One in Ten Ch. 05

(Thanks to PokingFun for her editing on both this and last chapter - sorry PF)

(Thanks also to Bryan, Charles and John for help with feedback and ideas and this and last chapter)

*The Titanic was sunk by snowflakes that fell long before mankind first forged iron*

*Yes*

I had made the pledge to abandon my society. The message deleted itself.

"Who was it?" Angle mumbled. I couldn't tell her the truth. She was still a cop.

"Wrong number," I yawned. I double-checked my call log and, as promised, there was no record I could access of the call ever coming in.

The fantastic nature of it all allowed me to go to sleep within seconds. The betrayal of my tiny group of 'friends' didn't bother me. I was hardly making their lives better. If I had meant anything in their lives, they would treat the next man they came across with the same sense of respect and understanding they'd shown me. If not...

The doorbell went off a bit past seven in the morning. I flicked on the monitor to see who was there while Angel sat up muttering various expletives. I didn't recognize the two women but I was becoming familiar with the clothes emporium the gang used.

"Good morning," I yawned.

"Mr. Jensen, Detectives Riga and Kwan of the GED," they introduced themselves. Angel snatched the remote from my hand.

"Po, this is Angel," she spoke up. "Make a note that I am on premises."

"Sure thing Angel - duly noted," Detective Kwan grinned.

"Kwan is a friend," Angel gave me a tired smile. Her friend maybe, but as her partner Seneca had proved, being a friend of Angel didn't seem to transfer over to me. Kristi took her badge and gun from beside the bed and headed out to the door. I heard her activate it and the two cops come in. Me - I was more concerned about a dozen things including my little text message that was only a few hours cold.

I slipped on some jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt before going out to my 'guests'. Our exchange was curt. I was tired and tired of cops. I didn't warrant civility from their perspective.

"What is this about?" Angel inquired.

"It is a 3307," Detective Riga responded. That was rude.

"Under-age sex?" Angel seemed confused. "I'd like to watch over this one, if that's okay?" It was odd to hear a cop requesting something from a woman that wasn't a request. Riga was resisting.

"Sure," Kwan nodded. "You are his ghost after all." I assumed that 'ghost' meant the minder the Metropolitan police had placed on me.

"Let me get some fresh clothes on and I'll be right back," Kristi told them.

"Sure," Kwan agreed.

"What's he like?" Regina smirked as Angel passed her. Angel jerked to a halt and I could sense the tension boil up inside her. "You haven't posted any reviews yet."

"Have you ever considered how demeaning that is for him?" Angel turned on Riga. Their faces were only inches apart. "We are all in the same room and you are treating him like a piece of furniture or a slab of meat."

"Back off," Riga glared. "All the guys have them. It is no big deal." Angel laughed.

"No big deal?" Angel snorted. "How many did we lose last night?" Riga balked.

"Eight," Kwan revealed softly. I wasn't shocked - I was past caring. I did smile.

"Shit," Angel muttered.

"What are you smiling about?" Kwan glanced my way.

"I hate you - cops that is," I grinned. "Every loss for you is a victory for mankind in my book. Detective Riga, I'm sure if you come home this evening and find that someone broke into your home and stole your TV, you'll miss the TV more than any of the nameless men that are no more than a case file on your computer."

"Your attitude was noted in your file too," Kwan sighed.

"I'll be right back. Israel...try to not start anymore fires," Angel groaned. She departed for her condo across the hall.

"My distain and distrust for police is in my file?" I kept grinning.

"Good, I'd hate for us to get off on the wrong foot," I said. "I'll tell you right now, I'm going to be as little help as possible because I have zero belief you have my best interest at heart. If you'll let me, I'll get some socks and shoes on. Then I'm going to call my lawyer. I'm pretty sure that at 7:15 on a Sunday morning, she's got nothing better to do." I started heading for my bedroom.

"Jerk, you need to be adjusted," Riga growled. I turned around and walked right at the two GED detectives. Their hands gravitated to their Tasers.

"Back off," Kwan cautioned me. I stopped, staring into Riga's eyes.

"You're pathetic," I sneered. She popped me in the ribs. It was an automatic response to having her authority mocked.

It wasn't particularly hard. The blow was meant to shock me and erode my willingness to resist. I gritted my teeth and fell over - all the way over. The two cops stared down at me.

"Oh come on," Riga chuckled. "I didn't hit you that hard, you wimp." I came back with a feral grin. I forced myself painfully back to my feet.

"A pathetic, evil, brutal thug who would rather beat up a defenseless man than save a life," I ground out. Riga looked to Kwan in confusion. "Come on Cop, your partner will never report your abuse. Why are you stopping now?"

"What is your problem?" Riga studied me.

"You punched me for giving you a poor job review," I grunted, "and you are asking what my problem is?"

"Go get your shoes, Mr. Jensen," Detective Kwan commanded. I retreated, making the call to Capri O'Hara, my Public Defender lawyer, once I was there.

She didn't ask. It was clear that I'd woken her up and she was a bit cranky about it, but she agreed to meet me at the GED offices. Angel was coming in from the front door, looking a bit disheveled, when I came from the back.

"He's really annoying," Riga commented. "I don't know how you put up with him."

My most recent bout of pain must have shown on my face.

"Israel, are you okay?" Angel studied me.

"We had to tune him up," Kwan answered. "He got in our faces." Angel flinched.

"Who hit him?" Angel asked in a low growl.

"It is not worth it," I begged her.

"I hardly touched him," Riga confessed.

"You hardly touched him," Angel repeated, still looking at me. "Israel, lift your shirt."

"No," I sighed.

"Israel, they'll never learn if you don't try," Angel pleaded with me. I lifted my shirt.

"Mother-fucker," Kwan whispered. "What happened to him?"

"There was no report on this," Riga added. My torso was a roadmap of pain.

"You still think he's mouthy?" Angel grumbled.

"He's not jerking your chain," she glared at her fellow cops. "He really hates us and he has no faith in any level of professionalism from those in our occupation. After spending a few days with him, I have to agree. We treat men like shit. No one cares and by the way you are looking at me, like I've lost my mind, I can tell you don't understand."

"Damn it Angel, I told you to take this to therapy," Kwan intervened. "This guy is screwed up, but your reaction is normal. You want to protect him, but this isn't the way. He needs professional help. Write him up." That was terribly chilling.

"Po, he never crossed the line. You know that," Angel said with a level of disbelief.

"Angel, I think we are back to why I don't trust any of these bitches," I tried to sound defiant.

"Mr. Jensen - Israel - I believe you were raped in college by forty-one women. You never received treatment for that tragic event, but you clearly need it," Po Kwan regarded me. "You need help." I laughed. It hurt, but I had to.

"No crime so this is not your jurisdiction," I stared back. "If there is a crime, draw up warrants for the rapists and the security personnel who covered it up. Start making some arrests. Those women are hardly master criminals." Kwan didn't immediately respond. "You are not going to do that which leaves you with a dilemma."

"You can't legally commit me because you women cover for each other," my face twisted in distain. "You may think I'm nuts, but without admitting the root cause, the police are powerless to act on that information. My lawyer will bust open your ovaries if you try to put me away illegally and I won't voluntarily commit myself."

"Angel, help me out here," Kwan urged.

"I think we are back to why I don't trust any of those bitches," Angle parroted me. "Po, you can't get a sexual exemption without a criminal charge to present to a judge. We both know that. That means you are willing to drug him, basically wiping out the man he is."

"You didn't used to be like that," Angel bashed her friend. "You are supposed to be a freaking expert on Male Rape and Recovery. I brought Israel's case to you because you used to consider the man in the equation. Now you are coming across as a flesh peddler."

"That's not fair. There are mounting pressures to get results," Kwan replied.

"Results? Israel has been operating above and beyond code," Angel countered. She was referring to how often I was having sex.

"Did you listen to your boy on Thursday?" Riga rejoined the clamber.

"That's politics," Angel fought back. "Since when did the GED handle First Amendment issues?"

"Since the very existence of the GED's bothers me, why don't we figure out why they are knocking on my door so I can get back to my life?" I interrupted.

"Excellent idea, Israel," Kwan sighed with relief. Since no one complained, off we went. I traveled with the two GED officers and Angel followed behind.

In short order, I found myself in an interrogation room downtown at the Police Plaza station. Even early on a Sunday morning there seemed to be hundreds of cops around. I'd made my desire for legal representation and Angel had assured me she'd be close by, monitoring the situation.

That stopped helping after a few minutes. I was alone in the presence of my enemies - on their home ground and at their mercy. My rational mind was telling me that a race was on. They would want to talk to me before my lawyer arrived. Kwan and Riga came into the room, acting casual and trying to put me at ease. Riga offered to upload something to my computer.

"You want me to surrender my right to counsel?" I snorted. "No way."

"Very well," Kwan graciously allowed. "Detective Riga and I are going to have a conversation while we wait for your lawyer to arrive. Don't mind us." They began to go over my case. Apparently, me, or someone using my identity, had lured two fifteen year old girls to a club for the purpose of sex.

The girls met someone who was supposedly representing me. He had tried to lure them from the club, but one of the girls became concerned and contacted security. Security grabbed the guy, questioned everyone involved and contacted the police. Thirty minutes with the GED and the culprit had folded like an origami crane.

Why had they waited so long to contact me? Well, they had tried. My phone wasn't working. They had progressed logically and made a bracelet ID request. Routine right? Their plea went straight to the EPD (Executive Protection Detail) of the same Metropolitan Police Force and got no farther. My alibi for not being involved seemed to be a non-starter.

Then my bracelet logged my sex act at midnight with Magdalena "Little M" Keverich, one of the biggest mobsters in the city. Theoretically, that was an alibi but it seemed Magdalena wasn't returning GED calls at the moment. Had I been terrified as opposed to emotionally numb, their little dog and pony show might have worked.

I rested my head on the desk so Riga slammed her palm down next to my head.

"I thought I saw a cockroach," Riga grinned. I smiled back.

I wanted make a snappy comeback like 'you must have been looking in a mirror,' but that was more than my shot nerves could deliver. Instead, I mustered up enough defiance to cross my arms on the table and rest my head on them. Riga tried to get the banter flowing once more, but Po stopped her. She knew I was past being tricked into a questioning session.

They departed and fifteen minutes later Capri arrived looking harried yet alert.

"Don't worry, Israel," Capri smiled warmly. "I've looked over the case and they already have a complete confession from a co-worker of yours - Troy Berry."

"What?" I struggled back to clarity.

"Your co-worker hacked a few of your files, found pictures of you in college and created a Sexbook page for you, but with his contact numbers," Capri kept her tone gentle.

"Why?"

"Well, as I warned you - have less impressive sex," Capri tried to joke.

"Troy's reviews were - hmmm - less than stellar," Capri stated. "Okay, apparently he's a freak with a hair-trigger. He likes women to do degrading things. Added to that, he had a 'virgin' porn collection that even the GED found to be - extensive." 'Virgin' porn was basically a girl's first time sexual experience.

I had heard some went beyond normal. Things like slavery (the male enslaving the young woman - women holding men in captivity was a totally different 'healthy' genre), rape (man on woman), the mythical male sexual dynamo disguised as a neighbor/teacher/hitchhiker, and even 'long lost father' scenarios.

"Troy used your identity on Sexbook to attempt to entice under-age girls for sexual encounters. According to what I was shown, he/you were romancing ten girls in the local area. They seized your home and work computers, both of his, plus Sexbook handed over their records," Capri informed me. It was taking me a few seconds to digest all of this.

Troy had moved fast, but then Sexbook was clubbing on steroids. I had made the news Tuesday. On Thursday, I had my rant on National Television. By accident, I had become a bad boy - a firebrand preacher cursing the establishment.

"At last count, you have over 17,000 friends," Capri added.

Not only did I not want the attention, some shithead had been talking to God knows how many women, promising things in my name.

"Can I see Troy?" I mumbled.

"I don't advise that on the grounds you'll try to kill him in front of numerous witnesses," Capri gave her legal opinion.

"Why did he do this?" I wondered while meeting Capri's gaze.

"He's a pervert and you are a young, good-looking guy who tries to treat women decently," Capri reasoned.

"Fine, where did he get any pictures of me? I don't keep any," I told her.

Carpi dialed up her tablet and showed me 'my' page.

"First off, what is this thing still doing active?" I asked bitterly.

"The account is in your name," Capri stated. "They can't cancel it without a court order or your consent."

I had 324 unanswered 'requests'. My chat log was a hydra nightmare. How the fuck did fifteen year old girls even get on this site?

"How do I cancel this?"

"Call them first thing Monday morning and...use the proper credit card - whoops," Carpi gulped.

"I'll start on a court injunction now," Capri said. I nodded as I opened my picture page. I shivered and was profoundly grateful I hadn't eaten yet. "Israel?"

"These," I gulped, "are Bethany Fremont's - they are from the collection she took of me when we were dating." Some of these were really, really private - barely on the correct edge of pornography.

It would have been easy to believe this was done on purpose. Bethany wanted to hurt me so that I would behave. She didn't want to share me with the world.

"Have the police check to see if Troy hacked Bethany's system too," I told Capri. "After she dumped that video of me, he probably figured she had other tidbits of my past."

"We don't need to," Capri suggested. "They are not going to bring charges against you and are not required to assist them in their job." The GED wouldn't want to climb the legal barricades that defended Bethany's home system but her work computer was more vulnerable.

"Sure," I shrugged. "Can I leave?"

"There is the matter of a member of the Organized Crime Taskforce wanting to talk with you," Capri smirked. "Care to tell me what that is about?" I showed her my wristband. A scan and a whistle later,

"I am not holding you responsible for any of the shitty things that have happened in your life, but have you ever considered that you live under a curse?" she poised.

"That joke isn't funny," I mumbled.

"I wasn't joking," she said in all seriousness. "Your luck is horrible."

"Thanks for pointing that out. I am not talking to any more cops if I can help it."

"I'll go tell them," Capri stood. She exited and was gone about three minutes.

"Now they want to give you a physical," Capri questioned. "Is there anything I need to know?" I stood and took off my shirt.

"Oh God," she gasped. "What happened?"

"I don't want a talk about it and I don't want a physical," I responded. "What can you do?"

"Have any of them seen you like this?" Capri asked.

"Yes - Detective Angel Kristi had me show GED Detectives Riga and Kwan."

"Okay, saying 'no' is wrong," Capri mused. "They'll charge you with self-endangerment. Let their doctor look you over, determine these are not self-inflicted, then refuse to press charges."

"Don't give them anything," she continued. "Don't make anything up. Tell them your lawyer has advised you not to make a statement at this time. Screw them - force them to make a case first. Since they don't have a cooperative victim, they need a crime scene or witness. Is that going to happen?"

"Not likely," I looked down.

"Fine; let's go then," Capri reached for the door. "Your cop friend Angel - she's not your friend. You wouldn't be going through this latest indignity if it wasn't for her." It was nice of Capri to express that, but I'd already figured that one out.

She still wanted to punish the people who had abused me, but she'd sacrificed me to do it. The OCT cop was pissed at being blown off by Capri. Riga, Kwan and Angel went down to the medical office with Capri and me. Angel tried to talk with me, to be supportive but I ignored her. I was being petulant, but then I would have been going home if it wasn't her stunt with me showing off my bruised chest.

The exam and resulting argument was fatiguing. Capri was my strength; my sword and shield who refused to give an inch in my defense. In the end, I kept my anger and sobs to myself and exited the station in one piece.

"Let me take you home," Angel said, touching my elbow.

"No," I looked her over, too tired to give a fuck. "You go home. If you are going to let the shit go when I tell you to let it go, come by once I'm home. Until you can do that, stay on your own side of the walkway, please." Angel blinked then turned violently on Capri.

"What the fuck did you tell him?"

"I told him that by showing your GED buddies his bruises, he was forced to endure yet another strange women running her hands over his body, you idiot," Capri shot back. "That's great instincts if you are a cop - lousy ones if you are his friend."

"Israel had the crap beaten out if him," Angel countered. "Detectives Kwan and Riga had to know what shape he was in."

"Why?" Capri snapped. "Why couldn't Israel tell them? Why did it have to be you?" Angel had no immediate response to that.

"It was because Riga hit me," I filled in the blanks for Capri. "She wanted to show both of them that it wasn't okay to pummel me - because someone had beat them to it."

"Do you want to go back inside and press charges?" Capri stopped us.

"Ms. O'Hara, if the woman who tells me she loves me isn't going to arrest a cop who beats me up the moment that cop confesses to the deed, why in the hell would I waste my time making charges that never could be proven?" I sighed. I looked at Angel.

"I'm not asking you to not be a cop. I'm not asking you to be someone else. I love you the way you are, but I do ask that you be honest about what you do and what that means to me," I looked upon her with weary eyes. Capri was far less polite.

"Angel, next time you are about to do something questionable, ask yourself this; would you do it to the Mayor on live television?" Capri growled.