Chapter 6: A New Recruit

"Uncle Caleb, Mom said that you would explain what the hell's going on," Gabriela Santiago said with a frown, as she walked in the door at Bran's house, just before midnight.

Gabriella was the daughter of Francisco and Bianca Santiago. Francisco was Caleb's closest friend. The two men had saved each other's life numerous times during special operations in the Army. Caleb had promised to watch out for Gabi in her parents stead.

Bianca considered Caleb her brother, and Caleb looked on Bianca as a sister. Who was the younger of the pseudo-sibling pair usually depended on whether Bianca thought she could get her way as the demure younger sister, or as the domineering older sister. Caleb often wondered why he seldom had a say in the decisions.

Though it was nearly midnight, everyone was still awake and waiting at Bran's home when Gabi arrived. Caleb wasn't sure how the young woman would react to the information about Companions, and believed that everyone's presence would help. They all believed that Gabi receiving a Companion was important for her own safety.

"What did she tell you?" Caleb asked mildly, ignoring her anger and closing the door.

"Only that my questions would be answered if I come over to Bran's with Bill and Collette. I couldn't leave the restaurant tonight. That's why I came later. They also said that it was important that I know what their big secret is," Gabi answered sourly. "I don't know why now is any different than when I was in Arizona. This had better be good. I have too much to do to be playing games. I need to be back at the restaurant by eight in the morning for deliveries."

"That bad, huh?" Caleb asked, gently guiding Gabi back towards the living room where the rest of his clan were gathered.

"Yeah, it's that bad," Gabi said with a frown. "As far as knowing anything about Mom and Dad..." she sighed, "Well ... I knew something was going on before they offered to bankroll my own restaurant. I think one of the reasons they wanted me out of town was to make me stop asking questions. But they wouldn't tell me what was going on!"

"Maybe they had a reason," Caleb suggested mildly.

"Uncle Caleb, I don't have time for Mom's games," she grumbled angrily, her nerves clearly frazzled. "I've been working twelve hours a day for the last three months to get Refugio East off the ground. I can use some of the recipes that Mom uses in Arizona, but I can't use the whole menu. Her menu for Refugio just doesn't fit the southern genteel feel of Beaumont. I think I've got that part fixed, but the menu is only a small part of what makes a restaurant a success. How we are received over the holidays could make or break Refugio East," she lamented.

"Honey, why don't you ask when you need help?" Caleb asked, giving the girl a one armed hug. "You don't have to do everything yourself."

"I know I don't, but making Refugio East work on my own is the best way that I can prove to Mom and Dad that I can do it," Gabi lamented quietly.

"First of all, I don't know where you got the idea that you have to prove anything to your parents ... or to anyone else, for that matter. Your parents didn't get Refugio up and running on their own, either. Sure, they put in a lot of twelve hour days, and more, but they had a lot of help from friends, too," Caleb explained gently. "Hell, I even tried to act like a waiter when they first opened. I offered to help cook, too, but your mom chased me out of the kitchen."

Gabi smiled at the image that appeared in her mind of her tiny, five foot one inch mom with a giant wooden spoon chasing six foot tall Caleb out of her kitchen. Al had exaggerated the height difference in the image he had placed, and the size of the spoon, because he liked to see Gabi smile.

"How are the New Year's Eve bookings looking?" Caleb asked, getting a glimmer of an idea.

Gabi groaned, and shook her head before admitting, "New Year's Eve will be a disaster unless we get a lot of last minute bookings. Three months wasn't enough time to make the arrangements and advertise. I've got a local band booked, but only three reservations."

"So, there wouldn't be a problem if we booked the rest of the restaurant?" Caleb asked.

Gabi stopped, and stared at Caleb wide eyed for a moment before softly saying, "You don't have to do that for me, Uncle Caleb. I'll figure it out on my own, somehow."

"I wouldn't be doing it for you," Caleb protested. He looked at her narrowed eyes before saying, "Okay, maybe a little bit. But I've got another problem, and booking Refugio East could be a way to start working on the solution. The trouble is, I don't know how many people will be there. It could be ten, or a hundred, or even more. There will probably be kids there, too."

"Okay, consider it booked," Gabi said, unable to keep the relief out of her voice. "Our licensed capacity is for three hundred people, but I was planning on spreading the tables out more for New Year's Eve. If kids are going to be there, maybe we can set up a separate room for the kids. Just remember, Uncle Caleb. You're only paying for the people that show up. You will not bankroll my restaurant. Are we clear on that?" she asked, eyes narrow again.

"Yes, ma'am," Caleb agreed.

Caleb sighed and said, "Gabi ... about all the secrecy." He took a breath before continuing with, "Gabi, you need to blame me for them not telling you about what was going on: not your parents. I asked them not to tell you because I felt that knowing would put you in danger," Caleb explained.

"Fine, Uncle Caleb," Gabi snapped, her good humor gone in a flash. "You know what? I don't even care anymore about what the big secret is. I came tonight because both of them insisted. Just tell me whatever you're going to tell me, so I can get back to Beaumont and get some sleep tonight."

They had started walking again, after their agreement about New Year's Eve, and Gabi's outburst had been delivered as they entered the living room.

"The gangs all here," Gabi said sarcastically, as she dropped into a chair tiredly.

"Kim almost didn't make it tonight," Bill grumbled, irritated at Gabi's attitude. "If she hadn't been alert, she would have gotten kidnapped.

Gabi quickly straightened and demanded, "What kidnappers? What's going on?"

"Kim ran into some people who were trying to kidnap her," Caleb said, sitting in a chair next to her.

"What ... Are you okay?" Gabi blurted the question at Kim, wondering why everyone wasn't panicking.

"I'm fine," Kim assured her friend.

"Physically she's okay. She may need to make a mental adjustment after causing three men to die," Collette said bluntly.

"What?" Gabi blurted again before turning to Caleb and plaintively asking, "Uncle Caleb, what's going on?"

"Gabi, what is going on is the reason your parents were so insistent that I answer the questions that you had for them, today," Caleb answered. "We had hoped that we wouldn't encounter the enemy that directed the kidnapping, again, but we have. Bill and Collette are in danger because of what is happening. Since you are living with them at the moment, that puts you in danger, too."

"What kind of danger? What do the police say?" Gabriela asked, fear in her voice.

"We can't really go to the police about why we are in danger," JJ explained. "The police are as much of a danger to us as the person that is after us. By us, I am including your parents."

"The police are searching for the person that is endangering us," Caleb assured her. "He was supposed to be locked up, but he killed a couple of guards and escaped. That was last year, but now he's in Texas. As for the why ... That is what your parents want me to explain to you. Also, if you want, I'm supposed to offer you membership in our little group," he concluded wryly.

"This isn't something weird, is it, Uncle Caleb?" Gabi asked dubiously. "I have enough 'weird' in my life getting that restaurant going. I really didn't know that it would be so much work. I don't know how Mom and Dad did it."

"Like I said, they had a lot of help, and I can't promise that it won't be weird," Caleb said with a chuckle.

It unnerved Gabriela when the others chuckled with him.

"I can promise that it will help you with the restaurant, in some ways," Caleb continued. "It can also provide some protection, after it has fully manifested. However, the choice is yours after you hear the story. Also, whether you decide to take the plunge or not, we have some other ways to help protect you."

"Okay," Gabi said dubiously. "I'm assuming this story is what Mom and Dad wouldn't tell me?"

"Got it in one," Caleb said, smiling at his pseudo-niece in understanding. His expression sobered as he remembered, and he began by saying, "Remember last year when that rocket landed on my camp-site and destroyed my truck?"

Gabi nodded, so Caleb continued with, "That rocket was actually a real, live space ship with aliens on board. They all died, but the last one to die touched me before he died. Another alien consciousness was living in one of the physical alien's minds. That consciousness was able to move to my mind, after I gave it permission."

"Uncle Caleb, I'm tired. Exhausted really. I really don't feel like getting involved with one of your jokes tonight," Gabi said as she slumped back in the overstuffed chair.

"Gabriela," Caleb said sternly. "This is no joke, and it's no game. This is deadly serious. All of us are in danger. You are in danger because you're associated with us."

Gabi sat up in shock. Caleb hadn't talked to her in that tone of voice since he caught her smoking when she was fourteen ... and she hadn't tried to smoke since!

Caleb proceeded to give Gabriela the entire story. He explained how JJ and her kids accidentally received Companions. He even included the embarrassing circumstances of it being the first time they made love. Then he described the decision to tell JJ's parents about the Companions because of her uncle's cancer. Caleb and his Companion could heal the cancer. During the process, JJ's parents and Uncle also inadvertently received Companions.

Gabi's eyes reflected her battle with disbelief throughout the story. She began accepting the truth when Caleb began recounting her parents' reaction to his tale. He also explained their concern for Gabi, and why she hadn't been told much earlier. His explanation about her mom's reasoning to get a Companion brought a smile to Gabi's face.

"That sounds like Mom," Gabi said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well, her main reason was to help and protect you and your dad," Caleb pointed out. "Your dad just went along because your mom was so insistent."

"She can steamroll him sometime," Gabi admitted. "I don't see how she could protect Dad, though. She's so tiny, and he's so big."

"It isn't the size of the package, but what's inside," JJ said cryptically.

"Yeah," Caleb agreed more seriously. "The evening after your parents received a Companion, Kim actually was kidnapped."

"What? What happened? Why haven't I heard about this?" Gabi demanded angrily.

"Because it's a secret, and too many people already know about it," Caleb retorted sternly. "The primary kidnapper was killed by us, or by Kim I should say, and the other two were incapacitated. The other two were killed later by their boss. We used that information to try to put their boss away for a long time, and were almost successful. But, like I said, he escaped, and that is who we are worried about now."

"Gabi, I don't think you understand something," Collette spoke up, her voice stern. "This is very dangerous information for you to have. What would happen if the government knew about us?"

"They would lock you up and study you," Gabi said without hesitation.

"Exactly," Collette agreed. "The government would bury us and your parents so deep that no one could find us. What would happen to anyone they thought might know about our Companions?"

"They would disappear, too," Gabi answered, nearly in a whisper. "And probably not for study."

"Now do you understand why your parents didn't want to tell you?" Caleb asked.

Gabi nodded slowly, with a frown on her face, before she asked, "Why wasn't I offered a Companion?"

"Your parents are the only two that have received a Companion on purpose, that wasn't a matter of necessity. I had to tell them because I needed their help combating General Branch," Caleb explained. "Jorge Ramirez also has a Companion. He was shot when Kim was kidnapped. Infusing him with a Companion was the only way to save his life. Having a Companion is a benefit, but there's also danger associated with it. We have a madman after us because we brought him down, and if the government finds out about us, they'll be after us, too. Your parents didn't want you to be in unnecessary danger."