I\'m a father?

Title: I’m a father?

Subtitle: Fire control

Author: Lady Snowblossom


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“Will that be all, sir?”

“Yes, Gunther, thank you. You may go.” Robert dismissed his servant and got into bed. He lay back against the pillows and sighed as the man closed the door. ‘Just one more day and the tournament will be here and over with.’ He thought, “one more day and I can go home to Germany.’

He rolled over and stared out the window of his bedroom. Outside, he could see the bright lights of the New York outline and above it all, the shadowed face of the moon. ‘I wish someone had thought to warn me that Lee would be here.’ He sighed again and remembered the night before.

Lee and the other White Tigers had shown up in the company of the All-Starz’s and he had been forced to retreat behind all his training at hiding his emotions to control his suddenly fluttering nerves. As he had greeted the Chinese team, it had been impossible not to notice that Lee had taken obvious pains to dress for the occasion. He had donned a white shirt with a v-shaped neckline that had shown a nice bit of his firm chest. His black cotton pants had been cinched shut with a leather belt embossed with silver diamond studs. And his wild mane had been brushed till it shone and was gathered in a ponytail contained by an intricately woven gray leather thong.

As he had gazed at the fiery son of ancient China, he yearned for what most of the others around him had found – their soulmates. Something about the untamed lion called to him and his heart ached to answer that call, but there were too many obstacles standing in his way of claiming what he desperately wanted – the proud captain of the White Tigers.

“Lee.” He breathed, “I wish I was just a simple lad from Germany, so things could be different between us.” He sat up and stared at the wall, “but I’m not and so, tomorrow when we meet again. I’ll treat you as I have in the past and you will never know how much I want you.”

“Knock. Knock.”

The sharp rap on the door pulled him from his thoughts and he swung his head around to look as the door opened and Gunther appeared. “Excuse me, sir. But Mr. Boyer is on the phone, he says, it is most urgent.”

Gratefully, Robert seized the chance to escape his thoughts and he nodded and sat up, as his man brought him his robe. “Thank you, Gunther.” He said quietly as he slid from the bed and donned the robe. Tying the robe shut, the purple-haired nobleman moved swiftly out into the hallway and picked up the phone.

“Yes?”

Gunther stepped out of the bedroom and came to a halt a few feet from Robert, waiting to see if his young master had further need of his services. He smothered an exclamation, when Robert suddenly paled and swayed before catching himself with a hand on the hallway table. Concerned, Gunther moved forward, only to halt when Robert spoke urgently. “Send the information to me immediately! And please send a copy to Mr. Stanley A. Dickenson, the head of the BBA. Here is his fax number.” Robert consulted his date book and read off the number. Listening for a moment further, he said. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I won’t forget this kindness. We will speak again, later. Goodnight.”

The German hung up the phone and turned, he wasn’t surprised to find Gunther at his elbow. “Please, wake the others. There is a situation that must be dealt with immediately, and I am going to need their help. Ask them to meet me in the sitting room in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the man hurried off, Robert picked up the phone again and dialed a number from memory. He had to alert Mr. Dickenson about the crisis that was about to break over the BBA.

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Fifteen minutes later, four yawning young men gathered in the sitting room. Two were seated on a black leather couch and the other two sat in maroon winged-back chairs.

Michael leaned against Johnny and grumbled, “I wonder what’s so important that he had to rout us out of bed at this hour?”

“Poor baby, its’ so unfair, his having to haul his lazy butt out of bed and so soon after putting it there, too.” Johnny laughed softly and patted his mate’s hand in mock sympathy.

Oliver laughed merrily, as Michael gave Johnny the finger.

Enrique grinned and opened his mouth to add his two cents, when Robert walked in carrying a fist full of papers. The grim look on his face had them straightening up and looking at him in concern.

“Robert, what’s the matter?” Enrique asked as his captain and friend walked past them to sit down in an empty chair by the faux fireplace.

Robert glanced at the papers in his hand; then he raised his eyes and coldly, almost clinically told them. “Someone called one of the so-called entertainment papers, i.e. scandal sheets and told them that if they sent a photographer over to the houses the Bladebreakers and Demolition Boys were living in; they would catch the two captains of said teams, ‘in flagrante delicto.’

“And I assume that they did”. Oliver said as he nodded toward the papers. Robert nodded and handed the papers to Enrique, so they could make the rounds.

“Yes, only the scandal sheet took it a step further, they altered the pictures they took. In the original photo, Tala is behind Kai with Lee between Kai and Bryan. The photo was altered to have Bryan between Kai and Lee.” A look of distaste crossed the stern features of the proud knight. “And there is worse, the accompanying article has it that Lee went over there to have it out with Tala for stealing the father of his unborn child - Kai.”

Everyone gasped.

“Mon dieu, do any of them know this?” Oliver cried.

Robert shook his head, “No, and its’ too late to try and stop the paper from coming out. It’s all ready on the streets. My contact says and I agree that a potential scandal like this is just too hot an item for the other media sources to pass up. And once they learn of it, it will be all over the country by lunch.”

“What are we gonna do?” Michael demanded as he slammed a fist down on the arm of the sofa. “We can’t let something like that get out! Who knows what would come of it!”

“Mr. Dickenson and I are doing what we can. I’ve already told the people who run the paper my family owns that I would be highly displeased if I see any reference to this piece of garbage in our paper. And Mr. Dickenson is bringing to bear the influence the BBA has to try to minimize the damage. And we both agree that the affected parties can not remain where they are: so we are going to move them.”

“Where to?” Enrique questioned, “we can’t place them anywhere the media would think to look, so that eliminates every single hotel or inn in town. And they definitely can’t stay at the training facility with the All-Starz’s. That will be the first place everyone will look.”

Robert nodded, “true. Fortunately, I have an answer to that. The German ambassador has agreed to house them at his summer residence. It’s an hours’ drive from the city and the security there is very tight.”

“So, how are we going to work this?” Johnny demanded, “what’s the plan?”

“Mr. Dickenson is going to dispatch a couple of buses to transport everyone. The first bus will accompany him and meet us a couple of blocks from the houses. The other will have Jazzman aboard and will go to the Wales and retrieve the White Tigers. The hospital has been alerted and they will see to Max and Tyson’s safety, until we can come for them tomorrow.”

“That’s not good enough, Robert!” Michael snapped, half-rising from his seat. Johnny reached out and restrained his lover by clamping both hands on Michael’s right arm. Ignoring the Scot, Michael growled, “and what is being done to find out the identity of the person, who gave the paper the tip in the first place!”

“We’re doing the best we can, Michael!” Robert rose from his seat, “we know who published the paper; and I’ll counsel Lee, Kai, Tala and Bryan to consult with a lawyer about suing. We’ll subpoena the paper’s records and maybe then, we’ll find out who’s behind this and put an end to them too.”

The proud German looked at his friends and stated firmly, “gentlemen, get dressed. We leave within the hour.” Then he left the room as the others rose and followed.

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Stanley Dickenson stared down at the papers coming from his fax machine, his usually cheerful face somber, when the papers stopped coming, he ripped the offending sheets from the machine and quickly scanned them. An uncharacteristic growl rumbled from his throat as he dropped the sheets and grabbed for his phone. First, he’d call his old friend and get him to rouse the boys, then he order the buses, call Jazzman and then he’d order his car. He’d make up for this outrage – somehow!

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“Ring! Ring! Ring!”

“Coming! Coming! These ole bones don’t move so fast, you know!” The elder Granger stumbled a little on his way to the phone; snatching it up, he snapped, “Yo! Who is it?”

The phone squawked and feral growl left the old man’s throat. “Ok, Stan, my man! You leave everything to me! I’ll have ‘em up and ready to go! How long we got? Right! Talk at ya in a little bit!”

Revitalized by the thought of trouble, the old man hung up and headed upstairs. Pausing outside Kenny’s room, the oldster noticed that the little genius’s light was still on, so he knocked and just opened the door.

Kenny looked up, shadows under his eyes. “Oh, hello, Mr. Granger. Is there something you need?”

“No time for chit-chat, Kenny, my man! We’ve got word from the big D. that we have to bug out of here tonight! There’s trouble brewing and he wants us out of the line of fire! So, grab your gear and if you could get Tyson and Max’s stuff, I’d be grateful. I have to brave the phoenix’s nest!” And before the small boy could say anything, he’d shut the door and was headed down the hall to face the wolf and phoenix.

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Less than an hour later, the party of four aristocrats and one American rebel were standing in the apartment building’s parking garage. Grimly, Robert led the way to where their cars were parked side by side.

“Oliver,” he said over his shoulder. “In the morning, I want you and Enrique to go to the hospital and see what you can do about hurrying up Max’s release time.”

“I will do my best.” Oliver said, as his lover nodded at his side.

“It was originally set for sometime between ten and one, so the more time you can shave off that, the better.” Robert continued. Oliver and Enrique looked at each other and smiled. “We will be our charming selves and have him out by nine.” Enrique said confidently.

“Humph!” Johnny snorted.

Before either Oliver or Enrique could retaliate, they had reached the cars. Their minor upset was dismissed as they offered each other grim smiles and fingered the launchers; they carried just in case. “Let’s go!” Michael said impatiently as he unlocked the door of his and Johnny’s car and got in. The fiery Scot grimaced and offered his teammates a salute and jumped in the passenger seat. As soon as he shut the door, Michael revved the engine and pulled away with a squeal of rubber. A heartbeat later, he and Johnny were gone.

Robert shook his head and sighed, “we better get going and see if we can catch up with them.”

Oliver and Enrique just grinned.

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“Slam!”

Taking the bull by the horns; the old martial artist threw open the bedroom door and stood back, when nothing came flying out at him, he stuck his head in to find launchers aimed at him.

“Yo, peeps! No need for the armament, it’s just me!” The old man held out both hands and stared at the pair of Russians until they lowered their launchers. “Phew!” He wiped the sweat from his brow; that had been a little close. “Boys, we need to move out! Stanley says, this place isn’t safe anymore and that Robert has arranged a new place for us!”

As he talked. The pair, unconcerned about their nakedness, silently slid from the bed and without asking questions, began to dress in that day’s discarded clothing. Blushing, the old man turned his back.

“Kai, you’ll need to pack for Rei. Tala, you’ll need to wake your bunch up. We don’t have a lot of time. Stan the man is sending a bus, so shake a leg! I’m off to pack my stuff.” With that, he hurried from the room.

Tala grinned and walked to the open window, he leveled Wolborg and pulled the winder. The blade traveled the distance between the two rooms in a flash, tore through the shade and smashed into the far wall.

The resulting crash was echoed by the cry of “WHAT THE HELL!” from Bryan and a startled yelp from Rei.

Kai looked up from where he was tying his boots. “I’d say, they were up.”

Tala grinned wolfishly, as a naked and angry Bryan appeared in the window. “Wolf! I’m coming over there and killing you! What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

“Shut up, Bryan! It was the fastest way I could wake you up! Get dressed and get packing, something’s up and its’ got Dickenson worried. He’s pulling us out of here!”

A pale Rei appeared at Bryan’s elbow and Tala turned to the tiger. “Rei, would you please go get Spencer and Ian up and packed? Although, I doubt they’re still sleeping after that war whoop of Bryan’s.”

Rei snickered and turned to do as he was asked.

“What’s going on?” Bryan growled as he stared across the gap at his captain.

“I don’t know, I told you! Just get ready and don’t forget my things!” Tala snapped, “and hurry, we don’t know how much time we’ve got before our ride gets here!” Tala turned away and hurried back over to help Kai with his packing.

“Idiot.” He murmured, as he began to put the clothes Kai handed him in one of the duffels on the bed.

Kai smirked. “That’s why he’s on YOUR team. I’VE got the smart one in that pairing.” He observed smugly, as Tala snorted at him. Both Russian’s heads swiveled around, when there was a knock on the door. Kai grabbed his launcher and nodded to Tala, who stalked to the door and yanked it open. A nervous looking Kenny and Grandpa Granger stood there, the old man gave the redhead a look and said, “Ready to go?”

“Almost, but due to circumstances beyond my control I . . .” Tala turned to look at Kai and smirked.

Kai smacked him in the face with a rolled up pair of Rei’s pants and pointed to the second duffel. “More packing. Less talking.” He snorted and Tala rolled his eyes, but retrieving the pants, returned to the bed to finish packing.

“Chief and I will take our things, as well as Max and Tyson’s downstairs, so don’t be long.” The old man said, and he and Kenny left.

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Rei came downstairs carrying a duffel bag full of Tala’s things. Ian and Spencer were sitting quietly in the living room on the couch: ready to go.

Bryan padded down the steps on the heels of his kitten: a murderous look on his face. He watched as Rei dropped the bag and went to kneel on the end of the sofa, so he could peek out the window. Wordlessly, the falcon glanced over at his teammates and nodded toward Rei. The pair nodded, message understood. No matter what happened, Rei was to be protected at all costs.

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The bus, Mr. Dickenson’s car and the four cars sporting the Majestic’s and an All-Starz met up at the prearranged spot two blocks from their goal and proceeded together. Everyone wondered what they’d find when they got to where they were going.

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When Rei reported a string of headlights coming slowly down their street. The three Russians closed in behind him and Bryan pulled Rei away from the window. Holding his lover against him, the falcon ordered calmly. “Stay here, until I’ve checked this out.” He gave Rei a quick kiss, then turned and disappeared. Seconds later, they heard the back door open and then close.

Rei stared anxiously after him, but stayed put, until Spencer came up beside him and gripped his elbow. The big blonde led him out of the living room and down the hall to the closet under the stairs. Wordlessly, Spencer opened the door and gave Rei a gentle shove. “Stay there and be quiet.” He whispered and closed the door. He stepped back into the hallway and found Ian stationed at the foot of the steps – launcher loaded and ready. He faced the back of the house and loading Seaborg – waited.

Rei glared at the door and fought the temptation to open it. ‘Note to self. In the morning - have a talk with Bryan about his over protectiveness!’ He snorted mentally, ‘why do I wind up having this conversation with every Alpha in my life?’

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The cavalcade pulled to a halt in front of the two houses and Mr. D. rolled down his window, waiting. He smiled grimly, as he spotted the five youths coming in his direction. Just before they reached him, he exited his car. Resting his hands on his cane’s head, he greeted them quietly, “Robert, Johnny, Enrique, Oliver and Michael, thank you for coming.”

Robert bowed, “Our pleasure and duty. Are we ready to go?”

“Yes.” Mr. D. started, but halted when a voice said from the shadows, “what’s going on?”

Six heads pivoted, as Bryan flowed out of the protection of the dark side of the house and approached them.

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It took ten minutes to get everything loaded and everyone on the bus. Bryan had all but carried a protesting Rei up the steps of the bus. The upset tiger had wanted to stay and have it out with anyone stupid enough to show up at their door.

Annoyed with the stubborn tiger, Tala had snapped, ‘Bryan!” And the falcon had immediately grabbed his lover and hauled the boy out the door and onto the bus, where he kept Rei trapped in the shelter of his arms, until the bus took off.

Once everyone was ready, Robert led the cavalcade down the street. After his car came Michael and Johnny, then the bus and finally Enrique and Oliver. Mr. D. having sent his car away, electing to ride on the bus, so he could explain why the sudden move to his two teams.

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Mr.D. stared at the silent occupants of the bus for a moment, before clearing his throat and catching their attention. “I know you are all curious as to why you were pulled out of what has been your home for the last few weeks.”

“That’s right, bro.” His old friend said, “what’s this trouble you were blim-blaming about?”

“I’ll keep it short, and we can talk about it more in the morning.” Mr. D. folded his hands on top of his cane and sighed. “A business associate of Robert’s – at his insistence – sent me a copy of an article complete with pictures. The gist of the article was that Lee come to the house to fight Tala.”

Stunned, Rei whispered, “why?”

“Because according to the article, Kai is Lee’s lover and Kai had abandoned him and their unborn child, and Lee wanted revenge.” The old man stopped, and shook his head. “In the main photo, Bryan is supposedly trying to separate Kai and Lee.” Tala started to interject, but Mr. D. raised his hand forestalling him. “Yes, Tala, I know that’s not how it was, the photo was altered.”

“Who?” The hoarseness of Kai’s voice said louder than words, how angry he was. Tala gripped his shoulder to ground him, while fighting to contain his own rage, only the need to keep Kai calm kept him from lashing out.

“We don’t know, yet. But, I intend to find out.” The older man said firmly. “So, to avoid the circus the media is sure to make out of this, all of you will spend the rest of tonight and tomorrow at the German ambassador’s summer residence.”

“What about Max and Tyson?” Rei asked voice filled with unshed tears. Bryan held him tighter and nuzzled his neck, trying to calm him.

“Security has been alerted and as soon as Max is released, they will be joining you.”

After that no one had any questions and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

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Exactly one hour later, Robert pulled up to the gatehouse of the mansion. After confirming his identity with the guard, the cavalcade swept up to the brightly-lit front of the house and the elderly couple that stood waiting.

Meryl Wilheilm took one look at the weary youths getting off the bus and pushed past her husband. “Ach, I am Meryl Wilheilm and he,” she motioned over her shoulder, “is Tarell, my husband. I am the housekeeper here, and he is the major-domo. But, there is time enough for introductions in the morning! It is to bed, you must go and at once!” She ordered one and all and shooed them into the house: leaving her husband to deal with the luggage.

She led everyone up to the second floor, chattering all the way. With the air of a sergeant assigning quarters, she opened each bedroom door with a flourish and waved in each couple or single that would be using that room.

Bryan and Rei were the last ones; she led to a room. After she opened the door, she crossed to the window and opened it. Then she turned to the two boys, who were leaning against each other, holding one another up. Wise old eyes smiled, as she went and took Rei gently by an arm and led the weary tiger to the bed and helped him to sit down. Turning down the bed, she came back and knelt and helped Rei to remove his shoes, as Bryan made his way to the other side of the bed.

As Bryan sat down, he had to strain to hear the words, the woman was whispering to his lover as she helped Rei undress. “Nothing is to be feared here, young one. You and the little one are safe; I guarantee it. Now, you and the fierce one need only to rest and in the morning, things will look brighter, nein?”

“I hope so.” Rei slurred as he pulled his legs up and slid under the covers, where Bryan lay waiting. The Russian watched as Meryl pulled the covers up and over him and Rei. The two exchanged a look of understanding, then the old housekeeper took her leave.

“Bryan?” Rei sighed as he snuggled up to his falcon.

“Yes, koi?”

“Why would anyone want to tell such awful lies? Kai and Lee are only friends! It doesn’t make sense.” Rei’s voice trailed off, as sleep claimed him.

Bryan braced himself on one elbow and leaned over and kissed his tiger on the temple, then laying back down and cuddling his beloved close, the Russian stared into the darkness. “I don’t know who you are, or why you tried to hurt my friends, but I will find you and when I do, you will pay.” The breeze carried the whispered dark vow out into the night.