quadriga1980
"
"Hey!" Josh protested good-naturedly. "That was one time."
Even Rachel laughed at that.
There was a knock on the door, and Josh, who was closest, let Dianna in.
"This is Dianna," I said. "She is the twins’ grandmother."
Rachels eyes widened. "Grandmother?" she asked. "But…"
Dianna smiled. "I really do enjoy that."
"Dianna, this is Rachel," I said, sending her the memory of the full afternoon.
She frowned a little and indicated we should go out onto the deck to talk. I followed her out.
"So," she said, "Now that you have her here, what are you going to do with her?"
"Do with her?" I asked, not understanding the question.
"Are you going to take her back to her family, add her to your harem, or just use her for occasional relief?" She seemed to be getting a little annoyed.
"Who pissed in your Cheerios?" I asked. "I don’t intend to ‘do’ anything with her, except give her a safe place to stay until she decides what she wants to do next."
"So, you didn’t bring her back here to…"
"You already saw the memory," I said wearily. "You know why I brought her back here."
"And her father?"
"That’s between them," I said. "If she asks my opinion, I’ll give it. But unless she does, then we’re not going to push her into anything. Maybe you can put your counsellor’s hat on and have a chat with her. It sounds like she has been through a lot."
"If she wants, I’ll talk to her," she said. "I’m not going to interpose myself without her wanting to speak to someone. It might be more beneficial for you to get her to speak to your university counsellor, though. She could act as a go-between for Rachel and her father."
That, I thought, was a good idea.
"Your actions with Mr. Jenkins were appropriate," she said. "Thank you for checking in before you did anything. Each time you do something like that, it adds ammunition to our cause. You are proving time and time again that you have good judgment, and yet don’t act without consulting whom they would consider to be your superiors. It all helps."
"Who are ‘they?’" I asked.
"It’s a long story," she said. "Sometime, I’ll tell it. But ‘they’ are the power - the decision-makers. They’re the ones who’ll ultimately decide whether any children you bear will have to wear amulets."
"I won’t be having children," I said, "unless I get a legally binding signed agreement from Maggie to say that won’t be the case."
"Accidents happen," she said. That caused me to pause. I hadn’t considered that. Given the amount of sex I had, low percentages weren’t quite the balm they were for most couples. I also considered the possibility of somebody ‘forgetting,’ rather than forgetting, to take their contraceptives.
"Neither of the girls would do that," she said, reading my aura as if reading my mind. But the seed had been sown. I needed to figure out a way to make sure.
I felt spikes of both curiosity and concern through the bond. The three of them had obviously felt my jolt of apprehension. They knew I was anxious, but didn’t know why.
Dianna shook her head. "Yet again I’ve made you doubt them. I’m sorry. I think I’d better go before I do any more damage." She went into the house, and I followed. She briefly embraced the girls in turn, and I saw her give Mary the memory of our discussion. Mary sighed and looked over at me, judging my mood.
She decided to speak to me about it right away. Taking my hand, she led me back out onto the deck, and then turned to face me.
"You know we would never do that to you," she said, "right?"
"I know," I said, "but they would. Who’s to say they don’t tamper with your pills upstream somewhere? You think you are taking contraceptives and they are feeding you fertility pills instead."
She looked stunned at that. "You think they would?" I noticed that there was no doubt in her mind that they could.
"I would put nothing past them," I said. "I need to find a way to be certain. I’m hoping that my healing training will give me some clues."
When we went back into the house, Rachel was sitting talking to Jules. She had gotten dressed in something. I presumed one of the girls had loaned her some clothes. I decided that at least one of us would take her out for some emergency shopping after dinner.
"Rachel?" I asked. "Are you ready to eat again?" It was probably only about an hour since she’d last eaten, but she had been very hungry. She smiled sheepishly, but nodded. I cooked dinner, and we ate.
After dinner, we went to the local hypermarket and told her to shop for what she needed. She went off with a cart, and when she met back up with us, there were less than half a dozen items in it. I looked at Amanda, and she took her in hand. After a while, they returned with the cart piled high.
It wasn’t designer stuff, but she now had her own underwear, a few pairs of jeans and T-shirts, PJs, a coat, shoes, and toiletries. There was even a smart blouse and suit set, presumably if she was going to look for work, and then a whole host of other feminine products that I didn’t want to get too involved in. Amanda had even picked her up a prepaid cell. Rachel looked on wide-eyed when the total – nearly eight hundred dollars - came up. I grinned inwardly, wondering if I could write the expenses off on my tax statement as a charitable donation. I handed over my card, typed in my pin, and we went home.
Amanda put Rachel in the room next to Jules’s workshop. It didn’t have an ensuite, but it was the closest of the empty rooms to the main bathroom.
When we got back, I made myself a snack, and Rachel had something too. Then we all sat in the living room chatting. I knew Amanda had an agenda when she’d bought Rachel that phone, but I was staying out of it.
"You should call your dad," Amanda said to Rachel, "if only to let him know you are alive and safe. I’ll bet he’s worried sick about you."
"I wouldn’t know what to say," said Rachel. "I know he would ask so many questions."
"How about this?" I offered. "Why not call Jamie? You could ask her to talk to your dad, tell him you’re safe and whole, and that maybe you will be in touch."
"I don’t know her number," said Rachel.
"I have her card," said Jules, and went to her room to retrieve it.
"You can tell her where you are if you want," I said, "but if you do, I’d guess your dad would be here in a heartbeat."
Rachel picked up her phone, but Jules said, "Wait, can I have your phone a sec?"
Rachel handed her the phone, and Jules spent a couple of minutes making some setting changes. She handed it back.
"Now it won’t send your number," she said. "That way Jamie can’t call you back, or give it to your dad. It will be up to you then when and if you decide to make contact."
Rachel smiled her thanks at Jules and made the call. She left it on speaker so we could all hear.
"Jamie Smythe speaking," Jamie answered. Rachel knew Jamie, but not well.
"Jamie, it’s Rachel," said Rachel. "Rachel Hamilton."
"Rachel!" exclaimed Jamie. "Where are you? Are you all right? Have you spoken to your dad? He’s worried sick. Do you want me to come to get you? Where are you?"
"Jamie," said Rachel, cutting off the tirade, "I just called to ask if you would let my dad know that I’m okay. I got in some trouble, but I’m with friends now and I’m safe and warm, and well-fed." She added that last with a look at me.
"Trouble?" asked Jamie. "What kind of trouble?"
"The kind that stupid girls with no sense get into," Rachel said bitterly. "It’s all sorted now, but I need some time before I am ready to speak to my father."
"Where are you staying?" Jamie asked.
"I’m staying with friends," Rachel said. "They say I can stay here as long as I need."
"Your dad spoke to all your friends," Jamie said. "They all said they hadn’t seen you. They were worried too."
"These are new friends; I haven’t known them long."
"And you’re sure they are okay with you staying there?"
"I’m sure. They even took me out and bought me a load of things. I lost all the stuff I took with me, including my phone."
"And what do they want in return?" she asked, rightly suspicious. "People don’t do things like that without wanting something."
"They are good people," Rachel said. "I’m certain they are exactly what they appear to be."
"How can I contact you?" asked Jamie. "For some reason, your number didn’t come up on my phone."
"That was kind of deliberate," Rachel replied. "I’ll call you. I’m not going to tell you when, because I don’t want you ambushing me with my dad, but I’ll call you at least every other day. Just tell Dad that I’m sorry. I’m okay, but I just need some time."
"If you need to talk," said Jaime, "I would be happy to spend some time with you."
"I might take you up on that," Rachel said. "I have to go. I’ll call you sometime in the next couple of days."
"Can I talk to one of your friends?" asked Jamie. Rachel looked at me and I shook my head.
"I’ll call you," said Rachel, and hung up the phone.
"She knows us all," I explained. "Speaking to us would have your father here in an instant."
I went to bed at my usual time, and when I woke up at four, I noticed that Jules was not with us.
I walked to Jules’ room, which was also empty. Rachel’s door was open, and I looked in to see if she was all right. She was asleep, Jules curled up protectively around her. I smiled.
Once again, a Compelled Josh and Louise joined us on our run, after which I made breakfast.
Rachel and Jules came to the table together.
"Morning," I said. "Sleep well?"
Rachel blushed. "I was a little scared," she admitted, "but then Jules came in, and after that, I slept like a baby."
"She gives great cuddles," I said, "doesn’t she?"
Jules came and demonstrated on me. "I missed you," she said.
"And I you," I replied. "I was a little worried when I woke and you weren’t there."
"Sorry, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing," she said.
I smiled at her.
Jules, Rachel, the twins, and I were eating breakfast when Lou came through for juice again. Predictably, she was naked.
Rachel watched her go to the fridge, get the juice and walk back. Louise gave her a wink as she left. Rachel blushed.
"Ignore her," I said. "She does it for attention."
"Any thoughts on what you might do today?" I asked as we got ready to leave for uni.
"I could clean up for you?" she said.
"You don’t need to do anything," I said. "Besides, the cleaner comes today. Her name is Denise, and she usually gets here sometime around lunchtime. You just need to chill, maybe watch some TV. There’s plenty of food in the fridge if you are hungry."
I gave her my phone number in case she needed anything.
The morning went as mornings do, and I got to sit through a whole class. In-class participation had become the one highlight, and I particularly enjoyed it when my ethics lectures gave way to a back-and-forth between several students and the professor.
After lunch, I went to see the wrestling coach. It wasn’t a conversation I’d been looking forward to.
"Hey coach," I said.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I’m good. Listen I…"
"Caleb," he interrupted. "Before you say what I think you are going to say, hear me out. I can’t lose you from the team. It would be bad enough to lose you as captain, but you are the best we have had for a long time. We have a contest coming up with NYU in a month, and if we lose you, then we may as well not even bother showing up."
"I just have so much on my plate at the moment," I said. "Something has to give."
"Such as?" he asked.
I paused for a moment, scanning down a list of things I couldn’t tell him.
"You know I want to get into law enforcement," I said.
"Exactly!" he said. "Wrestling shows you can handle yourself and…"
"I’ve been practicing martial arts," I said. "I’m up at four every morning. Then I run. Then I come to uni. I started a hypnotherapy business. I need the cash, and that is taking up a lot of my time, and also, I’m consulting with the FBI. I have three girls at home that I don’t get to spend enough time with, and it’s just too much."
"How about this?" he offered. "Drop the captaincy, then you only really need be here maybe once every other week. Most of the trainings are just PT, after all. If you are training martial arts and running every morning, you don’t need them. Just until the NYU match. Please?"
I sighed. "Fine," I said. "But after NYU, I’m going to have to quit."
He grinned. I saw the thought clearly in his mind that there was another tournament six weeks after NYU, and that he was certain he could string me along for that one too. He knew that nothing was as addictive as winning. He would attack me when I won my bout against NYU and get me to agree to the next one. Eventually I would get wise to it, but he guessed he could get another three, maybe four tournaments out of me before I did.
I had a couple of people to see regarding their weight loss and so I made my way to their appointments. Afterwards, as was waiting in the parking lot for the girls, five teens approached me. In the middle was Jasper Green.
I pulled out my phone and started the video app, balancing it on the hood of the car. I walked forward to meet them.
"Not so cocky now, are you?" asked Jasper from the middle of the pack.
"Boys," I said, "whatever it is you have in mind to do, you don’t want to do it. Jasper already got himself arrested and expelled. Do you want to go the same way?"
"They don’t even study here," said Jasper.
"Then they," I said, "and you, are trespassing. You need to leave the grounds."
I circled around a little so the camera on my phone would have a good view of what went on. With five on one, I wasn’t going to take any chances. I could have easily immobilised them all, but that would have given away my powers. I was certain I could deal with Jasper’s cut-rate crew without using them.
"We’re going to make you wish you never met that little freak," said one of the other boys.
"I already do," I said, "but I’m surprised Jasper lets you call him that." I gave a half smile, already in my ‘ready’ position.
I knew that Jasper wouldn’t be the first to attack. I had already shown him that he was no match for me. He would wait until I was engaged with one, two, or even more of the other boys, and then try to blindside me. His problem, although he didn’t know it, was that I would know he was there and what he was doing, even if my back was to him.
"I didn’t mean…" retorted the one who had spoken, but he realised he was just making the situation worse.
"Fucking smart mouth," said the biggest of the group. "Let’s see how smart it is when it’s got no fucking teeth."
I faked a yawn. "Are you guys for real?" I asked. "This isn’t the school playground. You came here for a reason. Either get to it or go away. You’re boring…"
Two of them rushed me as I was still speaking. I had expected it. The first caught a punch to his throat. The second had time to take a swing, which I blocked before planting my knee in his groin. That always was my favourite shot. It was almost a guaranteed putdown if you got it right, and I’d well and truly committed it to muscle memory.
While I’d been dealing with that pair, the biggest had circled. He came at me from the rear. He walked into my back kick, which knocked the wind out of him, before a spinning kick to the head put him down and out. That left Jasper and one other. Jasper had pulled a knife, and his buddy had an iron bar which he had had secreted somewhere. The other three were still on the floor.
Jasper and his friend decided to go wide and attack from opposite sides. Tactically, it was a good decision, although it posed no real challenge. As they came in, I moved quickly for Jasper, making the conscious decision to break the arm holding the knife. He screamed. I then spun us both around and he caught the iron bar on his shoulder. His friend had swung wildly, fully committing, and didn’t have time to ease up or redirect. I think it broke Jasper’s collar bone. I pushed Jasper out of the way, and before the bar wielder could regroup, I stepped in and drove my forehead into his face, smashing his nose. He dropped the bar and dropped to his knees, stunned, blood streaming down his face.
I went back to the car, picked up my phone and dialled nine-one-one. I also texted Dianna.
_Just been attacked in uni car park. Five youths, two armed with knife and iron bar. No powers used.
_you okay?
I just sent back a smiley face emoji.
Less than two minutes later, I heard sirens, and a minute later a police cruiser screeched to a halt in the parking lot. Two officers got out. They looked at the five boys on the ground, and immediately called for EMTs.
"Turn around and put your hands on the car," one officer said, his hand on the butt of his weapon.
I complied. I could hear another siren approaching.
"Put your hands behind your back."
I did that too. Handcuffs were applied. I was patted down by the officer and then turned around to face him. I saw then, that the second siren I had heard was that of a black SUV that was just pulling into the parking lot. The officer who had cuffed me looked around to see what was going on.
"What are the feds doing here?" he asked his partner.
"I called them," I said. "If you look in my back left pocket you’ll see my ID."
He reached around me, pulled out my ID and opened it.
"Seriously?" he asked. "You’re that guy?"
"What guy?" I asked.
"Davis and Maine told us about you," he said. "You helped them grab that pedo at the mall."
"Yes," I said. "That was me."
"Turn around," he said. "I’ll unhook you."
I brought my hands to the front and handed him his handcuffs. He gave me a sour look.
"Officer," said agent Garraway. "Why is – er, was - he in handcuffs?"
I gave him a smile. "I was just telling this officer that if he checks my phone there, he should see a recording of what went on."
"Oh," said Andrew. "Okay then."
"Jeez," said the officer as they watched the recording. "Debs said you were like The Mentalist, now you’re The Karate Kid?"
At that point the EMTs arrived and started to triage the boys.
I had been right. Jasper did have a broken collar bone, and the two bones in his lower arm were also broken. All the boys were arrested.
"Charge them with assault on a federal agent," said agent Garraway, but I intervened.
"They didn’t know," I said. "I didn’t even know I was, to be honest. I thought I was just a consultant. I never identified myself has having anything to do with the FBI."
"As long as you have that ID," he said, "you get the same protections we do. You should have identified yourself, though, so on this occasion it will just be plain assault, and assault with a deadly weapon."
A couple more ambulances turned up. It seemed that they were only able to carry a maximum of two people per vehicle, and they all needed to go to hospital. Three more cruisers turned up also, since each ambulance had to have a police officer.
Debs and Steve got out of one of the cruisers.
"Caleb," Debs called out, hustling over to me. "You okay?"
"Is he okay?" asked the officer who had cuffed me. He handed her my phone, and she and Steve watched the recording.
I saw Debs flush, and heard her thought: "That is so hot."
An EMT came over to me. "You have blood on your face," he said. "Can I look?"
"I don’t think it’s mine," I said. "The guy with the busted nose."
"Let me check anyway," he said, using some damp gauze to clean it away. "Nope, you’re good."
It was while he was cleaning my face that the girls arrived.
"CALEB!!!" yelled Amanda, rushing across the parking lot. "Are you all right?"
I pulled her into a hug. "I’m fine," I said. "Just got a little blood on me is all. It’s not mine."
"You didn’t...?" she asked. I understood. She wanted to know if I’d overexerted myself using my powers.
"Not at all," I said, and sent her and the others the memory of the fight.
Jules was furious, and devastated. "Caleb, I’m so sorry," she said, clinging to me next to Amanda.
"It’s not your fault," I said. "You can’t be held responsible for every nut that gets fixated on you. You’re only responsible for this nut that is fixated on you." I pulled her in close.
I gave a statement to the officer who was first on scene, and I sent him a copy of the recording. Then we were allowed to leave.
Josh, Louise and Rachel were sitting in the living room when we got home.
"I heard you had a scuffle," said Josh. "You okay?"
"Fine," I said. "All that martial arts training paid off."
"What happened?" asked Louise. I thought it would be easier to show them the video, so I beamed the recording to the smart TV and we all watched it again.
"Did you break his arm deliberately?" asked Jules. I winced. I had, but I didn’t want her to know that. I had already decided, though, that I wouldn’t lie to her.
"Yes," I admitted.
"Good," she said. "He deserved it. And all of us just heard you say that you definitely didn’t do it on purpose."
My phone pinged, and I read another email. I had another appointment with the dean, at eight thirty the following the morning.
I sighed. "I’m sorry, Rachel," I said, "but your old man can be a real pain in the ass."
She giggled. "You’re telling me?"
Once more, I cooked, and we ate. Rachel, even in such a short time, was starting to fill out again, and had a very attractive figure. After dinner, Jules sat on my lap.
"I need a favour," she said.
"Anything," I said. I could tell it had something to do with Rachel, as, although she was looking away, she was listening in intently. I trusted Jules not to ask for something I wouldn’t do.
"Can Rachel sleep with us tonight?" she asked. "Just to sleep. She doesn’t want to be alone, and I missed being with you guys. The other girls are fine with it, but I wasn’t sure if you would be."
"Give her the autonomic nervous system warning," I said, "and if she is okay with it, then it’s fine by me."
Jules giggled, and went to deliver the news. After a few minutes I heard Rachel giggle too.
I went to bed at my usual time.
When I woke, Rachel was curled up against me. Jules was behind her. Mary was on my other side and Amanda spooned her.
I looked down at Rachel. She was pretty: a cute face framed by short brown hair. It was only after I had been watching her for a minute or so that I realised her eyes were open, and she was regarding me.
"Good morning," I said.
"Hi," she said. "What time is it?"
"Around four," I said. "Did I wake you?"
"I guess," she said. "I was dreaming, and I think I felt you looking at me."
I didn’t ask what she had been dreaming about. I wasn’t sure if she had even noticed, but I did: I, as usual, had morning wood. She was holding onto it - granted, through my shorts, but her grip was firm.
"It’s time for me to get up," I said. "You go back to sleep."
"Okay," she said, and closed her eyes.
"Rachel?" I said, and she opened them again. "You’re going to need to let go."
She glanced down and saw what it was she was gripping. She pulled her hand away as if she had been scalded.
"I am so sorry," she said.
"Hey," I said, "we all have autonomic nervous systems."
I slid out of bed and began my day.
I was making breakfast when Rachel came into the kitchen.
"I’m sorry about before," she said, blushing. "I don’t know what I was dreaming about, but…"
"It’s no problem," I said. "I sleep with three girls every night. If any of us got upset if a hand, or any other body part, got into a spot it probably shouldn’t, then we’d spend all our time arguing. Just as you took the chance of getting my morning wood poking you, I took the chance of you grabbing onto something. It’s all good."
"It’s not that I don’t…" she began.
"Rachel," I interrupted gently, "I told you when we brought you here: nobody would ask you to do anything you didn’t want to do. You are safe here."
"But what if I did?" she asked.
"Then we could discuss that," I said, "after you have spoken to either Dianna or Jamie."
"Why after?" she pressed.
"Because you have been through a lot," I said, "and sometimes, when that happens, your emotions and feelings get all mixed up. I’m not taking advantage of a confused young woman. Also, you know that Jules, Amanda, Mary, and I are together, and there is another girl in the mix also. We’re not looking to add to our family. I’m not trying to be cruel; I’m just letting you know. When you have your head straight, if you still want to, we can play together, but it is very unlikely to lead to anything else."
"I know," she said. "Amanda told me. But it’s been so long, and I just thought…"
"After you speak to someone," I said. "You’re vulnerable, and beautiful, and sexy, and I would in a heartbeat, but I can’t until I know you are all right."
"Will you do me a favour?" she asked. "Will you ask Jamie if she can come over and speak to me tonight after she finishes? If that’s okay, I mean."
"Of course it is."
I went to the dean’s office as soon as I arrived. It was becoming a routine, and I did not care for it. Once again, my head of year and Jamie were there. There were no police, so I marked that as an improvement.
"Mr. Stott." The dean sounded a lot less sonorous.
"Dean," I responded.
"I heard about what happened yesterday evening," he said. I was waiting for the censure, but he actually managed to surprise me. "And I must apologise on behalf of the university. Campus security should have stopped those boys before they even got close, and the only reason you weren’t seriously hurt was your own capabilities. One of my students got attacked on my campus on my watch, and I’m sorry."
For a moment, I was at a loss for words. "It’s a big campus," I said. "They can’t be everywhere. Since Jasper knew the place, he would have known how to avoid them. It wasn’t your fault, nor campus security. And if there was ever any question, I had no intention of taking any kind of action against the university regarding it."
"Thank you," he said, sounding a little surprised. "I’ll admit that was a concern. After what you said yesterday, I was sure that you would."
"I was feeling a little ‘victimised’ yesterday," I said. "After the ‘misunderstanding’ around the exams I thought there was something personal going on. When I feel under attack, I come out swinging. I apologise for that."
He chuckled. "You certainly did that. We have the CCTV of you in the parking lot. I have a feeling some of the security crew watched it more than once. Anyway, I just wanted to apologise, and hopefully clear the air between us?"
"That would be nice," I said. "Counsellor, can I have a word later today please?"
Jamie looked startled. "I’m all booked up today. Can it wait until tomorrow?"
"Not really," I said. "Can I take five minutes of your time at the end of the day? I promise what I have to say will be quick."
"Very well," she said. "My office at four-fifteen then."
I spent the day in lectures, then lunch and then more lectures.
When it came to the ethics lecture the professor had somewhat of a surprise for me. As I entered the room, he called me to his desk.
"I would like to discuss with the class, the ethics of what happened yesterday," he said quietly, "The ethical point I will be discussing will be your option of a pre-emptive strike. Would you be okay with that?"
I nodded. He thanked me and sent me back to my desk.
Obviously, my adventures the previous day had garnered some attention, and the lecturer had a copy of the CCTV, which he showed to the class.
"At what point," the lecturer asked the class, "would Mr. Stott have been justified in administering a pre-emptive strike?" We argued it back and forth for most of the lesson.
"There is one other question that I would like you to go away and consider," he said. He showed the place where I had broken Jasper’s arm. "That could be considered excessive force, especially if breaking the arm was done deliberately. I would like you all to consider that and write me your response for next time."
He had blindsided me with that one, and I wondered what his reaction would be if I wrote in my response that I had indeed decided to deliberately break Jasper’s arm. I knew I wasn’t going to confess to it in writing, but I started considering how I might tease out a defense regardless.
I arrived at Jamie’s office exactly at four fifteen. She was waiting for me.
"Okay Caleb," she said. "What was it that couldn’t wait until during office hours tomorrow?"
"I was asked to ask if you could spare an hour to come and speak to someone at my house," I replied.
"It would be highly inappropriate for me to visit a student’s offsite home," she said. "Who asked you?"
"Rachel Hamilton," I said.
Her eyes widened for a moment, and then "Of fucking course" spilled out of her mind.
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