You Don't Pull On Superman's Cape

"Mr. Moore, this court orders you to resume the court ordered visitation rights of your ex-wife commencing today. You will deliver Linda to her mother today or face contempt charges. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Honor, I understand," is all I told her.

I left court and got with Carl and told him what was more than likely going to happen.

"It's going to be up to you to keep my baby running smooth. Do what you have to. Here is my power of attorney so you'll be able to legally sign my name for anything you need. I don't know how long this is going to take, but I have faith in your ability to do the right thing." From there I went home, poured myself a stiff drink and waited.

My phone kept ringing off the wall. I knew who it was so I just let it ring. When Shelia showed up at the house with a police officer, I just opened up the door, let her in and went back to my drink.

"Steve, where is she?"

"Where is who?" I said playing the game.

"You know who. Where is Linda?"

"You mean she's not upstairs? Well, then she must be at one of her friends' houses; you know she has a lot of friends."

"You were supposed to deliver her to me this morning and if you don't produce her, this man is going to take you to jail." She said puffing out her chest.

"You really are a stupid woman, do you know that? Do you think I would knowingly put Linda in harms way for you or anyone else? I guess you never really knew me very well." I smiled at her and continued, "As I said, she's probably over at her friend's house." My smiling at her made her even angrier.

I was put into custody and taken downtown and put into a holding cell. The following morning I was brought before the Judge Thomas and told to produce my daughter. My lawyer, Victoria, did her best but the judge only wanted to hear one thing out of me, the location of my daughter.

"Your Honor, I am not exactly sure where my daughter is," I told the judge.

"Well Mr. Moore, maybe a few nights in a holding cell will refresh your memory. Mr. Steven Moore, I find you in contempt of court. You are to be held in custody until such time you reveal the location of your daughter, Linda Moore, and allow Shelia Moore her court ordered visitation rights." That's the way it all started.

"After four months Shelia wanted to meet with me. I refused the first couple of times but then curiosity got the better of me.

"You're looking a little thin," she said as we sat down at a plain wooden visitors table.

"Just getting rid of the excess weight I've been carrying around for the past few years."

"Steve, I don't want to do this, but I want to see my daughter."

"She told you what was happening, I warned you but you just wouldn't listen and now we have both lost what we valued most."

"I've changed my petition to court supervised visitation didn't they tell you?"

"I heard, but I don't believe you anymore. You've gotten good at lying, remember?"

"Steve that's old news, we have to move on. We're no longer married."

"Your fault not mine."

"Does it matter whose fault it was?"

"It does to me. I never cheated on you during our entire marriage. You certainly can't say that, can you?"

"It was only that one time, you have to believe that. And that was only after that big fight we had before I left."

"So, I guess you thought to yourself I'll show that son of a bitch and I'll spend two days with Ken in bed. You played right into his hands."

"Don't you think I know that now? If I told you I was drunk and don't even remember it, would that have made a difference? Your man had those ugly pictures and all I had was a cloudy memory. I can say I'm sorry until hell freezes over and you're never going to forgive me so what's the point?"

"The point is; I'm not going to let that fuck head of a son of Ken's anywhere near our daughter. You might not think it's a big deal, but I happen to. I don't trust you anymore because even though I gave you a free pass and an out, you still lied to me and now you're going to have to live with that decision for the rest of your life. One more thing, you know those shots of you and Ken? If they somehow got on the internet, how effective would your fundraising be after that? I guess maybe for a roll in the hay they might give you a couple of bucks but what self respecting CEO is going to give money to someone like that?"

"You wouldn't?"

"I didn't say I would, because I'm in jail where you put me. But if some mean cocksucker wanted to get revenge on you, I couldn't stop him. Can you imagine the look on your mother's face if someone e-mailed them to your home or how about the church they attend? With them dated the way they are, everyone could easily see you were engaging in sex with someone other than your husband while you were still married."

"You hate me that much?"

"You don't have a clue to the lengths I would go to protect our daughter. I think we know were we each stand. Besides, you're going to need to be there to support your new man when his world comes crashing down on him."

"Steve, what are you up to?"

"What can I be up to? I'm in jail, remember?"

A month later Carl came to see me with his usual update.

"Steve, I've secured everything you requested. It's all been checked out and everything is fully documented. We've got not one but two pieces, if you know what I mean. I'm ready to move on it. All you have to do is just say the word."

"Carl, I need you to do me a big favor today." I explained to him what I needed.

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope. Do what I've asked and then come back Thursday to see me. I'll let you know how to proceed then."

I slept great Tuesday night. I would have slept through breakfast if the guard hadn't told me I had a visitor.

"Good morning, Ken," I said with a huge smile on my face. "I assume it's a beautiful day outside even though I haven't had the chance to see it in a while."

"Cut the crap, Steve. Your man said that you had something important you wanted to say to me. I'm here, talk; you've got five minutes."

"Ken, I know Shelia is living with you right now." That brought a contemptuous smile to his ugly face.

"Not only living with me, fucking me every night, too," he snickered.

"Just stick to the plan," I said to myself. "Be that as it may, I want you to kick her out of your place today and sign a written agreement that you will never see or speak to her again. Is that understood?"

"What are you fucking nuts? And why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't I'm going to turn the hounds of hell loose on you, and my friend, you won't like that, believe me."

"You stupid wimp, I took your woman and now you're threatening me from in here? You're pitiful at best. If that's the best you can do, I'll be leaving now. Just to let you know, I plan on fucking the shit out of Shelia tonight and maybe when I'm done I'll let my son have a piece of her. He never got the chance to take your daughter, but I guess her mother is the next best thing. It was so easy to get Sheila in bed with me. Three drinks with a little something extra in each and she was mine for the taking. Do you know she cried over you for almost four days straight? She thought all the way up to when the divorce became final that you would change your mine and take her back; your loss. But now a few drops of my special elixir in her drink every once in a while and she is mine to do anything with. And don't try to blackmail me with those stupid pictures. I set up a camera that first night and have it all on a DVD. Maybe I'll send you a copy if you're nice," he stood up to leave. "Don't worry, I'll show myself out."

I wanted to kill him and his son with my bare hands but I had to bait him into telling me what really happened. I felt sick to my stomach letting him walk out that door but I knew I would have the final laugh.

"Well, boss, what do you want me to do?" Carl said looking around.

"Carl, do you know what you do with a cockroach if you find one? You crush it under your foot. I told Ken I was going to release the hounds of hell and he laughed at me; do it and do it today." I gave him one more set of instructions and I didn't even care if it was recorded on the jail monitors.

Two days later Collins Manufacturing Company came under investigation for falsifying its testing data. It seemed about thirty percent of the parts weren't even inspected and that the testing that had been done was in most cases falsified. Out of specification parts were stamped approved, shipped and the military billed. An ex-employee had come forward stating that he couldn't live with himself any longer knowing that the parts going into military planes were not produced to the specifications outlined in their orders. A government spokesman said that all open orders had been put on hold and all assets of Collins Manufacturing had been frozen pending further investigation.

"I guess that former employee will sleep a lot better tonight, in his new place, knowing he'd done the right thing in exposing a potentially fatal situation with his prior company." I was feeling pretty good about now even though I was still in jail.

Collins Manufacturing stock fell like a rock. Ken's face was all over the news for the next few weeks and criminal charges were now pending. On a side note, a video of Ken Collins was given to the District Attorney yesterday. The video showed Ken admitting to an inmate, being held in the county jail, that he slipped a date rape drug into an unknown woman's drink and forced himself on her not once but many times. At this time no woman has come forward to substantiate these charges but the case is still pending.

About a week weeks later, I was brought up again before Judge Thomas again.

"Mr. Stephen Moore, you are free to go. Your ex-wife has withdrawn all charges against you and has asked the court that you be released. I'm not sure what game you've been playing with this court, but I highly recommended that you do not find yourself in front of my bench again. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Your Honor," I replied.

"Case dismissed," she said hitting the gavel on her bench. " Bailiff call the next case, please. And with that it was finally over.

"Well Steve, you're a free man," Vicki told me. "I hope you can go back to your normal life now that this is all behind you?"

"Vicki, nothing will ever be normal again after what has happened to me in the last nine months. I only hope all those responsible are getting their just desserts." I walked out of the courthouse, and Carl picked me up outside.

"How does it feel to be finally free?"

"Wonderful, simply wonderful."

"I did what you asked and your father's flight is due in at ten o'clock tonight. He will be ushered through customs so no one will know Linda is back in the country."

"No need for that any more. Anyone who was a problem is either behind bars or soon will be. Take me to the nearest bar, I need a cold beer and I'm not waiting until I get home."

Carl and I hit the first bar we came across. After a Miller Lite and a Corona we hit a Longhorn Steak House and I had my first decent meal in almost six months.

"You look the best I've ever seen, boss. You've slimmed down and don't have that little bulge around your middle anymore."

"You do two hundred sit-ups and a hundred pushups twice a day and you'd lose that middle also."

"I suppose Burger King for lunch every day is out from now on." I laughed and ate my last bite of steak.

"You know Shelia has been staying at the house for the last couple of weeks. When I told her about Ken and his son she freaked. I had to have someone stay with her for the first two days until she settled down, she's still a mess. She wants to know if you're going to talk to her. I said that you'd see her later tonight. I guess I kind of forgot to tell her about Linda and your dad coming in tonight."

I had thought about her and Linda almost every waking hour for the last few months. I knew I'd have to address it sooner or later but I had other things to think about, my daughter was coming home.

Linda saw me and ran into my arms almost breaking my neck hugging me so tightly.

"Dad, I missed you so much. Am I going to have to leave again?" she said with more than an anxious look in her eye.

"Never again sweetheart, never again, let's go home."

My dad had walked up with a tall blonde and was standing behind us. He shook my hand and then hugged me.

"You look a little thinner; I think jail agreed with you," he said with that damn smile of his. "Steve, this is Grace." She held out her hand. I took it and told her I was happy to make her acquaintance but felt we should get moving.

All the way home dad told me about where they'd been and how he moved every few weeks just to make sure it would be harder for anyone to find them.

"When this is all over, I'd like to go back with Grace and really see some of the places we found," he said looking at her. My dad was in love.

Carl dropped us all off at my house and I told Linda that her mom was waiting for her inside. She ran up into the house. I walked in slowly with my dad and Grace. When I went through the door I saw Linda and Shelia crying and hugging one other. Shelia looked up at me and mouthed, "thank you," I just nodded and walked upstairs.

For two hours everyone gave me updates but at last I could see everyone's eyes were starting to glaze over. It was time to call it a night. Linda had her room, Shelia had hers and I had my old bedroom. Dad said he'd see me in a couple of days and walked out with Grace.

"Steve, we need to talk," Shelia tried to say but I told her there would be time later.

I took a long hot shower in my own bathroom and went to sleep in my own big soft bed; it was heaven. It took me a long time to fall asleep. I had become use to all the nighttime noises from the jail and it was almost too quiet in my bedroom.

I don't know if Carl or Shelia stocked the refrigerator but at seven o'clock the next morning I was just happy to have real food for breakfast. Shelia made her way down just after eight wearing the white robe I'd given her years ago.

"You make coffee yet?"

"A whole pot, help yourself," I said grabbing my second cup.

"Carl called me the day before you met with Ken at the jail. He told me everything and said it would be in my best interests not to even go back to his house to get my clothes. He's kept me updated on what went down and the fact that Ken was far worse than I could ever have imagined."

"Shelia, we don't have to talk about this right now," I tried to say but she cut me off.

"Steve, if I had this talk with you months ago none of this would have happened, but we didn't and it did. I'm not even going to try and say I'm sorry because those words don't even come close to making up for what I did to you and Linda through my stupidity. Just please don't take my girl away from me any more; I couldn't live without her again." The tears were now flowing and the hate I'd felt was long gone, but she was no longer my wife.

"Shelia, you can stay here as long as you want, I don't plan on kicking you out. Carl is picking up your clothes at Ken's house tomorrow. You're the least of his problems now," I said with a huge grin on my face. "We are no longer married and never will be again. You picked him over me and over Linda's safety and I'll never be able to forgive you for that." She started crying even more. "For the sake of our daughter, you can stay here as long as you want. You have your bedroom and I will have mine. Right now Linda needs the both of us to get her back to reality, not two people pulling her in two different directions. So, if you're agreeable that's how it will work, at least for now. My one request is that you will bring no men friends or lovers into my house; is that understood?" She nodded her head but I could tell she was a beaten woman. She'd lost it all through her own naive misguidedness and she knew it.

It has been four months since Linda got back; Life is almost like it was before everything spun out of control. Dad married Grace in a small family ceremony and they're somewhere in Mexico sightseeing. I asked where he was going and he just smiled at me. I told him to call me if he ran out of money. My business is doing better than ever and when I was exonerated in the newspapers and all those asshole companies that slammed me started crawling back. I wanted to put this whole mess behind me so I didn't gouge them, well not too much anyway.

Ken lost everything and is facing a slew of charges, Shelia is charging him with rape and he is probably going to spend twenty plus years behind bars, as the white bitch of someone named Bubba; I hope so anyway. His ex-wife called and said she knew he was scum and hoped that we could rebuild our lives. We have lunch once in a while and she really is a remarkable woman who I'd like to get know better someday.

Shelia is still at the house. She doesn't date. She is working part time at the lab again while Linda is in school. I pay her like I would any other employee but I make sure I contribute the maximum amount to her 401K every month. Are we an item, not really and like her I don't have time to date or even have the inkling to right now.

About two and a half months after I was back home, she came into my bedroom one night and we had sex. It wasn't lovemaking; more just two people taking care of a need that was long overdue. It has happened a few times since that night and outside the bedroom it's never brought up.

Are we back together, no way no how. I still don't trust her and I don't know if I ever will again. But Linda has more than a few years left until she graduates high school and I don't plan on kicking Shelia out until at least then. That is, unless I find a smart, good-looking woman I can trust and feel comfortable with. If I've learned anything these past few years, anything can happen when you let your guard down.