Chapter 6
John walked into his office, he knew Lord wouldn't still be here but, he was hoping.
"Damn it," he muttered as he crossed the room, picking up his phone as he started to sit down.
"Where the hell have you been?" John heard, looking up he saw Victor Lord standing in his doorway.
"I had to run home and check on Natalie. You ready to talk?" John asked him setting the phone down.
"Ah Natalie…how is my favorite niece?" Victor asked him with a smug look, and slowly sauntering into John's office.
John looked at Victor, the idiot was out of his mind. "Natalie was never your favorite," John told him patiently , "that was Jessica. Jessica is everyone's favorite." John finished, mumbling absently. He respected Jessica as Natalie's sister but, he saw how the family treated Natalie and Jessica differently.
"Not yours I guess," Victor baited him by smiling snidely.
"I'm married to Natalie," John said shortly.
"Actually Jessica was Todd's favorite so I guess, I should make Natalie my favorite, that would only be fair," Victor muttered, not paying any attention to John, "hey!" Victor said, "that means I'm not the one that tried to sell her heart to her grandfather, that's gotta mean something." Victor pretended to ponder his revelation, chuckling a little.
"Look, can you help me or not?" John had just about enough of this game. It was the middle of the night, he'd left his wife crying on the couch he'd be damned if he would stand here and spar with Victor tonight.
"I don't really have much else to say. You can't touch me, the moment you arrest me, they are just going to swoop in and get me out," Victor told him. John knew he was right.
"Actually….I don't want to arrest you. I just need some information on the people you work with, that's it," John told him.
Victor looked John over and after a beat said, "naw, it's dangerous for you to know and I would hate to be the reason my favorite niece is a widow or dead."
Victor sat down in the chair opposite John's desk.
"I can keep Natalie safe. You don't have to worry about her," John told him as he sat down in his chair.
"It's so….cute that you think so," Victor chuckled and then sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes. He knew there was no way McBain was going to let this go. "What do you want to know?" he asked him.
John took a deep breath. "Evangeline Williamson and Jared Banks showed up last year alive and well and with blank memories of where they had been when they were supposed to be dead. Rumor has it, it was your pals at Security Systems that took them in the first place. I want to know why?"
Victor looked stunned. "Evangeline's alive?" He asked John, when John nodded. Victor swallowed hard, "I didn't know that."
"How could you not know?" John asked him confused. It hadn't exactly been national news but, if Victor was working for the same company, he should have known they were alive.
"I've been out of the loop for a while. I haven't exactly been working for them again for long," he said evasively.
"Well….where have you been?" John asked, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know.
"Let's just say….I've been tied up," Victor responded arrogantly.
"Yeah?" John raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Are we done here? I'd like to go back to the hospital and sit with my daughter," Victor said and stood up.
"Only….she isn't really your daughter though is she?" John looked up at Victor, "actually no, I have another question. Have you ever met the guy that took over for your mother? Fitzgerald? Do you know where to find him?"
"A couple of times. Seemed like a nice fella and no I don't at this moment," Victor sniffed, clearly over this conversation.
"What about his daughters?" John asked.
Victor studied John a moment before he answered him, "I thought you were married to Natalie?"
Victor mocked him.
"Just curious. I think I might have met them once," John said as he leaned back in his chair.
"Uh-huh, I'll see what I can find out, how 'bout that?" Victor said as he turned to leave the office.
"Yeah….you do that," John muttered to his back, watching him walk out. John spun his chair around and sat back so he could look out the window. 'What a mess,' he thought as he stared out into the night, he snorted 'morning,' he thought. The occupants of his home would be stirring soon. He closed his eyes and for the first time ever, he dreaded the thought of going home. John stood slowly, grabbed his cell and keys and left the station. Thoughts jumbled in his head. Concern for Dani, Where the hell had Victor been and how the hell was he going to find Kaitlin.
John disabled the alarm as he entered the house. He noticed that Natalie hadn't moved from the couch since he left but, she was obviously asleep. He walked over to the couch and he closed the front of his ruined shirt, tucked a blanket around her and sat back on a chair to watch his wife sleep.
Natalie was a beautiful woman. She looked like an angel when she slept. He hated that he was hurting her but, he didn't know how to stop. He was so angry. He felt betrayed. Used. Humiliated. And he was taking it out on her and she certainly didn't deserve it. Suddenly a noise from the stairs startled him. Looking in that direction, Liam stood peeking around the corner.
"What are you doing buddy?" John spoke quietly as he stood up and made his way to the stairs.
"I'm hungry, I think mommy forgot to wake me up," Liam said looking up at his father.
"Well….uhm…..mommy isn't feeling too well. We need to let her sleep a little longer," John responded, looking over at the couch to make sure she was still asleep, "let's go get dressed. Then we can get your brother and sister and have breakfast, how's that?" John asked as he maneuvered Liam up the stairs.
One, two, thee….she counted. One, two, three…what was that? One, two, three…tapping. One, two, three…on her nose. One, two, three…she opened one eye and quickly closed it. One, two, three…and a giggle. She opened both eyes this time to see her son kneeing down next to her. Giggling.
"Were you tapping my nose?" She asked him groggily, rubbing her eyes and sitting up.
"Yes," he giggled again.
"Why?" She realized she was on the couch still. The events of last night hitting her in a wave of despair. Remembering how she had been dressed she looked down quickly. John's shirt was pulled closed and a blanket was tucked tightly around her.
"To wake you up," Liam said matter of factly.
"Oh…ok," Natalie rubbed her face again, "are you hungry, buddy?"
"Nope, Dad made breakfast. I ate fast cause he said I couldn't wake you up until I ate," Liam said proudly.
"Daddy made you breakfast?" Natalie asked confused. Not that John didn't ever make the kids breakfast but, he hadn't in so long. And with the way he had been acting lately- he must have been up all night.
"Are you guys fighting?" Liam asked her in a low, serious voice.
"No buddy, we aren't fighting. Why do you ask?" Natalie looked at him closely.
"Cause, Joey Davis says that his mom and dad fight a lot and his dad is always sleeping on the couch," Liam told her. He was looking at her the way John does when he wants to discuss something serious.
Hoping she was keeping her features neutral she said, "well, Dad and I didn't have a fight. I wasn't feeling good so I slept down here," she told him.
"Is that why you are wearing his shirt…..were you sick on yours?" Liam asked her innocently.
Trying not to laugh, she said seriously, "yes honey. Uhm….where is your dad?"
"In the kitchen with Laney and Seany. Seany doesn't want to eat. I'm supposed to be getting my shoes on," Liam said, he sat back and looked at his mother.. Natalie looked at him and raised her eyebrows, "I'm gonna go do that now," he said as he jumped up and ran upstairs.
Natalie waited until she knew Liam wouldn't be able to see how she was dressed before she threw the blanket aside and ran upstairs. Looking at the clock she only had about twenty minutes before she had to leave the house. 'Damn it' she thought, why the hell did he wake her up earlier.
She was standing in the middle of the room, facing away from the door, trying to decide whether or not she could make it if she took a shower, when the bedroom door opened. She knew immediately it was John and not one of the kids. Her body had always instantly reacted to his presence no matter where they were or what was going on.
"Hey," he said softy, sounding as if they hadn't argued, "I'm going to take the kids to school and your mom's. You should take your time, I'll cover for you."
When she didn't move or answer he said, "did you want to throw on a robe or something and see them before we leave?"
Natalie tore the shirt from her body not caring that she had nothing on underneath and walked into the bathroom and threw the shirt angrily into the trash and grabbed her old ratty terry cloth robe from the hook on the back of the door. She shrugged it on and she stomped past him and down the stairs.
Sean was in the playpen in the corner of the room and she picked him up first before she sat on the couch and just held him close, kissing his head. She watched Liam explaining something to Laney about the toy car he was holding. She couldn't focus on his words. She was just marveling at how wonderful her children were and wondering if her family was about to fall apart. She didn't even realize she was crying until Laney came over, crawled up onto the couch next to Natalie and wiped her cheek.
As John sat waiting for Victor at the docks, he ran the events of the morning over in his head. Liam must have asked him fifty times if he and Natalie were fighting. He hated to for his kids to think that they were when they weren't. Well, he guessed they kind of were. Actually it was more that he was an ass last night and she wasn't going to let him forget it anytime soon. Rightfully so. He wanted to take her in his arms this morning when he saw her crying. She doesn't have any idea what it does to him when she cries.
"McBain," Victor said bringing John out of his thoughts.
"Lord," John said back, "you have some news for me?" John asked.
"Depends on what you mean by news," Victor smirked at him. John had always wanted to smack that smirk off his face. Instead he just sighed and turned to look out over the river.
"I can get you in if you want," Victor said.
John spun to face him, narrowing his eyes, "get me in?" he asked. John's heart had skipped a beat, surely he wasn't serious.
"Into the building, into the ranks, whatever you want," Victor said. "Your friends, the Fitzgerald's…they'll be in this general…..vicinity of the state at the end of the month or so. Might be a little longer," Victor told him waving his arm around.
"In Llanview?" John asked, wondering just how often they were here.
"What? Of course not in Llanview…geez, no," Victor scoffed, "but, close. Lancaster-ish." Victor said vaguely.
"Lancaster-ish?" John parroted, and looked at Victor with distrust.
"Yup," Victor sighed, obviously bored, "you want in or not?"
John thought it over for a minute, he'd been searching for Kaitlin or anyone from her family for weeks now and all he found was dead ends. This might be his only chance to confront her.
"Oh and before you answer, you need to know that everyone's being watched," Victor said as though he was talking about the weather.
"Being watched?" John asked.
"Is this how you carry on interrogations? You just repeat what someone says to you cause, I have to tell you, I can't image how they go with-"
"Alright, alright. Maybe if you would give more than half the information, I wouldn't have to prod you to keep talking. Who is being watched? Who is everyone?" John snapped back.
"Everyone, the family. Tea, my kids, Viki, Jess, Blair and yes, you and Natalie," Victor said tiredly, "and you can thank my brother for that."
"What does Todd have to do with this?" John asked.
"I'm not really sure yet but, I intend to take care of it," Victor told him ominously.
"Don't go getting yourself in trouble," John said, not really caring what the brother's Manning were up to at the moment. John was running this new information over in his head. "Are they in danger?" He finally asked Victor.
"I don't know but, I plan on disappearing again to keep my family safe, I'll be traveling with the Fitzgerald's and their group out of the country then from there….." Victor said letting his voice trail off, and John thought that this was the first time in his life he'd ever seen Victor with a look of regret on his face, "you can come with if you want. I can get you in."
"When are you leaving?" John asked him.
"I plan to disappear in a couple weeks, then from there….I don't know. You think about it, I'll be in touch," Victor said and he walked off.
John stood staring out over the water. How would he ever explain this to Natalie and how would she ever understand. Victor said he'd be leaving in a couple of weeks, then in a month they'd be in Lancaster. He'd missing Halloween for sure and it would be very close to Thanksgiving. 'Shit', he thought, and Laney's birthday.
If the roles were reversed, he didn't think he would understand. Holidays had become so important to her since Laney was born and all they had gone through that year. She would insist on being a part of this and he needed her to stay as far away as possible. She's been impulsive and reckless in the past. And they couldn't afford for her to fly into this headfirst now. Their relationship was bigger than the two of them now. His children needed her. He had to keep them safe if he did this but, how?
John made his way back to the office. He sat down at his desk, running things over in head.
He was brought out of his fog by the slamming of his office door. He hadn't even realized someone had been in here with him. He was so tired. He couldn't remember the last time he slept. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten. He couldn't concentrate on anything. He was consumed with finding Kaitlin and nothing made sense. He saw her body in the casket, he saw it leave the chapel and go straight to the cemetery, and he saw it lowered into the ground. He barely took his eyes off of it, how the hell did they get her out?
He spent his days searching through memories and pictures, trying to remember something he'd missed. And most nights calling on old contacts and informants looking for any information on her where-a-bouts. Something out of the ordinary that would have tipped him off that she was alive.
He should have known she was alive. He hadn't noticed how many days had passed since he learned the truth from Patrick Thornhart. He would go with Victor. He had to get answers. He couldn't live without knowing the truth about what happened. How would be able to leave Natalie and the kids? He didn't know how long they would be gone. How far would he have to travel? Lancaster wasn't that far but, did Victor expect him to travel with them out of the country? Would he travel with them? To get to Kaitlin, he might have to.
So many questions and no answers.