Chapter 25

A few days later I was doing a patrol, and decided to check out the bluffs as Bo suggested. I had driven past the wooded area many times of course, but never actually went into them. I had driven through them a few days before in the daylight, and saw that it indeed was a perfect spot for couples looking for privacy.

A dirt road that came off the highway, then went about two hundred meters and ran to within a dozen meters or so from the bluff. And about every dozen meters a small pull-in between trees, obviously to give the couples some privacy. The road ran parallel to the bluff for about a quarter mile, with some larger open areas before it again rejoined the highway. About twenty areas for privacy, and three large ones that seemed to be where some small parties were held.

And all three of those were well laid out. Some logs for seating, and even a cement fire ring with a well cleared area around it was in each of those. I checked out the fire pits, and while two had not been used in at least a week, the largest had been used the night before. I then ran down Sergeant Harris and asked him about that.

He laughed and nodded, saying he was familiar with Riverfront Park. “We do patrol it sometimes at night, normally with an unmarked car. So long as everybody seems to be there willingly, and things are not out of control we let them be. That area has been used like that for as long as there have been cars. In fact, I bet that couples went there for the same reason in a horse and buggy before then.”

“I drove though it the other day, how is it that it has not been developed yet?”

“Simple, that is still owned by the Dark Family Trust. That was part of old Cynthia Dark’s property, and in her will she stated it would remain a public access area. A kind of wilderness park, apparently she was quite a birdwatcher and loved going out there and watching the birds. Every three years a group of volunteer arborists go through it and will cull out any trees that are dying and replant new ones. But that is the extent of the care it gets.”

I was surprised that was the case, and Harris nodded. “Oh, the Trust still owns almost a square mile up there, the entire area is like that on both sides of the highway. Only enough care to keep it safe, but it really is almost wilderness. If you follow the road between the two exits to Riverfront Park, there is a road that runs away from the bluffs. Follow that about a quarter of a mile and there is a large clearing. There was a fire there in the sixties, burned about ten acres. A group of model airplane and rocket enthusiasts got permission to put in a launching pad and runway there. That is the only place you will find any facilities at all, a simple brick two hole outhouse and a fire plug, the Dark Trust paid for all that. Oh, and as the entire property is still private property, hunting is banned. There is still a heard of deer that live there, and some foxes and other critters.”

I was amazed at that, and decided it would be nice to bring Lucy there sometime for a picnic. And on Friday night I pulled off the highway and changed modes on the trike. The newest one was really good, and they had finally worked out all the kinks on the electric drive. So I could now change from the gas engine to battery power.

But the limit on battery was only thirty miles per hour, and it could only operate for about ten miles before the battery died. But at least now I had a way to approach a location silently. And they had added a drone into the trunk. It was like the one that had been lost on the trip to Lucy’s, which as far as I knew was still lost in the woods somewhere. I did get a report that stated that the thing went dead about a mile away in heavy woods, and they had no idea why.

But this was a refined version, and I could order it to take off and it would perform one of several patterns that I selected. And authorized Control personnel could take it over if I granted them permission. And as this seemed like a perfect time for a test, I ordered it to take to the air and follow me from 100 meters up.

With the lights off I slowly pulled down the dirt road. And sure enough, I saw several cars scattered throughout the area. Some with couples sitting and talking, or cuddled together. Most seemed to be teens or early twenties, but I saw a few that were closer to my age. And in at least one Toyota the suspension was getting a workout. I stopped by one of the picnic areas, and used the remote to control the drone. And the car at the end was a convertible with the top down. And that was not the only thing down, as a woman with black hair was going down on her date. At the last picnic area I saw eight kids around a small campfire, and three of them waved at me.

I went ahead and stopped and slowly walked over to them. They all greeted me, and seemed amazed that I would be there. One girl looked a bit nervous and in a soft voice asked “Mr. Sensei, are we in trouble?” I chuckled as I saw she was trying to hide a can of beer.

“Well, let me ask you this, are you twenty one?” She shook her head no, as she looked to be maybe seventeen at most. “Well, so long as that is your only beer or stop at two, no.” I took a seat on the ground facing them, and one of the guys showed me that they only had two six-packs with them. And most of them were already gone, the empties in a bag next to them.

“Guys, technically you are breaking the law. But you are being responsible, so as far as I am concerned I see nothing wrong. Now if you had enough with you to get wasted, then I would likely confiscate them. And if some of you were drunk I would have you get rides home. But that is for your protection, not to get you into any kind of trouble.” And I saw them all nod at that.

“Believe it or not, I did similar things back in California when I was your age. We would go down to the Calaveras River and do the same thing. Hang out with our friends, cuddle with our girlfriends, and have a few beers.” One of the girls looked familiar, and she even laughed at that, and asked if that was a real river.

“Sure is, runs right through Stockton, about an hour drive south of Sacramento.”

“Do they really have jumping frog contests there?”

I chuckled and reached out and grabbed a beer and shook my head. “Naw, that’s in Calaveras County, which is farther east up in the mountains. That is in Angels Camp, one of the old mining towns. But the river runs from up there in the mountains down to Stockton, where it runs into the San Joaquin River. And it was kind of like this, largely left wild out to about a hundred yards, and then it was city. But there was a bike path along it, and lots of areas like this. But without campfire pits. In California, that would have gotten it shut down fast.”

“Oh, we are very careful, Mr. Sensei. We only make small ones, and always put it out when we leave.” I kept returning to the girl, something about her was familiar but I could not place it. We chatted for about a half hour, and I put the empty beer into the bag and wished them all a good night.

When I got home I told Lucy about the park, and she grinned at me and said it was like things she had done at that age. “Me too, which is why I let them be. Better they do it in an area that Bo and I patrol along with the CCPD than finding somewhere even more remote where nobody checks on them.” I even showed her the drone footage, and she even giggled when it showed where I zoomed in at the guy getting a blowjob.

Then how it would hover occasionally over where I was talking with the kids, and it was obvious they were a bit anxious when I pulled up, but we were all just chatting by the time I left. Then she had me pause it as the drone made a last pass over the area. Yep, the couple in the convertible were unquestionably having a good time. The girl was now on her back with her arms and legs wrapped around her boyfriend, who was happily pumping away.

Which apparently put my lover into a similar mood herself, as when we went to bed we were soon doing something similar. But with only the head of my cock inside of Lucy, although she was now taking in about an inch or so of my shaft as well.

The next morning I gave her a kiss goodbye as we headed off. Her to check out the construction, as I headed to the Mutant Reservation. This was to be our last “Junior Paladin Training Session” there, and none of them knew I had a surprise planned.

One of the buildings by then had a shower and changing room inside, and each had a locker with items I had instructed them to leave there. Sweats, swimwear, and a change of clothes along with any toiletries they may want. And many times since we had started clothing got damaged to the degree that they needed to change, or they would get so muddy and dirty that the showers were needed.

The first surprise was when the students all started to show up and I saw Dire Wolf pull in. I waved and saw Fang bounding towards me from the back. Dire had told me that her newest addition was a control so that Fang could leave the van on his own. I was greeting him as Dire got out, along with a guy.

He was tall, over six feet. Maybe 22, he had a slender but muscular build on him. And they both walked over to me, where Dire introduced me to Gabor. Now this was actually the first time I was meeting him, and I reached out my hand and he shook it. We talked quietly, and saw that some of the students were already watching us.

I saw he had a backpack, and directed him to the changing rooms. “Ryan, why don’t you show Gabor where to put his stuff and change. Everybody, go ahead and get into your swimwear, and throw your sweats over that. We are going to do some warm-ups, then take a run. And we just might be stopping at the pool for some dip time.”

Several laughed at that, while others groaned. “Dip time” was one of the drills we did, where they would try to stay submerged as long as they could. And for most of them, that was no longer than anybody else. But a few did have the ability to remain down for up to five minutes. One was a skin breather, and could stay down in fresh water almost indefinitely. However, he could stay down for only about five minutes in salt water.

After they all came out I introduced them all to Gabor. “But please, call me ‘Gabe’. Gabor is my full name, but I prefer Gabe in a casual setting.” He then told them a bit about himself, saying he was indeed an Indian from Central America.

After doing some stretching and warming up, I had them get into a formation and we started the run. Dire followed in her van as Fang ran alongside us. I had them do about two miles, then we ran towards the pool. And some groaned as we ran right past it, then continued along the shore.

“Oh no, Sensei is trying to kill us!” Ryan groaned, and several others laughed. This was a game I had learned in the military. Start to run towards where they think your destination is, then keep going. It is more of a mental exercise, as some would start to slow down as mentally they realized the run was not yet over. This was to teach them to keep at least some of their energy in reserve.

But the real surprise for them was when we turned past the old theater and they saw what was behind it. Three large “Air Assault Tents”, along with tables, and about fifty parents and onlookers. Some of them National Guard, who had volunteered for this.

The parents all broke into cheers, and I went ahead and had them stop about fifty meters away. I then ran them through a quick cool-down series, and soon I had them all group around me.

“This as you know is our last training exercise here. You all have done good, and you deserve this party. The river is open for swimming, and there will be food in a little bit. Go ahead and have fun, everybody.”

They all gave out yells, and several came up and gave me hugs before running to greet their parents and others. I waved at Bo as he came up with Lucy and Gloria, and he gave one of his typical grins. “Well, we pulled it off” he said as Lucy hugged me.

“Sure did, and Gabe seems to have surprised them.” He was off talking with Dire, and I noticed a few of the girls coyly checking him out. “So what is the story going to be with him?”

Gloria smiled and explained it to me. “Oh, Alicia and I got that all worked out, Clint. Gabor moved up here last month, and is sixteen years old. A Chameleon, he can’t change his form but has powers between that of Bo and Di. He will partner with her, so he can learn to be careful as he is not as bulletproof as this big hulk here. Then once he moves to the compound, that will be his public home.”

I nodded, as that was a good cover story. And we went down to the chaos around the tents, seeing that several were already stripping off their sweats and heading to the water. And even I was impressed when Gabe stripped to a pair of trunks. That guy was cut! He had the body of a swimmer, with a wide chest, and abs that could have been cut in stone which tapered down to narrow hips. And with a yell he and several others charged the water.

Bo just laughed as Gabe plunged in the water, and vanished from sight. I looked, and it was almost a minute later when he finally came up, about a hundred meters off shore. He then started to swim back, and he was fast! And Ryan was trailing him, but falling behind as he could not keep up. Ryan was our water breather, but other than a boost to agility and strength had no other real powers. He was thinking of being a professional diver, as his power was unique and fairly powerful, but very limited in use other than as search and rescue. And really only in fresh water.

Dire came up and handed us each a soda, and it was a good day. We all mingled and wandered through the various groups that formed. But I also saw that two girls that seemed to be checking him out the most were Ice Girl and Windy. I walked on over and one asked Gabe what he thought, and he smiled.

“This is nice, a lot better than anything back home. That’s why I came up here, Guatemala has nothing like this.”

“You came up here from Guatemala? What was that like?” Windy said.

“Oh, is mostly jungles, I lived near Puerto Barrios on the Gulf. When I heard that a mutant could get amnesty here in America, I left home and worked on a ship until it arrived in New Orleans. I jumped off in the Mississippi and swam to shore. Then found a cop who took me to Control. They kept me there for about a week, tested me, then sent me here. Legally I am an emancipated minor, and Dire Wolf, Sensei, and Bohica are going to help train me.”

Ice Girl said that was brave of him, and I saw her touch his arm with her hand. And Windy agreed with her, copying the motion herself on his other arm. I quietly moved away and left the three of them, and wondered what that all meant.

And as Di moved over to me, I realized where I had seen both girls recently. “Di, that is not Ice Girl’s real hair, is it?”

She chuckled softly and admitted it was not. “No, whenever she is Ice Girl, she wears that blue wig.”

“And Windy, she is a Chameleon, right? Skin and hair color in addition to controlling the wind?”

“Yep, she is not really that dark.”

I nodded my head, and she asked me why. I chuckled, and said I had met them the night before at Riverfront Park. She looked at me, and I nodded. “Most were a bit surprised to see me, but two of them seemed more nervous than the others. One had brown hair and glasses, the other was a white girl with black hair. Looking closer, that was Ice Girl and Windy. But without the domino masks.”

“Yes, Stacy told me about it a bit ago. She mostly was scared that you had recognized her, and would tell her parents.”

“Naw, because there was not even enough beer for each of them to have two. She is the one that recognized where I was from though, and asked if we really had a jumping frog contest. They were there with their boyfriends?”

Di laughed and shook her head. “Well, maybe. Stacy told me it was her cousin she was with, so not a boyfriend for her. Not sure about Windy, but Stacy told me that only two of the group last night were dating. I think the rest were just friends.”

And looking at the three of them, both girls were unquestionably flirting with Gabe. But almost shyly, in the way that teen girls do. I saw Di look, and she grinned at me. “I hope that does not cause problems. Stacy and Clair are such good friends, I would hate to see Gabe get in the middle of that.”