Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 15:43:24 -0800
From: RC in Sacramento <sacwriter@hotmail.com>
Subject: Becka Chapter 25

This is a work of fiction from a first time author. It depicts acts of sex
and sexuality between two teenage females. If such content disturbs you, or
you are under 18, get out and stay out. As always, this story can only be
reproduced by consent of the author.

Becka the Beast
by SacWriter

Chapter 25***

	As Phil Cameron looked at his family gathered once more in the hospital
waiting room, he couldn't help but remember a quote from baseball great Yogi
Berra; `It's deja vu all over again'. What was it, less than two weeks ago
when he and his kids had waited in this very same room, staring at the
institutional green walls, feeling all the rage and fear and helplessness
roil up inside them? And now here they were again, just like before, but
with only one difference. Now he was holding this vigil with a different
daughter.
	But there were other differences too, he had to admit. For one thing there
wasn't the gnawing sense of worry that they had had the last time. Gia was
going to be fine. The gash on her leg hadn't even required stitches, and
there was no sign of any concussion or other brain trauma. In fact the only
reason they were even here was that Phil had insisted on an x-ray just to be
safe. They didn't need the whole family to be there either, it only took one
of them to sign the insurance papers and then to drive Gia home afterwards.
But his sons hadn't bothered to ask his permission, they had just shown up
without a word, and then politely but firmly ignored his hints that they
could leave. And he hadn't even bothered to try that with Becka.
	Phil sighed, looking at his newest child, feeling his heart go out to her
once again. She sat there on one of the plastic seats of the visitors
lounge, sandwiched between George and Johnny, while Bobbie leaned against
the wall nearby. His three boys were clustered around her instinctively,
like wolves forming a circle to protect their young, offering her the
support that they couldn't offer the missing Gia. Every now and then one of
them would reach out and touch her lightly, a pat on the arm or a stroke of
her long blonde hair, a simple human act of reassurance. And the same girl
who was once too frightened to be in the same room with anything male, would
lean into that touch and gratefully accept it for what it was, a sign of
their love.
	It was pretty damned strange, he mused, how you could fall so totally in
love with someone in such a short time. And they had fallen in love with
her, he and his boys, loved her with the same depth that they had always
saved for Gia. They loved her for her heart, and her courage, and that
indomitable spirit that seemed to burn inside of her like a bonfire. Just as
they loved that spark of innocence that she had somehow managed to keep
alive, despite the nightmare life that she had led.
	Oh yeah, it had been a whirlwind courtship, alright. Coming out of nowhere
like that, turning their lives upside down, and pulling them all into hers
the way she had. And the gay thing with Gia, damn, had that ever come out of
left field! It felt like the entire family had been on a roller coaster ever
since the day Becka Jackson had come smashing into their tidy little world.
And his only regret was, that she hadn't done it sooner.
	Phil looked at her now, sitting with her brothers, and yet somehow still
alone. There was a reserve in her, a self imposed misery that was shouting
Guilty like a neon sign. Looks like it was time for him to do his father
thing again.
	With a few words to his sons he sent them out of the room, or at least out
of earshot. When they were gone he pulled up a chair and sat down across
from his daughter, who seemed hesitant to meet his gaze. She kept looking
around, fidgeting, twining her fingers together nervously. Phil let a little
heat into his voice as he leaned over and growled, "Knock it off."
	Surprise made Becka finally meet his gaze. "What..." she began, but Phil
quickly cut it off.
	"The guilt trip. The one you've been riding ever since they wheeled Gia
into that examining room. She's not hurt bad, she's going to be okay, and
you're not responsible for any of this. In fact, you saved your sisters'
life, Becka. We both know what would have happened to her if you hadn't of
been there. So for the last time, knock it off."
	"Dad...it wasn't me that saved Gia, it was Sammie and Justine and Kelly.
They're the ones who pulled Ponyboy off of her and got her out of that van,
not me."
	Phil snorted. "I saw the other guy, remember? You did just as much as they
did. And besides, I don't think those three could have gotten it together in
time if you hadn't been there to show them how. They followed you, Becka.
And I'm damned glad you were there. More than anybody else, you saved Gia's
life today."

Becka seemed to slump at his words, as if the knots inside of her were
coming undone. Her eyes were burning, and when she finally nodded her head
at the big man's words, she felt as if a small building had been taken off
of her shoulders. When her father reached out and put his hand on hers, she
was able to answer him with a smile.
	They stayed that way for awhile, in a parent-child silence that had no need
of words. It was suddenly broken when her father looked over her shoulder
and scowled.
"Excuse me for a minute, Hon," he said, something old and hard tingeing his
voice.  "I gotta go see a man about a couple of dogs."
	When he rose Becka looked over her shoulder and saw Detective Caruso had
just come into the waiting room. From the sheepish way he hung his head and
the angry way her Dad was bearing down on him, Becka decided that somebody
was about to get a royal reaming. She glanced around  again, saw that her
brothers were still out of sight, and then quietly slipped from her own
seat. Without another thought about guilt or blame, she did the only thing
that really mattered. She went to find Gia.
			* * *
	Becka had learned a little bit about the layout of the hospital during her
previous stay there, and it wasn't hard to find the X-ray department. She
found Gia there, sitting on a bench in the hallway and drinking from a can
of soda, in conversation with one of the nurses. Becka wanted to rush
forward shouting her name and take her in her arms, and then maybe cry her
eyes out, but she suddenly thought better of the impulse. Instead she
approached cautiously, stopping a few feet away and waited for the other
girl to notice her. Her heart was beating trip-hammer fast, and she suddenly
realized that she was scared.
	Gia had been kidnapped, beaten and almost raped, and  Mojo and Ponyboy
would have probably killed her, too. And all because of her, because Gia
dared to love her. Phil had told her that she wasn't responsible, that Gia
was alright, but Becka knew different. She knew exactly what her lover had
gone through, knew the real damage that the experience would have left. Just
because you couldn't see the scars, didn't mean they weren't there. The fact
that Gia should be so exposed to her nightmares was twisting Becka's stomach
with guilt.
	While she hesitated, that strange silent communication they shared worked
against her. Gia suddenly sensed her, her head snapping up as she broke off
her conversation with the nurse in mid sentence. She turned around to look
right at her and Becka felt her heart skip, once again captured by those
haunting brown eyes.
	Gia looked back at the nurse and exchanged a few words, and as Becka
approached the older woman rose and left. Becka hesitated, unsure, but at a
gesture from the other girl she took the just vacated seat. Up close she
could see the bruises on Gia's' face, and winced when she remembered that
she had put some of them there herself.
	"Um...are you okay?" she asked, hesitatingly.
	Gia bit her lip before answering, than nodded. "I've been better, but yeah,
I'm okay. And you?"
	"Me?" she answered, surprised. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be okay?
Nobody laid a finger me."
Gia reached out and grasped her hand before answering. "Hey, this is me,
remember? I know you. I know seeing those two guys grab me must have torn
you apart. You're probably blaming yourself for all this too, aren't you?"
	Becka's chest suddenly felt tight, and she had to swallow past the rock in
her throat. Damn, how did she always know?
	"Becka, you have to stop doing this! You're not responsible for every bad
thing that happens to me. Do you regret meeting me? Falling in love with
me?"
	"What? No! Gia...you're the best thing that's ever happened to me.  How can
you even ask me that?"
	"Because I got you in trouble with Ralph. He raped you with that bottle
because of me. You almost died that day."
	"Yeah, but...Gia, it was all worth it. I got away from Ralph, and I got a
family, and, and I got you."
	"And I got you. And you're worth it. Don't you know, I'd face a hundred
guys like those two, if it meant keeping you safe?"
	Becka felt Gia's fingers twine in hers, knew what that private gesture
meant. She took a deep breath before speaking again, feeling the stiffness
crumble like dust. The wave of relief took her by surprise, and to cover the
reaction she tried to make a joke about the whole episode.
	"Yeah, well...you won't ever have to. Anybody ever tries to hurt you again,
I'll rip their face off. I'm getting kinda good at that, you know."
	Gia's lips twisted wryly. "Thanks for that touching offer of physical
violence. But you didn't do it all by yourself, you know. I heard the Gap
Girls helped you with that last guy."
	"Yeah, well, then Kelly can bitch slap them. And Sammie can write all about
it in the school paper."
	"Uh huh. And what about Justine? What can Justine do?"
	Becka was grinning, enjoying the set up. "Why, that's obvious," she said.
"Justine can always—"
	"GRAB THEM BY THE BALLS", she and Gia chorused together, and then fell into
each other's arms, laughing.
	If they laughed longer and harder than the joke warranted, it was because
it was a release, like lancing the poison in a festering wound. And if there
was a touch of hysteria in that laughter, there was also a good reason for
that, too.
			* * *
	They found their family and Detective Caruso still in the waiting room,
with the latter looking like he had just been run through a coffee grinder.
Phil had obviously taken out a lot of his ire and frustration on the hapless
cop, and the LAPD detective seemed relieved to see them. After the male
members of their family had greeted the girls and made sure that they were
alright, the group adjourned to the hospital cafeteria to eat and to discuss
the days events.
	"Hey G, what happened to your jeans? Didn't you have long pants this
morning?" Johnnie asked, as he sat down at the same table as his sisters.
Both of them had a tray of the less than appealing hospital food, although
the girls had found themselves surprisingly hungry and had loaded up. Now
Gia looked down at her altered pants and grimaced. She gestured at the
bandage on her lower thigh.
	"That's what happened. They took the whole leg off in the emergency room,
so one of the nurses helped me cut off the other one so I wouldn't look like
a dork. And these were brand new Ralph Lauren's, too." She frowned down at
her devastated wardrobe, then shrugged and started attacking her
cheeseburger and fries. Some things were more important than couture.
	 The rest of the family along with Detective Caruso arranged their tables
next to the girls. For awhile a relative silence settled over the group as
they turned their attention to the serious task of eating. As their bellies
became comfortably filled the mood relaxed, and even Phil seemed inclined to
forget his animosity towards the policeman. As the last of the meal
disappeared, he turned to the cop and started the war council off.
	"Okay, Dave. Maybe you better tell the kids what you told me. Starting with
why one of my daughters was almost murdered today."
	"Jesus Christ, Phil, I told you how sorry I am that happened! What more do
you want from me, blood? No, don't answer that.
	"Alright, look. Gia, I can't apologize enough for what happened to you.
Honest to God, we put warrants out on the four guys Becka named, but by the
time we got them signed they had all gone underground. Today was the first
time we'd seen any of them in over a week."
	"A week?" George said, a touch of his father's mood showing in his voice.
"Ralph Danning assaulted Becka twelve days ago! Are you saying it took you
five days before you even started looking?"
	Caruso had the decency to look embarrassed under the baleful stare of the
entire Cameron family. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of
his neck before continuing.
	"Look, I'm sorry, but it was the DEA's idea, not ours. They requested that
we go slow that first week, because they didn't want to scare the off big
fish. If the Gallego's even suspected that the rape charges were anything
but a local matter, they might destroy any evidence of their operation, or
even flee the country. The feds also wanted time to search all those
properties we found in Becka's name. So by the time we finally got the
warrants, Ralph's crew had disappeared into the woodwork. We still don't
know where they went."
	"Did you ask Mojo and Ponyboy?" Becka asked, as she toyed with the last of
her French fries. It was said almost casually, but something in the tone of
her voice made Gia look up.
	"Yes, I did. Or at least I tried to. Huffman, the guy you call `Ponyboy',
is still in intensive care and heavily sedated. He won't be talking to
anybody for at least another twenty four hours. You girls really did a
number on him."
	"Not me. That was Justine, Kelly and Sammie. I had my hands full with
Mojo."
	"Yeah, I know," Caruso said wryly, his lips twisting in dark amusement. "I
recognized your MO. I was in the emergency room while they were sewing his
face up. Christ, Becka, he's going to look like a mirror image of Ralph.
Which, by the way, was exactly what I told him.
	"They had Mojo Carter under a local anesthetic while they were doing the
needle work on his face. He couldn't talk to me then, but he could hear
alright. From what I could tell, he had no idea that you were the one who
did all that damage to Danning. It seems that Ralph told everybody that he
was beaten up and cut by a rival gang, and that it had nothing to do with
you testifying against him and the others. So now Carter is pissed at
Danning for not telling him what he was getting into when he went after you
two. Believe me, it won't take much to get him to roll over on Ralph.
	"Unfortunately, I don't think that will do us any good with the Gallego
brothers. Carter isn't mad enough to commit suicide by testifying against
them."
	"But you don't really need his testimony, do you?" Bobby asked. His soft
spoken voice seemed to penetrate on levels even deeper than the angry words
of the other Cameron men. There were times, Gia knew, when her oh-so-cool
brother could be a really scary dude.
	"At this point, dammit, we could use all the help we can get," Caruso
replied, glumly. He sighed, and then explained his comment.
	"I might as well tell you, the investigation into the drug smuggling isn't
going too well. We found half a dozen properties under Becka's name here and
in Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Using the permissions that she signed,
the DEA sent in some special units who picked the locks and searched the
properties from top to bottom, and then closed them back up without leaving
a trace that they'd been there. The idea was that we wanted to see what was
there without letting the Gallego's know we were on to them. Then we'd
arrest them at the courthouse when they showed up for the arraignment on
Wednesday. It seemed like a pretty good plan.
	"Except that when we searched the properties, we didn't find squat."
	"What," asked Johnnie, puzzled. "You mean you didn't find any drugs there?"
	"I mean we didn't find anything there. There were three houses, a ranch,
and two storefront office buildings, and none of them had more than a couple
of chairs and an old mattress thrown on the floor. There were some bags of
trash, but it was mostly fast food wrappers and beer cans. And not a damned
thing that could be called evidence of a crime.
"We figure that these properties were all just way stations for the drug
shipments. They'd go slow, changing their routes, spending the night at one
place one trip, another place on the next. That way if someone was ever
caught, it wouldn't shut down the whole operation. I'm betting none of
Ralph's crew ever knew the locations of more than one or two houses on the
route."
"Hell, it's a classic cutout routine from a spy novel!" Phil said, shaking
his head in wonder. "It's not Joseph Wambaugh, it's freaking John LeCarre'.
This is some smart setup, alright."
	Caruso shrugged, glumly. "Most crooks are pretty damned stupid, but not the
Gallegos. That's why they've been so hard to get anything against."
	"I don't get it. What happened to all the drugs?" asked Johnnie.
	"Probably at one end of the pipeline or the other. The Gallegos must've
decided that they'll need some more distributors down here, now that Ralph
and his boys are out of action for awhile. So they stopped all movement
until either this whole thing blows over, or they can find somebody to take
Ralph's place. The feds are pretty sure the last shipment already left
Seattle, so it's got to be down here somewhere. But where is anybody's
guess."
	"Yeah, well, some people can guess better than others."
	The little grouping of tables fell silent at the hard words, and every eye
was turned to their source. Becka still sat in the chair next to Gia, but
her whole demeanor had changed. She had crossed her arms over her chest and
was staring coldly at the detective, and Gia's previous suspicion suddenly
jelled into a certainty.
	"You know where it is, don't you? You know where Ralph hid all of those
drugs."
	Becka spared her a nod, but kept her eyed focused on the LAPD cop who had
let her down, and put Gia in danger.
	"Yeah, I know where they are. I also know where Mojo and Ponyboy were
hiding, too. But right now the question is, why the hell should I tell him?"
			* * *
	The conference room at the police station was comfortable, but nondescript.
The walls were beige, and the carpeting was oatmeal. The table and chairs
probably came from a factory that produced millions of them, all exactly
alike. The only concession to individuality was two large, framed maps on
the far wall, one of Orange county, and the other of the United States.
Becka could see a lot of pin holes in the maps, and wondered if Ralph's
house had one in it.
	When they had brought them to the station house to `talk', Becka had
imagined being taken to one of those interrogation rooms with the one way
glass window in it, just like on TV. When she had first seen the conference
room, she had been disappointed.
	Of course, that had been two hours ago.	 Now she was just grateful for the
padded chairs.
	There were four of them on her side of the table, her and Gia on the left,
and on her right was Benny Hudson, their attorney. Benny was a short and
stocky man in his fifties, with a face like a bulldog and a body like a fire
plug. He looked like he was a born brawler, even when wearing a three piece
suit. Becka had only met him once before, when he had come over to the house
to have her sign the adoption papers, but instinctively she knew that he was
a good man to have on your side. To his right sat her father, his face
looking like it had been carved from a stone mountain, and he was just
waiting for somebody to fall down on. Her Papa Bear was in his
I'm-not-taking-any-bullshit mode.
	Across the table sat `the enemy', Detective Caruso and agents Dobbs and
MacGregor, from the DEA. The two agents wore identical scowls and gray suits
that looked like they had come off the same rack, except that Dobbs wore the
female version without a tie. She had shoulder length red hair and what
looked like a decent enough body under the government looking clothes, and
Becka thought she'd be pretty hot, if she could ever forget she had an
icicle up her butt. In the two hours that they had been talking, nobody had
called them by their first names. Maybe they weren't issued any.
	Gia was the only one at the table who seemed to be enjoying herself. She
was slumped in her chair and had turned it so that she was halfway facing
towards Becka, and had an amused smile on her lips. Underneath the table she
had taken off her shoe and was slowly rubbing her stockinged foot up and
down Becka's leg.  Becka wanted to kick her, but instead just concentrated
on keeping a straight face.
	Detective Caruso looked irritated. "Okay, it's half past seven already, and
I for one would like to get out of here sometime tonight. You're department
has invested hundreds of man-hours in catching the Gallego brothers, and to
date you've got nothing to show for it. Not without the drugs. Miss Jackson
says she can lead us to them, so why don't we let her? All she's asking for
is something you don't have, and can't get without her help anyway, so what
is the problem here?"
	"The `problem' is that she's withholding evidence and impeding a federal
investigation!" Agent MacGregor snapped, his temper beginning to fray. It
was apparent that he wasn't used to having his authority totally ignored,
especially not by a teenage schoolgirl, and the DEA man was not taking it
very well.
	"I think you better rephrase that last accusation, Agent MacGregor, before
I advise my client to withdraw her offer," Benny Hudson said, his voice soft
and reasonable and still sounding like a warning growl from a big animal.
"Miss Jackson has told you that she has no direct knowledge of these alleged
drugs, had never seen or even heard about them before Detective Caruso told
her a few hours ago. She merely has an opinion of where they might be, and
no law requires her to inform you of her opinions. Add to that the fact that
my client is a minor whose life you recklessly endangered, who might very
well still sue your department, and you know damned well you'll never get a
judge to swear out a warrant against her."
	"And definitely not in time to bust the Gallego's at the arraignment on
Wednesday," put in Caruso.
	MacGregor made a disgusted sound, and pushed himself away from the table.
Agent Dobbs ignored him, addressing herself instead to Becka. Her green eyes
seemed to be filled with sincerity, but Becka could tell she wasn't very
good at it.
	"Miss Jackson...Becka... do you have any idea the size of this shipment we're
looking for? We estimate it will be over three thousand pounds of processed
heroin. That's a ton and a half of one of the most insidious, addictive
drugs in the world, about to be put out onto the streets of this country,
and only you can stop it. Are you actually going to look me in the eye, and
tell me that you'll really allow this to happen?"
	Nope. Definitely not very good at sincerity.
	"Agent Dobbs, I'm not going to ask you again. Please address all questions
to me, and not my client," Benny said, with an edge in his voice. Dobbs
looked annoyed, but she stopped trying to talk to Becka.
	"You're asking for almost a million dollars worth of property!" MacGregor
snapped, angrily.
	"All of which is already in my client's name," Benny calmly pointed out.
	"And under the RICO Act, all of that property is forfeit to the
Government."
	"And under section 1964 (c ) of that same act, my client has the right to
sue for treble damages from the seized property of the criminal organization
that wronged her. And what sort of damages do you think a court would award
a seventeen year old girl who had been physically abused and sexually
molested for six years by this organization?
	"Believe me, Agent MacGregor, we could get a hell of a lot more, but it
could take years to do that. All my client is asking is that you do not
seize any of the property already registered in her name. She's going to get
it sooner or later anyway, so why not just avoid all of this unnecessary
paperwork?"

	There was some more grumbling and hard looks from the two DEA agents, but
in the end they had to bow to necessity. Gia could barely contain herself,
and was practically dancing in her seat. Phil dropped his tough guy act long
enough to flash his eldest daughter a proud look, all the while Benny
lounged in his chair with his hands steepled, and a professionally smug look
on his face. Becka was by nature more cautious than the others, but even she
unwound enough to grin and throw Dobbs a wink.
MacGregor put in a call to the Attorney General's office, and soon a copy of
the agreement was drafted and had been faxed to them at the station house.
After Benny had perused it carefully, Becka and her father both signed it,
and then Agents MacGregor and Dobbs both signed it as representatives of the
DEA. As Benny was putting their copy away in his briefcase, MacGregor spoke
up sourly.
	"Alright, you've gotten your deal. But just remember that it's all
contingent on your client leading us to the Gallego's drug shipment. So for
the last time, where the hell is it?"
	All eyes now shifted expectantly towards Becka, who shrugged and stood up
from the table. She reached into her pants pocket and fished out something
metallic, which jangled when she threw it down on the conference table. It
was a key ring, with about a dozen keys on it.
	"Those are the keys to the van that Mojo and Ponyboy were using. I took
them away to keep Mojo from driving off, and then I must've stuck them in my
pocket, I don't remember for sure. I found them there when we were waiting
for Gia at the hospital."
	Agent Dobbs studied the keys for awhile, and then raised a skeptical
eyebrow at the blonde girl. "And you think this is significant because...?"
she asked, leaving the question open ended.
	"See that round tag on the key ring? That's a brass poker chip. Those are
Ralph's keys, I've seen them a hundred times. Mojo must've got them from
him. Now see that plastic tag? It's an electronic key, and it's got the name
of a storage unit place on it. The same place that was on the paper Ralph
had me sign six years ago right after my Mom died. You guys never found it,
so I figure that's probably where Ralph has stashed the drugs."
	As Becka sat back down MacGregor grabbed the keys eagerly, examining the
indicated keycard and showing it to Dobbs. Detective Caruso frowned at
Becka, organizing his thoughts before he spoke.
	"Becka, are you sure about this? We checked every yard in Orange County,
and none of them had any units registered in your name. And you told me
yourself that you didn't remember the name of the storage yard Ralph had you
sign for."
	"Yeah, but you never checked under Marie Jackson. Marie's my middle name,
and I remember now that he had me sign the lease that way. And take a look
at the name on that key, Trojan Secure Storage. I remember Ralph joking with
Mojo at the time, he said it was named after his favorite rubber. I was only
eleven and I didn't know what he was talking about, so I guess I just forgot
it. But that key brought it all back. I'm telling you, that's the same place
Ralph had me sign for six years ago. And if he's still got it after all
these years..."
	"Then it must be pretty important to him," Caruso said, grinning. The two
federal agents seemed to be caught up in the excitement as well. Agent Dobbs
even gave Becka a smile, and this time the sincerity wasn't faked. The three
cops rose from the table as one and started towards the door, with Agent
MacGregor clutching the ring of keys as if he were afraid they were going to
disappear. Caruso stopped at the door for  one last word with the Camerons.
	"Look, that storage yard is probably closed down right now, but it won't
take us long to find the manager and get him to open back up. And if one of
those units is in Becka's name, we'll need her to come with us so we can
enter it without a warrant. Is that okay with you, Phil?"
	The elder Cameron looked at his daughters, but at their eager nods he
grunted his assent. When Caruso finally left them alone, they sat in silence
for several long moments, taking in the enormity of the days events. The
quite time was suddenly shattered when Gia whooped like a cowboy and threw
herself into her sister's arms.
	"Becka, you are so fucking rich!" she squealed, as she wrapped her arms
around the older girls neck and hugged her as tight as a vice.
	"Watch the language" Phil growled, as he came up behind them. But the
admonishment was just a parent's knee jerk reaction, the huge grin on his
face saying how he really felt. He took both girls into his big bearish arms
and wrapped them in a hug of his own, almost lifting them off their feet.
Benny Hudson was also grinning, although he seemed to be content to just sit
back and watch his clients' display.
	Becka felt washed in the love and happiness being showered on her, and she
gave it back gladly. But there was  still one small knot deep inside of her,
a kernel of unease that was anxious about the coming events. She knew that
she still had one last ghost from her past to exorcise, and a very personal
reason to see what Ralph had in his little hidey hole besides illegal drugs.

(continued)