CHAPTER SEVEN

August, 2044



Jessikah Massengill thought she was going to be ill.

She read the report that had come into Nik's office about an attack on teenagers in Maine. Two were still missing, one was in the hospital with life threatening injuries after being sexually assaulted.

That brought back memories in Jessikah that she did not wish to remember. But did anyway.

"Hello, Jessikah," the head tennis coach said to her during her sophomore year of high school; "Mind if I join you?"

She had been in the showers in the ladies locker room, and the male coach came in to "join" her. This had been the second time this had happened.

He pushed her up against the wall of the shower stall and raped her until she bled.

"Remember, Miss Peters, you say anything, and you will not play in next week's match for the state championship," the coach taunted. He then left her there.

It had taken all her strength to get out of the showers, dry off, get dressed, and go home. She decided that she didn't care if she played in the championship match or not. What he was doing to her was against everything she'd been taught by her parents.

If he was doing this shit to her, how many other girls had he done it to, and how many more would he do it to before he was stopped?

Jessikah decided that no other tennis player at Carson High would suffer from this man's abuse of power.

She told her parents. The doctors in the emergency room at the hospital. The police. The school administration.

Soon he would go to trial, where Jessikah would learn that he had assaulted girls for fifteen years. He went to prison with a sentence so lengthy that it guaranteed he'd  never see daylight again. Jessikah and her twin, Mary Grace, transferred to another high school.

Other than her parents and sister, no one else knew of this. Not even her beloved Conner knew until he pressed the issue. She remembered feeling relief after telling him. She feared that he would see her as damaged.

Jessikah shook her head to clear it. Thinking about Conner made her sad. When he died overseas on a mission with his Marine unit, it left a huge void in Jessikah's world.  At least she had their children, and her memories so she could tell Gracie and Conner David what kind of man their father was.

She got back to the task at hand. She set the article aside to fax to Nik later. It was something that he and Senator Donovan needed to see, since it took place in Maine where the Senator's brother lived.

Jessikah wished she could talk to the poor little gal who was the victim of this terrible crime. That with counselling and time, it does get better. She was living proof.

She'd be shocked when she found out that the "poor little gal" she assumed was the victim turned out to be a young man whose name she knew.

Then she really would be ill.

===


Julia hated to take time off from her job at the hospital, but it was mid August when she had to testify in a trial involving her son, Zachary, and her son in law, Jared Walters.

Zach and Jared had caught people on the Summers' property two months earlier trying to steal the small herd of cattle Julia owned, and both young men had taken up weapons and killed three men who had been trespassing. The trespassers, and their accomplices who got away, had seriously injured the family's prize bull, Sarge, and a younger bull called Master Guns. While "Gunny" survived his wounds, Sarge did not. Zach and Jared were later arrested on charges of "intent to kill"; the men's lawyers insisted that Zach Summers and Jared Walters were only defending the family's property and livestock from those intent to take what was not theirs. The lawyer also noted that the Summers' property had signage around the perimeter stating that "these premises will be vigorously defended against intruders intent on committing a crime", and signage that stated that "The bulls can make it to the fenceline in 8 seconds".

"I can attest to the signage," Julia stated in her testimony. "When we first moved to this property after the Occupation had ended several years before, my late husband Ryan Summers had put up the signs even before the animals were ever brought there. It was to discourage the very thing that occurred that led to my son and son in law to shoot the men trespassing on my property. I have every right under the current laws to protect my property and livelihood. Zach and Jared did just that."

The people who brought the charges of murder against Zach and Jared were the two widows of two of the men, and the mother of the third.  They testified how their lives had changed because of what happened to them. 

"Then maybe they shouldn't have been trying to steal what wasn't theirs!" Zach's fiancee Lisette cried out in court.

"No, Lisette," Julia told her quietly but firmly, "that could get Zach in more trouble."

That did not please the proscecutor very much. "Miss Lincoln, I trust there will be no more outbursts," he said to Lisette. "Next time, it's contempt."

"Jerk," Julia said under her breath.

"My boy didn't steal nothin'," the mother, who was currently on the stand, said hotly.

"Ms. Rodriguez," the proscecuting attorney said, "Same goes for you. No more outbursts."

In the end, Zach and Jared were acquitted and were free to go. Zach and Lisette went home. Jared accompanied Julia back to the ranch, then went to his house on the property where Jaime and Serenity waited for him.

Years later, Ms. Rodriguez would sell Mrs. Walters out to the one man Jaime should have been afraid of.

How could one be afraid of a threat they're not aware of?

===

Nico's first few days in Hawaii were peaceful and relaxing. She explored the island, sat by the pool at the hotel; went to the beach occasionally. Young men constantly hit on her, which Nico found hilarious. They're young enough to be my sons! she thought.

One afternoon, one of them went too far when he slid his hand down the back of Nico's bikini bottoms. She asked him to remove his hand or she'd scream. He didn't, she did.

He was 19 years old.

"But..." he said when he was removed from the hotel pool area.

"But nothing," Nico said; "Be lucky they're only removing you, and I'm not pressing charges. You never know when you're messing with a police officer."

"You're a cop?" one of the officers taking Nico's statement asked.

"I was," said Nico; "I'm retired now."

"Where?"

"Chicago."

"You're not old enough to be retired! You can't be more that forty!" he said.

"Thanks," Nico said; "I am more than forty though. Most police departments have policies about the health of their members. I qualified for retirement under one of those policies."

"I know what you mean," the officer said. "We have that here, too. In paradise, no less!"

"Being an officer is stressful no matter where you are," Nico said.

"Some guys have all the luck though," the officer said; "Take that older guy over there; he's the owner of the hotel. He's in his sixties, and he doesn't look a day over fifty."

Nico looked, and saw a man with greying, dark hair with his back to her. He had a physique most men would die for.

Kinda like Eddie, she thought.

Then she wondered briefly if this is where he went when he left her in a seedy Chicago motel room nearly a decade before.

Nico thought better of it. But someone was putting money into her secret account every year on her birthday...

She finished up her business with the police officer and went back inside to go to her room and shower. Then she might go downstairs to dinner. Maybe the little boys would leave her alone for once.

===

Almost from the moment she said, "Chicago", Marshall's eyes went to the sound of the very familiar voice.

Nicoletta! he thought in shock; Have you come looking for me?

He'd been watching her for the last two days, hoping against hope that she was his green-eyed angel.

But he remembered that he broke his promise to her, and therefore, in his mind, she was off limits. His arms still ached to hold her and ask for forgiveness. Would she forgive me? he asked himself; Do I have a right to even ask?

Then the phone call came. Someone asking for him by name.

"Mr. Marshall, I'm Stefanie Travetti," the older, but still recognisable voice said; "I'm calling to ask you questions about Nicoletta Nichols."

"Such as...?" he had asked.

"That name is familiar to you, isn't it?"

"Yes," Marshall had replied; "I've met her."

"Mr. Marshall, let's not beat around the bush here," Stefanie said; "You had a brief affair with her nearly a decade ago around the time her husband passed away."

"Well,  yes," Marshall said; "She was an undercover cop then, and I was wanted by the FBI."

"I know all about your involvement in the American Republic Movement, Mr. Marshall," said Stefanie; "Your group was trying to assassinate The Triad. One of The Triad recently became my great grandson's mother in law."

"Julia Summers," Marshall said; "I read the engagement announcement in the online Times-Tribune."

"I see," Stefanie said.

"What's your connection to Julia Summers, other than being the groom's great grandmother?" asked Marshall.

"Nico Nichols is my granddaughter, and after you disappeared from her life, she mourned your loss just as hard as she mourned her husband's. She spent that whole year on bereavement leave," said Stefanie.

"She's your granddaughter?" asked Marshall; "I knew Kit Crowley was her mother. Are you Kit's mother?"

"Yes, Kit was my only daughter," Stefanie said sadly; "I moved to Chicago to be closer to Nicoletta, as she was the oldest of Kit's children."

Marshall thought it all made sense now; Nicoletta had told him the truth about her family while she was undercover. Every lie always had elements of the truth.

"Why have you called me, then, Ms. Travetti?" he asked; "Yes, I know Nicoletta Nichols. I haven't seen her in nearly ten years."

"Nicoletta is planning a vacation in Hawaii in the next few weeks, and I'm paying for her airfare and hotel," Stefanie said; "I'm going to put her in your hotel. Mr. Marshall, you need to give her closure to whatever it was you had together, because she needs it desperately. She has not dated or gone out with any other men in the decade since her husband passed. I think maybe she thinks you'll return to her someday. She'd never admit that to anyone, not even me."

And I'll never admit that I fell in love with her, that I still love her, Marshall thought. Not even to you, Ms. Travetti.

Now, Nicoletta was in his hotel. He'd seen her with his own eyes. Still as beautiful as ever.

Please forgive an old fool, he said to himself.

Oh, God! Edward!

===

CHAPTER SIX

August, 2044


There were two groups that made up the junior art exhibit at the Bangor fairgrounds; ages 14 to 16, and ages 17-18. Wyatt was in the former group, and he had been named the winner. Joe and Tracy were pleased with their son's showing, and the head judge, Donal Simpson, walked over to congratulate them and Wyatt.

"Your boy has an enormous talent," Simpson said; "I expect him to go far in his artistic pursuits."

"We are proud of Wyatt," Joe said, feeling the same thing that Tracy had felt the day before; that he knew the judge from somewhere else. "I wish I had just a little of his talent. My wife and I encouraged it from an early age, maybe five or six years old."

"I've only seen talent like that in much older artists," said Simpson; "Wyatt truly has a gift. He should definitely look into scholarships that the Maine School of Art awards incoming freshmen. But, he's only, what 14? He's got plenty of time."

Simpson then shook Wyatt's hand and congratulated him again on his First Place prize. He then walked away. Wyatt was abuzz with excitement.

"Wow, Mom and Dad," he said excitedly; "The Maine School of Art! I'd love to be able to go there to study!"

"Keep up the good work, and we'll see about that, Wyatt," Joe said. "Mom and I are proud of you! We're going to call Winter and your sisters as soon as we get home."

Wyatt excused himself to go to the men's room. On the way, Randy stopped him and offered his congratulations. Then Wyatt went on his way.

He took care of his business and went to the sink to wash his hands. He didn't see the older man until he placed a cloth over Wyatt's nose and mouth. Wyatt strugged against the older and stronger man, but by then, it was too late.

The man called to an accomplice to help carry the now unconscious Wyatt out of the restroom and exit the exhibit hall by a fire door. Wyatt was placed in a van, his arms and legs secured with rope. The doors were shut behind him. The older man spoke into a secure phone, saying,

"I have the Donovan boy. He's going to get what's coming to him whether he likes it or not. I've waited eleven years for this kid, and I won't be denied!"


===


Winter froze in his tracks.

His Sixth Sense was alerting him to danger, but Winter didn't know why.

"Nik?"

"Yeah, Winter?" Nikky replied.

"You feel something, I don't know, weird?" asked Winter.

"Kinda, but what are you feeling?"

"That one of my siblings is in trouble."

Nikky's eyebrows shot up in shock. His Sixth Sense was telling him something was wrong, but it was just with Winter, not Winter's sisters or brother.

"Winter, let's look at this rationally," Nikky said; "Danica is still in Chicago with Sandy; Kendree is in New Hampshire; and Wyatt's with your folks. What do you think might be the trouble one of them is in?"

"I don't know, Nik, that's just it," Winter said; "I can feel it, but I can't read the signs."

"Because, dude, I am getting signs that YOU are in trouble," Nikky said.

"Me?" asked Winter.

"Yes, and there's someone staking out the house," Nikky said; "if we go back there, then all hell's going to break loose."

"Is Carissa in danger?" Winter asked.

Nikky was on the phone to his fiancee, Carissa Colasanto, to call the police about a possible stalker near their home.

"She's calling the police, and they'll come right away, just because I am who I am," Nikky said.

"The stepson of the former Director of the CIA, no doubt," Winter said.

"Yes, that," Nikky said; "but the twin brother of a CIA operative. All of a sudden, Vixen has a lot of pull in this town. Maybe on her own merits, and maybe on Mom's or Darren's."

Just then, Nikky's phone rang. It was Carissa.

"Baby," she said, "they caught someone snooping around the neighborhood. He's one of those whack jobs with that Second Occupation group. Says he was looking for an Undesirable that might be in our neighborhood. Then he gave Winter's name."

"Great," Nikky said; "did this jerk say anything else?"

"That if his uncle won the election in November, then he'd not live long enough to take the Oath of Office," Carissa said. "Then, he said that Wyatt was going to pay for his family's support of an Undesirable Presidential candidate!"

"Wyatt? He's fuckin' 14 years old!" Nikky said; "What could he have done to raise their ire?"

"Being Wyatt," Winter said angrily. Winter knew that he had to go back to Maine. If those Second Occupation asswipes hurt Wyatt, he thought, they will pay...with their lives if need be.

Nikky ended his call, then said to Winter, "Don't get any ideas about trying to off whoever it is who targetted Wyatt, Winter. You and I are going to Maine in the morning. Sandy and your sister should be back by then. I'll call Vixen and let her know what's going on. She might be able to find out something we don't know about the situation."

"Nik, you don't have to do that," Winter said. "I'd rather take care of it alone."

"Like hell you will!" Nikky said; "You're too close to it and you'll let your emotions rule. We have to be methodical and cunning. If they know you're coming, you might not have a brother after it's over."

Nik has a point, Winter thought.

"Okay, Nik, we'll do it your way, but if they hurt Wyatt, I'll kill them all."

===

Wyatt found himself in an unfamiliar place, laying on the floor. He realized he was bound hand and foot and he knew that meant he was in some serious trouble.

Where am I? he asked himself. I was in the men's room, then that guy put something over my face, then I wake up here. But where is "here"?

"Hello, Wyatt," a vaguely familiar voice said; "I trust you slept well."

"Where am I?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" the voice said; "You're going to die here. Your parents will never see you alive again."

"What do you want?"

"Why, Wyatt, don't you know?" the voice said, the face attached to it coming into view. Wyatt had no idea who this man was. "I ran the children's home you and your brother lived in before the Donovans adopted you. You probably don't remember, do you? You were only three when you left. I've waited eleven years to educate you properly. I know a fag when I see one."

Wyatt's eyes grew wide. He'd never told anyone how he felt about some of the guys he knew at school. How did this guy know?

"How do I know you're a fag, Wyatt?" the man asked him; "You're an artist. You're sensitive. And I've been watching you for a long time. You're going to be my bitch whether you like it or not. Then I'll have to kill you."

"I'm not gay," Wyatt said. He was terrified.

"The hell you're not!" the man cried as he started to untie the bindings that held Wyatt immobile. "I saw how you looked at some of the guys at the art show. You definitely swing that way."

Wyatt knew what was about to happen to him. Death would be a welcome option.

===

"Tracy, has Wyatt come back from the restroom?" Joe asked his wife. "He's been gone far too long."

"I was just thinking that," Tracy said, remembering that judge who made her feel uncomfortable. What was his name? she asked herself.

"I'm going to go check," Joe said; "something's not right with this."

Wyatt's in trouble,  he thought. He'd never be gone this long otherwise.

As he entered the men's room, Joe's heart sank. There had been a struggle of some sort.

Something on the floor caught Joe's attention. He looked down and saw that it was a Saint Christopher medal. Joe and Tracy had given each of the boys one when they were confirmed, and this one looked like Wyatt's.

He picked it up off the floor and turned it over.

On the back was inscribed: WAD 03-11-2038.

Wyatt Andrew Donovan. March 11, 2038 was the date he was confirmed.

"Oh dear God," Joe said aloud.

He looked further and saw one of Wyatt's sneakers in a corner of a stall. He left it there because he realized that the restroom was a crime scene.

His son had been kidnapped. What am I going to tell Tracy? he asked himself in a panic.

He left the restroom and looked to his left.

Wyatt's other sneaker was laying by a door.

Opening the door, Joe saw that it led outside. In a now empty parking space, he saw something that he didn't want to see.

His son's jeans.

Joe felt sick. Whoever took his boy was going to do something physical to him.

God, please, he prayed as he went back inside the exhibition all, whatever they do, don't let them rape my son.

===

Simpson! Tracy thought, remembering the judge's name; Donal Simpson.

She turned to see Joe heading toward her with two police officers. And she thought the worst: something bad had happened to Wyatt.

"Tracy," Joe said, "Wyatt is missing!"

"What?!"

"Mrs. Donovan," one of the officers said, "we have reason to believe your son has been kidnapped. Tell us everything you remember about your stay in Bangor."

Tracy told the officers about the judge who made her feel uneasy, and Joe said that he thought the same thing about the man. She gave them the name that had been on his badge.

"Ma'am, we found a Donal Simpson dead in his home the day before yesterday, so whomever it was you saw with that name, he was an imposter," the second officer said.

"There are two other youngsters who are missing as well," the first officer replied. "A boy named Randy, and a girl named Linda. Their parents reported them missing a short time ago. Linda is only 12, and we think at this point that she's being held against her will, as well as your son and Linda's brother Randy."

"Why my son?" Tracy asked.

"Every parent asks themselves, and us, that same question," the first officer said. "At this point, we don't know. We'll need to talk further at the station."

"Can we gather up Wyatt's paintings and gear first?" asked Joe, wondering if he looked as pale as he felt.

"Yes, as we may not be coming back here," the officer said; "You have fifteen minutes to take your son's exhibit down."

Joe took down the woodburned sign that Frank had made for Wyatt for this same art show last year, before they learned he was too young to enter. The sign only said "WYATT DONOVAN". Joe looked at the sign and hoped and prayed that it wouldn't become his son's gravemarker.

That made him angry. Wyatt had done nothing to provoke anyone.

Joe wanted, for the first time since he was 17 years old, to kill someone. If anyone hurts my boy, they better pray the cops get to them first, because I will not be responsible for what I will do to them if I catch them.

His older son and a nephew would beat them to it.

===

It was not just the one man, Wyatt discovered. It was four of them. Two of them weren't much older than Winter.

Wyatt prayed to die. Please, God, take me now!

He'd never been in so much pain, never felt so sick. The men called him every dirty name they could think of as they assaulted him. The oldest of them, the man who had drugged him and brought him to this place, was the worst. He kept asking Wyatt if he liked what was being done to him. Not that he could answer, because they stuffed his mouth with his own underwear.

One of the younger men kicked Wyatt in the ribs so hard that he heard them crack. Before the guy could do any more damage, the older man said they were leaving; that Wyatt would die there, then they'd dispose of his remains.

Wyatt willed himself to stay alive long enough to tell his parents goodbye. He removed his shorts from his mouth and attempted to put them on. It was painful, but he managed. He also discovered that he was covered in blood.

I have to get out of here! he thought. I am not going to die here!

He stood, painfully, because at least three ribs were broken. He made his way to the door and opened it.

Outside, it was dark. He realized that he was still at the fairgrounds, just in a different exhibition hall. He needed to get back to his parents car. He knew he needed a doctor.

He walked in a great deal of pain. He was feeling lightheaded, and all he could think of was getting back to his mom and dad. I haven't even met Kendra yet, he thought. I want to go home and die.

Wyatt saw people up ahead, and all he could do is call out, "Help me! Someone, please..."

A woman saw him and he watched as she grew pale. "My God, what happened?!"

Knowing he was going to pass out, he said to her, "My name is Wyatt Donovan, please find my parents. My dad's name is Joseph, and my mom's is Tracy Kay. I'm going to die."

He felt someone catch him as he fell, but by that time, he didn't care. He just hoped that Grandpa Frank would be there to meet him, wherever he was.

===

Joe and Tracy had been at the police station for what seemed to them like an eternity. Each was lost in their own thoughts. Tracy wondered if anyone was even looking for Wyatt.

Joe was plotting revenge. He and Tracy had just learned that the man who Tracy met named Donal Simpson was actually a man named Carl Hardwicke. Hardwicke was a known pedaphile. He was dismissed from the children's home that they adopted Wyatt and Winter from shortly after their adoption became final because he abused the children in his care. Joe was determined to find this Hardwicke and give him a taste of Joe's brand of justice.

Tracy prayed that the police would find Wyatt alive. She could not imagine burying her father and her son within six months. She held on to the St. Christopher medal that Joe had found in the men's room where Wyatt's shoe was found. Please, Lord, just bring my son back to me, she prayed.

"Joey..." she said to her husband, "I'm scared."

Joe pulled Tracy as close to him as the uncomfortable police station chairs would allow and said, "I am, too."

They dozed off for about ten minutes before an officer came to them to tell them that Wyatt had been found, and was in a local hospital undergoing surgery.

"Surgery?" Tracy asked.

"Mrs. Donovan, Wyatt has four broken ribs and major damage to his anus," the officer said; "He lost a lot of blood. The docs at the hospital were barely able to stop the bleeding."

"That means that whoever took my son raped him," Joe said, angry. "They meant to kill him."

"Mr. Donovan, we don't know for sure that..."

"God dammit," Joe said; "You said 'major damage to his anus'. To me that means someone sexually assaulted and/or sodomized my 14 year old son long enough to cause damage that almost proved fatal. Are you even looking for the people responsible for this? Or do mixed race teenage boys get sodomized here regularly and you just don't give a fuck? Or, something more sinister than that, like the fact that my brother is running for President of the United States and someone wants him to drop out of the race by killing an old man and raping a teenage boy? You want to answer that for me, Officer?"

The officer looked blankly at Joe. Donovan's stare demanded answers that the officer didn't have. "We are looking for the people responsible, Mr. Donovan!" he stammered.

"Well, while you're looking for them, why doesn't someone take me and my wife to the hospital to see our son!" Joe said.

===

A 16 year old girl who was about seven months pregnant got off the bus at the station in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Relatives of her biological father, whom she never knew, were waiting for her.

"Gwendolyn," her aunt said, "welcome to Halifax. I've waited your whole life to meet you. I'm so sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

"Please," the girl said, "call me Wendy. Only my mother calls me Gwendolyn."

"Why is that?" her uncle asked; "Wendy is a fine name."

"Because her husband told her to," Wendy said; "His word is law. He's an abusive, sick jerk. Because of him, I can never go home and rescue my baby sister from his sick habits."

The uncle became angry. Said he, "Is he the reason you're pregnant? Did he rape you?"

Wendy looked at the floor in shame. "He didn't rape me, but he allowed another man to because he gave my stepfather money to do so."

Wendy's aunt looked like she was going to be ill.

"We'll take care of you and your baby," the aunt said; "We'll adopt him or her if you'd like."

"It's a little girl, and yes, if you want to adopt her, I will allow it."

"Let's go home and get you settled, then," the aunt said; "I'm your father's sister, and I'll answer any questions about him that you have."

They got into the car and drove off. Wendy would not return to Kittery, Maine for nearly four years. When she did return, it would to be to find the boy she had grown fond of.

===

CHAPTER FIVE

Mid July, 2044

Jere's campaign for President was going well. He had just won his party's nomination for the White House, and had chosen a running mate; Angus Hammer was a good twenty years older than Jere, and had the experience that Jere felt he lacked. He knew that his main competition for the nomination, Richard Pike, was disappointed in losing out to Jere, but vowed to support him by going out and talking him up to the voters.

The Candidate, however, wanted five minutes alone where he was thinking about anything other than running for president. I missed Rachel's wedding, he thought. But he also wanted his wife to be there with him, and not in Chicago working at the hospital.

Since he wasn't likely to see Jasmine for at least a couple of weeks, he sat back in the campaign bus and allowed himself to daydream about the next time he'll see the most beautiful girl in the world.

===

The wedding of Rachel Regina Summers and Nicolas David Nichols was a nice affair, coordinated by the cousins of the bride. Rachel didn't even have to think about anything except getting to the church on time.

Their mothers both cried, Rachel's cousin and maid of honor, Aaliyah Donovan, caught the bouquet; and Aaliyah's boyfriend, Robby Crandall, caught the garter.

All too soon, the newlyweds were on their way to O'Hare to fly to Miami to go on their honeymoon cruise to the Bahamas.

"Now that we've got the kids married off," Julia said to Cole's mother, Nico, "What are we going to do with ourselves now that there are no kids at home anymore?"

"I don't know about you, Julia," Nico said, "but I'm going get out of here for a while."

"I wish I could do that," Julia said; "but I work nearly 90 hours a week. I'm surprised I had enough time to even come to my daughters wedding!"

"That's why I'm retired now," Nico said; "The hours just about killed me. Fortunately, the police department has policies in place for that. I've been writing my grandmother's memoirs, and I had no idea she had lived such an interesting and intriguing life."

"Stefanie didn't want to write them herself?" asked Julia.

"She would have, but she's writing novels now," Nico said; "You've no doubt seen books by Charlotte Rush."

"I have, actually," Julia said; "Stefanie is Charlotte Rush? Wasn't that her name during the Occupation?"

"It was, yes," Nico replied; "But not everyone knows or remembers that, so that's why Nonna thought it was such a great pen name."

"One of my patients was reading one of her books," Julia said; "She told me she's read all of them and can't wait til the next one comes out."

Nico laughed. "That doesn't surprise me! I don't know where Nonna comes up with half the stuff she writes about!"

They talked for a while, then Julia asked where Nico was going to go to "get out of here for a while".

"I think I'll go to Hawaii," Nico said; "I've always wanted to go there, just to relax. Now that the wedding is over, I can just relax."

"I hope that you get to relax, Nico," Julia said. "Have a mai tai for me!"

"Will do!" Nico said, laughing as she and Julia parted.

When Nicoletta Nichols got to Hawaii, relaxing won't be the only thing on her agenda.

She would come face to face with her past.

===

"Wow, Cole, look at this room!" the newly married Rachel Summers Nichols said; "Your great grandma really outdid herself!"

"I kinda got a feeling she was going to do this when she asked me where I'd like to take you on a honeymoon," Cole said; "I jokingly said, 'a cruise to the Caribbean', and ta-da, here we are on a cruise to the Caribbean!"

"Too bad I look about 12," Rachel said as she unpacked her things to put them away for the three week cruise; "It'll look like you're taking your kid sister on a trip."

"Nonsense," Cole said as he wrapped his arms around his new bride; "So you're short. You look like a million bucks!"

"Watch, I'll get carded everytime we go into the casino, or to one of the shows onboard," Rachel said.

"I think everyone knows who your family is," Cole said; "I don't think they're going to sweat it much. I'd take my ID with me if I were you. Maybe I should take mine as well. We are only 18 you know."

"Fortunately, most things onboard are 18 and up," Rachel said. "I'm not really interested in the bar anyway. My family aren't big drinkers."

"Nor is mine, Rach, you know that," Cole said. "Now, c'mon Mrs. Nichols, lets get this honeymoon jazz off the ground."

"I thought you'd never ask," Rachel said as Cole began to undress her.

===

With another successful wedding under their belts, Sandy Springer and Danica Donovan-Costner breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Rachel made such a cute bride," Danica said.

"If she were here, and not on her way to Miami," Sandy said, "she'd so kill you over that remark. Still it was hard finding a dress for someone who isn't ever going to be five feet tall."

"At least we found that bridal shop in Milwaukee that specialized in wedding gowns for those between four-ten and five-three. I think Rachel was pleased," Danica said.

"It was a nice dress," Sandy agreed; "Rachel almost looked like an adult, and not like a preteen."

"Aunt Julia was probably the same way, if you think about it," Danica said.

"I don't think Aunt Julia had a traditional wedding," Sandy said; "I think Dad said that she and Uncle Ryan eloped, then didn't tell anyone for several months."

"Now THAT sounds like something Aunt Julia would do," Danica said, laughing. "She was something like 17 at the time."

"True," Sandy said, "but we both know Aunt Julia was never anything like 17 year olds now! She did graduate from high school at 15, like all her kids did."

"Then Rachel had to wait for Cole to finish school," Danica said; "I know that was hard for her."

"It was cute that Aaliyah caught the bouquet, then her boyfriend caught the garter," Sandy said; "Wonder how serious that relationship is, with Liyah's dad running for President and all."

"Looked pretty damn serious to me," Danica said; "Aunt Jas told me that those two seem made for each other."

"Maybe we should make plans to take care of them as well," Sandy said; "We should suggest it to Aunt Jas at some point."

"Not today," Danica said; "We need to get back to DC and make sure that Nikky and Winter haven't taken on more than they can handle."

"I wouldn't mind keeping Winter on permanently, he's been such a big help and rarely complains," Sandy said; "Wonder if we could talk him into it?"

"I think Winter likes working with Dad too much to give that up completely," Danica said. "Maybe as a summer position until he decides where he wants to go to school."

"How's Wyatt doing?" Sandy asked; "Winter said something about him showing some paintings later this month."

"In Bangor on the 31st," Danica said; "Wyatt is really talented as an artist. I'd love to see him study that in school. But he's only 14, he's got a little time."

===

Late July,  2044

Wyatt set up his paintings and sketches in the booth reserved for him at the Bangor Arts Festival. It was a festival within a festival for artists between 14 and 18 years old. Both of his parents were there to help. Tracy couldn't help but admire her son's talent. I wish I were half that talented, she often thought to herself.

Someone in the crowd of parents, artists, judges and the public was making Tracy feel uneasy. She'd caught a glimpse of someone who looked familiar, but she couldn't place where she had seen them before. That person spend a lot of time looking at Wyatt's work. His badge said he was one of the judges. Donal Simpson was his name. The name wasn't known to Tracy, but he looked very familiar.

"That guy's a judge," Wyatt said to his mother. "He must be interested in my stuff. This is the fifth time he's been here since I've set things up."

"We'll soon find out, won't we?" Tracy said.

"Where's Dad?" asked Wyatt.

"He went to put the stuff you don't need back in the car," Tracy said; "He'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." And Wyatt went back to scanning the crowd. He liked watching people in the way they interacted with each other. Wyatt wondered if there was something to his people watching that inspired his art.

He then saw the 15 year old boy who chatted him up when he first arrived in the exhibition hall. His name was Randy. He had a sister named Linda. The sister was cute;but Wyatt saw more in Randy than he thought he should.

And for the millionth time since he first became aware of it, Wyatt wondered if he was gay.

Wyatt knew he liked girls. There was a girl at school he really liked. But there were certain guys that Wyatt liked in the same way. Wyatt always brushed it off. But the feeling still nagged at him.

It was the one thing he couldn't tell his parents about, although he was sure they'd understand. He couldn't even tell Winter, though he'd also understand.

Wyatt didn't have any memories of the children's home that he and Winter were in before their parents adopted them. Perhaps that was a good thing.

But Wyatt was going to come face to face with a past he didn't remember, and his doubts about his choices would haunt him for months afterwards.

===

Nico landed in Hawaii about a week after the wedding of her son to Rachel Summers. She had a deadline to meet for her grandmother's memoirs, and once that was done, Nico was free to take as long a vacation as she wanted. She'd work on the memoirs some, since Stefanie had given her more documents to go through and hand written notes as to how she wanted her story told.

Nico had a briefcase full of things from her nonna's life, and she guarded those papers with the tenacity of a pitbull.

But even the life story of Stefanie Travetti took a back seat to the beauty that was Hawaii. And that just right after getting off the plane. She hadn't even been to her hotel yet.

Once she arrived at the hotel, Nico was floored. Nonna had paid for her trip, so Nico shouldn't have been surprised that Stefanie had booked her into the best hotel on the Big Island, but she was.

She walked up to the check in desk, gave her name, and almost immediately, bellmen came from out of nowhere to assist her getting to her room.

Her room was on the top floor under the penthouse. Only the owner of the hotel had access to that floor.

As she got settled, she thought about someone she hadn't seen in nearly a decade. It was his generosity that paid for the wedding of her daughter, Kit, and set up college funds for all three of her children. Each year on her birthday, the funds were replenished. Nico had nearly ten million dollars in a secret account that no one knew about. Not her children, her grandmother, nor any banker. It was all on a debit card that sat in Nico's safe deposit box in Chicago. For her trip to Hawaii, she transferred two million dollars of those funds to her personal debit card. Whatever didn't get used would be transferred back to the original account.

She set her briefcase on the nearby desk and looked out at the incredible view of the Pacific and thought of the man who made the last decade of her life easier because of his generosity, and the last time she saw him.

Nico felt the tears fall as she whispered, "Dammit, Eddie..."

And she wondered briefly if he was even still alive.

===

Edward Marshall went through the books of the hotel, like he did every month since he became the majority owner nearly a decade before.

He had made back his investment and thensome, and was very pleased that the hotel was doing well.

There was that unpleasant business of the accountant who was cooking the books to take care of her gambling debts from a few years before, but Marshall took care of that and started doing the books himself. If his grandfather taught him anything, it was to take responsibility for your own house. And Marshall did that.

Occasionally, when everything on his agenda was taken care of, he'd allow himself his one fantasy.

His green eyed angel.

Marshall never forgot Nicoletta Nichols and the kindnesses she showed him. He knew that she'd never be his. He'd broken a promise to her, and his self inflicted punishment was to live without her.

There were plenty of other beauties who wanted to be the woman at his side, but none of them measured up to the one he had to let get away. He decided that he'd rather be alone than to have anyone less than the former vice cop from Chicago.

A few weeks before, after not checking the online papers for stories about her for years, he found something of interest.

SUMMERS-NICHOLS
Julia R. Summers, M.D. announce the engagement of her daughter, Rachel Regina Summers, to Mr. Nicolas David Nichols. Mr. Nichols is the son of Nicoletta C. Nichols and the late Steven Nichols of Chicago. The couple will wed July nineteenth, at the home of the bride's family, J Bar R Ranch, in Belvidere, Illinois.

Marshall smiled. July 19th was about a week ago, he thought. I wonder where the newlyweds will honeymoon? 

He brought up the current list of guests and saw that a Nichols party was booked in a room the floor below the Penthouse. I wonder if that's them, thought Marshall. He then decided that it wasn't because Nichols was a common surname. It could be anyone, he reasoned.

He didn't realize that the Nichols in his hotel were not the newlyweds, but someone that Marshall would know on sight. Whether she'd recognize him, he had no idea.

The voice in his head came unbidden:

"Oh, God...Edward!"

===

CHAPTER FOUR

June, 2044

Nearly six months after the death of his grandfather, Winter Donovan was still consumed with a desire for revenge. This had his parents worried. Joe was convinced that Winter was going to do something based on emotion and not on his training.

They had talked to him on several occasions about this, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. Winter was stubborn and headstrong, and his parents recognized that when he was still a little boy.

When an opportunity to visit his sister Danica in Washington, DC came up, Joe suggested that Winter take advantage of the invitation. "You'll get to know your new niece, and Briana will probably drag you to her soccer games," Joe said.

"But Wyatt wanted me to help him with some of his art projects, Dad," Winter protested.

"Wyatt does most of his painting alone in his room, Winter. He says he thinks better when he's left alone," said Joe.

"I think he meant when he showed them in that show in July," Winter said; "Since I can drive and can transport his stuff to Bangor for him."

"Oh, I can do that, Winter,"  Joe said; "You go to Washington and have a good time. Maybe Danica will put you to work in the shop since Vixen left for spook training last week. Nikky probably wants another guy around to shoot the bull with anyway."

Winter had to admit that was a good idea, and he hadn't seen Nikky since Christmas. It might even be fun.

===

Jaime felt something she hadn't felt since she and Jared married three years before.

That she was being watched. Again.

Oh come on, she thought to herself as she put her daughter Serenity down for a nap, I thought this was over and done with.

She pulled the light blanket up over her 13 month old daughter and turned on her night light.

Serenity was a surprise pregnancy. Jaime had been on birth control because she and Jared were in grad school and didn't plan on having babies right away. Then she found out that she was expecting and decided that this was the way to go. Jaime was able to keep up with her Vet School studies, and the following year, would take the state veterinary exam.

Veterinary school was paid for, thanks to her mother's companion Jack Coltrane. When he died when Jaime was 13, he provided the funds for her schooling in his will. There were even enough funds so that Jaime wouldn't have to work during her schooling if she didn't want to. She did, and did so until Serenity arrived, but for the last year, she was a full time mom and a full time student.

Jaime was always amazed when she looked at her daughter. Serenity inherited the Summers red hair, and looked a lot like the Terranova side of her grandmother's family. She had Jared's hazel eyes and almost no freckles. Her parents fell instantly in love with their little ginger princess.

Serenity was trying to talk, and said some real words from time to time.  Her first real words were "Mama", Dada" and "Nonna". Jaime was happy with that.

But this being watched thing? Jaime thought that was uncalled for, especially since she had no idea who would be watching her. Now that she had a child, Jaime was even more concerned. It wasn't just about her anymore. Nor was it about her and Jared. It was about Serenity's safety. Jaime wanted her daughter to have a comfortable, stress free life to just be a little girl with parents who adored her, and an extended family who cherished her very existance.

Jaime decided that she would get to the bottom of this nonsense. Find out who had been following her, why they were following her, and take them out if need be. It wasn't for her peace of mind. It was for Serenity.

The person who had been following her since she was 13 years old had other plans for her, and could care less what Jaime thought. Jaime would find out in one of the worst ways possible.

Jaime didn't realize it, but she was in real danger. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

===

Late June, 2044

Winter had been in Washington, DC, for about a week, going to his niece's soccer matches, playing with Kendra, who was almost six months old; and working at It's Your Day Wedding Planners helping his cousin Nikky with all the grunt work. Winter liked  hanging out with Nikky, but found the work a little boring. It was a complete one-eighty from working on the Danica Antonia.  And he had no trouble telling Nikky so.

"Well, you certainly have the muscles to do that kind of work," Nikky said, "and I know that this isn't anything like lobster fishing. You do a good job at it. Maybe I should do a summer on your dad's boat."

"No offense, Nik, but you'd last about half a day on the boat," Winter said.

"None taken, Winter," Nikky said; "I'm a strong guy, but I'd probably have to be doing that my whole life to be even half as good as you are. You're built like a fuckin' tank. I know my limits, and that would probably exceed them. I'll stick to handling weapons and the occasional boxes of flowers that come through here. I have other plans for my life. I don't intend to be working at It's Your Day forever."

"What do you want to do?" Winter asked.

"I'm trying to get work doing what I studied in college, and that was economics," Nikky said. "I want to start my own business like Danica and Sandy did. But I want to get the basics down first. My academic background suggests that I'd be a good businessman. I've been doing the books for It's Your Day for about a year now with Danica's help. We make some serious coin here."

"I'll bet," Winter said. "People get married every day!"

"This is true, and Danica and Sandy fill that need by taking the arranging out of the hands of the bride and/or her family and do it themselves. Some brides, especially here in DC, just don't have the time or patience to do it. And Sandy knows that, like my twin sister, I'm going to want to do my own thing at some point."

"I have no idea what I want to do after high school," Winter said. "Part of me wants to stay on the boat and help Dad out, especially since Grandpa Frank is gone; and part of me wants to go to college and study something."

"What's your passion?"

Winter didn't even have to think about it. "My passion is to find the bastards who want my father and my family dead and send them straight to hell."

===

"Dad, is Mom going to be okay?" Mary Grace Peters asked her father, Chris.

"Mom's pretty tough, MG," Chris Peters said, "so I think she'll be just fine. Just a setback from the surgery to fix her shoulder. It happens sometimes."

"So I shouldn't call Jessikah and have her come home?" Mary Grace asked.

"I've called your sister and gave her an update," Chris said; "If she's needed here, I'll call her. She's doing important work for Jere Donovan's Presidential campaign."

"Dad, I know that," Mary Grace said, slightly annoyed. She hated that her parents seemed to be keeping things from her. Like how sick her mother really was. She was certain that they told her twin sister Jessikah a whole hell of a lot more than they told her.

Chris saw the change in his younger daughter's demeanor. She still thinks we think she's stupid, he thought. She's got freakin degrees in biology and chemistry. She graduated Summa Cum Laude! She's hardly stupid!

If he thought about it, if he had said anything about Rebekah's shoulder injury, it would have probably been his anger that her surgeons prescribed an opiate for the pain, knowing Rebekah's past drug abuse. That's what put her back in the hospital after surgery, not a complication from the surgery itself. Rebekah had a bad reaction to the medicine, recognized it as such, and checked herself into rehab before it became a full blown addiction. Something, Chris realized, that Mary Grace would know had he not kept the entire truth from both her and Jessikah.

"MG, Mom's going to be fine, and you know as much as Jessikah knows," Chris said.

Mary Grace only sighed. She knew her father was lying, but why, she had no idea.

===

"Mmm, Ms. Massengill, you'll be a fine specimen to practice on," he said as he followed the tall, dark haired woman from the MARC station to the commuter parking lot. "You're the same size, shape, and height as my pet. And when I'm done practicing on you, I'll make sure you'll never squeal. Your poor children will be without a mother and your husband's family will have to take them in. Poor, poor Jessikah Massengill..."

He watched as the woman got into her car and drove out of the parking lot to her home in Arlington, where her young children waited for her. He knew she was a single parent, her husband dying during a military exercise in the Middle East just two years before. Her children would have no first hand knowledge of their father. No memories of him would be in their minds.

And if he played his cards right, they wouldn't remember their mother, either.

His thoughts turned, as they always did, to the redhead he fancied. He knew that she and Jessikah were cousins. He was waiting for just the right moment to put his plans in motion. He knew it would take a while.

Meanwhile,  there was another waiting for him in the barn on his ranch in the Virginia countryside. He was almost done with her, as her usefulness to him had just about played out. When she was as used up as she could get, he would make sure no one ever knew about their little games.

She would join the others, with families who will forever wonder what happened to their daughters.

===

Serenity Walters decided that today was the day she was going to show Mommy and Daddy she could walk. She'd been practicing in her bedroom when she should have been taking a nap. Mommy and Daddy didn't know she figured out how to get out of her crib.

Today was the day.

"Mama..." she said, getting her mother's attention. Jaime was surprised to see her little ginger princess standing up in the middle of the living room.

"Looks like someone is getting ready to walk, Mama," Jared said as he came into the room.

"Serenity, come to Mama," Jaime said.

Serenity squealled happily, then took a first tentative step. Then a second; and a third.

Jaime sat on the floor, waiting for Serenity to make it all the way to her lap.

Serenity would take three or four steps, stop, then take more. Soon, she was just a couple of steps away from her mother's lap.

"C'mon Serenity," Jared said from behind his wife; "You can do it, princess."

With a great squeal, Serenity took the final steps and collapsed into her mother's lap laughing.

"Wow, Serenity!" Jaime said; "What a big girl you are! That deserves a cookie, doesn't it, Daddy?"

"Sure does!" Jared said.

Serenity knew about cookies. Cookies were good things to eat. She got back up on her feet and followed Daddy into the kitchen with her mother right behind her.

Soon she was sitting on her booster seat, her sippy cup of milk on the table, and two cookies on a little plate.

She held up one cookie and said, "Cookie!" before she devoured it.

Her parents sat at the table with her, watching her enjoy her cookies. Later, Jaime would call Nonna Julia and tell her that Serenity could walk.

===

Julia wasn't sure about the whole idea of writing a book about her life.

She wondered what she could say that hadn't already been written about, gossipped about, speculated about. And there were definitely some things she'd never mention in a book about her life.

That she was the dreaded SpineSplitter from the Occupation that ended when she was 19 years old.

That her oldest daughter was fathered by man other than her husband.

That to this day, she could pick up a weapon and kill an enemy without remorse, then go back to her patients at the hospital trying to save their lives.

The number of people who wanted to write Julia's story, and the stories of her brothers and sisters in arms, would stretch around the perimeter of her property several times.

Each time she was asked, her answer was a resounding "NO!" There was no way in hell that she would allow someone else to write a book about her life. If her story was going to get told, she, and only she, would be the one to tell it.

But at 44 years old, she wasn't sure if it was time to tell it. Julia often thought that she'd take her secrets to the grave with her.

I wish people would give it a rest, Julia thought as she left the house to go to the hospital and work her usual twelve hour shift. Rachel was the only one of her children still at home, and she could take care of anything that came up at the house.

All four-feet-eleven inches of her.

That girl is going to cause Cole Nichols some major league headaches, Julia thought.

The idea that they were going to get married didn't sit well with her. Julia thought they were both too young.

"Said she who got married at 17," Julia said aloud.

Julia Summers knew that Rachel was not an ordinary 18 year old; and Cole Nichols knew it, too. Cole's mother, Nico, was okay with the idea. She knew what kind of man her son was. He could handle marriage, college, and Rachel's prowess with weaponry. Plus they were in love and mature enough to see their way to a happy life together.

Not many 18 year olds could say that, Julia thought. She then sighed.

When did my children grow up? she said to herself.

===

"Winter, think about what you're saying!" Nikky said, shocked by Winter's statement; "In order to get that kind of revenge, you need more training, you need to keep your emotions in check, and you're not doing that. That will get you killed!"

Winter only looked at Nikky, nearly seven years older than him, and knew he was right.

"What do I do?" he asked. "I don't want to cause my family any more grief."

"First, you need to get your ass in college," Nikky said; "find something you want to do for the rest of your life, and study the shit out of it. Then, if you still want to be trained to be the best sniper out there, my mom has tons of contacts in the spook community. That's how Vixen got into spook school. Now you're just too young. You're good, if what your sister says is so, but you're only 16 fucking years old. Take the time to be a kid. This isn't the Occupation, Winter. When the time is right, after the people who killed your grandfather have forgotten about him, then go after them hard. I'll back you up, but now, you have to decide on what to do from here. You're an intelligent kid. Go to college and get the education your intellect craves."

"I do kinda want to study oceanography, like my dad did," Winter said; "Even my grandfather said I should, because of all the questions I asked Dad when I was a little kid. Maybe see if there's a way to keep our livelihood alive, because we have to go further and further out to find lobsters. Once they're gone, they're gone."

"Maybe Marine Biology and Oceanography would get that done for you," Nikky said. "You'll probably take over from your dad one day, and if there's no lobsters because the waters are overfished, then your family's business will go under. I can see that from an economic standpoint."

Winter nodded. "You have some good points there, Nik. Thanks for the pep talk. I think I needed to hear that from someone other than my parents."

Nikky patted his cousin on the back and said, "Glad to be of help, Winter."

===

CHAPTER THREE

January, 2044

Tracy Kay Donovan was freaking out.

She had heard the mayday her son, Winter, had sent, and feared the worst: that her father didn't survive being shot.

She worried that Joe and/or Winter, or a member of the Danica Antonia's crew were also injured. She stood at the window in her office waiting nervously for the boat to appear. However, the first thing she saw when she and her sister, Tara, went to the dock was an ambulance. Then Tracy lost it.

"Tara, it's true! Daddy's gone! I need to see Joey! I need to see Winter! I need to see someone who can tell me what the hell went on out there!"

"Tracy Kay!" Tara Pembrooke-Cash said sharply; "You getting all upset isn't going to provide you with the answers you're looking for! Calm the hell down, girl, would you?"

But Tracy was beyond that. She wouldn't calm down until she saw her father, husband and son. In that order. She would soon get her wish.

The boat pulled into its berth and Winter jumped out to secure it to the dock. He hadn't seen his mother and aunt yet, instead concentrating on tying up the boat, and not the fact that his grandfather's body lay on the deck. He was trying, and failing, to reconcile the fact that someone had ordered that his father be eliminated, and that his grandpa gave his life to save him. Willingly, without a thought to his own safety.

The paramedics came on board to get Grandpa Frank's body, and to check to see if Joe would be okay. Winter heard his father say, "My father in law was just murdered, I am NOT okay, got that?"

Winter went to go look for his mother, and saw her and Aunt Tara standing near the office. He broke into a run toward them, calling, "Mom! Auntie Tara!"

Tracy looked up and saw her older son sprinting toward her. She heaved a sigh of relief. At least Winter was okay, she thought.

As he got closer to her, however, Tracy saw that Winter was anything but "okay".

"Mom..." he said as he got to where Tracy and her sister stood. Tracy noticed the odd catch in her son's voice. That told her everything she needed to know: her father was gone, her husband and son were hurting. And that it would be she who would make the arrangements for her father's burial.

"Mom," Winter began, "Grandpa Frank, he's gone!" He then broke down, and his mother took him into her embrace, despite the fact that at just a shade over six-foot-seven, he dwarfed her.

When he had composed himself, Tracy asked what happened out on the boat. Winter told her everything, even the fact that it was he who killed the two men who had shot at the boat,  intending to kill his father, but got his grandpa instead.

"You did what you were trained to do, Winter," Tracy said; "You protected the family and the business. Your grandfather... he protected you and your dad."

"I will find the bastards who ordered a hit on Dad," Winter said; "And if I have to break the law to do it, then I will."

"Winter, don't talk like that," his mother said; "Let the police do that."

"I won't let Grandpa be collateral damage, Mom," said Winter. "The police will investigate then it'll be dropped and Grandpa Frank will be forgotten."

Tracy didn't push the issue, deciding that when Winter was calmer, she and Joe would talk to him about his plan for revenge.

But Winter Donovan would not be denied.

===

"Senator Donovan, there's a call for you on line two," said Nik's secretary Jessikah Massengill.

Jeremiah turned around and asked, "From whom?"

"Your brother, sir," Jessikah said.

"Jess, you know I'm just Jere when it's just the two of us, right?"

"Yes," Jessikah said; "But you never know who's listening. They're not going to care that you're my cousin."

"True," Jeremiah said; "So, did Joe say what he needed?"

"He told me that there's been an incident in Kittery that you may want to be aware of," Jessikah said. "He didn't go into details."

"Okay, Jess," said Jeremiah, "I'll take it in here. Thanks for telling me."

"Anytime, Cuz!" laughed Jessikah as she left Jeremiah's office.

Punching line two, Jeremiah said, "Joe, what's up? You told Jess that it's something I may need to be aware of."

"Jere," Joe began, "Frank was murdered this morning by someone whose intentions were to kill me. Winter took them out."

"Wait, someone killed your father in law? And meant to kill you? And Winter killed them?" Jeremiah said in disbelief.

"Yes, Jere, and I think it has to do with your decision to run for President," Joe said. "Winter's talking crazy about revenge."

"I think the idea is to target people close to me so I'll drop my bid for the Presidency," Jeremiah said; "And you know I won't do that. Frank wouldn't want me to. If anything, he's probably the reason why I'm going to go through with it. I will NOT be intimidated!"

"I know you won't, but if they  were willing to try and kill me, what makes us certain they won't try for you, or Jasmine, or one of your kids?"

Jeremiah sighed. He knew this was coming. He hated knowing that Frank Pembrooke gave his life for what he believed in. He knew that Joe and his family were hurting now. And Danica just had a new baby, he thought. How is this going to affect her?

"Joe, I can't leave Washington right now, but I am so sorry that Frank is gone. I liked him and his salty Mainer seadog personality. Please extend mine and Jasmine's condolences to Tracy and the kids. And let me know when the funeral is, because I will be there!"

"Thanks, Jere," Joe said. "Tracy's making the arrangements, and I just got off the phone with Kendree. She's devastated as you might expect. She and Carter are making plans to come up from Boston. She is going to call Danica, but you know that she had her baby girl a couple of days ago."

"I'll call Julia and let her know," Jeremiah said; "She'll tell David and Jordan, I'm sure."

"I know who else Julia will tell," Joe said; "God help anyone who gets in JT Collins-Ross' way, even if he IS the fucking director of the CIA!"

"You know, we used to be so scared of Morbus when we were kids," Jeremiah said; "But you know, JT scares me even more as an adult. All that power he has at his disposal," Jeremiah sighed, then continued, "including my youngest daughter."

"Jere, Aaliyah scares me more than Morbus ever did," Joe said; "Her and Rachel."

"I know that's the God's honest truth!"

===

"Sir, we killed the wrong guy."

"Excuse me?"

"We didn't get Joseph Donovan. The old man pushed him to the deck of the boat and took the bullet. He's dead, as is our assassins. Donovan's son took them out."

"Donovan has a son? I thought he just had daughters."

"Donovan and his wife adopted two brothers eleven years ago. Winter Matthew and Wyatt Charles; ages 16 and 14. Winter is the older of the two. This kid is huge! He's nearly half a foot taller than his father."

"Send me information about the Donovan brothers, especially this Winter kid. What do we already know about them?"

"Mixed race, stands over six-seven; born December 21, 2027 in Haverhill, Massachusetts to Renda and Matthew Rodgers. They were eliminated twelve years ago, and the brothers were placed in a children's group home. Not a very good one at that. Older kids terrorized the Rodgers boys, often in violent ways."

"When did the Donovans become aware of them?"

"Mrs. Donovan couldn't have any more children, and they wanted a son. IVF  didn't work for them, so they looked to adopt. They registered as foster parents and the Rodgers brothers were placed with them. When the group home wanted to separate the brothers, the Donovans insisted on adopting both of them."

"Find out about Winter particularly, because I'm sure the boss would like to know what he is up against with this kid."

"Will do. You know the bossman isn't going to be happy that Joseph Donovan is still alive. He'll probably have us target another member of his family."

"Donovan's oldest daughter just had a baby. She will be vulnerable."

"We'll work on it."

===

"What do you mean Grandpa Frank died?" Briana Costner asked her mother.

"It was sudden and couldn't be helped, Briana," Danica said. "It happens sometimes. I might not be able to go to Kittery for the funeral because Kendra is a new baby, so you and Daddy will have to go."

"What if I don't want to go, Mama?"

"I don't think Daddy should go alone, do you?" Danica asked the seven year old. "Grandpa Joe and Gramma Tracy will be there. Uncle Winter and Uncle Wyatt will be, too."

"Oh," Briana said; she paused then asked, "I won't have to look at a dead person, do I?"

"No, Briana," Danica said; "I don't think Gramma Tracy and Auntie Tara would let that happen."

"Okay," Briana said, and left the room. Danica just stared after her.

She couldn't believe that her grandfather was gone. He lived a long  life, she thought; still on the boat at 81 years old. He saved Dad and Winter's lives!

She teared up and thought of all the good times she spent with Grandpa Frank. The summer that she and Sandy spent with him  where Sandy got sunburned...

"I have to tell Sandy," Danica said aloud to no one but Kendra, who slept away unaware of the drama that thrust itself in to their lives.

===

"Rachel," Aaliyah said to her cousin and best friend on the phone, "Grandpa Frank died this morning."

"What?" Rachel asked, not believing it; "From what? He's strong as an ox!"

"Dad said he had been shot on the boat saving Uncle Joe's life!"

"Who would shoot a gentle man like him?" Rachel asked.

"Someone who doesn't want Dad to run for President, that's who!" said Aaliyah.

"I got a feeling that 'Toni Cantrell' is going to have something to say about that," Rachel said.

"Fucking right I am!" Aaliyah said. "That is, if Winter doesn't beat me to it. He killed the people who shot Grandpa Frank!"

"Wow!" Rachel said; "We might have to recruit him. I had heard he was good, but damn!"

"He's a year and a half younger than we are, so we're just going to have to wait on that, I think," Aaliyah said.

"Yeah, but we could use someome like him,"  Rachel said; "And I've always liked both Winter and Wyatt. Wyatt's shy like Uncle Joe is."

"Right now, Uncle Joe is one pissed off dude."

"I wonder if Mom knows yet," Rachel said.

"Probably," Aaliyah replied; "And she's not happy about it."

"Oh I know she's not," Rachel said; "And Uncle CIA Director won't be, either."

Aaliyah laughed; "Rach, you know that Uncle JT isn't going to like that little moniker you've given him, but that's between us."

"Blame Zach for that," Rachel said, laughing as well; "That was his doing, after all!"

"Sounds like a very Zach thing to do," Aaliyah said.

===

"A.R.M." Julia said.

It was the answer to the question that her stepfather asked about who might be responsible for the death of Joe's father in law.

"Why do you think it's them?" David asked.

"Because intimidation and elimination are their stock in trade, just like the Illegal Government was when I was a kid," Julia said. "They can't stand the fact that a qualified Mixed race man is running for President."

"Haven't they been under the radar for years now, though?"

"That's what they want you to think," Julia said; "They're in survival mode. Once their numbers are up, they'll be back to make life a living hell. That's not going to happen if I have any say in it."

"Stay out of it, Julia," David said. "Let the younger generation you helped train take care of it."

"Fat chance of that, David," Julia said. "Especially if they mess with one of my kids."

"Julia, your kids are some of the most highly trained weapons handlers in the country, if not the world," said David, knowing his words were falling on deaf ears. Just like your mother, you are, he thought. "And your half-brother IS the CIA Director, after all."

"True on both counts, but I can still wield weapons with the best of them, and you know that. I never stopped training, even now," Julia said. "When I'm not at the hospital or sleeping, I am training. If you don't use it, you lose it, and Peter trained me better than that. I took on a lifelong committment to it when I was just a child. Just like medicine in a way."

"You're going to turn into your father if you don't watch it," David warned. Good God, a female Morbus is all this country needs! he thought.

"Is that such a bad thing?" asked Julia; "He saved your ass more times than you can count, if memory serves."

"Touche," was all David said in reply. "By the way," he continued, changing the subject, "your mother really likes the portable massager you gave her for Christmas. She's sleeping better now than she has in years."

"Is she feeling better overall?" asked Julia.

"She has her moments," David said; "but her illness really took a toll on her health."

"I should come down to Austin and give her a check up," Julia said thoughtfully; "I'm glad that I'm now able to practice medicine in Texas, too. Is she there?"

"She's sleeping right now," David said, thinking about the woman who had been his wife for the better part of thirty years. Jordan's cancer was in remission, but he still worried. It was the same cancer that took three of her four brothers from her. She often asked her husband why she survived lung cancer and John, Luke and Mark did not. He never had a good answer for her.

"Maybe it's best that she rests, then," Julia said. "Have her call me when she's up to it, okay?"

"Will do," said David; "Will you be going to Frank Pembrooke's funeral?"

"I plan to," Julia said; "Joe and Tracy are going to need all the support they can get. They still have the boys at home."

"I didn't get to know Frank well," David said; "but he was a decent man with strong values. I am sorry that he had to leave this world in such a violent manner."

"Well, I understand that Joe's son Winter is vowing revenge."

"I hope his parents are going to talk him out of that line of thinking," David said; "He's still just a teenager."

"Only a year and a half younger than Rachel," Julia said.

===

Hmm, he thought as he read the news that Jeremiah Donovan would not be intimidated into quitting the race for the Presidency due to the death of his brother's father in law.

"The recent murder of my brother, Joseph's, father in law will NOT make me quit the race for the White House," Jeremiah had been quoted by the newspaper that he worked for as a journalist prior to his running for the Senate out of Illinois; "Whoever is behind this heinous act will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, not only for murder but for candidate intimidation. All qualified candidates should be allowed to run for office without reservation or fear of retaliation for doing so. This is not a third world country and we are not a dictatorship..."

You talk a good game, Senator, but you'll never find the people responsible. Your nephew killed them.

Richard Pike had the perfect cover. No one would believe that he was the one who hired the men who killed an old man. A senator putting hits out on those who obscure his path? Preposterous!

He just wanted Jeremiah Donovan out of the race.

His thoughts then turned to a certain redhead of his acquaintance, and the things he had planned for her. He grew hard with his sick lust. Even though she wasn't what he usually fancied, he'd been following her for years, and his lust for her was stronger than ever. He didn't care that she was now married and had a child. When the time was right, Jameson Summers Walters would be his.

And she would have no say in the matter whatsoever.

===
 

CHAPTER TWO

January, 2044

"Aren't you a precious little girl?" Bryan Costner said to his newborn daughter, Kendra, as her mother nursed her for the first time. He ran his fingers through the baby's sparse hair lovingly.

"How do you think Briana will act once we bring her home?" Danica asked her husband.

"She'll probably ask when she'll be big enough to play with," Bryan said.

"That wouldn't surprise me at all, honestly," Danica replied as she lifted Kendra up to burp her. "You got a burp for me, little girl?" she then asked her baby daughter. Kendra complied and her mother offered the other breast to her. Kendra latched on without incident.

"We should call your folks and tell them Kendra is finally here," Bryan said.

"We  will," Danica said; "I want a little alone time with Kendra before the grandparents, uncles, and Great Grandpa Frank come down to meet her. I'll be one exhausted girl with all of them and Briana, too!"

"Just before they brought you two in here," Bryan said, "I got a text from Alex. Briana is behaving herself and she and Lexie are having a grand time. Sandy says the shop is under control."

"That's good," Danica said as she started to burp the now sleeping newborn; "I'm so glad that Sandy and Alex could take Briana. The girls are probably having one big sleepover."

"That's probably true," said Bryan as he took Kendra from Danica and put her back in the isolette.

"I'm going to sack out for a while, Bryan," Danica said between yawns; "You can stay if you want, but I know that you probably want to get home to peace and quiet while Briana is gone."

"You've always been able to read my thoughts, Danica," Bryan said as he kissed her forehead. "I'll be back this afternoon, I promise."

"Okay," Danica said as she closed her eyes. No sooner had she done that that she was asleep. Bryan leaned over the isolette and kissed his daughter's cheek, then headed home.

None of them knew that Great Grandpa Frank would never get to meet his newest great-grandchild.

===

On any other day, Winter Donovan would be sleeping at four in the morning.

But because it was Saturday, he was up helping his dad and grandpa get the boat ready for the day's work. Winter would accompany them and the crew out to the deepest water to catch the lobsters that were the family's livelihood.

At 16 and standing nearly a head taller than his father, Joe, Winter Donovan was an imposing presence. He had the brute strength of his father, and thensome. Even Grandpa Frank thought that Winter would be taking over the business eventually.

Everyday, Winter thanked God that the Donovans rescued him and his younger brother, Wyatt, from the awful children's home they were living in when they were little boys. Winter had no idea who his real parents were. The Donovans were the only parents he and Wyatt knew. He was proud to be their son, and proud to be the brother of Danica and Kendree.

He worried about Wyatt everyday. Wyatt never did talk much. He was very intelligent and got along with everyone. Winter wondered if Wyatt was negatively affected by their time in the children's home. Wyatt was three and Winter five when the Donovans adopted them. It was because of Wyatt that their father got them on the boat at the ages of five and seven. Wyatt liked being on the water, but lobster fishing wasn't his thing and Joe saw that early. Wyatt loved to draw and paint, and many of his works were hung in their home. Winter often wished for that kind of talent.

His talent, however, did not lay in artistic pursuits. It lay in weapons handling and in business. His father made sure that both boys got weapons training as soon as they were old enough to hold a gun. Winter excelled at it. Wyatt was good, but only wanted to use it to hunt.

Winter had no problem with killing anyone who threatened the family's way of life. He knew that there were people out there who saw him and his family as "Undesireables", and that sometimes, these people weren't above murder to achieve some misguided directive, all because his family was mixed race.

Winter had heard from his mother that his and Wyatt's biological parents were mixed race. "That's a big reason we chose you and Wyatt," Tracy Donovan told her son; "because you were mixed. Another reason is that it was plain to see you needed to get out of there. They tried to separate you two, but Dad and I put our foot down- we wanted both of you because brothers shouldn't be separated. It didn't hurt that your Uncle Jere was a journalist. He'd have made a big stink out of it."

Uncle Jere later became a Senator, and now was making a big push for the Presidency, which Winter thought was cool.

"You got those pots in place, Winter?" his father asked.

"All set, Dad."

"Let's get going, then," Joe Donovan said; "Grandpa Frank is getting antsy."

Winter only smiled.

But Winter had a gut feeling that something this day was going to happen, and it wouldn't be good.

===

"God, I just love making speeches!" Senator Jeremiah Donovan said sarcastically. "Said no one, ever!"

"Coulda fooled me," said his brother-by-chance Nik San Marco; "You're just like David, whipping the people into a frenzy."

"True that, brother," Jere said, "but that doesn't mean I actually like it. I don't think David liked it that much either when he was the 'Voice of the Resistance' or whatever the lame title was bestowed upon him was."

"That's probably true as well," Nik said; "The ability to make a speech does not a politician make, and David knew that. You, on the other hand, Jere, are a politician whether you like it or not."

"Yippee." Jere shot back with a grin on his face. "But I want to lead this country and finally get it back to where there aren't any losers trying to start a second Occupation. I think the people like what I'm saying."

"I know they do," Nik said; "Nobody wants a second Occupation. Except maybe people like Rick Pike, though he'd be the last to admit it."

"Rick's an all right guy," Jere said; "He just has ideas that his advisors didn't research thouroghly enough to be plausible. I honestly don't think he wants a second Occupation any more than you and I do. He lived through that shit, too, remember?"

"There's just something about him I don't trust," Nik said; "What, I don't know."

Jere felt that way about the man as well, but would never give voice to those feelings. Not even to his own brother. There were some things that Jere Donovan kept to himself. Possibly the only person he shared those thoughts and feelings with was his wife, Jasmine.

He and Jasmine had been together a long time, and had grown children. Their oldest grandchildren were in elementary school. He knew it was not easy to be Jeremiah Donovan's grandchild, nor was it easy being their parents. His oldest daughter, Adriana, for example, hated to be approached by other parents at her daughter's school with their displeasure with how the government was working. Some even criticized Jeremiah to his daughter's face, to which she always replied, "If you don't think he's doing a good job, then don't vote for him."

Jeremiah, to his amazement, found he was good at politics. Maybe it was his journalistic training, but he saw the path for him to make a difference in the country was to run for office. Jasmine was skeptical of anything remotely political, as she saw during the Occupation that unchecked, the line between politics and personal beliefs often became blurred. It's what took Jeremiah's biological parents and sister from him. He and his brother Joe were eventually reunited with their sister, but their parents were both dead. That lead to the brothers being raised by Peter and Kiera San Marco. They themselves were murdered by New Army troops when Jeremiah was 15.

Now a group of neo-Occupationists wanted to bring back those policies that divided a nation into "Desireables" and "Undesireables". They had people calling and harrassing everyone they deemed inferior to themselves, and Joe's father in law was one of those who received the calls. Often, the calls threatened Joe and his family with harm.

Jeremiah wouldn't stand by and watch a second Occupation happen. He had to get in there and lead the country on the right path. He remembered the past, and he would not allow it to be repeated.

One event in his life would make him work harder than ever to become President. It would occur early the next morning.

But as he sat in his office with his brother Nik San Marco, he had no idea how much it would change his life, or the lives of those he was close to.

And turn his youngest daughter and his niece into cold, calculating assassins.

===

Winter saw the boat in the mist before his father and grandfather did. It did not look like any of the boats that were out in the harbor that Winter was familiar with, and that raised his suspicions.

"I ain't never seen that boat before," Frank said in his Mainer accent, which to Winter was nearly indecipherable. Winter had been born in Massachsetts two years before Wyatt was born in Maine. Frank Pembrooke's accent was hard for outsiders to understand. Winter had simply gotten used to it.

"I don't like the looks of it, Frank," Joe said; "It's just too shiny and new to be a fishing vessel."

"Always suspicious, ain't ya, Joey?" Frank said; "Guess that's a good thing to be, knowing yer background and all."

"Dad, I don't like it either," Winter said. "Something's not right about that boat."

"Sixth sense kicking in," Joe told his son; "Always listen to it. It can save your life."

"I'm going below to get my rifle," Winter said as he disappeared below decks to get his high powered hunting rifle, a gift from Joe for his fifteenth birthday.

Sure that Winter was out of earshot, Joe said to Frank, "Is this why you're out here at your age? Because of threats to me  or Winter?"

"No," Frank lied; "I'm out here because this is still my business and I intend to protect it from the competition."

"So this isn't about those phone calls you've been getting over the last several months, since Jere announced his intentions to run for President?" asked Joe, knowing his father in law was lying through his teeth.

"Joey, I love you like a son, but please don't pry into my affairs," Frank said, and let the subject drop.

Joe knew not to mention it again. He didn't know he wouldn't get a chance to.

===

A man on the other boat was watching the goings on aboard the Danica Antonia, and knew it was almost time to take out the target, and his father in law and son if need be. He couldn't hear what was going on, but got a general idea.

He then saw the teenager return to the deck with something in his hand. He just couldn't see what. You think you're such a smart kid, the man thought; let's see how smart you are when I kill your father.

"Is Donovan in your sights yet?" the man asked his companion.

"Yes, boss," was the reply. "Just give me a signal when you want me to shoot."

"Now."

The other man raised his rifle and fired.

What he saw next surprised him enough to put the gun down. It would be a fatal mistake.

===

Frank heard a gun discharge, and pushed Joe out of the way. Joe, not expecting the move, fell to the deck. Not five seconds later, Frank joined him. Then Joe saw blood on the older man's chest and knew Frank had taken a bullet.

"What the fuck, Frank?!" he exclaimed.

"They're going to kill you, Joey," Frank said, feeling his life slip away. Soon, he would be with his beloved Anna Jane.

Just then, Joe heard another shot. Then a second.

They were not being fired at the boat. They were being fired from the boat.

He then saw Winter crouched behind the side of the boat with his rifle trained on the boat they had all been suspicious of.

"Report, Winter!" Joe demanded.

"Two men, armed, guns trained on the boat," Winter said seriously; "I took them out, and am waiting to see if there are others."

"Your grandpa's been shot," Joe said; "Call in a mayday."

Winter grabbed the portable radio; "Mayday, mayday, assistance needed on the Danica Antonia out of Kittery. This is an emergency. There are injuries. Mayday, mayday..."

Soon there was a reply, "State your location, Danica Antonia, and the nature of any injuries."

"Twenty-five miles off Kittery Point," Winter replied; "My grandfather's been shot."

"We're sending Coast Guard for your grandpa, Winter," the voice on the other end of the transmission said. "Your dad okay?"

Winter looked over at his father, who was trying to treat his grandfather's injury as best he could. "Dad's okay, not injured. Grandpa's lost a lot of blood. Please hurry!"

Meanwhile, Frank knew he was dying, and he had to tell Joe something important.

"Joey," he gasped, "I love and respect you as if you  were my own blood, but my time is coming. Anna Jane waits for me. Take care of my little girl as you've always done. All this is yours now. Pass it on to Winter when he's ready. I know it will be in good hands."

"Frank..." Joe said, but he knew that Frank was right. He heard the Coast Guard ship approaching, but by the time they got to Frank, he had gone to meet up with his Anna Jane. Nothing more could be done.

"Dad,  is grandpa..." asked Winter.

"I'm afraid so, son."
      
Winter hated knowing that this was to be the result. The hardest part of all this would be telling his mother, sisters, and Wyatt.

Something changed deep inside Winter Matthew Donovan that day. He wouldn't realize it until years later.

===

CHAPTER ONE

January, 2044


The weather had cleared up enough for the Danica Antonia to make its run that morning.

Joe Donovan was securing the pots, the cages that held the lobsters the boat caught that day, to the deck in preparation to sail out into the deep waters where their catch would be waiting. His father in law, Frank Pembrooke, was accompanying Joe and his crew that morning, as he had every morning for the last six months. Joe found it strange at first that after being retired for the last ten years, that Frank wanted to get back on the boat. "It's in my blood, son," was all Frank offered for explanation at the time. But Frank had an ulterior motive for accompanying the Danica Antonia and her crew.

It was to keep his son in law safe from the people he was sure wanted to kill Joey.

It's not that Joe couldn't take care of himself. In his teenage years, he had been a highly trained marksman. He still knew his way around any weapon he laid his hands on, but having been a lobster fisherman since he was 17 years old, Joe had no real chance to use the skills he still practised, and was teaching his adopted teenage sons, Winter, who was 16 and his younger brother, Wyatt, 14. They were good skills to have, and on this day, that knowledge would be needed by the now 44 year old captain of the Danica Antonia.

Joe always kept a gun in his quarters on the boat. Today was no exception. Frank knew this and approved. Knowing the younger man's background, it was a wise decision.

To Frank, Joe was a good lobsterman; he had brute strength and could handle anything that came his way. But, Joe was also gentle and soft spoken. He had no trouble speaking his mind, especially where his family and his beliefs were concerned. Frank didn't have any problem with Joe being younger than his daughter, Tracy Kay. He was mature and wise beyond his years. Becoming a father shortly before his 18th birthday showed everyone who ever doubted the young mixed race man that he was unlike most men that age.

After a period of working, Joe decided after his daughter, Danica, was born that he wanted to go on to college. He got his Bachelor's in Oceanography in three years, and had the opportunity to obtain a Master's, but by that time, there was another daughter to take care of, so Joe shelved his plans for graduate school and got back on the boat.

Frank didn't know that there were plans he was unaware of to try and eliminate Joe by the people who had been making the constant calls threatening extermination of all those deemed "Undesirable". One of the two men would not make it back to shore that afternoon.

Neither would the would-be assassin.

===


Danica Donovan-Costner just rolled her eyes while listening to the mother of the bride on the phone. This woman is fuckin' insane, she thought as Mrs. Gabel complained about everything Danica and her cousin and business partner Sandy San Marco-Springer were trying to do for her daughter's wedding. It didn't help that Danica was eight months pregnant with her second child and her patience with Mrs. Gabel was wearing seriously thin.

"Danica, Ginger Gabel is in Sandy's office and she is totally frustrated with her mother's interference," said Vixen Vincent, Danica and Sandy's 22 year old cousin. "And Nikky is at the florists changing back the flowers that Mrs. Gabel changed without Ginger's okay."

By this time, Mrs. Gabel was on hold, and Danica only sighed. She said, "This is why we called our business 'It's Your Day' and not 'It's Your Mom's Day', Vix. Mrs. Gabel doesn't seem to grasp the concept of your daughter hired us to plan her wedding, not you. I've been listening to her bitch for half an hour now, mostly about how Sandy won't call her back the moment she calls in. I think she thinks I'm the hired help."

"I'm the hired help until I go into training in June," Vixen said, laughing.

"You'll be taking over my job until after my maternity leave, Vix. I trust you with the business just as I trust Sandy," Danica said. "And if I were not as big as a house, I'd go kick Mrs. Gabel's ass."

"Are you sure you're having another girl, and not a boy, Danica?"

"Positive," Danica said. "Bryan is thrilled to have another girl! I wanted a boy. Sometimes I feel like I got one with Briana."

"About Mrs. Gabel, Danica," Vixen said, getting back on track with the original subject, "I'll take over the call. She needs to be slapped down a little and Nikky is too blunt. I can do it so she won't realize it until after she hangs up."

"If you wouldn't mind, Vix, I'd appreciate it," Danica said. "That woman makes my blood pressure go up. I feel so bad for Ginger Gabel. It must've been hell growing up with that bitch of a mother. I hope she and her groom move as far away as possible, or Mom will be telling them how to have sex."

"Ew, Danica," Vixen said. "That visual is not a pleasant one." Vixen said, making a face. "Let me get the call and you go lay down in the back room with all the flowers. If Mrs. Gabel calls me 'Viki' again, I may just go kick her ass."

Vixen then  pressed the button on the phone and took over the call saying, "Mrs. Gabel, this is Viktoria Vincent, Mrs. Costner's assistant... you're aware that she's pregnant and tires easily...I am more than qualified to handle your questions ma'am. Yes, ma'am, I understand your concerns, but your daughter hired us to take care of her wedding plans. We answer to her, and not you... no, I'm not being snotty, I'm just telling you the facts. Your daughter is here, very upset that you're taking over everything. Please let us do the job SHE hired us to do. Yes, I'll pass along your concerns to Mrs. Springer, but she is going to be out most of the day on business..."

Danica headed to the back room and lay down on the futon that Nikky, Vixen's twin brother, rescued from the thrift store. Lord, I'm going to miss Vixen when she goes to CIA training in June, she thought, but she'll make one hell of an assassin.

Just then, she heard Vixen groan, and knew that Mrs. Gabel had called her Viki again.

===

"Liyah, I am soooo bored!" Rachel Summers complained to her cousin, Aaliyah Donovan. "School is stupid. All this crap I already know!"

"No one told you to go to the Academy, Rach," Aaliyah said; "You could have just gotten a full time job until Cole graduates from high school in May."

"I'd be even more bored at a traditional job," Rachel said; "I want to do what you're doing."

"Being a paramedic?" asked Aaliyah.

"No, the other thing. I know I'm good at that."

"You wanted to wait for Cole, Rach," said Aaliyah. "You got the same offer I did. You turned it down."

"I wish I hadn't now," Rachel said. "Not to change the subject, but how's your love life? You still dating that guy at school?"

"Robby?" Aaliyah asked; "Yeah, I am. I know it's not easy being my boyfriend, with my father being a Senator and all. Robby gets ribbed about it constantly. Now that Dad's running for President, I have to deal with the Secret Service, too. Kinda hard to date, work, go to school, do anything really with all those suits around. And you know what? I don't need them. I can defend myself with force if necessary."

"How does Robby feel about that?" asked Rachel.

"Well he hasn't run yet, so I guess he's okay with it," said Aaliyah. "I really should ask him about that. Maybe he's just doing it to make me happy."

"Doing what? Dating a Senator's daughter, or you being an assassin for the CIA?"

Aaliyah thought about that; Rachel had a valid point. She really didn't know how Robert Crandall thought about who her father was, or her side job with the CIA.

"I think I may have to give Robby an out if he wants it," Aaliyah said sadly. "I don't know how he feels about my side project for your Uncle JT."

"Maybe you should talk to him," Rachel suggested. "Mom said she had to do that with Dad when they first met. She gave Dad an out, and he didn't take it."

"I hope Robby cares about me enough to do the same," Aaliyah said. 


===

Robert Crandall knew exactly what he had gotten into when he got involved with Aaliyah Donovan.

And he didn't care.

She was smart, funny, took her studies and her job as a paramedic seriously, and just happened to be the daughter of a man running for President of the United States.

He didn't even care about that side job of hers that she rarely talked about, but suspected it had to do with the weapons training she had while growing up. She definitely could take care of herself if the need arose.

But Robby wanted to take care of Aaliyah. She needed someone to talk to about her unique life, and Robby thought he was man enough to keep up with her.

Robby Crandall knew he was hopelessly in love with the caramel colored girl he'd met in Basic Anatomy II back in the fall.

When he brought Aaliyah home at Thanksgiving to meet his family, their reaction was mixed; his parents knew who Jeremiah Donovan was, and had voted for him when he ran for the Senate seat that had been vacated by the death of the previous occupant of that office.

They were concerned because though Aaliyah was a nice girl from a good family who was part of the Resistance during the Occupation, they didn't think she was right for their youngest son.

Robby and his parents argued about it after Aaliyah went home to Chicago to spend some time with her own family.

"Robert," his father had said, "Aaliyah is a nice girl, but do you really want to get mixed up with one of the daughters of Jeremiah Donovan? One of the Triad?"

"She's not her father," Robby said; "She's a completely different person who just happens to be the man's daughter. I think you and Mom have a problem with her make up and not who her family is."

"Robert! That's not fair!" his mother said;  "We don't care if Aaliyah is Mixed or not. You know what her father and his siblings did during the Occupation; if there's another one,  God forbid, she might do the same with her siblings and cousins."

"And the problem lies where?" Robby asked. He had tired quickly of this conversation. "Aaliyah is everything I ever wanted in a girlfriend, and you have a problem with something her family did before she and I were born? That's pretty shallow of both of you, if you ask me."


Now, though, Robby had to deal with "the Suits", as Aaliyah called them. The Secret Service detail that all Presidential candidates are provided with had two agents following Robby around, undoubtedly to get background information about the boyfriend of one of Donovan's daughters.

"Why don't you just ask me yourselves, instead of following me around?" he asked aloud. "Or is following me your way of trying to find out if I'm suitable to be involved with her?"

He couldn't worry about them right now. He had an Anatomy test to study for while Liyah was doing her paramedic thing. He was almost jealous of the live lessons she got on the job.

Maybe I should ask her to move in, he thought as he got out his books and notes. I wonder if her family would approve?


===


"Dad, I can't find my green and yellow socks," Lexie Springer said as her father, Alex, was trying to get the six year old ready for soccer practice.

"They're in your sock drawer where they belong, Alexandra," her father said; "They don't belong on the floor, under your bed, or in the box with your cleats."

"But if they're in the box with my cleats, I know where they are," Lexie said.

"And they don't get washed, do they?"

Lexie knew her dad was right. She sighed as only a first grader could sigh.

"Lexie, I need to pick up your brothers from daycare, and you're holding things up," Alex said. "Mom will be home soon and I still have more errands to run after I drop you off at practice. Briana's dad will bring you home, okay?"

Lexie had found her socks where her father said they would be and put them on. She loved soccer, and wanted to do well at it. That's why she went to winter practices at the high school on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

"Dad, what's for dinner?"

"I think Mom said that chicken and rice was on the menu, Lexie," Alex said; "Now go hop in the car so we can get you to practice on time."

As his daughter get into the family's All-Purpose Utility Vehile, Alex Springer thought that he wouldn't give up this time with his kids for anything. All too soon, it would be back to training and the life that made his family possible.

He and Sandy had a beautiful family. I am blessed, he thought. If only Sandy didn't work such long hours.

Sandy Springer had been running a wedding planner service with her cousin Danica Costner since they were 18 years old. Business was good, and the income from it made Alex's decision to stay in the Army easier. Sandy often made more money on one wedding than he did in an entire month. He knew the long hours are what made the business so successful. And with Danica going on maternity leave soon, the long hours will pay off.

They always did. The girls always took care of each other, their families, and their business.

When one of them went on maternity leave (so far, twice for each of them; Sandy for Lexie and their twin sons;  Danica for her oldest daughter, now seven, and the baby due within the month), they took on no new clients. They worked the clients they had, which often were 30-40 brides to be at any given time, and when all those weddings were done, they closed up shop until the maternity leave period was over. That happened all of the three previous times, and expected it this fourth time as well.

Alex was proud of his wife and how she and Danica ran their business. It was the envy of the entire D.C. Metro.

"All strapped in, Lexie?" Alex asked now.

"Yep!" replied Lexie.

"Then let's get you to practice, okay, princess?"

And off to the high school they went.


===

The boat went out at dawn. They knew their target had been on the water since four, and wouldn't return until nearly four that afternoon.

The occupants of the boat knew their assignment: to kill one Joseph Donovan. He was  their enemy. His brother was their enemy, and hoped that by eliminating Joseph Donovan, it would force his brother to drop out of the race for President of the United States.

Neither occupant knew that they would not make it back to shore alive. They either didn't know, or were not told, that Joseph Donovan, despite being a lobsterman for nearly three decades, had deadly aim when it came to firearms.

They didn't know that the old man who was on the boat with Donovan would sacrifice himself to save his son in law.

When they spotted the Danica Antonia in the distance, they knew their time had come to eliminate an Undesirable.

===