The Watchman of Alcatraz (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Read online

  The Watchman of Alcatraz

  Nathan Marshal knows he’s dying. He is an Activated Watchman, but without his Balance, his body is giving up. He hears strange voices one night and, after he can no longer hide his pain from his fellows, he has the strangest dream and steps through a doorway.

  On the other side of that door is his perfect man, all bright eyes, floppy hair, and fantastic build. His name is Kian Young, and the men are instantly smitten. They fall into bed within hours of meeting and the sex is perfect, hot, hard, and fulfilling in every way possible for them both.

  The next day, Nathan feels fantastic. His daily medical checks say he’s in perfect health and completely Bonded to his Balance. Only problem is, Nathan hasn’t met anyone new recently.

  Except for the perfect man from his dream, that is.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M, Gay), Futuristic, Time Travel

  Length: 25,423 words

  THE WATCHMAN OF

  ALCATRAZ

  T.K. Benjamin

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  THE WATCHMAN OF ALCATRAZ

  Copyright © 2017 by T.K. Benjamin

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-361-0

  First Publication: June 2017

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

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  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  To my wonderful supporter and enabler. Thank you so much.

  I could not do this without your love and belief in me.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  At fifteen, T.K. wrote a 5,000-word story for a Shift In Perspective project at school. The teacher loved it and read it to the class. And thus, a love for the written word was validated. Years later, T. K now lives in a sleepy seaside suburb that sees way too many tourists in summer and really bad weather in winter. That love for reading and writing has never lessened.

  For all titles by T.K. Benjamin, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/tk-benjamin

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Landmarks

  Cover

  THE WATCHMAN OF

  ALCATRAZ

  T.K. BENJAMIN

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  2100 was the year the world referred to as the year Mother Nature flipped her pretty green wig and activated her Watchmen. These men and women, most ranging from late teens to their forties, were all Enhanced to some degree. All had enhanced strength and speed plus two strengthened senses. Each one of her Watchmen was granted a Balance, a Reason, a way to function in a world and stay alive and sane. The problem most had, however, was finding their Balance since a Balance was, to all intents and purposes, an ordinary human being. Who said Mother Nature didn’t have a sense of humor.

  * * * *

  In 2525, Watchman Nathan Marshall stood looking at the photo of Alcatraz fighting off a blinding headache. It was just his luck that it was his turn to play tour guide to the school group that was just disembarking from the ferry shuttle. He turned and threw a final look at the framed photo behind him, straightened his uniform, and went to stand at the front door.

  He swallowed down another stab of pain as he watched the kids milling around below him on the pier. He knew he could beg off this by telling the med bay he had a headache, but the ensuing questioning and probing and testing would be too much to deal with. They’d most likely take him off rotation and restrict him to the Medical Bay while they experimented on him as they tried to stabilize his Meds regime.

  At twenty-seven, Nathan was running out of time. His Enhancement had happened at seventeen, so he’d been a Watchman for ten years. And they’d been searching for his Balance for that long. Most Watchmen found their Balance in a couple of years, but apparently Lady Luck had run away from Nathan. Ten years on and still looking.

  The longest a Watchman had lived without a Balance was around twelve years and he’d tripped over his Balance by literally falling over him as he passed out on the street. Story was that Watchman James fainted and fell into his Balance’s arms in the middle of a packed city street. Watchman James’s physiology had been failing, headaches, shaking, emotional instability, all the hallmarks of a failing Watchmen. Watchman James was one of the first to Enhance and not much had been known about them at the time, so finding a Balance was only a matter of luck. Lady Luck had kept Watchman James waiting for twelve years, and it looked like she was doing the same to him, Nathan thought sarcastically.

  Nathan assumed a Parade Rest stance as he saw the kids and teacher start up the flights of steps to the building. A stern scowl on his face covered any pain he might be feeling and had the bonus of keeping the high-strung members of the tour group in line, hopefully. They pushed through the glass doors en masse and came up short, as he blocked their way. One eyebrow quirked and eyes steely.

  A teacher stepped forward, nervously tittering and a hand fluttering on her breastbone. “Ahh, Watchman, we are the group from Rosebank High School. We have a tour and educational session booked today. I’m one of the teachers, Ms. Marse, and that’s Mr. Kimm,” she finished, still nervous as she pointed toward the other teacher.

  Nathan nodded to them quickly. “Ms. Marse, Mr. Kimm, students of Rosebank, welcome to The Watchmen Tower at Alcatraz. I’m Watchman Nathan Marshal, and I’ll be your guide today. If you’ll follow me, we can start with a little history.” He flashed a smile he knew made both men and women weak at the knees. He saw it work as usual, as both teachers and most of the students, smiled right back and relaxed their postures. Here we go, he thought as he led them all to the bank of framed photographs on the wall.

  “Well, folks, this is a photographic history of Alcatraz Island. Back in the twentieth century, this place was a prison. It was supposed to be inescapable, and was until some bright sparks proved them wrong,” he said as he pointed to the photo of a bleak gray prison structure, along with photos of some of its previous occupants. “Later it was closed down and became a tourist attraction. Yes, people paid money to come and tour it as a prison. There must have been some strange folks in the twentieth.

  “Eventually it was shut down again and some movies were filmed here. You can find a list of them on our vid screen under Films.” He pointed to more photos on the wall as he went on. “Alcatraz remained closed for many more years un
til the first Enhanced emerged. And then others emerged. Our government had a little meltdown and Alcatraz was re-opened and any Enhanced found was shipped off here. The conditions at that time were bleak. It was still a prison building after all.” He continued again, pointing to a photo of Alcatraz with men in its cells again.

  “Things changed very quickly around here when humanitarian organizations got involved and the government at the time was accused of human rights violations. The residents here were given the choice of returning to their previous lives or staying here. Most stayed, and in a few years, the bones of the Alcatraz you see today were laid. Many Enhanced came from well-to-do families and-or had connections, so the whole Island was remodeled and rebuilt with us in mind. We took the name of Watchmen and built ourselves into what we are today. We are the protectors of the people and the Guardians of the Earth.” He had ended his speech under the Watchmen Banner, a sword over a shield in front of an oak tree on a black background. Each Watchman wore that emblem on an arm patch on the right arm of their jet-black uniform.

  A small kid in the front stuck his hand up. Nathan raised an eyebrow, and the boy gushed out, “Is Alcatraz the only Watchmen Tower?”

  Nathan smiled gently at him “No, every city has its own Tower. We are the Tower that serves San Francisco. Okay, follow me and we’ll keep going. You can ask questions but make sure not to be rude. I can’t stand rudeness,” Nathan said as he led them down the hall and onto the next part of the tour.

  Nathan took them through all the public areas, from the training gym, where they watched a group of newbies go through their paces, down to the infirmary, where the doctor on duty gave them a lecture on what usually brought a Watchman for a visit. Including how, “Most Watchmen could be dying and still say they were fine. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn.”

  Nathan finally led them to the commissary where all meals were provided. He sat them down at the long table before telling them to go and choose what they wanted for lunch. “The food isn’t great, but it won’t kill you either,” he told them as he let them roam off, one of the teachers following behind as the other stayed with the ones at the table waiting their turn.

  Nathan turned and made for the coffee station. He brought the full mug back to the table and settled back just watching the kids dissect the food in front of them. They were murmuring between themselves, holding quiet conversations. Glancing around, Nathan saw his group was all back. He took a sip of his coffee. It was strong and black and just at drinking temperature. He pulled a small bottle out of his pocket, took out a tiny pill, and swallowed it with another sip of coffee.

  “What’s that?” one of the older kids asked, pointing at the pill bottle Nathan was tucking away again.

  He pulled it back out. “This is a medication all Unbalanced Watchmen take daily. It creates a chemical in our bodies that we can’t create ourselves. It helps us stay healthy,” he answered simply.

  “What do you mean, Unbalanced? My dad says that just means you don’t have a boyfriend,” one of the other kids piped in.

  Nathan chuckled. “If only it were that, kiddo. If it were as easy as finding a boyfriend, things would be so much easier. No, a Balance is always a regular human. They are someone special, and when a Watchman finds his or her Balance, then a bond is created between them naturally and the Watchman’s body starts to create the chemical I was talking about. The problem is that the Balance is an ordinary person and doesn’t know how special they are to one Watchman. They don’t know, and there is no test to find them. So usually a Watchman and his or her Balance only meet by accident or at one of the Tower-arranged social gatherings. Lady Luck is the patron of all Watchmen because it’s only because of her that we meet our Balance.” Nathan took another swallow of coffee and waited for the next inevitable question. It came from a petite blonde girl two seats away from him.

  “You haven’t found your Balance?” she asked shyly.

  He turned and looked at her calmly “No, sweetheart, I have not found my Balance yet. But like we always say, maybe I’ll find them tomorrow.”

  “How long have you been…” the little blonde whispered, her hands poised over her sandwich.

  Nathan couldn’t help but smile at her. She was so shy about asking but obviously determined to know. “My Enhancement Activated when I was seventeen. That was ten years ago. So I’ve been looking for ten years, kiddo. Most Watchmen don’t have to wait that long though.”

  She looked down at her sandwich again. “They think my big brother will Activate in the next couple of years. Do you think he’ll have to wait a long time?” She never looked up as she asked. Nathan saw tears begin to fill her eyes.

  His heart broke a little for her. With a sigh that started in the soles of his feet, he stood up and placed his coffee on the table. He walked around to her and knelt beside her. He pulled her off her seat and into his lap as she sobbed into his shoulder.

  “When your brother Activates and becomes a Watchman, he’ll come here for training and get a whole slew of brothers and sisters that will do everything in their power to help and protect him. That goes for you, too, kiddo. The families of Watchmen become a part of our extended families, and you’ll probably get a few hundred Watchmen looking out for you, too.”

  “Yeah? So you don’t think it will take him a long time to find his Balance?” she sniffed.

  “Most Watchmen find their Balance in a few years, and that time is spent training and learning how to function as Watchmen. Not to mention he’s going to have to decide what he wants to do for a career and get through college or university. He’s not going to miss finding his Balance for a long time, and by the time he’s ready, Lady Luck will probably throw his Balance into his lap. So don’t worry so much about him. He’s going to be absolutely fine, and so will you. You’ll even get to visit with him as much as you all want, and he’ll come home as often as he wants.”

  “You mean you guys can go home any time?” another girl asked excitedly.

  “I still see my family every week. I stay at my folks’ home at least a weekend a month.” Nathan told them, looking around. So don’t stress so much, kiddo. You’re not going to lose your brother. You’re going to gain a whole heap of brothers and sisters.” He rocked her gently until she stopped sobbing. He pulled out a tissue from his pocket and used it wipe her tears. He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and plopped her back on her seat with a wink. “An early welcome to the family, kiddo,” he said, levering himself off the floor.

  Watchmen from all over the commissary started coming over to ruffle her hair and say hello. She looked a little wide-eyed by the end of it.

  “Okay, so I guess this is the question and answer part of the day, so hit me,” he declared, throwing his arms open as he made his way back to his seat.

  A boy that looked about twelve raised his hand. “There are blood tests for finding if someone’s Enhanced, right? Most of us have the tests at school after we reach fourteen. Can’t they test for a Balance, too?” he asked.

  Nathan nodded to him. “Good question. Science has been trying to create a device a test for finding a Balance like they do Watchmen, but like I said, Balances are normal people until they meet their Watchman. There appears to be no indicators for a Balance. The chemical changes happen after meeting. So right now we don’t have a reliable test, but the docs keep trying to find one.”

  “What do you do?” a red-haired girl asked quickly before someone else got in first.

  “Me? Well, most of the time I work in our Customs Department. I help patrol our airports and seaports. We search for illicit drugs mainly, both natural and synthetic. We patrol in three-man groups with at least one trained dog with us.”

  “You said something about college before?” a boy at the other end of the table asked.

  “Yeah, the Tower pays for all of our education after we become Watchmen. I have a degree in criminology. Most Watchmen are pulled toward a future in defense or protection roles, armed forces or police work. Some
find they are pulled to medicine or work as attorneys. Most Watchmen in those roles work a lot in free clinics and legal aid. We are pulled to protect our community in any way we can. The Tower helps us in this process, from study to finding rewarding work.”

  Most norms thought that the Tower pushed its Watchmen into certain roles, but the reality was that the onus was always on the Watchman to decide their role in life. The Tower just facilitated it.

  Nathan drank two more mugs of coffee and even managed to wolf down a sandwich before it was time to see his group to the exit doors. He watched them all troop down the stairs and make their way onto the waiting ferry.

  He was still leaning against the jamb watching the ferry sail off when he felt something whack him in the stomach. He reached for it automatically and looked down to see Amanda, one of the receptionists standing beside him tapping her foot. She was four feet five inches of pure terror, and even at six feet seven inches, Nathan swallowed hard.

  “We need those forms filled out and brought back to us in the next hour. Get that done, Watchman. Then get some dinner and have an early night. You look like shit, sweetie,” she finished quietly. Amanda waited for his small nod before stalking off to terrify someone else.

  Nathan found himself an empty cubicle and started on his paperwork. He dropped off the finished packet at the reception desk with minutes to spare. His head was now pounding, and he had to clench his hands into fists to hide the shaking. He followed Amanda’s advice, because she’d know otherwise, and made his way back to the commissary for his third visit of the day. Lining up at the buffet bar, he chose his dinner—a tender roast beef and vegetables, boring but tasty—and sat down at a table to eat it. In seconds he was joined by others.