I Want Her to Know What Love Is C38

In this chapter, the kids' Sixty Minutes episode is filmed and shown. Drew and Sonia attend their tenth year high school reunion with Rooster, Bobbi and Shedrick. This chapter contains group sex, oral sex, interracial sex, lesbian sex, and references mild spanking. This is a copyrighted work of intellectual property and not to be altered, edited, changed, or published in written or any other format such as audio or video without the author's express written consent. ©️Copyright 2026

I Want Her to Know What Love Is, Ch 38

Sixty Minutes and Class Reunion

Friday, the day before the Sixty Minutes taping, was the day the big raids were carried out all over the world, which would give them more urgency to get their story out there. The news accounts were filled with stories of multiple raids carried out worldwide, freeing more women and children, some of whom would be filling up shelters stateside, as some of the raids were carried out here, and no matter where the raids occurred, some of the slaves were from the US, like Drew in Mexico.

I got a simple text from Berserker around 3 p. m. My African vacation went well. All good. I let Maya know. I should be back on Sunday.

Cripes, they'd kept that silent. I hadn't known it was occurring, although for operational security, I shouldn't. I knew what African adventure he was talking about though. I wondered if Qiáng had been with him as he'd planned. I was sure I'd get the details later.

When the kids got home, we talked about the raids and what it meant.

"I imagine the Sixty Minutes crew will be even more eager to get your story out, given the events of the last several hours. It will be big adjacent news. I'm fairly certain they'll need more shelters like the one here in Minneapolis."

"How did they know where to raid?" Belinda asked.

"Every time a freed slave was questioned, they got more details about where they'd come from, where they were trained, where and when they were bought and sold, and who their prior owners were. Every bad guy who gets arrested can give the police more details on who they report to, where the money goes, and where they get slaves from. You slowly put all of those details together, and you get a big picture. You follow the money, and you know who's getting paid to look the other way, who's getting rich from the slave trade, and who's buying and selling slaves. When you have all the information you need, you try to hit everyone at once, so they don't have time to close up their operations, kill or dispose of the slaves still in their possession, and can't warn each other what's coming.

"In fact, you guys were partially responsible for the raids."

"What did we do?" Tommy asked.

"When you noticed the people following us, we could set traps to catch them. They're the small fish, but they get paid and take orders from someone else. We find out who those people are, and they lead to bigger fish yet. Finally, following the chain, you reach the biggest fish, the sharks, the apex predators. Those are the people who have to be taken out, or it won't take long to set up the operation again. You had as much to do with that as I did, as all I did was help nab some of the smallest fish, which you helped point out. That's the reason that every time someone is captured, they get questioned. Those folks who followed us to the ice cream parlor, and followed your school bus, and the assassins they captured from that information, all gave bits of information that someone used to put it all together.

"The whole operation is a massive undertaking and has to be carefully coordinated so that everyone can be hit at once, without corrupt officials learning and warning someone."

"Did you know it was going to happen?" Tommy asked.

"I wasn't involved in any planning, so not really, although I expected it would happen sometime in the future. In the army, we consider that operational security. The people who plan it know what's going to happen first, then the ones who are going to do the raids, and if necessary, any of the police they know are honest.

"So you noticing the cars following our car and your school bus, helped set up the raids in the long run. You can't talk about that stuff though, or about the GPS trackers we found on the slaves. They're still using that information, and we don't want anyone knowing that we know what they're doing, because we want them to keep doing it. It may be how they found large concentrations of slaves, tracking the GPS units put in them. It may even help find slaves who've already been sold to their ultimate owners. Can you keep that secret?"

"We can," Belinda said, "for sure, can't we, Tommy?"

"Definitely."

"You two should be awfully proud of the part you played, even if it was a small part, because in the long run, you helped thousands of people, both those who were already enslaved, and those who would be if they didn't shut the operation down."

"Will it stop now?" Belinda asked.

"Not really. It will slow down, but as long as people are willing to buy other people, and there's money to be made, someone else will fill the vacuum and take over. It will take time to do so, and that's the good news."

"I wish it would end," Belinda said.

"I do too."

I was right about the Sixty Minutes people being hot to trot. Sonia and Bobbi came with me and the two children, anxious to see what would happen. Preacher met us at the door and let everyone in. As the kids got make-up and their microphones put on, watched by their mothers, and they talked to Ariana, Trevor was talking to me.

"Did you know those raids were going to happen?"

"I'm just a lowly businessman. Why would they tell me?"

"Because you're ex-Delta Force."

"So are a lot of other folks. You don't think they tell all of us, do you? Look, I'm smart enough to know when they got enough information, something would happen, but I wasn't part of any of it. I don't even know any details other than what I gleaned in the news. You probably know as much or more than I do, being closer to the news."

"Do you know who was involved?"

"Nope. I'm assuming some police in each of the affected countries, but I don't know."

"Do you know if the Greenbriar organization was involved?"

"I don't. You'd have to ask them."

"Would anyone here know?"

"I doubt it, but I don't know. You do realize that before these big, massive undertakings, they try to keep who knows to a minimum, so it won't leak to the wrong ears. Everyone here couldn't have been anything but a potential leak, even if they weren't involved. It would be like broadcasting D-Day on the news for weeks before it happened. That's why I doubt it."

"Yeah, I guess. How do you think they found all of the slave training centers?"

"Following the money, just like I'd be doing if I was trying to find your bosses."

"Right."

I saw Drew trying to attract my attention.

"Excuse me. I need to talk to someone."

"Sure."

I made my way to Drew, and she led me several feet away, to a quieter spot.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Should I tell anyone what happened to me?"

"Do you want to?"

"I'm not sure. On the one hand, I feel like I'm saying fuck you to everyone that abused me, and saying I'm not ashamed of what they did to me, because I had no choice in the matter. On the other hand, I don't want anyone to know."

"You do know that Sahar doesn't talk about it to anyone but the people in her groups, don't you?"

"Yeah, so how do you know?"

"I figured it out. No one told me. The thing is, Sahar believes that if people know, that's all they'll remember about her. Everything else she ever does gets blasted out of people's minds once they find out. Only people who have gone through similar depravities can understand what it's like without it being the only thing they think about. If you tell your story, that will be almost all anyone ever thinks of when your name comes up. You may not be ashamed of it, but it will forever be associated with you, and all most people can think about. Wouldn't you prefer people knowing you for more important things?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

"There are a few people who will not judge you, and if you want to tell them, it's up to you, but when I first met Sonia again, she was constantly telling people she didn't even know that she was a hooker. It was the same impulse. Fuck you and I don't care what you think, but the truth is, now it's almost all any stranger will think when her name is mentioned. She's a hooker, or ex-hooker, and they won't even bother getting to know her. If you can trust someone to judge you for who you are, and not what you were, and they won't blab to anyone else, you can tell them. Nobody else has to know, nor do they have a right to know. Basically, I say that you should do what you want to do, but that's my opinion of how that works.

"If you want to talk about slavery in general, do that. Don't get into the specifics of your story."

"Is that all you ever think of me now?"

"No, I knew you before, so that helps. I mostly still think of how you made fun of and abused me in high school."

"Do you think I deserved what happened to me?"

"No one deserves what happened to you. While there may be karma in this universe, none of what you did rose to that level."

Drew looked at me as if trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. Apparently, she saw what she hoped to see, and she hugged me. "Thanks. I needed that." She left.

Trevor had noticed my conversation and the hug following. He asked about it.

"She's a former Waverly High School student that Sonia and I went to school with. She was recently freed from her slavery in Mexico."

"Will she talk to us?"

"I don't know. She might or might not. She's conflicted. You'd have to ask her."

Finally, it was time to start filming. I wanted to hover, to make sure the kids stayed focused on the things I wanted them focused on, and not accidentally exposing any of the information they shouldn't. I decided to trust them and leave them alone. Heaven knew they'd done everything right so far. I let their mothers follow them around, because it was what they wanted to do anyway. I talked to Preacher, who was in charge while Berserker was gone.

While we were talking, Xiu came to talk to us.

"Do you know where Alex is?"

"Not really, although I know he's on the way home. He texted that he'd been on vacation."

"Maya was here. Wouldn't he go on vacation with Maya?"

"Maya might not have had any vacation time, since she just started here. Besides, sometimes men like to get together without the ladies."

"Would you go on vacation without your ladies?"

I laughed. "It's hard to imagine, but things happen. I don't want us joined at the hip. Maybe they'd like to get away without some guy messing with their vibe."

"Was Alex involved in those raids?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

"I haven't heard from Qiáng for several days. He usually calls me every other day."

"I'm reasonably sure he's been involved in cleaning up some of the mess in China. They found one of the training centers there. I'm sure all of the police they trusted were involved in cleaning up the mess."

"You haven't heard from him either?"

"I wouldn't hear from him before you did. How's the taping going?" Time to change the subject.

"They came to the children's room, and I heard Tommy and Belinda telling the lady reporter how the kids were found in cages, hadn't been allowed to play with other children, and how scared they were and needing to be socialized and learn to play with other kids. They pleaded with the audience to bring toys and games and books to the closest shelters and let their kids go to play with some of the freed children so they could learn how to play like any other kids. They're really kind. You must be very proud of them."

"I am."

"They told the reporter that if enough people donated money, maybe the kids could go places they'd never been before, like Disney World or Disneyland, or even do something as simple as go camping. It was very sweet."

"As soon as the weather gets warmer, we could take the kids out on the party boat," Preacher said.

I laughed. "Yeah, we could. Or maybe book everyone on a riverboat cruise."

"What's a party boat?" Xiu asked.

"I have a large boat that my army buddies and I would go out and party on," I said. "We'd generally get drunk and act stupid. Now, since we've got wives and girlfriends, we'd need to behave a little better."

"Did Lazarus ever go on the party boat with you?"

"A couple of times."

"Were there women on the boat?"

"Once. Mostly we went by ourselves, just guys blowing off steam. The guys didn't know girls around Minneapolis, but once, I had a girlfriend who invited some of her friends to come. I don't recall if Lazarus was with us that time."

"Was there sex?"

"They didn't know each other well enough for sex, and they weren't professionals, you know, prostitutes, just other women. There was kissing, I suppose, maybe a little fondling, but the women weren't going to have sex in front of each other. You do know that Lazarus is a grown adult and probably had lots of sex, don't you?"

"Yes. He still can't have sex with me, so I don't know if he's any good."

"I'm sure he's done it often enough; he knows how to make a woman feel good."

"Do you think he's having sex with other women when he's gone?"

"I don't know, but that's something you could talk about with him."

"Why would he want to be with an ex-slave, someone who has a child even?

"I can't speak for Lazarus. I don't know who or what he wants. What I do know is that most Americans don't care much about previous partners or relationships. Even if one hasn't been a slave or a hooker, everyone has had other sexual partners. I had a lot of them before I met Sonia again. Almost no one is a virgin when they marry, and some have children from previous partners. It's part of what you accept when you choose someone who isn't a virgin. The fact that you have Wêi isn't a deal breaker for most Americans, but the fact that he's half-black makes it even easier for Lazarus. Wêi looks like he could be his child, so most people aren't going to question it. Even if they did, there are a lot of other mixed-race children being raised by people, so no one is surprised by it.

"Tommy's father was white, so he looks like he could be my child, but even if he didn't, it wouldn't make a difference to me. If his color made a difference, I wouldn't be attracted to his mother. America is not the great melting pot that everyone thinks it is, because prejudice still exists against those who are different, but we have an easier time of it because we are a nation of immigrants. Everyone who lives here, even the so-called Native Americans, migrated here from somewhere else, although the Indians did it first. You see more intermingling naturally, because we're not as monolithic as some other cultures are.

"Now you'd have to ask Lazarus why he's interested in you specifically, but I do believe his interest is sincere. That fact that he's interested even when he knows you're not allowed to have sex would seem to indicate genuine feelings for you."

"Is that why you married Cherry? You don't care about her past?" Xiu asked Preacher.

"There are lots of reasons I married Cherry, and Rooster knows at least one of them," Preacher said. "My mother was killed by someone who abused her, beat her up so badly that she died. When someone beat Cherry up, I wanted to protect her and take care of her, so she'd never be hurt again. I've probably learned to love Cherry more after we got married than I loved her ahead of time. I was definitely attracted to her ahead of time. People have different, often multiple reasons for the way we act. It's not just one thing."

"Did you marry Sonia because you wanted to get her out of her life?" Xiu asked me.

"I could have helped her get out of her life without marrying her and offered to do so before I told her who I was," I said. "I had a crush on her when I was in high school, which prompted a lot of the things I felt for her, but yeah, I had some protective feelings for her, wanted to change her life and Tommy's life. As Preacher said, it's very seldom just one thing."

"Do you have the same feelings for Bobbi?" I nodded. "How come you have the same feelings for Bobbi?"

"That's a trickier question. Because Sonia came first, I guess my feelings for her are stronger, but a lot of what I feel for Bobbi is because Sonia can and does feel some of the same things for her. They genuinely love each other. I felt bad for Bobbi because she lost her husband and her kids for losing their father, but I could have helped without getting involved. I got involved because Sonia allowed me to, feeling some of what I felt, that sympathy and desire to help, along with sexual interest. If Sonia hadn't been willing, Bobbi would never have happened. If my interest in Bobbi had hurt Sonia's feelings, I wouldn't have gotten interested. It worked the way it did because we both wanted it to happen, not just one of us."

"Alex is doing the same thing, isn't he, with Maya and Sandy?" Xiu asked.

"He is, although in his case, Maya and Sandy knew each other before. They went to school together, although Maya is the older of the two and graduated first."

"Do you think Lazarus would want such a relationship?"

"That's another question for Lazarus, Xiu, but even more importantly, is whether or not you would be. All parties have to be in sync on such a relationship, and if you're not interested in women, it would never work."

"I've had sex with women."

"That's not the same. Most slaves would have been, because they have no choice. You have choices now. If you have no desire to be with a woman, don't even ask Lazarus if he wants one. You'd be creating expectations in him that you couldn't live with in the long run."

"I just want to do everything I can to please him. I want him to want me, to marry me."

"Even if you don't end up with Lazarus, I'm sure you'll end up with someone, Xiu. You're a very attractive and intelligent woman. Don't grasp at straws because you feel like you're drowning. Let life come to you as it's supposed to. Regardless of what happened before, your life isn't over. Drew is feeling some of the same pressures you are. She feels that no one will ever be interested in her now. I doubt that's the case, and she had it even worse than you did, even though she doesn't have a child."

"What happened to her?"

"That's her story to tell, and I'm sure she'll be discussing things in a group at some point."

"How do you know?"

"She told me and Sonia when she got freed. We haven't told anyone. It's her business, but I can assure you, her slavery was worse than yours. It's why she's training so hard to be deadly. She never wants to be enslaved again. It's not even a question of dying before she submitted to slavers again. I'm sure that most of you would feel that way. It's more like anything would be better. Even what you went through would be better."

"Do you think she would tell me?"

"You have to ask her. I don't know."

It was getting close to lunchtime, and we went to the cafeteria to eat. The film crew was there presently, Tommy and Belinda still eagerly showing them everything. Xiu went to get Wêi, then she ate with him and some of the other kids and mothers.

Sonia and Bobbi came to eat with me and Preacher.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"It's going great," Bobbi said. "The kids are really into it. When they take filming breaks, they ask a lot of questions about the process of filming. I could see both of the kids becoming documentary filmmakers."

"Xiu said the kids took them to the kids' playroom already. Where else have they been?"

"A couple of classrooms, the gym, the swimming pool, the Hogan's Alley."

"Did Ariana say anything about that?"

"She wanted to know why they were teaching the women to shoot, and Tommy said it was so the women learned to defend themselves against anyone else who tried to take them again, plus it helped their recovery," Sonia said.

"Given they've seen that much, I imagine they don't have much more to see, do you?"

"They want to see a group, but the only one where all the members agreed to meet with them doesn't meet until two p. m." Bobbi said.

"Preacher and I were both talking about going boating again when the weather is nicer. Maybe take some of the ex-slaves and children out."

"I'd love to do that," Sonia said. "That would be so much fun. The kids should all be able to swim before we take them though. Would we go out on Lake Minnetonka, or make the trip to Superior?"

"Minnetonka if there is a lot of interest. We could run everyone in shifts. If everyone wanted to do something similar, maybe rent a sternwheeler steamboat and take everyone on the Mississippi River, make a whole day of it."

"That would be fun," Sonia agreed. "That way, everyone could go, like all of our families. I like that idea."

"I'll put you in charge of making it happen," I said.

"Pay for everyone, or charge for it?"

"Pay for the boat, charge for the food, except for the ex-slaves."

"That's reasonable."

"I'm a reasonable guy. Make sure you clear it with the counselors first."

"Aye-aye, sir. You know, a certain someone would be interested in a certain something, don't you, Daddy."

I laughed. "I can imagine."

"What's she talking about?" Preacher asked.

"When she calls me 'Daddy', it's usually because she wants a light, erotic spanking."

"Damn, girl, you're freaky," Preacher laughed.

"A little," Sonia laughed, admitting it. "I like being naughty enough to earn one on occasion."

"What do you think is naughty?" Preacher asked.

"Anything that will get her buns warmed," I laughed, "which considering how much I like to do it, is just about anything at all. That cheeky grin might be enough."

Sonia beamed.

"Oh, that cheeky grin. I understand completely," Preacher said. "Does Bobbi like the same things?"

"Not as much as Sonia does," Bobbi laughed. "Although I have been known to enjoy it when it happens, although in my case, it's more the good fucking I can expect afterwards that floats my boat."

"Do you think Cherry would be interested in something like that?"

"I don't know," I said, "but do you honestly think you could lay hands on a woman?"

"If I knew I wasn't hurting her, and she enjoyed it, I think I could. You don't hit anything but her posterior, right."

"Maybe the upper thighs, but generally, no."

"Turns out Maya likes it too," Sonia said. "I don't know about Sandy, but I think Maya gets her buns warmed on occasion. Rooster's Mom was so shocked to learn that about her daughter."

"I imagine it would shock most mothers. What does yours think of it?"

"Ann doesn't have a problem with it, although she probably agrees with you that it's freaky. I think she tried it once with Benson, but it didn't agree with her as much as it does me, but I have more meat on my ass, so that might be the reason."

"You do have a spankable-looking ass," Preacher laughed. "I'll have to take that into consideration. Cherry's isn't quite as meaty as yours, although I love her ass to death."

"How's the marriage going?" Bobbi asked.

"It's going well. She's happy working for your Dad."

"Did any of my family ever hire Cherry the way they hired Sonia?" Bobbi asked.

"She never said and I never asked. To be honest, I don't want to know about anyone before me."

"That's a rational point of view," I said.

"Do you wish you didn't know about some of the others before you?" Sonia asked.

"I would have been happy thinking Tommy's father was the only one, but that's not reasonable. Even if you hadn't been a hooker, there would likely have been more than a couple. There was for me. At this point, I don't care, because I'm happy. Happiest I've ever been in my life. Do you care, Bobbi?

"The fact some of them were my family is a little freaky, but no, on the whole I don't care either. I'm with you. I'm happy, and that's all that matters. A few months ago, I wondered if I'd ever be happy again. My life is amazing."

"I sometimes wonder what my life would have been like if I'd realized Rooster was the man for me in high school? I never would have been a hooker."

"But you would have been an army wife, and that's a scary proposition all its own," Bobbi said. "Every time your husband walks out the door, you wonder if he's ever walking back in. Every time you saw someone in uniform outside your door, you wonder if they're there to tell you your husband isn't coming home. One day, he didn't. Life has always got some bitchy surprises it's going to throw at you."

"Plan, adapt, keep going," Preacher said. "Words to live by."

"Amen, brother," I said. "Learning to adapt and keep going is what most everyone here has to go through, because no one had any plans for this."

"Got that right," Preacher said, fist bumping me. "It's what makes the job so rewarding to me. When you know they're going to make it."

"Might be something to tell the TV crew at some point," Bobbi said.

I hugged her. "You're not wrong."

Lunch over, the film crew moved on with our kids, their mothers going with them. Preacher and I walked the shelter while he checked in with the security staff. I didn't know as much about them as I had the others; there were so many new hires. They ran a tight ship, and Preacher knew how to handle them. He had a relaxed leadership style that encouraged the positive and reminded them of the negative.

I did see Shedrick on the rounds and asked why he stuck around when the others went home.

"I'm interested in one of the ladies here. If it doesn't work out, I can get back with Smitty and Greenbriar, but this feels more like settling down, and I think I'm ready."

"Ex-slave or hooker?" I asked.

"Ex-slave."

"Can't have sex with her yet then?"

"No, and it might be a while. She was messed up."

"Anyone I know?"

"Yeah, Drew Hampton."

"You've got a double problem, buddy. I think she was more into girls than boys, even before she was enslaved."

"I know. I heard she used to make lesbian porn."

"Have you said anything to her?"

"Not yet."

"It might be easier to make your case if you'd allow her to have some pussy on the side."

"I don't think I'd have a problem with that, especially if she was willing to share."

"You know. She doesn't feel very lovable at the moment. It might be good to hear from someone, even someone with a dick, that they could have a romantic interest in her."

"You think so?"

"Even if it doesn't go anywhere, she'd at least know there was some interest there. One thing you might have going for you is I think she's going to end up like Sahar. She might like that somewhat nomadic lifestyle you've got working with Smitty, going around looking for bad guys. On the other hand, once she's trained up, you'll want to make sure you don't piss her off."

Shed laughed. "Good point."

"Doesn't hurt to make your interest known, as long as you don't push it. You might want to be one of the people who helps her train. Let her see your kind, nurturing side as you teach her how to kill scumbags."

Shedrick laughed again. "I'll say something to her after my shift ends."

"Good luck."

Interesting that.

******

The news crew attended the group at two p. m. I'm sure it wasn't a normal group, and my kids were there asking questions too, I'm sure trying to stimulate interest in the plights of the ex-slaves and trafficking in general. When they finished, the children came up to me along with the crew.

Ariana said, "This is Robert Johnson, known to his family as Rooster. Robert adopted both of the children we've been following today. Mr. Johnson, what can you say about your children?"

They were dancing on the edge with that question, since the children had different mothers. It hinted at the different sort of relationship we had, without being explicit about it. I was willing to allow it if it didn't go any further. I'm sure there'd be people clever enough to work out the dynamics if they cared enough.

"I think they're two of the best, the nicest, most responsible children, it's ever been my privilege to know. More socially responsible than I was at the same age. I'm very proud of both of them."

"To what do you attribute their kindness and social awareness?"

"I think that both of them were raised right, but in Tommy's case, growing up without a father made him realize what that was like, and in Belinda's case, losing a well-loved father, made both of them realize how lucky they were when I was willing to adopt them. When they got exposed to the freed slaves and their children, it made them realize that not everyone, even children who lost their fathers too soon, had it as good as they did, and that there were things we could all do to help those who had it worse than even they did. They like being in a position to help others, which I try to encourage, as long as it doesn't hurt their own growth as people."

"Like what?"

"Realizing they can contribute more to society as well-educated and responsible adults, I expect them to maintain their own grades and responsibilities in their own household, as well as towards others. To their families, their younger siblings, their parents, and to a clean and happy household. They're two of the top students in their classes, work on their homework and cleaning their own rooms every day, in addition to the responsibilities they've assumed towards the shelter and the people here. I want them to be whole, in the sense that other things don't suffer because of their interest in helping others.

"It's a combination of following the golden rule, treating others as you'd like to be treated, and being able to provide more help to others if you yourself don't need help. If they're raised to be responsible adults, they can offer more help to the less fortunate."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson."

Which pretty much put a wrap on the day. I warned Trevor to be careful with my bit at the end. It borderline touched on our relationship, but as long as it wasn't made explicit, I wouldn't kick.

"I understand."

"Did you get everything you wanted?"

"We did, really. Your kids were wonderful. You could tell they really cared."

"They do. It's not some show they put on for the camera. Every time I come here, they make sure I bring more coloring books, crayons, toys, and games for the kids. It doesn't matter if they're coming here themselves or not."

"How often do you come?"

"About once a week for the last couple of months. Based upon my prior military experience, I spend most of that doing self-defense training with everyone."

"Is it helpful?"

"There are a couple of the women here that could shoot your eyeballs out. One of them has been added to the shelter security team. She not only wants to protect herself, she wants to protect others."

"Who is it?"

"If you didn't learn it filming, they must not have wanted you to know."

Trevor smiled. "We'll try to get something to you fast. The raids yesterday have got this moved to the front of the line."

"Great. I'm sure there will be a dozen more shelters opening up like this one for the freed slaves, all over the world."

"Where do they get the money for them?"

"Confiscations from the accounts of the slavers that get busted, primarily, but they'll take donations from everybody. The governments in some of the involved countries help too. In this country, it's mostly donations because a lot of the ex-slaves aren't American. A lot of them are foreign nationals who were sold here, which is a pretty severe condemnation of how much human trafficking goes on in this country."

"That is a severe condemnation."

"Beth Wilson-Hafeez estimates that half of the women in massage parlors are trafficked slaves. You think of how many massage parlors there are in the country and how many women we're talking about, you'd have enough to run another news item completely on massage parlor trafficking."

"Seriously?"

"As a heart attack. Half of the ex-slaves freed here in Minnesota came from massage parlors, some other prostitutes, and a few owned by individuals. I'd get with her if you really want the lowdown on illegal slavery."

"Well, Mr. Johnson, I really want to thank you and your family for your time. It really has been an education, and your children are really smart and talented. It was a pleasure meeting all of you."

"Thanks, Trevor. I'll keep an eye out for your email."

I said goodbye to Janine, gave her a huge bonus check for all of her help, then gathered my family and went home. While the kids got to play together, My two ladies, Hoán and myself all put a couple hours into the gym and swimming.

******

That night, after a light spanking for Sonia, and some wonderful sex with both, we were cuddling together, enjoying the quiet house and a sense of peace after several months of what seemed like distressed and frenzied activity. Today seemed to have been like the capstone to a mess that started when Sonia recognized Greg was her pimp and the trouble that started when she did. I was at peace in a way I could never remember since losing my father.

My mother was finally in another loving relationship, my sister was happy with her new husband, I was deliriously happy in my own love triangle. A lot of my buddies had found their own ladies and were happily married. Life felt so good at the moment.

"I learned something interesting today," I said.

"What's that?" Sonia asked, her and Bobbi both with a hand on my slumbering cock.

"I had a chat with Shed, asking why he stayed when everyone else left, and he said he was interested in Drew."

Sonia sat up a little. "He does know she identifies as lesbian, doesn't he?"

"He knew she'd made lesbian porn movies."

"Talk about hopeless. What did you say to him?"

"I said that Drew is feeling like she'll never be desirable again, and if he told her he was romantically interested, she might realize that she still had value. I also told him that if he was willing to let her have pussy on the side, she might at least be willing to consider something with him, but not to get his hopes up.

"Even if he isn't a woman, I thought Drew might like knowing people still found her romantically attractive. She might need something like that right now."

"You may be right," Bobbi said. "I know my husband getting killed had nothing to do with my value and worth as a woman, but after he died, I'm thinking I'm thirty, I've got two kids, and no one is ever going to want me again, and I'm going to die alone. Knowing that both of you had both a sexual and romantic interest in me really lifted my spirits. I went from feeling old and used up to young and pretty again. It was a huge ego booster. I could see where that might help her."

"Do you know when Alex is getting back?" Sonia asked.

"Tomorrow."

"Where was he?"

"South Africa."

"Why was he in South Africa?" Bobbi asked.

"Let's just say that the slave owner that impregnated Xiu will never own another slave again. Not all of the raids were conducted by police forces. Obviously, you can't say anything about that. I probably shouldn't even tell you, but I know you won't talk about it."

"Does Xiu know?"

"Not as of this morning. She was wondering why she hadn't heard from Qiáng for a couple of days."

"Was he involved?"

"I don't know. He sort of planned to go with B, but the Chinese police forces were involved in their own activities. I'm sure Qiáng would be interested in closing down the pipeline that took his sister in the first place, and not just one of the way stops along the way. Not my business, really. I might hear, but that's knowledge I could do without."

"I can't accidentally expose what I know nothing about. It's like Francisco in Mexico. Sahar could have let the Mexican police have him after he planned his ambush, but he had information she wanted. Hence, he disappears and is never heard from again, and then a California porn studio is raided, and a few months later, a whole bunch of other places get raided. If Francisco is taken by the police instead, does all of that other stuff happen?"

"Sahar was following a trail left by the traffickers in Mexico, but part of the reason the trail exists is because corrupt officials aren't the ones asking the questions. She's more motivated to get answers than even honest police are. The success of the Mexico and California operations made the trafficking overlords nervous, and they sent the assassin team to go after the source of their pain, the Greenbriar organization. They are sent by higher-ups, so when they get taken down, they're getting to the upper levels of the organization. That's the reason there were multiple raids, and not just one. They were able to follow the money flowing down from the top."

"So what you told the kids on Friday is true?" Bobbi said. "Even our kids helped develop clues leading to the raids?"

"I seriously doubt the men following the school bus, and the Bulgarian assassin team ever saw a jail cell. People who go after women and children, or the people Sahar loves, don't last long. Just long enough to spill their guts. She is, without a doubt, the most deadly and ruthless person I ever met. Drew wants to become just like her, and she's well on her way. Sahar has Beth to help temper her. Drew will need someone like that as well."

"Do you think Shedrick could be that person?" Sonia asked.

"Not if Drew can't feel anything for him. She needs her own anchor. Probably someone with a shared experience. Beth was a slave for a month, and knew what Sahar had been through. But it was only for a month, so she wasn't as destroyed by her experience as Sahar was. She still has the ability to tug on the reins if necessary. But Beth knows when to tug on the reins. She knows when Sahar has to be free to do what she needs to do, and when restraint should be used. Sahar is like a heat-seeking missile, going full bore after any heat source. Beth makes her a guided missile instead, aiming her at the proper heat source."

They both nodded thoughtfully.

"You know what? It's warm enough we could go to my place on Lake Superior. The kids are out of school in two weeks, and Bobbi and her kids haven't been, nor has Ann. I say we make plans to go," I said.

"Sorry, Rooster," Sonia said. "No can do. We've got other plans in three weeks."

"What's that?" I asked.

"My tenth high school reunion. I'm going back to brag on my man. You missed your tenth last year, so I'm dragging you to mine to show what a fucking dreamboat I married and how you turned out. A few of the old cheerleader crowd know about you, but I want the whole school to know what petty-minded shits they were. We can go up north after that."

"Sounds like a plan," I said, laughing. "Isn't this Drew's tenth as well?"

"It is," Sonia said.

"Why don't you invite her and her choice of date to go with us, and make sure you take her out to get some new clothes for the reunion?"

"Seriously?"

"Absolutely. She needs normal in her life as much as possible."

"God, I love you, Rooster." Sonia said. "You're such a good man. I can't believe you're mine."

"Excuse me," Bobbi said, "ours."

"Yeah, ours."

Sonia's hand found my prick, which had been thickening up with their hands resting on me, low on my body.

"I want you to fuck Bobbi from behind while I lick both of your groins. I love the taste of you together."

By this time, mid-May, most of our sex was from behind or female superior. Both of them were around three and a half months pregnant, both having caught before our wedding. You could tell that each of them was carrying a baby, and we wanted to keep pressure off the fetus. Bobbi was plenty happy with the suggestion, and I entered her from the rear as Sonia licked and sucked my balls and her pussy.

Bobbi offered to switch after a while, but Sonia told her to keep going until I climaxed. We did, and eventually I orgasmed, deep inside of Bobbi. Sonia cleaned up after both of us, then we pulled her up between us and kissed her all over, licking some of the mess off her face.

"Why did you let me have all of Rooster's dick?" Bobbi asked.

"Because nine months ago, I was looking at another winter of hooking and so despondent, I was barely holding on. Now look at me, a married woman about to have a baby I truly want, with two of the people I love most in the world, and I can't believe how happy and lucky I am.

"Nine months ago, I couldn't imagine going to my tenth reunion, now I can't wait. My life is so unbelievably good, and I owe almost all of it to you two. If that doesn't rise to the level of getting all of Rooster's dick for one good fucking, I don't know what does."

We laughed and cuddled more.

******

Two days later, Berserker gave me the details of his 'vacation' in South Africa. Qiáng was with him, as were two more of Smitty's guys and one South African police officer who was trusted. The place they raided, outside of Johannesburg, had three armed bad guys in addition to the head cheese, and a baker's dozen slaves, five white, one who was Australian, one American, and the rest European; six black, one who was American, and the other five from other parts of Africa, one Chinese, one Bangladeshi.

None of the slaves of any color were South African. They were sold overseas as fast as possible. None of the bad guys survived. They found the records of a dozen other slaves sold within the last six months, who also ended up rescued eventually.

"Three of them were pregnant, Rooster. They were being used as prostitutes for rich fucks wanting strange pussy and kinky shit. They don't have a shelter set up in South Africa, so they had to be repatriated to elsewhere. The Americans and the Australian lady ended up at the shelter in New York, the Africans to a shelter in Morocco, while the Chinese and Bangladeshi went to the Chinese Shelter in Shanghai. The Europeans ended up in a shelter in Italy."

"What happened to Xiu's previous owner?"

"The South African cop looked the other way and Qiáng stabbed him in his fat fucking gut and let him bleed out. It took an hour for him to die."

"Glad you're back safe."

"Me, too. I'm getting too old for this shit. I just want to stay home and boink your sister and our girlfriend."

I laughed. "Good one, B."

******

While the kids were at school on Wednesday, we went to the OB for ultrasounds on the two women of my life. Sonia was having her first girl, and Bobbi was having her second girl. With Quý being a young boy, I guess the kids would be pretty even boys and girls wise. With two 'wives' there was always going to be more women than men, unless they had more children past this.

Sonia was especially excited to be having her first girl. She kept talking about all the cute little outfits she could buy for a baby girl, and so the two women were chattering about that. The OB, Judy Winters, who was seeing them both at the same time since we were all but technically married to each other, was still amazed that both women were getting along as well as they were.

"I don't know if I could be happy if another woman was having my husband's baby," she said.

"Maybe if you were having sex with her yourself," Sonia laughed, "it wouldn't seem like his baby, as much as it felt like your baby. I know the biology doesn't really allow for that, but honestly, I probably have sex with Bobbi more than Rooster does. As often, if not more. All our kids are our children, even the housekeeper's son plays with our children and is considered as much ours as anyone's. I'm as proud of Bobbi's Belinda as I am of my Tommy. It's a different way of looking at things, but it works for us."

"I can see that."

"You're not alone in having difficulty understanding how it works," I said. "My mom doesn't understand it very easily either. She sees how happy we are, and that makes it easier for her, but doesn't understand it. To top it off, my sister, her only other child, is involved in a similar threesome."

"Maybe she doesn't understand it because she can't imagine herself having sex with a woman," Bobbi said. "I wouldn't have understood this until I had sex with Sonia."

"Good point," I said. "It probably does help. I couldn't see myself in a male-oriented triad."

"You could never see yourself sucking a dick?" Sonia teased in her little girl voice. "Imagine that, the Rooster doesn't want a second male in the henhouse."

"You just want another spanking, don't you?" Bobbi laughed. "Whenever you talk in that voice, you're itching to have your ass paddled."

"You know me so well," Sonia said. "You know how a warm butt makes my pussy juicy."

"You two are too much," Dr. Winters laughed. "They're both fine, Mr. Johnson. Neither of them seems worried about much of anything."

"That's because we have a man who knows how to take care of everything," Sonia said. "Isn't that right, Bobbi?"

"He certainly takes care of us," Bobbi laughed. "Two babies worth."

"If it weren't that it took nine months to deliver the first one," Sonia laughed, "we'd have been pregnant a dozen times each by now."

******

The following day, Sixty Minutes sent me the finished product, only five days after shooting the installment. Without commercials, it was under forty-five minutes long. We watched it together in the entertainment room, and I have to say, they did a great job.

It was powerful, poignant, and left everything out we wanted out, and did a great job promoting the shelter and the people who worked there, striving to make life better for the people it served. I was impressed and told them they could run it the way it was. Trevor notified me it would show the second Sunday from now, just after the kids finished school.

I thought that was good news as they wouldn't have to go through the fifteen minutes of fame while school was on, where they'd receive even more adulation from their peers. Their lives would remain more normalized, and we could keep them grounded.

That weekend, Sonia and Bobbi grabbed Drew from the shelter and went shopping for dresses for the reunion and the summer, their normal clothes starting to get tight.

The kids had no homework anymore, so I was spending time with them teaching them to shoot better on the Hogan's Alley, and some self-defense stuff I was teaching at the shelter.

"When we go up to Lake Superior in a couple of weeks, I'll take you out shooting for real," I said when we finished.

"Will we be able to take the boat out?" Tommy asked.

"You bet, but we probably won't be able to do much camping, as both of your moms are pregnant now, and it will be more uncomfortable sleeping on the ground. Plan on being gone for about a month or more. We'll invite some of mine and Bobbi's family to come a few days at a time, say four or five days each, so everyone gets a crack at it. I thought it might be nice if we could invite Belinda's grandparents from Iowa to come up a few days. When we get back, we've got something special planned for everyone at the shelter."

"Cool. Can you tell us what?"

"I could, but wouldn't you like to be surprised?"

"Only if it's not Disney World," Tommy said.

"It's not Disney World. We don't think we could keep everyone safe on a trip to Disney World. No way to keep everyone all together. There's a worry that someone might not be missed right away, because everyone would scatter."

"That makes sense," Tommy said. "Is everyone still in a lot of danger?"

"Not a lot of danger, less than before, but every one of the ex-slaves is always more vulnerable, since they're more likely to obey bad people without fighting, if the voice is authoritative enough. It takes a while for those things to be deprogrammed out of you, once you've been trained to obey."

"I guess," Belinda said. "It's too bad."

"It is, but at least they're not slaves anymore, so that's good, right?"

"Yeah."

"You guys might want to think about what you want to take up north with you; the clothing, swimsuits, toys, and games. You'll want about seven days' worth of clothes, some lighter for warmer weather, and some for cooler. It can still be cool on the water, especially at night. We can wash stuff up there, but you never know, so plan ahead, maybe set it aside, so you don't get it dirty before we leave."

"Will do, Dad."

Both women came back laughing and teasing one another, offering to show off their purchases in a fashion show.

"I can wait. Did Drew find some nice things?"

"You bet. She'll look spectacular."

"Is she bringing a date?"

"I don't know if you can call it a date, exactly," Bobbi said. "She's coming with Shedrick, but I doubt she's falling for him. Let's just say he's her escort to the event. She says she doesn't trust most men right now, but she feels safe with Shed, and knows he won't try to pull any shit."

"Greenbriar staff are well trained; he wouldn't. I worry about the newer ones more than the old staff. Background checks can only tell you so much. It takes working with folks a while before you really know what they're like. New guys coming into 'The Unit' were always a mystery. You knew they were well trained, but you didn't know how they'd react out in the wild. It's all a big guess until you see them under fire. Berserker knows that, so new guys will be more closely watched."

"What would happen to anyone who molested one of the ex-slaves?" Bobbi asked.

"If Sahar had anything to say about it, they'd disappear," I said. "B would probably arrest, fire, or maybe beat the fucker up, depending on the egregiousness of the offense."

******

We watched Sixty Minutes together on Sunday night. The only thing they had in the broadcast we didn't know about was a little bit of the kid's own efforts, with the broadcast showing about a minute of the PBS broadcast that didn't show any of the stuff PBS put it on late for.

"Hello, I'm Ariana Levy, and the clip you just saw, and may have seen before if you watch PBS, was done by two eight-year-old children. We here at Sixty Minutes were flummoxed that two eight-year-old children would even think to put something like that out, calling attention to human trafficking.

"It's not only been put on PBS in the adult version, much of which we can't show in our time slot, but a tamer version of that was shown in all of the schools from grade school to high school in Minneapolis where the children live. They obviously had help putting everything together, but the concept was all theirs. We'd like you to meet these two amazing kids. Let me introduce you to Thomas Johnson and Belinda Johnson. Thank you for joining Sixty Minutes. Tommy, let's start with you. Belinda is your sister, correct?"

"Adoptive sister. We have two different mothers, but the same father. We're as close as any natural brother and sister are though."

"Why did you decide to call attention to human trafficking?"

"Around Christmas time, a lot of slaves were freed in the Minneapolis area, and some others had been slotted for slavery and future sale, including the housekeeper we hired at that time. We met a lot of them and their children at one of the many shelters that Joshua Greenbriar has set up around the country, and some in other countries around the world, wherever there are a sufficient number of freed slaves to create a shelter.

"Their stories were so terrible, Belinda and I felt that something needed to be done to bring human trafficking to everyone's attention. As long as some people continue to buy and sell other people, stories like theirs will continue to occur. We felt that if everyone knew how terrible it was for some people to be bought and sold, it would diminish over time. We thought if people knew some of what happened, public outrage would increase and sales of people would decrease. That's the entire reason right there.

"I wish two eight-year-old children never even had to know about human trafficking. Slavery has been outlawed by every country on Earth, and it still flourishes despite being against the law. Dad said slavery won't stop until people quit buying other people. We want everyone to quit buying people."

"Belinda, let's get your take on things now. Why is Tommy your adoptive brother?"

"My father was in the army and was killed in the line of duty. I was so sad when it happened. It was a horrible time of my life. When I heard Tommy's Mom was getting married and he was going to have a father, I was jealous of him. My whole family was sad.

"When Tommy's new Dad found out how unhappy we were, he offered my mother help, giving her extra money to provide for a better Christmas, and helped her with some problems in our apartment, fixing some broken things. Tommy and his Mom, Sonia, didn't see any reason why his Dad couldn't be my Dad too. They offered my whole family the opportunity to live with them, and Rooster, my new Dad's army call sign name, offered to adopt me and my brother, Jeremy, to give us the father we lost. My Mom agreed with them that he'd make a wonderful father and allowed him to adopt us, provided she could still live with us. We moved in together and live like one big happy family."

"You think a lot of your new Dad, don't you?"

"He's the best Dad in the whole world. He not only takes good care of all of us, but has helped so many other people, just in the time I've known him. He was part of the team that freed a lot of the slaves here in Minnesota, along with some of the guys he was in the army with. He's helped people at his company threatened with blackmail, he volunteers at the shelter, and helps give the kids living there games, toys, coloring books, and books, and he's helped teach us social responsibility and concern for others. We're all so happy together and look forward to the future in a way I couldn't after my father died."

"Why don't you show us the shelter where you made your movie and introduce us to some of the people there?"

"We'd love to," Tommy said. "Some of the people who live here aren't ready for their sad stories to go public yet, and don't want their names or faces known, but many of them have agreed to talk with their identity hidden, so let's show you around. I encourage everyone who sees this broadcast to do what they can at any shelters set up for abused and trafficked women and children in their areas. Help is needed everywhere, and you can make such a big difference to them. Please donate your time and money, and we'll show you what you can do to help."

The kids then led the crew on a tour of the shelter and the people who lived and worked there, including some of the volunteers doing work there. The last thing Tommy showed was the hand signal that abused women and children could use to show they were being coerced.

"If you see this signal, the person showing it to you is being abused, kidnapped, or trafficked. When you see it, do something. Call 911, notify a police officer or security guard. You may be saving someone from death or slavery. Whatever you do, don't ignore it."

"Tommy, Belinda, it's been a real pleasure meeting you and your families. I'm expecting to hear great things from you both in the future. We rushed this broadcast to you this week because two weeks ago, several raids were made on human trafficking organizations around the world, freeing well over 2000 more slaves, just like the ones you met today. Shelters like this one are going to be built or opened for those new freed slaves. Like the Johnson family and these two amazing children, you can make a big difference in someone else's life. Please, donate time or money to these shelters. This is Ariana Levy, and you've been watching Sixty Minutes."

The broadcast ended. "Great work, kids. I'm so proud of you. I'm as glad to be your Dad as you are to have me. Since tomorrow isn't a school day and school is over, Jeremy and Quý can stay up until nine, and Tommy and Belinda, you can stay up until ten. Feel free to watch a movie or play games. Next weekend is Sonia's high school class reunion, so the three adults will be attending that, along with Drew and Shedrick. After that, we're heading up north to my cabin up there for around five weeks. Make sure you have your stuff selected for that and let one of us inspect it before we pack it."

"Aye aye," Tommy said. "Belinda, you're going to love it. We're going to see some great stuff up there."

"I'm looking forward to it. Thanks, Dad."

I hugged all of the kids. "Thank you. You've earned everything you get. You're the best."

******

Shedrick and Drew arrived in plenty of time for the trip to the class reunion. We gave both of them hugs, although I gave Shed a fist bump instead.

"Where did you attend high school, Shedrick?" I asked, in the Genesis and on the road.

"Dothan, Alabama."

"You ever go back for a reunion?" Sonia asked.

"Nah. Dothan was not for me. The sooner I wiped the dust of that place off my shoes, the better I liked it. What was Waverly like?"

"Waverly is more or less a one-horse town," I laughed. "The graduating class of our high school is around forty to fifty folks, depending on the year you graduated. It might be a bit more now. The town is so small, they couldn't find a place big enough for the reunion, except the school, which they couldn't rent. The reunion committee rented out a restaurant in a nearby town, Buffalo, called the Mill Creek Inn. Nothing fancy. No special menu. Just order off their normal fare. Things like fish tacos, burgers, a few steaks. I'm planning to have the walleye."

"You ever eat there before?" Shed asked.

"A few times when I was still in high school. Haven't been back since I went into the army, but Mom actually worked there for a couple of years selling pull tabs, kind of like a minor lotto ticket. The food's good if plain. Taco Tuesdays used to be pretty fun, and a cheap date."

"You ever take a girl there?" Sonia asked.

"Not the one I wanted to," I said, "but a couple of times I got someone to go with me."

"I suppose it was me you wanted to take?"

"Damn skippy."

"What a fool I was."

"Hell, yes. A hot date at the Mill Creek Inn with Stringbean," I laughed. Sonia squeezed my hand.

"So three of you went to Waverly High?" She asked.

"Me, class of 2015, Sonia and Drew, class of 16."

"Where did you go to high school, Bobbi?" She asked.

"South High School in Minneapolis. Class of 2014, about 310 graduating the year I did."

"You old hag," Sonia laughed. "What was your school like?"

"Bigger than Waverly HS, maybe bigger than the whole town. Racially diverse, about 30% white, black and Hispanic each, and around ten percent Native American."

"Did you like going to Waverly High School, Drew?" She asked.

"It was okay. Not a ton of diversity. Two black kids in school, the rest white, divided about equally between Catholics and Protestants, forty percent German or forty percent Scandinavian ancestry, twenty percent everything else. I was the only lesbian I knew of in school, although a few were willing to let me lick their pussy."

"Who?" Bobbi asked.

Drew didn't immediately answer. "Me, for one," Sonia said. "Sandy for another. I imagine there were a couple others, but for sure, no one talked about it. Mostly, we're a conservative farming type community, where lesbian would have been a four-letter word, although I think more women have tried it than would admit to it."

"Did Maya lick pussy in high school?" She asked. "And what year did Sandy graduate?"

"The same year I did," I said. "Maya admitted to trying it a couple of times in college, but not high school," I said. "Before Sonia knew who I was, she admitted to playing with a couple of girls in school, and I was dying to ask who, figuring I would have known them, but didn't want to give up I went to Waverly too, until Sonia was ready to tell me who she was for sure. She refused to give me her real name. After Maya was estranged with Greg, we sort of tied Maya to the bed in the spare bedroom and turned Sandy loose on her, as one of Berserker's virtual dates. Sandy had to film some of it for Berserker's pleasure."

"Sandy told me you looked for me right around the time you got engaged," Drew said. "Why?"

"I was looking for bridesmaids, and I wanted to reconnect with my high school friends now that I wasn't hooking anymore," Sonia said. "We thought of you because you were one of the cheerleaders I hung around with. We couldn't find where you were. Even your parents didn't know, although they said you'd gone to California."

"I thought it would be easier to find lesbians there," Drew said. "My exposure to lesbians in Minnesota was in Waverly, and there were none. I didn't realize that Minneapolis or the other large cities would have a more relaxed atmosphere."

"Minneapolis has got anything any other major metropolitan area has," Sonia said. "We have all the same kinks other big cities have."

"Are you allowed to have sex yet, Drew?" I asked.

"No. I can't say I'm much interested in sex at the moment."

"Not even girls?" Bobbi asked.

"Not even. I was pretty much ruined for sex. I don't want anyone or anything to touch my pussy."

"Do you think that will change?" I asked, knowing Shed might like the answer to that.

"I don't know. Sahar said it was months before she could even think about sex, and even then it was only because the other freed slaves, mostly Muslim women who'd never had, nor would have been willing to have lesbian sex, were telling her how great sex with Beth was, better than anything they'd ever experienced. Sahar said she's still the best she ever had. Some have come close, but not exceeded."

"Did you ever have sex with Beth, Shedrick?" I asked.

"Yeah. Best blow job I ever had. She had sex with everyone on the American Entrepreneur when she was aboard. Sure was good for crew morale."

"What's the American Entrepreneur?" Sonia asked.

"Joshua's yacht. Beth started working for Joshua as his submissive on a year-long cruise. That's when she was taken and they got into the slave-freeing business. Miranda was on a Joint Congressional Committee investigating human trafficking, and we freed our first in Bonaire. Picked up from there. I didn't get placed on the yacht until after the attack on Miranda's car going to Versailles. Smitty and the others in his crew mostly were on the sidelines of that cruise, to be called in case of necessity. Versailles became necessity. That was a result of the first big trafficking ring we took down, we thought was being run by an agent with Interpol, though there was an Englishman above him, we eventually found. It was that fucker that got Sahar shot."

"Have you heard who seemed to head this last one?" I asked.

"They think it was some German guy, but they're still not sure they reached the top of the chain. They're still looking to be sure."

"Is he behind bars?" Sonia asked.

"Dead," Shed said. "Something he said before he died is why Joshua isn't sure he was at the top."

"How did he die?" Bobbi asked.

"That's one of those things you don't want to ask, Bobbi. Best not to know," I said. "You can't lie about what you don't know."

"Like Francisco?" Bobbi said.

"Exactly."

"Do you know how Francisco died, Drew?" Bobbi continued.

"I do. Sahar thought it might help my recovery."

"Did it?"

"Yes, although something that Rooster told me helped almost as much."

"What did he tell you?"

"That he'd never weep over my grave unless I did something with my life to make him respect me, essentially. I decided then I wanted to do anything I could to make him respect me. My first atonement is tonight."

"What are you going to do, Drew?" I asked.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself about, Rooster. Nobody is going to die, not even me. You changed my mind about committing suicide."

"How close were you?" Bobbi asked.

"Within hours. I expected to be dead the next morning. You helped too, Sonia. Even after I told you, you didn't give a shit. I thought you'd look at me like the lowest life form on Earth. You didn't though, and that helped. Long enough to get me back home, anyway. I wanted to see my parents again before I went. After that, I figured I'd be ready."

"Hell, I was a hooker and I had a choice, while you never did. Be foolish to look down on you for what you had no control over."

"What the hell happened to you?" Shed asked.

"I can't tell you. This is mine to bear now."

"Why did you tell Rooster and Sonia?"

"They saw me at the police station in Mexico where I was being questioned. At the time, I was telling everything to the police, so it seemed appropriate, because I intended to die anyway. Now that I don't plan on dying, I won't say anything again unless you're in a group with me. Have you told anyone, Rooster, like Bobbi?"

"Not our story to tell, Drew," I said. "It's yours and until you think it needs to be told, it should stay yours."

"Thank you. Again, you honor me, who deserves no honor."

"You're being too hard on yourself again, Drew. You've apologized, and I'm willing to accept your apology, because you're working to change. That's it."

"Thank you, Rooster."

Yeah, poor Shedrick. It didn't sound as if his suit towards Drew would bear much fruit. Six years as a slave doing what she had to do would probably leave anyone cold to sex, and he couldn't even know why.

We reached Mill Creek Inn, got our name tags and our first drinks, then started to mingle. My name tag said Robert, not Bobby, and no one who didn't already know who I was recognized me. I'd also been a year ahead of most all the alumni here, which didn't help, except for a few who'd married down a year. Everyone recognized Sonia and Drew.

Shedrick was an anomaly, as he and Sonia were the only black faces there and I think a lot of people initially thought he was there with Sonia. On the other hand, Bobbi hadn't graduated from Waverly and everyone wondered why she was there with some white guy no one recognized either.

We all got drinks from the bar (soft drinks for my two ladies), grabbed a table, and ordered our food. After everyone had ordered, the organizer (the former VP of the class) called the reunion to order. He first identified those who hadn't survived until the reunion (three who'd died in various and sundry wars or 'police actions', two who'd died in car accidents, and one who had cancer). He also identified the five people who hadn't been able to attend for one reason or another.

As the food started to get delivered, he went over the list of 'most likely's' from the class. Most likely to succeed, most likely to be rich, most likely to go to Hollywood, most likely to be a farmer, or whatever. Sonia's was most likely to end up married to Tom Walker, which she'd done, but that was a disaster. Drew's was most likely to end up on top of a pyramid. Mine had been 'most likely to trip over his own feet and break his nose.'

After refreshing everyone's memories of those little platitudes, the alumni were asked to stand up and tell everyone what had happened to them in the last ten years. Had they met their 'most likely' goals? The MC did it off of notecards for those unable to attend, but otherwise, they went alphabetically.

When they got to Drew Hampton, she stood up.

"I, for one, was a bitch in high school, not to the other popular kids, but to everyone else who didn't meet the so-called standards to be one of the 'in' kids. For that, I want to apologize to anyone I ever made fun of in high school, because it was rude and nasty. I conspired with other popular kids to make several people's lives miserable, and you know who you are, both the ones I made fun of and the ones I conspired with. For those I made fun of, see me after the reunion, and I will formally apologize to each one of you. For those I conspired with, shame on us.

"I was probably the only lesbian in school, although I never admitted to being one, because that would have been a taboo no-no. I pretended to like guys, because it was what the popular girls did. The most I ever gave to one of my 'boyfriends' was a hand job, because there was no way their cocks were ever going near me. I apologize to you for letting you think I was interested. I was fortunate to find a few girls willing to experiment, but mostly, I felt alone, which might have been one of the reasons I made fun of the other loners.

"As for my life since graduating from high school, I went to California and started making lesbian porn movies, which was probably bad enough, but it seemed to be an easy way to meet women and make money. I enjoyed it. But apparently, making porn wasn't the only thing my movie studio did. They also sold some of their actresses into slavery. On a supposed film set in Mexico, I was sold to Mexican human traffickers. For six years, I had to do the most vile and disgusting things you can imagine on camera so this filth could be sold to depraved people. My life was a living hell.

"Fast forward several years when I'm ready to kill myself, I'm inexplicably rescued by people who wish to remain anonymous. The reason they rescued me and another couple dozen women is Robert Johnson, who most of you haven't recognized tonight because he no longer looks like 'Stringbean', identified what he thought was a human trafficking ring while on his honeymoon. On his honeymoon, he contacts the people he knows who can handle operations such as this and helps bring down a human trafficking cartel in Cancun, the one I was owned by.

"Robert Johnson, formerly 'Stringbean' or 'Beanpole' or a half dozen other cleverly crafted slurs and slams invented by me and my friends, helped to rescue the woman who did everything she could to embarrass and humiliate him and make his high school life miserable. Now known affectionately as 'Rooster' to his friends and family, he grew from the awkward, clumsy teenager we picked on so consistently, to the man sitting with his wife, Sonia, and friend, Bobbi, you see before you today.

"You see, Rooster quit growing taller, and in the army, could grow out. The rest of his body caught up to his feet, and he quit being awkward and clumsy. The nerd, the 'brainiac', got into first the Rangers, then Delta Force, where he was awarded three Silver Stars for bravery. I'm told there could have been others. Additionally, he graduated from MIT, and now owns his own company developing ideas into money-making propositions. He could buy and sell most of the people in this room. This is the person I made fun of and ridiculed when he was in high school.

"I don't know how many of you saw the 'Sixty Minutes' episode last Sunday, but the children on that episode are his kids. He adopted them. They are the best kids I ever met. You can be damn sure that his kids will never make fun of other children the way my friends and I made fun of him. They were raised better. I can't even blame my parents for the way I treated others. They raised me better too. That was my problem, my issue, perhaps brought on by my own insecurity, of feeling different, but you can also be damn sure, if I'm ever lucky enough to have children of my own, they will behave a lot closer to Rooster's, Sonia's, and Bobbi's kids than they'll ever behave like me.

"My slavery was so vile, I can't even imagine having sex anymore, with anyone, man or woman, which is unfortunate, as my date tonight has made his interest in me known. He's a former SEAL, and one of the people who helped rescue me. I wish I could give him what he wants, which isn't even sex so much, but someone to love him as Sonia loves Rooster. I'm not even sure if I can have children anymore, because I was damaged during my slavery, but I'm open to thoughts of adopting some if I can reach the point where I feel somewhat normal.

"Even after I was rescued, Rooster continued to look after me, and it was primarily him who convinced me I had something to live for, even now. What I intend to do with the rest of my life is to help people who have been trafficked like I was, perhaps even rescue them, like I was, but to make their lives, and the lives of their children better than it was. That's a life to be proud of, not the life that I lived before. When I do eventually die, I want people to say, 'Drew Hampton lived her life making other lives better. She was a good person who made a difference.' Don't be like I was, or raise children to be like I was. Be and teach and help the way that I intend to do.

"Sonia told me something a few days ago. Rooster told it to the Sixty Minutes film crew when they were planning their episode. He said that everyone has a good wolf, and a bad wolf living inside of them. Which one comes out of you depends upon which wolf you feed. Feed the good wolf, and that's what you become. Feed the bad wolf, and that's what you are. We all need to pay more attention to feeding the good wolf. Rooster, Shedrick, and anyone else who helped save me and so many others, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the good wolves. To all of the people I've abused and tormented, I apologize for the way I treated you. I was feeding the bad wolf, in me and you. Fortunately, someone else was feeding the good wolf. Thanks for letting me speak to you." Drew sat down.

It was silent for quite a long time. Then the clapping started, first by Sonia and Bobbi, with others finally starting until it was a wall of sound. Drew waved and gave a small smile in acknowledgment, but otherwise ignored it. This was her atonement, admitting to everyone that she'd been nasty and didn't deserve the attention. Maybe now, she did.

It wasn't long afterwards that Sonia Johnson was called upon to discuss her life. I wondered if she'd talk about being a hooker, especially after Drew admitted to what she'd done.

"It's good to see everyone again," Sonia said. "As some of you may or may not know, I did marry Tom. What most of you probably don't know is that all those times he got wasted after a football game, Tom was drinking not to celebrate but because he was an alcoholic. A drunk who got a scholarship to the University of Minnesota, then lost his scholarship due to his drinking. The only things that I possess showing that marriage are my son, my marriage certificate, and Tommy's birth certificate. Everything else I got from that marriage was sold to support my son. Engagement ring, wedding ring, cash, gifts, all pawned and sold. He drank himself to death before Tommy's second birthday. He got so drunk one time he passed out as two of his drinking buddies raped me. That's the husband and father I married. What a waste.

"The reason that you all lost touch with me is because I was ashamed of the things I had to do to support myself. I'm not going to say what because most of you can probably guess without me spelling it out. While not as vile as what Drew did, and I would agree that she had it far worse than I did, it was degrading and disgusting.

"I was not one of the ones who made fun of Rooster in school. My sin was different; one of silence. A good man once said, and I apologize to my teachers that I don't remember who it was, 'All that evil needs to succeed is for good men to remain silent.' Or words to that effect. I was one of the silent. I am so glad now that all I did was say nothing as he was tormented, as I might not be married to him now if I were one of the other kind.

"What had 'Beanpole' done to earn our enmity? Nothing. He was smart. I know he helped more than a few people with their homework. He was clumsy. He tripped over himself more times than I can count, but he never harmed a soul. He stood up for everyone. That time Jared almost got pounded to a pulp after a basketball game, Bobby was the first one to jump to his defense, five minutes before the rest of his teammates knew what was happening and could step in. Did he ever get credit for it? No, the team took credit for saving Jared, even though he'd have been pounded to a pulp five minutes before unless 'Beanpole' stepped up. He did nothing to earn our scorn, yet endured it anyway, because good people were silent.

"I tell you now that Rooster is the best man, the best person, the best father, and the best husband that I've ever known, or could even imagine. Yet the only reason he would have shown up to his own ten-year reunion was to show all the stupid people who made fun of him how rich, handsome, and successful he was, to rub our noses in it, and we'd have deserved to have our noses rubbed. But he didn't. It wasn't worth taking the time for. He was working to convince the Pentagon to buy one of the products his company invented.

"Rooster, would you please stand up for me, honey, and you can pound my keister later for embarrassing you now." I stood up. "This is 'Stringbean', who might in many respects be the most successful and prestigious graduates our school has ever produced, but one of the kids we made fun of in school. Not the only one, by any means. There were others. This is a man's man, as well as a woman's man.

"He has the respect of his Unit brothers and everyone he's ever served with. He treats me like I'm the best woman in the world, and I haven't been. He treats my son as if he was his own. He treats everyone he meets with respect and dignity, from those like me, and those like Drew, to every child he meets. His employees love him, his kids love him, his family and my family, and all his friends love him, even his housekeeper loves him, because she and her son aren't treated like a housekeeper, but a member of the family, because he fed his good wolf. Even as a kid, he should have been given our respect, but that's not what we gave him.

"So I ask you, what could we have done better, and what should we be teaching our children? I wasn't a good example. Drew wasn't a good example. We both failed as humans, who should show compassion to all people, and not just those in our own little clique. We must not be silent when we see a wrong. We must not commit wrongs. We need to be better, and I hope that when my life ends, people will look up to me the same way Drew hopes to be looked up to, as someone who made a difference to someone else. Thank you, honey, you can sit down now. I love you."

I sat down, smiling at her. "I don't want your applause for saying what needed to be said. My husband doesn't care for fame or applause. He does what he does because it's right, not for his own notoriety. He'd be embarrassed if I told you some of the good he's done for others. I don't deserve applause now, any more than I deserved it back in high school. I was a cheerleader, not someone special. If you must clap and cheer, cheer for the best of us, but more than that, make a difference in someone's life. We can do better, people, a lot better than we've done. Be a help, not a problem. Be the best class that Waverly High School ever produced. Thank you."

Bobbi and I welcomed her back with a kiss, and a hug from Drew and Shed. She got applause, but it was muted because she asked that it be, but still given because it should be given for all the people who did good.

The rest of the reunion was pretty anticlimactic. A lot of folks suddenly knew or remembered who I was, and took the time to thank me for my service, and apologize for being dicks in school. But we all enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the evening.

I can tell you one thing about that night for sure, my Sonia got fucked to a fare-thee-well when I got home. I finally felt like an honored member of Waverly High School.

******