An Orphan

AN ORPHAN By Lee Mariner

December 2002

DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story intended for adult readers only. It depicts homosexual acts between young men and boys. All characters are fictional and in no way related to any person or persons living or deceased. Any perceived similarity is purely coincidental and not intended. IF YOU ARE NOT OF LEGAL AGE TO BE READING THIS STORY OR YOU DO NOT APPROVE OF SUCH MATERIAL, PLEASE LEAVE.

DO NOT ENGAGE IN UNPROTECTED SEX, IT CAN LEAD TO A LIFE THREATENING CONSEQUENCE.

All stories I have written or I am writing can be found in the Nifty Archives of prolific authors under my pen name of Lee Mariner.

This story is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written consent of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission guidelines but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written consent of the author.

Copyright: December 2002 - Author: Lee Mariner - All Rights are Reserved.

Mariner23502@hotmail.com

• • • • • • • • • Chapter #25

We left Dickson in the courtroom still in a dazed state, the subpoena in his hand hanging at his side. I still felt no pity for him, thinking about the kids he and his buddies had exploited. What I didn't understand is how the state became involved and was conduction a grand jury investigation.

When we reached the garage, we saw the two state agents driving away and one of them waved as they passed, Robert waved back casually.

After we were in the Explorer, my head was spinning with questions and I looked at Robert and Stu. I must have had a puzzled or anxious look on my face.

"Clyde, stop worrying, we are clean. Dickson is the one who should be worrying not us."

"Maybe but what about all that stuff we found at the farm? What about all of the tapes, computers, cameras and the stuff in the files and safes? When they start searching, they are going to find it."

"There is nothing illegal about the stuff we saw. Sex between consenting adults over the age of 18 is not illegal. The laws concerning sex between consenting adults vary almost from state to state. Homosexual acts are still frowned on but the laws are becoming more liberal as case after case is coming before the Supreme Courts of the States. I've read a few of the briefs on cases that make it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court and their findings are ambiguous. There are constitutional aspects that are taken into consideration and the states in general insist on changing their own laws defining sodomy and consensual age limits making it difficult for them to render a really binding opinion. There are federal laws but they are directed more at pornography and the sexual abuse of children. Think for just a minute Clyde, you to Stu. The state is investigating a pornographic operation. Selling the tapes is not illegal as long as they do not depict sexual acts with minors. If they were, that is pornography and that is what the state is investigating when they say there is a grand jury investigation into an alleged pornographic operation.

There was an Internet Web Site but that is not illegal as long as sex with minors is not being shown or sold. If, and we don't know this for a fact, Dickson, Marx and Martineze were involved in child pornography. . . well, they are in big trouble state and possibly federal if they were that stupid. As it is right now, the state will impound the tapes, computers and any other material that is relevant. None of that affects the farm though; it was always part of the original estate assets. Dickson tried using his position as executor to remove it from the estate. That in and of itself was a conflict of interest and he should have realized that. I think greed and maybe the influence of Martineze and Marx had a lot to do with it."

"They don't seem to have been very bright Rob." Stu said agreeing with his brother.

"Dickson especially Stu. I can't think of what made him think he could get away with what he was trying. There have been other lawyers that tried taking advantage of their positions as executors and usually they are caught in the long run. It is amazing that he thought forging Clyde's uncle's signature by using the power of attorney he had probably wrangled out of old Mr. Hampton would make it legal. The reassessment he had done after he sent the original documents too us was his biggest mistake. You and Clyde caught that."

"Not me Rob, Stu. I didn't have any idea what I was looking at; it was all just a bunch of figures. I've got another question. Won't all of this come out during the investigation?"

"It's not likely too Clyde. Remember, they are investigating something entirely different then the settlement of an estate. They can't bring you into it since you were not even here when they were operating the farm as a male brothel. The farm was still part of your uncle's estate and Dickson was the de facto operator since he was the estate executor during the period they are investigating. For someone who should have some sense, Dickson did a lot of screwy things but he avoided a criminal act. If you and Stu had not caught what he was up too and he let the estate continue in probate he would have crossed the line and committed embezzlement and fraud. He crossed a lot of "T's" but he forgot to dot a few "I's". Right now I am starved, lets get something to eat. Devon should be able to whip something up."

"That depends on what you want him to whip up bro." Stu said grinning and parking the truck.

"And you little brother are becoming a smart ass." "If you said good ass, Clyde might agree with you." Stu said ducking Rob's playful swing at his head.

It was good seeing the playful interplay between them. Robert's demeanor and personality had changed completely since he had joined us and met Devon. The only dark cloud I could see was his marriage and I wondered how he was going to handle that.

Scott was standing outside of the hotel-watching workmen removing the Branston sign when we got out of the truck.

"You guys go ahead." I said walking in Scott's direction. "I'll catch up with you."

"Hi Scott, any inquires about why the sign is being taken down?" I asked.

"Oh, hi Clyde. I didn't see you drive in. One of the workers asked why and I told him we were closing for major renovation. There have been a few sidewalk supervisors but they just moved on. Ethel has had quite a few calls on the phone. Our last guest checked out but I didn't charge them. They were concerned about where they would stay in the future. I explained what you were doing and assured them we would be re-opening. How did things go this morning?"

"Pretty much as Robert expected it would, no problems. Has Devon fixed anything for lunch? We have to make a run too West Point after we change and eat."

"I think he has. None of you ate much for breakfast so he figured you might be hungry when you got back. Let's go see, I'm just a little hungry myself."

Scott impressed me more as I got to know him. Most people would have asked about a sudden trip but he didn't. I liked the air of confidence he had and the way he handled himself. Most of all, I liked the fact that he knew I was gay and it didn't seem to make a difference. I found out later why it didn't.

Scott was right, Devon had fixed a light lunch and they were eating when we walked in. After we ate and changed, I left a few instructions with Scott about the seeing if there was a company that would take up the carpets and remove them and to make arrangements for storage of some of the things we wanted to keep. He told me that the Salvation Army was sending a truck over for the furniture that afternoon. I gave him our cell phone number in case he needed to call us for anything.

Devon had pulled the truck up in front while I was talking with Scott. Robert was in the front seat with him, his arm on the back of the seat and Stu grinned at me as I got in, his eyes twinkling.

We didn't stop at the 77 Diner on the way and Robert was telling us what we could expect when we got too the farm. It was mostly speaking when spoken to and offer no information or objections and let him handle any questions they might have. That would be easy for me, I didn't like talking with cops that much.

The signs that Marx had put up were still in place and in front of the gate were two panel trucks and a sedan. Four men were in the sedan and a driver in each of the panel trucks. I recognized the two men as the ones we had seen in the courthouse and when we drove up they got out to meet us.

"I haven't been out this way before Mr. Hampton, but from here this looks like a pretty nice spread." The one agent said as he walked towards us.

"Yesterday was our first time." I said looking at Robert.

"Oh, then you haven't had a chance to look around have you?"

"We did yesterday Agent . . . .? " Robert said stepping forward.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ricksford, I should have introduced myself. Chris Hardison, Agent in Charge."

"Before we go any further Agent Hardison, lets set the record straight. We know what you are going to find inside we saw it yesterday. Mr. Hampton took ownership of the place three days ago from Mr. Dickson and you were in court this morning when Judge Doumar legally transferred West Point Associates at the probate hearing. Yesterday was the first opportunity we had to inspect the property. I don't know if you have any information as to what went on here or not but it precedes Mr. Hampton taking ownership if anything illegal was going on."

"We knew all of that already Mr. Ricksford, even before we met you this morning. Why don't we go inside and see what you think we are going to find?"

The agents followed us up the drive after we opened the gates. They found everything we had seen and after photographing everything, they started loading videotapes and computers in the panel trucks. The cottage that Marx had used was photographed and stripped of every piece of apparatus including the bed mattresses. They inspected the "barn" taking photographs of each room and they removed a few erotic pictures from the walls.

Devon made a pot of coffee in the kitchen and we waited in the dining room while they worked. It only took them about an hour and a half and they were finished. Agent Hardison came into where we were sitting and joined us at the table with a large sheaf of forms. He scrawled his signature on several and handed them to Robert.

"The receipts for what we are impounding. "You know Mr. Ricksford, I don't make opinions, I just do the investigating but in over twenty years with the State Attorney's office I haven't investigated anything like this. We shut down a few whore houses every now and then but this is the most elaborate operations I have seen."

"It surprised us when we learned what was happening. Those tapes, microphones, cameras and that setup down in the basement. We don't know who was behind it but we locked everything up where we found it yesterday."

"We know that. My agent saw you arrive and leave yesterday. We have had the place under surveillance for some time."

"In that case you must have seen who was here when we arrived and who left before we did."

"Yes, we did. Marx was photographed loading his truck and then unloading it after you stopped him. Marx gave us the slip but Martineze was taken into custody." "So that's how you knew what was here?" I said.

"Oh, we knew about it before Mr. Hampton. The only thing we haven't been able to determine is how the underage children became involved. There's no need to go into how we found out about the kids that will all come out at the hearing. I think I have figured out how the kids were brought in after seeing that airstrip."

None of us had thought about the airstrip and hanger on the back of the property.

"So that is how you think children were brought in without anyone knowing. I was wondering about the pornographic charge when I heard you this morning. You have a state limit of 16 for consensual sex so if any young boys were brought in that way and they were under that age you are talking possible pederasty charges being brought." Robert said watching Agent Hardison intently.

"That will be up to the State Attorney Mr. Ricksford but it wouldn't surprise me. I'm just glad the forensic boys are the ones that will be analyzing those tapes and computer hard drives. It makes my skin crawl when I think of it."

"I can understand that Agent Hardison. There might be a lot of embarrassed people before your office is finished."

"Probably so. I heard the Judge mention that you are from Baltimore, are you going back anytime soon?"

"We were leaving next Monday. Why?"

"Well, I'm not sure the grand jury or the attorney general will need you and I can't make you stay but you might want too in case they do."

That comment made Stu and I look at Robert but his face was a blank.

Robert took a business card out of his wallet and handed it to the agent.

"If you need us, call my office. We will be glad to help in any way we can." He said smoothly.

"Okay Mr. Ricksford thanks for your cooperation. By the way Mr. Hampton, did Marx happen to mention where he might be headed when you were talking with him before he left?"

Sneaky ass cops, I thought glancing at Robert. He nodded his head slightly.

"He did say something about going back east somewhere around New Jersey but nothing definite."

"New Jersey huh? Not a very big place, at least not as big as Nebraska. Thanks again."

Agent Hardison was closer to the truth then he realized when he said it as I found out sometime later.

The four of us stood on the porch and watched the agents drive off and out of sight down the road. It was as if we were waiting for someone to say something before I spoke.

"What do we do now Robert?"

"Right now Clyde we go back inside for a drink, I need one and then we check the monitors and timers for the lights and double check every door. Make sure everything is locked tight including the gate as we leave. This place stays locked up until after the grand jury hearings, nothing gets moved out."

We had a drink at the bar in the living room and then followed Roberts's instructions. While he and Devon checked the house, Stu and I checked the cottages and the "barn". There were light spots on the walls where they had removed the pictures and as silly as it seemed, I thought we were going to have to re-paint. Stu and I checked around and walking into the solarium saw the pool was still filled.

"That should be emptied don't you think Clyde?"

"I don't see why it needs to be filled if its not being used." I said feeling the warm water and remarking. "It must be heated too."

"There must be controls or filters for it somewhere, lets find them and see if we can drain it and shut it down." Stu said.

We found a door shielded by fake palm trees that led to the control room. It was white tiled and there was what looked like a double filter system with a connecting heater. Looking around, I found two valves marked "In" and two marked "Out". The heater system had separate controls and on the wall there were two panels marked "A" and "B". Stu checked the panels and saw where they controlled the pumps and underwater lights.

He threw the switches that controlled the lights while I shut the heater off and then he went back too the pool to watch the water level after I closed and opened the" in & out" valves. We both stood watching the water level when he put his arm around my waist, leaning his head on my shoulder.

"It's to bad we couldn't have taken a swim before draining it." He said softly tightening his arm around my waist.

Turning, I put my arms around him holding him close. Looking into the clear blue depths of his eyes, I brushed his lips with mine whispering, "I'll build you a private pool where just you and I will swim."

His lips were soft and his mouth tasted sweet as we kissed our tongues danced and entwined exploring already familiar haunts. His body melted into mine and we ground against each other feeling the desire for each other swelling between us. When we broke the intensity of our kiss, he leaned back in my arms, his eyes gleaming & running the tip of his tongue over his lips.

"When was the last time I told you how much I love you?"

"You do that every time you look at me." I said quietly nuzzling his nose with mine, holding him closer.

A gurgling sound brought us back to reality the pool was almost empty. Running back into the control room, I opened the "in" valve and drained the filters while Stu shut the power off.

When we had made sure everything was shut down, we left the control room. Robert and Devon were standing by the empty pool grinning at us.

"Do we have that to look forward to Dev?" Robert said putting his arm around Devon's shoulders.

"I certainly hope so."

That was the first time Stu and I had heard and expression of feelings between them. Stu squealed and bounded into his brothers arms.

"Robbie, you mean it? You and Devon, your not kidding me, us." He said almost breathlessly kissing Robert.

"Whoa little brother. We have a lot to talk about and much to do so don't get so damned excited or we both will fall into an empty pool, wouldn't that mess things up?"

"I'm sorry Rob but we both have been hoping you and Devon might click. I didn't dare think it might but I was hoping."

"Dev had a little something to do with it happening you know, it wasn't all me."

"He didn't know I had set my cap for him until it was to late. He's right though Stu. There is a lot to talk about and do. It won't be easy and it's going to take some time. Rob has told me everything about Baltimore."

"I'm delighted guys but we better get started back, its getting dark." I said.

It was getting darker out and when we left the "barn", Stu walked between his brother and Devon his arms around both of them. It made me feel good seeing him so happy. Devon was right about one thing, there was a lot to be done.