inspiration 23

http://goo.gl/1eLv66

Ephesians 6:12 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The attacks begin. How will the targets react? Will they cave? Will they break? Will they fight back?

Target #1: Kyle LaFontaine

4

A Pack of Lies

On the following Monday, Courtney LaFontaine checked her school mailbox. She carried a stack of mail to her office. The large manila envelope without a return address intrigued her.

She slit open the envelope with her letter opener and pulled out the note with a dozen incriminating photos. She thumbed through the prints and slammed the whole pack onto her desk. Then, she picked up her phone and dialed her father's personal number.

"Hello?" Ray answered, surprised to have a call from the school.

"Daddy, I need you to get over here," demanded Courtney.

"What's wrong, Pumpkin? Is it the baby? Do I need to get Kyle?"

"Don't you dare bring Kyle with you," Courtney snarled. "You'll have to see it to believe it, but Kyle can never see it. It would kill him."

"Should I bring Parker? Is it something you need detectives for or just Daddy?"

"Both. Yes, bring my brother...

Ray called Parker who was on his way to the police station. "Daddy, what's up?" Parker answered.

"Meet me in Courtney's office. Something's up, but I don't know just what yet."

As Ray hung up and turned the opposite way, his phone rang again. "Hello?" he answered feeling a little harried first thing in the morning.

"Ray!" screamed Deanna Blackwell into the phone.

"What? First, Courtney and now you. What's wrong?"

"I got a packet of pictures. Pictures of Kyle with men. Including you."

"What?"

"You'll have to see it to believe it."

"That's what Courtney said, but she didn't say what it was. I presume it's the same thing because she did say it would kill Kyle to see it."

"It would." Her words came out strangled by tears...

As the students headed to their first class, Detectives Raiford and Parker Reynolds entered Mrs. LaFontaine's office. Scott took note that the counselor had not panicked or called her husband. On the contrary, she had called the authorities. He could tell by the expression on her face that she was totally pissed, but she knew it was a pack of lies.

"Way to go," he whispered under his breath.

"Did you say something?" asked Cherie suddenly standing beside Scott...

"I was hoping that maybe Lydia was right. Maybe you just like your hair short. I just don't know how to read you. There's something just off." She held her thumb and forefinger up to the measurement of about an inch. "I'll figure it out."

"When you do, you have to go on a date with me."

Cherie laughed. "I told you I have a boyfriend."

"Are you a gambler, Cherie?"

"What?"

"Small bet—an ice cream cone. I predict you'll be single and available by your birthday."

"You don't know when that is."

"June twenty-second."

"How?"

"Tardy bell's fixin' to ring."

Scott left Cherie to stare after him and to overhear some of the conversation in her sister's office.

Cherie leaned against the door. Suddenly, she heard, "Cherie, why aren't you in class? What are you doing?"

"Shh, Momma." She waved a hand. "Daddy and Parker are in there talking to Courtney."

"What?" Larkin leaned against the door with her daughter.

Enraged, Courtney said, "Daddy, look at this bullshit!"

"Where did these come from?"

"I don't know. Here's the envelope. There's no return address. I thought maybe you could get prints, probably hundreds since this was mailed." She groaned. "But maybe there are some on the pictures themselves."

"You know these are fabricated."

"I know that, but Kyle would be devastated. Look, Daddy. Whoever did this even turned your fatherly embrace into a seemingly passionate kiss. This is just sick."

"Do you have any plastic zipper bags, Court?"

"Yeah." Courtney slipped open her credenza and got a large plastic storage bag.

Ray slid the envelope, the note, and the pictures into the bag. "We'll see what we can get. Don't hold your breath."

"Daddy, don't let Kyle know."

"Don't keep secrets from your husband," Parker warned.

Ray added, "Tell him the truth."

"Daddy, he'll feel violated again."

"Nobody else will see these, Pumpkin. You tell him that. We know it's a pack of lies. Just love him and let him know we love him. I'll let you know what I find. You should know Deanna got some, too. Call her while I'm here."

Courtney and Deanna talked. "Mom," said Courtney, "send the package to Daddy and pray they weren't made public."

"Tell her everything will be all right," assured Ray as he and Parker prepared to leave.

"Thanks, y'all."

Larkin pulled Cherie around the corner. "Let's get you to class. We'll talk later."

 Just as Ray and Parker were about to leave, Courtney's office phone rang. She answered, "Courtney LaFontaine."

"Hey, baby, it's me."

"Kyle, what's wrong?"

"Is your dad still there, and why is he there? The precinct said it was official business."

"Yes, he's here. He was just about to leave. I'll tell you why later."

"I need to speak to him."

Courtney handed the phone to Ray. "Kyle, what's wrong?" Ray asked.

"I need you here. You have to see this to believe it.

 Ray and Parker arrived at LaFontaine Marketing to find something as bizarre as the photos they had just taken from Courtney. The alarm system had been disabled and the door jimmied. Inside in red and black spray paint were a horrible rendition of the already grotesque red-and-black two-head serpent Kyle had once had as a tattoo on the ceiling; swastikas and the word "faggot" on every wall; and on the reception counter, a large penis and testicles.

"Damn!" Ray rubbed his head, feeling a migraine starting. Lord, please give me strength for this.

"I told you you'd have to see it," said Kyle. "Why? What have I done to deserve this?"

"Nothing. Kyle, we have reason to believe that the same group Lloyd was involved in is still active. This is, perhaps, retaliation. Let me show you what was sent to Courtney."

Ray showed Kyle the fabricated pictures. Kyle did, indeed, cry when he saw them.

"Kyle," assured Ray, "we know they're fake."

"You do, but what if they get publicized? Oh, God! I thought all of this was in the past. Is Courtney all right?"

"You know how pig-headed she is. It'll take more than a pack of lies to get to her. She's worried about you."

"Of course she is. She loves me. That alone is enough to sustain me. So, where do we go from here?"

"Let's check for prints here, although I'm sure they wore gloves. We need to take some photos. After we get what we need, file your insurance, paint, and get back to business. Don't let them get to you. That's what they want. Don't let them win." Ray put his hand around his son-in-law's neck. "They think you're weak, but you're not. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You have this family behind you. That is one hell of a support system."

"He's right, Kyle," assured Parker.

As they spoke, Kyle's business phone rang. "Answer it," said Ray.

Kyle answered, "LaFontaine Marketing."

"Kyle, is that you?" asked the caller.

"Yes."

"Felix Thibodeaux. I just opened a pack of lies."

"Pictures of me?" asked Kyle.

"Yes. Did you get some, too?"

"No, they were sent to Courtney. I got graffiti."

"I wanted to let you know that my pack in going in the shredder as we speak."

"Thanks, Felix, but send them on to Detectives Reynolds. They're investigating this for me."

"Will do. Good luck."

Kyle looked at his father-in-law and brother-in-law after he hung up. "I think they might be public."

"Let's see," said Ray. "Turn on your damned computer. We couldn't have checked this in Courtney's office anyway because of the firewalls to protect the kids."

They found the pictures all over the internet. "Okay, we know," said Parker. "Now, we'll try to get an IP address from where the pics were posted and get them off the web."

"Thanks," said Kyle, still in shock.

Kyle closed for a week before he started remodeling. He began by having Neely Gautier, Raif's wife, paint a Celtic guardian on the wall in the entry.

Scott took note of the painting. He felt a kinship to the young man he had never met and took comfort that the pack of lies he had helped to create had not succeeded in their goal. On the contrary, they had strengthened those who were targeted.

Cover by Christopher Chambers.

The target and the woman who loves him unconditionally, both no longer teenagers.