Beneath the Mask

By: J.P.G.
(© 2010-2014 by the author)

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

Chapter 66   

The sound of the gates of the cells opening and closing echoed throughout the cellblock as the prisoners returned from breakfast. Garcia and his captains detoured down a different hallway to which the other prisoners were going. Several guards on Garcia’s payroll made sure Garcia, and his men could get away from the group without being seen or if seen not questioned. They even cleared out an office once again for the gang to use for their little meeting.

The only thing Garcia didn’t know was these same guards weren’t exactly working on the up and up for him. The new warden made it look like he successfully cleaned up his staff, but the whole time planted guards in Garcia’s path to look like they were working for him, but weren’t. Instead, they were reporting everything back to the warden so the warden had the upper hand once again. Something the elder Garcia thought he had.

The office was the same one Garcia, and his leadership has used in the past, which made Garcia a little more comfortable. Still he was always on the alert and never talked in the meetings. Whenever there an issue came up in a meeting that needed his feedback, he would write it down, let Aaron Gonzalez, Garcia’s second in command read it before destroying it. Today was no different from the others.

“Okay let’s make this fast.” Garcia’s second in command said as he nodded at the guards to shut the door to the office. “The reason we’re meeting back here so soon is because our man from the outside has got a message through to us about Ashton. That prick has been found hiding right in front of us in J-Town. The only reason it took us this long to find him is that those we thought were our allies aren’t. Those asses are keeping him hidden and safe.”

“What the hell man!” The captain who was placed in command of communication between the two sides of the border jumped up. “Are we to take the word of that little prick that was sent down to El Paso to take charge of that area of our gang over our guys in J-Town, who we have known for fucking years?” The captain looked round the room. “Come on man think this shit through. There is no way either side wants to anger the other because it will fuck us both equally.”

Garcia handed his second in command a paper. He read it and handed it back to Garcia. “I agree with our Hiefe. We can’t take anyone’s word on this shithead anymore. The only thing we do know is that this shithead is in J-Town and is being hidden by someone. We’re also certain it’s not his family or friends there because we’ve checked them out. That leaves us with only one thing to go on with this shit and that is what we have been told from our guy on the outside.”

Once again, the commander who first objected stood up and did it again. “Look, there’s no way we should throw away what we have right now with our guys across the border over the word of a newly appointed captain. Not only is he green, but in my opinion, he hasn’t proven himself to us that he can actually be trusted. I say we ask those we have come to trust about what we have heard and see what they say. Maybe by us letting them know we know they might…”

“They might hide Ashton somewhere else, and we will be right back at square number one.” One of the other captains who like who Garcia chose to run El Paso interrupted. “I say we shouldn’t show our hand to those fucking pricks across the border. They have fucked us every chance they’ve got, and here they are doing it again. We need to once and for all make it clear to them that we aren’t going to take their shit anymore.”

The elder Garcia didn’t like what he was hearing. He agreed with both of his captains, which was bad because by doing, so he knows the decision he has to make will be a hard one. Their counterparts across the border have screwed them every chance they have, which hasn’t sat well with any of them in the room. Moreover, here once again it looks like they are doing it again if they would go by the word of the captain in El Paso, which Garcia doesn’t see why he shouldn’t.

He quickly wrote on several papers what he was thinking and handed it to Aaron Gonzalez, Garcia’s second in command. Just like the times before he read them before handing them back to Garcia, who quickly destroyed them. The others just sat there looking on as these two communicated between themselves. They understood why Garcia communicated the way he did in the meetings, but at times like these, they wished he would just talk because they fear they might not be getting the complete truth.

“Alright this issue is a hot one and no matter what the final decision here today is; we need to leave this room supporting that decision.” Everyone nodded their heads. “Good, now we all agree that Ashton is somewhere in J-Town, correct?” All at once, the captains nodded their heads. “Where exactly we don’t know. The one thing we do know for sure is that he isn’t with his family or friends. That means what has been reported back to us has to have some weight.”

Aaron once again got everyone to agree, which is rare. “We also all at one time or another have been stabbed in the back from our members across the border. Because of their shitty track record with us, we really can’t take their word on anything anymore. We need to look at everything that comes back to us and when we dismiss it; we are one hundred percent it doesn’t hold any water. That includes items that come back to us from people we may not like.”

The captain who has been objecting knew that last part was directed to him. He took it in his stride, but inside, he was cussing Aaron, but he had to let it go. A vote was called on how they should go forward, which he voted against going in without the permission of their counter parts across the border. He and one other were the only ones that voted that way. All the others voted to go in and see if Ashton was actually being protected by these so-called friends.

All the while, the elder Garcia looked on and didn’t like what he was seeing. Within the top of his command, no one could agree on what to do. They were at each other throats, which spelt doom if it ever got out. The other gangs would use this to their advantage by turning each of his leaders against the other, and that he couldn’t have.

Getting up from his seat not only grabbed the attention of his leadership, but it got them to shut the hell up. “I don’t know why I even allowed this conversation to get to this point!” Garcia broke his own rule by breaking his silence at the meeting. “What’s going to happen isn’t up for a discussion or a vote. I decide what’s going to happen, and if you don’t like it I don’t give a damn, live with it. This bullshit voting and trying to come to some kind of common ground doesn’t happen with us.” Garcia looked at his Aaron. “You know my feelings on this get it done!”

That was it. The decision was made, and the order was given out. The elder Garcia walked out of the office leaving Aaron to give the order without him in the room, which didn’t make the warden happy. Not only, he didn’t get any of the paper that Garcia was writing on, but also he didn’t get him on recording giving any kind of order. The only thing that is coming out of this that didn’t make it a waste of the warden’s time is hearing where Ashton was at, or at least they think.

Back in the room, Aaron waited for the elder Garcia to leave before speaking. He looked back at the guys with disgust in his eyes. “You fuckers look like a bunch of idiots with the boss, but that’s fine with me because I’m not the one coming out that way.” The guys didn’t show any emotion on what was being said. “Any ways the boss has made his decision, and we need to carry it out. Get the word out to our guys in El Paso to go across and confirm what they are hearing. If they confirm it, don’t waste any more time. Just take out the garbage.”

At no time, Aaron looked at one person directly or called out a name, but the ones that need to carry out the order knows he was talking to them. So they made a mental note to get it done the second they leave the meeting. There is no way they plan to end up on the shit list of their boss if these things go south because they didn’t get the order out in time.

As soon as the meeting broke, Aaron went straight to the elder Garcia’s tank to talk with him about another subject that hasn’t been dealt with. He didn’t know how to get the conversation going, but he knew he had to. Even though the issue hit too close to home for the elder Garcia, at times until recently he showed he was going to go along with whatever the gang wanted. He was hoping this was one of the times because he had to get the issue settled once and for all because there are conflicting orders out there in the ranks.

When he approached the cell, he found Garcia sitting on his bed reading a book. Before entering, he knocked and waited to be invited in. The conversation at first was about how the meeting ended and how the guys took the order. Aaron took advantage of them talking about that to see how Garcia’s mood was. If he was in a good or okay mood the conversation, he went in there to talk about would flow. However, if he is in a bad mood, it’s going to be a difficult conversation to say the least. It might actually get downright ugly if Garcia is in a bad mood.

“That’s all taken care of, but that isn’t the only reason I came in to talk with you. There is another important issue that I felt should be discussed in private since it deals with your grandson.” Garcia cringed when he heard what Aaron wanted to say. “You sent out an order to leave your grandson alone, but someone else out there is sending out a different order to some of our guys. That is making it hard to keep things running smoothly out there.”

Garcia was tired of talking about his grandson because he was split in the subject. On one side, he is blood. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for blood, including giving his own life for his grandchildren to live. On the other side, his life has always been about the gang he now leads, as his eldest son did before his death. He considers the gang as much his family as he does his blood and what his grandson did was a betrayal to that family. There isn’t a doubt on his mind if he had the opportunity to get out of this life when he was his grandson’s age, he would have taken it.

Unlike his son, he didn’t want this life for his grandchildren. His bloodline has already given too much blood to this gang and wanted that to end with him and his son. The future generations of his family, he wanted them to be law-abiding citizens. Garcias that will become people of power in the right way and hopefully that will redeem the family name. He sees that his grandson Alex is on that track and will probably be the first generation to do what he dreamed.

“I understand the conflicting orders that are out there, but my order should be the final one without question.” There was no mistaking the look on Garcia’s face. He was serious and wanted this to be the end of it. “I don’t know who gave the green light! Whoever did will have to answer to me and let me tell you they had better hope I never find out because they’re dead!

So you get it out there and make it as clear as you can to everyone who has gotten the order on the green light for Alex that green light wasn’t authorized. If anyone who carries out that order they will give up their own lives.” Garcia looked directly at Aaron and spoke as clear as he could so he wasn’t misunderstood. “You also find out who gave the order. The bullshit that the higher ups gave it doesn’t fly because I have spoken with them on the matter. They have left it to me what to do in this matter and never looked back at it.”

“Yes sir! I will make sure both of your requests are carried out immediately. The only problem I see right now is by the time this order gets down to those that have gotten the other order it might be too late. They might already have carried out the order. If that happens, they shouldn’t be held responsible for doing what they were ordered to do.”

That didn’t make the elder Garcia happy at all, and his Aaron saw it. “Fuck that bullshit!” Garcia yelled as he jumped onto his feet. “I already gave the order to cancel the green light, and here we are still talking about it. That order has been given already and since my grandson is still alive, he had better stay that way. If it is carried out the ones that did it will die.”

Aaron knew better not to push the subject once his boss worked himself up to the way he has. If he did, he would end up like the one before him, dead. Garcia doesn’t like being second-guessed or someone trying to change his mind once he’s made it up. Anyone who attempts to do that ends up dead, or in the cold looking in. Not out of the gang, but stripped of everything that person once held. Something Aaron doesn’t want to happen to him, so he chose to stay quiet.

Meanwhile back in El Paso Hughes and Alvarez not only had no idea they were followed, but those that followed them had gotten out of the cars and were closing in quickly. Hughes spotted the two men behind him before Alvarez when he saw the outline of their shadows on the driveway. He quickly went for his gun before the two behind him could react. He was yelling at them to hit the pavement.

Almost at the same time, Alvarez was pulling his gun in front of his home. Unlike Hughes, it wasn’t their shadow that alerted him. He heard one of them chewing gum that told him there was someone there. Not taking any chances, he pulled his weapon and just like their colleagues at Hughes's house, they were face first in the pavement of the driveway.

Before doing anything else, the two veteran officers patted the two men lying in their driveway for weapons. As they patted them down, they came across tattoos that told them who they were, members of The Cartel. Seeing those tattoos got them both to tighten the grip on their weapons even harder, making sure the safeties were off as they reached into their cars for their radios to call for backup. Simultaneously, their calls went over the radio confusing the officer in dispatch, but since they radioed in from two different locations, backup was sent to both.

Within in minutes both Assistant Chiefs of Police homes had several units driving up with their sirens blaring. When they saw their back up arriving, both Alvarez and Hughes breathed in a sigh of relief. They relaxed just a little, but didn’t remove their finger from the trigger until they had uniform officers at their sides with their guns out and ready to shoot if needed.

Once they both had their backups, they were told what was going on at the other's house. They quickly got to the radio to confirm what they were hearing. At the same time, Falster was on his way to Alvarez’s location with a couple of Texas Rangers. In another vehicle, several more Texas Rangers were making their way to Hughes’s home to get a firsthand account on what was going on.

From the two assistant chief of police to Falster and the Texas Rangers, none could believe that The Cartel would actually go as far as they were going to take out two high commanders in the EPPD. Little did they know they were working off incomplete information since no one has been questioned yet. The men who approached Alvarez and Hughes weren’t sent to their homes to do what everyone was thinking they were there for.

When Falster arrived at the scene, there was a half a dozen of police units and over a dozen of officers already there. Not wanting to make more of a scene than they had, Falster grabbed one of the sergeants and asked him to get control over the situation. As the sergeant grabbed the uniform officers and gave them each a duty to do, Falster checked on Alvarez before going over to take a look at the two men still face first on the ground.

“Gentlemen I don’t know what the hell you were thinking, but whatever it was you overstepped the mark here tonight.” Both men looked up at Falster. When their faces were in the light, Falster recognized both of them. It blew him away, but he wasn’t about to let them on to that. As he knelt down to get a better look at the two men and make sure he was right, Falster spoke. “What a fucking small world this is, what a fucking small world.” “You two were released what about a year or so ago, and here you are about to take out an Assistant Chief of Police of El Paso County? I guess you like it in prison because you two are going back there hopefully for the rest of your lives.”

One of the guys looked up at Falster with a smirk upon his face. “You got all this wrong!” He chuckled as he looked around. “We aren’t here to do what you think we’re here to do. No sir the reason we came to speak with your guy is because we have some information to give him about the most-wanted person in El Paso, if not in the entire state of Texas.”

Falster wasn’t for sure if he could trust a word that came out of the guy’s mouth. The only thing was certain to him were the way they went about getting the so-called message to them. If what the gang member said was true Falster, couldn’t help but ask himself why didn’t they walk into the police station and give it to the desk sergeant. He didn’t understand why they waited for his assistant chiefs of police to get home and sneak up on them to deliver the information they had.

“Every word that has come out of your mouth so far is so farfetched I can’t believe it.” Falster had an angry look on his face. “If what you just said is true, why didn’t you just walk into a police station and give the information? Why did you, your friend here and the other two lay in wait for my assistant chiefs of police to arrive home and sneak up on them in the dead of night?”

“Well voto to tell you the truth…” Falster didn’t give the gangster a chance to finish his thought. He waved him off as he got up to make his way back to Alvarez and the other officers. The two gang members laid there watching their former head of the guard’s walk away not knowing for sure what he was going to do. The only thing they did know is the Falster they knew as a fair and just man, or should it be said one of them thought that.

“I don’t know voto about this?” The gang member who didn’t speak whispered. “I don’t know if we can trust that voto. He wasn’t cool with me when I was locked up, and by the looks of it he is no different now. The guy wants to be the one that locks us up and throws away the key for good.”

“Na I don’t think he’s like that at all!” The gang member who did speak looked over at his friend with an evil grin on his face. “The captain I knew was fair to all of us on our wing. He never took a bribe or allowed a wrong to go unpunished. Even though he handled the punishment when we wanted to, he got it done. No one was treated any different from the other. Plus he always heard a person out whenever anyone went up to talk with him. I know he will do the same here.”

The other gang member didn’t agree and didn’t trust Falster, but had no other choice than to go along with his partner since he was running the show. They didn’t say another word as they looked over to Falster, Alvarez and several other officers who were talking in a circle. They were too far away that they couldn’t hear, but the body language of everyone in the circle did all the talking.

They didn’t seem to like what Falster was saying. As they were objecting and trying to talk Falster out of what he decided several police cruisers drove up, followed by Hughes and the Texas Rangers that went directly to Hughes’s location in cars between the cruisers. The gang members on the ground had no idea that in the back seat of the cruisers were the other two members of their gang that were sent to Hughes’s home to deliver the same message they were asked to convey.

It wasn’t until Hughes pulled them out of the police cruiser that the other two on the ground saw them. They started to freak when they saw their two brothers in arms walking along side of Hughes as they made their way to where Falster was. The only thing that did ease their minds was seeing their two brothers in handcuffs. Not wanting to seem mean, but they felt by seeing that they still had a chance to walk out of there the same way they did when they got there, on their own.

With their complete attention on the other two, the two on the ground didn’t see the two officers walking up to them. They didn’t know they were there until they heard the officers speak. Neither of them heard what the officers said, so the officers had to repeat themselves, which didn’t make anyone happy because at that point the officers were yelling.

“Dumb asses what do you need us to drag your sorry assess or will you get up and move on your own free will?” The two quickly tried to get up, but due to their hands being handcuffed, they couldn’t get themselves up from the ground. The two officers at first laughed at them squirming on the ground, but after a few minutes, they bent down and helped the two up. “Man no wonder you sorry excuses for human beings failed. You can’t even get up on your own.”

The officers roughly pulled them up from the ground and let go of them once they were on their feet. Not knowing what was going on, but didn’t want to be talked to in the fashion they were just spoken to; they followed the officer’s orders. They walked over to where the other two were put and ordered to sit on the ground right next to them.

Before they could be settled, Falster turned and started to speak. “Okay now I want the truth, and this will be your only chance to give it. If at any time while you’re speaking I feel you are lying to me, I’m going to shut you up and throw your asses in the back seat of one of my cruisers that will take you downtown to book you. So who’s going to go first?”

The four guys looked each other for a couple of seconds before the one that spoke Falster when he first arrived at the scene broke the silence. “Captain Falster as I…” Falster interrupted to correct the rank. “Sorry we didn’t know you were made chief of police. If we had known that we would have attempted to talk with you since we have history.”

“Stop blowing hot air and just get on with it!” Little did the four guys know Falster was the only one willing to let them tell their side of the story. All the others wanted to take them downtown lock them up and let the court system sort through the mess. “You told me you were sent to deliver a message so deliver it or prepare to get locked up.”

“Sir, I will get right to the point then. As you know, I’m a member of The Cartel, but not part of the US branch. All four of us are part of the real McCoy from across the border. For the last week or so, we have been hiding out a guy you guys really want for murdering several of your officers and other people. We are willing to let you know where he is if you are willing to stop the crackdown on those that are affiliated with our business.”

“No are you out of your mind!” Falster yelled. “I will not make any deal with people that break the law of this city, this state and this nation. If you have information about a wanted person, you give us the information without anything in return. And just maybe after I hear what you have to say I will think about how I’ll reward you for the information.”

“Well what we have heard and seen there is a huge award out for this guy. That it has gotten up to half a million dollars for information that leads to his arrest. If we give you that information, and you get him into custody will we get that award?” Falster was running out of patience and the gang member doing all the talking could see it. “It’s just fair we’re able to collect on that reward on top of the other thing I asked for. After all the only reason, you’re cracking down on our associates is because you want to squeeze us for this information. Once we hand him over, there is no reason for you guys to continue the crackdown since those you are doing it to follow the law.”

“Fine if the information you give tonight leads to the arrest of this person you can collect on the reward that is being offered for him as long as you are citizens of this country. As far as the crackdown we are doing with known companies, our fronts for The Cartel, will end when it is proven they aren’t dirty. Now with that settled, let’s get on with it can we?”

The gang members looked at each for little over a minute. The one doing the talking didn’t say another word until he got the all clear from the other three that were with him. “Okay we can move on with it. The information we have is about Ashton, who escaped you guys and got over the border to us. We have been hiding him out since he came to us about a week ago, but we don’t know how much longer we are going to be able to keep him safe. Our members here in the states really want him, and they will figure out we have him any day now.”

“I agree and that is why I feel we don’t have any time to waste here. So why don’t you stop beating around the bush and just tell us where in Juarez, he is. There are many things to do in order to go and get him and it all takes time. Tell me where in the hell, he is!”

“We have him hidden at this address.” The guy tried to reach into his pocket, but forgot that he was handcuffed. Falster looked over at the officer standing next to the guy and nodded to him. The officer helped the guy up in order to get what the guy was after. A folded paper with the address the guy was trying to give to Falster. “That is where Ashton is right now, but I can’t tell you how much longer he will be there. If we feel his location has been found out, he will be moved.”

“Again I know time is a factor here so you don’t need to keep telling me that.” Falster said as he looked down at the paper that was handed to him by his officer. “Let’s say I believe you Ashton is here and send some officers in there to get him, what will they be met with? I need to know. Are the officers going to be walking into a trap?”

“No sir they won’t be walking into a trap. Once you know you are going in let me, know so I can let the right people know over there to step aside and let your officers enter. They will need at least a couple of hours’ notice so they can get out of there and not alert Ashton on what is going on. After all Ashton has no idea, we are giving him up to you guys. He fears that we will either take him out and shoot him ourselves or hand him over to our brothers here in El Paso.”

Falster looked over at Hughes and Alvarez to see if they believed a word, the guy was saying. Judging by their facial expressions, they were right where he was, kind of. Some of what the guy was saying did make sense, but some of it sounded too farfetched, mainly the part of the Cartel willing to hand over one of their own and not put up a fight. If the word got out on what they are doing here, there standing among the other gangs would be weakened.

“Let’s just say I believe what you’re telling us on handing over Ashton is true, I have a problem believing everyone in your high command is backing this move. There’s no way your gang will stand aside and let officers of the law in Mexico or this country walk in on their territory and put handcuffs on one of their own. No matter what we’re doing here, they just won’t do it. In fact I believe they’d want to keep Ashton and hold him out for others to see that you guys are willing to do whatever it takes to stay on top, including killing police officers.”

Part of what you just said is true. Not everyone up there in command positions is backing this decision, but you are forgetting one thing. The Cartel or any gang, for that matter, isn’t a democracy. It’s a dictatorship which, as you know, in all dictatorships one man makes the decisions and the rest of us have to fall in line and carry it out no matter if we back it or not.

Other than that, you are wrong on everything else. Ashton did what he did without clearing it with the higher-ups in our organization, which is something you just don’t do. On top of that, there is an unwritten agreement between law enforcement of this country and our organization that there will be no blood split. Once again, Ashton broke that agreement so he could get away. Our higher ups didn’t like that he feels the only resolution to this problem is by offering him up as an Olive Branch in hopes things could go back to normal.”

“Normal you must be crazy!” Alvarez spoke for the first time since Falster arrived and took over. “If must think we’re idiots or fools to believe what you’re saying. You guys came in the dead of the night and snuck up on Hughes and me. That alone can send you away for a long time. On top of that, you are giving us demands in order to get Ashton. Things will never again go back to normal. The days of you guys running things through this city are done.”

“Well I really don’t think that!” One of the other guys who snuck up on Hughes grabbed everyone’s attention when he broke his silence. Falster looked over at the guy and didn’t recognize him as he did the two that had snuck up on Alvarez, telling him the guy they should be talking to is he. “Things have been very calm with all things considered. We have sat back and taken everything you guys on this side of the border have done to this point, but if you don’t take this offer things can get very ugly very fast that neither side wants.”

“I don’t take to threats!” Falster bent down so he could look the guy directly in the eyes when he talked. “If you and the rest of the leadership of the Cartel choose to take this further than it already has gone; you will have a war you won’t win. Not only will you have the El Paso Police department to deal with if this escalates, but you will have every law enforcement agency this state and country have. Trust me when I say it won’t stop there. You will have the entire might of this country’s military breathing down your neck, which I know you don’t want.

You have your country’s police, military and government afraid of you, but that will never happen here. You break the law of this county, state or country you will have to answer for it. If you answer by breaking more laws like Ashton, did you will become public enemy number one, which means we won’t stop at anything to get our hands on you? So rethink what you’re saying and thinking here because we aren’t afraid of your sorry ass's excuses for human beings.”

Falster refused to break eye contact with whom he believed was a big fish from across the border. He wasn’t a hundred percent sure just yet, but was getting there, by the way the guy was talking and presenting himself and refusing to back down. Falster wasn’t about to be the first to back down for fear it showed weakness and by showing that he would lose ground on his standing.

The two refused to back down to the other, so they just stood there for almost eight minutes staring each other down not saying a word. Finally, the gang member flinched first letting everyone breathe just a little bit easier. Falster stood up, walked over to his officers and Texas Rangers to see what their feelings were about the whole thing. After going back and forth for a few minutes, Falster turned and walked back to the four guys sitting on the ground.

“First you will give us your actual names so we can run them. If you come back with warrants, there will be no more talking. Off to the county jail without a free get out of jail card is that understood.” All four guys answered yes. “Once we run your names and are sure you have no warrants, we are going to take you down and have you finger printed and then run them through the systems. If they come back with different names, we stop talking and off to the county jail you go. Is that understood?” Again, they answered yes.

“If all checks out we will take the information you have given us and go through the proper channels to get Ashton back here to face the numerous charges pending. Once he is in our custody, I will release you, but not directly to the city streets of El Paso. You four will be escorted to the border where you will go across and stay there never to step foot again in the United States. If you are caught you will be arrested, and I will charge you with everything I possible can for what you did here tonight. Can you live with these conditions and if so can you follow them?”

Just like the other two times Falster presented the four with a question they answered yes at the same time. Once Falster got the answer he was looking for he stepped back to let several sergeants take down the information, they needed to run their names through the system. It only took a few minutes each, and none of them came back with open warrants. When they came back all clear, they were helped to their feet and into the back of a squad car.

While Falster and the EPPD were heading to headquarters, a few miles away the hotel was coming to life. Alex and Matt had gotten up and already showered to begin their last day of school before Spring Break. The rest of the occupants in the other rooms and floors did the same. That included the probation floor where Garratt, Bobby and Bill were pulling themselves out of their beds to get ready for the day.

Like the nights before Garratt had a sleepless one. All he could think about was Ray, and if they would be able to spend at least a few minutes with each other alone. Unlike the day before when they didn’t even get to spend one second by themselves. He was determined to not only get a glance at the guy he is falling for, but also spend some alone time with him throughout the day.

He went through several sets of clothes before deciding which ones he was going to wear. Once he had that decision made, he went to his bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. He wasn’t satisfied with the clothes he picked once he saw himself in the mirror, so he went back to the room and went through several more sets before going back to the ones he put on after taking a shower.

After checking himself in the mirror for the fiftieth time, he made his way out of his room and caught up with Bobby and Bill at the elevators. The two boys just looked at Garratt and couldn’t help but chuckle on how nervous he looked. Garratt already was sweating, which wasn’t good because the sweat was making wet spots under the armpits, which isn’t attractive at all.

“Look you need to relax and just let things flow.” Bobby whispered as they walked into the elevator. “You already have the guy, so there’s no need to be nervous over the way you’re doing this.” Bobby waved his hand up and down Garratt’s body. “Let me guess you woke up a lot earlier than you normally do and went through several changes before you decided on this?” Garratt didn’t answer; there was no need for him to answer because he turned all shades of red that answered for him. “Ray has seen the way you dress already so there’s no need to change it. Just be yourself because as I said you already have him.”

“Yeah I really don’t know that for sure after yesterday.” Garratt voice cracked as he spoke. “Ray might have had second thoughts about us and decided the baggage isn’t worth his time. On the other hand, just like I have you guys to talk to, he could have a couple of friends, and they’re telling him to run for the hills. Who knows what’s going on? The only thing that is certain is that something is off.”

“I really think you’re reading too much into what happened yesterday. Yeah you two didn’t see each other like the day before but going where you are right now is premature to say the least. Until you hear those words come from his mouth don’t be thinking it. Think like Bill and I are thinking and that is just like you Ray tried to get to you yesterday but couldn’t.”

That got a smile out of Garratt. “You know you’re right I need to not think negative. There could be a million reasons why we didn’t get to see each other the day before and the one I’m thinking about is nowhere near the real reason. I need to settle down and just let things happen.” Garratt looked at Bobby with a grin on his face. “Like you said I already have him, and he has me, so I just need to sit back and let things develop naturally before I scare Ray off.”

Just then, the elevator stopped the door opened. No one said another word as they stepped out of it and made their way to the restaurant. As they got closer, the double doors opened getting Garratt to stop in his tracks for a few seconds before snapping out of it. He had to run in order to catch up to Bobby and Bill, which got his attention off who was coming out of the restaurant.

When he looked up and saw the group of guys from Ray’s floor, he couldn’t turn away. All he wanted was to get a glimpse of Ray and maybe by getting that glimpse, he will get the question that kept him awake all night long answered. The question he fears the answer to, but knows if he doesn’t get it soon he is going to go crazy with what ifs.

It didn’t take long for him to get what he was hoping. Ray was in the middle and doing the same thing Garratt was doing, scanning the hallway. When their eyes met, they couldn’t hide how happy they were. It was like time stopped, and they were the only ones in the hallway at that moment. They started to move towards each other, but the ones they were walking with held them back. That snapped them out of their daze.

Quickly, Ray pulled out a folded paper from his pocket and hid it in his hand as he gave it to Garratt in a handshake. Seeing so many of Ray’s friends watching them, Garratt didn’t look at the note that was handed to him. He slid it in his pocket unnoticed as he greeted the others good morning. They smiled and responded good morning back as they continued on their way.

Once they disappeared into the lobby, Garratt placed his hand over the pocket where he put the note. All he wanted to do was read the letter that Ray gave him. It wasn’t until he sat down with Bobby and Bill at their table that he was able to pull out the folded notebook paper from his pocket, but once he did, he laid it in the table and just looked at it. Bobby and Bill looked back and forth from each other and the folded paper on the table. They understood why their friend was hesitant on opening it, but they knew they didn’t have all day either. So Bobby reached over and snatched the paper from where Garratt laid it. Garratt tried to get it back, but Bobby was too fast.

“Hey man you were just looking at it like it might explode or something.” Bobby laughed as he held the paper above his head away from Garratt’s reach. “I really don’t care what he wrote you, but I do care if you read it or not. I like you man, but I’m somewhat tired of hearing you doubting yourself. Here is a note from the one you like that will probably put those doubts to bed. So just read the damn thing so we can talk about something different.”

Bobby handed the note back to Garratt, who took it and sat back down in his seat. He looked at it for a couple of minutes before deciding to see what Ray had written him. Slowly, he unfolded it and started reading it. Bobby and Bill looked on trying to figure out if the letter brought good news or bad. It wasn’t until Garratt started to read it for the second time that he gave away it was excellent news by the huge smile that formed across his face.

“You see you were worrying for nothing.” Bobby jokingly punched Garratt in the shoulder as he grabbed the letter from his hand and started reading it. As he read it, he was a little surprised on what Ray was asking of Garratt and like him, he had to go over it again to be sure he understood it. “Wow, I mean wow!” Bobby’s eyes opened up huge as he refolded the paper and handed it back to Garratt. “There’s no doubt now this guy really likes you. Are you thinking about doing what he wants you to do once you get to school?”

“I don’t know; I really don’t!” Garratt brushed his right hand through his hair. “I really want to, but if we’re caught, I know what will happen to me.” Bobby shook his head. “I’ll go back to jail and never get a chance to be with Ray again. I don’t know if one day of fun would be worth what I will lose by not taking this chance. On the other hand, the chance of getting caught is slim since it’s the last day before Spring Break and my teacher’s really don’t do attendance.”

“What do you mean you teachers really don’t do attendance?” Bill interjected as he stuffed his mouth with a fork full of egg. “Not only my teacher’s do attendance, they have assigned seats. To make matters worse for me and a couple of the other guys from our floor that I have same classes the teachers makes us sit up front so they can keep an eye on us.”

“Well they take attendance and they don’t take attendance. In my classes, not only they don’t have assigned seats, but also they have a student helper that takes the attendance. The students are normally nerds who want to fit in so if you get in good with him; they won’t count you absent if you let them know before class that you aren’t going to be there. The other’s that don’t care about popularity or don’t want to be part of your group would do it if you grease their palms.”

Bobby and Bill knew exactly what Garratt meant when he said grease their palms. They asked almost at the same time what was the standard rate students normally asked for. They were surprised when they heard the amount. After hearing how easy, it would be for Garratt to skip class for one-day Bobby changed his stance, on whether or not he should take the chance.

“If I was in your shoes and got a note like you did from a young lady I like I would go for it. I mean there is really no chance of you being caught with students taking attendance. Just get to those students before first-period bell and do what you need to do so they don’t mark you, not there. Once you do that, go, find Ray, and spend the morning with him. He’ll spend the entire day with him if you can because you won’t see him again for a week.”

That was it. Garratt had his mind made up. He was going to do exactly what Bobby was recommending, but before he did talk with those students, he was going to talk with Ray. He wanted to make sure the note wasn’t misinterpreted. If it was, he didn’t want to look like a fool asking a favor and then still going to class.

The three of them talked about how Garratt and Ray would get off school grounds once they did meet up. Due to all the security, the school has because of the governor’s kids; the few students like Jacob, Alex and Joey attending it would make it hard for anyone to get on, and off school property, once the first bell rang. That didn’t even cross Garratt’s mind when he decided to go for it. Now that it was brought in, he is rethinking the whole thing.

“I see your wheels turning in your head right now and not in a good way.” Bobby got serious very quickly. “Don’t do that! Stop second-guessing and over thinking every little thing, you want to do, just do it. We’re still teenagers, which allow us to make teenage mistakes. I know we get fewer mistakes allowed because of where we are, but we get them still.”

“Less mistakes, oh boy you are way off there!” Garratt chuckled. “We aren’t allowed any mistakes no matter if they are teenage mistakes or not. If we do anything that breaks the laws, rules of this program or school rules we’re out of here.” Garratt’s voice got very low. “I know you think the same way I do on these guys. None of us wants to be sent again to prison now that we have tasted the breath of freedom. We have made plans for our future that goes further than high school and it surely doesn’t consist of going back to that hell we were before here.”

“Yes you right but don’t get your panties all tied up in knots!” Bobby spoke in a low voice as he got up collecting his trash from the table. “I misspoke by including us in with every other teenager out there in high school. No one will look the other way whenever we do something wrong. They will immediately think the worse and do everything they can to send us back.”

Bobby didn’t get any objection from the other two as they tossed their trash and made their way out to the parking lot to meet up with others at the van. All the way to school, they whispered back and forth, on what they talked about during breakfast. Mainly, Bobby and Bill wanted to know If Garratt had changed his mind. If not, where he was planning to take Ray out and Garratt had no idea on anything that he was being asked.

By the time, they got to school and made their way to the cafeteria, Matt and others in his group had finished eating and made their way out to their area in the stadium. Garratt wanted to go and see if Ray was waiting for him at the tennis courts like a couple of days ago, but didn’t want anyone else to figure out what was going on between him and Ray, well besides the two he let in.

Finally, after wolfing down their second breakfast, Garratt made up a lame excuse to get away from the others. If it wasn’t for Bobby and Bill taking the attention off the reason, he had to high tail it out of there he would have been held up by the others ragging on him. Which they would have kept him there until the bell rang, causing him not to be able to meet up with Ray.

Once he stepped out of the cafeteria and was a number of feet down the hallway that led out to the side of the building, Garratt started to speed walk. Not really paying attention to his surrounding, he nearly fell a few times. His fellow students either yelled out him to watch where he was going or laughed when he practically took a nosedive.

When he finally made it outside, he took off running to the tennis courts. As soon as they came into sight, he started to scan the area for Ray. When he didn’t see Ray his heart sunk, and he stopped running. Then he stopped altogether, when he got to the gate and saw no one there. Immediately, his mind went right back to where it was when he woke up this morning.

Never before in any other relationship has he ever felt the way he was feeling at that very moment for Ray. He has never fallen so deeply in love for any other as quickly as he has here. Never before has his mind gone as negative as it has in this relationship about himself. Now he knows how truelove feels and hates how he treated the girls who fell for him in the past the way he has fallen for Ray. He not only realized but also couldn’t blame the girls for wanting to kill him after he broke their hearts when he ended things with them after they gave him what he wanted.

Getting lost in his mind on what he had done to girls in his past, he didn’t hear Ray walking up behind him. He didn’t know that anywhere was there until Ray reached around and covered his eyes asking him to guess who it was. No question in Garratt’s mind who was covering his eyes, but he decided to tease Ray just little by shouting out a couple of wrong names. By the third wrong name, Ray removed his hand and pushed Garratt away.

“You’d better not be fucking around with those names!” Ray playfully yelled at Garratt. “If you are dating those guys while you’re dating me, you’re going to regret it.” Garratt ran up to him and when he had him in his grasp, Ray managed to escape. “No you don’t mister you need to answer me first about those guys before I even let you hug or kiss me.”

Ray managed to stay away from Garratt as they ran around the tennis courts. Both knew the other was playing, but kept the act going. It wasn’t until Ray lost his concentration that Garratt could grab him. He was looking behind him to see how far away Garratt was and didn’t see the chair in front of him. Just as he turned to his head, he reached the chair and tripped over it. As he headed face first to the ground, Garratt caught up and saved him from hitting the ground.

“Wow! Are you okay?” Garratt asked out of breath as, he steadied Ray so he could get his balance again. “I don’t want you to kill yourself before we ever get the chance to do more than just kiss.” Garratt laughed as he playfully pinched Ray’s left chest. “I really want to see what lies beneath these clothes one day, and I hope you want the same with me.”

Ray turned dark red, and he felt it. He tried to hide it, but it was too late Garratt saw it and felt bad that he embarrassed him. Garratt quickly changed the subject to an apology for saying all the other names except Ray’s when he first arrived. Ray got control of his feelings as he let Garratt off the hook on what he felt he did wrong. Both admitted that they knew they were playing.

“So, um, I read the note you gave me, but, um, I’m a little confused.” Garratt spoke in a low tone as, he, and Ray slid down the fence to sit on the ground. “Do you want to skip out of school today and do something with me?” Garratt saw a confused look on Ray’s face. “Don’t get me wrong I’d love to do it, but I think if we decide to go ahead on it, we’ll have problems doing it.”

“What do you mean problems? If you and I want to get out of here, we just do it. There is really nothing stopping us except ourselves.” Ray's expression changed from confused to serious.

“You are getting what I just said all wrong. The thing I’m worried about is getting away from the school and then back here to school with all the security and police around. They stop every car and person that is heading to our school up and down the streets around it.” Garratt pointed in the direction of Schuster St. “Don’t you think they’ll stop us when they see us walking down the street away from school or when we come back to school?”

“Well…” Ray chuckled as he thought of the concern Garratt just brought up. It didn’t cross his mind when he wrote the note to Garratt asking if he would skip out of class with him for the day. Now that Garratt mentioned it, he sees the problem. “To tell you the truth I didn’t think about any of that. All I thought about is spending time with you alone away from school and the hotel. That is really all I want. All this other stuff never crossed my mind, never!”

Garratt could hear sorrow in Ray’s voice, and that wasn’t what he was aiming for. He didn’t mean to make Ray feel bad. All he was trying to do was bring his concern up to him so hopefully they both could figure out a solution to the problem he found and spend time together alone as Ray wanted. Garratt himself wanted that as well and is willing to do almost anything to make that happen, falling short of landing back in jail that is. That is why he thought it all through and came up with a solution to everything he saw that could get him into trouble except this.

“Ray I seriously want to spend time with you doing our own thing. We can’t do that here at school, and this is the only place we really can be together.” Garratt wrapped his arm around Ray and pulled him in closer. “Yeah we live in the same building, but because of what I have done and where I’m at, we can’t be seen together.” Garratt could see in Ray’s eyes that he was lost. “You know that stupid rule about probationers can’t mingle with anyone else on the other floors. We have to stay away especially from you guys because of what you’ve been through.”

“Screw all that I don’t think that rule is fair.” Stunned on Ray’s reaction, Garratt laughed as he pulled him even closer. “Don’t get me wrong I know some of those guys on that floor have done some really bad things, but I really don’t think they will do anything that could destroy their chances of a regular life. Look at you here trying to talk me out of skipping school. No to be sure the guys on your floor will not mess up again more rules isn’t the answer.”

“Before I get into all that stuff about the rules being fair or not let me talk about what I have been trying to do this morning with you. In no way was I trying to talk you out of skipping class with me. Hell, that would be stupid on my part because if I succeeded I would miss time to spend with you. I’m not about to do that.”

Ray tried to jump in order to correct what he meant, but Garratt was on a roll and didn’t let him get a word in edge wise. “All I was trying to do is figure out a way that we can leave school and come back without the stupid ass school guards or police catching us. It would suck them catching us as we are leaving, or worse coming back after having the day of our lives.” Garratt had an evil grin on his face as he continued speaking. “I know we will if we get out of here soon, if you know what I mean.”

For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Garratt got Ray to blush. He tried to hide it again, but it was in possible due to the bright red he turned. Realizing that he was caught, Ray tried to explain what he meant about his earlier statement, which he was successful clearing up any misunderstanding he had about what he had said.

“Let me make myself as clear as I can be Garratt. I will never ask you to do anything, or I won’t do anything that could get you in trouble. I know if I ever did any of that shit I would lose you for good.” Ray gave Garratt a quick peck on the lips a couple of times before continuing. “There is no way I’m going to lose you now that I’ve found you. You’re mine, and that’s the end of that!”

That not only put a huge smile on Garratt’s face, but it also washed away all the negative thoughts he had about their relationship that has been bouncing around his head for the last day or so. Something Bobby and Bill have been trying to do since the flood gates opened. It verified that Ray was feeling the same way about him as he did.

“Well I think we’d better figure out a way to get out of here and back before it gets any later.” Garratt spoke as he got up. “I think the best way to go through this shit is leave now as if we are going to the 7-Eleven. No one is stopped or told no that can’t go up the block, and once passed those guards we’re in the clear. Plus you don’t have to sign out. Then we come back during lunch the same way because the guards during our lunch hour ask even fewer questions than the ones there now.”

“Nope I hate to say it, but you’re wrong!” Ray said as he jumped to his feet. He pulled out his school ID card and flipped it over before showing it to Garratt. “We screwed up man there’s no way now we will be able to get away from here now that we already swiped our cards.” Ray was pointing to the black magnetic strip on the back of every student ID. “We don’t sign in and out because the cards do it for us whenever we arrive and leave. We’re fucking screwed!”

Ray showed Garratt for the first time he could get angry. Before that moment, Garratt didn’t think Ray had that side in him, not his sweet-talking and loving Ray. A guy who not only looks like he can’t hurt a fly, but also has never hurt a fly. Even after what he has been through his heart hasn’t hardened yet, something Garratt’s heart was doing before he tore down his walls the day he saw Ray.

Putting aside the new side Garratt saw of Ray at that moment, everything Ray said was true and Garratt knew it. He started to kick himself for not figuring it out first. He thought he had a solution to their one remaining problem when he actually was trapped in school until the day was over. No matter how hard he tried to find a way around the cards, he couldn’t come up with something.

“It looks like we screwed ourselves by not really planning this day out.” Garratt finally broke the silence as he walked over to Ray. “Man I was really looking forward on spending the day with you with no one around that really knew us. It didn’t matter where to me, just as long as I was with you, and we were having a shit load of fun.”

All Ray could do is shake his head in agreement. He was angry and disappointed like Garratt, but it hit him differently. It bothered him to the point that he was choking down tears that caused him not to be able to talk. He didn’t want Garratt to see how quickly he could get emotional on something as small as not able to spend time with him. The biggest fear for him if he broke down in front of Garratt was that he would go running for the hills.

Since there was nothing else they could do, they walked together to a hidden part of the tennis courts and spent the rest of the time they had before the first bell in each other’s arms. Neither of them said a word. They just sat there looking off to the distance listening to the other’s heartbeat imaging what they would have done if they did get off school grounds.

They got lost in their own world they didn’t hear the first bell ring. It was the students moving around that caught Garratt’s eye and snapped him back to reality. He nudged Ray a couple of times to get him to come back. Once he did, the two boys got to their feet and stood there watching their fellow classmates start their way into the stadium.

The more the stadium started to empty, the more they got anxious. They knew had to go soon in order not to be late for class, but at the same time they only wanted to sit right back down in each other’s arms and forget about everything. Just go back to the world they were in that only had them happy with each other doing everything together they can’t in reality.

However, that couldn’t happen and both knew it. They stole one last long kiss from each other before making their way to the main building. Being time was an issue since they lost a lot of it just standing there. They started running in order not to be late for class, which both barely made it after grabbing what they needed from their lockers.

Once the school day started, it flew by for most of the students. All of them were looking forward to Spring Break because it was a week without having to get up earlier, having to go to school, deal with homework and sitting in classrooms. Even though the majority of the students were only going to stay home, they were happy not having to go to school for a week.

The times when the day seemed to slow down to a crawl was when the teacher truthfully wanted to teach, which didn’t make sense to anyone. It wasn’t as if homework could be given or the students were actually paying attention. Several times through the teacher’s lecture, they had to stop and bring back one or two of the students who were daydreaming. Most of the teachers who attempted to teach gave up towards the end and just let their students have free periods, which to say made the students happy would be an understatement.

Garratt and Ray found time throughout the day to be together. Not like, they wanted, but they did get time to be with each other. Between second and third period, they decided to ditch their third-period class and spend it together up in the old auditorium. They were late getting to lunch, but they didn’t care. Then they did it once more during fifth period, and once again ran late for sixth period.

Even though they were, alone they didn’t go all the way. It was on each of their minds, but they respected one another too much to have sex this early on in their relationship. So instead, they lay there in each other’s arms as they did before school daydreaming. When they weren’t daydreaming, they were getting to know each other, which most of the time led to kissing and getting to know every inch of each other’s face and yes mouths.

Back at the hotel Alex packed up what was left of his and Matt’s stuff that was in their room. He doubled checked all the drawers, closet and bathroom to make sure they were not leaving anything behind before heading down to the lobby to see if anyone could help him bring down the bags. Not having any luck Alex started his way back to his floor when he ran t into Marco, who had just finished cleaning up the kitchen. He was looking for something to do so he wouldn’t be sent home or worse sent down to help with the laundry. So when Alex asked him if he could help, he didn’t hesitate to say yes and follow him back upstairs.

After bringing down what Alex had in his room, he and Marco went through all the rest of the rooms on the floor to make sure they were all cleared out. By midafternoon, they went through every room and made sure there was nothing being left behind. When Matt and the guys got back from school, they were in and out of the hotel in minutes and on their way to the new house.

The rest of the evening, they spent in the new house setting up their rooms and at the same time packing for their vacation. None of them wanted to cook or clean up the mess that comes with cooking so they all agreed on ordering pizza, which they spent the rest of the night eating in front of the TV as they watched whatever movie was playing.

They were all too excited to sleep, so most of them didn’t even try to get any. However, that caught up to them on the plane the next morning. Almost the second the seat belt sign was turned off and the plane was in the air they knocked out and didn’t stir until they landed in Dallas. Then again, when they got on their final plane to California, they did the same thing. However, when they woke up, they were refreshed and ready to begin for many of them their first Disney vacation.

To be continued...

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Welcome back everyone to another installment of ‘Beneath the Mask’. I know it’s been a while since the last chapter, but I hope this chapter was exciting and full of suspense that made up for the long delay. A lot is going on in the saga I didn’t even get a chance to sit back and write about the main character of this story. So why don’t I get right to the summation.

Chapter started out with Alex’s grandfather and his gang in prison in another meeting. The thing I don’t understand here is the warden. He wants to turn the tables in the elder Garcia, but giving them all the leeway he has isn’t doing it since the elder Garcia isn’t talking. He needs to hear him, not his second in command, give the orders that are given. Until then, I don’t think the warden will ever be able to turn the tables and get back control of his prison.

It seems they are going to give Stefan the benefit of doubt and let him go in and get Ashton. I can understand why there were some objections to it, but at the end of the day they really want Ashton, and if he’s being protected by one of their own they have to do what they have to do. The only question I have is if they do go and do what we all are thinking will there be war. Boy if that happens, there’s going to be a hell of a war to say the least.

Hughes and Alvarez when we last left them; they looked like they were in trouble. It really looked like they were going to be at least hurt if not killed, but man I’m thankful they were on their toes and weren’t hurt. They stunned The Cartel not only by knowing they were behind them, but also by pulling their guns as quickly as they did. Maybe The Cartel was caught off guard.

As things developed, we found out they were sent to deliver a message to them. So maybe they weren’t trying to sneak up to the two assistant chiefs of police. I just don’t know, what do you guys think? Does any of this seem fishy to any of you? Why would The Cartel do what they seem to be doing with Ashton? If found out they not only would look weak in the eyes of the other gangs, but also cause a huge rift within. Once again, as I stated there will be war and it’s going to be bloody.

I know, I know the back and forth here with Garratt and Ray. Too many relationships in my stories, I didn’t develop them. I quickly got them together, and before you knew it, they were in bed making patient love with each other. In the real world, we all know that doesn’t happen. Therefore, I decided to develop my relationships and make them more believable to you the readers.

It looks like Garratt and Ray are going to be with each other. Even though they didn’t get what they wanted, spending the whole day together, they did get a couple of hours. They were able to get to know each other through talking. By not rushing into sex as most teenagers do, their relationship is going to last, at least I hope it will. There are still a lot of outside forces that can spill in and cause problems for them. What do you guys think? Is there relationship going to last the long haul?

The ending is finally with ‘Jacob Finding His Way’. I have been trying to get all the stories together on the same day because they are going to share a few plots. I don’t want you to read a plot in one saga and then a month or so later, you get the ending of it in the other. Now that this story is caught up to ‘Jacob’s’ I will work on getting ‘Regrets and Heartaches’ there. All three stories will be going along the same day and time as they have the time of their lives at Disneyland. So please keep popping in each of the sagas to see what is happening.

There are many 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 don’t want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I will not. 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 jacobmillertex@aol.com, 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:

As Jacob pointed out this chapter concentrated on the minor characters of this story and of course, the ugly matter of getting Ashton. Surely, his time is ending and he has used all his nine lives.

The thing is who will get to him the police or the gang? Interesting times ahead for sure and I hope he doesn’t get away yet again.

Poor Garrett and Ray they just can’t take a trick as far as their relationship is concerned. If that had been me I would have had the bluest of blue balls by now and be climbing up the wall with frustration.

The hotel will be empty for a week but with so many moving out it will be like a ghost town until more guys who need help come in to fill it up again. I did think this story was floundering a while back but there are so many open plots going on that it’s taken on a new lease of life.

Don’t forget to let Jacob know what you think about this and all his stories.

Hugs Trevor.