Chapter 7: Complete Immunity

August 17, 1996, RTC Great Lakes, Illinois

“Jesse was very put out that he wasn’t allowed to come to this party,” Pete said.

“Oh, I know,” I replied. “I got an earful about it. But none of our wives, nor Jennifer or Elyse, would tolerate us having our boys involved when we’re drinking heavily, smoking cigars, and generally acting like what Kara refers to as ‘Men!’, in THAT tone of voice!”

“I think we have enough bourbon and scotch to float an aircraft carrier,” Howard laughed. “But I’m not sure it’s enough given the number of sailors we’re going to have here!”

“No enlisted men, right?” Tom asked.

“Actually, there will be,” Clayton replied. “The fraternization rules are relaxed for things like this, or holiday parties for departments.”

“Karl always insisted the regulations were strict,” I countered.

“They are, but as I said, there are exceptions. In this case we spoke to the base commander and received permission. He’ll actually stop by for a drink at some point. So will the XO and Command Master Chief, and a bunch of other sailors and Marines.”

“Steve, are you having recruits for Thanksgiving?” Ed asked.

“No, we’re having turkey and fixings,” I chuckled. “I might get in trouble if I served recruits for dinner! But yes, I put in our usual request for four and it was approved.”

“Who’s taking over for you, Karl?” Jamie asked, ignoring my silly reply.

“Commander Louis P. Jackson. He was most recently assigned to Fleet Activities Yokosuka. Steve, he knows your friend Lieutenant Shaughnessy from the USS Blue Ridge. He deployed on her tour. She has an education billet right now, doesn’t she?”

“Correct. She’s going to MIT to get her Master’s and PhD, and then she’ll be assigned to the Naval Research Lab. And, Commander, I expect her to have the correct rank when she does.”

“Don’t look at me!” Karl protested. “I agree with you completely! But I believe they’ll do right by her.”

“I sure as hell hope so.”

More of our civilian friends and several sailors arrived, and Clayton, Howard, and Aaron decided to officially kick off the party by pouring drinks for everyone and each making a toast. I’d arranged for a car service to take Dave, Ed, Tom, Terry, and me back to Hyde Park, so I wasn’t worried about limiting what I drank. That said, I’d agreed with Kara and Jessica that I wouldn’t get ‘falling-down’ drunk, a state I’d only approached when drinking vodka with my Russian friends.

“Steve,” Karl said, “I’d like you to meet my dad, Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Schumacher, USAF, retired. Dad, this is my friend Steve. He’s the one who owns the company for which I sit on the Board of Directors.”

“Pleased to meet you, Colonel,” I said, shaking his hand.

“I’ve heard quite a few good things about you,” Colonel Schumacher replied. “I hear you come from a Navy family.”

“That’s right. My dad couldn’t make it tonight, but he called Commander Schumacher to wish him a safe trip.”

“The only thing unsafe about his assignment is the state of his bank account when Ginny gets done shopping!”

I laughed, “I can imagine! I heard you fly?”

“I did, and then had responsibility for a maintenance unit. I hear you grew up in southern Ohio.”

“You heard correctly. Karl said you were assigned to Wright-Patterson until you retired.”

“And before that at Davis-Monthan in Tucson.”

“We lived in Tucson for about a year when I was younger,” I replied. “We went to the airshow at the base. That would have been around 1970, right before we moved to Ohio.”

“We were in Florida then, after a stint in Germany, where Karl was born. His little sister, Margaret, was born in California. Later we moved to Ohio.”

“You lived in Dayton?”

“No, just outside Rutherford, which is in Harding County.”

“I grew up in Milford, in Clermont County, so we were just up Route 50 from you. Where are you living now?”

“Florida. Once I retired, we bought some property on the Gulf Coast and never looked back.”

“Can I get you a drink, Colonel?” I asked, seeing he was empty handed.

He stiffened, “Don’t touch the stuff; never have.”

I nodded, “I have a friend who’s a doctor who has that same attitude. His is because of surgery; I’d guess yours is because of flying?”

I saw Karl grimace slightly and wondered what I’d just stepped into.

“No, Son, it’s because alcohol is a demon and should never pass your lips.”

I thought back and realized that despite being nominally Lutheran, I had no idea what Karl’s church background was. I realized I might have stumbled upon it accidentally.

“Dad, not now, please,” Karl interjected. “You promised.”

His dad shook his head, “Sorry, Son. Nice to meet you, Steve.”

He turned and walked away to where several senior naval officers were standing.

“Oops,” I said quietly.

“Don’t sweat it. You didn’t know. I don’t think my dad has had a drink in his whole life.”

“Were you raised in a fundamentalist church?”

“You might say that,” Karl said, shaking his head. “I quit going when I went to college and you know I don’t have much interest in church. Ginny and I go to a Lutheran church occasionally, and we had the boys baptized, but I’m pretty much in your boat. My sister is very faithful in her church, but she and Dad had a falling out on that subject when she was seventeen. But let’s forget about that.”

“I hope I didn’t cause a rift.”

“He was restrained,” Karl laughed. “He knows we sailors drink oceans of booze. And speaking of which, let’s refill these bourbon glasses!”

“No objection! I just promised Kara and Jess I wouldn’t get falling down drunk.”

Karl laughed, “I only promised no strippers!”

“Come on, Counselor,” I chuckled. “You have to have some kind of loophole!”

“Ginny is married to a lawyer!” Howard laughed, from behind me. “She knows ALL the loopholes!”

“Not to mention the REST of our wives would kill us all!” Brian added from where he was next to Howard.

“You’re a newlywed, Lieutenant!” Karl grinned. “If you’re looking for strippers...”

“I didn’t say I was, Commander!” he protested. “Would YOU like to explain that to Samantha? Or Jeri?”

“No! Let’s drink!”

“I have cigars for everyone,” Pete called out. “My courier brought them from Ohio!”

“Those damned submariners can’t be trusted!” Clayton laughed. “Always sneaking around!”

“There are only two things in the ocean, Commander,” Jake laughed. “Submarines and targets.”

“See?” Clayton declared. “Only a submariner would classify an American warship as a ‘target’.”

Our joshing was interrupted when my ‘other’ cell phone rang. I couldn’t very well take the call inside, so I excused myself and went out the front door. I walked out to the sidewalk and a bit away before answering the phone. I hadn’t wanted to, but I knew after my brief call to Agent Stone earlier, I had to.

“Adams,” I said flatly.

“A week from Monday. Be at the DuPage Airport at 7:30am. You’ll get further instructions during the flight. No guns.”

“You, too. I see a gun, I walk. Period.”

“You’re going to fuck things up with your demands, Adams. You HAVE to do this our way.”

“I don’t HAVE to do a damned thing,” I replied. “Remember, I see or hear anything I don’t like, I walk. And remember what happened the last time you tried to threaten me.”

“Just be there.”

“I will,” I replied.

I pressed the button to disconnect the call, then pulled out my personal phone and called Agent Stone to let him know.

“Remember,” Agent Stone said sternly, “you can’t do anything to break the law or violate prison rules. We can’t help you if you do.”

“Remind me what I get out of this?”

“The satisfaction of keeping that scumbag in jail.”

“Somehow, me doing your job for you doesn’t give me much satisfaction.”

“Then how about supporting the Rule of Law?”

“Forget trying to appeal to my better nature, Agent Stone. I agree the guy belongs in jail, but I don’t like being in the middle of this.”

“Just remember, you went there voluntarily the first time.”

“Oh, I know. What do you want me to do?”

“I’m sure you won’t be able to get in touch until you get back to Chicago. I also can’t imagine whatever is going to happen will happen THAT day. But we’ll make sure we have agents in the area just in case.”

“I think you’re mistaken, Agent Stone. If it has to be a specific day, it has to be related to a work schedule or some other prison procedure.”

“The problem we have is that we don’t want to tip them off by alerting the warden.”

“Oh that’s just genius,” I replied tartly.

“He’ll never get out of the country. We want to roll up everyone behind this. Have you heard anything from his daughter?”

“No, of course not. There is no way she’s involved in this.”

“We can’t rule anyone out, and she’s a prime suspect, given the people who we know who are involved work for Spurgeon.”

“People, Agent Stone? What more do you know?”

“You DO NOT need to know.”

“If that’s your attitude, then you, I, and an attorney are going to sit down and put everything in writing. If you can’t trust me, I can’t trust you. I’m not getting rolled up in this because some US Attorney or State’s Attorney decides he can charge me with conspiracy. Complete immunity, Agent Stone. Make it happen.”

“God damn it!” he spat. “It’s not that easy. Or that fast.”

“Complete, Agent Stone. Before I go to Big Muddy. Or I call it off. That’s not negotiable.”

“I’ll call you.”

“You do that,” I replied, and disconnected the call.

I went back inside and deflected a couple of questions about my absence, but nobody made a big deal about it. I was seriously considering simply refusing to go to Big Muddy, and if I didn’t like the documents the FBI, US Attorney, and the State’s Attorney drew up, I would refuse. It was something I should have insisted on before, and, I decided I was going to do whatever was necessary to protect Samantha.

I didn’t believe she was involved, but if she was, I HAD to make sure she got out BEFORE it got to a point where she could be charged with anything. There was circumstantial evidence, I was sure, especially given the fact that Murray Matheson worked for Spurgeon Capital, and that I’d used her plane on the trip down after seeing Noel at her wedding.

The party was a blast, and finally broke up about 2:00am. Dave, Terry, Tom, Ed, and I piled into the limo, none of us in any condition to drive. I was the last one dropped off, about 3:30am, and as I’d agreed with my wives and Maria Cristina, I slept in one of the guest rooms in the basement.

August 18, 1996, Hyde Park, Illinois

Penny burst through the front door without knocking, yelling my name. When I heard her, I laughed, got up from the floor cushions in the ‘Indian’ room where I’d been lounging with Kara and Maria Cristina, and went to meet her.

“What?” I asked with a silly grin.

“What the fuck?! Dave quit? Terry is taking his job? And you didn’t fucking tell me?”

“It happened when you were on vacation, Penelope,” I replied, twisting the knife just a bit by using her given name.

“Watch it, asshole!” she growled. “But what the fuck?”

“Take a deep breath and think it through, Pretty Penny,” I replied, now trying to soothe the savage beast. “Terry taking that role is logical. And it’s not as if you and Terry are fighting. This is good for the kids, for him, and for NIKA.”

“But it happened a week ago! You didn’t call!”

“Because you were vacationing. I see you got a lot of sun. Did you enjoy yourself?”

“Don’t try to change the subject!” she spat.

“I didn’t. You WERE on vacation. You have a nice tan. I noticed and asked if you had fun.”

“You should have called me!”

I shook my head, “No. That would violate my rules about completely disconnecting. You needed the time away. Dave only decided on this course of action after you left.”

“You don’t just get a teaching job overnight!”

“It took one call from me to Doctor Bauer to make it happen. That shouldn’t surprise you! He’s been trying to get YOU to work on your Master’s and teach!”

“But not quit!”

“Dave was burned out, Penny. Which is exactly why I didn’t want to interrupt your vacation with something that you would find out when you came home. You’ll notice your mom and Bart didn’t call you, either.”

“That was Bart!” Penny growled. “He ALWAYS agrees with you!”

“Which didn’t bother you when you were fifteen and it worked in your favor,” I chuckled.

“I still say you should have called me!”

“I know that’s what you think. And I disagree. And I’m the boss. How was your vacation?”

“Relaxing. Lots of time on the beach, good food, and we found some good, fun company!”

I chuckled, “I bet. Go back to your kids and I’ll see you in the office on Monday morning.”

She glared at me, but there was just enough of a hint of a smile that I knew she wasn’t REALLY angry. She turned and left, and I went back to the ‘Indian’ room.

“No blood, Snuggle Bear? I’m impressed!”

“Was that a real risk?” Maria Cristina asked.

“Penny can be pretty volatile,” I chuckled. “She’s been that way since I met her when she was fourteen. She’s one of the best software engineers at NIKA. She’s not really upset about what happened, just that I kept her in the dark. But it’s true that everything came to a head while she was gone. And obviously I can’t talk about discussions I have with other executives about their careers with Penny, despite how close we are.”

“I got the idea you two dated.”

I nodded, “When I was in college and she was in High School, but it ended when she came to work for NIKA when she was sixteen.”

“How old were you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“I thought you and Kara were together by then?”

Kara nodded, “We were, but we weren’t. It started around the time of our Year in the Wilderness I told you about.”

“That was an amazing love story!” Maria Cristina replied with a slight sigh.

“Not when it was happening,” Kara countered. “It does show that love conquers all, but it was pretty bad at the time.”

“And then you met Jessica.”

“Yes, but that wasn’t easy either, because of Bethany’s accident.”

“You were going to marry her, right?” Maria Cristina asked me.

“As Bethany said, we were way too close to get married,” I replied.

“That makes no sense at all,” Maria Cristina protested.

“It actually does,” I countered gently. “We were the best of friends, but the way that developed, and the way our physical intimacy developed, left us both psychologically scarred and we’ve been able to be friends and lovers, but never a true couple.”

“And she would have had a three-way marriage with you two?”

Kara laughed, “No, that would have required Kathy Jaeger! She and Bethany were like Jessica and me.”

“I think I’m missing a LOT of history!” Maria Cristina declared. “I get the idea you dated nearly every girl you know at one point or another.”

“Yes, he has,” Kara said. “But he chose Jessica and me. And you.”

“Daddy?” Ashley called from the door to the ‘Indian’ room.

“Yes, Cinderella?”

“Can you help me pack my backpack for kindergarten tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I grinned, getting up.

August 19, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“What was so urgent that you needed to see me so early?” Samantha asked. “And why the ‘cloak and dagger’?”

I’d called Brian using Jessica’s cell phone and arranged to meet Samantha at the diner in Bridgeport I’d frequented when I’d been at IIT, and where I’d met Candace O’Malley. I wondered whatever became of her, but we’d never been close, and it was just a passing thought.

“Is there something going on with your dad I need to know about?” I asked.

“My dad? Why?”

“Just answer the question, please.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re sure?”

“Steve, what’s going on?”

“I can’t say. Just promise me you’re not involved in any schemes with your dad.”

“I’m not, but you’re worrying me.”

“You trust me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then just let this go, please. I mean don’t do ANYTHING differently. If you aren’t involved, then there is literally no harm that can come to you.”

“Harm? Come on, Steve. I’m not an idiot. What is my dad planning? I need to know.”

I considered for a moment, then decided the way to be absolutely sure was to actually tell her I knew.

“A vacation,” I replied. “A permanent one.”

Samantha nodded knowingly, “I always wondered about his contingency plans, but I never figured out what they might be.”

“Just don’t say or do anything, please? Let me handle this, please.”

Samantha shook her head, “He never did figure out you and he were not the same. He thought you were putting on a front and that, in the end, you liked teenage girls as disposable playthings.”

“You know there is some truth to that,” I replied.

“Not the way he meant it. I know that from personal experience! And I can’t believe you’ve treated any girls the way he treated them.”

“Let’s just say that from your dad’s perspective, I can see why he believes he and I are very similar.”

Samantha shook her head, “When you turned down his job offer, and refused to be drawn into his world, it was pretty clear to me. Just don’t be dumb, Steve.”

“I’m here to make sure YOU aren’t doing anything dumb. I didn’t think you were, but if you were, I wanted to make sure you stopped before you attracted the wrong kind of attention.”

“Who’s the insider?”

I shook my head, “Please stay out of this. I promise to tell you everything when I can. And please don’t ask any more questions.”

“You know I’ll castrate whoever it is, right? And serve them their own balls for breakfast.”

I nodded, “I know.”

“Once upon a time, my dad had somebody he trusted, and who seemed very loyal, screw him royally. You can imagine my dad’s reaction to that.”