Chapter 9

I


"I have dinner for you if you're hungry," Natasha said as Nik, Julia and Jeremiah filed into the kitchen.

"I'm not really hungry, Tash, thanks," Julia said; "I think I'll just go up to my room and lay down." And with that, Julia left to go upstairs.

"That's not like her at all," Nik said; "She's pretty upset from what I've been able to gather during the ride back from Langley."

"What the fuck did the Director say to you guys?" asked Natasha.

"Well," Jeremiah began; "without revealing too many details, the Director apparently has information about each of us that made his asking us to work for him a lot easier. I feel like I was blindsided. My wife is going to crucify me when I get home. The idea that I would work for the government concerns her."

"I don't blame her for feeling like that," Nik said; "KateLynn isn't going to be too happy with me, either. Thing is, the information the CIA has on me, I can't tell my wife about because it's still classified. But dammit, I should be able to. It's about our family for God's sake!"

"What could the Agency have on Julia that has her so upset?" Natasha asked. "Something about her parents? Her sisters? Her kids?"

"I really don't know, Tash," Nik said; "She didn't want to talk about it. She looked like she'd be punched in the gut. I've never seen Julia like this."

"It has something to do with her family," Natasha said; "I just know it. She and the siblings she has through the marriage of her mother and David are really close. She gives her all for those kids of hers; then there's us."

"She'd defend us, too, Tash, you know that," Nik said; "Whatever it is, Julia is still trying to come to grips with it."

"If she wants to talk to any of us about it," Jeremiah said; "she will. She knows she can come to any of us with any concern."

"I hope you're right," said Natasha; "because I fear that once she's come to terms with it, she's going to be one tough adversary. She killed five people when she was my kids' ages; with her skills, God only knows what she's capable of now."

===

Julia lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. What have I just agreed to do? she thought; what have I gotten myself into? What have I gotten my family into?

She felt the tears sting in her eyes and let them fall. If there was one thing that Julia Summers was scared of, it was losing one of her kids. She and Ryan had gone through their own personal hell when Rachel was born, because their youngest child arrived nearly three months too early. Julia didn't want to remember those desperate days eight years before when she and Ryan would stay awake all night just watching their little girl breathe.

Soon, Rachel had rallied and was allowed to come home on what would have been her due date had she been born full term. It didn't take her long to catch up with Jeremiah and Jasmine's daughter Aaliyah, who had been born, on time, a month before Rachel. To look at her now, one couldn't tell that the lively petite redhead had a early and rough start in life.

This was different, though. Someone had threatened Miri, and instead of assassin mode, Julia went into protective mode. She simply would do whatever it took to keep her children safe; if that meant taking up arms to protect those she loved-- her children, her siblings and their children, her parents... and Jack, if need be; she'd do it.

How CIA found out that Jack was Miri's father, she had no idea; but she would find out. That upset her the most, and the Director used that knowledge to get her to agree to work for him.

I've been trapped, Julia thought; and the only way to escape is to do what I'm told. This wasn't how she wanted to live her life anymore. It was good when she was a teenager, that sense of adventure; but that was before having children, losing her husband, and reuniting with the man whose kindness allowed her to escape certain death.

She would defend her right to live her life her way; she would kill to earn that right back. There will be no Second Occupation, she thought defiantly; not on my watch.

===

"You agreed to what?" Jasmine asked her husband over the phone; "You agreed to work for the CIA? Whatever in the holy fucking hell possessed you to do that, Jere?"

"There's a real threat of a second Occupation, Jas," Jeremiah said, trying to calm his wife down. Jasmine rarely lost her temper, but then again, her husband just agreed to put down his pen and pick up a sword, so to speak; "Do you want our children to go through more of what happened in Chicago because of who I am?"

"Of course not, Jere," Jasmine said; "I don't want to have to live through that again. Once was plenty for me. But, why you?"

"Because I'm Jeremiah Donovan," Jeremiah said; "Because of who I am, and what I can do. I'll still be working as a journalist, and doing this. Because of what I did in the past, our lives, our freedoms, our way of life is being threatened once again. This group wants me, Nik and Jules out of the way; and they're willing to use our families to get to us. They have to be stopped. I don't want our children to live like we had to, to always be looking over their shoulder for the next threat."

Jasmine said nothing for a moment longer than Jeremiah was comfortable with. He thought for a moment that she had hung up on him, until she said, "Baby, please come home. We need to talk about this face to face."

"I'll try to get out of here tomorrow," Jeremiah said; "I know you're on call this weekend. I think Nik and Julia are staying an extra day. Nik wants to visit with Sandy, and Julia might go to Arlington to see Jacob."

"Anything you can do, Jere, I'd greatly appreciate it," Jasmine said; "Aaliyah wants to go roller skating with Rachel, and I told her that it would have to wait until you got home."

"Bet she wasn't happy with that," Jeremiah said; "She always on the go, just like when she was little. She and Rachel are dangerous together!"

"Don't I know it!" Jasmine replied.

They talked for a few more minutes, then Jeremiah ended the call with a promise to be home soon.

I'll get the tongue lashing of my life when I get home, Jeremiah thought; but when she's done giving me the third degree, I will soothe her soul.

===

"SHIT!!! We have to get The Triad taken care of! They're working for the CI-fucking-A now?" She threw a paperweight against the back of a chair.

Chastity Edwards was not a happy camper. She had a hair trigger temper and people knew to get out of her way when things started getting thrown around.

She had been described as a female Carl Parks, referring to the Committee Chairman who was murdered sixteen years before, ending the Occupation. She was the perfect choice to be the leader of the American Republic Movement.

Her past was checkered with divorces (four at last count), spurned lovers, and a rap sheet a mile long. Just part of those offenses would not make any parent proud: petty theft, burglary, cons, a few prostitution arrests, drunk in public; Chastity Edwards was everything that the Occupational President for Life was not. She often got her way, and got what she wanted. The only thing she wanted was for The Triad to be gone. Now she'd received word that The Triad was working for the CIA.

"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" she screamed like a cranky two year old in need of a nap; "I want those people gone!"

When she went into one of her temper tantrums, even her aide knew to stay away from her. He was just one in a long line of men she kept on the side in case she wanted to play. And she liked to play. A lot.

Cross her, as The Triad had done, and you were her enemy. Chastity wanted nothing more than the deaths of Julia Summers, Nik San Marco, and Jeremiah Donovan. They were The Triad. Her hated enemies. And she was certain she would get what she wanted.

She was a woman of average height and weight, thirty-one years old, with long brown hair and green eyes. Good with weapons, she was not; that's what she had deputies for. Good with social skills was not how any reasonable person would describe her; her detractors thought she was a spoiled brat. The only things she was really good at was being evil and enticing men into her lair.

And she had some enticing to do.

===

A restful night's sleep was not to be had by Julia, Nik, or Jeremiah. Natasha decided that they needed the rest after what they had been through.

Sandrina and Danica were going sight-seeing with the twins. Both Vixen and Nikolai wanted to show their cousins around town, and since Danica was the only one of the older cousins with a car, they all piled in after breakfast and took off on a day trip. Sandrina had her Walther with her, just in case she finally saw the person or persons trying to follow her.

Until the others got up, Natasha was at loose ends. Reading never was able to occupy her for too long; and she had already completed the New York Times crossword puzzle.

What she really wanted to do was see her old friend, the Director of the CIA, and ask him what the fuck was he thinking when he held her brothers and sister's secrets over their heads.

She started to punch his private number into her secure phone, then said, "Fuck it. I'll just show up. He always seems to make time for me."

Natasha went upstairs to get dressed. She chose a red wrap dress, black thigh high stockings (she hated panty hose with a white hot passion), and pair of red low heel pumps.

She pulled her white-blonde hair into a twist and secured it with a hair comb. A simple black blazer completed the look.

"I may look like the Queen of Hearts, Darren," Natasha said to her mirror image; "But I just might make you look like a Fool or a King. I haven't decided yet."

Once downstairs, she left a note for Nik that there were breakfast fixins, the phone number for car rentals, and the address for the firing range she frequented.

Those folks down at the firing range are going to have a heart attack when they see those three walk in the door, she thought.

===

Once, long ago, there was a cute little girl named Kathryn Marie living in upstate New York. Her parents doted on her, her older brother adored her. Then that little girl hit puberty and she got caught up in a wild and crazy life that included drinking, drugs, easy sex, and petty crimes. Suddenly, her parents little angel became a hellion, hard to handle, and impossible to control. When Kathryn Marie turned up pregnant at fifteen, her father had had just about enough. They took custody of her baby girl and asked Kathryn to sign over her parental rights, which she did without hesitation.

"We have tried, Kathryn, to be good parents to you," her father told her one night; "and you thumb your nose at us. Your mother cannot take any more of this foolishness. We will raise your child as our own, because as of right now, you no longer live here."

"Fine," Kathryn sneered. "I didn't want that brat anyway; and I have plenty of places to crash. I don't need nothing from you."

"Good," her father said; "Because you're getting nothing. Don't call us when you come to your senses, because we're not going to help you out. Since you know it all, why don't you go and see how far a tenth grade education gets you. I'm done, Kathryn. Now get out of here!"

And that was the last time Eric Hope saw his daughter.

His daughter, on the other hand, was still partying and getting in trouble. And she'd given herself a new name. Chastity. She wanted to get as far away from her past and her family as she could. She was tired of being referred in her circle of friends as "the princess" because of who her parents and grandparents were.

Unfortunately, she was as far from being chaste as she could get and her new moniker didn't make sense. She just liked the way it sounded. She soon had given herself a new surname as well. Chastity Edwards. No one will ever guess my parentage, she thought as she signed the papers to legally change it when she was eighteen.

Chastity got involved with the movement to bring the Occupational government back into power. She liked their ideals, embraced their philosophy, and soon became a leader. By the time she was twenty-four, she had given it a new name, the American Republic Movement, and became its national leader. Now, at thirty-one, she was ready to put her group's plan into action. The first order of business: eliminate what she called "The Triad". The three assassins responsible for ending the first Occupation. Her main prize: the "SpineSplitter", a woman not much older than she named Julia Summers. Whatever she had to do to get Summers out of the way, she'd do it, legal or not.

But, to get to her, she had to bring down her "brothers" Nik San Marco and Jeremiah Donovan. From her headquarters in an out of the way suburb of Buffalo, New York, she ordered a hit on anyone associated with Nik San Marco. Even if it was one of his kids. An A.R.M. operative named Pollard purposely ran down San Marco's fifteen year old son. Unfortunately for Chastity, the boy survived. Pollard was soon tasked with coordinating stalkings on the other San Marco children. One was assigned to follow Matthias San Marco while he was attending the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Pollard himself stalked Sandrina San Marco, because he found the girl enticing.

Next was Jeremiah Donovan. One operative was to follow his children, another to follow his physician wife.

Chastity herself would assign men to harrass Julia Summers' children, specifically, her oldest daughter Mirielle. And while she was at it, she recruited the mayor of a town in Wyoming to keep an eye on a former New Army turncoat calling himself John Christofferson. She had found out his real name was John Christopher Coltrane, IV, and there was something going on between him and Summers, and assigned the mayor to find out what. However, the mayor had a change of heart and backed out.

Now, Chastity had to deal with the mayor in her own special way. It was guaranteed to be messy, violent, and send a message to any other A.R.M. operative thinking of backing out.

She actually got off on planning the attack, and needed to get laid. Fortunately for her, there were plenty of men to satisfy her needs. She was in a gang bang mood that night, and needed many men to take care of her. And she knew just which men she needed to call.

It was sure to be a fuckfest. And that's how Chastity liked it.

===
II


Natasha arrived at the CIA headquarters in Langley around 11:30am. She knew the building like she knew the parts of the many guns she owned.

She approached the main reception desk, and the receptionist, a woman about twenty eight named Cassie who was very pregnant, greeted Natasha like an old friend.

"I'd heard you were expecting, Cassie," Natasha said; "What is this one, number three?"

"Number four, Nat," Cassie said;

"Wow!" said Natasha; "When is Number Four due to arrive?"

"Not soon enough!" said Cassie; "I go on leave next week."

"I wish you nothing but the best for you and your little one," Natasha said. "Is the Director available? I know I don't have an appointment, so I'll wait if need be."

"Let me check, Nat, okay?" said Cassie as she picked up the phone, spoke to whoever was on the other end, then hung up.

"Go on back, Nat," said Cassie. "The Director is just finishing up a meeting."

"Thanks, Cassie," Natasha said as she started to walk down the corridor towards the Director's office. There was a second reception area just outside the office, and the receptionist was someone that Natasha wasn't familiar with.

"Ms. Vincent, the Director will be but a moment," she said; "Please have a seat."

After sitting in a chair and flipping through that day's Washington Post, the Director himself came out to greet her.

"Natasha, my dear," he said; "it's so good to see you again. Please, come in."

Once in his office, he kissed Natasha on the cheek.

"What can I do for you today, Tash?" he asked.

Natasha took a moment to collect herself, then said,

"Darren, have you lost your fucking mind!"

The Director looked at her oddly. What brought that on? he wondered.

"I don't believe I have, Tash," he said. "What are you talking about?"

"Please, Darren, I'm not some stupid little Washington wife here," Natasha said; "so do me the courtesy of not patronizing me, mmmkay?"

"I'm not, Tash," Darren said. "You're ticked off about something I've done. What is it?"

"Whatever got into that head of yours to essentially blackmail my brother, Jeremiah Donovan and Julia Summers into working for you?" Natasha asked. "I've never seen three people look so defeated as they did when they returned to my home last night."

"We need their skills, Tash," Darren said; "This threat from the American Republic Movement is real; and their lives, and the lives of their families, have been threatened. This group of nutjobs want Nik, Jeremiah and Julia out of their way so their twisted plans for a second Occupation can go forward."

"But why dig up information on them and use it to get your way?" asked Natasha. "I don't understand why you had to do that? You tried that with me to keep me from leaving and it didn't work."

"And you left anyway," said Darren. "But that's not what you came here to talk about. They all had to understand how real the threat against the country, and against them personally. They all said no initially. Are you telling me I should have let it end there?"

"I'm saying you could have found other ways of impressing upon them how real the threat is, instead of digging up dirt on them," Natasha said; "And need I remind you that Julia is a single parent? If something happens to her because of this little folly of yours, YOU are going to explain, in detail, to her children why you sent their mother into harm's way."

"Look, Tash, I know you're all very close," said Darren; "I didn't think that asking them to save their country was going to upset you that much."

"They've already saved the country once, Darren," Natasha said. "Why ask them to re-up and do it again. I know I trained snipers with skills on par with at least Julia, and at least me. We're both pretty damn good with firearms."

"Tash," Darren said; "Our snipers are well trained, and they do a good job. They're too busy protecting the President to be pulled off to chase these assholes around."

"Oh, but it's okay for you to recruit Nik, Jere and Julia to do it?" asked Natasha.

"They've dealt with the Occupational government before," Darren said. "None of our current snipers have. In addition to their experience with fringe groups like this, they also have impeccible skills. Nik was a Ghost for the Disturbed Ones, and he parlayed that into a military career. Not many men his height can get away with what Nik can.

"Julia's small stature means she can get into and out of situations quickly without being detected. I have no idea where she learned that. Plus her skills with all kinds of weapons, and outdoor survival skills, make her valuable to any agency, not just CIA.

"And Jeremiah, he is not only a highly trained sniper, but his journalistic skills may also come in handy."

"So why didn't you tell them that instead of threatening to air out their dirty laundry?" asked Natasha.

"We needed them now, not when they got good and ready to agree," Darren said.

"If you had thought this out better and not gotten all riled up when our esteemed miliary and political leaders wanted action yesterday, maybe you could have had your highly trained civilian snipers and not bullied them into agreeing to your terms," said Natasha. She looked at Darren and knew she'd gotten to him.

"You're right, Tash," said Darren; "A little more preparation on my part, and not feeding off the Joint Chiefs' and the President's urgent paranoia, would have probably worked."

"Hindsight is 20-20, isn't it, Darren," Natasha said softly; "I'm sorry I came in here with both guns blazing, but you can understand where I was coming from. It's family."

"No apologies needed, Tash," Darren said; "You are right." He sighed, then, "You keep me honest, Natasha. I don't know why you felt you had to leave the Agency."

"I left primarily because of our relationship, Darren;" Natasha said. "I was a distraction to you. Plus, I wanted to spend more time with my children. They trump everything. Including you."

"I know, Tash," Darren said. "You were a distraction to me. I didn't recognize it as such. You did, and did the right thing. I'm just a sentimental old man, I guess."

"Sentimental, maybe," Natasha said. "Old? I don't think so. You're only as young as you want to feel."

"You make feel young for sure," Darren said. "But I'm still ten years older than you are."

"You don't look it, baby," said Natasha; "and you don't act it. Not that I've seen."

Darren got up from behind his desk and went over to where Natasha stood. He silently put his hand on her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. When she responded, he removed the hair comb from her hair, allowing it to fall around her shoulders. "My beautiful Natasha," he said as the kiss ended; "I've missed you so all these months. When I'm alone, I swear I can still feel your touch on me, your voice in my ear, the taste of your kiss..."

"Darren," said Natasha; "I can't allow myself to get caught up in you again. You are still the best lover I've ever had, and it was hard to let you go."

"Please, my dove, please let me love you," Darren said as his hand made its way down her curves. "I've ached for another woman like you, but there isn't one who is like you, sweet Natasha."

"You know I can't resist you, Darren," Natasha said as she felt Darren's fingers at the top of her stockings, gently releasing the garter belt fasteners. "Please, my king... please...?"

His kiss was her answer. Soon, they were in his car, off to his condo to make love for the rest of the afternoon.

==
III



"Dad? It's Julia."

"Hey, Julia!" Jacob said; "How are you? How're the kids? Kimber?"

"Everyone's fine, Dad," Julia said; "I'm at Natasha's in Georgetown. I was wondering if I could come down and visit you while I'm here?"

"How long have you been in town, Julia?" asked Jacob.

"Since Sunday," replied Julia; "I had some business to take care of while I was here."

"Oh?" said Jacob, surprised; "Something about work?"

"Yes, kind of," Julia said; "I have something I want to discuss with you and I don't want to do it over the phone."

"You know you're always welcome here, Julia," Jacob said; "If you'd been here last week, JT, Sara and the kids were here."

"Oh, man, I wished I'd known," Julia said; "I haven't seen JT since Ryan died. How old is my little namesake niece now?"

"She's almost six months old," Jacob said; "She is adorable. She looks a little like Christine, with the red hair and all."

"Aww, Dad," Julia said; "she sounds like a doll! I hope you have pictures!"

"What kind of grandpa would I be if I didn't have pictures of my grandkids, huh?"

"You'll have to pull 'em out, granddad, because I want to see them!" Julia said.

"When will you be here?" asked Jacob.

"I rented a car until tomorrow, so I can be there in half an hour or so."

"I'll look forward to seeing you, Julia," Jacob said; "and I'll have pictures of your niece and nephew to show off."

"Great," Julia said; "See you in a bit!"

Julia closed the connection and placed the phone back in her pocket. She wondered briefly what Jacob would think about Julia's new "job". But if there was anyone outside of the government to ask, Jacob Ross was the person to ask. It didn't matter if he was her father or not.

She knew that Secret Service would be watching, even though Jacob had asked them numerous times to end their protection since Christine died eight years before. He was still the widower of the Interim President, and was entitled to the protection. Julia knew he hated it.

She got ready to head to Arlington to see her father. Jeremiah was leaving to return to Chicago that afternoon. Nik was staying on to visit with Sandrina when she, Danica, Vixen and Nikolai returned from their sightseeing jaunt. Natasha was elsewhere. All her note said was that she went to see a friend and would be back by evening.

Julia bid Nik a goodbye, telling him where she was going. "Tell Jacob I said hello," Nik said.

"I will. I'll be back this evening so we can get out of here tomorrow," Julia said.

"I hope I get to spend a little time with my daughter before then!" Nik said.

"Me, too," said Julia as she headed out to the car; "At least you only have one daughter!"

"True, true," Nik said as Julia got into the rental and drove off.

Nik went back into the house and thought, what the hell do I do in my sister's house by myself?

===

"Ahh, damn Tash, why do you torture me so?" asked Darren as Natasha rode him.

"Because I can," she said; "And because you get off on it so."

Darren's arms were around Natasha's waist, his hands sliding down so he could cup her buttocks. "God, I love that perfect ass of yours, my sweet Natasha! I can't get enough of you!"

She rode him until she climaxed, climbed down from his body and lay next to him on the king size bed. He was still rigid with desire for her, and she knew he'd need to satisy his need soon.

Darren rolled over onto his side and took one of Natasha's breasts into his mouth; his fingers teased her hardened pearl of desire.

"I need you, Natasha," he said; "I need every inch, every curve, every gorgeous part of you. I am addicted to loving you, yet you deny me for months upon end. Please, my flower, don't deny me your sweet nectar any longer..."

Natasha soon felt his tongue on her, knowing he knew that drove her to the brink of insanity. The closer she got to release, the more out of control she felt. "Darren... my sweet King of Hearts, your lips, your tongue... you're driving me mad..." She ran her fingers through his salt and pepper hair as he sent her over the edge with a lustfull scream.

Soon, his hardness was inside her, loving her, pleasuring her. Their lips meeting, parting, meeting again. His voice in her ear, expressing his want, his desire, his need, his addiction to her... and then, the words she knew he'd say. She never really believed he meant them, but they were always nice to hear. Especially from him.

They lay, spent, in each other's arms, knowing their time together was ending. They never knew when the next encounter would be, but had it been up to Darren Dixon, Natasha Vincent would never leave. He loved her in a very real way, and wanted only her. He knew she guarded her emotions, even when making love. He didn't know if she felt for him the way he did for her. He wanted, needed, loved her with all he possessed. Soon, she would go back to her family; to the boy and the girl who had their mother's unconditional love.

He would walk on hot coals, or swim through shards of broken glass to get that kind of love from her. He thought that it was her past that made her deny herself real love. He only wanted to prove to her that she could trust him fully to love her like she deserved.

He didn't know about the times she cried for him, for denying him her true emotions. He didn't know that she did love him, but she couldn't allow that to interfere with his position. He didn't know that the day she left his employ was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but she did it as a bid for self-preservation.

And, he didn't know about the man, not much older than he was, who gave her a chance at a new life when she was eighteen years old. She had loved him, too, but realized it was more out of gratitude than anything else.

Darren Dixon wanted only one woman. She lay in his arms, her pale hair flowing behind her and her creamy white skin contrasted against his olive complexion.

I love you, Natasha, he said to her in his mind; I want no other but you. I pray that one day, you'll see that. Until then, I will patiently wait.

===

"Dad, there will be no Second Occupation! Not if I have anything to do with it!"

Julia had told her father everything that had transpired at CIA the day before, leaving out the part where the Director revealed that he knew her deepest, darkest secret.

"Julia, I know you're doing this for your family," Jacob said; "I don't need to tell you to be careful. You don't really know what you're up against yet, do you?"

"No," said Julia; "I don't. Not yet. When I get to that point, I will make my voice heard loud and clear. No one threatens my family and lives to tell about it. If that means I have to become the SpineSplitter again, I'll do it. If that means I allow the killer I know I am come to the surface when needed, I'll do it. If it means I might possibly die in the attempt, that's a chance I'll have to take."

"Your kids have never seen your transformation, have they?" asked Jacob.

"No, they haven't, and Dad, I know it will scare them," Julia said; "Even though I've trained all but Rachel about firearms, they've never seen the killer I can become right before their eyes. And when I get home, I'm training Rachel and Aaliyah to use firearms and giving them both survival training. Jere and I have discussed this, and he agrees that all the children, including the youngest ones, need to have this knowledge."

"I just hope you three know what you're doing, though I know how extensive your training has been and continues to be," Jacob said. "I know I trained you well after Peter San Marco's death. He gave you the tools and the knowledge. I only reinforced what he taught you. He trained me, too, you know, when I first became Morbus."

"I know, Dad," said Julia; "He was the best there was. I only hope I'm half as good as he was."

"Half as good, Julia?" said Jacob, surprised that Julia was so modest; "Even Peter would say you're twice as good as he was, and I agree. You are a very dangerous, very skilled, very determined assassin, Julia."

"I will not fail," Julia said. The transformation had begun. And heaven help anyone who got in her way.

===

Chapter 8

I


"The what? Are you kidding, Kimber? Some group of malcontents are targeting Julia and her family?" David asked his daughter when she called to ask if he had heard of the American Republic Movement.

"It's not just Julia and her family, Dad," Kimber said; "it's Jere and Nik and their families, too."

"What on earth for?"

"Julia told me something about them, that they're a group who want to stage a second Occupation," Kimber said; "They sound crazy. Julia said as much."

"Like the first Occupation wasn't bad enough?" David said, puzzled. "Didn't they learn their lesson the first time around?"

"Apparently not, Dad," said Kimber with a sigh. "And Julia, Nik and Jere are meeting with the Director of the CIA today."

"What the hell does the CIA want with them?" asked David; "They're pretty much retired from the assassin game now."

"Julia seems to think that they want her and the guys to work for them," Kimber said; "but you didn't hear that from me."

"I'll do some digging and see if this group is active in Texas," said David; "If there was ever a home for homegrown nutjobs, it would be here or Oklahoma."

"Can you send me any info you can find about them?" Kimber asked; "Jere's planning an expose' on the group."

"Yeah, if I find anything," David promised his daughter. "Now, other than this cloak and dagger bullshit, Kimberlin, what's new?"

===

"Won't you have a seat?" The Director asked Julia, Nik and Jeremiah; "as I said, we have much to discuss."

After they were seated, Nik said, "Natasha sends her regards, Mr. Director."

"Ahh, and how is the lovely Ms. Vincent?" the Director asked.

"She's well," Nik said; "Her kids are doing well, and has taken my daughter Sandrina and our niece, Danica, in while they attend Georgetown University."

"Isn't Danica your niece, Jeremiah?" the Director asked;

"She's my biological niece," Jeremiah said; "but the three of us and my brother, Joe, who's Danica's father, were all raised together, so we consider each other's children as nieces and nephews."

"I see," said the Director; he paused and addressed Julia, "You've been quiet, Julia. I understand that you're doing a great job in your work for DHS."

"Until now, I had not been addressed, but since I have been," Julia said; "I enjoy my work for Homeland Security and I'm glad my superiors think I'm doing a good job."

"Good, good," the Director said;

"Begging the Director's pardon," Julia said, getting fed up with the Director's stalling tactics; "you did not have us fly back here to inquire about our general well being. With all due respect, sir, let's cut the bullshit and get down to why you wanted us to meet with you."

The Director raised his eyebrows at Julia's curt remark. She doesn't pull any punches, he thought; she's all business.

"The reason why I brought you three here is this," the Director began; "We've come in possession of information about a group of people who would like to attempt a second Occupation of this country, much like the one that the three you grew up during. They hold the same ideals, and have the same goals as the former Occupational government that was run by 'The Committee' and Sarah Kathryn Hope; We've been trying to stop certain individuals from recruiting new members, mostly those who grew up, as you did, during the Occupation, but sided with the Illegal government."

"What does this group hope to accomplish, other than trying to take over the government?" asked Jeremiah. He had his notepad out and was jotting down information.

"We don't think it will be much more than trying to get as many people out of their way as possible," said the Director. "People who 'turned' to the Resistance groups are their biggest targets right now. The bigger the person, say a politician or a military officer, the more this group wants to hold kangaroo courts and convict them of crimes real and imagined."

"What's the age range, education level, level of social skills, that these people possess?" asked Nik. "A lot of people our ages who were 'educated' in the Illegal government's version of public schooling barely have a high school diploma, much less the skills to deal with people whose educational level exceeds their own."

"Most people involved in this group are young, late teens to early twenties; there are some older people who were young adults during the Occupation and never really warmed to the current government," the Director said; "Many, as you've said, Nik, are barely educated, and many are those who have had troubles with authority."

"So what does all this have to do with us, Mr. Director?" Julia asked; "Because in the course of doing my job, I have come across some of these Second Occupation people, and they mean to do me, and my family, some kind of harm. I recently returned a firearm to the nightstand drawer in my bedroom for the first time in sixteen years because my fifteen year old daughter's life has been threatened."

"These people see you, and your brothers, as a threat to their cause," the Director said; "We are aware of the threats against your daughter, Julia, and we're trying to find the leader of this group. He or she call all the shots, and the followers carry out the orders. One of their standing orders is to kill you, Nik, and Jeremiah by any means possible. If that means luring you into a battle they hope to win, they'll do it."

Julia was starting to get angry. The fucker didn't answer my question!

"You didn't answer my question, Mr. Director," she said, letting her anger show slightly; "What does this group's goals have to do with us?"

"We need your expertise with firearms to eliminate members of this group so that their plans do not go forward," the Director said; "A second Occupation will mean our allies can no longer trust us to keep our own house in order."

"In short," Nik said; "You're asking us to work for you as snipers. Am I correct?"

"Yes, Nik, you are," the Director said; "I will make all three of you offers. Your skills are unmatched by anyone who currently works for us, including everyone who was trained by your sister. I'm not saying that Natasha wasn't a good instructor, but skills are learned and perfected; none of our snipers has those skills."

That's it! Julia thought, I've heard enough! She said, "Look, I have four kids and I'm their only parent. I can't go running around the country at your beck and call because YOU can't figure out how to get these group members yourselves. I already work for the government, so I know how it works. So you better think long and hard about what you're asking not only me, but Jeremiah and Nik, to do for you. Because right now, my answer is no."

Before the Director could object, Nik said, "My answer is also no.

"As is mine," said Jeremiah. "I don't know what your game is here, Mr. Director, but all three of us have families, and as Julia said, she's her children's only parent. What if something, God forbid, should happen to her? And what about the lives we've built since the Occupation ended? Are we not entitled to live our lives the way we see fit after everything we've done to get this government back in power? Why don't you figure out how to use the resources you already have before calling in ringers?"

"I still want to talk to you all individually," the Director said curtly. "Maybe if I explain what you would be doing for the Agency, it might make more sense to you."

"Fine," Nik said angrily; "You can talk to me and at me all you want, I think my answer's still going to be no. And don't even think of threatening to recall me to active duty. I've contacted the Department of Defense, and they'll back me up if you even try."

The Director sighed. He knew they would all decline on the first go round. Now that he wanted to talk to them individually, he'd use the information he'd gathered on each of them to get them to agree to work for the Agency for a brief time.

They all glared at him, and he returned their stares. It was a stand off, then Julia got up out her chair and made her way to the door saying, "If there's nothing else, Mr. Director, I have a family to get back to."

"Julia, I'd like to talk to you first," the Director said; "I think you'll like what I have to say."

Julia turned back around. "I seriously doubt that, Mr. Director, but I'll take a listen to you anyway. It's not like I have a choice in the matter, do I?"

"Not really, Julia," The Director said; "You'll stay here while Nik and Jeremiah return to the reception area to await their turns."

Nik and Jeremiah got up to leave the Director's office, and they went over to where Julia stood. "Be strong, sis," Nik said. "Unless he has damning intel on you, say no."

"Stick to your guns, Jules," added Jeremiah.

"I'll do my best, guys," she said.

Jeremiah and Nik then left the room, leaving Julia alone with the Director. She walked back to the chair she had been sitting in and took her seat.

"Okay, Mr. Director," she said, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice, "Try and convince me to work for you."

The Director only smiled.

===
II


"Jordan!" David called out to his wife, "could you come here a minute?"

Jordan walked into David's office, expecting to see him working on his book. Instead of a manuscript on his computer screen, she saw the website for a group called the American Republic Movement.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's the website of a group who espouses the ideals of the former Occupational government we fought so hard to defeat," David said; "Kimber asked me about it last night. I'd never heard of them, so I did some searching. Jordan, this group has threatened Julia and her family, and the families of Nik and Jeremiah as well. They have a chapter in Dallas. I'm thinking about going to go check it out."

"Why, David? You'll surely be recognized," Jordan said, concerned. "They've threatened Julia and her family, you said. Why? What has Julia or her family done to warrant such attention from this group?"

"As far as I can tell, Jord," David said; "Julia's only crime in their eyes is being Julia. They are knowledgeable about her accomplishments, and feel she's a detriment to their cause."

"But her family, too?" asked Jordan; "What the hell have her children done to deserve having their lives threatened?"

"Jord, I have no fucking idea what these people want," David said; "except to put us back into the past. I can't see fighting the leaders of another Occupation. That would be up to our current government to fight."

"Don't go check these losers out, David, please?" asked Jordan. "I can't bear the thought of losing you, any of our chilren or grandchildren. Fight with your pen, not with your life."

David had to admit to himself that Jordan had a point. He loved her, their children, and grandchildren more than life itself. He would never put that in jeopardy again. Once was enough.

===

"You were the SpineSplitter during the Occupation, Julia," the Director said; "You are the prize that these people want. I'm aware of the threats against your daughter. I feel they're using those threats to get your attention and draw you into a situation you cannot extract yourself from."

"Much like what you're doing now, isn't it, Mr. Director?" asked Julia. "You're going to offer me more money than I'm getting at Homeland Security; twenty-four/seven protection for my family; and a limited time contract to do what your in house snipers can do."

"Our snipers, as I mentioned before, don't have the kind of training you have, and that you're giving your children," the Director said. "You possess certain skills that not anyone has. The SpineSplitting technique, for example. Only you and one other person can do that. Unfortunately, that one other person is retired."

"I'm well aware of that, Mr. Director," Julia said; "and you'd really considered asking Jacob Ross to work for you? He's sixty years old, and damn lucky to have lived that long. If he could have taken his wife's place in death, he would have had no problem doing so."

"And, you're one of the most well known of the three of you," the Director said; "There will never be another female sniper; or male sniper for that matter, who could even come close to having your skillset. And yes, I am prepared to offer you more money than you're getting now."

"I'm not interested," said Julia.

"Protection for your family, including extended family," the Director said.

"No, Mr. Director," Julia said, having gotten up out of her chair and leaned over the Director's desk; "I cannot be bought, even by you. I'd just as soon work at DHS doing what I've been doing for the last three years than to haul out my arsenal of weapons to take care of your dirty work."

"You'd be doing your country a great service by agreeing to work for us on a temporary basis," the Director said; I'm not going to lose her, he thought; lose her and you'll lose the other two as well; "Your superiors at DHS will allow you to take a leave of absense to take this position."

Julia looked at the man like he'd lost his mind. Who the hell does he think he is, she thought, going to my superiors to get their okay for this farce?

"I don't know how many more times or any other way to say no, Mr. Director," Julia said, seething; "So I'll say this: go to hell!"

Julia then turned and walked to the door. Before she could get her hand on the doorknob to open the door, the Director said,

"Julia, does the name John Christopher Coltrane the Fourth ring any bells?"

FUCK! she thought, then turned around.

"I thought that might get your attention," the Director said; "Please, Julia, sit down."

Julia sat. What she was about to hear from the Director would shake her to her core.

===

"What's taking her so damn long?" Jeremiah wanted to know.

"Damned if I know, brother," said Nik; "It's taking too long. How long does it take for Julia to say no?"

"They've got something on her, I'll bet you anything," Jeremiah said. "Though I can't imagine what."

"Julia's life in an open book, and if there is anything she's hiding, then there must be a damn good reason why," said Nik.

"I don't like this whole scenario, Nik," Jeremiah said; "If CIA can find something on Julia, then what have they found on us? I don't know about you, but I do have something to hide. It's something that only Jasmine and I know."

"I don't want to know, Jere," Nik said; "Everyone's entitled to keep things private. I know that there are no secrets in combat, but whatever it is you feel you need to keep private, I'll respect that."

"Thanks, Nik," Jeremiah said. "I just wish Julia would come out of there. All I'll have to do is see her face to know what's going on."

Nik sighed; "I know what you mean."

===

"So, that name does ring a bell with you, doesn't it, Julia?"

"Why did you bring him up?" asked Julia.

"Because there are some things about him that we've found out that you probably already know," the Director said, taking perverse pleasure in watching this tough woman squirm.

"Such as?"

"Such as," said the Director, "we know he's still alive, and that he was relocated with the help of the Disturbed Ones Hit-n-Run team. We know where he lives, what name he's using, and," the Director paused, then said, "that he's the father of your oldest daughter. Isn't he, Julia?"

Julia was rarely left speechless, but only one question came to mind,

"How did you find out about that? Only three people knew about that!"

"And those three people are you, your late husband and Jack Coltrane?"

"Me, my daughter and my husband," Julia said.

"Coltrane doesn't know he has a child with you?" asked the Director. "Because I know one of your most recent field visits was to his new home in Wyoming."

"Three people still know, at least I thought so," Julia said; "and yes, Jack knows he fathered my daughter."

"I'm the only one who knows here about your little youthful indescretion," said the Director; "Did you really think you could keep that secret forever?"

"Yes, I really thought that," Julia said; "It was my business, my 'youthful indescretion' as you put it. I expected the worst when I told my husband, but he was accepting about it, given where I was for three plus months. He loved his daughter, and he and I decided to tell her what happened when she was old enough to understand."

"Does she want to meet her true father?" asked the Director.

"Her 'true' father is the one who raised her until he died when she was twelve," Julia said angrily. "Does she want to meet her biological father? Yes, she does. And he wants to meet her."

"Tell you what, Julia," the Director said; "I'll keep your secret if you agree to work for me. I know this sounds like black mail, but it will all work itself out. You get to keep your secret, and I get your services for a specific amount of time. I'd imagine your siblings, your parents, and your other children don't know about Mirielle's parentage, do they?"

Julia was angry, mostly at herself. He painted her in a corner, and he knew he got to her just by mentioning Jack's name. What choice do I have? she thought. It's either work for this slimy, underhanded man, or have my secret out there for the world to see. Exposing her relationship with Jack when she was eighteen would make her more of a target, she realized.

"If I agree to work for you as a sniper," Julia said; "it will only be for a set amount of time, and after that time, I'm free to go back to DHS and get on with the rest of my life?"

"Yes, Julia," the Director said; "When the time I have specified for you has ended, you may go back to DHS and carry on as before."

"And that timeframe is?"

"Two years," the Director said. "And that is non-negotiable."

Julia sighed. She felt trapped, but what choice did she have? She had to protect her family, and she wanted to protect Jack.

Damn! she thought; I'd give anything to find out how the CIA found out something only three people besides me knew.

And, she would find out.


===

"Lt. San Marco, the Director will see you now," the receptionist said.

"Where's Mrs. Summers?" asked Nik.

"She's speaking with a member of the Director's staff."

Oh, this can't be good, thought Nik as he followed the receptionist back to the Director's office.

"Nik, have a seat," the Director said as the receptionist left the office.

"Where's Julia?" he asked him.

"She's with a member of my staff," said the Director; "She'll be out in the reception area after I speak with you and Jeremiah."

"I've already told you that my answer is no, Mr. Director," Nik said; "so why am I still here?"

"I have information for you that not just anyone knows," the Director said; "I'm very surprised that I was able to gain possession of it."

"And this information is going to change my mind?" asked Nik.

"I believe it will."

Nik racked his brain trying to think of anything the Director could have found out about him, and came up with nothing.

"So this information is about what, exactly?"

"Your children," the Director said; "specificially your son Peter."

Nik perked up at the mention of his son's name and wondered what about Peter he could possibly know.

"What about Peter?" he asked cautiously.

"I understand that he was hit by a drunk driver on his bike some months back," said the Director; "he required a great deal of surgery, including a steel rod in his back. Am I right so far?"

"Yes, but I don't understand what Pete's accident has to do with why I'm here in your office," Nik said. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like what he heard.

"What if I told you that Peter's accident was deliberate? That someone wanted to purposely injure your son to get to you?" asked the Director.

Stunned, Nik couldn't fathom why anyone who purposely harm another human being, much less his own flesh and blood. "What do you mean, Peter's accident was deliberate? Who would do such a thing to a fifteen year old?"

"The group who wants you, Julia and Jeremiah out of their way so they can attempt to hijack the government," the Director said; "They're also stalking your daughter, and one of their members was arrested in Charlottesville trying to break into your oldest son's apartment back in May."

"All this just to get to me?" Nik asked; "What? They couldn't contact me themselves? That's just bullshit!"

"Let me tell you this, Nik," the Director said; "You have a unique opportunity to get back at the people responsible for your son's injuries. Wouldn't you like to find the driver responsible for nearly killing your son?"

"Of course I would!" Nik said; "What parent wouldn't?"

"Then let me offer you the same deal I offered Julia," the Director said; "Two years of your time working for us, after which you're free to go back to your regular life. No recall to active duty required."

"Doesn't sound like I have much of a choice, do I?" asked Nik. "Because I would do anything to find the motherfucker who damn near ruined Peter's life."

"Then we have a deal?"

Reluctantly, Nik said, "Yes, Director. We have a deal."

===

Jeremiah was nervous. Both Nik and Julia hadn't returned to the waiting area after their interviews, and he wondered what the hell was going on.

"Mr. Donovan? The Director will see you now?"

Once in the Directors office, he got straight to the point.

"Jeremiah, I am a big admirer of your work," the Director said; "And it was very hard to come up with something that would discredit you as far as your journalism career was concerned. Two Pulitzers, four AP awards, eight reporter of the year awards? Impressive work."

"What does my work have to do with why I'm here?" Jeremiah said; "I have deadlines to meet and a family to raise. My wife works crazy hours at the hospital, and later this week, she's going to be on call for thirty-six hours. That means I have to get my ass home."

"I did find something, though," the Director said; "something you've probably forgotten about."

Jeremiah knew what the Director probably found, and he wasn't looking forward to having to explain to a virtual stranger about the circumstances surrounding it.

"My private life is just that, Director," Jeremiah said; "Private. I can't imagine what you've possibly found."

"A young woman you dated before your marriage to your wife started harrassing you, didn't she?" asked the Director.

"She claimed she had given birth to a child and that it was mine," Jeremiah said. "I agreed to have a DNA test run. I never heard from her again until about eight years ago when she said that her son wanted to meet me. When I asked why, she said because I was her son's father. She wanted me to have a DNA test done at that time, or she'd smear my name all over Chicago that I was a deadbeat dad. I told her that if it was that important, why didn't she get back in touch when I offered instead of waiting nearly ten years. I told my wife about it, and she offered to arrange a test between me and the boy I was told was mine. The woman refused. So I sued her for blackmailing me and won. Only my wife and I knew about that. My siblings don't know, my children don't know, and my friends and co-workers don't know, and I would like to keep it that way."

"I found the court papers about that case," the Director said; "it's a matter of public record. I can arrange to have them sealed, but you have to agree to work for the CIA."

"That's fucking blackmail!" Jeremiah cried. "You're no better than the woman who tried to get me to claim a child she knew wasn't mine!"

"True," the Director said; "but what about this recent incident with your daughter? Adriana, I believe her name is..."

"That was self defense!" exclaimed Jeremiah. "The man was trying to carjack her. She was defending herself and her sisters and brother."

"They're being targeted by this second Occupation group to get to you," the Director said; "I know as a parent, you'd want to protect them; Your wife is in more danger however."

"How so?" Oh, my God, they're after Jasmine, too? thought Jeremiah.

"There's a female group member posing as a nurse, whose assignment is to blackmail your wife about something from her childhood," the Director said; "Something that she and her siblings have no first hand knowledge of."

"This isn't about accusations made against her father for raping a female subordinate, is it?" asked Jeremiah; "Because that didn't happen, and it was proven during a military trial that the female subordinate lied to purposely discredit my father in law because she had tried to seduce him and he refused her advances."

"Yes, that's what it's about," the Director said; "this fake nurse will start a verbal altercation with your wife about it, claiming to be the daughter of the woman who made the accusations."

"Jasmine knew about what happened because it was one of the last things she and her father spoke about before he died two years ago," Jeremiah said. "Her father asked for her forgiveness, and she gave it. If anyone tries to pick a fight with Jasmine, she can and will shut them down."

"You can stop all that by working with us, Jeremiah," said the Director; "You can still keep working as a journalist while you're working for us. We'll inform your employer of your duty to your country."

"Nik and Julia, did they agree?" asked Jeremiah.

"Yes, they did."

"If they agreed, you must have had something earth shattering hanging over their heads," Jeremiah said; "But they're my sister and brother, and I support them one hundred ten percent. I will work for you, but only until this mess is taken care of."

"It's only for two years, Jeremiah," said the Director; "then you're free to go back to your own life."

Jeremiah's only thought was, Jasmine's going to kill me!

===
III


When Jeremiah was through filling out paperwork for his new employer (though he felt like he was coerced into it), he rejoined Nik and Julia in the waiting area.

"They get you, too, Jere?" asked Nik.

"Yep," said Jeremiah; "I found out that the big secret that only Jasmine and I know was a matter of public record this whole time. But yeah, they got me good."

Julia was silent, and had been silent the entire time she had been in the waiting area with Nik.

"Jules?" asked Jeremiah; "You okay, sis?"

Julia looked at Jeremiah, then at Nik, and shook her head no. "I feel like my whole world is going to change," she said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.

"Come on, let's get out and meet the car that's taking us back to Tash's place," Nik said; "I think they're done fucking with us for right now."

They walked out to the spot where they had been dropped off nearly four hours before. The car was waiting for them at the curb. They got in and got lost in their thoughts on the ride back to Georgetown.

Julia was thinking of calling Jack to let him know that the CIA knows about his relationship to her and their daughter. That's what she was most upset about. She felt that she let both Miri and Jack down.

Nik was thinking about the bastards who caused his son's accident, and how he couldn't say anything to KateLynn about it because it was classified information.

Jeremiah was pissed that the Director asked for the notes he was taking during the first part of the meeting when the three of them were together. I'll get my information about this group with or without CIA's approval, he thought. And if it gets me fired, or gets me subpoena'd, I don't give a fuck.

===

Natasha wondered where they could be. She could only hold dinner for so long.

When they weren't back by 5pm, three hours after their appointment, she began to become alarmed. Dammit, she thought, they got caught in the Agency's web.

She called her kids, and Sandrina and Danica for dinner. "Mom, what's wrong?" her son Nik asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Nikolai," his mother said.

After dinner, while Sandrina and Danica were cleaning up the dishes, Vixen looked out the living room window and saw a car pull into their driveway.

"I think they're back, Mom," the girl said.

"Thanks, Vix," Natasha said; "Now go help your cousins with the dishes, okay love?"

"Yes, Mom."

When Julia, Nik and Jeremiah walked into the house, Natasha saw the looks on their faces and knew that they'd been successfully recruited by the Director. They were not happy about it, and that pissed Natasha off.

Dammit, Darren, she thought blackly; you and I are going to have words!

===

Chapter 7

I

For the Director of the CIA, the meeting with Summers, Donovan and San Marco was the most important of his tenure. Failure to convince the three to work for his agency was not acceptable.

He had his whitepapers on all three ready. The most damning of the three is the fact that Julia Summers' oldest daughter was not fathered by her late husband, yet Ryan Summers raised her as his own. Who the fifteen year old was fathered by, the Director could only guess. Shortly after her incarceration at the former Great Lakes Prison had to be the time Summers conceived her child. Whether is was a consentual act or an act of rape, the fact was that Mirielle Grace Summers was not her father's child.

Nikolai San Marco's seventeen year old daughter was being followed by the pro-Occupational group calling themselves the American Republic Movement. What the group's plans for Sandrina San Marco were was unknown. Apparently someone from the group had been caught trailing Sandrina's older brother, Matthias. Then there was the matter of Peter San Marco, the fifteen year old brother of Sandrina and Matthias. He was injured in a deliberate accident in February, and was currently undergoing intense physical therapy.

The most difficult information to obtain was for Jeremiah Donovan. He was a respected journalist, had no negatives about him such as libel suits, not was controversial. He wrote and reported the facts. His personal life was just as rigid as his professional life. He was married and had four children-- three daughters and a son. His wife was a resident at Loyola University Hospital. The only thing that the Director's staff could find on him was that his maternal aunt was a Regional Director working with the former Occupational government. She was long since deceased, killed by a sniper known as "The SpineSplitter". He and his brother, Joseph, who lived in Maine, were not close to this particular aunt.

The Director knew that all three of them; Summers, San Marco and Donovan, would initially say no to his proposal. Summers might be the most difficult to convince. San Marco had previously stated he would not entertain being recalled to active duty with the Army. Donovan would say no because of his journalism career and his family.

This is where the additional information about each would come in. It's hard to say no if someone's threatening your family, your friends, and your livelihood.

At least, the Director hoped so.

===

It was one of the rare days that Dr. Jasmine Donovan got to sleep in, at home, in her own bed. Her children knew this and with their father's permission, decided to go out for the day.

Adriana got her brother and sisters up early. They were going to go to the zoo, the Science Museum, and have lunch at Navy Pier.

"Come on, Arielle," Adriana fussed at her sister; "you're dragging your ass!"

Arielle, who was twelve, was trying to find something to wear. When she found something and put it on, her older sister said,

"Oh, no you don't Arie...Dad'll never let you out of the house looking like that!"

"I want boys to notice me, Adriana," Arielle whined;

"That outfit will get you nothing but trouble," Adriana said; "The rest of us aren't dressed like hoochie mamas. Now go change and don't make me get Dad. He's on deadline, then he's going out of town Sunday."

"Oh, okay..." and Arielle stalked off to her room to change.

When she returned, she looked like a normal twelve year old girl.

"That's better," Adriana said. "You look presentable and you won't embarrass Mom and Dad."

"Whatever," Arielle said.

Once everyone was in their parents SUV, Aaliyah asked,

"Why can't we bring Rachel, Adriana?"

"Because we don't spend enough time with each other," Adriana said. "Rachel can come next time, okay?"

"Okay," Aaliyah said, and buckled herself into her seat.

As the siblings drove towards the first of their destinations, they had no idea that they were being followed. They had just parked at the zoo when Adam noticed the same burgandy car that had been on the highway with them.

"That car I swear has been following us," Adam said. "It's weird."

"What car?" Adriana said, and saw her brother point in the general direction of the car he saw.

"Maybe they're just coming here as well, Adam," Arielle said; "No crime in that."

"It's just weird, Arie, that's all."

"I want to go see the animals!" said Aaliyah excitedly.

So off to see the animals they did; them and the two men tailing them.

===

Adriana brought her sisters and brother to the place at Navy Pier where they were going to have lunch, and she just couldn't shake the idea that they were being followed. Maybe Adam was right, she thought.

What she did see were the same two rough looking men popping up everywhere they went. The zoo; the Science Museum; and now at Navy Pier. Adriana thought it was much more than a coincidence. It was, to use her brother's word, "weird".

Adriana had gotten permission from her parents when she was fifteen to carry a small caliber handgun in her purse or bag. She never went anywhere, except to school, without it. So far, she never had to use it in self defense. But if these weird guys meant to harm her or the others, she'd have no problem using it. Her father, Uncle Nik, and Aunt Julia trained her, her siblings, and their cousins well. The only ones who didn't have the training were her sister Aaliyah and their cousin Rachel, because they were still too young.

Maybe I'm being paranoid, Adriana thought; but what if this is this "sixth sense" that Dad talks about all the time? If I ignore it, we all could be in a lot of trouble.

It would be in the parking lot back at the zoo that Adriana would get her answer.

===

"Shit, she's noticed us!"

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, fuck!" the older of the two men trailing the Donovan siblings said when he realized that his partner was right. "Stupid bitch! Being nosy's gonna get her in trouble."

"What do we do?"

"Let's head back to the car," the older man said; "They have to go back to the zoo to get their vehicle. We'll make ourselves known to them there."

As the two men made their way back to the zoo parking lot, Adriana Donovan was reminding her siblings that they needed to be home before it got dark.

"Let's head back to the car," said Adriana; she looked at her youngest sister, and she was about ready to fall asleep. "Aaliyah, you going to make it back to the car?"

"Yeah, Adriana," Aaliyah yawned. "Can I sleep in the car?"

"Sure, sis," Adriana said. "Just stay awake long enough to get there, okay?"

They hopped on the next shuttle headed back to the zoo.

"Adam, keep Aaliyah awake," Arielle said;

"I'm awake!" Aaliyah said.

Soon they arrived at the zoo and walked the short distance to the parking lot, where they found that their parents SUV was among a handful of cars remaining.

Including the one that Adam had seen on the way to the zoo earlier in the day.

"Let me do the safety check, then we can get in," Adriana said.

While her siblings waited, Adriana checked every inch of the vehicle for either unexpected passengers, or devices that could cause the car to have problems that were placed by other people.

Finding nothing, Adriana opened the car doors and her siblings got inside and buckled into their seats. Just as she was going to get into the driver's seat, a man approached her asking for help with his car.

"I'm sorry, sir," Adriana said politely; "I'm not allowed to help without my parents being here. You can call a tow truck for help."

"That's quite all right," the man said; "I understand. You're just trying to be careful. But I can convince you otherwise, Miss Donovan."

Before Adriana could ask how he knew her name, he pulled a gun. "Get in the car!" he ordered.

Adam was sitting in the front passengers seat watching all this happen. He knew his sister kept a gun in her bag, and got it out and slid it across the driver's seat to her as she tried to get inside the car.

She grabbed it and aimed it at the man holding a gun on her and he just laughed.

"You think that little old gun makes you big and bad ass?" he asked her. "You probably don't even know how to take the safety off."

Adriana took the safety off, cocked the gun, and said, "Wanna bet I don't?"

She then fired.

She hit the man in the shoulder and he staggered backwards. He looked as though he didn't believe a teenage girl just shot him.

"I don't know why you've been following us all day, Mister," Adriana said; "But the police will be here shortly to arrest you."

"I was asked to follow you," the man said, wincing in pain. "Your father is an enemy of our organization."

"What organization is that?" asked Adriana; "the American Association of Dumbfucks?"

"What a mouth you have on you, Miss Donovan!" he said.

"How do you know who I am?"

"We have ways of finding out shit about our enemies, Aaliyah."

Adriana laughed. "You jerks can't even get our names right. I'm not Aaliyah."

"Aaliyah's asleep," Arielle whispered to Adam.

The police drove up at that point and took the man away in an ambulance. An officer asked Adriana, Adam and Arielle questions. Aaliyah still slept.

"We'll have to call your folks," the officer told Adriana; "but there will be no charges brought against you, Miss Donovan. You were protecting your younger siblings."

Dad's going to be pissed, Adriana thought.

===
II


Pissed didn't even begin to cover the range of emotions that Jeremiah Donovan was experiencing after being called by the Chicago Police Department to say that all four of his children were at the station.

"Your oldest daughter had to shoot someone in self-defense, but other than that, they're not in trouble," the officer who called Jeremiah said.

"Do I have to come up there, or can they come home on their own?" Jeremiah asked the officer.

"After I hang up with you, Mr. Donovan, your kids will be free to go," the officer said; "One of your daughters had the foresight to take a picture of the man who accosted them, and he is known to us as a member of..."

Jeremiah interrupted; "Don't tell me, let me guess. The 'American Republic Movement'?"

"Yes, Mr. Donovan," the officer said; "Apparently he and another man, who got away, had been following your kids all over the city all day."

Jeremiah sighed; What the fuck is going on here? he thought; first Julia's daughter Miri is threatened; then Nik's daughter might be being tailed, and someone arrested near his son's apartment complex; now it's his kids turn to be harrassed by this fringe group of whackjobs?

"Send them home," Jeremiah said; "I'll talk to them when they get here."

"Very good," the officer said. He then ended the call.

Jeremiah needed a few moments to calm down. Jasmine had been up since two that afternoon, and she was doing other things in the house. She's not going to like this one bit, Jeremiah thought. I just might tell the fucking CIA yes to whatever offer they have because this is getting ridiculous. My kids, my family shouldn't have to be put in danger because of my past.

He then got on the phone to his researchers. "Find out everything you can about this group called the American Republic Movement. Websites, membership rolls, any media, arrests, lawsuits," Jeremiah said; "And if you can get it all together and in my email by Saturday evening, I'd be much obliged."

"We'll get right on it, Jere," the young woman on the other end of the line said; "Big exclusive?"

"Just might be, Haleigh," Jeremiah said; "Just might be."

===

Jeremiah's research team, a group of young reporters, not only found everything there was on the American Republic Movement, but had it emailed to him by Saturday morning. What Jeremiah read about the group further pissed him off, scared him, and got him on the phone to Nik and Julia.

"We need to talk about this group who has targeted us and our families," Jeremiah said; "These people are rabid about their cause to the point of fanaticism. They honestly believe wholeheartedly that getting us out of their way will make taking over the government easier."

"Jere," Nik said; "send me a copy of that. I'd like to read it and see what kind of shitstorm we're getting into."

"I think I know what kind of shitstorm we're getting into," Julia said, "if my experiences with them so far are any barometer."

"I'll send both of you copies of this," Jeremiah said. "These people are insane. That's the only word that comes to mind reading this stuff."

"We have that meeting with CIA on Monday," Nik said; "I makes me feel like I'm going to see the fucking executioner."

"I'm certainly not looking forward to it, that's for damn sure," Jeremiah said.

Julia said nothing, and both Nik and Jeremiah wondered what happened.

"Jules, you okay, sis?" asked Nik.

"Yeah," Julia said; "Just thinking about all the stuff we've been through in the last couple of weeks and wonder if the rest of our lives will be like that. Looking over our shoulders, protecting our families, having to keep a loaded weapon within reach even when we're sleeping. I thought we were done with this shit when the Occupation ended."

"You have a lot more to lose, Jules," Jeremiah said; "You're raising your kids on your own. I wouldn't blame you one bit if you told CIA to shove it up their ass."

"Oh, trust me, Jere," Julia said; "I'm going to tell them a lot more than that."

Go, little sister, both Nik and Jeremiah thought at the same time.

===

Oh, shit, the Director thought when he saw the printout of Jeremiah Donovan's email activity; he's got our number.

Donovan's emails read like he was angry about something. He got emails from his job about the American Republic Movement, and sent out copies of those emails to both San Marco and Summers.

More emails to other people asking for information regarding the Holdouts, about "The Triad", and about keeping his family safe.

The Director pulled a police report from Chicago that stated that a middle aged man approached Donovan's seventeen year old daughter, threatened her and her siblings, and when he tried to carjack her, she shot him. No charges were filed against the girl. The man was taken into custody and transported to the hospital's jail ward.

"This is why we need their expertise," the Director said aloud. "If this fringe group has no problem stalking teenagers, then stalking adults will be next. Not just anyone, but people this group sees as their enemies or traitors to the cause."

New information came to his desk about one of the three people he was going to meet with the following afternoon. This will shut them up, the Director thought. This is information that someone will want to keep under wraps.

The Director had his upper hand, so even if the three said no, he now had something on all of them.

He could threaten San Marco with a mandatory re-enlistment at his former rank.

He could impress upon Donovan that working for the agency would be in his family's best interest.

And Julia Summers? That was the coupe de gras. The Director now knew what her big secret was. It was something that not just anyone knew. Maybe three people besides the Director knew now. Her brothers, sisters, parents and closest friends didn't even know.

The Director sat back in his chair; It's good to have some pull, he thought.

===

Kimber had arrived at the house on Friday evening to watch over her nieces and nephew while Julia was out of town. She had been afraid to ask her boss at the Times-Tribune for a couple of days off, but once the situation was explained, her boss allowed her to take the time to help out her sister.

After all the kids were in bed Saturday evening, Julia was telling Kimber why she was going out of town.

"You're going to talk to the Director of the CIA, Jules?" asked Kimber, surprised. "I thought you were going to tell them to forget it."

"I have a bunch of questions I need to have answered, Kimber," Julia said; "So I decided I better go get some answers."

"Is this about the threats against Miri?"

"Partly," Julia said; "Without saying too much, there's a group of whackos who think that they want to stage a second Occupation. Apparently, they believe that Jere, Nik and I are in the way. To get our attention, they're targeting our families."

"Would Mom, Dad, Sam and John be at risk, too?" asked Kimber.

"It doesn't seem that they are, but that doesn't mean this group hasn't thought about harrassing the man who led to largest Resistance group during the Occupation," Julia said; "Perhaps you can call down to Austin while I'm gone and ask. Maybe call the American-Statesman while you're at it."

"That's a thought," said Kimber. "I just might do that, just to see what they know."

"I'll call Jacob when I'm back there, and see if he's heard anything," Julia said. "He still monitors that stuff. He did it for Christine while she was the Interim President."

"How's he doing, Jules?" asked Kimber. "I know he took Christine's death really hard."

"He has good days and bad days, just like I do," Julia said. "His health is iffy, but with all he's been through, I think he thinks he's lucky to still be alive."

"That's true," Kimber said. "He's still a pretty tough guy."

"That he is," Julia said.

===

Sunday finally arrived and three people were filled with dread. None of them wanted to hear that their assassin skills were being required by the government they spent their teenage and early adult lives trying to put back into power and ending the Occupation.

Julia, Nik, and Jeremiah all said goodbye to their families and headed to O'Hare to catch a flight to Washington, D.C.; Natasha would meet them at the airport and put them up at her home near Georgetown.

They were the only passengers in first class. Julia wondered what made them so damn special. She just wanted to do her job, raise her family and live as normal a life as possible, given who she was. Her immediate need was sleep. She had slept poorly the night before, tossing and turning, unable to turn her thoughts off long enough to fall asleep.

Nik was writing a report for work about the need for better employee productivity. Soon, he'd put his tablet computer away and read the four magazines he'd bought before going through security at the gate.

Jeremiah was dashing off one final email to Jasmine before the plane took off. Jasmine asked him to "please be careful".

It was explaining to his editor why he needed to take three days off that was the hard part. They had discussed it at length, and Jeremiah thought he could get a story about this fringe group, without explaining his inadvertant involvement with them.

"You know what I did as a young man," Jeremiah had explained; "and I don't think this is a belated thank you for my services to the Cause. All I know is that when the Director of the CIA asks you to visit, you can hardly turn them down."

His editor, a surly older man named Rogers, agreed. "Do I smell a third Pulitzer for you, Jeremiah?"

"Hardly," Jeremiah said; "that smell is the bullshit that Washington pumps out on a regular basis. I just go clean up their messes."

"The pen is mightier than the sword, Jeremiah," Rogers reminded him.

"Yeah, maybe," Jeremiah said; "I hope I don't have to test that saying any time soon."

However, on the plane, all three were deep in thought; and not necessarily about their impending meeting with the CIA.

Julia had fallen asleep. Nik was reading something in Time; and Jeremiah was looking out the window, wondering what he and his brother and sister were about to get into.

===
III



The plane touched down at Reagan National with little fanfare. Julia had managed to sleep the entire ninety minutes and finally felt refreshed. She was ready to give the CIA holy hell.

All three grabbed their carry-ons and deplaned.

Once in the terminal, it was still a bit of a walk to the waiting area where Natasha would be to pick them up, then pick up their luggage.

Natasha wasn't hard to spot. She had shoulder length white-blonde hair (during the Occupation, she had died it black), stood six-two, and wore jeans and a loose t-shirt.

Nik saw her and as soon as he was within arms length, he picked her up, swung her around and said, "Tash! It's so good to see you!"

"Whoa little brother, take it easy!" Natasha said, laughing, as Nik put her down. "It's good to see you, too!"

Natasha then hugged Jeremiah, then Julia.

"Aunt Runt is here," Julia joked. Of the four of them, she was the only one who wasn't over six feet tall. She was barely five-foot-three.

"You look good Julia," Natasha said; "Love the new hair, by the way. It suits you better than that short shag or whatever it was you wore until recently."

"Ryan liked it, that's why I kept it," Julia said. "But I like this. Not so pixie-ish."

"But you're still 'fun-sized'!" Jeremiah joked.

"Okay, okay," Nik said; "Let's not give Jules a hard time for something she can't help."

"Thanks, Nik, but it is what it is," Julia said; "I'll bet Tash's twins are taller than me!"

"They are, Julia," Natasha said; "Vixen is five-eight and Nikky is five-eleven."

"At twelve?" asked Nik. "Damn! More six footers. Sorry, Jules."

"I'm not worried about it," Julia said; "Let's go get our bags and get out of here!"


Once at Natasha's, the three visitors greeted Sandrina, Danica, and Natasha's twins.

"Danica, I didn't know you'd be here," Jeremiah said to his niece. "How's your mom and dad and Kendria?"

"Everyone's good, Uncle Jere," Danica said; "Kendria got a service dog right before I left to come here. His name is Boat."

"Why 'Boat'?" asked Julia.

"Because that's what the people who trained him called him," Danica said; "It's kind of a dumb name, but he helps Kendria out a lot."

"Why are you guys here?" asked Sandrina.

"We have a meeting with the Director of the CIA tomorrow afternoon," Nik told his daughter. "We have no idea why, but we've been doing a lot of speculation about it."

"Oh," said Nikky, "like having to see the principal but not knowing why."

"Something like that," Nik told his namesake nephew.

Natasha showed everyone to their rooms and left them to get settled. She stayed on in Julia's room because she had something to ask her.

"Julia, Sandrina thinks someone is following her," Natasha said; "I know she's not prone to making things up. I think it's that sixth sense that we all have because of our training."

"She could be right, Natasha," Julia said. "Someone was stalking the summer camp I sent Zach and Rachel to. And for some weird reason, Miri is getting death threats. She doesn't understand why, and I'm at a loss as to what to tell her."

"Could it because whoever's making the threats want to get your attention?" asked Natasha.

"That's what I think," said Julia. "But why be so chickenshit about it? If someone has a problem with me because of my past, why don't they contact me and not a fifteen year old girl?"

"Could that be part of the reason you guys were asked to come to Washington?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know, Tash," Julia said; "This meeting's been move up once and moved back once. I have no idea what they want from us. If it's what I think it is, I'm planning to say no."

"What might that be?"

"That they want us to work for them as assassins," Julia said.

"I'd tell them no," Natasha said; "They tried to get me to stay by throwing my past at me; I called them on it because they had all that shit in my personnel files. I had a security clearance, they had to do a background check. They found out all kinds of shit about me. Even stuff about mine and Nik's biological parents was fair game. So using the fact that I was a child prostitute and an assassin against me was stupid."

"They've probably already done something like that on all three of us," Julia said; "I have some pretty heavy secrets to hide. Stuff that not even my parents know. I'm almost prepared for that to happen tomorrow."

"You know that if there's anything you want to get off your chest, Julia," Natasha said, "I'm here to listen."

Julia considered that for a moment, then said, "Thanks, Tash, for the offer, but I'm good. If there is anything, you'll be the first person I call."

"Well, I have something I need to get off my chest, Julia," Natasha said; "Something that I've carried for almost thirteen years."

"Okay, Tash," Julia said; "What is it?"

Natasha took a deep breath and let it out slowly; "I know who the twins' sperm donor is."

"I thought that stuff was confidential, Natasha," Julia said. "How did you find out?"

"In this case, I knew in advance," Natasha said; "Remember the guy who dropped dead on me the day the Occupation ended?"

"Yeah," Julia said; "While you were having sex. I remember."

"His name was Doug Frey," Natasha said; "he was the 'special friend' of Lane Sizemore. While I was distracting him for you, we talked for a while before we went to his place to have sex. He had mentioned that he had donated sperm and gave me the card for the place. When I was sure that I wanted to have children, I went to this place, mentioned Doug's name, and handed them the card he'd given me. Within twenty-four hours, I was inseminated with his sperm. Six weeks later, I got a positive pregnancy test."

"Who did you put down as the father on their birth certificates?" asked Julia.

"Deceased," Natasha said; "Because he was. I saw no reason to put his name down."

Julia wasn't surprised that Natasha had kept this to herself for such a long time. Natasha, even when she was known as Vixen, was not one to unburden herself. "Why are you telling me this now, Natasha?" she asked.

"Because though the kids know the circumstances of how they came to be, they're asking questions I'm not comfortable answering," Natasha said.

"About sex?" asked Julia.

"Yes, about sex," Natasha said; "You know me, I don't shrink back from a challenge, but answering questions about sex is something I really know nothing about, given my history."

"Talk to their doctor, Tash," Julia said; "even I had a little trouble explaining sex. The talk with the pediatrician armed me with lots of information. There are some excellent books out for preteens about sex, love, committment, and stuff like that. I think it's called The Preteen's Guide to Sex, or something like that. I bought a copy for Miri when she was eleven, and she gave it to Jaime later. They both liked it."

"I'll look into that, Julia," Natasha said; "talk to the doctor and that book. And maybe the doctor has other suggestions."

"There you go!" Julia said; "But that Doug Frey thing... that caught me off guard."

"I kinda liked the guy in the short time I was with him," Natasha said; "I got a feeling that he and I were on the same wavelength. Maybe I could have learned more about him had he not up and died on me...literally!"

===
IV



After a decent night's sleep and breakfast with the household, Nik, Jeremiah and Julia had a pow wow in Julia's bedroom. They wanted to be a united force that could also stand on each person's merits. During her talk with Natasha the night before, Julia learned that the current Director liked to separate groups of people to get the members take on certain events.

"We need to be able to stand up to this guy alone, as well as a group," Julia said. "No doubt that he's going to test our loyalties to one another."

"He'll also have something about each of us that we don't know that he knows," Nik said; "Tash told me that months ago when he tried to get her to stay on with the Agency after she turned in her resignation."

"That's dirty pool," Jeremiah said; "I know there are things about each of us that the others don't know, and personally, I don't want to know now. If you've kept it to yourself this long, then it must not be that awful."

Julia looked at her brothers, thinking, oh I have a huge secret, and it dies with me.

"Natasha told me that, too," Julia said; "that the Director will have probably dug up some dirt on all of us. And Jere, you're right; I don't want to know, either, if you two have any deep, dark secrets. I have suspicions, but I keep those to myself. And not just about you guys, but about other people, too."

"So, we're prepared for this walk into the flames of hell?" Nik asked

"As ready as I'm ever going to be," Julia said; "Though I will admit I'm a bit nervous."

"Let's go and get this shit over with," Jeremiah said; "I have work to do."

===

"Remember," Natasha was saying as Nik, Jeremiah and Julia waited for the car that was being sent to bring them to the CIA's headquarters in Langley, Virginia; "this guy plays hardball. Don't fuck with him. He's going to try and trip you up every which way. I know you guys can handle it." She paused, then said, "And tell the Director I say hello."

"Oh, were you two bosom buds?" Nik teased his sister.

"Only in his dreams, Nik," Natasha said; "I probably caused him more headaches than any woman alive!"

Julia had to laugh at that. She could see Natasha turning down a date with the guy.

The car arrived and the three of them got inside and drove off. Natasha stayed outside until the car rounded the corner onto the main road. As she turned to go back into the house, she thought, God, let this go well and they don't get caught in the Company's trap.

She then saw movement in the bushes leading into the back of the house where the dining room was. I hope that was just the meter reader and not someone intent on doing harm, she thought as she quickly ran back into the house.

Natasha grabbed one of the guns hidden around her house and went toward the backyard. She then saw who had disturbed the bushes out front.

A stray dog. Natasha just had to laugh and think to herself, paranoid much, Vixen?

===

The drive took about thirty minutes, and the car let them off at the main entrance to the CIA building. They just looked at each other, all of them clearly nervous.

"Well, gentlemen, this is it," Julia said as she got out her Homeland Security ID with her legal name on it; "Welcome to hell. It gets a tad warm."

Once inside, the walked over the Agency's logo embedded into the floor. They approached a reception desk, where Jeremiah identified the three of them as having an appointment with the Director at 2pm.

"Right this way," a man said who seemingly materialized from out of nowhere; "The Director is expecting you."

They followed the man to a waiting area and were told that the Director would be with them shortly.

Not ten minutes later, the Director himself came out of his office to greet them.

"Mrs. Summers, Mr. Donovan, Mr. San Marco. So glad you could make it. We have much to discuss. Please come with me."

Jeremiah's thought as he and the others walked into the Director's office was, I hope we aren't really walking into the bowels of hell.

===

Chapter 6

I


Julia and Miri were still in Julia's office talking when Kimber came upstairs. She knocked on the closed door and said, "Jules?"

Julia opened the door and let Kimber inside. Miri was sitting in the chair on the opposite side of Julia's desk.

"Jules, I need to get back home here in a few," said Kimber; "I'm starting my internship tomorrow."

"Okay, Kimber," said Julia; "I know you have to get back. Miri and I will only be a few minutes more."

"Great," Kimber said. "I'll finish the preparations for dinner. All you'll have to do is put it in the oven and make a salad."

"Thanks, sis," Julia said. "Did Jaime help you?"

"Yes, she did, so make sure you thank her, too," Kimber said, laughing, knowing that Julia would be sure to do just that.

"Just give us a few more minutes and I'll spring you from this trap known as the Summers household," Julia said.

Kimber left the office and went back downstairs.

"Now, Mirielle," Julia said to her daughter; "What we've talked about up here, about my past, about Jack, stays between us. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Miri said. "I'm sure you'll tell the others when and if the opportunity presents itself."

"Maybe about my role as the SpineSplitter," said Julia; "not about the fact that Jack is your biological father. That's just between us, as it's always been."

"I know, Mom," said Miri, getting up from her chair to give her mother a hug. "It's our secret of sorts. Just between you, me, and Jack if I ever get to meet him."

"He wants to meet you, Miri," Julia said; "but now is probably not a good time."

"Not with all this weird stuff going on, no," agreed Miri.

===

Julia and Miri came downstairs, and they, along with Jaime, thanked Kimber for helping with dinner. Kimber left shortly after that.

"Jaime, thanks for helping Aunt Kimber with dinner," Julia said; "My head is in a million different places, and fixing dinner was not one of them."

"It's okay, Mom," said Jaime; "I know you always like us to help out when it's needed. Aunt Kimber and I were talking about when I was a baby, and how she and Aunt Niki argued with Dad about how Jameson is a boy's name, when it was clear that I was a girl baby."

"You remember how you got that name, right?" asked Julia.

"Not really, Mom."

"'Jameson' was your great grandmother's name. Her first name," Julia said. "Dad was her favorite grandson, and had hoped his parents would name him Jameson. Instead, they named him after your grandpa Bryan, but just left the letter B off. So, to make amends, he named you after her."

"Why's that?" Miri asked. "Didn't you have any say?"

"I did," said Julia as she got out the ingredients for the salad; "I'm the reason you're called Jaime, and not James, like your great grandmother was."

"How did Miri get her name?" Jaime asked.

Julia thought about that for a moment, then said, "I knew someone who had the name Mirielle, and Dad and I really liked it."

"How come Miri doesn't have red hair like the rest of us?" Jaime asked.

Oh, boy, thought Julia. Then, "You know how the gene for red hair is recessive, right? That both parents had to have the gene in order for their child to have red hair. When we were expecting Miri, we knew there was a one in four chance that she wouldn't have red hair, because my red hair gene would have had to be present at conception. Obviously, it wasn't because Miri's hair is brown."

"Weird how that works," Jaime said. "But that lesson about the pea plants helped a lot."

"Uncle Nik hated those lessons when we were kids," Julia said; "He understood the concept, but not how it worked. I think he was trying to figure out how two people with dark hair could have a blonde kid like him. This was shortly after our guardians adopted him."

"How come they didn't adopt you, Uncle Jere and Uncle Joe, too?" asked Jaime.

"Because we all had living relatives at the time," Julia said; "It was only after we became teenagers that Jere and Joe learned that their real father had died. By that time, Jere was going off to college and he took Joe with him. They still had a sister who could take them in."

"The Occupation was stupid," Miri said as she set the table for the three of them; "They tore families apart for no reason other than their own impotent power."

"True, Miri," Julia said. "And they ruled by fear. It was an imperfect government, and anyone with two eyes and a brain could see that, but the leaders of the New Government didn't want to see it. When they realized that it was an imperfect system, they came up with all these requirements for the 'perfect citizen'. Granpa David saw parallels to Nazi Germany and decided to work to get the real leaders back in power."

"Why did it take so long?" Miri asked;

"Because things had to be done carefully without resorting to all out war," Julia said; "Granpa David had threats against his life constantly; he always had to watch his back. Nonna Jordan did, too. If you were against the government, they'd find ways of getting you to conform, or you died. Millions of people joined the Resistance, and the Disturbed Ones was the most vocal of all the Resistance groups. They held rallies where Granpa David and the other leaders would speak, and they would be attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Then the people would take what they heard and apply it in their own communities. Slowly, they made progress."

"I hope that there isn't another one," Jaime said; "Because I'd go out there and kick some people around."

Julia looked at her second born child; she had no doubt that she would, even at twelve, to "kick some people around".

Somewhere in the back of Julia Summers' mind, however, she saw another of her daughters taking up the mantle of defending the country from another Occupation. And it wasn't Jaime.

But she was in the same room.

===

Someone continued to follow Sandrina San Marco and her cousin, Danica Donovan, around the various Washington locations they frequented.

Sandrina always felt that she and Danica were being watched, but not ever seeing anyone made it hard to get anyone to believe her. So she kept her suspicions to herself.

This day, she and Danica were out running errands for Aunt Natasha in preparation of her father, Uncle Jeremiah and Aunt Julia's visit. Their cousin, Vixen, wanted to come along, but her mother said no, that it would be easier if the older girls went on their own.

Vixen didn't like that much, but she knew better than to complain.

At a local coffeehouse where the girls decided to rest and recharge, the cousins talked about the impending visit of Sandrina's father, and their aunt and uncle.

"I wonder why they have a meeting here, instead of over a secure internet connection?" asked Danica.

"I wish I knew," Sandrina said; "Dad just wants to get it over with because the people they're going to see have reschedled it twice now, and Dad hates that kind of stuff. When Dad was in the Army, and he had a meeting scheduled, it started on time, and if you were late, then God help you!"

"Don't fuck with Lt. San Marco, huh?" asked Danica as their drinks and sandwiches arrived.

"Exactly," Sandrina said. "If he had a meeting at 2pm on Wednesday, at such-n-such a place, you better damn well be there! Now that he's been a civilian for two years, the people he works for drive him crazy because they're so inefficient."

"That would drive me crazy, too," said Danica; "Like Dad would say, 'the boat leaves at six in the morning. Be on it!'; essentially, be there or get left behind. Dad's fired guys for less than that!"

"Uncle Joe pretty much runs that business now, doesn't he?" asked Sandrina.

"Since Grandpa retired, yeah, Dad runs the show," Danica said. "And he's good at it. The business brought in over a million and a half bucks last year!"

"Didn't you do the books for a while?" Sandrina asked.

"Yeah, I helped out in the accounts receivable department," Danica said. "Grandpa still signs the checks, but I helped out with the figures. That's why I'm a business major. I love doing that shit!"

"Graphic design is my thing," Sandrina said. "I worked on all kinds of stuff. I designed the logo for Uncle Ryan's business when I was twelve. I entered more art contests and won, to the point that I was asked not to enter anymore to give others a chance to win. I love illustrating and just creating stuff."

"I've seen some of the stuff you've done, Cousin, and it only makes me wish I had a tenth of your talent!" Danica said.

"We all have different talents," Sandrina said; "My brother, Matt, loves chemistry and biology; Peter likes to write and fix things; Daniel loves cars and everything about cars. I think he wants to be some kind of engineer."

"Kendria just wants to be normal again," Danica said sadly; "She hates that the injuries she got in her accident last year has limited her. But she's still pretty sharp, and thinks that she might want to help others with Traumatic Brain Injuries."

"Whatever happened to the drunk driver who hit her car?" Sandrina asked.

"He's in jail," Danica said; "When he gets out, he has to pay for all of Kendria's medical bills. What started out as a simple trip to the store for groceries ended with my sister in the hospital for months upon end. She now has a service dog to help her with stuff."

The girls later got up and headed back to Natasha's house, the person following them not far behind. Their main target was Sandrina, because of her father's service in the Army and in the Resistance group called the Disturbed Ones.

Wonder how Nik San Marco would feel if I assaulted his daughter for days upon end? the Stalker thought. How would he get back at a whole group of people more powerful than him, Donovan and that Summers bitch.

The Stalker and their employers failed to do their homework on Sandrina San Marco however; and they would find out sooner, rather than later.

===

When Sandrina was alone in her bedroom, she got her carryon bag out from under her bed.

She checked inside and saw that the Walther P38 and ammunition she had bought was still there.

It was a late night trip to a firing range that Natasha recommended that got Sandrina to thinking about keeping up her weapons skills. She had asked about where reputable gun shops were in the city, and was given the address of one in Alexandria. "As long as you're over eighteen, or take a parent with you, you shouldn't have any trouble making a purchase," one of the men at the firing range told her.

Sandrina had gone to the gun shop the following day, just to look around, since she wouldn't be eighteen until December. Her father would not allow her to bring her own weapon to Washington with her.

She had been impressed by the selection of the handguns she saw, and really liked the Walther. It wasn't as impressive as Aunt Julia's Glock, but it was a nice looking weapon all the same.

"You like that P38, young lady?" the man who ran the store asked her.

"It's a nice looking weapon," Sandrina had replied. "My father had something very similar and was pleased with it."

"You looking to purchase something like that?" asked the owner, who stood a good six inches shorter than Sandrina.

"I'm just looking at the moment," Sandrina said. "I'm not yet eighteen so I can't legally purchase one."

"When will you turn eighteen?"

"In December."

"How come you're so interested in a gun?" the owner asked.

"I have a Walther at home, but my father told me I couldn't bring it with me," Sandrina said; "I was taught to use and respect weapons from a very young age. My dad is former military."

"I see," said the owner. "And where is home, young lady?"

"Chicago."

"What brings you to the Washington area?"

"College," Sandrina said. "Graduated early, decided to get college underway."

"Smart girl you are."

Sandrina said nothing, recognizing that the man was either a really bad flirt, or a really bad spy.

"How did you hear about my little shop here?" he asked.

"My aunt goes to the Capitol Area Firing Range to keep up her skills, and people who know her there recommended your place to me," Sandrina said.

"I might know her then," the man said; "I shoot there all the time. There's a lady there who used to work for the CIA training agents with firearms. I think she's retired or something now."

"My aunt isn't that old," Sandrina said; "She's in her mid 40s. People know her because of her height, even if they don't know her name."

"She's either really tall, like you," the owner said; "or really short."

"She's really tall," Sandrina said; "She's about six-foot-two."

"Ahh, I know who you're talking about," the shop owner said. "Think her name is Natalie or something. Most people call her 'Nat'."

"That would be her," Sandrina said.

"Nice gal;" said the owner; "She has two kids she brings in there to shoot. The girl is really good; the boy sometimes doesn't seem interested, but is also a good shot. Cousins, then?"

Sandrina laughed; "Two of sixteen first cousins!"

"Big family then."

"Yeah, pretty big," Sandrina agreed.

The owner then got back to business. "I can hold the Walther for you for sixty days, if you're interested. If you buy it, you'll need a parent or guardian's okay."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sandrina said.

"Let me get a name and a phone number from you then," the man said.

Sandrina gave him the information he asked for. Upon seeing her surname, he asked, "You're not related to Nik San Marco by chance, are you? One of the heroes responsible for ending the Occupation?"

"He's my father. Why?" asked Sandrina; "I was two and a half when the Occupation ended."

"I might be able to do business with you today, Sandy," the man said; "Everyone knows that the kids of the three people responsible for ending the Occupation are highly intelligent, and have had extensive weapons and survival training. This true for you?"

"Yes," Sandrina said; "My dad started training me and my brothers when we turned ten years old. Our cousins get the same training."

"There's a little known law that went into effect by an act of the Interim President, Christine Collins-Ross," the owner said; "It basically allows gun shops like mine to sell to those individuals who are the progeny of the four main individuals who ended the Occupation. It's called the Summers-Vincent act, after the two women who were instrumental in the ouster of the Illegal government."

"Both of them are my aunts," Sandrina said; "But I don't even think they know this law exists. Do you have a copy of it?"

"It's part of the requirements to have it on hand," the owner said; "I'll let you read it, but it basically says that if you've reached the age of sixteen, are away from home for college, and can prove your identity, then I can sell you that Walther and you can take it home after the background check clears."

The owner handed Sandrina a well worn copy of the Act allowing her and her cousins to purchase weapons without parental consent. It even had her great-aunt Christine's signature on it.

"Can I get a copy of this?" asked Sandrina.

"Sure," the owner said. Sandrina had noticed the change in his demeanor as soon as he realized she was Nik's daughter.

By the time Sandrina left the shop, she had a new Walther P38, a copy of a law she didn't even know about, ammo for the gun, and a sense of relief that if someone had been following her and meant her harm, she now had a way to defend herself.

===
II


The younger two of Julia's brood came home from camp. They and Aaliyah had plenty of stories to tell; Rachel got sunburned; she and Aaliyah got picked as "Co-Campers of the week"; and Zach talked constantly about taking archery classes.

"I haven't used a bow since I was about eleven, Zach," Julia said; "I probably have become pretty rusty."

Jasmine came and picked up Aaliyah from Julia's house. On their way out, Julia chuckled as Aaliyah talked her mother's ears off about camp, and "Can we go again next year, Mom? Please??"

Since Zach and Rachel had eaten on the way home, Julia sent them in to take showers and unpack their bags. Good natured "awww, Mom!" and "But I'm not dirty enough to take a shower, Mom," followed.

Okay, Jules, she thought to herself; they're all home now. Now it's my turn to go out of town again.

Julia wasn't looking forward to her trip to Washington with Nik and Jeremiah. She knew that they would be asked to do assassin work for the CIA because they seemingly couldn't catch up with the people who wanted to stage a second Occupation.

Oh, like we can? she asked herself.

Just then, a scared sounding "MOM!!!" erupted from upstairs.

Julia took the steps two at a time. As she reached the top of the stairs, Jaime poked her head out of her bedroom.

"Mom, I just got this email," Jaime said, talking so fast that her mother had to ask her to repeat herself.

"Let me see," Julia said and sat in the chair in front of the computer. As she read the unsolicited email Jaime received, Jaime's voice chat program booted up. Then, a sinister male voice said,

"Good evening, Jameson."

"Who is this?" Julia asked. "I'm Jameson's mother." Julia then clicked on the "RECORD" feature on the voice chat program.

"Ahh, Mrs. Summers," the voice said. "So nice to speak with you."

"Why are you scaring my daughter?" Julia asked angrily.

"Because the world isn't a very nice place, and she should know that, Julia"

"Trust me, all of my children know the world isn't a very nice place sometimes," Julia said.

"I'm sure of that," the voice said; "But especially for your children, Julia. Your past is going to come back and be dangerous for your children. Especially for your oldest daughter."

Julia saw Jaime standing there, looking like she'd seen a ghost. She jotted down a note for Jaime to call Nik and Jeremiah.

When Jaime left the room, Julia said, "What does my oldest daughter have to do with you?"

"Does she know she has three brothers she doesn't know about?"

"I only have one son," Julia said;

"That's not what I meant, Julia," the voice said; "Mirielle has three brothers on her father's side of the family."

"Her father did not have any other children before Mirielle," Julia said; "If you have business with me, I strongly suggest you not try to get my attention through my children."

"You reported our fax to your superior at Homeland Security," the voice said. "We know that your late husband isn't Mirielle's father."

"I'm ending this chat now," Julia said; "Per Federal regulations I have to inform you that this conversation has been recorded; you've also violated the Internet Children's Protection Act of 2022, which makes it a felony to threaten the life of a child via electronic media. It is also a felony to use a child to threaten a Federal agent. If you want to take your chances, go right ahead, but I can pinpoint your location to within five feet."

Without waiting for the man to repond, she closed the chat. She looked for the man's username and was shocked when she found it among Jaime's list of approved friends.

The man's user name was "Ryan Summers".

His location was Ryan's business office.

Someone who worked for Summers Tech Systems was also working for the American Republic Movement. The computer's authorized user was a man named Dave Jepsen.

Julia went back to her office and brought up the list of employees of Summers Tech Systems as of July first. She wanted to play a hunch.

There was no employee by the name of David Jepsen on the July first list.

That's because the David Jepsen she knew had died of cancer in April. His computer was taken offline and reconfigured for a new employee. That employee was hired June fifteenth.

His name was Brady West. A "Brady James West" did appear on the July first employee list.

Hmmm, Julia thought, maybe it's time to head up to Belvidere and check things out.

===
III


Jaime handed the phone to her mother.

"Who?" mouthed Julia.

"Uncle Nik," replied Jaime in kind.

"Nik? Jules..."

"What's going on there, Jules?" asked Nik. "Jaime called me all upset."

"Someone has hacked into a voice chat program that Jaime has on her computer, and really wanted to talk to me," Julia said.

"What did they say?"

Julia looked around. Zach and Rachel were already in bed. Jaime was standing in the kitchen, and Miri was in her room, reading.

"Jaime, go get ready for bed while I talk to Uncle Nik, okay, sweets?" asked Julia to her second born.

"Okay, Mom," Jaime said; "but do I have to actually go to bed?"

"No, Jaime," said Julia; "read or something. Just stay off the computer. I'll need to have it swept for illegal programs."

Jaime nodded and headed up the stairs.

"Okay, Nik," Julia said; "They basically are threatening Miri's life. This is the third such threat in the last week."

"Why does anyone want to harm Miri? She's just a kid," Nik asked.

"Because she's the only child I had when the Occupation ended," Julia said; she hated to lie to her brother about Miri's biological father, but the less he and Jeremiah knew about Jack, the better.

Julia saw Nik drive up, so she told him to come in the house and closed the phone connection.

"It's a distraction technique," Nik said when he got into the house; "Natasha told me that Sandrina thinks someone is shadowing her. She's usually right about those things, so that has me concerned at the moment."

"We're still going to talk to CIA and see what the hell it is they want with us," Julia said. "But right now, I'm debating a trip up to the shop in Belvidere to play a hunch."

"Is that where the threat came from?" Nik asked. "Who would be stupid enough to use Ryan's shop to threaten his daughter?"

"These A.R.M. whackjobs, that's who," Julia said. "We have a new employee there who is using the reconfigured computer of an employee who died a couple months ago. I just want to rule him out as a spy."

"Miri will watch the house and her sisters and brother, right?" Nik asked.

"She's done it before," Julia said; "She knows the rules that I've set forth, and to only use force if there is no other alternative."

"I'd feel better if I went with you," Nik said; "Not that I don't think you can handle it, because God knows you can, but to act as a lookout in case things get ugly."

"That's a good idea," Julia said; "Jere's on deadline, so I'm glad you were able to come over. Let me go talk to Miri, okay?"

Nik nodded and Julia headed up the stairs to Miri's bedroom. When she got there, Miri was reading one of her father's computer programming textbooks.

"Miri, I'm going to go out with Uncle Nik for a bit," Julia told her; "Watch the house and your siblings. You know the rules. No phone, no computer, no mp3 player, no laser movies. You'll need to be alert."

"Okay, Mom," Miri said as she put the textbook away. "I know where the weapons are if I should need one."

"You can take one of the Walthers if you need to," Julia said; "I hope that you don't need to."

"Me, too," agreed Miri as her mother left the room.

Julia made her way back downstairs and said to Nik, "Let's go."

===

It only took twenty-five minutes for Julia to get to Belvidere; Nik was following in his own vehicle.

About a block from the shop, Julia pulled into to an empty parking lot for the closed business there. Nik pulled in next to her and they both got out of the car.

"I'll stay behind you while you go find out what's going on," Nik said as they approached the back door of the shop. The light in what was Ryan's office was on. After Ryan's death, the office was turned into a repair area. The alarm usually set itself thirty minutes after closing time, which on Thursday nights was 7pm. It was 8:20pm.

"Whoever is in there bypassed the alarm system," Julia said. "This is really starting to piss me off."

While Nik stayed behind a neighboring building, Julia walked up to the back door of the shop. The door was open because of the warm temperatures, but a screen door was in place to keep out the bugs.

Because of the humid conditions, Julia could clearly hear a conversation going on inside between two men.

"That Summers chick is pretty smart," said the first man, whom Julia recognized as Brady West, the shop's newest employee. "She told me she'd recorded our conversation and quoted a couple of Federal statutes about threatening minors via computer and using a minor to threaten a Federal agent."

"It's a bluff," said the second man, who was the one Julia spoke with on Jaime's computer. "Just go along with anything she has to say. How did she react to the info about her daughter having three brothers she's never met?"

"Summers told me that she only had one son; essentially she didn't believe me," West said.

Ahh, a voice distortion program was being used, Julia thought. One that could make anyone sound like anyone else.

"I'm certain that Ryan Summers isn't his oldest daughter's father," the second man said; "And that she does have three brothers she doesn't know about. They are all older than Julia Summers."

"And who might this girl's real father be?" West asked.

"You don't have the authorization to know that yet," the second man said; "Just keep trying to get in touch with Summers in other ways."

"And do what, distract her by threatening her kids?"

"Just the oldest one," the second man said; "That will distract her away from our plans until we can take her and the other two out."

Julia had heard enough. She made her way back to where Nik was and called the local authorities. Within minutes, the police were there taking West and the other man into custody. Julia had never seen the other man before.

On their way back to their cars, Julia asked Nik,

"Why all of a sudden are we the targets of some fringe group?"

"Maybe we'll find that out on Monday," Nik said. "I'd like to get some answers, too. And I don't want to be told I'm being recalled to active duty either."

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this one bit," Julia said.

===

"What the fuck is going on in Chicago?" the General asked his group. "What is so fucking special about Julia Summers' oldest child?"

"From what I can gather," the Commander said; "Ryan Summers is the girl's legal father, but not her biological father. The Holdouts want to use this information against Agent Summers to gain access to the man who is the girl's biological father."

"Who is the girl's biological father?" asked the President.

"That's the big unknown, Mr. President," the Commander said; "When Julia Summers concieved her daughter, it was around the time she was arrested and spent three and a half months at the former Great Lakes Prison. We found DNA test results that show that Ryan Summers wasn't the girl's father, but no information on who is."

"Can we use this knowledge to convince Summers to work for us?" the CIA Director asked. "Though it might help if we knew who the possible father was."

"I'll look into that Mr. Director," the Commander said; "Can't promise you anything, though."

"What about the others?" the General asked; "San Marco and Donovan. Can we use a similar tack with them?"

"For San Marco, we know that his fifteen year old son's accident in February was deliberately planned," said the Commander. "And we're tailing the person who is following his daughter. We've even followed her to a gun shop in Alexandria where she purchased a firearm under the Summers-Vincent Act signed by Interim President Collins-Ross in 2020. The enemy tail didn't even know to follow her. Must keep banker's hours or something."

"What about Donovan?" asked the General. "Do we have anything on him? Maybe something he's written for the Times-Tribune?"

"His stories have been fact checked several times before it even hits the Web," the Commander said; "His reputation and integrity are solid. Never been sued for libel, never used a questionable source; he records everything."

"We need their other skills," the General said; "I don't care about what they're doing now, I care about their skills. They are the only ones who can stop these motherfuckers who want to bring the Occupational government back into power."

"What about Natasha Vincent?" the President asked the CIA Director. "Didn't she work for CIA at one time?"

"She did," the CIA Director said. "For about ten years. When she left, she made it clear that her service to the country is done. She'd had children, and they became her main focus. She still keeps up her skills, and has taught her children to use firearms, but she will not come back to work for us. We tried using her past against her, and she called our bluff. She knew that we had all that information in her personnel files. It's not her that the Holdouts want. It's 'The Triad' of Summers, Donovan and San Marco."

"All right," the General said; "Your meeting with them is on Monday, correct Director?"

"Yes, General," the Director said; "At 2pm."

"Fine," said the General; "Try not to screw this up. The three of them are our aces in the hole. If we mess this up, all out Civil War may result. And the outcome may not be what we want."

===