Chapter 10

I am a bit anxious for lunch to start, so I am not as attentive in class as I should be. Lunch will be my first chance to confront the cheerleaders and find out why they have been skipping out on the modelling work I offered them.

The lunch bell rings. Kim, Moira and I walk each other to our lockers and then to the cafeteria. I don’t want a confrontation. I want a conversation, so I take Moira and Kim to the table where Carol and Dahlia sit with some of our other friends/employees.

At most schools, the cheer squads tend to sit together. Looking around, I don’t see that. I place the cheerleaders into three groups. The first is the group you would expect. They consist of about half of the cheerleaders, and all sit at the same table but aren’t as happy and carefree as typical cheerleaders are.

A third of the remainder sit with the jocks. It appears as though they have been blackmailed as they wear clothes that would be against the school’s dress codes. Shirts are barely there or else transparent. The jocks aren’t shy about where they have their hands. Almost all of these girls are ashamed or embarrassed.

What surprises me about this group is a girl is sitting with them, between Ashley and Juli, the girls who informed me that their cheer squad was lied to. She is ordering them around and treating them as her slaves. This dominating girl isn’t dressed like a slut as all the other girls at the table.

The remainder of the cheerleaders are spread out. Some of them eat alone, while others have inserted themselves into other social groups. They are avoiding the main group of cheerleaders.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what is going on. In our last school, the cheerleaders were relatively safe because they were the jocks/rapists’ respectable girlfriends. Something has happened to upset that balance. Since the cheerleaders were considered safe, they likely had their guard down and were easy targets.

Though I’m not surprised, the other abnormal thing is that no jocks are sitting at the table of cheerleaders. I notice there is an empty seat across from Kaitlyn, the head cheerleader of the varsity team. She appears nervous as I approach and take a seat. The closer I get, the more nervous she is.

When I sit down, I don’t bother with greetings. I get right to it, saying, “I was coming to talk to you about why some girls have been skipping on the modelling gigs they promised to do. I can see we have a much bigger problem.”

It is strange seeing Kaitlyn acting timid. It isn’t the way a cheerleader typically behaves, especially not the head of the varsity squad. In a quiet, mousy voice, she tells me, “You shouldn’t be sitting here. We can’t be seen with you.”

What happened, I ask, “Why are they coming after cheerleaders now?”

“You pissed off Jasmine. At the beginning of summer, she was forced to skip her vacation in Jasper to be at the shoot. Then you sent her home. She got her boyfriend to trap Ashley and Juli for ratting her out, but she didn’t stop there. After that, the other jocks figured the cheerleaders were free game.”

“I know you don’t want my help. The jocks hate me, and being seen with me puts a target on your back. Listen up closely. The drugs they have been using to entrap girls are all bitter. I don’t care if sour candies are your favourite food and your best friend just gave you some. If ANYBODY gives you something bitter, get out of there fast and get help. There is a good chance you are being drugged. You don’t know who they are blackmailing, so it could be the girl sitting beside you, your sister, or best friend.

“There are other date rape drugs that they can use. One taints things blue. Others are odourless and tasteless. If you put a drink down, don’t drink from it. If somebody gives you something to drink or eat and you don’t open the package yourself, don’t eat it. Make sure every cheerleader or ex-cheerleader from every squad knows this. As of now, all modelling is on hold. I will not put you girls in any more risk. I’m sorry. There was an understanding that they would stay away from my girls. I counted you as my girls, and I failed you.”

I don’t let her answer, not that she has anything to say. I get up and head to our table. My girlfriends save me a seat between Dahlia and Carol.

When I sit, Dahlia asks, “What happened?”

“When we fired Jasmine, the head cheerleader from the junior team, she got vindictive. It appears as though our truce with the rapists is over.”

I flag over Craig, our bodyguard, and tell him, “It appears our truce with the extortion ring is over. Increase the security on the compound. Double security on the girls and any place there are three or more of my employees gathered needs protection. Talk to Kim and let her know what you are doing and why. And, work with her to make sure all of our employees are educated about date rape drugs and how to avoid them.”

“Got it. Increase threat level, double security on the girlfriends, add security to employee gatherings and educate all employees.”

As he walks away, he starts talking on the radio. I like how he has the habit of repeating the orders back in his own words, so I know he understands what I want. His military training is apparent.

After lunch, I am back in the library. This time, I am working on new patents. One guard is wandering the library. They always try to keep one in the same room as me, the entire time I am at school. I wave him over and ask, “Is Kurt on shift?”

“Give me a second to check.”

He makes a call on the radio, then tells me, “He had a dental appointment but will be here shortly.”

“When he gets here, have him and Craig report to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You know not to call me that. It’s Trent or Boss, never sir.”

“Sorry, Boss.”

I’m just getting into my work when the two guards I asked for show up. They walk up to my table, and Kurt asks, “What’s up, Boss?”

“Have a seat. This is going to be an interesting conversation.”

They take their seats across from me, and I begin, “Craig, I know you had a bit of a problem with Dahlia. I know you have a daughter our age, and seeing some of the things she did upset you. I’m guessing you are a bit upset with what the jocks are doing.”

“Ya, if there were something I could do about it, I would.”

“That is kind of why I asked you two here. I don’t know how willing you or your men are to breaking the law, but we need to do something. The police can’t do anything. So, nothing is being done. I need to know who on your teams I can trust.”

“That would depend on how far you want them to bend the law,” states Kurt

I explain, “I can tell you right now; we will not be killing or vigilante justice. We will do our best not to put any of the perpetrators in the hospital. There is risk, so I can’t give a 100% guarantee. Some of the laws I will be breaking carry heavy sentences. But no killing and no putting any more girls at risk.”

“If you and your men aren’t willing, then I am willing to go it alone. You know I am capable. Just know I will be slipping away from my guard detail, and they shouldn’t be punished for it.”

“How far are you willing to go,” asks Craig

“I’m not willing to talk specifics here. Tonight, after supper, in the bike garage, bring anybody that has spec ops training or combat experience, and you think would be willing to help out.”

When they leave, I set aside my work and start on a new project. I am reminded of an article from a scientific journal I brought on the rocket. This particular article was about genetics.

In 1993 a gay gene was discovered, but in 2019 that theory was disproven. There are specific genetic traits that make you more likely to be gay or accept a gay lifestyle. Just because you have the genetic markers doesn’t mean you are gay. Combine them with specific outside stimuli, and you have a gay person.

Another interesting thing that happens in 2019; the first human is genetically altered in China. There ends up being a major court case. The Chinese government rules that any doctor involved in the genetic alteration of humans is directly responsible for any adverse side effects. In 2019 genetic engineering isn’t an exact science. In the 2020s, the engineered nucleases, things that cut the genes to be altered, are not precise, and accidents in genetic alterations are common.

When I had left earth, it wasn’t just one scientific journal I brought with me. I downloaded several scientific journals. Being stuck in space for five years, with little to do, I basically memorized those journals. One of the journals was specifically on genetics. Two of the articles have direct applications to our problem. You see, if a male jock were gay, he wouldn’t be raping female students. This doesn’t solve our problem, but it gives our enemies a new one. The jocks are just the muscle. If you eliminate the muscle, the brain needs to find another way to do the same thing.

The first article deals with mapping genes present in gays and the second, creating a special kind of zinc finger nucleases, engineered nucleases that are more accurate. Combine the two articles, and you have a pill gene therapy that can alter a person’s DNA and make them more susceptible to being gay, effectively eliminating the muscle from the extortion ring. This will force the brain behind the operation to either go into hiding and stop the blackmail or force them to come out of hiding to deal with their problem. They will likely not figure out that their jocks were poisoned, and so, would have no reason to go into hiding. They should just see it as a sudden disinterest by their muscle.

You are probably wondering if I can alter DNA with a simple drug, why don’t I just eliminate their intelligence and aggression? The answer is simple. I have never mapped out DNA, nor do I have the capacity to do so. The ability to be that specific in mapping DNA will not be around for decades, and I don’t know how to create it. Besides, altering DNA isn’t that simple. Most things are related, and if you change one attribute, you will likely affect another. For instance, the warrior gene causes a person to be unable to back down. If you eliminate it, you will lose aggression and gain intelligence, giving the person the ability to stop before victory alters two other attributes. If I did make them less physically aggressive, they would be completely different people, and I would have no clue how to deal with them. What if, by making them less aggressive, I make them more conniving and deceitful.

You would think making the drugs needed to alter genes would be complex and difficult to produce. Reality is much different. Before the white man came to North America, Eskimos had good teeth. They didn’t eat any form of sweets and had natural enzymes that cleaned their teeth. By merely introducing sugar into their diet, their genetic code was changed. Instead of perfect teeth, their teeth started growing in crooked and were susceptible to decay. They went from dying with a full set of teeth to losing their teeth before reaching middle-aged in less than two generations. It wasn’t like they were eating enough candy to eat away their teeth. They only ate candy every few months when they met with the traders.

Making the gene-splicing drugs is not just easy; the ingredients also are easy to come by. The big question is, what to mix it with, so the jocks don’t know they are drinking it. Even that problem has a simple answer.

Gatorade was introduced into eastern Canada in 1984. It hasn’t hit the west yet, so few people in the west know what it tastes like. It isn’t difficult to acquire if you know a thing or two. Most grocery stores will special-order things for you if it is something their suppliers can get. Quaker Oats owns Gatorade, so almost any grocery store can get it.

After school, I stop off at Fairway Market in the Westshore mall and order a case of 15 1L bottles of various flavours.