JC: Ed Biggers
Part 2: Equilibrant
Chapter 20
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Sometimes after seeing the same person every day, one tends to 
forget the effect that they may have on other people. Ed  was so 
used to seeing John as husband, friend, and colleague that he had 
stopped seeing him as others might view him. When John arrived 
at the cabin in the woods with Officer Dow in tow, Ed was 
reminded just how impressive of a figure John cut.

When John walked from the car to the front door of the cabin, Ed 
watched him step with a strong stride towards him. The serious 
look on his face and the fire in his eyes conveyed a frightening raw 
power. Tall with long white hair and beard, he wore the brown 
robe of his Druid rank, his cloak, and walking stick. Surrounded by 
trees, he looked like some kind of legendary figure come to life.

Officer Donald Dow, known to his friends as Danny, was a short 
stocky man with large strong looking hands. Despite being a strong 
man, he followed behind John looking small and insignificant. His 
dress uniform, decorated with symbols of power and authority, was 
not sufficient to draw any of the commanding authority that John 
possessed in his direction. 

The two FBI agents stared at John with an awe that had become 
commonplace among agents within the FBI. If they had been 
intimidated by Ed, they were overwhelmed by John. His 
appearance, strange as it was, was taken as further proof that the 
stories circulating within the FBI were true. Seeing him, it was 
possible to believe that he had once traveled with a cougar.

Kim and Gary, had no idea what to make of John. They stared 
open mouthed at him. Gary, who had feared his father for most of 
his life, could not imagine how John had managed to make him 
look insignificant. The couple huddled together and moved over to 
Gary's father at the first opportunity, led by Diana with Gary 
slightly resisting.

Ed stepped forward and hugged John. Ed smiled as he said, "It is 
good to see you. It's hard to believe that it has been a month since I 
came out here."

A delighted smile broke over his face as John replied, "We've 
missed you at home. Those two women of ours are about to wear 
me out."

The comment brought an easy laugh to Ed as the two men walked 
to the cabin. Sitting down in the chairs on the porch, they each had 
an iced tea. The rest of the group gathered around them like baby 
chicks around a hen. John looked at the young couple and said, 
"What do you think of their story?"

Ed took a sip of his tea and looked over that them. They were still 
holding each other tightly and pressing close to the policeman. Ed 
said, "They tell the truth for the details they know. The real 
question is if the details they know support the answer we've 
decided to accept as truth."

Nodding his agreement, John said, "It feels right to me. So what do 
you suggest we do?"

Ed looked out over the lake and asked, "Is there sufficient evidence 
to convict them now?"

John looked thoughtful for a minute as he thought about the 
evidence. Although he thought the evidence was pretty substantial, 
trying to get a conviction in court could be a tricky thing. Turning 
to the senior FBI agent, he asked, "Kip, in your opinion is there 
enough evidence to assure a conviction if we pick them up now?"

The agent, startled at being asked a question by such a capable 
agent, recovered his composure to provide an answer. He said, "I'm 
not sure that the evidence is strong enough to assure a conviction. 
It is a pretty good circumstantial case though."

Wanting to know at what point they could arrest the couple during 
an attempt to take another victim would provide an airtight case in 
court, John asked, "At what point in their normal sequence of 
activities would we have sufficient evidence to convict them?"

As though he was apologizing for not knowing more, Kip 
answered, "We don't know the exact order of the activities, but we 
suspect that they use a drug to make the victims look drunk. That 
allows them to carry the victims away without looking suspicious."

Sitting up straight, Ed asked, "Would the presence of such a drug 
in a drink be sufficient evidence to tie them much more directly to 
the previous cases?"

Stiffly, Officer Dow answered, "Yes, it would."

John and Ed looked at each other and then at the people gathered 
in front of them. The two FBI agents reminded John of little boys 
happy to have a chance to tag along with the their big brothers. 
There was a sense of hero worship in their attitudes. Officer Dow 
was standing stiff like he was on dress parade. The young couple 
was standing close together, holding each other in mutual support. 
Gary kept glancing at his father as though he knew that the least 
little mistake would result in a tirade. 

Disturbed by what he saw, John changed the subject. He said, 
"You've picked a nice place to work on your dissertation. Very 
different from the place where I did mine."

Smiling, as he knew exactly where John had picked to work on his 
dissertation, Ed answered, "Well, I thought that I would be far 
enough from the action to finish it. I've got the first draft 
completed. Finished it this morning while I was waiting for you."

"Then I take it your work is going well," replied John. He knew 
how the passion could drive someone to work with the kind of 
dedication that was required to write a dissertation in a month. He 
had been driven in the same fashion when he had worked on his.

"I am happy enough with it as a first draft. I'll let it sit for a week 
and then read it over," said Ed. He had watched John work on his 
dissertation and learned some tricks from him.

As the pair talked, the others were waiting impatiently to find what 
was going to happen next. Finally, Kip could take it no more and 
asked, "So what are we going to do about the case?"

"We will think," replied Ed. The earlier change in subject, 
suggested to him that John had come to the same conclusions as he 
had about the group gathered here. This was a very poor team that 
would probably freeze up the moment things started to happen. 

John looked out at the lake and said, "I suggest we fish while we 
think."

Wayne asked, "What about us?"

Recognizing that the others needed to bond in some form or 
fashion, Ed said, "The five of you should spend some time getting 
to know each other."

Nodding his agreement, John added, "Yes. Why don't you go in the 
house and talk?"

The two men suddenly stood from their chairs. While John refilled 
the iced tea glasses, Ed fetched the fishing equipment. Within a 
few minutes the men were walking to the shore. John pointed to a 
place and said, "Let's go over there. There are some cattails 
growing along the shore and we should be able to pull out a couple 
of big ones from there."

Ed watched John cast his line a couple of times and how he 
worked the rod in a smooth retrieval with occasional pauses when 
he would jerk the pole. John made careful casts along the front of 
the cattails. Ed powered his line out towards the middle of the lake 
swinging the pole like it was a baseball bat. He caught the amused 
look from John and said, "Hey, I'm still learning how to do this."

John smiled and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't even conceive that 
someone could cast a lure that way."

Between the two men, Ed was the first to catch a fish. He reeled it 
in and brought it to shore. He was about to bend down, when John 
said, "Let me get that."

John knelt down and wet his hands. He carefully lifted the fish by 
grasping its lower jaw. With a simple twist, he removed the hook 
from the fishes mouth. He held it up for Ed to look at. The fish was 
at least three pounds. Ed said, "That's a big mouth bass."

"Largemouth Bass," corrected John. Looking at the fish and the 
beautiful coloration that the Goddess had given it, it was almost a 
shame to eat such a work of natural beauty.

Not embarrassed at having gotten the name wrong, Ed said, "I've 
been throwing them back, but I just found out last night that they 
are edible."

Smiling, John understood that Ed had probably never fished 
before. He said, "Bring me the stringer."

Opening the tackle box that he had purchased as a package 
complete with lures and fishing gear, Ed asked, "Which of these is 
the stringer?"

Looking over at the tackle box, John said, "It's the chain with those 
metal things hanging off it."

Ed handed the stringer to John and watched as John attached it to 
the fish. The one end had a snap that John affixed to a stick that he 
forced in the ground. The fish, on the stringer, went back into the 
water. John looked up and said, "It will stay alive this way, at least 
for a while. If we want to release it later we can."

The men returned to fishing. John caught three fish and Ed caught 
one more. Together, the catch was enough to feed everyone at the 
cabin. As they fished, they talked about how to catch the serial 
killers. The best plan depended upon the young couple 
participating in the capture. One problem was that neither man 
thought the young couple was brave enough for that. The bigger 
problem was that the team was dysfunctional.

In the cabin, the conversation centered around John Carter and Ed 
Biggers. Officer Dow asked, "Agents Caler and Widdis, everyone I 
talked to about those two out there could hardly contain their 
admiration for them. What do you know about them?"

Kip described some of the cases that John and Ed had solved. It 
wasn't until they started talking about Druid Revenge campaign 
that Officer Dow realized exactly with whom he was dealing. He 
had participated in some of the raids held that day and could hardly 
believe the kind of people that he had managed to capture. He had 
even received a citation for his participation in capturing one of the 
men that had resisted with gunfire. He held up a hand and said, 
"My God! I had no idea."

Wayne, shaking his head, said, "When I heard that they were a 
little odd, I didn't believe it. Now that I've met them, I don't know 
what to think."

Earlier in the morning, Ed had turned his back on everyone and 
worked on his dissertation. He didn't provide the level of 
hospitality that Diana expected and he snapped at people when 
they tried to interrupt his work. Diana had been the most frequent 
recipient of his ire. She was angry that he would require them to 
stay there, but wouldn't treat them as guests. Diana said, "Well, I 
think they are rude."

Puzzled, Gary said, "He was totally different before the call 
yesterday. He was friendly and relaxed. After the call, he 
became… I don't know the proper word…  unfeeling."

Knowing the seriousness of the situation, Officer Dow didn't snap 
at his son. Instead, he explained, "I work with a bunch of 
detectives at the station. When they are hot on a case, they are 
practically unbearable. The rest of the time, they are easy going 
and friendly. Those two remind me of them."

Interpreting their behavior as arrogance, Diana said, "I don't like 
them."

Officer Dow was silent as he sat there thinking about what he had 
heard the men discuss and realized that his son was going to be 
asked to go into a dangerous situation. After a while, he looked at 
Gary and frowned. Gary noticed and, in a defensive tone of voice, 
asked, "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing. You've done nothing wrong," replied the man. For the 
moment, he didn't feel like a cop, but like a father; a father about to 
send his son out to face danger and afraid that his son wasn't up to 
it. Examining his son, he saw a young man that was physically 
strong, but he wondered if he had the moral strength to do what 
needed to be done. Then he realized that his son had never been in 
a position to prove his moral strength.

Irritated at what he perceived as years of being judged inadequate 
by his father, Gary said, "You're looking at me like I've done 
something wrong. I've done nothing wrong, damn it!"

Looking at the floor, Donald Dow said, "I'm sure that you know 
that, in the past, I've often considered you weak. That was wrong 
of me and I'm sorry."

Shocked, Gary looked at his father. For the first time in his life, the 
anger that he held towards his father was caught off balance. He 
asked, "What?"

"I've dealt with a lot of nasty people and good people, all of whom 
showed their strengths and weaknesses. The cop in me looked at 
their demonstration of strength and interpreted your lack of 
involvement in big events as a symptom of weakness. I just 
realized that you've never had the opportunity to show your true 
strength by facing something bigger and uglier than you." Donald 
Dow was silent as he tried to figure out the next thing to say.

Looking at Diana with a worried expression, Gary had a feeling 
that he knew what was coming next. Diana nervously licked her 
lips as the intensity of his gaze upon her increased. Although 
nothing had been said, she felt an increased tension in the room. 
Gary turned to his father and asked, "What are you saying?"

Donald answered, "I don't know what they are going to ask the two 
of you to do, but I will respect your decision no matter what you 
decide. As a father, I fear for you and hope you say no, but as a 
cop I hope you say yes."

Listening with the ear of a psychologist, Diana realized that the 
father hoped that his son would say yes despite what he said. The 
problem was that she couldn't figure out what he hoped Gary 
would agree to do. She looked at the two FBI agents as they looked 
out the door of the cabin. Suddenly she understood what was being 
discussed. She said, "They are going to ask us to be bait."

Almost for the first time since his arrival, Wayne was thinking like 
a FBI agent. Until now, he had been waiting for John to layout the 
plan to him and then to be assigned a role in the operation. He said, 
"They haven't asked that of you, yet. They may not ask that of you 
at all. I would if I were in charge of the case."

Gary said, "I will do it if asked, but I won't allow them to include 
Diana. They can't ask a woman to do that."

Diana didn't know how she felt about being protected to the degree 
where she wasn't even asked. She asked, "How bad could it be?"

All eyes turned to look at Kip as if wanting an answer from him. 
Kip knew the answer better than most, having arrived too late to 
save another person that had faced a circumstance with many of 
the same characteristics. After a minute of silence, Kip said, "Tell 
her Wayne."

Wayne looked at them and said, "I'll give you the broad spectrum 
of possible outcomes. The best is that everything goes like 
clockwork. The worst is that they'll get away while taking you with 
them. Somewhere between those two extremes is getting shot in a 
shootout with them."

Diana scrunched up her face and said, "I would think that getting 
shot is the worst."

Leaning forward to make his point, Wayne said, "If they get away 
and take you with them, they will torture you for a week before 
you die. Getting shot is better than that."

Snapping at the FBI agent, Donald said, "Stop that. You're scaring 
them. Hell, you're scaring me."

While Wayne had been explaining the options, Kip had gone to the 
open door of the cabin and watched the two men fishing. Without 
turning, he said, "Good, be scared. I once had an informant that got 
caught. They tortured him for two days. I found him about the time 
he died. These creeps that John and Ed are chasing are even 
worse."

What Wayne had said about what they would be asked to do scared 
Diana and angered Gary. He saw it as another man hinting to him 
that he wasn't strong enough to do what needed to be done. Rather 
than accusing, he was trying to talk him out of it by giving him a 
good excuse to back out. Gary, with more fire in him than even he 
knew existed, said, "I said that I would do it if asked. I don't want 
her there."

Sighing, Donald said, "Son, it's not your decision to make. It is 
hers."

Knowing the truth of the situation, Wayne said, "It has to be both 
of you or nothing."

"Both?" asked Diana realizing that she was the weak link in the 
chain. If she said no, then the creeps might get away.

This was the time for his son to be brave. Of that, Donald was 
positive. He said, "Gary, real strength isn't always acting for 
yourself. Sometimes it is letting someone that you love act. Hell, 
standing up to bad isn't too hard. I do that every day. It's far harder 
to let someone else do it. If I could, I'd wade in there and take out 
those folks myself, but it isn't my place this time. I'll stand behind 
you and help you out if the situation allows. The hardest part is 
going to be letting her participate. You want to protect her, but you 
can't. She has to do that for herself. You can help her, but you can't 
protect her."

Turning to face Diana, Donald said, "Young lady, I don't really 
know you. This is the first time we've met. If I'm right, you're 
going to be asked the toughest question of your life today. I can't 
advise you what to do, it's not my place. Perhaps you may want to 
talk to your parents or someone whose wisdom you appreciate. Do 
not take their advice lightly or discount the requests that are made 
of you."

Having said his peace, Donald stood and left the cabin. Such 
honesty of emotion was more than he had expressed in years and 
now he felt drained. Walking to the water's edge, he looked out 
over the lake appreciating the calm waters. Standing next to the 
canoe, he looked down at it and smiled as he dreamed about 
paddling around the lake. He nearly jumped into the water when 
Ed said, "Go ahead. It'll do you some good to be out on the lake."

"I'm in my dress blues."

Standing next to him, Ed looked out over the lake. In a quiet voice 
he said, "The surface is so calm, but the depths are in constant 
movement. I suggest you take your dress blues off and bring a little 
life to the surface of the lake. Perhaps, doing so might remove 
some of turbulence in you and replace it with a little calm."

Surprised, Donald turned to look at Ed and asked, "What will I 
wear?"

"Why wear anything?" asked Ed.

"What about Diana?"

"It harms no one if you paddle around naked in a canoe. If she has 
a problem with it, then it is her problem. If your son has a problem, 
then it is his problem. Their problems are not your problems," 
answered Ed. 

Compromising, Donald stripped down to his shorts and got into the 
canoe. With a couple of solid strokes of his oar, he backed it away 
from the shore. With another one, he turned the canoe and headed 
off into the lake. Smiling, Ed picked up the clothes and folded 
them. He carried them to the porch and set them down. At least 
they wouldn't get dirty or wet.

John showed up carrying the fish filets. Together they went into 
the house. As John put the filets in the refrigerator, Ed looked 
around at the people in the room. None of them looked very happy. 
Holding hands so tightly that the tendons were showing, Diana and 
Gary were sitting on the couch deep in thought, but not talking to 
each other. It was clear to him that people needed to relax. He said, 
"John and I are going to go swimming in the lake. We would like 
to invite you go join us. Those with suits may wear them. Those 
without may go without."

Drying his hands after handling the fish, John came out of the 
kitchen. After a single glance around the room, he said, "While my 
husband has extended an invitation, I must contradict him. I insist 
that everyone go swimming. The water is clear and perhaps a little 
time spent in it will clear some of those dark thoughts from your 
minds."

Everyone, particularly Diana, looked at John in shock. No one said 
a word in protest, but more significant was that fact that no one 
even moved towards the door. They had no intention of going 
swimming. John and Ed stood there for a minute and waited for a 
response. The two men exchanged glances and then smiled.

"Okay, we tried the easy way," said Ed. With a suddenness that 
surprised the two FBI agents, they found themselves pulled out of 
their seats and thrown over a shoulder. Ed carried Wayne while 
John carried Kip. The two agents shouted and complained all of 
the way to the lake. Preventing them from reacting with real force 
was the fear that if they did, they could get in serious trouble with 
their bosses. Their shouts were abruptly cut off when they hit the 
water.

Heading back to the cabin, John and Ed were laughing at the 
shocked reactions of the FBI agents as they found themselves in 
the water. Inside, Ed grabbed Gary while John grabbed Diana. 
Diana fought back, kicking and hitting John on his back. 
Accompanied by screams, the two men carried their captives out of 
the cabin and to the shore. It wasn't long before Gary and Diana 
were both sputtering as they tried to recover from being dumped in 
the lake. She was furious at the men.

Standing on the shore, John and Ed removed their clothes. John 
had his back to those in the water. When his robe came off, all of 
the scars on his back were suddenly visible. When his pants came 
off, additional scars, particularly the horrible looking burns, were 
revealed. In comparison, the few scars that Ed had were hardly 
noticeable as he undressed.. 

Everyone stared at the two men as they stripped. Each person 
suffered from a radical mixture of feelings that prevented them 
from responding or objecting. To a person, their previous actions 
suggested considerable nerve and disrespect. There was also the 
revulsion at the scars. There were the various feelings that seeing 
the oversized cocks instilled in the observers. Finally, there was 
envy in the lack of inhibitions and simple joy the men took.

Standing in waist deep water, the agents were looking down at 
their clothes in shock. Slowly they waded to the shore and started 
removing their wet clothes. Suit coats, ties, and leather shoes came 
off first. The shoulder holsters were removed and the agents 
looked at their guns removing them from the holsters. Standing in 
wet socks was not pleasant, so they were the next to go. Then the 
shirts and finally the pants joined the pile of clothes on the shore. 
Standing on the shore in their underwear, the agents gave in and 
returned to the water.

Kim and Gary waded to the shore. With great hesitancy, Kim 
removed her shorts and shoes, leaving her top and panties. She 
wished that she had worn a bra since the tee-shirt was showing her 
breasts as if she wasn't wearing anything. Gary stripped down to 
his underwear. They returned to the lake, moving quickly in the 
hope of not attracting attention to their young bodies. Once in the 
water, Gary asked, "Where's my dad?"

Ed pointed to the canoe a distance down the lake and said, "He's 
paddling around in his underwear."

Gary screamed, "He's what?"

"He's in the canoe paddling around the lake wearing nothing 
except his underwear," answered Ed as he moved close to John. 

With a wink at each other, both men splashed the two FBI agents. 
They then turned on the young couple and hit them both with 
monster splashes. A water war of four against two had been 
declared. At times, all four splashed either John or Ed. At other 
times, it was two on one. It took about ten minutes for John and Ed 
to surrender. By that time, everyone was laughing and enjoying 
themselves. The seriousness of the situation was put behind them 
for a bit of time.

With nice smooth strokes, Donald pulled up to them. As the canoe 
glided towards them, he was laughing at the horseplay in the water. 
His laughter served as a trigger. Everyone turned towards him at 
the same time and let loose with a barrage of splashes. In seconds, 
he was drenched. Still laughing, he drove the canoe onto the shore 
and returned to jump in the water. 

As the men swam around, occasionally breaking into races or 
trying to dunk each other, Diana and Gary had drifted off to the 
side to watch. With an arm around his girlfriend, Gary said, "I've 
never seen my dad play before."

She replied, "I've never seen old people play like that before."

With a frown, Gary said, "I feel old. My dad is acting younger than 
me and I feel old."

"Have you ever seen old people play like that?" asked Diana 
without hearing what Gary had said.

"I bet if my mother was here, they'd have thrown her in the water 
and she'd be playing," said Gary. Would his mother have stripped 
down to a bra and panties? The idea was almost enough to make 
him sick.

"It was John and Ed that made this happen. It's like they know 
somehow that it is necessary to play in life, that it makes it easier 
to face danger." She was totally into her own thoughts, trying to 
analyze the two men. She watched as Ed formed a support by 
lacing his fingers and then bent down in the water. John put a foot 
in the support. Working together, Ed stood up and John kicked off 
with the effect that John flew out of the water. John laughed as he 
created a huge splash. They traded roles. Thinking out loud, she 
said, "When they are working on something, nothing else matters. 
When they are playing, they are totally into it. Such attention to the 
now is what makes them seem rude. If you aren't are a part of their 
now, then you don't exist for them."

Gary had turned to listen to Diana, amazed at the insights she was 
voicing. He smiled as he saw that the same kind of focus on the 
now held true for her. Waiting for her to return from the world 
within her head, he watched John and Ed at play. It made him 
wonder why he was just standing there doing nothing. Moving 
with as much stealth as the water allowed, he positioned himself 
behind his father. As he prepared to splash him, he said, "Hey, 
Dad!"

His father turned by stepping around, only to see a small wall of 
water miss him by inches. The response was immediate and 
thorough. Using both hands, he splashed his son as fast as possible. 
Gary returned the splashes. The battle was incredibly fierce and 
only ended when both of the combatants were out of breath and 
weary. Arms around each other, they waded out of the lake. It was 
only then that they discovered they were the last ones to leave the 
water.

Ed, still naked, stood next to Diana and said, "You have just 
witnessed a major healing occur. Doesn't it make you feel good to 
see it?"

"Yes, it does," she replied. Her eyes dropped down to take another 
look at his cock. Shaking her head, she couldn't believe how large 
it was.

"I heard your monologue in the water," said Ed. She looked up at 
him with a startled expression on her face. He smiled down at her 
and said, "Most of your observations were correct. You have the 
same kind of focus when you put your mind to something. It 
comes naturally to you, unlike others who may never achieve that 
kind of ability. Develop it and you will be surprised what you can 
accomplish."

Understanding broke over her and she turned towards him. 
Adopting what was a confrontational posture by spreading her legs 
with her hands on her hips, she stared at him. Awed, she said, 
"Everything today was on purpose. You two did everything for a 
reason."

Nodding, Ed answered, "Yes. Those two FBI agents worshipped 
us. Gary and his father had a number of harmful issues between 
them. You were the weakest link. That's not a very good team to 
go after a pair of monsters."

"I'm still the weakest link," said Diana feeling like she was stating 
something obvious.

"Not anymore," replied Ed. 

Eyebrows lifting, she asked, "Who's the weakest link now?"

Smiling at the question, Ed answered, "The monsters. We have a 
significant advantage over them. They are used to hunting, but not 
being hunted. They don't even know they are being hunted and that 
gives us the element of surprise."

"What changed?"

Taking her hand, Ed answered, "You needed to discover your real 
skill so that you could control the situation that will be placed upon 
you. You have discovered that skill and employed it. Now that you 
know you can understand what is happening, you won't be so 
afraid."

Grinning, she asked, "So what happens now?"

Ed glanced at the wet and weary group on shore and said, "Every 
has wet clothes that now feel pretty uncomfortable. I think 
everyone will be undressed and drying off soon. Then we will be 
able to plan without egos in the way."

"Why do you say that?" asked Diana curious why they would be 
able to talk honestly once everyone was undressed.

Ed answered, "Nudity is the great equalizer. The richest man and 
the poorest man become indistinguishable when they are naked."

His prediction proved true. Wet underwear and clothes that weren't 
dried forced people to remove what little they wore. Diana felt 
very uncomfortable being the only female in the room, but after a 
few minutes the lack of a direct sexual response from the men 
seemed to put her at ease. She did notice that most of the cocks in 
the room had swelled a bit.

The discussion about what would occur the next day was intense 
and focused. Everyone participated, giving their opinions about the 
plan and tailoring it so that all soon felt comfortable with it. Gary 
listened to his father's advice and the father listened to his son's 
observations. For the first time in their relationship, there was an 
equality present. No one had a chance to really notice that they 
were naked. 



