CHAPTER TWENTY

"George!" A man in his early sixties greeted Riot's father.

"Senator, thank you for agreeing to meet with me so early this morning," George replied, extending his hand out to shake the man's hands. It was Senator Barton Williams.

"Please, none of that senator bullshit," Barton replied. "You knew me when I was still scarfing down Twinkies that my mother sent to me at the Academy." The two men laughed. "Please, have a seat," he motioned. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you," George replied. "I appreciate you letting me drop by your house on such short notice with it being a holiday and all."

"Of course," the senator replied. "Anything for a friend. How are Mildred and Rory?"

"Mildred's doing just fine," he answered. "And Rory, well, I think you're one of the very few people who still calls him by his real name these days," he proudly smiled.

"I've heard he's making quite a success of himself. You must be proud," Barton remarked.

"Yes, Mildred and I are very proud of him," he smiled. "He's even managed to find himself a lovely lady-friend. Jerrica Benton. She's in the music industry as well."

"Yes, I've heard of her," Barton replied thoughtfully.

George paused briefly. "She's actually the reason why I'm here."

"Oh?" The senator was surprised.

"Well, Barton, do you remember Emmett Benton? He was a contract worker about five or six years ago," George began.

"The name rings a bell," he replied.

"Emmett is, I mean, was Jerrica's father. He came down with an illness and died in 1985," George explained. The senator was all ears. "Just recently, I met Jerrica and realized I knew her father."

"Small world," Barton commented.

"Yes, very much so," George agreed. "It isn't anything big, but promised Rory I'd try to find out more about her father's involvement in the military. Apparently, his children had no idea he was even working with us at the time."

"I see," the senator mused.

"I was wondering if there was anything you know that I could possibly tell my son's girlfriend. You know how young love is these days," he continued. "It would mean a lot to Jerrica and my son would like nothing more than to make her happy."

"Seeing my first born get married last year, I know what you mean," Barton replied. George smiled. "There isn't anything I can recall off the top of my head. It's been so long and that was such a busy time in my life," he explained, alluding to when he left the military to pursue his political career. "I'll look into it and see what I can find out for you."

"Well, thank you, Barton. I surely do appreciate it," George replied, extending his hand to the senator.

"Of course, what are old friends for?" the senator replied, shaking George's hand. "It sounds like your son is pretty serious about this girl."

"He is and we couldn't be any more pleased," George happily replied. "His mother and I hope they both decide to settle down soon."

"That's wonderful, George," Barton remarked.

"Well, I should let you get back to your busy schedule," the older Llewelyn said as he turned to leave the senator's home.

"I'll be in touch, George," he added.

"Good-bye, Senator," George saluted as he closed the door behind him.

The senator watched George's car leave his driveway and disappear down the street. He then quickly made his way to his office, where he began looking through some old files before making a phone call.

"Hello?" answered a male voice on the other end.

"I just had an interesting visit from Sergeant George Llewelyn," the senator said into the receiver. "He asked about Emmett Benton's time with us."

"Emmett Benton?" the voice on the other end replied. "Why would he ask about Emmett after all this time?"

"Apparently, George's son, Rory, is dating Emmett's daughter, Jerrica," the senator answered.

"Did you tell him anything," the man asked.

"No, not yet," the senator replied. "Perhaps it's time we end this once and for all."

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"Good morning, Jerrica," he softly said in her ear with his mellifluous voice reverberating through her soul. She heard those words every single day, but no one could make them sound as melodic as he could. For Jerrica, it was the most wonderful to hear first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, yourself," she replied, turning to face him as he swiftly engulfed her into his arms.

"Sleep well?" he purred, caressing her cheek as he gazed down on her.

"Wonderfully," she smiled, running her fingers through his golden mane as she leaned towards him for a kiss.

"Mmm, what a fantastic way to wake up," his voice rumbled. "I don't like to talk about other people in bed, especially my own parents," he began, "but let me just say how much they really love you." Jerrica looked thoughtful. "What is it?" he asked.

"I think your parents are great," she hesitated. "I just can't help, but feel guilty that they've known me all along as Jem and they just don't know about it."

"There's nothing for you to feel guilty about," he reassured her. "They like you for who you are."

"I appreciate that," she cracked a smile. "I just wish it was easy for me to tell people."

"I know you like your privacy, Jerrica, but if this secret of yours is becoming a burden, perhaps it's time to address it," he suggested.

"I wish it was that simple," she sighed.

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

"I wish I could tell you," she thought to herself. "It's nothing," she quickly replied. "It's just me being me and my own insecurities."

"Well, from where I'm at, I don't see anything you should be insecure about," he complimented her.

"How do you always know the right things to say?" she sweetly asked.

"Am I not Riot?" he teased, slightly mocking his own persona, sending them both into laughter. "Whatever it is you need from me, Jerrica, I am here for you," he reassured her. "If you want to tell my parents about Jem, I'm sure they'd understand and protect your secret. But it is your secret to tell. Please don't feel pressured to tell them simply because they're my parents. This is something they don't have to know."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile. "It's not just them either. With Kimber marrying Sean, I know I'll feel guilty making her lie to her own husband.

"I see your point," Riot replied. "Is he someone you can trust with this information?"

"Well," she looked thoughtful. "I don't seem him purposefully trying to reveal my secret for his own personal gain."

"I don't think so either," Riot agreed. "But is he someone who would guard it with his life?"

Jerrica smiled at the thought of having someone she could trust in Riot. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to figure this out soon before they get married," she answered.

"If you believe he truly loves your sister, then you can trust him," he advised her.

"That's a great way of looking at it," she replied. "I'll have to think about this more seriously," she added.

"Well, don't think about it too much, at least right now, anyway," he said, jumping out of bed and pulling her up with him. "We have a busy day ahead. Care to join me?" he asked as he headed to the shower.

"I'll be right there," she replied, taking off the Jem star earrings and placing them on the nightstand. The last thing she needed was glitch in the shower, making Jem suddenly appear. She never had problems with them in the shower before, but it wasn't something she was willing to risk with Riot there. She still hadn't told him about Synergy or even gave it much thought. She knew she could trust him with that secret, but she wasn't ready or sure how to address it just yet.

"The water's getting cold!" he teased her from the bathroom. She quickly tiptoed her way to join him.

"Impatient, are we?" she teased back as she entered the shower.

"We have a busy day ahead and I want to ensure we have some proper playtime before it's all work," he explained with a smirk.

"I like your style, Mr. Llewelyn," Jerrica flirtatiously replied as he pulled her in for a kiss.

BOOM!

Riot and Jerrica quickly stopped kissing. "What was that?" Jerrica nervously wondered.

"It sounded like a door slamming. Stay in the bathroom," Riot instructed her as he turned off the water and grabbed his robe. Jerrica followed him out of the shower and put on her robe, but stayed behind as she watched him cautiously look for what made that noise.

Moments later, Jerrica overheard Riot swear in the other room. "What is it?" she wondered.

"You didn't happen to open the window last night, did you?" he asked as she joined him in the living room.

"No, I didn't," she replied.

"Someone was here," he remarked, pointing to the curtain dancing in the breeze. "The front door is unlocked," he replied, suggesting that the intruder exited through the front.

Jerrica quickly turned and ran to the bedroom. "Oh no!" she cried.

"What is it?" a worried Riot ran after her.

"My earrings. They're gone!" she frantically replied. "I put them on the nightstand before I got in the shower and now they're gone!" she sobbed, desperately searching for them in the room, hoping they were somehow still there.

"I'm so sorry, darling," he said, helping her search for them. "We'll find the best jeweler in the world and have new ones created for you," he tried to comfort her.

"No, Riot," she countered. "You don't understand. Those were from my father."

"I didn't realize," he murmured. "We should call the police then," he replied, making his way to the phone.

"No!" Jerrica stopped him.

"We would have a better chance of finding them if we reported the break in," he explained.

"No, Riot, you don't understand," she replied. "We can't get the police involved."

"Why not?" He was puzzled by her hesitance.

Jerrica sighed. "I was going to tell you, but was waiting for the right time," she began. "I guess now is as good of a time as any."

"What is it?" Riot eagerly asked as he took a seat at the edge of the bed. Jerrica slowly made her way next to him.

"Those earrings have special capabilities that only the Holograms and I know about," she explained. Riot was dumbfounded.

"What kind of special capabilities do you mean?" he skeptically asked.

"It all started when my father died . . ."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The doorbell at the Gabor Mansion rang. "It's for me," Pizzazz said to her butler as she ran to answer the door.

"Hi, Pizzazz," Stormer greeted her.

"You're not Clash," she replied.

"Sorry, I can come back later if you're busy," Stormer muttered.

"No, come in. Clash is late," Pizzazz replied as she checked the clock. "What are you doing here? You completely bailed on us last night."

"Yeah, about that," Stormer began. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, Pizzazz, and I think it's a good idea if we stop this now before anyone gets hurt."

"Stop now?" Pizzazz ridiculed her. "Why would I do that, Stormer? You didn't say anything, did you?"

"No, Pizzazz! I wouldn't do that," Stormer reassured her. "I think Riot knows who's behind the tabloid photo from the other day."

"You did tell him, didn't you?" the Misfit accused her.

"No, I didn't!" Stormer pleaded. "But he wasn't happy at all when I showed up at the mansion last night."

"Was Jem there?" Pizzazz quickly asked, brushing aside Stormer's concerns about Riot.

"Uhh, no," she answered, puzzled by Pizzazz's reaction.

"That's probably why," she replied. "He was expecting Jem to show up instead of you."

"No, Pizzazz. It wasn't anything like that at all," Stormer continued, but Pizzazz wouldn't hear any of it.

"Look, Stormer," she began as she looked straight into her eyes, "I have Riot and Jem where I want them. When tonight is over, Riot and Jerrica will be over with, Jem will want nothing to do with him, and he'll finally come running to me."

"But, Pizzazz –," Stormer tried pleading with her, but it was of no use. She realized just how delusional Pizzazz had become when came to Riot.

"You can see yourself out, Stormer," Pizzazz instructed her as she turned and disappeared into the long hallways of the Gabor Mansion.

"Yeah, I'll see myself out alright," she puffed under her breath.