"Hey Dad, guess what's missing from this picture," Peter said as he walked into his father's home office.
Nik looked up from his work to look at his second son. There was something missing.
The back brace.
"Your back brace is gone!" Nik said. "So the doctors and therapists think your back is strong enough now?"
"Yep!" the boy said; "They've even cleared me to return to school after winter break. No physical stuff yet, like training and Phys. Ed., but I can still do the exercises I learned in PT."
"That is awesome, Pete! Congrats!" said Nik.
"Can I call Matt and Sandrina and tell them, Dad?" Peter asked.
"I don't see why not," Nik said. "They'll be thrilled to hear the good news!"
"Okay, thanks Dad," Peter said as he left Nik's office.
Nik smiled. Things were looking up for his third born child. I just wish we could find the bastard who started all this misery and beat the shit out of him, he thought.
At that precise moment, the bastard who caused Peter's injuries was nursing a gunshot wound.
Sandrina and Danica told Natasha about the attack on them, and how Danica was able to get the gun away from the assailant and shoot him in the shoulder with it. They also told Natasha about the threat he made against Vixen.
"Cowardly motherfuckers!" Natasha said angrily; "Where is the asshole? Certainly he couldn't have gotten far with a wound like that."
"Ms. Vincent," one of the police officers said, "we have every available man looking for him, and have alerted area hosptials to contact us if he shows up in their emergency room. He probably hasn't gotten too far. The blood loss will weaken him."
"That's not good enough," Natasha said; "he made a threat against my twelve year old daughter while attacking my nieces. He could be headed to my house now, because he's probably been watching Sandrina's and Danica's movements for weeks!"
"We have people heading that way, Ms. Vincent," the officer said; "Where are your children now?"
"We have a panic room," Natasha said; "I told them before I left to come down here to go there until I returned."
"Good move," the officer said. "We'll let you all go home here shortly."
"Thank you, officer," Natasha said. To Sandrina and Danica she said,
"Did he try to rape either one of you?"
"No, Aunt Tash," Danica said; "He never got that far because we fought with him. That was probably his intent, though."
"We told the officers all this before you got here," Sandrina said.
"I know, guys, and I'm sorry I'm just repeating what they've already asked you," Natash said; "But your safety is a concern. As long as that jerk is still out there, he's still trouble."
"Short of taking weapons on campus, Aunt Tash," said Sandrina, "what can we do?"
"Just be careful and use your martial arts training," Natasha said.
"Hand to hand combat, in other words," Danica said.
"And obeying our sixth sense," added Sandrina.
"Don't discount that sixth sense," Natasha said; "it could save your life."
"Don't we know it," Sandrina replied.
After being cleared by the officer in charge to go home, they did just that. But what they found once they got there would make Natasha seriously rethink being retired from government service.
After careful consideration, Kathryn Marie decided that she would indeed benefit from some counselling to see if it would help in reigning in some of Chastity's desires and habits.
Krysta made the appointment with a prominent psychotherapist who specialized in patients with Disassociative Indentity Disorder (or Multiple Personality Disorder). The therapist, Cameron Chang, was surprised to see it was Chastity Edwards who would be her patient, though the appointment was made under Kathryn Marie's name.
Kathryn Marie was quick to quell the therapist's concerns. "I know that you think that your patient is the notorious Chastity Edwards, but I assure you that she is just a part of my personality that decided that she wanted to be prominent. This personality has literally ruined my life, and I want to make sure she is never again a prominent force in my life."
"I admit, I was concerned when you walked in here," Ms. Chang said; "however, I'll need to get some information about your background so I can see how best to help you."
"Okay," Kathryn Marie said; "Where would you like me to start?"
"At what point in your life did you realize that something was wrong?" asked Chang.
"When I was fourteen," Kathryn Marie said; "I had gone to spend the weekend with a friend. She had older sisters who liked to go party, and they took us to one of those parties that weekend..."
Kathryn looked at Holly and gasped, "I'm not sure I should even be here!"
"It's okay, Kathryn," Holly said; "I'm sure that my sisters won't let anything bad happen to us. We are underage."
"We should stick together," Kathryn said; "My parents will kill me if they find out I'm here."
"Your parents worry too much, Kathryn," Holly said.
For most of the night, Kathryn and Holly stuck together, but when Kathryn thought it was time to go home, Holly wasn't anywhere to be found.
Something nagged at the back of Kathryn's mind: what's your problem, Kathryn? This looks like fun. Stop being so fucking uptight! I wanna go make it with that guy over there.
No! You can't make me do something I don't want to!
-Wanna bet, sister?
I won't do it! I'll walk home first!
-You're not going anywhere. I'm going to let things happen they way they will.
No! I won't do it!
-Too late, sister. This is my kinda party, so get out of my way!
"Hey there, I haven't seen you before," a guy about twenty said; "You wanna get it on?"
"Hell, yeah!" Kathryn heard herself say, in a voice that didn't sound like hers at all.
"Well come on," the guy said; "There's some good weed and all the beer you can drink. Then we'll get down to business."
No! Kathryn screamed in her mind, you can't make me do this!
-It's my turn now, sister. Shut the fuck up and let me play.
"So, your earliest memory of your other self happened at that party?" asked Chang. "When did you realize that she had taken over?"
"I don't remember anything from that point on," Kathryn Marie said; "The next thing I remembered, I was in a hospital, having a baby. My parents were very upset with me and I didn't know why. I had a baby girl, and I told my mother I wanted to name her Kelly. That's all I remembered until later when I found myself married to a man I didn't know. He kept calling me Chastity."
"Did you tell him that wasn't your name?"
"I did, and he had me put in a hospital for crazy people," Kathryn Marie said; "I kind of blanked out while I was there."
"Frequent lapses in memory are common in Disassociative Identity Disorder, Kathryn Marie," Chang said. "After you were put in the hospital for 'crazy people', what happened?"
"I don't remember."
"When did you regain your memory?" Chang asked.
"When I woke up in the hospital a few weeks ago," Kathryn Marie said; "The nurse kept calling me 'Ms. Edwards'. I told her I wasn't Chastity Edwards, that I was Kathryn Marie Hope. She looked confused."
"And no one thought to ask a doctor about the different name?"
"I had a doctor come see me, but he kept calling me by Chastity's name," Kathryn Marie said; "I was told later that Chastity would fake people out by using my first name. That she manipulated people by garnering their sympathy so she could do what she wanted. What she wanted was to get as much sex as possible. Men who think I'm Chastity come to her house all the time for what she calls 'playtime'. If it weren't for Krysta trying to keep them from coming whenever they wanted, I'd probably be there getting laid instead of here trying to figure out how to make Chastity behave."
"Krysta is the one who made this appointment for you?" Chang asked.
"Yes," Kathryn Marie said; "She's been trying to protect me from Chastity's life."
"Has Chastity tried to make an appearance since you regained your memory?"
"No, she hasn't," Kathryn Marie replied; "And I don't want her to. She's evil and mean. She wants people to die because of this stupid movement she's the head of, trying to stage a second Occupation. She has people who work for her killed when they fail, or when they're no longer useful to her. I just want to fix everything she broke. And I want to see my parents and tell them how sorry I am that Chastity ruined me."
Chang scribbled some notes on a pad, then said to Kathryn Marie, "When you described Chastity as 'notorious', that was an apt description of her. She has a reputation for being cruel. I can see that you are not an evil person. Sometimes, people like Chastity fake mental illness to get out of trouble. You seem sincere about wanting to be whole again and not have to fight Chastity for prominence. However, I'll need to speak to someone in your family to back up what you've told me. It's not that I don't believe you, Kathryn Marie, but it's something that has to be done so we can continue."
"But I don't know how to contact my parents," Kathryn Marie said. "I wouldn't even know where to start."
"What are your parents names, Kathryn Marie?"
"Eric and Helene."
"Same last name?" asked Chang.
"Yes."
"Let's make an appointment for two weeks from now," suggested Chang. "Will Ms. Banks be bringing you?"
"I'm sure she will."
"I'd like to speak with her before you leave," said Chang. She called the front desk and asked that Krysta come back to Chang's office. To Kathryn Marie she said, "There's a room next door where I'd like you to wait while I talk with Ms. Banks, okay?"
"Okay," said Kathryn Marie. She got up and went with a nurse to the room next door to wait for Krysta.
II
"I'm bored."
Jasmine looked over at her youngest daughter and sighed. Aaliyah had been sullen and uncooperative since she returned from Austin with her father two months before. It didn't take a doctor to figure out that Aaliyah was depressed. She missed her cousins, especially Rachel.
"I'm sure there's plenty to do down in the great room, Aaliyah," her mother said; "Why don't you go and see if Arielle will help you with something?"
"I don't want to."
"Aaliyah, I'm getting tired of your attitude, little girl," Jasmine said; "I know you miss Rachel and you're still mad that Daddy had to come to Austin to get you, but you need to push past that and stop being so disagreeable."
"Why do people want to hurt us, Mom?" Aaliyah asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Aunt Julia had to go hide somewhere because someone wants to hurt her, and she took her kids with her," Aaliyah said. "That's why Daddy and Uncle Nik had to come get me."
For the love of God, Jere, Jasmine thought, why did you and Nik tell her that?
"Who told you that?"
"Uncle Nik did."
"Aaliyah, I'm not going to lie to you," Jasmine said; "There are bad people who want to hurt us. We just haven't really figured out why yet. We still have to train like we always have, and we still have to be careful. But you being upset about it isn't going to help you or anyone else."
"What can I do, Mom? I'm too young to do anything."
"You're learning how to use weapons and learning survival skills, Aaliyah," Jasmine said; "Those skills will help you all your life, even if you don't have to use them all the time like Daddy, Uncle Nik and Aunt Julia do."
"When is Aunt Julia coming home, Mom?"
"I wish I had an answer for you," Jasmine said; "I don't even think Aunt Julia knows yet."
"I wish I could talk to Rachel on the computer like we did when she was still here," said Aaliyah.
"We're not supposed to know where they are, Aaliyah," said Jasmine, "so you can't do that because internet connections can be traced by people who mean us harm."
"Am I always going to have to watch my back?" asked Aaliyah.
"For now, yes, even though you're still a little girl," replied Jasmine; "I'm sorry it has to be this way. We all thought we were done with this a long time ago, before you were even born."
"I know," Aaliyah said; "And it's not fair!"
"Life's not fair sometimes, Aaliyah," said Jasmine. "We just have to make the best of what is in front of us. All you can do is be the best Aaliyah you know how to be; study hard so you can go to college one day; and listen to Daddy and Uncle Nik when they're training you so you can be as good as they are one day."
"I can do that, Mom," Aaliyah said; "But I still miss playing with Rachel."
"Watch; Rachel, her sisters and brother, and their mom will all be home before you know it," Jasmine said.
"I hope you're right, Mom," Aaliyah said.
I hope I'm right, too, Jasmine thought.
Julia didn't homeschool on Sundays, so that time was set aside to be used to make life on the Christofferson ranch more "normal".
"The kids need some time to be kids," Julia told Jack one evening after all the children were in bed. "I think Rachel especially needs to be able to play outside on nice days. Being cooped up here I'm sure isn't easy on her or the others."
"I wish there was more of an opportunity to take them away from here to see other parts of the state," said Jack; "It's gets very cold here in the winter, so if we do anything like that, we'll have do them now."
"Even a simple trip into town would be great for them," said Julia, "but I'm sure that if there are people looking for us, that would be the first place they look."
"We could go to Jackson Hole or Yellowstone," Jack suggested; "Both are a bit of a drive, though. Plenty of opportunities to be followed."
"Anything near by that would pique their interest?"
"Just some old Indian campsites and lots of nothing for miles around," Jack said.
"We may as well stay here, then," Julia said. "Besides, the A.R.M. operatives no doubt know what we all look like. They'll just be looking for a family with a bunch of redheads."
"True," Jack said; "And because I've taken you all in, I'm sure they're looking closely at me as well."
"I know I asked a lot of you and our relationship when I asked you to help me out," Julia said. "Sometimes, I feel bad I've dragged you into this hell with me."
"You know I would have suggested it if you hadn't asked," Jack said; "You don't need to feel bad about it, Julia. I'm enjoying having you all here. I almost feel like a real father again."
"Has it been hard not having any contact with your sons?" asked Julia.
"It has, but in order to protect them, and their families, there is no other way," Jack said sadly; "Had I thought this out better sixteen years ago, I would have let them in on my plans. All I thought about was saving myself."
"Sometimes, running on emotions does that," Julia said; "When it's a situation where it's survive or die, most people choose to survive. The fight or flight reflex at work. And there was a war going on at the time."
"True," Jack said; "and that fight or flight thing is dead on. If I stayed to fight, I might not be here now, because I'm sure Carl Parks would have figured out I didn't break you and he'd have me killed. So I decided to disappear."
"When we figure out why these A.R.M. loonies want me dead, I'll take my family and go home," Julia said. "I've probably caused you enough stress for three lifetimes."
"Never, Julia..." Jack said as he took her hand. "I enjoy having you here. Even if it's for a little while."
Marry me, Julia, Jack thought. I want you in my life forever. No matter how little time that is. But I can't put you through losing me, too. I love you way too much to cause you that kind of pain a second time.
He almost said it. He wanted to. His heart ached to tell her all the things they'd do together. But he realized that he'd be asking her to live his life, and that wouldn't be fair to her, he thought.
"I love you, Julia," he said against her hair.
Julia turned to face him. She saw on his face the love he had for her. It was obvious to anyone who saw it. So far, Miri was the only one of the children who did.
"I love you, too, Jack," she whispered to him; "What's wrong?"
"I'm just a sentimental old fool," he said.
"No, baby," she replied; "I don't think so. Your love makes my insane life more sane."
"That's kind of you to say," he said.
"It's the truth, Jack," said Julia; "I don't say anything I don't mean."
She reached up to touch his face, just like that first time when she was eighteen years old. "Why are you doubting me?" she asked.
He looked at her. Those beautiful dark eyes demanded an answer.
"I'm not doubting you, darling Julia," he said; "Just myself."
"Why?"
"You deserve more than I can give you," he said; "Someone younger, someone who has the same goals and dreams you do. I'm 71 years old. I'd only be holding you back..."
"I don't care how old you are!" Julia exclaimed; "What matters to me is what's in your heart, not how old you are by what the calendar says. And if loving me is in your heart, it doesn't matter about age."
"You really don't care I'm 37 years older than you?"
"No, I don't," Julia said; "What I do care about is you, Jack. I owe you my life. When I thought you were dead, I always said a prayer for you on your birthday, thanking you for saving me when you could have very easily allowed Carl Parks to have his sick way with me. Instead, you loved me and protected me, and kept your promise to allow me to escape, even though it was probably the hardest thing you've ever had to do besides bury your wife. I know leaving you behind was the hardest thing I had to do until I had to bury Ryan.
"Before I got in that car you gave me the keys to, I looked back toward your quarters and told you I loved you. I wish I had said it to your face then."
"I might not have let you go, Julia, and I knew you weren't mine to have," Jack said.
"But I had a part of you inside me, though I didn't realize it at the time," Julia said. "My feelings for you are very real, both then and now..."
She felt herself start to cry, and she let the tears fall.
Jack took her into his arms. The last thing he wanted to do was make Julia cry. Yet, she cried softly against him. "Oh, Julia," he said; "I'm so sorry. I'm a jerk. I'm so lucky to have you as part of my life, then I try to fuck it up with my stupid doubts. Julia, please... don't cry, honey..."
Unknown to either of them, their daughter was listening. And she wasn't happy.
Natasha, Sandrina and Danica returned to the house, and immediately knew there was something very wrong there.
The front door had been kicked in, and when they entered, the house had been ransacked.
Natasha's first thought was for her children. "Nikolai! Viktoria!" she called out. Sandrina and Danica had never heard their aunt address her daughter by her given name.
Natasha went to the panic room and punched in a code. The door opened and her children emerged, unhurt. She hugged them to her, a sigh of relief issuing forth from her.
"Mom, someone came into the house before you did!" Nikolai said. "We stayed put because you told us not to come out until you got home."
"We weren't scared, Mom," Vixen said; "But whoever was here was trashing the house looking for something."
"You took the computers down with you, right?" asked their mother.
"Yes, we took all the laptops with us," Nikolai said. "Just like we practiced."
"Good, good," Natasha said. "Now we need to call the police. They're going to be sick of me today, that's for sure."
"I'm on it, Aunt Tash," Danica said as she got on her phone and called the police.
"Let's figure out if anything is missing," Natasha said; "Sandrina, you check the bedrooms upstairs. Nikolai, you and your sister bring the laptops back upstairs and put them where they belong. Danica's on the phone with the police."
And you need to calm down, Natasha, she told herself.
When she was calm, Natasha realized she was angry. Who were these people stalking my nieces? she asked herself. Why isn't anything more being done to find the motherfucker who tried to assault them? Was this an A.R.M. thing?
Natasha knew that the American Republic Movement was run by a woman named Chastity Edwards, who was considered the most likely person to be in charge of a new Occupational government if the group's plans came to fruition. Her reputation as a patently cruel and evil person was well known. She despised failure, and had no problem killing her own employees. Her sexual appetite was ravenous, and had no real morals to speak of. She sounded like a cross between Carl Parks and Lizzie Borden.
The group's enemies were known as The Triad; Natasha knew that The Triad was Nik, Jeremiah and Julia; and anyone associated with them. It seemed that nothing was being done to stop this group other than have the CIA send two civilians and an Army officer out to quell the group's anger and determination to succeed.
Natasha knew she needed to talk to Darren.
Meanwhile, the police had arrived. Nothing of importance was taken from the house, but the idea that someone would break into her home while her children were there unnerved her. I should have taken them with me when I went up to Georgetown, she chided herself. At least the children did as they had practiced on many occasions and gathered up the electronics and headed to the panic room.
This is ridiculous, Natasha thought. We shouldn't have to live this way...
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sandrina's secure phone ringing. She answered it and Natasha watched as a big smile spread across her niece's face.
"Good news, I trust?" she asked.
"Pete's out of the back brace and has been cleared to return to school after Christmas!" Sandrina said. "That's the best thing I've heard in a long time!"
"That's a load of your parents minds I'm sure," Natasha said, remembering what Nik had told her about Peter's accident.
"It's a load off my mind, too," Sandrina said; "He can be a normal 15 year old boy again. Or, as normal as he can be being our father's son."
"That is good news, Sandy," said Danica; "I'm overdue for some good news about my sister."
Sandrina hugged Danica, saying, "I'm sure something big will happen soon for her, Danica. I just know it."
"I hope you're right," Danica said.
"Ms. Banks, you can understand my concern about Kathryn Marie, can't you?" asked Cameron Chang; "I need to know how to contact her family so I can find out if this is a real case of Disassociative Identity Disorder, or if Chastity Edwards is faking it for sympathy."
"I understand your concerns," Krysta said; "and I've found a contact number for Eric Hope. Kathryn Marie doesn't know it yet, but her mother died a couple of years ago of cancer."
"Kathryn Marie, if this is a legitimate case, is still in the mindset of a fifteen year old girl. Her development as a person stopped when Chastity took over as the dominant alter," Chang said.
"If you were able to merge the two personalities back together, what would happen to Kathryn Marie?" asked Krysta.
"She would more than likely have a fifteen year gap in her memory because those years were taken over by Chastity," said Chang. "She'd have to make new memories from the time she woke up in the hospital. And some of those new memories won't be pleasant because Kathryn Marie would have to pay for Chastity's crimes at some point."
"What are you going to say to her father?" asked Krysta. "That his daughter has a split personality, and that the evil alter is the one who abandoned her child with him and his wife?"
"I'll ask him general questions, like when he first noticed the change in Kathryn Marie's behavior," Chang said. "I'll let him do all the talking."
"That sounds like a good idea," Krysta said; "I was going to go see him myself, but it's probably better that you speak to him instead."
"You really are trying to protect Kathryn Marie from her alter, Chastity, aren't you?" asked Chang.
"I know what Chastity is like, Ms. Chang," said Krysta; "She has no capacity for the concepts of respect, love, honor, responsibility. Kathryn Marie is the exact opposite. She's an innocent victim in all this. I've seen Chastity throw temper tantrums that rival those of a two year old, because she gets frustrated very easily. She also gets bored very easily, especially with people. Failure is not an option with her. I've seen her order more operative deaths than I care to remember. I hate that I'm a party to any of her plans for the country. She took me away from a life as a stripper and a prostitute and brought me into her circle of friends. I'm not like her. I'm the rational one. I thought I loved her at one time, but even I have my limits."
"That's commendable of you, Ms. Banks," Chang said; "Kathryn Marie thinks highly of you."
"I'm glad to hear that," Krysta said; "I want to see Kathryn Marie become a whole person again and not have to fight with Chastity for control of her own body and mind."
"After I speak with her father," Chang said; "I may need to hospitalize her for observation, to see how she'll respond to intense therapy. I want to see if I can hypnotize her and bring out Chastity and talk to her."
"Good luck with that, Ms. Chang," Krysta said; "Chastity is not an easy person to get along with."
"You like Kathryn Marie better?"
"Much," Krysta said.
III
Work around the ranch went on as usual, but Miri was not feeling it.
She'd overheard the conversation between her mother and Jack the night before, and she couldn't believe that Jack had made her mother cry. How dare he! she thought angrily. How dare he doubt her mother's love for him!
Miri knew that she was the same as her mother emotionally. She knew that what went on between Julia and Jack ran deeper than she realized. Even after being apart for her entire life, their feelings for one another hadn't changed.
She wondered if her father knew about this. He had to have known, Miri theorized, because Mom felt the same for him. Miri saw the same things between her parents that she now saw between her mother and Jack.
How lucky is she, Miri thought; how lucky is Mom to have two great loves? I'll be happy if I have one.
But she was still angry at Jack for upsetting her mother. What Miri didn't know was that after she went back to bed, Jack and her mother made love. All was forgiven. Miri didn't have the whole story, but she was going to confront Jack anyway.
Miri was gathering the eggs from the henhouse, and she was almost done. She had to wait until the larger animals had been grazed and had their stalls cleaned out before Miri could get to the henhouse. She was the only one still left in the barn. Her sisters and brother were already inside the house, either having breakfast or taking a short nap before their mother started their lessons for the day.
Once the eggs were gathered, Miri had to sort them into cartons so that they could be shipped to wholesalers. The family kept six dozen eggs a week, and all six dozen got eaten or used in cooking.
When she was finished, Miri turned around and nearly ran into Jack as he went out to check on things.
"Whoa, Miri, look out!" Jack said, surprised by the 15 year old's sudden movement.
To him, Miri looked puzzled at first. Then he saw something just beneath the surface. It was something he'd seen in his daughter Celine numerous times when she was Miri's age, but until that moment, had never seen it in Miri herself.
Anger.
Miri spoke, "Why did you make Mom cry last night, Jack?"
There was no mistaking the anger in the teenager's voice. My God, Jack thought, what part of our conversation did the girl hear?
"She thought I was doubting her affection for me, Miri," Jack said; "I was actually doubting myself and my ability to give her the love she deserves. Personally, it's none of your business, but since you obviously were listening, then you deserve an answer to your question."
"It's my mother, so that makes it my business," Miri said. "She's been through hell and back because of these people who want to kill her, she's probably put herself through the wringer over whether you were still alive or not; It doesn't take a whole lot to see that you still have feelings for one another. That much is obvious. If you think I'm pissed off now, just hurt her once, Jack. Because believe me, you haven't seen how angry I can get!"
"Miri," Jack said; "I love your mother with everything I am. But there is a nearly 40 year age difference that can't be denied. She's already been through hell because one, she thought for years that I was dead; and two, your father died, and I know she loved him fiercely. Losing him was hard on her, I know. I've been there, too. You have to understand that I can't ask Julia to live an old man's life, which is what she'd be doing if we..." Jack stopped and looked at the girl he and Julia had together.
"Stayed together?" asked Miri, finally understanding the full scope of the conversation she didn't understand. "Is that what you're afraid of? That she'd stop loving you if she stayed with you after this was over?"
Jack looked at her. You're so young and you don't understand what real love is yet, Mirielle, he thought. Your mother gave me her heart when she was eighteen. I could never bear to hurt her.
"I'd rather die right here," Jack said; "than to cause Julia a second's unhappiness, Miri. It would kill me think that I've ever caused her to..."
He turned away from her, and Miri thought she finally got it. Real love sometimes makes sacrifices to make sure that the other person was happy; that it brought out strong emotions in men who were not prone to it. Miri finally understood that Jack really did love her mother.
"I'm sorry, Jack," she said. "I'm young and stupid about stuff like that. Maybe I won't understand until the day a man tells me he loves me, and that he'd do anything to make me happy. Even if that meant letting me go."
Jack turned to face Miri. He smiled. "I envy the man who wins your heart, Mirielle," he said; "He'll see in you what I see in your mother, what your father saw in your mother. I hope I live long enough to see it."
That took Miri by surprise. "You will, Jack," she said.
Though she had no idea how soon that would be.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Pete?"
"Can I ask you something?" asked Peter.
"You can ask me anything, Pete," Nik said; "You know that."
Nik was working in his home office, trying to coordinate different aspects of the plans to bring down the American Republic Movement in Julia's absence. Danny was at school, and Peter had just gotten done with his lessons for the day from his mother. The 15 year old wouldn't be going back to school until after the winter break. Until then, his parents were homeschooling him.
"Dad, can we go out to the Memorial today?"
Nik wasn't expecting that. He himself hadn't been to the Memorial set up in Peter and Kiera's honor since shortly after it had been dedicated ten years before. It was too emotional a trip for him. It had been set up as a final resting place of sorts for the people who had adopted and raised him. Kiera's parents were buried at the site. Peter and Kiera's remains had never been recovered after their murders twenty-two years before.
Peter saw his father's hesitation. Maybe that's a bad idea, the boy thought.
But, Nik surprised him.
"Sure, Pete," he said; "We can go today. Why did you want to go?"
"Because I haven't been there since I was five, Dad, and I want to see it," Peter said.
"That's a good enough reason," Nik said. "How soon can you be ready?"
"Now soon enough for you?"
"Oh," Nik said, chuckling; "Then now it is."
They went out to the car and drove to the site. It was located behind the tallest building on the former Disturbed Ones compound where the band had their offices during the Occupation. The main offices of the community college that bore the older Peter San Marco's name now used that building for administrative purposes.
Nik found a place to park and he and Peter got out of the car. As they neared the Memorial, Nik was starting to have mixed emotions. He owed his very existence from the time he was four years old to the people memorialized here.
Peter saw his father get emotional. Those times were few and far between, but he understood the great meaning of coming here and how that affected his father. He himself learned a lot about his grandparents from the brief time that his great grandfather, Daniel White Feather, was in his life.
Peter walked right up to the memorial plaques that told visitors about the great sacrifices his grandparents made. They had taken in four children who had been abandoned by the deaths or imprisonment of one or both of their parents during the Occupation. How those children grew up to end the Occupation years later, using the skills that they had been taught at home.
The teenager sat on one of the benches that faced the memorials. He had a reason for asking his father to bring him here.
"I have this great name," Peter said; "And I know I have a lot to live up to because of it. I've been through a lot this year with my accident, and it was only through my strength and the strength of my parents that I was able to get through it. And I sit here this afternoon to promise you, Grandpa Peter, that I will never do anything to shame this name that my parents gave me to honor you. I will live my life with dignity and respect for all the things you and Grandma Kiera went through to make sure that Dad, Aunt Julia, Uncle Jere and Uncle Joe were the best of the best. I will be the best of the best one day. I promise you that..."
Nik heard everything his son had said, though Peter had no idea that his father was listening. You and your brothers and sister, and all your cousins are already the best of the best, Pete, thought Nik. It warmed Nik's soul to hear Peter say those things without prompting.
If he can get through his trials with dignity and respect, Nik thought, then so can I.
And Nik San Marco promised his parents, both the San Marcos and the parents who brought him into the world, that he would end this threat to the country, even if it ended his life.
All because of the promise his 15 year old son made to the grandparents he never knew.
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