Chapter 18

April 26, 2034 -four days until surprise party

"You're the SpineSplitter?!" Kendall gasped as he laid eyes on Julia for the first time.

"It's never been proven that I was the assassin known by that name," Julia said; "My business with you, Mr. Kendall, has to do with my daughter Jaime and the fact she caught you following her."

"I was paid to follow her," Kendall said lamely.

"I know that, you dunce!" Julia said angrily; "You think I had you come out here for shits and giggles? Now, you will tell me who hired you to intimidate a 17 year old girl, or..."

"Or what?" Kendall interrupted, finally finding his voice and becoming defiant.

Julia walked right up to Kendall, who stood maybe five inches taller than she and grabbed his shirt and said in a low, threatening voice, "...or I will make life very difficult for you."

"And how is a tiny thing like you supposed to do that?" Kendall said.

It was the wrong thing to say.

"On the roof of the house is my 15 year old son," Julia said; "He, as of three days ago, is one of the youngest certified archery experts in the United States. He also handles high powered weapons rather well. And in case you don't already know, I am a weapons expert and have been since my teen years. I've treated plenty of shooting victims to know the kind of weapon that was used just by looking at what's left of the bullet. I'm the only one in the tri-state area who has this expertise. So don't push me, Mr. Kendall, or that man who initially contacted you in your hometown will be making a return visit. All I have to do is make a call."

"So you're going to kill me, is that it?"

"You keep up that bad ass attitude, I'll make you wish you'd never heard the name Jameson Summers."

"I'm still not scared of you."

Next thing he knew, he was laying on the ground next to his rental car. When he recovered enough to attempt to stand, he saw Julia holding a hunting rifle; and it was pointed at his head.

"I may not look too intimidating," Julia said, "but I wouldn't push your luck. I could take care of you right now and no one would find you. I took a pledge to do no harm, but I'm a mother first. You threatened one of my daughters. Suppose you tell me who hired you, why they wanted you to follow a teenage girl, and I want answers, Mister. And now would be a good time to tell me, because I have someone you need to meet."

Kendall got up and leaned against the car to steady himself. Shit, he thought, if she's not the SpineSplitter, then I'm Abraham Lincoln.

"Shall we go into the barn?"

Kendall saw that he had no say in the matter. After all, the doctor was now armed with a rifle and not afraid to use it.

As they walked into the barn, Kendall could hear the stamping and snorting of a very pissed off animal.

When they rounded the corner, Kendall could see it was a massive bull. And it was not happy.

"Mr. Kendall, this is Sarge," Julia said; "He's eight years old, weighs in at about fifteen-hundred pounds, and can run to the fence in eight seconds. How fast can you run to the fence?"

"Are you fucking serious, lady?" Kendall said; "It would be suicide for me to race that thing!"

"Then tell me everything you know, and you won't have to find out if it would be suicide or not, will you?"


===

Jared showed up at Mathison Hall and asked to see Jaime. He had a bouquet of flowers and a box wrapped in colorful birthday paper under his arm.

"I'll call up to her room, okay?" the Residence Assistant said.

Jared nodded and waited in the lobby.



"Jared's in the lobby," Jaime said as she hung up the phone.

"Maybe it has something to do with your birthday, James," Helene said.

"When I talked to him the other night, he said he would be here Saturday," Jaime said, a littled confused.

"Maybe he just couldn't stay away," Rina suggested. "I wish he'd brought Jeremy with him."

Jaime grabbed her key and her wallet and headed down to the lobby, where Jared waited.

"Ahh, there's my flame haired goddess," he said when he saw her. As she reached him, he gave her a hug and said, "Happy birthday, Jaime. I brought you a gift."

He handed her the box and she opened it right there. Inside was book about horses. It was one that Jaime almost bought for herself.

"I almost bought this!" she said, laughing; "Now I'm glad I didn't! Thank you so much, Jared. It was sweet of you to think of me."

"A good man gives his best girl a gift on her birthday," Jared said. Jaime knew that he got that from his grandfather, as Ben Walters always referred to his wife, Sarah, as his "best girl".

"I thought you were coming Saturday, though."

"Your mom gave us all the day off, and Jeremy and his sisters went into town for their grief couselling session," Jared said; "Then he was going to buy a new pair of dress pants for the big party on Saturday."

"Oh, okay," Jaime said. "Rina got this idea that she was going to treat me and Helene for our birthdays. Alexei just told Helene that he can make it Saturday. So the six of us will find out what Rina's got up her sleeve."

"It's not some real fancy place, is it?"

"It's the restaurant at the Hilton in town," Jaime said; "It's kind of dressy, but not overly so. You won't have to wear a suit or anything."

"Good, because the only suit I have no longer fits me," Jared said. "Grew too much."

"The flowers are pretty," Jaime said, changing the subject; "You get them from where Helene and I work?"

"Yeah, and it didn't cost me anything! I just said I wanted to get my girlfriend some flowers for her birthday, and the owner said to me, 'You must be Jared!', and handed these to me. 'Those are her favorites', she said," replied Jared.

"Sherry is good like that," Jaime said; "She really takes care of her employees, since most of us are college students."

"It's always nice to have a great boss," said Jared.

"Speaking of my mom," Jaime said, "why did she give you guys the day off?"

"She told Grandpa that she needed to do some manual labor and recruited your brother to help her."

"We did all that so-called manual labor when we lived in Wyoming," Jaime said; "Maybe she wanted Zach to remember what that was like."

"I really don't know the details, James," Jared said; "Anyway, I thought I'd take you out to lunch if you don't have a class coming up."

"This is my light day," Jaime said; "We were upstairs studying for finals. I should tell Helene and Rina that I'm leaving."

Jaime called up to the suite and told Helene when she answered that Jared was taking her out to lunch. Helene told her to have a good time and be home in time for dinner.

"We're going to attempt to make cheesy enchiladas, remember?" asked Helene.

"Wouldn't miss it, Leenie," Jaime said; "See you in a little while."

After ending the call, she turned to Jared and said, "Shall we go?"

"Yes, we shall," Jared said, laughing.


===


Kendall talked.

Julia was pleased. She let the man leave with his body intact. His sanity, however, she was sure she had messed with.

She got what she wanted. It was A.R.M. who hired Ryan Kendall to spy on Jaime, though Kendall swore he had no idea the name of the man who contacted him.

"Tell you what, Mr. Kendall," she had said, "next time they call you for a job following a member of my family, you call me. I can pay you double what they'll offer you, and you'll get into my good graces. Does this mean I trust you? Hell, no. It just means you'll be a double agent. I want to know who within A.R.M. thinks it's funny to follow young ladies named Summers around."

She saw that Kendall was thinking really hard about it. He then said, "Dr. Summers, I have a daughter, and I haven't done right by her or her mother. If I found out someone was intimidating her, I would be pissed off enough to kill. I think I know how you feel about your daughters."

"You do right by your daughter, and I might have a little respect for you," Julia had said. "Get involved in her life if her mother will allow it. Be a man and face up to the responsibility of being a father. That means paying your child support on time, helping your daughter's mother out if she asks, and getting help for your gambling addiction. I've been a single mother since my husband died in 2031. Fortunately, I had the resources to take care of my children and family who would bend over backwards to help me. You keep that in mind, Mr. Kendall, and we'll get along. I'll be watching."

She walked over to Sarge's pen and saw that the bull had calmed down since Kendall's departure. "You did a good job, ole boy," she told him. "I think we scared the shit out of him. I don't think he'll be back to bother us anymore."

All she got in response was a low moo.


===


April 27 -three days before surprise party


Jaime had forgotten all about the enchiladas.

While she and Jared had been at lunch the day before, they talked about their future. They knew they had one, but a lot of things had to wait on Jaime being of age.

Like marriage.

"If I were to ask you to marry me, Jaime, who would I speak with to get their blessing?" asked Jared. "One of your uncles? Your Granpa David? Zach?"

"Zach?!" Jaime laughed; "I think not! I'd think you could just ask my mom for her blessing. If not, she'll tell you who to contact. I'd err on the side of Granpa David personally."

"Wow," said Jared, "talk about intimidating! Asking the Voice of the Resistance for his granddaughter's hand."

"He tends to have that affect on people," Jaime said; "He's really a big softie. Forget who he is and just ask away. He likes you, Jared. That's an advantage right there!"

It grew later than Jared liked, and he was feeling too tired to drive safely. He called his grandfather to tell him he'd be staying in Evanston overnight.

Jaime directed him to an inexpensive motel just off the highway that was pretty safe. It was on the university's list of safe lodgings.

After Jared paid for his room, he and Jaime went to get him settled, with the idea that he would take her back to the dorm.

"Stay with me tonight, Jaime," Jared said.

"Jared," Jaime said in half protest, "Helene, Rina and I had plans tonight. I can't bail out on them."

"Tell them where you are and let them draw their own conclusions," Jared said.

Jaime got out her phone, but before she dialed the number to the phone in her suite, she said,

"I'll stay under one condition."

"Name it."

Jaime looked at him and said in all seriousness, "That you rip my clothes off and make love to me."

While Jared was recovering from that, Jaime made her call.

Then he did as she asked all night long.


===


Rina hung up the phone.

"Jaime won't be home tonight," was all she said.

Helene was not really surprised to hear that. "We'll do the enchiladas tomorrow night instead," she said; "I'm kinda tired from studying. I think I'll take a long, hot bath."

"That sounds like a great idea," Rina said; "I'm almost kind of jealous of Jaime right now."

Helene turned to her and asked, "Why's that?"

"We both know what she and Jared will be doing, and it isn't sleeping."

Helene wasn't surprised by that comment, either. They both knew that Jaime and Jared was the most active of the three of them. Helene had only the one time with Alexei; Rina and Jeremy hadn't gotten that far in their relationship for that yet.

She went off to run her bath while Rina noodled around on her computer. Once she was alone, Rina seriously contemplated telling Helene that they were related.

How do I go about it the right way without freaking her out? Rina thought. Is now the right time to tell that? Could it wait a few more weeks or months?

Rina had no way of knowing that in a few weeks, that decision would be taken out of her hands. She would tell Helene her secret because she thought she wouldn't get another chance.

Rina decided that she needed sleep more than she needed to do research or fret over when and how to tell Helene they were blood relatives, so she went to her room, readied for bed, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


===


April 30- day of the party


Rina's phone rang off the hook all afternoon long with people saying that they were in town or on their way. She gave the location of the hotel with the instructions to be there an hour before the guests of honor were to arrive.

Fortunately, she wasn't in the suite during the time she was getting all these phone calls.

Vito and Carrie arrived the night before and checked into the hotel where the party was to take place. Helene's family did the same, but they kept missing each other.

Sandy and Lexie were staying with Kimber and Jamey, where the toddler was fascinated by Kimber's daughter Joanna. Kimber was going alone because Drew was sick. Jamey would stay home and watch the kids.

Jaime was working and Helene had the suite to herself.

She sat on her bed and went over in her mind all that had happened between her last birthday and this one. It came to quite a lot. In a few weeks, the girls would move out of Mathison Hall and to the house that Kimber Duncan was renting them. Kimber and Jamey were thinking of selling the house, then decided that they would put it up for rent. Before they could even post a "For Rent" sign in the yard, Kimber mentioned to Julia what she was going to do. Julia suggested that maybe Jaime and her friends would like to rent it.

The sign never went up.

Helene thought about how far her relationship with Alexei had come since she left New York the previous July. I'm not a virgin anymore, she thought. Maybe I could have waited, but I know Alexei is the one.

Most of all, she thought about the friendship she had with Jaime and Rina. They were almost as close as sisters; they shared secrets and dreams, goals and aspirations. She couldn't imagine the last year without either one of them.

So possibly being faced with a disaster never even crossed her mind.

But soon, Helene would be faced with not only a disaster, but a revelation by one of her two closest friends.

It would change how she saw things, but it would be for the good.


===

Two hours before the party


Everyone who had arrived for the party were getting into place. There were seventy-five people in attendance. Rina spoke to them in the lobby of the hotel before she went back to campus to get ready.

"Thank you all for coming," she said; "I know a lot of you came from great distances to be here for Helene and Jaime, and I greatly appreciate it, and they will as well. I just wanted to tell you that as the guests of honor, our dates and me are entering the hotel, someone will knock on the door of the banquet room. At that time, everyone should be silent. Especially you little bambinos," she finished.

"What's a bambino?" asked Eric Hope as innocently as a three year old could be.

"It means little guys like you," Rina said. "We don't want Helene and Jaime to know you're here until they walk in the door. Can you do that for me, Eric?"

Eric bobbed his head up and down enthusiastically.

Rina smiled and said, "Very good."

Christian leaned over to Kathryn and said, "Rina looks like the pictures of my mother when she was a young woman when she smiles."

"You're sure that she and her brother are related to you?" Kathryn whispered back.

"My research tells me that it's true," Christian replied; "She really is a beautiful girl."

Kathryn said nothing. She only hoped that Christian was right. She had no idea about the visit Rina made to Christian just a few weeks before confirming his suspicions.

"I'm going to leave now and get ready," Rina told everyone; "Please be in place in by 7pm."

Rina took her leave and went back to Mathison Hall to dress and await Jeremy's arrival.

The guests were milling around the lobby. Christian was about to take his family back up to their rooms to change when a young man approached him. Christian had Kathryn take the kids upstairs saying he would follow later.

"Signore DeWitt? I'm Vittorio d'Alessandro, Rina's brother," Vito said. "Rina tells me that you are our grandfather. Is this true?"

Christian looked at Vito, and noticed that he and Rina looked very much alike.

"Yes, Vittorio, it is true. Rina found out the same information I did about your parentage," Christian said.

"Please, call me Vito," Vito said; "Rina told me she was going to see you. After her visit, she only said that she had met you, but didn't confirm that you were our grandfather until I pressed the issue. She swore me to secrecy because she had to figure out a way to tell Helene about being related to her."

"I understand that," Christian said; "It's really for Rina to decide how, when, or if she should say anything at this point. Not to change the subject, but Rina tells me you run the company your father started in Italy and brought it to the States."

"Yes, that is so," Vito said; "I guess that the pears don't fall far from the tree. Or is that apples?" He laughed.

I'm going to like this young man, Christian thought to himself.


===


"I love that dress on you Jaime!" Helene said; "Is it new?"

"Not really," Jaime said; " Just haven't had the occasion to wear it much before now."

"Rina didn't have to go to all this trouble," Helene said; "We could have just had cake here and I'd be happy."

"I think this is Rina's way of showing how much she cares about us," Jaime said. "We should do something for her birthday at the end of June. Take her somewhere fun where there are no computers to distract her."

The phone rang and Helene answered it. It was the reception desk in the lobby of the dorm saying that Jared and another young man had arrived and requested to see Jaime and Rina.

"Rina's not here yet, but I'll send Jaime downstairs," Helene said and hung up. To Jaime she said, "Jared and Jeremy are here waiting in the lobby. Alexei is due in about twenty minutes."

Jaime went downstairs to greet Jared and his cousin. Just as she got to the bottom step, Rina sprinted in the door.

"Jeremy!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "I'm not ready! You look very smart. Let me get ready and we'll go when Alexei arrives."

Just then, Alexei walked in the door. Rina looked and said, "Or not. I'll tell Helene you're here Alexei."

She then took the three flights of stairs two at a time. Once she was at suite door and opened it, the first thing she said was, "Helene, Alexei's in the lobby. I'll be about ten minutes."

Helene just watched as Rina went to grab a quick shower and said to herself, "Okay."

She then headed downstairs. As she looked at the ornate clock on the far wall of the lobby, she didn't know why Rina was in such a hurry. Their reservation was for 8pm, and it was barely seven.

"That was Hurricane Audrina that just streaked through here," Helene said; "She thinks she's late if she's not ready when the guests arrive."

"I wonder what Rina has up her sleeve," Jaime mused.

The guys just looked at each other. They knew what Rina was up to, but they couldn't let on to Jaime and Helene that they knew.

As promised, Rina was ready to go in ten minutes. She came down the stairs wearing a green dress that hugged her in all the right places. Jaime thought it looked like something Aunt Natasha would wear. Rina had the same kind of figure.

"Wow, look at you!" Jeremy said; "Definitely worth the wait!"

"We should get going,"Alexei said; "Traffic from Chicago was crazy! Like everyone was going to the same place."

Jared offered to drive as he had the largest vehicle, and all three couples fit comfortably. They all chattered at each other while he was trying to get directions from Rina. At five minutes before eight, they arrived and parked. The parking lot was packed.

"Must be some party or convention here tonight," Helene said; "I've never seen so many rental cars!"


Inside the hotel, the head waiter saw the group coming and had someone knock on the door. The guests inside knew their wait was almost over and the party would begin.

"Looks like Lexie's not going to make it," Sandy said to Rachel. The little girl was fast asleep in her mother's arms.

"We shouldn't spoil the surprise," Rachel said to her; "Shhh..." she added, laughing quietly.

"I can't wait to see the look on Helene's face when they walk in and see us all," Erin said in a whisper to her mother. "It'll be epic!"

Just then the doors opened and Helene and Jaime were the first through the door.

"SURPRISE!!!!"

Chapter 17

Late April-Early May, 2039

"Jules," Nik said when he called Julia later that evening, "JT made contact with that Ryan Kendall, and Kendall stated that he will call that number we set up just for him. You still want to talk to him?"

Julia didn't even have to think about it. "Fuck yeah I still want to talk to him," she said emphatically. "What were you and Jere able to find out about this sleezeball?"

She heard Nik rustling papers and tapping on a keyboard, then he said, "Gambling problem for starters. Casinos mostly. Lives on East Coast, close to places like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. He also owed more than eight grand in child support for a child he fathered with an ex girlfriend. Told JT he took the job of following Jaime because the pay was enough that he could get the gambling and child support debts paid off. He has less than twenty-five hundred of that left."

"Loser," Julia said; "A.R.M. is still recruiting the dregs of the earth to work for them. You'd think that after going broke they'd know better. Who's backing them?"

"No idea," Nik said; "They stay in the shadows and send shit like Kendall to do their dirty work."

"JT probably scared the shit out of the poor kid," Julia said. "He has that effect on people just like Jacob did. JT doesn't have the added 'benefit' of being horribly disfigured, but JT means business. Getting a visit from JT Collins-Ross means you're not going to have a good day."

Nik laughed, "No I suppose not. Good thing we're on his side."

"Or, he's on ours," Julia said; "He does our dirty work, Nik. Plus he has training and education behind him. What does this Kendall kid have?"

"Believe it or not, Jules," Nik said, "he has a BBA in finance. Got canned from his last real job for cooking the books because of his gambling debts. He's lucky he's not some convict's bitch right now."

"Dumb shit," Julia said. "We'll fix him up right. If it means putting the fear of God in him, then we'll do it."

"We'll?"

"Me and a certain bovine stud muffin," Julia said; "I'm going to take the Running of the Bulls to a whole new level."

"Dr. Summers, watch yourself."

"I plan to," Julia said; "He'll see things my way before it gets too far. And no one will believe him if he tries to tell anyone. After all, he's an addict. All anyone has to do is plug his name into a search engine, and there will be a long list of his crimes."

"So you used the same method Jere did," Nik said.

"And who taught Jere all his fancy tricks, Nik?"

"Well, shit, Jules," Nik said, "Makes me wish Ryan were still here to help us with this."

"He is, Nik," Julia said sadly; "He is."

===

Rina returned to Evanston with more answers than she had before, but even more questions.

She couldn't think about any of that for the time being. She still had classwork, projects and papers that needed to be completed. She had to finalize plans for Helene and Jaime's surprise birthday party; and she had to fill out paperwork to renew her fellowship for the following term.

At night, when she should have been sleeping, she was surfing the internet, looking for anything about Charles Richardson DeWitt.

It was almost like his life stopped at age 17 upon the discovery of his mother's beaten, mutilated and quite lifeless body.

She found an article, dated June 5, 2020, that read, in part:

No one seems to know what happened to Darlane DeWitt's younger son, Charles. After discovering his mother deceased, he seemingly disappeared. His father, DeWitt Corp. CEO Christian DeWitt, Sr., has no idea where Charles may have gone.

"He was pretty shaken up," the elder DeWitt said; "as we all were. I can only imagine what finding his mother's body did to him psychologically."

He went to Italy, you dopes, Rina thought, getting angry. He had a passport and a considerable amount of cash. Didn't any of you think of that? No! Of course not!

She calmed down and thought, maybe that's why her father was the way he was with her and Vito; he was trying to do the opposite of what his parents did. His parents fought constantly, if she was to believe Christian DeWitt's account of his marriage to Darlane, and finding himself in a similar situation,  perhaps her father decided that his children were going to get his attention, whether his wife wanted to acknowledge their existance or not.

But was faking your death the only way out, Papa? Rina thought sadly as she powered down her tablet. Are you still alive or are you really dead? If you're still living, I will find you, I swear to my dying day!

===

Jaime put the being followed episode behind and looked forward to April 26th: her 17th birthday. She was sure Uncle Nik had plans for the dipwad who she caught following her.

I wonder what sick scheme he and Uncle Jere came up with, she thought as she finished up her biology homework and started on her final essay for English Comp I. The essay was due the following Monday, and it was supposed to be about a book she was to have read for class. The thing was, it was a book she had read when she was eleven years old: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand.

Boring... she thought as she outlined her essay and wrote the thesis statement. Maybe I could skip Comp II next semester, too.

But her mind almost involuntarily went back to tracking Ryan Kendall to Chicago-O'Hare airport. Was he really that dumb? she thought. If he had done any research on my family at all, he'd have known about Summers Tech Systems and the kind of work we do there. Duh, Mr. Kendall. You aren't so smart after all.

Summers family- 1; incompetent boob- 0.

Within the hour, her essay was done. It was now time to go to work and sell flowers to more incompetent boobs who piss off their girlfriends.

Can't wait for my birthday, Jaime thought; At least I have five days off in a row. C'mon April twenty-sixth!

===

Helene's spring recital wouldn't be open to the public as the fall one was. This recital was really a series of auditions for teaching dance at local dance schools, camps, and for private clients. Helene was one of four dancers who were being considered for a paid internship with Chicago Ballet, teaching underpriviledged children ages four to twelve.

Though teaching at a dance school wouldn't be that bad, Helene thought. It would almost be like Erin's teaching at the Art Museum back home.

If she had to be honest with herself, dancing with the Chicago Ballet would be a dream come true. But giving back to the community is something that her parents, especially her mother, stressed as she was growing up. We are fortunate, her mother would say; others are not so lucky. The next prodigy might be someone whose family can't afford the things we take for granted. If we can help out, even a little bit, to get such people on the right path to their dreams, then it will all be worth it.

I am lucky, Helene thought. I have parents who instilled community service as a way of giving back. But what if I had been born poor, to an unwed mother with an uncertain future? Or had mental problems like Mom had? Or was a drug addict? Would there have been someone who wanted to help me reach MY dreams?

Helene thought that was why her mother insisted on selfless giving: the life you save just may be your own.

And she was glad that Alexei felt the same way. He had been a poor boy in Russia with an amazing gift. Without the intervention of people like Mikhail, where would he be?

Helene then wondered if she'd ever get to meet Alexei's family.

===

"Um, I was given this number to call," Kendall said nervously when a woman with a foreign accent answered his call at the number he was given by the stranger who accosted him on the street; "I was told I'd receive further instructions."

"You are Ryan Bernard Kendall, born April 3, 2012, correct?" he was asked.

"Yes," he said with a huge lump of fear in his throat.

"And the number you're calling from is where you can be reached in the next 24-48 hours?"

"Yes."

"Someone will call you with directions to where your meeting will be within that timeframe, Mr. Kendall. I suggest that you answer the call when it comes in. We will only call once. If our call goes unanswered, you may receive another visit from the man with whom you spoke previously."

"I'll take the call," Kendall said. I don't want to have to meet with that man again, he thought.

"Very good, Mr. Kendall. Please have a pen and paper ready when we call. You will be receiving written directions. Do not use a GPS unit. We will know if you do, and that won't make the boss happy. She'll insist on destroying the device."

What the fuck did I get myself into this time? Kendall asked himself; I don't care what that guy said about the SpineSplitter being a doctor and took an oath to do no harm; I mean, she's the SpineSplitter after all!

"Okay, no GPS," Kendall finally said. Then to the woman on the other end of the line he asked, "Will it be you who calls me?"

"No, Mr. Kendall, it will not," she said; "The person who calls you may sound vaguely familiar to you, especially if you've studied the history of the Occupation."

"Okay."

"Have a good day, Mr. Kendall." The line then went dead.

Kendall felt himself shake. Even he had to admit that he was scared to death of meeting the dreaded SpineSplitter face to face.

He would be very surprised to learn who the SpineSplitter really was. He would not be expecting a five-foot-three inch, one-hundred twenty-eight pound middle aged woman.

And a 1500 pound, 8 year old bull named Sarge.

And  that's how she liked it.

===

Twenty-six hours to the second after he called the number he had been given by the stranger, Ryan Kendall got the call he was told to expect.

"Ryan Kendall, please?" said a voice Kendall thought sounded vaguely familiar.

"This is he," Kendall said in reply.

"Mr. Kendall, do you recognize my voice?"

"It sounds familiar, but I cannot place it at the moment," Kendall said. It was the truth.

"Good. I hope you have a pencil and paper handy to take down directions. I'll only give them once. You can ask any questions about them after I'm through. Understood?"

"Yes."

"First, get on a plane and head to Chicago's O'Hare airport. Then rent a car. Then follow the directions I'm about to give you," the familiar, yet unknown voice said. "A ticket for your journey will be waiting at United's counter."

Kendall was then given precise directions from Chicago-O'Hare to an address in a town called Belvidere. He was even given instructions on where to park when he got there.

"You have seventy-two hours total to make this trip, speak with the doctor, and go back home."

"I'm seeing a doctor?" asked Kendall.

"Since hanging up her guns, the SpineSplitter has made a penance to help people. To that, she attended medical school and is now a general practice physician. She's not going to examine you. Interrogate, yes. But nothing that requires her medical training. Unless of course, you do something stupid."

"When do I leave?"

"I strongly suggest you leave as soon as we hang up. Remember, Mr. Kendall. Seventy-two hours total. That's all the good doctor can spare for you."

"I'm heading out the door now, okay?" Kendall said as he threw clothes and toiletries into an overnight bag and headed to the garage to get his car.

"Very good. And don't fuck this up, Kendall."

The line went dead before Kendall had a chance to reply.

Oh, fuck, what kind of shitstorm am I heading into? he thought as he drove to the airport.

He'd soon find out.

===

April 25 (five days before surprise party)

The plans were all now set in stone for the surprise party that Rina was giving for Jaime and Helene. She had received word that her brother and his fiancee would be in attendance, as well as Sandy San Marco-Springer (her husband Alex would be unable to make it due to his military commitment) and her daughter Alexandra (called Lexie by her parents).

Rina had booked a huge dining room at one of the hotels near campus, and would tell Helene and Jaime that it would be just the three of them and their beaus in the hotel restaurant.

It's perfect, she thought. They'll never know what hit them when we walk in and everyone says surprise!

The attendees would arrive approximately an hour before the guests of honor. Rina hoped that the young children who would be there could be quiet that long. She especially worried about Helene's brother Eric. Little boys were quite boisterous she gathered from her observations. Hopefully, Eric's parents would prepare him a few days in advance.

Rina hoped that whoever had been following Jaime would keep his (Jaime was convinced it was a man) distance. It took a lot of cajoling on Rina and Helene's part for Jaime to tell them about her sixth sense, and that she had been followed on several occasions since shortly after her grandfather, Jacob Ross, died when she was thirteen.

Now, though, Rina was going out to find suitable birthday gifts for the girls she thought of as sisters. As if either of them needed any more sisters, Rina thought with a laugh. Both girls had two sisters and a brother. Rina just had Vito. It was nice to be thought of as a sister, thought Rina as she locked the suite door and headed to the bus stop.

===

"Jules, this kid is fucking clueless," David said when he called to tell her that he had spoken to Ryan Kendall; "He had no idea it's you he's going to meet. All he knows is that he's meeting the assassin formerly known as the SpineSplitter, who, by some weird twist of fate is now a fucking doctor!"

"Did he recognize your voice?" Julia asked her stepfather.

"I asked him that, and he said it was familiar, but couldn't place where he'd heard it," David said; "He was born in 2012, so he was seven when the Occupation ended. It's probably a hazy childhood memory for him."

"Did he write down the directions that Jere and Nik gave you?"

"I heard a pencil scratching, so I am assuming so," David said; "If you're trying to scare the shit out of him, I'd say you're doing a pretty good job. Wait til he thinks he has to race that bull of yours. He'll probably have a heart attack!"

"If he does what he's told, that won't need to happen," said Julia. "I'm not a sadistic motherfucker like my dear half brother, JT. I just want to know what Kendall knows."

David laughed, then said, "I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do. Jere, Nik and I discussed it in great detail before we set up the number for him to call and sent JT out after him," said Julia. "If he doesn't want to go to jail for stalking a minor, he'll tow the line."

"A well placed threat to his freedom ought to do that," David agreed.

"Or he'll have to race the bull," Julia said; "And for an animal that weighs over half a ton, Sarge can run pretty fast. He's always been protective of his humans. He must have been a dog in another life. It wouldn't do for Mr. Kendall to piss off the bull."

"I'd say not," David said.

===

Getting to Chicago was no problem. Everything was in place, just as the man with the vaugely familiar voice told him it would be. The thing Kendall was worried about was getting to the address he was going to meet the doctor formerly known as the SpineSplitter.

The remtal car was already reserved when Kendall got to the rental agent at the airport. All he had to do was make a payment for the days he would be needing it. The contract for the car ended two days later.

There was no GPS unit in the car, Kendall noted. Probably at the request of the woman he was going to meet. How would she know if I used a GPS unit? Kendall asked himself, then it dawned on him: Jaime Summers' family owns Summers Tech Systems! That's probably how Jaime knew I was following her! he thought suddenly. How stupid of me not to realize that. He shook his head at his own stupidity.

Summers Tech System software did help some, but it wasn't the only thing that got Jaime on Kendall's trail.

Ryan Kendall didn't know about Jaime's sixth sense.

===

Julia was in the barn, supposedly to muck out the bull's stall. She had given the Walters family the day off. She had Zach help her with the chores that the Walters and Schuylkill families usually did. Zach didn't utter one complaint.

"When I get this phone call, Zach," Julia was telling him now, "you will go back to the house and stay there until I say it's okay to come out. It's a good thing that Rachel is in Chicago with Aunt Kimber today. She takes her guns way too seriously at times."

"Just like you did, right Mom?" asked Zach.

Julia sighed. "Yes, your sister is so much like me it scares me. And you know nothing scares me. Except becoming a grandmother in August."

"Once Miri has the baby, you'll be all over that kid like white on rice, Mom," Zach said, laughing; "Don't lie."

Julia looked at her only son and thought, he's probably right about that.

The phone rang before she had a chance to tell him what she was thinking.

"Dr. Summers."

"Jules? Nik. Kendall's picked up the rental car and is headed your way. You give the kids instructions about what to do?"

"Nik," Julia said, "Rachel is with Kimber until tomorrow, so Zach is the only kid here. And he knows what to do."

"Good. I don't want to see your name in the papers tomorrow that you've done something to this kid, got that?" Nik asked.

"I'll follow the script, Nik."

"Okay," Nik said; "I've got to get back to work. Jere generates a lot of press these days. For some reason, people here think he's gearing up for a White House run. He's not, but that doesn't stop the tongues from wagging."

"For once it sounds like my job is easier than yours is," Julia said.

"Keep me posted on what happens," said Nik. "You may want to have Zach at the ready with his crossbow and his guns, just in case things there get ugly."

"I'll tell him."

Nik hung up without even saying goodbye. Just like the old days.

===

Kendall found the house.

It's a fucking ranch! he said to himself. Is the cavalry waiting in the north forty?

He parked in the location he was told to, right next to a barn. As he got out, he could smell the shit that animals produce.

Just then, a woman about 40 walked outside. She was short, maybe five-two or three. She was tiny, but had muscles if the ones in her arms were any indication.

He was just going to ask her where he might find the doctor when she said,

"Mr. Kendall, I presume?"

"Um, yes. I'm Kendall."

The woman offered her hand for a handshake, saying, "I'm Dr. Julia Summers. I'm so glad you are prompt and can follow directions without a GPS."

Kendall stood and stared at her, his mouth agape.

She's the SpineSplitter? he thought, not believing his eyes. No way in hell this tiny woman is the assassin that everyone in the Occupational government feared. No fucking way!

===