Chapter 26: Parental Disapproval

The rest of the night was not very exciting. Lenore was inside the restaurant for at least ten minutes. We sat quietly while we listened to the cries of anger coming from within the restaurant. The patio was not an exit, so we saw no other customers except the two women who had collapsed out on the patio shortly after the barrier had been removed. What we could hear made it clear that several married women had tried unsuccessfully to be picked up, and their husbands were not pleased.

Lenore staggered out when she finally brought the check. She had an exhausted smile on her face. Beatrice held her hand as Morgan pulled several bills from his wallet and placed it in the small folder used to bring the check. He firmly told Lenore that the extra was a tip for her and not to worry.

Once Lenore returned inside, we took a few minutes to clear the table and stack the few remaining plates before we exited by the outside path. The small podium outside the door was unattended, and a small handwritten sign told people to step inside and wait by the door.

Ashley and I waved at the doorway as we left. Kelsey giggled, but then jumped onto my back and demanded a ride as we headed to Beatrice's minivan.

"I can't believe you will have another girl before I can join," Kelsey said with a slight pout.

"We didn't plan it," Ashley said. "But do you think she won't work out?"

Kelsey pouted a bit more. "I think she will work out, which is worse. You'll forget all about me, and then the day before I test you'll stumble on a pickup and be gone, leaving me all alone on Earth to pine away forever over what might have been."

"Never happen," I promised. "Kelsey we have to wait for you. We promised you that we would be here for you, and it would not be right to break that promise."

"But you came so close to being picked up tonight," Kelsey said with a wail.

I sighed. "Then we talk to your parents and..."

"What?" Ashley asked.

"We'd have to see if it's allowed, the announcement only said that children under fourteen could be taken along as dependents. What we'd need to see is if we could make Kelsey a conditional dependent, so that if she's with us, and I get picked up before she turns fourteen, I can bring her along," I said.

"You'd do that?" Ashley asked.

I shrugged. "It will give Kelsey peace of mind. Besides, I'm already basically acting in loco parentis for Matilda because Mom was picked up and Dad isn't really interested."

I felt Matti's hand on at my waist. "I love you Mark."

"I love you as well Matti," I replied. "You are the best sister anyone could ever ask for. And I hope you enjoy next year when you are a freshman."

"A twelve and then thirteen year old freshman," Ashley said with a giggle. "I can't believe you talked the district into that."

"I wish it was because Matti was so far ahead they had to do it," I replied. "But it seems to be more about their fears that she will be harassed and bullied. Her last few days at the elementary school weren't very nice. Letty, if Julio was picked up and the high school knows..."

The woman shrugged as she held onto Jason. "I'll survive. It's not like many of the students talk to me. Ashley has a few friends, but most of them are caught up in the chase of the few boys who have good CAP scores and aren't complete jerks."

We were all getting into the minivan. I noticed that Morgan and Becky had vanished and looked around. "They are taking Morgan's truck," Beatrice said. "They thought I should get to drive Jason home. I just wish I could find the words to say how proud of him I am."

Jason blushed from the backseat of the minivan. "Mom! I just tried to be myself. It's amazing, but I found myself thinking about Morgan and the stories he's told of his life. He's always worked for what he has."

"He's a very good man," Beatrice said. "Not the smartest, but dependable and honest. He's been good to me."

Letty giggled. "That sounds like what I hope Jason will be."

The rest of the ride I spent cuddling with Ashley as Kelsey watched Jason and Letty make out in the backseat and giggled. We dropped Kelsey off first, and she was reluctant to get out of the minivan. Ashley promised to call her once she was home.

Beatrice dropped Matti and me off next. Matti wanted me to go home with Ashley, but I told her that she needed me in case Mike showed up at home. Ashley settled for giving me a long and very loving kiss before Beatrice pulled out of the driveway to finish the drive home.

Matti and I made sure my homework was done. Then I helped her with some of the math that was more advanced than what was taught in elementary school before finally preparing for bed. Ashley did call to tell me that Lenore finally called at nine when the restaurant had to close because the depleted staff was exhausted. She promised to tell me more in the morning on the way to school.

The next day, Ashley drove the minivan over to pick up Matti and me. She had Lenore and her daughter riding with her. Angelique was very shy and tried to hide behind her mother as Matti and I boarded the minivan. The little girl was adorable. Lenore was leaning against the window half asleep as we rode to the school.

"She came in dead tired," Ashley said. "And she needs to visit her apartment to collect all of her stuff. Once we get to the school, she'll take the minivan and get her stuff. She was worried about Angelique though."

"Why? She's the cutest thing," I said, as I held a hand out to the little girl. She shook her head and leaned into her mother.

Lenore roused herself enough to look at me. "Because any man I am going to be with long term has to be able to accept her and love her. I have friends in my classes who are single moms, and they tell horror stories of how the men they date want nothing to do with their children."

"Stupid," I sang out. "Especially in this case. Sure she won't be my biological daughter, but part of the whole deal is that you will be having more children."

Lenore shivered slightly. "I'm not ready for that," she whispered.

"I know," I replied softly. "I won't hurry you. Take the time to get to know both of us, and I think things will work out well."

Lenore turned her head and smiled at me. "I'll be ready before that cutie turns fourteen. I already know that you are offering me something I can't get anywhere else."

"So what's happening with your job?" I asked.

Lenore shrugged. "Cliff isn't going to open today. He's started a desperate search for workers. Trying to run the restaurant with so few people was a failure. Cliff needed help in the kitchen, and there were too many people we had to turn away."

"What about ... Mary and Erica I think Cliff said," I asked.

"Mary was picked up from a convenience store earlier in the day," Lenore said. "Erica can help wait tables, but Cliff can't cook fast enough solo. He needs to find some assistant chefs."

"I guess we will see you tonight," I said as Ashley pulls us into the junior high parking lot. She jumped out and held the door open as Lenore roused herself and climbed around the driver's seat.

She waved to us as she carefully drove out of the lot. Ashley watched her go and sighed. "I like her. Once she opens up she'll be fine."

"I hope so," I said.

We separated to head to our classes. The news that Amy had been picked up and had taken Julio with her swept through the school before the first period was over. The rest of the morning was chaos as students used their cell phones to communicate and try to predict when the next pickup might occur. The teachers attempted to maintain order, only to finally bow to the inevitable before lunch. Classes were suspended as my excited classmates refused to listen or sit quietly.

It was a relief when lunch period finally arrived, and I was able to sit quietly with Jessica, Jason and our friends. The announcement that Amy had been picked up had our group in high spirits while the more abusive high CAP students, led by Walter, were loudly complaining about the randomness of the pickups.

This started two weeks of relative quiet. The teachers tried to keep order, but as too many students had lost any interest in studying, ended up holding the final tests early. At home, Father was around less and less as he started traveling with Valery. They seemed to be building a new network that they claimed would be able to force the government to allow anyone to join the new military in space. From what few conversations I had with my father it, was clear that he had paid no attention to the announcements.

My brother, Mike, had vanished into the underside of the city. Roger Berkey told me that a sale of the fake drug Mike's gang claimed would raise your CAP score had gone bad. Apparently a police officer's wife purchased the drug and then had a fatal allergic reaction to it. The police were combing the city for the dealers, and my brother was in hiding.

The only thing that really changed much during the last few weeks of school was my relationships. Initially, Lenore was very timid. Her rape at the hands of her high school boyfriend had left her wary of close contact with any man. Her dating life after the birth of her daughter had only increased her paranoia about men. During the first weekend after she moved in with Ashley, I spent hours playing board games with Ashley, Jason, Letty and Angelique, while just holding Lenore in my arms.

Lenore's classes had also ended up cancelled. She would spend her days at the house, often with either Becky or Beatrice, and watching over her daughter before heading to the restaurant to wait tables. Everyone was unhappy about her being away, but she refused to live solely on charity, and Becky's boss had decided to wait until July before scheduling a photo shoot. The woman did meet with Lenore and immediately offered her a job as a model for the shoot.

I think the person who was the least affected by the last three weeks of school was Kelsey. She had talked to her mother about me being declared a conditional guardian so that, should I be picked up, I could bring her with me rather than leave her on Earth. Her parents said nothing while school was still in session, but the day of graduation I was awakened by a knock on the door to my home. Matti shouted something and ran down the stairs as I tried to get out of bed.

I had just gotten to my feet when I could hear Matti shouting. "Mark! We have visitors. They want to talk to you!"

I looked around my bedroom rubbing eyes full of sleep dust, Matti did not come up the stairs to tell me who was visiting, so I found some clean jeans and a fresh t-shirt and threw them on before stumbling down the stairs.

I was about three steps from the bottom of the stairs when I heard Kelsey scream. "Mark!" her body crashed into mine. I stumbled into the wall as I tried to cushion her body. Beyond her I could hear cries of consternation from several adults. I raised my bleary eye's gaze and found Kelsey's mother and father standing in the dining room and looking at me.

"I'm sorry," I said as I tried to set Kelsey on her feet. "With the ceremony cancelled I had planned on sleeping in today before setting up a schedule for my summer. How about we go to the sunroom in the front? Matti..."

"I'm already making some tea," Matti called from the kitchen. "And I'll bring you a toasted English muffin. You just lead Katelyn and Kyle to the sun room so you can all talk."

Kyle glowered at me. He was a massive man standing six foot three and with massive muscles. He worked as a metal fabricator, but competed in various strength contests on weekends. As Kelsey moved to let me go, the man cracked his knuckles and waited for me to walk past.

His wife just offered a very nervous smile as I passed. Both adults followed me into the sunroom, and claimed two chairs near the large bay window. Kyle immediately pointed to the couch that lined one wall. "Kelsey you sit here. That boy can take the other chair over in the corner."

"This is my house," I said softly as Kelsey rushed to obey her father. I remained standing until Kelsey had sat down and then I moved to claim the last free chair in the room.

The instant I was seated Kyle leaned forward and glared at me. "Do you know why we are here?"

I looked over at Kelsey who was staring at the floor. "I'm guessing that it has something to do with the fact that I've been talking to Kelsey about taking her with me when I am finally picked up by the Defense Forces."

"And do you know what that will mean? For you? For her?" Kyle snarled.

"Does anyone really?" I asked. "I watched the special, and I'm guessing you did as well."

Katelyn smiled and put her left arm out to touch her husband. "Kyle here as a six point eight. We watched it together."

I nodded. "So you have some idea. Did you hear the one announcement that if you didn't want to be left behind, you had to be with the person who was going to take you? The special made it clear that you can't tell them that you want to wait and pick up someone who isn't in the room."

Katelyn frowned and looked at her husband. "But you have been going out to bars at night," she observed.

Kyle frowned. "Katelyn I love you, but I'm not sure you should go with me or if Kelsey should go at all. Mark here is ignoring the fact that we were told that women who go with a high CAP scoring man aren't going as wives or friends, but as sex slaves. Kelsey would be nothing more than a baby factory and toy for Mark. Do you want that for your daughter?"

"But what if I do want that?" Kelsey asked. "What if I could be very happy with that?"

"How could you know?" Kyle asked. "People from this nation once fought against slavery because of how wrong it is. Now we are saying that just because someone got a certain score on some silly exam, they can have slaves?"

"No one is forcing this choice on Kelsey," I pointed out. "And if the Defense Forces were telling the truth, the Earth is going to become a major battlefield in just a few years."

"How could we know?" Kyle asked.

"Well, from the technology we've seen and heard about, it's clear that someone with very advanced technology is behind this," I replied.

"What technology?" Kyle repeated dubiously.

I shrugged. "Let me think. I've seen holographic projections, handheld stun guns of some kind, body modifications and of course the grey barrier of a pickup."

"You've seen a pickup?" Katelyn asked.

"Duh!" Kelsey said. "We were sitting at the steakhouse by the mall when the city saw it's first pickup at Pizzaro's Pizza!"

"Why were you there?" Katelyn asked.

"Several students at Central Junior High were bragging that they had heard from a reliable source that there would be a pickup at the place next to Pizzaro's. We didn't want to be picked up, but thought it would be interesting to watch, so we sat on the patio at the steakhouse and had dinner. I thought you knew about that," I said.

Kyle shook his head. "I know a couple of my customers said they won't go to a joint near the mall anymore. Is that why?"

"I think so," I admitted. "The place was packed until just after the field rose up around the pizza place."

"Those things are scary. If you are within ten yards you can almost see the forces preventing people from moving through," Kelsey chirped.

"Now I know you lie!" Kyle snapped as he half rose out of the chair. "You couldn't have been that close from the steakhouse during the pickup you describe."

"That wasn't the only time," I said softly. "We were on the patio to celebrate the fact that my best friend Jason had turned fourteen and got a six nine CAP when he tested. It was the night there was a pickup at the steakhouse, so we were only feet away from the barrier field."

Katelyn gasped. "Is that why Kelsey wants to leave us?"

"I don't want to leave you!" Kelsey said. "But someday I'll need to find someone to be with. Mark tries so hard to protect others and he's nice. Every day I spend with him is fun. If I don't go with him, would I go with someone I really like?"

"You could go with me?' Kyle said absently.

"Ick!" Kelsey said. "Sorry Daddy, but I don't have an Electra complex."

Kyle looked confused, "What's that?"

"Ever heard of Oedipus Rex?" I asked.

"What's that got to do with this Electra Complex?" Kyle snarled.

"Long ago a Greek Playwright named Sophocles wrote a play about a young man who ends up marrying his mother and fathering two children with her. The character's name was Oedipus. Today, when a son has an interest in having carnal knowledge of his own mother they say he has an Oedipal Complex. For women they took the name from a female character from a different tragedy written by Sophocles. If a daughter wants to have sex with her father they say she has an Electra Complex," I helpfully supplied.

"I'd never do that with my daughter!" Kyle said turning red and sitting down in shock.

"You wouldn't get a choice," Kelsey snapped. "I've read up a little. The internet has mostly rumors because so few people who are picked up ever write home, but one thing that all the tales agree on is that if a father with a CAP above six point five brings along a daughter who is over fourteen, he is still expected to get her pregnant or to arrange for her to get pregnant."

Katelyn gasped. "So..."

I sighed and nodded. "If you are fourteen, female and leave Earth on one of these pickups, it's either as someone with a CAP above six five, or you will be expected to be pregnant as quickly as possible. And one site on the Internet claims that no female concubine arrives at her new home without getting pregnant."

Katelyn turned pale. She turned to look at her daughter. "And this is what you want?" she asked.

Kelsey shook her head. "I'm not too worried about that. Billions of women have had babies. And more than a few have had them before they turn fourteen."

"It's slavery," Kyle rasped out. "It means you won't have any rights. You won't really be a person anymore, just a possession of this overly sexed boy. He probably can't wait to get your panties off."

"She has to turn fourteen and take her CAP test first," I said firmly.

"And what about protecting her?" Kyle said as he spun in her chair to glare at me again. "You don't look like you could fight against a stiff breeze let alone those monsters I have seen shown on the news."

My stomach grumbled. I suddenly remembered the retired sergeant I had met eight weeks before. I raised my hand. "I'm afraid I just woke up. Matti will be out in a moment with tea. Can you give me ten minutes to use the restroom and dress a bit nicer before we continue with this discussion?"

Kyle looked unhappy but Katelyn nodded. "That's fair.

"But Kelsey remains here," Kyle ordered. "I'm not letting both of you out of my sight until this is settled."

I nodded as I stood and walked from the room, Matti was standing at the dining room table with a tray. The tray had four glasses of iced tea sitting on it. "Mark?" she asked.

"I just had a thought," I replied. "See if you can help Kyle calm down a bit, and I'll be back shortly. I just want to get a moment to shower and clean up. I won't impress him looking like I just got out of bed."

"But you did just get out of bed," Matti said as she picked up the tray to walk past me. I dashed up the stairs and headed to my room to find the business card I had received weeks before.

It had to dig through a pile of paper to find the business card. The ink had smudged a little, but I was able to make out the name Sergeant Brandon O'Malley and his cell phone number. Despite the early hour I pulled out my cellphone and dialed the number while I searched through my clean clothing for a nice pair of slacks and a polo shirt.

The phone rang only three times before a surprisingly alert voice answered. "Hello, can I help you."

"I was trying to get in touch with Brandon O'Malley," I said as I dug through my dresser for a clean pair of socks. "He gave me his business card a few weeks back."

"When did you get his business card?" the voice asked.

"It was the day the union had their protest and march against the new CAP regime. So it was before the Defense Forces Special," I answered. I had a complete set of clothing so I picked up my phone to carry it into the bathroom.

I was setting everything on the counter in preparation for turning on the shower when a new voice spoke. "If this is from the protest, this would be either Mark Parker or Jason Roberts."

"This is Mark," I replied. "Sorry I didn't call back earlier, but I've been a bit busy."

"With your mother picked up and your father off campaigning to stop the pickups I'm not surprised," the voice replied. "This is Sergeant O'Malley, how can I help you."

"Well..." I temporized. "It goes like this. My plan for this summer was to try to get out and exercise so I would have a shot at starting for the football team. I also wanted to spend time with my friends. However, I was just asked how I would protect a woman who..."

"So you finally realized that having Ashley by your side now puts her in some danger," the man rasped.

"Actually, it was the father of another girl who wants to be mine. He just asked me about this. I was hoping..."

"You want someone who can help organize your exercises and teach you to protect others," Sergeant O'Malley finished for me. "And you probably need me out there now to explain this to the girls' father. This would be that black haired seventh grader right?"

"How would you know?" I asked.

"Kid, my job is security, but my hobby was always intelligence. Your father was the biggest risk when it came to someone organizing a real protest that could turn into a riot, so I collected intelligence on him. Right now he's too tied up in all the opportunities he has with his new friend, Valery. But at that protest you didn't seem like the most dutiful son I had ever met."

"So you collected intelligence on me," I said with a huff.

"Hey, you are interesting," the man said. "I have to admit that you approach this whole situation from an angle I would never have thought of, and you spread that philosophy to others. Tell you what; I'll be there in about twenty minutes. Just be polite and confident until I arrive."

The call ended. I threw off my clothing and jumped into the shower. The water had not even started to warm up, but I braced for the cold as I used the soap to cover my body with lather. I rinsed off as the water was starting to get warm and then jumped back out.

I must have set my personal record for dressing and brushing my teeth because nine minutes after I had asked Kyle, Katelyn, and Kelsey to wait, I was rushing back into the room. Matti was sitting in the chair so I stood by it and looked Kyle in the eye.

"You asked me about protecting your daughter. One of the things I was going to do this summer was exercise to try to get into shape to play football next fall. I have changed that plan slightly and called someone who can combine getting into shape with learning to protect others. He'll be here in a few minutes to explain," I informed Kelsey's father.

Kyle sneered. "And will that be enough? I've heard that there were problems at the junior high."

"No girl was raped, and your daughter was never touched by the hoodlums," I responded back. "There were more than two hundred students in the class, and I could not protect them all, or protect them from their own decisions. I did protect Kelsey and my sister."

"But Matti is only in sixth grade," Katelyn said.

I looked at Kelsey who had a hand over her mouth. "I never told them," she admitted. "Mom, Mrs. Parker was picked up weeks ago. She was in Pizzaro's Pizza when the pickup occurred and was selected by one of the men. She had the opportunity to take Matti, but decided to leave her on Earth."

"I already have someone who I'd like to be with," Matti chirped. "If I had left with Mom, who knows what would have happened when I turned fourteen. Now all I have to do is wait. Well and hope a little."

"Why hope?" Katelyn asked. "And how does this relate to Mark protecting you."

"Some of the students at the elementary school were rather nasty when Matti stayed behind after Mom got picked up," I said. "I worked with the principal there to allow her to test out early. She also has tested out of seventh grade and will take summer classes to skip eighth as well. Next year she'll be a freshman with me at Central High."

"You can do that?" Katelyn asked.

"Mom!" Kelsey shouted. "You signed papers so that I can skip eighth grade and go straight to high school two months ago. I have to take the same summer classes as Matti."

"And if I can, I'll set up the exercises to be close to where they are taking classes, so that they are always nearby," I said.

Matti giggled. "Mark, do you think Jessica would help with this conversation? She could tell Kyle about the way you tried to protect everyone at school, and how you kept the peace in the courtyard."

My sister did not wait for a response, but pulled her phone out and dialed a number. She had the phone to her ear and we could not hear the other party as she talked. "Hello ... This is Tillie ... Hey Jess, can I ask a huge favor ... What ... Yes, I'll wear a schoolgirl outfit if you do this ... No, this isn't complex ... It's just that Kelsey's parents are here and grilling Mark ... Could you ... You could ... Fifteen minutes ... And you'll call Ash ... Thanks ... See you soon."

I glanced over at my sister who smiled enigmatically and then stood up. "I think we'll need more chairs," she said as she disappeared from the room.

Kyle glared at me as my sister left the room. "Your sister seems to think this is all a game. I thought my daughter wasn't taking this seriously, but..."

"She understands that the decisions she makes are final," I said. "And she understands better than most what an abusive partner can do. My father is not the best of husbands or fathers."

"That's no reason to plan to rush off into space. Why don't we stay and fight for Earth," Kyle snapped.

"Have you considered what that means? We only know of the alien locusts that are coming because other aliens came and asked for our help. Without that we'd have remained blissfully unaware and unprepared until the day these creatures appeared in our orbit ready to invade. Do you think we could stop them with the technology we had before the aliens arrived?" I asked.

"No," Kyle said with a frown. "If they have the ability to travel in space, they could destroy anything made on Earth."

"We agree on that," I said in as pleasant a voice as I could. "Next, the aliens are offering us new technology, but they've asked us to defend their worlds which are also in danger. Do you think it fair for us to take the technology and not assist?"

"So we become mercenaries?" Kyle asked.

"Humanity has seen mercenaries fighting wars since there first were wars," I replied. "At one time becoming a mercenary was a perfectly acceptable trade. If we were merely being hired to kill innocents I could understand your stand, but otherwise, there is no dishonor in accepting pay in exchange for risking life and limb."

Kyle nodded. "Fine, what we are doing is honorable in its own way, but every man who leaves Earth to fight in defense of these aliens is one fewer left to fight for humanity on Earth."

"Have you ever wondered why the United States used an island hopping strategy when they fought Japan during World War Two?" I asked.

"What is that about?" Kyle asked. "We were talking about stopping the aliens."

"Exactly," I said. "I studied why the American commanders made the decisions they did. They had a problem when the war started. Japan had some strongholds that would have defeated the United States Military if they had attacked them. So the strategy was to wear the Japanese down while bypassing their best defended bases."

"And how does that relate?" Kyle asked.

"The United States had an advantage because they were able to spread the fight out and take it to many places. In a concentrated battle casualties would have been higher and victory would not have been assured. If we allow the aliens to arrive on Earth without having faced troops elsewhere, they might overwhelm the defenders. We need to force them to fight in many locations. It will delay and distract them and give those who stay on Earth a better opportunity to win."

Kyle looked surprised. "I never thought of it that way," he admitted. "But what about taking multiple women from Earth? During the show they said the women would be concubines with no rights. It's slavery and that's something good Americans should stand up against, not support."

"Dad!" Kelsey shouted. "It won't be slavery. Mark isn't going to be whipping me at night. He's not that kind of man."

The doorbell to the house rang. Matti walked into the room carrying two chairs from the kitchen she put the chairs down. "I'll get the door," she said.