A Darkening Soul Ch. 14-19

"How did you..."

"My team has a way with computers and yours was ripe with information. One more chance to come clean before I invite Aria to go for a romantic drive in the forest. Oh and the twins, they go to Roosevelt elementary? Third grade, right? It's your call Harry."

"All right, please just leave my family alone."

"Tell me," I demanded through gritted teeth.

"It's all Dean Wright. That's what the 'D' stands for. The payments come from her. She came to us three years ago and I was given a monthly payoff to not let anything go public. If someone inquires about whatever havoc she is a part of, she gets rid of them. She advises me on who may be a threat and I just back her decision. She's already upset with me that I reinstated you, but I didn't know how to handle the lawyer."

"Who is this Dean Wright and what is she covering up?"

"I don't know. I swear, I'm not informed of anything. I just back her decisions."

"I can't trust you. If you blathered to me, I can only imagine how quick you'd cave to Dean Wright." I had him sit down while I thought. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. On Monday, you are going to hire a new Assistant Provost, Rachel Larson. You are then going to send Provost Wilson to handle some conflict at State University Maryville's campus, allowing her to run that post. Rachel will be my eyes and ears to you and the rest of the administration staff. You will do nothing without consultation. She will inform you of my orders and you will execute them promptly. Are we clear?"

"Yes." It came out in a low tone.

"Yes what?" My voice was stern and body was stoic.

Harold looked back up into my eyes and he knew what to say, as I was stalwart in front of him. "Yes Sir."

"Excellent." I glanced at my watch, 12:27pm. "Wow, it's getting kind of late for breakfast. Why don't we get some lunch ready? I'm sure those sale shoppers will be hungry when they arrive."

Aria bounded around the corner and looked at the two of us in a completely new light. The expression she gave me was one of marvel. I told her there would be a power shift and I just made it happen. I was in control of the office of the Presidency for State University. Now all I had to do was deal with the Dean and her minions, campus security. Her countenance for Harold was far grimmer. It was pure disdain. I'm glad Harold had his head down and didn't notice her facial expressions. Aria then mashed her body into mine and gave me a lover's kiss. Maybe the look for me was actually lust. She pulled away, panting. "I'll help with lunch."

Chapter 18: Cleaning House

My phone conversation with Rachel was short and to the point.

"Your Highness." That greeting is so much better than hello. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to take a leave of absence and become Assistant Provost at State University."

"For how long?"

"As long as necessary. You start Monday, My Child."

"I'll be there, Your Worship."

Come Monday morning, Aria and I met up with Emma and Lucy. After a not so quick reunion with my wife, which involved her giving me a manila envelope with everything I needed to know about Erin Richart, several kisses with a whole lot of tongue, Lucy informing me on the slow progress of her task, and a promise to meet for lunch, I headed for the administration building. I saw Rachel pacing near the entrance. She kept glancing all around and then at her cell phone as if she were debating on using it. I watched amused as I strode closer to her. Her head pivoted around again and her face perked up as her eyes caught me in their sight.

Rachel squealed an excited noise and ran toward me. It was a reaction I was not expecting. She always portrayed the stoic and authoritative principal. As she ran toward me, she reminded me more of one her freshman students; giggling and not caring as her briefcase flailed in every direction with each step she took. "It is so good to see you again," she hugged me.

I only let the shock settle upon me for but a second before smiling. "Likewise My Child," I gently rubbed her back as I spoke in a calm voice.

Rachel straightened her red suit and stood tall in her matching heels before we started walking. "What duties shall I fulfill for you, My Lord?"

"I need you to be my eyes and ears. You will be next to President Richards the entire time while extracting as much data as you can from Dean Wright. Neither should be trusted. I have made arrangements for the President to be cooperative. If anything appears out of the ordinary, contact me immediately. Specifically, if you notice a light green colored form that comes from the Dean's office." We stopped near the entrance of the building. "Forgive me for not escorting you any further. I do not wish to corrupt your cover. President Richards's office is on the top floor." I put my hands on her shoulders. "A great evil has befallen this once proud institution and I applaud your courage in coming here blindly at my request to help me curb such unwanted immoralities. Thank you."

I can tell she was doing her best not to cry at my words. "It is my honor and my duty to serve you, Your Highness."

Classes were loaded with information and mountains of homework was assigned as the professors all seemed to realize that they only had four weeks until Christmas break to get everything they wanted to accomplish done. Today was the first time I was personally happy Emma had access to the schools computer. I also took the time to delve into Erin's file. She was a senior on the Dean's list, was studying to become geologist, and had an internship this past summer with Green Earth, an environmental agency that tries to fertilize drought-affected areas. The more I read, the more I believed Erin Richart.

Three weeks passed and only one incident report crossed President Richard's desk. Rachel phoned me with the information, the girl was raped, but Rosa Martinez wasn't willing to tell us anything. I was of mixed emotions about the one incident in three weeks. I wondered how things were working in the office and decided I wanted to examine them myself. If we are missing something then it is my job to fix it. On my lunch break, I headed to the administration building. I didn't want to make this trip to many times, lest someone get suspicious, but I wanted to ensure Rachel was appropriately received and was settling into her new job efficiently. I intended for it to be a quick excursion before heading to The Roasted Bean. As soon as I entered President Richards's office, Rachel came charging toward me. She had a light green sheet of paper in her hands.

"Your Grace, does Lucy Wells, the student council president from two years ago attend school here?"

"Yes." A distraught look was on Rachel's face as she shoved the paper into my hands. It simply read:

'Lucy Wells will claim she was beaten up by a group of boys but campus security witnessed her falling down the stairs. Signed, Dean Victoria Wright.'

I dropped the paper, turned, and ran for the exit. My only focus was to find Lucy. I called her cell and it didn't even ring. The digitized voice said that the phone wasn't in service. I called Emma as I burst through the door leading outside.

"Emma, have you seen Lucy?"

"No, I just finished up in the library and was heading to the café. Hang on, there is something happening in the quad that has everyone riled up."

I sprinted to the quad and there was a crowd of people circling the fountain in the center. I pushed my way through the masses and froze. The fountain had a replica of 'The Thinker' by Auguste Rodin at its center. But what made me gasp was the woman secured to its back. Her arms were open and pulled wide. Rope was wrapped around her wrists and through the statues arms, binding her in place so tight that blood was seeping from her flesh. Her ankles were also secured together, but they hung loosely, allowing a gold chain with a gavel charm that was tied to them to dangle close to the water. She was crucified. Her clothes were tattered, not even covering her feminine areas, and her body was covered in a rainbow of black and blue marks with her face swelling to the point where one could not make out her features. But I knew it was Lucy. Her backpack hung around her neck with a poster board safety pinned to it that read:

I was second in a little brigade I was caught snooping, so I was remade An example am I to who I serve Step forward number one, if you have the nerve

I climbed the statue and whipped out a pocketknife. I glanced down and saw Emma and Aria in tears. Rather than tell them directly, I yelled to everyone, "Don't just watch! Someone call an ambulance!" I didn't want anyone to know they were with me, especially Emma. No way would I be able to handle seeing her like this. I began to sever the rope, being careful that I had a firm grasp of my friend to keep her from falling.

"Boss," Lucy mumbled, "get away, they're watching me."

"Like Hell I will. I'm getting you to a hospital." It came out more forceful than I intended. In a softer tone I added, "What kind of boss would I be if I didn't ensure your health? Besides, you are more than my second in command; you're family." It was faint, but Lucy smiled before she passed out.

I never realized how estranged Lucy and her parents were. I called them immediately. Upon hearing their only child was in the hospital with a broken jaw, two cracked ribs, and a concussion, they both responded with "they were too busy at work and would visit later." I knew things didn't go well when she came out to them about her sexual preferences, but this response baffled me. I also called Hilary. Her reaction also surprised me as she arrived in eight minutes, from twenty minutes away.

Emma, Aria, Hilary, and I spent the next two hours huddled in a small space next to Lucy. It cost a thousand dollars to the nurse to let the four of us stay in there. Money well spent.

When I first saw Lucy, I only wanted her to be safe and get better. Sitting in silence caused my worry to turn into anger. Every beep and sound coming from the machines was like a knife wrenching my stomach. My friend was suffering because of actions I took. I looked at my hands and felt they were stained. My mind raced to place blame. It found it three entities: Dean Wright, campus security, and that frat house. I wanted revenge. But Juvenal once said, "Revenge is sweeter than life itself. So thinks the fool." Should I forgive this atrocity and give up the fight? No. My need of revenge was fueling my hatred and my hatred grew tenfold. And according to Olive Moore, "Hatred is a passion requiring one hundred times the energy of love. Keep it for a cause, not an individual. Keep it for intolerance, injustice, stupidity. For hatred is the strength of the sensitive. Its power and its greatness depend on the selflessness of its use." I just need to keep my revenge in perspective to my cause. I knew what to do.

Lucy's eyes fluttered before slowly squinting open. Despite her great pain, she lifted her arm to the oxygen mask.

"No. Keep that on for now." I put my hand up to stop her.

Lucy shook her head slightly and cringed with pain, but still insisted the removal of that mask. I relented and did it for her. "Come closer." Her voice was just a whisper. I did and she continued. "You shouldn't have cut me down. Now they know who you are. I know how much anonymity means to you."

I stared blankly at her for a moment. "Lucy, you are family. And no one gets away with hurting my family. They know who I am... Good. Then they'll come for me and I will know who they are and exact my revenge."

A small smile pursed Lucy's lips, "But I know who they are. I finished the task you gave me. Erin's story checked out and I took a picture of the leader. The memory card is in the public mailbox on the corner of Wilshire and Cambridge near the dorms. I was running away when I threw it in there. Good thing because they destroyed my phone when they caught up to me." Her voice was giving out.

"Shh, we'll talk later."

"No. You need to hear this." I saw a fire Lucy's eyes.

"Okay." I nodded. Whatever she had to say, it was important to her.

"Some members of campus security are fraudulent. They wear the clothes, but work for the Dean. I apologize for not being able to figure out who they are. I was close, but..."

"Rest now, Lucy. You have done well and I have thought of the perfect reward for you. When you get out of here, you're moving out from under your parent's scrutiny and into my home. You can share a room with your lover without being looked down upon or have any consequences taken against you." I leaned back and allowed her to make eye contact with Hilary. They both had smiles and tears cascaded down their respective cheeks. "Now if you'll excuse us, there is a certain problem in which I must rectify." I placed her charm necklace in her hand and she clutched with an iron grip.

"Thank you for its safety," Lucy whispered.

I was surprised at how much that charm meant to her.

"Emma, Aria, time to go." I then put my hand to the side of Hilary's face. "I know you will take care of her, won't you Kitten."

Hilary's head shied downward, "Of course Master, and thank you for gift you have given us."

The three of us marched out of the hospital, Emma, looking as headstrong as ever on my left and Aria, though willing to let me lead had a hint of fear in her eye, was flanking my right. I whipped my phone out as I got in the passenger seat.

"Rachel, I need a complete list of names and pictures of our campus security and which ones are working right now. I need it emailed to me immediately. Have President Richards inform any on duty officer that they have a new head of security, Emma Harrison and they are to do as instructed by her."

"Yes, my Lord."

Within a minute, the desired information appeared in my inbox. There were fifteen at various locations on campus. Stewart Hatcher would be the first one we intercepted as he was at the main gate. We went to the mailbox first. I stood staring at the puzzle before me. The task seemed daunting since it was locked. I then remembered I had a master key.

I shook my head, "Pop the trunk." I walked to the trunk and grabbed my master key. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. I pounded my crowbar repeatedly until the side flared opened. I'm glad I have had practiced this with the whip on Hilary's ass. That was one hell of a workout. I used my key to pry it open the rest of the way and found the memory card. As we drove, I put the card into my phone. I scrolled through a myriad of pictures of Hilary, Emma, Lucy, and I before reaching a tall, toned blonde man in a green and white polo shirt with the Phi Delta Omega insignia on it. "Why does this guy look familiar to me?" I showed Emma and Aria the picture.

Aria shrugged her shoulders but Emma had the same expression I did.

We pulled up to the pillbox of the main gate. "Officer Hatcher," Emma held out her license. "Get your things."

The three of us parked close and the guard rushed over to us. "Ma'am."

"Officer Hatcher, do you know anything about the other security force claiming to be the same as you." I spoke with authority.

Hatcher folded his arms behind his back while glancing at Emma and she nodded for him to answer. "Yes Sir."

"Do you know what they do?"

"I have not witnessed anything but there are rumors that I believe are true."

"And why is that?"

"Because I heard them from Winslow." Hatcher's arms fell to his side and his face lightened in reverence at the mention of his name. "And he is a good man. Most of us are ex law enforcement, but he's a former detective."

I scrolled down the list of working officers and saw that Phillip Winslow was on duty. "I trust you have a radio."

I peeked up at the man and saw him clutch it defensively. "Sir, he has children. Please don't hurt him based on something I said."

"Oh, you think we're affiliated with that other group?" I chuckled. "No. We're making our own unit to take back this school from the assholes that corrupted it. What I want you to do is convene the other on duty officers so we can put a stop to everything Winslow saw."

Hatcher eagerly called into his radio. "Team, this is Hatcher. Just received word from the wife we can have a poker night at my house tonight."

I stood confused while Hatcher smiled broadly, "It was a code we devised. The fake force, well that's what we call them anyway, listen on our bandwidth. We were hoping a day like today would happen. They'll be here shortly. The only reason most of us didn't quit when the takeover happened is we all wanted to do some good. Try to protect the innocent when we can. But if we blatantly stood up in defiance, we would be fired."

"You men did the right thing by staying. Do you by chance have any extra weapons I can use?" Emma looked at me as if I just asked for a nuclear reactor for our home. I smiled.

"I can't give you a gun if that's what you mean, but I do have a set of handcuffs and an extra bottle of pepper spray."

"Perfect. And I didn't want a gun," I responded and Emma let out a deep sigh as Hatcher went back to his post to acquire my requests.

It didn't take long and soon fifteen men were standing in front of us, all smiles and I heard a few whispers of "It's finally happening."

"Winslow." A big, gruff older man took a step forward. "I hear you're a good man. This is Emma Harrison and Aria Richards. That's right, your new boss and the President's daughter. Guard them as if you were guarding your own children." He looked over at them and nodded.

"Men your job is to capture and quarantine the fake force. With them out of the way, the villains will not be protected and we will easily overrun them. Be discreet and take them out one at a time."

"But Sir, what about their leader? We don't even know who he is." A younger officer with the nametag Tim Hansen spoke up. "When he finds out what we..."

I held up my hand to stop him. "I am going to cut off the head of this faction. I know who she is. I just need two volunteers for the task." The younger officer, probably more out of curiosity, stepped forward along with a middle-aged man named George Weaver.

"Good. Now let's take back our campus."

I took a step before being stopped by Emma. She kissed me soft and slow before pulling away, "Good luck."

"You too," I smiled before turning. I advanced another step before Aria grabbed me and kissed me like a lover. I was more confused than anything. It was totally unexpected.

"I love you," Aria whispered.

Oh great, we're back to that again. "Aria, I explained this. I'm with..."

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" The word escaped my lips in a dazed way. "I thought you were protected. I warned you."

Aria smiled, "I know you're with Emma, but I need you too. If I can't have you, I wanted the next best thing."

My eyes must have been bugging out of my head, "And you thought right now, this very instant, was the best time to tell me that?"

"I wanted to let you know you have something else to fight for." Aria gave me another kiss, though it was only a peck. "Carpe diem."

I looked up and noticed everyone was staring. The officers thought I was the man, but Emma's look was of curiosity. It was obvious no one really heard what was said. I locked eyes with my wife, "We need to talk later."

I turned again and started walking, but this time no one stopped me and I had an officer flanking each of my sides. My destination, Dean Victoria Wright's office. I called Rachel to get Francine away from her desk. I didn't even want the nuisance of having to get by the dean's secretary. I paused at the doors and took a deep breath. I focused on Lucy and then the cause. After weeks of working and planning, it was coming to fruition. "I would like both of your handcuffs." The two men glanced at each other skeptically before complying. I stuffed them in the same pocket I did the other one that Hatcher gave me. "Thanks. Now wait here and don't let anyone through this door."