Camp Bam Bam

This chapter contains scenes that depict consensual adult/youth sexual contact. Some people may find this material objectionable. While this chapter gives further understanding and insight into the background of some characters it is not necessary to the plot and storyline of Camp Bam Bam.
Go to Chapter 12 ->

 

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Austin Casey's POV

I walked slowly up to the door and knocked softly, awaiting a reply from within.

After a few moments without getting one, I came to the conclusion that just maybe I’d knocked a bit too softly, oh, and with some help from Til saying, "Ya might try making it loud enough for someone to hear."

After suitably impressing him with my glare, which he didn’t seem to get, I sighed and brought my hand up again.

"KNOCK...KNOCK...KNOCK"

"Much better," Til snickered.

That earned another glare, which got me a giggle in return.

Someone had been influencing my team way too much.

"Come in," a voice called from inside, and our brief respite from worry was over.

I quickly pulled Til in for a hug as I whispered "Thanks" before letting him go and looking at Becky, who was squeezing my arm reassuringly.

I didn’t know how this was going to go over, and everyone knew I was worried about it, yet they all backed me.

They all stood by me.

"Okay, let's do this and...thanks, guys," I said as I checked over my uniform quickly and moved to open the door.

I heard a soft, "Someone’s got to have your back," from Bryan, and I couldn’t keep a smile off my face as I entered with all of them behind me.

"Sir, Lt. Casey and Strike Team Charlie reporting for mission debriefing SIR!" I said as I and my team came to attention in front of the Base Exec.

"At ease, Lieutenant," he stated before asking, "May I ask why you’re here rather than with Adam?"

"With all that’s going on, we figured it would be better to give it to you, sir," I told him.

"Understood, proceed then," he told me.

With a quick glance at the others, I took a deep breath and began.

"Well, you see, it started the other day as I was heading back to quarters...."

 

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**FLASHBACK**

 

"I'll see you later, Bry," I said, laughing at his joke as I turned towards home.

"Aw, come on, Austin, just for a little while," he whined.

"Look, you go and have fun, but I am not going off to Beijing for Chinese food," I replied as I stopped and grinned back at him.

"You're just scared," he taunted.

"Damn right!" I said, laughing before walking off.

"Chicken, and of a girl too," he called after me.

"Yep, and I'll tell her you said so," I shouted back, only to hear him begin begging me not to.

I just laughed as I walked away, heading towards our pod.

As I got there and walked in, suddenly there was this tremendous scream, followed by a ball of pure energy barreling towards me.

"DA!" my little angel yelled as I bent down and scooped her up into my arms.

"Well, hello, Dani, how's my baby girl doing today?" I asked as I kissed her cheeks while hugging her.

"Fine, Daddy, I got to meet Mary today and she's nice," she told me/

"And who would Mary be?" I asked, frowning.

"She's a girl, Daddy," Dani proclaimed, as if it should be obvious to anyone or me specifically.

"You would think that would have been obvious by the name, luv," my other angel said, coming into the room laughing while Dani just giggled.

"I got that part," I grumbled, which caused more giggles.

"She's a wee one that can give this one a run for her money," Becky replied.

"Oh no, two of them!" I said in mock horror.

"Da!" Dani whined.

"Whaaaat?" I whined right back.

"Muuuum" was her next plaintive cry.

"You're horrible," I said, which got me a kiss, which became a nicer one as giggles erupted from my arms.

"Mummy's kissing da, mummy's kissing da," Dani started singsonging.

I stopped doing that to look down at her giggling face, then began to shotgun kiss her cheeks, neck, and nose as I said, "Now da is kissing Dani."

This just got her laughing like crazy as I sat down with her on the couch and Becky asked how my morning went.

"Well, after you headed off, Bry and I went down to the mat for a while. He's really coming along nicely and Chang has taught him a lot. Other than that, not much; oh, he's scared of you, by the way," I ended, grinning at her.

"Me? Why on earth would he be frightened of me?" Becky asked.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe what you did to that guy in Taos a few months back might have something to do with it," I replied, grinning.

"Whatcha do mummy?" Dani asked.

"Nothing, sweetheart, your dad is just teasing," she replied.

"He likes that," Dani said after thinking about it for a minute.

"Yes, he does," Becky replied, mock glaring at me.

"Save me!" I cried.

"Oh you, quit," Becky said while Dani started giggling again.

"Da, can I stay over with Mary?" Dani asked finally.

"Well, I don't know about that," I said, looking at Becky, who suddenly was looking elsewhere.

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE?" she begged.

"Dani…" I started, but she interrupted with "Please, pretty please, with sugar on top."

"Do we know her parents, or does she have any?" I asked, thinking of all the new kids who had come in.

We didn't know most of them anymore, not like before.

Dani was just nodding her head up and down rapidly, giggling while Becky started laughing.

"What?" I asked, since it was obvious they knew something I didn't.

Finally Becky said "You could say that."

"So can I?" Dani asked.

"Well, who is it?" I shot back.

"Uncle Jack and Uncle Dave," she replied.

"Jack and Dave, but they don't have any…" I started to say, when Becky interrupted me and said, "They do now, three of 'em."

"Three?" I asked, looking sharply at her.

"Yep, three wee bairns, Mary and her two brothers," she replied.

"Oh…" I managed to say.

I hadn't seen that one coming.

"So can I, da?" Dani asked.

"Well…I don't know," I said, looking seriously down at my angel, who got a worried look on her face.

"Da, pleeeease," she cried.

"But, Dani, what will I do for Dani hugs and kissies if you're gone, I can't go without them," I told her.

She got a thoughtful look, or maybe desperate would be more descriptive, as she tried to come up with an answer, until finally she broke out in a big grin and said, "Mummy can give you hugs for me tonight."

"Hmmm," I mumbled as I thought about that, watching the hopeful look on her face while Becky just looked at me.

"Nah, sorry, that just won't do," I told her finally.

"What? But…Da…" she said, looking at Becky quickly.

"You see, mummy hugs and kisses are great and all, but they just aren't yours, sweetie; yours are special, and I just couldn't do with not having them all night," I said.

Now I had her going as she squirmed and tried to figure something out, but Becky came to her rescue.

"Leave off, you great big oaf, or you'll be having her in tears now," she said, scooping up our angel and saying, "Come on, then, let's get your kit sorted."

I just shook my head as they walked off, and turned on the TV to see what was on.

Daileass setting up the satellite system was really cool, and we got like a million or so channels, but even so it seemed like there was never anything good on to watch half the time.

Before I could get too far into looking, there was a knock on the door and I got up to answer it, to find Til standing there.

I took him into my arms and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead as I said, "Hey there, big guy, what's up?"

"UNCLE TIL!" I heard the scream and quickly got out of the way as a now naked and very wet streak shot straight for the startled twelve year old.

"Hey girly," he said, scooping her up into his arms as Becky came storming out yelling, "Daniela Rafaella Lanart Casey, get your skinny wet little behind back in this bath right this instant!"

"But Mum, Uncle Til's here!" she whined, hiding her head in Tilden's arms.

"And no doubt he'll still be here when your bath is done too," she said, not that it got any response from the child, who had much more important things on her mind, such as talking to her Uncle Tilden.

"If you be wanting to stay the night with your new friend, then you get back in here this instant, young lady, do you hear me?" she scolded.

"Yes mum," Dani said very quickly, shimmying down the now not so dry boy and trotting back towards the bedroom and bath, but with a big grin still on her face.

"Bloody boys, it's all your fault," Becky muttered as she quickly followed the girl, who suddenly came darting back out, ducking Becky, to say, "Bye, Uncle Til," then just as quickly dart back around Becky. who had her mouth open to scream again.

"Bloody 'ell," she said, pulling the door shut behind her this time.

We both broke down in laughter when she was safely gone.

"How's it our fault?" Til asked, still laughing.

"Well, a girl would never go naked, don't you know that?" I said, smiling.

"Huh?" he asked.

"That's her take on it, even though Dani would rather be naked than clothed any day," I told him.

"She should come down with the little ones sometime. They've stopped trying for the most part to keep them in clothes at all," he said, laughing.

"You tell her that, then," I retorted, but he quickly got a look of horror on his face and said, "Uh uh, no way, not me!"

I had to laugh at that.

We sat down and he cuddled up next to me while we found a program to watch.

It didn't get watched long as someone came running out, still starkers but at least dry this time, to climb up in our laps for some cuddles.

"I know now, Daddy," she said, looking at me seriously.

"What's that, pumpkin?" I asked.

"Well, I'll give you a bunch of Dani kissies and hugs now, and then some extra ones when I get home tomorrow," she said, and the look on her face was so proud of figuring that all out.

I just couldn't tease her anymore, so I told her, "That would work, sweetie; just make sure I get lots tomorrow to make up for all I'm going to miss tonight, okay?"

"Okay da, I will," she said, snuggling back into me.

Tilden just looked up at me and smiled gently.

"Have you seen that little she-devil?" I heard, and looked up to find Becky glaring from the doorway as the devil in question just giggled.

"I should've known," she muttered before adding, "You spoil her too much."

"Yep, and you should have," I couldn't resist saying.

"You shut it, boyo," she said before saying, "Come on, Daniela, let's get you packed and ready."

"'K, mum," she said as she gave me a kiss and then one to her Uncle Tilden, before scrambling down and running off to where Becky stood waiting.

"Well, come on, Mum," she told her, as if Becky had been holding things up, as I began to snicker.

"You just wait," she muttered before disappearing back in the bedroom.

"You guys are too much," Tilden said, laughing.

"We are, are we?" I said, reaching down and beginning to tickle him.

"Hey stop, quit, please!" he cried, wriggling around desperately trying to escape my fingers.

I finally did and then thought to yell back, "Hey, Dani, don't forget your diapers."

"I won't." I heard in reply. then Becky yelled, "It's Daniela, D-A-N-I-E-L-A! That shouldn't be too hard even for you bloody Yanks."

I smiled at Til and then replied, "That's a good girl, DANI. and yes, BECKY dear!"

Tilden was laid out on the couch by this time, laughing his head off, as Becky and Dani came out from the room and Becky stood glaring down at us.

"It's R-E-B-E-C-C-A, and just because you lot insist on bastardizing the English language doesn't mean you have to corrupt our daughter's language or name, not to mention mine," she said, huffing.

"What's bas…bast…What's that mean, mummy?" Dani asked, which got us laughing again.

"Bloody boys," she muttered before saying, "Never mind, sweetums, mummy's just annoyed with the way your father speaks."

"What's wrong with the way Daddy talks, mum?" she asked.

Becky just looked back and forth between us for a moment before saying, "Never mind."

"'K," she said, before running over and jumping up in my lap.

After I got hugs and kissies from her, she went over to Til and proceeded to give him a full dose, before hopping down and running back to Becky.

"Let's go, mummy," she excitedly said.

"Okay," Becky said, but Til stood up and said, "I can take her, I'm heading out anyway to see what Richard, Gabe and Tyce are up to."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, no problem," he replied, which got a little girl running back and jumping up into his arms.

After plenty more kissies and hugs to and from everyone, and admonishments to be good for her Uncles, it was just my big angel and I left.

"So do you think this bloody Yank boy can have a bit of fun tonight with a hot British lass?" I said softly, smiling at her.

"Oh, depends on what the bloody Yank boy has in mind," she replied huskily as she moved towards me.

"Well, I can think up a few things," I said, grinning as she met up with me and our arms wrapped around one another.

We both loved Daniela more than anything in the world, but it was nice to get some time alone once in a while.

As great a kid as she was, she just didn't understand private time all that well, that or as I suspected, she enjoyed interrupting it.

After a very long and very nice kiss, coupled with me telling her some of the things I DID have in mind, she murmured softly, "Hmmm, you may not be able to speak proper English, but you DO have a good imagination."

"Oh yeah," I whispered in her ear, as her hands moved down where I REALLY wanted them.

"Mmmmm" came from both of us at the same time as a piercing two tone alert sounded from the overhead speakers, followed by Dailess's voice.

"Strike Team Charlie Alert Level Two, CIC! Strike Team Charlie Alert Level Two, CIC," followed by three short tones. (Deet, Deet, Deet)

"BOLLOCKS!" Becky almost growled as I just said "FUCK!"

"Not bloody likely now, is it, luv?" Becky said, moving back from me while shaking her head as I reached out for her.

"Does he do that on purpose?" I groused before saying, "Ah, Beck, we have time," which came out more of a moan, thinking level two gave us twenty minutes to be in the Command Center, which would work.

"Let's go, lover boy," she said, moving off towards the bedroom.

I quickly followed her, smiling, thinking it wasn't going to be a total loss, and wrapped my arms around her from behind, only to be just as quickly thrown over her shoulder and onto the bed, looking up to find her grinning down at me.

"Not that!" she said, turning to the closet and beginning to remove her clothes, quickly pulling her uniform out to put on.

"But Becky, you can't leave me like this," I whined, hoping she'd take pity on me.

About that time she turned around and, smiling sweetly, said, "I can fix it for you, luv, if you really want me to?"

As she said it she began moving towards me, and I yelped and jumped back off the bed away from her, saying, "No, that's okay."

She just laughed, muttering, "Just because you can't see it on a girl," and went back to changing.

Damn, she could be mean sometimes.

I gave up, telling Junior to settle down, 'cause he wasn't going to be any more happy than I was, as I began to get dressed as well.

Time for work.

As I got dressed, I checked in with the other team members to make sure they were all getting ready and would make muster on time.

I was just strapping my gun into place when I finished with them, and picking up the MP 5, slung it over my shoulder and closed the weapons safe, to find Becky standing there waiting.

"Finally, I don't know why you boys all take so long to get ready for everything," she said before turning quickly and walking off towards the living room and front door.

I knew better than to answer her, as she was pissed over being interrupted; I just followed her out and towards CIC.

I felt sorry for whoever or whatever our mission concerned, because if it involved someone who could get hurt, then she was probably going to be the one to do the hurting.

I knew it wasn't an emergency, since it was a level two alert, and that we would be getting our mission briefing in the Command Center, but that was all I knew.

If it had been level one, then we would have had to be there within ten minutes and it would mean that it was close to an emergency; an actual emergency would have been a code red alert.

The Tiny Terrors had a code red the other night up in Maine. Stupid people thought to mess with the Clan, and they'd had to go back up Sammy's brothers over it, and pull a couple injured kids out of there on top of it, so at least this wasn't that bad a situation we'd be walking into, but level two meant it wasn't all that good either.

We met up with Bryan, Clare, Malinda, Tilden, and Evan as we approached the Command Cemter, and ended up all entering together, coming to attention and saluting as I barked out, "General Chipmunk, SIR! Strike Team Charlie reporting as ordered."

"At ease," Alvin replied, standing and walking towards us.

"Search and destroy, guys, literally," he said, stopping to look at us.

"What and where?" I asked.

"We got a Ped down in Louisville, go in, look for any kids as well as any evidence of other kids he's gone after who may not be present, and specifically look for a boy named Peter, known as "Little Pete," who is most likely with him now. That's the search part, the destroy part is to take out the perv. with extreme prejudice," he said, stopping for a moment.

I felt Becky's hand squeeze my arm, trying to comfort me, as she knew how much this type of thing affected me, but I didn't respond, I couldn't.

"This guy is bad news. He uses kids and dumps 'em when they start to grow up. We have one of his former 'special' boys in our infirmary right now. I want the boy named Pete rescued, along with any others there, and I need you to see if there are leads on any other kids he may have played. Any questions?" he asked.

There were none.

"Good, here's the layout," he said, bringing up a satellite picture showing a very nice house backed against trees and a creek.

"That's the target. He lives there, and other than any kids present, there shouldn't be any other adults around. It's back from the nearest neighbors, as you can see, which will give you some cover. The closest house is northwest of your target, while all other directions are essentially clear for your purposes. The house is backed by the tree line, which is where you'll be inserted for cover. You should be able to gain entry relatively unobserved from the rear from that position," he told us, stopping to see if we had any questions at this point.

When we didn't, he continued.

"The property for some distance northeast of the target house, which is basically all that behind the creek and tree line, belongs to a rather large children's care facility, which is where we think he may be getting kids from. They're desperate for someone to care about them, and he plays it up for all he can, then throws them out when the hair shows up. Name of our target is Jerome Blank," he said next as we all nodded.

He filled us in on a few other things, like the background of Dan, for instance. along with PD being monitored and warned off if they became aware of the op., and finally asked again if we had any questions.

After looking at my team, I answered for everyone, "No sir."

"Good, move out," General Chipmunk ordered, and we all took our positions, weapons at the ready, as Daileass said, in what sounded like a German accent, "An-na one, an-na two," and with that we were in amongst trees and could hear a creek running behind us somewhere.

Suddenly I heard a gasp and swung around, bringing my MP 5 up to point at a kid standing there, off to the side of our group with his hands up, saying, "Whoa there!"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Sgt. Carter," he replied quickly as I took in his uniform, which appeared to be one of ours, along with his weapons, which also matched our standard issue ones.

"Carter? I don't know you or any Carter," I said, never dropping my aim.

I noticed Bryan had an odd look on his face, almost sickly looking.

"Can't help that, I just go where I might be needed, and they thought I could maybe help here," the boy replied, grinning.

"Bryan, you okay?" I asked.

He just nodded his head rapidly, but never took his eyes off our guest.

"Do you know this boy?" I asked next.

"Yeah, Bry knows me, don't cha, Bryan?" Carter asked, still grinning.

"Umm, yeah, you could say that," Bryan said, frowning.

"Do you or don't you?" I asked, not having time for this crap.

"Yes sir, I know….Sgt. Carter," he replied.

"Paul's fine," Carter said next as I lowered my weapon.

"I don't like surprises," I told him.

"Hey, that's what makes life fun, ya know," he said, grinning.

"I don't need fun when I'm on an op., Sgt., and I sure as hell don't need surprises. If you are Special Ops., you should know that," I snapped back.

"Whatever," he said impudently as I stared at him in disbelief.

"Let me explain something to you, Sgt. I like fun and games just as much as anybody else, but when we're on an op., it's business, you got that?" I said very low as I moved up close to him.

"Yes Sir!" he said, snapping to attention and giving me a crisp salute, but the disturbing thing was his grin came back as soon as he had finished even bigger than before.

"Uh, Austin, he's cool, a little odd but okay," Bryan said, stepping in between us now.

I just glared at the boy for a few moments before turning my attention back to the others.

"Okay, Clare, Bryan, Carter, and Tilden, you have the front; we'll take the back. Set up and come in hot when we give you the word. We'll be hitting the back door first," I instructed them.

After receiving nods from everyone, I told them to move out and we took up position until they said they were in theirs.

At that point we had the most exposed route, so with care we began moving towards the back door, going around the pool and up to the rear of the house.

I gave the go order, and Becky, Malinda, Evan, and I busted in the back door and entered into the house, quickly followed by the team in front. We found two boys and a man in what appeared to be a living room off the kitchen and screaming, "DOWN, GET DOWN," as everyone fanned out and began searching the rest of the house.

I heard Bryan yelling to get down to someone a few minutes later, but was getting all clears from everyone else.

The two boys with me had started crying and begging for us not to hurt them, while the adult started mouthing off.

All of them got told to shut up, but the kids got told we wouldn't hurt them.

A short while later Bryan led another boy back into the living room, telling him to sit on the couch.

The house was clear.

"You two get up and join your friend there," I said to the two boys on the ground, and slowly and still very afraid they did.

I turned to the team and said, "Tilden, Clare, Malinda, toss this place; Evan, you have perimeter watch."

I got nods from them as they went off to do what I said, while Bryan and Becky stayed here for control, along with this Carter kid, taking up positions around the room.

"Look, I don't know what you want here, but…" the man started to say until I interrupted him. "Who are you?" I asked.

"You mean you don't know?" he said snidely.

"Oh, we have a pretty good idea; I just want to hear you say it yourself," I told him.

"My name is Jerome Blank, and you've picked the wrong house to rob," he said, starting to get up.

"Did I say you could get up?" I snapped as Becky moved forward from behind him and planted the muzzle of her MP 5 into his back.

"Please don't hurt him," one of the boys begged.

"What are your names?" I asked, turning to the boys now.

One by one they told me their names, the first being Shannon, a cute boy about nine or ten, while the second was about ten or eleven named Marshall; the last to speak was the one we were looking for, Peter.

"We're not going to hurt any of you kids; don't worry," I said.

"If you're not here to rob me, then what the hell are you doing in my house?" the man snarled now.

"Take him," I ordered, and Becky told him to get up.

He did, and Bryan moved quickly over and secured his hands behind his back, not without him thinking he was going to put up a fight, though, but then again a muzzle buried in your throat tends to change attitudes rather fast.

"Well, Jerome, you see, we're The Unit…" I started to say when he interrupted me to tell me, "And that is supposed to mean something to me?"

"Speak again without being asked, and I'll change you from a rooster to a hen," Becky said softly, pressing the point of her knife into his groin, which got a strangled cry out of him.

"Now, as I was saying, we're the Unit, which is the Special Forces Division of Clan Short of Vulcan. Do you know who that is?" I asked.

"I heard something about some bunch of kids on the news the other day, think they're all hot shit or something. Got your asses handed to ya up in Montana, from what I heard, though," he replied.

That got the point pressed home, as Becky said, "Those asses were my family ya bloody git."

"You want to do something with this bitch before she does something you'll all regret?" he said, looking at me now.

"Oh, I doubt we'll regret anything," I told him as Becky replied, "You haven't seen bitch yet, mate, just wait."

"You have no idea who you're screwing with, kid," he said now.

"Actually, I know exactly who I'm screwing with, a sick child molester who uses kids to get off with, that's who," I told him.

"That's a lie!" he yelled, which got the knife pressing in again, which calmed him down a bit.

"He ain't no child molester, mister, he never'd hurt us," Peter stood up and said.

I hung my head for a moment before looking up and at the boy, who was all of ten, maybe eleven barely, and said, "Yes, he is, Pete."

He was shaking his head and saying, "No, he didn't do nothing to us."

"Pete, yes, he did," I told him.

"No, HE DIDN'T! He loves us, he don't hurt us none," Pete yelled at me.

I shook my head and turned back to the man, who was smiling at me.

"Whatcha goin' to do? You don't have any witnesses, so you don't have a case. My lawyers will eat you alive," he said.

I had to laugh before I could answer him and say, "We're not police and we don't have to deal with the BS they do. Oh, and we do have a witness by the way. Name of Dan ring any bells?"

Jerome's face went pasty white at hearing that name, and I smiled, knowing I'd scored a point.

"Dan?" I heard, and looked back at Pete, who had spoken, and just nodded my head.

"He ran away. Do you know where he's at?" he asked.

"He didn't run away, Peter, he was sent away" I said, but he was shaking his head no.

"No, he didn't, he found a girlfriend and left. He didn't want to… I mean, he just took off," he said.

"He didn't want to do sex stuff anymore, that's what you were going to say, isn't it?" I asked.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," he quickly tried to say.

"You see, though, Pete, that isn't what happened. Dan didn't want to leave, Jerome kicked him out," I told him.

Pete was shaking his head rapidly from side to side as Jerome decided to be stupid again.

"That's not what happened. He found some tail and took off," he told the boy

"Look, either you shut up or I'll gag you," I said, sparing him a glance before turning my attention back to Pete.

"Pete, he grew up, and people like Jerome don't like their kids growing up. All the stuff that comes with puberty turns them off, and once Dan found you, Jerome didn't need him anymore and kicked him out," I said softly.

"No, that's not what happened, it ain't like that," Peter tried to say.

"Listen to the kid," Jerome said this time.

I stood up and walked over to him

"Why don't you have the decency to do something FOR a kid for once, and tell the truth?" I asked him, looking intently at him, hoping against hope that maybe he would.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I do lots of things for kids," he replied.

I just shook my head.

"He loves us and cares about us," the boy next to Peter said now, as the other two nodded their heads in agreement.

"Guys, I know it seems that way, but it isn't. What he's doing to you is using you for sex. That's all he cares about. If you didn't give him that, then he wouldn't have anything to do with you," I said.

"YOU LIE!" Peter screamed at me now.

"No, I'm not. Think, I bet there have been kids who have come here and didn't do sex stuff with him, and suddenly they weren't coming over here anymore, think, remember," I said, hoping to get them to do exactly that.

The three boys looked at Jerome then, and I could see the wheels turning slowly, then more rapidly, in their heads, but then I saw their refusal to believe anything against the one person who seemed to care anything about them begin to take over, as Pete looked at me and said, "No, he'd still love us if we didn't…" but was interrupted by Jerome yelling "SHUT UP!"

"What did I tell you?" Becky asked, pressing home the knife now, causing Jerome to squeal and the front of his pants to begin to turn red.

"JESUS! She's cutting off my fucking dick!" he cried, trying to back away from her, but he had apparently forgotten about Bryan behind him, not that he let him for long.

"You're lucky it isn't off already," Becky told him, smiling sweetly.

When Becky smiles sweetly, it's time to run for the hills, if it's directed at you at least.

The three boys were looking at Jerome now, and doubt was there finally.

"Don't listen to them, you know I care about all of you. They're lying! Remember I told you others would try to break us up, saying you shouldn't be with me," he said rapidly.

The boys turned to me now, and I thought for a moment before replying. "Listen to me. I'm sure he told you lots of things. Things like no one would understand the love you share, or that people would think what you were doing is bad and try and keep you apart. That he'd get in lots of trouble if anyone found out. I bet he told you that he loved you, and this is how he showed that love to you. Am I getting close?"

The boys looked at one another but finally, slowly, nodded their heads.

"Have you ever seen a fifteen or sixteen year old with him? A twenty year old? Guys, have you ever seen anyone around him like you are that's older, that has hair or a big dick? Have you ever seen anyone whose voice has changed or with hair on their face?" I asked now.

Once again they slowly shook their heads as I continued, "People like Jerome like a certain age, and anything outside that age, especially older than the age they like, they don't want to be with. Maybe Jerome likes nine to twelve year olds. Maybe he'd be okay with a seven year old or a thirteen year old, but not fifteen. Fifteen isn't a little boy anymore, it's a young adult, a teenager. Their bodies have undergone huge changes from fourteen and even bigger ones from thirteen, and a thirteen year old often has undergone gigantic changes from someone your age, for instance. They don't love children, Peter, they love having sex with children. Using kids to get off on is all it is, and they do whatever it takes to get the kid to agree to it."

The boys were shaking their heads now, but not quite so strongly, as they looked back and forth between us.

"It's not true, its not," Jerome protested.

"Men like Jerome look for kids who are hurting, who need love and attention, and give it to them in order to get sex from them. They teach these kids who are hurting that sex is how they can be loved and what they can be loved for, but it's not. It's not!" I told them, begging them to believe me.

"What else are we good for?" Shannon asked softly, but with infinite sadness in his voice.

"You see, that's just it; if he had really and truly loved you, then he would never have had sex with you until you knew the answer to that, if ever," I said gently.

"What's the answer?" Pete asked in the same tone.

"Yourself," I answered just as softly.

"What the hell do you know about it?" Jerome yelled now, earning a bit more red flowing along with a scream.

"You're going to keep a civil tongue in that head a yours, bucko, or ya won't have nothing left to die with," Becky told him.

When he'd said that, I'd stiffened up, and it took all my self control not to snap and strangle him with my bare hands.

I guess something must have shown on my face, because all three boys had taken a step back and had looks of fear on their faces now directed towards me.

I turned and faced Jerome, and after getting control of myself asked, "What do I know about it?"

He started to open his mouth, then looked fearfully at Becky, but I said, "Let him speak."

He looked back at me and finally said, "Do you think I wanted to be this way? That I asked to be born a Pedophile? I didn't, I almost committed suicide when I was twenty because I hated myself so much for my… desires. I thought I wanted to work with kids, hell, I DID want to work with kids, but instead I gave up my dreams and went into a business where I had no contact with children, where I'd never be tempted. I was born this way, it's not my fault I'm a boylover, it's not. Do you know what it's like to only be able to function with a kid? Well, it's not a hell of a lot of fun. I didn't even know these kids were here when I bought the house. I found four of them in my pool one day and things… things just kind of happened from there. These kids need someone and I'm there for them. Sure I get sex, but they enjoy it too, no matter what you say. So we both get what we want, they get an adult who cares about them and shows them love, and I get kids around me, which is what I need, and we both get sex out of it. What's so wrong with that? Without me they'd have no one and nothing."

I just shook my head, trying to contain my anger, he had no clue.

"You're not a boylover or a pedophile, you're a child molester and nothing more. You're in this for sex and nothing else," I said.

"That's not true," he protested.

"Then why was Dan about to jump off a fucking bridge because the one person in this world he thought loved him and who he loved kicked him out?" I yelled now.

He hung his head down before looking back up and finally said, "I can't help it. I… I… just don't like them when they get older, they don't attract me any longer, I can't help it, I'm sorry."

"That's why you're nothing more than a child molester, because it's about the sex and nothing else," I said sadly now.

"And what the hell would you know about it?" he said, raising his voice now and staring at me challengingly.

It was my turn to hang my head then, until a small voice said, "Tell them about your father," and with those words my head snapped up, eyes locking on the newest addition, who was looking at me calmly.

"How did you know about that?" I asked, noticing Becky's eyes also boring holes into the new boy.

"Intelligence, I make it a habit to know things," he said, smiling sadly, then "You need to tell them, especially the boys," he added.

"What is he talking about?" I heard Pete ask.

I was fighting back the tears that Carter's words had brought to me as I was forced to think about the one person who I tried so hard not to think about.

"He's talking about my dad," I finally answered as I moved over to the boys and knelt down facing them.

"Your dad?" Shannon asked.

"Yeah, and I think he's right, I do need to tell you about him," I told the three boys, before looking back at Jerome and saying, "That way you'll know just what the hell I do know about things, and why dealing with people like you is so hard."

"Let me guess, you were molested by a pedophile like me," he sneered, but I just shook my head sadly and said softly to him, "No, Jerome, I was never molested and never hurt by anyone like you," before turning back to the boys.

"I was seven years old, and me along with my mom and one year old brother moved into a new apartment complex. She was a hooker and on drugs too, not to mention that she drank a lot. We had a shitty life, and mom never wanted us for anything but the food stamps and free housing she could get because she had us. That's all we were to her, more benefits from social services. She always kicked us out so she could have her tricks in for the night, which got her money to buy drugs with. Sometimes we'd be outside all day and night with no food or nothing. Like I said, we had a shitty life, but hell, I was seven years old, you know, not like I knew anything different, at least 'til we moved to that new place." I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, then went on.

"We moved in and actually got to spend the first night inside for a change. I always had to take care of my brother Jordan because mom didn't. That meant feeding him and changing his diaper, when we had food or diapers, that is, and watching him when she had men in, which was all the time. The next morning, though, it began like it always did and the next and the next…."

"'Get your asses outside 'til I come get ya,' Mom said, as I carried JoJo out the door, trying not to drop him."

"'Don't cause me no trouble now, ya hear,' she yelled out after us like she always did as she slammed the door."

"At least we'd got to eat first, mostly 'cause I got up early and fed Jo and myself before she could get up and kick us out, and I'd grabbed a couple diapers too, which is all we had left for the baby."

"We'd been in the apartment for almost a week now, and so far it wasn't too bad."

"Some of the older kids would pick on me when they saw me, but I guess they felt sorry, with me having the baby and all, 'cause they soon stopped."

"I took Jordan out to the playground and let him roll around in the grass like we always did."

"He liked it 'cause he didn't know no better, I guess, and I just sat there and watched him."

"We'd spend most of the day out there, or on the baby swings, which Jordan really liked, and if no one else was around, I'd let him sleep in it for his naps."

"It made things easier 'cause he'd get all grouchy after a while, especially if I didn't have no food for him, which I usually didn't."

"Guess he got as tired of drinking water as I did to get full, and it made him pee a lot too, and he didn't like having a wet diaper."

"Then again, I suppose I wouldn't really like being wet all the time too, but there wasn't nothing I could do."

"Me, I just went in the bushes, or sometimes sat on the ground in the grass and pulled my wee wee out through the opening in the leg of my shorts and went in the grass if no one was looking."

"Kinda depended on who was out at the time, sometimes a grown up would want to know what you were doing in the bushes if they caught ya, and it was better to just go off in the grass facing away from them and do it that way, instead of getting in trouble."

"When I was little before JoJo was borned, I went in the bushes one time and when I came out, this lady asked me what I'd been doing in there."

"I didn't know no better and just told her, but she got all mad about it and grabbed me and took me home to mommy."

"Mommy thanked her and said she was sorry that I done that, playing all nice and all, but what was I supposed to do anyway?"

"If I had come home, she would have gotten real mad at me."

"Anyway she took me inside and pulled my pants down and beat the crap outta me, 'cause her boyfriend had run out the door when the lady knocked on it, and mommy was real mad now 'cause I costed her money, she said."

"So I made sure I was real careful 'bout stuff from then on, and did it wherever I could when I needed to go peepee."

"The day went on like it usually did, which means slow and boring, and when Jordan started crying 'cause he was hungry and wouldn't drink no more water, I gave him little blades of grass to chew on, which helped."

"You might think it weird, but chewing on a blade of grass can make it seem like you're eating real food, and it lasts a long time if you find the right kinda grass, you just had to make sure the baby didn't choke on it, like he tries to do sometimes."

"A little later, the water wasn't doing it for me anymore, either, so I found some grass over near the building and stuffed some in my pocket and put some in my mouth too."

"It wouldn't look weird for a baby to have some, but it would for me since I was a big boy, so I made like I was chewing gum, and that always worked. Course I almost never had real gum to chew on, but everyone thought it was gum."

"It had started raining a while ago and now was getting late and starting to get dark, when I realized something wasn't right."

"My tummy was feeling funny and soon I knew I had to go poop."

"I tried to hold it, but it wasn't long before I knew I couldn't, and my tummy was hurting now, not just feeling funny."

"I knew I shouldn't go home, and usually I tried to go poop real good before I left so this wouldn't happen, but now it was."

"I pulled JoJo out from under the stairs where we'd been keeping dry and hiding, and went home anyway< trying the door to see if maybe I could sneak in and go, but it was locked."

"I really, really had to go now, and my tummy was hurting super bad, so I knocked on the door."

"There was no answer, so I knocked again, calling 'Mommy!'"

"Then the door opened and she yelled, 'What the hell are you doing here?'"

"'My tummy hurts real bad and I gotta go potty,' I said."

"'I don't care, get your ass away from here or you'll get it good,' she told me."

"'But mommy, I gotta go poop and…' I tried to tell her, but she just yelled 'GIT!' and slammed the door in my face."

"I felt really bad now, and turned to head out to the bushes to go there, but I didn't get far before this horrible pain came to my tummy and I fell down to my knees."

"We had just got back by the stairs we'd been hiding in earlier when I fell, and suddenly as I went to my knees, it came out everywhere."

"It seemed like it was never going to stop, and I could feel it running out my shorts and down my legs. but it was my tummy that took most of my attention."

"It felt like it was on fire, and I didn't really care about the poop right then."

"When I could, I crawled, dragging JoJo with me, back under the stairs out of the rain, and just kind of fell over, and that was the last thing I remembered, really, until someone else was in there with us talking to us."

"'It's okay now, little ones, come on, come with me and I'll take care of you, and everything'll be all right.'"

"'Huh?' I asked, looking up at a strange man who had came under the stairs with us."

"I knew I should be afraid of this strange man, 'cause you're not supposed to talk to strangers and all, but something about him and when he spoke made me not be."

"It was dark and I couldn't see real well, but he just said, 'Shhh, it's going to be okay, my name's Max,' and then he picked me up."

I stopped and looked at the three boys before smiling and saying, "He took me and Jordan back to his apartment, and once there into the bathroom, where he got us undressed and carefully put the both of us into a tub filled with hot water. I told him my stomach hurt really bad, and he said he'd make it better in a bit, but first things were first. I'll never forget that bath. It was the first time I could remember anyone bathing me ever, and he was so gentle and nice. He washed every inch of both of us, and never did anything he shouldn't if you're wondering. When he was done, he dried Jordan off first, and put him in a new diaper from somewhere and took him out, then came back for me. He was so nice and gentle; that's what I've always remembered most. The bath and drying us, then asking me if I needed to go poop anymore. When I told him yes, he picked me up and put me down on the toilet, and held me while I went, then ever so gently cleaned me up before picking me up and taking me into a bedroom, where he laid me down on a bed with real sheets and a blanket. He told me to wait, and when he came back, he had a cup, something he made me drink, saying it was medicine. It made me feel better right away and also put me to sleep."

"What's this? Some do gooder asshole you want to tell us about?" Jerome said snidely.

I turned to him and said, "You wanted to know what I knew about anything, then you can shut up and listen."

I looked back at the boys and went on with my story. "I was sick for several days, Max told me later he thought the grass I had eaten might have had pesticide on it or something that made me so sick. All I know was, I woke up next screaming with the pain in my gut and spewing out of both ends now, and Max was right there holding me through it all. He took me to the bathroom when it was over and bathed me again before putting me back in bed, telling me there was a bucket by my bed to use if I could. I never was able to, though, and he never got mad, just held me through it, telling me it was going to be all right, then cleaning me up when it was over each time. This went on for three days before I actually started to get better, and then it was another two of almost constant sleeping; the only time I woke was when he changed me and fed me soup. I'd stopped doing everything but peeing, but that was enough to need to be bathed and changed regularly, and Max, like everything else, did it with nothing but caring in every touch. This was a new thing for me, because up until then no one had ever cared about me or touched me except to hit me."

The boys were just staring at me, listening intently to my story, and I knew I had to go on, no matter how many memories it brought back, no matter how much pain it brought with those memories.

Carter was right, they needed to hear about Dad.

"Wake up I did finally, and I stayed awake, although it would be another week before I actually wasn't tired out all the time and falling asleep more often than not. The first thing that hit me was where was I and where the hell was JoJo, as I pulled myself out of bed and went looking for answers. I was naked and had wet myself again, because the wetting was not all because of being sick, I wet the bed back then. I didn't stop 'til I was ten, almost eleven. When I had woken up I'd heard kids, so there I was heading for the door starkers and dripping piss everywhere, but I needed to know where my brother was. He was all I had in this world, you see, or at least I thought so at the time," I said as Marshall asked, "Was he all right?"

"Oh yes, he was more than all right, he was doing great, and if you want to be truthful, probably better than he'd ever done before. I came out of the bedroom and walked down the hall towards the sounds, only to walk into a living room filled with kids, who all stopped what they were doing and just stared at me. I guess the silence got Max's attention, because all of a sudden I heard, 'Okay, someone want to tell me why it's gotten so quiet all of a sudden?' as he walked into the room from somewhere else I would learn was the kitchen."

I stopped again to smile and say, "You see, when you have a group of kids all together and the noise stops, you should get worried usually, very worried."

They smiled back and I went on. "He stopped when he saw me and smiled, asking me how I was feeling, and when I said okay, he came over and picked me up, pee and all, and told me his name and asked mine. See, he didn't care about any of that, he just wanted to show me someone cared, that he cared. Once I told him, though, I asked where JoJo was, and he took me into the kitchen, where Jordan was sitting in a high chair with an older boy feeding him. Once I had seen he was all right, I let him take me down the hall and into the bathroom, where he ran a tub and bathed me again. At first I didn't want him to, but then I remembered he was the one who had been doing it and how much I liked it; this time was no different. He got me some clothes when the bath was through, and then brought me back out to the kitchen, where he fed me some more soup and crackers. He told me how I had to eat light for a while since I'd been sick so I wouldn't get my stomach upset again. I didn't tell him I usually ate quite light anyway and this was wonderful; well, I told him the wonderful part," I said, smiling.

"I didn't find out the whole truth for a long long time, but Max had went to my mother and told her what had happened. Her response was, just as long as he stayed away from the apartment was all she cared about. Max had asked if we could stay there with him, and she told him she didn't care. She'd never asked if I was all right or anything, just wanted to make sure I was out of her hair. Max had been a paramedic for a long time when he got hurt on the job and had to quit. He had gotten a settlement from the accident, but it wasn't all that much, and mostly he lived on disability. He also loved kids, and since this was a public housing project, there were always plenty of kids who needed to be loved. Max had no problem doing that. He took them in and got the food stamps from the parents to use to buy food with for us. I went with him a few times when I was a lot older, and he basically said, play ball or he'd call social services and have the kids taken away, or the cops and have them, the parents, taken away. Hell, the parents didn't care, free babysitting and no kids around to cramp their style, they loved it," I told them.

"Max took in kids basically and gave them a home, no drugs, no drinking, and you went to school. He was the only parent many of us, maybe even all of us ever had. He'd lived there for a long time and had raised a lot of the kids there, including a bunch that had grown up and moved out. He made us do our homework and helped us with it, he kept us clean and fed, taking us to the doctor and wiping our butts when we were sick. He was a dad to a lot of us. We basically lived there like a lot of other kids did, and the thing I remember most was him telling us WE were our own family now, each of us brother or sister to the other. He taught us to look out after each other and the littles at the same time he showed us what being loved was supposed to be like. He showed us what having a dad meant and what it meant to have one. None of the kids in that place had a father, and what they had for a mother for most of them was shit. Don't get me wrong, there were some good moms there, trying real hard, but there were far more like mine, and it was those kids who were lucky enough to find Max. He kept the older kids out of gangs and in school, kept them out of trouble and gave them a future. Sometimes it was a belt on their ass and ours too, but mostly it was hugs and kisses which did it," I said, stopping for a moment as the memories overwhelmed me.

"It was such a change for me, you have to understand, someone wanting to know where I was and always keeping an eye on me. Worried if I didn't come back when I was supposed to, or come looking for me when I didn't. No one had ever done that before, so it was more than strange to me. He Wanted me at what I soon came to call home. He'd have cookies for us when we got home, and home cooked meals each day for every meal. On rare occasions he'd save up his money and buy us pizza, but usually it was stuff he made at home. He'd be there as we came in the door once school started, wanting to hear how our day had gone, and he really was interested. We could come to him if we had problems and he'd listen, even if he didn't always have the answer, he did always have a hug for us. He simply loved us," I told the kids, who were listening with rapt attention.

"Did… did he…" Shannon started to ask.

"Yes and no," I replied, which got confused looks on their faces.

"You see, he wasn't in it for sex, but I came to learn that, if a kid wanted to play that way and Max agreed, then he loved them like that. He once told me that it wasn't right for every child, and he was always very careful about which children he'd agree to love like that."

"Why?" Pete asked.

"Because of what I said earlier, not every child needs to be loved that way or should be. A lot of these kids, like you guys, were starved for love and attention. Max gave them that, but he was very careful not to confuse it with sex, and to make sure the kids knew they were loved just because they existed, not just for their bodies," I told them, which got thoughtful nods from them before I continued.

"I, of course, didn't know this back then when I first came there, because Max didn't try anything and whatever might have been going on was done in private. He didn't try to get in every kid's pants like this one probably does. He bathed a lot of us and took showers with some who wanted to, slept with usually at least one kid, if not more, in his bed, but he didn't touch anyone that way. I never knew about the stuff he did because he never made a big deal out of it, because it wasn't, to him. He loved us, not sex with us," I told them, stopping to see if they got it, and I thought they just might have.

"That was what I think of as the beginning of our lives, that year when I was seven and JoJo was one. The beginning of a life like a kid was supposed to have, and an end to whatever you want to call what we had before that day. The day a man with a heart that knew no bounds took in a dirty sick kid and his baby brother, for no other reason than they needed someone to care, to love them. He simply was there for us, for me and Jordan and for a lot of other kids too. Over the next couple of years I found out what it was like to have a family, and to be loved for the first time in my life. I had Christmas presents for the first time and birthday ones too. Oh, they weren't fancy or expensive, but they were for me, from him and from my adoptive brothers and sisters, from their hearts. It might be something one of the kids had made in art class, or a card drawn with crayons, but it was for me from them, and it was more special than I can ever explain. When I was eight he gave me a toy train set. It was used and he'd worked on fixing it up for a long time, but it was something I'll never forget, scratched and scuffed up as it was. It was my first ever present." I had to stop for a moment to get control of the tears that were trying to escape, there'd be a time when I wouldn't, but I'd never get through this if I let them out now.

Finally though, I went on. "He hugged me and spanked me, he taught me to read and spell. He was there every day helping with my homework, along with the rest of the kids'. He made us take baths and cleaned our clothes, buying us more from Goodwill when we needed them. It wasn't fancy and he wasn't rich but he made do. We ate a lot of spaghetti and stuff, but he always made sure we had carrots and spinach with other veggies too. He was our dad, that's the only way I can say it," I said softly. "He was our dad."

Pete moved over and crawled into my lap, hugging me, and I stopped and just hugged him back for a moment or two.

"I'd play the violin, kid, if my arms weren't tied. What's the point of this anyway?" Jerome asked sarcastically.

I had to sigh and shake my head, but finally I said, "Let me finish Jerome and maybe, just maybe you'll see the point finally, before you die."

"I guess I should move this along a bit. It was when I was nine that I suppose the first thing occurred that most would think was wrong. I told you how we'd take showers with him sometimes, and since we lived there we saw him naked too, although he didn't do it on purpose. It's just that kids will walk in on grown-ups, and sometimes those grown-ups aren't dressed. So I'd seen his dick before, all of us had, but now I was curious about it like a lot of kids get. Don't get me wrong, I'd messed about some with some of the other kids over the last year or so, but this was a grown up, and all of a sudden I wanted to see it, and more I wanted to touch it, feel it. One night I hopped into the shower with him and he was washing me when I just reached out and grabbed it. I was scared to death he'd be mad, but I really had been wanting to feel it for a while, so I took the chance. He just stood there and let me. It got hard and that fascinated me as I felt it and looked closely at it. He never stopped me or yelled at me or anything, but he didn't do anything to encourage me either. He just let me explore, and when I was done I let go and we went on and finished our shower. After we had gotten out we went into his bedroom, and I was scared but asked him if he was mad at me. I told him I just wanted to see it, and he told me that kids get curious and that was normal. Most of all, he told me he wasn't mad at me, and I hadn't done anything wrong at all. We talked a while and I asked him some questions about sex, which he answered, and off I went to watch TV. He made something I thought of as a really big deal into something normal and not frightening at all," I said to the group.

"That's all?" Marshall asked, and I had to laugh as I said, "Hold your horses, there's more."

That was a favorite saying of Dad's, and it made my throat tighten up at saying it, but I did go on. "I don't know how to explain it, I'm sure you know by now that he had to have been hot from my touching and rubbing on him, but he never did the slightest thing to get me to keep touching him to make him feel good, to get the feeling or nothing. Was it sexual? I guess, I know I was hard as a rock when I was touching him, hell, I was that way before I started, just thinking about it. When he washed me and got down there, it felt so good, and sometimes if I had been rubbing on it, which I did, you know, then by the time he got to it and washed it, I ended up getting the feeling from his hands, but he never tried to give it to me. It didn't happen on purpose but by accident. I was already close before he ever got there and when he did, ooh la la," I said to laughter.

"No, Max never took advantage, but you know I would have kept touching him that day if he'd said the slightest thing. Heck I even thought about doing it because I knew it would feel good to him, but I didn't, and he didn't try to get me to either. I also know now that if I had asked and he thought I was ready, he would have made me feel good as well. I didn't, though, and he didn't. I know now I had to have got him hurting from how much I touched him then and other times, but he never once tried to take it farther," I said, as I was asked, "Why not?"

"He told me once because I asked him. He said it had to be about me, the kid, not the adult. If I was wanting to or asking, that was one thing, it meant I wanted to do something, but if he asked, then it would be him getting me to do things when I didn't want to, because if I had, then I would have tried. That's the point here, I think any of us would have jumped to do anything he asked of us and he knew it, which is why he was so careful to never do anything," I told them, as I stopped to watch those wheels turning again.

They were thinking, which was good, very good.

"That time when I was nine was the first, but there were several more times, mostly in the shower, where I examined him, but there were also a few times out of it. I kind of liked playing with it and making it all hard, teasing him, I guess. Only one time did anything really sexual happen between us and it was very special to me. I had asked to sleep with him and we were in bed when it happened. I had pulled his out and had been touching it, but mine was hard too. I had one hand feeling him while I played with mine. He was holding me like he always did, rubbing my stomach, which he also always did, when I grabbed his hand and put it on me down there. He felt it and when I said it was hard, he gave it a squeeze and told me he could tell as he laughed softly, then he moved his hand back. I had laid back and grabbed his hand, putting it back on it and asked him to rub it. He just asked me if I was sure and I said, 'Please' to him. He told me I didn't have to do this and could stop whenever I wanted to, and that he loved me no matter what, and whether we did this or not. I just told him I know, and would he please rub it. Well, he did, and that night it seemed better than it ever had been when the feeling came. I don't even remember what happened after that it was so good. He told me I passed out and just fell asleep afterwards. All I know is he never tried to get me to do anything to him, and that one time was it," I told them, as three boys said "Wow" almost together.

"Yeah, it was definitely that," I said, smiling gently at them, the memory still alive for me.

"I don't know why we didn't do more, I'm sure he would have if I had indicated I wanted to, but I didn't for whatever reason. It was special, I think, and I knew that. Time went on and we didn't do anything, not even the exploring stuff, as I turned ten. Eventually eleven came around, and with it the time before puberty hit with all the feelings and stuff. I had a million questions a day, it seemed like, and my little guy was hard more often than soft, it seemed. He was there to answer everything, sometimes for the millionth time too, but he never lost patience with me. Jordan was five now and had started kindergarten. Because of Max he knew his ABCs and could even read a little bit, and write his name and some simple words like dog and cat. Max was so proud of him, just as if he was his own son; hell, Max was that way with all of us. We did good in school because we wanted him to be proud of us and we wanted to do good for him. Don't get me wrong, he always tried to tell us that we should do it for ourselves, and eventually we figured that out, but we never did stop wanting to do it for our dad." I stopped for a moment as Paul handed me a glass of water from somewhere, and I noticed Bryan looking at him strangely again, but figured I'd ask about it later.

He'd been acting strangely since Sgt. Carter had shown up, and I wanted a private word with him to figure out why, and I wanted it soon too.

"Well, that was when it happened," I said, to questions of "What happened?" and "When what happened?" from the boys.

"Well, give me a second and I'll tell you," which got nods from them as I continued, "I was eleven and a few months, maybe eleven and a half when I realized the curiosity was back and then some about a grown-up, and I knew Max would let me see. There were so many things going on with my body, so many changes happening, and here was an adult who I could see and feel that was what I would someday become. So once again I waited until one night, when just before he went to bed, I asked if I could join him in the shower, and he said yes like he always did. Once again I asked him to wash me, and I think he knew something was up, since I was before I even got undressed," I said, as the boys broke out giggling.

"Yeah, I know, funny but true. If I thought that night when I was nine was special, it was nothing compared to this. He washed me slowly from head to toe, and even though I asked him to keep washing me there, he didn't. He just gave it the same attention as everywhere else. I also reached out and found him, and once again he let me feel it and rub on it. Only this time, I knew I wanted more than to just explore, I wanted to make him feel good, and I wanted him to do the same for me. I was nervous and knew this was something different than before, something wonderful and special but also a little scary. He WAS an adult and I WAS a kid, after all, but he made it seem so normal and so right. We washed and got out. where he dried me slowly and gently, just like he always did, but tonight there was something different, something more in every touch, every second, even though nothing was outwardly different. I knew it inside that it was different, and I think he did too," I stopped, I had to, so I could take a deep breath.

Could I tell this part and what happened after?

I didn't know and was beginning to have doubts.

"You need to finish it, all of it," Carter said, smiling gently at me as I looked at him.

"He's right, luv," I heard just as softly from my angel, and looked over to see her looking at me with a gaze filled with love and support.

"Sorry, this is kind of hard on me," I told the boys, and the other two finally came and cuddled up to me on either side in support.

"Thanks, guys. That night we went into his bedroom and crawled into bed where I cuddled up with him like always and told him I loved him. He said he loved me too, and as usual his hand was rubbing gently up and down my back, making me feel so good. It had never got soft from the shower, and I gently pushed it into his leg, as my hand moved down to his and took hold. Once again he asked me if I was sure, and once again I told him that I was. Again, just like the last time, he told me he would always love me, and I didn't have to do this, now or ever, and could stop any time I wanted to, and again I told him I knew and asked, no begged, 'Please'. I won't go into details but his hand moved to the front and once again took me to places I'd never been before. I touched him and asked questions now and then, but this time I didn't stop until he got the same wonderful feeling that exploded within me a short time later. Making him feel good was as important to me that night as him doing it to me, I wanted to show him my love and he showed me his, both of us in a very special way. That night is one of the most special moments in my life and close to the most special," I said, looking over at Becky, who held the title for most special of all that first time.

"What made the difference, and what he told me later on, was that I knew I was loved. That I was loved unconditionally, and that the sex was an addition to that love, but not in place of it or instead of it. He never asked for it from me in all those years before or after that night. He'd always be there if he could, when I went to him, but he never came looking for me to do anything. Again it was supposed to be about me, and he made sure it was. I don't agree with him completely on that, because I think a kid can have a say, but I do understand what he was talking about, and all in all I guess it's for the best to do it his way, that way no kids get hurt," I said as they looked at me with their full attention.

"We loved one another like that for several years and it was amazing. He taught me a lot about my body and another's as well. I'd like to say that while we did those things, he taught me what love truly was, but it wouldn't be true, you see, because he taught me what it was long before we had ever done anything, and he kept teaching me after we pretty much stopped. I was twelve, and I'll never forget the first day I made sperms. I'd jacked off at lunch during school 'cause I'd had a boner for half the morning, and by that time I was doing it four or five times a day. Suddenly out came this stuff when I got the feeling, and at first I was totally freaked out, but then I realized what it was and was so happy. It's a big thing when a boy gets their first sperms, and I told all my friends about it at school that day, and couldn't wait to get home to tell Max. When I did get home, I ran inside and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the bedroom, and shouted, "I got my sperms, I got my sperms," and just had to show him, so I pushed down my pants and made 'em come out right there, yelling. 'Hold out your hand, hold out your hand' as they squirted. He made a huge deal out of it, like it flooded the whole room or something, even though it was barely a drop of this clear stuff, but he made it like everything else, special for me. It was also embarrassing, kind of, because I had yelled so loud when I went back there, when I came out all the older kids were clapping and yelling congratulations to me. I still liked it and Max made my favorite for dinner that night to celebrate. I remembered all my brothers and sisters laughing and clapping me on my back, telling me way to go and other stuff like that. The little ones were kind of confused, but then again they just thought all big kids were weird anyway, so this wasn't all that much different than usual. I did have to deal with Jordan asking me what sperms were later, though; that was embarrassing at first, but I remembered how Max had talked to me about it, so I'd taken him into the bedroom and explained it all to him. He thought it was weird, but finally just shrugged his shoulders and went back to the living room to play," I finished as I looked at them, smiling fondly in remembrance.

"Well, that night I made him make them come out, and oh, did he, but as all things, the time came when like most boys, I began to be interested in girls. I was thirteen, almost fourteen, when that happened, although I didn't stop loving Max that way, at least then. I think Max knew, though, but he didn't push anything, just like he always hadn't. By the time I was fourteen, I was starting to spend less and less time with my friends doing sex stuff, and that also meant less time with Max doing it too. That was one thing Max insisted on, and that was that I keep doing things with kids my own age and not just come to him. I think it made the times I was with him even more special, but now I just wasn't really that interested in it anymore. I was really worried about that, and if Max would be mad, but I should have known better by then. Finally one night we had just loved one another when afterward…."

"'Max…' I whispered softly."

"'Yeah, baby boy,' he answered just as quietly"

"'I… I don't know how to say this,' I finally got out, but I should have known he would, as he replied softly.

"'That you're growing up and don't find yourself as interested in this type of thing as you used to be?' he asked gently."

"I just about jumped out of the bed at hearing that, but he just laughed kindly."

"'ow… I mean… Ah…' I stammered as he whispered, 'Ah, baby boy, you're not such a baby anymore.'"

"I felt him moving around, then the bedside lamp came on as he turned back to me and ran his fingers down my cheek lovingly, as he'd done since he found me."

"'Little boys grow up, Austin, and this is part of that growing,' he told me."

"I thought for a moment before saying, 'You mean you knew?'"

"'Yes, little one, I knew. The time when a boy is interested in this type of love is fleeting, and as time moves on, so do that boy's fancies. My love for you was there before we ever did anything, and it will be there long after we do it for the last time, never fear that, my love,' he told me."

"'You're not mad?' I asked to be sure."

"He chuckled and told me, 'No, I'm not mad. This has always been yours to give or not as you see fit. That's why I always told you that you could stop anytime, and it's why I told you one day you most likely would not want to do these things any longer. That day has come, I think, even if you never did believe me that it would.'"

"I just looked at him and the love that was shining from his eyes for me, and realized just how lucky I was to have been found by him, and not some perv like some of the kids had had happen."

"'I love you, Dad,' I whispered as I leaned forward and kissed him."

"'I love you too, and I always will, baby boy,' he replied."

"We just held one another for a few moments, and I felt so warm and safe, so loved right then, but soon enough I felt something else that was getting a little bit more than warm, as I whispered in his ear, 'Maybe that day will come, but not right now,' which got some more laughs as he made what was warm sizzling hot."

I had stopped again at the wide eyed looks on the boys' faces, then went on.

"That day did come kind of when I pretty much stopped doing anything like that with Max, but he still loved me just as much. Oh, we did stuff now and then, I think more for old times' sake, really, than anything else. I wasn't interested in guys anymore, but with Max it was different, it was a special thing for us, between us, something special to show our love of one another, so every few months I found my way to his bed, and he always seemed to know when I needed that special loving, and he didn't have a problem giving it to me. Fourteen had passed and I was just fifteen when it all ended, the day I lost my dad," I said, but had to stop as my throat closed up with emotion.

Damn, this was hard!

"You don't have to tell us if you don't wanna," Peter said, seeing how much this was hurting me, but his caring made me take a deep breath and respond, "Yes, little one, I do."

"I was fifteen and at school when I heard my name on the loudspeakers telling me to report to the Principal's office. The whole way there, I was wondering if they had found out who had put Ex-Lax in Mr. Arnold's tea, or maybe who had put the picture of the giant dick in old Mrs. Hendricks' planner. God, she had screamed so loudly, and it had just made all of us the more sure she'd never seen one before," I said, but had to stop at all the laughter coming from the boys, as well as not a few of my team.

"You didn't?" Shannon asked in disbelief.

"Of course not," I replied, trying to look innocent.

"Yeah, right," Becky replied, where she was still keeping a sweating Jerome silent with her blade.

"Hey, I'll have you know I would never do something like that, I was an honor student," I tried to say, but Becky just looked at me while the boys giggled.

"Ok, fine, don't believe me," I mumbled to more giggles, but it had taken my mind off what was coming, so I suppose it helped.

"Okay, guys, this is the real tough part. That day when I got called to the office, I got there and was told to sit down in the outer office and wait. About fifteen minutes later, the Principal came out and took me back to his office, only there was a woman there and two police officers. Now I was scared, and when they asked me if I knew someone named Max, I got even more so. I told them yes, and the minute I saw them look at each other, I knew something bad was going on. It got worse as they told me I was going to have to come with them. I tried asking why, but they wouldn't answer me. I found out the lady was from social services, which made my stomach feel like heaving all over her. Everyone knows they are bad news for kids, and to have one coming to get you at your school was not good, only I didn't know for a while just how not good it was going to be,. Finally it was the Principal who said they knew what had been going on, and what Max had been doing to kids at the apartment. I was shaking my head and saying 'No' when the lady told me there was no use denying it, that Max had admitted to everything. I screamed that they were lying and I ran like hell. They chased me but I lost them quick. I wasn't thinking; I just had to get home to Dad," I said, stopping now to take a deep breath as I realized that I was breathing as heavily as if I was running again, out the office and down the street heading home as on that day.

As the boys hugged me tightly I went on. "I got home, only to find police in the apartment and no Max anywhere, no kids either. Everyone was gone. They of course grabbed me right away, but there wasn't any fight left in me, just tears. As I had entered his apartment, I had just fallen to the ground crying, and they quickly grabbed me. I was taken to a children's home for abused kids. That was a laugh, all the years I'd been an abused and neglected kid, the social workers never gave a damn about us, but now that I had a home and was loved as well as taken care of, they all of a sudden did. All because somehow they found out Max did sex stuff with some of us. The shithole I found myself in was just that, a warehouse for children where no one cared about anything, other than if we were causing trouble or not. The other thing was that Jordan wasn't there and no one would tell me where he was. As time went on, I found out what had happened to Max and why we were now in hell. One of the boys had met a kid who was being fucked with, and one day at lunch took him aside to talk to him in private. They thought no one could hear them, but there had been a teacher in the room nearby with an open window when they began speaking. The kid from our house had told this boy that what was being done to him was wrong, and he told him about Max and how it was supposed to be. How it was supposed to be about love and not hurting a kid. The boy ironically had agreed to come over and see Max to try to stop the abuse that he was suffering from a child molester, but sadly the teacher hadn't listened enough, or more likely hadn't really cared about what she had heard. She called the police and they called social services. All the kids from the apartment complex who had anything to do with Max were taken away and taken to separate places, foster homes, children's centers, and some to children's psychiatric facilities as well. Max, trying to spare us having to be interrogated and brainwashed by the cops and shrinks, not to mention having to testify in court, admitted to whatever they said. The worst part is that except for court, we had to undergo everything else he was trying to protect us from. Our world ended that day, and it's never been the same since," I said, stopping now again to calm myself down a bit.

When I could, I finished up the story for them and hoped it helped.

"I never could find out what they did with JoJo, although I tried as hard as I could. Me, they made go see a shrink, who informed me I had been 'groomed' by Max so he could abuse me. For some reason he didn't like it when I just laughed in his face at that. You see, this idiot tried to tell me from the moment Max had pulled me and Jo from under the stairs, it was all some plan just so he could force us into having sex with him. Didn't much care for it when I told him Max wouldn't have had to force anyone into anything, that we would have done anything he asked, except he never did. He told me he knew I thought I wanted to do the things we did, and didn't like it when I told him I did. He said every hug, every present, every single thing Max had ever done wasn't because Max loved or cared about any of us, but instead was just part of the plot to get us to agree to sex stuff, to make us think we wanted to do those things. It was unbelievable, and the scary thing is that he just kept on like nothing I said made any difference at all. He tried to make me question everything that ever happened between Max and I, from that night when he got us inside when I was seven and gave us a bath onward. He even brought some guy in who was about twenty, who told me he too had been in a relationship with a man from the time he was nine til he was seventeen, and finally came to realize what had been done to him. Now, he said, he had a lot of problems and had tried to kill himself three times already. He told me if I didn't accept the fact I'd been abused, I'd end up the same way as he did. I finally asked him when he started having problems with it, and told him it sure sounded like about the time he made his 'realization'. He actually said he didn't have problems before because he didn't know how bad he'd been hurt. For some reason he didn't like it when I told him that maybe the reason he didn't have problems before was because he hadn't been being hurt. The whole shrink thing didn't work out very well, not that they gave up trying to get me to hate Max, they didn't." I stopped there for a moment, then went on.

"Not much more to tell, I spent about six months of that bullshit before I split for greener pastures, and after a few months on the street in Utah, I got found by Jack and Dave.

I've been with them ever since. I met Becky and fell in love, then found a daughter to love, and I spend my time trying to help other kids now. Dad, he was sentenced to over one hundred and fifty years in jail for taking care of and loving kids no one else ever did. Something is very wrong with that picture. So that's what I know about it," I ended looking at each of the boys before moving from the pile, setting Peter down and standing up to face Jerome.

"You wanted to know what I knew about anything; well, I hope that answers your question. You see Jerome, THAT is a true pedophile, not you. Do you even know what the word actually means?" I asked, but he just stared at me.

"It means someone who LOVES children, Jerome, not someone who uses them. That is why every time I have to deal with the likes of you calling themselves pedophiles, boylovers, girllovers or childlovers, it makes me sick to my stomach, because you aren't any of those. You're nothing but scum who uses kids for their own purposes. Max never threw a kid out because they got too old, and yes, Jerome, he had his age he liked too, just like you do, but the difference is that he loved the kid and it didn't matter what age they were. Some of the ones who had grown up would come back to visit, and he'd hug them and love them just as much as he loved on us. I know of at least one who he loved that way too, and he wasn't gay, but that's what one of his kids needed, even though he was all grown up, and Max was there for him just like always. Just like he was for everyone. And you know something else, Jerome? Every single one of us knew, and I mean deep down knew, still do, that if no kid ever did any type of sex stuff with him, Max would still be there and still love us just as much. Can anyone say that about you?" I asked, but again got no answer.

"That's the difference between loving a kid and using a kid," I said now softly, sadly.

"Is that all we were to you, just someone to suck your dick?" Peter asked, moving up to stand next to me.

Tears were running down his face, and I put my arm around his shoulder, pulling him close.

He didn't answer, and Peter screamed, "IS IT?"

Jerome just stared at him before saying, "Look, kid, we all have our needs, and I cared about you, no matter what he says. You got your hugs and I got what I needed; didn't feel too bad when I did the sucking, either, did it?"

What happened next shocked me, as suddenly Peter screamed, "YOU FUCKER!!!!" and I felt a tug at my waist.

It happened so quick, but seemed to take forever, as I realized the tug was Peter pulling my gun from its holster and raising it towards Jerome.

Becky screamed my name, while others of my team yelled "GUN!" as I moved between Peter and Jerome.

"No, Peter, put down the gun," I said as calmly as I could.

He was shaking and crying so hard, I didn't even know if he could see Jerome, much less shoot him.

"No… he… he…" Peter was gasping, while I watched his finger, which was on the trigger.

"Don't do it, Peter, don't let him turn you into something you're not," I tried telling him.

"I'm gonna kill him," he finally got out.

"No, let us do it; it's our job and why we're here," I said, still trying to calm the child down.

The hurt and betrayal was enormous, and he'd snapped at finally realizing he meant nothing to someone he had given his love to and who he thought had loved him in return.

"He didn't fuck you, though," Peter replied, and I had to wince at that.

"You ain't got the balls, you little shit," Jerome had to choose now to say.

"I don't," Peter said, but what scared me was how he said it, calmly and with a smile on his face.

A smile that reminded me of my little brother Juan.

With that, though, I could see his finger tightening on the trigger, and I moved, grabbing the gun, only I wasn't in time as it went off.

Becky was screaming and Peter just crumbled, while I expected to feel agony in my gut, but instead felt nothing.

I figured it'd taken out my spine, but it took me a moment to realize that Carter was standing next to me smiling and I wasn't falling.

"What?" I asked, stunned, looking down and checking my intact stomach for a wound that wasn't there.

"I don't understand," I finally said, looking up at everyone around me.

Carter held up his hand, and in it was a cartridge as he smilingly said, "I ain't gonna be the one to tell that little ball of fire of yours that you up and died on her."

I reached out stunned and slowly took the bullet from his hand, asking, "Who are you?"

"Told you, Sgt. Carter, Special Ops," he said with this big grin on his face, before it disappeared and he looked down at the sobbing boy curled up on the floor.

I dropped down and started to pull him into my arms, but he began to fight me as I tried to calm him, Carter forgotten for now, at least for the moment.

"It's okay, it's okay," I said repeatedly.

Peter just kept repeating, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"I know, I know, but it's all right now," I told him.

When I got him calmed down some, I sat him back with the others, who were scared to death, and it took me a few minutes to convince them that everything was going to be all right.

Then I stood up and faced Jerome.

"For your crimes, you are sentenced to death, sentence to be carried out immediately," I said without formality.

I wanted this over, and over quickly; these kids needed to be gotten out of here and somewhere away from this place.

He looked stunned and started to say, "But… but you can't…" but Becky drove the point home quickly that silence was golden, and simply said, "With pleasure."

We were all surprised when Tilden stepped forward and said, "You can't."

"Excuse me, Sergeant," I said loudly.

"Umm, sorry, sir, but you can't do that," he repeated.

"In case you missed our orders, it was a search and destroy mission, Tilden, and that fucker is the destroy part," I told him, my voice cold.

"I heard our orders, Sir, but this man's crimes, as far as we know, do not qualify him for a sentence such as you have imposed," he said, standing at attention but with a look of steely determination on his face.

"I don't know what you're smoking, Sgt., but they do in my book, not to mention our superior officers', and in case you've forgotten, it won't be the first time the Unit has taken out someone for abusing kids, now STAND DOWN SOLDIER!" I finished up yelling, furious that he'd question my orders on a mission, so it was with some surprise when he didn't.

"No Sir, I will not! This order is illegal and I can't allow it to be carried out," he said, refusing to back down.

He was standing up to me, of all people, and Til and I were close, very close, so this shocked me even more.

"Illegal? Are you out of your mind? Our commanding officer gave us an order we've had before. He's admitted to abusing these kids and from statements made here alone, he's guilty of oral copulation and sodomy with multiple children. He's used them and thrown them away like garbage. That's more than enough for any judgment to be rendered by any member of the Unit, and you damn well know it," I said, furious as hell at this point.

"Yes Sir. You are correct that this more than meets the criteria for judgment under Unit guidelines but…" he was saying when I interrupted him.

"Then why the hell are you interfering and disobeying your commanding officer?" I asked him.

"Because it doesn't meet Clan guidelines for the imposition of a death sentence, Sir," he replied, never once backing down.

"What?" I asked in disbelief.

"Sir, we're not just the Unit anymore; we're Clan now, and we operate under their policies and rules. The threshold for a death sentence is higher under Clan law than we are used to operating under," he said.

"Look, we're not on a Clan mission here. We're on a Unit assignment under Unit Rules of Engagement, and that means we're under our usual operating procedures," I replied.

"Respectfully, sir, no, you're not, we're not. Any time we act now, we're under Clan SOP, not Unit anymore," he told me.

"I think I'll have to have a little talk with Adam when we get back, because scum like this aren't going to be allowed to just walk," I said.

"I understand that, Sir, but we can't execute him," Til replied.

He was right and I knew it. The big speech about us being all one group now meant we had to follow their stupid ass rules, at least for now.

Oh, it was going to be a long talk for damn sure.

"So we just have to let the bastard go?" I asked, not happy now.

"No, there are other remedies, and if you would allow me to do a telepathic scan, I can ascertain the extent of his crimes to ensure an appropriate punishment under Clan Short guidelines," he replied.

I nodded, and he walked up to Jerome and placed his hands on along either side of the man's head, standing silently for several minutes as we all watched.

Finally he let his hands drop, and moved back from the smugly smiling Jerome to stand facing me again.

"Upon telepathic examination, it has been determined he is guilty of multiple offenses including murder, and meets the criteria for a capital sentence," he said.

"Murder?" I asked, stunned, and looking at the now white faced Jerome.

"Five years ago, he attempted to throw away another boy by the name of Grant Abscom, who was thirteen. Grant loved him and was devastated to be kicked out of Jerome's life. In an attempt to get Jerome to take him back, he threatened to tell what had been taking place with Jerome for the past few years, and Jerome told him he could return. I can provide the details if you wish, Sir, but the short version is, thinking that Jerome actually wanted him, Grant came back and once he got here, Jerome killed him and drove the boy's body out into the deep woods outside Mannsville, Kentucky, where he buried him, then returned home," Tilden reported calmly.

"He… he killed somebody, a boy like us?" Shannon asked into the silence.

"Yes, one who had grown up on him and was no longer desirable," Tilden replied.

All three boys were looking at Jerome with horror on their faces as I said, "Carry out sentence."

"Yes Sir," Becky replied as she and Bryan hauled the now crying Jerome from the room.

There was silence after they left until we heard a single gunshot, which caused all of us to jump, the boys more than us, but still all the same, we realized that a life had just been ended, and on my order.

It was never easy, no matter how much the person deserved it, but then again I guess it wasn't supposed to be.

Becky and Bryan came back in, and I quickly walked over and wrapped both of them in a hug, telling them, "Mom when we get home, no arguments." They nodded their heads and Becky softly said, "You too."

"Yeah, me too," I replied.

We were brought out of it by a small voice asking shakily, "What's going to happen to us now? Do we have to go back There?"

I turned and started to answer, when Carter walked between us and stood looking at me. "I think Peter, and maybe these guys too, could use a dad."

"Yeah, well, there are a few thousand other ones right now that could use one too, and we're kind of short of parents for any of them," I replied, knowing he was right, but also knowing it wasn't going to happen.

He smiled and said, "No, I mean they could use a real dad, yours."

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"He's what they need, especially after what they've been through," he replied.

Even though I knew he was right, there was no way it could ever happen. "I guess you didn't hear me when I said he's in jail and he'll never get out," I said sadly.

"Oh, I heard, and you're right; he never will until his son goes in and gets him," he said, smiling again.

"What?" I said again, not believing what I had thought I had just heard.

"It's time you had your father back, and it's time Max did again what he's destined to do, which is love kids," he told me.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" I finally asked, shocked.

"Told ya my name is…" he started to say, but I interrupted and said, "Carter, I know, but somehow I don't think so."

"Oh, I don't lie, Austin, that is my name," he said, grinning.

"Regular soldiers don't stop bullets with their bare hands," I replied, looking steadily at him.

"Never said I was a regular soldier, now, did I?" he said, only now the grin had changed to one of pure impishness.

I shook my head and asked again, "Who are you?" then turned to Bryan, who was looking anywhere but at me at the moment when he saw me looking his way.

"Paul Carter, as I said," he replied.

"Bryan?" I asked.

"Well… ummm…" he stuttered.

"Wait a minute," Becky suddenly said as she walked forward, looking intently at Paul now.

Then to my surprise she laughed and turned to me, asking, "Austin, what is Paul in Spanish?"

"Spanish, how the hell should I know?" I grumbled as Carter giggled.

"Well, second languages are important, you know?" the boy said as he finally added, "Maybe this'll help," and suddenly a glow appeared around him, along with a pair of golden wings.

"Holy shit!" several voices could be heard to say, including mine, as the angel boy said, "Well, I guess it would be now, wouldn't it?" which got everyone either choking or laughing.

"Pablo," I whispered in shock.

"At your service, Lieutenant," he said.

"But…" I started to say, but stopped as he looked at me and told me, "My full name is Paul Shannon Carter, or in Spanish, Pablo Shannon Carter. I was born and raised in South America to an English father and American mother, but since I lived down there, we just took the Spanish form of our names. I have a brother named Steven or Esteban, and another named Mike, or Miguel as he's called."

I nodded and finally said, "Thank you."

"No problem; now let's see about your dad; he's been in that place for way too long," he said and waved his hand.

With that, we were in a beautiful meadow, grass, trees, and a stream wandering gently through it.

Kids could be seen off in the distance, playing and laughing as they should be.

"Are you really an angel?" Shannon asked.

"Yes I am, and you're safe here," he told them.

"Where is here?" I asked him.

"It's a special place for kids who need a safe Haven," he replied, looking out at the distant kids playing and having fun, before turning back and saying to the three we'd just picked up, "Why don't you guys go and play for a while. It's safe here and no one will hurt you; there's even deer that will let you pet them."

"Really?" they asked.

"Yep, really," he replied, smiling.

They looked to me, and I simply nodded my head and off they ran.

"You ready?" he asked, and I returned my gaze to see him minus wings, glow, and back in uniform.

"You think it's that easy?" I asked. "He's in prison," I added.

"Yeah, I know, but you're Clan Short now; you outrank anyone on this planet. Start using it." He grinned impudently at my shocked look, and I finally said, smiling, "Yeah, let's go get my dad."

With smiles and nods of approval from the others, he said, "Ready, then, one, two and…" suddenly we were in a lobby as the word "Three" left his mouth.

An alarm started going off, and all of us had our weapons at the ready as guards came from everywhere, but they were all unarmed.

"HOLD!" I yelled.

"My name is Lt. Austin Casey of the Clan Short Special Forces Division, and we're here to pick up a prisoner," I said as they all looked at us warily.

"You can't have weapons in a prison," an older man said, moving to stand slightly in front of the others.

"Well, you got 'em, and they ain't going nowhere, so get used to it," Pablo said now, and I shot him a glare, but just got that impudent grin in response.

Great, now I know why they called him a devil, and I'll be damned if I didn't hear him giggle softly.

"I'd like to see your warden, if I may?" I stated politely, and at that moment a heavyset man pushed his way through the guards to the front and identified himself as said person.

After re-introducing myself, I told him, "We're here to pick up a prisoner you have in custody."

"Oh? I've heard a lot about you and your Clan, and I must say I'm so happy you've come into existence. Children need you and what you can do for them. It's a real shame no one until now has ever really cared for kids. We'll do anything we can to assist you, Lieutenant," the warden gushed.

"Excellent, then I would appreciate if you would bring a Max Anderson to us immediately," I told him, trying not to be sick with his kissing of my ass.

"Anderson? Excellent; he's a child molester, and finally he'll get the justice he deserves. I've heard what you Clan kids do to people who hurt little kids, and it's high time too; we certainly can't do anything to him like he deserves. We'll get him right away for you," he said, and I had to do everything in my power not to rip his head off.

"Thank you," Becky finally managed to say sweetly to him, because I couldn't by that point.

He gave instructions, which someone left to carry out, and we were left with him and his going on and on about the Clan.

It was when he started on Dad again that I almost lost it, but Becky, grabbing my arm, stopped me from killing the son of a bitch.

He let us know that while he couldn't really do anything to Max, he had also made sure that if other prisoners happened to, there wouldn't be much complaining from the staff.

As he put it, "It's only justice to pay him back for some of what he's done to all those innocent kids."

If I hadn't seen a commotion from the back about then, even Becky wouldn't have been able to stop me.

Suddenly, though, Dad was being led through the assembled group of guards as the warden was announcing, "Well, Anderson, you'll finally get what you deserve."

Dad came to a stop staring at me with shock and disbelief written all over his face before he said slowly, like he couldn't believe it, "Austin?"

I felt the tears falling from my eyes as I said, "Yeah, Dad, it's me," and then it was like I was a little kid again as I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Oh GOD, DAD!" I cried and just lost it.

I heard the warden asking, "What the hell is going on here?" and Becky's reply of "Just what we told you," but all my attention was on the man I hadn't seen for two long years now.

"Are you okay?" I asked into his ear.

"I am now, I've seen one of my boys," he replied huskily, and pulling back, I realized he was crying too.

"Let's get out of here, Dad," I said stepping back but not letting go of him.

"I want an explanation," the warden demanded, moving towards us, but Pablo's MP 5 in his mid-section convinced him to stop rather suddenly.

I looked up and said, "Exactly what you said, warden, he's going to get exactly what he deserves."

"But you called him Dad?" he said.

"Yes, I did, because that's what he is. I'm one of those horribly abused kids you were going on about," I told him.

"What are you going to do with him?" he asked, not looking happy now.

"I'm going to give some kids the best dad in the world," I told him, enjoying the shocked look on his face before I said "Let's get out of here," and we were.

This time we appeared on a beach somewhere, which was deserted as far as the eye could see, and Pablo was back to full angel form, glow, wings and all.

"What?" Dad asked, stunned, looking at Pablo.

"Don't ask," I replied to a "Hey!" and it was my turn to grin.

"Austin, I..I don't know where to start. Are you okay, son?" he finally asked.

"I am now, Dad," I replied.

"But…how? What?" he asked still stunned

"It's a long story, Dad, but I'd like you to meet Becky, the one I'm going to marry," I said, pulling Becky forward.

"It's Rebecca, sir, and it's an honor to meet you," she told him, shooting me a dirty look, to which I just smiled.

Matter of fact, I couldn't seem to get it off my face at all since we had got here..

"When we get home, you'll find you have a granddaughter too, Dad," I told him, smiling at his stunned look.

"A granddaughter? But you're so young, the both of you," he said with concern, looking at each of us.

"She's adopted, Dad, I didn't forget about the birth control lessons you taught me," I said.

"I should hope not," he replied, but then looked down before looking back up at me, "What about the others, Aussie?" he asked.

"I…I don't know, Dad, they took all of us and…" I said, trailing off at the end.

"I think when you get home, you'll find that Daileass now has an encrypted eyes only file for you, Austin, that will answer both your questions," Pablo said smiling.

"My brother?" I breathed, hoping against hope.

"Him too, Austin, all of them," he replied.

I moved over and scooped up the little angel boy in my arms and hugged him hard as I said, "Thank you."

"You need him, and so do a lot of kids," he replied as I let him go, then he walked over to Dad and placed his hand on Dad's chest.

I watched as a glow grew and expanded from his hand for a minute or so, then faded away.

"That'll do it, sir," he told Dad.

"What did you do?" Dad asked in wonder.

"Healed you, of time and disease," Pablo replied, and I noticed Dad seemed to look even younger than I remembered him being.

"Thank you, child," he said softly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sir, your love is needed here," Pablo replied.

"My love isn't accepted here," Dad said to him.

"It is now," Pablo replied.

"Dad, I have some things to tell you. You see, we were sent on a mission today and found three children. They were being…. And now they need someone, and I think that someone is you, Dad,\." I finished telling him the story of Marshall, Shannon and Peter.

"I know it is you, sir, they need your love and your understanding, and I KNOW you can give them the kind of love they need and will need in the future," Pablo said softly.

I still couldn't believe it, and I couldn't stop touching him, I was afraid he'd disappear again.

Pablo turned to me and said, "He won't. He's here to stay, and no one will ever take him from you or any other kid again."

"I guess we should meet these boys, and see if they're interested in an old man to look after them," Dad said, smiling as he muttered, "A grandchild," still not believing it

Suddenly we were back in the meadow, and three boys were running towards us, but they stopped as they got closer, seeing the grown up now here with us.

Pablo said softly, "Come here guys, you're safe here, remember, and I won't let anything harm you, even if it wanted to."

With the warmth and love coming from him, the boys relaxed and walked the rest of the way forward, until they stopped right in front of us.

"Hello, little ones," Dad said, kneeling down as he spoke. "My name's Max, and everything is going to be all right now."

It was so much like what he'd said to me so many years ago that I felt tears in my eyes as the boys looked at him warily.

"Shhh now, come on, no one is going to hurt you again, not ever," Dad said.

"Trust him, boys, for he is what you need to heal your soul, and you are what he needs to heal his wounds. He'll never hurt you, and he'll never stop loving you if you let him," Pablo said softly to the three.

The three boys looked for a long time at my father before first one, then another, let a soft sob escape from them.

Dad never wavered in returning their gaze, and as those sobs became more and louder, suddenly he had three little boys in his arms, crying and holding on for dear life.

We all stood silently by, watching this, until the boys quieted and settled in my father's arms, content at last.

I knew of course there would be hurdles, but a big one had been crossed now, and I could see the hope in three sets of eyes now, where before there had been none.

"You all ready to go home now?" I asked them.

"Yeah, if it's to yours," Peter replied.

"No ,Peter, it isn't to mine, I'm sorry," I said sadly as panic began, but before it could take root, I smiled and said, "It's to ours," which got smiles on their faces.

"What about the home?" Shannon asked.

"Home?" Dad asked.

"They're from a children's home, Dad. We'll have to check it out and let them know we've got these three, but first let's check in at HQ."

With everyone agreeing, I turned to Pablo, who smiled and, glow, wings, and all disappearing, said "Abra Kadabra," and with that we were back at the Unit Command Center.

"WHAT?" followed by "Oh no, IT'S YOU!" suddenly came from Alvin.

"Hey, Alvin, what's up?" Pablo said giggling.

"Oh no," Alvin repeated.

"Oh, I can't stay, things to do, ya know, just wanted to say hi, after all can't come by and not say hello to one of my favorite brothers, now, can I?" Pablo said, grinning now.

Somehow I got the impression from the look on Alvin's face that he wouldn't have minded overly much if he had 'forgotten' him this time.

"See ya later, guys, and enjoy your new home and your new dad," he said and disappeared, just as I was saying "Thanks again."

"Oh, Alvin, say hi to Khan for me, and tell him I'll stop by soon to say hi, I really miss the big puss." Pablo could be heard from somewhere giggling, then added, "Oh, and Bryan, we're REALLY gonna have to have a long talk," then more giggles followed by silence, although Bryan looked a little faint.

"Welcome home, Dad," I finally said into the silence.

Welcome home.

**END FLASHBACK**

---

"...And,,,well, that’s the debrief, sir," I ended my statement, looking at his impassive face.

To say my nerves were on edge is an understatement, as that look had been present for much of what I had told him.

"I see," he finally said into the uncomfortable silence.

"Umm, yes sir" was all I could think to say in reply.

Before anything else could be said, there was a quick knock on the door and then it was opening.

Every one of my team swung around, and hands dropped to our service weapons until we recognized who it was, and seeing the pasty look on the one boy’s face, I also knew he knew just how close he’d come to being shot.

Suddenly two boys were each screaming the other's name as both bolted up, one from his chair and the other from his wheelchair, which had been pushed into the room moments before.

Each screaming one word, a name.

"DAN!"

"PETEY!"

Then they were in each other's arms, sinking to the floor, each trying to talk over the other, as Tony, who had wheeled Dan into the room, watched with a smile on his face.

I had to admit we all had them on our own faces as well at seeing the tears of happiness washing both boys' faces.

A throat being cleared brought our attention back to our Executive Officer, who was watching all of this, and I quickly said, "Excuse me, sir, the boy who came in is Dan, the reason for our mission, while the one who brought him in is Tony, on loan to us from Northeast Division. The other boy is of course Petey," I said.

"The Pete from your debriefing, the one you pulled out?" he asked.

"Yes sir, but Tony, how did you find out about us?" I asked.

"Daileass told me,” he replied.

"Daileass?" I asked as giggles filled the air.

"Gotta anticipate your commander's wishes, even if he don’t know he's wishing it, ya know," the imp replied, giggling still. "As a matter of fact, I let them listen in the entire time, so they know what's going on."

The General just looked at me, and I realized I had better make some introductions.

"Ummm, sorry sir... This is Shannon," I said, pointing to one of the boys, then the other, telling him, "And this one is Marshal."

As his gaze went to the last person in the room, I took a deep breath,and walking over to stand alongside him, introduced him to my Commander.

I could see my entire team holding their breath with me, as I didn’t know what to expect, but then he surprised me by wheeling himself forward with a big smile on his face, hand outstretched and saying, "It’s a pleasure and an honor to meet you, Max."

With a big smile on my face, I couldn’t help saying, "Dad, I’d like you meet my dad."

 

---

 

AUTHORS NOTES:

Well I hope you enjoyed the scene above. It covered some material that some may object to and if you are one of them then I am sorry. Its a controversial subject and for many a hot button issue but one that I thought was something to be addressed. I hope I did it in a way that shows not all people who love children in such a way are, as the popular media and culture like to portray them, evil. Many would die before hurting a child in any way, shape or form. It also realistically tries to portray the children who contrary to the same mentality may be interested at times during their lives in playing like that or being loved like that. We in this country and many others have decided that no child could possibly like or want to experiment sexually with anyone the slightest bit older than they are and thats just not true. We have allowed that an eleven year old might want to experiment with another eleven year old but if the other person is sixteen we somehow insist that there could be no desire present unless there was something wrong with the eleven year old. Thats nothing but harmful to the child as for him it is usually natural curiosity that propels his experimentation. The things which I spoke about in this chapter happening to the boys after the discovery arent made up sadly, I wish they were. The kids in these situations are told the things Austin got told by his Therapist The brainwashing does occur and the whole Grooming bullcrap theyve come up with does get perpetrated upon these poor kids. The children of these relationships suffer more at the hands of their supposed rescuers than they ever did at the hands of their so called abusers. Children may and often are in loving relationships with adults which would be considered perfectly normal by anyone and they are in these relationships for years before anything else enters into them oftentimes at the childs instigation. Sadly though if it gets discovered the child is entered into therapy where he/shes told that the entire relationship was nothing but a scam to end up abusing the child in the end. There is so much real abuse going on it seems a complete shame to me to foster even more and from those supposed to be helping the truly abused recover. Weve allowed millions of our children to be abused by this system and I regretfully do not see any change coming instead fostering this mentality in each successive generation to an ever greater degree. I will hold out hope that someday people will come to realize not only the truth but the harm that has been allowed to flourish, harm greater than most of the supposed abuse that it is supposed to help with.

This chapter is dedicated to J and M, two people, who lived Max and Austins dream and like them had it shattered. May their outcome be as good as that of Max and Austin. Those of us who knew you will never forget you and our prayers are always with the both of you.

For legal reasons I nor anyone here is encouraging, endorsing or suggesting that anyone break the law.

Until next time..........Dark Star