Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 21:04:23 -0500
From: Gstrdr15 <Gstrdr15@msn.com>
Subject: KOMBAT KIDS CHAPTER 51

Disclaimer; If you are under 18 years of age, or material such as this is
illegal in your locale, please do not continue reading. All persons, places
and things depicted in this story are purely fictional; any resemblance to
people, living or dead, past or present, places or things are purely
coincidental.  However, I will admit to there being a Washington State.


Kombat Kids
By; Ghostryder15
Chapter 51
Life Goes On


	After the debriefing of the exercise was completed, Adrian and Cam
sat in the back of the Cavern and watched as the Colors were posted and the
P.O.D. (Plan Of the Day) was read.  When the members of the Unit were given
their assignments and as the Cavern slowly emptied, they sat talking to
each other about what they'd seen and heard.  They became aware of the two
Bateman brothers approaching them followed by a teenager who looked to be
about fifteen.  As the two men and the boy drew near, Cam and Adrian stood
up to greet them.  "Good morning Mr. Bateman, Mr. Bateman, how are you this
morning?" Adrian asked the brothers.

	James smiled at Adrian; "Fine thank you, how are the two of you
doing, it looks like the both of you've recovered from your run in with
those boys at school?"

	Both Cam and Ad nodded their heads yes; "If it weren't for your
boys and their friends, I don't know what would have happened.  My doctor
said that the little redheaded boy did a good job of taking care of me
before the EMT's got there.  I never met anyone like your guys, they make
me feel good to be around them; you know, safe and happy all at the same
time."

	Matt nodded his head in agreement; "That's what the Units' all
about, we started it to help out a friend of ours' son, he'd just come out
to his daddy and his dad didn't know what to do.  I mean he knew how to
love and protect him, but he knew he couldn't answer a lot of the questions
that his son must have had.  He knew we were gay, so he asked us to talk to
Phil and try to help him understand about himself.  Phil Martin was our
first member and he's been with us ever since."

	The two boys asked the brothers all kinds of questions, some about
the Unit, and some about the members.  While this was going on, Mrs. Jones
walked up behind the two boys and listened to the questions they asked and
the answers the two brothers gave them.  Matt and James noticed that
Mrs. Jones had a pained expression on her face.  James noticed it too and
moved to the side of the small group gesturing for her to follow him.
"What's wrong Mrs. Jones?"  He asked; "Is there a problem, I want to assure
you that the boys will be safe and accepted if they decide to join the
Unit."

	Mrs. Jones sighed and shook her head; "I understand Mr. Bateman,
it's not that."  She stood there thinking for a short time before
continuing; "I'm afraid that Adrian and Cameron can't join the Unit, I
received a telephone call from my mother's doctor this morning before
coming out here, my mother suffered a stroke and is incapacitated.  As soon
as possible, were going to have to move back to Selma.  There's just no one
else who can take care of her but me, my younger brother is in Iraq and he
and his wife have two girls, five and seven, so they can't help.  They live
on Fort Lewis in military housing over on the coast and are farther away
then we are.  I haven't talked with Mr. Lawrence yet, so I need to do that
first thing on Monday."  She thought for a moment before continuing; "It
really bothers me that we have to move again so soon after we just got
settled, I know the boys aren't going to like it, but I have no choice."

	Matt and James nodded their heads in understanding, James spoke for
the both of them; "I'm sorry to hear that, the Unit was set up for boys
just like Cameron and Adrian, I know they would both fit in well with the
other guys."  Looking over at the two boys talking with Jap and Jacky, he
sighed; "All I can say is that they'll be welcome if you ever decide to
move back up here and I'll make sure they understand that."

	Mrs. Jones nodded her head and sighed; "This the first time I've
seen them really interested in joining a group, they both belonged to the
Scouts back home in Alabama but they quit after a couple of months.  I
didn't realize that it was because they were gay until they came out to me,
I just wish there was an organization like this for them to join once we
get back home."

	Matt wrapped his long arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a
gentle hug: "We'll maintain contact by e-mail, if they have problems or
need answers to questions we'll do what we can to help.  I really think you
have two strong boys that'll look out for each other; they can watch each
other's back just like they did at school.  Don't worry too much; I think
they'll be okay."

	The day continued much the same way most of the meetings had in the
past, around four in the afternoon, Cameron and Adrian walked up to Matt
and James who were sitting in the EDF.  Cameron was the first to speak; "Do
ya'll mind if Ad and I talk to you for a few minutes?"

	James smiled at Cameron and gestured for them to have a seat, once
seated, Cameron spoke softly; "My mom told us about my nana, we really
wanted to join the Unit, but she's gonna need me to help."  He scrubbed his
face for a couple of seconds before continuing; "I know we coulda done
good, I mean all the guys in the Unit have really been good to us and I
just know me and Ad woulda fit in with them."  Cam looked over at his
friend and lover before continuing; "What I, I mean we, wanted to say is,
you know, I mean, well we just wanted to thank you and your guys for
helping us and being so good to us, that's all."

	Matt looked at James before saying; "We talked to your mom earlier,
we told her that if you ever do move back up here there'll be a place in
the Unit, no matter how old you are.  I think that we want you as a member,
even though you won't be with us, so, we want you to go see Phil Martin and
get your clothing and gear issue after we're finished here."

	Both Cameron and Adrian started to protest, but James cut them off;
"No argument, we plan on heading down your way in the not too distant
future, I'm sure Mrs. Jones will allow both of you to be with us when we
show up.  From what your mom said Cameron, the soonest you're going to be
able to leave is three weeks, until then you can work with the Squaddies
and get an idea how we do things.  So now, both you get your skinny asses
over to the supply room and get your stuff." Adrian was about to argue when
Matt ordered; "Talkin's done, move your butts."

	Cam and Ad smiled as they hurried out of the dinning facility and
ran to the other side of the Cavern where they knew the supply room was
located.  Phil martin and his lover, David White were sitting just inside
the door when they entered.  Phil looked up from the conversation he was
holding with David and asked; "Can I help you two?"

	Cam took the lead; "Matt and James told us to get our butts over
here and get our clothing and gear issue.  I'm Cameron Jones and this is my
buddy, Adrian Dujohn . . . . ."

	Phil nodded his head; "Yeah, we kind of figured that, you guys have
been the main topic of conversation around here since you got hassled by
those assholes at school."  David smiled at Adrian and Cameron and said
(before Phil could; "Okay guys, take your clothes off."

	Phil looked at his friend and flipped him a two fisted 'bird'
before saying; "Hey asshole that's my line!"  Turning back to the boys he
said; "So take your clothing off, we got lots to do."

	Ad and Cam looked at each other for a few seconds before shrugging
their shoulders.  Making sure they didn't look at each other, or, Phil and
David, they pulled their T-Shirts off and then their white ribbed
wife-beater shirts they wore under them.  David and Phil watched as the
shirts came off and enjoyed the appearance of the boy's smooth defined
chests and bellies.  Both Ad and Cameron's skin coloration was almost like
dark caramel; their pectorals were well defined as was their abdominals,
not quite 'six-packs' but close.  Adrian let out a breath and unbuttoned
his jeans; unzipped and let his trousers fall to bunch up at his ankles.
He bent over and raised first his left, then his right foot to remove the
jeans from around his feet.  Straightening up and folding his jeans he
placed them on the chair with his shirts, while he was doing this, Cameron
followed suite.  Both boys were now standing side by side dressed only in
boxer briefs, Ad's were blue and Cameron's were 'cherry' red, both still
had their 'Nikes' on.

	Phil waited for them to remove the rest; "Come on guys take
everything off, we've got a lot of stuff for you to try on and you're just
slowing us down," He urged.

	Cameron sighed, Adrian's complexion seemed to darken, then both
boys sat on the edge of the chairs their clothing was on and removed their
trainers and ankle length socks.  Standing up, Cameron sighed again and
hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs and slid them off,
Adrian seeing this quickly followed him. After placing their underclothing
with the rest of their clothing, Cam and Ad then turned to face their
tormentors, Cam placed his hands to his sides while Ad tried to cover his
more than ample genitals.  Naturally, Phil and David were checking the two
out, very carefully, this attention made Adrian blush even more furiously
than before.  Taking pity on the two, Phil reached up on a shelf and
grabbed two sets of O.D. boxer briefs and handed them to them.  With
grateful looks on their faces, they quickly pulled them on, noting that
Phil had given them the correct waist size.  After issuing close to a
hundred Squadies their clothing, Phil had become quite good at
guesstimating waist sizes.  For the next hour, Phil and David issued the
two FNG's (Fucking New Guys) their clothing and gear allotment.  By the
time the issue was complete, the two boys were overcome with the quantity
as well as the quality of the clothing and gear they were given.  As with
most of the other Squadies, the first thing out of their mouths was; "Hey
guys, how we gonna pay for all this stuff, there must be four or five
hundred dollars worth of clothes and gear?"

	"Wrong."  Phil said; "We didn't issue your winter gear, so whatcha
got now comes to only $2,800 and change.  As far as paying for it you
don't.  Everyone in the Unit gets issued this stuff; the Bateman Brothers
don't want anyone to be dressed or equipped any different from anyone else
in the Unit.  The brothers are multi-millionaires, according to Matt, they
could give a shit if the stuff our guys get issued cost three grand, or
even ten grand.  It just doesn't matter to them, they want everyone to have
the same chance to succeed, and they level the playing field by insuring
everyone starts the same."  Phil looked at the two boys for a second before
continuing; "Take a guess, take a guess how many guys have joined the Unit
and then quit?"

	Both Cameron and Adrian had no idea so they both shrugged.  David
spoke then; "None."  He continued on; "We had one guy try, the whole Unit
came together, along with a couple a hundred adults that our Unit basically
made to look pretty ridiculous, and we got his attention and made him see
we weren't going to let him leave.  Think about all the kids you've met and
try to figure out who that kid was."

	Once again they couldn't think of who Phil was talking about so
they just shook their heads no.

	David smiled at them; "I know you know him."  David held out his
hand to show them how tall the boy they were talking about was; "You both
know him, he's that short skinny little red headed wise ass who kept you
guys from getting hurt worse than you were.  He's the one who saved several
of our guy's lives last summer when we went in to get back one of our guys
who had been kidnapped by a local criminal and his sons.  He was hurtin
bad, and we all came together and brought him out of his depression, a
depression that could have killed him.  The operation to get him back in
the Unit cost James and Matt close to $350,000, they didn't care, all they
saw was one their 'Squaddies' hurtin, and hurtin bad.  I realize you guys
are leavin in a couple a three weeks, it doesn't matter, once you're part
of the Unit we look out after you."

	Cameron and Adrian stood there with shocked expressions on their
faces, here was two more white boys treating them with friendly disdain,
no, not disdain, it was acceptance.  The two boys both had an epiphany, it
didn't matter to these guys, and it probably didn't matter to the other
guys in the Unit that they were black.  Once the Bateman Brothers accepted
them, they were a part of the Unit and that's all that mattered. Both Cam
and Ad smiled and nodded their heads, Cameron spoke for the both of them;
"Thanks guys, thanks for being straight with us, and thanks for accepting
us."

	Phil and David smiled back; "No problem dude, it's always good to
get new people in the Unit, welcome aboard."

	During the few weeks Cameron and Adrian had left in Washington
State, they spent as much of their time as possible at the Unit.  When they
were in school, they could always be found with members of the Unit,
especially Jap and Jacky.  The Monday after they joined the Unit, Cam and
Ad, along with several members of the Unit were eating lunch when they
looked up and saw Miller, Johnson and Ames enter the dinning area holding
trays of food.  Miller saw Cam and the others sitting together and turned
red, nudging Ames and Johnson, they moved to a table as far away from the
group as they could.  Jap, sitting alongside Jacky looked Miller in the eye
across the expanse of the cafeteria and smirked, this seemed to really piss
Miller off.  It seemed physically impossible for Miller to turn any redder,
but he accomplished it, it looked like he was about to blow smoke out of
his ears.  The fact that he was almost cherry red made Jap laugh which
naturally made everyone look to see what he was laughing at.  Seeing Miller
doing his impression of a Maraschino Cherry caused everyone else to laugh
also.  Miller was so pissed at everyone sitting at Jap's table that he
jumped to his feet and ran from the lunchroom with gales of laughter
following him from the room and down the hallway.  Johnson and Ames not
knowing what to do got up and left the lunchroom, each carrying the piece
of the pizza and a Coke they had bought for lunch.

	Miller could not believe how everyone was siding with those
faggots. It was bad enough that even his mother was on his case, but to
have the rest of the people he'd known all his life flip him shit spun him
up even more.  Sitting outside the main entrance of the school, Miller
fought to keep the tears that threatened to flow from his eyes from doing
so.  He knew that he was straight, he knew that all the faggots, the one's
he was sure of and the one's he knew were out there, just waiting for him
to let his defenses down were all going to Hell.  He knew this because his
Uncle Don had told him so.  His Uncle Don and his cousins Del and Launy had
tried to cleanse the town and the Boy Scouts of the malignancies the queers
represented.  Unfortunately, the faggots and the faggot lovers stabbed his
Uncle and his cousins in the back, causing his Uncle to go into hiding and
putting his cousins in jail on trumped up charges.  No matter what his
mother or his father said, Uncle Don, cousins Del and Launy were his
heroes. He knew, HE KNEW that queers were an abomination before God; He
also knew he had to do something about them. To this end, Miller had taken
his father's .357 Magnum and two speed loaders of ammunition from his
parents' closet.  Today he would avenge his Uncle Don and his two cousins.
Today he would destroy the very real minions of the Anti-Christ; he would
send them all to Hell.  As he sat there in his reverie, he shook himself
and stood up and started back into the school.  As he neared his locker, he
pulled his T-Shirt out of his trousers so that he could conceal the
revolver until he was close enough to the Spawn of the Devil to make sure
he would be able to kill them all.  After opening his locker, he reached
into the back and withdrew the revolver and the two speed loaders, as he
was about to shove the revolver into the waistband of his trousers, he
heard a deep voice behind him say; "Place the revolver on the floor son and
place both of your hands on the lockers, do it now."

	"Nooooooooo!!!  He couldn't' be stopped before he completed his
work, he had to kill the work of the Devil, he couldn't be barred from his
Holy Task, he had to kill them.  Once again shouting his negation to the
forces of evil; "Nooooooo!!!!" He tried to turn and bring his revolver in
line with the person who was attempting to stop him.  As he started his
turn, he felt the most unimaginable pain of his short life, and then he
felt nothing.

	As John Thompson, a Private Investigator (PI) out of the Pendleton
Oregon branch of National Investigations picked up the S&W Model 686
(stainless steel) revolver and quickly swung the cylinder out and dumped
the six rounds of 158-grain hollow point ammunition.  He then bent over the
quivering body of the teenager and pulled the darts from his Tasser out of
him.  Setting the Tasser on the floor, he quickly bound the boy's hands
behind him using plastic cable ties.  Just to be on the safe side, he also
bound the youth's feet together using more cable ties.  As he was
finishing, another man, Tim Albrecht arrived; "You Okay John?"

	Turning towards Tim he said; "Yeah, if I hadn't tassed him when I
did, I think the little fuck would have shot me, damn I don't understand
kids now a days."

	Tim shook his head in agreement; "Luckily you were able to see him
getting his gun, if he had a chance to use it, a lot of people woulda been
hurt. . . .  or worse."  Tim knelt beside the unconscious boy and checked
his pulse; "Well he's out of it, but he's still breathing and he's got a
good strong pulse."

	Mr. Murphy arrived on scene as Tim finished making his last
statement; "John, Tim, what happened?"

	As John filled him on what happened, two police officers arrived,
John once again went through the story of him seeing the Miller Kid pulling
a gun from his locker and subsequently using the Tasser on him.  Looking
down at the kid, Officer Golden just shook his head before saying; "We got
an Ambulance coming, it should get here in a couple of minutes."  Without
thinking Bert Golden said; "Fucking kids, why do they do this kind of
shit?"

	With a large majority of the student body watching, Buddy Miller
was strapped to a gurney and moved to the ambulance waiting at the front
entrance of the school.  This being the second time Miller was escorted
from the school by the police in just under three weeks, none of the
students or teachers expected him to return.  As the students and teachers
watched, the gurney with Miller strapped to it was pushed inside the
ambulance and the doors were shut.  As the ambulance was pulling out of the
school's drive, Jap noticed one of the Unit One HUMVEE's pulling into the
parking lot, after it stopped, the doors on either side opened and James,
Matt, Keener and the Gunny climbed out.  Much to the Squaddies surprise,
the four men walked directly to the small group of Unit One boys.  Without
so much as a hello, James asked; "You guys okay?"

	Looking startled they all replied; "Yeah, no problem, why shouldn't
we?"  Jap being the quickest of the bunch replied succinctly; "Huh?"

	Ignoring their questions, James turned to John Thompson and Tim
Albrecht; "What happened, was it the three kids who beat up Jones and
Dujohn?"

	John answered for the two PI's; "Nope, just the Miller kid this
time.  I caught him pulling a piece out of his locker, when I told him to
put it on the floor he tried to cap me and I let him have 65,000 volts.
The little fucker was still quivering when they strapped him to the gurney.
The other two were just coming out of the lunchroom when I put him down;
they saw him hit the floor and went back into the cafeteria.  I guess they
didn't want any part of what he got. Some fucking friends huh?"

	As James and Matt were talking to the two PI's, John Murphy, the
School's principal joined them.  After shaking hands he said; "Why don't we
go to my office and talk there, that way we won't so many people listening
to our conversation.  The others agreed and after gathering the Gunny and
Keener they moved towards the front doors of the school.  As the PI's and
the Unit One adults moved towards the office, Murphy turned to the crowd of
students and spoke to them; "Okay people, get back inside, and head for
your next classes, lunch is almost over."  Murphy heard the grumbling of
most of the students and even some of the teachers; "Nobody tells us shit;
sure leave us in the dark, what the fuck. . . . over?"  Words to that
effect and others that he couldn't quite make out drifted back to him as
the crowd broke up and moved back in to the school.

	The principal, the four Unit One adults and the two PI's walked to
John Murphy's office, after closing the door Matt looked at the PI's and
asked what happened.  Tim Albrecht explained how he'd been watching Miller
and his friends on the surveillance monitors, how he observed Miller leave
the lunch room in a state of agitation and how he notified Thompson of his
observation.  John took over and explained how he went to the area where
Miller's locker was and observed him pulling the handgun from his locker
and the subsequent events that followed.

	James asked; "So the cameras we have in place worked as
advertised?"

	"More or less."  Tim replied.  I did come across some blind spots
that need to be looked at closely, if Miller's locker had been near or in
one of them, things might have 'gone south' on us.  If we plan on keeping
our surveillance operation in place, we need to address the dead spots.
Other than that, it's working pretty much the way we thought it would."

	Turning to John Murphy, James asked; "What do you think of the way
everything was handled John?"

	John Murphy seemed to stare right through James for a moment,
framing his reply in his mind before speaking.  "I think that a great
tragedy was prevented today, if the Miller kid had been able to use that
gun, we'd be on national news right up there the way Columbine was.
According to what John has told me, the kid had eighteen rounds of high
performance ammo with him, to my way of thinking, that means he could have
wounded or killed eighteen students and/or faculty members.  I'm really
glad that John prevented that from happening.  As it stands right now,
according to Tim, we have the whole thing on tape from two different
angles. That along with the gun and ammo he took off of the Miller kid,
justifies the use of the in-school monitors and the security officer's
presence.  The only problem I have is the fact that we have so many blank
spots, areas like the restrooms, utility rooms and some of the outside
areas."  Murphy stopped speaking for a second or so, then continued:
"Another problem I foresee, is when your kids move on to highschool, you
won't have any reason to continue the surveillance program.  I doubt very
seriously that the Moreland School Board will want to continue it, mainly
due to its cost."

	Before Murphy could continue, James spoke; "That's one thing you
can forget about, we plan to underwrite the cost for a minimum of ten
years.  Matt and I have discussed this in great detail over the last week
or so, I want this to work so that the rest of the schools in Moreland will
implement the same or a program similar to ours.  We think that with a
little fine tuning and the use of other technologies, we can adequately
address the problems that have been brought to light without infringing
upon anyone's rights of privacy."  Matt broke in to add; "James and I are
willing to set up a trust fund for this program to insure the necessary
funds are available and easily accessible for the operational needs of the
program.  We're truly unhappy that this sort of thing is needed, but we
want it to work and work properly.

	John Murphy looked at the two brothers for over a minute before
replying; "I fully agree with you, while there've always been fights,
bullies and racial problems in the schools, until just the last ten or
fifteen years it was very low key.  Now every time one of my teachers has
to discipline a student, they have to wonder if the kid's going to whip out
a gun and blow him or her away.  I, and a lot of other school
administrators, feel like we're presiding over an armed camp, a sort of
'Fort Apache' so to speak, instead of a place of learning.  I've always
felt that a school should always be, first and foremost, a place of safety
where the student's only job is to learn and the teachers' only job is to
teach.  Saying that, I'll do everything in my power to see that our program
works and that there isn't any problem at the schools, or the school
district's end of it."

****************************************
	On the following Monday, October Fifteenth, Cameron, his mother and
Adrian boarded a Delta Express twin engined (turbo prop) aircraft at the
Twin Cities Airport.  The 'Puddle Jumper' aircraft would transport them to
the SeaTac Airport forty-five minutes after leaving the Twin City Airport
which would allow them to make their connection to Selma, Alabama with time
to spare.  All the members of the Unit, including the adults, had formed a
convoy to escort the three to the airport.  Matt had hired a stretch
limousine for Mrs. Jones and the boys for the trip to the airport as a
parting courtesy to the departing family.  Sheriff Martin provided two
patrol cars to act as an escort for the convoy, the adults, and Squaddies
who possessed driver's licenses drove the Units' vehicles.  This really
pissed off the four crewmembers of GhostRyder Two Five and Two Six. David
White, Phil Martin, Tyler English and Justin Tannonligua, the nominal crews
for the LAV's could only piss and moan amongst themselves because everyone
else was tired of hearing them bitch.  Keener Webb and George Babcock were
the drivers for the evolution, and they had told the boys that there was no
way they (the boys) would be driving on the public highways.  What it came
down to was, either they shut the fuck up or stay home because like the
rest of the Unit, George and Keener were tired of their complaining.
	Arriving fifteen minutes before Mrs. Jones and the two boys, the
Unit parked the vehicles on the south lane of the three lane access road in
front of the terminal.  When the vehicles were all shut down, the Squadies
lined up alongside of their vehicles, shortly after they were in ranks the
limousine arrived.  As the big car came to a halt the Gunny yelled out;
"Unit, ten-hut!"  Close to a hundred pairs of heels clicked together as the
Unit came to attention.  Matt moved to the rear door of the limo and opened
the door.
	As Mrs. Jones and the boys climbed out of the Limo, four members of
the Unit moved to the rear of the vehicle and opened the trunk lid that
been released by the driver from inside the vehicle.  Jap, Jacky, Carson
and David White started pulling the luggage from the trunk.  Mrs. Jones was
stunned at the turnout by the Unit; standing there she looked at the boys
carrying their luggage and then at Matt and James.  Shaking her head she
smiled up at James and said simply; "Thank you."  She reached up and pulled
first Matt, then James down to her level and kissed them on the cheek.  She
grabbed Ad and Cam's hand and walked through the automatic doors and with
her head held high moved to the ticket counter.  Once they had their
boarding passes they moved through the security checkpoint and disappeared
from sight.  The Unit fell back into ranks and waited, less then tem
minutes after the three disappeared from view through the check point, the
small twin engine aircraft leapt into the air halfway down the runway.
James turned to the Unit; "Unit, ten-hut!!  Mount up, movem out."
***************************************
	The first few days passed slowly, most of the guys in the Unit
missed Ad and Cameron and thought about them a lot.  Eventually, time
passes and people, as well as their thoughts move on.  Two weeks after Ad
and Cam left, the Unit held its second annual Halloween Party.  Outside of
the Christmas Party, the Halloween Party was the big event of the year.
This year with close to a hundred members, people were looking forward to
an exceptional time.  James and Matt decided to have a contest, the
categories were; best costume, most original costume and worst costume.
James put a restriction on the 'Worst Costume Category,' there had to be a
clear attempt by the costumes' wearer to make it the ugliest.  The party,
unlike the others held by the Unit, was going to be for members and their
dates only.  At the meeting a week before the party, Matt put the word out
that there would be no sexually explicit costumes allowed.  During the
party members were cautioned that women and girls would be present and that
any Squaddie that showed un-appropriate behavior would be sent home and
would be assigned JJ's.  The night of the party approached and the kids of
the Unit got more excited.  If the truth were to be told, the adults of the
Unit were looking forward to the party with as much enthusiasm as the
younger members were.  Gunnery Sergeant and Mrs. MacCarver who had just
moved into the house James and Matt had built for them along side the
Gunny's had plans for their first Unit Party.  James and Tim had been
talking about nothing else since they had found out about the party.  Even
the Gunny seemed to be looking forward to it.  As the Saturday got closer,
the frantic activity of the Unit's members reached greater heights.
Parents of the Squaddies found themselves being drawn into the construction
of costumes, some of the parents got so involved that an outside observer
may well have thought the parents were the ones vying for the prizes the
Bateman Brothers were promising.
	Saturday the twenty seventh of October finally arrived, the party
was scheduled to start at 15:00, Squaddies and their dates started arriving
at 09:00, most carrying duffle bags containing their costumes, a couple
came already dressed.  Jap and Jacky were two of the last to arrive; Jap
carried a medium size duffle while Jacky was carrying a box that was four
foot by two foot and about eighteen inches thick.  Greeting everyone they
met, the two went to their room down in the berthing compartment to change
into their costumes.  Like them, Conner Beck and his boyfriend were keeping
their disguises close to their vests, unlike Jap and Jacky, their costumes
were both held in a small duffle bag.
	At 15:00 James comes over the 1MC; "Gooooooooooooooood afternoon
Squaddies, it's time for the Second Annual Halloween Party, let's get ready
to party!!"
	While most of the Squaddies are already in costume and have been
milling about the Cavern, some are notably missing.  Jap and Jacky, Conner
and Jared and Phil Martin and David White to name just a few.  After James
had called the Party to order, music stared to play over the Caverns' sound
system.  Just about everyone started to groan when the instrumental version
of 'Moon River' started playing, the longer it played, the louder the
complaints got.  Suddenly, there was scratching sound and the song ended
abruptly, everyone in the Cavern applauded loudly.  The next sound they
heard was James calling their attention to north end of the Cavern where he
stood in the middle of the stage that had been set up for the party.  "May
I have your attention please?"  He asked; "By the sounds of all the moaning
and groaning I hear out there, you all don't seem to care for the music
we're providing."  The boys and a few of the girls attending the party
hooted and yelled their agreement to James' last statement.  James chuckled
a little before continuing; "Well, how bout this then?"
	James strode to the left of the stage as curtains started to open,
while he was moving he yelled into the mic; "Give it up for 'Pearl Jam."
	At his last word a huge guitar riff burst through the sound system
and Pearl Jam started their first set of songs that they'd made popular.
The Cavern once again exploded in noise from the shocked teenagers, only a
few of who had ever seen the group perform live.  The kids started dancing,
boys with other boys, boys and girls, even a few of the adults joined in.
Matt and Keener among the adults seemed to really get into the swing of
things.  While everyone was engrossed in the music and dancing, two sets of
boyfriends joined the party, Jap and Jacky and Conner and Jared.  Soon
people were looking at the two sets of guys, not because they were dancing,
but because of their costumes.  Jacky was dressed as the 'Devil,' he was
wearing a form fitting ultra thin body sock that showed off every part of
his body.  It was almost like he wasn't wearing anything at all, his six
foot tall body was clearly visible through the material, so much so, that
he wore a cup to hide the size and shape of his balls and cock (Jap tried
to talk him out of it).  His face and hands were covered with body paint
that was the same color as his suit and he had on black lipstick and his
eyes were ringed with black mascara.  His forehead had two horns and a tail
was attached to his butt, it had some kind of spring or stiffener to make
it look like it was real.  As he walked or danced, it jumped up and down
and back and forth.
	Jap wore what almost looked like a diaper, white sandals, a halo
and a huge set of white angel wings.  His young body showed the definition
he was attaining from his workouts with his lover Jacky (weight training
and exercise, not what you're thinking) and carrying a thirty five pound
rifle all over the Bateman property.  When his friends first saw him in his
angel costume, every one laughed.  Not because he was funny looking, but
because they thought that Jap should of come as the devil, not Jacky.
	As everyone went back to dancing, Conner Beck and Jared Littlelk
entered the Cavern.  Jared was wearing a blond wig and a Viking helm on his
head.  His only other clothing was a breach clout held up by a three inch
wide metal studded belt with a dagger on one side and a two handed broad
sword on the other. His whole body was coated in a talcum powder like
paint, giving him the look of a pale Viking god.  Conner on the other hand
was wearing a Tarzan like breach clout with only a sheath knife on the
rawhide rope that held hid breach clout in place with a long black wig on
his head was a head band with a single feather.  Like Jared his body was
coated with the dry body paint, only in his case, it was a dark brown.
Together, they were stunning, an Indian warrior and a Viking God.
	Not only were the kids looking good in the many and varied
costumes, but most of the adult members had put a lot of effort into coming
up with some really remarkable outfits.  James had his lover Thompson
Gettrick make him a complete 'Darth Vader' costume, Thompson had contacted
the Costume Company that had supplied props for the 'Star Wars' movies and
had them overnight the boots, helmet and belt to him to complete James
outfit.  Tom also included the moccasin like shoes Luke Skywalker wore,
along with the utility belt for Matt's costume.  For himself, Thompson wore
a bridal gown and had a really big set of knockers.
	Just before 15:00, the Gunny entered the cavern with a very pretty
woman on his arm.  In his right hand he carried a pitchfork, he had shaved
most of the hair off his head and was wearing a set of faded blue overalls
over a checked flannel shirt.  His friend (Mrs. Brewton, a widow lady he
had met several months earlier), was wearing an ankle length blue gingham
dress, her hair (a realistic looking wig) was pulled into a sever bun.
Anyone who had ever seen the portrait 'American Gothic' realized the look
they were going for.
	The party continued well into the evening, at 20:00, just after the
last set performed by 'Uncle Cracker,' James. with Matt at his side, called
for everyone's attention; "Okay guys and guyettes, it's time to award the
prizes.  Before we start, Matt and I have decided to ad another category,
'The Most Ridiculous Concept."  Before he continued he chuckled; "The prize
for 'The Most Ridiculous Concept' will go to costumes that really do not
fit the wearers' personality."
	"The winners of the first category; 'Best Costume' goes to Gunnery
Sergeant Mcnaughten and Mrs. Brewton" James gestured for them to come up on
the stage to receive their prize. When they were on the stage, Matt handed
them each an envelope; "Congratulations, you both win an all expense paid
six days, five night trip to the Big Island of Hawaii."  The Gunny blushed,
Mrs. Brewton couldn't believe it, as they both left the stage in shock, the
crowd roared its' approval.
	Matt took over for the next category; "The most Original."  Matt
held up his hand to get everyone to quiet down before continuing; "We have
a tie here, Jared and Conner, front and center."
	As the two boys mounted the stage, each had a big shit eating grin
on their face.  Matt Shook their hands and said; "Congratulations, you each
have won a course of instruction from 'Frontier Aviation' in Yakima.  The
training will allow you to get your private pilots license, upon completion
of the fixed wing course, you'll transition into 'rotary winged aircraft.
Once again, congratulations guys."
	James once again took over the MCing; "For the worst costume, Bobby
Bauer, front and center."  Bobby hesitated until two of the Squaddies
standing next to him picked him and bodily carried him to the stage.  Once
on the stage his body took on a bright red coloring from head to toe. Bobby
was about five feet one inch tall and weighed in at about ninety pounds.
His costume was made up of a jock strap and a sandwich board (made of heavy
card board).  The sandwich board read; 'Adonis for Rent, dial 1 800
LOVEGOD' and just barely covered his crotch and bare ass.  James laughed at
the blushing boy; "Congratulations Bobby, you've won a six day, five night
all expense paid vacation to Disney World in Orlando Florida for you and
your entire family."
	Matt took over once again; "Now for the 'The Most Ridiculous
Costume,' once again we have a tie.  Jap and Jacky Hoffman front and
center."  As Jap and Jacky crossed the stage to Matt and James, everyone
within a hundred feet could see that Jap was spun up.
	Matt saw it too, the first thing he said was; "Jacky get ready to
grab him if he goes into attack mode."  Everyone in the audience heard
Matt's order and laughed, Jap turned to them and was about to shoot
everyone the bird when he thought better of it because of the women and
girls present.  Jap looked at the smiles on James and Matt's faces and then
on his boyfriends' face and relaxed, all the time thinking of ways to get
back at them.  Matt continued; "Congratulations guys, you've won a six day,
five nights all expenses paid trip to Disney Land in Southern California
for both of you and your families."
	That was almost two weeks ago, James stood in the hallway watching
as the last of the Squaddies followed Matt to the third deck and the arms
room.  He squared his cap on his head and headed up to the first floor and
on to the range, remembering both the good and the bad times he had
experienced since the Unit came in to being.  Sighing, he climbed into a
HUMVEE and drove out of the garage and on to the rifle range, a slight
smile on his face.


End of Chapter 51
Next; Chapter 52, the Finale:
It's Hard to Soar Like the Eagles, When You're Surrounded by Turkeys