So It Begins
"We plan to implode the entire outfit as well as grab the brass ring," Fornell clarified.
"That makes sense, but again, why call me in here and read me in to the operation?"
Smiling in understanding, the Captain answered. "They need your help, Son, and because you work in law enforcement and have a dad tenured in a government agency, you already possess know-how not present with other personnel. Besides that, at your age and with no ties you can pick up and go with a minimum of fuss. It's not a problem to send you on assignment."
"We need you in Athens," Forbes intensified the appeal. "We created a cover as an instructor at the Navy School. That gives you access to naval resources and the commandant there has extended his personal help. Your fan club of peers and supervisors, both past and present, claim you sink into an assignment like a bulldog, hanging on until you solve it."
Tony's lips turned up at the corner, amused at how subtly that they ganged up on him. They must really want him to agree to the task with all of their flattering praise.
"What about my job here?"
"Covered," Fornell assured him, "and your cover there will stand up to questioning, though really there should be none. Instructors or teachers generally populate schools."
"Does my dad know about this?"
Forbes nodded emphatically. "We apprised Jethro of the mission, and told him of our intentions to send you."
"You know your father, Tony," Fornell reminded him. "He will support whatever decision you make. And before you ask any more, yes, he said we could tell you that."
Tony steepled his hands. "Ok, then, count me a willing participant. I believe I could make Athens home for a while."
"Wait for the rest," Fornell instructed.
"Rest of what?"
"The assignment, Tony, you didn't hear the rest of it." Fornell lifted his eyebrows and inclined his head in the Captain's direction, signaling a change in speaker.
Tony turned quizzically to regard his boss.
"Those kids, Tony," he began, pausing when Tony's eyes widened in alarm. "The kids will go with you for safety. Taking them with you gives them protection, a safe home for a few months, and us the time to tear apart the cartel."
"No, oh no, no!" Tony exclaimed, holding his palms out as a gesture to stop. "Kids and I have nothing in common with each other, and I wouldn't know the first thing about how to keep a kid alive, feed it or whatever it takes!"
"Calm down," Fornell ordered. "You certainly have the wherewithal to do a great parenting job, even on a temporary basis. We wouldn't have tapped you if we had doubts you could tackle the assignment. Just rely upon how your father managed you, and how your abuela cared for you and you'll have no worries."
Tony's face paled. "No, no! They scare me!"
"Cut it out, Tony, 'cause you have an opportunity here to make a real difference, not only to your country, but to three different families. Have some confidence in yourself. The rest of us did, which is why we are gathered here now. These children deserve something good, someone who cares, and some peace for a change in their little lives," his Captain scolded.
Tony's rejoinder gushed forth practically as a whine, "My plans center around childlessness, though. I need to keep my innocence intact!"
The three men waited patiently, watching one emotion after another cross Tony's face as he intellectually assessed the assignment and instant family, evidently buying a delay with his self examination.
Tony reeled mentally, with thoughts, emotions, and data racing into each other. It sent him into the beginning phases of a panic before he caught himself and stopped its progress. He willed himself to calm down, taking deep breaths and practicing some of the techniques he had adopted to calm himself before a game at Ohio State.
Slowly he gained control.
Forbes cleared his throat before offering a way out to the young man. "Tony, as much as we honestly need you to do this, you do have the right to turn us down. I can assure you that if you do, it will not impact future assignments or evaluations. I think it is essential to let you understand that. We need to make you understand. There will be no career retaliation if you refuse."
Tony opened his eyes and strategically made eye contact with all three of his seniors. "Thank you, Gentlemen, but I have decided to accept the challenge. Nothing feels better than jumping into a losing ball game and scrapping it out to an unanticipated victory. Besides that, I was blessed with a great childhood, and I know how great my life has been. Anything I can do to make it better for the rugrats will be my pleasure."
Grinning, he licked his lips. "Ok, gentlemen, now that I have agreed, let's get to the nitty gritty, and don't delude yourself that I'm not still terrified about this."
All three older men congratulated and thanked him, slapped him on the back, and even patted his cheek.
An hour later, Tony strolled out of the Baltimore squadroom with three file folders in his hands and five children and a temporary new life in his heart.
He spent the next several hours speaking seriously with his dad, then with his abuela. Both assured him that they had faith in his ability to carry out the assignment and reassured him that he merely had to phone to get their help.
Tony specifically requested private meetings with the children before they created their united make believe family and drove to their new home. Though he envisioned several hours to bond with each of the three families, the urgency of the mission trumped and he settled with breakfast with one set, lunch with another that same day, and then supper with the last two.
Surprisingly, the children accepted their new names, their witness protection names, with few problems. The younger ones did not understand the change, and the older ones had recreated identities before.
Tony nearly staged a conniption fit when told to garage his sports car at his dad's. His protests fell on deaf ears, with the experts insisting necessity demanded a vehicle capable of comfortably holding two car seats and two booster seats, along with room for another child and Tony.
Had he not felt so grateful to Tony for agreeing to the operation, Forbes would have snapped and publicized a picture of Tony's expression the second he laid horrified eyes on the behemoth minivan procured for the duration.
Heartbreaking.
Decidedly not a candidate for most attractive van of the year, still, the sturdy mini bus was red.
Further entertainment followed as two Baltimore police officers, already experienced dads, taught and made Tony practice the proper installation of the safety seats.
At one point, Tony banged his head repeatedly against the driver's side window.
The spectators observed the action sympathetically, trying hard to mask their smirks. Nevertheless, lassoing the playboy of the precinct and hitching him to a mini van full of kiddies simply proved too delightful to not savor.
Finally, though, the few belongings owned by the children shared trunk space with Tony's suitcases, and all five children sat sleepily in the van protected within their child restraints.
A chorus of good byes and good wishes floated into the open driver's window.
Because of the security issues involved, the entire precinct thought that the family's location was St. Paul, Minnesota. To corroborate the red herring, the implications to the older children had led them to assume that all of them would head north, having been absorbed in conversations about snow, and ice, and hard core winters. That way, should someone engage them in conversation, the children would answer honestly with the direction they thought they would take.
Cranking the van thoughtfully, Tony, a twenty eight year old brand new father of five, prayed silently, for the safety of the trip, the assignment, and last by expressing gratitude for the blessings he had experienced.
Finally, though, he waved a final good bye and eased onto the road, moving through more suburban streets before merging into the urban sprawl of DC. Pointing the van south he glanced in the rearview mirror and announced enthusiastically, "Free fall time, boys and girls, we can now consider ourselves officially free falling!"
Jethro and Maria had emphasized the importance of not trying to drive the nearly nine hour trip from Washington, D.C., to Athens, Georgia, in one sitting, citing the necessity of the children taking regular breaks. Plotting carefully, they decided the best course would lie in driving roughly seven hours to Greenville, South Carolina the first day, and then travelling the final couple of hours into Athens the following day.
Setting out that morning, Tony decided Petersburg, Virginia, just outside of Richmond, would provide their first rest stop. Such an early departure worked in his favor, because the second the van's wheels began the rhythmic revolutions south along the interstate, all five fell back asleep, having gotten up much too early.
Glancing in the mirror, Tony checked his passengers often, nervous at transporting such precious cargo.
Capitalizing upon the unexpected serenity, he created plans for the rest of the day, realistic enough to understand that after their first highway stop, managing his new family would prove more challenging as the hours progressed.
Though not provided much individual time with each child before their road trip, Tony had learned their names and managed to study and conclude a bit about each promising personality.
In the row behind him, the youngest, Vivienne, occupied the seat closest to the aisle so that he would not have to crawl over the seat to secure her in and out of her bulky car seat. Cute and dimpled, in moments of fear, or during a need for reassurance, she resorted to sucking the middle two fingers of her right hand. Regarding her securely buckled in the car seat, he noted that her fingers dangled from her mouth, and she slept deeply.
Elijah, the three year old, reclined in the same seat but in the row behind Vivienne. Quiet, shy, and on the small side, he had succumbed to sleep clutching of all things, a cartoon figured hospital nightgown. According to his former foster parents, a couple of months before they had rushed him to the emergency room when he fell and smashed his chin on a coffee table. The nurses exchanged his outfit with a hospital gown for the examination, and at his dismissal, he refused to turn it loose. In the end, the hospital sent him home with a single stitch closing the cut underneath his chin and that tiny white hospital gown covered with cartoon characters he refused to relinquish.
At nine, the oldest of Tony's pretend progeny, Ethan, slept partially leaning against the van's window. He had insisted that he needed the back row all to himself, and at that moment, Tony could unearth no plausible reason to refuse the demand. A good looking boy, it turned out that he enjoyed reading, but trying to engage him in even the most banal conversation met with barely veiled annoyance or hostility.
With a window seat beside Elijah, seven year old Levi slept in his booster seat with his head against the side frame of the car seat. His light blond hair looked like cotton attached to the upholstery fabric. Rambunctious probably provided a good one word description of the little boy, from what Tony had managed to observe thus far. Energetic and enthusiastic, he practically bounced when he moved, and did not mind immersing himself into new activities.
Last, Ava's booster seat also bordered the window, and she slept with her head against the window and one small foot reclining over Vivienne's seat. Very pretty, Ava resembled an adorable pixie, Tony decided when they met. Neither shy nor gregarious, she approached situations with studied caution, never putting herself first into any activity. If anything, it appeared that she possessed the ability to assess strangers quickly, determining without too much thought whether to classify them as friends or foes.