As they looked at the different encrypted sites that Marc had found in doing his own research, Jake sat and shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe what I’m seeing”, Jake said. “This Grissom bastard has, in essence, put together a smaller version of the Utopian Army.”
“No, it’s a goon squad, Jake. Big difference. They’re just thugs with guns. Little to no training. A few of them have served in the military, but only basic weapon’s training. They’re all muscle.”
“You’ve looked into them that far?”
“Not hard when their faces are all over these militant sights. I did background checks. Many of them are wife beaters and have bad drug habits.”
“What have you dug up on Porter Grissom?”
“Well, that he’s a child raping douche that has a taste for blood and an obsession with our family. He’s followed each and every one of us through our many endeavors. My Academy awards, Makayla’s awards, your Nobel nod, Reckless Disregard in everything. I hacked the Loyola Doctoral Guestbook- because you know how anal our Alma Mater is about student records. I found one of his aliases on the book log for Jeremiah and Meagan’s graduation ceremony.”
“You mean where they got their PhD’s?”
“Yup. And he was at the ceremony when Dad got his honorary Doctorate.”
“What was the name?”
Marc repressed a snicker. “Remember that fucked up cartoon we all watched in syndication as teenagers? American Dad. Mom thought it was funny, Dad thought it was stupid.”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“No shit, the name was Stan Smith.” Marc couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jake asked as he got into his desk drawer.
“Nope. Stan mother fucking Smith. Turns out he loves to use those names as aliases. He’s gone under the name Stan Smith, Roger Smith, Steve Smith, Peter Griffin, Bryan Griffin… this guy has NO creativity.”
“So he’s a militant Utopian douchebag that can’t come up with an original pseudonym to save his own ass? Wow, this guy’s a winner.”
“Yeah, but he has a serious hard on over Jordan and Malachai, especially Jordan. He seems to be trying to find something to bribe Malachai with, but he can’t dig far enough back.”
“Malachai makes no bones about the fact that he’s Dad’s adopted son. He still calls Dad, ‘Dad’. He always has. When he and Jordan interview, he says, ‘Our Dad’, or ‘Our father’.”
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at ‘Chai’s Wiki page, but he pretty much doesn’t exist before age 5.”
“That’s ‘Chai’s prerogative. His life before Dad adopted him is a mystery to everyone but him and Mom. Dad maybe in on it, but that’s them. I don’t really know a lot about it to tell you the truth.”
“What do you know?”
“I know that Dad adopted him, and that Mom, Dad, and Malachai all think his birth father is a jack ass.”
“Wow. No wonder Malachai never speaks of him. Does the guy know he’s got grandkids about to graduate high school?”
Jake shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya, but I doubt it. Dad is their Grampa. I think that’s all Miranda, Elijah, Isaiah and the triplets really need to know or care about. They have their Gramma and Grampa and that’s all they need.” The alarm on Jake’s phone started to buzz. “And it’s time for my workout”, he said with a sigh.
“Why? Can’t you miss a day?”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. Not from what my doctor says.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’m trying to keep my diabetes in check as well as stay a doctor. I had a bad scare a few years back.”
“How bad?”
“Had waves of vertigo hit me. I stopped long enough to let them pass then started walking again. I had patients to see. Got maybe a foot or two from the nurses’ station where I stopped to regain my balance, and I hit the floor. Woke up to my wife’s face. She called Mom and Dad out for the kids. Sammi and Seth were still babies. When I was released from the hospital, Mom lectured me.”
“Mom lectured you?”
Jake nodded. “Sure did. She said to me, ‘What have I told you? You can’t keep working the way you do. You can’t push yourself and starve yourself the way you do. Now do you see why I say that? You’re very lucky that your father and I weren’t in Belize or something like that because you would have been SOL. Now, if this didn’t put the fear of God into you about your condition, then I don’t know what will. You have got to start taking better care of yourself. I’m sure the last thing Delilah and the kids want to have to do is put Daddy in the ground.’ All I could do is reply, ‘Yes, Ma’am’. From that point on, I started taking better care of myself. I check my sugar regularly, I carry an insulin pen in case I need it, and I work out in some way every day.”
“A work out of some sort?”
“What can I say? Delilah likes to make sure I get my cardio in.”
Marc leaned back against the chair and laughed. “Holy fuck, bro, that’s priceless. I wonder if that’s what was going on when Mom and Dad would sleep in. They were getting their cardio in.”
Jake chuckled. “I’m almost positive that’s what was happening when Mom wasn’t sick or something.”
---------------
After his morning workout and firearms practice, Jake ate breakfast and waited for his parents to get up. He was relieved to finally to have finally shared his reasoning for his strict regimen with someone other than his wife and parents. He would never forget his mother’s words. First she chewed his ass, then she became kind and gentle. “Jacob, you know your father and I love you, but you have got to slow down or we’re going to be putting you in the ground. I certainly don’t want to do that and I know your father doesn’t want to either. You have to stop and think about what you’re doing. Think about your wife and children, son. Think of what you’re doing to them by working the way you are and not taking care of yourself. I managed my condition for several years without insulin, without having to check my sugar regularly. I still checked it every now and then, but nonetheless. I didn’t have to check it and that’s my point. I realize that you want to be able to do whatever you want like a lot of your brothers and sisters, but you can’t, son. You have a condition that prevents that. Get it under control, and I mean real control. Talk to Dr. J about a referral to an endocrinologist so that you have someone that specializes in what we have. You have to become nearly militant about working out and staying in shape. Eat healthy like I taught you. Balance your grains and protein, eat plenty of fiber, used herbs to balance everything. Remember what I taught you and you’ll be fine.” He smiled as he recalled the conversation and ate his breakfast.
As he bit into a piece of deer sausage, his parents came in with the grandkids that had stayed the night. He smiled. “How was the night after I left last night?” he asked.
“Not bad”, his mother said. “It took an hour to get your daughter back to sleep, but we managed.”
“I ended up having to put her in the spare bedroom and singing her to sleep”, his father replied. “It didn’t take long after that. Sang ‘Darkness’ and she was gone.”
“Oh, Jake, check out my twitter page when you have a chance. There is an adorable picture of your father and daughter on there from last night.”
Jake pulled his phone out of the pocket of the sweats he was wearing and pulled up his twitter. Upon seeing the picture, he laughed. “Aw, Dad. That’s too cute.”
David shot his son the finger. “Here’s what I have to say about your cute. Now, after you eat, you mind grabbing Colton and having him call the tribe’s shaman for us? Well, for your mother.”
Jake laughed. “Ok. I’ll get right on that.” He stared at the picture, then retweeted it to all of his followers. He’d check later for responses. He’d already seen that his father reply to the picture. I’M NOT CUTE, DAMMIT! Jake had to laugh at that too.
Colton wondered in with Dahlia and Asher. “Hey Mom, hey Dad”, he said.
“Good morning Colt”, they both said.
Dahlia and Asher rushed their grandparents. “Good morning Gramma and Grampa!”, they exclaimed.
They laughed. “Good morning you two. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. When can we stay the night with you like Miri and Zeke did?” Asher asked.
“Not sure right now, Ash. Let Gramma and me get through the Uncle Jake and Aunt Kayla’s kids, then we’ll get to the rest of you. How does that sound?” David asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“But, we want to stay the night tonight”, Dahlia said.
“Ira, Sammi, and Seth are staying tonight if they’re being good”, Brie responded. “After that we have Danica and Makenzi. Then we will get to the two of you.”
“But, we don’t know how long you’re gonna be here, Gramma”, Asher said.
“We’re going to be here long enough for Aunt Jona to have her new baby, maybe a little longer. We don’t know yet.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to get to all of us?”
“We’re going to try”, David said. “Now, why don’t you two go play so that Gramma and I can talk to your Daddy and Uncle Jake.”
Colton looked at his children. “Go see where Mama is. If she and Aunt Lilah are getting ready to go into town, see if she can take you with them. I think Gramma and Grampa need to talk business.” They children responded with a yes Daddy and left the room. “So, what’s going on?” he asked his in laws.
“We’re going to need to talk to your Shaman friend”, Brie said. “Well, I’m going to need to talk to him. Dad’s just gonna sit there and listen.”
“I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t call me for convenience”, Colton laughed. “Albert Stormcrow is weird like that. If it’s young bucks calling, he’ll make us do the work, but if it’s ‘senior citizens’ he’ll make an exception.”
“Are you telling me that he knows we want to talk to him?” David asked.
“Oh yeah”, Colton replied with a grin as he reached for his phone on his hip. “Speaking of the devil”, he laughed. He hit a button and put the phone to his ear. “Hello Albert. Yes, they’re right here, give me a moment.” He put the phone on speaker. “It’s all you, Al.”
“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Draiman. I was starting to worry that Jacob hadn’t passed on the messages I told him to pass on.”
“The messages about the interpretations of the dreams and visions?” Brie asked.
“Yes. You’re going to have to let your daughter Jordan be herself. Keep whatever orders in place that you have there, but don’t be too hard on her when she does finally defy you. And my guides tell me that she’s still asleep, so there’s no worry of her hearing this. Davina is still trying to roust her from her slumber to go shopping.” He paused. “Oh, Jacob. Your Miri had her first vision last night, didn’t she. She and her cousin Matthew had similar dreams, and only she and Matt could see the horsemen? Am I right? Don’t answer that. I know I am. Now, Mr. Draiman, I know about your little Watch Tower in the middle of the property. You and your wife will want to get very familiar with the equipment and have your former bodyguard take the men out on maneuvers. They’re going to need the training.”
“Oh really? Why might that be?” David asked.
“Now, if I told you that it could alter the plotted course of destiny. Talk with Jacob and Marc about the things they’ve found about the people you and your band mates spent so much time fighting and speaking out against. They’ll have interesting information for you that will come in handy much, much later. And be prepared to take two of your grandchildren off of their parents’ hands when shit hits the fan. Any other questions, comments, or concerns?”
David and Brie looked at each other. “No”, they said in unison.
“Alrighty then, have a wonderful day and enjoy your grandbabies, Mr. and Mrs. Draiman”, and the line went dead.
They blinked. “Did that just happen?”, they said in unison after several minutes.
Jake laughed. “Oh yeah, it just happened. Now you see why I was so messed up that night when I called you?”
Brie laughed nervously. “Wow”, she said. “That was the most insane conversation I’ve ever had.”
“Oh, I know, Mom, and all you can do is just accept what he said and follow his advice.”
---------------
“Now that the women are gone, and Skyler is here at the house”, Marc said with a sarcastic smile, “I get to put on a show”, he laughed. After getting a bite to eat he’d started working on a presentation to show his brothers, parents and Jeremiah’s in laws.
“Christopher, can you just cut the theatrics and get started. I’ll read Morbus in later. We can’t keep waiting on him”, David said as he sipped a bottle of water.
Marc chuckled. “Sorry Dad, but I’ve been dying to do something like this. I’ve only ever do one in editing on a movie.”
Brie looked at her youngest son. “Tick tock, Marc Christopher. Your father and I aren’t getting any younger. What have you and your brother Jacob found that we need to know?”
Marc started his presentation. He explained to his parents everything he knew about Porter Grissom. “This man has been obsessed with our family for years”, he said. “He’s practically stalked each and every one of us. He’s watched all of the award ceremonies either on TV, online, or in person. He’s been seriously stalking Malachai and Jordan’s Wikipedia pages here recently. I hacked his internet logs. The man can’t cover his tracks to save his ass. And he seems to be fond of cartoon names for aliases when in need of on. The one he uses most often is Stan Smith”, he said. As he spoke, he hit a button on the remote control to the TV to show them everything he’d learned.
“Stan Smith? As in that retarded TV show you kids used to enjoy?” David asked.
“‘American Dad’, yup”, Marc said. “He also uses Roger Smith, Steve Smith, Peter Griffin and Bryan Griffin. As you can see, this man has no creativity. But, I did find something else that may or may not surprise you”, Marc said and hit the button on the remote again. The page that held the hit list. “We all have bounties on our heads. Uncle John is the same. Logan and Caleb. Justin, Uncle Danny, Uncle Mikey. The only one they want to keep alive long enough to torture is Jordan.”
“At least they don’t want to try us in bull shit courts and put us all to death in the most in humane way possible”, David said with a nod, his voice thick with sarcasm.
“No kidding”, Brie laughed, being sarcastic as well.
“Ok, any kind of internet activity that could give away our location is forbidden. I’ll be sure to pass the message on to your sisters personally. I know how Jordan likes to add a location to her tweets and stuff. No more of that. We’re all going to have to be extremely careful.”
“Oh, Dad, it gets better. I left out a name on the list because I just found it while you were talking to the Navajo Shaman”, Marc said. When he hit the button on the remote it pulled up a drawing. Wanted: Dead or Alive. Morbus (a pseudonym) Real name: Unknown Last seen: On tour with Reckless Disregard Price: $3.8 Million. “They want Morbus too.”
“That will never happen”, Brie said with a laugh. “Morbus is far too careful. I mean, look at that. They don’t even know what he looks like without the hood.”
“I know. I just wanted to show you that. I thought it was funny to be honest.”
“Oh yes, Marc. It’s hilarious”, David said as he watched his wife check her sugar right there in front of their sons , and Skyler and Kaylian. Brie did things like that unabashedly. She recorded her sugar level in the book, took her insulin pen out and stuck herself in the thigh, injecting the synthetic steroid. “Are you ok, love?” he whispered.
“Yeah, I’m fine, baby. It’s just that time. I have to eat in 20 minutes.”
“What’s the number?”
“156.”
“As long as you don’t fall below 100 we’re good, right?”
“Exactly. I’m still good for a while, but I just took my insulin, so I need to eat soon afterward. Now, will you stop fretting over me and pay attention to Marc’s briefing?”
“Yes mother”, he laughed.
She laughed as well recalling the many times she’d replied similarly to him over the many years they’d been together. “Sorry, Marc. Your father was fretting just a bit.”
Marc chuckled. “Well, here’s what I know about Grissom’s men. Two of them have military training. All of them are goons. Most of them have rap sheets longer than Kylely is tall, especially the two guys that have military training. Most of them are wife and kiddy beaters. Grissom, however, is a sick bastard. He’s a pedophile extraordinaire. He them in their late teens. Into rape fantasies.”
“How did you find all of this?” Brie asked.
“He’s got the longest rap sheet of them all, Mom. At least we all know that none of us are criminals. I think the worst any of us do is drink and smoke weed. But this guy is… he makes Uncle Matt and Morbus look like boy scouts. Now before anyone goes trying to defend them, I know neither of them has a criminal record, but I’ve seen Uncle Matt’s kill count as a Force Recon Sniper and I think we all know what Morbus is capable of. Grissom is suspected of countless murders as well as molestation. And he doesn’t discriminate either.”
“What do you mean?” Malachai asked.
“He does boys and girls alike, ‘Chai. And, I’ll tell you right this fucking moment, this man has a huge hard on for the twins.” Malachai’s hands started to shake. The thought of some sick bastard wanting to hurt his children made him beyond furious. “But”, Marc said, cutting into his older brother’s thoughts, “this bastard isn’t above using any of our children, let alone us, as leverage to get what he wants.”
“And what does he really want, Marc?” Skyler asked, although he was sure that he, his wife, David, and Brie all knew the answer.
“To be the next Utopian Commander under the new Utopian regime. They will eradicate anyone that speaks out against the movement without prejudice. Forget trials. They’ll just exterminate us and we can say hello to World War III.”
---------------
After digesting the news that Marc had given them all, David made a phone call as he and Brie at lunch with Jake. “Morbus, I need you to the main house ASAP. It’s important.”
“I’m at the back door, David. I was on my way anyway”, Morbus said as he hung up and opened the door.
David turned to the door. “You need to teach us how to use all of that equipment in our house and I need you to start teaching the boys everything you know. There are a lot of things that I can’t teach them either because I don’t know or, let’s face it, I’m not as young as I used to be anymore.”
Brie nodded in agreement. “Me neither. Matt taught you everything he was taught in the Corps. and learned on his own. He may have taught me everything I know about weapons, but he didn’t teach me everything he knew.”
Morbus nodded, the killer he used to be peaking out in his blood red eyes. “I’ll show you everything I put in the house after you’re finished with your lunch and I’ll start taking the boys out first thing in the morning.” Morbus looked at Jake. “I hope you boys have been working with all the bells and whistles I installed out on the range because I’m not going to slow down just to teach you what you need to know. This will be fast paced and repetitious. We will do it over and over until you all get it right. There may be times when we’re out all day. Jake, I know you’re diabetic. Pack a lunch.”
Jake nodded. “Gotcha. I’ll be packing a lunch. I’ll warn everyone else to do the same.”
Morbus nodded. “Alright. We’ll start training at 0500. Wake up a little earlier than you normally do and eat a light breakfast.”
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