Chapter
As they drove through traffic, Maura had to ask, "Jane…"
"Hmm?" Jane was distracted by thoughts of their wonderful afternoon.
"I thought you didn't have sex on the first date." Maura smirked at her best friend.
Jane blushed red, "Well, technically speaking, this will be our second date." Jane pointed out, "And, I'm not saying Zak is getting in my pants tonight. But, if things go as good tonight as they did this afternoon? He may be getting something." Jane winked at her friend.
Maura laughed and shook her head, "We really have to do something nice for your mother. She actually found two good men for us."
"Yeah." Jane shook her head amazed, "I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut eventually."
Zak pulled out into traffic and headed back towards the brothers apartment, in a very good mood.
Cain saw the look on his brother's face, "Man, it has been nearly a yahren since I've seen you smile like that." He teased his brother, "I thought you might have forgotten how."
Zak shrugged, "There hasn't been much to smile about."
Cain shut the open windows in the car; this was a conversation that they had to be careful that no one overheard.
"Zak, it's not so bad." Cain motioned around them, "We did it, and we found the thirteenth colony!"
Zak shook his head, "Not the way we should have found it... Just us two, the Galactica should be here as well, the rest of the fleet. Father, mother, the rest of the family…"
"I know." Cain patted his brother's shoulder, "Think of it this way, we were ahead of the Galactica. They were heading in this direction anyway; it's just going to take some time for them to catch up to us. Just think of how much ground work we're getting accomplished by getting here first."
Zak knew that was true, "I just hope that they don't run into any trouble and have to change course. For all we know there could have been a Cylon attack and they had to change course."
"When did you become such a pessimist?" Cain asked Zak, "You are sounding like a beaten daggit!"
Zak smiled and changed the subject to something a bit more pleasant, "How great was that, to actually see a daggit, and not just a vid of one."
Cain looked offended, remembering the robotic dog that they had as children, "Hey! I happened to have loved Muffit three!" Cain then noticed a dog running down the street on a leash beside its owner.
"They are awfully cute though. And…"
"Great chick magnets!" Both brothers laughed
"So, what do you think of Jane?" Cain asked, knowing full well that she was the reason that Zak was suddenly all smiles. "By the way, good job with the separate dates for tonight."
Zak laughed, "I thought you might like that idea. I like her." he admitted to his brother, "She's smart, funny, and sarcastic; you can tell she is tough, and very beautiful, and she has that sexy voice!" Zak looked to his brother, "How do you like Maura, she's very beautiful as well. By the way, we have to do something nice for Angela."
"I'm with you there." Cain agreed that Angela had done something very nice for them, "I like Maura as well. She's brilliant, and she's quirky, and just like me, she loves science."
"That reminds me…" Zak stopped at a red light and turned to Cain, "Did you send off that e-mail to Dr. Eppes? You know the one 'suggesting' he try your equations?"
Cain nodded, "First thing this morning. You know he was very close to achieving a stable fusion rocket engine. He would have got it on his own eventually."
Cain still felt uncomfortable giving certain scientists of Earth a 'helping' hand with some of their experiments. Somehow it felt wrong, Cain felt as if he were cheating the scientists out of the joys of their discoveries.
Zak sighed; he knew how his brother felt about what they were doing. Zak even felt guilty about asking his brother to help them.
"I know this makes you uncomfortable, but we agreed Cain. We have to help the people of Earth remember what it is that they lost. Besides…" Zak reminded his brother, "It's not like we're handing them a fusion engine and telling them to figure it out. They are doing all the work; we are just nudging them in the right direction."
Cain knew that Zak was right, "I know, I know, and I agree with you. If the Cylons find Earth before the fleet does, this planet is totally and completely fracked. Earth has to accelerate its technology if they are going to face the dangers awaiting them."
"Don't forget Cain, Tuesday night…"
"I know, we have to get to the shuttle by midnight. By the way, are you making any more progress with those ancient writings we found on Mars?" Cain asked his brother
"I've got most of it now." Zak admitted, "I just needed that one break through, or flash of inspiration, if you will, to be able to read those writings. I was right though, it is the history of how the colony was founded. Now, if I'm right about the last of the text. I think we might learn what exactly happened here, and why Earth lost all of its technology."
"Well…" Cain sat back in his seat, "Let's just hope that when you do finish the last of the translations, we will know everything."
Zak found parking easy enough and the two brothers walked into John McRory's Irish pub. Their apartment was above it.
The bar was semi crowded as they entered. They waved at a few familiar faces as they passed.
"Well, well, if it isn't my brothers from another mother, Z and C!"
The brothers looked over and smiled, heading for the table.
"Hardison!" Zak smiled as he gave the tall young handsome black man a half hug, "How have you been my brother."
"Good, you know."
"How are Parker and Sophie?" Cain asked as he too gave his friend a hug.
"They're good; everyone is in back getting some food ready." Hardison motioned to the empty seats.
"Hey, it's the Sci-Fi brothers." Nathan Ford called out as he entered the bar from the kitchen area carrying two plates of food.
"Nate, you're looking good." Zak smiled, and then he saw Sophie, "And Sophie! You look radiant!" he said as he stared at the now very pregnant woman before him
Sophie Deveraux kissed Zak and Cain on the cheek, "You do say the sweetest things, Zak."
Parker and Eliot came up behind the couple.
"Eliot!" Zak smiled, "Finally, my workout partner is back!"
Eliot Spencer smiled; Eliot was definitely not the type of person who trusted others. However, these two brothers had proven over and over again that they were trustworthy. They had earned his respect and his friendship.
"Yeah." Eliot stared at Zak's midsection, "You do seem to be getting a bit flabby there." Eliot pointed at Zak, "Tomorrow morning, no excuses."
"I'll be there at the usual time." Zak promised
Parker smiled and sat down next to Sophie, "Here's your juice and vitamins Sophie."
"Thank you Parker." Sophie smiled at the younger woman
Nate ate some of his fries, "So, how's the book business going?" he asked his friends.
"Pretty good." Cain shrugged
Hardison stared hard at him, "Pretty good? We are now up to month six, week three that you guys have been number one on the best seller list. I have also been the one investing your money; I know how much you guys actually have. You are doing a whole hell of a lot better than 'pretty good'."
Zak smiled at his friend, "Well, I figure we will be doing a whole lot better after the second book comes out." he said teasingly
Hardison dropped his burger onto the plate with a thud.
"You finished it?" He asked hopefully
Hardison had read the Twelve colonies, forty seven times. He was even now in the process of reading it again. It was by far his favorite book ever written.
"Oh no." Eliot joked, as he pointed to the rabid look on his friends face, "Nate, Hardison's getting that look in his eye again."
Nate chuckled as he also stared at the young man.
"Well?" Hardison demanded, as he completely ignored everything else around him.
"May I?" Zak asked, as he held a hand over Sophie's stomach.
Sophie smiled "Oh, go on you." she laughed as Zak ran a hand over her swollen stomach
The group watched as Zak closed his eyes and began to gently rub Sophie's baby bump. A slow smile appeared on his handsome face.
"She kicked!" Zak laughed as he stared at his friend, "You might just have a soccer player here Nate."
Nate sat up shocked, "A girl! No, no that there my friend is a fine strapping young lad."
Zak shook his head, "I think you will find that I am always right about this. Tell them Cain."
Nate turned to Cain, who simply shrugged, "He's been right sixteen out of seventeen times." Cain admitted, "I don't know how he does it, but the odds are in his favor."
"That is not fair!" Zak complained to his brother, "That one time I was half right."
Parker stared at Zak, "How can you be half right?" she asked confused
Zak shrugged, "It was twins, one of each. In my defense, she was only three months pregnant at the time. I thought I sensed something, usually I pick up things a lot faster."
"Oh, I would love a girl." Parker squealed with joy
Sophie smiled gently, "As long as you are healthy, it doesn't matter." she said to her unborn child.
Hardison was almost jumping out of his seat, "Really? Seriously!" he asked, "You guys are going to leave a brother hanging like this?" he demanded
Cain relented, "Don't worry Hardison; you will be getting your autographed copy of 'Battlestar Galactica' as soon as it comes out."
"Two!" Hardison demanded, "I need one to put away and one to actually read! And, this is the continuation of the first book, right?"
The other's laughed at the wide eyed crazed look on Hardison's face.
"Two." Zak agreed and "Yes." Glancing at his watch, Zak jumped up, "I gotta go!"
Without another word, Zak ran up the stairs towards the apartments above the bar.
Parker stared after Zak, "Wow, he's fast!"
Nate stared after the younger man, also surprised. Parker was right; Zak moved incredibly fast, it was almost inhuman!
Cain smiled and groaned, he had to remind Zak to be more careful! He had to sit Zak down once again and explain how the gravity on earth was a bit lighter than what they were used to. This meant that both Zak and Cain were faster and stronger than most humans of Earth.
"He's just very anxious." Cain laughed it off
Sophie sipped her juice, "What, he has a hot date?" she joked
"Yeah, he does." Cain laughed, "So do I, as a matter of fact. Mine is just a little later."
"Really?" Eliot chuckled as he sipped his beer, "I thought you guys never dated. So tell us, where did you meet these girls?"
"You remember Angela Rizzoli, don't you?" Cain asked Hardison and Eliot.
Hardison and Eliot thought back, "Yeah, yeah. Older lady right?"
Eliot agreed, "Yeah, nice lady we met at that coffee house. The one who makes great lasagna and the best gnocchi that I have ever tasted."
"That's the one." Cain agreed, "Angela set us up with her daughter, and her daughter's best friend. Zak has a date with the daughter; they're going to a baseball game. Jane is her name, she is a homicide detective. Her friend Maura is the chief medical examiner for Boston."
The others looked startled, "Zak is going out with a cop?" Eliot asked to be sure.
"Wait, Jane Rizzoli?" Nate questioned, "Boston's hero cop?"
Cain knew their worry, "Neither Zak nor I would ever tell anyone about you guys or what you do. You are our friends; Zak would rather die before he would betray his friends."
Nate sat back and remembered how Cain and Zak Adama had come into the lives of the Leverage team.
The team had just returned from California, where they had helped a young family who had lost all their life savings and their home. The Tyson's had been your average suburban family, with two young children. The youngest child, a beautiful girl named Virginia, was in desperate need of an operation and therapy for a congenital heart condition. The insurance company that the Tyson's had, had initially agreed to pay for the surgery. Then, at the last moment, literally as the tiny girl was being wheeled into surgery. The insurance company had changed their minds and refused to pay. Obviously, the girl's parents were not about to stop now and decided to pay out of pocket for the surgery. They had to empty their bank accounts, and sell their home to cover just part of the surgery.
For former insurance investigator, turned thief, Nathan Ford, this was unacceptable. His own son had died of cancer, because the people he worked for had decided that his procedure was too expensive. They had also refused to cover the expenses for his son's treatments. And, just as the Tyson's had done, Nate and his former wife had sold everything and used every dollar to pay for their son's treatments. Nathan Ford had lost his wife, his job and most important, his son had died, because someone had decided to save a couple of dollars.
Nate's ex-wife Joanne was friends with the family. When she realized what it was that had been done to them, she contacted Nate. Joanne didn't like that her ex had chosen to lead a life of crime. However, Joanne also realized that Nathan with the help of his crew, were actually helping people.
After the dust had settled, all of Virginia's medical bills had been paid in full, plus the team had gotten back every penny of the money that they had spent to save their child, And, even now the Tyson's were in the process of moving into their new home. The leverage team had come home, where they found trouble waiting for them.
One of their old marks had gotten out of prison and decided to get even with the team. The plan had been to take out the team one at a time. Make each team member suffer before they died.
They had targeted Hardison first.
The five hired thugs had cornered Hardison in an alley. They had nearly beaten the life out of him, when Zak and Cain Adama appeared.
The brothers had been walking past the alley, when they had heard someone in trouble. Entering the alley, they saw Hardison being beaten to death. That was when they decided to step in and help the man being beaten.
Nate would not forget, any time soon, what his young friend had looked like when they found out and went to the hospital.
The rest of the leverage team had been sitting at the bar celebrating their latest caper. Eliot Spencer looked towards the door again, as he had every ten minutes since they had sat down.
"Where the hell is Hardison." he complained, "This was his idea and he decides not to join us?" he asked the others, "Where did he go anyway?"
Parker shrugged, "He said something about a new video game that just came out. I think he ran to Game Stop to get it."
Eliot shook his head, "Figures. He should try getting outside sometime, instead of just playing those video games."
Sophie was about to add her input, when Nate's phone rang.
"Hello?" Nate listened; suddenly he was waving his hands to the others to be quiet.
"Is he alright?" Nate looked to the others, "Hardison was attacked." he told them quickly and went back to listen.
The others stopped and stared at Nate as he nodded and asked a quick question every ten seconds or so.
"Okay, okay, thanks, we are on our way." Nate hung up the phone.
Elliot was the first to speak, "What happened?" he asked nervously, Elliot might complain about some of the things the young hacker would do. But, when you came right down to it, Hardison was one of his best friends.
Both Sophie and Parker stared at Nate, waiting.
Nate stood up, "Hardison was on his way back here, when he got jumped by five guys. They dragged him into an alley and started to work him over. Someone jumped in and chased the guys away; they took Hardison over to Boston Memorial. They don't know how bad it is yet. The doctor is still with him."
"Let's go!" Sophie led the way to the doors.
The leverage team made their way to the hospital quickly. Finding out that Hardison was being admitted overnight for observation, they quickly got a room number.
Nate opened the door to the hospital room. The first thing they saw was Hardison lying in bed. Bandages around his hands and one covering the right side of his face.
"Oh my God!" Sophie jumped and rushed over to her friend
Parker stared in horror, and rushed to Hardison's side.
Nate noticed the two men that were standing in the corner, who moved away to give the others room to talk to their friend.
Eliot rushed over to his friend, "Hardison?" Eliot began to look his friend over and access the trauma.
"I'm okay dude." Hardison grimaced through the pain.
"What the hell happened to you?" Nate asked as Parker bit her lip and looked as if she were on the verge of tears.
"Dominick Stein is out of prison." Hardison groaned as Sophie placed a cup of water on Hardison's tray table.
"Stein?" Nate looked to the hitter of his team.
Elliot stared at his beat up friend, "Domenic Stein did this?" he asked, knowing that he would be finding Stein soon and paying him a visit. A very painful visit, very soon.
"Five of his hired thugs did this to me." Hardison looked to the two brothers that had saved him, "Thanks to these guys, I got off pretty light. Nothing broken and just a couple of bruised ribs, couple of cuts, nothing too bad."
Nate turned to face the two men, "I'm Nathan Ford, thanks for helping our friend out here. This is Sophie, that's Parker and Elliot Spencer."
Zak smiled as he took the offered hand, "Zak Adama, this is my brother Cain, and no thanks are needed. For five men to attack one is an act of cowardice that cannot be tolerated. We did what we had to do."
Cain nodded in agreement, "As soon as we stepped into help Hardison. The sorry excuses of dung" Cain blushed and looked to the ladies, "Excuse my bad language."
"Screw that!" Parker snarled, "Did you get the fuckers!" she demanded
"Oh yeah." Cain nodded, "I think they were taking them two floors up."
Just then the doors opened and a nurse walked in. Frowning at the amount of people in the room.
Sophie smiled at the woman, "I know there are too many people in here. Just tell us, is our friend going to be okay?"
The nurse smiled and nodded, "The doctor said that Mr. Mombosa is going to be fine. He should be released by morning. The doctor just wants him to stay overnight to make sure. I'm just here to give Mr. Mombosa his pain medication."
Hardison smiled at the nurse as he took his pill and swallowed it with some water.
"Five minutes everyone." The nurse warned, "Our patient needs his rest."
"Five minutes, thank you nurse." Sophie smiled
As soon as the doors closed, Hardison looked to his friends.
"I'm fine, just sore as hell. I'll be out by morning." Hardison reassured his friends
"Just call." Elliot warned his friend, "I'll come by and pick you up."
"Cool. By the way Elliot. Do me a favor, the key for the empty apartment down the hall from us. Give it to Zak and Cain, they're new to town, just got to town this morning and they don't have a place to stay. I told them they could use the empty apartment for a while. Till they get situated."
Cain shook his head, "We told you Hardison, you don't have to do this…"
"Yo." Hardison shook his head, "You guys saved my life. Least I can do is offer you a place to stay for a while." Then he added, "That other thing, I can help you with that too."
"Really?" Zak asked surprised
"Oh yeah, that is easy." Hardison reassured the brothers, "Just give me some time to heal up and I can get it done before lunch." he promised
Zak nodded, gratefully, "Then it is we, who owe you my friend."
"Whoa!" Nate said nervously, "What is it you're going to do for them?" he asked
Zak turned to Nate, "Well, we are what you might call, undocumented workers in this country."
Hardison shrugged, "I'm just going to fix them up with some papers, is all."
Elliot stared at the two men, "Are you guys on the run from something?"
"No, we have broken no laws, nor are we running from anyone." Cain told them, "It is just that, it would be problematic for us to receive papers."
Zak agreed, "You see the problem is…"
Hardison shifted in bed, "You don't have to go into reasons. I know why, and I'm telling you guys, it's cool. They aren't wanted anywhere on this planet." he promised them
Nate shrugged, "Okay.", as long as these two didn't threaten his crew. Nate didn't really care.
Nate walked to the two brothers, "Thanks for saving our friend." he shook both their hands, "Come on, we'll buy you two dinner as a thank you."
And so it had begun a friendship for them all.
Hardison had kept his promise and had gotten the two brothers all the documentation and background that they would ever need. No one would ever be able to prove that either Zak or Cain was not from a small town in the Canadian wilderness. Unless someone from the INS physically went into the Canadian wilderness, find the town and ask around for the truth. Nor would they ever be able to prove that the brothers had not entered the country legally. It had been some of Hardison's best work to date.
Initially it had been hard for Zak and Cain to call the crew of thieves, friends. They both came to realize that the Leverage team did what they did to actually help others. If they made some money for themselves, well the money came from thieves to begin with. And, the team had never asked them to do anything illegal. So there were never any problems with that being an issue.
As for the Leverage team, they found the two brothers strange at times. Both Zak and Cain, at times, seemed oblivious to everyday expressions and traditions. For instance, neither one had the faintest idea what the fourth of July was, or Christmas or any of the major holidays for that matter.
Hardison was the only one who seemed to understand the two of them.
In the beginning, neither of the brothers seemed to want to leave the safety of their apartment. It was as if they were afraid to do so. It was only after Hardison explained that this is the first time that either brother had been to a big city and it was a big shock to the system for them, that the rest of the team understood. After that, the team helped the brothers out a bit. Elliot and Nate had taken Zak to his first baseball game and basketball game. Sophie had introduced Cain to the opera. That the two men began to come out of their shells.
It came as quite a shock to the team when they found out that the brothers had actually written a book. After reading the first drafts of the book, Sophie had taken it upon herself to visit with a book publisher and to sell the publishing rights to them for a very lucrative price. The beautiful grifter was very proud of the deal that she had been able to finagle.
Now a year later, the leverage team, were proud to call Zak and Cain Adama their friends, and vice versa."
Back in the present, Sophie smiled happy that their friends were starting to date.
"So, tell me, where is Zak taking Jane?" She asked excitedly
"The Red Sox opening game." Cain told them, "Jane is a big fan. I'm taking Maura to the opera, Gilbert and Sullivan."
Chapter
It was just after six, and Jane and Zak were heading down towards their seats.
Jane was very excited to be here at the game for opening day. Jane was even happier that she was actually on a date that, first, was fun, second, not fancy, and third, she was with a hot guy who she was really beginning to like. It was truly a win, win, win situation for Jane.
"Wow, I have never been this close to the game!" she smiled to her date
"Well, I have season tickets." Zak laughed, "We can come whenever you like."
Jane smiled shyly, "I'll keep that in mind." as she took her seat.
"What is wrong with me?" Jane thought to herself, "Blushing, being shy? This is so not me! And…Yet…" Jane looked into Zak's smiling eyes, "I really don't care if this isn't me. I don't know what the hell this man is doing to me, but God help me, I like the way he's making me feel!"
"Want a beer?" Zak asked feeling freer than he had felt since he'd arrived on this planet a yahren before.
"Sure!" Jane opened her program as Zak got the vendor's attention.
The game was shaping to be a good one. By the time of the seventh inning stretch, the score was tied. The Sox had men on second and third with only one out with the top of the lineup coming to bat.
Both Jane and Zak were booing the bad calls by the umpire.
"Get some glasses, ump!" Jane yelled at umpire, "That was nowhere near a strike!"
The announcers up in the booth who were announcing the game were amused by the antics, as they watched on their monitors.
"We have several celebrities in attendance this evening." Chuck Lawson said as he watched the antics
"Yeah, Chuck." Pete Reynolds his co-host pointed to the screen, "I believe that is, yes it is. We have with us a local celebrity, who is an actual real life hero; Boston Police Detective Jane Rizzoli is giving the umpire a hard time on that last pitch."
Chuck laughed, "Well, I happen to agree with the very beautiful, Detective Rizzoli. That pitch was definitely outside of the strike zone. As does the detective's date, who, I do believe is Zak Adama, half of the writing team of the Times best seller, the twelve colonies."
"I love that book Chuck; I've read it three times already. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a good read. Oh, here comes the pitch, and it's a fast ball, swung on and it's a line drive foul ball, going into the stands."
"Wow that is moving like a rocket! HOLY COW! That was a close one, that rocket was heading straight for Jane Rizzoli's head."
"It sure was Chuck." Pete shook his head, "But, at the last second, Zak Adama caught that ball before it could hit the detective! I have never seen reflexes that fast in my entire life! I was sure that Jane Rizzoli was going to be beaned by that ball!"
Chuck patted his friend's shoulder, "That my friend is what you call pure adrenaline! Look at that, even the Sox dugout is emptying out to see this! And here it is on instant replay!"
Jane's heart was still pounding in her chest; Jane hadn't even time to react to the line drive that had been heading straight for her face. When suddenly Zak had reached out and caught the ball just inches before it hit her right in the head.
"Jane!" Zak turned to the ashen woman at his side, "Are you okay?" he asked nervously
Jane snapped out of it, "Your hand! Are you okay!" Jane reached out and grabbed Zak's hand.
"I'm fine." Zak breathed a sigh of relief, "It's stinging a bit, but, I'm fine."
Jane didn't know when it began, but a steady chant began around her.
"Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him." The chant was being called out and was gaining momentum as more and more people lent their voices to the call.
Jane blushed, but for the first time in her life. Jane Rizzoli did what was expected of her. Standing on her toes, Jane kissed Zak in the middle of the stadium.
The crowd roared its approval!
The kiss was the most electrifying experience of her life. It was passionate, it was intense, and it was perfection.
"Wow that is some kiss Chuck!" Pete laughed in the box
"Whew, someone turn on the air conditioning, I need to cool off after that one." Chuck also laughed.
When they finally came up for air. Jane blushed even redder as the noise of the cheering crowd finally reached her ears. Laughing Jane buried her face in Zak's chest.
Zak looked over at the team that were laughing and cheering as well. Zak tossed them the ball.
"Least you can do is autograph it for the lady!" he told them.
The umpire shook his head, "Come on guys, play ball!"