Mile High

By Willy B

Published on Aug 22, 2000

Gay

Mile High Part 2-2

Chris quickly strode out into the cool Wednesday afternoon. Michael was coming home today, would arrive in a couple of hours. It had been all he, Kel, Steve, and the others had talked about that day and it didn't help that the last class had seemed to never want to end.

He glanced up into the cloudless crystal blue sky and could just shake his head. Texas weather! If you don't like it? Wait ten minutes! He couldn't believe it had ever snowed just a few days ago. The temperatures were already in the seventies, the sun was so bright it hurt to look outside, and the cool dry air would make your lips dry and chap, just walking. Their short spring was here; all too soon it would be in the nineties and hundreds again. He sighed quietly; if he could bottle this weather, he'd make a fortune.

He sneezed suddenly. Well, at least he was finally over whatever he'd had. An occasional sneeze was the only lingering after-effect his flu, or cold, or whatever it had been, had left him. Steven was the one suffering through it now. Either that, or the grass was working overtime!

"Ah..Chooo!" Steve made his presence known to everybody in the county as his body shuddered with the effort. "Damn! This is all your fault!" Steve smiled to take the sting out of his accusation. "I'm ready to go. Where's that little sonofabitch you think you're in love with?"

"Kel?" Chris smiled back. Steve had complained that morning, when Chris had picked him up in the old Jeep, that his head was still spinning after the flight he been subjected to on his birthday that Sunday. It hadn't helped that Kel just squeezed into the back, smirking. "He'll be here in a minute. He wanted to talk to the coach about the meet."

"Yeah, well, your worse half had better show up soon." Steve quickly glanced up, shielding his eyes. "I don't want to be late."

"We'll have plenty of time," Chris smiled back at his team captain, who'd grown into a real friend. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"Worry about what?" Kelvin interjected as he swaggered his way up to his friend and the person he loved. Chris quietly put his hand up to cover his mouth to hide his expression. He didn't know if it was the change in the weather or what, but his boyfriend had been full of himself the last two days. Kel was reminding him of some of the small Banty fighting roosters the Mexicans who worked around the airport had shown him when he was younger. "What is there to worry about?"

"Your flying for one," Steve grimaced dramatically as they started for Chris's green Willys. He jerked his thumb at Chris, "And his driving."

"What's wrong with my driving?" Chris cast a hurt look Steve's way that quickly dissolved into a grin. "I just thought I'd drive us today. It's too pretty to ride around with a top."

"That part I don't mind," Steve mumbled. "It's not having sides or a front that I'm worried about. That and your brake checks. Ah, forget it. I'm just a bad passenger."

"Shit!" Chris breathed out and sighed. "Why bother leaving the windshield up? Besides, you said you were hungry this morning."

"Ah, so that's why you found every bug this morning." Steve started to run his tongue across his teeth to make his point.

"Just extra protein." Kel smiled back at the two and turned his head to spit out a long stream of brown liquid.

"Hold it!" Chris stopped to stare at his lover, spinning him around. He quickly glanced down to see the telltale circular imprint of a small can squeezed into the tight back pocket of Kel's painted-on jeans. "When did you start with that shit again? I thought you'd quit!"

He wasn't happy at seeing his boyfriend with the trademark brand of a Texas country boy displayed on his ass. The last time he'd seen Kelvin with any tobacco in his mouth was the year before he'd left the last time. Kelvin had been doing his best to be the `cowboy' along with his older brothers at the time. He had no idea how Kel had gotten it. James Jr. had been the one to supply it last time.

"Get rid of it!" Chris scowled as he climbed behind the wheel, watching Steve and Kel get themselves arranged in the remaining space. He'd have to talk to Kelvin about his falling back into a long forgotten bad habit. An idea slowly began to dawn. If Kel was nervous enough to project this new `tough guy' image, maybe going to the dance was a bad idea after all. "I'm not cleaning that shit off."

Kel felt his face burning furiously as he swept a finger through his cheeks, dumping the chew onto the ground. He swirled his saliva quickly around and spit one last time before he settled down into the back seat. He didn't know what to tell Chris. It was obvious his boyfriend was pissed off at him and, truth be told, he really didn't know why he'd bought the stuff.

In the past it had just been one more thing the ranchers' kids did that seemed to say, `Don't mess with me or your ass is grass and I'm the lawnmower'. He really had never liked it though, even when he and his brothers had done it before. The quick jolt of the nicotine to his system had been fun and strangely calming, but he'd quit even before his mom and dad had finally put an end to it when they'd found all the coke cans, with the tops opened up to use as spittoons, scattered around the garage.

"I should have driven today," Steve interjected into the uncomfortable silence that had descended. "At least I've got'a radio."

"I could sing to you." Kel forced a quick smile at Steve while his eyes lingered on the back of Chris's blond head.

"Naw," Chris drawled, his displeasure quickly dissolving. "Someone might call the SPCA."

"The SPCA?" Kel's smile relaxed into its normal position. They never could stay mad at each other even if they wanted to. Things were quickly returning to normal.

"Yeah." Chris's smile broke into a grin again. His own reaction had been stupid. He didn't own Kelvin. He loved him! "They might think we're strangling cats or something."

Kel's smile broadened as he joined in the laughter. Actually, he figured Chris had more trouble carrying a tune than he did, but was willing to accept his jibe as another of their peculiar ways of stating their love. The decision to go to the dance, that had seemed so easy at the time, had strained them in many unspoken ways. Maybe that was why he now had a can of Skoal poking him in the ass when deep down he didn't want it. It was just an old rebellious pattern that had seemed to match what they were going to do.

"See, I told you we'd get here in time." It was Chris's turn to strut a little as he pulled his goggles down around his neck. The others silently untangled themselves and quickly followed his retreating form. The trip to the terminal had been leisurely and uneventful until they'd run into the street repair crew near the airport, but thankfully there weren't any fences to impede their progress when the old Jeep had been guided across the adjacent fields to the terminal.

"No comment!" Kel smiled through his dusty features. He knew Chris had his own crazy streak, but this was something new. He guessed they all needed to blow off a little steam.

"Like I said...," Steve finished brushing himself off and slipped through the doors to begin their short wait, "...his flying, your driving!"

"Well, let me check and see if they've called in yet." Chris quickly excused himself before Steve could get cranked up, and directed them to one of the couches. "Be right back."

"So, you sure you want to tell him his dad is working?" Steve glanced at Kel as they settled into the corner of the lobby.

"Yep," Kelvin smiled back evilly. Actually, Mike's dad and mom were busy with the `welcome' preparations at their home. "It's not really a lie."

"Yeah, right!" Steve glanced away. "Glad to know you're as cruel on the ground as you are in the air."

"Me?" Kel cast his `innocent' eyes upward. "I'm hurt. I don't have a cruel bone in my body!"

"Oh, God!" Steven let his head fall back as his laughter spoke volumes about his opinion.

"They're here!" Chris called out excitedly as he slipped out onto the ramp to park the sleek jet passing overhead.

"Howdy, hot stuff." The jet's co-pilot grinned as he watched Christopher blush through his dusty features. The kid looked like a reverse raccoon, with the pale circles around his eyes. "You keeping that cute ass of yours in line?" He chuckled to himself. The boy was taken but that didn't mean he couldn't tease him about the dynamics of their first encounter. Besides, the `boy' was just that, a boy, but it was fun anyway.

"John! Knock it off." Mr. Goldman slipped past his pilot, leading Michael by the hand, to exit into the cool day. He couldn't help but smile himself, though. "Stick to the recruits at the airbase. They're old enough!"

"Yeah, I'm keeping Kelvin in line," Chris mumbled in confusion at the old man's presence. He quickly extended his hand. "Sir?"

Chris's eyes slid over to Mike, who was looking around the ramp for his parents. His joy at being home seemed to fade with his smile as he didn't see them.

"Where are my mom and dad?" Mike craned his neck slightly as if the question itself would cause them to appear. He'd been sweating the whole trip back and now...! Now...? He felt his shoulders slump in defeat. Damn! This was his first time away from home and now he was back to receive? Nothing!

"They're both still at work," Kel guiltily stepped forward to embrace their obviously distressed friend. He almost blurted out the truth out of pity, but was glad when his embrace was joined by the others in his welcoming committee. He felt his guilt somewhat assuaged. "They asked us to pick you up."

"Ahhem," Mr. Goldman noisily cleared his throat. "Do you three think you could grab our bags?"

"You're staying?" Kel glanced nervously at the elderly lawyer, his father's godfather, as he reached for the suitcases the crew had unloaded from the front compartment.

"Yes, I am." The old man turned to hide his expression from the boys busily collecting his belongings. "After you told me what you two intended to do, I thought I may be of some help."

"Help?" Kelvin asked as they proceeded through the doors into the terminal. Chris had run ahead to make sure the black Lincoln Mr. Goldman usually drove was ready, only to be shooed away by the rest of the employees to a round of `You're off the clock! We've got it!'s.

"Yes." The old lawyer smiled at his short, dark haired `Great-Godson'. Actually, he used to joke that he and Kelvin were of normal height and everybody else, over five six, were the mutants. "I can do things like smooth things out with the adults or make bail or whatever."

"Then you think this is a mistake too?" Kel quietly turned away. He'd had this conversation with his parents already and had battled with their wanting to protect him from what they considered a risk he and Chris weren't ready to handle, hadn't thought through. He thought he'd understood where they were coming from, but Chris had been shot, for Christ sake! What else was there to handle?

"I didn't say that," Mr. Goldman squared his shoulders before leading Kelvin to a quiet corner. "Christopher? Could you join us for a minute?"

He turned and waited calmly for Chris to join them, suddenly taken again by the sharp, clear blue eyes the tall youth presented him with. Although they were a different color, they reminded him of Paul's eyes so much. Even without the connection between their two families, he'd have been attracted to these two boys. He saw in them the same love and attraction that had kept Paul and himself lifelong lovers and companions.

"OK, you two. Now listen to me." The old man took a deep breath as he regarded the two together. "When you told me about attending a school dance in this closed minded small town you call home, I thought you two were crazy...but....," he quickly held up his hand, "...but...you aren't crazy. Just hopelessly in love with each other. So I'm here to lend my support, nothing more.'

He gently pulled the two together into his arms, feeling the heat flowing between the two lovers. "As you both enter that lion's den, my two Daniels, I want you both to know just how proud of you I am. What you are doing is taking more courage than it should have to...and if there is anything I can do to make you as happy as you deserve to be, I will."

"Now, go." He released the boys and, turning them, gave gentle shoves. "I'll join you later. Take Michael home."

Kelvin smiled, but still couldn't help but wipe his eyes a little as the four boys crammed themselves into the ancient Jeep. He slipped next to Chris as they let the two old friends arrange themselves into the back along with Mike's duffel. He looked back over his shoulder at Mike. "Hope you don't mind?"

"No. It's OK." Mike smiled wanly as he squirmed over. He really wanted to see his family again but now he didn't know if they really wanted him back like they said they did. They weren't here! "At least, now I know what a sardine feels like."

"OK, we ready now?" Chris started the Jeep and quietly started his hunt for first gear through the loose shifter.

"No! Wait!" Mike started as he rummaged to open his bag and reached inside. "I went to a Civil War reenactment in Gladwater last month and got y'all these when I joined." He genuinely smiled as he slipped the gray wool kepi onto his head, the single Texas star shining on the peak, and handed two others to the boys in the front seats. "And this one...," he turned and handed an identical blue one to Steve, "...is for my friend who decided to join the feds."

"God," Steve rolled his eyes as he snugged his gift securely on his head. "My great- great-granddad is going to haunt me for this."

"Thanks, Mike." Chris and Kel silently grinned at each other under the rebel gray as Chris quickly pulled the strap of his goggles up and covered his eyes. Mike's gifts fit their mood perfectly. They'd both need to scrub the bugs off their teeth this time.

"What do you mean, you joined?" Steve shot a quizzical look toward the forced grin Mike was showing. "Joined what?"

"A reenactor unit." Mike's smile subtly changed as it once again became genuine. "Terry's Texas Rangers. But I'll need a blue suit too!"

"Why?" Steve asked, amazed at Mike's new interest. Well, not new, exactly. They'd played war games ever since they'd met - which Mike usually won.

"In case they don't have enough guys to play `Yankees'," Mike grimaced slightly to gig his best friend's blue cap. "I need to be able to swing both ways."

"That shouldn't be any problem at all," Kel couldn't help but jump at such an obvious straight line. "You've been doing that for years!"

"OK, boys. Where's the battle?" The sheriff deputy cautiously approached the four, `reading' each one in turn before finally settling on the driver. He thought the two in front were unfortunately familiar, but had other business. "License, general," he quietly ordered the red faced young driver. It didn't help that his friends were grinning at him like he was the four year old caught with his arm in the cookie jar.

"Fred?" Mike asked the heavy-set man softly so as not to startle him. He couldn't help but let his grin grow wider as the look of recognition crossed the officer's face.

"Mike?" Fred dropped his clipboard to his side. "Good to see you, boy! When you get home?"

"Just now." Mike's smile diminished as his stomach turned over. "I can't wait to see Mom and Dad, but I guess they're working."

"They're not working." The officer looked quizzically at the other three boys as they cringed away. "They're both at home."

"You sonofabitch!" Mike yelled suddenly, his slap to the back of Kel's head echoed off the wall of the warehouse next to them. "You...you were just gon'a sit there and let me think.... Oww! Anybody tell you, `You have a hard head?'" Mike sat, fuming, quietly rubbing his fingers as the laughter from the others grew. He slowly let an evil glint come into his eyes. OK, they'd gotten him back for his pranks in the past, he thought, but this was far from over.

"OK. Everybody settle down!" Fred yelled sharply, then softened his tone once order had been restored to his satisfaction. "Mike! Don't ever let me see that again." He glanced back at the license in his hand. "Christopher? What is the speed limit here?"

"Ah...Uh...Thirty five?" Chris shielded his eyes into the sun as he tried to not look guilty.

"Yes! You're right. Give the boy a cigar." Fred quickly turned back for his cruiser. He needed to run the license for warrants. "Y'all wait right here. I'll give you a minute or two to come up with a reason you were going fifty."

"Way to go, Sherlock." Mike rubbed the situation in as he addressed Chris's head. "Was it the math or the reading you had trouble with?"

"You should talk!" Chris shot back. "I've seen you drive a few times." He left off the time when he'd nearly experienced it from under Mike's truck.

"What can I say....," Mike felt himself flush as he remembered the same incident, "...my dad's a State Troo..."

"OK, I'm gon'a be generous today and give you a warning." The officer stepped back around to the driver and handed Chris's license back to him. "It's my thank you for dealing with this low-life." He smiled and winked at Mike to soften his crude statement. Most of the station officers had played cops and robbers with Mike when he was just a little boy accompanying his father. "Just slow it down from now on."

"Yes, sir," Chris breathed out quietly. His heart was finally returning to normal as all the dark foreboding thoughts buried deep in his mind slowly slipped away.

"Oh, and if I were you....," the officer leaned forward and placed his hand on the steering wheel, "...I'd seriously think twice before showing up at that school dance. If there is trouble because of you, you're gon'a be the first one we handcuff." He smiled humorlessly as his warning hit home. "Face facts, boy...Your kind just don't belong there."

Kelvin turned to face the cop completely, fighting the rush of bile in his throat and the venom that threatened to spit through his lips. His kind? Hell, he'd been fighting bullies all his young life! It had always been because of his lack of stature before he'd been forced out into the open, but bullies were bullies, no matter what reason they had for it. What had frightened him the last time was they had never tried to beat him to death for being short!

"Then where do we belong?" Kel quietly asked the retreating back of the officer as he felt Mike's hand on his neck, slowly rubbing it to help calm his temper.

"Together," Mike whispered as he watched Chris's hand intertwine with Kel's fingers. He couldn't keep the officer's warning from repeating through his brain. Surely Fred knew he was gay too. It was if all his time around the county, riding with his dad and being their unofficial mascot all those years had come to nothing, even before his drunken confrontation. "And with your friends."

He knew he still wanted to be a part of that world, wanted to follow his dad as a Texas State Trooper but this was another crack in the plans he'd built. He silently squared his own shoulders as they watched the white cruiser pull around them with an insolent wave from the driver. His plan, though damaged, was intact. First he'd graduate, then college, then he'd finish what he'd started so many years ago.

"Oh, that reminds me, Mike..." Steve turned back to Mike in relief as they pulled back onto the asphalt. "We want you there as well."

"Just try to keep me away! I wouldn't miss this for the world." Mike was glad to finally be able to lend his support again. The news that Chris had been shot in the arm, and the arson, had driven him crazy while he'd been living with the old man in Fort Worth. "Just don't expect me to bring someone. I'll just have to dance with you."

"I don't think so!" Steve grimaced, good naturedly pointing to his blue cap. "I'm the straight one here and it's going to stay that way. Besides, Jenny and Sharon have been looking around for you already."

"Oh, God!" Mike shielded his face in his hands. "They're not going to try to `out' some poor kid, are they?"

"No. Don't worry," Steve tried to reassure the others quickly, before he ruined the mood worse than the cop had. He should have kept his mouth shut. "After what happened to you three, they wouldn't dare."

"OK." Mike let out the breath he'd held, his pulse returning to normal. "You'd just better keep a tight leash on that wild woman of yours!"

"Good luck with that!" Chris quickly glanced back as he let the Jeep slow so he wouldn't spook the two horseback riders cruising along the ditch opposite them. He was surprised to see Mike exchange waves with one of the guys but let it pass. Mike had always been the outgoing one. "Steve's so whipped it isn't funny!"

"I am not!" Steve rose to his own defense, then thought better of it. "Well,...even if I am,...what does that make you? Dick whipped?"

"Yup!" Chris absently reached across to put his hand on his, still brooding, boyfriend's shoulder. He let his smile linger as he gently squeezed the muscles under Kel's shirt, willing the mood contained within to lighten.

Kelvin jumped slightly at the contact, then relaxed as he recognized the source. He let his own wary smile reappear as he returned the gesture. "Me too." __________________________________________________________________________________________

"You nervous about tonight?" Chris pulled Kel close in an embrace as the water from Kelvin's shower cascaded around their nude bodies. He felt their hard penises pushing uncomfortably out the side between them as they pulled closer, his hand trailing down Kel's back to playfully squeeze his small, tight ass.

He was glad they'd decided to get ready and leave together this Friday night. He had to admit he was nervous himself, as his stomach churned, now that the night was finally here. Still....

"Yeah, a little," Kel smiled up at his boyfriend as his own hands did some exploring on their own. He suddenly chuckled at himself. "You ever notice how we're always trying to clean up when we...you know?"

"Not always," Chris smiled back. Kel did have a point. "I guess I just love prunes." He resumed rubbing the soap into the smooth skin of his lover's back. "Oh! What's the first thing to come out of your dick during sex?"

"You'd know that more than I would," Kel teased back, but finally gave in to the joke he knew was coming. "OK, you tell me. What?"

"The wrinkles!" Chris began to laugh outright and pushed Kel back under the stream of water. His laughter was cut short when he felt the hand close around his testicles and give a squeeze. "Hey! Not fair! OK, OK, you win!"

"I'll play with your wrinkles later." Kel slipped his hand up and pulled forward on Chris's cock, feeling it jump as he pulled the foreskin over the head, then reluctantly released it. "We've got'a finish and get going."

"OK," Chris sighed. He knew he was procrastinating, but his hard penis bobbing in the air was a good excuse. "I guess we'll just jerk-off before we get ready. Can't go like this." He leaned down and found Kel's lips as his hands pulled the heads of their cocks together and he rolled his skin over both of them.

"What are you doing?" Kel pulled his head away to look at what caused the weird sensation of his skin-encased head being rapidly stroked. He almost winced as he saw the way Chris had stretched himself forward to make room for both of them. "Jeeze, don't hurt yourself."

"I'm not. Don't worry," Chris breathed out a little heavier and grinned, feeling like he'd just found a new way to play with their favorite toys. "You just like playing with my skin so much, I figured I'd let you borrow it."

"Fine,...fine,...fine, it's fine...with me." Kel stared at their combined precum being squeezed out around his shaft only to be washed away in the water. "Oh, fuck!"

"Maybe...later," Chris grunted. Actually it was a little uncomfortable on the upstroke but he was too far gone at that point to care. "Ugh!"

"Shit!" Kel felt his head suddenly surrounded in a slickly sticky mess and quickly added his own contribution. He felt themselves pull away from each other and let the water wash the remains out as he grabbed the soap to help Chris clean around his now relaxed and retracted foreskin.

"Feel better?" Chris released his penis to let it slowly return to its flaccid state untended. He knew that if he didn't, it would soon occupy all his attention again and, no matter how much allure that prospect had, it wouldn't get them together with their friends that night. Besides, he smiled inwardly, if worse came to worse, what a way to go!

"Yeah," Kel sighed. His muscles felt like they all drooped at once in the sudden lack of tension, but then Chris always made him feel that way afterwards. He quickly shut off the rapidly cooling water and stepped out, handing Christopher a spare towel. He glanced out the door to find his clock-radio and shook his head at the time. He quietly wondered, as he dried himself, if his parents would say anything. He'd always been the one to jump in and out of the shower. In fact, his dad had jokingly asked him once `if the water'd had time to hit his body'. Long showers were definitely not his usual practice. "We'd better hurry. We're gon'a be late for sure."

Mrs. Lee quietly stood by the door to the school. The atmosphere inside was surprisingly calm, without nearly the tension she thought there'd be. Most of `her' kids were handling the idea of the two boys attending together better than the crowd of adults outside in the parking lot. Once word had spread outside the school building, things seemed to spin out of her control.

She let out a long sigh and reached for the door handle. Kelvin and Christopher were as much `her kids' as all the others. Besides, her career in education was over. The school board had informed her that she would be asked to leave at the end of the school year, that this would be her last graduating class in this town. So if she had to leave early? She felt surprisingly free to confront the wrongs she perceived in her job protecting her students. All of them!

"Mr. Andrews?" She calmly approached the leader of the group outside, leaving off the man's title of minister. He hadn't shown her he deserved the additional respect the title bestowed. "Why are all of you here?"

"We're here because those two fags don't belong here," Andrews blustered in his usual bombastic way. "And you haven't done anything about it. We don't pay taxes for this evil influence to be permitted in the class room."

"What evil influence?" She felt her carefully crafted demeanor slipping away. "This is their school as much as anyone's! Their parents pay taxes as well! So don't try to tell me `they don't belong'!"

"Well, we know how you stand." Mr. Andrews felt the hackles on the back of his neck rise. "And if you're not going to do anything, then we will!"

"You will do nothing!" She spun to let her voice carry over the assembled. "What ever happened to treating others the way you want to be treated? I thought God wanted you to love everybody! These boys keep to themselves and have bothered no one, yet Kelvin's been beaten and Christopher was shot, for God's sake! Why don't you all go home and leave them alone?"

Kelvin stared out the window of his dad's Suburban, at the small crowd in the school's lot, and reached for Chris's hand as he dried his free one on his pant leg for the thousandth time that evening. He'd been reluctant to let his parents drive them this evening. He really didn't want them to be there if things turned as ugly as he feared, but they'd insisted, along with Mr. Goldman and Chris's dad. So they'd all crammed into the huge `land whale', as Kel called the Suburban, and now had pulled into the lot.

"OK, you two." The old lawyer glanced from the protesters back to regard the two boys nervously staring at what lay ahead. "Like I said, I want you to get inside and have fun. We'll leave the other kids for you to deal with. If there are any problems with those fools out here, leave them to us! We'll handle the morons...I mean adults!" He smiled when his comment had the desired result as his great-godson and his friend started to chuckle slightly.

"Kelvin. Call us when you need us." Kel's mom quietly slipped the tiny Motorola cell phone into his hands as he opened the door and they exited into the cool clear night air. "OK, Mom. We'll be fine."

Kel quickly grabbed Chris's hand again as they started to make their way across the full lot. He noticed Chris nervously glance back at the still parked Suburban and could imagine the tension felt by their guardians and loved ones inside. He was feeling the tension himself.

He breathed out in relief as they were joined by Steve and Jenny. Sharon and Joel were waiting by the doors, glowering at the group of people confronted by Mrs. Lee. At first he was surprised when he didn't see Mike anywhere, but soon noticed him lounging on the hood of his dad's `Black and White', talking to his father and another boy Kel didn't recognize. Kelvin couldn't help but smile. How like Michael to show up in a police car! Hell, he'd probably show up to his prom in one, instead of a limo. He glanced back at the rumbling crowd moving closer. He'd have to ask Mike about the kid with him. If he lived long enough to do it!

They slowed slightly as they unconsciously crabbed a little to the side, but soon found their way blocked again by the belligerent group. Anyone watching who might have thought they were facing down the protesters for some high ideal would have been wrong at that point. Their feelings were focused entirely on and for each other, nothing else. Kel was dimly aware of Mrs. Lee and the others closing ranks as well.

"Please stand aside now!" Mrs. Lee's commanding voice drew everybody's attention. Many of the opposing adults stood aside at her command, grumbling, but her commanding tone was hard to ignore completely.

"No," Mr. Andrews yelled back at them, pointing. "Those ...Don't belong here!"

"These young men are part of my track team!" Coach Martini quietly seemed to appear from nowhere. "They are as much part of this school as your own son. Tell me, Andrews! Your own son is also one of my runners. If Chad doesn't have a problem with these boys, why should you? ...And believe me, there are no secrets in the locker room!"

"No! They don't belong here!" Mr. Andrews spun toward the new attack. "If you let them in...there's going to be trouble!"

"If any of you start trouble out here..." The cold, calm voice drew Kel's attention along with everybody else's. Trooper O'Rourke stood calmly with their dads and Mr. Goldman. The DPS uniform shone in the flood-lit area around the entrance; his hard, weather-beaten face made Kel's blood run cold. Mike's dad's face was as red as the sergeant stripes on his sleeve, "...you'll have to deal with me!" Mike's dad snorted in disgust as he surveyed the others the way a hawk surveys a field looking for its next meal. "Now, stand away before I get ugly!"

Kel watched as the trooper gently guided his son and friend up to stand with them, then ducked with a start as Chris pulled him away from the advancing arm this Andrews guy was reaching out. He was shocked by the sudden whistle and sharp crack as the officer's metal `Asp' baton struck with a lightning stroke to the opposing man's wrist!

"That's it!" Mike's dad spun the surprised man around viciously and shoved him away into the shadows. "Janet! Cuff him! The charge is felony assault!" He completed his circle back to the others and smiled grimly. "Next?"

Kel stared, wide eyed, as their opponent was dragged further away by a female trooper he'd never seen. He felt himself shake with the realization of the drawn automatic in her hand. He hoped he stayed on Mike's dad's good side! When he was taking care of business, he didn't play around! When his attention was drawn back to their opponents again, he sighed in relief. The crowd, that had been so belligerent, had meekly moved aside as the seriousness of the situation was rammed home.

"Boys and girls....No.... Ladies and gentlemen...I apologize you had to see that." Mike's dad half faced Kel and his group, but his eyes stayed riveted on the others. "I hope you won't let this ruin your evening. Run along and have fun...Mike, I'll be waiting here when you and Sean are ready to leave. Enjoy!"

"Mr. O'Rourke?" Kel and Chris both began at once as they hesitated before walking away; "We just want to say...."

"Don't worry about it, boys," the trooper responded quietly. "There won't be any more trouble out here. I'm just glad I was here to help, the way you all helped my son. Now forget all this and go be a kid!" He took a second to glance back at his son. "Michael, go on, I'll be just fine out here. Remember our old saying, `One riot, one Ranger!'"

"Dad?" Mike's features contorted from confusion to joy. "You got it?"

"Yup!" Trooper O'Rourke smiled for the first time that night. "Word came from the Governor's office today. I'm a Ranger now!"

James Stuart quietly watched his son and Christopher disappear into the building arm in arm before he grimly turned back to the others. He thought he recognized some of the people in the crowd as working for or having contracts with Stuart Petroleum. He began to smile, teeth gleaming like a shark's, as he advanced with his Godfather toward the fast dwindling crowd.

It amazed him that people could think they had the right to threaten his family and still get a paycheck from the company he owned. Ordinarily, he hated to have to fire or even discipline those who worked for him, or he contracted with, but tonight was going to be a pleasure. He glanced down at the snarling P-40 Warhawk and the saying imprinted on his T-shirt, `Point your nose to the wind, and go like hell!'. Oh yes! He was going to enjoy every one!

End of part 2-2

My thanks again to ED for his help with the story. I hope everybody is still enjoying it. Please let me know how I'm doing. Thanks!

I would also like to thank my friend Steve and encourage the readers to check out his story called 'No Greater Love', a wonderful story set during the American Civil War. He really makes you feel you are there alongside the characters. Look in the historical section for his story, and mine about Mr. Goldman's youth, 'Flak Bait'.

My thanks to everyone again. Willy B. (haztech@msn.com)

Next: Chapter 15: Mile High 2 3


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