Part 1.

Written by Wolfie Steel.

Author's Note: This story is loosely based on the hit 80's Crime Drama of the same name, a show in which a British human is hired by the folks of New York to help when the odds seem stacked against them. I have kept the title and I will be using the name of the main character, Robert McCall, and I will obviously be continuing his work as The Equalizer, but that is where the similarity with the show will end. I do not own the rights to the name Robert McCall, as that belongs to Universal Studios.

Well, it's been many years since I finally helped my last New Yorker. I have been living off the money that I gained from doing some work for The Company, for those of you that haven't heard of me, the name is Robert McCall, or to use the nickname that I gained at the start of everything, The Equalizer. On the outside I'm just a smart suited six foot tall standard Doberman, if I walk down the street, I'm not given a second glance, but when I used to get that call for help, my mild mannered approach changed immediately.

I'm not going to brag about my exploits, or my hidden strengths, hey I may be classed as a New Yorker, but deep down inside my heart is totally British. Over the past few years I have found myself trying harder and harder to come up with reasons why I don't leave New York and head back to Britain, sure New York has its attractions, but it also has too many memories of my passed deeds.

I need to get back to Britain, away from the memories, and away from The Company. You have heard me mention The Company once or twice now and you are probably a little confused as to who or what The Company is, well to put it simply, they are the ones who I worked for before I resigned and became the Equalizer, they are CIA, and I spent the best part of twenty years working for them, doing their 'dirty work', if they wanted somebody babysat they would call on me, if they wanted somebody taken out of the game, they called on me. I'm not proud of my past and that is why I started up my own personal security company, all it took was an advertisement in all of the New York Newspapers, the ad would read as follows.

                "Gotta problem? Odds against you? Call The Equalizer."

The thing is though, people did call the number that went with the ad, I hadn't realised just how bad New York really is. Essentially I would work alone, that way I only had myself to rely on, if something went wrong with one of the jobs, the buck stopped with me, however, there were times when a job came in that was just too big for me to handle on my own, those were the jobs that I hated, because it meant that I had to go back to my old employers and ask them for help.

Of course, any favour that I asked for would require that I do them one in return, hence the reason why I hated having to go back to them, but as the old saying goes, "When needs must, the devil may drive"

Well, it's no good, there is no longer anything to keep me in New York, time I packed up everything I own and ship myself off back to dear old Britain, oh sure I will miss my many friends and contacts, but I won't miss the smog and my old memories, and I certainly won't miss my old employers.

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So here I am, all packed up and waiting for the shipping company to collect my things so that they can transport them to the storage facility that I have rented in the UK, my faithful old Jaguar car has been sent to the great car graveyard, I was going to try and sell it, but with the many years of faithful service that it has given me, I decided that it was due for a rest, a permanent rest.

I look out of the window of my old apartment and I see the shipping company's truck pull up outside, they have the knowledge of what they need to do so they don't need me gumming up the works, and so I calmly hand the keys to the apartment over to the Cougar that is in charge of the moving team and I walk down the steps from my old apartment with nothing more than two suitcases filled to bursting with enough clean clothes to last me for about two weeks.

I hail a cab and load my suitcases into the trunk, I then climb into the back seat of the cab and give one last longing look at my old apartment before I'm whisked away to the airport. What do I have waiting for me back in dear old England? Well obviously I need a place to stay while I get myself sorted out, so I have managed to get a rented flat for six months, hopefully by the end of that term I will have a more permanent residence.

I step from the cab once we arrive at the airport; I retrieve my suitcases from the trunk and pay the driver his fare, with that done I calmly walk into the foyer of the airport and up to the check-in desk, I place my luggage onto the conveyor belt and watch it disappear into the scanner, I then hand over my boarding papers and my passport. It's finally done, I'm all checked in so there is no going back now, and all of my ties with New York have now been severed.

I sit in the departure lounge for half an hour, suddenly my flight is called, and I stand from my seat and head towards my departure gate. As I get to the gate, I see a man standing there; it's a man that I had hoped I would be free of, the man who kept bringing me back in, the man known only as Control.

"So McCall, you were just gonna hop on board a 747 and fly back to the UK without saying goodbye?"

I narrow my eyes as I make my reply.

"Well Control, New York is getting just a little too smoggy for me now and too many people recognise my face, I'm moving to the UK where I will restart my life as a problem solver without being under the ever watchful gaze of The Company"

Control winces slightly at that as he knows that it was a barbed comment meant for him. I walk through the boarding gate showing the attendant my passport and check-in papers as I walk, I don't look back for I know that if I do I will change my mind and go running back.

I board the plane and find my seat; I park my Doberman backside into the seat and buckle up ready for the flight, now I know that there is no way on hell that I will ever go back to the city that everyone calls The Big Apple.

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The plane finally takes off and begins its long journey back to my home land, while we are in the air it gives me chance to think about my new life in the UK, first I need to visit the British Embassy to get my Diplomatic Immunity papers recognised, then I need to get to my flat and unpack my cases, and then some shopping, man what an experience that is going to be, I have no idea what anything costs in the UK since I have spent a great deal of my life living in New York, I was too all intents and purposes an Englishman in New York, but if I'm going to make a go of things then I have to learn fast.

I'm suddenly brought out of my thoughts by a charming looking female wolf dressed in the airlines uniform, the stewardess asks me if I would like a drink from the trolley, and too be honest, my muzzle feels as dry as the Sahara Desert, I could probably drink her trolley dry, but I settle for a nice ice cold cola.

After my drink, I tilt the seat back a little and slip into a much needed sleep. As I sleep I start thinking about the past few years of my life, you know the kind of thing, my work, my health, my love life which though none existent had changed from when I first started out. One man was responsible for changing my orientation, that man was one of the friends that I sometimes used to help me on jobs, Mikey Kostmier, oh sure, at first glance he was nothing much to look at, just your standard black Labrador, he had jock written all over him, but he has pulled my ass out of the firing line on more than one occasion.

Then about four years ago I had a real nasty argument with my son Scott over my divorce with his mother, I wouldn't have even minded, but the divorce was old news, but he just threw it back in my face, well I blew up at him and he ran out of my apartment and then vanished. Six months he was gone, but after four days I started to try looking for him, I guess you could say that I needed to be Equalized, well after six days I still had no joy in finding him so I went back to Control, at first he was none too happy about helping me find Scott, but then he agreed to give me help in the form of Mikey.

Mikey knew about my torrid relationship with my son, he knew that we were usually arguing over something, but this time even he could sense the seriousness of the situation, it was unlike Scott to be missing for so long, so we began to rip the Big Apple apart in the vein hope that we could find my son, but six days turned into six weeks, and then six weeks turned into six months.

Five months into the search and it was really taking its toll on me, I rarely slept, hardly ever ate, I started drinking, and I really let my appearance suffer, that was until Mikey came to my apartment one evening, he had his own key for my apartment so he let himself in, he found me sprawled out on the couch in a drunken mess, well that was all he could take.

"For fuck sake McCall, get your fucking shit together, remember I have seen you in worse situations than this and you have just bounced right back from them, I mean shit look at you, I have just passed a tramp that was cleaner looking than you and a lot more sober"

It was then that Mikey did something that would forever change our paths, he took the whiskey bottle from my paws and then walked to the kitchen and poured the rest of the contents down the sink, well that did it for me so I got up off the couch and staggered into the kitchen, I threw a punch but Mikey was ready for it. He gripped hold of my paw and then he wrapped his free arm around me.

"Look Robert, I know that you're hurting, but letting yourself go is not the answer"

Mikey then placed the gentlest of kisses on my cheek, now to most that wouldn't have meant anything, but for me and Mikey it was the start of a four year relationship. Over the rest of that fifth month I got myself dried out and looking as if I was ready to join polite civilisation again.

It was on the first day of the sixth month, there was a knock at my apartment door, so I opened the door to come face to face with Scott looking just as bad as I had the month before, he was as weak as a day old pup, barely able to support his own weight. His bloodshot and tear filled eyes suddenly locked onto mine with the precision of a laser targeting scope, he then said the four words that I was waiting to hear.

"Dad... I'm so sorry"

Well I didn't need to hear anymore, I just took him into my arms and hugged him tight.  After Scott and I had repaired our bridges, he accepted the fact that I was now gay and was in love with Mikey. I had intended to take Mikey to the UK with me, but the Company offered him a chance that he couldn't turn down, and as for Scott, well he now has a young wife and a two year old son, and so their place to live will always remain as New York, but that is not to say that they won't be welcome in the UK if they ever should want to visit.