Chapter Seven – Our Future
When Gil woke up the next morning he saw that Jenna had been watching him.
"Good morning!" she greeted him.
"Good morning," he answered back.
Jenna had been awake for about 20 minutes, but she did not want to have him wake with the same reaction he had the day before, so she waited for him to wake up.
"So what are we doing today?" he leaned up on his elbow and asked her.
"Well," she hesitated with her answer. "I really need to go to the Shelter and see how things are going. You know Maggie's death will be hard for some of our girls to cope with."
Worrying that Gil would be disappointed, she continued, "I know you were expecting us to spend the day together, but I really need to check on things over there. You aren't too disappointed, are you?"
"No, of course not," he assured her. "I'll take you back whenever your ready."
"Your wonderful," she said as moved to kiss him on the cheek. "You should really hate me for all I put you through."
"How could I hate you? You said I brought love into your life, but you're the one that taught me how to love." He said as he kissed her back.
"We'll just need to figure out a schedule on when we can see each other. You don't have to live at the Shelter, do you?" And as though it was an instruction he told her, "You can move in here. We'll get you a car so that you can continue working."
"Gil, slow down," she cautioned him. "Our relationship can't go public. We're in a lot of danger. Those people don't forget. Remember, I sent them to jail and caused them to lose their fortunes. Marcus is serving a life sentence because of a murder he committed while in jail and Kathy, we don't know where she is, but she knows who you are and she has probably been watching you."
She saw that he wasn't taking her seriously. She had to convince him that this was a serious situation. "After I left, Kathy sent me a letter that the FBI intercepted. She swore we would never be happy together. She said she would always be watching for me to return." Jenna was getting nervous just thinking about Kathy and her threats of revenge. "Even if it's been over 20 years, Kathy was never the type to forgive and forget, we have to be careful."
"Okay, okay," he said trying to calm her down. "I know people at the FBI. I'll ask them to run a check on her and the others that were arrested."
"You do that Gil. We need to find out where they all are before we can make any plans."
"Wait, Jenna," he said, realizing where she was headed, "your not implying that we have to stay apart until they're located, are you?"
"I don't know Gil, but I am scared. They're ruthless people." She laid down next to him. She was scared and she wanted the safety of his embrace.
Gil held her tight. He could feel her trembling and knew that she really was scared, but not seeing her on a regular basis was not something he was going to accept. Her problems with the Madden gang were over 20 years ago. Then he realized that he'd seen promises of revenge carried out years after the threat was delivered. He was beginning to realize that her fears maybe legitimate.
After they dressed and had breakfast, Gil drove Jenna back to the Shelter. His next stop was the FBI. He had called Bryan Conrad and asked if he would see him as soon as possible. Bryan was one of the few people Gil considered to be a friend and not just a business associate.
Bryan was the person responsible for his being in Vegas. Although they didn't see each other much any more, Bryan owed Gil a favor from years earlier when he helped save Bryan's marriage. Bryan's
wife, Cassie, left him because of a brief affair that was over long before she even found out about it. Through Gil's efforts Cassiegave Bryan a second chance. Gil told Bryan that that was his one and
only chance at screwing up his marriage. Less than a year after they reunited Cassie gave birth to their third child, a daughter. They asked Gil to name her. He told them he always liked the name Jenna.
Gil trusted Bryan enough to tell him everything. Bryan assured him that he would do whatever it took to keep Gil and Jenna safe.
The first thing he did was to try and determine where all the major players were today. He reported back to Gil three days later. Kathy Duncan was nowhere to be found, but there was no doubt that she was
dangerous. There was also strong evidence that she had been in Vegas and may still be there. While Marcus Madden was in federal prison, Duncan was his only visitor. She no longer visited because Madden was dead. He was executed by a group of prisoners, two years earlier. They're fairly certain it had something to do with drug trafficking and they suspected that Kathy Duncan was involved. His
funeral was the last time Duncan has been seen.
When Gil shared this information with Jenna, she panicked. She said she would have to leave Vegas immediately. Her first plan was to run back to the Shelter in Vermont. Gil sat her down and reminded her of the promise that she made, about not leaving him again. He assured her that he would figure something out.
Gil talked to Bryan, and the final conclusion was that if they truly wanted to be safe, they would have to leave Vegas under another witness protection identity. But, this time it was going to be difficult to convince the authorities to give Jenna a third identity. Gil told Bryan to tell whoever was in charge that he would be willing to pay for their new identity. Bryan told him that would help, but may not be enough.
Finally, after waiting for three weeks, they got the word that the FBI would be willing to relocate them, but it would take a few months to get everything in place as they were not a top priority.
They were advised to continue their life as normal, not to change any of their routines. They did the best they could, but it was hard for Gil to be away from Jenna. He continued working the same night shift. He did make two small changes, he actually stayed away from the lab on his day off and he took vacation days.
On the days away from work he would drive out to the Shelter and pickup Jenna. They explored Las Vegas together. They made trips to the desert. Gil shared with her his fascination with the creatures
of the desert. They hiked through Red Rock Canyon and spent the night camping under the sky. At first Jenna was self conscious about making love in the `great outdoors' but soon she realized that he was truly taking her to places that no one ever came to, except him.
Also, just as he promised her on the first day they were together, they rode all the roller coasters Vegas had to offer. Their favorite was still the High Roller, mostly for sentimental reasons.
It took over five months, but they finally got the word from the FBI that they would be moved in 2 weeks.
Even though the plans had been in the works for months, Jenna was still concerned about their moving. Gil was going to leave his home and career to go somewhere that neither of them would have any input in choosing. He was no longer going to be able to do the work he loved so much. She kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to do all this.
"Jenna, listen to me. I love you. I've loved you forever and I will love you forever. I'm making this choice of my own free will. My eyes are wide open. My dedication to my job was what I had to do to survive from one day to the next. Now that dedication is devoted to you. You're all that I want out of life. I hope they send us somewhere where the people don't know a entomologist from a ophthalmologist.
"What about the people you work with. What are you going to tell them?"
He looked her in the eye and without any hesitation, he said, "Nothing. The rules for a safe departure are that no one knows. You just don't show up for work the next day."
"But Gil, they're investigators they could come looking for you."
"I've already talked to Bryan about that. He'll block their activity," he assured her. Then he added, "Then a few months from now he'll tell a few designated people enough to assure them that I'm okay."
For the first time since all this started, Jenna started to relax and was excited about their future. Maybe they could pull it off. The first two moves proved satisfying, why shouldn't this one be just
as rewarding?
When Gil woke up the next morning he saw that Jenna had been watching him.
"Good morning!" she greeted him.
"Good morning," he answered back.
Jenna had been awake for about 20 minutes, but she did not want to have him wake with the same reaction he had the day before, so she waited for him to wake up.
"So what are we doing today?" he leaned up on his elbow and asked her.
"Well," she hesitated with her answer. "I really need to go to the Shelter and see how things are going. You know Maggie's death will be hard for some of our girls to cope with."
Worrying that Gil would be disappointed, she continued, "I know you were expecting us to spend the day together, but I really need to check on things over there. You aren't too disappointed, are you?"
"No, of course not," he assured her. "I'll take you back whenever your ready."
"Your wonderful," she said as moved to kiss him on the cheek. "You should really hate me for all I put you through."
"How could I hate you? You said I brought love into your life, but you're the one that taught me how to love." He said as he kissed her back.
"We'll just need to figure out a schedule on when we can see each other. You don't have to live at the Shelter, do you?" And as though it was an instruction he told her, "You can move in here. We'll get you a car so that you can continue working."
"Gil, slow down," she cautioned him. "Our relationship can't go public. We're in a lot of danger. Those people don't forget. Remember, I sent them to jail and caused them to lose their fortunes. Marcus is serving a life sentence because of a murder he committed while in jail and Kathy, we don't know where she is, but she knows who you are and she has probably been watching you."
She saw that he wasn't taking her seriously. She had to convince him that this was a serious situation. "After I left, Kathy sent me a letter that the FBI intercepted. She swore we would never be happy together. She said she would always be watching for me to return." Jenna was getting nervous just thinking about Kathy and her threats of revenge. "Even if it's been over 20 years, Kathy was never the type to forgive and forget, we have to be careful."
"Okay, okay," he said trying to calm her down. "I know people at the FBI. I'll ask them to run a check on her and the others that were arrested."
"You do that Gil. We need to find out where they all are before we can make any plans."
"Wait, Jenna," he said, realizing where she was headed, "your not implying that we have to stay apart until they're located, are you?"
"I don't know Gil, but I am scared. They're ruthless people." She laid down next to him. She was scared and she wanted the safety of his embrace.
Gil held her tight. He could feel her trembling and knew that she really was scared, but not seeing her on a regular basis was not something he was going to accept. Her problems with the Madden gang were over 20 years ago. Then he realized that he'd seen promises of revenge carried out years after the threat was delivered. He was beginning to realize that her fears maybe legitimate.
After they dressed and had breakfast, Gil drove Jenna back to the Shelter. His next stop was the FBI. He had called Bryan Conrad and asked if he would see him as soon as possible. Bryan was one of the few people Gil considered to be a friend and not just a business associate.
Bryan was the person responsible for his being in Vegas. Although they didn't see each other much any more, Bryan owed Gil a favor from years earlier when he helped save Bryan's marriage. Bryan's
wife, Cassie, left him because of a brief affair that was over long before she even found out about it. Through Gil's efforts Cassiegave Bryan a second chance. Gil told Bryan that that was his one and
only chance at screwing up his marriage. Less than a year after they reunited Cassie gave birth to their third child, a daughter. They asked Gil to name her. He told them he always liked the name Jenna.
Gil trusted Bryan enough to tell him everything. Bryan assured him that he would do whatever it took to keep Gil and Jenna safe.
The first thing he did was to try and determine where all the major players were today. He reported back to Gil three days later. Kathy Duncan was nowhere to be found, but there was no doubt that she was
dangerous. There was also strong evidence that she had been in Vegas and may still be there. While Marcus Madden was in federal prison, Duncan was his only visitor. She no longer visited because Madden was dead. He was executed by a group of prisoners, two years earlier. They're fairly certain it had something to do with drug trafficking and they suspected that Kathy Duncan was involved. His
funeral was the last time Duncan has been seen.
When Gil shared this information with Jenna, she panicked. She said she would have to leave Vegas immediately. Her first plan was to run back to the Shelter in Vermont. Gil sat her down and reminded her of the promise that she made, about not leaving him again. He assured her that he would figure something out.
Gil talked to Bryan, and the final conclusion was that if they truly wanted to be safe, they would have to leave Vegas under another witness protection identity. But, this time it was going to be difficult to convince the authorities to give Jenna a third identity. Gil told Bryan to tell whoever was in charge that he would be willing to pay for their new identity. Bryan told him that would help, but may not be enough.
Finally, after waiting for three weeks, they got the word that the FBI would be willing to relocate them, but it would take a few months to get everything in place as they were not a top priority.
They were advised to continue their life as normal, not to change any of their routines. They did the best they could, but it was hard for Gil to be away from Jenna. He continued working the same night shift. He did make two small changes, he actually stayed away from the lab on his day off and he took vacation days.
On the days away from work he would drive out to the Shelter and pickup Jenna. They explored Las Vegas together. They made trips to the desert. Gil shared with her his fascination with the creatures
of the desert. They hiked through Red Rock Canyon and spent the night camping under the sky. At first Jenna was self conscious about making love in the `great outdoors' but soon she realized that he was truly taking her to places that no one ever came to, except him.
Also, just as he promised her on the first day they were together, they rode all the roller coasters Vegas had to offer. Their favorite was still the High Roller, mostly for sentimental reasons.
It took over five months, but they finally got the word from the FBI that they would be moved in 2 weeks.
Even though the plans had been in the works for months, Jenna was still concerned about their moving. Gil was going to leave his home and career to go somewhere that neither of them would have any input in choosing. He was no longer going to be able to do the work he loved so much. She kept asking him if he was sure he wanted to do all this.
"Jenna, listen to me. I love you. I've loved you forever and I will love you forever. I'm making this choice of my own free will. My eyes are wide open. My dedication to my job was what I had to do to survive from one day to the next. Now that dedication is devoted to you. You're all that I want out of life. I hope they send us somewhere where the people don't know a entomologist from a ophthalmologist.
"What about the people you work with. What are you going to tell them?"
He looked her in the eye and without any hesitation, he said, "Nothing. The rules for a safe departure are that no one knows. You just don't show up for work the next day."
"But Gil, they're investigators they could come looking for you."
"I've already talked to Bryan about that. He'll block their activity," he assured her. Then he added, "Then a few months from now he'll tell a few designated people enough to assure them that I'm okay."
For the first time since all this started, Jenna started to relax and was excited about their future. Maybe they could pull it off. The first two moves proved satisfying, why shouldn't this one be just
as rewarding?