Chapter Text
"It all started with that kiss," Keller said as he rubbed his hands over Beecher's bunk "That damn kiss. Everything was going so well up to that point. Why did it have to change? He's nothing but a fucking mark, for heaven's sake!"
Keller rubbed his hand over his face as he looked out of his into the darkened quad. He thought back to the day he got that message from Schilinger. He hadn't even thought about the guy since he as back in Lardner, and why should he? The guy had made him his prag until he proved his true worth as a fighter. Sure the sex was okay, but that was another life time ago. He didn't give a fuck about Schilinger or his Aryan brothers. But he was going to Oz. He'd need someone to watch his back, and they were just as good as any other group.
Of course, nothing comes for free in prison, but that was perfectly okay with Keller. All he had to do was to seduce some pansy-assed lawyer who didn't know his place in the scheme of things. If the guy was a prag with a lot of guilt, then it shouldn't be that hard to make Beecher his. Seduction was something Keller was very good at, and if the guy was good looking to boot he'd enjoy it while he was doing it. After all, that was the real reason he agreed to Vern's plan in the first place. Keller didn't care about destroying Tobias Beecher. He didn't care if that happened or not. All he wanted was the guy's unconditional surrender and then his unconditional love.
Keller shook his head and laid down on his bunk. He placed his hands under his head.
That's what he usually looked for in his cons. People were just marks to be used and then thrown away when done with. Of course he didn't always think that way. With each of his ex-wives, he had thought that they were different. But, in the end they weren't. Oh, sure, he still felt affection for them, but, after the sex went, Keller realized they were nothing but marks too. Love was something that only fools fall for, and Keller may have been many things, but he was no fool. Or was he?
When Keller finally got to Oz, who should be the first prisner he should meet but Beecher himself. He was his sponser in Emerald City, and lucky for Keller he was to be Beecher's pod mate. Things couldn't have been better if he had planned things out himself.
Keller smiled as he thought about his first words to Beecher. ~So you a fag?~
~No. You?~
~I do what I have to.~
~Rats in the garden; catch them Towzer. Cows in the corn fields; run, boys, run. Cats in the cream pie; stop her now, sir. Fire in the mountains; run, boys, run.~
Keller figureed Beecher must be a little crazy to spout shit like that, but he figured he could handle that. All he had to do was take it a little slowly, until he figured out just how crazy Beecher really was. Hell, knowing all the bull-shit Vern like to play with his prags, Keller figured anyone would end up a little crazy.
Keller rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before putting his hand back under his head.
Keller had asked around and his guts told him it was just an act. If Beecher had been that crazy for real, he'd have ended up in the psych ward. Those crazy rhymes and biting off that guy's dick head was just to keep people at a distance.
Keller smiled as he thought that that had been the first sign that should have told him that the was more to Beecher than he had thought at first. Biting off the tip of some guy's dick showed a lot of style he just had to admire. But did he pay any attention ot it? Hell, no! When it came to Beecher, Keller didn't always think things through.
"Who am I kidding? When it comes to Beecher, I've let my dick do the thnking for me!"
Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? Keller admitted to himself that Beecher was a sexy mother fucker, but that hadn't bothered Keller. Hell, he figured that it would make the con all that easier, and with the way he and Vern had set up certain encounters just for Beecher's sake, it should have been easy to begin with.
Keller sighed as he remembered breaking Mark Mack's nose. "That was the first step to getting Beecher to trust me."
He remember how Beecher had come running out of the phone room to help him against the Aryans.
~I owe you,~ Keller had told Beecher after everything had been broken up.
~I didn't do it for you pal. I hate those Aryan fucks.~
Keller hadn't care why Beecher had done it, just as long as he saw that Keller was against the Aryans too. The more Beecher saw them as in the same boat; the more he'd begin to trust Keller. That was what really mattered, and if Mark's nose got busted in the process, who cared? Keller definitely didn't.
The next step came a couple days later in the shower room.
~Look, when you helped me out the other day by the phones, I told you, 'I owe you.' See the way I figure it, you and me aren't like the rest of them: the Latinos, the homeboys, the Aryans. They all got each other, but you and me... You and me are standing out there with our dicks swinging in the wind. We should be able to rely on each other. You know.... Trust each other.~
~Well, it's hard for me to trust somebody.~
~Me too, but we got a fucking long time together. So, why don't we just see what happens, alright?~
~Alright.~
Keller chuckled as he thought about how intellectuals were the easiest to con. They thought too much, and it was that thinking that got them into so much trouble. Beecher was no different. All you had to do was to show them the reasonableness of your position, and they bought it hook, line and sinker. Keller smiled as he thought how easy it had been to get Beecher to trust him.
Of course the third step was to get Beecher to see just how much Keller cared about him, and with Beecher's nightmares, Keller could always show that with ease. A caring touch here and a soothing word there, and he got the message across. Oh, sure, Beecher had told him to take his hands off him at first, but he soon got over that. Then the looks Beecher began to give to him. Keller alost grinned each time Becher showed him those puppy dog eyes. God, what a sucker.
And then the fun part came. Keller reached down and rubbed his hand over his groin. He remembered how he began to teach that sexy mother fucker how to wrestle. Keller knew there were two reasons for this. First, he wanted to show Beecher how to defend himself. That way he'd gain a lot of confidnce in himself, confidence that could easily be destroyed when the chose to take the sucker down. But the greater reaon was to give Keller an excuse to get very close to Beecher. Beecher may say he was straight, but that fact didn't make much difference when it came to a guy like Keller. Get them into a socially aceptable situation where they both would get hot and sweaty, take most of their clothes off, with their hands all over each other, and the thoughts were bound t come up no matter how straight the guy was.
It had worked out perfectly. The look Beecher gave him when he had Keller pinned how shown Keller just how much Beecher had wanted him. Of course it had work out just a little too perfectly. After all, Keller was just as affected by it as Beecher was, but that hadn't been too big of a problem. This wasn't the first time Keller had been attracted to a mark. It just made things all the more sweeter when the final act came about.
Then the big bomb shell had dropped. Beecher's wife had killed herself. Keller knew a golden opprotunity when he saw one, and he was going to milk it for all it was worth. He just had to wait for the perfect opprotunity to exploit it, and that came about later that night.
Keller had woken up in the middle of the night, hearing Beecher crying over the sink.
~Beecher, what's the matter?~
~I... I fucked up my life. I have completely fucked up my life. I'm all alone.~
~No, you're not~ Keller got up and walked over to Beecher and placed his hands on Beecher's back. He rested his head against the back of Beecher's neck.
~I'm all alone~
~No, no you're not, man. No, you're not. It's all right.~ He paused. ~It's all right.~
Keller trailed his hand down Beecher's arm and grabbed Beecher's dick through his boxers.
Beechr shoved Keller back towards the bunks. ~Don't fucking touch me!~ Beecher then sank down to his knees, continuing to cry.
Now that wasn't supposed to have happened. Keller had played this type of con enough to know that Beecher was supposed to have given into Keller's advances out of a need for a comforting touch. Oh, sure, Keller would've had to limit himself to plessuring Beecher, but that would have been okay. Once Beecher had felt just what Keller could do to him, he would eventually give into Keller's needs in time.
Keller sat up and rubbed his face as he realized that that should have been another clue that things weren't going the way they should've been. Beecher was stronger and more aware of what was going on around him than Keller had given him credit for. If Keller was honest with himself, he knew that he even admired Beecher for his reaction. Beecher had a lot of guts. But Keller hadn't seen it that way. Instead, he chalked it off as a simple misjudging of he situation. He had made a mistake; that was all. Things would be okay. He'd just just have to take things a little more slowly.
Besides, it was time for the final phase to begin. From the beginning Vern had insisted that he get Beecher to drink again. That way Beecher would lose his grip on things. Vern had been wrong on that point; Keller knew he was the key to getting Beecher to lose his grip on things. But did it matter in the end? If Vern wanted to get the guy drunk, he'd let Vern have his way. It didn't really matter to Keller, but he did know just how to get Beecher to drink again. All he had to do was to use that tatoo Vern had branded Beecher with. He would suggest that they change it into something more acceptable. Of course he knew Beecher would object. After all, changing that tatoo was bound to hurt, but he had a solution to that: some moonshine he had gotten from Vern.
Keller shook his head as he remembered how Beecher had rejected that plan, but he wasn't bound to give up. Instead, he acted like he was pissed with himself for not thinking things through and hid the moonshine where Beecher could easily find it. Beecher had even called him cute. Keller had figure that sooner or later Beecher would drink the moonshine.
But, no, it didn't happen that way. Beecher had proved he was stronger than Keller had given him credit for. By this time even Vern was getting annoyed with the situation. Keller figured that he'd just have to change the stakes up a little bit. He waited until Beecher had a visit with his kids to act. In the meantime he got Vern to get him another bottle of moonshine.
"And that's when everything became fucked up," Keller said. "I shouldn't have done it, but what choice did I have? I knew Beecher wouldn't do it any other way."
Keller got up and paced the room as he thought back to that day in the laundry room. He had waited for Beecher to get back from his visit with a half bottle of moonshine. It's wasn't hard to make Beecher to think he was drunk. Just as he susppected, Beecher was concerned that he'd get caught for the moonshine. The poor sucker didn't realized that he wanted to get caught, just not yet. He had one last little con to play on Beecher before he let that happen. In his concern, Beecher had asked him what was wrong, and Keller laid it on thick how he had had nothing in common with any of his ex-wives. Keller smiled as he thought Beecher had reacted to his claim that Bonnie was getting married again. As if he would actually care if they did. He could have any of them whenever he wanted them, so what would it matter if they had?
But thnkfully Beecher didn't know that. Instead he came up to him and put his hands on Keller's shoulders. ~I love you~
~I love you, Toby,~ Keller replied and standing up he kissed Beecher. It was light at first, but Keller deepened it as he pushed Beecher into the washers.
That's when the hacks showed up. Now, Keller was ready to get caught. He deliberately threw the bottle at the window and got ready to fight the guards. Sure enough, they threw him into the hole.
"That damn kiss!"
As soon as his mind had cleared up, Keller knew things had changed. That kiss had been something he hadn't expected. It had been electric. Oh, sure, Keller had felt that before, but there was smething different. He could still feel the kiss. He got angry at himself. "It ws just a fucking kiss, just a lousy kiss." Beecher was supposed to feel this way, not him. It was all part of the con. He hadn't meant anything he had said or even that kiss.
Or had he?
Keller started to realize that just maybe he really had meant it. Maybe he was falling in love with Beecher too.
But he couldn't allow himself to think those things. He knew that the first rule of the con was that you didn't fall for the mark, and after all was said and done that's all Beecher was - a mark. He had worked too hard and too long to get in good with Schilinger just to throw it all away for a lousy mark. So, he convinced himself that he was wrong. After all, hadn't been wrong about each of his ex-wives? He just had to be wrong this time too.
Besides, he knew that eventually Beechr would find that other bottle of moonshine he had hidden under his pillow. He also knew that the longer he was in the hole; the more Beecher would miss him. It was just a matter of time before he drank the moonshine.
So when he got back to their pod, it was no surprise that Beecher was drunk. At first, Keller had felt sad to see that his plan had worked, but he squashed that feelng and decided just to begin Beecher's destruction. There was no way that he was going to risk his feelings getting the best of him. If that mean Beecher had to suffer, so be it.
Beecher greeted Keller as he entered the pod, putting his hands on Keller's shoulders. ~Ah, did you miss me? Christ, I missed you. Come on. Let's fuck.~
Keller pushed him away. ~I don't want to fuck you, Beecher. I don't even want to be in the same room with you.~ He walked out of the pod.
~Where are you going?~ Beecher replied as he followed Keller out of the pod. He grabbed one of Keller's arms. ~Chris.~
~Hey, don't you be fucking touching me! Just go away!~
~Are you mad at me? About something?~
Keller's anger rose. ~Look, forget it.~
~No, if I did something, I'm sorry. You know I didn't mean it.~
~Keep your voice down, huh?~ Keller pulled Beecher to one side. ~I had a lot of time to think things through, and one of the things I decided is that you and me are through.~
Keller ignored the hurt look in Beecher's face and walked away.
Beecher followed. ~Jesus, what did I do?~
"Look, we'll talk this over when you're sober.~
~Chris, what did I do?~
Keller turned to face him. ~Leave. Me. Alone.~
~Look, if it's the drinking, I can stop. I can stop the drinking. I can.~ Beecher voice was pleading.
Beecher grabbed Keller's arm again. Keller looked at Beecher's hand and then at the rest of the quad. He pushed Beecher down and went into the shower room. He waited until Beecher had gotten up and went back to their pod before he started to get undressed. He told himself that he wasn't going to let Beecher's reaction get to him. The sooner this whole thing was over, the better.
Keller spent the rest of the day and the night ignoring Beecher. It wasn't easy. A part of him just wanted to comfort him, but he didn't let any of those emotions show on his face. Beecher was too smart to allow that mistake to go by.
It was a relief to Keller that Vern agreed that it was time to push Beecher over the edge. Keller knew that this had to end quickly, or his feeling were going to fuck everything up.
Keller went to the pod door and stared out at the quad as he thought about earlier that day. He and Vern waited in the gym until Metzger brought Beecher right into the trap. Keller closed his eyes as he remembered the look of betrayal on Beecher's face when he saw Keller with Schilinger.
~Hey, Beech,~ Keller said as Beecher rushed at Keller and attacked him.
~No, you....~
Metzger grabbed Beecher off of Keller and held him in a headlock.
~You fucking...~
~Behave!~ Vern commanded.
Keller grinned as Beecher asked him, ~You knew him?~
~Oh' we've known each other for a long time.~ He reached an arm around Vern's shoulders. ~I've known Vern ever since we were up doing time in Lardner. I was seventeen, and he save my life from some big dumb nigger who wanted me to be his prag.~ He shook his head. ~No, I don't think so.~ Keller turned and kissed Vern on the cheek. ~I've owe him ever since.~
Keller leaned closer to Beecher. ~I don't love you.~ He laughed. ~I've never loved you. Not even for a second.~ He pushed off of Beecher's face and backed off. ~Let him go.~
~Ah, Chris,...~ Metzger hesitated.
~No... No, let him go.~ Metzger let Beecher go, and Keller motioned him foreward. ~Let's see what yoou got there, Toby. This time for real.~
Beecher rushed toward Keller and tackled him to the ground, but it was soon clear that Beecher was no match for Keller. Keller easily isolated one of Beecher's arms. He twisted it until it broke. Keller flinched as if he could still hear that break. "I'm so sorry, Toby," Keller whispered. He flinched again as he remembered Beecher's scream. Keller wished he could just forget the whole thing, but his mind kept playing the images as he reached for Beecher's other arm. He couldn't believe he had actually laughed along with Vern as he broke that arm as well. Then Beecher had screamed again. Keller dropped to his knees as he put his hands on the pod door. The images still came.
~My turn now,~ Vern stated as he moved to Beecher's legs. ~Sieg hiel, baby. Sieg, fucking, hiel!~ Vern then broke each of Beecher's legs.
Keller's whole body began to shake as he remembered leaving Beecher's broken body in the gym. "This isn't rght... it isn't fucking right! Beecher's just a mark. Why am I doing this?"
Keller rosed as he realized that he would give anything to switch places with Beecher right now. "Who am I kidding?" He walked back over to his bunk. "I do love him, and I know I have just made the biggest mistake of my life." He laid down on the bed. "I will make it up to you, Toby; I swear I will."