Chapter 11- the lair of the liar

Giles Mangan aka Jonathan Harris was dictating a message when his angry son came storming into the room. Simon did not stop to say hello just launching into his tirade, "how could you", he stormed, "you say you were sorry about what you did to me, then you go and ruin another childs life'. Simon pointed his finger at his father, "I never want anything more to do with you, keep away from me and keep away from Dan", he yelled. Giles sat there mouth open being buffeted by the anger, "stop", he insisted. "No I won't stop, you are just an arrogant bastard that thinks you can play with any body's life", Simon growled poking his finger into Giles chest for emphasis. Giles stood up in his chair feeling a tendril of fear creeping up on him as he looked into his sons angry green eyes. He knew Simon had certain abilities but had never before considered that he actually might be dangerous. He had to defuse this situation quickly, so he kept his voice calm, "son I don't understand what you are raving about, calm down and tell me what's wrong".It didn't work because Simon gritted his teeth like an angry dog and spat out," what's, wrong, "I never thought you'd hurt your own grandson", his sons eyes seemed to change colour slightly then and Giles felt a chill overcome him. He knew there was only one way to get rationality out of his son. Hating himself for having to do this he whipped his hand out and hit Simon in a pressure point on his neck. Simon found his legs collapsing underneath and he fell into the chair, this was it he thought he was now going to face his fathers wrath. He was surprised when all Giles did was kneel down beside him and ask forcefully, "what happened to Dan". "You locked him in a room filled with smoke", Simon choked out. Giles felt himself go pale, "that is the worse thing you've ever said to me son, how could you believe I'd ever hurt Dan", I would die myself first", he swore . Simon was looking into his face the entire time and never felt the cold sensation associated with a lie, he closed his eyes and felt his anger diminish somewhat.

"I'm sorry I had to hit you, Giles handed him a glass of water, "now tell me what has gotten you so steamed up", he asked gently.

Simon took a cool sip of the water then began the story. "We have been trying to save the children home where Bill was raised from demolition by finding an anonymous benefactor who donated several million dollars to the home just over 15 years ago. We have theorized some reasons for the benefactor to remain anonymous and came up with an answer, because he fathered a child he did not wish to publicly acknowledge. When a thief tried to steal files it just cemented our belief that the benefactor was trying to stop us. That thief locked Trixie Belden and Dan in a room and left smoldering clothing outside", Simon growled.

"Why on earth would you think I would do that", Giles asked firmly still feeling the pain of the accusation. "Because the child is the offspring of the real Jonathan Harris", Simon stated glaring at his father. He did not expect the gasp of shock or the "he had a child", that came stuttering out of his fathers mouth. "You didn't know", Simon put his head down on the table as he regretted the force of the anger he'd used unjustly against his father. "I assumed Jonathans Harris identity because they swore to me that there were no Harris family members still alive, "Giles replied firmly. He stood up and stretched himself, "I need to talk to some people about this", he told Simon.

Simon guessed that meant official people, a world he didn't understand and didn't want to touch but he was part of this now and owed it to Sister Agnes to get the truth, "count me in", he said firmly to his father. Giles did not argue simply saying , "come on then".

Simon followed behind Giles to the elevator and they were whisked rapidly upward, the lift stopped two floor short of the top and Simon watched Giles put a card into the slot. "The cameras will follow our every move", he nodded at the top of the lift. Simon swallowed nervously as the lift stopped and the doors opened. He followed his father out along a corridor and into an office where he saw a familiar face, ex director John Tandy. "This is an interesting visit, Jonathan", the former director remarked looking pointedly at Simon.

"He's here on official business", Giles remarked. He leaned over the desk, "did Jonathan Harris have a child, he asked. John Tandy closed his eyes, opened them and looked at Simon in disgust, "you and those brats just had to meddle, didn't you", he growled. Giles reached forward to grasp John Tandy firmly, "don't talk to my son like that", he snarled, tightening his grip on the man he insisted, "now answer the question" . "Alright yes he did", John admitted. He looked steadily at Giles and Simon, "as you know Jonathan's brother Anton was a fierce opponent to Donald Carruzo refusing to pay him protection money or bend to any of his demands." Of course Donald wanted a means of leverage against Anton and that made any family members a potential target. Anton was not married and had no children of his own, all he had was Jonathan who was not a biological Harris but adopted into the family at the age of 5. But that would not save him, so we promised to move Jonathan overseas for his own safety", Tandy reported. Giles grip had not loosened, "that implies that Anton was working with the FBI ," John Tandy nodded, "yes, but it was his choice Giles", he swore. "Anyway that stupid idiot Jonathan did not stay overseas but came back several times to see a girlfriend. She then got pregnant and suddenly there was a child that Donald Carruzo could have used as a weapon against the Harris's. "They were entitled to a life John, not just to be pawns in your war", Giles rebuked. John reached out his own arm to grab Giles, "the Carruzos killed the girlfriend, Giles and we had to act quickly, so we drugged Jonathan and had him sent out of the country then placed the child in a childrens home in the city." "You didn't give him the choice of taking his daughter", Simon gasped. "She was the heir to the Harris fortune", John remarked," if she had ever fallen into the Carruzos hands then it would have been game over and now we'd have a city controlled by the mob", he concluded. John Tandy squeezed Giles harder, "once we start down a path we have to continue on, while Donald Carriso was still alive, that child could still be a pawn", he insisted.

"He's dead now", Giles remarked, "yes, he's dead but your cover still remains in place because you are doing other vital work for us. We can't let anything get in the way of that work Giles. That is why when we found out someone was trying to save that home by trying to find the benefactor we had to remove any possible trace of records. That idiot Jonathan had come back to visit his child and got snapped by the press, thankfully that photo never came to light . But we still had to have it remove to prevent the possibility anyone would notice that that picture when aged would not look like you." You know there is a price for working with us and it's just unfortunate that a child had to be the one to pay. But she's safe and warm and cared for and that's all that matters", John spoke rationally and calmly. But that did not stop Giles Mangan from punching him firmly in the face, "you make me sick", he remarked, 'and I'm sorry I ever took your offer years ago to work for you". Simon felt a measure of satisfaction as John Tandy fell to the ground. But it did not stop him moving over to the man and hitting him hard himself, "that child's name is Kelly and she's had to spend years believing nobody wanted her", he stated slowly. John just shrugged, "sometimes you have to do things you don't like", he stated. Giles gently pushed Simon aside and bent down to put his face directly in front of John Tandy's, " I think you have forgotten who's in charge now", he growled. "You made this mess but now I'm going to clean this up", he turned away from the former director only to turn back, "oh and John you ever try to hurt any of my family again, I'll be more than just mad", he warned

He pivoted precisely then walked away with Simon trailing on his heels.

"What now", Simon asked. Giles stopped to turn toward him, "now I'm going to ask you to trust me", he said simply. Simon bit his lip, he hadn't liked hearing John Tandy's explanation and didn't think there was much his father could do to rectify things.

The bulldozers are coming in tomorrow", he told his father. "Then at 730 am a bus will pull up outside the home to take you all for a little trip", Giles told him. He reached out to gently touch Simons cheek, "trust me", he repeated.

Simon slowly nodded. "Now go son and say nothing about this", Giles requested.

He watched as his son walked away then returned to his office, what was he going to do about this , he wondered. He thought of how quickly Simon had accused him, he still could not forget about the lie of the past. He was stuck with being Jonathan Harris and had always seen that as a curse but perhaps he could turn things around. It was time to show his son that Jonathan Harris was a very different person to Giles Mangan. As Giles he was stuck with a past he could not change but as Jonathan Harris he had the opportunity and the power to change the future.