It Ain't Paranoia if... Ch. 05

"We'll be back in a moment," said Finn, and they reentered the hall and made another phone call.

The High Sheriff shook his head and said, "This is bullshit, so don't play along unless they come clean. They say they want information, but I agree that it seems all they want is a scapegoat. Rob, how you are even involved in this is over my head, but it does seem that the guy who ran a quarter mile to shoot it out with five well-armed foreign felons and took two bullets for his efforts, is their favored prospect right now."

He shook his head again, and looked toward the sky with his palms facing up.

Long story short, they came back in, apologized, and spouted a lot of federal-ese. 'We have reason to believe...' 'There are indications that...''We have been advised that...'

Seeing my impatience, they disclosed that they had learned through a source that the Koreans sought us out at the behest of unknown persons. They didn't just wander up to a public park in the middle of nowhere and luck upon us; they knew where we were.

Their source claims the surviving Koreans don't know who gave the orders; only the woman who was in charge knew, and she's dead. But, they deduced that it had to be someone with extraordinary funding and motivation. The $300,000 RV was purchased only days before, and the Sheriff found 500,000 American dollars stashed in a secret compartment that also contained more weapons.

Finn and Jernigan indicated that Kaitlyn was the target, but, if I didn't order the kidnapping in retaliation for her betrayal, they don't know why. That didn't ring true to me, so I pushed.

They then speculated that it had to do with so Robert Junior; perhaps something she had or knew that she didn't think was relevant.

They waited for my response. I shrugged and replied, "Until she showed up on my door a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't seen or spoken with her since our divorce nearly five years ago."

The questions turned to my relationship with Kaitlyn since her reappearance, my relationship with Claude and Clay, and her relationship with them.

Their questions and statements to the contrary, my intuition told me there was more to this investigation than the kidnapping and shootout. In fact, it was almost as if they were muddying the waters rather than trying to clear them.

That same intuition proposed that they thought Kaitlyn and I, together or in cahoots with Clay and Claude, or Kaitlyn in cahoots with Clay and Claude, had something or were involved in something that drew the attention of the North Koreans, or their unknown bosses.

For the life of me, I couldn't understand make sense of their seeming deduction, but the other option I came up with was that this entire investigation was a smokescreen of some type, for some purpose I couldn't glean.

"Gentlemen, if this is going to end satisfactorily for you, I need to know a few things. I'll do my level best to be of assistance if I can, if you will be honest with me on these few matters. Can you do that?"

"To the extent we're allowed, yes. This is an active investigation, so we can't disclose too much," replied Special Agent Jernigan with a straight face. I knew he was lying, but I didn't have much to lose by asking.

"Do you believe the kidnappers were working with their own government, or were hired by someone else?"

"At this point, we aren't certain," replied Finn.

"But you are learning toward hired, is that correct?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I'm going to take that as a yes; any idea who or why?" I asked.

"Frankly, Mr. MacGregor, those are the questions on which we're currently focused. The men who are in custody are not cooperating, even though they face lengthy prison sentences, have only court appointed attorneys, and have been advised to cooperate if they expect any leniency.

"We expected to learn more when their legal representatives came forth, but when arraigned, they claimed to speak no English, have no money, and need a court appointed attorney.

"They didn't accept our offer for Embassy counsel, which makes no sense if they were engaged in government business. On the other hand, not having legal counsel makes no sense if they were hired."

I rephrased. "So you have two of the men who kidnapped my children and ex-wife - men whom I shot because they were trying to kill me - in federal custody, but they aren't cooperating.

"So why are you questioning Kaitlyn, Clay, and Claude, and why have they not been to see me in the hospital for the past two days?"

They hedged. "We wanted to talk to you... to get your story... before..."

"Bullfuckinshit! Just stop! You are simply not stupid enough to believe that the men responsible for our security, who sent a well-armed four man contingent with us, and the mother and father of two children, conspired to get them kidnapped along with the mother, and conspired to get me shot twice while shooting four men and a woman who were shooting at me.

"That means you're up to something nefarious, or you're looking for a scapegoat for the North Korean government!

"My ex-wife, my children, the leaders of my security team, and everyone else associated with this event will immediately be offered legal representation by Mr. Carr and Mr. McLaughlin. If they accept, and I'm certain they will, their cooperation with your investigation will end! Why am I doing that?

"Because the focus of your investigation isn't on finding out who hired these criminals and why! I haven't figured out where you are going with this, but your mysterious 'source' seems to have led you down the yellow brick road, away from the simple questions: who is behind this and why."

Monroe stepped forward: "Actually, Mr. MacGregor, Ms. Sterling and Clay and Claude Edwards, each consulted separately with my partner this morning. Each paid a retainer, so they are already clients. And, our firm has advised each that one of us needs to be present if they have further conversations with law enforcement."

"So there you have it, boys." I said dismissively. "Thanks for stopping by; I enjoyed our conversation, but it's time I got some rest."

They were obviously displeased about the new developments, and about being brushed off, but they shook hands and thanked us for our time before leaving.

I turned to the sheriff. "Impressions?"

He rubbed his face around his mouth and frowned. "One, don't trust 'em as far as you can throw 'em. Two, this 'investigation' seems way off point. Three, there's something about them... that doesn't feel like real federal agents."

Carr looked thoughtful before replying, "I agree with the sheriff, and I'm anxious to get with my partner to learn what the other three said.

"Do you want to talk to your wife... ex-wife, now? She's at the office and I can have her brought over here. I don't think she should drive by herself since they are trailing her and we have questions about who 'they' are."

"Yes, as soon as possible, and get the Edwards boys here an hour later. Something ain't right, and we may need their security teams here to help!"

***

As soon as they left, I sent the photos of the federal agents to the assistant of my contact in DC and asked for verification of their credentials. My nurse came in to check my vitals; I used that opportunity to advise her that I would be conducting meetings in my room for the next 2-3 hours, and would prefer not to be disturbed. She shook her head at my audacity, and said she'd try; but my doctor and physical therapist would not be denied.

Kaitlyn barely made it in the door before the tears started flowing and she began explaining. "I'm so sorry, Rob! They said they would take me into custody and Logan and Grace would go into the state care system if I had any contact with you! They are with the FBI and CIA, so I had to do what they said!"

I held up my hand with an open palm, and said, "It's okay, Kaitlyn; I understand. Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to rehash everything or commiserate. Move your chair closer, take a seat, and hand me your phone." She did as directed; I turned her phone off and removed the battery, and then laid it on the table beside us.

She was looking at me as if she wanted to talk about something personal, but I interjected, "We need to start getting things sorted out, so use this legal pad and let's review what you were told, what you were asked, and what you answered. When Clay and Claude get here, we'll do the same with them."

She turned pale and exclaimed, "Rob, they warned me that they were watching, and if I got together with Clay or Claude they would take us into custody and charge us with conspiracy!"

"Yeah, I don't think that will happen, so let's focus on your conversations with the agents."

The hour flew by, with me becoming even more convinced each minute that this whole "investigation" is a sham.

Clay and Claude showed up at three. I told them to turn their phones off and take the battery out.

They frowned, but did as told. I told them what Kaitlyn had been told, and they let us know the same threats had been issued to them. We then had a brief organizational meeting. "No white board, Claude, so the legal pad is our organizational device and flowchart. You're in control; let's go!"

When someone disclosed a question he or she had been asked, we each contributed the answer we gave if asked the same or a similar question, and then any additional or tangential information we might have. One of us then led the probe into possible reasons behind the question, concealed purposes for the question, and the extent to which the answers given informed the interrogators.

A lot had been covered by 4:45, but much more needed to be explored; after all, they had been interrogated on and off for two days, but we only had a couple of hours to debrief.

"Let's break for ninety minutes so I can see my kids and you guys can go eat. We'll plan to resume at 6:15, but before you leave: Claude, do you agree that we need to bring the rest of the security team, or at least some of them, here?"

"I do, Rob. The more I know, the more this stinks! I'll make the call as soon as we leave."

"No, Claude, I'm afraid your phones are compromised. Meet the Four Musketeers in the lobby when they bring the kids. Use Carlos' phone, and ask him to have all three of your phones checked. Maybe it's my paranoia flaring up, but since my original hospital room was bugged..."

Clay and Claude exchanged looks, looked down at their phones, and Claude said, "Well, that would explain a lot!"

Kaitlyn had been watching me with a concerned look. When I turned to her, she asked, "Rob, I want to stay here with you and the kids. I'm not hungry, I haven't gotten to be with you for more than two days, and I've been so stressed I've hardly spoken to our children!"

With a neutral expression I answered in a cool, businesslike tone of voice, "Why don't you go eat with Clay. You will have tonight to be with them; I'll only have an hour."

She looked bewildered; Clay looked surprised; Claude looked apprehensive. "Rob, what are you implying?" he asked after a moment.

"I'm not implying anything.

"The others will be here soon; best y'all get down to the lobby and meet them. Oh, and Sheriff Goodson may be with them. If he is, let him know that we've been meeting. If he isn't, ask one of the others to call and let him know. He may want to stay away, or he may not."

Kaitlyn started to say something, but Claude took her arm, got her attention, shook his head at her, and led her away; Clay followed. I immediately looked down at my phone.

***

I learned later that the meeting downstairs was fraught with tension. The Musketeers were cool toward Kaitlyn and the brothers; the kids were anxious to get to my room and barely acknowledged their mother before getting on the elevator with Ron and Brian. Chris stayed with Carlos, who called his techies to meet them in the lobby.

Kaitlyn fought the tears in her eyes before turning to Chris in exasperation and asking, "Why is everyone acting so cold toward me? Toward us? I don't understand! Is it because we weren't allowed to talk to anyone? I don't..."

Claude stepped in front of Kaitlyn, nodded at Clay, and gruffly ordered, "You two come over here -- we need to talk!"

Chris watched placidly while Claude had a brief come-to-Jesus meeting with his brother and Kaitlyn, which included poking brother in the chest and getting in his face. He then turned his ire to Kaitlyn, who wilted in tears while shaking her head and crying No! No!

Claude's voice was loud enough that he heard, "Well, something happened! I know Rob too well. He is pissed about something you two did -- what is it?"

When he heard that, watched Kaitlyn cry, shake her head, and say, "I don't know! I don't know!" Chris walked over.

"Perhaps I can help. Rob is well aware that you two were keeping company pretty regular before the feds got involved, and that you skipped an opportunity to see him three evening ago to be with Clay. He drew the conclusion that, frankly, was evident to the rest of us as well."

Clay looked guilty; Kaitlyn looked shocked. "But, that's not..."

"Kaitlyn, if there is a reasonable explanation you need to share it with Rob, not me. He doesn't trust you, so be prepared for his disbelief.

"He knows you two are attracted to each other -- don't shake your head: we all witnessed it several times, starting at La Kiva and continuing at the Mountain Lair. When he learned you are spending time with Clay instead of with him, what did you expect him to think?"

Kaitlyn looked askance at Clay. She closed her eyes, shook her head, and demanded, "You tell THEM. I'm going to go back and tell HIM!"

***

Grace had the floor, regaling us with another highlight of their horseback ride at the ranch of Uncle Ron's friend. Dos was lying on the bed with me, his head on my right arm, not quite asleep, but getting closer by the moment. Their adoptive uncles were standing beside the bed, smiling and adding tidbits like doting relatives should, when the door burst open.

The bewildered Kaitlyn that left fifteen minutes ago had returned as a fiery-eyed and resolute woman with a scrunched up face. She shut the door firmly and took the floor from her daughter. "Excuse me, Honey, but I have some things I need to say to your Daddy!"

She paused when the door opened tentatively, beckoned Carlos and Chris to enter, and resumed. "I've learned that you, Rob, and the rest of you too," she gestured grandly at the others, " believe Clay and I are engaged in some kind of romantic or sexual relationship! Well, I'm here to assure you that we DO have a relationship -- a very strong relationship! But our relationship is platonic and supportive, not romantic or sexual!

"Yes, Rob; Clay and I were spending time together, and I did skip one visiting hour with you to be with him! He also went to eat with the kids and me, and we sat together and talked while they played.

"So let's talk about the night I skipped coming here: we went to the library that night, where Clay had reserved a room with a computer. He logged onto his Skype account, and introduced me to his counselor in Austin. He left the room, and I had the first therapy session of my life! I learned a lot in one hour, including that this was something I needed, and had for a long time!

"You guys may be able to get in gunfights and kill people without suffering any ill effects, but I can't! I realize now that I've been traumatized ever since I realized I had destroyed my life by being with Robert.

That should have caused me to seek treatment, but I just accepted my angst as deserved for being such a bit... so stupid! I fought my way through that anxiety and depression, but its hung over me like a dark cloud for nearly five years!

Since I screwed up my courage and came to see you two week ago, Rob, I've been on an emotional roller coaster. Part of me happy that you accepted us into your home, and part of me wanting to put our lives back together! Not traumatic, but certainly gut-wrenching.

Now let's talk about traumatic! Me, the least aggressive person around; wouldn't hurt a fly! Hah! I piloted a drone in battle, had bullets hit the wall behind me while crouched down on a patio with my kids beside me, and seen too many men to count get killed!

"I've been kidnapped and held at gunpoint by a crazy woman who kept threatening to kill me AND MY CHILDREN! I've seen her and four men get shot within a 20 foot radius of me! I've killed a man - a man who was trying to kill our rescuer with an automatic weapon, but still a man!

And I've held the love of my life in my arms and tried to keep him from bleeding!

"That may all be in a week's work for you, but not for me! I'm sorry that I'm not as tough as you, but, dammit, I'm not!

Clay understands because he was traumatized by being in combat so many times, so he has become my sounding board, and I try to be his!

"You're right: I do love him! I tell him things I have never told anyone else, except the counselor he introduced me to! He understands my fear, and I understand his, but our relationship is ENTIRELY platonic!

"I only love one man in a romantic and sexual way, and I've ever only loved one man that way! That man is you, Robert Roy MacGregor, and I can't believe you can't see and feel that, because I feel it with every fiber of my being! I told you I learned my lesson, and I have!

"Can you imagine how distressed I was when those damn men threatened to take my children away if I even spoke with you? I blew off my time with you to meet with the counselor because that was the only time she had available, so I was planning to spend every moment possible with you to make up for it, and then they told me they'd take my children away if I did!!!

"I know you don't trust me, and I know you have good reason, but I SWEAR to you that Clay and I are just good friends -- no, BEST friends! We are not now and never will be LOVERS! You need to get it through your thick head that I only want one lover for the rest of my life, and that is you, Robert Roy MacGregor!"

***

It remained quiet for an abnormally long time while we digested the emotion she had spewn into the room; even Grace was wide-eyed and speechless. Dos was the only unaffected party; he was asleep.

She was waiting impatiently for my response, but my mind was busy mulling the timeline of the events that led me, and the others, to the conclusion that Kaitlyn and Clay were having an affair. If I accept that they started talking after I awoke and started getting better, and she finally had time to consider her own angst... well, then her story is entirely plausible.

She had to be strong during the battle, and while she was trying to keep me from bleeding out, and then in the hospital while it was touch and go, but once I improved, she could relax a little better. Once she relaxed, she discovered how traumatized she had been by all that had happened.

Had the two federal jackasses not kept her from seeing and talking to me, she would have told me how she was feeling, and that Clay was helping her.

So, in summary... Clay isn't porking her; Clay is helping her! He's helping her learn to deal with the post-traumatic stress she feels from her first participation in gun battles, being kidnapped, and killing someone who was armed and dangerous, among other things.

By the time my brain worked it out, every open eye in the room was watching me (Dos was still sleeping).

"So, from what you say, it appears that I may have leapt to the wrong conclusion regarding you and Clay. You are definitely two very attractive young people who have a strong affinity for one another, but you say that affinity is rooted in shared distress rather than ardor...

"That you suddenly stopped visiting after going somewhere with Clay... was bad timing? You would have come back the next day, but the erstwhile federal agents intervened and threatened you with incarceration if you spoke to me again. That's why you ghosted me, not because you were having an affair...?"