John Carter

Part 3: Robes

Chapter 11

Bob lay in the hospital bed unmoving. The even ping of the heart 
monitor, intended to reassure, irritated Kelly as she watched over 
him. It was a constant reminder that he was seriously injured. The 
concussion was serious. A vertebra in his neck had been cracked. It 
would heal, but he would have a stiff neck for the rest of his life. 
His concussion was much more troubling. He had not regained 
consciousness after twelve hours.

Marguerite returned to the room with coffee for them both. As 
Kelly took a cup of coffee from her, she noticed the redness of the 
cook's eyes. Her heart nearly broke when she realized that 
Marguerite had been crying. She suddenly realized that Marguerite 
and Bob had been with them the longest of all the staff. Of the 
original staff, Ling had married them and Bill had gone to Florida. 

When Marguerite sat down next to Kelly, Kelly grasped her hand. 
She stated, "You love him, don't you?"

"Yes. We had talked about marriage and having a child."

Kelly reassured the woman, "He'll be okay."

Marguerite started to cry again. Kelly hugged the woman closely. 
She understood very well the fear of loosing a loved one. She had 
been through that with John when he had been wounded in the 
white slavery raid. He had survived, but only after dying. Now she 
watched as Marguerite went through a personal hell.

A doctor came into the room and noticed Kelly. His voice was 
friendly, as he asked, "Aren't you supposed to be on duty this 
afternoon?"

Kelly looked at him with anger at the idea that he was worried 
about her being at work on time. The dissatisfaction at working 
without Beth nearby bubbled up to the surface. She bluntly stated, 
"I'm resigning my position."

The doctor looked shocked, "Kelly, please reconsider. We need 
you around here."

Kelly was about to reply, but realized that her anger was rooted in 
a lack of sleep. She apologized, "I'm sorry to be so short with you. 
I'm very tired. I haven't had any sleep since yesterday morning. I 
was held hostage at gunpoint and a very dear friend of mine was 
seriously injured."

The doctor nodded. "I understand. You have had a tough couple of 
months. Rather than resign, why don't you take a leave of 
absence."

Kelly answered, "I'll think about it."

The doctor nodded and then said, "Let me examine the patient 
now."

The doctor examined Bob carefully. He shook his head at the 
results. He turned to Kelly, "He took quite a crack on the head last 
night. I'm afraid that he has some swelling. It's not much, but I'm 
going to have to relieve some of the pressure. I'm sure that you 
understand that procedure. While I'm doing that, why don't you 
and your friend go into Beth's old office? She had a couch in there 
that opened into a bed. Get some rest and I'll get you when there's 
any change in the patient."

Kelly and Marguerite took his advice and went to Beth's old office. 
She still had the keys to it. She realized on entering the office that 
she had never started to clean out Beth's old stuff. She almost cried 
when she saw the picture of the whole Carter Clan that was sitting 
on her desk. 

Marguerite opened the couch into a bed. Both women settled onto 
the bed, hugging each other. It was only a matter of minutes before 
they fell asleep.

John sat in Ann's office watching as she read the report that he had 
given Sidney. It was a very complete account of everything, at 
least as much as he knew of what had occurred. Ann looked up 
from the statement. "Very impressive. You took out six all alone. 
Sidney told me when he handed the report to me that you must 
have been blind in a past life. You handled them as well as he 
could have ever hoped to deal with a group like that in the dark."

John thought about the bats and wondered if they had helped 
somehow. He said, "I was scared to death the whole time."

"Why didn't you leave and call the police?"

"They had my family held hostage." John's mannerisms in 
answering the question suggested that he had no second thoughts 
about the wisdom of his actions. His family was threatened and he 
acted to protect them.

"Do you know who they were?"

John answered, "No. I have no idea why they were there."

Ann smiled. For the first time in a long time, she had information 
that he didn't already have. She stated, "The man that attacked your 
family was Alberto Rodriguez."

John looked puzzled. "I thought he was dead."

Ann shrugged her shoulders and replied, "He is now. He died an 
hour ago from the blow to the back of his head."

"So where has he been all these years?" John wasn't concerned 
about the man's death. The man had been a monster that dealt in 
human flesh.

"We'll follow up on that. For now, we have no idea."

John nodded. "I'd appreciate it if you let me know what you find 
out."

Ann set the papers on her desk and turned to face John. She 
changed the subject. "I talked with Director Olim about you after I 
heard the news."

"Does he want my resignation?"

Ann smiled at the question. They had discussed that topic several 
times in the past. He had suggested that John tackle a specific case 
that had been open for over a year with no progress. She picked up 
a folder and handed it to John. She said, "He wants you to solve 
this case."

John opened the folder and glanced at the contents. Inside was a 
picture of a young girl and a young boy engaged in a sexual 
activity. He read the accompanying report as a slow anger began to 
boil inside him. He looked up at Ann. Through clenched teeth, he 
said, "We need to find out how many children the wife had."

Ann's eyebrows went up in surprise. "May I ask why?"

"The girl they found had no memory of any other kind of life. That 
means she's been doing it since the age of three or so. They have 
been unable to match her to any missing child reports. The only 
conclusion is that the parents know what happened to her. If so, 
then they are part of this. If I take it to a logical conclusion, it is a 
bunch of adults swapping their children around as sex toys."

"You got that out of a single reading of the report?"

John nodded. "Yes. The girl is eleven now. That means it has been 
going on for at least eight years. I would predict that it is longer 
than that."

Ann sighed as she thought about the scenario John had spelled out. 
This would be a tough one to crack. She activated the 
speakerphone and called Olim. She was put through to Olim 
immediately. She reported John's assessment of the case. There 
was a long pause at the other end. Olim asked, "How would you go 
about finding these families?"

John was quiet for a minute as he thought it through. He stated, "If 
this is as I suspect, then there should be some kids that have grown 
too old to be of interest. They would have been dumped. Of 
course, these kids have no life skills other than sex. They don't 
know how to read or write. Probably, they don't even know how to 
deal with money. I'm sure that if you were to contact juvenile 
detention facilities, they would have information about kids that fit 
that profile. If we can interview those kids, we may be able to 
acquire additional clues concerning the ring. A police artist will at 
least give us an idea of what these creatures look like."

Olim was silent for a minute. He stated, "I'll assign a dozen agents 
to this problem. They'll send you their reports."

John said, "Don't worry. We'll get them."

Olim stated, "Ann, can I talk to you privately?"

John stated, "I'll leave the room now."

John went into the hall and walked down to Sidney's office. Sidney 
heard his dog react to his presence. "Hello John."

"Hi, Sidney. How's Timmy?" John asked. His earlier stay in the 
office had been business only. Now that Sidney had submitted his 
report, they could talk casually.

The blind man reached down to pet his new seeing-eye dog. 
"We're still learning how to get along. He's a good dog."

"That's good. How's married life?"

Sidney smiled broadly. "It's great. Shirley and Mary are about to 
wear me out at night. Thank god that I have Edward."

John understood. There were times when the women were ready 
for sex and he was too tired to accommodate them. He asked, "If I 
may ask, how are the living arrangements in your household?"

Sidney answered, "We followed your advice. A separate room for 
each person. We aren't quite as liberated as you guys, so the sexual 
roles are much more traditional."

"You mean you aren't bisexual."

"Right, but I will say one thing. Edward and I are a lot closer than I 
ever thought two men could be. We get together and just talk for 
hours at a time."

John nodded. "Yes, I'd say that I talk to Ed more than all of the 
wives combined."

Sidney laughed and joked, "I guess it's true what they say. Misery 
loves company."

John laughed as he retorted, "If that is misery, then I'm a parrot!"

Sidney stated, "Well, I'll see if there's an evening when Shirley is 
free and we'll have you over for dinner that night."

John answered, "That would be great. I look forward to it."

Sidney stated, "I better get back to work."

Leaving the office, John returned to Ann's office. Her door was 
open. Remembering to knock, he entered the office. Ann smiled as 
she said, "You've definitely got him confused. You told him more 
in five minutes than they've been able to learn in almost a year."

"Glad to be able to help."

Ann sat back and smiled at John. "When is Ed and Ling 
returning?"

"I'm not sure. We are still waiting for the hospital to release Dr. 
Hayes. He's still in traction. As soon as they get a cast on him, 
we'll bring him home. Ed and Ling will accompany him." He 
paused for a second and then added, "When they get back, we'd 
like to invite you and your husband over for a weekend."

She was about to argue and then realized that it would be best for 
all parties concerned. They wouldn't leave the house all together 
because of Dr. Hayes's injuries. She conceded the invitation, "We'd 
be delighted. I guess things are pretty hectic in your household 
now."

John laughed heartily. He was about to say something in return 
when they heard a disturbance in the front office. Ling's voice 
carried down the hall. "Take me to John right now or I'll twist your 
arm right off."

He raced out of the office to the front of the suite. Ling was 
standing there with an agent in an arm lock and another one on the 
ground, her foot pressed against his groin. John shouted, "Stop it, 
Ling. I'm okay."

She let go of the agent and walked over to John. The sound of her 
slap across his face reverberated through the office. Angrily she 
asked, "How dare you not call us? We've been worried sick."

John rubbed his face in shock. "Ah, I didn't have a chance."

She held up a cell phone and asked, "Don't you have one of these?"

"No, I don't." They had tried to get him a cell phone earlier, but he 
could never keep it charged and never thought to use it.

"You had better get one today! Ed and I were going crazy. No one 
was at home. We called the police office and they said that there 
had been an assassination attempt on you. The dispatcher didn't 
know if you were okay. She only knew that an ambulance had 
been called to take one of the men to the hospital."

"Ling, calm down." He turned to the other agents and helped the 
one off the floor. The other one was standing sheepishly rubbing 
his shoulder. John stated, "I have to apologize. She was worried 
about me."

The agent that had been on the ground shook his hands in front of 
his body. "No problem. Let's just not mention it to anyone. Please."

Taking a deep breath, John stated, "Okay. I'll also get her out of 
here as soon as possible."

"Thanks, John. Your wife is a tiger."

John laughed as he said, "You should see her when she gets mad."

Ling snarled at John and then asked, "Are you done here?"

Ann came out to the reception area. "Hello, Ling. I see you have 
things well in hand here."

"Hello, Ann. It's good to see you again."

"Ann, I'm afraid I should leave now and take her to see the rest of 
the family before she gets mad at me. I'll get in touch with you 
about coming to the house, okay?" 

The look Ann gave John was close to pity. "Go on, get out of here. 
I'll send those files over to you when I get them."

"Thanks, Ann," replied John. He turned to Ling and said, "let me 
get my stuff and then we are out of here."

He went into the spare office and picked up his cloak and walking 
stick. He put on his cloak and left the office. Ling was waiting for 
him impatiently. He could understand her feelings. They had lost 
Beth recently and she had been dealing with Dr. Hayes for the past 
month. He went to her and embraced her tightly. He whispered in 
her ear, "I've missed you so very much."

She melted in his arms. He kissed her after he said, "I love you."

Her arms tightened around him as the tension started to drain from 
her body. She hadn't realized how much she missed this until he 
had hugged her. She smiled up at him and asked, "Can we use your 
office for an hour?"

"It's not soundproof. I'd hate for them to think that I'm torturing a 
suspect in there."

Bumping her hip against him, she cooed, "Let's get out of here."

The two of them went to the car. Ling's eyes examined every 
person for ill intent; she had gone into bodyguard mode. They got 
into his car and left Phoenix. The drive seemed shorter than usual 
as John related the events of the night before to Ling. She listened 
to every detail and asked for clarifications about some things. He 
pulled into the garage just as he finished his story.

Entering the house first, Ling looked around before she let John 
come in. She just about jumped a foot when Cathy came charging 
around the corner. Cathy went to Ling and hugged her tightly, 
crying, "Oh, Ling it was so awful. I was tied up and couldn't warn 
him. I've never felt so helpless in my life."

John asked, "Where's Sarah?"

"She's probably lying down. She cleaned up all that blood. I think 
she threw up half the time she was down here."

"Where's everyone else?" asked Ling.

"About an hour ago, I called the hospital. Bob's remains 
unconscious. Kelly and Marguerite are there with him. I was told 
they had fallen asleep." Cathy looked very unhappy. 

John moved to her and hugged her tightly. She nearly collapsed in 
his arms. He stated, "Let me get you to bed. You are exhausted."

She tried to protest, but John picked her up and carried her 
upstairs. She held on to him like a sleepy child being brought home 
from the babysitters. She opened the door and he carried her to the 
bedroom. Gently, he undressed her and then laid her in the bed. 
With a chaste kiss on the forehead, he pulled the blankets up. 
"Sleep well."

He moved out of the room, closing the door behind him. Sarah 
came out of her room. He looked at her for a second. She looked 
horrible. Her face was pale, there were bags under her eyes, her 
eyes were red from crying, and her clothes showed that she had 
been on her hands and knees cleaning. He hugged her tightly and 
said, "It's alright now. Get to bed and sleep."

She numbly nodded and returned to her room. John went 
downstairs and watched as Ling went through the house carefully. 
He followed her to the security room. She went to the monitors to 
examine the tapes of the previous night. The recorder was empty. 
She looked up at John and said, "There's no record."

"Greg was part of it. He was the first one that I killed last night."

Ling growled, "He's lucky. If I got my hands on him, he'd wish for 
death. I assure you that it would be years coming."

"Now, Ling. You don't really mean it," replied John. He was dead 
tired. He had not gotten any sleep since the morning before. It was 
rapidly approaching noon. He sat in one of the chairs while Ling 
examined the security equipment. 

The monitors came back on under Ling's talented fingertips. Greg 
had turned things off rather than destroy them. She examined the 
entire estate through the monitors. She took special notice of the 
work being done on the house for Dr. and Mrs. Hayes. There were 
ground sensors between here and their house. She'd have to go 
check them in a little while. For now, she could send John out to 
walk around and make sure that they functioned. She turned to ask 
him and saw that he had fallen asleep. 

Shaking him by the shoulder, she woke him. When he looked at 
her through blurry eyes, she stated, "Get to bed. I'll wake you in an 
hour."

He stood and walked off to his room. Entering it, he found his 
sleeping bag in its usual place. He lay down and immediately went 
to sleep. 

Ling picked up the telephone and dialed the police station. She 
talked a few minutes with Robert White Feather and sat back to 
relax. Robert and another officer would come in a few minutes to 
guard the house while she went to the hospital. To pass the time, 
she went down to her room to shower and change her clothes. She 
came out feeling like a million dollars. 

The two policemen came and she showed them around the house. 
Pointing out the kitchen, she told them to eat anything they 
wanted. She was sure that Marguerite had some excellent leftovers 
stashed somewhere. Robert smiled as he found this was an 
excellent way to spend his last day on the force.

The hospital room was quiet when she entered. Bob was sitting up 
in his bed with his eyes half open. They came fully open when he 
spotted Ling. He apologized, "Oh, Ling. I tried. I really tried. 
There were just too many of them for me to stop. I'm so sorry."

Ling's eyes misted at the sight of his pain. "You did what you 
could. That's all that anyone can ask for. I doubt I would have done 
any better. You almost got yourself killed. If you had died, then I 
would have been mad at you. The whole trick in the body guard 
business is to keep everyone alive until help shows up."

"Thanks, but I should have been able to do more."

Rather than argue, Ling bent down and kissed him gently on the 
cheek. She said, "Thanks for everything you did."

Bob smiled weakly. "Thank you, Ling."

"Let me go find my errant wife and that girlfriend of yours."

Lightly grabbing her arm, Bob stated, "They are asleep in Beth's 
old office. Don't wake them. According to the nurse, they watched 
over me all night and most of this morning."

Ling sat down next to Bob and started to talk to him about his 
plans with Marguerite. He told her about how much he wanted to 
marry her, but that he was afraid that she would want to go open a 
restaurant some day. He said that he was happy being a handyman 
at the house. Ling listened as he told her about his hopes and fears. 
In a way, he still felt more connected to Ling than any of the other 
family members. She had once been a member of the staff.

She could relate to all that he said. She even laughed when he 
confessed that he had been more worried about Marguerite getting 
hurt than the harm to anyone else there. She understood that his 
love for the woman was talking. She promised herself that they got 
a very good honeymoon. She smiled as she considered an around 
the world trip to the twenty best restaurants in the world. 

Bob was still talking when his eyes slowly closed and he fell 
asleep. Ling went out and got a nurse, unsure if it was all right for 
him to sleep. The nurse assured her that Bob needed his sleep and 
she should give him a chance to get some rest. Ling returned to the 
room and watched him softly snore. 

Ling sat there for two hours before Kelly showed up. Kelly ran to 
Ling and hugged her tightly. Ling whispered, "He's asleep now. I 
talked to him earlier."

The women stepped out of the room to where they could talk. The 
talk started with the general state of everyone and ended with a 
discussion about rewarding Bob for his bravery. Kelly went into 
the room to watch over Bob while Ling went in search of a good 
cup of coffee. 

As Kelly sat in the room, she looked at the newspaper. Midsummer 
was less than two months away. She decided that it was time for 
her to have a talk with that Goddess of John's. The Goddess had to 
take better care of John than she had been and Kelly decided that 
she would be the one to convince her of that. John had lost Betsy 
and now he had lost Beth. John worked harder than anyone to 
make the world a better place. He shouldn't have to suffer losses at 
home.

She was startled out of her thoughts by a naked woman entering 
the room. The woman was beautiful and the sight of her literally 
took Beth's breath away. The woman looked at Kelly with a smile. 
"Yes, little one. Come to me on Midsummer's Day. We shall see 
what you have to say then."

The woman disappeared as Ling entered the room. Kelly turned to 
Ling and, in an awed voice, asked, "Did you see her?"

"Who?"

"The woman that was here." Kelly nearly doubled over as a wave 
of desire washed over her. She was horny and needed attention.

"There was no one here except for you," replied Ling. She looked 
at Kelly and could see that something was wrong with her. She 
moved to the woman and hugged her.

Kelly whimpered, "I need you right now."

"Right now?" Ling was puzzled by Kelly's behavior. "Are you all 
right?"

"No. I need an orgasm right now. If you don't help me, I'll do it 
myself." Her hand went between her legs. She started rubbing 
herself vigorously. Her hips were rocking and her breathing was 
shallow. 

Ling moved to the door and closed it. She returned to Kelly as she 
collapsed to the ground with her hand busy between her legs. Ling 
knelt down and lifted the skirt. Moving the panties out of the way, 
she licked Kelly's pussy with gentle long licks. Kelly grabbed her 
head and forced it harder into her, demanding greater effort and a 
rougher approach. Ling gave up all subtlety and sucked the clit 
between her lips while flicking her tongue over the little bud. Kelly 
moaned as her entire body shook when the orgasm finally washed 
over her. 

Ling sat back watching Kelly slowly recover. When Kelly finally 
opened her eyes, Ling asked, "What was that about?"

"The Goddess. She was here."

Ling looked at her as though convinced that Kelly had finally 
broken under the strain. "Are you sure?"

Kelly nodded, "She was the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

Ling decided that she would discuss this with John when she had a 
chance. The chance to continue the discussion was interrupted by 
the arrival of Marguerite. She looked surprised to see Ling and 
moved in to hug the woman. "Hello, Ling."

"Hello, Marguerite."

A weak voice came from the bed, "Marguerite? Are you okay?"

She rushed to the bed and grabbed his hand. She ran a hand over 
his forehead as she gazed lovingly into his eyes. "Oh, my dear 
man. You are finally awake. I was so worried about you."

"And I was worried about you."

Marguerite laughed even as she felt like crying. She asked, "What 
am I going to do with you, my hero?"

Bob took a deep breath and suggested, "You could marry me."

"Of course, I'll marry you."

Kelly came over and put an arm around Marguerite. 
"Congratulations you two. It's about time."