“The injustice did not stop there; her husband sat through criticism, mockery, hate and cruelty, because he too believed in the power of this nation. He willingly and wholeheartedly gave up us his freedom and dignity, spending five months in one the most notorious jails in Illinois, during which time, he was made to endure numerous riots. But Liam Callahan did not waver. He never once asked for anything. He was prepared to go the distance, and despite it all, he held on to his morality; never once did he lie. He told everyone he was innocent, and he was. He declared his unwavering love for his wife, which we can all see is true.”
At that, Liam kissed my cheek as they all clapped.
“America, when I say that I am humbled, I truly mean it. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected two everyday citizens to stand up and say ‘yes I shall protect and serve my country at all costs.’ And it is for this very reason that I must bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom, given to those who have admirably contributed to the security and national interests of the United States, and the world, to Mr. and Mrs. Liam Callahan.”
The room erupted as Liam took my hand, and holding onto Ethan tightly, we walked to the side of the stage and allowed President Colemen to place the first medal around my neck before moving to do the same to Liam.
“And just so the little guy doesn’t feel left out, we have a Presidential pin for him as well,” the President spoke to the press, laughing along with them as he placed a pin onto Ethan’s collar. He stepped back before posing to take photos with us. He wasn’t the only one that joined us. Olivia’s mother stood on the other side of Liam.
Through the camera flashes, I met Olivia’s gaze, daring her to step onto the stage. She didn’t. Instead, she stayed at her table, next to Sedric, who wouldn’t let her out of his sight. Looking away from her, I gazed over the room until my eyes reached the son of a bitch in the back. He stood stock still like a statue, and he seemed to be the only person in the room who wasn’t clapping or smiling. Instead, he glared at the both of us with undisguised revulsion.
I, on the other hand, did smile. I smiled so wide I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was able to count all my fucking teeth. Nothing pissed your enemy off more than seeing you smile.
Finally, Liam walked to the podium to thank our President for his kind words.
“Note to self, hire the presidential speechwriter,” he said, causing everyone to laugh. Taking a deep breath he sighed before he began his speech. “I wish I could say that everything President Colemen said was true. He made it seem as if we’d thought long and hard about this, but in all honesty, everything happened so quickly that there was barely any time to think. We simply reacted to a problem presented to us. There were many times when we were scared, tired, and just fed up. And while it feels like a lifetime ago, it is not something I ever want to go through again. It was hell. Being separated from my wife, my newborn son, my entire life; it was hell.
“Which puts into perspective the millions of Americans; firefighters, police officers, government agents, all who wake up every day knowing that they might have to go through hell, but they still get up and do their jobs. Walking five months in their shoes, I can say that those are the people I am humbled, astonished, and proud to share a nation with. There should be medals of freedom for them all to show the gratitude we feel.”
When we hugged again, I whispered, “St. Liam, the people’s hero.”
At that point, Ethan grew fussy, which luckily for us gave us an excuse to escape the press. Liam whispered something into Colemen’s ear and he nodded and gave the signal to his advisors that we were through here. Surrounded by the secret service, we walked behind the President through the halls, which were lined with portraits of all past Presidents, until we reached the Oval Office. I should’ve been shocked to find Olivia standing there, but I wasn’t.
“Sweetheart, you look horrible, what’s the matter?” her mother asked, as she walked over to give her daughter a hug.
Olivia didn’t return it, she just stood there, frozen as she stared at me. I knew she must have thought of running. But with the tracker around her ankle, where could she really go?
“You still have a press conference to do,” she whispered.
“They can wait a moment. After all, it’s not like they have anything better to do,” Colemen replied to their daughter’s dismay.
“She was hoping for a private moment to speak with you,” I told them, as I took a seat on the couch and placed Ethan on my knee.
“Sweetheart?” her mother whispered, as she brushed the strands of her blonde hair.
“I’m fine. I should head back.”
“I don’t understand,” President Colemen said as he looked between us.
Before he had a chance to say another word, the door opened and Neal came in, dressed quite sharply in black suit and red tie.
He looked straight at Olivia for a moment, and as she took a timid a step forward, he all but cut her down with a look of disgust and anger in his eyes, causing her to take a much larger step back.
“Right on time, big brother, your wife here has a lot of press to do today, isn’t that right? I’m sure you both can come off as a loving couple for the camera,” Liam said as he waved him inside.
“Yes, I can. Is there anything else you need?” he asked, and I glanced at Liam who smirked.
We’d broken him, which meant that we had to fix him…but that part would come later.
“Wife,” Neal called for Olivia with an unfamiliar harshness that caused her to shudder.
She took his arm, and turned to leave.
We were still going to need to watch out for both of them. Neal had proven his loyalty for now, but as easily as he’d turned against his wife, he could’ve turned against us, if Olivia played on his emotions. He may have been trying to hide his affection for her, but it was still there.
“Who are you texting?” Liam asked me, and for a moment, the old me wanted to tell him to mind his own damn business.
“Sedric. I think it would be best he stayed on their tail as well.” If I knew Sedric as well as I thought I did, he was livid about the situation. He didn’t take kindly to betrayal.
The stupid First Lady stood in front of me with her hands propped on her hips as if I was supposed to be intimidated by that. “Whatever you’re doing to my daughter, I’m asking you to stop. She’s a good person and I know good isn’t something you people are familiar with, but—”
“Should I take this, or would you like the honors?” I asked Liam as I stood holding Ethan to my chest.
“Knock yourself out,” Liam replied, as he took Ethan from my arms and allowed me to face the wannabe Jackie-O.
Clasping my hands together, I rolled my shoulders and smiled. “Your daughter is not a good person. You are not a good person. None of us in this room are good people. That’s why we’re able to stand here today. We’ve all made deals, we’ve all signed our names in blood, and we’ve all looked the other way at some point. I believe in good people. I know they’re out there, feeding the poor, clothing orphans and all that shit. But they do not cross over into our world; they are not in our story, because once again, they are good people. If Olivia was good, she would have walked away when she could. If you were good, you would have never allowed her to marry into this family. You would have never gone back to your husband, and you wouldn’t be the First Lady. You. Are. Not. A. Good. Person. So let us all be clear on who we are. The good people are the voters, the middle class, the poor, is that something you want to be?”
She didn’t answer; she just shook her head.
“I thought so.” I took a step closer to her. “Why don’t you go back to picking out china and reading to kindergarteners or whatever primitive things the First Lady does?”
She made it to the door when Evelyn came in.
“It’s like you can read my mind,” Liam said to her, as he rocked a sleepy Ethan.
“Mr. President,” She shook Colemen’s hand with a smile.
“It’s nice to see you, Evelyn.”
Meeting my eyes, she took Ethan into her arms and I kissed his forehead as the little guy rubbed his sleepy eyes. Colemen raised his eyebrow at me as though he was shocked that I could be a mother.
“Come on, peanut.” She nodded at him as they left.
Great. Now we can get to business.
“Where can we listen to Avian speak?” I asked him.
Nodding to the door, we followed him out and into a separate office. There, Ivan spoke as Avian Doers, head of the F.B.I. Those who were already sitting around the table stood for the President as he entered, and I could clearly see how much Colemen enjoyed it. Money was not the root of all evil, it was just a vehicle that got you to power.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may we have the room?” he asked them. And without question, they all took their leave.
I focused on the words coming out of Avian’s mouth partially amazed at how a snake like him could fit so well with the rest of us. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen of the press. I will not be answering any questions today. Many of you are aware of the tragic and unfortunate events that have occurred with a few select former agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and I would like to inform you that there is currently an in-house investigation underway. More cannot be said about the individual agents at this time, as many of the operations being handled were classified—”
“How is a federal agent murdering a hooker in a hotel room with hundreds of thousands of dollars and drugs classified information?” a man yelled, cutting him off.
“Does President Colemen have any comments on the matter?”
“What of the agent that was found hanging from the bridge?”
“Can you confirm that an agent was kidnapped from the Embassy?”
Avian stiffened, as his face remained hard and flat. I would have even dared to say that he was starting to feel stressed.
“Don’t you just love the press?” Liam whispered to me.
“When we’re controlling them, yes. Yes, I do,” I replied.
“As I said,” Avian spoke out once again. “I cannot answer any more questions at this time. However, I will say that I plan to do everything in my power to make sure a thorough investigation is completed. When we have solid information to share, we will do so.”
“When you said I would take a hit, you never said it was going to be like this,” the President whined as he watched the press conference being held by no other than the resident pain in my ass, Avian.
“What else does taking a hit mean?” Liam asked him as he leaned against his desk.
“The FBI are the police of the United States! I am the head of the United States. By attacking him like this, you’re undermining me. I won’t be reelected if people cannot trust—”
“Why do we have to keep repeating things to these people?” He turned to me as I looked through the email Declan sent me on my phone.
“For some reason, they keep underestimating our intelligence even though we continuously prove that we’re not idiots.” I said in return.
“I understand that you both have your grand master plan, but you need to give me something to work with. I have a staff of people all trying to do damage control, while I’m sitting on my hands. I cannot just take this. FBI agents are failing everywhere,” Colemen snapped.
“Tell them that you are being updated on the situation and your prayer goes out to all of the people and their families who have lost their lives in service to their country. Then remind them that what makes America great is checks and balances. The FBI is not your personal army, and tell them that you are speaking with the director to see what can be done,” Liam directed him.
“Without being too obvious on the matter, find a way to make it clear that the man running things is the director,” I added as well. We were setting fire to Avian’s own personal world.
Reaching for the intercom, he called in his Chief of Staff, and his former political strategist, Mina. As she stepped in, she looked over to us and sighed.
“So I’m guessing we’re not putting out a statement?” she asked.
“No, you are. Mr. President, please fill her in,” I said, already heading towards the door.
LIAM
“You’re on speaker, Declan,” I said as Monte drove us into town. I wasn’t a fan of Washington; it had nothing on Chicago, and I found myself missing the smog, the wind, the buildings that touched the sky, and everything else that made Chicago great.
“You had us kidnap a federal agent, but not kill her. With all due respect, what the bloody fuck, Liam?”
Rolling my eyes, I rested into the leather seat.
“Where’s the trust, brother?”
“Chained to the wall in the basement of an old steel mill,” he replied.
“Has she said anything?” Mel questioned him.
“No, but I wasn’t aware that she knew anything of importance.”
“There’s no harm in asking.”
I gave her a look.
“Well, there is a harm, but not to us and that’s all that matters. She’s FBI not CIA, which unfortunately for her means that she isn’t trained to endure the same type of torture,” she clarified.
But I did want Intel. “I want her to give us a layout of the Federal building, all the ins and outs, and every secret entrance she can think of. In fact, hold on, Declan…” I said to him as I pressed hold. “Monte. Kain.”
Nodding, they placed their earplugs in.
“What are you thinking?” Mel eyed me carefully as a plan formed clearly in my mind.
“When you came home, you said there are only two wars that Americans care about: the war on drugs—”
“And the war on terror. What’s your point?”
“If you stop interrupting me I can tell you.” I glared at her and she crossed her arms. “What if we gave them terror? It won’t be anything major, we’ll just have our agent say that she has been kidnapped by what appears to be a homegrown terrorist. The media will go crazy, Avian will have no choice but to spend every moment either dealing with the press, or trying to save her.”
Her mind was turning as she reached over to take Declan off hold. “Declan, has she seen your face?”
“No, but she must have seen Coraline’s and Fedel’s when they took her.”
“Hold on,” Mel replied, putting him on hold again. “We’re going to have to kill her, and if we kill her, they will not stop until they find who is responsible. Terrorism, even mock terrorism, can—”
“It can be done, Mel. It can. We said we were taking off the kid gloves, and this is the way to do it. No one will see this coming. There are homegrown terrorists all over this country, between you and Declan’s hacking, I’m sure we could find a scapegoat. We’re actually doing the country a service, and Colemen will look so good, he’ll want to take part in this.” I could see it now and what made it great is the fact that it crossed the line, it wasn’t something that Avian would ever think we’d do.
“Well, if there’s anyone who can pull something like this off, it’s me,” she said.
Her ego sometimes.
“We’re doing it,” I replied, knowing that she was already working out the logistics in her mind.
Once again, she reached over and took Declan off hold.
“Declan, have Coraline slap her around a little bit, but nothing heavy. You and I are going fishing tonight. Be on standby.” And with that, she cut the phone off before she looked to me. “Before we actually do it, I want our scapegoat already in place.”
“Fine,” I nodded.
“We’re here, sir,” Monte said somewhat loudly due to the earplugs. It was easy to tell that we were no longer in the prestigious parts of D.C., and that we were somewhere southwest of the capitol.
What was supposed to be a small photo-op at a newly built youth center, was actually the same place we’d be able to see our customers.
Southwest was one of our biggest consumers. Of cour
se they didn’t know it was us directly, but it didn’t hurt to check in on the trade here.
TWENTY-THREE
“Someday you're gonna look back on this moment of your life as such a sweet time of grieving. You'll see that you were in mourning and your heart was broken, but your life was changing...”
—Elizabeth Gilbert
NEAL
I splashed the water on my face, and took a deep breath before I dared to look at myself in the bathroom mirror. Without turning, I watched as she walked in. Her blue eyes focused on me as she pressed herself against the door.
“Can I help you?” I asked her, as I took some paper towels from the dispenser. I scanned the bathroom to make sure that we were the only occupants.
“Neal, please don’t be this way.”
“What way?” I hollered at her. “What ‘way’ am I being, Olivia? Tell me, seeing as how you know so fucking much.”
Her head dropped and I strode determinedly to her, and grabbed her by the arm as I pulled her to me, and forced her to look me in the eyes.
“You’ve disgraced me,” I sneered only inches away from her face. “You made me a fool. Of all people in this world, you should have known me. You should have known what I wanted and that was to not destroy my family. Family is everything. It comes before all else, and you didn’t even think how I would feel if Avian killed my brothers, my father, my mother.”
“I did it for us! You and I both know your family will never accept you!” she cried.
“You did it for yourself! Jesus fucking Christ, you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself. Now you stand in front of me, trying to seem innocent as if you didn't go against the code. As if you didn't spit on everything my family has spent decades building. Do you know what the Irish do to people who do what you have done? I’m being this way, avoiding you, smiling for the cameras, because it is the only thing that’s stopping me from snapping your fucking neck and dumping you in acid.” Letting her go, I walked past her and opened the door. “If you have ever cared about me, Olivia, play your part because we’re done. Now, let’s go.”