Dawn of Tears - 16. Expanding, Growing, Learning

Note to Readers: James Jacobs was a man that surprised me constantly. I never knew exactly what he was thinking at any given time, and there were several times that he totally surprised me by his reactions to different situations. His trust in Henry and I at finding out about our abilities was not something I really expected. Why did he trust us?

Part of it was because he knew us, in some ways better than we knew ourselves.

Historians often focus on how I was raised in a liberal environment and how Henry was raised in a conservative environment for the inherint ironies of what should have been our core beliefs. What they fail to see is that we weren't raised that different at all. Labels like 'liberal' or 'conservative' act as blinders just as much as descriptors. You see, liberals and conservatives may have different values, different beliefs, and different ideologies, but they do share certain core beliefs as well.

These beliefs include a basic reverence for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. James Jacobs might never have agreed with my birth father on how to achieve those things, but they did agree on their importance. James Jacobs knew that in our youthful exuberance, both Henry and I were dedicated to these core principles. That knowledge was the basis of his reaction.

That was how America lasted for Two Hundred odd years. When we, as a country lost that viewpoint, that connection across ideological lines, we began to fail.

"B minus!" I exclaimed in horror.

"Yes, B minus." Professor Higgs repeated. "Your speech had several grammatical errors and its statements on politics weren't completely accurate. Just be glad I accepted it instead of the essay you were supposed to have completed yesterday."

"Well excuse me for being on a freaking interview being broadcast across the nation." I spat back in anger.

"Don't forget the part about threatening to hang your dad, figuratively speaking of course." Tim laughed. He'd thought the line was hilarious

"Yes, I really should make it a C plus." Higgs stated. "Threatening the President of the United States like that. You're lucky the Secret Service hasn't found you yet."

"Do they even exist still?" Lt. Ellington asked from further down the conference table with a smile.

"I think so." Darren Knight said from next to her. He was still looking at me for long periods of time, deep in his own thoughts, but Richardson had told me that they had a long talk and that Knight was adjusting to his new situation.

"Well, they'll have to go through half the troops in the Guard to get to him." Higgs stated with a grumble, and everyone laughed some more.

"Mr. Jacobs," Major Grant's voice from the doorway grabbed my immediate attention. "If you're ready, we've gotten the situation secure enough for you to meet the delegation now."

"Very well." I said, standing up and grabbing my heavy winter coat off of the back of the chair. A group of civilians had cautiously approached the airport on foot in the last hour. It was five people, all men, and all armed, but they hadn't been overtly threatening, and had been holding a piece of white cloth. When they were approached by a Guardsman, they'd practically shouted in relief and excitement, requesting to meet with whoever was in charge. Major Grant had immediately deployed some snipers to cover them before I met with them.

The meeting wasn't the best, but it gave us a better picture of what was going on. At first they'd reacted with 'but he's a kid!' Major Grant's deference to me convinced them that they should be talking to me though, and they soon told us that things were very bad at the surviving shelters. All of them were overcrowded, had been making soup that was more melted snow than anything else, and they had dysentery and lice sweeping through the shelters. The men represented the five largest, and most well off groups that had thrown off repeated assaults by Jefferson's men. They also reported that the last week had seen an increase of sniper attacks, and that the bodies of those killed were being dragged off unless other people protected them.

Cannibalism made my stomach want to empty itself.

The men left in the second armored vehicle that had arrived with the Nevada National Guard detachment. It was stuffed full of emergency food and medical supplies. Each shelter had several doctors that could use the medicine, and the food was concentrated nutrients that could be dropped in their 'soup'. It wasn't food as most people thought of it, but it would help the survivors return to more normal foods.

The vehicle returned on time, and without incident. It would be sent out again the next day, with more emergency supplies for those shelters and four more that had been identified. Each shelter staff was given hand operated radio units to contact us. They'd lost one man to a sniper getting to us, and none of us wanted repeats of that.

That night, the first plane arrived. We had to use flares again for runway, but it had two portable generators aboard, as well as four squads of fresh troops. Early the next morning one portable generator was powering the airport's lights, control tower, and ILS systems while the other was being connected to power the airport administration center. In a light snowfall, the tankers carrying fuel and natural gas landed.

A very bubbly and excited Jimmy Connolly bounced off the plane in front of his father and mother. General Connolly grinned as a third cargo plane landed with nearly fifty of his soldiers and technicians, and all the equipment necessary to set up a regional command center. By the time night fell, their equipment was nearly installed, and a large temporary radio tower and satellite communications system was ready to begin operations.

Major Grant had parked the tankers in the middle of grass strips in the center of the airport in case of attack, and grumbled about not having enough troops for the security he wanted.

By the next day, the air crew from my plane was in the tower playing air traffic control for nearly twenty airplanes that were trying to land. I thought things were descending into chaos as I sat in the new Idaho command center, but realized that it was an organized chaos that danced to the tunes being spun by General Connolly, Major Gant, Captain Williams and several other officers.

That night, the airport erupted into a cacophony of gunfire, and flares lit a surreal scene of death. I'd been moved to a room hastily converted into a bedroom inside the old airport. I had insisted that Jimmy, Tim and Sandy share the room with me, while the rest of my security detail was located in the connecting room that led to the hallway. The noise woke me up, and dressed only in fatigue pants and my brown t-shirt, I rushed to the command center, followed by my entire guard detail.

General Connolly had beaten me there and was listening to the reports of the different controllers, and taking in the pictures from four cameras that had been set up from around the airport. On one of the two large screens that had been set up, a graphic of the airport was showing our troop placements (nearly four hundred now) and hastily drawn lines showed where we being attacked.

"39th Mech reports their vehicles are primed and ready." One of the controllers said and the General nodded, giving me a quick look before replying.

"Send them up the area north of Terminal A" General Connolly ordered. "After they take care of the ricks there, send them south to bust up that mortar crew."

"Yes sir." The controller complied moving to speak into her microphone.

"Looks like we stirred up a hornet's nest." General Connolly said to me. "We've got about two hundred milita attacking in a semi-organized fashion. The YMCA shelter called in seeing their trucks roaring past about ten minutes before they got here. The choppers haven't arrived yet so we weren't sure of their destination till they hit the outer perimeter. One of the trucks had a TOW launcher and the bastard knew how to use it. Took out the guard APC. Luckily another Bradley showed up and destroyed it with its 25mm before it could reload. Other than that, we're doing pretty well."

"Um, no one thought to wake me up?" I asked.

"Naw, it'll be over in another thirty minutes." General Connolly said. "You haven't been sleeping enough as it is. We are warming your plane up though, just in case. If there's any break in the lines we'll move you and the civilians out of here and into the air. You can land when it's safe."

"Uh, thanks?" I said softly.

"You're welcome." He said. "You're the VIP, remember that. Me, the rest of the officers and staff are expendable, but I'm not going to go see your dad if you get hurt."

"Um, not sure what to say." I admitted and he laughed. Another controller called out something, and he gave some more orders, calmly sipping his coffee. Connors shoved a cup into my hand a moment later. I studied the screen while sipping it carefully.

"You have the 1098th sitting there in case they try to flank us and hit the tankers." I said after looking things over.

"Exactly." General Connolly said with a pleased smile.

"They had to know this wouldn't work." I said softly. "Why are they attacking?"

"Actually, they probably thought it would." Connolly told me. "They had several mortar crews and we have a lot of planes sitting on the tarmac as targets. They're falling back now since we took out most of the mortar crews before they could leave the trucks. They didn't know we'd have so many armored vehicles."

"If you pulled half the armored vehicles back, had them pick up the 1098th, you could position them on the freeway out of town." I said quickly. "If the Y reported them, then they used the freeway to get into town. Every one of them that gets away is a sniper or sapper we have to worry about in the future."

"That leaves the tankers unguarded." He replied.

"I'll head to the plane now, with the civilians." I replied. "The vehicle and my security detail can guard the tankers. That way I'm safe out of your hair, the tankers are secure, and we cut them off."

"Do it." He ordered and I turned to go, ordering Connors to round up the rest of the civilians. Three minutes later I was boarding my plane, the ladder was pulled back and we were rolling down the runway (the General had ordered us into the air the moment I was on board, and didn't bother telling me).

The greatest shock of the evening was when a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile chased us into the air. I'd stormed to the cockpit as soon as the plane was moving, demanding to know why were taking off. Colonel Hayworth had yelled at me to get my ass into a seat when the co-pilot yelled 'missile!' I fell from the cockpit and bumped my head on something hard as Hayworth banked the plane, yelling 'flare' at the top of his lungs.

It was our luck that the plane had been equipped with the latest flares designed to fool heat seeking missiles, because the thing missed us. After that, we climbed to 30,000 feet and didn't land until ten hours after the firefight had ended. I had a nasty bruise on my forehead that Hayworth called a 'reminder to not be stupid' again and to stay out of his damn cockpit.

The battle ended with fifteen killed in action on our side, twenty-six wounded, and damage to buildings and vehicles, but no supplies hurt in any way. Two aircraft suffered shrapnel or bullet damage, but none were rendered unoperational. We also found out several important bits of information from the fifteen attackers that survived.

The fleeing supporters from Jefferson had gone almost totally to a group that occupied several towns to the north of Boise. They had heard our radio broadcasts and decided that they couldn't allow the government to get a foothold in Idaho. Their attack, just as General Connolly predicted, had been focused on destroying the parked aircraft, tankers, and off-loaded supplies. They'd only left behind a handful of people to hold their towns, mustering almost every man they had into the attack. They had planned to drop the mortars, blow up a few planes, and then fade away, but it never happened, and we'd managed to crush our major opposition extremely quickly.

General Connolly left the next day, leaving behind Jimmy. He'd never understood exactly why Jimmy begged to stay, but he eventually agreed after my dad called and said I'd also asked for my friend to be around. Major Grant was effectively in command after that, and I happily stepped aside, letting him run things, while I watched and learned just how bad the military can screw up, and how good it can get a job done at the same time.

I should have known better than to expect that things would go easily for me education wise when Professor Higgs was around. At the end of the first week when the first regular supplies were moving out to the shelters, he'd somehow gotten a ride along with them, and found three professors from the local state university that focused on areas other than his. I now had lessons in mathematics, chemistry, and biology every day.

I got my revenge though, dragging Tim, Sandy and Jimmy into the lessons.

Sandy still didn't say a word, and of all of us did the most poorly, although the professors all gauged the lessons based on our skills. They, having no other duties, spent most of their time learning from professors who seemed more relieved just to be teaching again than anything else. I however, spent an hour a day with each of the professors between meetings with Major Grant and what was quickly shaping up into a core group of local leaders, interviews with Genevieve who still seemed focused on issues relating to the nuclear explosions, and the strict physical training program Grant put me on.

I also had the rest of my dad's instructions to carry out as well. With the new living situation in the new headquarters, it would have been too obvious to have Richardson guarding Tim all the time. That was why I had a very long talk with Jimmy about everything. Thus, he became Tim's new best friend, and the dark haired boy seemed to react with a lot of pleasure. I noticed that Tim made it a point to touch Jimmy a lot and every time he did, he'd smile.

I knew that dad wouldn't believe me, but I believed Tim was no longer a danger regarding his willing use of his abilities, but he was still a danger as far as unwilling, or coerced use. We worked together a lot, mostly at night on learning to control it, and I learned as much from him as he did from me. We were exploring new ground together, and for me it was exciting, but he seemed afraid.

By the end of that first week, Darren Knight had come into my room to discuss the next day's schedule with me. At least that was part of the reason. The other part of the reason was he really, really wanted to see what it was like to 'plug Dylan's hole' as he put it when he whispered in my ear.

I couldn't say no.

The next morning he had a surprise for me when he showed up to go over my now 'revised' schedule. He brought his best friend and co-worker Darby with him. Darby, who worked mostly as Lt. Ellington's personal assistant had not had as much contact with me and was a little uncomfortable. I don't know who was more surprised, Darby or me when Knight had walked up behind him, pinned his arms, and demanded that I kiss Darby now. I think Darby had thought it was a joke because he started laughing.

"I'm serious, Dylan." Knight said as I stared at him shock after his statement. It had taken me completely by surprise. I'd known I'd have to eventually do this with Darby, but I had expected Knight would have resisted somewhat, not insisted on it happening.

"Get off me Darren." Darby said, still laughing. "This is too weird, even for you."

"Why?" I asked Knight, hoping he'd understand the question, and something about my question made Darby realize there was something serious going on here. He started to struggle against Knight's hold a little harder.

"He's my best friend." Knight said. "He kept me sane after my parents died, we've done everything together, we talk about everything together and I can't stand keeping this secret any longer."

"You're doing it with him?" Darby exclaimed in shock, stopping his struggling. "Look, I thought I was the bisexual one, not you. Besides, I don't have to fool around with the kid just because you do. We didn't share our wives, right? He's just a kid."

"Just kiss him and get it over with, Dylan." Knight said, and I sighed. Darby struggled briefly as I stepped up to him.

"Oh all right." Darby said in a tired voice. "Just let me go. If you really want me to kiss the kid I will."

As Knight let him go, Darby straightened his uniform shirt, stared at me for a moment, and then surprised me as grabbed my face in his hands and pulled me into a kiss. As I was discovering, that first contact with each person was slightly different from all the others. With Darby, the tingling had started off light, but as soon as our lips touched, it roared into a burning firestorm that left me totally senseless. Every point where our fingers touched, or our lips touched, burned like a stove burner, sending my body into a quivering state of jelly. I had no idea how we ended up on the floor of my bedroom, or how our clothes came off, all I knew was that Darby was touching me everywhere and it felt damn good.

When the explosion of lights, sounds, and feelings of my orgasm ended, with him still buried inside me, I felt like the world contract and I returned to my skin, skin that was still tingling like mad. We were lying on our sides, on the floor, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. I felt Darby roll away from me, pulling out at the same time and letting out a deep breath.

"Holy fucking shit," Darby breathed hoarsely, "what the fuck was that?"

"Dylan, do you remember what I said about me still not wanting other guys?" Knight asked from near the door. His uniform pants were open and there was a puddle on the floor between his feet.

"Yes." I whispered.

"I changed my mind." Knight said and I laughed. Darby was still looking confused.

"I'll explain it all later, Mike." Darren Knight said with a smile, zipping himself back up.

"Yes, you will." Darby said softly. "For now I want to go again, except Dylan fucks me this time."

"I'm not…" I started to say I wasn't ready for more, but the moment Mike Darby touched me, the tingling started again and I was ready to go. This time, Knight didn't watch, but joined in and I was late to my first meeting. Fortunately it was with Professor Higgs who just chewed me out for wasting his time by being late.

I learned later, that Mike Darby was a sex dynamo. If he couldn't get laid, he'd masturbate three or more times a day. He didn't care if it was male or female, and he was very, very good at what he did. In the first twenty-four hours after I kissed him, he waylaid me four times in different places around the airport that was quickly becoming an operational base. The first time, when I'd verbalized a concern over being caught, he laughed and told me exactly why he'd picked the place, where everyone was nearby that could find them, and proved that he'd already talked things over with Darren about what exactly had happened because he said he had Darren at one end of the hallway and Richardson had been the guard escorting me, so we had nothing to worry about except who was going to plug who.

Two days later I learned somethingknew when I was talking to Knight about my planned schedule. Darby, being the sexual dynamo that he was had already managed to seduce his way through Jimmy and Richardson as well as several more encounters with Knight (who was becoming a more and more willing 'partner' for his old friend). Darby had told Knight, who was telling me that, that when he had sex with someone else who was bonded to me, he felt a little of the 'tingling' like he had with me, almost like an echo of me. When I asked Richardson about that later today, he'd been very embarrassed, and haltingly informed me that he'd been 'having fun' with Jimmy again and noticed the same thing.

One more piece of the puzzle for my mental notebook (there was no way I was going to write this all down).

During that second week in Idaho, as the troops began to move out into the town, finding and eliminating bands of snipers, three groups of cannibals, and several small neo-Nazi groups, I began 'absorbing' as I was taking to calling it, the rest of the single men in my security detail. I decided to experiment a little, using casual touches on the hand or other exposed part of the body to try simple commands. The first two men, Jones and Halpern, each felt me doing something to them, and reacted with fear after they'd performed the command.

I had been prepared for that though, and Richardson was always on hand to make sure things didn't get out of hand, and to keep them from becoming a problem for me. I also learned some more things about this 'control'. It was a very subtle shift in them, after things were over. They didn't really understand it either, and used words much like 'being complete' to describe it. However, with both men, who'd been feeling fear, and maybe betrayal when I kissed them, the change was even more pronounced than in the others.

Jimmy, who had always been excitable and outgoing, became more excitable and talked about nothing but me at first. Richardson, who had been reserved, calm, and tended to observe things before reacting became more reserved, a little more withdrawn from his fellow soldiers, and constantly studied me. Knight, who was a casual, easy-going guy prone to long bouts of thinking, and shared everything with his best friend had dragged that friend in to see me, and demanded that I bring his friend into 'the circle'. Darby, the sex maniac incarnate had taken to seeking sex more often, and focused solely either on me or on people in 'the circle' (Knight's name for the group of people being formed around me and one that stuck). Jones and Halpern, both careful, energetic soldiers who were regarded as to of the most 'solid' men in the guard detail became more suspicious and jumpy as the days passed, seeing 'threats' to me from anyone not in 'the circle.' It was something that I realized could become dangerous, and I was pretty sure it had developed as a result of the fear and sense of betrayal they were feeling at the time I kissed them and my power entered them.

After that, when I approached Private Thomas Hollings, I tried to make sure that the experience with Jones and Halpern would not be revisited. It was difficult, because Hollings was huge. He stood over six foot three, had arms thicker than my legs, and was constantly griping because there was no weight equipment around for him to work with. He spent most of his time working out in a room just down the hall from where my room was located. I had decided to approach him next, and had both Jones and Richardson following me as I walked into the room. He was sitting on a bench, working with a makeshift dumbbell bar and two burnt-out computer monitors as weights. He stopped working out when I entered the room, setting the makeshift bar on the floor.

"Something I can do for you, Mr. Jacobs?" He asked me politely.

"Yeah, I was wondering how long it took you to get muscles like those." I stated. He wasn't wearing a shirt, despite the coldness of the room, and it was the first time I'd actually seen him topless. His muscles were the most ripped I'd ever seen in person, and I found myself fascinated. He smiled at my question.

"I started when I was your age." He said proudly, flexing them and showing them off. I crossed into the room, and motioned me to come closer. "Feel these arms."

I grasped his arm while Richardson shut the door and Jones stared at Hollings as if he was worried the man might break me in half. The arm was thick, and he flexed when I touched it, and the tingling was filling me. I was also very glad that my uniform hid my erection because the moment I touched that arm, I'd gotten hard and it really had nothing to do with the 'power'.

"You could just lift me instead of that dumbbell." I stated, thinking he was that strong. He looked at me curiously for a moment and then smiled.

"Sure, why not. Put your arms at your side, lock your legs together and don't squirm." He said, standing immediately. Jones looked like he was going to do something, but Richardson whispered something into his ear that caused Jones to relax as Hollings picked me up, lifted me over his head easily for fifteen reps, and then set me down. My head spun a little bit, and I noticed Hollings was looking horrified.

"I can't believe I did that!" Hollings shouted.

"What's the matter?" I asked. "I said you probably could do that anyway."

"Yeah, but I actually did that!" He said. "I shouldn't be doing something like that to you. We're your security detail."

"Don't worry about it." I said as I touched his bare arm with my still tingling hand. I realized that his picking me up had been a 'control', not his own idea. It had been subtle enough, following along enough with his natural inclinations that he hadn't noticed a thing. Whereas Jones had definitely noticed the 'jump on one foot and cluck like a chicken' command as being something he wouldn't do. I squeezed Hollings' huge arm and said soothingly. "Relax, everything's okay."

"Yeah, you're right." He responded instantly, relaxing. "Sorry I got so worked up about things. You're a cool guy, you know."

"Thanks." I said, still holding his arm as he relaxed. "You look tired."

"I am a little." Hollings said. "I had early watch today. Didn't get much sleep."

"Yuck." I said. "You know you could just lay down for a bit on the bench. Close your eyes maybe. You probably won't even remember I was here, since you're so tired."

"Okay." Hollings said, and looked at me with his piercing blue eyes, full of trust. "I'll just take a short nap."

"No problem." I said, letting his arm go as he sat on the bench. Richardson came towards me, and stood next to me, watching the sleeping Hollings.

"Looks like you figured out how to be 'subtle'." Richardson's voice was amused now.

"I think the key is not making the command too out of character for the person." I answered him. "The commands that flow naturally with his thought processes seemed natural enough that they didn't register as not beinghis own idea."

"That could be useful in a lot of situations where you don't want someone joining the circle, but you need them to do something." Richardson stated with an approving nod.

"The real test is going to be if he remembers me being here when he wakes up." I added.

"Well, wake him up and find out." Richardson said with that smile of his that always made me want to laugh.

"Okay," I said, shaking Hollings gently. Those blue eyes opened almost immediately, and he looked slightly disoriented as he sat up.

"Oh, Mister Jacobs." He said hurriedly. "I'm sorry; I didn't know you were in here. I must have dosed off."

"That's okay, Hollings." I said. "I saw you here and was wondering when you started lifting weights. I've never seen someone this built before."

"Really?" He asked with please smile, flexing his arms much like he had before. "Didn't you…no, that wasn't you that asked me earlier. Go ahead, take a feel."

"Wow." I said softly as I felt his arms again. The tingling sensation of my ability was present again as I touched him, and I couldn't resist trying something a little bold.

"Nice aren't they?" He stated as Richardson backed up a step. "I started lifting when I was your age. Took me forever, but they're worth it."

"Bet you love people kissing them." I said after thinking a mental command over and over again. He'd not reacted to the mental command, so that didn't work.

"You can kiss them if you want." He said in a soft voice, and I looked up to his face to see his eyes glazed slightly. He shook his head once, and I knew the command was too out of character. I had to act quickly before he started to react negatively, so I bent in closer and touched his lips. He moaned into my kiss and I was rather surprised when he wrapped those big arms around me. The feelings running through me pounded in time with my heart as they flowed into him, and I felt a different kind of passion burning through me. I reached my hand, downward, intending to get into his uniform pants, but he started to jerk softly, and he sighed into my mouth as we kissed.

Then something happened that had never happened before; he started crying.

"What's the matter?" I asked him softly as he let me go, standing and facing an empty wall while his shoulders shook. He towered over me, and I felt like I was a little kid again.

"This can't be happening." He sobbed out and I became more confused. I had to walk around him to face him again, and he tried to turn away, but my hand on his arm stopped him and he looked into my eyes and I noticed he really was crying. That was odd enough because I'd never seen a grown soldier cry like that. I heard a door close softly and knew that Richardson, sensing this was a weird situation had dragged Jones outside.

"What can't be happening?" I asked.

"This. You. Me." Hollings said softly. "This is some fucking dream again or a nightmare."

"Look, I'm sorry if you don't like this…" I started to say but he suddenly let out a bark-like laugh.

"Please, don't make fun of me in my dreams anymore." He said. "That's it, I'm still dreaming. This isn't happening. I didn't just get a kiss from the kid I've been lusting over, and I didn't come in my pants without anyone touching me. This is just another fucking dream that turned into a nightmare."

"Look at me you big lug." I snapped, and he instantly was looking at me. "Now, kiss me again."

He obeyed me instantly, and I felt that passion flowing again. I tasted it, as I explored his mouth with my tongue, and realized why it was so different with Hollings. When I bonded the people to me, I could feel some of their emotions, read some part of their essence, probably, or their soul if you wanted to look at it that way. That's why I'd been so disgusted by that prisoner (who'd finally killed himself the previous night after spilling a lot of information). Hollings had feelings for me that went beyond what the others had felt. It was closer to the feelings with Henry, but more one-sided, from Hollings to me.

I spent almost an hour in there, talking in soft tones with the huge man. During that time, I learned a lot about him, including that when we'd first met during my interviews of all the guard detail, he'd fallen for me instantly and had been having dreams about me ever since. It was a big ego boost, but I felt kind of sad that I didn't return the feelings he obviously had. Nevertheless, he reacted happily to learning he would be a part of my permanent security detail, and around me constantly, for the rest of his life. He was also the first person to react with jealousy to the thought of sharing me with others. But he seemed to accept that by the time I finished talking to him. I left him there, to finish his workout when Richardson poked his head in the door to remind me I had a meeting in ten minutes with a delegation that had arrived from several Idaho towns.

The delegation was an important one. It was from several towns that had managed to maintain a relative amount of order, had held off groups of anti-government militias, and had adapted to the changing conditions far better than we'd imagined. As power ran out, they adapted quickly to candles and lanterns, and as nearby farms were raided, they brought in supplies and those families. Some had National Guard forces that were a part of their areas, others just very hardy folks who were good shots.

They brought to the bargaining table what Jefferson had tried to use a lure to bring us into Idaho, food supplies.

Not enough to feed people of other states, but enough to make the continued shipping of supplies into the state unnecessary. What they wanted in return was moderate enough that we ended up offering them more than they were asking for. When I left the meeting at a very happy Major Grant's side, they were discussing logistics with the logistics staff. Both shipping fuel and some other supplies (like spare parts for generators) to them, and shipping food products (and several head of cattle) back into Boise.

There had been grumblings from different states up to that point on the resources being wasted up here. That all ended when Genevieve broadcast her 'special report' highlighting the slaughterhouses that had once been shelters. The stacks of bodies, and similar sights, far worse than anything seen in the other states created an upsurge of support for the citizens of that state, and a backlash against Colorado, Utah, and Wisconsin. When someone in the government leaked that it was the lack of warning from NORAD that had prevented any early warning of the inbound nuclear weapons, there were demonstrations in three cities, each with over a hundred thousand people participating.

No one was arrested, no one suffered major injuries or was killed, and nothing was burned or looted, much to everyone's surprise.

Dad flew into Boise on the second day of my third week there. His plane, which had once been the back-up for Air Force One, and was now filling that role, was a huge 747 that dwarfed my plane as it pulled up the ramp and parked to my converted 757. It was a big event, and all the Guard, Army, and Air Force troops that were in the area, and not on patrol, were lined to meet him.

Then there was a tour of several shelters, including one of the 'slaughterhouse' sites, followed by a meeting with the newly chosen Governor of Idaho (eight survivors from the State Legislature were found and they had unanimously chosen Joanna as the new governor) and her staff (which included Deidre). Dad even arranged a private meeting with the two women that I was not invited to attend although I did go with him to everything else. As night fell, I walked with him up the ladder of his plane, and we met in private in his office/cabin there. I noticed how tired he looked, and wondered how he was handling the stress.

"Were you aware that I get daily reports from Major Grant, Captain Williams, and Professor Higgs about your progress?" He asked me after he'd sat down behind his desk, and me in one of the chairs in front of it.

"Not directly, but I knew something like that was probably happening." I said softly.

"Major Grant hated your guts when he first met you." Dad said, holding the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. "He's still critical of you when you make mistakes, but he's also more effusive with his praise."

"I didn't do anything with him." I stated defensively.

"I'll take your word for it." H said, letting out a sigh and looking at me closely. "You've grown a little."

"I've been working out a lot, and Hollings finally found himself a decent weight set." I said. "He's been working with me on it as well."

"Hollings?" Dad asked. "One of your men?"

"Security detail, permanent." I explained.

"Henry will be here in two days." Dad said. "We're not announcing it, but it's just a one-night layover. Last time I saw him, he said he really needed to talk to you, compare notes. He's having a couple of problems. How are you doing?"

"I made two mistakes." I said, explaining about Jones and Halpern. After Hollings, I'd figured out a way to undo some of the damage I'd done with them, and they'd both calmed down after that considerably. They were still edgy though, whenever I was near people that weren't part of the 'circle'. I also noticed that after I'd brought Tapers and Muldoon, the last two from the security detail, well almost the last, that different members of the group affected me differently. Some left me more drained; Tapers, Muldoon, and Richardson among that group. Others left me feeling more energized; Darby, Knight, Hollings, and Jimmy were in that group. I explained all this to dad, leaving out any details about sex as much as possible. He just shook his head.

"You're making much more progress than Henry." He stated when I finished telling him about the successful experiments in light control with Hollings, experiments successfully repeated with Tapers and Muldoon. "He's only tried it with one, and the guy's so jumpy now that Walters wants to remove him from the squad."

"I think I'll be able to help him there." I said.

"You leave here two days after Henry's visit." Dad said. "I've pretty much got things figured out how I want to use you both, not your abilities, but your presence. Henry's great when it comes to diplomacy, building bridges, and boosting morale. Every place he's visited so far has seen a remarkable increase in production levels. Your mom I'm sending to places that need dispute resolution help. She's great at getting people to sit down and talk through problems and issues. This is the first trip I've taken since I got back from Iceland. Sears gave me hell over the whole 'blame' thing and his been giving me lectures about how to phrase things more like a President than a Preacher."

"I've taken some heat over that too." I admitted and he chuckled.

"That's part of your role, you realize. People see you as my oldest, and don't worry, Henry's not upset at all. He thinks the whole thing is funny, and wouldn't trade placed with you for anything according to him."

"So I'm your back-up man?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're the heir apparent." Dad told me seriously. "The Congress has been busy as hell, and if things keep on track the way they are, we'll be able to hold elections next June, and there will be a new Constitution for the people to vote on."

"Dad, the Constitution is the Holy Grail of American Politics." I breathed out through a very tight chest.

"That's why it's being presented as a simple 're-write'." Dad said. "We're saying we took out stuff that had been deleted by past Amendments, changed, or grown outdated with time. There's nothing really new in it, not like proportional representation or anything. The number of representatives in the House is getting bumped downwards a bit. There minimum for each state is the same as before, so the smaller states will like that, while the larger ones will like the fact that the election of President is being switched to a direct vote of the people instead of the Electoral College. That idea has so much support that no one expects controversy. It was political parties that didn't like the switch, and the smaller states, but they're getting more power in the House, so it's trade off. There are some minor wording changes to the amendments, including making the fourteenth amendment stronger. We also changed the search seizure to make it harder for police forces to spy on people, or seize property, something the liberals in the Continental Congress nearly fell out of the chairs over when I suggested it. They were expecting me to be more pro-police than pro-civil rights."

"Let me guess, I get to promote this new Constitution?" I asked him warily.

"Yes." Dad said with a smile. "Everyone already sees you as the scholar with the long sentences and complicated thought processes you give in interviews. Henry mastered the thirty-second sound byte. You didn't. You're the brains, you're the smart one. Can you believe they've started polling again? Not telephones so much, although ten cities now have reestablished telephone service, but from mail and street interviews they've done polls and everyone agrees, you're smartest one in the family. They'll listen to your interviews, hear you say 'this is bad', or 'this is good', or something like that, and then their eyes glaze over while you're talking over their heads, and all they remember is that you said at the beginning it was good or bad and that you had a big ole long explanation they couldn't understand but that probably meant you were right, so they'll just agree with you. All you have to say is 'This is a good thing to vote for' followed by an extremely lengthy and detailed explanation of why you think that, and Sears is convinced we'll get eighty percent of the vote for the Constitution. Once it's approved, we do a national election November for Federal offices."

"It sounds like the end of the crisis is in sight." I said.

"It's in sight, but there a lot of work to be done." Dad said. "You, Henry, and Mom will be a big part of it all."

"You are running aren't you?" I asked and he laughed.

"Yes, we are running as a family." Dad said. "Now, there's another way people see you as well, Dylan, and we need to discuss that."

"What way is that?" I asked him carefully.

"They see you as the soldier." Dad said firmly. "They see you as the guy with the guts to go into the stronghold of a mass murderer who rivals Adolph Hitler, smart enough to move him right where you wanted him, and so fearless that when the evil man's follower puts a gun to your head, you tell him to relax, do nothing, and he follows your command. Then you stood there, unflinching as the American Hitler raises a gun to kill you, and you just waited for one of your men to blow his brains out. Do you even remember your reaction at that point?"

"I…I just started giving the orders that needed to be done." I said.

"Yes, there you are on television screens all over the nation, calmly looking at the body of the man they're calling the American Hitler, and you start giving orders like it was no big deal." Dad said with a slow smile. "You know if you walked up to most civilian men in this country and told them to 'make your day' they'd probably piss their pants before running like a scared rabbit?"

"Dad, that's not…they can't have that image of me!" I said. "They don't mesh, Mr. Brain and Mr. Tough Guy."

"They do now." Dad said with a grin. "That's probably what really gets to them. They can imagine you calmly walking into the middle of the Alamo and turning the battle around and kicking the attackers' butts instead of losing."

"But I'm not…it was the men around me, not me." I protested.

"Yes, the men around you made a big difference, as did your ability." Dad said a little more softly. "But people don't see that, and we better pray they never do."

"I'm not sure if I want to be the 'Little Terminator'." I said, and dad started laughing so hard at that it was good two minutes before he actually said something.

"That's actually not a bad thing." Dad said. "Remember, in the second movie, they gave the character a softer side and suddenly he wasn't the bad guy any more. That's what we'll explain your 'friends' traveling with you for. Jimmy, Tim, and that Sandy kid will be your friends that keep you 'grounded' and 'in touch' with your thirteen year old kid side. Your PR staff will probably set up baseball or soccer games for you guys to play in front of cameras, showing you can be a normal kid at times."

"I hate soccer." I said. "I like baseball though, and I love football."

"No football." Dad said immediately with a shudder. "The image of you tackling a kid will scare half the parents in the nation."

"Henry's better at hand-to-hand than I am." I said indignantly and dad laughed.

"But they don't know that." Dad said through his laughter. "He's the golden boy, all cute and cuddly. Let's leave him with that image."

"Okay, dad, I'll play along with this image building on one condition." I said and he looked at me closely.

"You are still thirteen, young man, and a Warrant Officer." Dad's expression was stern, but is eyes crinkled with laughter. "I can not only tell you to do something as your father, but order it as your Commander-In-Chief."

"One condition dad." I said with a smile, and he gave up on the stern expression with a short bark of laughter. "I get flying lessons. Helicopters or jet fighters, your choice."

"Helicopters." Dad said immediately. I just nodded.

"Okay, back to the subject." Dad said. "You're leaving here in four days. It'll be a nice ceremony of thank you from the people of Idaho thanking you for liberating them. Don't argue, the Governor insists and she's letting her son go with you to be your friend so you owe her the favor."

"I won't argue." I said, throwing my hands up. "After you leave here, you're heading to Bakersfield where you'll inspect the oil well production, the third refinery they just brought online, and then you'll take a helicopter flight over the Grapevines and lay a wreath at the edge of the radiation zone. Don't worry, it's a safe distance and you'll not get much more radiation than from an x-ray machine. Then you come back to Huntsville for Christmas and New Year's. On the second day of the New Year, you'll play daddy's little terminator and bring the last state back into the Union."

"The last state?" I asked. There were three more that had left, not one more.

"Colorado and Wisconsin entered into secret negotiations last week. They're announcing they're returning control to federal authorities. The people who led them in pulling out are being turned over to federal authorities in Wichita tomorrow, and their leading officials are going to appear on television begging the Continental Congress to take them back." Dad explained and I winced.

"That leaves the Mormons in Utah." I said slowly. "Couldn't you have waited?"

"No, because I want you to start planning for it, son." He told me softly. "All control in that state now rests with their new 'prophet', and you'll be shaking his hand."

"Dad, are you saying…" I asked, but my voice trailed off at that.

"I was going to send you anyway, son." Dad said softly. "Senator Crawley will be going with you as well to handle the actual negotiations, but I wanted you there. I didn't think you'd make as much progress as you have, but you did. I got the idea when you told me about Hollings. I don't want anything major, nothing obvious, but something subtle that could push this 'prophet' in the direction we need. That's all son. If we don't bring them back by negotiation, then we'll invade and do it by force either late next year or in the early part of the year after that."

"I'll think about it." I said softly.

"Now, let's talk about your security detail." Dad said, switching topics quickly. "You've given the names of the six you've brought into your 'circle'. I'll transfer everyone else out and have replacements for you when you return to Huntsville. You'll also get your permanent tutors, and the rest of your staff there. There's going to be a few more enlisted faces as well. If they work out, you bring them as well and they'll end up on your permanent staff. For your security detail, since we're looking at a lifetime group here, everyone I pick will be as close to your age as I can get. Most of the rest are going to be Special Forces, maybe a couple of Navy Seals to give them some representation. But they'll be young, early twenties at most. Are you sure you don't want to keep Conners? I know he's single so I don't understand why you didn't include him."

"He's staying with my group." I said firmly. "He's a friend dad."

"So you are going to bring him into your circle?" Dad asked and I blanched.

"Dad, he's a friend. I can't do that to him." I objected.

"Son, you don't have a choice." Dad said firmly. "Look, if he's the only one not in the group, he's going to notice the difference in how everyone treats him. Hell, he already does. He sent a message just the other day that he wants to replace some of your men, and two of your circle group is on the list! He doesn't like the way they're behaving. He thinks they're becoming unreliable. You know what that means for your don't you?"

"Yes." I said with a heavy sigh. "I risk him blowing this out into the public, or at least into the open within the government."

"Right." Dad said. "Right now, the only people who know about this are connected by family ties, including the two women here in Idaho. They both stand to see their sons killed if this gets out. As much as you like him, Connors isn't family, doesn't have that connection."

"Okay, I'll do it." I snapped. "I'll bring him in."

"Tonight, son." Dad said. "I want to make sure he's in your circle before I leave."

"Dad, you can't be…not in front of you!" I exclaimed, horrified and embarrassed.

"Henry's explained to me about the sexual part of this, son." Dad said with a heavy sigh.

"But dad…in front of you?" I gasped, again in horror.

"I had to watch Henry's tape a few years ago." Dad reminded me. "If I can stand it once, I can stand it again. I don't want to see this again, but I have to see it in action. If you can, I'd like to see the lighter controls as well. Who came with your detail tonight?"

"Connors, Richardson, and Hollings." I said with a weak voice. "Richardson's been present for every single time I've done this. Hollings, he's the one I told you feels real affection for me."

"They don't have to be here, do they?" Dad asked and I shook my head. He picked up his phone, told whoever answered it to have Sergeant Connors brought in and hung up. We sat staring at each other while we waited. This was painful for me, and he knew it, and I could feel him evaluating. I also knew that he had arranged this as a test of me, to see if I would use my abilities when he thought they were necessary. Part of what I had always been afraid of was coming to pass, I was being used against my will. But in reality, was I? Connors couldn't remain unless he was a part of this, and I didn't want to think about him not being there! He'd been my first friend in that headquarters after Henry! He'd been there after the first time I'd killed a man. No, the thought of losing him was too much I realized when the door opened and he came into the room. He crossed the floor and saluted dad before taking the seat my dad pointed him to.

"I've asked you here, Sergeant." Dad began in a serious voice. "To discuss your concerns over my son's security detail. His safety is of the utmost importance to me."

"With all due respect sir, I'd feel more comfortable discussing this in private." Connors as I studied his face. I realized I'd been attracted to him from the moment I met him. His rugged good looks, and the way his eyes crinkled when he laughed were all very clear in my memory, and I could feel the tingling growing in as he spoke that sentence. I couldn't stop my hand when it reached out and brushed his in the briefest of contacts.

"You really should listen to him; he's the President and your old general." I said in a voice so soft I wasn't sure if dad had heard it on the other side of the desk. Connors blinked his eyes once though, and I knew it was him reacting to my command.

"Yes, sir." Connors said as he blinked again and gave me an uncomfortable look. "I've had some concerns about the Jones, Halpern, and Richardson. Jones and Halpern have been far too jittery lately. I'm not sure why, but they seem to think half the squad is out to kill Dylan. It would be best if they left as soon as possible before they cause too much friction within the detail."

"What about Richardson?" Dad asked.

"I'm not sure." Connors said. "It's nothing I'm able to put my finger on, but he's been too casual for my taste, not professional enough."

"He is a good soldier though." I said just as softly as before as I touched his briefly again.

"But again, Richardson is a good soldier." Connors said, and I felt guilty for manipulating my friend, but I wanted to know something know, so I touched his hand again briefly, but this time he looked at it and our eyes met.

"Tell me what you would have said if Dad wasn't here." I said, and this time the power surged, wiping out his hesitance.

"Something's wrong with Dylan." Connors said, switching his gaze back to dad immediately. "I'm not sure what it is exactly, but I've noticed some things. He's given casual orders to that Connolly boy and he leaps to obey as if Dylan was pulling some type of string on him. That creepy Tim kid, keeps staring at him all the time, and I've noticed differences in some of my soldiers. They're talking about him a lot, but whenever another one of us approaches them, they clam up. They also jump anytime Dylan's in the room, and they obey him like I wish they'd obey me. I also notice that whenever Richardson is around, they treat him like he was a mini-Dylan. I don't know what's going on but I don't like it at all."

"Has anyone else noticed this?" Dad asked.

"No, just me and another member of the guard detail." Connors answered immediately without any prodding. "The other staff and officers rarely pay any attention to us."

"Paul, do you trust me?" I asked him, and he blinked, blinked hard.

"You did something, didn't you?" Connors asked me with a look of fear. He snatched his hand away from mine.

"It's how I got the creep in the tower to not shoot." I told him and his eyes widened some more.

"You can make people do things by touching them?" He asked and now dad was looking at me hard.

"Yes, but if it's too much against what they'd normally do, like your saying what was really bothering you, they can notice it, but not usually fight it until the command is over." I explained.

"That's a damn fine trick, Dylan." Connors asked me, and looked hurt again. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because there's more to it as well." I told him. "There's a way of making it deeper, of actually bonding a person to me. Depending on who it is, it acts in different ways and it also depend on the person's emotions when the bond is formed, but it forms a loyalty between us that guarantees the person won't ever be able to hurt me. I can do more with it, but I don't."

"Richardson, Jones, Halpern, and Hollings are all…bonded to you." Connors stated, not asked.

"Tapers, Muldoon and Jimmy as well." I added.

"What about that Tim kid?" Connors asked.

"He's not bonded to me, and he can't be." I said simply. "He's like me, able to exert control. That's how Jefferson got so much here. He used the kid. He tried to use him that night, have him shake all our hands and then we'd do whatever he wanted."

"So you're keeping on eye on him so he doesn't get loose. That Sandy kid is bonded to him, isn't he?" Connors asked and I nodded. "There's a reason why you're bonding the security detail. It's obvious the kid could turn us and use us to kill you, so when you bond them there's some protection?"

"Yes." I stated. "Anyone I've bonded, or taken control of while that lasts, can't be used by someone else with my abilities."

"Do you know anyone else with the abilities besides this kid?" Connors asked.

"Henry, and we're pretty sure there may be a few hundred we don't know about." I said softly as he studied me.

"You didn't give them a choice?" Connors asked, obviously referring to the security detail. I let out a sigh.

"No." I answered.

"Why not?" Connors asked sharply, a hint of anger in his voice.

"Because it's permanent and once you're bonded you basically have to stay around me or you die." I said angrily and he winced.

"Those are the men who aren't married." Connors asked. "I don't think any of them actually have girlfriends. So you didn't pick anyone that would cause you to break up a family, or any real attachments. Why didn't you do it to me? I fit in that group and I'm in charge of your detail."

"You're my friend." I stated and he blinked. "I don't want to do this to you."

"You make it sound awful." He said.

"It…Paul, if you want a demonstration of how it can be misused, think about that prisoner." I stated, turning away from him as I spoke.

"You…bonded him to you?" Paul asked in disgust.

"It was horrible, but yes. Then I told him to spill his guts about that bastard he worked for and then to die once he'd told everything he could except about Tim's ability, or mine for that matter." I said in rush.

"So, a person bonded you would kill themselves at your command." Connors asked in a tight voice. "I don't see you misusing it."

"I messed up a bit with Jones and Halpern." I admitted. "They were feeling hurt and betrayal and that carried over into the bond, making them ultra suspicious of anyone near me. I've calmed that down some, and I'm sure I'll get them closer to normal the more I work at it."

"So you're fixing you mistake." Paul said. "I take it this is a say yes choice for me or I die."

"No." I said before dad could answer. "I'd prefer if you just walked away."

"So what do you have to do, bite my neck?" Paul said with a little laugh and I turned back around to look at him. He was smiling at me.

"But…" I stuttered, but he shook his head, putting hand on mine.

"Dylan, when I accepted this posting I accepted it on one condition, and that was I stay on your security detail until I was too old to continue." Paul's voice was soft and I knew I'd never refer to him as Connors again. "Listen to me, bro, when I first met you, I knew you were something special and I made sure I got to train you. You're the little brother I never had and after the nuclear bombs went off, and the General got booted upstairs, I decided I'd make sure you lived through this mess and had a happy life, no matter what. You're the little brother I never had and if I have to take this bonding thing to keep you safe, I'll do it."

"I'm not your little brother." I said firmly, and his eyes grew wide as the tingling power filled to a point where I thought I was going to burst. I leaned forward, half out of the chair and his eyes filled my vision. When my lips touched his, I no longer cared what dad thought of what he was seeing. When Paul's throat filled with a low moan that made me shiver, I decided this was not going to be a quick bonding either. It was going to last until Paul was deep inside of me, and screw dad if he got embarrassed watching his son riding Paul Connors.