As the holidays drew closer, Jeremiah wondered what to do with the information that Krysta Banks had provided him about the American Republic Movement.
She basically sold out A.R.M., Jeremiah remembered thinking as Krysta spilled her guts about Chastity Edwards, the group's ultimate plans, including what was planned for him, Nik, and Julia. A.R.M. knew where Julia was, which was something not even Jeremiah knew.
The most damning piece of information was that Chastity was not truly the head of the Movement. There was someone behind the scenes, providing the money and the incentive to stage a second Occupation. That man's name was Christian DeWitt. It was a name that Jeremiah was familiar with.
Christian DeWitt was essentially a recluse. He was fifty-five years old, with two grown sons, and three young daughters. The mother of the girls was a woman Krysta would only say was named Katherine (which is how Jeremiah spelled it in his notes) who was in her early thirties and suffering from a psychiatric condition known as Disassociative Personality Disorder. DeWitt was paying for his daughters' mother's (Krysta was unsure if DeWitt and Katherine were married) care in an unnamed mental health facility in upstate New York.
DeWitt had a vast amount of wealth. His family were involved with manufacturing and had received a generous inheritance when his parents died when he was in his late twenties. Krysta had told Jeremiah that she believed that part of that fortune went toward the Movement's plans for the second Occupation. Krysta also believed that Chastity was a beneficiary of some of that money as well. She supposedly owned a very nice home with everything that one could imagine inside it. Krysta believed that DeWitt actually owned the house and allowed Chastity to live there as long as she wished.
As Jeremiah looked over his notes, he knew that the information that he was provided could bring the group down, especially with that last thing that Krysta Banks had told him; that DeWitt would walk away from A.R.M. for only one reason: if Katherine was cured of her mental illness and reunited with DeWitt and their daughters.
Jeremiah had a feeling that Krysta knew who Katherine really was (if that was indeed her true name), but decided to hold that information back as insurance for Jeremiah to help her escape from the Movement. Especially since she asked for anonymity. He had told her he couldn't guarantee it if he was asked for his notes in the event he was sued by DeWitt or Edwards.
It had been two weeks since the interview, and Jeremiah was torn whether to go ahead and investigate further, or let Nik and Julia know about these new developments. He decided that for now, he'd investigate Krysta Banks' claims, and if what he found was relevant, he'd tell Nik and Julia about what he learned.
I hate knowing this about our opponent in this conflict, Jeremiah thought; Julia and Nik deserve to know. But I have to find out if any of this shit was true, or Krysta Banks was just telling a tall tale.
He sighed and locked his notes away. He was sitting on an explosive story, and he knew it.
Krysta got the phone call she had been dreading since Chastity "disappeared".
Christian DeWitt wanted to see her.
If one person in the Movement scared her more than Chastity did at times, it was Christian DeWitt. He had all the power, and his fortune kept the Movement afloat financially. Chastity ran the Movement at his direction. As much as Clayton Pollard wanted to be in charge of the Movement and its agents, it was DeWitt who pulled the strings. It was common knowledge in the Movement that DeWitt was unhappy that Pollard essentially usurped Chastity's leadership in her absence.
Maybe that's what he wants to see me about, Krysta thought; or else he found out I spoke with Jeremiah Donovan.
The idea that Christian DeWitt could possibly know that Krysta spilled the Movement's secrets not only to a reporter, but a reporter who as also one of The Triad, scared Krysta to her core. DeWitt wanted to see her in two days. Krysta knew what she had to do.
She would call Eric Hope.
They had spoken on the phone nightly since she returned to Buffalo from Eric's lakeside retreat. He was the only one who knew that she was going to contact Jeremiah Donovan with information about the Movement. He asked about Kathryn's progress in treatment, and Krysta told him that she was steadily improving and remembering more about her past. Eric seemed pleased and asked Krysta if Cameron Chang had okayed his request to come visit. Krysta said that Cameron hadn't spoken to her about it.
"Maybe she will call you herself," said Krysta. "She has not told me anything about that. She seems to be keeping things from me as Kathryn improves."
"Perhaps that's a good thing, Krysta," Eric said; "Patient-client priviledge is a tricky thing. I hope that she does call me. I would like to see Kathryn before Christmas if possible."
"I'll let her know when I speak with her again, Eric," said Krysta.
Now, however, Krysta needed to talk to Eric about having him possibly represent her legally or to recommend someone, given their deepening personal relationship. The meeting with DeWitt made her uncharacteristically nervous. He had the power and the means to end her life, or at least make it extremely uncomfortable for her.
She would find out, though, that he only wanted one thing: he wanted the mother of his three daughters back.
Krysta would find out something else about Chastity/Kathryn that she didn't know.
"Midwest Central Command, Sgt. Micaela Knox speaking."
Jacob cleared his throat, then spoke, "Yes, Sgt. Knox. I'm Jacob Ross. I'm looking to speak with Major Nikolai San Marco. Is he available?"
Sgt. Knox's eyebrows shot up. She actually had the husband of the late Interim President on the line.
"I'll have to check on that for you, sir," she said; "It will be just a moment if you'll hold the line please."
"Of course," Jacob said. Maybe it will give me time to diffuse my anger and not tear Nik a new asshole, he thought.
Not more than a moment later, Nik came on the line.
"Jacob, it's Nik," he said; "To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
"Can it, Nik," Jacob said; "This isn't a social call."
It didn't take a genius to know that Jacob Ross was not a happy man at that particular moment. What has he found out that has made him angry, Nik wondered.
"Okay, I get that you're not happy, Jacob," Nik said; "What is it that I can assist you with?"
"First of all," Jacob said, "you and I have a long history together so please don't take what I am about to say the wrong way."
"Okay, Jacob," Nik said, bracing himself for what was bound to come next. He's found out something about Julia's whereabouts and wonders why no one told him, he thought.
"I have heard through unofficial channels that Julia was in Denver back in October because she had been injured somehow," Jacob said; "I know that there had been threats against her life and the lives of my grandchildren. What I want to know is, what was the nature of Julia's injury?"
"Jacob, as much as I'd like to tell you," Nik said, "that information is currently classified."
"Even for me, Nik?" asked Jacob.
"Yes, Jacob, at this time, even for you."
Nik could hear the familiar grunting on the other end of the line. That was one of the things about Jacob that didn't change when he allowed his Morbus personality to die.
"I'm only her father, Nik," said Jacob; "Don't I have a right to know what happened to her, and if her children are okay?"
"Of course you do, Jacob," Nik said; "But I cannot tell you at this time. I'm under orders from the President himself. You might want to take this up with Darren Dixon, because he's the man who recruited us to work for CIA."
"Nik," Jacob said, his voice softening slightly, "I called you because I don't think I can speak to Director Dixon right now without wanting to kill him. I don't care if he is your sister's boyfriend."
"He'd probably be able to tell you more than I am allowed to, Jacob," Nik said; "I don't even know what Julia's injury, if that's why she was in Denver, is."
God, I hate that I have to lie to this man, Nik thought. I'm sure he could still kill me if he got mad enough. I owe him so much.
"Nikolai..." Jacob said; "You don't lie very well, boy. You never have. Now, I'll ask you again: what is the nature of Julia's injury?"
"She was shot protecting Rachel in the location where she and her family is in hiding," Nik said; "But you didn't hear that from me."
"Fine," Jacob said; "So she is okay and the children are okay, correct?"
"Yes, Jacob. As far as I know, everyone is doing fine," Nik said; "I get my information second hand, and that was the last report. That everyone is fine."
Jacob wasn't satisfied. He knew that Nik could only tell him so much, but Jacob had known Nik almost his entire life. If he had to get angry at Nik, Jacob didn't have a problem with that.
"Then I have one more question, Nik," he said.
"What's that?"
Jacob cleared his throat again. God please forgive me, he thought. It's not the boy's fault.
"Where the fuck is my daughter and who the fuck is hiding her and her family?" he asked in the same low, gravelly voice he'd used as Morbus. "Because, Nik, if you don't tell me because you can't, then I will find her on my own. Don't make me do that."
"Jacob," Nik said, "I can't tell you because I don't know where she is, or who is hiding her. The only person who knows that is Julia."
"Obviously, if Julia was injured, then someone who has ill intentions towards Julia knows where she is," Jacob said. "Don't make me go to the enemy to find my daughter and grandchildren."
For the first time since he was fifteen years old, Nik was actually afraid that Jacob would do just that... find out who threatened his daughter and convince them to tell him where Julia was.
"Before you do that, Jacob," Nik said; "Let me see if I can get clearance to tell you. Just hearing your name still has quite a bit of pull around these parts."
"You do that, Nik," Jacob said; "If I don't hear from you in 72 hours, I'm going to look for her myself, and that won't look good on you or the President."
"I'll contact you as soon as I hear something," Nik said; "That's not a promise. This is the government we're talking about. You know how incredibly slow things move when one is looking for information that the government doesn't want you to know."
"Yes, Nik, I realize that," Jacob said. "It frustrated Christine to no end while she was the Interim President. But there is a little thing called the Family Disclosure Act of 2020. By law, if I ask about my daughter's whereabouts, the agency in charge of her employment is obligated to tell me. You could pull that trick out of your bag and see how far it gets you."
"I could," Nik said; "But if I attach your name to the request, it'll probably be in my hands sooner."
"Try that, Nik," Jacob said; "Or I'll look for Julia myself. And trust me, I will find her."
Nik had no doubt of that. It was his job now to make sure that Jacob Ross doesn't have to strap on his guns again and become the most feared assassin the country had ever seen.
Until Julia surpassed him.
II
Eric checked the ID screen on his secure phone and recognized the number immediately.
It was Krysta.
"Hello?" he asked when he answered the phone.
"Eric, it's Krysta."
Eric picked up on the nervousness in her voice, like she was calling on the sly.
"What's wrong, Krysta?" asked Eric; "You sound nervous about something. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. A little freaked out," Krysta said; "I have a meeting with a man named Christian DeWitt tomorrow morning."
Eric knew the name. They had been adversaries in court so many times that Eric lost count. Eric, who usually represented the state in matters of how the law was interpreted, usually came up against DeWitt when a law didn't allow DeWitt to do something. The last time they met in court, it was because DeWitt wanted to have certain tax breaks to make his financial burden less.
"Why on earth are you meeting with Christian DeWitt?" asked Eric; "Don't tell me he's involved with the Movement, too?"
"Eric," Krysta said; "He's not only involved with it, he backs it financially. He's a silent partner, letting Chastity do all the dirty work. He probably wants me to tell him where Chastity is."
"Did you talk to that reporter you told me about?" asked Eric; "Jeremiah Donovan?"
"I did," Krysta said; "I spilled the Movement's secret to him. That is the only other reason I can think of that Mr. DeWitt wants to talk to me. He found out somehow."
"If Donovan didn't say anything, I don't see how DeWitt found out," Eric said; "The Movement basically has put a price on Donovan's head. It would be a stupid move on the reporter's part if somehow he leaked his conversation with you to Christian DeWitt."
"I know, and I was told by Jeremiah Donovan that my name was to be kept out of his story, unless he was required to provide it in legal proceedings, so I know he didn't say anything. But DeWitt has ways of find out shit not just anyone can know."
"Unless he's a computer hacker, or has hackers at his disposal, there's no way he could find out you spoke to a reporter," Eric said; "Besides, Donovan probably has software on his computer that protects from someone trying to hack into the system."
"Back to this meeting I'm going to," Krysta said; "Do I tell him where Chastity is, or pretend I don't know?"
"To protect Kathryn, I'd tell him you don't know where Chastity is," Eric said; "If DeWitt wants to know, I'm sure he has ways of finding out."
"What if he asks about Kathryn? Or knows something about Chastity's problem?" asked Krysta. "Or finds out later that I lied to him?"
"That's when I get involved," Eric said; "No one is going to mess with you. If they try, they'll have to get through me first."
He then heard a sigh of relief on the other end of the line. No one will hurt you, my beauty, he said to her in his thoughts; I will protect you from evil scum like Christian DeWitt.
As soon as the semester at the University of Virginia ended, Matt and Lisa were ready for a break before classes started up again in January.
A good majority of that break would be spend with Matt's parents and siblings in Chicago. Lisa's father, Vince, encouraged her to go.
"The San Marcos are good people, Lisa," Vince had told her; "and you and Matt spent Thanksgiving here with us. I'm fine, your brother and sister are fine. We'll have your presents sent out to Chicago in care of Matt's dad. Now go and don't give me any 'but Dad' crap and go have fun!"
So, with that in mind, Lisa decided to have fun. She would be with her man, his family, and try not to worry about her father so much. Her younger siblings, 14 year old sister Tracy and 11 year old brother Chase, would tell Lisa if things with Dad got "weird" as Chase put it.
"Whatcha thinkin' about Lisa?" asked Matt as he was trying to put together the right clothes for December in Chicago.
"Having fun," Lisa said. "We can do all the touristy stuff. Is your sister coming home for Christmas or staying in Washington?"
"I think she's coming home," Matt said; "Danica was going to go home to Maine; and Aunt Natasha was going to take the twins and go skiing with her boyfriend somewhere."
"Is she really dating the Director of the CIA?" asked Lisa.
"She really is, Lisa," Matt said; "She worked for him for years, and apparently, he fell for her a long time before she knew how she felt about him."
"She is a stunningly beautiful woman, Matt," Lisa said; "She reminds me of Sandy a lot."
"Sandy will so hate to hear you say that," Matt said, laughing; "She's the last one who thinks she's beautiful. Oh, she might be bringing a boyfriend home with her, if he can get leave. He's in the Army."
"He and your dad will have a lot to talk about, then," Lisa said.
"He'll have to master the 'Nik San Marco's Rules for Dating His Only Daughter'," Matt said; "Dad will give any man dating Sandy a hard time about a lot of stuff."
"Your dad sounds pretty tough when it comes to Sandy and guys," Lisa said.
"Sandy dated this guy when we were in high school who treated her like crap," Matt said; "Dad didn't get a chance to slap this guy down. I did it. Dad found out later when Sandy found out what I did."
"And what did your dad say?"
"He said, 'Next time, Matthias, let me do the dirty work'!"
"That's it?"
"Pretty much," Matt said. "Now, however, you and I need to check on some things before we fly out of here."
"Like what?"
Matt took Lisa's hand and led her to the bedroom. She thought they were going to have sex. Instead, they took a nap. Sex would come later. Final exams took a lot of out both of them. They needed to be rested before getting on the plane in Richmond early the next morning.
III
The temperatures in central Wyoming were dangerously low as Christmas approached. When they went out to do their farm chores, everyone was bundled from head to toe to keep them from getting frostbite. Some mornings, Jack wouldn't even let the kids out of the house long enough to walk to the barn, even with all the protective winter weather gear they wore. It was simply too cold.
A week before Christmas, a series of blizzards blew through, dumping nearly fifteen feet of snow in some places. All the occupants of the house could do is watch the weather get more extreme.
Anticipating this, Jack had extra food brought in for all the animals, so if he or the kids couldn't get out to the barn, the animals would still have food. The heated barn also assured that their water wouldn't freeze and that the animals could survive the harsh weather.
Jack knew this would probably be his last winter. He had a talk with all the kids and Julia about his declining health and took questions from them about what would happen were he to die while they were supposed to be in hiding; who would take care of the animals if Jack couldn't; what Jack wanted to happen when he died. All the girls cried, and Zach tried to be the tough protector for his sisters, but there was only so much the ten year old could do.
A few days before Christmas, Jack sent Miri and Jaime to check the fenceline closest to the house to see if it was still intact.
"Do not get out of the truck," Jack said; "This weather isn't fit to be out in. You just check the fenceline, note any breaks, then come back to the house. When this storm passes, we'll go out and mend the breaks. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," the girls said.
Miri, who had learned how to drive in anticipation of getting her drivers license after the new year, drove the truck; Jaime looked for any breaks in the fenceline. She found one near the old water tower. As Miri wrote down the information about the location, size, and whatnot, Jaime saw something else.
The way this part of the fenceline got broken.
"Oh, my God, Miri!" Jaime gasped; "It's the pregnant mare I've been watching since fall. She's going to foal out here!"
Miri looked at her sister, and just knew she was going to do something stupid.
"She'll die out here if we leave her, Miri," Jaime said.
"Jack said don't get out of the truck, Jaime," Miri said; "We don't have a choice. We have to leave her out here. It's too cold to be playing James Herriott."
Without a word, Jaime got out of the truck. She was bundled up against the cold. She grabbed a length of rope from the bed of the truck and walked over to the mare.
"Jameson Summers, have you lost your damn mind?!" Miri exclaimed.
Jaime was oblivious to her sister's panic. She approached the mare and slipped the rope over her muzzle and led her back to the truck. She climed into the truck bed and tapped on the glass of the cab.
"Drive slow, Miri," she told her sister; "Maybe we can get the mare back to the barn she before she foals."
"Are you crazy?" Miri said;
"No, Miri," Jaime said; "The mare needs our help."
Miri just rolled her eyes and started driving back toward the barn, Jaime in the bed and the mare following behind while Jaime held the makeshift muzzle.
It took fifteen agonizing minutes to get from the water tower to the barn. Twice Jaime had Miri stop because the mare appeared to be in distress. Once back at the barn, Jaime got out of the truck bed and led the mare to an empty stall inside the barn, where it was warm and safe. Miri had gone into the house to tell Jack and her mother what Jaime had done.
"She what?!" Jack said between coughing fits.
"She brought a mare back to the barn so the mare could foal," Miri said; "I told her we couldn't, but she did it anyway."
"The mare would have died if she didn't," Julia said; "But those horses are government property, aren't they?"
"Jaime wasn't supposed to get out of the truck, Julia," Jack said; "Jaime could have died out there, too."
"Where is Jaime?" Julia asked;
"Out in the barn, making the mare comfortable."
"I don't have the resources to provide the mare, and her colt, with food," Jack said. "And no one will come out here and deliver extra supplies in this weather."
"Jack," Julia said; "You bought enough food to feed those animals for two or three winters. I'm sure there's something we can give the mare and her colt."
"You see how much Sarge eats?" Jack asked her.
"I have, Jack, and even if it were just him, he couldn't possibly eat all that in one winter," Julia said.
Jack sighed. He knew that Julia was right.
Just then Jaime came running into the house, excited.
"You guys have to come out here and see this!" she exclaimed; "There's a mare giving birth to her colt right now!"
Julia looked at Jack as all four of her kids went out to the barn to watch the miracle of birth.
"I'll call the vet," Jack said; "but he ain't gonna like this."
Krysta showed up at DeWitt's office thirty minutes before the time he asked her to be there. Although it didn't show on the outside, inside she was nervous. She'd only met DeWitt twice before, both times with Chastity.
She tried to remember all the stuff that Eric told her, but her brain was muddled with worry. She was very afraid of this meeting. Somehow, Krysta knew that DeWitt had found out she had spoken to Jeremiah Donovan.
Suddenly, DeWitt himself came out to the waiting area to meet her.
"Ms. Banks," he said pleasantly; "It's so good of you to come see me. Please, come into my office."
Krysta sat down and looked around DeWitt's office. It reminded her of Chastity's condo. No expense was spared in the furnishings, the art, the desk, the carpet. On the wall behind DeWitt's desk, a massive buck's head, including antlers, was mounted. She doubted very much that he'd shot the buck himself.
"You're probably wondering why I've asked to see you," DeWitt began as he sat at his desk.
"The thought did cross my mind, Mr. DeWitt," Krysta said.
"It's not to ask for any information about Chastity," he said; "I know exactly where she is."
"How do you know that?" asked Krysta, shocked that he knew.
"I have my ways," DeWitt said; "It's the best place for her right now."
"You know why she's there?" asked Krysta.
"Yes, her therapist has been keeping me updated when I expressed an interest in Chastity's progress," said DeWitt.
"Cameron Chang has been in contact with you?" asked Krysta.
"Indeed she has, Krysta," said DeWitt. "And Kathryn is making remarkable progress. I am quite pleased."
"Wait," Krysta said; "You know that Chastity and Kathryn are the same person?"
"Why, yes Krysta," DeWitt said; "You seem surprised."
"It's just that neither Kathryn nor Cameron Chang have mentioned it to me," Krysta said. So that's why I'm not getting updates, she thought. He's getting them all!
"That's at my request," DeWitt said; "You have enough of your own duties to the Movement to worry about Kathryn's mental state."
"But Kathryn keeps asking me to visit," said Krysta; "Have you asked that I not be allowed to?"
"You can see Kathryn as much as you wish, Krysta," DeWitt said; "I'm not going to stop that. Kathryn is quite fond of you."
Krysta's mind seemed to be going a million miles an hour. He knows about Kathryn's problems; that Chastity is not Kathryn's true personality; that be bought off Cameron Chang? she kept asking herself.
"How...how do you know so much about Kathryn?" she asked.
DeWitt looked at Krysta, then said, "What man wouldn't know about the woman he's been in love with since she was 18 years old? What man wouldn't know everything about the mother of his children?"
Krysta's only response was a gasp.
Pollard was on a plane bound for Chicago, ready to take his revenge on the family of Nikolai San Marco.
He couldn't get Sandrina to cooperate with him. She had that kid with her who helped her chase him, he thought; so I'll just go after her brothers and parents. At least one branch of The Triad family tree would be broken off.
Pollard was sick of the San Marco family and their super intelligent children. The father always got in his way, and the daughter was, in Pollard's opinion, a little Miss Know it All. He never knew any woman who could stand up to him like Sandrina San Marco. If he weren't so hellbent on destroying her, he might have admired her tenacity. But Pollard only wanted one thing from any woman, and that was complete control over her body to do with what he pleased.
He decided he'd strike on December 23rd. By the time Christmas Eve morning dawned, the San Marco family would be no more. All he'd have to do is get rid of Sandrina.
However, he either didn't know who he was dealing with, or simply didn't care that San Marco had trained his family than any army and could and would bring down Pollard in one shot. Pollard went on with his misguided plans in the vain hope that maybe Chastity would make him her right hand man, give him a place in her bed, and get rid of that incompetent Krysta Banks.
He didn't know, though, that on his same flight were a couple of college kids who had connected with his plane in Washington, DC. The girl had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and could be considered cute. The man was very tall, very blonde, and wore a University of Virginia sweatshirt under his jacket. Had Pollard been paying attention, he might have noticed a familiar, yet younger version of the man for whom Pollard had more hate than any one man was allowed to have.
Pollard wasn't paying attention to a couple of dumb college kids headed to Chicago.
He should have been. One of them would end his life.
WHOA!!!
ReplyDelete