Published: 23 Apr 2026

Chapter 26 – Unwanted Guests

After I pointed out the armed men to Devin, we turned to look over at Gramps and Pops and noticed they were crouching down as they made their way over to our table to avoid attracting attention. It appears that they must have spotted the intruders about the same time I did, and now they were about to alert Pa and Dad about the situation as Devin and I listened in on what they were about to say.

“Mike, I’m not sure if you and Aaron have noticed that there are four armed men at the far end of the ballroom, but please don’t look in that direction yet. We may have an opportunity to talk about a few things before those guys realize they’ve been spotted. In similar situations, they would have fired off a few rounds into the air as soon as they walked in here in order to get everyone’s attention. Since they didn’t do that, I think it’s safe to say that they must be worried about the sound of gunfire alerting others in the hotel complex that a serious incident is going down and they should call 9-1-1. If that’s the case, then it would indicate that they’ll most likely be just as hesitant about shooting anyone for the same reason. I hope your suits aren’t too tight, because we may need to bulk up if a chance to act opens up.”

Pa, Devin and I each nodded our heads in understanding and we knew Dad also understood what Pops was hinting at. As Gramps and Pops were moving back to their table, one of the men with the assault rifles walked onto the stage while another one headed toward the kitchen. As the second man was getting the bussers, servers, and others out of there and moving them into the ballroom, the first man was using the band’s microphone to address us.

Thump, thump, thump, we heard coming over the speakers as he tapped on the mic to make sure it was operating and then he leaned forward and spoke. “If any of you have tried to use your cell phones, then you’ve already discovered that they’re useless, because we’re using a signal jammer to prevent them from functioning. Now, we want each of you to come forward and line up, side-by-side, around the dance floor, just not along the side directly in front of the stage.”

Everyone began to stand up from their seats to comply, when he suddenly spoke again. “Oh, and before you start heading this way, though, I want to advise the gentlemen to make sure they bring their wallets, cell phones, and any watches or other jewelry that they may have with them. I also want the ladies to make sure they bring their purses, wallets, and cell phones as well. You should also be prepared to remove any earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or other items that you’re either wearing or that you have in your purse or on your person. I also want each member of the band to step down from the stage and join the others, because you’ll be donating your cash, phones, and jewelry as well.”

“While I and my friend remain here to make certain you’re following our instructions, our associates will be moving in front of you with duffle bags to collect all of the items I mentioned previously. I hope none of you are thinking about trying anything foolish, because it’s only fair to warn you that we have more than enough ammunition to kill everyone who attempts to stop us.”

As the others began moving toward the dance floor, Gramps and Pops hurried over to speak with us again. “Jacob and I will line up as the first person on either side, and Michael, I want you to be the fifth or sixth person in line on the same side as me. Mike, I want you to stand next to your son and be ready to help out if things suddenly go haywire. Devin, you and your dad are to line up in the same locations on the opposite side, and I want you and Mac to be prepared to take advantage of any lapse of attention the person collecting the valuables might make.” We both nodded that we understood.

“If that doesn’t happen by the time they reach you,” Pops continued, “then Jacob and I will force their hands, so be prepared to strike as soon as we act. We’re counting on the two of you to take those two out while Jacob and I take out the pair in front of the stage, and Arron and Mike, I want you to be ready to help if they have trouble doing that.”

We all nodded in agreement, and then I turned toward Clint and Lonny and spoke. “Clint, I want you to stay with your dad and the women in our group so you can protect them. I suggest that you position the women between you and that you all position yourselves towards the center of line that’s parallel with front of the stage, and don’t attempt to help the rest of us. Your job is to take care of the women, because there will be other men that can jump in and help us, if needed.”

They both nodded that they understood, and then we all made our way toward the dance floor to take up our positions. As we were leaving, I heard Lonny speak to the women, as well as his son. “The four of you ladies are to line up between me and Clint and we’ll make sure that no harm comes to you.” I felt he was taking charge and they would be ok.

Shortly after everyone in the ballroom had lined up along three sides of the perimeter of the dance floor, the two men stationed in front of the stage took up a threatening stance, with the AR-15s at the ready. At the same time, the other two started walking along one of the lines on either side and started collecting everything of value from all of the people in attendance. That included each of the guests, the members of the band, and any of the staff that had been working in the kitchen, serving food, or bussing tables.

I was keeping track of everything that was happening on both sides of the dance floor and noticed the man on Devin’s side was progressing more quickly than the guy on my side of the room. Just as the man on the opposite side of the room passed Devin and moved to the next person in line, Devin reacted with lighting speed and gave the crook a tremendous karate chop to the back of the neck. It knocked the guy to the floor, and since he didn’t move to defend himself or attempt to get up, it was fairly obvious that he was unconscious.

When that happened, the two guys at the front of the ballroom trained their weapons at Devin as Gramps and Pops went into action. They bolted from their spot at the front of the line and tackled the two men before they could chamber a round into their rifles. They obviously hadn’t done it when first arriving for fear of firing their weapon accidentally, and the would-be robbers’ heads slammed into the floor on the way down stunning them. Not taking any chances, Gramps and Pops put the man he’d tackled in a choke hold, while also wrapping his legs around his gunman’s chest, thus trapping his arms at his side so he couldn’t fight back.

As this was going on, the man on my side of the ballroom turned his head to see what was happening just as he was stepping in front of me. When he did that, I unleashed a powerful uppercut with my right arm that caught him on the chin and he dropped to the floor like a lead weight. I immediately jumped on top of him to make sure he didn’t get up again, but that proved to be unnecessary. He was out cold.

As soon as other men in the room came forward to assist us, Devin and I made certain there were two men retraining each of the crooks. At the same time, Gramps, Pops, Pa, and my dad were collecting the men’s weapons to make certain they didn’t end up in the hands of any co-conspirators. Once it appeared that the room was secure, I heard Pops shout an order.

“Some of you look around and see if you can find the signal jammer they were using. It needs to be turned off so we can call 9-1-1 and get the cops here.”

As the others began searching for that device, an older gentleman in a tux walked up to Pops and addressed him. “I was very impressed by what you fellas just did, and it appears that you must have planned it out in advance. That means you must be either all related or very good friends?”

“We’re all related, at least we soon will be, and we hurriedly made up this plan once we saw those armed men enter the room, even before they began giving orders about what they wanted everyone to do. The thing is, we have no idea where they came from, unless there is a back stairway they could have used to get here.”

“I’m afraid that might have been our fault,” the band leader stated. “As we were parking our vehicle in the designated area, they came up to us, introduced themselves, and told us that they were there to help carry our gear up to the ballroom. Since they were wearing chocolate-colored blazers with white patches above the pockets that had “The Brown Palace” embroidered on them, we had no reason to question what they said.”

“I don’t think I would have questioned them either,” Pops offered reassuringly.

“I’m glad you concur. Anyway, we had them carry the drum set, speakers, and amplifiers up here, while we carried our instruments and other gear. They apparently had their own things to carry as well, such as those duffle bags, which probably had the weapons inside, but we just didn’t notice.”

“That wasn’t your fault and you won’t be held accountable,” the older gentleman in the tux assured him. “I’m a former Chief for the Denver Police Department and I’ll be certain to advise whoever is ultimately in charge about how you were deceived. As for you,” he said turning back to Gramps and Pops, “I take it that at least one of you have a military or law enforcement background, as well as being in excellent condition for your age. How else would the four of you been able to take those guys down with hardly any fuss.”

“Yes, I’m a veteran,” Pops admitted, although he didn’t mention for which war. “We all keep in good shape and even workout together, whenever we get the chance, and it paid off in this instance.”

“I’m very impressed and you did it as well as any police force that I’ve ever served with. I want to ensure that either I or those in charge this evening get your names so you’ll receive the recognition you deserve for what you did.”

“We didn’t do it for recognition. Our only goal was to protect our families and everyone else who was here. I’m sure we’d all rather remain anonymous, to make sure that their colleagues, relatives, or friends don’t come looking for any of us later to seek revenge.”

“Ah, I can empathize with your position and sympathize with why you feel that way, but you deserve some kind of recognition or reward for what you did. I’m convinced there are a lot of people in this room that would agree with me, so why don’t you let me make it happen?”

“That may be, but if there’s any reward, then donate it anonymously to a shelter that works with the homeless.”

“I can see that you’re not going to budge on this, so at least let me shake each of your hands,” he added as he reached out his hand to Pops.

After they shook, the former police chief moved around to shake hands with the rest of us, and as soon as he’d done that, Gramps and Pops went to retrieve the things they’d tossed into the duffle bags. Devin was the only other one in our group who had to collect his items as well, and then we left the former police chief to deal with everything else. We felt he was more than capable of directing the search for the signal jammer and turning it off, as well as informing the police that showed up and dealing with any of the press that was looking for a story.

The six of us then got together with the women, Lonny, and Clint and informed them that we were going to leave the ballroom until the commotion had died down. As we were leaving, we got quite a few slaps on the back, a bunch of thank-yous, and a few “terrific job” comments from various other people as we made our way out of the ballroom.

“We’re coming back here, aren’t we?” Clint asked panicked as we headed toward the elevator.

“Yes, but we want to get away from here until the commotion has had a chance to die down. We’ll return after the police haul those men off to jail and the reporters have all left the premises.”

“Don’t you want everyone to know what you did here, because you were all really awesome?”

“Thank you, but we feel it would be better if no one knows our names.”

“Why not? You’re all heroes!”

“It’s because we have no idea if those guys have cohorts, relatives, or friends who might want to hunt us or our families down in an effort to seek retribution for what we did tonight. It’s better if they don’t have a way to track us down, just in case they are out for payback.”

“Oh, I never thought about it that way, but it makes sense now. I still think you guys are all superheroes, though, and not just Michael.”

“We’re not superheroes, but it is why we all keep in shape, just in case something like this were to happen.”

“Michael always says stuff like that,” Clint said while looking at the others, “but you’re all superheroes as far as I’m concerned.”

“And I second that,” Lonny agreed.

“We were just lucky tonight that we were able to pull this off without anyone getting hurt or killed, because tonight could have ended much different.”

“Still, what you did was very impressive and you pulled it off without much time to make a plan first,” Lonny added.

“The plan was all Pops and we’re just grateful that everyone’s all right and nothing bad happened.”

“When are we going back to the ballroom?” Clint wanted to know.

“It’s still early and only a little after 9:00, so we’ll go back down to the ballroom in about an hour. The police will have finished their investigation and the press will have left here by then so they can write their stories for tomorrow’s newspapers or record their digital reports for the next newscast.”

We all chose to hang out in my parents’ room, since the women wanted to stay together so they could find out more about how we had devised our plan. They also knew they had to be careful about what they asked or any comment they made, seeing Clint and Lonny aren’t aware of our other abilities. I believe all of us men are hoping that what took place tonight, along with any other things we’ve done previously that Lonny and Clint are aware of, won’t allow them to figure out our secret.

As we continued to chat, Clint was quick to point out when it was 10:00, thanks to the digital alarm clock that sat on the nightstand, so we agreed to make our way back down to the ballroom. When we entered again, very few people acknowledged us or made a fuss about what we’d done earlier. Instead, a few of them merely nodded as we passed by, but most of them were too busy drinking, dancing, or watching the football game on the large screen on the wall above the kitchen. It seems it was one of the screens used when a large conference or convention took place in the ballroom, and the sound was kept low so it didn’t interfere with the music the band was playing.

Once we got settled at our tables again, we found our drinks were still there, which was kind of amazing. That was soon explained, though, when one of the employees came over to speak with us.

“We thought you might return, so we left everything, except for the dirty dishes, where they were, including the wine bottles that are still on ice.”

“Thank you,” Gramps told him. “That was very thoughtful of you!”

“You did us a big favor tonight by preventing those guys from getting all the tip money that we earned tonight.” It was a very practical point of view.

When the band played an upbeat song that caused each of us to want to start dancing around the table, we decided to move to the dance floor with our partners. When that song ended and we were waiting for the next song to begin, we got a little surprise.

“This next song is a special request,” the bandleader announced, “and I’m certain we won’t have to explain who it’s dedicated to.” The band then began to play the intro before the vocalists started to sing the opening lyric to the next song.

“There’s a hero, if you look inside your heart…”

It was the first line of the song “Hero” by Mariah Carey, and several heads swiveled in our direction, and each one was smiling. It’s not what we wanted or were expecting, and we hoped this would be the final mention about what happened earlier.

Since the song was dedicated to us, we all began to dance with our better halves as we listened to the music. When the song ended, Devin and I walked back to the table and Clint immediately made a comment.

“See, they all feel the same way I do.”

“I think you’d better clean out your ears then, because the song’s title is ‘Hero’, not ‘Superhero’,” I teased and he merely rolled his eyes at me and made a face.

“Very funny, but will you dance with me now?” he asked.

“Do you want to dance to a slow or fast song?”

He thought for a moment before answering. “Slow,” he said simply, but the band was currently playing an old fashion jitterbug, so he was out of luck. Since our moms had taught Devin and me how to jitterbug when we were younger, we returned to the dance floor to get our blood pumping again.

Some of the older couples stopped dancing momentarily and watched us briefly, because it appeared they were surprised that we knew how to do this. After watching us for a few seconds, they began dancing with their partners again and we finished the dance without drawing further attention.

When the song ended, we returned to our table and Lonny made a comment. “I’m impressed that you two could not only do that, but you were also very good.”

“Thank you, and you can thank our moms for teaching us how to do it when we were younger.”

As I was still talking with Lonny, Clint grabbed my arm and attempted to pull me toward the dancefloor. “It’s a slow dance, so come on,” he whined.

I just smiled at Lonny and followed his son so we could dance. It was obvious the Clint needs some work on his dancing skills, so maybe sometime I can teach him a few steps, but not now. Tonight, I’d rather be dancing with my man.

When that song ended, our moms asked us to dance next, since our dads were busy watching the football game. We didn’t have a problem with doing this, and when that song ended, we switched partners and danced with our future mothers-in-law. During those two dances, we suggested that they should ask Lonny to dance next, since he had opted to stay at the table, rather than watch the football game.

As our moms went to see if Lonny wanted to dance after that song ended, Devin and I chose to dance with each other again. While we were dancing, Devin made a suggestion. “We should ask Faith and Hope to dance, since Gramps and Pops are watching the football game with our dads.”

“Good idea.”

After we went over to ask Faith and Hope to dance, we noticed that our moms were walking back to the dance floor with Lonny and Clint. It was nice to see how we were all getting along as we covered for our dads, Gramps, and Pops.

When the band took a break, we went back to our table and were sitting there when one of the servers came over to speak with us. “I’ve been told to take your drink orders, whatever you’d like, and it’s compliments of the house for what you did earlier.”

“We should wait for the other men to join us, either at halftime or when the game ends,” Lonny stated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go over and take their drink orders after I deliver your drinks.”

Since this was apparently on the house, we thought about it quickly and I talked it over with Devin before we placed our orders. “We’ll both have a white Crème de Cacao on the rocks,” I told the server.

We chose that particular drink because it has a slight chocolaty flavor and is a nice after dinner drink. After the women heard what we were ordering, they all decided to have the same. Lonny, however, went with a Whiskey Sour and Clint switched from Coke to 7-Up.

“I brought you all doubles,” the server informed us when he returned with our drinks. “After all, it’s on the house and you’re not paying for them.”

We thanked him and Lonny handed him a tip, and then we all sat there sipping our drinks. We also got up every now and then to dance, and we did that until the football game ended and Gramps, Pops, Pa, and Dad all rejoined us. They pulled chairs over from the other table and we crowded together around the same table.

“Did you all get your free drinks?” Dad asked when he sat down.

“Yes, we’ve been enjoying them since the young man brought them to us.”

“You’ve been sipping one drink for that long?” Dad followed.

“No, we were each given two drinks,” Hope replied.

“Oh, I thought the young man just did that for the four of us, since we’re the ones who’ve been tipping him and the others.”

“Sorry, but we were all given two drinks as well,” Faith emphasized.

We hadn’t realized it, but the football game had ended just after 11:00, and that’s when the wait staff began circulating around the room with carts containing mini bottles of champagne that were perfect for two people. At the same time, other employees were distributing party hats, noise makers, and party poppers. We were told those last items either contained confetti or colored streamers that we could release as we brought in the New Year.

The men were all given either a top hat or a derby, while the women received a headband topped with either the words “Happy New Year” or the numbers “2026”. We were also given a choice of either a blowout noisemaker, horn, clicker, or a ratchet that we could use to make noise.

When it got closer to midnight, the band leader urged everyone to accompany him as he counted down to the new year and we were all happy to join in. When we reached the end, we set off the party poppers and used the noise makers while also wishing each other a Happy New Year as the band started playing Auld Lang Syne. As we sang along, we also popped the corks on our champagne bottles and poured it into the champagne flutes, and then Pops offered a toast.

“I want to wish each of you a Happy New Year and may we all enjoy a year filled with love, peace, and prosperity!”

“Hear, hear,” we all responded, and then we gave our partner a kiss, before kissing the women, and shaking hands with each of the men, with one exception. Clint insisted that I give him a kiss instead, and seeing it was a special occasion, I did as he wanted.

We all went to the dance floor after that, since the band announced that after a short break they were going to continue playing until last call, which would be at 2:00 a.m. Our group hung around until the bitter end, while drinking, dancing, and generally just having a good time, since we didn’t want the night to come to an end.

Shortly after the band finished playing their final number, we headed for the elevator so we could go up to our rooms. Many of the older guests had left shortly after midnight, along with a few of the others, and only about a third of the crowd had remained until the party came to an end.

We made sure to keep our voices down as we walked to our rooms, and we all quietly wished each other Happy New Year again before we went inside. Once we were in our room, Clint made a comment.

“Everyone was in a really good mood tonight and I had a blast. It’s been so much fun that I’m hoping you’ll do something special with me tonight.” I didn’t have to ask what he meant.

“Hell, I can’t even do something like that with Devin tonight, since you’re in the room with us.”

“Then why don’t we all do it together,” Clint countered, not giving up.

“No! As I’ve told you before, you’re too young for us to do anything with you like that! You’re just going to have to be satisfied with sleeping between us, unless you’d prefer sleeping on the daybed over by the window.”

“No, I want to sleep with you guys! I like it when you both cuddle with me while we sleep.”

“Ok, then let’s get ready for bed, because I know my mom is going to call us early so we can go out to have breakfast with them.”

“Ok, then let’s do that,” Clint agreed.

We then went into the bathroom to brush our teeth and use the toilet before we put on a fresh pair of underwear and climbed into bed. Devin and I then cuddled with him as we fell asleep.

Just as I predicted, my mom called us promptly at 8:00 and told us to get ready if we wanted to go out and eat with everyone else. Even though we had less than 6 hours of sleep, I was grateful that she hadn’t called us at 7:00, as she usually did whenever we stayed at a hotel or motel.

Rather than bothering a valet to get both SUVs so we could drive around looking for a place to have breakfast, we merely went down to the atrium and selected one of the restaurants located there. Devin, Clint, and I all agreed to have a stack of buttermilk pancakes with 2 sausage patties, 2 strips of bacon, and a large glass of orange juice.

The breakfast was very good and quite filling and I was surprised that Clint was able to eat everything on his plate, since it was quite a lot. Somehow, he did it, though, and then we went back to our rooms to collect our things. Someone in each room also left a tip for the maid who would come in to clean the room after we were gone.

When we were all ready, Pa called down to the front desk and asked them to send up two bellhops with luggage carts so we could check out. They arrived about ten minutes later and took our things down to the atrium so we could turn in our key cards and make sure we were cleared to leave.

After the men took care of that task, Dad and Pa gave two different valets the claim check for their vehicles, and a few minutes later both SUVs pulled up in front of the hotel. The bellhops then wheeled our luggage outside and helped us load it into the SUVs, and then Dad and Pa tipped each of them. Devin and I each gave his mother a hug and a kiss before she got in their SUV and we said goodbye to the others before we got in our SUV.

“Wow, this has been a fun couple of days,” Lonny said as Dad was heading toward the highway, “and I want to thank all of you for letting Clint and me join you.”

“It was our pleasure, and we enjoyed it too,” Dad replied, which surprised me, since he didn’t usually like to talk while he was driving.

“I had a great time too,” Clint added, “and that was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”

“Even more fun than when we were rafting?” I asked.

“Yeah, cuz I didn’t get bounced around so much doing this,” he said with a grin.

Devin, Clint, and I all dozed off during the ride back, the result of a late night, inadequate sleep, and a stuffed belly. Lonny woke us when we reached their house.

“You can go back to sleep after we take our things inside, if you want,” he told Clint.

“Yeah, I’m gonna do that,” Clint confirmed. “And thank you for everything, Uncle Mike and Aunt Cindy,” he added, which earned him bonus points, because he’d never called them that before.

“You’re very welcome, honey,” Mom replied, “and you were a perfect gentleman the entire time.”

“And we’ll all ride together when we go whitewater rafting in May as well,” Dad followed.

Devin and I got out of the SUV and exchanged hugs with Clint and shook hands with Lonny before we helped them grab their things out of the back. As they went inside, we got back in the SUV and started the trip back to our house.

Devin was staying with us until we returned to campus, and tonight we’d get to make love and rectify for not being able to do it when we returned to the hotel room after bringing in the new year.

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