Chapter 18

AGENT BRISCO had not, in fact, forgotten about Amy. He had gone back to the file repeatedly and had put out a bulletin on the van with stolen plates. He also started an investigation on the sheriff Amy had accused of being in their pocket. That was disturbing. It seemed like everyone in law enforcement was going to be involved if he pulled together a real case. State Police would need to arrest the sheriff. ATF would need to bust the bootlegging place. And he would need additional DEA agents to grab the drug traffickers. If this extended into a kidnapping and trafficking ring, he’d need the FBI as well. All he needed was evidence the traffickers were illegal aliens and he could have Homeland Security on the case as well.

He let the case ferment in his mind while he closed another case before Christmas and then started researching this one in earnest. He needed to be very careful. Amy sent him an apology for one photo that she said showed the man who saved her life. That triggered a hundred questions in Brisco’s mind. What was a stranger who happened to be carrying a baseball bat doing at the scene where Amy needed rescuing? Was he specifically watching over Amy? That could be just as dangerous for the girl. This guy could be jonesing for her and eliminating the competition. Or he might have his own vendetta against the bad guys. In which case he could be in danger and bollix the operation up for law enforcement.

Brisco drove into the sleepy little town of Bartley Thursday night, just to cruise through. He wouldn’t be able to do this often. The town was small enough that a strange car cruising around would be noticed immediately, even the plain old Ford Focus he was driving.

The boys he wanted to track were easy to spot at the C-Store. He wondered if any of them were really all there. They looked like they were high. That didn’t stop them from getting into a car and heading toward the school. They parked and waited, passing around a bottle. It looked like a lot of people were leaving the school, so there must have been an event. Brisco parked out on the street and used his night scope to sight in on what they were doing.

Most of the cars had left the parking lot and it looked like the boys were about to give up and leave when a group of girls left the building. The driver jumped out of the car and immediately approached the girls. There was a heated argument during which the other two got out of the car to join them. Suddenly, the argument got physical as one of the boys doubled up, a foot buried in his crotch. The original driver reached out to grab one of the smaller girls and another planted a right hook in his face. That was vicious. The biggest of the kids pulled his buddies back toward the car and shoved them in, getting in the driver’s seat. Just before he got in the car, he paused to point at the girls and pretend to shoot at them. They dove into a huddle, which might have protected the kids in the middle if he’d really been shooting. Brave girls.

The car peeled away from the school and headed east. Brisco was about to follow when the girls’ huddle broke up and he saw that one of them was actually a boy with thick glasses. He, a short blonde, and the girl Brisco had tentatively identified as Amy got in a car and drove into town as the others scattered to their various rides.

Brisco decided to leave town rather than follow anyone else. He didn’t want to raise suspicions by being in town.

After their Saturday night sleepover, the girls were excited to get back on the court Monday. They were riding a high of four consecutive wins and intended to keep the streak going. Coach told them their game was as well-attended as the boys’ game had been on Saturday. That was big!

“We have a team!” Ardith called as they left the court after warmups. “Last week you showed the entire community what you are made of. You faced down one of the biggest schools in Des Moines and didn’t flinch. The kind of score you drove to was outstanding, but don’t let it go to your head. That school hasn’t had a win yet this season. Size of a school doesn’t always make a difference. You’ll face much tougher competition in the last five games from schools that are no bigger than ours. We travel this week to Oakdale. The Warriors have shown good defense, so we might not get the kind of shooting opportunities we got last week. You all need to put up just as good a defense and not let them score. Give our offense a chance to get the goals. Now, we’re going to drill the zone defense and talk about keeping their shooters outside.”

Ardith didn’t let up on the girls all week. They were definitely going to need the work when they faced the Oakdale Warriors.

Dennis’s job didn’t get easier, either. After practice Monday, he hung around outside the locker room waiting for the towels to take to the dock. It was funny that there had suddenly been an increase in budget to see that the girls all had extra towels and a better quality of shampoo and cleanser in the showers.

Natalie poked her head out the locker room door. “Dennis, could you bring an ice pack for Leanne. Her ankle is swelling again.”

Dennis grabbed his kit and was back at the door while Natalie waited. When he got there, she just pulled him into the locker room. Leanne was sitting at the end of the bench with a towel wrapped around her. Most of the other girls had underwear on and a couple had pulled on their pants.

“I think I overdid it,” Leanne said. “My ankle really hurts.”

Dennis sat on his stool and pulled her foot into his lap. The ankle was, indeed, swollen. He activated the ‘Instant Ice Pack’ cold compress and pressed it against her ankle. “I think we need to tell Coach about this. You shouldn’t have worked out so hard on it if it was bothering you,” he said looking up at Leanne. Almost looking up. As his eye traveled up her leg, he saw a gap beneath the towel a little higher than he expected. He wasn’t sure if she was wearing dark panties or if she was naked. He could be staring at her bare pussy. He jerked his eyes up to her face, unconsciously stroking and petting her foot and leg as he held the ice pack in place.

“I didn’t want to miss practice,” Leanne complained. “When I was in the shower, though, it really started to hurt.”

“Let me wrap an elastic bandage around it to hold the ice pack in place and I’ll go get Coach.” He allowed his eyes to wander up her leg again as he wrapped the pack to hold it in place. He was sure now. Wow! “Maybe you should try to put a few of your clothes on before Coach comes in,” he whispered. Leanne clamped her legs together.

“Oh, my God! I did not mean to do that. Really. I mean, some day. Just not today. I just totally flashed you my pussy!” She hobbled up from the bench and Dennis glanced around the room. Only Natalie and Diane were topless just now. The rest of the girls were in various stages of being dressed.

“I’m going to get Coach to take a look at Leanne’s ankle,” he announced to the room. “She’ll probably be here in a minute.” Natalie and Diane snatched their bras and wrapped them around their breasts. Leanne dropped her towel and pulled her panties on. Dennis slipped out of the locker room to go see the coach.

“Well, he’s not the first boy to have seen it,” Leanne moaned. “But I wanted it to be special!”

“I’m sure it was,” Judith shot back. “Geez, Leanne. You’re such a slut.”

Leanne was quiet in the passenger seat next to Diane. She sighed heavily.

“I’m not, really,” she said. “I know I talk like it and I was really into him taping me, but ... If you show a boy your pussy, it should be deliberate, not a fucking accident.”

“It could have been fucking if it weren’t for everyone else standing around,” Rosie said. Diane and Judith were giving Rosie and Leanne a lift home. Brenda said she needed to talk to Dennis and would take him home. Natalie and her sisters were taking Amy home.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Leanne said. “Not really. I’ve never actually done it before. And the only other boy who has even seen it was Jackson Prescott and we were eight when we showed each other. We were too young for him to even get hard or me to get wet.”

“But you’re always talking like you have such a lot of experience,” Diane said. “You haven’t even gone out on a pretend date with Dennis.”

“There’s an idea,” Rosie said. “Go on a pretend date and you can pretend to fuck him. From what I hear, the pretending stuff is pretty good.”

“Um ... I think I’ll just pretend to kiss him, like Diane did. I don’t want to pretend too much. Some things I’d like to save for real.”

“At least you’re sixteen and can have a for real when he turns sixteen next month. Just think of Rosie and Amy and me. Rosie won’t be fifteen until April. If our mothers won’t let us date until we’re sixteen, we’ll be stuck in pretend mode for a year!” Judith complained.