Chapter 480: Accountability And Clear Air

We caravanned back to where Amelia’s group had staged to try to locate me. Amelia rode with me back to Chrissy’s mom’s house in the minivan.

“I don’t know if you consider us friends or just fuck buddies when you have enough time for me to scratch your itch, Thirty-Six,” I told her. “You are following your orders, and it must be a lot to process, learning that I am more than even Chrissy’s mom could comprehend. Those kids spent nearly fifty years in that hell, not knowing where they were taken or why. Just as I have saved you and your team, I did what was required to keep those children safe. I don’t know for sure and didn’t bother to find out, but I expect that someone ordered you to follow me and obtain the children to learn their secrets after I left. We both know that no one would seek to harm them, at least at first, but eventually, each would end up dissected as if they were an alien autopsy. The people you work for have done it for hundreds of years to people like me and those who can seek those like me. It will never stop, but for now, they are afraid of a little girl who took issue with these people’s plans for her mother, and these people tried to remove all traces of their research. I have begun to question the real reasons the group split off from the elite families. Are they trying to reintegrate because they took the skeletons out of the closet and ground them into a powder they believe no one could reconstruct?”

Realization and then horror flashed across her face. It was brief, but after so much time around Molly, I saw the reaction easily. I did what she needed from me. I pulled her into a hug.

I told her, “Amelia, I don’t have any of the answers. I never asked, or even wished, for any of this. I keep learning things that seem to expand upon the mysteries of the universe or other stuff like that. I’m unsure what to do, who to trust, and where to find answers. I know there was no reason to send most of your team to follow those kids and me. I took them somewhere I knew would be safe and outside the reach of anyone wanting to find them for any reason. It seems that whatever I am comes at a price.

Nobody rides for free.”

“David,” Amelia began. “You have brought girls to us because they fit the mold for my team and many others like it, so you don’t need my origin story or any of that comic book crap. I follow the orders given, David, and sometimes that involves things about which I don’t need to know all the details. As you call her, Chrissy’s mom had no choice but to read me and the others in on you. The information she found out recently expanded her knowledge about you significantly. The one you call the man-in-the-machine, who I suspect is also Mr. Smith, is scared of what you’ve become, David. You’re a god in the multitude of what that man has defined as one. What else can you be? I mean, you can change humans by rewriting their DNA and can create life a cell at a time.”

I reached over to put my hand on her arm and said, “Amelia, you’re a woman, and I’m a man. Stop preventing your body from getting pregnant, and then you will create a new life from where none existed before, one cell at a time. I don’t know how I can do any of what I’ve found now. Given the children I pulled back from wherever something took them, maybe I’m just a tool or pawn for a much bigger player. All I’ve ever killed are bugs and some wild animals. I don’t kill humans and haven’t killed any beings from another world, planes of existence, or wherever they exist. I’m not about to start. I think it is what keeps me grounded.”

“You’re a good man, David,” Amelia said.

Back at Chrissy’s house, I went into Chrissy’s mom’s office and sat in the chair I used when I visited. I didn’t say anything, just sat. I let those in the room get uncomfortable before I got up to head home.

“David,” Chrissy’s mom said as I opened the door. “I did have my team follow you to keep you safe and watch for those who might try to intercept you.”

“As much as I might want to believe that, after the data I saw, I know those children would be kidnapped and taken from anywhere I put them if I didn’t choose that location carefully. They have lived over fifty years in a place that may well be the origin of what some religions call purgatory. It was not a nice place. They did nothing to deserve being pulled to that place, and I’m not going to let you do to them as you have with others you wish to understand through dissecting them alive,” I told her and the others in the room. “I’m not saying that none can find them, but you must ask yourselves, at what price? How many lives are you willing to lose to obtain access to children I ensured no longer have anything they can teach you? I took them somewhere that you would have to think long and hard about pursuing them.”

I continued out of her office and went for a walk.

My implant pinged me about my “admirers” trying to shadow me. I walked through the homes under construction and then over to see what Molly had accomplished with the golf course. So far, I saw that she had gotten the permits and wooden posts placed along the way to indicate where to raise or lower the land.

When I got back into the neighborhood and headed toward my house, I noticed a large group of police and “agents” waiting. They didn’t seem to know who they were looking for, but I was pretty sure it was me.

I pulled out my treasury badge, went to the person barking orders, and asked, “Treasury Agent Jones. What seems to be going on here?”

“We have a warrant to arrest one David Jones who lives at this residence,” he said. “He is to be extradited to be arraigned on charges in California. He is said to be a master of martial arts, big, strong, and fast. Watch yourself.”

“Sounds like you are looking for me, then. Let me update the family that I’m going on an unexpected trip, and then we can head out,” I told the agent.

I bet you have no idea what just happened. No one clued you in on who you were going to arrest.

“All set,” I told him when I returned from the house.

Outside I found cops with guns pointing at me.

“I’m a federal foster care officer and Treasury agent, not that it matters,” I explained as I pulled out my badge and ID cards. “I will tell you this. If some of the world’s highest-paid mercenaries and assassins failed to kill me, do you think you have a chance if I did try to attack you or escape?”

“God damned silver-tongued child rapist. No talking your way out of this,” one of the cops said and shot a taser at me twice.

I had caught the barbs in the air. I held a set in each hand as I calmly walked up to her.

“I went ahead to reload it and returned it to your holster,” I said, looking her in the eyes, “Just a bit of career advice, officer. When you shoot someone with a taser, you best be sure it will have an effect. You should also find out who you are to detain or arrest to ensure they are not a grandmaster of all martial arts.”

Her eyes went wide when she found that I had reloaded her taser and holstered it. She hadn’t even noticed me do it.

“On a personal note, I can suggest some fantastic mental health professionals who can help you work through the emotional traumas and sexual assaults you experienced as a child. I’m reasonably sure the federal government wouldn’t give me the authority to take any child into my protective custody, for any reason, anywhere in the United States, if I were a child rapist. I have proved myself trustworthy many times,” I told her.

I held her in my arms as she cried for a minute before getting herself back under control.

I continued my walk to the waiting black SUV and said, “Everyone, think before you act. I’m not a flight risk and won’t be giving any resistance whatsoever. I will defend myself if attacked unprovoked, but as I said, I’m a martial arts grandmaster in all disciplines. Look it up. If I chose, you would all be incapacitated, and I would drive myself to wherever it is you are taking me.”

I hit up Paula with what I knew. I expected this was related to Laura in California after her birthday. It was either some form of revenge or jealousy.

She sent back for me to shut up and not say another word to any of them for any reason. If I couldn’t avoid communicating with them, I needed to ensure that it was somewhere with a camera, preferably two, and audio to cover my ass.

Paula is going to be all over this.

I told her this might go sideways because there are plenty of glory-whores in LA and Hollywood that want to make a name for themselves.

When the SUV pulled up to the local police station, I was escorted inside, with the agents who transported me having their guns drawn.

Multiple cops saw that and moved in to form a protective shield around me.

“Who is after you that you brought agents here to have your back, David,” the chief of police asked.

I stopped walking and said, “Ask them. Paula told me not to say another thing to them. I have a suspicion, but no one has told me any charges, though one of this group accused me of being a child rapist and shot me twice with a taser.”

He demanded to speak to the person in charge.

“For the record, David Jones, the man you have in custody, is the victim of multiple non-consensual sexual interactions with numerous of his female classmates during middle school. Those girls discovered the downsides of unprotected sex with a male who self-chose to ignore everyone and everything around him. He is probably one of the most upstanding citizens around here. David came into some money and personally funded four foster care mini-cities for thousands of abused children, incarcerated parents, and orphans. The likelihood that he raped anyone is preposterous,” the chief of police told the person in charge.

That same person responded, “It seems your bright star here has a dark side. According to the information provided, Mr. Jones is considered highly dangerous. The assistant district attorney has sufficient justification for charging Mr. Jones with the statutory rape of a sixteen-year-old girl. The child and her parents fear his retribution if they don’t deny nothing sexual happened between Mr. Jones and their daughter.”

The chief of police couldn’t stop laughing, which pissed off the person in charge.

I got the criminal booking treatment. The mug shots were humorous because they couldn’t get one that looked like me. My fingerprints were already on file from whoever put me through the system to do my badge paperwork. They briefly put me in a cell until the police chief told them to let me out. The police chief didn’t want to do the paperwork about why the other people in the holding cell found my t-shirt dead on, right?

What? They really should assume I know Kung Fu.

Three hours later, we were heading out to the airport. They chose shackles because the cuffs they had wouldn’t work for me.

“I see they violated your rights, David, and didn’t allow for your phone call,” the police chief said. “Can I call Paula for you? Please?”

I smiled and said, “Sure. These officers and agents didn’t read me my Miranda Rights either.”

“It isn’t like you can’t afford to hire an attorney, David, all of them at the same time, worldwide,” the police chief said, surprising the person in charge.

Seeing the shock on the group’s faces that “collected” me to extradite to California, the police chief delighted in telling them that I was unquestionably the richest man in the world. He made sure that he reiterated that I was humoring them and that I owned resort islands around the world where I could fuck the poorest and richest pussy I wanted from any age if I was into that, but I wasn’t.

No one in the police station expected anything the police chief said to sway those transporting me to California.

The flight was commercial, so it surprised those extraditing me to California to find we were the only passengers on the flight. Once in the air, I kicked back and took a nap. They were shaking me awake after we landed. Hollywood and LA police were waiting for me on the tarmac. After being put into an SUV, I went back to sleep.

Upon arriving at the jail, I got the requisite orange jumpsuit, which fit me like a glove. The police put me in a large holding cell filled with the nastiest, roughest, and meanest people they could find to arrest before I got here. The other suspected criminals delighted in seeing that the police had put me back in chains and shackles.

When it was time for my arraignment, I went through what looked like reporters for every paper and news outlet worldwide.

“Mr. Jones,” one reported yelled, “Why are you being charged with statutory rape?”

They yelled every iteration and permutation of questions at me.

Finally, I stopped in front of a reporter and asked, “Before I answer anyone’s questions, I have one of my own. Since when is it statutory rape to fulfill a dead grandfather’s wish that his granddaughter enjoys dinner with her parents to celebrate her sixteenth birthday and her being cancer-free for five years? What about having a female friend take the same girl to buy something nice to wear to dinner? Can I not accept her parent’s invitation to return to their home to see their daughter blow out the candles on her birthday cake before leaving?”

The police transporting me attempted to shove me to get me moving but failed. I started walking again when what I asked the reporters sunk in.

Inside the courtroom, an assistant district attorney looked pleased with herself. She sneered at me when we made eye contact. I just smiled.

After the judge came in and we were told to be seated, the assistant DA said, “Judge, the State of California versus David Paul Jones for statutory rape of a sixteen-year-old female. We request that the defendant gets denied bail as he is considered a danger to the victim and her family.”

“Mr. Jones, how do you plead?” he asked.

“Your honor, may I please confirm with my lawyer first? They denied me my fundamental rights in the assistant DA’s rush to extradite me with all due haste, though I do not know why,” I asked.

The judge gave the assistant DA a nasty look and demanded why she denied me my phone call and the right to speak to an attorney.

She immediately responded, “Your honor, Mr. Jones is exceedingly wealthy. The victim and her parents are already afraid of what he may do to them if they continue to deny the reported sexual assault. We fear that his position with child protective services would permit him to have the child removed into his custody and transported to a location where we cannot protect the child.”

The judge bought it hook, line, and sinker. I was denied bail and sent back to jail to await trial.

I used my implant to scan all the information provided to the judge and forwarded that to Paula.

As I had already expected, multiple anonymous callers reported that I had “bought” Laura’s sixteen-year-old pussy and fucked her before departing quickly. Some had a lot of detail, while others were exceptionally vague. Not surprisingly, all reports noted details about the Bugatti and Rolls Royce. Some included estimated values for the cars.

It took four hours before I had a cell in solitary confinement to myself. A large group of inmates heard that I was a wealthy child rapist. It was complete bullshit. My change of accommodations was to protect the other prisoners waiting for their day in court from me. The first three coming at me with shivs were sitting with their arms and legs paralyzed, with their weapon still gripped tightly in their hands. I didn’t even bother to check if the cameras were disabled or if the guards chose to ignore what would happen to me during the attack. In the end, all those who came at me found themselves with their arms and legs temporarily paralyzed. I was over curling with five hundred pounds in each hand.

It was two days later that someone came to get me to go back to court. The particular female assistant DA was pushing hard to get me to trial as quickly as possible. They had already completed jury selection, and my case was ready to be heard that day.

The assistant DA quickly made her opening arguments, making me sound like the worst serial child rapist in the world. She ensured that she told how I had used my money to buy off federal officials so that I could kidnap any child I wanted to take to one of my rape centers.

She is skilled at playing the jury to make them see me as the scum of the Earth before I even say a word.

“Mr. Jones,” the judge said. “I am told that you have not sought legal counsel and will be representing yourself in this matter. You realize that you can receive a life sentence in prison if found guilty of the charges?”

I sighed and said, “Your honor, the assistant district attorney has somehow denied me of all my constitutional rights in this manner. Somehow she convinced everyone to deny my phone call or to speak with any lawyer or attorney.”

The assistant DA gave the judge the same spiel she did before, and the judge followed the assistant DA’s suggestion to continue denying me my rights.

He was about to allow the assistant DA to proceed when Paula walked in like she owned the place. The judge wasn’t happy and was about to have her removed.

Paula quickly rattled off multiple sections of California law that silenced the judge and assistant DA.

Now the fun begins.

“Your honor, I will first be addressing the assistant district attorney, the cities of Hollywood and Los Angeles, the state of California, and your violation of my client’s constitutional rights in another forum,” Paula said in a way that made the judge respond in shock. “The federal marshals will now serve you with the associated subpoenas so we can get back to the matter at hand. I request that you cease this DA’s media circus, drop the unfounded charges, and have them expunged from my client’s record.”

“Your request is denied. Assistant district attorney, please proceed,” the judge said.

The assistant DA presented the case that I had consensual, with full permission from her parents, sex with Laura on her birthday. Early that afternoon, I spent thousands of dollars on a random girl to purchase her virginity. Things got interesting when they called their first witness.

It was a pediatrician who examined Laura in the emergency room twenty minutes after I had left Laura’s house with Trudy.

Paula’s predatory grin made the judge, assistant DA, and doctor cringe.

“You testified that the supposed victim was brought to the emergency room by child protective services for a rape examination. Is that correct?” Paula asked.

“Yes. The patient came to the emergency room after being raped,” they replied.

Paula then asked, “Did this patient have any signs of recent sexual activity? Did you find any semen? Were there any claims of rape by the patient?”

“We found no indications of semen, but it wouldn’t be if the perpetrator used a condom, as reported. Positive confirmation of sexual intercourse was inconclusive. The patient confirmed using a phallus said to be an exact duplicate of their defendant’s penis,” the doctor said, ignoring the rape question.

Paula had a predatory grin, which made the judge, and the doctor testifying look quite concerned before asking, “In your professional opinion, is it a form of deviant behavior for a sixteen-year-old female in California, which prohibits intercourse until reaching eighteen years of age, to have a rubber phallus to sate what the state chooses to deny her? Do you feel that masturbation by minor females is deviant behavior?”

The doctor sat there, unsure what to say that wouldn’t discredit her as an expert witness.

“I reviewed the details of your examination presented into evidence by the assistant district attorney. Was the patient a virgin before the alleged assault? Your report indicates that she did not have a hymen before the reported incident and was sexually active. Can you elaborate?” Paula asked.

The doctor hemmed and hawed around Paula’s questions but finally admitted that Laura had been sexually active for many years. She also frequently masturbated with dick-shaped dildos.

The assistant DA yelled out, “Objection. The victim’s sexual history before this assault has no bearing on the case.”

Oh, wrong move, bitch.

Paula not only clarified that it was relevant, she referred to multiple cases tried by this particular judge and convicted by this assistant DA, where Paula’s cross-examination questions are what put the person on trial in prison.

“Sustained,” the judge said. “The jury will not consider the testimony regarding the child’s masturbatory or past sexual history before meeting the defendant.”

“I have no more questions for the doctor at this time but retain the right to call them back on the stand,” Paula said in a way that the judge wouldn’t even consider refusing.

The assistant DA next presented the phone calls to the police from the “anonymous” callers reporting their concerns that I fucked Laura in her home or elsewhere.

“Through discovery, which the assistant DA attempted to block, citing invalid arguments of possible retribution without evidence of my client ever having done anything of that nature, I obtained the calls to the police. Each has the caller ID and location encoded into the recording, as required by law. The names and addresses of those phone numbers are part of the public record and freely distributed by their associated carriers. I present these as exhibits A through G, including the full transcripts of the calls, not just the excerpts, altered, and redacted versions presented into evidence by the assistant DA,” Paula said. “I find it strange that all those submitted into evidence mention the Bugatti note specifically, how David’s friend Trudy drove the young woman to her home in this Bugatti. Mr. Jones drove her parents in a Rolls Royce. At no time in the commute between the restaurant and her home did Mr. Jones have any interaction with the young woman. Mr. Jones only changed his clothing while the young woman drove her friends home after everyone wished her a happy birthday and had a slice of birthday cake, which happened outside in full view of neighbors and home security systems. None of those callers reported any period of time during which the alleged sexual intercourse occurred. The most substantive evidence of physical contact is the young woman hugging and kissing Mr. Jones before leaving her home. Two callers saw fit to note the signs of sexual arousal of the young women in question and Mr. Jones’s lack therein. In full view of her parents and all those watching, a hug and kiss are not illegal in the U.S. or California.”

The assistant DA objected to that. This time they lost trying to block the exhibits from entering evidence as part of my defense.

They were public records and expanded on what the DA put into evidence against me.

The assistant DA chose to call Laura’s parents to testify.

“Did David ever enter your house?” Paula asked.

When Tate confirmed that David did go into her home, Paula asked, “During any of the times that he was in your home, was he alone with your daughter? Where was your daughter Laura during those times?”

Tate replied, “She drove her three friends home in the lumbering beast David bought for her. They were never in the house together.”