by Gunn, Autumn
“Jax Justice doesn’t trust women? What else is new?”
“But that’s the thing. I do trust Kate. I love her and I want to show her. I think we were played against each other.”
“Are you sure, Jax? I thought you already had her. Sounds like you are risking a beautiful relationship and a happy ending just to possibly prove some point of yours. A point that may ultimately not even be true. You’ve got a lot on the line here.”
“It’s all on the line. We’ve got each other. We do. It’s great, but that trust isn’t one hundred percent. I want that. Full and unquestionable trust.”
“You sound like a chic flick, but OK. I’ll check.”
“Thanks, Laura. It’s going to make all the difference. Believe me.”
“I sure hope so. Call you back.”
I heard the dial tone and then the waiting process began. I walked into the living room.
“Kate, was the agency monitoring Kong’s phone calls?”
“Of course. We were building a case against him.”
“And they were recorded?”
“Almost certainly.”
“Who has those tapes?”
“Someone on our team. Or maybe now they’re in storage.”
“But you were on the team so you can access them, right?”
“Only on official business, but yes.”
I paced around the room.
“What are you conjuring up, Mr. Justice?”
“I have a plan.”
“I can see that, and I must admit, you look extra sexy when your mental wheels are spinning like that. Intelligence is sexy.”
“Thanks, but I’m going to look even sexier when my plan is right.”
“And confidence is even sexier.” Kate winked. She was right. Confidence is sexy, and I was confident I knew something we had overlooked.
Chapter 23
I finally passed out at 0400. Still no word from Laura. There were a lot of records to dig through. It would probably take her some time, especially in between juggling her official duties. At 0737 my phone rang.
“What do you have for me Laura?”
“You know I thought you were crazy last time you called, but maybe you’re a genius.”
“I’m ready for it.”
“From what I can piece together, Kong had cloned both of your cell phones. Not only that, he had cloned a lot of phones. A lot. Many were high-ranking government officials and CEOs. I don’t have access to what was said though. Only times, dates, GPS, text messages…things of that sort.”
“I new it! Kate’s team has access to the voice files. I think he even found a way to clone voices.”
“You’re joking?”
“Nope. He was able to guide people wherever he wanted. He even used the word pawn when describing Hrytsenko. I think that’s how he saw all of us. Everyone is a pawn in his game. Disposable pieces.”
“When will you have access to those voice files?”
“I’m going to find out. Kate has them. She’s not feeling well at the moment. Still in bed.”
“You might want to get her up. Blame it on me if you have to. This could be huge.”
Now I finally get to say this to you.”
“What’s that?”
“Call you back.” I hung up the phone.
I had to convince Kate to let me listen to those tapes. That meant she had to convince her supervisor and to get the proper clearance. It could take weeks. Due to the nature of the investigation and my role, it took 15 minutes. A file was made of the tapes and it was in Kate’s email in less than two hours. I didn’t know the bureau was so efficient. She downloaded and unzipped the file. We began listening.
“That’s not me! I didn’t say that! Oh my —”
“Jackpot! I knew it.”
“You were right. He cloned our phones and he cloned our voices. Unbelievable. Super creepy. Super creepy.”
I just looked at Kate and smiled. Not so much of victory, but of relief. She recognized what I was thinking.
“Thank you. I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t make me feel better. It’s creepy and weird and a lot of things, but I’m glad I now know.”
“More importantly we have to get this information to the bureau. No telling what other plans he had in the works. What decisions he may have been directing politicians or business leaders towards.”
“Politicians? Not just politicians and business leaders. Our entire country!”
I just shook my head side-to-side.
“This is going straight to the director.”
I was silent.
“What are you thinking now?”
“I thought we had some bad apples in the bureau. I shouldn’t have questioned those men and women. They were getting played. It wasn’t a matter of not being able to trust them, it’s a matter of them being manipulated causing confusion all around.”
Kate looked at me. “This trust word, it’s such a big thing with you.”
“The biggest.”
“I mean it’s big for me too, obviously, but you really went out of your way to prove your point. You wanted to clear your name even though everything was already pretty much one hundred percent OK.”
“Pretty much one hundred percent and one hundred percent are one hundred percent apart in my book. I don’t like gray area, especially in matters such as these.”
Kate gave me a hug. “Thank you. Thank you for doing all this. Not just for us, but what has turned out to be for the country.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t feel like I needed to, or wanted to. A man shouldn’t be rewarded or accept praise for doing what he’s supposed to do.
Chapter 24
The bureau spent the following weeks sorting through the information and calling in those affected for briefings. I couldn’t imagine speaking to so many high ranking officials and business people and explaining to them that their identity had been cloned. How do you even process that news and that feeling of being violated in such a manner? Your own identity taken.
Kate received numerous awards from the agency. Laura also received a lot of recognition and was offered her choice of promotion and positions should she decide to transfer. She was still deciding. She truly enjoyed working to support the SEALs. They really won the lottery when they found her. A smart, loyal girl with a heart of gold.
Kate couldn’t seem to shake her lingering sickness. In light of her work the agency put her on leave to rest up and get well. They didn’t come right out and say it, but I think the time off was also as somewhat of a gift. Although they did a great job of keeping this information from going public, the appropriate people knew how important this case had become and how much of a national hero Kate now was. A little time off was well deserved.
After another week of waking up queasy, I tricked her into finally seeing a doctor. I really did need to get some tests run, but of course I knew once I got her to the hospital I’d be able to get someone to take a quick look at her.
“Ma’am, how long have you been feeling ill?”
“A few weeks now.”
“And it’s all day?”
“Just in the morning usually?”
“Please come with me and we can take a look.”
The doctor took her to a different wing of the hospital. It was much different than the one we had entered. We were greeted by a nurse that asked me to step outside while she ran some tests. I read a few magazines and then Kate stepped out of the office.
“Everything OK?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m sure you noticed which part of the hospital we’re now in.”
I laughed. “So I wasn’t the only one?”
“Definitely not.”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Let’s say I’m wondering what you’re wondering.”
“And is that a good thing?”
“It’s a great thing, but…”
&nbs
p; “A bit of a surprise.”
“A bit?”
“I guess in the midst of our passion that first night we did forget to —”
“Hush.”
“Hey, I’ve got those SEAL genetics…and we were in the tub so it just makes sense that they’d get the job done.”
“Really?” She tried to look mad at my choice of humor, but busted out laughing.
The nurse stepped outside. She had no expression. “Ms. Koval, is this Mr. Koval?”
“Not exactly, but something like that.”
The nurse gave me the once over. “Would you two like to step inside my office?”
“Sure.”
We walked inside and she shut the door behind us. She walked around and faced us directly. Before she could even offer us a seat I saw a huge smile appear on her face.
“Congratulations! You’re pregnant!”
“Oh my!” Kate turned and looked at me and I to her. We hugged and turned back to the nurse.
“You’re one hundred percent sure?”
“I’m one hundred percent sure, and not only that…it’s twins!”
I threw my head back and laughed.
Kate looked at me. “What’s so funny about that?”
“Only with us. Always a surprise.”
“But a pleasant surprise.”
“Of course, honey! I can’t wait!”
We hugged some more. For the first time since I was a little boy, lost and feeling alone at that orphanage, I cried. But these were not tears of sadness. These were tears of joy. I had the woman of my dreams. One I knew I could love and trust. Forever. And now we were going to have a child together. The ultimate display of love and togetherness. And not just a child…children!
Chapter 25
We packed up the kids and headed to the airport. They were excited to soon have a little brother and sister. I had always thought of twins being the same sex, but I was in for a bit of biology lesson myself. We were going to have a beautiful blessing of both types. We were still undecided on the names. We hoped this quick holiday would give us some time to relax and also to think of names. When we returned we knew the real work would begin.
The vacation would also allow me more time around Jerry, and Jasmine more time around Kate. We wanted our growing family even closer before we welcomed the new additions. We also needed to fly now before Kate was too far along.
The third morning we woke up and stumbled downstairs for breakfast. I felt especially frisky and happy.
“Is everything OK. You seem even more happy than normal?”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not at all.”
“What’s on your mind then?”
“Kate, what are we doing?” I smiled.
She laughed. “What do you mean? We’re enjoying our little vacation here in Hawaii.”
“I know that, but I mean what are we waiting for?”
“What do you mean?”
“I love you. You love me. We’re here. The kids are here. We’re in paradise. What more do we need?”
“Nothing obviously. This is great!”
“You’re right, we don’t need anything, but there’s one thing that I think could make today even better.”
“Jet-skiing?”
I threw my head back and laughed harder than I had in days. And I had been laughing a lot recently. I was in the best of spirits. I even had to set down for a minute. “I do remember how much you said you wanted to do that, and we can definitely go jet-skiing while we’re here but, today was thinking of something else, first.”
“Jaaaaaax! She drug out the pronunciation of my name. Come out with it.”
“I saw a little spot yesterday, when we were driving. It was beautiful.”
“The one I saw you staring out the window at when you almost drove off the cliff? That one?” She laughed.
“That’s the one. The water is supposed to be calm today. The calmest day in months. I saw the surf report. No waves equals no surfers.”
“What’s that got to do with us?”
“Let’s do it, Kate. Let’s get a minister, and the kids, and rent a little wooden boat, and go get married today in that blue grotto. Inside that cave.”
“Oh, Jax. I don’t know what to say.”
“Same thing you said when I asked you to marry me.”
Kate smiled. She gave me a big hug and kissed me in a magical kiss that lasted over two minutes. When she pulled away, she yelled, “Kids, grab your swimsuits and underwater cameras. We’re going for an adventure.”
The minister admitted it was a first for him. The captain of our little boat, a 15 year old super polite surfer who was born on the North Shore, said the same. He promised to go slow. I think he might have had his eye on Jasmine, but who could blame him? Love was in the air.
Kate wore her white swimsuit. She looked beyond beautiful. The captain of our boat had some new fishing nets which he just bought. Kate loved them and came up with the idea that they would be a prefect vail and long enough to serve as dress with a train. It was an amazing idea. She was always came up with such clever and beautiful thoughts. And so original too.
We entered the cove and the boy dropped the anchor. The kids made a little video as we walked towards the bow. The preacher joined us.
We had prepared our vows on the ride out. It was so spontaneous, and so fun. It made the heightened experience of everything happening so quickly even more electric.
There wasn’t a dry eye on the boat, even the minister. He had told us on the drive out that he’d married hundreds of couples, but this one seemed the most special. At first I thought maybe he was just being polite. Maybe he tells everyone that. When I saw the tears roll from his eyes, I knew that wasn’t the case. This one was special. Like nothing anyone had ever experienced.
The best moment of my life was looking in Kate’s eyes, just before she said those magic words. “I do.” I didn’t even wait for the minister to say it…we were kissing like teenagers. When I pulled away I knew everything was perfect. I just wanted to make one more special memory.
“Mrs. Justice, care to join me?”
Kate looked in my eyes. She knew what I had planned. I was a SEAL after all, and SEALs are a little bit crazy. That and by nature they love the water.
We walked to the edge of the bow. We swung our hands back in forth as we counted…”One…Two…Three!” We jumped into the ocean. Still holding her hand we found each other underwater. We kissed, sealing our love first on the boat, and now in the sea. Our second kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Justice. As soon as our heads breached the surface the rest of the boat joined us. Our kids, our captain, and our minister. Soon we had a few more guests. They were uninvited but very welcome. Just like out of a fairy tale, a small school of dolphins swam up. They swam close. You could feel their power, but also their love. You could sense they were only there to share positive emotions to an already perfect day. After a minute or two they were gone. Breaching the surface and making noises to signal their departure and to wish us good luck in our lives together.
Kate and joined hands, and together took in big breaths of air. As we floated on our backs I could see the sea, expanding forever. I could see the cliffs, expanding skyward strong and proud. In front of me I could hear our children, playing, laughing, and enjoying life. I moved my head to the side and I could see Kate and her bump. I could see my wife and our future children. I could see our love and the love we would show our children and our family. I could see us making plenty of memories just like these. Forever.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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