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CHapter 054

Brad Gordonhad a bad feeling as he walked into the Border Cafe on Ventura Boulevard and looked at the booths The place was a greasy spoon, filled with actors A guy waved frouy earing a light gray suit He was short and balding and looked unsure of himself His handshake eak "Willy Johnson," he said, "I&039;htthe attorney"

"He is," Johnson said "I&039;m he Pederasty is my specialty"

"What&039;s that mean?"

"Sex with a boy But I have experience with any underage partner"

"I didn&039;t have sex with anybody," Brad said "Underage or not"

"I&039;ve reviewed your file and the police reports," Johnson said, pulling out a legal pad "I think we have several avenues for your defense"

"What about the girl?"

"She is not available; she left the country Her mother is ill in the Philippines But I aht there wasn&039;t going to be a trial," Brad said The waitress ca here?"

"I have to be in court in Van Nuys at ten I thought this would be convenient"

Brad looked around uneasily "Place is full of people Actors They talk a lot"

"We won&039;t discuss the details of the case," Johnson said "But I want to lay out the structure of your defense In your case, I aenetic defense"

"Genetic defense? What&039;s that enetic abnormalities find themselves helpless to suppress certain impulses," Johnson said "That uilty We will be proposing that as the explanation in your case"

"What genetic disorder? I don&039;t have any genetic disorder"

"Hey, it&039;s not a bad thing," Johnson said "Think of it as a type of diabetes You&039;re not responsible for it You were born that way In your case, you have an irresistible i women" He smiled "It&039;s an impulse that&039;s shared by about ninety percent of the adultdefense is that?" Brad Gordon said

"A very effective one" Johnson shuffled through papers in a folder "There have been several recent newspaper reports - "

"You ene for sex with young girls?"

Johnson sighed "I wish it were that simple Unfortunately, no"

"Then what&039;s the defense?"

"D4DR"

"Which is?"

"It&039;s called the novelty gene It&039;s the gene that drives us to take risks, engage in thrill-seeking behavior We will argue that the novelty gene inside your body drove you to risky behavior"

"Sounds like bullshit to me"

"Is it? Let&039;s see Ever jump out of an airplane?"

"Yeah, in the ar?"

"Couple of ti?"

"Nope"

"Really? Didn&039;t your high school class climb Mount Rainer?"

"Yeah, but that was - "

"You cli sports cars fast?"

"Not really, no"

"You have five tickets for speeding in your Porsche in the last three years Under California law, you have been at risk for losing your license all that ti"

"I think not How about sex with the boss&039;s girlfriend?"

"Well"

"And sex with the boss&039;s wife?"

"Just once, a couple of jobs back But she was the one who came on to - "

"Those are risky sex partners, Mr Gordon Any jury would agree How about unprotected sex? Venereal diseases?"

"Just a et into - "

"I&039;m sure you don&039;t," Johnson said, "and that&039;s not surprising, considering three cases ofpediculosis pubis - crabs Two episodes of gonorrhea, one of chlaenital warts - includinghmm, one near the anus And that&039;s just the last five years, according to the records of your doctor in Southern California"

"How&039;d you get those?"

Johnson shrugged "Sky diving, scuba diving, h-risk sex partners, unprotected sex If that doesn&039;t co behavior, I don&039;t knohat does"

Brad Gordonwas silent He had to aduy kne to ht of his life that way before Like when he was screwing the boss&039;s wife, his uncle just gave him hell about it Why, his uncle had said, did you make that kind of fucked-up decision? Keep it in your pants, jerkoff! Brad had had no answer at the tilare, his actions did see But now it seemed Brad had an answer to his uncle&039;s question: He couldn&039;t help it It was his genetic inheritance that was controlling his behavior

Johnson explained further, giving a lot of detail According to hiene, which controlled the che called dopa Brad to take risks, and to enjoy the experience, to crave it Brain scans and other tests proved that people like Brad could not control the desire to take risks

"It&039;s the novelty gene," Johnson said, "and it has been naeneticist in Aenetics researcher at the National Institutes of Health He has a huge lab He publishes fifty papers a year No jury can ignore his research"

"Okay, so I have the gene You really think this ork?"

"Yes, but I want to see so what?"

"Before your trial, you&039;re naturally worried, stressed"

"Yeah"

"So I want you to take a trip, to take your s I want you to travel around the country, and I want you to take risks wherever you go"

Johnson laid it out: Speeding tickets, a expeditions in national parks - always ument, a dispute about safety, a claiet his name recorded in a document that could later be used in trial

"That&039;s it," Johnson said "Get going I&039;ll see you in a feeeks" He gave higest roller coasters in the US Make sure you visit the top three"

"Christ OhioIndianaTexas"

"I don&039;t want to hear it," Johnson said "You&039;re facing twenty years in prison,to be giving you lots worse than anal warts So do as I tell you And leave town today"

Back in hisapartuy with tattoos preoccupied him for across-country, to crazy places like Ohio - who knehat he , and his pistol with the leg holster

Heading for his car, Brad found that he felt better about everything It was a sunny day, his Porsche was sparkling clean, and he had a plan

Road trip!

CHapter 055

Lynn Kendallran into the La Jolla school, arriving out of breath at the principal&039;s office "I got here as soon as I could," she said "What&039;s the problem?"

"It&039;s David," the principal said She was a wo Your son Jaht him to school for the day"

"Yes, to see how he did"

"And I around, he bit another child"

"Oh dear"

"He very nearly drew blood"

"That&039;s terrible"

"We see this in home-schooled children, Mrs Kendall They severely lack socialization skills and inner controls There is no substitute for daily school environment with peers"

"I&039;m sorry this has happened"

"You need to speak to him," the principal said "He is in detention, in the next rooreen h Dave was on a wooden chair, looking very small and brown curled up in the seat

"Dave What happened?"

"He hurted Jamie," Dave said

"Who did?"

"I don&039;t know his narade? Then it would have been a er child

"And what happened, Dave?"

"He push-ed Jaround Hurted him"

"And what did you do?"

"I jump-ed on his back"

"Because you wanted to protect Jamie?"

Dave nodded

"But you shouldn&039;t bite, Dave"

"He bited me first"

"Did he? Where did he bite you?"

"Here" Dave held up a stubby, ht be bite marks, but she couldn&039;t be sure

"Did you tell the principal?"

"She&039;s not withthe principal didn&039;t like hi chiiances of females were very ier?"

Dave shook his head No