25

Chapter 21 -- Prep and Travel

Word quickly got around the Circle to those outside the security committee and their families that the place was on some kind of security threat. We were using more and more of the human resources for guard duty and as back-up snipers. There was some concern, but the impetus for the concern was never fully revealed. Those who had known Dev had their suspicions but would never mention his or his family's names again.

Dave and several committee members took a lesson from the novel 'Wag The Dog', and added in the misinformation that because of the reality TV series, the Circle and various people in it, were receiving hate mail that threatened them with bodily harm and death. The Circle had decided to treat the threats as real, and was reacting accordingly. While this was true to some extent, that was not the primary motivating force for the security increase. People we admonished not to talk about the threats in the presence of the cameras lest they tempt fate more than the Circle already had with the TV show.

The round-the-clock staffing at the gate by Circle members continued into May, however, no one showed up that acted the least bit suspicious or looking like they might be connected to the Colombian cartel.

On average there was at least one car a day with curiosity seekers that somehow figured out where the Circle might reside. There was enough information in Cricket's book to narrow down the location, plus in several places the book mentioned the main entrance was at the end of Christian Grey Drive. A quick search on any map application knowing that fact and our city, and one would have the general area. On a contour map it showed up as a large undeveloped piece of land. On a satellite view, one could see a few roads and homes, including the race track pattern and the runway for the planes adjacent to the townhouses.

The security committee talked about the coming graduation party and how to handle the influx of a large number of non-members in and out of the complex. Ultimately, the group decided to adopt an 'Open Door' policy, but to double-up on gate duty and patrols around and through the party area. Dave teased, "That means we can also partake of the benefits associated with the party, if there are any."

Elsewhere, the seniors were busy planning the more fun parts of the event. The board approved using the meadow for the tents and for parking unless it had recently rained and created a mud pit. That made establishing a path between two of the homes to the core easier, and hence a check-in station where every attendee had to get a stamp of approval after presenting a recent STD test. Their names were also noted at check-in and any affiliation, such as the fraternity or sorority. Some of the guys, assisted by Millie, made signs directing cars to the parking area or to a drop-off location, and then walkers from the parking area into the core.

Colin, Noah, and Oliver created three makeshift bars, and stocked them with thousands of cans of soft drinks and bottles of water. An outfit named Lee's Ice delivered hundreds of bags of ice to cool everything down in large plastic storage bins. Trash barrels were strategically placed around the patio and in the core living room. Parts of the core beyond the living room were cordoned off or blocked off with barrier doors.

Dane and Seth took over creating a Tent City in part of the meadow not being used as a parking lot. Again, signs were made and about a dozen four-person tents set up and secured.

Hank arranged for Marvelous Sanitation to deliver twelve porta-potties. One zone was established just off the patio past the gazebo, another couple near the tents, and one just outside the entry point from the core to the parking lot. The interior restrooms would be in full operation, as well.

Bobbie and her two sous chefs started to stockpile easily served hors d'oeuvres that would feed several hundred hungry mouths. There were also huge boxes stored of potato chips, taco chips, and other party favorites. There'd also be various dips and salsa to go with them.

Owen appeared before Dave one day with a strange look on his face. He said, "Dave, several of the seniors -- pledges -- asked whether at the party I'd staff a tattoo station, where anybody could get a tat. They'd pay me, but that's beside the point. I'd do it for free just as part of the celebration. I'm asking, I guess. I could bring Greg, too, and I'm sure it'd be fun for all concerned."

Dave laughed, "You going to stick your proboscis into each of the co-eds as payment?"

Owen smirked and then laughed, "The thought crossed my mind."

"I have no objection. You could expand where we blocked off the core living room from the rest of the building, even do it in the hall or in that first classroom. I have one request so we don't have any backlash."

"What's that?" Owen asked.

"Make sure your subjects are at least eighteen and sober enough to make an informed decision."

Owen laughed, "I always do."

Dave watched the other preparations, and this was three weeks before the party. He was sure that there'd be more like three-hundred attendees at the peak.

* * * * *

Rose got a call from Sheriff Orach one evening asking for a Saturday morning meeting. He promised that nothing bad would result from the meeting, but he wanted to close the loop with her about 'her attack'. She agreed to the meeting, and immediately involved Dave -- her stepdad, and Gordon Sonlin, her lawyer. Scarlett was back filming in Ireland.

Saturday at nine a.m., Orach strolled onto the patio in business casual dress with his badge very evident and hanging from his belt. Jim Hotch decided to also attend the meeting and greeted his associate as he walked to the table chosen as a meeting place.

Orach was all smiles. He said, "This will be extremely short. Charges have been filed against your three attackers for filing a fraudulent police report, and also for charges relating to felonious assault with intent to rape."

Everyone else looked surprised.

Orach explained, "Your high school has high resolution video cameras surrounding the place. They record all activity in range whenever motion is detected. Periodically, they upload that information to the cloud for storage. The events of the night in question were captured on three separate cameras, preserved in the cloud, and are now part of the case file for this event.

"We could clearly see the three young men lurking near a pick-up truck in a corner of the lot. They were smoking and drinking beer apparently. We have a clear record of all the other students and the lead teachers leaving the high school, and as you said Rose, some had cars and others got rides. You became the only one left and you went and sat on the rock.

"The video clearly shows the three men drawing a bead on you, walking across the empty parking lot, and then accosting you. We can see that they quickly surrounded you, one holding you as the others moved to disrobe you. We could see one man starting to pull your skirt off, and another trying to unbutton your blouse.

"I have to say that everyone that has viewed the video in headquarters was amazed at what you did in the following twenty seconds. You booted one man in his gonads so hard his body came a foot off the ground, broke the wrists of the one mauling your breasts and trying to unbutton your blouse, and then stomped on the top of the third man's foot and as he let go, you butted him backwards where he lost his balance and fell onto the rock you'd been seated on.

"The videos showed you grabbing your books and then running towards the main road. Eventually, although it was too far away to identify, we see a car pull-up, you get in, and leave the scene."

Rose said, "I didn't know I'd done that much damage to them, although that sounds like what I did. I just wanted to get away from them. I wanted them to leave me alone."

"Quite all right. I might add that the action was also captured from different angles by two other cameras mounted on a parking lot light post. There's no doubt about who was at fault, who took hostile action, or that you were put in a defensive position. If there's one point I could fault you on, it was that you should have called 9-1-1 immediately and reported the incident."

Rose shrugged, "I was safe, so I didn't worry after Matt picked me up."

Orach said, "Well, you did well. Keep taking those self-defense classes. I doubt you'll hear another word about this other than to read about the case the DA wants to prosecute in the newspaper. If the DA needs you to testify against them, she'll contact you."

Orach looked around at everybody, "That's all I had. I just wanted to personally close the loop with you. You were all so nice and accommodating, plus your story was consistent every time you told it. I kind of guessed what had really happened, but guesses have been wrong. I needed some hard evidence, and when I went to look, I found it thanks to your school's security tapes."

Everyone thanked the sergeant for coming and reporting on the case to them. Orach left. Dave sent Scarlett a long email detailing what had just happened. She was in Ireland working in a film studio for two or three weeks.

* * * * *

Monday evening the Circle 101 class gathered in the core living room. Again, there were a record number of people attending because there were so many pledges. Dave was surprised to see Felicity Jones sitting in the group, especially since she was snuggled against Dane Decker, one of the university pledges that had come to the Circle through Phi Theta Rho fraternity.

After calling the gathering to order, he wrote 'SEX' in large letters on the flipchart. He then looked at the class of smiling faces. He asked, "What does that word mean to you?"

There was silence until Neo tossed out a wiseass comment, "Getting my rocks off."

The rest of the class jumped on him. Eve said, "NO! For me it represents connection with someone I really like."

Logan said, "At first, I thought of the genres of people here -- males and females. I didn't think of the sex act."

Jay said, "Another word for either fucking or making love depending on who your partner is and what your and your partner's motivations are."

Dave asked, "Is this a nice neutral word you can bring up in any conversation?"

Heads shook. Dave asked, "Why not?"

"A lot of people think that sex is an undiscussable topic. My parents fit in that group," Stu said with a laugh.

Felicity said, "The topic is an embarrassment to some people just the way nudity or some naughty parts of our body are."

Dave posed, "Does nudity result in sex?"

Many heads nodded.

Dave said, "I'd like to try an experiment that's probably pretty consistent with Circle mores. Most people here are fully clothed, yet in late afternoon a few of you women were nearly naked on the patio reading, talking, or sunning. What I'd like to try is to have all of us get naked. If you don't want to participate, you don't have to."

There was a murmur of conversation as a few people started to undress and then more joined them. Dave stood at the front of the room and removed his shirt, slacks, and briefs until he was nude. When he paid more attention to the class everyone was naked and back in their seats.

Dave walked around a little and studied the group. A few people blushed, but only their eyes followed him.

"Well," Dave said, "no one started to have intercourse after everyone was naked, so I draw from that the conclusion that nudity does not imply sex, at least in the verb form."

Caleb teased, "That doesn't mean that the thought isn't there."

"Ah, but thinking and doing are two different things. If you're parents came into the room right now, what would they think?"

Felicity laughed, "That we'd all lost our minds."

Eve laughed, "That we were a bunch of hedonistic degenerates about to fuck each other."

Heads nodded in general agreement. The class laughed.

Dave smiled, "And what would they think at the end of our two-hour class, knowing that we'd sat here talking about all sorts of Circle-related topics without anybody jumping anybody else's bones?"

Kwan smiled, "That we were nudists."

Trent laughed, "That we were just hedonistic degenerates who'd decided NOT to fuck each other." The class laughed.

Beth said, "Their response would be less aggressive, perhaps puzzling, exhibiting some confusion, and not that inflammatory."

Dave said, "So, timeframe has a lot to do with nudity and sex." Heads nodded. He continued, "In the afternoon, what do you think about the nudity on the patio?"

Oliver said, "It just is. It's just a mode of dress or undress, if you will. It's not invitational. For some, it can be arousing, but for others totally neutral. If we weren't all pretty fit, it could even be kind of gross."

Dave asked, "Does the idea of consent fit in this discussion?"

Some heads nodded and others disagreed. Dave got them talking about their viewpoints, and then posed, "One of the hallmark phrases you'll hear around the Circle is that 'Consenting adults can do whatever they want about sex'. How many different ways can you interpret that phrase?"

A longer discussion ensued. Dave did some paraphrasing, substituting the word nudity for sex.

He asked, "What does that phrase mean to you when I substitute the word 'relationships' for sex? 'Consenting adults can do whatever they want about their relationship'.

Kellie said, "Any number of adults can form any type of union they choose between them, and the rest of us should be tolerant of that because we have the same privilege."

"How many different kinds of relationships do we have around the Circle?"

Felicity laughed, "You and your ten wives, plus all the other women." The class roiled with laughter.

Frank said, "Lesbians, but not rabid -- like Bobbie, Maddy, and Merry. Lots of threesomes with a man and two women like Aaron, Shelby, and Amanda, or two men and a woman like Tan, Bjorn, and Nathan. Of course, many couples and many singles that like to hang around with all the others. Given there are only males and females, we have about every combination in the Circle."

"And people are very accepting of those situations, even when they occur outside our gates," Dave said, "so, why is the word 'adult' in that statement?"

There were a few hands raised, so Dave picked on Zoey. She said, "So that no one person dominates another. I think the term adult is implying they are both willing to be vocal about what they will accept or not accept in a relationship or having sex."

Dave teased, "So, what about incest?"

Many in the group got thoughtful. Colin ventured, "I guess it would be all right between adults providing one didn't dominate the other and kind of force the relationship to be something it wouldn't be without open agreement."

Dave said, "We have many different incestuous situations in the Circle, particularly in my own family. I think we have about every base covered on that score, in one way or another. Does that upset any of you?"

There was quiet in the group until Kaylee said, "No. I have a brother and sister, both older. It took me two years to seduce each of them. I want them in the Circle and I want the freedom, as a consenting adult, to be with them as I choose. I love them both dearly and the feeling is mutual."

After another silence, Carter said, "I been having sex with ... no, make that making love with my widowed step-mother for four years. She also belongs here, too."

There were other murmurs and other admissions of a similar nature. In every case, the person wanted their sibling and-or parent in the Circle. If Dave was worried about over-population and immigration policy, he sure was after that bit of discussion.

Dave posed, "So, how do you sort out whether some friend or relative might be an appropriate member of the Circle?"

On that note, the discussion really took off on the personality qualities a Circle member should have. The group was well-read in Cricket's book, and often quoted some of what had turned out to be the criteria she'd written about in the book, often as an observation about the common traits of Circle members.

Dave had to cut the discussion short to end at nine-fifteen, the guaranteed end of class. "We'll continue in two weeks. I think I'm here. If not, Ross or someone will be."

* * * * *

Dave was one of thirty Circle members that clustered at the bottom of the mobile set of stairs leading up to the doorway of Mark Worthington's Boeing 737. Another thirty or so members of Mark's tribe intermixed with the Circle group, hugging and kissing as they rediscovered a friend they hadn't seen in many weeks.

Dave and Mark stood talking about the small group of researchers southeast of Atlanta and what to do about them. There was no rush, but both felt that some funding and leadership could turn the group into something much larger. Mark finally said in a loud voice, "Enough business, let's get this show on the road and have some fun."

Mark looked up at where Elsa sat in the pilot's seat with her side window open. She gave him a thumbs up from the cockpit. He yelled, "All right everybody, all aboard." He led the group to the stairs and up into the posh interior of the plane.

Melanie from Mark's group did a quick headcount, found everyone on board, and told the pilots they were good to go. The stairway was removed, the door closed and secured, and the engines spooled up so they could taxi.

There were four pilots in the cockpit: Elsa was pilot-in-command; Cindy, her sister, was her second; and then Alice and Pam sat in jump seats, as they watched and talked about the flying characteristics and checklist items of the plane. While the 737 was a jet, it was much larger than the Cessna Citation they usually flew or occasionally Owen's Gulfstream.

In the back of the plane, Melanie and Stacy acted as flight attendants, making sure everyone was belted in, knew about life vests and such, and were ready for takeoff. Everyone was very cooperative with them, even teasing them about offering 'coffee, tea, or me' or some 'TWA tea' later in the flight.

For the most part, people were quiet, even sleeping, on the three-hour flight to St. Croix. People wanted to rest up so they were ready for the five days of 'P-A-R-T-Y' they all expected at Mark's large villa and prowling around the island.

Mark circulated around the plane talking to those that were awake or not engrossed in some other activity. He was the 'hail fellow, well met' of the group, making sure everyone was psyched up for a fun weekend. The group were flying down on Thursday morning and would come home Monday evening.

Dave hadn't been to the villa for over two years. Alice had gone down with a group about a year earlier and had a ball, and a huge dose of wanton sex with every male in the entourage. That didn't surprise Dave. His wife and the whole of Mark's tribe and the Circle were some of the most over-sexed people in the world. He wondered whether Barb Nelson, their resident anthropologist shouldn't take that on as a study worthy of publication. Barb was somewhere on the plane.

Dave dozed and woke up later after a good nap, and the realization that they plane had descended to within five-thousand feet of the Caribbean Sea. Several mild turns were made to align the plane with a runway many miles ahead, and the descent continued. If there were more seats in the cockpit, he would have been up there, too.

The plane softly kissed the runway at St. Croix, and rolled out to a comfortable stop. Elsa taxied to the fixed-base operator at the airport that usually handled their plane. The plane's engines stopped, the door opened and the attached stairway deployed.