Revenge is Mine- Book 3: Left to Reich's
Trisha A. Lindsey aka Ronin Schtihl Daire
Published by Trisha A. Lindsey at Smashwords
Copyright 2004 Trisha A. Lindsey
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REVENGE IS MINE - BOOK 3: LEFT TO REICH'S
PREFACE
“So we’ll be back in time for the State of the Union Address? Are you sure? Of course you have to be there on detail. You what? You got me a seat in the Gallery? How in the world did you do that?!? Awesome! I can’t wait! Okay. No, you say it first…Okay, I’ll say it first, I love you. No, you hang up. Okay, I’ll hang up…Charlie…Hang up!” Darcy said, still listening to the phone.
Josef tired easily, he reached past her and hung up the phone. Darcy looked up at him, and snapped, “Well, that was a very un-Christian thing to do, in case you didn’t know it!” Charlie, Darcy’s boyfriend, was one of the bodyguards for the Secretary of State.
“I was wrong for hanging up the phone on your boyfriend, will you forgive me?” Josef snickered at the dark look on Darcy’s face. No reason to get her all worked up over nothing.
“Well...okay, I forgive you. Anyway, did you hear that! Charlie got me a Gallery seat, I get to go hear the State of the Union address!” Darcy squealed, standing up and hugging Josef. He hugged her back, his heart filled with dread. His Sister...in the Gallery...in the Senate Chamber filled with Zyklon-B gas.
“Dear God, help me.” Josef prayed.
Josef had known that Darcy would be in the District, during the State of the Union Address, but he also had known she would be safely at home. Unfortunately, he had forgotten that her boyfriend was going to be on detail that night, guarding the Secretary of State who would be in attendance. But at this point, there was no way he could change his plans. God was laughing at him. He could feel it. He had heard that saying before, “Men make plans, God laughs.” God was definitely laughing at him!
CHAPTER ONE
Josef let Darcy go, and stood back and looked at her for a moment. His little Sister. But he knew better than to get into it with her now.
“So, you’re a Christian for real now, right?” Darcy asked him, her eyes shining. She reached out impulsively, and hugged him again.
Josef laughed in spite of his thoughts, and answered her, “Yes. I’m a Christian now. Wait ‘til the guys find out! Does this mean I have to tell them the Gospel too?” Josef asked, his face concerned, as he wiggled his finger around in his ear sheepishly. Well…maybe he’d just tell them the Gospel the way his Father had…commit or DIE! He involuntarily shivered, shrugging his shoulders, dropping his hand like it had scorched his brain!
“Well, yes. But you know, if you explain it to them the way you did to us at dinner, they won’t be able to argue with you. It almost sounded like you were lobbying for the Lord!” Darcy praised him, letting him go. She went over to the bed, sitting down, and pointed at the chair by her desk.
Josef rolled his eyes at his Sister’s naiveté, and decided to take a different approach, “Look, I’m tired, can’t this grilling wait until tomorrow?”
“Nope, I’m leaving tomorrow, remember? You have to write Blair, tell her you made a decision. As a matter of fact, you should do that right now, and send it overnight to Tracey! She’ll be SO glad!” Darcy told him, hoping he’d take her advice.
“She’ll be SO skeptical!” Josef grunted, shaking his head quickly. Blair would see through him in a second! God might be forgiving, but Josef felt he had a LONG way to go to measure up, he couldn’t EVEN kid himself about that!
“Ah...well...it’s your choice. Are you going to stay in touch with me better this time when I leave?” Darcy chastised him, knowing Josef just called her when he happened to think about it!
“Of course I am. As a matter of fact, leave me your E-Mail at work. Don’t you have a laptop to take with you?” Josef asked nonchalantly.
“PLEASE, I have E-Mail! But no, I haven’t gotten around to shopping for a laptop. Maybe I need one though, I am going to be in Canada for a week. I can just call you though. But I could also keep up with all of Andrew’s meetings and things better than with just hard copies, there are always things that get changed at the last minute. In town, we just call down, and the printer’s re-do everything, but in other countries its harder to make last minute changes. If I had everything on my laptop, then I could just make the changes, and voila, get them to a printer for last minute changes. But laptops are expensive...” Darcy added, still thinking out loud, “...even though, I’m sure I could get one approved.”
“Darcy, just BUY one! It isn’t like you don’t have the money!” Josef smiled at her mockingly, after listening to her conversation with herself. Some things never changed. Darcy was ignored so much as a child, she had gotten used to talking to herself to ease the loneliness.
“Yeah, but you aren’t supposed to have government stuff on personal computers. Even low level stuff like mine.” Darcy chided him, shaking her head. “You don’t know anything about government regulations, do you?” She smiled at her Brother, raising an eyebrow.
“Stop being silly, Darcy, just ask for one. I’m sure they’ll see the benefit. Can I go to bed now?” Josef asked, yawning.
“Okay, I’ll ask Andrew. I’m going to miss you, Jo. This has been nice, just spending time with you and Mother again. Will you come visit me?” Darcy asked.
“Yes, and you’ll come visit me, too. Especially now that you don’t have that five hour drive from town, huh?” Josef smiled. He stood up and stretched, then went over and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodnight Darcy. I love you. I will always take care of you.” Josef chuckled, pushing her against the head playfully.
“You better, that’s what big Brothers are for!” Darcy answered, punching him in the right arm. “Don’t rub it, be a man!”
Josef just laughed, and answered over his shoulder, “Said the mouse, to the elephant...” Walking out of her room, and pulling up the door.
CHAPTER TWO
Josef took a deep breath, and went back to his room. He immediately sat down and coded a message on his computer, before he called Rob.
Rob answered the telephone on the second ring, sounding sleepy, “Talk to me, Jo.”
“How’d you know it was me?” Josef laughed, leaning back in his chair.
“Because you, Mein Fuhrer, have no sense of time! What do you want me to do?” Rob yawned, going over to his laptop computer.
“I need you to look at a message I’m sending you right now. Decode it, and do it right. I’m not sending Tag anywhere for a little while!” Josef smiled, hitting the send button.
Rob was silent for a moment, then he said, “Got it. Clearing the line.” As he unplugged his modem. Josef did the same. Rob was silent for a while longer, while Josef waited on the line. “Hey man, your voice sounds different. What’s the deal?” Rob asked, into the silence, still working on the message.
“Oh yeah, I became a Christian.” Josef said, matter-of-factly.
“Man, we’ve been Christian’s since we were kids, come off of it!” Rob answered, decoding the last of the message in seconds, scanning it in a blink, before he groaned out loud, “YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?”
“Just do it. And no, we haven’t been Christians. I’ll explain that to you sooner, rather than later, just do what I told you, unless you can come up with a better idea?” Josef asked, yawning again.
“Uh...there’s so little time! Damn it, how did this HAPPEN?” Rob growled, waking up fully.
“Her boyfriend. Just figure out a way to fix it, you’re the smart one in the family!” Josef laughed. “I know you can do it man, just do it.”
“I’ll think of something. How’s Buford? Or did he just realize he’s a Christian, too?” Rob asked, his fingers clicking on his keyboard.
“Yep, he just became a Christian, too.” Josef smiled, holding the phone in the crook of his neck, as he started to undress, dropping his clothes on the floor.
“You know, you all behave in some really un-Christianlike ways, if you don’t mind me saying so!” Rob answered, still at work on the information in front of him.
“Yeah, I know, but we’re willing to work on it. Seriously!” Josef said back to Rob, shutting his computer down.
“You’re one whole mess to deal with, but Buford? Isn’t he out looking for some sheep right about now?” Rob snickered, his hands pausing on the keyboard.
Josef joined him in laughter, before he finally answered, “Naw man, he’s getting boundaries! I’m gonna get some too, soon as I can sit down and talk to Frau Stengel!” Josef added, laughing again.
“Boundaries! I gotta see this! Buford has given up women!” Rob roared in disbelief. The whole idea just sounded ridiculous! Buford’s exploits were legendary!
“Man, he’s been good for almost a couple of month’s now! That has to be a record!” Josef drawled, getting up and going to lay on his bed, with just his shirt on.
“So, he ain’t been with no woman that you KNOW of! Do me a favor. Check his right hand tomorrow and see how soft it is, okay? I gotta go, I don’t have time for you two man, tell you what though, you better pray I can get this figured out! Wiedersehen!” Rob sighed, hanging up. “CHRISTIANS! I gotta see this.” He mused out loud, looking at the mess in front of him. It was going to be a long night!
CHAPTER THREE
Josef hung up the phone, pulling his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor, then he reached over and picked up the pictures of the boys from his nightstand, thumbing through them slowly. They were growing just fine. He got under the covers, putting the pictures down, before he picked up the phone again to call Tracey. The phone rang four or five times, then it finally picked up.
“Yes, Josef?” Tracey answered sleepily, already realizing it was NO emergency! He had talked to his family that day, it could only be JOSEF!
“Hey Dawg, how’d you know it was me?” Josef laughed, looking at the picture on top of the pile. Both boys were smiling, their eyes twinkling, just like his.
“Man, don’t you have a clock? Didn’t your Mama teach you not to call somebody’s house after ten o’clock, unless it was an emergency? I KNEW it had to be you!” Tracey groaned, sitting up, and turning on the light by his bed.
“Naw man, that must be cultural, White folks don’t do that, we just call. Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for sending me the tape and stuff, did you look at yours?”
“Yeah man, those boys are a trip! The painting thing was hilarious! Especially when Blair and her girl slipped in it and went down! Ginny and I laughed our heads off!” Tracey yawned, laughing again. “They’re in good hands man, she’s taking good care of them. You should feel good about that at least.” He said, sobering up.
“I still miss them. All of them. But I wanted to tell you before I forgot, when I first got to Chicago, I did take Andro for about six months, I didn’t know it was a steroid! How long does it take to clear from your system? And can that hurt the boys?” Josef asked Tracey, his voice deeply concerned.
“Well, it is. You one dumb White boy sometimes, you know that? Why’d you think you bulked up that fast! How much did you take?” Tracey asked, picking up a pad and pencil off the floor, next to his bed.
“One pill a day, about a hour before I worked out. You know, I asked Trevor if that stuff was dangerous!” Josef grunted in sudden frustration, putting the pictures down.
“Well, it depends on what you mean by dangerous. All the data isn’t in yet, but you really didn’t need that crap, you just would have had to work a little longer, you’re already huge, man. What were you thinking?” Tracey asked him in dismay. “Whatever. Look, the boys are big, they’re off the charts, but if I could get some records of you at that age, it would help. Can you do that?”
“You mean ask my Mother? I don’t think my Father took me to the Doctor, I was born at home. You know…we used home remedies, lived off the land, all that good stuff.” Josef told him. “What about pictures?”
“You have pictures? You don’t mean like ‘stick drawings’ do you? I mean, living off the land and all?” Tracey joked, trying to push Josef’s buttons.
“No, REAL pictures! Why you trying to make fun of my peeps?” Josef drawled, laughing. “I mean PHOTOGRAPHS! My Father took hundreds of them of me. Maybe you can see how big I was, and chill out. I was a little moose! By the time I was three months old, only my Father could carry me, I was too heavy for Mother! Actually, now that I think about it, that may not be the case, he just wouldn’t let her carry me. That’s a long story, tell you another time.” Josef sighed. “Can you run some tests or something on them? I would hate to think I’ve done something else to hurt them.”
“Yeah, maybe. But send me the pictures, and any notes your Mom has, anything she can tell you. Don’t worry, you’re a good Dad. Blair told me what you did when you had to leave them. Man, it must have killed you! I didn’t know whether then we should stay with you a little longer, or go on about our business. Ginny thought it would be best to let you all handle it, but, I should have asked you. Sorry about that.” Tracey sighed in regret. “They do look like they’re doin’ good, Jo. And they’re two different boys, even though their twins. I could tell them apart from day one, even though they look the same. They look just like you, boy!”
“Yeah, they do, don’t they? They have a lot to look forward to, one day they get to look JUST like me!” Josef boasted proudly.
Tracey just laughed. “Man, did you think about what we talked about?” He asked, his voice serious.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I’m a Christian now.” Josef said. “Is that what you mean?”
“Whoa, WHOA, wait a minute! Just like THAT? How’d that happen?” Tracey asked, falling back against his pillows, dropping his pad and pencil back on the floor with a loud thump.
“It just did. We were talking about it tonight at dinner, and I just realized that I believed, there really wasn’t any other choice. I thought I was a Christian already, and talking with everyone tonight, realized I might not be! My Father really screwed with my head, man.” Josef admitted to Tracey ruefully.
“Glad you figured that out, Jo. Sorry, but sometimes our Dads mean well…or not…it’s hard when your Dad ain’t the hero you thought he was, it just took you a little…a LOT longer to see that!” Tracey snickered, knowing about Josef’s Dad!
“Stop messin’ with me, Trace!” Josef chuckled, knowing Tracey was always on the mark when he got on him! “I almost forgot, Buford is a Christian, too.”
“Ah…you mean the ‘Booty Call Boy’? Man, he NEEDS Jesus, more than you do!” Tracey guffawed, as Josef joined him laughing!
“Man, I’m gonna tell him you said that! Now stop pickin’ at me, I have to go, I’m supposed to read my Bible every night, right?” Josef asked, as the line went silent. “Hey Trace, you still there?”
“Yeah...Yeah man! You’re serious, huh?” Tracey asked Josef, in a stunned voice.
“Why you frontin’?” Josef laughed. “Look, didn’t Jesus die for sinners like me? Why is it such a shock, when a bad person becomes a Christian? Isn’t that supposed to be the whole point? I know how bad I am, how bad I can be, and how bad I’m going to be! Man, I KNOW I need HELP! So why is everyone so like, second guessing me? You sound just like Mother and Darcy!” Josef answered Tracey, in a huff.
“Naw Dawg, that ain’t it! I just don’t know if YOU know, what kind of change Jesus is going to make in your life! You got a lot of baggage you’re going to have to toss aside, that’s all.” Tracey said, trying to smooth things over.
“Like I don’t know that! Have you ever thought about the fact, that MAYBE I’m tired of all the baggage myself? I never realized how exhausting it is to keep hating everyone all the time! I want to be responsible for what I do, not everyone else too, like I am now. I need a vacation! So, yes, I’m ready to make changes, drastic changes, so I would appreciate it, if you would tell me where to start. What book do I read first?” Josef asked, leaning over, and picking up the Bible Blair had left for him, from under the bed. He was going to have to find a better place to put it, Josef thought to himself!
“Start in the Book of John, its in the New Testament. It goes, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Then read starting at Matthew. And for every New Testament book you read, read an Old Testament book next. They go together, and you’ll see that. And don’t you start that anti-Jewish thing, Jesus is Jewish! So, you have to read the Old Testament, to see how they got to the New Testament, and to see all the places where they talk about Jesus coming. And if you have any questions, you can call me, deal?” Tracey said, waiting for an answer.
“Deal. And for your information, I don’t have a problem with Jewish people, that was Hitler’s gig, you need to know your history, man, I hate everybody, EQUALLY!” Josef grinned, as Tracey laughed at him. “I was just skipping around in it before, but that was fun, too. Hope I don’t wake you up all the time though, I just pick up the phone and call. You stuck on that ten o’clock thang?” Josef laughed.
“Naw man, you my Dawg, call when you have to call. Peace out!” Tracey said, hanging up. He sighed deeply, then said, “Praise the Lord! Jesus, I don’t know HOW You did that God, but I’m in awe! You are God Almighty!” Tracey whispered to himself, before he reached over and turned out his lamp. He then groaned, immediately sitting up, and reaching for an address book by the telephone. He needed to call Blair and tell her about this!
CHAPTER FOUR
Josef hung up the phone, then turned to the New Testament. Matthew...boy, he sure wrote a lot...Mark...Luke...that’s what Blair was reading to the babies...John. Here we go, he said to himself, looking at the first verse.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Josef continued to read, and it slowly dawned on him, that the ‘Word’ he was reading about, was Jesus! He was going to need some paper and something to write with! How can you be reading for less than a minute and already have a question? He thought to himself. He got up and went to his desk, and got what he needed, then came back and wrote down the book and the verse number, and his question. When was this written? Did those people Buford was talking about tonight have access to this? It was going to be a long night!
CHAPTER FIVE
Buford was upstairs getting a glass of milk. He had felt a lot better, before he had read in his Bible right before he went to bed, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
Confess his sins? Man, where did he start? Bet Josef didn’t know about THAT verse yet! Was he supposed to do them one by one, or could he just do a blanket type thing? MAN! All those women! He couldn’t remember half...well maybe three-quarters of them, not to mention all the other things he had done! “Oh MAN!” Buford moaned in the dark, dropping his head down on the counter next to the fridge. Just then the light came on. He straightened up slowly, to see Frau Stengel standing there, frowning at him.
“I just needed some milk. I’m going right back downstairs.” Buford told her quickly, pointing at the milk on the counter.
“I just heard you moaning Buford, I thought you were hurt or something. What’s the matter with you?” She asked, pointing him over to the dining room table. “You seem like you’re having a struggle. What do you want to talk about?”
“Well...I was downstairs reading, and I came to a verse. It’s hard. It’s like impossible.” Buford said, coming over to the table with his glass of milk.
“Well, what’s the verse?” Frau Stengel asked, reaching for a Bible. They kept the ones they used in the morning at the end of the table.
“First John, 1:9.” Buford said, taking a long drink of his milk.
“Ah yes... ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ That is a hard one.” Frau Stengel recited back to Buford from memory.
“I can’t remember all my sins! I mean, even if I try, I can’t remember everything!” Buford sighed, setting his glass down. “If I can’t remember, does that mean I’m not forgiven?” Buford asked in a serious voice.
“No, what you need to do is recite the sinner’s prayer. That way your heart can be at peace. See, when you accept Christ, He makes you a new person. You’re a new creation in Christ now. That means the old you is dead. Why don’t you repeat after me? I just wasn’t thinking, you two boys were making so much sense tonight! But we left out an important step here. Now, repeat after me, O God, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness.” She waited, while Buford repeated what she said, then continued, “I believe that You, Jesus died for my sins, past, present and future. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust You, and only You as my Savior and follow You as Lord, in the fellowship of Your Church. In the name of Jesus Christ, My Lord I pray, Amen.” She finished.
Buford finished, then looked up quickly. “I’m forgiven, aren’t I?”
“Yes, you are. And when something from your past comes up, just remember, you’re forgiven. First John 3:19-20, says,
“We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before Him, in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”
“God is greater than the things that will come up and condemn you from your past, just remember that. He says you are forgiven, and that’s that. Now, some people go back and ask people who they have sinned against to forgive them. There are some you can do it with directly, some you may have to write it to, some you may not be able to reach. If you do that, use it as an opportunity to show how God has changed your heart. But that will not change the fact that God has forgiven you.” Frau Stengel told him, glad he had asked her his question.
“Good. I just can’t remember it all. And there are some things I want to forget.” Buford said quietly. “You know, when I was a boy, I hated my Father. He made me feel like I never could be the Son that he wanted…he wanted me to be Josef, I see that now, we might be Cousins, but Josef and I are as different as night and day! I never could hate anyone for long, but Josef could hold some grudges forever, he sucked up everything they told him, as the absolute truth! I figured out real early, that nobody is right ALL the time, or wrong all the time! I realized that I could be the man my Father couldn’t be, by being the one all the women wanted, the one everybody liked. My Mother told me when I was little, that she did my Father a FAVOR when she married him! My Mother is beautiful. Even now, she’s beautiful. All the boys were in love with my Mother. My Father spent most of his time when I was growing up, keeping tabs on my Mother, he was always afraid she would leave him for someone else. He knew how beautiful she was, and he felt he didn’t deserve her. Maybe she shouldn’t have told me that, but she knew why he was so hard on me, and maybe it was her way of giving me something that I could have no matter what he said about me. She told me I was handsome, and could have any woman I wanted, so, when I was ready for the one, I could just take my pick. I didn’t understand that didn’t mean sample every thing I ran across! Josef is the leader. Tag is the enforcer...well, least he was ‘til Josef’s woman beat him up...but that’s another story!” Buford said quickly, when Frau Stengel raised an eyebrow. “And Rob is the smart one...and me, I’m the real man. At least, I thought I was. I guess I need to find a ‘NEW’ me now.” Buford finished, sighing deeply. “Man! I haven’t told anyone that before. You’re a good listener Frau Stengel.” Buford told her, smiling, and drinking his milk.
“It’s my job. Speaking of jobs, what are you going to do about your charges? They are ready to speak with you, one at a time. They want your help with something I think. So, tomorrow morning, after Bible Study and Lessons, why don’t you sit down with each one of them, one at a time and talk to them?” Frau Stengel prodded him.
“Alone?” Buford asked thoughtfully, putting his glass of milk down.
“Yes, alone. You’re trustworthy, Buford1 You haven’t taken advantage of the girls, actually, you’ve been good for them, it’s good for them to have a healthy relationship with you, and Josef, too. Of course, poor Matilda still has a crush on you, but, you know how to handle that, right?” Frau Stengel smiled, standing up. She patted his shoulder, and walked off to her room.
“Yeah, I REALLY know how to handle that!” Buford groaned to himself wryly. He finished his milk, and stood up, pushing his chair in, and putting his glass in the dishwasher. Frau Stengel hated them to leave dishes in the sink. Women! He turned around and turned off the light, going downstairs to his room. He hadn’t turned on a light going down the stairs, feeling his way along the wall. He knew where everything was. Buford walked along the wall, going into his room, and pulled off his shirt and pants, then he climbed into bed. He exhaled, and started to close his eyes, when he felt a hand on his chest. He was still for a moment, then he asked, “Okay, who is it tonight?”
“It’s me.” Rachel answered him. “I was scared of the dark.” She giggled, before she leaned over and tried to lie on his chest.
Buford groaned, leaned over and turned on his lamp, and stood up. He put on his shirt and his pants again, then reached over and took her by the arm, gently pulling her from the bed. “Little girl, this is no place for you! You have to control your impulses, because I cannot always control mine. Come on, you’ll thank me in the morning!” Buford told her smiling, pulling her out of the room against her protests, turning on the downstairs light, and taking her up the stairs. He put her out on the top landing, and closed the door, locking it behind him. He then went downstairs and looked into the bathroom, the other bedroom, and all over the basement, and then went back into his room. He checked under the bed, in the closet, and the bed itself once again. He had forgotten, he wasn’t supposed to come down here in the dark!
He took his clothes off again, and went into the bathroom, turning on the shower. He put the water all the way to cold, and stepped inside, the shock of the cold water, calming him down. “Lord, now, I can only take so much! A little help here, just a little, and I may not fall off the edge!” Buford moaned aloud, dunking his head under the water. He hadn’t told anyone about the girls almost nightly forays into his bed. Guess he needed to tell Frau Stengel her bed check thing, needed to start down here in his room!
CHAPTER SIX
Josef was still reading at three o’clock, when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and said, “Talk to me.”
“Hey man, I think I have this figured out, but I have to go there to do it. I know you wanted everyone at home, but I just don’t trust anyone else to do this the right way. I’ll send a courier out with a message for you tomorrow. Good enough?”
“Good enough Rob, I knew you could do it! Wiedersehen!” Josef smiled, hanging up with a satisfied sigh.
His cell phone rang again a few minutes later, and he picked it up and said, “Talk to me.”
“Jo, I’m coming over, I need a room. I’ll explain it in the morning. Come open the door for me.” Buford grunted, hanging up. Josef stared at the phone, then he got up looking around for his boxers, before he reached down and grabbed them from the floor, pulling them on, then he went downstairs to open the door for Buford.
Buford met him in his blue jeans, in his bare feet, rubbing a towel through his hair. He was still wet. “I’ll stay downstairs.” Buford stated with no explanation, stalking past him, going to the door that led to the basement, opening it, then closing the door behind him with a sharp snap.
Josef stood for a moment at the front door, and shook his head slowly, closing it back, and going back upstairs. Tomorrow morning would be early enough to find out what all of that was about, after that entrance!
CHAPTER SEVEN
Josef went upstairs, and got back into bed, sliding under the sheets. He still had his boxers on. Mother was going to HAVE to go next door! He couldn’t sleep naked with his Mother in the house, it was just too weird! He reached over and turned off the light, just as his cell phone rang again. Man, who could it be now?
“Talk to me, it’s late.” Josef sighed, holding the phone against his ear in the dark. There was only silence on the line. He looked at the caller ID on it, but there was nothing on it. Blocked. He put the phone back to his ear and said softly, “Blair?” His heart racing with hope that she was on the line.
“It’s me. Tracey called me. He said you got the tape and the pictures.” She said slowly. Josef smiled. She wanted to hear his voice!
“I got them. Thank you.” Was all he said back.
“Did you read my letter?” Blair asked hesitantly, trying to feel him out.
“Yes.” Josef said, refusing to budge. He wanted her HERE! He wasn’t going to waste any more time with niceties!
“Did you get the pictures to your Mom and Darcy?” She asked puzzled by his short answers.
“Yes. Thank you from them, too.” Josef answered, pausing, waiting for her to continue.
“You sound tired, are you alright Jo?” Blair asked, concern in her voice now. Josef was NEVER this abrupt with her!
“I’m fine.” Josef sighed, hoping she would get the message. He was tired of playing with her!
“Well, the boys are sleeping longer through the night now, but I still get up. I thought it would be months before they did that, but they sleep from twelve until six now. The Doctor said I could give them some cereal, because they were eating so much, he felt they just weren’t getting enough food. ‘Course now, their poop stinks!” Blair giggled.
Josef chuckled, but said nothing back to her. Josef realized he’d give up everything he had and change a million stinky diapers, if he could just have his boys and his woman with him right then!
“Can you get that information to Tracey as soon as possible? I can’t believe you didn’t know Andro was a steroid! The Doctor is going to test them when we get back, but I think they’re fine.” Blair said. Just as suddenly she realized she had said, get back.
“Good. Let me know what he says.” Was all Josef said back to her, exhaling softly.
“Well, I better go. I’ll call again soon. I’ll kiss them both for you. They miss you. I miss you to, Jo.” Blair said softly.
“Okay. Tell them I love them.” Josef said, forcing a yawn, to keep from saying anything more.
“I will. I love you, too.” Blair said quietly, wondering why Josef didn’t include her in what he said. Something had changed with him.
Josef was silent. He finally just said, “Goodnight Blair.” And hung up the phone. He held it in his hand for a long moment, his heart hurting. Of COURSE he loved her! But he had no way of getting to her, or to his Sons. He was just going to have to let it go. No leads, no help, no hope. He’d have to just be happy with pictures, videos and letters. He asked into the night, “So Lord, is this what you mean about letting go? Because it sucks. I want my boys. And I want Blair.” He turned over, dropping the phone on the floor, and went to sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Blair sat in bed, looking at the phone. Josef never hung up on her! He barely said a full sentence to her. Tracey said he had something to tell her. Was that it? That he didn’t love her anymore? Just like that? Maybe she had pushed him too far. What was she supposed to do? A small voice inside of her said, “You’re supposed to trust Me.”
“But how?” Blair whispered out loud. “He doesn’t want me, he just wants the boys. If we go there, I’ll never see them again! It’s been hard enough being away from Josef, to start with! I have a job to do still, God! What do You want me to do, just forget about everything that’s happened? You and I both know, Josef isn’t through!” He sounded so cold, she thought to herself, suddenly wondering, was there someone there with him? He sounded like he couldn’t talk…or he didn’t just didn’t want to talk to her! Blair took the cell phone, and cut it off, then she then laid down, turning her lamp off. She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally, she got up, and went to go look at the babies.
They were fast asleep, They had curls sprouting up all over their heads now. She wished she had some pictures of Josef when he was a baby. She went over and kissed her fingers, placing them on Chance’s cheek softly. He moved in his sleep, sucking on his binky once or twice. She then went to Josef’s crib. He was asleep, a faint smile on his face. His binky had fallen out. She moved it out of the way, and did the same thing to him, too. Yes, it was wrong for her to keep them from Josef, she just didn’t think he would work with her now. Not after all that had happened. Maybe a change of scenery would help them all.
Blair went back to her room, and climbed into bed, but she still tossed and turned, until she finally went to sleep.
CHAPTER NINE
Josef woke up in a sour mood. He wasn’t happy with his conversation with Blair last night, but since he didn’t have her telephone number, there was nothing he could do about it. Darcy was leaving this morning, and that didn’t help his mood any. Not to mention, Buford was sleeping downstairs, having come over in the middle of the night. He could already tell he was going to spend most of his day, taking care of OTHER people’s problems!
He got up and quickly showered and dressed, putting on an old pair of blue jeans, and a T-shirt, then sitting down and putting his socks and tennis shoes on. Finally, he went downstairs. His Mother had fixed breakfast, and Buford was eating, having gone home and changed clothes. Josef’s Mother frowned at him and shook her head in warning, to stop him from asking Buford any questions.
Darcy finally came downstairs, dressed and ready to go. She came over and kissed Josef, his Mother, and Buford, before she sat down to eat. They heaped their plates with eggs, bacon, and french toast, while Sarah walked around and filled their glasses with orange juice. She finally sat down, and started to make up her own plate. Sarah looked at Buford, waiting for him to speak.
Buford simply said, “Before anybody gets upset at me, let me say I should have said something earlier, but, I figured the girls were just lonely. After all they did have four Brothers, and they couldn’t have been cruel to them all the time when they were young. But if I’m going to stay here, it’s probably better for me to stay over here with you, Jo.” He finished, not lifting his head from his plate.
“And just what brought this on?” Josef asked, continuing to eat his breakfast, but watching Buford with a sideways glance.
“Well, almost every night if I don’t do a sweep of my room, one of the girls is downstairs in my bed! They seem to be OK during the daytime, but evidently at night they don’t like sleeping alone, they tell me they’re still afraid, Jo. They don’t like to sleep alone. I have a lot on my mind already, and it really worries me that one night I’m going to forget to do my sweep, or lock my door, and wake up, and find one of them has been there all night, and you know...” Buford shrugged, still eating with his head buried in his plate.
“You should have said something before now Buford, but it’s still early in the game, and we can fix this. Until this is resolved, you can move your things over, and either stay in one of the downstairs rooms, or you can take the basement. Its pretty much identical to the one in the little house, just bigger.” Josef sighed, reaching over and slapping him on the back. Buford had handled things JUST fine!
“And I will talk to Frau Stengel. Those girls have been acting like little angels, but driving you crazy every night, and that isn’t right. We have to remember, their inhibitions where men are concerned are simply not there, even the youngest one. It’s going to be a long, hard job to re-teach, and in some cases begin to teach them what is acceptable, and not acceptable behavior for young people their age. I wish I could have them around more younger people, but I’m almost afraid that at this point they would be stigmatized too badly.” Josef’s Mother said.
“You’re right about that Mother. Both Matilda and Rachel are starting to show, and at times I get the feeling that Helena is feeling left out. We need to find a way for her to get more attention, or we’re asking for trouble. But I did hear they wanted to talk to you alone this morning, man. I can see now, that’s not a good idea.” Josef ended, winking at Buford, as they both smiled faintly.
“I think you’re right, Josef.” His Mother said with finality. “I think I will move over there now, especially with Darcy going home. Maybe I can spend more time with Helena, and with two of us to watch the three of them, it may be easier. You can still come over when we are there during the day, Buford.” Sarah told him quickly, taking a long drink of her orange juice. “If that is okay with you, Josef?”
“Uu-hmm. I just have one question?” Josef asked, piling more food onto his plate.
“I will cook at the house, and you can come over, you and Buford, alright?” His Mother answered, not even cracking a smile. “Two big, greedy boys you are! Always worried about the dinner plate!” She said sourly, even though they both knew she was glad they wanted her to stay and loved her cooking!
“Thank you Mother.” They both said dutifully, finishing their breakfast in silence. Just then there was a knock on the door. Josef got up to answer it.
He looked out the side window and opened the door. The courier was here. “Mein Fuhrer, Sieg Heil! From your Brother, Rob. I will be flying back now.” He finished, saluting smartly.
“Good job Maartin. Be sure and remind Wils and Franz that they will be leaving shortly.” He added, saluting Maartin, and closing the door.
CHAPTER TEN
Josef went back upstairs, with the pouch, and went into his bedroom, closing the door. He scanned the summary page, satisfied with what he saw. With Rob to oversee everything, it should work. He then read through the rest of the packet. Almost everything was done. They had all the charges in place, and everything looked ordinary. Even if someone were to do a scan of the area, the switches routing the gas from the canisters looked just like others in the vicinity, the tubing for the gas simply resembled more cellular and electric lines laid down by PEPCO, unobtrusively packed behind existing wiring and pipes underneath the streets of the city. They had tested the system and caused some underground explosions, blowing several manhole covers into the sky, but had their own men inside of the utility companies. The problem was blamed on crimped cabling, even though their technicians knew the true cause of the explosions. Their supervisor’s were none the wiser.
Everything was in place for the Securities and Exchange Markets. Overnight, most of America would have their life savings wiped out if they were tied up in the markets. Then when the Market bottomed out, the monies from the established accounts with Electronic Funds Transfer in the Major Banking Institutions in America would be transferred to Swiss Banking Accounts, that had been set up by Josef’s Father many years before. The transfers were to be routed through so many different electronic addresses, tracing them would be almost impossible. Many of the people who had built the firewalls at many of the banking establishments and many major Internet companies now were with ABN. They knew a fall was coming, and their only concern was to be standing when it happened. Josef knew that Rob had only had recruited the best. He had no rogue hackers in his operation, just skillful people, who didn’t agree with the way things were being done, and electronically wanted to rectify it.
They continued to monitor the Pentagon, Executive Branch, Legislative Branch, Justice Department, Commerce Department, Federal Reserve Bank, and the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Computer Systems.
He had people placed in the Electric, Water, Gas and Sewer systems of The Washington D.C. Metro Area, and New York City to facilitate what would happen once their plans took effect.
Josef knew the banking industry would stay quiet if they discovered the thefts. With the Stock Market manipulated the day before the State of the Union address, the last thing the Banking System would want people to do is start coming to withdraw their money, if they knew someone could go into multiple accounts and pull it out at will.
They were going to electronically go in and remove pennies at a time from accounts, billions of transactions, written up as a computer program. The staff member at the Federal Reserve Board would launch the program from their computers, and had already received the diskette, storing it safely until retrieval was necessary, so any compromised activity would come back to rest with the Federal Reserve Board.
The gas at the Pentagon War Room, and the other major areas were set. The War Room was where they were going to watch the State of the Union Address, because they would be trying to get to the bottom of what was happening with the manipulation of the Securities Exchanges. One thing about the military, they wanted to be prepared in case there was a run on the banks, and National Guard troops needed to be called out, whether they be National Guardsmen, reservists, or they had to pull active duty personnel out to help the local law enforcement, like they did during Presidential Inaugurations in the past.
Everything was in place to flood the Department of Justice, the FBI building, the Central Intelligence Bureau, and the National Security Agency with the same gas. Everything was a go, for the release of the gas into the House and Senate Chamber. The antiquated Sewer system in the District was perfect. They were able to gain access to the systems they needed, and at night were able to be sure any vents needed to flood the entire building could be accessed. The buildings would become huge crematoriums, filled with cyanide. Their doors would self seal, keeping the gas inside. It would only take one breath for death to occur, the strength of the gas was so intense. Josef read through the information with satisfaction. He loved it when a plan came together! And thanks to Rob’s planning, Darcy would be stuck in Canada when all of this happened…with the ‘very’ compromised Secretary of State!
With the demise of so many members of Congress, coinciding with the slide in the Market, many people who wanted to run for vacant seats wouldn’t have the funds to do so. There also wouldn’t be time to campaign, or for people to give campaign contributions because of the uncertainty. But his people were already in place, in every state of the Union, ready to run. Conservatives, and Liberals who looked normal and legitimate. They had no formal ties to ABN, but the majority of them were from the list of people who owed ABN from dealings in the past. They would sweep into the power vacuum, and America would indeed change. There would be a whole new Supreme Court, and he had judges in place who were ready to go.
Josef was glad that other than himself, Tag, Commander Chaos and Rob, no one else knew of all of the plans to occur. People knew only the component of their job. They had split not just the work, but the people doing the work up from different parts of the country, so they would go back to their respective areas, not seeing each other. Collusion was not encouraged, so if the operations were compromised in some way, they would only take down bits and pieces, not the whole thing.
They had accounted for everyone. They had finally managed to determine the routine of the members of Shadow who were not government related. They found from the guest list, many of them would be at the State of the Union Address in the Gallery. Due to the pomp and circumstance, and sheer prestige at being invited to sit in the gallery and overflow rooms, many of their targets would be there. And now, the Secretary of State, Andrew Theodore Roosevelt, was going to be in Canada for an extended stay, due to ABN’s intervention. After further review, unless in cases of illness, all the members of Congress that they were sure were not involved in Shadow, would be at the State of the Union Address. They downloaded the FBI files on the individuals, just as the FBI did their background checks, and would do so one more time before the day of the Stock manipulation.
Those members of Shadow not attending were now living on borrowed time, their lack of variation in their daily routine, would be their ultimate downfall.
The local assassins were going back home day after tomorrow. They had to come to camp in North Dakota two weeks before the date to train for a week. The handlers were astonished at their confidence, that the plan to send three men to be certain any assignment would be carried out, was sufficient. Josef had only recruited the best. The men virtually had taught themselves! No one was to be left. They even had small canisters of sulfuric acid to destroy DNA evidence were one of their men hit. Not even a blood trail would be left to follow.
Josef had a generational plan in mind. He knew that real power lay in the government. And he was going to take power, by essentially taking over the government, through other people. Within a decade, America would never know what hit her!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Miller was the new head of Shadow. He had cleaned house, ridding himself of any leaks, and paring his agents down to those he knew were trustworthy due to past dealings. He pulled his agents out of the ABN, and was even further convinced that Josef was no one to play around within moments after debriefing them. One of them had heard rumors about the agents being taken from spots around the globe, and brought back to the compound. He said he had seen no sign of Condor, but had heard rumors that Josef had cut Condor’s tongue out and buried him alive! Blair SURE knew how to pick them!
Just the fact that Josef could separate his personal life from his mission so completely, meant they were up against an adversary who was not willing to compromise once his mind was made up. One operative told Miller, that at the speech at Soldier Field, Josef had mentioned a quote made by Wilhelm II of Germany, the man who was the major cause of World War I. Josef said, “You know nothing. I know everything. What I know is right.”
Well, Miller finally had to admit, that Josef had a point. There always came a time when someone had to say, “No, we’ll do it MY way.” So Miller ran Shadow with an iron hand now. No longer did he take just any operative. Miller took the whole operation underground, emulating Josef’s own plans. But the people who were over Shadow were certain they have eradicated the problem caused by ABN, and had moved on to other hotspots around the nation and the world. They only wanted to let Miller change the internal workings of the agents. They didn’t want his input on policy changes.
The higher ups hadn’t heard anything from the ABN for almost two years. They were so certain they have done a good enough job, they decided to send Shadow’s main segment overseas, to be ready to help Israel ‘off the record’, in the new border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, now that Israel had finally pulled out of the Golan Heights to some degree. Not to intrude, just to further work with Mossad, and learn from them, and together they would train the Israeli soldiers, for the conflict that was certain to come to that region.
Miller wrote a scathing memo, from the President and down through the chain of command, to warn them they have grossly underestimated the threat domestic terrorism posed, and they should begin to shore up their security, at all of the National Monuments, and buildings of power. The security measures taken at all US Government Buildings and Monuments after the Oklahoma City bombing had become more relaxed, with too much dependence on concrete barriers and metal detectors, but not enough about the crumbling infrastructure of the cities in the United States, themselves.
The recent manhole cover explosions confined to Georgetown still had no concrete reason, and Miller was certain they were just forays, into a better, untraceable way for terrorists to achieve an end they had in mind. He warned his group, to stay away from state gatherings, and have their families and anyone they cared for do the same. Something big was going to go down, sooner or later.
When his memo was received and read, it was simply filed away before the next state dinner occurred that evening. No action was taken, because no action was deemed necessary.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Josef stepped out of the truck, then he went around and opened Darcy’s door. He helped her down, then handed her bag from the back seat to Franz. Everyone else had said their goodbyes at the house. Franz and Wils waited in the plane for her.
“You remembered your pictures of the boys?” Josef asked her quietly, his entire demeanor subdued. He didn’t want his Sister to leave, he had gotten used to her being around!
“Of COURSE I did!” Darcy smiled at him, reaching over to hug him. Josef didn’t want her to leave! He had spent his time after breakfast, trying to convince her that her place was here with her family! “You know I have to go now! I’ll come back soon though.”
“You know, I think Blair is in Canada.” Josef said softly. Darcy looked at him sharply, before she told him sternly,
“Don’t you go tracking them down, Josef! She can’t keep dragging those babies from pillar to post! They look settled now, and for little babies, that’s important. They need their Mother. Just back off. Okay?”
“Hard-Ass Darcy!” Josef smiled. “She called me last night.”
“Did you tell her I said hello? And Mother too?” Darcy asked him quickly, her face brightening. That had to be a good sign!
“Yes. I barely talked to her, she’s just trying to torture me. I don’t want to feel like that anymore, I miss the boys too much. I feel like she’s just giving me crumbs. Even the worst Fathers get visitation!” Josef grunted defiantly.
“Stop it! You know you have to find her to serve her with papers for visitation! You shouldn’t play games with her, Josef. Blair has never had anyone she could count on. I’m telling you Josef, if she has to put those boys before her happiness, she will. If she ever feels she can’t protect them on her own, she knows way too many people in the Intelligence Business that will be there for her. Hell, you think your crew is gruesome, some of those Shadow operatives are inventing a whole new kind of hell on earth! Yeah, I read some of their dossiers, they were on Andrew’s desk, and I didn’t know that’s what they were. Guys considered for his detail. Please, for once, just back off, but not in a way that makes her think you don’t want to be bothered at all with her. You know what they say about a woman scorned!” Darcy finished, looking at him with the same fire in her eyes, that Josef had in his own.
“Shut up Darcy, just give me a hug goodbye! Call me from DC, and call me from Canada too. I’ll E-Mail you if anything interesting happens around here!” Josef smiled, reaching out and hugging her again real tight. “Thanks for being there for me, Darcy. I’ll pray for you. Pray for me, too…and for my boys.” Josef said ruefully, letting her go.
Darcy smiled, and walked to the plane, climbing the stairs, and tossed over her shoulder, “I always do that anyway, silly boy! Auf Wiedersehen!”
Josef closed the door behind her, and Franz sealed it shut. Josef sat on top of the hood of the Hummer and watched the plane fly off. He sat there until he could no longer see the plane, wondering how he would get Darcy to come back home! He then slowly got back into his truck and drove back to the house. He pulled up to the house and went inside, noticing how still it was without her there. Everyone else was next door. The house already appeared to be empty without Darcy there.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Mr. Roosevelt, this is Darcy, how are you?” Darcy asked Andrew easily. She was calling from Josef’s plane.
“Darcy, stop being so formal! I’m doing as well as can be expected. Things have been so chaotic without you around here keeping us in order! It’ll be good to have you back! Umm...you are coming back, aren’t you?” He asked pensively, shuffling papers around on his desk. It looked like it had been hit by a hurricane!
“On my way now, matter of fact I’ll be landing in less than an hour. I was calling to see about getting a laptop loaded with everything we need for our agenda when we go to Canada tomorrow. I just have a feeling we need to be more organized for this trip, including myself. Do you think that’s going to be possible so quickly?” Darcy asked hopefully.
“Of course it is, we’ll get you something nice, too. I’ll have it ready for you this afternoon, because I really feel out of the loop, at least when you’re here, you let me know what’s going on sooner than ten minutes before I have to be somewhere! I’ve been late to everything the past two weeks! I didn’t realize how organized you keep my schedule, Darcy.” Andrew said smoothly. “I suppose Charlie is picking you up?”