A State of Grace Pt. 05

Chris chuckled lightly.

"That was pretty clever, for an off-the-cuff code!" he praised. "Good going, Grace!"

"I wouldn't say it's good going until they get here and find us," I said, looking nervously out the windows.

As things turned out, we didn't have that long to wait! Chris was the first to see them. Three black Suburbans, one silver Suburban, and no less than six Indiana State Police cruisers! They rolled quickly into the parking lot and paused. Chris looked at me and raised an eyebrow in question. I nodded my head. He snorted, reached down, and blinked the truck's lights twice.

Instantly, the whole entourage headed towards us. The State Police cruisers formed a barrier between us and the rest of the lot, while the Suburbans moved in close. As I guessed, Crystal and her 'personal assistant' got out of the silver one, while several men in dark suits got out of the other vehicles. I slowly opened my door, keeping my hands clearly visible.

"That's her! That's Grace!" Crystal said.

One of the unfamiliar men approached me and showed me a small wallet that held a badge and FBI credentials. They sure looked like the real thing to me, but in the interests of full disclosure, I wouldn't have known if they were fakes, anyway.

"I'm Special Agent Paulson," he said.

"I'm Grace Richmond," I said.

I then proceeded to tell him what had happened at the park, making sure that he knew the West family had played a vital role in keeping Kevin alive. I also mentioned that they had witnessed part of the attack. Crystal went dead pale when she heard about Kevin's injuries.

"No, God, please!" she whispered, horrified.

"Alright, I understand the situation," Special Agent Paulson said.

He spoke briefly into a concealed radio mic, then gestured at Chris.

"Sir, if you will please drive your vehicle to the ER entrance, we will escort you and make sure no one bothers you or your family. We will need to take statements from you before you leave, though."

The next several hours - and days, for that matter - were a frenzy of activity! I would later find out that over half of the officers on the Highland Police Department were suspended, pending charges. Several of them were jailed, and the remainder were made to wear tracking anklets. Of the officers that remained on duty, all were being watched carefully for any sign of wrongdoing.

Similarly, the County Sheriff's Department had undergone a similar examination. In that case, though, only 6 deputies (including the chief deputy) were suspended, pending charges. Additionally, several very powerful and/or influential members of the community were arrested.

I also found out that our house - well, Aunt Lily's house, really - had been burned down to the ground. It was feared initially that we had been in it at the time, and Crystal and Kayla had been terrified, grieving wrecks, until my phone call. Special Agent Paulson's team found the secret room in the basement, or rather, what was left of it. Unfortunately, the computer was completely destroyed. You can imagine their astonished joy when I calmly reached into Kevin's old rucksack and pulled out his portable hard drive. Of course, I told a little white fib in the process...

"Trent made backup copies of everything. He was even more paranoid than we thought he was," I told them.

Please understand, I'm not in the habit of lying to Federal Agents - not even a lie of misdirection! But since we'd already been through so much, and I wasn't sure if the fact that Kevin had cloned the hard drive would violate some obscure evidence collection law, I decided on the spot to imply that the backup had been made by Trent.

All of these things were secondary to me, though. I didn't leave that hospital - not even once! - for the next week. I stayed there, keeping track of Kevin's progress. Nothing else mattered. Not school, not my upcoming exams, nothing!

I waited the long, unbearable hours through his surgery, then his recovery period, until he finally opened his eyes! Fleur and Elizabeth, Chris and Hannah, and Crystal sat with me whenever they could. They were keeping a vigil over me as much as they were Kevin. Mom and Dad came back from Las Vegas. They arrived the evening of the same day Kevin woke up. Grandma and Grandpa, not wanting to crowd us unduly, stayed home.

When Kevin's eyes fluttered open at last, I was the first thing he saw (fortunately, Hannah had made arrangements for me to get a shower and some clean clothes. Otherwise, he probably would have passed right back out again!)

"Grace," he said his voice a harsh croak.

"I'm here, love," I said, lovingly, squeezing his hand. "I'm right here!"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I giggled a little hysterically. Elizabeth gave me a worried glance, but Fleur rested a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Kevin, honey, I'm fine!" I said, wiping a tear from my cheek. "We're all much more worried about you!"

Kevin grimaced.

"I feel like I've been shot," he muttered.

He grinned crookedly up and me, and I favored him with a wan smile. He stirred uncomfortably, and I moved quickly to rearrange his pillows.

"How long was I out of it, and how are...things?" he asked, tentatively.

"You were out for about 36 hours or so," I told him. "They deliberately kept you sedated for the first day after your surgery because they needed for you to hold very still. After the first day, they stopped the drugs and left you to wake up on your own."

Kevin looked down at himself, lifting the sheet so he could see his lower body. After a moment, he looked back up at me with a silent question.

"There won't be any permanent impairment, love!" I reassured him. "The bullets did some soft tissue damage that will hurt like the fires of Hell, for a while, but it will heal. There was no nerve or spinal damage!"

Looking relieved, he settled back down against his pillows, again.

"Fortunately for you, you were in excellent physical condition before this happened to you!" came Hannah's voice from the door.

She smiled and stepped into the room, crossing over to check Kevin's IV drips, and his vitals. When she finished, she tenderly patted his shoulder.

"That made a huge difference in how your body dealt with the trauma done to it. It will also help you recover a good deal faster than someone who is more sedentary," she told him. "Speaking of which, you'd better relax while you can, because sometime tomorrow, they're going to make you get up for a little while!"

Kevin groaned, and Hannah chuckled sympathetically.

"I know, hon, but it really is necessary!" she said. "Trust me: if you follow the Doctor's orders and stick with the program, you'll be out of this place before you know it!"

After she finished her work, Hannah stepped across the room to speak with Fleur and Elizabeth, leaving Kevin and I a semblance of privacy.

"I meant what I said, back in the park, Kevin," I said, softly. "I want a child with you!"

"I know you did, Grace," he replied. "I meant my answer, too! If you're truly ready to take that next step, then we'll do it! I want to be a father. I didn't plan on it happening until after I had my degree in hand, but if you truly feel that the time is now, then that's good enough for me!"

I took his hand in mine and held it against my cheek (I couldn't embrace him because of the drainage tubes stuck in his abdomen.) We stayed like that in loving, companionable quiet for a while, before Fleur and Elizabeth stepped over to the bed. I smiled at them and released Kevin's hand, standing to let them visit for a while.

"Mon Dieu, you had us worried, Kevin!" Fleur exclaimed.

Elizabeth, her eyes still a little red and damp, nodded her head in wordless agreement. After a few minutes, she spoke.

"Mom has been up here a couple times to sit with you," she said, "but she had to leave a little bit ago to meet with the insurance claims adjusters. That's why she isn't here."

I was about to remind Elizabeth that Kevin didn't know what had happened to the house yet, but Fleur skillfully steered her girlfriend away from the topic. They both chatted with Kevin for a little while, each of them squeezing his hand and reassuring themselves that he would recover.

"We have a little announcement to make," Elizabeth said then, smiling over at Fleur.

"Oh?" Kevin asked. "I could use some happy news! Tell me!"

"Well, I'll be telling all of you, since we haven't told anyone else yet. Not even Mom!"

Fleur grinned like a madwoman as Elizabeth extended her left hand and showed us all the beautiful diamond engagement ring she wore!

"Fleur and I are taking the next step!" she cried, happily. "We're getting married!"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, reaching out to take my cousin's hand so I could see her ring.

"Oh yeah!" Kevin agreed, bumping fists with Fleur. "Way to go, you two!"

"Congratulations!" Crystal said, also looking at Liza's ring. "That ring is stunning, Elizabeth!"

"It sure is!" Hannah agreed.

Elizabeth smiled warmly, preening a little under the outpouring of affection. Fleur continued grinning more widely than the Chesire Cat.

Then suddenly, from the doorway, there came the sound of a man clearing his throat. We all turned at the same time to see Special Agent Paulson standing there with two other agents, and a man who looked familiar, but whose name escaped me at the moment.

"Excuse me, folks, but I need a word with Kevin and Grace," Special Agent Paulson said.

I was surprised to see a look of revulsion pass over Hannah's normally compassionate face. I wondered what the FBI agent had done to get on her bad side, but then I realized her sour look had nothing to do with Paulson! It was for the man next to him, the one I faintly recognized.

"Of course," Hannah sighed. "I'll be back in a little while, Kevin."

She squeezed his hand, touched my arm gently, and then withdrew. Special Agent Paulson glanced around the room. Paulson looked expectantly at Fleur and Elizabeth, who hadn't moved a muscle.

"Uh, ladies, we need the room, please."

The words were spoken politely enough, but no one would ever mistake them for a request. Fleur and Elizabeth (Fleur especially) looked rebellious, but when it became clear that Paulson was serious, they got to their feet.

"We will return soon, mon frere," Fleur said, gently kissing Kevin's cheek.

"You'd better," Kevin said weakly. "I seem to get into trouble every time you leave!"

Fleur surprised us all with a giggle! I've never heard one from her before! She shook her head ruefully at Kevin.

"Oui, certainment, Kevin!"

Elizabeth also kissed Kevin's cheek, then the two of them stepped out. Crystal, however, kept her seat. Mr. Andrews kept his place next to her, his suit jacket unbuttoned and his hands folded across his belt buckle. It was a relaxed-looking pose, but I'd had enough experience by now to realize he was anything but relaxed. He was a quiet, unassuming man, Mr. Andrews was. But in spite of that, he projected the aura of a man holding the leash of a vicious dog, needing only the least little excuse to turn it loose.

Paulson eyed the two of them, clearly thinking of asking them to leave as well. More than Mr. Andrews' presence at her back, the briefcase Crystal held in her lap seemed to convince the Agent not to try to remove her.

"Mr. Richmond, we haven't met yet. I'm Special Agent Paulson, FBI," Paulson said, holding up his credentials where Kevin could see them.

"Special Agent Paulson," Kevin acknowledged with a polite nod. "Please, call me Kevin."

"Thank you, Kevin," he replied, with a polite smile. "In that case, call me John."

John gestured at the man who was vaguely familiar to me, and I felt another surge of irritation that I couldn't recall his name.

"This is-"

"Terence Segan the Third, senior partner in the law firm of Segan, Ferrell, and Hughes," Kevin interrupted him. "And until very recently, a hopeful candidate for the District Attorney's slot, unless my memory fails me."

Kevin favored Segan with a smile colder than dry ice.

"I believe Grace and I also know Matthew, the eldest of your two children," he said.

Once again, my blood turned to ice water in my veins. That's why I recognized him! I had met Matt's father on only two occasions. Both times, the man had been in a hurry and hadn't cared who his son was socializing with at the moment.

"I would ask why the younger Mr. Segan isn't here to visit as well, but I understand he's been detained with more pressing matters!" Kevin said, maliciously.

Mr. Segan's face darkened with anger, but he glanced at the two FBI agents at his back and reluctantly abandoned the idea of retaliating...for now, at least.

"Interestingly enough, again if memory serves, you were the attorney that represented my cousin Jack a few years ago," Kevin continued. "Fine job, that! I do think it's a little odd that the senior partner of one of the state's most prestigious law firms would personally take a case like that in the first place. That's not to mention the fact that you lost rather spectacularly! It makes one ask some rather interesting - and pointed - questions about you, doesn't it?"

"You certainly make some interesting points, Mr. Richmond!" Segan replied in an oily tone. "Unlike me, you'll at least find a warm welcome when you leave here. You may even find the home fires still burning!"

He delivered this last bit with an evil glare. Since I hadn't had time to fill Kevin in on all that had happened, though, his jab didn't have the effect he'd desired. Paulson, on the other hand, was less than amused.

"If you still want this plea deal, I strongly suggest that you keep your mouth shut until someone asks you a question! Got it?"

"Of course, Special Agent Paulson," he replied, quietly.

I was hit with a rush of anger! This bastard had worked out a plea deal! That Motherfucker! More than anything, I wanted to reach for his throat! I guess it was a good thing that hospital security had made me lock up my pistol. There was real chance that if I'd had it at that moment...well...

Kevin looked just as upset as I was. Crystal's face was cool and professional, but her eyes met mine, and in those eyes, I saw compassion. There was also just the barest hint of a bitter 'I told you so' expression. Well, she was entitled to it if anyone was. After all, she'd warned us this would happen. But why, why did it have to be this oily, slimy snake!

"Mr. Segan here has agreed to testify against his fellow conspirators in return for special consideration," John Paulson said, nailing Segan with a stern look. "He's already provided some very helpful information and steered us towards some victims we hadn't known about. Also thanks to him, we've been able to set the wheels in motion to get your cousin, Jack, released from prison."

"Which is a better deal than my son got!" Segan sneered angrily.

Paulson gave him a quelling look, and one of the other agents casually rested a hand on the attorney's shoulder.

"Your son is not the issue here, Mr. Segan," Paulson said, his tone even colder than Kevin's had been. "He decided to follow in his father's footsteps, and it ended badly for him. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know anything I'm willing to bargain for. Oh well, you've heard the old saw about having to break eggs to make omelets, and whatnot. Cope with it!"

Paulson returned his attention to Kevin and me.

"In spite of the fact that the house fire destroyed your Uncle's computer, Miss Edwards was able to recover a perfect clone of his hard drive. She was also, through her own resources, able to uncover a great deal of valuable information from the dark web. With all that, plus the testimony of Mr. Segan, we have enough to nail the whole lot of these bastards to the wall!"

"House fire?" Kevin asked, with a blank look on his face.

"Uh," Paulson began, haltingly, "Has no one discussed this with you?"

"I've only been awake for a couple of hours, now, John," Kevin said.

"Oh, I see," Paulson said, uncertainly. "In that case, I'm sorry to inform you that, at some time during the afternoon of your trip to the park, the house where you were living was burned down to the foundation."

He gave an awkward, uncomfortable gesture of sorrow.

"It was the clearest case of arson my team has ever seen. The perpetrators did it in broad daylight and used two different kinds of accelerant. I'm afraid there's nothing left of the structure itself, or your car, which was in the garage. Your safe survived, though. Your cousin is storing it for you."

Paulson gave us a wry smile and shook his head.

"I'll bet if you take some pictures and send them in, the folks at Liberty Safes will pay you to use them for an advertising spread!"

Kevin chuckled, and I smiled too. Then, Kevin shrugged.

"In the end, it's all just stuff, and stuff can be replaced," he replied. "My family is alive, Jack is getting released from prison, and I'm being told that I'll make a full recovery. You guys are here, taking care of business. All things considered, things could be so much worse! I don't have a liquor license, so I won't give my whine!"

Paulson chuckled, shaking his head again. Kevin reached out and took my hand, looking into my eyes, not caring who else was in the room.

"This," he said, looking at me, "Is what truly matters!"

Paulson cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. Segan sneered nastily, and Crystal smiled sweetly at us.

"Yes," Paulson said, gruffly. "Yes, well, I'm glad you have that attitude, Kevin. It will certainly do you good. I, or one of my agents, will be deposing you sometime tomorrow. Additionally, once the trials begin, you'll be a material witness. Because of that, we were originally going to provide you with a protective detail. However, Miss Edwards has informed me that her company is already providing that service to you, as of yesterday. I know the quality of her people, so I'll leave you in their very capable hands. In the meantime, if you need anything, here's my card."

He handed me a card with his name and contact information.

"We'll be in touch, folks," Paulson said.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he left the room, followed by his agents and his tame 'witness.' A few moments passed, then I sat down next to Kevin. He sighed, still holding my hand. Then he looked at Crystal, his expression curious.

"'Your company?'" he asked her. "What did Paulson mean by that, Crystal?"

Crystal shrugged self-consciously.

"Well," she said, "I've had such a good experience having my own protective detail over the years, that I started exploring what it would take to launch another business. It turns out that there are all sorts of people with the necessary skills floating around, looking for work. There are a lot of veterans, not just of the military/Special Forces, but also from the State Department's Diplomatic Protection Group, the Secret Service, and others."

Crystal turned and smiled at Mr. Andrews.

"They know how to be vigilant, and attention to detail is a way of life for many of them," she continued. "I have the means to pay them very well indeed, as well as make sure they attain the necessary state and federal licenses."

"We even have vision and dental!" Mr. Andrews chipped in, with a rare smile.

Crystal smiled up at him again, before continuing.

"So, at the tail end of last year, I launched another company, Edwards and Edwards Services," she said, proudly. "So far this quarter, it looks like we'll actually turn a profit our first year! There are lots of people, from famous athletes to actors, to CEOs, who would like someone on their staff who can offer protective services at a reasonable price!"

Crystal stood up and walked over to us, seating herself in the chair on the other side of Kevin's bed. She tenderly took the hand that wasn't holding mine.