index


Message-ID: <48160asstr$1086696602@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Vulgar Argot <vulgarargotREMOVEALL@CAPSinsidejoke.tv>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Subject: {ASSM} Princes of Mannsborough, Chapter 18
Lines: 1358
Date: Tue,  8 Jun 2004 08:10:02 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Princes of Mannsborough, Part 18
by Vulgar Argot
(tags moved to bottom for spoilerage)

Despite the girls' efforts not to wake him, Thule was up shortly after
nine. He'd woken up earlier, but a quick glance at the other bed
coupled with the sounds of muffled giggles and other, more guttural
sounds convinced him that getting up at that point would either force
him into an awkward rejection or make them take even longer than it
already was to get out of the city.

In spite of that, he still nearly got up anyway. It clearly didn't fit
into his plans, but he was still male and human. Sleep had eventually
won out, though. Thule suspected he would have another chance.

When he got up around nine, Thule actually felt refreshed for the
first time in weeks. Other than a slight headache from oversleeping,
he guessed he'd finally caught up on the perpetual sleep debt. By that
time, Dawn and Marigold were dressed, packed and ready to go.
Marigold's dress was still short on Dawn, but not as dangerously so as
the sun dress she'd worn yesterday. Thule wondered why Marigold hadn't
offered her the more respectable looking dress for church, but decided
that he probably wouldn't like the answer.

He watched Marigold with a critical eye, wondering what he had
wrought. She seemed determined to do an abrupt personality about face,
something Thule emphatically did not want. If she proceeded as she was
going, he would have to gently remind her what he had fallen in love
with her for in the first place.

Watching Dawn and Marigold interact, he could see that the two were
bound to each other as strongly as they were bound to him, maybe more
so. He'd watched Dawn try to protect Marigold both from herself and
from Maya yesterday. Marigold had always been protective of Dawn, even
if she had an odd way of showing it.

He knew, as well as he could know such things, that he could trust
either of them to never betray him. He didn't entirely trust either of
them to keep secrets for him, though. They just weren't wired for it.
That was a relief, too. He couldn't imagine getting involved with a
woman as paranoid as he was. The idea of PGP signed love notes was
just too much of a stretch.

Of course, if he were really as cautious as he liked to pretend,
things would not be gradually spiraling out of control for him. He'd
told too many people too much already. Maya, Marigold, Dawn, Jonas,
Svetlana. What the hell had he been thinking with Svetlana? There were
so many different ways he could kick himself in response to that
question. Once he had decoded the video of June Kane's rape, one way
or another, he was going to have to go to the FBI with what he had. It
was only a matter of time before somebody spilled the beans.

They managed to get out of the hotel shortly after ten and to the Spy
Store just before eleven. Thule retrieved the parts he needed from an
apologetic sales representative, not even stopping to browse. He
wanted to get home as soon as possible. When they stopped for lunch at
a non-descript little diner outside of the city, Thule paged Oksana.
She called back a few minutes later.

"Thule," she said, "I was wondering where you were. You're missing a
hell of a day."

"Oh?" asked Thule. "Do tell."

"The cops came by like a half hour ago and took Ian, Brianne's
ex-boyfriend, out in cuffs. Then, they clipped the locks off of both
of his lockers and took away everything in evidence bags.

Thule rubbed his temples. He'd been sure that neither Ivan nor
Svetlana would call the cops in on this one. Had Randy? Wanting to
know how much information was available, he asked, "Did they say why?"

"No," said Oksana, "but, it's pretty obvious. He was handing out
flyers for his new website this morning and, while I personally didn't
see it, everybody's saying that it was full of pictures of Brianne
having sex with like a dozen different guys, including some wild
footage from this vacation they went on together in Mexico last spring
break."

"I'm not following," said Thule, "What did he get arrested for?"

"Well," said Oksana, "there's a question as to how consensual some of
the situations were--and some of them go back a few years. So, I would
guess it's some kind of kiddie porn thing they actually arrested him
on. But, that's not the wildest part. While the police were going
through his locker, they got real excited all of a sudden and
evacuated the school. We're all out on the front lawn right now. Word
is that they're cutting the locks off of every locker in the school
now. And, it's not just local police. It's state and FBI too. Plus,
there are some TV news vans coming in now."

"Shit," said Thule, "Has anyone commented on my absence?"

"Not to me," said Oksana, "Where are you anyway?"

Thule sighed, "Marigold, Dawn, and I came into the city to help Maya
move. It took a lot longer than expected. Listen, did you notice if
June Kane is there today?"

"She's not," said Oksana, "As soon as Brianne found out about the web
site, she left. Since then, the cheerleaders have been running around
like a bunch of color-coordinated chickens with their heads cut off
because."

"Okay," said Thule, "thanks."

When he got off the phone, he turned to Dawn, "Call June Kane. If she
answers, ask her to pick up your homework for you."

"Homework?" asked Dawn, "Thule, you've got some screwed..."

"Just do it," said Thule. "It's not about homework."

Dawn dialed her phone, listened, then hung up. "It went to voicemail."

"Call her at home," said Thule.

"I don't know her number," said Dawn.

"Use information. There should only be one Kane family in
Mannsborough." Thule said. Then, he had to explain to Dawn how to use
information on her cell phone. As he was explaining, his cell phone
rang. He answered it.

"Dule," said the voice on the other end.

"Svetlana," said Thule as calmly as he good, "It's a surprise to hear
from you. What can I do for you?"

"I am just settled in with nice man in New York," said Svetlana, "I
was thinking maybe you come to New York and visit."

"Sveta, you know better," said Thule, "but, why don't you give me the
number there? Maybe I'll call you in a few weeks when things settle
down."

"I am getting cell phone today," said Svetlana, "But, here is number."
She read off the digits. Thule wrote them down.

"Who was that?" asked Marigold, clearly trying to make it sound like a
casual question.

"Svetlana Vandevoort," said Thule, trying to be equally casual.

"Randy's mother?" Marigold asked. "Why would she be calling you?"

"Stepmother," said Thule, not sure why he felt this detail was
important enough to bring up at the moment. "I told her to get in
touch with me when she settled in New York. She's getting divorced
from Ivan."

"Oh, Thule," said Marigold, "you didn't sleep with Sveta Vandevoort.
Did you?"

Thule didn't answer for a second. Marigold seemed content to wait for
an answer, even if the pause seemed to speak volumes. Finally, he
said, "Yes, after the party on Saturday."

"You did not," said Marigold, her voice incredulous. "Thule, how do
you even know Sveta?"

"I...uh, didn't before the party," Thule said unevenly. "Wait a
second. How do you know her?"

"We...met," said Marigold. "It was a long time ago. I was fourteen or
so."

Thule noticed that Marigold seemed uncomfortable at the question.
Before he could speak up, Dawn interrupted, worry clear on her face,
"June's mother says she hasn't been home since Saturday morning."

"I was afraid of that," said Thule. "In a day or two, I'll call Silent
Hills, see if I can't get a hold of her."

"Do you think she'll be there?" asked Marigold.

"I hope so," said Thule. Neither girl asked him to elaborate. He
quickly filled them in on the situation at the school, adding, "It's
probably better if we don't go in at all at this point. Whatever
attention we might have drawn by not being there, it will be much
heavier if we show up in the middle of the day. I'll take you two
home, then see what's on this chip.

"I want to see what's on the chip," said Dawn. Her voice brooked no
argument.

Thule looked her in the eye, "It won't be easy to watch. I have
another clip, forty seconds long, bad focus, mostly audio, and it's
very hard to review."

"I still want to see," said Dawn, "I need to know what almost happened
to me. That wasn't my first near miss. I want it to be my last."

Thule sighed, "I really don't know what you hope to accomplish. But,
it's up to you. Why don't I swing by your house so you can at least
put on some of your own clothes before we proceed?"

"Shoot," said Dawn, "I still need to buy underwear. Where can we stop
between here and home?"

"There are a couple of places on the way," said Thule. Both girls
looked at him questioningly. He deliberately ignored them.

                                      -=-

By two pm, they were parked outside of Dawn's house. As soon as they'd
watched Dawn disappear into the house, Marigold turned to Thule, "So,
are you planning on sleeping with her again?"

"Again?" asked Thule. "I haven't even slept with her once yet."

Marigold looked puzzled, then realization dawned on her face, "I
didn't mean her. I meant Mrs. Vandevoort."

"Definitely not," said Thule emphatically. "It was a mistake to sleep
with her the first time."

Marigold gave a harsh chuckle, but didn't say anything for a minute.
When she did speak, she said, "Thule, would it be horrible if I said I
wanted to renegotiate our agreement?"

"Not inherently," said Thule.

"Could you possibly promise me that you won't sleep with Svetlana
again?"

Thule scowled, "I just said that. Didn't I?"

"No," said Marigold. "You said you didn't plan on it. There's a
difference."

"I promise," said Thule. "But, if you've got a rule in mind, I wish
you would say what it was. I don't want to have to keep having this
conversation."

Marigold shook her head, "No Svetlana is the rule I want. If I'd
thought even for an instant that it was a possibility, I would have
made that a rule right at the start. Compared to Svetlana, I'd rather
you sleep with Brianne."

Thule turned in his seat, "Why? Marigold, you seem to know her much
better than I do. What did I get myself into?"

Marigold shook her head, "It's not that. She's just so beautiful and
sophisticated and...wild. I could compete with Brianne, but I can't
compete with that."

Thule raised one hand to stroke the side of her face and said,
"Marigold, you have no idea how beautiful you are or you would never
say that."

Marigold gave him a weak smile, "Maybe, but I can't be that wild."

"Little flower," said Thule. "You're already becoming wilder than I
know what to do with. I fell in love with you the first time we came
to New York. You don't need to change to keep me. It's actually making
me nervous."

Marigold shook her head, "I'm not doing it to keep you. I'm not sure
why I'm doing it...I just feel like it's something I have to do. I
just feel like I missed so much."

Thule kissed her forehead, "I know. But, you've got your whole life to
make up for lost time. Do you have to do it all at once?"

Marigold grinned and leaned into his hand, "I guess not." She reached
up with both hands, took his index finger, guided it into her mouth,
and gently bit the tip.

Thule removed his hand to make room for a kiss, sliding his arms
around her, nearly pulling her into his lap.

When the kiss was over, Marigold asked, "Thule, did you use your
little cameras and microphones on me, the way you do to Randy?"

"No," said Thule, "I observed you, but not like that."

"How, then?" asked Marigold.

"Like a man seeking revenge and looking for weakness," said Thule.
"It's better that you not know the details."

Marigold shivered in Thule's arms. But, she did not pull away, only
burrowed deeper into him.

"Dawn is taking a long time to change clothes," said Thule.

"How did you know I plagiarized my Harvard essay?"

"You left a copy of it on your Mac in the newspaper office, on the
desktop," said Thule.

"Oh," said Marigold, blushing. "Was I really so careless?"

"You didn't know anybody was out to get you," said Thule, "or would
recognize your essay."

Marigold looked up at him, "How did you recognize it?"

"As luck would have it," said Thule, "I wrote it--or, at least, most
of it."

"No," said Marigold, "Karen Kane wrote it."

Thule raised an eyebrow, "Did you really think Karen Kane knew the
word, 'captious?'"

"I didn't even know the word 'captious,'" said Marigold, "I took it
out. Are you saying you wrote Karen's essay?" When Thule nodded, she
asked, "Why?"

"Money," said Thule, "I was selling term papers to upper classmen at
the time."

Marigold looked shocked, "You were blackmailing me for doing what you
helped Karen Kane do for money. Didn't you feel a little bit
hypocritical?"

"Only a little," said Thule, "College essays are a joke. I could have
taught Karen how to write her own in fifteen minutes. Nobody gets into
college based on one. If I'd thought you were doing something
genuinely, seriously wrong, I would have ultimately had to turn you
in."

"You would have done that to me?" asked Marigold.

"Probably not," said Thule, "not once I got to know you. But, that
would have been the plan. I would not have counted on what a bad
influence you are on my ethics."

Marigold looked like she wanted to protest, but her phone rang before
she could.

"That must be my parents," she said. "Hello. Oh, Dawn. What's up?" She
listened for a while, then said, "hang on." Covering the mouthpiece,
she said, "Her mother just told her that, if she goes out again, she's
not to come back."

Thule nodded, "All right. Tell her I'll show her the recording as soon
as we get a chance."

Marigold shook her head, "She sounds like she wants to get out of
there. She's really upset."

"Does she have somewhere she could go?" asked Thule. Then, he saw the
way Marigold was looking at him, "Oh, no. What about your place?"

"I can ask," said Marigold, "once Jonas gets home, if you like. But,
it would feel weird. Having her sleep over under my parents' noses is
one thing, but....well, you have all that space and you already did it
once for Oksana."

"What about after we leave for Boston?" asked Thule.

"I could ask Jonas if she could take over my room," said Marigold. "It
wouldn't be so weird if I weren't there. Or, you could see if your
father would let her housesit."

Thule sighed, "You really want this, don't you?"

Marigold's eyes shined, "Whenever she talks about her home life, she's
very circumspect, but it sounds just awful. We just saved Maya from a
bad situation. How can we do any less for Dawn?"

"Marigold," said Thule, "if you move Dawn in right under my nose..."

"I know," said Marigold. "It's all right, Thule. I would be happy to
see you two together. It would be perfect."

Thule sighed. It wouldn't be perfect. But, Dawn was waiting for an
answer and, even if Marigold was trying to play him like a cheap
flute, she was also the one whose feelings he was trying to spare. He
gestured to her, "Give me the phone." Into the handset, he said,
"Dawn?"

"Thule?" asked Dawn. Marigold had been right. She sounded miserable.

"Dawn," he said reassuringly, "do you want to get out of there?"

"Yes," she said, sniffling. "Desperately. But, they're threatening to
throw me out if I do."

Thule took a deep breath before continuing, "Dawn, if it's important
enough, you could come live in my sister's old room, like Oksana used
to. We would still have to figure out what to do with you after
Marigold and I left for college, but we've got some pretty good
ideas."

There was a long pause before Dawn answered. Thule could hear people
yelling in the background. When Dawn spoke, her voice was calmer,  "I
could stay with you? That wouldn't be weird?"

"It would be extraordinarily weird," said Thule. "But, yes. You could
come and stay with me. Would you like that?"

"Y-yes," said Dawn.

"All right," said Thule, "Can you just walk out or should I come
inside and make sure you can get out okay?"

"Come and get me," said Dawn, "please."

"Okay," said Thule, "where are you now?"

"In my room," said Dawn.

"Okay," said Thule, "should I come in now or would it be easier for
you to pack before I come in and tell your mother I'm taking you out
of there?"

"Um...." said Dawn, "I should pack first."

"Okay," said Thule, "Do you want me to stay on the phone or will you
call me back when you're ready for me to come and get you?"

"I can call back...Thank you so much, Thule."

"Anything for you, kiddo," said Thule. "How long do you think it will
take to pack? Don't worry about getting everything--just clothes and
whatever you can't do without. We can come back for the rest later."

"Fifteen minutes," said Dawn.

"Okay," said Thule, "If you don't call me in twenty, I'm coming to the
front door. So, make sure you call me before then, even if only to
tell me that it's going to take longer. Can you do that for me?"

There was silence. Thule said, "I can't hear you if you're nodding."

Dawn giggled unevenly, "I'll do that. Thank you, Thule. I'll call
you."

Thule snapped his phone shut, then turned to Marigold, "I don't like
being put on the spot like that."

"I know," said Marigold. "I'm sorry. I knew about her situation at
home and talked to Jonas about her moving in with us. But...it would
be weird now."

"It's going to be weird to have her at my place," said Thule. "It
pretty much guarantees we're going to sleep together."

Marigold grinned, "That wasn't already guaranteed?"

Thule scowled, "No, Marigold. You've done an excellent job of throwing
her at me if that was your intent."

Marigold shrugged, "I know the two of you are going to sleep with
people other than me. Is it so crazy that I would rather it be each
other?"

"I don't know," said Thule. "Maybe we could swing by Wingside and ask
their opinion."

Marigold stuck out her tongue. Thule leaned forward and licked it.

Thule's phone rang. He opened his phone, listened, and nodded into it,
"Okay. Come down to the front door when I ring the bell. How many
suitcases do you have?"

"Three," Dawn said, "and a backpack."

"Okay," Thule said, "Bring down the backpack with you or nothing at
all. You'll want at least one hand free. I imagine there will be a
confrontation of some sort. I'll send Marigold up the stairs with you
to get the rest. We're heading up the path now."

When Thule and Marigold got to the door, Dawn's father opened it. He
was a worried-looking, balding man dressed in black slacks and a
button-down shirt. He was about the same height as his daughter and
had to crane his neck way back to smile wanly at Thule. He spoke
politely, "Can I help you?"

Thule felt bad about having to risk conflict with this man. He seemed
like a nice enough guy. Speaking almost deferentially, he said,
"Hello, Mr. Cavendish. We're here to pick up Dawn."

"Dawn's not going out anymore today," her father said. "She's
grounded."

Dawn came down the stairs, backpack in her hand. Before her father
even knew she was there, she slipped under his arm and was headed out
to the car.

"Dawn," her father shouted. "Dawn, come back here. You're grounded."
Pushing past Thule, he chased her up the path. Thule followed him.
Dawn had put her bag in the backseat and turned to head back to the
house when her father caught up with her. Grabbing her by the upper
arm, he said, "Dawn, get back in the house this instant."

Thule caught him by the wrist. Holding the wrist as gently as he
could, he said, "Mr. Cavendish, I'm going to have to ask you not to
touch her. Dawn called and asked us to help her move out."

The man looked grimly determined and didn't seem likely to let go.
Thule applied a little bit of pressure to his wrist.

"Dawn," came a shrill voice from the front steps. "What the fuck do
you think you're doing?"

On hearing the voice, Dawn's father immediately released her forearm.

"Mr. Cavendish," Thule said quietly, releasing the man's wrist, "I'm
sure you don't want to do this out in the front yard. Why don't we go
inside?"

Dawn's father glanced from Thule to his wife, standing on the front
step, dressed in a smart aquamarine suit. Thule was already trotting
up the path, trying to get ahead of Dawn, when the woman shrieked
again, "Dawn, get in the house this instant."

"Get in the house, Margaret," Dawn's father said as loudly as he could
without shouting, following Thule up the path.

Dawn's mother intercepted her a third of the way up the path, catching
her in the same place on the arm that her husband had. Not looking at
Dawn, she said to her husband in a low voice, full of menace,
"How...dare...you?"

Before the man could answer, Thule said, "Mrs. Cavendish, I'm going to
have to ask you not to touch your daughter. She..."

Dawn's mother reached up and slapped Thule in the face. Everyone
froze.

Thule rubbed his cheek. Quietly, he said, "Marigold, go and get Dawn's
bags, please."

Dawn's mother reached up and slapped him again. Dawn pulled away from
her grasp and screamed, "Stop it." Thule laid a hand Dawn's on her
shoulder.

"Mrs. Cavendish," he said quietly, "stop slapping me."

She turned on him in a rage. Dawn started to walk back towards the
house. Thule stood his ground, knowing that, even if she attacked him,
he was buying Dawn and Marigold time and she probably couldn't do much
damage.

Mr. Cavendish put a hand lightly on his wife's shoulder, opening his
mouth to say something. She whirled on him, shrieking again, "Don't
you dare touch me." He pulled his hand away as if burned.

Realizing that the scope of the conflict was not likely to be
contained by the fact that it was going on in their front yard and in
easy sight of a dozen neighboring houses, Thule said as calmly as he
could, "Mrs. Cavendish, Mr. Cavendish, why don't we take this inside?
You don't need your neighbors watching."

Dawn's mother whirled on Thule again. He wondered if she wasn't
getting dizzy with all of the spinning. She shouted, "I will go
inside." Eyes flashing dramatically, she announced, "to call the
police." She ran in the house, her husband trailing behind her.

Thule walked up behind them. Taking quick stock of the room, he
positioned himself diagonally between the base of the stairs and the
front door. The staircase was built against the wall. Either one of
Dawn's parents would have to push past Thule to go up the stairs.

Dawn's father was trying to talk to her mother. The mother was having
none of it and had started shrieking again. Thule could see that the
man was only exacerbating his wife's anger, but didn't feel up to
playing marriage counselor. As long as they were focused on each
other, they weren't screaming at him.

Mrs. Cavendish turned to scream at Thule again, "Did you hear me? I'm
calling the police."

"That would be inadvisable," said Thule, his eyes hard. "You assaulted
me outside. You assaulted your daughter."

She gave a shriek of incoherent rage. Thule didn't budge. She screamed
in his face, "You broke into my house and kidnapped my daughter."

In spite of the situation, Thule had to stifle a laugh. Dawn's father
tried to speak up again, but his wife shot him such a withering glare
that he closed his mouth.

"Mrs. Cavendish," said Thule calmly to the frothing woman, "if you
feel the need to call the police, you should do so. But, I don't
believe that they're going to charge me with breaking and entering or
kidnapping."

She stared at him. There was something frighteningly feral about the
look on her face. Thule could tell that she was considering how much
damage she could do if she attacked him. He relaxed a little. That
sort of thought pattern at least implied some degree of ratiocination.

She stormed over to the phone, "I'm calling the police."

Thule didn't say anything. There was still a small chance that she was
bluffing and he didn't want to antagonize her into going through with
it.

It didn't matter. She dialed, then said, "Hello. I would like to
report a break-in."

"For Heaven's sake, Marla," her husband shouted. "He knocked on the
front door. We let him in."

Marla glowered at her husband and said into the phone, "And a
kidnapping." She listened, "My daughter." Pause, "Upstairs, in her
bedroom." Pause, "No, he's down here in the living room." Pause, "Um,
about six and a half feet."

"Six five," said Thule. That earned him another glare.

"He's got a buzz cut, like a serial killer. And, he's big," she said
into the phone. Thule could feel that she was warming to the subject.

"You might just want to tell her it's Thule Roemer," Thule said.

Donna's mother glared at him again, "He says his name is Thule
Roemer." Pause, "What?" Pause, "No, I..."

She thrust the phone at Thule angrily, "She wants to talk to you."

Thule took the phone, "Hello."

"Thule, hon," said a voice he didn't recognize, "Officer Yudin would
like to speak to you."

Apparently deciding that it had been quiet long enough, Dawn and
Marigold appeared at the top of the stairs, arms full of suitcases.
Mrs. Cavendish looked like she might lunge for them, but Thule
interposed himself long enough for them to scamper by.

"Thule," said a familiar male voice, "It's Vladi. What's going on over
there?"

"Hey, Vladi," said Thule, "I'm just helping a friend move. Her parents
have some concerns over the legality of the situation."

Vladi chuckled, "Want me to come put the fear of God in them?"

Thule mulled for a moment. It would certainly make life easier. But,
he doubted Dawn would appreciate if he used his influence to have the
cops come rough up her parents. So, he said, "No. I think you should
do this one by the book."

"Thule," said Vladi, "if I did this by the book, I'd probably have to
bring you all in while we untangled the mess."

Thule sighed, but got an idea, "I'm going to give Mrs. Cavendish the
phone back. Maybe you should explain that to her. It might facilitate
things."

"Sure, buddy," said Vladi, "Anything to avoid the paperwork."

Thule handed Dawn's mother the phone. For a while, she transferred her
rage to Vladi over the phone. Whatever he told her, Thule saw the look
on her face change from rage to fear. He wasn't even hearing the words
anymore. His mind was already on what he needed to do next. This had
already taken longer than he felt like he had time for.

So engrossed was he in thought that he almost missed it when Dawn's
mother put down the phone and said shakily, "Get out of my house."

Thule shot a sympathetic glance at Dawn's father before turning to go.
As he opened the door, her mother added scornfully, "And tell that
ungrateful whore to never come back here."

Thule considered a number of possible responses, but in the end,
decided to just pull the door closed behind him.

Out in the car, Marigold sat in the back seat, cradling Dawn's head on
her shoulder while Dawn cried and shook. Thule wanted to comfort her
too, but decided putting some distance between them and the house
would ultimately be more useful to her state of mind.

Still, as soon as they'll pulled out of the development and onto the
county road, he turned enough to say, "You handled that well back
there, both of you."

Dawn laughed, creating a short-lived snot bubble, "Yeah. Future
generations will refer to the tactic of running out the door with your
tail between your legs the 'Dawn Cavendish.'"

Thule said seriously, "That could have been a lot worse."

Dawn nodded, "I know. I was surprised we didn't see any police."

Thule just nodded. He didn't relish trying to explain what just
happened without making it sound like he had used his influence to
have the police lean on Dawn's mother.

"So," he asked, "did you manage to get everything you need?"

Dawn nodded, "I think so. Marigold spotted a few things I would have
really missed if I didn't bring them."

Thule nodded, "We'll set you up in Becky's room. I'm afraid I haven't
been in there to clean in a few weeks, so it might need a good vacuum
and dust before you take up residence."

Unexpectedly, Dawn started giggling. It wasn't the giggle of someone
losing their mind either, but the rich, honest giggle of
insuppressable amusement.

Thule looked in the rearview mirror, "What?"

"When you dust," Dawn asked, "do you wear an apron?"

Thule scowled a little, "Of course. I don't want to get dust all over
my clothes."

Dawn looked at Marigold. Thule now realized that his girlfriend had
been repressing a giggle of her own. It burst forth now. Soon, both
girls were giggling, unable to stop. Thule still had no idea what was
so funny.

When they had managed to get it somewhat under control, he said, "It's
not like a pink, frilly apron, mind you. It's a very masculine one."

Another dam burst. Now, they were laughing out loud. Thule suddenly
realized that he was bridling, his shoulders hunched. Marigold had
laughed cruelly at him enough times over the last few years that it
could still raise his hackles. He forced his shoulders down and made
himself relax. There was no malice here and both of them could use a
good laugh.

"Dawn," he said finally, "do you have any doctors you visit regularly?
You should get to them this week if you can. If your parents take you
off their insurance, it will take a little while, but you don't want
to wait too long."

"They won't," said Dawn simply.

Thule considered her in the rearview mirror, "I don't know. Your
mother was pretty mad."

"I know," said Dawn. "My father is in charge of the insurance. He
would never cut me off. He didn't cut Donna off when she moved out in
the middle of the night. And, even if he wanted to, he would keep me
on just to antagonize my mother. Still, there are some doctors I
really need to get to soon anyway."

"Little Flower," said Thule, "I'm going to be really busy this week.
Could you get a car, by any chance, and help her get around? My place
is kind of isolated and it's a hike and a half to the nearest bus
route."

"I can ask Jonas," said Marigold. "My mother keeps pestering him that
I should get more driving practice before I move to Boston."

Thule said, "We're pretty well set for household expenses. Feeding two
is not much more expensive than feeding one. I'm already paying your
cell phone bill and getting you to and from school. If you have time
and you want to work after school, I can ask at the lab. Are there any
other expenses I should know about?"

"I take a few medications," said Dawn. "I don't think they cost much.
I already make some money. I work at Ogden's Garage when I can sneak
out afternoons and do some tutoring."

"Shit," said Thule, taking out his phone and dialing. When the phone
was answered, he said, "Ioke, I'm so sorry. With all the excitement
today, I complete forgot I was supposed to tutor you. Can we do it
another day--um, Thursday or Friday?"

"You don't want to tutor me today?" Ioke asked. Thule heard another
speaker, trying to mask their voice, say something to Ioke, "What
about later tonight? I could really use your help."

In spite of her social circle, Thule had always considered Ioke
straightforward and trustworthy. So, he asked, "Ioke, is there someone
there with you?"

She laughed. To Thule, it was a musical sound, "No. No one is here."

Thule said calmly, "Ioke, just answer yes or no. Are you in some sort
of danger?"

She laughed again, "No, Thule. I'm fine. What time can you come by
tonight?"

Thule looked at the dashboard clock, subtracting the hour and twenty
minutes it was permanently ahead, "How about five?"

"Okay," said Ioke. "I'll see you at five, then."

Thule frowned and snapped his phone shut.

                                   -=-

After they'd all carried the bags in, the girls chased Thule out of
Dawn's new bedroom. Thule hadn't left himself enough time to watch
what was on the camera he'd retrieved from the locker room, but had
hoped to at least have time to watch it at high speed and see if he'd
gotten any visuals at all. But, he wound up having to download a
special driver for the camera and dig through his adapter drawer to
get the non-standard adapter to talk to his PC. Once he did that, it
was already approaching five o'clock. He had just enough time to copy
the file onto his hard drive, encrypt it, and lock the original in his
safe before he had to go.

On his way out the door, he slid made sure the pistol was loaded and
slid it into the front waistband of his pants. He considered taking a
couple of extra clips, but decided that any problem he couldn't handle
with eight bullets wouldn't be solved with more.

It took fifteen minutes to get to Ioke's house. Her family lived in
Mannsborough Park, a gated community that took itself very seriously,
particularly the gate guards. This was particularly true of the gate
guards, in spite of the fact that there were so many holes in the
perimeter that the only people who ever came to the gate were
legitimate visitors. Anyone who was here for more nefarious purposes
could find another way in with minimal effort.

When Thule knocked at the front door of Ioke's house, her mother
answered the front door and informed him that her daughter was in the
gazebo out back. Thule had seen the gazebo from the road. He walked
out to his car as if he had forgotten something. From his car, it was
easy to skirt the perimeter of the yard to get to the gazebo without
crossing any open space. Like many properties in this part of town,
the yard was surrounded by woods. Thule took full advantage of that
fact, slipping out of sight of the yard as he circled around.

That was how he saw who the other speaker had been. It was neither who
he had feared or hoped. But, why she was lurking behind a tree,
watching Ioke in the gazebo, was a deeply intriguing question in and
of itself. Thule debated walking past her as if he didn't see her to
watch what the two of them had set up, but when she reached a shaky
hand into the pocket of her sweater and came out holding a cigarette,
he couldn't resist reaching over her shoulder and flicking his lighter
in front of her face.

He found Brianne's startled shriek quite gratifying. When she turned
around and smacked him on the shoulder, he couldn't resist an evil
grin.

"Nice, you fucking psycho," she said.

Thule laughed, "And a lovely day to you as well, Brianne. What are you
doing hiding in the woods?"

Brianne looked around, "I need to talk to you."

"I don't know," said Thule. "I'm supposed to be giving Ioke a math
lesson now. Is it important?"

Brianne whispered through mostly-clenched teeth, "Of course, it's
important. Do you think I would be talking to you today if it weren't
important?"

"What?" asked Thule disingenuously. "Monday?"

"Wait," said Brianne. "You weren't in school today. Do you not know
what happened?"

Thule shook his head in the negative. Brianne told him basically the
same story Oksana had, which was what he wanted. It was too easy for
that sort of story to get warped in the telling.

"Brianne," said Thule, his face a mask of concern, "that's awful. Why
would he do something like that?"

Brianne sighed. Her face was hard, "When I was fourteen, Ian got
some...pictures of me. He threatened to show them to people if I
didn't do things for him. That meant that he got more pictures. Once
he had that, he started demanding money. Money I didn't have."

Thule, who had lit himself a cigarette while she spoke, asked, "Is
that when you started selling coke?"

Brianne paled, "Who the hell told you I was selling coke?"

Thule hadn't decided how hard to twist the knife yet. Now, he decided
to twist it as far as it would go, "Ian did. But, he said you cut it
with rat poison and I could get it cheaper elsewhere."

"Motherfucker," exclaimed Brianne, loudly enough that Ioke poked her
head out of the gazebo to see what was wrong. Thule gave her a
friendly wave, Brianne a more abrupt one indicating that she should
mind her own business. She looked up at Thule, "Why the hell would he
do that? I was selling the coke to raise enough money to keep him paid
off."

Thule shrugged, "I don't know. Ian has been acting a little strange
lately. I thought you two were supposed to be a couple, but..."

Brianne glared,  "What did he do?"

Thule waved her off, "I'm sure it was just trash talk."

Brianne said through gritted teeth, "Tell me."

Thule raised his hands, "Okay. Okay. I don't think it was anything,
but I heard him talking trash to Randy about you, how you were only
popular because you were his girlfriend and how you only
controlled...what was it...the 'flow of quality pussy' because Randy
was too whipped to take it away from you."

Brianne was almost apoplectic. When she opened her mouth, no words
came out--only an angry sputter. Thule decided the iron was as hot as
it was going to get, so he said, "I feel awful about all this,
Brianne. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Never mind that," said Brianne, her eyes flashing angrily, "Thule, if
I could get the money, would you kill Ian for me?"

Thule took a deep drag on his cigarette, as if seriously considering
it, then asked, "How much?"

"Twenty five thousand," said Brianne, "It's what I managed to put
away, what I was using to pay him off."

Thule snorted, "Nothing personal, sweetheart. But, that's chump change
to me now. I'm not risking my future for that kind of money."

Brianne looked crestfallen. Thule acted like he had a sudden idea,
"But, I know somebody who would. Give me a couple of days to see if he
still does that sort of thing."

Now, Brianne looked buoyant, like he had just asked her to the prom,
"You would do that for me?"

Thule let his eyes do a slow traversal of her body, making sure she
didn't miss the way his eyes lingered on her chest and hips, "Tell
me," he asked, "what were you doing in those pictures Ian put on the
web?"

Brianne smiled demurely, eyes cast downward. Then, she went up on
tiptoe to whisper in Thule's ear. It turned out to be quite a laundry
list. He wrapped his arm around her waist. He forced himself to keep
grinning and nodding, but had to admit to himself that he wasn't even
sure what all of the words she was using meant. Some of the ones he
did recognize left him kind of light-headed.

"Brianne," he said, quite legitimately, "I had no idea."

"Most of it, I did on vacation," said Brianne. "You don't shit where
you eat, right?"

Thule was relieved to find that, apparently, none of the words meant
that. Fighting to stay in character, he said, "Come to New York with
me this weekend. Bring a friend. I'll arrange the meeting."

Brianne, now back on familiar ground, said, "What about The Virgin
Marigold?"

Thule chuckled lustily, "The ice queen? I don't think she'd want to
play with us." Then, as if he had just come up with an idea, he said,
"I know. Invite June Kane."

Because his hand was on her waist, Thule felt Brianne's spine stiffen
for a second before she got her feelings under control and said, "I'd
love to, sweetie. But, her mom hasn't seen her since Saturday. I think
she ran away."

"Too bad," said Thule. Then, "What about Ioke?"

Brianne shook her head, "She's going to take some time. I...don't have
the leverage with her that I used to."

"Okay," said Thule. "You pick."

"How about that little piece you've been driving around everywhere?"
asked Brianne, "Think she might come along? I think she's developed
something of a crush on you. We could have a lot of fun with her."

Thule nodded, "I imagine we could."

Suddenly, she turned to face him so that they were pressed belly to
belly, "Thule," she asked, "if you wanted to fuck me so bad, what were
you doing with one of Randy's hired whores on Saturday?"

Thule laughed, "That was no hired whore. That was Randy's stepmother.
I was supposed to be protecting her from guys like your boyfriend.
Then, you ran off in a snit over something and I tried to follow you.
When I came back, Ian was fucking her. Now, Randy is deeply pissed at
me. So, I've got my own reasons for wanting Ian dead."

Brianne gave Thule a suspicious look, "Thule, if you don't know
someone who can do this for me and are just trying to get into my
panties, I'll make you regret it."

In answer, Thule slid a hand up the back of her leg, under her skirt.
For a moment, she reached down to stop him, but he crushed her more
tightly to him, eliciting a little grunt. Sliding his hand into the
back of her panties, he pushed just the tip of his finger into her
ass. Her eyes widened in surprise and she pulled away a little, only
succeeding in impaling herself more deeply.

Knowing he had her emphatically undivided attention, Thule purred in
her ear, "If I just wanted inside your panties, I've had ample
opportunity. I could take you right now, couldn't I?" Brianne closed
her eyes and nodded.

Thule slid his finger out of her, keeping his hand on her buttock,
"You're a smart girl, Brianne. You know how to speculate. If I'm going
to be married to that rich bitch for the rest of my life, I'm going to
need a mistress, one who knows what she's doing and has enough brains
to be discreet."

Brianne swooned against him. Thule asked, "I'm not wrong, am I? You
are a smart girl?" Brianne nodded and, when she looked up at Thule,
her eyes were bright as if with tears. Thule realized that he must
have inadvertently played out some deep-seated fantasy for her. For
the moment, he'd made her a very happy woman.

"Thule," she said, running a fingertip over his chest, "if you're not
doing anything tonight, I'm sort of stuck for a place to stay. I could
make it worth your while."

Thinking quickly, Thule said, "No can do. I've got that little piece
you and June threw at me coming over tonight. I need to bend her a
little if she's going to agree to this weekend."

"I could help with the bending," persisted Brianne.

"No," said Thule, "I need to do this right and you would be much too
distracting. Now, what did you want to talk to me about originally
tonight?"

"Oh," she said, "I wanted you to talk to Randy about me. I want it
made clear to him that I want nothing to do with Ian anymore. Tell him
I want to talk to him."

"I'm not in Randy's best graces right now," said Thule. "But, I'll
tell him in school tomorrow if you like."

"There's no school tomorrow," said Brianne, "After Ian fucked with me,
I put all the cocaine I had, some road flares out of my trunk and a
map of the school with big red 'X's drawn on it in his locker. They're
going over every inch of the school with bomb sniffing dogs. They'll
be there until tomorrow."

Thule whistled, genuinely impressed. Sliding his hand out of Brianne's
underwear, he patted her gently on the ass, "Like I said, smart girl."

Thule couldn't believe that the entire conversation had taken only
fifteen minutes. He felt like he'd aged fifteen years during the
course of it. Still, when he checked his cell phone as he finally
mounted the gazebo steps, it was only twenty minutes after five.

"Sorry for the delay," he said.

"Did you and Brianne have a nice conversation?" asked Ioke.

Thule nodded, "More or less."

Ioke leaned forward as Thule sat down so that she could whisper, "I
don't know what she told you about me, but..."

"The same thing you told me when I asked you out," said Thule, "that
you have a boyfriend on Maui who you love very much. I respect that."

Ioke eyed him suspiciously, "Do you mean that?"

"Sure," said Thule, "loyalty is a very important quality."

She sighed, her shoulders dropping in relief, "Thank you, Thule. I
always thought you were a genuinely nice guy."

"That's me," said Thule, "a veritable prince among men."

As it turned out, Ioke really did need help with her math. So, for the
next hour, Thule helped her out. She didn't flirt with him. He didn't
flirt with her. Thule found it quite pleasant to spend an hour with
someone from his school who just seemed to be a genuinely nice person,
more or less untouched by all of the dirty politics. Plus, she smelled
really good.

As they were wrapping up, Thule said, "So, it looks like you'll
probably be head cheerleader next year."

"Yeah," said Ioke thoughtfully, "Brianne was just talking about that."

"Today?" asked Thule, raising an eyebrow.

"No," said Ioke, "she had other things on her mind today. But,
Saturday night, after she went to the party at Randy's house, she came
by here, very agitated and wanting to talk about the future of the
squad. At the time, I still thought it was going to be June, but
Brianne thinks she ran away."

Thule just nodded like it was idle gossip, "I suspect my friend Dawn
would love another chance to be on the squad next year."

Ioke chuckled, "Keep helping me with my math and I'll see what I can
do."

                         -=-

When Thule got back to the house, Marigold and Dawn jumped up guiltily
from the couch. Thule pretended not to notice. The house was warm and
smelled like something rich and savory.

"Ah," he said, "I forgot what it was like to have someone around here
to do all of the woman work. I did mention that you were on permanent
scullery duty while you were here, didn't I?"

Dawn wrinkled her nose, "Oh, but you're so cute when you do woman's
work. I was looking forward to long evenings spinning and carding
together."

"Did you have a productive tutoring session?" broke in Marigold.

"Eventually," said Thule, letting the word hang in the air until
Marigold raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Brianne was there. We had a very
interesting conversation."

"Really?" asked Marigold.

Thule nodded, then told them about the road flares and the map. He
left off the rest. This had to stay close to the vest.

"Wow," said Marigold, "he's going to be pissed."

"Fuck how pissed he's going to be," said Dawn, "if he did something
like that to me, I would kill him."

"It couldn't have happened to a nicer person," agreed Marigold,
"Dinner's just about ready."

Thule made a doubtful face, "I hope it's not too heavy. I'm not sure I
want to watch what's on that chip on a full stomach."

Dawn tsked, "If it's too much for you, we could watch and give you a
transcript."

Thule scowled. Sometimes, it was just too much work to try to talk
them out of their flip attitudes. They would see soon enough.

                                -=-

The two girls sat on the bed, Thule in the chair off to one side of
the computer. The camera he'd stolen from Adam was known for taking
crystal clear, full-color pictures and decent sound for a couple of
hours before using up all of its battery power. It was often used to
record information that needed to be admissible in a court of law
later.

So, it was in full screen color that the video started. The first
thing they saw was Thule's face, then an upside down image of the
tableau he'd seen in the girl's locker room. Over the next sixty
seconds, the picture settled and balanced itself. That was another
feature of the camera. The actual lense floated in a silicate gel and
was weighted to take pictures right side up, no matter how you
initially installed the camera.

They watched as the camera unflinchingly played back twenty minutes of
June Kane being gang raped by one football player after another. The
football players laughed and joked, cheered each other on. Some
reached down to punch or slap her, pinch her nipples, or pull her
hair. Every time she shrieked, it brought another burst of laughter.
At some point, Thule heard Dawn's feet hit the floor and run across
the room, followed by retching sounds from the bathroom. Thule looked
over his shoulder at Marigold, who looked rather green around the
gills. Thule suspected that he was as well.

Dawn came back a minute later, looking sheepish. She couldn't hide
from the recording in the bathroom. Every time June's mouth was left
empty, she shrieked obscenities or screamed what Brianne would do to
them when she found out. This was responded to at first by more laughs
and jeers. But, eventually, the boys made no sound at all, save the
occasional grunts of release.

When the siren sounded and the red and blue lights flashed off of the
locker room wall, all three watching the recording breathed audible
sighs of relief. For a second, the boys actively raping June stopped.
Randy waved to them to continue before stepping past the camera. He
had a brief conversation with Vladi, barely heard by the microphone.
No. There was no one shooting. No. He was fine. The team was just
blowing off a little steam.

A few minutes later, police cars began pulling out of the parking lot
outside. As each started back up, it's siren gave a quick "urp." All
the while, the football players kept grimly pounding away at June
Kane. Thule would have been hard pressed to say if they were even
really enjoying it anymore.

Then, Vladi and two other uniformed officers Thule didn't immediately
recognize walked past the camera. Randy greeted them. The player on
top of June gave a few more thrusts, shuddered, and got off of her. At
some point, June had stopped bothering to scream. She just looked at
the cops with hollow eyes and whimpered.

The football players stood around watching as Vladi leaned down and,
with exceeding gentleness, untied June's elbows. Thule could tell by
the attitude of everyone standing around that the gentleness wouldn't
last. He was right. Once they got June to her feet, the cops started
passing her back and forth from hand to hand, pushing, shoving and
pinching, trying to get a rise out of her. Once she raised her arms in
some feeble attempt to cover her head, that was all it took. All three
closed in on her and, after the briefest of struggles, they were
raping her too. There was a certain viciousness to them that only
Randy had really shown before. Soon, the football players were
laughing and cheering again.

Then, it happened. One of the cops finished with June. Randy stepped
in for more. As June was being handed off, Randy reached for her and
seemed to catch her. But, a moment later, as if in slow motion, she
fell backwards. When her head hit the bench, it made a dull crack,
loud enough that everyone stopped what they were doing and just froze
in place.

One of the cops Thule didn't recognize leaned down and took a pulse at
June's throat. He gave Vladi a meaningful glance.

Vladi crouched down, "Man," he said loudly, "she is going to have a
hell of a headache in the morning." There was some nervous laughter
from the players as if everyone wanted to believe him, but it looked
like no one really did.

"You guys go to the party," he said, "We'll take care of this." The
players, only too happy to have it taken out of their hands, filed
out. A few even started chattering on the way. One of them got pushed
playfully into the camera, knocking it on a wild angle. Even after it
righted its lens, they were looking at a spot high on the wall and a
fluorescent lighting panel. There was little sound for the next few
minutes, only a few grunts of effort, then the light went out and, a
couple of minutes later, the sirens of the last two cars made a twin
"urp" as they pulled away.

                                    -=-

When Thule drove Marigold home, it was mostly in silence. Both seemed
absorbed in their own thoughts. Dawn had elected to stay home and do
the dishes, even after both of them had tried to convince her to ride
along.

As they pulled up outside of her house, Marigold said, "Thule, that
could have been Dawn."

Thule didn't point out that it could have been Marigold, too. He never
had figured out what Brianne and Ian had in mind that day in the
newspaper office, but he doubted it was benign. Instead, he said, "It
wasn't. It was somebody who tried to set Dawn up for that."

Marigold looked surprised, "Now you're saying she deserved it?"

"No," said Thule wearily. "I'm saying that...Hell, I don't know what
I'm saying. I'm glad it wasn't Dawn."

Marigold leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "You'd better get
back. She may want some time to herself, but I doubt she wants as much
as she thinks."

"I need to go back into the city tomorrow," said Thule, "I need to
give the FBI what I have."

"Will they listen to you?" asked Marigold.

"I think so. This should do it," said Thule. "If they don't, I have
other avenues to explore."

Marigold kissed him again and got out of the car, "Go keep an eye on
my girlfriend."

Thule frowned at the nomenclature. But, considering that he had used
it first, he didn't have much of a leg to stand on.

When he got back to the house, Dawn was just finishing up with the
dishes. She seemed to be relaxed and in good spirits. Thule showed her
where to put the dishes away. A few times, she rubbed up against him,
but it might have been accidental or just a desire for human contact.
Thule hoped she wouldn't press the issue tonight.

After they'd finished cleaning up, Dawn said quietly, "You've saved me
twice now and I don't know if I ever said 'thank you.'"

"Well," said Thule. "I also cuffed you to a weight bench and menaced
you. How about we call it even?"

Dawn blushed a little as she tilted her head and said, "That wasn't so
bad. Certainly no worse than any given day at my parents' house."

"I had no idea it was so bad," said Thule. "You really had me snowed
with the whole, 'happy, peppy' act."

Dawn laughed, leaning back against the kitchen island, one hand
running through the hair at the back of her head, "It's not really an
act, not most of the time. You only saw me outside of that house. That
was reason enough to be happy and peppy. I'm so sorry you had to deal
with my parents."

"Well," said Thule, rubbing his cheek, "I do see where you get your
slapping genes."

"Aw," said Dawn, taking the three steps to where Thule leaned against
the kitchen counter. Standing up on tiptoe, she placed a small kiss on
his much-abused cheek. Thule let his arm rest around her waist. Coming
down off tiptoe, Dawn laid her head on his shoulder, content to rest
there.

Thule held her there for a couple of minutes, waiting for her tears,
but they never came. Finally, he said, "Dawn, would it be okay if we
sat down? If lean back here, my ass is going to get soaked."

Dawn smiled and skipped to the couch, seemingly full of boundless
energy again. Thule shook his head, chuckling, and joined her.
Flipping on the tv, Dawn curled up against him. Thule put his arm
around her shoulders. She snuggled in, switching channels until she
found some innocuous situation comedy that Thule had never seen
before, but figured out the premise of pretty quickly. After about
five minutes of it, he wanted to find something to read, but decided
to just sit and enjoy the relative serenity. Dawn seemed to be
following and enjoying the show, but not in a slack jawed, catatonic
way. At the first commercial break, he reached down and mussed her
hair. Muting the tv, she looked up at him, smiling.

"You hear that?" she asked.

Thule listened, "I hear a lot of things. Refrigerator compressor, my
old CRT flickering in my room, traffic, crickets."

She laughed and put a hand on his chest, "You sure know how to ruin a
good cliche. Try again. Do you hear that?"

Thule listened, playing along, "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly," said Dawn. "And, if we want, it could stay like that.
Nobody would scream or throw things or slam doors or anything."

Thule nodded, thanking his luck for a moment that his parents had
gotten divorced when he was younger and more resilient than Dawn. And,
it had taken only a year and a half of screaming.

"Thule," asked Dawn quietly, "would it be all right if I slept with
you tonight?"

Thule considered the question. He could just answer in the affirmative
and let what happened happen. He rejected the plan. If he wanted Dawn,
he didn't need to take her when she was scared and vulnerable.
Besides, he had about a half dozen potentially fatal things to do
tomorrow. It would be better if they didn't start anything tonight.
So, he asked, "Sleep?"

Dawn nodded against him, "I would wear pants and everything. I'm just
a little weirded out by tonight's episode of 'America's Scariest Rape
Video.' I'd rather not be alone."

"Fair enough," said Thule, "I'd like to hit the sack soon, though. I'm
heading back into New York tomorrow to talk to the FBI."

"Do you think they'll listen to you?" she asked.

"I can't see how they wouldn't," said Thule, sounding more confident
than he felt.

Dawn slipped into bed a few minutes after Thule, curling up against
him, her back to his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Having
started the day well-rested, Thule found himself restive. He and Dawn
talked in low voices well into the night. When she finally dozed off,
it took him a long time to do the same, listening to the compressors
and monitors, the crickets and Dawn's breathing. But eventually, he
was asleep.

Marigold, Part 18
by Vulgar Argot
(MF, FF, rape, F/M+)
--Vulgar Argot
  http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/VulgarArgot/www
--
"Vulgarity begins when imagination succumbs to the explicit."
  --Doris Day

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ------ send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com>|
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderators: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|ASSM Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org>   Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d; look for subject {ASSD}|
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+