Chapter 1

Dr. Jacob Draiman sat in his office at his private practice and scratched his head as he looked at the calendar on his computer.  It was five years to the day after his father and uncles retired.  He sighed.  I think that Mom and Dad are in Brazil at the moment.  Mom had a sudden urge to go to Rio or some shit.  He sighed and picked up the phone, dialing the first number from memory.

“Hello?” a man’s voice asked.

“Hey Dave, it’s Jake.  What’s happening on your side of the globe?”  It was still early in Colorado and there was a nine hour time difference between the two of them.  It was sometime in the evening where his baby sister and her husband lived.

“Not too much.  I think your folks are due back from Santiago today or tomorrow.  I don’t know off the top of my head.  Did you want to talk to Jess?”

“Yes, please.  I just need to hear her voice to know that she’s ok.”

“No problem.”  He heard whispering and then the voice of his baby sister.  “Hey Jake.  What’s crackalackin’?”

He laughed.  “Not too damn much, Jess.  Just making my weekly calls to everyone to make sure that you’re all ok.”

“Not doing too bad.  I’m a little tired after working all day at the consulate, but it comes with the territory.”

Jake nodded as she spoke.  “But everything is quite on the home front over there?”

“Yep, other than the fact that my feet are swollen and I’m a fat cow carrying this baby.”

Jake laughed.  “I’m sure you look don’t that bad, Jess.  Any idea what you’re having?”

“We’re having a girl.  We’re going to name her Abigayle Sariah.”

Jake smiled.  “Very pretty.  ‘Father rejoicing in his princess’.  I love it.  I wish I had thought of it.”  He laughed.

“Too bad.  It’s MINE! You can’t have it!” she teased.

As Jake opened his mouth to respond, his twin walked in the door.  “Jake, we have a problem.”

He sighed.  “Jessi, I’ll have to call you back, baby sister.  Jordan just walked in and it seems that there is a huge problem that needs my immediate attention.”

“No problem, Jake.  Just call back as soon as you’re done with Jordan and everyone else.  I miss having my big brothers to talk to.

“We miss you too, Jess.  We’ll talk to you soon, though.”

“Without a doubt.  Love you, Jake.”

“Love you too, Jess.  Bye.”  He hung up and set his phone on his desk.  “And what seems to be the problem, Jord?”

“I was at the store with Levi, Jazzi, and Davi when someone tried to fucking shoot me, Jake”, Jordan fumed.

Jake raised an eyebrow.  “Someone tried to shoot you while you were at the store with your wife and kids?  Why does that sound farfetched?”

“It’s true.  We were putting things in the back of the car when something ricocheted off of the side of my Rover.  If you want, I can show you the fucking mark and a copy of the police report.”

Jake took a deep breath to center himself.  “Ok.  Show me.”  He stood and went out to the parking lot with his sister.  He saw the mark on the side of her Range Rover where the bullet ricocheted.  “For the love of God, who’s trying to kill you?”

“Fuck if I know, Jake.  All I know is that someone is trying to shoot me or my kids and I’ll be damned if that happens.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.  “Do I need to call a family meeting, Jordan?”

“No.  I know you don’t want to do it, but I think this is over all of our heads.  I think you either need to call the Intel Guru, aka Uncle John, or call Dad.”

Jake nodded.  He knew what he had to do.  But, neither were calls he particularly wanted to make.

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Los Angeles, California- the city of angels.  Porter Grissom, a high powered business man with a mind to change the face of the United States- sat in his office and stared at his computer screen.  He was looking footage from the operation the team he had assembled had just done.  He cursed under his breath as he watched someone who was supposed to be one of the best trained snipers in the world miss his target.  He looked at the men in his office.  “How hard is it to shoot a fucking lesbian with a Hawaiian woman and two kids, you fucking MORON?!” he shouted.

The sniper stood at attention as he was berated.  “I couldn’t get a solid lock on her, sir.  She kept moving around.  When I thought I had her, she moved right as I squeezed the trigger.”

“She has one of the most recognizable faces in the world.  Her voice reaches millions, and you can’t hit the road side of a fucking BARN!”  Grissom took a deep breath to regain his composure.  “You will regroup and figure out a way to kill her before I have you killed.  Do I make myself perfectly fucking clear?”

“Yes sir.”

“Now get the fuck out of my sight.”  The men turned and left and Grissom returned to his desk.  He watched the footage over and over again.  He couldn’t’ believe the incompetence in his organization.  The People in Support of a Utopian Society- PSUS for short- were trying to gain a legitimate foot in the Presidential race.  They wanted to change the country, and in turn, the world.  The last time they tried to take over, they did it by force.  Their reign lasted for eight years while one loud mouthed rock star opened his mouth and challenged the might of the Utopian party.  That rock star was no longer a problem, but his kids were.  He was sure that David Draiman had raised his children to be miniature versions of himself.   He knew that because he’d heard some of Draiman’s oldest daughter’s lyrics.  He knew this because he’d listened to another one of Draiman’s daughters lecture on political science.  He’d listened to one of Draiman’s sons lecture on the philosophy of democracy at a UCLA conference.  He knew that the Draiman children had their strengths.  He needed to know their weaknesses.  So far he couldn’t find any.

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Jake took a deep breath.  He really didn’t want to bother his Uncle John with such trivial bull shit.  Though his gut said something was wrong, he really didn’t want to know what was really going on.  As he sat and ate his lunch, he agonized over making the call.  Finally, he decided to swallow his pride and scrolled through the phonebook on his cell to find his Uncle’s number.  The phone rang a couple of time before it was answered.  “Hello?” the man asked.

“Hey Uncle John.  It’s Jake.  How have you been?”

“I’m fine, Jake.  Getting older, but I’m good.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Consider this anything but a pleasure, Uncle John.  I’m calling for a favor.”

“Oh?  What do you need?”

“Apparently, someone took a shot at Jordan this morning.  I’ve seen all of the evidence she had on her.  I’ve even seen the chip in the paint from the bullet ricocheting off of the vehicle.  Do you still have your ear to the ground like you did when we were kids?”

“I’ve always had my ear to the ground.  Since your father, other uncles and I underwent the Agency training before you were thought of; I’ve kept my ear to the ground.  You want me to dig and see what I can find as to why someone wants Jordan dead?”

“Please Uncle John.  You know I really hate asking.”

“You and Jordan are my godchildren.  I’d do it for the asking.  You know that.”

“I know, Uncle John.  Something seems to be off here.  It just doesn’t feel right.”

“Well, I see what I can find, Jake.  It’s the best I can do.  It might take some serious digging, but I’m more than willing because if you guys.”

“Thank you, Uncle John.  I’ll let Jordan know so that she’ll have a little bit of peace of mind.”

“It’s no problem, Jake.  I’ll give you a call when I have something for you.”  John hung up.

Jake sighed as he hit end call in his phone and dialed Jordan’s number.  When she picked up, he didn’t bother saying hello.  “Jord, it’s your twin.  I just talked to Uncle John and he’s looking.”

“Have you called Dad yet?”

“I really don’t want to call our patriarch without proper information.  He’ll ask questions that I don’t have the answers to and I’m not going to sit here and sound like a dumb ass saying, ‘I don’t know, Dad’.  Information before asking his advice.”

“Is that what your infamous dreams have told you?”  She was getting hateful and snippy, taking everything out on her twin brother.

“Jordan, calm down.  I know you’re freaking out.  Someone just tried to shoot you.  But you need to take a step back, get a deep breath, and collect your wits before they get you killed before I can get answers.”

“What do you suggest I do, acting head of the Draiman clan?”

“I suggest you get to somewhere where you’re safe and you’re surrounded by people that can neutralize the threat in case one arises.”

“You mean homestead?”

“If that’s where you want to go, Jord.  Call Malachai and tell him to bring Mandy and the kids over so that everyone is safe and there will be three sharp shooters  that can take care of whatever needs taken care of.”

Jordan sighed.  “I really don’t want to have to go through what we went through as kids again.  I don’t want to put Levi and Jasmine through that either.”

Jake lost his patience for a moment and snapped at her.  “You think I want Miri, Ira, Seth, and Sammi to have to go through it either, Jordan?  I remember that fresh hell as well as you and Malachai do.”

She fell silent.  “I’m sorry, Jake.  I know you were there too and that you don’t want your kids to have to go through it either.”

He took a deep breath to regain his composure.  “I’m good.  It’s cool.  Now get to the house, have Malachai meet you there.  I’ll call Delilah at work to have her give Maddie a heads up to have them come to the house as well and we’ll have Colt there too.  And I’ll call ‘Miah to let him and Jona know to expect everyone.”

“Jake, I’m scared.”

“Jord, you know that none of us will let anything happen if we can help it.  Get to the house and have Malachai meet you there.  I’ll close up the practice for the day and head home.”

“Ok, Jake. I will.”

“And Jordan?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.  We don’t know what this is yet.”

“I will.  You too.”

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When Jake pulled into the garage, he gave a heavy sigh.  He knew that calling Meagan or Makayla would freak them out.  He knew that calling Marc or James would send them into panic mode.  He had to handle the crisis at hand before he freaked out any of his other siblings or his parents.  He leaned his head against the head rest of his seat; then hit the back of his head against it.  “DAMN IT!” he growled with intent when his head made contact.  “THIS IS BULL SHIT!  WHY, GOD?  WHY MY FAMILY?  WHY ME?  WHAT THE FUCK HAVE I DONE?!  I’VE BEEN NOTHING BUT A HUMBLE SERVANT.  I ASK YOU FOR NOTHING FOR MYSELF!”

There was a knock on his window before he could finish his rant.  He took a deep breath and looked.  It was Skyler Mason, Jeremiah’s father in law.  He rolled down the window.  “Hi Skyler.  What’s up?”

“Couldn’t help but see your tantrum, Jacob.  Is everything ok?”

Jake sighed.  “No, Skyler, unfortunately.  Shit’s hitting the fan and I don’t know why.  I have a call in to Uncle John, but it could take weeks for him to find what I need to know.”

“You want my advice?”

“If you’re willing to share it?”

“You’re supposed to be the leader now, Jake.  Get your frustration out now so that you can handle the frustrations of the other people in that house.  They look to you in time of crisis.  A leader is cool under pressure in front of those he leads and freaks out in private.”

Jake smiled.  “Thanks Skyler.  I needed that.  Did you know that you sounded exactly like my father there for a moment?”

Skyler Mason just shrugged.  “I guess great minds think alike.”