Following the funeral, Roger, along with Billy Gordon, was flown by special plane back to Hanscom AFB. There he again met Major Larson and Airman Poole for final arrangements of the Iraq/Iran mission. When he arrived the B-52Hs were already on the ground and in the process of loading PAX bombs. Roger smiled for the first time in days. The PAX team had followed his instructions to the letter and the next major PAX
mission was ready to go. That night, under cover of darkness, the ten heavy bombers took off for their flight to the middle east. Warren had encouraged him to study history, and as he watched the bombers roar into the night, he thought of the Iraq/Iran past. For thousands of years their tribes had fought and killed one another and peoples outside their borders. They were way overdue for a PAXing.
As busy as their afternoon and evening had been, Billy and Roger had missed dinner and on the way back to the condo, Roger drove to an all night diner. They ordered, and while waiting for the food to arrive, Roger noticed something new and strange about his personable young body guard.
“Billy, what are you staring at?”
“Oh...uh...sorry Boss. But after all, I am supposed to keep an eye on you.”
“Uh huh....sure.” Roger responded skeptically. Suddenly he remembered a similar occurrence, over a year ago, when Warren had accused him of the same thing. Now Roger wondered about his companion.
“Well, face it. I admire what you a lot. You‟re a pretty amazing fellow. This PAX
thing has got to be the greatest contribution of the twenty-first century.”
“We have to thank Warren for that. He‟s still the power behind PAX.
The dark haired twenty five year old smiled sadly. “And like a lot of folks I was an enormous fan of Dr. Peace. I mourned for a time when he was killed. What a loss!
And now you are the one in the driver‟s seat. Pretty special!”
Both grew silent as they ate, remembering the martyred scientist, and his contributions.
At around one AM they finished dinner and after Roger paid the bill he drove them to the condo. Billy was required to keep an eye out for trouble and with no chauffeur that meant his Roger had to do the driving.
All of a sudden, Billy reached out and took Roger‟s free hand in his.
Shocked, the driver exclaimed. “Oh My God!” but he didn‟t remove his hand.
“Sorry, Boss...uh Roger! but enough pussy footing around. I don‟t care if this costs me my job. I love you! I have since our first day together. For years I‟ve searched for a special dude, and finally found him...uh...you. I think you‟re... beautiful. And not only because of your good looks, but because of your extra special qualities. Taking over for Dr. Peace and running PAX for instance. I‟m impressed by what you‟re doing, and proud to be a part of it. I‟ve been watching you in action for days and you‟re incredible!
In spite of the pain you must be feeling inside, you carry on.”
“Lordy...a gay body guard?!”
“It takes all kinds...”, laughed Billy, “Guess I‟m one of the other kind, and I‟d like to do more than guard your hunky body Mr. Cooper!”
Shocked by Billy‟s surprising confession, Roger grew silent as he thought of his own past, present and future: Three years ago he‟d definitely preferred women--until the woman in his life had betrayed him, driven him to madness and sent him to the California Medical Institute. After two years in a prison for the criminally insane, from out of nowhere came Warren Peace, who cured his insanity with PAX. But at the time, the PAX formula contained an ingredient which changed his sexual preference and he fell in love with Warren. Ironically Warren could only offer him generous brotherly love, and for a virile man in his mid twenties, brotherly love wasn‟t really enough for Roger.
Though he continued to have powerful feelings for Warren, he was forced to suffer his passion in silence. Even now he loved Warren, but Warren was dead, and this charming, good looking young man was offering what he‟d been craving for nearly two years.
As he drove, Roger chuckled and confessed to his passenger: How he‟d been changed by the PAX-BI treatment and how he‟d felt about Warren. Squeezing Billy‟s strong, warm hand , he confessed how he desperately needed someone to fill the void.
Just then they pulled into the condo parking place. After Roger switched off the engine they sat for long moments just staring at one another. Finally Billy reached out and touched Roger‟s cheek.
“My place or yours, Big Boy?” the body guard whispered with a grin.
“Looks like we‟re already at my....uh... our place”...Roger replied. “I‟ll race you to it.”
They jumped out of the car and ran for the front door.
****
The next weeks were beautifully difficult. Not only were the two men always together, but had important things to do. It was a struggle, but they managed to cope with their potent new relationship and also do the work. Billy pointed out he had a degree in criminal justice and related subjects with a well rounded background.
Perhaps he could do more to help than just guard Roger‟s person.
Roger smiled at the suggestion:
“Warren made me his associate director, Now maybe I could do the same for you.
Since you‟re always going to be around, I might as well put you to work. Warren spent weeks teaching me the business. Let‟s see how well you do. I can probably arrange a raise in pay, but none of us takes much salary. The PAX mission is our primary reward.”
A week following the Iran/Iraq mission, the world began to see the results of the bombings. Sunnis were seen in the company of Shiites, American soldiers were being invited to have dinner with native Muslims of both groups. Romances developed between allied service personnel and locals. A few weeks following the PAXing, the war was declared officially over and though there were a few border disputes, the army personnel began to work shoulder to shoulder with the Muslims to rebuild the war-torn cities.