DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.



John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 2: Mantle Of Aries
Chapter 4

John sat on the steps of the porch that was part of a beat up 
wooden house. It hadn't been painted in years. What little paint 
remained was cracked or peeling off. The windows hadn't been 
cleaned in just as many years and were covered on the inside with 
newspapers taped to the glass. A casual passerby would have 
sworn the house had been abandoned for at least a decade. The 
only external sign that someone lived there was the oil drippings 
on the dirt driveway and the fresh refuse beside the house.

He waited for the owner of the house to return. It was difficult to 
sit there, chills kept running up and down his spine. The wire he 
wore irritated his skin. Fortunately, his wait wasn't long as a beat 
up black Cadillac pulled off the road onto the gravel driveway. 
John watched the car as it stopped by the house. He stood up and 
walked towards the car. The owner of the car exited shouting, "Get 
off my property!"

John held up his hands, one of them still grasping the walking 
stick. He shouted back, "Hey man. I'm here to pay damages!"

At the mention of damages, the owner stopped, "What damages?"

John slowly walked up to the guy as he explained, "Well, I stopped 
to take a leak over there. My cat jumped out and got one of your 
calves. Those are your cows in the pasture, aren't they?"

"Yes. You say your cat got one of my calves?" He wondered what 
kind of cat this guy could have that would take out a calf.

John approached close to the car. He nodded, "Yes. My cat killed 
one of your calves and dragged it up on top of your house."

The owner looked up and found he couldn't see the top of the 
house. He walked part of the way down the driveway to see the top 
of the roof. When he was positioned in the right place, he could see 
there was a cougar eating a freshly killed calf. The guy looked up 
at the cat, "Jesus that's your cat?"

John followed the man down the driveway. As he passed the end 
of the car, he could hear noise coming from the trunk. He took the 
time to examine the man very carefully. The man was in his early 
thirties. His teeth were a little crooked, he was a little overweight, 
and didn't look very bad. There was nothing threatening about him 
at all. He'd probably have a difficult time getting a date, but most 
women would probably talk to him in a casual environment. He 
could tell the man didn't have a gun on him. John answered him, 
"Yes it is."

"He killed a calf and took it up on my roof?" The man didn't 
believe what his eyes were telling him. He was obviously flustered 
and struggling with the situation. 

John asked, "So how much are you going to charge me for the 
calf?"

Greed fueled the man's answer. He had John over a barrel. He 
stated, "That's a prime calf. He's worth fifteen hundred."

John knew that the calf could be replaced for three hundred. He 
didn’t argue. He pulled out a checkbook and started to walk 
towards the car. The guy added, "It'll probably cost me another five 
hundred to get it off the roof."

John nodded, "Okay. I'll make out the check for an even two 
thousand. I'll just write it on the back of your car, if that's all right 
with you."

The owner’s nervousness seemed to boil over into irritation. He 
stated, "No. Let's go into the house and conclude our business 
there."

John turned and faced the man, "Well, its such a pretty pretty day 
today. I'd much rather stay out here."

The owner acted even more nervously. He glanced at the trunk of 
the car. He suggested, "Well, lets go on the porch. The sun bothers 
my eyes a bit and I don't have my sunglasses on."

John smiled, "Sure thing."

In a car by the side of the road, Ed waited for the other passenger 
to make a call to their backup. When the other man didn't move, 
Ed leaned over to him and stated, "He said it was a pretty pretty 
day. Call in the reinforcements."

Agent Fredricks turned to Ed, "We're here because his cat ate a 
cow!"

Ed snarled, " He gave the code phrase. Send in the others."

Agent Fredricks grunted, "If you're wrong, it's all your fault."

"Get them here, now! If you don't, I'm going up there myself!"

Agent Fredricks sent out a call to the backups. They were parked 
two miles away where they wouldn't be noticed. Even if they were 
noticed, they wouldn't be connected with this location.

John started writing the check. He asked, "Who do I make it out 
to?"

The man answered, "Henry Buckman."

John wrote in the name and then completed filling out the check. 
With a flourish, he ripped it out of the checkbook and handed it to 
Henry. He stated, "This makes us even on the calf?"

The man answered, "Yes, it does. I guess you can go now."

John shook his head, "I can't go until the cat comes down from the 
roof."

John's answer seemed to upset the man. Henry glanced at the car in 
the driveway and sucked in his lips. He wondered if there was a 
good way to speed things along. He was considering killing John, 
but didn't like the idea that others may have seen him here.

"What's that?" asked John as a van pulled into the driveway. They 
watched as it pulled up right behind Henry's car. Henry stared in 
horror when four FBI agents wearing vests emerged. Ed and agent 
Fredricks ran up behind the van. Ed was struggling to run as he 
also carried a small ice chest. 

Henry started to run, but John grabbed him by the arm. He stated, 
"Stay right here. I don't want you going anywhere."

One of the agents ran up to John and asked, "Where is she?"

John pointed at the car, "I heard her in the back of the car."

Another agent turned to Henry, "We need the key to open up the 
back of the car."

Henry shouted in rage, "You can't do anything without a warrant. I 
know my rights."

Ed knocked on the trunk of the car and stated, "There are FBI 
agents here. Is there anyone in here?"

The thuds that emerged from the back of the car were loud enough 
that they could be heard on the porch. John stated, "Probable 
cause. You can search the car."

In minutes, the car trunk was opened. Inside were two young ladies 
bound and gagged. They were sixteen or seventeen years of age at 
most. They stared up at Ed in terror, only relaxing when they saw 
Agent Fredricks with his FBI vest. Ed pulled off the gags on both 
women. The women didn't know what to say first. Their 
conversation was a confusing jumble of half uttered phrases, made 
even more confusing by the tears and sobs that burst loose 
uncontrollably. Ed was so touched that it was as if someone 
twisted a knife in his heart.

Ed started to undo the ropes that tied one of them while Agent 
Fredricks helped the other woman. The ropes were incredibly tight 
and had cut off the circulation in the hands. As a result, the hands 
were swollen and blue. Any attempt to cut the ropes would cut the 
women as well. The two men struggled with the knots and slowly 
were able to get the women unbound. 

The women screamed in pain as feeling returned to their hands. 
The looks on the faces of all of the men there showed their disgust 
at Henry. He was quickly handcuffed, read his rights, and taken 
away to the van. On the way there, he shouted, “All I wanted to do 
was make them perfect. Get rid of those ugly arms and legs, like in 
the statues.”

Rover, hearing the screams, jumped down from the roof. John 
walked over to the women to see if he could help them in some 
fashion. Rover quickly joined him, apparently as upset at the 
women’s pain as John. John knelt down and petted Rover on the 
head. Rover rubbed his head against the women's legs and purred. 
The presence of the cat took their minds off the pain and calmed 
them significantly. John looked up at the girls. He stated, "Ladies, I 
would like to introduce you to Rover."

Almost as one, they replied, "Hello Rover."

John added, "Would you like to introduce yourselves to Rover?"

The taller girl ran a hand over the silky fur. "I'm Stacy 
Hutchinson."

The smaller girl squeaked out, "I'm Sarah Smith."

“I think Rover is happy to meet you.” John turned to Agent 
Fredricks, "Give the girls your cell phone and let them call their 
families."

Agent Fredricks and another agent, each gave their cell phone to 
the women. John stated, "After you've told them that you are all 
right, you might want to hand the phone back to an agent so that he 
can tell your parents where you are. I'm sure they're very worried 
about you."

While the girls were talking to their parents, Ed and John were at 
the cooler taking out soft drinks and snacks. They opened the 
drinks and handed them to the women. They both smiled and took 
a big sip at the first opportunity. The look of joy on their faces was 
reward enough. Ed waited patiently with the snacks for the girls. 
He let them take their pick once they had finished their call.

In the mean time, another car with two agents pulled up in the 
driveway. They were followed by a police car and an ambulance. 
The agents got out and stated, "We have the search warrant for the 
house."

The ambulance personnel checked the women over thoroughly and 
found that both were fine. They wanted to take them to the 
hospital, but John told them to wait until the parents arrived. 
Normally, it was a two-hour drive, but they were being escorted by 
the local police. Consequently, they would arrive in an hour and a 
half.

The activity at the house picked up into high gear. More people 
showed up to go through the house. There were cars parked all 
over the field as more experts arrived. The prisoner was taken by 
police car to the county jail. In a way, the removal of the prisoner 
released a tension that no one had really noticed. 

John, Ed, Rover, and the women were left alone. John retrieved a 
couple of chairs from the porch and placed them in a shady spot 
for the women. Rover lay over their feet and purred. John and Ed 
sat back and let the girls talk. They told each other how afraid they 
had been during the ordeal. They talked of the thoughts that had 
gone through their minds at the time. 

John was deep in thought as he watched the girls talk. They didn't 
know what would have happened to them if they hadn't been 
rescued. Their fears were of being raped and made into slaves. The 
reality would have been so much worse. He realized that he didn't 
want them to know what fate had almost dealt them. He excused 
himself and went to the house.

John called out to the men in and around the house, "Everyone, 
please come here. I have something to say."

Despite some grumbling about the unorthodox request, everyone 
gathered around John. He looked around with a very serious face. 
"I do not want those young ladies to know what would have 
happened to them if we hadn't rescued them. They are still 
children. If anyone says anything to them about amputation, I will 
see that you no longer work in law enforcement. Do I make myself 
clear?"

Everyone nodded. As his eyes seemed to flash with a fire in them, 
John repeated, "Do I make myself clear?"

Everyone immediately answered, "Yes, sir."

"Everyone knows their assignments. Let's get to it."

As John turned to walk away, he overheard one of the local 
policemen ask, "Who's the hippie reject with the staff and cape?"

Agent Fredricks answered, "He's the agent in charge."

A number of people turned at that announcement and stared at 
John as he walked away.  One of them burst out, "You've got to be 
kidding!"

"That's Special Agent Dr. John Carter. He answers directly to the 
director of the FBI. We've been working this case for three years, 
he cracked it in three days. For you guys that live here, he can 
carry out his threat. He saved the Governor's daughter in the 
California Quake last year."

John walked away with a smile. He knew it was better to be 
underestimated than overestimated. He wondered which of the 
people they pulled out of the earthquake was the governor's 
daughter. He hadn't even know he had done that.

John took another sip from the bottled iced tea. He grimaced and 
turned to Ed, "I just can't stand this bottled junk. Iced tea is 
supposed to be served in a glass with real ice, enough sugar to taste 
it, and a lemon wedge if you want lemon. This stuff tastes old and 
stale."

Stacy grinned, "Can't you cast a spell on it? You are a wizard aren't 
you?"

Ed burst out laughing. He asked, "Why would you think that?"

Sarah answered, "Look at him. He's wearing a wizards cloak, he 
carries a staff, has a pure white beard, long hair with two white 
stripes, and has a cat as a familiar."

"I'm sure you've heard that saying that if it looks like a duck, walks 
like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it's it duck. Well, he looks 
like a wizard, walks like a wizard, and talks like a wizard." Stacy 
pointed at John and added, "Ergo, Wizard!"

John laughed, "no I'm not a wizard. I'm just a regular guy."

Agent Fredricks interrupted, "He's the main character out of a 
science fiction book. One man armed with intelligence, intuition, 
and nerves of steel goes forth to conquer evil. He's the John Carter 
from the Edgar Rice Burroughs stories."

Ed shook his head. "He's a regular guy that finds himself in 
irregular circumstances."

John turned his head to face Agent Fredricks, "What can we do for 
you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the girl's parents will be 
arriving soon. I thought you might want a few minutes to prepare 
for their arrival. The house is sealed off to everyone but police. 
We've had a porto-potty delivered so you can use it if you want to 
use the rest room. There's a portable water stand over there where 
you can get a drink or wash your hands."

"Thank you, Agent Fredricks. I'll walk back to the house with 
you." John stood up and walked over the where the agent stood. 
They returned to the house together. 

At the house, John asked, "Is everything in control here?"

"Yes, the teams are doing their jobs."

John looked into the house and saw the activity as agents were 
going through picking up hair and carpet samples. He had to know, 
"Did you find evidence that he's the amputation murderer?"

"The sick fuck video taped it. There's no question that he's the 
one."

John nodded, "I didn't think there'd be any doubt. I had to make 
sure that we had charges that would stick no matter what we found 
here. I'm sorry the young ladies had to experience the kidnapping."

"We had no reason to get a search warrant."

"Yes, I know," sighed John. He looked over at the two women 
with Ed. They were laughing and smiling. At least they weren't 
hurt.

"You did a good job. If you hadn't come along he would have had 
two more victims. You saved their lives and spared them a lot of 
pain." Agent Fredricks knew that they wouldn't have caught the 
man. They had no real clues to follow. He still wondered how John 
had found the man so quickly.

John shrugged his shoulders, "I would like to turn the investigation 
over to you. I'll stay here until the parents arrive and take the ladies 
away. If it is okay with you, Ed and I will take the car and return to 
the hotel. I am very tired."

"No problem. I can get a ride back to the hotel and pick up the car 
there."

"Thanks. We'll leave the keys at the counter."

John returned to where Ed was seated. The two women had moved 
over to where they could clean up a little. John sat down next to Ed 
and stated, "When their parents come and take them away, we can 
leave."

"Good, this place really gives me the creeps. There is something 
inherently evil about it."

John nodded, "I know. I've been feeling ill the whole time that 
we've been here. I hope the place burns down to the ground. There 
is so much pain in this place."

Ed nodded, "No wonder you were able to find this place. It 
screams out to you."

John asked, "So how long did it take you to convince him to call 
the backup?"

Ed laughed, "About a minute. I had to tell him three times to call 
for the backup. How did you know that I had to convince him?"

"Why do you think that I wanted you to watch my back?"

Ed frowned, "You didn't think they would believe you."

"Right." John pointed at the driveway. "I think the parents have 
arrived. Let's get them together with the kids and out of here. As 
soon as they are gone, we can leave."

Ed shouted, "Stacy! Sarah! Your parents are here."

The two young ladies ran from where they had been washing. They 
flew to the arms of their mothers. Mothers and daughters broke 
down crying.  The fathers stood there looking relieved, worried, 
upset, and angry. 

John walked over to the group. He extended his right hand to one 
of the men, "You must be Mr. Hutchinson. I'm special agent John 
Carter from the FBI."

Mr. Hutchinson grabbed John's hand and vigorously pumped it in 
an exuberant handshake. Mr. Smith came over and introduced 
himself, "I'm Robert Smith."

John shook hands with Robert. He told the fathers, "The medics 
have checked both of your daughters. They are in good health and 
came through their ordeal fine. You may want to take them in for 
trauma counseling. The young ladies have given us contact 
information so there's little for you to do except take them home."

Mr. Smith asked, "Who's the agent that found them?"

John stated, "I did."

"I really want to thank you. You have no idea how worried we've 
been ever since we discovered they had been abducted."

"Same here. You gave me back my little girl."

John nodded. He looked down as Rover joined them. He rubbed 
the cat behind the ears as it leaned against him. He looked up, 
"Well, Rover helped too."

The men stared at the cat. The two young ladies came over and 
hugged their fathers. They both hugged the cat and commented on 
what a great cat John had. The mothers joined them. There were 
many thanks all around. Ed came over and they thanked him as 
well. It was a while before the families left.

John sat on the bed talking to room service. He ordered two steaks, 
one medium rare and one medium well. He added a pitcher of iced 
tea to the order. Once the order had been taken, he hung up the 
telephone. He opened the window curtains of the hotel room and 
looked out at the city below. The streets below were crowded with 
cars and buses, as it was rush hour. The sidewalks were full of 
people moving to their destinations. In two hours, the streets would 
almost be deserted. It was always the case when you stayed in a 
business class hotel. They were close to business districts, but 
business districts are quiet lonely places at night. 

Urban areas depressed him. They were filled with people that 
sleepwalked through their lives. His service to the Goddess cried 
out to him to lift them from their ruts. There were just so many. He 
could save a few, but they were a drop in the bucket. 

He watched a slightly overweight woman shuffle down the 
sidewalk. She carried a huge purse. Her shoulders were rounded in 
a posture of complete dejection. Her face was blank with eyes that 
stared down at her feet. She walked past people without seeing 
them. People, just like her, walked past her without seeing her. He 
knew, if they if just would look up and see each other, that a little 
happiness could enter their lives. He felt like opening the window 
and shouting out, "Look at each other. Your true love is standing in 
front of you. Open your eyes and your hearts. Don't look at the 
surface. See the real person."

"A penny for your thoughts."

"Oh, Ed. I didn't hear you come in." Ed had taken the car keys 
down to the lobby so that Agent Fredricks could pick them up.

"What were you thinking?"

John pointed down to the people below. He stated, "I was thinking 
of how many unhappy people there are down there on the street. 
You know, if they would just look up and see each other, for what 
is inside, they would find true happiness. They are all hung up on 
the externals and, as a result, they miss so much."

Ed stood there for a long time staring out the window. He knew 
exactly what John had meant. He hated cities. There was so much 
self-loathing and unhappiness that it sucked the energy right out of 
him. He turned to John, "They worry so much about external 
appearances that they miss what is really important. They would be 
shocked at the people in our town. They'd never see what Jim sees 
in Sherry. He's a perfect figure of a man and she's two-ten if she's a 
pound."

John smiled, "What does Jim see in Sherry?"

"I don't know, but she must do something right. He's madly in love 
with her and they've been married for twenty years."

"Was she the same size when they got married?"

"She was bigger."

John laughed, "I guess she's one of the few wives that actually lost 
weight after getting married. She's got a heart of gold."

"I know. I've thought about them a lot. I was very cruel to her in 
the past and I know that I hurt her very much. Yet, she's still nice 
to me. One of these days, I have to make amends."

John nodded. He knew there were many issues that Ed had yet to 
resolve concerning his past behavior. John decided to change the 
topic, "So what are your thoughts about judging people by their 
external appearance?"

"They've changed a lot since…," started Ed. He was interrupted by 
a knock on the door. 

John went over to the door and opened it. Their dinner was ready. 
He moved out of the way, as a young man came in carrying a tray 
with two covered dishes and a pitcher. Rover watched the man 
from under the desk where he had been asleep. The guy never saw 
Rover as his tawny color blended into the wood and carpet of the 
room.

The guy set the tray down on a little table and pulled the bill from 
his pocket. He looked at the two men with a funny look on his 
face. John and Ed could see the changes in emotion. The guy's first 
thought was that they were gay and then there was the glimmer of 
recognition. He stared at one and then the other, "I know you. You 
guys caught that serial killer today."

John took the bill from the guy and charged it to the room. He 
added a generous tip, knowing that the majority of his pay came 
from tips. Ed watched John and realized John was not going to 
answer the implied question. Ed stated, "Yes. We can't talk about it 
now, though. We just want to eat and get some rest. Tomorrow is 
going to be a longer day."

The guy looked like he wanted to say more, but he took a quick 
look at their faces. He could see that they were not feeling very 
talkative. He guessed that they had seen some horrors that didn't 
make it into the news. He looked at the bill, checking to make sure 
that it was signed, and then backed away towards the door. At the 
door, he stated, "You guys are all right. You took a very nasty guy 
off the street."

John looked up, "Thanks."

The guy backed out the door and closed it. John and Ed turned to 
the food. They moved the tray to the bed. They took the plates off 
the tray and put them on the small table. Ed removed the cover 
from the plate in front of him and grimaced. He moved the plate in 
front of John, "Here's your raw meat."

John moved the other plate in front of Ed. "He's your charcoal!"

The men laughed at a long-standing joke. Ed set the glasses on the 
table and John poured the tea.  Clicking the iced tea glasses, they 
then started eating. They were quiet for most of the meal. Each 
enjoyed the steak. Both of them stared in disgust at the Broccoli, it 
had become the generic vegetable for restaurant meals. The meal 
came with huge cut french-fries that tasted bland and were dry in 
the mouth. One bite and each man reached for his iced tea glass to 
wash it down.

After finishing his steak, John sat back with a sigh. He refilled 
their glasses and watched as Ed continued to eat. Ed finished the 
steak and grabbed a roll. Tearing it in half, he wiped one half on 
the plate soaking up the meat juices that were left. He ate the roll 
and then sat back. He stared at his plate. All but one bite of french-
fries remained on the plate. He looked across at John's plate and 
saw the same thing. He shrugged, "Talk about judging by 
appearances, those fries really sucked."

John laughed, "I thought for a moment that my mouth lost it's 
ability to make saliva for the rest of my life."

"Thank God for the iced tea."

Ed looked out the window from his chair. The change in 
perspective hid the street below from view. He cleared his throat. 
"We were talking about judging by external appearances earlier."

"Yes we were."

"Well, I was thinking about it. You know, you are an enigma to 
me. You care so much about how other people feel, that you will 
deny yourself pleasure."

John started to interrupt, but Ed held up a hand. He continued, 
"When Beth was going through her trouble, I talked with Kelly 
about having me watch Beth one night so that you could come over 
and spend some time with her. She stated that you wouldn't sleep 
with her until Beth was better. She was right. You told me that 
yourself."

John threw his hands up in a surrender gesture, "What can I say? 
She was in a fragile state at the time."

Ed nodded, "Well, after Beth was okay I kept wondering why you 
weren't taking Kelly up on any of her offers. Then one day it hit 
me. You weren't going to sleep with her until after you slept with 
me."

John nodded, "Do you know why?"

"Yes, I do. You didn't want to get involved with Kelly until you 
knew that the involvement had a good chance of being permanent. 
You didn't want to sleep with her and then have to dump her if it 
became clear that you and I couldn't live up to her expectations."

John nodded, "You do understand."

"I also understand something else. I think it came to me when I 
was talking with the girls this afternoon."

John looked puzzled, "What?"

"You have never pressured me about anything. You ask questions 
and help lead me to conclusions that are right for me. You never 
judge, you just accept me for what I am. When I need to act, I can 
count on you to back me up. You help open doors that I would not 
be able to open myself. Today, you wanted me to watch your back. 
You know that you can count on me. When we were talking about 
you being a wizard, I argued that you were an ordinary guy. That's 
when I knew that I had accepted you for what you are. You are an 
ordinary guy that finds himself in extraordinary circumstances."

Ed paused for effect, "Today, I realized that kind of acceptance and 
trust is love."

John smiled, "I agree. That is what love is supposed to be."

Ed nodded, "Yes. It's not some wild emotional roller coaster ride."

John broke out into a great big grin. "I don't think that Beth and 
Kelly realize that yet. Spending time with each other is a gift from 
the heart. Demanding attention only cheapens the time spent 
together because it becomes an obligation or an act motivated by 
guilt."

Ed nodded. "So I was thinking. If we love each other, what is the 
big deal about sex with each other?"

"I agree with you, Ed. What is the big deal?"

So Ed asked, "So how do two men do it?"

John shrugged his shoulders. "I have no fucking idea."

Both men looked at the other and burst out laughing. 














