grateful to not be bounced and jostled about anymore. Magnus, on the other hand, was trembling, his anxiety now going into a full-blown panic attack.
“Magnus, you need to calm down,” Francois said, in as soothing a tone as he was able to manage. He had seen Magnus nervous before, but this was the worst.
Magnus laid down on the seat and curled into a ball, thinking he was going to be on the run for the rest of his life – or worse, in prison. With that thought, he started bawling, in loud, heart-wrenching sobs.
Francois looked at Klaus, his eyes wide, and shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have the foggiest how to console Magnus in the state he was in.
Klaus sighed, his mouth set in a thin smile, and gave Francois a nod. He knew exactly how to get Magnus to calm down. He had done it before on several occasions when Magnus had felt traumatized, or simply depressed.
Klaus slid off his seat, next to Francois, and went to sit by Magnus's side. He carefully lifted Magnus's head and rested it on his lap. By now, the blood on his coat was dry, so it wouldn't get on Magnus's face. It never occurred to Klaus that his personality was full of contradictions. When it became necessary, he could kill without giving it a second thought. But with Magnus, that ruthless side of him didn’t exist. As a paid assassin, Klaus could snuff out a life with cold indifference. But with Magnus, there was a warm, loving heart beating inside of him. This was the world he lived in.
“Shhh,” he said quietly. “It's going to be alright.” Tenderly, Klaus rubbed Magnus's back with one hand, as the fingers of his other hand played with Magnus's hair. “I'm right here with you, Magnus,” Klaus continued, his voice soft and warm.
Francois watched as Magnus's sobs grew quieter, and farther apart. He couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy. Klaus seemed to have the magic touch, while he, himself, was no use to Magnus in a time like this. He hated seeing Magnus so hurt, yet, right now, Francois felt very inadequate, and it frustrated the hell out of him.
“How, Klaus? How can you say everything will be alright? I helped kill a man,” Magnus sniffed, wiping his nose on his sleeve. He continued to lay on Klaus's lap, letting the gentle hands comfort him. “And all those men you and Francois killed. I...I...”
“Don't worry, Magnus.” Klaus continued in a soft tone. “If a magistrate questions us, we will explain that we were attacked and just defending ourselves, and that will be the end of it.”
Magnus sat up abruptly, blinking at Klaus. “Self-defense? With three against all those men? Nobody will believe that. I don't even know how the whole damn mess got started. What am I supposed to say when the authorities catch us and question me?” Magnus slumped back on the seat and wiped the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand.
“Francois, hand me that,” Klaus said, reaching for the bottle of whiskey that Francois had been nursing this whole time. Klaus took a long swallow, then handed the bottle back.
“Magnus,” Klaus began, “do you remember the skinny guy I grabbed?”
“Yes. You slit his throat,” Magnus replied, looking down at his hands in his lap.
“Actually, I wasn't going to kill him at first, just scare him,” Klaus went on to explain. “That fucking sleaze bag tried to pick-pocket my coin purse. But then his buddies jumped in, and I had no choice – I had to fight, Magnus. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I get it now...and you were amazing, Klaus. You really were,” Magnus said as he looked up at Klaus with a small smile, admiration shining in his eye - That look didn't go unnoticed by Francois. “But how do we prove that?”
“That won't be hard,” Francois said confidently. “We have plenty of witnesses-the bar maids, the musicians. Even if they didn't see that prick try to pick-pocket Klaus, Matty did.”
“Yeah,” Klaus chuckled. “I gave Matty my coin purse. There's enough fucking gold in that purse for him to build a brand-new tavern. I'm sure he will testify on our side.” But Klaus wasn't sure. If Matty didn't corroborate their story, Klaus knew they were going to be in some deep shit.
Francois wasn't sure either, but he didn't want to see Magnus go to pieces again. So, for Magnus's sake, he decided to put on a smile and pretend that all was well.
“Klaus, did that place back there have a name?” Francois asked to change the subject. “I don't remember seeing a sign.”
“It was called Heavenly Wayside,” Magnus answered instead. “I saw a small sign.” Then all three busted out laughing at the irony.
Feeling more relaxed, Magnus rested his head on Klaus's shoulder, while Klaus wrapped his arm around Magnus's waist. Klaus felt comfortable to him, like a favorite pair of slippers, or a cozy chair bathed in warm sunlight. Closing his eyes, he let this feeling wash over him as he succumbed to sleep.
“How far do you think we've come?” Francois asked, hoping his voice didn't give away the irritation he felt, seeing Klaus holding Magnus. His plan had been to take Magnus to Paris, just the two of them. But with Magnus wanting to keep Klaus around, Francois knew damn well that Klaus wasn't going anywhere. Even though he wanted Klaus out of the way, he didn't want him dead either - the bar fight proved that.
“I'd say we're at least an hour away,” Klaus replied. “Here, take this blanket. Magnus and I can share one,” he said, tossing the blanket over.
Francois caught the blanket and set it on the seat, wanting to rip that smug smile off Klaus’s face. He watched Klaus cuddle up with Magnus under the blanket and decided he needed to change his plan. Instead of trying to get Klaus to leave, he needed to get Magnus to reject Klaus - if that was even possible. He wasn't sure, but he was going to try.
There were a few minutes of silence before they heard the pounding of hooves, as two men on horseback thundered past them like they were running from the devil. The horsemen were headed in the same direction as the town the carriage was going to. The noise caused Magnus to stir under the blanket Klaus had covered him with, but he didn't wake up.
“They're most likely coming from that wayside we left,” Klaus said. “We need to get rid of these bloody clothes, in case we get stopped.”
“Joseph,” Francois called out the window. “Find us a place to pull off the road. We need to stop.”
It was a couple of more miles down the road when Joseph spotted a side road and turned the carriage onto it. He wanted to get a long way from the main road. He finally stopped at a covered bridge that crossed a wide creek.
“We'll need a lantern,” Francois said, jumping down out of the carriage. “I can't see a fucking thing. I'll get one of the carriage lights. Be right back.” He climbed up to the driver's bench and helped Joseph with the strap that held the lantern in place and kept it from swinging, then climbed back down.
Gently placing Magnus's head on the seat, Klaus got up and met Francois outside. “I'll go up first and get what we need, Klaus, said. “You hold the lantern for me.”
Klaus climbed the ladder on the back of the carriage and squatted down on the roof. Francois climbed up and stood on the ladder, holding the lantern up for Klaus to see.
Klaus untied the straps that secured their luggage and started pulling clothes out of the bags. He tossed Francois pants, shirts and stockings, then closed the bags back up. Next, he took a key, from an inside pocket of his coat, and unlocked a strongbox. Inside the box was two bags. He opened the bag labeled, Francois, and took out some banknotes and a coin purse, and stuffed them in his left coat pocket. After he closed the bag, Klaus opened his own bag, stuffing his right coat pocket with banknotes and a coin purse.
“Let's go,” Klaus said, after he had re-tied the straps holding their luggage.
Francois hung the clothes over one shoulder and climbed down. Klaus was right behind him. Once they were back inside the carriage, the lantern's bright light hit Magnus in the face and woke him up.
“Is it morning already?” Magnus groaned, pulling the blanket over his head.
“No, but you need to get up, Magnus,” Klaus said, patiently. “We have to change clothes and get cleaned up.”
“Can't it wait until morning?” Magnus begged.
“No, we're doing it now,” Klaus said, a bit sternly, and pushed Magnus to a sitting position.
Francois was already separating the clothes and handing them out. He wet three handkerchiefs with the water left in the canteens and passed them out as well, so they could wipe their faces and hands.
“I'm going to the creek,” Klaus said as he picked up the lantern. “I need to rinse my hair off. I'll fill these up as well.” He gathered up the canteens with his free hand and was out the door.
Once outside, Klaus saw Joseph walking toward him, carrying a bucket. “The horses need water, sir,” Joseph said, with a matter-of-fact expression. Klaus nodded and they went on to the creek.
“Shit, it's so dark in here I can't see my hand in front of my face,” Magnus complained. “How am I supposed to change clothes?”
“I'll help you,” Francois said, smiling in the dark. After taking his coat and pistol belt off, he moved to Magnus's seat, sliding close enough for their shoulders to touch. “Let me take this choker off first. Someone might identify you if you leave it on.” Francois pushed Magnus's hair aside and unhooked the choker, dropping it on the seat. Nuzzling his face against Magnus’s neck, Francois started kissing him gently, and nibbling on his ear.
“Mm… Francois, what are you doing?” Magnus whispered, a bit nervous.
“This,” Francois said into his ear, then cupped Magnus's face with both hands, bringing Magnus's lips to meet his own. Feeling Magnus's hesitancy, Francois trailed his tongue along Magnus's jaw, then placed tender kisses on his neck while unbuttoning his shirt. As he kissed and nipped at Magnus's neck, Francois slid his hand inside Magnus's shirt, rubbing and squeezing first one nipple, then the other, as Magnus gave out little whimpers.
Well, that did it. The darkness that surrounded them intensified the sensations of Francois' touch, and Magnus's horny meter pegged at max. He pulled Francois to his chest and began kissing him, feverishly. The urgency of the moment took over and they tugged each other's pants down, releasing both their hard cocks. While their tongues wrestled in a passionate dance, they stroked each other’s dicks, slowly at first. Wanting more, Magnus pressed his dick into Francois’ hand, moving his hips in and out. Francois responded, and they stroked each other faster until they both came all over each other's shirts. Panting, they held each other for only a short time. It would have been nice to bask in the moment, but they didn’t want to risk Klaus walking in on them.
Francois hurriedly removed Magnus's shirt and his own, wadding them together and dropping them on the floor. Next, Francois cleaned them both up with a wet handkerchief. After a last quick kiss, Francois removed Magnus's coat and boots, and took his pants all the way off.
“Here,” Francois said, putting Magnus's clean pants in his hands. “Put these on.”
“Thank you, Francois,” Magnus chuckled. “That was a nice surprise."
“My pleasure, love,” Francois replied, while he rushed to get himself dressed.
He helped Magnus get a clean shirt on, then rolled their dirty clothes in a ball so that their cum-soaked shirts were covered by their pants. Francois managed it all so well, one would suspect he had done this sort of thing before - perhaps more than once. Francois sat across from Magnus and took a drink from what was left in the whiskey bottle. He even let a few drops land on the floor to cover any smell that lingered from their little escapade. By the time Klaus returned there was no evidence left of their quickie.
Klaus jumped in the carriage, then reached down outside to get the lantern, and held it up as he turned around. Both Francois and Magnus looked away, blinking, as their eyes were assaulted by the lantern's bright light.
“Oh, sorry,” Klaus said, and set the lantern on the floor of the carriage, dimming the brightness. He closed the door and sat down next to Magnus and started pulling off his boots. Something seemed off but he wasn't sure what. Magnus's face was a bit flushed, but everything else appeared normal.
“We'll need to find somewhere to dispose of these bloody clothes,” Klaus said, quickly changing into his clean shirt and pants. He used the back of his dirty shirt to dry his wet hair, since there was no blood on the back. Then he used the wet shirt to wipe his boots clean.
“We can't save our coats either,” Francois pointed out. “That's going to be a problem since it's gotten colder.” Francois wrapped up in a blanket and stretched out on his seat.
“Come here, Magnus,” Klaus beckoned gently, and wrapped them both in a blanket. “We can figure everything out in the morning. Right now, I just want to get some sleep.”
Klaus blew out the lantern and rested his head against the carriage wall. Magnus laid his head in Klaus's lap and never said a word. Within a few minutes they were all asleep.
As soon as the sun was up, Joseph was knocking on the carriage door. Francois raised up and opened the door, peering out at the daylight with bleary eyes. “What's up?” Francois asked.
“Sir, I think you need to come out and see where we ended up last night,” Joseph said, wide-eyed, and pointing across the creek.
Squinting, Francois looked in the direction Joseph was pointing, and said, “Aw, fuck. Klaus, you better take a look at this!”
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