This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy that may contain graphic descriptions of sex. If you do not wish to read such material or doing so would compromise either of us in any way then please exit the way you came in. Otherwise, enjoy!
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
This story is marked "semi"-safe for your consumption if you are a "snowflake" of either extreme you might want to stop reading now. While there are no "overt' Political mentions here you may find oblique references. Skipping over those will not harm your enjoyment of the story. Still, I don't wish to offend your delicate sensibilities so you have been warned.
If you read Chapter One of this story you know the other caveats. Read The Dover Brothers first or you may well be confused but I will do my best to keep it to a minimum. Dover and Son will be longer than the previous work and will explore some side issues as I try to develop the "Doververse" and those who inhabit it. As always, questions, comments, suggestions and complaints are always welcome. Drop me an e-Mail at HonableRonable@gmail.com or RonVenable@hotmail.com . Likewise, if you wish to be notified when I publish new content in the "Doververse" or elsewhere drop me a line and I'll see you are notified. My "subscriber" list is growing by leaps and bounds! Thanks guys!
CHAPTER TWO: Livewires
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, age 49 -- our just-fired Hero
Ethan Gray -- age 45 -- Ben's live-in boyfriend
Cliff Dover, age 39 -- Archdruid and Ben's younger brother
John-Thomas Bilodeau, age 41 -- Cliff's partner
Luke Lonnigan, age 26 -- Ben's TA at Kings College
Rod Cleighbourne, age 26 -- Engineer at Future Dynamics
Scotty Welles, age 26 -- Scientist at Wonderworks and Rod's boyfriend
Glenn Gabler, age 39 -- owner of Golden Gables Construction
Lt. Benjamin Brazos "BB" Wolfe, age 39 -- Special Crimes Police
It was unusually clear and warm for the first Saturday in May along the Central California coast and it was a perfect day for a ride. Ben's ad hoc Motorcycle Club, the Livewires had decided to take a trip into the mountains so the big one-eyed man and his live-in boyfriend Ethan headed out to Cliff's brother's home Seacliff Manor to join the group.
As soon as the pair were through the gates and off their bikes Ben was wrapped in a hug by his brother. "Dude! John-Thomas told me you got shit-canned!" he exclaimed. "Gretchen Merriwyck is gonna PAY for this!"
"Keep y'r pants on ol' Son," Ben soothed. "Once I got over bein' pissed off `cause o' how they chose t' do th' deed I d'cided I was OK with it!"
"It's not like the big guy NEEDS the money!" Ethan put in. "I'm a Special Investigator for Future Dynamics now and Ben inherited enough cash from his late wife so if he chooses, he can sit around all day and eat bonbons for the rest of his life!"
"Like that's gonna happen!" Cliff laughed.
"What do you think you'll do Sir?" Luke Lonnigan had won several million dollars in a State Lottery while he was still in the Marines and the young man had carefully invested the bulk of his winnings. He had, however, splurged on his own Harley-Davidson Livewire ™electric bike with the Future Dynamics Longlife ™ bettery. Since the young man met the requirements (being gay or gay-tolerant and owning a Livewire) he was allowed to join. "Your students found out and they're all really pissed!"
"Son--it was bound t' happen sooner r later!" Ben told him. "Doc Klein was less n pleased `bout havin' me on Staff an' th' Politics on Campus were gettin' me down!"
"It still sucks!" the former Marine groused petulantly.
"It is what it is, ol' Son!" the Texan soothed. "I'm OK with it--now..."
"You could always go into flipping houses," Rod Cleighbourne suggested.
"Or maybe go into Construction Management!" Scott offered. "It was awesome the way you helped Rod and I through the renovation of our Brownstone! We'd have probably broken up if you hadn't been there to guide us through the process!"
Both young men turned to recently-arrived Glenn Gabler, owner of Golden Gables Construction. "What do you think Glenn-Bob?" Rod asked.
"Way to put me on the spot for my first ride!" the short, squat bodybuilder commented with a wry smile. Glenn and his company, Golden Gables Construction had done the work on Ben's Firehouse and the Brownstone Rod and Scott purchased. "Lord knows I could use the help with `problem' clients and I'd hate for you to start your own competing business!"
"I'd never do that, ol' Son!" Ben told him. "But, yeah, I had a mighty fine time doin' th' renovations an' wouldn't mind doin' it again..."
Glenn smiled and it was positively evil! "I've got the PERFECT Clients for you to start with!" he said. "Nick and Adam are willing to spend up to Five Million bucks for the right house but they can't find anything that's done to their oh-so-exacting specifications! So--they either want to build from the ground up or find something to renovate!"
"An' they don't know which?" the big Texan asked. Glenn nodded. "Yeah, I c'n see where that `ud be a might time consumin'!"
"Nick Di Capra and Adam Russo?" Scott asked.
"You know `em? Scotty-boy?" Ben asked.
"Adam is my boss," the young blond replied. "He's kind of a martinet and a really fussy Queen but if you know how to work around him. he's OK. Nick is a senior exec with Future Dynamics here in Kings Harbor: I met him a time or two at various company functions but I don't know him very well. Rod can tell you more..."
"He's a total Muscle Queen," the redhead informed Ben, "otherwise he and his `boo' are pretty much alike. They know what they want and they don't care if you know it! I'd LOVE to be a fly on the wall when you take those two on!"
"As long as I'm NOWHERE near when you do!" Glenn said, rubbing his hands together in an excited manner. "Yeah, big guy--I think this can be the start of a great working relationship!"
"You better nail him down before the school catches wise and realizes they are losing the best C/J Instructor they've had since the department opened!" Luke put in.
"That's mighty kind o' ya t' say, ol' Son!" Ben replied, "but don't let `Judge' Judy here ya say that!"
"Hey, Doctor Justice is fine with all the legal angles," the former Marine said, "but she's an Academic and doesn't have the faintest idea of what it's like on the street! Besides Sir--she actually LIKES you! I heard her tell a bunch of students they should repeat the basic classes with you so they'd have a grasp on how `real' Police operate!"
"That's nice t' know," Ben told the hunky blond ex-Marine. "I enjoyed chattin' with her but I didn't know she actually approved o' me!"
"That's `Judge Judy!" Luke said. "She'd DIE before she let anybody know she approves of them! But I heard her give Doctor Klein what for when she found out you weren't coming back in the Fall!"
"I almost feel sorry for that sap!"
"So--shall we go?" Cliff suggested. "We're burning daylight!"
Over a dozen electric Harley-Davidsons moved eastward heading into the Coastal Mountains toward Silverton, a small town tucked into the mountains between the coast and the Central Valley. As usual, Ben had a place near the back of the pack but not in the rear. Ethan rode to his right to protect his blind side while the less experienced riders made up the middle of the pack. Cliff and John-Thomas led, while BB Wolfe and Lt. Col. (Ret.) Gregg Donovan brought up the rear. The back roads were fairly well maintained and not-too-heavily trafficked at this time of year. (During Ski Season and when the leaves were changing, they were PACKED!)
A call came over the Helmet Radios on the "general" channel; "you guys ready for lunch?" It was Cliff. "We're just about ready for the turn onto `Old Mill Creek Road' and there's a really good BBQ place about a mile up!" Nobody objected so the Archdruid led the group to the "Old Mill Roadhouse". It was literally a converted sawmill built next to a creek (which, thanks to the melting winter snows higher up was quite full and rushing now). As soon as Ben's helmet was off his nose filled with the appetizing smell of cooking meat but the big Texan quickly lost interest as he saw a pair of men ready to go at it on the edge of the parking lot. His awen told him they were both Shifters, a Wolf and Bear.
Ben sent the others inside then made his way to where the two men were about to exchange punches. "What are ya two idjits up to?" he growled. "Y'r causin' a fuckin' scene!"
"Stay out of this--HUMAN!" the young werewolf snapped. He'd begun to transform though right now he just looked excessively hairy.
"That's no human!" the bear said. (He'd retained his human form.) "SMELL him Joey! That's not a human!"
"I'm human enough," Ben allowed, "I'm just God-touched!" This got both boys full attention and the werewolf reverted to his fully-human form. "Now--ya boys wanna tell me what this donnybrook is about?"
"The bears outed one of our cubs!" Joey bellowed.
"Did not!" the bear shouted back.
"BOTH OF YOU!" Ben snapped. "Lower y'r voices `r ya will out yourselves!"
"Sorry..." Joey looked like a kid who had his hand in the cookie jar.
"Now--ya wanna tell me what happened Son?" Ben had his most paternal attitude about him but it was sternness tempered with fatherly concern. "Let's use `r words an' maybe we c'n come t' some sort o' resolution that'll please both sides!"
"He and his bear buddies outed one of our cubs," Joey told Ben. "Kyle hasn't even learned to Shift yet but the humans beat the Hell out of him! He and his whole family are in hiding now!"
"Oh Son! I'm so sorry!" The big Texan's words were full of genuine sympathy. Since the "outing" there had been a shocking rise in hate crimes against presumed "Exotics"; most victims were nothing more than ordinary humans who marched to a different drummer. Still, they found themselves losing jobs, having their homes burglarized or burned and in extreme cases they lost their lives. The Fey could flee "Underhill" if they felt threatened but Shifters, Psis and Magic Users didn't have the option so their death toll was steadily rising.
"We didn't do it Sir!" the bear protested. "I swear to God!"
"I b'leve ya Son..." the big Texan replied softly.
"How do you know?" the young wolf asked belligerently.
Ben tapped his eyepatch. "I sacrificed this f'r Wisdom, Son," Ben told him. "I know when folks `r lyin' t' me an' that bear is tellin' th' truth!" This was enough to shut the young werewolf up. "D' ya know who did, Son?" Ben asked the werebear.
"No Sir!" the young man replied adamantly. "None of the Bearpaw Clan would! We'd be exiled for tattling on a fellow exotic! I swear to God!"
"He's tellin' th' truth Son..."
This finally got through to Joey. "Sorry Ken..." he finally said.
"'s Okay Joey," the young werebear replied. "I get how frightening that must be! Fuck dude! We're ALL running a little scared now! We've been friends since Grade School! Can't we at least TRY to be friends again?"
Joey gave Ken a bro' hug. "Let's make like a tree and leaf!" he said. "We put on enough of a show for the tourists!" Happy, for now at least, the pair made their way to their vehicles, friendship mended.
"I've got a few connections," Ben promised the young men before they could get too far. "I'll see if I c'n find out who spread th' story! You just hafta promise ya won't do anythin' stupid if it turns out t' be a human!"
"Yes Sir!" the two said as Ben turned to join his friends in the restaurant.
"Nice bit of work," John-Thomas observed as the big Texan sat down to join his friends. "You'd have been a marvelous parent to teenagers!"
"Actually," the man responded, "I have one out there somewhere..."
"Say what?" Cliff was confused. "GIVE bro'!"
"Back when I was in th' Army I had a good buddy named Billy Joe Du Bois," Ben told the men. "He an' his Missus tried n' tried t' have a kid but it seems Billy Joe was firin' blanks! They asked me if I'd lend em some baby gravy! So, we went th' `turkey baster' route!"
"And it worked?" Rod Cleighbourne was incredulous.
"First try!" Ben said. "Billy Joe n' Ruth-Amy named th' kid Benjamin Jay after me but we made a written agreement that I would have no contact with the boy! My name wasn't on th' Birth Certificate an' I was roughly th' same height an' colorin' as Billy Joe so it wouldn't be that obvious. I served as Godfather t' th' boy but we lost track o' one another after I left th' Service. I don't know where any of em are now..."
"Hope that doesn't come back to bite you in the ass!" Scott observed.
"If it does, I'll deal with it!" Ben told him. "I kept th' Contract all these years but if th' boy ever wants t' know his bio-Dad I'm open t' that."
"Did Robyn know?" Cliff wondered.
"I told her everythin'," Ben replied. "She married me anyway--even knowin' about th' `gay' thing and a potential stepson! But th' kid's just about t' turn sixteen an' I doubt he even knows how he was conceived."
"Wow!" was all Cliff could say. Conversation on the topic of Ben's "son" might have continued but their food began arriving and the group found themselves distracted by delicious BBQ and a massive array of side dishes.
The conversation quickly turned to other topics but John-Thomas found he couldn't stop thinking about Ben's son. What had stirred up in his mind to bring that thought out? Were the Gods trying to send him a message? Maybe this was an oblique warning for Ben to be prepared... In the end the Druid realized he was worrying for nothing and his food was getting cold. What happened would happen whether he fretted or not. Besides, he reasoned, Ben could take care of anything that came his way. He'd proved that by saving the world from the Oberdorfs and their Sons of Purity!
The group decided to forego dessert and make a stop at the Wisteria Candy Cottage on the way back to Kings Harbor to pick up some handmade chocolate and other sweet treats. With the bill paid they made their way back to the parking lot. Sitting near Ben's Livewire were a pair of Mastiffs, one Fawn and one Reverse Brindle. The fawn wore a blue vest with gold brocade and a blue bowler, the brindle had a large flowered hat perched on her head at a jaunty angle. "Now that's something you don't see every day!" Cliff observed.
Ben's awen kicked in. "They're Pookahs!" he informed the group.
"Kewl!" Rod said. "I thought for a minute we were all sharing a group hallucination!"
{{Hoi!}} Ben recognized the male's telepathic communication and wondered if the others could hear it. {{I is Monty an' dis is Figgy!}}
{{He is MONTRESSOR!}} the female broadcast and Ben knew everyone in his group heard her. {{My name is Iphiginiah! We have been sent by the Oberon and Titania to stay with you.}} Her manner was as imperious as her name. {{These--vehicles are not suitable conveyances for us!}}
"Ma'am, that's what we got!" Ben told her, refusing to rise to the bait. "Bein' Pookahs I assume y'all have alternate shapes ya c'n use `r, failin' that, I assume y'all have some mystical means o' travel..."
"He gots you dere Figgy," the male said aloud. "Don' wowwy--we will fowwow you home..."
"MUST you do that Montresor?" Figgy sighed.
"It paht of my chawm!" the male told her with a sly wink. "At weast da Man int MAD at me!" Figgy sighed elaborately, snapped her tail and began fading from the extremities. "I beddah fowwo heh--she might get up to mischief!" He too faded away but in a less dramatic fashion.
"Your life just got a LOT more interesting bro'!" Cliff quipped.
"Just what I needed!" Ben sighed. "A more interestin' life..."
END CHAPTER TWO