Chapter 50: Lesson Learned

May 22, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“I am really, really sorry,” I said to Mitsuko when she arrived at the dojo on Sunday morning.

“You already apologized. And you did say you would call me if there was an issue.”

“Yes, but my brain was completely addled if I forgot my sister’s wedding and the fact that my parents would be in town!”

“Is that the effect I have on you?” she said with a smile.

“The first day I saw you? Most certainly!”

“So THAT’S the truth! You weren’t just being polite and sweet.”

“I was entranced by the most beautiful Japanese girl I’d ever seen in my life. Perfection.”

“I think my sister is prettier,” she protested.

“Your sister is a young girl; you’re a woman.”

“I was eighteen then! She’s fifteen now.”

“Don’t argue with me!” I said with a smile. “Take the compliment!”

She nodded, bowed her head demurely, and said, “Thank you.”

“Shall we do our warm-ups and practice?” I asked.

“Yes!” she said brightly.

Just under an hour later we showered separately, dressed, then met back in the main room.

“Are we still on for dinner on Saturday?”

“Yes! Would you mind giving Miyu and me a ride to the competition?”

“Not at all. I’ll pick you up at your dorm at 6:45am on Saturday.”

“Thanks!”

I walked her back to her dorm, then headed home for lunch with my dad, my wives, Michelle, and the kids. After we ate, my dad and I went to my study to talk.

“Your life seems to have become even more complicated,” my dad said.

“Michelle?” I asked.

He nodded.

“That’s a long, complicated story,” I said.

My dad smiled, “With you, it always is. It’s just with all the problems you’ve had with Jessica; I don’t understand why you would bring another young woman into this house in that way.”

“Do you have an hour or so? Or will I take away time with your grandkids?”

“I spent some time with them while you were training this morning.”

I nodded, and began the story with Michelle’s first visit to the Rap Session and took him through the attempted rape, her visit to the monastery, and her return. He stopped me a few times with questions, but mostly let me tell the story.

I concluded with, “And none of that was planned on my part.”

“You do seem to attract confused and damaged young women. I’m not sure your way of helping them is the best, but when I look at all the girls I’ve known about, and I am sure there are more, you have a pretty good record of success.”

“What brought this on?”

He shook his head, “Don’t worry about it.”

That meant it had to be my mom who’d said something. Well, that was HER problem, not mine, and I wasn’t going to let it bother me.

“But you specifically mentioned Michelle. Why?”

“I get the feeling from watching her with your kids, she wants kids of her own. You certainly can’t give them to her, and even if you could, I think kids by four women is quite enough, don’t you?”

I chuckled, “That wasn’t exactly the plan; it just kind of developed that way. You have to admit that nobody saw Jennifer being lesbian, Kara having her meltdown, or Elyse proposing to me out of the blue.”

“Son, soap opera writers are in awe of your life! If they wrote this, nobody would believe it!”

“True,” I agreed. “What’s your concern?”

“That she’s denying herself something she truly wants, to be with you, and I’m afraid it’s going to end badly.”

“I’ve talked about this with my wives, but especially Kara. There are some amazing parallels between their lives.”

“Just be careful, Son. I think Michelle is more fragile than you realize.”

I shook my head, “And I think she’s stronger than you realize. All those hours of deep philosophical and spiritual discussion gave me a very good insight into her. But, I don’t disagree she’s going to have to make some difficult choices, and relatively soon.”

“So long as you’re aware,” he said, nodding soberly,. “How is Abbie?”

“She’s very happy. I’ll be shocked if I don’t hear she’s pregnant by the end of the summer.”

“Speaking of summer, is your Japan trip set in stone now?”

“Yes. Go ahead and make your plans to come up next month.”

“Your sister seems to be doing OK, but getting her to talk to me is like pulling teeth.”

“I know,” I said. “She’s really enjoying working for Samantha and she’s getting very good training for when she comes to NIKA in three years.”

“It’s hard to believe that young woman is worth somewhere around $600,000,000!”

“And yet, it’s true. Ed and Stephanie are flying to St. Martin on Samantha’s private jet to stay at one of Samantha’s houses. I was there a couple of years ago. Samantha is flying down there in two weeks with three girls and their boyfriends. In that private Gulfstream!”

My dad shook his head, “You and I are comfortable; that’s just crazy for a twenty-year-old girl!”

“Nineteen,” I said with a smile.

“Her boyfriend seems like a good man.”

“Handpicked,” I grinned.

“One of many, apparently!”

“You know Kara is reasonably sure that’s what’s going to happen with Michelle. She’s going to come to me and ask me to select a mate for her.”

“Dangerous,” my dad said.

“It is fraught with risk, but I’m not sure how I sidestep it, or if I should. But I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Or drive off it,” my dad said.

He had a point. We left my study so he could spend more time with the grandkids, and I went to spend time with my wives and Michelle.

Family dinner was a bit awkward, because there was no way I could avoid inviting my parents, which meant my brother had to be there. We arranged the seating so that he was at a card table with adults, and my wives watched him like a hawk. My parents and my brother left shortly after dinner and the rest of us relaxed in the great room until bedtime, when, as I’d agreed with my wives, I joined Michelle in her room.

“Are you doing OK?” I asked as we climbed into bed.

“Why are you asking?”

Michelle snuggled close and I put my arm around her.

“Because I love you and I want to make sure you’re OK.”

“Class is fine; church is fine, although Father Basil hopes you’ll come to church again soon; living here is wonderful; the kids are wonderful; your wives are wonderful; you’re wonderful.”

“From anyone else, I’d probably accept that. It just sounds too ‘pat’ for you. You’re deeper than that.”

“I like it when YOU’RE deeper!” she giggled.

“Me too,” I agreed, “but you still have your conflicts. And I’m concerned that I might not be meeting your needs.”

“Because I asked for tonight?”

“No; that made sense because Friday night was basically shot by the bachelor party.”

“Are you telling me you want me to leave?” she asked apprehensively.

I turned so we could look in each other’s eyes.

“No, I’m not. But I know that what you really want, deep down, is a full-time partner who can give you children.”

“Steve Adams, I love you. Deeply. I’d rather have you, like this, than anything else in the world. I mean that.”

“I love you, too,” I said. “And that’s why I’m concerned. I think, deep down, in here,” I gently tapped her sternum, “there is a need I can’t fulfill.”

She kissed my nose, “I know you care. And even if I assume you’re right, which I’m not agreeing to, but if we assume you are, then I still have two years of school to complete before I would even think about it.”

I wondered if that was what it was - that the timing was wrong to consider her options, and that once she graduated and started working, things might change.

“A reasonable point,” I said.

Her hand slipped between us and grasped me, “Speaking of a point, do you think you could point this thing someplace warm and inviting?”

I kissed her softly, “Absolutely!”

May 25, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“Steve, I have Katy Anisimov on the line for you,” Lucas said.

I shook my head. First Lucy. Now Katy. At least Tatyana was still Russian!

“Put her through to the ‘Orr’ room in one minute, please.”

Penny glared at me as I grabbed my notebook and went to the conference room to take the call.

“Hello, Yekatarina Sergeyevna,” I said, exaggerating the pronunciation.

“Stepa, when I speak to people who are not Russian, Katy or Katherine are the only good options. Katya or Yekatarina get mangled!”

“Trust me; I’ll make sure Lucas is versed in Russian names going forward!”

She laughed, “OK. I have complete information for you on two of the three people, and partial information on the third.”

“Give me the highlights, please, then fax the dossiers, if you would. To Elyse’s private fax machine, please. That number is in my file.”

“Yes, I see it here. So, Mr. Littleton. Born San Antonio, Texas, 1947; Attended UCLA and received a degree in political science in 1969; Graduated Stanford Law School in 1972; Admitted to the California Bar in 1972; Moved to Illinois in 1976 to marry Mandy North; Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1976; Two daughters, twins, actually, 17; Formed his law practice in 1978 with his partner, Zimmer, though I did not get details on Zimmer; Has a reputation for grandstanding and making stirring, emotional arguments to juries; Has won several big cases and received large fee awards; No disciplinary action; no complaints to the Bar Association.”

“OK,” I said.

“John Milton, born Chicago, Illinois, 1941. Degree in business, University of Illinois, 1963. Formed Milton and Lomax with college friend Lomax in 1963. Married 1965 to Gail Ford. Two sons, 26 and 22. Has a reputation as a tough businessman. No legal proceedings against him or his company. Well respected by his peers.”

“OK. And Scuderi?”

“Much more interesting, but more for what I can’t find than what I can. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1939 to a Carlo Scuderi. But, I can find no employment information for either the son or the father, yet they seem to have sufficient resources to own expensive homes and cars. Scuderi is married to a Maria Ingolia, but I haven’t found the marriage record. They have three children, but I have no ages.”

“OK. Can you find that information?”

“Eventually, yes. The lack of employment concerns me. In my former job, finding a man with significant means and no job usually indicated black market or organized crime. I’m waiting for the criminal records check to come back, but that takes some time. I did the easy ones first, which I hope is OK.”

“Yes, of course. Go ahead and fax everything to Elyse’s private fax, as I said, and let me know when you uncover more information.”

“I will, Stepa!”

“Thanks, KATY,” I chuckled.

She laughed, we said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up. I found it hilarious that the woman who had complained about her daughter going by ‘Lucy Alexa’ was now going by ‘Katy’. I closed my notebook and went to Elyse’s office where the fax machine had just answered a call.

“That’s my research,” I said.

“Research?”

“Yes. Research.”

“Littleton?”

“Among others. Guess what Littleton has?”

“A daughter?” she smirked.

I shook my head, “No. Not a daughter. TWIN teenage daughters. Seventeen.”

Elyse burst out laughing, “That would be SO sweet! They’re legal! Get all six cherries, at the same time, and let him know!”

“And if you thought he was impossible now...”

“OK, so it was a bad idea, but still ... so now what?”

“I don’t know. Colonel Anisimova is sending the dossiers. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them. I’m still thinking about it. The REAL target is ‘Little Tony’.”

“‘Little Tony’? Seriously?”

“Yeah, my Chicago friends call him that because they think he’s a small man with a big mouth. You know, a blowhard.”

“The most dangerous ones are like that. Sonny.”

“Sonny wasn’t dangerous! He was stupid and got riddled with bullets. The truly dangerous one was the cold, calculating Michael.”

“You?”

I shrugged, “No comment. For your own good.”

“Just be careful, please.”

“I will,” I said.

In the end, I took 35 pages from Elyse’s fax machine, put them in an envelope she handed me, and then put them in my leather satchel to take home and lock in my desk. I’d review them and see if I could find anything I could use to turn the tables on Anthony. And if I could find ANYTHING that linked Littleton and Scuderi, I’d own Mr. Brandon Littleton.

Then it hit me, there was one thing I could ask, but I had no way of asking it without arousing suspicion. If I could find out, through Carla, if Peter Scuderi had paid Brandon Littleton to represent her, that would be the link. I was sure it was there. I’d found too many threads that all seemed to be part of the same piece of cloth. I wondered if Brandon Littleton even knew he was tied to the Mob, at least tangentially.

I wondered if Arthur Drake knew he was taking money from the Mafia. Given the dire situation BLS was in at that point, nothing would surprise me, and if he couldn’t get funds from a bank, he might well try ‘alternative’ sources of operating capital. Or, it could be that he was simply a convenient pawn in Anthony’s game. But I wondered about that. Had he unwittingly participated, or was he a willing, knowing participant.

At this point, I didn’t have enough information and would have to wait for Katya to provide more.

May 28, 1994, Chicago, Illinois

“Good morning, Mitsuko! Good morning, Miyu!”

“Good morning!” Mitsuko replied.

“Hi!” Miyu answered.

“Ready to compete?” I asked as I opened the door of the BMW for them.

“Yes! Are you fully recovered from your accident? Mitsuko told me about it.”

I closed the door and walked around the car and got in.

“Yes, though I can never spar again because of the risk of concussion from a blow to the head.”

“That’s too bad. But everything else is OK?”

“I’m not allowed to strike anything with my left hand until after my trip to Japan next month. But otherwise, yes, everything else is OK.”

“What are you judging?”

“I won’t know until we get there,” I said. “I didn’t call to find out the assignments.”

I had called Ailea, but we hadn’t talked about the tournament assignments. I would see her at the tournament, but I knew she wouldn’t do or say anything that would give away our relationship to her grandfather.

“How is school going?” I asked.

“Good. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here. My mom is very strict about school. Are you taking us to dinner tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Cool!”

She chattered on for the next thirty minutes until we arrived at Alumni Hall at DePaul University for the meet. Miyu and Mitsuko went to registration, while I walked into the judges’ room to find Sensei Ichirou and Ailea. I got my arm band and then sat down to wait for the briefing that would come just before the meet started. I was happy to see both Royce and Marnie walk in a few minutes after I did. They sat down to my right and we greeted each other.

“We missed you for the last meet,” Marnie said. “I heard you were injured.”

“I took a bad fall,” I said. “Not martial arts related. I’m fine now.”

“That’s good. I heard you’re going to Japan to train next month.”

“I am. It’s been a long time coming. I was supposed to go a couple of years ago, but family and work made it impossible. The stars have finally aligned and I can make my trip. How are things with the two of you?”