With his hands recuffed, Lip watched his little brother closely as he walked back to his chair. He could see Ian was feeling extremely nervous. He wanted to bolster and comfort the boy. "I'm sorry, Ian," Lip said, bending forward and whispering, "It's not so bad. Mostly just embarrassing."
Ian nodded. He knew his face was pale and his freckles were standing out even more than normal. He stood and walked over to Tony. The man put his hand on the boy's shoulder, reassuringly, and turned him around so the handcuffs could be removed.
"You know the drill, Ian." The fifteen-year-old nodded and unsnapped his jeans. His hands trembled and he could hear his heart beating in his ears. Finally, he got his zipper down and pushed his jeans and underwear to the middle of his thighs.
"Ian," Tony said, "You have never been in any trouble with the law before, and I believe Lip that you knew nothing about the car being stolen. I'm giving you ten. Ready?"
"Yes, Tony," the boy said quietly, as he grasped the edges of the table.
Ian gritted his teeth as the belt fell. A ferocious stripe caused tears to fill his eyes almost immediately, but he didn't cry out. He counted in his head, which helped him focus, just like in ROTC when he had a formidable task. Two, three, four, he counted. The burning sting was intensifying as his backside endured the belt's barrage. The boy's senses seemed to be on high alert too. He felt like he could feel everyone's eyes on him and wished he could melt into the floor. Quit being such a pussy, he blasted himself. Six. You know plenty of guys who have had way worse. Seven. Hell, Mickey's dad would beat him on the street corner for all the world to see. Eight. Even Lip had gotten his butt beat publicly in their second foster home. Nine. Of course, he'd gotten the beating because he was looking out for Ian, trying to keep him safe. When the belt fell the tenth time, Ian stooped immediately to pull his pants up. After he redressed, the boy turned, just as his brother had, and thanked the police officer.
"Tony, I know you didn't want to do that. Thanks for keeping me out of bigger trouble," Ian offered his hand to his neighbor, who shook it.
"Boys, just wait here a moment," Tony said. When the officer opened the door, there was a simple note stuck to it with three words: Free to go.
Thank God, thought Tony.