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**Additional Note:** There will be sexual scenes throughout this story, but it won't be predominately sex.  
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            Operation Angel Rescue

by Erastes
Copyright 2019 by Erastes
Chapter 22 – An Adventure and a Problem.

At breakfast the following morning, Glen asked me a question.  “Are you still gonna take us out for a walk on the government land today?”

“Yes, I still plan on doing that, and we’ll be riding the four-wheelers as well.” 

“We will?” Dakota asked puzzled. 

“Yes, we’ll be riding the four-wheelers to the spot where we’ll enter the government land.” 

“So we’re not goin’ onto the government land where I went with Glen and Laine the other day?” 

“No, I’m taking you to another location to do this.” 

“So where are we goin’ then?” Laine followed. 

“Be patient, grasshopper, and you’ll see.  I’ll explain my reason for doing it this way when we get there.” 

The boys tried to press me for more information, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of time discussing it here when it would be easier to do it when we reached the location I’d selected.  They finally gave up their attempt to get me to spill the beans, so we finished eating before we got dressed to ride the four-wheelers. 

When the boys were ready, I took the ATVs out of the garage and the boys put on their goggles, helmets, and gloves, and then we filled the gas tanks before taking off.  I led them down the trail heading toward the government land, and when we reached the trail that ran between it and my property, we took a right.  I then led them down that trail until we reached the stream, and without crossing it I pulled over, shut off my ATV, and hopped off the seat.  The boys quickly followed suit. 

“Just put your goggles and gloves into your helmets and then leave them with your four-wheeler,” I announced. 

“Aren’t you afraid somebody will steal them while we’re on our walk?” Jamie asked.

“No, because I doubt anyone else is around.  My property is posted, so no one is allowed to be on it without my permission, and if anyone is on the government land then we should see or hear them while we’re on our walk.”

“Ok, but I hope we don’t come out and find the four-wheelers gone, cuz then we’ll have to walk back to the house and that’s a long way,” Glen groaned.

“Like I said, that’s not going to happen.” 

“So why are we doing this here?” Laine followed. 

“It’s because the stream runs through the government land, so if we get separated and any of you get confused and lost, you’ll just have to locate the stream and follow it out.  If you haven’t noticed, the stream flows toward the rising sun, so you will be able to use that or the current to tell which direction to go when following it.  If it’s before noon, walk in the direction of the sun, and if it’s after noon then walk in the opposite direction of the sun.” 

“But will we be able to see the sun in there?” Jamie wondered. 

“Maybe not completely, but you’ll be able to see enough of it to help guide you in the right direction.” 

“Oh, ok.” 

“Just be as quiet as you can while we’re doing this, and then maybe you’ll get to see some animals along the way.” 

“Are there any bears in there?” Jamie followed. 

“I doubt there will be, but if there are I’ll make sure you have time to get away.” 

“How will you do that?” Dakota wanted to know. 

“I’ll do something to distract it, and you must know the old saying, don’t you?” 

“What old saying?” Glen asked. 

“You don’t have to run fast to get away from a bear, just faster than the slowest person that you’re with, and that will be me.” 

I thought this would cause them to laugh, but instead their mouths fell open.  “You mean you’d sacrifice yourself to save us?” Laine gasped. 

“I think I’ve told you before that I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you boys safe.” 

“Then we’d better not run into any bears, cuz none of us want to lose you,” he replied, and the other boys nodded in agreement. 

“I appreciate that, but if it came to a choice it would be an easy one for me to make, but enough of this gloomy talk.  Are you ready to go in there or not?” 

“Yeah, we are,” they agreed. 

I had explored this area before, in an effort to see where the stream originated, and I ended up walking for hours, most of it uphill.  What I discovered is that a bunch of smaller streams feed into the one that eventually meanders through my property, before crossing under the road.  It then continues down the slope and into the valley below, and that’s what helped to create the marshy area.  I wasn’t planning on taking the boys as far as I’d gone previously, but I knew there was some lovely scenery in this area that I thought they’d enjoy.  I also felt we might be able to spot some of the animals as they came down to the stream to drink. 

I led them to a spot that overlooked an animal trail that led to the stream and then crossed over it, and the boys and I sat still as we waited to see if any animals wandered through.  We’d been there for about twenty minutes when a buck, three does, and a couple of fawns walked down the trail heading toward the stream. 

“Do you think the doe and fawn that we saw the other day when we were in the woods might be part of this group?” Dakota whispered to me. 

“It’s possible.” 

“Do you think those are the deer that were drinking outta the pond?” Jamie followed. 

“That’s also possible, but there were a couple more deer at the pond than are in this herd, and I don’t remember seeing the buck.  He’s got a large set of antlers and I think I would have remembered seeing those if he had been there.” 

The deer had stopped to take a drink from the stream and the buck suddenly looked in our direction.  I quickly put a finger up to my lips to signal the boys to be quiet, because I felt the buck might have heard us whispering.  He might have also smelled us, because the wind seemed to be swirling around in the trees.  The buck eventually lowered its head and started drinking again, and a few minutes later he led the others along the trail on the other side of the stream as they went deeper into the woods. 

“That was awesome,” Glen said once they’d disappeared.  “It was like watching a scene from the movie Bambi.”

“And the two fauns were Bambi and Faline,” Dakota added. 

“And the one with the antlers was Bambi’s dad, the Prince of the Forest,” Jamie chimed in. 

“But I didn’t see Thumper with them,” Glen joked. 

“Or Flower, but I hope he’s not around, cuz I don’t want to get sprayed,” Laine retorted while making a face.

“Yeah, that would be awful,” Jamie agreed. 

“And then you’d have to sleep outside or in the garage, because I wouldn’t want that smell in my house,” I quipped. 

“Man, how would you ever get rid of the smell?” Laine wondered. 

“I’ve heard taking a bath in tomato juice works,” Glen replied. 

“That would be a lot of tomato juice,” Laine pointed out.

“Or you could use a combination of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dishwashing soap,” I added, “but it’s easier to avoid getting sprayed in the first place.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Dakota concurred.

“Getting back to our previous discussion, you boys are certainly up on the facts about the movie,” I teased.  “I didn’t realize you would have even seen it.”

“Yeah, we have,” Glen confirmed.  “Chuck and Isaac had an old TV, a VCR, and a bunch of old tapes and that was one of them.  We watched that movie quite a few times when we were there.” 

“Damn, I wouldn’t have expected you boys to know what a VCR was either, let alone have used one,” I said amazed. 

“Isaac explained it to us,” Glen responded. 

“But if Chuck and Isaac lived in an abandoned building, where did they get the electricity from so you could watch it?”

“They stole a bunch of extension cords and connected them together before hooking it up to an outdoor outlet at another building,” Laine explained. 

“I see, but I didn’t think you boys all stayed there at the same time.” 

“We didn’t,” Dakota replied, “but sometimes we all hung out there during the day.  We did it before we went out to earn money or when the weather was bad, but that was before they started acting like assholes.” 

“I guess that would explain it,” I agreed. 

“I hope that buck doesn’t get shot like Bambi’s dad did,” Glen added. 

“It’s a possibility, because people are able to hunt on government land during deer season, so none of those deer will be safe,” I countered. 

“How can people shoot something that is so cute and amazing?” Jamie asked. 

“At one time people hunted them so they would have something to eat, and a few still do that, but many just do it for sport.” 

“Man, that’s cruel,” Dakota spat back. 

“Not really.  By keeping the deer population under control it actually helps the other deer to survive,” I explained. 

“How does it do that?” Jamie challenged. 

“Because during the winter there isn’t as much food for them to eat, so with fewer deer it means there is more for the others to eat and then fewer deer starve to death.” 

“Yeah, I guess starving to death would be worse than getting’ shot,” Laine confessed. 

“Yes, a well placed shot would kill the deer quickly, while starving to death means it would probably suffer for a long time before finally dying,” I confirmed. 

“Ok, so maybe it isn’t so cruel after all,” Dakota relented. 

Seeing the boys were starting to get restless sitting in one area for such a long time, we got up and started walking again.  The boys’ attention was on the ground and the area in front of them, while I occasionally glanced up at the trees.  That’s when I spotted an object and pointed it out to them. 

“If you boys look up, you’ll see someone left his hunting stand up in this tree,” I pointed out. 

“Why would he leave it here?” Glen asked. 

“The person, or maybe he’s part of a small group of people, must hunt in this area regularly.” 

“But why would they be up in a tree when the deer are on the ground?” Jamie followed. 

“It’s a better vantage point and deer don’t look up in trees for danger, so the hunter doesn’t get noticed quite as easily.” 

“Look there’s a ladder connected to it,” Laine pointed out. 

“Yes, it’s so they can climb up to it easily.” 

“Can we go up and check it out?” Dakota asked. 

“It’s not ours and I hate messing with other people’s property.  Not only that but there’s not a lot of room up there, so it’s easy to fall off and I don’t want any of you to get injured.” 

“I’ll be careful, but I want to see what its like,” Dakota pressed. 

“Then be very careful, because if you fall and get hurt it won’t be easy to get you medical attention.  We’d either have to carry you back to the four-wheelers or send someone for help, and either way would take quite a bit of time.” 

“I’ll be really careful then, but I want to try this.”

I allowed him to go up first, and then Laine and Glen did it as well, but Jamie wasn’t as adventurous and preferred to keep his feet on the ground.  He stayed by my side the entire time as we watched what the others were doing. 

“It was neat up there, but I couldn’t see very much through all the leaves,” Dakota told me. 

“Yes, deer hunting season is in the fall, so many of the leaves are on the ground by then, so it’s much easier to see the surrounding area.” 

“Ahhh, I was wonderin’ how they could hunt from there when they couldn’t see very much.”

After the boys had sated their curiosity, we did some more exploring before I decided it was time to start heading back.  It was getting close to noon and I knew the boys would soon be complaining that they were hungry and I wanted to get them back to the house before that happened.  When we reached the trail where we left the four-wheelers earlier, Jamie made an observation. 

“You were right, they’re still here.” 

“Yes, just as I expected.  People aren’t allowed on my land without my permission, and that’s why you see posts in the ground every so often with a posted sign attached.  Sometimes I’d hang them on trees too, if there was one around, because it’s the only way I could keep others off my property legally.” 

“Did you put all of them up?”

“Not all of them, but I did the ones closest to the house because the tractor has a posthole digger attachment.  I hired a company to do the rest after I showed them what I wanted.  When they finished, I rode my four-wheeler around to make sure they’d done it exactly the way I wanted.  I go around every spring and fall to make sure the signs are still up and no one has ripped them down or they didn’t come off in bad weather.” 

“Can we go with you next time you do that?” Jamie followed. 

“Sure but I won’t be doing it again until late August or early September, and then again in either April or May.” 

“That’s ok, cuz if you adopt us we’ll still be here,” he pointed out with a grin. 

“Yes, I suppose you will.”

The boys put on their goggles, helmets, and gloves again and we turned the ATVs around so we could head back to the house.  As soon as we got there, the boys and I washed up quickly, and then I fixed cheeseburgers, tater tots, and peas for lunch, since I’d taken the hamburger meat out of the freezer before we left. 

Once we were all full, the boys took off to do different things and I tried to catch up on some of my chores.  I was in the middle of doing another load of laundry when my phone rang.  I answered it quickly after I saw who was calling. 

“Eric, its Murray Dann, and I’m afraid I have some bad news.  We’ve hit a slight snag with the adoptions.” 

I was shocked by this news and it left me momentarily speechless.  As soon as I’d regained my senses, I asked a question.  “Why?  What happened?  Does it have to do with the advocate’s report?” 

“No, as far as I know the judge hasn’t received it yet, but I was served with a summons requesting a sample of DNA from one of the boys?” 

“Which boy, and what in the hell would anyone need his DNA for?” 

“It’s concerning James Palmer.  It seems that a man has come forward claiming he may be James’ biological father.” 

“What?  Then why the hell didn’t he show up and make this claim sooner?  Why did he wait until after all these years, because Jamie said he’s never had any contact with his dad before?” 

“I might be able to explain that.  Once I received the summons I contacted the attorney who was responsible for having me served.  He told me that his client had once dated Melissa Palmer and he calculated that it was around the same time as James would have been conceived.” 

“So why did he wait until now to do something about it?”

“He said the relationship ended poorly and Melissa never mentioned that she was pregnant and he only discovered she had a son when he read about her death in the newspaper.  It was an article about her being killed in the car crash and it mentioned she had a son and gave his age.”

“And he’s just getting around to doing this now?”

“No, the day after he read the newspaper article he went to the police station and Department of Social Services to see if they had any information about the boy.  Both agencies told him that no one knew the boy’s current whereabouts and stated that he had apparently disappeared.  The guy kept in contact with them for the next few weeks, but neither agency ever learned any more about James’ situation.  Since neither group ever came up with any information about the boy, he finally gave up.  I was told this was mostly due to the fact that the police had come to the conclusion that the boy might even be dead.” 

“Then why didn’t he find out when Paul went to social services and notified them that I’d found Jamie and sought to get custody of him?” 

“Even though Social Services gave you custody, it appears that the boy’s name was never entered into their system.  It may have been a clerical error, or it may have been intentional.  Seeing you aren’t receiving any payments from them for his care and you were willing to take care of him without reimbursement, they may have merely decided that his name didn’t need to be included in their database.  After all he was an orphan and a runaway, so after they allowed you to assume custody they might have just written him off.” 

“So then what brought him to this guy’s attention now?”

“It was the adoption.  It seems as if all of the boys’ names were entered into the court database, and somehow it came to this guy’s attention.  His lawyer may have placed an alert on the boy’s name, or merely discovered it during a routine search, or the guy might have discovered it another way.  No matter how it came to his attention, he’s demanding a DNA sample so it can be determined if James is his son.” 

“Damn, it will destroy Jamie if I tell him about this or if he ends up having to leave.” 

“We don’t have a choice other than to provide the sample.” 

“So what do they need?” 

“You can take him to a lab or the police station and they can swab the inside of the boy’s cheek.  Once they have the sample they’ll send it to the other attorney so he can have it analyzed.  He’ll then take the results and have it compared to the sample from James’ mother and this man to determine the issue of paternity.”

“Wait!  They have a sample of his mother’s DNA?”

“Yes, I understand they had one taken before she was buried, in case they needed it to identify James.  If you remember, I mentioned that the police thought he might be dead.” 

“Damn, I never expected a problem this late in the process.  I thought we dotted all of the i’s and crossed each of the t’s.” 

“Obviously not, and I’m not sure we could have anticipated this.  We had no way of knowing that the biological father would be searching for him now, especially since he wasn’t in the picture previously.” 

“If he’s the father, then why wouldn’t Jamie’s mother have told him that he had a son or tried to get child support from him?” 

“I was told it was a very unpleasant break up, so that may have had something to do with it.  The woman was never married and gave her son her maiden surname, so apparently she didn’t want the father to be part of the boy’s life.”

“If it was an unpleasant break up, could he possibly have done something that we could use against him and have him deemed an unfit parent?”

“The only information about the break up is merely what he’s said and there are no records of any police reports or court filings.  I know this because I’ve already checked those sources.”

“So why is this man interested in finding out and gaining custody of Jamie now, since he’s already twelve?” 

“I was told that the man got married about nine years ago and his wife has been unable to conceive.  He feels that if James is his son then they would like to raise him and become a family.” 

“Well I guess this means I’ll have to break the news to Jamie, and then I’ll call Paul to see if he can do the testing if I bring Jamie to the station.” 

“I’ll notify Paul about what is being requested and where to send the sample so he’ll be prepared for your call.” 

“Ok and thank you.” 

“I’m sorry I had to deliver this news, but I didn’t have a choice.  I’m an officer of the court and legally obligated to respond to the summons.  Since they know I’m representing you and the boys in the adoption process, I had absolutely no wiggle room where this was concerned.”

“I know, and I’m not blaming you, but it’s devastating at this late date.  I expected something like this might happen with Dakota’s mother, or possibly even Glen’s mother, but I thought we were free and clear when it came to Jamie.” 

“Yes, it is unfortunate that this popped up now.” 

“I know, and now I just have to figure out how I’m going to tell Jamie without breaking his heart.” 

“Just remember, the claim this man is making is only about possibly being the father.  It is far from being a fact yet, so this may just be a slight glitch and we’ll discover he isn’t the father.” 

“That would be great, but listening to the comment you just made caused me to think I was on an episode of the Maury Povich or Jerry Springer shows.” 

“Yes, it does give you that feeling,” he agreed.  “All I can do is to wish both of you the best of luck.” 

“Thank you and I hope I can convince Jamie of this as well.” 

“Good luck with that too.” 

“And thank you for your help.” 

As soon as I ended the call, I tried to think of a good way to break the news to Jamie.

                                                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

I wish to extend my thanks to Emoe and Donny for editing these chapters for me and offering their suggestions.   

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to:  ErastesTouch@aol.com  - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail. 

My other stories:

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/chance-of-a-lifetime/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/all-the-worlds-a-stage/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/watching-noah-grow/

                                                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.