Hope & Despair- Full Circle

by Alan Wild

  NelDean flipped the pair off, looked at Oliver, and said, “The last I checked, Oliver was a grown-ass man, not a child that needed to be coddled. Maybe he needs someone to acknowledge his feelings. Oliver, we know how you feel about the hotel charging a fee for parking even though they are in the middle of nowhere, and we agree with you. There, See? We don’t need any more secrets. Honesty is always the best policy.”

  Oliver asked, “Nora, can you work your spy magic and email that address that we authorized access to? Ask them when we can come out, please. I want to get to the hospital.” NelDean sat next to Oliver and asked, “So what were you saying Noah has 142 million dollars?” Nora raised her voice and yelled, “NelDean, no! That information will come from Noah when he is ready to tell us. It is pretty shitty of you to put Oliver in the position to either betray Noah’s trust or upset Noah’s family. It is a no-win situation for him. I kind of like him, and he treats our brother well, so I think we will keep him around.”

  Smiling, Oliver said, “Thank you!” Grabbing a candy bar, Oliver opened the package and looked at Ajay and said, “I am going to eat this candy bar in peace. Is that understood? I don’t want to hear one peep out of you about how I eat it.” Oliver took his first bite, and Ajay broke out in uncontrollable laughter. Between laughing and gasping for air, he said, “He takes a bite, sucks each layer off one by one until the cookie melts on his tongue. It takes him hours to finish one Twix. NelDean laughed and said, “You two sound like an old married couple.”

  Oliver looked at Ajay and said, “Nah, not a married couple. Ajay is my family. Maybe not by blood, but that doesn’t matter. I love him, and he knows I love him. I couldn’t have survived my last relationship without his support.” Ajay said, “Oliver is the real deal, he has a good heart and you just don’t find that but once in a lifetime. However, that doesn’t mean I would marry him. You all watched how he drools when he sleeps.” Ajay made a sour face and shook his head. Oliver felt around his mouth, and he said, “I do not drool!”

  Nellie asked, “So Oliver, how did you and my son meet? I know my son, and there is no way in hell he would walk over and ask you to borrow a cup of sugar.” Oliver squirmed for a moment, “I was walking over to get my mail. Noah was in his driveway. He had just discovered the bodies in his home. He had a panic attack. I reached out to touch his arm and get his attention. He hugged me, and the rest is history. I brought him home with me because the police were being relentless. He had every intention of staying at that huge hotel. I insisted he stay with me. I didn’t know he was gay. I just know that he needed a friend.”

  “That is what you call fate, you are exactly what Noah needs. He lived his life alone. He never dated, and he worked on that computer all the time. Most teenagers worked at a grocery store or a restaurant. Not my Noah, he had none of that mess. He worked on his computer day and night. Still does, I guess. He needs you to pull him out of the shell he built around himself. From what I can tell, you are the perfect person to do that.”

  Oliver proudly said, “I got Noah to agree to work with us at our new office. I am opening a new private investigation agency. He named it, by the way, it’s 5280 Investigations. I think he fits in with the team wonderfully. He spent time with everyone, but it seems to me he has become close with Willa and Owen. We have so many plans for this business. I am excited to get it going.”

  Once Oliver had finished, he had everyone’s attention. He started telling them how Noah whipped him into shape. “Noah was sitting on the love seat in our room. I was on the bed. He sent me a text. I told him that I was sitting right next to him. He got a kick out of that because I have been on him after finding out NelDean had been trying to reach him. I kept saying It is a mobile phone for a reason because it is mobile. He said he was just showing me that he had his phone. Anyway, he tried to commit to a name. He made fun of everything I chose. I started to walk away. He yelled at me. Stopped me in my tracks.”

  Oliver began to tell the story about when Noah helped him make dinner, and flour went everywhere. He was interrupted by sounds of gunfire on the computer. They gathered at the computer to watch the action. Nora asked if she could check her email. NelDean said, “You are right there, just check.” Nora said, “I need privacy, please” Oliver just laughed and sat down.

  After a few minutes and some rapid angry typing, Nora closed her email and enlarged the surveillance feeds, turned, and said, “Alvatore Petrelli is dead. His band of criminals was either killed or captured. This isn’t over, though.”

  Looking at Oliver, Nora asked, “Do you mind if we crash in your home for a while longer? As it turns out, we have some questions to answer. Looking at her mom, she said, “Questions like why we waited so long to go through grandmother stuff.” Nellie said, “That’s easy, it’s because I am not a fan of dirty laundry. My mother attracted so many men. I wished she would have spent more time being my mom instead of searching for her next man to complete her. I worked hard to distance myself from everything to do with her after Noah was burned. Sure, we got together for the holidays, but we weren’t close. Why would I want to go through her stuff? It would remind me of how mean she was. She had her reasons, sure. We all have a choice in life. She chose hers. In the end, she successfully pushed five kids, sixteen grandkids away. The only person who could stand her was Noah.”

  Oliver tried to liven the mood. “Please stay as long as you like.” Ajay caught onto what Oliver was doing “If you all stay, then you need to use his fancy shower at least once. It feels amazing. I keep wishing he would go on vacation only so I can house sit.” Nellie said, “No, dear, we can’t impose like that. You and Noah will need your privacy.” Oliver let his secret slip, “Oh, if we need privacy, we could always stay at our apartment.” Everyone asked, “What apartment?”

  “We decided to purchase the commercial property like I told you all, well, I loved it at first sight. What had me head over heels was the fact that it has a super-secret hidden apartment.”

  Nora asked, “If Noah is staying here, why can’t we stay at his place?” Ajay blew out a whistle and said, “You don’t even want to go near his house. It needs to be cleaned, then remodeled, or just burned to the ground.” Nora said, “We can figure something else out if it goes longer than a week.” Oliver said, “Nope, you really are welcome to stay here. It is big enough for twenty people. Plus, I might need help with Noah’s recovery. We are going to be busy with the new office and getting Noah to doctor appointments will require some creative planning. If you are here, you can help.”

  Ajay checked his email to see if Ray responded yet. Turning, he said, “Good news, Noah is fine and being a pain in the ass. Well, that is what Ray said anyway. I am sure he isn’t. Everyone is a pain in the ass to Ray. He also said that we are on every news station in Denver. He wants to know if Dario is still our spokesperson. He will want him to stand with them for the press conference.” Oliver shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess if he wants to. If he ever does get to do investigation work, then everyone will know who he is. He won’t be able to go undercover.

  Oliver went to the computer and pressed some buttons, spoke into the microphone. “Hey guys, can we please come out now? Is it safe?” A man in the living room stood in front of the camera and raised his thumbs and said, “You are good to come out.” Oliver said, “Great, can you show me your badge, please?” Raising his badge to the camera, Oliver said, “Holy Shit” Looking at Nora, he said, “You didn’t tell me you requested back up.” NelDean said, “You are fucking CIA?”

  Rolling her eyes, Nora asked, “Can we please get out of here before I have to use my ninja spy skills on my sister, we have been locked in here for over four hours?”

  After Successfully avoiding questions from the CIA, FBI, and local police, by claiming ignorance, Oliver assessed the damage in his home. He called Owen to make sure they were safe. He asked his assistant to schedule a meeting for the team, including Nate and Ray. Oliver asked, “Have you heard from Jake, the realtor?”
Owen was excited and said, “Oh, yes, with everything going on, I wanted to wait to let you know. They agreed to rent you the building until the sale is final. I just gave your credit card number to hold the space until you and Noah can sign the contract.”

  Oliver was excited to get into the building. He said, “We can sign today if he can meet us at the hospital. I will bring checks with me.”

  Chapter 29

  Oliver Thaddeus

  With everyone loaded in the SUV, they drove to University Hospital to be with Noah. Oliver asked Ajay to drive because he was experiencing severe pain. With everything he had been through, he didn’t trust himself to get out of the neighborhood without having an incident.

  Pulling into the valet parking, Ajay said, “Here we are. It looks like we have some friends to avoid. Oliver looked around and spotted several media vehicles and reporters. He said, “I thought that having Dario would cut down on this three-ring circus. I don’t want to piss them off, but I also don’t want to talk to them.”

  Stepping out of the vehicle, Oliver opened the door for the ladies in the back. Helping Nellie out first, Oliver stood with his back towards the reporters. Once they made it to the entrance, the reporters began flinging questions at them. Oliver stopped and smiled and said.

  “Thank you all for your concern. At this point, we have no comment; however, our spokesperson will be available for questions and to offer a statement from me as well as the Blaine family.”

  Making their way in, Oliver and Ajay were met by Noah’s family, who headed right in. To Oliver’s surprise, Owen, Dario, Willa, Ray, and Nate were there as well. Oliver said, “Hey guys, thank you all for coming. I am sure Noah will appreciate you being here.” Dario said Summer and Darian will be here shortly. I am going to do the press conference here, is there anything you want me to share? Oliver said, “Let’s talk with Noah first.”

  Making it in the hospital was the easy part. Locating Noah was not so easy. After the group moved from floor to floor, Ray had to flash his badge and speak to a supervisor to find Noah’s room. Making their way to the fifth floor, they discussed the information they wanted to share. Noah was eating breakfast when Oliver walked in. His face lit up, and Noah said, “I was so worried about you guys. No one would tell me what was going on. They just kept moving me from room to room. I was even taken to the basement. I thought I heard gunshots. All I was told was not to worry that I was safe. I had police officers and some guys in suits around me the whole time.” Kissing Noah on the head, Oliver whispered, “I am so happy to see you!

  Asking if he could have a moment alone with Noah, everyone stepped out. Oliver said, “I owe you a huge apology, I am so sorry, I betrayed your trust.” Noah, with a concerned look, asked, “What are you talking about?” Grimacing, he said, “I just spent a little over four hours stuck in my safe room with your family and Ajay. We discovered so much about each other. Before I went to bed, Ajay talked me into taking one of my prescription pain meds. I don’t do well with that crap. It turns out, it makes me have loose lips. Your sisters were fighting, and NelDean was having a meltdown about how everyone had secrets. She used you as an example of how you had a million dollars. I corrected her and said, “Actually, he has around 142 million. I am so sorry.”

  Noah asked, “What other secrets are you talking about?” Laughing and shaking his head, Oliver said, “Oh, hell no, I am not getting caught up in that trap again.” Noah smiled and said, “You can’t blame me for trying. I have something planned with that money anyway. I am just going to share it with my mom and sisters. That is more money than one person really needs plus, I have my own money anyway.”

  Feeling very excited, Oliver said, “We were approved for the rental of the building until the sale goes through.” Noah had a big bright smile that released the butterflies in Oliver’s stomach. He said, “I’ve wanted to talk to you about that.” A feeling of dread crept in, and Oliver couldn’t help his mood spiral. He said, “I understand, it is fine. You don’t have to say anything.”

  Noah asked, “What are you talking about?” “You are about to tell me that you have changed your mind, right?”

  Noah grabbed Oliver’s hand and said, “Yes and No. I did change my mind. I still want to move forward with the building and 5280 Investigations. What I changed my mind about is you paying for everything. If we are going to do this, then it is going to be split in the middle, 50/50, or not at all. If you don’t want to be partners in your agency, fine. I get it. This is your dream. But I want us to be partners. And, I am paying for everything that has to do with this case.”

  Feeling relieved, Oliver smiled and kissed Noah, “You have a deal, Mr. Blaine. I am excited to spend time with you, and I will take it any way I can get it. Scooting as close to Noah as he could get, he lowered the bed rail and gently laid his head on Noah’s shoulder and said, “I was so worried about you. Now that we finally found each other, I don’t know what I would do if you were hurt or worse. I can’t even think about it. The only thing that kept me from driving over to be with you last night was Ajay. He told me that you wanted me to keep your family safe.” Noah smiled and said, “Let me guess, you were going to drive over here while on prescription pain medication. Ajay is a smart man, I didn’t even talk to him, it’s not even something I would say. Nora can take care of my mom and sister. She could kick all of our asses.”

  Feeling the sting of his lover's admission, Oliver decided to deliver his own news, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, “Your family has moved in with us.” Noah’s eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. “What are you talking about?” Oliver patted Noah on the head and said, “It will be okay, I invited them to stay. The FBI and CIA want everyone to stick around for a while. They were talking about staying at your place, then the hotel. It is perfectly fine sugar tits; we have an apartment we can escape to.” Noah cringed and said, “It’s a good thing you reminded me about the apartment. I was about to make vacation plans until they leave.” Oliver made a face “You would leave me with your family to go on a vacation? I’m hurt.”

  “Who said that I would go on vacation alone?” Ray stuck his head in and asked, “Are you finished here? We have some things to go over.”

  With everyone crammed into Noah’s hospital room, Ray said: “Well guys, we have so much to go over, who wants to go first?” Oliver said, “I will start. Um, first off, I want to thank you all. You have gone above, and beyond what was expected of you so you could keep us safe. So, we will start with Noah losing his phone at his house. We went over to find it. We were attacked by Sal. We still don’t know how he got Noah to the poor crazy cat lady's house.” Noah spoke up “He picked me up and threw me over the fence. He told me that much after calling me every name, his small mind could come up with.” Ray said, “Well, it goes back even further than that. There was movement at the door, Summer joined the group and had someone with her. Ray looked at Summer and nodded his head.

  Summer walked through the group, and she said, “Ollie, remember when you told us to hire a private investigator to look into Sal?” Oliver said, “yes, and?” She continued, “Well, the agency we hired did an amazing job. They found so much more than what we were looking for. The thing is, though, it was for the wrong Sal. Ollie, I know we should have talked to you about this before now. Everything was happening so fast. I am sorry.” Oliver asked, “What in the hell are you talking about?” The man standing in the back of the room stepped forward. Oliver went sheet white. He felt slightly dizzy, and his stomach began to roll. His mouth instantly became dry, and as he stood getting ready to leave, He asked in a low growl, “What are you doing here?” Looking around the room, only stopping to glare at Summer, Oliver said, “Hey guys, this is Anthony. Noah, who was still holding Oliver’s hand, silently squeezed in a show of support.”

  Anthony smiled and said, “Your team contacted one of my investigators, and they got to work. Once my investigator discovered that Sal was the head of an organized crime organization, we had a legal obligation to
turn our information over to the FBI officials. When I discovered that you were the client, I took the case over. After providing the information to the FBI, we investigated Salvatore Jr. The police didn’t even know Sal lived with his parents. They failed to do their jobs. They had two poor people living in a poor neighborhood that had been brutally murdered. The Neighbors all insisted that their son Sal was the killer. They fought all hours of the night. Their contentious relationship must have taken the wrong turn.”

  “I called Summer, provided all the information we had along with pictures from when Sal was in High School and from a few years ago during a neighborhood BBQ. I found out that you and your friend were attacked, and your friend was kidnapped. I offered to fly to Denver and help however I could.”

  “That is about the time the shit really hit the fan.” Said Ray. “The media reported that Sal was captured. The FBI received a credible tip that Sal Sr. was making his move. The leader made some risky moves, and the feds intercepted the shipments. The Feds confiscated shipments of guns and drugs. That is how they received the rest of the information that pulled you all into trouble. The shipments were in California, but Sal Sr. was in Denver. I would bet, once I interview Sal Jr., he will tell us he brought daddy with him.

  The feds moved in with DPD backup, Sal Sr. had his band of criminals waiting with him. The man had organized crime units all over the states. He utilized gangs, and in turn, he provided them with weapons. Noah’s Mom provided the information that the Feds and DPD needed to get warrants. Sal, Sr. put up a good fight. He was shot and succumbed to his injuries. It didn’t help that he was old. We have conflicting information on his age. We think he is around 77 years old.”