Chapter Seventeen

Stephen

I woke up to the sound of Jay’s soft chuckles from his crib. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was just past six in the morning. I decided to let Trinity sleep in with the twins and got Jay up.

After changing his diaper, I headed downstairs to make some coffee. As I waited for the coffee machine to heat up, I held Jay close, enjoying the warmth of his tiny body against mine. I was in the middle of preparing a bottle for him when Clint walked in.

“Thought I heard someone up and about,” Clint said.

“Yeah, Jay was up with the birds, chatting away to himself. I thought I’d let my doll sleep in,” I replied.

“If you make me a coffee, I’ll take him off your hands for a bit so you can get sorted.”

I handed Jay over to Clint, who started feeding him his bottle while I made the coffees. Looking over at Clint cradling my youngest, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?” Clint asked, looking up.

“Just makes me laugh. Fifteen years ago, I could never have imagined standing here with you, both of us legitimate businessmen, with wives and kids.”

“Are you saying I’m not the sexiest husband you’ve ever seen?”

“No, I look at myself every day. Have you seen this sexy dad bod?”

Clint laughed. “It’s nice.”

“Want me to roll up?” I asked.

“Sure, bro.”

I put Jay in his bouncer with the rest of his bottle and turned on the TV to Bluey, one of his favorites. Clint and I headed out back for a quick smoke and coffee, then came back in for another cup. Jay was sitting on Uncle Clint’s lap, playing with his beard while we chatted. That’s when Dave walked in.

“Any of that left? I’m too old for these hangovers anymore,” Dave said.

“Yeah, bro, there’s a whole pot brewed in the kitchen and a few joints in there if that’ll help,” I replied.

“You guys coming out?”

“Go, I’ll watch Jay. Willie is still asleep and I need to boil the kettle for a cup of tea,” Mia said.

“Thanks, hunny,” I said.

“Morning, baby. I’ll be out in a minute, guys,” Clint said, passing Mia Jay and saying good morning to her before joining us outside.

“You good to go see Benj? Want us to come with you?” Dave asked.

“Yeah, if you boys want to come, bro, that would be good. I’m sure the girls won’t mind a bit of time on their own.”

The boys and I spent the morning outside, discussing what to do with the businesses if we all moved and deciding who we would like running them in our absence. We planned to speak with Benji and Maddie to oversee it and make sure our accountant was handling all the financials until we got back.

The girls came out once the kids were settled, and we let them know we were going to head off to see Benj that afternoon at his office.

“I think it’s best you guys go anyway, babe, so we can start getting things sorted on our end with the kids, packing what we’ll need, and so on,” Trinity said.

The boys and I got dressed and went back down to say goodbye to our girls and kids. I found Trinity in the kitchen, sorting stuff for lunch for the kids with Jay, and went to say goodbye to her after saying bye to my pea pods.

“Baby, we’re heading out now so I can get back to help you with dinner, baths, and bed,” I said.

“Okay, my love,” Trinity replied.

She turned around, and her eyes widened.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s ridiculous how handsome you are sometimes,” she said.

“Well, wifey, after all this time and getting on a bit now, I’m glad you still think so.”

“How could I not? Damn, I’m lucky.”

“Okay, stop. And I’ll see you when I get back.”

“Yes, you will, daddy.”

“Bad momma!”

“Hey, did you hear daddy picking on me, Jay Jay?” Trinity asked.

Jay gave me a big wave and a gummy smile, and I gave my youngest boy big kisses. As I was heading to the garage to get the car, I heard my wife shout.

“If you still look that delicious when you get back, we can practice again for baby number four!”

“Hahaha, it’s a deal, momma. Love you, have a good afternoon.”

“Love you too.”

We got in the car and headed down to Benj’s office. His secretary got us settled in the boardroom, and it wasn’t long before Benji, Maddie, and Lachie came through.

“Hey, guys, where are the girls today?” Maddie asked.

“They stayed home with the kids instead of having to drag them all out,” Clint replied.

“And everyone is okay?”

“All good, thanks, hun. And you?”

“Your boy is keeping me busy.”

“Make him do it, Maddie. We pay him enough,” Clint said.

“Hahaha, I’m glad you think so,” Benji replied.

“So, guys, have you had a think and a talk with your families about everything?” Lachie asked.

“We have,” I replied.

“And?”

“If you believe relocating for the interim is in everyone’s best interests, then we’ll do as you say, Lachie. This is your show, and we trust you know what you’re doing. If Benji trusts you, then we’ll also put our trust in you. But it’s all six of us and our kids. We go as one, and we return as one.”

“Okay, I’ll make it happen,” Lachie said.

“Please understand, though, we’ll do as you ask, but if they come after our families and find us…”

“We fight for our family, as you already know,” Clint finished.

“Understood. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t come to that,” Lachie said.

“Thank you,” Dave said.

“Right, so how long do you need?” Benji asked.

“How long? How quickly do you want to do this?” I asked.

“The sooner the better, really,” Lachie replied.

“Right, well, let us speak to our wives tonight, and I’ll be in touch tomorrow. We do have some other questions, though.”

“Of course,” Lachie said.

“Where will you be sending us?”

“To be determined yet, but I assure you where possible we will consult you first.”

“Okay. And now I understand people won’t be able to know where we are, is this correct?”

“The fewer the better. Preferably the three people in this room plus the bureau.”

“Then we need you to do something for us. Benji or Maddie, as they are known to the people already, so it wouldn’t draw red flags if they were seen together.”

“And that is?”

“We need Clint’s parents to know we’re okay and communicated to where possible, Dave and Felicity’s parents, and Trinity has asked for Luke and Todd.”

“Let me see what I can do. Again, I’ll come back to you on that when we speak tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything else?”

Clint - “So, what about the charges hanging over our heads? If we just vanish, won’t there be arrest warrants out for us?”

Lachie - “Clint, I get why you’re asking. It’s a fair question, given the situation. But remember, we’re the FBI. Trust me, there won’t be any questions or backlash if you suddenly disappear. It’s part of our job. And, I can assure you, it’s something I’m damn good at.”