May Writing Challenge: Choose Any Three

[Sean *]

It's writing challenge time again. To enter, just post a ficlet (300-4000 words suggested) in this thread. When the voting for this month's OTM winners comes around, a voting poll will go up for this as well.

The Challenge: Write a story that features at least three of the following five items: A pair of handcuffs, coffee, a hammer, a hairbrush, and darkness. Pick any three and have fun.

The rules:

• Characters must be in Hammel canon, but the ficlets are not site canon unless referenced in a thread.
  
• Entries must be more than 300 words. No upper limit on this one.
  
• You can enter no more than three ficlets. Any ficlets posted after the original 3 will not be considered for voting. If you want to post more, however, have fun.
  
• Ficlets must be titled.

[Lani Hunter]

Check

It wasn't like Lani to miss a silent alarm. And that was just his intention. When he saw the flashing lights his heart leapt in panic and he had to school himself not to go running. If he ran then he'd never be caught. Nothing frustrated Lani more than having to play amateur thief. But if he didn't this whole plan would be destroyed. So when the guns trained on his chest and flashlights burned in his eyes he slowly rose his hands and turned to face the cops. Lani checked his power and smothered it as his hands were cuffed behind his back. His face was a mask of humor. He just couldn't wipe the smirk off of his face. They patted him down relieving him of his wallet and a stolen wallet that would give them just enough reason to jail him.

His Miranda Rights were read and he nodded along mindlessly. He couldn't help but feel a little paranoid that this wasn't going to work. He was going to go to prison for the rest of his life if this didn't work. He swallowed nervously as he was loaded into the back of a cop car. He listened absently to the radio spouting off code and the drone of the officer's conversation. The trip was a quick one and soon he found himself in a small holding cell his hands free and his feet pacing with agitation. Any time now they would come in and demand his identity. He had all of his fake IDs in the wallet, all but his real one. All fake and all very much real. No doubt they would soon find them all fake.

Just as the thoughts were crossing through his head the door opened and Lani turned his head to glance at the person entering. With two officer's flanking him they took him but the elbows and transported him to a smaller cell. Fools thought he was a petty and terrible thief. If they knew who they had in custody they would never let him out of handcuffs.

He didn't resist as he was shoved down into a chair at a table. Two left and he was left alone with a tall dark haired man who had his stack of IDs in his hand. "I'm Detective Johnson, and I have to admit I'm rather annoyed to be called in at such an hour. So let's make this quick and painless, alright?"

"Sure," Lani replied coolly.

"So, should I call you Tyler? Or Jake?" He placed the IDs on the table one after another. "Marcus, Anthony, Paul, James, Luke, Benjamin, Eli."

"I like Tyler." Lani replied a soft smile on his lips, "I was Jake yesterday."

The man's face flashed with annoyance before his own mask came up. "Look kid, don't be a smart ass. You're in a lot of trouble. Just give us your name and we'll get this figured out. Look it seems like you're new to this whole thing, you've gotta have more going for you. Stealing is not the answer."

Lani sighed rebuked and dropped his head to look at his hands. Lani leaned forward and plucked one of the IDs from the table. "My name is James Kerk, I'm 22." He showed Detective Johnson the ID. A charming smile crossed his features and as the man's eyes flashed with recognition and... was that a hint of humor?

"I see you've got jokes," the detective said with a smile. He sighed and shook his head. "Why don't you sleep on it?" He gestured and the door opened. Lani got up when they beckoned him.

"Hang on. Don't I get a phone call?" He asked. The detective looked floored for a moment and Lani added, "That's what they do in the movies isn't it?"

The detective gestured again and Lani was taken by the elbow again and all but dragged out of the room. They set him up at a phone and Lani quickly typed in a number. It went to a disposable cell. It rang a few times and a weary sounding voice answered at the other end of the line.

"Hey... so I've been arrested."

"What did you do?!"

"Eh... you know."

A sigh. "Need me to come get you?" Lani glanced at the detective who was watching him like a hawk.

"I don't think they're gonna let me go tonight."

"You know what cooling your heels might do you good. I hope you learn something."

"Sorry."

Another sigh. "Fine. I'll be there in the morning."

"Thanks."

Lani opened his mouth to add something but the other line had already gone dead. Hanging up the receiver Lani shrugged his shoulders at the detective. With a small square pillow and a paper thin sheet shoved into his arms he was led away. He mimed blinking away tears and swallowed hard glancing back at the detective.

He didn't have to fake the fears. He was willingly walking into a cage, it was not something he wanted to do. It was what necessity demanded. He was closed into a small cell with another person who was already sleeping. Or at least appeared to be.

Lani set up his bed and sat upon it and his guess was right as the figure on the other bed raised his head. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tank top, his jacket hanging over the side the railing of the bed. The man wrung his hands and his eyes darted around the room only coming to rest on Lani once or twice. His hands were shaking and his whole body was thin and frail looking.

Lani felt a sudden amount of sympathy for the man. Not only did he look terrified but Lani had to scare him a little more for his plan to work. He had not anticipated being put with a roommate. "Are you alright?" Lani asked before he could stop himself.

The man's eyes were wide and he landed them on Lani as if startled by the sudden presence of another person. He opened his mouth as if to say something then snapped it shut like he had decided better of it. Lani frowned and wondered momentarily about the time. At least he was a little more level headed than this guy. Though if he had really been arrested without intending to he's probably be a bundle of nerves too. Though with Lani a bundle of nerves usually came with a blast of power. A guard wandered by and Lani rose. "Hey," he said, the guard kept walking. Lani rose his voice and banged on the bars. "Hey!"

The guard banged on the bars with his club and pointed at Lani. "Cool it kid." He crossed his arms and looked over Lani again. "You're that mystery kid, ain't ya? Look, this is your first night and hopefully your last, kid. But let me give you some advice. Anything like that." He pointed at the bars. "Will get you into big trouble down here."

"Sorry," Lani lied and looked back at his cell mate, "But, I think something's wrong. He might be sick or something." He gestured back to his cellmate. Now the guard came forward a few paces.

The man snorted. "Seen the likes of him around here before. He'll be fine." The guard came forward a step, "Likes to play crazy so he doesn't have to share a cell. Now it's lights out. You two behave yourselves."

And with that the man was gone. Lani sighed frustrated and turned to his cellmate. The lights went out leaving only a few safety lights out in the hallways. Lani dropped back on his bed and the nervous man calmed significantly and just looked grumpy now. The shaking of his hands didn't stop though. Lani reflected that there probably was something wrong with him but he amplified it for sympathy.

"Hey, I'm not happy about this either." Lani said conversationally and rose from his cot. "And I'm sorry about this." Quick as lightning Lani's hand came down against the pressure point at the nape of his neck and the man went out cold and quick. Lani waved his hand trying to rid his own hand of pain. Well, at least nervous man would sleep now. Now, Lani had work to do.

He listened carefully and settled into bed as the guard strolled back through. As he moved on Lani rose and listened. The world was silent but for the murmurings of prisoners. He pulled off his jacket and bundled it under the blanket, he was just hoping that was enough to satisfy a glance inward. He slid off his boots and crept across the floor. Nervous man was snoring loudly making quiet irrelevant. Lani's power tricked the door and he slid it open just enough for him to slip out and closed it allowing the lock to fall back into place. He glanced down the hall and went to the left.

If he hadn't memorized the blueprints of this building he would be hopelessly lost. His power shifted cameras briefly for his passing, so quickly anyone watching would probably think the system had a glitch. He moved through the shadows his heart pounding adrenaline through his veins. He was like a shadow and he quickly dodged guards and bypassed doors from the holding cells to the main area of the jail. Here there was a large open room with cells lining the walls in two stories. Climbing slowly and carefully, now Lani had to watch out for other prisoners as well as guards.

He looked up at the cell he wanted. Three cells down on the second level. He slipped across the room darting from table to table. He breathed easily and wiped sweat from his brow as he prepared to make the jump from the last table to the narrow staircase. He ducked as a guard appeared walking through the room from one of the several watch stations. Luckily he went the opposite direction of Lani. He sped across the room like a flicker of a person. Some of the inmates might be thinking a ghost was among them. Slinking like a cat up the stairs Lani glanced into the first cell. The man was asleep. The second wasn't. The only thing he could really do was make a break for the third cell.

Lani's power reached out and caused a slight noise in the back of the two cells. Hoping the occupied them Lani made a mad dash his feet sliding on the concrete as he came to the third door. Here he repeated the pattern with his door and slipped inside. Turning to face the prisoner Lani froze feeling a makeshift blade at his throat.

"Lani?" The man asked in wonder.

He dared not nod for fear of getting cut. "Hey, Josh."

The man pulled back the knife and pulled Lani deeper into the shadows of the room. "What is the Seven Hells are you doing here, boy?"

"I want to know where it is."

Josh's face darkened and he shook his head. "No. You're a crazy bastard, you know that? Do you know how fast you'd be dead if anyone knew you were here."

"I have a good idea," Lani replied, "Look. I know what I'm doing."

The man made a sound of frustration and clenched his hands as if he would love to throttle Lani. "You always say that, how many times have I told you there are some things you simply can't do."

Lani smirked in the darkness. "You know, my partner said the same thing when I told him I was going to break into jail." Lani's sly smile only grew as the man opened and closed his mouth like a fish but couldn't find a counter argument. Lani continued, "I know what I'm doing. I'm not a kid anymore."

"That's just where you're wrong." He jabbed a finger in Lani's chest, "You're not just a kid, you're a hotheaded kid. You're arrogant and take unnecessary risks. And now you want to go after the most powerful man alive?" Lani colored with anger and shook his head. But Josh wasn't finished. "Lani, you're reckless and if you were still my student I would skin you alive for this."

"You don't know what I'm capable of." Lani growled.

The man ran a hand over his balding head and turned toward the small window he had then back. "You know, there is never a moment I don't regret letting him take over your training."

"You were holding me back," Lani exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Josh spat. "Oh don't use his words."

"I'm better than him." Lani said his anger rising.

"Which is why we're all in jail right now."

Lani frowned. "I'm genuinely sorry you got caught in the crossfire."

Josh just made a noise of displeasure.

Lani opened his arms. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh Lani, you're ever the fool."

Lani blew out air in frustration. "Are you going to give me the information or not?"

"Can't I make you understand? You're going after someone you can't beat." Josh said his tone taking a softer turn and Lani's heart throbbed. His old trainer had always looked out for him. But Lani had become more than capable of taking care of himself.

Lani's eyes dropped and he shook his head. "I refuse to accept that."

Josh frowned and pulled out a pad and a pen. He scrawled something on it and folded it neatly handing it over. Lani took it and pocketed it. He then dug in a book he had on a shelf and handed over another paper. Taking it with care Lani turned to leave, but Josh caught his shoulder and held him at arm's length for a moment. "You've grown up so much." He pulled Lani into a tight hug and Lani could feel the shoulders shaking of a man attempting to hold in tears. Lani felt tears of his own as he embraced his old teacher. "I hope you're happy. I really hope you get it and you don't live to regret it."

"No one. No thief, no cop is ever going to bring me down." Lani said firmly.

"Good luck, son," Josh said giving Lani one last hug.

"You too. And... thank you." He turned to leave and with a hand on the lock turned back. "I always thought you were the better teacher." With that he slipped out into the darkness.

He didn't breathe easily again until he was back into his cell. He considered himself extremely lucky not to be caught and that no one noticed his absence. Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was skill. But either way Lani was thanking any god out there that was listening. He pulled the sheet of paper out and looked it over. It was a set of coordinates. The other was a map, very much a treasure map. Lani grinned and put it away again and flopped into his bed as a guard strolled by.

Morning was brighter than Lani anticipated. For some reason he expected the dark walls to block out all light but the lights within the jail itself were brilliant. Someone came to retrieve him before nervous man awoke and Lani was led by a guard back into the more administrative side of the jailhouse.

Lani sat easily in the same room as before feeling, if anything, more confident instead of more frightened. Looking up at the ceiling Lani formulated his full escape. It wouldn't be hard. So long as his friend followed his part of the deal. His attention went back to the door as it opened and Detective Johnson walked in.

"Good morning, how are you today?" He asked a smirk on his face as if he expected Lani to break down.

"Good, and yourself?" Lani replied much to the annoyance of the detective.

The man took a seat and placed his coffee down on the table. "Are you going to tell me your name now?"

Lani hummed, "Today I feel like Anthony."

The detective rose. "Listen kid. Enough of these games. Someone out there is looking for you and we're going to find out. So why don't you make this easy." Lani shrugged. "Who did you call last night?"

"I have the right to remain silent Detective Johnson," Lani said with a grin. He was having altogether too much fun toying with this man. And he hadn't even gotten to the good part yet.

"You know that because we caught you on the scene of a crime I can hold you here as long as I want, right? I don't have to set a bail." Lani frowned, he did not like being threatened. His partner better hurry up. "We couldn't match your fingerprints but we will eventually, and your face, someone out there knows you."

Lani shrugged.

"Listen. I don't want to be the bad guy here. You seem like a nice, if stupid kid. We can help you out. Send you to a correctional facility instead of jail. But you have to work with us."

Lani was about to say something when the lights went out. It was time to move. He felt the eerie sense of stopping time. He glanced at the man and took the handcuffs from his belt. He fixed them around the table leg and fastened the cuffs around the detective's hands. He laughed to himself and placed a folded note on the table. He headed for the door, paused, and turned back swiping the Boston PD coffee mug.

He took a sip from it as he walked along the halls, strolling unconcerned past officers and secretaries. He walked right out the front door and time resumed. People passed by him as if he was of no concern. He walked coolly down the steps and into a car parked on the side of the road. "Did you get it?" The Odion asked asked.

"Of course I got it." Lani smirked and took another gulp of coffee as they sped away.

~~~~~~~~~

Detective Eric Johnson had never been so frustrated in all of his life and when the lights went out he swore he was going to murder whoever let it happen. When the backup lights flashed on the kid was gone. Immediately he tried to move to send warning and he almost smacked his head into the table. He gaped for a moment at the cuffs. He had been dealing with a meta human this whole time. He cursed himself for his foolishness and maneuvered so he could fish out his key.

"Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed seeing his coffee mug absent, but a note left on the table. He quickly got his hands free, that kid was not going to see the last of him. Oh no. Eric would hunt this mystery man down if it was the last thing he did. No one humiliated Detective Johnson.

He snatched up the note, not sure what to expect. It could wait. He opened the door to the room and paced down the hall, no one reacted, no one seemed panicked at all, had this kid faded through the walls or something? Eric was starting to doubt his existence. He asked a few if they had seen anything, but besides the lights they hadn't. He now opened the note.

Thank you for your help. It was signed with a smiley face.

The detective nearly dropped it and swore creatively. The media had taken to calling Boston's most infamous thief the Shadow Thief. Apparently the thief loved the attention and left notes like this now and again, just like this, signed with a smile. He was mocking them. Letting them know just what he could do. Eric couldn't contain his anger and tore the note to shreds. He had had him! He was sitting right there! And he had let the most infamous thief of the age walk out the door! He growled and his fist impacted the wall. He had been played as a fool. This mystery man, this thief. He couldn't tell anyone who it was they had had. He couldn't bear the embarrassment of having the most wanted thief in Boston in his clutches and letting him walk away. No.

A small smile grew on his face. He knew this Shadow's face. He would never stop until he caught him. Detective Eric Johnson would go down in history as the man who caught the Shadow Thief.

[Damien Tremblay]

Into The Wild

“C’mon Dad, hurry up!” Carol raced ahead, her backpack bouncing against her back as she ran. Kieran wasn’t far behind her. They had lasted about ten seconds in the car before launching out of it and running to their campsite. Damien and Josef were slower about it, being that they had to do things like drag out the tents from the trunk.

“Guys, slow down.” Damien peered over the car to keep an eye on the twelve year olds. Both of them were clearly antsy to start the trip, but before any of that happened they needed to set up the camp.

“But we wanna go hiking! And catch fireflies! And swim in the lake!” Carol danced in place impatiently.

“Yes, and we can do all of that later, after we set up.” Carol stopped dancing long enough to give her father a petulant look.

“Fiiiiine,” she huffed when she realized that the pouty look wasn’t going to win her any favor, and dropped her backpack onto the ground. Josef had to hide a smile as she came around to yank one of the tents out and dragged it off to their spot. She was so stubborn, but she always seemed to listen to Damien. Considering how quiet Damien could be in day to day interactions, especially with new people, he’d been amazed at the control he could take with the twins. Well, with Carol. Kieran was usually fairly cooperative. Josef had suspected for a long time that their son acted a lot like Damien had when he was younger.

Which, of course, left Carol to act a little too much like he had as a child. His sister had called it karma. He’d ignored her.

While the twins started pulling apart the smaller tent, Josef grabbed the larger bag and slung it over his shoulder. “How did we get talked into this again?” As much as he liked to come across as tough, he didn’t like certain things. Chasing after the twins in the dirt, with bugs all around, was not his idea of a good weekend.

“Because the kids wanted to, and you can’t say no to them.” Josef smirked and shook his head.

“Remind me to work on that.” With that, the older man took the tent and headed to the site, ready to set up.

Pitching the tents didn’t take long, thankfully. The twins had been practicing setting them up for a few weeks in the backyard, trying to have campouts on the weekends. It had been unfailing that they had come running in shortly after dark. Carol usually blamed it on Kieran hearing noises and being scared, but both of their parents suspected that it wasn’t just Kieran getting nervous.

“DONE!” Carol threw her hands up in the air in triumph. Everything was in their tent and ready to go. Sleeping bags, pillows, and even the extra blanket their Daddy had made them pack, just in case it got cold at night. Kieran was already pulling their backpacks inside, clearly as ready as his sister to get the trip on the road.

Naturally, their parents were going too slow for either of their likings. Damien was ensuring the pegs were down far enough in the ground, and that the canvas didn’t have any little tears that would invite insects to spend the night with them. He was familiar with Josef’s opinion of bugs in general, and as such had ensured he’d packed enough bug spray to cover an army for a week.

To pass the time while their parents were busy being boring, Carol roped her brother into running around the campsite. They were old enough to stay close, and Carol was fairly sure if anyone tried anything she would be able to defend them. Not that anyone expected trouble. Before they’d even looked into booking a weekend at the campsite, Damien had done some digging to ensure they would have as few problems as possible. This particular park actually backed onto a small town, so they were even in walking distance to things like coffee for the morning.

Damien was fairly certain that Josef had approved of that part.

When they finally finished securing the tent (and had double checked the twins’), it was time to go collect the kids and let them explore the park. There were tons of trails within the park, some of which lead down to a crystal clear lake.

“HI DAD! HI DADDY!” Carol’s voice called out from above. Josef was the first to spot her, halfway up a sturdy tree. While he usually had a reputation for almost never saying no, things that could end in broken bones were a definite no.

“Carol, get down. Now.” It took a remarkable amount of self control to not climb up there after her. Carol just grinned.

“But I can see everything from up here!”

“I don’t care. Down, now.” Kieran, who had been trying to scale his way up to the first branch slid down wordlessly. Carol resisted for another moment, just to get under her parents’ skin before elegantly making her way down.

“I didn’t break my neck or anything,” she mumbled as she fell into step beside her Daddy, mostly to stay out of the way of her Dad’s wrath.

“You could have,” was all Josef said before following Damien. Not much unsettled him more than watching his kids do something that could result in injury. It had been enough of a heart attack to watch his daughter spar with some of the older students as she moved up in ranks at the clinic. At least that was somewhat controlled. Climbing trees could end in disaster, no matter how athletic she was.

At least the hike around the park was less eventful. Carol settled down enough to walk without running ahead every two minutes, and Kieran ended up on Josef’s back towards the end, his energy quickly waning. Not to be outdone by her brother, Carol had made a flying leap onto her Daddy’s back, nearly knocking Damien flat on his face.

Dinner was also uneventful. The twins had delighted in helping build the fire in the pit, and after having a sword fight with the hot dog sticks they’d settled beside their parents and quietly gotten to work with cooking.

It didn’t take long for the twins to start listing to the sides of their camping chairs. After several bouts of ‘But I’m not tired!’, they finally agreed to crawl into bed. The stars were out in full force, the whole park blanketed in darkness. Josef and Damien stayed up a little longer, watching the fire burn down to embers before turning in themselves. The twins were determined to go to the lake the next day, and Carol was bound to wake everyone up early to start the day.

Sure enough, she was the first one up. At least both twins had lasted the night in their own tent. Apparently they’d been more tired than they’d cared to let on. Damien woke to the sound of her unzipping the tent and crawling in beside him. “Are you awake, Daddy?” He rolled over, not worrying about waking Josef, and wrapped an arm around her.

“Yep. How long have you been awake?” Carol shrugged.

“Dunno. When can we go swimming?”

“After breakfast.” That was met with an expression that was nothing short of a tragic pout, which made Damien smile and reach up to try to card his fingers through her dark curls. “Want to walk over and get some things for it?”

“Can I wake Dad up when we get back?” Damien considered that before shrugging.

“Sure. If you can.” Carol beamed and scrambled back to her own tent to change for the day. Kieran and Josef were in no danger of waking up anytime soon. Not without help. They both slept like the dead.

When Carol re-emerged, she was dressed, but her hair was its’ usual rat’s nest. Damien gave her a pointed look. “Did you remember your hairbrush?” A guilty look passed over his daughter’s face.

“Uh. No.” Damien shook his head.

“Do you still have your elastic from yesterday?” She nodded and dove back into the tent to retrieve it before coming running back and offered it to him. Knowing exactly what was coming, Carol parked herself at the picnic table and let her father gently untangle what he could before looping her hair into a braid. “Better?”

“Lots better!” She beamed and twisted around to hug him before springing back up to her feet. “Can we go now?”

“Yes, we can.” Damien offered his hand out, more out of a desire to keep her close than a fear of her running off alone. Josef spent a lot of time with her at the clinic, which was fine with him, but it made moments like this that much more special. Damien glanced down at his daughter and smiled, squeezing her hand. Carol rolled her eyes, but squeezed back anyway.

They returned with coffee, hot chocolate, and a bag of muffins that Carol had insisted on carrying. She barely waited thirty seconds before dropping the bag on the table and plowing into her parents’ tent and jumping on Josef. “GOOD MORNING DAD!” The wake-up call involved lots of arm tugging and poking, which did nothing. It wasn’t until Carol finally frowned and announced that she was going to drink his coffee that Josef finally rolled over and trapped her until his arm.

“Coffee’s not for little girls,” he mumbled against his pillow, cracking one eye open to look at her. Carol just grinned and skittered backwards, clearly proud of herself for doing the impossible.

“Get uuuup! So we can swim!” With that, she ran out of the tent and went to pounce on her brother. He wasn’t as difficult as Josef, though he did swat at his sister in an attempt to make her go away. She only managed to make him get up by letting him chase her out, and proceeded to bribe him with a chocolate chip muffin. Josef joined Damien at the table, grateful for the coffee and the sugar boost for the morning.

“How early was she up?” Josef nodded to Carol, who was now playing keep away with Kieran.

“Seven, I think? We went for a walk around town before getting breakfast.” He grinned. “She made sure I ordered your coffee right.” Josef grinned and sipped at it.

“She likes coming with me in the mornings. I didn’t know she had it memorized.” He glanced over to where the twins were still racing around. “Someone should stop your kids before they hurt themselves. Or wake up half the park.” Damien rolled his eyes.

“Right. My kids.” Still, Josef had a point. “Carol! Stop teasing your brother and sit down.” The twins stopped running in circles and instead raced to the picnic table to scarf down their breakfast. It took Carol less than ten seconds after swallowing her last bite before she practically threw herself at her Dad.

“Noooooow can we go swimming?”

Josef really had to think about what age he’d learned the delicate art of patience. Whenever it had been, it wasn’t nearly soon enough. Now he knew how his mother had felt when he’d been Carol’s age.

[Jesse Adams]

Cops and Robbers

“Keeeeeith! Quit it!” Jesse flailed his arm in a vague effort to make his brother go away. The teenager just grinned and tugged on his little brother’s arm all the harder.

“Come on, let’s play!”

“Dad’ll get mad if he comes home.”

“Dad’s always mad. Let’s give him a reason to be pissed.” Keith grinned and dangled a pair of plastic handcuffs in front of him. “You love Cops and Robbers.” Jesse was starting to waver in his resistance. True, he liked playing. Their house and yard were perfect for those kinds of games. So what if they made noise and trampled through the house like elephants? That was what kids did.

“Fine, but if he yells at us , it was your idea.” Jesse was still of the age that their father in one of his moods still sent him running. Keith was more of the opinion that he could push back and get away with it.

Jesse had already seen what pushing back got you. He had no desire to be in that position. He just kept his head down, and listened to his father. It seemed to work okay.

With that in mind, he closed the textbook he’d been reading and got up to look at his brother. “Who’s the cop, who’s the robber?” Keith smirked and shook the handcuffs again.

“You be the robber. I’ll give you five minutes to run.” He dug in his pocket and held out the Zorro mask they’d used last Halloween. “Use that, you can be a real robber then.” Jesse grinned and slipped on the mask, tying it behind his head. This was going to be the best game ever. Besides, their parents were at some fancy party thing for their father’s office. Keith was supposed to be babysitting, but this was more fun.

Their little sister was entertained with a movie, where she’d hopefully stay during the game. When they played, they tended to get rowdy.

Without even needing a countdown, Jesse raced from the living room to the patio doors. Their garden was massive, and a perfect place to hide. Jesse knew every inch of it, though the small solar lights helped navigate in the dark. He figured if he made a lot of noise in getting outside, he could sneak around back into the house and go unnoticed. The house also offered good hiding spots, and he was sure he could beat Keith this time. ... He’d just have to buy Sasha’s silence if he slipped by her. Good thing she liked him better than Keith anyway.

The blond eleven year old looped around the garden, crouching beside a small fountain as he waited for his brother to join him. Sure enough, he saw the patio doors open and Keith come lumbering through them. He grinned and slunk lower. His plan was to sneak around through the back door and slip into a hiding spot. Keith would never know what hit him.

Instead, he heard a sharp victory cry. “You’ve gotta do better than that, Jess-Jess!” Jesse inhaled sharply and dashed away from Keith, his size giving him a small advantage. He got away and went back into the house, contemplating locking Keith out before deciding against it. Tempting as it was, it was also cheating. He left the door, ran by the entertainment room, and headed upstairs. Though he heard the patio door slam open and his brother’s thumping steps, he didn’t think much of it.

Not until the house was plunged into darkness. Sasha screamed, and Jesse stopped moving. There weren’t any storms, and he was pretty sure there were no planned blackouts...

Keith had to have gone into the electrical panel. The jerk. Still, Jesse couldn’t help but want to go down and comfort their sister. As far as he could tell, it was game over. Navigating in the dark was easy, because he’d done it hundreds of times before.

“Sash?” He tried to be quiet on the stairs, so as not to scare her. “Sash, it’s okay. Keith just turned out the lights.” He paused, listening more. “I’m coming to get you, okay? Then we’ll make him turn the lights on.” There were only a few feet left to go before he got to where she was. As long as he could make her feel safe, things would be okay.

He’d also kick Keith in the shin, but that would happen away from Sasha. Their father did enough in front of her involving violence. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was going to be anything like him. “Sasha?”

Jesse slipped into the entertainment room. He could hear her breathing, probably holding onto one of her giant plush animals for dear life. “Sasha, it’s okay. It’s Jess.” He tried to reach for her in the dark, and thought he felt her shoulder when she yelped at him.

“NO!” Something hard collided with the side of his head. Feeling around, he realized it was some sort of plastic brush thing.

“Sash, chill! It’s just me.”

Suddenly, the lights flickered back on, and there were thundering footsteps on the stairs. Sasha squealed and clung to her brother for dear life. “Is there a buggler in the house?” Jesse smiled and shook his head.

“No, I promise. It’s just Keith.” He held the five year old closer to him. “He’s being a jerk again.”

“CAUGHT YOU.” Keith let loose a laugh that was probably more suited to a Batman villain than a teenage boy. In one quick motion he had his brother in a headlock, and managed to twist his arms behind his back, locking them in place with the handcuffs. Jesse struggled against him, growling the whole time.

“LAY OFF, KEITH. It’s game over.”

“Nuh uh.” He grinned. “Did you like the light trick?”

“No. You scared Sasha, stupid.”

“You’re stupid. And caught. Good luck getting out of those.”

“They’re plastic, dumbass. It’s not hard.” Enough fidgeting and he’d eventually find the catch that would release them. Keith chuckled and shook his head.

“Not plastic. Metal.” Jesse scowled and twisted around to look at him.

“Where’d you get metal ones from?”

“I’m not telling you anything. You’re a busted robber and you’re gonna stay in them until I say so.” He smirked in an almost cruel way. “Maybe Dad can get you off. He likes defending criminals.”

“Shut up.” It was more of a hiss than anything else. “You’ll scare Sasha more.”

“She’s not scared.”

“She is too! Look at her.” Jesse sent a pointed gaze in their sister’s direction. Sasha just gave them both a pitiful look.

“Game over,” she repeated almost sadly.

“See? Get these off me.” Jesse shook his hands.

“Can’t. Don’t have the key.”

“What? WHY?”

“Lost it in the yard.” Keith was so casual about it. “Just wait ‘till Dad gets home. I’m sure he can get you out of them. Or knows someone who can.”

“Sonofa... Keith, I’m gonna kill you.”

“Then Dad’ll really have to get you off.”

“I said shut up.” Jesse huffed out his breath. “Look, put Sasha to bed. It’s way past her bedtime.”

“And yours.” Keith gave him a smug look. “Have fun getting in bed with those on.”

“I hate you.”

“Yeah, love you too, Jess-Jess.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Oh, Marion

The boy’s got a voice,
But the voice is his natural disguise.
Yes the boy’s got a voice,
But his words don’t connect to his eyes.

Unbelievable! “Unbelievable!” A thought echoed by a mutter.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

This is absurd! “This is absurd!”

If you want to complain, I’m happy to listen, but you’ll have to come out to the garage. I can’t do this in the house.

No confirmation followed.

However, a few minutes later, footsteps grew nearer. Another moment, and the door opened. Josh stepped inside, aggravation etched into his face. “You won’t believe it.”

Sean turned his head, offering his partner his full attention for a moment. “What happened?”

“In 2013, you would think that there would be more inclusion for other people.”

The telepath turned back around.

Bang. Bang.

Setting down his hammer, Sean gave the wooden construction a quick inspection. So far, so good. He set down the hammer and once again picked up the sandpaper that he’d previously used to polish his creation.

“What were you reading?”

“Reactions to the Boy Scouts lifting their ban on gay members. You’d think the world was coming to an end because a youth organization isn’t actively persecuting its youth members.”

“There’s also been a great deal of support,” the telepath reminded his partner. “Many people, including former scouts, have been critical of their homophobic exclusionary policies.”

The attorney shook his head, effectively waving off the older man’s point. “They still won’t allow gay troop leaders.” Josh threw his hands into the hair, causing the brush he held to clatter to the floor. “I don’t know how you could have ever belonged to such an intolerant group.”

“I was a child.” Sean set down the sandpaper, leaned over, and picked up the brush, setting it down on the side of his workbench. Stray brown bits of fur between the bristles informed him of what his partner had been doing immediately before coming downstairs. That explained the delay; in addition to the stairs, Josh would have had to usher Mopsy back into her cage, since there were too many wires about to let her run free without supervision.

“I don’t blame you,” Josh rushed to explain, not wanting the telepath to feel as though he was being personally critiqued. “Obviously, you didn’t have full say in the matter. But I just can’t reconcile their prejudices with...you.” He gestured at the telepath, trying to encompass all of the good he saw in his partner with one action, one substitute for words when language failed him.

“When I was in the Scouts, we went on camping trips and did community service,” the telepath informed the younger man.

“It was the 1960s in the suburbs and nobody ever discussed homosexuality. It didn’t even come up in Mass that often,” he added, resuming his sanding of the edges of his wooden construct. “The Stonewall Riots didn’t happen until after I’d manifested, and by that time, my family had far larger concerns than what any members of the LGBT community were doing down in the City.”

Josh didn’t want to debate Sean’s family; he didn’t want to debate his partner’s time with the Scouts. Instead, he wanted to fume about the obvious bigotry in the comments he’d read on the news blogs he followed. As such, he tried to refocus the conversation without much in the way of segue. “People are actually claiming that homophobia and bigotry are tenants of the Boy Scouts, and so that by allowing gay scouts, they’re undermining what the Boy Scouts stand for.”

“They’re wrong about that.” The telepath smoothed the edges of the construction, sanding along the rim with the finest grade paper he had. He glanced over his shoulder at his partner, “And if they aren’t wrong, then their version of Scouts is indefensible as an organization.”

Josh felt the same way. That was one of the reasons he liked venting to Sean – they were of the same mind about politics, social movements, and acceptance for other people. Heaving a sigh, the attorney asked, “Why can’t they be more like the Girl Scouts? They’ve been so inclusive.”

“Perhaps they’ll learn a few lessons from this.” Sean finished his sanding and set down the construct and his supplies. It would make a fine birdhouse when he was finished. “Speaking of the Girl Scouts, Allison Freedman came by to drop off our cookie order earlier this afternoon.”

“We have Taglongs and you didn’t tell me?”

“I’d mentioned we would get them any day now.” The telepath dusted off his hands and then extended one towards the younger man. “We can go break into a box. I put the Thin Mints in the freezer to chill them.”

“Even better.” The two men left the garage for the kitchen, Josh momentarily distracted by the promise of cookies. However, once they were upstairs, and the boxes had been retrieved, his mind turned back to the topic at hand.

“They should merge the groups but keep the cookies and the Girl Scouts’ sense of inclusion. It would be better for everyone.” The attorney eagerly tore open the box and popped a cookie into his mouth. Immediately, the tastes of chocolate and peanut butter blossomed on his tongue.

“That’s an idea. We already have co-ed scouting organizations.” Sean retrieved his coffee from earlier that afternoon and took a sip. Finding it ice cold, he stuck it in the microwave to warm for a few seconds. “Until then, all we can do is protest. We don’t have any boys to keep home from Scouts, so on that end, our hands are empty.”

Josh nodded in agreement, mouth too full to speak coherently. For the moment, he had better thoughts to occupy his mind than homophobic blog comments.