Carlo, sitting outside at a small table, in his elderly man disguise, put down the mouse, and just stopped himself short of throwing the laptop onto the street. The cafe was not busy that day, and he had been fortunate enough to spend a good amount of time combing the Internet. His two favorite sites to peruse were The Sun and The Banner. Both had new interfaces, but he noticed how much more sleek and professional The Sun looked on the screen. "Mr. Manning," he said to himself, sneering, "or was it my son's handiwork?"
Seems our old friend Todd Manning has been in Ireland. He was seen at the airport in the private terminal. He found and transported Timothy Broderick to the states, where he was granted political asylum. Next? ~Leona
Manning. Carlo knew he had always been an impressive opponent. But this, thwarting the entire crux of his latest work, in protecting his organization and rise to power...it was too damaging and unforgivable. For a moment, he stopped, relishing the memory of Manning's cries, pleads and fades into oblivion while under his control for the eight years he had him. The perfect plaything for some of the world's most evil and vulgar men. And, he thought, he still has not remembered all of them or their doings. As the sun came down, Carlo pondered, however, and had often over time, how one man could stand all of the nasty, degrading and painful things his sycophants had perpetrated on Todd Manning. He had done very little of it himself. He did enjoy donning the disguise of The Grim Reaper, and holding the lighter to him. He sipped his espresso. He hadn't even ever burned him; that had been up to the others. And, Carlo thought, (and it even made him shudder at times) the deeper, more horrific things - the things that only one man knew of hours alone with that 'androgynous mistake' Todd Manning - would have broken anyone with a history such as his. But, no. It hadn't, not completely.
He clicked 'reply' to the email he had just read.
Proceed with the next plan, only when things have died down and seem routine. Be clear that our friend is formidable, and should be handled in a manner which might debilitate him, if needed. Use caution; attempt this phase at the most opportune time. Secure the area, and the necessary items for care of the subject. Proceed when the least number of individuals are present, and the family is completely unprepared.
He smiled and hit send. It had been a good day.
***
Several weeks later, Todd and Blair had settled in to a comfortable stage with Little Ray and the rest of The Manning clan. Starr, who visited often, brought Hope into their midst, to both meet and play with her uncles; Little Ray was growing, and began to show a striking resemblance to his brother, as well as having found his feet and munching on them with regularity. Blair, looking beautiful but drained, continued to be his constant. There were times he could not fathom how he had ever lived without her, but she would say he was not living during those eight years, just lying in wait.
Sister Rebecca Katherine was back to St. Anne's, doing the Lord's work. A day did not go by that she did not call Todd, and treating him like her own, she had become quite attached to him. Timothy, had been staked by Todd and had purchased a small apartment in the city, about one block from the penthouse building, where he wrote his freelance material for none other than The Sun, without pay, in return. Working on assisting the FBI in attaining leads on the whereabouts of The Men of 21, Timothy also had protection provided by Todd, who had hired a body guard, similar in stature to Shaun. Wherever Broderick went, his guard was not far behind.
Devon had become more of a regular at The Sun and at the penthouse. He and Shaun shared the responsibilities, but Shaun also oversaw the protection of Broderick. Todd was certain that if Carlo was able to locate Timothy, two things would happen. First, Broderick would be a dead man, a target that could not be missed, and this time, he was certain, Carlo would choose the right man for the job. Second, he and his family would be in dire jeopardy. With the calm few weeks behind them, and John McBain's reports of no action on the Carlo front abroad, even Todd had begun to relax into the life of picket fences, not that he believed in them. Somehow, Blair made it all real and possible for him.
He decided that she, in her tired beauty, needed a break from being an active working mom, and planned a special weekend for them, just the two of them, in which he was going to bring in her favorite everythings and lavish attention on her. He called Addie and arranged for the boys to stay with her and Starr. This would be perfect; something Blair really deserved and would love. And possibly, they could make love without the interruption of a feeding, or a homework question, a broken toy, or a teenager looking for an Itunes card or a way to the movies. All three never happened at once; they persisted in being at separate times, spread out through the evening, each day.
As he did daily, he contacted Shaun to be sure security was in place. Devon would be on for that first night; Shaun had a date, and for Todd, this was a perfect arrangement. Devon had become like family and Todd had begun to trust him as he did Shaun. He was certain that eventually, Jessica would come around, and had told Devon to hang in there. He made a note to himself to have a talk with his niece soon. She was holding on to her anger at Devon way too long, and knowing how wasted time could come back to haunt someone, he wanted to talk with her about this young man.
His plans were falling into place. Starting the weekend with Chinese take-out, one of their traditional dinners, he made certain to request all of her favorites, including the dumplings, and piped in their favorite music to fill the bedroom. He set up candles around the tub, their favorite playground since the latter stages of her pregnancy, and added some aroma oil to that room as well. The last touch was a fireworks display to be set off from the roof on Saturday night. All this he did via his tablet at The Sun. She'd never expect it. It was not a special day, anniversary or holiday. It was just time.
Devon came into the office, while Blair was with Ray in the nursery. "Ready boss? What else do you need?"
"Nothing. Seems I've got everything set. Make sure you're available by phone, and hang out next door. Got it?"
"As always. Same as every day." Devon made his way to the door to head for the penthouse building and P3.
Todd was finishing up a few last invoices, when Blair came in with Little Ray in tow. "Todd, look at him."
"I know what he looks like, Blair, I see him every day, and you keep telling me to look, nothing's new." He turned to his son, "Hey man, what's up?"
"Just look at him though. Doesn't he look just like Jack?"
"He does." Todd said, regretfully remembering Jack's first months on earth when he was not with his mother. That was his fault. Would the guilt ever go away?
"He's so beautiful, aren't you!?" She asked in that mommy voice. "Yes, you are!" The baby immediately smiled. "Look Todd, he's smiling."
Todd looked at his son's angelic face. "I see, Babe. It's the same smile you showed me an hour ago."
"Oh, you," she said, Lucy-like. "When do we go home?"
"Any time now. Give me a few more minutes."
"All right." She parked herself on the mustard-colored couch, and put the carrier next to her. She petted the baby's head as he dozed. He slept with his hand curled under his chin. "Todd, look..."
"...at his hand, it's curled under his chin." He said, "I know, Babe. Let me finish this."
"Okay."
Looking at her for a moment, he thought of an idea. "How about you head on home, with Williams and The Little Man. I'll be along in like 30 minutes?"
"I guess."
"I've arranged for the boys to be with Addie for the weekend. It's just you and me, Blair," he acted nonchalant. "Happy?"
She appeared puzzled, or disappointed. "I love the idea, to spend uninterrupted time with you, you know that. I just...I don't know if..." She stopped her hand and rested it on his crown.
He realized her dilemma. She could not part with the baby; too much had happened, and she could not let him go. Not yet, anyway. Todd looked at him, in his carrier, asleep. He was still so tiny. She had lost too many babies to deal with his absence. "You can't be away from my rival for attention, eh?"
She blushed, then softened, wistful. "No, I can't Todd. Not yet. Please understand."
He got up and went to her, and sat beside her, taking her in his arms and she cuddled close to him. "If that's what you want, I'll just send Jack and Sam to Addie's then. Ray's sleeping longer now, so it won't be as bad as when all three are there. As long as you promise to pay attention to me," he feigned jealousy.
"I promise."
"All right," he said, "go on now. I'll have Williams bring the car around, then come back for me. By the time he gets you home at this time of day, it'll be time to turn around and come back. Devon's already there; I'll call him to come and be there until I get home."
"Okay, I'll see you later, Mr. Manning."
"Same, Mrs. Manning." As she exited the office, he quickly made two calls. He made certain Devon would be there to meet her in the lobby, and he made sure everything else was in place in the penthouse. He wanted to give her a night to remember and hold on to when life got back to the hectic allure of parenting.
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Your comments are 'payment' for the work of the authors. Our writers like to hear your feedback. Please leave a comment when you read
No comments:
Post a Comment
Provide us with feedback, but be courteous in your comments and criticism. Thanks!