When Tony opened the door, he had the belt coiled and concealed in his large hand. The boys sat silently, watching him.
"You're in deep shit here," he leveled with them. "But I may have one exit strategy."
"What, man? Spill." Lip said urgently.
Tony looked a bit uncertainly from each boy's face. He shook his head. No way would the boys go for this plan. Although… it would beat jail.
"What?" Lip demanded more stridently. "Do we have to blow you?"
"What?" Tony yelled, instantly furious. "No! Nothing like that!" With that the officer grabbed Lip by the scruff of the neck and pulled him up from his seat. Then he pressed the boy onto the tabletop and unfurled the belt.
"What the fuck?" yelled Lip. Ian jumped up too, hands still cuffed behind his back.
"Sit down, Ian," Tony said calmly.
"You're going to whip us?" Ian squeaked. "Is that even legal?"
"Definitely not," Lip grunted.
"Sorry, boys, but your legal guardian gave me permission. I am acting in loco parentis," Tony said. Then, more firmly, he added, "Ian. Sit down." The boy obeyed, but looked confused.
"Listen, this whipping's going to hurt, but it's better than a felony on your record. Right, Ian? Better than five years in prison, right, Lip? You could do five years if they charge you as an adult, you know."
"Jesus Christ," Lip whispered.
"Well?" said Tony, still standing next to Lip and holding him against the table.
After a full minute, Lip responded, "Yeah, it's better."
"Ok," Tony said, relieved. "Let's get this over with then." He set the belt on the table and uncuffed Lip's hands.
Picking the belt back up, he added, "Drop your pants and boxers." Lip's head snapped around and they stared at each other.
Ian plaintively croaked, "Really?"
"Yeah," Tony said firmly. He lowered his voice and continued, "It's go big, or go home time…if you know what I mean."
"So I am about to get the Super Bowl of ass beatings? Great…" Lip murmured. But he stood and undid his belt, unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and pushed his pants and underwear down as he bent back over the table. "Maybe this will keep Fiona from beating us."
"What?" exclaimed Ian in a voice an octave higher than his natural one.
Both Lip and Tony chuckled a bit at this reaction.
"Oh, yeah, you've never really been in trouble before, have you? Fiona's not as hands-off as Frank and Monica," Lip said darkly.
"No luck there, boys. She seemed to have strong feelings about how she would handle this situation at home."
"Shit," both brothers intoned.
"You ready, Lip?"
"No. But go ahead."
With that, Tony swung the belt back and brought it down across the boy's backside. Lip made no sound, but held onto the edges of the table tightly. The next three smacks were the same, but on the fifth, the boy yelped. After five more blows, Tony could hear his hitched breathing.
"Seven more to go," the officer said clearly, as he swung the belt again. Then he whispered, barely moving his lips, "Play it up a bit, Lip. It's this or prison, dammit."
The boy answered by yelping after next whack.
Whether his brother was acting or truly in distress, Ian couldn't tell. But he doubted that Tony would need to prompt him similarly. Nobody'd ever whipped the boy before and the thought of a guy from the neighborhood, somebody who hung out with his sister, being the first made him ill. However, that thought was nothing to the idea of Fiona belting him. He groaned involuntarily and continued to try not to hear or see Lip's punishment.
Only then did Ian realize it was over. Lip was still slumped over the table. He wiped his eyes slowly and raised himself enough to turn toward Tony, bend over, and pull his pants up that had fallen to his ankles. Ian could have sworn that Lip was really mooning the mirror behind him. Once his pants were back in place, the seventeen-year-old spoke quietly, "Thanks, Tony, for looking out for me and Ian. Sorry we caused this much trouble. I, we, really didn't know the car was stolen." The boy offered his hand to the officer to shake.