The Company - 8. Bass Boats and Bail Bonds

I dreamed of Thibault. He asked near tears, “You don’t want me?” He was such a sweet little kid who wanted to please. He had no idea how close he came to riding home with us, but my instincts were shouting at me that there was a bigger game being played if I could just figure it out.

“If you ask Remy he will let you have me.” That was the old way adoptions were done. A family distressed would send one or more of their children to live with relatives or trusted friends. That’s how Toby and Brandon had come to me. It wasn’t a formal adoption but all the documents were signed, and no judge would mess with it without good cause.

“There’s something magical about you.”

“Well of course there is. I’m Cajun.”

 

 

I woke up being hugged by Frank. Jeb was still sound asleep. He pulled me up and into the bathroom where he kissed me hard enough to wake me up.

He whispered in my ear, “In my underwear drawer?”

“Why not? Your underwear houses one of my most precious treasures. It seemed a fitting place for it. Get used to having a partner that’s crazy about you.”

Frank asked, “Where were you and Randy out to so late?”

“It was cop stuff for Randy. There was a tip where Andrew Lawrence had an apartment he used to deal insane amounts of coke out of. I’ll bet the cops are still there. They also found where the idiot had been taking pictures and video of kids, so he is totally fucked”

Frank said, “I heard rumors about him, but apparently I was too old and decrepit to catch his eye. Good riddance to a real creep. What am I supposed to do with twenty-five thousand dollars?”

“First: keep it quiet. When you are out today, get suits for Toby and Brandon. They’ll need them for Sam’s funeral. In fact, try to get a suit for everybody. Beyond that, you’ll think of something. Money won’t go stale or turn bad. You can keep it until you have a need or a good idea for it.”

Frank smiled and said, “It’ll be fun getting some clothes for them. They’re all so cute, you can’t go wrong. Yesterday we had some things planned, but we canceled them because of Sam’s death. How are Toby and Brandon?”

I said, “They are OK. You were right. They needed some daddy time and I expect they’ll need some more. Toby asked me to take him and his brother on an overnight with just their boyfriends. I think I’ll do it while we’re getting ready for the big party up at Arrowhead on the fourth.”

Frank asked, “What about Atlanta next week?”

“I talked to the Center about that. It seems the Navy has asked them to do some classes at Pensacola Naval Air Station, and they asked me if our group would consider attending there, so they’ll have enough students to make a class. I figure we go down there, and we can get in some beach time. Maybe take the kids and stay at one of the resorts. It’ll be a few more weeks, but we can be here to get Game Zone off the ground.”

Frank grinned and said, “That sounds like fun. What’s Florida like?”

“Sandy and very sunny.” I kissed his bare shoulder. “We’ll have to make sure you don’t fry.” I kissed his chest and licked a nipple. “There are many good places to eat.” I licked my way down his abs and swirled my tongue in his navel.

Frank said, “Are you starting? I think you’re starting… Oof!” I took his hardening cock and gave my baby a good morning blow to start the day.

After we were done, Frank informed me that I was supposed to sleep in again this morning.

I asked, “Do I detect conspiracy?”

He grinned at me and said, “Maybe. A certain young prospective lawyer discussed his loophole idea with me. I figured that if they got a little, they might stop cock hounding you so hard.”

I said, “That’s cool. I’m going to take a morning run and work out downstairs. Then I’ll come back up here and take a shower and a nap. What’s Jeb doing here?”

Frank said, “You gave homework to Kevin and Lance. They spent the night with Toby and Cole and Brandon and Barry respectively. Jeb’s gotten so used to sleeping with the guys, he doesn’t like to sleep alone.”

I said, “You want to give him a little morning glory or should I?”

Frank said, “I will. You get your run in and work out in, so you’ll be all buff and pumped up for Barry and Cole. They’re really looking forward to it and see it as their big day.”

I kissed Frank and said, “Kiss Jeb for me. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

 

 

My first stop was the gym where I did a quick power set to get my motor running. I spent about ten minutes there warming up, and I was ready.

I took off in the cool early morning air and ran the trail up to the road to the docks. Fishermen had already launched boats and were out. No one was in sight, so I headed up the long road to the gate, turned around and came back.

When I turned around, I discovered that I wasn’t the only one out. A tall, lanky runner came off a trail from the houses East of Dockside Park. He was well in front of me and hadn’t seen me. He was wearing a t-shirt that had the colors of the local high school. He had a nice gait like a young colt on long legs just discovering the joy of using them. He disappeared behind the big oak at the curve.

I kept chugging along and turned the corner where I could see past the massive Oak. I’d lost him. I kept jogging until I got to the restroom and saw a bike tire poking out from behind the building. I stopped and got some water and heard slurping sounds and I knew what was up.

I opened the main door quietly and silently stepped inside. I listened and heard a young voice say, I’m trying. It’s too big. A deeper voice said you’re doing just fine Jo-Jo. Keep at it. I love you little buddy. You’re the sunshine that gets me out of bed every day. Oh, God! you suck great cock. Do you want my cum?

There was more slurping and Uh-huh. Cum for me Kelly. I want to taste it.

 

I opened the inner door and the pair was so engrossed they didn’t even notice.

Kelly said, “Almost there.”

Then they both jumped when they noticed me standing over them looking grim.

I said, “Don’t panic. Jo-Jo, you aren’t in trouble. Kelly here just might be.”

Jo-Jo whined, “Kelly is sweet to me. He lets me suck his dick every day.”

Kelly facepalmed.

I raised my eyebrow and asked, “How old are you Jo-Jo?”

Jo-jo said, “I’m twelve.”

“How old are you Kelly?”

Kelly pulled up his shorts and said, “Am I going to need a lawyer?”

I said, “Probably not Kelly. I’m guessing at least seventeen based on how well hung you are? “

Kelly blushed red and said, “Umm… sixteen.”

“You and Jo-Jo have a secret little thing going on. It’s not evil. Lots of junior high kids would love to hook up with a junior or senior. There’s just that little thing about pesky laws. That could get you in big trouble Kelly and I know Jo-Jo doesn’t want that, do you Jo-Jo?”

The little guy said, “No. I love Kelly.”

“Hug him Jo-Jo.”

Jo-Jo put his arms around Kelly’s waist. Kelly knelt, hugged Jo-Jo back and kissed him on the forehead.

I said, “Kelly, do you ever suck Jo-Jo back?”

He answered, “He never asked me to.”

I said, “Jo-Jo, would you like that?”

He nodded with enthusiasm.

“Kelly, when you have a relationship with a very young boy, it’s easy to be selfish. They really love you and will do most anything to please you. That’s why there are laws because many kids get taken advantage of badly that way. I want to suggest something to you. Instead of meeting in secret, why don’t you two become friends in public. Be his big brother Kelly. Take him to movies and arcades. Let him hang with you and your friends. He’ll love it, and I’m betting you will too.”

Jo-Jo said, “I’d really like that Kelly. You don’t have to suck my dick if you don’t want to.”

Kelly said, “He’s right Jo-Jo. I have been selfish. You’ve given me so much, you deserve my love and respect. More respect than I’m showing you by meeting you in places like this for quickie BJs.”

I said, “I have a safe place you two can go where no one will get you in trouble Kelly or take advantage of you Jo-Jo. Would you like that?”

Kelly asked, “You’ve been really nice about this. Why?”

“There was no point in being an asshole about it. Jo-Jo clearly adores you and I heard you tell him you loved him before I broke in on you. Let’s just say I’ve been in Jo-Jo’s shoes and know how frustrating it can be to do all the work and be left with blue balls. When I was in high school, I had a couple of relationships like that. One of them would return the favor and blow me or at least jack me off. We’re still friends and I love him.”

“Do you really have a place we could go?”, Jo-Jo asked.

I said, “It's close. I need to get back, and I’ll show you.”

Kelly and I jogged to the boat house and Jo-Jo followed on his bike. Like everyone when they first see it, they were awed by the house. I showed them where the key was hidden and took them to the upstairs room in the boat house I had stayed in on many weekend and summer nights as a boy.

Kelly and Jo-Jo glowed. They were safe. They didn’t have to hide. Jo-Jo found his natural place in Kelly’s lap and Kelly wrapped him in his arms.

I asked, “How did you two meet?”

Kelly said, “When I run, after a while I get horny. I never see anybody at that time of the morning, so I step into the restroom for a quick jerk.”

Jo-Jo said, “I ride my bike early in the mornings when school is out. I’d see him so one morning; I put my bike behind the building and waited for him in the stall.”

Kelly continued the story, “There I was just getting into it when this little cutie appears out of nowhere and offers me a blow job. I’d not had one in forever, and never a good one, I was instantly addicted to Jo-Jo. It’s like every time we get together, it’s better.”

Jo-Jo said, “We’ve gotten together almost every morning since.”

I said, “Kelly, you aren’t alone in that horny feeling you get when you run. Some people call it the runner’s high. It affects people differently; that horny feeling in one of the ways. How would you like a running partner?”

“That would be cool.”

“Jo-Jo, I’ve got boys about your age, how would you like to meet them?”

“That would be spectacular.”

Kelly looked at me and said, “You are befriending us.”

I said, “Why not. You’re both really sweet kids, and you’re easy to look at. At some point, I’ll introduce you to my boys. They’ll love both of you. Now, you two have on entirely too many clothes.”

They both slipped out of their shorts and I stood to leave.

Jo-Jo said, “Don’t go. Stay with us. It’ll be fun.”

Kelly said, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“I will but not today. Today you focus Jo-Jo. Make love to him Kelly. It’s not a quickie. You are safe here and can relax. Make him feel as good as he has made you feel.”

I hugged Kelly and then I picked up Jo-Jo. He wrapped his legs around me and I could feel his rock-hard boner against my abs. I kissed his ear, he giggled then I handed him to Kelly. Kelly stood with a very excited Jo-Jo in his arms, and they kissed.

I left the boat house hearing happy noises from both of them coming from the upstairs room.

 

 

The house was quiet when I returned. Having a little privacy for the first time, I went into the basement and pulled out the loot that we had collected from Andrew’s hideaway. I was curious about the stuff Brandon had wanted to get out of there before the cops saw it.

I pulled out Brandon’s bag and unpacked it. There were the ten big stacks of 25K$ a piece and then there was the other stuff: four videotapes, the red notebook and a garbage bag full of files.

I flipped open the red notebook to the first page: Aaron Pate, 13. There was a picture of a smiling cute kid wearing a swimming suit. Then there were a number of pictures in various poses wearing different underwear. The last three shots he was obviously erect in his shorts. There were two nudes— one of his ass, the other he was jerking off.

The next page was Adam Pate, 11. It was easy to see the two Pate kids were brothers. Again there was a picture of a smiling cute kid in a swimsuit and then about twenty pictures of underwear shots. There were the same boner in briefs shots and two similar nudes.

The next page was Adrian Moss, 14. There was the same photo spread.

When I came across Barry’s page, I had to look at it a couple of times to figure out what was wrong. It was his face, his pictures and so on but in Andrew’s notebook he was listed as Barry Cutler, not Anderson.

I flipped through the pages and found at least forty boys between eleven and seventeen and a few of them were mine. Toby, Brandon and Barry all had their pages. In the back of the book there was a page for each boy and what looked like a spreadsheet with names, numbers and dates.

Andrew was running what appeared to be a call-boy service.

I opened one of the files and saw a series of the Polaroid one-step pictures of the older Pate boy doing sexual stuff with animals: jacking off a big German Shepherd, letting the dog lick his ass, hump him and then jacking off a horse. It was gross but, not horribly shocking to people who grew up around farms and farm hands— it could get lonely and Fido was friendly and had a tongue. I noticed in the margins a note that said client likes horse pics— shoot more next batch. Another batch of pictures was plain vanilla boy sex between a pair of boys around thirteen or fourteen. Most of the sets were of the plain vanilla boy sex variety. A later batch featured two kids with a horse. One kid jerked off the horse on the other kid’s chest, and then they jerked each other off with horse cum. Ewww.

I didn’t have time to give it too much consideration. I put it all in another locker, set the cypher lock and closed it up. I was going to sit down with Brandon and I knew I could get answers, but Brandon had a tricky little way of telling you what you expected to hear and leaving out the rest of the story.

I locked up everything tight and locked the door to that storage room. Then I went down the hall to check on the progress of the dungeon room. The Play Pen was up. Everything else needed to be finished but thanks to the work of Lance and Kevin, the little project was further along than I had hoped.

I looked in on Alan’s room. He was gone, the bed was made up but, there was an overnight bag with clothes. Someone had taken him home and brought him back.

 

 

I went to my shower, got cleaned up, dried off and lay down. Just after nine, the phone rang, and I answered.

Frank said, “Sorry Tim. We’re really into this suit buying project and I can’t get away to run by the house.”

“That’s OK. I’ll just take care of a few errands of my own. You take care of our thundering herd.”

Frank chuckled and said, “It gets more thundering all the time. This morning a cute little metal head in a Metallica shirt showed up for breakfast. He didn’t even have to tell me he was a Porter. He looks just like one.”

“Thanks for taking care of him. His folks told him to stay home with his badass metal attitude and took the rest of the family to Disney world. I found him drunk in the park last night. Let’s meet for lunch at Smokies.”

“You’re on. See you there a little before noon.”

 

 

When I arrived in my office, I found a post-it note on my blotter. Watch the video in the VCR –Detective Carlson.

I used the remote control and everything powered right up. The video was of the apartment with a half dozen police cars with their lights on.

There were new developments in the Lawrence case overnight. Acting on an anonymous tip, police raided an apartment Lawrence had been renting under an assumed name for some years. The largest seizure of drugs in county history was made at that apartment along with money, guns and obscene materials featuring minors. Evidence obtained at that scene led investigators to a house in Rivervine where several more arrests were made, and more narcotics were seized. FBI and DEA agents are now on both crime scenes examining and collecting evidence. More charges are being filed against Lawrence and bail is expected to be denied. Chief Dodd credits the arrests and seizures to good police work.

I thought Sorry Andrew. You brought this shit on yourself.

I had a number of calls to make with so many balls in the air. I decided to see if I could field a few of them.

My first call was to my favorite sweaty truck salesman who was delighted to hear from me. I told him that I needed another GMC van and gave him a description of what I wanted. He had me hold for a few minutes and said they had just what I was looking for on their lot in Rivervine and I could pick it up in Lakeview later that afternoon.

My next call was to check on my arrangements to bring Marie Ramano over from Georgia on Saturday. All was well, and her flight would land at Preston Field in Rivervine at 9:20 in the morning.

My next call was to the Academy, a rather exclusive prep school where I was able to speak to the headmaster. He told me that due to declining enrollment and problems with funding that the Academy’s future was in serious doubt. I told him that if he was willing to take my kids this fall, the Good Shepherd Foundation would help them with their funding problems and I would also provide full or partial funding for an additional twenty-five students. The man was in shock when I conferenced in Betty Frazier who my dad hired to run the foundation and I had retained. We talked hard numbers and a cashier’s check would be delivered to the headmaster’s office by runner for three point two million dollars by noon.

My next call was to Fred Henderson but Lee answered. He said that Fred had to go into town and wouldn’t be back for a while. I told him that I wanted to come up for a brief visit late this afternoon and to expect us.

My next call was to Ingersoll Equipment on the highway north and ordered three trailers, three of the versatile Bobcat configurable tractors and their accessories and three six wheel heavy duty all-terrain vehicles. The salesman added up the numbers, and then I conferenced in my bank. They would have a cashier’s check delivered by runner, and we could pick up the entire order by two.

My last call was to my contact Bill Fuller at the Red Diamond Agency. Bill was a retired Marine Major who had served under my Dad, employed former Marines almost exclusively and provided private security and intelligence services. Those services don’t come cheap, but they did exceptional work. Randy Carlson had already contacted him about my project to help the farmers in the area called Acadian Ridge and his people had already located foreclosure filings on two dozen farms in the area. He agreed that it did look like someone was trying to make an old-fashioned land grab and the analysts he had looking into it suspected there was a large natural gas deposit under the ridge based on public source geological information. We talked strategy and decided that once we were sure we had all the foreclosures located, we would buy them up in mass, and it would only cost a little over four million. Afterwards, we could hire our own detailed geological survey done.

Bill said, “Tim, I have a resume on my desk you might be interested in. It’s a kid the Corp booted for being gay but, he’s as sharp as they come. I’d hire this guy but, he’s too young and doesn’t have the experience I need yet and, I’d really like to see you have someone on site to watch your back.”

I said, “I’ve got Randy Carlson. What’s this guy like?”

“Daniel is twenty-two and was training to be an intelligence specialist. He’s a natural who speaks four languages fluently. What’s killing me is that he got a Big Chicken Dinner (Bad Conduct Discharge) and I can’t hire him. We can get that changed with time but, that will take a while. If you can hire him and have him watch your back for a while, that will give him experience. When we get his discharge status adjusted to a God Damn (General Discharge) I can take him.”

I asked, “Where is he from?”

Bob answered, “Picayune, Mississippi. Look Tim, he’s a great kid, and I’m worried about him. He’s heartbroken over getting kicked out of the Corp and his family is treating him like shit over it. Let me fly him over to you for an interview. I think the two of you can help each other out.”

I said, “I never considered having my own G2 but now that I think about it, it’s not a half bad idea. Randy is good and loyal, but he’s inexperienced and thinks like a cop. If this guy thinks like a spook, they could be a powerful combination. OK. Send him over and let me know when to expect him. I make no promises until I talk to him, but I can see the possibilities.”

Bob thanked me and promised to let me know when to expect him.

 

 

I got a lot done on the phone in a short time. It was twenty to ten, and I had a couple of hours to play with. I went down to the boat house to see if Kelly and Jo-Jo were still there. It appeared that they were as it was locked from the inside and the key wasn’t in its place. I used my key and entered.

When I got upstairs, I found Kelly and Jo-Jo sound asleep naked on the double bed. They were sharing a pillow and Kelly had his arms wrapped around Jo-Jo protectively. Those two weren’t just in lust for each other. There was real love there.

I turned to leave and Kelly whispered, “Isn’t he beautiful?”

I came closer and sat in a chair near the bed. “Yeah, there’s something about their faces when they are asleep. I heard that some poet once wrote that in repose their inner angel appears or something like that. Are you hungry?”

Kelly said, “Yeah. What time is it?”

“About ten. I’ve got some leftover barbecue in the kitchen.”

“Sounds good, but I hate to wake him up.”

“There’s a way to do it, and he’ll be happy about it.” I pointed at Jo-Jo’s surprisingly large sleep boner and Kelly got the idea and said, “I never knew how much of a rush it would be to suck cock.”

Kelly went down on Jo-Jo and the boy began to rouse. He moaned and writhed under Kelly’s gentle touch. Kelly kept it up for about a minute and a half.

Suddenly Jo-Jo woke, grabbed Kelly’s head and came having a shaking, gasping orgasm.

After they finished, they dressed and followed me up to the house. I warmed up the last of Aunt Kitty’s leftover barbecue, served it on buns and handed them a canned soft drink.

Neither one had to be home as their parents worked and wouldn’t be home until after five but they both had the urge to get moving. Their long nap together had pretty much eaten up most of their morning.

They departed with a hug and I went upstairs to get presentable to go out. I pulled on some jeans, a shirt and gathered my wallet and keys to go out.

On the way down I went into the basement and pulled out thirty hundred dollar bills. I had some shopping of my own in mind.

I went to the big box electronics store in the mall and picked a cute college aged salesman, and we built an entertainment center. We started with a 36” Mitsubishi TV and a VCR, a Technics receiver, turntable, and cassette deck and matched it with Bose speakers. Then I added a premium surge suppressor, appropriate cables and picked out a nice little entertainment center that all the gear would fit on. When I told the sales guy I wanted nine more sets just like it, I thought he was going to faint.

I added six hand-held Cobra Citizens Band radios and cigarette lighter charger cables to the order. I would take that home today.

He huddled up with the store manager, and they determined that they could only make four of the entertainment centers but could have the additional six by Tuesday of next week. They offered to deliver which I accepted but declined installation. I could easily handle that part and use it as a learning experience for the boys. I paid with a credit card and took the salesman’s business card. After all, I still had to do the sound system for the Game Zone. They would deliver the first batch tomorrow by ten.

My next stop was by a large sporting goods store that had been on Jasper Street for years. Their newer competitor in the mall did Buck’s Hunting and Fishing absolutely no harm. People had been going to him for twenty plus years or more. I showed up, went to the rifles and picked out a nice bolt action Winchester .308 deer rifle with a Leopold scope. I matched it with a hard shell carrying case and two boxes of Federal ammunition for the rifle. Uncle Fred would love it, but I didn’t think the deer would appreciate it.

While I was on Jasper, I drove by the Game Zone construction site and was astonished at the progress. David’s people had finished the interior to the point where they were running conduit for the power cables and would soon be installing the raised floor. The gotcha on this old pharmacy building was the wiring. The insulation on the original wiring was in such poor condition that the smart play was simply to junk it and rewire. It cost an extra day's work but gave us all new wiring. David suggested that we install back up power for the security systems, freezer and cooler and I agreed. That backup generator would pay for itself the first time we had a power failure. The back office space was also well on its way.

For my last stop, I went to a little store called the Artist Palette which was the only place in town for art supplies. I bought a thousand dollar gift certificate for my favorite artist, and I was set.

I showed up at Smokies a little early and went inside to warn them of my thundering herd’s impending approach. They put several tables together for us and were ready when the van pulled up.

The wait staff immediately recognized Tony and me as a good tipper, and they out did themselves taking care of my crew. I sat by Frank and Tony and Chris pulled in close. They all piled in: Randy and Rory, Brandon and Barry, Toby and Cole, Lance, Jeb and Kevin, Steven and JJ, Alan, Cory and Scott.

Frank asked, “Are we adding more? If we do, we’re going to need a bus.”

I said, “I just ordered another van. I expect we’ll bring Lee back from the Valley, Roderick to bulk up our Game Zone crew and maybe another guy to work with Randy.”

Randy’s ears perked up and said, “Who boss?”

“I talked to Red Diamond today, and they have a guy who was training up as an Intel specialist who got the boot from the Corp for being gay. Bill says he’s solid, so he’s probably Captain freaking America. He’ll be another guy to watch over our flock. We’ll talk to him together and see if he’s a good fit for us.”

Randy said, “I’ll take anybody over the Feds. The DEA and FBI are all here trying to steal our thunder over the Lawrence bust, and they had nothing to do with it. They have a serious hard on to talk to the confidential informant that gave up the apartment.”

I asked, “What did you tell them?”

Randy grinned and said, “I explained to them what confidential means. I told him it was one of Andrew’s Xes that saw what was going on TV and was disgusted. They are sniffing around like a pack of hounds looking for clues after we’ve already taken the squirrel. There’s a definite connection to the New Orleans mob. That’s where the Feds are focused.”

Rory said, “Well if the Mob is involved, I can't imagine why someone would be shy about talking.”

Randy chuckled and said, “Me too. We’ve got more than enough on Lawrence on state charges alone. I’m not sure what the Feds are really up to.”

I said, “OK, how many drivers do we have? I count five.”

Rory said, “Six. I’ve got my license.”

“Let’s meet at the house after gym today - say three thirty. Pick up the trucks, pick up another load on the way out of town and head north about four. That’ll put us home a little after dark, and we can hit Taco Tony’s for supper.”

Just as my plan was coming together the platters began to arrive and a feeding frenzy that would make a shark nervous began.

 

 

As the van was loading I said, “I need two volunteers Brandon and Barry. Would you skip gym today and give me a hand?”

They were delighted to.

My next stop was at a Home Depot where I bought four floor lamps and bulbs that simulate torchlight.

Barry said, “What is that for? Is that a gun case? What are all the radios for?”

I said, “Are you a little excited Barry?”

“Yeah. Cole and I were pretty bummed we missed seeing you this morning.”

“I think you and Brandon will both enjoy what I have in mind.”

Brandon looked at me sideways and said, “You old dog.”

“I’m going to help you out, but I’ll need a little something from you two. I need for you two to help fill in the missing pieces about Andrew.”

Barry did not look happy, but Brandon said, “Can you help us out with some of that associative recall?”

“I think we can come to an understanding.”

“What is associative recall?”, Barry asked.

Brandon whispered into Barry’s ear. Suddenly, he sat straight up and said, “My memory seems to be clearing up. What do you want to know?”

I said, “We’ll get to that. Brandon, does he know about our adventure last night?”

Brandon said, “Some of it.”

I said, “Fill him in on your objectives.”

Brandon sighed and said, “Last night we broke into Andrew’s apartment at Starling Arms. We got his red book, most of the picture files and four of his blackmail tapes.”

Barry said, “That means the cops don’t know about those old men.”

I said, “Brad was in the book. Andrew placed him with your dad. What I want to know is who is Barry Cutter?”

Barry turned pale and said, “You know about that?”

I said, “I’m guessing Anderson likes boys and paid Andrew for a young stud like Brad who was getting too old for his clients. I just don’t know where you fit in Barry.”

Barry sighed and said, “The state took me away from my parents because they were fuck-ups when I was eleven. I got bounced around from one shitty foster home to another until I landed in a terrible one. I ran away, and some kid hooked me up with Andrew. He got faked up papers for me and placed me with Dad. Dad, I mean TJ is cool. He lets me do whatever, and he doesn’t bug me for sex. It’s Brad I’m worried about.”

I said, “I think we can work with that. If I had Randy let him know that we knew about his arrangement with Andrew and gave him a choice of arresting him for child neglect for leaving you alone all week and then showed him a certificate that would make me your legal guardian, what do you think he would do?’

Barry grinned and said, “Shit his pants and sign. He wants to avoid getting caught. He’s really paranoid about that.”

I pulled up my driveway and into the garage. I said, “We have a little over two hours, and then we take a ride to the valley. What do you guys want to do?”

Brandon said, “Party first with you, then take us for a walk in the park.”

I said, “Does that sound OK with you Barry?”

Barry said, “Yeah.” He reached over and gently massaged my crotch and added, “I want this.”

“OK guys. Go up to the party room. I’ll be right behind you. I’m going to change out of these jeans.”

Brandon opened the passenger side door and got out, but Barry laughed, unzipped my jeans and said, “Here, let me help.”

“Thanks Little Bear, but we’ll be much more comfortable upstairs don’t you think?’

I got out on the driver’s side and Barry came with me. I made it to my room but didn’t manage to change. Two ravenous boy sharks set upon me and tried to eat me up. They agree to tell me everything I needed to know about their time with Andrew.

The wonder of it too me was that I think what they were really wanting was the intimacy, affection and attention. They got what they wanted, and a good time was had by all and the whole awkward, messy ceremony only lasted about fifteen minutes. The rest of the time I gave them was the intimacy, affection and attention that they really craved.

We still had an hour and twenty minutes so the three of us took a quick shower and dressed for a walk in the park.

I asked, “Do you jog or run?”

Barry said, “Only if the Gunny is chasing me. He runs us more than anything else.”

“At some point when you are up to it, we should take jogs in the park. You see more and people look at your ass.”

Brandon asked, “Really?”

“Yup. You can sort of feel your ass getting hot when they stare at it as you go by. It’s good for you too.”

Barry asked, “It’s good for you that people look at your ass?”

Brandon said, “It’s nice to be appreciated.”

 

 

 

The park wasn’t crowded when we arrived, but there were scattered people about. Frisbees were flying, dogs were chasing them and the parking lot was full of trucks with empty boat trailers. We walked down by the docks where a big houseboat was pulling out. It had a couple of families going out for fun.

Brandon said, “We ought to do that sometime.”

I said, “Yeah. It looks like fun. I’ll look into renting one at the marina, so we can see how you guys like it.”

From the docks we turned toward the far end of the park and started walking past the picnic tables. Two kids of thirteen or fourteen with faces familiar from Andrew’s Red File were sitting on the table and an older teen was sitting on a bike. They were having a conversation, and it did not appear to be going well.

Barry said, “That’s Brian Bullard on the bike. He’s cute with those blond curls, but he’s weird. He’ll do everything in the book, but he calls everybody bitches, faggots and cocksuckers. Andrew had him for a while but threw him back. I’ll bet he’s looking to get a BJ, but nobody likes him.”

Brandon added, “The other two kids are Doug and Travis. They’re cool, but it looks like Brian is getting on their nerves.”

As we grew nearer, we could overhear bits of conversation, and it sounded like Barry’s guess was on the money. Brian was sitting on his bike facing the boys siting on the table and didn’t see us coming. The sun was just right for there to be shade at the table adding some much-needed relief from the sun. We could overhear a few words: “Why won’t you suck my cock? You’re a cocksucker aren’t you?”

Finally, when we were just a few feet away I said, “Maybe if you asked nicer, you would get better results.”

Brian wheeled around in shock and fear while Doug and Travis both smiled at his embarrassment for getting caught asking for sex by a stranger, albeit a familiar one.

I was surprised when Barry said, “Brian, you’re cute, and I would love to give you a BJ, but we don’t like the way you talk to us. Nobody likes to be called a faggot or a cocksucker. If you were just cooler, everybody would like you.”

I’m not certain whether it was Doug or Travis but one of the two boys said, “We’ve done stuff, and you’re into it. You’re just as gay as we are.”

Brian looked disgusted and started to ride off, and I said, “Don’t go Brian. We both know this isn’t about how you feel about the kids that should be your friends, it’s how you feel about yourself.”

Brian’s tough kid mask cracked and his eyes watered. He said in a shaken voice, “How did you know that?”

Brandon said, “He’s smart Brian, really smart. Listen to him.”

I said, “I know people. I grew up around here and have known a lot of gay and bi kids just like you. Let me see if I’m right. Your dad is a he-man, manly man type and is disgusted by gay people. You probably go to a church that preaches that gay people are lower than whale shit, and you hate being gay, but you can’t control the way you feel, and it drives you crazy. Am I right?”

Brian’s tough kid mask shattered and tears started flowing. I had hit his Achilles heel, and he was reeling. He said in a choked sob, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Apologize to your friends here Brian. Those words hurt, and they are the only reason they aren’t cool with you.”

Brian said, “I’ve got friends here?”

The kid I would later know as Travis said, “Yes Brian, we like you. We just don’t like being called cocksuckers and faggots. Too many other people call us that and our friends shouldn’t.”

Brian composed himself and said, “I’m sorry to all of you. I didn't mean to hurt you. It’s just what…”

I said, “It is how your old man talks to you, isn’t it Brian? It’s what you were taught.”

Brian didn’t answer and Doug said, “It made me mad to hear that but, I think I understand now. Barry, who is this guy you are hanging out with? He is smart.”

Barry said, “This is Tim. He’s the guy who saved me from that psycho with a knife.”

All the boys spun and took another look at me. Brian asked, “That was you?”

I nodded and said, “I grew up in short walking distance of this place. I know you’ve seen me around. I try to look out for you guys and help when I can.”

Brandon said, “Tim is way cooler than Andrew ever was. He won’t have sex with us. We’ve all tried, and he doesn’t get mad when we hound him. He was my Godfather but since Sam died in a wreck he’s mine and Toby’s dad.”

Barry said, “If he ever invites you over for barbecue, definitely go.”

Travis said, “I think if he invited me anywhere I’d go. You are hot. How old are you, twenty?”

I said, “Twenty-four.”

Brian said, “I’m getting hard just looking at him.”

Brandon said, “He is fun to look at.”

“Now that you guys are cool with Brian, does anyone want to help him out? He’s not hard to look at either.”

Barry said, “I feel the need to take a piss.”

Travis stood and said, “Yeah me too.”

I said, “I’ll stand watch and make sure no one surprises you.”

The whole group went in little clumps. I drank some water and waited outside. I heard Barry at work doing what he does so well. Their little exercise didn’t take very long. I guess Brian really was ready for some attention because in a matter of just a few minutes they started filing out. I noticed that Barry and Brian were very buddy-buddy afterwards.

We sat and talked for a while. Andrew getting busted was the main area topic of conversation. From listening to what the boys said, it sounded like he had gotten so into the coke, he had gotten progressively sloppier over time. The consensus of their opinion was that it was inevitable and Travis ventured he was surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner.

Our time soon expired, and we had to get back for the caravan to the valley. I had hoped that I would run into Bart and Matthew but didn’t see any of the Nerds. They are subtle and keep their counsels.

 

 

 

When I got back to the house, I put on a shirt and got my keys and wallet. I was just getting the fifth portable CB ready when the thundering herd arrived. It took them a good fifteen minutes to unload and take everything inside. Everyone was carrying a suit in a hanging bag and a pair of dress shoes. It would be interesting to see this crowd in suits.

I noticed that Randy was pretty much dead on his feet. He had been up much of the night and had been with the boys all day. I asked if he wanted to stay home and get some sleep, but he declined. We would need the extra driver and I suspected it would be Rory.

When everyone was assembled, I told them my plan: I would drive the RedTeam 1 van with everyone loaded. We would pick up the three trucks and the new van at the dealership. All the drivers would have a radio and a co-pilot. We would go north two exits on the highway to Ingersoll Equipment. The three GMC trucks would pull the trailers loaded with equipment. Then we would head north with our flashers on and going about forty-five and stay in communications with the radios. My drivers would be Frank, Tony, Chris and Rory in the new van, so I handed them all a radio.

I asked if anyone wanted to stay home as this was likely to be a boring trip and was a little surprised when no one took me up on it. We all piled in the big GMC van RedTeam 1 and I could see how crowded it was. I intended the second van for use by Mrs. Ramano when she arrived but, it might have to do double duty.

I pulled out of my driveway and arrived at the GMC/Toyota dealership at three-thirty. I had my drivers all mount up with their co-pilots who would handle the radios. Tony was driving Valley1 with Lance, Chris was driving Valley2 with Kevin, Frank was driving Valley3 with Jeb and Rory was driving the new van we started calling RedTeam2 with Randy. Before we took off, I called for a radio check and all the vehicles reported in.

Our first destination was Ingersoll Equipment and I pulled up in front and the trucks lined up to attach to trailers. After proving I was indeed the Tim Shepherd who had just bought the better part of a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of equipment, they commenced loading. First they attached the big trailer to the truck. Then they drove on the Bobcat, loaded the Bobcat’s accessories in the bed of the truck and finally drove on the six wheeled all-terrain vehicle. With each batch, Ingersoll had created a little packet with paperwork and manuals for the vehicles that we put in the cab of each truck. It took about ten minutes to load each truck and even with the big 350 engines, heavy-duty transmissions and towing packages, those trucks knew they were pulling a load. With emergency flashers flashing we got on the highway north a little after four.

My van was full of most of the younger contingent. I had Steven in the right seat handling the radio. We were making about forty-five on the highway. It was easy to tell what was going on. All the vehicles had dealer’s stickers in the windows. Typically, the farms got new equipment earlier in the spring or fall, but June wasn’t unheard of.

About half way there, a State Trooper passed us and pulled in front of me with a good lead and was nice enough to escort us all the way to the exit. When I prepared to pull off I flashed my high beams, and he flashed his blue lights and continued north.

Steven said, “That was nice of him. He didn’t even pull us over.”

“He could see all of this stuff was fresh off the lot and still has sales stickers in the windows. He knew we were delivering new equipment.”

I had most of the convoy stop on the road outside the Henderson farm. All it would do would create a huge traffic snarl trying to turn stuff around. None of us were experienced with trailers except for pulling them in a straight line. I got in the cab of Valley1 with Tony and Lance, and we drove up the short driveway and parked. I pulled the case with the Winchester .308 off the back seat and told the boys to wait.

I went to the door and knocked but no one answered. Fred and Lee came out of the barn looking bewildered.

I handed him the rifle in its case and said, “Surprise Uncle Fred. I told you I’d be taking better care of my kin here in the valley.”

Lee said, “Holy crap Tim. You just gave us enough horsepower to get this farm moving again.”

Fred opened the case and looked inside. He said, “308. You are your father’s son. Are you coming hunting this winter?”

“I wouldn’t miss it Fred.”

I got hugged a lot by Lee and Fred. This caused the Fred’s other boys to come in from their chores and gawk at the new gear sitting in front of their barn. Jason, Michael and Keith all gathered and started talking about chores for the Bobcat. That capability would allow them to clear stumps and big rocks they had been working around for years.

As the boys looked over the new toys Fred and I had a private word, and he said, “Your visit last week— you were looking to see what we needed weren’t you?”

“I needed the time away at the lodge but, yeah, I noticed you needed the extra horsepower. Do you reckon you could spare Lee? I’m starting a business I could train him in easily, and he could make a good bit of cash in.”

Fred said, “The other boys are coming along. This gear we can use instead of muscles. Lee deserves a look at the world outside the valley and I can trust you to look after him.”

“He’ll be homesick, but it’s only an hour or so up here. It’s not like he’ll be on the moon.”

As the boys were talking I pulled Lee aside, and we wandered off into the barn. I said, “I asked Fred if you could come to work for me, and he said it’s up to you. What do you think?”

Poor Lee looked poleaxed. He wanted to stay, but he also wanted to go. He said, “Can I have a little while to think about it?”

I said, “Sure. I’m going to deliver two more of these packages to the Johnsons and Porters. We’ll swing back around. Won’t be long but, think and pack. When I get you down to my place, I’ll take you shopping for some clothes and stuff. I do owe you a graduation present.”

Lee laughed and said, “I was hoping that GMC was it.”

“That one is for the farm. I was thinking it would be fun for us to go shopping and find a truck for you, and I think you’ll be sharing a room with that tall sporty looking boy you liked the looks of last time we were here.”

Lee’s eyes glittered.

“I know the valley is too small for you. Come back with me and take a look at the rest of the world, and I’ll look after you. You can come back up here on weekends and the phone works. I promise blow jobs if you get home sick.”

Lee said, “Fuck it. Why not? Let me pack and pick me up on the way back, OK?”

“Done deal cuz.”

I asked Fred to call the Porter and Johnson places and let them know to expect me. After giving Uncle Fred and the boys a hug, I walked back to the road with Tony and Lance. They got in the new van and I got back in RedTeam1, and we drove to the Porter place.

This time I took Alan along with the driver team Chris and Kevin, and we made just as big a hit at the Porter place. Uncle Micah and his wife Sandy were surprised and delighted and wanted to feed us dinner, but I had to decline as there were so many of us waiting. They were delighted to get the gear and Micah and his boys were already planning about some of the things they wanted to do with their Bobcat. I told that we still had to see the Johnson’s, reminded them of the long Fourth of July holiday we planned at the lodge and bid them farewell.

I was not pleased to see how Uncle Cal looked. He was tired and worn out. Working a farm can do that to you but he and his boys were ecstatic over having a reliable truck and some equipment that could do work that ground men down. Frank and Jeb got many looks and a few flirts from the Johnson boys. We pulled out well before dark.

Frank took over driving the new van and Rory and Randy found a nice seat and took a nap. Much to Jeb’s delight, we picked up a shirtless Lee with two suitcases, on the way back. We toyed with the idea of going by the lodge but, we had plans for Saturday and needed to get home before too late.

We stopped by Taco Tony’s right after dark on the way home and had a nice, leisurely late dinner. After driving by to see the gate at the park was closed, we got home a little after nine.

I expected everyone to head upstairs and Frank said, “Wait a minute Tim. We have something to show you.”

I thought uh oh but said, “What is it?”

Suddenly, everyone was crowding around me guiding me and covering my eyes. They led me out back and the whole group said, “Surprise!”

They scattered and got out of the way and I saw a shiny, new maroon Cajun bass boat tied up at the dock by my boat house. It had a big Javelin 150 engine and looked fast even sitting still.

“Frank! How did you know? I’ve been looking at this boat for months.”

Frank said, “Maybe it was the brochure on your desk with this model circled. Besides, this is the south. You buy your man a truck, gun or a bass boat, and you can’t go wrong.”

Tony said, “You’ve been giving all day. Now it’s your turn.”

I started hugging Frank and worked my way around the small crowd and noticed that Lee and Jeb had mysteriously gone missing. Now I wonder where two teenagers with the hots for each other might vanish to?

I spoke up and said, “While I’ve got you here I want to go over tomorrow’s plan. Tony, Chris— I want you two to meet the 9:30 flight from Atlanta at Preston Field. Tony’s Mom will be aboard.”

Tony and Chris acknowledged with nods.

“The rest of you, we’re going to have lunch with JJ, Scott, Steven and Cory’s parents in Rivervine at Café Creole. It’s an upscale place, so I want you in your new suits and looking sharp. I want to make a good impression. After we’re done, tomorrow afternoon we’ll have some fun.”

“Since we are moving Mrs. Ramano on to the first floor, I want to move JJ, Scott, Steven, Cory and Alan onto the second floor. The second floor will be ours. We can walk around in our underwear and get as funky as we want to, but we have to be cool on the first floor. That will be her domain. In return, she’ll cook, and we won’t have to deal with it unless we just want to. Now. Let’s get inside and away from these mosquitoes. I think they’re hungry.”

The crowd departed with a few hugs and headed inside through the patio door. I walked back to the vans and noticed the new van was actually rocking. As I got closer, I hear Jeb saying, “Oh God Lee, fuck me, fuck me harder with that big dick.”

I grinned, walked back into the garage and picked up a couple of shop towels off my workbench. I returned to the van and heard Lee and Jeb climax noisily. Once they settled down, Jeb said, “Oh God Lee that was spectacular, but there’s cum everywhere.”

I opened the door, tossed the towels in to their approximate location and said, “Clean up guys, and we’ll get you a room.”

There was scuffling inside the van as Jeb and Lee cleaned up and got their clothes back on. They emerged from the van carrying Lee’s suitcases and Jeb said, “I’m sorry, Tim…”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I know you wanted to try that and Lee is the safest choice you could have made. Unless I miss my guess, you two have been on each other’s mind all week?”

Lee said, “I was hard the whole way. Did they really buy you a bass boat?”

“They sure did. We’ll go out some tomorrow afternoon. It sounded like you two were having a great time in there. Do I need to steam clean the carpets?”

I could see Jeb blush even in the dark, and he said, “No. We cleaned up. It was mostly on my belly.”

“You guys want the room by the screen room or the on by Kevin and Lance? Wait, as noisy as you guys get, I think you need to be by the screen room. Come here you two.”

I put my arms around Jeb and Lee and said, “Since you are fucking, you’ve got to be responsible about it. I’ll be blunt: save the fucking for each other. I love you two. I’ll take as good a care of you as I can but in this, you have to take care of each other. From what I know of you, you two will make a sweet couple. Are you OK with that?”

Jeb and Lee both agreed, and I took them up to the room I had in mind.

I also oversaw moving Steven, Cory, JJ, Scott and Alan. If I accumulated many more, I would have to open up the rest of the West wing.

When I finally got everyone settled, I showed up in the room I shared with Frank. I changed into some shorts and a t-shirt. The door to the bathroom was closed, so I decided to pay my favorite artist a visit.

Toby and Cole were lying on their bed in naked and fresh out of the shower in that chatting position that they do. They were lying side by side, face to face, sharing a pillow with their arms around each other’s shoulders. They weren’t exactly asleep, but they weren’t exactly awake either. I gave them both a big hug and kissed them. I left Toby’s gift certificate on his worktable in the studio where he would easily find it.

 

On my return to my bedroom I heard voices in my bathroom. One was Frank and the other was Tony. I overheard Tony say, “He still hasn’t fucked you yet?”

Frank said, “No, and he won’t until he gets the tests back bless his heart. One thing you can count on about Tim is that integrity of his.”

Chris said, “Did you see his face when he saw the boat?”

Tony said, “Frank, you are so getting laid tonight. His cousin Lee and Jeb were making out the whole way home.”

Frank said, “Now that’s a hot couple. I’m glad that Jeb has someone. He deserves it.”

Chris said, “All of Tim’s cousins are hot. I could just eat that Alan kid up.”

Speaking of Alan, I decided to go check on him and see how he had settled in.

 

When I arrived at Alan’s door, it was cracked open and the light was off. I opened the door and went inside. Alan had a little boom-box on the dresser that that illuminated the room in soft blue light.

In the dim light I could see him lying under his sheet thinking about masturbating but, not actually doing it. He said, “How the fuck is anybody supposed to jerk off to Barry Manilow, Duran, Duran, the Eurythmics or any of the post-disco audio diarrhea on the radio?”

I laughed and said, “Audio diarrhea pretty much covers the state of our local radio. You see they don’t decide what’s playing. They get a playlist from New York or Los Angeles and fuck you if you don’t like it.”

Alan said, “They actually like this shit in New York and LA?”

“It’s complicated Alan but, what it all boils down to is people are paying to get their songs on the radio. The more they are on the radio in big radio markets like New York or LA, the more they get played.”

Alan sighed and said, “And that’s why they are playing Ninety-Nine Red Balloons”.

I said, “I’ve been thinking about what we could do to promote Game Zone and to get the word out. It wouldn’t be too expensive to sponsor an hour like 10 to 11pm of metal. You’ve really got the look and attitude for it. How would you like to be a Metal Kid for real?”

He thought about it for a minute and said, “You’re serious aren’t you?”

“Yes. It’ll be fun. We can go through my collection of albums, rent some time at a recording studio, get it professionally produced and hand the station fifty-something minutes of real music to offset the other twenty-three hours of the day they play bullshit.”

Alan scooted out from under the covers, into my lap, his hand snaked through the leg hole of my shorts and grabbed my cock. “Tim, I want this. I want it badly. I’ll blow you every night if…”

“Alan, I don’t do these things because I want sex from you. I do them because I love you cuz. Time for truth: I knew you weren’t sixteen last night. How old are you? It won’t matter.”

He deflated and said, “I’m fifteen, but I turn sixteen next month. It won’t matter?”

“No Metal Kid, it won’t. You’ve got things backwards. It’s your fans that are supposed to blow you.”

Alan asked, “Are you my fan?”

“I’m your number one fan cuz and I always will be whether you are famous or not.”

 

On the way back to my room I looked in on Steven, JJ and Cory in the next room. They got hugs and gropes, but they were too tired to be serious horn dogs after two hours of Gunny Anders and the late afternoon road trip.

 

When I looked in on Scott, he wasn’t tired at all.

I asked, “What are you doing by yourself?”

Scott looked sheepish and said, “I planned it that way. You always come by to check on us before bed and I wanted a little time with just us.”

I sat on the bed and Scott swarmed into my lap. He smelled clean, fresh from a shower before bed. He said, “I know I’m not as pretty as the other boys…”

I said, “No. You’re not and there’s a reason for it. The other boys are just that— they’re still boys. Your features are changing and maturing. You aren’t pretty like they are; you are turning into a handsome young man Scott. It’ll take some time but they’ll notice. I sure did.”

Scott said, “You did?”

“Remember, I spent an hour naked with you yesterday. I noticed. You and JJ weren’t the only ones with blue balls in that sauna. By the way, you aren’t itching are you?”

He grinned and said, “I don’t think so. Maybe you should check.”

I said, “In a minute. I like this. I’ve got a handsome young man in my lap all to myself.”

Scott slipped his hand into my shorts and said, “You’re hard. You really do like me.”

“I like all the guys here Scott. They are all special in one way or another. You are too. Give it a few years, and you will be one of the hotter guys in our crowd.”

Scott asked incredulously, “You think I’m hot?”

“You are, just differently than the others.” I whispered into his ear, “Yesterday, you mentioned wanting a voodoo blow job.”

He whispered back and said, “I’ll cum too fast.”

“You will… the first time.”

 

I started to look in on Jeb and Lee but from the sound of it, Lee wasn’t feeling homesick at all.

 

After a short detour to roll a couple of joints of that strong Afghan weed I had looted from Andrew’s stash, I found Frank waiting for me in bed.

I took him out on the balcony and smoked a joint with him. We made out for a bit and I asked about how the suit project had gone. Frank told how much fun it was to get the guys outfitted. It was something he really liked and it showed.

I said, “You’ve got something on your mind. Tell me about it.”

Frank said, “I’m still thinking about it. It’s not something we’ll want to do tomorrow— more like years down the road. I have in mind a store that is just for boys: toys, clothes, games, sports stuff; things they are interested in. Ideally, it would be right beside a similar store just for girls. Both stores will have only guys on the boys side and only girls on the girls side.”

I said, “It sounds a little old-fashioned, but I could see that working.”

Frank said, “I’ve got a lot to learn before I would even think of diving off into something like that.”

I said, “You could spend millions studying something like that. Half your consultants will tell you it’s a brilliant because you are signing their checks. The other half will tell you the idea is nuts because it treats girls and boys differently.”

He said, “But they are different with different tastes and interests.”

I grinned and said, “Don’t ever let the feminists hear you say that.”

Frank said, “Feminists? I thought they were on our side.”

I sighed and said, “When it comes to political shit, when it gets right down to it, all the special interests groups are on their side. They work together when it serves their interests. They all hate, hate, hate on Reagan but, they fight each other as much as they do for their causes. You might have noticed that I’m not very political. I started out trying to be, but they just wanted me to sign checks and shut up. I think I do better when I help save a farm or a failing business than give money to babbling idiots who are their worst enemy.”

Frank asked, “Aren’t the republicans the enemy?”

I said, “Some of them certainly are. Falwell’s Moral Majority, some of the more conservative Mormon politicians and religious conservatives that have rallied under Reagan are not and never will be our friends. However, look at the democrats. There are Dixiecrats in the senate now that were big shot members of the Ku Klux Klan not very long ago and there are religious conservative blue dog democrats. The best rule of thumb to remember is not every republican is your enemy and not every democrat is your friend.”

Frank was quiet and then said, “You know, June is what they’re calling Pride month, and they are having parades in the big cities. Apparently it’s very popular there but, what we see on the news is fifteen seconds of people dancing in underwear and ugly drag queens. It makes me shudder to think what our neighbors think when they see that.”

I said, “That’s what I mean when I say they are their own worst enemy. Those parades may move them ahead in the big cities but those of that live out here, it put us two steps back. That stuff is like handing live ammo to the preachers and bigots that hate us. I guarantee you televangelists will be showing us reruns of those guys dancing in their underwear for the next twenty years.”

Not liking the direction of the conversation, Frank asked, “How do we win?”

“We have to define two things Frank: who is we and what does it mean to win?”

He said, “It’s obvious, isn’t it? Gay people and to win… well, I don’t know.”

I said, “It seems obvious, but it’s not, Frank. Gay people are an incredibly diverse group, and they aren’t all sitting around singing kum-ba-yah and getting along. The only thing they have in common is having sex with people of the same sex but in that group are people like Andrew who do despicable things, sadists, leather men and numerous others who do things so extreme that we have more common cause with polar bears. Not to mention groups like NAMBLA are cozying up to the gay lobby to give them legitimacy. I don’t even like some sub-cultures and don’t want to embrace them all.”

Frank asked, “What is NAMBLA?”

“It is the North American Man-Boy Love Association. We may play it fast and loose with the rules about age, but those guys think twelve is too old.”

Frank said, “Ewww.”

“My point exactly. If you hug that whole mass of same sex attracted people, you are going to get slimy. I can’t embrace the whole gay population of the country, even if I liked them all. What I do is embrace the ones I know and are close to me. I try to look after them and keep the world from stomping on them like Rory and the problems he was having.”

“What about gay rights”, Frank asked?

“Sadly, the political picture puts gay rights a long way into the future but, this is important, in this country economic opportunity can offset the difficulties of not having those clearly defined rights. The reason I’m doing Game Zone and RedTeam is to teach you guys how business works and how to be successful, so you won’t have to be at the mercy of some boss or landlady that decides that you are gay and have to go.”

Frank asked, “So we define winning as getting rich?”

I said, “It’s more than that. To change the world, you have to take care of yourself first. By building wealth, you can use that wealth for influence.”

Frank chuckled and said, “Money talks and bullshit walks.”

“That’s the game as it is played. I didn’t make the rules and no one cares if you don’t like them. The whole political process is about shoveling money into the machine, pushing the right combination of buttons and hoping you get the outcome you want. There’s no guarantee that it will work but, sometimes it does.”

Frank said, “It all seems so cynical.”

“I agree. You and I are motivated to do things because we think they are right. That’s not how most of the political types think: they are in it for personal power and use the wealth, passion and righteous wrath of their constituents to get it.”

Frank said, “Ugh. I want to stop thinking about politics.”

I said, “It's a lot more complicated than it seems. I'm with a beauty that just gave me a bass boat, why don’t we go inside and let me show you how much I appreciate you.”

 

 

Frank and I made love and held him until we went to sleep. I woke, looked at the clock radio, and it was a little after one in the morning. I put on some running short and shoes and went downstairs and found Randy up drinking coffee and eating a Danish.

I said, “So, you’re alive again. I take it you had an interesting day?”

Randy grinned and said, “It was at that. The Chief has me taking the exam for detective as soon as I’m eligible. That’ll be a year and a half, but I might end up being the youngest detective ever in Lakeview and maybe even the whole county.”

I said, “Are you up for a run?”

Randy said, “Sure. Are we going out to patrol our little kingdom?”

“It can’t hurt for us to be seen at odd hours over there to discourage mischief, and maybe even jump in if we see some good mischief.”

We started our jog from the garage and Randy asked, “Just between us, did you remove anything from the apartment?”

I asked, “If I did would it hurt your case?”

“Not really. We can bury him on the drug shit alone and there’s more under aged porn than we can go through. Andrew claims that there’s a red notebook missing that had all of his tricks in it. We would really like to interview those kids and set them up with counseling.”

I said, “Hypothetically speaking, what if such a notebook was removed by one of those kids to keep his name and his friends out of the shit storm that’s brewing. Could you do those interviews confidentially and protect them from embarrassment?”

Randy said, “The counseling is a must. If we can get that done, the rest we can do confidentially. I’m sure we’ll both have to talk to our respective people to OK it, but I don’t see anything that would kill the deal.”

We passed the docks and saw no one and began to head toward the gate. In the distance I saw the door to the restroom open and close.

Randy said, “Same stealth approach as last time?”

I said, “Sure.”

As we covered the ground to the restroom, we slowed to a walk and stepped into the grass. Anyone coming in or going out of the restroom was blinded by the streetlight just above it. Approaching from the blind side made it even easier.

When we got behind the building we found a BMX style bike propped against the restrooms back wall. We could hear hushed voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. We came around the restroom and found a mountain bike propped against the men’s side of the building.

We still couldn’t hear what was going on, so we very quietly stepped into the vestibule. We could hear the hushed voice of an older teen saying: Suck me Eric. God, you’re good. I love you. You’re so pretty and hot I get hard just thinking about you sometimes. I’m going to eat that cute little ass of yours.

The voice changed. It was younger and horny. Oh, God, Chase that feels so good. Eat my ass. Tongue fuck me. MmmmmmNrgggh.

In the dark of the vestibule I felt Randy’s hand slip past my waist band and grab my cock. I kissed his bare chest and moved down to his stomach and found his cock standing above the waist line of his tennis shorts.

Randy was still very new to sex, and he had a hair trigger. It wasn’t hard at all to set him off, but I wanted to linger over his fine hard country boy cock. It was beautiful— just like the rest of him. In the dark his long, lean lines reminded me very much of Jeb.

I relented and let Randy suck my cock. It’s what he really wanted, and he was doing exceptionally well. Rory was giving him lessons.

By the sound of it, things were going very well inside the restroom and the vestibule… until my pager went off. Beep-beep-beep…

One of the kids in the restroom said, “Oh shit! What was that?”

Chase, the older one with a deeper voice said, “Who is there?”

I pushed the door open a tiny crack and said, “Don’t freak out. My buddy and I here were out for a late night jog and had the same idea you did. We didn’t know anybody was here until we got in this entry hall and heard you. We wanted to avoid disturbing you, so we were doing our thing out here when my pager went off.”

There was a low murmur of conversation between the two boys.

I said, “Chase, don’t you drive a red Camaro? I think I remember talking to you about your electrical problems with it at the park earlier this spring.”

Chase said, “I know you, come on in. That POS Camaro is lame, as usual. He’s cool Eric.”

Randy and I went inside the dimly lit restroom and the recognition was instant on both sides. I said, “Chase, don’t you have an older brother named Matthew?”

Chase huffed and said, “Not that I claim him. He’s like going to the nationals in nerd-dom and pushing for the Olympics. How do you know him?”

“This is my friend Randy. I met Matthew and his pal Bart yesterday. They are a little different, but they’re cool in their own way.”

Chase said, “Yeah, I give him a hard time, but he is a good big brother. He knows I’m with Eric and covers for me.”

I looked at my pager and saw there were two numbers— my automated answering service and a Rivervine number. “Randy, do you recognize this number?”

He looked at it and said, “That’s the Sheriff’s Office, specifically the county jail.”

I said, “Shit. We need to get to a phone. Does your Camaro run at all Chase?”

He said, “Yes but badly.”

“Bring your Camaro, Matthew and Eric over Sunday afternoon. We’ll figure it out.”

“Where do you live?”

“It’s the big house, through the woods on the West side of the park. Matt has my number, but he’s been too chicken to use it.”

Chase said, “That’s your house?”

“Dad built it big but the part you’re interested in is the garage. I’ve got the stuff we’ll need to figure out your gimpy electrical system. Sorry, we uhh… interrupted. You two get back to it.”

Eric said, “Not so fast. Cole is a good friend of mine and I haven’t seen him since that guy attacked him. How is he?”

“He’s staying with Toby at my place until his folks get back.”

Eric said, “If he’s back with Toby, he’s a lot happier than he was. It was you that…”

I nodded and said, “I’d really like to hang out but if someone is calling me from jail, something has gone badly wrong. I need to go see about it.”

Eric and Chase demanded a hug, copped a feel from both of us, and we ran back to the house to get to a phone. We used the one in the office and I let Randy do the talking.

He got off the phone and said, “The Sheriff’s narcotics guys raided James Jackson’s house earlier tonight. They scooped up James, Roderick his two younger brothers. Everybody in the house got charged with possession. James has the serious charges of felony possession and intent to distribute. Roderick has possession as an adult and his younger brothers have possession as juveniles. Aunt Kitty left them in overnight to teach them a lesson.”

I said, “Wonderful. So, how will it cost to spring Roderick and the kids?”

Randy said, “Two-fifty for Roderick and a hundred each for the boys. Add a hundred for bullshit the Sheriff’s Office will throw in just because they can. You want me to go get them boss?”

“I’m tempted but, I won’t dump this on you. I hate it with all the stuff happening tomorrow, though. I’m going to get a shirt and shoes. If you want to ride…”

Randy stood, closed the door to the office and said, “I want to finish what we started when your pager interrupted us.”

 

 

 

We took the new van to the Sheriff’s office in Rivervine and arrived at a few minutes to three in the morning. I sat down with the clerk, and we talked about the numbers. Their Bail was about five hundred and change, but that was just bail. They had fines that were another thousand. Rather than leaving the mess hanging over them, I paid them off, so we were done by three.

I was appalled at the way they had just scooped the boys up. They were all in nothing but gym shorts. The two younger boys were sound asleep.

As we drove the Jackson boys home, Roderick told the story of what had happened. After one in the morning when everyone was in bed, the Sheriff’s Office had shown up with dogs and a search warrant. They seized two pounds of weed and some cash from under his Uncle’s bed. They hadn't found the real stash because it wasn’t in the house.

Randy said, “They will be watching you Roderick. They know there is more. They expect you to lead them to it.”

I said, “When we get you home, pack a bag. I’m taking you with us. They’ll hound you Rod. They stay on you until you slip up and next time it won’t be as easy to get you out of it.”

Roderick sighed and said, “Yeah. I know. I just hate leaving James and Marcus.”

I said, “Don’t worry about them. Aunt Kitty will keep them busy and out of trouble working in her smokehouse. Aunt Kitty and I, both wanted to get you away from your Uncle James. He’s not a bad guy, he’s just not a very bright guy and if you are going to deal you had better be smart. I hate it had to happen this way but, you’re with me now. I’ll take care of you and show you how to make some legal cash.”

Roderick was quiet and said, “I like you Tim but, I know there’s no something for nothing. What do I have to do?”

“Work with us. Follow the rules. Protect the family. The rules are simple, and I’ll sit down with you, and we’ll go over them after we’ve had some sleep. You wouldn’t be here I didn’t know you’re a good guy.”

When we pulled up to Roderick’s house, it was dark and quiet. Randy had nodded off to sleep, and it was just me and Roderick. I picked up the younger Marcus who was eleven or twelve and followed Roderick inside and parked him in his bed.

While Roderick was getting his stuff together, I went back for Lil James who was fourteen. Lil James was tall for his age and skinny. He was practically all arms and legs and walked inside under his power. He wanted a hug and whispered in my ear, “That was really cool of you to come pick us up.”

I said, “I wasn’t going to leave you guys there. Look— stay away from the weed. The cops are still looking for it and if you guys sell dime bags, you can bet your ass they’ll come looking for you. Work for Kitty. Let the cops get bored and look somewhere else.”

Lil James nodded. Roderick came into the room and I said, “I’ll see you soon Lil James. We aren’t far away, and I love Kitty’s barbecue.”

Roderick talked to Lil James for a few minutes, and then we returned to the van with a couple of his bags with his clothes and stuff in them. All of us were dog-tired when we got home a little before five. I parked Roderick in a room by himself and told him to sleep late. We were going to be out until after lunch and to catch up on his sleep.

I don’t even remember going to sleep but, I wouldn’t be for long.