Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter 10

   I climbed onto the addition to the frat house.  The early flirtation
with summer had the fraternity president keeping his window open.  I dove
into the room, rolled, and came to crouch in a spot untouched by the light
coming through the window.

   A couple of seconds were a worthwhile risk to let my eyes adjust.  I did
not smell a woman; there would be no reason for him to be brave.  I opened
my eyes and panned the bed with my peripheral vision.  Being in the darkest
part of the room, it would have been a mistake to look at it directly.

   With an open window, I would have slept lightly.  The frat-boy, while
more mature than others, still struck me as the type yet to discover his
mortality.

   I moved to the side of the bed.  Professor Ryan acquired everything I
needed, but I only brought a couple with me.  I pulled the eyeglasses case
from my sleeve, removed the slightly moist, already folded rag from inside,
and pressed it against his face covering his mouth and nose.  He grabbed my
hand and tried to sit up but my other hand was ready; I grabbed his hair
from behind and pushed his face harder into the rag.  He breathed deeply,
trying to take in oxygen to power his struggle.  It was the worst thing he
could have done; taking in more gas into his lungs dropped him into
unconsciousness faster.

   Placing the rag back, I walked to the window and let the light reflect
off the case.  A minute later, Michael and Professor Ryan crawled in.

   Michael carried the bindings.  He moved to tie our victim's arms to the
bed and gag him.  He spread the president's legs to tie his feet to the
bedposts.  He walked up to me with his hand extended.  I pulled the knife
out and handed it over.  He returned to the bed and cut off the frat boy's
clothes.  He gave me back the knife and stood post at the foot of the bed.
He had his instructions and was willing to see them through.

   Professor Ryan handed me the ketchup squeeze bottles before walking
around to the other side of the bed.  He was only an interested observer,
or so he said.

   I looked down at the bed and sighed.  I looked down at the bed, sighed,
closed my eyes and whispered Jason's name.  He was never far, but I needed
him closer than ever.

   I pulled the vial out of my pocket and unscrewed the top.  I placed the
open vial underneath the boy's nose causing him to snap his head away.  He
gained consciousness and tried to get up.  Michael was good with bindings
so the frat brother only had a range of movement which allowed a view of
what I wanted him to see.

   Professor Ryan turned on the bedside lamp.  I closed my eyes as light
penetrated the room.  I opened them a minute later and stared at Gerald. 
He was going through a mental catalogue trying to recognize me.  His eyes
flashed when he found the card with my face on it.  He struggled to escape
while looking at me angrily.

   I waited for it to pass.  He seemed hardheaded; his struggle was a waste
of energy from my perspective.  A couple of seconds should have told him it
would take a concerted effort to escape and certainly not something he
could do with his captor sitting on the bed.  Finally, his eyes focused on
the impediment to an immediate future.  He tried to smirk around the gag.

   "You're not afraid yet," I said.  "It will make things easier, as long
as you're not stupidly brave, Gerald."

   His brow furrowed at hearing his name.  I shook my head; he knew who I
was but did not think I would know him.

   "Three of your brothers have placed you in a dangerous predicament.  I
could go after them, but clearly, they are among the dumbest frat-boys on
campus.  Not to mention, it would still leave the rest of you to deal with.
I've heard you have some influence over your brothers.  Convincing you that
your continued well-being is tied to how little I have to think about your
fraternity strikes me as a more efficient solution."

   I let the rant of curses pass before I continued, "So as not to have a
misunderstanding, you do know what three of your brothers did to my..."

   I had thought about how best to phrase it for Gerald.

   "Toy, Doris Alex." He smirked again.  I shook my head thinking it might
have been a better idea to take him outside the frat house.

   "You're not taking me seriously, Gerald," I said standing up from the
bed.  "I knew you wouldn't initially, but I hoped you were at least willing
to listen."

   I turned the top of one of the ketchup bottles.  I remembered the smell
from my high school chemistry class and the time Jason used it to convince
a high school bully I was off-limits.  I pointed the bottle at Gerald's
torso and squeezed the clear liquid on him.  I coated his upper body
lightly.  I thought about not doing his face but halfway was a dangerous
luxury.

   "Close your eyes, darling," I whispered.  "I'm not sure what will happen
if this gets in your pretty blues."

   Jason spoke those exact words to my would-be tormentor.  I could not say
it with the scary concern he did, but Jason had been concerned--he caught
me planning to kill the bully.

   Gerald looked nervous.  The smell of the liquid became stronger as it
evaporated.  I put the bottle down on the bedside stand and reached into my
pocket.  A Zippo had a more impressive presence than matches in the
situation.  I snapped it open; a second snap lit it.  I looked at Gerald
before nodding to Professor Ryan, who turned off the lamp.

   "Gerald, I want you to know, I am not sorry."

   I moved the flame to his waist where the liquid had hit first.  My hand
approached the highest point the liquid turned gas reached.  Blue sparked!
It was slow burning instead of an explosion; the fire flowed down from the
point of origin, spreading like lava over his body.  I stepped back and
watched with the azure lighting my face.

   Gerald screamed, but someone would have had to be outside his door to
hear him.  He struggled mightily; the blue light highlighted the desperate
fear as he looked at the spreading fire.  His mind did not bother with the
nicety of noticing there was no searing heat or that the fire danced at
least a half-inch above his skin.  He screamed again as the blue wave
licked up his chest to his neck.  The fear would not let him close his eyes
as the flame passed onto his face.  He shook his head, trying to pacify the
fire above his eyes.

   The fire burned longer than would have seemed possible, taking almost a
minute to dissipate.

   Professor Ryan turned the lamp back on.  Gerald was gasping and tried to
move away from me when I sat on the bed.  A fine sheen of sweat covered his
body.  I waited for him to catch his breath and for his heartbeat to get
down to a pace more in keeping with the amount of danger he was in.  He
looked at me with fear, but the lack of pain registered; he had only felt
some of the heat from his baptism.

   "I find it disturbing that I always have to convince someone of the
gravity of the situation," I told him.  "I would think waking up tied naked
to your bed without remembering how you got there would be cause for
concern.  Getting someone in that position proves I'm competent enough to
be dangerous, yet I always have to set people on fire."

   The fear was joined by the wariness of a cornered animal.  I was right
about him; Gerald had more brains than his brothers.

   "You're probably wondering why you're not hurting." I wanted to focus
his mental process down the path I needed it to go.  "I only needed to get
your undivided attention, Gerald.  The painful part is still a few minutes
away."

   His eyes widened.

   "Now that you're willing to take me seriously," I said.  "Let's get back
to where this started.  You've heard about the incident with Doris Alex?"

   He nodded slowly, reluctant to admit anything.

   "I'm not going to ask why your brothers did it.  If you said or
suggested something stupid, like she asked for it, I'd have to kill you," I
said.  "It's too late to undo it anyway.  But Gerald, I need to believe,
truly and faithfully, you understand the consequences of me thinking it
might happen again."

   He shook his head in automatic denial.

   "Gerald, let me make this perfectly clear, you don't want anyone you
know to put a pout on Doris Alex's wonderful mouth."

   He nodded vigorously.

   "For me to have faith, you have to believe I am willing to hurt you. 
Not only that I am willing to hurt you, Gerald, but that I've accepted any
price I have to pay for doing so."

   His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to get the convincing
part started so I would leave.

   "I hate to lecture at a time like this," I told him.  "The problem you
and the boys have is none of you thought hurting Doris Alex would have
consequences.  Those three idiots probably thought I would get in their
face so they'd get to kick my ass.  To have really thought it through, they
would have tried to find out if my ass was kickable first."

   Gerald looked worried.

   "In Cancun, I gutted a woman in a nightclub." I accentuated each word.
"Left to right, then down; her hipbone stopped the knife.  It was my
favorite knife so I regret having to leave it inside her.  There were about
a hundred people around us when I killed her; some of them danced in her
blood."

   I looked into his eyes and let him see the truth, if he could recognize
it.

   "It's not information you access to, but you could have found out how
badly I hurt the assholes on the bus.  Since that particular incident was
over a girl I didn't know, you could have inferred my reaction to hurting
one who fucks my cock like a maniac."

   I sat up straight and looked around the room.

   "Do you read science fiction, Gerald?" I asked.  He shook his head
carefully.

   "Too bad, you won't really understand," I said.  "I'm going to give you
a choice, Gerald: pain or death.  Not over what happens between your
fraternity and my toys in the future.  I won't have a choice if something
like this happens again and neither will you."

   I pulled one of the 9mm Berettas holstered at the small of my back with
my right hand.  My left drew the knife Michael used to cut Gerald's
clothing off.  I showed the instruments to Gerald.  He pulled his bindings
tight, trying to get away from me.  I turned the gun in my hand to bring
his attention to it.

   "This is what I'm going to use on any brother between me and the front
door should you choose death," I explained.  "You shouldn't think about
them though.  They're not the ones who have to suffer the gom jabbar."

   I turned the knife, "This is the sword by which you'll make your
choice."

   I put the knife a couple of inches above his left eye.  He tried to move
away until I tapped his temple with the gun.

   "Here's what's going to happen, Gerald," I whispered.  "You're going to
hurt.  Your instinct will be to sit up, if you do, the knife takes your
eye. If that happens, there's no point in not killing you.  If the knife
sinks deep enough, it will probably kill you anyway.  My fingerprints are
all over your bedroom, so if you die I should just kill those three
dickheads and any brother between the front door and me.  What're thirty
life-sentences versus one when I only have one life?"

   I leaned closer to him.

   "If I'm going to get a life sentence, why not get the dying part over
with, right?  Cops are like soldiers on a battlefield, extremely pragmatic.
I'll only have to put a bullet in one of them before they do me the favor
of foregoing the sitting in jail until I die part."

   I took a deep breath and placed the end of the 9mm at his temple.

   "People tend to think I'll pull the knife away before they kill
themselves.  That's why I close my eyes," I said.  "I won't be able to tell
you sat up until your eye hits the point of the blade."

   I tapped his head with the 9mm again.

   "I would keep your head against the gun, Gerald.  It will help you focus
by reminding you of the stakes.  Plus I may think your trying to get out
from the knife and kill you."

   Gerald shook his head frantically until I tapped him again.  He froze
with his eyes widening painfully.  I smiled at him and nodded.  Michael
climbed onto the bed and moved up until he was by Gerald's hips.

   "Steel yourself, Gerald," I said.  "Remember, pain is not death."

   I closed my eyes.  I felt the impact as Michael punched Gerald in the
groin.  Michael was pissed at the brothers for what happened to Doris Alex.
I knew he would not be able to hold back even if it would save my life.

   "The knife, Gerald" I whispered.  "Remember the knife."

   Gerald whined as the pain washed over him.  He sobbed, and I felt him
move.  I tapped him hard with the 9mm.

   "I WILL kill you, Gerald," I said.  "If you touch the knife, I'll pull
the trigger.  The knife, Gerald!  The knife is the end of your life.  Look
at it, Gerald.  I want to take your eye.  I want to punish you for Doris
Alex.  The knife, Gerald!  Think about the knife.  The knife is your death.
Sit up and die, asshole!"

   He cried around the gag as he wrestled for survival.

   "Don't fail your brothers, Gerald," I said loudly.  "Live!  I know you
want to live."

   I opened my eyes when he passed the point of control.  His facial
muscles were tight, almost in the rigor of death but not quite; tears
flowed freely down his cheeks.  I nodded at him and waited for the pain to
fade.  I kept the knife and gun where they were in case he lost it, even if
he was past the hard part already.

   When desperation left his face, I backed off and put the tools away.  He
probably ached, but most of the pain had passed.

   "I expected to kill you, Gerald.  I'm almost disappointed," I gave him
more time to recover before speaking again, "Do you know why I did this,
Gerald?"

   He shook his head; his eyes were slightly red from the ordeal.

   "Overly dramatic and drawn out isn't my style.  I would prefer to burn
your frat house down and roast marshmallows for Doris Alex." I stared into
his eyes and saw he believed me.  "The reason you and your brothers are not
a cooking fire is those three idiots managed to change Doris Alex slightly.
I asked her to take her robe off, and she hesitated.  It was only about one
point five seconds, but..."

   I looked away from him.

   "It was like having my favorite red train not go choo-choo as it went
around the track." I turned back to him.  "Unfortunately, I am a killer,
not a toy repairman, Gerald.  I don't quite know how to make my pretty red
train go choo-choo again.  I have an idea though.  I believe if Doris Alex
gets a heartfelt, sincere apology from you and maybe heard the words from
the three dickwads, when I say 'Take your', her clothing will start flying
in case the rest of the sentence is 'clothes off'."

   I turned the top of the second ketchup squeeze bottle.  He shook his
head frantically.

   "But I had prove I could trust you if I let you live, Gerald"

   I turned and upended the bottle over his groin.  I squeezed and soaked
his dick, balls, and inside of his hips.  He shook his head violently,
pleading with his eyes.  I patted his forehead and waited a minute. 
Professor Ryan turned the lamp off again.  I snapped the Zippo open in
front of Gerald's face and lit it.

   He begged around the gag.

   I waved the flame over his groin.  It was a slow burn from the top of
the gas cloud towards his dick.  Even knowing the fire had not hurt before,
he screamed.  I tilted my head to the side and watched as he pissed through
the fire.  He fought the bindings, shaking his hips to escape the flames.

   As I planned, the fire turned yellow as his pubic hair began to burn. 
He screamed; the gag could barely contain his fear anymore.  His movements
became wilder in a massive attempt to save his genitalia.  Gerald was not
hairy, but there was enough fuel to brighten the room as the fire spread.
His dick flopped around as he inadvertently used it to beat at the flames.
The blue fire petered out as the yellow flames burned down to the root of
the hair they had a grasp on.  The smell of the room changed from the
burning gas to a mixture of urine, feces, and burnt hair.

   Professor Ryan turned on the lamp when darkness fell over us again.  I
studied the reddened skin at Gerald's groin.

   "He shit himself!" Michael said with obvious disgust.  I reached to the
floor and picked up the blanket Michael had thrown from the bed.  I covered
Gerald from his knees to the middle of his stomach to contain the stench.

   I sat down on the bed and looked into his eyes; Gerald was deathly
afraid.  I put my hand on his throat.  He tried to shrink into the bed to
avoid my touch.  I squeezed, not enough to cut off air, but enough for him
to feel the pressure.

   "Gerald, I am the reason there are laws," I said.  "I do not believe
life is precious, not mine and certainly not yours.  I don't need a
life-altering reason to kill you.  If your brothers continue to fuck with
my life, I will end yours."

   I squeezed, making breathing a struggle for him.

   "You will apologize to Doris Alex, Gerald.  The three brothers who
touched her will also apologize.  If they don't, I will blowtorch your
fucking nuts off.  After those apologies, if a Tau even gives someone I
know a mean look I will hold you painfully responsible."

   I let go of his throat and looked at Professor Ryan and Michael, "I am
not alone, Gerald.  I assure you, my Brothers will get to you if I cannot."

   I looked down at him.

   "You have until Wednesday night to get it done." He nodded frantically,
his eyes almost popping out of his head.  I nodded to Michael and my
Brother.  They picked the ketchup bottles up and slipped out the window.  I
took the gag off our victim.  I pulled the knife out and cut his bonds.  I
stood at the side of the bed and put the knife in the sheath.  He rolled
away, falling off the bed trying to put distance between us.

   "Scream, Gerald," I said loudly, pulling out both 9mms.  I cocked them
and stood so my right hand could point at the door and my left at him.

   "Scream, I promise we will die together."

   He shook his head violently.  I walked over to him and crouched down so
our eyes were at the same level.

   "You're fucking crazy," he whispered in a terrified voice.

   "No, I'm perfectly sane.  That's your problem." I stared at him, but he
would not hold the eye contact.  "Do you understand the difference between
us, Gerald?"

   He shook his head.

   "You're not willing to die, even if it would mean my death too."

   He turned to look at me.

   "Scream, Gerald!" He shook his head as if his life depended on it.  I
sighed, got up, and slipped out the window.

   Professor Ryan was talking on his cell phone when I slid into the
backseat of my car.  Michael pulled away as soon as I closed the door.  I
stared out the window during the drive to the house.  We walked in, and I
sat down at one end of the sofa.  Professor Ryan and Michael watched me.  I
turned to look at them.

   "I am the reason there are laws," he said.

   "Too much?" I asked.

   "I'm not one to criticize, but it did seem bombastic."

   I nodded thoughtfully.  Michael was the first one to break with a small
laugh.  Professor Ryan joined him within a second.

   "I don't think Gerald noticed it was overdone," Michael said when they
regained control, causing Professor Ryan to lose it again.  I sat up and
took a deep breath.

   "Jason taught you how to do that?" Michael asked.  I nodded slowly; I
preferred not to discuss Jason.

   "How bad was he?" Michael persisted.

   "How would you describe our relationship if you were one of those frat
brothers?" I asked.  Michael turned to Professor Ryan.  Of the Siblings, he
was the most laid-back around me, and at times, the most unsure.

   He shrugged before answering, "I'd say we run in the same circle but
weren't really friends."

   "If I were Jason, the Taus would cross the street when they see you
coming their way."

   I sat for a half-hour letting the combat high fade.  I sighed and opened
my eyes finally.  I straightened to see Michael and Professor Ryan talking
to each other.  I got up, stretched, and shook my head to get rid of the
grogginess.

   "David," Michael said, interrupting my walk to the door.  I turned to
look at him.

   "The woman in Cancun?" he asked.  He understood he was crossing the line
but had to ask.

   "She killed Jason."

   "You can't just murder someone like that, David" Michael said, looking
at Professor Ryan.

   "You can't kill people like that, Michael.  It makes you a better person
than I am."

   "Do you want to die, David?" Professor Ryan asked.

   I stared at the wall for a few seconds, remembering, before I replied,
"I made a promise to live."

   I drove back to the frat house and parked where I could watch Gerald's
window.  Minutes later, a car pulled up behind me.  I got out and turned
towards the two men who stepped out.

   Roderigo would drive a Jag.

   I did not recognize the other man, except as another Brother.  I looked
at him closely as they walked up to me.  The way he occupied space fingered
him for a cop.

   "Melisa's dad," I said.  He nodded and studied me.

   "I expected a bonfire from you, Brother," Roderigo said motioning
towards Gerald's window.  "This is almost subtle."

   "I had to think of more than myself," I said.

   "Oh?"

   "Doris Alex seems an exceptionally well-behaved Sibling," I said.  "I
did not wish to see her ruined."

   "This isn't the end of it," Roderigo said.  "Those three are not going
to swallow apologizing easily."

   None of us doubted Gerald would try very hard to do what I asked.

   "No, they're going to have to get hurt to learn," I replied.

   "I'm sorry we lost Jason," Roderigo said.  "He would have made an
exceptional Sibling."

   Melisa's dad nodded.

   "Yes, he would have," I whispered.

   "Doris and Jason would have made beautiful babies," Roderigo said almost
to himself.

   "Siblings are bred?" I asked.

   "Exceptionally well-behaved Siblings have a way of doing what they think
a Brother needs or wants.  Some extend the thought process to the
Brotherhood," Melisa's dad said, shaking his head in amusement.

   I stared at Gerald's window while considering his words.

   "At some point, the thought that the Siblings goaded the attack on Doris
must have crossed your mind," Roderigo said.

   "To what purpose, Melisa would have nothing to gain," I said.  "She
probably didn't notice on any real level people were talking about her."

   "Why do you think Melisa Ranks enough to lead this?" her dad asked.

   "Ranks?" I replied.

   "Siblings have...  politics." Amusement laced Roderigo's voice.  "I
supposed that's the best word for their game."

   "Melisa struck me as the one in charge," I said.

   "Melisa is your First, David," her dad said.  "It gives her a lot of
Rank with you living here, but there are Sibling rules she would never
violate.  I don't know all the intricacies of how Siblings decide who is in
charge among them, but a Brother's favor is the most important factor.

   Doris is the only Sibling in their enclave having sex with Jeremy and
you.  Even with Melisa and Sheryl having more personal relationships, Doris
should Rank until you move into the house.  Things could get confusing at
that point, with one Sibling being in charge inside the house, and another
outside."

   I looked at him, like I was considering state of his sanity.

   "Siblings attempting to achieve higher Rank make things interesting for
Brothers," he shrugged.

   I turned and leaned against the car, "Why would Doris Alex put herself
through it?  She got hurt."

   "Physical pain wouldn't matter to a Sibling with a Brother's interest on
their mind.  Like you said, Doris is an exceptionally well-behaved
Sibling," Roderigo said.

   "There's nothing for me to gain from this," I pointed out.

   "It wasn't just you she was serving," Roderigo said softly.  He and
Melisa's dad looked at each other before turning towards Gerald's window.

   "Go home, David," Roderigo said.  "We'll watch the boy for you."

   "Don't worry about him, David," Melisa's dad said with a hard smile. 
"I'll show up in a few places he can see me.  Gerald will know you are not
alone."