AWLL 2 - Book 9 - Kami

July 28, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

"What?!" Jennifer gasped. "Missing? Are you sure?"

I sagged against the door jamb as the adrenaline rush threatened to overwhelm me. I took a couple of deep breaths and managed, just, to keep it under control. It seemed like minutes, but it was less than ten seconds before I responded.

"He said he was going to play with his brothers. He's not in the main house or the yard. And he's not here. Matthew said he hadn't seen him. And now Jesse just said the same thing."

"I'm calling the police right now!" Jessica said, sounding panicked and on the verge of tears.

She moved quickly to the phone hanging on the kitchen wall and dialed 9-1-1.

"I'm going to call Patrick Shaughnessy. Hopefully, Albert pressed the button on his locator device!"

"What about the cameras?" Josie asked as I pulled my cell phone from my pocket.

I sighed, "They only cover the front of the main house. That HAS to change. We'll deal with that later."

I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and speed-dialed Patrick's mobile number. He answered on the third ring.

"Patrick? It's Steve Adams. One of my kids is missing!"

"For how long?"

"I'd guess about an hour, maybe ninety minutes."

"Which one?"

"Albert."

"OK. Let me call Ted Farley and find out if the locator device was activated. I'll call you right back!"

"Thanks."

I hung up and walked over to where Jessica was speaking to 9-1-1. She covered the mouthpiece.

"They're sending a patrol car right now," she said.

"Patrick is calling his investigator here to check on the locator," I said.

The door to the yard opened, and Jon walked in with Albert in his arms.

"I believe you're looking for this young man?"

"Albert!" Jessica squealed, dropping the handset and rushing over to Jon and taking Albert into her arms.

"Jon, where'd you find him?" I asked.

"He just walked into the house."

"Albert!" Jesse said sharply. "Where were you?"

"Playing with Timmy!"

Timmy lived across the alley from the coach house.

"Somebody should tell 9-1-1 before we have half the cops in Chicago here," Jennifer observed.

I went over to the phone and picked up the dangling receiver. I explained what had happened and told 9-1-1 we no longer needed a response. The operator said that the patrol officer would come by anyway, just to make sure. I thanked the operator and hung up. I dialed Patrick back and got his voicemail, so I left a message letting him know Albert was home safely.

"Albert, you scared us!" Jessica said, her voice still trembling. "Nobody knew where you were!"

"I came home for dinner!" he protested.

"But you said you were coming here to play with your brothers," I said.

There was a knock at the front door, and the doorbell rang immediately, a sure sign of a police visit -- they always did both. Jennifer went to open the door and returned with two police officers.

"Sorry for the false alarm," I said. "He was across the street at a friend's house and didn't tell anyone where he was going. He was supposed to be in the house here, and when he wasn't, we called 9-1-1."

"A woman called," one of the officers said.

"That was me," Jessica said. "I'm his mom. This is Albert."

"Do you have some identification, please?"

"Tiger, would you get my ID from the house, please?"

I nodded and quickly left the coach house, heading to our bedroom in the main house, where I retrieved Jessica's hospital ID and driver's license. Once those were in hand, I went to the kitchen, where I found Albert's school ID. I took everything back to the coach house and handed it to the officer. He quickly scanned the cards and handed them back.

"Thanks. Unless there is something else, we'll simply call this in as a false alarm."

"Thank you, Officer," Jessica said, still clutching Albert tightly. "Everything is fine now."

As the officers left, Albert looked at me, then at Jessica.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked.

"You didn't say where you were going!" Jesse stated firmly.

"Jesse," Jennifer cautioned, "let your dad and Aunt Jessica deal with this, please."

"Let's go back to my study to talk," I suggested.

Everyone except Josie, Jesse, and Jennifer left the coach house. Jessica, Kara, and I took Albert into my study.

"What's the rule for visiting friends?" I asked gently.

"Tell an adult where I'll be."

"And get permission first," Jessica said.

"Sorry," Albert said, burying his face in Jessica's shoulder.

"What do you think, Tiger? No video games for the weekend?"

I nodded, "I think that's fine. Albert, did you hear what your mom just said?"

"Yes," he sighed. "No video games."

"OK. Then let's get dinner. Jess, Kara, I have a meeting at 7:00pm with the union guy at the coffee shop on 55th. It shouldn't take too long."

"Tonight?" Jessica asked. "A Friday?"

"He called just as I walked into the house. I suspect he left messages at the office, but if he didn't say it was urgent, Kimmy would have left it for Monday. It really won't be too long."

"OK."

The four of us joined the rest of the family for dinner, and when we'd finished, I left to meet Theo while my wives cleared the table and did the dishes. I saw him in a booth when I walked into the coffee shop.

"Hey, Kid," he said, standing up.

"Hi, Theo. What's up?"

He stood up, "I need to check..."

I nodded, and he quickly frisked me for a wire. I wasn't surprised he was being cautious and wondered why he hadn't ever done that before. I'd been wary to start with, and now I was very much on guard.

"So?" I asked, trying to sound curious and annoyed at the same time.

"Lisa Glass. Do you know her?"

I nodded, "I'm good friends with her dad and do a lot of business with him. Lisa fucked me over which ultimately led to her going to prison for murder."

"John Lentz, right?"

I nodded again, "She was engaged to him and when she fucked me over, I told him she was cheating on him."

"And that led him to break up with her and her to have him killed."

I nodded, "Yes. And get forty years in prison."

"She's out."

"I'm aware," I said. "I've seen her because I'm working on a real estate deal with her dad."

"Do you know how she got out?"

I shrugged, "I'm assuming her dad being worth a couple of hundred million bucks had something to do with it."

"And you're aware she's the one who gave the Feds what they needed to take down Hart-Lincoln and finalize the racketeering charges against our capo and the others?"

"I can put two and two together," I replied. "I'm sure you know about my company helping the FBI with Hart-Lincoln's computers."

"That has Frank Senior very suspicious."

"I'm not sure what he wants me to do," I said. "We have nearly all the major law firms as customers, and the FBI would be very suspicious if we refused to help them get data from computers we sold and support. I've had enough run-ins with the FBI! You know they investigated me for espionage. And earlier this year, they even ran my gun to see if I killed Brandon Littleton!"

"So you know nothing about what Lisa Glass said to the FBI? It had to be good to get her out of prison."

"I have no idea what she said to them! After she got out of prison, I only saw her when I went to Alex's house for dinner. And then, when he and I struck a deal on a building for the karate dōjō where I teach, she showed us the space. I didn't talk to her at all about what she said to the FBI, and I have no clue what it might have been."

"Mr. DiFronzo isn't sure about that," Theo said.

Suddenly, for the first time since that night when Theo had been shot, I was seriously worried about what might happen.

"I don't know what to tell you," I said warily, "other than the fact I've done everything I've been asked that was within my power to do, I've been loyal, and I've kept my mouth shut."

Theo nodded, "I know. Mr. Marcello vouched for you, but you aren't Italian, Kid."

"What are you telling me?"

"Don't do anything, and I mean anything, that makes it look like you're working for the Feds."

"Theo, I can't prevent the FBI from talking to me or questioning me. I have NOTHING to say about my Italian friends. Nothing."

"We don't want you talking to them without a lawyer. OUR lawyer. If they contact you, you call Elliot and tell him. One of our mouthpieces will go with you."

"They know my lawyers, Theo. If I show up with a new one, they'll ask questions."

"So give them answers. You switched lawyers so that your business and personal stuff are with different firms. Or some other story. Just make it good."

I shook my head, "Jack Switzer has been my personal attorney for nearly ten years. He works with Jamie Ferguson, who is my corporate attorney. There is literally nothing I can say to them which they'll accept as honest."

"Kid, I'm not kidding. If you don't do this, some people are going to get VERY nervous."

"I hear you, but your plan WILL draw suspicion from everyone. Right now, NOBODY is suspicious or has any inkling I'm working with you. There has to be another way."

"I don't think there is. Let me talk to the Consigliere, Mr. LaPietra; but don't expect anything to change."

"Mr. LaPietra knows I'm loyal, just as Mr. Marcello does."

"I'll call you in a day or two," Theo said.

"Isn't that dangerous? Isn't THIS meeting dangerous?"

"It's not dangerous if I call you from the Union office. You still do our computer work. And that's what this meeting was about. You were in Europe and California the past two weeks, and I needed to catch up with you."

He was sending a message, telling me that the Outfit knew where I'd been. It wasn't as if I'd hidden that information, but for Theo to know it, there had to be a leak SOMEWHERE. I'd have to talk to Patrick about 'Operational Security' or 'OpSec', as he called it. I'd also need to discuss adding cameras to the security system with him.

"OK," I nodded, trying to keep my composure despite my discomfort.

I paid for the coffee as I usually did, left a tip, and started walking home. Once I turned onto Woodlawn Avenue, I pulled out my cell phone and called Patrick.

"I got your message," he said. "Everything OK?"

"Yes. But I want to talk to you about more cameras for the house, as well as what you called 'Operational Security'."

"The cameras make sense, and we'll upgrade your motion detectors as well. Why are you asking about OpSec?"

"The fact that I was in Europe and California the last two weeks seems to be public knowledge."

"There are a hundred ways that information could get out. And if you're traveling for business, too many people have to know where you'll be. What's your concern?"

"I guess all the things that went through my head in those ten minutes when we didn't know where Albert was."

"It's good to be aware, but unless you're able to buy a private jet and convince the FAA to mask your flight plans, it's almost impossible to hide your movement. All it takes is a few bucks to a secretary at the travel agent you use, or your receptionist, or any of your staff. It doesn't even have to be malicious in that case. It could be as simple as one of your kids telling a friend you were traveling, and that friend then telling their parents. Or a friend.

"Look, the people who are seriously concerned have bodyguards and drivers, and they travel by private plane and keep their schedules completely secret. I can't keep my flight plans off the FAA's list, even given what I do. There are things that can be done -- assumed names, and so on -- but those are more and more difficult to do with the security checks for flying. The bottom line is, we can deal with specific threats, but not with theoretical or general ones. You'd have to be a sheikh or someone like Warren Buffett to afford anything more. Well, unless you can get the taxpayers to foot the bill."

"So, having my own 'Praetorian Guard' like the Secret Service is out," I chuckled.

"Yes. You carry, you're trained in karate, and you have a top-notch security system on the house. We'll do some upgrades to improve it, but really, you're in good shape."

"OK. Have your guy call me."

"Will do. I'm glad Albert is safe."

"Me, too!"

We ended the call just as I walked up the front porch steps at the house. I went inside, took off my shoes, and went to join my wives.

"You doing OK?" I asked Jessica.

"I'm fine. I was a bit unnerved earlier."

"I talked to Patrick again. We're going to add more cameras, so at least we'll cover the back yard and the alley, and upgrade some other parts of the system."

"Have you ever considered moving to a place where we could have a fully gated and walled setup?"

I shook my head, "I love this house and I love living in this area. I don't want to move. And even then, what would we do? Keep the kids captive in the Compound?"

"No, I suppose not," Jessica sighed. "I want to get each of the kids a cell phone."

I nodded, "I think that's a good idea, at least for the kids who go to school."

"Which is everyone but Ashley," Kara said. "Stephie starts kindergarten in August."

"OK. Let me discuss it with Elyse. We can likely arrange this through NIKA to receive our corporate discount. Is she here?"

"She left with the boys to go to Eduardo's for the night. She'll be back tomorrow."

"OK. I'll clear it with her, though she'll likely send me to Keri or Chris to get it done. I'll make sure it happens on Monday."

"I think we need to reiterate the rules to the kids, too."

"We'll do that on Sunday at the family dinner."

"What are we doing for the rest of the evening?"

"Unless my wives object, a sauna, then lovemaking. Any objections?"

"NO!" they both squealed.

July 29, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

"It's good to see you after two weeks," Sensei Jim said when I walked into the dōjō with my wives, Michelle, and Birgit on Saturday morning.

"And you, Sensei," I said.

We went to his office and sat down to talk.

"Did you finalize everything for the new building?" he asked.

"Yes. The lawyers are drawing up all the necessary documents. I figure it'll be another two weeks until everything is signed and filed with the government. Then it will take a week or so to fund the LLC. Once that's done, the loan proceeds will be escrowed, and we can finalize the purchase. As soon as that's done, Brown Construction will start work. Right now, my best guess for a date we can move in would be September 11th."

"When do you propose we have our first class there?"

"Honestly, there isn't a lot to move, so we could do it any time after that. How about Saturday? That would be the 16th."

"A 'grand opening', so to speak?" he asked.

"I think that's a good idea as part of our marketing strategy. We've added a dozen students since we began marketing ourselves."

Sensei Jim smiled, "We're now at a point where we need to seriously consider adding another class on Saturday afternoon. I spoke with Therese about leading it, and she agreed, if we decide to do it."

"An excellent choice," I said. "Are you intending to promote her?"

"Yes, to 2nd Dan. We'll do that on that Saturday when we open the new dōjō. Do you have any objections or reservations?"

"None whatsoever. It's well deserved. Did Marcia receive her confirmation for the Labor Day tournament?"

"Yes. Do you know if Molly's student will be there?"

"I haven't talked to her in a couple of weeks because I was traveling, but I can't imagine he won't. I planned to call her on Monday."

"You know, I should have asked. How was your trip to Europe?"

"Too short," I said. "But given how young some of the kids are, I think it made sense. We're going to Disney World next Summer."

"With all the kids?"

"And some friends with their kids!"

Sensei Jim shook his head, "Two was plenty!"

"Speaking of kids, in Sakurako's most recent card, she let me know she's five months pregnant."

"A honeymoon baby!" he said with a laugh. "They only married in January!"

"I'm not surprised at all," I said. "It fits their traditional world view perfectly. And, out of earshot of a certain yellow belt, I'm hoping they have a boy. That would fulfill Hiro-san's dying wish."

"A great-grandson to assume the mantle of «Shihan»."

I nodded, "Yes. And it wouldn't surprise me to see Hideki become 'emeritus' when his son is old enough to assume the mantle. One last act of respect for Hiro-san."

"That would violate tradition, but in a way which makes sense. But we're probably about thirty years ahead of ourselves! Shall we deal with the 'here and now'?"

"Absolutely!"

We left his office and went out to our waiting students.

July 30, 1995, Chicago, Illinois

"When are you going to Mayo for your tests?" Jon asked as we drank coffee early on Sunday morning.

"A week from tomorrow," I said. "Kimmy relayed a message from Doctor Whittaker that she has everything lined up."

"Dissection?" Jon laughed.

"I did NOT sign up for vivisection, Mister Todd!"

"To be honest, and all joking aside, we aren't able to do that kind of procedure on a living patient."

"Do YOU have a diagnosis for me?" I asked with a grin.

"Acute encephalofecalitis," Jon said with a smirk, but then he shook his head, "I spoke with Al and Doctor Washington at length, and I agree with them. Hopefully, this rising star of an endocrinologist can discover something. You're going to see her annually?"

"That's the plan. She's going to do a baseline next week, then begin consulting with experts around the world on how to figure this out."

"Adams Syndrome?" Jon laughed.

"Hell no! She can call it 'Whittaker Syndrome' or any other thing she likes, but I do NOT want her to name it after me!"

"Changing topics, how would I go about getting gridiron tickets to see your Bears play?"

"Ask Samantha, or I can ask Alec Glass. They both have access to a skybox at Soldier Field. Pick the game you want to see, and they'll accommodate."

"Excellent. Amanda is taking me to a baseball game today. She agreed to go to a cricket match in Naperville next weekend. A group of Indians have a cricket league with four teams. Now, if you only had proper football here!"

"They've tried several times, but it simply hasn't caught on. The NASL, the North American Soccer League, failed, as did the attempt to make the game 'American' by playing inside in what amounts to a hockey rink with Astroturf. The Major Indoor Soccer League failed in '92 after fourteen years of mixed results."

"You Yanks have never really taken to proper football or proper racing. Even your elite racing is mostly on ovals rather than proper road courses. Ovals are for horses, but even then, some of the best racing is National Hunt racing, what you would call 'steeplechase', although they do run some flat courses. You might have heard of the most famous one, the 'Grand National', which is run in Liverpool each year."

"Wasn't there some sort of disaster with that race a few years ago? I seem to recall a few seconds on ESPN about it."

"Complete chaos, that," Jon said. "Two failed starts, and many of the horses ran at least the first lap, with nine completing the course. They voided the result and called it 'the race that never was'."

"And they didn't re-run it?"

"No. They chose not to, which created complete havoc with the bookies, who were forced to refund something on the order of £75 million."

"Damn!"

"They've changed the rules and put procedures in place to try to prevent it in the future."

"Speaking of racing, would you like to go to a NASCAR race in three weeks?"

"And watch cars go round in circles for three hours?" he laughed. "I suppose it's worth that torture simply to say I've done it!"

"Then you and Amanda are welcome to join us."

"Tickets?"

"We have the ones Penny and Terry used," I sighed.

"How is that going?"

"About the way you'd expect any divorce to go, but at least it's reasonably amicable."

"A mess, no matter what. Anyway, I need to get going. I'm playing golf this morning with Pete, Kurt, and Karl."

"Enjoy that. I sure wouldn't!" I said.

"You simply don't have the patience for it," Jon said matter-of-factly.

"I simply don't find it relaxing!"

"It's not all that different from your game of pocket billiards," he said. "You stand around, take turns doing your play, and gab for a while. In golf, at least you do more exercise, walking around, swinging the clubs."

I shook my head, "I find it to be the most frustrating game on the planet, bar none!"

He laughed and got up from the table, then went to his room. Meanwhile, I went to the sunroom to sit with Jessica while we waited for Kara to get up. When she did, we'd have breakfast and then Jessica would go to bed so she was ready for her 10:00pm shift.

That evening, at our family dinner, I reiterated the rules for the kids to follow when leaving the yard.

"Albert was bad!" Stephie said.

"That's not for you to say, Little Bunny Rabbit. Your moms and I dealt with that. I want you all to understand the rules and why we have them."

"To keep us safe!" Albert said firmly.

"Yes," I agreed. "That's exactly why. It was OK to play at Timmy's, but only with permission. Even the adults let everyone know where they're going to be. It's all on the calendar or on the whiteboard in the hallway next to the kitchen that leads to Doctor Jon's room. For Jesse, he needs to make sure one of his moms knows, or come talk to me if they aren't around.

"The other thing that's going to happen is the security company is going to add two cameras -- one for the back yard, and one for the alley behind the coach house. They're also going to upgrade the motion sensors. And, if Jennifer and Josie want, add an alarm system to the coach house."

"We discussed it, and we think that's a good idea," Jennifer said.

"And the cell phone for Jesse?"

"So long as we pay for it, yes," she agreed.

"I wouldn't have assumed otherwise!"

"They'll need to make sure the phones are silenced and in their bags or pockets, and never take them out at school," I said. "I don't want the hassle of dealing with the school administration."

"What do you mean, Dad?" Jesse asked.

"Some people don't like cell phones, so we want to make sure nobody is upset and interferes with our family decisions. The phone is only for emergencies, and mostly you would call one of us, not us call one of you."

"Could we call each other?"

"Yes, if you aren't in school and it's necessary. You also don't want to take it into church. Just leave it in the car, please."

"OK."

"And at hockey, in your locker with your clothes."

"Got it!"

"Can I call you, Daddy?" Birgit asked.

"If it's truly important, Pumpkin."

"Saying 'I love you!' IS important, Daddy!"

"I agree, but the phones are for emergencies."

"Like needing cuddles?" she giggled.

"Don't look at me, Snuggle Bear!" Kara teased. "YOU created this little monster!"

"I am not a monster!" Birgit protested.

Jesse, Matthew, and Michael all looked at each other and smirked.

"Are, too!" they declared in unison.

"Am not!" Birgit declared. "Quit being dumb boys!"

They just laughed, and she fumed. They could needle her and get her 'off her game' fairly easily. Her sisters had figured out that if they just ignored the boys, the boys would leave them alone. But Birgit made it obvious they were getting under her skin, and that only encouraged them to do it more. Jesse had it down to an art form, being able to take her from calm to outraged in a split second, often with just a glance.

"Kids, you know that's not appropriate," Elyse said, as she struggled to suppress a smirk.

"Yes, Mom!" Matthew and Michael chimed together, though they were smirking.

"Yes, Aunt Elyse," Jesse said with an even bigger smirk.

"Those three are going to be holy terrors," Stephanie whispered.

"Going to be?" I chuckled.