A New Dawn

Please read the preceding chapters of

A New Dawn

and all of

Intervention

before you read this one. Some of this won't make a lot of sense unless you do.

And Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it.

My girls and I were at Barker's house. Almost everyone was naked and in the spa except for me. Group sex was imminent. I was nervous about that.

My iPhone beeped. I pulled it out of my pocket and read the message. I read it again. I had a hard time just breathing. I put the phone back in my pocket, stood up, and headed for the sliding glass door.

"Johnny," Dawn said. "Johnny, where are you going?"

I stopped and turned to her. Naked, outlined by the spa light, her breasts sitting just above the water, she was beautiful. Mary Beth was next to her, different but just as lovely. Thomas' women were all around them, ready to cavort. I wished that I wanted to be in there with them. I wanted things to be okay and easy. It made me feel like an ass.

"Meyer's been shot," I said. "He's at Cedars-Sinai. They don't think he's going to make it. Apparently he found the asshole that killed Chelsea Jansen." I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "Fuck. And here I am, doing this. I gotta go."

"No!" Jay bolted up over the side of the spa and ran to me. "Give me two minutes. I'm driving you."

I looked and behind her I saw Dawn and Mary Beth wrapping towels around themselves.

"I have to go now," I said, moving towards the door. My girls ran after me.

Which was why I was in the passenger seat of a Crown Vic doing 75 miles an hour on surface streets with a naked girl driving and two girls wrapped in towels in the back seat. I held my head in my hands and thought of all the things I owed Meyer. It was a long list.

"Johnny, he's going to make it," Jay said. "He's going to be all right. Trust me, okay? I can feel these things.

"Okay," I said.

We screeched to a stop in ambulance parking outside the emergency room. An orderly ran out and his eyes bulged as he looked through my open door at Jay. I badged him and pointed to the girls and said, "Three sets of scrubs?" He nodded and went back inside. Good boy.

I ran in and badged the woman at the window. "Meyer," I said. "Cop. Shot."

She picked up a phone and dialed and said a few words I couldn't hear, then listened, then spoke again and put the phone down.

"ICU," she said. "Second floor."

That was the best news ever. Meyer was out of surgery and well enough to be moved to intensive care. I ran for the elevator.

Meyer had always been a larger than life character to me. Always on top of everything; always knowing more than I did about everything. He was the father figure and mentor I had never had growing up. The pale unconscious body I saw in the bed when I pushed past the floor nurse and the cop outside the door wasn't Meyer. Couldn't be.

I sat down next to his bed and ignored the nurse's squawking. I reached out and held Meyer's hand. The squawking got louder when my girls arrived, dressed in surgical scrubs. That confused the nurse for a while. Meyer would have enjoyed this moment. I just held his hand. His eyes opened.

"Johnny," he said. "Notebook."

I got up and went to the mini closet and found the notebook in his suit coat pocket. I took it and sat back down and grabbed his hand again.

"Assassin," he said. "Don't go after him..."

"Bullshit," I said. "I'm going to kill this motherfucker."

"Don't go after him... alone. Backup." And he was out again.

Jay held me. Dawn and Mary Beth held Meyer's hands.

I read.

Meyer had stumbled onto a crazed perp who liked to fuck little girls and who also happened to work for the federal government of the United States of America as a covert operative. How Meyer had figured out this last part, I couldn't guess. I reviewed his notes again and saw that after he had conferred with someone named "Georgia" the focus of his investigation had changed and moved him towards the spy.

The squawking nurse had found Meyer's doctor and brought him into the room, probably hoping for justice to be meted out upon me.

The doctor said, "Are you immediate family?"

"I'm his partner," I said.

"That's family," he said. I shook his hand. The nurse looked disgusted and left.

"Your partner has been shot in the liver," he said. "Not a good place to be shot. He's very lucky to be alive. And thanks to my mad surgical skills he's going to stay that way." He glanced at Meyer's chart and then suddenly seemed to become aware of the three women in the room.

"Hello there, ladies," he said. "Nice scrubs."

I liked this guy.

One by one my girls approached the doctor and demonstrated with long kisses just how appreciative they were that he had saved Meyer's life. Jay was last and when she grabbed his ass for the kiss he grabbed her right back. It was a good thing the nurse was gone. When Jay backed away from the doc the pants of his scrubs were bulging out obscenely. He followed her gaze downward and his face went bright red.

"My wife is going to get me for this," he said.

"She's not going to find out from us," Dawn said.

"She always knows," the doc said. "She always knows everything. I'm not quite sure how that works, but it always does."

*****

I called Buddy Megellas and Jen answered the phone on the first ring. "Hello, Stud," she said. "Are you calling to tell me that you've finally come to your senses and you want to get into my pants?"

"I've always wanted to get into your pants, Jen," I said. "It would have happened, too, if you hadn't gotten distracted by that Neanderthal you've been hanging with."

"I heard that, dickwad," her husband said from a distance.

"'Mister Dickwad' to you. In bed yet again, I'm guessing," I said. "You guys are totally disgusting."

"Hey, I can't help it that he's good at sex. What's a girl to do?" She paused. "What's up, Johnny?"

I took a breath.

"I need backup," I said.

Silence. Then Buddy was on the phone. "Talk to me," he said.

"Meyer. He was on the Jansen case. He found the guy that raped and killed that little Jansen girl and the guy took him out. A government operative. Some kind of assassin. I'm going after him."

More silence. Then, "You could bring in everyone. You could bring in SWAT."

"No," I said. "I'm going to kill him."

"Fuck, bro, I'm in," he said.

I heard "I'm in too" from Jen and then a long debate about skills and training and experience. Buddy was an Army Ranger bro that I'd been in combat with. We had been taught how to kill with brutal efficiency and we had done that together. Jen had only been through police academy training and although she was quite good at her job her martial skills were all defensively oriented. This was going to be a kill mission.

"Can I at least cover your back?" Jen said.

Buddy was on the same page as me.

"Nope," he said. "If we get caught we're going down as criminals. I don't want you anywhere near this."

I heard a rustling sound and then Jen had the phone again. "You bring him back. You bring him back to me, you fucker. Both of you, alive and well. You understand me? Or I'll kick both your asses."

*****

There were two possibilities. One, that the guy had run. That would make perfect sense. He probably had the ability to change identities and the resources to go wherever he wanted.

Two, that he was waiting for us to come after him. That he enjoyed the challenge. That's the one I was hoping for.

Buddy and I got a hotel room directly across from the guy's apartment and watched for the better part of a day. There was nothing to see. As the sun went down we talked tactics.

There was a knock at the door. I looked at Buddy. He shrugged and drew his gun. I stood at the side of the door and opened it, then relaxed as Dawn, Mary Beth, Jay, and Jen came in. They were carrying bags full of foodstuff that smelled wonderful.

"How in the hell did you find us?" Buddy said.

"I love you too," Jen said.

"We have our ways," Mary Beth said. "Actually, it was pretty easy."

"Easy?" I said.

"Easy," Mary Beth said. "You gave us online access to your credit card, so finding your hotel was no problem. And it didn't hurt that we could see your car from the street. It kinda screams 'Cops are here!'"

I looked at Buddy. He looked back at me. I looked at the guy's window across the street, which had a clear view of the parking lot. Then back at Buddy.

"Aw, fuck," he said, and drew his gun again.

I piled into the girls and managed to knock all four of them onto the carpet before the door burst in and the shooting started.

This guy was something else. He was like Spiderman, bouncing off the walls and the furniture as he shot. Buddy took a couple of rounds and went down. The guy was like a computer, cold and calculating. Target A down; acquiring Target B.

I put three rounds solidly into center mass and it had no effect whatsoever. He just ran out the door. As fast as I could I checked Buddy for damage.

"All in the vest," he said. "Hurts like hell but I'm good to go."

Before he was done talking I was sprinting for the door.

Buddy was struggling to get up and get back into the fight. "Be careful, bro. He'll be expecting you."

Dawn stood up. "Johnny," she said. She was covered with blood. I stopped and took a step toward her.

"Jay," she said.

Jay had been shot through the shoulder. She was out cold and I couldn't tell how bad the damage was. Bullets can bounce around in the human body and go all kinds of bad places. I plugged the entry hole with one finger as best I could and felt for an exit hole and found it. In and out, thank God. I willed her to come back to me. Her eyes opened.

"Johnny," she said.

I couldn't speak. Tears ran down my face.

"Get him," she said.

"Roger fucking that," I said. I got Dawn and Mary Beth to take over first aid and call 911. Since they had to do that I told them to call in the troops as well, officers need assistance. I wiped Jay's blood off my hands as I ran out the door. Buddy was right on my heels.

"What we do from here on in, everyone will know about it," I said as we ran.

"Whatever," Buddy said.

*****

I burst through the front door and rolled low left, expecting some sort of booby trap as a welcome. Buddy did the same and rolled right. No booby trap. It was pitch dark inside but I had expected that so just before we broke down the door I lit a magnesium flare and as I rolled in I tossed it to the center of the room. There was a howl of pain. As I came up I saw the perp ripping his night vision goggles off and rubbing his eyes. Buddy turned on the lights.

The guy finally opened his eyes and stared at us. He held a gun in his left hand but it was pointed at the floor. Both of ours were aimed at his head.

"If he moves, he's mine," I said. "You kill him if he gets me."

"Roger that," Buddy said.

The guy didn't move. The flare was burning a hole in the carpet but there didn't appear to be an imminent danger of fire.

"Please make a play," I said. "Please."

The guy just stared at me.

"Why did you kill her?"

"Who?"

"Chelsea Jansen."

"Oh," he said. "The usual reason. I raped her a lot, so often that she finally stopped fighting me and I grew bored with her. I saved her ass for last; that got her fighting again and it was very pleasant. Then I killed her so she couldn't identify me."

"How the fuck could you do that?" Buddy said. "A little girl. An innocent little girl. You took away her whole life."

The guy shrugged. "That's my job," he said. "I do it for king and country all the time. Many of those people are 'innocent' too. You expect me to have different morals in my spare time?"

"What exactly do you do for the government?" I said.

He grinned. "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you." He seemed particularly pleased with the appropriateness of the old joke.

"Okay," I said. "How many other girls have you killed?"

"Twelve," he said without pause. "Each child was outstanding in her own way. Like fine wines."

"Make a move, you fucker," Buddy said. "Come on. Make a move."

The guy laughed. "You think I'm stupid? I'm very good, but I'm not good enough to beat two trained marksmen who already have their weapons pointed at me."

I heard sirens in the distance. I could just put a bullet through his head right now, but that wasn't me. I thought of how to get the guy to try something.

"If you don't make a move, you're going to prison. Let me tell you what's going to happen there. Prisoners don't like child abusers. They particularly don't like child rapists. They're going to beat the shit out of you and then take YOUR ass. Again and again. And then they're going to stab you to death."

"I can take care of myself," he said. "As you saw for yourself, I'm pretty good."

"Not against twenty guys," I said. "Twenty guys in a gang who have nothing better to do all day than lift weights and get in fights. They'll come at you as a group and gang rape your ass."

I could see him considering it. The sirens were closer. He looked back up at me.

"Well, it's been a good life," he said. "Please make it quick." He started raising his gun, but very slowly.

"Wait," I said.

He paused.

"If I go through this place will I find evidence of all the killings?"

He wasn't dumb. I could see in his eyes that he knew that if he said no, I wouldn't kill him. That I would need him alive to confess the details and close those investigations. But he'd already made his mind up to die.

"Bedroom closet. Under the carpet. Journal. Full descriptions. Burial site." He raised the gun quickly this time, maybe thinking to take one of us out before the other got him.

I'd been ready for it, and moved left and yelled "Thanks," as he shot through the air where I had been a split second before. I shot him through the head. His body fell backwards against the wall and slid down to the floor, leaving a bloody trail on the wall. I walked forward, still covering him, and kicked away his gun.

"Nice shot," Buddy said.

*****

"You put one through his eye, my little yellow friend. Through his fucking eye! That's acceptable marksmanship."

Meyer was out of ICU and I was sitting next to his new bed in a regular hospital room. Dawn, Mary Beth, and Jay were standing at the foot of the bed. Meyer was looking and feeling much better. His new nurse had told me that Meyer had copped a little feel when she gave him his last sponge bath.

"He said he was sorry," she said. "Then he said it wasn't fair that I was having all the fun."

"I'm sorry about that," I said. She just grinned.

"It means he's getting better," she said. "And if I threw a big fit every time a patient grabbed my ass I'd have a stroke by the end of the week."

Now, looking down at him, I said, "Are you really going to be okay?"

He smiled back at me. "I really am. Sorry, but you're not getting my job this week."

I looked away. "I thought I'd lost you," I said. My voice was hoarse.

He sighed and put his hand over mine. "Okay, just this once, I'm going to be open and honest and not sarcastic. If you tell anyone, I'll fucking kill you."

I looked at him.

"I love you like a son, Johnny. Like the son I never had. If I died, who would keep your hapless Asian ass out of trouble? I'm not going anywhere until I retire. And after that I'll still be around for you."

I moved my hand until we were clasping them, fist style. "Thanks Dad," I said. Tears were running down his cheeks and, I realized, down mine as well.

"Crybaby," he said, then rubbed his own face. Then, "Hey. Who's the new hottie?"

"Meyer, meet Jay. Jay, Meyer."

Jay came over to the bed. Her left arm was in a sling but the bullet wound was healing up nicely. She leaned over the bed and kissed Meyer gently.

"Thank you for taking care of my Johnny," she said.

"You're welcome. What's up with the arm?"

I told Meyer the whole story. It took a while.

"So you see, not so great marksmanship after all. I had the stance set and all the time in the world. Ten feet, max. Just a little sideways move at the end."

"You murdered him."

"Yep."

Meyer stared at me for a while.

"Good deal," he said. "Although what you said about him getting gang raped in prison was exactly right. I wish he'd been able to experience that before he died."

"Buddy and I weren't up for it," I said. Meyer laughed. "Seriously, you should have seen his moves. I was afraid that if we didn't kill him he would escape custody pretty easily."

"Trust me," Meyer said. "I saw enough of his moves. I'm glad you killed him." He closed his eyes and I wondered whether he was going to sleep. Then, "Johnny, are you in the clear?"

"Yep," I said. "The shooting investigation cleared me. There's not much difference in the crime scene afterwards between a guy raising his gun and a guy pointing his gun right at you before you kill him. The Chief gave me a ration of shit for staking this guy out with just Buddy, then said we would probably both get commendations and maybe medals for taking out a serial killer and trained assassin by ourselves."

"Feds pissed?"

"The Feds disavow any knowledge of this guy or his activities."

"Then how did the Chief know he was an assassin?"

"I figured out who Georgia was. She agreed to tell the Chief and Councilman Jansen what she knew about him."

"That could come back to haunt her," Meyer said.

"She said that. She also said it was worth the risk to corroborate what I told them. She flat out told the Chief that I had done the world a great service." I looked at Meyer. "When we were alone, she thanked me for killing the man who had shot you."

He stared at me again.

"How much did she thank you?"

"Whoa, partner. The usual non-sexual amount."

His gaze softened.

"Meyer, you got a little something going with her?"

He smiled. "From time to time," he said.

"She's coming to visit you later today," I said.

"Things are looking up," he said.

"Yeah, well... keep the sex gentle. Nothing kills the mood like blood from a reopened wound." I looked at Jay and she gave me a pained smile. "Don't ask me how I know," I said.

His nurse came into the room pushing a cart that had 'sponge bath' written all over it. I stood up.

"Well, I guess we'll be going," I said. "Get better fast. And stop feeling up the nurse."

"Hey, shut up, Buzz Kill," the nurse said.

"What she said," Meyer said.

"Okay, okay," I said. "At least save some for Georgia."

"That, I'll do," he said.

*****

Jay lived with us while she healed and we got to know her very well. As soon as she was able, we once again included her in our lovemaking. Dawn, Mary Beth, and I talked things over. By this time we were all in love with Jay. I was still fascinated with how I could be in love with three women at the same time. Dawn said she thought that everyone was capable of being in love with multiple people but, given the rules of our society, they never get the chance to experience it fully.

We invited Jay to live with us and she gleefully accepted. I worked out a lot and hydrated a lot and took my vitamins and, thanks to my ninja sex skills, I managed to keep all three of them satisfied. I readily admit that I'm aided by the fact that they also satisfy each other.

Jay was going down on me while Dawn and Mary Beth watched. Jay's throat felt fantastic. She was doing the thing where she swallowed around my cock. She came up for air. "Now you," she said.

Mary Beth leaned over and took all of me into her mouth for the second time ever. She swallowed around me for a while and I groaned. "I'm close," I said.

Mary Beth pulled off me with a grin. "Thanks Jay," she said. "I think I can do it every time now."