Chapter 5: Sine Missione

August 25, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Alec Glass just called for you. He said it was urgent!”

“What number?”

“His mobile. Do you want me to get him for you?”

“No, I’ll make the call. Thanks.”

I set down my leather bag and turned on my computer. I looked up Alec’s cell number and dialed it.

“Hi, Alec, it’s Steve Adams. What’s up?”

“What’s the name of your security guy?”

“Patrick Shaughnessy from Global Security. Do you mind if I ask why you want to know?”

“Some punk has been following Lisa for the past couple of days. I’m going to get her a bodyguard, at least for the short term.”

“Did you talk to the CPD or FBI?”

“Both. And the Marshals service. Because Lisa refused Witness Protection, there isn’t anything the Marshals can do. The FBI talked to her, but it doesn’t seem to be in their jurisdiction. And you can imagine the CPD response.”

“One detective to take her statement, and nothing will come of it.”

“Exactly.”

“Actually, you should talk to my other friend, Katya Anisimova. She’s the former KGB protective officer. She handles the kind of personal security you’re talking about.”

“Let me have her number, please.”

“Let her know you’re my friend,” I said. “I guarantee they’ll take care of this immediately.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

“Anytime! Thanks again for all your help on the new building.”

“Lisa told me you closed last week and Brown Construction is already at work.”

“Yes. I didn’t even bother going to the closing. I just let the lawyers handle everything.”

Alec laughed, “You’re learning. I used to go to every single one of them, and to every court hearing. Then I discovered just how boring they really were in most instances and let the attorneys handle everything. I think every CEO and entrepreneur does that and learns the same thing.”

“That going blind on paperwork is NOT the way to live your life?” I chuckled.

“Amen! That’s what attorneys and accountants are for! Thanks for the contact information. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“You’re welcome!”

I really wasn’t surprised at the development, and the conversation with Theo about not talking to the FBI without an Outfit attorney present made even MORE sense than it had before. He knew they were going to send someone after Lisa, and having their attorney present was a way to ensure I didn’t do or say anything that could hurt the Outfit.

I wondered if the FBI would call, and if they did, what I should do. The LAST thing I needed was something which would tie me directly to the Outfit, and I was sure Theo and the higher ups knew that. If I brought an Outfit ‘mouthpiece’ with me, it would be waving a big red flag. And that was exactly what the Outfit wanted - to simply keep me from talking to the government.

Fundamentally, I didn’t WANT to talk to the government, and would be happy if they had simply left me alone, but it hadn’t worked out that way. That said, my larger concern was still Connie and Anthony, and their use of Scuderi to threaten me. I hadn’t seen him again, but I knew he, and they, were lurking.

I decided I needed to talk to Joyce, and as Penny wasn’t in the office, I could use my desk phone to make the call.

“They don’t appear willing to back off,” Joyce sighed. “Do you want me to say something to my grandmother?”

“No. Tell Connie, directly, that I’ll make sure Anthony finds out about her two visits to Chicago.”

“I’ve hinted at that and she’s laughed at me. I’m not sure if she doesn’t think he’ll believe it, or if she’s told him enough to make it not a real threat.”

“She does remember what I did the first time I discovered they were screwing with me, right?”

“I think that only served to piss her off in the long run.”

“So what do you advise?” I asked.

“Let it go for the moment. Maybe they won’t do anything more.”

“Do you REALLY believe that?” I asked.

“No,” Joyce sighed.

“Do you think there is ANY way to convince them we had nothing to do with the money disappearing?”

“They have to blame SOMEONE, and if you think about it, who are the likely suspects? You and me. Granted, there is no paper trail for them to find because of Swiss banking law, but that doesn’t mean much to them. All I can say is just wait and see what happens.”

“I’m not sure that’s the best strategy, but I don’t know of a better one.”

“Me, neither,” she sighed. “On another note, how is everything else?”

“Good. Are you guys still planning to visit over the holidays?”

“Yes. Nancy and I are splitting the days. She and Paul will come back to Ohio when Jake and I come up to Chicago.”

“We’re looking forward to it!”

“Let me know if anything happens.”

“Will do,” I agreed.

We hung up and I got to work. Penny arrived a few minutes later, kissed my cheek, and sat down at her workstation. I was very happy things with her were getting back to normal.

August 26, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Good morning, Sensei Steve!”

“Hi, Dyani! How was your Summer?”

“Good. I think I’m going to need a LOT of help getting back into the swing.”

“Did you practice every day during the Summer?”

“I tried, but I missed quite a few days.”

“Are you intending to restart our sessions tomorrow?”

“I had hoped so, yes.”

“Over Labor Day weekend Marcia is competing, so I won’t be available a week from tomorrow.”

“OK. But we can meet every Sunday otherwise?”

“I only have one trip planned between now and the end of the year which would take me away, so yes, except for one additional weekend.”

“Great! Did you get a chance to read any more about Diné spirituality?”

“Not much. I did finish the book, but I just really haven’t had time over the Summer.”

“Did you take your family trip to Europe?”

“I did! It’s time to line up. You’ll work with Will today, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

We both went into the main training room and lined up in our spots. When we finished exercises, I worked with Marcia with some help from Therese and Kara. I felt she was very much ready for the competition, and had a good chance at winning her second trophy.

“Sensei, my mom would like you to have dinner with us after the competition on Saturday.”

I thought back to the anonymous ‘footsie’ that had been played at Medici and wondered if this was evidence that it was Jillian, not Marcia, who had done it. Either way, having dinner with them wasn’t really something that caused any concern, and I didn’t have a good reason to decline the invitation.

“Sure. We can do that.”

“Great! See you Monday!”

“See you then!”

She left and I joined my wives, Michelle, and Birgit for the walk home. I let Jessica and Kara know that I was having dinner with Jillian and Marcia on Saturday, and that I’d be working with Dyani again on Sunday mornings.

“What are the girls doing tonight?” I asked.

“Jennifer has tickets for Buried Child at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company,” Kara said. “What are the guys doing?”

“Pete and Clayton arranged for us to play Paintball out in Naperville.”

“You and all those military guys?” Michelle laughed.

“They’re Naval officers, not Marines!” I chuckled. “I shoot better than most of them do!”

“You know, that might be a fun activity for team building,” Michelle said.

“I like that idea!” I said. “Feel free to set something up.”

“You and Eve have to be on opposite teams!”

“Spoilsport!” I chuckled. “I’ll just take Charlie, then!”

“Has Clayton been teaching her to shoot?”

“Yes. She’s about as good as I am at this point. Eve’s better with the .357, but with the 9mm we’re about equal.”

“So, you, Eve, and Charlie against everyone else?” Jessica snickered.

“That’ll make for a short event!” I laughed.

We arrived home and had lunch, and then Jessica went to bed. She’d lose a bit of sleep, but she’d decided that karate at least once a week was more important than an extra ninety minutes in bed. Just before 2:00pm, I headed out to the coach house so I could join Jesse and his moms for one of his hockey games.

“Who are you playing today?” I asked.

“Another team in our league. They’re from Oak Park. We should win.”

“Is the blonde girl still on your team?”

“Nicole? She’s our starting center.”

“Jen, how long do they let girls play on the teams?”

“Until High School. Then there are girls’ teams and boys’ teams. They’ve talked about allowing girls on the boys teams, but the way the state High School sports rules work, they can’t do that without an exception or a change in the rules.”

“Speaking of school, are you ready for school to start, Jesse?”

“Yes! I’ll be in fourth grade! Do you know when Larisa will be here?”

“Next month, but they’ll be in Washington, DC. You’ll have to wait until a school break of some kind to see her, most likely.”

“That sucks!” he complained.

“Jesse,” Josie said firmly.

“But it DOES suck, Mom Two!”

“And you know I don’t like you speaking that way.”

“I know,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“I’ll talk to Tatyana as soon as they’re settled in DC and see what we can arrange. And then we’ll work something out with your moms.”

“Fine,” he said flatly.

He was chafing more and more under the control of his moms, something all of my friends and I had seen with sons and mothers. For Jesse it was worse, in a sense, because he had TWO moms to deal with, not just one. That said, his two moms together weren’t a tenth as bad as MY mom, so I didn’t have a lot of sympathy.

The game went well for Jesse’s team, and he only gave up one goal while his teammates put four past the other goalie. Anna scored two of those, and she was clearly the best skater on the ice. As usual, Jesse and his gear stunk to high heaven, and I suppressed a chuckle when I wished Birgit had come along to the game.

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Can I play paintball with you guys?”

“I wish you could, but the law says you have to be twelve.”

“That’s dumb!”

“Yes, it is. It should be up to me and your moms, but it’s not. In a few years, you’ll be able to play with us.”

“Why do they make dumb laws? Like the one that says Mom One and Mom Two can’t get married?”

“They are married! It’s just the state refuses to acknowledge that. It’s like Aunt Jess, Aunt Kara, and me.”

“Can’t we make them change the laws?”

“Sometimes you have to go to court,” Jennifer said. “Because the legislature and the governor listen to ignorant people.”

“Why?”

“Money and power,” I said. “That’s all that matters to them.”

“And going to court doesn’t always work,” Josie said.

“So what do we do?” Jesse asked.

“Try to educate people,” Jennifer said. “You know, how your dad had those discussions on Sundays?”

“The Rap Sessions, you mean?”

“Yes. He tried to get people to have an open mind and not interfere with what other people do.”

“Are you going to start those up again?” Josie asked.

“I hadn’t planned on it,” I said. “We’re pretty much out of touch with students at the universities these days. Most of us are long-since graduated and don’t have much to do with the university. And it does create potential issues with Kara which we never thought about.”

“That’s too bad, really. Those were some very good talks.”

“I’ll be doing seminars once per semester at San Diego State,” I said. “That’s probably about the best I can do. Maybe, if those work out well, I can find other opportunities.”

When we arrived home, I had only a few minutes to get ready for the drive out to Naperville where the guys were meeting. We got the kids settled with the babysitters, who would only have our kids and Penny’s kids for the evening, and then I headed out to my car. I stopped at my sister’s place to pick up Ed, and just under an hour later, I walked into the building at the paintball range and saw Pete and Clayton waiting with a few other guys.

“When everyone is here, we’ll gear up. You have to wear goggles or a facemask, your choice, and I hope you took my advice about a cup.”

“I have the one I use for karate,” I replied. “I take THOSE kinds of warnings quite seriously!”

I also had padded gloves, knee protectors under my khaki pants, and elbow protectors and two shirts under my khaki jacket. I knew the paintballs could hurt, and wanted to have as few bruises as possible from the impacts. Fifteen minutes later, after everyone had arrived, Pete and Clayton handed out equipment and explained how to use the paintball guns. They went over the rules, ensured everyone had their goggles or mask, and then led us out into a wooded area where we divided into two teams.

The only way to describe the evening was that it was an absolute blast. I hadn’t done anything remotely like that in the past, and my evening was made when I caught Clayton completely unawares and shot him square in the back from behind before he knew I was there. He took a fair amount of ribbing from Pete over that, and swore revenge the next time we played.

August 28, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Charlie, do you have a moment?” I asked after the Leadership meeting on Monday morning.

“Sure! What’s up?”

“Privately, please,” I said.

We walked to the ‘Orr’ room and I waved her to a chair.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“I doubt it,” I said with a smile. “I’ve thought about this for over a week and decided to ask. Do you know who has been talking to Eve Falvey?”

“About?”

“Me, of course. She’s been talking to someone in The Club.”

“She hit on you again?”

I nodded, “She did. I’m not upset with her. Honestly, it’s hardly a secret amongst the girls here, but whoever talked to her didn’t make it clear that I have to be off limits.”

“Unfortunately so, for someone who hasn’t had the pleasure,” Charlie smirked. “But I know the rules, and the last thing any of us want is for you to get in trouble with the Board, or worse, the government. Do you want me to talk to her?”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. She and I talked it out and I think everything is fine. I just wanted to make sure you knew, and could share what happened with anyone you feel necessary.”

“You don’t know who it was?”

I chuckled, “She did offer to tell me. In bed.”

Charlie laughed, “A nice gambit!”

“She’s a very intelligent, very driven young woman, one who, under different circumstances, I’d be MORE than happy to be with. But I simply can’t. There is just too much at risk.”

“What are you going to do about Penny?” Charlie asked saucily.

“Oh she’s made her desire eminently clear! But in this, she’ll find I’m immovable. I have to be for the same reason I can’t be with Eve.”

“Are there any potential members left?”

“Jodie Billings. We’ll hire her next year. But she and I haven’t been together since before she came to Chicago. She has a serious boyfriend, too, and other than our mentoring sessions and an occasional lunch at the house, we don’t spend a lot of time together.”

“Will you allow me to ask a completely impertinent question?”

I nodded, “Sure.”

“Cindi?”

I shook my head, “Timing was against us at every turn. In the end, I flipped a coin, but really, no matter how it had turned out, the rules would ultimately have stopped me.”

“Poor girl!”

“She’s happy with Stuart, from everything I can see. Anyway, thanks for listening.”

“I’m yours to command,” she said with an impish smile.

“Only if I want your boyfriend to kick my ass from here to Naperville and back!”

Charlie laughed, “He is SO pissed that you managed to sneak up on him. SO pissed!”

“He swore revenge in a way that would make a hardened sailor cringe,” I chuckled.

“I have NEVER seen him so upset at himself!”

“Michelle said she’s going to set up a company outing to play paintball,” I said, then smirked, “I plan to nail his girlfriend, too!”

“I wish!” Charlie laughed.

We both left the conference room and I headed back to my office while she went downstairs to hers.

August 31, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Positive,” Melissa said.

“Well, then I suppose we need to get together. Why don’t you come by the office at lunchtime and we’ll take it from there?”

“See you in a bit.”

I hung up and let Kimmy know I’d be out for lunch. I’d expected the call from Melissa; it had really only been a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’. But I couldn’t think about that now; I had work to do before she arrived. About two hours of work later, which included a brief break to check the new CNN website for news, Lucas let me know that Melissa had arrived. I kissed Penny on the cheek, which caused her to smile broadly, then headed downstairs.

“Hi,” I said, greeting Melissa with a hug.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Let’s go.”

We left the building and walked to the West Loop Café where Billie Lawson was waiting for us. We shook hands and sat down at a table.

“So, Dante finally showed his hand,” I said. “Now what?”

“We’ll need to file for an injunction. The agreement was signed under Illinois law, so we can go to court here and file, but Dante will most certainly try to remove it to Federal court, and he’ll most likely succeed, given his firm is incorporated in Georgia and he’s no longer an Illinois resident.”

“That sounds about right,” I said. “Why am I here?”

“I thought you might simply talk to Dante. You seem to have had success in not only dealing with him, but coming out ahead.”