Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 22:13:52 +0800
From: YoDawgs Bl.net <yodawgs.blnet@gmail.com>
Subject: invisible war chapter 2

Once again, do give me an incentive to write more by emailing me, if you
really like this story. Also, check out "Search for Conscience" in the
Young-Friends section. Another on-going piece of work.

"Jesus Christ!" Brown cried out, as he squirmed with discomfort once again,
to the freezing sensation of Lewis' hand against the back of his neck.

"Now, now, no religious slander here." Lewis replied. Dinner was relatively
low quality, due to the circumstances, Brown tried not to think about the
spinach soup that he particularly despised. After dinner, they had
introduced themselves to one another, and Brown had become familiar with
the other team members. The second in command of the team was the
black-haired boy whose ethnicity Brown had not been able to place. He had
later found out that the boy's name was Mark Roberts, and he was indeed of
mixed ethnicities; Mongoloid and Caucasian. His mother was a Tibetan born,
and his father was in contrast, of European descent. They all had lived in
Stockholm, before both his parents were killed in another terrorist attack
lead by one of the cells. Roberts, unlike Lewis, was rock-solid; he never
let a smile escape his lips and light up his features with radiance. Too
much death had caused him to change that way.

Besides that, he looked extremely fit. He was nearly as well-built as
Lewis, and had slightly less muscular arms. For some reason, his stomach
was shaped perfectly, slanting inwards at the navel and containing a
six-pack. Brown could hardly take his eyes off it, whenever he had a
side-profile view of Roberts, if he stood at an angle to him. Roberts had
responded to questions extremely curtly, and Brown was constantly reminded
of an old, sad man, speaking through a boy's body. Other than that, Brown
was immensely attracted to his physique and gentle tolerance.

"Right then." Lewis said. "You've got loads of training to do tomorrow, and
I wouldn't want to be you. But then again, I've already been through all of
this, so you should be able to cope with it if I could. Sleep whenever you
like, but you've got to be up by half past six in the morning tomorrow."

He trudged over to the bed that was already occupied by sleepy-eyed Matthew
Silver, and kicked off his shoes, before removing his eyepiece, and placing
it on the table beside the bed. He then, with a wince, disconnected the
wire running out of his hip into the device on his waistband, and again
dropped them both on the wooden table with a clunk. He shuddered, and sat
down suddenly on the white sheets of the bed, breathing deeply. Silver
looked on with concern and curiosity, until Lewis finally lay back onto the
sheets with a groan.

Roberts was there in an instance, whispering words into Lewis' ear. Lewis
duly nodded, before saying "Okay. I'll get it sorted." He rolled over onto
his back, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, hands behind his head,
while Silver shifted and crackled in the bed sheets. Roberts nodded, and
made his way back to his own bed, where he lay on top of the covers, gently
shoving the snoring boy that was already half-buried, to the side. This
senior member was known as Hans Jaeger, and he was of Swedish descent. He
had dirty blonde hair, along with brilliant green eyes that seemed to
pierce everything that caught their gaze like a spear. He was the languages
expert of the team, and knew more than five languages, including, English,
Mandarin, Swedish (of course), German and French. Brown had especially
enjoyed requesting translations of obscenities from the English language
into other languages, and admired the way in which Jaeger always adapted
his accent according to the language.

His facial features closely resembled that of a china doll, almost perfect,
no blemishes, large eyes with a small nose, pink lips. The only belying
fact of his maturity lay in his eyes. Brown found himself lost in Jaeger's
gaze more than a couple of times during dinner, as they talked about each
other and made acquaintances. They contained a well of wisdom that Brown
was captivated with. Brown had seen a trace of sadness in those brilliant
green eyes, and had felt himself welling up as well.  Jaeger had broken his
gaze immediately, and teased him to ease the tension.

Now, those eyes were shut, shutting him off from the world. As Roberts
snuggled under the covers, Brown saw Jaeger instinctively reach out for
him, and grip him by the shoulders, as if he needed reassurance that
someone was indeed there. Roberts frowned, and made to push the hand off,
but reconsidered, and rolled over onto his side, facing the sleeping face
of the Swedish boy.

Brown settled into the bed, removing the army jacket that he had adorned
during dinner. The chilly air, albeit with the radiators on, began to sting
his bare torso, and he wasted no time burrowing into the covers. He reached
out blindly with his hands, and felt something warm and soft. A shudder
followed, and Lee yelped with cold.

"Sorry." Brown muttered, and crawled up beside Lee. Fuchs arrived a few
minutes later, after pottering about in the bathroom. As he felt Fuchs'
cold body snuggling up against him, he smelt a minty aroma, which signified
that Fuchs had brushed his teeth in the toilet.

"Where did you get the toothbrush and the toothpaste from?" Brown asked,
curious. "They didn't supply any to us."

"They're on the sink. I've brought mine back just in case." He motioned to
his jacket, and Brown spotted the head of the brush sticking out.

"You don't mind me doing this, do you?" Fuchs shifted slightly, making the
form of his body more apparent against Brown's.

"Doing what?" Brown feigned innocence.

"Like... you know... sleeping... on you?"

"Oh, you mean the pressing of your body against mine in a very
unfashionable way, in this cold room, and making me cold as well?" Fuchs
very slowly withdrew contact.

Brown chuckled.

"You make me laugh sometimes, Fritz. Of course I don't mind. Like I said,
you don't even hafta ask. Now come back here." Fuchs managed a smile of
relief, and shuffled over again. Brown reached out and gently placed his
thumb over the rank that had been implanted upon Fuchs' chest. Fuchs
immediately shut his eyes and let out a whispered "Ahh..."

"Still hurts, does it?"

"No... it... feels... good." Fuchs said between breaths and sighs. Brown
lifted his thumb, and Fuchs came back to reality. He glared at Brown.

"Touch it some more, it feels so great." A shade of his former timid ness
glinted in his eyes, before he lowered them and said "Please?"

Brown once again reached out with his right hand, and placed his palm on
Fuchs' left breast, causing him to suck in his breath sharply. He toyed
with the implant for a few minutes, admiring the shape and bulge that it
made against the German boy's chest, and stopped when he was sure that
Fuchs was asleep. Lee was already snoring softly, back turned to him, and
Brown decided to get some sleep as well. As he released the pressure on
Fuchs' chest, the German youth groaned in protest in his sleep, and pressed
his chest against Brown's. The dark haired boy draped an arm around the
fair shoulder of Brown, and pulled him closer to his cool body. Brown
closed his eyes and revelled in the sensation of Fuchs' cool front.

He was awakened rudely by Lewis' loud voice yelling for them to "Wake Up!"
and get their lazy behinds to the toilet to freshen up. Lee jumped out of
bed almost immediately, and Brown tried to follow, but a buzzing sound
filled his ears, followed by purplish-blue speckles in his eyes. He
groaned, and fell back onto the bed for another ten seconds, before he
finally arose, gently pushing the drowsy-eyed Fuchs off his body. Fuchs
replied with a grunt, and refused to move. This European boy slept like a
log. Brown shook him vigorously for a few moments before Lee hurried back
from the toilet with a glass of water, which he slowly tipped over the
sleeping German boy's back, spilling drops of cold water onto the smooth
skin.

Fuchs screamed as he squirmed frantically to escape from the water. Lee
grinned, and walked back into the bathroom, where he began brushing his
teeth and waiting in line to use the showers. Brown decided to wait until
everybody was finished with the showers to avoid further crowding up the
small 5x5 toilet. Fuchs rested his head on Brown's chest, sighing softly.

"Don't you go back to sleep again." He warned the dark haired boy. "Why do
you take so long to get up anyway?"

"I dunno." Fuchs replied sleepily. He seemed on the verge of dropping off
again, so Brown pressed his thumbs into the meaty flesh just above the
German boy's shoulders, making him groan with discomfort. Finally, it was
their turn, and Brown helped himself to a toothbrush he found on the sink,
still in its plastic container. He went into one of the cubicles, grateful
that they were not out in the open, and took his shower then. Fuchs
showered in the alongside cubicle.

Ten minutes later, they were gathered in one of the many rooms that
belonged to the bunker, warm in the heat of the radiators. There were
already exercise mats place on the ground, for soft landing, and a few
punching bags hung in the corner. Lewis motioned to Roberts, who
immediately took position in front of the entire team.

"James, Hans, Harry, you're already familiar with what's about to come. You
will be training partners with our new recruits." He turned to face Brown,
Fuchs, Lee and the Silvers. "What you're about to learn here today is
restricted only for use if, and only if, your life is in immediate
danger. These techniques enforce lethality, although we will somewhat touch
on restraining techniques."

He moved to the centre of the room.

"Matthew. Get over here." Silver edged nervously toward Roberts.

"Try and hit me." Roberts ordered.

"What..?" Silver began, but Roberts cut him off.

"Just do it. We haven't time for this. Imagine I'm one of your worst
enemies from wherever you came from, New Zealand or wherever."

Silver tensed up his muscles, and chambered his fist for a haymaker
punch. As he swung the punch, Roberts leant back efficiently, and delivered
a solid roundhouse to Silver's kidneys. Silver cried out, and dropped to
his knees in pain, gasping profusely from the lack of air. Roberts helped
him to his feet, and he stood swaying, nursing his body.

"Now, normally this counter would work very effectively if you were in a
street fight, with common thugs. They know nothing about fighting, and one
single kick would very well render him unable to continue with the
fight. However, if you were engaging in hand to hand combat with another
soldier from the Liberalists, then things would be very different."

Lewis stepped towards him.

"Watch." Roberts said, before kicking Lewis in the same spot as he kicked
Silvers. Instead of crumpling to the ground, Lewis simply winced, and stood
his ground. Jaeger punched Lewis repeatedly on his torso, jabbing, hooking
and screw punching, but Lewis withstood them all, screwing up his face
occasionally as he fought the pain.

"Obviously striking won't have an inherent effect, but..." he motioned for
Lewis to throw a punch, and Lewis did, slowly, with his right arm. As the
punch came within striking range, Roberts gripped Lewis' wrist, and rotated
it clockwise, while dealing a mock elbow strike to Lewis' throat. At the
same time, his left foot hooked upon Lewis' right, and with a swift
movement, he sent Lewis tumbling to the ground in an unfashionable
way. Lewis grunted as his body hit the padded mattress.

"This method is far more effective, and if used, may yield satisfactory
results." Roberts added unnecessarily. "Everyone find a partner. Make sure
he's one of your senior members."

Brown found Jaeger as a partner. The dark-blonde haired boy smiled at him,
as Brown sized him up. Two large pink nipples the sizes of pepperonis were
just visible on the slightly protruding muscular chest of the languages
expert. He tried to find the round protrusion in the middle of the nipple
that was extremely sensitive, but could see no sign of it. As Brown looked
downwards, he noticed that Jaeger's stomach was quite well defined, the "V"
beginning a few centimetres below his navel, which was a tiny bowl that
contained the puckered up hole where the umbilical cord had been snipped.

"Junior members, you shall try and replicate my actions before. Remember,
when you grab his hand, make sure you place your fingers on his thumb to
stop him from snatching his arm away. Begin!" Jaeger lashed out with his
fist, and Brown only just caught it, a few inches away from his solar
plexus. He mimicked Roberts' actions before, and had Jaeger on his knees
after a split second, face screwed up with pain, as his joint was stretched
to the maximum limit.

They practised this for approximately twenty minutes, before Roberts once
again called them to attention.

"Watch." He said again. Lewis stood in front of him once again, eyes
squinting, as if anticipating pain. "I don't suppose you know about the
various pressure points that a human being can have." He glanced around the
room.

"If I simply punch him in the stomach." He dealt a powerful punch to Lewis'
stomach, eliciting only a grunt. "...nothing much would happen." He
continued.

"But..." he used the second knuckle of his third finger and sharply jabbed
Lewis' sternum, causing the staff sergeant to gasp loudly and drop to his
knees, holding onto Roberts for support as he rubbed his chest. "If I were
to hit certain areas, the effect would be instantaneous." He motioned to
the panting Lewis, before helping him to his feet.

"You will find that area on your partners' bodies, and practise striking at
it. Do not hit it with your full strength. Our gel can only protect us so
much, but it is particularly vulnerable to other biological forms, for
example, your skin." He guided Silver's hand to the spot on his chest, and
spoke again. "Remember, it's the soft spot in the middle of the chest, just
below your belly."

Brown reached out and slowly but deliberately traced his hand up Jaeger's
silky smooth stomach to the solar plexus, pressing it in gently. Jaeger
gasped softly, holding his breath. As Brown pushed in harder, Jaeger
groaned, and began fending his hand off.

"Don't. That hurts. Gently, remember." He eased off.

Suddenly, Jaeger was gently pushed aside by Brown, who stood in his place.

"Time to feel pain, Mike." Brown's heart leapt to his mouth. "You seem like
you can easily master the techniques I'm teaching you here."

"How do you know that?"

"I watched from the other end of the room, and you've grasped it the
fastest, compared to the rest of your mates." Roberts replied, brown eyes
staring into Brown. "I'm going to hit you in the stomach, and I want you to
tense your muscles just before I throw the punch. Take it like a man."

Roberts suddenly drove his fist into Brown's abdomen, making a thumping
noise as the knuckles made contact with the flesh beyond the six-pack that
Brown had managed to tense up in time. Nevertheless, a bolt of pain shot
through Brown, and he had to resist the urge to gag, as his stomach was
impacted violently. He let out a prolonged and loud grunt, before bending
over and grasping his throbbing stomach.

"Ohhhhh... Gawwwd... it hurts..." he moaned, screwing up his eyes with
pain. He tasted bile in his mouth. Roberts slowly pushed him upright.

"That wasn't too bad, was that?" Brown stared in disbelief at the
half-Tibetan youth, who cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Once more. I'm going to attack you, and you are to try your very best to
defend yourself against this one strike. Ready?"

He turned forty-five degrees to his right, and delivered a powerful
side-kick to Brown's exposed kidney, catching it full force, despite the
glancing blow it received from Brown's elbow, as he tried in vain to defend
himself. Brown was nearly beside himself in pain, and he dropped whimpering
to his knees, before gasping frantically.

"Ooooaarrgghhh!" he groaned, as he received another bone crunching side
kick in his stomach. It felt as though his intestines had become whipped
cream, as involuntary tears pooled in his eyes. He glared at Roberts.

"Why... why did you have to do that?! Why me?!"

"It's because I want you to be tough. You're going to be our point
man. You're going to be the first to enter in all the missions we're
undertaking." The dark haired boy replied. "Okay. One more."

"God, no. Please!"

"Mark, I think that's enough." It was Lewis who had spoken up now,
appearing behind Roberts. The dark-haired boy nodded to Brown and strode
back to Matthew Silver, who looked terrified.

"Here." Lewis extended a hand and pulled Brown up to his feet. Brown winced
at the pain. It hurt every time he took a step in his kidneys, and his
stomach was extremely sore as well.

"Why does he have to do that?" Brown whispered, rubbing the red mark that
had formed on his stomach. He knew it would soon turn to the bluish-black
that all bruises had.

"It'll get better. Once you get used to the pain, nothing can stop you." He
patted Brown on the shoulders, and behind him, Brown spotted Matthew
sinking to his knees in pain, mouth open in a silent scream of anguish. He
had been struck in the solar plexus, rendering him incapable of speech.

"Is he always like that?" he asked Lewis, who nodded slowly, with a slight
smile playing on his lips.

He felt a tap on his back, and there Jaeger was, grinning at him. He could
not help but return the grin, teeth showing. It was hard not to like this
cheerful European boy.

They continued the drills for more than three hours; Brown received a few
more kicks from Roberts, and was able to take a couple of punches before
succumbing to the pain and sinking to the ground, while moaning. Suffice to
say, after dinner and another shower that day, every part of his body was
sore, including his joints, as he had practised blocking and striking
styles.

As he lay on the bed, breathing gently, Fuchs returned from the bathroom,
clad in a towel wrapped around his waist, and collapsed with a groan onto
the bed.

"Bad day, Fritz?" the German boy nodded, staring into space. He suddenly
jumped as a grinning Lee whipped the towel from around his
waist. Fortunately, he was wearing boxers, and crawled into the covers
immediately, making noises of disapproval. Lee joined Brown on the bed,
sighing gently as his body made contact with the sheets.

"I think I nearly died today. And it's only our first day of
training. Bloody hell." Lee commented. Brown nodded, and gasped slightly as
Lee fingered the bruise on his kidney.

"Don't. That hurts!" Lee continued to apply pressure on his kidneys, and
after a while, it began to feel better.

"This helps the circulation of blood." Lee said. The bed suddenly rattled
as yet another body fell upon it.

"How was your day?" Jaeger asked, piercing green eyes boring into Brown's.

"Uhh... it was okay, I guess."

Fuchs grunted from under the sheets, and his head appeared, followed by his
whole torso, the blanket only covering him from the groin downwards. Brown
was able to see Fuchs' smooth, white body without obstruction as the German
boy rested his head on his hands. He reached out and jabbed Fuchs in his
right underarm, causing a violent twitch and a cry, as Fuchs' lowered down
his arm in ticklishness.

"Did Mark hurt you, Mike?" Brown nodded slowly. He noticed that Jaeger had
a few red marks as well, and suspected that Roberts had also used him for a
demonstration. The blonde haired boy whistled, as he spotted a few more
bruises on Brown's torso, especially on his solar plexus and stomach.

"Alright, just lie there. I'll be right back." he said, before striding
briskly over to Lewis and whispering into his ear. Lewis smiled, and
nodded. Jaeger padded back again, and eased himself upon the bed. He
grabbed a pillow and placed it over Brown's groin, and then perched himself
on top of it.

"What are you doing?" Brown was curious.

"Just wait." Jaeger fiddled with the utility belt that he had been issued;
each senior member had the implants, and a clear fluid with a tinge of red
oozed out of his navel. He collected the gel, and rubbed it upon Brown's
torso. Brown could not help but close his eyes in ecstasy, and groan aloud
with relief and pleasure. The feeling of Jaeger's hands on his front was
magnified by the smoothness and silkiness of the gel. He wondered how his
own body would feel after he had acquired the hydrostatic gel for himself.

He dwindled into a state of semi-consciousness for a few minutes as Jaeger
rubbed his chest and shoulders, easing the tension that had been generated
by the day's activities, and letting out little moans and sighs whenever
Jaeger rubbed a sensitive or bruised area. Suddenly, he heard a little
sniff and something wet plopped down onto his chest. He at first thought it
was some more gel from Jaeger, but unlike the gel, the liquid flowed down
his chest, pooling at his navel. He looked up.

Jaeger was hurriedly wiping his eyes, as he continued to rub Brown. He
started blinking multiple times, and Brown knew he was keeping back tears.

"What's wrong, Hans?"

"Oh...it's ... nothing." The obvious answer.

"No, tell me. Please."

"It's just that I used to have a younger brother. He was ten when my
parents and he were killed in a car bomb. I used to use lotion and rub him
all the time, coz he liked it. I miss him so much, Mike. The last thing I
ever did to him was this. God, I miss him. Why couldn't he have just stayed
with me in the house instead of following them to that stupid wedding?!" He
sniffed again, blinking at a quicker pace. "I'm sorry, Mike. I didn't mean
for this to happen. You look so much like him that I couldn't help
myself. I had to relive that memory."

"It's awright, Hans. I understand." Brown's heart broke. "Keep going, I
actually like this."

"Thanks." The Swedish boy continued to rub Brown's torso, tears starting to
flow down his cheeks. Eventually he finished, after ten minutes, and leant
forward to place his ear against Brown's chest.

"Do you mind if I sleep with you tonight?" Jaeger asked timidly.

"Course not. Who's usually in your bed?"

"Mark."

"Oh. I think we're gonna have a problem then."  "No worries." It was Lee
who spoke up this time. "I'll be glad to share the bed with Mark. I'm sure
he won't mind at all." He walked over to Roberts' bed, and hung his jacket
over the bedpost. Roberts looked at him quizzically, and Lee merely
motioned to Brown and Jaeger. Roberts raised an eyebrow. His torso was
visible over the covers and once again Brown could hardly keep his eyes off
that half-tanned torso.

He lay back down on the bed, in the middle of Jaeger and Fuchs, and closed
his eyes. He heard Matthew and Martin whispering across the room, and
Lewis' gentle snores echoing on the walls. He felt a movement on his left,
and barely had time to move his hands away before Fuchs rolled on top of
him, grinning slightly.

"Hasn't your chest healed yet?"

"Yup."

"Then it's not hurting?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you still on me?" Fuchs' eyes widened with fear, but he
spotted Brown's smile, and smiled back gratefully, sighing, as his chest
made contact with Brown's.

He gently stroked Fuchs' back, making the dark haired boy sigh
intermittently. As soon as Fuchs began breathing shallowly, he gently
tipped the American-born German off his body onto the bed. Fuchs groaned
for half a second and instinctively pressed his chest onto Brown's
arm. Jaeger had been watching for the past five minutes, eyes wide open, a
look of longing in his face.

"Oh, Hans. I'm so sorry." He tapped Jaeger in the centre of his chest,
making a hollow thumping noise. Jaeger grinned, and sat on Brown's abdomen,
before gently pinching his small pink nipples.

"Ahh..." Brown moaned softly, savouring the pleasure. Jaeger smiled again.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah..." Brown replied, eyes staring down at the fingers tweaking his
nipples and sending waves of pleasure down his spine. "Wait... lemme try."

He brushed Jaeger's hands off, and laid his hands on Jaeger's firm chest.

"No..." Jaeger started to protest, and then Brown's hands found the round
protrusions.

"Ahh... god..." Jaeger gasped. "Ahh... ungh..." He went limp, and started
to fall forward, chest heaving. Brown was shocked. He stopped Jaeger from
toppling on top of him with his hands, and shook Jaeger gently. After a few
seconds, Jaeger returned to his former self, green eyes piercing his,
albeit slightly glassy and off-focus.

"Are you alright?" he asked quickly. "I shouldn't have done that." Jaeger
eased himself back into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. It's just that after you've gotten that gel that we all have,
you'll be really sensitive as well. I lost myself back then. Felt so good."

"Oh really?" Brown tweaked Jaeger's large nipples again.

"Mngh..." Jaeger half-closed his eyes and lolled his head back, slightly
thrusting his chest forward. He started to sway, mouth half-opened, eyes
closed, as Brown increased the pressure, and soon went limp again, falling
upon Brown. This time, however, Brown was prepared. He turned Jaeger over
quickly so that Jaeger fell back-first onto his torso, chest facing the
ceiling. From there he continued his ministrations. As he tweaked them with
his fingers and thumbs, they began to harden, forming the bump that Brown
had missed when he first glanced upon Jaeger.

Jaeger incessantly groaned with indescribable pleasure, and it was five
minutes that Brown decided to cease. Jaeger breathed in and out for a few
seconds, flushed from the pleasure that he had received.

"God, that was great." Jaeger murmured.

"Glad you liked it." Brown replied. He decided to ask Jaeger more questions
before he fell asleep on top of him.

"Hey, Hans... how long do we have to stay half-naked like this? We aren't
going into the field like this, are we?"

"Of course we aren't, don't be silly. You'll get your clothes after all
this training and some cool gadgets as well. But, after you've got that gel
implanted into you, you won't want to wear a shirt that often."

"Really? Why?"

"I feel restricted every time I wear a shirt now, and I only do it during
operations. The gel provides everything I need to survive. Temperature
regulators, oxygen generators, whatever. I only need to eat and sleep. And
that's it, basically." He scrabbled about on his belt before he handed his
regulator to Brown, who immediately recognised it as the very same one
Lewis possessed. He handed it to Brown.

"Careful." Jaeger warned. "Don't go simply pressing buttons if you don't
know what they do."  Brown grinned, and calibrated the temperature to
nearly sixteen degrees Celsius, the lowest it would go without damaging the
body. Jaeger looked over with a frown on his face. He spoke just as Brown
pressed the "Confirm" button.

"What are you d... AAARGH!" he yelled, as waves of icy cold swept over
him. He grabbed the regulator from Brown and readjusted the
temperature. Brown was rewarded with a sudden emanation of heat from
Jaeger's body, and savoured it.

"Don't do that!" Jaeger scolded him, not unkindly. Brown knew that it did
not hurt Jaeger, but merely made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He felt
incredibly sleep, suddenly, and decided it was time to call it a day. His
bruises did not hurt as much, and he suspected that the gel that Jaeger had
applied on him helped with his recovery.

"Night, Hans. Thanks for everything." He closed his eyes, and Jaeger rolled
off him onto the bed. Jaeger began petting him on his torso, and he liked
the attention, dropping off in a matter of seconds. Throughout the night,
he heard Fuchs groan softly, along with Jaeger's gentle shallow breaths on
his earlobe.