Beneath the Mask

By: J.P.G.
(© 2010-2013 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 62  

Sally’s reflexes were different when Mr. Robinson’s fist came flying at her. Instead of covering her face, she ducked, causing him to miss her face and to hit the side of the car instead. He quickly clutched his fist in his other hand as he turned around yelling in pain. Mrs. Robinson couldn’t believe her husband had missed and it was even more amazing that he hit the car and got hurt.

She quickly jumped up and took his place in front of Sally. She didn’t swing at Sally with her hands in a fist, instead they were stretched out. One slap, two slaps and then three hit Sally’s hands that were covering her face. However, the hits weren’t hurting Sally at all. It felt more like pinches than anything else, which didn’t play well with either of the Robinsons.

While Mrs. Robinson was paying more attention to her husband on the ground, Sally took advantage. She went to her right a couple of steps so she could defend herself. Before Mrs. Robinson realized that she made a mistake, Sally returned the hits, but hers weren’t slaps. Each hit was a punch, a punch that not only knocked Mrs. Robinson back, but hurt her.

By the fifth hit, this lady was seeing stars. She had no idea which way was up and which way was down until she finally did go down. The only thing that saved her from getting hurt even worse when she hit the ground was her husband being there. It was as if Mrs. Robinson was actually aiming at the center of her husband, because that is exactly where she landed.

As her full body weight came down on Mr. Robinson, he gasped for air, grabbing at his stomach. He turned to his side, throwing his wife off him in order to breathe again. Once his lungs filled back up with air, he turned and looked at Sally through blurry eyes. The pain he was feeling caused tears to form in his eyes, making it hard to see.

He knew if he or his wife didn’t to get up and finish what they started Sally was going to get away. He realized what would happen if Sally did get away. Those thoughts got him to muster every ounce of energy that was left inside his body, to ignore the pain of his broken hand and get to his feet. It took a few seconds, but once he was back on his feet, he was able to stop Sally from running, but not from screaming.

The minute he laid his hands on Sally and started to pull her back towards him and his wife in the blind spot of the garage, she started to scream. None of them really thought anyone would hear the screaming, but how wrong they were. On the level above a person heading to his car did hear the screams and started to run down the ramp with his girlfriend right behind him trying to get him to stop. She knew her boyfriend and knew he was going to help whoever was in trouble.

Not wanting to ignore his girlfriend’s pleas to stop, the cries of the woman in trouble overpowered him. When he got where Sally and the Robinsons were, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Barely a few seconds had passed until his girlfriend caught up and, just like him, she couldn’t believe what was unfolding before their very eyes.

Right in the courthouse parking garage was a middle aged man beating on what looked like a middle aged woman. She was covering her face, so the pair just arrived couldn’t see who it was. However when she turned and tried once again to get away from the onslaughts of punches hitting her, the young man got a glimpse of Sally, which startled him for a few seconds. He knew the woman and all he wanted to do is get her out of there when he came back to his senses. So he walked up to them and reached out just as Mr. Robinson was throwing a punch, catching his fist in midair.

“You son-of-a-bitch! Didn’t your mother teach you not to hit on women???” The young man yelled as he pushed Mr. Robinson away from Sally, not letting go of his fist. “This woman you are beating on is a friend of mine and I won’t let you harm her. Hell even if she wasn’t a friend I wouldn’t stand by and let you hit on a defenseless woman like you’re doing.”

Sally still hadn’t gotten a look at her savior yet. All she was able to see was the back of the young man that got Mr. Robinson off her. However, when she looked over and saw the young lady standing in shock looking on, she knew exactly who came to her rescue. She looked back at the young man who had Mr. Robinson heading to his knees.

“I know who you are; at least I’ve seen you around that is,” the young man pondered. Mr. Robinson took another look at the young man hovering above him, but couldn’t place him. “You are, um…” The young man scratched his head. “Yes you are Alex’s boyfriend’s father if I’m not mistaken. Why in the world are you beating on Ms. Sally?”

Mr. Robinson didn’t answer; he just looked up at the young man in pain. The hand he caught in midair was Mr. Robinson’s bad hand; the hand he hit against the car that he was certain he broke the minute it missed Sally and collided with the metal. Now a kid that probably plays football and lifts weights every day had it in the palm of his hand squeezing it, making it worse.

Putting aside the pain, Mr. Robinson finally responded, but not the response the young man was waiting for. “You fucking wetback Mexican! Get your fucking hands off of me before I have your ass deported back to Mexico!” Not meaning to, the young man started to laugh. “What the hell are you laughing at you fucking beaner? Get your fucking hands off me!”

“First of all I’m proud of my race, so go right ahead and say all those nasty words because it doesn’t bother me.” The young man clamped down even harder on Mr. Robinson’s hand. “And second of all, I’m not from Mexico. I was born here in the good old U S of A in the hospital not too far from here. So there is no way you can deport me anywhere.”

The young man pushed Mr. Robinson to the pavement as he let go of his fist. “You know what? You aren’t worth it. I won’t dirty my hands on a man that has no problem hitting on woman in the courthouse parking garage. But I promise you if you don’t stay down, I will start beating on you and if that happens I won’t stop!”

Knowing that he shouldn’t have, the young man turned around to try and get Sally out of there when he heard his girlfriend scream out to him to turn around. Just as he turned around, Mr. Robinson hit him right on the face, causing him to fall back onto his butt. Both Sally and the young girl went running towards the young man, but he waved them off as he quickly got back on his feet before Mr. Robinson was able to get to him.

“Just like you, little prick, I know who you are.” Mr. Robinson swung, but all he hit punch after punch was air. “Don’t stand there saying you don’t want to hit me because it’s nothing but bullshit. The reason you won’t lay a hand on me is because if you do, your ass will be thrown right back in jail with your other wetback beaner friends!”

Over and over again Mr. Robinson swung, but he missed every time. The young man looked over at Sally for a few seconds as if he was looking for permission to start hitting. Then when it seemed like he didn’t get the answer he wanted, he looked over at his girlfriend. The minute they made eye contact, she opened her mouth and gave him what he was looking for.

“Carlos, kick his fucking old ass!”

That was all Carlos needed. He turned around and just laid into Mr. Robinson. Hit after hit connected, reeling Mr. Robinson back a few steps each time. The first couple of hits stung Matt’s father, but they really didn’t hurt until Carlos connected in the same spot a couple of more times. When that happened, Mr. Robinson was in great pain from head to toe.

“Yeah you are right you know who I am, but you are wrong as well!” Carlos yelled out between punches. “I won’t be going back to juvenile hall because I’m beating your ass. In fact, I believe the city would more than likely give me a medal for kicking your ass. The new police chief hates guys that beat up on defenseless people, more so women!”

All of Carlos attention was on Mr. Robinson, he didn’t notice Mrs. Robinson sneaking up on him. However, he might not have noticed her, but Kimberly did. Before Mrs. Robinson could lay a hand on her man, Kimberly grabbed her by her hair and pulled her backwards. Mrs. Robinson had no idea what was going on until it was too late.

With not much effort, Kimberly was able to get Mrs. Robinson to the ground. Once she had her on the pavement, she was on top of her going to town like her boyfriend was doing to Mr. Robinson about ten feet away. Both of the Robinsons were getting their butts handed to them and there wasn’t a thing they could do about it except cover their faces.

If it wasn’t for another person passing by and seeing what was going on as she headed to her car, there is no telling when Carlos and Kimberly would have stopped hitting the Robinsons. At first that person tried to intervene, but when she was getting nowhere, she ran to the get help. It didn’t take long for her to return with not only court police, but a couple of El Paso’s finest.

The court police pulled Kimberly off Mrs. Robinson while the police officers pulled Carlos off Mr. Robinson. As they got Carlos off Mr. Robinson, he got in a few cheap shots into Carlos’ gut. Those cheap shots didn’t play too well with Carlos, but he couldn’t get him back because the police had him on his chest before he could say it wasn’t me.

“Okay now why don’t we all settle down so we can find out what in the hell is going on here?” One of the officers yelled. “The way I see it some of you are going to go to jail this evening and by the looks of it…” The officer pointed to Carlos and Kimberly. “It’s going to be the two of you since when we got here we found you two on top of those two.” The officer pointed over to the Robinsons who were being looked at. “So why doesn’t someone speak up so I can cuff these kids and get home in time for dinner?”

All at once everyone started yelling. “Shut the hell up! I can’t hear myself think with all of you guys talking at the same time.” The officer yelled as he looked around the parking lot at each of the ones that was trying to get their two cents in. “Since it was you that got us, why don’t you tell us what you saw.” The officer looked at the lady who went and got them.

“Um, I, um, well when I got here those two kids was already beating on the older couple over there.” The lady turned and pointed at the Robinsons who were trying their best to look like they were the victims. “I tried to stop the fighting before going for help, but those thugs refused to get off them. To me it looked like the thugs were trying to rob those two, but they put up a fight.”

The officer looked over at the Robinsons, but before he could ask if what the bystander was saying was true, Carlos yelled out. “That’s a lie. We weren’t trying to rob them and we are certainly not thugs. We were….” The officer kicked Carlos in the gut, causing him to stop talking as he struggled for air.

“You don’t talk unless you are asked to talk! Is that understood?” Carlos couldn’t answer because he was trying to get his wind. “Is that understood you little shit?” The officer once again kicked Carlos in the gut, getting him to shake his head. “Good I’m pleased that we understand each other. Now I want to hear from you two.” The officer looked over at the Robinsons. “Is what this lady is saying true? These two thugs were trying to rob you two?”

The Robinsons quickly nodded their heads, getting Carlos to yell out that they were lying. He got another kick in the gut for that outburst, but it didn’t stop Carlos from trying to defend himself. Although he was struggling for air, he refused to be railroaded. Through a couple more kicks in the gut and below the arm pit, Carlos tried to tell the officer the truth.

Even though Sally tried to intervene, the officer wouldn’t let her. It took a court officer running out yelling to ‘hold on’ to get the officer to stop kicking Carlos. Everyone stood there in silence as the court officer huddled with the other court officers and police officers that were first on the scene. Every few seconds the officer that was kicking Carlos looked back at Carlos and Kimberly, and then at the Robinsons. The third time he looked at the Robinsons, they knew the game was up. They were caught and they were the ones going to be placed in handcuffs.

The court officers and city police broke their huddle. In pairs they headed to each of the couples that were involved in the fight. At first, it didn’t look like they had made their decision on who was going to jail. At least not until the officers that went to Carlos and Kimberly reached down and helped them up from the ground that is.

As they were helping Carlos and Kimberly off of the ground, the officers that went behind the Robinsons asked them to get up. At first they pretended that they didn’t hear them. When that didn’t work, they tried to say they were too much in pain. That excuse didn’t work either because the officers got the okay from the EMT’S that had been called to look them over. Still it didn’t stop the Robinsons from trying to use it, and many other excuses before they finally did what they were told. As soon as they got up, they were handcuffed and read their rights.

While the Robinsons were being placed into a squad car, the officer that refused to listen to those that were there through the whole event was trying to explain his actions. Carlos, Kimberly and Sally listened at first, but when the officer started going in circles, they had enough. They were being respectful to him, unlike his treatment of them.

“Look the way you handled this whole thing was wrong and I can see it in your face and hear it in your voice that you know that!” Sally angrily spat out. “You refused to listen to anyone else except that bitch over there that refused to help. She went running for help then try and get these guys off me. In the time it took her to get you guys I could have been hurt badly, or worse, killed. No, you listened to her, and she had no idea what was going on.”

“Ma’am as I have tried to say several times since seeing the video I was wrong and that I was sorry about how I dealt with these two young kids.” The officer looked quickly over at Carlos and Kimberly before looking back at Sally. “There isn’t much more I can say than I already have. The right people are in custody and those that didn’t do wrong are going home. Beyond that I can’t turn back time and fix what I did before seeing that tape.”

“You are right, you can’t turn back time and correct your ignorance, but I can try and make sure you don’t do it again to anyone else. What you did here by jumping to conclusions shows that there is a lot of work that still needs to be done in the EPPD. A lot more of you older officers that believe you have all the rights in the world to do whatever the hell you want because you wear a badge need to get fired, or at least given desk jobs and never again work out in the public!”

“You are right on that ma’am and I won’t rest until my entire department is cleaned up.” Chief-of-Police Falster said in a calm voice as he walked up to Sally with her son at his side. “There are still a lot of officers in the department that shouldn’t be in uniform, but they won’t be found out until they either show their true colors like this one did here today, or my staff and I get to see their record and look at all the complaints that have been filed against them.”

Luke walked passed his boss and went right over to his mother. He didn’t care to hear his boss trying to once again explain away the wrongs of the department he took over. The only concern he had on his mind was his mother. All that he knew at that time is what he had heard over the radio, which wasn’t much except she was part of some kind of beating.

“Mom are you okay!” Luke whispered as he started looking over his mother. “Has anyone looked you over yet? By the looks of it you are bleeding from several places.” Luke gently lifted up his mother’s right arm, but due to the pain she quickly pulled it back towards her body. “Mom you need to be looked at. Why haven’t they looked at you yet?” Doing everything he could not to lose his cool, Luke looked around for an EMT.

“Son, son I’m okay, really I’m okay!” Sally grabbed her son with the other hand that wasn’t hurting. “They already looked at me and we agreed that I need to go to the hospital to get checked out. But I didn’t want to leave until things were straight here because that officer was trying to railroad those two young kids who came to my rescue.”

Not waiting to hear anymore, Luke walked over to the officer that had been kicking Carlos. Even though he hadn’t heard what he actually did, Luke knew it had to be so bad that got his mother to stick around in the condition she was in. She wasn’t a type of a woman that would put her health in jeopardy unless someone else’s was and she could so something about it.

Midway to the officer, Luke stopped, stood there for a few seconds before turning around. He walked over to Carlos and Kimberly to get their side of the story. He had several questions, one is why they were there. He was thankful for what they did, but things just didn’t seem right. High school students at the court house when they should be in school, they were the only ones that heard his mother screaming and similar questions like that raced through young Luke’s mind that he needed answers to.

“Sir, I was asked to come down by the DA who wanted a more detailed statement from me on what I saw in the restroom between Davey and those guys that hurt him.” Luke looked at Carlos with a confused look on his face. He didn’t understand why the DA wanted a more detailed statement at this point since all those involved in that case have pleaded out and Carlos picked up on that.

“I had the same concerns you are having right now when I first got the call from the DA. I actually thought it was trick or something like that to get me in and revoke me, but when I got down here it wasn’t. Garratt, the one that seemed to be the one that instigated everything is asking for an early release from his probation on the grounds of his upbringing. The DA used these fancy words, but it is basically that and she didn’t want him to use it as an escape for what he did. So I retold the story about what I heard, saw and did that morning.”

“Okay I’m getting the picture of why you were here, but I still don’t understand why you were the only one that heard my mother being assaulted. From what I understand you guys are parked, what, a level or two above.” At the same time Kimberly and Carlos nodded their heads. “Then how is it that you two were the only ones that heard what was going on here? On top of that you were the only two that came to her rescue? Please explain that if you can!”

“Sir we really can’t explain that since we don’t know who else heard or saw anything here. All I can say is that Kimberly and I got off the elevator and we were walking towards our car when we heard a woman crying out for help. We followed the cries that led us here to your mother who we saw being assaulted by Matt’s parents. I tried to defuse the situation by talking, but they were determined to finish what they had started.”

Carlos went on to tell Luke in detail what he saw when he first got to Sally, what he said and what he was forced to do. Then he went into detail on what the officer did and said when he showed up on the scene. The more Carlos explained the more Luke was getting angry. He never in his career had heard of an officer immediately jumping to conclusions as this officer did on who was in the wrong and who wasn’t. Forget that it involved his mother! It shouldn’t have happened to any law abiding citizen that was just trying to help.

He thanked Carlos and Kimberly for their help as he waved the EMT’S to come over and take a look at them. Once the EMT’S reached them, he made his way over to the officer that had Carlos on the ground. He was escorted away from the scene to the corner of the garage. As Luke approached the officer, he saw a scared look on his face. It was because once again another officer in the EPPD who swore to uphold the law broke the law by hurting a civilian.

“Officer…” Luke looked at the officer’s name tag. “…Stone I’m just getting the facts about what occurred here, and it isn’t shaping up in your favor.” Stone tried to speak, but Luke stopped him. “I wouldn’t say a word if I was you, not without your rep here. So far what I have been able to piece together from several different sources, you broke several laws. And once we get the video…” Luke pointed to the video cameras. “I’m pretty sure it will back up what I have gathered so far. You weren’t in the blind spot of this garage like my mother and those idiots were. No you were in the open where several cameras caught all your actions.”

“With all due respect you should recuse yourself from this investigation since it involves a family member. Your emotions are riding high and because of that you aren’t going to be able to make the right decisions. Put that aside, you know you should because it is department regulations. You being a newly appointed assistant police chief and all, you don’t want to be known as an officer that is willing to bend the rules whenever it benefits him.”

Before Luke could answer, Falster walked up. “You’re right, he should recuse himself from this investigation and he already has. He just came over here as a courtesy to let you know how much hot water you are in and officer, let me say, you are in a lot of hot water! But this is neither the place nor time to be talking about this.” Falster took several steps back and wrapped his arm around Luke.

“As my assistant chief of police told you, don’t say another word without your rep present. For now, this officer will be taking you back to the station.” A fellow officer stepped forward. “You will give him your gun and back up before getting in the back seat of his cruiser. Out of courtesy, you being one of us, we aren’t going to handcuff you, but don’t take that as a weakness. As soon as you get to the station, you are going to be booked like every other criminal we bring in.”

Falster walked up to Stone and started to whisper. “After you get booked, you will be taken into a room where you will wait for me. There you are going to be stripped of your badge and everything else that makes you an officer when I arrive. You will then be allowed to make two phone calls, one to your rep and the other to whoever you want to bail you out. Once you make your calls, you will be taken in front of a judge to get that bail set before being taken to county.

The next words that were going to come out of Falster’s mouth he knew were going to leave a bitter taste. “The only thing I wish I didn’t have to do is put you in protective custody while you are a guest of the county, but I have to since you were an officer sworn to protect and uphold the laws of this state. Some of those guys that you will more than likely run into in there you probably arrested in the fashion that you were using to make this arrest. There isn’t a doubt in my mind they would love to get just a little payback for the way you treated them.”

Not giving Stone a chance to respond, Falster walked away with Luke at his side. The two men talked in a whisper as they made their way back to Sally, Carlos and Kimberly. While they were talking like old friends, Stone was being escorted to a police cruiser by one of his buddies who hated doing what he was doing. After stripping his friend of his firearms, he placed him in the back of his cruiser and did as he was told with an audience looking on.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel Alex had escorted the lawyer that was working on the case against the city on his behalf to a private office on the first floor. On their way to the office, all Alex could think of is the lawyer was there to deliver bad news. That is how is day has been going so far, so why would it be any different here. It would be a perfect ending to a perfect day. So he prepared himself for bad news as they walked into the office and closed the door.

The lawyer sat down in the chair across from where Alex had stopped, turned around and put the brakes on his wheelchair. He rifled through his briefcase, making Alex even more nervous as he gathered the folders that he needed. Once he pulled out the folders, he slowly placed his briefcase next to his seat and looked up at Alex for a few seconds before turning his attention back to the folders. Just as slowly as he put his briefcase at his side, he opened the top folder and started to skim over it. The silence was more than Alex could take.

“I know you lawyers like to have all your T’s crossed and I’s dotted, but come on now this silence is getting on my nerves.” The lawyer was not too happy with Alex’s tone, but knew he had to take it since Alex was the client. “First you show up here without letting me know that you were coming by, and secondly you sit there in silence going over your notes that I know for sure you know by heart. So why don’t you just get on with why you are here please.”

“Okay sir I will do just that!” The lawyer handed Alex the second folder he was holding. “Inside that folder is the settlement the city has offered. Even though they are tired of the bad press they are getting from what the officers did to you, they aren’t willing to go any higher than what they have offered there. If you decide you want or deserve more, we will have to take this to a jury trial where they promise they will fight tooth and nail to ensure you get nothing.”

At first Alex didn’t see the amount until he turned the page. When he saw the many zero’s following the four, he couldn’t believe it. He not only took a second look, but a third, fourth and fifth look before looking back up at his lawyer. Trying his best to keep a straight face, Alex asked his lawyer to continue walking him through everything.

“Well if you decide to take this offer, you will have to sign the documents in that folder and I will be able to hand you the check for four million dollars. However, by accepting the settlement offer, you are giving up all future claims or lawsuits against the city for what happened on that day. All your medical bills concerning the injuries you received on that day at the hands of the officers and the events to free you from them will be paid now and in the future.”

Not wanting to be rude, Alex interrupted his attorney. He needed to know the answer to the questions that had popped into his mind the moment his lawyer said that he couldn’t sue the city in the future for the events of the day his legs were broken. Loving the amount of money his attorney was able to get him; he would love it even more if the city admitted fault. He didn’t want them to be able to sweep it all under the rug as if it never happened.

“There was no way I would have agreed to present this settlement to you without them accepting responsibility for that day. That is the only way what happened to you won’t happen again to another and they live up to their promise that they are going to clean up the EPPD. A lot of the backlash of that day went away on that promise and I will see to it they are held to that.”

Alex loved the answer he was given. Just like his attorney, he wanted the EPPD cleaned up. It’s not because he had become this caring citizen all of a sudden. He knows he has a lot more work to do on himself to prove that he is a law abiding citizen, with his past and all. No, it was because he just didn’t want another person to go through what he went through that day by the hands of a few police officers who thought they were above the law because they were the law.

“Now if you have no other questions let me continue explaining all that is entailed in this settlement.” Alex nodded his head. “If you take this settlement, besides what I have already told you, you will also get…” Alex’s attorney took him line by line of the settlement. At times he almost fell asleep, but he got himself through it without interrupting his attorney too often.

 “Okay I see no problem with anything you have explained to me to this point. The only thing that does come to mind and is really bothering me is if I take this offer is how the police will treat me and my family. Not only did they lose a few of their own that day, and will lose a few more when all is said and done, but I was given a huge settlement as well. A kid that was once one of the top most wanted in El Paso is now is getting millions from the very people that were trying to lock him away. They are going to come after me, or at least try and make things hard for me.”

“I understand your concerns and worries, and there is nothing I can say that will put your mind at rest. All I will say on that matter is if you, your family or friends have any problems with a police officer or anyone that is associated with them, come and see me. You are agreeing not to sue them again for this incident, but you aren’t giving away your rights to not sue them ever again should they do you, your family or friends wrong.”

Not totally liking that response, Alex knew it was the only response his attorney could give him on his concerns about retaliation from the EPPD that might come his way. They talked a little bit more about a few other things before he was shown where to sign. Once all the signing was done, Alex’s attorney handed him his check in an envelope with a big smile on his face.

The two men talked for a few more minutes before making their way back to the lobby. When they reached the front doors of the hotel, Alex thanked his attorney for all the hard work he had done as they shook hands and said their goodbyes. He sat there in the middle of the lobby in his wheelchair after his attorney left, staring out to nowhere particular, thinking about how his luck took a complete turnaround in such a short period of time.

Even though the weekend started out with a bang, nothing really more exciting or dramatic happened like what happened to Alex, Sally, Carlos and Kimberly on Friday afternoon. Saturday was a blur for the boys because it was so busy with the wedding and all. From the moment they woke up to the moment they finally put their heads on their pillows, it was nonstop.

Each of them enjoyed themselves as they witnessed the Hernandez’s tie the knot for the second time. From Jacob to Brandon singing, and the vows being taken in-between, it was a very emotional moment for everyone. They not only saw the love that was obvious between Gloria and Andy Sr., but the love that was in the church between every couple that was there. No matter if they were straight or gay couples; the love was strong under the roof of God.

The brunch wasn’t that all exciting for anyone. Everyone eventually showed up at the restaurant and just sat around eating and talking about whatever was on their minds. Jacob and his group were the last to arrive and the first to leave and everyone knew why. The only black cloud over the events of that day was the fresh memories of what has been happening in their lives recently. With Tom and David unable to attend, Alex in leg casts, Jacob limping and many others with cuts and bruises on their faces was a sad reminder that they have had a serious streak of really bad luck recently.

Alex really wanted to be with the guys when they saw Tom off before coming to the brunch, but he reluctantly agreed with Jacob and his mother. Hating it, he agreed that he shouldn’t go because he would be more in the way than anything else with him being in a wheelchair. So he asked Jacob to pass on his best wishes and farewell to his friend. Also to tell him that he promises to visit once he was walking on his own without the wheelchair or crutches. Without question Jacob agreed to pass everything on.

There was a small break between the brunch and the reception, during which Alex and his group went back to the hotel to rest. Before they were able to get in the doors of the hotel, the news of what was going on with Ralph was delivered. They wanted to go down and be with their friend in his moment of need, but knew it wasn’t the best thing to do. Certainly not after hearing what had started the whole thing between Ralph and his father earlier that day after he arrived home.

So instead they decided to send flowers. Alex felt weird doing that, but knew it was the best thing to do because if they showed up at the hospital it might make a bad situation even worse; something none of them wanted to do. Reluctantly he scribbled a few words down on a get well card and signed it before heading up with Matt to their room.

None of the guys were able to rest when they got into their rooms. They couldn’t get out of their minds the luck they were still having. They hoped at least for one day, just one, their luck would be good, or at least without anyone getting hurt in their circle of family and friends. Now they saw their wish was not granted and another was in their own personal hell.

Finally after trying for almost thirty minutes to get some rest, Alex gave up. As he pulled himself up, he found Matt had already gotten up and was sitting in the chair next to the window looking out. Not saying a word, he pulled himself from the bed into his wheelchair and made his way over to his boyfriend. They sat there together in each other arms, looking out to the city of El Paso in silence. Both of them were thinking the same thing as they stared out the window. How in the world could their luck be so bad, or at least for the last several months, in this city that they are looking at, a city that appears so peaceful from where they were sitting.

Neither of them budged an inch until they heard the hallway outside their room come alive. When they heard the chatter and laughter, they broke out of their stupor and looked at the door and then back at each other. Because they have gotten to know each other’s body language so well that they didn’t need to say a word to each other to know what the other was thinking. They just knew and they went out to join the others in the hallway.

Soon they found themselves downstairs in the room where the pool table that Aaron’s father bought out of guilt for what happened between him and his son. For the next couple of hours the guys forgot about all the things that have been going on in their lives, good and bad, and just had fun for once. None of them kept score. They just took turns and played the game. It wasn’t until they heard the noise in the hallway leading to the elevator get louder and louder that the outside world and the reality of it came crashing back.

The boys gathered the balls and cues put them away before they headed back up to their rooms to once again get ready to rejoin the real world. Even though they reluctantly got themselves ready and joined the wedding party, their family and friends in the ballroom, the evening’s events turned out very nice. Everyone found themselves once again forgetting about everything that has been going on and just had fun.

They totally enjoyed live music and another meal and they just had fun. Alex didn’t let the wheelchair stop him from dancing with his boyfriend Matt. They took a little piece of the dance floor and danced the evening away. At times it was a little hard with Alex in the wheelchair, but they made do. Even with the slow songs, they did alright. Matt just jumped onto Alex’s lap and allowed Alex to lead them all over the dance floor. No one complained! They all understood and whenever the boys came around them, they side stepped to get out of their way.

The boys forgot about time and everything outside that ballroom that night. They just had fun, which was what the evening was supposed to be all about. And when it came to an end, they hated it, but went with the flow. Even when the lights were turned off and the last guest left, the boys kept the party going to the early morning hours. By the time they called it a night, the sun was coming up, which meant only one thing. They were going to sleep most of Sunday away.

No one stirred until the early afternoon. Even then it was to just get up, get something to eat and then head back to their rooms. It wasn’t until almost five in the evening when Alex and Matt finally rolled out of bed and headed down to the theatre room. Just like the others that had made their way downstairs, they were in running pants, t-shirts, white socks and didn’t bother to put a comb through their hair.

It was an unusual evening for Alex and the others with no drama happening. They lazed around watching movies, played pool and for an hour or so and swam in the pool on the roof. The only intense moment was when Jacob, Dewayne and a few of the other guys that went with Jacob to check out the Governor’s former house. They weren’t too happy with the condition the house was in, but knew they had to take it. There just weren’t too many options out there for them in the time frame Jacob wanted the house ready to be moved into.

Alex and Matt joined Jacob, Dewayne and a couple of the others to discuss their options. When it was all said and done they all agreed their best option is still the Governor’s old house. So they were going to make do and try to fix up the damaged parts of the house, clean up the other parts that were trashed and be moved into it before they leave for Spring Break.

Once that discussion was done, Alex knew he had another serious one coming that he had to have with Matt about the settlement he accepted from the city of El Paso. He wasn’t trying to stay away from the topic; it was just how busy they have been with the wedding and all since he got the good news from his attorney. So as soon as they got up in their room and ready for bed, Alex pulled out the envelope and handed it to his soul mate and partner.

“Let me start out by saying I wasn’t trying to hide this or keep it from you.” Matt looked at the envelope and back up at Alex with a confused looked on his face. “It’s just when all this happened there was no time for us to really talk about anything besides what we were dealing with on Friday with your parents and what they did after their court hearing.”

Matt felt bad because he knew he wasn’t being a good mate after getting the news about what his parents did to Sally. He closed himself off to everyone the minute he was told about the incident. Not able to understand why his parents would do what they did, he didn’t want to deal with it. He didn’t want anyone to try and help him through because he was more embarrassed than anything else because of the actions his parents took when things didn’t go their way. They not only embarrassed themselves, but the entire family. Matt couldn’t hold his head up high at the hotel anymore whenever he saw staff members, the owner Joey or Judge Evans.

“There is nothing I can say that will make you feel better babe, I know that.” Alex wrapped his arms around Matt. “What your family is going through is rough and I can’t say I understand it because I have never been through it. I have been through other similar incidents when I was the one embarrassing my family, but I have never been on the other side of the equation like you are right now. But please understand that no matter what happens with our families there is nothing anyone can do that will make me love you any less than I ever have. Every passing day I’m falling more deeply in love with you, something I didn’t think was possible.”

Matt turned and smiled at Alex as he leaned in. When their lips touched it was like they had never kissed before. The fireworks that went off were unexplainable in words for either of them. They loved the feeling and never wanted that feeling to go away. All they cared about at that very moment was being in each other’s arms like they were without the worries of the outside world.

However, no matter how hard they tried to hide from the outside world, it eventually overtook them. They tried to hold the kiss as long as they could, but the thoughts they were trying to hide from came fighting back into their minds. Finally after wrestling with their thoughts for almost five minutes, they gave in and broke the kiss.

“Look whenever you are ready to talk about what happened between your parents and Sally I’m here for you. I won’t rush you to talk about it until you’re ready.” Alex reached over and wiped away the tears that were rolling down Matt’s face. “But if you want something to brighten your day why don’t you open that envelope I gave you.”

Matt had completely forgotten about the envelope his Alex gave him. He looked down at his hands where he still had it and slowly started to raise it to the light to try and see what was inside without opening it. No matter how he held it towards the light, there wasn’t enough light going through for him to make out anything completely. The only thing he was certain of in the envelope he was holding above his head was that it was some kind of check. Almost immediately once his mind settled on that, his thoughts went to the bank approving the loan.

“No way! No FUCKING way Alex! You are telling me they actually gave us the money to buy the building we were looking at?” Matt jumped onto his knees in the middle of the bed as he started to open the envelope, but when he pulled out the check and saw the amount he knew then it wasn’t from the bank. With a confused look on his face, he looked back at Alex. “This isn’t the loan is it?” Alex shook his head. “What is it then if it isn’t the loan?”

Gently Alex pulled Matt back to him and waited for him to relax his head on his chest. Once he did that, Alex softly started to caress Matt’s forehead. “No it isn’t the check from the bank to buy the building. The earliest we are going to get an answer on that is tomorrow sometime, but we don’t need to wait on that now that we have this check.”

More confused than ever, Matt tilted his head up and looked Alex straight in the eyes. “That check is a shit load of money, where did you get it?”

“I know you are a little confused, so give me a chance to explain things to you before you say anything else, okay?” Reluctantly Matt nodded. With that, Alex told him about the meeting he had with his lawyer the Friday afternoon that his parents attacked Sally, not leaving a thing out. When he was done, Matt had no idea what to say, he just kept looking at the check and all the zeros that followed the four.

“When I was told about the settlement I was as confused as you are right now, but after my lawyer explained everything to me, it cleared a lot up. Not everything, but a lot. Then I asked a few questions I had and looking over the paperwork several times, I understood a lot more. If you want we can go down to his office so he can explain it all for you.”

Placing the check back into the envelope, Matt shook his head. “No there is no need for me to talk with your attorney. But if you don’t mind, I would like to look at the settlement paperwork you signed.” Alex agreed. “And if I have any questions afterward I’m sure you can answer them without us going back to the lawyer to bill you more money for his time.”

Alex laughed as he took the check back from Matt and placed it back onto the end table next to their bed. They stayed up for another couple hours talking about what they would like to do with the money. The one thing they were certain they were going to do with it, besides trying to save most of it was to buy the building they wanted to move their printing company into.

Finally when they saw it was already after midnight, they called it a night. They got naked, crawled under the covers and cuddled up to each other in the middle of the bed. Before they knew it they were out and didn’t wake up until the alarm sounded the next morning. Taking turns, they hit the snooze button a couple of times before Matt finally gave up and got out of bed.

Since Alex still wasn’t cleared to go back to school, Matt tried to be as quiet as he could as he got ready but wasn’t successful not waking him up. Alex slowly came to life and looked at his the guy he loves as he got ready. He couldn’t help but drool over him. The more he watched, the more his dick got hard. By the time Matt was done getting dressed, it was obvious that Alex was full aroused. With a big smile on his face, Matt walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

“Now listen you are going to have to tell junior to settle down…” Matt gently tapped Alex’s hard dick. “I am already dressed and there is no time for funny business; not if I don’t want to run myself and the guys late for school. So you and junior are going to have to wait until I get back from school this afternoon to be satisfied, but if you do, I promise you won’t regret it.”

Still with the big grin on his face, Matt leaned in and kissed Alex. It wasn’t a quick kiss either. It was loving, passionate and loaded with meaning. After Matt broke the kiss, the quickly lifted the covers and saw Alex’s achingly hard love shaft that was already leaking pre-cum poking out the fly of his boxers.  Matt couldn’t resist; he leaned down, took Alex’s cock in hand, licked the pre-cum off and then kissed the head, all of this causing Alex to shudder in delight and moan. Then, without a word, Matt put the covers back over Alex, got up and walked out the door without another word. He knew that if he didn’t, he would end up being VERY late.

Looking under the covers, Alex couldn’t believe how hard he was. He really thought he was going to be able to talk Matt into a little play time. Instead he was left with the worst case of blue balls he’s ever had.

Knowing that if he would wait until this evening to get rid of his blue balls, he was going to be grumpy all day and he didn’t want that. So he tossed the blankets to the side and wiggled his boxers down his legs. As his boxes released his dick, it sprung up, throwing several streams of pre-cum onto his chest and chin, giving him goose bumps up and down his arms and legs.

Before doing anything else, Alex looked over at the door. He didn’t want anyone to walk in on him and catch him in the middle of what he is about to do, so he wanted to make sure it was locked. Once he saw the red light was on, he turned his attention back to his leaking dick. Since it was leaking like an open faucet, he had no need to reach out for any lotion.

He just stretched out his legs as he wrapped his right hand around his dick. Slowly he started to go up and down his dick, imagining making mad love with Matt. As he pictured himself getting up from the bed, grabbing his boyfriend and throwing him onto the bed, he started to go a little faster and faster. It didn’t take him long to find his rhythm.

His dick kept leaking more and more pre-cum as he imagined stripping Matt out of his clothes and having his way with him. Every time in his mind he got down to Matt’s dick, he licked it a couple times before kissing his way back up to his lover’s lips. Each time he did that, Matt got hornier and hornier. And when he didn’t put Matt’s dick completely in his mouth and finish him off the sixth time he went down, it drove Matt up the wall and he didn’t hesitate to let Alex know.

His imagination worked overtime and the next time Alex went down and started to lick Matt’s dick, he held Alex’s head down as he put his dick in Alex’s mouth. Matt took over and started to dominate him, Alex got closer and closer to his climax. Just as Matt hit his climax in Alex’s mind and started shooting into Alex’s mouth, Alex exploded all over his stomach, chest, face and yes a couple of the streams actually made it over Alex’s head to the headboard of the bed.

Alex wasn’t ready or wanting to come out of his post orgasmic state when he heard a knock on the door. Quickly he looked around the bed and end table for a towel or something that he could wipe away all the sperm he just shot. When he didn’t find anything, he grabbed the next best thing to clean up the mess and that was the sheet he had tossed to the side.

As he cleaned the sperm off his stomach, chest and face, he told whoever was at the door to give him a minute. By being in a hurry he forgot how far he shot so he didn’t clean the sperm that was on the headboard of the bed. Even when he pushed the sheet under his pillow and laid flat on the bed, pulling the covers over him, he didn’t remember about the headboard. It wasn’t until he invited whoever was at the door to come in that he looked up and saw the streams of cum rolling down. 

It seemed like the streams of sperm were taunting Alex. As he heard the key card being pushed into the lock on the door, and then slowly being pulled out, Alex could have sworn the streams of sperm stopped moving. They were now at eye level, not fading, drying or moving anymore. It was as if they wanted to be seen so it told on him on what he was doing when he asked the person at the door to wait. He couldn’t believe his bad luck.

The door and the person behind it also seem to be in on it with the sperm. They took their time opening it, making Alex sweat. He wanted to quickly wipe away the sperm, but his arms were frozen next to his body by fear. His mind was yelling at his arms to move, but they just wouldn’t listen. And finally when he did get movement back into his arms, it was too late.

 “Alex you need to get up, you have a long day ahead of you and you can’t sleep until noon like you have been since you’ve gotten home from hospital,” Franseca said in a soft, but commanding voice as she walked in picking up clothes that were on the floor. “There are the several meetings you have scheduled this morning I want you to have breakfast before them.”

Not wanting his mother to see what was above him on the headboard. Alex tried to rush her out of the room by not being himself and fighting with her every step of the way. Instead of it doing what he had hoped, it did the opposite because it made Franseca suspicious. Instead of leaving like she intended, she walked over to the bed to see who the boy was laying there because she was certain it wasn’t her son.

To Alex’s surprise his mother didn’t appear to see the streams of sperm winking and waving at her on the headboard. She was standing so close to them they could have reached out and slapped her on the side of head, but Alex was thankful they couldn’t. Franseca didn’t stand there more than a minute before she turned to make her way back to the door.

“Please hijo, get up and get dressed, then come down and join me for breakfast.” All of a sudden Franseca stopped and quickly turned around, causing Alex’s heartbeat to go up. “Do you need my help to get you out of bed and into the bathroom?” Alex firmly replied, “No thank you,” shaking his head nervously. All he wanted from his mother at that moment is for her to leave. “Okay then I will leave you to do your business, but call me if you do need my help.” It looked like this time Franseca was going to leave, but she stopped at the door, once again almost giving Alex a heart attack. “And also clean up this room, you can’t see the floor anymore with all these clothes everywhere.”

With that, she walked out and closed the door behind her. Alex gave a sigh of relief as he lay back down on his bed, slamming his fist against the mattress as he looked up at the streams of sperm staring back at him. He couldn’t believe that his mother didn’t see it, but was thankful that she didn’t. Not wanting to take any more chances, he pulled out the sheet that he used earlier to clean himself off and wiped off the headboard before tossing it on the floor with the rest of the dirty laundry.

Meanwhile as Alex got up and got ready for his day, Stefano and his second in command Dante were already driving onto the bridge making their over to Juarez, Mexico. Dante took his boss’ request to locate Ashton very seriously and was doing everything he could to get it done as quickly as possible. He was able to line up a meeting with one of the heads of the Mexican gang in Juarez through his family connections. Both of them knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant meeting, but Stefano knows he had to have it because it was the only way he and his gang will get their hands on Ashton before the police do.

Nothing was really said between the two guys as they waited in the long line of traffic waiting to cross over to Juarez. They were mentally preparing themselves for the meeting to go sour. If it did, they wanted to be able to get out of there with their lives at any cost. In order to do that, both of them knew they were going not only to have to have an escape route, but a way to get to that route.

Just as they got through the check point on the Mexican side of the border, they both came up with a couple of scenarios. Taking turns they threw out their ideas, and when it was all said and done they took the best out of each idea. They weren’t only able to create one plan to get out of dodge if things go bad, but two other backups in case the first didn’t work. 

Pleased with what they came up with, they talked about the other side of the coin. The side that the meeting wasn’t a set up and they actually would be given information on the whereabouts of Ashton. Even though the elder Garcia wanted Ashton alive, they were prepared to take him down if needed. Neither of them wanted to be the one to report back to the elder Garcia that they had Ashton in their grasp, and like the EPPD, lost him.

“If possible we need to get Ashton over the border alive and arrested.” Stefano glanced over at his second in command as he maneuvered through the back streets of Juarez. “Once he’s back in jail, he will be dealt with by the person or persons the boss selects.”

“I understand all that and agree with you, but I don’t think our people will ever get a chance to get their hands on Ashton. They are going throw him down a hole so no one can get to him if he gets locked up. The police want his ass too. You know that as well as I do due to him killing those officers. He broke the one rule that we all know not to break. That is to not kill anyone that wears a badge because the aftermath is too costly.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way because I agree with every word you just said, but we have standing orders here, which I plan to try and complete as requested. The boss wants us to get him behind bars so he dies at the hands of the person he chooses to take this asshole’s life. Now if the boss gets that chance or not isn’t up to us. What is up to us is getting him there. If the police choose to off the guy and not lock him up, well I won’t lose any sleep over it. At the end of the day he got what was coming to him.

With that said, if Ashton leaves us with the choice between him escaping or him dying at our hands, I will take the latter. I’d rather get bitched at by the boss for taking out Ashton than let the prick escape and let me tell you why.” Stefano looked over at Dante with a serious look on his face. “If the prick escapes, we are going to take his spot. The boss is tired of this guy and his nine lives. In his eyes, Ashton has used up all nine and now it’s time for him to die.”

Before Dante had a chance to respond to Stefano, they had arrived at their destination. They parked the car in the first spot they found open close to the road. Before getting out, they scanned the area to see if they were walking into a trap, but didn’t see anything. The only thing they did come to agreement on was the place was a shithole.

It was one of those small markets in the poorest side of Juarez, which says a lot since pretty much all of Juarez is like a third world country. Most of the way to the small market the roads weren’t paved, the houses they passed were made out of either plywood or rock and most of the residents were dressed in clothes that looked like they had worn for weeks and they wore no shoes.

The market itself was the nicest thing around, but not by that much. It also was partly made out of plywood and rock. No matter what part or store you looked at, it appeared like if you leant on it with all your weight, it would collapse. You couldn’t tell where one store ended and the next started. There was no sidewalk and the parking lot was full of pot holes and what looked and smelled like sewer water.

As Stefano and Dante made their way to where they thought they were supposed to go, they passed one legged dogs that were fighting with cats that either had no tails, fur or were missing an eye. Dante made the mistake of getting too close to one of the dogs because it jumped at him and tried to bite his leg. The only reason the dog didn’t get what he was going for was because a middle aged guy stepped out of one of the stores and shot the dog with a pellet gun. As soon as the pellet hit the dog, he turned and ran away howling with his tail between his legs.

The other dogs and cats stayed in their stance of attack, but one stomp from Dante, they went running in the same direction the first dog went. Once the path was clear of mutts and alley cats, Stefano and Dante were able to put all their attention on the guy that shot the first dog. The closer they got to him, the more they were able to make out.

The guy was dressed like he was a member of one of those bands from deep in Mexico, like Los Tigres De Notre. He had on a black cowboy hat that covered much of his forehead, not a cowboy shirt, but not a dress shirt, but one of those shirts in between, Mexican style, pants that were between Levi and denim, with iron creases up and down both pant legs, a huge belt buckle, topped off with snake skin boots that went to a point with silver caps on them. He wasn’t a scary looking guy, but he also didn’t look like a guy you wanted to run into in a dark alley. The other thing that was certain is that he didn’t belong there in that run down market.

“Senior Stefano e Dante?” The Latino guy spoke with a Mexican accent as he put down the rifle right inside the door. As Stefano and Dante passed the guy, they nodded their heads to answer the question that he asked. “Good please can you take a seat at the table there…” The guy pointed to the only table in the room. “The boss will be right out!”

Still not saying a word, the guys did as they were asked. They tried to take the seats nearest to the door, but the guy who hadn’t introduced himself yet stopped them and pointed to the seats further from the door. Not liking it, Stefano and Dante pushed back in the seats they pulled out and made their way to the other end of the table and sat down where they were directed to.

As they waited for the boss, they looked around the room, trying to map out escape routes. Seeing there were no other doors or windows than the ones at the other side of the room, they knew they were trapped. Now all they could hope for was that this meeting was on the up and up and they will get what they came for; information on the whereabouts of Ashton.

Back in El Paso, Alex had just finished up his first meeting and was preparing for his second when he was told the bank manager was on the line for him. He had completely forgotten about the huge check in his night stand upstairs. If it wasn’t for the bank manager calling, he probably wouldn’t have remembered it until Matt had got home. At that point it would have been too late to deposit it in their bank account and get the paper work finalized on the building.

Hearing his phone ringing snapped Alex out of his mind. He was going to let the phone go to voice mail since they didn’t need the loan anymore, but his curiosity to know if they got approved for the loan got the best of him. Being human, he wanted to know if the bank was able to overlook his past and believe in his merit as a business man.

Just as the call was about to go to voice mail, Alex picked up the receiver. Politely he greeted the bank manager and let the manager go through his spiel on how hard he worked on getting him and Matt approved for the loan. Once he heard the word approved, he was happy, but not happy the way the manager was going on and on how they were taking a risk on him and Matt on the loan and his hopes he hadn’t backed the wrong horse.

“Well sir I can tell you that you didn’t back the wrong horse and I’m thankful for what you did, but we don’t need the loan anymore.” The bank manager immediately asked if they had got a loan from another bank. “No sir. Your bank, our bank where we bank at is the only bank we went to for the loan. We just don’t need the loan anymore because we have come into some money that will allow us to buy the building outright.

But before we do finalize the paperwork on the building, Matt and I would like to come in and talk about the asking price. Since we are now going to be buying the building straight out with cash, no loan from your bank or any bank, I think you can come down just a little more on the price. What do you think, is there haggling room on that price?”

Without hesitation the bank manger came right back at Alex with a ’yes’. Once Alex heard that, he started to negotiate with the bank manager on the price of the building. Just as the conversation was going the direction Alex wanted it to, he heard a lot of noise outside the office he was using. He tried to ignore it at first and continue with the call, but it was too loud. On top of that he could swear one of the voices he was hearing out there was one of his brothers.

More and more the yelling went on until Alex couldn’t ignore it any longer. Almost for five minutes he tried to block out the yelling and listen to the bank manager, but he couldn’t whenever he heard the voice that sounded like one of his little brothers. Finally he gave up and asked the bank manager if they could reschedule. He didn’t wait to hear the manager’s answer, he asked out of politeness. Before hanging up the phone and wheeling his way to the door.

When he opened the door, he was stunned at what was unfolding in front of him. The verbal argument had turned into an all-out fist fight. The guards were trying to get control, but each time they tried to pull one of the guys involved in the fight out, they were pulled into it. Alex didn’t care about that, he cared about the voice he was hearing. He wanted to make sure that the voice he was hearing wasn’t his brother and that somehow he was in the middle of this mess.

However, he couldn’t get a good look at anyone. The only thing he was able to be certain of is those he has seen were too big in width and height to be one of his brothers. Still he wasn’t ready to stop looking and leave because he hadn’t seen who was in the middle of the fight. Just as he thought that, a hole opened up and he saw a smaller frame guy, the same size as Lorenzo.

As quickly as the hole opened, it closed before Alex could see the guys face. He tried to get closer to the pile, but he kept getting pushed away whenever one of them was tossed back. The more Alex tried, the further he was being pushed away. All of a sudden he heard what he believed was his brother yelling out for help. That gave him renewed strength to push through.

To be continued...

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another action packed chapter of ‘Beneath the Mask’. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. There was a lot of action in this chapter, from beginning to end. I hope it stirred your interest and none of what happened in this chapter bored you to the point of falling asleep, or worse, skipping over the plot.

Well let’s get started with the beginning of the chapter. It picked up as usual, just where the last chapter ended, with Sally and the Robinsons in the parking garage of the courthouse. Man o man did Matt’s parents lose it. Not only did they go after the wrong person, but now it is certain that they will never get their kids back again after this stunt.

Did you guys see it coming that Matt’s parents would lose it to the point that they did in this chapter? We all knew they were out there, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they would go that far. They put the hurt on Sally that will take her months to recover from. Yes, Mr. Robinson hurt himself, but Sally at first was getting the brunt of it.

Now the surprising part of this plot, Carlos and Kimberly! It has been a while since these two have been in this story, but man, did they make an entrance! How many of you figured out that it was Carlos before it was revealed? I hope I kept you guys on your toes on that. If I didn’t, well I need to try lot harder next time.

Anyway, I bet you Sally is really thanking her lucky stars that Carlos showed up when he did. He not only took control of the situation, but he gave back to Mr. Robinson what he was dishing out. Not only did Carlos give a beating to one of the Robinsons, but Kimberly did as well. She jumped in when Mrs. Robinson tried to attack Carlos from behind.

What is up with the old police force in El Paso? Are they all dirty or what? This officer took one look at Carlos and assumed he was the one in the wrong without looking any further. I’m glad there was one person out there that did look at the tape and knew what was going on. Hopefully Luke, Sally’s son and Falster deal with this officer correctly. By the looks of it, they will.

As promised in the last chapter I wasn’t going to be spending a lot of time with the wedding. I breezed right through it and moved the story along. The guys enjoyed themselves, like everyone else that attended the wedding, Alex and Matt more so. They danced the night away, just like Chase and Marco did in the last chapter of ‘Jacob’.

What about the settlement Alex got from the city? Did you guys see that one coming? I really hope Alex and Matt invest that money wisely. Maybe they should go to Al and see if he could invest some of that money like he did with Jacob’s. Remember Jacob didn’t get all the money he has today from his lawsuit; Al invested it right and got him a great return.

It looks like Stefano and Dante are closer to finding out where Ashton is, or are they? Just where they are at would creep the crap out of me. In fact, I wouldn’t ever go where they went. I truly hope they get what they went for and don’t get killed. Do you guys think it is a set up? Or do you think this is on the up and up and they will get what they went for?

Now the ending of the chapter! I know, I know you guys hate cliffhangers, and more so two or three in one chapter. This chapter has two of them. The one on what is going to happen with Stefano and Dante and what is Alex seeing. Is it Lorenzo or someone else? If it is Lorenzo, can Alex get to him in the condition he is in without hurting himself even worse? For those answers and answers to so many other questions you are going to have come back, sorry.

There are a lot of open plots still dangling out there in the air that will come back and as well a whole lot of new ones. So please stick around as I have said and keep on reading. I hope that you all enjoyed what you have read and will keep coming back week after week to this saga and the other three I write.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I won’t. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jpg@tickiestories.us, Thanks! I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/}

EDITOR’S CORNER:

I hope that Carlos presses criminal charges against the cop that put the beat-down on him.

Alex needs to smarten up.  He needs to get the loan from the bank before depositing his settlement check. He needs to play cat and mouse with the loan officer about his “backing the wrong horse remarks and his doubt of Alex’s character”. Not only that, the interest paid on the loan would be a business expense, keeping the tax burden lower. The business needs to stand on its’ own merits and not be totally financed by personal funds. Alex needs to place the funds with Al’s advice; only investing a small portion of it in the business. He needs to diversify his investments and let Al make him a second fortune. Perhaps Alex and Matt need to invest in their own home. Just a thought.

OK, be honest…  Have you ever had a close call (or actually) being caught during or right after “taking care of business”?  Alex was struck with sheer terror when his mother comes in yet, seemingly misses the obvious. Now, my bet is that Franseca did realize what she almost walked in on, but she is too kind to confront the issue and mortally embarrass her son. Perhaps in a week or so she can drop a hint that will let Alex know she realized what the score was. If she does, he will, for a second time, be horrified. Remember, mother ALWAYS knows……

Just for the record, I didn’t write that sexual situation. Jacob did the whole thing by himself! I’ll admit to a bit of tweaking of the scene between Alex and Matt and Alex’s solo session after Matt left. The part about the afterwards part when Franseca came into the room was all Jacob.

Now, I’m very curious about the melee in the hallway outside Alex’s door. Who all is involved and what caused the fracas? Why is it happening on Alex’s floor? Ok, I’m “hanging” like the rest of you!

Until Next Time,

“Daddy” Rick