Written by: J.P.G.

{"Beneath the Mask" is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without authors' express written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Editor: Trevor

Editor: Ed

Chapter 45

The sergeant ordered all the officers that were available to head to the fourth floor where the officers were fired upon. They reached the two officers, who were in a shootout. They quickly took cover behind the walls, but knew they were not safe there because they could be struck with a stray bullet.

One of the officers that arrived peeked out to see what was happening. The shooter was behind a door shooting in the air in their direction. The door was metal, that is why they could not hit him, and he was protected. They returned fire, but the bullets just bounced off the metal door flying either back at them or into the walls.

"Stop your shooting now." The police chief yelled out as he took cover behind the swat team. "We can't have innocent students struck by a stray bullet bouncing off the wall, so stop your firing." The officers that were firing did as they were told, but did not holster their weapons. They have to listen to the order, but the shooter does not have to and that makes this a dangerous situation.

"My name is Aaron Trujillo, and I am here to help you. In order for me to do that, you need to first lower your weapon and stop firing." The police negotiator spoke in a soothing voice. "I want everyone to walk out of here alive if that is possible. To make that happen is all up to you. Please stop shooting and let's talk."

"I don't want to talk, I want a student that goes to this school here in the next five minutes, or I am going to start shooting at the walls in hopes that I hit him. Those that die are on you, so if you don't want that, get me that faggot Alex Garcia out here now." A young, what sounded like an uneducated male voice yelled back.

Aaron looked at the sergeant and then over to the principal. Principal Michaels shook his head raptly. He was not about to hand over one of his students to be killed. That is what will happen if they brought Alex at here. He knows this kid is not here to talk with Alex.

"Let me get the principal over here to see what I can do. For the mean time, I would like to know your name. That way I can address you properly."

"Fuck you, I'm not going to give you my name. The only reason you want my name is so you can find out more about me. Get me Alex Garcia over here in the next five minutes or I will start shooting. You don't want to test me on this." The young male voice started to get louder and louder as he spoke. "And if you think I am afraid to die, think again. When I walked in here I knew I was not walking out."

In order to spook the shooter, Aaron walked over to Principal Michaels slowly. "Please tell me you recognize this kid's voice. Is he one of your students and if so how dangerous is he?" Aaron talked softly that only Principal Michaels and those officers around him could hear their conversation.

"I recognize the voice, but he isn't one of my students. The other day he attempted to walk into the building and I stopped him because I knew he was not from this school. When he could not produce a school ID, I sent him on his way. I took down the license plate number, but a lot of good that was because they were stolen."

"Did you get his name by any chance?"

"No I didn't because the kid wouldn't produce an ID. I couldn't do anything except ask him to leave school property." Aaron was disappointed in the answer he just got. "One thing I can tell you is that you are not dealing with a troubled teen out there. This kid is in a gang and he means what he is saying."

"How do you know this kid is in a gang when you only saw him that one time? He could be a kid needing help and you missed it the first time when you saw him. Your record on helping teens that scream out for help isn't that good, with one of your students killing another and then eventually losing her life."

"I admit that incident almost a year ago didn't look good for me or my staff. We did everything we could to help her. It is not our fault that she was so far gone. There was nothing we could do; she just did not want to be helped. That is neither here nor there concerning what we are dealing with here today. The kid hiding behind that door is in a gang because he is all tattooed up."

Aaron shook his head as he wrote down what Principal Michaels said about the tattoos. "I am concerned about one thing and that is why he is asking for a specific student. Do these two know each other? If so, how do they know each other? Are they in a gang together?"

"I am not sure if these two know each other, but I am pretty sure they ran in the same circles. You need to understand something. When Alejandro Garcia came to me, he was a troubled teen that got a second chance. Barely released from Juvenile Dentition, with a gang background, he was turning his life around.

Now he is one of my top students with the second highest GPA average of his graduating class. He got off probation and never looked back at his old life. He turned his life around when so many people, including my own staff, thought he would not have. The first day I met the young man, I knew he was going to prove everyone wrong, and he did. So you can see why I do not want to pull this student into this."

"Principal Michaels we have no other choice but to get him here and I mean now. That kid over there is going to start shooting at the walls and you know as well as I know those bullets will get through and hit innocent students behind those walls. I am sorry, but I need you to bring Alejandro Garcia over here and fast."

Principal Michaels did not like what he was being told, but he agreed that was the only way they were going to keep that student behind the door from shooting the walls. He radioed to his office first, to find out what classroom he was in, and then to have security to go and get Alex. As he got off the radio, the young teen started shouting.

"You mother fuckers think I am playing with you, I'm not." Shots rang out from the direction of the shooter, but not at the police. The shooter was true to his words and he started shooting at the walls. The chief-of-police had no other choice but to order his officers to open fire in order to keep the shooter pinned down.

The firing went on for a couple of minutes, and then it went dead quiet. "I believed you that you're not playing, but if you open fire one more time, I will not be able to hold the police back. They will go in and take you out by force. Do you understand what I am saying to you?" Aaron yelled out.

"All I want from you mother fuckers is Alex Garcia. Once you bring him over here, all this will be over. I will do my business that I need to do with him and then I will surrender my gun." The voice echoed through the hall.

"I am getting the student you are asking for, but I will not put him in harm's way. You can talk with him, but that is all. So if you are here to kill this student, you had better think again. There is has been enough death here today and like I said before, I want everyone to walk out of here alive." Alex walked up just as Aaron finished.

"You will bring that faggot son of a bitch out here and allow him to come over to me. If you do not, I, damn it all. I will start shooting at the walls and I do not care if you and the entire army come for me. Before you get me, I will take down as many people that I can."

"Alex do you recognize the persons voice?" Principal Michaels asked Alex as he pulled him down next to him.

"Yes sir I do, that is one of my former gang members Ashton, um, Ashton Rocha. Bobby told me he was out and was coming after me, but I never thought he would have done this. He has never showed that he was this crazy." Alex could not believe all this is because of him.

"Alex my name is Aaron Trujillo, one of the police negotiators. We need your help on ending this with no other bloodshed. So anything you can tell us about the kid will really help." Alex looked at Aaron with a confused look on his face. "Like will he actually go through with his threats on shooting up a classroom?"

"Oh there is no doubt in my mind that he will. One thing about him that everyone in the gang knows is that he, was the person to go to whenever you needed something done that was too risky to be done. He does not care what happens to him. All he cares about is completing whatever he starts. If he is threatening to shoot, take him seriously."

"Can you tell us why he wants you? What I have gotten from Principal Michaels here that you two ran in the same circle. If you were friends and in the same gang, why is he now after you?"

"That is simple to answer! No one is allowed to do what I did and that is leaving the gang. Once you are in the gang, you are in it for life. Not only did I leave it, I gave the police a lot of information on how the gang was ran. In return, the higher ups in the gang were not happy at all, so they gave the green light for me to be killed. Recently that green light has been taken off. Ashton is acting alone."

"Are you sure Ashton is acting on his own? What I mean how do you know that the green light has been taking off of you?" Alex just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't want to get his grandfather in trouble. "Alex I need more than you just shrugging your shoulders. If you do not cooperate with us, I can have you arrested and thrown back in jail. I do not care how you are doing in school or you turned your life around. What I care about are all the innocent students that are now in the middle of your gang war. So stop this bullshitting..."

"You wait one damn minute here!" Principal Michaels jumped in angrily. "I don't care what you think about Alex, but you will show him respect. He is trying to help you, but if you are going to be talking to him this way, I am going to send him out of the building and then you are going to have no other choice but to go in shooting."

Before Aaron could reply, Ashton started yelling. "Your fucking time is up and I do not see that fucking gay son of a bitch. It looks like you guys have made up your mind and just signed the death warrant of several kids."

"Before you start shooting Ashton, you need to give us a chance to get Alex out of his classroom and up here. As I said before the minute you start shooting, I cannot stop the police on going in there to kill you. I truly want to resolve this where everyone here walks out alive." Aaron talked back in a soothing voice in hopes to buy more time.

"Fuck you, you mother fucking liar. You already have spoken with that two-faced rat because you know my name. Alex you fucking faggot rat show yourself. Stop hiding behind the police as you did while you were pretending to be our leader. Face me like a man! Oops you're not a man, face me like the little faggot you are!"

"Ashton, you know you are in the wrong here. Whatever beef you have with me, you didn't get it cleared with the higher ups. You are here breaking the code we all swore when we joined the gang. The green light has been taken off me and you guys were ordered to leave me alone. So just drop your gun and walk out of there."

"Fuck you faggot, I do not need a green light to take you out. I don't care what happens to me here because you know if I even survive this, I am dead in prison." Aaron looked at Principal Michaels who gave him a dirty look back. "There is no way I am going to let Alex walk out there" Ashton interrupted, yelling out curse words. Principal Michaels continued, "You had to know that from the beginning. There is no way I or anyone here is going to send a student out there to be shot. You talked with Alex, so give up asking him to walk out there and surrender."

Alex knows Ashton too well; he knows that Ashton is not going to give up. He came here to take him out, and will not give up until he has the chance to do so. No matter if that means that he is going to be killed in the end, either by the police or by the gang in prison because he went against standing orders!

Knowing this, Alex decided to try to get Ashton to give up the gun. "Ashton you know there is only two ways out of here, either by your own will or in a body bag. I know we use to talk on how cool it would be going down in a blaze of gunfire, but come on man, think about it. You do not want to die here and leave your mother all alone. I know she is the only person in this world you truly care for. Don't leave her all alone thinking that this was all her fault."

"Fuck you Alex you know this isn't her fault, it's yours. You walked around the place all tough, but all along, you are a dick-sucking faggot. Do you how that made all of us look like, being ordered around by a faggot? We have no creditability any longer with the other gangs and that is all because of you. No you must answer to us here today."

"You may hate me now, but I did meet your mother when she came down to visit you on visitation day when you didn't hate me. I got to know her pretty well in that short period of time. No matter what anyone tells her, she is going to blame herself for all this. You know that as much as I do.

Do not do that to your mother. I bet you when the judge let you out, she was so happy to see you, she was probably crying. That night when you got home, she probably threw you a party even though she didn't have the money. She loves you, so don't leave her all alone. Lay down the gun and come on out. You may be in jail, but you will be alive to explain why you did what you did to your mother. Make sure she understands that all this isn't her fault. You are the only one that can do that."

It was dead quiet! For the first time Ashton did not come back right way with curse words and threats. Everyone just stood there hoping beyond hope that what Alex said to Ashton is sinking in. He surrenders and walks out peacefully. None of them, including Alex wants to see Ashton shot down in the hallway.

Just when everyone thought this ordeal was ending, Ashton started yelling demanding that Alex step out in the hallway. At that point, Aaron knew there was no way talking this kid out of there. His success rate is the highest than any other negotiator in the department because he is able to talk a person down and see common sense. Not Ashton though, the kid is blinded with too much hate to see reason.

Even though the negotiator is ready to give up on Ashton, Alex is not. "I am going to walk out there to try and make Ashton see this is not the right solution." Immediately Principal Michaels and a few others objected, but Alex wouldn't listen. He didn't want to see Ashton gunned down in front of him.

"If you are going to go out there at least put on a vest." The precinct commander said. He looked over at one of the officers who got the message. The officer took off his vest and handed it to Alex. Quickly Alex took off his shirt, put on the vest, and then put his shirt back on. Principal Michaels could not believe that the police were willing to let Alex go out there, and be shot at.

"Ashton I am coming out, but you need to do yourself a favor and not shoot because these guys are going to shoot back. Before you get off a shot, they will plant one in your forehead. So please do not be stupid, just give up."

Ashton peaked around the door and saw his old leader making his way down the middle of the hallway. He looked around to see if what Alex just said was true. At every corner and door, he saw several police officers. He even saw several officers in the middle of the hallway kneeled behind those metal shields that covered their bodies.

Not thinking straight anymore, he got up and walked out from behind the door with the gun at his side. With his free hand, Ashton removed the hood over his head so he could see Alex more clearly. He started to raise his gun and the officers opened fire-hitting Ashton in the legs, causing him to fall to the floor.

While Ashton's attention was at the officers in front of him, he did not notice two members of Jacob's security detail running down the stairs. Before he could react, they were on top of him pulling the gun out of his hand. The police quickly moved in and put handcuffs around Ashton's wrist and then started patting him down for more weapons.

Ashton was screaming and cursing at Alex, threatening this was not over. The whole time while he was yelling, he did not notice that Principal Michaels had gotten up and covered up Alex when the gunfire started. His mind was on getting the officers that were shooting him and then he was going to shoot Alex.

Principal Michaels got up off Alex and then pulled him up from the ground. "Don't you ever pull a stunt like what you did. If you do, you will be out of my school faster than you can figure out what is going on. Do you hear me young man?" Alex shook his head confused on why the principal is yelling at him. "I don't want to lose any of my students, but more so you since I spent a lot work whipping you into a better man."

Principal Michaels smiled at Alex as he walked back to Aaron. "I am going to let Alex's parents know how you threatened him today. I am also going to let them know how you allowed him to walk out there to be shot. Afterwards I hope they sue the hell out of the police department for putting their teenage son in harm's way."

Aaron, the police-chief and the precinct commander just stood there looking at Principal Michaels. They could not read him if he was actually going to do what he threatened. Before they were able to get a read on the principal, he walked off to attend with clearing out his school in an orderly fashion.

When Principle Michaels reached the staircase, he turned and looked at Alex. He waived him over without asking Aaron and the others if they were done with him. Once Alex walked up to the principle, they walked down the stairs together in silence. Reaching the first floor, Principal Michaels had the EMTS take Alex to make sure he was okay as he headed to office to begin the process excusing his students.

Meanwhile Ashton was being attended to by the medics. He was now screaming out in pain from the gunshots he got. The precinct commander walked up to Ashton along with his sergeant. They looked down at this skinny gangster laying there on the floor not acting tough anymore. In fact, he actually started calling out for his mother.

"Ashton Rocha you are under arrest for the murder of a police officer, another count of murder, and when we get the count of how many teachers, staff and students were in this building you will be charged with those many counts of attempted murder. You will not see the light of day ever again in your life span. So you'd better get used to it."

"Screw that, he isn't going to have much of life before him. By murdering a police officer, he is going to get the death penalty." The commander looked down at Ashton. "And the great thing about Texas is that those that are convicted and sentenced to death normally get put to death within seven to ten years from the date they are sentenced. You are going to die an awfully young man, in your twenties."

Ashton spit on the precinct commanders leg. All that did is make him laugh. "Take this piece of shit to the county hospital, get him patched up and in front of a judge. I want him behind bars in protective custody as soon as we can." The officers looked at their boss confused. "I don't want his gang to deliver the death penalty. I want the state of Texas to take his life for all the killing he did here today."

As the precinct commander walked away, the medics pulled Ashton up from the floor, put him on the gurney rolling it to the elevator and out of the school. Once they removed Ashton from the school, Principal Michaels got over the PA system and gave the code to the teachers that the threat is gone. The teachers had their students get up from the ground and sit back at their desks to wait for further instructions.

Not even five minutes after the principal gave the all clear, he got on the TV. "Students of El Paso High School I know you all are wondering and maybe scared on what was going on. The ugliness of the outside world leaked its way into the halls of this school this morning. One of your fellow students lost their life here today, and many others were injured by a gunman that is now in custody of the police.

I need you to work with me, your teachers, and the staff as we start to clear out the school by floors. Once you are out of the school, if your parents are out there, go to them. If you live, close by and walk to school, please walk home. If you come to school on a bus, the buses are already on the side of the school where they normally are and ready to take your home. Please, as soon as you get out of this school, go straight home. Do not stay around to try to get more information.

It was the ugliest day in this schools history and I am sorry you had to bear witness to it. Take off the rest of the day, relax, and rest assured that when you return to school tomorrow you will be safe. I will make sure of that no matter what it costs. No more of my students will die while they are in my high school."

The screen went blue and then off. The students started to talk with each other trying to guess on who the shooter was. Room by room, floor by floor, the school was emptied. An hour later, every student had exited the building, leaving only the teachers, staff, and police. Principal Michaels asked his teachers and staff to make their way to the cafeteria so they could talk about how things worked and how they failed.

Outside as the teachers and staff made their way to the cafeteria, there were groups of students that did not listen to the principal and stuck around. It took the police to get them to move on. They did not care if they went home, but as long as they were off school property is all that mattered to them.

At the same time, the press was all over school grounds trying to get answers on what exactly happened. When they could not get anyone from the school, the district, or the police department to come out and talk to them, they started to interview the students. Several parents jumped in and stopped the press from talking to the students.

Meanwhile back in the school, Principal Michaels made his way to the cafeteria. When he walked in, the teachers and staff stopped talking and looked over at Principal Michaels. In the back of the cafeteria, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Benedict were watching.

"Look I want to go home and put this day behind me. So let's get this over with as fast as we can." Principal Michaels spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him. "This was without a doubt the worst day I have had in all my years as an educator. Many things went right, but many things went wrong here today. The biggest thing that went wrong was that a teenager that did not attend this school got in with a gun and started shooting up the place. We need to find a solution to that so it doesn't happen again."

The first teacher to speak up was the head of the science department. "I know you don't like this idea, but after today I think you can see that we need metal detectors at every door. If we had them in place that kid wouldn't have been able to get in with a gun." All the teachers agreed with the head of the science department.

"First those big things make a school look tacky. And second of all what does that say to our students, their parents and the community?" Principal Michaels looked at the head of his science department. "After the shooting at Austin High School several years ago, they discussed the idea of metal dictators, but decided against it. If any school in this district should have them, it is Austin since they are in the middle of gangland. So no, we are not going to be the first school in the district to put them up."

The teacher who was taking Jacob's class spoke up next, "I think having all these armed security agents around here is not needed. In fact, they make things a lot worse. Today when the shooting started and you gave us the code; the security agents that Jacob Hernandez has were creating more problems than helping. I cannot have them in my classroom making that kind of trouble."

Principal Michaels looked over at Mr. Jackson. "Let me answer that concern Principal Michaels." Mr.'s. Jackson and Benedict walked to the front. "You guys should be feeling the opposite about the extra security at this school. By having these armed security agents here, the students are a lot safer." Mr. Jackson looked at the teacher that brought up the concern she had with his agents.

"I spoke with Riley, the head of Jacob's security and he told me that you refused to follow protocol. Jacob's security is to get the same respect as the governor son's security detail. God willing nothing like today ever happens again, but if anything close to it does, you need to let out the security agents and Jacob from your room."

"Come on that is saying that one student's life is more important than the others. What would the parents of the other students say if they found out that there is a policy in place that if you are rich or a child of the governor, you will be allowed to leave."

"Let me first say by you keeping in Jacob's security agents, you hampered the overall security of the school. They are not only here to keep Jacob safe, but also they work alongside the police and school security. In incidents like this, they are assigned to do certain things to protect all of the school. You stopped them from doing that.

Secondly, I can say without hesitation if the parents would find out that kids like Jacob and the governor's kids are rushed out of the building right away when something like this happens, they would not care. In fact, they would want that. Let me tell you why. More than likely the person that is in this school doing harm is either after the governor's sons or after Jacob. They want to get their hands on them to either make a statement or hold them for ransom. The parents would rather they get out of the building so the people that came in to do harm would leave as well or maybe not even attempt if they knew this was the procedure. Once again you kept my guys from doing their job."

"Ma'am, if you had pulled that stunt with my agents, you would have been under arrest immediately!" Mr. Benedict looked round the room. "I am going to be frank here with you all. If any of you leak to the press or the other parents our procedures, you will be placed under arrest. You will no longer be allowed to work at this school as long as any of the governor's sons attend it.

Do they get special privileges when it comes down to their safety, yes? They are in danger every minute of every day because of who their father is. Jacob Hernandez and those close to him are also in danger because of who he is and how much he is worth. However, at the same time this school gets a lot in return for these special privileges.

This is the most secure school in this city, if not in the state. After today, the security is going to get even tighter around here. There are going to be several security agents at every entrance. The students must present a security badge when they are walking in that we are going to issue. The reason for that is your school ID'S could be duplicated by a third grader. Teachers will only be allowed to come and go through one door and your classrooms are going to be searched for anything that can be used for a weapon. This is going to make it difficult for the science classes because all the tools you have to dissect with will be locked up and we are the only ones that will have the keys. These are only a few of the changes that we wanted and will have after today."

Principal Michaels stepped in front of Benedict and Jackson. "Those changes have not yet been discussed or agreed upon. There are going to be changes, but what they are at this moment I do not know. But again rest assured there are going to be strict changes coming down the pike in the next couple of weeks."

"With all due respect sir, we tried it your way, now it is going to be our way. Mr. Jackson and I have a job to do and we are going to do. Between your teachers refusing to follow the standing protocol to an armed teenager getting into this school and actually going on a shooting rampage, you failed. Now it is my turn and trust me at the end of the day, this school will be locked down tighter than Fort Knox.

The teachers were stunned at the way Mr. Benedict was talking to Principal Michaels. They know things did not go right today, but at the same time, they do not think there should be any changes in how the school goes about security. At least not in the way, Mr. Benedict is talking about. It makes it difficult for everyone that comes and goes.

"If it is at all possible I would like to speak with you and Mr. Jackson in private in the hallway please." Principal Michaels asked in a low, but demanding voice. Mr. Benedict nodded his head and started walking out the door with Mr. Jackson behind him. When they got far away from the doors to the cafeteria, Principal Michaels began to speak his mind.

"I don't know how many times I am going to have to say this today, but I am going..."

"No need to say it again to me or Mr. Jackson. We know this is your school, but you failed here today in so many ways I do not even know where to begin. Like I said in there, we did it your way, it did not work; now we are going to do it my way. Those changes I talked about and many more will go into effect in the next several weeks, if not days.

If you do not like it, transfer out to another school. I am sure the El Paso School District board, the mayor and without a doubt, the governor will back me up on these changes. You are great principal sir and I do not want to have another person come in and try to change things here. I am asking you to understand where I am coming from and support the changes we want to put into effect."

Principal Michaels just shook his head. "By the way, that teacher that stopped my detail from doing their job, she must be removed from this school. Not only did she refuse to follow protocol, but also she was in there threatening to leak the protocol to the parents. We cannot have teachers like that on staff here. So remove her and that will send a clear message to all the others that protocol must be followed."

"She has been a teacher here longer than I have been principal. It is going to be difficult to remove a teacher that has been here that long Mr. Jackson. Why not remove Jacob from her class and make sure she does not get any of the governor's kids instead of removing her. I think that will be the wiser choice in all this."

"I will tell you what; I will meet you half way on this. Remove Jacob from her class and do the other thing, but on top of that, you must suspend her for a week without pay. One way or another we need to send a message to all the teachers here that protocol must be followed or they will be suspended if not worse removed from this school. Right now, they are thinking that they can do whatever they please and not follow the protocol they signed agreeing they will follow at the beginning of the school year.

Not liking either of the two choices, Principal Michaels knew he had to accept one of them. So he agreed on the suspension without pay and the other part he introduced. With that, Mr. Jackson and Benedict thanked the principal and left the building while the principal returned to the cafeteria to finish the meeting with his staff.

As all this was going on at the high school, Alex, Matt, and the others, had made their way back to the hotel. The minute they walked in, Franseca and the other grownups were there at the door making sure they were okay. After hearing what happened, Franseca got up and with help from Helen and Gloria prepared lunch.

Just as they were putting the food on the table, the phone rang. It was Principal Michaels on the other end asking to speak with Franseca. She got on the line and everyone knew by the way she was talking the news that was being delivered to her was not good. Every passing minute she was on the line, she was getting angrier and angrier. Finally, she hung up the phone and demanded to speak with Alex and her father in private.

They walked into the kitchen and closed the door. "You left a lot of things out of the story you told us earlier." Franseca trying her hardest to control her anger, but it was slipping through. "Why don't you tell us how the police pulled you out of your classroom, threatened you, and eventually sent you out for that kid to kill you?"

"Mom I didn't tell you that because I didn't want to make you worry!"

"¡Estas policía de mierda, lo que es yendo a tomar el los consigue de su asno!" Alex's grandfather yelled in Spanish punching the cabinet. `These fucking police, what is going to take the get them off your ass!' "I am getting tired that no matter what you do, you are always a no good gangster to them."

"Dad, please settle down, there is no need for you to get upset and land up in hospital! What I think we should do is wait until Jacob and Al get home and talk with them. The principal suggested that we sue the police for knowingly putting Alex in danger. He believes that the police over-stepped the mark and should be held accountable."

"You bet we are going to sue the police, but we are not going to stop there. After we sue everyone that we can, I am going to demand that some heads roll on this. The first head that will be cut off is that little shit that went into your school today and tried to kill you. There is no where they could put him to keep him safe from me, no where!"

Alex's grandfather stormed out of the kitchen leaving his daughter and grandson worried on what he is going to do. Alex knows that his grandfather has the connections still with the gang through friendship, so he can reach out and get things done. His mind is fighting with what he should do here. One part of his mind wants Ashton dead so he should let his grandfather reach out. On the other hand, the other part of his mind knows it is wrong and doesn't want his grandfather to get into trouble.

The good part of his mind won out. He apologized to his mother for not telling her everything and promised they will talk to Al and Jacob about this later. Franseca shook her head and let Alex leave to go up and try to talk some sense into her dad. She as well doesn't want her dad to do something that will land him up in jail alongside Ashton.

When Alex got to his grandfather's room, he found his grandfather sitting on the bed with his head between his legs. Slowly Alex walked in and sat down on the bed next to the man that has saved him more than once. His grandfather looked up and knew immediately why his grandson was there.

"I know what you are going to say, but that kid cannot get away with what he did here today. Not only must he pay for the laws he broke, but also the oath he took when he joined the gang. The order was clear, and if there was any question about the order, the killing of Mr. Flores should have cleared that up. That kid broke a standing order and came after you and he must pay for that."

"Grandpa, I know all about the oath and the rules we must follow when we enter into the life of a gang member. I broke that oath and I am here today only because you were able to reach out to your friend to save my butt from the fire again. You helped me when I needed it the most, so let me start to return some of that to you.

Do not do what I think you are going to do. The leaders of the gang will know soon enough what Ashton did. Once it gets up to the higher ups, they will send the order down on what needs to be done. There is no need for you or me to get our hands dirty on this. You helped save me from myself, now let me help save you from yourself.

I have always looked up to you as a man that got everything he has in life the right way, by the law. Man, do I respect that and really look up to you for that. Every day I work to be just like you, a man that follows the law and be there for his family. I want to be there for Matt, my mother, brothers and the rest of my family like you were and have been. Please do not do anything you cannot take back. Come down with me and let's eat lunch."

Mario couldn't believe how his grandson has grown into a man, a man that has the right values and outlook for his future. He is no longer that kid that he once knew several years ago. The man sitting there beside him is a man that he can respect and follow.

Not saying a word, Mario pulled Alex into a hug and thanked him. After a few minutes, they broke the hug and headed back down to the restaurant. When they walked in, they found that everyone had waited for them to join in before eating. Mario and Alex took their seats and kick started the conversation.

By three Ashton was all patched up and was on his way to the courthouse. Harold was notified on what was going on and made it clear that he wanted Ashton to be brought into his courtroom when he was done at the hospital. He also had his secretary call Ashton's lawyer so he could be present and not have anything in the future to overturn any part of the proceedings.

While Harold was in the middle of a plea hearing, his courtroom got flooded with reporters trying to get as close as they could to the front. It got so loud, Harold had to adjourn the hearing he was in and cleared the courtroom of those that were there before the press showed up. Just as the last person walked out, the side door opened and Ashton walked in with a police officer on each of his sides, several in the front and back.

Ashton's attorney got up and met his client at the defense table. The DA that dropped the ball in Ashton's first hearing walked in, which Harold didn't like. He started hitting his gavel and did not stop until his courtroom went silent.

"Ladies and gentlemen I am not going to clear you out of here, but if I hear a peep from you or you do something that stops the proceedings, I will clear the courtroom." The press stayed quiet and sat down. "Mr. District Attorney, are you going to be the DA on this case that is front of me right now?"

"Yes sir I am!"

"Well I will not allow that. You dropped the ball once before dealing with this defendant and I will not allow you to do it again. So please get up and leave my courtroom. I will hold up the proceedings until you get someone else from your office to come down here and take your place."

The district attorney was stunned. At first, he did not know what to do, but eventually he got up, gathered his stuff, and walked out. A few minutes later, another DA walked in and introduced himself to court. Harold had no problem with the new DA and allowed him to take his seat at the prosecution table.

"The day I released you I knew I would be seeing you a lot sooner than the DA could bring you back up on charges Mr. Rocha." Ashton didn't even look up at Harold. "Mr. Rocha you will get up from that seat and pay me the respect I deserve." Ashton's attorney pulled his client up from his seat and helped support him.

"Your honor you can see my client was shot in the legs and cannot stay standing. I am asking this court if he could sit down. He is not showing the court any disrespect by wanting to stay sat down."

"Your client didn't show any respect when he woke up this morning, walked into a local high school, and started shooting up the place. You request is denied. Mr. Rocha will remain standing as the charges are being read to him. Then he will be allowed to take his seat after that." The bailiff read off each charge that Ashton was being charged with. A quarter ways in, his attorney waived the reading and entered not guilty for all charges.

"Your honor it has come to my attention that you live with the person that my client wanted to talk with at the high school. Because of that, I am asking you to step down because you know one of the victims personally."

"We live in the same twelve story hotel, but not even on the same floor. I do not know the person you are talking about besides seeing him in passing. So your request is denied. Let's move on to why we are, shall we?"

"Your honor I am asking you again to..." Harold slammed his gabble shutting up Ashton's attorney.

"I told you once already that I am not going to step down. If you ask me that one more time, I will find you in contempt of court, fine you and have you spend some time with your client. You do not want to test me to see if I am a man of my word. I ruled on that motion and let's move on from that to why we are here."

The District attorney stood and addressed the judge, "You honor due to the circumstances that we have here today, we are asking that Ashton Rocha to be remanded without bail. Not only because of the two killings, he is being charged with, but also he is a flight risk. His family is not from here and if given bail he will flee the country to Mexico. We already know how hard it is to get anyone back from Mexico your honor. You are still waiting for Mexico to return someone to you..."

"That is not this case your honor. My client has not been found guilty of these charges and therefore deserves bail. He is not a flight risk. As well, his main family no longer lives in Mexico, but here in El Paso. If he even wanted to go to Mexico, there is no family for him to go to. I am asking this court to give my client bail so he can help his attorneys in his defense and get well from the gunshot wounds he received."

"Your client was not out of jail more than two weeks and here he is before me on two murder charges and countless attempted murder charges. You are actually asking this court to give him bail. I had no other choice the last time on letting him out, but here I do and I plan to throw the book, the kitchen sink, and anything else I can at him."

Harold thought for a few seconds before he made his decision on bail. "Let me tell you what I am willing to do here for your client. I will grant him bail for each of the charges that he is being charged with. You are right, he has not been convicted yet of any of the charges. So I am going to set his bail at twenty million dollars per murder charge, and then one million dollars per attempted murder charge."

"Your honor that is ridiculous. The bail is excessively high for my client to afford even at ten percent. I am asking the court to please reconsider its decision and make the bail affordable for my client. He is a teenager in a family without means."

"I never said cash or bond sir. If you client wishes to make bail, he has to put out the entire amount. I am not going to allow him to be bonded out." Harold typed in a few things in his computer before speaking again. "Let's move on gentleman."

"Your honor I would like it if you would put my client in protective custody in county jail while he is waiting for trial. His life is in danger and if he goes into population he will not live past his first day in lock up."

"I have no plans on putting your client into population. He is part of a gang so he is going to be returned to the new dentition facility on the outskirts of town. There he will be safe because he is going to be locked up in an eight by eight cell for twenty-three hours a day, seven days a week. He will not be touched in that dentition facility."

Ashton started screaming at the judge. "Kill me now because I will not go back to that fucking place. No way, no how! I will go crazy if you put me back in that place." Ashton's attorney tried to settle Ashton down, but could not. "If you fucking send me back there you asshole, I will kill myself the very first moment I get."

"Either you get control of your client or I will." Harold looked at Ashton. "Mr. Rocha if you do not sit back in that seat and shut up, I will have my officers forcefully put you back in your seat, handcuff you, and gag you." Ashton quieted down and sat back in his chair with tears rolling down his face. Do you understand me Mr. Rocha?" Ashton shook his head.

"Your honor I fear the defendant will go through with his promise on committing suicide. I ask that you put him on a suicide watch to make sure he doesn't harm himself before we have a chance to prosecute him for the crime he committed here today."

"I do not disagree with you on that matter. Mr. Rocha I am placing you on a suicide watch and will not take you off it until I am confident that you will not harm yourself. If that means that you are placed in a strait jacket and tied down to your bed, so be it. You will face the charges that have been brought against you."

"One last thing your honor, we would like to amend the charges." The defense attorney looked over at the DA. "We would like to add the original charges that he was charged with and convicted of. As well several other attempted murders he committed while he was in our dentition facilities."

"I understand you want to save the tax payers money and get all his cases over in one shot, but I will not allow it. First, it will confuse the jury. They will be presented with so much evidence they will not know if they are coming or going. Let us get through this trial and once it is done, we will start up the other one. Is that all gentleman?"

The district attorney got back up. "I just remembered one last thing your honor, I am sorry. I am moving that the defendant is tried as an adult." Quickly Ashton's attorney jumped up and objected to his client to be tried as an adult.

"Sit down both of you. I will not make that decision here today. Mr. Rocha here is a juvenile and must be looked at as one, but that does not mean I am not willing to try him as an adult. All it means is that I want a hearing with experts to tell me what is going on in the head of that young man. At the end of that hearing, I will make my decision.

Harold looked over to Ashton. "Mr. Rocha I must stay neutral in this case, which I will, but don't you take that as a sign of weakness from me. If you are found guilty by a jury of your peers, I will throw the book at you. The book will be a lot bigger if I decide to try you as an adult. It will give the jury the option to sentence you to death, which I will allow the DA to put on the table if they ask and if you are tried as an adult."

Ashton did not bother to look up at Harold. At the end of the day, he knows that Harold is going to bend to the pressure of the community and try him as an adult. Even if he isn't tried as adult, he knows he will be found guilty and never will walk out of jail alive. One way or another he will be killed while in jail.

"Since there is no more business before this court, I would like to adjourn it until Friday where I will hear testimony on the DA's request on trying Mr. Rocha as an adult. That hearing will be held at my other courtroom in the detention facility. Please gentleman let's not make it an all day event." Both attorneys shook their heads. "Mr. Rocha you are remanded to the sheriff's department, this court will stand adjourned."

Just as Harold hit his gavel, Ashton's mother broke out in loud sobbing cries. It was so loud it got everyone's attention in the courtroom. Harold looked at her as he walked to the door leading to his chambers and felt for her. There in his courtroom is a mother hurting bad for her child. She knows her child did wrong, but she loves him so much, that she will never leave his defense.

Ashton begged the police officers to let him talk with his mother, but they refused. They dragged him out the side door not allowing them to say a word to one another. He screamed at the officers, but they did not care. What they really wanted to do is take him out to the dessert, shoot him, and leave his body there to rot.

Back over at the hotel, Alex and Matt just finished a meeting with Jacob and Al. They talked about several items. Among them was security and suing the police department. Al agreed with the school principal and promised Alex that he will look into it. If there is a case, he will line him up an attorney to take it on.

Alex wanted to talk with Jacob about something else way off the subjects they were talking about in lobby so he waited for Jacob to make his way to elevator to talk with him in private. He did not have to wait very long.

"Jacob, can I talk with you about something that as nothing to do with what we were just talking about." A little surprised to find Alex waiting for him, Jacob said yes. "I understand that Al has given you the task of building the new house. From the blue prints to the construction, everything that happens is up to you."

"Yes that is true! Why you are asking?"

"Um, I know this may sound weird, but, um, I was, um wondering if Matt and I could still live with you and the guys. I know I bought the old people's house from you and had no problem living in it with Matt but that was when we were going to live next door to you and the guys. Now you are going to be moving pretty far away from us and I don't know if Matt and I could live without seeing everyone every day."

Jacob smiled at his friend. "You should have never needed to worry about that Alex. I never thought of you and Matt not living with us. In fact, the land we are buying near the governor's house is so huge that we can build other small houses on it. I am not saying I do not want you living in the same house with me. I am just trying to give you another option to live next to us and still have the freedom and the privacy."

"Thank you Jacob and I will talk with Matt and my mother about that idea of building a smaller house next to yours." Alex could not stop smiling. "Um, can I ask you another question without you getting angry with me?"

"Alex you do not need to get permission from me to ask me anything. You are more than a friend to me, as I said before you are like a brother. I love you like a brother Alex and I want you to feel free to come up to me whenever you have a question, a problem or just to talk. There will never be a day that I turn you away."

"You are a brother to me as well Jacob. As you know if it was not for you, I wouldn't be here today. I owe that and a lot more to you." The elevator door opened and they walked out and over to Jacob's room. "The other day when we went shopping I noticed that you never went into the stores at the mall with us. I know you explained it to us as a group, but I was wondering if there was more than that to the story."

Jacob sat down on his and Dewayne's bed and thought long and hard on Alex's concern. He wanted to make sure he answers Alex honestly. "You know Alex there are times I act like a fool and that day was one of them. Too many times, I let things get to me and I shut down from everyone. It's no one's fault but my own.

Anyway, when we were at the mall the other day I acted like a spoiled little kid, and for that, I am sorry. Whenever I get like that, Dewayne normally brings me back to reality. If you ever see me get like that, do not be afraid to come up and slap me a couple of times. I need to learn to stop letting things get to me and just live life as it comes."

"Heck Jacob I could never slap you, never, but if I ever see you get down on yourself or you're not your normal self, I will not hesitate to go to you and talk with you. I cannot stand seeing you the way you were the other day. Every part of me wanted to help you so bad, but I was afraid to do so because I didn't want you mad with me."

Jacob chuckled as he pulled Alex into him. "There is nothing you can say or do that will get me mad at you. If our past is not proof of that, then I do not know what is. You and I have a bond with each other that no one else could ever have. We have been through a lot with each other and forgiven each other. So never be afraid to come up and talk with me."

Alex did not say a word because he had nothing else to say. Everything that was on his mind he got out in the open and Jacob answered it all. Now he knows that he can approach him on anything and not fear any kind of repercussions.

They sat there on the bed in silence until Matt came looking for Alex. Neither of the boys said another word, they just got up and went their own ways. Alex walked with Matt down the hall to their room holding hands. When they walked in, they got ready for work and headed down stairs to meet up with the guys. They were surprised to find them all waiting there to go to work, even after all that happened to them today.

Before they knew it, the shift had flown by. It felt like they had just walked in, but no one was complaining. They clocked out and headed out to Alex's SUV. No one talked about what had happened at school earlier. Instead, the conversation went back to what vehicle they were going to get this weekend.

The minute that everyone headed up stairs to their rooms, they were out. None of them woke up again until the next morning the alarm clocks went off. Once those alarm clocks went off, the hotel came alive. Everyone jumped out of bed and started their morning routine before heading down for breakfast.

When Alex finally crawled out of bed, he found Matt about to jump into the shower. He quickly stripped off his underwear and jumped in right when Matt closed the curtain, scaring him half to death. The look on Matt's face made Alex laugh, in return it got Matt angry because he thought that his boyfriend was laughing at him.

Seeing that he upset Matt, Alex wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close, instantly getting them both hard. "You know that I love you and I will never do anything that would upset you or make you feel uncomfortable. I am sorry for scaring you. All I want is to shower with the most beautiful guy in this world."

Unable to stay angry with Alex, Matt broke a smile. Alex lowered his hand and did not stop until it reached Matt's hard dick pointing straight out. "Please don't do that because we do not have time to finish it." Matt whispered in lust.

"Don't you want me to take care of that problem you are having between your legs?" Alex jerked Matt's dick several times. "Anyone can see that you need my help here. Plus it will not delay us from getting down stairs, I promise you!"

Matt turned around quickly, almost falling in the process on the wet floor. He leaned in and kissed Alex on the lips. Matt opened his mouth, letting Alex's tongue in. He loves it when Alex's tongue is fishing around inside his mouth. It makes him feel tingly all over and even hornier at the same time.

Not realizing it, both of them fell to the floor on their knees. Alex broke the kiss, gently laid Matt on the floor on his side, and then positioned his body so they both could enjoy each other. At the same time, they took each other's dicks in their mouth and completely went down on their first try.

The rate they were going, they both knew it was not going to last, and they were right. Not even five minutes had passed from when they took each other that they reached their climax. knowing when the other is about to explode, so when that moment came, they are both going up and down tightly wrapping their lips around each other's dicks so they didn't lose a drop of the others cum.

Like a volcano, they both erupted. Sweet shot after sweet shot of cum was fired in each other's mouth, and they swallowed every bit of it. When they stopped shooting, they both wanted more and knew they could get more, but decided not. Hesitantly they let each other's members slip out of their mouths, got up and stood under the warm water.

After washing each other, they got out of the shower, got dressed, and headed down for breakfast. When they walked into the restaurant, they found they were not the last ones to arrive. Smiling at each other, they made their way to their seats. No one looked at them, and Alex and Matt were thankful for that. Because if they did, they would see the afterglow a person has when they have made love with the person they love the most in this world.

Franseca came out with the remainder plates of food of those that just arrived and then sat down with the boys and had breakfast with them something that she rarely does, but after what had happened the day before she plans to change that! For now on, she is going to eat and spend as much time as she can with her kids because no one knows what each day is going to bring. So they had better enjoy every moment they can with each other.

When it was time for the boys to leave, Franseca, Gloria, Al and Helen all were there to see them off. They really did not want them to go to school because they think it is excessively soon. Not even a day after the shooting, the school district feels it is safe for the students to return, which Al and every parent in his shoes do not agree with.

Reluctantly they said their goodbyes and watched as the two vehicles drove out of the parking lot. When they pulled into the school parking lot, it was like a ghost town. Normally they have to fight to get their normal parking spot, but not today. They can park anywhere they pretty much wanted, but they decided to park where they always do.

Once they parked, Alex, Matt and everyone that rides with him to school got out of the truck and looked around. "What do you think is going on here?" Matt said in a low voice as he looked around the empty parking lot. "Did they cancel school and we have no idea that they did that?"

"I don't know, but we will soon find out." Alex pulled Matt into him and kissed him on the lips before they started walking to the cafeteria. The minute they walked in, they found out that school was not canceled. The kitchen staff was in the kitchen ready to serve breakfast to any student that wanted it.

Since there was no wait, they got through the line quickly and made their way to the table. There were a few students spread out in the cafeteria, but nowhere near the amount of students that are normally there. A few minutes later, Jacob and the rest sat down and asked the same question Matt did when they first arrived.

As they were talking about how empty the parking lot and cafeteria was, Carlos and Kimberly were able to sneak off. They have wanted to spend time alone with each other for days now, but something has always come up. Now that they have the opportunity to sneak off without anyone asking them where they are going, they took it.

Even with the school being a ghost town, they decided to head to the end of the hall where there is normally no students. For sure now, they will be alone to do what they wanted. As they walked down the hall, holding hands, Carlos heard noises coming from the boy's restroom. At first, he was going to ignore it, but the noise wasn't the normal one you would hear coming from a restroom at school.

He walked over to the restroom and opened the door. He could not believe what was unfolding before his eyes. Kimberly looked in and as well could not believe what she saw. Carlos shook free from Kimberly and rushed into the restroom. Knowing what Carlos is about to do, Kimberly went running to either find the principal, a teacher or a security guard for help. When she made it halfway down the hall, she saw Principal Michaels and several security guards running in her direction.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

{Welcome back one and all to another exciting chapter of "Beneath the Mask". I am telling you week after week this story is getting good and this chapter shows that. I am also telling you week after that you need to read all four stories to understand what is happening in each plot. Many plots are shared, but they are not repeated in exact detail in the other stories. So please read all four stories in order to keep up with the plots.

Now with that said let us get down to the summation of the story. This was one packed chapter from the beginning to the end. It continued with the shooting where the last chapter left off. I know you people are angry with me because I changed who the shooter was. I did warn you that I would do that, so you should not have been surprised on that one.

Now before I go any further in order for you all to understand how Ashton landed up behind that door, you will need to read "Jacob Finding His Way". There you will find how all that happened. Now back to this story, what is wrong with Ashton? He had to know that once he walked in there and started shooting up the place, he was not going to get out of there without bracelets on or worse, dead.

Then he demanded for them to bring him Alex so he could kill him, come on now, there has to be something wrong with Ashton. Even though eventually he got Alex out there, he should have known he was not going to be able to get a shot. Man, he sure does hate anyone who is gay, and he is willing to die to kill off anyone that he knows is gay. It looks like it still might happen, you know him dying.

I am upset a little that the police let Alex walk out there even with a bulletproof vest on. What would happen if Ashton were lucky to get his gun up, and actually shoot Alex in the head? The police should have never allowed Alex even close to the where Ashton was, more less walk out there in the hallway. I really hope Al does hire the same law firm he hired the last time he sued and sues everyone he can on behalf of Alex.

Let's put all that aside, I like seeing how much Alex has grown since we first met him in "Jacob Finding His Way". The young man was talking to Aston and almost had him surrender, something the police was unable to do. If Alex does not become an attorney, he should think about becoming a therapist because man does he know how to talk with people. That is a gift that either you are born with or not, which Alex was born with it!

Now let us move to his talk he had with his grandfather. Another prime example on how much Alex has grown up. He has seen the error of his ways and is now talking the voice of reason. He is only seventeen right now and already this smart; I cannot wait to see what he actually becomes when he becomes a man.

Now there is a plot that was mentioned in this story, the meeting that Alex got out of with Jacob and Al that will be in complete detail in "Jacob Finding His Way". I am telling you here and now that you do not want to miss it. It will change Alex and Matt's lives.

I am glad that both heads of security stayed for the meeting after the school was cleared. They were able to defend themselves when the teachers started attacking them for being there. There are going to be huge changes dealing with the security of the school. The teachers, principal and the staff at the school better just go with the flow or they will land up getting the same thing the teacher that refused to let Jacob out got, suspended.

Now the ending of the chapter let us get into that. It is somewhat weird because it is a beginning of a new story that is being written called "Rebirth". By the time this chapter is posted, the first chapter of "Rebirth" should have been posted as well. I hope you have gone over there and read it and liked it. In addition, the characters in the new story and plot lines will come into play in my four stories, so stick around.

I know a lot more happened in this chapter from a small sex scene to the talk Alex and Jacob had Tuesday evening before heading to work and there are many open plots still dangling out there in the air that will come back and as well a whole lot of new ones. So please stick around as I have said and keep on reading. I hope that anything I have missed here in my corner, Trevor will pick up and put in his corner.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I will not. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email and let me know how I am doing at jacob@jacobmillertex.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER: So Ashton carried out his threat to get Alex. Thank goodness, he failed. The whole hostage situation was handled so badly by everyone but especially by the police. What were they thinking of sending a young man out into the open to face the guy who wanted to kill him, it was only thanks to Jacob's security that the whole thing didn't go pear shaped. I must admit I like Principal Michael's he is a straight talking kind of guy who doesn't take any s - - - from anyone. OK he makes mistakes but no one's perfect.

Anyway, enough of the school sieges I find it unpleasant to even think about it, except to say that the Garcia family should definitely sue the police for neglect of duty in sending a young man into the firing line.

Jacob is spot on when he says that Alex has turned into a fine upstanding man, who if he continues the way he is going will become a citizen of El Paso anyone would be proud to call a friend. The friendship developing between him and Jacob is heartwarming and touching, let us hope it lasts, and I did not think for one minute Jacob would allow Alex and Matt to not live with the rest of the gang.

Jacob mentioned that another story written by another author (not Jacob) is beginning, and will involve some of Jacob's characters. I had the pleasure of editing the first chapter, this story is heartwarming, and at times cruel, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Finally we had a little bit of sex between Alex and Matt, and why not. These two guys love each other so much and that love is continuing to grow.

Once again, I would love to hear what you have to say about this or any of Jacob's great stories. So do not delay and write to either Jacob or myself and we will try to answer your e-mails when we have the time.

Hugs Trevor

trevor@jacobmillertex.com