Copyright 1998 -- Robert Baer Jr.

D.J. entry - The Renegade's secret -- Part 2


	W A R N I N G      ---------------     D I S C L A I M E R ---------------

The story that follows is PURE FICTION, it DIDN'T REALLY HAPPAN!  Only in
my mind.
This posting is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY, and NOT MEANT TO BE TAKEN
TOO SERIOUSLY --- It represents a struggle of the mind.

The Dinosaur Chronicles


PROLOGUE:

Once upon a time in cyperspace, there roamed a dinosaur, but not an
ordinary dinosaur,
a Computer Dinosaur!  One who thinks a motherboard needs a fatherboard and
that
software is a good description for a pillow.  How does a ten-ton
prehistoric hitchhiker
survive in this modern world?  Quite well, naturally!  Read on and see!

Entry # 175
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This morning I was pacing the floor of my cave franticly.  The Computer
Counsellor was
with me, and she was planning to do something quite drastic.  

"I don't think this a good idea!" I said as I continued to pace the floor.

"Look C.D. we have to do something!" the Counsellor pleaded,"the Computer
Renegade hasn't appeared anywhere since we saw him at Echo Point.  I'm
worried and very
concerned about him, from what you told me about him a few months ago he
really needs
to talk to someone about what happaned to him.  We have to do this, for
his own good!"

"What if he gets upset and yells at us?" I answered back, still pacing.

"We have to try," the Counsellor begged,"remember how talking to me helped
you?"

"I see your point, Counsellor," I relunctantly agreed,"I don't know how
I'd made it through
my divorce without you kind words of encouragement."

"Ok then we're agreed," the Counsellor stated sternly,"I'm using the
'recall' button on
my 'black box' to bring the Renegade here!"

"Like you did when he and I were 'trapped' in the Leader's headquarters!"
I giggled.

"Yes, now stand back, and let me do the talking" the Counsellor said as
she pushed the
'recall' button.

BOOM!!!  --- Standing before us was the Computer Renegade, still in his
Zorro suit and 
mask, and looking very puzzled.

"What's the emergency?" he shouted,"are all my friends safe?  Why did you
bring me here,
Counsellor?"

"The emergency, my dear friend, is you!" the Counsellor said softly,"we
need to talk about
what happaned to you, last week and before."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" the Renegade said defiantly,"now
if you two will
please excuse me I have 'things' to do."

"Please don't leave!" the Counsellor begged as the Renegade reached for
his black box.

"Sorry, gotta run!" he said sternly as he put his finger near one of it's
buttons.

"Don't leave Mr Lovejoy!" I pleaded, almost in tears.

"Big guy, I told you to let me do the talking!" the Counsellor urged.

The Renegade just stood there, and put his black box slowly on the coffee
table.  He seemed stunned, like someone who just got shot with an arrow.

"The Leader dropped this when he ran away from the dinosaur," the
Counsellor calmly
said as she gave the scrap of paper to him.  "Please don't be angry with
us, we want to
help you!'

"Who else knows?" the Renegade muttered.

"No one else, just the Counsellor and me" I interrupted.

"And you told her my story?" the Renegade said with a tone of anger in his
voice as he sat down on the couch.

"He confided in me because he was having trouble dealing with the
situation you and your
wife were in," the Counsellor said assuringly,"he took your divorce very
hard, and wished
he could've stopped that man from assaulting your wife two years ago."

"I know," the Renegade calmly stated as he looked up at me,"you were one
of few friends
who didn't desert us!  You even took up for my wife when everyone kept
calling her a slut
and a liar."

"Yes," I said sadly,"I still believe she was innocent!"

"That's why I left the Leader's group two years ago," The Renegade
groaned,"he and his
followers treated my wife like a criminal!  They said she wanted to have
sex with that man,
but they're wrong!  No woman deserves to be raped!"

"Calm down, both of you!" the Counsellor said as she sat next to the
Renegade,"getting
all worked up isn't going to help either of you.  I feel there's something
else bothering you,
isn't there, Mr Lovejoy?"  

"Yes!" he sadly said,"you don't understand, I could've stopped this whole
thing from happaning if I'd realized what that creep was after in the
first place!  I should've known
he was no good all the time!  If I'd .........."

"You didn't know!" the Counsellor interrupted,"stop blaming yourself!  It
wasn't your fault!"

"Yes it was!" the Renegade agrued,"I was responsible for keeping her safe,
I failed!"

"No you didn't!" the Counsellor answered back,"that man took advantage of
your wife's
trust.  He's the only one who's at fault here, not you and not her!"

"I can't see it that way!"  the Renegade shouted, starting to cry.

"Listen to me, Renegade!" the Counsellor softly said,"I once worked in a
domestic violence
crisis center, and believe me, you did all you could under the
circumstances.  Many married
women who are sexually assaulted are either scorned by their husbands or
called liars
by them.  Most men leave their wives or girlfriends after the attack, but
you didn't, Mr
Lovejoy, you understood that rape is an act of violence, not sex.  You
tried your best to
be supportive, I heard you urged her several times to get conuselling, but
she refused.
She left you, you didn't desert her.  As for your "friends," it's not
surprising that they
reacted the way they did.  Most people believe that any woman who says she
was raped
was either asking for it or lying about it.  That's sad, but true.  Your
ex-wife went through
a lot of pain and suffering, you did too.  But what's done is done.  Stop
blaming yourself,
it wasn't your fault!"

The Renegade could only sit there, looking down at his feet, and weep.  I
was crying too!
I had watched this entire story unfold right before my eyes.  I was there
at their house the
day she told her husband about the assault.  I watched as their friends
abandoned them
both, and listened to all the gossip their friends told about them.  I
even was one of the
first who knew about their divorce!  I really wish I could say something
to help Mr Lovejoy,
but I didn't know what to say!  The Computer Counsellor always seems to
have the right
things to say, no matter what the occasion.

"What will the rest of the 'gang' say when they find out the truth about
me?" the Renegade 
said as he wiped away his tears.

"You don't have to tell them anything," the Counsellor said,"and if you do
tell them, it won't
make any difference!  True friends will stand by you, even in your times
of despair.  They
won't let you down.  Trust me, Xeren, Ben, Prairie, Gila and Wanna are
good friends!
They'll always stand by you, and we will, too!"

"That's right!" I said proudly,"I've always been your friend, whether
you're the Computer
Renegade or Mr Lovejoy!  I always will be!"

The Renegade stood up and hugged my neck,"thank you, big guy!" he said. 

"I'll always be here for you, too," the Counsellor added,"anytime you need
someone to
talk to, you know where to find me!"

The Renegade hugged the Counsellor,"thank you for caring!" he sobbed,
unable to stop
weeping.  

"Both of you need to think about what I've said, and to take the time to
get over this," the
Counsellor said,"life goes on, can't live in the past, make the most of
what you have!"

"I'm glad you sent for me, Counsellor!" the Renegade said with a smile.

"I'm glad you stayed!" I said, still teary eyed.

"Now, how about that nature walk we were supposed to have at Echo Point?"
the Counsellor asked warmly.

"Sounds like a great idea," the Renegade replied.

"Count me in, too!" I shouted,"I'll pack a lunch for us!"

"Great!" the Counsellor said, "I think we all need to relax today."

"What about the Leader and his group?" the Renegade asked.

"They can bring their own lunch!" I chuckled.

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End of entry