Mark understood the benefits of standing in the penumbra of the St. James Mafia, but he didn’t have to like it. And he didn’t. But at the same time, he loved his job, enjoyed the respect of his community and enjoyed his life in the Bay. As time went by, Mark simply ceased to care if Edward and Adam were serial killers; he had a great wife, a great life and grandchildren. He had done well, accumulated some wealth and a lot more happiness.
Mark’s singular task, unknown to all except the RCMP in Ottawa, was to protect the St. James and Suarez families with his own life. As distasteful as that could sometimes be, he was nonetheless a cop with a specific and unusually important job and his inculcation into the daily life of the Institute, its grounds and personnel were essential to the success of his mission. He had done that job, filed those reports and protected his charges. He believed he did this quietly and competently and without anyone’s knowledge. But he also knew that Edward had his spies everywhere, great contacts in Ottawa, and a global reputation for bringing criminals to justice. That these criminals were the soft white-collar crime types didn’t surprise or impress him. Who really cared if a few artifacts got pilfered by some greedy thief? There were always more and who gave a fig anyway?
Adam was buoyant today and asked, “Hey Cindy. How are my little angels today?”
“Spoiled brats, just like you. You should be right at home here today.”
“What did my girls do? Piss off Grandpa Mark? Please tell me that’s it. Please!”
“Hey, he’s my father you know. You should try to be nicer. Try a little harder. You know Misti loves my Dad. She’s normal.”
“Doubtful. About the normal part, not the loving your Dad part. She loves him enough for us both. Besides, it isn’t like your Dad tries awfully hard with me. He hates me.”
Misti spoke up, trying to deflect, “Uncle Mark doesn’t hate you Adam.”
“Oh? Says who?”
“Says me. He doesn’t hate you, he absolutely detests you. There’s a big difference.”
“Well, don’t I feel better now. Where are my girls by the way? Did they get their dresses for the wedding? Did they get my card and all the neat stuff Misti picked out for them?”
“They did. That’s the problem. They’re squabbling over who gets to wear what.”
“Oh no, not my girls. I’ll have a talk and get that fixed up right away. Uncle Adam is on the job!”
Cindy turned to Misti and said, “I fear for your own children, girl. He’s going to be no help and very probably the spoiler-in-chief. They’ll need years of therapy to recover from their childhood.”
“That’s all right. He’s never going to be in charge and those kids will have to answer to me. I’ve got Adam almost whipped into shape.”
Rod ambled into the conversation. “Who’s whipped? Not me I hope. Didn’t get the memo if it is.”
“No, it’s your brother we’re going on about now. We hoped some of you would rub off on him but no soap.”
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, ladies. He likes it when Misti bosses him around. Makes him feel loved. Shhhh. Don’t say a word.”
They laughed, and when Adam reappeared inside after bribing his nieces and Nana Julia, they settled down to business.
Rod began, as he always did when family started talking. Until Misti, Rod and Cindy were the only two human beings on the planet who could talk to Adam in the way he needed to hear things.
“So, Adam, what did you think? I understand that you’ve read Misti’s research. I’d say it was pretty compelling.”
“I’d say if one iota of it is true, compelling doesn’t begin to turn the crank. It’s huge, enormous and gigantic, all stacked on top of each other. This changes everything, and in profound ways.”
Cindy asked, “You see danger then?”
“Danger and risk coupled with panic and fear. Dad was right to keep this close. The world needs to be prepared for what happens next.”
“Which is?” Cindy asked.
“Decision time. Are they friend or foe? Do they want war or peaceful coexistence? Do they trust us or want us all gone? There are a zillion questions. I have no answers, but I know the research isn’t going to give us the solution. I hate to admit it, and never repeat this, but Dad is right again. We must open a dialogue ASAP while we continue to learn what we can about them. Without probing their existence, we have no idea how to bargain. We have to know more.”
“Then you’re in?” asked Rod.
“I’m in. Can’t let you three have all the fun. I’ll talk to Dad and set up a call.”
“When?”
“Friday morning. I’ll email this Paulo or Sal chap tonight. Then we push on.”
“How do you know he’ll take your call?” asked Cindy.
“Because he needs to know who we are and what we plan to do. He’s likely just as curious about us as we are about him. We’ve had his stuff for almost a year. I doubt he thinks we were sitting on it. I bet he’s totally freaked and hoping this all goes away. But I bet he also knows better and is expecting to hear from us at some point. Let’s see what he has to say and see what we can finesse out of him.”
“You think he’ll talk?” asked Misti.
“Nope. I think he’ll try to trace the call, then try kill us all. I think he’s not as sporting as he sounded on the phone in Tucson. I’ll bet he’s a piece of work, just like me.”
Misti laughed, and said, “Sounds like we can all agree on that.”
***
Misti and Adam left shortly after the conversation had concluded and walked slowly home. Both were quiet; Misti was the first to speak.
“When you talk to your Dad today, please tell him what you said to Rod and Cindy. Please just tell him he was right and that you want to join in with the rest of us now. Please can you do that? For me?”
“I can. But he’ll know it’s you talking. He knows I’d rather slowly and painfully nibble off every digit on my body rather that admit he was right about anything.”
“You do hear yourself talking, right?”
“It isn’t a lack of self-awareness, Misti. That has never been the problem with me and Dad. We just are incapable of communication on some sort of acceptable terms.”
“Fine. But do it anyway and do it for me.”
“You’re not coming then? I thought you said you were.”
“No way. You two work this out. Start over with each other right now and today. We can change our minds and commit to be better. It has to start with you though.”
“Why me?”
“Because you are the angriest person I know and ninety percent of it is directed toward your father. For that to ever change, you need to offer the olive branch and go first.”
“He should go first.”
“That’s why it needs to be you. Trust me, you will be happier.”
“I trust you and I will do exactly as you ask. I don’t expect anything will change though. You don’t know Dad the way I know Dad. He’s … not trustworthy.”
“And you think I don’t know that? Don’t be silly. Consider it a scientific experiment in human behavior. Try this approach and see what happens. Experiment with Edward’s head. Might be fun.”
“That’s why I love you.”
“I know. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you and you are an immensely lucky guy. Now what’s all this about you enjoying me bossing you around?”
“I’m a slave to my passions.”
“That sounds promising. Let’s explore that tonight. I might have some ideas.”
Chapter 53
“Hi son, and thanks for coming over.” Edward was seated at his overlarge desk while Adam was standing up, pacing. Adam looked terribly unsettled, something Edward had seen many times watching his son growing up. Though a certified genius in the computer world, he was still otherwise an ordinary man with troubling emotions, fears and anxieties. That he had found some level of peace and inner calm
with Misti only exacerbated Adam’s new and intense fear of loss. As Edward saw it, Adam had simply replaced one anxiety with another. It was a no-win situation for Adam emotionally and Edward deeply understood his son’s angst.
“I assume you have read the materials that Misti generated. Any thoughts?”
“Does almost full on panic and terror count? If it does, those are my thoughts. The situation is every bit as grave as you said months ago, and I admit you were right to follow through on getting to the truth of the matter. I don’t think I believed you because it seemed too fantastic, like a badly written piece of fiction. I realize now that not wanting to believe something doesn’t impede the actual facts in any way. Reality does not require my belief to sustain its existence. So, I was wrong, and you were right. Please just say ‘I told you so’ now so we can hopefully move on. I now wish I had been more sympathetic earlier; I suspect I could’ve given some real help and we would now be much further along. All I can say is I’m truly sorry.”
Edward looked at his son for a good long while, trying to find the right words to say. It briefly crossed his mind to say something so profound that it could heal a lifetime of anger and mistrust. But this new Adam was way savvier than that and Edward knew that a nice turn of a phrase would have no lasting effect. Edward and Misti had discussed Edward’s relationship with Adam many times and at length; she was as supportive of Edward as she was Adam, which was to say they both needed a time out.
While Misti was patient with them both, trying to understand the source of their anger and disconnect, she would continue to drive her agenda for reconciliation. She would no tolerate back sliding and a retreat into old habits, old arguments and egomania. She had been candid and crystal clear with both her boys that she wanted to see progress no matter how measured or slow. Misti insisted that they make the effort to find ways to achieve common ground. She was formidable, persuasive and pragmatic, and would not abide flimsy male excuses.
Edward smiled at his son, then laughed out loud. “Look at us, Adam. We’re standing at the precipice of a chasm looking at each other across the narrow expanse, wondering what to do or say. We’re ridiculous and pathetic, the two of us. We both know that Misti told you to say that, just like she manipulates me at every turn. I know she’s right and so do you. But then still there’s something right there, something so real that jumps up and makes us play this destructive and dysfunctional game we’ve been at for far too long. Maybe this is our chance to finally stop.”
Adam could share his feelings and emotions with each member of his family, save one. His own father. Adam listened to his Dad, radar on for that hint of criticism he thought had to be embedded in any conversation they had. Always a test of wills, always degenerating into taking polar opposite opinions, whether believed or not. They revelled in their emotional warfare and couldn’t see beyond the next conflict. The rest of the family had long ago given up on the potential for resolution and reconciliation among the two; it had been a bad ‘new normal’ for so long now that they couldn’t imagine a world in which the St. James men could coexist in peace. The addition of Misti to the mix, and her connection to both men, was the catalyst they had not seen coming. Both men, on some level, both loved and feared this force of nature. She would be reckoned with and they would both be accountable. To her.
Adam’s mind was racing. It had always been so much easier to simply disagree, say no or simply walk away. That took no effort or thought, and it was their default answer to everything. Listening to each other over the noise would be painfully more difficult and infinitely less satisfying than a good old conflagration of the minds.
Old habits would have to die hard and reconciliation become the new priority, or they would surely have Misti to answer to. She loved them both but also understood the concept of ‘tough love’. She learned it from Edward the hard way: day by day, experience by experience and mistake by mistake. If Edward now came to regret the lessons he had required of Misti, he had only himself to blame.
Adam burst out laughing and took a seat across from his father, put his feet up on the desk comfortably, and said, “Face it, Dad. We’re both fucked. She’s in charge now and if we don’t do as she says … well, I don’t want to think about what will happen. We both know we can’t fight her on this. Maybe it’s just best if we make peace and do what she says. Our options are few to none.”
Edward smiled at his son with a deep and fulsome grin, took a cue from his son, stretched out and placed his feet up comfortably on his side of the desk. Adam knew that Edward hated displays like that and thought them indicative of a sloppy and lazy mind. Feet on the floor always; look respectable even if you’re not, and always, always dominate the conversation. Feet up was like a handshake that meant agreement.
“I have Cubans. I have Widow. Care to indulge? She’ll never know if we don’t tell her.”
“I say we fire up and work on our new strategy.”
“For the Gens?”
“No. For Misti. It’s our only way forward.”
***
Misti was summoned to Edward’s office after the men had had some time to discuss the basics of how they wanted to proceed and what role each would now be expected to play. Neither thought the conversation could advance any further until Misti was plugged in, as it was her research and work that was now driving the project parameters forward. Rod and Cindy in Barrows, and Hannah and her crew in London were dependent upon the Misti’s translations, her decoding and deciphering, when available, would provide much needed data and direction. But the real test would come with contact and that was something that they needed to discuss immediately. The timing of the wedding was now an issue as the realization of the immensity of the discovery and its fertile implications were now fully recognized by all.
Taking a couple weeks off now sounded implausible given an urgency they all now accepted as genuine. They had no more time to waste. The Gens were potentially on the cusp of something extraordinary and it frightened both Adam and Edward that they didn’t have a clue exactly what that was. Not yet anyway. Had not the fortuity of a clerical error altered the trajectory of their lives, they would’ve been blissfully ignorant and in imminent danger of an early sixth extinction. No meteors, comets or alien invasions necessary. Humanities’ greatest threat was living among them and they hadn’t a clue what they were up to.
Misti arrived at the sight of two men, each smoking a cigar and giggling like schoolgirls. There were no beer cans in evidence, so she knew immediately what they were up to.
“You fuckers. You started without me, didn’t you?”
Adam answered, “For our own safety and protection, we refuse to answer on the grounds you may be absolutely correct. Dad and I are now on the same team and ready for business. New business.” The two burst out laughing and leaned over the desk to high five each other.
Misti was less than impressed.
“So, if may inquire, what’s the purpose of the new team?”
“We are the new NATO. In the family I mean.”
“And I suppose I’m the new threat? Two against one?”
“Exactly. But don’t be mad. We don’t really see you as a threat.”
“Nice to know. What am I then?”
“The boss. And we agree on one more thing.”
“Which is?”
“We’re both petrified of crossing you. And we’re a little afraid of getting hit.”
“Good. Then listen up you two stoners. You can play for the rest of the afternoon, but I expect you, Adam, to be home by five and you, Edward, to be at our place by seven. We’re having dinner together tonight and Adam is cooking. Then we must decide on a strategy for the call Friday and the email you, Adam, will be sending tonight. We clear?”
“Crystal,” they each said, laughing. “Are we in trouble?”
“Of course not. Just don’t be late or there’ll be hell to pay.” She looked at Adam and said, “And no more for you. You’re wort
hless in your present state and I need you with a clear head.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m not supposed to be. I’m the boss and the grownup. Just do as you’re told, and things will work out well for all of us.”
“You’re mean,” said Adam.
“Buzz killer,” said Edward.
“Five and seven. Don’t forget. Rod and Cindy may be there too. And the girls. So, best behavior and don’t smoke any more ‘stupid’, please.”
Adam stopped his silly fit and said, “I’ll be right behind you. I just need to bark at the old man one last time, then I’m home for a nap.”
“Play nice, both of you. I don’t want to have this conversation again.”
Misti left, and walked over to see Rod and Cindy, and deliver the news of the rapprochement between the historically warring factions. She was very happy, and Rod and Cindy hugged her in thanks for an impossible job well done.
Misti was optimistic, but cautious, “It’s not over, not by a long shot. They’ll both backslide into old habits. But it’s a start. Can you be there tonight for dinner? I want to celebrate before the world collapses Friday morning. I need you guys to be my rock.”
“Bring the girls too?” Rod asked.
“Yes, of course. They are the one thing we all agree on and the foundation of what is to come. Those two reprobates will behave as long as the girls are there.”
“You’re going to be a terrific mom.”
“I know. I already have two of my own to practice with.”
Chapter 54
Marcus Junius Decius Thierry, his wife Athena and their three girls, checked in to the luxury suite on the top floor of the old Montana Building, now owned by the Altmore Hotel Group. The old structure had been converted from a century old commercial edifice into Seattle’s newest and most expensive concierge hotel, The Beacons. He had arrived in Seattle a few days ahead of the Saturday wedding he and his small family had been asked to attend by Adam St. James. Marcus would be in the groom’s wedding party, along with Rod and a few other friends.
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