(2) Sherlock & Irene

(Lines in bold are not mine but from 'Scandal In Belgravia'.)

Nero Wolfe Scott thought he knew his parents. He was the son of William & Irene Scott. He grew up in a country mansion set back against a long deep loch. It was strangely large, with six bedrooms & not one but two all-around balconies. One on the bottom & then outside stairs leading to the top one which was mainly his parents' master bedroom taking up most of the top floor. The size was strange since it was only the three of them there & Nero couldn't remember ever having visitors. Understandable, since they were far out in the country.

That was the first thing he remembered noticing as he got older. His parents tended to keep to themselves. Sometimes, they would go horse riding together & when he turned sixteen, Nero was gifted a horse of his very own. Of course, he showed it off to friends at school that was just over an hour's drive away. It made him popular, but it also brought up questions. The tack he used was the same his parents used on their horses. According to his friends, it was English.

Ridiculous. Nero had never set foot in any part of the UK. In fact, England was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. But as he looked at others who had horses, he could see the differences. The dress style, the saddle, even the way they rode. When he asked his parents about it, he was simply told there are plenty of ways to ride. That was the second major thing he had noticed.

There were other things that were different. He never questioned why his family seemed to have two words for many things such as biscuit, cookie or scone. Or Mom, as he always said like how is friends said it, but Mum when his parents said or even spelled the exact same word. It wasn't until later in his high school years that it occurred to him that none of his friends used all those words for everything.

It didn't bother him much. His parents were a little odd, his father impossibly eccentric & no way to lie to him. (Nero found that out before he could even walk!) But, unlike most of his friends' families who were divorced or separated or not even speaking to each other, his was incredibly close. Even now, sitting on his horse, he could see the silhouette of them standing together on the banks of the loch, lost in each other's embrace, his mother's dress & his father's long overcoat swirling about them in the wind, their two horses off to the side, grazing, as the sun went down, turning the deep water black. He turned his horse around & headed to the road. He had seen them like that often enough & in even more compromising positions. Nero had thought it normal to see his parents together but when he had mentioned it off-hand to his closer friends, it was met with surprise.

"Wish my parents were still together," one said.

"They still kiss? How old are they?"

Come to think of it, William & Irene Scott weren't all that old & looked younger than they were, especially his father who didn't seem to age much. He had some greys but his hair seemed to forget that it was supposed to continue to turn grey. Nero shrugged. "I thought you're supposed to do that until you die?"

"They sound very romantic," one of the girls dreamily sighed.

"I suppose it is," said Nero as he got into the car when his father drove into the parking lot of the school.

"Girlfriend of yours?" His father had the nerve to wink at him.

"What? No!" Nero exclaimed.

"Are you sure? She was looking at you in a certain way."

"Dad, I'm not going to get into deducing with you today," Nero crossed his arms & slid a little lower in his seat until the belt stopped him.

"Alright, we will talk about it later," His father teased. Nero rolled his eyes. After a few moments, his father went on, "Your Mum wants me to ask you what do you plan to do as soon as you're done high school?"

"Dad, that's two years away!"

"More like a year & a bit."

"I don't know," Nero shrugged. "Probably take a year off to travel a bit."

"Travel? Where would you go?"

"I definitely want to go to Australia, some day," Nero said. "Probably France, too."

"Those are good places to go," said his father. "I was in Australia once. Long before you were born. It's a good country."

"I think maybe some place in Britain as well," added Nero. The car rocked suddenly, almost as if it was about to go off course into the oncoming lane, but was quickly recovered. "Dad, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," said his father. "Bloody squirrels dashing across the road all the time." Nero didn't remember seeing any squirrels but they were quick little animals. It could be that he missed it.

They arrived home without further incident or questioning. Once the car was settled into the two-door garage, Nero got out & went to feed his horse before coming for supper. Afterwards, he went back out to the horse to attend to the daily routine every evening.

Once he was gone, his father put on the tea, then watched through the window until the kettle boiled. He poured tea for both of them & the pair moved to the covered porch on the side overlooking the pastures stretching back to the banks of the loch. He placed the tray on the table & stood looking out at the water. "England is on his list," he finally said. "Australia, France & Britain. So of course, that would mean London just for international flights."

Irene came up to stand behind him & wrapped her arms around his waist. "What will you do?"

He turned in her arms to face her. "Woman, it isn't like we can stop him. Once he turns eighteen, he can do what he wants. If we try to dissuade him from going to Britain, he will eventually know why. If we let him go, he will still know why."

They stood together in silence for a few minutes. She pressed her forehead to his lips. "Oh Sherlock," she sighed. She never used his preferred name in front of anyone, not even Nero. "I know how hard that will be for you."

"I'm not the one I'm worrying about," he said. They slowly broke apart & sat down for tea & in a rare occurrence, he took out a smoke. Neither needed to mention the doctor's name.

From that day on, Nero saw a slight change in his father. He seemed more subdued, more distant & a few more greys finally decided to appear. Sometimes, he found his father standing alone on the shore of the loch, staring ahead at the water. Nero did not know at the time that his father was gazing beyond the water, onward to his beloved England home to which neither of his parents could never return.

For his seventeenth birthday, Nero decided to test his parents a little, to see how they would react. He planned to ask if he could invite his friends over. He had always gone out to their places for their parties & gatherings but had never brought them home, since as anyone knew, the Scott mansion was a bit out of the way. He found them at the barn, having a showdown, not with each other (come to think of it, that never seemed to happen between them), but with his billions of siblings, as they liked to refer to the animals that had come with this farm.

"Children, stop fighting!" His father ordered, glaring down at a mass of the little animals. "There is plenty of sugar water for all of you!"

His mother just laughed at him, then thumped the table to make it vibrate a little, shaking the swarm up. "Don't make me get the smoke out." As if begrudgingly, the animals finally separated to find their own containers of nectar. "Bad parent," she tapped his chest, then put her hand on her own breast. "Good parent." She then pulled a nail through his goatee. "Bad ... parent." She laughed some more while he just stood there & glowered.

"Why don't they ever listen to me?" he finally complained.

"Um guys?" Nero finally moved inside, trying hard not to laugh.

"My favourite son," his father put an arm around Nero's shoulders. "At least you listen."

Nero pushed him off as his mother wiped away tears of laughter. "I just want to ask something." He was mildly surprised when he was allowed whatever he wished, so long as he made sure his friends stayed at the house & didn't bother the animals here in the back.

When the day came, Nero only brought five friends. They all had instructions on what to do. After the birthday dinner, the cake & the tea, both his parents pushed a dark blue velvet jewellery box across the table to Nero. He took it & opened it to find keys for a car. Nero was used to one gift from his parents, but it was always an expensive one. His thoroughbred horse was over ten thousand dollars. Now he had a brand new car. His friends also had given him various gifts.

His parents stood up. "You behave yourself with that car," his father said, taking Irene's hand. "Now, it is obvious you don't want us old folks hovering over you all day. Your mother & I are going for a walk around the water."

"Don't go near—" Irene began.

"I know, Mom," Nero said. "We have other plans, anyway." He held up the car key.

"Be careful," His father said as the pair left.

"Are you alright?" Irene asked once they were across the third pasture & over the hills.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Irene stopped walking & pulled him back by the hand. "Sherlock. I know you better than that."

"They're just kids."

"He's growing up & we only have one year left."

"I know, Woman."

Irene put her hands over his temples & stroked back some wayward curls. "My poor love. What's going on in that powerful mind of yours?"

"A plan, possibly," Sherlock replied.

"Any ideas?"

"Two, maybe five. I have not thought it through, yet."

"Tell me when you're ready, alright?" Irene held him close.

Sherlock slipped down to his knees & pulled on her hand, indicating she should follow. He lay back in the grass, watching clouds in the sky. "Soon enough," he said as Irene pulled something out of her pocket. Sherlock quickly sat up & stared at the package. "You really do know what I like." He tried to reach for it, but she held it away.

"Nuh uh!" Irene began. "Not until Nero leaves. Then you can have it."

He dropped his hand, looking a little miffed. "It has been many years since I have seen cocaine. However did you manage to get it?"

"I have my ways," Irene slyly replied. "I thought perhaps you deserve a treat, but not while Nero is around!" She put the small bag aside & lay on him.

He held her close & stroked her long faded auburn hair. His hand eventually moved between them to touch her breasts. Irene needed no further clues. She slipped a hand under his shirt, grating her nails along his flesh before taking the shirt off completely. Irene passed a hand through his hair as she kissed him first on his lips, then worked her way down. She undid his belt with her teeth. She got up to get undressed while he finished stripping himself. He moved to kneel in front of her. Irene bent down to kiss him again. Sherlock returned it for a moment before slightly pulling away. She could feel his fingertips caressing the two long scars all along her right side, then the third one on her front across the left breast. He swiped his fingers upward to touch the final small scar coming from the side of her nose to curve under her left eye. He always did that first, every time they made love. As if letting her know that the scars didn't mar her beauty in his eyes for he was attracted more to her mind than her body. He fell back onto the grass again, allowing her to take over as he always did.

"So what do you think?" Nero asked after several minutes of watching his parents cross the grounds until they disappeared over the hill.

"Very posh," said one of the young ladies. "Sophisticated."

"I knew you were well off," said one of the guys who had also come. "But this is pretty fancy."

"I think they might have a bit of an accent," said another young man. "It sounded almost as if they were trying to hide it."

There was a moment of silence. Nero glanced at his other two friends who had yet to say anything. "What about you?"

"I ... it's kind of personal," the girl hesitated.

"So what?" Nero rolled his eyes. "Out with it."

"Fine," she sighed. "Your Mom has a scar. I wonder how that happened."

"A scar?"

"Yes, under her eye."

"I thought that might have been a birthmark," said Nero. "You sure it's a scar?"

"Positive," she nodded. "Nero, it looks like she was punched. Your Dad ... he isn't ..."

"Violent?" Nero finished for her. "Good heavens, no! He's never raised a hand against either of us. Rarely raises his voice, never at us; but the animals out back sometimes get yelled at." He smiled for a moment.

"Well, somebody punched her," she insisted. "Or perhaps an injury from riding. I hope it's just an accident!. But it is definitely a scar, not a birthmark."

"Now that you mention it," Nero said. "Both horses my parents had were trained by them since they were foals. It could probably be a horse." He turned to another guy sitting close to him. "What about you?"

He was slow to answer. "They seem British, Nero."

"Really?" Nero sighed & shook his head. "I've never set foot outside of this country. Been here all my life & my parents were well established here before I got born."

"I'm sure if you ask, they'll tell you they have British background," the young man said. "Maybe your grandparents?"

"It's possible, but I don't have grandparents," said Nero. "All dead. I never met them."

"My parents own the grocery store in town," said one of the girls. "I asked if they knew your parents when you invited me here. Dad said not much other than they seemed quiet & close."

"Oh they're quite close, alright," Nero said. "I still walk in on them doing, you know, stuff."

There was a long awkward silence before one of the other young men raised both brows in surprise. "They still ... how come you don't have any siblings, then?"

"I dunno," Nero shrugged. "Birth control? Whatever. It's not that big a deal." After stares from his friends, he added, "Not to me. I'm used to it." After another shocked silence, Nero asked, "Anything else?"

"Let's look around a bit," said another of the guys.

"Remember what I said," Nero warned. "We can look but don't touch anything! I'm telling you, something's moved half an inch, he'll bloody know. I don't know how he does it, but he sees the littlest of things. Bit annoying, really."

After assuring Nero they wouldn't touch, the six of them separated. Each their own direction. One even went to the garages while two others went outside to walk around both balconies. Nero went upstairs to the master bedroom & went in, hands behind his back. He would look at things for a long time, analyzing them in much the same way his father did but without touching. He even checked under the bed by carefully getting down on the floor so as not to bump anything.

Within ten minutes, everyone had returned to the living room. Without being able to touch anything, there was not much to look for. Nero passed out another round of birthday cake slices & tea before sitting down. "The fact we didn't find anything is kind of worrying," He said after a sip.

"You went into their room," said one girl. "Surely, something was there?"

"Nah," Nero shook his head. "Although I hope they aren't planning to go riding any time soon. One of them left their crop on the bed."

"You really think they're hiding something?" asked one of the guys.

"I've been feeling like they are for a few years now," said Nero. "And lately, Dad's acting a little off." He explained.

"Well, that's probably the midlife crisis," another guy pointed out. "They are that age, aren't they?"

"Early sixties," said Nero.

"I've been running their names through several search engines," said another girl. "Not much comes up. There are plenty of Williams & Irenes & Scotts out there. The names are quite common."

"I know," said Nero. "It was a shot in the dark, but I didn't think that would work. Well," He stood up. "Shall I give you all a ride in my Lamborghini before you go home?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" One of the guys led the way to the garages.

It was early evening by the time Sherlock & Irene returned. They had spent most of the day either rolling around in the grass or skinny dipping in the water, giving time for Nero's friends to go home. But when he finally returned home alone after dropping his friends off, Nero still couldn't help but worry if something somewhere got screwed up just slightly enough for his father to notice.

A quick glance through the house told him they weren't there. Nero went out onto the lower balcony. He heard one of the horses whinny & looked over to see his father's half-wild stallion run out of the barn. Door open. His parents had to be there. He headed in that direction.

"Sherlock, I never know what to do with that wild stallion of yours," Irene complained.

"That's fine," he said. "There's another stallion right here I'm pretty sure you know what to do with."

"Oh you," Irene smiled, keeping eye contact. Next moment, she had twisted the bridle she had in her hands firmly around his wrists, binding them close. She tossed the reins up over the beam & grabbed the ends as they came down. With a hard pull, his hands were now over his head as he stood in a pile of hay.

"Not too far, Woman. Nero should be home by now."

"We've got a minute or two," Irene pulled harder as she moved in to kiss him.

Nero stepped into the open barn doors to a very strange sight. He backed out & leaned back against the wall. He peeked in once more but sure enough, he could see his father was restrained by a bridle his mother controlled while she was kissing him. "Ohh kay." Nero turned & hurried back to the house. "Never seen them do that, before." He went inside. Barely a few minutes later, both his parents appeared on the side deck.

"Have fun?" Irene asked, as she came into the kitchen.

"Yeah, you?"

"Oh ho!" His father grinned. "Loads of fun."

Nero blinked, remembering the scene he had almost walked into. "Oh my God!" He moaned, walking away as his parents doubled over in laughter.

"I'm always having fun with your father," Irene went after him & began running her fingers through her son's hair. It was straighter than his father's & more red than hers. "But I love teasing you."

"What are you complaining about?" his father asked. "You've walked in on us, before."

"Here," said Nero. "Not out there where anyone could find you."

"That's what makes it more fun, darling," said Irene.

"About that," his father sat down on the lounge & had an air of business about him all of a sudden. "Don't you think it's about time we all had a certain talk?" Irene turned away, crying from laughter. How the hell can he just sit there with a straight face & talk so nonchalantly about this topic?

"What talk?" Nero asked.

"Well, you brought three young men & two young ladies here," his father said. "Any potential mates in that group?"

"What? No, they're just friends."

"Ok," his father steepled his fingers under his chin, something that made Nero worry he would notice any single thing out of place. Or wait. Did they notice him at the barn?

"Oh honey," Irene began playing with her son's hair again. "You can talk to us about anything & it won't matter to us who you end up with. If it's another guy, it's totally fine."

"I know it's fine," said Nero as he attempted to duck out of his mother's pampering. Fortunately, this made them both miss the sudden far off look or the single tear on his father's face for it reminded him of a similar conversation with an old friend. Nero finally got out of his mother's clutches. "By the way, I was on the upper patio for a bit. I think I might have seen one of your crops on your bed, in case you go out riding & miss it." He did change the story slightly, not wanting to admit he had been in their room at all. It was quite ordinary to go up to the top patio sometimes for a fantastic view of the loch.

"Ohh that particular crop can stay exactly where it is," his father all but purred.

"Sure," Nero said. "Whatever."

"We're not missing it," said Irene.

"Aren't we?" his father gave her a strange look which made her blush & giggle like a lovesick schoolgirl. "My dear Woman, I thought we were missing it."

Nero glanced at his mother. His father could still make her blush after all these years. "Do I even want to know what's going on with you two, right now?"

"If you don't want to right now," his father began, getting up & stepping into the kitchen. "You most likely will in a year or two."

"Okey dokey," Nero backed away from both of them.

Irene grabbed her son with both hands & pulled him to the lounge. "All joking aside, you can talk to us about anything. I'm not surprised you're taking your time when it comes to girlfriends or boyfriends. Your father was slow on that topic too, at first."

"GRR!" He leaned out of the kitchen's entrance way for a moment to growl at them before disappearing once more.

"Don't GRR me! It's true," Irene said. "You were an adult when you lost that virginity of yours. To ME, no less." Nero blanched for a moment. His parents were firsts? No wonder they were still close & cozy with each other.

"GRRRR!" He leaned out to growl again before adding, "Woman, do you want to make me burn the tea?"

Irene facepalmed, crying once more. "Whew! I love teasing your Dad." She finally managed to say, hiccuping a laugh. She leaned close to Nero & whispered, "He doesn't like to admit it took him that long."

"How long have you guys known each other?"

"Very long time, almost thirty years," said Irene. "Like I said, we can tell you anything you want to know about love & sex & I mean, anything. We've been through a lot together & done a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, literally everything."

"What your poor dear mother would like to say is," He was once more in the kitchen's entrance way. "We know everything about sex since we tried it all, particularly the darker side of it."

"Darker ... side?" Nero's eyes went wide. He tried to not think of the most recent situation he had found them in. They were dressed, but his father was still tied.

"Yeah, BDSM," His father had the nerve to wink at him. "Particularly the S & the M of it."

"WHAT?"

"Now you know what that extra riding crop on our bed is for," He sing-songed out as he went back to the stove. "A very different kind of riding."

Nero jumped to his feet. "You guys are joking!"

"No, we're not," Irene said seriously. "That's why our bedroom is soundproof. We don't do that when you're in the house, though. Can't risk it with an underage person. We don't want to lose you so you'll never walk in on us all chained up. What you saw in the barn was just some simple play. We can do a lot worse than that."

"The barn ..."

"You honestly thought we didn't see you?" His father's voice sounded from the kitchen. "My dear boy, we have a lot more stuff for play hidden all over this property."

"Besides whatever's lying around," Irene added with a smirk.

"Oh God! I need some air!" Nero stumbled to the side deck. Unfortunately, this meant he had to go through the wide kitchen so he didn't miss the fact that his father had just keeled over to the floor, sobbing with laughter.

He rolled over onto his stomach as Nero stopped to stare at him & lifted his feet up like a mermaid raising her tail. "Like your Mummy said, you can ask us anything. We know it all! Happy birthday, kid."

"I'm going to go for a ride," Nero opened the door to the deck.

"You do that," His father finally stood up & winked at him.

Irene came to stand behind him. "I think we completely traumatized him."

"I can't imagine why," he replied. "Sex doesn't alarm me." Both nearly died from another fit of laughter.

It was dark when Nero returned from his horse ride. The light in the main parlour had been left on for him. He turned everything off & went first for a shower, then to his bedroom. But it took him a while to sleep. Though he had, of course, heard of such play, he never bothered to give it another thought until now. He pulled out his phone & began looking it up. After about an hour, he put it aside. "Ohh boy!" He sighed, shaking his head before rolling over to try sleeping. His parents were getting weirder with age.

Nero managed to avoid such conversation with his parents for a while. They acted as if the first conversation had never happened, as if letting him decide when to talk about such a topic again. Things had returned to almost normal apart from his father's somewhat subdued bearing that had been going on for a while now.

But as time went on, both parents started behaving oddly. Nero had found them three times so far, in deep conversation that would end abruptly when they noticed him. The most recent was late one evening on the side deck. Nero had gone into the kitchen to find something to drink & saw them outside. The door was closed so he could not hear. But what he saw was telling enough. His father sitting back on the loveseat swing, his mother kneeling before him, holding both his hands with her own. Of all things, his father seemed sorrowful.

Nero opened the sliding door but in that short time, both parents had returned to their usual selves, not a trace of a tear or any anguished emotion. "Do either of you want tea?"

"Oh we're fine," Irene said as she started clearing away their tea set that was already on the table.

His father leaned back on the swing & clasped both hands behind his head. "We're discussing your birthday present. Eighteenth birthday coming up in three months. We want to make it special."

"I see," Nero wondered how a birthday present could sadden either of his parents. Or perhaps it was because this next birthday was a coming of age one & he was 'growing up too fast' as most parents said. "Good night, then."

"Good night."

It wasn't for another month, while his father was gone on a delivery, that Nero thought of something. On his last birthday, one of his friends had mentioned something about his mother. The mark under her eye. He had told his friends his father had never once raised his hand against either of them. But now all that was out the window in a certain sense. Both his parents had admitted to preferring things rough. Is that how it happened?

He found his mother in the second barn, cleaning up one of the long tables. The barn closer to the house was for the three horses but this one was set back away from everything else for the other animals they had.

Irene turned right into him. "Oh! Dear, why are you so close?" She set aside the bucket of warm water & put a hand through his hair. "Come help with the next table."

They worked in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't until they replaced the plastic table cover that Nero said something. "Can I ask you something a bit personal?"

"You know you can ask anything," Irene stapled down the corners on her side.

"Earlier this year, you & Dad let on that you ... um ... like ..." Nero stopped, wondering if this was a good idea after all.

"Nero, just say it."

"That you like to play rough when I'm not home."

"We sure do," Irene smiled at him. "What of it?"

Nero smoothed out his end of the cover & put in the staples before answering. "Does Dad ever hurt you?"

"Sometimes," said Irene. "But I'm more the Dominate. He's the Sub. It's ok, Nero. We have a safe word. Though we haven't used it, yet." She glanced around. "I hear the car coming in. Your Dad's home." She turned back to her son. "Have no fear. Your father is a very gentle man outside of our play. He would never harm either one of us."

"What about an accident maybe?"

"We've never had those," Irene replied. "What's wrong, honey?"

"I just," Nero looked at her, looked at that scar under her eye. "I always thought that ... your ... your mark. I thought that was a birthmark. Under your eye. But it's a scar, isn't it?"

Irene took a long time in answering. She glanced at him, standing there behind their son, leaning on the door frame, waiting. "Yes, Nero. It is."

"Did Dad do that?"

Irene saw him nod once. It was time to tell their son what actually happened. He turned & left. She dried her hands with a small towel. "Your father & I were wondering when we would have this conversation." She put the towel aside. "No, Nero. It wasn't him. I can whip that porcelain body your father has until he's black & blue but we have never once caused permanent damage to each other." She began pulling off her top.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"There is something you need to see," Irene stood wearing only her bra & dark brown riding pants. First, she pointed to an extra scar across her tummy. "Well, alright, this one is kind of your Dad's fault, kind of yours." She half smiled. "I couldn't birth you properly, so they did a C-section. But everything else ..." She turned sideways.

Nero saw the two deep scars. "Mom! What happened?"

Irene pulled down the top of the left bra cup a bit to show the other scar. It was as if her breast had been cut in half across it. Nero's eyes went even wider at the sight of it. "I couldn't even nurse you with this one. It's completely destroyed." Irene started to get dressed again. "This is not the work of your father."

"Someone else did that?"

Irene put one arm around her son's shoulders & led him out of the barn. They made their way towards the house. "Before I married your father, I was a Dominatrix."

"What's that?"

"For lack of a better term, Nero," Irene sighed before going on. "A high class whore."

"What?"

"A consort would be another way to put it," said Irene. "I could be hired to be anything from your companion to an expensive event or a playmate for the night. I was quite expensive so only men & women of a certain caliber would be able to hire me."

"Women?"

"Yes, I did both, mostly the men though," Irene said.

"Wow!" Nero gasped. "You're full of surprises." Irene laughed at that. Nero added, "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry into your personal life. Never mind."

"We have to," said Irene. "There is something you need to know before your eighteenth birthday."

"My bir—why?"

By now, they had reached the patio. Nero saw his father already sitting on the bench, as if waiting for them. A slightly curved sword lay across his lap. Nero had never seen either of his parents with any sort of weapon before. Irene pushed him forward. "Because something happened to both of us," said Irene as they came up the three steps onto the patio. "I was always careful of my clientele," she went on. "The people that hired me were top government officials to even royalty."

"Royalty?"

Irene nodded before going on. "I even had affairs with both the husband & the wife at times. I eventually ended up in a spot of trouble & that's how I met your father."

"Did he ever ... uh ... hire you?" Nero asked, trying not to stare at the sword.

"No," his father answered. "Sex with her is always free for me."

"Your father ended up being my favourite client," Irene said. "Back in the day, he worked as a detective & was able to solve & close many criminal cases. He helped me."

Nero stared at his father. "Detective! You were a cop?"

"No, but I worked with them."

"Amazing," Nero stared for a moment & once more, his father was reminded of an old friend.

"Yes, he was very good at what he did. He saved my life, twice actually," Irene went on. "The first time was from a gang. I had to play dead for a few years & only your father knew. In the meantime, your father ended up working another dangerous case & tracked the suspect close to where I was currently hiding. The man was a serial rapist killer. I was a woman alone in a small country house. Perfect target. He found me one night. In that time, I was," she paused & drew in a shuddering breath. His father put a hand over hers. "I was a-abused. Extremely. He nearly killed me. That's where these scars come from."

"You ... were raped?" Nero exclaimed in a low whisper.

"Several times, in fact," his father said. "When I found her, she was nearly dead. That is the second time I saved her. First time was from my own brother who tried to behead her by setting her up with that gang."

Nero just stared, mouth agape. His father had a brother? Who tried to behead his mother? "I'm sorry. What? Exactly what the hell have you both gotten into?"

"The government, in fact," His father said. "All full of scandals. Spies. They kill each other for money. We come from an extremely powerful family. Your mother had information that could swindle one side or the other. Best way to get rid of her was by killing her. I found out. I went to save her. I kept her hidden for a while. Then the last case I ever worked on got mixed up with her. I literally walked in on him in the process of killing her after he had violated her body more than once. I saved her again. I was almost too late."

Nero paced the hardwood floor of the deck for several minutes. He stood before both of them & said in a very forced even voice. "Every single time I ask either of you anything, I get the most unexpected answers. I ... don't think I will ask more." He turned to leave.

"We have no choice, Nero," his father said. "Sit down. We're not finished & we need to do this before your eighteenth birthday."

"Why?" Nero gasped as he turned back to them. "What does ANY of this have to do with literally any of my birthdays?"

"Because of the government we were involved in & because of your very particular present," his father put a hand out towards the armchair across from the bench, indicating his son to sit down.

"I do not understand," Nero slowly sat down.

"You will soon," his father said. "Our family basically are the government. We run the Secret Service, in fact. We are some of the best spies which is why we are still alive." He raised his head a little. "The British government, to be precise."

"Britain," Nero was beyond shocked. "I had a feeling we had some British in us, but ... this?"

"England is our native land," his father said. "Unfortunately, your mother & I can never see our home again."

"I get it," Nero said. "Spy stuff."

"No," his father got up & turned to look into the pasture land. He swung the sword around in his hand, as if reliving his killing spree, then held it down by his side. "It's because of the way I saved your mother both times, but especially the second time." He watched the three horses canter across one field before going on, keeping his back to his son. "I am a killer, Nero. In all, to keep your mother safe, I have killed fifteen people."

"What?" Nero glanced at his mother but she looked away.

His father finally turned to face him & held up the sword. "With this very blade, I beheaded the gang."

"Oh come on!" Nero nearly laughed. "You aren't capable of that. Are you?"

"Boy, you have no idea what I am capable of," His father silenced him with a look. "I originally wanted to be a pirate. Let that one sink in." They shared a look before he went on. "I had put this sword away, in a secret deposit box in France after that incident as soon as was convenient. I had just completed another dangerous case that forced me into hiding for two years. So I left Britain & went into France to hide the sword, then swung around to meet up with your mother. I eventually retrieved it once we moved here. As for the rapist I walked in on a few years later after that gang—you don't want to know what I did to him. Not even your mother ever got those details, but let me tell you one thing: I made him suffer before," he pushed aside the edge of his jacket & Nero could see an old Glock holstered there. "I finally shot him a second time at point blank range. First time I shot him was when I first found him. Had he lived, he would have never been able to have sex again. I castrated him with that first bullet."

"You shot somebody in the ... ?" Nero could only gape at his father. He suddenly noticed a few tears.

"Mhm," his father nodded. "Then I tortured him. Then I killed him. Cold blooded murder. I think I was insane in that moment. I blew up the whole house after. I had already sent your mother to the nearest hospital & had gone back to deal with him. So I destroyed the house when I was done with him. It forced the police to dig for several days before finding evidence. I was already long gone, back to the hospital to be with her. She almost didn't make it. When she was released later, evidence was being found. It was only a matter of time before the bullets would be linked to my gun. I had killed the prime suspect in the very case I was working on. So I put my fate in her hands. Either turn me in for murder, or run. That is why I was in Australia for a bit. Your mother & I moved around all over that country to ditch the spies. My own brother. We can never go back to England for I am a fugitive there. We both are. Her for espionage & treason & me for murder. Neither of us can ever go back."

By now, Nero was leaning forward in his seat, head in his hands. "This is not at all what I expected."

"I am sorry," his father replied.

"Don't get me wrong," Nero went on. "I'm glad you saved her. It's just ..."

"It's shocking," said Irene. "I know."

"I asked you a long time ago what you would want to do when you're finished school," his father went on. "You mentioned travel. Do you remember the places you said?"

Nero blinked. Suddenly, it all made sense. One of the places he had mentioned was Britain! No wonder his father had been acting strange ever since. "I won't go to Britain."

"Yes, you will," Irene said. "We have no intention of destroying your dreams. But we wanted you to hear what happened from us, first."

"I have already taken care of your trip," said his father. "The day after we talked, I bought the tickets. Set for your eighteenth birthday. You would have found out one way or the other. But it comes at a bit of a price."

"Uh yeah!" Nero exclaimed. "This is a lot of information to handle."

"Sorry," Irene smiled wistfully at him for a moment.

"Look guys," Nero began. "I don't have to go to Britain."

"We want you to," said Irene. "We have been working on something. We can't go home ever again but you can go for us. See the place. Bring back pictures."

"We also want you to find certain people for us," his father added. "When we fled the country, we never looked back. But we left behind some very close friends of ours."

"We want you to meet them," said Irene.

"You'll be given seven envelopes on your birthday," his father said. "One will have all you need for the trip. Plane tickets, English money & such. The other six will be for eight people."

"Alright, sounds simple enough."

"One of them might be dead," his father added. "She was rather old to begin with when I left. There is a small chance she is still alive. She would be in her nineties by now."

"Is she a grandmother of mine?"

"Close enough," said his father. "We are unrelated but she would have acted as such."

"I hope she is still around," said Nero. "She sounds fun."

His father laughed. "She is one of my favourites."

Irene took hold of her son's hands. "Nero, not a word of this to anyone. You can tell them you're going to England but nothing else. Not the spies or ... or the murders."

"I won't," Nero promised. "But just among us, I'd hardly call what Dad did murder."

"That is how it would be seen in the legal system," said his father. "Now, I have got to catch that bloody stallion of mine & put him away for the night. We will speak more of this later."

"Good luck with that," Nero snickered. It was another long night in his bed as Nero processed what he had been told. Before going to sleep at last, he took out his phone & tried to find his parents' name in British government but nothing came up. He gave up after half an hour, supposing that they probably wouldn't show up since spies were virtually untraceable.

Nero waited for the rest of that discussion but all he was told that if he wanted any party, he should go out with his friends a day earlier since his flight was on his birthday. While he did hang out with friends in town, he did not bring anyone home & the next day, he found both his parents sitting on the couch in the main parlour, a pile of large yellow envelopes between them. He took the chair in front of them.

"The first thing you need to know, is that William Scott is only part of my name & not well known. My full name is William Sherlock Scott Holmes, but most people knew me as Sherlock Holmes. You can still find old blogs & details of my life there under that name. Something for you to do on the plane, perhaps."

Sherlock picked up the first envelope & passed it over.