Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 09:29:35 -0400
From: carl_mason@comcast.net
Subject: INDOMITABLE SPIRIT - 14

INDOMITABLE SPIRIT - 14

Copyright 2007 by Carl Mason

All rights reserved.  Other than downloading one copy for strictly personal
enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for reviews, without
the written permission of the author.  However based on real events and
places, "Indomitable Spirit" is strictly fictional.  Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.  As in real life, however, the sexual themes unfold
gradually.  Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to
the author at carl_mason@comcast.net

If you would like to read additional stories by this author, please turn to
the "Authors/Prolific Authors" link at the beginning of the Nifty Archive.

This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both
adults and teenagers.  As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the
personal enjoyment of legal, hopefully mature, adults.  If you are not of
legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you
trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral
dilemmas in your life, please leave.  Finally, remember that maturity
generally demands safe sex.


CHAPTER 14

(Revisiting Chapter 13)

After driving for about 15 miles at breakneck speed and with sirens
wailing, they drew up to a simple cement block building marked by a radio
tower and little else.  After coffee and the unavoidable Arabic amenities,
the Lieutenant told them that their Sheikh had contacted officials in
Beirut and asked for Lebanese assistance in locating them.  A Palace
official relayed the message that Kenny had been abducted and that the
Sheikh's personal plane was even then at Beirut International Airport
awaiting them.

With great courtesy, a Lebanese Police helicopter was summoned and the two
men were flown to the airport on the south side of the capital city.  A
flight of only 880 miles in the Sheikh's medium-sized jet quickly returned
them to realities of the contemporary world.

(Concluding Our Story - By Bullet or Scimitar!)

Yes, Kenny had been abducted, but the Sheikh's Guards had stormed John's
farm, freeing both John and the boy.  As the Sheikh's long Mercedes sped
towards the hospital from the airport, they were told that even as they
spoke, Kenny was arriving at the University Hospital.  The Guards medic who
had examined the boy in the field indicated that he had been beaten, but
should recover without lasting effect.  He was being taken to the hospital
strictly as a precaution.

Running into the hospital corridor, with a still-clothed Tommy close on his
heels, he almost ran into the Sheikh in his khaki uniform (as Commander of
the Guards) and John who was somewhat the worse for the wear.  The Sheikh
grabbed Eli by the shoulders, slowing him down.  "It's alright, dear
friend; it's alright.  The boy is safe and is no worse off than had he been
in a heavy fight.  The ER doctor is checking him out now, but, truthfully,
he doesn't have much to do."

The adrenalin upon which Eli had been running since morning suddenly
dissipated, and he had to be helped over to a nearby chair by the Sheikh
and Tommy.  As Eli began to slide down on a knee before the Prince, the
Sheikh took him firmly under the arms and lifted him back onto the chair.
"Everything in its place, dear friend," he murmured.  "I am so very, very
grateful, sire," the good doctor said in a faltering voice.  "Well, Doctor,
although We were never able to conquer two diseases that decimated our
people, We are happy to have been able to serve your boy.  Perhaps, we are
both grateful, yes?  (Pause.)  Now, it's time to get back to the Palace.
No doubt John will fill you in on the action, and Doctor Holland will see
you once he has completed his examination of the lad." Looking Tommy
straight in the face and smirking ever-so-slightly, he commented, "You
really look better without them, you know."  With that he raised a finger
whereupon his Colonel immediately marched to his side.  Coming to attention
with a frightful stomp of his boots and, saluting in the best British
colonial manner, he tucked his swagger stick firmly under his arm and
smartly accompanied the Sheikh out of the hospital.

Inasmuch as Holland was still busy with Kenny, John, Eli, and Tommy headed
for the cafeteria where they were able to get a half-way decent cup of tea
and a few biscuits.  "I'd rather sherry, you know," blustered John, "but
these people..."  "Well, the tea is good and the biscuits are fresh, so
we're still ahead of the game," Eli replied.  Noticing that the old man's
shirt had quite a bit of blood on it, he asked, "What happened out at your
farm, friend?"  A somewhat chagrined look spreading across his face, John
answered.  "I should never have forgiven myself, Doctor, if anything had
happened to your boy.  The truth is that it was rather my fault.  I was
still trying to decide how to handle the manner when the group of bad
actors we've been following took matters into their own hands.  They
smashed the outside door, battered my one house slave, and tied me up.
Deciding that the best way to get out of the Sheikhdom was to kidnap Kenny
and hold him for ransom and transportation, they demanded the keys to my
car.  When they returned with the boy, they dragged him through the area
where they live.  It was terrible - yelling, torches, smoke, screams.  I
watched as slaves whom I had always counted as loyal blamed him for their
troubles, spat on him, and beat him until he was bloody and unconscious.
Then they invited any slaves who wanted to be free to come up to my house
while they phoned the authorities to demand money and safe passage.
Several guns and many knives appeared as they dragged us back to the house.
About 20 slaves joined the five ringleaders.  Kenny's people wouldn't join
them, but Zeb wouldn't help Kenny either.  He said bitterly that Kenny
would have to reap what he had sown.

"The Sheikh's Guards took only half an hour to surround the house - and the
Sheikh was leading them himself!" John continued.  They had
rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns, smoke bombs...you name it.
The Guards Colonel gave the slaves the choice of surrendering and facing
the Sheikh's justice or of being killed on the spot.  Fearing the scimitar
more than the bullet - and who can blame them - they resisted.  Thank God I
know that old house and was able to find a safe spot for the boy and me.  I
just thank God it's over.  "Are my hospital people taking care of the slave
casualties, as well as Kenny?" Eli asked.  A strange look passed across
John's face as he said quietly, "There were none, but you haven't lived
long enough in this part of the world to know that, have you?"

Hearing an announcement directing Dr.  Reynolds to Exam Room E, John stood
to leave.  Eli immediately asked him if he would stay at his home, but
after thanking him, he said gratefully that arrangements had already been
made...for the night and for the repair of his home. He left with Eli's
thanks for protecting his boy ringing in his ears.  On the way through the
maze of corridors to the examination room, Tommy suddenly appeared.  Eli
wondered how he had ever been able to arrange a shower, but he decided that
was not enough time to get into that.  He only grinned wickedly and
whispered, "You really DO look better without them, LOVER!"  Tommy's body
turned several shades of red, which pleased him no end!

Eli opened the door to Exam Room E at exactly the point when Kenny let out
a hoarse wail.  Clearly, it either equaled or surpassed the sound emitted
simultaneously by a dozen or so ten-year-olds who had been told that they
had to go to bed...at seven o'clock.  With one eye nervously on the Chief,
the young physician hurriedly repeated that everything was fine, but Kenny
should stay overnight "for observation and pain control."  The heavily
bandaged youngster was just about ready to sound off once again when he
caught Eli's eye and cooled it.  "Doc," the boy whined, "I need to fall
into my own bed.  You and Tommy are home, and I promise that I won't do
anything crazy like trying to raid the fridge at 2:00 a.m.  Please, Doc!"
Tommy noticed that fourteen-year- olds (especially those within weeks of
being 15) look pretty dorky when they whine, but he decided that he'd tell
his bro later on.  Eli turned to Dr.  Holland and asked exactly what the
damage was.  "Well, sir," he answered, "there's a nose that's just this
side of being broken, several deep bruises on his abdomen, two blackened
eyes, a nasty cut on his scalp, assorted abrasions, and one big toe and two
smaller ones whose nails have been pretty well torn off.  I feared a
concussion, but at this point I am reasonably satisfied that the lad was
lucky."  "You've done a fine job, Doctor," Eli allowed, but, with your
permission, I think I'll take over for the rest of the night...at home."
"Yes, sir," Doctor Holland said, "but do try to get some sleep tonight.
You look as if you haven't slept for several nights."  Tommy cut off a loud
snort before it could do any damage and made ready to leave.

(Years of Growth, Years of Pleasure)

Tommy was absolutely overcome by his new relationship with Eli and by what
a great kid he had as a "Little Brother."  He realized fully that his life
had texture and meaning that it hadn't had for years.  Other than taking
care of medication, Eli barely had to move a finger during the time his
second son was laid up, for Tommy literally waited on him hand and foot.
It was he, by the way, who organized Kenny's fifteenth birthday celebration
that occurred just as the younger boy was able to be up and around.  For
some reason, Kenny got the idea that he wanted to cook the entire dinner
for the family and spent hours planning the menu.  He then had to learn
basic cooking, beginning with boiling water!  In all this, Tommy was a
bulwark of strength and patience.  When he didn't know how to make a dish
that his brother wanted to prepare, for instance, he researched it and, in
one case, brought in a chef who gave him lessons.  It turned out to be a
memorable evening.  His present to his brother was a framed, professionally
developed picture that he had talked Eli into taking of the two of them as
they joked and laughed.  It was a masterpiece, and Kenny adored it
throughout his long life.  For the "anything goes" present from Eli, he was
torn for a couple of weeks between a small Honda motorcycle and a laptop
computer.  Given the firm promise that the motorcycle would be seriously
considered NEXT year, he chose the computer.  He was so excited that he
pushed his tutor daily to help him improve his English.  (Tutoring for both
boys started the very next week.)  He was determined to talk with teens all
over the world and, before the year was out, he did via e-mail...in both
English and Arabic.

Within two years, Tommy had mastered the rigorous curriculum prescribed for
secondary school graduates in the Sheikhdom and made ready to take the
examinations.  He passed each one with marks that went into the record
books.  He then met a problem.  Neither the schools of the Sheikhdom nor
the University had ever been open to slaves, and the educational community
saw little reason to make an exception in Tommy's case.  As a respected
citizen of the Sheikhdom, Eli was able to organize discussions at every
professional and economic level concerning the economic and security
advantages of bonding the Sheikhdom's slaves more closely to the little
nation.  At times, the propaganda - on both sides - was not pleasant.  For
instance, Kenny came home one afternoon nearly having come to blows with
one group of boys who were putting up posters in the capital city.  They
read: "How would you feel if your teenage daughter had to sit next to a
naked, filthy slave scraped off the streets of the Christian West?"  At the
end of the "discussion period," the idea was to have the Sheikh make a
determination of the best course for the people.  (There was no "election,"
for that was literally a foreign, and a very dangerous concept to the
autocratic Gulf states.)  The power structure was completely confident that
the Sheikh would ratify "the way it had always been."  They were amazed
when he hewed to a middle course.  The essence of his proclamation held
that slaves who had been in the country for at least three years and who
passed a series of entrance tests in Arabic would be allowed to fill open
seats in the elementary and secondary schools.  This would begin with the
first year and affect one higher grade each year.  Further, they would wear
a simple uniform set by school officials and provided by their owners.  (In
later years, this was plan was modified and extended to larger and larger
groups of slaves.)

At age 20, Tommy was admitted to the University with a declared major in
Water Management.  At the beginning of the same year, Kenny at 17 years of
age was admitted to the secondary schools of the Sheikhdom.  The morning
that they donned their simple one-color uniforms of shirts, trousers (or
shorts), and sandals, and prepared to leave for school was a morning
never-to-be-forgotten in the Reynolds household.  Was their welcome in
school and classroom universal?  Did they find the studies simple beyond
contempt?  Did slave owners uniformly support the Sheikh's edict?  Did the
school system uniformly support their presence and attempt to meet their
varied needs?  The answer to each of these questions is probably clear
without further discussion.  The point is that they were IN formal academic
institutions.  In time, both humanity would be further advanced and the
human raw materials of the Sheikhdom would be more effectively grown and
fully harvested.

The next crisis came when Tommy approached graduation and the prospect of a
professional position.  The problems were many, but the fact that a slave
could neither hold a professional position nor accept one outside the
Sheikhdom blocked inquiry.  (They simply had no legal standing whatsoever.)
One solution, of course, would have been to free the slaves who graduated
from the University and, possibly, the secondary schools.  As mentioned by
the Sheikh to Eli at one point, however, the tradition of his tribes,
stretching back thousands of years to the dawn of history, was and always
had been "once a slave, always a slave."  If the question of school
attendance struck sparks, you can imagine the explosions that accompanied
the question of manumission, of freeing the slaves...ANY slaves.  Further,
this debate (unlike the earlier one) was not basically confined to the
Sheikhdom, but involved scholars and leaders throughout the Arabian
Peninsula and from several other countries in the Islamic world.

Again, the Sheikh's decision, supported by a fatwa [a legal opinion or
decree handed down by an Islamic religious leader] from the most revered
Ayatollah in the land, took a middle course.  The initial decree (further
developed over many years thereafter) gave MALE slaves the RIGHT to
petition the Sheikh for a "joint grant of manumission and citizenship".
Each petition was to be handled individually by the Council of Ministers
which would make recommendations to the Sheikh.  Implied were the notions
that this process was to be rigorous rather than pro forma, but that full
authority was still vested in the Sheikh

(A Golden Moment)

Tommy at age 23 was the very first candidate for manumission/citizenship in
the Sheikhdom.  Examinations by members of the Council, medical doctors,
religious leaders, educational leaders, and the police were painstaking.
(Aided by the Sheikh's advisors, Eli concurrently made extremely guarded
inquiries in the United States about Mike and Larry's immediate families.
The nine-year-old case was still open...officially.  Nevertheless, nothing
had ever been heard of either family after the males camped in Humphreys
Basin and the women and girls hurriedly left the Lodge at Huntington Lake.)
After approximately four months, the Sheikh announced that he would grant
freedom to the slave Tommy, owned by Dr.  Eli Reynolds, and welcome him as
a new citizen of the Sheikhdom at a ceremony to be held in the Audience
Room of the Royal Palace.  It was to be held approximately two weeks before
his graduation from the University.

At the appointed time and place, the large, mixed company invited by the
Sheikh gathered at the old, high-ceilinged Royal Audience Room, a room that
had seen so many events in the history of the "Descendants of Bar",
otherwise known as the People.  Tommy and his brother, Kenny (then not
quite 20-years-old) stood proudly naked in front of the Sheikh and his
Council of Ministers.  (Eli, of course, could scarcely contain himself as
pride and love brought tears cascading down his face.  For him, seeing
Tommy standing there at attention, wondrously bright, full of beauty, fully
grown at 23 (6'0" and 192 lbs), it was the culmination of a life's mission.
Kenny's parents and brothers, parenthetically, were allowed to attend, were
moved out of the small, historic "slaves' gallery," and given simple gowns
to wear.)  Following readings from the Qur'an and brief comments by the
Sheikh, Tommy and Ken made their first obeisance to their Prince.  At that
point, Ken ceremonially dressed his brother in the robes of the desert
peoples who had come to this part of the Gulf in ages long past.  As he
stood back, Tommy made the second obeisance to the Sheikh.  From his
position, prostrate upon the marble floor, the lone, vibrantly clear voice
of the young man chanted, "May the glories of Allah shine upon our gracious
Prince and guide his steps upon the path."  The chant was then taken up by
the Council of Ministers, and then joined by all in the chamber.
Dr. Reynolds was given the privilege of briefly recounting Tommy's
pilgrimage to this moment, a pilgrimage which all had to agree was marked
by an "indomitable spirit."  The Sheikh congratulated the new citizen and
noted that following his graduation from the University in two weeks, he
would join the Government's Ministry of Natural Resources.  Finally, he
embraced him for the first time as a free man and a full member of the
people.

(Final Notes)

Eli and Tommy lived happily - openly as partners, among friends - in a
country ruled by people who, for human beings, were exceptionally tolerant
and intelligent.

Thomas Reynolds was awarded UNESCO's prestigious Clarendon Prize for his
work on managing the ancient Roman aquifers under the Arabian Peninsula.
He had earlier received recognition for processes he invented to markedly
increase the yield of desalinized water.

In the fulness of time, a manumitted Kenneth Reynolds completed study at
the local University.  His aged parents, plus a very proud Eli and Tommy,
watched as he was awarded his Doctor of Medicine degree at Stanford
University in California.  After completing his internship in London, he
returned to the Sheikhdom where he served with distinction.

As Eli and his beloved partner were returning home from California, they
heard a phone ringing repeatedly inside the house.  Managing to reach it
ere it stopped, Eli was greeted by the Director of the central slave
facility.  It seems that he had just come into possession of a new slave of
Western origin, as he described it, "an absolutely smashing young redhead
whose eyes were as blue as the deep water of the ocean."  He further
commented that "his hair was not an orange red, but the red of molten lava
as it explodes from the volcano."  He felt that Eli should examine "Arthur"
without delay and offered to meet with him "immediately, even tonight."
Eli said that he and his partner would definitely look at the boy in the
morning. Tonight, however, they were "otherwise occupied."


                             THE END