Shadow of My Father

Sophomore Year 36

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.

Love Scene by "Daddy" Rick

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 36

Just as the two men were dozing off on the couch from their rush trip back into Austin, Rich quickly jumped up, scaring Alberto. At first, Rich didn't say a word. He just walked back and forth mumbling to himself for about thirty seconds. Finally when he stopped, he turned and looked at Alberto with a big smile on his face.

"What is the one thing that all politicians are slaves to?" Alberto shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea where Rich was going with this line of questioning. "The press, all politicians are slaves to the press for several reasons. Several reasons come to mind for me. They don't want to ever get bad press. They don't want to ever have their failures aired out for everyone to see. And they don't want to ever be labeled as a person that feels they know better than the voters. The press reports all that and when they do, it could be the undoing of a career."

Alberto quickly jumped to his feet with a concerned look on his face. "Please don't tell you are going to do what I think you are going to do!" Rich didn't say a word. He kept doing what he was doing, straightening out his clothes. "Please Rich don't do this. If you go out there and take what happened in the senate chambers to the press, you'll lose the respect of those you have to lead. There are other ways to insure Westrick doesn't try what he did today again."

Turning around from the mirror, Rich returned the same confused look that Alberto had on his face. "Tell me what other ways that will absolutely stop Westrick from trying to unseat our Governor more surely than going to the press." Alberto didn't have an answer for Rich. "Exactly, your silence speaks volumes. There are no other certain ways to make sure Westrick is put back in his place. He doesn't have the right to overturn the voters' decisions. If they made a mistake, and they realize it, they have the next election to correct it." Rich grabbed his suit jacket. "I don't want to do this, but I can't keep running back here whenever Westrick gets on his high horse again and neither can the Governor. This hatred has to be stopped so we can govern."

He knew everything Rich was saying was right, but Alberto wished he could come up with another way to get what Rich wants done instead of going to the press. Seeing that nothing came to mind, he had to go along with what Rich was going to do. Wanting to be by Rich's side, Alberto hesitantly stayed back in Rich's office, wishing him luck.

Rich made his way down the hall to press room, hoping to find members of the press still there. To his surprise almost all of news stations representatives were still there filing their final report before heading home for the weekend. As soon as he walked in, they stopped what they were doing and turned their undivided attention to their Lieutenant Governor. They knew by the look on Rich's face and the fact he was in Austin instead of where he is scheduled to be said he had something huge to say and they aren't about to miss a single word of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know you are tired and were filing your final report for the week and about to head home, so I won't take very much of your time." Rich began to speak as he settled behind the podium. "As you all know I'm scheduled to be elsewhere today, but instead I'm here in Austin on an urgent task for the Governor.

Early this morning, the Senate was illegally called into session by a few rogue senators from both parties. It was led by Senator Westrick and those few senators that are in his pack. They somehow were able to talk the entire caucus of the democratic senators to go along with what they were about to do. They were a few votes shy on getting it done. Senator Westrick got those needed votes right before the Senate was called into session.

As you all know the only one that can call the senate into session is the President of the Senate, and that is me." Every reporter in the room were shaking their heads in agreement or verbally saying yes. "By them calling the Senate into session, they broke the very oath they took when they were elected. On that part, the Governor and I feel the constituents of the senators that are guilty of that should be the ones to make the decision if they return for another term.

We also believe Senator Westrick's future and those that followed him voting for his motion should be left up to the voters. Unlike Senator Westrick and those followers, Governor Lopez and I don't think we know better than the voters. Even though they broke their oath, and the law, the decision if they continue serving in the senate should be left in the hands of the voters. After all, they were elected by the voters, and should be the voters to decide on their fitness to continue to serve."

Instantly every member of the press jumped to their feet asking almost the same question. What was the motion? "I know you all have a lot of questions, but please let me finish and I think if you allow me to do so, your questions will be answered." It took a few minutes, but the reporters quieted down and sat back down in their seats, allowing Rich to continue.

"You all shouted out the same question pretty much and I was just getting to it." Rich chuckled, causing a few of the members of the press to do the same. "Senator Westrick put together a motion to remove Governor Lopez from his office; the office the voters of this state, in a land side election put him in. The same office that the voters of this state by ninety one percent feel at this very moment he is doing a great job. But Westrick and a few other senators felt they knew better and tried to go against what the voters want.

If I didn't get in when I did and stop the voting when I did, we would be in a court battle to reinstate the Governor because again, they illegally called the Senate into order. Even though it was an illegal session, the vote would stand until we got it through the courts. In the meantime, Westrick and those that follow him would have free reign to stop any legislation they wanted to and pass any legislation they wanted to."

Looking straight into the cameras, Rich continued to speak. "My fellow citizens of this great state of Texas, this was an attempt to overthrow your state government. Senator Westrick felt you, the voters, made the wrong decision when you voted for our current Governor and tried to fix that. We can't allow this kind of action to go on without punishment. If we do, we will see a lot more of it. Please put aside your party affiliation and send a clear message by removing bad politicians like Westrick and those that followed him without question. Thank you and God bless this great state of ours!"

Rich turned and started to make his way out of the press room as the press corps rose to their feet shouting out questions. He knew if he stood there much longer he not only will get into a war of words with a few of them, but he might say something petty that will diminish what he is trying to do with his statement. So he decided to just let his statement stand on its' own merit.

Almost every local channel broke away from their broadcast when Rich came out and spoke with the press. In El Paso, they were at the scene of the most horrific crash they have seen in decades, and maybe in history of the city. The news broke fast when the high speed chase began, but when Patrick's father crashed into the Chevron Gas Station, every local, and even a few national channels broke away from their normal programming to go live to the scene. They didn't break away from that scene to go to Rich's speech.

They knew the Lieutenant Governor was talking about something important. So as they were bringing live video feed of the high speed chase, they were letting their viewer's know what the Lieutenant Governor was saying by putting the statement on the bottom of the screen. Those that were watching the chase didn't pay any mind to the band on the bottom of the screen of the speech. They were concentrating on what was unfolding out on their local streets.

At times it looked like the person in the front car was going to get away, and at other times it didn't look like he was going to get away. Whenever Patrick's father tried to get off the freeway, or when he did get off the freeway and was running all the red lights on George Dieter, the viewers were preparing for the worst; deaths. However when the time did come when Patrick's father careened into the gas pumps, the viewers were stunned and totally glued to their TVs.

The viewers at home all knew the chase was going to end badly, but not this way. They watched in awe as Patrick's father tried to take the turn leading onto Gateway West at a high speed, but instead lost control and veered right into the gas pumps. The car was going at such a high speed it was like a missile colliding with the gas pumps. All they saw was huge fire balls exploding in the air the second the car hit the pumps, followed by loud explosions.

All the police cruisers that were chasing Patrick's father stopped several hundred feet from the gas station. When they got out of their cars, they stayed behind them waiting for orders. They knew for sure there were two individuals in that car, and one of them was innocent. However, they weren't going to endanger their lives to save a life of a person that didn't have a care in the world on how many people he might have killed in the chase. Why should they rush and endanger their lives to save a guy that doesn't care?

Even though they weren't rushing out to save Patrick's father and sister, the officers were making sure no other innocent bystander would get hurt. They blocked off every road leading to or near the gas station. Those bystanders that were in the area were immediately rushed out of the area, being forced to leave their vehicles behind. Even the workers and those that were either gassing up at the gas station or just stopped in to pick something up escaped and were escorted away from the blaze that could get worse at any moment. That only left Patrick's father and sister to be rescued, which wasn't on top of the police or fire department's to do list.

Their main issue was controlling the fire. They knew if they didn't put out the fire quickly, it could reach the main gas tanks. If that happened, there was no doubt it would not only level the gas station, but pretty much everything around the gas station. They didn't want to lose the gas station let alone the businesses and houses around it.

Almost every fire truck in the city was called to the scene. When the first one arrived, the firemen immediately asked the gas attendant if he had shut off the emergency shut off valve between the gas pumps and the main tanks. When he got the answer yes, it was a huge relief off of their soldiers. They still had to worry about the fire getting out of control, but not to the point that they couldn't work on trying to save Patrick's father and sister.

No sooner than they got the answer that several more fire engines drove up. Immediately they formed plan and went right to work. The main force of the firemen started to work on putting out the fire. One engine of firemen was assigned to do what they could to save the two individuals stuck in the car in the middle of the fire, but were told they might get pulled back if the fire got out of control to the point that the other businesses and houses were threatened.

Slowly the unit of firemen that were assigned to rescue Patrick's father and sister made their way into the flames, putting out what they could. When they reached the car, they split up, half of them concentrated on the trunk and the other half concentrated on the driver. They wanted to try and save both of them if they could.

Even though the fire was worse in front of the car, it was harder for the firemen to get to Patrick's sister. The metal of the car was so hot, even the gloves the firemen were wearing weren't enough to protect them from the heat. Each time they touched the trunk, the heat immediately went through the gloves, burning the hands of whoever touched the car.

Giving up on trying prying the trunk open with their hands, they started to use a crowbar. It took several tries, but after the third try, they popped the trunk open. Due to the thick smoke in the air, they didn't see Marlene the moment they got the trunk open. If it wasn't for her yelling out for help, they wouldn't have known she was still in the trunk.

When they did hear her, several firemen reached and quickly found her. One of the firemen leaned in and asked Marlene where she was hurting. He wanted to make sure her neck or spine wasn't hurt during the chase and then the collision. When she didn't complain about pain in the areas he was worried about, he gently placed his hands underneath her and picked her up as slowly as he could. Once he had her out of the trunk, two other officers threw on a cover to cover her up to protect her as they walked her through the flames to the waiting EMTs.

As they walked Marlene safely out of the burning wreckage, the other firemen that went in with them were hard at work trying to get the driver side door open. They had already confirmed that Patrick's father was alive, but not in very good condition. The flames had already reached him, and by the looks of what the firemen were able to see, at least half of his body had two to third degree burns, if not more.

They were doing everything they could to get him out of the car. At one point, one of the firemen went around the car and was actually able to pry the passenger door open and crawl in. The minute he got close enough to Patrick's father, he confirmed their original thoughts on how badly the guy was burned were true. At least half of his body was burned and by the looks of it, all of the burns were third degree. After seeing that, he knew if they didn't get him out soon, the guy was going to die right then and there.

Not wasting any more time, the firemen turned, got on his back and put his legs over Patrick's father. He started kicking at the door, and with the help from the firemen outside with the crowbar, they were able to get the door open. Quickly the firemen got out of the way, allowing his fellow firemen to get to work on freeing Patrick's father.

The next few minutes were the most painful minutes Patrick's father has had in his life. No matter how much the firemen tried to be gentle with him, everywhere they touched him, it felt like they were pushing in needles. The pain got even worse when the firemen started to pull him free from the car. Before they were able to get him completely out of the car, Patrick's father passed out. The pain was too much for him to handle.

Just like Marlene, once they had Patrick's father out, they covered him up with a blanket and carried him to the waiting EMTS. As soon as they laid him on the gurney, several police officers walked up and placed handcuffs on the one arm that wasn't burnt as severally. Once they secured the handcuffs to the rails of the gurney, they moved out of the way for the EMTs to move him into the ambulance and to Thomas Hospital to hopefully save his life.

As the ambulances rushed Marlene and her father to the hospital, Josh and his brothers were just getting home from school. Josh had promised to help out his brother Brandon on the song he chose to sing at Jacob's parents' wedding, but time hadn't been on their side the last couple of days. So he decided that no matter what, he was going to lock himself up in the recording studio with Brandon and not come out until his little brother was comfortable with the song.

Both of them quickly went up to their rooms, tossed their backpacks in and headed down to the studio the minute they walked in, passing Daniel and Barbara along the way. As soon as they stepped into the recording studio, Josh locked the doors to prevent any interruptions. He wanted his younger brother to as comfortable singing as he has gotten.

"I know you are very nervous and probably rethinking your offer to sing tomorrow." Brandon nodded his head as he watched his brother pull up two stools. "Don't do that because there is nothing for you to rethink. You have sung before in front of people and you did great." Brandon looked at Josh with a confused look on his face. "Remember dad's birthday party?"

For the first time since they had gotten home from school, Brandon cracked a smile as he remembered that day that he and his brothers sang. Not only did they sing in front of a group of people that day, but he was as nervous, if not more, as he is was at that very moment. And just like his brother told him then, he is saying now. He has nothing to worry about.

"You already have a great voice and I know you will be giving me competition for my spot in Los Tigres if you ever join." Josh laughed as he lightly hit his elbow against his brother's. "So show me what you have so I can learn a thing or two from you." That got Brandon to turn all shades of red as he picked up the sheet music. "Ignore everyone in the church tomorrow. Just take yourself somewhere that makes you happy and comfortable."

Brandon thought long and hard about what his brother said as he looked down at his sheet music. It wasn't that he couldn't think of a place to go, it was just he didn't think it was right. He will be up there singing as the two people that just got married walked out of the church. Mentally being in another place and someone catching on might think he's rude, something he didn't want.

Not wanting to seem ungrateful for what his brother was telling him, Brandon nodded his head when Josh asked if he found that place. Once they got over that part, they got right into the music. For the next couple of hours, they stayed locked up in the studio practicing until they both felt they had it. Even when they were called for dinner, they didn't stop. It took Daniel Sr. to pound on the door and order them to the table for them to both agree they had it.

Both of the boys wanted to go back into the studio after dinner, but Daniel and Barbara told them they had enough practice for one day. Reluctantly they agreed and joined the others in the theatre room and watched the movie that was on. As always, Josh sat next to Cesar and in no time they were cuddled up in each other's arms with a blanket over them.

Before they knew it, it was time for them to go to bad. Slowly they all got up and started their way up the stairs. Halfway up, Josh stopped and looked out the window at the construction across the way. Cesar and Brandon stopped as well and looked in the direction that Josh was looking, not believing their eyes on how fast the house was going up.

"How many people do you think Jacob and his grandfather have working out there right now?" Josh asked but only got in response the two shrugging their shoulders. "Well by looks of it, they have a lot working all day long and night because the house is going to be done in a month or so." Josh turned and smiled at his brother and boyfriend. "All the noise they are making at night keeps me up sometimes."

"No lie, when you are up, somehow you keep me awake no matter how hard I try to sleep with all the tossing and turning you do." Cesar laughed as he punched Josh on the shoulder. "Maybe tonight we might be able to sleep through the night for once. If you wake up, please stay still so at least one of us will look handsome for the wedding."

Once again Cesar playfully hit Josh on the shoulder, but this time Josh didn't stay there standing, he went chasing after Cesar. He knew Josh was going to chase him, so when Josh jumped, he was already halfway down the hall, almost at their room. Josh tried to catch up to him before he got to the room, but he didn't get him until they were at their bed.

Playfully Josh pushed his boyfriend onto the mattress before jumping next to him and started tickling him. No matter how many times Cesar tapped out, Josh didn't stop his assault. When he retreated from his assault of tickling, Cesar was in tears. It took a few minutes for Cesar to catch his breath, but when he did, he turned and pulled Josh back down and started tickling him. Just like Josh, Cesar didn't stop tickling his boyfriend until he had tears rolling down his cheeks.

Even as the boys were catching their breath, they playfully teased each other. This went on for almost thirty minutes. It wasn't that they wanted to stop when they did it was running out of steam that got them to finally stop and lay still next to each other in the bed. It wasn't long after them settling down that they dosed off to sleep in each other arms.

In the early morning hours of Saturday, Detective Hymes had enough tossing and turning in his bed. He hasn't been able to sleep since the day he had to let the guy go that he knew without a doubt was the guy they were looking for; the former police chief's cousin. He's the guy that had snuck in the gun that Martha had on her that she was going to use to try and kill the first family of Texas.

The newly appointed assistant Chief of Police, former Detective Alvarez gave him the go ahead to do what he thought needed to be done to take the Sol out. He had no doubt the guy they had in that house that night was the guy they were looking for. However he had to follow the law and let the guy go because of the ID, at least to a point that is.

When they ran the ID that was given to them by Sol, AKA George O'Malley, they lifted a couple of prints that were on it. Since there were more than one set of prints, it took a few days for them to get a positive match that one of the prints were Sol's. His prints were in system after an arrest for drunk driving that was swept under the carpet by his cousin, the former Chief of Police, Carnes. It wasn't Sol's first arrest, but it was the first one where they got his prints.

Finally the day has arrived that the finger print report was due to come in and Hymes couldn't wait to see the results. He was the first to walk onto the detective floor, which he didn't care. All he cared about at that very moment was that one of the finger prints on the ID was Sol's and he could get another arrest warrant issued immediately.

When he reached his desk, he expected to find a sealed yellow envelope lying there, but was disappointed that there wasn't one. Trying to pass the time until it was delivered, he tried to catch up on reports on the cases he was working on, but couldn't. His mind was only on one thing, and that was that report that wasn't on his desk when he walked in.

It took him almost an hour to give up on the reports and try to relax, but again he couldn't do that either. Giving up on both, Hymes got up and made his way to the break room to poor himself a cup of coffee. While the coffee was brewing, he went out and got the Saturday newspaper. Just as he returned, the coffee was done, so he prepared himself a cup and sat down.

As he turned the pages of the newspaper, he heard voices and then he saw the lights turning on. Putting down the newspaper, Hymes got up and walked over to see who was out there. As he peeked out, he spotted several of his fellow detectives that were promoted alongside of him. By the looks of it, they were getting a jump on the day just like him.

Just as he turned to walk back to his cup of coffee, he spotted the technician through the corner of his eye making his rounds on the floor. Desk by desk, he was laying down yellow envelopes that more than likely one contained what Hymes was waiting for. Results of test from blood to finger prints that each of them had sent in and were waiting on in order to go further in their case.

Quickly he walked back to the table, got his cup of coffee and made his way back to his desk. Right when he walked up, the technician was placing down on his desk the envelope that he had put all his hopes on to move his case the direction he wanted it to go. Neither of the guys said a word, they just nodded heads and went on with their business.

For Hymes, it was sitting at his desk and opening up what he was hoping to be a Christmas present several months late. Slowly he pulled back the clamps and then pulled the flap up. He reached in every so gently, like whatever was in there was going to dissolve if he moved it wrong. Little by little, he pulled out the white sheets of paper, and once they were out, he tossed the yellow envelope back onto his desk and started scanning the report.

At first nothing jumped out at him in the positive until he got to the second page where it listed who the finger prints belonged to. When he got to the second name, a big grin crossed his face from ear to ear. Not wasting any time, Hymes got up and quickly made his way to the elevator to go up to Assistant Chief Of Police Alvarez's office, hoping all the way he would be there.

However, when he walked into the office, he found it like he found his floor when he first got there, all the lights off. Just turning on the lights in the waiting room, Hymes sat down holding onto the report as if his life depended on it. For over an hour, he didn't budge. He sat there quietly in his thoughts and wasn't pulled out of them until Alvarez walked in.

Not at all surprised to see Hymes sitting there in his waiting room, Alvarez waved him to follow him into his office. "Let me guess, the papers that are in your hand are the finger print analysis that you have been waiting for." Hymes nodded his head. "And by the smile on your face, the report is in your favor. One of the finger prints on the ID belongs to the one and only criminal Sol." The grin getting even bigger, if that was even possible, as Hymes nodded his head.

"Well let me see the report!" Hymes walked over and handed the report to Alvarez before backing up and taking one of the seats in front of Alvarez's desk. Alvarez scanned the documents just like Hymes did and had the same reaction at first like his detective. Nothing looked positive until he turned the page and saw the list of who the fingerprints belonged to.

"Now this is something I can sink my teeth into, not the first page." Alvarez chuckled as he leaned back in his seat and continued reading the report. "It's not a perfect match, but six points I will take because of how many people that have touched the ID. One point less, I would have told you to go back and look for more evidence before we approached Sol again. I don't want to scare him off, and right now we haven't because he thinks he has won."

"Exactly, right now he thinks he has won, but that won't last for long. We need to get to a judge and have an arrest warrant issued for him before he hightails it to Mexico."

"Hold you horses for just a minute Hymes! Let's catch our breaths before we do anything that will make Sol skip town." Alvarez leaned forward in his seat. "First, Carnes still has connections at the courthouse as he does here in the department. If we go off halfcocked running to a judge that might call him, he will in return call his cousin and warn him that we are coming. We need to think about every move and what might happen before we make the move. Plus the arrest warrant that we tried to execute that night is still valid, so it makes this point moot.

However, it doesn't address my other concerns." Hymes looked at his new Assistant Chief of Police with a confused look on his face. "As you know, that night when we first attempted arrest the guy, we carefully picked the team that we used. We will have to do that again this time because as I said the former Police Chief still has his talons in this department. If we pick the wrong officer that feels they owe the former Chief, he will be informed, which means his cousin Sol will be warned making the arrest a bust!"

"I understand all that sir, but we can't sit on this. We now have proof that Sol is definitely in that house going by the alias George O'Malley. He still thinks he pulled the wool over our eyes, but again he isn't going to keep thinking that, he can't. He was smart enough to get an alias, build that basement onto his house, so there is no doubt that he will wise up that if he stays where he is much longer he will be caught and put behind bars for a good percentage of his life."

"Look you won't get an argument from me on any of that, we just have to take it easy. Besides getting the right team together, we just don't have the officers to do it today. Most of the department is all wrapped up with that wedding. Besides it being members of one of the richest families in town, the Governor will be attending that wedding. We have to insure his safety above anything else while he is here."

That didn't sit well with Hymes. He understands keeping their Governor safe, but at the expense of doing their day-to-day jobs, he doesn't think so. Each day that goes by that they don't execute the arrest warrant on Sol, is another day Sol has to get wise and hightail it out of town. If he does, it will be nearly impossible if he skips town or worse, goes across the border.

"Sir, with all due respect, I understand all that, but we can't let another day pass without going after Sol. If we do I fear we will never get him." Hymes stood up. "Give me four men, just four and I will bring him in." Reluctantly Alvarez shook his head. "Give me two, just two and I will bring him in. Please, I need to get this guy behind bars."

"I'm sorry, I can't spare even you today, let alone two or four other men." Hymes slumped back down into his chair. "Trust me when I say I wish I could charge out right now and place handcuffs on this prick, but I can't. Every scheduled officer is signed to this wedding, so we had to call in our off duty officers to cover the streets. There's just no one to spare."

As Alvarez got up, he handed Hymes back the finger analysis report he brought in. "I promise you will have the men you need to execute the arrest warrant tomorrow, just not today." Alvarez saw the disappointment in his detective's face and didn't like it. "I know I told all of you when I was promoted to this job I was going to do it differently than the ones that came before me. I wasn't going to forget where I came from, and I haven't. So I will do one thing for you here and that is allow you to go and sit on Sol until we can execute the warrant."

That put the big grin back on Hymes face. "Don't smile just yet. You can sit on him, but nothing more. You can't make any move that gives you away in anyway. If he leaves his house, you can follow him, but at a discrete distance. Don't let him make you or you will cause what you have being fearing will happen and that is getting him to run. If you see that he is preparing to run or is running, call it in before you make any other move. Don't go off half cocked on anything you see him doing or you will be riding a desk for the rest of your career. Is that understood?"

"I understand!" Hymes spoke in a joyful tone as Alvarez got up and walked over to the door where he hung up his jacket. "I won't make a move until you put together the team. Until then I will sit on him and watch him like a hawk. If he makes a move that I think might be one that indicates he is leaving, I will contact you first before doing anything else."

"Thanks, that's all I ask." Alvarez said as he pulled at his collar of his shirt. "So, get out of my office and make sure that ass fuck doesn't go anywhere while the rest of us are doing this dog and pony show." Still pulling at his collar, Alvarez and Hymes walked out the office. "Man I hate doing this crap because I have to dress up in my uniform that I haven't worn in years."

Knowing what Hymes response was going to be, Alvarez stopped him before he was able to say it. The two men walked with each other to the elevator, which neither of them mentioned one thing about what they talked about in the office. They knew there were too many unknowns out there that could come back and bite them on the butt. Once they got to the parking lot they went their own directions. Alvarez headed to the church where the Hernandez wedding was on its way already and Hymes headed to Sol's house to begin his surveillance.

Just as Alvarez got through the road blocks, the limousine carrying the newly-wed couple past him. He really wanted to see the vows being taken, but couldn't help but be delayed. He pulled off to the side of the road and waited until he saw the Governor's convoy making its way towards him. Once the limousines carrying the first family passed him, he joined the convoy.

In the limousines that passed Alvarez, Josh and his brothers were congratulating their younger brother Brandon on a job well done. Brandon was still shaking from his performance. He couldn't believe that he was able to pull it off. All he was thinking the entire time he was up there is the ways he could mess up, and kept hoping that none of them would come true. In fact he was doing more than just hoping, he prayed!

Leslie, Brandon's girlfriend, wrapped her right arm around Brandon's left. "You did an awesome job up there. I thought only Josh sang, but boy, you are going to give your brother some competition." She glanced over to Josh to see if she got him angry, but got a surprise with him his response agreeing with her. "See even he agrees that you are good. You made us feel what you were feeling while you were singing. That is something that comes from here." Leslie softly patted Brandon's chest where his heart is.

"Yeah bro, you were awesome up there." Daniel Jr. interjected. "And proof of that is that you were asked to perform. Knowing Jacob and his family the way I do, they wouldn't have asked you to perform on a very important day as of today if you weren't good. It was Jacob's parents' wedding he wanted to make it as memorable as he could. By you singing, he did it."

Once Daniel Jr. gave his opinion, the others boys jumped in and said almost the same thing in different ways. Even their girlfriends patted Brandon on the back. By the time everyone said their peace, Brandon had settled down and relaxed. They were able to move on to other discussions like who was going to perform tonight at the hotel. None of them could believe that Jacob was able to get this super star to actually do his parents' wedding.

As the Lopez boys discussed with their girlfriends, and in Josh's case, his boyfriend how many times they were going to be on the dance floor, in the limousine behind them Johnny Jr. and Davey were sitting in silence. They still haven't been able to settle between them what they were going to do about the rules Johnny's dad set down. Neither of the boys liked it, but couldn't see a way they could get around them.

Johnny Sr. was sitting there in the limousine as well, glancing every so often at the boys. He knew what was on their mind, but wasn't willing to get into it at that moment. At the same time he didn't want his boys to be walking around all evening with sour looks on their faces. After debating with himself on getting into the conversation or not, Johnny Sr. finally made his decision when they drove up to the restaurant they were going to have lunch at.

"Hold on guys, I want to talk with you two before we go in." Mrs. Walker looked at her husband and back over at the two boys with a worried look on her face. She sat back down next to her husband, allowing everyone else out that didn't need to be there for this conversation. When the last person stepped out of the car, Johnny Sr. asked the driver to close the door.

Looking deep into the boys' eyes, Johnny Sr. knew he had to be careful with what he is about to talk to them about. He knew one wrong word or how he remarks on something could not only cause him to lose his relationship with his son, but the trust as well. No matter what, at the end of it all, he always wants his son to feel free to come to him with anything that is a concern.

"I know you guys are angry with me over the new rules I set forward as far as your sleeping arrangements. You may be thinking or at least the thoughts have crossed your minds that I'm back dated and/or afraid of what people may think about me if it ever gets out that my gay son is already sleeping with his boyfriend. Let me make it clear, I'm neither. I'm just worried that you guys might do something because you feel that is what should be done at the time in your relationship or what you hear is happening in your friends' relationships at that moment."

"Dad, we are..." Johnny Sr. interrupted is son. "Johnny let me finish and then you and Davey can say whatever you want to say, okay?" Both of the young boys nodded their heads. "Good, as I was saying, your two's relationship are a lot different than the normal relationships out there. Not only do you two have to worry about those haters that want to do you harm, but you also have to worry about a whole lot of other issues that straight couples don't have to."

Both Johnny Jr. and Davey looked at Johnny Sr. with confused looks on their faces. "I know you don't want to hear what I'm saying here, but I have to say it so you two see where I'm at and why I did what I did. The world out there right now is a very messed up place. More so for you guys and all those like you since there are no equal rights laws on the books for you guys.

Put that aside for right now since you two really don't have to worry about it right now since you guys are just in high school. But there are a lot of other things you two will have to watch out for right now from diseases to doing it too quickly after what happened to you Davey." Davey squeezed Johnny's hands really tight when Johnny Sr. reminded him of a memory that he can't seem to get away from. A nightmare he knows he will be haunted with for the rest of his life.

"What happened to you should have never happened. I'm sure you are haunted with that and me reminding you is not helping you move on from that day like you'd like to. It's just if you guys move too quickly; it will do more harm than good. It might even cause you to accidently put Johnny's face here..." Johnny Sr. pointed to his son. "..on the memory of the guys that hurt you and causing you to be afraid of him if you aren't ready to move the relationship to that point.

I know you guys have done more than kissing." That not only got the boys complete attention but Mrs. Walker's as well. "I also know you guys haven't done it a lot or completely. You have gotten close, but haven't gone all the way, which lessens my worries a little. But I'm still worried because you guys have gotten close to going all the way and that I can't have."

Johnny Sr. was uncomfortable with where the conversation has gone and it wasn't sitting well with his son, Davey or Mrs. Walker. Each of them wanted this conversation to end as quickly as possible. However, none of them knew how to get out of where they were in the conversation. Johnny Sr. wanted to make it clear that the boys couldn't pull the wool over his eyes, and the boys wanted to try and explain their way out of it. No matter what each of them said and how they said it, they weren't getting anywhere.

"Look boys there isn't a thing we can do to change what you have done already. You two have gone further than you have told us..." Johnny Sr. pointed back and forth from himself and his wife. "We understand that you guys are teenagers and you are going to want to experiment, but we want you guys to take it slow." The boys weren't happy and Johnny Sr. saw that they weren't by the way they were looking at him. "As slow as possible and you two know why."

"Dad I don't know why you think Davey and I have done more than kiss and lay side by side, but that is all we have done. There is no way we will go any further. Not just because of what happened to Davey, but I'm not ready; neither of us is ready to take that step." Davey was nodding his head in agreement to everything Johnny was saying. "Right now we don't know when that day will ever come, but when it does we aren't going to go out broadcasting it."

"I really hope that you two keep your personal business to yourselves and not broadcast it to anyone that is willing to hear. And I'm not saying that because of the position I hold right now. I'm saying it because you have to respect yourselves in order for others to respect you. How can others respect you two if you have no problem talking about your love lives?

As far as who has been whispering in my ear..." Johnny Sr. abruptly stopped talking and just stared down the boys. Finally almost a minute of silence, he broke the silence. "As far as who has been whispering in my ear you don't have to look any further than those in this car." Both of the boys quickly looked at Mrs. Walker. "No don't look at her, look at yourselves. You two either don't realize that the walls between our rooms are thin, or don't know you are speaking loud, but whatever the reason is we are able to hear what you guys are talking about most of the time. And since I told you two that you couldn't sleep together anymore, you have been talking a lot about what you have done and worried what would happen if your mother and I found out."

Both were stunned that Johnny's parents were able to hear every word spoken between each other since they moved into the hotel through the walls. That's one thing neither of them thought to be careful of. Every time they talked in their room, they didn't lower their voices. They weren't yelling, but they weren't whispering either. Neither of thought this was possible.

"Boys I know you guys feel invaded, but that is far from what your mother and I were doing. Our bed is against the wall where your headboard is. It's not like we were putting a glass against the wall trying to hear what was going on in your room. We respect your privacy. We want you guys not to feel uncomfortable in your own room to speak freely and do what teenagers do. But the walls are thin in this hotel. The only way we wouldn't hear you guys are if we went into the bathroom, turned on the T.V. or left the room all together."

Johnny looked at Davey imagining his parents hugging the wall with a glass against it. Not able to help himself, he started to laugh, which got Davey laughing. His parents had no idea why they were laughing, but didn't care. They got a different reaction from the boys than the one they thought they were going to get and love this reaction.

Knowing if he didn't talk now the conversation would go the direction he feared. "Look boys you have to understand where I'm coming from as far as the rules I put down." The laughter stopped as the boys turned and looked at Johnny Sr. "You can do all the things you already have done. Hold each other when you feel lonely, scared or just want to be in each other's arms. That is being a in a relationship. You can cuddle with each other when you are watching television or just talking in your room. You can kiss. Your mother and I don't mind any of that, but we do feel neither of you two are ready to go any further and I know neither of you want me to go into detail on why we feel that way since we pretty well have already."

Johnny Sr. reached over and grabbed his wife's hand. "And if you feel you need to talk with others besides your mother and me, we are fine with that." Johnny Sr. turned and made only eye contact with his son. "We had thought we had built a relationship with you though that you could come to us on anything you need advice with. But we understand on the subject of the new rule I put down you aren't comfortable coming to us. So go to anyone you would like and understand that we won't get angry. When it is all said and done all we have on our mind is your wellbeing."

There was almost a minute of dead silence in the car before Johnny Jr. spoke up. "I know when I say this I'm not speaking out of turn. Davey and I are sorry for lying to you and mom, dad. All this is new to us and we just are lost trying to find our way through this web. And yes we have made mistakes, but have stopped those mistakes that are life changing. You and mom taught me better than jumping into something without weighing out everything that could happen. That is why we wanted to talk with another so we are sure we aren't doing wrong."

As Johnny Jr. shook as he talked to his father, Davey tried to hide it by holding even tighter to his boyfriend's hands, but it didn't work. Both Johnny Jr.'s parents saw it. This was the first time their son actually was standing up to them and they actually liked it. He wasn't going about it the wrong way or saying it wrong, he was being respectful about it, which they now have even more respect for their son now more than ever.

They sat there for another fifteen minutes talking about the things that they hadn't talked about before. When they finally got out of the car and rejoined the wedding, they had new founded respect for each other. Johnny Jr.'s parents now are completely confident in their son that they don't have to be watching him like a hawk. They are sure he will always make the right decision on everything that gets thrown in front of him, at least with the relationship that is. Johnny Jr. understands now why his father put down the new rule of him not allowed to sleep with Davey. It wasn't for the reasons he thought they were for. He no longer feels it was wrong and will obey his parents on this because they are just looking out for both him and Davey.

As the Walker family rejoined the wedding party, they walked past the Governor and his wife. They were walking to the restroom with a baby in each of their arms and security right behind them. Mrs. Walker couldn't help but ask the Governor if she could hold the twin he was carrying, but he politely said no. It wasn't that he didn't want her to hold the baby. It was because both of them needed to be changed and he didn't want her to get dirty. Once he explained that, she moved aside and let the Governor go. She understood being a mother herself that you want to get your kids out of soiled diapers as soon as you can.

The minute they walked into the restroom, the Governor put Abraham on one changing table and Barbara put Victoria on the other. Sharing the diaper bag, they pulled out a clean diaper as they started to undress their twin. The moment they pealed back their diaper, they took a couple steps back. They couldn't believe the smell their lovable babies were giving out, but couldn't hold it the smell against them. They were laying there laughing and grabbing their feet, making their parents ignore the smell and they continued to change them.

Even though Daniel Sr. hasn't changed many diapers of his twins, you couldn't tell. He was in sync with Barbara. Almost at the same time they got the diapers off and in the trash. Then they reached at the same time for the wipes, but it didn't throw them off. Daniel let his wife get what she needed and then he got what he needed. In no time, they had the twins changed and back in their clothes ready to rejoin the others at their table.

All the way back to their table, they were stopped by and asked to hold their babies by almost everyone they passed. Some they knew, and some they didn't. By the time they did get to their table, they were worn out from answering the same questions. It seemed that all the people that wanted to know after asking to hold one of the twins is how old they were and if they have they started walking or talking. With big smiles on their faces, they answered the each of them as if it was the first time the question was asked.

As Daniel Sr. settled in his seat next to his wife, he glanced over to his boys and couldn't be more proud of them than he was at that moment. Each of them looked happy with the one they brought to the wedding. He has forgotten that his two oldest and his one youngest had girlfriends and they have been going out for a while now. Anyone that would look at them would know by the way they were talking to each other and holding each other's hands, they were happy, not just those that see them every day.

Sitting in the table next to the Lopez family was the extended family. Patrick and Immanuel were together chatting up as storm, along with Bernice and Eric. However the biggest surprise was Chris and Aaron. No one knew the two even knew each other, let alone that they are going out. So when they showed up to the wedding as a couple, it threw everyone through a loop. To make matters worse, none of them were able to ask anything until now since the first time they saw them together was when they walked into the church.

It was Patrick who finally brought the conversation over to the subject that was on everyone's mind at the table. "Now Chris, come on, tell us the truth, are you two going out?" Chris just stared at Patrick, not answering the question. He flashed back to the conversation he and Aaron had at the hotel hours before the wedding in the lobby.

Chris was tired of having to hide what he and Aaron had. He wanted to tell everyone. However, he respected Aaron and was waiting on his time table on letting everyone in their groups in on the secret. So when he got the call from Aaron for him to come down to the hotel so they could talk before the wedding, he was surprised and scared all at the same time.

He had no idea what the topic of the conversation was going to be about. All he knew was that Aaron had been even more nervous the last couple of days because he thought that some of the guys from the hotel had caught on. With his past experience of his friends finding out about him loving another guy, there was no question in Chris' mind why Aaron was so afraid of them finding out. He ended up in the hospital the last time and still hasn't completely recovered yet.

So when he arrived at the hotel and saw Aaron waiting outside at the entrance, he prepared for the worst and hoped for the best as he walked up to him. At first, neither of the boys said a word to each other. They stood there looking at the ground, kicking the pebbles beneath their feet around. It took a few minutes before the silence was broken, but once they did, you couldn't stop either of them from talking.

"Um, I was wondering if you were going to go to this thing today." Chris looked up with a confused look on his face. He knew what Aaron was talking about, but didn't understand why he would think he wasn't going to go. Aaron took the confused look as if Chris had no idea what he was talking about and clarified on the question, which Chris answered yes.

"I know you have wanted to tell our friends about us and I have been holding you back." Aaron got a little closer to Chris and grabbed his hand. "For respecting me and my wishes, thank you. You don't know how much that means to me. If it was any other I guy I'm sure they would have washed their hands of me after the second, maybe the third time of asking."

Chris tried to jump in, but Aaron stopped him. "I think it is time for our friends to know about us. Plus I want to dance with my boyfriend at the reception this evening. In order for that to happen, we will need to let the others know about us. The only problem I see about that is how we are going to do it." With his free hand, Aaron scratched his head. "You know since today is the wedding and we can't get a hold of all of friends and tell them beforehand."

Not meaning to, Chris chuckled as he squeezed Aaron's hand. "You know we have been all worried about how our friends are going to react when they find out about us. My question is why? Hell if they don't like us going out with each other, I say to those nay sayers to go and fly a kite. If they have a problem with us being together, we don't need them as friends."

Letting go of Aaron's hand, Chris walked in front of him and placed both of his hands gently on Aaron's face before leaning in to kiss him. "I never thought I would ever fall in love with anyone after Josh, I really didn't." Chris whispered as he kissed up and down Aaron's neck. "I even went as far as going out with anyone that gave me the look they were interested in me. When those one night stands didn't work out, I tried the relationship thing again with Rusty, but I just couldn't stop comparing him to Josh. You are the first guy I have been with that I haven't even thought of Josh while we are together, let alone compare you to him. That is a lot, trust me."

Aaron heard the rumors about Chris before he got together with him. Everyone that talked about him made it clear he was damaged goods. There's no one out there that will ever be able to replace Josh in Chris' eyes. However, here he is telling him that he has been able to do what others thought was impossible. Hearing that made him feel feelings he has never felt before.

"We both have a shaky past and shouldn't hold it against each other. When it comes down to it, we need to come into this relationship with clean slates and no blinders on." Aaron had Chris' rapt attention as he continued; "I knew about your past, and I think you know how I ended up here at El Paso High. The first day we got serious about going out with each other, you told me that once you are with someone, you don't look at others and you haven't done anything to show that I can't trust your word."

A little different than Aaron, Chris felt feelings that he has felt before, but with only one other guy and never thought he would feel those feelings again. Now here he is standing in front of a guy that was just weeks ago, a broken man, fixing him. He thought when they first decided to get together, he was the one that was going to fix the other, but it has ended up the other way.

"I'm ready now to tell the world about our relationship. I want everyone to know that you and I are together and there is nothing that will break us apart, including our pasts. And I don't see a better time than to let our friends know that we are together than this wedding." Aaron reached over and grasped Chris' hand. "This is new to me, and I'm very nervous, but I'm going to go for it. Will you honor me as my date to this wedding?" Chris was about to answer, but Aaron stopped him. "Hold on! Hear me out before you answer. Will you honor me as my date to this wedding, to sit with, dance with and tell all our friends we are an item?"

Chris didn't need to think of his answer. This is one thing he has been wanting for quite a while now, but didn't want to rush Aaron into it. "There isn't anyone or anything that will hold me back from taking you to this wedding as my date. Having you at my side as my boyfriend, telling all our friends will be my honor. In other words, hell yes!"

Releasing Aaron's hand, Chris pulled his boyfriend into him, wrapping his arms around him and holding him as tight as he could. They held the hug for several minutes and when they broke it, they didn't step away from each other. Instead they leaned in and held the most passionate kiss they have had since getting together. Both of them saw stars. Something once again Chris thought no other guy would be able to get him to see again. And Aaron all the feelings he's experiencing are all new to him and he doesn't want them to end.

When they finally broke the kiss, they stood outside the hotel discussing how they were going to tell their friends about them going out. However, everything they discussed went out the window the minute they got to the wedding and met up. Both of them got cold feet. That didn't get scare them off from sitting with each other. It took Patrick to ask them if they were a couple to finally open up.

It was Chris who spoke first, but Aaron wasn't silent the entire time as Chris answered Patrick's question in the positive that they are together. Neither of the two boys discussed in detail about their relationship so far, but they did let the group at the table in on some things. Like their first kiss and that every time they had disappeared lately they were with each other.

None of the guys were surprised that Chris and Aaron ended up together. They knew something was up when the two would disappear simultaneously on a regular basis. In Chris's case, all his friends thought he was back to his old self fooling around with different guys. Boy were his friends happy to find out they were totally off base. And for Aaron, his group knew he was seeing someone and hoped that whoever it was that the person would treat him right. They were very pleased hearing the person was Chris. A couple of them actually said it out loud. The others kept their thoughts to themselves, but both Chris and Aaron saw they felt the same way.

While the boys tried to get more detail from Chris and Aaron about their relationship, Ivan, Josh's manager asked to speak with Josh privately in the back of the room. As they quietly made their way to the back, Josh couldn't help but wonder why Ivan needed to talk with him at this very moment. It was a day of celebration, not a day to discuss business.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you right now, but time is not on our side." Ivan started to whisper the minute they got to the back of the room. "As we discussed before, your dad okayed two shows a day at each stop, but wasn't real happy about it. After giving it some thought and seeing where he is coming from that it might wear you out, I agree with him. At the same time there are a lot of fans out there that want to see you live on your first tour.

So I figured to meet your dad halfway on this." Josh was completely confused on where Ivan was going with this conversation. At first it looked like he was going to leave things alone as far as only four shows, and now it looks like he isn't. "Your first show in Dallas and your last show at Disneyland, you will have two shows, one at two, and the other eight. The show at Dollyworld and at Denver, there will only be the eight o'clock concert at those two stops."

Josh didn't see any problem with that schedule, so he quickly agreed and started to turn around to head back when Ivan stopped him. "Hold on Josh there is still one more thing I need to talk with you about. I promise to make it quick!" A little frustrated, Josh turned around. "As I said time is against us and you and your band need to get more practice in than you have in your recording studio. You guys need to try and practice in the same conditions that your concerts are going to be in or you might actually freeze on that stage.

Therefore, I have spoken with the dean at UTEP. He has given permission for us to set up one of our stages on the football field and keep it there for the rest of the week for you guys to practice. So instead of practicing in the recording studio the rest of the week, you will meet your band at the UTEP football field and practice there after school.

The stage you guys will be practicing on will be the exact stage you will performing on at every one of your stops on your tour. I have hired a producer, a very to the point woman that will be in charge of that part of your tour. She will take you through how the stage is set up, how you will start the show and anything else you need to know about performing on that stage. She will be with you up until Thursday when she has to join the set up crew in Dallas. After that, you won't see her again because she will be at your next stop setting up for your next show."

Josh really didn't have too many questions. The few he had, Ivan knocked them away fairly easily, letting Josh return with his friends. Even though the only thing on Josh's mind for a while now has been the concert, he wanted to return to his friends and Cesar to enjoy the rest of the evening. Ivan saw that and told him that he will be at UTEP the rest of week where he could ask any and all the questions that comes to mind.

With that, Josh thanked Ivan and rejoined Cesar and the guys at their table. None of them had a minute of rest all evening long. They enjoyed themselves and when the evening went into the early hours of the morning, the guys were still on the dance floor dancing and having fun. When it was announced that it was last dance, the guys booed, but stayed on the dance floor dancing the slow song that had started. Everyone that had stayed was on the dance floor with their dates.

All the way home, the conversation was about the artist that Jacob was able to get to perform at his parent's wedding. They couldn't believe that Jacob had actually gotten him because they thought this artist would never do a mere wedding. So when he was announced, they were knocked off their feet, but once they gathered themselves, no was able to get them off the dance floor.

Once the Lopez family was secure in their home, and Jacob's family was back at their place of residence, Alvarez was able to turn his attention to more urgent matters. During the day, he informed the officers that he wanted the SWAT team to meet him back at the main police station after the wedding, but didn't give them any more details. He didn't want them talking to their friends that might be one of the officers that still are loyal to Carnes.

Due to Alvarez wanting to execute the warrant in the dead of night, time was against him. He quickly made his way back to the police headquarters. Once there, he gathered the men he selected in a small briefing room to brief them on their assignment. As soon as he finished his briefing, they headed out to meet up with Hymes who didn't take his eyes off of Sol.

The SWAT team and Alvarez parked several blocks away from Sol's house so they didn't tip him off that they were there. Hymes met up with Alvarez there and briefed him on the goings on with Sol. Most of what Hymes had to say, Alvarez didn't pay much attention to, at least until Hymes got to the guns he saw Sol taking into the house.

Getting that bit of information, Alvarez went right to the SWAT team and told them that Sol might try and shoot his way out this time instead of trying to talk his way out. They understood how Alvarez came to that conclusion because of their last encounter with Sol. They found out quickly that Sol isn't a stupid man. Once he sees them coming, he will know that no amount of talking he will do will keep him from getting arrested this time.

Once they factored in the guns and the hidden basement, the SWAT team was ready to make entry. Hymes wanted to go like last time, but Alvarez held him back. There wasn't a doubt in Alvarez's mind that this time Sol is going to shoot. Due to that factor and the factor that Hymes isn't a trained SWAT officer, he wasn't about to put him in harm's way.

So as they stood back behind the barriers, the SWAT team began making their way to Sol's house. They were able to reach the house without Sol noticing, but before they were able to knock on the door, several lights in the house turned on. The officers in the rear didn't see a trip wire, and by the time they did, it was too late, they broke it, warning Sol that someone was out there in his back yard.

Immediately after the lights went on, sounds of breaking glass, followed by gun fire echoed through the quiet night, waking up the neighbors. The SWAT team took cover and waited for Sol to reload. Once he stopped firing, the order was given to make entry. Within seconds, the SWAT team threw in flash-bangs and smoke grenades and was in the house.

At first they didn't see Sol anywhere. They all knew where he was, but they had to clear each room before making their way to the hidden basement. Once the rooms were clear, they made their way to the hidden door, but stopped. After tripping up on a trip wire in the rear of the house, the SWAT team wasn't going to take any chances. They had no idea if Sol had wired the entrance somehow to blow up the minute they opened the door.

Trying to end this peacefully, the sergeant of the SWAT team tried to talk Sol out of the basement. However, when he got the same response from him over and over again, he knew he was going to have to order his men down there. Looking all around the door for any clues that there were trip wires, the sergeant hesitantly gave the order to go in when he was pretty sure there were no trip wires that will go off once they made entry.

Half was luck and the other half was experience, the sergeant was right. When they got the door open, nothing went off. One by one, they made their way down the stairs to a room where they were once before. However, this time Sol wasn't willing to surrender like the last time. Exactly what Alvarez feared, Sol was going down fighting.

Behind a newly constructed brick and metal wall, Sol started firing on the officers, hitting the first two that entered the room. The next two that got down, pulled their injured officers to safety as they fired at the brick wall. Sol knew he wasn't going to be able to hold out for long by just shooting, so he went to his next stop, grenades. One after another, he tossed out, causing the SWAT team to retreat up the stairs to safety.

The sergeant decided not to send his men in like he did the last time. He tried to talk Sol out and then tried to pull him out without using brutal force, but he sees now that Sol wasn't going to get out of the basement on his own two feet. He ordered several of his SWAT officers to throw in smoke grenades and then move in, but it didn't work.

Sol had a gas mask on and the minute the SWAT team started making their way back down the stairs, he opened fire, causing them to retreat back up. Seeing that he had no other choice, he ordered the same officers to throw down their grenades. Without hesitation, they pulled out the pins of several grenades and tossed them down into the basement before shutting the door. After they herd them go off and the floor shaking, they made entry to the basement again, but this time when they made it to the foot of the stairs, they weren't met with live fire.

Slowly they made their way closer and closer to where they knew Sol was hiding. Once they made it to the brick wall, one of the officers peeked over. Either it was luck, or he just had fast reflexes, the officer moved out of the way just in time when Sol opened fire. Having no other choice, the officers against the wall opened fire as they jumped to their feet, giving Sol no chance to return fire. When they stopped firing, and the dust settled, Sol laid there in a pool of his own blood.

Before calling in Alvarez and Hymes, the rest of the SWAT team joined their fellow officers in the basement and secured it. Before checking if Sol was alive or dead, they cleared away every weapon he had, including the boxes of grenades he didn't get to. Once they were sure he didn't have any more weapons, the sergeant kneeled down beside the motionless body of Sol to see if he was alive. Putting his fingers on Sol's throat, he didn't find a pulse. Taking his hand away, he radioed in that the suspect was down and DOA.

Neither Alvarez nor Hymes wanted it to end this way, but knew the decision on how this was going to end was out of their hands. It was all up to Sol if he was going to give up peacefully or try and fight his way out. Sadly he thought he was armed enough to take out an entire SWAT team and then get away. He was wrong and paid the ultimate price for being wrong; he paid with his life.

TO BE CONTINUED...

WRITER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another adventure filled chapter of `Shadow of My Father'. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. It has taken me a while to get back, but I'm almost there. Still have a lot of lock ups, which is taking me a lot longer to get a chapter out to you all, but I hope the final copy is to your all's liking.

With that said, let's get to what this corner is all about, the summation of the chapter. Finally in this chapter I covered a lot more time in it than I have covered in my last couple of chapters in this saga. If everything goes as I plan, I should be back to the way I had written in the past that covers at least a week in each chapter. Here I'm again getting away from what this corner is all about, sorry, won't happen again, wink, wink!

The beginning of the chapter we picked up with Rich and Cruz together in Rich's office. Rich got an idea and left Cruz sitting there in his office as he went to the press room and talked with the press. What do you all think about that little speech? Did he do what he had hoped to and that is wake up the voters on the bad senators in the state senate? I guess we will all find out in the chapters to come if the voters were woken up or not.

However, I can tell you that the voters in El Paso weren't because they didn't see the press conference live since there was bigger news happening in their city at the time. Man or man did Patrick's father cause a lot of problems. It looks like Marlene is okay. I hope you guys know me I'm evil and I sometimes go a one-eighty with plots. But it does look like Patrick's father is fighting for his life. Do you guys think he is going to survive? Or should I ask do you guys want him to survive? If he does, should he could to jail or the nut house?

If you are reading the other sagas in my world, you already knew that Brandon sang at Jacob's parents' wedding when they were leaving the church. In this chapter we got to see the day before that event how nervous young Brandon was. We all know it turned out great, but the poor guy was very nervous while he stood up there singing. Do you guys want to see more of Brandon singing or is Josh enough? How about the brothers singing together?

Detective Hymes wasn't fooled on the ID that Sol presented him. I understand why Alvarez did what he did; he erred on the side of caution. There is no doubt in my mind that they all knew it was Sol, but they wanted one hundred percent proof it was him before taking him down. I like the way Alvarez and Hymes did it and now there is no question he really is Sol.

If any of you wondered if Chris and Aaron's relationship was ever going to be found out, well you got your answer in this chapter. They weren't caught, no they weren't. They had enough hiding in shadows and decided to come out and tell all their friends they are together. I really loved seeing what I saw the morning of the wedding between these two. It finally looks like Chris is now moving on from Josh and he couldn't do so with a better person than Aaron. And Aaron couldn't find a better first boyfriend than he did in Chris. These two are together.

I hope you guys haven't forgotten about the twins because they haven't been written much about in the last few chapters. Either has Brandon, Daniel Jr., Carlos, Eric, Patrick, Bernice and a few other characters in the story. They aren't gone and will be back in the chapters to come, including their girlfriends. It was great to see Daniel Sr. and Barbara as parents changing diapers, but as the twins get older their plot lines are going to be a lot more exciting.

Another plot I hope you guys haven't forgotten about is Josh's tour because it is finally getting closer and closer. More than likely it will start in the next installment of this saga, so be ready for all the excitement that a tour brings. I am telling you the things I have planned for Spring Break for the guys are going to be a roller coaster ride for us all.

Finally the ending of the chapter! What other way could this chapter end than the way I ended it, with a bang! LOL! Sol couldn't be in his right mind if he thought he would have successfully made it out of that house by shooting his way out. Yes he built himself a little barrier, and got a lot of weapons, including some you wouldn't think a normal person would think about buying, but at the end he failed. At the end he lost his life because he refused to live in reality. I wonder what the aftermath of all this is going to be. The former chief of police, his cousin, has been quiet lately. Will the killing of Sol wake him up and bring him front and center again?

So many plots out there and not enough paper to write them up in one chapter! If I missed anything in this chapter in my corner, Daddy Rick will cover it in his corner I hope. With that said, don't ever think a plot line is going one direction, because I have been known to do a one eighty and change where the plot was going. Never think a character is one hundred percent good, or one hundred percent bad, because I have been known on changing them as well. A character is never gone in a saga unless the character is killed. So if you haven't seen them for a while, don't write them off. I love to keep you all guessing in each of my chapters.

I could stay here all day long, with all the open plots already in this story, but I won't. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

This sure was an involved and action packed chapter!

Rich is sure a pit bull and he seems to always have the Governor's back. I get the sense that Senator Westrick and his cronies are in deep and they don't even realize it yet. Rich showed keen wisdom in putting the situation out in front of the press. He's going to try the case in the court of public opinion; a politician's worst fear. Alberto seems to be a bit less of a leader than Rich but he appears to be totally loyal and honorable.

I was delighted that Chris and Aaron have found enough trust in each other and their fresh new relationship to go public. It was indeed a wonderful time and place to declare their bond at the wedding. I hope that Jacob is right and that they have nothing but wonderful times into the future.

Detective Alvarez was sure he had the right man, but was smart enough to wait for solid proof to prevent the case from imploding on him.

I see that Johnny and Davey might have convinced Johnny Sr. to relax his restrictions a bit. His son stood his ground without being disrespectful which pleased his dad and made him realize that perhaps there was enough sense and responsibility in his son to give more leeway and trust. Sometimes it's hard for parents to realize that their kids grow up quicker than they did.

I'm looking forward to Josh's tour and all the fun and excitement that will go along with that. I just hope that the extra shows don't make it seem like all work for Josh.

Until Next Time,

"Daddy" Rick