Old Sayings Hold True

An adult stories – Old Sayings Hold True by wayniepoo62,wayniepoo62 Disclaimer:

The following story is fictional. It’s not real. It’s fantasy. I made it all up in my twisted mind.

There is NO graphic sex in this tale. If you do believe there are any sex scenes in this tale, they are between people who are at least 18 years of age or older. Maybe much older!!

Be warned… This starts out dimly, takes a dark turn, then heads toward an inky blackness….

************

‘……The next thing I knew, was the smell of burning flesh. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around to see if was me who was on fire. Then I spotted a familiar stove with a large cooking pot on top and wondered how the hell I had gotten here.

Then the pain hit me…!!!! FUCK!’

*****

This shit all started around 18 months ago…… But I should give you my background first, otherwise things won’t make much sense.

*****

When I was a child, my grandmother was always coming out with strange sayings about many different things. One of the most common, and the one I remember most, was when we were planning an outing for the next day. At around sunset, she would gaze toward the setting sun and repeat “Red sky at night, sailors delight… Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning”. When I was old enough to understand, she explained that the ‘sailors delight’ meant clear weather with good winds to fill the sails. The ‘sailors take warning’ meant stormy weather.

From then on, I became fascinated about the meanings of the many different old sayings I had heard, and continued to hear, throughout my life. Over the years, as I investigated further into the old sayings, I found at least 85% of them were based on facts that had been proven over, sometimes, hundreds of years.

I had a great childhood. I was brought up learning how to drive a tractor by the time I was 8. I had to wait until I was 10 before I could drive a manual car, only because I couldn’t reach the pedals properly. I could shoot straight by the time I was 11. Anything mechanical I could relate to well. I was never considered ‘sporty’ per-se, but I was an excellent swimmer, being able to easily complete the 1500 meters when I was 12. Nowhere near good enough to consider the Olympics though.

Both my parents were heavily involved in the community, and as such, I was also heavily involved from a young age. Dad took me along to many working bees, helping those less fortunate with gardening, house repairs and painting, fund raising BBQ’s, orphanage outings as well as many other projects in and around the community.

Because I spent so much time around adults, I never really developed the social skills needed to interact with people my own age. As such, I was usually by myself most of the time. Which gave the school bullies plenty of opportunity to enjoy their fun without much fear of being caught. I walked away every time, not because I wanted to, but because I had to.

I have a terrible temper. It takes a hell of a lot for me to lose it, but when I do, absolutely nothing will stop me until I have vented it. For an example, when I was 7, my older brother had been tormenting me for about 6 months. This day, he punched me and gave me a black eye, and that was the straw that broke the camels back. A couple of hours later when he was sitting watching tv, I calmly walked up behind him and slammed a heavy glass ashtray over his head. He was in a coma for 3 weeks and the doctors said he was lucky to survive.

Don’t get the wrong idea. I was never aggressive toward anyone or anything unless they did something to me first. I’m a pacifist by nature. The Psychologists all agreed, that apart from my OCD, I was as normal as every other introvert out there.

By the time I was 15, it seemed I had learnt more than most 40 year olds. I could even reverse a trailer without any trouble. I found over the years I was able to pick up new skills very quickly, usually just by watching someone do the job for a while.

I knew ‘Higher Education’ was definitely not for me. I wanted to work with my hands, so after 10 years of schooling, I started an apprenticeship in the steel industry. I loved taking loose bits of steel and turning them into useful items. I even helped build some amusement rides.

No-one ever considered me a ‘ladies man’. Being a normal introvert, when it came to the female of the species, calling me clueless was an understatement. It was so bad, my own mother tried setting me up with her friends daughters. Not going there!!! All the girls and I knew what the mothers were up to, so to keep the peace, we would go out a couple of times, then just tell our mums that there was nothing romantic there. It’s not that these girls were ugly. Two of them were part time fashion models. Stunning women. But we had grown up together, so it was kinda like going out with your sister.

So just how did I meet my wife? Three houses down the street from our place, lived a family of five. Dad, mum and three young kids. Most mornings we would pass each other on our ways to work and would give a wave. That was the extent of our interaction for about 2 years, until one day I was on my way home from work when I saw him broken down on the side of the road. Of course I pulled over to check if I could help.

It was not good news. I could fit my hand inside the hole that was in the side of the engine. Back then, I was a real ‘car nut’ and had all the gear to fix just about anything. Of course, being a true car nut, I had more than one spare car and offered him the use of one until we could get his fixed. He tried to refuse but I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I knew their financial position was not the best, but it’s not something I would ever mention.

So he and I got in my car and went back to my place to get my car trailer. He went home to tell his wife what happened, then came back so we could get his car. While he was telling his wife, I made a couple of phone calls to mates of mine, and we found a secondhand engine for his car. By the time we returned with his car, one of my mates had dropped off the replacement engine. I hadn’t told Jeff what I had set-up and he couldn’t believe how quickly it was happening. He started telling me he couldn’t afford everything, but I told him the engine was not the best and otherwise it would have gone for scrap, so all he owed was two cartons of beer and he had 6 months to deliver them. I wouldn’t tell him that engine was fully rebuilt 2 years previously and the owner only removed it to put in a bigger engine.

Hey!!! I was brought up to help others. So sue me.

That weekend, we replaced his engine. At lunchtime, his wife, Emma and their kids showed up with sandwiches. She also brought along her youngest sister, Jill. That was the moment my life changed. I said hello to Emma, but all I could do was nod when I was introduced to Jill. I glanced at Jeff and saw a smirk cross his face. He knew straight away. I saw Emma from the corner of my eye wearing a giant smile.

After we ate, the girls took the kids back to Jeffs, while we finished with his car. When we were washing up, Jeff commented that I had barely spoken a word since lunch. I was stuck. I couldn’t very well tell him I wanted to drag his sister-in-law up to my bed and jump her bones right then, could I??

Thankfully he saved me any embarrassment by telling me that Jill was just as shy with the opposite sex as me. He left the conversation there, and invited me to a BBQ at their place in 2 weeks time for one of the kids birthday. I asked if Jill would be there and he said ‘of course she would’. I tried to refuse, but he threatened to drag me there if he had to.

At that BBQ, Jill and I barely spoke to each other. However she was constantly watching me. I know this because I was constantly watching her as well. After about 2 hours, I was just about to head home when Emma grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the kitchen. Jill was already sitting at the table as Emma pushed me into a seat.

Then Emma said to both of us “I have never seen two people who are more smitten with each other than you two. I understand you’re both very shy, so I’m organizing your first date. If I don’t, neither of you ever will”.

*****

Fast forward 18 months and we had just gotten married. It had originally taken 4 months for our first proper kiss to happen, but when it did, there was no holding back. We tried everything sexual two people could do together. Those we liked, we kept. Those we didn’t, we lost. Now I’m not some ‘well hung superstud’, but Jill never complained. Neither of us were virgins when we got together, so we did have something to compare with.

So we were on our honeymoon by the ocean. We had just been swimming and were laying on our towels drying off. Jill was wearing a conservative one-piece swimsuit that highlighted her great figure. As we lay there, 2 dickheads walked up to us and started telling Jill how they would show her how real men would treat her to a good time.

Jill immediately flushed with embarrassment, stood up and started putting on her cover-up. Dickhead 1 grabbed it from her saying “You can’t hide that magnificent body from the world”. As I stood up, dickhead 2 grabbed me from behind and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt her, we’ll just teach her what a good fucking is”.

I should describe myself here. I’m only barely 5ft 9″ tall and look like the typical ‘bullied fat kid’ at school. In fact, I was that kid. By the time Jill and I were married, I was 25 years old and had been handling 40-50 kilogram pieces of steel for nearly 10 years. People think normal construction workers are strong… They have nothing when compared to steel workers.

Both of these dickheads were well over 6ft and full of confidence. Two on one…they couldn’t lose. My dad had taught me many things well over the years growing up. He had survived WW2 as well as the Great Depression. He taught me, that if you have to fight, fight to win. But if you are going to lose, it doesn’t matter how dirty you fight, just make sure you put as much hurt on them as you can.

Luckily, dickhead 2 had grabbed me just above my elbows, which is exactly how my big brother used to grab me, so I knew how I was going to proceed. I bent my head forward and as I did this, I threw one of the handfuls of sand I had picked up when I arose, into his face. When he loosened his grip to wipe his eyes, I threw my head back and caught him on the chin, which put him off balance just enough for me to break free.

I quickly spun around and booted him right in the balls. He dropped like a rock. I then threw the other handful of sand in the face of dickhead 1, and proceeded to kick him in the balls as well. While they were both still on the ground, I used all my bodyweight to drop my knees into their ribs. Definitely heard a couple of cracks.

Then just for shits and giggles, kicked them both in the balls again. It’s true what they say. ‘The bigger they are, the harder they fall’.

Jill stared at me in total shock. I packed up our gear and gently guided her back to our unit. When we got inside, I sat her down and made us some drinks. It was nearly 30 minutes later before she could talk.

She looked at me with some trepidation and asked “What the hell was that?” I told her that I had to make a choice between letting them rape her or protecting my family. I chose my family. I went on to explain that when I was growing up, I was taught that family comes first. My dad impressed on me from a young age, that it was my job to defend my family with everything I had. Even with my life if necessary.

By the time we arrived home from our honeymoon, she had told all her family what happened. They were blowing it all out of proportion. Making me out to be some kind of hero. I believed I was just doing what our marriage vows stated. As far as I was concerned, the only good to come of that was her father finally got off my case and showed me some respect.

*****

Life continued on for us. I still worked in the steel industry, making surprisingly good money. I was making enough to put some aside for our retirement. After all, my mother was a bookkeeper so it had been drilled into me how to manage money and plan ahead.

Jill found employment as a receptionist with a small real estate agent. They were an older husband and wife team we had used to purchase our home. On the day we signed the final papers, I jokingly said to Jill that she would have to find a job to help pay for the house.

Bill and Beth said their receptionist had just finished up with them to have her babies, and if Jill was interested the job was hers. They needed someone urgently. She had a crash course in the office and started working for them. They had agreed to give Jill time off when we had children.

It took nearly 4 years before our first came along. A daughter who looked just like her mother (luckily for her) who we named Belinda. Then 19 months later we had a son we named Allan. They both grew like weeds, and it seems that within the blink of an eye, they were both in high school.

I found it was a godsend to have those kids. Without them, I would have been totally overwhelmed with technology. Even after 3 years, I still needed help sometimes just to read my emails. I could design and build anything with steel, but when it came to computers…..well I was pretty useless.

It was at this time Bill and Beth told us they were retiring and selling their agency. They offered it to us at what I thought was a really good price. Jill and I talked it over. Neither of us were interested enough to put in the hours that would be required to maintain it.

When we turned it down, Bill and Beth put it on the open market. There was quite a lot of interest as it had a very good reputation. 5 months later, Jill had a new boss….. Alistaire Walsh.

And I knew I had problem headed my way!!

*****

My grandmother always told me, if I had a gut feeling about something, then I needed to listen. Jill’s new boss, Alistaire, what kind of a poncy name is that anyway, gave me the gut feeling that I should cave his head in with a cricket bat.

Hey!! Just because I’m a pacifist, doesn’t mean I can’t have violent thoughts. Being a civilized human means I don’t act on those thoughts.

Over the years, I had developed ways to ‘read’ situations and people. I had to be able to read situations with my work around many different construction sites. Otherwise someone could get badly injured, or dead. Also being able to read people was useful in diffusing possibly violent problems.

My gut was screaming at me that Alistaire was going to be the biggest problem I have ever faced. He was tall, rich, extremely good looking, overly confident, dressed impeccably, and totally full of himself. He didn’t think he was gods gift to women. He thought he was gods gift to all of humanity.

By this time, Jill and I were both 44, and had been married coming up on 20 years. I still had my ‘Dad-Bod’ that I always had, but Jill seemed to get better with age. She could still pass as early 30’s. Whenever we went out, I would notice how other guys would stare at her. I never felt worried about her because I would keep an eye on her as well to see if she looked back. She never did. Hey, I’m just a normal guy with insecurities too!!

So for the first month, things wandered along as normal. Jill was enthusiastic with the new management. The office had been redecorated and looked like a modern office should. Bill and Beth seemed to like the older styles of buildings.

About 2 years later, I noticed things ever so slightly changing. I’m probably giving away a secret here, but just because someone is an introvert, it doesn’t mean that we don’t know what’s happening around us. If anything, we are much more aware of things than most other people. We just don’t talk about it.

I usually arrived home from work around 4pm. Jill usually arrived at 5.15pm, unless she stopped to do shopping. I started to notice she was coming home at around 5.30pm. Then about 3 months later, she started arriving home around 5.45pm. On a Wednesday evening, we sat down after dinner and I lightheartedly made the comment about Alistaire becoming a slave driver.

She gave me a withering look, and asked me what I was on about. I told her she seemed to be working longer hours these days. She scoffed at me and said I was imagining things. So I reverted to what I knew best. I showed no real emotion, smiled as though it was said jokingly and agreed with her.

For the first time ever, I knew my wife had just lied to me. That night, I started making plans of ways I could find out what the fuck was really happening. I also knew the crux of the problem was going to be that dropkick, Alistaire.

Over the years, I have worked with many different people. There have been a few ex-criminals who I taught the ‘whats and wherefores’ of the steel industry. I told them that as far as I was concerned, they did the crime, they did the time, so let’s move on and start again. Still to this day, some of them credit me with setting them up for a successful new life. They have told me that, if at any time I need help, they are to be the first people I should call.

I really don’t like to impose on anyone, but I knew I couldn’t do this by myself. So I called them and we agreed to meet at the pub for a drink. The 5 of us threw around some ideas, but ended up with a very simple plan of them showing up at the agency posing as customers looking to buy a home. I showed them a recent photo of Jill I had on my phone and bid them farewell. Jill had never met any of them, so wouldn’t be any the wiser.

Two weeks later we again met at the pub. It wasn’t what would be called good news. Unknown to me, there were now 4 sales agents and a new receptionist in the office. It seems that Alistaire now has a personal assistant. Guess who that is!!

After 20 years of marital bliss, it took less than 2 years for some self-entitled dickwad to start tearing down my world. If nothing else, my wife was lying by omission. For the last 20 years, my confidence in myself, that was lacking when I was younger, had been growing thanks to the strength of my marriage. I wasn’t going to just stand aside and do nothing. I simply refused to regress to that shy teenager I used to be.

I hadn’t been my usual self for a couple of weeks, when Jill asked me one night what was up with me. I just told her that I would have to sack a couple of guys because I knew they were stealing materials and lying about their work hours. She knew how I felt about honesty. It may seem strange me talking about honesty while I lied to her, but as far as I was concerned, she lied to me first, so I was free to do the same.

A look I had trouble reading, passed across her face. It was so unlike her, that I knew then and there, it was time for me to be extremely pro-active in finding out just what was happening.

*****

So I did what I normally did when I had a major problem. I went panning for gold. My grandfather had left me a 5000 acre plot of land, that typified the Australian outback, when he passed. It was hilly and rocky, sparsely covered with rough scrub and totally unsuitable to grow anything. It was a 6 hour drive from home, and the nearest town was a hour drive away.

I asked him one day why he had bought the land and he told me he didn’t buy it, he won it in a poker game. Most people thought the other guy was the real winner in that deal. Through the years, my grandfather and I had built a shanty that had grown to a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom (one inside, one outside) shack.

Our water came from whatever rainwater we could collect, but mostly we brought it with us. I did eventually buy a 20,000 liter poly tank. I had a water tank on a trailer I could leave at the towns pub when I wasn’t there and fill it when I came back through.

Grandad had given the local Aboriginal people free range to hunt the land. After all, we didn’t need the food. We had a stocked pantry in the shack. If we wanted fresh meat, it was just a matter of trapping a couple of wild rabbits. There was an over-supply of wild pigs as well, so if the Aboriginals were near by when we were there, I would shoot a pig, take what we wanted and give the rest to them. Everyone was happy.

So after working the land for nigh on 45 years between the both of us, we had found about $1800 worth of gold. I know, not a great return for the effort. But grandad was absolutely adamant that there was a seam of gold there that would rival Fort Knox.

Not long before he passed, he sat me down one day and asked me “If I leave you our mine, do you promise not to sell it and keep looking for our fortune?” I genuinely promised him that I would. After all, it had become a sanctuary to me when things had become too much for me to handle. The other bonus was, it cost me nothing to keep it. It was so remote, the local council had no services to it and therefore never send me a bill for anything.

I sat in our mine, (I always thought of it as grandads and mine) digging away and just thinking. 10 years previously, I had started my own business as I wanted more flexibility to help raise my children.

I found a workshop in an old, mostly abandoned industrial estate about 15km from town. The best thing it had going for it was it was cheap. For the first couple of years I would hire on extra guys as needed. In my third year, I picked up 4 ongoing maintenance contracts.

With these, I knew I would need permanent employees, so I hired 5 of my casual guys. All 6 of us were kept busy, but I had the added onus of trying to keep up with all the office work as well. Which meant using a computer. The auditor from the tax office really didn’t like so much paperwork to look through. He gave me a filthy look every time he got a paper cut.

Not my problem. Harden up buttercup!! He seemed even more sour when he washed his hands with the extra-strong antiseptic hand wash I gave him. While he couldn’t find anything wrong, he still gave me a couple of small fines for putting claims in the wrong box. Prick!!

I was telling my guys what happened and said that I really needed to find someone to run the office side of the business. Young Mick told me his older sister was looking for some part time work if that would help me. I told him to send her in.

That’s how I met Alice. She was a 31 year old mother of a 6 year old daughter, who divorced her abusive husband after one too many trips to the hospital. Even after the divorce, he still tried to get back together with her, until Mick and a few of his football mates convinced him it would be extremely detrimental to his ongoing health if he stayed on this side of the country. He took the hint.

Alice could only work during school hours so she was home when her daughter was not at school. This suited me perfectly. I warned her that the language around the workshop would get pretty bad at times. She just looked at me and laughed, then said that wouldn’t be a problem.

I then told her that I have only 3 hard and fast rules.

#1 Do not lie to me.

#2 Do your job as best you can, and if you have any problems, I don’t read minds, so talk to me.

#3 Do not ever try to screw me over.

I also told her if there was anything she needed for the job to just order it and bill it to the company. I would trust her until such time as she did something to lose that trust. She agreed with everything and said she would start on the following Monday.

After a month, the office was purring along. If any document was needed, Alice would find and print it in less than 4 minutes. Much better that the 30 minutes or more it took me. She then told me we needed somewhere secure to store all the legal documents. I looked at her dumbstruck. This was the first I knew about any legal documents.

Alice went on to explain that every contract I signed, all the tax receipts and expenses invoices can be classed as legal documents. I had no reason not to believe her, so I had the guys build a secure room at the side of the workshop. When I saw it, I asked Joe if they didn’t overdo things. When he started to say “Alice said….”, I stopped him and just told him “OK”.

4 months later, Alice came to me with a worried look, so I asked her “What’s up?” She said, “You told me part of rule #2 was, if I had a problem, I was to talk to you. So here I am. The problem I have is, that no matter what you think, you really need to learn how to use a computer. I can’t be here all the time as you know, but there will be times when you need to access files without me. I’m happy to teach you all I know, so when do you want to start?”

I actually agreed with her, as I had been thinking along the same lines myself. And so began my, albeit slow, introduction into 21st century technology. Thankfully Alice was very patient with me. There were some things we had to go over a dozen times or more. Others only 2 or 3 times. Some 6 months later, I was what would be considered (marginally) computer literate.

I decided to wait a while before I told anyone at home of my newfound skill. I wanted to surprise the kids. In the meantime, I would let them get their digs in about how dad was still a dinosaur, living in the last century.

For the next 6 years, the business grew. I now had 35 guys in the workshop and 4 office staff. Alice still ran the office and taught me about computers. Her daughter was in high school now and she had gone full time.

We even had to set up an I.T. department because we now used CAD drafting and CNC machines in the shop. I had employed Rick on the recommendation of one of my guys who knew him from school. Even though he had done 3 years in prison for fraud, he really knew his stuff. Luckily I had him with me when we started building our system. After I had 3 companys come in to give quotes, Rick told all 3 to fuck off because they were nothing but thieves.

He then proceeded to build all our software from the ground up. It worked out 40% cheaper to do it this way than what we were quoted. Along the way he taught me a few things about how code works and what can be done when it’s set-up properly. Not that I would ever be able to use that information myself.

*****

As I sat in our mine thinking, my dad’s teachings came back to me. I had a family to defend. So I started to look at Alistaire as my enemy and the agency as enemy headquarters. I knew I needed intelligence on how he operated.

I knew I could never do this by myself, but I loathed involving other people in my problems. I came up with a basic plan to buy some cameras and voice recorders for the house, and I would run an idea by Rick to get his opinion in regard to Alistaire.

The next morning, I packed my gear and hooked up the water trailer and headed back home. I pulled into the pub and dropped off the trailer, then went inside for my usual counter meal and lite beer. I was more than happy to spend a few dollars there considering they never wanted anything to store my trailer.

When the publican had put my order to the kitchen, he came and asked me “What’s wrong, you look like your dog just died, but I know you don’t have a dog?” Was I really that transparent?? I looked at him, but before I could say anything, he stated “It’s woman problems, isn’t it!!”

He went on to tell me that he had ‘Been there, done that, got the t-shirt…twice’, so if I wanted someone to talk to or a shoulder to lean on, or even a gun to borrow with an attached alibi, just call him. Not exactly sure if he was joking about the last bit or not…!! I thought ‘not’.

After I had eaten, I pointed the car toward home, knowing I had to work on my game face. I had 6 hours to get it right. It must have worked, because when I arrived Jill said that I was looking happier. I told her I had found a couple of flecks of gold, which always cheered me up. She then came back with “Keep going like that and we can finally take that world cruise in 2245!” Unfortunately, I don’t believe she was joking. Made me wonder whose side she would be on, his or mine. For the first time ever, I started having real doubts about my marriage.

The next morning, Tuesday, I headed to work with a new resolve. One way or another, I was going to find out just what was happening. If I had to break some laws to do that, well, it’s only illegal if you get caught. But this is my family, and there is nothing, and I mean NOT A FUCKING THING I would not do to protect it. Belinda and Allan, my kids, were my two first priority’s, with Jill and I after that.

I caught up with the guys in the shop, and copped their shit about striking it rich, until Alice called me to sign some papers. When I walked in her office, there was paperwork spread on her desk. She just pointed and said “Sign there, there, there and there.” So I did. After all, I trusted her enough to give her free reign over the whole office and she had never given me cause to doubt her in the nearly 7 years I had employed her.

I told her I wanted to see Rick when he had a spare half hour. She said she would let him know. Then she turned to face me, took off her glasses, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “You will tell me when you are ready, won’t you?” I stared at her for what seemed like an hour, but was more like 15 seconds, nodded my head once, then turned and walked to the shop.

Just before 11am, Rick came in the shop and said Alice told him I needed to see him. I picked up a tape measure and note pad and had him follow me out to our steel storage area. When we stopped, he gave me a strange look, as he had never been involved in the shop side of the business before.

I told him this was a personal matter, nothing to do with the business, and asked for his utmost discretion. He said that after all I had done for him, he had no problem with that. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said that when he left prison, no-one would even consider him for any job. Not only had I looked past his previous mistakes, but had given him a well paying job and trusted him enough not to be looking over his shoulder every minute of the day. For that, I would have his undying loyalty.

I filled him in on everything I knew so far and my plan for cameras and recorders at home. He gave me a sly smile and told me he had some friends who would take care of that for me, as long as I signed a form giving them permission to enter my house and install the “security system”. I happily agreed to that and told him to put it on the company credit card he had. He promised me he would take care of everything.

As we walked back to the shop, it felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Now I understood when they say, ‘A problem shared is a problem halved’. Rick said they would need about a week to have everything installed and running. Now all I had to do was hurry up and wait.

*****

While I had always been a patient man, waiting for something I expected was never a strong point for me. So I had the bright idea of using my newfound computer skills to start snooping. I thought I could crack Jills password on her email and maybe find something. What I did find was, that I am still a fucking dinosaur around computers.

All I managed to do was lock Jills account. Not knowing what else to do, I called in the cavalry. Rick was able to make it look like a random hacker tried for Jills account. Then threatened to tell Jill about me himself if I was stupid enough to try anything like that again. Next time I had to get him to do it.

0It took the best part of a month before Rick took me aside and said they had something. At lunchtime, we went to a small café near the shop and sat in a corner booth. He pulled out his phone and set up a video, then plugged in an earpiece and told me to watch.

It was a video of Alistaire and Jill, in his office, discussing an upcoming weeklong conference he had booked for them. It was being held at a resort that was a 2 hour flight away and they weren’t talking about business. It became obvious their affair had been ongoing for at least a year. I knew then my marriage was done. She knew my views on infidelity, honesty and loyalty.

I asked Rick how he got the video and all he said was, ‘Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies. He also said, this way I had plausible deniability. I wanted to know what he meant by that. All he said was not to worry my ugly head about it.

I decided I could at least use my new computer skills to find out what I needed to do about preparing for a divorce. After a couple of hours, I wasn’t so sure I wanted these new skills. It was depressing to say the least. There was a 85% chance Jill would have custody of the kids, even though she very rarely spent much time with them.

I was the parent who took them to school sports and after school activities, helped them with their homework and spent most of my free time with them. I didn’t mind doing all that because it was the whole reason I started my business. But from what I could find, some judges just didn’t give a fuck about that. Especially female judges.

The financial side was another shock. While I had no problem supporting my kids to the full extent I was able, I had a real problem having to support someone who had no qualms stabbing me in the back. No matter what else, if I had my way, that’s something was never going to happen.

I found out I live in a no-fault state. I could file for divorce without giving a reason, but I wanted, no needed, to put some hurt on Alistaire and Jill. Would that impact on my kids? I’m sure it would, but then again, the divorce would hurt them as well, so a little more wouldn’t do too much damage.

In my meandering around the internet, I found a site called “Literotica” and started reading some stories. One of the sub-headings on the site is ‘Loving Wives’. While I know those stories are fictional, I understand that good authors write about subjects they know. It gave me some small insight of what I could be up against.

I may have been highly intelligent, scoring an average 133 in a couple of tests my parents sent me to when I was in my late teens, but I knew I didn’t have the skillset required to see this through by myself. I knew from past experience with supposedly brilliant engineers, that just because you are smart, it doesn’t mean you know how the real world works.

I think by default Rick had become my ‘go-to guy’ in this situation, so I walked to his office. When I got there, I found Alice sitting on the corner of his desk and they were in a deep and hushed conversation. All 3 of us looked at each other very embarrassed and I quickly offered an apology while backing out of the office and headed to the shop to give them some privacy.

I never had a problem with a workplace romance, but knowing that if there was a bad break-up, I could lose a valued employee, I had my concerns. I know they are both single, and being in their 30’s, are certainly over the age of consent. I believe they are keeping things quiet due to my situation. I am not naive enough to expect Rick had not mentioned something to Alice about me. When they make their relationship public, I will be among the first to congratulate them.

A few minutes later, Rick caught up with me and asked what I needed. I told him I required a private conversation with him and asked if he was available for lunch. He said he was, and we agreed to meet in the café again at lunchtime. With that sorted, I went to my office and started making a list of what I wanted (hoped) to happen.

Rick arrived a few minutes after I did and after we ordered, I gave him my list. While he looked it over, I explained that I had no idea of who to ask for help with making things happen. I explained I was sorry to dump this on him, but I hoped he knew of someone.

He proceeded to ask me how I came up with this list. I told him I found a way to use my computer skills without fucking up. I searched around the internet for divorce outcomes in this state, and what I could expect to happen. He then asked what computer I used and I told him my laptop. He looked at me and shook his head and said “You fucked up again, Rex!!”

I said to him he knew my name is Jay, so why did he call me ‘Rex’ and how did I fuck up this time? He went on to tell me I was such a big dinosaur with a computer, I reminded him of a “T-Rex. He also explained that by using my laptop, there was now a trail linked to me, of my planning to divorce Jill which could be used against me in court. Back at the office, he confiscated my laptop and told Alice not to let me near any other computer. I just hung my head in shame.

Back in the shop, it didn’t take long for the guys to start calling me ‘Rex’. If you have never worked in a workshop environment, just know that a reason for a new nickname for someone is not required. Everyone will just use it until such time as the person who gave it to you explains why.

Rick took it upon himself to get as much information as possible regarding my list. Three days later, on Friday afternoon, Rick stepped into my office and sat down with a strange look on his face. He asked me exactly what it was I wanted the outcome to be. I thought for a few minutes, then told him I wanted custody of my kids along with the house, to keep my business, and not to pay Jill any alimony. If I could keep the majority of the other assets, that would be a bonus.

In reply, he said that’s what he thought I would want, then he frowned and said ‘maybe’, ‘probably’, ‘doubtful’ and ‘highly unlikely’. He went on to say “But I have come up with a plan if you can stick with it for 12 months!” When I asked why it would take so long, he replied “Rome wasn’t built in a day!”

We agreed to meet the next day at the pub, where he proceeded to fill me in on his plan. He had consulted with some of his trusted friends, and between them had come up with a way that, if it worked, would change the outcome of my wishes to ‘probably’, ‘definitely’, ‘certainly’ and ‘absolutely’. I loved the sound of that. So with that as the end goal, 12 months would be a piece of piss.

All I had to do was keep the status quo of the last couple of months. The kids and I even started doing a few more things together. I purchased a caravan and we started going away for the weekend when the kids had nothing happening.

Rick and Co kept up surveillance of Alistaires office. I knew their conference was coming up in a week, but Jill had neglected to inform me about it. The kids started school holidays at the same time, so I booked a week at a kid friendly tourist park 3 hours away.

Jill was to leave on the Saturday morning, so I decided we would leave Friday morning. It wouldn’t hurt the kids to have an extra day off. I spent the week getting the caravan packed with everything we needed before Jill got home each day. The kids packed their own bags and left them in their rooms where Jill would never find them. She never did any housework these days, so had no chance of seeing the bags.

On Wednesday night, Jill finally told me about the conference. She explained a vacancy became available at the last minute and Alistaire insisted they needed to go. Apparently, it was a very prestigious event and very hard to attend. It would be an arduous 2 week conference, but the information and new contacts would make it all worthwhile. Yes, I noticed it is now ‘2’ weeks.

She had to go into the office early on Thursday in order to get everything organized for them being away. By the time the kids got up and had breakfast Thursday morning, she had already left. I said to myself “Fuck this!” and asked the kids if they wanted to start holidays now. It took at least 0.001 of a second for them to agree. I quickly emailed the school (at least I could do that correctly now), threw the bags in the car and jumped behind the wheel.

I had a flash of evil genius and raced back into the house and fired up the computer. I quickly composed an email about the kids and I going away and sent it to Jill. It was a shame I fucked up and sent it to the wrong email address… Ho-Hum!! At least I tried… I was in such a hurry, I even left my phone on the kitchen table.

After we arrived and set up, I took the kids with me to buy a throw-away phone. I had no idea what to buy!! When the kids had it set up for me, I called Alice to give her the number in case they needed me. A few minutes later, the phone rang, and it was Rick wondering how things were going. I filled him in on what I had done. He thought it was hilarious and told me it seemed there was hope for me to learn how to use a computer yet.

We had so much fun at the park, we decided to stay another week. I called Alice and she said we could stay another month. Things were running even smoother without me there, then she burst out laughing but managed to say that Rick wanted to talk to me. She connected me to his office and he filled me in on Jills week so far. I had no intention of asking how he came by that information, I just didn’t care anymore.

When we finished, I got Rick to transfer me back to Alice. She answered and I asked her if Jill had called. She had and seemed upset but wouldn’t tell Alice anything. All Jill asked was if Alice knew where I had gone. Alice answered that she didn’t know, and Jill just hung up. Didn’t even say goodbye.

After 2 great weeks with my kids, it was time to head on back to reality. We arrived around lunchtime on Saturday to an empty house. Jill hadn’t said when she was returning. I carefully looked around for any signs of life. There was a fine layer of dust over everything. It had the beginnings of looking like an abandoned house. It was like a punch in the guts to suddenly realize that my marriage, the one thing that changed my life and gave me confidence, was on its last legs. It was a very unsettling feeling.

It was a good thing I had 2 kids to look after. I had them take all their washing to the laundry, then started them cleaning out the caravan of the bedding and unused food while I started the washing. When that was going, I began making a light lunch for the 3 of us. The kids never mentioned anything about their mother not being there. At 14 and almost 16, we had talked during the past 2 weeks and they understood Jill and I were having some problems. I told them that no matter what happened, I would always be there for them.

On Monday, the kids went back to school and I showed up at work. We heard not a sound from Jill. After lunch, I was sitting in my office going over some engineering drawings, when Alice slowly walked in, with tears in her eyes. Before I could ask her anything, she reached for my computer and brought up her work email account.

She then proceeded to open an email from Jill with the subject line, ‘Show this to Jay’. There was only one line to read.

“If you and the kids can take off for 2 weeks, so can Alistaire and I, see you later, maybe!” How much more blatant could she be?!

Alice slowly turned back and walked out, having never said a word to me. I was totally stunned. I have no idea how long I sat there. The next conscious thought I had was ‘When did I start drinking scotch?’ Rick and Alice were both sitting across my desk looking at me with concerned faces. Rick spoke first. “So, how far do you want to take this now?”

I thought for a minute and replied that I was willing to take all the way but had to seriously consider my 2 kids in the mix. My first priority was to shield them from as much fall out as possible. Everything else was open slather.

*****

Jill finally returned from her 2 weeks with fuckhead. I had moved myself into the spare room the week before and put a new lock on the door. I shouldn’t have bothered. For the next month, the only times we spoke to each other was about the kids. I would be surprised if we said more than 100 words.

I had to tell the guys at work what was happening, because one of them had seen Jill and Alistaire at a restaurant the previous evening and they weren’t being discrete. He thought Alistaire was about to bend her over the table and fuck her right there. Management kicked them out. Steve apologized for bringing bad news but said he couldn’t not tell me. I held no ill-will toward him.

The next day, I was called to the shop where all the guys were waiting in the lunchroom. Steve started things off by saying I needed to tell everyone what was happening. He said every person in that room had my back and would do anything to help. They all nodded in agreement. Deep down, I considered each of them a mate. By the time I finished my tale, I had 35 sworn oaths of allegiance to the cause.

Later, Rick called me aside and said he wanted me to meet someone. When I asked who, all he said was they were just some people who had my best interests at heart. I told him to set it up and I would be there. Two days later in the pub, he introduced me to ‘Smith’ and ‘Wesson’. I asked if they were Ricks ‘guns for hire’? They both smirked and Smith said, “You could say that!”

Turns out, they were private investigators with a grudge against Alistaire. They were hired by a group of, 2 solicitors, 1 barrister and 4 ex-husbands with the same feelings, who would bankroll a fight against Alistaire, if I were willing to instigate legal action to financially hurt the cunt for fucking up my marriage. When I asked what was in it for them, they just said, ‘Revenge’. That I could understand.

I told them I would seriously consider their proposal, but I did have kids to worry about as well. I wanted as much information as they could give me about what I could expect to be facing. They accepted that and would send Rick what they had, then we agreed to meet back here in a week.

The next morning, Friday, Rick brought a laptop in my office and set it up. He told me if I had any questions, just ask, then left me to it. It was an eye opener to say the least. According to this, Alistaire was implicated in 5 divorces, however nothing was in the public domain as court records had been sealed. For me, that was red flag #1. His family had money going back 3 generations, along with substantial land holdings. There were even 2 senior politicians in the family. Red flag #2. He was on the boards of 3 children’s charities and donated over $1 million to them every year. At that time, my gut was telling me red flag #3 was waving. I wasn’t sure why!

He owned 17 other businesses apart from the real estate agency. There was only one that made big profits and that was a trucking company. Of the rest, 11 of them turned an average of 2% profit, 5 broke even but 1 was losing money hand over fist. I’m not even going to let you guess which that one was. Red flag #4.

I called Rick and before I could speak he said ‘the agency’? I said ‘yes’ and he replied “I’ll be there in a minute”. He walked in my office and closed the door. I knew then this was serious. In all our discussions about my marriage, there had never been a closed door.

He gave me the run down. The agency was turning over sales at an average of $1.7 million a month. Very healthy figures indeed. On paper, after commissions, average running costs and taxes, the profit is around $50 000 a month. But going by the bank accounts, it was losing $5000 a month.

The PI’s traced the money to a Cayman Island account where it disappeared. I looked at Rick and asked “Why would he steal his own money, or is he committing tax fraud?” Rick said that was the really weird part. There is no tax fraud because he pays taxes on the profits that are paid into the bank accounts, even though the money is transferred before taxes are due.

My gut was telling me to make this a priority, as it could influence my family. I told Rick this and he agreed but had no idea how to dig deeper. WOW! I finally had stumped the IT guru. I said to him it was his turn to ‘ask me no questions and I would tell him no lies’. I gave him a wink and said, “I know a guy!”

*****

A number of years ago, one of the guys I had worked with, Jake, had just been released from prison after 9 years for computer hacking. As they say, ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know”. I taught him how to work steel and wished him well when he left to set up his own business 2 states away. We had only talked twice since then, and the last time was 6 years ago.

I sent him a text from my throw away phone and 2 hours later he called me. We caught up for a few minutes before I told him if he was able, I required some of his old skills. I hated to ask, but didn’t know who else to speak with. He asked if I still had the mine, and when I said yes, he agreed to meet me there on the upcoming Tuesday. He advised me to leave my phone at home ‘Just in case’.

Before I went home, I told Rick I would need everything the PI’s had, including bank account numbers and any passwords for computers etc by Monday afternoon, and not to worry as I would not be touching any computers. He sighed with relief and said he would organize it.

Saturday afternoon, both kids came to me and asked if Jill and I were getting divorced. I told them I was 95% sure we would. With the amount of contempt she had shown all of us lately, I didn’t believe things could continue as they were. I warned them things could get a bit rough over the next few months, but we will work through it together.

Jill finally showed up Sunday afternoon. The first thing I told her was, she had to be home Tuesday night because I had to check a job a few hours away and she needed to be here for the kids. I wasn’t sure when I would be home. She just nodded, then went for a shower.

At 2am Tuesday morning, I headed off to meet Jake at the mine. I went a different way this time so no-one who knew my car would recognize it. Maybe I was being a bit too ‘James Bond’, but I just had a feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Jake was waiting for me when I arrived. He had already made coffee. I poured myself a cup and we caught up on our lives of the last few years. I explained everything that had happened so far as best I could. He seemed especially interested in the real estate agency and the trucking company. I also gave him 2 USB sticks and 4 CD’s that Rick had given me.

As we wrapped things up, he asked about the phone I had used to contact him. I told him it was a throw away and was still at home. He smiled and said it was good I was learning about technology now. He then handed me what he said was a secure phone and told me to smash the other one and melt any metal parts into a blob and throw it into a river. I didn’t ask why.

I decided to stay at the shack for the night. There was always plenty of tinned food there, so I wouldn’t starve. Nothing like a tin of spaghetti and meatballs heated over an open fire for a gourmet meal. After 2 cups of coffee in the morning, I headed for home. “Home”…….that was a concept that has been hard to reconcile lately at my house.

I arrived just after 2pm and hit the shower. Then had a bite to eat, grabbed my throw away phone and went to the shop. There, I had a game of phone verse 250tonne press. Guess what won! I fired up the small ‘smithy furnace and made my blob of metal. I would dispose of it later. I then went and showed Rick my new toy. He seemed impressed.

*****

The following Tuesday afternoon, Jake called me saying we urgently needed to meet. I asked him where and he said he was waiting at the front gate of the shop and to bring Rick with me. There was a woman sitting in the front, so we loaded into the rear seat of his car, then he drove to a rest area outside town. While we got out, Jake retrieved a picnic basket from the back and took it to the table and set it up.

The 4 of us sat around the table and Jake introduced us to Wendy as an acquaintance who knew a lot more than he did when it came to navigating the internet. Not only was it an eye-opening conversation, but another kick in the guts and knife in the back as well.

By following the trail that any good police technician could find, it appeared that I had been siphoning money from the real estate agency for 18 months, to the tune of just over $4 million so far. Before I could blow-up, Jake put his hand on my shoulder and told me he knew it wasn’t any of my doing. They believed Alistaire was setting me up to take a fall.

We put 2 and 2 together and came up with ‘IV’. (In house joke) Wendy believed that with the state of my marriage, it was going to be a way of either controlling me or at worst, getting me out of the way. Jake and Wendy had reviewed the videos of Jill and Alistaire and found Jill was complacent in the planning of my pending downfall.

Jake had been in contact with the 4 husbands who would help bankroll my legal action. It seems they all had a similar story. Wendy had dug deep into Alistaires background. She found that the family had disowned him 14 years ago because they were tired of the scandals he caused. Not only that, but they cut him off from his trust fund.

He already owned 3 successful businesses, including the trucking company, although it wasn’t a big money spinner at the time. About 12 months after being cut off, it hit the headlines that the husband of a female employee had been caught stealing money from one of his companys. The ensuing court case suddenly disappeared within a week.

Shortly after that, Alistaire started an import/export company. He built it into a good earner, but then sold it at an overinflated price to a company that no longer existed. It seemed to change ownership every 2 years since then. How bizarre!! Wendy could not find any trace of the previous owners, no matter how deep she dug.

I started to say that things were looking serious when Jake interrupted me by asking if I trusted his judgment. When I said I did, he said “That’s good, because Wendy and I have already started fixing things by removing any reference to you having anything to do with the misdirected money.” I thanked them profusely and said, “No questions – No lies?”. Jake just smirked.

At this point, I just wanted all this shit over with. Although I would love nothing better than taking Jill and Alistair down a few pegs, I would be happy to throw a few dollars away to have some peace and happiness back in my life. I was in no mood for a long, drawn out court case.

When I said this to the others, Wendy shook her head, saying she didn’t believe Alistaire would make it easy for me to divorce Jill. I said Alistaire has fuck-all to do with my divorce, it was between Jill and me. Wendy agreed with that but said that he had some kind of control over Jill. And after talking to the other husbands, she believed part of his psyche needed to put some hurt or humiliation on the husband.

I asked Wendy if I could use any of what she had found against him. She said no because it was obtained illegally. I said I didn’t give a fuck about legal, I just wanted him to stay out of my divorce. She said I might be able to bluff him into keeping out of it, but don’t hold my breath. That planted a seed of an idea in my head.

We threw around a few ideas on how to proceed. Nothing really earth shattering came up. Deciding to call it a day, Wendy and Jake promised to dig deeper into Alistaire’s background and keep me updated. We piled into the car and headed for the shop.

On the way back, I had a thought. I told Wendy about my obsession with old sayings, then asked her, keeping that in mind, where is the best place to hide something? She thought for a moment and slowly said, “In plain sight?”. I said, “Exactly!”. I went on to ask her what is the most public part of Alistaire’s life. She drew a blank. I quietly said the childrens charities. She agreed, saying that is the last place anyone would look for anything untoward.

She further told me her and her friends had already accessed his email but had mostly ignored anything to do with the charities. She promised to look closely at them and get back to me. I asked if she could print them out and courier them to me. She would make that a priority.

After Jake dropped us off, Rick and I went to my office and I pulled out the Johnny Walker bottle I kept for emergency’s. As I poured 2 glasses, I said to Rick “What the hell has Jill gotten us into?” Rick replied that he wasn’t sure he wanted to know. I knew how he felt.

*****

I decided it was time to get this shit show on the road. I asked a few of my guys who had recently divorced, if they could recommend anyone to represent me. Two of them gave me the same name of someone their wives had used. I called and made an appointment for the coming Monday morning. I spent the rest of that week collecting the information the solicitor requested.

I met with Peter Parker Esq at 9am Monday. Gave him a basic rundown of my situation and Jill’s affair with her boss. He seemed very interested and reminded me this is a no-fault country but would be happy to file under adultery. That was until I said the name Alistaire Walsh. I have heard of the term ‘the color draining from someone’s face’, now I watched it happen.

He turned a deathly shade of white and broke out in a heavy sweat. Then he regathered his wits and told me he was sorry but he couldn’t represent me. Gathering up my documents, he handed them to me and quickly ushered me from his office with no further explanation apart from there would be no charge for this consultation.

I sat in my car and wondered what the fuck was that all about. He looked terrified. I called Rick and told him to drop anything he was doing and meet me at the café. He asked what was going on. I said I would explain when we met. I then drove to the café with my head spinning.

By the time I arrived, Rick already had a booth and a coffee waiting for me in a corner where we could have some privacy. After I downed half my coffee, I explained to Rick what happened. He reiterated with; he now really did not want to know. I could only agree with him, but was stuck in the middle of it all now.

When we finished our drinks, Rick went back to the office and I thought it would be prudent to give Jake a heads-up about what happened. I retrieved the secure phone from under the back seat of my car and hit speed dial #1. When he answered, I told him I had some disturbing information. He asked where I was now and when I told him, he said to drive back to the rest area, sit at the table, then call him again.

When he answered the second time, my curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask why I was sitting here. He replied that if I couldn’t see anyone from where I sat, a parabolic microphone wouldn’t pick up any conversation I had. I quickly looked around and noticed it was a very large barren area with only half a dozen thin trees dotted around. I didn’t bother asking any further questions.

I filled Jake in about what happened with the solicitor. He said it sounded like old Alistaire needed careful handling. He then had me give him the details of the solicitor so they could check into his background as well. Maybe he had previous dealings with Alistaire and could provide a lead. I started my search for another solicitor.

Well, it seems word travels fast in the legal community. In the next 3 hours and after calling 9 solicitors, not one of them would take my case once I told them my name. By nature, I am a very curious creature. This twist had increased my curiosity 10-fold. I know that curiosity killed the cat, but I still had my 9 lives and no intention of losing any yet. One way or another, I would find out what the story was with Alistaire-fucking-Walsh.

Due to the fact that our local legal fraternity steered away from my case, I knew whatever I found would not be good. I would give Wendy and Jake another 2 days to come up with something and if they didn’t, I would be forced to call someone I hadn’t associated with for the last 37 years to ask for help. It would be one of the hardest things for me to do.

The next morning, Alice brought me a coffee. I thanked her and continued with what I was doing. A couple of minutes later, I looked up and she was sitting, just watching me. When I was a kid, I loved nothing more than a staring contest with cats. I usually won. So I sat back and stared into her eyes. I have to admit, she was damn good. Just after the 3 minute mark, when I was about cave in, she suddenly stood up and said, “You’re a fucking arsehole!”, then stormed out of my office.

I’m the first to admit I know nothing about how or why women think the way they do. But what the fuck just happened?! 30 seconds later, I heard the front office door slam shut and by the time I got there, Alice’s car was speeding out of the car park.

Rick calmly strolled from his office saying, “She seems a little upset, doesn’t she?”. Understatement of the year I thought. He then asked me what I did to piss her off. I said I had no idea then proceeded to fill him in on what transpired in the office. He reiterated that I really had no idea and wondered how I had survived so long on this planet. He insisted we have lunch at the pub while he tried to educate me a little about the female of the species.

After we ate, Rick explained how Alice was waiting for me to tell her about my marital problems and was upset because everyone else at work had been told except her. I started saying how she had enough on her plate with a busy office and a child of her own to look after, when he stopped me in my tracks with, “You do know she is totally in love with you, don’t you?!”

Talk about being blindsided. I don’t think I breathed for the next 2 minutes. Next thing I hear is Rick saying, “I didn’t think you would know that, even though everyone else at work could see it.” I stammered out, “But…But… the two of you have been in a relationship for a while now and..” that was as far as I got when Rick burst out laughing.

He had tears in his eyes and could hardly get a breath. When he calmed down, he asked where I got that idea from. I explained about seeing them in intimate moments over the last few months and how happy I was for them. He explained that he and Alice were discussing wedding plans, for his and his partner Davids wedding coming up next year.

Blindsided and not breathing again. This conversation is getting detrimental to my health. But Rick was right. I might have a high IQ, but how the fuck did I survive on this planet being so stupid? He went on to tell me they wanted a female perspective in the wedding ceremony and Alice gave them great advice, so they kept asking her.

I apologized for not being aware of his situation and how it didn’t change our relationship in any way. He replied that he thought I already knew and being the nonjudgmental type of person I am, believed I was being honest. I then told him if anyone at work had a problem with him being gay, to let me know and they would be out the gate in less than a minute. He said everyone already knew and had no problems.

As we returned to work, I saw Alice’s car back in the car park, so quickly detoured to the florist’s and purchased the nicest bouquet that Rick could find. No way I trusted my judgment in that department. I also picked up a gift card for a day spa. Hopefully groveling would work.

When we got to the office, I sent Rick in first to make sure all was calm. I may be stupid, but I am not suicidal. I quietly entered after Rick, holding my bribes in front of me. I don’t know if it was the bribes or something Rick said to her, but Alice placed the bribes on her desk and grabbed me in a fierce hug. I couldn’t breathe again and was waiting for ribs to start cracking. I had to tap out to get her to release me.

Neither of us noticed Rick leaving. We both apologized, and when I explained what I thought about her and Rick, she thought it as hilarious as Rick did. At least it cheered her up. I didn’t know how to bring up about her feelings for me.

Alice took it upon herself to explain her feelings about me. She was embarrassed at first, but soon gained confidence with what she told me. I turned red with embarrassment as I realized I had similar feelings for her. When I told her, I said that because I was still married, we couldn’t act on them until everything was finalized with my divorce. She wholeheartedly agreed. With that all sorted, we got to the business of running a workshop and making lots of money.

Late that afternoon, I got a call from Jake. He commented on my struggle to find a solicitor. When I asked him how he knew that, all he said was a little birdie told him. He then gave me a name and phone number and said to call my new solicitor tomorrow morning. My call was expected.

At 9.03am the next morning, I was making an appointment with the receptionist of James T Kirk, Esq, family law specialist. I was asked if I could make it to the office by 11am and when I said I could, I was reminded what information I needed to bring with me. When I disconnected the call, Alice walked in with a small bundle of paperwork, saying it was what I needed to take with me to the solicitors. I didn’t bother asking.

I arrived at the solicitors 10 minutes before my appointment time but was ushered straight into James Kirks office where he was waiting for me. After the introductions, we got straight to business. He explained he had already been brought up to speed by Jake and Wendy and after reviewing the recordings they had, reiterated they could not be used in court.

He then told me we would have to make 3 or 4 strategies on how to proceed with the divorce. When I asked why, he said it would all depend on Jill’s reaction when she was served. If she fought it, she could drag it out for months. The biggest hurdle would be the kids because most judges awarded the wife custody.

He suggested I file for irreconcilable differences, as it would be the quickest and cleanest option. It was also the best chance I had of keeping the kids with me. When I said I wanted to put some hurt on Alistaire, he advised to sort out the divorce first, otherwise I would just look vindictive, which would not hold me in good stead with any judge.

We went over a dozen or so more details until our first strategy was finalized. When that was done, his receptionist, who was also his paralegal had it all typed up and I spent 20 minutes signing where I was told as we read through the documents. I just had to trust Jakes judgement, as I had no idea what I signed. Way too much legalese for me.

The last thing James asked me was where and when I wanted Jill served. I asked if it really mattered. He suggested that since I didn’t want a restraining order on Jill to keep her away from the house and kids, that late Friday afternoon, at her work, would be best. That way, she couldn’t serve one on me before Monday afternoon. He knew more about this stuff than I did, so I readily agreed.

As I left his office, it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I got in my car to drive back to the shop and was hit with a great sadness. For the first time since my grandad passed away when I was 19, I cried… I cried for the loss of what I believed was a great 20 year marriage. I cried for the uncertain future of my children. I cried for feeling like I failed to protect my family, even though logically I knew it wasn’t my fault.

I eventually calmed down and drove back to work. When I arrived, I headed into the shop to see if there were any problems. None that the guys couldn’t handle. This current job was about a month ahead of schedule and would give us a very generous bonus. If the guys finished the next 3 jobs by December 5th, each of them would be getting a $10,000 Xmas bonus this year.

When I entered the office, Alice gave me messages from 4 of our regular clients wanting job quotes. She then asked how things went. I told her to get Rick and meet in my office. When they got there, I gave them a rundown of how things were going to happen. Both Alice and Rick seemed surprised about the no restraining order. I explained no matter what she had done, she was still the mother of my children, and as such, I couldn’t just put her on the street with nothing, despite what I felt.

Alice had a tear sliding down her face as she said, “You are one hell of a better man than she ever deserved!”, then left my office. Rick on the other hand just mumbled, “I hope this doesn’t come back and bite your arse!”. I flipped him the bird as he left. Today was Tuesday, only 3 more days until my marriage officially started heading down the drain.

*****

Just before lunch on Friday, Rick and Alice came into my office and Alice said, “Stop whatever you’re doing, we are taking you to lunch and don’t even think about arguing. We are sick and tired of your moping around here all morning and we are not going to put up with it anymore. Let’s go!” I could never argue with Alice when she was in one of these moods, not that I really wanted too just now anyway.

By the time we finished lunch, 2 hours had passed. I was just about to stand to leave, when a shadow fell across our table. I turned my head and followed the lines of his body up, and up, and up, across the rock hard chest, over the solid forearms and biceps that stretched his shirt at the seams, around the broad shoulders, through the 5 o’clock shadow on his chiseled jawline, all the way to the top of his 6foot 4inch bald head. I leaned back into my chair, then lowered my gaze to look into his dark, almost soul-less eyes and said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

In his incredibly deep, baritone voice, he quietly replied, “I heard you have a problem and may need my help!” I noticed both Alice and Rick shudder with what I believed was arousal at the sound of his words. Even after 37 years, this man still intimated me but there was no way I was going to bow down to him anymore. These days, I had confidence in myself.

I said to no-one in particular, but directed at him, “I suppose you wouldn’t leave if I asked you to, so you better pull up a chair.” He looked at me in surprise and sat next to Alice on the opposite side of the table from me. They both looked to me expectantly. I let them ponder a few minutes then said, “Rick, Alice, meet Paul, my brother.” Paul shook their hands and said it was good to meet them as well.

I had never told Alice or Rick I had a brother, so they were speechless. I guess it was a bit of a shock to them as they knew about the rest of my family. Paul asked if there was somewhere safe we could talk. Alice broke in saying we had a secure room back at the workshop that should work. I nodded to Paul in agreement, so we all left the pub. Rick decided to travel with Paul. I didn’t ask why..

In the car, Alice started grilling me about Paul. When I stopped at a red light, I turned and looked her dead in the eyes and said in a low growl, “JUST DON’T”. That shocked her into silence. I wanted nothing more than to avoid this conversation, but if I couldn’t, it certainly would not be had whilst driving along in a car and it would be at a time of MY choosing, no-one else’s.

We parked the vehicles at the rear of the shop, next to Alice’s secure store room. As we walked to the entrance, Paul looked closely along the outside walls. When Alice opened the door, he checked the door frame, then entered and inspected the interior. He took note of the climate control system and adjusted it up by 4 degrees.

Alice re-adjusted them back down and looked up at him and told him not to fuck with her stuff. Paul took a step back, then apologized, saying he thought we might be more comfortable at the higher setting. Alice glared at him saying this room was built for a purpose, not for comfort. He then said whoever designed the room had done a good job of it and wished to meet them someday.

I told them to wait there. I returned with Joe and introduced him to Paul, saying meet the designer. I heard Paul ask about materials used and why. Joe said the materials were whatever was laying around the yard at the time. Paul then asked where the specifications came from, and Joe pointed to Alice and said, “Ask the boss.”

At this point, I started seeing an orange flag waving at me. I butted into their conversation by thanking Joe for his time. He took the hint and went back to work. As he left, I mouthed ‘Thank you’ and he gave a quick nod in acknowledgment.

I closed the door, turned to Paul and said in an accusatory tone, “So why the 20 questions?” He looked at Rick and Alice, then to me he said, “Do you trust these people with your life?” I asked, “Why?” He said, “Just answer me!” When I said I did, he stated to the 3 of us that he needed our agreement, that whatever we discussed here never left this room. I started laughing at him, until I realized he wasn’t laughing along with me.

With a serious face, he pulled out his phone saying he required video from each of us, stating any information we received here today would remain ‘In Confidence’ until we were informed otherwise by him, in person only.

After the videos were done with, Paul stated to me, “You know what I do for a living…” but before he could continue, I broke in saying, “I have absolutely no idea what you do, and nor do the rest of the family! All we know is, you joined the Army when you turned 18 and are still there!”

He had a perturbed look on his face when he next spoke. He then reiterated that what was said here MUST remain confidential. We all agreed again. He went on to explain that he was officially known in the Army as “Major General Paul O’Brian”. I knew from my years of reading anything that was even slightly interesting, that meant he was only 2 steps away from being in command of all 3 of the Australian Armed Forces.

I didn’t miss the reference with his surname, and neither did Alice. She asked him about it and he deferred by saying that if I hadn’t already told them, then it wasn’t his place to discuss it. There was no way Alice would let something like this go easily. “We didn’t even know he had a brother, let alone you having a different surname!” she almost yelled. He stood a little straighter as he said to her in what I took to be his ‘Generals voice’, “Not open for discussion!”. That stopped any further enquiry, for now at least.

Paul gave us a brief outline of what he did. He commanded a unit in the Intelligence Section that covertly investigated any and all threats to our country. They then took the necessary actions to ensure our country’s security. None of us asked, but I think we all knew what was implied with that last sentence.

Later, in private, he confirmed this to me, but also said that if the “wrong circumstances” presented themselves, he could take command of any, and all Australian Armed Forces. He hoped like hell that day never came, because if it did, that meant he had failed in his job. He also explained to me, he had taken that surname to protect the family from any association with him if things went bad. That explained itself.

So back in our secure storeroom, I explained about the divorce and how I had friends looking into things for me. He smiled and said he already knew about my friends and their inquiries. That was how he knew I had a problem in the first place. He apologized, then explained he had flagged the names of everyone in our family just in case there were any problems.

He commented that Jake and Wendy are good, but didn’t have the resources he has at his disposal. Then with a serious face he said they had left a small trail, but his crew had been able to cover most of it. Paul asked if I wanted him to have a look into Alistair Walsh’s background. I simply said. “You already had a peek, and how could I stop you anyway?”. He was dumbfounded. Then I explained that he already knew his name without me mentioning it, so he already knew who he was.

Rick and Alice hung back, just taking all this in until it suddenly dawned on Rick that Paul mentioned Jake and Wendy by their names. Rick said, “Shit, I’m going to have to let them know they have been outed!” Paul calmly said, “Nah, don’t worry about it. They only do hacking for good things. We’re happy to let them be. But you could let them know they should be a bit more careful.” Rick said he would pass that information on.

I sensed our little meeting was drawing to a close, so I asked Paul where he was planning on staying, mentioning there was a spare bed at home if he wanted it and we needed to talk. He replied he thought it best if no-one knew he was here for the time being.

Alice and Rick said their goodbyes and headed to the office. I walked Paul to his car. Reaching out to shake his hand, I noticed the smallest of tears slide down his cheek as he grabbed me in a crushing brotherly hug. He agreed that we DO need to talk, but first we needed to sort out this shit. I was starting to like the sound of “We”.

I had decided it might be prudent not to have the kids around for the confrontation I knew was coming. I called my parents and explained about Jill being served that afternoon and asked if they would look after the kids for the weekend. They decided to take them to their beach house for a couple of days. I knocked off for the week and went home.

By the time the kids got home from school, Mum and Dad were waiting for them. As soon as they saw their grandparents, the kids hugged them excitedly, knowing something was up. Almost before I got the words out about them spending the weekend at the beach, they were upstairs packing their bags.

When they came back down, I barely got a goodbye hug and kiss and they were out the door. Dad decided he needed a drink and went to the kitchen. When he came back near the front door, there was 2 agitated kids waiting for him. So he decided he then needed a pee before the long 1 hour drive ahead.

You could almost see the steam coming from the kids ears. Dad headed for the car, but Mum decided it was appropriate for her to use the toilet as well. The kids did eventually realize they were being played and decided to sit quietly until everyone was ready. I wonder where I got my sense of humor??!!

When everyone had left, I sat in my chair in the lounge room and contemplated what was to come. It was the fun times, like what just happened, that would become few and far between. They were a big part of what I believed made up a happy family life. There was no way to avoid some disruption for the kids, but I would do my best minimize it.

It was 4.03pm when I knew Jill had been served with the divorce papers. How did I know? My phone started ringing and didn’t stop for the next 30 minutes. Then the text messages started. I read and deleted them all until I received a very interesting message from Alistaire Walsh himself. It came across as more a threat than a message.

He said that if I continued with the divorce, it would not only become very painful for me and very unprofitable for my business, but it could have dire consequences for my children.

As far as I was concerned, Alistaire Walsh had just signed his own death warrant. If someone wanted to come after me personally, then fine, bring it on. If they wanted to put me out of business, then do your worst. I may be a pacifist, but threaten my children in any way, shape or form, then all bets are off.

I composed a return message explaining how his remaining days on this mortal plain were now limited, but decided not to send it. Why should I give him any warning of my plans? I thought it would serve me better to have him thinking I was cowering from him, so I sent him a plea to not harm my kids. He replied with laughing emojis.

There was a knock on my back door and when I looked out, there was Paul waiting for me to let him in. I opened the door and he went straight to making us a coffee each. While we waited, he said to me, “How serious do you think Alistaire was with the threat to Belinda and Allan?” I just looked at him dumbfounded. It had been less than 5 minutes since I received that text, but Paul already knew.

He told me his department had cloned Alistaire’s phone 3 months ago and he had been receiving immediate updates for the last month. He brought our coffee’s to the table and said this was the time for us to talk. He started by apologizing for the way he treated me when we were younger. He thought at the time that was how big brothers acted. It was only after he joined the army he realized it was wrong.

Three hours later we had decided to let any animosity we had go. It was a conversation I never thought would happen. It was now after 8pm, and hunger had set in. I ordered a couple of pizzas then realized Jill hadn’t come home. When I mentioned this to Paul, he pulled out his phone and made a call. When he hung up, he told me Jill was at Alistaire’s house. I didn’t bother asking how he knew that.

After we had eaten, I talked Paul into staying the night. He gave me a smirk and said, “I was hoping you would ask that”, as he reached out the back door and picked up a full duffel bag. I shook my head and told him he could use the master bedroom or Allans room tonight. He said he would take the couch as it looked very comfortable. I just said, “It’s your back” while he got a change of clothes and headed for the shower.

Considering all that happened the previous day, I slept well that night. I was woken the next morning by the smell of breakfast. I looked at the clock and it was only 5.15am. I was forced out of bed by my bladder, so I continued on into the kitchen, where I found a plate of bacon, eggs, sausages, grilled tomato and toast waiting for me, along with coffee. Paul had already devoured half of his.

After we ate and the kitchen was clean, we sat and Paul asked what I was planning to do about the situation. Without hesitation, I replied, “I’m going to kill the cunt. He threatened my children!” My voice was cold and determined. Paul shook his head and said, “That’s easier said than done. He’s a nasty piece of work.”

Paul went on to explain that our Alistaire Walsh was not only into fucking married women, but also money laundering for the mob; drug running for the cartels; slave trading for the sex trade as well child trafficking for the elites. I asked Paul how was he not in jail, and he said Alistaire Walsh ‘owned’ a number of politicians and judges as well as more than a few senior federal and state police.

I guess that’s why I had trouble finding a solicitor for my divorce. When I asked Paul why he hadn’t arrested him, he said their hands were tied because it wasn’t a national security issue as described in the legislation covering his department. It was classed as a domestic issue, even though it involved overseas interests. As I sat there contemplating, Paul looked at me.

Then I twigged to what was happening. The method had changed but the outcome was the same. He was still bullying me. This time I decided to use it to my advantage. He wanted to intimidate me into something but this time it would cost him. I knew where my destiny lay, but I required assistance to get there. Paul was going to give me that assistance. I just had to figure a way to manipulate him into giving me what I needed.

I asked him what his plans were for the near future and he told me he had taken annual leave for the next month, so he could help me sort out my problem with Alistaire Walsh. I looked at him and said, “You are full of shit! What do you really want?” He said he really wanted to be the big brother he should have been when we were growing up. I didn’t fully believe him but decided to push the issue a bit.

I said to him, “I’m more than willing to go all in on this, but there are things I will need…”. At that, Paul butted in with, “I’ll help with anything you want.” I pushed further… “I’m going to need ways to defend myself and take him down.” Paul’s expression hardened as he asked what I meant by that. I told him I would need a couple of hours to work out exactly what I wanted and would give him a list later in the day. He didn’t look too pleased with my request.

I decided to call our parents and ask them to keep the kids with them at their beach house for a while and why. I asked Paul if he wanted to speak with them and agreed to a quick hello. When Dad answered, he said they already knew of our marital problems from the kids. I gave them a very vanilla description of Alistaire Walsh and what I was up against. Dad and Mum understood and agreed to keep the kids with them until I came to pick them up. I then handed the phone to Paul, and he had a 3 minute conversation with them. It didn’t seem very friendly.

I knew then, that people had been keeping secrets from me for far too long. The other thing I knew was, that the only way two people could keep a long term secret, was if one of them was dead! But finding out what it was is for another time. I had more pressing things to take care of for now.

I went into my home office and started working on a plan to take care of one Alistaire Walsh and hopefully stay out of prison and/or alive. Many years ago, I had read Sun Tzu’s ‘Art of War’ and thought he had many great ideas. One of them was to fight your enemy where he’s not. Being a person who thought outside the box, I decided to turn that around and have him fight me where I was not. I had my plan, now to put it in motion!

I made a list and presented it to Paul. He laughed and said I was mad. There was no way he could get me everything I wanted. Even if he could get it, there was no chance of meeting the deadline I had set. I admitted it was tight, but I needed this resolved quickly as I had other things to take care of, sooner rather than later. I told him we would see if he was good enough to look after the country’s security by how well he accomplished filling my requests. I knew that would hit him in his masculinity…

Paul asked me what I was planning to do. I told him there were a few different parts to it. Firstly, I had to get Jill away from Alistaire so he couldn’t use her as a weapon against me. Before Paul could say anything, I went on to explain that there was no way her and I would ever be a couple again, but as she was the mother of my children, I was obligated to ensure her safety.

Secondly, I had to ensure all my employees were safe. That was why I required the 20 F88 Austeyr rifles and the 25 Mark 3 9mm pistols with ammunition so they could defend themselves. He complained that half of them were ex criminals and I said that shouldn’t be a problem as they knew how to keep their mouths shut.

I spent the rest of the day refining my plans, especially how to get Jill away from Alistaire. While I was doing that, I could hear Paul on his phone. He sounded like he was making a genuine effort to acquire my supplies. Just to be sure, I started on my plan E. I already had plans B through D sorted.

When Paul finished talking, he gave me a rundown of what he could get. He could only acquire 15 rifles and 10 pistols, and they would be here in 2 days. I looked totally forlorn on the outside, but inside I was ecstatic. I expected him to tell me he couldn’t get anything. I made a big show of being eternally grateful.

He then apologized, saying that he could only get 5kg of C4 but it will take until Friday to arrive. That threw me off balance for a few seconds because I only added 20kg of C4 to the list as a joke. Maybe he really was trying to change. This new twist needed a plan F.

After dinner that night, Paul said he was leaving early to go and pick up my items and would be back Tuesday morning. He joked that if he saw anything he thought I might need, like a couple of RPG’s, he would throw them in as well. When I went to bed that night, plan F started to expand…!!

When I woke Monday morning, Paul had already left. I went into work and called everyone together. I knew and trusted all these people well, so I didn’t hold back anything. The general consensus was they would defend the business from any threat. When I told them about the weapons that were coming, they laughed and said they could do a lot better themselves. I didn’t doubt that.

When I casually asked if anyone knew how to use C4, it went deathly quiet, apart from a “Fuck Yeah!” from somewhere in the back. Everyone turned to look at Arthur. I waved him forward and asked if he really knew how to use it. He nodded and said nervously, “Yes boss, I do.” I understood that most of my guys had something they wanted to keep private, so I told him to come and see me after lunch and we would talk further.

I need to describe Arthur. He was only just over 4 feet tall and weighed no more than around 38kg. He made a jockey look like a giant. I knew he was 58 years old but looked about 75. If you saw him walking along the street, you wouldn’t even give him a second look. He had spent 13 years inside for the attempted murder of his former boss, who had an affair with his wife. I had never asked any of my guys for details of their former lives. If they wanted to share, I would listen but not judge. Afterall, this was their fresh start.

When Arthur showed up, I told him to close the door if he wished and take a seat. He left it open saying he had nothing to hide anymore. He told me that when he found out about his wife’s affair, he had been working in the mines as a powder monkey for 18 years. Before that he had spent 6 years in the army learning demolition.

He decided to kill his boss the best way he knew how. By blowing him up. Arthur laid charges in his house, car, boat, gym and office. He had no intension of missing. Luckily for Arthur, and many other people, he was spotted on a security camera setting the charges in the office. When he was arrested, he told the police everything he had done and why. He wasn’t really a bad man, he just lost the plot for a while. I could sympathize with him on that.

He asked me what he could do for me and I told him I just needed to quickly learn how to place and set off the C4 to the best effect. Shaking his head, he said he could teach me how to set it off in 2 minutes, but where to place it takes years to learn. I told him I didn’t want to risk anyone but me going to jail if things went to shit.

Arthur then got up and closed the door and sat back down. He looked at me and said, “I wasn’t going to say anything until we finished these contracts, but I will be leaving here when they are done. The doctors diagnosed me with Black Lung Disease from my time in the mines and gave me no more than 12 months to live. I have no family to mourn for me when I go, and I don’t want to die gasping for breath. It would please me no end to go out in a blaze of glory while helping one of the very few people I call a true friend.” He stood and went and opened the door, then turned back to me and said, “Just let me know what you need done and when.” Then he went back to work.

I sat there stunned. Here I was feeling sorry for myself, when one of my best workers knew he only had a very limited time left to live. I decided to honor Arthur’s wish and set about refining my plans. I called Paul and told him I needed all the information he could give me on Alistaire. He asked me why I wanted that, and I said it’s better if he didn’t know. For some reason he never pushed the issue. That made me suspicious, but I don’t know why.

I also asked him to have a think of a way to get Jill away from Alistaire. I mentioned that kidnapping was not out of the question and if he knew anyone with experience in that area to give them a call. We disconnected and I pulled out my notebook with my various plans. I’m a dinosaur remember, and at least this way, there is no electronic trail left behind. All I have to do is throw it in our furnace to remove any evidence.

By the end of the day, I had my plans to a point of what outcomes I wanted. The fine details of how to get there were still open, although I had a few ideas that to most people would seem out there. I took Sun Tzu’s ideas to a different level. I went and spoke with Arthur and gave him a rundown of what I wanted. He would take tomorrow off and start working on a plan and what he needed.

I then walked over to Joe and asked him to make some secure areas in case bullets started to fly. He then pointed out 8 solid steel ‘bunkers’ placed around the workshop and said, “Already on it boss!” I went and had a look at the nearest one. It was made from 25mm thick steel with a door that could be locked from the inside. There was room for at least 6 people.

I noticed there was already a couple of weapons inside. I said to Joe that they didn’t lose any time getting organized, and he said that Alice spoke with everyone earlier. Smart girl that Alice. I asked Joe about something for the office and he told me they were making a doorway straight into the secure room for that. I don’t know why I bother to even be here half the time. I decided it was time I headed home. I called ahead for a Chinese meal to be delivered in 2 hours.

When I arrived home, I had a shower and just poured myself a beer when the doorbell rang. That’s all I remember until I heard the ‘Beep’ ‘Beep’ ‘Beep’ near my head. As I slowly opened my one good eye, I knew where I was by the pain and sterile smell. When I groaned, a very pretty nurse appeared in my line of vision and asked how I was feeling. I just groaned again!

Her name tag read ‘Nicole’ and she informed me the police were waiting to ask me a few questions if I was up to it. I quietly said no and asked her if my phone was here. Nicole had a look in the bag my clothes were in and found it. As she handed it to me she said, “Pretend to be asleep until I close the door.” When Nicole opened the door, two policemen tried to enter. She pushed them back out saying that I was asleep and still needed a lot of rest. I really liked Nicole.

I scrolled through me phone until I came to James T Kirks number and pressed dial. When I identified myself to his receptionist, she told me they were expecting my call and put me through. James answered and said he heard what happened and asked how I was feeling. I told him I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I asked him how he knew what happened when I didn’t even know. He just said, “I have my ways. That’s why you hired me.”

I told him about how the police seemed over eager to question me, but that I don’t remember anything after I opened the door. He said not to worry about the police, he would take care of them. Just then a doctor came in, so I told James I would call him later. The doctor went on to inform me of my injuries. A fractured eye socket was the worst of the list. Two dislocated fingers and a bruised rib the other main ones. A few bruises and minor cuts rounded out the list.

It seems my food delivery interrupted what could have been something very serious. I asked the doctor how soon I could leave and he said I should be able to go home in about 3 days if all went well. That wouldn’t suit my plans at all, but I remained calm and asked if there was any chance of getting something to eat seeing how I missed dinner. He looked at his watch and said the kitchen closed an hour ago, but he would see what he could do.

When he opened the door to leave, the two police officers tried to push past him. With a block that would make a Rugby player proud, the doctor stopped them. I just said to let them in so we could get it over with. The police stepped back to let him out and as he passed he told them they had 10 minutes and gave me a wink.

They came to my bed and started with the questions. I held up my hand to stop them and when they were quiet, I set the timer on my phone. This seemed to piss them off somewhat and the questions started again. I honestly tried to speak but they never gave me a chance. At the 6 minute mark, I pointed to my phone until they went quiet. I then simply said to them, “Any questions will be answered through my solicitor.” Then the threats started. I would be charged with hindering an investigation and failure to comply with a lawful direction were just 2 of the many they quoted.

The phone timer went off and I pointed to the door. They never moved, so I pressed the nurse call button. In less than 3 seconds, Paul and two others, wearing military dress uniforms with lots of brass and medals appeared and told the police to leave immediately. They refused until two big, burly military police came through the door and suggested it would in the best interests of their ongoing health to comply.

After those 4 left, Paul said it was time to let him know of my plans. I glanced at the others in the room and I told him it was not the time nor place to share that information. Besides that, you can’t be involved in what’s going to happen. Paul shook his head and said, “I’m already way more involved than you realize. Oh, and you don’t have to worry about these guys. Let’s just say they are my numbers 1 and 2. I trust them with my life.”

I told Paul I would fill him in just as soon I got out of here. He said, “That’s good because I have an ambulance waiting downstairs for you!” Paul told #1 to find the doctor and bring him to my room. Shortly after, the doctor entered, saw Paul and quickly snapped to attention. Paul just said, “At ease. You’re a reservist?” The doctor replied, “Yes Sir.” Paul told the doctor to relax and ignore the uniform. It was just for effect.

He said to the doctor that he needed to get me out of here ASAP for my own safety. He also explained there was an ambulance and medical team waiting in the basement. The doctor looked at me and asked if I was ok with this. I replied, “I think I can trust my brother to look after me for a while.” He seemed taken aback at this, but recovered quickly, saying he would organize everything immediately. Paul told him to be discrete for security reasons.

When we got to the basement, there was an army ambulance and medical team waiting. As they loaded my gurney, I asked Paul where we were headed. He just said he had a secure site available that was 30 minutes away. I told him I needed to check in at the workshop and he said they knew what had happened and he dropped the supplies off there earlier. He also told me #2 was headed there to ensure everything was secure.

We arrived at a nondescript warehouse and drove in when the door opened. Inside was just an empty space with a few wooden crates and what looked like an office area. I was wheeled into the office where a bed was set-up. I insisted to get myself on the bed. Apart from the pain in my ribs I could move reasonably well considering. The doctor asked if I wanted pain relief and I eagerly accepted.

Paul waited until I was settled then had me explain what I had planned. Before I spoke, I quickly looked around and realized there were 7 others in the room. If I added in #2, that made 8 more people involved. This was getting out of hand. Paul knew what I was thinking and said, “Don’t worry. I hand picked everyone here and I can guarantee each and every one of them is trustworthy.”

I gave them a basic outline of the first half of my plan. The one called Smith said it seemed solid, but what did I have planned if Walsh came after me. I lied and said I still had to work on that part. Paul told Smith and the one called Jones to start on a plan for that eventuality. I then asked Paul if he had the info on Walsh I wanted, especially his finances. When he asked why I wanted that, I simply replied, “It’ always about the money. Follow that and you’ll get where you need to be.”

I also told him I wanted to speak with Jake and Wendy. He looked at me for a few seconds and said that sounded like a good idea because he wanted to have a chat with them too. He quickly followed up with, “It’s all good. I want to make them an offer to work with us in the future if they are interested.” I called Jake and explained the situation. He was skeptical until I assured him they could back out at any time. Jake agreed to come by the warehouse after dark that night, just to check things out.

I was getting restless laying in bed, so I slowly got up and wandered around. I worked my way over to the crates I had spotted earlier and gently lifted the lid of one. I was rather surprised at what I saw. Along with some RPG’s and what I believed were rocket launches, was a large number of anti-personnel mines. I closed that crate and looked in the next one. There I found rifles and grenades.

Before I could move to the next crate, Paul stood beside me blocking my path. I looked him in the eye and asked, “What the fuck?” Paul replied, “You know he’s one bad motherfucker, don’t you?” When I nodded ‘Yes’, he just patted me on the shoulder and went back to the others. I was starting to think maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew.

I wandered over to the group and said to Paul that we needed to make sure Mum, Dad and the kids were somewhere safe. Paul said that was being taken care of as we speak. Just then my phone rang with a call from Dad. When I answered, he asked me what was going on. There had been two goons following them around for the last 3 hours.

I told Dad I was putting him on speaker and to describe the goons. When he did, Paul nodded they were his guys. I gave the phone to Paul and told him to explain it all to Mum and Dad. I overheard Paul saying his guys were there to take them and the kids to a safe house until all this was over. I didn’t hear any more of their conversation as I had gone back to investigate the crates some more.

Looking in the next crate, I found camouflage clothing along with night vision goggles. The last two crates were the smallest, at only about half a cubic meter each in size, but what they contained was the biggest surprise. I saw Paul watching me with a huge grin on his face as I opened them. I just wondered how much damage you could do with a cubic meter of C4 explosive…

I wandered over to the rest of the group and asked if anyone had an idea of how to get Jill away from Walsh. After a few murmurs, #1 said the quickest and easiest way is to just kidnap her. Everyone seemed to agree with his assessment, so I said, “Let’s make that happen, and soon please!” They all had smiles on their faces at that.

Paul had finished talking to our parents, so I asked him about the C4. He said, “I told you I could get 4 kilos”, then winked at me. I took that to mean it was 400 kg’s. Turning serious, I said to him, “We need to talk.” He agreed adding, “There are still too many secrets between us that need to be aired.”

I went and laid back on the bed, while Paul pulled a chair up and sat next to me. He started with, “Although you don’t realize it, I know you better than you think. You said you still have to work out the rest of your plan, but I know you already had the whole thing in your head when we first talked. I’m guilty of holding back as well. When I said we couldn’t be involved, the truth was we couldn’t be SEEN to be involved.”

“I have to admit, I have used your situation to our advantage, and for that I would like to apologize, but sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. With Walsh being involved with so many overseas officials, having anything that happens to him looking like a domestic situation works in our favor.”

“I am authorized to use any resources we require, as long as they can’t be traced to this endeavor. That’s all I can think of for now that I haven’t told you but if something else comes up, I will update you. Now it’s your turn. Spill it.”

So I proceeded to fill him in on my plans. He knew about the workshop from when he dropped off the weapons and approved of what was set up there. Even though he was still concerned about my guys history’s. When I explained what I had Arthur setting up, his eyes widened. He stopped me and told the others to come and listen in. I repeated what I said and they all thought I was insane.

When they said that, I knew for sure my plan would work. It was so far out there, no-one could possibly defend against it. I still don’t know why I didn’t tell Paul about Arthur’s medical condition and how he was prepared to sacrifice himself for the cause.

Just after 8pm Jake showed up, so we went in the office to discuss what I wanted. I had Paul give Jake all the financial information he had. When Paul asked why I wanted that, I replied, “The only thing Walsh really cares about is the money. Everything else is just to stroke his ego. If I can control his money, I can influence what he does.” Paul mumbled, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” I smiled and said, “That’s the beauty of it all. I have no idea what I’m doing, so no-one else could possibly figure it out.”

After Jake left, we all had something to eat, then bunked down for the night. I woke at 6am and the warehouse was already a hive of activity. Sometime during the night 3 vans had shown up. One had a plumbing business painted on the sides. Another had an electrical business sign and the last was a hire company.

Everyone was busy checking the weapons and loading the first two vans. Paul told me the third van would be used to collect Jill and take her to a safe house. It would then be at my disposal. I thanked him and told him I needed to get my car here as it was an essential part of the plan. Paul said, “I’m not even going to ask why, because every time I do, we just go further down the rabbit hole.”

After #1 and #2 left to pick up Jill, Paul took me into the office and asked me if I really had a plan. He said it seemed like I was making it up as we went along. I looked at him and said, “You of all people should know the saying, ‘Men make plans and the Gods just laugh’. I’m currently up to plan ‘H’ depending on how things go.” He said, “You have changed.” I replied harshly, “That cunt threatened my children, so I had to change to protect them. You of all people should understand that!!”

I hobbled out and started making a small pile of what I wanted from the crates. Arthur called me and said he worked out what to do with the C4 we would get. I told him he may want to change his plans. When he asked why, I said we don’t have 4kg of C4. I heard him sigh dejectedly until I asked him how much fun he could have with 400kg. There was silence from the phone. I had to ask if he was still there. When he said he was, he asked if I was joking. I told him I was sitting on one crate and looking at the other. I heard a diabolical laugh, a ‘fuck yeah’ and he said he would call me back later.

An hour later, Paul told me Jill was at the safe house. I called Jake and told him to ‘Let loose the dogs of war’. I looked to Paul and said “And so it begins! I know it is going to get ugly, it will only end when either he or I are dead. I would like to ask you a favor. If for some reason I don’t survive this, would you do me the honor of helping to look after my kids please?”

For the first time ever, I saw emotion in his face. A tear made its way down his cheek as he said, “I’m not a good enough person to raise children, that’s why I never married. I thank you for the vote of confidence though. So, I guess we will just have to make sure nothing happens to you then.” I thanked him and said I needed to go to the workshop to organize some things. I had Paul drive me to the house to pick up my car, then we went our separate ways.

When I walked into the office, Alice threw herself at me but I sidestepped her before she could do further damage to my ribs. She was shocked until I explained about my ribs, then she was ever so gentle with a chaste kiss and caress. Rick came in and asked how I was doing. I gave them both an outline of my injurys.

I asked Alice to have everyone gather in the lunchroom because I had important information to share. I asked Rick to get the boxes from my car and bring them with him. When I walked in, everyone went silent. I started by thanking them all for their hard work and loyalty over the years.

I then explained how serious the situation had become and how the level of danger had increased. I told them that due to me being unable to guarantee their safety, I would be closing the shop until further notice, They would still be paid their usual wages and we would return to normal when this was concluded.

My foreman Joe stepped to the front and said, “Sorry boss, but we’re not going anywhere. You were there for each and every one of us when we desperately needed help, now it is our chance to repay your kindness. Before you say no, we are all well aware of who Alistaire Walsh is and his reputation. I don’t think you have noticed yet, but we have 15 extra guys here. They all have had relatives kidnapped by Walsh, but he has been untouchable, as you know. They just want the chance for some payback.”

I hadn’t noticed the extra guys. That was a bad mistake on my part that could be costly if I repeated it. It was clearly a waste of time to argue Joe’s point, so I just said ‘OK’. With that, everyone went back to work. As Arthur walked past me, I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the boxes saying, “See if you can find a use for that around here will you!” It was a truly joyous grin that spread across his face.

I went back to the office and made a few calls to organize materials. After lunch, I walked into reception and sat on Alice’s desk. When she looked up, I said, “You and your daughter, Lizz, need to go on a holiday for a few weeks, my shout.” She said her annual leave wasn’t due for another 4 months. I said it was special leave for exceptional service. She opened the top drawer of her desk showing me the pistol and ammunition in there. I pointed at them and said, “That’s exactly why you need to go on a holiday. I can’t be worried about you and Lizz while I finish this.”

A few seconds later Rick walked in and said he agreed with me. He pointed to the intercom and told Alice she left it on. He told her it was very noble of her to want to stay and help, but she had a child who depended on her. None of the others here had the same family constraints as she did. Alice eventually agreed to take some time off.

I handed Alice a cheque for $9000 and told her to go to the bank and get it cashed. I also told her to pay for everything with cash so there was no electronic trail to follow her. I think her and Rick were impressed with how far I had progressed in being computer savvy.

I left Alice and Rick in the office and went to the workshop. Halfway there, 3 large black vans with dark windows roared into the yard. I instinctively knew this was not a good thing, so I sprinted into the shop, yelling for everyone to take cover as gunshots rang out. All the guys dived toward the bunkers, grabbing weapons as they went.

From my position, I saw 3 goons head for the office. I started to head back to the office when someone grabbed me and pulled me into a bunker saying I wouldn’t make it 5 steps before I died. I heard shots from the office area but couldn’t see anything. I then heard shouts from across the shop and someone said, “Great shooting Rick!!”

A dozen or so goons then entered the shop to an almighty ‘BOOM’. I looked out of the bunker to see all the goons laying on the ground, some moving, some not. When 3 of them stood up, a volley of gunfire from the bunkers made sure none of them moved again. I saw Arthur go to the side of the door and fiddle with something, then wave for everyone to come out.

He came over to me and said, “Sorry about the mess boss.” I told him not to worry about it, then asked him what happened. He explained how he set up some simple pipe bombs loaded with nails attached to the sides of the doorway. I then asked what he did before waving us out of the bunkers and he said he disconnected the second round of bombs. That gave me a great deal of confidence in the man.

As I started for the office, one of the black vans started up and drove off. I saw Rick come out the back door, then heard a gunshot from the front of the office. The van veered off to the side of the road, where it hit a post and stopped. Some of my guys came out and we cautiously approached the van where we found the driver slumped over the wheel with part of his head missing. I turned and saw Alice leaning in the office doorway with a rifle casually draped over her shoulder and a smirk on her face. I looked at Rick when he said, “Damn she’s a good shot, 4 from 4. Whatever you do Jay, don’t piss her off..!”

Joe came up to me and said that one of them was still alive and asked if I wanted to do the honors. I thought for a second and told him to just bandage him up a bit so he wouldn’t die yet and dump him in one of the vans. I then asked for a volunteer to help me take him back to Walsh with a message. Rick stepped forward first and said, “Lets go!”

I told Rick I needed to make a phone call first. I called Paul and asked if he was sure Jill and the kids were safe. He guaranteed me they were, so I filled him in on what happened. He already knew something had gone on and told me to wait there and he would take care of everything. I replied that I had a quick errand to run first and would be back in 25 minutes. Before he could ask anything else, I finished the call and I jumped in the back of the van while Rick drove.

On the way, I told the goon to give his boss a message. The goon shook his head and said, “I can’t, you killed him back there.” After a few more questions, I figured out he had no idea they were working for Walsh. I said it didn’t matter as he was going to deliver my message anyway. I told him to tell Walsh exactly what happened and to add that he should watch his back as I was coming for him.

Did I think of myself as some kind of great warrior? Hell no. I knew my limitations, but I was going to fight Walsh where he was weakest. In his head. He might have had money and connections, but I had intelligence and imagination. There was one more thing in my favor, his over inflated ego. I was going to exploit that to my advantage.

When we got to the real estate office, I had Rick keep the engine running while I helped the goon out of the van and sat him in the carpark. I called Walsh, and when he answered I told him I was waiting outside for him if he had the guts to show his face. When he started yelling, I hung up and waited. He burst through the door and looked down the barrel of a shotgun. He stopped in his tracks. Fear crossed his face. I decided to change my approach.

I told him to give me his wallet. He started laughing until I chambered a round. That’s a sound that will send a chill down any mans spine. He slowly pulled it from his pants pocket. I then told him to give all the cash to the goon because he was owed for the pain and suffering. I then had the goon tell Walsh what happened.

Then I slammed the butt of the shotgun into his stomach. While he was down, I helped the goon back into the van and told Rick to drive back to the shop. Paul was waiting with a sour look on his face when we got there. I asked him, “What’s up Doc?” He said, “What the fuck went on here? I never expected a war zone.” I told him I would explain later, but first old mate here, pointing to the goon, needs medical attention.

Paul called a medic over to attend the goon, then grabbed my collar and dragged me away. When we were alone, I explained what happened. He was happy with Arthur’s ‘defensive measures’, and very impressed with Alice’s marksmanship. When a military ambulance arrived, I told Paul to go easy on the goon because I thought he would be useful later.

I walked into the office where Alice still had the self-satisfied grin on her face. She said, “So do you still think I need to go on a holiday?” I said to her, “I understand how you feel that you can take care of yourself, and I know you can, but next time they will be better prepared. It is Lizz who depends on you so much, that I’m concerned for. If anything happened to you, I could never forgive myself.”

I saw moisture in Alice’s eyes as she said would pick up Lizz after school and they would go and visit family in another state. I went to her and wrapped my arms around her, then kissed her forehead and said, “Thank you. No matter what happens, just remember that you and Lizz mean the world to me.”

I went back to the shop and called the guys together. I told them that in view of what happened today, everyone was stood down until further notice and I would not take no for an answer. Rick came up and said that was fine, but it wouldn’t stop anyone from defending the shop. He held up his hand to stop me protesting, then walked over to bin and removed 2 empty drink cans.

He proceeded to place 1 at the front of the shop, and 1 at the back of the shop. He then took out his phone and made a call. I heard him say, “Hey honey, can you please show Jay we have things covered around here.” 3 seconds later, the first can disappeared in a cloud of dust, followed 2 seconds later by the other can going the same way. Then we heard two distant gunshots.

Rick looked at me and said, “Davy’s twin brother, Donny, came to visit for a week so they could go shooting. By the way, did I mention they were both in the army before they started their business? They were the top two in sniper school…”, he smirked at me. Rick went on to explain their business was personal security for high risk VIP’s.

Whatever! I think I should give up trying to dissuade this mob from helping me anymore. I had more pressing things to worry about anyway. I called Arthur aside and asked him how soon he could get things set up. He said if he started early in the morning, it should all be ready by dark tomorrow night. I told him I would have his supplies ready late this afternoon, but hopefully it would be about 4 days before I needed his part of my plan.

Rick walked back over to me and said, “You really need to stop worrying about us. We have it all covered. There are reinforcements on the way.” He looked past me and then said, “And here they are now!” I turned around to see 4 armored personnel carriers wheeling into the yard.

Rick pointed them toward the shop and they disappeared inside. He looked at me saying, “Davey and Donny have some great toys, don’t they?” As we entered the shop, I saw the vehicles being set up in the 4 corners of the building. I could see they would cover about 99% of the shop, including the doorways. I actually felt a tiny bit of pity for anyone who might try anything.

I decided to let the guys take care of themselves, while I got on with my campaign against Walsh. I called Jake and told him it was time to let loose the dogs. I said to start by bankrupting his businesses. I also wanted Walsh to be able to track it back to me. Jake started to protest when I reminded him my whole plan relied on Walsh coming after me. That way I could lead him where I wanted to go.

A short while later, my phone rang. It was Paul giving me a heads up that they were coming in and not to start shooting. He soon showed up with 2 of his crew in tow. They drove into the shop and when they got out, they froze.

Four 50cal machine guns were pointed their way. Paul glared at me and I said, “Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” He just said there were some boxes in the van for me. I had a couple of guys put the boxes in Arthurs car, while Paul took me aside and asked just how far this was going to go. I pointed toward the shop and told him I had nothing to do with all this. He said that if things escalate much further, he wouldn’t be able to keep it under wraps.

I then told him I was trying to move everything well away from the city. Just then my phone rang and when I looked at the screen, I put it on speaker so Paul could listen in. I answered it, “What do you want cunt?” Walsh replied, “Where the fuck is Jill?” I said, “She came to see me and realized that I really am the better man and decided to leave your little dick behind.”

He started ranting and raving, but neither Paul nor I could work out what he was saying. I could almost hear his blood pressure rising through the phone. I hung up and called Jake again. When he answered, I asked how he fared with the businesses. He told me the shit should hit the fan within the hour, so be prepared. I said we needed to move up the timetable, so go ahead and empty all the bank accounts ASAP.