Truth or Dare with My... Mom? Ch. 06

Dad's eyes went wide. He'd met Janet too, years ago when she'd cost him almost everything in the divorce.

"It's good to see you again, Aaron," she said in a smooth voice. "You've grown up a lot since we last met, and you can protect your mom, clearly. Good on you."

She looked down at dad now and her smile was more of a smirk than anything. "Hello, Randy. I was hoping I would never see you again, but bad pennies and all that, right?"

"What're you doing here?" he almost demanded, trying to get himself worked up, but the fear in his eyes was obvious. Janet intimidated him.

"I'm Julie's lawyer, don't you remember?" Janet replied, smirking still. She walked into the living room and nodded to the constable. "Officer. I take it we have a B and E here?"

"Seemingly," Officer Doohan replied, still kneeling next to dad and holding the phone up for Janet to see. "He claims he found your client and her son naked together and talking about having sex."

"Goodness, that's quite the accusation," Janet mused, raising an eyebrow at dad. "You have proof, I assume, Randy?"

"My phone," dad grunted, gesturing at it with his head before glaring at mom. "I caught that slut and her little bastard naked and talking about having sex when they were coming in from outside."

Janet moved into the way of dad's view of mom and kept talking to him. "Okay, show us." She looked at the officer now. "I think you can undo his hands for now..."

The officer put down the phone and undid the cords I'd put around dad's wrists. He hissed as they were released and massaged them for several seconds before picking up his phone. He began scrolling through the gallery, but it was obvious within seconds that something was wrong.

"What the Hell," he murmured in disbelief. "It's gone."

"What's gone, Randy?" Janet asked rather tritely.

"The video," dad said, beginning to shake with anger now. He glared at me. "This little motherfucker must have deleted it after he assaulted me!"

"His fingerprints'd be on his phone if he'd touched it, right?" Janet reasoned.

The officer nodded.

"Well, I didn't touch it, so y'won't find any," I lied with a shrug. "I was kinda occupied, you understand."

"He deleted it!" dad raged now, struggling enough that Officer Doohan put his hand on dad's shoulder firmly to keep him in place. "He wore rubber gloves or something!"

"I'm wearing rubber gloves, sir, and I'm the only one," Officer Doohan pointed out. "As you've proven to us, there is no video such as you're describing on that phone. That means the only crimes committed tonight are the break and enter, and the violation of a peace bond. Both of which you clearly did."

"I... I..." dad faltered, starting to panic again.

"Why are you even here, Randy?" Janet asked now, walking over to him and looking down so that dad had to look up. "Do you want to have your lawyer here, by the way? What was his name? Alvin Corbin?"

Dad flushed at the mention of his old lawyer. The man had been way out of his depth taking on Janet Remington, and he was pretty incompetent. He'd fucked up so hard that he'd cost dad more than he should've lost.

"Do you have a lawyer, Randy?" Janet asked pointedly. "Because we can always continue this down at the courthouse and get a public defender for you. Might be later tomorrow, mind, or even not until Monday, so you'll have to wait in the guest suites in the basement at Old City Hall."

Dad looked pale now, since Janet was serious, despite the rather flippant tone in her voice. This woman was clearly dangerous. She looked at the constable now. "We should sit him up, sir. I think we can untie his feet."

Officer Doohan nodded and unbound dad before hauling him up to sit on an ottoman across the room. Janet tilted her head at the big chesterfield, and I understood that I should sit down there with mom now. Her lawyer was here to handle this now. The constable stood next to dad, keeping him cowed. Mom and I just watched quietly, waiting to see what happened next.

"Is he officially under arrest yet, constable?"

He shook his head. "I told him he will no doubt be, I haven't done it yet. Nothing official."

"Okay, then," Janet said, standing in front of dad now. "Randy, let's get this clear. We've got you dead to rights on at least two charges, and since you're an ex-husband, a judge is unlikely to be all that merciful with you. Do you understand me?"

"I'm the one who got assaulted!" dad snapped, trying to glare past Janet at me. "The little asshole busted my goddamn n-"

Dad yelped and whimpered as Janet slapped him across the cheek and the bridge of his broken nose with a backhand that looked very deliberate. Mom and I looked on is total surprise. I glanced over at Officer Doohan, but he was tacitly looking somewhere else. I also noticed that despite being in uniform, he didn't have a body camera on.

What the heck was happening?

Dad was gasping and trying to not cry at the pain. Janet got on one knee now and gave him a hard stare, standing off just to his side so we could see what was happening. He was looking at her in fear.

"Wrong answer, Randy," Janet said firmly. "I'll ask again. Do... you... understand... me?"

Dad swallowed and nodded. His nose was leaking again, and tears streamed down his cheeks.

"Aaron, please get me tissues or a rag or something, will you?" Janet called to me. "Can't have him messing up your floor more than he already has."

I got up and trotted into the kitchen, retrieving some disposable cloths. I came back and handed them to Janet, who gave them to dad. Clearly he was being tasked with his own first aid. Janet began talking to him again.

"You've provided absolutely no proof of your outrageous contention, Randy, and you're slandering a woman who is an admired grade teacher in the school district," Janet said now. "But let's start with the basics... why did you break and enter into a residence you have no business in, and how did you do it?"

Dad didn't say anything.

"I'm waiting, Randy..." Janet said, her voice carrying a tone of menace. This woman was very powerful. I was kind of in awe. Mom seemed to be watching in wonder too, at how her lawyer just dominated the entire situation.

"I..." dad began, sounding very hesitant. "I got in the back door. It wasn't locked."

I guess we'd forgotten in our eagerness to get on our date. Then again, crime was very low in our neighbourhood, so it didn't occur to us. It would from now on, that was for damn sure. I shivered as I wondered how long he'd been here and what he'd gotten into.

"And how long had you been in here, Randy?" Janet asked as if reading my mind.

He seemed reticent to answer.

"Now!" she snapped, and dad flinched.

"Not long," he gasped, sweating profusely at this point. I think he was beginning to realize the cards were all against him here. He didn't even seem to have a lawyer he could call, meaning likely a weekend in jail before he got one. "I... maybe ten minutes?"

"And what did you do in those ten minutes, Randy?" Janet asked pointedly. "'fess up now, because I know Julie had security cams installed at her doors and nannycams inside..."

That prospect terrified dad, clearly, and it didn't matter that Janet was lying her ass off about the presence of cameras. She intended to break him and get a full confession out of him. Dad was sweating bullets, and not just from pain because I'd busted his fucking nose. Officer Doohan just looked on coolly. Janet was in the driver's seat at the moment.

"I... mostly I snooped around the kitchen, looked in her bedroom and then came in here," dad said finally, looking at the floor in front of him. "I didn't expect to see them naked in-"

He gasped and trembled again as Janet slapped her palm down across his cheek from her position to the side. I felt mom flinch. I was having a hard time not grinning. I loved this.

"Lie again about my client, Randy, I dare you," Janet growled. "So the back door was unlocked and you poked around... why were you violating the order to stay away to begin with?"

Dad trembled as he got ready to make an admission, and he was too scared to not tell the truth. Janet clearly meant to send him away for as long as possible if he lied. She had dad's number, and she scared the Hell out of him. Mom said Janet had always scared dad, since the first time they'd met across the table in a meeting room before court. The only person more scared of Janet than dad was his idiot lawyer, Alvin Corbin.

"I... I wanted to see if I could get some renegotiation out of her," he said, dabbing at his nose. "I thought it wasn't fair how things had worked out."

I felt mom bristling, but she kept quiet, trusting to Janet.

"And rather than contact a lawyer, you felt that breaking in was the way to go?" Janet asked, her sarcasm obvious. "Get inside, confront her and intimidate her. Nobody around, so just make yourself at home, yes?"

She now turned to look at mom and I. "And you two were out for the evening."

Mom nodded now. "I've been offered a teaching position at Mooredale, so we were celebrating."

Janet's eyebrows raised. "You're the teacher replacing Becky at Mooredale when she takes the new job at the university?"

"You know Becky?" mom asked in amazement. I looked back and forth between them in shock.

"We'll talk about that later, Jules," Janet said now, turning back toward my father. "As for you, sir, are you ready to be arrested for at least two charges?"

"No," dad pleaded, looking more desperate than ever. "Please don't."

"Why shouldn't I send you up the river?" Janet reasoned, standing now and looking down at him, her hands on her hips, indicating that she was wrapping things up. "You broke into my client's house, clearly defying an order to stay away, and then cast unforgivably libellous aspersions on them, one of whom is your own son that you once abandoned without a second thought. You're a heartless bastard, Randy, absolute scum. You belong behind bars."

"Please," he begged, tears streaming down his fucked-up face. "Please don't send me to prison. I'll die."

"You might as well have left your wife and kid to die, you sack of garbage," Janet said with disdain now, her brown eyes flinty as she glowered at him. "What kind of man runs out on his family like you did? They were lucky you slipped up and left a paper trail for me to track down so we could do the divorce properly. You deserved to lose a lot more, Randy."

He choked on his tears as he looked up at her with wet eyes. "Please..."

I was totally repulsed to realize I was related to this maggot. He was a snivelling coward with no regard for anyone except himself. Looking at him now, I couldn't begin to understand how mom had ever fallen in love. He must have been someone different at one point. That was my only reasoning. Not that it mattered. I wanted him to be put away, forever.

Janet seemed to consider for a moment. She looked at mom now. "Jules, have you got a computer and a printer?"

Mom nodded.

"Take me to it, please," Janet asked before looking at Officer Doohan. "Constable, please keep that worm exactly where he is. If he does anything you or Aaron don't like, arrest him at once and haul him in."

The officer nodded. Janet walked over to mom and helped her up. They walked out of the room together, arm in arm. I knew mom was taking her to her bedroom to use the desktop for something. What it was, I didn't know. I looked squarely at dad now.

"You are the stupidest piece of garbage to ever live," I said, my voice unable to hide my contempt. "Mom is amazing and you treated her like crap. She deserved a million times better than you. I am so ashamed to be your son."

"Watch your mouth," dad snapped, glaring at me. "I-"

The officer cleared his throat. "I don't like your tone, mister."

Whatever dad meant to say next died instantly on the tip of his tongue and he sat still, glowering. Clearly, I was allowed to say whatever I want and he just had to hear it and take it, or risk getting arrested immediately. He chose to shut up.

"Not that you'll get to see it, but I'm gonna be a thousand times better as a man, husband, and father than you ever were," I continued. "When I find the right girl, you'll never come up. I'll say my dad died when I was a little kid, and mom gets all the credit for who I am. And y'know, it won't be a lie, because you've been dead to me for years now. You're nothing."

Dad glowered at me, obviously seething.

"Something to say, Randy?" I taunted, leaning in. "I couldn't hear you. Must be all the shit in your mouth."

I heard feet coming back downstairs, and mom entered the room again, coming to the chesterfield and sitting down next to me. I looked at her. "Want a drink or something, mom?"

"Just... just some water, baby," mom said finally. "Thank you."

I nodded and got some water from the kitchen, bringing it back to her. We sat silently while dad just scowled at the floor. I might've wanted to keep insulting him, but not in front of mom. She didn't deserve to be exposed to that. She didn't deserve to be exposed to him. So we waited silently, with dad occasionally dabbing at his face. I was glad to see the bruising and swelling continue.

Some minutes later, Janet joined us again, and she was holding several pages that clearly made up a document. She stood in front of dad, showing him the papers. Her voice was clipped, efficient, and indicated that she was done with all this.

"Randy, this is the only conceivable way to avoid jail," she announced. "It's a legal document that you will agree to if you wish to avoid being arrested. It says you are to never have any contact with your former family in any capacity ever again. You will voluntarily leave the province of Ontario within forty-eight hours, on a plane ticket that has been purchased for you, taking you to Edmonton. From there, a bus to Fort McMurray. You may never return to Ontario."

Janet turned and showed the document to mom, who glanced through it, saying nothing. This was all weighing on her so heavily that she seemed to be almost on autopilot. She handed them back, nodding, once again trusting Janet to do right by her. Janet looked at dad again, presenting the papers to him. "I'll explain anything your tiny brain doesn't understand."

"There's no need to insult me," dad groused.

"I beg to differ, you were stupid enough to willingly and flagrantly violate a court-ordered peace bond, you dumb son of a bitch," Janet sneered. "Men like you think there are no consequences for your godawful actions. Make no mistake, Randy, you don't deserve this chance."

She leaned in now, and dad leaned back, his eyes shining with fear. Janet terrified him.

"Fuck this up, little man, and I'll put you away for life," she said in a voice harder than iron. "I've done it to other men who think they're too good to leave women alone. Honestly, I kind of want you to break this little contract so that I can lock you up where you belong."

She shook the papers a little and dad looked down, taking them from her.

"Don't you dare get weasel blood and snot on my lovely documents, Randy," she warned.

Dad seemed to read the pages, snuffling and dabbing at his face. He turned the pages slowly, and I could see his features almost turn grey, the fear leaving to be replaced by a defeated despair. He finally handed the documents back to Janet, looking up at her hesitantly. "So... if I agree to this... sign this... I won't be prosecuted?"

"Obey the terms of this order fully and completely, 'til the day you die. If you violate them, I'm coming down on you like the hammer of Zeus."

"I think you mean Thor, ma'am," I called over, unable to suppress a smirk.

"Can it, kid," Janet said, still looking at dad but trying to sound annoyed. It wasn't very convincing. Even mom smirked a little and nudged me in the ribs with her elbow. "I've already got one young smartass in my life, I've met my quota, thank you."

She held up the papers, as if expecting dad to reach for them. "Forty-eight hours to get the fuck out of this province and never come back, exceptions made for medical emergencies or layovers lasting less than six hours. You will simply forget you ever had this family. You will never post anything to any sort of media about your ex-family, nor compel others to. If you do, I can extradite you and put you in the clink, which I will do happily. Clear so far?"

Dad nodded.

"This is the ultimate clean slate, Randy," she said, her voice also a warning. "You and your fragile little ego are the only ones who can fuck it up. Let's see if you have what it takes to act like a real human being, instead of some shitty subhuman male, shall we?"

Janet looked at us again. "He only gets this deal if you two give me the go-ahead. If either of you reject it, I get him arrested and sent to the Don. Tell me what you want."

Mom looked at her lap and nodded. Janet looked at me. I just stared at dad. "He deserves to be behind bars for what he did to mom. But he shouldn't even be allowed to share the same province with someone like her. Get him away from us, ma'am."

Janet turned her head and looked down at dad again. "There you have it, Randy. They're both okay with sending you packing the sub-Arctic. Should we find you a lawyer to peruse this deal first?"

"No," dad almost blurted, clearly desperate to end this nightmare. "I understand it fully and completely. I'll sign."

Janet nodded and gestured for him to get up. Dad did so somewhat unsteadily, since he hadn't been on his feet for nearly an hour, and I'm willing to bet his head hurt like Hell. Janet snapped her fingers and indicated he should follow her. She walked over to the credenza, and he followed quietly. She put the documents on the surface and pulled a pen out of her stylish power jacket. I didn't want to even take a guess at how much that suit cost. Probably more than mom made in a year.

Then again, mom had told me that Janet was one of the best lawyers in the country, possibly on the continent. One day, she'd be on the Supreme Court.

"Sign there," Janet instructed, pointing at one of the pages she'd laid out. "And there... and there... sign and date there. Good."

Janet now signed the document in a few places and put down more. "Here's your copy to keep, do what you did before with signatures..."

Dad finally finished and Janet nodded. "Very well. Randolf Zane, you've agreed to these terms. Immediately you must stay five hundred meters away from your former family and this residence until you leave the province, which is within forty-eight hours. That should give you enough time to see to any outstanding affairs. If you're still on the runway one minute past forty-eight hours, you're done for. Understand?"

Dad nodded dully.

Janet looked at Officer Doohan now. "Constable, may I impose upon you to take Randy to a clinic and get his ugly mug looked at? After that, would you be so kind as to take him to his place of residence and make note of the address? Then we can check to see if he complied."

"Of course, ma'am," the officer said readily. He looked at dad now. "I'll need to keep you cuffed in the car, possibly at the clinic. Procedure. And I'll explain what happened to you. You keep your mouth shut unless I say you can speak. Say anything, and you're behind bars. Understand?"

Dad nodded again.

Janet looked at us. "Any last words, guys?"

I had plenty, but I looked at mom. She took a deep breath and stood up, walking stiffly toward dad, stopping beside Janet. I followed behind her. She looked dad square in the eye and finally spoke to him.

"Goodbye, Randy," she said quietly. "I wish you all the best in your new life, as long as you never darken ours in any manner ever again."