Hadrian's Lover (29 page)

“Enough of this,” Gideon mutters as he reaches across his desk for a handful of tissue. After wiping his hand and face, Gideon Weller resumes his authoritative bearing. Sitting upright, he zips up his pants before flicking on his reading lamp. Blinking his left eye, he begins peering over the file he keeps open at all times. What he reads brings a sneer to his lips. Todd Middleton has proven to be just as unruly as Gideon Weller had hoped. He is fully aware of the unspoken charge against
Tabatha
. No man should ever be allowed to get away with rape. It never ceases to amaze him that some women haven’t the heart to accuse the man, as is their right. Knowing firsthand how rape can tear a woman apart, Mr. Weller sees it as his personal mission never to allow a rapist ever to reenter Hadrian society, for once a man has raped a woman, he will commit the act again and again until he has damned all of Hadrian to a living hell. Every time a rapist comes into his camp, he finds himself compelled to watch his mother’s horror over and over, witnessing again and again her bloody and bruised body, her heart-wrenching screams of agony. And then come the memories of her institutionalized life with the rending of hair, the self-mutilations that eventually led to the end of her life.

Gideon Weller has never forgotten the horror of his one visit to his mother after she was institutionalized. Not having seen her since the attack, Gideon was unprepared for how the violence had demented her. The nurse on duty the day of Gideon’s visit had tried to warn him. “Your mother is very unstable, Mr. Weller. I do not recommend you visit her. If you wish, I can turn her window on so we can see inside her room.” Instinctively, he blinked the window light on, revealing a woman with unkempt hair, muttering and pacing.

Gideon, repulsed by the idea of staring at his mother like an animal in the zoo, demanded, “Turn that off! My mother is not a gorilla!”

Having forgotten whom he was addressing at the moment, the young man protested, “No, she is more like a Tasmanian Devil.” Noting the look of horror on Gideon Weller’s face, the young nurse apologized, “I am sorry to speak so cruelly about your mother but that is the way it is. She is dangerous.” Although Captain Tanya Weller was a short, slightly plump, unassuming woman, her face had that rounded, pointed look of the small devil, not to mention the sharp incisors. “She will lunge at you as soon as you walk through that door. She will dig her teeth into you, and more often than not, she aims for the throat.” As a reflex, the young man rubs the side of his neck, caressing the scar. “Thank Hadrian she never bit into the vein,” the young nurse muttered to himself.

“I insist you shut off that window and let me in to see my mother,” Gideon demanded.

The young man merely shook his head. “That would be unwise. Right now, she appears unresponsive, but the very moment you walk through that door, she will lash out at you, certain you are one of the rapists.”

“But she’ll know me,” Gideon insisted. “I’m her son.”

Still doubtful, the young man held off unlocking Tanya Weller’s door. “We usually only allow women in there. The last male nurse who went in there, well,” he said, again rubbing at the scar on his neck, “she left some mighty nasty scars on his face.” He shuddered as he spoke. “Nearly tore out one of his eyeballs. Left him blind on the left side.”

“She’s my mother,” Gideon persisted. “She would never hurt me.”

“You are a man!” The nurse’s eyes opened wide in emphasis. “She always hurts men.”

“I am her son!” Although Gideon’s confidence had been shaken, he was determined to see his mother. “I’m family!”

“Oh, sweetie,” the young man lamented. “You have no idea what your mother’s been through, do you?”

“I know she was brutally beaten and raped.” Gideon had been close to shouting by that point. He had been kept away from his mother for too long. His Mama Rena had repeatedly dissuaded him from making the trip and successfully kept him away for over a month. “Honey,” Mama Rena had tried to reason softly, “your mother is not responding well to men.” Gideon refused to believe his own mother would reject him. “But, baby,” Mama
Rena had pleaded, “she’s not the same woman she was before the attack.” But nothing Mama Rena said had deterred Gideon from visiting his mother.

After a month of battling with Mama Rena, Gideon had been beyond frustration at being forestalled by this nurse. Tired of being kept in the dark, Gideon had started to yell, “Let me into my mother’s room now!”

The young nurse sighed, “All right, but you shouldn’t go in there alone. Let me voc security first.”

“I do not need security to visit my own mother. Let me in her room NOW!” Gideon had been adamant.

The nurse’s lips pursed, his head shook, but he had turned and done as Gideon Weller instructed. As soon as Gideon had entered the room, the nurse had locked the door behind him. Under no circumstances was Captain Tanya Weller’s room ever to be left open. Her escape, it was feared, would lead to the mass murder of men. As soon as the door was sealed, the nurse had blinked and put in a call to security. “Get up here fast; there’s going to be trouble—that’s right, the Weller woman—her son—I had no choice—he was adamant! For the love of Hadrian, get up here now!—I can’t—I won’t go in there! She’ll kill us both!” Before he had even had a chance to blink the connection off, four female security guards, accompanied by a female nurse with syringe in hand, had entered Tanya Weller’s room. Tanya Weller was sedated and her son, Gideon Weller, was laid out on a stretcher and raced off to emergency.

The attack against her son had been brutal. Captain Tanya Weller was career military. Though short and stocky, she had excelled at hand-to-hand combat. The instant her son had entered the room, she had smiled. “Gideon, is that you?” But before he could even say, “Yes,” she had slammed her knuckles into his larynx, shattering his Adam’s apple. The damage to his vocal chords provided him with the deep raspy voice that haunts many a ward.

Tanya Weller had watched as her son sunk to his knees. Gasping for air, he had looked up at her in confusion and fear. Captain Tanya Weller was on high alert, every muscle taut, ready to attack, but first, she had wanted to taunt her prey. “You dirty
strai
rat!” And then she had sneered. “You think I don’t know? A mother always knows!” Then she had smashed her fist into his face, breaking his nose. Gideon had collapsed to the floor, bleeding profusely from both nostrils. Tanya Weller had successfully managed a kick into his groin just as the door was opened. She had then been
tackled, pinned, and injected with a very strong sedative, knocking her out, but not before she had spewed out damaging insults toward her son.

Gideon shudders at the memory. As always, he tells himself,
I am not one of them! These men, these heterosexual rapists
, he repeats over and over,
are the very cancer eating at the heart of Hadrian society, and they must be extricated!

The worst part about having a known rapist in his camp is knowing that boy is currently being sheltered by that
love and hug and nurture boys back to homosexual health maniac!
Jason Warith is far too easy on the boy, allowing for far too many demerits to slip past without punishment. The boy has already been here for three days, and only once has the paddle been administered.
If I only had the time to follow them everywhere!
His administrative duties, unfortunately, are endless and demanding. It is very bothersome, though, knowing Tabatha is the only ward not to suffer punishment for obvious misdeeds. Warith’s leniency toward his ward is starting to nurture seeds of discontent among the other wards whose guardians still adhere to camp rules. And word has gotten back to him that Warith refuses to call Tabatha by his new name, again, spreading dissension among the other wards. Mattie Malloy had to be beaten twice yesterday for refusing to answer to his proper name. Poor Stephie was shaken. Gideon Weller had had to step in and finish the first job for him. When Stephie came to him in tears, informing him of Mattie’s tenth demerit of the day, Gideon Weller had ordered his second punishment to be public; a punishment he determined to deliver. Everyone in the camp was ordered to the central meeting room. This public display of humiliation was designed specifically to shut Mattie Molloy down and stem the tide of insurrection Warith had instigated against his rule. And it proved to be very effective. Not a single word of dissent has been heard from Molloy or anyone else since.

Gideon Weller smiles, remembering just how effective this act was. He had ensured Jason Warith and Tabatha were given front row standing (no one was seated for this ritual). With paddle in hand, Weller had wielded it with all his might against Mattie Molloy’s already raw and swollen buttock. Having completed the task, he had turned, pointing the paddle (blood dripping from it onto the floor) at his appalled audience, and shouted, “There will be no more dissension in my camp!” His voice had boomed and echoed ominously off the walls. Looking to the top right corner of his eye screen, he had ended the session with an order, “Private sessions, NOW!”

Jason Warith and Todd had been the first to move. Jason had roused his horror-struck ward into action with three simple words, spoken loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, “Let’s go, Tabatha.” Jason had been quelled and was determined to toe the line from now on—in public at any rate.

A heated debated has risen over the use of corporal punishment inside reeducation camps. As we all know, corporal punishment within our educational institutions is illegal. No teacher would ever think of raising a hand against his or her students today. And, yet, the use of corporal punishment is legal in reeducation camps. It has recently come to the attention of HNN that Jason Warith has requested an investigation be held at the Northeast Reeducation Camp regarding the excessive use of corporal punishment. This request came in the form of a letter complaint written by Jason Warith against Gideon Weller. Jason Warith claims to have witnessed Gideon Weller beating students’ backsides with a paddle on more than one occasion, and the beatings were so harsh the man actually drew blood. Warith also states in his letter of complaint that the guardians under Gideon’s employ have no qualms following the man’s lead. “Young boys are beaten daily at the Northeast Reeducation Camp,” Warith wrote in his letter to the reeducation board.

Witnesses are being called forward to speak of these events. Many speak in Gideon Weller’s favor. Darrell Jeffreys supports his employer, stating, “These are no ordinary youth we are asked to care for. You can’t coddle them. They are violent and abusive when they arrive and only a hard hand teaches them how to obey.” Other guardians add support, even Stephie Chatters, the young man I interviewed when I toured that facility. “I hate using the paddle,” Stephie admits, “but there are times when it is the only way to deal with noncompliance. Sometimes these boys can be really naughty.” When asked if it was true that Mr. Weller had instructed his employees to beat their wards at least once a day, Stephie Chatters denied the charge emphatically. “Oh, no, we are only to use the paddle if a boy earns five demits, not before! Usually you only have to use the paddle once or twice and then they stop misbehaving.”

The question of five demerits earning a boy a paddling such as described at the Northeast Reeducation Camp is also being questioned. What exactly earns a boy a demerit? Does the punishment meet the crime? Is such physical force necessary to help reeducate our youth back into Hadrian’s loving arms? Jason Warith says no. Gideon Weller insists the answer is yes. No one at HNN is prepared, at this moment, to judge the good folk of the Northeast Reeducation Camp. As none of us has ever had to deal with a young man who believes himself to be heterosexual, we cannot possibly know what it is like having to reeducate these recalcitrant and potentially violent youth. So, we turn to you, Hadrian, and ask for your views. Voc us @HNN#CP-RE/MH and tell us what you think about corporal punishment. Is it a necessary component of the reeducation of our male youth or should its practice be abandoned? We look forward to hearing from you.

Vale!

Although memories of having squashed Mattie Molloy and seeing the entire camp shaken please Gideon Weller, he still feels disturbed. An edge of uncertainly has entered into his world. Shaking his head, Gideon Weller resolves that there will be no more niceties, no more leniencies with this Tabatha Middleton!
This one
, he determines,
will suffer
. With a harrumph, he determines,
Vigilante justice must occur since the system has chosen to coddle this one
. Rapists, as far as Gideon Weller is concerned, need the harshest treatment of all. They need to learn what it feels like to be violated by another human being the way they violated his mother!

Blinking open the day’s schedule, Gideon Weller notes that Jason Warith and Tabitha Middleton have Room 3 booked for their evening private session. Gideon Weller knows Warith
hasn’t the balls
to do what is necessary, so he determines to step in and take charge. Whispering, “Darrell,” he waits until a connection is made. “Darrell, meet me outside Room 3.” Blinking quickly, he severs the connection and makes his way out of his office and down the hall. Standing outside Room 3, Gideon Weller waits until Darrell Jeffreys arrives before taking any action. Quietly, he opens the door to Room 3 a crack, just enough to hear what is being said inside. Sickened, Gideon Weller realizes that Warith is listening to the youth talk about his attraction to Crystal Albright—the very girl he had raped! With a simple nod of the head, Weller directs Jeffreys to begin the attack. Darrell reacts instantly. He knows his instructions by rote—rip open the door, grab the guardian (in this case Warith), thrust him from the room, slam the door shut, and lock it. His next order of business is to hold the youth in a headlock while Gideon Weller administers medicinal intercourse. Jeffreys always closes his eyes, so he doesn’t have to watch.

Jason’s first reaction, like many a guardian before him, is to try to
re-open the door, but it is locked. Hearing Todd screaming, Jason frantically pulls at the door to no avail. He bangs on it, slams his shoulder against it, shouts down the corridor for help, all to no purpose. He does everything he can think of to get back inside. When the screaming finally stops, Darrell opens his eyes and waits for Gideon Weller to nod before releasing the boy and then unlocking the door. As soon as the door gives, Jason pushes his way into the room, shoving past Darrell, just in time to see Mr. Weller beginning to stuff his penis back inside his pants. Todd, he discovers, is lying senseless on the floor, his pants and shorts a tangled mess around his ankles. He kneels at Todd’s side. The boy’s anus, Jason notices, is bleeding. No doubt, the internal damage is severe. Weller has clearly bludgeoned the boy. Looking up at Weller, Jason notices blood on the man’s hand. His eyes widen in horror.
Hadrian’s lover
, he marvels,
did he use his fist?
Raging on the warden, Jason punches Mr. Weller in the head. Stunned, the man flies backwards, with his still hard cock sticking up in the air as he crashes to the floor.

“You will pay for this,” Mr. Weller growls after regaining his senses. Returning to his feet, he snarls, “You are fired.”

Jason’s voice is a low rumble. “You were raping this child!”

“That child,” Mr. Weller yells out, pointing down to the floor, “is the rapist! He raped Crystal Albright! He managed to avoid the death penalty, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t learn what it feels like to be violated the way he violated that poor girl.” Soft now, Mr. Weller tucks his penis back inside his pants and zips them back up.

Jason turns, bends down, and begins gently to lift the boy’s briefs and pants up. “Leave him be,” Mr. Weller orders.

Jason’s voice spits out wrath. “I will not.” He lifts
Todd
into his arms. Defiantly, he stares at Mr. Weller. “I am taking Todd to the city central hospital.” There is no way Jason is willing to trust anyone at this camp right now! “And then,” he states pointedly, “I am calling Quadrant Officials. I intend to see you arrested.”

“Really,” Weller slurs sarcastically. “And what are you going to tell them?”

“I intend to tell them how you raped this boy, the evidence being the severe damage you caused and no doubt your sperm!”

Mr. Weller laughs, looking to Darrell; reassured by the man’s smirk, he turns back to laugh in Jason’s face. “Be my guest.” He motions for Jason to
leave and signals for Darrell to stand aside. As Jason walks out the room, Weller adds, “Good luck making your charge stick.” Then, adding acerbically, “My aide here can attest to the fact that Tabatha begged me to help him. He said you weren’t willing to do what was necessary so I had to take the initiative.” Looking over to his aide, he states, “Isn’t that right, Darrell?”

“That’s what I heard, sir.” Darrell stands next to his boss like an unmovable brick wall.

Stunned and sickened, Jason slowly turns, Todd hanging limp in his arms, to stare horror-struck at the man. “Have you no moral conscience?”

“Do not speak to me about morals.” Weller’s voice turns into a skewer aimed right at Jason’s heart. “You, who shelter and aid a known rapist!” Spitting on the floor at Jason’s feet, he yells, “You sicken me!” And then turning his back, he orders Jason Warith, “Get out of my sight!”

When Todd wakes, he is lying on his stomach in a sterile hospital room. Shuddering seizures ravage his body as he relives, during his first conscious moment, the stabbing pain inflicted upon him by Gideon Weller. As the spasms slowly cease, a terrified Todd realizes things can always get worse.