Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:08:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Pete Bruno <farmboy7456@gmail.com>
Subject: Single Soul Chapter 9

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A Single Soul

Chapter 9 -The Opening Salvo

  Linda and her brother arrived just at 1800 on Monday, Matty greeted his
mother warmly and his uncle with a surprising amount of veiled contempt for
an eight year old.  Jim had asked his son what he wanted for dinner and
Matty picked Chinese so he asked Joe if he would drive and let Matty show
him where the restaurant is, he gave him money and sent them on their way.

  Once alone with Linda he wanted to start a conversation, he went to her
and pulled her into a hug and she stiffened and pulled away.

  "Okay Linda, could you please tell me what is up with you right now," Jim
asked with as much control of his emotion as he could muster.

  "Jim, I'm not going to argue, I have not been happy for years, and as I
told you I'm tired of the Corps, I'm tired of moving and I'm tired of
coming in third in your life after your son and the Corps," Linda said with
just a bit too much acrimony.

  "Fine Linda, but I can't believe you could be this cold; we just lost a
child and haven't even had any time to grieve, I would have thought you
would wait a bit before hitting me with this.  But if you're expecting a
fight about the divorce it, you won't get it; but you can be sure Matty is
my number-one concern here, and you are not taking him back to Jersey," Jim
said as firmly as possible without anger.  He was being careful not to give
her any ammunition for the future.

  "We'll just see about that," she said.

  Just then Joe and Matty returned with dinner and they all sat down to
eat.  Conversation was confined to niceties and both Jim and Linda tried to
be as pleasant as possible.  Matty filled his mom in on all the events of
the weekend, the new puppies, the trip to the beach and the boat ride.

  "And Jimmy's papa is moving down to the beach into a huge house and it
has an elevator, a dock...oh and a pool and hot tub...and he said we could
pick whatever bedroom we want for when we come to visit, even Uncle Matt
doesn't get to pick a room like us," Matty gushed.

  "It's Uncle Matt already huh," Joe asked with a raided eyebrow.

  "Joe, remember you are a guest in my house and I expect you to conduct
yourself in that manner," Jim said with a stern look his ne'er-do-well
brother-in-law.

  It was already close to eight so Jim told Matty to get his things
together and say goodnight to his mom and uncle, and then headed out the
door over to Matt's with Ian in tow.  When he returned he noticed a sheets
and a pillow on the couch, he picked them up and walked into the his
bedroom where he found Linda going through clothes in her closet.

  "What are you doing in here," she snapped.

  "I'm going to bed, I have to up at 05:00 to run and then I have work,"
Jim replied.

  "Then sleep on the couch," Linda snapped.

  "Okay, let's get this straight right now; this is what you want not me.
I'm not leaving my house, my bed or anything else so if you don't want to
sleep with me you can have the couch or Matty's bed but I'm not leaving
mine," he said as he went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.  When he
came back into the room she was gone along with the pillow and sheets.  Jim
slipped into bed with a satisfied grin and fell asleep thinking about
Matt's hot, naked, muscled body.

  The next morning Jim got up and went to for his run with Matt and when
they were through he stopped in and joined Matty, Jimmy, Frank, and Matt
for quick breakfast and told his son to head over home and see his mom when
he was through.  Then went home and got dressed for work, where he found
Linda in the kitchen drinking coffee.

  "Good morning," Jim said and received no response.

  "That's how it's going to be, oh well, I've told Matty to come home after
breakfast to see you, what are your plans today?"

  "I'll be packing my things and getting ready to leave tomorrow, I also
will be making an appointment with a lawyer.  Can you arrange for Matty to
stay with his "Uncle Matt" today, I really don't want him with me when I go
to the lawyer," she said again with the same caustic tone she always seemed
to reserve for Matt.

  "That will be no problem, just send him and Ian over when you're ready to
leave."

  Jim showered and dressed and headed off to work.  In the short time he
had been at his new job he had made quite a favorable impression on his
boss, especially by giving up his leave to help him out of a jam last week.
After checking to see everything was running smoothly he knocked on his
CO's door and was told to enter.  He explained his situation with his wife
and the need to meet with the attorneys that morning.  Luck was on Jim's
side; the Major had once been through a similar divorce and sympathized
with him, giving him the day off and the use of conference room to conduct
the consultation by phone with the attorney in Wilmington without having to
drive all the way down.

  With all the attorney meetings over with in a surprising short amount of
time, Jim headed home around 1300 to check on things there.  He had called
Finn and brought him up to date and also had checked with Matt to make sure
all was well with the boys.  When he pulled up to the house he noticed
Linda's car was missing but didn't think much about it.

  Grabbing the lunch he had picked up on the way he went to enter through
the front door and found his key didn't work, "that fucking bitch," he said
to himself as he went to check the door from the garage and the mudroom
door in the back, she had changed all the locks.  This was something Finn
had said might happen, she apparently found a lawyer, albeit not one of the
good ones and followed their advice, what puzzled him was why she would do
it if she was planning to leave so quickly.  He immediately called Finn and
explained what happened and posed the same question, Finn's best guess was,
that she just may be trying to provoke him.

  "Well Marine, you're going have to do what every man does when he locks
himself out of his house, break a window," Finn said, "and by the way, I
judge has signed the standing order, I'm on the way to pick it up and will
be there within the hour to deliver it."

  "Thanks Finn, you're a life saver," Jim said and hung up.  Finding a old
rag in the garage Jim broke a window pane in the back door and let himself
in, he called Matt and filled him in and told him to keep Matty indoors and
not release him to anyone but him.

  Matt was sitting at the kitchen table eating his sandwich when Linda
burst through the door looking like a crazed animal, "what the FUCK are you
doing in here," she screamed.

  "Eating my lunch," Jim said calmly, "and by the way I left my house keys
at work and had to break a window in the back door I'll fix it after
lunch," he could hardly stop himself from laughing when he saw the look of
consternation on her face, and the look on her brothers face was even
funnier.

  "Well you'll have to deal with that yourself, I will be packing
everything I want take and also Matty's clothes in my van and will be
leaving this afternoon, I'll leave you my house keys and the name of my
lawyer," she said with smug look on her face.

  "Linda we've been over this, you are not taking my son from this house, I
don't see how I can make myself any clearer," Matt said with his jaw locked
and trying to maintain his composure.

  "She'll do whatever she wants, and you'll have to go through..." Joe was
saying when Jim cut him off.

  "Joe, I think you need to close your mouth and mind your business this
has nothing to do with you," Jim said remembering to control his temper and
not give them any ammunition.

  "Joe, just shut up and start loading those boxes in the van," Linda said.

  Jim knew that Finn was on his way with the paperwork but chose not to say
anything, as Joe and Linda were loading the car he went out back and made a
quick call to Matt.

  "Listen Matt, if Joe or Linda come over there to get Matty don't let him
go, she's loading up and wants to leave today.  Finn is on his way with the
injunction so I want to stall her."

  "No problem, I'll send the boys on a hike in the woods and tell them not
to come home until one of us calls them," Matt said.

  "Great plan Captain, that way if there's any scene they won't be there to
see it," Jim said good-bye and went back into the house.  Linda and Joe
were busy packing the car so he left them to it and went to check his
email.  While reading through a few unimportant notes his mind began to
wonder, he was not looking forward to fighting Linda for custody of his son
but the idea of being rid of her was beginning to really please him.  The
funny thing was in retrospect he could clearly see how manipulative she had
been throughout their entire marriage, which caused him to spend more time
working than at home just so he would not have to deal with her.

  He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed how quiet it had become,
he made his way out into the living room, looking out the window he noticed
Linda siting behind the wheel of her car and when he looked across the
street he saw Joe at Matt's door.  He decided to stay right there and
observe knowing that Matty wasn't in the house.

  At the same moment Finn along with Frank were driving up the street and
noticed Joe and Matt having a very animated discussion.

  "Who's that," Finn asked.

  "That's Linda's brother Joe," was Frank replies.

  Finn didn't even hesitate, he called the police immediately, identified
himself and told the dispatcher he was there to serve a judge's injunction
and requested an officer.

  They parked in front of the house next door and lowered the windows; they
could hear the two talking loudly although they couldn't quite hear
everything being said.  The scene was almost funny, there stood Matt, six
feet of solid muscle standing in a pair of gym shorts and sleeveless tee
shirt looking like a Marine recruiting poster facing the his former
classmate, the once young handsome star quarterback who everyone thought
would at least make it as quarterback of his college team and then become a
successful business man.  Now he was a balding, fat slob and complete
failure of a man trying to intimidate Matt like he did in high school, of
course just as with everything else in his miserable life he was failing
here as well.

  Being an ex-trooper Frank had a license to carry a concealed weapon which
was locked in a strong box bolted to the floor of his trunk.  He got of the
car quietly and moved around to the trunk, he retrieved the gun and placed
it in the waist band of his pants.  Finn had gotten out of the car at the
same time and moved quietly as he could and staying behind Joe and out of
site as possible while recording everything on his Iphone. Frank also
started to walk towards the two men, he could now here what was being said
and as he had figured it was about Matty, he was demanding that Matt let
him take the boy.

  "Not going to happen Joe," Matt said with a clenched jaw.

  By now Finbar had moved a bit to the right for a better angle and Joe was
so crazed at the moment he didn't even notice the man.

  "Listen Capt. Leo," Joe spat out, "you may be some hot shot Marine
Captain with a little extra muscle, but all I see is the same little fagot
you've always been, so I suggest you get my nephew out here this minute
because I'm done playing with your pansy ass."

  "Like I said Joe, it's not going to happen so I suggest you remove
yourself from my property," Matt said calmly.  He had already seen Finn and
his father and was trying his best not to alert Joe, who was so angry his
face was red as a beet, and he was beginning to hyperventilate.  Then he
noticed Joe reach under his shirt and in a quick but clumsy move he pulled
out a revolver and pointed it at Matt.

  "You heard me fagot; you got one minute to get my nephew out here or..."
Joe was saying while shaking with nerves and anger, but his demands were
interrupted by Frank's voice.

  "I suggest you drop your weapon and lay face down on the ground Joe,"
Frank said is his best trooper voice, "because believe me, my gun is bigger
than yours, and I'm not shaking."

  With Finn recording the entire scene, Joe's shoulders slumped as he
lowered the gun and got down on his knees and then followed Frank's orders.

  At that moment the police arrived also with guns drawn and ordered Frank
to lower his weapon which he did and then said, "officer's my name is Frank
Leo and I am a retired NJ State Trooper licensed to carry in both New
Jersey and North Carolina, if you'll permit me to get my wallet I'll show
you my license," Frank said knowing that police officers respond well to
that type of request.

  "That will be fine sir," the young officer responded, "but I'll need to
take your weapon for the time being," he said taking Frank's gun while the
other officer was cuffing Joe and getting him to his feet.

  Linda and Jim both rushed across the street at the same time.  Jim went
to Finn and Linda went to her brother and started to scream at him, "what
the fuck were you thinking Joe you have screwed things up for me royally,"
she continued to watch as the cop lead him to the patrol car.

  "Apparently Mrs. Flannery he wasn't thinking clearly," Finn said
startling Linda who hadn't seen him walk up to her.  He extended his hand
and said, "my name is Finbar Burns and I represent your husband," she
refused his hand and Finn just smiled, he reached inside his coat and
removed an envelope offered it to Linda, "this is a temporary injunction
preventing you from removing your son from your home until the hearing set
for next Tuesday before Judge Robertson, all the information is in the
envelope."

  Linda snatched the envelope from his hand, she was so angry she was
shaking and Finn couldn't help himself and added, "I was lucky enough to
film almost all of your brothers performance, at least the best parts and
will be providing a copy to the police, if your attorney would like a copy
please feel free to contact my office," he said then smiled and walked
away.

  That set Linda off and she stormed over to Jim who was standing with Matt
as the police took his statement, she got right in his face and screamed,
"I'm not done with you yet you fucking asshole and if you think I'm going
to let you keep my son you're mistaken.  You can get all the court orders
you want but it still won't stop me I'll take him anyway," she continued to
scream until the policeman interrupted her.

  "Mam, you do realize I will have to add your threat to may report," he
said calmly.

  Linda looked back in shock at what the man said, she seemed to loose
touch with reality for a moment as her anger grew.  She looked from the
policeman to Jim than to Matt and Frank and next to Finn who was still
filming her tirade, when she saw him filming she snapped and started to run
towards him screaming, "I'm going to shove that phone down your throat you
fucking piece of shit," and was grabbed by the policeman just before she
reached Finn.

  Looking at Finn the officer asked if he would like to press charges, "No,
that won't be necessary officer I think Mrs. Flannery is just a bit upset,"
Finn replied calmly as Matt had taken over the filming.  The officer
released Linda who went to the car to speak to her brother.

  The police completed their interviews and returned Frank's gun, Linda
followed her brother to the police station apparently to bail him out.  Jim
had to laugh about that since earlier that day he closed all the joint
credit cards and removed half the money from the joint savings leaving
Linda with little to work with.

  After everyone settled down, they met in Matt's kitchen to make plans for
the next few days.  Finn advised to keep everything the way it was and let
Linda make all the moves until their hearing with the judge but added that
Jim should keep detailed notes of everything that happened including time
and date and a diary of where he was at all times.

  With business finished they called the boys back from their hike; the
first thing they wanted was to jump in the pool after giving the puppies
each a bowl of water.  After the boys had a quick swim Jim told Matty it
was time to head home for dinner, he had decided he would cook, if Linda
came home fine, if not at least he was continuing as normal as possible.

  Linda did arrive just as they were sitting down, her mood was dark but
she made played nice for Matty and ate dinner with them.  After dinner she
disappeared into the guest room and Jim could hear her talking to her
family in Jersey, but he didn't hang around to listen too closely.

  Jim and Matt sat on the couch and watched a baseball game until it was
time for the boy to go to bed.  Once Matty asleep Jim knocked on the guest
room door and asked Linda to open the door, she did and scowled at him.

  "What the fuck do you want," she whispered.

  "Just wanted to talk but it seems that you're not interested, goodnight."

  The next morning Jim met Matt for their run, he had taken to leaving his
running clothes at Matt's and he would throw them in the wash with his so
he could shower and get dressed for work there.  After their run they were
in the shower and talking about the events of the previous day.  Jim was
stealing looks at Matt's body and ended up with a hard-on that of course
Matt noticed.

  "Looks like your little buddy is crying out for attention," Matt said.

  "Your right but watch who you're calling little," Jim said as he grabbed
his hard cock and stroked it.

  "Go ahead Jim, finish it off I'm sure you're not getting anything at
home."

  Jim looked over at Matt and noticed that his cock was on the rise as
well, "only if you join me," Jim said.

  "Sure why not, I would be doing it once you left anyway," Matt said as he
grabbed his cock and started to stroke it along with Jim.

  The guys stood under the shower head enjoying their ministrations while
never taking their eyes of the others cock.  They both began to breathe
hard and as if it was planned they shot ropes of cum on each other's
stomach.  When they were done with their orgasm they looked in each other's
eyes and smiled.

  "Just like old times," Jim said.

  "Yeah, I guess," Matt said with a wistful smile on his face.

  Jim dressed and headed home to check on Matty, when he walked in he was
surprised to see Linda making him breakfast, and even more surprised when
she offered him some.  After breakfast Jim thanked Linda for breakfast and
got ready to leave for work, as he was leaving he asked Matty to come out
to the car on the pretext of making plans for the afternoon when he got
home.

  Once outside at the car Jim asked his son if he still had his phone.

  "Yeah Dad, I have it on vibrate and I didn't tell anybody I have it,"
Matty replied.

  "Good boy," Jim said as he hugged his son, "you're going to make a great
Marine someday."

  "Really Dad, you really think so," the excited boy asked.

  "I sure do, the most important thing is to follow orders and you're doing
it very well."

  Later that day Jim was in the middle of a training session when his phone
beeped, he took a peak at the screen and noticed it was Matty calling, he
excused himself and went out into the hall to answer.

  "Dad, mom got Uncle Joe out of jail and they got me in the car and
they're taking me with them to back to grand mom's house," Matty said.

  "Where are you now," Jim asked trying to remain calm.

  "We're at a McDonald's in New Bern, I told them I had to pee and I'm
hiding in the bathroom."

  "Okay buddy, you've done good.  Don't worry about anything I'll take care
of it just pretend to go along with them," Matt told him.

  His first stop was his CO and then he called Finn.  Next he called Matt
and explained the situation, Frank was there and told him to stop by and
pick him up.  Jim drove as fast as he could and reached Matt's house in
record time, Frank took over driving and they headed north on route 17
pushing the speed limit to the max.  They had just reached New Bern
themselves when Jim's phone started to ring.

  "Daddy, were at the Dismal Swamp rest stop, I'm pretending I have a
stomach ache and I'm in the bathroom," his son said.

  "Good work son, I and Uncle Frank are on the way, just play along with
them and don't let find out you called me," Jim said.

  "Hurry Daddy, Uncle Joe is scaring me he's acting really weird," Matty
said.

  With Frank driving Jim was free to work the phone, he called Finn and
gave him the latest news and location and description of the car to relay
to the police.  They pressed on, Frank kept talking to Jim trying to keep
him calm he could empathize with him, he could only imagine if he was
chasing his own son who was being kidnapped.  The Dismal Swamp was just a
few miles south of the Virginia state line so if Linda and her brother
crossed the state line it would be kidnapping and then involve the FBI, but
that was the least of Jim's worries at the moment, he just wanted to get
his on back.

 They had just reached the Dismal Swamp rest stop when they saw smoke miles
ahead.

To be continued...

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