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Message-ID: <47879asstr$1084882205@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: El Sol <munster@eden.rutgers.edu>
Subject: {ASSM} A Master's Ring by ElSol (28/???)
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Date: Tue, 18 May 2004 08:10:05 -0400
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        This email address is NOT read. If you wish to contact me please
do so ONLY at munster(at)remus(dot)rutgers(dot)edu.

	Thank you
	ElSol

<1st attachment, "Ring28a.txt" begin>

Chapter 28

   Susan could only add that Brothers were waiting at my house before she
escaped into near-catatonia.  Doris Alex and I sat her in the passenger
seat of my car.  I opened the trunk and tossed the keys to Doris Alex.  I
drew one of Jason's gifts out of its oaken home.  I put on the holster that
held his gift at the small of my back; the light jacket I kept in the trunk
hid my state of arms.  I doubted that I would need Jason's gift right away
but its time was coming.  The twenty minute ride from Susan's house seemed
longer than usual.

   The world called us victims until survivors became all the rage.  Those
acts change a person forever: killing what they were, and destroying what
they could have been.  I do not call learning to live with a hollow soul
surviving.  In a place the system called a foster home, I survived for six
months.

   Jason had been through many more levels of hell when we met; only
someone like us could understand how bad it was for him that I can write
the following words.

   What happened to me was nothing compared to the nightmare Jason lived.
Calling both of our experiences abuse seemed wrong so I never used it for
what was done to me.

   I do not remember who I was before those six months.  I do not know what
I was meant to be, although I imagine that man is better than the one I am.
In the moments that I consider what could have been, I think about Jason.
How beautiful a person would he have grown to be, if even after surviving
the abuse his dying words were to protect me from myself?

   I tried to imagine that Jason as Doris Alex drove towards the emptiness
of my soul.



   -----

   The Siblings were waiting quietly in the hallway.

   Doris Alex and Susan were with me.  Melisa waited at the bottom of the
stairs.  Janet sat at the top of the steps proud of her temporary position
somewhere above Melisa.  Heather stood in the doorway to the kitchen with
her head bowed.  Malia, sitting on the floor, looked up at me with teary
eyes.

   I stared at Melisa.

   "Rachel's in our room," she said seriously.  "They haven't woken up
yet."

   I nodded to her.  Michael opened the doors to the living room and
stepped into the hallway.

   "They're waiting for you, Brother," he said quietly.

   The Siblings surrounded Susan in a web of arms and comforting words.  I
walked into the living room.  Robert was standing across from the doors. 
Samantha and Jeremy were sitting on the couch.  I did not recognize the old
woman in the wheelchair or the young man standing attentively behind her.

   "Wait outside, Leonard," the old woman instructed in a hard voice.

   The young man nodded respectfully and walked out of the living room
closing the doors behind him.

   "I apologize for the invasion of your home," Robert said politely.

   I waved it off and looked at him expectantly.  He nodded and held out a
folder.  I walked around the furniture to take it from his hand.

   The pictures were horrific.  She was barely recognizable as human, much
less female.  The pictures detailed the extent of her survival.  There was
not two square inches anywhere on her body that was un-battered.  I studied
each picture clinically; whoever had done her was amateurish but
enthusiastic.

   The medical report was edifying in its thoroughness.

   Vaginal tearing.

   Anal tearing.

   Deep bites.

   Six broken ribs.

   Broken nose.

   Concussion.

   The list of injuries covered one and a half pages.  I read each word and
read them again while looking at whichever picture illustrated an injury.

   The woman had steel for a backbone I discovered pulling the last
document out of the folder.  She had narrated the details of her ordeal
before she allowed the drugs that would put her into a welcome and
dreamless sleep.  There were places where the ink ran from the writer's
tears.

   The pages vibrated with pain.

   I read it, read it again and then again.  I wanted her words inscribed
on the inside of my eyelids so I could read them while I slept.  I placed
everything back in its place and put the folder on the endtable by the
couch.

   The monsters that do these kind of things never understand they are
breeding bigger monsters; sometimes those babies get to meet their parents
in a dark alley.

   The first part is the heat in the air, an illusion from the oxygen
feeding the fire in my lungs and being let out.  I took deep breaths
needing the extra air to control the shaking.  I could not see past the
darkness of the home I survived.  I heard the sound of Jason's sobs when he
woke up from his nightmares.  The woman's words were there when I closed my
eyes tightly.  If I had nails, I would have cut my hands as they balled
into tight fists.  My head dropped as my mind tried to expand past the cage
of my skull.  I took a deep breath trying to take in all the oxygen of the
world and raised my head to look at the ceiling.  The anger and
frustration, the old and new, mixed inside me bonding into a different
element.

   Rage.

   I like the heat of rage.  It burns the past, present and most
importantly the future away until only purpose is left.  I let the air out
slowly enjoying the sensation of a heart that beat with rage's purpose.  My
mind was still, unnecessary until I could find the path to completing the
intent I had become.

   "Her name isn't on anything in the folder," the remain of what I was and
could have been said.

   Her name was not necessary but having it on my lips when the purpose was
completed would be satisfying.

   "The Sibling's name is Stephanie Laros," the old woman said.

   I turned my head towards her.

   "She's my granddaughter," she finished.

   I nodded.

   "David, this is Anna Laros," Robert said.  "She retired thirty years ago
from the role the Brotherhood plans for you.  Interestingly, she held it
for thirty years making her shoes very large ones to fill.  We've had a
disappointing run of Brothers that could not."

   I nodded.

   "This is the part where you're supposed to say something about me not
looking my age," Anna encouraged.

   "I didn't know we recruited Brothers seconds out of the womb," I said
sincerely.

   "Do you kill as easily as you lie?" she asked having expected the easy
reply.

   I stared into her clear blue eyes.  Anna did not try to measure me,
making her a new experience for me in the Brotherhood.  She opened herself
like I did and we smiled in recognition.

   "They tell me you're different from other Brothers," she said.  "Most of
them do not understand the ones who serve our purpose so let me assure you,
it is something they said about me.  Wear the badge proudly, it is the only
thanks we'll give you."

   I bowed my head accepting her advice.  She crossed her hands in her lap
and waited patiently staring at me.

   "You're not going to ask what your role is to be?" she asked.

   I shrugged.

   "I might not survive this," I said pointing to Stephanie's folder.  "I
have better things to do than waste my time on a decision I've already
made."

   She gave the other Brothers in the room a gentle smile.

   "He is different," she said.  "You picked a good one though, much better
than the others you brought to me."

   "I wouldn't say we picked him, Anna," Samantha said staring at me.  "The
Bloodlines seem to produce exactly what we need when we need it the most."

   "Even Bloodlines that are lost and found again," Jeremy said.

   "The Bloodlines are our strongest Sibling asset.  I've always said we
mix them," Anna said.  "It's those stupid ninnies on the council that have
not allowed it."

   "It was the council's decision to make," Robert said in a tone that
brooked no argument.  "Obviously, the situation has changed.  If the
Bloodlines mix, they will do so without any encouragement or interference."

   The last was a command that promised a retribution as final as I had in
mind for Stephanie's rapists.

   "Enough," Robert said with a dismissive wave of his hand.  "It is too
early discuss our hopes for that with David.  We have a more immediate
concern to deal with."

   "What happened?" I asked.

   "A Sibling was raped," Samantha said angrily.

   "Stephanie dictated what happened during the rape," I said.  "I want to
know what happened before."

   "Does it matter?" Jeremy asked.

   "No," I replied honestly.

   "God, I hate that we cannot twin some Siblings," Robert said in
frustration.

   "With these two assholes, it would have left us with two Sibling rapes,"
Samantha said.

   "You cannot twin some Siblings?" I asked.

   "No," Robert said.  "The Siblings have not figured out why; maybe these
type of Siblings are too independent.  Considering how deeply untwinables
take to indoctrination makes very little sense."

   "We've tried many things," Anna said.  "We even try to match untwinables
together."

   Susan's reaction clicked into place.

   "Susan and Stephanie," I said.

   "Yes," Jeremy replied standing up to pace.  "Twining failures are not
failures in reality.  The two mismatched Siblings usually end up closer
friends than with their eventual twins.  It is especially true for any
untwinables that we try to match together.  Susan and Stephanie formed an
unbreakable bond."

   I watched him pace for a couple of seconds.

   "When do you decide a matching has failed?" I asked.

   "Why do you want to know?" Samantha asked curiously.

   "Malia and Heather are not going to twin," I told her.  "They are too
different.  Malia wants all of this to be an endless summer of fun. 
Heather requires what she gets from a Brother like a fish needs water."

   "It's not our decision," Jeremy said.  "Siblings developed
indoctrination and twining.  It falls in their purview."

   I raised an eyebrow.

   "Brothers are interested but the council prefers us not to interfere
with the Siblings' little experiments," Jeremy told me.  "The council does
not dictate to a Brother but in most cases we try to follow the council's
preferences."

   "I'm confident that Doris Alex is monitoring the situation carefully,"
Robert said.

   "You know this?" I asked him.

   "She is an exceptional Sibling," Robert said.  "She might fight the yoke
of her responsibilities, but duty underlies every decision she makes."

   "So what happened before those two entered Stephanie's apartment?" I
asked.

   Jeremy sat down and looked at Samantha.

   "There was a Brother visiting from Europe a couple of weeks ago,"
Samantha said.  "He ran into Stephanie and they spent a couple of days
together.  One of their sexual episodes was public and I think the two
animals watched it.  They arrived at the conclusion that Stephanie was
available for them to do with as they pleased since she was so
accommodating to a Brother."

   There was silence in the room for a couple of minutes.

   "Shouldn't the Brother take care of this?" I asked wrestling the words
past purpose.

   "What makes you say that?" Robert asked seriously.

   "You've brought this here for a reason," I pointed out.  "I assume I am
allowed to ask questions, even unnecessary ones."

   "You are involved with Susan, who will be greatly affected by this,"
Jeremy said careful not to give anything else away.

   "Susan is not in the room," I said.

   "A decision has to be made," Anna said.  "Susan does not need to be a
part of that."

   "A decision has been made," I told her.  "I want to make sure that
another Brother does not believe this is his vendetta to pursue."

   "Most of the time, it would be," Jeremy replied.  "Stephanie being
Anna's granddaughter changes things."

   "Certain Siblings are exclusively associated with a specific branch of
the Brotherhood," Robert explained.  "We have some very important reasons
when that happens.  In Stephanie's case, her lineage as Anna's
granddaughter gives her a special place.  The Brother is a member of
another branch so he will not be told until Anna is satisfied that what
should be done has been done...  by one of us."

   "By me," I said quietly.

   "Is that your choice, David?" Anna asked seriously.

   "Yes."

   "It brings you closer to what the Brotherhood plans," she warned.

   "If I survive killing them, the Brotherhood and I can discuss plans," I
replied.

   "You'll survive," Anna assured me.  "An animal is much easier to kill
than a Brother."

   "Killing, even people like these two, is against the law," Samantha said
in a serious tone of voice.  "Most of the world thinks that death is a
cruel and unusual punishment for a rapist."

   I stared at her.

   "I didn't say I did, David," she said coldly.  "They did this to a
Sibling, but you have to think about consequences."

   "Consequences don't matter any more," I told her purposefully.

   "You're going to need things," Jeremy said before Samantha could say
anything else.

   We turned our heads as loud conversation penetrated from the hallway. 
The doors opened violently and my ex-roommate walked inside.

   "I don't give a fuck who is in here," he shouted at the Siblings behind
him.  "I'm getting my shit."

   He turned to give the room an arrogant smile at having forced his way
in.

   "Who is this?" Anna asked in a bland voice.

   "He used to be my roommate," I replied.

   "Here?" Anna asked surprised.

   "No," I said.  "Here he is Rachel's guest."

   "One of our children associates with this?" she asked even more
surprised.

   "I'm standing right here," my ex-roommate said angrily.

   "Rachel is not one of ours," I answered ignoring him.

   "What is she doing in this house then?"

   "She fascinates me," I said.

   "Yeah, she fascinated me all night long," my ex-roommate announced with
a crass laugh.

   Anna looked him up and down.

   "Get over it, David," she said looking at me.  "Only a female pig lies
with a male pig."

   "What did you call me?" my ex-roommate asked her.  "Get your things and
get out, boy," Anna told him in dismissal.

   "Hey old bag, you fucking don't tell me what to do," he said with a
smirk of condescension.

   I moved as soon as he started speaking.  He was standing next to Anna so
she did not have to reach far to place the knife in his crotch.  She
trapped something and pressed down.  If his instincts had forced him back,
his voice would have changed for the second time in his life.  He went down
on a knee to avoid the cutting tip of the knife.  The wheelchair turned and
Anna brought her other arm across her body to place the second knife at his
throat.  His eyes widened and his mouth opened.

   The barrel of Jason's gift filled his right eye's field of vision.  I
was not a fan of modifying weapons; I did not like the crutch the
modifications created.  Jason had spent several pretty pennies to enhance
the pair of .45's he gave me, and I had to admit the way they fit my hand
and fired made them my favorites.

   My ex-roommate's mouth closed with a snap when he peered into the
darkness the gun promised him.

   "It is the duty of a young man to kneel and listen attentively at the
feet of an elder female when she wishes to speak to him," I said.

   He had a hard time looking up at me within the restrictions of Anna's
knives and my gun.

   "Simplify my life, Joseph," I said.

   I do not know how people like Anna and I radiate death, but we pounded
him with waves of our intentions should he dare open his mouth.  Anna moved
the knife away from his crotch.  She held it with the tip at his left eye
for a second and then did something which ancient fingers should not have
been nimble enough for to make it disappear.  She pulled the other knife
away and did performed her trick again.

   "Look at me, boy," she instructed.

   My ex-roommate stared up at me fearfully.

   "I gave you an instruction, boy," Anna said dangerously.

   Trying to keep one eye on me, he turned towards her.

   "In my day, the only reason a boy like you entered this house was
because you were ready to serve its Master.  You would have crawled into
this room naked on your hands and knees.  With a voice filled with pride,
you would have begged the house's Master to take your ass.  When he was
done, your cum would have stained the floor because your dearest heart's
desire of feeling the heat of his seed inside your body had finally come
true."

   His eyes widened at the declaration of truth her voice made those words.
"I'm of half a mind to take charge of your education, and believe me, when
I was done you would feel exactly that, boy," she said confidently. 
"Consider yourself unlucky that I'm not a year younger.  As it is, my bones
are too old to be rapping my knuckles against your thick skull to teach you
proper behavior around your betters."

   "I have young, hard knuckles, Anna," Samantha volunteered from the
couch. "I would be happy to do all the rapping necessary."

   Anna looked at Samantha and back to my ex-roommate.  She pursed her lips
in consideration.

   "No, I do not think so," she said with a sad sigh.  "These old hands are
full enough with my Leonard.  The boy tries my patience, but he is a sweet
child.  I would go sadly to my grave if I did not complete his training."

   She patted my ex-roommate's face sadly.

   "I'm sorry, boy," she said meaning it.  "The fates have been cruel to
you.  I've trained many young boys but you've entered my world too late for
me to take you on.  You should crawl to Samantha and beg her to do it."

   "No, no," Samantha said.  "I have Simon and he fills my days."

   "I've seen that young man," Anna said with a wicked smile.  "I'm sure
your days are not all he fills.  Big boy that one!"

   "Yes, he is that," Samantha said with a warm smile.

   "Oh, to be seventy again," Anna said mournfully.  "Anyway, we have more
important things to discuss.  Leonard?!?  Where is that boy when I need
him? Leonard, get in here or it's the paddle on your behind tonight."

   Leonard walked in followed closely by a very curious set of Siblings. 
Melisa stood beside my ex-roommate and looked down at him.  She tapped his
skull experimentally with her fist.

   "I don't know," she said loudly.  "I don't think his head is THAT hard.
Maybe I could manage it, even if I wouldn't want the same rewards Samantha
or Anna would get.  Although watching David..."

   "Melisa," Doris Alex said in an exasperated tone of voice.

   "Come on, Doris Alex," Michael admonished.  "It is a great idea.  It
would keep the Taus out of our way since this asshole is likely to become
their next chapter president from what I hear."

   "The Taus have served their purpose," Doris Alex said dismissively. 
"Grow up, Michael."

   "He's cute though," Janet offered looking at my ex-roommate.  "I would
give Melisa a helping hand if he 'doeth protest' too much the first time
David..."

   "Well, I never," Anna said in an annoyed tone of voice.

   She gave me a hard look.

   "David, these children are running amuck," she told me.  "You're going
to have to put your hand on their behinds.  I advise you do it sooner
rather than later.  It's not good for children to go too long without some
hard discipline."

   She gave every Sibling in the room an admonishing look.

   "Who exactly invited any of you in here?" she asked in a voice that put
a worried look on their faces.  "I believe I only called for Leonard."

   The Siblings tried to look nonchalant as they eased towards the doors
out of the living room.

   "No, no," Anna said clapping her hands together.

   She pointed towards my bedroom.

   "In there, children," she commanded.  "You've all earned a harsh
punishment.  Don't you even look at me as if you haven't either or I'll
take care of it myself no matter whose house this is.  Now when David is
done with you, I expect to get a letter, not one of those email things
either but a real letter explaining why you were so rude and telling me
what David did to make sure you remember simple courtesy the next time I
visit."

   The Siblings walked into my room with their heads bowed.  Melisa was the
last to enter my bedroom and she did not even look at me as she closed the
doors.

   "David, I'm sure that at least Jeremy has talked to you about
disciplining the children," Anna said pointedly.  "He's got a kind heart
that one, so talk to Samantha also.  I trust her to do what is necessary. I
do not wish to interfere, but for the children's sake you must not be too
gentle.  My dearest grandchild lies in my house close to death and these
children make jokes."

   She put a hand on her chest and her eyes were moist as she looked at me.
I suspected this is what her grandchildren saw when she was laying down the
guilt trip.

   "I will ensure they are deeply apologetic for their rudeness," I assured
her.

   "Good," she said somehow sucking the tears back into her being.

   "Now, boy," she said looking at my ex-roommate.  "What did you want?"

   He was unable to respond fast enough to please her.  She gave him a hard
rap that belied her words about fragile bones.

   "Speak up!  Don't worry about not giving me an intelligent answer," she
said.  "I don't have the years left to wait for you to formulate one."

   "My bookbag and my shoes," he said after wetting his lips a couple of
times.

   "Leonard, get his things and escort him out," Anna said.  "David, get
that out of his face so the boy can stand up."

   I dropped my arm and moved a couple of steps back.  Leonard located the
bookbag and the shoes.  He tucked them under his arm and grabbed my
ex-roommate's upper arm to lead him out.

   "Boy," Anna said suddenly.

   Leonard turned the two of them to look at her.

   "Do not allow me to believe you have told anyone what happened in this
room," she said as death radiated from her again.  "No matter how much the
thought offends me, if I come to that conclusion I will allow children here
to take charge of you.  I'm sure that when David is done teaching them
manners, they will have learned to follow my instructions to the letter. 
If you don't want to use it to lick your cum from this floor, I advise you
keep your tongue sealed behind a tightly closed mouth."

   Leonard almost dragged him out of the room.

   "Now where were we," Anna asked.

   I put the gun back in its holster and looked around the room.  Even
though Samantha had spoken while my ex-roommate was on his knees, the
Brothers had sat respectfully out of the way of Anna's and my business.

   "I have a problem," I said.

   "What is it, David?" Robert asked.

   "If I kill them, the cops will immediately suspect someone in
Stephanie's family," I pointed out.

   "The cops don't know," Anna said.

   I looked at the folder and then at Anna.  "Stephanie understands her
duty and that we would take care of her," she said proudly.  "She called me
first.  Our branch has some very fine Sibling doctors.  Stephanie was taken
to a hospital we own until she was stable enough to be moved to my home."

   "When did the rape happen?" I asked.

   "Last week," Robert said.  "We wanted to make sure Stephanie was going
to survive before we made any decisions.  Her death would have called for
different measures."

   I nodded; peeling them layer by layer would have made a satisfactory
different measure had Stephanie died.  I sat down on the couch and thought
for a few minutes.

   "You don't have to do this alone, David," Anna said.

   I turned my head towards her.

   "Brothers like you and I are not allowed to be a part of a cell," she
said.  "We don't need those bonds, not to mention it's not a good idea for
us to make friends with other Brothers.  Jeremy and Samantha are here to
supply what you need to see this through."

   I sat back to stare at the two Brothers she spoke of.

   "I specialize in information," Samantha said.

   "I can get you anything else you need," Jeremy said.

   The questions I might have asked were burned away by purpose on the road
from my brain to my mouth.

   "I need to know as much as we can find out about the rapists in two
weeks," I told Samantha.

   "Why two weeks?" she asked.  "The more time we have to gather
information the better."

   "That will make it three weeks since Stephanie's attack," I said
quietly. "Her injuries are bad but not so bad that the doctors will keep
her drugged past that time.  The questions and nightmares will start then.
We can take care of her body, maybe her mind too but part of her soul is
gone.  It's better for what's left behind if she knows she will never walk
down a street and see one these assholes."

   Samantha gave me a hard nod.

   "What will you need?" Jeremy asked.

   "A pair of H&K nines with silencers, you should know the type I'm
familiar with," I said.

   "That's going to mark it as a military man," he said looking at Robert.

   "You haven't told him?" I asked Samantha.

   "He didn't need to know," she replied.

   "Fucking intelligence puke," Anna grumbled.  "You don't need to know
this, you don't need to know that, just do your job."

   The last was said so low only I could have heard.  I nodded in a tiny
motion to acknowledge her words and looked at Jeremy

   "You can't disavow people with certain training," I told him.  "So they
make the best 'bushy-tailed killers' look like they were cooks or armory
jockeys, especially if someone has non-military operations in mind for a
soldier with a particularly bushy tail."

   Jeremy looked at Samantha with some annoyance.

   "Like I said, fucking intelligence puke," Anna said.

   "Yes," Jeremy agreed.

   Samantha raised an uncaring eyebrow.  She probably thought it was a
complement.

   "Jeremy has a point, David," Anna said.  "I would use a .22 or a knife.
They're better for close work."

   "Yes," I answered.  "But nines give me more flexibility in case
something happens and another obstacle needs to be removed for me to walk
away."

   "Hmm, that's certainly not my style," Anna said.

   "I'm male," I pointed out.  "I've done it your way when it was called
for.  Not knowing what I'll be up against after they're dead, I'd rather
give myself room to maneuver."

   Anna nodded slowly.

   "I'm going to need a safe place to hunker down for the hours
afterwards," I said down.  "I prefer a funeral home with a crematorium.  I
also need the equipment to destroy the nines."

   "We have a Sibling who's very good with that," Jeremy said with a nod.
"They will be on hand to do it."

   "Isn't this a little complicated?" Anna criticized.

   "A little," I said.  "But it's going to be a quickie job.  If I can get
them together; *pop*, *pop*; then all I have to do is get to the safe
house. Sure for burning the clothes, there are easier ways than a cremation
chamber.  A little rust, some powdered aluminum, and a fourth of July mag
sparkler will do the job, but it's something a witness will remember and
the cops will find traces of.  No one's going to notice if a funeral home
has movement behind the windows in the middle of the night.  If time is on
my side, the guns will be destroyed, the clothing a pile of ashes, and
since they don't know about Stephanie there's no motive pointing to me. 
They either find me in the first two hours or they never will."

   "What if the cops do find you in the first two hours?" Samantha asked.

   "The ones that live through it will have a new favorite dream," I said
letting purpose speak through me.  "The one where they didn't find me."

   "They didn't do anything to you or to Stephanie, David," she said
pushing at me.

   "This little social agreement we call civilization, it's not to protect
me, it's to protect them from me," I told her.  "Most of the time killing
someone is not worth my life.  This is worth my life, but I won't die
cheaply."

   "You're taking it to the extreme, David.  It's just going to be cops
trying to do their job if they find you," Samantha responded.

   "I won't live in a cage, or let them kill me on their terms," I said. 
"These two assholes broke the agreement so there are no rules until I walk
away from their dead bodies.  After that, I'll be okay with renewing the
agreement to play nice with whoever's left on their side."

   "The rest of the world," Robert said with a smile.

   I shrugged.

   "Minus the Brotherhood, of course," Anna said.  "That's a different
agreement."

   I turned to look at her.  We smiled at each other in a way that excluded
the rest of the room.

   "That it is," I said finally.

   "Are you going to need anything else?" Jeremy asked.

   "I need eyes and ears," I told him.  "Someone that can go into a bar so
I don't have get close.  They'll need to tell me when these assholes are
moving and where to.  At worst, I need bait."

   "Leeann and Krista," Robert suggested to Jeremy.

   "Hmmm, those two have done it before," Jeremy said.  "But it would be
dangerous for..."

   Robert shook his head.

   "Hmmm," Jeremy said swallowing the rest of his sentence.  "Are you sure,
Robert?"

   "It's worth the risk," Robert assured Jeremy.  "Our little fish might
decide he likes his chances against the hook and the line.  If we're lucky
he won't realize the bait is poisoned too, and if we're not lucky we will
have a measure of how good he is."

   "Hmmm," Jeremy replied.

   It seemed to be his word of the day; I thought it a bit monosyllabic for
a college English professor.  I figured neither I nor the rapists were the
'little fish' Robert spoke of, but purpose did not care as long as I got
what I wanted.

   "Leeann and Krista, it is then," Jeremy said sounding satisfied.

   "This is a little quick for deciding to murder two people," Samantha
said.

   "Fucking pukes, always asking unnecessary questions," Anna grumbled
quietly.

   "Let's not be coy, Samantha," I said.  "The decision to kill these
assholes was made when they touched Stephanie.  You're only here to confirm
that I'll be the one doing it.  I'm surprised you convinced Anna that she
couldn't take care of it herself."

   "Couldn't?!?"

   "I apologize, Anna," I said quickly.  "That the Brotherhood needed me to
do it."

   "That's better," Anna said with some residue of irritation still in her
voice.  "No Brother with undisciplined Siblings running around his house is
going to tell me what I couldn't do."

   "I only said that they had to convince you," I corrected politely.  "I
didn't say that you couldn't."

   "It makes no difference," she insisted.

   I capitulated the point with a nod.

   "So is everything taken care of, Robert?" Anna asked straightening in
her wheelchair.

   "I believe our Brothers here can handle things between the three of
them," Robert said looking at me.  "My job now is to keep Roderigo from
interfering."

   "Good!  I need to make sure my granddaughter is being given the best
care," Anna announced.  "Leonard!  Leonard!  Why must I say your name
twice, you irritating boy?  In my day, if I said a Sibling's name, he was
at my elbow giving me what I wanted before I finished speaking.  Leonard!"

   He walked into the room and nodded to Anna.

   "I need to get home, Leonard," Anna told him.  "I think it's the
passenger seat for you; I feel like driving.  That will scare some hair on
that pretty smooth chest of yours!"

   Leonard gave Anna a small smile as he arranged her feet where they would
not drag and moved behind her.  He turned the chair towards the door.

   "Anna," I said.

   Leonard stopped but did not turn the chair around.

   "Yes, David?"

   "Hold Stephanie," I said quietly.  "She'll fight you, but don't let her
win.  How much of her makes it through depends completely on how tightly
and how often you hold her.  You can't save all of her but..."

   "Thank you, David."

   I nodded even if she could not see me.

   "Leonard," I said.

   "Yes, Brother," he replied politely.

   "Take Susan with you," I told him.  "She can help; she needs to help."

   Leonard nodded and moved to my bedroom doors.  The room was quiet until
he came out with Susan.

   "Thank you, David," Susan whispered.

   I could feel her eyes on me so I nodded.  They left my house to face the
pain, tears and despair that Stephanie would fight them with.  No matter
how hard they tried it was a battle I knew they would not win.

   There are no survivors, only remains.

   -----

   We sat around talking about what else had to be done.  The framework had
been built though, and information was needed to fill it in.  Samantha was
the first to leave.  She nodded at me and walked out.  Jeremy followed soon
after.  I heard him whispering that he had to remember to make the
university administration aware of Susan's emergency leave.

   Robert sat across from me and stared.

   "You're not doing this for Stephanie are you?" he asked.

   "Part of it," I told him honestly.  "But not all of it."

   "Good," he said.  "Sentimentality is as dangerous as ambition or
curiosity.  I'm glad you didn't decide to kill them slow."

   "That's why I would rather not wait too long," I said.  "The more
information there is, the easier it is to convince myself slow is the way
it should be done."

   "And if you had the time would you be tempted?"

   "I think the easiest way to fight temptation is to avoid temptation," I
told him.  "Would I kill them slowly if I had the time?  Probably not.  Can
you say you wouldn't do it slow if I could get them into your house without
endangering the Brotherhood?"

   He smiled at me.

   "Let's continue to avoid temptation," he said getting up.  "I will see
you when this is over."

   I nodded.

   The storm built from the memories of Jason came after Robert left.  It
was not like before; the storm came knowing the rage had burned everything
away.  The storm approached slowly in a dance of seduction, trying to mate
with purpose.

   Samantha would have been more successful in her sideways attempt to
interrogate me if she had asked me straight out like Robert had asked his
question.

   Why kill them?

   I did not look at the world around me.  I never liked what I saw when I
did; the things people allowed, or what they did.  My part of the agreement
was to follow the rules and look away.  Their part was to never let it
touch me again; six months had been enough.  Civilization failed to teach
Stephanie's rapists to play by the rules.  It did not matter that they did
not know Stephanie was a part of my world, not theirs.  There were nights
upon nights for years that Jason woke up crying from the power of memories
that masqueraded as nightmares.  Eyes that I never saw happy, that I never
saw with any emotion in them during the light of day, would be filled with
enough fear and pain to fill oceans in the seconds after he woke.  He told
me his stories, like Stephanie dictated hers.  When the world brought its
sickness into my home, Jason's voice told me his stories again.  I lived
with monsters once; I lived with the remain they left behind when they were
through with Jason.  I will not accept their presence in my life again.  If
civilization wanted to make me, then it would pay the price of my death.

   "Well, hello there," Rachel said an hour later as she sat down on the
couch.

   I looked at her.

   "Where is everyone?" she asked.

   Her words seemed to come from miles away so it took some time to answer.

   "In my bedroom," I said.

   "All of them?"

   "Yes," I replied.

   "Are you okay?"

   "No."

   "Hmmm," she said with more than a little joy.  "What are they doing in
your bedroom?"

   "I've been instructed use a heavier hand on them," I told her.  "They
are waiting for that hand to fall.  Repeatedly."

   "Shouldn't you be in there then?"

   "No," I said.  "I am past the rage.  I am trying to recover at least a
little from that before I face them.  It is not be good idea to deal with
them right now."

   "I don't know; Doris Alex needs a little bit of someone's rage on her
ass," she said crossly.

   "I said I was past rage so I would not be a suitable candidate for
that."

   "Are you okay?" she asked.

   "I answered that question already."

   "Don't be snippy, David," she said raising her voice.

   I looked away and listened to Jason's whispers.

   "You never told me your roommate was such a good kisser," she said
bringing me back.

   I turned to face her.

   "I never kissed him," I pointed out.  "He's also not my roommate any
more."

   "You really were thrown off your game by this, weren't you?"

   "Yes, I was," I replied.

   She got up and looked at the bedroom.

   "You are not welcome in there," I warned her.

   "Me, not welcome in David's bedroom," she said jokingly.

   "They are dealing with this also," I told her.  "They wouldn't be good
company."

   "Damn, I'm better than I thought," she said patting her behind.

   I wondered what she was talking about.

   "Where did Joseph go?" she asked in a voice that I guess was meant to
sting.

   I shrugged.

   "Well, I'm sure I can find him for a little more kissing," she said with
a smile.

   "Have fun," I told her and looked at the wall across from me.

   I closed my eyes again.  Jason read Stephanie's words to me.  I did not
hear Rachel leave the house.

   When Jason finished, I stood up and faced my bedroom doors.  I was not
going to come back from where I was until I saw it done.  Anna was right
though; I had given the Siblings too much lead.  It was an easily
correctable error even if my hand would hurt afterwards.  They would test
their freedom again soon enough; Siblings always do even if it is only to
feel the pull of the leash, but a hard afternoon would make for a quiet
pair of weeks.  

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