LeDroit and Coopshaw were getting done with their tire changing, Charlie noticed as he drove the patrol car slowly by LeDroit’s house again. He didn’t stop or say anything, but he was sure he was noticed because he could see the two getting madder and madder each time he went by.

As Police Chief, Charlie had more to do than just hassle a couple of young punks, but hassling them wasn’t a full time job and he’d learned a lot about LeDroit and his friends. He had more than enough to get LeDroit into court, but he wanted to make it a slam dunk when he did, and there was something missing somewhere, even though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Something that would not only bring a confession out of the arrogant young punk, but that would have him so cowed that he’d be happy to cop a guilty plea.

Charlie’s experience with bullies was that they tended to be very insecure, and that they dealt with that insecurity by dominating the people around them. They didn’t like being bullied very well and would go to great lengths to avoid it. In this case, Charlie would have to act the part of the bully, and LeDroit would be in the unfamiliar and uncomfortable position of not daring to hit back, much like his victims had been.

The day was winding down. Charlie had been on duty since nine, and he’d come in before that to check out what had been going on. His sergeant, essentially his second in command Fred Piwowar, would be coming on duty shortly, so he gave one more pass by LeDroit’s house and headed back to the station.

When he got back to the station, he found Piwowar already there, going through the log and reports from the weekend, just like Charlie had done eight hours before. “Hi, Chief,” Fred said when Charlie walked into the front door of the station. “Anything happening today?”

“Oh, not a whole lot,” Charlie told him. “It’s been pretty quiet now that the weekenders have gone back to work in Camden. I’ve spent a lot of the day off and on working on an assault from Friday night.”

“The Jahnke kid, right?”

“Yeah, that one,” Charlie confirmed. “It checks out right down the line, but I want to make sure I’ve got my ducks in a row before I move on it.”

“I can see why,” Piwowar nodded. “I can tell you that this LeDroit character has been a pain in the butt for a while. I hear things, you know, but somehow it’s never quite anything we can act on. You want me to do anything about him tonight?”

“No, not really,” Charlie said, then amended his thought. “On the other hand, when you’re out and around, take a swing by his house every now and then, 328 Division. Don’t do anything, just drive past real slow like you’re checking the place out. I want him to get the idea that we’re watching him.”

“Playing mind games with him, huh?” Steve smiled.

“You got it,” Charlie nodded. “I want to get him a little nervous, so maybe he’ll make things easy for us.”

“I can do that,” the sergeant replied. “You going to be at home tonight in case anything real comes up?”

“Yeah, as far as I know,” Charlie shrugged. “The wife is supposed to be making a pot roast, and that’s something I don’t want to miss. I’ll probably watch the Cubbies get their butts whipped after that.”

“That sounds like a better way to spend an evening than just driving around town with nothing much happening,” Piwowar replied.

“I’d rather have that than something real happening,” Charlie smiled. “In spite of everything, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

“Well, this is a surprise,” Jack’s father said after Jack and Vixen had gotten out of the Jeep and walked into the back yard. “You’re actually early. Not by much, but you’re early.”

“We aim to please,” Jack smiled. “Besides, we were getting hungry.”

“Did you see the bird that Howie said you were out looking for?”

“Got a glimpse, no better than that,” Jack told him. “But it’s another bird for Vixen’s life list.”

“Well, good,” Jim replied. “Now that you’re here, I can get going on the burgers. Vixen, how do you like yours?”

“Medium well,” she said. “I’m not one of these people who likes them raw.”

“At least you’re not a vegetarian,” Jim snickered. “I tried those soy burgers once and they really reek. I mean, why bother?”

“They are pretty bad, aren’t they?” she replied. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, not really,” Jim told her. “Barb might have something you could do, I don’t know.”

“I’ll go ask,” she offered, and headed toward the kitchen.

Jim watched her go, and both Eriksons took the moment to watch her climb the stairs to the porch, with Jack making mental compliments about the curve of her butt. He had no doubt that his father was reaching the same conclusions. “She’s quite a girl,” Jim said finally, after she had gone inside.

“Yeah, she is,” Jack agreed. “I know we haven’t been hanging out together long, but we sure seem to share a lot of interests and look at things about the same way.”

“This is getting serious, I take it?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” Jack replied, remembering their time together out at the pond an hour or so before, and how soft and sensual her bare body had felt. “I don’t know quite how serious just yet. I know it’s not going to get so serious that I won’t go to college, because I won’t let it. But it’s a lot of fun to have a girlfriend to hang around with right now.”

Jack’s father shook his head. “It just seems strange, that’s all,” he said. “Both you and Howie went what seems like forever without any interest in girls. Now, all of a sudden, bang, and you’ve both got girlfriends hanging around all the time.”

“I don’t think that’s quite true,” Jack protested. “I don’t think Howie and Misty are boyfriend-girlfriend just yet. They’re just buddies who like to play Nintendo.”

“Yeah, and how long do you think that’s going to last?” Jim snorted. “Howie may not have been at his best last evening, but I can tell you that he knew how tiny that bikini she had on was. I can damn sure tell you, mostly because she’d been waving it around in front of me all afternoon.”

Jack shook his head. “It works a little differently for girls that age,” he commented. “They’re still exploring their sexuality and don’t quite have an idea of how powerful it is.”

“And you’re an expert?” Jack’s dad snorted.

“No, I’m a teenage boy, and I can tell you just how powerful it is,” he laughed. “I’ve watched girls grow into it for years, and sometimes the damnedest things can happen. Hell, I never really expected to have a girlfriend in high school, and all of a sudden it just happened to me, not that I’m complaining.”

“Well, you seem to have found a pretty decent one,” Jim said. “It surprises me that she’s out birding with you every time I turn around.”

“Frankly it surprises me, too,” Jack told him. “She really seems to be getting into the birding for its own sake, not just because she wants to hang around with me.”

“That’s nice,” Jim replied. “That’s something you want to keep thinking about, or otherwise the day is going to come when she’s got your ring on her finger and really got her hooks into you, and then she could lay down the law. That’s why I had to quit riding motorcycles, after all.”

“I know,” Jack said. “That’s why I’m keeping my eyes open. If I have anything to say about it, it may be a long time before I let things get that serious.”

“You think,” Jim snorted. “She may not be thinking the same thing.”

For the second night in a row, Jack wound up taking Misty home. This time, it was a little more complicated, as he also was taking Vixen home, and Howie wanted to come along for the ride. Since Misty’s bike was also involved that meant that the two younger kids had to share the back seat with the bike, not that it slowed them down very much. Jack could look in the rear view mirror and see that the two of them were snuggled closely together, and there was quite a bit of hand roaming and face sucking going on. Well, so much for the “just buddies” theory, he thought.

He turned to Vixen, winked and cocked his head briefly toward the back seat. She got the idea and turned to sneak a glance of Howie and Misty busily making out behind them. She gave Jack a big smile, but said nothing, apparently content like he was to let the kids think that they weren’t watching.

It seemed best to get Misty home first, so Jack drove across town to her house. He came to a stop, put the Jeep in neutral and set the parking brake, but it didn’t seem to have any real effect on the making out going on in the back seat. Finally, he had to speak up: “Hey, kids, we’re here.”

“Huh?” Howie said, obviously a little perturbed at being interrupted with what he was doing. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He turned to Misty and asked, “You want to do it again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure,” Misty smiled. “We had a lot of fun today, Howie. Maybe I’ll bring my swimsuit and we can try going down to the lake.”

“That would be fun,” he agreed. “I mean, if we think we can do it without tangling with Frenchy.”

“We don’t have to go down to the public beach,” she said. “I know someone down in Hannegan’s Cove where we could go, maybe.”

“That would work,” Howie agreed. “And I can think of running paths and like that where we wouldn’t have to get out on the streets. That could really work, Misty.”

“I still don’t think we want to hang around my house,” she replied. “But I’ll know more tomorrow. Why don’t you call me after you’ve gotten up and around? That way I don’t have to wake you up like I did this morning.”

“Sounds like it’ll work,” he replied.

“Misty, Howie,” Jack spoke up, anxious to be on his way. “I think I’ll get out so you guys can hand the bike to me.”

“Oh, yeah, that’ll work,” she said. “Thanks for the lift, Jack.”

In a minute or two the bike was on the ground, with both Misty and Howie standing beside it. Jack got into the Jeep, where he and Vixen watched as unobtrusively as possible as the two kids got into a tight embrace and a long kiss. She leaned over to him and whispered, “That must have been some sexy Nintendo game they were playing.”

“Looks like it to me,” Jack whispered back. “More drama around the Erikson household.”

“For sure,” she grinned. “I can’t blame either of them a darn bit, though.”

Just to drag things out, Howie walked up to the garage with Misty as she pushed her bike. There was another brief kiss by the garage door, and of course both Jack and Vixen noticed it. “Wow,” Vixen grinned and said in a low voice, “I think they’ve got it bad.”

“Looks like it to me,” Jack grinned. “Ah, well, another tumultuous high school sophomore romance.”

“We’ve seen some of that, haven’t we?” Vixen giggled. “I have to say that I prefer the more mature high school senior romance.”

Both of them quieted down as Howie came walking back to the Jeep and swung over the side into the back. Jack thought about saying something to tease his younger brother, but realized that there wasn’t anything much that he could say that wouldn’t get handed back to him in spades, so without comment he started the Jeep and headed for Vixen’s house. He found himself wishing that he didn’t have Howie in the back seat so that he and Vixen could do a little making out of their own, but realized that it might not be a good idea. Oh, well, there was always another time.

It was only three or four minutes to get to Vixen’s. Jack pulled into the driveway like he’d done before and stopped. Vixen undid her seat belt, and leaned over for a goodnight kiss. It wasn’t a real long one, not as long as either of them would have liked, but it filled the bill. “Sleep tight,” she said as they broke the kiss.

“Yeah, you too,” he said. “Good luck tomorrow. Give me a call when you get back and we’ll find some place to go birding.”

“Yeah, or maybe like you said we should work on my notes and database, at least during the heat of the day,” she suggested. “Maybe we can do both. We’ll work it out in the morning.”

“Fine by me, whatever works,” he agreed. “Whichever way, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Looking forward to it,” she grinned, then gave him another quick kiss and stepped out of the Jeep.

Jack sat there and watched as she went into the house, while Howie climbed over the seat and got into the front. Once he got strapped in, Jack started the Jeep again and backed out into the street, then headed home.

Howie was quiet for a moment, then spoke up, “You’re getting along pretty good with her, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “So good it surprises me a little. You don’t seem to be doing so bad yourself.”

“Shit,” Howie said, “this came along so fast I don’t know what hit me. Misty is real nice, we have a lot of fun, but it scares me a little. She’s, uh, well, kind of forward, if you know what I mean.”

“Yep, I know exactly what you mean,” Jack said. “Hell, Vixen and I have only been hanging out since Friday and it seems like it’s been months. I really like her and so far it’s been working out well, but shit just keeps happening. I figure about all I can do is hang on the best I can and enjoy the ride. So far, the ride has been pretty good.”

“Yeah, that’s about where I am with Misty,” Howie replied. “I don’t know where we’re going either. Maybe nowhere in the long run. I keep thinking that next week she’s going to find someone else and I’m going to be left out in the cold. I guess about all I can do is enjoy it while it lasts and hope it lasts for a while.”

“I don’t see Vixen finding someone next week,” Jack said. “But other than that, I guess I’m about the same way. It’s nice to have a girlfriend, even for a little while, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Howie agreed. “Mike called this morning, and wanted to hang out, but I blew him off so I could spend the day with Misty. It was a lot better day than anything I could have wound up doing with Mike.”

“Yeah, I had a lot of fun with Vixen, too,” Jack said, reflecting that a lot of things had happened that day, many of which he hadn’t even come close to expecting. It had been an eventful day indeed.

They didn’t talk much until Jack pulled the Jeep into the driveway at home and shut it off. Howie unbuckled and started to get out, but Jack put out a hand to restrain him. “Let’s stay here for a minute,” he said to his brother. “There’s a couple things I want to talk to you about.”

“What?” Howie asked, a little suspiciously.

“Look,” Jack said. “I know you and I haven’t always gotten along as well as we should have, but I guess that’s just being brothers. Just remember, Howie, the bottom line is that I’m on your side. This girlfriend business is new to both you and me, and maybe if we cooperate and work together a little it’ll go better for both of us.”

“You mean like keeping it from the folks?” Howie asked with a frown.

“That might be a part of it,” Jack said. “But I’ll tell you this. They know more than they’ll let on, and they’ll suspect more than that. As long as you’re reasonably open with them, they’ll be on your side, too. You don’t have to tell them everything you’re doing, but hold down on the bullshit, all right?”

“Yeah,” Howie said, “I suppose you’re right. I can’t help but think that there’s things that I really don’t want them to know.”

“Right, and I have a few of those, too,” Jack said. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but have you been thinking about fucking Misty?”

“Christ, how could I not be thinking about that?” Howie snorted. “Shit, she’s all over me half the time, and I get so hard I’m afraid I’m going to bust my pants.”

“I know exactly how that works,” Jack smiled. “Believe me, Vixen does it to me all the time, as well. You might as well know that we’re not fucking yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to happen sooner or later.”

“I’d like to think it is going to happen with Misty,” Howie shook his head, “but she’s made it pretty clear that while we can fool around some, it’s going to be a while if it ever happens at all.”

“I’m not going to tell you not to do it,” Jack said. “I will just say, don’t run the risk of getting her pregnant. You’re not ready for that, just like Vixen and I aren’t ready for that.”

“Yeah, that would be a bummer.”

“Damn straight, and it would fuck up both your lives more than you want to know,” Jack told him. “Now, if you’re embarrassed about going into a store and getting some rubbers, I’ll understand. At your age I would have been embarrassed about it myself. But if you want, I’ll keep you supplied, and I won’t even charge you for them.”

“Thanks, Jack,” Howie said sincerely. “If the time comes I’ll make it up to you. But like I said, I don’t think it’s going to happen for a while. But I could be wrong. Things have happened awful quickly in the last couple of days.”

“No shit,” Jack nodded. “This time last week I would never have dreamed of some of the stuff that’s happened to me just today.”

“Hell,” Howie snorted. “This time Saturday I would have never dreamed that I would have been making out with Misty Frankovich tonight. I mean, not that I mind, but son of a bitch, that was quick. I almost think I ought to thank Frenchy for setting me up with her.” He stopped and took a deep breath. “Look, I know you haven’t told me that you tangled with him over me this morning, but thanks for doing it. That guy is really a pain in the ass, and I hate having to be ducking him all the time.”

“Me, too,” Jack said. “It really is cramping my style. At least Vixen and I can go hide out in the woods birding some of the time, so that helps. But you never know when that son of a bitch is going to come out of the woodwork with his buddies and really fuck things up.”

“No shit,” Howie agreed. “He doesn’t care who he beats up, so long as they’re smaller than him or he and his buddies have them outnumbered.”

“That’s Frenchy all over,” Jack nodded. He was silent for a moment, then added, “Look, Howie, I’m afraid that problem isn’t going to go away for a while. I mean, I hope it does but I’m not holding my breath. I want to give you something that may help if you get in a tight spot with him. It may not help, and if you use it you could just make things worse, but it might keep you from being beat up once.”

“What, a gun?” Howie said, eyes wide.

“No, afraid not,” Jack sighed. “I don’t have to tell you about Cody Archer. A gun solved that problem but it created a bunch of others. It may come down to that with Frenchy, but if it does I sure hope that it’s someone else that has the followup problems.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Howie nodded. “That doesn’t mean the son of a bitch doesn’t deserve shooting.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, although I hope we aren’t the ones forced to do it,” Jack shook his head, then reached down, and opened the box between the seats of the Jeep. He fumbled around in it for a minute, then pulled out a small spray can and handed it to Howie.

“What’s this?” Howie asked in curiosity. It was dark enough in the driveway that he couldn’t get a really good look at it.

“Bear spray,” Jack told him. “It’s kind of like Mace, but more powerful. Get yourself a fanny pack or something and have it with you whenever you go out. Don’t even think about taking it to school though, or they’ll have your ass bounced out of there so quick it wouldn’t be funny.”

“Yeah, no shit. I can imagine. Does this stuff really work?”

“I’m told it works on bears, so it should work on Frenchy,” Jack told him. “But don’t use it unless you absolutely have to, there’s no other choice. Then if you do have to use it, aim for the face, especially the eyes, and it should bring things to a dead stop. Don’t get it on yourself. The problem with using it is that while it’ll work once, what’ll happen when Frenchy sees you the next time? Remember, I said you can’t take it to school with you.”

“Uh, yeah,” Howie replied thoughtfully. “I guess I see what you mean. That would suck, wouldn’t it?”

“Damn right it would,” Jack agreed. “I would guess that Frenchy would hit new levels of being pissed off. Now, along with that, it’s probably best that if you have to use it that it comes as a surprise. I don’t think Mom or Dad would be real happy about you having it, and I’d really suggest that you don’t tell Misty. She seems to be a nice girl, but Vixen tells me that she’s a gossip, so I’d imagine the details of how well you kiss are all over town by now.”

“She doesn’t have to know,” Howie agreed. “Jack, thanks for giving me this. You’ve got one for yourself, don’t you?”

“I have one, Vixen has one, you have one, and I’m going to give one to Alan Jahnke the next time I see him. Four is all I could get, and I hope we don’t have to use any of them, because if we do I think the next step is going to be a gun, and that puts somebody at risk of doing jail time.”

“Yeah, I’d just as soon avoid that,” Howie nodded, then brightened. “Hey, you really think that Misty is spreading how well I kiss all over town? ”

“I don’t know,” Jack grinned. “What I know comes from Vixen, but she says it’s probably likely.”

“Well, it could be worse,” Howie laughed. “If it doesn’t work out with Misty, maybe a good rep will make finding the next one easier.”

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