CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“You’re back,” said Cam, looking at the group walking toward him. “Some of you are back. Where are the others? What the fuck happened?”
“Everyone is alright,” said Sor. “Mav, Rush, Leif, Pax, Brax, and Garr needed to take Bruloni to D.C. and confront some folks there.”
“What do you mean, confront some folks?” asked Luke. “Is Bruloni alive or dead?”
“He’s alive,” smirked Tobias. “He’s not saying much, but he’s alive. Once he wakes up, he’ll have a lot to say, I’m sure.”
“You guys need to explain,” said Eric. “Katilyn, are you alright, honey?”
“I will be,” she said, nodding. “I need to go and speak with Chelsea, Stephanie, and Marilisa. There are some things they need to hear. I won’t tell the others. Not yet, anyway.”
She walked away with her head down, and Luke looked at the others.
“What the fuck happened? Is she alright?”
“I think we’d do better explaining on television,” said Irish. “We requested a live audience.”
“I’m not getting any younger here,” growled Cam.
“Let’s go.”
Back at the auditorium, everyone had already gathered with the team returned and ready to answer questions. But the television came on much quicker than expected.
“We apologize for the interruption to your regularly scheduled programming, but we have a remarkable story to announce live today.”
“That’s Ted Fielding, the anchor for the Capitol Hill,” frowned Cam. The others nodded, shushing him as he gave them an evil look.
“We’re fortunate to have with us this afternoon the heads of the nuclear program for the United States, the head of the department of alternative energy studies, and the head of our peace-keeping efforts at the U.N. Gentlemen, welcome.”
“Thank you, Ted.”
“Why are we here, gentlemen?” asked Ted .
“Why? We’re here because you asked us to be here,” said one of the men.
“No,” he laughed . “You called and said this was urgent and that you had breaking news that would interest the world.”
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t have time for these games,” said the man from the nuclear programs.
“Sit,” growled Maverick, stepping onto the stage. Behind him were the others, as well as the POTUS, several members of Congress, the head of the FBI, CIA, and NSA .
“What is this? What’s going on?”
“Earlier today, we apprehended Enzo Bruloni, the man responsible for false accusations and a witch hunt against Katelyn Smith.”
“What does that have to do with us?”
“Mr. Bruloni was very willing to talk about how he and his colleagues created genius schools rivaling those used by the Russians, Germans, and Italians over the years. He was particularly fond of the Russian schools, but some of you liked other methods.”
“I won’t sit here and listen to this ,” said the man from the U.N. Rush shoved him back down, and two FBI agents stood over him with their weapons drawn . “What is the meaning of this?”
“You three men and Mr. Bruloni bought, kidnapped, and sold children with exceptional intellect. You injected their brains with experimental drugs, forced them to create your visions, kept them drugged, and then either killed them or sold them. Those who were able to escape, Miss Smith being one of them, have told their stories.”
“This is absurd! I am an American.”
“An American who is a traitor to their country. We have found the schools that were built in the remote wilderness of Maine, we have found the experimental laboratories in southern Quebec, and we have the testimony of almost a dozen of the children you experimented on, as well as Mr. Bruloni’s testimony of your collaboration.
“Your intention in all of this was to create superior minds that would allow you to control the fate of every country on this planet, destroying those who refused to do things your way, creating war for the sake of war, and worse, using children to do it all.”
“Mr. President,” stammered one of the men . “Mr. President, please, you can’t possibly believe this!”
“I’m afraid we have all the evidence we need. Take these men into custody. Ted, we appreciate the use of your show for this. It was important to let the American people know that we won’t tolerate this type of tyranny. I’ll be giving a full explanation of everything when we have the timelines and story together.”
“Well ,” said the host, shaking his head , “there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. We’ll be back in a few moments.”
“Holy shit. You guys really ripped the lid off this shit,” said Eric. “Did you beat the fuck out of Bruloni?”
“We’re not always animals,” said Tobias. “We just used a little truth juice. He was amazingly talkative and helpful after that.”
“He was a chatty-Cathy,” smirked JB.
“A lot of heads will roll on this one, Luke,” said Irish. “He was giving names of Americans, Russians, Germans, Italians, Brazilians. It’s a literal who’s who of people involved. Some of the politicians are retired but alive. I’m guessing sixty to seventy people involved in this.”
“Fuck me,” growled Hex. “How was Katelyn?”
“It was a shock for her. Her mother was only fifteen when one of the guards got her pregnant, and then they took Katelyn from her. She died, and the guard died as well. We got it all recorded. I have to say, she surprised us all. Asked him questions, and he spilled it thinking no one would ever know what was said.” Irish nodded at the men and then left the room.
“You did a great job out there,” said Cam. “This one will definitely see heads roll.”
“I’m gonna need some time off,” said Pax, standing to leave.
“May I ask why?” smirked Luke.
“You know damn good and well why. All of you knew where Deanna was, and none of you told me. I wouldn’t have done that to you!”
“Relax, Pax. We did know, and we didn’t say anything because that was her wish. Her face was fucked up, brother. She didn’t want to be seen by anyone, and I don’t think she has any clue how you feel about her,” said Eric. “Besides, we’ve had people watching out for her. She’s safe, and she’s healing.”
“I’m going.”
“Pax, she might not want to see you,” said Brax.
“Too fucking bad. She’s going to see me.” He turned and left the room, leaving the others wondering if they should go after him.
“Where is Saint?” asked Brax.
“He’s working another case with Jonas. He’ll be back in a few days. He asked that everyone keep an eye on Marilisa while he’s gone,” frowned Cam. “Anyone wanna give me some insight into that shit? You four are back less than two weeks, and I’ve got four women out of sorts on our property.”
“Out of sorts?” frowned Eric as he chuckled. “You’re sounding like our fathers. The girls are fine. Our own wives have made sure of it. You guys did a helluva job. So did Katelyn.”
“Thank you,” she said, walking into the auditorium. Behind her were Marilisa, Chelsea, and Stephanie.
“You ladies okay?” asked Hex.
“We’re fine, Hex. Thank you,” said Chelsea. “It’s wonderful to know that he’s been caught, and people will know what he tried to do to us.”
“Stephanie? How about you, hun? Are you okay?”
“I’m getting there,” she said with a sad smile. “I start at G.R.I.P. tomorrow, and I’ll be working with Suzette and Riley on some things I’ve had racing through my brain around genetics.”
“You’ll be amazing,” nodded Cam. “Take your time. We’re not in a rush for anything.”
The minute Maverick set foot on the property, he was determined to make Katelyn his wife. Within thirty-six hours, they had a wedding, reception, and honeymoon locked in their cottage.
Saint returned in time for the reception, only to look as though he were going to kill one of the Robicheaux cousins for dancing with Marilisa. But it wasn’t any better for Braxton, who tried to keep his distance from Stephanie and couldn’t when the cousins asked her to dance.
“What the fuck is happening?” growled Luke. “Saint and Brax look like they’re egging for a fight, and I can’t figure out why.”
“Oh, babe,” said Ajei, kissing his cheek. “I love how oblivious to love you are.”
“Love? What do you mean?” He looked at his wife, then back at the two men, and then to the two women. “No. No, you can’t mean them.”
“Dance with me, Luke,” laughed Ajei. “If you’re a good boy, I’ll explain all the details of the birds and bees from a medical point of view when we go to bed.”
Martha smiled at the people dancing and enjoying themselves. She felt Nathan’s hand at her back, resting on her bottom, and she grinned. Two hundred years ago, had a man done that, she would have shot him. Today, she was grateful for the touch.
“There’s a lot of love happening in this room,” said Yori.
“Yes, there is,” she smiled. “Look at our own out there dancing. Archie and Charity are so happy, and Genevieve and Eagle Feather are madly in love. It’s wonderful to see. It’s all I ever wanted was for my family to be happy here, on this property.”
“Well, they’re all here,” nodded Franklin with a chuckle. “Ain’t one of them leavin’ any time soon.” Martha smiled at her oldest friend and nodded.
“That’s the plan, my friend. That’s the plan.”