Dark as Daylight Ch. 14

I still didn't trust Zoey to be alone with Payne. If I couldn't be there with her, a nurse or security agent was. Zoey was not happy with the situation, but she understood the reason for it. I believed it was a good sign, but regaining my trust was going to take a long time, a very long time.

56. Laws of Motion

Teddy and I met in the chapel. She was in there a lot anyhow so it didn't look out of place for her. When people saw me in there, they assumed I was trying to get my head straight after my problems with Zoey. Teddy and I did not look like an odd couple.

"Teddy, when did you get this new power?"

"I didn't know I had it Gordon, it just happened. Mommy was changing the twins, and I was on her bed reading. Someone knocked on our door and mom went to see who it was. Tatum and Truman were belted in on the changing table, but somehow they managed to break free. I looked over the top of my book to see what was happening, and they were both falling off. I don't know why I yelled it but I yelled the word, "Stop."

Suddenly, they stopped falling. I yelled for my mom, as I jumped out of bed to try to save them. I was able to put Truman and Tatum back on the changing table, and they were still not moving. I went to find what was keeping my mom. She was letting in Laura, and Adam Schiff. They were all frozen at the door.

In order not to scare my mom, I belted in the babies, and returned to the bed to read. Once I was in the correct position, I said 'Go', and everything continued as if nothing happened.

My mom ran into the bedroom, and found the babies playing where she left them.

I said to her, "Mom, I think I'm old enough to help you change them when you are busy. Why don't you teach me how to do it?"

She thanked me but said I was still a little young to do it. When their diapers are muddy, it is very hard to get the babies clean. You clean a boy in one way, and a girl a different way. Please don't ask me why, because I have company, and it would take too long for me to tell you about it now."

I said okay, and continue to read. She had no idea what had just happened, which was good.

"How did you catch me, Gordon?"

"It seems time may slow down Teddy, but you can see if you are focused on something. I was very focused on the barrel of the gun. I wanted to see the bullet coming out. I wanted to know the object that was going to kill me.

I saw was a little redhead put her hand underneath the bullet and raise it above my head. When she was finished, she turned and left my field of vision. I was still focused on the barrel of the gun.

It didn't take you long, before you returned to wherever you started, and said, "Go." I felt the bullet passed the top of my head, saw the look on Zoey's eyes as she saw me standing there, and watched her faint. As soon as she hit the ground, you were at my side. That's when I told you we had talk. We just did. God has big plans for you little girl, very the plans. I am in awe of you. I cannot wait until you grow up, and see what they are. If you ever need anything, I want you to come to me, and I will help you. She didn't make me see you raise the bullet for no reason at all. I know I am supposed to help you, and I will.

I'm going to check on Zoey now, but after dinner I would like you to come with me to try something with the cow's. Is that okay with you?"

"Am I going to milk a cow?"

"Do you know how to milk a cow?"

"No."

"Neither do I. I think we both can learn how to do it. Monty can train both of us. She has a big ranch in the United States, with cows, chickens, and Buffalo's. It is really a beautiful place. Zoey and I went there for 2 weeks, and I learned a lot of new things. Monty is really a wonderful person, that's why I love her so much."

"God loves her too."

"You don't know how happy you just made me. Go to your mom and dad, before they start looking for you. I'm going to go to Zoey."

"Okay, how see you after dinner."

***********************

"William Zabo please, this is Laura Burkart calling."

"One moment please."

"Hello Laura, congratulations on your work in Charleston."

"I didn't do a thing, Mister Zabo. It was that crazy Colonel friend of yours. He pulled bluffed the other side into surrendering. I tell you that man is a military genius. He got 725 men to surrender to a force of less than 100. I've never heard of anyone doing that before. I will never play poker against that man, he has balls of steel."

"I have played poker against that man, Laura, and every time I do, I've lost my shirt. He does not play fair. I don't care if you're playing for a dime, or $1000 a card. He plays to cut your throat, and he wins by bluffing you out of your seat. If he wasn't my best friend, I would have killed him long ago."

"Mister Zabo, may I remind you you're not supposed to say something like that to an FBI agent."

"I'm not talking to an FBI agent Laura. I'm talking to a friend. To what do I owe the honor of this phone call?"

"I would like you to invite me and my fiancé to dinner Friday night."

"Do you mean I win Laura? $100 is mine?"

"Do you ever lose Mister Zabo? I never saw Joseph coming. A friend of his kept pushing us together, and neither one of us could bear the thought of the other at the beginning. It wasn't until I beat the crap out of him in the gym that he started paying attention to me. I am 5 feet tall and maybe 105 lbs. Joseph is 6 foot 2, and 220 lbs. The Attorney General won about $187,000 that evening, because no one was betting on me."

"You are selling Tim a little short. He won $236,000 that night, and is purchasing a home in the US Virgin Islands with it."

"He didn't even offer me a finder's fee."

"You know that would have been illegal."

"Are you inviting us to dinner Friday night?"

"Laura, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I can't wait to see the look on your face, when you walk through my door."

"Mister Zabo, I told Joseph the same thing."

"Will 6 o'clock be okay with you Laura? We will serve dinner at 8 o'clock. I want to find out all about your beau."

"Why do you think I'm not giving you his last name?"

"Don't you think I'll have his last name in the next 15 minutes?"

"Oh God, you're going to call the Attorney General."

"I am going to do no such thing, that would take too long. I am going to call General Marcus, and find out from him."

"You are impossible Mister Zabo. We will be at your home, 6 o'clock Friday evening."

"I will be looking forward to it Laura; both you, and Joseph Constantine."

"The president should get information as quickly as you do, Mister Zabo."

"Goodbye Laura, I hope you enjoyed the opera Saturday. Do you have a gown for the event?"

"No, not yet, I was going to purchase one when we got to New York."

"What time are you getting into New York?"

"8:45 AM at LaGuardia. We are taking the shuttle."

"What size are you?"

"If you laugh at me, I'll kill you Friday night."

"I will stuff a sock in my mouth. Go ahead."

"Size 1."

"Where do you buy your clothes, in a toy store?"

"I will remind you Mister Zabo; I kicked my fiancé's ass. He is 6 foot 2, and a lot younger than you are."

"I can see I'm going to have to wear a muzzle Friday night. Take down this address; a friend of mine owns the store. I will make sure she has a few dresses in, I can't say pint size, because that would be an insult to the pint. I will just say she will have a few gowns in your size."

"Thank you Mister Zabo, after I finish looking at the animal prints, and the broad stripes, I'll go to Macy's and find a gown in the Junior's section."

"I think my friend would be very insulted if you didn't prefer one of her gowns, over a gown in Macy's. I will see you Friday evening, Laura. I will have Joseph Constantine fully vetted by then"

"If I didn't have him vetted, why are you?"

"You are going to break the glass ceiling, Laura. I am not going to allow him to keep you back."

"I am not going to get away from you, am I?"

"Tim wants you to be the director of the FBI. All I am going to do is help you through that first step. Everything after that is up to you."

"I'm supposed to retire in 2 years."

"I wouldn't count on it. If I were you 30 or 35 is a better number. You better ask Joseph if he is okay with it."

"I already did, and he said it was my decision. He would go with me wherever I am."

"He sounds like a very strong man."

"He told me he was raised by some very strong women; especially his grandmother. When she had her rolling pin in her hand, everyone scattered."

"That is an Italian grandmother. I can see that in my mind already. He was a very lucky young man."

"He tells me that all the time."

"I will see you Friday night, Laura. Don't forget to bring him."

"How can I forget to bring him; he's so tall, he blocks out the light in the room."

"One more thing, Laura. We are going to tell you who the tip of the spear is. We have all the evidence we need to prove it. Now a decision has to be made on how to prosecute him. We are going to leave that decision up to the board of directors of the science project. I will recuse myself from that vote, because I have known the man for years, and I consider him a friend. Knowing he was going to do this to us, I know what my vote would be. You know all the other members of the board, and they are men and women above reproach. They will decide his fate, not me. If you don't get to arrest and prosecute him, you will know what the vote was. The vote will take place, in the next 60 days, by secure videoconference. I will see you Friday night. Goodbye."

********************************

"I'm going to kill that man, as sure as the sun rises in the east, I am going to kill that man. How am I supposed to go to sleep tonight with that on my mind?"

"Who said I was going to allow you to sleep?"

"Joe, you don't have the stamina to keep up with me."

"Do I hear a challenge in your voice?"

"No, it was just a statement of fact."

"What would you like to bet?"

"Where is my ring?"

"Is that what you want to bet; your ring?"

"If you want to get married, I want a ring."

"Where were you all day today?"

"I was working."

"Where was I today?"

"Probably looking at your ancestors at the zoo."

Joe held out a little jewelry box.

"I guess I'll have to bring this little box back to the store. The woman I bought this for, apparently doesn't want it anymore."

Laura jumped over Joe, in an attempt to get to the hand that was holding the little box.

"Give me my ring," she screamed. "You are not up against a wall now. I'll break every bone in your body if you don't give me my ring."

Joe rolled off the bed, in an attempt to get to a wall. He might as well have been fighting a rhinoceros, with its great horn stuck in his heart. All 100 lbs. of Laura Burkart had him pinned to the floor with one knee on his neck, the other on his spine, and his left arm twisted, and pulled in the air behind him.

"What do you want me to break first Joe? Your hand, wrist, elbow, or shoulder? Give me my ring."

"It's under your pillow."

"You're lying to me just to get out of this hold"

"Is this the way you going to react every time we have an argument? If it is, we have a problem."

"I'm reacting like a child, when someone takes her new doll."

She let him go, went to the bathroom, and locked the door. He heard her begin to cry.

Joe decided to make her stop crying the easy way. He opened the entrance door to the hotel room, and slammed it shut. He stepped into the closet to the door.

She heard it, and thought he left her. She was out of the bathroom, at the speed of light, looking for him. She charged the door, and flung it open, and stepped outside.

The 2 young men walking down the corridor looked at her, smiling, as she screamed, "Joe."

He grabbed her from behind and pulled her back in the room.

"Do you always go out into the hallway naked?"

"You tricked me; you lousy bastard. You made me think you left me, and I wanted you to stay. What am I supposed to do with you?"

"You are supposed to do with me, what we promised to do with each other when we get married. Treat me like an equal. You are not allowed to use me like a throw rug that you can step on and kick around any time you want. It will cause us problems if you keep doing that to me. I told you I want us to have an easy, and loving marriage. Let's not make it a hard marriage Laura. Please, think before you act, and we will have an easy marriage, because we love each other very much."

"Is my ring really underneath the pillow?"

"Yes, your ring is underneath your pillow. Do you want me to get it, or do you want to get?"

"Would you get it please, and put it on my finger?"

"I would love to, as long as you're not going to break my finger if I screw up."

"I swear I will not break your finger, your hand, your wrist, your arm, or your shoulder, even if you screw up."

He reached for the little black box that was lying on the floor. He picked it up, opened it, and displayed the ring for her.

"YOU LIED>>>..."

'Shush'... He took her left hand, and asked, "Laura Burkart, will you marry me?"

Her eyes were focus on the beautiful emerald and diamond ring he was going to put on her finger.

He was on one knee looking at her expectantly.

Her lips started to quiver, and her eyes were getting wet. She wondered why her mouth work wasn't working? It worked every other time. Now when she needed it to work, wanted it to work, no words would come out.

Tears were falling from her eyes non-stop now. She wondered why he was laughing at her? Why was he put her ring in his pocket?

Give me my ring, dammit. What is he doing? Give me that beautiful ring!"

Joe put one hand on each side of her head, and moved it up and down. He took the ring out of his pocket, and showed it to her again.

"Did you just move your head up and down?"

She moved her head up and down.

"Are you trying to tell me, 'YES', you will marry me?"

Her voice returned "Yes, you fucking asshole, I want to marry you. Put my ring on."

He slipped the ring on her finger, without any hesitation, or any problem. He let her look at it for a moment, and then decided to break her spell. He knew he was about to get into trouble, again, but he knew it was going to be fun.

"You know, Laura, it was kind of nice around here when you couldn't speak."

She jumped at him, but this time he was ready for her. He twisted his body, as soon as she made contact with him. She wound up on the bottom, and his eyes looked into hers heatedly.

"You are officially my fiancé. You have my ring on your finger. Be nice, or I will spank you."

She did something she didn't do often enough, she giggled.

"There is my little girl. I love you, with all that I am." He kissed her and asked, "Should we use the hot tub, then order room service, and then use the hot tub again, before we go to bed? Or should we call room service now, and use the hot tub afterwards and then go to bed for the evening?"

"This hotel caters to the FBI. It has room service 24 hours a day. What do you think we should do?"

"Screw room service. Screw the hot tub. I'm going to screw my fiancé, until she falls asleep."

"Big words from a little man."

"I believe you have that backwards, little girl. I'm going to prove it to you by the time the sun rises."

"Let the games begin!"

"They already have. My ring is on your finger; you belong to me for the rest of your life."

"Joseph, what is my last name?"

"Oh no, here we go again. Would you please catch that fucking bastard, so I can change your last name. I'm tired of this shit."

"You can't take a joke can you?"

"Not after what I went through with this damn ring of yours."

"Would you like it back?"

"Only if you kill Tom first, and I get to watch."

"You would have to wait until I retire, and get my pension. Then I could do it surreptitiously, and without fear of getting caught."

"How many years will I have to wait?"

"According to Mister Zabo, it will definitely not be two years. Mister Kenshaw wants me to become Director of the FBI, and that will take a little time. He says I will be able to retire in 30 or 35 years."

"If you retire in 35 years, you will be 72 years old. You and Tom will be racing in wheelchairs."

"I know a lot of people who are spry at 72 years old."

"Not people like you, who throw their bodies around and tackle people double their weight and a full foot taller than they are. You will be lucky if you can stand to take the oath of office."

"I thought we were supposed to be in bed screwing, and not arguing."

"I would love to be in bed screwing you, but you asked me about your last name. I thought we were going to start arguing about it all over again."

"No we are not. The only thing that is in flux for us is our wedding date. I will move heaven and earth to bring that day sooner, rather than later."

"Do me one favor, let's not do it on your deathbed. I will be very angry with you if you do that to me."

"I promise. Can we go to bed now?"

"No, I'm not in the mood anymore. I think I'll go to sleep.

" I'm sorry I started this."

"I see you can't take a joke either."

"I think I'll kill you here on the floor, instead of getting on the bed with you."

"Little girl, I am on top of you. You couldn't move 220 lbs. from this position if you tried."

He was wrong, and he suffered for it, while he was laughing at her.

**************************

He walked into the Doctor Shelley Jacobson's hospital office, in a pair of seedy sneakers, well washed jeans, and a wife beater T-shirt, at 8:15 AM. The secretary thought he was a maintenance worker, until he said he was here to see Doctor Jacobson.

"I'm sorry sir, the doctor only sees patients by appointment."

"Tell Doctor Jacobson that Drake Hamel is here. He will see me."

She used the intercom, and Doctor Shelley Jacobson told her to let him in immediately.

To her surprise, Drake Hamel was already entering the doctor's office, before she gave him permission to do so.

Shelley looked at Drake's outfit, and asked him if this was dress-down Monday?

"Doctor, when Mister Zabo sends me on a job to mediate a problem like yours, he expects immediate results. I normally wear a suit and tie to mediations. I am a lawyer, and I have a JD after my name. However, there are certain jobs that require my other talents. I box, I have the highest levels in 3 oriental arts, I am deadly with knives, pistols, long-range rifles, and nearly all untraceable poisons. The only client I have is Mister William Zabo. The only people I take on as clients are the ones he directs to me.

If he tells me he wants a client to be found guilty, I will make sure that client is found guilty. I will put up a very vigorous defense to make sure I cannot be accused of not giving my client the best defense he could have received.

On the other hand, if he wants his client to be found not guilty, there are things I can do to make sure that happens.

May I see your contract now please?"

Doctor Jacobson's hand shook as he handed the folder to his mediator. He went through the 16-page document, in less than 4 minutes, ticking off pertinent parts of the document as he went along. When he was finished reading the document, he reread the parts that he ticked off.

"I have to call William for a moment. He's not going to be happy with me because it's before 9 o'clock, but he may own this hospital by the end of the week."

"He may own this hospital because they screwed up the contract for me being Chief of Staff?"