Beneath the Mask

Beneath the Mask 64

Written by: J.P.G.

{"Beneath the Mask" is pure fiction. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing, as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it is in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story cannot be distributed in any way, shape or form without authors' express written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Editor: Houdini

Editor Trevor

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.com/

Chapter 64

Harold had a huge smile on his face when he turned and looked at his secretary. He didn't have to ask if he was reading his docket right by the big grin that his secretary was returning. It was wrong being happy for someone else's misfortune, and both of them knew it, but in this case they didn't feel too bad for feeling the way they were.

Handing the docket back to his secretary, Harold grabbed his robe and put it on as he made his way out of his chambers to the courtroom. Before walking in, he stopped at the door to make sure he had put his robe on correctly. Once he was satisfied with everything, he went in, getting his bailiff to bring the courtroom to attention. Everyone stood up as they watched Harold make his way to the bench and sit down. He didn't look out right away, but when he did, he looked directly at the two he was glad to see on his docket, Matt's parents.

After making eye contact with them, he turned his attention to the gallery and was stunned that there was no press. Considering what these two had done he thought his courtroom was going to be over flowing with local and maybe national press. Not wanting to jinx himself, he didn't say a word when he looked over at his bailiff and asked him to call the first case.

Trying to move his court docket along as quickly as he could, Harold kept his speeches short and accepted almost all the plea bargains that were reached between the DA and the defense. That surprised both sides, but they were not about to ask him what was going on. They knew if they did it was a certainty that they would throw Harold into a bad mood which none of them wanted. Instead they went along with how things were being run with a snap in their step and big smiles on their faces.

When Matt's parent's case number and name was called, everyone prepared themselves for fireworks. By then they all recognized who they were and put one and one together. That's when they saw groups of reporters walking in, they knew for sure things were going to get a little heated because they all knew Harold hated the press. Since he didn't have to run for his seat, he didn't need them. So he wasn't going to pander to them like every other judge in the courthouse did.

"Before we go any further I know I don't need to make my big spiel about how I run this courtroom, right?" Judge Evans looked at the press that had packed the gallery. "This is the only warning I'm going to give. If any of you, members of the press, legal staff of both sides, or those that came to see what was going on or members of my court staff break any of the rules or step out of line, you will be found in contempt and removed from my courtroom in handcuffs. I know I don't have to go into anymore detail than that, right?" All at once, in one way or another they all said yes.

"Good then let's move the proceedings along." Harold looked over at Matt's parents and then over at the DA before turning his attention back to the file before him. "I understand there are several motions before me here this morning, is that correct?" Harold looked up as both attorneys answered yes. "I don't see any problem ruling on most of them except for one." He held up one of the motions that were in the file. "If you are going to ask me to rule on this, I need to have all parties present."

The DA took a couple steps forward. "Sir in normal circumstances I would agree with you on the motion in question, but nothing about this hearing and these two defendants is normal." The DA turned and pointed at Matt's parents. "If we allow these two in the same room with the two minor children we are putting those children's lives in danger. Yes we have the accused shackled, but the mental assault they can do will last much longer than any physical harm."

"I still don't understand. You are asking this court to permanently take away these two's right as parents to their children. I don't take these kind of motions lightly. Not when it effects more than just one life. These motions need to be examined and closely looked at before ruling on them. Besides that, these two haven't been found guilty of anything yet. Even though the proof as of right now is overwhelming, they are innocent until found guilty."

Saying those last few sentences didn't go down too well with anyone in the courtroom, more so Judge Evans. As he was forcing the bitter taste down his throat, he noticed the press in the gallery were stepping out, which he found awkward to say the least. As far as he knew, there were no other court cases going on in the building that the press would find interesting enough that they needed to be there to report while the proceedings were going on.

"I agree with you about the damage these two could cause mentally on their children. Yes it is worse than anything they could do to them physically, but I just can't blindly take away their parental rights. Even though another judge has temporarily done it and on that same day they went and assaulted and almost killed the one that brought the case into the courts."

"Your honor with all due respect, forgive me for interrupting you like this..." Matt's parents defense attorney spoke in an angry voice that didn't go over to well with Harold. "But before you even rule on one of the motions the DA has put before this court, I feel you need to look and rule on the motion I have. By you knowing the one that was assaulted in this case, one of the minor children in question and at least seeing the defendants before this hearing, I feel you need to recuse yourself and let another judge rule on the matters before this court."

Harold leaned back in his seat as he thought about what the defense attorney had just said. He would be the first to step aside if he thought his judgment has been comprised, but he doesn't. At the same time though, just days ago he instructed Sally to put her motion in front of another judge because he didn't want Matt's parents to hang their hat on anything to overturn the judgment that was passed down. Weighing both sides of the coin out, he was inclined to grant the defense motion.

"Just days ago I instructed the young lady that was assaulted by your clients to put her motions in front of another judge. A suggestion I have regretted from the second I gave it because there wasn't a deal that I could rule in this case without favoring one side over the other. I took an oath that I hold dearly to my heart. An oath I will never break no matter what case comes before me.

With that said, you are right that I have seen these two around. You are right I have also ran into one of their children. And again you are right I have worked on occasions with the one that your clients are being charged with assaulting." Harold took a deep breath. "However, that doesn't mean that I can't rule fairly and without bias in this case.

"Plus if you really look at the laws that we as judges must follow when we are being asked to recuse ourselves from a case, nothing that you have said, I have done or who I know falls within those guidelines. So in other words your motion for me to excuse myself is denied. You can try and overturn this decision, but I promise the appeals courts will throw the case out without a second thought of doing so." Harold looked at Matt's parents. "Is this your wishes?"

Matt's father looked deep into his wife's eyes for a couple of minutes before answering. Their attorney was trying to pull them aside to tell them to say yes, but Matt's father wasn't hearing any of it. The only one he wanted to hear from was his wife and there was no doubt in his mind what he was thinking was exactly what she was thinking. This judge may be the only one in the building that will be willing to be fair with them in this hearing and their future ones.

"No sir! I mean my wife and myself have no problem with you ruling on our case." Matt's father spoke low, but loud enough for the judge and those in front to hear.

"Okay then that ends that, your motion is denied." The judge scribbled something on the motion before signing it and moving it to the side. "I believe in being fair on every motion that is brought before me no matter how it makes me look. This request is going to make me look evil and a person without a heart, but I don't want any of my rulings to come back to bite me. So before I rule on custody of the three minor kids in question, I would like them here to say their piece."

"Once again your honor I must object!" The DA took a couple steps forward. "There is no need to put these three kids through the mental abuse that is sure to come by bringing them here and asking them to talk against their parents." Harold was lifting his gavel to inform the DA he was out of order when the DA put up his hand. "Wait just one more moment please your honor. I'm not saying you are wrong on your request. All I'm saying is that we shouldn't force the young children to this atmosphere. So instead I suggest we let their grandparents speak on their behalf since they were awarded temporary custody. They are here in the courtroom." The DA turned and pointed the grandparents out in the gallery. "And are ready to be called on if you so desire."

Harold looked over at the grandparents as he weighed out the pros and cons on having them here instead of, Matt, his brother and sister. "Since another District court has already ruled and awarded the grandparents of the minors in question custody, I don't see a problem of them speaking on their behalf. However, if I feel they are doing more harm than good for those that have been put into their custody, I will stop the proceedings and appoint another to speak on behalf of the children.

Just as the DA and the defense attorney agreed with Harold's decision, his bailiff handed him a note that grabbed his attention. "Ladies and gentlemen I need to put this court into recess for thirty minutes." Harold slammed his gavel as he got up from his seat and walked out of his courtroom, leaving everyone wondering what was going on.

Meanwhile a few blocks from the action in the courthouse, Falster had been in his office for over an hour, on hold for the governor. He had spent all day and night Wednesday trying to think of a way to fix the problems his police force was facing without bringing in an outside agency, but there wasn't a clear solution. The only thing that was clear to him was that he and those he trusted weren't enough to investigate the entire EPPD. And the second was what he always believed, you can't investigate yourself. It never works because you are blinded to what is right in front of you.

Pulling him out of his thoughts was the governor's secretary getting on the line letting him know that he was being transferred. A couple of rings later he heard the governor's voice. "Good morning Chief Falster, how are you this fine morning." Daniel said in a chipper voice which Falster tried to match as he answered `fine'. "Good to hear, but I know that is not entirely true because you are talking to me pretty early in the morning. So how can I help my favorite chief of police?"

Falster liked getting the praise he was getting. "Well Governor I don't know where to start to tell you the truth. I tried everything before having to make this call, but in the end I have no other choice." Falster stopped to catch his breath. He knew he was speaking fast and needed to slow down in order for the governor to understand him.

"Since taking over the chief-of-police position down here in El Paso, I have made huge changes that we are now seeing. Changes that benefit not only the officers, but those they are sworn to serve and protect. However, my two assistant chiefs and I have ran into a problem that we don't see a way out of. At least not without outside help that is."

"What's so bad up there that you're calling me to ask for assistance? We both knew that you had your work cut out. In fact if my memory is serving me well the days leading up to you accepting the position, you and I went into detail on what you might be facing when you got into office. With what I have heard and read since you have taken the position, nothing that you have faced is a real big surprise."

"You're right, but wrong at the same time. I just found out from one of my assistant chiefs that the Mexican Mafia have their hands in our police department here in El Paso. They are in this department so deep, I don't know who to trust to help me and my assistant chief's investigate to find out who is dirty and who's not. We could be asking the dirty officers to be investigating themselves. Which we both know the end result would be nothing but bullshit."

The governor was thrown off his feet when he heard what Falster just told him. He knew the EPPD was a mess, and yes some of the officers may be dirty, but the Mexican Mafia. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that was going on. The little that he knew about them, he knew that once they got in the door, it was hard to get them out.

"Boy to say you have a huge problem down there would be an understatement." Finally after a few minutes of dead silence, Daniel broke it. "And you're right about investigating yourself. You can't trust any of the officers under your command because simply you have no idea if they are on the take. More than likely a good percentage of your officers are one way or another, but to know who they are is like a blind man looking for the light switch. You won't find it."

"I agree sir and that is why I'm talking with you this morning. This department is dirty and with what I have found out so far the dirt has reached into the highest ranks. That means we can't investigate ourselves. If at all possible can you help in any way?"

"Well to tell you the truth I normally wouldn't be the one you would call on this. If I'm not mistaken it would be the FBI, but don't quote me on that." Daniel was writing on a paper to get his state attorney general as he kept talking. "Before we go any further here, let me bring in the state attorney general. I feel we need a legal mind involved on this call."

Falster had no objection at all getting the state attorney general involved. He wanted to know where he stands legally in all this. What he can and cannot do while investigating his own department. And finally when they weed out all the bad officers, he wanted to know what he can and can't do with them. Bringing him once more out of his thoughts was a voice over the phone. This time it wasn't the sweet voice of the governor's secretary, but Mr. Anderson's.

"Mr. Anderson thank you for joining us on this call." The governor greeted the state attorney general. "I have on the line the chief-of-police of El Paso County, Chief Falster." They both formally greeted each other. "He has a huge problem down there which I felt was necessary to bring you in on the call so I don't go tripping all over myself on this."

Between the governor and Falster, they filled Mr. Anderson in on everything. "No lie Chief Falster you have a huge problem up there and it's good that you guys brought me into this call because we want to make sure we do this right from the get go. We want the right people in place doing the things they need to do to clean up the mess."

At the same time the governor and Falster asked where they needed to start at. "First Chief Falster, you and your two assistant police chiefs need to step away from this. By the sound of it, you three, maybe a few others, are the only clean ones in that department. We can't afford in any way you guys looking dirty or trying to cover anything up in order to save face.

Second, Governor you are right and yet wrong about the FBI. Chief Falster could call the FBI in to investigate his department, or he could call you for the same thing. Since you have nothing to do with local law enforcement, you can bring in a neutral party in this. And I don't mean the State Troopers. No sir, you bring in the best, The Texas Rangers to go down there and tear up that department and clean it up."

"Okay let's say I did that, how many do I send in and what authority do they have down there. I don't want to be stepping on Chief Falster's toes anyway. It will send the wrong message to those he has sworn an oath to serve and protect. No sir, I want to help the Chief out without destroying his creditability with the citizens of El Paso County."

"I understand that sir and agree with you. You don't want to take away anything, from respect to trust from the people of that county in their chief-of-police." Mr. Anderson sat back in his seat running different scenarios in his head before continuing. "We do need to come up first with a good reason why the Texas Rangers were called in. We can't let anyone know the truth. Even though some of them might put two and two together and clam up."

All at once the governor, Falster and Mr. Anderson started to throw out what they thought would sell on why the Texas Rangers were being called in. In the end none of them were good ideas and they all knew it. They were spent and frustrated by the time they agreed they were hitting their heads against a brick wall.

"Look we all agree that we don't want Chief Falster or any of his high command in the spotlight or looked at as the ones that brought in the Texas Rangers, correct." Hesitantly both the governor and Falster said yes. Anderson had it right to a point. They had no problem if it came out that Falster asked for the Texas Rangers to come in, as long as it was for a reason that didn't put him in a bad light or give away the real reason they were there.

"Well this is what I suggest we do then. Your county has just been sued for police brutality again. Now we know this lawsuit was all bullshit and it was thrown out of court because the one suing your department had made it all up. However, it brought to light the other lawsuits that were right and settled out of court or won. Like the most recent one of Alejandro Garcia. A huge sum was paid out on that lawsuit among many others in the last couple years.

Originally we were going to do the investigation by statements and things like that and never go down, but the assault in the county courthouse parking garage against a worker for the county has left us no other choice than to send in the Rangers. Which, by the way, the employee is the mother of a former Texas Ranger, your current Assistant Chief of Police. If that alone doesn't sell it we can throw in during the questioning that day, another of your officers showed bias against one of the young kids that stepped in and stopped the assault. Putting all these recent issues together, we have no other choice than to go in and investigate."

Falster liked what Anderson came up with but at the same time he felt it made him look weak. It made him look like he can't run his department so others are going to come in and show him how to do it. Also it's too close to the truth on why they are there. At the end of the day if he is going to eat crow, he wants his department to be cleaned up so he could show he did that.

"Mr. Anderson I like what you have come up with, but..." Governor Lopez interrupted. "I think where Falster was about to go with this idea, although a great one, it still puts him in a bad light with the people. On top of that, the officers are going to clam up and there is no way we will ever completely clean up the department of those on the take. When it is all said and done, I know Falster wants every bad officer kicked out on their asses."

Anderson understood where the president was coming from, but couldn't see any other way to put Texas Rangers in El Paso. "Governor Lopez, Chief Falster, I understand your concerns, truly I do, but there is no other way that I can see to get what you guys want done following the letter of the law. There is just no other way. If you don't agree with this, and have another idea, I'm open to hearing it. I will tell you if it's within the letter of the law and you can do it as Governor."

Just as Anderson finished, bells started going off in Falster's head. "Hold on, just hold on one minute there. I can't believe I've forgotten this." Falster stopped to take a breath and get control of himself. He knew he was speaking too fast again and he had to slow down in order to be understood. "The day, or should I say the first couple of days after I became the chief-of-police, I went through personal records of my high command and saw things I didn't like. I brought them in, let them go, but haven't filled their positions yet.

What I'm thinking is going to work out just great if it's not breaking the law. For now I bring in Texas Ranger Officer's that you feel Governor are the right ones for the job and place them in the commanders positions that are open. From there they can investigate and see who is on the take and who isn't." Governor Lopez was about to speak, but Falster stopped him because he wasn't done yet. "And the best thing about this whole idea is I don't have to go to the press on this. It will look like I'm filling the open slots in my command, which wouldn't be big news that I'm doing it with outside people. I did it before and will do it again."

"I like it, I really do. In fact this will work out even better than what we've come up with so far this morning. What do you think Mr. Anderson? Is it within the boundaries of the law and this office? Can I put in Texas Rangers in a local police department in the manner in which we are thinking about doing so?" The governor knew the answers, but wanted to get Mr. Anderson on record confirming it so he could rest at night after sending in the Rangers.

"Nothing that Chief Falster has suggested is against the law. The only thing I do suggest is when he does bring in these officers the transfer paperwork reads temporary. That way when everything is all said and done, and the Texas Rangers that are loaned out to the EPPD leave, they don't have an actual signed contract with the EPPD.

Oh one more thing Governor Lopez. When you go and start picking the officers that you are going to send down to El Paso, make sure those officers are as clean as a whistle. If the Mexican Mafia got their hands into the EPPD, and what you have told me Chief Falster several other departments in Texas and maybe in other states, they could have penetrated the Rangers as well."

"Trust me Mr. Anderson I have thought about that and when we start selecting the officers that will be the first thing we will be looking at. Who knows, we might at the same time clean out the Texas Rangers. There has to be a few in that department that are on the take because of the sheer size of that force. Not only that, some of them still have family in Mexico, if you get my drift on that."

Both Anderson and Falster knew exactly what the Governor was saying. "I will also be talking with the governors in the states that border us. Give them heads up on what might be going on in their local police departments. But I won't tell them what we are doing down here to fix our problems in our police departments. I'm not saying the governors are on the take, but the least number of people being brought in on this, the more of a chance of it working.

There was no objection from neither Falster nor Anderson on the Governor's plans. They stayed on the line for a few more minutes before the governor was pulled away on an urgent matter. With what Falster and Anderson could gather, the matter the governor was pulled away to handle didn't make him happy at all. Plus they overheard the governor's secretary informing him the call was from the courthouse in El Paso, which got Falster nervous.

As Falster was scrambling around to find out what was going on in the courthouse that the governor needed to be brought in on, back in El Paso, Alex and Matt were in their room getting ready for the day. They haven't really had any alone time since Alex returned home from the hospital, and this Thursday morning was no different.

Not only were they balancing their plans for their move into their new building, plus the new business they acquired by buying the building, but also packing for Spring Break. Alex hated that Matt was doing most of the physical work. He wasn't used to depending on other's helping him out on things that he has taken for granted. Getting dressed, putting on socks, simple things like that.

Matt knew Alex didn't like being helped out, so he helped his boyfriend in a way that didn't offend him. However, just like Alex, he is missing the sex they used to have before Alex ended up in two casts. More and more he is sneaking off to an empty room making love to his right hand, which isn't doing the job. As each passing day, he is waking up with the biggest bluest balls he ever had.

Little did he know one of the causes of his blue balls in the morning was Alex. Through the night Alex would wake up and have a hard time getting back to sleep. Most of the time he was woken up with shooting pains going up and down his legs and spine, it took almost an hour for the drugs to kick in. Then after that, another hour, if not more, for him to finally fall back to sleep. Alex was lucky to get three to four hours of sleep a night.

That hour before the drugs had kicked in and sleep finally took him, he would spend looking at his gorgeous boyfriend sound asleep next to him. At first, he would just look at Matt until he had fallen asleep, but of late that has changed. His hormones normally took over and he couldn't stop himself on reaching over and caressing his boyfriend.

Again at first it wasn't bad. He would lightly with his fingers examine every inch of Matt's face. Then he started to go down a little further, his neck, then his chest and stomach. He loved how smooth Matt was and how defined his chest is. The only hair on his upper body, besides his head, was the treasure trail from Matt's belly button down to what Alex loved a lot, Matt's patch of hair above his dick.

When Alex first started to caress around Matt's belly button while he was asleep, he made a promise to himself not to go any further, but days later he broke that promise. He couldn't help but break it when he saw the outline of his boyfriend's dick through his boxers. No matter how hard he tried to keep his hands to himself, he couldn't. Then when his boyfriend's dick started dancing around under the cloth of the boxers he wore, Alex couldn't help himself.

He started to caress Matt's dick, but never taking it out of his boxers. Mainly he was afraid of waking his boyfriend that stopped him from taking it out. However, he wasn't scared enough to stop him from taking his boyfriend to his climax, but not finishing him off. Again he stopped short of fear on making Matt angry when he woke up in the midst of shooting sperm all over the place.

Still that didn't stop him from giving his boyfriend awesome dreams. On top of that, it gives him a chance to relieve some of his own pent up juices without the worry of his mother walking in on him again while doing so. He still turns all shades of red whenever he sees his mother near his room. Whenever she is that close it brings back that day when she walked in on him just after he hit his climax and his sperm was in plain view. What still astonishes Alex was that his mother didn't see it, or did she? That is the question and answer that Alex keeps asking himself and just hasn't said a word about it because she might be as embarrassed as he was.

Bringing him out of his thoughts was Matt asking him for the fifth time which suitcase did he want to use. "Um, I'm sorry, you asked, um which suitcase I want?" Matt looked at Alex with a look of confusion as he shook his head. "I really don't care. By the end of the first day our clothes are not going to be separated anyway. So just pack our things together."

Matt had no problem doing that. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay with me doing that. Sometimes you are very picky about your clothes." Alex shot back that wasn't true, but he knew it was. "Come on do I need to remind you of the time..." Quickly Alex stopped him. "Okay then I will leave alone and finish packing what I can before heading out to school."

Alex looked over at the clock on the nightstand and realized how close Matt was cutting it. "Why don't you quit now so we can go down and eat breakfast together before you have to leave for school." Alex wheeled himself over to Matt, closing the drawer Matt was pulling clothes from when he got to him. "By me being stuck in this damn chair and not able to go to school, we really don't get to spend a lot of time together anymore. The time we do have, I don't want you packing, working or anything else like that. I want to spend it with me doing nothing but being in each other's arms. We don't even have to be talking. Just as long as we're together."

Matt completely agreed with what Alex had just said. In fact it was as if Alex was reading his thoughts because that's exactly what he was thinking. Their relationship has changed a lot since what had happened to Alex, and not in a good way. It wasn't either of their faults and they both want their relationship they had before the shit storm back. However, they also know that won't happen until Alex is out of the wheelchair and back to his normal routine.

"That is why I'm here packing our suitcases." Matt laughed as he threw in the suitcase the shirt he had in his hand. "Just like you I want to spend what time we can spend together, but without anyone around. When we are with the guys, we end up becoming macho men. Not really being together like we are when we are alone in our room. So I'd rather go without breakfast to spend time with you. Not just talking like friends, but real boyfriend to boyfriend time together."

Alex didn't need to be given any more hints than what Matt has already given him. "I'll make you a promise." Alex began saying as he pulled Matt down on his lap and wrapped his arms around him. "Let's go down and have breakfast with the guys like we normally do, but we won't become those macho men around them. I mean we won't become pussy's either." Alex knew he wasn't making any sense. "What I mean is we won't stop showing the love we have for each other whenever we are around them like hugging, holding hands and kissing. But when we're outside at school or anywhere else, we need to act normal, you understand?"

Hesitantly Matt shook his head. "Nothing I'm saying is coming out right. You know that you are the only one I ever want to be with. There shouldn't be a question about that." Matt agreed with Alex before confirming he had the same feelings about him as well. "And when we get to Disneyland I promise you we will have our private time together if you get my drift." Alex started to wink his right eye with an evil grin across his face as he caressed Matt's package.

Matt didn't want Alex to stop, but he knew there wasn't enough time for them to really make the love that he wanted to make with his boyfriend. There was enough time for a quick jerk off, but neither of the boys wanted that. So reluctantly they both gathered enough strength to stop themselves before they went too far.

For the second time in less than an hour, Alex and Matt were in front of the mirror combing their hair and straightening out their clothes. Once they felt they were presentable, they made their way down to join the others in the restaurant who weren't fooled. Even though they completely straightened themselves up, their flushed faces gave them away on why they were late for breakfast.

Matt and Alex weren't the only ones running late for breakfast. Lorenzo and Ismael stumbled out of bed late. To make matters worse, they fooled around as they got ready, making them even later. When Francesca finally got her younger boys to settle down and finish getting ready for school, their cousins came in and turned things upside down once again.

It took Francesca threatening to ground the four boys to get them to stop playing and go down stairs for breakfast. On their way down, Ignacio, the oldest of their cousins asked Lorenzo if they could talk in private before they get to school. Lorenzo asked several times why, but all his cousin would give him as far as information was that it was private, important and wasn't bad. Knowing his cousin the way he did, Lorenzo gave in and agreed to talk with him as they ate breakfast.

Happy that he got his cousin to agree to speak with him, Ignacio got his plate of food from his aunt and made his way to a far table away from the others, dragging Lorenzo along with him. When they sat down, it took a few minutes for Ignacio to open his mouth, but once he did there was no stopping him and what he had to say knocked Lorenzo off his feet. He didn't think Ignacio was talking to the right Alvarez brother. Instead of him, he should be talking to Alex.

"I know what you are about to say, but it's you I trust with this kind of stuff." Ignacio whispered as he looked over at Alex's table. "You tell my big cousin whatever you think he needs to know out of what I have told you. I don't know which part of this crap is important, and which part isn't. Or more so what Alex needs to know as far as what I have told you."

"What do you mean on what parts to tell my brother and what parts not to tell him." Lorenzo finally found his tongue. "Everything you just told me needs to be told to my brother. He needs to know that his old gang is not only trying to recruit you and your brother, but are still looking for him. Right now he is over there thinking that he doesn't have to worry about them."

Ignacio agreed with everything that his cousin just said, but he felt it wasn't his place to go and tell his older cousin what was going on. Not just because he didn't hang around with him as much as he hung around with Lorenzo and Ismael, but also he didn't know Alex really all that well. All he knows about him is what he's heard from his mother, which isn't flattering at all. She made Alex out being this guy that only cares about himself. A person that would stomp on others in order to get what he wants, which his mother was way off the mark.

As Ignacio was trying to get through the mine field that was in his mind, he noticed that Lorenzo had already gotten up and started walking over to his brothers table. At that point all Ignacio could do is sit there and watch a ticking bomb about to go off. As each passing second went by while Lorenzo told Alex what he just learned, Ignacio could see his older cousins facial expression change from good to bad. Finally after almost five minutes of them talking, Alex rolled out his wheelchair and headed towards him with Lorenzo at his side. Both of them didn't look too happy at all.

"My little brother just finished telling me something I don't want to believe." Alex started to speak as he got to the table. "Please tell me this is some kind of joke. Something you made up to pull my brothers leg." Ignacio shook his head. "Come on, please say it isn't true because if it is there is going to be hell to pay." Alex slammed his fist against the table a lot harder than he meant to. "Tell me everything that happened, don't leave a thing out."

Ignacio shook his head as he nervously started to recount the last couple of days. "Well it started at the beginning of the week during lunch. A couple of guys I've never seen before walked up to me while I was hanging out with my brother and a couple of our friends. They told me that they knew you and they needed to speak with me alone. Not knowing what they were going to say, I went with them to a part of the school yard that no one ever goes to."

"Before you go on, let me stop you." Alex spoke with concern in his voice. "That was stupid of you to go anywhere with those guys. More so to an area of the school that there wasn't any other students or teachers to help you out if things turned ugly. You may not know these guys and what they are capable of doing, but I do. These guys could have hurt you, or worse kidnapped you in order to get to me. Never, ever go anywhere with guys that you don't know again."

Without hesitation Ignacio agreed with Alex on that point. "The first time they came up and started talking to me I didn't think anything bad, but after we got done talking, boy was I wrong about them. They were there for you and only you. So the second time when they came around, which was the next day at lunch, I stayed where I was to make sure there were others there to help me if things went bad. I saw in their faces they were angry about that, but I didn't care. If they didn't like it, they could go fly a kite." That got a laugh from Alex.

"Anyway after trying several times to get me alone, they gave up and tried to get me to join their gang. They said it was in our blood, a family thing. I didn't want to and I told them that. Then they tried to get my little brother to join, which I didn't like but didn't have to worry. Morris told them that he will only do what I do. And by me not wanting to join, he wasn't going to join.

After that they told me about you meeting their new leader and you didn't even know it. He sat with you alone in your room when you were in the hospital talking with you as if you guys were old friends. At any time that day he could have hurt you, or even killed you and gotten away without being caught since your security was outside the room."

Alex didn't need to hear any more from his cousin to figure who he was talking about. He knew exactly who the guy was and when the guy had visited him at the hospital. The only thing he couldn't believe was that he didn't figure it out himself. This guy walked into his room and sat there talking with him as if they were old friends. He couldn't believe that he didn't see through that and figure out what he really was there to do.

"That's when I walked away, but they didn't leave me or my brother alone. They've tried to talk with us over and over again since then." Ignacio took a deep breath. Somehow he got comfortable somewhere in the conversation because he stopped shaking. "I don't know what else to do Alex than what I have already done. We stopped hanging out where they found us, but they found us again. When they found us again, we didn't go outside. Instead we stayed in the cafeteria, but again they found us. Nothing seems to scare them or stop them from trying to talk with us."

"There is really nowhere you can hide from those guys if they really want to get to you." Alex rolled closer to his cousin and put his hand on his shoulders. "Even if you report them to security, a teacher or your principal and they kick them off school property, they will try and get to you when you're not at school. And boy let me tell you when that happens they will be pissed off."

Alex could see by his cousin's facial expression he was making things worse. "But don't you worry about any of that because you cousin has your back." Alex pulled Ignacio over to him and started rubbing the top of his head playfully. "You report these guys to your principal and the school security. Let them take care of them at school and I will take care of them off of school property." Both Lorenzo and Ignacio looked over at Alex with a worry look on their face. "No, no nothing like what you stupid asses are thinking.

I'm going to get you guys some security people to be with you at all times whenever you are not with me or at the house." At the same time the two younger boys objected, but Alex wouldn't hear any of it. "I myself can't protect you guys at school. No matter how much I want to be there and kick those guy's asses, I just can't. So I'm going to do the next best thing and that is get you protection. It won't be forever and every second of the day. It will only be there as long as those assholes are around trying to recruit you and use you to get to me."

"Cousin I have no problem with having someone being there whenever I'm not at school, but I don't want them around me during school. I have seen what you and the others..." Ignacio looked over at Jacob and then over at Joey before turning his glance back to Alex. "...in this hotel have gone through with security around you all the time, I don't want that. Please if you are going to do this, you will at least give me school without them."

Leaning back, Alex thought about the concerns his cousin raised. They were good concerns, but he had to weigh those against the possibility of his family getting hurt. "If I don't do everything in my power to make sure you guys are protected and you get hurt or worse," Alex couldn't even say the word. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Plus mom will kill me if anything was to happen to you guys, literally kill me. So no I'm sorry until these asses are either arrested or worse, you will be stuck with some kind of security starting today."

Ignacio was about to object again when his mother walked over. She didn't like seeing what she was seeing from the kitchen and wanted to know what was going on. Alex tried at first, with help from Lorenzo and Ignacio to play it off as if they were just talking, but Francesca didn't believe a word he said. After trying several times, they gave in and told her the truth.

"I knew something was going on over here by the looks on your faces and the way you were huddled up here at the table." Francesca made eye contact with each of the boys. "The only time I have ever seen you guys cuddled up like this was whenever one of you was in trouble and needed help to get out of it." Francesca knelt down to look Alex straight in the eyes. "Please tell me you have a way out of this without anyone here getting into any trouble."

He explained to her what his plan was, and she loved it. She expected to either hear that he had no plan at all or was going to go out there and kick their asses. Seeing that neither of those answers came out of her son's mouth made her a very happy parent. Her son has finally grown up and learned that the best way on handling a problem isn't by his fist.

"I agree with Alex! In fact, I will be placing a call to your school this morning to inform your principal what has been going on. When it's all said and done, he isn't going to like me very much, but I don't give a damn. You kids safety is my main concern." Francesca got up to walk away, but remembered something that she needed to tell the boys.

"Oh one more thing! Until Alex gets your security in place, you guys are not leaving this hotel." The younger boys tried to object, but Francesca didn't let them get more than one word out. "It's Thursday anyway, so you will only miss two days of school before Spring Break. By the time you return to school everything should be in place."

With that, she walked back into the kitchen, looking back a couple of times to make sure that she got through to the younger boys. By the time she reached the kitchen door, Alex had begun his way back to his table, leaving the younger boys alone talking. She could tell by their body language and their facial expressions they didn't like what had just happened, but she didn't care.

As everyone in the hotel, minus the Garcia boys and their cousins headed out to school, back at the courthouse Harold walked back into his courtroom. The DA and the defense could tell whatever took him away from their hearing wasn't good. His facial expression told them it didn't go his way, which means only one thing. Shit is going to hit the fan in this courtroom.

"I'm sorry for being late. I know I put this court into recess for only thirty minutes, and it has been close to fifty." Harold spoke in a serious voice as he sat down. "It couldn't have been helped. Another judge in the courthouse needed my assistance, and what should have only taken a few minutes ended up taking a lot longer than that as you all can see."

Everyone in the courtroom already knew where Harold went racing off to and heard what had happened. When he returned and they saw his mood it confirmed everything. "Anyway that is neither here nor there concerning what is before me right now." Harold looked at his bailiff. "Call the case that I was hearing motions on would you please." Bailiff did as he was asked.

"Let's go ahead and get rid of the easy motions that are before me right off the bat. The first of them is bail." Harold looked over at the DA. "You are going to ask me to remand them." He then looked over to the defense. "And you are going to ask me to not set bail at all, let them go out on their signature." Both of them answered yes. "Well I'm not going to do either. I know these two don't have a criminal record, but they assaulted someone in this very courthouse parking garage when the ruling didn't go their way. There is no way I'm going to let them out without bail. So with that said, I set for each of them two hundred thousand dollar bail that could be either cash or bond. If either happens, they will have to wear a monitoring device until their hearings are over."

"Sir you might as well have remanded them with that high bail." The defense attorney quickly objected. "My clients are not well to do like so many others that come before you. Even if they could get what a bails bondsman needs as collateral to cover the ninety percent of each of their bonds, they have to come up with twenty thousand each. They just don't have that kind of money."

"They should have thought about what could have happened to them before they committed the assault they are being charged with. As I said there is no way I'm going to let two individuals out on low bail or no bail at all with the kind of proof the DA already has. There has already been too much wrong doing in this courthouse today by a judge. No way am I going to add to it."

Both sides knew this was coming, but had hoped it would hurt the other side, not theirs. "Now let's move on to the other motions before me." Harold went through the motions one by one. Most of the rulings went against the defense, but the defense did win a couple. Finally after almost an hour of motions, they got to the last one, custody of the minor children.

"Will the grandparents please step forward?" Matt's grandparents got up and nervously walked to the front of the courtroom and stood between the defense and prosecution. "Now another one of my colleagues had already ruled on this matter and temporarily handed you custody of the two minor children, but not Matthew Robinson. That part confuses me. Why did that happen?"

Matt's grandfather stepped forward a couple of steps. "Well sir, his parents, our son and daughter over there weren't fighting us on his custody. They disowned him when he was sentenced to Juvenile Hall." Matt's father interrupted his father calling him a liar. Causing Harold to threaten him with contempt of court charges if he didn't stay quiet. "Well sir my son is right, I did lie. They disowned their older son a lot sooner than that. If my memory serves me right, they disowned him when he went to them and told them that he was gay."

"That is a lie, a flat out lie and you know it dad!" Harold slammed his gavel down several times to quiet down Matt's father. "I have already you warned you sir. If you don't keep your mouth shut, I will not only find you in contempt of court, but I will also have you removed from my courtroom. You will have to watch the proceedings on a TV in the holding cell back there. So if you want that, disrupt these proceedings once more and I will make it happen." Matt's father just stared down at the floor, not making eye contact with the judge. "Sorry about that sir, please continue." Harold looked over at Matt's grandfather who nodded his head.

"Since they were not fighting us for custody for him, we didn't ask the courts to give us custody. Plus he has been living on his own with his partner ever since he was pardoned by the governor and at his age we felt there was no need to push for custody for him. His parents don't want to have anything to do with him, which means he is safe from them. Unlike our younger grandchildren."

"I understand all that, but he is still a minor and no matter what has happened in his life, his parents are responsible for him." Harold looked over at Matt's parents. "You guys are very lucky that I can't sentence you to do time for the neglect you have obviously done with your oldest son. With that said, I can't have him out there living on his own at his age. He either is going to have to come before a judge and get emancipated or you two have to take custody of him. One of the other has to happen and has to happen within forty five days from today."

Having no other choice than to agree to the judge's request, Maxwell and Eleanor Robinson, Matt's grandparents answered in the positive. "Now we need to move on to the two younger minors, Chrystal Robinson who is fifteen and Reginald Robinson who is fourteen. At this time they have been placed temporarily into your custody and now you are moving for full custody." Once again Matt's grandparents answered in the affirmative.

"Even though the proof as of right now that the DA has against your son and daughter-in-law shows guilt, they have not been found guilty. They get to have their day in court to try and prove their innocence. Until that day and if a jury of their peers comes back with a guilty verdict or they take a plea, their rights can't be taken away. Hate to say that, but it is the law."

The defense attorney and his clients all had big smiles on their faces. At that moment it looked like they have won one of the biggest motions against them, but they are about to get a surprise from Harold they didn't see coming. When Harold saw the grins on the parent's faces, it made him mad. His hands were tied to a point, but knowing the law as good as he did, he was able to think quickly on his feet and come up with a solution that might benefit all parties before him.

"Will the DA and the defense see me in my chambers please?" Harold put his court back into recess and walked out with the two attorney's right behind him. When they got to his chambers, the attorney's stood there until Harold asked them to sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk while he took off his robe. Once he hung his robe up, he wasted no time getting down to business.

"The reason I asked for you two to meet with me in my chambers is to see if we can come to come kind of end to this whole thing that satisfies all parties concerned." Matt's parent's attorney quickly objected to what was going on. "Your honor I don't agree with this at all. It's not right and you know so because of what you said just moments ago in your own courtroom. My clients haven't been found guilty and have a right to their day in court. Not to have a deal reached in a back room."

Harold didn't like at all what the defense was hinting at. It made him madder than hell. "Let me make this very clear to you sir! I'm not trying to rob your clients of any of their rights in a deal reached in a back room. If I was trying to do that, I would have held this meeting with one side and then forced it upon the other in open court, which as you can see isn't how it is unfolding. So for you to sit there and say I'm doing anything of the sort is just plain wrong and you know that."

The defense attorney tried to back pedal on what he just said, but it was too late. It was out there and nothing he can do or say could fix his misworded objection. "I have asked to meet with you both parties mainly for the wellbeing of the minor children." At this point Harold had calmed down a little bit and you could hear it in his voice. He wasn't yelling as loud as he was. "They need to be in a stable home and right now they are like visitors in their grandparent's home."

Neither the defense attorney nor the DA objected to what the judge was saying. It made a whole lot of sense. However, the defense attorney had a bad feeling on where this conversation was leading to. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that it was leading up to something that is going to not only screw him, but his clients at the end.

"Now I feel we can fix that issue right here and right now." Harold looked directly at the defense attorney. "You have seen the proof the DA has already against your clients. The video tapes of the day of the incident clearly show them assaulting Sally Hughes. That alone when the jury sees it will convict your clients. Put that aside the witnesses that intervened and saved Ms. Hughes testimony and others that saw what was going on will convict your clients. And all that is just the beginning since the DA hasn't even started putting their case together."

"Your honor I see where this is going so let me stop you." The defense attorney interrupted Harold as he moved to the edge of his chair. "As we speak my office is putting together several motions to file in this court. Among those motions will be to toss out the recording since it is really not that clear. You can't with one hundred percent certainty say those in the video are my clients and the one being assaulted is Ms. Hughes.

The other motions will be asking this court to throw out the eyewitness accounts of that day. Put aside all except two of them didn't step in and try to help. Now they are stepping forward saying they saw it happening. They should be arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident or something like that. Also I will be asking this court to throw out the eye witness statement of Carlos Medina. He is well known to be affiliated with the local gangs here in El Paso. His word can't be counted on and it shouldn't be."

"Come on you have to be kidding me on those motions." Harold was happy to see life in the DA finally. "All those motion should be thrown out the second they are presented on ground of being outrageous. I have never in all my years as a DA heard anything like this before." The DA looked straight at Harold. "What the hell is in the water today? First we had that stunt pulled a couple floors up and now these stupid motions. What in the hell is wrong with the legal profession in the city I have been proud of serving for over twenty years now."

Harold couldn't help himself when he started to laugh. "I was asking the same thing when I walked out of Judge Garcia's courtroom earlier. I couldn't believe what had happened up there, but let me tell you it's not over. The governor got involved with the state attorney general and let me tell you this. I have never heard our governor as angry as I heard him today." Harold leaned forward.

"Let me now make it clear to you that if you do bring those motions before this court I will throw them out." The defense attorney started to object, but Harold didn't allow him. "Hold on, just hold on! If I would to grant any of those motions, I should be taken out back and shot because they have no legal leg to stand on. So if you want to waste the courts time on it, go ahead because I will make sure you and your law firm is billed for the entire cost of that day's proceedings.

Now with that said I have wasted too much of the courts time today on this case. I suggest you go to your clients and stop feeding them lies that they are going to walk out of this free people. If they don't want to spend a lot of time as guests of the state they need to take a plea from the districts attorney's office." Harold looked over at the DA with a serious look on his face.

"I figure a plea that this court and the people of this county would be happy with would have them serving at least five years behind bars, with at least another seven to ten on parole. With several other conditions that include signing over their parental rights to Mr. Maxwell and Eleanor Robinson. Give these young kids a chance to live in a stable home for once without the fear that your clients bring into their lives. No one should ever go through what they have gone through."

The defense was about to object again, but Harold shut him down. "I will schedule another hearing next Wednesday. That should give you and the DA plenty of time to sit down and come to some kind of plea bargain. And then enough time for you to get your clients on board with this. Until then, the original judgment concerning the two minor children, Reginald and Chrystal will stay as is." Harold looked up at the defense attorney. "Please don't make me rule on the motion regarding the guardianship of those minor children. If you do, it won't go your way." The defense attorney did the only thing he could and that is agree in the affirmative. "Good then that concludes all matters before this court concerning your clients. You guys have a good day."

Harold got up, shook each of the attorney's hands as he escorted them to the door. Once they were gone, he went back to his desk and slumped down in his seat. His two week vacation is now blown out of the water, but that wasn't his biggest worry at the time on his mind. The biggest worry was what happened earlier in Garcia's courtroom. He can only hope that the governor can fix it.

Once the morning's hustle and bustle was done, the rest of the morning was smooth sailing. Alex got a lot done in a short period of time with help from Jacob when the issue of security came up. He got his brothers and cousins security through Jacob who directed him to speak with Mr. Jackson who stopped what he was doing to help out Alex.

The minute that Jackson was filled in on what was going on, he snapped into action. Not only did he get security that Alex was asking for, but he informed all the house security and other details what to look out for. It didn't take long for them to have a plan of action to insure that Stefano never again gets a chance to get near Alex or anyone else that they are responsible for securing.

After taking care of the all the matters at the hotel, Alex headed over to the new building to see how the construction was going. Since the part of the building that they were going to put their print shop in hasn't been used for years, it needed work. One of their main concerns was the electric. The machines in the print shop use a lot of electricity and if plugged into a socket that can't handle it, it could short out the machine. Something no one wants to happen since the cost to either fix the machine or replace it was way too high.

While Alex was going back and forth from Jacob's building and his building, down in Texas his grandfather was busy at work insuring his gangs control over the prison. The new warden has given him pretty much free rein on doing whatever he wants to do as long as the killing stopped. He needs to look like he got control of the prison and the killings. The elder Garcia had no problem doing so, at least for the moment that is.

Everything was falling into place nicely. The outside contraband has now started flowing in without any stoppage, which helps the elder Garcia and his gang keep control. The only thing that is out there hanging around was Ashton. What he has done and gotten away with has a few of the gangs in the prison still thinking that the Mexican Mafia is weak. Something the elder Garcia not only can't afford, but will not have while he is in charge.

However, this problem hopefully was coming to an end. After the dinner meal, the elder Garcia and a couple of his high commands were taken into a room that the warden allows them to use to make outside calls on a phone that doesn't record the conversation. It was one of the perks Garcia was able to get out of the warden in order to keep the peace.

As soon as the guards left the room and closed the door, one of the captains placed the call. A few rings later, Stefano's voice came over the line. Without needed to be prompted, he went into detail of the meeting he and his second in command had with their counter parts in Juarez. As he recounted the meeting, the elder Garcia wasn't happy at all on how things went down. He wrote what he wanted to say and handed it to the captain that was selected to do the talking.

"We sent you over there in hopes that you would come back with a lot better news than you did. Instead of reporting to us that it will be a matter of days that we will get our hands on this son-of-a-bitch, instead you are telling us you were pussy whipped. That is something that we don't want to happen to one of our top leaders out there. Not only do you lose creditability, we do as well."

"I don't believe I was pussy whipped." Stefano quickly responded. "Yes I didn't come back with Ashton's head on a pike, but I do believe it will be a matter of days before we get our hands on him. That I'm certain of. Ashton will be in our hands and answer for what he has done."

Once again the elder Garcia wrote down what he wanted to say. "Keeping your placement in this gang completely depends on us getting our hands on Ashton first and soon. So make sure you make it happen. No more mistakes concerning this guy. He has already made us looking like fools and we will not tolerate it no more. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir it is!" Stefano took a deep breath and thought about the next subject he was about to talk about. He knew he was going into troubled waters and if he didn't watch it, he would be the one being pushed under the water. "There's another matter we need to talk about. While I was in Juarez an order came down to my guys that I thought wasn't going to be ordered. A green light has been given for the old gang leader from this area, Alex. Is that order right or should I disregard it?"

The captain doing the talking looked at the elder Garcia for guidance. He got nothing, but knew if he didn't answer Stefano, they were going to look like they don't know what is going on. "Can you read to me the order that came down?" Stefano had the order in his hand and read it word for word. As he read it, the elder Garcia wrote his response. "For now complete all the objectives of the order except the last one, the green light. Don't execute that until you get the all clear from us here. We want to make sure first he is no longer a real threat to us."

While the elder Garcia and his captains were holding their meeting with Stefano, in the room next door was the new captain of the guards and the warden were listening in. Not only were they listening, but they were recording every word. As the conversation went on, the warden leaned back in his seat with a big grin on his face. He couldn't help pat himself on the back on how he trapped the elder Garcia and his leadership. No matter what happens for here on in, he now not only knows he has control of his prison, but has the most powerful gang leader under his thumb.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

"Welcome back one and all to another exciting chapter of `Beneath the Mask.' It has been a while since an installment of this saga, so I made sure it was full of action and drama. I hope you all agree with me that I was able to accomplish that. Not only keep you drawn into the chapter, but kept you reading it to the very end.

With that said, there are a few housekeeping things I have to get done. The last chapter I wrote and posted was `Regrets and Heartaches'. Some of the things written in this chapter was started in that chapter thirty four of that saga. So if you haven't read that chapter yet, you are going to be lost in a few things that happened in this chapter. Please go on over and catch up with that saga.

A couple of you that have read that chapter were very upset on how the Beth and Dominic plots went. I know I really stretched reality to the point it isn't even believable fiction at times, but there was a need to bring those two characters back into the story, and not with a long drawn out court plot. We have plenty of those in all of the sagas. Anyway what I have planned for those two will surprise you. Don't count the legal system out because there is Harold, Garcia and yes the governor out there to try and get something done. I have hinted about that in this chapter, which will pull this plot into the other stories as well. Plus there is Beth and Dominic. They have screwed up in the past, so what is stopping them on screwing up in the future.

And one more thing. Several of you have either written comments on the site or emailed me about why I haven't combined the stories yet. Many of written that they would like to see all the stories fold back up into Jacob or Shadow and run with those stories only. I have gone back and forth so much on this issue and I still haven't come up with an answer. The only thing I'm certain of is that if I do fold all the stories into one or two, a lot of things will be missed. So for now I have decided to keep writing the four sagas and find a way to breathe life into the two that many of you feel that should be concluded. Any ideas you guys might have to help do this, please send them my way. It's been a while since I have gotten a reader writing me plot ideas.

Enough of me being on my soap box. Let's get down to the summation of this chapter. A lot happened in one day of Alex's life. It started off exactly where the last chapter ended with Harold. The two he was happy to see on his docket were Matt's parents and right off the bat he made it clear that he could rule on the case without being bias against them.

I liked all of his rulings. As always he was fair and to the point. He didn't give them bail or remanded them. Then when it came down to the other motions before him, he ruled justly. He granted the ones that were right and through the ones out that should have been thrown out. At the end, he pulled both sides in and made it clear they should come to an agreement in a plea bargain. He put out what he would accept as far as time to serve and other conditions, which included them signing their parental rights away. Let's see if that happens in the next couple of chapters.

We also saw the plot from `Regrets and Heartaches' come into this story. The one of Beth and Dominic. Now we didn't witness the meeting between Harold and the judge that let Beth and Dominic go. That you will see in chapter thirty five of `Regrets'. You will also find out how the governor reacted to the news and a lot more. So don't miss that chapter.

Talking about the governor it looks like he is going to help out the Chief Falster. They found a way legally to bring in Texas Rangers to investigate the EPPD. Do you guys think it is going to work? If so, do you think they are going to get rid of every dirty cop? What do you think should happen to the dirty cops? Should they go to jail, or just fired?

Wow is all I can say about the plot in the hotel. Alex surprised me on how he handled the news about his old gang trying to recruit his cousins. Not only his response surprised me, but the balls the gang his even trying. Do you guys think they will get one of the cousins to join up? Or do you believe they will get to one of the cousins or Alex's brother and hurt them? So much can happen in this plot it will be hard to say what will happen with it.

Also there was the little thing between Alex and Matt. Or should I say just Alex. Now it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone on what Alex did while Matt was asleep. He loved the guy so much that he can't keep his hands to himself. Hell have you seen Matt. If I had a guy like that sleeping next to me at night I probably won't be able to keep my hands to myself either. But I think there is something there with Matt that we don't know about as far as the nightly activities go

Finally the ending of the chapter. I told you guys a lot happened in this chapter. It looks like if Stefano doesn't accomplish his task on getting Ashton, his days are numbered. Not only that, it looks like a command came down the pike to lay off Alex. What is all that about? Then there is the warden. He isn't as stupid as we all thought he was. The guy had a plan and it looks like he has the elder Garcia by the short hairs, or does he? We have seen the elder Garcia do things and give orders to save his butt and keep his gang in control. There is going to be a lot of fireworks there.

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

I don't want to say too much more and spoil future chapters, so I won't. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

Well what an action packed chapter as Jacob says. He also suggested that you read the Regrets and Heartaches chapter and maybe the earlier chapter to this one. I certainly had to in order to get my mind back on track. So many characters come to life in this chapter that perhaps like me you have forgotten who they are and where they fit in.

There must now be more security staff between all the families than the families themselves and the bill to pay all these must be very big but I can't see how any of the guys can do without them. There are so many bad guys out there who are out to harm others.

I was shocked and surprised when Alex cousins told him about how they were being hassled to join the gang and also harm Alex and I can see more trouble on the horizon for those poor little kids. I know Alex and Francesca will do everything they can to keep them safe but will that be enough?

One point Jacob missed in his summation was Matt. What's going to happen to him with regards to the courts and who has custody of him. Personally I think the best path for him to go down is to become emancipated and that will allow him to live in comfort and peace of mind with Alex.

Finally Ashton, I don't know about you but this guy as more lives than a cat so surely the end is near and he must be running out of lives. I certainly hope so because as long as he is alive he is yet another worry Alex as to contend with.

Don't forget to let Jacob know what you think how you believe the plot lines should go. In the meantime keep reading and enjoying the wonderful chapters he writes.

Hugs

Trevor