Shadow of My Father

Sophomore Year 29

Written by: J.P.G.

{"The Shadow of My Father" 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 author's express written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Edited By: "Daddy" Rick

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 29

Barbara had just laid the twins down when she heard the doorbell ring. She thought it was odd since the security detail normally brings their guests in after clearing them. Ignoring the bad feeling she was having, she headed to the front door but was stopped by the security agents that were stationed in the house. They asked her to go to another room and let them see who it is.

Not having a problem with that, she turned and walked to the study. Not long after she had walked in, the same security agent came in and told her that it was a detective at the door who wants to speak with either her or the Governor. When she prompted which one the detective asked for first, the agent told her the Governor.

A little confused by the whole thing, she asked the agent to show the detective in. Less than a minute later the agent walked back in with the detective that looked half dead. He looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep for weeks, and his clothes looked like he'd slept in them.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you so late this evening Mrs. Lopez, but this was the only time I was able to get down here." The detective walked closer to Barbara and handed her his card as he showed her his badge. "My name is Detective Paublo Alvarez, and I was assigned the case concerning the Governor's ex-wife." That got Barbara's attention.

"You have my attention detective, what case are you talking about?" Barbara handed Detective Alvarez back his badge and placed his card on her husband's desk. "Martha has been gone now for some time and I didn't know there was a pending case involving her. Her father and some other family members yes, but I didn't know there anything out there involving her."

"Well ma'am I was assigned the case of her shooting at Providence Hospital." Paul took out a little tablet and started flipping through it. "Whenever there is a shooting by an officer, it is investigated internally. Once they conclude their investigation they decide what action, if any, needs to be taken against either the officers that were involved or the other party.

In this case, they found the officers followed procedure and did everything they could to get Martha Lopez to lay down her gun. They couldn't figure out how she got the gun and it really wasn't their job to figure that out. That is where I come in. The case was then handed to me to find out how she got possession of a gun in the hospital since she never left the hospital."

"Detective with all due respect, we thought that matter was closed the day Martha was put six feet under. My husband and I don't really care how she got the gun. All we care about is that she is no longer a threat to her family. Her father and everyone else in her family have decided to pick up where she left off at as far as causing trouble!"

"Well ma'am I know some of what you are talking about as far as Martha's family is concerned. Since I was already investigating one case concerning her, they gave me all the open cases involving her and her family, one of which was what her family did to your house. Since the Governor doesn't want to press charges, there isn't much we can do there other than just write it up and give your insurance case number so they can start repairing the damage.

Now as far as the gun was concerned, we had to investigate it because she had a loaded gun in a public hospital. We needed to know if a staff member of that hospital was responsible for bringing in that gun, or was it someone Martha knew. We first looked at those she knew since there was only two on that list, her attorney and her best friend. After an exhaustive investigation of them, we cleared both of them as far the person that brought in the gun. We did find other things, but nothing that has to do with this case."

Paul started skimming through notepad so he could get his facts right. "That left us with only one avenue; the staff at the hospital. The only reason we didn't look there first was because when we first questioned them, they all seemed to despise Martha. In one way or another she said something or did something that got every staff member angry with her. So we never thought any of them would actually break the law and bring her a gun, but we found out we were wrong.

One of them did, but who it was we had no idea." Paul looked straight into Barbara's eyes. "Let me tell you this, I hate being played for a fool. Whenever that happens, I take it personally and do everything in my power to make sure the case is solved. That is what I did here. I had every employee that worked that floor while Martha was there to come down to the police station and answer some questions. When I exhausted all creditable leads, I moved on from those that worked on the floor. I looked at the entire staff of the hospital. There I found the person that actually brought in the gun and gave it to Martha."

Even though Barbara said at first that she didn't care how Martha got the gun, but the more the detective talked, the more she wanted to know. As he said, somehow she got a gun in a hospital that was supposed to be secure. Then she tried to use that gun to kill her.

"As I ran the employee names, one name raised a red flag. The name was that of an infant that died in his sleep two days after he was born at home. I saw that the dead was alive and had grown up and is now working as a janitor in a hospital and I knew that was my person. But I didn't go right at the person because I knew there was more to this than what met the eye."

"I don't understand what you mean by there was more to this that met the eye. An illegal got a hold of a birth certificate and social security number of a child that was born around the same time he was, so he could work here in the US. That is what I would have taken from what you found out, not there was something else going on."

"Well at first I thought the same as you, but when I went to the hospital to talk with him, I found that he had quit the very day of the shooting. No one thought much of it because they thought he quit because he didn't want to be at a place that couldn't keep him safe. His supervisor didn't think much of him. He just came in and did the bare minimum that was required of him. Once again that is nothing until his supervisor told me that he caught this employee on Martha's floor several times.

When he told me that, I went and looked at the tapes that were taken when the shooting happened. We kept four months of their tapes, and returned the rest, but that was all I needed. On the tapes I saw him talking to Martha several times in the hallway, or him going into Martha's room, staying a little while and then coming out.

Once I was able to put the two together, I got a warrant to search his house, which was hard to do since we didn't know his real name at first. Thankfully the personnel office of Providence Hospital took finger prints of all their employees to keep on file. The only reason they did that is because of what they do there and the amount of drugs they handle.

Anyway, I took the finger prints on file and ran them and they came back with a surprise." Detective Alvarez handed Barbara a picture that she didn't recognize. "This guy is the cousin of our former police chief. He planted him there and made sure Martha didn't go anywhere because he wanted to get to you and the Governor. Mainly the Governor, but he would have been happy with you."

"I don't understand any of this detective. First, no one knew when the Governor or I was going to be at the hospital. In fact, the twins came early, not too early, but they came early none the less. So putting someone in the hospital or keeping someone there would seem to me to be a waste of time. On top of that, there would be more of a chance of getting caught.

Second, I can't see Martha plotting with the former chief of police to kill my husband and me. Yes she hated me, but I don't think she hated me to the point she would have gotten involved with such a bad person like the former chief of police. She was the type of person that did things on a whim, not planning it out and then doing it.

And the last thing that confuses me on all this is the former chief of police. From what I understand about that guy is that he had a thing for Jacob Hernandez, not me. He hired someone to burn down that poor kid's house, and then killed that guy he hired to keep his mouth closed for good. I never knew he wanted me and my husband dead."

"Ma'am you bring up very good points, the same ones I brought up to myself when I first put together the guy was the former police chief's cousin. Then we got into the guys home and found our answers. There was a hidden room in the basement that had wall to wall pictures of you and your family in all different places. Then we found several plans of how they were going to take you guys out and let me tell you the plans were ugly.

One was to take you and the Governor out when you were rushing to the hospital, but thankfully your twins came early and they couldn't execute that plan. Another plan had them attacking your kids at school, but the school shooting threw that in the crapper because the security got so tight no one would be able to get in there. Then there was another plan to get you and your family while you were out shopping. You don't want to know how they had planned to carry that one out. All I will tell you is a lot of people would have died."

"Detective Alvarez..." Paul interrupted Barbara and asked her to call him Paul. "Okay Paul, that is all good that none of that was able to be executed, but you still haven't addressed any of the concerns I brought up. I don't understand why the former police chief would have gone through all this since he didn't have a gripe with my husband or my family. Also Martha wouldn't have agreed to be the former chief's lap dog. She did things the way she wanted."

"You're right about everything you have brought up, except one thing. Yes they didn't know when you were going to go into labor. As I said before, your twins coming early destroyed that plan. They didn't have everything in place, and what they had we found and removed.

Martha, well you didn't know her as well as you thought. She did side with the former police chief and went along with his plan. The only thing I could think of that got her to change the way she did things was her hate and wanting to take you out of the picture. Remember when she was caught on the first floor of the hospital the day she was shot, she was after you, no one else. So in the end, she did exactly what you said; do things on a whim.

Finally the former police chief did have a grudge against the Governor. The Governor made it clear to him that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure the former police chief wouldn't get reelected. As we all know now, Mr. Carnes was willing to do anything to keep his position, including getting blood on his hands."

As Paul answered Barbara's concerns, she saw logic in everything he was saying. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, but Paul came armed with facts to back up everything he was reporting to her. When he was done going through the facts, Barbara didn't think he could have said anything else that would have surprised her, but she was wrong.

"Now comes the hard part and why I'm here. By the time we got the warrant to search Carnes' cousin's house, he was tipped off. I know it was someone within the police force who called Mr. Carnes, who in turn called his cousin to get out of town. The only good thing that came out of this is that Mr. Carnes' cousin didn't have enough time to do much except grab some clothes and personal items.

The bad thing that came out of this is that he is out there somewhere. I don't think he will make an attempt on your life or anyone in this family, but I can't say that for certain, not after what we found in that house. It tells us that he was ready to do what it took to take you, your family and husband out, no matter how many lives were lost besides yours."

Hearing that from Paul worried Barbara because she agreed with him. With what she has been told about what was found in that house, this guy didn't care who gets in the way of what he and his cousin, the former police chief, want to get done, which is kill her husband. Now knowing this information has her not only worried for herself, but everyone in the house.

"Look I can see that you are worried by what I just briefed you on and no matter what I say, it won't stop you from worrying, but I am going to try." Paul walked up to Barbara and placed his hands on hers, causing the security in the room to walk over to them. When the security got to Paul's side and he saw them, he let go of Barbara's hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to console her, nothing more."

"That is fine, console her, but don't touch her again." One of the security agents spoke. "If you lay a hand on her again, we will take you down. We don't care you have a badge and a gun. Don't put your hands on her again or make any quick movements towards her or we will be forced to react." Paul nodded his head as he took several steps back from Barbara.

"I'm glad that your security agents reacted the way they just did because they proved the point I was about to make. Your house here is locked down like Fort Knox. The school your kids attend is more secure than the White House. As far as the route to and from the school, I'm sure your security agents have it well under control. Even when you go out shopping, I believe you are safe there as well with the kind of security you have.

Again the reason I'm pointing this all out to you is to make you see that there is really no reason for you to worry. Keep an eye out, and if you see something that isn't right or happening, alert you security. Other than that, you and the others in the house can't do much more." Paul quickly did a check list in his mind to see if he had forgotten anything. "Oh one more thing, I recommend that you don't tell the kids. The security yes, your husband yes, but there is no need to make them worry, don't you agree?"

Barbara didn't hesitate to answer Paul's question. She agreed and made it loud and clear she did. Before leaving, Paul handed Barbara a copy of the investigation because he knew the Governor would be asking for it. She thanked him for coming down and letting her know what he had found as she walked him back to the door. Once he was gone. She headed back to the study and called Daniel to get his advice on what to do about what she was told.

While Barbara was talking with Daniel Sr., Isaac and Troy were in the den looking at the information that Ivan had left Barbara. Just a few hours before he and Barbara talked about the situation, and before Barbara could ask if he could take care of everything, Isaac volunteered to make sure everything was arranged for the trip.

He didn't just do it to help out his brother and sister in law, he had a personal motive. This gives him another excuse to be around Troy, like he really needs one. Ever since he introduced Troy to the family, they haven't been seen by themselves whenever they weren't working. Every evening and any other time they could be together, they were. There have even been a couple of the nights Isaac didn't return home because he spent the night with Troy.

Now that he has the opportunity to spend more time with Troy at his brother's house, he wasn't going to pass it up. When he called Troy and asked he would mind helping, he jumped at the opportunity and rushed on over. From the minute he arrived he and Isaac disappeared into the den and only came out to eat dinner with the family. Other than that, no one saw them outside the den.

The next morning when Josh and Cesar got down to the kitchen for breakfast, they noticed a serious increase in security presence. Just as they were going to ask what was going on, Daniel Jr. and Carlos were already asking their mother, but weren't getting anywhere. Seeing that, Josh knew whatever it is that causing the increase in security involved them and their mother didn't want to tell them because she knew it would make things worse.

"Come on mom, what's going on here?" Daniel Jr. pleaded with Barbara. "If we are in danger, we should be told so we can make sure to watch out for each other. Plus, we will make sure to stay on the school grounds for lunch because it is safer there than anywhere else."

"First Daniel what is going on right now none of you needs to worry about. Your father and I have it well under control, so go on as if everything is normal." Daniel Jr. looked around the room at the extra security and then back at Barbara. "I know you guys don't like the security but I'm asking you to please take this in stride and not fight your father and me on it."

Daniel Jr. nodded his head. "And secondly, everything you just said you should be doing anyway, all of you guys. Whenever you are together, you should be watching out for each other. During lunch you should stay on school grounds, but I know how it could be boring doing so. However, for now please stay at school during lunch for your father and me. And as far as changing your routine, don't. Your security detail has every avenue covered to keep you safe."

With that said Barbara turned her attention back to the stove and flipped the pancakes. Once she finished the last batch, she placed the pancakes on the table, along with the eggs and bacon. The boys quickly served themselves and started eating. Whenever their mouths weren't full, they tried to guess at what was going on. Finally Barbara had enough of them talking about the extra security and she asked them to change the subject.

All the way to school, they started talking about the security again until Josh changed the subject over to what Carlos was doing in the recording studio last night. Daniel Jr. and even Cesar joined in trying to get Carlos to spill the beans on what he was doing. No matter how many times they asked, or how they asked, Carlos wouldn't give it up.

"Look guys, all I'm going to say is that you will have to wait and see. You will find out along with the rest of the school during the morning announcements." Carlos pulled out a VHS from his back pack, and then quickly put it back in before any of his brothers could grab it from him. "Like I said, you guys will have to just wait and see what I have up my sleeve."

At the same time, Josh and Daniel Jr. tried to grab the VHS, but Carlos got it in his backpack before they were able to get their hands on it. Just as Brandon went to grab for the backpack, they drove up to school and Carlos jumped out. All the way into the cafeteria, the boys took turns trying to get Carlos' backpack away from him, but none of them succeeded. They gave up when they ran into Principal Michaels at the entrance of the cafeteria.

"Boys what is going on here?" Principal Michaels looked at each of the Lopez boys, but none of them answered him. "Be careful, one of you could get hurt horse playing the way you guys were. If that happens, I will make sure whoever caused it will be spending some time after school in detention, is that understood?" The boys nodded their heads at the same time. "Good, go on in there and get yourselves some breakfast."

Principal Michaels smiled at the boys as he walked away. Josh turned his attention back to Carlos' backpack, but before he was able to try and grab it again, Carlos was gone. None of them knew where he disappeared to, which got them wondering even more what was on that tape. All they knew was whatever it was wasn't good by the way Carlos kept his the backpack away from them and refused to tell them anything about it.

When Carlos knew he was in the clear and wasn't being followed, he made his way to the AV room. After checking one last time to see if he as followed, he knocked on the door and then went in. The room was dimly lit making him think that no was there yet. Then he heard voices coming from the adjacent room where there was more light.

He followed the voices and when he reached them, he found the geeks watching part two of "The Revenge of the Nerds". Clearing his throat to get their attention, they jumped up from their seats, almost pissing themselves. Carlos didn't mean to, but he started to laugh when he saw their faces looking back at them. When the geeks saw it was only Carlos, they threw whatever food item they had in their hands at him.

"You almost gave us a heart attacks! You shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that." The geek that was in charge of the AV room voice cracked as he took his first breath since he heard Carlos clear his throat. "I understand you have something for us to take a look at and try and get on the air during the morning announcements." Carlos answered yes. "Well hand it over so we can take a look at it and see if any more work needs to be done to it."

Carlos quickly unzipped his bag and pulled out the VHS he was teasing his brothers with on the ride to school. He handed the tape over and the followed the geeks to a desk with a whole bunch of monitors and VHS players. The student that took the VHS from Carlos pushed it into one of the VCR's and then turned on one of the televisions.

He waited until his friends were in front of the television before pushing play. There were a few seconds of a black screen before the video started to play. Almost right off the bat, the geeks got very interested in what they were watching. Several times they looked at Carlos wondering why he would make this kind of VHS. When it was finally over, the student that seemed to be the leader pressed stop and ejected the tape.

"I know who you are, but you don't know who I am." The geek spoke in a low voice. "My name is Salvador, but you can call me Sal." Sal extended his hand for Carlos to shake. "These other guys are my friends, and their names are..." He introduced Carlos to everyone that was standing around the desk. "We are the ones that put together the morning announcements, but before I go any further, I have to ask, why? Why did you make this kind of video?"

"It was the right thing to do, I guess." Sal looked at Carlos with a funny look on his face. He really didn't like the answer and Carlos understood that by Sal's look. "Look, I'm tired of walking around here and everywhere I turn I run into someone that is trying make you vote for Markus. He is a cool guy and all, but he isn't the right person for the student council president and I know you guys agree with me. That is why I made this tape, so are you..."

"Hold your horses there mister! I never gave you a reason to think that I wasn't going to be a man of my word. When we spoke on the phone last night, I told you the tape has to be good, or I won't even entertain the notion to get it on the morning announcements. Remember I told you doing what you want me to do is going to be risky, but I will do it if it's worth it.

Now after looking at the video you made, I believe it's worth the risk." Carlos had a smile on his face from ear to ear after getting the answer he had hoped for. "However, let me finish before you get all excited. It is a good video, but it needs a little work. If you give me permission, I would like to make a few changes, nothing to take away from what you have done here. The changes I want to make are only to make the video better and make your message clearer."

Sal leaned forward and pushed play and the rewind button at the same time. When it completely re-wound, he push play again. In the areas he wanted to make changes, Carlos had no problem with after Sal showed Carlos what he wanted to do. They sat there for the next fifteen minutes touching up the tape. Once they were done, they were both happy with the final result.

"Okay it's done!" Sal ejected the tape and walked across the room to another desk with the same set up. "I'm going to go ahead and put it in the morning announcements. Once I do that, there is no turning back, so are you sure this is what you want to do." Carlos nodded his head. "There is going to be fireworks this morning after the morning announcements. Man I love it!"

Sal laughed as he did his thing at the other desk to get it in the morning announcements. Carlos tried to see what he was doing, but couldn't get a clear view. He didn't understand what Sal was doing. He was moving so fast between monitors and computer screens, he got lost almost immediately. When he was finally done, he turned of everything on that desk and walked back over to Carlos.

"Okay man, it's set. During the morning announcements there is going to be an unscheduled interruption that will grab everyone's attention. I hope you are prepared for whatever happens just in case what we did gets tracked back to us." Carlos looked at Sal wondering what he meant if they got caught. He understood there was no way they were going to get caught.

"Wait a minute, you said last night that there is no way we would get caught, but here you are telling me that we might." Carlos looked around the room a little nervously. "If there is even a chance of getting caught, let's not do it because my father will have my hide. He will actually fly back here and have my hide for doing something like this."

Sal started to laugh as he slapped Carlos on his back. "You don't know anything about computers do you?" Carlos shook his head. "I do and let me tell you what I just did insures that we won't get caught, so don't worry. The morning announcements will start as they normally do, but will get interrupted, but they won't be able to stop it or trace where it is coming from. By the time they realize that they can't stop it, the video will be over and everyone here would have seen it. Isn't that what you want my friend?"

"That is exactly what I want. But don't misunderstand I'm not willing to get in trouble. So if you are sure there is no way this can be traced back to you, your friends or me, let's do it. But again if there is even one percent chance that it can be traced back to any of us, let's pull it before it begins."

"I wouldn't put my future on the line for anyone, so you can be sure of what I keep telling you. There is no way this can be traced back to any of us. The original tape I have and I erased all traces of when this was uploaded. So there is no way we will ever get caught."

Carlos took Sal at his word and thanked him for what he did for him. They shook hands and as he left the room, he told Sal if he needed anything that he could do for him, all he had to do is ask. The only reaction he got from Sal was a smile, which told him tons. He smiled back at the nerd and walked out of the AV room and headed to the cafeteria.

Josh was sitting at his normal table talking with Eric and the others when he saw Carlos walk in. He excused himself and walked over to his older brother. The minute he walked up to Carlos, Carlos held up his hand and told him not to bother to ask for the tape because he no longer has it, which got Josh wondering even more on what might be on that tape.

"Can't you at least tell me what was on the video cassette? I can't stop thinking about it, it's driving me mad!" Carlos gave Josh a wicked grin. "Come on Carlos, tell me what you are planning, I need to know. Please just tell me what it is, and I will leave you alone."

"You are going to have to wait and find out about it like everyone else." Carlos playfully punched Josh on his left shoulder. "Now if you will excuse me, I need to go and be with my girlfriend before she gets any more pissed with me than she already is." Carlos looked over at his girlfriend, causing Josh to look as well. "As you can see, she is steaming right now and I need to go over there and cool her down, but one kiss from me will do that."

Josh started to laugh over what he brother just said. "What do you think you are God's gift to women or something?" Josh said between laughs. "By the look on her face one kiss from you might get her even angrier than she already is, so if I was you, I would watch out and stop thinking the way you are. Maybe begging and groveling will do the trick."

"You little shit!" Carlos tried to chase after Josh, but he had his hands full, and his girlfriend started calling him. "I'm going to get you back, so better be watching your back!"

Josh stuck his tongue out at his brother as he sat back down at his table. Reluctantly Carlos headed to his table, but every so often he would look back to give Josh a look that he knew Josh and only Josh would only understand. By the time the bell rang for first period, Carlos had gone his way and Josh went his. Both of them had forgotten all about the playful teasing by then, at least Josh had, but not Carlos.

As Josh and his group of friends were walking down the private tunnel to get inside the building, they didn't hear Carlos running up behind them. By the time they knew Carlos was there, it was too late. He stuck his finger in his mouth and got it all wet with his spit and had it in Josh's ear before Josh could react. When he did, all he could do is move away from his older brother and try and dry his ear as fast as he could before the spit ran down his ear.

"I told you Josh to watch your back because I was going to get you back." Josh wasn't paying attention to Carlos. He was more concerned with getting his ear dry. "Now we are even, hope you enjoyed the wet-willie." Carlos laughed even harder when he saw his brothers face. "Come on little bro, you know we are just playing. There is no need to get mad."

Josh just looked at Carlos with daggers in his eyes, but after a few seconds, he cracked up laughing, he couldn't hold the look. Carlos walked back up to Josh and pulled Josh into him. With the sleeve of his shirt, he got whatever Josh had missed and then let go of him.

"To put your mind at ease Josh, what is on that VHS is to help Jacob." Josh liked what he was hearing. "But that's all I'm going to tell you except it is going to air on the morning announcements, so make sure you are watching it, not playing with Cesar here like you always do. Also don't tell anyone that you know who made that video, or I will get in trouble. You know dad and what he will do to me if I would to get caught."

"I promise not to tell anyone, and thank you for telling me." Carlos nodded his head, rubbed his hand through Josh's hair before walking back to his friends and girlfriend. Eric and the others asked Josh what his brother said, but Josh didn't breathe a word of what Carlos told him. Unlike Josh, they let go after not getting an answer from him the third time they asked.

When Josh and Cesar got to their locker, he couldn't hold it in anymore. It wasn't that he couldn't keep a secret. It was that he couldn't keep a secret from Cesar. He leaned in and told Cesar everything that Carlos had told him in a whisper, which wasn't much. When Josh was finished, Cesar had more questions than Josh could answer.

"All I know Cesar is that whatever he did is going to be on the morning announcements. So stop bugging me with questions that you know I don't have the answers to and let's get to class before we're late." Josh closed their locker door and spun the combo lock. "I can't wait to see what he did because if it is what he says it is, I know the jocks are going to be pissed."

Cesar agreed with Josh as they walked into their first period just as the final bell rang. They made their way to their desks, put their backpacks on the floor and looked straight ahead to the TV on the wall. It was a minute or two before the screen was turned on, and another minute for the blue screen to disappear and the students that normally do announcements came on.

Like every morning, they went over what was going to be for lunch and covered a few things the principal needed to be covered. Just as they were getting into the scores of the few games that were played over the weekend, the screen went black and then a warning sign started to flash. Josh and Cesar knew this was it and they leaned forward in their desks.

A distorted voice started to speak with no pictures at first. "Don't try and adjust your televisions, they aren't broken. This is a public service announcement to remind all of you if we put a jock into the student council presidency over Jacob Hernandez, this is what will happen."

Pictures of Markus and the other jocks screwing around with other students started to flash across the screen. After fifteen seconds of that, the pictures changed to the current student council president with his friends talking about how they actually feel about the other groups that were not a sport team. Then the picture faded to the room where the student council met. Picture after picture flashed of different meetings, but not one of them had the current student council president there.

As the pictures flashed, the distorted voice narrated what they were watching. The voice only stopped when the person on the video was talking and doing their own damage. As the video played, the teachers tried to turn off their televisions, but couldn't because they were remotely turned on and off from the main office. Josh's teacher gave up after trying to reach the plug and pull it out, which made everyone in the class applaud when she sat down.

"If you want the same thing we have had year after year, elect Markus Fuentes. You will get someone who will never show up for student council meetings or work for everyone. He will only work for the jocks and the popular groups." The video started to show pictures of what the football team's dugout looked like, which got the students booing.

"Now if you want a leader that will work for all students, no matter what group, sport team or who you are at this school, elect Jacob Hernandez for student council president." The pictures of the dugout and the weight room stopped flashing and it switched to video of Jacob and Alex working to get Tom and Thomas out of the truck. "This is a leader we all can get behind and a person that would walk through fire for us."

The video started to fade out with Jacob walking with Tom through the fire. When the students saw that, they started screaming and applauding. The screams slowly switched to chants of Jacob's name. The chants echoed up and down the halls of El Paso High School. They were so loud that they could be heard by a person outside walking past the school.

It took the teachers over fifteen minutes to get control of their classrooms, and when they finally did, Principal Michaels appeared on the television. "The school, the teachers and the staff do not condone what was just shown. Whoever was able to break into our feed, I will find you, and when I do, you will be expelled. This kind of behavior isn't tolerated at this school."

The screen turned blue and then went off. Everyone just sat there wondering who it might have been that broke into the feed. In Josh, Cesar, Carlos, Brandon and Daniel Jr.'s classrooms, their fellow classmates looked at them. They just sat there looking back at their fellow classmates, not flinching. They knew there was no way Principal Michaels could figure who it was, and so they weren't worried and at least the three of them that knew who it was.

Back in Principal Michael's office, both of his assistant principals and head of security walked into his office asking him what he wanted them to do. At first Michaels ignored the questions. He just looked out of his office window toward Schuster Street. When one of the assistant principals tapped him on the shoulder and asked him again, he turned and spoke.

"Can any of you tell me that we will be able to figure out who broke into our feed?" Principal Michaels looked in the eyes of each person that was in his office and got his answer. "Since we won't be able to figure out, with absolute certainty, who broke into our feed, we are going to have to let it go. Hopefully my threats will make sure it doesn't happen again, but if it doesn't, hopefully we will catch them when they try it again."

In unison, his assistant principals and security agreed with him. "Now that we covered that, let's get on with things that we can actually do. I'm pretty sure you guys have as much work on your desks as I do." Principal Michaels looked at his assistant principals. "So why don't you take care of that work while I talk with the head of our security here."

Once the schools assistant principals walked out, Michaels started to laugh. "Whoever did this, my hat is off to him, her or them. I was getting worried that we were going to have another year of a dumb jock in the student council president position, but not after this video. Damn was this video good, I wish I could shake the hand of the person or persons that made it."

"Well sir we both know who it probably was. If you want, I can bring in the students that we think are involved so you can talk to them." The head of security winked at Michaels.

"No, that's okay. There is no need for that. I agree with you, we know who it was, but I'm going to let it go because I really enjoyed watching the video. I hadn't enjoyed something like that here at school in a very long time. The only thing I hate that I didn't see was the look on the faces of Markus and his friends. They were starting to think they had this election in the bag, and now, well they have their work cut out for them." The head of security agreed with Michaels. "Do me a favor! Don't repeat a word that was spoken in this office to anyone. I can't be caught showing any favoritism on any of my students, even though I believe Jacob is the better person for the job than Markus. It won't get me fired, but I will lose creditability among the students. Without that, I won't have their respect."

The head of security wasn't about object to what Principal Michaels was saying. He has been here through three principals, and only one of them retired. The other two before Michaels were removed basically because they had lost the respect of the students, and as a result they moved against the principals by lodging complaints about them. Many of those complaints were baseless, but the school board had to react when they were getting a lot of them.

Meanwhile as the students were reeling over the video on the morning announcements, over in Austin the Governor and the state's soon to be Lieutenant Governor were getting ready for his swearing in. There was a lot of debate on where the ceremony was going to happen, but it was finally decided to swear Rich in on the floor of the state house.

At a quarter to nine, Daniel Sr., Rich, Al and many other members of their staff started their way to the state capitol building. Along the way, the cars that pulled over to the side, the drivers got out and waved at the Governor's convoy as it passed them. Even though they couldn't see the Governor waving back at them due to the tinted windows, he did wave.

When they pulled up at the state capitol building, the crowd was huge behind the rope line. Daniel Sr. looked around and waved at the crowd as he and the rest that drove down with him made their way into the building. Daniel would stop every now and then and shake hands with as many as he could. He even took time to sign a few autographs along the way.

Just as the Governor made his way into the building, Rich's limousine pulled up, getting the crowd all riled up. When Rich stepped out of the car, he was greeted by a sea of people that came to witness the first gay Lieutenant Governor to be sworn into office. When they heard the swearing in wasn't going to be on the capitol steps, they were disappointed, but not enough to go without seeing their soon to be Lieutenant Governor.

As Rich made his way into the capitol building, he, like the Governor, stopped along the rope line and shook hands with as many people as he could. The only thing he didn't do that the Governor did was sign autographs. He wasn't sure what the proper protocol would be, so instead of guessing and being wrong, he stayed away from signing anything.

When he finally got inside the building, he was met by state congressmen and escorted to a conference room where he would wait until he was called. He had hoped to have a few more minutes alone with Governor Lopez, but the Governor wasn't there. So he sat down at the conference table and looked around the room. When he got tired of just sitting there, he got up and walked around the room, eventually stopping to look out the window observing the crowd.

All of a sudden the door flew open and the Governor and Al walked in with big smiles on their faces. "It took a little while, but we got the Speaker of the House to agree to hold your swearing in on the steps." Governor Lopez spoke in a cheerful tone. "Did you see all the people out there that came to see you get sworn in? I figure if they took the time to come down here, and most of them took time off of work to see your swearing in and they shouldn't be disappointed. Do you agree Lieutenant-Governor-to-be Kewl?"

"Yes sir I agree with you one hundred percent." Rich smiled at the Governor. "The Speaker couldn't have been too happy with you request after putting together my swearing in on the floor of the House. He probably blew a gasket the minute you asked him to change his plans."

"Well I made it simple for him." Governor Lopez walked over to the window, Al and Rich following him. "I brought the Speaker to the window and had him look out at all those voters down there like we are doing now. I then told him that those are votes down there, and if they ever find out that he denied them witnessing their Lieutenant Governor's swearing in ceremony, it will be the last swearing in ceremony he will oversee as this state's speaker."

Rich started to laugh, imagining the Speaker's face when. There was no way the guy could have been happy to be threatened in that manner. If it wasn't for the people standing out there being voters, he would have stood his ground, which would have caused a bigger fight. However, thankfully, they would never find out of that would have been true.

"Now by me asking them to change where you are going to be sworn in, it is going to cause about a thirty minute delay. That means you won't be sworn in until ten, maybe ten thirty, but I didn't think you would mind. I figured you'd rather have regular citizens looking on rather than the those stuffy old farts that look like they are going to drop over and die at any moment. Man, they all look like the walking dead."

The whole room broke out into laughter. They knew their boss had a sense a humor, but they never heard him talk about the veteran legislators that way. But they enjoy seeing that side of him because it makes him feel totally human. Many out there think he is a robot with everything he has done and plans to do. They don't think any human could accomplish what he wants to accomplish in the time frame he has set for himself.

"I have no problem with what you asked the Speaker to do. In fact, the later in the day this happens, the better the chances are that the citizens will be able to see me being sworn in. As you know we have talked at length in the last couple of days about how we found it odd that the chosen time for the ceremony was the morning, not the evening. We figured that our own party wanted less people witnessing this historic day so they can kill our bills."

"Yes, oh yes you are very right there Rich, these guys in the house are trying everything they can to kill my bills. I can go on and on about what I have heard over the past twenty four hours, but this is not the time. Right now we need to enjoy this moment because once you are sworn in, we are going to go to work making sure the republicans are going to fail in their attempts to destroy the two bills we have sent to them."

Just as Rich was going to reply to the Governor, several congressmen walked in to inform them that they should get comfortable because the ceremony won't happen until ten thirty. It wasn't a surprise to anyone in that room. They suspected the ceremony to be around that time, so they thanked those that came to deliver the news and went back to what they were talking about.

The time flew by and before Daniel Sr. and Rich knew it, it was time to walk to the doors that lead to the steps of the capitol building. As they made their way out of the conference room, the leaders of both state houses met them. They made general talk along the way, but once they got to the doors, Daniel Sr. took advantage of having the leadership there.

"I'm hearing rumors that you guys are planning to keep both of my bills in committee for good. Is that true?" The Governor looked at the republican leaders. "Come on you guys, you should have been ready for me to ask this question. I have gotten this rumor confirmed by four sources in our party that you plan to hold up an up and down vote on the floors by keeping the bills in committee. This is a dangerous game you are playing."

"The one that is playing a dangerous game is your, sir. Where in the hell do you think you are? We aren't in California no matter how much you want to be there." The Speaker of the House shot back. "The day hell freezes over is the day that a gay rights bill like the one that you have sent down will become law. We will do some feel good legislation, but there is no way we are going to pass the kind of legislation you sent down."

"I promise you this sir this is not a battle you want to take on. I will take each and every one of you that are standing in the way of this legislation down. Feel good legislation my ass! We are going to pass legislation that means something, not legislation that we can go out to the gay citizens of our state and tell them we did something, but it didn't mean a thing."

"Well sir I don't think there is much more to say on the subject since we aren't going to see eye to eye on it. The two bills you sent down to us are DOA. The only way those bills will be rise from the dead is if the man above does it. Past that, you might as well move on to other legislation or start getting ready for reelection."

It took every ounce of energy for the Governor not to pop the Speaker in the mouth. He took several breaths and thought about his response. He didn't want to give away his plans to get his bills through house, but at the same time he wanted the Speaker to understand that the bill isn't dead as he believes. When all is said and done, those bills will become law.

"You are really testing my patience on this matter." Governor spoke loud enough for anyone within ear shot could hear him, but not yelling. "The bills aren't dead and you will see firsthand on how much the citizens of this state understand the needs of all their citizens. It is time for the gay citizens of our state to have equal rights, and, if that is the last thing I do, it will get done!"

"It will be the last thing you do sir if you continue pressing the matter. The citizens of this state think a lot differently on this subject than you think they do."

"I have the pulse of the voters and they are ready and willing to pass this bill. Plus they want to be the first state to have this sweeping, meaningful reform on gay rights on the books. Right now there are several states looking at my bill, and one state that is looking at it, the governor has contacted me and asked if they can write their bill around the bill I have written. I had no problem saying yes. Do you want to be the person to go to the voters of this state and tell them because of your backwards thinking another state has beat Texas passing this sweeping reform?"

"There is no way the voters of this state will give a rat's behind that another state has taking your gay rights bill and passing it. In fact, I can tell you they for certain they would be grateful because it would get it off the front page of their newspapers and your talking points. The people of my district have called me and told me that the next time I see you to tell you to move on. So here I am, doing the bidding for the citizens in my district. Move on to things that matter, sir."

This time the Governor wasn't going to hold back, but he was saved by the bell. The Speaker was called forward to make his way onto the stage. As he walked out, he looked back at the Governor and gave him an evil look, which only got the Governor angrier than he already was. He was mumbling under his breath when Rich walked up to his side and started to whisper to him.

Sir you shouldn't let him get under your skin. He is from a district here in Texas that hasn't moved much from the old days of owning slaves. Some of them in his district still fly that ugly flag and believe that they should still have the right to own a slave. The rest of Texas doesn't think like them and you know that because you have talked to them."

"Yeah, but if he gets traction to kill the bills, there will be no stopping him. The majority of the voters are barely over the line accepting gay rights. All it will take to get them to go back on the other side is for them to see the Speaker of the House going against me and gaining traction. If that happens, there will be nothing I can do to get the gay rights bill passed, and then my crime bill."

"Then I suggest we take him down." Governor Lopez looked at Rich with a stunned look on his face. "Really sir, between the two of us now in the two highest positions in this state, we can actually take him and anyone else that wants to try and kill this bill down. And trust me once we take down the Speaker, the others will fall back in line."

The Governor agreed with Rich just as he was called out to the steps. Once Rich cleared the door, Governor Lopez was introduced. When he walked out, he couldn't believe the sea of people appeared to have tripled. On top of that, they all started to chant out his name and applauding as he made his way to Rich's side. Once he got there, he started to wave to those that came down to witness a very historic day in Texas history.

The Governor walked over to the Speaker and leaned in. "Look out there and take it all in. These citizens, all these citizens came out to witness Rich Kewl our first gay Lieutenant Governor sworn in. They aren't out there with pitch forks or throwing rotten vegetables. No sir, they are out there cheering on Rich. That should tell you that you have lost and I have won if I take my gay rights bill to the voters."

This time instead of the Governor getting heated, the Speaker was the one that got angry. He went to respond, but several of his fellow republican congressmen held him back. They told him at the same time this was neither the place or time to take on that subject. Reluctantly the Speaker agreed and didn't say a word to Governor Lopez. He stood there without the grin he gave the Governor when he first walked out of the capitol building.

After the Mayor of Austin spoke, he brought up the Speaker. He said a few words, and then asked Rich to step forward to take the oath of office. Rich walked up with his family Bible in his hand. Governor Lopez followed, and when Rich got in his spot, he handed the Governor his Bible. Before Governor Lopez was able to completely take the Bible from Rich, the Speaker asked Rich to raise his right hand and place his left one over the Bible.

Rich did as he was told and placed his left hand on his family Bible and then raised his right hand. The Speaker started to give the oath, and Rich repeated each line and phrase. All through the oath, the still photographers snapped picture after picture to preserve this day for future generations to see. As they were snapping away, every television station in the state and country was broadcasting the ceremony live to whoever wanted to watch it.

When the oath was given, Rich dropped his right hand and turned to the Governor. Governor Lopez smiled at his new Lieutenant Governor as he leaned in and hugged him. As they hugged for a few seconds, the Governor congratulated him over and over again. When they let go, Al and many of the high members of the Governor's staff stepped forward and congratulated him as they hugged him just like Daniel Sr. did. Once everyone that wanted to congratulate Rich did, the Speaker introduced him to the state of Texas for the first time as their Lieutenant Governor.

Rich walked up to the podium and looked out to all the faces that were looking up at him. "This is not just my victory here today, it is all of ours. My taking the oath of office here today in front of you, my fellow Texans, shows the nation and the world that we here in Texas aren't the backward thinking individuals they perceive us to be. We aren't lost in our hatred and unable to accept the changes in our generations.

First it took over a century for women to have equal rights in this nation. Then finally the African Americans got the rights that they should have had from the day our nation was born. No person, no matter the color of their skin, their religion, belief or who they love should ever be treated as second class citizens in this country!"

The audience broke out into applause, causing Rich to pause. "Each class, the African Americans, women and many others have had to fight to get equal rights. Some may say some of these groups still don't have full equal rights even though laws are on the books, which I will agree with to an extent. However that hasn't stopped this country as a whole to make major strides in recently history.

Today, the homosexual community of not only this state, but of this nation, can stand up and be proud and celebrate. In a state that everyone thought this would never happen, it has happened. If it can happen in this state, it can happen anywhere in this nation. Celebrate, but don't stop fighting to get equal rights around this nation!"

Once again the audience interrupted Rich by erupting into applause. Rich looked in the faces of the citizens standing there listening to him and then he looked at the faces of the politicians standing on the stage. The citizens loved what he was saying, the democrats had no problem with what he was saying, but the Republicans had sour looks on their faces. He knew right there and then that he needed to balance out his speech or he was going to stall this movement.

He looked out to the audience and started to speak as they started to stop applauding. "Let me say in my closing remarks here today, I am not just this state's first gay Lieutenant Governor. I don't serve just one party or just those that voted for the great man that is standing to my right. I am Lieutenant Governor of all citizens of this state, white, red, black, brown, female, male, homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual. I will represent every citizen of this state equally and fight every day for you all!

I will work long and hard every day I hold this office. I will make sure that every law that makes it to the Governor's desk benefits each and every one of us. That way when my time is up in this office, no one can ever say I worked only for one class of citizen or some special interest group. The history books will say first and foremost that I was a Lieutenant Governor for all Texans, and secondly that I was the first gay Lieutenant Governor."

The audience broke out into applause once again. When they settled down, Rich continued. "Thank you all for your support and letting this day become reality. I stand here because of you and I will never let you down. Thank you, God bless you and God bless the great state of Texas!"

The audience started to chant Rich's name, and then when he walked over to Daniel Sr. they started chanting both of their names together. Daniel Sr. and Rich turned to the sea of people and stood there waving at them. They didn't leave for almost fifteen minutes. When they finally did, it took them almost forty five minutes to make it back into the state building because they kept turning back and waving at those they stood there watching them walk into the building.

Back at El Paso High School all the students could talk about was the video in the morning promoting Jacob. By lunch, Markus was blowing out white smoke from every hole in his body. He wanted to know who put the video together and who put the video in the morning announcements. No matter many times his friends told him to drop it, he wouldn't. He wanted answers and he didn't care who he had to pressure to get those answers.

He first went to the usual suspects that everyone thought that put together the video, but after intimidating them, Markus knew it wasn't them. When he joined his fellow football players in the cafeteria, he was angrier than he was when he started searching for the ones that might have been behind the video.

As he sat there yelling up a storm, Carlos listened, barely able to contain himself. He wanted several times to tell him it was him, but he liked seeing this cocky son of a bitch sweat like he was. He thought he had the election in the bag, but now here he is realizing that he more than likely has lost the election with that video in the morning announcements.

"Damn it, if I find out who it was that created that video, they are going to wish they had never been born. I'm going to knock out every tooth in their mouth, and when I finish there, I'm going to hang him up by his underwear on the flagpole for everyone to see. When they walk past him, they will think twice on screwing with us jocks here at this school."

"There are a lot of flaws in your plan." Carlos jumped in. "First you aren't one hundred percent sure that it was a guy, it could have been a girl. If it was a girl, you don't want to be seen beating up a girl, or do you?" Carlos didn't get a response from Markus. "Well if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't beat up a girl no matter what that girl might have done.

Second, the flag pole is on the roof of the building. Even if you could get access to the roof and hang this person on the flag pole, no one is going to see. They don't walk past our flag pole and I can assure you no one looks up to the flag pole. So that part of your plan is also stupid and I know you know that, but you are talking out of anger."

"Damn you Carlos! Fuck you asshole!" Markus slammed his fist on the table. "You took everything I said literally. Of course if I find out if it was a girl that did this I won't beat her up. Maybe I will send my girlfriend after her, but I won't lay a hand on her. I'm not that kind of person, and if you don't believe me, you can ask her." Markus pointed to his girlfriend.

"As far as the flagpole, I wouldn't hang the person up on it because as you said it's on the damn roof, but I will find somewhere to hang the person up on so everyone can see him or her. That I wouldn't care one bit if it is a girl or a guy. Everyone needs to get the message that if you screw with us, no matter your sex, you are going to pay big for it."

None of the guys at the table liked what Markus said. All at once they got on Markus and made it clear to him that he was all alone with that thinking. After each of them had their chance to voice their opinion to their fellow football player, they got up and headed out to the stadium, hoping the subject of the video would be dropped, but they were wrong.

Every chance that Markus got to gripe about the video, he did. Even when lunch was over, he would gripe to whoever was near him, swearing to find out who was responsible. By fifth period, all his friends had enough. They didn't care if what they said hurt his feelings. They just wanted him to stop talking about the video.

When he made the comment that this wasn't the day he could afford a video like that to be played. At first no one understood what he meant, and then he reminded them about the debate that was between him and Jacob after school. When he mentioned that, they understood why he took the video they way he did. It is going to really hurt him. They promised to do whatever they can to help him keep the votes he had before this morning and get what he needed to win.

Fifth and sixth period Markus finally settled down and started thinking about the debate. By the middle of sixth period, the only thing he was thinking about was the debate. He jotted down talking points and how to get Jacob back for the damage from the video. When the bell rang, ending sixth period, Markus jumped up and headed to the gym.

The debate was a blur for Josh, Cesar and their friends. The only ones out of their group that didn't go were Eric and Bernice. They had to work, but really wanted to be there to support Jacob. When the debate was all over, Josh's head was spinning. He sat there with Cesar thinking about how both of the guys on the stage handled themselves. There was no doubt in his mind that Jacob had won the debate without question, but he wondered will that matter come Friday.

When the gym started to empty out, Josh's security detail let him, Cesar and the rest of the group get up and leave. All the way to the SUV all that was being talked about was the debate and how Jacob wiped the floor with Markus. However, they all had the same feeling as Josh, would it matter come Friday when the votes are cast.

By the time they got home, they had talked the debate to death. They got out of the SUV and walked into the house in silence. By the time they had reached the entrance of the kitchen, Josh had snuck up behind Carlos without Carlos noticing. Josh figured that his older brother didn't think he had the balls to get revenge for what he did to him before school, but he will find out in seconds how wrong he was thinking that.

Josh looked at Cesar, and without saying a word, Cesar knew what his boyfriend was up to. He just watched as Josh looked back to Carlos and slowly reached toward him. When his fingers were less than an inch away from Carlos' waist, Josh quickly moved in. He pulled out Carlos' shirt and then pulled up hard on the waist band of his underwear that was sticking out.

Before Carlos knew what was going on, Josh had a good hold on his underwear and was tugging at them. It didn't take long for Carlos to start yelling in pain as his underwear was going up his butt crack. He tried to move to his right, then his left, frontward and backward, but nothing he did gave him the upper hand. Josh was able to hold on for a lot longer than anyone would have thought he would have.

When he finally let go of Carlos' waist band, he started to run towards the pool. Barbara and Rose walked out to see what all the yelling was all about, but all they saw was Josh running down the hall and Carlos pulling down his pants and then straightening out his underwear. Rose looked at Barbara to see if she knew what was going on, but when she saw her shrugging her shoulders, the ladies walked back into the kitchen figuring the boys were just being boys.

Once Carlos got his underwear out of his butt crack, he went running after Josh. He knew there weren't many places in the house that Josh could hide that he didn't know about. When he walked into the pool area, he started calling out for Josh, but got no answer.

"Joshy boy, I'm not mad at you. Come on out." No answer or movement anywhere. "You got me back pretty good Josh! Hats off to you! I don't think I'm going to walk straight for a week because of the wedgie you gave me. The guys on the team might think I switched teams on them as far as having sex with girls." Carlos wiped the tears off his cheek that rolled out of his eyes due to the pain he was in when Josh gave him a wedgie. "Come on Josh, I promise I won't hurt you that bad when you come out, as long as you come out now."

Josh knew better, he didn't move and inch where he was. He knew Carlos too well and knew that when he heard him say that he was not going to hurt him too much, he really means the opposite. Knowing that, Josh wasn't going to show himself until his older brother cools down.

"I've got all day Josh! Eventually you are going to have to show yourself, and when you do, I'm going to return the same wedgie you gave me, that's all man." Josh yelled out `BULLSHIT". "Seriously all I'm going to do is give you the same wedgie. Once I do that, I won't do anything else, I promise I only want to give you what you gave me."

Josh popped his head out and saw that Carlos was looking in the other direction. He knew it was just a matter of time before Carlos would find him, so if he was going to get away, this would be his best shot. Slowly he got out of the hidden room and started to run towards the door, but Carlos saw Josh through the corner of his eye and reacted.

He reached out to his younger brother and pulled him into his arms. Once he had his arms wrapped around Josh, he pulled him over to the pool and jumped in. When they were under the water, Carlos let go of Josh and started to laugh. They quickly swam to the top of the water to catch their breaths. When they got to the side of the pool, Carlos started to splash water at Josh.

"What you did I didn't expect. Hats off to you little brother! Man, did you get me back and in a way I never thought you would." Carlos started to laugh. "Come here little brother." Carlos pulled Josh into him so they could hug. "Now I don't have to worry as much as I have about you. You won't take crap from anyone. Good for you!"

The boys stayed there in the heated pool talking about what was on tape. When they saw Cesar, Brandon and Daniel Jr. walking in, they stopped talking about the tape and swam over to them. When Daniel Jr. reached out to help Carlos out of pool, and Cesar reached out to help Josh, Josh and Carlos pulled them both into the pool. Just as they got above water, Brandon had jumped in. They stayed in the pool fooling around until they were called in for dinner.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to the saga we all come to love and enjoy reading, "Shadow of My Farther". I took a week off of writing this saga, but man when it returned; it came back with so much happening in it. I didn't even cover everything I wanted to cover in the chapter, but it had so much in it, your heads are spinning, hopefully!

Anyways let's get back to the chapter and what had happened in it. It started out with fireworks dealing with Martha. Yes she is back even though she is six feet under. I'm pretty sure you guys have forgotten completely about her and the gun, but the question was out there how did she get the gun, and finally the questioned was answered in this chapter.

Detective Alvarez laid it all out for Barbara, which was scary. Who knew that there were people out there plotting against her, her family and the Governor? Now learning what she learned, I wonder besides the step up in security, what other changes are going to happen. Carnes and his cousin got very close to getting what they want. Now the Lopez family is going to have to be very watchful and careful in the days and weeks ahead. At least until the cousin is found, arrested and convicted, as well as Carnes.

We got to see a little bit of Isaac and Troy in this chapter. It looks their relationship is developing very nicely. They are spending a lot of time together and the family has accepted Troy already as part of their clan, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

What was a surprise was what Carlos put together and did. If you would ask me, Carlos made up for his mistake making the student council president a two man race. With that video, there is no doubt Jacob has the upper hand now. The only question I have is what Markus is going to do the last couple of days. We saw that he was angry, but will he settle down and not act on that anger or will he act on it and will it help or back fire?

In this chapter, we saw another side of Josh and Carlos' relationship as brothers. They were playful and playing tricks on each other. I bet you guys never saw that coming. All I can say about that is to expect a lot more of Carlos, Daniel Jr. and Brandon in the story in the chapters to come in the way you saw in this chapter, or alone with their girlfriends.

You all knew that the swearing in ceremony was coming. Well it happened in this chapter. A lot happened before the ceremony, during and after. A lot was said by Rich. I wonder what you all think about his speech. Please drop me a comment on your thoughts about the speech. I also wonder if you guys think the state houses are going to be successful killing the Governor's bills. If they do, do you guys think the Governor has a chance to sign them into law.

This chapter had so much going on, I'm sure I forgot something, if not a lot. Whatever I didn't cover in this corner, I am sure my great editor will catch it and cover in his corner. It is getting late for me, it is right now one fifty in the morning, so I better close off this corner and hope that you all enjoyed this chapter and come back to the future installments.

So much going on in this story and not enough paper to write it all on! I know if I forgot anything in my writer's corner about this chapter, Daddy Rick will take care of it in his corner. There are still a lot of open plots out there that I have not even touched on, and many more new plots are to come. I hope that you all did not forget about any of those plots, and if you did, well then it will be a lot of fun when they come back up again. So hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen, the ride is just beginning!

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I will not. 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 jacob@jacobmillertex.com, Thanks!}

"DADDY" RICK'S EDITOR'S CORNER:

All I can say is OMG ! What a totally AWESOME chapter! I don't know what JPG is drinking, smoking, eating or if he just got laid or what...but this chapter was a total page turner! I opened the chapter and was starting to do my editing on a weekday morning before work. That's not unusual. What is unusual was that I couldn't stop reading/editing and I was late for work! I just couldn't walk away!

I really enjoyed seeing some of the characters, showing anger in two instances, being humorous, having fun and being incredibly human. First the Governor had his moments, first humorously sharing his underlying feelings about the veteran legislators and then by being so angered by the Speaker telling him that his bills are dead and so is his administration if he pursues the two bills. Then we had Carlos doing the video tape and how he got it into the announcements, then giving Josh the wet-willy. Josh responding and getting his revenge with the wedgie was so much fun. Markus' seething anger over the video was really dramatic and felt so very real.

Another fun point was Principal Michaels' handling of the video crash into the announcements. He put forth his official face responding as he had to threatening doom to the perpetrators, then he reveals his sense of humor saying that he loved what happened. I'm looking forward to getting to know this man better which I sense is going to happen in "Beneath the Mask".

It seems to me that the Speaker and the other Republicans that oppose the Governor's bills are going to have their hands full. I sense that the "dynamic duo" of Daniel Sr. and Rich is going to prevail and their efforts will cause a ground swell of support that will squash efforts to kill the bills. I am sensing some political careers being destroyed before all is said and done.

I don't know about you, but I'm anxious to get the details of the debate. That will come in the next chapter of "Jacob..." I'm sure, knowing how JPG operates.

In closing, JPG, thank you for a FUN and delightful chapter! Whatever got this going, keep it up! Readers, if you agree with me, e-mail JPG and encourage him as I've attempted to do here.

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick

daddyrick@jacobmillertex.com