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***
We didn’t get started on the Knights for three weeks. I had business to attend to and Fallon had to get some motions filed. We continued to meet for dinner twice a week, and she went to church with me every Sunday. I felt like the king of the world when she was on my arm. James finally asked her out, and she accepted. She genuinely seemed to like him and he was lightning struck by her. His normally taciturn demeanor vanished when he talked about her. I was happy for him and hoped she felt something for him, too. I didn’t want his judgment clouded about her.
I told him he still worked for me and he had a job to do. He assured me that he could do his job just as well as before and I believed him. He was strictly professional on the job. Nothing changed about that. She was still Miss Blake during the day or whenever he was on the job. If she invited him in after hours, she was Fallon.
I flew her to Idaho and we took up residence in Boise. I started working from my end. The FBI was a tough nut to crack. I did deals with other alphabet agencies sometimes, and they respected me as someone who could get things done. Several of their competitor agents were willing to do me favors because of that, and some of them because I knew where the skeletons were buried. I had contingency plans in case they tried to throw me under the bus, and they knew it. I was able to get the information they had turned over to the FBI. It was mostly cell phone interceptions. The Knights were smart enough to use proxies and encryption on their e-mail traffic, but the NSA is in the business of breaking things like that. The only way to keep them from doing it is for them not to notice you.
I gave it to Fallon and she started trying to pry the Knights out of jail. She met with the leaders that weren’t in prison, and I think she came away shaken. We had adjoining rooms at the hotel and she knocked.
“You busy?” she asked.
“Yes, but not too busy for you,” I told her.
She stood behind my chair, putting her arms around my neck and resting her cheek against mine with her chin digging into my shoulder. “You say the sweetest things, Canton. I love you,” she whispered in my ear.
“Yes, you tell me all the time,” I ran my fingers through that dark mane of hair. “I love you, too.”
“The Knights are scary people,” she told me. “All they can talk about is conspiracies against them and race traitors.”
“I know. I told you this, Fallon.”
“Yes, you did. I believed you, but I didn’t really understand. They threatened me, Canton.”
“What did they threaten you with?” I asked.
“If I blow this case, they’ll visit unspecified retribution on me.”
“Well, I guess you better not blow it,” I told her.
She laughed. “I don’t intend to, but they make my skin crawl. I don’t like the way they look at me. It’s like they’re undressing me.”
“You should only meet with them in public,” I told her.
“That would be nice, but they’re paranoid about being spied on.”
“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you,” I laughed. “They have some justification.”
She giggled. “I know. That’s why we’re here.”
She had picked up multiple tails. I knew the FBI was keeping track of her, and I had her room swept every day. Bugs showed up the third day we were there. There were even two cameras. We left them alone, but she started showering in my room and getting dressed in the bathroom. She thought they were sick perverts, but I told her they would do the same thing if she was a man.
The Knights had a tail on her, too. James went everywhere with her. After a week of filing motions, nothing had happened. The Knights were being held under the Patriot Act, and when she knocked the props out from under that, they changed the charges to child endangerment. There was no evidence, and they changed it to making terroristic threats. I knew they could play the shell game indefinitely.
The Knights were becoming impatient. After three weeks, the game changed. James disappeared. He had a tracking chip in his neck and we discovered he was on a property up in the hills. I thought this was probably a precursor to a move against Fallon. I had to do something. I didn’t know who was holding him, the Knights or the Feds. I flew in an extraction team. Fallon insisted on going along, and things got dicey.
We didn’t want to kill Federal Agents. That’s always a mistake. We went in quiet at three in the morning. They weren’t the Feds. That put different cards on the table, and we went to get James. I made Fallon dress for the occasion with a helmet and a flack jacket. She had on black like the rest of us and I made her hang back with Maria. Maria was the woman who had picked Fallon up after prom, and Fallon recognized her. They giggled fake hospital porno in the back seat on the way and I had given Maria strict instructions to keep her out of any fighting.
Fallon didn’t like the idea of having a babysitter, but I told her if she didn’t stay with Maria I was going to handcuff her to my bed and leave her. I was serious and she recognized it.
“I’ll be good; I promise, Canton.”
I didn’t like anything about this. There were six people around the house, and we went in silenced and wet. A silenced gun still makes a hell of a racket, and one of them got a shot off. It was the one inside the house and he shot James. I guess he didn’t feel like he had anything to lose. There was a slutty terrified woman in the house and two bedraggled kids. We took them out to the cars and found James. He was a mess. I could tell he wasn’t going to make it. He held my hand. When Fallon came in, she screamed when she saw him and ran across the room. She kissed his forehead and held his head in her lap. He pulled her down and I saw him whisper in her ear for several minutes. I didn’t know what he was saying, but I didn’t want to intrude. If he wanted to talk to Fallon, I understood. A man should spend his last moments in the arms of a beautiful girl.
She sobbed brokenly after he died in her arms. I pulled her away after a few minutes and she clung to me. “What are we going to do?” she wept.
“We’re going to clean this place up and get out of here,” I told her. “We’ll take James with us. He told me what he wanted if something happened to him. I’ll take care of him, baby.”
Maria took her away, and I followed in a few minutes. I spoke to the woman from the house for a while. She was plainly a battered woman. They had enforced her compliance by threatening to rape her girls. They had used her badly. I made arrangements to have her seen to medically and taken to my headquarters in Costa Rica. I’d take care of her and her girls until they could get a fresh start wherever they wanted. She was pathetic, and I felt very bad for her. She had been treated like an animal.
When we got back to the hotel, Fallon took a long shower. She wouldn’t stop crying, and when she came out she lay down beside me on the bed and I petted her. Her frame shook and I tried to console her.
“It’s okay, baby,” I told her. “James always knew this could happen and he was prepared for it.”
“I know,” she snubbed. “I really liked him, Canton. I’m going to miss him dreadfully. That’s not what I’m crying about. I mean, I’m crying about that, but not like you think.”
“What is it, baby? If it’s not that, what’s wrong?”
“It’s what he told me,” she sobbed. “He told me to take care of you.” She put her cheek on my chest and looked up at me. “He told me that you’re dying, Canton. Is that true?”
“Damn the man,” I said. “I can’t believe he told you that.”
“But, is it true?” she sobbed even harder. “Are you sick, Canton?”
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t lie to my daughter. “I’m fine right now,” I told her. “Do I look like I’m dying to you?”
“No, but he told me you have a brain tumor and you have a year to live. Is it true?”
“I didn’t mean for you to find out,” I told her.
She sat up and slapped me. “Why the hell not? What’s wrong with you, Canton? Did you think this is something that I wouldn’t want to know? Do you have some sort of twisted idea that I wouldn’t care? Damn you! You come into my life and make me love you and now you’re going to die and leave me,” she screamed.
I was shocked. I tried to say something, but nothing came out. She threw herself back down on me and wept.
“I’m sorry I hit you,” she sobbed. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry I yelled at you. God, you can’t die, Canton. Not after I’ve found you after all these years.”
I didn’t understand. “What do you mean?” I asked her.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you sick? Do you really have a brain tumor?”
“Yes, honey; I do. I’m sorry. I never meant for you to know. I don’t want you worrying about me.”
“What were you going to do? Just disappear? Leave me wondering what happened to you? Never let me know that the most important person in my life didn’t trust me enough to tell me he was sick?” She wept bitter tears again.
“It’s not like that,” I told her. “I do trust you, Fallon. It’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around.”
“Is that what I am to you?” she asked bitterly. “Am I just a job? I love you with all my heart and you say I’m your job?”
“You’re taking this all wrong, Fallon. That’s not what I meant,” I told her. I was lost here. I didn’t know what to say. “Just calm down for a minute and let me explain.”
“Don’t you tell me to calm down,” she said. “I was gonna.” She sat up and ran her hand up and down my arm. “I’m calm. Explain it to me.”
“You aren’t just a job to me,” I told her. “I love you more than life. I would die fake taxi porno for you, Fallon. Not because it’s my job, but because I know what kind of person you are. It’s never been about the job. It’s always been about Fallon. I’ve loved you since you were a little girl, even if you never knew I was there. I went to your ball games and your eighth grade graduation. It’s always been about you. I found out I had an inoperable brain tumor the day we met. I was enjoying just getting to know you too much to tell you. I’ve never been as happy in my life as the time I’ve had to spend with you. I didn’t want to spoil it. I didn’t want it to be awkward between us.”
“And you thought dying and leaving me alone might not be awkward?” she asked.
“No, I was always going to tell you. I just want to spend what good time I have left with you. I want it to be happy time, not a sad time with you thinking about me dying all the time.”
That set her off again and she was inconsolable. “I don’t want you to die,” she sobbed. “How can I be happy knowing that?”
“See, that’s what I was afraid of. I’m not sad about dying, Fallon. The only thing that would have made me sad was not being able to spend the rest of my life with you. Dying is part of living. This is going to kill me if you can’t come to terms with it.”
She hugged herself to me. “You’re the sweetest person I know,” she said. “That just makes it worse. I’m not going to come to terms with it, Canton. I’m going to find a way for you to live. I’m not going to let you out of my life now that I’ve found you.”
“Fallon,” I lifted her chin up so I could look in her eyes. “I don’t want to die. It’s like you said; now that I’ve found you I want to live. It just isn’t possible.”
“Yes it is,” she said. “I’m going to find a way. You’re going to tell me exactly what’s wrong with you. We’re going to leave this horrid place, and the Knights can rot in hell. I’m going to get your doctor’s reports. You’re going to give them to me and we’re going to find someone that can treat this. We’re going to do it together. You’re going to fight this. Do you understand?”
“I’m in your hands,” I told her. “I’ll do anything you want me to.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” she said. “I know who you are, Canton.”
“What does that mean?” I asked her.
“I’ll tell you in two years after the tumor is gone,” she said. “We’ll go to Denpasar, stay in the house there for a week and I’ll tell you.”
“Is it a date?” I laughed.
“Count on it,” she said. “Let’s pack and get out of here tonight.”
“We can’t,” I told her. “I have things to do. We’ve got to clean this up. There are bodies to dispose of and that woman and her girls to make arrangements for.” I explained the situation to her. She wanted to rush out and take care of her, but I assured her that the woman was in good hands.
I took care of business and we flew back to New York the next morning. She resigned the case.
*****
Life got back to normal when we got home. Fallon went back to work and there were no recriminations from her partners about her resigning her case. We still went out twice a week and she still went to church with me on Sunday. I had a deal with Chinese intelligence to get done and I stayed busy. After church Sunday, she insisted that I go home with her. I cooked lunch for her. I fried chicken and we had the traditional American Sunday afternoon meal. She was underfoot the whole time. Her attitude toward me had changed. She was very solicitous about my welfare. She touched me constantly and petted me whenever I came within her reach. She was annoyingly helpful. Finally I had enough.
“Fallon, I’m fine. I don’t feel sick. I have a headache in the morning. That’s my only symptom. You don’t have to treat me like a sick child.”
“Is that what I’ve been doing? I’m sorry, Canton. I didn’t mean to hover. I’m just worried about you. I want to be close to you every minute. My minutes are limited and I don’t want to waste any.”
“I understand, but I was happy before. I just want you to treat me like you did before you found out I was sick.”
“That’s not going to happen,” she said. “I only have a year, according to your doctor, and I’m going to spend every possible second of that year with you.”
“That makes me very happy,” I told her. “I don’t want you putting your life on hold. I’m happy just being in your life. I think you should take a case.”
“I don’t have one that I’m interested in,” she said.
“I know of one you might like,” I said.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Have you ever heard of David Thorpe?”
“No, who is he?”
“He’s a story that’s about to break in the news. He was a Defense Department contractor. He’s a computer genius and they hired him to create a new algorithm. It’s a program that sorts through millions of telephone calls, e-mails, snap chats, instagrams and electronic social media. It looks for key words and when it hits a mark, it flags family stroke porno it and sends it to an analyst who reviews it. If the agent thinks it’s of interest, the relevant agency investigates.”
“That sounds horrible, Canton. I mean, I know they do that already. What they already had was horrible. Now they have some new thing?”
“Well, yes and no. They have it, but so do other people. Thorpe kept copies and he released the code to several people last week. He gave it to the Spanish government, three newspapers and Wikileaks.”
“How do you know all this? Do I want to know?”
“He came to me and asked me to get him out of the country. I did it. He’s in hiding and the CIA and the NSA are looking for him. They won’t find him, but I expect that he’ll become the most hunted man in the world. The Defense Department won’t like citizens knowing that they’re being spied on by their government.”
“I don’t think many of them care,” she said. “They seem to be willing to give up their freedom so they can be ‘protected’.”
“Do you care?” I asked her.
“I care very much,” she said.
“Will you take Thorpe’s case then?”
“Maybe, I have something else to do right now,” she said.
“What? What’s so pressing that you can’t?”
“I’m doing some research.”
“What kind of research?” I asked.
“I’m not going to tell you. I’m going to Austin, Texas, for a few days.”
“Why, Fallon? What’s in Austin?”
“It’s your job to know things,” she laughed. “It’s not my job to tell you things.”
“Okay, then. You want to be mysterious, I’ll play. Keep your secrets.” We both laughed at my use of the meme. “When might I expect an answer on the Thorpe case?” I asked.
“I’ll be back Thursday,” she said. “I don’t want to see you Friday, but I want to spend the day with you Saturday. Will you take me to the Hamptons?”
“Of course I will, sweetheart. It’s not one of my favorite areas, but you’ll be there, right?”
I worked hard to clear my plate for Saturday. I was on three continents in four days and I was back by Friday. Maria, now Fallon’s driver and bodyguard, dropped her off at the hotel at 10 on Saturday. She had a briefcase with her and I asked her if this was a working holiday. She said it would be for me, but not for her. That was cryptic, but I didn’t rise to the bait and we just talked while we drove to Southampton. I suspected that Fallon didn’t know how many people I knew there. I knew a major league baseball pitcher who owned a house there on the beach, and he had made it available to me for the day, since he was in Florida.
We pulled up, and I explained the situation to her. We went inside and she wanted me to sit down while she talked to me. I poured us both a single malt scotch I had brought. She took a sip and shivered a little. She explained that she didn’t like whiskey, but she did like this. She just wasn’t used to sipping it.
She opened her case and sat beside me as she organized her papers. She had been to a clinic in Austin run by an eccentric rebel doctor. The man was a German, and he had done a good bit of research into brain cancer. He had developed a treatment and had applied to the FDA for testing. They had agreed to allow him to do the tests. She had the results and the science behind what he was doing. He had run afoul of the FDA regulations. He believed it was an effort by the pharmaceutical industry to shut him down. They had spent billions on chemotherapy drugs, and didn’t want that empire taken away. She explained the tables to me that she had.
He had been treating a very poor class of patient. Unfortunately, they were all desperate cases, many having already been burned, poisoned and butchered by the cancer doctors who then sent them home to die.
He was curing twenty percent of those suffering from my type of cancer. He was excited at the prospect of treating someone who was a blank canvas, so to speak. Since I had never undergone the usual regimen, he believed that the chance of success was quite high. My biggest question was what the treatment would do to me.
“I don’t want to be desperately ill and then die,” I told her. “I have things I want to do with you, millions of things, and I won’t give that up. If I’m going to be lying in a bed heaving my guts up, I won’t do it.”
She said there were no such side effects to the treatment. I would have to follow strict diet guidelines and spend a good bit of time near the clinic, but she was assured that I wouldn’t be sick all the time.
“I think you’ll feel even better than you do now,” she told me. “Maria told me that your morning headaches are getting worse.”
“I had no idea the woman was a gabster,” I complained. “I can’t believe she told you that.”
“She loves you, Canton. I think she may be in love with you. She’s worried about you. She told me you saved her life on three occasions. She wants to help us.”
“Fredrick is enough, unless you intend to work on the Thorpe case.”
She wanted to walk on the beach and talk, so we went. She asked me if I would give the treatment a try.
“If you don’t like this, I have two more things to tell you about,” she said. We walked along and she walked very close to me, her hip against mine and her arm around my waist while mine was around her shoulders.
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