10:15 am

I would say Merry Christmas, but its not. 2 of the 3 people I planned on spending the holiday with are not here with me, but instead, they are in health care facilities fighting for their lives. No, the Grinch and I are going to see what we can do to wreck someone else’s Christmas and the Rage can think of no one more deserving than our new pal Adam. We found some interesting things while doing our due diligence on this butt sniffer. Adam has established solid residence on the naughty list. He has prior arrests for solicitation of prostitution, both were underage, drunk and disorderly, assault, and petty theft. He has had no arrests for the last 3 years though. Rehabilitated you ask? Nope, he just got better at not getting caught. There are 2 open active investigations for transporting stolen goods that I came across where Adam is a primary suspect, they just don’t have enough evidence at this point to file the charges. Let’s see if we can help.

I immediately suspected that the outfit he is driving for might be complicit to his criminal activities, but after careful scrutiny, they are an above board company who just happened to hire the wrong guy. If Adam is caught during the commission of a felony while in one of the company’s trucks, they stand to lose a great deal, maybe even their company. Adam isn’t just being a dick on the highway, he is playing with other people’s livelihoods and they aren’t his to gamble with. Thankfully, he has no pets or family so what could be a better welcome back to the ring. The Rage has experience with new power tools after all of the remodeling work he has been doing and wants to see if there are “other” uses for his new tools. He is particularly fond of the router and he has become quite proficient with the scroll saw as well. I don’t know if Adam will share the same appreciation for his skills or not, but the Rage never was one who cared much about what others think. What they sound like when they scream though, is an entirely different story.    

We are going to have to put in some more time unraveling this web of dickery, there are other players and since the Rage is back out of retirement, he might as well make it a team sport. I’m going to spend some time with my unconscious lady so it would be a good idea to give yourself a Christmas present and stay home. You might just see the new year if you do.

10:05am

The Farm

Simon had his computers set up finally and he was pleased with his new Ops Center. The Farm has several outbuildings and he and Dante had spent months creating the space below one of the buildings that now housed all of their computer equipment. The rest of the farm remained as it was for the most part and unless you knew exactly how to access the hidden room, you would never find it. They converted the larger barn to a training facility and Dante spent hours each day honing his skills and his body into the perfect weapon. Simon spent countless hours teaching him martial arts, battle tactics, computers, and weaponry. They were isolated enough that they also were able to fashion an indoor shooting range in one of the buildings that backed up to a large hill on the property and Dante is gaining proficiency on many different weapons. He still favors his blow gun and Nikki had spent time with him teaching him about botany and the many different kinds of natural toxins that are available. Simon had used a couple very effectively in the past. Dante had used the toxins on himself in very controlled measures so he could fully understand the effects and when they would be the most useful. The one he found he liked the best was a strain of botulism that rendered you paralyzed while still being able to feel everything at the same time. He tried them all on Tango first before using them on himself, of course.

Dante walked inside the Ops Center after finishing his work out and Simon was busy clicking away at his keyboard, 2 screens flashing code in front of him. Dante’s eyes went straight to the 3rd and 4th monitors that had video of Nikki and the baby on them. Nikki still looked the same, a shell of her former self with tubes and wires poking out all over the place, but the baby was looking better and wiggling around quite a bit.

“She’s getting healthy enough that they are going to take her out of the incubator and see how she does on her own.” Simon said startling Dante. He turned and looked over at Simon,

“Is there any news on Nikki?” He asked with hope in his voice.

Simon shook his head, “No, nothing has changed and as long as she doesn’t get any worse, the doctors are still hopeful that she will pull out of it. Having the baby on top of her injuries from the explosion put an incredible strain on her body, but she’s as tough as they come.” He said trying to put a positive spin on it. Dante looked into his eyes and saw the turmoil and knew that Simon was feeling as anxious as he was. He nodded and regarded the screens in front of Simon.

“Are you getting anywhere finding out who wired your car?” Simon turned back to the screens in front of him, hit a couple of keys and a video loaded. Dante saw that it was an aerial view of the warehouse. A couple of clicks and the image moved to the corner of the lot and zoomed in on the chase vehicle. Dante noted the date on the bottom of the screen was November 12th. That date meant something to him, but before he could think what, Simon clicked a few more keys and the video began playing. The video turned to infrared after dark and at 1:14 am on the timestamp, they watched a figure approach the chain link fence surrounding the warehouse and stop right next to the vehicle. Several seconds later, they saw the figure slide forward under the car. 2 minutes later, the figure slide back and after spending some time fixing the fence, they slithered out of the picture.

Both Simon and Dante stared at the paused image for several seconds and Dante said, “November 12th, wasn’t that right around the time we started moving our stuff out of the warehouse over here?” Simon turned in his seat and faced him,

“Yes, it was. If whoever it was tried to follow us out here, they would have seen my countermeasures surrounding the property and would know that they couldn’t get in here without setting off alarms. I am guessing that they rigged the car figuring if we were moving, that I would move the car eventually.” He turned back to the computer and started clicking keys again. “There are no security cameras at any houses or businesses around the warehouse, it’s one of the reasons I chose that location. Even if there were, it was over a month ago and most security cameras overwrite their storage after a few days or weeks. I don’t think they would have any footage to help us find who rigged the car.”

Dante was feeling frustrated at the lack of progress and let out an exasperated breath. “Easy young padawan, we’re just getting started here.” Simon said with a chuckle. Dante shook his head and headed to the door to go fix some lunch.

“Thanks Yoda”   

10:15 am

I met Adam yesterday. Yup, the Rage is back. Apparently, out of sight was in deed out of mind because the rules are being flaunted as boldly as ever. People driving under the speed limit in the left lane, failing to use signal turns, coming to a complete stop before making a right turn…. That was just the first mile. Really?

Do you know what the vehicular version of a bully is? Tractor Trailers. Certainly not all, or even most, but the few that let all that bulk go to their heads and use it in an unsafe manner on the roadways, deserve some special attention. They are professionals after all. I was transporting a most precious cargo and Adam thought it would be a good time to fuck with the other drivers on the road. I was traveling in a hilly area and ol Adam would wait until you were getting ready to pass him on an uphill section and would pull out to pass the tractor trailer in front of him, effectively blocading the only 2 travel lanes going in that direction. Sure, I understand that sometimes the only way one truck can pass the other is to do it on an incline, if the other truck is burdened and can’t keep pace, but Adam was trying to make a sport of it. Maybe to pass the time and alleviate the boredom? I don’t think he will be bored at the Farm, we always have some kind of activity going on and now that D and I don’t have Tango to play with, we have some time to dedicate to a new guest. Adam, your room is ready. We followed him to the next truck stop and placed a tracer on the truck. I found the driver’s information easily enough on the company website and will be paying him a home visit in the next few days. Stay tuned.

We got our family settled and safe. You, whose name will be known soon enough, missed! Since we have met Adam already, this mystery corpse shall be named Benjamin for our project. Benjamin, dear ignorant Benjamin, you had your chance and all you did was paint a giant target on your ass. That’s ok though, it helps with red-hot poker guidance. You don’t want that thing missing the target, it leaves a nasty welt. You probably don’t want it hitting the target either but hey, decisions have consequences as you will soon appreciate. The Rage and I will be seeing you around the water cooler.

Hey, do you remember Uniform, the cantankerous old cuss who we tried to gently convince to stop driving? The last I told you was when D and I removed his wheels and left the truck up on blocks and had his driver’s license cancelled. That didn’t even slow him down. He somehow found some new wheels and was driving around less than 2 days later. We then decided to increase the pressure, the negative consequences. I wired his  ignition wire to a metal plate in his seat so when he turned the key, all of the battery’s power went straight to his taint. If I hadn’t set out a surveillance camera, I would have missed it. It had to be one of the funniest things we have ever seen. I think the electricity froze his muscles for several seconds because he just sat there shaking like a dog trying to shit peach stones, as my daddy used to say. He was finally able to stop the current and he jumped out of the truck like he had fire ants crawling up his legs. You really can’t unsee a man trying to look at his own taint. It’s just not a pretty sight.

Believe it or not, that barely slowed him down.  The bag of cement I put in his gas tank did though.

9:05 am

Potomac Hospital Woodbridge, VA

Dante was lost to the steady beeping of the machines that were attached to Nikki. He had been sitting in the chair next to her bed, holding her hand, since he and Simon had arrived at the hospital late last night. He was still feeling that this was all in some way his fault. A strong hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up to see Simon’s gray piercing eyes looking back down at him. “This isn’t your fault Dante, there is no way you could have prevented this and if you hadn’t been with her, she probably wouldn’t have made it….either of them.” He paused, gauging Dante’s reaction. “Have you seen her yet?” Simon asked while continuing to look into his young protege’s eyes.

A tear slid down Dante’s face and he shook his head no, “I couldn’t leave her, I keep thinking if I let go then… she will go away.” Simon nodded his understanding and squeezed his shoulder,

“Go meet your sister, I’ll stay with Nikki while you’re gone. The FBI is going to move her shortly and then we have to get the baby taken care of, which is going to take both of us.” He said with a reassuring smile.

Dante slowly came to his feet and moved toward the door. Just as he reached out to grab the handle, it opened and in walked Dead and Lee, the 2 snipers from their FBI ground team that they had worked with in the past. Both stopped to give Dante some reassurance and a Bro hug before coming into the room, one on either side of Nikki. Dante turned and went down the hallway to find the NICU, knowing nothing would happen to Nikki now.

As soon as he saw the little pink blob in the incubator, there was no doubt that this tiny little thing would rule their lives from now on. She was beautiful, just like her mother. She was laying there with a sweet look on her face and then her eyes scrunched together and she turned 3 shades redder and started wailing. Not a tiny little sound, full on 9 alarm wail. A small smile came to Dante’s lips as he whispered, “Hello baby Rage.”

15 minutes later, Simon came to get him to say goodbye to Nikki. They walked on either side of her stretcher, Dead and Lee following close behind, until they had her in the ambulance. Rob McShay was in the back of the ambulance and the snipers would be driving separate vehicles accompanying them all the way to the hospital. Simon also recognized 2 other members of their ground team in the front of the ambulance. Nikki would be safe. After watching the procession safely leave the parking lot, Simon turned to Dante and told him to stay close to the baby while he went to make arrangements to move her. Then he did something that Dante hadn’t seen him do in half a year, he held his hand out for the car keys. Dante looked him in the eye and with a single nod said, “I’m ready” as he dropped the keys into Simon’s hand.

“I know you are, after we get the baby situated, we’re going to work.” He turned around and left without another word.

7:15 am

Rob McShay’s office

FBI Headquarters

Rob just walked into his office and set his coffee cup on his desk and before he made it around the desk to his chair, he heard a ringtone that he hadn’t heard in several months and it stopped him in his tracks. He quickly moved to his credenza where the phone was plugged in and snatched it up and answered, “Simon?”

There was a long pause and then Rob heard an intake of breath, “It’s Nikki, she’s in the hospital in a coma…” Simon paused.

“What happened, is the baby ok?” Rob fired back

“I’m not sure what happened, I think someone rigged my car. I haven’t driven in several months and Nikki went to take the car and when she clicked the fob to open the door, it blew. If she would have been any closer when it did, she wouldn’t have made it. They still aren’t sure she will….” Simon paused, trying to reign in the emotion that was building within before continuing. “They did an emergency C section and our daughter is in the NICU in an incubator right now.”

Rob was reeling, “Oh my God, I am so sorry. What can I do?” He asked, already slamming fingers at his keyboard to see if there was anything out there about the explosion. Simon cleared his throat,

“I need to know they are safe while I figure out who is after us. I have been at the hospital all night and I can’t continue to stay here. I need to make arrangements for both of them, they can’t stay in a public hospital under their own identities. I am pretty sure I was the target, but I don’t want to take the chance that they were after Nikki. If I was the target, whoever is after me is going to want leverage against me and I can’t take that chance. I already redacted the hospital’s records to eliminate any trace of my daughter, but there is no way to do that with Nikki.”

Rob was leaning back in his chair staring at the ceiling tiles, thinking. “There is a private long term care facility that we have used in the past outside of Charlottesville. I could get Nikki moved there, but they don’t have the facilities to care for an infant…”

Simon cut him off before he could say anything else, “Just Nikki, there is only 1 place I trust my daughter will be safe until we figure all of this out…”

Knowing better than to argue with Simon, Rob agreed that he would make the arrangements to have Nikki transported to the new facility within the next 2 hours and Simon would take care of erasing any digital trail from the hospital’s records. They hung up and Rob immediately placed a call to the director of the hospital and made sure they had security set up that would rival anything the Secret Service could provide. He then called an emergency meeting of his task force knowing that sooner or later, he would need to deploy them once Simon found out who attacked them.

12 hours earlier

Simon’s Warehouse

Nikki and D had just dropped Simon off at the boat to do some maintenance while they headed over to the warehouse. D had to deal with Tango and Nikki had some reports she wanted to upload to the server at work through the secure connection at the warehouse. Simon was in the process of moving their computer equipment to the farm and had yet to finish getting everything set up. Nikki showed D what she wanted to take back with them to the farm and she had him load everything in their SUV that they had pulled into the first floor garage in the warehouse. Nikki had finished with her reports and after making one more loop through the apartment to see if there was anything else she wanted to take back with them, she was satisfied that they had everything they would need. She called down to Dante to let him know she was going to run out to grab them some sandwiches and when she got back, they would go have lunch with Simon on the boat before heading home. Home, Nikki thought with a smile, after all of the years on her own, she finally felt at home with the 2 men in her life and the little bundle of joy that has taken up residence on her bladder at the moment.

Dante was still loading the SUV so Nikki decided to take Simon’s chase car, the nondescript electric vehicle that had all of his surveillance equipment in it. The vehicle hadn’t moved from its space at the corner of the warehouse lot since Simon quit driving several months ago so she was glad it was going to get some use. The vehicle was plugged in so the batteries were fully charged. She was just about to hit the fob to unlock the door when the back door to the warehouse opened and Dante came out and asked her if she wanted him to pack the boxes still in the kitchen. After telling him they would get them on the next trip, Nikki turned back toward the car and hit the unlock button…. everything went dark….

———————————————————————————————————————

Dante just finished loading up the equipment that Nikki had asked him to load and had gone upstairs to get a soda when he noticed the boxes in the kitchen. Not sure if she wanted those as well, he ran back downstairs to try and catch her before she left so he could find out if he should load them. Once she told him that they weren’t going to take the boxes this trip, he turned to go back inside when, suddenly, there was a blinding light and then everything went dark.

Dante blinked several times, trying to clear his vision and figure out what happened. He couldn’t hear anything other than a buzzing in his ears. He was coughing and there was smoke everywhere and he felt heat that he realized was coming from a small fire right next to him, next to where the door used to be at the back of the warehouse. He pushed debris off of his legs and as he was trying to remove something from one of his legs, he realized that it was a body. He quickly rubbed his eyes and saw that Nikki was crumpled into a heap across his lower body, both of them half way through the doorway. Dante pulled his legs from beneath Nikki as gently as he could and laid her back down. She was not conscious and had blood coming from her ears, nose, and there was a big gash across her head. Dante couldn’t see any other injuries, but there was smoke everywhere and he couldn’t see much. He quickly pulled his shirt off and pressed it to the wound on Nikki’s head and was trying to figure out what happened and what he could do when he heard the first sirens. Thankfully, they belonged to an ambulance and a few minutes later, the EMT’s had Nikki bound onto a stretcher and had taken her from the scene shortly after arriving.

Dante’s training kicked in and before the police arrived and began poking around, asking questions, Dante quickly grabbed the rest of their stuff from the warehouse and loaded it into the SUV. Once loaded, he backed the SUV out of the warehouse and punched in a code on the panel just inside the garage area. By the time he was a block away he could see the glow from the fire that was consuming the warehouse. Simon had rigged the warehouse so there would be no trace of anything left behind, Tango included. Within 30 minutes there wouldn’t even be a structure left, just a smoldering pile of ash that was once Simon’s Op Center. Dante steeled his nerves and drove directly to the marina.

9:15 pm

I’m pretty sure it was irony that invented the cock punch, or at the very least its snarky brother karma. I was doing some of my normal chores while listening to some “Feeling Way Too Damn Good” by Nickelback when it happened. A weird feeling came over me and then I heard, or maybe felt, D’s footsteps coming down the dock toward me. The boy is part Ninja so for me to sense his approach, something was going on. I saw the crazed look in his eyes as he approached and my heart stopped, something was terribly wrong. My first instinct was that something had happened to my lady. By the time D got done explaining what had happened, I truly understood the lyrics to the song.

Everything was going so well, I guess too well for the universe to stand by and let that happen. My lady is expecting our first child in a little over a month. I had finally convinced her to take on a reduced role at her work to lower her stress level and she was enjoying working part time while fixing up our new home. We purchased a small farm and we had all been busy remodeling and fixing up the old place to make it a home for our family, the soon to be 4 of us. 5 if you count Tango. The human biology experiment is still kicking…well, maybe not kicking, I had to remove one of his feet a while back, but he’s still breathing. At least he was.

I guess you want to know what has been going on these last 6 months, don’t you? Well, it has been peaceful and quiet, boring maybe. I’m not sure because I have never really had “down time” before, but that’s exactly what it was. The Rage turned all of his attention to our burgeoning family and has thrown himself into the restoration projects. He has also directed a good bit of his focus to training D. The boy is a natural and already has a very impressive set of skills , but the Rage has helped make him so much better. I haven’t driven a car since the day I found out I was going to be a father, which is a big part of why the Rage has had some down time. The plan was working flawlessly until of course, someone came along and fucked it all up.

This wasn’t your normal fuckery either, someone came at me and those I love and if you remember anything at all from our time together, don’t fuck with the Rage or anyone he loves, Rule #1. Apparently this, or these, particular assholes didn’t get the memo. No problem, when we are done with them it will be tattooed right on their asses. Then I’m going to pour a gallon of gas on them and light a match. Don’t you worry though, I will put a gas mask on them so they won’t inhale the smoke and flames and end their pain prematurely. No, they will get to enjoy every sizzling minute of the rest of their miserable lives. I may put out the fire and restart it a few times for effect. The Rage is back, you should have let him be…….

My lady is in a coma and my daughter was born a month prematurely and is clinging to life as we speak. You cannot possibly fathom the world of shit you just put yourself in. Enjoy the ride.

2:55 pm

Something happened. Something that is going to fundamentally change what and who I am.

D and I made it back to my lady finally. I really missed Tango too, so before I picked up my love and took her to the surprise I had for her, I stopped by to make sure he was ok. He was pretty ripe and had eaten all the dog food I left for him so I cleaned him up with the power washer. I sure do like that thing, really does a thorough job. Tango was looking a little ruff so I helped him shave…with my belt sander. The Rage’s swords finally arrived and he made sure to give Tango a nice trim too, his hair was getting pretty long. At least in the places the Rage hadn’t already removed with his hand mixer. Tango all taken care of and D watching over him, I headed out to pick her up. I had a nice vacation planned and then she said 2 words to me that changed my life yet again,

“I’m pregnant……”

I don’t know what this means for our project. All I know is that I am the happiest man in the world right now and I am glad I am not on the road where someone can mess up my joy. (I figure I had better start watching my language)

I had never even considered I would have another chance at having a child. After getting to know D and feeling that protective vibe for him, I know without a doubt that I will move heaven and earth to protect my “family”. I need to give this some thought and do what’s best for those that I love. Thank you for hanging in there with me, I have enjoyed sharing with you and I hope our work (so far?) has made a positive difference. I will let you know what my future holds once I figure it out myself.

Until then, stay the F*** out of the left lane!!!

Simon’s warehouse

11:15 am

Nikki had just finished closing out her case notes on Scarpetti and Nazari. The field teams were able to intercept the last 2 weapons before being deployed so they had effectively locked down Nazri’s enterprise and all his players. The bioweapon was in the hands of the authorities and the public had no idea how close they came to falling victim to the senator and his lust for power. In the end, the senator got what he deserved for crawling into bed with the likes of Nazari. She wouldn’t be losing any sleep over either of them.

Nikki’s shoulder was feeling a lot better, but the follow up doctor visit this morning had her reeling. She had been feeling ill for the past several days and when she informed her doctor, he ran the usual tests and she wasn’t prepared for the results, not one little bit. Right then, Porn Star Dancing started playing and Nikki realized that the song had definitely grown on her. She opened the email up and read,

“Dear Butterfly,

I can’t wait to see you. There is a car at the entrance waiting for you. Props spinning in 40, don’t be late! Before you say it, I already cleared it with McShay. I’ll see you shortly.

Love,

Simon”

Props spinning in 40, what does that even mean, has he traded his jet in for a prop plane? There was only one way to find out. She grabbed her purse and her go bag and headed out to meet the car.

40 minutes later, Nikki was at a small marina not too far from Quantico on the Potomac. The driver gave her a slip number when he dropped her off and she made her way down to the slip where she saw a beautiful older motor yacht in the slip. As she drew closer, she noticed the name elegantly painted on the back of the boat, “My Butterfly” She looked up and there was Simon on the back of the boat looking even better than Nikki had remembered, that 1000 watt smile firmly in place.

“Hello Butterfly, what do you think of her?” He walked down and helped Nikki aboard and planted a kiss on her that had her props spinning. She still didn’t know what that meant, but there was definitely some spinning going on.

“It’s beautiful, have you had it long?” She asked while looking around at the boat. It was definitely an older model, but it was in pristine condition, the wood shiny and all of the stainless-steel blinding.

“I may have stretched the truth about disposing of Echo’s boat. He was nice enough to sign the title over to me before he went and played with the sharks. I have her stashed away in case I need to leave the area without using the usual methods of egress. What do you think of the name?” He asked taking her hand and leading her around the boat.

“I love it, it is beautifully painted, did you do the artwork?”

“Dante did.” Nikki’s eyebrows shot up, “Really?”

“Yeah, turns out he is quite the graphic artist. I saw what he did up in his apartment and when we got back, he painted the name for us.” Nikki was smiling and shaking her head, still these men continue to surprise her at every turn.

Simon showed her around and explained that Dante is back at the warehouse taking “care” of Tango. As Simon fired up the boat and finally explained to Nikki that the boat is propelled by propellers, or “props”, she felt kind of silly for not knowing that as she has lived on the eastern seaboard her entire life. Once they got out into open water and Simon engaged the auto pilot and they were at the helm holding hands she finally got up the courage and looked over at Simon,

“There’s something I need to tell you….”

2:25 pm

You will be happy to know that the Zulu uprising has been put down. Extra credit if you can name the movie I stole that quote out of. I can also tell you that due to the sensitive nature of the fuckery involved with this whole plot that the world will never hear anything about it. To be honest, if you knew what they were up to it would difficult to go on living a normal carefree life. I have been in this black world most of my adult life and I can tell you it’s better not knowing. That being said, I will give you the highlights of how the Rage was able to persuade Zulu’s buddy to give us the details of his diabolical plan.

What I can share is that this group was planning a bioterrorist attack. Really nasty stuff too. The maker of said nasty really wasn’t in a mood to share intel with the Rage, which only made his day. The Rage was pretty impressed with D and his blowgun. We aren’t really sure how he would pick up that particular weapon or skill, but skilled he is. He spent a couple hours showing the Rage how it works so he was anxious to give it a whack. For sake of reference, the architect of this nasty will be referred to as PC. Short for Pin Cushion. Let me explain.

I had PC study Snatchchat footage for a couple of hours and he seemed a little paler when I went back in to check on him, but he still maintained his stoicism. Cool, let’s try out that blow gun. You know the Rage is not just going to use a boring dart, what fun would that be. We found an old car battery in the warehouse we were storing PC so I dipped the tips of the darts in the acid. That seemed to elicit a response that I think we can work with. The Rage is a quick study. I am sure all the hours of archery training had something to do with it. I hit the play button and “Bleed It Out” by Linkin Park started blasting over the speakers, the Rage singing even louder. We were about 30 darts in and PC seemed to be fading, but still would not reveal the location of the last of his bioweapons. My team intercepted some of this weapon so I had a small amount of it with me. I dipped the dart into the mix, making sure PC was watching my every move. I lined up a direct shot to his left testicle, took a deep breath and PC decided it was time to play nice. Once I got the locations, I grabbed another dart and shot him in his left nut anyway…. Then his right…. I would have liked to make some PC sausage, I have an old rusty meat grinder I carry with me just in case, but I need to turn him over to the authorities who are very interested to hear all about PC’s adventures in chemistry.

D and I bid adieu to our buddies Dead and Lee and we are heading back to see our lady. The Rage is ready for more adventure, but I could sure use some R&R. I should have used another term because the Rage thinks R&R means Rip and Remove.