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: Daddy Rick

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/

Chapter 61

Thursday was a really boring day for everyone all around. Nothing much happening back at the hotel with Alex and the few things he was working on. He had set up an appointment with the bank for Friday about getting a loan for the building he and Matt want to buy, but other than that, there wasn't much else for him to do.

He bummed around the hotel looking for things to pass the time, but by mid-morning he wore himself out. Just as he sat down in the restaurant, Jacob's nurse popped her head in to see if Alex was following Dr. Whitmore's orders. When she found him sitting there with his legs propped up on a chair, she was happy. After quick check up, she knew the young man has been on his feet more than he should have, but let it go with a stern warning. Alex promised once again to do what Dr. Whitmore asked of him as she left, but she didn't believe him.

Once the nurse was gone, Alex was left alone with his thoughts. At first, he thought about the future and how things were going to change if he and Matt were able to buy the building they want for their print shop. However, his thoughts quickly changed from the future to the past. Memories of how he was came flooding back into his mind.

As he remembered everything he had done, he couldn't believe he was still alive with people around him that actually still love him. He put his mother through hell, but she never wavered with her support. Then there was Jacob and the stuff he did to him. The more and more he remembered the things he did to Jacob, he couldn't believe the guy actually stood up for him and helped him when others wouldn't have. Then he went even further by opening his doors to a guy that showed him hate and the lust to kill him.

As the memories started to haunt Alex, he renewed several promises and made a couple new ones. The renewed ones were the ones he made when he first got out of the juvenile detention facility; to never again to return to the life his father forced him into. He vowed to prove his mother she didn't back the wrong horse; to make her proud of him each and every day. The most important one in his mind now is to cherish the man at his side, Matt. He now can't envision a day without him and doesn't want to even entertain that thought.

A new promise he made to himself was to pay off all the debts he owed before getting into new ones. Matt and he still owed Jacob and they should pay him first before taking on the debt of a building.

While Alex was making a mental list of things he wanted to do, back at El Paso High School there wasn't much more excitement going on there either. Matt and the guys were having about the same boring day as Alex was having back at the hotel, at least until lunch that is.

Everyone knew that Patricia was back. She was making sure they didn't forget every chance she got. Even though she was trying to make their lives a living hell, they managed to block her efforts and go on with their days. However, today was a different story. Somehow she was able to get under everyone's skin and fast.

When she first walked up to their table, they were able to block her out and go on with their conversations, but this time she didn't give up and leave like she had done in the past. She kept at it and the longer she stayed at their table, the louder she was getting. Finally after fifteen straight minutes of her bouncing from one to the other at the table, talking in their ears, Steve had enough. When she got to him and kept calling him names, he lost it.

"You listen to me bitch and listen good, if you don't shut your fucking mouth, I'm going to shut it for you." Steve pushed Patricia away, but she bounced right back and picked up where she had left off at. Without thinking, Steve grabbed a hold of Patricia's shirt and pulled her close. "If you are thinking that I'm not going to hit a girl, you are thinking right. But you are forgetting one thing; you are not a girl, so I'm not afraid to hit you. If you know what is best, you will walk away now because if you don't, I will walk you and you won't like it."

Before Steve was able to let Patricia go, she started to scream. He tried to pull his hand away, but she held it in place as she continued to scream. The more she saw that no one was paying attention to her, the louder she got. Her screams got so loud that Steve thought he was going to be deaf in his right ear if he didn't get away from her.

Matt and the other guys had a front row seat to what was going on. They knew she was putting on the show, and so did every other student in the cafeteria. However, the show might not be taken as just that if a security guard, teacher, or worse, Principal Michaels walked up and saw what they were seeing. Steve's hand on her chest and by the looks of it he wasn't letting go.

So Matt and a couple of the other guys stood up and tried to pry the two apart, but Patricia held on for dear life. She held on just long enough for the very person that the guys were scared of the most to walk in and witness what they tried to defuse. Principal Michaels wasn't the first to hear the screams, but was the first to give it his attention.

Before Michaels could reach the table, Patricia let go of Steve's hand and got up. At first, it looked like she was going to stand there true to form and tell lies of what didn't happen. However, she turned and quickly walked off, surprising everyone at the table. Even Michaels was surprised when he walked up and saw her walking off. He didn't know what to say at first.

He looked around the table, but eventually locked his eyes on Steve. "Young man I would like to know what was going on here. That student was screaming as if you were beating her to death over here. She was loud I heard her all the way at the end of the hall. So can you kindly tell me what was going on and why she was screaming the way she was?"

Steve had no idea how to explain what was going on. He just looked up at Michaels with a confused look on his face. One moment he had the upper hand on Patricia, and then the next she had it. She had him in trouble and she knew it. He didn't understand why she let him go and then take off the way that she did.

Michaels presented the question to everyone else at the table, but no one answered at first. Finally after a few minutes of silence, Matt broke the silence. "Sir, you know Patricia and the games that she plays." Michaels nodded his head. "Well this is one of her games. She has been coming by the table every day since she has been back to school. Making it clear to us that she got away with what she did and she is untouchable. We have been able to ignore her in the past, but today she just hit a nerve with Steve."

"A nerve with Steve?" Michaels's voice went from concern to stern. "Come on now Matt that won't fly and don't try and make it. That student was yelling as if she was being beaten to death as I said. Plus when I walked in I saw this young man's hand on her." Michaels pointed to Steve. "So let's try this again, what was going on here when I walked in?"

Matt looked back and forth several times from Steve to Michaels before opening his mouth. He wanted to gather his thoughts and make sure he answered the question so it satisfied Michaels. He knew the answer he gave before wasn't enough for Michaels to be able to walk off and not do anything about what happened. Michaels needed more details to hang his hat on for not punishing Steve. So he went into detail complete of what Patricia has been doing since she has been back.

"Okay now I understand why today it hit a nerve with one of you guys. I'm surprised it didn't happen before and to more than just one of you." Michaels looked around the table in to each of their eyes. "With that said though, one of you should have come to me or one of the other teachers, guards or assistant principals and told us what was going on. Now we can't do anything about it since it got as far as it did here today.

She will get away with what she has done in the past and here today. But you sir..." Michaels looked straight at Steve. "It's your lucky day as well because you will not be punished for touching another student. But if I ever see your hands on another student again, you will no longer be attending this high school. Is that understood?" Steve nodded his head. "I want to hear you verbally tell me that you understand what I just said."

Steve answered `yes' in a clear and understanding voice. "Good! I am glad that we understand each other. Make sure you keep yourself clean because I don't want a girl like Patricia bringing you down after all the hard work you've done over the months. Don't allow her to be the one that sends you back to that hell hole of a place you were in before coming here."

Once again Steve agreed with Michaels and that was it. It put to bed this issue for all parties concerned. As Michaels walked off, the boys stayed quiet. They didn't speak again until their principal was out of the cafeteria. Even then they didn't say a word until they got outside. The only thing they talked about the rest of the lunch hour was the stunt that Patricia pulled.

That was the only drama that happened to the boys at school. They were able to get through the rest of the day without seeing Patricia and her few friends. When the final bell rang, the guys were grateful that the day was over and none of them got into trouble. Even though those that were at the juvenile detention were all off the monitors and out of the detention facility, they knew one slip up could send them right back there, where they didn't want to be.

Meanwhile as the guys were gathering their things and heading to work, Stef was heading to an abandoned house to have a meeting with his leadership. A few things have slipped through the cracks since the gang has retaken control in the prison, which wasn't making the elder Garcia happy. He wants to keep control and in order for that to happen he knows things can't slip through the cracks like they have been doing this last week.

The leadership knew exactly why the meeting was called and was afraid of what Stef was going to do to get things back on track. The rumors they have been hearing on what has been going on in the prison scares them. They have heard about the killings that have been going on and fear that the main leader down there sent out orders to make an example of one them. So when Stef arrived, they were all scared that they were one of the ones that weren't going to walk out alive.

Stef was told to get things under control, but no order was given to kill one of his leadership to set an example for the rest to see that screw ups were not going to be tolerated. Even if the order was given, Stef wasn't going to run things by fear. He had already decided to adopt the young Alex's model to get things done. Just like Alex, he thinks he can get a lot more done being a leader that is respected, not feared.

The leadership stood up when Stef walked into what use to be the living room of the abandoned house. As soon as Stef sat down, his leadership followed. However, no one spoke right away, a few minutes of dead air was there, putting more fear into the leadership. Their minds started to go wild wondering why Stef hadn't started to speak yet.

"Okay, it isn't a secret why I have called this meeting today." Everyone nodded their heads. "We have a problem and when we have a problem, the big guy doesn't like it. Then to make matters worse, we have several problems, which is making the big guy even more unhappy. When he isn't happy he makes the rest of us very unhappy and I don't like being unhappy. I'm a very happy person and I would like to stay that way! So let's get on the ball people."

As Stef reached around his back to get a folded paper from his back pocket, all of his leadership ducked for cover. They had no idea he was getting a folded paper. They thought he was reaching for a gun and were afraid he was going to go postal on them. When they saw that he only had a piece of paper in his hand, they straightened out in their seats.

"There is nothing I can say that will get it through your guys' heads that I will not run things like those who came before me did," not surprised with his leadership's reaction since Stef had just been handed over the reins. "If you guys don't learn to trust that I have your backs, I will always have to be looking over mine to see which of you are gunning for my position. Trust me when I say I don't like sleeping with one eye open or in different places each night."

The guys started to laugh and were able to relax just a little more, letting Stef get down to business. "Brownsville and us here are the two main suppliers as far as getting the drugs needed for our people in the system to sell. If either of us falls short of our daily requirements, it puts our people in a really bad spot up there. So can any of you tell me why we haven't been able to get anywhere close to where we used to be on doing our part in that area?"

Everyone sat there not saying a word. They just looked back and forth at each other, which didn't make Stef happy at all. He thought there was a person in the leadership in charge of each section. By the way they are looking back and forth at each other. Everyone had their hands in everything, which confirmed to Stef why things are not working.

"Look guys, this is a problem, a problem we need to fix now. Isn't one of you in charge of that section of what we do?" Stef looked around the room at shaking heads. "Fine, as of now there is going to be just one of you in charge of that section, and every other section. The person I select is going to answer to me and me only. Also no one else can get involved in a section that isn't theirs. They can give advice, but other than that, the running of that section will fall to one person."

Not knowing any of the leadership, Stef was shooting blind. He looked at each of the leaders that were sitting there in the room, trying to figure out not only which of them was the strongest, but also had brains that went along with the strength. Just as he was going to appoint the person to be in charge of bringing in the drugs and then sending it out, the one person he didn't expect to speak up was the only one that finally did.

"Yes we are having a few problems here, but it's not all on us." Stef asked his Lieutenant to explain further in detail. "Well, first we are having problems with our suppliers over the border. They don't want to supply us anymore because they don't think we have our house in order. At first that threw me, but when they mentioned Ashton's name nothing else needed to be said."

That name, that damn name that throws Stef over the deep end was back. He knew Ashton has caused them trouble in the past, but he thought it was in the past since he has disappeared. Now he sees this guy is going to cause them problems until the day they are able to get their hands on him and deal with him the way he should have from the get go; death.

"I have gone across the border several times just this this week to talk with our suppliers about this very thing. Our talks always end up leading to Ashton. When are we going to get him? When we get him, what are we going to do? Their concern is Ashton and until we deal with him, they are not going to do much business with us."

"I don't blame them at all, do any of you?" Stef at this point was frustrated as he looked at his Lieutenants who were saying `no' and at the same time shaking their heads. "We need to put all our efforts on finding Ashton and bringing him back. I don't care if he is brought back dead or alive; he needs to be brought back to be made an example of. So if any of you have connections over there, this is the time to use them and get that asshole back."

Once again all Stef got back from his Lieutenants were blank stares. "Damn it, I don't know how clearer I can be here on this asshole. He needs to be taken out of the picture once and for all. Either by one of us, or someone we know. I don't care how it's done, as long as it gets done. So call in every favor each and every one of you have and get it done!"

At this point there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Stef had hit his limit. He was steaming from the ears and looked like he was ready to jump up and kick one of their asses if they didn't give him the answer he was looking for and that's a big problem. A problem because the answer he wants they can't give. Simply put, none of them had favors to call in here and much less over there.

"Sir, I hope I'm not speaking out of place here, but who do you think we are?" Stef looked over to the Lieutenant who was acting leader until he was appointed. "We are not these big guys that can snap our fingers and get things done. None of us in this room, and that includes you, have any clout what so ever past the small area we control here in El Paso. So I don't understand where you get off demanding us to call in favors as if we are the mob of the forties."

Everyone looked at Stef expecting him to go off, but what they got instead surprised him. "Fine we are not the mob of the forties, but we are the wing of the Mexican Mafia. The strongest mafia in the Texas prison system today. If we don't get our act together out here, and quick, we are going to lose that position in the prison system. And let me say it as clearly as I can where there is no confusion here with any of you. Mr. Garcia will not let that happen. Before it does, we all we be taking a dirt nap and I don't plan to take that nap for eighty or so more years."

Stef got up from his seat. "So if you guys don't want to take that dirt nap any time soon, you better get those connections and quickly. Ashton needs to be taken out of the picture as of yesterday, the drug trade needs to get back up to where it was before this issue with Ashton arose and everything else we are responsible for gets done."

Looking over at the acting leader, Stef waved him over and then he looked over at the Lieutenant that spoke up first and waved him over as he started his way out of the living room. "Oh one last thing, the threat of the dirt nap is not the way I plan to run things, but that's just me. Our leader is from the old ways and as you all have seen in the last week he had no problem killing. If an order comes down from him to do so, there is nothing I will be able to do to stop it."

The Lieutenants just nodded their heads as they watched their new leader walk out, followed by two of their own. They didn't dare leave the room where they were at until they were certain that Stef was gone, which was a while. Stef took the acting leader and the other Lieutenant to a side room that looked like it once was the master bedroom of the house.

"What is your name?" Stef stopped in the middle of the room and turned around looking at the Lieutenant that spoke up. He mumbled his name at first, but repeated it louder a second time because he saw the look on Stef's face, unhappy. "Gustavo let me say you have nothing to fear from me. You were the only one in that room that spoke up when the others were scared of their own shadows. Plus you are the only one that seems to be making trips to J-Town to see what the hell is going on with our trade with them.

Because of those two reasons I'm going to put you in charge of all business that we do with J-Town. From the drugs to buying a case of pop you are in charge. The others can give their opinion to you, but ultimately you make the decision. The only one that can override that decision is me or this guy..." Stef pointed to the Lieutenant that was acting leader. "My second in command who is now a captain."

Gustavo was about to speak, but Stef stopped him. "Take care of our drug problem first. I need that taken care as quickly as possible. Pull in whoever you feel you need, but get it done." Stef looked over to his newly appointed captain to see if he had anything else to add. When he saw he didn't, he dismissed Gustavo and didn't speak again until he and the captain were alone.

"Do you know why I appointed you second in command and made you a captain?" Stef asked looking straight at his new captain who just shook his head. "It surely isn't because I'm following that old saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer because I don't think of you as an enemy. In fact, I don't think of you anywhere near that.

Those that put me where I'm at right now thought highly of you to let you lead this wing of the Mafia until they found someone they felt comfortable to lead it since Mr. Flores untimely death. That weighs a lot in my mind." Dante objected. "Come on Dante you know what I am saying is true. After what happened here with Mr. Flores, they were not going to just put anyone in charge down here, even if it was temporary. This wing needs to run smoothly without any problems."

"If that is true, I must I have messed up somewhere because you are here in charge and I'm not."

"To tell you the truth on what you did wrong that caused the old man to replace you with me is the fact you let Ashton slip through your fingers. He doesn't like having egg all over his face, which he has right now. If you would have gotten to Ashton and either killed him or got him jailed again, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"I understand all that, but we were limited on what we were able to do here for one. And secondly we were not the only ones that let him get away. The police, who are more equipped to get someone like Ashton and also had help from the Army and the FBI failed at it. If we would have made a move for him, we would have been caught in their nets and be in jail right now."

"True, very true, but here is where your reasoning falls apart at. Ashton was able to get to Alex, the old gang leader here in El Paso who almost killed him. If it wasn't for the stupid ass police who stepped in, Alex would have gotten it done for us. He would have been the first person I would have thought of staking out once I found out Ashton was in town and got the order to take him out. The old man wasn't happy that you didn't think that way and get it done."

Dante saw where Stef was coming from. He knew he made mistakes not getting his hands on Ashton and figured that was the reason he was no longer in charge. Now Stef confirmed that and there isn't a thing he could do about it. It's in the past and all he can do now is try and fix that mistake, but how he doesn't know, at least yet.

"Look let me fix the mistake I made with how I dealt with Ashton. I may have misspoken when I said that none of us have connections in Mexico." That got Stef's attention. "The majority of my family is still living in Mexico and some of them are in the gangs down there. Maybe I can call on them and they can deliver us Ashton once and for all."

"I like what I am hearing, so let me tell you what I'm going to do." Stef walked up to Dante, almost standing on Dante's toes. "The Ashton mess is yours since you were in charge when it all fell apart and for what you said just now. But this mess needs to be cleaned up soon. Ashton needs to be delivered to us so we can deal with him before the summer starts. Can you do that?"

Without hesitation Dante made it clear he understood and promised he will get it done. With that, the two high leaders walked out of the master bed room and returned to living room where the leadership was. Stef made the announcement that Dante was not only now a captain, but is the second in command before he walked out and headed home.

As he left, it started to get dark, which he hated because that was when the police were out the most. So as he watched out for hidden police, Alex was back at the hotel getting his pants hemmed. He overheard Andy Jr. speaking with Marie about getting with Jacob about wearing his uniform for the wedding. There was no doubt in his mind that Jacob was going to say yes, but was going to then ask those that were in ROTC or the military to wear theirs as well. So he wanted to be ready when that happened.

The only one he knew that could hem pants was his mother, so he waited for her to finish up in the kitchen. Once she was done, they made small talk as they made their way up to their floor. When they got off the elevator, Alex asked his mother if she could do him that favor and she didn't hesitate to say yes. The only thing Alex hated and knew was coming was when his mother told him that he needed to be in the pants in order for her to get it done right.

He is just like any other teenager out there who doesn't like to dress and undress in front of their parents and he knows he will have to do that here since both of his legs are in cast. After Franseca said yes, she asked him to do just what he didn't want to do. She ordered him to go and get his pants that he needed hemmed while she set up the machine.

When he got back, he not only had to undress in front of his mother, but his mother had to help him. With her help, he got the short he was wearing off and as much of the uniform pants on as he could get on. They didn't have much of a problem getting the top of the pants over the casts, but once they got to the legs, they couldn't move on. So Franseca slit the pants up the seams, allowing her son to finish getting the pants completely on.

A couple more cuts here and there, she had what she needed and asked Alex to take the pants off. He struggled a little, but he was able to get the pants off without any assistance from his mother, which made him feel good. Once he had them off, he handed them over to his mother and sat there in his boxers as his mother began to do her magic on the uniform pants.

In no time she had the pants hemmed. She asked Alex to try them on once more so she could make sure that the lower part of the pants went over the casts. The pants slipped over the casts without the problem, and once completely on. You wouldn't be able to tell that her son had casts under the pants unless you really looked.

Happy with his mother's work, Alex thanked her and wished her goodnight as he kissed her before heading out of the room. It took him a tad longer than it used to for him to get from his mother's room to his, but he got there. Once inside, he got out of his uniform pants and back into the shorts he was wearing at first.

You could set your watches with Matt and the guys getting back to the hotel. Just like every work night, Matt walked in at the same time and headed up stairs immediately to check on Alex before going back down for dinner. When he walked into the room, they chatted for a few minutes before Alex pushed him out the door to go and eat dinner.

Matt was the last to arrive, but the first to finish and leave the restaurant. All he wanted to do is spend the few minutes that were left of his evening before going to bed with his boyfriend. So he hurried up, choosing to take the stairs instead the elevator because he felt that the elevator took too long, but it had its cons. By the time he got up all the flights of stairs and got to the room, he was sweaty, which always meant that he had to take a shower before joining Alex on the bed.

Just like he rushed dinner, Matt showered quickly getting every spot, not leaving one inch of skin unclean. After showering and jumping into a pair of shorts, he joined his boyfriend on the bed. They stayed up for another couple of hours talking about their day and what they are going to do the next day if there was something big on their agenda. Usually they talk themselves to sleep in each other's arms and didn't wake up again until the next morning when the alarm went off.

When it did, the boys hated it. They couldn't believe that is was morning already and they were not going to see each other again until the late evening. Trying to prolong the moment of saying goodbye, the boys talked and got already as slowly as they could. However, like every other morning, the seconds and minutes did click away and that dreaded moment did come.

Alex wanted to walk Matt at least to the SUV, but couldn't. Reluctantly they both realized a few days after he had gotten home from the hotel that mornings were hard for him. Having both legs in cast already slowed him up, but the pain he was in each morning when he woke up made things worse. So they agreed to say their goodbyes in the room so Alex would not have to put unneeded pressure on his legs and get a couple more hours of sleep before he had to start his day. It's time he really needed so his pain meds could take effect.

As soon as the pain was gone and Alex was able to start moving without a problem, he got ready for his day. If it was day like yesterday, he really didn't dress up. He would bum around the hotel in shorts and a t-shirt, but this day wasn't one of those days. Today not only he couldn't wear shorts, but he had to actually put on a suit.

Alex had a ten o'clock appointment with the loan department of his bank. He knew he already had an uphill climb on a very steep mountain and not going in dressed like a business man would insure that his request for a loan would be turned down. So he showered and put on his three piece suit before heading quickly to go down and grab something to eat.

Just as the doors of the restaurant closed behind Alex, the elevator opened and Harold walked out. It was unusual for him to be home on a Friday morning, but he had his calendar cleared so he and his wife could go looking at houses. They had just walked in after already looking at a few, and were about to walk back out when he walked off the elevator and Sally saw him.

She went running over to him, asking if she could talk with him for a few minutes. Harold had no problem giving Sally a few minutes, but he asked why. Sally didn't want to say because of fear that someone would overhear what they were discussing, so she didn't answer his question. That got the judge a little nervous, but he followed her to her office anyways. However, as soon as the door was closed to Sally's office, she dove right in.

"Harold thank you for giving me a few minutes. I know you are a really busy man, so I will make this as quick as I can." Sally pointed to a chair for Harold to sit in, but he shook his head, remaining on his feet. "Okay then so much for small talk, let me get right down to business." She sat down in her seat behind her desk as she continued.

"I know you know Alex and Matt, a couple friends of Jacob's." Harold nodded his head. "Well I had an interesting talk with Matt and his grandparent's day before yesterday. I gave them some advice, but I'm afraid they are going to ignore my advice." So far Sally hasn't peaked Harold's interest and he was getting anxious to leave.

"Matt has a younger brother and sister who are going through their own personal hells." She told the story that was told to her by Matt and his grandparents to Harold, not leaving a thing out. By the middle of the story, she peaked Harold's interest. He sat down and listened to the remainder of what Sally had to say. "So as you can see there is a problem in that household, but there was nothing I could do except give them the advice I did, that I know they didn't take."

"When it comes to our children, grandchildren, hell our family and love ones, we will do everything we can to protect them. So if I was in their shoes I wouldn't have taken your advice either. All I would be thinking is how I could get these two out of that house as quickly as possible, damn the law and what it can do to me." Harold chuckled as he leaned back.

"Exactly Harold and that's what worries me. Being a parent myself, I would do anything to keep my son safe, even at his age now. With these two it is worse because of how young they are. I'm afraid they ignored my advice and they not only didn't give back the two kids to their parents, they might actually take off with them to keep them safe.

Those worries and a few more are the reasons I asked to talk with you. I was wondering if you could pull those kids out of that house and give the grandparents temporary custody of them until they could get full custody. There isn't a doubt in my mind if we don't step in right now, the next time we hear about these three will be on the front page newspaper story of their arrest."

"Look I feel that same way you, Matt and his grandparent's do. Hell I don't want those kids in that house a minute longer, but this isn't my wheelhouse. I mean I am a criminal judge that only presides over cases of the gang related issues. There are judges in the court house that all they preside over is juvenile custody cases like these. I won't step in their toes because I wouldn't like it if one them stepped on mine."

Harold could see that he answer didn't sit well with Sally, but there was no way he was going to rule on a case like this. Besides the reasons he has already stated, he couldn't rule in the case because he knows Matt. No matter if his rulings were by the letter of the law, it would be under a microscope so that he, Matt nor his grandparents would come out looking clean.

"I know you were expecting a different answer than you got, but I won't entertain this. However, I will call in a few favors with a judge I have gotten to know at the courthouse that deals with juvenile cases. I helped him out a couple of times with things he needed my help on in my courtroom, so he will have no problem helping me out on this."

"Thanks Harold, you don't know how much this means to me. I don't want to see Matt or his grandparents in any kind of trouble and by us doing this insures that." Sally breathed a little easier for the first time since Harold's answer. "As you know Matt has come a long way, as have many of the other boys that got released with him. I don't want his love and want to keep his younger brother and sister safe to destroy all that and throw him back in juvenile detention."

"I agree and with you one hundred percent on all that, but don't get your hopes up here. All I can do is make sure this case gets in front of a judge by early afternoon today. What happens after that depends on the facts and how Matt's grandparents and parents present themselves in court. I have seen judges rule not on facts, but rather how a person acts while they are in court. So keep that in mind and realize nothing is a certainty."

Sally had no illusions about what can happen in a court hearing. Just like Harold, she has seen plenty of cases go a direction they shouldn't have based on the facts. In almost all of those cases it has come back to bite a judge that made the bad ruling in their butt. However, there is that one percent or so that hasn't, but she was certain with what she was told about Matt's parents that this case won't be one of those if the judge rules according to the facts.

Harold got a little more information from Sally before picking up the phone and calling in that favor. It took only a few minutes for Harold to get Sally an emergency hearing at one, which made her a very happy camper. When Harold hung up the phone, she thanked him several times as they walked out and joined up with Helen in the lobby.

Meanwhile as Harold and Helen rushed out to make their next stop on their house hunting, Alex was wheeling himself out of the bank to his mother who was waiting for him in the SUV with the door open. He wasn't happy with how the meeting went. Almost immediately the loan officer dismissed him because of what he knew of Alex and what he has seen in the news lately.

Instead of asking how Alex and his partner were going to be able to pay back the loan, he spent most of the meeting concerned about Alex going back to jail. Over and over again he asked Alex who would pay back the loan if he landed back in jail. Around the fifth time the loan officer asked, Alex had enough and let the loan officer know who was out of bounds with that line of questions. As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew there was no chance on getting the loan.

Franseca knew the meeting didn't go well. She wasn't in the office, but she knows her son's facial expressions and the one that he had on told her the entire story. Without needing to ask, she knew he didn't get the loan he went in for. However that isn't what concerned her about the look and the way her son was acting. She feared that this might cause him to stumble.

After helping her son into the SUV, in silence, she put the wheel chair in the back of the SUV and got in. Neither said a word as Franseca pulled out of the parking lot and onto Mesa St. It wasn't until they got on the freeway before Franseca broke the silence.

"I know things didn't go well for you in there today son, but you can't let it get you down like this." Franseca patted her son on his casted knee. "Maybe this is a sign that you guys shouldn't be looking to go on your own just yet. Maybe you and Matt should stay where you are. Take the money you got from Ron's estate and invest it. In a couple years you will have enough money to buy a building without the help from the bank."

Alex looked at his mother as if she was out of her mind. "Mom I could handle a denial based on not enough credit, not enough time our business has been open and enough not old enough. But I cannot deal with a denial based on what a person reads in the newspaper or sees on TV. At the same time I can't stand a denial because the person is a bigot."

That grabbed Franseca's attention. "That loan officer never gave me a chance to present our business plan. What we plan to do with the building and how we plan to pay back the loan. All he was interested in was my past and what happened recently with me and the police. By the middle of the meeting I had enough and I just laid in to the loan officer."

"Alex that short temper of yours will always get the best of you, just like your dad. You have to learn what your dad never could learn. You have to let things just slide off your back that has no bearing on what the conversation is about. And you also will have to get over the fact that you will always be judged by your past. Like it or not, you have it, it was front page news and everyone in this city knows about it. So if you want to get anywhere in the local business world here, you need to take those hits, ignore them and keep going. Hold your head up high."

Knowing his mother was right about everything she said, Alex didn't answer right back. He sat there looking out the window as they drove down the freeway thinking about how the meeting unfolded. The only positive thing that came to his mind that he could take home was the fact the finance manager got involved as the talking escalated to yelling in the loan officer's office.

When Mr. Acosta walked in to see what was going on, Alex thought he was going to be escorted out of the bank in the arms of two guards, but that didn't happen. Once Mr. Acosta got the yelling to stop and got both sides of the story, he took over the meeting. You didn't say it out loud, but Alex knew the manager wasn't too happy with his loan officer.

"Mom you are right as always. I need to learn to control my temper whenever I get into situations that aren't going my way." Alex leaned over the middle console and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. As he leaned back into his seat, he told his mother about the ending of the meeting. "So I don't think the loan is completely dead just yet, at least I hope."

Both Franseca and Alex laughed, relieving the tension the truck. "You see things are not always what they seem at first. That manager looked at the facts that he needs to in order to make a decision on a loan. Yes, your past should come into play, but it shouldn't be all that comes into play. What you have done since you have been given a second chance should be looked at as well. That's only fair son."

The two talked about what would happen if the loan was granted. By the time they drove up to the hotel, Alex had settled down and was in a better mood. With help from his mother, he got out of the SUV and into the wheelchair that he hated. As they were making their way in, they were met by one of Jacob's lawyers as he was walking out.

Back at the bank Mr. Acosta was in his office looking over Alex's file. Just like his employee, he couldn't ignore who Alex was. It was hard to ignore it because of all the press he has gotten in the last several weeks; press that no one wants to have out there when they come in asking for a loan. It does tip the scale against the person no matter if they like it or not.

As he scanned the file for the third time, something caught his eye that hadn't caught his eye the first two times he looked through the file. After reading it again to make sure he was reading it right, Mr. Acosta picked up his phone and asked his secretary to get Al on the line for him. It took longer than he expected, but his phone rang and quickly picked it up.

"Sorry to disturb you Al! I know you are a very busy man being the Governor's Chief-of-Staff and all." Mr. Acosta nervously chuckled as he continued. "The reason I called is that I have a loan request in front me I was about to deny when I saw that you knew the applicants. Not only that, your business owns a percentage of the company that the loan applicants own the majority."

"You have me at a loss here my dear friend. Can you please stop calling the people you are calling loan applicants and tell me their names so I know who you are talking about."

"Certainly, I'm sorry!" Once again Mr. Acosta nervously chuckled. "Alejandro Garcia and Matthew Robinson are asking us for a business loan of five hundred thousand dollars to purchase a building to house their print shop. Mr. Garcia was in here just now speaking with one of my loan officers, which I can say that meeting didn't go to well." This time when Mr. Acosta chuckled, he wasn't nervous. "Both parties lost their tempers."

Mr. Acosta went into detail on what exactly Alex and Matt were getting for the five hundred thousand dollars. >From the size of the building to what is in the building at this time. A couple times Al stopped Mr. Acosta and asked him a question or two, but other for the most part he let Mr. Acosta explain everything without many interruption.

"Okay that is a lot of information to take in all at once. Before I even talk about the loan, let me tell you that I'm no longer involved in the everyday operations of the Angel Corp. That is my grandson Jacob who now owns the controlling interest in the company. I only own ten percent and you know that happened because of the job I have taken on with the Governor.

With that said, I can promise you if you decide to give Alex and Matt this loan, you won't regret it. These boys will not let you down paying back the loan. Don't let appearances fool you or the water cooler talk about these two weigh into your decision on this. I know it is a lot of money they are asking for, but there isn't a doubt in my mind that they will pay you every red cent back."

Mr. Acosta got two words out before Al interrupted him. "I'm sorry for interrupting you, but I didn't touch the vending company issue. These two boys built a print shop from the ground up. Yes with help from someone that knew the business, but they did it. They were wise enough to realize that they didn't know what they were doing when it came to getting the print shop off the ground. There is no doubt in my mind they will go out and get the right person to run that company and make is successful."

"So you are telling me that you had no hand in the building of the printing company."

"That's correct. I did not have a hand in it whatsoever. I stayed far away from it as possible. It wasn't that I thought it was going to fail. No, it was because this was my grandson's puppy and I let him run with his ideas. He believed in his friends, and it paid off. That print shop has out grown the basement and it needs its own building. In fact, I see in a couple of years Alex and Matt building outlets of their print shop on every side of town. That is how successful they have been and will be in the future. If I was you, I would believe in them so you can keep their money in your bank."

Mr. Acosta couldn't believe how highly Al thought of the kid that was just in here. "Al, if I go out on the limb here on granting this loan, I need some insurance. If they fail on paying the loan back, I need to be assured that you and your grandson will step in and pay off the loan. After all the amount of money these two are asking for is a hell of a lot for their first loan."

Al didn't need to consider what Mr. Acosta was asking, he answered immediately. "First let me say this again in words that you understand. There is no way you will ever have to come to me or my grandson to redeem this loan. These two young men will not let you down. And secondly, the Angel Corporation will always own a percentage of that print shop. It was set up like that from day one so it will always be protected under the umbrella of the Angel Corp.

With that all said I would like to put a condition in for my promise if what will never happen, happens." Mr. Acosta promised to grant the condition before hearing it. "If your worst nightmare happens, the Angel Corporation will pick up the loan and pay it off under this one condition, you never tell Alex and Matt we are backing the loan. They can never find out that Jacob, I or the Angel Corporation had any hand in their new building or their new company. They have to think they are on their own because that is what they want. I know that they want that because they went to you for the loan instead of me or Jacob. So can you make that happen?"

Mr. Acosta thought a few minutes of the condition that Al set forward. He didn't see any reason why he couldn't honor the condition. In fact, he came to a conclusion it would be less headaches for him and his bank that Alex and Matt didn't know that Al not only vouched for them, but he and Jacob will guarantee the loan if they defaulted.

"Okay Al I don't see why I can't go along with that request. After all it really doesn't matter in my mind if they know about this talk or not. If they don't pay back the loan, you and Jacob will step in and pay it back. How you handle the building after that is up to you guys. All the bank cares about is the loan being paid according to the contract that is signed between the two parties."

"No objection here as far as the loan being paid back in full according to the contract that you two agree upon, but, and yes there is a but. You are still not grasping what I have been saying since I got on the line with you. These two young men will not default. But I can see I can talk about that until my face turns blue and you still won't grasp it. So what I'm going to do is stop talking and let actions of those two prove my point."

Not wanting to know the details of the loan, Al tried once again to assure Mr. Acosta that Alex and Matt are a good risk. Once he finished, Mr. Acosta tried to go over the details of the loan, but Al once again shut him down. He felt it wasn't his business because he knew neither he nor Jacob was going to ever hear about this loan again. With that, the two said their goodbyes.

While the two were hanging up and going on with their day, Sally and Matt's grandparents were walking into the court house a few blocks down from the bank. Matt's grandparents were surprised when Sally called them up and told them she got them an emergency hearing for later that day. They never heard of justice moving that quickly.

All the way up to the courtroom they were asking questions by the dozen that Sally couldn't answer. By the time the door opened and they stepped out of the elevator, Matt's grandparents were more on the defensive side than they were when everything had started. The only thing that was going through their minds was this was a set up and they were going to be requested to turn over their grandchildren on the spot or go to jail.

So when they turned the corner and ran into their kids, they were not surprised, at least until their son opened up his mouth. "Dad, what the hell are you doing?" Matt's father yelled. "If this is some kind of ploy on getting our kids, you are going to fail. The law is clear on who gets custody of minor children in this state, birth parents. Unless we have broken the law, we are not going to lose custody of our kids and guess what, we haven't broken the law. So stop this crap before things get so far out of hand neither of us can walk back from it."

Before Maxwell could respond, Sally jumped in. "Mr. Robinson you and your wife should walk over there..." She was pointing to the benches at the entrance of the court room. "Sit down and wait until we are called in. If you don't and keep going, I will have to call a bailiff over and have you escorted over there, or worse one of the jail cells in the back of the courtroom."

Matt's father didn't like being talked to in that manner. However, common sense won out and he reluctantly turned, pulling his wife along with him as he walked over to the bench that Sally was pointing to. Just as they sat down, the glass double doors of the court room were unlocked and bailiff walked out. He gave a short speech about the rules of the courtroom before inviting those that had business in the courtroom in.

Sally held Maxwell and Eleanor back as their kids walked in. Once they disappeared into the courtroom, Sally started walking, followed by Maxwell and Eleanor. They sat down on the other side of the courtroom when they walked in, trying to stay as far away from Matt's parents as possible. They made eye contact with each other several times before the judge walked in and several more after the judge sat down and called his first case.

Since the case was added to the docket at the last minute making their case the last to be called. They had sit there for several hours listening to case after case of very ugly things from kids being abused by their parents to brothers abusing brothers or sisters. Not one of the cases sat well with either Matt's parents or grandparents. If anything, they were disgusted by some of the court's rulings, which worried the grandparents, but not the parents.

Finally they after having to sit there hearing case after case, they were called up. Matt's parents walked up first, so they stood to the left, leaving the right side for the grandparents. They stood there for a few minutes in silence while the judge looked over the case file.

"I never add a case to my calendar at the last minute, but when I got a call from Judge Evans, I knew it had to be done. He would not have asked me to do so if this issue was not important or is getting out of hand." Judge McPherson had a serious look on his face as he looked back and forth between the two parties. "So which is it? Are things getting out of control?" Neither side responded. "Fine let me turn this over to the state and see what is going on here."

"Your honor we are in front of you here today to ask you to pull out the minor children listed in the court documents from their home and temporally place them with their grandparents while we investigate the complaint. If the allegations are true, we don't want the minor children to get hurt further or worse, the parents taking them out of our jurisdiction."

"The request you are asking this court to grant is very rare. Normally your office comes to me with the proof first so I can make the right decision concerning the minor child or children. If I grant you this motion, I'm granting you to go fishing for the proof. So this court or any other court in this land would ever do. You need to have proof before you come before me."

"Your honor I understand that, but Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the minor children's parents in this case, have done everything they could to keep us from investigating. I have listed everything they have done in the motion papers that are before you." Judge McPherson scanned the paper that had the list of things that Matt's parents did to impede the investigation. "On top of that, they have already broken the law by kicking out their eldest son, Matthew Robinson. He was not allowed to return home after his release from juvenile detention, and at that time he was under age. They were responsible for his wellbeing, but they chose to let him live in the streets."

"Come on your honor, the district attorney's office is seriously exaggerating the facts here. Matthew never lived in the streets. When he was released, he had a place to live and he went there. His parents never put him in the street. On top of that, it was his choice to not go home. He didn't want to obey the rules his parents laid down, so he decided to live elsewhere."

"What, the same rules that he was living by before he was sentenced to juvenile detention?" The district attorney shot the defense attorney of Matt's parents a dirty look. "He was forced to stay in his room the entire time he was living at his parents' house. The only time he was allowed to leave that room, was when he went to school. No telephone, no TV, no friends allowed, no furniture in his room except the bed. And all this was because he is gay and absolutely nothing else."

"Okay, Okay we will have order in this courtroom." The judge hit his gavel several times. "I will not allow my courtroom to turn into the Jerry Springer Show. What happened to their eldest son has no bearing to this hearing. Even though I have major concerns on what was said from how he was forced to live to being in the juvenile detention center. I don't understand how any court would release a person when that person had nowhere to live, more so a juvenile. Can you answer that question for me Madam District attorney?"

"Yes your honor I can, Governor Lopez?" That got a confused look from the judge. "Matthew was one of the kids that Governor Lopez pardoned last year. He was released because the state couldn't hold him any longer. But before they did, they made sure he had a place to go. There are four sworn affidavits in the motion there your honor from those that talked to Matthew parents and what they were told. Those go to further prove we need to pull the minor children out now!"

Judge McPherson looked through the affidavits quickly and couldn't ignore them. "There seems to be a common theme in these affidavits I have before me and the few statements that the district attorney's office has been able to get from the neighbors. As parents you two seem to give up on your children whenever things get to rough or when they don't go your way. You can't do that as parents, and I'm pretty sure you know that.

However, I still feel it is not an enough to warrant the removal of the minor children from the household at this time." The bailiff walked up and placed a folded paper before the judge. He unfolded it and read before he continued. "Ladies and gentlemen I'm sorry but there is an urgent matter I need to quickly take care of, so I will put this court into a fifteen minute recess."

The judge slammed his gavel down as he got up from his bench and made his way out the side door. All parties involved in this matter just stood there stunned on what was going on. None of them could understand what was going on. One minute it looked like the judge was ready to make a ruling against the removal of the minor children and the next minute he had to leave. He could have finished his ruling and adjourn the court before he got up, but he didn't.

Judge McPherson walked as quickly as he could to his chambers. As he walked in, he didn't bother to take off his robe. He looked around and found judge Evens sitting there on the couch with a drink his hands. He didn't like being pulled out of his courtroom in a middle of a case, but he was willing to listen to a friend that has helped him out on other personal matters.

"If I was you, I would be pretty angry with me right now." Judge Evans spoke as he got up and moved over to the chairs in front of Judge McPherson's desk. "I'm very sorry. I respect you and your courtroom and wouldn't have done it if I had another choice. But by the way it was looking in there, it looked like you were about to rule to keep the children where they are at, with their abusive parents."

McPherson leaned back in his seat, clearing his throat. "Cases like these I hate the most because without a doubt in my mind, those kids shouldn't be in the house and I can't do a thing about it. Yes I'm a judge, but I have to go by the law. Right now the DA doesn't have anything I can hang my hat on to remove the kids from what is very obvious an abusive home. No kids should be forced to stay in a home like that, but my hands are tied."

"I understand completely where you are because I'm the same way. There are times I have had to rule on a case that I knew the ruling was wrong, but the law didn't support my feelings to go the other direction I wanted to go. Not once did I go with my gut, which has been proven right every time. So again I understand where you are right now with this case.

But there is one major thing different between our courts." McPherson sat forward in his seat and looked straight into Evans eyes. He wanted to see where this was going. "I deal with the worst of the worst of the criminals. The defendants that come before me are guilty without a doubt and if not locked up, they will continue robbing, stealing, raping and breaking every other law on the books. So if the law doesn't support what I want to do, they will be back in front of me and when they do come back, I can throw everything at them.

You though have the youth in your hands. If you rule wrong on any of your cases, those kids could turn into the teenagers that appear before me. Once they appear before me, there are very few that can be set back on the right track. We all have seen the studies that tell us if we don't catch them while they are young, there is no chance for them.

Here you have a chance to do just that, catch them while they are young. If you need anything to hang your hat on, use Matthew's past, the eldest son. Because of how they run their house, it had a major part in creating a child that broke the law. You want to prevent that, so you are going to rule on the side of caution and remove those kids out of the house while the DA does their investigation. If they don't find anything, you give the kids back to the parents."

McPherson loved what he was hearing. He could go along with it and sleep tonight knowing he did the right thing and had the law behind him on it. With a big grin on his face, he thanked his fellow judge, shook Evans's hand as he walked out. All the way back to the courtroom, he put his thoughts together and was ready when he sat down and brought the court back into session.

"Thank you all for not leaving. I know it is getting late and you probably have better things to do instead of sitting around here for several hours, so I'm going to get right to it. I needed to go and look over case law before making this ruling. I wanted to make sure I had the law in my corner and there is nothing either side could hang their hat on to go to appeals court on."

The judge looked over at Matt's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Robinson there is a lot of things here in this file already that don't sit right with me. From the affidavits to the statements already collected it paints a very grim picture of you two as parents. However that alone isn't enough as I was saying to remove the minor children from you house.

That bothered me a lot so I went and looked at the laws on the books. Even though that isn't enough, if I consider what has happened with your eldest son, I have enough to remove the minor children from your care. Due to the way you run your household, treating your children and getting rid of them when things are not going well isn't boding well for you as parents. On top of that I believe the way you run your household and bring up your children contributed to your eldest son to breaking the law. Don't get me wrong, you as parents are not completely to blame for what he has done as far as breaking the law, but you had your hands in it.

With that said." McPherson broke eye contact with Matt's parents and started to look back and forth between the parties. "I'm going to grant the motion to remove the minor children from the home and temporally place them in the care of their grandparents. This removal is only for ninety days, so your office ma'am..." McPherson pointed to the DA. "..can finish your investigation in that time period and be ready to come back in front of me with proof that the parents in this case are unfit. Don't you dare come back and ask for more time."

Matt's parents didn't like what they were hearing and wasn't keeping it to themselves. They started to yell out in protest and only quieted down when the judge threatened them with contempt of court that would come with a fine and jail time. Even after that, they lashed out every few minutes, causing the judge to threaten them again.

"Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, as I said this is not a permanent removal, it is only temporary. If you haven't broken the law, you have nothing to worry about. Right now I'm ruling on the side of caution to protect the minor children from what might be happening in your home." McPherson said in a scolding voice. "This case is adjourned for ninety days. You all have a nice evening."

The minute the judge slammed his gavel and walked out, Matt's parents started to lash out at their parents. The bailiff escorted Sally and the grandparents out of the courtroom and to the elevators. Once they were safely on, they walked back and held Matt's parents back for twenty minutes before letting them leave with a stern warning not to cause any problems.

Sally, Maxwell and Eleanor walked to the parking garage in a daze. Neither of the three could believe that the judge actually ruled in their favor. It was looking like he was going to rule against them, leaving them no other choice than to hand over their grandchildren.

"Look my head is still spinning on this whole court thing." Maxwell softly spoke as he and his wife reached their car. "But I don't understand what just happened up there. One minute it looked like the judge was going to force us to give our grandchildren back to our kids, and then the next moment he ruled in our favor. What in world is going on here? What really made him change his mind when he left the courtroom? He has to know the law."

"You are right; he knows the law like the back of his hand." Sally spoke as she walked around and helped Maxwell into his car. "I might know what happened, but I won't say it. Just be happy that it went your way and you legally have your grandchildren. If everything you two and Matt said is right, in ninety days this will become permanent. For now you just get home, wrap your arms around those two and make them feel wanted."

With big smiles on their faces, they thanked Sally for everything and wished her goodnight before driving off. She watched them as they drove away before walking to her car. Just as she got to her car, she heard footsteps behind her. Thinking that nothing bad was going to happen to her so close to the courthouse; she didn't go on the offensive until it was too late.

Someone put their hands on her shoulders and forced her to turn around. "Who in the hell do you think you are?" Matt's father yelled angrily with his wife right behind him. "You are fucking with our lives and it's none of your business. Busy bodies like you should be taken out back and beaten to death so others don't do what you have done here."

"Sir I understand that you are angry, but this isn't the way to deal with your anger!" Sally was scared, but she was trying her best not to show it. She knew if he got a hint that she was scared, he would think he could do anything he wanted. "Go home and do what the judge told you to do. If nothing is found, you will have your kids back in three months."

"The hell with three months, we want our kids back now." Matt's mother spoke for the first time as she walked up and grabbed Sally by the neck. "You will do whatever you did to get this hearing and have the judge rule in our favor. If you don't, you will regret it."

Sally could see in their eyes that they had nothing to lose. Realizing that, she knew there was no way she was going to be able to talk her way out of this situation. Either she does what they are asking, which she knows she can't, or see what Mrs. Robinson means when she said that she would regret it.

"Look I had nothing to do with setting this court hearing up. I was just here for support for your parents since your son Matt was unable to be here. That is all. So I don't know where you are getting that I have to power to set up another hearing and get the judge to change his original ruling." Putting up her hands, Sally tried to defuse the situation. "Before this goes any further, why don't you two step back, take a breath and really think about what you are doing."

It looked like Sally was getting through to them. Mrs. Robinson let go of Sally's neck and Mr. Robinson took several steps back. For a few seconds it really looked like they were thinking it over like Sally recommended them to do, but only a few seconds. All of a sudden, Mr. Robinson turned around and lunged at Sally with his hand in a fist. All Sally could think of doing was cover her face and prepare to be beaten to an inch of her life, if not worse, killed.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another filled chapter of `Beneath the Mask'. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. The last almost half of the chapter the old Jacob returned. Everything just started to flow out of my mind and onto paper for the first time in a very long time. So I really do hope you liked what you read.

Before I go into the summation of the chapter, I want to let you my readers know where I plan to take the stories. No I'm not going to give away future plots or end any of the stories, at least not just yet on the latter. What I want to talk with you guys about is the big wedding that is currently happening in `Jacob Finding His Way'. I was originally going to put all four of my stories into that plot, but decided against it because of the response I have been getting with the last chapter of `Jacob'. The readership is really down and very few comments. So if all possible, I'm going to let each story go on its own with their own plot lines, talk a little bit about the wedding in each of them, but not make an entire chapter out of it. The only one that will delve into the wedding is `Shadow of My Father' because of the characters and the singing.

With that said, let me now get back on track on what this corner is all about, the summation of this chapter. There were a lot of surprises and I had a lot more intended for this chapter, but just ran out of space. I try to keep each of my chapters no longer than twenty pages. Once I hit twenty, I start to wind down the chapter and set it up for the next one.

The chapter started up a little slow. We spent time with Alex at the hotel not really doing anything. Then we went to El Paso High and met up with Matt and the guys. There was a little drama between Patricia and the guys. I know you guys thought it was going to go a different direction than it did, but that's me. I love to take a plot one direction and then all of a sudden change direction on that plot. Patricia caused problems for the guys and don't think this is going to be the last time she will pop up to do that.

After that, the chapter quickly changed direction and we met up with Stefan and the crew. I hope you guys haven't forgotten about Ashton because he is far from being gone. The guy is still out there being a thorn in a lot of asses. The only question that is out there is who will get their hands on him first. Will Stefan and the gang get to him and get their justice, or the law? You guys are going to have to return for several more chapters to see how that turns out.

You all learned a couple other things in this chapter. First how Alex was able to fit into his uniform pants, his mother hemming them so the casts are covered. And secondly, the actual cost of the building Alex and Matt want to buy. Man o man that thing is expensive, but it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. After all the building is huge and has a vending company in it. Five hundred thousand is really not a lot of money considering what they are getting for it.

I think the only surprise that was there is how the meeting unfolded at the bank. Both the loan officer and his manager had a problem with Alex and Matt's past. It took the manager speaking with Al for him to change his mind. Even after Al giving a glowing recommendation, the manager still wasn't ready to grant the loan unless Al guaranteed that he and Jacob would pick up the loan if Alex and Matt don't pay. That really sucks that happened to those two, but I'm glad they are going to get the loan.

Now the ending, the court hearing! Judge McPherson was going to rule in Matt's parent's favor until he had a sit down with Judge Evans. I love how Judge Evans put it. I know some of you might disagree with it, but I think it does hold some water. If kids have a rough childhood, they are much more likely to turn to the life of crime than those that didn't.

Anyways let's not get stuck there. After the hearing, what in the world was going through Matt's parents' minds? They cornered and attacked Sally. I really hope in the next chapter that Sally is not killed or badly hurt. But no matter what happens this insures that Matt's parents will never get custody back of their two young children. They will be lucky if they don't go to jail.

There are a lot of 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 you all enjoyed what you have read and will keep coming back week after week to this saga and the other three I write.

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 me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER: Well, this sure was an interesting chapter and I agree with Jacob that he has his groove going again. I hope it lasts!

First, let me apologize to everyone including Jacob for being late with the edited version of the chapter. Ed had no choice but to post it "raw" when I missed the deadline. Recently my job has been taking up my whole life including full days and well into the evenings, seven days a week. That all came to an end and the schedule is back to normal as of end of business yesterday. I actually can have a life again. <Now if only I could make "getting some" part of that!>

I really felt bad for Alex for the treatment he got at the bank. I can so relate to Alex's feelings and reactions. I am generally a very easy going, laid back guy. I can take almost anything that comes my way. One major exception to my tolerances is when anyone questions my integrity. I go thermonuclear! That is what Alex endured. Franseca was a great mom when she rechanneled his thinking and helped him get his anger in check.

Alex had just gotten past one frustrating and humiliating situation when he's faced with having to be seen in a state of undress while his mom altered his trousers. This guy just can't get a break!

Dear, dear Patricia. Every story needs a bitch I guess and Patricia is sure the one for this story. She is a very talented manipulator and has a real talent for finding peoples' buttons and pushing them. She almost got a victory when Steve allowed her to get under his skin and that's all she needed, THIS time. People with her type of personality never give up. Thankfully Principal Michaels was all too aware of Patricia's prior behaviors and that saved Steve from a parole violation that would send him back to serve out his time at the detention center. Knowing Jacob as I do, I fully expect Patricia to provide a lot of mega-drama. Will she finally self destruct?

I'm watching the plot with Stefan and the gang with some trepidation. I just hope that none of their "business" spills over into Alex's life. I also hope that Stefan is successful running things in the new way where their crimes are victimless.

I agree with what Jacob said about Matt's parents. We are about to witness an assault of some sort on Sally. What kind of fools are they? If I'm not mistaken, in Sally's position, she is an "officer of the court" and that will make the charges for the assault much more serious and the penalties, if they are convicted, much more severe.

And, of course, the chapter ended with a cliffhanger...

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick