At 1:45pm that afternoon, Nico arrived at her captain's office for her appointment at 2pm. She was a bit nervous. She had never asked for a meeting with her captain in the eight years she had been a police officer.
Nico didn't know how much longer she could serve the Chicago Police Department. If any case she'd ever been a part of made her question her committment to the Department, this was the one that did it.
Nico's degree from the University of Virginia was in Mass Communications. She had planned to be in radio like her grandmother from the time she was ten years old. When Nico came to Chicago with Steve to escape from her former fiance's abuse, working as a police officer was the last thing she thought about.
On a whim one day shortly after her son Cole was born, she applied to the police academy. Steve had been working for the police department since before their marriage, and she figured, why not? What surprised her was that she was accepted for the August class, which would give her six months to get back into shape after having her youngest child.
And, she excelled at the training. At graduation, she was named top recruit of her class. She was partnered with a veteran female officer for the first two years. Nico's partner recommended her for undercover training, and she had been an undercover officer since then.
Now, she questioned everything she'd ever been taught, ever been trained to do. Sometimes, she thought, the so-called "bad guys" aren't really bad. Misunderstood, yes; Dealing with issues, yes; Had a change of heart, yes. Those individuals could be rehabilitated in ways that didn't always mean prison. It was the hard core criminals, who felt nothing, not even remorse, who belonged in a prison environment.
And in her opinion, Lincoln Marsh was not a hard core criminal. He showed her a side of him he probably never trusted anyone enough to show. Not even the wife and children he said he abandoned. He knew his failings as a human being. It was just confounding to Nico that she was the catalyst to his unburdening. Maybe he really did want to stop running, she thought.
"Officer Nichols," the captain's secretary said, interrupting Nico's thoughts, "Captain Castillo will see you now."
Nico got up and followed the secretary into her captain's office.
Jack was still floored by the request made by Julia's youngest child: "Could you marry Mommy?"
He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Julia this, however.
Julia had told him that it was Rachel who missed her father the most. The little bundle of energy Jack knew was the one who reacted the worst to her father's death. It had taken months for Rachel to come to terms with it.
And now, Jack thought, I'm going to do the same thing to her. No wonder she wants me to marry her mother.
He knew that all the children thought of him as a surrogate dad. The younger three didn't know that Miri really was his flesh and blood. And if it were up to him, they'd never know. He knew that one day, Miri may tell them.
And Julia might tell them that she and Jack really did get married before he died. That would make Rachel happy.
I'm trying, dude, Jack thought, thinking of that meeting he had with that young man years before, asking that if anything happened to him, would Jack take care of his family.
I'm trying, dude... but I've not got much longer myself. Who's going to take care of your family if I'm not here to do it?
Jack then went off to the safe he had in the closet in his and Julia's bedroom. He wanted to check over his will one more time.
Yep, he said to himself as he looked at it. Julia and the kids get everything. He'd only have to make one more change.
And that would happen when he married Julia sometime in March.
"Nico," Captain Carolina Castillo said to her former partner, "it's not everyday that my best undercover officer asks for a meeting with me. What's troubling you, my dear?"
"It's this case, Captain," Nico said; "I want to be released from it, but at the same time, I want you to talk me out of doing just that."
"Has Marsh threatened you?" Castillo said.
"No. If it were that I would have taken him out," Nico said; "I have gained his trust. He's told me things that he's never told anyone. I'm not sure what to do with this information. It has nothing to do with the case against him."
"What has he told you?"
"Personal things," Nico said; "About his childhood, his history with the New Army, discovering that the New Army murdered his grandfather for aiding Undesirables. He wishes he had never accepted the job as leader of A.R.M."
"But that's what we want to get for CIA, Nico," Castillo said; "Anything we can use against him. What else has he told you?"
"That he wants to stop running," said Nico; "He went AWOL from the New Army because he was sickened by what he was being asked to do. He wanted his grandfather's advice. Instead, he found his grandfather murdered. Lincoln Marsh isn't really his name."
"What is his real name?"
"Edward. That's all he'd tell me. His real first name was Edward. He didn't say whether Marsh was his real last name, or it was one he adopted," Nico said.
"At some point he went back to the New Army," Castillo said; "At least that's what we've been told."
"He didn't say anything about that," Nico said; "Maybe he wants to see if he can trust me. And right now, I'm betraying that trust."
"You've developed feelings for him, haven't you Nico?"
Nico hung her head, answering, "Yes, Lina, I think I have."
"What has Steve said about that?"
"I haven't told him. And I'm not going to," Nico said; "So he can take Cole and leave me? No way!"
"Steve wouldn't do that," Castillo said; "I know him too well."
"I've also broken departmental rules, too," Nico said; "Marsh found out I'm a cop. And he told me all this stuff anyway. He wants me to arrest him if that's what I've been asked to do."
Castillo looked at Nico for a few moments, thinking, what have we done, putting this girl in this situation? If Marsh is telling her the truth about things, that screws our case. We should let him get away, because he's not giving us anything that CIA can use against him. I should take Nico off the case, but I'm not. Not if he tells her something important.
"Nico, I should pull you off the case, but you're the only one who's been able to get close enough to him to tell you these things," Castillo said. "You should continue to see Marsh and see if he tells you anything else."
"I am planning to go see him," Nico said; "Tonight, perhaps. That is, if I'm still on the case."
"I'll keep you on the case under one condition, Officer Nichols," Castillo said.
"What's that?"
"That when he leaves town, that you sever all ties with him. Our part of the case is over when he leaves Chicago. I'll get you counselling if you want it."
"Thank you, Lina," Nico said; "I may just take you up on that. Because cutting off communication with him will be the hardest thing I've ever done since I helped bury my mother nine years ago."
Castillo knew that Nico was having a problem, but how deep she was into it, the captain had no idea.
Worse yet, Nico herself had no idea.
II
"Gramps? Are you here? It's Eddie."
He knocked on the door and got no response. Maybe he saw the uniform and thought it was a trap, Eddie thought.
He'd left with the clothes on his back, and even though he had torn off all the identifying insignia, it was still a New Army uniform.
Eddie knew he couldn't stay at the house in plain sight, so he tried to find a a way inside.
He found one.
The back door had been kicked open, and laying just inside the door was a little girl about three. Eddie knew she was dead. He went inside and saw a little boy and another little girl. They were dead as well. Then in the living room, Eddie found his grandfather. Shot in the chest at point blank range, Eddie knew that Gramps died instantly. Near him, a mixed race woman about 30. She miraculously was still alive.
"What happened here?" Eddie asked her. She opened her eyes and gasped.
"You monster! You killed my family and Mr. Abe!" she cried weakly.
"No, no, no," Eddie said; the uniform spooked her. "He's my grandfather! I came home to visit and found this!"
"You're New Army!" she cried; "You've come to kill me!"
"No, I haven't," Eddie said; "Tell me what happened."
The woman told him of the New Army troops who broke down the door, shot her children, then shot the old man who tried to protect them. She said she played dead and the men left.
"What can I do to help you?" Eddie asked.
"Get me help. Have my children buried proper. Do something for the man you say is your grandfather."
"I'll have to leave to do that," Eddie said; "But I will find help."
"Bless you," the woman said.
Eddie ran down the hall to his old bedroom. The little boy whose body was out in the hall had been sleeping here. In the back of the closet, Eddie knew there were some of his clothes. He got a shirt, jeans, and sneakers and quickly changed out of his uniform.
He then left the house, running to a neighbor's. The same thing had happened there that had happened at Gramps' house, Eddie discovered.
More dead bodies. The young family that lived here had been slaughtered.
Dear God, Eddie thought, THIS is what I've been trained to do! I've DONE this! I've had it! I have to get away from this place, from those people who are training me to be evil.
He found the keys to the car the family had and drove into town. He got on the phone and reported that there were two houses of dead people. He didn't give his name.
Eddie hid out for a few days, until he knew the woman he found in his grandfather's house had been rescued, and arrangements for the burials of the dead had been taken care of.
He then went to the funeral home that his grandfather's remains were taken to. Gramps had been friends with the family who ran it, and Eddie himself had gone to school with their kids.
"Edward, I'm glad you're here," Mr. Vining said. "It's a shame about Abraham. He was doing the right thing, he was doing what he was teaching you. He told me that if anything happened to him, that he had something to pass along to you."
Eddie seemed confused. Did Gramps know he was going to die?
Mr. Vining handed Eddie and envelope that only bore his name and the message, "If you are given this by Alan Vining, then I have made the ultimate sacrifice."
Eddie thanked Mr. Vining and offered to pay for his grandfather's burial.
"It's taken care of, Edward," Vining said; "Abraham took care of it years ago when my father was running this place."
"Thank you, Mr. Vining," Eddie said, getting emotional for the first time.
"Not a problem, son," Vining said. "We'll take care of everything. He even picked out his own headstone."
"Sounds like Gramps," Eddie said; "Always thinking ahead."
Days later, the funeral was held. Only Eddie was in attendance.
The headstone had been completed and had Gramps' date of death on it. It would be placed when the burial was completed.
It said,
Abraham Lincoln Marshall, a child of God
BORN: February 4, 1939
DIED: June 10, 2000
Matthew 7:1- Judge Not, Lest Ye Be Judged
At that moment, Edward Michael Marshall ceased to exist. In his place, a new name, a new identity, a new life.
Lincoln Marsh.
That afternoon, 21 year old Lincoln Marsh started running. At 55, he was still running. It was time to stop.
"Nicoletta..." Marsh mumbled. "Sweet, gentle Nicoletta...save me!"
"Damn!" Nik said when he heard from the police captain about Lincoln Marsh.
"What's wrong, brother?" asked Jeremiah.
"Marsh isn't giving the undercovers any information CIA can use against him. The only thing he's done is allowed one of them to get close enough to trust," Nik said.
"And he's not telling her anything?"
"Just nonsense about his childhood," said Nik, reading over the report that had been emailed to him moments before. "And he's probably making that up. Trying to get sympathy or some shit."
"Is Lincoln Marsh even the guy's real name? Have we considered that?" asked Jeremiah.
"I have, but I haven't found anything that indicates that it isn't," said Nik. "We'd have to have a name to go by, and we don't have that."
"A date of birth maybe?" Jeremiah asked. "When's Marsh's birthday?"
"According to our records, a man named Lincoln Marsh was born on May 12, 1979," Nik said. "So in May, he'd be 56 years old. Could we plug that DOB into the computer and see who all in the New Army had that same birthdate?"
"I have a program that could try to find out all that information," Jeremiah said; "We'd have to narrow it down by gender, obviously, but I could try."
"Can you do it now on your tablet?"
"Sure, let me bring it up," Jeremiah said. After the program was booted up, Jeremiah chose "Male" for the gender, "Republic of America Army", and the birthdate Nik had for a man with Marsh's name, and ran the program. Within seconds, Jeremiah had several hits.
"Well, Nik, I think it's a bust here."
"Did you find anything?" Nik asked.
"I did, but they're either dead, or they had help from Vince Cooper's Hit-n-Run team."
"How many matches?"
"Eight."
"Names?"
"Let's see," Jeremiah said; "Six are deceased, one disappeared, and one had help from Cooper's team."
"The one who disappeared, what's his name?"
"Paul Raymond Gandy," Jeremiah said; "Disappeared on a mission during...the Austin rally...?"
"I killed several of those motherfuckers, if you'll recall," Nik said.
"I recall."
"Well, shit," Nik said. "That seemed to go nowhere. No deserters, no name changes, nothing like that?"
"The New Army probably covered up any people who went AWOL, Nik," Jeremiah said; "By saying they were dead."
"What about the dead listed? Could any of them gone AWOL?" asked Nik.
"All are listed as 'body recovered', but I guess it's always a possibility," Jeremiah said.
"Give me just one name," Nik said.
"Okay, how about this one, since it's close to Marsh's name: Edward Michael Marshall, DOB 05121979, AWOL: June 5, 2000..."
"Wait, he was AWOL?" asked Nik.
"Yeah, for five whole days," Jeremiah said; "Date of death is June 10, 2000. Body recovered: June 12, 2000. Sounds like New Army killed him. Then did Lord only knows what with his remains."
"I find it interesting that his date of death is the same as Julia's date of birth," Nik said; "And one of our undercovers has that same DOB."
"Let me look something else up," Jeremiah said; "How about all people who died on June 10, 2000."
"Okay. Go for it, Jere."
Jeremiah put in the new information, and got several hits. Two of them were interesting.
"Nik, it says here that 86 people died that day," Jeremiah said; "Two of them were related. Abraham Lincoln Marshall, born February 4, 1939; and Edward Michael Marshall; the younger Marshall had put the older man as his next of kin. Grandfather/grandson is what it looks like. But the thing that gets me is the older man's name: Abraham Lincoln Marshall. Lincoln Marsh. If that's true, then we're chasing a ghost."
"Or someone who wants people to think he's a ghost," Nik said. "What if the younger Marshall is still alive and our guy is him?"
"Edward's body was positively ID'd by someone named Delia Marshall Ryan," Jeremiah said. "Suppose I find this chick and talk to her."
"Do that," Nik said; "I'd be interested to see what she has to say."
"Me, too," Jeremiah replied.
III
Nico put the hood of her coat over her head and ran to the building where Linc's room was. It was dark and she didn't want to be seen.
She knocked on the door and a woman answered the door.
"I'm sorry, I have the wrong room," Nico said, embarrassed. "What happened to the man who was here?"
"Oh, they moved him," the woman, whom Nico figured was about Linc's age, said; "You could ask at the office. I don't know what room they put him in. I needed a ground floor room, and he was willing to give his up."
"I see," Nico said. "I'll go talk to the office, then. Thank you, ma'am."
Nico walked toward the office; she then heard someone from above her say, "Daphne!"
She looked up, and there stood Linc. "What are you doing up there?"
"They moved me," Linc said; "Come on up."
Nico went to the upstairs room that Linc was now in. He closed the door and took Nico into his arms. "I've missed you, my angel," he said; "I've had some pretty weird and unsettling dreams since I told you about my real reason for being here."
"Like what?"
"About finding my grandfather dead in his house," Linc said; "I'd forgotten there were four other people there as well. People he was shielding from the New Army. Three children and their mother. The children were killed with Gramps; their mother survived...barely."
"How horrible!" Nico said, shocked that anyone would murder children.
"I promised the woman I'd get her help, and ran to one of Gramps' neighbors. They were a young couple about 30 with two children. They were all dead, too," Linc said, feeling scared all over again, just like he felt that afternoon; "So I took their car, drove somewhere I could use a phone, and called for someone to go out to those houses and check on them. Gramps lived just outside the city limits in the country."
Nico put her hand on Linc's arm, and he felt himself calm down. He then continued,
"I hid out until I knew that the woman in Gramps' house had been taken care of and his body readied for burial. The owner of the funeral home, who was the father of kids I knew, gave me an envelope with a note and a bank card. The note was from Gramps, and all it said was for me to do the right thing. The bank card had nearly a million dollars in the account. My grandfather invested in companies and was quite good at it. He retired early and we lived off that money. I still have it. I put it in a safe bank account, one that the Occupational government couldn't get their hands on. All the money I've made for myself over the last 30 years went towards whores, heroin, and living expenses. I still have quite a bit of my own money, so I'm not touching my grandfather's money."
"That's good, Linc," Nico said; "Why don't you use it and disappear somewhere? Somewhere you can stop running and live your life in peace."
"It'd all go towards drugs, Nicoletta, and that's not what Gramps gave it to me for," Linc said. "There's probably a bit more money because I just let it sit and gather interest. That's what Gramps gave it to me for. To invest."
"Is that what he meant for you to do the right thing?" asked Nico.
"I think so, but I'm not sure," Linc said. "I haven't checked on the balance in at least twenty years. After the Occupational government fell, interest rates went through the roof. I know the institution still exists, and I know the account is still open."
"It's not a Swiss bank account, is it?" Nico asked.
"No it's here in the USA," Linc said. "It's weird that I worked for the Occupational government, and I'm working to reestablish it, yet I don't want them to have my grandfather' money. I want my grandfather's money to stay right where it is, even though it would save A.R.M. from financial collapse."
"A.R.M. is broke?" asked Nico, knowing this was the first piece of news about the organization she'd heard from Linc.
"Damn near it," Linc said; "We had a benefactor, but they're getting ready to pull their support. Not that I blame them. I can't even pay the men who work for the organization. That's how broke we are. Chastity ran it into the ground."
"So you're asking these people to work for free? Trying to get at the people responsible for ending the first Occupation? That seems kind of pointless to me," Nico said.
"It is," Linc said; "If I have to find these jokers myself and eliminate them, I will. But they're better armed than I could ever hope to be."
"Have you had dreams about anything else?"
"Just you, Nicoletta," Linc said, touching her face. "How happy I could make you if you weren't already married. If I weren't the leader of A.R.M.; if I thought I was worthy of your love."
"Don't do this to yourself," Nico said; "I'm not worth all that."
"You are, Nicoletta," said Linc; "If I were younger, I'd take you away with me."
"Linc..." she began. She couldn't finish.
"Nicoletta...my dark haired girl," Linc said; "Your green eyes will haunt me forever. Who gave those beautiful eyes to you?"
"M-m-my mother's eyes were green," Nico said, stammering.
"She must have been beautiful," Linc said.
"She was, and I miss her everyday," Nico said. "Journalism students study about her now. She left a legacy."
"Who was she? Someone I should know about?"
"Kit Crowley," Nico said.
"I knew you were going to say that," Linc said, chuckling. "I don't know why, though. Didn't the Occupational government try to have her deported or something?"
"My stepfather is from Australia, and was a naturalized as a U.S. citizen two years before I was born. He and Mom knew each other in college, and had married other people first," Nico said. "The Occupational government tried to deport all of us. We went into hiding. It was insane!"
"So Crowley is your maiden name?"
"Yes. My father's name. He died when I was eight."
Nico then realized what she was saying. Linc caught the shocked look on her face.
"Nicoletta, what we tell each other doesn't leave this room, I promise," he said. "What you tell me about your family dies with me."
Nico only nodded.
She knew she was in too deep. If it wasn't obvious to her before, it was now. Only one thought crossed her mind.
She would let Linc go his own way and hope her trust in him wasn't misplaced.
It wouldn't be.
Finding Delia Marshall Ryan wasn't hard.
Jeremiah found her just by putting her name in one of his many databases. She lived in Chicago, by a stroke of dumb luck.
He looked over her stats: age 48. Date of birth: April 3, 1986; Born: Rileyville, New York; adopted by her aunt and uncle when she was eight after her parents abandoned her.
Wow, that's harsh, Jeremiah thought; what about these loser parents?
Birth Parents: Edwin and Patricia Marshall
Siblings: Brother- Edward, born 1979
Sisters- Dianna, born 1988
Deanna, born 1984
Adoptive parents: Richard and Kathy Ryan
Whereabouts of siblings: Unknown
Whereabouts of birth parents: both deceased
Reason for adoption: child was abandoned by birth parents. Birth parents were known drug users.
Jeremiah opened his phone and called the number listed for Delia Marshall Ryan.
"Hello?" a woman's voice asked.
"I'm looking for Delia Marshall Ryan," Jeremiah said.
"I'm Delia Ryan," the woman said; "I don't know anything."
"Ms. Ryan, I'm Jere Donovan. I'm a reporter for the Times-Tribune."
"I've heard of you, Mr. Donovan," Delia Ryan said; "Why are you calling me?"
"In June of 2000, you identified a body you were told was that of your brother, Edward," Jeremiah said; "If my information is correct, then you were only 14 at the time."
"I try not to think about Eddie too much, Mr. Donovan," Delia said; "His body was so mutilated that when they told me it was him, I believed them. He had a scar on his scalp. That's how I identified him. He got it when our father hit him in the head with a chair when he was 12. I was five and I saw it happen."
"Your parents were abusive?" Jeremiah asked.
"Yes," Delia said, sounding very uncomfortable; "Physically, mentally, and sexually. Even Eddie wasn't immune. He tried to protect me and our sisters from them, but our father would beat him. Our mother just sat and watched. She had her own brand of sick desires."
"I don't want to stir up any bad memories for you, Ms. Ryan," Jeremiah said; "I just wanted to know about when you identified your brother. You were sure it was him?"
"He had that scar, Mr. Donovan," Delia said; "Nothing else about him was recognizable. Whoever beat him did their best to make sure no one would know it was him."
"But why you?" Jeremiah asked; "Didn't your adoptive parents know about him?"
"I was adopted by my aunt and uncle," Delia said; "My father's sister and her husband. They hadn't seen Eddie since my youngest sister was born. They wouldn't have known him from Adam. So with their permission, I was allowed to identify him."
"Did you and your aunt and uncle bury Eddie?"
"We were told that it was taken care of, so no we didn't bury him," Delia said. "Mr. Donovan, I'm not comfortable talking about Eddie. He's been dead for 35 years. It's taken me that long to deal with it."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Ryan," Jeremiah said; "I didn't realize it was a sore spot for you. I was researching a series of stories about lost soldiers during the Occupation and Eddie's name came up. I won't use the information you gave me. If you do have something to add, please call me. My number is with all my stories."
"I will, Mr. Donovan," Delia said; "I'm sorry, I just can't talk about my brother without getting upset. There are just some things a 14 year old shouldn't see. That was one of them...for me anyways."
Yeah, Jeremiah thought, and my sister killed five New Army scum at age 12.
He soon ended the call. He was a little disappointed. Maybe Edward Michael Marshall was really dead, and isn't living another life as Lincoln Marsh, he thought.
"I'm leaving earlier than planned, Nicoletta," Linc said later that night; "I need to take care of what I left New York for."
"Will I see you again?" asked Nico.
"I'd like to say yes," Linc said; "But I just don't know. If your department has plans to arrest me, then they're going to miss their big opportunity."
"Their loss," Nico said.
"I guess," Linc said. "I get to go find this chick known as the SpineSplitter."
"Sounds like you really don't want to," Nico said.
"She's one of the people my organization wants to eliminate," Linc said; "Chastity hated her from what I understand."
"So you're going kill her in cold blood, then," Nico said.
"She'll probably kill me first, or one of my men," Linc said; "That's the reality of it. She's that good."
"They said the SpineSplitter was a woman named Julia Terranova," Nico said. "But it's never been proven. Is that who you're after? Julia Terranova?"
"Yes, Nicoletta, it is," Linc said.
"She has young kids," Nico said; "And she's their only parent. You can't do that to them. Think about how you felt when you found your grandfather murdered. Her kids would feel the same way. Is that what you want?"
"No, Nicoletta, it isn't," Linc said; "I'd rather let her get away. I know she has kids. But I have to look anyway. Like I said, she'll probably kill me or one of my men before we have a chance to kill her."
"Promise me one thing, Linc?" asked Nico.
"What is it?"
"Don't take Julia Terranova away from her children. Don't make them suffer like you did," Nico said emotionally. She thought about how her kids would feel if she or Steve were killed in the line of duty; "Don't hurt anyone close to her. I have no doubt that she would come after your organization if you did harm her family. She just strikes me as that kind of person. Hellbent on revenge."
"I can try to keep that promise, Nicoletta," Linc said; "But if it came down to me or her, I'm not going to let her kill me."
"Lincoln Marsh, promise me you won't hurt Julia or her family, not this 'I'll try' bullshit," Nico said, getting angry; "I'm a mother, too, and if someone harmed my family, God help anyone who got in my way."
Linc saw Nico's point, and promised her that he wouldn't hurt Julia Terranova, her family or anyone close to her. "Nicoletta, I make this promise only to you. But I have something to ask in return," he said.
"What is it?" asked Nico, still a little put off by Linc's callous attitude.
Linc swallowed hard, then said, "Don't call me Linc anymore."
Nico just looked at him, unbelieving. Don't call you Linc anymore? she thought to herself.
"What should I call you then?"
"It would mean a lot to me, sweet Nicoletta, if you'd call me by the name I was given at birth. I don't want to be Lincoln Marsh anymore," he said. "Please, my green eyed beauty, call me Eddie."
"Eddie..."
"Yes. Eddie. Or Ed; or Edward. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, I can do that," Nico said, puzzled.
He then took her into his arms, saying, "Show me, Nicoletta."
They made love. He pleased her in ways she found intoxicating, and when she climaxed she cried out the name he was given at birth.
"Oh, God! Edward...."
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