Who Will Catch My Fall II Part 7

WARNING: This story contains descriptions of abusive acts, both physical and sexual in nature, involving MINOR boys. I wish to explain that this story is not true! Further, it is not intended to promote illegal acts against minors, but to educate people as to what a minor child has to do in order to survive in a severely abusive environment that they are trapped in. One of the most famous examples of this was Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped at age 7 and severely abused for 7 years. He was subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse. I have had the privilege of working with a number of boys like him, and I consider all of them to be extremely brave. Many people still believe that children who stay with an abuser/captor do so because they want to. This is utterly untrue, and is proven through numerous interviews, behavioral, and psychological studies conducted with these victims. A young child does not have the same ability to cope with stressful situations as an adult would because they have not had the privilege of time and experience that an adult has. Also, their brains are growing and developing still so that a young child truly lacks the emotional and physical ability as well as the intricate thought process that adults have. Therefore, they rely more on their basic instincts, and learn quickly what they need to do in order to survive. Thus, when they are removed from that abusive situation, they have an extremely hard time adjusting to their new environment because they are not familiar with trust, caring, and compassion. These are the emotions that the child has to learn once they are put into a new non-abusive environment. People assume that these emotions are natural. Many do not realize that much of our human emotional capacities are learned.

The following story is a work of fiction; it also incorporated actual events that I learned from various victims I counseled over the years in the first part of the story. However, this new part in this story is still a complete work of fiction because I have created, and embellished the facts and individual characters of this story that I took from Part One. In addition, this story is not intended to be erotic or sexual in nature, but because I have given this story's e-publishing rights to Nifty Archives, I am required to include this legal disclaimer. Therefore, I do not encourage others to perform any kind of abusive or sexual act with minors as described in this story. If the subject of Man/boy sex, child abuse, and/or rape of minors offends you, or this material is illegal to possess such material of this nature in your place of residence, or if you are under the legal age to possess such material, do not read further! Finally, I would like to thank Nifty for e-publishing this story because without their archive, I would not have the large fan base now.

By downloading this story: "You implicitly declare and affirm under penalties of perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor, and are entitled to have access to material intended for mature, responsible members of society capable of making decisions about the content of documents they wish to read." The story is copyrighted under my pseudonym, Snwdemon, and pen name Damion Perez. A copy has been placed in these archives for your enjoyment. The story cannot be used to derive monetary gain. However, if you want to place a copy of this story in your free access archives or free access website, then I give my permission for you to do so. If your website requires payment for access and you wish to place a copy of my story on your site, then please email me for my permission. The story cannot be placed in any archives or website that require payment for access, or be printed and distributed in any form that requires payment either directly or indirectly without my written consent first. Any similarity to individuals, living, or dead, is completely accidental. Reference is also made in context to some locations, businesses, characters, and people to define the story line. No other implication about the true sexuality or actions of the people, businesses, or places mentioned is intended.

Author's Note: Hi again, I know that you have been waiting for a very long time for these chapters and I want to apologize for the long delay. I had all of Part Two completed but had only posted up to chapter six, and then my puter had a meltdown. I lost all of the chapters from chapter 7 on due to puter meltdown, it literally melted because a lightning strike to the power line going to the house's power box. I spent months searching through back up disks and old emails before I finally recovered the original Part two of the story. However, it was comprised of only 4 chapters at the time, and each chapter consisted of over 200 pages each. Nothing was formatted or corrected either, so I have had to basically start with a rough draft and recreate and rewrite all of these chapters to finish Part two. Since I also lost all of my work on Part three, I've decided to end the story with Part Two and later on I will try an continue it. That means that from Chapter 10 on is completely new since I had to change the original storyline. I was unable to recover anything from the ten chapters I had already written for Part three, and Part two was supposed to end at Chapter 12, but since I've decided to change the ending, I've had to add a number of chapters. I also want to let you know that none of these chapters have been proofed or corrected because I am working without anyone proofing for me now. Therefore, please forgive me for the mistakes, and I will have the chapters corrected and revised in the future...thanks. God bless my friends, Damion.

"I'm so sorry Aunt Chi, I couldn't protect them like I promised them," he said softly into her ear.

"It is not your fault Junior, and you are not to blame for this. However, you have to be strong right now, for Sean and Sky, especially Sean because he needs you. He is going to need all of us, but you the most, because he will talk to his big brother." She said as she tenderly stroked his hair, while softly reassuring him that Sean was ok and sleeping as she guided him over to Jeanne. Once they had calmed him down, her and Jeanne embraced warmly.

"Let me introduce you to everyone Chi (pronounced as shy)," Jeanne said before she introduced her to everyone in the room that she did not know. Then Jeanne went on and said to everyone in the room. "This beautiful young woman is Shiloh Eaglefeather. She is a lawyer specializing in civil rights, and criminal defense for the poor and for Native Americans, and the she is the mother of Jerry's identical twin sons, Sean and Skylar along with her being my best friend."

"Thanks Jeanne," she said with a smile before her face became very serious as she turned to Jerry and demanded. "When are you going to go get our son? And would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"We don't know yet, but they may have taken Sky to blackmail me into helping them stop John's investigation into the sex ring. They also kidnapped the Mayor's son David, but John knows where he is being held and he believes that they are taking Sky to the same place." Jerry told her before dropping his head and saying. "If I hadn't been so damn worried about my pride, then this wouldn't have happened. Now our son is in danger because I was afraid of people finding out that Sky and Sean are my sons, I am so sorry Shiloh for my foolishness because it has now put all of you in danger. I promise all of you that from now on, that everyone will know that they are my sons, and that we are a family. The other thing I want to do is for the three of you to move in with us. We have plenty of room now that the girls are all gone, and you will be able to rent your place for some extra income. I know about all of the troubles the boys have been having at school, and we discovered today that this man we are after has been causing their rejection and humiliation at school on purpose. I promise you that he will pay for everything he ha done to hurt Sean and Sky. I also believe that the boys would love it to be with Junior every day, and above all, we want you here too because Jeanne and I would love it if you moved in with the boys."

"Is that true Jeanne? You really want me and the boys to move in with you?" Shiloh asked her because she could not believe that Jeanne did not hold at least some resentment towards her, but Jeanne showed her that she did not by nodding her head.

"I would love it if you and the boys moved in with us. Now, Junior and I will not have to keep tiptoeing around Jerry so much anymore. I think we have all done a very good job so far because you and I have kept him from finding out that we knew each other all this time. Do you remember when the twins turned 10? Jerry came home when the twins were spending the night with Junior, and they hid in the closet when Jerry came in to say goodnight to Junior. He never knew how many times he almost caught the boys or us together, but now we will not have to hide it anymore. That alone will help the twins more than anything else because they will no longer have to live in secrecy anymore." Jeanne told her with a smile and both of them laughed with each other at the memories.

"We'll all sit down and talk about this together after Sky is rescued, and you are not to blame Jerry. We are all just as guilty for telling the twins to keep it a secret of who their father was." She told him as she came over and embraced him. "We really fucked up Jerry, but now we have to fix it and save our son. Once we have Sky back home, then we can all discuss the rest later."

"We will Shiloh," John told her as her and Jerry separated. "However, first we have to make sure that you and Sean are safe before we take action. I am going to insist that you and Sean stay with Jeanne and Junior under police protection for now. We need to have someone take you home to pack some things for you and the twins for at least two weeks. Once you and Sean are settled in, then we will make our move and rescue Davey and Sky before they are moved or hurt."

"No, I'm not leaving Sean right now. I have to be here in case he wakes up." She told him, while Todd and Dr. Cruz agreed with her.

"Mom and I can do it Uncle John." Junior said. "Mom can get Aunt Chi's things while I get Sky's and Sean's stuff for them. I know what they both like the most, where all of their medicine is, and where they keep their important stuff too. I have been over to their house so many times that it's like my second home."

"Of course I will Chi, just tell me what you want me to bring you." She said with a warm smile before Junior spoke up next.

"Sean and Sky have a lockbox on the shelf in the corner of their closet, Aunt Chi. It is where they keep their special things like the dream-catchers that their grandfather, Chief Running Wolf made them and other stuff. Sean and Sky both have the key to it on the neck chains they wear with their house keys." He told her.

"That is what that key is for?" Shiloh asked him, and he nodded. "I have always wondered what those keys went to. They have worn those keys around their necks since they turned six. You gave them the lock box then, didn't you?" She asked him, and Junior nodded again while blushing this time.

"Dad got me one for Christmas that year, and I thought that Sean and Sky could use one too for the things that are special to them. It's where they keep all of their pictures of them with Dad, like when he took them to Disneyland when they were 8." Junior said quietly as he looked down at his feet. Jerry felt a stab of pain go through him when he heard this because he had promised to take Junior when he was younger, but never did, and he understood how hurt and confused Junior must have been when he learned that he had taken Sean and Sky. He went over to him and gently lifted Junior's chin until their eyes met.

"I'm sorry son. I know that I've screwed everything up, but I promise to make it up to you and your brothers if you will let me." Jerry told him, and Junior just nodded his head a bit before speaking.

"To do that, we have to bring my brother home safe. Then we can talk about all of this as a family like we should, ok Dad?" Junior said to him after a moment of thought.

"You and me are going to do just that son, now go with your mother, and get everything your brothers need, and then let's go get Sky and bring him home." Jerry told him, and Junior smiled with pride while nodding his head before hugging his Dad, and then Shiloh before going to stand by his Mom.

"All right, Junior and Jeanne will go get your clothes and belongings. Tom, you need to go get yours and Lucky's things, we have the room, so you can stay with us, and the boys. Lou and Ann are staying with Lee and Helen until we rescue Davey. Once Alva clears Sean, the two of you will stay with Jerry and Jeanne, and in the morning, we will see about rescuing Davey and Sky. Junior, I need you to stay here with everyone for now while we go with Lou to setup the trap." John told them, and then Jerry took off his sports coat and the shoulder holster with his 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun.

"You know how to use this son, and I know that you will protect your mother, Shiloh, and your brother." He told Junior before handing the gun to him, and Junior took it out of the holster and checked it carefully; making sure that the safety was on before replacing it in the holster. Then he put on the shoulder holster and adjusted it to fit.

"I will Dad," he said with respect while his eyes shone with pride. "Nobody will hurt them, and if they try, I will make them pay for their mistake."

"Good man," Jerry said proudly before hugging him, and then he turned to John. "Why don't we saunter on over to the Governmental center Johnnie `O', and let's get this son of a bitch once and for all?"

"Let's go, and if anyone else calls me Johnnie, they are going to be hurt." John told them with a glare before smiling as the others laughed.

Mayor Louis Edwards was nervous as he came into his office, closed, and locked the door. He had just told his secretary Doreen, that he had to make an important call, and that he was not to be disturbed no matter what.

"I know you are worried Lou, but we will save your son. However, what I need right now is information. I have to know what Merle knows about the investigation, and if he knows about the failed assault on Bayside or that Richard is dead." John told him as he paced around in Lou's office for a few moments while thinking. Jonas, Jerry, and Lee had accompanied him to set their plan in motion. "I'm stuck guys. If Merle knows that Lou has turned, then when he calls him, it will be a death sentence for David."

"I can find out John," Jonas told him. "I have a man inside Merle's operation. He can tell me what Merle knows and does not know."

"Are you sure that your guy is privy to that kind of information. He would have to be someone Merle trusts completely." Lee said to him.

"He is. He was the first boy Merle had put through the behavior modification process, and the first and most favorite of Merle's personal harem of young boys. As I said before, Merle is a sadistic pederast, and Scott was only 12 when Merle made him his sex slave. However, Merle is a bit of a sentimentalist, and Scott was his favorite. So when Scott got older to the point that he no longer desired him sexually, Merle still had strong feelings for him so he sent him to some of the best schools in the country. Even I hate to admit it, but Merle does care about Scott even now that he is a young man fresh out of college. His son Noah has always has been a disappointment to Merle, because other than his interest in the porn operation, Noah has no interest in taking over the rest of the business. Noah was too busy making videos usually starring him raping young boys and girls instead of learning how to control and keep the foundation operating profitably. I really do believe that Merle loves Scott because Scott is everything to Merle that Noah is not, and Scott can run the foundation as well as Merle can. That is why Merle has been able to devote more of his time to his mind control and sex trade because Scott runs the legitimate foundation operations and answers only to Merle. He has been grooming Scott to replace him when he retires, but he does not know how much Scott truly detests him. The things Merle did to him were horrible, and Scott is reminded of those things every time he undresses, and sees himself in a mirror." Jonas told them as they all sat down. "Scott actually came to me with money, and begged me to kill Merle. Instead, I convinced him stay and to help me by notifying me of Merles schemes. He is Merle's personal assistant now, and he is trusted even more than Merle trusts his own son Noah."

"Ok, can you contact him and find out what Merle knows?" John asked him. "Also see if he knows what Richard told him about you betraying them." Jonas nodded and took out his satellite phone and made the call, and he put it on speaker. "Keep quiet please." Jonas told them as it began to ring.

"What are you doing calling here? Are you trying to get me killed?" Scott Davis said in a hushed whisper.

"No, I'm not, and it is very important. Richard is dead, and I need to know if Merle knows this."

"What...he is? At least one of my prayers was answered today now that bastard is in hell where he belongs. I just wish it was me who sent him there." Scott said quietly but everyone could hear the pain in his voice when he said it.

"No, you don't because you have enough nightmares you have to live with already Scott. You are an inspiration to all of those boys in Merle's harem because you are the only one who cares. However, all of that caring and goodness will be destroyed if you killed either of them because it will change you like it changed me. You've suffered through too much already to end up going down the road I chose, so just help me and let me take care of them for you like I promised. I got one, and I will get the others soon. Now I just need you to answer yes or no only, but feel free to elaborate if you wish." Jonas said to him. "Does Merle know that I have turned on them?"

"What about Lou Edwards, the Mayor. Does he also think that Lou, Pete, or Ray has turned on him?"

"Be very careful, something's up but I haven't been able to find out what it is other than David is involved somehow. I think it may be a trap for your friend John."

"I am always careful, and thanks for the heads up. What happened today at Bayside, it was Richard's idea?"

"Yes, to take you out along with Mr. Rojas, and any other collateral damage would be a bonus."

"One last thing, did Merle know that the identical twin boys he ordered taken were Captain O'Malley's sons, or why they were taken?"

"They are? Jesus Christ, Merle is going to blow a corpuscle when he finds this out. I am not sure if he knew, but I believe that he did not know. A client chose them for a project from a list of candidates that are being groomed for the business several months to a year ago, and I have read through their file because Merle is thinking of adding them to his harem if the deal falls through. From everything that I have seen in the file, there is nothing that even suggests that Captain O'Malley is their father. If we had known, then Merle would have never put them up as candidates to begin with. He decided to take them today once Richard had distracted everyone, but everything went wrong and blew up in our face."

"No, he hasn't...wait...he's coming," he said in a quiet whisper, and then paused for a long moment before continuing in a business tone of voice that was louder and cordial. "I'm very sorry Ma�m; I believe you have the wrong number. No Ma�m, this is a business, not a residence; I understand, and you have a nice day too, Ma�m." Then the line went dead.

"Was that enough? Merle must have come out of his office because the number I dialed is setup to display the name of an Amy Cardigan with a number to one of my people." Jonas told them as he turn off the phone. John was too deep in his thoughts to hear him as he stood and started pacing again.

"All right, it's time to be candid with each other because if we are to succeed, then there cannot be any hiding of facts. We have to be able to trust one another, understood?" Lee explained to all of them, and everyone agreed.

"So Richard was the one who discovered you turned," John said quietly, he said it more to himself than to the others with him as he continued to pace around, and Jonas was about to reply when Jerry held up his hand.

"It's the way he works, and only answer if he points at you," Jerry told him softly. "It's amazing the way he can get into the mind of whoever he is going after."

"Our mistake was forgetting that Richard was monitoring Rojas, so when he flew here to meet with me, that is how he discovered you were also meeting with me. However, he did not see our meeting with the First Lady because if he had, then he would not have proceeded with the assault on Bayside. That means that whoever was monitoring Rojas's movements is not one of Richard's people because his agent would have checked out why you and Rojas were here meeting with me. So that tells me that Richard was depending on second hand information because he either did not have the resources, or was lazy, or both. Next, Merle finds out from Richard that you have turned, and that Richard had two objectives for the raid this morning. His primary objective was to take the boys, but he figured that he would fail once he saw the security I had in place so it became a suicide mission. His second objective was that he wanted you and Rojas dead, but his reasons were not related to our investigation. If I was killed during the assault, or any other member of the taskforce were kill, it would have just been a bonus to him. Preferably, he wanted all of us dead, but I think Richard had already figured that you would survive somehow because he has failed so many times in the past, and if that happened, and he managed to escape, then he would not want to tip his hand that he knew you had turned on him. So what was Merle's reasoning behind the kidnapping?" John said as he paced and looked at the ceiling while his mind went over everything, and every possible scenario.

"Your guy Scott said that Sky's kidnapping wasn't a part of the raid this morning. That Merle decided to use this time to do the job because he figured that we would all be at Bayside as well as having all of our manpower concentrated there. However, his men fucked up, and struck without checking the school or security there before Richard launched his attack. The undercover security detail was already on high alert when it went down because of your knowledge of the twins Jonas, and Merle did not know that we were protecting them, or that they are Jerry's sons either," he said as he thought about it. Then, as he always did when he hit a stumbling block, he turned to the others and began tossing out the facts.

"Jonas, Richard knows you've betrayed him because you were meeting with Rojas and me, yet he did not have a clue that Seth is your son. How is that?" John asked him, which even surprised Jonas because it was not related to anything John had been talking about a moment before.

"It is probably because he was getting his information from somewhere else other than the agency, and it was most likely from one of Merle's toadies. While Richard does have one of the best intelligence networks in the world at his disposal, he cannot divert a lot of manpower for his own personal use without attracting attention from his superiors, the GAO, Justice Department, or Congress who are always looking for something to exploit for media coverage and political gain. I personally have never found that second hand information is entirely accurate, so I always go to the source." Jonas replied. "However, one of Richard's biggest faults was that he was lazy as you suggested, and he would rather send someone else out instead of risking his own ass. As I just said, Richard only has a limited number of people he could use, so he relied on other operatives in different agencies as well as Merle's people to gather intelligence for him. Merle's operations are global, and he can send out hundreds of people to get information, but they are untrained and unreliable half of the time, while Richard can only send 2 or 3 people for any particular job, and it also has to appear that it is for an official operation that the agents are on an assignment."

"Right; and Richard even admitted his mistake when he said that he had your daughter killed with the bombing. He believed that the Ambassador's last child was yours, and that is why he was checking the id's of the victims. He was not looking for Sasha; he was looking for his younger sister Anastasia. Then he said that he had your girlfriend, and her nephew killed, yet he never even bothered to check the DNA of their remains to see if they were related. He also did not know that she was your common law wife, or that Eric was your son Sasha. However, you were the real reason that he had them killed Jonas, because he said that they were distracting you from your job, and what did he say about Devon, Jerry?" John asked him.

"He didn't know Billy could not father a child, and he admitted that he had been giving Jonas the hardest jobs with the hope he would be killed. He had no clue that you were just as smart as your brother Billy was, or that you already knew everything about Billy's process either. Then Richard told us that Devon's death was an accident. A green team was supposed to kidnap him so Richard could use him as leverage against Billy to force him into allowing Richard's people to document the process. He told us that Billy was in a catatonic state and his men were waiting for Devon when he got home. They were trying to subdue him, but then Lisa came home unexpectedly before they could and he broke free and ran to her. They panicked and decided to kill her, and take Devon. However, Devon saw it, and stepped in front to shield her and was shot in the head instead. That was how he was killed because he was trying to protect his mother from them. Richard's men then killed her fearing that she would tell you, and Richard then had the scene staged by a clean up crew so that when Billy came out of his catatonic state, that he would believe he had killed them, and he did." Jerry told them.

"Exactly; so Richard had flawed information because he didn't even bother to check things out for himself. Instead, he relied on whoever was closest to relay the details to him even if they were inaccurate, and he never even thought of the possibility that someone could be feeding him false information. That is why he never made the connection that Sasha was also Eric as well as Seth, even though you did nothing to alter his appearance. I would like to know how you suppressed Sasha's natural Eastern European accent, but you can tell me later. However, there is still something we are missing here." John said before he began pacing again while looking at the ceiling, and then his face changed. "I'll be damned; it was him, he was the one who murdered Devon and Lisa. He didn't say `they' Jerry, he said `we' and that implies two. The team he sent to take Devon was one operative and him, and he was the one who panicked and killed Devon while he was trying to kill Lisa. He was green because he only had a small amount of time working out in the field as an operative. He probably used someone not connected with the CIA because he figured that another operative might slip up and tip you off Jonas."

"You're right because Richard only had their loyalty because if they tried to get out, then he would have them burned." Jonas said as he flushed from anger as he realized the truth. "I believe I know who his partner was because this man is the only former operative who is still alive today, and he works only for Merle."

"We can come back to this later, so let's continue and not get sidetracked. We know that Richard had flawed info, so we can assume that Merle does too because his operations do not have the capability to gather that kind of information because he has to rely on whoever is closest. More to the point, it appears that Richard got most of his information from Merle, so he is relying not on second hand information, but third-hand information that was gathered by untrained people. Richard admitted that his raid was because he was watching Rojas, and that led him to discovering you had betrayed him. Yet, he did not know the how or why, only that you had betrayed him by meeting with Rojas and me. If this is the case, then we can really throw Merle off by not only taking down Noah, but also having a few of his vital members of his organization arrested too. If we were to take down the Murdock's, Councilmen Evans and Thompson, the other corrupt officials and members within the school system too, it would put his entire northwest organization into disarray. Then if you were to give me the names of a few of his inner circle personnel, then he will call his people in to protect his operation. Another thing you can do Jonas to really piss on his parade, why don't you take a little trip to Tennessee, and eliminate a few more important toadies of his inner circle. That would force Merle to bunker down and start worrying about his own sorry ass surviving this sweep, and not worry about killing off any potential witnesses. Most of all, it will keep him from focusing his attention on Lou while also raising Davey's value to him also." John explained as he continued to pace around the room and he sorted the information in his head.

"There is still a problem John. Even if we do as you say, as soon as he finds out about Richard, it won't take him long to find out about Lou, and when he does, David is worthless to him." Jerry pointed out to him.

"Yes, David would be IF we did as I just said, but what will make Merle not harm David no matter what Lou does now?" John said while his eyes lit up. "He does not know about Lou cooperating with us yet, so we make it appear that Lou is trying to sell his knowledge or his silence to me or Merle depending on who offers him the best deal."

"He wouldn't harm David if he was of any value to him, but as Jerry said, David will be worthless to him once everything starts unraveling here." Lee told him.

"So we have to make David so valuable to him that he will not even consider hurting him until we can get our people in place and rescue him." John replied to Lee.

"And how are we going to do that John?" Jonas asked him the obvious question. John just grinned at him and waved the evidence bag containing the three tapes along with a set of computer diskettes that Gary had recovered from the Knoxville Bus Terminal.

"What do you think Merle would pay for these tapes and the computer disks that Ari took from Parrish?" John asked him, and after a long moment of silence, Jonas was the first one to speak.

"I know what is contained in that bag, and Merle would be willing to trade his own mother along with most of his fortune for it." Jonas said to them while the others still looked confused, however, John did noticed that Jonas's complexion had become pale. John just went over to the TV setup in Lou's office with the evidence bag. "Wait, I would not do that if I were you John."

"We need to know why this is so important to Merle, but from the look on your face Jonas, you do not want me to open this bag. Why?" John asked him. Jonas just sat forward, and rubbed his forehead just above his eyes for a long moment.

"I will tell you John, but you cannot tell anyone anything, especially Ari. Those tapes in that bag are worthless to you as evidence because they are edited copies so are inadmissible in court as far as I know. They show a brutal sexual assault Merle committed on a very young boy that caused his death. The reason they are so important to Merle is not because of what you could do legally to him if you got them, but of what Rojas would do to him if he ever saw what is on those tapes. Merle owned Richard, but after this incident happened, it was the only time that I saw Merle truly afraid of Richard because he realized that Richard would kill him without batting an eye, and get away with it. That was also when Richard forced Merle into an equal partnership instead of Merle just using Richard as he pleased. As I told you before, the boys are all prepped to remember those missing things once this is over except for Ari because what is on that tape involves him intimately. He will remember eventually, but I hope that he will be much older and more stable psychologically before he does. All of the boys will be able to handle the blocked memories as Dr. Cruz works with them, and I did this so that the memories I blocked out would not push them over the edge into a breakdown when they began remembering. I did this only because that would happen if all of those memories came crashing down on them at once. However, for Ari it is different, and I ask you to consider your decision very carefully John because what you decide right now will affect him for the rest of his life. The memories I blocked out are the ones that will most likely push him into insanity or suicide. When I brought Ari to Billy, I had to keep him drugged the entire time because I was not alone with him until I got him to Bill's, then Billy and I suppressed those memories." Jonas told him as he continued to hold his head in his hands.

"I have never seen a child so sad, depressed, and consumed with guilt that they were actually willing themselves to die until I met Ari. He wouldn't eat or drink when I met him because Richard called me in after he punished Merle and Parrish for fucking up his entire op. I had to watch Ari while Richard used his power and influence to salvage the op while Merle and Parrish were incapacitated, and that is how I learned of the tape. Once I watched it, I knew I had my fist around Richard's and Merle's heart, but only if Ari survived. I had never done the reprogramming before even though Billy had taught me everything, and I used the memory suppression not to block his memories, but to make them unimportant enough for him to function normally. I also discovered the key and gave it to Ari so he could escape once Parrish returned, and I planted the importance of taking those two tapes in his mind before Richard recalled me. Ari did exactly as I told him, and eluded Parrish until the Sheriff brought him back several months later. Parrish let the Sheriff and deputies get their jollies with Ari in order to force him to talk, but he refused to break and not once did he cry. While they were waiting for Merle to come and decide what to do about him, Parrish put him back into the same cell he was held in before when he escaped and left him there alone again. So Ari took off again on his own, and that time it took almost a full year for Parrish and Merle to find and capture him again." Jonas told them, but John could tell that something else was going on with Jonas.

"Merle did everything he could to make Ari talk, but all he succeeded in doing was to remove the memory blocks I put in place, and that made Ari suicidal once more. Ari welcomed the pain so much that it even frightened that sadistic prick Merle because Ari refused to break and begged Merle to kill him. He kept throwing it in Merle's face of what he had done, and Ari told him that he would escape again, but this time go directly to Rojas and tell him what happened. That is when Merle ordered that Ari had to be killed despite Richard's plans, and Merle had me take him to Billy because he wanted him to get the location of that evidence before Billy killed him, but it was my decision to keep him alive. I was not alone on the trip because he did not want me telling Richard until after Ari was dead. So I used Ari's suicidal depression as the reason for keeping him drugged, and once he was delivered, Parrish's goon returned to Tennessee after Billy put Ari into a drug induced coma with a lethal dose of illegal narcotics. Merle's goon believed Ari was dead when he left, and I barely had time to counteract the dosage with the antidote and bring him back. Billy did not want to do as I told him in order to go against Merle's orders, and save Ari. However, as I said before, to him, I was the parent or in charge of our family, so he did as I told him to do. Ari's heart actually stopped for about 30 seconds, and I did not know if we had given him the antidote in time, but he came back to us." Jonas explained with a very serious expression as he massaged his forehead and temples, and then he continued.

"I have never used that authority before on Billy, but I put it to him bluntly that if anything happened to Ari and he died, then everything they had done to Billy when he was a kid would not be even close to what I would do to him. I knew his fears, and I used every one of those fears against him to insure that he would not kill Ari. Just before he put Ari into the chamber for the second memory suppression process, he kicked Ari and cracked a couple of ribs, and I broke Billy's leg with a sledgehammer. Then, I backed his truck onto his broken leg, and parked it for three minutes. I was going to do the same to his other leg, but Billy got the message and promised me that he would not hurt him. I told him he was lying because he could not control his rage, and he would hit Ari as soon as I left. He pleaded with me, and he swore that he would not allow his rage to overwhelm him and seriously hurt Ari, that he had a way of controlling it. He kept his promise because he did hit Ari when he became angry, but he did not hurt him, instead he took it out on Simon. Simon was his release for his rage, and that allowed him to control his rage and not hurt Ari. I thought I would have to deal with Billy within a few weeks for hurting Ari, but I did not know that Simon had decided to take Ari's punishments and was trying to protect him from Billy's rage even though he was terrified of Billy."

"When Billy first took Simon, he made him watch as he murdered his family. Then Billy nearly beat Simon to death less than a month later. Simon was terrified of Billy, and he resisted as any frightened 5 year old would do, and that only made Billy go into another rage. I fixed the problem by telling Billy how to correctly implement the process, and Simon was his first real success. Then I implanted the thought in Simon that Billy needed him to take care of him since he was sick, and it worked. He was obedient, dutiful, and so caring towards Billy that I thought I had screwed up, and I did. A five year old child cannot understand complicated emotions, so by me implanting the thought in Simon's head that he had to be strong and obedient so he could take care of Billy, to him he equated all of that to love. He loved Billy, and did everything humanly possible to be the best son while enduring all of the pain so he could take care of Billy. Simon stopped resisting and Billy actually got better for a couple of years because of Simon. Even when his sickness returned, Billy took his rages out on the kids Merle sent to him to dispose of instead of Simon because Billy did love him, and he was so proud of him. Simon eventually shook off the programming and his fear of Billy returned once Billy began beating him, but by the time that happened, years had passed. In a way, I guess I am responsible for making Simon into who he is now, and I am so glad that he didn't turn into a monster like Billy became." Jonas told him, and John could only nod because this fact revealed more than Jonas realized.

"No, he didn't, and you did more for him than you realize Jonas. Did you know how bad Billy was beating him?" John asked him.

"Not really, I didn't know how bad he was beating Simon until Billy carried him in near death that day. I made sure that Billy could not hurt either him or Ari by breaking his arms; I also refused to allow my medic to put casts on his arms, and to splint them only. It was much more painful and took longer for his arms to heal, but he could not hit Simon or Ari without causing himself extreme pain. That was one of his weaknesses because he was afraid of pain, and that is why Simon was able to return to school after missing several weeks. Billy's arms had been healed for less than a month when I killed him." Jonas told them.

"Why did you keep Ari alive? Was it to use him and this tape against Richard and Merle?" John asked him, and Jonas did not look up, but he shook his head no. John knew that something was wrong with Jonas because it was obvious that he was in pain.

"I kept him alive because only Ari can tell you about what you will see on that tape because he was there in the room when it happened. Richard has spent years covering up the truth about what happened on that tape by destroying or altering every public document associated with that boy who died on that tape. Richard does have the power to erase the existence of a person so that the world would never know they even existed, let alone was murdered. What Merle did to that boy, and what Richard has covered up cannot go away as if it had never happened. Now Ari is the living proof of the crime that Merle committed on that tape, and what Richard has tried to cover up all these years. However, it is also vital to Ari to remember when the time is right if he is to ever recover and live a normal life, but I do not know if he is strong enough yet to do that right now." He said to John in a slightly quieter voice as he continued to hold his head in his hands.

"I don't understand? What is on those tapes that could be that disturbing to him?" Jerry asked him.

"Please, just trust me on this for his sake. There is one tape in that bag marked J&A, but Ari did not steal it, and it is the one that I had made and added to what Ari took that will explain about the other two tapes. The second tape is marked Elijah, and the third tape is what Parrish and the Sheriff did to Ari after he ran away the first time with the tape and disks. I told you that you have to take the boys back to where it began for each of them, except for Ari because I don't know if he is able to deal with everything yet." Jonas told him, and then he put his head down close to his knees, and pressed his palms against his temples as he winced in pain. Then, without any warning, Jonas's nose and eyes began to bleed as the pain and pressure inside his head became unbearable.

"Are you all right Jonas? Do you need a doctor?" John asked him with concern as he sat down in a chair next to him and quickly handed Jonas his handkerchief. Jonas held it to his nose, shook his head no, and then he pulled out a bottle of prescription medication, and had John take out two pills for him.

"Can I have some water please?" He asked quietly, and Lou got up and opened the door to his office. He asked Doreen to bring some water for them. It took her less than a minute to hand Lou several chilled bottles of spring water, and he gave one to Jonas immediately. Jonas took the two pills, and Doreen saw that he was in pain. She disappeared for a couple of minutes, and then came in with a medium sized bowl filled with ice and water along with two hand towels. She soaked both towels in the ice water, and then she took one, folded it after wringing much of the cold water out, and gave it to Jonas.

"Put this over your eyes and lean back for a few minutes. When the towel begins to feel warm, I'll switch it with the other towel. My husband suffers from severe migraines, and this always helps." She said to him, and Jonas did as she told him to do. "Lou, would you turn off the overhead lights and close the blinds, please? The fluorescent lights and sunlight will only make the pain worse until his medication begins working, and everyone whisper."

"It's Doreen Saunders, and I am glad I could help. Now, for the rest of you, why don't you go get some lunch because he needs absolute quiet for the next 30 minutes or so, and could you bring him some lunch also?" She told them in a hushed voice as she shooed all of them out of Lou's office after turning off the phones.

"Sure Doreen, Captain O'Malley and I have to go by headquarters for the files on the case, and John can go with Lou to pick up lunch. Once Jonas is feeling better, we can eat and hold an emergency meeting, and later after the press conference, we can hold a meeting of the new taskforce." Lee told them once they were out of the office. "I want Judge Orndorf and Marge Jenkins, Jeanne and Sara, along with Tom and Gary included on the new taskforce too. I also think it will be a good idea if we also have Dr. Cruz, Todd, Miguel Sanchez, Miss Parker, Mr. Rojas, and Maria to meet with us also. We will all meet in the conference room here in an hour. I will have the press conference delayed for the time being until after our planning meeting, agreed?"

"Agreed," the others said to him, and then they all went about taking care of business. Lou suggested Subway subs since there was one shop right across the street. John got everyone's orders, and he and Lou left for the subs while Lee and Jerry took Lee's vehicle the short distance to the police headquarters. They were able to get the files they needed, and return within 30 minutes. John and Lou were in the conference room waiting when they got there. They all sat down, and began eating their late lunch while John began to go through the file on Ari. He kept mulling over what Jonas had said, and he felt that he was close to the answer, but the understanding was still just out of his reach for now. John just could not help thinking about what was on that tape that could be so damaging to his son. He was halfway finished with his sub when he started looking at the pictures of Ari with his parents at the beach when Ari was only six years old. Of the two dozen photos, two of the pictures caught his attention because of them being almost identical to each other. John looked carefully at the first picture of Ari standing on the right side of his mother with his father on her other side with the sand dunes behind them, and the other picture was almost identical except this time Ari was standing on her left side while his father was on her right. The second picture was also the same one that Ari had kept in the cigar box with his parents' jewelry too. However, there was something wrong with the picture that was just nagging John as he took another large bite from his sub, and then it suddenly hit him what was wrong causing him to choke on the piece of sub in his mouth.

"Oh my God!" John exclaimed after Jerry had slapped him on his back a couple of times. "Jerry, what's different about these pictures?" John asked him as he pushed the two pictures over to him. Jerry studied the pictures for a long minute before replying.

"The only thing I can see is that Ari and his father switched places for the second picture." Jerry said with a confused expression.

"No he didn't. Look at Ari in each picture and tell me what is missing from the second picture." He told him and Jerry again scrutinized the pictures for another long, silent minute when his face paled.

"Blessed Mary; they were identical twins like Sean and Sky! These are not pictures of Ari and his parents; it's a picture of Ari and his parents, and a picture of his identical twin brother with them." Jerry said with a shocked expression.

"What?" Lee asked with shock and surprise. "How in the hell did you figure that out?"

"Look at this picture of Ari and his mother, and what do you see just above the left corner of his mouth?" Jerry asked Lee while handing him the first photo and Lee looked at it.

"I see his birthmark is all, why?" Lee told them. Then John gave him the other picture, and asked him what was missing. "Dear God! The birthmark is missing, so that is not Ari in this picture even though this boy looks identical to Ari. He is an identical twin, but who and where is his brother?"

"He is dead because Merle Foxworth raped and murdered him, and his body is probably buried in a shallow grave somewhere in the woods in Tennessee or was cremated. That is why Jonas does not want me to watch that tape, because it is the one damning piece of information that we have been missing for this case. Ari had an identical twin brother named Eli, and that is why that tape is so important. Not only does that tape show how Eli was raped and murdered by Merle, it is the only thing we have that clearly links Richard and Merle together as partners of the sex and porn ring. That tape proves that Richard was using his power in the CIA to assist Merle in his sex trade and porn ring, and that he covered up Eli's murder to protect himself and Merle. Merle wants that tape because once Rojas sees it then there would be nowhere in this world that he could hide from him. Jonas blocked out Ari's memory because he said that Ari witnessed it as Merle raped, and murdered his brother. I know that we cannot use the tape as evidence against Merle by itself because we don't have a body, but Richard was not as good as he believed he was because there is still evidence out there to prove that Ari had a twin brother like these pictures. If I can find the people who knew Ari and his brother before and after the accident, and once they were sent to Parrish's orphanage, then I can use that tape as corroborating evidence to hang that motherfucker Foxworth." John said to them as his anger began to build inside him, and then in a low voice he said. "If I cannot do anything else to get him, then I will give that tape to Paquito Rojas so he can do what I am not allowed to do."

"How did you figure it out John?" Jonas asked from the doorway. While his eyes were bloodshot, he still appeared to be feeling somewhat better.

"The pictures I found that were of Ari and his brother on vacation with their parents' a few months before the accident. They had forgotten about the roll of film, but remembered just before Christmas. Ari's mother had dropped the roll off to be developed, but his parents were killed before they were ready. A friend of theirs picked them up for them, and then forgot about them after they were killed. A month after the accident, there was a fire that destroyed everything in Ari's house, but the neighbor remembered about the pictures when I was asking about Ari's parents. You know, she was an elderly lady, and when she asked how the boys were doing, I dismissed it thinking she might be a little senile. I can see she was not because she knew and loved Ari and his brother. She had told me that she had become a substitute Grandmother to them because Ari's mother had been estranged from her father for over 10 years before they were killed." John told them as he remembered his interview with the friendly old lady.

"Now you know just what kind of power Richard had John. He ordered the hit on Ari's parents to force Rojas to retire, but before Richard could finish staging the scene, and controlling the fallout with the press, Merle and Parrish had fucked the entire op up by murdering Ari's twin brother Eli. When Richard found out, Parrish and Merle disappeared for three days, and then they were dumped at the hospital emergency room. Between the two of them, there were several broken bones along with many cuts and bruises, and from that day on, Merle could never father another child. I knew as soon as I saw them that Richard had worked them over good, and emasculated Merle. It was by sheer luck that he discovered that Rojas had no knowledge that Ari and Eli existed, and for the next ten months, Richard literally removed all official knowledge of the existence of Ari's twin brother. Except for that tape, those pictures, and your son's memories; and only the few documents I took from Richard before he could destroy them are all that is left to prove that Eli has ever existed." Jonas told them seriously, and John just nodded.

"I understand what you are saying to me now, but you are wrong because while there may not be any `official' documentation of Eli, there are still records and eyewitnesses out there. I will find them, and then I will use them to validate Eli's existence. It will be harder to do since we do not have a body, but I have done it before. Will you still tell me exactly what you and Billy did to Ari though so that I can make sure that he receives the proper treatment because I believe you when you said that Ari is not ready to remember yet?" John asked him and Jonas nodded. "I brought you a sub, chips, and a drink if you feel up to eating right now. As I was saying, just like these pictures here prove that Eli existed, there are many other things and people to verify that fact also, and once we prove that, then that tape can be used as corroborating evidence against Merle and Parrish. Once Ari's grandfather finds out the truth, then Merle's money will not mean squat because Rojas is much wealthier than Merle is. That is why Merle is doing everything he can to get that tape, but he also knows that a needle in the arm is preferable to what Rojas would do to him if he finds out about that tape."

"You also had access to Simon, Sasha, and Lucky. I understand why Sasha and Simon have to go back, but why Lucky? How does he fit into all of this?" Lee asked Jonas as he came in and sat down next to John. He thanked John for his sub before taking a bite out of it.

"Simon has to go home so that everything that my fucking psycho brother did to him will be over, and it's the same with Sasha and Lucky. Now that Richard and Billy are both dead, it is over for them except for the healing." He explained to them as he ate, and then he looked at John. "I told you that I am dying, and that protecting what remains of my family, and I'm doing this for justice because that will be the only way Ari can heal and move on with his life. Now you know that Lucky is a part of my family too, and somehow he ended up being sent to Terry from Merle's people in the CPS department, and that is why he is involved."

"The reason I blocked out Lucky's memory was that he discovered who his mother was. The events concerning his birth, and why he was named Lucky, are things he has always known his entire life. Billy's wife Lisa, she had a younger sister named Paula. She had only known Billy when she was a teenager, and she was not that close to Lisa either because she was very troubled. I guess they had a falling out of some kind or something years ago after Lisa married Billy. They tried to raise her right, sent her to St. Michael's, and gave her most of what she wanted or desired. Still, she left home when she was 16, and by that time, she was into some heavy-duty drugs, drinking, and partying. However, Paula had a troubled childhood that followed her until she died, because she was the young woman killed in the auto accident, but she held on somehow until Lucky was born. Once Billy and Lisa had Devon, she and Paula drifted even further apart. Nobody even knew about Lucky until he was a toddler because nobody knows who his father is, and she died not long after Devon's fourth birthday. Darlene and I did not even know about Lucky until after Lisa and Devon's death. Lucky was given Paula's last name, Lucky Jordan when he was born, and he has been raised in the foster system since nobody knew that Lisa was her only living kin besides Billy and me. When Lisa and Devon were killed, Lucky was just barely a year old, and while I did not believe that Billy was responsible for their deaths, I realized that Lucky could be in danger since he was related to me if it was true that Billy was not responsible." Jonas explained to them. "Therefore, I altered his birth records, the police records, CPS and hospital records by making

Jordan

his middle name and adding Snyder as his last name. I thought that would be enough to protect him, and I thought the family raising him would eventually adopt him. However, he was removed and placed at St. Michael's when he turned six, and then I think it was by pure chance that he was placed with the Robinsons right before he turned nine. They immediately saw dollar signs when they looked at him because he has the drop dead gorgeous looks of his mother and his innocence was still intact. He is a very beautiful boy with his corn silk blond hair and stunning blue eyes. Once they saw him, they informed the Murdocks' that they had a hot one, but he needed to be groomed first."

"The Murdocks' had plans for Lucky, and Terry took almost a thousand porn pictures of him, and made the tape showing the older boys that sexually abused Lucky when he lived with them, but they did not allow the two older boys to have anal intercourse with him because they were going to sell his virginity to the highest bidder. Instead, Terry told them to abuse Cory, the last boy they sold, but those two cowards were afraid of Cory because he hurt them when they had tried before. Then Seth was placed with the Robinsons, but I guess he was a little to old for Terry's taste, and Jake and Charlie realized real quick that Seth was even more dangerous than Cory had been. Still, Terry made it known to them that Lucky was off limits, it really pissed off those boys, and they raped Lucky and Seth too because he tried to stop them. They are the ones responsible for raping both him and Seth after they drugged them. I believe they did it to piss Terry off since Lucky was now his favorite in the house, and they resented Lucky because of that. Anyway, before all that happened, Lucky was kept at Billy's for the two months while he went through the behavior modification process the first time because he was a virgin, so that made him worth a lot of money to them. When he went through the process the first time, it was during the time he was veiled until his eyes adjusted to the light again when he discovered that Billy was his Uncle. While I know that it seems fucked up to the irony of it now, it still had a profound impact on Lucky back then. At that time, Lucky did not know that Simon was not Devon, so he was absolutely thrilled with the knowledge that he and Devon were cousins because they were already best friends." Jonas told them.

"I do not know if he shared this with Simon and Ari, but I think he did because they became even closer after Lucky's first behavior session, I think that is when Simon put it into his mind to escape, but I'm not positive about that. Lucky ran away from the house as soon as they left him alone after letting him out of the chamber. This all happened not long after I had brought Ari to Billy, then Seth was placed with the Robinsons a couple of months after Lucky arrived, and the three of them had befriended Seth as well. That is when Jake and Charlie decided to rape Lucky and Seth by drugging them so they could not resist, and Simon was still recovering. Billy put Ari through the entire process, he erased his memory, and Simon cared for him until his eyes adjusted to the light again. When they put Lucky through the behavior process a second time after he had been returned to the Robinsons, Simon had to go to school, so Billy kept Lucky in the basement while Ari did his chores before going to take care of Lucky. However, something happened, and Billy beat the hell out of Lucky two days after he had been let out of the chamber. You found the filing cabinet in the basement where Billy kept news clippings of the boys he took. Well, Lucky had also found it after his first time through the process, and he read the news stories of each kidnapping, but he also found and read the news story of Lisa's sister's death, and he realized that the story was about was his mother's death and his birth. He shared it with Simon and Ari, and decided to keep the article instead of putting it back. If you check your DNA test results, it will show that Lucky and Lisa are related because of Paula. However, Billy discovered this fact too when he found the article hidden under the mattress of the small bed he had for Lucky the day he ran away from Terry after he was raped. Billy made the connection because how many boys are given the name Lucky? In addition, Lucky had circled Paula's picture in the article, and wrote `my Mom' beside it." Jonas explained in between mouthfuls of his lunch.

"Not to interrupt you, but it looks as if you are feeling better." Lou said to him.

"I am, thanks to your wonderful secretary," Jonas told him. "The medications I have to take for the tumor in my head screws up my entire system sometimes. I have to eat regularly every six hours because the meds have made me diabetic and anemic. If I miss a meal, then my blood sugar drops, which triggers a migraine. The migraine then causes my BP to skyrocket, which in turn causes my nosebleeds. Normally I keep on top of things, but we all were a little distracted today. The best the doctors can do is to treat these problems as best they can, but these problems will continue to worsen, and that is why I have to make things right while I still can." Jonas told them after he finished his food and drained his soda.

"Will it help if we make up some kind of emergency rations that you can keep with you to prevent this from happening?" Doreen asked from the doorway.

"It would be a little awkward to carry around a lunch box or shopping bag all of the time." He told her.

"Oh, it would be nothing like that Jonas. I can call you Jonas, can't I?" She asked him. He told her that she could, and then she said. "Anyway, a friend of my here is diabetic also, and she has the same problem. After talking to her, I remembered about some new products of high protein nutritional bars like this one. It is small enough to fit inside a coat pocket, and it provides you with the same nutrition as a regular meal would. Best of all, it is specifically formulated for diabetics."

"See what I mean about what a wonderful woman she is Lou. Do not ever let her get away from you because you will regret it. So give her a raise, a car and driver, and a month of paid vacation if that is what it will take to keep her working for you because she is a vital asset to whoever she works for." Jonas told him with a smile.

"I know Jonas, and she knows that she has me wrapped around her little finger because I could not function without her. Anyway, our loyalty with each other has nothing to do with work at all. Doreen is my wife Ann's older sister, so all she is doing is making sure that I behave, and not embarrass or hurt Ann." Lou said with pride while Doreen actually blushed a bit.

"Well, someone has to mind the family, and the way the both of you carry on sometimes makes me think that I'm dealing with a couple of love struck teenagers." She responded with a suffering look making everyone laugh. Then she became serious once again. "I just appreciate what you are doing to help bring David home safe because it has been hard for all of us. I would also like to give you the name and number of a doctor Jonas. While he may not be able to change your diagnosis, I think he will still be able to help you to live more comfortably."

"I would appreciate that very much Doreen." Jonas told her with sincerity. Then he asked her to join them, and after she was seated, he continued explaining about Lucky. "As I was saying, once Billy knew that Lucky was Lisa's nephew, he was determined to remake him into his son Devon. He had taken Simon because he looked identical to Devon, but when he discovered that Lucky was blood related to Lisa; then Billy became fixated on the idea of resurrecting Devon. Billy was a complete psycho by then, so he actually believed that Lucky was part of his family since he was a blood relative to Lisa. As I told you before, it did not matter to Billy who was Lucky's father; all that mattered to him was that he was blood kin to him because of Lisa. While I suspected that Billy had nothing to do with Devon and Lisa's deaths, Billy did believe he killed them. Therefore, in his fucked up mind, he saw Lucky as his second chance, and that Simon, who only looked like Devon but was not blood related to Billy would eventually have to be disposed of, but not before he got one last thing from him. Billy believed he could make Lucky behave and believe that he was in fact Devon, but he looked nothing like him while Simon looked exactly like Devon." Jonas told them, and he paused for a few moments before continuing.

"That is when he told Terry that he planned to reprogram Lucky to become Devon, and then he was going to have Terry transplant Simon's face onto Lucky. He said that once they had completed the transplant that God would send down his angel, who would perform the transfiguration by resurrecting Devon's soul, and putting it in Lucky's body returning Devon to him. It is why Terry's wife was going to dye his hair to match Simon's hair because of Billy's manic demands, but Lucky escaped after the first memory suppression process when he should have been completely docile. When Billy realized that Lucky had run away after his first session, he blamed Terry and demanded that he bring Lucky back once Mrs. Murdock returned him to them. He threatened to gut Terry's wife and then Terry if they did not bring his son back while he completely ignored the single fact that Ari was the only person in contact with Lucky before and after he went into the chamber. I know that it is hard to fathom, but Lucky has been through the complete process twice as well as the behavior modification twice, but something happened after the last time that caused Billy to go into a rage and beat the hell out of Lucky. This is my opinion of what happened, your son Ari somehow figured out how to make the process useless, and he taught it to Simon, then they taught it to Lucky before he underwent the process the first time. Because of Ari, Lucky was able to remember the important things and his identity, and to remember to escape and run away to Tom the first time, and I also believe that Ari helped him escape the first time also. I just wished that someone besides Tom had believed Lucky and taken action against the Robinsons." Jonas explained to them.

"Sweet Jesus, thank you for not allowing this to ever happen. Does Lucky know about this plan?" Jerry asked with a look of horror on his face, and Jonas shook his head no. "Will he be all right when he does remember Jonas?"

"I don't know, but I believe he knew something at the end when Billy nearly killed him. However, I suspect that it wasn't Ari who saved him because after the second attempt to reprogram Lucky, it was Simon who stayed with him because Billy was suspicious about Ari's involvement the first time. I hope that what I did will keep Lucky from ever remembering because Billy was planning to do some things to him during the third process that was just pure evil. I had to block out the things that he did do to him when Lucky went through the entire reprogramming process the last time while he was in the hospital, and that is why he cannot remember several months except for bits and pieces here and there. Terry was afraid of Billy, so he took Lucky back to him, but once he realized what Billy was going to do, he called me. The first time Billy let Lucky out of the chamber during the second reprogramming attempt, and he did not behave exactly as Devon behaved, it sent Billy into a rage, and he beat Lucky so severely that he was unconscious for almost a week. I was busy, and I had told Terry that I would be able to get there in two weeks, but Terry knew that I would be too late. He knew Billy would kill Lucky before I got there, so he called Merle three days after he had called me, and he begged him to find a buyer for Lucky immediately in order to save his life. He told Merle what Billy was trying to do, and that Lucky would not live through the weekend if Merle did not come and get him right then. He had sent over a hundred porn pictures that he had taken of Lucky to Merle, so Merle was able to find a buyer for him immediately. Billy would have killed Lucky if he went ahead with his plan, and Billy was the one who almost did kill him when he found out what Terry had done." Jonas explained to them all.

"Billy was extremely pissed that Merle's people were coming to get Lucky the very next day and totally lost all control. He told Terry that Lucky was his blood kin, his son, and that nobody would take Devon away from him again. Then he said to them that nobody was allowed to do anything to his family, and that he would make sure that Lucky was useless to them so they couldn't take him away. It had only been five days since Billy had beaten Lucky senseless, and he had barely regained consciousness when Billy came into the basement and shoved a broken shovel handle into Lucky's rectum to cause the severe tear that almost killed him. He did it thinking that Merle wouldn't want him because of the damage done to Lucky, and he refused to allow anyone to touch Lucky to help him except Simon. He believed that Simon was still under his control, so he had Simon stay with him that night, but Simon told Terry that Lucky was dead at 3 AM the next morning. I don't know what Simon did to Lucky, or how he did it, but Terry does have some medical training, and he swore that Lucky was dead. He said that he checked him thoroughly, and that Lucky had no pulse, he was not breathing, and his body was cool to the touch along with it appearing that he had bled out from the severe tear in his colon." Jonas explained to them all. "Even Billy believed he was dead because his body was stiff like rigor had begun to set in too. That is when Terry had his wife go dump Lucky in a ditch while he and Billy cleaned up all of the blood in the chamber. When I got there a few days later, Terry told me everything. First, he was floored when it came on the news that Lucky was found alive and conscious a few hours after his wife had dumped him in the ditch, and that Lucky was now in the hospital with Tom at his side once again. Terry said that there was no possible way that Lucky should even be breathing because both him and Billy verified that Lucky was dead before dumping him in the ditch. However, I suspect that Simon did something to Lucky in order to make them believe he was dead, but I never got the chance to talk to him about it before everything else happened." Jonas explained to them and John and the others nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, Billy was planning to do some things to Lucky during the next process after he `rescued' him from the hospital that was just pure evil, and it took me a week to get through to him and for him to forget his plan. The only reason he dropped it was because I told him that I would kill him myself if he ever went near Lucky again, and I ended up breaking three of his fingers on his right hand too. As I said before, we are family and since I am the oldest, then Billy would obey me or else. I have always tried to protect him, even after his mind began to slip causing him to change and become violent. However, I told him that day that Lucky was our family too, so that meant he was my responsibility. I told him of how he fucked up with Devon, and that his second chance was for him to let Lucky go so he could be with Tom. I used his mental illness against him, and got it through to him that his second chance was to let Lucky be with someone who was not sick, and who would provide him with the life that he could not. Then I made it clear that if he went near Lucky, or attempted to hurt him again in any way, then I would come back and kill him in the most painful way possible and that is when I broke his fingers. Then, I went to the hospital where Lucky was in a drug induced coma after his surgery to repair the damage to his colon, so it was easy to block out those memories, and I got to him by posing as one of the staff during the night shift." Jonas told them, and John understood.

"So he will remember these things if he goes back to the Robinsons home, and Simon's home? The beatings, the rapes, and everything Billy did to him in the chamber along with the broken shovel handle?" John asked and Jonas nodded. "Then I will make sure that he does not go back there. He is happy now, and he is recovering well. We have all stressed to the boys, and so has Dr. Cruz, that it is not important for them to remember the past right now because we all know how traumatic that could be for them. When we began questioning Simon and Ari when they were subpoenaed to testify for the grand jury, making him remember sent Simon into a suicidal depression, and Ari is still having nightmares from him going back to Bill's house. I will not force any of the boys to return to these places in order to make them remember, and it will be their decision to return, not ours, and if they choose not to return, then I will have the properties condemned and bulldozed. Therefore, if Lucky remembers because of his therapy with Dr. Cruz, or if he asks to go back there after Dr. Cruz says that he is stable and strong enough, then it will be ok, but I will not have those blocks removed by taking any of them back including Sasha."

"Thank you," was all Jonas said to him. "To be honest with you, there is no need to take them back now that Richard is dead because everything Sasha was programmed to remember related only to what you would need to take down Richard. Simon and Lucky would have given you what you would need to take down Billy and Terry, so the only one you need now is Ari, and all you need to do is keep him alive in order to take down Merle. That tape I just told you about, the tape labeled Eli, you have to watch the first twenty seconds of it very carefully, but first watch the tape J&A that I made and you will understand about your son Ari. You have no reason to trust me, or to believe me either, but the tape I made includes about ten minutes of footage from the original tape that was deleted from the end of it that shows Richard's face when he comes in to see Ari and his brother's body. No matter how you spin it, I am just as fucked up as my brother was. Whether you call me an assassin, a hit man, or a serial killer, that is who I am, and I have no reason to hide that from anyone. However, while I am warped and damaged like my brother Billy, I still have a bit of my soul left when it comes to kids. Therefore, with that in mind, I hope that you will follow my advice concerning your son Ari. He does know about his brother, but he will not think or remember him because of how we suppressed those memories unless something or someone triggers those memories. What he witnessed when Merle raped and murdered Eli was so traumatic and powerful that we could not make him forget, so we did the next best thing which was to suppress his memories of his family and brother in general." Jonas told him, and John could see in Jonas's face how much he cared about them making the correct decision.

"Just answer me this Jonas; does that tape show that brutal murder Ari witnessed or was involved in somehow?" John asked and Jonas just nodded his head.

"Would it affect Ari if I had somebody I trusted who also wants to do everything in the best interest for my son; if he viewed this tape, and let him decide whether we should watch it or not. Because if Sara and I watch it, even if we decide to not allow him to go back, it will still affect us on how we treat him." John told him, and Jonas understood what he was asking. "I haven't even seen it yet, but I already want to fillet Merle while taking at least two months to kill him."

"No, it won't affect him, and I think that may be the best course of action for you and Sara to take in regards to this information. Dr. Cruz is a good man, and if he decides that Ari is mentally stable enough to handle the outcome, then you should follow his advice. I also think that you should speak to Simon about this also because he probably knows Ari better than any of us here does, and he knows how to suppress those memories too, probably better than Billy or I can. I think that Simon is probably the most intelligent person I have ever met, and he is much smarter than my brother or me. He would probably be working on his doctoral thesis if he had not been hampered because of his learning disability. However, if Dr. Cruz decides that it is too risky for Ari to remember, then ask him to have the tape copied to a computer hard drive, and digitally encrypted. Then have everything sealed so no one can have access to it unless you and Sara consent." Jonas told him, and John agreed with him. He then removed the three videotapes and placed them into a separate evidence bag. He then called Dr. Cruz, and asked him to meet with them immediately after the press conference. Then, they all went back into Lou's office and sat down. Doreen started to close the door, but Jonas stopped her.

"I agree, and she deserves to know everything since she is a new member of the taskforce and part of Lou's family, so please stay Doreen." John told her, and she nodded with a grateful smile before going to sit beside Lou.

"We do not need to know what is on that tape, but we do need to know something about the evidence that will frighten Merle enough that he will not harm David. Can you help us with that Jonas?" John asked him.

"That is easy because you already know enough from what I have told you. Lou, when you call Merle, I want you to goad him into making some threats against you and David. Then, I want you to drop this bombshell on him." Jonas told him as he was busy writing on a piece of paper, and then he handed it to Lou. "Once you drop the first section on him, it will stun the hell out of him. He will stall, and ask how you know about that, and that is when you tell him the next part. You will know by his tone of voice that he has lost his advantage over you, and from then on I want you to be fucking ruthless on him. I don't want you to just rub his face in it, I want you to kick his fucking teeth in after beating him down into the mud, understand?"

"Oh my God Jonas, I could kiss you," Lou said with a stunned expression. "I have dreamed of doing that since he took my son. The son of a bitch made me beg him to spare Davey's life. He then told me what I had to do, and I did everything he asked." He said, and then the sudden pain that filled Lou's face revealed how deep his wounds were. John went over to him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why didn't you say anything?" John asked him, and then he gave Lou a questioning look. "Why didn't you come to me when he took Davey Lou?"

"I didn't really have a choice John. We did not even know that he had taken Davey until he contacted me. Merle showed up at my home with a video tape of Davey in his pajamas and tied up in a room some place. Next, he called someone with this damned phone and let me talk to Davey, and then he told whoever was with him to hurt Davey. I do not know what that man did to him, but Davey screamed so much, and that is when that bastard made me beg. I begged him not to hurt him anymore ...that I would do anything, and that is when he told me what to do about the investigation, and I did exactly as he told me to do." Lou told them before putting his face in his hands, weeping, and saying. "I only did it to try and save my son. Then the bastard refused to uphold his part of the bargain after I did everything he asked me to do. Davey was supposed to be returned to us on January 30^th, but he sent these damned things instead of releasing Davey." He said as he withdrew an envelope from his desk and threw it as if it was a live snake. John picked up the envelope, but instead of opening it, he came over and sat it on the desk next to Lou.

"I know what you are feeling right now Lou because I felt the same way when I found all of those pictures and tapes that Bill, Terry, and Parrish had made. However, it was the tapes of Simon, Lucky, and Sasha being abused and molested again and again by Bill and Terry, or other men and teens, and the video of the Lakewood Sheriff raping Ari. It brought me within a single second of murdering that son of a bitch when I arrested him. Only the knowledge of knowing what Terry is going to have to endure as he sits in prison for the rest of his life is the only reason I did not pull the trigger." John told him as he picked up his briefcase and took out several folders.

"Just a few people know about this, just Jonas, Jerry, Lee, Dr. Cruz, and I have seen these, well Sara, Jeanne, Tom, and Junior have seen some of them also, but not all of them. Nobody else besides us has seen what I am about to show both of you, and I plan on keeping it this way because they have been hurt enough. Jerry and Lee have already seen these files, but I want you and Doreen to look at them Lou, and then you will understand. None of us want to do this, but we have to, just as you will have to do it in order to convict the sadistic pricks who did this to our children." John told him as Jerry handed him a set of folders that he put on the desk in front of Lou as Doreen came and stood beside Lou behind his desk.

Then Lou opened the first one that contained the photographs of Simon being molested and abused along with the pictures documenting his injuries and scars. There were only five pictures of the abuse in each folder along with the documentation photos; but each folder showed that Ari, Lucky, and Seth had all been raped, molested, and abused, and that they all had permanent scars from that abuse too. He and Doreen had tears in their eyes when they closed the last folder, and after she whispered quietly to Lou for a few moments, he finally picked up the envelope. Then, with trembling hands, Lou opened the envelope and laid out the pictures of his son David, who was drugged and only semi conscious when the three men pulled his Spiderman pajamas off him and performed oral sex on him while forcing him to do the same to them. Then it showed how one man pinned Davey's arms above his head while another held his ankles in the air spread apart while the third man applied K-Y to Davey's small anus. The last five pictures were the worst though, because they showed the third man as he penetrated and raped David, who still struggled and screamed even though he was drugged and being held down. A painful sob escaped from deep inside Lou as he laid out the final picture that showed Davey crying while lying in a fetal position as feces, semen, and blood oozed out from his stretched and torn anus.

"Dear God Lou, I promise you that the son of a bitch will pay for this. We will get David all the help and treatment he will need so that he can recover. We know you only did this to save your son Lou, and we will try to protect you as much as we can once it's over." Lee said as he tried to comfort his long time friend. "We also know exactly what you are feeling and going through too. Can you tell us how he kidnapped Davey, and how did you find out who else on the taskforce was involved with Foxworth? Also, I have to know what you have received from Foxworth in lieu for your cooperation."

"What? I haven't gotten a damn thing from that motherfucker, except for these pictures of Davey being tortured, and Doreen can tell you that also." Lou said vehemently. "Everything we did was in the hope that they wouldn't hurt my son, and return him home to Ann and me. Now, I just hope that I will have a chance to see those bastards pay for what they did before I bury my son."

"You will get that chance Lou, I promise you. You have my word on this too; I will bring your son back home to you alive." John told him and Lou looked up at him with a faint spark of hope in his tear filled eyes. "How did they kidnap Davey, Lou?"

"They didn't kidnap Davey, John; they tricked Lou ad Ann to get him." Doreen told him.

"I suspected that Councilman Evans was having an affair because his mistress's two sons started attending Kent Christian Academy with Davey this year, and they both befriended him. You know how shy Davey is, and Ann and I were so happy that he made two new friends. They were both around his age, and one was in the same grade as he was, while his brother was a grade ahead of them. When Davey came home for the Thanksgiving holiday, he was so excited because his new friends had invited him to spend Saturday and Sunday night with them. It was his first sleep over ever, and he was so excited. They lived in a house in Newcastle, and after calling and speaking with whom we thought was their mother, Ann and I agreed. Evans even admitted to me that she was his mistress, and that she and her sons were from

Guatemala

. He told me that he and Ruth were separated which I knew was true. Davey went to spend the weekend with them after Thanksgiving, and she was to take all three of the boys back to school on Monday morning. They must have taken him Sunday night because we spoke to him on the phone that night, and he told us what a great time he was having with his friends. He told us that they were having hot chocolate, and then they would go to bed, and he sounded so happy." Lou explained as he sat down in his chair while Doreen sat in the chair John broght to her after thanking him before Lou continued.

"Anyway, Davey never showed up at school on Monday so the school called me, and I tried to contact her but she did not answer any of our calls. So I called Pete, and asked if he could find out what was going on because I was thinking that maybe she had an auto accident or something. He said that he would find out what was going on, then call me back, and that evening is when Evans, Thompson, and Merle Foxworth showed up with the videotape before we could call you and report Davey as missing. Since then, I have found out the woman works for Foxworth, and that she cares for the two boys there, but she is not related to them. The boys are Guatemalan, and are brothers, but they are Thompson and Evans sex slaves they got from Foxworth for their complicity with his sex trade. I went to that house in Newcastle after they took Davey, and it is like Fort Knox inside. All the windows have shatterproof glass, and none can be opened. The bedrooms are soundproof and all of the doors on the bedrooms, the front door, and the back door have four-inch steel doors with magnetic locks to prevent the boys from escaping if their programming ever fails. Each bedroom has a wardrobe cabinet that is filled with every sexual device and restraints ever invented. I had no idea that Evans and Thompson were sadistic pedophiles. The 9-yr old is Evans sex slave while the 10-yr old is Thompson's sex slave, and Foxworth owns them completely." Lou told them after he had regained his control over his emotions.

"Nothing Lou, because you have not done anything wrong." John told him before looking at Doreen and Lee and saying. "He was forced to cooperate under duress with Foxworth for the sake of his son's safety, and that is what every parent would do in the same situation Lee. Nobody has died because of what he did, nor has he received any money, gifts, or special favors for his cooperation. Therefore, all Lou has done is to pass on specific information to Foxworth as he secretly cooperated with my office after informing us that the taskforce and city council had been compromised. The only information he will pass along to Foxworth from this point on is what we give him, to give my people here enough time to locate and rescue Davey as he acts under duress doing everything that Foxworth demands. That is all his roll has been, and all it will be once everything comes out in the press." John told all of them, and Lou looked up at him bewildered.

"Lou, you haven't done anything that any one of us would have done had the rolls been reversed. Therefore, there is no crime here, and all you are doing now is going to gain me enough time to rescue Davey, and now Sky as well. However, Councilman Evans, Thompson, the Robinsons, along with their two oldest foster sons, Jack Murdock and his wife will all go down with Foxworth. They have all actively participated in the murder of at least five boys by assisting Jefferies and Robinson as well as all of the charges we can pin on them for what we saw in those tapes."

"You truly are a good man John, and I can't thank you enough." Lou told him sincerely. Then, with a tearful and pleading expression on his pain-filled face, Lou said to him. "Please John, David is my only child. My first wife Cheryl died from cervical cancer before we could have kids, and it took Ann and me five years before she got pregnant with Davey. He's all we have, and now I'm too old to start over," Lou said with tears in his eyes as he pleaded with John. "Please John; please bring our son home safe."

"We will save him and Sky also so don't worry. You are a good man Lou; and I wish you had come to me earlier because I might have been able to rescue David before they raped him. All of you are now just like us because all of us have been pawns being played with in this game since this began. It all started when Bill tried to murder my son Simon. However, I am a very fast learner, and I have mastered this game, only now it is my turn to play," John told them with a smile.

"Once we get Davey home safe, I want you to let Dr. Cruz treat him as well as you and Ann for family counseling for as long as it takes. He will help Davey recover from everything that bastard did to him, as well as helping Ann and you cope with everything that has happened, and teaching both of you everything that you need to do to help Davey recover. Lou, I am sorry to tell you this, but David will never be the same boy that you knew before this happened because they have stolen his innocence. However, he needs you and Ann more than ever before in order for him to heal, and to become whole again. As we speak, your wife is being moved to a safe house to insure her protection, and you will join her with Davey after we rescue him. I am truly sorry for what they did to him Lou, but I know that with Dr. Cruz along with you, Ann, and Doreen will help him to heal and move past this."

"Oh god...Thank you. Thank you so much John," Lou told him as he took John's hand before sinking to his knees and sobbing with relief. "We will do whatever it takes...please John...just bring him home to us please."

"I will Lou...I promise. Now, let's set the trap to catch this scumbag." John told them as he shook Lou's hand.

"I know that you are going to need me somehow for the rescue of Davey, so how do we go about this?" Jonas asked him.

"Merle is going to start calling everyone he knows once we start the ball rolling, but I want you to wait until I call you after the press conference before you call him, and then Lou will drop the bombshell on him that we have the disks and tapes. Also, do not call near us just in case he can track the phone itself because that will alert him to what we are doing. When you call him, I want you to put the notion of his own mortality into his mind, but play dumb about knowing what I am doing. I think I can trust you to come up with something to say that will do just that, and do not forget to inform him of Richard's untimely demise while you are at it. Tell him that you only came to me because Richard was going after your son, and that you will deal with those who assisted Richard when he decided to kill Sasha and for him murdering the rest of your family. Make Merle believe that you are only acting on a personal vendetta, and you are not involved in anything else that I am doing, or have any knowledge of what I am doing too," John told him with a chuckle.

"He knows you, and he knows that you only do what you want, and that you work alone, so he will believe that you have not teamed up with me, or are cooperating with all of us to take him down. Then you are free to administer an appropriate punishment to a few of his toadies, but I only want you to take care of the people who will most likely not be charged with a crime due to lack of evidence against them, and who have been feeding Richard information related to Sasha. I want you to hit only his people who know what is going on, and has intimate knowledge of the crimes being committed. Even though they knew what Merle was doing, not getting involved or reporting the crime is not illegal. Therefore, I cannot charge them, but in my book, complicity is just as bad as the crime committed because they could have stopped Merle but chose not to. After Merle verifies the things Lou tells him are true, he will ask Lou for more information, and he will try to use Davey as his leverage against him. That is when Lou will drop the other shoe, and he will make the bastard grovel. I have already given the order to arrest his son Noah right after the press conference, and any time after tomorrow, you can start maiming or eliminating people in Merle's inner circle, then the deal that Lou offers him after the press conference will look like a Godsend to him. He will agree to it so he can get the tape and disks, then he will try and hide someplace in the world, but by the time he discovers that it was a setup, we will have already rescued David, and I hope Sky as well. It will probably be a good idea to get your friend Scott out of there too."

"I see what you are doing John, and I like it. You hit him from one side, and then I hit him from the other because I know just the people to hurt in his inner circle too, and then Merle will want to find the deepest hole in a landfill someplace to hide in until the dust settles." Jonas said to him with understanding. "I will call him and warn him first that some of his toadies fed bad information to Richard, and that is why Richard put a burn notice on Seth. Then, I will tell him that Seth is my son Sasha, and I was the one who altered his directives after I killed Billy. While he is digesting that information, he will believe that I am out of the picture now because Richard is dead, then I will do the hits in the following 48 hours, and I will take Scott with me when I leave. John, I know Scott well enough to know that he will not leave without the seven boys in Merle's personal harem. However, all of those boys, and probably Scott also will need counseling and treatment once I get them away from Merle. Where can I put them so they can get treatment, and also keep Merle's dogs off them too?"

"Simple, just bring them back here to Bayside. The boys in Merle's harem know and trust this man Scott, so I will have one of the cottages setup for them to stay in with him, and they will receive their medical treatment and counseling while Scott can supervise them while also receiving counseling too." John told him and Jonas nodded before shaking his hand and thanking him. "You be careful Jonas, and take care of yourself understand. I do not want to be the one to tell Sasha that you are dead."

"I am always careful John," he said with a smile as he shook hands. "Remember, this is what I do, and I am the best. I know that it is going to upset Sasha when I call and tell him that I will be gone for a few days. However, I don't have the time right now to explain everything to him though, so I would appreciate it if you would be available to answer his questions for now until I come back."

"Well, let's start ruffling a few feathers because we have a press conference coming up soon." Lee told them after Jonas left them. Once he had gone, Lou looked at John and Lee.

"I never would have imagined that a man like him would still have a soul left after all these years." He told them.

"Aye, neither did we, but though he may be an assassin, he still has a heart `o gold for an innocent lad or lassie." Jerry told him.

"I didn't, he came to me. Jonas is dying from terminal brain cancer, and he may have six months to a year left to live. He had to protect his son Sasha, but you know him as Seth Jordan, and Lucky is his nephew. The only way to protect them from Richard and Merle was to kill them and spend the remaining time he has left hiding, or for him to help me take them down and spend that time with Sasha and Lucky instead."

"Seth is his son, and Lucky is also related to him? So he is doing this for the same reason as I am, to protect his family as he told us." Lou said with astonishment. "He is a good man in my book no matter what he has done for a living."

"I know, and I am going to make sure that his son and nephew know that. Billy took my son Simon because he is practically a clone of Jonas's first son Devon Seth Jefferies, and Ari reminds him of his brother's potential before Merle had the chance to make him into a psychotic child killer." John told him, and then he asked. "Are you ready to do this Lou?"

"Just give me a few minutes to think about what I am going to say," Lou told them and John, Jerry and Lee did exactly as he asked. Lou began pacing as he formulated what he would say, and what to say in case Merle dropped a surprise on him, but he did not expect him to do that. After five minutes had passed, Lou finally stopped and informed them that he was ready. They all went back into Lou's office, and Doreen closed the door on her way out to insure they would not be interrupted. John and the others offered their reassurances once more to him as Lou picked up the satellite phone and dialed a number as he sat down in his chair.

"I need to speak with Merle, right now!" Lou growled into the phone when a subordinate of Foxworth's answered the phone. After a few moments, Foxworth's voice came on the line.

"I figured you'd be calling Lou. What can I do for you?" Merle asked him calmly.

"What the hell happened today? You said that you would lay low while I pinned everything on Parrish, so what in the fuck were you thinking when you had your men grab that boy today, and why didn't you consult me first before you did it!" Lou exclaimed into the phone.

"Watch your language with me Lou; nobody talks to me that way, or do you need another example of what will happen to your son sent to you. What happened today has nothing to do with you at all, and I'm not going to ask you for permission for anything I do Lou. Those twin boys were picked out by a client, and my people have been grooming them for over a year, but those bungling idiots who were to take them fucked up everything." Merle told him calmly. "Just stay calm, and I will get in contact with my people and tell them to kill the kid, and then I will give those idiot fuck ups to you to crucify for the media, ok?"

"The hell you will you fucking idiot, you cannot harm that boy at all. You really fucked up this time," Lou told him and Merle started to bristle on the other end of the line when Lou cut him off abruptly. "I don't give a damn if you don't like my language or attitude right now Merle. It is about time someone told you how things really are instead of kissing your old wrinkled ass so they will not hurt your petty feelings of inadequacy. You are the only idiot that fucked up here because you have surrounded yourself with a bunch of fawning limp dicks who are terrified of telling you that it might rain today. Did it ever occur to you to think about checking as to exactly who these identical twin boys' parents were before you grabbed them, or of calling me at least to let me know what the fuck you were going to do here in my city? That's right Merle, this is my city, and if you value your hide and your operation, then you will ask me first before you do anything in my city." Lou said while he could hear Merle bristling with anger, but he did not allow Merle a chance to say anything.

"If you had just called me first, then you would not have this cluster fuck that is going on right now because I know those twin boys almost as well as I know my son. The twin boys your client chose for whatever perverted fantasy they have just happened to be Captain O'Malley's identical twin sons from an affair he had 13 years ago. However, because he was an undercover cop working Narcotics, and my partner at the time, he had everything that identified him as their father sealed by the court. Another thing is that he is and always has been an active parent with their mother, and any decision that involves his sons is made by both of them. I know both of the boys from when they were born, and I even know them right down to their identical birthmarks on their left buttocks. So if you would have taken the time to consult with me before you sent out your stupid assed goons, I would have told you what a big fucking mistake you were making. Most of all, not only did your men fuck up by doing the kidnapping armed to the teeth in broad daylight, not to mention that this whole fiasco went down at the public school they attend with over a hundred witnesses. Those idiots of yours really fucked up because they shot an innocent student and a teacher guaranteeing that it would be the lead story at every damn news network. Thank God for the fact that O'Malley's son Sean escaped after one of your goons got his head blown apart like a ripe melon, so that allowed me to prevent him from destroying half the city once he found out. So tell me again who you are going to send me to crucify in the media because I can only think of one person, and that person is you Merle." Lou lambasted him over the phone.

"What! Holy shit Lou, O'Malley is their father! I swear to you that I did not know that they are O'Malley's sons, honestly Lou, because if I had known then my people would have avoided them like the plague. My people could not get their birth certificates because they were sealed, but there was nothing at all about O'Malley being their father. They are both Cherokee Indians like their mother, and we checked everything including their school records and hospital records from the day they were born. We interviewed former teachers of theirs and some of their friends too, but nobody ever said that O'Malley was their father. There was not a single thing at all in their records about O'Malley being their father either. God damn it, Lou! I don't need this fucking shit right now." Merle answered in a surprised and then angry tone of voice.

"Don't blame me because you had your head up your ass, as if I need this shit myself. Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now Merle? I have five dead thugs armed to the teeth with the press crawling up my ass. O'Malley is about to confirm to the press that he is their father, and that he will not take himself off this case until he captures everyone responsible for this. Instead of making a plea for the safe return of his son, O'Malley is going to make a statement instead, and I haven't a clue of what he is going to say. All I know is that he is as crossed as a mother badger protecting her young. He has already destroyed a door, a desk, and punched two holes into the walls with those sledgehammer like fists of his. The press is already speculating that O'Malley's twin sons were targeted specifically because of the Jefferies' investigation, and the entire police department is in a fucking uproar in support of him as well. In addition to the entire department, the State Police, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshall Service throughout the whole fucking country is out looking for his kid with `shoot first and ask questions later' orders. The whole fucking country is also watching me, and demanding answers. If anything happens to his son, then we are both dead men because O'Malley will kill both of us, and he will probably take a fucking month to do it too." He said into the phone making his voice raise an octave in tone.

"Damn it! I need some time to think Lou. Don't do or say anything until I call you back, ok?" Merle told him, and Lou could hear the fear in his voice.

"I cannot wait Merle! I am expected to make a statement in a press conference that was supposed to happen over an hour ago. I have to go, and I will try my best to deflect this away from the Parrish/Jefferies investigation, but I cannot make any promises because Roberts is also going to make a statement as well. I will call you back in an hour or so, and I will be here in my office after that dealing with all the shit raining down from the sky." He told him before ending the call. Then he looked over at John and said, "So how did I do John?"

"You did just fine Lou, now let's go prime the trap and surprise him about the assault on Bayside." John told them and all three of them stopped by the full-length mirror on the back of Lou's door and checked their uniforms, then they left to head down to the press briefing room.

The afternoon was turning into a pure hell for Merle after the botched armed abduction of one of Captain O'Malley's twin sons. He had been on the phone with Lou before the press conference started, and he was still pissed about the way Lou had dared to speak to him. Merle turned on the television as soon as he hung up the phone, and tuned to CNN. Then he sat and watched as Lou stepped up to the microphone and outlined what had taken place at the school, and the reporter verified everything he said as they broke the story of O'Malley's son being abducted by force. This was followed by the press statement where Chief Smith and U.S. Marshall John Roberts broke the story of the failed armed assault on Bayside Rehabilitation Institute. Next, Chief Smith stated that the assault had been successfully repelled, and it was being reported that 32 members of the assault group had been arrested, and eight killed. He also stated that there were no casualties to the security forces assigned to protect Roberts's sons Simon and Ari, their friend Lucky McGrath, along with the boy Sasha also known as Seth Jordan. Then, John Roberts dropped the next bombshell in his statement to the press that it was not yet confirmed, but the leader of the assault force was suspected to be the DCO with the CIA, Richard Armitage, although he would not elaborate further. He said that it was not yet clear as to his involvement in this investigation other than Mr. Armitage was a person of interest in the case. Then he went on to say that it did not appear that the failed assault was related to the kidnapping, but that his office along with Chief Smith and the Metro Police were investigating that possibility. Finally, Captain O'Malley spoke about what had happened regarding his sons after verifying that they were indeed his sons. Then O'Malley stared directly into the cameras with his face tight with barely controlled fury while his eyes burned with the fire of that anger and stated.

"To the cowardly dog who abducted my son; I am coming for you, and no amount of money, power, or threats will stop me. What ever you have done to harm my son will be nothing compared to the destruction I'm bringing with me, and Hell will be a paradise to you when I am finished." Jerry said tightly before turning and storming away as reporters hurled questions at him. For one of the very few times in his life, Merle actually tasted his own fear as bile rose up into his throat. He was pale and trembling when he pushed the intercom button on his phone.

"Davis, get Del Jackson on the phone right now, and I want Carson and Goings in here like five fucking minutes ago. Also send Weathers in here too because I have a job for him, understood?" He growled angrily into the intercom.

"Right away Sir," Davis replied. Three minutes later, Harold Weathers knocked on Merle's door, and entered without waiting.

"Yes, I hope you know what has happened because I have a few jobs for you." Merle told him and Harry just nodded his head. Then Merle motioned him to the side just as there was another knock on the door. "Get your asses in here!" Merle roared, and the other two men came in quickly.

"You sent for us, Mr. Foxworth," Andrew Carson asked him while Sam Goings just nodded his head, but kept silent. Andrew and Sam were the ones in charge of finding and grooming new boys for their clients. The client who chose the twins was an international pornographer, and they had done the standard background check and initiated the grooming of the twins when they entered Middle school a year and a half ago.

"How in the hell did you two fuck ups miss the fact that these boys are O'Malley's sons?" Merle demanded angrily. "Your fucking screw up is now jeopardizing our entire operation, and I can't fucking touch O'Malley at the moment while he is out looking to drink the blood of anyone involved in his son's abduction."

"Their birth records are sealed sir, and we could not get those records no matter what we tried." Andrew replied in a frightened voice that almost squeaked.

"Well, why the hell not? We have people in places that should be able to get access to those records even if they are in the federal witness protection program, so what made these boys different?" Merle asked in a slightly less angry tone as he began to relax after Weathers mixed and brought him a drink from the bar.

"Our people are for natural

U.S.

citizens only, the twins birth records are all under the Cherokee Nation's jurisdiction. We do not have anybody within their system, and it was the Cherokee Tribunal that sealed those records, not the state of Oklahoma. We cannot get access to those records unless we go through the State Department because of the treaties with the different tribes. The Cherokee Nation, along with the other Indian nations are all treated as foreign countries, and that is why we did not know that O'Malley is their father." Sam explained to him.

"How much did our client pay?" Merle asked as he sat down behind his desk and downed his drink in a single gulp.

"We got two million apiece for the twins Mr. Foxworth. You think we should refund his money?" Andrew asked him.

"Fuck no, the cocksucker knew the risks involved when he came to us, and we have been grooming these boys for over a year now, so I'll be damned if I give him back four million dollars. You went through the entire interview process for these boys, and none of their friends or classmates, teachers, or anyone else close to them knew that they were O'Malley's bastards? You are telling me that neither one of them never mentioned that their father was Captain O'Malley?" He asked them as Weathers brought him another drink.

"Yes sir, our people, including the kids we put in place who befriended them, none of them knew that O'Malley was their father. Neither of the boys ever talked about their father other than saying that they saw him occasionally, and our people reported that the boy Sean only said he was named after his father. All we were able to find out was that the boy Skylar has been made an outcast while his brother Sean is very popular. However, the boy Sean was extremely troubled about the way everyone treated his brother, and our people have made the situation even worse over the last six months. The boy Skylar is now so starved for attention that he has allowed one of our people, a janitor at the school, to molest him on several occasions. We also know that he told his brother about it, and that the boy Sean confronted our man, but he just warned him to not hurt or embarrass his brother only, and he said that if people found out that he would tell the truth to protect his brother. The only things that either of them had said was that their father only visited them once or twice a month and those visits were fairly brief." Andrew reported to him nervously because he had never seen Merle so angry before.

"Well, it is obvious that they have been taught to say very little about their father since O'Malley is such a high profile cop. Also, who in the hell gave that idiot pervert permission to molest the kids being groomed. If he is caught doing anything, then he could expose our whole operation. One more thing, have any of you heard from those two bungling idiots that took the boy Skylar?" Merle asked as he downed half of his second drink.

"Nobody gave the janitor permission to molest the boy Skylar, and our man warned him to keep his hands off the kids, but he apparently did not listen. We are also waiting still for our guys who escaped with the boy Skylar to contact us sir, and we may have a problem there also because the driver is not one of our men. Our driver got himself arrested yesterday, and Rico brought in someone named Carlos Vargas at the last minute to drive. Rico said that he could be trusted, and we took his word for it at the time." Sam reported to him. "However, from the information coming in so far, it appears that this guy Vargas was the one who notified an off duty Brinks security guard of what was going down a minute or two before the team tried to grab the boys who probably alerted the kids' protective detail. The twins' identities also explain why there were five undercover police officers in the school as an apparent protective detail for O'Malley's sons. Our guys did not know this, and that is why most of them were killed, but somehow one of our guys, Luis Ortega we believe because he is not listed as one of the dead, got the boy Skylar into the van, and Vargas drove off. However, neither the driver nor our man Luis has contacted us, but we do know that Luis was wounded too."

"All right, this fucking mess might be salvageable, but we need to find our guys and the boy Skylar as soon as possible. Harry, I want you to contact the client and explain the situation, and then offer him three of our Mexican or Peruvian boys the same age and best resemblances to the twin's features. If he balks or refuses, then kill him." Merle told him before dismissing all three of them. He was about to relax when Davis buzzed him. "What is it now Davis?"

"Jonas, are you calling about the assault on Bayside?" Merle asked him, completely forgetting the earlier news that Jonas had betrayed them.

"No, I am just calling to inform you that Richard is dead." He said in his emotionless voice that sent chills up most people's spines.

"Richard's dead? I heard a report that he led the raid on Bayside, but I was not involved with that Jonas. He called me early this morning babbling something about how you had betrayed him, but I could not believe it. It's true though, isn't it?" Merle asked him.

"No, it was the other way around Merle. You and Richard have betrayed me. Now I am just taking care of business to fix the things that the two of you had promised me you would not do when I allowed Billy to give you his process. I warned both of you to stop all the scheming because you were letting him run wild. When neither of you listened, I dealt with him myself." He told him.

"What do you mean you dealt with him? He was your brother Jonas, what did you do?" Merle asked him.

"What do you think I did? Richard said I turned on him because I was the one who killed Billy, and Richard was also pissed off because Seth Jordan did not follow through with his directives that he had been programmed to do, so he put a burn notice on him." Jonas told him. "However, you and Richard are the only ones to blame for Billy's death because you left me no other choice."

"Why Jonas, I know of at least fifteen men you have killed in order to protect Billy, and what does Seth have to do with any of this?" Merle asked him. "Look, I told Richard that he was making a mistake, but he kept going on about Seth for some reason. I had nothing to do with what happened at Bayside this morning; that was all Richard's plan. What does Seth have to do with this anyway? I was told that he was one of Richard's puppets put there to keep an eye on Billy and Terry."

"I don't really care about your excuses right now Merle because I hold both of you responsible. I kept warning both of you to keep tight control on Billy because his mind was slipping, but no, you both just let him do as he pleased. You could give a fuck about the fact that Billy and Terry were picking any kid they desired off the streets, and then forcing the kid to watch as Billy beat and executed their entire family. I told Richard the last time we spoke for him to tell you to reel Billy in, and to stop giving him money, weapons, and most of all, stop sending him kids to do as he wished, or that I would deal with it. Of course, neither of you lifted a god damned finger to do as I said to stop him because for the last five years you have let your dicks do all of the thinking for you instead of your brains. Well I took care of him, because I was the one who blew his brains out, not the cops." Jonas told him, and he said.

"As for the reason Richard was going on about Seth Jordan, Richard put a burn notice on him, only he did not know that Seth is my son. Richard put a burn notice on him when he failed to carry out his directives, which were to kill the boy Simon, Ari, and Lucky. He was also directed to kill Terry, John Roberts, you, and me, and if he could not kill us, then he was to blame everything on you so that you would take the fall. Richard had Seth programmed to eliminate everyone who could link him to you or Parrish by killing all of you, or by Seth putting the blame on you before killing himself. However, the reason Seth did not do what he was directed to do was because I deprogrammed him because I was not about to let that bastard control my son. Richard has already tried twice to murder him before, and he has murdered three other members of my family already, so I was going to make sure that this would be his last attempt, but somebody got him before I could kill him myself."

"That doesn't tell me what this has to do with me Jonas." Merle said. "What do you mean that somebody got to Richard before you? Are you telling me that you did not kill him?"

"That's right, I didn't kill him. As I said, Richard did not know that Seth is really my son Sasha. He thought he was so smart by targeting my family, and had targeted my son twice before, but he was a lazy idiot. The first attempt was when Richard ordered Sasha's entire family murdered, but he was targeting Sasha's younger sister because that is whom he believed was my child and he was wrong as usual. I saved Sasha, but I was too late to save the others. That was his second mistake because the first mistake was when he killed Lisa and Devon, and you knew that Devon was my son. Then, the second attempt on Sasha was when he killed Darlene, my common law wife and her nephew, who was actually Sasha because that is whom I made him into after Richard murdered his family. He murdered Darlene, but Sasha was not home at the time, and I sent his assassin back to him in pieces. Actually, he was another operative that I genuinely liked, and I let him know that I would tell his family how pathetic he was while I cut him into pieces. Finally, I gave my son to Richard when he told me about his plan to get rid of you, but I was setting him up instead." Jonas told him with an evil chuckle that made the hairs on the back of Merle's neck stand up.

"Still, Richard had no clue that Seth was my son Sasha because he has never bothered to look at a picture of him. He could not touch me so he thought that I would make a mistake if he targeted my family, but all he did was to walk right into my trap, and now he is dead. He had my wife and Darlene's sister, my sister-in-law murdered as well as murdering Sasha's entire family, and he murdered Devon and Lisa too. You knew that Billy could never father any children. However, you never told Richard that fact, and he admitted that he killed Devon while he was trying to murder Lisa, and he never thought that I would learn the truth, but I did. He has been targeting my family because he could not kill me, and he has blamed each murder on you. I don't know if that is true yet, but I will find out. Somebody in your organization has been feeding information about my family to Richard so it has to be someone very close to you. I don't know who it is yet, but I will find out and kill them, and that includes you too Merle." Jonas told him, and Merle's skin prickled with fear.

"I had nothing to do with that Jonas, honestly. I never ordered those murders, I swear. I did not even know that Seth is you son or that Richard was targeting your family until now. You know me Jonas, and while I was playing games with Richard, I would never take the chance to turn you against me. I don't have a death wish, and if I had ordered the hits, I would have had the guts to tell you that it was me. That is Richard's way of doing things because he doesn't like to get his hands into the shit even though he reeked of the stuff." Merle told him in a stunned voice, and then he said. "You said that you deprogrammed Seth, I didn't know you had any knowledge of the process Jonas."

"Of course I know everything about it, and I told you when I brought Richard's proposal to you. The only reason nobody asked me for the process was because of you and Richard. Once I found out that you were turning kids into personal sex slaves, and he was turning them into suicide assassins, then Richard knew that I would never help him or you. I programmed Sasha myself before sending him to Richard as Seth Jordan, and I deprogrammed him before letting John Roberts rescue him, that is why Richard's plan failed. Richard believed that by blaming you for the murders that I would just run out and kill you without checking anything, but I am not that stupid, and I have been protecting my son and nephew from his treachery since '91. After Richard's last attempt, that is when I hid Sasha with him by turning him into Seth Jordan, and then I killed Richard's son and daughter along with their spouses. Richard has been trying to kill me ever since he became the director, and once he realized that I was better than anyone he had, that is when he started targeting my family." He told Merle in a cold voice.

"I do know that Richard did not use anyone at the agency to get his information about my family, so that leaves you, or someone working for you that was doing his dirty work. I finally had to kill his kids as a warning to leave my family alone, and I left him and his wife to raise their four grandkids in peace if he stopped. Well, he did not heed my warning because he has always believed that he was smarter than he actually was. If he were as smart as he believed he was then he would have realized a long time ago that Seth was my son from his name alone, since Seth was Devon's middle name, and

Jordan

was Lisa's maiden name. I have never done anything to alter Sasha's appearance either; I just changed his name and moved him whenever Richard started getting close to discovering exactly who Sasha was. He never made the connection, and he kept up his scheming to target my family while pinning the blame on you alone, Merle. Well, today my son made sure that Richard would never do it again, and he avenged all of his family members that Richard has murdered. Sasha actually had Richard on his knees, he told him the names of his murdered family members first so that Richard knew exactly why he was dying, and then Sasha slid a knife into Richard's heart and twisted it when it quivered." Jonas told him before saying and then laughing, "I'm so proud of Sasha right now that I could bust a gut."

"I can tell that you are Jonas, and I want you to give him my thanks for ridding this world and me of Richard." Merle told him.

"I will do that Merle. Sasha gave him a more honorable death than I would have given him because I would have disemboweled him and then given him a needle and thread to see if he could sew himself up after getting his insides back in place before he bled to death." He said with another sinister chuckle, and then his voice became all business and deadly serious.

"Now, I have just got one thing to say to you Merle because I am coming for whoever was helping Richard target my family. A few people of yours supplied him with the information about my son Sasha, my wife Darlene, and her sister. I know it was your people because the only person I told about my affair with Illesia or about my wife and our son Devon was you. If I discover that you were involved in the three attempts on my son Sasha, or with any of the deaths of my family that Richard has claimed you ordered, then you will be dead before the sun goes down on the day I discover your treachery. Do we understand each other?" Jonas informed Merle in his deadly tone of voice.

"Yes, absolutely, I wasn't involved in anything concerning your family. I never told anyone about the things we discussed, I swear Jonas," Merle replied nervously while his fear could be clearly heard through the phone.

"Because it is the truth Jonas; I have never tried to hurt your family. I only spoke of your affair with Goings, Andrews, Davis, and Weathers, but I never knew you had a child with her. I knew that Devon was your son, and that you gave him to Billy and Lisa. That is why I always treated Billy as if he was family because of my respect for you, and I had nothing to do with Darlene, her sister, Devon, or Lisa's murder. I admitted to you that I had fucked up Billy when he was young, and I was trying to make up for those mistakes by taking him under my wing. Nobody told me that his mind was going though because I would have made sure that he was cared for even if it meant committing him." Merle spluttered into the phone.

"I hope that is true, and that is the only reason I have never come after you because I believed you did care about Billy once you knew the truth, but I will find out. Now, since I have your attention, tell me what were you planning to do with Lucky, and why?" Jonas asked him.

"Lucky? That preacher's kid? Are you are saying that he's your son too?" Merle asked him as a cold shiver went down his back.

"No, he is not my son; but he is my nephew. I altered his birth certificate by making his last name his middle name in order to hide him from Richard after he murdered Devon and Lisa. His birth name is Lucky Jordan, he is Paula's son, and I knew he would be in danger if Richard found out about him. I only saw him once as a baby six months after he was born, and I believed he was safe after altering his birth records. He was in a very good home with a foster family that loved and wanted him. I thought they would adopt him eventually, but the Murdocks removed him when they tried to adopt him. So tell me how he ended up with Terry, and on you're for sale list?" Jonas asked him.

"I had nothing to do with that Jonas, nothing. All I know is that Jack Murdock transferred him to St. Michael's, and then sent him to Terry at someone else's request. Once he was there, Terry contacted me in an absolute panic, and he said that I had to find a buyer for him ASAP because Billy was going to kill him and Devon. He said that Billy had gone completely berserk, and that he believed he could bring back his real son Devon. He said Billy had told him that once he had completed the change on the kid; that God would send his angel to him to do the transfiguration into Devon or some shit like that. That's why I did as Terry asked and found a buyer because Billy was going to kill him if I didn't." Merle told him, and it just confirmed what Jonas already knew.

"I hope for your sake that is the truth Merle," he said, and then he was gone, and Merle's bad day had become worse, but he did not know that it was just about to become a fucking nightmare.

"Hello Lou, I watched the news conference, and you handled that beautifully; just as you will continue to do so unless you want your son David to be violated again. I will not punish him this time for your insolence and disrespect to me earlier, but don't let your mouth cause David any more pain." Merle said coolly with a snicker after Lou answered his phone. After the call from Jonas, it took a little while for Merle to gather his thoughts, and he believed that he had a way to turn this into his favor. However, he was not prepared for the bombshells that were to come still.

"No, that was not the deal. I agreed to help you by keeping you informed about everything the taskforce was doing, and to keep your name out of it by having them focus on Parrish only. I did everything you asked of me, and my son was supposed to be released over a week ago unharmed. Instead, I got those damn pictures of those men raping him, and I don't even know if he is even alive." Lou almost shouted into the phone.

"He is alive and as well as he could be considering his introduction to the adult film industry, but he will learn to enjoy it. They all learn eventually. However, the deal has changed now. You will continue just as you have been doing or your son will die. Understood?" Merle Foxworth replied angrily.

"No, you listen to me you bastard. I want my son released by next Friday or I will consider him dead and take everything I have got to the FBI. I have been covering my ass by digging through your past. You have 10 days to do as I demand, or I will serve your head up on a fucking silver platter to them." Lou told him in a tight voice.

"Go ahead; tell them what you know because it isn't worth shit. So don't you dare threaten me Mr. Edwards because the only thing you will end up with is your only child dead, so you can bury him before going to prison." Merle told him, and then he added, "You have nothing on me, you fucking idiot."

"In your dreams, you fucking sadistic asshole! I now have the real tapes, the disks, and everything else on you, and I have everything about your entire operation sitting right in front of me. I know where your secret reprogramming facility is located in Tennessee, and the names of the 160 boys you sold. I know where all of those boys are located, the names of the sick bastards that you sold them to, and what each of those boys were programmed to do...even how much those perverts paid you. I have every fucking thing on you. So you will do exactly what I tell you to do, and if you don't, then I'm going to the feds and the newspapers, understand shithead?" Lou said with satisfaction as he waited for Merle to respond. After a long moment of silence, Merle finally spoke, but now his voice informed them that he was unsure of himself.

"You're lying. I have had the entire area under surveillance for the last four months, and not a single cop or agent has made any attempts to find out where the boy Ari hid the tapes and disks, nor as anyone brought out any video cassette tapes or diskettes either." Merle replied, however, his voice revealed that he was even less sure of himself.

"Well you need to hire some new kiss-asses because Roberts retrieved that evidence before he took down your toady, Parrish. I told you that the man was smart, but you did not believe me. You want to know how he did it, because he knew you had your goons out there watching and inside the place too. He sent in a goddamn scruffy looking kid to retrieve the evidence from right under your fucking nose. I bet you never even thought that he would do that, to put a kid in danger, did you...and you are supposed to be the fucking genius. Roberts has got you cold for the 54 boys who died during the reprogramming, or after the third process drove them insane, and I know the locations of where your `cleaners' Diallo, Stills, and Jefferies disposed of them as well as everything showing that Jefferies was your favorite lap dog. There is even that surveillance video tape of you ramming that wrinkled thing you call a pecker up the virgin ass of Ari's identical twin brother Eli while he screamed and pissed all over himself as you tore his rectum to shreds as Ari watched because you had him chained to the wall. Then, being the spineless, candy-assed, limp dick that you are; you ran out of the room and left him there shackled to the bed to bleed to death once you realized what you had done. How much did it cost you to stop Richard from cutting off your old, wrinkled dick after he cut off your nuts, and what did you pay him so that he wouldn't feed them to you once he found out that you had raped and murdered one of Paquito Rojas's twin grandsons?" Lou asked him with contempt.

"How dare you! Do you know who I am, of what I can do to David with just a nod of my head you fucking idiot," Merle threatened him in anger.

"Shut the fuck up, you freak! The only thing you will do is the same thing that you did when Richard found out what you and Parrish did to Eli, and that was not a damn thing. After all the work he had done to get his hands on Eli and Ari so he could force Rojas to step aside, it only took you twelve minutes to fuck up two years of precise planning and execution of his operation because you could not keep your dick in your pants. You are such a big fucking shot right, did you tell him how you murdered Eli? Did you tell him how you wanted Ari at first because he was smaller, but that Eli willingly offered himself to you instead in order to protect his injured twin brother? Did you tell Richard how you had Eli shackled to the bed as punishment for taking Ari's place even though he was not resisting in any way to give you his body in order to satisfy your sadistic lust? Did you tell him that you had to torture that little boy for ten minutes just so you could get your dick up for the whole two minutes it took to get your rocks off, and to tear his virgin ass apart in the process? Did you tell him how you left Eli in that room to bleed to death, and that Ari broke his own hand in order to get free so that he could comfort and hold his brother while he died, did you? No, you didn't say or do a damn thing because you were afraid that someone would discover that you were such a sick and twisted pervert. What did you do to Richard after he had his men break your ankle, your wrist, and three of your ribs after he discovered what you had done to Eli? Who did you order to be killed, or maimed as retribution for him unmanning you? I know what you did, nothing; except to bellyache about how much your pussy hurt since he took your useless balls. So tell me again who the fucking idiot is because it sure isn't me." Lou said with sarcastic venom as his words finally got through Merle's over inflated ego. Merle was speechless for a full minute because his face had drained of its color since the only way Lou could have known those details were only if he had actually seen that videotape.

"W...wh...when did you get the tape? Did you get the disks too?" He asked finally, and Lou could now hear the fear in his voice.

"Yesterday, Roberts turned everything over to the taskforce that he has been sitting on for over a month, and I was physically ill after watching that tape. Then, do you know what I did, being the stupid fucking idiot that I am? I called you with the hope that you would release David as soon as I told you that I had the evidence. However, the phone kept giving me a recording not to disturb you, and to call back during business hours because you had it turned off. That is when I realized that no matter what I did that you would never let me see my son alive again because you don't fucking care as long as you get everything you want. Once you get the tape, then my wife, David, and I are dead because you no longer need me. However, I know that now, and I know how damn important that tape is because your sorry ass is on the line if Rojas ever gets that tape; but I was still willing to risk everything last night by giving you the tape to get my son back alive if you had answered the god damn phone. If you had, then you would have the evidence and would have known about the twins being O'Malley's sons, then you could have called off this kidnapping, but your superior arrogance has finally fucked you. Now, Roberts and O'Malley are on the warpath looking for your blood because you took O'Malley's son Skylar, and the fuck-ups you sent damn near killed his twin brother Sean. Tell me Merle, what is it about identical twins that you like so much because it seems to me that one of them dies, or almost dies when they get involved with you? Well, I would not worry too much about it because Roberts and O'Malley will find you soon enough, and if you start running now, you might manage to live for a few more days, maybe even a week of you are lucky." Lou told him as he gloated over the phone. "You don't even have to worry about an arrest or trial either because O'Malley is going to rip out your heart and eat it while you watch after his son Junior blows off your kneecaps."

"Why are you calling me then?" Merle asked him as his mind raced for a solution.

"Call me stupid, but I still want to make a deal because it won't be long once they take you down that they will find out about me. The way I see it is that I am a dead man no matter what I do, but I can still save my son and my wife. Therefore, let's deal because I have got what you want, and you have got everything I want. Let's make a trade, and then you can run like hell before either of them gets their hands on you, but I will do this only if you beg me as you made me beg you when you took David." Lou told him.

"You are crazy if you think I'm going to beg or plead to someone like you. You bring me the disks and tapes, then I will let your son go, and I will even leave you and your family alone as long as I get that evidence. Once I get the evidence, then our business agreement is terminated, and I give you my word that I will leave you and your family alone no matter what happens afterwards." Merle told him as he tried to regroup in his mind.

"Oh no, fuck that, you queer motherfucker because a fart in my hand is worth more and will last longer than you word. Now, I'm calling the shots because you are fucked seven ways to Sunday no matter what I do. I have nothing to lose at this point while you have everything to lose, and your life is the least thing of value on that list, so you will do exactly as I tell you to do. If you do not, then I promise that there will be a noose waiting to go around your neck at Walla-Walla after I publicly crucify you and your entire family. You forget that Washington is the only state left that has hanging as the method of execution along with lethal injection. Therefore, I promise you that I will make sure that you hang, you got that you prick?" Lou demanded of him before waiting for his reply.

"Who the hell do you think you are to threaten me?" Merle asked angrily because he was not used to being threatened. "I don't take orders from anyone, and certainly not from some piss ant mayor that I can have eliminated any time I choose."

"Shut your fucking pie-hole you filthy old faggot. I have got my fist around your heart now, and you fucking know it! You will do exactly as I tell you understand, or I will make sure that you are the designated duty bitch of the cellblock until they watch you doing the hangman's dance when they execute you. Before your date with the noose though, I can guarantee that you will be fucked several times a day, every day until you are dragged into the death chamber. Then I will go after your family, and I know that your pretty-little grandson Tommy will be the most demanded star of the kiddie porn industry before I am done. What is he now...7 years old right? I am sure that by the time he turns 18 that he will have learned to enjoy taking it up his tight little ass if he lives that long; only it will be so loose by then that you will be able to drive a fucking truck through it. For his first starring role where he loses his virginity, I will arrange for him to get the same thing that young Roberto Petrinelli got for his first time. What was that? Oh yeah, he got fifty sadistic perverts just like you fucking him every way imaginable in 24 hours. Tommy would love that, won't he, and it will be a real learning experience for him too that will prepare him for his new life as the kiddie porn boy slut of his generation. Now do you understand where I'm coming from shithead?" Lou said in a venomous tone of voice.

"You can't touch him because none of them are involved in this." Merle told him in a defeated voice because he realized that everything Lou was saying was true.

"Wrong again limp dick; he is very much involved thanks to your son Noah. Tommy is involved because he is shown chatting with two boys before they are raped by your son Noah in one of those tapes seized by Don Simms when he took down Parrish. It seems that perversion breeds true in your family, and after I am finished adding a few details to the financial evidence on the disks, every member of your family is going to be put away for a very long time. If I choose to do it, I can have your grandkids removed from their parents today, and with the tapes, I can assure you that no one even remotely related to you will ever have contact with them again. However, because of what you did to my son David, I will not do that to him unless you leave me no choice. Instead, I believe that I will sell your grandson Tommy and granddaughter Cindy to that kiddie porn ring you were planning for that preacher's kid to be sold to. On the other hand, I could just contact Paquito Rojas and let him watch what you did to murder his grandson; and then sit back and watch as he exterminates you and anyone even remotely related to you." Lou told him with a sinister laugh. "Now tell me again what you are going to do to me or to my son? Tell me what a big fucking shot you are, and how much money and power that you have. You think that you are above the law because you are wealthy. So say it you twisted fuck, say it so I can have my vengeance by showing you how it feels to have your innocent child violated. Just give me a fucking reason so I can have Rojas wipe you and your entire family from the face of the Earth, you sorry excuse for a piece of shit!" Lou bellowed into the phone with tears of pain and rage streaming down his face, and John could hear his pain and the rage in his words.

"No, you will not have to do that Lou. Your son will not be harmed again; you have my word on that. You promise to leave my grandson Tommy, his sister, and their mother out of this, and I will do whatever you say," Merle told him in a defeated voice.

"That is not what I said fuckface," Lou roared back at him with a note of triumph in his voice now that he knew that Merle had been cowed into submission. Then with a vindictive edge in his voice, he ordered Merle. "I want to hear you say it, I want you to get on your fucking old decrepit knees and beg me just as you made me do, and if you are convincing enough, then I may only have three men rape Tommy as you had my son raped. Now, you beg motherfucker!" Lou thundered into the phone because Merle knew that he and his entire family were completely at Lou's mercy now because the tables had suddenly been turned against him. Merle had used David to humiliate Lou for his personal enjoyment, and now Lou was doing the same to him since he had all the power now, only he was not doing it for enjoyment, but for justice for David.

"Please Lou; I'm begging you, I'll do whatever you want. I am truly sorry about what happened to David because he was not supposed to be hurt, or even know what was being done. The men were told to sedate him, and then only to pose with him once he was in a deep sleep to make it appear that he was molested in order to get the pictures to insure your continued cooperation. David was not supposed to be hurt at all, or even to know what had happened afterwards. However, those idiots did not give him the proper dose so he was awake when it happened, and then they took it upon themselves to rape him. When I found out what they had done, I made sure that David was treated immediately at a medical facility. I promise you that each one of those idiots will pay for disobeying my orders with a bullet in their heads, or I will give them to you to prosecute if you want. The people who are with David now are treating him for what those idiots did to him, and he is receiving the best of care. I will personally make sure that he receives the best medical care no matter the cost until he has fully recovered. I really am sorry about what happened to him Lou; David was never supposed to be hurt like that. I fucked up, and I will do whatever you say to make up for it. I will give you whatever you want, and do exactly what you tell me to do." He said in a pleading and defeated voice, and then they could hear it as Merle got down onto his knees begging. "Please don't hurt my grandkids Lou. Please, I am begging you to spare them. I am begging you not to tell Rojas what happened to his grandson Eli. We did not know who Eli and Ari were at the time when it happened until Richard show up, and the man with them at the hospital told Parrish that the twins were ours to use any way we wanted because they were orphans. Richard had that man killed after making him watch as his wife and his ten and seven year old daughters were raped and murdered. Please, I'm begging you Lou; please leave Tommy and his family alone, please?"

"I will think about it for now, but that may change depending on how well you comply with my demands. First off, I want their names, the three men who raped my son, whether they are dead or alive, I want their names and if they are alive, where they are at because they will be arrested. Then I also want all of the lazy fucking assholes who were supposed to make sure that my son was not to be harmed. I want their names and locations too, because I am going to turn all of that information over to Roberts once David is safe with me here. I am going to tell Roberts that my son was kidnapped and raped, and depending on how well you comply with my demands will determine if I tell him that you did it for my cooperation, or that those three men did everything for ransom. Now, once you fax that information to me, then here is the deal you fucking pervert. I want 25 million dollars wired to an account in Grand Caymans by Noon next Thursday. Once I have verification that the money is there, I will meet with you only; I do not want to see a single goon of yours around for the exchange. You alone will bring my son David, and O'Malley's son Skylar for the exchange at the old lumber mill in Redwood, California on Friday at Noon. You will get out of the car, strip to your BVD's, then get on your knees with your ankles crossed and hands on your head, and you will wait there for me. I will come and give you the disks and tapes in exchange for the boys, and if you put your sleazy paws on either of them again you bastard, then I will personally cut off your grandson's little balls and serve them to you for breakfast after I turn everything I have on you over to John Roberts and Paquito Rojas." He said calmly now as he wiped his eyes with his hanky.

"I don't know if I can come up with that kind of money by Thursday Lou," Merle stammered to him as he tried to stall. "How do I know that everything hasn't been copied anyway?"

"I don't care if you have to sell Tommy's tight virgin ass to the highest bidder to get the money, but you have until Noon or I'm meeting with the FBI and Roberts at 1 pm, then I will call Rojas and have him meet with Roberts who will have the tape, and it is not negotiable. I do not know or care if Roberts made a copy of everything, and if he did make a copy, then he cannot use it against you in a court of law because it is inadmissible as evidence since it is a copy that could have easily been tampered with. All I know is that he is closing the net, and we have got to run before he finds out about us. The money is the price you will pay me for raping and humiliating my son, and now you know exactly what it feels like to be fucked you piece of shit. You had your fun torturing and humiliating David, who is now scarred for life, and now I am returning the favor to you by putting a price of 25 million a piece on Cindy and Tommy's virtue and innocence. I believe that is a reasonable price for you to pay to protect their virginity and innocence, understand! However, the more you argue with me, the higher the price will become. If you are still feeling belligerent, then the price will be 100 million." Lou told him as he leaned back in his leather office chair and waited for a response, but after a silent minute, he continued.

"Good, I'm glad that we now understand each other. Now, you will release the boys to me unharmed on Friday, and I will give you everything that Roberts gave to me after I receive the verification that the 50 million is there by Noon on Thursday. I also expect you to make sure that the boys receive the same kind of care and respect that you personally demand wherever you go until they are safe with me. Then, after the exchange, we both run like hell and hope Roberts does not catch us before we get out of the country. Also, do not get any ideas about double-crossing me either because I have everything being copied as we speak, and I have the entire local, county, and state police force who will be watching for your men at the exchange location. The county Sheriff is a long time friend of mine and he has over 500 officers on the look out for your thugs. Once I have my son and O'Malley's son safe, then I will call and tell you where to find all of the copies I made. However, if anything happens to the boys, to my family, or me before and after we make the exchange; then those copies will be sent to the U.S. Attorney General, every major newspaper in this country, the FBI, to the President himself, and a copy along with the tape of Eli will be hand delivered to Paquito Rojas too. They cannot use those tapes against you in court since there is no body, and Richard used his power to destroy every document showing Eli ever existed, but the government can use the tapes to expose what a sick fucking pervert you really are. Once the public knows, then I guarantee that Mr. Rojas will take whatever steps necessary to end your miserable life, understood." Lou said while his voice seethed with anger. "Also, just to make sure that you don't start feeling Froggy; when you speak to your son Noah later at the county lockup, ask him how much Tommy likes his Batman underwear set you got him for Christmas."

"How did you know that?" Merle asked in astonishment as he stood up. "What have you done Lou?"

"Not what you are thinking, Merle; I'm not a twisted pervert who can only get it up by playing with a little boy's pee-pee like you, fuck face," Lou said with a wicked laugh. "I will admit that Tommy does look very cute in his Showtoons that you got him for Christmas. When Don met with Angela, Cindy, and Tommy after Noah's arrest, she told him all about your gift. Then Tommy doffed his clothes, and put on his Batman costume right in front of Don. However, don't you think they are a little too big because Don said that Tommy's little uncut pee-pee keeps popping out the sides letting everyone see it and his tiny hairless balls too? Oh, my mistake, I mean you can see his little tinkie winkie, but that was the idea in the first place when you bought them, wasn't it you filthy bastard? When were you planning to deflower him because he is at the age you prefer your pretty boys to be at when you break them in, or were you going to let Noah do it instead since he has already taught Tommy what a blowjob is? Angela told Don that she has caught Noah twice already giving Tommy a blowjob and finger fucking Cindy as they slept. Were you going to let him break Tommy in, or were you planning on doing that yourself while Noah kept Angela from interfering?"

"God damn you Lou, I would never touch my grandson that way, and I just made a mistake on what size he wore was all. I offered to take them back and exchange them, but Noah said that it wasn't necessary since he would grow into them soon." Merle said in a low voice, and even Lou could hear his shock, and then anger about Noah molesting his grandchildren. "If Noah was molesting them, then I don't give a rat's ass what you do to him, and if you don't do anything, I will. How dare he touch his own children that way because he knows what I will do to him. I will kill him myself because I warned him never to touch them in any way. I appreciate you telling me this Lou, and I will deal with Noah no matter where he is. However, the same goes for you also Lou, if you hurt Tommy, then I will hunt you and your entire family down even if it cost me everything I have got. When did you take him?"

"I didn't, Roberts had Noah arrested less than an hour ago on charges of 1^st degree rape of a child, felony sexual assault, and battery, and a dozen other charges for what he did on those tapes because he located all four of those boys. However, I find it hard to believe that you did not know Noah was molesting Tommy or Cindy, and Cindy said that her daddy has been molesting her for a full year. Therefore, Roberts is also charging him with sexually molesting Tommy, and statutory rape, incest and 1^st degree sexual assault for Cindy as well. John has also put Angela, Cindy, and Tommy protective custody with the U.S. Marshall Service. There were over 400 pictures of Cindy and Tommy posing nude in all sorts of explicit and sexual ways on Noah's computer too. Roberts has also ordered the arrests of most of the people in your operations here including the Murdocks, but he still does not know about Evans, Thompson, or me, nor does he suspect us being involved with you so that gives us some time until Jack starts talking. You can verify this with Thompson and Evans, but Roberts has informed me only as to where he is keeping Tommy, his mother, and sister, so remember that. If you even think about trying to cross me, then Tommy and Cindy will be headed to Ciudad Del Carmen, Mexico before you can get within 50 miles of them, and then Tommy and his cute little tinkie winkie along with his sister will star in the latest kiddie porn movies being made; understood?"

"Perfectly Lou," Merle said to him with defeat and respect. "You win, I promise that the money will be delivered on time, and David and O'Malley's son will not be harmed."

"Good, once I have the money and we make the exchange for my son and Skylar, then we are through with each other, and I could fucking care less what happens to you. I just faxed you the account information, and remember...you have until Noon next Thursday to get the money, or I will take my chances on cutting a deal with the FBI before I bury my son, and I will take you and your entire fucking family straight into hell with me starting with Tommy." Lou told him before ending the call abruptly. He was breathing heavily, and his face was flushed from his anger along with a wicked smile of satisfaction on his face. He put down the satellite phone as his hands began to tremble, and he began pacing back and forth while taking deep breaths before exhaling them slowly. Then after several minutes passed, Lou could no longer contain his building pain and rage, and a wretched, pain filled sob escaped from him as he sank to his knees and wept while Doreen rushed to his side. It took another several minutes for her to calm him and for him to regain control before he looked over at John, Lee, and Jerry.

"It's done, but why do I feel like I've just killed my son." He told them as he looked at the phone on his desk as if it was a death warrant.

"Trust me, you haven't Lou, but you have just guaranteed that he will not hurt either of them anymore, or move them from where they are at until he has that evidence. However, I will have them safe by this time next Thursday evening after we have the confirmation that he has transferred the money. He is scared now because in about five minutes he will realize that you were telling him the truth about his son and Tommy. Tommy, his sister Cindy, and his mother Angela are safe, and she is the one who went to Judge Sanford and requested protection for her and her children from her husband Noah, and Merle. She told me what to say when I asked her to tell me something intimately personal about Tommy that only Merle would know, and she told me about Tommy's Batman underwear Merle had got him for Christmas that are two sizes too large. She believes that he did that just so he could see Tommy's genitals when he wore them because they were always falling down. She also knows that when Merle watched Tommy that he would allow him to run around naked, or fondle him until Tommy became erect. She has already caught Noah twice molesting him orally, and Cindy admitted to her that Noah has been sexually molesting her as well, so that is why Angela requested protection from them. Most of all, that information about Tommy rattled him and it should keep him honest until he makes the exchange. However, this also means he will throw everything he's got at us once he learns that we have rescued the boys after he wires the money to try and save his ass because he will know that you set him up." John told him before going over and putting his hand on Lou's shoulder.

"If we can locate and rescue David and Sky before Thursday, then we will do that and come up with another plan to take him down. My main priority here is to rescue the boys, and I will not risk their safety by waiting until he wires the money. We will find them and bring them home safe Lou, and then we will deal with Merle once and for all." John told him, and all Lou could do was nod, but John could see the hope in his eyes that David would be saved.

After Lou's final call to Merle, John and the others went about coordinating the arrest sweeps. So far, they had taken into custody everyone they knew to be on Merle's payroll within the school system, including several staff members at Pinehurst Middle School that included the janitor Mr. Dawson and the Principal. They also took the Murdocks and several other members within the city government, judicial system, and Child Protective Services. However, they were unable to locate Councilman Evans or Councilman Thompson, but John was not planning to arrest them just yet. They issued Bolo's for them as persons' of interest, but until they located them, then there was little he could except wait. In the mean time, John and Lee had conducted the questioning of those staff members that included the principal, guidance counselor, Mr. Dawson, and five teachers that had Sky in their class along with several students who were detained as well. It did not take very long for the adults to confess that they had received large sums of money from the sex ring, and that Sean and Skylar were both being groomed for a client.

John soon found out that they had no knowledge of the operations of the sex ring other than their contacts who were Andrew Carson and Sam Goings. The Principal explained that they always have the entire student body assemble for a school picture at the beginning of each year. Then Carson and Goings would select a few children who had potential for the clientele. Once a kid was chosen by a client, then the grooming process began. The teachers, staff, and specially programmed kids who had been placed in the school by the Murdocks would begin ostracizing the chosen kids. With their coordinated efforts, soon the selected kids were considered geeks, nerds, troublemakers, or outcasts in general. Then all of them would work together and shut the child out completely until they were on the verge of suicide. When it reached that point, the groomed child would be quietly taken, but the staff and even the parents most times would report it as a runaway child due to the emotional problems the selected child had.

John, Jerry, and Lee were all surprised by the number of people involved, and of their positions of trust that they were in as educators, with hundreds of children under their supervision. The twins had been selected within the first month of starting middle school, and they had been slowly grooming Sean and Sky since then. Everything was taking longer with the twins because there was some kind of problem on Carson and Goings' end of the operation. The guidance counselor had told them that they had managed to separate Sky and Sean completely after they were chosen, and while Sean was lavished with attention and praise no matter what he did, Sky was shut out, ridiculed, and ignored to the point that Sky had reached the point of suicidal depression. This in turn caused Sean to worry more and try harder to help Sky fit in, but the students who were planted in the school along with the staff had now begun isolating Sean, and tormenting him by tormenting his twin brother even more bringing both of the twins to the brink of suicide. Over the last three weeks of the previous school year, Sky had found out that one of the janitors liked him. Sky thought that the man had liked him as a friend, but when Mr. Dawson told him that he liked him because he thought Sky was very sexy. Instead of running and telling someone, Sky was so starved for attention that he allowed the man to molest him on four different occasions. He had even run away over the summer to the man's apartment where the molestation continued until it was put on the news about him running away.

While Sky was afraid, he had been willing to let the man molest him in every way except having anal intercourse with him. By the time the news story of him came out, he had already left the man's apartment in fear because he was pressuring Sky to have anal intercourse with him. Sky fled from his molester's apartment in fear of being raped if he stayed, but he was still willing to protect the man's identity because he was that starved for affection of any kind. Once he left the apartment, he was planning to stay in the park near his home instead of going home, but he fell into a ditch on his way there and got a concussion along with fracturing his arm again. That was when Sean told the police that Sky was most likely hiding in the park, and he led the police directly to where they found Sky dazed and confused while cradling his broken arm, and Sky told them that he stayed in the park only. John and Jerry learned that this school year has been even worse for both of them because their grades had dropped severely, and both Sean and Sky were unhappy, very lonely, and extremely depressed. Neither of the boys would associate with the other students nor participate in class, and they spent as much time together as they could. That was why the Principal had notified Carson and Goings that the twins were ready for them to pick them up because if they delayed any longer, then one of the boys would most likely have killed himself within a month.

However, the staff and the children used to groom Sean and Sky did not know that Jerry was their father, and it was obvious that they had no idea why Carson and Goings had sent an armed assault team to take the twins. Even the principal did not know about the security detail John had assigned to protect the boys because John had already suspected that the principal was involved in Merle's operation, so he had the undercover men sent there for legitimate purposes. One was posing as a building supervisor to take charge of repairs and renovations at the school, three of the undercover officers were assigned as workers for him, and the last officer was sent as a substitute teacher. John assembled the adults and informed them all that they were going to be charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, sexual assault of a minor, child trafficking, and a long list of other felony charges. He then had them all sent to central booking, and went to monitor the interview Dr. Cruz was doing with the children.

"How's it going in there Lee?" John asked him as he came into the surveillance room.

"It is obvious that all of these kids have gone through the behavior modification process. They all genuinely like Sean and Sky, but when they were told to do certain things to embarrass or torment Sky, even though they did not want to, they had to do as they were told. We have already checked and arrested their guardians who were posing as their parents, but it is going to take some time to find their real parents if they have any. However, I believe that it will be discovered that these kids are most likely orphans from one of Merle's institutions here in the

U.S.

" He said to John.

"I believe that also Lee. All of these kids are innocent victims themselves, and there may be hundreds more like them. I think we are going to need a larger facility to put these kids in until they can be deprogrammed and treated. I mean, we cannot just send the whole lot to Bayside because they just do not have the facilities or beds for these kids." John said as he turned on the speaker to listen as Dr Cruz interviewed a 12-year-old boy named Nathan.

"So you felt bad for pulling down Sky's shorts and underwear during gym?" Dr. Cruz asked Nathan.

"Yeah, I felt really bad after I did it. It was mean, and Sky started crying as he pulled up his shorts while everyone else laughed. Then Donny started calling him baldy `cause he doesn't have any hair on his whacker yet." Nathan replied with a shameful blush.

"If you thought it was mean, and wrong, then why did you do it?" Dr. Cruz asked him, and Nathan's face just went blank.

"I...I don't know. I didn't want to do it, but they told me I had to, so I did it. I had to `cause Mr. Williams and Mr. Reston told me to do it." Nathan said with a confused expression as he referred to the gym teacher and principal. "I felt bad after I did it, but I had to do it." Nathan said tearfully with a guilty blush.

"I'm sorry...I...I didn't want to do it, but...I had to," he said with conflicting emotions on his young face. Alva understood that he had just come to the threshold of Nathan's programmed obedience, and if he nudged him a bit more, then he should break through the programming to reveal the truth to Nathan and himself.

"Why did you have to do what they told you to do Nathan? Those people helped those men kidnap Sky, and two people were critically wounded. If your classmate Kyle dies, then you could be held responsible for his death because of what you did. If he dies, then you will be sent away and locked up because you did what Mr. Reston and Mr. Williams told you to do when you knew it was wrong. You could have just said no, but instead you did what they told you to do even though you knew that it would hurt Sky. So why did you do as they said, or are you lying to me right now?" Alva said with a bit more force and authority in his voice, and he watched as Nathan struggled to answer but could not until everything became too much for him and he broke.

"Yo...you don't understand...I...I had to. I had to do what they said...or they would have sent me back to the black room. You can't send me back there...please! I can't go back there. Please don't send me back...I can never go back there...I will do whatever you tell me to do no matter how bad it is `cause I can't go back. I'm sorry. I'll do anything you want...(sobbing)...I'll say and do anything you tell me. You can do it to me in the butt, and I won't tell even if it hurts, just don't send me back. Please, don't send me back there...please," Nathan pleaded with him as he broke down and sobbed uncontrollably, and Alva moved quickly and embraced him tenderly.

"It's ok Nathan, it's ok. I won't let anyone send you back there again. I won't let anyone hurt you anymore, or allow them to touch you like that again, I promise. None of this is not your fault understand? I know all about the black room, and I understand why you had to do as they told you. You are not in trouble, and I won't let anyone send you back to that black room ever again because none of this is your fault," Alva told him gently as he comforted Nathan, who continued to weep as he clung weakly to Alva, and John had heard enough and turned off the speaker.

"I can't listen to this anymore, or I will kill someone for hurting these kids," John said angrily.

"I know John, and I've been thinking about the problem of what to do with these kids too. We already have a large facility if we choose to use it, and I think I know where we can get the money to fund it. Parrish's Orphanage can shelter up to 300 kids, it may be better to let Dr. Cruz staff it, and to use it as his base to treat these kids who are programmed orphans. I am positive that we can get the federal government to assist with this so that we do not have to cover the financial burden that this will cost. Also, by making it into a federally funded institution, then it would come under federal oversight too." Lee told him and John broke out with a huge grin.

"I know just where the money will come from too Lee. Once we take down that bastard Foxworth, we can seize all of his money and apply it to all of the orphanages he operates in this country. The way I see it is that he will not need his ill gotten wealth once he is convicted." John said with a laugh. "Looks like Alva is stopping for the night," John told him. They watched as Alva spoke briefly to each child, and then he hugged and kissed them before leaving the room. After a few moments, he joined John and Lee.

"How did it go in there Alva?" Lee asked him.

"Things went well, but these kids are just pawns in this mess. They have all been put through the behavior modification process at least twice, and some have undergone it three times like Nathan. They know that what they were doing was wrong, but they could not refuse or resist because of the programming. They knew it was hurting Sean and Sky, and I believe it also hurt each of them just as much for having to do those things to hurt the twins. It is going to take months to undo their programming, and to deal with the psychological problems it has caused them." Alva told them. "All of them feel tremendous guilt for hurting Sean and Sky, and the reason they did so was because of fear. They are all terrified of being sent back into the chamber again."

"We know, and we were just speculating about using the now vacant facility that we seized from Parrish in Tennessee. It is completely set up to house up to 300-orphaned children, and we were wondering if you would want to staff and run it as you see fit because we don't know how many children need treatment yet." Lee told him.

"It is a very interesting proposal. It is getting late, but I will sit down with you and discuss it with you later once you have dealt with this Foxworth fellow." Alva told them, and then he said. "Anyway, I want to go check on the boys to see how they are doing after what happened at Bayside this morning. I also want to talk to you and Sara, along with Simon about the tape Jonas spoke about. I viewed it, and it is very disturbing, it also was very difficult to remain as an objective observer because the tape is that graphic. It is probably one of the worst pieces of evidence I have ever encountered, and I highly recommend that you destroy it once you no longer need it."

"I know that it was difficult for you Alva, and I am deeply indebted to you for all that you have done. Let us finish wrapping things up here, and we should be ready to leave in about 15 minutes while you go get a get a cup of coffee and relax a bit." Lee told him while John and Alva agreed, and he left them to get his things together.

The new taskforce all sat down in John's den instead of the conference room as originally planned. John and the others quickly realized that Merle still did not have any information about Lou betraying him. Therefore, they had changed the time and place for the taskforce meeting after realizing they were making the same mistake that alerted Richard to their plans. He also had each member driven to the house by an unmarked police cruiser, again with the hope of not alerting anyone who may be watching the house, but he doubted that anybody was. Because Richard had not known in advance about Jonas, John had to assume that Merle's men were still watching Bayside instead of here. The new taskforce consisted of John, Jerry, Margaret Jenkins, Judge Al Orndorf, Lou, Jonas, Juan, Gary, Todd, Lee, and Dr. Alva Cruz. Unofficially it also included Doreen, Junior, Jeanne, Sara, Miguel Sanchez, Paquito and Maria Rojas, and Shiloh. The shades and curtains were drawn so nobody could see through the windows, and there were two unmarked patrol cars along with regular street patrols and four officers walking a beat through the neighborhood. They had all been given orders to not to respond to any alert or command unless John, Jerry, or Lee issued them. The boys including Sean had all been fed, bathed, and were in bed upstairs. Simon and Ari were in one bed while Lucky and Sasha slept in Ari's bed. Sean was asleep in the third bedroom across from Simon and Ari's room while the second bedroom next to Simon and Ari's room was where Junior and Tom would stay. The third bedroom next the master bedroom was where Shiloh was staying with Sean while Jerry and Jeanne would use the sofa bed in the den once the meeting was over. Sara, Jeanne, Tom, and Shiloh finally came down the stairs and joined the others.

"Yes, they all conked out before their heads hit the pillows except for Simon, but I think he finally went to sleep." Sara told him with a smile. "It's been a very stressful day for all of them, and they all resisted at first when we told them that they would be wearing those new goodnights underwear just in case they wet the bed. Except for Simon, but he never resists us except for when he's about to go to sleep."

"Sean was beside himself along with Lucky about how they were not going to wear a diaper, but then Jeanne brought in the underpants, and they saw that they did not look like a diaper at all. Still, they started to refuse until Simon told Ari and Lucky that they all should wear them cause of everything that happened today. He actually admitted that he was still scared and would probably have bad dreams, and then Sasha agreed with him so the others changed their minds pretty quick." Shiloh said with a half smile.

"Those underpants are a really good idea though, because any children their ages are embarrassed about wetting the bed. Before these came out, all an older child could wear was an adult diaper or rubber pants over their normal underwear, so I am glad you thought of them." Tom explained to them and Alva agreed with him as he accepted their thanks.

"Well, once they saw that these looked the same as regular underwear, they still hesitated until Lucky proclaimed them `kewl', and then they all let us put them on them before putting them in bed. Even Ari did not mind them, and he usually does not wear underwear beneath his pajamas. I was a little surprised that Sean allowed me to undress and bathe him because he usually is so modest about anyone seeing him naked." Jeanne told Jerry and the others.

"That's because everything has changed for him and Sky. They no longer have to hide who they are, and the twins have always loved you Jeanne, they think of you as their second Mom." Shiloh told her. "That is why Sean is not embarrassed or shy about you seeing him naked, or even touching him when you bathed him. You have been as much of a mother to him as I have, and now that he no longer has to hide, he is showing how much he loves and trusts you."

"Ah, John and Sara, I was hoping to speak with the two of you along with Simon about Ari, but I guess we can do that later." Alva said to them.

"No, after thinking about it, I talked it over with Sara, and we have changed our minds. You can tell us now if you want, and I think it would be best if everyone here knows. We have to trust everyone here and to do that then we cannot hold back any information including this." John told him while Sara nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure that you want this known to everyone present? Even those who are not part of the taskforce?" Alva asked him while specifically referring to Paquito and Maria.

"Yes, we are sure. Everybody here right now needs to know the truth so we can understand exactly what these two men have done." John told him while reassuring him that it was ok.

"Very well then; could I have everyone's attention please? John contacted me earlier today, and he asked me to view these tapes and wanted me to make a decision that will affect one of the boys seriously. I am speaking about Ari in particular because all of these tapes relate to him, and they also answered many of the questions I have had about his psychological problems." Dr. Alva Cruz told them as he stood up and walked over to the fireplace.

"When I first evaluated Ari, some of his particular behavior patterns are symptomatic of a moderate form of OCD, bipolar disorder, and borderline schizophrenia. However, these symptoms only showed when he was stressed or frightened while he was also able to function almost normally most of the time without the need for medication or therapy, which is not symptomatic of OCD, bipolar, or Schizophrenia. After viewing the tapes, which are very graphic and highly disturbing, I now am able to give a more accurate diagnosis for Ari. So all of you can understand what I am talking about, the simple fact is that Ari is an identical twin like Shiloh's son Sean. When Ari's parents were killed in the auto accident, I have been informed that it is now assumed that they were murdered, Ari was not the sole survivor because his identical twin brother Elijah Ezra Cohen also survived." He told them as he had enlarged photos of Ari and Eli passed out to everyone. "If you compare the photos, you will notice that only Ari has the birthmark above the left corner of his mouth. The other photo is of his identical twin brother Eli, and Jonas has provided me with the affidavit evidence proving that Eli did in fact survive the accident with only minor injuries while Ari was injured more seriously. However, I was informed that Eli was murdered within the week following the accident. Then Mr. Armitage spent the next year after his murder trying to destroy the entire catalog of documents showing that Eli Ezra Cohen ever existed, let alone survived the accident that killed his parents."

"Excuse me, but are you are saying me that I do not have a grandson, but in fact that I have two identical twin grandsons, one of whom was murdered?" Paquito Rojas asked Alva Cruz while his face tightened with shock and anger.

"S�, Se�or Rojas," Alva said respectfully. They stared at each other for a long moment before Paquito Rojas, as his eyes misted up, looked down at the photos again, and cleared his throat. Then he spoke with a thick voice with his eyes filled.

"Does that tape show who murdered my grandson, and how he was murdered?" He asked quietly and John nodded sadly to him as he picked up the tape marked `Eli'. Then Paquito said to him as Maria hooked her arm around her fathers before using her free hand to wipe her eyes with a handkerchief. "Show us what they did to my grandson, please."

"What these men did to your grandson Eli will be painful for all of us if we watch this tape. Nobody except Dr. Cruz and Jonas has seen what is on this tape. Are you sure about this Mr. Rojas, because Alva has told me that what is on this tape is the most graphic and brutal crime he has ever witnessed?" John asked him honestly, and everyone could see the pain, anger, and sadness in his own face.

"Yes, I am sure Mr. Roberts. If I may call you John, I would very much appreciate it if you called me Paquito, or Pancho as my close friends and family call me. You are my grandson's father now, and a part of my family. You and your wife bring honor to our family because of how you love Ari and his brother Simon. If my grandson Eli had survived, I have no doubt that you would be his father also. You have to know what happened in order to provide the best care for Ari, and I must do the same if I am to have any type of relationship with him. We have to see what happened so that we can give Ari the proper treatment and care for him to fully recover, if that will ever be possible." Paquito told him, and John could see in his face that he meant every word he said, so John nodded along with everyone else present, and he turned on the TV and VCR. Then he put in the tape, picked up the remote, and pushed play before sitting beside Sara. None of them noticed that Simon was sitting silently on the steps in the dark hallway watching the TV also.

Please send all comments to snwdemon@yahoo.com, or to storyreply@toast2.net. All responses will be read, and I will try to answer as many as possible. Thanks to everyone who has commented on this story so far. God Bless, my friends.