^{With This Ring}

By

Retta Michaels

Preface

Dear Reader,

In a lot of my writing, I've never felt the need to write a preface. With this story, I want you to know what to expect. For me, the story is a mixture of a whole lot of truth and a whole lot of fiction.

For me to explain it, I must sit and tell you what my conceptual plans were for the novel

IN LIFE, we are not given a set list of directions and plans how to complete it. Some people don't like the unknown, so they don't take any foreign steps into different territories. With others, they know no structure. With my life, I've danced all over the place.

Rather than having a nameless character out there who could sue the fuck out of me for even inferring they're a member of the mafia, I chose to go personal and use my own name. It's a lot less messy and a lot more friendly for my lawyer.

I am not a member of the mafia. I will not say I do not know a lot of the family members from several cities, but I am not a member myself.

I will state at one time I was with a man named Gino who headed a crime family. He's since passed and this story has been released with permission and editing done by his son who is still a dear friend of mine. (Thanks Dave.)

The names I've used in the story besides my own are ficticious. The names have been changed to protect everyone. Where names weren't important, I have not used them.

I have given enough references to who the person is so if you can read between the lines, you can see who they are. With that said, I will not say more about the characters.

The story is made up. It is totally ficticious. None of the incidents happened, and nothing of the sort ever occurred. If you choose to believe it did happen, and if you choose to believe it's true, then that's on you. I will state now if I receive an email asking me if such and such part is true, I'll be polite and refer you to the Preface and leave it at that.

The reason I'm writing this preface is because I want people to know when I write, I write fiction with an air of the style of writing used by the National Enquirer or the Sun. There's an air of truth in there someplace, but it's actually fiction. If you choose to believe it's truth, then do so...I've got about twenty acres of swamp land I'll sell you and someplace on that land is a complimentary Iphone. If you can find it, it's yours.

With that said, I'll now state the characters of this story will probably be used time and time again. I think I've found a niche in this style of writing. I'll tell you now, it's done in the style of Mack Bolan “The Executioner”, James Bond, or Scarface.

“With This Ring” is the first book of the saga. It shows how someone can go from leading a normal life wanting to lead a normal life to being thrown into a complex cast of characters which require him to be more and more of what he doesn't want to be.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 3:

^{When we got to the hotel, Steve said, “I'll call the police department here and speak to someone I know. Then we'll go down and make the statement so I can get it typed up. I'll fax it to everyone and be sure to have everyone name on it who received it.”}

^{“Ok, you know I'm not bothered by this. It's just disgusting it had to happen.”}

^{“Yes, and hopefully their cooperation with the next person whose chosen to leave their town rather than be in fear.”}

^{“Hon, when this is over, I'm not going to be wild about going back there still. We might've caught one, but we've not caught the others. The one I want is the one that had those things on the toes of his boots. I can still see his foot stomping me and that toe coming at my face.”}

^{He said, “I can't believe someone would be so cruel. If we catch one, I believe we'll catch the others by association. It sounds like Matt has some good background on the guy.”}

^{“His investigators are top notch. That's who I contacted to get the investigation on the guy Kevin was screwing around with.”}

^{“Hon, I need to speak with you and I need to do so with a complete airing of my feelings.”}

^“Ok”

^{“Before we start all this, I want to know that you won't back off no matter who we find is responsible for this.”}

^“Ok”

^{“No, I want to hear you say it because I'm meaning even if we catch Kevin in this, I want you to say you'll prosecute everyone evenly and fairly. There's not going to be anyone that's better than anyone else in this.”}

^{“No...I can't do that.”}

^{“Then we don't proceed.” he said firmly.}

^{“No, you're not getting what I'm saying, so listen to me. IF Kevin is a part of this, I want him prosecuted more. I doubt if he is, but just the same, I want him to know this wasn't something he could run from. BUT, if he wasn't, then I want him completely exonerated and I want you to trust him.”}

^{“Ok, that's fair, but what I'm saying is I'm not going in to hold punches. Because if I find out it's your family, or David, or whomever, I'm going in gunning at everyone. Once this begins, I'm not going to be told to back off.”}

^{“Ok, but just the same, I want a say in it.”}

^{“That's fair.”}

^{He came over and said, “You know, maybe it took you getting away from there and feeling secure to have this come to you. You mentioned about doing some self hypnosis. Why don't you go do that and I won't mention it came through that way? It won't be credible and it will come back to bite you later in court. I'll mention in the report it came through a sudden realization. Ok?”}

^{“Sure. I'll go in here and get my laptop, but don't laugh how I do it, ok?”}

^{“That's fine. If it's something I can use in the future, I think it'll be cool.”}

^{I went in and got my laptop and then went to the site which has hypnosis gifs. And then I spoke into my voice recorder all the affirmations I wanted to be heard.}

^{Once that was done, I played the gif and played the recording back. Soon, I was under and I led myself back to the night when the assault happened. My breathing became strangled and panicked.}

^{Steve came over and said, “You're calm and you're a viewer in the event. You're not feeling pain and you're only there to see and hear what they're saying. Tell me what they're saying?”}

^{“They're saying they want to get me out of the car. One of them said, “Get him out and make him pay. We need to teach him a lesson. He needs to know he can't fuck with anyone of the Kings and get by with it.”}

^{“Is this the Latin Kings?”}

^{“I don't know. I've never seen them before except for the fat guy. I've seen him stealing my hub cap. His name is Angel Hernandez. He's over there carrying the chain. He's hitting me and he's kicking my legs and my nuts. He's the one that drug me from the car after they pried the door open.”}

^{“Was the door locked?”}

^{“No, when they hit the windshield, it bent the pillar and it caused the door to not open.”}

^{“Ok, let's go back to the beginning and tell me what happened first.”}

^{“I got in my car and I'd just put the key in the ignition when the windshield exploded.”}

^{“What were you doing? Did you see them coming up to the car?”}

^{“No, I was looking for a station on the radio.”}

^{“Ok, so the windshield exploded, what did you do then?”}

^{“I looked at it and then looked at the guy who was causing it?”}

^{:”What was he wearing?”}

^{“It's Jerry. He's wearing a black jacket and black jeans. His shirt is that one which says 2QT2BSTR8”}

^{“He was the one with the ball bat?”}

^“Yes”

^{“Describe the ball bat to me”}

^{“It's metal. It's got blue lettering on it and a black grip. It's a little league bat.”}

^{“Ok, did you see anyone else?”}

^{“Yes, there are four of them Angel, Jerry, and that one guy....Joe Denkler and over by the truck is Kyle Murphy.”}

^{“Did you know any of them at the time?”}

^{“Angel. I know him from the day he stole my hubcap.”}

^{“None of the others?”}

^{“No, I know Jerry from him fucking Kevin.”}

^{“How do you know Joe Denkler?”}

^{“From the bar where Kevin and I went to meet Jerry for drinks. Joe came up and said, “I don't believe we've met before, I'm Joe Denkler.”}

^{“And you didn't recognize him then?”}

^{“No, but a chill ran up my spine and I told Kevin I didn't like the guy. Kevin told me he was cool.”}

^{“Ok, Kyle Murphy. How did you become acquainted with him?”}

^{“That same night. Joe went over and got on his cell phone. When he came back, he told Jerry Kyle was coming to meet up with us. Later, he came and we met them. When Kyle came, I got a migraine and told Kevin I had to go home.”}

^{“Did you meet them anymore after that?”}

^{“Yeah, Kyle came to work for us at the sign shop.”}

^{“Does he still work there?”}

^{“No, he fell off a ladder and sued us. Workman's comp paid for his care.”}

^{“Ok, so I need to ask you a question but please remain calm. Who was the person wearing the boots with the tips on them?”}

^{“Jerry. Jerry had them on. They were black and had a firebird emblem sewn into them. He had the legs of his pants tucked inside them and the tips were silver metal. He also has some metal things on the ends of them.”}

^“Spurs?”

^{“No, the things spurs go in, but there are no spurs. He stepped on the side of my head with them and that's what gashed my ear and caused me to pass out. By then, I was seeing red from the blood being in my eyes. It burned.”}

^{“Ok, now, what I want to ask you is to back up for a moment and give me any describing information of Joe Denkler. What was he wearing?”}

^{“Blue Jeans and a red flannel shirt. Instead of black, it was white.”}

^{“Did he have a hat on?”}

^{“No, the only other thing I see is him slinging his hand because he had blood on his watch.”}

^{“Can you see his shoes?”}

^{“No, by the time he's that far back....hold on, there's a Nike emblem. He's cussing and saying he's got fag blood on him. He's saying he thinks he will get AIDS now and walks back by the truck.”}

^{“Can you see the license plate?”}

^{“Yes RTG C94.”}

^{“Good, is there anything else you can see which you can describe about the truck?”}

^{“It's got a Tommy Lift on the back .The license plate is up on the upper left corner of the Tommy Lift. On the lower right of the Tommy Lift it says Drink Coca Cola.”}

^{“It's a Coca Cola truck?”}

^{“I don't know. I imagine as it's got the Coca Cola in script like they use. It's in red lettering.”}

^{“Ok now, I'll need you to go back and describe what Kyle was wearing.”}

^{“Kyle was wearing Blue Jeans that were like painter's pants. They're really faded. They've got a hole in the left back pocket. He's got a knife in his pocket.”}

^{“Did he use the knife on you?”}

^{“No, Joe told him they weren't there to kill me. They're only supposed to beat me up.”}

^{“Did he say anything else?”}

^{“No, he said that and he was screaming at Kyle. That's when I was on the ground and they were hitting my ribs with the ball bat”}

^{“What did they say to each other.”}

^{“That's it. They'd take turns stepping in and hitting me and then would step back.”}

^{“How long do you imagine this took place?”}

^{“I don't know. It seems like it was forever, but they only came in three times each. By then, I'd fallen over and that's when Jerry came in and kicked me in the face repeatedly.”}

^{“Did he say anything?”}

^{“No, he was grunting like he was really putting effort into every kick.”}

^{“Ok, I'm going to regress you back out. As I count from ten to one, I want you to not feel any pain and feel refreshed. I would like for you to remember everything as clear as if it happened earlier today, but I don't want you to have any nightmares. It's in the past. Ten...Nine...Eight...Seven...You're feeling more invigorated now....Six, five, four....You're starting to awaken now.....Three Two One....”}

^{“Did I do ok?”}

^{“Yes, you remember everything now, don't you?”}

^{“Jerry. That motherfucker.”}

^{“Yes, and the others?”}

^{“Joe and Kyle and Angel Hernandez. Joe and Kyle, I knew I didn't like them.”}

^{“Ok, I've got to go make a phone call.”}

^{“Ok, I'm going to call David.”}

^{“Tell him I'll send a fax to him.”}

^“Ok”

^{I called David and he answered on the first ring.”Hi, how's it going?”}

^{“Miguel Angel Hernandez. Joe Denkler, Kyle Murphy, and Jerry. Jerry's already in jail. Find them and get all their clothing and check it all for evidence. The truck is a Coca Cola bottling truck with the license plate number of RTG C94. Joe Denkler's watch will have my blood upon it. Jerry is the one that kicked my face. See that he's dead.”}

^{“Gotcha hon. Gotta go.”}

^{Steve came back into the room and said, “You ready to go down there?”}

^“Sure”

^{I out and said, “Steve, when we come back, I want to go out to eat and buy some clothes.”}

^{“Ok hon.”}

^{“Yeah, we've got to put in there they were paid to do this and I want to know whom paid them.”}

^{“I'm sure I can't be in on the questioning, but I hope whomever it is presses them for that information. What was the date of the assault.”}

^{“March sixth”}

^{“What was Kevin doing on March sixth?”}

^{“I don't know. My appointment ledger would tell me if he was out on a truck or where he was exactly. You thinking he paid them?”}

^{“I'm not sure. You weren't having problems until then?”}

^“No,”

^{“If he comes up as the person, and if he's questioned and denies it, I'll push the limits of the law and say the hit was with intentional design to hurt, maim, and injure you to such an extent it would incapacitate you. What that does is it will put the attempted murder charge up to a capital hate crime which is a federal offense.”}

^{“Ok, put that on them all though. Each one of them had to gotten paid and each one of them took part when they could have walked away.”}

^{“True. I'll do that. Now, let me use your phone and get me the governor on the line. I want these guys brought in just as soon as possible. I'd love to say I trust you hon, but if it were me and I knew I had someone out there who could possibly kill these guys. I'd probably order the hit back on each one.”}

^{“Nope. They're to be brought in. Jerry...now in regards to him, I'm not going to say a thing.”}

^{He looked at me and said, “I didn't hear a thing. I do want that evidence.”}

^{“It's probably in the evidence they took from his house. I'm not sure. I do know his house was gone through by FBI and DEA.”}

^{“Ok, good. They most likely took everything to do a trace scan on them. I'm surprised they didn't find your dna on his boots.”}

^{“I couldn't tell you. Talk to Matt and you can get them to check.”}

^{I dialed the phone and handed it to Steve. It was answered. “Hi, this is Steve again. You need to bring in Kyle Murphy, Joe Denkler, and Miguel Angel Hernandez. The fella by the name of Jerry is already in custody. Jerry's the one that kicked Rhett in the face. His boots should have dna on them. They're black with a firebird sewn on them. They've got silver tips and metal pieces on the back which are supposed to have spurs in them. Both the tips and the ends were used. See the guys get taken into custody because I fear for their safety. We'll need to impound a Coca Cola bottling pickup with the license plate of RTG C94 as a license plate. Check the bed for traces of blood as well as the interior. Once again, the dna should match Rhette's. Joe Denkler's watch should have dna on it.”}

^{He listened for a moment and said, “No, Jerry did the ball bat and started it and then, kicked Rhette. Kyle Murphy had a knife and wanted to use it but got told they weren't paid to do anything but hurt him. Yes, but he didn't hear anything further. I want them all interrogated until they give us that name and I really don't care how you get it.”}

^{He listened and said, “Ok, if we come up with anything further, I'll let you know.”}

^{He got off the phone and said, “You mentioned a pipe, who had it?”}

^{“A pipe? I don't remember a pipe ..”}

^{“You sure?”}

^{“No, but I don't recall getting hit with a pipe. I don't recall anyone having one.”}

^{“Good, I was testing you.”}

^{“Don't fuck with my head. You'll put something in there that could be used against me if we go to trial.”}

^{“No, that's not possible. You're only supposed to remember what happened and nothing more.”}

^{“Good lets get down there and then go get something to eat. My stomach thinks my throat's been cut.”}

^{“Rhette, I'm so sorry hon.”}

^{“You're not responsible and you didn't even know me.”}

^{“No, but it still doesn't stop me from feeling injustice has been done.”}

^{“Yeah, but we'll get them all. They can run, but they can't hide. Besides, they think they got away with it.”}

^{“Yeah, but whatever you do. Don't tell Kevin. I want those guys investigated fairly and I want whomever's name that paid them to come out. If it's his, then I want him taken by surprise. If it's not, then I want him cleared without him knowing so he doesn't run or do anything stupid.”}

^{“Ok, that's fair. I really hope it wasn't.”}

^{“Me too.”}

^{We went down and drove to the police station. When we got there, Steve took me in and introduced me to an investigator who witnessed the report Steve filed. When it was ready to fax, Steve turned to me and said, “Rhette, I need you to call your friend and get me his fax number, the police department there's fax number and that city hall's fax number to the city manager's office. I've got Jim's fax number memorized and then, we'll need David's fax number.”}

^{“Ok, one moment this is hard to remember. I've got the list made, so I'll make calls.”}

^{I dialed the phone and Matt answered. “Hi, It's me. I need your fax number.”}

^{He gave it to me and then I said, “I need the police department's fax number and the city manager's fax number.”}

^{Matt said, “Hang on, let me see if I have it here. Ok, here's the police department's fax number. You might want to label that as confidential to the police chief. Then, here's the city manager's fax number. You did not get these from me.”}

^{“I have no clue where I got them. Thanks Matt.”}

^{“Rhette, I'm having my own highway patrol officers do the questioning. They'll get answers.”}

^“Good.”

^{“Rhette, listen I'm not going to say anything to Kevin. You shouldn't either.”}

^{“I'm not. If it's him Matt, then I want him to stay free and he'll be dealt with accordingly.”}

^{“I understand.”}

^“Good”

^{I got off the phone and I said, “You didn't hear a thing I said. He's worth more to me dead than in jail.”}

^{Steve looked at the investigator and said, “They were lovers for 14 years. I'll stand behind that decision because if someone I trusted that much did that to me, I'd want the same option.”}

^{I looked at him and said, “I won't.”}

^{“I didn't mean you Rhette.”}

^{“You're not getting anyone else until I'm dead and gone, so I'm the only person you could be referring to.” I smiled.}

^{He smiled back and the investigator said, “I'm glad you got someone who's not afraid to speak their mind to you. You need him.”}

^{“Yeah, I do” Steve said blushing.}

^{I said, “I've got to call David to get his fax number.”}

^“Ok”

^{I called David and he answered on the third ring. “Hi hon, I need your fax.”}

^{He gave it to me and I said, “What I need to do is have you check to see who paid them if you can get that information. If not, then that's ok, but Jerry's boots will have dna on them. I want them to be found so they can incriminate him.”}

^{“Ok hon, Right now I've got about thirty people moving at once. The police chief is missing his dinner right now and he's being dealt with. The man is proving to be an egotistical asshole. When this is done, he's going to be investigated for a lot of things and be taken down.”}

^{“He should. There are a lot of questionable things which have taken place under his watch.”}

^{“Name a few so I can use them.”}

^{“One was letting a murderer be questioned without handcuffs on and the door left unlocked to the questioning room and the outside door of the station was also unlocked. That same man was allowed to go to an appointment with a chiropractor and once again allowed to escape unhandcuffed. “}

^{“Ok, that's all I need. I'll speak with the man and see if there was a deal reached whereby he was allowed those liberties.”}

^{“Ok hon.”}

^{I rung off and handed the fax numbers to Steve.}

^{The investigator looked at me and asked, “Did I just hear you correctly?”}

^{“Yeah, the man in question killed my cousin's husband and they wanted her in fear because he was Jordanian and viewed as a person of color and my cousin is white.”}

^{“That's fucked up.”}

^{“Yeah, a little bit of racism as well as hate of gays in the police station there.”}

^{“Well, it sounds like there are a lot of things going on at once.”}

^{“Yes, but you never heard a one of those phone calls.”}

^{My cell phone began to ring and I answered it without looking.”Listen up faggot, just as soon as you arrive back in my town, I'll be arresting your fucking ass personally.”}

^{“Why police chief David, how pleasant to speak with you. Did you get the fax you were expecting?”}

^{“What the fuck are you referring to?”}

^{“They're about to send it. Hold on.”}

^{I looked over to Steve and said, “Send the God damned thing already. This prick needs to know he's got his nuts in the palm of my hand so when I begin squeezing he can tell me how it feels.”}

^{“You think you're funny punk, just wait until you're in my custody.”}

^{“I'm sorry, you're saying I have to wait until I'm in your custody before I feel safe in that town?”}

^{“You know what the fuck will happen.”}

^{“I have no clue.”}

^{“You sure as shit won't ever be able to write a thing on that website again about me.”}

^{“Oh, well sir, I really do think there's more going to be written about you than that. Let me get off here, and you just grab your left cheek with your left hand and your right with your right and you spread 'em because that's how fucked you're going to feel when I'm done with you.”}

^{I hung up and turned to Steve. “The police chief paid.”}

^{He looked at me shocked and I said, “I'm going to get on the phone now. Don't even try to stop me.”}

^{Steve turned to the investigator and said, “Hold on a second Rhette, I've got to see if he used a cell phone to make that call or a line. If he used a line in that station, it'll be recorded.”}

^{“Not if he's getting rid of the tape! SO, you do what you've got to do and I've got to do what I shall. He said it's because I wrote something upon a website about him?”}

^{“And he thought enough of it to pay someone to hurt you?”}

^{“Apparently and I'm getting he thinks he's going to hurt me when he gets me arrested and he wants to do that personally.”}

^{“Ok, call your friend Matt and tell him about the call and then, call the other guy. Cover your ass first and then do what you want.”}

^{Steve said to his friends, “You never heard this. That's bullshit. All the guy will get is a slap on the wrist and his power has gone to his head.”}

^{I called Matt and he answered. “Matt, I just received a threatening phone call from the police chief. I need those tapes.”}

^{“What did he say?”}

^{“He implied he paid for the hit on me because I wrote something on a website about him. He's also going to arrest me personally to see I hurt just as much as I did before.”}

^{“Ok, my guys are in the station now, I'll get them on him.”}

^{“Matt, David's guys are with him wherever he is. Don't mess with them.”}

^{“Ok, that's fair. I want those tapes.”}

^{“If that last call was on a cell phone, I want to know and I want you to get me proof it was so I can use it later.”}

^{“Ok hon, hang on...”}

^{He apparently switched lines and spoke with his guys.”They've got the tapes up to about five seconds ago. They're listening to them.”}

^{“Ok, see if he just called and threatened me.”}

^{“Hang on.”}

^{He went over and when he came back, he said, “Rhette, it's on his personal line in his office. It's on tape.”}

^{“Good, that's a federal wire charge so you'll need the feds in. I'll insist on charges pressed.”}

^{“They're getting on it now. By the way, your fax is wadded up and in his trash.”}

^{“Ok. Thanks Matt.”}

^{I got off the phone and looked at Steve. The fax is wadded up in his trash and the tapes are gotten. The threats are on there.”}

^{Steve smiled and said, “Good. One down and with him implying he paid for the hit and why, we have motive.”}

^{I nodded and said, “Steve, I want the guy to self destruct and commit suicide. He's already given enough evidence. If he goes to fed prison, he'll be at a golf course and what punishment is that?”}

^{He nodded and said, “Make your other phone call.”}

^{I called David and as soon as he answered, he said, “My guys can't get to him. The highway patrol guys are in there.”}

^{“Dave, he's the one that paid for the hit. I want him to self destruct and commit suicide.”}

^{“He will. Believe me, he will.”}

^{“Ok hon, thanks.”}

^{“No problem. I owe you more than that.”}

^{“Nope, there are no favors owed between us. You do yours and I do mine.”}

^{“Rhette, we've got to talk sometime.”}

^{“Dave, I love ya dude, but I doubt if I'm ever back in that city. There are too many memories.”}

^{“Rhette. This is personal. Dad left you some things and I need to give them to you.”}

^{“What things?”}

^{“Buildings, his house, and a bank account.”}

^{“David, you use them all as yours and consider them my gift back.”}

^{“Rhette, there's more.”}

^{“More what?”}

^“Files.”

^{“Shred them.”}

^{“You need them.”}

^{“They're about the past. Shred them. Everyone's dead.”}

^{“No, one person is still alive.”}

^{“Ok, then scan them and send them in an email.”}

^{“That's not secure!”}

^{“David! Listen to me please! I love you, but I don't want to come back to that city. If you insist, then come to my new house and give them to me. I'd like for you to meet Steve anyways. He needs you.”}

^{“Ok, but if he doesn't ask, I can't do a thing.”}

^{“He's been told.”}

^{“Rhette, you make life difficult for me.”}

^{“Hon, look at it as me making your life interesting. How dull would it be without me!”}

^{“Fuck you.”}

^{“If you had, you'd still have the smile on your face babe.”}

^{“If I had, you would've never left this town. My dad's mistake was not thinking he could share the two. I think you would've stayed if he'd kept it 9 to 5.”}

^{“We'll never know. I loved him enough to try, but we won't know.”}

^{“Rhette, when I come out, one of those files you're going to read and you're going to hate me for.”}

^{“David, shred it. You've more than made up for it...whatever it is.”}

^{“Rhette,...”}

^{“David, listen and you listen to me good. I don't know what your guilt is, but you carry that phone with you and you get that file and I want you to walk over to the shredder and I want to hear that fucking thing shred. You got me!”}

^{“Hang on.”}

^{“David, I'll trust you did it. Don't bring me that fucking file and don't you ever think you'll sneak it to me. The moment I see it, I'll deal with you and you're not going to appreciate me when it happens.”}

^{“Rhette, it's shredding now.”}

^{“Good, consider me your friend and leave that in the past.”}

^{He had a giggle to his voice and said, “Rhette, there still has to be forgiveness and I've got to tell you.”}

^{“David, do it over the phone so I can do it now.”}

^{“Ok, but this is hard.”}

^{“Try me.”}

^{“I put you in prison.”}

^{“What the fuck!”}

^{“Yeah, I contacted the judge and he took away your probation. Dad was going to leave everything to you. Now, tell me you hate me and let me get off here.”}

^{“Dave, first of all, I want you to know something. What I feel for you hasn't changed. Yeah, I'm disappointed, but fuck. Look where my life was at the time? Your dad and I were at ends and I was really a basket case. Who would have known if Chad and I would have worked out? Instead, I went to prison and I escaped the AIDS.}

^{In there, I met Kevin and without him, I'd not have what I have now. I'd not be out here and I'd not met Steve. Steve's a blessing and furthermore, you didn't make the decisions which got me put in there. I did. Yeah, you might have furthered it, but indirectly, you could possibly have saved my life. You certainly facilitated me meeting Kevin and I had an actual depth to the meaning for the word Love.}

^{I didn't have that with your dad and I never had it with anyone until him. For that, it made me a better person. So, you've told me and I forgive you. Pull that shit again buddy and I'll find a way to kill your ass myself, but I promise a slow and agonizingly painful death. You got me?”}

^{“I hear you hon.”}

^{“David, your confession has been heard. To atone, you're going to have to give undying faithfulness until your dying breath. When you die, I expect the words “Rhette, I love you” to come out your mouth because you got that extended life from me. So, let's get over this and the next time we see each other in person, I want your blood on my tongue. You hear?”}

^{“Ok, but do I get it back?”}

^{“You will. Now get over it and lets get on with life. You've thought about this too long.”}

^{“Rhette, you know dad said what we've built up wouldn't be possible without you.”}

^{“That's crap. Your dad was a man who was brilliant. He underestimated his charisma and his ability to lead people. He had those people doing his bidding just from his smile. You've got it too and your ass had to be straight. So, find someone and have babies. When you have your second son, name him Vonn and I'll spoil that kid rotten.”}

^{He laughed and said, “I love you.”}

^{“I know. Now let me off here so I can go get dinner.”}

^{“Rhette, name whatever you want whenever you want and I'll get it for you.”}

^{“That's not possible. You can't bring the dead back to life again. Just be thankful there are enough pieces of my heart left that I still have some that didn't die with them.”}

^{“Oh man, that's deep.”}

^{“Yeah, now babe, good bye”}

^{“Bye hon.”}

^{I clicked off and Steve was standing there. “Care to talk?”}

^{“Sure, what's on your mind?”}

^{“Blood on your tongue?”}

^{“You know what it means.” I said as tears stung my eyes. The realization of him hearing the past was jeopardizing the future.}

^{“Hon, unless you're the one, that means something different than what I've been told.”}

^{“I was the one. I got put in prison. Now he's the one. I gave it to him on the phone just now.”}

^{“Oh man.”}

^{“Yeah, so forget you heard the phone call.”}

^{He smiled and said, “You just gave that up like it was nothing.”}

^{“No, I gave it up because it means nothing to me. Certainly not as much as it does to him.”}

^{“Ok, I'm not going to ask.”}

^{“Good because it's private.”}

^{He smiled at me and said, “Hon....”}

^{“Steve, let's go get dinner. I'm hungrier than hell. Too much time has been wasted upon the past. You're looking at me like it was a feat that is awesome. To me, it's shedding off me like a butterfly does a cocoon.”}

^{He smiled and said, “He still owes you the blood though.”}

^{“Yeah and for that he gets mine too. For that, I get a friend for the rest of my life. For that, I get you help if you'll ask for it and I get security. It might not mean much to you, but to me it's meaning a lot.”}

^{“Ted just left out of here shaking his head. He knows what it meant and he's probably wondering what I've involved myself with. What he didn't hear was someone telling me they loved me without saying the words.”}

^{“Someday, you'll get them. For now, I'm going to get some dinner with o-r without you.” I said smiling.}

^{“Ok, let's go get something to eat. What do you want?”}

^{“A salad with coconut, raisins, sunflower seeds and bleu cheese dressing.”}

^{“It sounds good, but it sounds disgusting.”}

^{“Awesome stuff. Sweet and crunchy with a bite.”}

^{We left the station and he asked, “Do you happen to know of a place that has that on their salad bar?”}

^{“Ruby Tuesday's”}

^{“Oh hell, I'm not even sure where there's one in the city.”}

^{“Hang on and I'll ask a cop.”}

^{“Nope, you go get the car started and I'll ask. He might see your loveliness and fall hopelessly in love with you.”}

^{“I doubt it. He'd probably ask who the cow is in the car.”}

^“Shush.”

^{I went to the car and thought about the day. Drama, drama, drama....and some closure.}

^{He came jogging up to the car and said, “We're in luck. Go out and catch the Interstate and it's the exit before we get to the hotel. It's in the parking lot of the mall we passed.”}

^{“Good. Two birds with one stone.”}

^{“Kind of.”}

^{I smiled at him and said, “Steve, thank you for today. I'm glad I'm getting that out of the way so we can actually begin with a fresh start..”}

^{“No problem babe. You need to call your mom and tell her and I need to call mine and get lunch reserved for tomorrow. I'm afraid with our schedule, we might not get the license plates until Friday.”}

^{“I'll get them. You've got to go to work.”}

^{“Ok, but only on Friday. Then I'll schedule the next two weeks off.”}

^{“If you insist.”}

^{My cell phone rang and I handed it to Steve.”Hello” He looked perplexed and said, “It's still behind the seat? Ok, I'll tell him.”}

^{He got off the phone and said, “The bat. It was still behind the seat of the truck it's got both Jerry's and Joe's fingerprints upon it.”}

^{“Good. It puts them both at the scene.”}

^“Yeah”

^{We pulled into Ruby Tuesday's parking lot and went inside. For a week evening, it wasn't bad as far as the crowd went. We were promptly seated and I ordered the Surf and Turf with the salad and asked for the to go box to be brought to the table. I got a baker with butter.”}

^{“You could have gotten sour cream on it.”}

^{“Nope, they have it on the salad bar and if I ask for it on it already, they charge for it. That's stupid.”}

^{“Oh, I never thought of that.”}

^{“That's ok, it's your money. You're buying right?”}

^{“Yeah, today's on me....Well, tomorrow's on me too since we're eating up home.”}

^{I smiled and said, “ok, but Friday, I cook.”}

^{“What we having?”}

^{“I have no clue. I don't know how high the groceries are here. I'll have to find a grocery store and see.”}

^{“I'll have to show you because the ones closest to the house are expensive. They know people have money there and they attempt to get it with every item. Up the street a ways is another that's more affordable.”}

^{“Ok, that's nice to know.”}

^{As we ate, I'd look over and see his gaze firmly upon me. I smiled and he'd smile back. I knew he was falling for me and in little ways, I was falling for him more and more After dinner, we took our go boxes out and he said, “We own Rolls and we still get go boxes.”}

^{“Yeah, and we live in million dollar mansions and we still drive ourselves and work for others.”}

^{“Huh, you don't work!”}

^{“Tell that to my readers. The moment I shut it off, you'll see an email box fill up. I'm not complaining because I'd definitely rather work for them instead of anyone else. I can write what I want and they love it.”}

^{“That's the way I'm seeing you. I hope you see me the same way, but I take you as you are and it's interesting because I wouldn't change a thing.”}

^{“Good because you sure got a box of broken glass.”}

^{“See, you put yourself down and you don't see what I see. You see flaws and I see beauty.”}

^{“Ok, tonight buddy, we take a shower together. When you see the scars under the water, you'll be amazed.”}

^{“I can see them now under the right lighting. At first, when you told me, I thought you were wearing makeup, but like in there, the florescent lighting showed them to me. What you don't know is I see them and it saddens me because I know they took something from you.”}

^{“Yeah, but look at it as they gave me you because without them, I'd not be here.”}

^{“And you have the most positive outlook of anyone I've ever met.”}

^{“Thanks, prison gave me that. Well, Kevin gave me that too.}

^{When I first met him, I was really down on myself and nearly suicidal for letting myself and everyone else down. With him, he is like the perfect shrink. He'll probe and then back off. He does it in just a way so it gets your mind to thinking about things and then a few days later, he'll broach the subject and ask if you've thought about it.}

^{For me, it was wonderful. I'm not saying there weren't moments I was pissed like you wouldn't believe at him. With him, when he gets pissed, he's explosive. For me, at the time, I'd brood and not speak to him.}

^{Finally one day, I got pissed at him and he was pissed too. He told me, 'If I didn't fucking love you, I wouldn't put up with this shit. You shut down on me and I have to put up with a brooding bitch until you're ready to talk.}

^{He came over and kept nudging me and pushing until I finally exploded. It was embarrassing, but it was releasing. I learned it was ok to have feelings. I learned it was ok to be upset, but it wasn't fair to shut them down. So, instead, I would find the right words to use so I would convey my feelings without having to apologize for being so wide open. BUT, I never shut down again.}

^{That was the problem with him. With others, I became a deranged bitch. When I'd get pissed, I'd explode and what is strange is he told me I was the perfect killer. I never did anything the same way twice and no one knew how it'd be when it happened.”}

^{“What do you mean?”}

^{“Ok, serial killers have a way they do things. When they go off, they leave evidence that points back to them. You know it's them because everything's the same way. When I fought in prison, I might just come up and attack, but the next time, I'd look like I was walking off and then attack from the side. What's interesting is I'd study people and I'd watch them fight and I'd learn their weaknesses.”}

^{“Did you and Kevin ever fight in there?”}

^{“Once. When it happened, he jumped my shit because someone else was really trying to be a judgemental motherfucker. Each of us had our hustles. With him, he was a law clerk. Me, I worked in the library and passed kites (notes) from one inmate to another. Each transaction had a price. They paid and I'd have to carry the stuff I'd earned out.”}

^{“You had to hide it?”}

^{“Yeah, they'd frisk us. One thing you don't know are guards and police officers are lazy when they frisk someone. I could hide three things on my body and you'd frisk me and you'd not find them.”}

^{“Where'd you hide them?”}

^{“Ok, You' don't touch guy's dicks. You pat down the stomach and then you pat the legs from behind and go all the way up to their nuts. I could put a five pound package of hamburger in my pants and walk out with it. Another area you don't look or pat is the tops of the arms. I could have a jacket on and when I raise my hands, you don't pat the arms. You go for the torso. If I had ten pounds of dynamite strapped to each bicep, I could blow the hell out of something and you'd not catch it. That's how suicide bombers get through. The ones teaching them have studied the characteristics and they strap that shit where the guards in a hurry don't frisk.”}

^{“Oh man.”}

^{“Yeah, and the tongues of our shoes. The guard will look and he might even pound them on their heels, but who ever looks inside the tongues? No one. Now, in prison everything is currency. I had nearly a hundred packets of sugar in each tongue of my shoe and this guy's telling me there's no way he'd ever buy any sugar from us. I told him it wasn't his business and to mind his own, but he wasn't letting it go. In prison, you don't step back I mean to the death you don't back down. If it takes dying, you stand that ground. So, finally, I went back and I was strapping up with magazines to go to war against him.”}

^{“What do you mean?”}

^{“Body armor. You take magazines and you tape them around your torso. If they've got a knife, they're not going to penetrate that magazine before you've got your own slashes in. Kevin tried to talk me out of it and he was really building himself up. He was afraid I would catch a new case, but I didn't care. The point was the guy and I had an issue and I was going to resolve it. Yeah, it's a stupid issue, but people die in there all the time over stupid shit.}

^{Finally, I told Kevin to get out of my way because if he wasn't going to support me on it, then that was fine and we'd deal with it when I got home. Then, I told him to get the room move pass and I'd move out. On my way out the door, he told me he was doing it because he loved me. I turned around and said, “Dude, there's not a fucking chance in hell you love me. If you did, you'd let me be my own person.”}

^{He came at me and I swung the shank. He knocked it out of my hand and put me up against the wall with a full body block. Now, where Kevin's strong fighting is out wide. He can clock someone but it's a wide fight. Me, I attack from afar, but when I'm in close, I'm lethal because anything and everything is fair game. Some guys will fight and use rules. There are no rules in war. So, he had me pinned against the wall and I put his whole ear lobe in my mouth and told him to prepare to lose it or let me go. His alternative is he grabbed my nuts. I'm sorry, but nuts are something that aren't going to make me looked fucked up after the fight. An ear gone will. So I wasn't letting go. Finally, he conceded and told me he'd let go if I would let go and talk with him.”}

^{“What happened?”}

^{“He sat me down and told me he loved me and he was afraid we'd lose our cell together and we'd never be able to live together again. I was moved enough, I agreed to back off the guy, but I would not back off again if he chose to take it to that level. Kevin agreed to go tell the guy to mind his own.”}

^{“Ok, so love ruled.”}

^{“Yeah, but Steve, I don't know if you've ever been in a prison, but the rules in there are way different. What was ironic is they have these bunk beds which are lower than a standard set. They're designed to make the ease of climbing up on top easier without a ladder that could be used against a guard. So, later that night we were making love and I had my legs up in the air and he was climbing in. I swung my foot around and it clocked him in the eye and gave him a helluva black eye.”}

^{Steve laughed “Oh man!”}

^{“Yeah, what's good about that was the next day everyone's asking him about how he got the black eye and he was smiling and telling them, 'You don't tell Retta no!”}

^{Steve really busted out laughing}

^{“And that's how I got the reputation of not backing down and giving Kevin a black eye in doing so. That guy saw that and he knew Kevin was really feared in there. So, he stayed away from me.”}

^“Good.”

^{“Yeah, but what I was getting at in there is this...if you study your opponent or would be future opponent's actions, you can get a good idea of what their weaknesses are. One thing with me is confidence in fighting. If I've whipped someone else who has whipped the person I'm going up against, I've already won that fight because I know I can whip them. Now, here's what I mean and then I'll get off this because it's really negative.”}

^“Ok”

^{“You have guys who run from you. They do it because they have the fight or flight. They run when they're under pressure. The fear of the here and now is too much. Guys are that way in a fight too. They'll run. In order to beat their ass, you've got to chase them.”}

^{“Ok, I've had situations like that.”}

^{“BUT, have you learned from them?”}

^{“What do you mean?”}

^{“Get them in a closed space and there's no where else left to go. Go in and lock in a cell with them and they're not going to run far. Their defense is gone and they'll concede the fight.”}

^{“Wow, I never thought of that!”}

^{“Yeah, now the dangerous ones are the ones that fight. BUT, I'll tell you now most guys are like fighting a grizzly. They don't really want to fight so they use their whole body to fight like Kevin did. He'll pin you up against something. The key to that fight is using pain spots. A man's nose is where you get their attention. You hit that, it explodes pain and they see blood and they'll think you killed them. To me, a bloody nose is a bloody nose. My brothers and I fought harder than that, so that don't mean a thing to me, but to most it does because they've never been in a fight}

^{Now, if you have someone who's been in fights like me, or Kevin, then you have to know their weaknesses. Key weaknesses are the back and their legs. Take a leg out or take their back out and you've got that person knowing they're done. Break a rib and that broken rib is hurting them. It's painful to breathe and do it enough times and that person's not going to fight long.”}

^{“Ok, so study their weaknesses.”}

^{“Nope, not for you. If you ever get into a fight, haul off and hit them in their nose and start breaking ribs. In your position, you've not got options. I did.”}

^{“Oh man, I guess I should say thanks, but I'm learning from you.”}

^{“Yeah, here's what you've learned. You're a cop and you tend to go in with full riot gear on. I'm sorry, but I saw a naked guy take down three goons in the riot gear. They thought they were invincible, but he studied them. The weakness in that costume is you've got a shield and you've got a helmet. Your shins are exposed and so are knees. He did a linebacker block to their knees and hit them like a bowling ball to a set of pins.}

^{The weakness with goons are they go at you in twos, side by side.”}

^{“I never thought of that, but they do! That's the way we're taught.”}

^{“Yeah, but if you want to learn a lesson, go to where they teach super max goons. Those guys go in one behind the other at arms length so if the first one falls, they're running over that guy to get to the inmate.”}

^{“Ok, would you come to the department and show us?”}

^{“Yeah, but I'll charge you my special consultants fee.”}

^{“What's that?”}

^{“Sex....lots of sex.”}

^{He laughed and said, “As long as I'm paying.”}

^{I laughed at him as we went into the mall. We went into several stores and for something different, I went into The Outfitters. I don't know if it's all over the nation or not, but it's interesting. It's a lot like LL Bean, but way better. The clothes are better quality and the construction is more sturdy. When I saw a pair of pants, I looked at them and said, “You going to think it's too gay if I get an all black outfit to match yours?”}

^“