Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:11:19 -0600
From: kenlou16 <kenlou16@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nudist Camp Vacation - Chapter 28

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The usual stuff applies.  This story is Copyright 2005, by the author
represented by the email address, kenlou16@yahoo.com.  Please don't read it
if it isn't legal for you to do so.  Also, if you don't like reading about
gay stuff, then what on Earth are you doing reading this?

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Dedication:

There is one person in particular who has written to me and touched my
heart.  In his youth, he suffered from abuse much like Stevey did in this
story.  It is to Rick B. that I dedicate this story.

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Live simply, love generously, care deeply and speak kindly.  Leave the rest
to God.

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To NCV fans:

The action is picking up as the story winds down!  Don't blink or you may
miss something!

I have a special message to Bert and anyone else on AOL: Please add my
address to your accepted list if you want a reply.  If you don't, no prob.
Just don't expect a reply.

As always, I'll be very interested to know your thoughts after you read
this chapter.  You can write to me at: kenlou16@yahoo.com Please be patient
if my reply to your email is slow getting to you.

Thanks and HUGS!  - Ken

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FROM THE END OF CHAPTER 27:

Once we were inside, Andy flashed his ID at security and walked through the
metal detector, immediately setting it off.  The guards ignored him and
focused their attention on us.

I began to empty my pockets into a tray when Andy shouted, "Never mind
that!  Follow me, quickly!"

Grabbing my belongings, I followed Stevey through the metal detector,
setting it off as I expected.  The security guards looked puzzled, but
didn't stop us.  Almost at a run, we followed Andy around a corner, into
the stairway, up a flight of stairs, and into a small office.

Taking a quick breath, I said, "Andy!  What's going on?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he said, "We're out of time.  We're due
in court in five minutes.  You'll find out there.  And Alan?  Watch your
back!"

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Nudist Camp Vacation
CHAPTER 28

I took a quick look at Stevey's expression of apprehension and put my arm
tightly around him.  I had the very real fear that we shouldn't be there
and had a strong notion to turn around and go back to the protection of the
house and Frank's paramilitary buddies.

I looked Andy directly in the eyes and said, "Andy, if there's any danger
at all, we're leaving.  Now!"

He must have seen my tight lips.  He sighed glancing at his watch.  "Alan,
I think you and Stevey need to know what you're up against.  I really think
you should stay.  You're quite safe in this building, and I'll be keeping
an eye on you as well.  Outside, I've arranged extra security to get you
back and forth to your car.  By the way, I'm glad you brought your
Suburban.  The Hum-Vee would have been fine, but the Suburban's better.
Have you been trained to drive it?"

His last question startled me.  "Well, yes, as a matter of fact I have.
Will I need it?"

"I hope not, but you never know."

"Andy, all this is scaring both of us.  Should I have brought my own
security?"

He thought for a moment and glanced at his watch again.  "No, you won't
need any extra security.  But right now, we need to get into court before
they close the doors."

He stepped into the hallway and waited for us to follow him.  A moment
later we were stepping into a small courtroom.  We stepped into the back
row on the right, where Andy indicated for us to sit.  Andy sat in the row
of seats right behind the prosecutors table.  As we looked around, Stevey
spotted Paul across the aisle and a few rows down.  He jumped to his feet
and shouted his name.  I'm sure it was purely impulse, but Stevey was
obviously desperate to talk to him.

Paul spun in our direction, as did everyone else in the courtroom.
"Steve!" he exclaimed, before his mother grabbed his arm turning him away
from us and hissed something at him.  Paul gave Stevey a pathetic look then
turned to face forward.

I had to grab Stevey with both arms to keep him from running over to Paul.
"Stevey!" I whispered, "Something's wrong!"

He looked at me, pleading with his eyes for me to let him go, but I forced
him to sit.

I whispered in his ear, "Did you see the look his mom gave him?"

He shook his head and looked back at Paul.  Paul had just stolen a glance
toward Stevey, for which he earned a sharp poke and another hiss from his
mother.

Stevey was nearly in tears.  "What's wrong?  Why's she doing that?"

I had my arm around Stevey's shoulders, so I hugged him, firmly.  "I don't
know, but I have my suspicions.  Did Paul ever say anything to you about
whether he thought he might be gay?"

"No, he never said anything about it, but he did say he liked what we did
together when we were with the kidnappers in that house.  I didn't get to
talk to him after that."

"How well do you know him?"

"We were in some of the same classes last year, and I think we might have
some classes together next year.  He gets really good grades, even better
than me!  We never really talked much, though, `til he came to stay with me
last Saturday."

I nodded.  "Why did you decide to invite him and not someone else?"

He hesitated a moment.  "Well, I guess it's just `cause he sorta looked at
me like he liked me, but it seemed like he was too afraid to say anything.
You know, like he was shy or something.  But I didn't really want to get
hooked up with any friends, `cause of Doug."

If Paul really was shy, I'm wondering why he consented to spend the weekend
with a boy he barely knew, in a nudist camp!  This is all adding up to one
thing: Paul must have had a crush on Stevey and he finally had a chance to
be with him.  The way his mother's treating him, it also appears that he
must have said something to her about his feelings about Stevey, or that he
thought he might be gay.  Either way, she seems to be treating him like
dirt under her feet.

Just then, two prisoners in orange jumpsuits were escorted in and seated
with two suited men I assumed were their lawyers.  I recognized one of the
prisoners as the kidnapper I'd seen walking from the house to the car, just
before we rescued the boys.  A lone Prosecutor followed them in and sat at
the opposite table.

I leaned to Stevey and whispered, "We'll probably get a chance to talk to
Paul after this is over."

The bailiff then announced that we should "all rise," after which he called
the court to order, announced the arrival of the judge and stated the
reason we were there.  The judge gaveled at us to be quietly seated as he
sat, himself.

The judge opened a file he carried in with him and said, "Charges of
aggravated kidnapping of two minor boys and aggravated rape of a person
under the age of sixteen have been filed against Mr. Victor Vincent
Vinconelli and Mr. Gabriel Anthony Young.  Are the defendants ready to
enter their pleas?"

One of the defendant's attorneys stood and said, "They are, your honor."

"Will the defendants please rise?"  After they stood, the judge said,
"Mr. Vinconelli, to the charge of aggravated kidnapping, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty," he mumbled.

The judge bellowed, "Speak up!  The court recorder and judge are both hard
of hearing!"  There were a few chuckles from the gallery, to which the
judge banged his gavel three times.

"NOT GUILTY!" he shouted.

The judge glared at him a moment and hissed, "I said we were hard of
hearing, but we ARE in the same state!  Just speak clearly and we'll get
through this."  Then he looked down at his papers and said, coldly, "To the
charge of aggravated rape of a person under the age of sixteen, how do you
plead?"

"Not guilty."

The judge glared at him a moment then turned his attention to Young and
said, "Mr. Young, to the charge of aggravated kidnapping, how do you
plead?"

"Not guilty," he said in a quivering voice.

The judge continued his glare as he said, "To the charge of aggravated rape
of a person under the age of sixteen, how do you plead?"

He hesitated, his knees visibly shaking, and stole a glance at his attorney
before he said in a weak voice, "Not guilty."

After a very tense pause, the judge said, "Be seated.  I have a petition
from the defense asking that the defendants be released on their own
recognizance and another petition from the prosecution that the defendants
be held without bail as flight risks.  We have both extremes, here.
Counselor, why do you feel the defendants should be released without bail?"

"Your Honor, both defendants have stable jobs, are long time residents, and
are good family men.  In addition, they have been wrongly accused."

"We'll let the court decide their guilt, Counselor!  Mr. Vinconelli, how
long have you worked on your current job?"

He stood and said, "Two years, sir."

"Hmm.  And how long have you lived in your current residence?"

"Two months, sir."

"Do you go to church, or temple, or mosque?"

"Sir?"

"You know, it's a big building with long benches inside."

"Yes, sir, but not regular, sir."

"How often do you attend?"

"Uh, I guess, once every year or two."

"Sit down!  Mr. Young!  How long have you worked in your current job?"

He quickly stood, almost knocking over his chair, and said, "Six months,
sir," his voice cracking.

"How long have you lived in your residence?"

"Two months, sir."

"Do you and Mr. Vinconelli share this residence?"

He cleared his throat then squeaked, "Yes, sir."

"Do you attend any kind of worship services?"

"No, sir."

"You may sit.  Counselor, do you still consider your clients stable?" he
asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, your honor."

He shook his head and sighed.  "Mr. Prosecutor, why do you consider these
two as flight risks?"

The young man stood and picked up two thin packets of paper.  "May I
approach, your honor?"

"You may.  What's this?  Has the defense seen it?"

As he walked up to the bench, he said, "No, your honor, I just received it,
myself, but I have a copy for the defense."

"Well give it to him and we'll read together."

While they were reading, I looked around at the other people in the
gallery.  Outside of Paul and his mother, and Stevey and me, there was a
group of seven men of varying ages and descriptions, sitting to the far
left in the back of the gallery.  As I took a good look at them, I thought
I could pick out four that answered Hank's description of the four that
tried to approach the house.  The hair, needless to say, went up on the
back of my neck!  I know Andy said to watch our backs, but I had thought
that was just a friendly comment!  I didn't know he meant it!

The judge finished reading and stared at the defense attorneys, who were in
an animated, but whispered, conversation with the defendants.  He cleared
his throat, gaining their attention.  "Do you have anything to say,
counselors?"

Their spokesman stood and cleared his throat.  "Um, no your honor, not at
this time."

Looking at the prosecutor, the judge asked, "From the looks of this, there
may be other charges, later?"

"Most definitely, your honor!  We also move that the defendants be kept in
isolation, in Federal custody pending, and during, trial."

The judge thought for a moment then said, "Is Agent Andrew Cooper in the
courtroom?"

Andy stood and said, "Yes, your honor."

"Agent Cooper, come up here.  Bailiff, swear him in."

The defense counsel jumped to his feet and said, "Objection, your honor!
This is highly irregular!"

The judge scowled at him and said, "It may be irregular, but it is not
unprecedented.  OVERRULED!"  He hammered his gavel loudly.

Andy was sworn in and took the stand.  The judge leaned toward him and
asked, "Agent Cooper, you work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation?"

"Yes, your honor," he said in a confident voice.

"Did you do the investigation documented in this report?"

"Yes, sir, I'm the agent in charge of the investigation."

"Do you expect me to believe what's written here?"

"Yes, your honor, I do!  It's all true.  I have depositions and can produce
witnesses to prove it.  All of it."

The judge sighed, loudly.  "This is a good bit of work!  It says here that
these men are suspected of being part of a gang of organized pedophiles
that have produced pornography using boys between the ages of eight and
thirteen, mostly against their will, and have made this material available
for sale on the internet.  I expect that the RICO Act will get a workout!
You also state that you suspect that some of these boys have disappeared
and you have reason to believe . . . that they may have been MURDERED?  Is
this true?"

"Yes, it is, your honor.  We have a confession concerning one murder and we
expect others.  Investigations are still ongoing, but I expect them to be
wrapped up, very soon.  Arrests are pending."

Just then the seven men stood and began to charge for the door.  Since we
were sitting close to the door, my first concern was for Stevey.  As they
got closer to us, I jumped up and pulled Stevey up in front of me, away
from the door.  Seemingly from nowhere, but probably from the outer
hallway, several men in suits and uniforms jumped into the courtroom and
began to grab them, shouting at them.

A scuffle ensued where chairs were overturned and bedlam was rampant.  I
was holding Stevey tightly in front of me with my back to the turmoil.  As
it quieted, I looked up and saw that the judge was not on the bench and
officers had surrounded the defendants, putting them in handcuffs.  As the
noise settled down completely, the seven men who had been sitting only
fifteen feet from us were ushered in handcuffs down behind the judge's
bench and through a door, following right behind the defendants.

I breathed deeply as I looked into Stevey's terrified face then jumped as I
felt a gentle hand on my shoulder.  It was Andy!  Somehow he made his way
through the pandemonium to get between Stevey and me and the mayhem.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine.  We're fine, just scared half to death!"

I quickly scanned the courtroom for Paul.  His mother had just left Paul in
his seat and was stomping up to Andy.

"Agent Cooper!  Is this the kinda thing you wanted to put me through?  I
thought you said we'd be safe!"

Andy looked straight at her and bristled.  "You are!  Were you hurt?"

"No, but I coulda been!"

He put on a forced smile.  "That's not likely.  I had extra agents and
officers stationed right outside the door.  The security at the building
entrance assured us that they had no weapons.  They're now in Federal
custody.  You'll never know just how well protected you've been while you
were in this courtroom."

"Well!  I think we're gettin' the Hell outta here!"

I didn't like this woman.  I still don't.  While they were talking, I had
glanced at Stevey.  When his eyes met mine, I motioned for him to go to
Paul.  He quickly caught my meaning and slipped quietly behind the chairs,
across the gallery, and sat beside Paul.  They began to talk, quickly, with
Paul stealing furtive glances at his mother.  Since she had her back to
him, and I would make sure to distract her, they had some time to talk.

As she was about to turn back toward her son, I said, "Mrs. Abbott, how has
Paul been?"

She raised an eyebrow at me and said, "Just fine, no thanks to you and your
friends!"

"My friends rescued him from his kidnappers!"

"Well, I wish they'da kep' `im!"

"How can you say that?  He's your son!"  The words escaped my mouth before
I could think!

She narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at me.  "If you know'd what I
know about `im, you wouldn't ask!"

"What could be so bad that his own mother wouldn't want him?"

She studied my face for a moment then spat at me, "Last Sunday night he
tol' me an' my ol' man that he's a queer!  He's a friggin' FAGGOT!  That's
the thanks I git for givin' `im birth and sweatin' over `im all these
years!"

In spite of my immediate impulse to vomit on her, I forced myself to appear
calm with a slight smile on my face.  As calmly as I could, I said, "Oh, is
THAT all?  I thought you were about to tell me he robbed a bank or hurt
someone.  From what I can see, he's a good boy.  I'd be PROUD to have him
for my son!"

As I stole a glance over her shoulder, I could see two terrified sets of
eyes peering over the back of their seats, watching us.  They could hear
every word of our heated conversation.  Andy was watching, apparently in
stunned silence.

She flushed slightly then apparently thinking she would call my bluff,
attacked me by jabbing her finger in my chest and saying, "You think so?
Well, if you want `im, you can have `im!  Him and his four brothers're
eatin' us outta house and home!  We had him to a doctor and two
psychiatrists, but they all say they cain't do nothin' with `im!  I gotta
appointment with our minister tomorrow, but he's just as worthless!  It's
bad `nuff to have to pour good money into his good for nothin' mouth, but
this!  If you think you can do somethin' with `im, then you're welcome to
`im!"

I couldn't let it rest.  I had to press her further.  "Mrs. Abbott," I
said, still forcing myself to appear calm, "if I thought you were the least
bit serious, I'd have the papers drawn up and in your hands by the end of
the day."

She actually smiled at me!  It was an evil smile, but still, it was a
smile!

"Okay, buster, yer on!  You git them papers to me and we'll sign `em!"
Before I could stop her she glanced back over her shoulder at Paul.  After
a brief glare, she looked back at me and said, "If y'don't have them papers
to me tonight, I'll git you arrested for kidnappin'!"

I knew that wouldn't be possible, so I wasn't the least bit frightened
until she spun and stomped toward Paul and Stevey.  I almost leapt after
her to keep her away from them.  As she leaned down to grab her purse, Paul
recoiled to keep his distance from her.  She growled at Paul, "See that man
over there?  Yer HIS worry now!"  With that, she turned and stomped out of
the courtroom, never looking back.

After she had disappeared through the doorway and was out of hearing range,
Andy slowly whispered, one word at a time, "What - a - fucking - bitch!"

I shared an incredulous look with Andy and said, "That's an
understatement!"

Stevey immediately grabbed Paul and held him tightly while Paul burst into
tears.  I have tremendous difficulty believing that a mother could give up
her son so readily and over something as insignificant as being gay! Even
if she did have four other sons, how could she do such a thing?  The only
thing I can imagine is that she's completely bereft of love or compassion.

I quickly moved to where I could kneel next to Paul, rubbing his back.
"Paul?" I whispered, "Do you remember me?"

He looked at me and blinked several times then nodded, sniffling.

"Do you think you might want to live with me?"

He glanced at Stevey and nodded at me as he wiped his eyes with his
fingers.  "Stevey says you're r-really c-cool.  Are you sure you want me?
I'm g-gay, y'know."

I leaned into him to hug him.  I whispered, "Yes, I know.  It wouldn't
matter to me if you were green.  Besides, I'm gay, too.  Stevey's brother,
Tim, is my partner.  You're a good kid.  I can tell.  I would love for us
to be your dads."

"DADS?"  Did I just say, "DADS?"  Certainly it had occurred to me that it
would be nice to have been a father, but never could I have imagined that I
would ever make it happen!  OH, MY, GOD!  WHAT'S TIM GOING TO SAY?  Paul
was still looking at me, weeping.  I hope he can't read my thoughts!

"Really?  You're really gay, too?  Steve didn't tell me you were gay."
Then he thought for a moment.  "I wouldn't have to, like, do anything would
I?  I mean . . ."

"No, no!  Paul, let me reassure you, Tim and I would be your dads and only
your dads!  Anything else just wouldn't be right!  It'll be your job to be
yourself and grow up as healthy and strong as you can."

He nodded, apparently satisfied.  "But, why would you want ME?" he
whimpered.  It almost broke my heart!

I smiled, sadly.  "I've always wanted to be a father, and now I can be one!
I didn't get to raise you from a baby, but I can give you a good life.  If
there's anything I can do to help you grow up to be a good person, I'll do
it.  There's an awful lot we need to talk about; after all, we hardly know
each other, but we've got time for that, later."  I smiled at him then
noticed Stevey and Andy both watching me, smiling.  I cleared my throat
then asked, "Okay then, so you're coming to live with me?  Are you sure
that's what you want?"

"Yeah!" he breathed.  "That's what I want."

Stevey's face split with a smile.  "Kewl!  Way kewl!  You can sleep in my
room!"

Paul's jaw dropped.

I intervened.  "Whoa!  Wait a minute!  We'll discuss that later!  Let's
just say for now that there are plenty of bedrooms to go around!  Paul will
have his own room!  Anything else is up for discussion.  Right, Stevey?"

"Yeah, okay," he said as if I'd chastised him.

Turning to Paul, I explained, "What Stevey probably hasn't told you yet is
that he's staying in my house, temporarily."

Paul lit up like a Christmas tree!  "NO SHIT?  I mean, REALLY?"

I laughed.  "Really!  For right now, though, there's some information I
need.  Can you tell me your mom's and your dad's full names?"  I pulled out
one of my business cards and began to write his answers on the back.

"Okay.  Mom's name is Mary Sue Abbott and Dad's is Terry Evan Abbott."

"What's your address?"

I wrote that down, too.

"Okay, and what's YOUR full name?"

"It's Charles Paul Abbott.  People call me by my middle name."

I smiled and grabbed him into a hug then whispered, "My name's Geoffrey
Alan Stewart.  I go by my middle name, too."

He looked at me with his gray-green eyes in disbelief.  He whispered,
"Really?  That's . . . so totally awesome!"

Without thinking, I reached up and ran my fingers through his dark brown
hair.  I hadn't noticed until that moment just how incredibly handsome he
is!  Outside of a few freckles on his nose and two angry looking pimples on
his left cheek, his skin is smooth and clear.  His best features are
probably his tiny nose and his full, pouty lips.

I smiled into his eyes.  "Now, I've got to make a couple of phone calls.
Stay right here with Stevey and Andy, and I'll be right back."  I stepped
out into the corridor, pulled my cell phone out like a six-shooter, and
speed dialed Carl.  He answered on the first ring.

"Alan!  What's up?"

"I've got an emergency for you.  This has got to be done ASAP!"  I quickly
explained about the conversation with Paul's mother and how I needed for
him to put together the paperwork to let me adopt Paul then I gave him all
the names.

Carl quickly explained that he'd have to prepare not only adoption papers,
but guardianship papers and another document where Paul's parents would
give up all parental rights.  "It's a bit of a gamble, because if the court
decides not to grant his adoption, he could become a ward of the court.
But, I know some people, so we probably won't have a problem.  We'll see."

"He'll be better off anywhere but where he is now.  Can you get it all
together by five?"

"No problem."

Those were two of the most beautiful words I'd heard all day!  "Great!
Thanks, Carl.  I owe you!"

"Yeah, I know.  I'll collect, some day."

"You do every month!"

He chuckled.  "Yeah, I do, don't I?"

"Yeah.  Now get busy and earn it!"  I hung up.  Now I had to break the news
to my partner!  I quickly punched his number in to speed dial him.

"This is Tim Smith."

"You sure sound sexy on the phone!"

"Who is this?"  (I could hear his smile!)

"You'd BETTER know who it is!"

He laughed, hysterically!

"Okay, Mister Comedian!  You even laugh sexy!  I've got something serious
to discuss with you.  How do you feel about being a father to a thirteen
year-old?"

"You mean Stevey?  I thought we were already doing that."

"No, this is a little different.  I'll explain in more detail later, but we
need to adopt Paul, Stevey's friend.  He's a good kid.  I can sense it."

"Well, I don't mind.  We're getting quite a family together, aren't we?"

I had to chuckle.  "Yes, you're right about that.  But it's not because we
planned it.  Maybe we should write a new chapter for `Planned Parenthood.'"

This time he chuckled.  "Yeah, right!  OH!  I almost forgot!  Bill told me
he needs to talk to you.  Something about some guy investigating the
company."

"What?  Is it one of our clients?"

"I don't think so.  I got the impression it's someone else.  Anyway, Bill
said he needs to talk to you right away.  I told him you'd be in court this
morning, but I'd tell you to call him if I heard from you.  Hang on, I'll
transfer you."

"NO!  Tim, I can't talk to him right now!  I've got to go back inside.
I'll talk to him later."

"Okay, I'll tell him.  So, what's happened so far?"

"I'll fill you in, later.  This has been one of the most unusual days I've
ever had."

"Uh, Alan?  You're having quite a lot of those lately, aren't you?"

I smiled at his astute observation.  "Yeah, that's a fact.  I'll see you at
home.  Love you, Angel!"

He whispered, "Love you, too!"  I could hear him smiling again.  Soooo
sexy!

As I stepped back into the courtroom, I looked around to see who was there
and where everyone was.  THIS time I was definitely going to watch our
backs!  This time the only ones in the gallery were Stevey, Paul, Andy, and
a couple of guys in suits that looked like they might be FBI.  Stevey, Paul
and Andy were sitting together behind the prosecutor's table.  I sat next
to Andy and asked, "Are those guys agents?"

He looked back at each of them then nodded at me, silently.

"Good," I whispered.

The defendants (still in handcuffs), their attorneys and the prosecutor
came back in and sat down, and then we genuflected for the judge as he
returned.  He gaveled us into our seats then said, "There will be no charge
for the entertainment a few moments ago.  I understand a good many arrest
warrants are being served at this moment in several cities in Texas and in
other states.  I want to thank Agent Cooper for having the foresight to
have extra security on hand in this courtroom."  He nodded at Andy who
smiled and nodded back.

"All right, then.  If there are no other arguments, I will proceed to
render a decision on bail. . . .  There being no further arguments or
motions, bail is denied!  The defendants will be held in Federal custody,
in isolation, to await trial."  He hammered his point home with his gavel
and immediately left the courtroom.

As soon as the judge had disappeared, the defendants were quickly whisked
away.  I turned to Andy and said, "I'm impressed!  Arrest warrants all over
Texas and in other states?  This must be very big!"

He raised his eyebrows and nodded.  In a low voice, he said, "Alan, you
have no idea.  This is the same group I've been chasing since I was at
Quantico.  I traced my friend's killers here.  My big break was getting a
solid link between Stevey's abuser and these kidnappers.  We got a murder
confession out of Domitre Khirchov, that's the guy Stevey knew as `Doug,'
and Gabe Young, the younger of the alleged kidnappers, has been singing
like a canary.  I think he'd sell out his sainted grandmother to stay out
of prison!"  Andy gave a satisfied chuckle.

I looked at Stevey, who was listening intently, then back at Andy.  "So,
it's over?"

"Not quite yet.  The ring is broken, but there'll be those who'll escape
arrest today.  We'll stay on them until we pick them up.  And I expect that
there will be those who step in to fill the void left by this sweep.  There
will always be those who prey on children to serve the perverted desires of
the few.  You want to know the worst thing about it all?"  He paused as I
watched a strong emotion rolled across his face.  His eyes clouded as he
whispered, "I'll always have a job.  I made a promise and I'm keeping it."

I wanted to wrap him in a hug, but knew that I shouldn't, at least not in
front of his fellow agents.  So I did the next best thing.  I put one hand
on his shoulder and shook his hand as warmly as I could.  I whispered,
"Andy, you're one very special man."

He breathed deeply and said, "Thanks, Alan."

I looked down into the expectant eyes of my two patient charges.  "Well,
boys, I think it's time to go home."

Andy volunteered, "We'll walk you out."

I smiled at him and said, "Thanks."

We got into the Suburban, uneventfully, thanks no doubt to our Federal
protectors!  Since they finally had some privacy, Stevey and Paul snuggled
together in the narrow passenger seat.  While I drove toward home, I called
Bill at the office.

"Alan!  How'd it go?"

"Perfectly!  They're being held without bail and arrests are being made all
over the state and then some.  You won't believe what you'll probably see
on the news tonight!  Now, tell me what this investigation is about."

"It's not an investigation as much as this guy wants to invest in the
company."

"You know how I am about the company!  I own it outright, and that's the
way it's staying!  Who is this guy, anyway?"

"That's the weird part.  I can't get any information on him.  He says his
name is Clarence O'Connell.  Either it's a false name, or he's extremely
powerful with a strong protective net.  I don't know what else it could
be."

"Do you have a number for him?"

"Yeah.  You ready?'

"Yeah.  Go ahead."  I punched the number into my cell as he gave it to me.
"Thanks, Bill.  I'll take care of this."

When I called the number, a voice said, "Hello, Mr. Stewart!  I was
wondering when you'd call."

I was immediately puzzled.  "How did you know it was me?  This number isn't
published and it's blocked from caller I.D."

"Oh, I have my ways, Mr. Stewart, or should I say, `Alan?'"

"Hmm.  You seem to know a lot about me."

He chuckled.  "Oh, I know EVERYTHING about you, Alan!  Everything!"

Why was I getting a distinctly cold chill down my spine?

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To be continued . . . .

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