Greetings loyal readers. Trouble often seems to have a way of finding the Boys of Lady Lex. Of course quite a few of them were born into trouble. This time however, trouble comes at an unexpected time and place, not to mention an unexpected source. And once again our heroes find themselves in trouble with the law, including Douglas. Have fun reading.
The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 41 "Missing Pieces" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC
Trevor looked up as the guard entered the cell block. Douglas stood up and went to the bars. Ben, who was already standing, went over to his boyfriend and stood next to him. In the cell opposite, Mike the Donkey, Andrew, and Nipper were already at the cell door waiting to see where the guard was going.
"Wakeman!" bellowed the Guard. "You will come with me." The guard opened the cell that Mike was in, and Mike silently stepped out. He could see another guard standing by the door that lead to the outer office of the police station. The guard placed Mike in handcuffs and escorted him through the thick metal door. The door clanked with a deafening thud, causing all the boys' hearts to sink to a pit in their stomachs.
The two guards escorted Mike down a dull gray corridor dimly lit by florescent lighting. There were no pictures or painting on the walls. Every ten feet there were brown doors with opaque panes of glass in them that had the names of policemen and detectives written on them. Mike felt like he was walking down what Stephen King once called "The Green Mile". Finally the guards stopped in front of a door that, unlike the others, had no pane of glass in it. It was a plain brown solid door. The guard opened it and motioned Mike to step in. Mike turned and entered. His heart sank and at the same time rejoiced when he saw the silhouette of his brother, Brad, standing in front of some large opaque windows with the early morning sun beaming through it.
With the exception of the windows, the room was like the corridors. It was gray and dull and showed no life in it. The floor was gray tile that was chipped and peeling up in places. In the center of the room was a brown wooden table with numerous nicks, dents, and scratches on it. On one wall was a large mirror. Mike knew right away that it was a two-way mirror where there were probably numerous policemen on the other side gawking at him. Mike went into the room and sat down at the head of the table opposite of where Brad was standing.
Just before the guard shut the door, a man dressed in a wrinkled white button down shirt, sloppily tucked into his wrinkled brown trousers, came through the door. His brown shoes were scuffed up and he had a good day or two of growth on his tired and worn face. His salt and pepper hair was all disarrayed as well.
"Michael Wakeman?"
"Yes?"
"I'm Detective Hyrum Bryce. You and your friends have been arrested for disturbing the peace by interrupting a funeral procession at the cemetery, destruction of the Grand View Hotel, resisting arrest, and my personal favorite, the kidnapping and murder of Mrs. Edna Melville."
Brad looked down at his brother who was very upset but holding it in. Mike looked up and shot him a forced uneasy smile. This was going to be a long day for everyone. *****
Captain Hatcher entered the hangar bay. The "LadyHawke" was up and ready to go. Lieutenant Anderson was sitting in the pilot's seat. Commander Creevey was already in the hangar.
"Captain, the boys are being held at a local police station. Brad Wakeman, Cadet Wakeman's brother, is already there. He works for a district attorney's office in Texas. I know this is out of his jurisdiction, but he will be able to lend some help. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have been notified and they are on their way."
The doors to the hangar whisked open. "How the hell did this happen?" yelled a disgruntled doctor.
"I don't know Larry, but I intend to find out." Captain Hatcher and Dr. Daniels climbed on board the "LadyHawke". Soon Lieutenant Anderson had the shuttle on its way to Earth with Commander Creevey being left behind to run the Lexington in his absence.
She couldn't believe it. They only been back to earth for five days and already some cadets were in trouble. She should've known with the homecoming dinner, the open house, and the performances, something had to go wrong. She just didn't realize how bad that wrong was.. *****
Detective Bryce pulled up close to Mike on the only other chair in the room and sat on it backwards. He looked the young man over and saw nothing but trouble. Even this far away from Texas, he had heard about the notorious Donkey Gang. And here he had the leader sitting right in front of him.
"Now Mr. Wakeman, in your own words tell me what happened." Detective Bryce had a rough, raspy voice.
"It's a long story," said Mike with a sheepish grin.
"That's okay, I have as long as it takes."
"I'm not sure where to begin. I mean it gets complicated."
"Start from the beginning. That is always a good place to start," assured Brad.
"It all started last October when Ben, Trevor and Andrew were playing soccer with their friend Kiran."
"What does playing soccer last October have to do with killing a 90 year old woman?" asked Detective Bryce.
"You want to know what happened or not?" questioned Mike.
"Yes, I do."
"Then stop interrupting me and let me tell you how it is." Detective Bryce grumbled some. He nodded to Mike and Mike continued. "Last October Ben, Trevor, Andrew and Kiran..."
"Ben, Trevor and Andrew are the boys locked up here, correct?"
Mike left out a disgruntled sigh. "Yes, they are the same boys."
"And where is this Kiran?"
"If you stop with the questions you will find out." Mike was getting aggravated.
"Mike, calm down," said Brad.
"I'm perfectly calm. I am trying to tell you guys what happened, but he keeps interrupting me. Now let me tell you what happened and after I tell you, if you have any questions or need certain areas made clearer then I will answer them and do my best to make it clear. But until then let me tell you what happened."
"Very well Cadet Wakeman, you may continue," said the Detective who was getting irritated with Mike.
"Last October Ben, Trevor and Andrew Collins were playing soccer in Virginia with their friend Kiran. The soccer ball went into some old bunker. When Kiran went inside, Trevor shut the door and locked it. They did this as a practical joke." Mike added that last sentence knowing that Detective Bryce was about to interrupt him once again to ask that question.
"They left the scene thinking they would come back in an hour or so. During that hour, these two thugs came to the bunker and killed Kiran. They figured he was a loose end since Kiran found out a secret when he went inside the bunker."
"But how do you know Kiran was killed by these two thugs? Did Ben and his brothers witness it?" asked Detective Bryce.
"No, Douglas did. But Ben, Andrew and Trevor were blamed for it and found guilty of manslaughter in the court of law and were sent to the USS Lexington as part of their punishment."
"Now Douglas is one of the boys we have in custody?"
"Yes, now will you please let me continue on with this or I will just shut up," insisted Mike.
"I don't think you know what predicament you are in Cadet Wakeman. I am the one who makes the rules here not you. Now, in your best interest, I suggest you cooperate and answer all the questions I ask when I ask them." This time it was Mike's turn to leave out a disgruntled sigh.
Giving in to the firm and stern detective, Mike continued on with his story. "So Douglas saw these two thugs kill Kiran. He tried to stop them, but was unable to."
"Didn't Douglas testify in court on behalf of the boys?" asked Brad.
"No, because Douglas didn't see it happen until after the trial."
"Wait a minute. Douglas Daniels saw this Kiran being killed after the Collins boys were tried for it?"
"That's right."
Detective Bryce rubbed his forehead with the palm of his hand and then slid his palm down his face and then stopping to grip his chin as if he was trying to make heads or tails out of this. "And how did Douglas see this happen before the trial? Did he travel back in time or something?" jokingly said Bryce.
"As of matter fact he did."
"That's it. Mr. Wakeman, I suggest you tell your brother to tell me the truth and stop making up these tall tales."
"Mike, you know better then to lie to the police. It will only make things worse."
"Brad, I might steal, I might break and enter, and I might even do some vandalism, but the one thing this Donkey doesn't do is lie. I might not answer all questions, especially questions that could get the ones I love in trouble, but I don't flat out lie."
Now it was Brad's turn to leave out a long sigh. Brad knew Mike was right. In all the years he known his brother, not once did Mike lie. There were times when he was stubborn as a donkey and would not give out secrets, especially those secrets that would incriminate his friends, but he didn't lie.
"Detective, I think we should let my client continue on with his story."
Detective Bryce gave a disgusted look. "Very well, for now."
"After the Collins brothers were found guilty of manslaughter, they came to the SFA 'Lexington' A SFA Junior Academy, the first of her kind. Only JDs attend there. Well, a few of the officers' kids as well, but most of them are JDs"
"JDs as in juvenile delinquents?" asked Detective Bryce.
"That's right. We spent weeks of hard work getting the SFA 'Lexington' space worthy again. We finally got to take her out to test her warp drive for the first time. Ben and Douglas were sitting in their shuttle craft, the Wonder Boy, which was docked on a docking hatch. The 'Lexington' flew into this field of.....pot holes that were gateways to different times. They were very unstable and dangerous. The 'Wonder Boy' brushed along side one of these pot holes and Douglas entered it. When the 'Wonder Boy' pulled out of the pot hole, Douglas was gone."
"And let me guess, he ended up back in time where he saw these two thugs kill Trevor."
"No, he ended up back in time where he saw these two thugs kill Kiran."
"Ah, that's right. If nothing else, this story of yours entertaining. Please continue."
"Douglas realized where he was and what was going on. He and Ben are...uh...best friends and Ben had told Douglas what had happened, not knowing the truth. Until this point Ben and his brothers always thought that they had killed Kiran accidentally. So Douglas sees what happens and decides to change the future and go rescue Kiran. But right before Douglas could to do anything, Ben piloted the 'Lexington' back into the pot hole and swooped in and rescued Douglas, bringing him back to his proper time in space. But not before the two thugs got a good look at the witness who had just escaped."
"So once Douglas got back, he told the authorities...."
"Well he tried, but no one would listen. Douglas' testimony wasn't solid. I mean until that moment, time travel was only something in imagination. And even if the authorities did believe that Douglas went back in time, there was no solid proof that he went back to that particular universe or an alternate universe. So it was just thrown out with the trash and the case remained closed and the Collins brothers remained on the ship, although they seemed to be at peace with themselves knowing the truth, even if no one else believed it."
"And do you believe this story?"
"I d pretty much did, but I wasn't totally sure until we arrived here at Earth five days ago."
"Please continue," said Detective Bryce.
Harrison Wolfe, Ensign Kalon Masters, and Major Zjan-Ren walked across the open field. They found the bunker that Ben and the others had told them about before being put in jail. Wolfe, Kalon and Zjan-Ren looked at the sealed door.
"It's sealed," said Kalon, pointing out the obvious.
"You're observation is quite stunning," said Wolfe.
"I don't know what we are going to find. This crime site has been cold for ten months now not to mention rummaged and rampaged by more people then you can shake a baklava at," said Zjan-Ren.
"I don't know. Sometimes what appears before us isn't what we think it is. After all, for decades people and art lovers marveled over DaVinci's painting of `The Last Supper'." Wolfe started to comb the ground in front of the bunker with his eyes as he continued to talk. "Everyone thought the thirteen men in the famous painting were Jesus Christ and his twelve disciples. Yet once the dirt and grime was removed from the surface of the painting, what people had thought was a man sitting next to Jesus in the spot of honor, was actually a woman. So we are just looking at a painting today that was looked over by many art lovers and hope to clean off some of this dirt and grime," Wolfe bent downs and started pushing away some clumps of grass and dirt "in hopes of finding the woman." He pulled something small out of the ground. "And I do believe we found her."
Andrew sniffed and wiped away some tears from his face with his hands that were handcuffed together. He looked at Ben and Trevor and then looked at Nipper. He was being escorted out of the cell block. He was scared because Mike never returned when he was taken away. He didn't know what to expect. Andrew walked down the drab corridor. He had no idea where he was going. The halls were so quiet that Andrew could hear his heart beat. Each thump was like clashing thunder awakening the silent forest right before a rainfall. The guard opened a door and escorted Andrew inside.
Andrew looked around. It was a dull room with opaque windows on the opposite end. A mirror hung on the wall on his right, and in the center of the room was an old wooden table that looked like it had been through Hell and back. There were two chairs, one at each end of the table.
Andrew saw a man standing in front of the windows. He didn't know him. He was clean cut and dressed in a suit. He looked familiar, but he couldn't place a finger on where he had known this guy before. Andrew sat down and the guard closed the door leaving Andrew alone in the room with this young man.
"Hello, Andrew," said the man.
"Hi," replied Andrew very softly barely audible.
"I'm Brad Wakeman. I am an attorney and I will be helping you today. When the detective comes in here, I will be in here with you to make sure nothing happens to you."
"Wakeman as in Mike's brother?"
"Yes, Mike is my brother."
Andrew was a little relieved at the sound of that. Andrew trusted Mike, so therefore he trusted his brother too. "Where are my Mom and Dad? I want to see them." Andrew sniffed away a few more tears.
"They're here waiting for you and your brothers. They just got here not too long ago. When the detective comes in, just answer his questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge and this will go quick and easy."
"Okay," sniffed Andrew.
"You can relax Andrew. I won't let anything happen to you. Soon this will be all over and you can go back to the 'Lexington'."
The door opened and in walked Detective Bryce carrying a coffee stained Styrofoam cup. Some drops of strong, black coffee came sloshing out of it and leaving trails of droplets behind. Then in his raspy rough voice he addressed Andrew.
"Hello, Andrew. I am Detective Hyrum Bryce. I'm just going to ask you a few questions if that is okay with you." Bryce's tone was different from when he interrogated Mike. Brad noticed this, but Brad had seen enough interrogations to know that you had to use different tactics with different people to get the information that you sought. "Would you like something to drink, Andrew?"
"No thank you," said Andrew who was still speaking very quietly.
Detective Bryce sat down on the chair on the opposite end of the table. He looked at the frightened young boy at the other end. He took a sip of his now cold coffee. After swirling it around in his mouth a few times, he swallowed it. "Andrew, tell me what happened when you and your brothers and friends first arrived here five days ago."
"When the Lady Lex..."
"The Lady Lex?" asked Bryce
"The JFSA 'Lexington'. We call her the Lady Lex because she is a grand old lady."
"Continue."
"Well, when the Lady Lex arrived at Earth for the first time, it was a grand affair. Not many people on Earth wanted anything to do with our homecoming, but because of Mr. Starr, my dad, and Mariah Kingsly, it turned into quite an ordeal."
"Who is Mr. Starr?"
"Gordon Starr, Detective. He is the CEO and owner of AstroStarr Industries. His son, Scott Starr, is one of the cadets on the 'Lexington'," chimed in Brad.
"And Mariah Kingsly is the television reporter?"
"That's right, Detective," answered Brad.
"You're doing well, Andrew. Please continue," reassured Detective Bryce.
"I was in the orchestra playing our theme song as Mariah Kingsly and her television crew came on board. There were some Admirals that came on board too. The reporter was doing a story on us showing how a program like the 'Lexington' can help bad kids turn into productive citizens."
"So were you on TV then?"
"I don't know. I didn't watch the news. We're not allowed to watch television onboard. We haven't earned that right yet. But if I was on TV, I was just in the background. I know they were filming the orchestra. But they did interview my boyfriend's brother."
"Pardon?" Bryce was caught off guard with Andrew's last comment.
"Mariah Kingsly interviewed Douglas. I know because Nipper and I stood behind the cameraman and watched."
"Who is Nipper?"
"Nipper is my boyfriend and Douglas's brother. His real name is Nathan, but we call him Nipper. A lot of times I call him Nate, but I am the only one who is allowed to call him that. Just like he's the only one who can call me Andy."
Bryce wasn't sure what to make of Andrew calling Nipper his boyfriend. So he decided to ignore that comment for the time being and continue on with what happened when they pulled into Earth. "You're doing fine, son. Please continue."
"Nate and I stood behind the cameraman to watch Douglas be interviewed. We kept giggling because Douglas kept tripping over his tongue. We both thought this was funny because we knew that in a couple of days Douglas would be on stage acting in a play called '12 Angry Men'. If he was like this for the interview we wondered what it would be like when he was on stage."
"Do you remember any of the interview?"
"A little. I remember Mariah Kingsly asking Douglas what it was like to be a cadet on the 'Lexington'. Douglas said it was hard and frustrating at times, but he got to do so many different things that he wouldn't have been able to do if he would have stayed on Earth with his grandparents. Douglas's dad is our ship's doctor. Douglas volunteered to be a cadet after Ben was shot and almost died."
"Your brother Ben was shot? When?"
"Well, me and Ben were hiding on the 'LadyHawke' a few months ago." Andrew didn't want to tell the detective why they were hiding on the "LadyHawke". He wasn't sure how the detective or Brad would take the fact that he and his brother were having sex together. "Captain Storm, Ensign Masters and Mr. Wolfe took the 'LadyHawke' to some planet to recover some stolen parts that belonged to the Lady Lex. Something went wrong and Ben and I were held hostage. But then when we tried to escape, Ben was shot. We made it back to the Lady Lex in time to save him. Only to have more complications happen because it was a weird phaser that hit him. But Dr. Daniels fixed Ben right up. This is when Douglas wanted to be a cadet and not go home to Earth. He wanted to be with Ben. They're boyfriends too now. But Nate and I were boyfriends first."
Again Detective Bryce ignored the boyfriend comment. But if this fact was true, he could see why the boys stuck together like they did. If they were indeed boyfriends, then he was sure they were best friends and would do anything for each other. Even if it met stepping into the line of trouble and danger.
"What else did Douglas say in the interview? Do you remember?"
"I don't really remember." Then Andrew changed the topic. "Can I still have that glass of water? My throat is a bit dry."
Detective Bryce nodded and stood up and went to the door. He opened it, talked to the guard who was standing outside the room. Within a few minutes Andrew was sipping some water.
"So you don't remember anything else Douglas said in his interview?" After talking to Mike Wakeman, Bryce knew that this interview was what started the snowball to start rolling down hill. He knew the snowball was formed when Douglas went back in time, if he so chose to believe that. Then when Douglas was interviewed, the snowball started rolling down the hill, getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
"I can't remember. I'm sorry. Maybe you should ask Douglas. He was the one who was asked the questions."
"That's fine. Please continue on with your story."
Andrew continued to tell the Detective word for word about what happened during the past five days. The Detective was making mental notes and was surprised how much Andrew's story was very similar to Mike's story. After Andrew was done with being interrogated, the guard escorted Andrew to a different cell block. Mike was there alone waiting to find out what will happen to them.
The Detective sat in the chair thinking. Brad was still standing in the corner. "Either what they said really happened the way it did, or the boys rehearsed their story before coming to see me."
"You don't believe them, Detective?"
"At this point, I'm not sure what to believe." Bryce stood up. "I'm getting myself a sandwich before we bring in the next kid. You want one?"
Brad nodded and the two men left the room.
Kalon sat on the couch in a hotel room looking at the object that Wolfe had found at the bunker. He couldn't believe it. He was looking at a lapel pin. He knew this lapel pin was significant because it had the logo of the "Lexington" on it plus written around the circular form were the words Operations Officer. Kalon knew that Douglas had lost his when he went on his adventure in time and Wolfe had found it.
"Are you sure Douglas lost this by going back in time and not this past week? I mean I'm sure the boys made it here. They've been every place else."
"I don't think the boys made it here," said Wolfe who was on the phone. "Besides that pin was embedded in the ground and has markings on it from weather exposure as if it has been laying there for months. Not only a few days."
"So Cadet Daniels did indeed travel back in time to see two men kill the boy that the Collins brothers were accused of killing. If that is the case, then two killers are still on the lose," said Zjan-Ren.
"Exactly. And it is up to us to find them," said Wolfe. He then turned his attention to the phone. "Myrna, this is Wolfe."
"Tell me about the dinner," said Detective Bryce.
"I just told you three times," said Douglas who was getting very tired of telling the same story over and over again.
"Tell me again," insisted Detective Bryce who seemed to have lost the patience that he had had with Andrew.
Douglas let out a disgusted sigh. "All right, Gordon Starr had this special homecoming dinner for us at this big ritzy hotel called the Grand View Hotel. I had never been there before, but I know my mom and dad had been there because my dad proposed to my mom in their giant glamorous dining room several years ago. So I was sitting at the cadet command officers table."
"And who was at your table?"
"I already told you."
"Tell me again. I might have forgotten."
"Well, if you write things down, you wouldn't have to ask me a thousand times," said Douglas.
"Listen here, son. I will have you tell me the story as many times as I feel is necessary. More if I want. You and your friends are in a bucket of shit. And to make this easier on the two of us, I suggest you answer my questions as many times as I want. Otherwise life can become very miserable for you."
"Is that some sort of threat? Because it sure sounds like it." asked Douglas.
"It sounded like a threat? Oh I am terribly sorry," said Bryce in a sarcastic tone. "It was supposed to sound like a promise. Now answer the damned question. Who was sitting at your table?"
Douglas was tired of this questioning and just wanted to get the hell out of here. He was fed up with people not believing him, fed up with the running away, fed up with everything and anything.
"Douglas," said Brad. "I know it's been hard for you the past few days, but please answer the Detective's questions. It will make life so much easier."
Douglas finally gave in. "Johnny Cooper, the cadet CO, Mike Wakeman, the cadet XO, Ryan Thumbleton, the Cadet Chief Engineer, Scooter Starr, the Cadet Chief Science Officer, Ben Collins, the Cadet Master Helmsman, TJ Polaski, the cadet Navigator, Gary Banks, the cadet Chief Weapons Officer and myself. I'm the cadet Operations Officer."
"And when did this dinner happen?"
"The night before the open house. The same day we took orbit around Earth."
"And earlier that day is when you gave the interview?"
"Yes," said Douglas.
"And that is when you told the reporter you were looking forward to having a real dinner at a fancy hotel."
"Yes, I told her that I was excited to be having dinner at the place where my dad proposed to my mom."
"And did you mention the name of the hotel in the interview?"
"I think so,"
"You think?" asked Detective Bryce.
"Yes, I did mention the name of the hotel." Douglas was more then tired of this questioning and just wished he could end it here and now.
"Now what happened at the dinner itself?"
" As I told you a hundred times, Mr. Starr was at the podium talking to us saying how proud he was of how we all progressed and turned a dead ship into a ship full of life. Everybody respects Mr. Starr and what he's done, even if they don't care much for his son, Scooter."
"Why is that?"
"Because Scooter had a hard time adjusting to the life on the 'Lexington' and because of that, it caused grief among the other cadets. Scooter would do something wrong and everyone had to pay the price sorta thing."
"I see. Now at the dinner."
"Mr. Starr was talking to us and then pulled out a brand new uniform." Douglas remembered the uniform. The pants were black and the shirt was bicolor. The bottom part of the shirt was black and the top portion was royal blue. Over the left breast was the SFA's symbol. On the left arm was a patch. The patch was round except the top and bottom of the patch had leaflets that extended out some. The center of the patch was the "Lexington's" logo with the slogan written in `Let courage lead the way." On the top Leaflet were the words "Cadet Captain". On the bottom leaflet were the words "Cadet CO". Then Douglas recalled Mr. Starr presenting it to Johnny Cooper. Then he pulled out another uniform. This one was all black except for one solid royal blue stripe running down from the shoulder to the end of the sleeve. The left arm had a patch too, the only difference was that the top leaflet just had "Captain" written on it and the bottom leaflet just had "Commanding Officer" written on it. This particular uniform was presented to Captain Hatcher. Douglas remembered how excited all the cadets were with the new uniforms that Mr. Starr was donating. All the cadets would get the same uniform that Johnny Cooper was given. The top leaflet would say what rank the boys held and the bottom would say what position they held or department they belonged to. For instance Douglas remembered his said Operations Officer, but Trevor's only said "Security" on it.
Douglas was excited too because he was given the rank of Lieutenant Commander and Ben was too. Mike was made Commander and Johnny was Captain. Douglas recalled that only the cadets who held command positions received the ranks of Officers. All the Department Heads received the rank of Chief Petty Officer and the remainder of the cadets were known as Crewmen. And, depending on what grade they were in and how they been performing, they were either Crewman first, second or third class. First class was the higher ranking of the three. From this point on the boys would be called by their respective ranks and not "cadet." Douglas later found out that when new boys arrived on the Lexington, they would be known as cadets until they earned the rank of Crewman third class.
"You still with me?" asked Detective Bryce, interrupting Douglas's thoughts about the new uniforms.
"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry."
"Now at the dinner."
"After the presentations of the new uniforms the waiter staff began to bring out the desserts. I looked down at the table in front of me as a dish with turtle cheesecake on it was being set down. I found it peculiar that the hand setting it down had dirt and grime under the fingernails. Especially in a place like this. I looked up and that was when I saw the man who killed Kiran smiling down at me."
To Be Continued....