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disclaimers can be found with part 1
Justice Deferred (3/?)
by: Alex
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When Cam got home Cutter and her uncles gave her time to take a shower and put on clean clothes before they called her into Cutter's study. His study and the office that Cam kept at the other end of the sprawling main house were also the corporate headquarters for the family, holding every modern device they needed to run the entire corporation from the farm if necessary.
Plus a few things that Cam and her uncle Cobra had invented that even Bill Gates hadn't heard of yet. Theirs was in all probability the most secure system in existence, all thanks to a throwaway child, an albino mute that had grown up being called a freak by even his own family, and two old battle scarred bikers that had proudly served their country, only to have their country turn its back on them.
Their remarkable talents and their phenomenal successes were in large part due to the trust and support of each other in the family they had formed.
Despite her expectations, neither Cutter nor Cam's uncles said a word about her disappearing for four days or tease her about her latest conquest. That in itself told Cam that this meeting was about something serious. It was.
Once all four executive officers were comfortable, Cutter began by relating the particulars of Kreelcorp's run at them, and the manor in which they were stopped.
Several different strategies were put into place to forestall their newest rival's anticipated next assault. Then Cobra took over, and using the shorthand sign language that only the family and a few close friends could understand, he explained how the night before several attempts had been made to hack into their secure central data base. The hackers' using simultaneous attacks on the computer links to and from several of their smaller subsidiaries. They had penetrated far enough to activate the special security programs that Cam and Cobra had put into place.
With an evil grin the proud R&D specialist made sure that Cam knew that his experimental "Black Ice" program had been activated, and was working perfectly.
Not only had the hackers been repelled but their signal carried back an especially virulent virus that Cobra had designed that not only would fry the hacker's hard drive and software but the virus would also go after any other system that was linked to them and was receiving information from them.
It was something Cobra had been working on for some of Cutter's friends in DC. As of right now only CCMC Inc. corporate computers were equipped with the necessary filters and of course all of their personal computers.
As always their "family only" security policy had saved them from being invaded by outsiders. The problem was that with the take over fight and with the sudden interest in hacking their top security files were too coincidental for any of them to doubt that it was an accident or bad luck. They just couldn't prove it.
Once a battle strategy was formulated and decided on the unlikely looking business executives went on to their own concerns and to carry out their part in the defense of everything they'd built over the last thirty-something years.
When the other two had left for parts unknown to make their preparations, Cam stayed behind to talk to Cutter. She wanted to tell him first about the new facet in her life, and with her surrogate father's enthusiastic blessings, she decided to stay in town until this latest crisis was handled. Then after everything had calmed down she would bring her prospective partner out, to meet the family.
Cutter was deliriously happy for his "little girl" he had watched her over the years drift from one woman to another and it tore at the "tough" bikers heart to see the sad and lonely look in her eyes when she saw one after another of her friends find someone to commit to and build a life together.
He had spoken to one of his friends that had a Ph.D. in psychology who told him that the betrayal by her first lover and then her fathers rejection, might have made it impossible for her to trust anyone enough to have a relationship. The man had spent many sleepless hours worried about his adopted daughter so naturally he was overjoyed that Cam had finally met someone she trusted enough to bring out to meet her family.
Cutter, had given up on the God of the Christians long ago, he couldn't accept a god that preached love then allowed his followers to commit the atrocities the Christians had in his name. He also found it impossible to believe an all-knowing and compassionate god could hate anyone for simply loving another just because that person was the same gender. To Cutter and his friends love is love, it was that simple. As long as both were reasonably old enough and both consented how could it be wrong?
No Cutter wasn't a religious man by any definition, but he sent up a prayer to any god that might be listening to watch out for his little girl and to protect her fragile heart.
He gave her one of his patented lung crushing bear hugs and sent Cam off to take care of what she had to do so she could get ready to meet her new lady at Auggie's that night.
The biker was smiling so big his face hurt, as he got on the phones and called Mountain, Cobra and Gigolo to talk about this new love in Cam's life and what they could do to make tonight special for them. He punched the keys and realized he was humming, something he hadn't done in at least twenty years.
<>I'm getting as bad as an old woman gossiping over the back fence<> Cutter scolded himself as he waited for Gigolo to answer<> but hey if I can't brag about my little girl than who could<> =====================
The attacks both legitimate and other wise intensified over the next few weeks, and to make matters worse D.C.Kreel and company was living down to their less than honest reputation. Suddenly from out of the blue, pressures were being added to Cam and her uncles' troubles from other sources.
Several state and local agencies initiated investigations into both their business and personal lives. There was nothing to find, but it was irritating, and focused attention on them and some of the charities they supported, something they had hoped to avoid.
All four were getting tired of having to defend themselves from not only business rivals, but also from the very people they had always been quick to help in the past. Through all this Cam and Deb managed to spend every free moment they were able to find together trying to build some kind of lasting bond. It wasn't easy and they often found themselves either mobbed by reporters or they were being harassed by the local "Good Christian" folk.
A couple of times things had very nearly gotten out of hand, and if they hadn't been rescued by Pam and Bobbie, someone might have died. Cam's two friends had pulled the couple out of a drive-thru at MickyD's when they were trapped by reporters, and got them safely to Auggie's. Cam had already had a reporter by the throat and he was turning purple when they got her to release him.
The big ironworker was beginning to actually like the tall gorgeous blonde, now that she was with Cam and not flirting with Bobbie. Besides she made Cam smile and that was something that was long over due.
Cam was ashamed of her loss of control and apologized profusely to her lover, although Deb kept telling her that she understood. They wanted to believe that this was as low as their enemies would go in their attempt to break the families bond, they couldn't have been more wrong. When illegal but peaceful means and public outrage didn't separate them and give Kreelcorp access to the company. D.C. Kreel and associates became frustrated and began to get nasty. Their attacks became personal. It is said that a thief trusts no one, because they assume everyone is like they are, well that had been Kreel's problem.
The unscrupulous amoral business person had no concept of the complete trust
and honor shared by the four owners of CCMC Inc. and so decided that there had to be secrets that they kept from each other, and there was no way that lowly bikers would go as far as sacrificing themselves for the others.
Kreel saw their unconditional love and trust for each other as a weakness and was determined to exploit it.
The rival corporation had
used bribery and political pressure to attack the company and it's owners, but that had failed and the family made the mistake of thinking a person like D.C.Kreel was too civilized to stoop to physical attacks while trying to steal what was theirs.
At one time or another all four were attacked by unknown assailants when they were alone. First Cam was the target of a physical beating, a terrible and nearly fatal mistake by the four men that came after her. The police called it a gay bashing and charged the men with assault when they got out of the hospital.
Then Cobra was stabbed as he was leaving his dancer girl friend's apartment one night. Mountain was run off the road by a black panel van as he was traveling a backcountry road and ended up spending the night in a ditch, with a severely broken leg.
He was found the next day by Cam and Cutter who got worried when the big man didn't get home in time to pick up his "real" daughter for his weekly visitation. They knew there was no way he would miss that, so they went looking for him. Both men were hospitalized and very nearly died.
No sooner were the two men brought home than little Kat showed up at their door demanding to take care of her "Coby". At her insistence and with Cobra's permission she was moved into Cobra's place over his computer shop.
When Cobra was in the hospital recovering from his stab wounds the feisty little redhead refused to leave his side even fighting the nurses over visiting hours. It was clear to Cam and Cutter how much the little dancer cared for their friend and loved her even more for it. Even to the point of taking orders from her about Cobra's care. Cobra was loving ever minute of it.
Then Cutter was out of town on business and he was arrested on some kind of interstate conspiracy charge and was held by Federal agents without bail. Still the business held out against Kreelcorp, even when they tried blackmail first with Cutter's freedom (he sent a message through his lawyer for them not to give in to Kreelcorp) failing that they threatened to expose Cam's sex life to the public. Even more frustrating to the owner of Kreelcorp was the fact that someone as low as the four bikers refused to give in and quietly surrender to their obvious superiors. When it became public knowledge that Cam had actually laughed at their attempts to blackmail her that was the final straw.
D.C.Kreel decided it was time to show that lowlife biker trash bitch just how a person of their stature dealt with scum like her and her "family".
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END 3
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