Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 04:38:58 -0800 (PST)
From: JMH <trandar2002@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Mark/The Tor 2
Well here is chp 2. I received no response from chp1 one so I don't
know if y'all like how the story is progressing so far. It just might of
been due to it bing a shorrtt chp but who knows. If you have any thoughts
please email. From this point on, the story is going to slip up into
different points of view so it might get a little confusing but I hope not.
Enjoy.
Again, this is a story about gay relationships with a SF twist so 1. if you
are breaking the law, underage, or just hate gay stuff don't read any
further. The world wide web is a big place so you can find something
else. 2. As this is a SF story everything is a big lie. The story is not
based on any real person place thing, or another person's idea. So any
similarities are pure chance. 3. Since this story is of my own creation,
i have the copyright to it. No other postings, except at nifty, are
allowed. Nor is the selling of the story to others permitted.
JMH
trandar2002@yahoo.com
*********************************************************************
Scott awoke with his head poking out of a tank of blue fluid. His
stomach itched but he wasn't able to scratch it. The room he was in was
completely white with no visible doors or windows.
"Hello?" He called out.
A portion of the wall opened to reveal a man dressed in a white
doctor's coat. The blond hair man was holding a clipboard and had a
jittery nervousness about him.
"Umm hi, I'm doctor Ryan Vassar, I'm ugh, glade that your now awake."
"What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"The last thing I remember was being stabbed by three men."
"Umm yes, that's what happened. You were attack by a group of thugs
whom your companion killed and you were brought here for medical
attention."
"Where is here?"
"Well ugh, you're in Steward City about 120 mile from where you were
stabbed."
"When will I be able to leave the tank?"
"Well ugh, umm well I think that umm..." The doctor struggled.
At that moment, a woman had entered the room that had a strong
resemblance to the first doctor. She was the first woman Scott could
remember ever seeing."
"Hello Mr. Gannon, please forgive my brother he's a little new at
this. I'm Dr. Vassar, Elizabeth Vassar."
"Hi..." Scott said a little nervously. I was unsure how one was
suppose speak to a woman.
"Never seen a woman doctor before?"
The blushing on my face spoke volumes on my knowledge of women.
"Oh my, you've never met a woman before."
Scott's blush got deeper.
"You've never even seen a woman on television." she said flabbergasted
Scott tried to give his head a nod but the tank was in the way.
"Well that's a relief, I don't have to worry about any presupposed
expectations you might have on how women are SUPPOSE to act, all that
"Birth of Victory" crap.
"Never even heard of it."
"Where have you been living, in a cave for the past 24 years?"
"No in a cabin in Vermont."
"Just as bad."
"Where is Ja.. Patrick." Scott caught himself.
"Well, we were hoping to wait to tell you the news but..."
"He's not dead?"
"Oh no, there was just an issue about your bill. The emergency
transportation, life support, time in the tank are all very expensive.
They were going to start carving you up for organs until my brother here
stopped them. He pointed out that both of you appear young and healthy and
that if both of you sign labor contracts it could pay off the debt."
"So where is he?"
"The military bought off his contract and shipped him out right away.
His contract almost paid off the entire amount but you still owe
$37,532.52."
Scott was stunned into silence; the male doctor made a half step move
towards him but his sister cut him off.
"Come on Ryan we have twenty more patients to see today."
"Umm yes sis."
"Stop calling me that."
"Yes Lisa."
If all women are like that, Scott was scared to meet more.
*********************************************************************
"Your such a baby." Elizabeth or as she preferred Lisa said to her
twin brother. "Ever since he came here your been coming up with reasons to
keep him here and visit him. He's a country bumpkin and nothing more."
"He's a good person." Ryan defended himself. "And I know of some
sister whose been dropping by a lot also."
"That was just to make sure you weren't still wasting time there."
"You ruined his life, we could of paid off his bill with what you
spend on cloths alone."
"If you give them an inch they'll take a mile."
"He wouldn't."
"You don't know that for sure." Lisa said off handedly
Ryan grabbed his sister and made her face him. "Yes I do."
"Yes your right." Lisa said knowing of the suffering Ryan had to go
through because of his gift. Ryan had all three talents, a very rare
occurrence, while he wasn't an Alpha or Omega, he was stronger then most.
It was his talents in empathy that their older brother Gordon valued. Ryan
was one of a few people who could lessen Gordon's rampages. Most of the
empaths their brother used would die within a few months. Gordon loved
Ryan as did Ryan but he also feared him. Gordon never hurt Ryan when he
was a child but on his 18th birthday he tried to become Ryan's Tor but Ryan
refused. Gordon, humiliated by that act of defiance had the mark
physically tattooed on each other. Lisa had then stepped forward and
demanded that Gordon let Ryan go and in an act of remorse he did. Lisa and
Ryan had then taken up visiting hospitals around the world constantly
moving so it would be harder for Gordon to find them. But, every so often
Gordon would knock on their door and Ryan would have to spend the night
with him. The thing that Lisa did not understand was how Ryan could still
love their brother, the man who had killed their father. Ryan would always
say that there was good in Gordon but Lisa failed to see it. Lisa had made
the mistake of getting a boyfriend and introducing him to Gordon. Gordon
had taken an automatic liking to the man, which surprised Lisa since Gordon
was very possessive of his family. She found the reason why when her
boyfriend would tell her that Gordon was always popping up wherever he was.
Gordon would tell him how much he wanted him in the family. Lisa became
concerned and went looking for her brother the next day. She found him in
the lab where he had her boyfriend strapped to a table with hundreds of
needles in his body. Gordon was excited to see her and told her that he
was bringing her boyfriend into the family. Her boyfriend became the first
Drone, Gordon's replacement for the animorph guards. After that, Lisa
never entered into another relationship and gained the title the Ice
Princess.
"I don't want him to leave." Ryan moaned.
"We will have to let him go soon or Gordon might notice your behavior
and make him a Drone."
"No, Gordon would like him."
"That's what I'm afraid of."
*******************************************************************
Gordon was humming a merry little tune as he walked through the
sub-basements of his lab. The passageways were guarded by his Drone guards
came to attention as he passed. He stopped at seeing one of the guards and
examined his face. "I remember you, you were one of Ryan's friends in
school. Ryan would be so happy to see that you joined the family." Gordon
commented before continuing on.
He was in a good mood this morning. The first clone was ready. He
could finally ask for forgiveness. It had taken several hundred tries but
he finally had gotten it right. The clone was a perfect copy in every way
of the original Mr. Keller. Even the connections of the neurons were the
same. Gordon could now ask John for forgiveness for his death and others.
Then they could go on their date. He touched the glass panel where the
body stood inanimate in the blue tank. He nodded to the lab technician and
an electrical charge was sent into the body. The heart began to beat and
the body rose out of the tank but before the body was half out, the body
experienced heart failure. Gordon panicked and used his powers to rip the
body off the supporting platform and on to the medical table. The doctors
came rushing in with emergency equipment but as each one looked at the
scanners they stopped. The neurons were disconnecting from each other,
liquefying the brain, a gray fluid could already be seen coming out the
ears and nose. Gordon, who had been using his talent to keep the heart
beating, gave out a wail. The doctors who now gathered in fear started
screaming when the drones came in to escort them to be processed. They now
would become drones or living factories. When the room was cleared of
everyone, Gordon burned the body. He then went down a secret passage to
the room where he had preserved John's body.
"I'm so sorry!" he cried.
*********************************************************
Dr. Ryan Vassar released Scott from the tank that morning and walked
him to a normal bedroom where Scott saw Dr. Vassar had turned part of it
into an office with a desk and stacks of paperwork.
"Don't mind me." Ryan excused himself. "This place is so busy that
they ugh...needed my office.
Scott tried to smile but he felt lost without Jacob. As long as Scott
could remember they had never been apart from each other. Now, he did not
know if he would ever see him again.
Ryan could sense Scott's sadness and he wanted to help but was afraid
that his sister would get mad at him for doing so. Ryan wanted a friend, a
real friend, a friend that knew nothing about his infamous brother. The
problem was that before now, he never knew any gifted person like that.
They either pushed him away in terror or feigned friendship in the hope of
reward. Scott, lacking development and awareness of his talent was an
oddity even more so in that he was an unregistered talent. During the
illness, Gen-Corp had taken over most of the world's hospitals. Gordon had
used this advantage to find anyone of any talent. With the help of the
military, all talents were required to be registered with the military
government. The records on Scott though were blank. There wasn't even a
birth record on him. He was the closest thing Ryan could have to an
imagery friend being real. Ryan also knew that Lisa was aware of this
advantage. After giving Scott a pill to help him relax, Ryan waited at his
bedside until Scott fell asleep. He then rested his head next to Scott's
body and pretended that they were a happy couple living a normal life
together.
************************************************************************
Lisa was in the bathroom again for the third time today wiping away
the blood from her nose. The bleeding had been getting worse for the past
two years and she knew that her time was running out. The drugs that
prevented her from loosing her mind were slowly killing her. She was not
so much concerned with her own death as she was about leaving some part of
herself behind. She wanted to have a child. A child would be her monument
of life in protest against her brother's monument of death. Scott could
give her that child. Not that other men would not be willing to help
provide one but all other men had their DNA on record. If Gordon ever
suspected that she had a child, he could find it and the parent based on
the DNA. But if the father's DNA was not on record, the computer would not
be able to find a match. Scott was the sole invisible man in a labeled
society. He had another advantage that brought jealousy out of Lisa, Ryan
had a crush on him. After she died, Ryan would be alone with Gordon. She
had been looking for someone for Ryan, it would be perfect if the one was
both her husband and his lover. She just was not expecting of feeling
angry that Scott had caught Ryan's eye. She was also concerned that from
what Ryan had said Scott did not even know what a dick was really good for.
After cleaning herself up, she went looking for her brother but found
that not only he but also his whole office was missing from his office.
"Ryan you're going to attract attention to yourself." Lisa muttered. It
was not uncommon for Ryan to have crushes on his patients, people who were
unconscious and unaware of his feelings but this time it was getting out of
hand. He had spent the last three nights sleeping in the tank room with
Mr. Gannon and now it appeared he had moved his office to his bedroom. She
reached the recovery ward and looked up at the board for Scott's room and
just as she expected, her brother was daydreaming with his head on Scott's
bed.
"Ryan are you out of your mind!"
Ryan jumped with a start. "He doesn't mind. I'm not hurting anyone am
I."
"You're hurting yourself that's what." Lisa scolded.
"He's an innocent." Ryan plead. "His life before now has been free
from corruption. All he knows is love and acceptance. When I'm in his
mind I can feel what's that like. He can love us Lisa. He can actually
love us." Ryan said before saying the major point. "He can love both of
us."
Lisa began crying. All the fake smiles, false promises she had to
endure flooded her mind at that moment. Everyone loves Lisa until she
turns the corner and then they spit on her footsteps because they hate her
brother. While the drugs blocked most of her talent, the small part that
remained was her link to Ryan. That is how she always knew when he was in
danger from Gordon. It also caused conflict. Whenever one of them would
have a crush on a person, the other twin would have the same feelings. The
only way they could fight it was if one of them worked at hating the
person. That is what Lisa had been trying but she could no longer keep it
up.
*********************************************************
Scott awoke to see the two Dr. Vassar's hovering over him. Both
looked like they've been crying.
"What's wrong?" Scott asked
"Nothing Mr. Gannon." Lisa sniffled, "I want to apologize for being a
pain earlier today."
"Not a problem." Scott said, shrugging it off.
"You don't mind my brother working here do you?"
"No, it feels better with him here actually. I'm not use to being by
myself for long periods of time."
"Well I'm glade he's keeping you company then. I'll check on you in a
little while. See you later Ryan."
"Bye." Ryan said, not taking his look off Scott.
After Lisa had left, Scott turned his head to face Ryan.
"Your sister can be nice when she wants to." Scott commented.
"Yeah, she was sort of angry with herself earlier this morning and she
took it out on you."
"What was she angry about?"
"Liking you." Ryan blurted out without thinking.
"Were you suppose to tell me that?" Scott asked with a smile.
"Well umm, I wasn't suppose to tell you but you should know."
"Why would a person be angry about liking someone?"
"Ugh, well, umm..."
"Let me guess I should know but your not going to tell me."
Ryan just shook his head yes.
"Well I like you both too." Scott smiled.
It took Ryan a few seconds before he understood what Scott had just
said but when he did he out a great; "YES!" that brought several nurses
into the room.
The next day Scott was given several intelligence tests and while he
did poorly on modern history, technology, and science he scored well in
math, reading/writing, dimensional thinking, and theory/application, which
meant that he could learn what he did not know quickly. Lisa and Ryan were
very impressed by his scores and Ryan made sure to take a jab at her about
her "country bumpkin" comments earlier. Scott tried to put on a brave face
but he missed Jacob.
Scott was informed that his contract had been picked up by a
subsidiary of Steward
Finance in Chicago and Lisa and Ryan were now ready to plan their big
escape. Ryan had learned that a terrorist group was planning to bomb the
hospital's biohazard building the next day. As part of their attempt, they
were going to shut off all surveillance for a five-mile radius. That will
be their chance to escape and when the military sends in the incineration
bombs to kill of any escaped germs, Gordon will think that they were dead.
They both agreed that they could not tell Scott what was about to happen.
***************************************************
Gordon first heard the report from one of his agents that terrorists
had taken the hospital that Ryan and Lisa were reported at. He tried to
get a video feed to the hospital but found that they were all out. He
tried to get the military to send in a rescue team but they refused. They
said that the terrorists had already broken into the contagious dieses
storage room, and were threatening to release them into the air. They had
no choice. Gordon watch as the hospital was fire bombed believing his
family was now dead.
***********************************************************
Jacob was coping, that is the only way he could put it. Knowing that
he had signed the contract to save Scott's life helped when he dealt with
missing him. Many of the troops along the dead-man zone along the Ural
Mountains were animorphs, but untalented. Jacob, who registered as a Beta
was assign as the personal aid to Major General Steward who was also a
talented animorph. When he arrived at the General's camp, Jacob felt a
sense of sadness from the troops. Everyone was walking as if they were
half asleep with their heads down.
The jeep stopped in front of a large tent where men were streaming out
while carrying boxes. A sergeant met Jacob and escorted him in. Inside
was chaos. Men were packing up as if a massive attack was expected.
Papers were being shifted though while computer data was copied at the
several terminals in the tent. In the middle of the cyclone sat a man
sobbing. Jacob could see by the man's uniform that he was the major
general.
As the sergeant escorted Jacob to the general he began whispering into
his ear.
"A sniper took out the general's First about two weeks ago while on
patrol. The general has not been the same since. High command was always
critical with Gen. Steward's decision to bond with his First. The army
actually has rules barring it but because of Gen Steward's family he was
able to get an exemption. We can't function with the Tor in this condition
so high command has removed him from command."
"Then why was I brought here?" Jacob asked
"The army doesn't want to have to explain why they didn't do anything
to help the general to the Steward family. When the army saw a contract
for a T-Beta/E-Gamma on the market, they bought your contract. You're to
help him recover while he returns to civilian life.
"I can't be his First." Jacob said sternly.
"We understand that, no one can force you to be his First but he needs
an empath if he's going to survive." The sergeant pleads with Jacob.
"I'll do what I can." Jacob said resigned.
The man Jacob was brought to had a totally disheveled look. A smell
of sweat and urine penetrated the air around him. His skin was blotchy
while his eyes look red and infected. The nails of his hands were dirty
and chewed upon. His whole body seemed to be shaking and there was a aura
of nervous tension. The sergeant called out to the general several times
but was unable to get a response. When he placed his hand on the man's
shoulder, a fist met the sergeant's chin, knocking him out.
Jacob knew he had to act quickly. Using his own gifts, he forced the
general to the ground, immobilizing him. The general tried to struggle,
twisting this way and that but was unable to escape Jacob's mental grip.
When the fight seemed to leave him. Jacob put the man to sleep.
"Get a doctor for the sergeant." Jacob ordered the stunned officers;
"and carry the general to a washroom."
Two men quickly picked up the general while a third went to get a
doctor. Jacob followed the men to a tent lined with metal bathtubs. After
laying the general on the ground, Jacob dismissed the men and turned his
attention to the soiled general. He woke the general up and proceeded to
strip the general of his uniform. The general tried to fight him but his
mind was too tired to put up much of one against Jacob's gentle but firm
control. The man, in his grief had allowed himself to defecate on himself
and the shit was now a dry crust around his ass. Jacob controlled his urge
to retch and lead the general to the showers. He left him there for a half
hour to rinse away all the filth. He then lowered the general to a hot tub
of water. The general started crying at this point but he had screamed his
voice raw. Blood began to gurgle out of his mouth. Jacob made a calming
cooing sound while rubbing the general's throat. The general stopped
trying to vocalize his grief but took up hiccupping instead. Jacob
continued to sooth the general while using his empathy talent to heal the
general's throat while lessening the man's grief.
While trying to heal the man, Jacob started examining his patient. He
was a about 6" tall with hazel eyes. His hair was a dark brown with a
military cut. He had a footballer's build with thick calves and thighs
that were matted with hair. His chest was built but lack a six pack and
was covered with a fine layer of brown hair. The last thing Jacob noticed
was a tan line on a left finger where a ring had been.
As Jacob began to lift the general out of the tub, the man grabbed
Jacobs lower arm and in a horse voice said; "Don't leave me."
*******************************************************************
Since arriving in Chicago, Scott had spent the last three months in
job training learning the in's and out's of modern technology. Today was
going to be his first day at his actual job. Scott arrived with the rest
of the job trainees to the lobby of the Steward Finance's Chicago office.
They had all been stripped down to a white tee shirt and a pair of white
briefs that left Scott feeling over exposed in the large, cold lobby. Once
we were lined up, several men in business suits came down the stairs and
started inspecting us as if they were examining livestock. They looked at
the info cards around our necks to learn what jobs skills they had but they
seemed to give that data very little attention in comparison to the
physical inspections they were giving. The suits would grab the trainee's
biceps as if to gain an idea of how developed they were. They would do the
same to the legs and chest. A few would even grab the groin and fondle it
before moving to another trainee. While the trainees had been told to
remain still during the inspection process, some of the trainee's appeared
to think they could land better jobs by taking a more active role. While
one suit was examining the mouth of a trainee, the trainee stuck out his
tongue and curled it up back into his mouth while leaning forward as if to
invite the inspector for a visit. The suit gave him a sly smile but did
not accept the invitation. He instead slipped his hand up the man's briefs
and groped around for a little while before moving on to the next trainee.
A few seminally popular trainees had several men in suites rubbing against
them and receiving an oral inspection. Scott felt very nervous around the
goings on at the moment. The physical motions of the suits and trainee's
did not make sense to me. Scott could not understand their behavior.
Jacob and he had wrestle around with each other but the feelings these men
were giving off did not seem to be just goofing off. Most of the suits
that came to him would read his card and start laughing. A few would make
a grope or two but did not see the reaction in Scott that they were hoping
for. Slowly, one by one, the other trainee's were selected and led off.
When Scott appeared to be one of the last three remaining, two men came
running down the stairs.
"You're late Lance, it seems you and Fred will be stuck with the runts
this time." Said one of the suits that was now walking away with one of the
three remaining trainees.
The taller of the two men punched his companion in the arm. "I told
you to finish the report yesterday but Noooo you believed the boss would
not want it till next week! Now we'll be stuck with the dumb sluts that no
one wants."
At that comment Scott looked over to the other remaining trainee. It
was Larry Fisher, the man who was rumored to have slept his way through
training. Even now, Larry was the only trainee to have actually stripped
for the suits. While several of the men in suits had seemed to enjoy their
physical inspection of him, they all left after seeing his information
card. Larry had taken on a dejected look on his face until the two men had
showed up. At seeing them he began stroking himself and hooting at the two
men to come over. One of the two men took one look at him and took up a
wary while the other seemed to see it as an opportunity to have fun.
"No Lance, we're all ready in enough trouble with being behind. That
guy has trouble written all over him."
"But he could be a lot of fun!" The shorter man defended himself.
"We don't need fun. We need a promotion. We need smart and dull since
you don't seem to be able to think beyond next night's bed companion."
"Well I have to find someone since your no fun any more."
"I'm no fun! I'm too busy saving your ass my dear to be having fun!"
"And you love it."
"Yes crab apple of my eye I love that ass of yours."
"Its not like I'm totally worthless you know. I got us all those
contracts last year."
"Yes I know, you're the PR guy of the team as you put it.
"Yes!"
"I just wish you could also help me with some of the paper work is
all."
"Well maybe Mr. Free Spirit over there is good with numbers?" The
shorter man said with a hopeful tone.
"If he were, someone would of picked him by now. No, the only numbers
that guy can give would be ones up the ass."
"And pretty impressive one's at that." Lance lusted.
"All right we'll check him out but if his rating is below a triple C
then no deal."
"A triple C, wow you are being generous today." The shorter man said
in a surprised tone.
The two men went over to the now excited Larry who proceeded to jump
on the taller man, showering him with kisses. The taller man whom Scott
guessed was named Fred, handed the over eager Larry to Lance so that he
could pick up the man's info card which Larry had tossed to the floor when
he had stripped. Larry was in the process of unbuckling Lance's belt when
Fred whispered something in Lance's ear.
"A double H or worse!" Lance shouted. Our dog is smarter then this
guy!"
"In the areas of self control, judgment, knowledge, and technical
skills, yes." Fred said with a self-satisfied expression.
"He must of scored high on something!" Lance insisted.
"He did, in PR entertainment he had a CCC ranking but I thought you
would not want that sort of competition."
"I'm a AAAA man, how can you make such a comparison!" Lance was
offended.
"I'm just saying that you don't want a CCC PR guy messing up all your
hard work."
"Damn right!"
"So lets go see what the other fellow has to offer." Fred soothed
"I guess so." Lance said dejectedly at loosing what he first saw as
an opportunity.
The two men walked over to Scott with Fred trying to pep Lance up
after his loss.
"Come on, you haven't even looked at this guy yet. He looks pretty
cute."
"I guess so but I bet he's a twit also since no one picked him."
Fred gave me a warm smile before looking up at my card at which time
he gave out a loud whistle until he read the bottom of the card where he
proceeded to laugh.
"I can't believe it." He said.
"What?" Lance who had been distracted from his goggling.
"He's perfect. His scores in natural intelligence are higher then
mine."
"Then what's so funny."
"We are or I should our society is." Fred laughed. "Here is a guy
who would be perfect for any team to have but because he's a Wilder, no one
wants him."
"Well that's obvious." Lance said as a matter of fact.
"Yes but it's just a stupid prejudice against country folk. Everyone
in the cities is so caught up in sex that they see a virgin as being
inferior."
"They are"
"Lance grow up, we were all virgins at one point in our lives."
"Yea but we change that as soon as possible. Look at him, he must be
in his mid-twenties, being a virgin at his age makes him a freak."
Scott did not understand what all this virgin talk was about but he
could see that Fred wanted to pick him but that Lance was afraid of getting
some sort of social stigma if they hired him. Fred seemed to be trying to
think his way out of this dilemma when a smile appeared on his face.
"He could be a great PR item." Fred said
"What?"
"Well think about it, you could bring him along when you meet up with
clients and show him off."
"How?"
"You could use him to show how dedicated we are to serving our clients
while also providing a piece of forbidden eye candy."
"Yeah!" Lance said now seeing the picture. "I know several clients
who feel that the world is too sex focused. Offering them the chance to
talk to a sexually naive person would be enjoyable for some of them. And
if he's as smart as you say he is, he can be our secret weapon. No one
thinks a virgin has any brains to them since no one in their right mind
would be one."
"So, you agree that we should take him?"
"If he makes you happy dear." Lance said, trying already to avoid
responsibility if Fred's idea turns out to be a flop.
"I'm sure he will." He said before turning his attention to me. "Well
I better ask you your name."
"Scott Gannon." Scott replied, not knowing what he had just gotten
into.
*****************************************************************
Hal Steward never wanted to be head of Steward Finance. Just like his
younger brother he had wanted to take his own road not one paved by his
father. But with his father's death at an early age and Russ being still a
kid. Hal found that life really was not a world of unlimited
possibilities. He had also been an officer in the army. It had given him
the discipline needed to run the world's investment market. Most people
felt that he was a man who had everything but he felt he had nothing.
Fearing love, Hal had been the only officer ever to serve without a First.
He was also one out of the two leaders of the Group of Five who did not
have a bond mate. The other being Jason Vasser. That did not mean that
Hal did not have a sex life it was just very superficial. His social life
was made up of loud parties and group orgies. While most men were enamored
with the CEO, none had captured his heart. Men had sex too easily he felt
including himself. He had long given up on the idea of courtship and true
love. The best he now felt he could get was to just to have a good time.
He was disappointed he was going to miss this year's interns but he had to
attend the five-year conference between the Group of Five to decide who
would win the upcoming war between NATO and the Asian Alliance. Gaining
the right to form personal armies and territorial powers were this year's
goals and Ian could not risk leaving such an important moment to others.
He hoped the conference would be short since there was one intern whose ass
he'd been eyeing for some time.
Jacob had come back to the United States when the once General Steward now
just Mr. Steward was well enough. During the recovery, Russ would never
let Jacob out of his sight. The damaged man now stripped of his First, who
had also been his bond mate, and his pack could not stand to be alone. The
mark of a Tor had faded from his arm when the new general had arrived to
take command of the troops. Jacob retook the old role of parent in his
care taking of Russ. Therefore he was not surprised when he woke up one
morning to find the mark of the Tor on his arm and the mark of the First on
Russ's. On the flight back to Steward City, he had been warned by several
of the crew members that Russ's older brother Hal might be mad to see a
stranger was now his brother's Tor. The Steward's were a proud family and
not taken to serving others. Russ though needed leadership now in being
guided out of his sorrows.
When they arrived at the city they were met by several security personnel
and an older version of Russ whom Jacob assumed was his brother. The man
was taller and slimmer then his brother and had salt and pepper hair but
had the same military clean-cut appearance. Jacob had to lead in front of
Russ who supported himself by placing on hand on Jacob's shoulder as they
slowly walked forward. The brother gave Jacob a quick nod then moved
forward to hug his brother.
"I'm glad you're home brother." Hal said while embraced. Russ just
whimpered while a few tears ran down his face.
"I'll take you to the Club Building. Your old room is still there.
Everyone will be happy to see you." Hal said as they entered the car but
what he thought was; "Mr. Travis, please put my brother to sleep so we can
talk."
Once Russ was asleep, Hal cleared his voice before starting. "Mr. Travis
I'd like to thank you for helping my brother. While it would be a lie for
me to say that I'm glade you're his Tor, I believe I would be correct in
presuming that it was his choice."
Jacob just nodded.
"I never wanted my brother to join the army but he wanted to go out on his
own and earn a name for himself. He even dragged his bond mate Kyle into
the mix. Made him his First. Never should of happened. Its what got him
into this mess. To have either your bond mate or your first die is bad
enough but for them to die at the same time I believe has shattered my
brother."
"I'll do what I can." Jacob replied.
"I'm sure you will. I made a mistake in letting him go last time. I'll
never make that mistake again. He'll need a new bond mate soon and I'm in
the process of finding one for him. Until then, I'd like you to stay with
him."
Jacob felt a tug at his heart. He wanted to go looking for Scott but now,
as Russ's Tor, he was also responsible for his as well. He had to make a
decision he did not want to make. "I'll stay." He finally said.