Infinity Chapter 123 - FBI & Reno's

[itztigress3]

Chapter 123 –  FBI and Reno’s

POV:  Zac

Word count: 3921

September 28, 2015

  The end of August and last three weeks had been very busy. We finished the Roots and Rock N Roll EP and it was set to be mailed starting the first but I’d broken my truck window and had to have it repaired and it kind of let me know that having one vehicle wasn’t really good. Her mustang was totaled and while she considered getting a new one, ultimately she said no because the car seats were hard to get in and out. I did some research and the 2016 Toyota Sienna was very nice. I’d let her pick all the colors and interior features and it would be perfect for us, even with extra seats it would come in handy with our nieces and nephews. It was weird, I never saw myself as a person with a minivan!

Tour started very soon but as we arrived at the office Agent Stewart called and asked to meet with us, so we told him to come here. Casey came down to sit with Alexander and Isabella. But I asked Taylor and Isaac to sit with us because they should hear it too. Agent Stewart arrived about 10 and Eliza was with him in her professional attire. We chose the conference room and shut the door. Everyone exchanged hellos and how are yous, I offered drinks and fetched the bottles of water and everyone settled down.

“Mrs. Hanson, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing ok I guess. I feel better.”

She was actually sleeping more, she still had the nightmares but they weren’t nightly anymore and now she was able to go back to sleep. I was glad the medication and therapy was now helping and not harming.

“I heard you were having some pretty bad nightmares.”

“Yeah, we’ve gotten them under control now and there not as bad.”

“We were going to schedule this meeting much sooner but Mrs. Marshall insisted that we exhaust any and all possible problems before we came to tell you anything.”

“I wanted to be sure that if we said it’s over, it was.” Eliza said.

“That is appreciated.” Isaac said.

“First off I want you to know that Glen Franklin is dead. No reviving, no coming back. I know your aware of that but his autopsy was completed and we are certain that what killed him was a broken neck. The crime scene analysis department said the force of his body falling and that quick stop done it. We are not charging anyone for his death, because of the circumstances it was clearly self-defense.”

“That’s good to know, um did you find my cell phone? There were pictures of Alexander and Isabella on there that I hadn’t had time to save yet.”

“We did and there almost done with everything all of your data is intact and the phone will be returned to you the first. I made sure Eliza could bring it right before she takes her time off. We also found your wallets and Agent Marshalls gun and badge. Your personal effects will be returned.”

She sighed it was something she wanted back because some of the pictures weren’t replaceable. Eliza seemed quite happy to be taking time off.

“Because Agent Marshall was insistent we fully investigated Mr. Franklin and Mr. McDermid. First off we have cleared Mr. McDermid’s family in any connection with what he did concerning Zac. There is no evidence to support that anyone knew or had knowledge of him being that way.”

“We kind of figured that out but it’s good to be cleared for certain.”  I said.

He nodded. “Mr. Franklin does not have any other brothers or sisters from either parent. He and Adam Campbell were it. We’ve poured over Mr. Franklin’s electronic devices to determine if he contacted or contracted anything to be done concerning you or your family. There is no indication to say that he did, added we used his story to you about the guard and he has been arrested and provided us with the method he used, which was e-mail, and we’ve gone through them.”

“Was he lying when he said what David wanted?”

“On a degree he was, David did ask that he torture you in any fashion he saw fit. The last communication however David told him to kill everyone.”

“He what?” Emily nearly screamed it at them.

Eliza looked at her sympathetically. “David told Glen that what he wanted was for all of us to die. George, Jason and Joshua because they chose you over him, he felt they betrayed him and that was enough in his eyes to have them killed. Aaron and Christopher simply because they were gay men, he also believe that they were part of the reason the older three took your side. I was to be killed because like them, I chose you over him. I never returned after that 1^st visit because he was so heinous toward you that I didn’t need to know anything else about him. He wanted you to die because of what our mother did.”

The look on her face was not something I liked at all.

“Did he contract anyone else to do that?”

“No. Glen was the only person that he spoke too about this the other contacts were checking up on girls he’d sold or trained.” Agent Stewart said.

“You are absolutely positive that he didn’t demand or tell anyone else?” I asked.

“Yes. We talked with everyone he contacted and the only person we couldn’t find was Zane Dembowski, but we know he is dead because Ian confessed to killing him.”

The room grew quiet, that was major news that David had wanted all of them dead for whatever reasons. Emily didn’t seem to take that news well and I was glad she was seeing Doctor Lints this afternoon.

“What about the owner of the house, they both said Glen didn’t own the house and Officer Jenkins implied that you were already investigating him.”

“We were investigating him for trafficking or like Mr. Daniels was doing with training women and men. He was careful but not as careful as he should be, we had to blow the door to get inside. The explosion is what caused the plywood walls to come apart and reveal the window. From the outside that window looked like a typical basement with stairs and a furnace. The door to the room had a biometric clock with a code inside in case something happened.”

“Like he was killed?” Taylor asked.

“Yes. If he was killed or incapacitated then whoever was there couldn’t get out. I’m not sure how your friend knew you were both there, her explanation was a little out there but we verified she was not around when you were taken nor when you were found. We can’t fully explain the reason, but I am sure everyone is glad your both ok.”

“I am sure my brothers agree that we are glad she’s back and ok.” I said.

Emily looked at Eliza. “What about the video you saw of me?”

“The laptop we identified as Glen’s and we found the video he showed me along with originals files. The other computers belonged to the owner of the house and they have nothing containing your name, picture, or even information. We believe that Mr. Mallory did not know you.”

“How much video?”

“We found the edited video that I saw, we also found the originals to that edit. He made it seem like your entire life was videotaped but we’ve found no evidence to conclude that. It looks like Adam sent him a few videos and the surveillance video from the house in 2010.”

“What happens to those?”

“They will be destroyed if that’s what you want.” Agent Stewart said.

“I want them gone. I don’t even want to see them or have a copy, destroy them.”

He had her sign a release form for those to be destroyed and one for a request of property for her personal items.

“Is there any other questions?”

“What will happen to the house owner?” Emily asked.

“He’s been arrested and basically rolled over on everyone. He won’t be getting out of jail.”

“No one else in the wings?” Emily asked.

“No. Ian wasn’t intending to die so he didn’t make plans and Zac you asked in an e-mail what happen to the others there, Glen indicated some were killed and others sold or given away. We have found them all and only one was killed. The others have been rescued from their captures and are currently being evaluated.”

“What about Mr. Ashford?”

“He is currently in jail but Mr. Nichols is helping him and he’s agreed to take a plea deal. He has a lawyer and there determining if he is going to be able to maintain his place in society. It appears that while Ian did break him to some degree he was clearly able to realize that holding you was wrong.”

“That’s good then.”

“Do you have any other questions?” Agent Stewart asked.

“Is this over with? There won’t be any other crazy people coming after either of them for whatever reason?” Isaac asked.

“We can’t guarantee that no other crazy person would, but we can say that when it comes to Mr. Daniels, Mr. Franklin, Mr. McDermid, and Mr. Campbell there will be no one else.”

There wasn’t much else they could tell us, I was hoping that his assurance that no one was coming after us would help her sleep at night. But after they had left she seemed quiet and reserved so I gave her some time while we finished up the song we were working on and then I went up-stairs to check on her.

“Baby? Are you ok?”

“Yeah. They’re being good.”

“I see.”

“Uh..I was thinking about something, can you call the others up?”

“Sure.”

I sent a quick text and they both came in a few moments later.

“Un Tay!” Alexander said and ran to him. Isabella actually preferred Isaac and she went to him.

“Least they love us.” Ike said.

“You know they do.” I said.

“So, I’m sure it wasn’t because these munchkins needed uncle time.” Tay said.

“No not really. I’ve been thinking a while on this but Sean needs a proper office and not my old broom closet and I need a space for
these two to be able to run wild and not have to fret if they got his paints or the computer or whatever. We don’t use the conference room up here at all, it’s the catch all room for everything and we have two conference rooms and only use the larger of the two. Agreed there?”

“I do agree.” Isaac said.

“Ditto.” Tay said.

I simply nodded, wondering what she aiming for.

“So, what if we took the smaller conference room, knocked out the hallway wall if possible and open that up so he can see the floor
and put an office there for him? It’s a contained place where he can go when needed and I can reduce what he brings me daily by letting him enter it in himself.”

“Which gives you more time for the more important things.” Isaac said.

“Yeah, it would. I can review it once a week on Friday to make sure or even randomly. He’s does great and I think he’s a valuable asset to the company. We will definitely know post-tour. We can then do constructions afterwards and into the new year.”

“That makes sense but what about the room across the hallway?” I asked.

She smiled. “A play room for the kids. Not just them, all of them.  That way if Natalie and Nikki want to bring the kids here for a while they can. They won’t be bored.”

“Would that work for you though? They’ll be across the hallway.” I said.

“It’s why I called everyone up to get opinions and thoughts on that move. I feel like the space can be multifunctional because it
doesn’t have to serve for just toys and stuff for kids. It can have storage space for extra supplies because I can put those up high so the younger ones can’t reach. There is room for an office up here as well and might be cheaper to reconfigure up here versus the conference areas. I can turn one of those into storage if needed. I do need a larger place for filing cabinets because they’re getting crammed in with your art and blank canvases. I just think moving forward we all need more organization.”

“I agree with that because the rooms are small for storage and most the time we can’t even access what we need.” Taylor said.

Isaac kind of frowned. “I don’t like that you’d be across the hallway from them and if you leave the area open they can access the
steps too easy.”

“Off topic…but do we have crew for our tour?” Taylor asked.

Emily laughed. “Yes Taylor. In fact they all show up Wednesday for the meeting.”

“Same ones as before?”

“Not totally. Kurt has returned as our driver. Obviously Casey and Robert are coming with us. Dylan is returning for sound and extra, Carrick is joining for opening and bringing along Austin, um there doing Everybody Else songs night one and Carrick’s new album night two. Our new tour personnel is Ryan Swartz for lighting manager and Curtis Legend is here for sound and that’s it. Beyond you know the four of us, Eliza, Demetrius and Andrew. Which Eliza said she would help with whatever was needed and Curtis is also doubling as drummer for Carrick.”

“Nice. Sorry, it was off topic but I haven’t seen a memo.”

She looked at me and I grinned. “I forgot to tell you actually.”

“Damn Zac we can’t memo you for it being lost in that jungle and you can’t remember to tell us either?” Tay asked.

“I guess…Anyway I don’t like the idea of them being across the hallway.”

“I agree with Zac, even if it’s just these two they don’t need to be that far away and if we leave it open it’s too easy to reach the
steps.”

“Suggestions?”

The room was quiet for what felt like forever, the kids were now in the floor playing with blocks in front of me.

“You need to be able to see them and be in the same room, so what if we reconfigured the other three rooms, making that last room for storage over there which can be excess whatever. We can expand Taylor’s current office and the junk room can be my office.” Isaac said.

“I can’t see that room any better than I can the junk room.” Emily said.

“You can if we take the wall out. We rearrange the desk and make my old office a play room, your still in the room with them but they have a dedicated space to play. You can even add separation between the rooms like a half wall or something.”

“What happens to the current room the cabinets are in?”

“We can add those lockers in that room and put up a rod for jackets and make it a place employees can store their personal items. Right now it’s just wherever that way they have a dedicated spot for jackets, umbrellas, keys, purses, or change of clothes.” Taylor said.

“That’s a good idea. Zac?” She asked.

“You you want to bust out that wall and expand this room into the other one? What about the glass? She’s here beside the glass and my desk blocks a lot.”

“Well, we can narrow those details later on. Maybe in the downtime on the bus we can create some plans.”

“Sounds like a plan. Anything else we need to do?” Ike asked.

“Oh! I have lists!” Emily declared.

She retrieved what was freshly printed lists and gave them to Isaac and Taylor.

“What no list for me?”

“Yeah, yours simply says leave the packing to your wife.”

I smiled. “I can deal with that.”

“You have no choice but to deal with that.” Isaac said.

“Not that I mind, I know who will be watching…um…where is Alexander?”

I noticed that he was no longer behind Isaac playing with the blocks.

“He was playing right behind me.” Isaac said.

I got up and checked under the crib because he liked to get under it sometimes but the space was empty, where could be go?! The baby gate was closed as well and I could see the panic in her eyes as I jumped the gate. If he climbed over it he could have fallen down the steps or be in any office up here.  I heard her scream his name and I think she started demo in Taylor’s office when she opened the door. I called his name as I reached the steps headed down but no answer came from him.

I nearly ran all over Sean at the bottom of the steps. “Have you seen Alexander?”

“Yeah, he’s with Casey in the studio. He’s been down here about ten minutes.”

I diverted and sure enough he was sitting with Casey at the drums and I went to the door and screamed for Emily to come down. The panic in her eyes was enough to see how he got out of the room. If he can climb that gate it was time for a taller one.
Casey seemed confused when she came in looking like someone scared her and Alexander wasn’t thrilled when she picked him up either.

“What’s going on?”

“He got out of the office, did you get him?” I asked.

“No, I heard Sean ask what he was doing down here, I thought he came down with one of you.”

“No. He got out of the office somehow.”

“He can stay down here with me if you want.”

“That’s fine. I have to actually go, I’m not going to be there in time if I don’t.”

“You gonna come pick us up afterwards?” I asked.

“I’m your only way home.”

“Good point.”

She handed Alexander to Casey and then ran out. He looked at me.

“She didn’t seem to happy.”

“She panicked when he wasn’t there, still dealing with shit like that.”

“I don’t understand something. How come you were pretty much ok a few months later? I mean yeah the months after coming back you were off, but once you talked to Zander and her you seem to make great progress in getting over him.”

I pulled up a stool and sat down on the other side. “Never said I was over it Casey. There are times where I feel uncomfortable around other men, ones I don’t know very well. Pretty sure the first week of tour will be interesting we have new crew members. But in looking back Doctor Lints was right, I had a better childhood and I guess because I didn’t have that constant threat it was easier to put it behind me.”

“Do you think she would have if things were different?”

“I do. I just hope the therapy actually works this time. She is sleeping better though.”

“Always a plus.”

“Ok, I need to go get my second kid. I’ll bring her down here.”

I ran up and first checked the tape and sure enough he’d crawled over the gate to get out and had sat and bopped down the steps, I guess we needed to find a taller gate or one he can’t climb. I changed her diaper first and then headed down to the studio, Alexander loved the drums, Isabella liked the piano. I sat her down with one of our older ones and sat with her since Casey had him. The two of us just sat here, talked and played with them until she came back. We were the last to leave and we locked up everything before heading home.

“When do we pick up the new car?” She asked.

“Tomorrow, the color you had to have wasn’t in stock here so they had to bring one in.”

“I know you didn’t want a minivan, why did you opt for one?”

“Well, it does give us more room when we travel to see your Dad and Nate or Maddi, added if Casey and Robert go with us it’s more roomy for them, because really I don’t think Casey likes being squished in the center. Plus I mean we’re not old yet, we could still have more kids and the truck is maxed at three in the back seat.”

“Were you planning to have more than three?” She asked.

“Not planning three really, just saying.”

“I guess it works too with so many nieces and nephews.”

When we got home we got them out and let them loose on toys, it was weird to see how well they got along compared to the horror stories I had heard. Alexander had been patient with her even when she was using him as jungle gym.
She got dinner items out and then looked at me. “So…Alexander is almost three.”

“I’m aware of that, few more months.”

“I really think we should make some concentrated effort to potty train him or at least try.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You want to do that now?”

“Why not now? I can put him a potty in the office with me.”

“You think he’ll be trained by tour? I can’t image a kiddy potty is going to fly well.”

“They will deal with it. He’s almost three. Late or not we have tried like a day.”

She did have a point and most of our nephews were close to or before his age. It couldn’t be that bad on a tour bus, right? I mean, we’d always be with him so someone can remind him and with myself, Casey, and his uncles he would have us to show him and take him to the potty.

“Fine. Got a potty in mind?”

She giggled. “It’s in the truck. I came by Wal-mart for the printer paper I needed and saw the Scooby one.”

“Nice. Did you get more than one?”

“Three, I got a more neutral one for the studio because she won’t be far behind him and I got them both one for the house. Princess
for her.”

“She just turned one!”

She just smiled. “I know.”

She was trying to make my little girl grow up way too fast. I helped with dinner where I could and got the rug rats in their high chairs and got them ready and we sat down to eat. It was quite amazing that Alexander had been followed so quickly with Isabella, not that I minded on any account. We sat with them after dinner and introduced Alexander to the potty, which he was kind of iffy on. But he seemed to be ok with it after a while, Isabella liked the princess one quite well even if she didn’t know what it was. I was kind of blue because she was saying Mama well now, but she hadn’t uttered dada yet. Despite Alexander yelling it all day. She nursed before bed and by 10 everyone was in the bed, Emily had to lay down earlier taking the medication. Tour started in a few days, this should be fun with two of them! I went to bed about 10:30 and fell asleep pretty quickly.

*The New Vehicle*