Thursday afternoon
November 25 – 4:19 p.m. MST
FBI Headquarters, Denver, CO
Eoin heard movement in the hallway. He got up to look through the small window in the door behind him. No one was there. Eoin sat down at the table and slumped down in his coat.
He’d been in plenty of trouble in his life. But Cian had always been there. Cian did the talking, the asking for lawyers, and the arguing for better treatment or a bathroom break. Cian was the one who had got him to go on a hunger strike on their last prison stint.
Eoin was completely and totally alone this time.
The Americans couldn’t have been nicer. It was “Right this way, sir.” “What would you like for lunch, sir?” Someone had appeared every hour to take him to the restroom. He’d spoken to his wife on the phone around noon.
All of their niceness only made Eoin that much more terrified.
He heard a sound again, and the door opened. A man came into the room with a couple of FBI agents.
“Thank you,” the man had a London accent. The man gave the FBI agents a British fuck-off smile.
The Yanks didn’t recognize the smile.
“Let us know how we can assist,” the FBI agents said.
“I will,” the man said.
The man closed the door behind the agents. He gave Eoin a long, assessing look.
“You don’t remember me,” the man said.
“I remember that you’re the scary man in Cian’s backyard,” Eoin said. “I remember that you’re our Fionn’s da and Johnny’s step.”
Eoin nodded. The man smiled.
“Never actually heard your name,” Eoin said.
“Tom Drayson,” the man smiled. “It’s my great pleasure to meet the Eoin Mac Kinney.”
“Uh oh,” Eoin said. “MI-6?”
Tom nodded.
“Assigned to Belfast in the troubles?” Eoin asked.
Tom nodded.
“Wait a minute,” Eoin glared at Tom. “Did you kill me da?”
“You know who killed your father,” Tom said.
“How . . . ?” Eoin crossed his arms. “No, I don’t.”
“I was there,” Tom said.
“Oh,” Eoin said.
Eoin gave him an impish smile. Tom sat down in the chair across the table, and Eoin’s terror returned. Tom smiled.
“Let’s get out of here,” Tom said.
“I think not,” Eoin said. “I remember what happens to a volunteer when MI-6 comes for a chat.”
Eoin nodded. Tom laughed. Tom’s laugh was so similar to Fionn’s that Eoin smiled, and then gasped.
“Fionn!” Eoin jumped to his feet. “I didn’t even look for the boy. He . . .”
“He was with his girlfriend,” Tom said. “Hector James and Hermes are with them now.”
“Fionn has a girlfriend?” Eoin looked surprised.
Tom grinned.
“I thought he was . . . you know . . . like Max?” Eoin said.
“‘s on the DL, Da,’” Tom imitated Fionn’s rich Scottish accent.
“That’s our boy,” Eoin laughed. “We taught him that. So who is it?”
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy,” Tom said.
“You may as well tell us,” Eoin said. “The boys will.”
“They haven’t yet,” Tom smiled.
Eoin’s jaw dropped with indignation. Tom laughed.
“I’ll tell you that her father is an old friend,” Tom said. “At the time Fionn was born, I was sure I’d never see her father again.”
“He’s dating Helene!” Eoin looked so pleased that Tom laughed. “That’s brilliant!”
“I’ve said nothing,” Tom said. “Come now; let’s get out of here. We have things to talk about that would be best done in a more private setting.”
“Like Long Kesh?” Eoin sniffed with indignation at the Maze prison where he’d spent many of his formative years.
“Yes, I’m going to take you to hell,” Tom said.
“They stopped demolition!” Eoin raised an eyebrow. “I would not be the first Mac Kinney to meet his death at the hands of MI-6.”
Tom gave Eoin a long assessing look. For a moment, they were like two scarred warriors staring across a blood-soaked battleground. Tom gave Eoin a nod.
“I was thinking we could walk along the path here,” Tom said. “My son runs here a few times a week. Or so he says.”
“Fionn?” Eoin looked surprised. “I don’t know what he tells you, but between school and work, and the lad’s general sloth . . .”
“Johnny,” Tom said.
“Oh. Him,” Eoin said. “That’s different. Okay. But if something happens . . .”
“If something happens to you, Eoin Mac Kinney, I’ll not survive ‘til nightfall,” Tom smiled. “No one can protect me from Cian Kelly.”
“He’s not here.”
“He’s waiting in the lobby,” Tom said.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Eoin jumped to his feet.
Tom grinned at Eoin and tapped on the door. Eoin went out the door and waited for Tom. They walked through a maze of hallways, took two separate elevators, and were cleared through a barred door with the smug guard in the front and they were in the lobby. Cian anxiously paced back and forth in front of the door.
“Cian!” Eoin said.
The men hugged.
“Don’t say a thing,” Cian eyes shot daggers at Tom. “You know what this is?”
“He told me,” Eoin said. “But you know . . .”
Cian looked at Eoin.
“He’s Rita’s husband,” Eoin said. “You know what Rita’s like.”
Cian and Eoin’s heads turned. They gave Tom a probing look.
“I’ll tell you the whole story,” Tom said.
Cian and Eoin looked at each other for a moment before nodding.
“Good,” Tom said. “I think the path is this way.”
Cian held the door for Eoin and Tom.
“I don’t think the path’s right here,” Eoin said.
“Let’s ask,” Tom said.
Tom called out to a harried young woman. She wasn’t going to stop, but realized that she knew Eoin and Cian from the bakery. She gave them directions, and they set out on foot.
They walked along in silence until they reached the Sand Creek Greenway. They took the worn bridge over the river and turned right down a wide gravel path. The snow and ice clung to the edges of the creek.
“This is nice,” Tom’s voice held the texture of someone trying to be positive.
Cian and Eoin looked at each other for a moment, and laughed.
“It’s not home,” Tom grinned.
“What do you want from us?” Cian asked.
“Debrief, mostly,” Tom said. “Eoin did some amazing work today. I’d like to know how and why.”
“I’m not talking to you unless you tell me about my da,” Eoin said.
Eoin’s voice cracked with emotion. Cian glanced at his best friend before giving Tom a fierce look.
“Your father was my friend, Eoin,” Tom said. “He was working to end the troubles.”
“My da was no traitor,” Eoin said. “He was volunteer through and through.”
“He was,” Tom said. “During his last turn in Maze, something in him changed.”
“Mind control,” Eoin said.
“You know, I never thought of it, but it’s possible,” Tom said. “His last stint was brutal. I met him a month or so later.”
Tom fell silent. They walked along the wide gravel path. The river widened out to their right. A pair of ducks landed on the water. Tom steered them toward the creek.
“Is the water always that color?” Tom asked.
“It’s rust from the old mines,” Eoin said.
“Colin says this is an EPA Superfund site,” Cian said.
“That’s not hard to believe,” Tom said. “Any idea what that means?”
“None,” Eoin laughed.
Tom smiled. For a moment, they were just three men watching the golden water flow across the sandy bottom. Tom broke the spell by turning to Eoin.
“I think it was you, Eoin, who convinced him that the troubles had to end,” Tom said. “You were so bright, funny, and you were there, in hell. He felt guilty, but . . . All of us – me and my side, you and yours – we were dancers in a complicated play that never went anywhere and only ever ended in death.”
Eoin noticed the moisture in Tom’s eyes.
“Any idea why this river smells like shite?” Tom asked.
“It’s a pungent mixture of laundry detergent and . . .” Eoin said.
“Shite,” Cian said.
They laughed. Tom looked across the water before turning back to Eoin.
“Those words – ‘dancers in a complicated play,’ that’s what father said, Eoin,” Tom said. “When he was beaten to death, not because he had done anything, but because someone thought he might, I . . . Something in me snapped. They brought me back to London and gave me time off. I went to Scotland, to the farm where we live now. I watched sheep and wandered the hills for months. One day, I got a call. ‘The Kellys have moved to London. There’s a price on the boy’s head. Would you come and take a look?’”
Lost in his own thoughts, Tom watched the river.
“I wasn’t going to go,” Tom said. “I put in my retirement first. One last job, they said. No one else had been close enough to the PIRA to figure out what Rita and the boy were up to.”
Tom shrugged.
“So I went,” Tom said. “I was to pretend to be visiting from Scotland. I was to make contact, develop a rapport, and find out why Miss Rita Kelly and the child, John Kelly, were in London. I walked into the church office and . . .”
Tom gave a soft smile.
“Your sister, Cian, she was typing or really trying to type,” Tom said. “When she looked up at me, my whole life changed. She asked me something simple: ‘Can I help you?’ Or ‘What can I do for you?’ I don’t remember. I told her everything from my work in Northern Ireland to watching your father being beaten to death for no reason. You know what she said?”
Cian and Eoin shook their heads.
“Well, there’s only one thing for it,” Tom said.
“What’s that?” Eoin asked.
Tom smiled.
“That’s what I said. She said, ‘You’ll have to marry me, help me raise my Johnny, keep him safe, and live happily ever after, because so much pain and trouble deserves a happy ending.’”
“Sounds like Rita,” Cian said. “She always knew her mind.”
“That’s what I did,” Tom smiled. “Computers became the rage and they wanted me to run a team of programmers to track the troubles. We stayed in London until I reached my pension age. We moved to the farm after that – after Johnny was in the US.”
“How’d you get back in?” Cian asked.
“Two young volunteers walked into a nightclub,” Tom said.
“That sounds like a joke,” Eoin said. “What’s the rest of it?”
“He means us,” Cian said.
“Oh,” Eoin said. “What do you want to know?”
“What do you know about Neev?” Tom asked.
“Nothing,” Cian said.
“Nothing?” Tom asked.
“No really,” Eoin said. “We don’t know a thing. I thought she was programming Sami and Wyatt. Cian thought she wasn’t. I was right, by the way.”
“You didn’t speak to her about it?” Tom asked.
“No,” Cian said. “I haven’t seen her since . . . she left for the cloister. Have you?”
Cian looked at Eoin. He shook his head.
“I used to see Jack kind of regular,” Eoin said. “When we were home, in Shankill. He came in for therapy with one of the other counselors. You remember, Cian.”
Cian nodded his head.
“Not either of you?” Tom asked.
“Wouldn’t be proper,” Cian said.
“Plus, what would you do at Sunday brunch?” Eoin asked. “Nice to see ya Jackie. How’s your secret life holding up?”
“Jack had a secret life?” Tom asked.
“No,” Cian said. “Eoin’s saying we don’t know anything.”
“You don’t?” Tom asked.
Cian shook his head.
“Neev wasn’t like the rest of us,” Cian said. “She and Da . . . they were close. The rest of us were Mum’s kids, especially us boys. But Neev, she never got over Mum being with . . . well, Johnny’s da even though our da told her to do it.”
“What do you mean?” Tom asked.
“Our da was in the Maze,” Cian said. “He told Mum to get cozy with Johnny’s da so he could get better treatment, more status, and privileges, like she was a prostitute. I hated Da for that, but Neev blamed Mum. And Mum . . . well, there was Johnny and . . .”
Cian shrugged and looked at Eoin.
“His mum and Johnny’s da really hit it off,” Eoin said. “Love at first sight. He took her everywhere, bought her lovely things, and when Johnny came, well . . .”
“He wanted to take us,” Cian said. “And we wanted to go. All but Neev. She told our da, and he . . .”
“Ronan Kelly killed your mother, Brigid,” Tom said.
“And the babe?” Cian asked.
“Yes,” Tom said. “I assumed you knew.”
Cian shook his head. They watched the water for a while.
“Neev thought she deserved it,” Cian said. “She took her vows when Jackie went into Maze. I thought she knew the pressure Mum had to deal with. But she told me last week that it was Mum’s fault for ‘whoring herself out.’ That’s what she said. Neev felt like she had no choice but to become a nun. All these years later, she’s still bitter about it. Rita says, ‘I was a nun for a while, and that was nice; now I’m not.’ Just something she did, but Neev . . .”
Cian shrugged.
“That’s what I know,” Cian said.
“You think she did this to get back at John?” Tom asked.
“We think she did this because something’s happened to Jack,” Eoin said. “Neev might be bitter and mean on her own, but when Jackie’s around, everything was good. He mellows her out; gets her laughing.”
“Any ideas what happened to Jack?” Tom asked.
“We were going to ask our friend Art, but . . . ,” Eoin shrugged.
Tom nodded.
“Do you know what happened to Jack?” Cian asked.
“I think it’s pretty dumb to take out the one person who could find and rescue him,” Tom said. “That’s what I think. Any ideas who’s behind all of this?”
Cian and Eoin looked at each other. Eoin shook his head. Cian raised his eyebrows.
“What’s going on?” Tom asked.
“Eoin was just going to tell you that he made a call after he helped everyone,” Cian said.
“To whom?”
“Paddy Hargreaves,” Eoin said.
“The four-year-old?” Tom asked.
“Senior,” Cian said.
“What did you tell the General?” Tom asked.
“That each of them passed out after finishing,” Eoin said.
“Shite,” Tom picked up a flat rock and threw it. The rock skipped across the surface of the river. “That’s bad.”
“Eoin was able to modify the program Neev set,” Cian said. “If he hadn’t, they would have died.”
“Tell me,” Tom said.
“Samantha Hargreaves was supposed to beat Art with a baseball bat,” Eoin said. “I got her to use an aluminum hockey stick. She just hit him the one time.”
“Less deadly,” Tom said.
“Yes, sir,” Eoin said. “Samantha, she worked really hard and didn’t want to hurt him, but we couldn’t get to the kernel. I think it was too real, honest. Raz, he loves Alex, makes no excuses for it; that’s hard on Sami sometimes. And Wyatt, he doesn’t like the fact that Max can control him like he did when he locked him up in the bathroom. The kernel of resentment was too true for both of them. I had less time with Wyatt. But he was supposed to hold Max’s head under the toilet water – drown him.”
“He just threw him in the bathroom instead,” Tom said.
“Maxie would be all right if he hadn’t had a heart attack,” Eoin said. “He . . .”
Eoin sniffed.
“We love Max,” Cian said. “Mind if we walk?”
“Sure,” Tom said.
They walked along the river in silence for a while.
“I really tried,” Eoin said when they reached the top of the ridge. “But, the programming was too strong.”
“She worked on people who were susceptible,” Tom said. “Colin also took blood from each of them – Samantha Hargreaves, Agent Rasmussen, and Steven Pershing. They were drugged with a combination of roofies and amphetamines.”
“Deadly cocktail,” Eoin said. “How did Pershing . . . ?”
“Strength of will and absolute love for Alex,” Tom said. “Programming creates a tremendous, almost desperate pressure to do a specific action. In this case, stab Alex with a specific knife. One of Patrick’s ‘survive programming’ tricks is for the recipient to modify the program – focus on relieving the tension by committing the action somewhere less deadly. In this case, stab her on her right side and not her left side. She wouldn’t have survived the wound if it had been on her left side.”
Cian and Eoin nodded.
“Did Neev have any interaction with Pershing?” Tom asked.
“I don’t know when they would have had time,” Cian said. “Steve arrived on Tuesday night. He was worn out by travel and went straight to bed. He was in meetings and doctor’s appointments all of Wednesday. Eoin spent an hour or so with him at a few different times. Neev wouldn’t have had access.”
“Yet he was still drugged,” Tom said.
“Right,” Cian shrugged.
“And the boy?” Tom asked.
“Hector James’s mom died last year,” Eoin said. “He was terribly victimized by Hector. His dad wants them to be strong.”
“We do too,” Cian said.
“Cian and me, we can’t bear the thought that they won’t recover from it all, ” Eoin said. “We’ve been trying to help them feel safe and like they can protect themselves if we’re not there. Alex bought the tasers for them. A green one for Hermes and a blue one for Hector James. Anyway, they’re little boys.”
“Meaning?” Tom asked.
“They would tase each other when no one was around,” Cian said. “They would knock each other out and see how long it took to wake up. You know, ‘Now do me!’”
“They’re boys,” Tom said.
“Exactly right,” Eoin said. “Alex took the tasers away and put them in her bottom drawer along with what she called their “ninja supplies” – untraceable phones, coagulant, medical supplies, black clothing, and the protein bars they like. Once a month or so, they’d get them out and practice. They both have access to the office, but only the drawer.”
“Why?” Tom asked.
“They were badly hurt,” Cian said.
“They almost died,” Eoin said. “In the hospital after they were rescued. They wouldn’t have made it if their mum hadn’t been with them.”
“And then she died,” Cian said. “We want them to grow into strong boys who aren’t afraid or . . .”
“Mean,” Eoin said. “Like Neev.”
“We specifically didn’t want them to grow into Neev,” Cian said. “Johnny used those exact words.”
“So, if no one liked Neev, even Johnny who technically owns the house, why did you let her stay?” Tom asked.
“Alex wanted the best person in the world to help Wyatt with his deprogramming,” Cian said. “She’s the best according to everyone.”
“What about Eoin?” Tom asked.
“Alex didn’t know,” Cian said.
”My skills aren’t exactly public knowledge,” Eoin said. “Didn’t want the Proddies to come for me.”
“We were going to tell her when she got home from this last trip, but . . .”
Cian raised a shoulder in a sad shrug.
“The boys have worked through scenarios with Colin,” Eoin said. “He’s been teaching them martial arts. Hector James knew exactly what to do.”
Tom nodded.
“Did they really cheer?” Cian asked Eoin.
“When they knocked her out,” Eoin said. “They were pretty excited.”
“Why did Hector James come down?” Tom asked.
“He’s been having nightmares,” Cian said. “He’s just turning eleven and starting to have some sexual stirring. It’s all very normal, no acting out, nothing disturbed, but at night, he has horrible nightmares. He comes down and sits on Alex’s lap. She shows him that Hector is dead and that his mother loved him.”
“What does he do when Alex isn’t awake?” Tom asked.
“Hasn’t happened,” Cian said.
“Is Alex awake every night?” Tom asked.
“No,” Cian said. “A lot of nights, but not every night.”
“I wonder if there’s something there,” Tom said.
“He might hear her go down,” Cian said. “The house is insulated, but it’s old; we mostly know what’s going on all over the house.”
“Makes sense,” Tom nodded. “How’d you wake them?”
“Implanted the smell of their favorite thing as a wake up,” Eoin said. “Wyatt, Samantha, Steve; they didn’t want to be controlled or manipulated into hurting anyone. They fought hard. I can tell you that; they fought hard.”
“But each of them was susceptible to programming due to previous mind control experiences,” Tom said.
“Yes,” Eoin said. “Samantha was drugged and manipulated by that ex-senator; Wyatt was programmed in the military.”
“And Steve?” Tom asked.
“Military,” Eoin said. “That’s what he said.”
“Huh,” Tom nodded. “When did you plant the wake up in Pershing?”
“Last night,” Eoin said. “He was really open. Wyatt too.”
“You’re saying that whoever programmed them is not done with them,” Tom said.
Eoin nodded.
“Good to know,” Tom said. “Can you help them?”
“I washed away Wyatt’s programming,” Eoin said. “I’ll go by the hospital and do it again. He desperately wants this part of his life to be over and done with. We’ll get it all washed away.”
Tom nodded. They turned around and started back.
“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Tom asked. “Anything.”
Cian and Eoin shook their heads.
“What are you going to do?” Cian asked.
“I need to visit with Neev,” Tom said. “She’s already tried to suicide. Twice. She’s being held in a federal psychiatric hospital. Rita’s with her now.”
“Must have been programmed herself,” Eoin nodded.
“She keeps asking for Jack,” Tom said. “She has no idea where he is. I have to tell you . . .”
Tom winced, and they walked in silence for a while.
“You think she’s faking,” Cian said.
“I think she’s faking,” Tom said. “I can’t shake the feeling that she set all of this up and wants us to believe she was programmed. But I don’t know how to . . .”
“We do,” Cian said. “Leave it to us. We’ll get it sorted.”
“How?” Tom asked.
“We have special skills,” Cian smiled.
“Not you’d list on a CV, but . . .”
“Ever notice how few MI-6 infiltrated the Irish Republican Army,” Cian said.
“A few did,” Tom said.
“They only thought they did,” Cian said.
“Well, I could use the help,” Tom said. “You won’t kill her, will you?”
“No,” Cian said. “We won’t hurt her physically in any way.”
“But we will get the truth,” Eoin said.
“Then I’d welcome your help,” Tom said.
They walked back to FBI headquarters. Tom signed Eoin out from custody. They were in Tom’s car driving into town when Tom turned to Cian.
“I heard you own a bakery,” Tom said.
“We own a very successful bakery,” Cian said.
“We pay our taxes and have employees,” Eoin said. “Colin Hargreaves is our proper and legal partner.”
“We’ve been in the newspaper four times,” Cian said.
“And won lots of awards,” Eoin said.
“I was just wondering if we could get something to eat,” Tom said. “Everything is closed because of Thanksgiving. I’m starving.”
“Sure,” Cian said. “Turn here.”
F