Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:39:17 -0700
From: Flip McHooter <1977.flip@gmail.com>
Subject: So Cal Summer 1969-Chapter 34a

This story is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents
are either the products of the author's imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations or business
establishments or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All
rights reserved. No part of this story may be transmitted or reproduced in
in whole or in part in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without the written permission of the Author or Publisher,
except where permitted by law. Copyright © 2012 by Flip McHooter.

Because it's based in the past, some of it may not be politically correct
as I have tried to be true to 1969.

Thanks to everybody who has emailed me, I appreciate the tips and
feedback. Comments are always appreciated! Flip.  1977.flip@gmail.com


Chapter 34

We got home to a dark house shortly after ten. Lisa parked the station
wagon in the garage, and we locked all the doors behind us just to be on
the safe side. The seven of us were completely exhausted and starving.
After we'd changed out of our wet clothes for dry ones, I made a big stack
of pancakes and a rash of bacon that was devoured in seconds. Even Sloan
got a couple pancakes. Next to whipped cream sprayed on her nose, those
were her favorites. She deserved it for doing such a good job out on our
little mission.

After we ate and cleaned up the kitchen, Lisa suggested that we call
Cooper, his older brother Colt and maybe Tucker from the pool to spend the
night with us. She thought it would be a good idea to have a few more guys
hanging around just in case Ace or his deadbeat gang showed up here later
on tonight. As tough as she was, I think she wanted some boyfriend
attention because deep down, she had to have been a little scared, even
though she never showed it to us. On the way home, we had talked a little
about what we thought might happen next, especially once Ace got wind of
the boat crash and Jake's escape. We figured it would take a while before
he might show up, so we decided that we should hang out together to face
whatever shit was coming our way. We knew he was going to be royally
pissed. What we didn't know was what he was going to do next. We figured
that the weasel guy was probably out of the picture, dead on the bottom of
the ocean maybe, but we weren't too sure about the other goon we left
behind out there naked looking at his car. All we knew for sure was that
this wasn't the end of it. Since the Lulu's and my dad were four hundred
miles away, up at Jake and Lisa's Uncle Gus's farm, there wasn't any point
in calling them for help.

Once the older guys showed up, a new round of celebrations ensued.
Everybody was excited to get Jake back and he was soaking up all of the
attention. The guys were giving him hugs, and even kisses, right in front
of Lisa and the little men. Everybody was used to seeing me and Jake do
that lately, so they really didn't care. I wasn't jealous though, because I
knew that I was going to be giving him some extra-special welcome home
loving later on that night. Jordy and Chris crashed on the couch soon after
we ate, so Enzo and I carried them upstairs and put them to bed. They
didn't even stir, except for Chris who cut a righteous fart, so we just
tucked them into bed wearing their dirty clothes and got the hell out of
there.

We had decided earlier to spend the night camped out on the family room
floor. We were all kind of feeling itchy, but nobody wanted to be apart
from everybody else. Plus, it might also give us more time once we spotted
Ace, if he showed up tonight, to get ready for a big fight since he'd
probably go to Jake's and Lisa's house first.

We replayed the whole story for the older guys one more time, and they
decided that it would be a good idea if we took turns watching the street.
After asking what kinds of cars to look out for, Tucker made a sentry list
and every hour at least one of us would scout the street from the living
room's front windows. Then we talked about what we should do if and when
they showed up. We felt we could probably handle it if it was just two of
them, but then we worried about what would happen if they broke in with
guns. I knew where my dad's gun was locked up and could easily get it, and
Enzo said his dad had a couple around his house that he could run home and
get. Colt and Coop said their dad had a couple of guns, too.

That didn't go over very well with Lisa and Jake, because they reasoned
that if we had guns there was a very high likelihood that someone would get
hurt, and the ones getting hurt would probably be one of us since who knew
how well we could shoot. Finally, after some heated discussion, we all
agreed that the guns were out. After that, Lisa said she was too wound up
and together with Coop, they were going to hang out in the living room and
take the first two hours of sentry duty.

"If they show up, wake us up right away, okay sis?" Jake asked.

"You know I will. Now get some rest, guys, you're probably going to need
it. C'mon, Coop. Luann has a nice cozy window seat we can curl up on."

"Right on! I think you need a little lovin' right about now, pussycat."

"Don't wear her out, Coop," Jake yelled after them.

Nobody had thought to bring sleeping bags, and Jake and I didn't want to go
out to the tree house to get ours, so I raided all of the bedrooms and then
the linen closet for a bunch of blankets and sheets. The family room was
big enough that we all could spread out with plenty of room to spare. Plus,
my mom's new orange and red shag carpeting was nice and cushy. I started to
pass the blankets and pillows out to the guys when Enzo asked, "Who's going
to sleep where?"

"I thought we could all snuggle up together," Tucker said with a
mischievous grin. He reached over and pulled Colt in tight, surprising him,
but then Colt stuck his hand in Tucker's back pocket.

"Wait a second," Enzo said, pointing back and forth between Tucker and
Colt. "Don't tell me you guys are getting it on too? Is everybody around
here into guy sex? That's heavy!"

"Well, let's see. Jake and Ryan are in loooove," Colt cooed.

"And Colt fucks anything that walks," added Tucker.

"You do too, if I remember correctly," said Kenji. Then turning to Enzo he
said, "Uh-oh. Just forget I said that." He was beet red.

"Why?" asked Enzo. That made the rest of us snicker. "What did I miss?"

"Well, you might as well know. When we were at the party the other night,
the five of us had our own little private party upstairs."

"So?"

"It was a sex party. I hope you're not mad at me, but you were being such a
dumb-ass that night and I was really horny. Plus, you were so drunk and
obnoxious."

"You're right. I was a dumb-ass. And if I wasn't so stupid, I would have
joined in too!" Enzo said, pulling Kenji in and squeezing his tight little
ass. "Any of you guys want to do that again?"

Everybody wanted to, but most of us were really beat and we were nervous
about Jake's dad showing up that we passed. Jake promised everyone that
when this was over, we would all have some fun later on.

The guys paired up while Jake and I stripped off our clothes and got under
the blankets, and I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. Nobody
was going to get my boy-o away from me again tonight. I heard Enzo and
Kenji settling in on the other side of the couch, and Colt and Tucker
making their bed over by the dining room door. Sloan wasn't quite sure what
to think about all these naked guys in here on the floor, and after nosing
around for a few minutes, she plopped down on the end of our make-shift bed
still wide awake. Seconds later we were all fast asleep and the sounds of
snoring filled the big room.

We had been asleep for maybe an hour when Jake started to wiggle around in
my arms and push his ass into my crotch. I was afraid he was having another
one of his bad nightmares that he had been getting recently, and that he
might wake everybody up. So I pulled him in tighter to me and started
stroking his long, sun-bleached brown hair. I leaned in and whispered in
his ear, "It's all right, Jake, I'm here, buddy, and no one's going to get
you. I won't let it happen again. I promise."

"Can you believe it? I just had the best dream ever!" Jake said, waking up
with a start, and giving me a great big smile.

"A good one for a change? That's a surprise. Tell me all about it."

"Well, it's not really a dream. I remembered something I was doing while
those guys had me tied up and alone down in the hold of the boat. I didn't
want to show them that I was scared, so I used some of that guided imagery
stuff Samantha was teaching us so I would calm down. Only this time it
worked out and was totally bitchin'."

"Tell me about it, man. I can't wait. I'm all ears."

"Okay, here goes. I guess you had gotten your driver's license because you
were driving your dad's old blue Austin-Healey up the coast highway. I
think we got it all fixed up because it was running really good and it
sounded super sharp. We had the top down and the radio was on and blasting
CCR. They were playing Who'll Stop the Rain. It was so freakin'
bitchin'. We drove for a really long time and we ended up where there
weren't any buildings or anything. Way past Malibu or someplace like
that. It was really beautiful. Beach on the left and tall cliffs on the
right."

"That sounds boss. What did we do?"

"Well, you did a U-turn and found a place to park the car off the side of
the road where a few other cars were parked. You were worried that the
Austin-Healey would get dinged, so we parked it away from everybody else
and pulled up the top. We covered it up with your dad's old parachute. The
other cars around us looked like hippie cars and Volkswagen bugs because
they were all painted up like Lulu's microbus. After we got the car secured
we grabbed our packs and we headed down a small, steep little trail towards
the beach. It took us about half an hour to make it down to the beach,
because it was so slippery, and we had to watch out for the snakes and
poison oak. But once we got there it was totally spectacular. The trail
ended at a wide sandy spot between two cliffs. The sun was warm and there
was a soft, cool breeze coming off the water. There wasn't a cloud in the
sky and you could almost see forever, maybe even all the way to Hawaii. The
beach was sandy and wide, and backed up to tall, shale cliffs with big
trees and bushes growing on top of them. It was heaven."

"That sounds bitchin'. I'd love to go to a nude beach with you. Let's do it
in a few months when we get our driver's licenses. Was anybody else
around?" I asked, rearranging my plumping dick. The thought of running up
and down the beach in the warm sun with Jake had certainly stirred things
up down there.

"Yeah. Towards the right, going up the beach, were a few naked people
playing Frisbee, and a topless mother chasing after her two small
kids. Some naked guys were playing football. It was a happy, groovy scene
and everyone was so cool. We stood around for a second watching the guys'
dicks and the girls' boobs bouncing all around. Then we decided to walk
down the other way where it would be a little more private. Apparently, the
tide was way out because the waves were small and flat. That was bad for
the one guy that had a surfboard. How cool would it be to go surfing naked?
Anyway, when we rounded a small, rocky bluff, you said for us to get naked
and to stuff our shorts and shoes in our packs."

"That sounds like me. Any chance to get naked, you know I'll do it."

"I know! The sun warmed our naked bodies and burned on our butts and you
and I both popped boners in a flash. But it didn't matter since no one was
around. Anyway, our boners went down as we walked at least a mile or more
down the beach. We only saw a few people here and there sunning themselves
up by the bluffs, or dipping in the blue water. There was a makeshift fort
made out of driftwood logs up by the bluff side, and this naked guy and
girl were cuddled up in the middle of it. I could see through the crack in
the logs but I couldn't tell what they were doing. I was pretty sure he was
pounding his hard cock into her pussy. I've seen enough of that so I didn't
even bother watching. Later, down the beach, an old fat guy was sitting in
a fold-up chair and wearing nothing but a straw hat. He just waved at us as
we walked by. I think he had all of his cock-hair shaved off. It was an
interesting look for an old guy. He was doing needlepoint like Rosey Grier
does. Farther down the beach were two nice, older ladies that had a big
wicker hamper full of good eats, and they offered to share them with us. It
looked good and tasty, but we didn't take them up on it. I kept starring at
their tan, wrinkly old bodies and saggy tits with a smile. I want to be
that happy when I get old and wrinkly, Ry. How cool would that be? Anyway,
they were funny and after talking with them for a while we kept going
farther on down the beach."

"Is that all we did? Walk and look at wrinkly old tits?"

"No. Don't be in such a hurry, you nimrod. Like I said, it was a really
beautiful place and I want you to picture it in your big, fat hairy
head. We finally found a spot that was perfect. Warm, white sand,
surrounded by bluffs on three sides. It smelled like a mix of coastal sage,
chaparral and ocean. Two older guys were a thousand feet away, sitting in
fold up chairs and reading, and I couldn't see anyone way down the other
way. We threw down our packs and laid out our big beach towels next to each
other. Little sand lizards went scurrying away from us. Then we went for a
swim. The water was boss and we had so much fun. It was cool, but not cold,
and was so clear you could see the bottom, even twenty feet out. We played
around in the surf for a while, and chased and dunked each other like
crazy. We even saw some dolphins swimming close by us off to the west. You
were such a dork because you thought they were sharks and you swam back to
shore like a maniac. Then we looked for cool shells and rocks and you even
found a starfish. I loved you even more because you tossed him back into
the water to be with his friends. You taught me how to skip stones, and
that was really cool because we found some really flat stones that skipped
and bounced like crazy. Later on, you started to chase the sandpipers down
the beach and I had to smile at your cute, naked butt jiggling around while
you ran down the sand. You were so cute! You never did catch them, you
dork. After we got tired, we went back and lay down on our towels to take a
nap. The sun was nice and warm on our naked bodies and in no time we both
fell asleep wrapped up in each other's arms with my head on your chest.

"The next thing I remember was waking up and rolling over and looking up at
you. You were still on your back, one arm crossed across your chest and
that beautiful uncircumcised dick of yours was all plumped up, its little
eye poking out of its skin. You know how your dick is always hard when you
sleep? Well, I just had to have it. It was so big and fat, shiny at the tip
and staring me right in the face. So I creeped down and started to lick
just a little bit on the head and nibble on your foreskin. It was salty
from the ocean, but it tasted righteous. Like you. Then it blurped out a
quick shot of pre-jizz. Yum-mee! You stirred a little, but I kept on
sucking. It felt so good out there in the open, listening to the waves and
the birds, and feeling the nice breeze. And it tasted so good; just like
candy! I started to go to town and soon your dick started leaking buckets
of that special juice that I love so much!"

"Oh, god, Jake. You're getting me so hot," I whispered.

"I know. It was so intense. But then you had me stop. I guess you were
about to blow your balls. You grabbed my hand and dragged me down to the
surf, both of our hot-rods and droopy balls bouncing back and forth for
everyone to see. Not that they would have, because the beach was ours and
ours alone. The water was real shallow and warm in this one part where the
rocks jutted out on both sides and made a little lagoon, and then you
kneeled down in front of me and started sucking on my dick. It felt so
freakin' bitchin' being out there in the water, open like that where anyone
could see us. And if they did, I really didn't care.

"Anyway, you were sucking on my cock like a madman, grabbing my ass cheeks
and pulling all of my meat deep into your throat while the water swirled
around us. I couldn't believe how good it felt. So free and so hot. The
breeze whistled over my exposed pucker and sent shivers of lust up and down
my spine. It seemed to go on for hours, but I know it didn't because I
finally grabbed your head with my hands to hold you still while I shoved my
cock in and out of your hot, slippery mouth. I couldn't take it anymore and
finally unloaded my white-hot wad straight down your throat and into your
stomach. It was the best cum I'd ever had!"

"Holy shit, dude. That was totally freakin' hot! Damn. Feel that? That's my
dick leaking all over your butt! We'll have to do that the minute I get my
driver's license. And you know, that was a great idea thinking about making
out to take your mind off of being tied up by your dumb-shit dad. I want to
be with you forever, dude. That's why I love you so much," I said.

"Because I'm so smart?" Jake asked.

"No, goofy-boy, well, maybe, but really because you're so hot! Those two
things make me looove you."

"Aww, C'mere you."

We had just started getting into some hot and heavy kissing action, and
grinding our hard cocks into one another when Cooper came running in the
room and yelling that Ace's black Citroen and that green sedan the one that
had been hanging out across the street had just pulled up.

"Damn! Already?" I asked, standing up and pulling up my sweats over my hard
dick.

"Lisa recognized the car because there aren't that many weird cars like
that, and she remembered the other one from your escapade tonight," Coop
said, checking out my hard equipment as I pulled on my sweat pants. That
sorta surprised me. "And besides, the black car is parked in Jake and
Lisa's driveway and the sedan parked on the street. It's the same one
that's been out there for the last couple of weeks. I thought it was spying
on me, but it turns out it was spying on you guys."

"Ah, fuck!" Jake groaned.

"They must have gotten the tires fixed," Enzo said, standing up.

"How many guys did you see?" Jake asked. He was up on his feet now too.

"We couldn't really see because he pulled up real close to the house," Lisa
said, as she raced into the family room. "I think the guy in the sedan was
alone. But for sure, at a minimum, it's my dad and the guy we left naked
and stranded."

"Get up, guys, and get dressed," Kenji said, rubbing his eyes. "Chop-chop!
We got work to do."

"We're up," Colt and Tucker both said at the same time. Tucker had to kick
Colt in the butt to get him moving though. Guess he had smoked a lot of
dope before he came over here.

"Should I go hide?" Jake asked, pulling his tie-dyed t-shirt over his head
and sounding clearly worried. "I don't want to go to New York. Not without
Ryan."

"No, that wouldn't do any good. He's going to find you sooner or
later. Besides, going to New York isn't the point. The point is that he's
trying to kidnap you, little brother. That's just wrong," Lisa said. "Okay,
so everybody, let's just follow the plans we made earlier. Scatter
yourselves around the room. Jake, you get in the back behind the other
guys. That way he has to go through all of us to get to you. When he sees
all of us he'll change his mind. I just know it. And if we have to start
talking shit at him, just follow along, okay?"

"I hope you're right on this, sis." Jake said. But everybody in the room
agreed and was totally on board. It amazed me how quickly we had all bonded
together. I totally loved these guys.

Sloan had been running around and now she was on high alert and started a
strange, yawning, low-level rumble deep in her throat. I'm not sure if she
sensed our adrenalin or if it was something else, but as it grew louder and
more passionate, she turned around and starting barking at the
kitchen. Then, all of a sudden we heard a loud bang against the back door,
like someone was breaking in, which was followed by an eerie silence.

She stopped barking as the hackles on her back went straight up as she
arched up and got into attack mode.

"What do you think that was?" Enzo whispered.

"I don't know. I'll go look, but you guys stay here in case this is some
kind of diversion. Watch the front door, okay? C'mon Sloan," I said
quietly.

I grabbed a sharp steak knife off of a rack in the kitchen and headed for
the back door. Most of the lights were still off in the house which allowed
me to part the curtains in the kitchen door to see outside quite easily. It
was a clear night and there was just a sliver of moonlight illuminating the
pool deck and off the trees. The pool light was on and that helped too. But
what I saw both scared and amazed me at the same time. After telling Sloan
to sit and stay, I slowly opened the door just a crack and peeked out at a
big, bulky shadow lumbering away from us, maybe five or ten feet away. It
was the Dark Man! At least I think it was. He seemed taller and his hair
looked like it had been washed. He was dragging behind him the goon that we
left naked at the marina. The guy's eyes were almost closed but he looked
like he was staring up at me. It was creepy!

I opened the door wider still, and saw a small pool of dark red blood on
the step. Then I looked up and got a better look at the Dark Man and could
tell he was pulling the limp body by the guy's collar. Oh fuck! And there
was a dark red line going from the door right to the dude he was
pulling. Did he really just whack that guy right here? In my back yard?

"Hey," I said quietly. I didn't want him to get spooked. "What's going on,
man? Is he dead? Are you all right?"

Turning his head around to look at me, the Dark Man said, "It's this night
... right now! This night! This ... this is the night I told you about
right from the beginning. Satellites are almost here. Walking
satellites. Not talking satellites. Oh no, not talking. Not those. You get
that one and I get this one. One for one and two for two. Don't ... oh no
... don't linger on the way. I did two now so you do three too. I've told
you one, two and now three. This is code for the future. Face it! Save your
boy-o. It's written."

"I don't understand! Why do you talk in riddles?"

"YES, RYAN JACOB MILLER! YOU GOD-DAMN DO TOO UNDERSTAND!" he screamed at
me, dropping the guy's body hard on the deck. His head bounced hard on the
cement with a thud. Then much quieter, the Dark Man said, "Love your boy-o
like he loves you. Don't ever quit. No, oh no, no, no, never! You're both
walking satellites. I've been told you two are special. Go with the flow,
boy-o's," And with that, he turned and walked away, grabbing the limp body
by his droopy arm. As he was heading off to the trail leading past the pool
house and tree house, I could barely hear him say, "I'd never be able to
have that. So sad, so sad. Walking satellites. Whey-o. Lucky boy-o's."

I hurried back inside the house and locked the backdoor behind me, and then
slumped behind it. There were way too many questions about what the Dark
Man was doing and what he had just said, but I didn't have time to process
or figure them out right now. And he knew my whole name! How was that
possible? Who the heck is that guy and how long has he been watching us?
And how does he just appear like that?

"What was all that yelling about out there?" Jake asked me once I came back
in the family room where the guys had all gathered around. "You look like
you've seen a werewolf."

"I think the Dark Man might have killed one of Ace's men. I'm sure it was
the guy we stripped and left at the marina. He might have been trying to
break in the back door and the Dark Man got to him first. The Dark Man must
have got him from behind and knocked him out. Now he's dragging his body up
the trail," I said quietly. "There's lots of blood, too." All of a sudden I
didn't seem so brave and really wished that my dad was here. "That means at
least Ace, and maybe the guy on the boat, if he lived, are still out
there. Maybe more guys we don't know about."

"Sweet Zombie Jesus," Lisa said.

"Oh, fuck," someone else said.

"Shit!" yelled Colt.

"Damn," Enzo said. "I knew we should have dumped that guy in the drink and
left him there for good."

"I know. But we just couldn't," said Kenji, coming up behind him and
putting his arm around his waist. "We're not killers, at least not by
choice." I wondered if Enzo really knew how much Kenji liked him.

"Listen up everybody. I think this is going to get down and dirty, so be on
guard. Don't take any stupid chances and get yourselves hurt. We'll just be
calm and tell my dad that he's not taking Jake and that's it," Lisa said,
her voice wobbling a little. "I know he hates me and our mom, but he's not
going to get my brother without a fight. I really don't think he'd hurt him
or us."

She barely got that out when the front doorbell rang, scaring the crap out
of us and making us jump. Sloan started barking like crazy and the eight of
us just looked at each other with eyes wide open. Who the heck would be
ringing the doorbell at this time of night? Why wouldn't Ace or his goons
just bust on inside? I hoped it wasn't Mrs. Kravitz.

"It's now or never guys. Stay in the back, Jake. Kenji, get back
there. I'll go open the door," Lisa said. "There's nothing else we can do."

"Be careful, Lisa," said Coop. I think he was really starting to really
care for her.

Kenji and I stepped in front of Jake, while Colt, Cooper, Tucker and Enzo
fanned out around the front of the three of us. They were the bigger,
burlier guys and would probably slow down whoever was trying to get us. I
couldn't help but think we looked like half-dressed, man-sized bowling pins
about to be bowled down. Outside of Lisa and Coop, Jake was the only one
wearing tops and bottoms; the rest of us barely had time to pull on sweats
or boxers.

The front door slammed opened and banged against the wall, and we could
hear Ace yelling, "Lisa, where the hell is your brother? And don't fucking
mess with me. I'm not in a mood for your shit. You've embarrassed me too
many times and I've fucking had it with you." His voice carried all the way
back in the family room. And unlike a deranged vampire, I was pretty sure
he wasn't going to wait for an invitation to float on inside.

Then Lisa was talking, and then Ace was talking, and then they both were
talking, and then she was yelling and then he was screaming until finally
we heard Lisa screech "Dad! Let go of me!" Just as all of us started to
move towards the front of the house to come to Lisa's rescue, Ace pushed
Lisa through the family room door holding her by the hair on the back of
her head. Then he shoved her hard, and then down on to the couch with a
thud. He was a lot stronger than his scrawny, pasty white body looked.

"Where's Little Joey?" Ace asked us, pointing to the back door in the
kitchen and sticking his chin out. "He should have been in here by now."

Nobody said anything, so I bucked up and said, "If you're talking about the
guy in the back yard, we just took him out." It was hard for me to believe
that this was Jake's father. It was even harder to believe that I had just
said that.

"Horse fucking shit! You guys are no match for him. Yeah, you got him naked
and flattened his tires, but all that did was make him pissed off. He's a
God-damn killer, for shit's sake! I've had all I can take from you good for
nothing God-damn little pricks. You're just a bunch of fucking little kids
and I don't fucking believe you."

"So it was him," Enzo said, mostly to himself.

"Shut up you moron! Why do you look familiar?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you go look at the blood trail out the back door. Our friend is
going to dump his body in the canyon right now and let the coyotes and
raccoons eat his dick off!" I said, surprising myself. "By sunrise, his
dick, balls, nose and fingers will be all munched off! No one will be able
to identify him or tell that we did it. And get the fuck out of my house!"

Ace didn't even look at me, and instead he said, "Jake, you're coming with
me, right fucking now!" he roared. "Get up here and let's go. NOW!"

"No, Dad, I'm not going anywhere with you," Jake said very calmly from the
back of our little eight-pack. "You're a prick and I hate you. I've hated
you since I was twelve when you never ever said boo to me. You never went
to any of my little league games or even asked how I was doing. You're a
piss-poor excuse for a father. `Sorry, son, too busy' was your
excuse. You're a fuckhead. I'd rather die right here in front of my friends
than go anywhere with you."

"Fine. We can do this the hard way then. I really don't give a rat's ass,"
Ace said. He reached down and pulled up his trouser-leg, and then drew out
a small gun from a holster strapped to his ankle. It was exactly like the
one the guy on the dock was wearing when we stripped off all of his
clothes. "You know, I had Little Joey and Porno Pete clocking this place
for a while now. They were the ones that broke the brake line on your
mother's microbus. I was hoping to take her out so it would be easy to get
you, Jake, all to myself. But, oh no. Lisa had to go and fucking drive up
on that nosy old neighbor's lawn instead of crashing down the hill. I'll
shoot all of you one by one until only Jake is left. And I'll still have
plenty of bullets to spare. Then I'll torch this place and nobody will even
remember who the hell you were because there won't be anything left. Just a
batch of crispy bones stinkin' up the rubble."

He waved the gun around the room and stopped for a second to focus on each
one of us to make his point. Fuck. I was scared shitless. And
unfortunately, it was working. I could tell our resolve was weakening. I
didn't see it, but I heard Kenji's bladder let loose all over the
floor. Then Ace pointed the gun at Sloan and said, "Maybe I'll start with
this ugly mutt, first." He aimed and pulled the trigger, not giving us any
time to respond, but luckily Sloan moved just a fraction of an inch and the
bullet went whizzing harmlessly past her ear and into the floor right
behind her. The noise was deafening and made all of us jump. I don't know
what I would have done to him if he shot Sloan. Actually, I did. I was
going to fuck this mother-fucker up good if it took my last dying breath.

"NO! Stop! I'll go with you. Just don't shoot anybody," Jake screamed at
his dad before he could pull off another shot.

"Good, you little merda. I knew you'd come around. You're going with me and
you're going to learn the affari whether you like it or not. Just like I
had to do for my padre. It's time for you to grow up and be a signore." All
of a sudden, Ace was spouting Italian. I'm not sure I got it all, but I had
a pretty good feeling what he was trying to say. And I didn't like it. He
was Mafia, that was for sure, just like Enzo's dad.

Jake slowly walked through all of us guys and towards his deadbeat dad,
shuffling his feet and taking his time. There wasn't really much we could
do other than to let him go. Lisa was still on the couch, sniffling away
and I could feel Kenji next to me shaking like crazy. I just hoped his
bowels weren't the next thing to let loose. Sloan had backed down and had
scurried behind the couch. I was still kind of in shock, and my ears were
still ringing, but then I had a brainwave. A sharp shock of electricity
pulsed through my body. I don't know where it came from, maybe from Red
Crow, or maybe the Dark Man's satellites were in some kind of crazy
alignment and sending signals straight into my head, or maybe it was both
of them working in concert. But whatever it was, I wasn't about to let the
boy I love get away without a fight.

"Hold on, Jake. I'll go with you. I hate this fucking place and these
stupid people. I wanna be a killer just like you. That was fun offing that
guy on the boat," I said. It was hardly believable, but it caught Ace off
guard. "Jake and I make a great team. You saw what we did tonight to your
men."

Enzo, being much smarter than I would have ever given him credit for, and
maybe remembering what Lisa had said about following our lead, thankfully
caught my drift and spoke up as well. "I'm gonna go with you guys too. I'm
tired of my dad controlling my freakin' life. If you have guns and take
people out then I'm your guy. I'm sick of always being the nice guy. That
was fun crashing your boat. The three of us will make a great miniature
rat-pack. Besides, my dad is never going to let me be part of the family
here. He says the books are closed and that there's no room for me. I'm
never going to be made around here."

Caught off guard once again, Ace looked questioningly at Enzo. "Who the
fuck are you and what the hell are you talking about? What do you know
about books and family and being made?"

"I'm Enzo. Enzo Ferrari. I think you know my dad, Crash. He works downtown
across the street from the porno theater. I'm pretty sure he's your
Skipper." Apparently, Enzo didn't miss a thing. And he knew the lingo, too!

"Crash? Crash Ferrari? That Crash?"

"Hell yeah. He's my dad. And he's a dick."

"Un bastardo," was all Ace could say, so quietly that we hardly even heard
it. But we did.

"It would be quite a coup for you if we joined up with you," Enzo added.

"Hmm."

Jake, Enzo and I walked over to the left side of our group, off to the side
and a little bit behind Lisa who was still crying on the couch. Ace turned
around at the three of us with a look of total bewilderment on his ugly
mug. "You guys ain't shittin' me are you?" He had turned his body towards
us and his back was now to the stairs. But his gun was still pointing back
and forth and all around at us.

"Look. I just offed your man out the back door. And like I said, our friend
is dumping his body down the canyon right now as we speak. Go check outside
and see the blood splattered all over the pool deck if you don't believe
me. Shouldn't he have been in here by now, backing you up? And I'm sure you
know that we crashed your fishing boat on the rocks. I mean, how else would
we know about it, right? And we dumped that wimpy, dickless guy guarding
Jake overboard as well. Do you really think we fuck around?" I said. "We
might be young, but we're ruthless and we don't give a shit about who gets
in our way."

"And don't forget, we left some guy naked and stranded by his car with flat
tires out at the marina," Enzo added. "And we stole his gun and his
money. He's probably the one dead in the ravine by now."

"And we took care of that stupid cop up behind the house the other day,
too" Jake added. "The paper said he died like a hero, but really, we shot
him in the balls and he fell down the cliff. That was me and Ryan. I hope
he wasn't one of your moles."

"Wait just a fucking second. Let me think this through. All of you guys
killed a bunch of my men and a snitch cop to boot?"

"Well, Lisa helped a little," Jake said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't believe it. It's impossible."

About that time, off to the right, I spotted Jordy and Chris hunched down
low and slithering down the stairs. I had no idea what they were up too,
but I wanted to make sure Ace didn't see them and hurt them, or worse, grab
them as hostage for Jake. I guess the little men had been woken up by the
loud noise of the gun shot, and had gone into my parents' room and grabbed
Dad's putter and his favorite three-iron. So I casually walked closer to
Ace's left side and said, "So do we have a deal? You get three young guys
to go to New York with you. Right off the bat you've got three killer
associates." I wasn't a dope; I knew a little about mafia hierarchy too.

"I'm not sure. How do I know I can trust you? How do I know you're not
lying?"

"Well, the way I see it is this: you don't really have any choice if you
want Jake. Once the family figures out that we offed your man, crashed your
boat and killed your snitch, you're pretty much screwed around here. How
long do you think it will take Crash or his Consigliere's connections to
find you and then send you to the bottom of the ocean with a bucket of
cement around your feet? But, if you take us to New York to work for you,
we'll be the best team that you'd ever hope to have and help you make a
bunch of money," I said. "We'll all take an oath of allegiance to you right
here and now."

"And I could be your `half a hard-on with a suitcase'," Lisa said, speaking
up for the first time. Apparently, just like Enzo, she didn't miss a thing
either and knew some mafia-speak. "Which you're gonna need if you want to
grow your business."

"What? You'd do that for me? I fucking don't believe it." When he said
this, he could almost see Jordy and Chris if he turned his head ever so
slightly. So I moved around Jake way off to the left. Luckily, he followed
me when I moved around the room. That was fortunate because right then one
of the boys banged a golf club hard against the railing. It wasn't loud
enough for Ace to notice, or maybe it was and he just wasn't paying
attention since there were so many people in the room.

"As long as you promise not to fuck my friend's mothers," Lisa said,
really, really stretching it.

"I don't think you've ever given her a chance. She's your daughter for
god's sake," I said, sticking up for Lisa. Before he had the chance to
respond, I continued, "I've only known these guys for a little while, but
I've heard plenty. All she wants is to be accepted by you. You can't blame
her that Lulu is her mother. Now's the chance for you to make everything
right and be her dad."

"Yeah, Dad. You're always so mean to her just `cause she's a girl, but she
can kick freakin' ass. She'd be tough in the court room," Jake said. "You
know she would." I think it was hard for him to keep from smiling or
laughing at that one.

Jordy and Chris were finally at the bottom of the stairs and were still
hunched down and making their way slowly around the room behind Ace. He
couldn't see them from his angle, because they were crouched so low, but if
he turned around, they both would be toast. I was worried that some of the
guys would follow them with their eyes and give them away to Ace. So I
moved over one more time and practically shouted out, "So take us with
you!" Everybody was startled and looked back at me. I was trying
desperately to keep Ace's eyes focused on me. "I promise that we'll be
loyal to you and help you make tons of dough. How about this: You take Lisa
and Jake and fly out tonight, while Enzo and I will drive your car. Just
tell us where to meet you. We've got your two grand, you know."

"We're gonna have to hurry before my dad finds out about this," Enzo added,
getting into our game and moving over next to me. I don't think he wanted
his little brother to get hurt, either. "I'm not sure my old man's going to
go easy on you for everything that's been going on tonight. He's gonna
blame it all on you. You heard what he did to my so-called mother, right?
I'm pretty sure she's at the bottom of the sea. No loss there. And you're
gonna be next once he hears about your fuck-ups."

Ace got red in the face and was about to say something, but in one quick
movement, both Jordy and Chris spread out behind Ace and whacked him hard
behind both of his knees, sending him down to the floor, but not before he
squeezed off another shot. Lisa jumped up and had the smarts to kick the
gun out of his hand and across the room. Luckily, it didn't go off again.
He laid there withering in pain.

"Anybody hurt?" I yelled out.

I got a chorus of no's and we're okay but then I heard someone say
something that scared the ever-livin'-holy-shit out of me.

"I think I got hit." It was Jake.

***

As always, a special thanks to my editors Hans Schreiber and Jason T.