Unwinding

"Zave, will you quit griping?" Qaeshon said irritably. "It was a good match."

"But we lost," replied a gloomy Xavion. He dropped his fork onto his dinner tray, pushed it away, then let his forehead slowly meet the table.

"You expected to win?" Jason asked, incredulous. He crumpled up his napkin and threw it on his tray. "For pity's sake, man, you were down how many players?"

"Five, including Pinky here." Zave looked up and made a motion toward Alan. He shook his head. "Soccer team was down as many and they won."

"Yeah, by one point. Big whoop. You don't need a specialist in every position in soccer," Jason grumbled. "And those guys came back wiped. They all had to play longer and that's why the other team nearly tied them. Randy said that if they'd tied and gone to overtime, they would have lost. It was a defensive game all the way."

Fermat sat back, grinning as he listened to his friends bicker. It felt good to be back on campus and eating dinner with his friends. The tension that had colored the past few weeks was gone. Once A.J. gets back, then things will be the way they should be and our only worries will be the normal ones.

Alan was also enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere. For once, he was willing to let his friends do the talking and sit back to listen. He glanced down at his unfinished slice of pizza and sighed. After all the fine restaurant food he and his father had enjoyed during the past week, pizza from the popular local shop was rather disappointing.

Kay glanced over at Dom, who had joined them. "Hey, Dom. Did you get some good pictures?"

"I think so," Dom replied, nodding. He took a sip of his fruit punch and added, "I'm looking forward to screen caps from the vid Mr. Tracy took last night." He shook his head. "We need to get the team pictures scheduled, soon. I'm kinda glad we hadn't already done them; they'll be a better representation of who's really on the teams now that all this steroid business is through."

"Anyone heard anything more about Sugi and company?" Jason asked.

The boys' faces turned expectantly toward Alan, who shook his head. "I don't know anything, really, except they're still in jail. The other guy they beat on... what they did to him and why is the reason they're not out on bail or anything. Besides, I hear that Mickey and Pierce plead guilty to have their sentences cut back. That audio recording will make the district attorney's job easier."

"That's Mickey and Pierce," Zave said, leaning his chair back on two legs. "What about Lee and Steve?"

"And Ralph?" Jason asked in a quiet voice.

Alan shrugged. "I dunno. Both Steve and Sugi are old enough to be tried as adults, but from what I heard, Ralph isn't."

"I remember hearing he was cooperating with the police," Kay said. "And he really wasn't involved in the actual beatings." He stopped, a concerned expression flitting over his face. "At least, I don't think he was."

"Nah," Jason said, waving a hand. "He couldn't have been."

"Did the p-police t-talk to you about him? About wh-where he was the n-night of the third i-i-i... e-e-e... occurrence?" Fermat asked.

Jason frowned. "No, they didn't." He glanced down at the table, his eyes losing their focus as he tried to remember. Then his face cleared and he looked up. "I do know that he was watching baseball that night. There are probably other guys who were watching with him in the lounge."

"I hope so, and I hope the game was on when that... that guy got beat up." Kay said. He glanced at Zave and Alan; even though they knew who had been beaten, it was still not common knowledge. The papers couldn't report Erik's name because he was a minor, and if Erik was coming back to Wharton as he'd said, it was better that the whole school did not know of his sexual preference. Though I'm sure some people have probably already made the connection.

"Ralph's parents came the other day to pick up his things," Jason explained. "Boy, I felt sorry for them. Mrs. Santiago looked like she was taking this really hard."

"Wonder what Steve and Sugi's parents think," Zave said.

"Sugi said Steve's parents threw him out," Alan said softly, remembering the angry, vicious accusations flung at him. "And Mr. Sugimoto was really worried when Lee took off. He thought maybe he'd been kidnapped or something... at first."

The others exchanged troubled glances, and Fermat put a hand on Alan's shoulder. "Y-You all right, A-Alan?"

Alan started, as if waking from a dream, and gave his friend a soft smile. "Yeah. I'm okay... or I will be, soon." He straightened and prepared to pick up his tray. "I'm finished eating. Anyone else?"

"Yeah, I'm done." "I'm full." "I'm r-ready to go." "Just waiting on you guys." "Let's get outta here."

The group headed for the tray drop off. Instead of Pierce, there was a bored-looking, gum-chewing teen aged girl taking their trays and plates. She had a nose ring sticking out of her left nostril and a Celtic weave tattoo encircled her upper right arm, clearly visible because of her rolled up sleeves. Alan couldn't tell what color her hair was since it was tucked under a protective hair cover, but it looked really dark, a stark contrast to her pale skin. It seemed that the other boys already knew who she was.

"Hey, Sable," Jason said as he came up to hand in his tray.

"Hey, Red," Sable replied through her gum-chewing. "How's it hanging?"

"Uh, great, Sable, just great," he replied, going pink at her question. He got out of the way as quickly as he could, a look of wide-eyed consternation on his face. Alan watched him go, as Kay took his place.

She had a greeting for each of the boys, and a name for them. Kay was "Dreads", Zave was "Rows", Dom was "Curly", and Fermat was "Specs". Then Alan's turn came.

Her eyes widened for a moment, and Alan could see they were heavily outlined in black eyeliner, and the irises were purple. That's such a fake color; she must be wearing colored contacts.

"God, what the hell happened to your face, Blondie?" she asked as she held her gloved hands out for his tray.

"It met a tree. Repeatedly," he replied as he handed it over.

"Ah, then you must be that Tracy kid," she said. "My name's Sable, Sable de la Croix. Nice to meet you." She refrained from offering a handshake.

"You're right; I'm Tracy – Alan Tracy," Alan replied. "Nice to meet you, too."

"So, I'll see you around, Blondie," Sable said, indicating with a nod of her head the line forming behind him.

"Uh, right. Around." Alan snapped off a quick, two-fingered salute, and went off to catch up with his friends.

"Eww." Jason shuddered as they left the dining hall. "Every time she asks that question – just the way she puts it makes me want to squirm!"

"You think she wants to know how your... ahem... package is hanging?" Dom said, chuckling and nudging Jason.

"Yes!" he shot back. "She is so not my type!"

"What kind of name is Sable de la Croix anyway?" asked Alan. "Sounds like some romance novelist's pen name."

Kay laughed. "It does, doesn't it?"

Zave put his two cents in. "I have it on good authority that her real name's Amy-Sue Pederson."

"What g-good authority?" Fermat asked.

"A guy who goes here and whose sister went to school with her." Zave nodded firmly once, as if satisfied with his own explanation.

"And they hired her under the name 'Sable de la Croix'?" Alan asked, confused.

"Of course not!" Jason shook his head and rolled his eyes. "She just calls herself that. I bet it says Amy-Sue Pederson on her application form."

"Oh."

Zave squinted at Alan, a mixture of incredulity and suspicion on his face. "Hey, wait a minute, Pinky. How would you know what a romance novelist's name sounds like?"

Alan sputtered. "Well... uh... Onaha... yeah! Onaha, our housekeeper - she's Tin-Tin's mom - she reads romance novels. Leaves them around... you know."

"She d-d-does n..." Alan nudged Fermat, hard, before he could finish his statement, then turned to the rest of the group.

"See, even Fermat says she does," he said smugly.

"Yeah, right," Zave replied with a smirk. "Tell us another one, Pinky."

The other boys snickered, but with that last comment from Xavion, the subject of Pierce's replacement was dropped, and the conversation moved to other things. Alan breathed deeply of the chilly air, stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket, then glanced up into the dark sky. The constellations, so familiar from his father's and brother's tutoring, shone down on him, obscured only now and again by a ghostly cloud. He breathed deeply again, and sighed, contented. He was home.

"So, how's the sprout?" Scott asked as Jeff came out to the pool, dressed for swimming.

"He's..." Jeff paused, thinking about Alan and the whole mess he'd gotten involved in. The police say they've got the gang. Alan says he can take care of himself. I hope they're both right.

"Dad?" Virgil now looked up expectantly, jolting Jeff from his thoughts. "Alan? How is he?"

Jeff smiled, and took off his bright Hawaiian shirt, draping it over a lounger. "He'll be fine," he said as he stepped down into the water. "I'll be keeping as much of an eye on him as I can, long distance."

"That vid of Fermat competing... man, was he awesome!" Scott leaned his elbows up against the pool's edge, holding himself in place with his lower body in the water.

"Yeah, but I cringed when he missed that lit question." Virgil turned the page of the magazine he was reading.

"So did he," Jeff said. He pushed off from the steps, swimming the length of the pool in a long, lazy crawl. When he returned to the shallower end, he ducked underwater and came up, scrubbing the water from his face, pushing his dark hair back. "I think he would have felt worse if they'd lost. He'd have blamed himself."

"Yeah, and with his dad there and everything." Scott turned around and hoisted himself from the water, heading for the diving board.

"Speaking of Brains," Virgil said. "When are he and Gordon due back from Five?"

"Not until this evening," Jeff told him. Behind him, Scott made a smooth dive into the pool. "There are some software and hardware upgrades that he wants to install. Once they're done, the wrist telecomm system will have better feed from Five, and the holographic background will be automatic."

"When do we get those?"

"Soon, very soon. Brains still has a lot on his plate, and the camera fogger upgrade is priority."

"I can help him with building the things, if that's what he needs." Virgil put down his magazine and took off his shirt.

"Check with him when he gets baaaaa... whoa!"

Jeff's arms flailed and windmilled just before he disappeared underwater, pulled from beneath by a playful Scott. Virgil dived in from the pool's side, and as all three men rose, Jeff sputtering, he helped his father dunk his older brother under the surface.

Through the thick glass that separated the pool area from the house, Tin-Tin gazed out at the three men at play in the pool. Onaha came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Tin-Tin shrugged. "I guess so," she murmured. "I missed you, and Father, and the island." She turned, smiling at her mother, leaning in firmly to an offered embrace. "It's good to be home."

Sunday at Wharton was dreary and wet; the ghostly clouds of the previous night had gathered in force to send rain pelting down. Wind lashed rain against the windows, and coupled with the chilly temperatures, it was a fine day to stay inside. Which is exactly what Alan did. Fermat braved the raw morning, pelting up the walkway from dining hall and infirmary as if trying to dodge the drops, ending up on Alan's doorstep soaked and chilled. They turned the heat up a bit, then sat down to do some serious studying. Alan's week away had put him behind, despite the homework assignments that had been emailed to him, and his math in particular had suffered.

Finally, Alan rose and stretched. "I need a break." He glanced at his watch. "Too early back home."

"F-For what?" Fermat said, reaching a hand up. Alan obliged, grabbing the hand and helping Fermat to his feet.

"To call. Gordon should be home by now; John's week off is over."

"Ah, right." Fermat's fingers scratched idly at the area under his cast. Alan noticed, and motioned with a hand toward it.

"Itchy?"

Fermat sighed. "You don't know h-how i-i-itchy. Wish I had one of th-those Chinese b-back scratchers. M-Maybe that could get in and do a p-proper job."

Alan huffed out a laugh, then went to the mini-fridge. "You want to go to lunch or stay here and snack all day?"

"I d-dunno. Wh-What's for lunch?"

Alan was about to answer when there was a chime from the door. "Can't be Dom; he said he wouldn't be back until after lunch." He moved to the door and pressed the button to open it. Fermat heard his voice turn low and shocked. "Dr. Sugimoto!"

Daniel Sugimoto gave Alan a half-smile. "Hello, Alan. I'm sorry to interrupt your day. May I come in?"

Alan's eyes flicked up to Dr. Sugimoto's escort: security officer David Culp. Mr. Culp nodded a little, as if to say, "He's safe."

"Come in, Dr. Sugimoto," Alan said, moving out of the way. Both men entered, and Alan offered his desk chair to the scientist, while he leaned up against the bed. Mr. Culp stood stolidly by the doorway.

"This is my friend, Fermat Hackenbacker." Alan indicated Fermat, who was sitting on Dom's bed.

"H-Hello, sir." Fermat stood and politely offered his hand to Dr. Sugimoto, who took it and shook it firmly.

"I've met your father, Fermat. He's been very helpful to me in a business matter." Daniel smiled a little, then paused, moistening his lips as he gathered his thoughts. "You're probably wondering why I'm here. I asked permission of the school to come and speak to you. They thought it prudent to send Mr. Culp along as my escort." He glanced up at the security man, then back to Alan. "I've come bringing a message." Again, he paused, then took a deep breath and let it out forcefully. "It's from my son, Lee. He would like to talk with you."

The buzzer rang and rang and rang, and Jeff threw out a hand to shut off the alarm clock. He hit the offending appliance, but the buzzer went off once again. Finally, it hit him; someone was calling on his vidphone.

"Coming!" he half shouted, half croaked as he sat up in bed. A glance at the clock told him it was six in the morning. "Oh, God. Who's calling at this hour?" The phone rang again, loud and insistent, from the sitting room.

He stumbled out of bed and grabbed his favorite robe. "This had better be important," he muttered to himself as he shrugged into the threadbare garment. He shuffled out to his little lounge and pressed a button. A bleary-eyed Scott looked back at him through the screen.

"It's Alan."

The mention of his youngest son's name wakened Jeff fully, though it didn't improve his disposition. "What happened this time?"

Scott blinked, surprised at Jeff's assumption. "He's okay, Dad. He's okay. Really. He just has to talk to you. Says it's important."

Jeff sighed. "All right, Scott. Transfer it down here, please. I intend to go back to bed the minute we're through."

"Sure, Dad." The phone showed a "on hold" screen for a few seconds, then Alan's face, an apprehensive expression discernible even through bruising and bandages, appeared.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hello, Alan," Jeff said, glowering at his son. "Do you happen to know what time it is here?"

Alan sighed. "Yeah, it's six in the morning. But I couldn't wait any more. Fermat and I have been over and over this and I really need your advice."

"What's going on?" Jeff's irritation was clear in his voice.

His son licked his lips a little. "Well, Mr. Sugimoto came to see me..."

"He what?!" Now Jeff was awake and more than annoyed. "What business does he have visiting you? Do I have to get a restraining order to keep the man and his family away?"

"Dad, it's not like that," Alan said in an attempt to soothe his father. "One of the security men came with him so he couldn't do anything. Not that I think he would; he doesn't seem the type."

"You never know what a man's capable of when his back's against the wall, Alan," Jeff warned, shaking his head.

"I know, I know, but he only wanted to deliver a message." Alan's shoulders were moving in ways that made Jeff think he was wringing his hands. "He delivered it and left, basically. I... I couldn't give him an answer right away. I told him I had to talk with you first."

"And what was this very important question that you had to ask me first?" Jeff leaned his head on one hand, letting his elbow prop up both hand and cheek. "And why was it so important that you had to wake me up so early?"

Alan swallowed hard. "Lee wants to talk with me."

Jeff slowly sat up straight as the import of his son's words hit home. "Why?" was his only thought and question.

The boy shrugged. "Dunno. Mr. Sugimoto couldn't tell me."

"When would this proposed meeting take place, and where?"

"Where is at the county jail, I think. He didn't say that Lee had been released or anything. As to when... whenever I want, I suppose."

"This isn't something official, is it?" Jeff asked, his irritation at Alan falling away into concern. "Sugimoto's lawyers haven't contacted you or anything, have they?"

Alan shook his head emphatically. "No, nothing like that. Just... he wants to talk to me."

Jeff paused and gathered his thoughts. "You don't have to do this. In fact, you shouldn't do this. I don't want you to. Stay as far away from Lee Sugimoto – and his father – as possible. I'll be calling the school as soon as I can to protest this action on their part."

"Dad, please! Please don't get on Wharton's case about it. Dr. Sugimoto hasn't done anything to me; hell, I feel sorry for the guy!"

"Still, he's involved in a high profile legal case..."

"It's high profile because of me..."

The two Tracys stopped speaking and just gazed at each other for a moment. Then Jeff went on, his voice quieter, though just as impassioned and firm. "Alan, it's not only you. These boys beat up on someone because of their sexual orientation. That's a hate crime, and that's what makes it high profile." He raised an eyebrow, making his gaze into a pointed one. "Do you understand?"

Alan sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped. He nodded. "Yeah. I understand. I'd just..." His voice trailed off.

"Just what, Alan?"

Jeff got a sad smile from his son. "I'd just like to know why. Why me? What did I do to make him hate me so much?"

Alan was surprised to see his father's face turn sympathetic. " 'Why?' is a question you may never get an answer to, Alan. It's a question I asked myself for years after your mother's death, and still ask now and again." Jeff shrugged. "I never have gotten an answer, but maybe someday I will." His face took on a more serious mien. "But back to the matter at hand. Alan, speaking with Lee might impair the case that the state is making against him. He seems to be a terrific manipulator of people; I doubt your schoolmates would have believed the rumor he started if he wasn't. Please, if for no other reason than that one, don't talk to him."

Nodding slowly, Alan gave his father's words due consideration. "Okay, Dad. I won't. But what if his lawyer wants to talk to me?"

"That's a different matter entirely," Jeff said. "However, I want you to have your own legal representative there should it happen." He turned to look at the clock. "Hm, okay." Bringing his attention back to the phone, he said, "Nothing is going to happen with this until tomorrow, your time. I'll give Art's firm a call, and have someone from there available to you whenever you need them. But you're not to speak to anyone on a legal basis until our lawyers are at your side. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Dad. I do." Alan's brisk reply made Jeff smile.

"Now, unless you have something other to discuss..." Jeff's statement was punctuated by a loud yawn.

"I get the message, Dad," Alan said. "I'm sorry for calling so early there, but I was going around in circles, trying to decide what to do." He smiled apologetically. "I did wait until six instead of calling at four."

"I guess I should appreciate the small favors, huh?" Jeff said, his tone wry. "I'll talk to you later, Alan."

"Right, Dad. Get some sleep."

Jeff smiled, a hint of pride and a lot of love clearly seen in it. "I love you, Alan."

Alan nodded. "Love you, too, Dad. G'night."

The call ended and Alan sat back. He glanced over at Dom, who was sitting at his own desk, going through the video that Jeff had sent, trying to get some good screen caps. "Well, I've made my decision. I'm not going to see Sugi."

"Good call," Dom replied, his eyes still on the screen. "I don't want to see him or any of his little pals, though I'm pretty sure I'll have to, depending on what happens with a trial and all."

"Yeah." Alan put away his phone. "I suppose I will have to eventually, but not at his beck and call."

Back on the island, Jeff rubbed his eyes and yawned again. He glanced over at the clock, and sighed. There's one legal matter I can get Art's firm started on first thing tomorrow: a restraining order against Dr. Sugimoto and his son. No way am I allowing either of them access to Alan again.