Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (20 page)

“
You heard me, Dr.
Glendower. Ten weeks, two hours each day.”

“
He’ll be doing
what?”

“
Grunt work. Learning to
properly appreciate how a government building functions.” Ed
smiled, stood, and then moved around the mother to stare at the
son. “He’ll be changing trash cans, fetching supplies, coffee,
grunt work. For ten weeks. After the first five weeks are complete,
he will then refrain from touching a computer—with the exception of
schoolwork—until the ten week period expires. If I find he breaks
this rule, there will be more serious consequences. Adult
consequences, because it was an adult crime. Are we
clear?”

“
Yes, sir.” He wasn’t lost
to the confusion in her voice, but she moved quickly. She gathered
her child and shooed him back to where the rest of her litter
waited. She turned just as she exited his door. “Why wait the five
weeks? Why not now?”

“
Because, my dear, he’ll
have five weeks to realize that his gift also comes with
responsibility. If he has to anticipate giving up what he loves,
he’ll appreciate it more. Take the rest of the day off, get your
kids settled. There will be plenty for you to do in here
tomorrow.”

As he watched her walk away
he had one more thought—that was the hottest mother of seven
children he’d ever seen. Her husband was one lucky
bastard.

Marianna wasted no time
getting Ted and the rest of the boys out of Ed Dennis’s office. The
man scared her. She’d never seen brown eyes so cold. Still, he’d
let Ted off relatively lightly.

“
I didn’t mean to get you
in trouble.” Ted mumbled the words, his blond head hanging down and
his arms crossed as she ushered him and his brothers to the
van.

“
I know that.” Marianna
looked at this kid, this one more like her than any of the rest.
“But what were you thinking?”

“
I don’t know.” He kicked
his feet before fastening the seatbelt around his chest. “I was
just bored. Nobody was online, and there’s nobody to talk to in
this stupid town. And Nate was being a real jerk. So...”

“
So...let
me get this straight, you were bored, your brother was being a
jerk, and so you decided to
hack
a government building? Not your smartest move,
pal. We’re lucky you didn’t get me fired. And from the way he
talked, we were lucky you didn’t go to kiddie jail for a while. As
it is, I didn’t make the best first impression on my new
boss.”

“
He was
scary. I didn’t like him. Do I really have to go there every day
for
ten weeks?”
She didn’t miss the sullen set of his lips. Ted was one heck
of a pouter. Something else he got from her.

“
Yes. Count yourself lucky.
I’m not certain what the penalty is in this state for underage
hacking. Changing trashcans and fetching pencils seems like a
pretty sweet deal. Much better than a stint in boy’s school.” Not
that she’d have let that happen. She’d have prevented it. Maybe. If
she could have. Ed Dennis was a very powerful man. If he’d wanted
to pursue charges against Ted, Marianna doubted she’d have been
able to stop him. She resisted the urge to snarl. Men with that
kind of power were dangerous. She’d learned that the hard way. “One
you’re going to abide by to the very letter. Or you won’t touch a
computer again before your eighteenth birthday. You think five
weeks is bad—try seven years.”

“
Mom!”

“
Hey!
There was a pregnant woman in that elevator. If Ally hadn’t been in
there, that woman could have—probably
would have—
died. That’s not something
to be taken lightly.”

“
But I didn’t mean
to...”

“
It’s time you realized
that what you do has consequences. You need to start thinking
before you do things...big time.”

“
But...”

“
Close it, Theodore. You
did this, you’ll pay the fee. That’s the way the grown-up world has
to work.” She just hoped Ted would be the only one to pay. If
Dennis chose to hold this against her, she didn’t know what she’d
do.

She couldn’t afford to move
the boys again. And she wanted them as far away from their father
as she could get them. It was just safer for them that way. But if
she lost this job, what other choice would she have?

She’d worked for the Bureau
her entire career. And for the most part, it had been wonderful.
She wouldn’t want to give that up. “Listen, just do what you’re
told, man up to your mistake, kiddo. Admit you did it, and take the
punishment. It’ll be over in no time, and then things will go back
to the way they were, ok?”

He nodded. “I just wish we
were back in Indy.”

“
I know. But it’s not like
all of your friends were left behind. Ryan will be at school
Thursday, too.” Marianna gave a quick prayer of thanks that Allison
Brewster had chosen to relocate as well. It would have been as
tough for Marianna to lose her best friend as it would have been
for Ted to lose Allison’s son. Ryan and Ted had been friends since
the first day of kindergarten, when both Allison and Marianna had
brought them to the lab after their three hour class had ended.
They were practically inseparable. “None of your brothers’ best
friends moved with them. You’re the lucky one, you
know?”

“
I don’t feel so lucky. I’m
the one who has to take out everyone’s garbage, every single day!
People I don’t even know! And they won’t like me ‘cause I screwed
up the elevator.”

“
It’s no different than
when you do it at home.” Marianna pointed out. “Everybody has a job
to do when they’re grown-ups, Teddy. That’s how the world works.
Kind of like a soccer or baseball team. Or like a computer script.
Each part has to function correctly for the goal to be met, or for
the application to be run. You understand that, right?”

“
Yes.”

“
Well, you messed with the
script this morning. And instead of just crashing a computer or
losing a ball game, you could have killed someone. A lady had her
baby in that elevator. How would you have felt if that little baby
didn’t have a mom, and it was all your fault? That’s what you’re
going to think about tonight. And every time you change a trashcan
for the next ten weeks, I want you to think about what you did, and
what you could have cost that little baby. Got it?”

“
Yes, ma’am.”

“
Good. And by the
way...you’re going to be taking out the trash at home every night
for the next ten weeks, as well. And do a five page report for
me—by Friday—on the importance of consequences. Single spaced.
Normal margins.”

“
What? That’s so not
fair!”

Tough. I want that report
by bedtime Friday. So guess what you’ll be working on when you get
home?”

“
Mo-om!”

She knew how to discipline
her children when they needed it. Ed Dennis didn’t have the right
to question that.

Yes, her seven children
were a bit rambunctious at times, but she wouldn’t stifle them.
Their father had done enough of that before the divorce seven years
ago. The boys deserved to be who they were, even Ted with his
penchant for leaping before looking.

She did a damned good job
raising her children—it was Ed Dennis’s problem if he couldn’t see
that.

Still, she’d make a point
to stay as far away from that cold-eyed jerk as she could
get.

The kid’s face was washed,
his hair combed. He still wore the familiar uniform of Brynlock
Academy, navy and hunter with the school emblem on the breast. It
was buttoned and the tie straightened. Ed smiled inwardly, seeing
the obvious signs of a mother’s touch. Ted Glendower was reporting
for duty, and had he not specifically ordered Dr. Glendower back to
the lab, he knew she’d be hovering. An overprotective mother, that
one.

Still, to Ed that was so
much better than the alternative. “Hello, Ted, are you ready for
your first day?”

“
Yes, sir.” Ed had to give
the child credit, his voice wavered only a bit. “Sir?”

He paused, and Ed raised a
brow. “Yes?”

“
I wanted to...apologize.
Again. My mom told me about that lady; I didn’t mean to cause that
kind of trouble. Especially to my mom and Uncle Fin. I’m going to
tell him I’m sorry, too.” Ed didn’t miss the slight teary-eyed look
the boy shot him quickly.

“
That would be the
appropriate thing to do. And we know you didn’t intend to cause any
harm.” Ed was surprised the kid had the courage to look him in the
eye. He was only eleven, and seasoned field agents had stuttered in
Ed’s presence on many occasions. His admiration for the boy’s
parents grew. “But still...”

“
I don’t want you to be mad
at my mom!” The boy nearly shouted the words. “If you’re gonna be
mad it should be at me, not her!”

“
Son, I’m not the least bit
angry at your mother.” Ed had a hard time containing his surprise.
“I’m not even angry at you, anymore. You admitted you did it, and
you’ve accepted the terms of our deal. That tells me a lot about
you, you know.”

The kid sniffled. Ed handed
him a tissue, and smiled softly. With his blond hair sticking every
which way despite his mother’s combing it, and the small smattering
of freckles on his sunburned cheeks, Ted reminded him of his
grandson. Matthew was blond and wild-haired, too. Of course, this
child was older, but it was still the same. Matthew cried when
getting in trouble, too.

“
Like what?” Suspicion was
evident in the kid’s tone.

“
That you are aware of
responsibility, that you have courage, that you protect those you
love. Not everyone would stand up for their mom, you know that?
That’s a very manly thing to do.” Ed rounded the desk. “Especially
at your age. That tells me your mom and dad are doing a wonderful
job of raising you.”

“
Not my dad! I don’t have a
dad.”

“
Ok. That
tells me your
mother
is doing a wonderful job. Taking care of seven children isn’t
easy, especially alone. You should be proud of
her.”

“
I guess...so you’re not
going to be mean to her?”

“
No. I’d never be mean to
someone for someone else’s actions. That’s not right.” Ed laid a
hand on the boy’s shoulder, ignoring the way he tensed. “Now, I
think it’s time Agent Len showed you what you’ll be doing to help
out around here for the next ten weeks. Before you leave each day,
I do want you to stop by and let me know you’re finished,
ok?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
And Ted—if you have any
problems, I want you to come to me, ok?” Ed didn’t know why he
added the last part, but something told him this kid needed just a
little extra attention. From what he could piece together Ted fell
directly in the middle of the Glendower boys, and that couldn’t be
easy. Sometimes those in the middle got a bit
overlooked.

“
Yes, sir.”

Ninety minutes later the
kid didn’t look so pristine. The tie was unknotted, blazer
unbuttoned, and his hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in
months. He looked like an average kid. He also didn’t look so
scared. “I finished all the trashcans, sir.”

“
Excellent. Thank you. Is
your mother picking you up in Agent Len’s office, or are you
meeting her in the lab?”

“
My mom never lets us down
in the lab ‘cause of all the chemical stuff. She’s going to pick me
up here after she runs to the day care and gets my little brothers.
Five-fifteen. She’s always on time, too.” He nodded.

Ed checked his watch. His
housekeeper would be bringing Matthew to him shortly. It was just
shy of five o’clock and Rachel always dropped Matthew off on her
way home. “Why don’t you go sit in Agent Len’s office until your
mother gets here?”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Mr. Dennis is fine, or
Agent Dennis, Ted. You don’t have to ‘sir’ me all the
time.”

“
Yes, si—I mean Agent
Dennis.” The boy wasted no more time before rushing into Ed’s
assistant’s office. Agent Len smiled at the boy and Ed watched for
a moment as the child became more animated. If Ed was a gambling
man he’d lay odds that the boy was quickly developing a crush on
Agent Len. Ed turned back to his paperwork; he had a few things to
finish up before a certain six year old arrived.

Ed intended to let nothing
get in the way of the time he’d spend with his grandson. Time was
just too precious to waste. Matthew wouldn’t be six
forever.

Pretty soon
he’d
be eleven years old
and getting into all sorts of trouble.

There was a blond child
sitting at the head of the division’s desk. He wore a miniature
suit, one that was extremely familiar to Marianna. It proclaimed
this child was also a student of Brynlock Academy. His hair stuck
out just as wildly as Ted’s did, but it wasn’t
her
son sitting in the swivel chair.
This kid was too young for that.