Chapter 10

"So what are you going to do for the next few days?" Marissa asked DJ as she and he stepped out onto the balcony to have a few moments alone. The party inside was still going on and they had to get away from all of it.

DJ shrugged and took of sip of the drink that he had in his hand before turning back to her and smiling, "Mom and I are going to Washington D.C to be at the President's Inauguration and then I'm going to be shuffled into the CIA, or if Mom has something to say about it, into the Defense Department."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Rose's voice said from the doorway of the Balcony and both Marissa and DJ turned to look at her, "Can I have a few moments with DJ? It involves his future career plans and as of this moment, those are classified, even for my future daughter in-law."

Marissa grinned and nodded before turning and walking around Rose and back into the Apartment. When Marissa was inside the apartment, Rose waited and turned to close the sliding door before walking to take her place beside her son. She mirrored DJ's leaning pose and looked up the streets below. New York City had always hummed with life, at all hours of the day and the fact that it was 7:00 PM didn't hamper it, "There's a reason that I had to leave you at the High School. I got a call from one of my contacts with the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, there has been a silent Military Junta put in place inside the Russian Government and I was being briefed."

"The Military has seized control of Russia, that's dangerous," He said, his eyes widened, he understood Geo-Political movements and if the Military was in control of the geographically largest country on Earth, chaos would break out, "What are you going to do about this? Military, Intelligence?"

Rose shrugged, "I'm going to brief the President about this tomorrow, and you should know that the Russians have informed us that there is a traitor in our Government, specifically the Defense Department, and he gave the plans for our security grid around the Capital for President to a Russian Foreign Intelligence Agent whose leading a group here in the US. But here's the thing, this traitor only paid them to shoot me, not the President, but the Russians are telling us that this team is taking advantage of this chance."

She found it amusing when her son turned an interesting shade of red at the words she spoke of someone trying to assassinate her. Looking down, she saw his fist clenched against the railing, "Some prick wants you dead?"

"Well no," Rose smiled to herself, "Whoever did it is an idiot, they specifically asked for them to only wound me and not enough to kill me. But these idiots are lacking the knowledge that I've been shot before and I can take a bullet, short of them blowing my head off or hitting a vital organ. But there's more to this then I'm letting on. I need to weed out the traitor in my Department and couple that with training you, I don't know if I can do that."

DJ sighed, "I understand Mama, and I can wait until this is all sorted out."

"Well, I've been thinking of a way to get you started while I'm dealing with all of this," Rose began as she began to think of what she had thought about on the way home from Central Park, "Have you ever heard of the DIA?"

DJ turned and shook his head, "No."

"It's called the Defense Intelligence Agency, it's the DOD Counterpart to the CIA, though they report to me exclusively and I use them to gather Military Intelligence," Rose tapped her fingers against the railing, "I have control over that Agency and let me just tell you that the procedures are almost mirror to CIA. I could offer you a position there and it will be much easier for me to offer you some training, and you could work with me while I sort this out and then I can issue you a transfer to CIA and then I'll comply with the rest of the bargain that Marshall Gordon set up, is that okay for you?"

He turned to her and smirked, "Will I enjoy it?"

"You'll be working with and for your Mommy," She teased him.

Grinning he turned back to the street, "Will Gordon still allow me into the CIA after all of this is over with and will I want to leave this DIA afterwards?"

Rose grinned, "After I'm through with you, you'll be screaming for CIA, and besides, he's the Director of the CIA, I'm the Secretary of Defense, and Gordon likes me. My guns are bigger and he knows that if he denies you entrance, I'll filet him and eat him alive."

"Mama, I don't want to get a job because Mommy got it for me," He told her, "I mean, I can hear it now, you're only here because your Mother is the Secretary of Defense and you wouldn't even get close otherwise."

Rose giggled and turned and folded her arms over his chest and looked into the large window pane that looked into her house, "DJ, you know you are more than qualified to be in any intelligence agency in the world. You were ready to do it at Birth. I made sure of that, you were the only one of my kids who had the Mark and I took special attention to hone those skills. All you have to do, is whoop the guys ass whose busting your balls, got it. That's what I taught you, shoot first and then shoot some more, remember that."

He turned and smiled at her and Rose got a glimpse of her son with the light of the apartment shining on his face, she smiled fondly. This boy, no-… man in front of her was all grown up and it killed her, "You know, today I got my first real look at you in a long time and you what I see. A man, a man who is ready to do everything that his all-seeing, all powerful Mother set him up for, and as much as I hate giving you up, you're ready for your life son."

DJ smiled warmly at her, "I'm not so sure that I want to leave you."

Rose smiled and threw an arm around her shoulder, "I don't want you to leave either baby, but you need to. I can't keep you sheltered, you'll have one kids one day, you'll have your own star studded career. I'd like to think that I was responsible for you being able to do it, but I know I'm not."

Shrugging, he put his arm around his mother's waist and laid his head on her shoulder, "I love you Mama, and I'm honored to be your progeny."

Rose chuckled, "Oh yes, we all know this."

"So I guess I'm coming to work for you?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

She folded her arms over her chest and nodded, "Unless you want to be my Secretary, I've got five of them. I could always use a sixth little servant."

DJ chuckled, "Being your servant all day, taking messages and drinking crappy, swill-coffee, I don't think so, I'm ready to do action for a living."

"Well then, it's the DIA for the moment," Rose nodded and reached into the pocket of pants for her cellphone, "I'll make the call, and this means that you're going to be in the Defense Department Delegation for Tuesday."

His eyes widened, "Y-You mean that I'm going to be on TV?"

"Oh yeah," Rose nodded with a grin, "You're name's going to be said too."

He stared at her blankly, "What in the hell are you going to put in it?"

DJ was seriously expecting something very interesting if his mother had control over what titles she ordered for the members of her delegation. It was going to be an awkward moment when he was announced as the 'fruit of the Secretary of Defense's womb' or something as equally embarrassing in front of the entire world. DJ's eyes widened at that thought, the entire world would be watching this, they always did, "Mama, what's the title?"

"You will be, Mommy's little helper," She grinned.

DJ narrowed his eyes, "Mom?"

"Oh alright," Rose nodded and turned to lean against the lean, "I do have control over my delegation and since I want you to work close with me, you're going to be in a temporary position. You're going to be the Defense Intelligence Agency's Junior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, you will report to know one but me and I am your boss, not the Senior Advisor."

"So when some bloated prick face tells me that I'm his underling, I have permission to tell him to fuck off?" DJ asked with a serious expression.

Rose shook her head, "Telling Fleet Admiral Curry to fuck off is not a good idea, that man is also the head of two of our largest fleets. That man doesn't take shit, but he does take orders and I'll inform him that even though you will be the Junior Advisor and he's the Senior Advisor, he isn't your Boss, I am and you report to me, you issue your own reports to me and your own advice, you're primary function will be an advisor, understood?"

DJ nodded, "I don't want to be an advisor for long."

"Don't worry," Rose grinned and tapped him on the shoulder, "You'll get to play with a gun every now and then and as soon as I'm done rooting out this bitch who has the nerve to someone to shoot me. Is that understood DJ?"

He nodded and looked into the window at the guests inside of the apartment, DJ wasn't even sure how his parents knew all of these people. It occurred to him that his mother was standing right next to him and it was the perfect opportunity to ask her, "Who in the hell are all of these people?"

"Oh," Rose smiled, "You're Grandparents wanted them here."

"I forgot, they are socialites," DJ rolled his eyes.

"They're not really, they don't give a shit what half the people in the room think about them, but they're still relatively influential and they'd like to keep it that way," Rose inclined to two men who were standing inside and talking with both her father and Jake, "That's the Mayor New York and the Mayor of Carmel in there chatting it up with your Granddad and Dad."

He almost fainted, "What would the Mayor be doing here?"

"My Dad donated $5,000,000 to his campaign, it's a favor," Rose smiled.

Again, he rolled his eyes, "Figures, but hey, I'm honored."

Rose nodded, "I'm sure you should be."

Her parents were extravagant and sometimes Rose indulged them, and when Rose and Jake wanted this sort of thing in a ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria instead of their house, her mother had turned down the idea. She liked the idea of this party being homey. That didn't stop them from ordering $500 Champaign Bottles or expensive food, but as long it was in her apartment and not in a ballroom. God, she loved them, but sometimes she just wanted to strangle them for their idiocy, "God love 'em, but sometimes they're stupid."

"I think that the guests love being close to you," DJ chuckled.

"Are you kidding, your principle had an orgasm on my arrival," Rose grinned.

DJ gagged and shuddered slightly, "That's more then I wanted to know."

Erin Hutchinson had experienced a very tumultuous two years of her life, at first her daughter in-law was nearly murdered, her mother had escaped death for what was the hundredth time in her life and she almost nearly didn't make it and worst of all, she'd lost her marriage. Mark had filed for divorce six months prior, he cited irreconcilable differences and she couldn't help but agree with him. She had grown very cold in the ten months that her mother lagged on in that Coma and that, coupled with her beliefs in the mortality of killing people who did her harm killed their marriage, she was sure of it.

And they had split amicably, they were still living in the same house, even though they weren't married and she had allowed him to keep the house in the settlement as it were anyway. She was busy looking at apartments in the City to move into and that's the only reason that she was here in the apartment building where Jake and Rose lived. It was quite ironic, the only thing that she could find was above and two apartments down from them.

Sure it was $1,200,000 Bucks, but Mark had agreed to split their finances and that racked up to some large numbers, even split. Brant and Natalia had taken it a little rougher then she had expected. Brant had given her the cold shoulder, but he soon warmed up to the idea and began to defend her against Natalia who hadn't ceased to stop talking to her. They hadn't spoken in a year and as much as it killed her, Erin wasn't going to force her into it.

"I have something for you," Lillian Green said from behind her.

Erin took another sip of her champagne and turned to smile at her lawyer, she had retained her best friend's sister as her lawyer and she had been very effective. If she had wanted to, Lillian could have cleaned Mark out, but Erin wanted nothing for it. She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

Lillian, who stuck out like a sore thumb in her lawyer's attire, reached down into her briefcase and withdrew a blue paper, "Your divorce is officially final, you are a single woman Erin, I delivered the papers to Mark an hour ago."

Erin nodded and looked down to the paper in her hand, "Thank you."

"Well," Lillian smiled and picked up her briefcase, "I've got ship out, I'm going to go home and get some sleep, I've been in the middle of a big case."

Erin raised an eyebrow, "Aren't going to say hello to your family?"

"Oh that's right," Lillian chuckled, "I forgot where I was, where can I-…?"

She pointed to the window to where DJ and Rose were speaking together and to a small group of people in the center of the Apartment that included her brother, mother, father and brother in-law. Lillian grinned and nodded in thanks to Erin before making her way through crowds of people and coming to the edge of the small circle, "There's my sugar plum, how are you?"

Lillian smiled and hugged her mother tightly, "I'm good, I got just got through delivering Erin's Divorce papers, and I forgot that this was going on."

Jake's eyes widened and turned towards Erin, who seemed to be throwing back the booze, "I better go see how she's doing, excuse me."

She nodded and smiled when Jake leaned down to kiss her on the cheek before moving off to see how Erin was holding up. She looked at her Mother, Brother and Father expectantly, "So how was the ceremony?"

"I was stuck up in Carmel," Bobby answered glumly, "Couldn't make it."

Her father looked positively deathly, "I was at home in bed, I'm so drunk on Nyquil, I can barely see straight."

"It was great," Caroline answered with a smile, "Rose and DJ are talking out on the Balcony, and those two had been out there for the past hour."

Lillian nodded, "After what he's about to do, I wouldn't be surprised."

Rose used all of her strength to pop the cork off of the champagne that she had brought back out. She poured some into one glass and then to another and looked at DJ and motioned to the other glass. He raised an eyebrow. Sure, he had drunk booze before, but not in front of his parents, "Go ahead."

DJ smirked and picked up the glass and took a deep sip from it, "Jesus, I didn't think that you'd ever let me do that. You expect me to be an angel."

"Well," Rose shrugged, "You're not technically allowed to drink, but in just a few days you're going to be eighteen years old and after that, I guess I can't stop you if you can get your hands on it. I know you've had sex, I've had the displeasure of walking in on the aftermath once. I know you've gotten drunk, I'd like to think that you haven't smoked Pot, but the jury is still out on that and I know you've smoked Cigarettes, I think you can handle this."

DJ blinked, "And here I thought I had kept it all a secret."

The Huntsgirl in her glowered at her son, "That's impossible, I know my kids, they can't keep anything from me and if they think that they are, I just humor them. I suppose since you'll be a legal adult in a few days, I can let the cat out of the bag. But if you tell the rest of them, I'll butcher you."

"I'll keep your little secret," DJ grinned and sipped at the drink again.

When all had quieted down, the sliding door that was the entrance from the balcony into the house opened and out stepped Lillian. She was dressed in a black pantsuit and you could tell that she had just gotten out of court. Rose thought that she looked completely haggard. The rings under her eyes were a sign that she was very much sleep deprived, "You look like a pile of shit."

Lillian nodded and grabbed Rose's glass and downed all of it one drink, "I feel like one two, I've been juggling a divorce and a capital murder trial for the past week and I thank god that I've got the Divorce finally finished."

"Erin's divorce is final?" DJ raised an eyebrow.

Lillian nodded and leaned down to kiss DJ on the cheek, "Yeah it is, and I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to the ceremony sweetie, been really busy."

"Oh its fine," DJ grinned and kissed her on the cheek, "I understand."

She smiled and nodded before taking another drink of the booze. DJ had grown fond of his aunt in the time that he had known her. It helped that she was his mother's twin, but he liked her attitude. Lillian was sort of the anti-Rose and he found her completely fascinating, "You looked whipped out."

"I am," Lillian yawned and then she turned to Rose, "I meant to tell you something and I almost forgot. I was in my office during lunch today when I got the most peculiar phone call. It was from the Attorney General."

Rose's eyebrows went into her hairline, "The AG, what would he want?"

The Attorney General of the United States was in a sense, the most powerful Lawyer in the United States. The AG was the Government's impromptu Lawyer and he represented the United States Federal Government in all its legal action. Personally, Rose and the Attorney General got along great and she would have like to say that they were friends, but perhaps it was only their working relationships, "It appears that the New York US Attorney is retiring and he wants me to come and take his place. I told him, I'd consider it, but I want to know if you had some action in this Rose?"

"No," Rose shook his head, "I've been busy myself and I know that you wouldn't want me to pull some strings and try to get you a job like that."

That annoyed her, she suspected that Rose was lying to her, but with the one thing she had learned in the time that she had known her sister, it was that you couldn't read her face. Sometimes, her mask would crack, but even in the most stressful situations, she had a cool, calm, collected face. But she had an ace in the hole, the Attorney General had told her that Rose had really been talking her up lately. "Really, because it's funny, The Attorney General had told me that you had been talking about me lately. He said that the moment that the US Attorney here in New York announced his retirement, you began fucking lobbying him for me to take his place!"

Rose looked down on the table, "So, your sister tries to get the Attorney General to make you a US Attorney and you bite my head off."

Her face softened, "It's not so much that you did that, it's that you were going to let this go without telling me. If I'm going to be a US Attorney, I want to do it on my own and I don't want you pulling your strings, got it?"

"So you'll take the job?" Rose grinned.

Lillian narrowed her eyes, "Yes, but don't do something like this again."

"Good," Rose smiled and nodded, "So I've got another reason to celebrate."

The other woman shook her head, "I've got to go home, the Judge has granted us recess through the weekend and I'm going to take advantage."

Rose nodded, "Go home, get some sleep."