5 comments/  7261 views/  25 favorites

Parkers Island Ch. 01

By: markelly



I thought this story too long to read in one go so I broke it down into two chapters. I would like to thank southPacific for his editing this chapter, a truly great job as always.

*****

I had just finished touring the house, saving what I thought to be the best till last. The view across the bay was staggering, and I did wonder how I was ever going to get any work done once I looked out of those windows. Becky knew she had the sale; she couldn't hide her smile, either.

"Didn't I tell you? It ticks every box you asked for, Mr. Thompson."

"Damn, Becky: if you weren't married, I would hug you! Thank you SO much." It still took me a moment to pull my eyes away from the scene that entranced me. Finally, with a sigh of contentment, I looked again at Becky. "I have to return to Houston in an hour. Please get all the paperwork ready; my lawyer will be in touch."

Becky gave me a quick tour of the town while we waited for the ferry. She pointed out the diner and general store, as well as reciting both the town and island's history, before we got on the ferry back to the mainland. She did get her hug when she dropped me alongside my own car before I headed back to the airport. The sale of the house took ten days, and within a month I was all settled in.

In my down time I did my own research on the island. Herbert Parker pretty much owned everything in this area back in the day. He married twice, although the history books got really vague about what happened to them. He was a realist though, and knew he couldn't take it with him, so he broke his wealth down. He parceled up his land and gave it to families that had always been loyal to him. Jonas Beckman was given the island, and he turned a section of it into a town so that the island wouldn't be heavily dependent on anything from the mainland.

The town council had tried a few names over the years. None ever stuck, so they kept Parker's Island, and it thrived. The island itself had twenty eight shops and industrial warehouses of varying usages, plus the ferry dock and one hundred and twelve houses. To me this was perfect, and the thank you letter and personal bonus check I sent to Becky showed how much I appreciated her efforts in finding what I needed.

What didn't occur to me until I had moved in was just how many of those houses were summer retreats. On my walks around the island I figured that just over a quarter of the total were, including the one closest to mine. My routine was the diner for breakfast, a stroll along the pier in time to watch the ferry come in, and then shop. The locals were in the main friendly, but to them I was the outsider. 

Curiosity being what it is, the locals also had one question that none of them ever got an answer to. I didn't bring a family with me, and yet I now lived at what used to be Meredith Cavendish's place, which everyone knew had three bedrooms. It seemed that, in my eagerness to hide myself away from the world, the townsfolk took to watching me, wondering why I was here. 

That conclusion was confirmed three months after my arrival. With breakfast over, I had walked from the diner down to the ferry dock. It was a lovely sunny day, and the temperature was just comfortable enough to sit and not burn. The ferry discharged its usual cargo of people, plus a truck and six cars. The one that made me raise an eyebrow was the Sheriff's car that drove off as well. 

It pulled into the car park by the ferry office and sat there. I shrugged to myself, and went back to watching the sea of humanity come and go around the ferry dock. As the crowd diminished and the contents of my coffee cup came close to empty, the sun got blocked out. When I looked up, one of the local deputies was looking down at me. She smiled and sat on the seat next to me, looking out at the ferry and the last remaining person to leave.

"You've become a talking point, Mr. Thompson."

At least I had anticipated this conversation was coming.

"Am I under arrest, officer?"

"Nope. I don't plan to take my night stick to you either, so how about a coffee? And you're paying." 

"Wouldn't that be considered a bribe?"

She giggled, forced herself not to smile and continued.

"Doubt it. Mind you, me taking my night stick to you wouldn't be called assault either; falling down steps maybe."

This time I smiled. We both stood and walked towards the diner, neither one of us saying anything. The girl at the counter had two coffees ready for us by the time we reached her; I collected mine and sat by the window that overlooked the ferry dock. The Deputy took off her sunglasses and hat before she sat down. She looked cute.

"So, Mr. Thompson, who are you? I've talked to Becky, and all she knows about you is that all business with you is done through some fancy law firm in Houston. Oh - and you tip real well."

"Oh come now, Deputy, don't disappoint me! There is much more, so please continue."

This time she pinched her lips together and stared real hard. Her cup came to her lips twice before her stare shifted to the window and she spoke again.

"I checked the fancy law firm out. It has two Thompson's listed as senior partners and one amongst the workers bees, but none with your first name. So I got to thinking and looked again at the senior partners; husband and wife it seems. Two children; Alison, the aforementioned worker bee, and Isaac. Seems the son turned his back on law. That must have rubbed his folks up the wrong way?"

*******

It did more than rub my grandparents up the wrong way; it damn near caused them to disown my folks. When my parents died in a car crash they even found themselves busy the day of the funeral, and at eighteen I stepped up to the plate and looked out for my two sisters. Worked like a dog and, with the aid of what little savings we had, got both of them into college before I decided it was my turn. But then my grandparents showed up and I slammed the door in their faces. My sisters, being rather younger and with no memories of why we were abandoned, let them in.

The charm offensive started straight away, and after an hour of listening to their shit I realized that I had in effect lost my two sisters. They packed a suitcase each and left with the grandparents that same evening. The next day I went to the realtors and let the house out the same week; that afternoon I walked into the recruitment centre and signed up. It was at Basic Training that my knack with computers and puzzles was noticed, and I was summoned to sit in a room with some suit and told to figure this out.

A file was opened, and two pieces of paper slid across the table at me. I set to work with a different piece of paper and a pencil; ten minutes later the suit smiled and left. I never got to see a parade ground again after that day: at twenty two hundred hours two MPs walked into my barracks, switched the lights back on, and told me to pack. One practically stood over me while I did just that. Everyone in that room, including me, thought I was in deep shit.

Two days later saw me in another state, sitting in classrooms talking computer codes and how to make and break them. Someone was even dumb enough to give me an IQ test along the way: I think I ranked in amongst the squirrels and coyotes on the score sheet yet, if you placed a code or computer in front of me, I came out highest in the class. That alone caused a scratched head or two.

Eventually some of them shrugged their shoulders and went with the flow. Others called me street smart and left that as the reason. All of the shrinks had diplomas and an education that was the best that this country could supply, and none of them could give the high-ups a real explanation. So I was given a new heading and file with the heading reading "Freak of nature." Somewhere in the next six and a half years, through two continents and seven countries, the words "Freak of nature" were replaced with one single word: "Asset."

When the Department had to send an asset into a war zone, which wasn't unusual but still made the Department nervous, they were very careful with their toys and didn't want any of them broken. When they were told why, the Department looked and my name slid into the frame as the likeliest candidate. A month before leaving I was assigned a Marine Corporal as a body guard. Carol was built to kill and had the most disgusting sense of humor you could imagine.

We also got on like a house on fire. In the hours and days this woman spent as my shadow I learned her life history and she learned my name. The suits told her that if she was ever to find out anything else about me, then when she left the Corps they would see to it that she would struggle to get a job as a dog catcher.

Carol didn't care. She was my shadow and that was all she cared about, even when the road side blast turned our Humvee into a blood-coated twisted heap of metal. The main point of the blast was on Carol's side of the truck; my head hit the side of the vehicle, causing me to pass out for a few minutes. When I came to, the radio was giving Carol an update as she herself killed anything that came close to the vehicle we were trapped in. 

She sensed me awake; the scream of pain I let out may have given her another clue, even over the top of gunfire. The blast had sheared a piece of metal off the floor of the vehicle and through the back of my seat. About six inches of it protruded out the side of my body. Carol had already covered the area around the metal with field dressings and tied them off as best she could, considering both of us were pinned inside the Humvee.

Within minutes an Apache helicopter took up position beside our vehicle and took over from Carol in killing anything that came close enough. It was only when the Apache was spraying death along the ridge that Carol turned to me and I realized the true extent of her wounds. Her smile was as bright and mischievous as always yet her eyes no longer held life's sparkle within them. To Carol, her job was done. With the Apache overhead and the Marine rescue team already taking up defensive positions around our vehicle, it was time for her to leave.

I watched Carol die. The Corps lost a brave Marine that afternoon. I ended up with a private room in the hospital and felt like a fraud being there. While in surgery to remove the piece of metal, the doctor checked around and found that it had thankfully missed all the vital organs, leaving me with only a long rest to allow my wounds to heal. Nearly ten days into my forced stay word came through the Department that Carol was being sent home the next day. I asked, and then insisted, that I got to see Carol one last time before the Marine Corps took her home. 

She was the closest I had to a friend, and would have understood the looks we got when two suits and an asset walked onto the Marine Barracks ground and asked permission from the General to say goodbye to one of their own. He knew who I was, and he could have refused, just as he knew that I shouldn't have even been able to stand in front of him while the cane I was still using barely held me up. The relief when he offered me a chair was palpable; the two suits never budged from the door as the General and I talked. 

My friend was at peace now. I kissed her forehead and wished her Godspeed to the one place she talked about so much: home.

I could have returned with her, but the job I was there to do still needed to be finished. Getting a replacement in from the Department would have taken longer than the job itself, so I stayed. My assignment was finished two months later, and I headed home. The invite to my sister's wedding was handed to me when I got there, and my first instinct was to ignore it. I went through the formality of putting in for permission to go, thinking (and perhaps even hoping) that the Department would refuse, but word came down from above and I got my leave. So much for using the excuse that I couldn't get away. 

Two days before I was due to leave I was introduced to Madison. The deep southern drawl led me to believe the name was real. This one wasn't Marine and, when I asked, she wouldn't tell me. When I asked my boss she simply said two words: "Bingham Securities." After that I kept her at arm's length, even when she tried to share my bed. Turning her down was hard: she was built for sex, right up until the moment you looked deep into her eyes and realized that a part of her had died some time back.

The wedding was turned into a society affair, although I did manage to spend some time with my sisters before the charm offensive between them to forgive our grandparents and leave the army became oppressive. Madison was charm personified and stuck herself to my arm like she was welded to it. My sisters thought she was cute, my grandfather drooled and my grandmother kept a firm grip on her husband.

The only real blip on the day: a guy called Donny. This was my sister's ex before she found the love of her life to whom, as of today, she was now married. It seems my sister talked about me all the time and, when the ex could now put a face to a phantom, he went all out to prove I wasn't some hard-assed army type. It was also the one time Madison detached herself from my arm, coming back half an hour later straightening her dress. I guess Madison had her uses after all. 

Seems Donny had an accident at the wedding, but the damage looked worse than you would think from falling down the grand staircase. I made sure I double locked my hotel room door that evening; beating the crap out of Donny made Madison hot, and she wanted to use me as a human vibrator. I sure missed Carol.

I managed another eighteen months, one extra continent and three more countries before I turned to the Department and said that enough was enough and I wanted to retire. It seems that was a sticking point amongst my bosses and the high-ups; they tried more money, even mild threats, but in the end I had done all I could for my country. The only compromise I was willing to make was to undertake private work with just one company or, in this case, the Department.

I spent the rest of the week signing papers and being told that the last eight years of my life didn't exist. I left with a suitcase of clothes and a hefty bank account; two days later I was in the living room of one of my sister's houses when my grandparents walked in. I made it clear I wasn't staying, and had no interest in even being in Houston other than to see my sisters, but if they wanted to keep tabs on me then I had a little job for them.

The mere thought of having some sort of leash on me was just too hard to resist, so I used their law firm to deal with the legal side when I bought the house. 

*******

The Deputy continued to sit and sip from her cup. Oh, she would stare at me for a few moments, but would then go back to looking out the diner's window. Eventually we both finished our coffee and the Deputy tried a different tactic.

"You're the model citizen, Mr. Thompson; never had a parking ticket, not been stopped for speeding, and no record of any wrongdoing.

"It was petty of me, and I just knew I shouldn't do it, but she was just too cute not to bait.

"I did steal an apple once, when I was ten. My father caught me and marched me back next door to confess to our neighbor. I spent the next day painting his fence and reciting the words 'crime doesn't pay.'"

Judging by her blush, I got the feeling I wasn't the only one who could get caught stealing apples. The Deputy unzipped her vest and sighed. I felt for her; those things saved lives, but were never built for comfort.

"You walked into the realtor's the day after Becky posted the Cavendishs' old house up for sale, and the sum total of the move into your house consisted of one suitcase. Everything else you brought from the shops around here or the mainland."

I wasn't going to give anything away just yet, no matter how cute she might be. "I like to help with the local economy when I can, Deputy."

I had seen the look she was giving me a couple of times before. She was clearly getting frustrated, and I wasn't being all that helpful. Finally she shrugged her shoulders and stood, zipping her vest back up as she did. With her glasses back on, and her hat in her hand, she came to the real reason for her visit.

"Carol Burnett died a war hero, Mr. Thompson; her folks don't know you, and want to know why you placed flowers on her grave. You're clearly not a Marine, and a large part of your life is either obscure or fake; every lead about your life stops at that law firm in Houston."

The Deputy seemed to want to emphasize her next point so she leant on the armrest of my chair. 

"Carol was my friend, Mr. Thompson, and I plan to find out who you are and the real reason you're here. We WILL meet again, sir."

She patted me on the shoulder just to nail her last statement home. I watched as she walked down to her car while the ferry was loading for its return to the mainland. Habit is as habit does; I went shopping, and even decided on that painting that was still in the shop window when I came back with my groceries. Thankfully they agreed to deliver; that painting was huge and, with them not bringing it round straight away, it gave me time to clear some space and mount some brackets on the wall ready for it. 

*******

I spotted her as she walked off the ferry. She ignored me, and continued to wander along the shops for a while, looking in all the windows as if she were a tourist. She even went into the candy store, and came out a minute or two later with a chocolate box under her arm and a bottle of water in her hand. Finally she sat next to me, but even then she took her time before speaking.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Give me permission to talk to the Deputy."

"No. I could have done this over the phone. I hate to state the obvious, but there is only one way on or off this island."

"Yep. But since we are stating the obvious here, Shelby, then we both know you have a boat parked over in Clearwater Cove."

"I fucking hate you when you do this, Aiden. The Department allowed you to live here even though we all knew why. She's dead, Aiden - let it be."

Perhaps for the first time I was able to put into words the thoughts I'd had since I said goodbye to Carol.

"Survivors guilt, Shelby. I know Carol just thought she was doing her job, and that was to keep me alive at all costs, but she paid the ultimate price for doing it."

This time I tried a different approach. 

"Shelby, at least let me talk to the Deputy. Let her gauge if Carol's folks can ever know just how brave their daughter was. She's already snooping around in my past, so I know that you will soon take some kind of action against her if she doesn't stop. This way you can kill two birds with one stone; figuratively speaking, of course."

"Don't ever think we haven't already considered killing birds, Aiden. I will put your request to the Department; until then you keep your fucking mouth shut."

As Shelby stood her cell beeped, and she read the text that had just arrived. Her face showed a flicker of anger before she turned to walk along the pier.

"Not going back on the ferry?"

"The locals have already told her you're talking to a stranger that came off the ferry, and the fucking bitch is already waiting at the dock for the ferry to return. Don't let your usefulness to us go to your head, Aiden." 

The sight of Shelby's cute ass walking along the pier and heading towards Clearwater Cove did make me smile. I did see the Deputy the next day leaning against her car when I went for my usual walk. I waved, and her sunglasses stared right on back.

I got my answer a week later when the phone rang.

"You can talk to her, but you already know your limits. Just so she knows HER limits, we have given her a gift and a reminder to mind her own business. I'm sure she will catch up with you real soon."


Parkers Island Ch. 01



The sound of Shelby laughing down the phone worried me greatly. I had little doubt I would find out the meaning of her remark in the coming days. 

*******

It was a car braking sharply to a halt that took me to the window that overlooked the street. The way she got out and slammed the door told me even more, and that was one angry lady walking towards my house. The banging on my door gave me the clearest hint of all that she was pissed off, and she came crashing through the door the second I released the catch. I'm sure her thought was to catch me unprepared: she failed. 

When she turned to lunge at me I threw the glass of water at her and quickly dropped the glass before shoving my shoulder into her stomach, pushing her hard against the drywall and up a foot above the floor. Any air she had in her lungs left her right about then. Once I was sure I had a couple of seconds before she could regain her momentum, I lifted her over my shoulder and slammed her onto the couch face first. Self-preservation and old habits meant my knee into her back soon followed, as I grabbed her wrists and handcuffed her. 

I'm sure the irony of the situation would pass her by; for now, at least. I went and picked up the glass and got myself some more water while I sat and waited. Soon it turned into a staring competition. Judging by the weight over my shoulder I would say a hundred and twenty, maybe twenty five pounds; the hair was a natural brunette since the eyebrows matched. Brown eyes and some freckles across her nose and cheeks. The summer dress had ridden up to the top half of her thighs and showed nice legs.

My mouth opened to say something; the scream from her got to me first.

"I've been suspended for a week, by order of the Sherriff, and yet he doesn't even know why he has to suspend me." 

So now I knew the message Shelby was handing down to my new found friend.

"Deputy Amelia Randell, or Em to your friends: you're twenty-seven and a Capricorn, love flowers and, much to your folks' consternation, your favorite color is Teal. Joined the department three years ago and are well on track to take over from the Sherriff when he retires in four years' time. Grew up on the island, yet you now live on the mainland. One brother who is at college and, until he hooked up with his present girlfriend, was a straight A student."

The staring competition continued for a moment longer. I took another sip of my water and placed it back on the table next to me. Leaning forward and placing my elbows on my knees made her watch me more closely.

"You came to my home and wished to vent your anger; fine, that's done. I will remove the cuffs now and let you leave, or you can stay for lunch. Over which I will tell you a story; after, you yourself get to decide how much you're going to tell Carol Burnett's family."

"Special Forces?"

I smiled as I rose out of my chair and unlocked the cuffs, keeping them close by just in case.

"Gosh, no! I'm a geek."

She waited a moment and then sat up, rubbing her wrists in the process. The muscles in her legs gave her away: Amelia led with her right foot and she charged once again. Her hands made it around my neck, but only so I could grab the top half of her dress and place my knee on her stomach while I pushed back on my other foot. The chair went backwards, and poor Amelia went clean over the top landing on her back.

When she sat up the teal bra showed itself through the torn material of her dress.

"You think you're a man because you enjoy beating up on a woman."

The click of the front door shutting made me look up.

"No, you dumb bitch! He's keeping you alive. Put your ego to bed and listen to him, or you will never get a second chance because I won't allow it."

Amelia pointed directly at the woman standing by the door, and yet asked me the question.

"And who the fuck is that: the wife?"

Shelby pouted, something I had never seen before.

"Oh, please! Give me some credit for taste. Not only that, my husband has a bigger dick than he has."

Feeling somewhat put out by the bigger dick remark, I placed my hands to my chest and, with my most cheesy actor's impression, said, "But sweetheart! What about Paris? Did I mean nothing to you?"

Shelby snorted and walked towards the kitchen. Amelia simply sat on the floor as her gaze moved between the two of us. 

"You're an ass. You couldn't find Paris with a rope and a flashlight to guide you and, if you did, it would no doubt be Paris in Texas; not France."

This time Shelby looked towards Amelia who was still sitting on the floor.

"You staying for lunch, or you leaving?"

This time she got up. "Leaving."

Shelby shrugged and started to pour water into a pan as Amelia walked to the door, holding onto her dress at the same time. Her hand had made it to the door when Shelby spoke again.

"Oh, if you're thinking of coming back with guns blazing I removed the artillery from your car before I came in. You can have it back when you show me your permit."

I picked up the chair while the girls had their heart to heart.

"You can't do that! I could arrest you for theft; I'm a fucking Deputy."

Ever the kind-hearted soul, Shelby just couldn't resist. "You're also suspended and, since you have chosen to leave rather than hear him out, I will tell you this: you will cease and desist from all enquiries regarding this man immediately, or I will make it my mission to totally fuck up your life."

Amelia looked towards me, her mouth open, and still unsure if she was hearing right. I nodded my head.

"She's fucked my life up for the last eight years, and I know her. Can you imagine what she can do with yours? And she doesn't even know you."

Shelby turned back to the sink, but the smile had already started to grow across her lips by then. Amelia paused, her hand finally coming away from the door. It was clear she was weighing up her options. For a while she watched Shelby but, when it was plain to see that as far as Shelby was concerned she had said her piece and was now getting on with lunch, the decision as to what happened next was once again firmly in Amelia's court.

"You're going to tell me the truth about everything that happened?"

I couldn't see the point in opening my mouth. I knew what was coming.

"No, he's not. He will tell you what he's allowed to tell you, and you can draw your own conclusions about the rest. Once he's done then you and Carol's family leave it be."

This time Shelby stopped her task and leaned on the kitchen counter facing Amelia. 

"Listen to me very carefully, Amelia. You are in an interesting position. Your oath when you placed that badge on your chest allows you a certain amount of privilege. Oh, I could go all "in the interest of national security" on you, but Aiden seems to feel the need to get this out of his system and we know once that's done his value to us will return."

The shocked look came first; surprisingly, the hands on the hips gesture came next.

"You plan to blackmail him once he tells me?"

Judging by the look on Shelby's face she couldn't see the point of the question, but she answered it anyway. "Yes, of course."

By now the water had started to boil, so Shelby's attention once again returned to the task in hand. When I looked over to Amelia it was clear she was considering her options. Eventually she shrugged her shoulders and muttered something under her breath before she went to help Shelby make lunch, putting together the top half of her dress as she did.

Shelby sensed me wander into murky waters a couple of times; with a "no" and a "don't go there" comment from her, I told Amelia what Carol's job was and, in frighteningly more detail, what went on that fateful day. Amelia herself gave up even the pretence of eating minutes after I started, her food now cold as Shelby stood and picked up all three plates from the table and stood over by the kitchen counter. 

The horn from the ferry blew its ten minute warning that it would be leaving soon and, since it was the last ferry of the day, it would get crowded real quick. Since I wasn't sure she heard it I asked her if she planned to stay the night. The look she gave me left me in little doubt she regarded me as nothing more than pond scum, and the thought of even spending this much time in my company was making her skin crawl.

As she stood up she turned to Shelby and thanked her. "My gun?"

"Still in your car. I bluffed."

For a brief moment the women stared at each other. "You're good at it."

Shelby's answer was more a statement of fact than anything. "I know."

Amelia walked out, got into her car and left. Shelby stood next to me watching the same scene unfold.

"Reinstate her, Shelby. Sitting at home for a week with what's in her head now will drive her nuts."

Shelby left after a nod. I watched from the window as she took her cell out of her jacket pocket, then turned towards the kitchen to do the washing up. Peace, or rather peace for me, was but a week's worth of comfort.

*******

A man stood by the graveside. His features looked familiar, yet I had never seen him before. His age finally gave him away; he took a step to one side so I could place the flowers on Carol's grave.

Even I couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Carol was my friend, Mr. Burnett. I'm sorry for your loss."

His eyes misted up. I watched it coming, and even took a half step to one side just so it would take some of the force out of the punch. He needed to do that much, and I let him. Then he turned and kicked away the flowers I had just laid.

"You don't have the right to stand here! Stay away from my girl. She's dead because of you, and if I thought killing you would bring her back I would do it in a heartbeat." 

The nod of my head was all he got. Talking to him would have been futile; the man was barely holding it together at the moment. I had read a copy of the letter sent to the family, and the words "killed in action" had been used a couple of times. The medal she earned keeping me safe at the expense of her own life, and the pride which almost burst out of them at the sight of her donning her uniform, now meant nothing to her family. Knowing that the child you raised would never return with the hugs and kisses of comfort you now needed was enough to destroy anyone's happiness.

Memories are all that remain; stories of the past. Friends who would finally yield those little secrets of what she got up to when her mom and dad weren't looking, only to find out that they not only knew, but had done the same when they themselves were younger. Pictures that start out looking new are now worn down by so many hands clinging to this rare second of history. 

Hoarded family videos are dusted off and watched anew; tissues are used behind closed doors as the brave face collapses into tears, only to momentarily suspend sadness and break into an occasional smile when the person on the screen ignites a happy memory for the watcher. But, all too soon, guilt and sadness return to swamp that smile as they ask themselves: "Why her?" 

The Burnetts were given the highest honor the day of the funeral. The same General that stood in my way in Afghanistan led the procession off of the ferry that day. The Marines that surrounded her coffin in dress uniform were all from her own unit; officially they were all on leave, yet all stayed on base so they could take part. To the world she was killed by a roadside bomb, and now her family knew why the bomb was there. 

To steal an asset; to torture, and eventually kill once the secrets in my head were gone. Carol's job was to make sure that never happened, even if the ultimate price had to be paid to prevent it. Yes: I sympathized with Mr. Burnett's actions. He was a father, after all.

*******

Madison was sitting on the step, resting against the edge of the porch, when I opened the gate. 

"You're late. We missed the last ferry."

"Well, considering I wasn't even aware I was going anywhere, how can I be late?"

Even as I spoke Madison stood up, headed for the door to my house, and opened it. There was no point in asking how she did that, since I knew for a fact that I always locked the door. She set about making coffee for us both, making me a little uncomfortable when I realized that she knew where everything was without even asking. It took me ten minutes to pack a bag; I guess some habits are harder to break than others.

Madison took both cups over to the couch and I followed. Since she was setting the timetable I just assumed that, now we had no ferry, she must be waiting for nightfall. 

*******

It was three months before the boat dropped me back off at Clearwater Cove. The ferry wasn't due to start for another hour, and all I wanted was a bath and bed, not necessarily in that order. The sun starting to turn the night sky a brighter color was the only light I needed on the twenty minute walk home. Opening the door to my house gave me a warm and comfortable feeling; since I couldn't see the point of having lights on I filled the coffee pot and put it on while I made myself busy. 

I saw the shadow move out of the corner of my eye a second before my world descended into darkness. 

The pain behind my eyes meant I had to be slow when I opened them. When I looked around I was face down on the couch with my arms handcuffed behind me. Amelia sat on the chair across from me, drinking what smelt like coffee.

"Will you take your damn feet off my coffee table? That's an antique."

"It's a fake. Henry makes six of these a year, and sells them to the tourists over the summer season. What he earns out of your stupidity keeps him fed over the winter."

She still took her feet off the table. She then got up and walked over to me, placing her knee in the small of my back, and wasn't all that gentle about taking the cuffs off. 

I figured it would be a rhetorical question considering the growing smirk on her face as she approached me, but I asked anyway. "Feel better now?"

Amelia smiled as she walked back to her seat, "I don't know what you mean."

"I'm sure you don't."

Since there was only one cup on the table I figured I may as well make my own. Getting something for the headache I now had was my next thought. It was only with the full light of day pouring through the open curtains that my mind screamed out that something about my house had changed. It was small things like candles and little crocheted things on the table.

"Why have you feminized my house?"

"Because I refuse to live in this man cave. I left the secret room alone; the one you have all the hush-hush stuff in. Mind you, the door was a giveaway. I've never seen a steel door that's made to look like a wooden one before."

Amelia pulled her boots on and walked towards the door, grabbing her vest in one hand and the door with the other.

"I finish at five. If you're feeling at a loose end you can make dinner for us both. Just leave the candles alone; they are mine."

Watching from the window as she walked down to the ferry dock, with my coffee in one hand and a couple of Excedrin to relieve the nightstick-induced headache in the other, one of those thoughts crept up on me and I had to smile. The only thing that was missing was the "yes, dear" moment. 

The shower was just divine, but walking into the bedroom came as a shock. The damn woman had moved not only into my house, but into my bed as well. Fluffy pillows and flowery sheets; the damn stuffed teddy bear got tossed on the floor before my head hit the only non-fluffy pillow I had left, and I heard nothing for the rest of the morning.

It was the whistle from the mid-day ferry departing the dock that woke me. Once dressed, and feeling almost human again, I headed for the diner. It was a mix of familiar faces and a few new ones that had the attention of the waitress. I sat in the corner and read the paper; a coffee came first, followed by my meal. The chair across from me being pulled out got my attention, and I folded my paper before watching the woman for as long as she watched me.

"Your lunch is paid for; I paid it. My husband had no right to do what he did."

I had never been in this predicament before, and was unsure what to say. It was like looking at Carol, only a much older version. Although I was looking at Carol's mother, the resemblance was so close that it felt like I was with my friend. I had to fight the urge to call her Carol once again.

"Mrs. Burnett, I'm..."

"Don't say you're sorry for my loss; I know you are. You're Aiden; I should have realized months back but, as you can imagine, I wasn't looking in your direction at the time."

Mrs. Burnett stood, and an even younger version of Carol slid off the stool at the counter and joined her mother, both clasping hands. 

"It's never been my way to discuss my business in public, but I had to come see you when you got back, before the people in this town burned your place down with you in it due to the actions of my husband. Em's been living at your place because I asked her to. The three months you have been away has been the longest you've been off this island in all the time you have been here."

It was taking everything I had within me to hold back from tearing up. 

"We all thought it was because of my husband. Em says different, but she won't say much else so she must have her reasons. I plan to stop by tomorrow with this one."

Her head nodded towards her daughter and her hand still clasped tightly lifted from her side for a moment to re-affirm her statement. "I would like to meet the one you call Shelby if you can arrange it, but it's not important if you can't."

She left after I told her I would try. That wasn't a call I was looking forward to making. Paranoia sure puts you in a strange place. I swear half the people in the diner watched Carol's mom leave, while the other half watched me. It was also perhaps the only time I didn't enjoy my meal. That was a sad feeling, since I had been looking forward to it on my way home.

With my chores done, and buying another damn painting from that shop, I returned home and settled down to do some work. Something had been bugging me for most of the early afternoon; it was only when I sat in front of the computer and had access to the Department's resources that it eventually lead me to at least one answer. Burnett may have been her last name, but the way that woman stood made me dig just a little deeper.

Tracing her family back gave me the answer: she was a Beckman. Carol's family owned Parker's Island, and yet in all the time Carol and I had been together, and through the conversations we had, she never once mentioned just how deeply her family were involved.

*******

Shelby must have been keeping tabs on my research: I couldn't say I blamed her. Having a computer link directly into the Department from an unsecure area made them nervous. She was waiting for my call. As I explained my very brief conversation with Carol's mom, Shelby listened and said nothing. If there was one thing I'd learned from working with this woman, silence from her could cause tidal waves in the Himalayas. 

"Are you out of your fucking mind? No: don't even fucking answer that; I know you are. I knew it was a mistake letting you talk to that girl, but you were set on it. Corporal Burnett is dead, Aiden, and you can't breathe life back into this family. Sell the house and come back here before I have to deal with another one of your fuck-ups."

Habit had me put Shelby on speaker. Amelia came through the door halfway through her rant, and stood there listening to the rest.

"Shelby, I'm asking this as a personal favor."

"You ran out of personal favors when I let you leave the Department. What does she want, anyway?"

Amelia hung her vest on the coat rail and walked over to the couch quickly, looking over at the kitchen on the way and smiling when she smelt dinner cooking. Her hand came up as she sat down, to indicate that she wanted to speak.




Parkers Island Ch. 01



"Shelby, "that girl" has known the Burnett family all her life. Martha Burnett is a matriarch on this island. The secrets in her head will never leave it: her blood line won't allow that. They may not be on par with what's in your head, Shelby, but I know that, if she talks, governors and senators sit up and listen." 

"Are you threatening me?" Shelby sounded incredulous. 

"I'm merely pointing out that you are who you are and, in our small corner of the world, Martha Burnett is your equal. Please, Shelby! This dumb shit sitting next to me may have run out of favors, so can I loan him one of mine to use?"

The sigh was heard a second before the phone went dead. Amelia looked over to me confused and I smiled back, nodding my head before getting up to finish making dinner. She noticed the new picture as she walked towards the kitchen, but it wasn't until she had pulled cutlery out of the drawer and headed for the table that she commented on it.

"You know Sandy stays in business with what she's sold you in paintings so far?"

Shrugging my shoulders would have been enough yet I still looked over at the picture of Clearwater Cove at sunset. It even had the steps leading into the water that I had used only a day ago when the dinghy dropped me back on the island. It was halfway through dinner that I asked what, to me, was a perfectly ordinary question.

"Now I'm back, when are you leaving?"

Amelia didn't even miss a beat. "Trying to get rid of me already? I risked life, limb and my virtue staying in a house that a single man occupies."

"You also carry a gun, and happen to be overly handy with a night stick."

She gave up trying to hide the smile, finally saying, "You have to admit you had that coming."

"I admit to nothing without a lawyer present."

Amelia dropped one of those sudden conversation stoppers which all women seem to have developed a knack with since puberty.

"Who's the blonde with the big tits?"

Putting my fork down was a good idea. Leaning on my arms as I looked towards her allowed me time to phrase my answer as diplomatically as I could.

"I have little doubt you will see her tomorrow, so I'll make this as plain as I can: don't get into a pissing contest with her."

A shrug of her shoulders as she left the room was the only response I got. The warning was clear to both of us: if she chose to ignore it then it was at her peril. It also struck me that she had never answered my original question, but the sound of the shower running told me where she had gone. It looked as though, if she stayed, I might get permanently stuck with the washing up. I was just putting drinks on the coffee table when she walked down the stairs in a t-shirt and shorts, the jiggle of her tits telling me that what I was seeing was all she had on.

Bedtime quickly became a topic of conversation when I asked where she was sleeping. Amelia told me that, since I hadn't got around to putting a bed in the guest room yet, then in my bed seemed the only choice. She did seem fairly serious when she stated that I was capable of sleeping on the couch if I didn't want to share my bed.

"May I remind you that this is MY house?"

"Well, you can if you want, but wouldn't that be a waste of breath? Hell, the whole island knows it's your house, so what's your point?"

Amelia didn't even hide her smirk.

Feeling at a loss for anything else to say I simply said what I was thinking at the time. "Didn't anyone ever tell you you're just plain weird?"

This time she nodded in agreement. "Oh yes: several people, but none of them are a guy who beats up on women and hides a room in his house that isn't supposed to be there." 

She paused just long enough to see if I would rise to the bait. "I sleep on the right side by the way, and I rescued teddy from the floor. I assume she fell off the bed; right?"

Even I would admit to being way outside my comfort zone, and this woman seemed to be happy just to keep on pushing that point. As I lifted myself off the couch and headed for the stairs, my thoughts strayed to my mouth and left before my ears picked up on me talking.

"Where is your gun? You may as well shoot me now."

Her answer followed me up the stairs. "Oh, just great! Leave me to deal with all the paperwork of how I was expected to deal with your request - in unpaid overtime, too, I'll bet!"

I'm sure I had a response; it just didn't come to me by the time I had cleared the stairs and entered my bedroom. Amelia was in bed when I came out of the bathroom. She lifted her head from the magazine she was reading and patted the left side of the bed.

"I sleep naked."

The damned woman looked me up and down and then smiled. "That's fine: want me to join you?"

I had tried most of the evening to get a handle on her, and failed at every attempt. I just couldn't figure out if she was baiting me or was just being Amelia, the woman behind the badge. She also reminded me so much of a dear friend of mine. Taking the coward's way out and leaving my shorts on only made her smile get a little bigger. 

The slight gasp carried across the room and caused me to look over to the bed. The "deer caught in the headlights" stare confused me for a moment, until that cold chill crept up my spine and I went to pull my t-shirt back down again. 

"NO... Show me, Aiden; I need to see it."

Perhaps it was the pause as I still held onto my t-shirt that made her add the word "please;" I'm just not sure. With a feeling of finality I pulled my t-shirt over my head and away from my body. Amelia pulled the sheets away from herself, and three paces later she was on her knees and had her hand covering the scar that served as a reminder of the time I lost my friend. 

Her finger gently traced the scar, as my own fingers had traced that same journey so many times, and I could anticipate her next move. Down the mid-line of the abdomen, running circular around the belly button, and just a little further down, ending about half way between the belly button and the pubic bone. All that cutting to release a piece of metal that kept me pinned to my seat. 

It kind of tickled, and I went to take a step back. Amelia placed her hand behind me to stop me doing that, and no sooner had her hand come into contact with me than she let out a strange noise, like a strangled yelp. Her hand quickly came away from my back, and both her hands went to her mouth in an attempt to stifle any more noises. 

She went to adjust her position on the floor. Being the curious type, I moved when she did, but the look she gave me let me know that she wanted me to stand still. I didn't remember being this prodded and poked since my last medical, and it was strange to watch a woman on her knees with the fingers of one hand gently circling the scar tissue while her head was around the back and her other hand mirrored what the first one was doing.

The thought that I should tell her that, if she shone a torch in one end you could see the light out the other, was oh so tempting, if for nothing else than to try and deflect the future conversations I just knew we would be having on the subject.

"My God! Just what the hell went through you, and how are you still alive with that much scar tissue?"

Feeling more than a little awkward with the situation, I got Amelia back on the bed and talked once again about the ambush. Amelia for her part totally lost it, and accused me of skating over the details as she pushed me face first onto the bed and straddled my leg while she took a closer look. As her hand rested on my pelvic bone, her face was a study of concentration. The warmth of her pussy seeped through her panties, and both my leg and erection seemed to be enjoying the hell out of the situation.

The rest of me listened to her sigh every once in awhile, and felt more than a little uncomfortable with the time she was spending forcing me to relive a time of great pain and sadness. 

*******

The sound of the shower door being closed woke me. Amelia coming out with a towel around her waist while she dried her hair gave me a hard on, and modesty told me that it might be a good idea to wait awhile before I had a shower. Hell, it was my house and even my bedroom, so I felt justified in staring at the damn fine body on that woman.

Amelia clearly saw me sitting up in bed watching her, and yet she wasn't the least fazed by it. The toned stomach clearly showed that she kept fit, and the tan lines were proof that her bikini wasn't in the ball park of risqué. Her areolae held my gaze, and I did surreptitiously check on a couple of occasions to make sure I wasn't drooling. 

They were dark, and maybe just over the size of half dollar coins, with the nipples clearly relaxed yet showing some tightness about them. Her breasts were a perfect size for her frame and, as she used the towel around her head to dry her hair, the healthy bounce made me bite my lip so she wouldn't hear me groan. I then had to fight the urge to adjust myself as she sat on the edge of the bed. 

The staring competition was all one way as she dried herself off. It was also when another one of those conversation stoppers popped out of her mouth. "Are you gay?"

"No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

This time she stood and dropped the towel from around her waist while she rummaged around, looking for panties to put on. Her back was still to me when she replied.

"Oh, nothing. Just that, since you didn't start anything last night, and I didn't wake up in the middle of the night with you on top taking care of business, I just figured, you know."

She bent down to put her panties on, and oh, my goodness! It took me a moment to clear my throat enough for a voice to get out.

"Well rest assured I'm not gay; a romantic maybe. I like to bring along flowers, go out to dinner and maybe a dance - that sort of thing."

Panties and socks had adorned her body by the time she heard me. I got an "oh" as I watched her put on her bra and then a shirt. She moved towards the door and then paused; her expression as she turned towards me was still slightly confused.

"Well I'm making breakfast for us both, so you and your hard-on can have a shower now."

The shower was used for more than a wash. I may be a romantic, but I had also been without for awhile and, since it was my house and my shower, I used the images that she had given me to relieve some of the frustration that was building up around that woman. Breakfast was already on the table when I walked out of the bedroom.

"Feel better now?"

I blushed; she caught me and smiled. I blushed a lot harder then. She couldn't know; there is no way she COULD know but she did, just how the heck. Amelia's cell rang just then, and she stood with it to her ear for about a minute before saying "OK" once and putting it back down to finish her breakfast. It was only when we were both clearing away that she said anything.

"Shelby isn't that far out. I figure she's on the morning ferry, so I will no doubt see her at the dock."

"I assume by what you're wearing that you aren't staying."

"Wasn't invited. Martha's meeting only includes you, Shelby and Tessa."

That part did intrigue me. "Why is she bringing her daughter with her?"

By now Amelia had put her boots and jacket on, and she was reaching for her vest when she spoke once again.

"Not my business."

She was out of the house before I could form a reply. Even the view of her walking towards the ferry dock couldn't budge the feeling that something was going on which made me feel more like a passenger than a driver. It was as though Amelia had scripted the whole thing. Within twenty minutes Madison came through the door and scanned the room.

"Morning, Aiden. I met your Deputy coming the other way. When are we going to be formally introduced?"

"When Hell catches a cold, Madison, and not before. Where is she who must be obeyed?"

She had sat across from me by now, her feet on my antique coffee table. "Change of plan, Aiden. All the girls are having a walk and a chat along the path towards the cove. Shelby sent me up here to make sure you don't stick your nose where it's not wanted."

As I went to stand, Madison's legs moved off the table and her foot pushed it up against my legs, pinning me to the couch. When I looked up she was pointing a gun at me.

"Now, Aiden, unless you're getting up to make me a drink, we both know nothing else is going to happen, don't we? But, since we both know you're not, then perhaps you had best sit down. You have value, Aiden, and you will continue to have value, even with a bullet in your leg. I know just where to put it so that you have a limp for the rest of your life to remind you of this very moment."

It was only when I sat back down that Madison put her foot under the table and pulled it back towards her. I sat and glared, but she just smiled right back at me, her legs once again resting on my damn coffee table. Neither of us moved for close to an hour, until her cell phone rang. She picked it up after the second ring as though she was expecting the call. I figured it lasted about twenty seconds and, other than answering the call, she said nothing - not even when the call ended.

Madison rose from her seat and walked over to the window overlooking the street, waited for a moment, and then walked back to place her gun back in her bag.

"You're going to get a visitor in a moment, Aiden. Take her into your office and administer an IQ test; once that's done, the Department will do the rest. Just stand over her and make sure she doesn't cheat."

In one of my rare moments of stupidity I said, "And if I don't?"

She smiled before walking over and sitting next to me.

"Oh, Aiden! We have known each other long enough now for you to have realized that I asked you nicely. Want me to show you what not so nice is like?"

Like I said - a rare moment of stupidity. I got wise real fast after that. The knock on the door got a "Come in!" call from my friend and, as we both got off the couch, Tessa came in. I was still stuck in a "What the fuck!?" moment when she spoke.

"Matriarch says I have to do a few tests. She says you will be next to me, but I have to do them on my own."

I was feeling more and more like the guy who stands in the kitchen when invited to parties, and has no understanding of what is going on around him. Madison came as far as the door and stopped. She did make me keep the door open, and smiled when I held a seat for Tessa to sit down. The Department was waiting for my login: the test was almost instant after that, and Tessa had to play catch up on the first question.

The rest was a variation of the first test I ever took eight years ago. Once she had finished the screen went blank, and I shredded every sheet of paper Tessa had written on. Other than standing and thanking me she simply walked out of the room and my house. It was a further three hours before Madison got another call. It was a slight variation on the first one, inasmuch as she said "Yes" to end the call before closing her cell and leaving my house with her bag in her hand.

I waited another hour for Shelby to turn up, and then got bored and went shopping. The second bed was being delivered at the same time Amelia returned. She talked to the delivery guys for a while, and left me to tip them before they went. I heard her upstairs in the spare room, and assumed she was moving in. An hour later she came down in t-shirt and shorts, and her foot had just touched the base of the stairs when there was a knock on the door and she stopped.

*******

Since I was the closest I opened it. Martha Burnett walked in and, by the time I had closed it, she was standing in the middle of the day room. Amelia hadn't moved; she seemed to be waiting, but for what I wasn't sure until Martha spoke directly to her. 

"The Sherriff has given you the day off tomorrow. Get changed and go see your folks."

Amelia went pale, and said "Yes, Matriarch." She shot up the stairs two at a time. Martha then sat on the couch. I offered her a drink, and made a coffee for myself and an iced tea for her. Amelia came down the stairs dressed, grabbed a jacket from the rail, and left without saying another word. Martha didn't even acknowledge that she had left.

"Are you gay, Mr. Thompson?"

In that instant I got thoroughly pissed off. Sipping my coffee gave me a moment's respite, but nothing more.

"My sexual orientation has nothing to do with you, Mrs. Burnett."

After a moment she simply nodded her head. She even glanced at her iced tea, but made no move to pick it up.

"Very well: let me ask you this. Do you plan to stay on this island, or will you move away once again when you have your guilt over my daughter's death under control?" 

I suppose I had that coming. We both knew that she expected not only an answer, but also an honest one. My thoughts were like a jumbled kaleidoscope of images: scattered moments of time between Carol's introduction to the Department and a briefing as to what her assignment was going to be and, once finished, her one and only chance to decline without any mark on her record, and all the way through to her death.

For the month prior to leaving for Afghanistan, Carol and I spent every spare moment in the gym. Between her trying to get me fit, and teaching me self-defense moves, I must have felt just about every part of her body. Yet to me she was simply my best friend. Had I known her a little longer she would have slipped from being my friend to becoming like a sister to me. The love I had for Carol was only that: a deep friendship for a person who was there to keep me alive, even at the expense of her own life. 

If anything, I felt cheated when the blast caused the Humvee to crumple and the shock wave bashed my head against the side of the vehicle. Those few minutes of unconsciousness stole precious moments of time I could have had with Carol. Instead, I woke in time only to watch her die, being totally unable to do anything about it because I was pinned to the seat with a part of the wreckage that was once our vehicle stuck in me.

For the next twenty minutes I talked to Mrs. Burnett about her daughter. I knew she didn't want patronizing words about loss, so I told her about her daughter's insistence that she stayed at my apartment from the very beginning of her assignment. The exercise regime started the very next morning, and the patience of that woman was something else.

We shared my shower many times because we were so deep into a conversation Carol had started that she didn't want to stop in case she lost her train of thought. She would wash my back, as I would hers. Carol would even wash my erection as she was talking, as I would wash her tits, and all the while her conversation never faltered. Once we had rinsed off she would toss me a towel as she herself left the bathroom.

Finally, the rumor mill in the Department being what it was, Shelby pulled Carol to one side and reminded her that she was supposed to be my bodyguard, not my mistress. Carol was still laughing when she left Shelby's office.

The day of the ambush was the hardest thing I had to describe. It felt like the guilt I still carried about the time I was unconscious and unable to help my friend would forever sit upon my shoulders.

I woke only in time to hear the helicopter overhead, and to see Carol finally turning towards me to reveal the true extent of her injuries. I was in awe of the professionalism of the Marine Rescue Team during the time they took to cut us out of the wreckage, placing their own lives at risk to do it. Despite my own protests that they get Carol out first, I had to watch as four of the team carried one of their own with respect and dignity to the helicopter where I had already been placed on board.

Once out of the line of fire, the Apache was ordered to fire on the twisted lump of metal that was once our Humvee, and continue to do so until it was nothing but a ball of flames. I was already drifting in and out of consciousness by the time we got to the hospital, so sharing details of those moments with her was near on impossible. Members of Bingham Securities took over my life for the next week. 




Parkers Island Ch. 01



When I heard that Carol was being taken stateside that afternoon, I pulled myself out of bed and phoned everyone I knew that would get me one last moment with my friend. The two guys from Bingham Securities refused, so I happily went over their heads and, within an hour, two suits arrived and escorted me to the Marine Barracks.

"So tell me, Mrs. Burnett, why would I leave someplace that my friend spent so much time telling me about? The way Carol talked about the island it was Utopia and, in my short time here, I have yet to call my friend a liar."

I'm not sure that Martha Burnett was expecting my question, just as I knew she had never had so much detail given to her about her daughter's death.

"Was it the Department that pushed for the medal Carol was awarded?"

"No. In total six people pushed to make that request happen. The Marine General who introduced himself to you was in the ops-room coordinating the rescue mission. He heard every detail Carol gave over the radio and the injuries I had sustained. Not once did she mention her own."

"You said six people."

"The lieutenant in charge of the rescue team, two members of the Department, and myself."

"That's five. Who else?"

"Senator Chadwick."

"Why would Steven Chadwick have a say in this?"

"Because, amongst other things, Senator Chadwick is on the committee that oversees the Department's activities." 

Martha Burnett was quiet for a while, then with a nod of her head she stood and walked to the door. She paused for a moment before turning the handle. When she turned to me her face was as unreadable as I had ever seen.

"I thank you for your honesty. Carol is dead - you're not, so stop acting like you are. Em will be returned to you tomorrow."

She had already gone before I got to ask why she had been here in the first place. Once I washed up I felt not only emotionally but physically exhausted as well, and truth be told it was part of the reason I left the Department. I couldn't allow someone else to stand in front of another relative and tell them about their loss at the expense of my life. 

*******

I still woke at my usual time. My body clock decided, and I just went along for the ride. Showered, shaved and out the door to yet another glorious day, I even got my favorite table at the diner. Henry came in for a carry-out coffee, and I waved him over to my table. We negotiated a price on two more antique coffee tables and a time scale for completion. I planned to send both tables to my sisters for birthday presents; it sure is hell thinking of presents for them when you have twin sisters. 

Amelia was at the house by the time I got back around mid-day. She looked like shit, but I wasn't brave enough to put that into words. The way she looked also led me to believe she had a story to tell, so I made us both a drink, sat across from her and waited her out.

"My folks and I have talked. Matriarch came by later and we talked some more."

Again she stopped, so I used the time to ask the one question that still nagged at me.

"Why do you call Martha Burnett 'Matriarch'?"

That set Amelia fidgeting in her seat. Judging by the way she kept glancing at me I wasn't going to get an answer to my question, and eventually she went back to her rehearsed speech.

"I'm moving back onto the island and making my home with you."

The shock of her statement made even me pause.

"Don't I get a say in this?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders before commenting.

"You can talk all you want. I will even let you have input into this, since you seem to feel the need, so go ahead: I'm listening."

Before I got to open my mouth she had stood up, and I followed as she walked towards the stairs, grabbing two suitcases as she went. She had one of the suitcases open and on the bed before she herself said anything.

"You know, for someone who wanted to say something you're not saying much."

I think my annoyance over this whole situation was starting to creep to the surface, and I'm sure it showed in my tone.

"Amelia, sit down right now!"

Boy, was I glad she wasn't in uniform. The look she gave me sure made me feel like she would have shot me by now. After a pause, Amelia placed the blouse she had in her hand into the closet, before coming over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

As much as I wanted to sit in front of her while we had this conversation, it just wasn't possible. The urge to hold her hand came to me instead, and confusion as to why I was having that urge came next. By then the sound of her voice came to me, so I just listened.

"Martha Burnett is a distant cousin to my family; hell, all the people on this island are related to each other in some way, shape or form."

This time I did slide my hand into hers, although I'm not even sure she noticed. Her eyes were on the far wall as she told me about growing up with Carol, the fun they had together, and the time Carol finally sat her down and told her she had joined the Marine Corps. The friendship between them was truly tested over the coming weeks, even down to a tearful hug the day she left for boot camp.

"I'm not a virgin, Aiden; three men have been there and done the deed. But none of them stuck around long enough to ever form a deep relationship. In the end I turned to Matriarch."

Amelia looked towards me this time, her voice not much above a whisper, yet still holding so much emotion within it. She had sat down with Martha Burnett and told her of her past worthless relationships, and asked Martha to act as matchmaker. Placing her life in Martha Burnett's hands, she was in turn told that the man she would live with for the rest of her life wasn't on the island.

Misunderstanding Martha by believing that she had been told to leave the island, she went to her folks and told them of her wish to leave and live on the mainland. The Deputy's job was partially influenced by Martha Burnett.

"Matriarch came to my folk's house after she left you last night, and told me that as my matchmaker she had made her choice for me - you." 

She clenched my hand tight to hers as she said her last word.

A thousand and one questions all rushed to my lips, yet only one made it past. Even then I regretted saying it the instant I uttered the words. "Don't I get a say in any of this?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders.

"Up until Matriarch told me this I had faith in her. In her lifetime she has been a matchmaker twenty-seven times, and all twenty-seven couples are still blissfully happy. And then Matriarch stands in the middle of my folks' room and tells me I'm to be matched with you." 

As I was hearing all this and watching her reaction, I suspected that Amelia wasn't even close to happy over the decision of Martha Burnett. Even the months Carol and I spent together, and the times we talked about the island and her growing up here, she had clearly crafted her words so well that I never suspected so much was missing from our conversations together.

"You can always go home or back to the mainland."

The one sentence that left my lips was meant to be neutral, yet my ears picked up on the rebuke within and I couldn't figure out why it sounded that way. Amelia went back to placing her clothes on hangers and putting them into the closet.

"No, I can't. It's the deal we make with the matchmaker. When we place our lives in Matriarch's hands to find a mate and husband, we can't back out of the choice she makes."

Even with her back to me I heard the giggle, although tinged with irony.

"Let's face it; it was a small sacrifice on my part. After all, Matriarch had got it right twenty-seven times. But it's OK - I will live with it. When we are out together I will be the perfect wife, but please be discreet."

As her words resonated in my ears it suddenly dawned on me what she was thinking.

"So you believe Martha Burnett got it wrong because I'm gay?"

The nod of her head came first before she said, "Like I said, Aiden, please be discreet. For the sake of our marriage you will need to keep your activities away from the island."

I suppose I should have been pissed by now, but curiosity overrode that emotion. 

"Did you tell Martha Burnett that I was gay?"

Again she nodded her head. "Matriarch asked me about our first night together, so I told her you never touched me all night and, in the morning, you became all defensive when I asked you if you were gay."

Well that answered the question of why it was the first thing she asked me when she sat down. I suppose in her mind it was simply reinforced when I told her to mind her own business. "So you told Martha Burnett, in front of your folks, that I was gay?" Amelia shook her head, "No, Aiden. Discretion works both ways. I asked for a private moment with her before I told her the truth about you."

Feeling ever so curious about this I just had to ask. "OK. So what did she say?"

"She told me that it wasn't true; she had asked you and was assured by you that it wasn't true." Her hand came up and touched my cheek before she spoke again. "We both know you lied to Matriarch: you mustn't do that, Aiden. I will keep your secret, but please respect our ways. Don't lie to Matriarch." 

The phone interrupted our conversation and, short of laughing all the way down the stairs at her assumption, I didn't get to say much else to her. When I answered the phone Shelby sent me into my home office, and the puzzle that waited for me when I opened the computer kept me in my office for the rest of the night.

Dawn was peeking through the windows when I came back out into the real world. It wasn't until I was locking the door that I heard the gentle sound of breathing. Amelia was asleep on the couch, a blanket over her body. Scooping her into my arms brought her arm instinctively around my neck. She sure was a sound sleeper, though: even when I placed her into bed and tucked the covers around her she didn't wake. My kiss on her forehead was both instinctive and protective.

*******"

You look like shit."

I was so busy looking out the window at the scene that I had first witnessed the day I bought this house that I didn't even hear her come down the stairs. The t-shirt covered her body right down to the top half of her thighs. My thoughts that she looked about the same never made it to my lips; I'm just not that brave.

"Coffee is still hot. I'll start making breakfast in a moment." Amelia was already heading for the kitchen and chose to ignore me. She poured herself a coffee and placed it on the counter as she set about making us breakfast. I sat on the stool so she handed me a bowl and eggs, her meaning being clear after that.

"Why were you sleeping on the couch?"

"I came down looking for you when you didn't come back from answering the phone. When I couldn't find you, and since the door was still on the chain, I figured you were in your office, so I waited for you."

It was only when I handed her the bowl back that she spoke again.

"Does this sort of thing happen often? The sitting in your office all night, I mean?"

At first I just shrugged my shoulders, then the memory of her asleep on the couch came to me, and the feeling that I should explain a bit better quickly followed. So I told her that a single life meant I would get calls like those once in a while, plus the fact that once I had immersed myself into a puzzle I lost all track of time. Breakfast took over from any topic from then on. I did the washing-up whilst Amelia had a shower, and as she came out of the shower I went in. 

She didn't even have a chance to grab a towel; when she looked up and saw me coming, her towel was already in my hand. She nodded and whispered a "thank you" as we passed each other, and I was left to wonder during my shower just how much time would be needed to restore her usual sunny disposition. 

Amelia was long gone from the bedroom by the time I had finished, and she was placing the phone back on the cradle by the time I was halfway down the stairs.

"We are to pick up flowers for the cemetery and be there for mid-day, so you still have time for your usual habits. Sandy has a couple of pictures she says will complement the large one on that wall, so make sure you have your checkbook handy."

This time I simply couldn't resist. "Yes, dear."

Amelia stopped her hand going any further towards her coat as her lips twitched and she looked at me. It took only a moment before her smile beat the frown she was heading for. From the moment we closed the gate her hand went to mine, and it never moved away until I held the door to the diner open. She thanked me and, as we entered and headed for our table, the volume of noise decreased considerably.

It wasn't until I pulled her chair out that I realized my hand had been on the small of her back the entire time. Having breakfast at home meant we both opted for drinks and apple pie. By now we had become old news in the diner, and the noise level increased once again to its usual level. Amelia would wave to a few of the customers and, as the diner started to fill up, I suggested we take our drinks in a carry out and sit on one of the seats overlooking the dock.

We watched the ferry finally close in on the dock and ropes drop to the feet of waiting men who finished securing them. The cars came next, passengers followed: some were in more of a hurry than others.

"How in the hell can you do this every single damn day?"

Amelia placed her cup to her lips so she couldn't add to her question.

"It's therapeutic; I spent eight years cooped up in a sterile building or being flown from one country to another. I had no anchor to tie my life to, and I found myself drifting. Carol supplied that anchor when she talked about the island."

"Did she ever talk about any of us?"

"Let's just say that names were replaced to protect the guilty."

She smiled; OK, she smirked. Then I mentioned that I was good at puzzles, and the more Carol talked about her life on the island the more I could deduce about who did what all through her teen years.

Amelia made the mistake of over-confidence just then when two words passed her lips: "Prove it." The nervous look which followed indicated to me that she had regretted her words the moment they left her mouth.

As I shrugged my shoulders hers slumped, the color around her neck changing when I went on to explain the night that Carol, Sandy, Amelia and Tessa all got into an argument over what was the quickest way across Clearwater Cove. It was decided to break them into two teams, so Carol and Amelia swam naked across the Cove while Tessa and Sandy cycled around it.

It must have taken a good ten minutes for the redness around her neck and cheeks to subside. "So you know what the losers of the swim and cycle race had to do?"

My smile got ahead of me, and I got as far as "Oh, yeah!" before she stood up and headed for Sandy's shop.

While Sandy showed me the two pictures and we discussed delivery, Amelia ducked out of the shop and came back with flowers in her hand. I looked at my watch and, after thanking Sandy once again, we walked to the cemetery. I couldn't help but wonder at the sight of Marines walking from the dock and into the cemetery the day of Carol's funeral. 

The local paper carried the headline "This day an island stops to grieve." 

The whole Burnett family stood by Carol's graveside. Amelia pulled one flower from the bunch and handed me the remainder as she placed her single flower on Carol's grave, then turned to each of the family and hugged them.

I placed my flowers on my friend's grave and looked directly at Carol's father. "You can hit me all you want, sir, but I'm going to keep coming back to pay my respects to my friend."

Other than nod his head he did nothing. Tessa held onto his arm and they walked away with Amelia. Martha Burnett hooked her arm into mine and we both walked the path around the cemetery. "I understand matchmakers, although I didn't realize they still existed in this day and age."

"We learned many years ago that we could not afford to repeat the failures of our history. When Kurt was sent to jail for assaulting Em, she came to me and begged me to act as her Matchmaker because all she had in her life was pain."

My stomach knotted as another conversation my friend and I had suddenly fell into place.

"Please tell me why you matched us." We walked for another minute before Martha Burnett spoke again.

"I swear Em is a redhead in disguise, more so since Kurt. She needs you as much as you need her. The speed you both heal will simply make the bond you share reinforce your feelings for each other.

"Martha stopped and looked right at me so she could emphasize her next words.

"The first night you shared I had ordered her to be naked around you. It was the closest I have ever seen Em want to disobey me."

"You know nothing about me, Mrs. Burnett: I could have been another Kurt."

The corner of her mouth went up in a half smile, her arm once again going into mine, and our walk continued.

"Two things preclude that, Aiden. The first is that my daughter spent a month with you and you're still breathing. She was as good a judge of character as I am. The second is that we live on an island and, if you had harmed Em in any way, the Department would never have found your body."

An undercurrent of truth flowed through her last statement. Martha Burnett led us along another path and we could both see everyone waiting for us at the cemetery gates. We were still out of earshot when she spoke again.

"Now stop with this nonsense about being gay, Aiden, and love her. You can fuck the shit out of her when she gets over the shock that you're straight, but love her for now." The immediate shock was mine, hearing such unexpectedly foul language from a pillar of the community, and reminding me so much of my own mother. We both looked at the waiting group, knowing that they couldn't hear us.

"You're determined to make us number twenty-eight, aren't you?"

"Oh, you will be twenty-eight when you both get your heads out of your collective asses, Aiden." Martha Burnett stopped and held my arm, forcing me to look directly at her. "You're home now, Aiden. Em can help you put some roots down - she's going to be the reason you keep coming back from those trips of yours, not my dead daughter." 

End of chapter one.



Parkers Island Ch. 02



I wasn't intentional to make this a two chapter story, I guess I got carried away with the storyline. Please enjoy your read. This chapter was edited by Todher65, many thanks for taking this on.

******* 

We parted at the Cemetery gates; it still took me awhile to realize that Amelia was holding my hand as we walked along the coastal path. Two more families had moved into the summer retreat houses and soon schools would be closed and what's left of the empty houses would be occupied. 

As we came to one of the benches that looked out over the cove Amelia came to a stop, her grip tightened and I understood why. Even when we sat we didn't talk, she was willing to wait I just wondered how long. Either way it wasn't fair to her so I spoke first. 

"There is a great deal that needs to be said between us and I refuse to ever call Martha Burnett, Matriarch." 

"Matriarch is this town; you can deny it all you want, but know this, Martha Burnett and her family have been a part of my life since I could walk and talk." 

This time I looked towards Amelia, her eyes still defiant from her last speech. She clearly thought I was trying to but it wasn't for me to pry her away from the Burnett family. My cell beeped before I could say anything else, habit made me want to distance myself from her when I read the text, Amelia holding my arm even tighter prevented that. 

"I know who you are, I know what you are Aiden. It's time for you to get used to sharing." 

Even with all that had gone on over the last few days I actually thought this the defining moment. To open my cell now signified that I accepted being number twenty-eight, that the woman holding tightly to my arm would share the rest of my life. She was right of course, I had shared the most painful part of my life with her, it may have taken her time to get over the shock of knowing so much so quickly but she still came back. 

Martha Burnett may have had a lot to do with that part of her but I could still see the free will in Amelia Randell and I inwardly laughed. The woman who sat next to me was indeed a red head in disguise, so with a shrug of my shoulders I opened the text and we both read the message. 

'Brother of mine its official, you're going to be an uncle; seen the doctor an hour ago, I'm officially knocked up.'

Amelia laughed so loud a couple walking along the path turned and smiled at her, she waved in return so I figured she knew them, as for me I suddenly felt very old.

"Answer her. I have a weeks leave due before the summer season starts here and all leave is suspended so if the Department doesn't need you we should go visit and you can formally introduce me at the same time."

Habit is as habit does, leaving talking to my sister until we returned to the house and of course much to Amelia's amusement. I quickly checked with the Department and then phoned Abby, her radar picked up on 'me plus one' coming to visit and offered the spare room before they set about turning it into the baby's room. Knowing that I would be at the mercy of my sisters in their incessant need for me to forgive and forget our Grandmother and Grandfather, I opted for a hotel.

*******

We acted like a married couple over the next few hours, she continued to feminize the house while I held onto some semblance of manliness and acted like an anchor in as much as slowing the rate she proceeded to change everything. The kitchen got a complete overhaul and a glimpse into her mind as we worked. Amelia was practical so the most used items were within reach or easier access. I think the only drawer that didn't get moved was the cutlery drawer and that was only because it came with those dividers that separate the knives, forks and spoons.

Amelia phoned into work and got the long weekend off, we both resigned ourselves to knowing she was real lucky to get that at such sort notice, the fact that more of the summer houses were becoming occupied on a daily basis now, reinforced that thinking. I phoned Abby back and let her know we would see her mid-day Friday; the trouble with giving her that much notice was that she had time to rally everyone.

She waited for me to put the phone down before she spoke.

"I'm making us drinks and then we're going to get ourselves comfortable on the couch, after that I'm shutting up and you're going to tell me why you're so reluctant to visit your sisters."

True to her word, within minutes we sat on the couch, she pulled her feet under her and rested against me with her hands wrapped around her cup. I suppose defining moments were coming at me from all angles from now on; telling the woman who sat next to me so much about myself was new to me. Amelia simply looked at it as a fair exchange; through Carol I knew so much about her as she grew up.

*******

When mom and dad made the decision to leave the law firm the vibrations throughout our family could be felt for years to come. Dad quit law. He had little choice really; the anger that drifted down from Grandmother almost ripped the law firm to pieces. It was perhaps the only time Grandfather stood up to her, the law firm was everything to him; he was willing to cut my folks adrift but not let the firm flounder.

Finally, away from their influence, my folks could actually breathe. Dad was no longer putting in twelve and fourteen hour days. Mom actually had him in bed at nights; the end result of that of course, were the twins. The atmosphere in the house was smiles throughout the day. Dad did try and reach out to his sister but that proved brutal. Eventually even he realized that when he made the break from his folks his own sister was collateral damage.

Dad still kept his license; not even Grandmother could wrench that from him. He worked pro-bono two or three times a year for one of the downtown law firms that only the poorest could afford. The day after my eighteenth birthday my parents died in a car accident, I sucked it up and let my aunt know when the funeral was to take place. In total thirty-two people came to the funeral and other than my sisters and me, not one of them was blood related to us.

My proudest moment was getting both my sisters into college, it was the local college but it was still college. The day I achieved that was the same day my grandparents knocked on our door, so when both sisters insisted they wanted to talk to them I knew the end of this family that I had spent the last four years keeping together, being there when they cried for the loss of our folks, making sure they kept up their grades at school and fending off the horny boys, all that was coming to an end with the simple knock on our door.

By the time I had finished Amelia was hugging me oh so tightly, it was perhaps her calmness that kept my own anger of that very day at bay.

"Do you want me to hate them? From what you've told me it won't take much."

This time I hugged her right back and my heart skipped a beat. I suppose in that one moment I both hated and thanked Martha Burnett at the same time.

*******

Standing surprised her, holding out my hand confused her. I dragged her half way across the day room before Amelia thought it wise to keep up. She managed to match my two stairs at a time, thankfully the bedroom door was open and I spun her around so she was facing me yet with her back to the bed. She was still at a loss for words when I started to undress her, this woman didn't take long to figure out what came next and slapped my hands away telling me I wasn't going fast enough.

I left her to it so that I could get undressed; she won although I will always say that I gave her a head start. This time it was Amelia who tossed her teddy bear across the room and pulling the bed sheets out of the way seconds later. She sat on the bed with my hard on in her hands when my own hand came to her shoulder to stop her. To say she was pissed would be classed as a monumental understatement.

"I don't have condoms here. Are you protected?"

"Are you fucking serious? I'm the practical one here you're the geek, of course I'm protected."

Her face softened seconds later and although her hand still moved up and down on my erection her next words told me of her regret for her outburst.

"Thank you Aiden, for thinking that far ahead I mean. But I'm protected honey."

Those words had just passed her lips when her eyes took on a carnal look and once again traveled down to what her hand was doing. Amelia's other hand moved to my hip and held me. It was the lick of the lips that gave her away, her eyes solely focused on what her hand had been doing up to that moment.

The distance between us decreased in seconds and the warmth that enveloped the head of my cock made my heart beat just a little faster. Her tongue danced to a joyful tune that rose from her throat, the vibrations of which connected with something primeval within me and instinctively my hand held her head. Fortunately for me I wasn't too far gone to realize my mistake, she may have been on her knees but I felt her tense all the way up here.

My hands changed direction; once my fingers went through her hair, I rested them on her shoulders. Her body relaxed almost instantly and what she was doing to my cock intensified.

It was sure a weird feeling, mentally thanking Martha Burnett for telling me of Amelia's most recent personal history as she herself played magic notes on my cock with her tongue. This woman owned me right then, with her ass now back on the bed and my cock in her mouth and yet all I could do was bend to her will. She wanted me to cum and nothing on this earth was ever going to stop her from getting her wish.

At least I had the sense to let her know the outcome of her continued vigilance, it seems being connected to her in this way seemed to telegraph my bodies wishes long before my own mouth could form a coherent sentence. With her hand forming a tighter grip on me I came so hard that the room lost some of its light. She was as tenacious as ever and chose not to lose anything flowing from my body right now.

Her eyes looked up at me as she gave my cock a final lick, then dropped backward onto the bed, her smile emanated outwards from her whole face. A statue had nothing on me at that moment as I watched this woman simply lay back and glow, that triumphant smile still on her lips.

As she shimmied up the bed she patted the space next to her, her right knee raised and stopped when her foot was on the bed, paused for a moment and then gently swayed from side to side. That was an invitation if ever I had seen one.

As I knelt beside this woman her hand would gently run up the inside of my thigh, stopping just short of my cock and then move back down again. 

"Your not are you? I really should be angry with you for letting me assume you were."

That glow still exuded from her although her features hardened for a second, something had bothered her and I got the feeling that some internal battle raged within her.

"We need to talk sometime soon Aiden, not now. Please honey, not now that I have you here but soon, and when I do I need you to hold me real tight while we talk. But for now warm me up, it's been awhile Aiden and I desperately need gentleness."

Once again her fingers moved up and down my inner thigh, to her the talking was over. 

I slowly placed my hand over her breast, her body acted on instinct and pushed upwards into my open hand. It was electric as my palm finally made contact with her soft, fragile skin, her eyes watered and that smile just got bigger if that were possible. 

My touch seemed to turn her surrounding skin to gooseflesh and her nipple nudged the middle of my hand, welcoming me to her body. My fingers ran along her smooth skin, feeling the warmth emanate from her. I inched my fingers closer to the top until my index finger circled over Amelia's areola. The nipple responded once again, peeking further out, I touched it gently and the moan that left her lips made her own fingers stop traveling up and down my thigh.

"I had you down as an ass man, God my tits are going to just love the attention you're going to give them."

Lowering my head until my lips touched the crinkled flesh made her stop talking as another gentle moan left her lips.

Circling her nipple with my tongue caused her to hiss and in turn her body moved up towards my open mouth, I ran my tongue up and down the sides of her nipple and then around what little was left of her areola, her hand tried once again to move up my thigh but stopped when my mouth opened and devoured as much of her breast as I could gather.

Suction took care of the rest as my mouth filled with this pleasurable flesh.

"Fuck that feels sooooo good."

Amelia's hand left my thigh and gently touched the back of my head while I sucked on her tit her hand then moved to my neck. Her eyes were closed and that smile clearly showed me she was enjoying my attentions. Her other nipple grew before my eyes as my tongue toyed with the one in my mouth. My hand went to her other tit as the suction around the one in my mouth eased; my fingers toyed with her nipple forcing it to the same length as the saliva covered one that had just left my mouth.

The cute little noises that left her mouth kept me attached to her tits, alternating between both so one didn't feel left out, finally even she placed pressure on my neck.

"You need to travel south honey, there's a well down there that's been leaking since I had your cock in my mouth."

Her stomach had a sheen about it as it moved quickly up and down, Amelia's belly button exposed and showing with pride, she was an 'outie'. My hand ran the full length of her stomach and stopped when my finger moved around her belly button. Her stomach froze and her eyes snapped open, her features still stayed soft and the smile and shaking of her head telegraphed her next statement.

"Oh just great, I have a pervert in bed with me."

My smile came easy to me, my finger still gently running a circle around her stomach and then drifting off down the soft, gentle curves of her belly. I noticed that she lifted her pelvis from time to time; she was getting aroused.

"You can't fool me pervert."

A giggle followed and her breathing became more regular once again. As I planted a kiss on her 'outie' she giggled once again.

"I knew it, you are a pervert."

Then she lifted her hand away from my neck and once again her fingers reached for my cock, twisting my body around got me a very contented Amelia as her fingers once again traced their own pattern along my inner thigh slowly getting higher as the seconds increased. I looked towards her and realized her hand had its own target and was already wrapping itself gently around my cock.

Ever so gently she squeezed my growing hardness before releasing me once again. She felt along the underside of my cock lengthwise and then oriented she encircled it and began to stroke it. Amelia moved her hand up slowly and gently, more just to feel me than to jerk me off. I took her belly button into my mouth one final time, my tongue giving it its respectful and final farewell before moving south once again.

My hand rested on her mound, her hips instinctively tried to adjust the position of my hand and for the first time I felt her warmth and wetness.

The gasp that followed was simply a lead in to what came next, "Fuck yes, there, right there."

When I looked up at her I had to stifle a laugh. One hand around my cock gently stroking and slowly bringing along another erection while her other hand pulled hard on her nipples. Her eyes gave away her level of arousal, her words simply confirmed it.

"You take care of business down there buster; me and the girls have this to get ready for when you're done."

Her head once again rested on the bed, I noticed that her breathing immediately became shallower as though she was trying to anticipate my actions.

Her pussy lips were flushed with color and although still forming a tightly closed line, oozed a clear juice. When I slipped a finger gently along the length of her slit she was well aroused and wet; her hips once again sensing pleasure, she sought it by moving upwards as I slipped a finger into her. A trickle of liquid traced a line down my finger and dripped onto the bed, the giggle increased and I could almost read her mind as her voice carried what I had in my own thoughts.

"You're sleeping on the wet spot buster for taking so damn long."

Moving some of her lubrication around her clit caused Amelia's ass to leave the bed by about an inch, the soft gentle sigh followed her back to earth. Her own actions on my cock felt me rising up to let me know junior was ready as well.

The visual scene in front of me, watching her juices gently ooze out of her pussy and follow its own path around and sometimes over her anus to add to the wet patch made me even harder. My nose had picked up on her scent and now being this close to her pussy and inhaling it as well switched something on in my brain. My cheeks burned, every intake of breath merely added to the warmth of my cheeks.

I moved between her legs causing Amelia to reluctantly let go of my erection. My sole focus at this moment was that cum oozing pussy in front of me, Amelia's legs moved further outwards to facilitate my action, her knees raised out of instinct causing her pussy lips to open slightly as her body angle changed, her juices only increased on their journey.

Two fingers entered Amelia and an almost guttural groan left her lips as they did. Instinctively her inner walls clenched and un-clenched as they sank into her. My mind screamed, my whole being joined in as my lips surrounded her clit and my tongue danced to the tune of her orgasm that left her throat. Even when her legs clamped around my head I could still hear her.

The see-saw action of my fingers kept her at her peak and judging by the pressure of hands on my head pulling me closer to her pussy, she was sure trying to give her tits a rest as well. Her hips moved to their own rhythm before my arms went around her legs and held onto her hips. For a second Amelia's hands joined mine desperately trying to pull my hands away; the full length of my tongue ran up her clit and she went as rigid as a board.

Even her hands gave up and once again grabbed my hair. If I wasn't already hungry for her before I truly was now. That well of pleasure kept flowing; random words would leave her lips when both her thoughts and the oxygen could give them meaning. Mostly it was the word 'fuck' occasionally the word 'shit' drifted from her lips, yet the one word that resonated between us both was 'more'.

Her body had calmed, at least to a level where she could breathe without wheezing. Even her legs relaxed and once again spread themselves wide on the bed. She reached as far as my shoulders before her finger tips gently dug into my skin and tried to pull me up. When I detached myself from her and looked up, the expression in her eyes was captivating.

When my hands came away from her hips the smile added to her unspoken need, the journey up her body was ever so easy, even her hands moved to my neck and gently held me there. My hands went to either side of her face and my thumbs gently brushed away the tears and as we kissed, she tasted herself in my mouth and on my tongue. I could feel her legs move again, her knees lifted until both feet lay flat on the bed.

As our lips parted and her face came into focus my heart almost stopped, for the first time I saw fear in her eyes. This woman sensed something right then and held my head so tight, refusing to let me look at anything but her.

"I'm not scared of you Aiden; I have no reason to be. Your eyes and your heart give you away, Honey. What scares me is myself; please, my love, let me hold you and guide you inside me. I will explain everything later, I promise, Aiden but please don't stop now; allow me this one wish."




Parkers Island Ch. 02



The words of Martha Burnett once again resounded in my head. Perhaps my own smile gave me away because the pressure sure eased on my head.

"Well it's about time you did some of the work."

Her infectious giggle resonated around the room as her hand wrapped itself around my erection lining me up with her pussy, the gentle pull of her hand was the signal I needed and my own hips pushed forward pausing for a moment as my cock under her guidance ran the length of her pussy a couple of times.

The moan left her lips and caused her to close her eyes for a moment before opening them again as she came to a stop, the nod of her head came next as I inched into her. Her guiding hand came back to my neck once the bulbous head of my cock had entered her she closed her eyes in anticipation of feeling me inside her.

"Why honey, I've worked, hell I gave myself backache just carrying you here, a girl's got to rest sometime and let her man do some work or he'll feel left out."

When pubic hair met with bald pussy and couldn't get any deeper another gentle moan let me know that this annoying woman was once again enjoying herself, warm, gentle pressure over the entire length of my cock left me with the impression that my cock thought it was truly home, the way she would clamp her muscles once in awhile making me believe I was home, too.

Still sensitive of my weight on her, my hands came away from the side of her head and I adjusted the position of my arms. The smile from her let me know I was right, the lungful of air she pulled into her a second later confirmed it. I felt Amelia adjust her hips, a moment later her feet took up position between my legs.

That glow about her seemed to resonate outwards once again. She was just so damn beautiful and once my mind spoke those thoughts to itself, my heart thumping in this chest of mine just seemed to agree. Something told her that I was watching her; she opened her eyes and looked at me, that warm smile still on here lips.

Her finger traced a line along the side of my face before she said, "Caught yah."

Amelia gave her pussy muscles a squeeze, making me realize that neither of us had moved since I had bottomed out inside her, we watched each other, the slickness of her pussy making my thrusts inside her so easy. The pace of our love making -and the feelings I had for this woman beneath me was love- slowly got more urgent.

Her arms went around my neck pulling me to her so we could kiss, the muscles around my cock convulsed and even through our kiss I heard her sob with pleasure as the second orgasm took hold of her. Our kiss lasted the whole of her orgasm before she let go of my neck. Determined to keep her on that high my legs moved, instinctively Amelia's own legs left their position between mine.

My arms pushed my body away from her and broke our kiss; the kaleidoscope of emotions was interesting to watch as realization came quickly to her when I pulled her legs upwards and against my chest. Her eyes once again closed as her concentration centered on her next orgasm and judging by her smile and pulsating pussy muscles, it wasn't that far off.

This time it was my turn to smile as I thought of this woman beneath me as orgasmic, once I got her to this place her orgasms would simply follow each other. Those cute little noises she made when her body took her to its own pleasure source, started to become audible again.

I was also mindful of my own mortality, my own orgasm was fast approaching and that worried me. I so wanted Amelia to have that last orgasm, to moan with that same intensity that the first one had given her. My hands went to her tits and her own held them in place as finger and thumb each found a bullet hard nipple and twisted.

Her scream filled the room, those hands above mine forced mine deeper into her flesh. Her body became rigid as her own muscles clamped around my cock forcing me to stop thrusting into her. Her orgasm once again sought its release and a long soft moan followed her last scream.

Amelia felt me grow inside here and a second later flooded her with cum. I relaxed my fingers and forced myself one final time into this woman and held myself there as I again exploded into her. She grabbed my hands and pulled them away from her tits, her legs dropped from my shoulders and the rest of her body seemed to deflate, her skin glowed with excitement as more of her orgasm sought its release.

Her arm came up and her eyes opened, she sought closeness and I was the one she was reaching out to. Once again mindful of my weight upon her I leaned forward and we kissed, one of those cute little noises escaped her lips but got no release as we shared her afterglow. Her legs still wide on the bed and my cock still inside her; reluctant to the bitter end to leave, and who was I to argue?

A furnace roared between her legs and yet my cock sough comfort in its warmth. It had been a long time since I had felt so close to another human being and yet when I looked into her eyes I knew I was home.

My head moved to look into her eyes, I'm not sure what she thought she saw when she did but she looked and quickly moved a finger to my lips to silence me.

"This isn't one of those awkward moments Aiden: I know I live in your heart now and for tonight that's all that counts."

Her head left the bed and she kissed my lips ever so gently, before once again placing her head back on the bed.

"I will move the rest of me in over time Aiden. Just hold me for now."

*******

My plan was to get to our hotel and relax for an hour and then make our presence known to my sisters. That thought lasted as long as it took us both to clear airport security. Even the couple standing next to them had to take a step away from them they were screaming and shouting so much, I hugged Abby while Hannah watched Amelia like a hawk. Even when Abby and I parted they were still watching each other.

"I know for a fact that neither of you bite so say hello both of you and shake on it if you can't stand to get more personal with each other."

Abby looked closer at Amelia then back to her sister, "Hannah, you promised."

Even when Amelia held out her hand all my sisters did was watch her do it, Hannah took a step back and nodded her head towards Amelia. My hand slipped into Amelia's and we walked out of the airport with both my sisters in hot pursuit. Both even tried to get between us and the cab when we got to the taxi stand and that proved nearly fatal.

With Amelia safely sat in the cab I turned to my two sisters.

"I see it was pointless coming here, Mom and Dad taught you both manners and what I've seen so far disgusts me. Abby congratulation and I mean it, Hannah it's sad to see you've grown to be nothing more now than Grandmothers bitch. Goodbye."

Thankfully the cab driver used that as his cue and drove away.

"I can defend myself you know."

Our arms squeezed the others tightly, "Yes I know and believe it or not I was actually protecting my sisters from you."

The giggle from her side of the cab emptied the tension building inside us both, we let the cab driver know the name of the hotel and sat holding each other in silence the rest of the way. Amelia waited until we were comfortable in our room before she broached the subject of what went on at the airport.

I could only guess at the reason so I told her about my invite to the wedding and the Departments insistence that Madison come with me. How she dealt with Donny and his 'accident' it was both our belief at the time that someone as big as Donny wouldn't admit to being beat up on by a girl. So up until we both left after the wedding the story remained that he tripped and fell down the grand staircase. 

"Why was she with you in the first place?"

"The Department's ruling, the invite was already waiting for me when I got back. They knew the wedding would be a good distraction for me but I was still considered fragile."

"She was there to watch you as well as look out for you?"

Other than nod my head we knew the subject of Madison was considered closed between us. I did ask Amelia what she wanted to do, she understood the question and said that since she had never been to Houston before today, the tourist thing would be fun rather than just stay the night and return home tomorrow.

Personally I couldn't say I was comfortable with her decision, had it been just me I would have got the hell out of dodge the next available flight. But this was her relationship just as much as mine from now on, I phoned down to reserve a table for dinner and we spent the rest of the afternoon next to her sweaty body and seeing if I could get Amelia to make those cute noises again.

We were shown to our table and stopped when I counted six places.

"Since you're not coming to our place for dinner brother of mine then we're coming to yours."

Once again Amelia's hand slipped into mine, forcing me to look at her.

"I looked at your cell when you went to have a shower; it had sixteen missed calls on it and all from Abby. I phoned her back and told her to get down here for dinner."

I looked at Hannah and feeling not to brotherly I asked, "So who invited you and him?"

Donny looked fit to bust, my sister held his arm. 

"You got your ass kicked by the blonde bitch with the crazy eyes, just remember grandma told us she's a deputy, lay a hand on her and your ass is grass."

The couple on the table next to ours stopped talking so they could listen more closely.

"Aiden sit down, the rest of you do the same. Honestly I've never met such a bunch of children in all my life."

Amelia looked behind her at the old woman giving the orders. Smiled and held out her hand.

"Hello Mrs. Thompson, so nice to meet you."

I glared at them both; they both ignored me and shook hands, "Nice to meet you. Amelia isn't it?"

Amelia smiled and nodded, pointing to our table.

"Would you and your husband care to join us Mrs. Thompson I'm sure we can wedge another two seats in."

"No thank you dear, I'm here with my husband just to separate them if it comes to violence." Her attention once again went to me, "Abby doesn't need the stress Aiden, its dinner with your sisters and partners, not putting old grudges to rest."

My Grandmother went to turn before she stopped and looked at Amelia once again.

"Just to confirm for Donny's ears since I promised his momma, are you carrying my dear?"

"No ma'am, air transport regulations forbid it, just my badge if I need it. Am I going to need it Mrs. Thompson?"

This time it was her turn to glare at Donny who withered instantly.

"This young lady asked an interesting question Donny, is she going to need it?"

Donny for his part shook his head, "No Ma'am."

Over dinner it became clear I had lost another member of my family, Hannah was now engaged to Donny; the temptation to ask why he was working his way through both my sisters was only held in check because Amelia had her hand on my thigh the entire dinner. Abby simply watched and pitched in when the conversation looked like it would dry up.

Both sisters initiated the divide to conquer rule by the end of dinner. Amelia was invited on a shopping trip for the day, she knew I wasn't in favor but she accepted anyway. Abby's husband watched with some amusement the whole evening and when Abby pulled out the invite to Amelia I was invited to the golf club. We both knew from our conversations at the wedding that I ranked about the worst golfer in the world but I'm told that lunch at the clubhouse was just something else.

The conversation in our hotel room was brittle to say the least, Amelia had two new friends and all three were going shopping. The one thing I had little doubt about was that she was looking to even the score, Amelia seemed to think I knew just a little too much about her during her teen years on the island and chose my sisters to even the balance.

*******

While I was tempted to initiate another attempt at dissuading Amelia going with my sisters I'm just as sure she had already rehearsed her answer. So the morning saw me wave goodbye to Amelia and my two sisters while my brother took great delight in my nervousness the closer we got to the golf club. Thankfully even he left his clubs at home and we both took refuge in the bar and then the restaurant as our conversations continued.

I liked him even though our first meeting was at the wedding; our friendship just grew the more time I spent with him. Abby must have given him the un-edited version of our history with our grandparents since he seemed to take great delight in teasing me about how they planed to name the first daughter after our grandmother. The smile that greeted me when I looked at him in shock quickly canceled out my response, the meal was well worth the afternoon of teasing from him.

"Any chance you and Donny can put whatever is eating him up to rest?"

The shrug of my shoulders seemed to telegraph my response.

"Doubt that very much, I've met people like Donny before and to him I'm unfinished business and opinions like that don't have 'happy ever after' outcomes." 

To the both of us we had talked enough about Donny and he thought better of even trying to come up for a reason for Hannah's behavior. She would forever be my sister just as another part of me mourned the fact she had gone over to the dark side. Both of us kept getting texts from our respective partners Abby even sent him a picture of her in some nightwear she had found.

He went a little red when he see the picture and flat out refused to show me, a minute later Amelia did the same, I told her that if she did that again I would feel duty bound to send it on to Martha so she could see what her matchmaking was up to. A minute later I got another picture; it was obviously taken in the changing room and she had turned her phone towards the mirror. The only thing she was wearing was a smile.

The message that followed said, 'Dare you.'

With the dare dueling noted I sent her picture onwards. It took ten minutes before my phone rang and Martha Burnett's number came up.

"Momma says that Daddy got to her phone first and thanks you for the gift, but we've got pictures of Em when she was in diapers so we don't need one of her without. Daddy had noticed that Em seems to be following the latest fashion that Cosmo has been putting in print these last few months."

Trying desperately hard to bite back a laugh I told Tessa she was welcome. By my best guess I figured I had about ten minutes before Amelia found out.

The wind had picked up slightly across the golf course, causing a few of the members to call it a day and retire to the bar for a drink. Conversation between Matt and I became difficult so we moved further away from the bar, my cell pinged and I reached for it expecting some response from Amelia.

What came across the screen of my cell was a series of numbers and letters in set format and broken down into no more than five characters. My mind quickly deciphered it as my heart felt like it had stopped. As the waitress passed us I asked for a glass of water, she smiled and came back a moment later placing it in the middle of the table and left.

"Please take your cell out of your pocket and phone Abby, when you get her tell her that you need to speak to Amelia, don't mention my name at all do you understand?"

His mouth opened to ask me a question, the sight of me drinking about a third of the water from my glass and then placing my cell into the glass stopped him, he watched for a moment as air bubbles escaped my cell I'm not sure what he saw when he looked up at me but he quickly did as I had asked. It still took a moment before Abby relented and passed her cell over.

"You bastard, I can't believe you..."

"Shut up. Don't say another word and listen, get dressed as quick as you can, leave the girls there and get a cab back to the hotel I will meet you there. Yes or no are the only responses I need right now."

I didn't need to be psychic to know what was going through her mind, all I could do at the moment was add to the pressure I was placing her under.

"Take your cell outside and smash it, smash it into as many pieces as you can. Now hurry."

Her voice that was heading for angry, now it plunged towards worried. "Your scaring me, what's going on?"

Knowing I had to give her more impetus and giving up on barking orders at her I said the one thing I knew would make her move.

"Tessa's in trouble."

The sound of a severed line meant Amelia was already grabbing her clothes. I handed back the cell I used and stood quickly looking for the exit.

"I'm sorry but I have to leave, promise me you're going to look after Abby for me."

Matt stood and looked towards the bar and then at me, "Get to the car I'll pay the tab and join you shortly, if your acting this weird then something important is going on."

Shaking my head was the best place to start.

"I have to leave and now, I can't involve you."

"I became involved with you the day I married your sister. There are some things you need to know so get to the car and wait for me."

Even with my own sense of urgency I was intrigued with what Matt had said. By the time I had got to the car he was already halfway across the car park, his remote opened the doors and within seconds we had left the golf club. Matt's cell rang and he placed it on speaker since he was driving.

Poor Abby was now frantic when she told him that Amelia had gone nuts, she rushed outside and placed her cell phone under the wheels of a cab and paid the man twenty bucks to reverse over it, when he did she paid him another twenty to drive over it again then jumped into the cab and drove off. Matt was ever the calming influence on my sister told her to go home and he will explain everything when he got there.

Abby insisted she was taking Hannah with her and his explanation had better be a good one because as far as she was concerned Amelia now ranked next to the blonde with the crazy eyes. Matt knew I was watching him closely, even when he closed his cell and carried on driving.

"As you know I'm a lawyer, I also know your family history and our profession but I can't change that. My sister on the other hand is more medically minded, she's a very skilled surgeon."

Matt looked at me to see if I had connected any of the dots yet.

"Did you know that we were careful with the date for the wedding, I wanted my sister to be there but she was stuck overseas and her posting wasn't over for another seven months after we announced our engagement?"

Although he talked he kept to his word, his speed was right at the top end of legal as we headed back to the hotel.

*******

It seems when Sarah returned she was placed on leave and helped her folks with the wedding arrangements. Being a society wedding the list was in it's hundreds, even the invite to Abby's brother was at the insistence of Abby, it shocked her fiancées family they didn't even know she had a brother and since he had never been seen he was assumed to be the black sheep of the family.

The invite was mailed to a PO Box in Virginia for a Mr. Thompson plus one and promptly forgotten about. The invite was R.S.V.P.'d less than two weeks before the wedding and Susan and her mother had to sit for an hour re-seating the guests to accommodate a man no one knew anything about, any conversation with Abby's grandmother on the subject of her nephew was met with the comment "that boy".

With the usual frantic behind the scenes activities on the wedding day Sarah didn't even come up for air until the limo ride to the church with her parents, the rumor mill had already started that the black sheep had arrived. Susan found Hannah and the other bride's maid, maids of honor and pages in a side room of the church, pulled her aside and asked Hannah to point out her brother.




Parkers Island Ch. 02



Hannah was instantly suspicious and wanted to know why, although Susan found her reluctance odd she explained that she needed to know who he was for the reception and handshakes. The curtain was parted just enough to allow an eye to peek out and Hannah gave Susan a description of him and what the blonde sat next to him was wearing. When Susan looked out and found the blonde her knees almost gave out when she found the brother. 

Quickly thanking Hannah, Susan rushed to find her own brother; she barged into the room allocated to the groom and his merry men.

"Everybody get out."

More shocked by her entrance and command all everyone in that room could do was stand and stare.

"NOW."

Some looked towards Matt others knew Susan better than to argue with her, they were the wise ones and dragged the more intellectually slower ones out with them.

"Matt, he's a spook. Does Abby know? Tell me now, does she know?"

Brother met sister in the middle of the room, arms wrapped around her holding her tight to him, gentle shushing noises came from his lips as Matt tried so desperately hard to find reason for his sister's behavior.

"He's here Matt, he should be dead but he's here."

It took Matt some time to ease his sister over to a chair and then get her some water, he watched as she took a sip and then had to take the glass from her because her hands were shaking so much.

Matt yelled a name at the closed door, seconds later his best man stuck his head around the door, not feeling brave enough to stick anything else in.

"How long do we have?"

The head ducked away to look at his watch and then re-appeared with the words, 'eleven minutes' Matt nodded and the head disappeared once again pulling the door closed when it had.

"Susan, you have ten minutes to tell me what is scaring you so much because if I don't get a good enough answer by then I'm putting the wedding on hold."

It still took Susan another minute to even acknowledge her brother had spoken to her; she sipped from the glass again and handed it back to Matt.

"To us it was a slow day at the office, all we had were walk-ins up until the admin officer came charging into the room and told us that we had two casualties arriving within minutes. I watched from the window as the two Apache helicopters accompanied another helicopter right up to the heli-pad. They still hovered while the Marines took both stretchers off and into the hospital, one was clearly dead the other was a man that two Marines had to hold down he was screaming so much."

Susan grasped her brother's arm so tight, even he was surprised at her strength.

"He kept screaming that we needed to look after Carol first, Matt he was covered in blood, had a lump of metal sticking out of his abdomen and all he cared about was the woman on the stretcher next to him."

Matt tried hard to keep his own emotions in check, he had never asked and thankfully Susan had never gone into too much detail of her time as a surgeon in Afghanistan. Now those same feelings and nightmares seeped from every pore.

"Suddenly he rolled off of the gurney and pulled a gun, it shocked everyone. Even the Marine's didn't realize he had a back-up, he was leaning up against the wall and pointed his gun at me and told me to look after Carol first."

Susan's eyes seemed to stare over his shoulder as the scene in her head seemed to project like a film on the wall behind Matt, he knelt next to his sister trying so hard to share what his sister described as the man pointed a gun at her.

Two of the Marine rescue team moved to act as a shield for Susan but she instantly dismissed them, the man watched as she walked over to the dead Marine and checked for a pulse.

She even took out a stethoscope and finally gave up trying to hear anything with the background noise in the room, calling for 'Quick Look' paddles. Within seconds a nurse pushed a trolley next to her and Susan went looking for any cardiac rhythm at all.

"I put the defibrillator paddles on her chest and looked at the monitor Matt. The screen showed a straight line - no electrical activity from the heart. She was dead and he could see it."

When none could be found she looked once again at the man standing in his own blood and put into words what his own eyes could clearly see, she was dead. The willpower that was holding him up escaped him and he dropped to the floor, one Marine took his gun away and two others put him back on the gurney. Medical training took over from then on and the man was taken into surgery. Within the hour the marine team was dismissed and two armed men in mismatch uniform stood by the doors to the operating theatre.

"Sis, you said he was a spook? How do you know?"

"When the Marine's tried to calm him down they kept calling him Sir. We're familiar in all regimental insignia and ranks and he wore none of them. Even the Lieutenant in charge of the Rescue Team called him Sir. He is a spook Matt."

"Susan why did you think he was dead?"

"He was in the operating theater for close to three hours, I've never seen anything like it Matt, this man is drugged up to the eyeballs and his pulse rate and blood pressure signs are showing us he's in his own private hell and that was one party I was sure glad I didn't get an invite to."

Susan once again reached for her glass of water and this time gulped a mouthful down.

"He lost so much blood Matt; we had to call on reserves just to keep up on what was leaking out of him. By the time I had found all the holes in him he had gone through five units of blood and two of fresh frozen plasma in addition to what we recovered in the cell-saver. We stabilized him and I rotated back here two days later."

Matt was feeling both sick from the description his sister had just given him and curiousness about the man she had just described. Abby had always talked with fondness about her big brother and had waited anxiously for days for the acknowledgment of the wedding invitation. Yet the words and anxiety from his own sister seemed to challenge most of what Abby had said of him. A man willing to point a gun at the very people trying to save his life yet insisting that those same people save the Marine first.

The timid knock came first before the head of the best man re-appeared once again his unasked question hovered between them. Matt loved his sister unconditionally; his proudest moment was the day before her reporting for deployment he cancelled all appointments at the office and helped his folks attach a flag to their home. Susan wanted to go and none of her family stood in her way.

Now and unbeknown to Abby, her own brother was involved in the war. As badly wounded as he was he stood to one side and insisted that his Marine companion be treated first. His own grief blinding him to the facts that she herself was dead, Matt nodded to his friend and looked once again to his sister.

"Abby never talked about what her brother does in the army and I'm left to believe she knows nothing, I can't say with any degree of certainty that he's a spook as you claim but in all honesty Susan you can't either. The wedding is in a few minutes Susan, do you want me to get someone to take you back inside the church?"

As if on cue the church music changed, letting those inside know that the wedding was but moments away, Susan calmly told her brother that he had to go and she would be fine in a moment. She hugged him, thanked him and took a moment to calm herself before leaving the room and once again joining her folks.

Even at the reception as she calmly introduced Mr. Aiden Thompson and his guest to the line Aiden acted as though he had never met her. Not a flicker of recognition crossed his face and Susan looked real closely, she knew it was him and as the evening moved on she also noticed that his blonde companion watched her just as closely.

*******

"So you see Aiden, I've known for some time what you are, but I'm a patriot Aiden and yes I may be a lawyer but I love this country. I know you were there because I know my sister, you have never told your sisters what you do and I know that because I know my wife."

The hotel came into view and I could see Amelia get out of the cab, Matt watched her pay the cab and then honked the car horn.

"Aiden, will a Gulfstream get you to where you need to go?"

As Amelia approached I was left to mentally do the calculations and finally I nodded my head.

"Get your things I will make a couple of calls."

"Just to put your mind at ease, I'm not a spook Matt. I'm just a geek."

Even watching him for a moment it was obvious that he didn't believe me. I did thank him for the offer of the jet though. We shook on it and I went to meet Amelia before entering the hotel. Trying to forestall the million and one questions she must have had in her head I recounted all I knew and what I believed would happen if we didn't get back to the island quickly.

Maybe it was paranoia on my part but when Matt pulled away from the hotel an official looking SUV pulled up and two men in black suits got out. I made Matt pull into a Wal-Mart on the way to the airport; I gave Amelia the job of getting the phone I just bought up and running. When she went to dial I placed my hand on hers and shook my head, Matt noticed but said nothing.

"Who does the plane belong to Matt?"

"Our family."

Now I looked at him real close. He just smiled.

"Remember Aiden, big society wedding, large church, a few hundred guests. Our family is loaded and one of the elite in Houston."

As we pulled into the area of the airport for private jets Matt parked against a building that was just as none descript as the next one. With the engine off he turned and placed his arm on the passenger seat so he could look at both of us.

"Make whatever calls you need to make, I'm going to help the pilot log a flight plan. We should be ready in twenty minutes."

Amelia was already punching numbers into the phone by the time he had got out of his seat. Matt was back in twenty minutes and gave me the thumbs up. The doors to the hanger opened and half an hour later the wheels were up on the Gulfstream.

*******

The sheriff's car pulled up alongside the jet when it came to a stop, knowing Martha a lot better now I knew she and the sheriff were pulling in favors for that car to be there and way out of its jurisdiction. With us inside the lights went on and the driver pushed his speed close to a hundred on the highway. We passed a highway patrol vehicle and it just sat watching us and then ignored us. The ferry should have left forty minutes ago, that too was waiting for us as the car drove up the ramp and came to a halt the ferries horn sounded and the ropes were pulled in.

We had no sooner cleared the slip when the car door in front of us opened and Mr. Burnett stood and waved us over, even with all that was going on I still managed to remember the luggage. Amelia wanted to ask me questions but was clearly scared of the answers; it sure made for a quiet journey on the ferry. When the ramp went down the cars in front moved off and we followed, the sheriff's car simply turned around in the space we vacated and waited for the return journey.

Martha Burnett was waiting at my house. I may as well leave the door wide open for all the good a lock does on this island, Tessa sat at the kitchen table clearly worried, overriding my first instinct to shout at her I simply sat across from her, reached out and held her hands.

"Tessa, this is real important, have you been using codes on anyone else?"

She frantically shook her head, "No I swear, I wanted you to see how much I had learned. I didn't mean anything by it."

Martha's cell beeped and the look on her face when she read it stopped me from asking Tessa anything else.

"A boat has just come into Clearwater Cove, it's not a local."

Amelia dashed up stairs and into our room less than a minute later she came out again holding her service firearm. The glare I got from her almost daring me to speak, I didn't get a chance to because Martha Burnett got there first.

"Take that back upstairs Em."

"No, I'm not letting them take her. She's done nothing wrong."

The shadow moved from its hiding place along the wall of the passageway leading to the back door. The gun came first and stopped at the back of Amelia's head, the gloved hand holding it simply pushed the gun slightly so that Amelia became aware of it.

"Put the gun down on the counter girlfriend and then go join your friends."

Faced with little choice she complied, her arm came next and then Madison came into the room, her blonde hair tied into a pony-tail and out of the adjuster of the baseball cap she was wearing.

"Hey Aiden, how was the trip to meet the family?"

"It was going so well Madison, Donny's hooked up with Hannah now; I swear that girl won't realize what he's up to until it's too late, but as they say, love is blind."

Madison nodded yet her gaze never left the group in front of her.

"I feel your pain, want me to take care of it after this is all done and the dust has settled?"

"Much appreciated but I figure she has to learn the hard way."

Martha just stood still; it was Amelia's head that moved between us both as we spoke. In the end her own temper got the better of her.

"She's got a fucking gun and pointing it at us Aiden and all you're doing is having a Sunday school chat."

Madison didn't take it personal, neither did I for that matter. It did cause her to take another step towards Amelia though.

"You're a loose cannon girlfriend, so I need you on your knees with your hands behind the back of your neck."

Tessa went to stand and I held onto her hands forcing her to stay seated, when she looked at me I simply shook my head. Having been around both girls I knew what to expect.

Martha's voice carried like a command towards Amelia. "Do it Em."

Amelia's temper was clearly getting the better of her and she chose then to challenge the one person she had spent a lifetime with. The anger blazed in her eyes as she looked towards Martha Burnett and then pointed towards Madison.

"She has no right to be here, she won't kill us she wouldn't dare."

Judging by the way we both looked at each other, Martha and I thought it best to defuse the situation, Madison got in first.

"You are right girlfriend, I'm only here to make sure you don't hide Tessa. But you are a loose cannon and since you won't calm down, I have to make you. So which shoulder do you want the bullet in or of course I could always blow your knee out and you will spend the rest of your life with a limp."

Just looking at Madison made her pause, the situation continued until Madison's gun lowered to Amelia's left knee. The sigh escaped her lips a second before her hands went behind her neck and she knelt on the floor both watching and hating Madison at the same time.

Madison stepped back and rested her arm on the counter her gun now by her side and at ease, for her part she had done enough to defuse the situation between her and Amelia and yet still kept out of Amelia's reach. The one thing I did notice and still felt it odd was that Martha could have calmed Amelia a lot sooner yet chose not to, she would also take sideways glances at the clock on the wall and to the right of Madison.

Shelby came in and took a quick look around. She then walked over to Martha.

"Tessa knew the rules, I agreed she could stay until the wedding but that was before the NSA and Homeland started crawling up my ass. She comes with me now for her own protection."

Martha Burnett's head tilted slightly and a second later I could hear a small aircraft engine getting louder, it passed overhead and disappeared. I swear if I wasn't watching Martha closely just then I would have missed the smile.

"Tessa made a mistake she knows that now."

Her arm swept the room to emphasize her point.

"She understands that what she did has ramifications."

Martha didn't get a chance to continue. 

"I don't like surprises and getting calls from Homeland wanting to know why my people are encrypting messages on home soil and not having a clue what they are talking about."

Moving my head towards Madison caused her to both tighten her grip on her gun and nod her own head in return. She knew I was going to stand; being around this girl before I knew her thought processes.

"Shelby. A word."

The glaring match between Martha and Shelby still continued for a moment, Shelby blinked first, but only because she acknowledged my request. Leaving Tessa to sit at the table we walked to the far end of the kitchen.

I explained to Shelby the incident at the dress shop and the picture I sent to Martha of a very naked Amelia, of the reply from Tessa and later the encrypted code.

"Shelby we both know she did wrong but standing over her and shouting wont change the fact that what's happening here right now is scaring the girl to death. She knows she did wrong and that it won't happen again."

I was still struggling to bring Shelby back from making her decision.

"We both know the real reason you're here. Shelby, Tessa used the term 'dead man walking' as a reference to me when Amelia got her hands on me for sending out that naked picture of her. She doesn't know that it was the prefix of a dead operation, she barely has a security clearance Shelby so she's not going to know about that."

For a moment I saw a flicker of reason before she shook her head and chased it away.

"No Aiden, she text you an encrypted code for God sake and until I'm satisfied she knows nothing of the 'dead man' operation then she comes with us and that's final."

The knock on the door caused Madison to point her gun directly at Amelia. Shelby looked towards Martha who was also slowly walking towards the door. As the door opened Madison's gun slipped behind her back.

"Steven. Thank you for coming so promptly."

Martha stood to one side as Senator Steven Chadwick walked into the room, a low groan escaped Shelby's lips as Senator Chadwick surveyed the scene.

"Em get up, you look stupid down there, go sit on the couch and behave." His gaze traveled to Madison, "I know what you are, and do you know who I am?"

Madison for her part simply nodded but said nothing.

Although he was talking to Madison he pointed to Martha and Shelby when he told her to put her gun away and go sit on the couch, he needed to speak to these two in private.

"She has spirit so if you have to use hand to hand to subdue her then do so, just make sure that the bruises can't be seen on the wedding photos."

That alone got a giggle out of Madison. His gaze then went to Tessa who then burst into tears and rushed into the arms of Senator Steven Chadwick. Martha walked over to stand by us to allow them a private moment, we heard whispers but nothing we could attach words too. Eventually even she went and sat on the couch but still making sure she had Amelia between her and Madison.

"Aiden... It is Aiden isn't it?" I nodded first before I remembered who was standing in front of me, "Yes Sir."

Steven Chadwick just nodded and then told me to unlock my office, I stood to one side as all three went in; he then grabbed me by the collar and pulled me inside as well before closing the door behind him. He pointed to the only two seats in the room and both women sat in them.

"God, what a fucking mess this is."

He let out a breath as we all waited, this was Senator Chadwick and no one and I mean no one was going to talk first.

"Martha I need Matriarch from now until we leave this room, your oath as Matriarch will bind you and short of having that young lady outside shoot you when we're done then you have to know just how serous this is. Tessa blundered into something she has no knowledge about and Shelby is within her right to incarcerate her until she's old and grey."




Parkers Island Ch. 02



Other than nod her head Martha said nothing for a moment. We all waited but Steven Chadwick just watched Martha until she spoke.

"I walk a strange line here Steven, as Matriarch I will hold our secrets but this is the only child I have left. She made a foolish mistake in wanting so much for Aiden to see how her lessons are going, she has seen the aftermath of that and another more important lesson has been learned."

With a nod of his head Steven Chadwick then looked at me.

"Can I get a signal out of this box?"

"No Sir it's insulated against any attempt. The only way to communicate with the outside is via that terminal and that feeds directly to the Department."

Senator Chadwick left me with the words 'make it happen' while his gaze returned to Shelby, "whose got night watch?"

"Harley Townsend, Senator."

Martha stood to allow the Senator to sit in front of the screen, I'm sure Harley had a heart attack when the screen opened and the head of the Departments Senate committee was staring back at him.

For the next hour the three-way feed Harley had to bring together, had Senator Chadwick, the head of Homeland and Peter Turner the head of the NSA who looked rather dashing in his dinner suit deep in conversation. Time was against Peter Turner since you don't ever want to be late for dinner with the President, so he was willing to agree to pretty much everything.

Homeland dragged their feet and wanted their pound of flesh, so in return for a ten minute interview with Tessa it was agreed. The guy at Homeland sure thought he was scoring points until he figured out that Senator Chadwick was going to be standing next to Tessa throughout the entire interview. For his part he did inform Homeland that he would have to tell the senate committee why he was attending such an interview.

The guy from Homeland saw his career crumbling before his eyes and eventually caved as well. With all in agreement I switched the link off and went and stood out of the way while Steven Chadwick, Martha and Shelby talked. It still took ten minutes before even they agreed on a course of action that all could live with. I got the nod and opened the door of my office.

Senator Chadwick hugged Tessa once more before telling her he had to go, he offered her words of reassurance and with a final kiss on the forehead they parted. Amelia stood and he hugged her as well, he held her hand and walked out onto the porch talking in a volume that only they could hear. 

I sensed Madison behind me and in a sing song lilt said. "Em's got a boyfriend, Em's got a boyfriend."

"You know for a twenty-six year old you are such a child."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Oh for God sake will you two ever grow up?"

We turned simultaneously to see both Martha and Shelby standing behind us and the words, "he/she started it." Came out in unison.

Shelby shook Martha's hand.

"I look forward to the wedding invitation and I promise to keep this one on a leash."

I heard the giggle before Madison said, "Oh goodie, I get to wear a collar."

Shelby's eyes rolled, "you may as well fucking shoot me now."

Both headed out the door leaving me to wait for Amelia and Senator Chadwick to finish.

"You knew I would call him didn't you?"

"I knew you both would."

Martha and I sat on the couch, the tension had eased but even I could still feel Matriarch wanted to ask one final question and inwardly I prayed she wouldn't.

"The term 'dead man walking' was used six times in total and in all six times Shelby looked directly at you; even Steven did it twice before he caught me watching him."

I wasn't stupid, she had figured something out but if I spoke it would mean I was confirming something that she could only assume at the moment. I watched Amelia hug Senator Chadwick once more before she watched him leave, her own arms wrapped around herself for comfort.

"Coffee?"

Even when I said it I had rose and was already on the way towards the kitchen.

"Aiden?"

I stopped; her voice carried a plea within it and caused me to turn around. Martha wrapped her arms around me and held on tight. Her lips were inches from my ear.

"Carol volunteered for the job son, she knew that her life was expendable, yours wasn't. She wrote to me two days before you left, she knew she wouldn't come back; call it premonition if you wish."

We both heard the click of the front door closing; Amelia still had her arms around herself as she rested against the wall. Martha detached herself and once again sat on the couch, for a moment Amelia stood and stared at me, I met her stare as best I could while I silently prayed she would leave it be. Yet the fact she continued to stare meant the inevitable was going to happen.

"He's dead man walking Matriarch. Tessa used the term to explain what I was going to do to him because he sent you that picture. The NSA sucked it out of the air because it was an encryption, it was when they deciphered the message it took on a whole different meaning."

The nodding of Martha's head was one of silent acceptance, it was Amelia that couldn't, or perhaps wouldn't let all this alone.

"Please Matriarch, in order to protect my mate I have to know what he's capable of."

Martha walked over to Tessa and helped her stand before they both headed for the door, Tessa left first, Martha had her hand on the door before she turned to look directly at me.

"Senator Steven Chadwick is Em's godparent; for the sake of her sanity you have to explain to her why you are called 'dead man walking'. Trust your soon to be wife Aiden." Tessa will never know.

Her grip tightened on the door for a second before she once again looked towards me.

"Carol nudged you towards this island for a reason Aiden; you're standing across the room from that very reason."

She closed the door so she would never hear my answer, silence weighed heavy in the room, and Amelia's arms still held on tight. More so when she watched me walk over to her firearm and within seconds stripped it down before leaving the pieces on the coffee table.

It seems that every day with this woman has become a defining moment for me; I pointed towards the couch and asked her to sit. For a moment Amelia seemed to be undecided if she was going to move away from the wall, with a small almost missed sigh her arms dropped to her side and she walked over to the couch as I once again unlocked my office.

*******

The two little black boxes the size of a cigarette packet sat either end of the couch, the only way anyone could tell they were working was the little green light flashed every ten seconds next to the unlit little red light.

Amelia watched, her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms once again wrapped around them. My only thought was that subconsciously she was stealing herself for nothing but bad news.

*******

It took Carol and I close to three weeks to become operational in Afghanistan, I kept asking for more and more of the Departments resources. We had figured out that the main threat to our forces in this area was a man called Ben Abdul Aziz, true old school and with a hardcore of people surrounding him that acted as a buffer between us and him. It was the coding and encryptions that sent me there, old school was a more word of mouth leader and military command couldn't figure out the source of his encrypted communications.

His intelligence sources were second to none and it didn't take him long to figure out I was now his main threat. The roadside bomb and the attempts to kidnap me was a game changing moment, the men he lost at the hands of Carol and the Apache Helicopter caused him to take a step back and insulate himself against any retaliation. Word came down the grapevine that he was real pissed with the loss of so many of his men, he also let it be known that I had escaped once he only needed to be lucky once.

It was Mr. Aziz who declared me nothing more than a 'dead man walking'. When I was let out of the hospital the Bingham Security team moved me onto base camp. After saying goodbye to my friend I set about looking for Mr. Aziz. Even more resources came into camp, the leader of the security team complained to the Department that I was burning the candle at both ends. Pretty soon it became apparent that either I would get him or end up dead trying, old school was smart and slippery at the same time.

His aide was his nephew, twenty four years old and a kid in a candy store when it came to new toys, he had the most advanced laptop, ipad and cell phone. It took me six weeks of sifting through every code, radio chatter and informant to find out his latest cell number. We watched the convoy of cars for a few minutes before I rang the nephew, I could hear Ben Abdul Aziz in the background when I introduced myself.

The nephew knew the second he had answered that call he had painted the car they were traveling in, he knew what was coming next, so did Mr. Aziz, I watched from the ops room as the missile hit the third car in a convoy of five cars. Everyone cheered, whooped and clapped, I left feeling that my friend could rest in peace now.

The attacks on our ground troops came to a halt for some weeks while a new leader was appointed. Shelby came into my room two weeks after the attack on Mr. Aziz, the security team held me down and Shelby stuck a needle in me. I woke three days later in the Departments clinic back in Virginia.

The dead man walking file was left open for awhile when it was reported that in retaliation for the death of Ben Abdul Aziz an oil well would go to the family of any man who could find and kill the man everyone called 'dead man walking'.

It seemed Bingham Securities actually did me a favor, in peoples rush to hook onto a phrase people simply stopped using my name and the few pictures they did have of me were of a man that looked older than his years, clearly tired, unshaven and looking like the devil was perched on his shoulder.

*******

The lights still blinked green, Amelia had her arms wrapped around me gently sobbing to herself. My fingers were in her hair gently massaging her scalp; I don't even know why I did that but it was therapeutic to us both.

"I'm just a geek honey, nothing more."

"I understand why you watch the ferry now."

This time I kissed the top of her head.

"You know when they send for Tessa she has to go don't you?"

The nod of her head was her acknowledgment, the words that followed showed her to be smarter than even I realized.

"I also know you're going with her."

My hold on Amelia got just a little tighter, she knew she was right. I waited for awhile longer but it seemed that the knowledge she now had was enough for her, switching the two little black boxes off I placed them back into my office. Amelia was on the phone when I returned she was apologizing to Martha Burnett for her outburst. She promised to stop by in the morning after going through my rituals with me.

That alone made me smile so she must have known I was listening. I put her gun together once again and handed it and the magazine to her. She held the gun in one hand and mine in the other as we climbed the stairs.

*******

The wedding was held at Senator Chadwick's residence, he proclaimed that since Amelia was his only God-Daughter she should get spoiled rotten at his expense. The security around the residence was the real reason; my sisters turned up and warmed once again to Amelia. The fact that she was related in a way to Senator Chadwick may have had something to do with it, my sisters are so vain.

Matt was a real good guy and simply shrugged his shoulders, he put the blame of that afternoon's event solely on my shoulders and since I wasn't around and had no cell, my sisters were left to get angry at a brother who had once again disappeared.

Hannah came alone; it seems she found pictures of Donny in bed with some brunette with big tits. Donny denies any wrongdoing but those pictures sure tell a different story. When I bumped into Madison at the wedding I did ask but she said she knew nothing about it. Well she didn't until we found a quiet corner together and she pulled her cell from her bag and showed me some photos.

Strange how the naked brunette looks a lot like one of the girls from Bingham Securities, the fact that every time we talked about Donny, Madison always seemed to wave her little finger just a bit too often for my liking may have confirmed it a little as well.

We had a month of peace on the island; the summer season was now in full swing and the fact that Amelia now lived back on the island meant she was the lead on every wrong doing by the summer tourists. The knock on our door on the Monday morning brought Amelia's world back to reality; Tessa stood at the door her suitcase by her side. Two hours later Madison knocked and came in.

Hell I was more surprised that she even knocked until she reminded me that Amelia carries a gun so it's best to be polite. Amelia begged a morning off work and stretched our leaving out as long as she could; even Madison knew what she was doing but went along with it.

When Madison's cell beeped we knew it was time.

The End.



Parkers Island Ch. 03



The original two chapters were supposed to have been the story, and for some time I thought that adding to it would actually dilute it. A very good friend and I bounced a few ideas around and came up with this. Only you, the reader, can decide if what I've written has done the original storyline justice. Sorry, no sex in this one. Once again I thank Todger65 and SouthPacific for their editing work.

*****

Shelby met us both at the entrance to the Department's admin building. One of the clerks led Tessa away, and Shelby tossed me a set of keys.

"It's your old apartment, so I'm not going to bother showing you where it is."

"And Tessa?"

"She's going to be knee deep in paperwork, medicals and psych-evaluations for the rest of the day. She's living with you for now; Martha made it a request."

Shelby had THAT look. I waited her out, since she had no doubt been sitting on what she was about to say.

"No sharing showers with this member of the Burnett clan, Aiden. Your own work is back at your work station: you can get to it tomorrow." She turned and headed towards her own office, so she didn't see me wave my wedding band at her.

It took me an hour to move back into my old apartment, and I left Tessa's suitcase on the bed in the spare room for now. As I looked around the room I could still feel Carol in here; and now her sister would take her place. A part of me did wonder if she would have been pleased, or had instead already started spinning in her grave.

Shelby phoned later that afternoon to let me know that Tessa was just about done. I got to the office just as she was leaving it. She had a glow about her, the smile never leaving her lips as she talked non-stop all the way back to my apartment, but she stopped at the door and wouldn't come in.

"It seems your mom's insistent, Tessa. You're in the spare room for the next three months, and you can move into the main room when I go back home."

"Momma knows I'm sleeping with you?"

Both our cheeks reddened at the way she had worded her question, although she was quick to rephrase it. The vision of what my wife would do to me if that were true caused me to wince as well. Her head and neck came in the door, the rest of her holding back.

I pointed to her room. "That's yours, and it has a lock on the inside, just like mine does."

"You planning on using it?"

"Damn straight I am! I want to look Em in the eyes and tell her I did. That girl will know I'm telling the truth."

The rest of her body sidled into the apartment right about then, and she headed for her room. I made us both drinks while she quietly sang to herself as she put her clothes away. I knocked and handed Tessa her drink and, by the time she had finished hanging clothes, she had emptied the glass as well. It was then I gave her the ten cent tour, even catching up with Madison in the canteen, and I noticed that a strong bond seemed to have developed between these two during the day's journey to the Department. We finished our tour and headed back to our apartment.

That was the last real peace we had, as the ensuing weeks were full of tears and tantrums. Tessa loved the work, but her mind became so active during the day that, by the time she walked into our apartment, she barely had time to eat before crashing onto her bed. All thought of locking her bedroom door became a thing of memory, and all too often I was the one putting her to bed. Her concentration was so intense that even the instructors had to remind her that it was in fact the end of the day.

Those same instructors changed from weekly to daily reports on Tessa, all voicing their concerns. A burnout seemed to be coming very quickly and it worried us all. It was Madison, though, who came up with the answer.

It was a Sunday and we both had a lay-in, but the banging on the door cut that idea short. Madison strode in and then wandered into Tessa's room, slamming the door shut behind her. The screams and voices were muffled, but I got the impression that Tessa was losing whatever argument they were having. A few minutes of silence were followed by a dressed Tessa opening her bedroom door, with Madison close behind.

At least I got a wave goodbye from Madison as they both left. After three days of not seeing either of them I became concerned, and asked Shelby what was going on. All she did was smile and mutter the words "road trip" before dismissing any further talk on the subject. Just short of a week from the day they walked out they came crashing back into the apartment, giggling like schoolgirls.

Madison waved her goodbye once again, and I was left with a Tessa on a real high. It still took a good day and a half to get the full story out of her and, once she finished talking, I knew I would be flat-out blamed for what they got up to if it ever got out. Madison frogmarched her to her car and drove for an hour, ending up at some general store at the base of one of the more local-ish wilderness trails. It took two hours to kit them both out, and the owner even let them leave the car parked around the back of the store.

Three days into their trek they met up with a couple of guys doing the same trail, so they all shared the journey. The bit that made Tessa go beet-red was that she and Madison alternated between the guys' tents for the rest of the trek as well. I could see my dead body floating face down in Clearwater Cove as she told me that little piece of information, but the warmth of her lips on my cheek quickly cleared that image from my mind.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Her eyes looked around the apartment, and then her arm went in a wide arc.

"For all this. I was close to burning out, wasn't I?"

I nodded at that comment, sighed to myself and stood, holding out my hand.

Confused, Tessa asked the only question she could. "What?"

"I'm taking you to the clinic to get tested."

"Already done, Aiden. Madison insisted the boys wore condoms, and scared the guys into knowing that, if one broke "accidentally," then they would break as well. We both had blood tests done when we got back."

This time her arms went around me, and I got the biggest hug ever from her.

"Thank you for caring for me, Aiden. I know Momma wanted you to look after me, and between you and Madison I'm the safest girl here."

She must have felt me blush. I offered a restaurant dinner, but she insisted on cooking at the apartment. She was even up before me the next day, and was first out the door. The next few weeks brought a new Tessa - always home on time and, from the reports I got from Shelby, the 'road trip' did seem to work. The assessments from the other instructors were full of praise and, considering they had all been close to letting her go, that in itself was a big turnaround.

My own work was all but done. I had a bag packed and, other than handing in my report to Shelby, I was ready to leave. Tessa came crashing into the apartment, saw me standing there, and smiled.

"Good! You're not gone yet."

She flew across the room and clung to me like a limpet. I had grown so fond of this woman, and she definitely was now a woman. Since being with the Department she had flourished: even the last three months had changed her so much. Her intelligence went well beyond a simple IQ test. I suppose in some ways she reminded me so much of myself when I first got here.

"You're coming back, aren't you? If you don't I may just have to send Madison to come get you."

Placing her back on her feet and laughing at the same time is not easy for a guy who isn't supposed to multi-task.

*******

She was sitting on the bench as the ferry opened its doors to the five cars and God knows how many people. The impatient ones pushed past those folks that were here for the day; the tourist season had but a week or two left to it. Her coffee cup came to her lips once again, and occasionally her arm would leave her leg and wave at someone who waved at her.

Amelia still watched the ferry and the car park when I sat next to her.

"I hear you do this every day."

"Had to keep the seat warm for my husband. Remember him? Keeps himself to himself, dumps his wife for months on end, and then comes home and doesn't even give her so much as a kiss."

We stood together; I took off her hat and then her sunglasses.

"Hello, wife of mine."

"Hello, husband of mine."

She blinked first. Her arms went around me and her head made it to my neck before she cried. I held her a little tighter right about then; it took her a moment to calm herself and pull away from me as my thumb gently brushed away a tear.

"You best be ready for make-up sex when I'm done today. Don't even think we're going out to dinner. The only thing to slow me down will be the amount of time it's going to take getting out of these clothes."

Her radio squawked just then, with a report of a car accident just outside of town. No casualties other than the wall the driver hit. Amelia acknowledged the call and, with a goodbye kiss that left me a little weak at the knees, she grabbed her hat and glasses back before leaving, shaking that cute ass of hers as she did.

I grabbed a bite to eat at the diner and then walked home. Martha was sitting on the porch seat when I opened the gate. I opened the door to let her in first before placing my bag by the door, and made us both drinks.

"She doesn't call, Aiden."

My finger instantly went to my lips; hers became a thin line, and her eyes clearly carried both anger and frustration about them. It took me only a moment to open my office and remove the two little black boxes. Martha watched but said nothing as I sat one on either side of the breakfast counter and switched them on.

"Dammit Aiden, she doesn't call."

"Tessa is doing exceptionally well, Martha."

I don't think either of us set out to have a staring competition.

"Even Carol came home after boot camp."

This time I tried hard not to sigh.

"Martha! Let's not fool ourselves here. You knew what Tessa was letting herself in for, since you had me as a shining example. She will be home soon: that's all I can tell you, since I don't know for sure myself when that will be."

It was perhaps the one time I felt the need to point something out that I truly doubt she had even considered.

"Are you ready for her return, Martha?"

The flash of anger came quickly to her; I leant on the breakfast bar.

"Know this, Martha; she will be as honest as she can be with you, since you are both her mother AND Matriarch. But ask her a question she can't answer and she will either not answer or will lie to you. That moment will hurt you both, since I suspect it will be a first for both of you."

My hand went to hers and held tight. I felt her hand tense, but I kept hold and my eyes never left hers.

"She belongs to the Department now, Martha, and I suspect when she comes here on her leave she will only then understand what it is to be you, and how you have all those secrets in your head. She has them now, Martha."

A small smile escaped her lips and she nodded. Her hand gripped mine just as tightly.

"That's the part I'm terrified of, Aiden."

I felt I had to give her something, so I told Martha that on the day of her first leave Tessa would be handed a sheet of paper and told to read and sign it. It's a list of what she could and couldn't do. My name would no doubt be on there as a point of contact, as would approval for access to my office. A phone number would be given to her that she could only ever memorize so that, if she was ever in any trouble and had no access to her own phone or laptop, that number could be used.

The day she left the Department on her first leave would be the day she would become an "asset:" a person of value. Most assets on their first leave were shadowed by a member of Bingham Securities. I even warned Martha that I suspected that Madison may well accompany Tessa. That raised an eyebrow and left me telling Martha that those two girls had bonded to some degree, both on the way to the Department and during her time there.

I just prayed she couldn't read my thoughts on how well they bonded on their "road trip" as well. Martha listened; she nodded her head on occasion, and gripped my hand tighter when I came to the hard part of telling a mother how her daughter would have changed.

"Did they do all this to you?"

I shrugged my shoulders, and even smiled at the memories that one question brought to the front of my thoughts.

"I was different as I chose no leave, so instead I was sent directly into the field. I think my first leave was two years into my time at the Department, and even then they had to pick me up and throw me out the gate. I spent a week hiking and taking pictures of Mount Rushmore."

Martha opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of the door swinging open and crashing against the wall as Amelia made her entrance caused her to stay silent. Amelia made it three paces into the room before she noticed us both sitting at the kitchen counter. She spotted the little black boxes and went a little red around the cheeks. Martha smiled and let go of my hand before she walked over to Amelia and hugged her.

"He's all yours, my dear."

The door was closed more gently than it was opened, with Amelia still standing where she was. I switched off the little black boxes and, by the time I had replaced them in my office and closed the door, my wife was standing in the middle of a pool of discarded clothes, just as naked as she had intended to be.

*******

The summer houses started to empty out on an almost daily basis, as school had already started. The Sheriff left Amelia on the island three days a week, but she still had to go to the mainland to cover for days off and sickness amongst the other deputies.

Shelby phoned about a month after my return. All of Tessa's instructors were so impressed with her progress that she was given her first leave, and Madison was assigned as her shadow. I told Shelby to send Madison my way when they arrived, and we would put her up in our spare room.

"Given the background between your wife and Madison, is that wise?"

"Other than the stuff she can never know, Shelby, I'm not holding anything back from my wife. She knows Tessa would have a shadow, and figured out herself that it would be Madison. She offered, so all I'm doing is passing on the invitation."

We talked for a few minutes more before she told me to expect Madison the following afternoon. Hell, it made a nice change to at least be given some kind of advance warning.

It was Amelia who joined up with the girls on the ferry over, and they even stopped off at the diner for an hour to catch up. Tessa took the car home with her, and Madison went with Amelia. I did watch from the window to see if she was in the front of the patrol car or the back, but both got out of the front so I breathed a sigh of relief.

Dinner was fun, and both girls seemed to have some kind of vibe going between them. That unnerved me to begin with; it was like a twin thing when they sometimes finished the other's sentence. Eventually Madison pleaded tiredness and had an early night.

*******

"Aiden, can you open your office, please? I need to speak to Shelby."

That alone got her one of those looks, as her own cell was almost as secure as my office. With a shrug of my shoulders I let her in, got the Department on-line, and set the wheels in motion before I left her to it.

Madison waited until I had left and the door was locked before she asked to be put through to Shelby. It took a moment before Shelby's face filled to screen, her concern evident.

"What's up?"

"I need clarification on something. Worst case scenario, who do I protect? You now have two assets on an island, so who do I protect first?"

Shelby pondered her question for a moment; a flicker of anger crossed her face as she allowed her own imagination to play out Madison's question.

"You're assigned to Tessa, so she is your priority. Aiden no longer works for us, so is not afforded Tessa's kind of protection."

"That's bullshit, Shelby, and we both know it. Aiden still works for the Department and, even as an independent, is deemed an asset. His value to the Department won't ever go away; this tin box he calls an office is a prime example of the investment you people have in him."

It still took a moment for Shelby to nod her head.

"Very well - you have a point. What do you suggest, since you look like you already have the answer?"

"I need to speak to Martha Burnett first before I talk again about this. Can you get Aiden off this island at a moment's notice?"

The nod of her head came first. "It's not impossible; I can slot Aiden over one of the other assets if I have to."

This time Madison smiled. "For now I'm still not happy with the numbers, so can I have authority to bring Lauren here?"

Shelby's brow creased and she leaned a little closer to the screen, her concentration totally on Madison. "OK, you've piqued my interest. Why Lauren?"

"For one, the numbers will even out, and I will need her help with what I have in mind." It was clear to Madison that Shelby was going to refuse. "Shelby, I can't give you details until I have all the facts myself. Martha can smooth the way with this, and Lauren's connection with Carol Burnett when they were both in the Corps will help me, or should I say us."

Shelby slowly shook her head before replying. "It was all so much easier when Aiden refused to see any of his family. Very well: I'll take your request upstairs, but look on it as a formality and set whatever you need to do in motion. Let me know what else you need when you need it."

The screen went blank as Shelby severed the connection. Madison closed the system down and left the office. Amelia was doing the washing up as Madison looked around the room.

"He's gone to do his rituals."

"You're not at work today?"

Amelia shook her head before telling Madison that it was her two days off unless something drastic happened, and then the Sheriff's department would phone.

"Phone Martha. Tell her that it would be a good idea to send Tessa on some errands and, since it's such a nice, fine day, all three of us should go and place flowers on Carol's grave."

Both stared at each other for a moment. Madison just smiled, and Amelia sighed before she shook her head, knowing she wasn't fooling anyone. Amelia left a note for Aiden that they were going for a walk and he may have to fend for himself if he didn't see them for lunch. Both took a roundabout route to the florist, so it was a good half an hour later that they entered the cemetery. Martha was kneeling by the grave; both slowed their pace to allow Martha a private moment.

When her hand reached out to Carol's headstone her fingers gently brushed her name before she used it to pull herself up. Martha took a step back as both girls paid their own respects and then turned to face her. She watched Madison, since she knew it was she who had initiated this meeting. 

"You know what I am and why I'm on this island?"

Martha nodded her head, and there was a pause before she replied.

"Tessa told me; you're what she called a shadow. All first leavers from the Department are required to have one to look after them and make sure that they can be trusted not to shoot their mouths off."

Amelia eyed up Madison, who just smiled right on back at Martha.

"This morning I pointed out a problem that had not occurred to Shelby; now I'm telling you. There is a solution, but I had to talk to you both together, rather than individually."

As all three walked over and sat on a bench, Madison spoke about the fact that, while Tessa was on the Island and Aiden was here as well, this would bring into conflict the duties of any shadow sent here. Although Madison was Tessa's shadow, in a worst case scenario her duty would be to protect Aiden, since his value to the Department outweighed Tessa's.




Parkers Island Ch. 03



"That will change in the morning, since one of my colleagues will be here as well."

Martha sat and listened. The girls waited while Martha pondered what had been said.

"Aiden has lived on this island for well over a year now, and I have yet to see any of you people watching out for him. Why now?"

Madison went to great lengths to point out that Aiden was unique. People had left the Department before: all had had their past life within the Department expunged from all records, and even had paperwork provided to cover those now lost years. Those that left now lived out their lives, forever knowing they had a secret that they could never tell. But Aiden was different; he still worked for the Department as an independent.

This was new ground for those in the Department and, now that Tessa had come home, it brought into light the failure of the system they had in place.

"I hate to state the obvious, Martha, but you live on an island. Other than stealing a boat to get the hell out of Dodge, you now have two assets stuck on this island if something goes wrong. I may take my orders from Shelby, but I work for Bingham Securities and I know exactly what they would say. Aiden has more secrets in his head than Tessa does, and always will."

"Very well; I agree that there could be a problem. So what is the solution?"

Madison pointed to Amelia. "She is."

To Madison it was a simple solution, but selling it to both of these women was slightly harder. Amelia was already part of law enforcement so, when Aiden went on his trips, Bingham would take in Amelia and train her. Martha seemed intrigued by the idea. Amelia was still in shock, even more so when Martha asked how long this would take.

The conversation on that bench went on for well over an hour. Madison still had to run this situation past her boss, but with Shelby on board, and now Martha, it was all down to Amelia.

"Look, Amelia, awhile back you told both Martha and Aiden that, in order to protect him, you had to know what he is capable of. Well, this is the moment of truth time; you now know full well what the answer is. The question is that, if push came to shove, could you protect him?"

As her own mind sped through many scenarios, and as worst case scenarios got worse, she answered the only way she could.

*******

At the end of the week a man turned up at the Sheriff's office. Martha had forewarned the Sheriff, and he was invited in after a few minutes' wait. Jacob Edwards introduced himself and handed the Sheriff his card. The Sheriff did nothing more than pick up the phone and call a friend of his at the FBI, describing the man sitting in front of him and giving the name on the card. It only took a minute to confirm who Jacob Edwards was, and he thanked his friend, hanging up the phone and feeling rather uncomfortable in this man's presence.

"Sheriff, I'm going to offer you a deal that you're going to be stupid to refuse. My company is willing to train Deputy Thompson to a far greater standard than any of you have at the moment. Some of that training will filter down through her to your other Deputies, when she herself brings back that training to your own people."

Martha's own conversations with the Sheriff told him that the offer was only for Amelia. Even he admitted the deal was an interesting one, but that didn't stop him feeling protective of her.

"Why just Deputy Thompson?"

Jacob Edwards' features hardened just for a moment, before returning to their normal bland expression. "Sheriff, that's on a need to know basis. However, let's just say that we believe her to be the best fit for what we're offering."

And something told the Sheriff that he would never know the real reason. All he had to go on was the outline of the conversation he had had with Martha. He certainly trusted Martha a heck of a lot more than the man sitting across from him, and it was on her recommendation that he agreed.

The first time Amelia went away was for three months. The course she ran for the other Deputies at the shooting range a week after her return increased the proficiency of all his other Deputies by twenty percent. Over the next two years Amelia went away twice more, each for four months, and always with more courses for her colleagues after her return.

It got to the point that the other Deputies started taking bets on what course she would run on her return when it was noticed that she had disappeared again.

*******

"Madison, get your ass down here right now."

The phone went silent, and Madison didn't bother to ring back. She knew where Lauren was, and the fact that she added no information simply meant that to do so would take too long. She checked with Martha to make sure that Tessa wasn't going anywhere, and certainly not to Aiden's. As her car came to a stop, both Lauren and Aiden got up from the porch. It was when they opened the door and Lauren pointed to the porch support post that she noticed the Arabic writing.

Ignoring it, she joined the others in the day room. A glance around the room showed that Amelia was at work.

"Call the Sheriff; get your wife here now."

As luck would have it, Amelia was already on the ferry home. Madison sent Lauren to swing by Martha's and grab Tessa. She was to stuff her in the back and keep her out of sight. Both girls went outside and pulled two bulky hold-alls from the trunk before Lauren sped away. Madison dragged both into the house and slammed the door shut. Every couple of minutes she would look at the clock and shake her head at the delay.

When all went quiet she looked around to find Aiden unlocking his office and jamming the door open.

"Any of this any good?"

By the time Madison had walked over, Aiden had opened the cabinet by the far wall of his office. Four Sig Sauer 9mm pistols sat in a rack, with a box of loaded magazines and more ammunition alongside. Two smaller boxes held shoulder and hip holsters. Four Heckler and Koch MP5s sat in another rack underneath four ammunition cans full of loaded magazines, with more ammo cans placed neatly next to the guns. The straps for the MP5s hung from hooks on the inside of the cabinet. 

"Oh, my goodness, Aiden! When you party, you sure like to party."

Between them both they emptied the cabinet of its contents; well, all but a box at the bottom of the cabinet. Madison was curious why such a battered old-looking box would be there. She looked at Aiden, who was obviously expecting her to ask. He smiled and nodded; she opened the top of the box and caught her breath.

"Fucking hell! This is so classified I've only ever seen one of these: it's next generation stuff! Hell, Aiden, officially they're still only testing this."

Concern grew across Madison's face, for a moment even forgetting why they were here. She pulled it from the box and was surprised at just how light it was. The shape was loosely based on binoculars, but the back had a visor shape rather than two lenses to look through. When she turned the front towards her all she saw was a tinted lens.

The specifications came back to Madison: the night sight combines with body heat. When used properly they could effectively look through walls as far away as four hundred yards, seeing a person behind a door or in the room beyond. Placing the night scope gently down again, she looked at Aiden.

"OK, you had better tell me right now what dead body you got this from, and where."

Aiden's boyish manner once again came to the fore as he just stood and took a long, long moment to answer.

"As a matter of fact, Madison, he is still alive. I once had the honor of meeting a very great man; a General in fact. You could say we have stayed in touch ever since."

Both heard the car pull into the garage, yet Madison was still staring at Aiden, her thought process still in shock from so many revelations. This one totally blindsided her.

"Fitzpatrick? My God, Aiden, we never knew! Does Lauren know you still talk to her old boss?"

The grin came back with a vengeance.

"No one knows, and never will, Madison. When General Fitzpatrick allowed me to see Carol one last time I told him to his face that I owed him. He told me to find the bastard that killed one of his Marines and we would call it even. I lived up to my promise to so many people when I watched that man die."

General Fitzpatrick knew I had lived up to my promise; he also knew that a week later I simply disappeared. His Marines had relative peace while the tribes fought amongst themselves to install a new leader.

Lauren came in through the connecting door, Tessa in hot pursuit. The standoff between the two in that room quickly became apparent. The hardware spread across the floor was also self-evident.

"What the fuck?"

Her eyes then found the night vision unit on the arm of the couch.

"Madison, whatever you two have fallen out over can wait. Get upstairs and take that with you."

With a final glare, Madison grabbed the night vision unit and bolted up the stairs two at a time. Lauren turned to Tessa and told her that she was to let the Department know that there was a Fatwa sign painted on Aiden's house and they were locking the house down until both could be extracted. Tessa paled as she listened, but quickly nodded her head and warmed up the computer in the office.

Amelia came through the front door a few minutes later, her hand already on her own service weapon, to find two guns pointing at her.

"What? No welcome home, honey?"

It took Lauren a few minutes to bring Amelia up to speed, while I went into the office to hear Shelby telling Tessa that the closest unit to us was a Hostage Rescue Team. The head of the Department was already on the phone to the FBI, and we were to stay in the house until they arrived. The line from the office was to stay open for the duration. Tessa confirmed her orders and the screen went blank; it would only take the touch of any key for the screen to come back to life.

Tessa watched as I tapped a number into a keypad on the side of the office wall. The back of the keypad lit up, and a click could be heard as the panel next to it slid away, revealing a flat-screen television. It came to life and instantly divided itself into four squares, with four below that and finally four more filling the bottom of the screen.

Familiar features began filling each small screen as the hidden cameras came to life, both inside and outside the house. We both watched the girls on one of the small screens for a moment; the infra-red cameras took a second or so longer, but soon all the screens came to life. Now that all the house and surrounding area could be seen on some part of the flat-screen television, I grabbed Tessa as she stood trying to watch all the screens at once.

"Phone your mother. She needs to get word out across the island. If all this goes south I don't want the innocent to either get hurt or taken hostage."

Tessa nodded and reached for her own cell. By the time I had gone back into the day room, Amelia and Lauren had already stripped down, inspected and rebuilt all the weapons, and were already in the process of loading additional magazines. I helped for a minute before Madison almost ran down the stairs.

"You're not going to believe this! The fuckheads are in the summer house across the road. They seem to have realized that something is up, because they are packing up to leave."

"How many?"

"I counted five."

Just as the girls were going into a huddle church bells rang out. A moment later another set of bells joined them. A third set, although fainter, could also be heard joining in. Amelia's head turned and tilted slightly, and then she turned to the women in front of her.

"This whole island is about to go into lock-down. The bar in town will close with everyone in it; those that are around friends will stay the night. Those living alone will go to a neighbor."

Madison smiled and then turned to Lauren, "The only thing missing is someone on a horse riding through, shouting 'The British are coming'."

For a moment anger flashed in my wife's eyes. "We embrace technology, Madison, but sometimes the old ways are still quicker. We are an island and have sometimes had to fend for ourselves. Don't mock our ways unless you can think of a quicker way to do this, otherwise leave us be."

Both the girls realized they may have stomped on tradition, apologized and went back to work. It still took a moment for my wife to calm down before she explained.

"Had Matriarch used her cell phone, then the rest of the population would have joined in. The network would have overloaded in an instant; the phone lines would have also collapsed under the sudden usage. Two vital communications lines would have been impossible for us to use."

Other than nod, neither girl did anything, yet it was clear that a new found respect and understanding of the island came to them just then.

*******

Lauren grabbed one of the hold-alls and pulled out vests, handing one to each of the girls and putting the last one on herself. It became obvious to me that my wife was one of the team, her self-assurance and the way she moved around both these girls making it clearer by the minute.

Tessa walked into the room, paused for a moment to watch what the girls were doing, and apparently came to the same conclusion I had before turning to me.

"Matriarch just phoned. Everyone is phoning in either on her line or texting on dad's cell. Lock-down is almost complete."

It still amused me, even at times like this, how Tessa could differentiate between her mom and the Matriarch, and yet she could do so seamlessly. She went back into the office and sat waiting. Madison came over while the other girls suited up and tightened the straps of the MP5s to their bodies, her Sig now holstered and tight to her leg. She, like the other two, looked like a walking armory, with magazines peeking out of slots in the Kevlar vests.

"We can't let them leave, Aiden. They know where you are now and, with that knowledge, you or those on this island can never be safe."

"How long has my wife been associated with Bingham?"

"Just over two years. She was trained to protect you, Aiden. None of us envisioned this. I'm sorry, Aiden, but we need her now."

The sound of Tessa's voice covered the distance between us. "Aiden!"

I looked through the open door and into the office towards Tessa first, but her concentration was on something she had seen on one of the monitors. I counted four men approaching the back of the house.

Tessa looked towards me a smile on her lips. "That's Henry. I recognize the slight limp."

By the time one of them had reached the back door Lauren had already taken up position on one side of it. I opened the door. Henry stood watching me for a moment before his hand came out and we shook on it. His own gaze stayed on the girls, still fiddling around with bits of equipment from either my office or from one of the two hold-alls Madison had pulled into the house.

"You shouldn't even be here, Henry. I told Martha to get word out that people were to lock themselves in their houses until all this was done."

He chuckled at that.

"Oh, word got out, Aiden, and most are hunkered down for the night in basements. But it's been left to me and the boys to look out for you and Tessa."

The sound of running caused me to take a sidestep as Amelia rushed into Henry's arms.

"Did you bring the boys, Henry?"

He chuckled, and blushed a bit as well when my wife kissed his cheek.

"Do you honestly think they were going to sit at home and miss all this, angel?"

Still confused, I just waited for someone to explain what was going on. Finally Amelia let go of Henry. When I looked beyond him the other three guys had disappeared.

"Madison, Lauren: I would like you to meet Sergeant Henry Michelson. He and the three out there all did two tours in Vietnam. Now THESE are heroes."

Henry blushed again. By now Lauren had joined in, and the conversation drifted back and forth. Martha knew from Tessa what was going on and, when Henry called to acknowledge lock-down, she had asked him to take his friends along in case the girls needed backup. Lauren quickly explained what the girls were about to do; she could see he was about to intervene, so she got in first.

"All three of us are trained in Close Quarter Combat, Henry. Our worry was these two."

Lauren was talking, but still managed to point to Tessa and me.

"We need to stop those across the road from leaving. If even one gets away the lives of the people on this island will change forever. You and your friends have to protect these two above all else, understood?"

Something in Henry changed then. He eyed up Lauren even harder.

"Let me guess: need to know, and my pay grade means I know nuthin."

Lauren nodded her head; Madison did as well. When his eyes settled on Amelia a single tear made its journey down her cheek. Henry placed his palm on her cheek and his thumb gently chased the tear away.

"I'm sorry, Henry."

"Don't be, angel. The boys and I will look after both of them."

Henry headed back outside and went into a huddle with his three friends. After a moment the three went in different directions as Henry came back in. Tessa watched as one by one all three again disappeared into the night, leaving no sign, even on the infrared cameras. Madison pulled what looked like a sat phone from one of the hold alls and then she and Henry went into a huddle. The sat phone changed hands, and then Madison went and joined the girls.

She could tell I was watching her, and yet she ignored me. I guess it wasn't only Henry that was on a need to know basis. With all the last minute preparations taken care of, all three women headed for the door. Madison looked towards me and tilted her head. I moved in close as her eyes wandered over to the open door of my office and Tessa typing something on the keyboard.

"We have a job to do now, Aiden. You have as well."

I looked over my shoulder and nodded.

"She won't get out; I'm not going to be responsible for another Burnett dying. My office can take a hit from anything except an RPG, so you girls keep that in mind."

Madison leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, nodded, and walked towards the door. Amelia came over and kissed me on the lips. It was clear she wanted to say so much more, but I hugged her to remove the moment from her; it was simply causing her too much pain. Lauren even came over and hugged me before all three girls went out into the night.

"Aiden! Two helicopters are inbound and will be here in twelve minutes."

That's all I heard before I removed the wedge from the door and shut Tessa in the office, key-coded an emergency lock and shed a tear of my own. 

She was safe and that's all that counted. The line to the Department kept her in touch with those looking out for her there. I thought I was alone until I felt Henry standing next to me. His pump action shotgun across his chest and my gun in my hand kept her safe in here, and three women on a mission kept her safe out there.

*******

Tessa ran at the door just as the last of the light from the day room vanished; the click was almost instant. Even the impact of her shoulder and the thumping of her fists, interspersed with her screams, didn't get Aiden to open the door. Tessa wasn't claustrophobic, and yet the sealing of that door scared her; she knew that when that door opened once again so many things would have changed.

Her last scream at the door was her defiance. The one constant thought that held back her tears was that she was a Burnett. 

"Tessa?"

She spun around. Shelby was watching her through the screen.

"Aiden has locked me in! Give me the release code for the door."

Shelby's head shook. "I can't do that. He locked you in for a reason."




Parkers Island Ch. 03



"Please, Shelby, I can be more use out there than in here."

The deep breath and slow release forewarned Tessa.

"There is a reason you're called an asset, Tessa, just as there is a reason that those around you are duty bound to protect you." 

Tessa listened even harder, the silence from outside both reassuring and yet a feeling of calm before a storm. She had great difficulty bringing her attention back to the screen.

"You have a job to do now, Tessa. You have two inbounds flying blind. Get them on the ground."

Tessa shook her head, "No. No-one should die just to keep me alive. That's insane!"

"I remember talking to a Marine Corporal once, Tessa. I told her that, if she accepted the job, her life was expendable over the person she was protecting. I even gave her the chance to leave without a blemish on her record. She chose to stay because she knew the job Aiden was doing would save lives, even if it meant at the expense of her own." 

The anger rose quickly in Tessa, her chair falling backwards as she stood up.

"Don't you DARE talk about my sister like that!"

All Shelby did was sit and watch her young asset as she wrestled with the truth. Some understood early enough, others took some time and sadly, the damage had already been done by the time they realized. There is a reason they are called assets, not just a person of value: the contribution they bring, be it in a war zone or breaking a code, is that they do, in fact, save lives. It's up to people like Shelby to fully understand the cost in human life it truly takes to keep an asset safe.

"Very well, Tessa, let me give you other names: Amelia, Madison and Lauren. Three people who at this moment are facing odds far greater than they should so that you and Aiden can stay alive."

The tears welled up, Tessa losing focus on the screen. She had to look away. Picking up the fallen chair gave her only a moment's respite.

"But I don't want them to die, Shelby."

"Then help them! Do what needs to be done from here. At the moment you have two helicopters traveling blind towards you. Get them on the ground, Tessa."

The pause was only momentary; she nodded her head and began typing. She looked up at the camera and Shelby stared back at her, the smile a small ray of comfort for Tessa. Within moments, the screen divided.

"I can't speak to the crew, so who's in charge on the ground?"

The smile grew and Shelby typed as well. Less than a minute later the face of a man looked back at Tessa. 

"This is Special Agent Donaldson; he's in charge of the Hostage Rescue Team in those helicopters."

The agent nodded first to Shelby and then to Tessa, who went back to typing for another minute. She looked up long enough to ask the agent the ETA of both helicopters: she winced when he told her, and her typing became frantic. After one final burst of speed, Tessa finally looked at the agent.

"I've switched on the lights at the ferry dock. Tell the pilots that they have to use the lights along the slip as approach lights. They have to line up their craft to match the lights and land in the car park. To leave, they must go vertical to a height of no less than one hundred and ten feet and right turn until they see a single light in the distance."

The agent made notes as Shelby listened intently. 

"Head toward that single light - it's the warning beacon over Winchom Shallows. Once they pass that, turn right again by fifteen degrees and that will get them back to the mainland. They will pick up the Mayburn VORTAC beacon within ten seconds of passing the shallows." 

For a moment the Special Agent saw only a young woman and made that mistake.

"Young lady, all my men need is a safe place to land; the pilots can find their own way home."

Even Shelby wasn't expecting what came next.

"Mr. Donaldson, you're clearly not listening. I'm bringing your people as close as I can to a firefight, and keeping them safe enough to get out of their respective helicopters. That means you do as I tell you. If either pilot deviates from the course out of this island in any way I will not be held responsible for their deaths." 

Something in her tone made the agent hold back from challenging her any further. For Tessa, her warning was out there, and to her that was enough. She then went into detail, describing everyone on the ground and what they were wearing, challenging her own memory at every turn. A smile slowly grew on the agent's face as he once again set about writing things down. When Tessa was done he said simply "Ma'am" and nodded, and his side of the screen went blank.

Shelby's face took up the entire screen. "You did well."

"I am my mother's daughter. Being born on this island means I know so much about it. I could do a lot more if I wasn't locked in this box."

"You're about to get an HRT safely on the ground, and you've given them advanced intel. I would say that's a good start. I should have given you this earlier but I always thought your first time would be at my choosing, not a fatwa. It's a line from John Milton, which goes 'They also serve who only stand and wait.' Look up the rest of it while we both wait."

The screen went blank once again.

******* 

The gunfire started barely three minutes later. I kept the front door open and, although standing away, I watched through the window, seeing nothing and fearing the worst.

The helicopters could be heard over the sound of gunfire from across the road. They would land in the car park by the ferry dock; it was the only place close enough and big enough although, with space for only one at a time, it would still take valuable seconds to get them all on the ground.

"I have to meet the Rescue Team, Henry. They need to know what's going on in double quick time."

"I thought you might. One of the boys will shadow you, but will keep out of the way. No sense in spooking those coming to help, is there?"

Other than giving Henry the un-lock code to my office, we didn't need to say anything else. If letting the girls do what they had to was hard enough, leaving Tessa was just as hard. The worst part was leaving my gun in the house. I had made it a hundred yards from my home before I noticed the black figures stepping cautiously on either side of the road. Two red dots instantly appeared on my chest, and I placed my hands behind my head and walked under a tree before I knelt down by the side of the road.

The white FBI stood proud against the black body armor they all wore. One of the team edged forward while two others took up better killing positions either side of me. I quickly told them my name. The man in front pulled his face cover away and knelt in front of me.

"You're the spook?"

Oh, how I hate that word. I kept my voice neutral; well, as neutral as you can when your wife is in the middle of a firefight. I described all three women, telling them that all wore Kevlar and that my wife had her badge hanging from a cord around her neck. Since the summer house was built to the same spec as mine, I described how many rooms were on the ground floor and how many upstairs, as well as how to access the attic.

The man in front of me didn't take any notes but, then again, men like these seldom needed to. He asked a few more questions, and all came with a mental curse from me that I didn't think to add the answers beforehand. He offered to send one of his team to accompany me back to my house, but I refused and I'm glad I did. The team went into a huddle under the tree as I walked back to my house.

Henry was leaning against the rail of the porch, a handgun clearly visible in a holster on his hip. The pump action shotgun still across his chest meant he wasn't taking any chances either. More gunfire broke out from inside the house across the road.

"You best get in here, Aiden. Martha will be pissed with me if you get yourself killed."

Henry glanced back into the house again, as he seemed to do every ten or so seconds. He chuckled as he said "We all understand why you did what you did with Tessa; sure don't want to be around when you let her out, though."

Two black figures broke from the group on the ground and rushed up the path towards the gunfire. I walked into the house and grabbed my gun again. One of the upstairs windows of the summer house exploded outwards, and the business end of an automatic started laying down fire on the black figures on the ground. All rolled out of harm's way and instantly joined the first two in the assault on the house.

The volume of gunfire increased considerably. It was then a scream came from the house and my blood ran cold. I held my gun a little tighter and moved towards the steps of the porch, but my world went dark as I crumpled to the floor. All I heard before I slipped into unconsciousness was Henry telling me he was sorry, but I wasn't going anywhere.

How can black move? Yet it did. I tried to focus and keep the pain in my head at bay whilst doing it. The face of the F.B.I agent I spoke to in the middle of the road looked back at me.

"We have one wounded. She says her name is Lauren but won't say anything else. She's down at the dock being treated and prepped for transport to a hospital. We found your wife; she's safe, but we have a standoff and we need you to defuse the situation."

Fuck the headache. I instantly got up, regretted it for just a moment when I wobbled a bit on my feet, and followed the FBI guy out the door. Henry still leant against the same post, looking outwards.

"Me and you are going to have words later."

Henry didn't move; I heard a "Yup" as I passed, but that was it. Two of the team stood at the front door. I heard another helicopter land down by the ferry dock but I didn't pay it any real attention. The scene I was focused on as I walked into the day room was my wife pointing her Sig directly at one of the still masked black suited assault team, that same member of the assault team showing a great deal of restraint as he pointed his own weapon at her.

She was covered in blood, her blood-stained hair no longer held back in a pony tail. It was her eyes that worried me: for worried, please read "scared." Fully dilated to the point that I saw no other color than black, patches of blood splattered most parts of her body, and the reason why was being held in Amelia's left hand.

The trail of blood came from the bottom of the stairs; Amelia must have dragged Madison's body all this way. The only thing stopping her progress was the man in the black suit standing in front of her. Two red dots danced across her chest from time to time, but her focus was on the man in front of her. Faint rasping noises came from Amelia's chest as she tried so hard to pull air into her lungs.

"We know who you people are; we were briefed on the way here. But my people don't take kindly to having guns stuck in their faces."

"Make him back away."

"Can't do that. The look in that woman's eyes for one, our training for another. She has to lower her gun first."

"Can I get between them?"

"Only from the right side, but make sure you don't get in front of your wife. If you do then we don't care who you are: my people will cut you in half."

The red dot on the right side went out as I approached my wife. Amelia had hold of Madison's vest by the collar. Kevlar may save lives, but it's just not built to take a full magazine to the chest. One of the rounds must have slipped in somehow, because she was clearly dead and Amelia wouldn't let go.

"Em, please give me your gun."

Her brow creased for a moment and then she violently shook her head. If anything, her grip tightened on her Sig, heightening the tension just a bit more. The urge to pull her to me and hug her really tight was hard to fight, as I felt responsible for all this. If I had not come to this island then Amelia wouldn't be in the position she was in now. My hand came out and stopped a few inches from her blood-spattered vest.

"Please Em, we need to see to Madison. We can't do that while you're having a pissing contest with the guy behind me."

Something I had said must have struck a chord. Her eyes softened, and color fought against the blood on her face to give her a more natural look. Her Sig lowered an inch, then an inch more, before her own momentum brought the gun to her side. She moved her head to look at me, her eyes watered, and then tears rolled down her cheeks.

"She's dead because of me, Aiden. I couldn't save her."

Her hand moved up slightly, sliding her Sig into its holster, and I clung to my wife as her heart broke inside her chest, her left hand still refusing to let go of the collar of Madison's blood-soaked vest.

"My men and I would consider it an honor to help with your friend, Ma'am."

The sharp intake of breath from Amelia made me look behind me. With her face cover off the brunette looked relieved as the sweat dripped from her face. She slid her MP5 behind her back and took a small step closer to us both, her focus only on my wife as she spoke.

The faint "thank you" was all it took. I stepped back and four other members of the FBI team surrounded Madison. A moment later the woman knelt beside her, her hand going to a pouch resting against her lower back. Something slid out and was rolled along the space beside Madison. She opened it further, showing a handle built into the fabric at each corner, and all four of the team lifted Madison onto the portable stretcher.

They carried her out of the house, with the respect and dignity of her being one their own. Martha and her husband stood at the gate. Amelia saw her and rushed into her arms. Henry must have let Tessa out, since she soon joined the group hug before parting so that the body of Madison would pass between them.

*******

The following days were fierce for us all. The Sheriff stopped the ferry for a day, and when it returned to normal service he had a deputy on it all day. Martha lived up to her reputation as Matriarch on Parkers Island, her calming influence proving a soft balm over the rest of the population when they found out that it was Amelia in the middle of a gun battle to protect not only her husband but Tessa as well.

The people of the island wanted to lash out at those who sought to destroy the peace in their little corner of the world, and hug Amelia at the same time. News filtered through the island that Hank and the rest of the veterans of the Vietnam War had backed up Em that night. A silent cheer went up for those brave men; more of the men on the island demonstrated their constitutional right to bear arms for a week or so afterwards, and I dare say a few of the women did as well.

The island's population and most now living on the mainland did what I suspected they would do: they closed ranks. One of their own was threatened, and they all wanted to push back. I expected to see the press stream onto the island: it never happened. In an age of social media and personal blogs, that night was never mentioned. Strings were pulled, and no doubt favors were being owed into the next century. That night never got as much as a byline.

Henry and his friends combed the rest of the island, but he told me they found nothing. He is a bad liar. The report of a helicopter landing on the northernmost tip of the island, the one side that has no inhabitants and a long gently sloping beach, went quickly around the island. Plus the fact that Henry and his friends hadn't been seen since the firefight, and reappeared less than an hour after the report of the helicopter landing, meant that the IQ of a brain surgeon wasn't needed to figure out the end result.

When Senator Chadwick arrived, his own security team looked real nervous. Martha and Amelia greeted him, Tessa arriving a few minutes later. I was on the phone almost hourly to the hospital. Lauren had had surgery on her wounds, and other than that they refused to release any information.

Shelby arrived just after Steven Chadwick had left, with four men from Bingham Securities. They took it personally when any of their people died.

"We're looking into who fucked up, Aiden. The assault team has left the house to us, and the forensic people have been real busy. We have already found a great deal, and Jacob Edwards himself wants the lead on this."

I had met the boss of Bingham Securities once. I could describe him in one word: imposing. But I had other things I wanted to discuss with Shelby.

"You gave the go-ahead for Bingham to train my wife. You covered her absence with the trips I've been making lately."

"Oh, grow up, Aiden. Madison suggested it to both Martha and me. She was concerned that two assets now lived on the island and only one shadow was assigned to protect them both. Amelia had nowhere near the standard of training required to keep you alive at the time; just remember it's that training that kept her alive last night."

The truth was I felt this was personal and, although reluctant to the bitter end to admit it, I could understand Shelby was being more practical. Martha joined our conversation; she wanted to send a letter of condolence to Madison's family. It shocked us both when Shelby told us that she was an orphan.

"Release her body to me at the end of your enquiries, Shelby."

The pause from Shelby forewarned of trouble.

"I can't do that, Martha. She belongs to Bingham."

The look on Martha's face was unreadable, and I suspected that Matriarch had taken over.

"She belongs to us now, Shelby. I know she died protecting Amelia, and that makes her ours. Do what you have to, Shelby, but she gets buried here so she will never be alone again."

Even Shelby knew she was in for a fight over this, and to her this was a minor distraction that she simply didn't need. She rolled her eyes and walked a few paces away, her cell already in her hand. It took a few minutes of pacing and hand-waving, but Martha got her wish.

Tessa and I spent three days and a portion of the Department's resources inventing a life for Madison. From a birth certificate that stated she was born on Parkers Island, to a driving record that showed she had over-indulged in the speeding department a couple of times in her life, and even three parking tickets over the course of five years.

Anyone looking into Madison's life now would never know the real Madison. If the funeral raised any form of suspicion, her new background would hold up nicely, not to mention flag up anyone sticking their nose into her past.

The FBI went to see the real owners of the house a day after the firefight on the island and, after a short interview, reminded them that, as part of an ongoing investigation, they were required by law not to talk to the press. The occupants understood the implications of the statement from the agent, and then pointed out that they themselves were born on Parkers Island and were bound by a higher authority than theirs.

Work on repairing the holiday house was all but complete almost two weeks later. Martha herself had contacted the owners and offered to buy back the house. They refused, but were happy to let Martha finish the repairs. They would sort out the damaged furnishing when everything else was done.

*******

Amelia spent the evening before the funeral ironing, polishing and re-ironing her best uniform. I held out the box of tissues when she cried, and held her tight to me when her memories became too much for her. I wouldn't say that the Sheriff's office shut for the day, but they sure did have to draft in a few Deputies from surrounding areas the day of Madison's funeral. Those that knew the truth made Madison an honorary Deputy.

When the ferry docked and the boat was secured, the doors opened and Amelia led the procession. She stood alone in front of the hearse, her stride measured and her back straight, as the procession left the ferry. When the last person set foot on the island, the ferry blew its horn in honor of the precious cargo it had just carried. It was also a signal for the smaller boats over in Clearwater Cove as one by one they added to the farewell song from the ferry.




Parkers Island Ch. 03



The bells of all three churches rang out across the island, adding a strange harmony to the salute from the boats. Deputy Amelia Thompson shed a single tear as the air grew thick with the emotion of each step towards the island's cemetery. As my wife passed me I physically had to fight the urge to join her, to walk alongside her. But we knew this was Madison's day; a woman who protected my wife at the expense of her own life, just as Amelia knew that she had to lead this funeral cavalcade alone in acknowledgment of that fact.

I was so proud of my wife that day. Little did anyone know that she had been up half the night pacing the house, fighting her own fears; the only thing that got her through the night was that she wanted the whole island to know that Madison was the bravest of them all.

Five Deputies walked either side of the coffin. Three members of the FBI team asked if they could attend; the woman my wife pointed a gun at was in the middle, her two colleagues who had helped carry Madison from the house walking either side.

The townsfolk stood almost shoulder to shoulder on one side of the road all the way up to the cemetery, joining the procession as the car passed them. Soon the cemetery was filled to capacity, and the reverend was thankful that he had arranged for a public-address system to be used.

Madison Robertson was twenty-eight when she died. Born and delivered to an orphanage because she wasn't wanted, she bounced around foster care for eighteen years. Then, with her release from the state childcare system, the army got her for a while before she found her niche with Bingham Securities. On the day of her funeral she had the inhabitants of an entire island wishing her God's peace, with the most sincere thanks of a select few.

*******

I wasn't stupid; I had been where Amelia was right now. She needed help and I felt too close to give her the help she really needed. My talks with Shelby got me a surprise agreement. The Department offered to have Amelia reside with them while she underwent treatment for the post-traumatic stress she was clearly heading towards.

We all had a part to play in her mental state. I fell in love with a woman whose only crime was to love me, and through me and my past we had brought her to this point. I was as guilty as hell, and needed to do everything in my power to help her; selling it to my wife caused the biggest row we ever had. It was then I leaned on Martha and asked for her help. Amelia stayed with the Burnetts for a week before I got the phone call I had hoped every day for.

The Department's clinic wasn't designed or even staffed with people to deal with PTSD. When assets went into the field, nine times out of ten they were insulated, protected better than even some of the top Generals. I still know of three assets that hadn't heard a shot fired in anger (unless you counted Xbox). That's what Bingham Securities were for: to cut an asset off from the world so they could concentrate on the job in hand.

The clinic dealt with minor injuries and the occasional mental exhaustion case. They drafted in a specialist from Walter Reed, who sat in a room and read a report that was so classified that it had 'eyes only' stamped all over it. The words 'no copies' were stamped as many times over what space there was left on the cover. I'm told it took her over two hours to read everything in the file, going back occasionally to re-read something. When she closed the folder the security guard behind her removed the file and walked out of the room.

Dr. Courtney Barstow just sat and stared at the wall, not even realizing that the guard had gone from the room. The first page had the signatures of the only people who had read it; six in all. Two she recognized as doctors at the clinic, one of whom she knew had recommended her. There was her own signature, and another was a Senator she knew by name from watching some political program. Only with the aid of that file did she realize that Amelia Thompson was his God-daughter.

She raised an eyebrow when she recognized the President's signature. God alone knows whether he came here or he got the file out of this place to the White House. The last was a name that only had one word: Shelby. Feeling like she needed some fresh air, she left the sterile room and walked the grounds.

"My God! If only the newspaper people ever got to read that report," she thought.

It still took her a moment to realize that someone else had sat on the bench beside her.

*******

I had timed her entry into the sterile room, and watched her leave; she walked past me like I wasn't even there. My following her may have had 'stalker' written over it in any other circumstance. When she realized I was sitting next to her I held out my hand.

"Aiden Thompson."

Her grip was firm.

"The husband." It wasn't a question; more a statement that she knew was fact. "So you're the reason for all this?"

"Yes, sadly I am. Sorry about that."

"Where is your wife, Mr. Thompson?"

"She's still at home."

What she said next threw me.

"Good thing I'm still packed, then. When can we leave?"

"Rest up tonight. It's a full day's journey."

Nodding her head, Dr. Barstow just stood and walked towards the clinic building. When Tessa found out we were heading back to the island she asked Shelby if she could go as well. It took Shelby a New York minute to agree.

*******

All three of us stood and looked at the shore as the ferry came to a stop. Dr. Barstow saw the Deputy sitting on the bench, a coffee cup in her hands.

"Your ritual, Aiden?"

"It's also hers now; she seems to think they will come back."

"Will they?"

I don't think she was ready for my answer. "No."

She made the mistake of looking into my eyes, shivering slightly before once again looking towards my wife. It's the one thing that was not even in the file she read. Between Bingham's need for revenge and mine we became a formidable team. The Department turned a blind eye, as did the other agencies. I'm sure a word or two from Senator Chadwick had a lot to do with that.

The one survivor of that night's firefight was handed over and, as quickly as I was breaking codes and gleaning information from silent sources, the team from Bingham unearthed what was left of the cell. Within three months all connections to the cell had vanished. I didn't ask where, and wouldn't have been interested enough to be bothered, although I did have a new respect for Jacob Edwards and the people of Bingham now.

As Dr. Barstow was about to step off the ferry she turned to me. "I forgot to ask: where am I staying?"

"With Martha Burnett."

"Oh, yes, the Matriarch." She paused as though in thought. "I want to speak to your wife alone for awhile. Oh, and introduce me as Courtney. I can't be all formal in a situation like this."

I nodded, and pointed to the diner.

"When you're done, go into the diner and ask the girl behind the counter to let Martha know that you're ready. A car will come and pick you up."

Courtney raised her eyebrows. "That's a bit cloak and dagger, don't you think?"

I laughed. Hell, even Tessa smiled.

"Not really. We have no cabs on the island, and it will be easier for Mr. Burnett to come and get you rather than you getting directions from one of the locals."

A faint, but cute, shade of red graced her cheeks, before she walked over to Amelia and sat next to her. As Tessa pulled the car off the ferry, I introduced Courtney to my wife, and gave Amelia a hug and a kiss before telling her I would see her at home. She was already talking to the doctor as I got into the car, and Tessa dropped me off at the house before heading home herself.

Making dinner put me in a zone where I didn't have to think too much about what my wife and the good doctor were talking about. The front door swinging open, and a very angry looking Lauren standing there, brought a very quiet "oh, shit" from me.

"Thanks for the fucking invite, Aiden! So tell me: when were you going to get around to letting me know you had both left the reservation?"

The voice on the verandah behind her slowed her down some.

"The dipshit thought I needed a head doctor, so he brought one here."

Lauren looked behind her, then turned and hugged Amelia.

"You can fight it all you want, sister, but you DO need help."

I breathed a sigh of relief that I had dodged a bullet just then, so much so that Lauren even held out her hold-all for me to take up to the guest room. Both girls were in a tight little conversation on the couch on my return, so I went back to sorting out dinner.

The mood around the table was slightly more somber. All three of us hadn't been together since the night Madison died. Lauren was more upbeat towards the back end of the evening as she recounted waking up in hospital.

"I tell you, girl, I've never been more embarrassed! I woke still pumped full of drugs, and I'm scrambling around looking for my weapon."

Even as she told us this her arms waved around, and that image alone caused Amelia to drop her fork and laugh. A small thing to many, but an act that I had not seen since that day.

"So I'm pulling tubes out all over the place, and the nurse is screaming that I'm having a fit."

Amelia had to push her chair back and hold her stomach, as tears of laughter rolled down her cheeks. Suddenly Lauren stood up and unbuttoned her jeans, before dropping them to her knees. The sight of Lauren looking like that in blue bikini bottoms made me spit the orange juice I was drinking across the table. The girls just pointed and laughed even harder as Lauren continued.

"That fuckhead got me in the ass! I have two things going for me girlfriend; these." Her hands were already pushing her tits further upward before she turned her back to both of us. "And this ass, and that fuckhead put a God damn hole in it."

By now Amelia was bent double, the sound of her laughter a pure joy to hear. I looked more closely at Lauren: not to perv, although she did have one heck of a body on her, but my eyes refused to move away from the three holes in the top half of her thigh, as well as the one in her ass. Lauren noticed what I was doing, but said nothing.

"So, as you can imagine, I've put in a requisition for a full body Kevlar suit. I had thought about the deluxe model with the extra padding around the tail, but this ass needs to be shown in all its glory; not made to look like it's holding one heck of a lot of junk in the trunk."

Amelia had trouble breathing and laughing at the same time. Lauren pulled her jeans back up, buckled up and sat back down again.

We both heard it; Lauren was out of her chair faster than I was as Amelia's laughter turned to tears. Lauren knelt in front of my wife, her hands wrapped tight around hers.

"I couldn't save her, Lauren; you have to believe that, I just couldn't. That bastard dropped from the attic behind us; she had no chance."

Lauren made a few shushing noises and then pulled my wife from her seat, wrapping her arms around her as the memories of Madison's death once again overwhelmed her. Both sat on the couch as I sat back down at the table. It was Lauren all along; she was the connection that would open my wife up. Amelia nodded her head at some question she was asked, and both girls looked at me and nodded once again.

I phoned Martha, and Mr. Burnett dropped Courtney at our house half an hour later. It was well past midnight when I put my wife to bed and drove Courtney back to the Burnetts.' She waited until I pulled up outside before she spoke again.

"I can't stay here and treat your wife."

"Would it help if you stayed with us?"

"Yes."

"Give me until tomorrow. I will have a bed delivered by then, and you can use our other spare."

"That's a lot of women in your place! People will talk."

"This is Parkers Island, Courtney. These people have seen so much more than you give them credit for. But they won't be talking anyway, because I'm going back to the Department late tomorrow. My wife needs you, Lauren and Tessa, but not me at the moment."

"I can't talk you out of that choice?"

"No."

Mr. Burnett opened the door and Courtney got out of the car. He waved, and I waved back before pulling away. Our house was dark on my return. Amelia was sleeping in a fetal position, something she did a lot since Madison's death.

*******

Amelia recognized the signs. The bed had been delivered an hour ago, and both girls had had the spare room ready an hour before that. I gave the guys a hefty tip and a big "thank you" for getting the bed here and put together so quickly.

"You're leaving."

"For a few days, yes. You need to be comfortable when you speak to the doctor, but you can't do that around me. Lauren is here, as is Tessa. Call me when you want me back."

"OK."

That one word almost tore my heart out. If she had wanted me to stay I would have. Although she had taken a few tentative steps on the road to recovery, she had done so with the aid of Lauren. I was gone before the doctor arrived, and watched from the ferry as the island grew smaller until it was nothing but a haze against the sky beyond it.

*******

I had basically wandered for a day, ending up where it all started. It was strange standing outside our old house. A man was washing his car on the driveway; a young mother and child were on a blanket close to the house, its structure adding shade for them. Eventually he stopped and walked over to me.

"Can I help you, mister?"

I still kept my hands in my pockets. I smiled, but I didn't put much effort into it.

"Just reminiscing. I used to live here; grew up here, in fact."

"Well, we live here now, so I would appreciate it if you moved along."

He took a step closer, puffing his chest out as he did. The thought that I could deflate his ego by reminding him that he actually rented the house, and I still owned it, was pointless. I nodded, and walked away as he asked.

The cemetery was just as immaculate as I had remembered it. What surprised me were the fresh flowers on my folks' grave. I added mine and knelt for a while, enjoying the peace and the happy memories of childhood.

"You don't write, you don't call; my child doesn't even believe she has an uncle, let alone an aunt."

Abby didn't see me grin. I stood and hugged my sister.

"My niece is barely four, Abby. I know this because I sent a birthday card."

My sister waved her hand dismissively. "Details, details."

We held hands and walked towards the car park while Abby went into minute detail of everything that had gone on since my wedding three years ago. It was only when we were both sitting in her car that she finally came up for air, and I of course asked the only question that she hadn't covered.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Amelia called; she said you would be here either today or tomorrow."

My next question would have been directed to my wife, since it was only a last minute decision on my part not to return to the Department. How the heck did she know where I was? Unless Tessa called Shelby, and SHE tracked me down.

"What's going on, Aiden? Em sounded worried, and why isn't she with you?"

Even holding her hand couldn't help me formulate an answer. In the end I gave her one that was more honest than even I thought was appropriate.

"Amelia has a heck of a lot on her mind right now, Abby. Having me around is slowing down the help she needs, since all I am right now is a reminder. Please don't ask any more, Abby, because I would have to lie to you, and I don't have it in me to keep a straight face when I do so at the moment."

My sister stared, her mouth hanging open. It shut a couple of times, only to open again as she fought really hard to form a sentence.

"Matt told me once that there are things about you and your life that come with consequences. When I pressed him on his statement he clammed up, so I ignored what he said. He may be my husband, but I'm your sister and I should know when you're in trouble, yet he knows you better than I do, doesn't he?"

"You married well, Abby. Matt is a good man, and you complement each other well."

Her eyes sparkled and the cheeky little grin returned to her lips. "Nice swerve, brother of mine; real nice."

It's not easy to hug a sister in a car, but I made the attempt and it was passable by anyone's standards.

"You're staying with Hannah while you're here."

I went to make a comment but Abby raised her hand, cutting me off from even attempting it.

"Hannah wants you at her place. Don't worry: Gran and Grand-dad won't be told you're in town, but she wants you at her place. She may have had her head stuck up Gran's ass for a while, but it's out now, Aiden, and she wants to make up for lost time with you."

My love for both my sisters was truly tested at that moment.

"Aiden, if you don't agree to this I will never speak to you again. Hannah knows she has some serious ass kissing to do so please let her. God alone knows I have almost the same amount to do as well."

That stopped my thoughts dead; Abby must have seen my confusion. She blushed and held onto my hand, her other hand resting on my cheek.

"If I asked you to take your shirt off, brother of mine, would you?"

I suddenly felt very cold. Abby's fingers tightened their grip on my hand.

"If I asked you who Carol was, would you tell me?"

Her eyes misted up and she sniffed back a tear. I grabbed hold of my sister and held her tight to me as her whole body shook with sobs. Neither of us had any idea how long we stayed like that; eventually Abby could cry no more. She pulled her bag onto her lap when I let go of her, and produced a tissue.

"Your makeup has run, Abby."

"Doesn't matter."

My sister extracted a promise that we would meet again at Hannah's. She had to make sure the nanny was OK, and then she said she needed to pick up something from the house before she could be at Hannah's. I left the cemetery with my promise still ringing in my ears; as I sat in my car and watched her leave I was intrigued, and slightly alarmed, that she suddenly seemed to know so much. My thoughts dwelt on Matt, and yet I believed we had an understanding. However, I wasn't married to him: my sister was.

I sat still outside Hannah's house for a few minutes, not knowing why, yet not in any real rush to have another argument with my sister. The door opened and she came out, walked over to my car, and sat in the passenger seat. She looked out the window for a moment before she felt brave enough to look at me.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being a bitch, for listening to our grandparents over you when they walked into our house, and for disrespecting Amelia that day at the airport. The list can go on and on, Aiden. You're my brother and the one that looked out for us. It's you I should have listened to; no one else."

Hannah's cell rang just then. When she answered it all she said was "Yes, he's here now. We're talking in his car outside the house."

My sister closed her cell down and once again looked at me.

"Please come in, Aiden. We have so much to explain."

Feeling a bit foolish just sitting there we both got out. I grabbed my bag and went with her. Hannah made us drinks and, by the time we had settled on the couch, Abby was rushing through the house looking for us. The relief was clear on her face when she saw us both sitting there. She looked behind her for a second before ushering someone forward. Within a moment Sarah stood beside Abby, both looking very anxious.

Still unsure why Sarah was here I looked toward Hannah. The one time I had seen Sarah was at my sister's wedding. A light suddenly dawned on me; she had been the doctor I'd pointed the gun at in Afghanistan, and she must have told Matt at the wedding. What confused me was why she told my sisters. The longer I stared the more she seemed to shrink into herself. Abby noticed and stood directly in front of her.




Parkers Island Ch. 03



"No, Aiden, I won't allow it."

I stood, walking towards Sarah who seemed to match my steps, only backwards. By the time I got to the door Hannah had joined Abby, both preventing me from confronting Sarah.

"My one regret, Sarah, is that I should have stopped you the moment Matt told me he knew. Because of that lapse these two now know."

Sarah was pressed up against the door; it was Hannah that tried to defend her.

"No, Aiden, it wasn't like that. Abby and I were talking about when Em acted weird, and you both up and disappeared. When we realized that Sarah knew something we practically became a second skin on her until she caved and told us."

My answer to her statement became a question. "And who did you tell?"

Both my sisters shook their heads.

"No one, I swear, and besides, Matt already knew you were a spook. Donny said he knew something wasn't right about you all along."

My gaze once again held Sarah as she seemed to shrink against the door.

"One day you will realize what you have done."

I walked back into the room and grabbed my bag, my anger being held barely in check. Both Abby and Hannah knew better than to get in my way, and both stepped aside, allowing me to move between them. Even Sarah moved away from the door, her eyes never leaving me as I opened the door and stood letting the late afternoon breeze wash over me.

"You should have talked to me at the wedding. You have no idea what you have done, or the pain you have caused."

My foot went to move before I realized that I still had my sisters to deal with. When I looked across, their eyes held so much pain of their own.

"The day our grandparents came to our house and you both rushed to pack a bag each should have been the end of it. I have no sisters any more, and I live for the day that Houston will somehow have become nothing more than a distant memory."

Abby rushed to me and held on tight.

"But, Aiden, we just wanted to tell you how proud we are of you."

My hand held her wrist, twisted it, and moved her away from me.

"Don't touch me! Don't come anywhere near me, or make any attempt to talk to anyone connected with me. That includes everyone in this room, and Matt as well."

My head inched towards Sarah, what she saw in my eyes caused her to shake with fear.

"Leave the army; you know I can find out, so leave before JAG makes you."

I left the bedlam I had caused. Tossing my bag back into the rental I drove away, my own thoughts seeming to run though every emotion within me. Finding the airport parking lot was a minor miracle. I was back at the Department the next morning, sitting in front of Shelby while I recounted a conversation I had with Matt, the connection with his sister and the wedding, and on to the conversation with my sisters not even a day ago.

"You know Bingham will want in on this?"

Nodding my head was just the beginning.

"Tell them to look towards Donny. His history with me, and what Madison did to him at Abby's wedding, was probably the start. Hannah dumping him would have just lit the touch paper."

Shelby nodded and reached for the phone on her desk.

"Go rest up in your apartment: you look like shit."

I'm sure I grunted an acceptance of how I looked. Tessa was still on the island, so it was a simple case of dropping my bag on the floor and falling onto the bed. I'm sure that at some point I actually got out of my clothes, since I woke later that day both naked and in bed.

*******

Two days later, the fallout of the meeting with Shelby dragged Matt out of a meeting at his office, with two very intimidating FBI agents sitting him down and reading him the riot act. Matt for his part didn't even lawyer up; he knew something bad had happened. Before leaving, one of the agents slid a sheet of paper across his desk and told him to sign at the bottom.

The lawyer in him wanted to read it all but, after the first paragraph and the third mention of the words "in the interest of national security," he stopped reading and signed. They left right afterwards, while he quickly grabbed his own coat and told his secretary to cancel everything. He made it home in time to see a black SUV outside his house and an agent standing beside it.

As he was getting out of his car his cell rang. He knew he didn't have time for this, but it was his mom phoning. She was hysterical, and wanted to know why two MPs had turned up at the house and taken Sarah away. Sarah had let them in, grabbed a coat, and left with them, with not one word spoken between them despite her own mom wanting to know why they were there.

Matt did his best to calm his mother, and told her he would find out. She extracted a promise before she would even consider putting the phone down. By the time Matt got inside, Hannah and Abby were sitting on a couch in the day room, both looking terrified. Abby spotted him and rushed into his arms.

"He hates us, Matt! We can't see him ever again," she sobbed.

Matt looked at all three agents standing in the room.

"Did they identify themselves before you let them in, Abby?"

He felt her head nod. A cell rang out and one of the agents took a step back to answer it. He looked towards Matt and then went back to his conversation. After a couple of nods and "yes sirs" he closed his cell and had a huddle with the other two. The female agent who appeared to be in charge asked Abby to sit down. When she refused Matt could guess what was going to come next, so he guided his wife to the couch and Abby instantly clung to her sister.

"You're the husband?"

Matt nodded. He watched as the third agent picked up two sheets of paper from the coffee table and placed them into a folder before standing to one side of Matt.

"We would like you to come with us, please."

"Am I under arrest?"

The features on the female agent hardened. "Would you like to be?"

The agent who had taken the call moved closer, diverting Matt's attention to him and the female agent.

"You have my word I will bring you back here. You will be home in time to put your daughter to bed."

Matt nodded and hugged both Abby and Hannah once more, before following the agents out of his house. The FBI building was as nondescript as they could make it, and yet everyone knew it was the FBI building. Matt expected an interrogation room, but he was escorted into a side office. Sarah sat in a seat by the desk looking really nervous. Although she acknowledged his entrance she sat still and said nothing.

Eventually Matt sat next to her and waited. A woman came in and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Sarah asked to use the bathroom, and the woman smiled and nodded. A minute later another woman came in, and escorted Sarah out of the room and back again a few minutes later.

It was still an hour before the door opened once again, and both brother and sister recognized Steven Chadwick. He didn't look like he did when Matt had last seen him; he was serious now. He tried a smile and eventually gave up before walking over to the desk and asking them both to join him, tossing a file onto the table while he waited.

"Before we start I would like to tell you that at this moment I'm chairing a closed meeting in Washington and have nine people willing to testify to that fact."

The Senator looked directly at Sarah.

"I'm telling you this for my own protection since you can't keep your mouth shut."

Sarah winced at the remark and started to wring her hands.

"Lieutenant Colonel Richardson, your career hangs on two things: what you tell me in this room, and me believing you."

The brother in Matt surfaced first, the lawyer not all that far behind. Senator Chadwick saw it, but got in first.

"You're here to keep her calm. If you can't do that, then I will have you removed from this office and sent home. But know this, however: with or without you here, I intend to get to the bottom of this."

He got a nod from both of them before he opened up a file and pulled two pictures out, sliding them across to Sarah. Matt looked and paled. He recognized Madison, the shoulder and head shot clearly showing her dead, and no doubt on some morgue slab somewhere.

"Dead because you told Abby and Hannah about their brother. It was bad enough you talked to your brother here, but at least he can keep a secret, even from his own wife."

The Senator silently read from another sheet he pulled from his file, and then asked Sarah about her time in Afghanistan. Sarah knew what he was referring to, and told him as much as she had told Matt on his wedding day when she had once again seen Aiden. Again Steven Chadwick opened the file and flicked through the pages inside. Sarah spotted one sheet of paper which had "Dishonorable Discharge" as its heading.

Finally finding the sheet he wanted, Steven Chadwick read it and then looked again at Sarah.

"This is Madison's report of the wedding. She noted your anxiety and the way you hovered around Aiden, even instigating a slow dance with him. Did you at any time introduce yourself to him?"

"Yes sir, I did."

"What did you say your name was?"

"Sarah Richardson, sir."

Steven Chadwick looked directly at Sarah; he even placed the sheet of paper face down on the table to give her his full concentration.

"You introduced yourself as Sarah Richardson. Not Lieutenant Colonel Richardson, since you knew what Aiden was?"

Her head lowered, Matt placed his hand on her thigh and she looked up at him. Her lips parted, and she tried so hard to say something. Steven Chadwick asked another question, since it was clear he wasn't about to get an answer to his first one.

"How many dances did you have with Aiden that evening?"

"Three, sir."

"All slow dances?"

"Yes, sir."

Senator Chadwick kept asking about the wedding reception. Once in awhile he would refer to the report from Madison. Matt could see why he was such a good politician; when Sarah froze over a question he would ease off and come at the same question from a different angle, eventually getting the answers he was looking for. When he asked her how Abby and Hannah had found out, Sarah went quiet once again.

"I got mad, sir."

This time the Senator leaned on the table, intrigued. "Explain."

Sarah had gone to Abby's to spend time with her niece. Hannah was there and between them they moaned about the lack of times they ever saw their brother. It was Hannah who called him a clerk; soon Abby joined in, and she wondered aloud what he did in the army, since he never talked about it or had even been seen in a uniform. Hannah mentioned that he didn't even have a haircut of high and tight like all the men she had seen in uniform.

Sarah listened but said nothing as his sisters belittled their own brother, calling him a clerk and a bottle washer. The final straw was when Abby said that he must have a real easy job that kept him here while all the real solders were fighting in Afghanistan. Hell, even Sarah had done a tour there, so she must be braver than their own brother.

"I couldn't take it anymore, sir. These two bitches were belittling a man I had seen pull a gun on me and told me to look after his Marine friend first, knowing how he himself was slowly bleeding to death, and to them he was nothing more than a clerk hiding in an office all safe and sound."

Sarah had made her excuses and left, but not before telling both sisters that they knew nothing about Aiden and, until he told them himself, it would be best if they both minded their own damn business.

Matt listened and knew she was right. He could even name the day that conversation would have been: he had come home that evening, and Abby wanted to know every conversation he had with Aiden at the wedding and what he knew of the blonde he came with. He loved his wife dearly, but he also knew what Aiden was. Matt knew that, in this marriage, that would be one secret he had to keep from her.

*******

As this meeting was going on Donny was walking back to work after lunch with friends. He was annoyed at the black van parked on the curbside blocking his way. Suddenly two men in masks were standing behind him; one held him as the other stuck a needle in his neck. When his body slumped into unconsciousness they dragged him into the black van via the side door.

Those few who witnessed this called the Police. Two even managed to get the license plate number as it sped away. The Police arrived within minutes and started taking statements. Thirty minutes later a report of a black van on fire three miles away came over the radio. When Donny woke later that evening, naked and chained to a metal bed, the first thing he did was wet himself.

A man came into the room and watched Donny cry for a moment before sitting next to him, patting him on the arm. In a tone unexpectedly soft for a man as broad as he was, he told Donny that everything was going to be all right. It may get uncomfortable; it may get to the point when he may even lose control of his bowels; but it would be all right in the end.

Donny screamed: the man simply sat and let him. When Donny could scream no more, the man asked him if he felt better now. When Donny looked at the man he saw two cables in his hands; when they got close together sparks flew all over the place. Donny managed to scream a bit more.

The questions started a few minutes later. Donny talked, and through the evening the man listened. When Donny stopped talking he would ask another question. The sight of those cables in that man's hands urged him onwards. Anonymous tips landed on the desk of Homeland; the FBI got involved, and another cell was unearthed.

Two survived the assault on the house they were renting. The information from the survivors and what was found in the house caused a lot more overtime in Homeland's building, as well as the FBI's.

After being missing for two days, Donny was found by his mother, naked and sleeping in a "no-tell" motel, after she had taken a call from someone who refused to give a name. Donny wasn't a terrorist, which became apparent to the man sitting with him for those two days; just a very insecure boy who had a big mouth to compensate for that fact. When Donny woke in hospital, with the police standing over him on one side of the bed and his mother on the other, he refused to say anything about the kidnapping or the missing two days.

When the hospital discharged him he quickly went home, packed a bag, and left Houston. All that his mother says about him when you ask after Donny is that he is happy in Ohio now; his mother often says that she will come to visit her son and, in return, Donny threatens to leave Ohio if she ever does.

*******

Senator Chadwick listened to Sarah, a part of him feeling for her as she described being ambushed from then onwards by one sister or the other, or both together, wanting to know what she knew about Aiden. In the end she caved and sat both down, explaining her connection with Aiden and how they had met.

"You know there are protocols in place for times like these. Why didn't you instigate them?"

At first Sarah just shrugged her shoulders, but she knew that wasn't going to be enough.

"Over time I got the history of this family. I knew the grandparents well through my mother. Abby spoke with fondness for her brother; Hannah was a little more reserved, but you could see the love they had for him. When both came here, leaving Aiden behind, they quickly realized their mistake, but by then Aiden was gone; he simply vanished off the face of the Earth."

Sarah looked to Matt, her hand seeking his and holding tight as she spoke again of how Abby finally met her brother and knew that the love she had for him was so real. Hannah floundered for a while, but the fact that Matt made her welcome soon eased Hannah's feelings. When the wedding was announced, and the invite sent to Aiden, the insecurities within both girls surfaced once again.

In the six years prior to the wedding both sisters had seen Aiden three times, each only for a weekend. Both wanted so much to reconnect with their brother but, as quickly as he turned, up he left again. The last time Abby had insisted on a contact phone number, rather than just a PO Box.

Abby was over the moon that she was pregnant; even more so when Aiden agreed to come back to Houston for a long weekend, but then things went crazy. Amelia acted all weird and left the girls standing outside the shop while she hopped into a taxi, and Aiden disappeared once again.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm telling this from a woman's perspective, not an officer's. The only time both sisters saw him again was at his own wedding, and it was at your residence. That alone asked more questions than it answered. Aiden had never been in uniform in all the time they had known him. His own wedding was at a Senator's home and the place was crawling with security."

When Sarah came home again on leave Hannah went to see her. Both sisters knew that Sarah knew more than she was letting on, and between them they mounted a campaign to find out what.

"I wanted them to be proud of him, sir. I never imagined this. I'm so sorry; people have died, all because I wanted two sisters to be proud of their brother, and not call him a bottle washer."

Matt handed his sister a tissue, and both men waited her out.

"I accept that I went about it all wrong, and Madison is dead because of me. I can't change that, so please sign the Dishonorable Discharge papers and allow me to go back and say my goodbyes to my friends."

Senator Chadwick heard her out and sat back in his chair. He put the file back together and stood before them, looking at Matt.

"Take her home, son. This has to go on her record, but you have my word that I will seal it once it is. Her career is of her own making from now on."

Matt stood, helping Sarah up as he did.

"I have a question, sir."

Senator Chadwick watched Matt for a moment before nodding his head.

"All this came about because of Aiden's reluctance to get involved with his grandparents. It's out there now, sir; what he is, I mean. All both sisters ever wanted was their brother back. Can this be fixed? I know Abby misses him so much, and Hannah can't be that far behind."

The Senator thought for a moment, before pulling a pen from his pocket and writing something on a piece of paper. He handed it to Matt, and both shook on it. When Matt looked at the slip of paper he read just one name, Martha, and a cell number.

*******

I believed life had turned a corner for Amelia and me. It had been a year since Madison's death, and every week I'm on the island I still go to both Carol's and Madison's graves, and both will always have flowers on them. I keep both up to date on what's going on in our lives. Amelia still has the odd nightmare, but not all that often now.

Martha told me that the couple who owned the house across from us wanted to still have a presence on the island, but to downsize. She found them what they wanted, and the house was sold so quickly it didn't even get a "For Sale" sign put outside it. The decorators spent a month on the house, and the smell of paint on the outside lasted a few days, but it sure looked good.

Going by what Hank told me, the family came once while I was away, and he had been busy doing some cabinets for them. What confused me was that he said I had recommended him for the job. That caused a head-scratching moment but, since it was money to see him over the winter, I wasn't going to argue. The only vacant shop down by the dock got its "To Let" sign taken down. Becky waved when she saw me watching her do it.

The same decorators from across the road trooped in there a day later, and turned the office upstairs into a bed-sit. Even when the "Hannah's Photographic" sign went up I didn't make the connection.

Tessa came home unexpectedly. Not that anything to do with the Department was ever expected, of course, and she still used my office while she was here. Sometimes I had to drag her out to send her home, or she would have been in there all night. I love that girl, but there is no way I'm having her downstairs while I'm busy keeping my wife happy.




Parkers Island Ch. 03



The summer houses once again started to fill up. Amelia and I spent her day off on the mainland, and when we got back I could tell I was being set up for something. Martha and Mr. Burnett were sitting with Tessa in our house, and the knock on our door came five minutes later. My wife went to answer it while I talked to Martha; it was the child-like giggle that stopped me dead.

When I turned around my wife was holding Abby's little girl in her arms, although when she spotted me she was doing her best to reach out to me. Abby and Hannah were behind her, with Matt, looking very worried, bringing up the rear. In that one moment it all came together.

"Hannah's Photographic."

Hannah smiled and nodded. "One and the same, brother."

I looked towards Abby. "So you own the house across the road?"

My sister nodded, her hand going behind her to hold onto Matt for comfort. "Please don't be mad."

Amelia placed her charge on the floor, and the little girl almost skipped across the room and into my arms. I got the wettest, sloppiest kiss ever that evening, and felt so loved by the five year old. How could I be mad in a moment like that?

Hannah's shop is doing well. She's even dating Hank's nephew at the moment, and both are seen with their hands welded together in public places so we're all standing back and waiting to see how that develops. Matt loses his wife and daughter for a month over the summer, but he does have long weekends here as well. His mom and dad have even stayed for a week when it was decided to hold the family Christmas here, and they insisted on meeting Martha. The real reason became apparent when they put their names on the waiting list for any house becoming vacant in the future.

Amelia does visit Abby across the road, which worried us the first time she stepped in the house. I'm sure the total redecoration and a few alterations softened any after-effects she may have had. Sarah spends time at Matt and Abby's when it's empty and she's come back from a tour. Em and I both know why, and invite her over for dinner when she's around.

She stayed with us for a few nights after her last tour. Her own nightmares meant we both heard the screaming that night, and we raced to comfort her. Em stayed with her that night, and in the morning my wife gave Sarah Dr. Courtney Barstow's card. I leaned on some of the resources from the Department and found out why Sarah was in such a bad way. The row that followed caused Amelia to have to get between us.

Martha came over the same afternoon and all three women went into a huddle. I spent the day on the mainland and came back to an empty house in the evening. My cell rang and Amelia told me she was across the road, and dinner was on Sarah, so I wandered over. After dinner Sarah announced that she had one more tour to go and then she would be leaving the Army.

I had doubts, and Sarah promised that, on this tour, she would not volunteer for the forward medical units but, if rostered, then she would go. She also knew I would check up on her.

*******

Which brings us up to date, and the day of the wedding.

Sarah kept her promise. After her tour they gave her the option of re-signing, but we all knew the answer. Even they did, but they had to ask. Martha was busy while Sarah was away and, since her return, Dr Sarah Richardson resides on Parkers Island. She now runs the only medical clinic here.

Martha found the ideal place for it, and Hank took over from then on, building shelves and cabinets as well as altering rooms. Sarah met Hank when she called him back with a problem. She moved in with him a month later, and the wedding is today. None of us saw that coming, not even Hank. Sarah says she outranks him, so can boss him around whenever she feels like it. I've seen the way they look at each other, and that won't ever happen.

Hank put up a good fight. Age difference got thrown into the arguments they had many times, but she was still the one to get on one knee and ask him. I've never seen a May-September romance before, but when they're in the same room you can't slide a sheet of paper between them.