Chapter 20
The second criminal charge against Helen Plum landed her in prison for five years. She couldn't blame me this time. Hal's grandfather recused himself from the case since he's been dating my grandmother since Christmas.
Justice Becker was overseeing Helen's charges for the second time. Elena was sympathetic with her during the first trial. This time, Elena wasn't falling for Helen's fake remorse. She subpoenaed any footage Rangeman possessed from the assault and the attempted kidnapping.
It was too late for her to fix the wrongs from the initial charge. She requested to have a private conversation with me. I wouldn't consent unless Ranger accompanied me. Judge Becker agreed to my terms.
Tears threatened to stream down Elena's face as she apologized to me. "If I had sent Helen to prison after the first charge, she wouldn't have tried to kidnap your son," Elena said.
"You gave her the benefit of the doubt. Rangeman provided you with the video during her assault charge. Did you view the footage?" I asked. My patience with the judge was wearing a little thin. Helen endangered my son's life twice. I did not want there to be a third time.
"I watched the video before I sentenced her to community service. It looked like she fell into you as she claimed. I'm ashamed to admit I paid attention to the rumours circulating the Burg. I did a great disservice to you and your child by believing the lies," Elena admitted.
Unbelievable. I wanted to lace into Elena, but it wouldn't change the past. "You made the right judgement this time. I can forgive your previous error. However, Helen requires psychiatric help. She's delusional and psychotic. I'm hoping we can prevent an early release for good behaviour," I stated. "Are we finished?" I wanted to get back to my son.
"Almost. I'm retiring effective immediately. I can't risk the chance of another lapse in judgement," Becker stated.
I had nothing to add to her announcement, so I excused myself. "Thank you for taking the time to explain yourself. I hope you find peace and enjoy your retirement." Judge Becker didn't ask how my child vanished when Helen took him. You couldn't see that he disappeared in the video. For unmentionable reasons, that part of the video cut out. I think Mateo interrupted the digital recording when he transported to Lester.
When I got into Ranger's car, he said, "I'm proud of you, Babe."
"Thanks. I'm happy nobody except Helen, and I saw Mateo disappear. Valerie was busy buckling Lisa back into the stroller when he left. Judge Becker probably thought Helen was crazy," I stated.
"Babe," Ranger sighed.
Life got busier as the months progressed. My little man started walking before his first birthday. Diesel and I had to tell him he needed to use his feet to get around the house. It was time for Diesel to teach him how to control his abilities.
Diesel's missions would only last for a couple of weeks, once every three months. When Diesel was gone, one of his unmentionable friends or Ranger would stay at the house. We needed to keep Mateo safe. Most of the time, Ranger stayed at my home.
Mateo quickly learned to use his feet to move around the house. Any time he felt threatened, he would pop to his dad, Ranger, Lester or Hector. To stop me from freaking, they would call me with Mateo's location.
We couldn't put him into daycare, so the men at Rangeman took turns babysitting. It was funny watching them chase around the speedy child. He loved his uncles and enjoyed keeping them on their toes.
"Has Mattie been terrorizing the men?" Diesel asked when he came home.
"Just a little, but they can handle it," I replied.
"Is our little man tougher on any particular man?" he wondered.
Diesel laughed when I said it was Ranger. It was funny considering Ranger always gets headaches whenever Diesel's around. However, the only headache Ranger gets from Mateo is when he keeps disappearing.
"He finds it amusing when he pops from Ranger's arms to Hector. Mateo knows he shouldn't transport to the other men, but he only does it to Ranger," I said while laughing.
"Dinner time," Vince shouted from the kitchen.
We took our seats on either side of Mateo. Vince put a plastic bowl containing spaghetti and meatballs in front of my son. Mateo cheered when he saw the pasta dish. "Don't worry, mama bear. I cut the noodles and meat into small pieces," Vince stated.
Hal and Manny joined us for dinner. My son was eating his spaghetti while the rest of us were eating grilled chicken and vegetables. I looked around the table at my family. Hal and Manny are more like brothers than friends. When I need them, they are available. Diesel and I have the best extended family we could ever hope to have.
Ronnie and Raoul were permanent fixtures in our lives too. Having my friend work with me at Rangeman made it more bearable to be stuck in the building. Raising unmentionable children was more challenging than raising normal children.
A few times Ronnie, and I worked to capture the easier FTAs like Mooner and Dougie. The first few times we left Rangeman, I expected something to happen, but nothing did. My parking karma was more in line with my Merry Men. In other words, I got the best parking spots.
Helen Plum wasn't fairing as well in prison. She got placed in solitary confinement after a few months. Her cellmate had a mother just like Helen and didn't approve of her attitude. I wanted to feel bad for Helen, but I couldn't.
Dad's divorce was finalized shortly after Helen's incarceration. He sold his Burg home and gave Valerie enough money to purchase a new home for her growing family. My sister was pregnant with baby number four. This time, she was having a boy. Dad was living with my Uncle Joe.
Diesel and I were handling the dishes when I thought about Valerie's pregnancy. I asked Diesel, "Do you remember when Adeline healed me?"
"A few weeks after Mattie was born," he replied. "What about it?" He was wondering what I was thinking.
"When I had Mateo, I got my tubes tied. Did she heal those too?" I wondered since my periods stopped since I gave birth. Diesel and I knew the risk of having more children.
"She knows we didn't want any more children. Adeline did not heal them. I can call her to see what happened," Diesel suggested.
Adeline responded to the call and appeared within minutes. "When I heal a civilian, sometimes they experience side effects related to the area I healed. Your tubes are still tied because I sensed it was intentional. The healing of your abdomen and uterine scars likely prohibited you from having periods. I've encountered this phenomenon a few times. The uterus took between two and five years to return to its normal function," Adeline explained.
"So it's perfectly normal," I concluded. "I thought something went wrong or I was pregnant even though my hCG levels showed I'm not pregnant."
"We like to know when these phenomenons occur so we can track the progress. Thank you for informing me. I'll follow up with you every three months. If during that time, your periods recommence, notify me immediately. I want to make sure everything is back to normal," Adeline said as she passed me her contact information. She vanished a few minutes later.
Diesel and I discussed the pros and cons of sending Mateo to the local school. We both felt it was important to interact with other children, but we also wanted to protect him from Diesel's enemies.
Mateo will need bodyguards with him at all times. Diesel, Ranger and Lester said it was non-negotiable. As much as it scared me, I knew it was best for my son. He will also attend classes twice a week to learn more about controlling his unmentionable abilities.
I knew it was necessary since he has more abilities than transportation. Diesel explained they are unsure what latent skills they have until they reach ten years old. We still have time to learn more about our son. "I was wondering if Mattie doesn't attend the special school, what would happen?" I was curious to know.
"It's important to teach Mateo a constructive way to use his abilities. There's a fine line between good and bad in the unmentionable world. It's the main reason they limit the number of children born to unmentionables. History shows us if one child uses powers for good, the other child in that family is ninety percent more likely to use their powers for evil," Diesel explained.
"Since Mateo only uses his ability to transport when he senses danger, does that mean he's more likely to use his powers for good?" I asked.
"Yes. However, there's still a ten percent chance he will eventually use them for evil. With your Merry Men's influence, he will most likely be good," Diesel replied. "It's important for Mateo to have positive role models until he starts school."
"I agree. Taking Mateo to Rangeman keeps him happy. None of the men expose him to situations he can't handle. They've been teaching him self-defence," I added.
"All good things for our son to learn. After Mattie's second birthday, I'll be away for three-week missions every three months. It will increase by a week until he's five, when I would return to my normal work schedule," Diesel explained.
"I'm glad they have that protocol in place. Having you home so much means a lot to Mattie and me," I said with a yawn.
"Let's get you to bed," he growled. We didn't go to sleep immediately. "I love you, Stephanie."
I yawned before reciprocating, "I love you too, Lars."
Most mornings, my little boy with brown curly hair and big blue eyes runs through the house. Mateo would scream, "Catch me, daddy." Diesel was chasing after him. My son is how I pictured him, down to the dimples. He's going to be a heartbreaker when he's older.
After Mateo turned five, Diesel started going on missions lasting up to two months. Mateo missed his father, but knew his dad was helping people stay safe. "Will dad be home for Valentine's Day?" Mateo asked.
"I don't know, sweetie. It's just before his two-month mission ends," I replied.
"That's okay, mom. He'll still send us gifts or secretly visit us," he reasoned. How did you get so clever? I asked inside my head. "The teacher says you get your intelligence gene from your mother because it gets carried on the x-chromosome. I told her that theory isn't true for girls because they get their x-chromosomes from both parents."
"Did I ask my question out loud?" I asked.
"Nope. I can hear your thoughts because we are linked genetically. When dad's home, I can hear his thoughts too," he explained.
"Does your dad know about this?" I wondered.
"Yup. He's going to teach me how to read other people's minds when I get older. I don't need to hear all the thoughts, just the ones to answer my questions," Mateo added. "I don't have secrets from you or dad."
"Are you sure about that?" I asked.
"Yes, mom. You tend to say what you're thinking out loud. It took me a little while to realize I was answering your thoughts. Dad only left yesterday. He said to wait until I was sure about answering the question in your head."
"Okay. I need to know what abilities you have so I can help protect you," I reminded Mateo.
"I know, mom. You already know I can give you an energy boost," he stated.
"Don't forget about helping me focus and warning me about potential dangers," I added.
A few nights later, I woke up to find Mateo cuddled in front of me. His face was damp as though he was crying. I reached towards my nightstand to grab a tissue and dried his face.
Mateo opened his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, momma."
"What happened, Mattie?"
"That woman who kidnapped me died. She came to see me and apologized," he answered as he cried.
"Oh, Mattie. I'm sorry," I said to comfort my son.
"You lost your mother. I never knew her. I can feel your grief," he whispered. My son's an empath.
I held my son as he felt all of my emotions. Diesel came home within a few minutes. His arms wrapped around both of us as our son continued to cry. "Mateo's an empath," I whispered to Diesel.
"There hasn't been unmentionable empaths in decades," Diesel shared. "He must have inherited your natural compassionate capabilities. Combined with my abilities created an empath."
Mateo fell asleep as Diesel held us. "We need to keep a close eye on him. It may involve having more unmentionables in our home," Diesel warned.
"Whatever we need to do for our son, I will do," I agreed.
"Carlos needs to move in with us," Diesel advised.
"For how long?" I wondered. Ranger gets migraines whenever Diesel's around. It wouldn't be fair to him to suffer while we're protecting our child.
"It depends how long Carlos can stay," he replied as he called his cousin. "It's vital for me to finish my mission. Ranger's to stay here as long as it takes for Mateo to control the empathic responses."
Ranger arrived within fifteen minutes. Diesel explained what happened. "I'll teach him how to control his empathy without losing the ability," Carlos readily agreed.