Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000 16:23:11 -0500
From: Willy B <haztech@email.msn.com>
Subject: Mile High 2-2

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)