All rights reserved. Other than downloading one copy for personal enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, except for reviews, without the written permission of the author. As in real life, the sexual themes unfold gradually and are kept to a realistic level. Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the author, Dwight Wilson, at adm2780@yahoo.com
This story contains descriptions of consensual sexual contact between males, adult and minor. As such it is homoerotic, designed for the entertainment of mature adults. If you are not of legal age to read such material, or if the subject matter would create irresolvable personal moral dilemmas, please exit now.
Note: I would like to thank Colin and John for their continued support and patience while I try to write this story. Their support and efforts at editing and correcting my errors not only keep me in line, but contribute significantly to a better story.
Chapter Sixty: New Horizons
Daniel and Elizabeth drove the boys to the police station. Daniel knew this was not going to be easy for any of the boys and had wanted to keep this a private matter for the boys to settle. Daniel had also debated with himself many times, never reaching a firm conclusion, about whether the boys should even face this issue. The counselor had convinced Daniel that three of the boys still had serious issues and very strong negative feelings that they needed to confront and deal with; this was their opportunity to vent those feelings.
The boys didn't object to Elizabeth accompanying them to the meeting. She was a strong supporter of the boy and the New Horizon movement; she was family. The boys also understood that Elizabeth would use this episode as another example of how the system could be abused and work unfavorably against innocent victims. Also on the trip were Danny and TJ. Danny had been separated from Daniel for too long in the little boy's opinion. When he begged to stay with Daniel, there was no way anyone could deny him. The only condition Daniel placed on Danny was that the little boy must keep his clothes on. TJ came along ostensibly to help with Danny if needed, but really to lend support to Evan.
The boys were unusually quiet as they parked the van in the police parking lot. There was a day when the boys would have been filled with fear at the thought of facing a policeman. The boys were apprehensive, but it wasn't because of what might happen to them. The idea that they would influence what might happen to a family member was rapidly becoming reality for the four older boys. To think about how they felt and what they wanted to say to the man who was responsible for them almost becoming life long slaves was one thing. To be there, at this place and this time, was another.
After they entered the building, Danny, who had been holding Daniel's hand, suddenly needed to be held. The look on his face said he wasn't sure he wanted to be there. Daniel carried the boy as the desk sergeant escorted the group to a private holding room used for interrogations. When they were alone, Daniel spoke to the boys.
"Boys, you need to remember why you are here. We understand that this may not be easy for any of you. We also understand that each of you will have your own personal feelings about what happened and what, if anything, you want to say to your father or uncle. By the way, I'm not even sure that I know his proper name."
"It's Jamison, Mr. Dan'l, Harold Jamison." Brian offered. "We were so ashamed of what happened, I guess, that we never said his name to anybody."
Daniel knew the boys' surname was Jamison. He didn't really know why he didn't check their files to see what their father's name was. Actually, he did know. His concern was not with the father or showing him any particular courtesy; his concern was for the boys. Daniel thought a moment about how this man had deliberately turned against his own sons and nephews and turned their whole family against the boys. The man did not deserve any form of courtesy.
"Boys, what I wanted to say to you is that each of you may, and needs to, confront this situation, deal with it, and try to put it behind you. When you leave here today we hope that you will never look back and say to yourselves 'I wish' or 'If only'. You can have good futures and good lives, but you must begin to put the past behind you. It won't all be done today, but it can start here."
"Mr. Dan'l, can I ask ya somethin'?" Randy spoke up. "You said before that the police were trying to track the money he took from us?"
"Yes, they did some tracking. The bank and the state also assisted in tracking accounts. Right now, I don't know how much they found. I have spoken with both the bank and the bank's attorneys to have the money deposited in trust for all six of you. It will be divided the way we discussed last week so that all of you will, hopefully, have enough money to get a good education and start." As Daniel finished, Captain Jackson knocked and entered the room with another gentleman.
"Daniel, Elizabeth" the Captain greeted everyone, "and boys. Everyone, please, sit down. This gentleman is Bill Turner with the prosecutor's office. Before we go in he wanted to speak with the boys and get some idea of what they think they want to do here. The prosecutor's office has put together two or three options we need to discuss." After the normal greetings and hand shakes, Mr. Turner pulled out his paperwork and began.
"Mr. Thompson, the situation we have before us is certainly unique and we feel . . ."
"Excuse me, Mr. Turner, but I'm not the person you should be talking with. The boys are the ones that were harmed and they are the ones who will voice a recommendation regarding Mr. Jamison." Turner looked a little perplexed and then spoke to Daniel once more.
"But, Mr. Thompson, surely, we can't expect the boys to fully understand the complexities of what's happening here?"
"Why not?" Daniel responded. "They understand that because of Mr. Jamison's actions, they almost became lifelong slaves. They understand that they've been cheated out of a normal childhood and loving home and family. Believe me, Mr. Turner, if the boys have any questions, they won't hesitate to ask for advice. They also know that whatever they say is only a suggestion, the final decision must be made by your office and the courts. I'm hoping this situation can be settled here today, at least as far as the boys are concerned, and they don't have to appear in court." Turner looked at the boys who were all nodding their heads. Turner quickly checked his file again before he spoke.
"Very well. If I start going too fast, you boys just stop me and I'll try to make sure you understand everything I'm saying. Fair enough? By the way, my notes say there should be six boys?"
"The other two are back at Fort Ogden, they're too young to participate in all this." Daniel advised.
"Mr. Thompson, since you've personally been appointed as special guardian for all the boys, I'll ask you to speak for the two younger boys at this time." Daniel merely nodded his acquiescence. "Boys, let's first understand our primary goal at this meeting. We believe we have enough evidence to prosecute Mr. Jamison for several different felonies. The evidence and charges are strong enough that he could be sentenced to lifelong slavery. Under those circumstances, all of his assets would escheat to the state. That means his assets would become the property of the state and you boys wouldn't recover anything. At the other extreme, we can decide to not charge or prosecute him, and he keeps everything." Turner paused for a moment to read the boys' expressions. The boys' faces remained calm and stoic. Turner continued.
"Captain Jackson and Mr. Thompson have talked, and then Captain Jackson has spoken to people in my office. We understand that you boys probably prefer something between those two extremes. Would you boys like to tell me what it is you do want?" Three boys looked at Randy; he was appointed as their spokesman.
"Mr. Turner, can you tell us if he knows that we're here or involved in this?"
"He has not been told to the best of my knowledge." Turner looked at the Captain, who shook his head. "We understood you boys preferred it that way."
"Yes, sir, we did. When Mr. Dan'l first told us about this, well, two or three of us just thought about how we wanted to get even with him. We wanted to tell him how much we hated him for what he did to us. Now, that doesn't seem quite so important. We still want to tell him he was wrong, but we don't care any more about telling him how much we hate him. He was wrong for the way he treated Evan and the names he called him; we want to tell him that. Is there some way that we can get the money that should have come to us and let him be convicted of doing something wrong? What we're really thinkin' is maybe let him serve a little time, even just a few months. We want it to be enough to give him time to think, but also for it to follow him forever. To us, that'll make him a prisoner of what he did wrong for as long as he lives."
Turner sat back and looked at the boys. He then looked at the Captain who nodded his head. The boys had thought this one out. They wanted Jamison to suffer for his wrongdoing, but they didn't want the penalty to be so harsh that they would feel guilty about it for the rest of their lives.
"Boys, if we make him a deal to plead to one of the charges and work out a jail time of a year; that would be a felony. As a convicted felon he loses most of his civil rights, including the right to own a weapon or vote. Any time he applied for a job he would have to reveal the conviction. He'd have to reveal what the conviction was for. We could make it for child abandonment and false enslavement, possibly. However, we can't leave him totally destitute. If we do that then he'd be enslaved if he didn't prove a means of support within fifteen days." The boys looked at one another; unspoken words passed between them.
"Mr. Turner, we like your plan best. A condition has to be that he can not come near any of us without first getting our permission. That also means he can't come near New Horizons." Randy paused a moment. "Uh, one other question, please? Can you tell us how much money we had? We understood it was over a half million dollars." Turner looked at the boys and smiled.
"Boys, that was in cash. Randy, you also had your home, which was worth a lot, plus some stocks and bonds. Your dad had already put a lot of that in your names, but the records showed that your uncle claimed he was hiding money to avoid paying the debt and the courts gave it to him. The real number is over a million. We get this to work out and you boys will be set for a decent future." Turner let what he just said soak in and then continued.
"Right now, you need to stay here. That mirror is actually a one way glass that we'll activate and you'll be able to see and hear what's happening. He doesn't know about you boys and I think we might be able to use the shock factor on him. You should also see in the room his lawyer, a Mr. Carmichael. Regardless of how fair or unfair it may seem right now, it's critical that we protect his civil rights at the moment if we want this to work. Listen for my cue Mr. Thompson, and then bring the boys in." Daniel nodded while holding Danny in his lap. Danny had leaned against his protector and was asleep.
Captain Jackson entered the room followed by Turner and a court stenographer. Jamison sat at the table. His attorney, Carmichael, paced the short distance behind his client. When they entered, Carmichael turned to the Captain.
"Captain, would you care to tell us what this is all about. Has my client been charged with anything?"
"Not yet, Mr. Carmichael, but be patient, we'll get around to it. I'll assume that you've met Mr. Turner with the prosecutor's office?" Carmichael nodded, a minimum courtesy. Jamison looked at his attorney, expecting an explanation of what was happening; Carmichael ignored him. Turner began.
"Mr. Carmichael, I'm here actually at the request of Captain Jackson. Anything beyond that, you will have to get from the Captain. I'm going to do something we are not in the habit of doing before we file formal charges against someone. I'm going to let you get a good preview of the case we have and, then, we're going to try and settle this matter. I'll not ask your client any questions that could be incriminating. To the contrary, I'll be making statements that we know we can both support and prove. I'll just ask you to be patient and then advise your client."
"This is highly unusual for the prosecutor's office to take this step. Can you at least tell me the subject of this gathering?"
"The subject, Mr. Carmichael," Turner spoke in a very calm and matter-of-fact tone suggesting he had the utmost confidence in what he was about to say and do. "The subject is grand theft, abandonment, fraud, false enslavement, fraud on the courts, and a few others. I'm sure you will advise your client that all of these items, or any one of them, is considered very serious and could lead to serious consequences. Now. Shall we begin?" Turner picked up his file and opened it, holding it in one hand.
"Mr. Jamison, I'm going to ask you to state your name and address, strictly for the record. Then I will ask your attorney to identify himself, for the records." When Jamison and Carmichael identified themselves, Turner and the Captain followed, for the record. They then continued.
"Let the record show that I am placing on the table, directly in front of Mr. Jamison a picture, I will ask him to identify the party in the picture."
"That's my brother, or at least he was my brother. He died in a car wreck over two years ago. Why? What does he have to do with this?" Ignoring Jamison's question, Turner continued.
"Let the record show that I am placing three more pictures in front of Mr. Jamison. Can you identify those individuals for us, please."
"Sure, they're my dead brother's sons. Maybe I should say were his sons. This is Ronnie, he died in the same wreck. This is Randy, and this little faggot queen is his brother, Evan. There's a waste for you. They were made slaves."
"Harold," Carmichael interrupted, "it's best if you just simply answer the questions and don't voice any opinions right now." Turner nodded to Carmichael and continued.
"Let the records show that I am placing two more pictures on the table directly in front of Mr. Jamison and asking him to identify the parties in those pictures."
Jamison looked at the pictures and froze. They were his sons, or what he thought to be his former sons. It was only with the encouragement of his attorney that he identified the boys.
"Mr. Jamison, you stated that your brother's sons were slaves. Can you tell us about your sons?"
"Sure," Jamison then paused and looked at his attorney who told him he may proceed, carefully. "They were made slaves, too. My brother and his boys were part of an underground sex show. My boys knew about it and without my permission, joined them. When I found out about it, I got really pissed off and pretty much laid into them. I never knew my boys was queers. Anyway, I was ashamed of 'em and told 'em so; I also told 'em I oughtta disown 'em. They let me know they wanted to go to their uncle, my brother. I told 'em they could go as far as I cared, cause they were no kin of mine." Jamison paused again, wringing his hands together.
"A couple of days later my brother came to see me. The boys had been to see him and told him that I didn't want them anymore and asked if they could join him. I was really pissed off and told him he could take 'em if he wanted 'em. He told me he couldn't just take them. If they participated in the show as free boys, it'd be incest and we'd all be in trouble. So, I had the boys enslaved and assigned to me to care for 'em. Then I sold 'em. to my brother like he and I had agreed. He gave me his promissory note for the money but he died before I got paid. I filed a claim and got the money from his estate."
"I see. Let the record show that I am showing to Mr. Jamison a copy of a promissory note and will ask him to confirm it is the note his brother gave him for the purchase of the two slaves. Further, I am showing him a copy of a claim filed against his brother's estate and am asking him to confirm it is the claim he filed against his brother's estate." Jamison acknowledged both documents.
"Mr. Dan'l! He's lyin', Mr. Dan'l. We gotta get in there!" Josh cried out.
"Josh, settle down and don't holler. I don't know if they can hear us in there and we don't want them to know you're here. These men know what they're doing. Listen and you'll realize that they're giving him enough rope to hang himself."
"Yes, sir. Sorry. It's just that . . ." Brian placed an arm around his brother's shoulder to comfort him as they continued to listen.
"Mr. Jamison, I have here a certified copy of your brother's will; please confirm the document for the record."
"It looks like that, yes." Jamison confirmed.
"In the will your brother mentions seven boys. All seven boys are listed as 'technically' slaves and he sets them free. Is that correct?" Turner hands a copy of the will to Carmichael. Jamison nods his affirmation.
"Five of those boys are the same boys as in the pictures placed before you, is that correct?"
Jamison nods and then voices his affirmation for the records.
"Can you tell us what happened to the estate and the boys, Mr. Jamison?"
"Well, yeah, it's a matter of public record. The estate was probated, the will filed and notices sent out to creditors and heirs. There was a lot more money owed than most people thought and not nearly as much in assets as everybody thought. The house had to be sold and the cars, and everything else. By the time all the debts were paid and the attorneys paid, there wasn't anything left. In fact, some of the creditors had to accept a settlement so we could close out the estate."
"That explains what happened to the estate, what about the boys?"
"Well, one of 'em died in the wreck. That was Ronnie, he's in this picture. As for the other boys I'm not a hundred percent sure how the court really handled that. They really couldn't be freed I don't think 'cause they had to be sold to pay debts. They might have been freed, but if they were they didn't have any inheritance, there wasn't anything to inherit. I heard the state had them and they would be sold as slaves 'cause they were destitute."
"Did that include your two sons, Mr Jamison?" Jamison was initially surprised, but recovered to defend himself.
"Mr. Turner, I thought you knew the law. Those boys were enslaved, which meant I no longer had any sons. They were sold to my brother where they worked like the faggots they were. I had no sons to worry about."
The room became quiet for a couple of minutes. Then Carmichael leaned over to confer with his client.
"Mr. Carmichael, we will be happy to provide you a private room to confer with your client." Turner offered.
"I don't think that will be necessary. As far as I can tell, what you've done here is just rehash some old family history that has caused my client a great deal of suffering. I also understand you've been holding him here against his will for several days. Unless we studied different law books, I think you've violated a number of my client's constitutional rights and demand that you release him. We will also expect to receive a public apology for what you have put him through. Of course, we could always file a civil action and drag the whole department before the newspapers and cameras. What do you think, Captain?"
"I think you need to see and hear the rest of what we have, Mr. Carmichael." The Captain looked straight at the mirror and nodded. Daniel knew that was the signal and handed Danny to TJ.
There was a light knock on the interrogation room door. The door opened and Sgt. Harris entered, followed by the four boys, Daniel and another uniformed officer. Jamison was dumbstruck to see the four boys. The boys didn't say anything for a minute, but just stood there staring at Harold Jamison. Brian was the first to speak.
"Hello, Faaaather. . . or should I say Master?" The bitterness in his voice was apparent to everyone in the room. Two of the boys smirked at the way Brian greeted his father.
"Boy! Don't you know better than to speak to a free man that way? I oughtta have you whipped!" Sgt. Harris stepped in front of the boys as Jamison tried to rise from his seat and make a threatening move towards the boys.
"Mr. Jamison," Captain Jackson quickly intervened, "you will stay in that chair and not get up again. If you even hint at making a threatening move towards these boys, I'll have you handcuffed to the chair. Do you understand?" The Captain glared at Jamison, who glared back at the Captain.
"I'll only ask one more time. Do . . you . . understand?" Jamison nodded. "Good. Now, for the record, these boys are not slaves, they are free boys with the right to voice their opinions. The gentleman that walked in with them is their guardian, Daniel Thompson. Mr. Turner, would you like to continue?"
"Randy, I understand that you've been acting as the spokesperson for the four of you, is that correct?" Randy nodded. "Please tell us where you've been the past few minutes and what you were doing."
"Yes, sir. We've been sitting in the next room watching what was happening in here. We could also hear everything that was said." Randy glared at his uncle, never blinking. His eyes conveyed the deep resentment he felt.
"Then, we'll assume you heard the story regarding all of you boys that Mr. Jamison told us. Do you agree with what he ahs said?"
"No, sir. He only told you part of the truth, the rest was a bold-faced lie. It's true we were part of an underground show. The part he lied about was with Brian and Josh. Our dad and Uncle Harold were brothers. When Uncle Harold found out what kind of money we made and when he learned about Brian and Josh foolin' around, well, he talked to my dad about Brian and Josh being part of the show and making some money for them. He said if they wanted ta be fags, they might as well make money at it."
"That's a God damn lie! You little . . . " The Captain grabbed Jamison by the shoulders and forced him back into his chair.
"Mr. Carmichael," Turner interrupted, "I suggest you speak with your client or we will be forced to restrain him."
"Mr. Turner, I believe my client has a right to be upset. I hope you don't expect the court to take the word of four fag whores over my client's. My client is an honest and highly respected business man, prominent in this community."
"Mr. Carmichael, I'll assume you know us well enough to know that we don't hold proceedings like this as a bluff of any kind. Actually, we are here only because the boys wanted to face their uncle, or father as the case may be, and put all this behind them. If you will be patient for just a few more minutes, I'm sue you'll agree this is in your client's best interest." Turner nodded for Randy to continue.
"Well, our dad and him cut a deal. He had Brian and Josh made slaves and then kind of sold them to my dad. I say kind of because the paper work was just so nobody got in trouble. Dad said if they didn't do it that way somebody might accuse us all of incest and we'd all be in trouble. I don't know all the details, I do know that Dad wrote some checks and said it was for Brian and Josh's part of the earnings. He sent the check to him." Randy pointed to Jamison. Everyone stood silent for a moment. Then Turner continued.
"Mr. Jamison, I'm putting before you copies of checks signed by your brother and made payable to you. Do you recognize these?" Carmichael reviewed the copies and then nodded for Jamison to answer.
"Yeah, that's money my brother owed me for those two."
"Really? That's interesting. If we remove the tape on the lower left corner of the checks there's a note stating the money was for 'B&J share of show' followed by a date. There's actually seven of these checks amounting to a substantial sum. Also, if you look at these statements, which happen to be copies of some of your bank statements, we can see the money was deposited to your accounts. Further, the statements show that these checks were the only monies deposited to your accounts for a period of several months."
"That was part of the deal." Jamison insisted. "I got a share until he paid for the slave boys. Most of that was interest on the money he owned me too. Them boys didn't make much."
"Interesting." Turner then handed Carmichael some papers. "Mr. Carmichael, this is a copy of a warrant that was issued allowing us to search Mr. Jamison's home and also open the safe deposit boxes in his name and his deceased brother's name. This is a copy of a letter we found in one of those boxes." Turner paused, giving Jamison and his attorney time to review the letter.
"Also, I will hand to you Mr. Carmichael, and to you Mr. Jamison, sworn statements from two of your associates affirming what the boys have just told us. Notice they are making the affirmation based on direct information from you. As a point of information, I'll tell you that we have additional statements similar to the two I've handed you." Again, Turner paused.
"Also, you claim that most of the money paid through the checks was interest on the note. Please pay particular attention to the claim you filed against your brother's estate. The claim is for the full principal sum plus the maximum rate of interest from the date of the note. The full amount of the claim was paid by you as representative of the estate. You also waived any objections as guardian for your nephews. Based on those numbers and the claim, you committed usury and fraud on the court. I'll let your attorney explain the consequences." Mr. Turner closed his file and waited.
"Mr. Turner," Carmichael now spoke for his client, "if you have nothing further at this time would be so kind as to explain why we went through all this now?"
"Certainly." Turner answered in a calm, professional manner. "Normally, we would just take this to court. Given the ages and relationships of some of the victims we discussed the matter with them and they asked that we consider not prosecuting to the full extent of the law. They want this behind them, and they want to be able to move on without feeling they may have done an injustice to a family member. In other words, the state is willing to work with the boys provided Mr. Jamison cooperates."
"In other words, you're willing to make a deal and agree not to prosecute my client?" Turner nodded. Carmichael bent over and whispered to Jamison.
"Excuse me, Mr. Carmichael," Turner interjected, "I have here the results of an investigation conducted by the police, the state, and banking officials. Part of the deal will be for Mr. Jamison to give us a list of all assets. All realty, all personalty, all bank accounts, stocks, bonds, everything. We will compare his list to our report. If he doesn't list everything, there will be additional charges."
"Wait a minute." Carmichael objected. "If my client does that and is left with nothing, we both know that would lead to enslavement. Why should he cooperate."
"Part of the deal, the part insisted on by the boys, is that he not be left destitute. They do not want to do to him what he did to them. We'll leave you and Mr. Jamison in private to discuss the matter, unless, that is, the boys want to say something." The men look at the boys. Randy looks at his uncle and then the other boys.
"Evan, you want to say something?" Evan looks at his brother and then his uncle, tears form in his eyes.
"Uncle Harold?" Evan spoke softly and tentatively, "I don't understand why you hate me so, but I just want you to know I don't hate you, and . . . I forgive you." Evan hardly finishes before he begins to cry.
"Oh, shutup, you damn pussy faggot." Jamison barks out angrily, "I don't need your slimy forgiveness. You ain't nothin' but trash. You oughtta be a slave." Evan cries harder, choking on his tears and unable to understand the hatred.
The door opened and TJ walked in. He held his arms out and Evan ran to him, sobbing.
"Who, or should I say, what, the fuck are you?" Jamison demands.
"I'm the one who cares about Evan and the others." TJ answered coolly. "If it wasn't for them caring about family and honoring their father, you'd be the one that was the slave saying 'sir' to them." TJ then opened the door and took Evan out.
Everyone left the room except Jamison and Carmichael. Captain Jackson took all of them to the private breakfast room where they could get something cool to drink and try to relax. Elizabeth carried Danny who soon awoke and reached for Daniel. Daniel was ready to hold the boy and make him feel secure after the events of the past hour.
"Daniel," Elizabeth said, "I heard it all. Do you think he'll give in?"
"Unless he's completely stupid, he will. The police did a good job putting this package together. I loved the way Turner showed them the asset list and then told them they had to write everything down. If the search missed something, Jamison should reveal it on his list."
The boys sat at the table quietly, each deep in their own thoughts. Each boy had thought they would enjoy telling their father or their uncle what a son-of-a-bitch he was. In the end, it didn't matter.
"Mr. Dan'l," Evan spoke, still visibly upset, "what happens now?"
"That's up to your uncle, Evan. Mr. Turner told them enough to let them know there is a strong case against the man. Let's hope he decides to cooperate."
Everyone sat in the room waiting. Danny was awake and aware that Evan was upset. He stared at Evan and then looked to Daniel who explained to the young boy that Evan wasn't in any trouble and would be better soon. The boy climbed off Daniel's lap and walked over to Evan and placed a small hand on Evan's knee. When Evan looked at the face showing so much concern, he had to smile. He picked the boy up and held him. After a few minutes Sgt. Harris notified Daniel they were ready to reconvene in the interrogation room. Everyone entered silently.
"Mr. Turner, my client has made the list you requested. However, before we surrender the list we'd like to know the rest of the deal you're offering."
"Assuming the list checks out satisfactorily, he'll be charged with fraud on the court. The other charges will be noted but not filed. We will recommend three to five with parole after fifteen months. The boys want him to have the equivalent of one year's salary based on the average per capita earnings for last year in this area. He is to agree to never attempt to regain his parental rights, contact the boys, or go within fifty miles of New Horizon. If they happen to visit the town he may be in at any point in time, he must not come within five miles of them."
"That's pretty harsh considering what he's giving up."
"The only thing he's giving up Mr. Carmichael is what should never have been his in the first place. What kind of man sells out his own sons, betrays the trust of a dead brother, and then steals from them. That kind of man is no man. If I had my way he'd have to forfeit everything and I'd recommend to the court that he be enslaved to hard labor for life. I'll stop before I say too much. It's his choice. Take it or leave it."
Carmichael and Jamison looked at one another for a minute and, then, Jamison nodded his head. Carmichael surrendered the list.
"Boys, this should be the last time you have to see Mr. Jamison. If you have anything to say, this is your last chance."
The boys again glared at the man who was once their father or uncle. They then shifted position, prepared to leave the room. Just as they started out, Brian stopped and turned to his former father.
"I wish you the same happiness that you had wished upon us." Brian stated coldly and left the room.
The boys gathered together and stood quietly while the adults talked. The boys hoped this was truly the end. Daniel approached the boys.
"Mr. Dan'l," Brian spoke up, "can we go home now?"
"Boys, do you want to go home? Ms. Elizabeth has invited all of us back to her home for the night."
"Mr. Dan'l, I don't think we'd be good company tonight. We'd just like to thank Mr. Turner, the Captain and his men for their help, and then, could we just go home?"
End Ch Sixty
To Be Continued: comments welcome; contact Dwight Wilson at adm2780@yahoo.com