A New Day Dawns

"I told you we were going to pay our way," Tanner argued as Russ balked at the money being presented to him. "You are helping us, and gas is the least we can do in return."

Russ finally relented and took the fifty dollars that Tanner was handing to him.

"I need to pee," Tanner said to DJ. "Come with me, and then we can get some snacks and go to the ATM."

As the two boys made their way through the store, they silently discussed taking the max out on the ATM card again. They reasoned that if for some reason the account got cut off, they wanted to have as much money as possible to survive with.

Tanner walked up to the machine and saw that it, too, had a limit of one thousand dollars. He inserted the card, pressed the buttons, and crossed his fingers. Thirty seconds later the boys each had an additional five hundred dollars in their wallets, shoes, boxers, etc.

When they reached the check out with their purchases, the man behind the counter, an aging fat man that looked as though he had never owned a toothbrush, looked over the boys and said, "OK runts, what are you stealing from me? Empty your pockets right now!"

Noticing the problem at the front, Sara came over and asked the man if there was a problem.

"Wait your turn lady," the man spat at her. "I've got to take care of some thieves."

"Sir, I assure you that my little brothers didn't take anything from you. As a matter of fact, it looks as though they are about to pay for their items."

"I saw those two over by the cash machine in the corner. Kids their age don't have ATM cards so they have to be up to no good, " he angrily replied. "I want them to empty their pockets before I call the sheriff."

The boys did as they were told and emptied their pockets and turned them inside out. Seeing as they didn't have any contraband on them the man asked, "what in the hell were you doing over there then, playing with yourselves?"

"No you jerk wad," DJ replied. "We took twenty dollars out of our savings account that WE DO have a card for to pay for this stuff. What are you, some kind of pervert or something?"

With that the man rang up the items, took the money and just grunted. The boys seeing that they were no longer welcome just left the store with Sara and went out to the truck. As they walked, DJ swore that he saw a shimmering light fade away out of the corner of his eye. 'Must be getting tired' he thought.

When he returned to the truck, Russ asked the boys what that was all about.

DJ said, "He was just a jerk. He was saying that we stole from him because we were back by the ATM. We were just pulling out some more cash. We didn't steal anything; by the way Sara, what was that about us being your little brothers?"

"I was just shooting from the hip on that one and said the first thing that came to my mind. I just wanted him to leave you alone, and figured if he thought that there were two adults with you in here, one being your older sister, he would think twice about making accusations. Besides, what girl wouldn't want a couple of cuties like you as little brothers? You guys are going to break a lot of hearts as hot as you are, both girls and guys."

She then looked DJ square in the eye winked at him and made a horse sound, which of course made him turn about 10 shades of red. Everyone in the truck was laughing, and Russ for the second time in one day shot soda through his nose.

"Dang it," Russ yelped. "That's twice in one day. I'm beginning to feel like roto-rooter is up my snout. Can we stop the talk on the poor boys' equipment; it's giving me a bad mental image and an inferiority complex he giggled."

This brought on another bout of laughter from everyone and DJ, being the eternal smart alec, reached forward and patted Russ on the shoulder as he said, "Don't worry man, it's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean. Besides, don't they say that size doesn't matter?"

"Sit back and shut up," Russ playfully growled.

After about a half hour of silence, DJ became curious about the distance and asked, "How long of a drive is it to your house?"

"About six hours," Sara answered. "That's plenty of time for us to get to know each other better and also to make a plan of action for you two. No arguments either. We are going to help you. I can't just dump you off somewhere and hope that you are ok. I have to know that you are going to be safe, understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Both of the boys answered in unison.

"What was the name of the town that we just stopped in," Tanner asked?

"Truckee, why," Russ wondered?

"I just want to remember the names of the places that I never want to go back to again. That guy was such a jerk, and I would never want to meet up with him again," DJ stated very matter-of-factly.

"Well, I can understand you have bad feelings toward that man but let me offer you some insight," Sara countered. "I know that you two have been through some rough times in the past, and I also know that you are going to go through some more with the fact that you boys are gay. I hope that you will tell us more as we drive so I can better understand your lives and maybe offer you some more help and ideas, but for now let me tell you this. If you go through life looking at people and not trusting them you will lose trust in each other. You need to have an open heart. Even if it means that your heart might get stepped on from time to time. Pain can cause us to grow and it's up to us if we let it make us grow stronger or weaker. Life is all about taking chances. Tanner, you took a chance telling DJ that you were gay and you loved him. That's exactly what I am talking about here. If you don't take a risk, you will never grow. You both took a risk when you let us in and agreed to let us help you. If you hadn't of done that, the next person you happened across might not have been so nice. I'm not saying you need to trust everyone; you need to learn to understand the soul of a person. The only way you can start to do that is by understanding yourself . To thine own self be true. You need to be honest with yourself and each other. At the end of the day you still have each other and that is something sacred. Treasure it. Cherish it. Don't mishandle each others hearts. Learn to trust your instinct, and learn to trust God. Whenever I am in a situation and I don't know what to do I follow some advice my grandfather gave me. Pray about it and then go with your gut. What that means is ask God to tell you the right thing to do and then be very quiet. Wait a second then go with your gut instinct. God speaks to us through our souls and hearts, and most every time after I pray, if I go with my gut instinct, it is the right answer. Does this make any sense to you?"

"So what you are saying is," Tanner began. "Give people a chance and don't judge a book by its cover, right?"

"In a nutshell, yes," Sara replied. "While we are at it, are you guys ready to give us the unabridged version of your lives and stories. I would really love to hear more about you?"

"Ok," DJ began. "I'll go first."

"I can't say that I've had a very bad life. Everything was going pretty good until a couple of years ago. My mom went missing. One morning I said goodbye to her on my way out the door. She gave me a big hug, and I never saw her again. A few months later, the police still had no leads and the Chief had my father removed from the case. He said that he was too close to the case and that he should back away and try to help me instead. What happened instead was he became a control freak. He wouldn't let me do anything. Heck, unless I had a friend coming over or we had other company, I wasn't even allowed to wear clothes except for my boxers around the house. He always said I would get the furniture dirty and ruin it. Then he started getting mean. He would pull my britches down and spank me if I even looked at him funny. I thought I was getting too old for spankings and I told him so one time. He got so mad at me that he yanked them down again, beat my butt red, and made me stand naked in the corner for over an hour. He said it wasn't my place to tell him how to do things. He started telling me that my body was changing and I was getting smelly, so he would sometimes watch me take a shower, so he could make sure I was getting clean. One time he caught me, well, you know, and after that he always made me leave my bedroom door open at night, and he would make mean comments like, ‘are ya having fun with that little thing of yours' or ‘what, do you think if you pull on it enough it's gonna grow?'

As DJ continued his story Russ was getting more upset every moment. He was beginning to realize that this kids' father was a pervert and was getting off on seeing his pubescent son naked and even masturbating. What kind of sick freak is this guy, he thought?

By the time DJ had brought everyone up to the present he was in tears and clinging to Tanner like he was hanging on for dear life.

Sara gave the boys a few minutes to compose themselves before saying, "Never until today did I ever think that running away was the right thing to do. DJ, your father has a sick and warped mind, and who knows what would have happened had you stayed in that situation. I sear to God, I will help you two get to Des Moines if that is in fact where you want to go. I will do anything in my power to ensure that you are safe, and never have to endure that kind of pain again. He had no right to do what he did to either of you. He should be in jail. It was his job to protect you from the world, not throw you into it before you can even comprehend what the world is all about. He stole your childhood. You two have had to become men in the mater of a few days. He owes you your innocence back."

Tanner then looked DJ right in the eye and said, "I promise you right now that from here until forever, I will always love you, and will always do my best to protect you. I see some similarities in what has happened to us, and once I tell everyone my story you will see what I mean. DJ, I've kept some things from you, and I am sorry for that, but I didn't know how to say them. Will you please forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," DJ replied. "I understand that it is hard to tell people you love things that you think might hurt them. Go ahead and get it all off your chest. It helps, trust me."

"Ok," Tanner started. "Here goes nothing. My life has fallen to junk since my parents were killed in that crash. That day still haunts me. It was right after DJ's mom disappeared, so both of us were dealing with some bad junk at that time. Right after it happened, I stayed with DJ for a couple of days, and then Colin worked with DCFS to get me placed in a foster home. He was the one who suggested Steve and Mary. For a little while they were really nice to me. They tried to comfort me when I was sad, which was and still is, most of the time. Then one day Steve came home and told me that he wasn't going to put up with anymore whiney crybaby stuff and he yanked down my pants and beat my bare butt. He said, ‘there, now you have something to cry about,' my parents never spanked me. They always put me on a time out or took away privileges when I misbehaved. I was so mad at him for hitting me that I started to yell that he wasn't my father and to go to hell. This made him even madder, so he did it again. I noticed that he and Mary started watching me a lot. They caught me doing, well, you know, and when I looked up it was like they were really watching me. They always made me sleep naked and I don't know how many mornings I would wake up and the covers would be off of me. I just assumed that I was getting too hot, but after what I discovered last week, I know that wasn't the case."

DJ just looked questioningly at his boyfriend.

Tanner just continued on by saying, "I'm getting there, just hold on. Like I was saying the thing just started getting more and more weird. I was having more fights with Mary. Steve was constantly beating my butt, and he was doing strange stuff like taking my towel and clothes from the bathroom so I would have to walk bare naked and wet to my room. I know it was him because I caught him doing it. I remember hearing a conversation about a week ago that he was having on the phone. I'm not sure who he was having it with, but I do have a clue. Anyway, Steve said, ‘Things are working just the way we planned. I have made a new contact in Russia that is wiling to pay double what we are getting for the them, and he has offered even greater amounts if we can get them to do things willingly.' He then continued to tell the person, ‘No, he doesn't even have a clue. He's about as dumb as they come. And by the way, the amounts we discussed earlier have been transferred to the specified accounts.' After I overheard this conversation, I began to get curious about what he was doing. I thought that he and Mary might be selling drugs and I wanted to catch them so I could get out of there. I went snooping around and found some things that made me so mad I could've killed them, but I kept my cool. I wanted to call the police, but I figured it wouldn't do any good. So I finally decided it was time to tell DJ how I felt about him. If he would have rejected me, I would have just turned them in or probably killed myself.

"Ok partner," Russ stated. "I told you guys we would help you no matter what. But I don't want to hear talk about people killing them selves do you understand? I wish I could have just a few more minutes with Colton to tell him how I feel. Spit it out, tell us what you found."

"You asked for it," Tanner said as he began to shake. "I found pictures of me and DJ. Naked pictures. Soft, hard, showering, sleeping, jacking off, red butts, everything. I found a zip file on the computer that had been emailed with over 2000 pictures of us. I found an email with a receipt for a wire transfer to them. I found a copy of a check where they had paid over fifty thousand dollars to someone. DJ it was your dad that they were paying. They are exploiting us, making child porn, and they are in it together! There are probably pictures of us all around the world by now!"

"PULL OVER NOW, QUICK" DJ yelled!

As soon as the truck was at a safe stop, DJ jumped out and began to throw up. When he was finally done, he started yelling. "That no good sorry sick demented piece of shit. I'm his son. I WAS HIS SON! Why did he have to do this? What am I to him, a paycheck, or a way to get off at night? I swear I will kill him if I ever see him again!"

DJ ran to the side of the road and began hitting and kicking a sign that was posted.

Everyone gave DJ some space to vent. When he was done he looked at Tanner and said, "I am so sorry you had to go through this. I am so sorry." With that he collapsed onto the ground crying and shaking.

Tanner ran over to him and cradled him and started crying as well.

Russ just walked over to them and softly said, "Come on guys, let's get in the truck and get out of here. I promise everything will be ok. I won't ever let them hurt you again."

Both of the boys looked weakly at him and obeyed. Before they got in the truck, however, they wrapped him up in a bear hug and said in unison, "thank you both."

Once back in the truck, the two boys just curled up to each other and within minutes, both were sound asleep.

As they drove down the highway, Russ and Sara were discussing what they were going to do next.

"We promised that we wouldn't bring in the authorities, "Sara whispered. "But how else are those sorry people going to have justice for their crimes. Those two cuties are now probably a fantasy for sick minds. They didn't deserve this. Those two bys need a loving and caring environment to grow up in. They sure weren't getting that at home."

"I know baby," Russ replied. "The kind of people who hurt kids like that just don't deserve to live. I want to make sure that they never hurt another child again. I don't care what we have to do, but we will help them."

"I've got an idea," Sara exclaimed! "That article that the boys showed us about Teri Short is perfect. They said that they are heading for Des Moines to get her help. Well, why don't we call ahead to her and give her a heads up about the boys, and fill her in on what the boys have said. We can still honor their wishes by letting them make their own way to Iowa, but I think we need to get the ball rolling for them. We just have to do it quietly so that they don't know. They might get very mad if they find out, but still, I want them safe and happy. If we contact her, and tell her everything, she might just agree to let them make their way there, but maybe we can help guide them as well. And if she doesn't want anything to do with it, maybe she can help point us in the right direction and we can lead the boys that way. What do you think?"

"I think," Russ retorted. "That I married a mind reader. I agree, when we get home we need to look up Teri Short and call her. I also want to get more information about the department she works for. If it's about helping kids like these two guys, I want in."

Sara and Russ continued to discuss back and forth for a couple of hours as the boys soundly slept in the back seat. As they were putting the finishing touches on their plan Russ almost wrecked the truck when out of the back seat DJ sat up straight and yelled, "Timmy, no don't go!"

Russ slammed on the brakes and pulled to the side of the road, looked in the back at DJ who was sweating profusely, and asked, "What in the hell was that all about?"

DJ looked around and started to cry. "I don't know what's going on. This Timmy kid is talking to me in my head. It's the same one from my dream last night. He said he is sending help for me, and that I need to help you Russ. He said someone named Saint Mikey is going to help you understand, I don't know what he means, and I'm getting scared."

Tanner just wrapped his arms around DJ and said, "Shhh, everything is going to be ok. Let Timmy help us. God knows we can use all the help we can get."

With that DJ stiffened up and started to shake for just a moment. When he relaxed he began to speak in a voice that wasn't his own. " Bubba?" "God I miss you."

Russ turned as white as a ghost. "Colton, is that you?" "I mean, is it really you?"

"Dang straight Bubba." "We've got to talk and I don't have a lot of time. When you say your prayers tonight, thank Saint Mikey for this happening."

"How do I know it's you," Russ stated. "Prove that it's really you."

"Ok," Remember the time that you and I went and egged old lady Jones's house, only we didn't know the eggs were hard boiled and we ended up busting out her two picture glass windows. Then when dad questioned us on it we both blamed Tommy Nelson for it?"

"Ok," Russ said excitedly. "Only you knew about that. How did this happen? How are you talking to me? How come you are talking through DJ? Are you ok? Why did you kill yourself? I miss you!"

"Hey, I said I didn't have much time. This is really hard on DJ so listen up. Saint Mikey sent me here to tell you a few things. First of all, the idea you and Sara had will work so get to it. Secondly the person you were talking about already knows what's going on. So go with it. Bro, I'm sorry I left you like I did. I felt like I had no other way out. Only now do I realize the pain I caused. Our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, and he is watching you. I am ok. There is no pain here, Bubba. Only love. I want you to know that I am always watching over you. I will always be with you. You have a work to do down there and I will be with you every step of the way. I can't wait for the day that we will be re-united here. Don't worry; it will be a long time from now. Right now, though, you have work to do. I will guide you as best I can. I love you Bubba, God bless you, my big brother."

With that DJ shook his head and weakly said, "What happened?"

Russ just reached into the back seat and pulled DJ into a tight hug and said, "Thank you so much."

Russ cried into DJ's shoulder for a few minutes. When he finally gained some composure the group of four began to discuss what had just happened.

"It was weird," Tanner began. "You were like possessed by Colton. You were Colton for a few minutes. He talked to Russ through you."

"I was someone else," DJ queried?

"Yeah," Tanner said. "Russ, what was Colton talking about, ‘the idea will work?'

"Just some things me and Sara have been talking about for a long time, nosy," Russ kidded. "At least I hope that's what he meant."

"I'm hungry," DJ announced. "Can we get something to eat soon?"

"I figured you guys would want to eat soon," Russ stated. "You've been asleep for almost 4 hours. Tell you what, we are almost to Wells. We can stop there and get a bite, Ok?

"Cool," DJ said. "How much further from there is it to your house?"

"About an hour," Russ told them. Then we can all get a good night sleep and start fresh tomorrow ok.

"Ok."

After everyone had their fill at the McDonalds in Wells they continued down the road. Tanner and DJ were never happier to see a house as they were then. As soon as Russ opened the door, both boys asked," where's the bathroom?" It seemed as though they hadn't peed all day, even though they had at the restaurant. The two boys headed towards the bathroom en masse. When they got in front of the commode, both boys let loose with a refreshing stream that just seemed to be never-ending. When they finally finished their business and washed up, the boys headed out to see Sara and Russ

Sara and Russ had already brought everything into the house and Sara was busy putting sheets on the guest bed.

When Russ saw them he motioned them over. "Guys, while you are here this is your house. If you want something, help yourself. If you need something, ask. Sara is setting up the guest room for you right now. Why don't you guys take showers and hop into some clean clothes. I will wash these ones and anything else you need, ok?"

"Russ, would it offend you if DJ and I take a shower together," Tanner asked?

"Nope, not at all, that just saves my water bill," Russ joked. "Just toss your dirty clothes into the hallway and I'll collect them. Take as long of a shower as you want. My hot water heater has never run out before."

"Is that a challenge," DJ quipped?

"Knock yourselves out," Russ bullied. "I bet you guys ten bucks that you'll give up and get out long before the hot water runs out."

"You're on," Tanner remarked.

Russ thought to himself, good, with them in the shower for a while Sara and I can call Teri Short and get the ball rolling. There is no way they can run that thing out of hot water. I love a long shower, that's why I installed two 100 gallon hot water heaters. My setup is better than some hotels.

While the boys slipped off to the bathroom to get cleaned up and who knows what else, Russ and Sara went into the office to make the call. Russ went online and managed to find the number to Teri Short listed in the Des Moines Iowa phone book and dialed the number for Sara. After three rings the phone was answered, "Short Residence, Aaron speaking."

"Yes sir," Sara began. My name is Sara Wagner and I am looking for Teri Short, The Federation Youth Services Director. Have I reached the correct residence?"

"Yes ma'am you have," Aaron replied. "May I ask the reason for your call?"

"I am calling on the behalf of two runaway boys that my fiancé and I are trying to help, and we believe that Ms. Short may be able to provide assistance in this matter."

---

Short Residence, Des Moines, IA:

"Hold on one moment please while I get her," Aaron said. "Mom! There is a phone call for you about some runaway boys," Aaron yelled. A moment later, Teri was taking the phone from Aaron. " Hello this is Teri."

"Teri, my name is Sara Wagner and I am calling you from Wendover, Utah. I apologize for calling so late into the evening, but this is the only time we've had away from the boys to make this call. I am calling on behalf of two runaway boys that my fiancée and I have been helping today. Right now they are getting a shower so we took the most opportune moment to call you. We had promised the boys that we would not involve the police due to some situations they are facing. They had told us that they were making their way to Des Moines to ask you for help after they had read an article about you in the newspaper. They figured that since you have helped gay and abused children in the past you might be able to help them. After talking extensively with them, Russ and I agreed that we would help them in any way we could, which is why we decided to call you. The boys don't know about this call and they probably shouldn't, but I figured that perhaps it would be best if you had a heads up on this one so you could plan on your end."

"I appreciate that," Teri began. And I assure you that I wouldn't have been in bed for quite a while yet, with the tribe I have here at my house. You say you are calling from Wendover, Utah and the boys that you are helping have asked you to not call the police, is that correct?

"Yes ma'am."

"Please, just call me Teri. Can you tell me a little bit about the boys and what you understand to be the situation?"

As Sara began to go through the diatribe of information that she had received since this morning, Teri began to have a sinking suspicion that these two boys were the one that they were looking for and decided to bring Sean and Cory into the picture to help, so she covered the phone and yelled for them to join her. When they came in the room, Teri scribbled a note to them telling them that this might be a lead on Tanner and DJ and to contact the Enterprise to get a trace.

As Teri continued listening to Sara, Sean and Cory got busy. Sean ran to get the rest of the team on the case and Cory pulled out his communicator. " Ensign Cory to Enterprise ."

"Enterprise, Uhura here, go ahead Cory."

"Hi Aunt Nyota, I need you to help me, please. I need to pinpoint to origin of the landline phone call taking place at my residence now. We have reason to believe that the contact is involved with an investigation we are working on for Admiral Morrow."

"That's not a problem, Cory. I am locking onto the location right now. Just one more second and I'll have it."

"Thanks, Aunt Nyota."

"Got it," Nyota stated. "Would you like for me to download the information to your console, Ensign?"

"That would be perfect, it is ready and awaiting your transmission. Thank you."

"Not a problem, Cory. Enterprise out."

Just as Cory was closing his communicator Captain Kirk came on saying, "Kirk to Ensign Short."

"Ensign Cory here, go ahead Captain."

"Cory, Nyota has informed me that you just requested use of the ships resources to trace a landline call to your residence. Is there anything that I can be of assistance on?"

"Not at the present time sir," Cory replied. "We are in the middle of an investigation for Admiral Morrow and we have reason to believe this call might be related to that investigation."

"Understood Ensign. I expect to be de-briefed on this investigation once it has been concluded and deemed unclassified information. Until such time, the full resources of the Enterprise are at your disposal. Kirk out."

Once the conversation had concluded Cory looked at his mom and gave her the thumbs up sign. At this point Teri asked Sara if she could please have the names of the two boys.

"Tanner and DJ," Sara answered.

Teri just pumped her fist in the air which got the entire intelligence team on the move. Teri at this point began to inform Sara of what they knew at this end.

"Sara," Teri began."We have already been involved in an investigation regarding these two young men. We are doing everything in our power to ensure that they are going to be safe, and never have to deal with the former adults in their lives again. We are wiling to let them make their own way here as we know they are not very trusting at this time. I am afraid that if we try to contact them now, the results would be less than desired. At present time we have been in contact with one detective from the police force in their home town. He is serving on detached duty for Starfleet in conjunction with our investigation. We will pass on any information that you give us to him. He is one of the good guys and we trust him explicitly. Another twist in this affair is my grandson Timmy for some reason seems to be able to communicate on some level with DJ and Timmy's Eagle William is giving us recon on the boy's whereabouts. "

"Excuse me, Teri," Sara interrupted. "But did you just say Timmy and an Eagle?"

"That's correct. Why?" Teri asked?

"DJ has been having dreams about a boy named Timmy and an eagle trying to help him and Tanner."

"I hate to break it to you," Terry started. "But they are not dreams he's been having. Timmy somehow is able to communicate with DJ. He is also sharing DJ's moods. Would it make sense to you if I told you that today DJ has been riding an emotional rollercoaster?"

"Absolutely," Sara laughed. "Well then perhaps you can answer another question for me. Have you ever heard of a Saint Mikey?"

"Mikey was my oldest son," Teri replied. "He was killed some time ago and first became a guardian angel and now has reached the status of Sainthood."

"This is all so surreal," Sara sighed. "What a day this has been."

"I understand your feelings, Sara, believe me," Teri said with a laugh. "Sometimes it gets very overwhelming for me and my family as well. But we are all in this together to help kids. That's a reason that is as pure as new fallen snow.

Teri continued to converse with Sara about how she wanted to handle the situation and when they had finally come to some agreements Teri gave Sara another number that she could be reached on and promised to call he if she had any more information. Sara promised the same as well and told Teri what she was going to do for the boys tomorrow. They both said their goodbyes and hung up.

About that same time the boys were getting ready to get out of the shower after spending the better part of the last forty minutes letting the water run down their bodies.

"This place has enough hot water to fill a small lake," Tanner commented.

"I guess we each owe Russ ten bucks," DJ reminded him.

"Oh well," Tanner said. "It was worth it just for us to be able to relax like this. I promise you we are going to be ok. We should probably get a good night sleep tonight, because tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

"Yeah," DJ groaned. "I know it is. We really have to thank Russ and Sara for everything that they are doing for us. I just hope this will all be over soon. I want to see that SOB behind bars and I want us to start a new life."

The boys kept on talking while they dried off and put on clean clothes. When they were done they walked out and saw Sara just hanging up the phone. When she saw them she said, "Hey guys, you feel like some pizza?"

"Actually," Tanner stated, if you don't mind, I think we'll just turn in. We're both kinda tired and since we just ate not even two hours ago I know I'm not really hungry right now, but thanks anyway."

"A kid that turns away pizza," Sara said with mock astonishment. "What's the world coming to?"

This erupted a small round of giggles from both boys.

"Ok then," Russ began. Why don't you guys get some sleep and we will talk tomorrow over breakfast and see what we can do to get you to Iowa, Ok?"

Both boys walked over to them and gave each a hug and thanked them for everything then made their way to the bedroom.

---

Short Residence, Des Moines, IA:

"Ok everyone, listen up," Teri announced. "We have new information to process about Tanner and DJ. Here's what we need to do; One, we need to get Rob Gunn on the comm and get him up to speed. Two, get William moving toward Wendover, Utah. Timmy, why don't you and your Uncle Kelly go look at a map and pass on the route to him so he doesn't get lost. Three, make sure that the ATM they used earlier in Truckee, California is scrambled. Four, I need someone to get a list of bus terminals and routes from Wendover to here. Five, we need someone to trail the boys once we get them on the bus, if anyone has suggestions make them known. Six, we need to hack into Colin McAlister's and Steve & Mary's computers. I want to know who is receiving these pictures of the boys and what's being done with them. See if we can stop them from distribution or if we can destroy them. Tap into all of their financials, account for every penny for the last three years. I also want to know what happened to the inheritance account, find that money and be ready to freeze it as soon as we are ready to move in. Finally, Sara believes that the three adults had something to do with the disappearance of DJ's mom Katie and the deaths of the Michaels. Exhaust every resource to prove that theory right or wrong. I want those boys safe and in protection within ninety-six hours at most. Once we have them we will move in and take actions against the adults, and trust me, they will rue the day they ever messed with those two boys. Remember this case involves police corruption so Cory it is up to you to utilize your diplomatic immunity under the charter of Clan Short, contact Ambassador Sarek if you think it will help. We are stepping on ice with heavy feet. Tread lightly. If there aren't any questions let get moving!"

Before anyone had a chance to move, Timmy crossed his arms in front of his chest and spoke up saying, "Uncle Kelly, find a stinkin' map, Gran'ma is grumpy. Get to work or she won't let us have any brownies!"

The entire room was silent, and you could have heard an ant fart when Teri stopped dead in her tracks with her jaw hovering just inches from the floor. She looked at her grandson and calmly, almost inaudibly told him to come to her. Timmy slowly walked over to Teri, not sure of what was going to happen. When he got to her, he just stared at the floor. When he finally looked up at her, her face was like stone. He started to say something but she just cut him off. As he started to look back down to the floor she reached out (with lightning speed) and grabbed him into a big hug, then started to tickle him unmercifully. As she tortured the small wiggling boy he started to yell, "stop, Stop, STOP, please, I'm gonna pee!"

That remark made her let him go. Teri just smiled big and looked around the room as she said, "Does anyone else think I'm grumpy? Hmm? Good. I am so glad. Now MOVE IT!"

With that chaos erupted as everyone went their own ways to get their particular task underway. In a sense Command Central was born in the rec room. Cory was first on the job when he went to the con and hailed Rob Gunn.

"Rob," he began. "Cory here. We have had quite the evening and have a large amount of information to process and pass on to you."

"You have my attention," Rob answered.

"What we know now is this," Cory continued. "The boys are currently safe in Wendover, Utah. They were taken in by a young couple who are vowing to help them and us as well in getting them here safely. They have found out a great deal more about Colin, Steve, and Mary. I am downloading information as it is processed into your console. You should be seeing a stream of information coming in right now."

"Yes Cory, I see it right now," Rob said.

As Cory continued to fill Rob in everyone else was getting all of their information compiled. After the better part of two hours the Clan was satisfied that, they had a good work underway in the case. Rob agreed to go and tail the boys and was leaving for Utah immediately. Admiral Morrow was sent a message detailing the progress and William was perched on the roof of Russ and Sara's home. Timmy was even trying to help by sending DJ good dreams.

After all was done Teri de-briefed everyone and got status reports from all involved. When she was satisfied that they had covered all bases everyone was sent to bed for a few hours of sleep. They would all have to get an early start in the morning to see what had transpired.

Before he headed of for bed, Cory went to talk to Teri. "Mom," he questioned? "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course you can, baby," she answered.

"Thanks for all of your help in this," Cory said as he gave Teri a big hug. "This is all so much sometimes," he continued as the tears began to well up in his eyes."

"I know, son," Teri stated as she rubbed his back. "You and Sean have been through so much, and you never cease to amaze me. You have taken on a load that most grown men couldn't handle, and I am proud of who you have become. I just don't want you to forget, even though you are an officer, a patriarch, and a father, you are still a little boy yourself."

"Moommmmmm," Cory groaned.

"I'm being serious here Cory," she continued. You still haven't had a chance to grow up yourself. Your body is changing, and with it so are your emotions. Most men don't experience one-tenth of what you are going through before they are fully grown. You're having to deal with this and puberty all at the same time. Don't be afraid to continue letting your emotions show. It's actually something that tells me and Dan that you are ok. If you stopped showing them, I'd be very afraid. You still have my permission to be a boy. In fact, consider it an order. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, I don't know that Sean or myself could handle that again. Just remember, no matter what, you always have my support, my admiration, and my love without end."

As the two continued their embrace, they started to feel a little bit warmer as they noticed the faint glimmer of wings surround them, and feelings of hope and love washed over them.

"I love you both, and I will always protect you," Mikey whispered.

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Gunn Residence, Dixon CA:

'Holy Toledo,' Rob thought as he scoured over the information that he had received from Cory. 'This is amazing; these kids are doing a better job on this investigation than the friggin FBI could.'

As Rob continued to read, he came across some interesting information regarding the disappearance of Katie and the deaths of Tanner's parents Dave and Michelle Michaels. Both reports were filed by the same officer, James Turner, James had been arrested, tried and convicted 3 months ago for dereliction of duty, filing false police reports, and attempted murder. As he looked closer at the documents he came to a startling conclusion. I don't think Katie is missing, I think she's dead and Colin, Steve, and Mary set all three incidents up so they could go ahead with their child porn plans. This is getting bigger by the minute. This was cold blooded, pre-meditated murder. Now I just have to prove it.

Rob gathered up all of his information and papers, made copies and packed his bags and got ready to leave. He was going to Wendover Utah. He would follow the boys himself.

'If they could murder before, those kids are in real danger if they figure out the kids are running away and know what is going on. They would kill them and make it look like an accident involving runaways to cover their own asses. What kind of scum am I dealing with here?'

After everything was packed, the console was hidden, and the house was secure, Rob hit the road. As he made his way toward the highway he called Jason on the secure line.

"Captain," he said. "I am going to Utah to protect the boys. This is going to get very ugly. I have new information that is going to cause a great deal of stink when it comes to light. Can we meet quickly before I leave so I can share this with you?"

"Absolutely," Jason exclaimed. "Meet me at the turnoff to the causeway on I-80. I'll be in my unmarked truck in the pull-off."

"Understood sir, Gunn out."

As Captain Jason Morrow sped down the highway with lights flashing but no siren he thought to himself; ' I hope Rob knows what he is doing. We need to put a lid on this thing quickly, and if we can close some other cases in the process, that would be even better. I don't want to see anything happen to those boys. I could never forgive myself if something bad happened. I swore to protect and serve, and by God, that's what I'm going to do.'

When the two men met, Rob handed Jason an envelope with all of the copies he made. Jason opened it up and read for nearly ten minutes in silence before looking at Rob and saying, "Oh my God. I knew this was going to be bad, I just didn't expect it to be like this. Do you think we can prove it? If you can, it's the needle for all of them. If my uncle gets a hold of them the needle will look like a vacation. This is bad, Rob, very bad. Go, get out of here. I've got your back and I am going to pass this on to my uncle. Be safe, don't end up dead."

The two men shook hands and Rob left.

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McAlister Residence, Dixon, CA:

Colin, Steve and Mary were all discussing the information they had uncovered during the day in hopes of getting a lead on the boys as well when the phone rang.

"Hello," Colin answered.

"Colin, it's Chad," the caller replied. "I've got some information for you."

"Chad, good to hear from ya buddy," Colin said. "Where've ya been?"

"I've been undercover on a meth ring in Truckee," he answered. You're never going to believe who I saw today, Colin. Your kid and another kid I've never seen before went into a convenience store I was staking out. Then after a few minutes they came back out and got into a Chevy Avalanche with a couple of adults. Seeing as I was on duty, I ran he plates to see if I needed to stop them for my case. I figured I'd give you a call and let you know before I went after them."

"You did great, buddy," Colin said. "I owe you on this one. The boys ran away the other day after we had an altercation. I need to get to them and quick. You said you ran the plates, can you give me the information? By the way, we have a new contact to send to in Russia. Your next check is ready for you, along with a bonus for this info."

As Colin wrote down the information he got a big smile on his face, thanked his friend and hung up.

"Get packed," Colin said to Steve and Mary. "We're going to Utah."

"Utah," Steve spat. "Why in Gods name are we going to Utah?"

"Cause that's where the boys are headed," Steve replied. That was our buddy Chad from the bureau, the one supplying us with the other pictures and videos I showed you. He saw the kids and found out where they are heading. I'll explain on the way. Like I said, we're going to Utah.

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TO BE CONTINUED ...

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