Salvation - 53. Chapter 52

Breakfast for me is the best meal of the day. The coffee was extra good; the omelets were loaded with cheese and turkey sausage crumbles. I had two; Alex said I needed to go and see the doctor. We laughed; I knew I was home, and all would be okay.

I wondered how Steven was able to get the boys’ sizes so fast. It seems he had a stack of clothing in his room, all the sizes the boys wore. They were old clothes that the boys outgrew or were worn out. Steven washed them and had them hung by sizes. He would try one on a boy. If it fit he noted the size. Did the same thing with shoes. Boys grow fast, so he had all the sizes he needed.

I gave Peter the boys’ sizes, what to get them, and the quantity. I asked all of the boys if they needed anything. Some said they needed sweats and could they have slippers. I looked at Steven. He handed me a piece of paper; there were all of the sizes and quantities. He just smiled. I had the feeling I was set up.

Peter took off, and I knew he wouldn’t be back until after lunch. He had a helper that he needed to pay with lunch. I was glad to give him the opportunity to spend some time with his girlfriend.

Dr. James came on the following Saturday to check on the boys. He was glad they were making such good progress. He said that they could begin to eat a little more solid food if it was well cooked. For Maria, that meant stews, where the meat was well cooked. We made an appointment to see him at his office in 4 weeks.

The contractors moved the fence back to create a parking space and moved the guardhouse within the fenced area. I expanded the guard shack to include a monitoring room for monitoring equipment and a place for one guard to sit in front of the monitoring equipment. The control system was set up so that a signal was sent to the monitoring room if a car approached the gate or parking lot. This was the same for people who walked up to the gate.

The security was only as good as the guards, so I set up a secondary security system that allowed me to monitor the guards. I could check anytime to be sure there was a guard in the monitoring room and the common area. I had the kitchen supply them meals and made sure their small refrigerator had cold snacks. They had their coffee urn, which the kitchen made sure was stocked. The guards made their own coffee.

I wasn’t 100 percent assured of being secured, but I was told there is no 100 percent system. We had the best.

The boys continued to improve, but I didn’t know their names.

It was a breakfast a few days later; they were the last ones to go when I asked them what their names were. “I don’t want to continue calling you boy one and boy two. What are your names?”

“Promise you won’t laugh.”

“I promise I won’t laugh.”

“My name is McArthur. My friends call me Mac, I’m 14 but will be 15 in two months.”

“What’s your name?”

“My name is Dwight. My friends call me Ike. I’m 12 but will be 13 in one month.”

“Are you brothers?”

“Yes, our folks were killed in an automobile crash. We had no relatives, so they put us in two different foster homes. We ran away, and that is when our hell started. I read about you, so we came here.”

I looked at Alex, “I’m glad you made it here. Where there other boys where you were?”

Ike nodded yes, “Yes, there were two other boys younger than we were. I feel sorry for them. Can you rescue them?”

“I can if you tell me where they are.”

“I need a map of upper state New York.”

I got out my map book and turned to the page showing upper state New York. I handed the page to Mac. He looked at it and pointed to a spot on the map, looking at Ike, who shook his head yes. “Here”

I made a note of the map section, called Sal and Mo, “You have a rescue mission. Mac says there are two more boys at this location. We need to get them as soon as possible. If they are in any condition like these two, we need to be sure they are still alive.”

They left; the anger in Mo’s eyes told what would happen. Six hours later, Sal came into my office, “We got them”

“Got who?”

“The two boys at that camp. Unfortunately, the two men running the camp had an accident. The boys were taken to a local hospital. You need to go there.”

I must have looked shocked, I just told them about the boys, and they are now safe. “How”

“Like Alex’s said, his father has a lot of friends.”

“How did the two men die?” I waited with baited breathe. I hoped he wouldn’t say they killed them.

“When our people entered from the front, they ran out the back. A mother bear was protecting her young, one of them shot at the cub, the mother bear made sure he wouldn’t get the second shot off. The other guy ran, but bears are fast. About a half-mile down the road, he was found. That mother didn’t fool around.”

I called Peter, forgot that he hadn’t returned yet. “Let’s go, we’ll take my car.” I told David and Maria I was going on a rescue mission. We will be back late.

Driving to the hospital, Mo was very quiet. You could see the storm clouds accumulating in his eyes. It was Sal that quieted him down. “Mo, baby, they are dead. They paid the price, let the devil deal with them. Come on, baby, we have two kids we need to cheer up.”

“Yea, you’re right, but the next time I go on the mission.”

“Okay, next time we go.”

I thought that this is one man I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side.

The hospital was a small local hospital. I parked, and we walked to the admission desk. I told them my name, “It was my understanding two boys were brought in last night. I’m here to see them and take care of their hospital bills.” Somehow the words taking care of their hospital bills always open doors.

While she was checking the registry, a man came over to introduce himself, until he saw Sal and Mo, then it was family reunion time. When the hugging and back-slapping finished, Sal introduced his half-brother, Jim. I never knew he had a half brother. Later, he told me that that wasn’t true, but everyone was the other’s half brother in their circles. Their circles were confusing to me unless they are part of a larger organization that I was unaware of, probably headed by those men at The Hague.

Alex and I needed to talk.

A doctor came, and we followed him to a room where the two boys were sleeping. “They have had a hard night. They have some physical problems. It appears they were used sexually and beaten quite a bit. I’m not sure what their mental stability is or will be in the future.”

“I’d like to move them to a hospital closure to my home. When could we do that?”

“As soon as they wake up. I’ll give you prescriptions for their bruises, but for their mental issues, I can’t help you.”

“I think I know of two boys named Mac and Ike who can help with that.”

When I said that, “Mac and Ike are they alright? They ran away and said they would be back for us”.

“Mac and Ike are fine. They told us where to find you both. How would you like to go and see them?”

“Yes,” They started to get out of bed when they realized they had no clothes. The doctor laughed; he told the nurse to get two hospital gowns.

“Here are the prescriptions to be applied to their wounds twice a day. You can get them filled at any pharmacy or here at the hospital.”

“Any diet restrictions?”

“I’m not sure when they have eaten last, but we gave them jello to start with. I would recommend a soft diet for a while to see how their bodies react.”

I thanked the doctor and waited until the boys got the gowns on, they looked ridiculous, but it covered them twice.

I went to pay their bill; I noticed they were having a fundraising event. I asked the woman behind the counter, and she said that being a small hospital still required them to have specific equipment to be able to meet government standards. Money required to meet Medicare standards leaves little for staff. A lot of our nonessential team are volunteers. This fundraiser will provide needed services as well as supplement our staff salaries. She handed me the bill. Compared to the hospital bill for Mac and Ike, this was a bargain. I paid the bill and added extra for the fundraiser. She looked at the check, "The addition is for the fundraiser, but you must keep it quiet.”

Leaving, Mo and Sal were still speaking to Jim. Seeing me leaving, “Sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I know that many of my brothers would have liked to have met you. If you don’t mind, could you sign this so I can brag a little.”

He handed me a copy of my speech from a newspaper. How far was this published? I signed it, To Jim, a good half brother I’m glad to have met, Carleton.

He looked at it and showed Sal and Mo. They patted him on the back. We said goodbye. I invited him to stop at our home whenever he was close.