Justice: A Billionaire Romance Part 4

Andrea laughed, shaking her head. "No thanks. I learned not to walk in on my sleeping brother during his teenage years."

"All right, I'll go take care of Riley," I said laughing. "Maybe he can use the patrol as a reason to get out of bed early, have a lunch date with Janet or something."

I found Mom in her office, reading over some reports. MJT had certainly moved from its original location, the building in the warehouse area that was now in fact the strike base Riley and Andi would be using that evening. After the collapse of the Confederation and Owen Lynch's syndicate, MJT was able to in fact purchase the entire Hamilton Building. Now occupying the top three floors, the Building was still one of the financial hubs of the city. "Hey Mom, how's it going?"

Even though she was my mother, my admiration for Tabby McCaffery was genuine. She called it luck, and maybe there was a bit of it in the way that her relations.h.i.+p with Sophie had led to her meeting Mark. But the growth of MJT was as much due to her hard work and genius as Mark's. More than once she'd made decisions and done things that she hadn't consulted Mark on, and she was almost invariably right. Her actions had saved or made MJT hundreds of millions over the course of the years, to the point that Mark had merely turned over everything except his personal stock market work to Mom and let her consult with him when she needed it. That was during the time we all jokingly called him the World's Richest Groundskeeper.

Mom looked up from her desk and smiled. "Good morning honey. How was the house?"

"Things are fine. I had to tell Riley he needs to reschedule his date with Janet, Mark needs our help with some work tonight," I said. We never spoke directly about vigilante work outside of the house, although we'd get around it at times using euphemisms. "Wish Dad didn't have to go up to the capitol to talk with the governor, but it happens."

I sat down at my desk. Officially, I was Mom's executive a.s.sistant, although the reality was, I was learning how to be an executive in the company. Mom knew that part of the reason MJT had been able to be successful for so long was that she was able to harness the ambitiousness of youth to keep it ahead of companies being run by so-called older and wiser heads. She wanted fresh blood in the executive chairs as quickly as possible, and that meant me. Andi was more interested in Dad and Mark's work at City Hall, Riley was still in school, and while Barbara was overseas, she'd be unavailable in general. "So what can I help you with today?"

"First I'm going to need you to review the contracts with that charitable group you were working on," Mom said, "then get tickets for Sat.u.r.day night. I just heard that the Philharmonic is doing a special with Hans Zimmer, and I thought Sophie and Mark would like to go."

"And if Mark says he's too busy?" I asked. "You know how he gets."

"Then I'll tell Sophie to tie him down to the bed," Mom said with a grin. "Although he might like that too much."

We went to work, Mom on her projects while I worked on mine. Mom preferred to have an open setup to her office instead of closed cubicles, so even though I was technically her a.s.sistant, I shared the s.p.a.ce with her and her other a.s.sistant, a quiet but very competent girl named Alicia who handled a lot of the day to day correspondence and stuff like that. She was a product of the MJT community centers, second generation in fact. Her mother had been part of the first wave of job trainees at the MJT centers, getting her and her two kids off of welfare. Alicia followed suit and had actually gotten into college with the training she'd gotten at the centers, and for three years had been Mom's a.s.sistant. She was twenty-six now, and made Mom's work at MJT as stress-free as possible.

After reviewing the contracts, I called up the Philharmonic. MJT was a diamond patron of the Phil, and as such, we could land tickets even on short notice. "Hi, this is Carter McCaffery from MJT Holdings."

The names McCaffery and MJT swing weight in certain areas of the city, and I reflected that I was glad that I had my night work. If I didn't, I'd actually start thinking I was somehow more important than other people. The way the person on the other end of the line practically kowtowed over a phone line was evidence of this sort of treatment. "Of course, Mr. McCaffery. How can we help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to get two tickets to your performance Sat.u.r.day night. Do you have any prime seats left?"

While floor seats were sold out, the Phil did have a luxury box available, which I booked. It was the price of four tickets, but I didn't think Mom would mind. It was for Sophie and Mark, after all. Hanging up the phone, I flashed Mom a thumbs up. "Luxury box, Sat.u.r.day night. I'll leave the rest to you."

Chapter Seven.

Riley

I double checked my right shoulder-mounted weapon, a three millimeter sniper round that was accurate out to a mile if I aimed it right, and sent it back over my shoulder. It was still a key part of the sniper's trade that aim and eyesight were important, even with all the benefits of technology. "Ready."

Andi nodded, clipping her backup sidearm to her left thigh. With the reports of increased gang activity, we weren't taking chances, and both of us were going out with more firepower than we'd done in a long time. We double checked each other, knowing that Mom was on coms and had to not only deal with us, but with Carter who was getting ready for his own op. "How're you feeling?"

Andi shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Don't want to be out tonight."

I understood her feeling. Janet hadn't been too upset when I told her that a family situation had come up, and that we had to delay our next date, but it still wasn't something I wanted. I'd been looking forward to it, with an antic.i.p.ation that I didn't expect. I could tell by the way she kissed me good night on the front steps of her house that she wanted to invite me in, or maybe better yet, for me to take her to bed. And in a total surprise to me, I was ready for it to go further, not in terms of s.e.x, but in terms of something else that I wasn't even ready to admit to myself what it was. "Stay frosty, and we'll get through this."

"Stay frosty?" Andi asked, giving me a smile. As the 'ice' side of the red and white teaming, she and I both had nicknames from the cold side. "Looking at a new nickname?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Not at all. Do you think Carter would ever let me live it down if I did? Every patrol would be an unending series of quotes from that d.a.m.n song and cartoon. I just mean we stay alert, and we can both go home safely. You to a warm bed, and me to a soft one."

"Speaking of which, are you getting anxious for it to not be just you?" Andrea asked.

I thought about it for a second, then nodded. "Yes and no. I mean, I like Janet, of course. But not as a short term thing, you know?"

Andrea studied me for a second, then laughed softly, shaking her head. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"What?"

"When my little brother becomes a man. Come on, we stay radio silent any longer and Mom's going to worry. Let's go."

We left the base, the old MJT headquarters. The building was now just a strike base for us, our motorcycles parked inside the secured building. I wished we could have taken them up to Filmore Heights, but the mission tonight was to gather information, and they were too noticeable. We needed to go to the rooftops.

Thankfully, our suits made sure that even a long gap between buildings was not a challenge. Back when Dad and Patrick had been doing this gig, they'd never jump a gap bigger than ten feet, which in all honesty meant they often had to meander their way through patrols, or move at street level a lot.

But with the suits that Andi and I wore, even a twenty five foot gap was no problem. With a little device that we wore on our backs that acted like a miniature hang glider, it was a piece of cake.

Outside on the roof, Andi and I turned our comm units on. "Checking in. Everything sound good, Mom?"

"All good." Mom was handling the computer coordination for us all tonight, while Dad acted as backup to Carter. Patrick was unfortunately out of town for the night, having been called to the state capitol for a meeting with the governor, and we wouldn't see him until the morning.

"Mom, how's Carter?"

"I'm just making the last of my load out checks now, babe. How're you two getting along?"

"Just fine, Carter. You worry about yourself, we'll handle this," I interjected. "Think you can avoid getting run over by a Boeing?"

"Pretty sure, Riley. Think you can avoid getting your a.s.s kicked by the Eighty-Eights?"

I laughed, Carter wasn't going to rile me up that easy. "You'll see. Stay safe."

I clicked off, looking at Andrea. "Ready?"

Andrea nodded. "I'll take the lead. No offense Riley, but you've been out of the game for what, eight months now?"

"No, I did one over Christmas vacation, but yeah, go ahead," I said. Andi started off at a light jog, the two of us hopping rooftop to rooftop. It's much faster than going by city streets, since you move as the crow flies most of the time. In less than twenty minutes, we were standing on the gray slated roof of St. Timothy's Church, which gave us a commanding view of Filmore. I was slightly warm, but not too bad overall. While my Harvard dieting had cost me some muscle, I still had my endurance.

We stopped on the steeply slanted sides and held onto the top of the peak, catching our breath. "Hey, you did pretty good," Andrea said. "I was worried."

"Don't be," I replied. "I told you, I'm fine."

"Good," she replied back. Reaching into the pocket on the left side of the belt she was wearing, she pulled out a monocular. It enhanced the normal abilities of our cowls, which could magnify things up to three times and could even do night vision. "Hold on, let me check the area."

I let Andi scan while I caught my breath. St. Timothy's is a geographic landmark of ours, one that we used nearly every time we patrolled the area. It was one of the tallest buildings in Filmore, and it also just had that sort of Gothic feel to it that made running around the city in skin-tight armored outfits not feel so d.a.m.n ridiculous.

Speaking of outfits, I was glad that mine had a different build than the rest. Carter and Andi may have not minded walking around like they were showing the world everything they had, but I was a little more circ.u.mspect. It'd taken me a while to figure out what to wear, but in the end I borrowed an old concept from Dad, wearing cargo pants that came in a black and white speckled pattern. They cinched at the ankle to match my boots, so it kind of gave me an old-fas.h.i.+oned militaristic appearance. When I dropped into an alley and started whooping a.s.s, the look added to the intimidation factor. It was why I was considered the 'heavy' of the group by the criminal underworld, even though Carter certainly had busted more heads than me.

Andrea on the other hand took after her G.o.dmother and giver of her middle name, embracing her natural s.e.xiness and playing it up. I'd seen pictures of Tabby when she was in her twenties, and she was a heart-stopper. Even now, she was still beautiful. Andrea was in that mold, except she was also a bit like Mom. During the day, she was somewhat shy and reserved, only really opening up with her family. But when she was the Ice Princess - I wondered idly if she would rename herself the Ice Queen once she was married - she was bold, daring, and yes, more than willing to flaunt her looks, despite her protestations to the contrary.

Andrea completed her check and pointed. "Looks like the Eighty-Eights are active tonight. Want to check it out?"

I nodded. "Why not? It's been a while since I last played with those guys."

As we made our way towards the Circle K that was still the most noticeable hangout in Eighty-Eight territory, I thought again how ironic it was that the Eighty-Eights were still around. Patrick had targeted them first, and of the gangs in Filmore, they were the ones he hated the most. However, while the Latin Kings and Gangster Disciples had faded away, absorbed into the gangs that had replaced them, the Eighty-Eights maintained their presence. If anything, as MJT's policies took hold, a bit of gentrification had come over the neighborhood. Filmore Heights became more racially balanced, with it being nearly equal parts white, black and Hispanic, and the Eighty-Eights had increased their members.h.i.+p.

We didn't land on the roof of the Circle K, it was too far of a jump down, we'd have left footprints in the roof. Instead, we stopped on the auto parts store across the street, which had replaced a tenement that'd been torn down years earlier. We set up our sensors and waited. "Hey Mom."

"Yes Riley?" Mom said in my ear. We'd been checking in every ten minutes like we were supposed to, letting her focus on helping Carter. He was by himself, we could back each other up.

"Andi and I have our sensors out, going to see what's up. How's Carter looking?"

"According to him, it's quiet as can be. What do you say, Carter?"

I could hear Carter chuckle, and a quick scuffle of movement. "No problems here. There's a series of warehouses that I want to check out, but so far everything looks nice and clean. What about you guys?"

"We're going to see what the Eighty-Eights are up to," Andi said. "I saw some movement in their territory, thought they could use a little visit."

"Stay safe. And remember, three days."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom, they're getting lovey-dovey again."

I could see a smirk on Andi's face, and even Mom chuckled. "Okay, you two go ahead. We'll be here if you need us."

I tapped my comm unit, and looked over at Andi, who had a curious look on her face. "What?"

"Do you really mind it when Carter and I are affectionate?" she asked suddenly. "You know you are important to me too."

I laughed quietly and came over, taking Andrea's hand. "Of course not, I just like poking fun at you. The fact is, looking back, I knew you two were perfect for each other long before you acknowledged it. I think everyone did. It took Alex Young to bring it to light though."

Andi groaned. "Alex Young. Now there's a name I never wanted to hear for the rest of my life...."

Chapter Eight.

Two Years Earlier

Andrea I grinned as the fans roared around me. Sure, it was the last home game ever for the Spartans before they moved, but it hadn't been their choice. The league's realignment policy meant that teams had to be distributed not only in their divisions but in their television markets as well. With our area of the country having too many teams, the Spartans had drawn the short end of the stick, and were being forced to relocate to Las Vegas of all places. The owners hadn't liked it, and had in fact tried to block the move, but in the end, they lost. The owners had at least gotten one win, this was the last game for the Spartans as a team name ever. Starting next year, they were going to become the Las Vegas Centurions.

"And now, your starting defense...." the public address announcer said, and the fans roared louder. The Spartans had missed the playoffs by one game, and it wasn't the defense's fault. The offense had been devastated by injuries, with the Spartans today starting a guy at quarterback whose last start was for Division III Wisconsin-Oshkosh, seven years ago.

"At defensive end, six foot six, two-hundred-and-seventy-two pounds, from Modesto, California by way of the University of California, Los Angeles, Alex Young!"

I wasn't sure whose cheer was louder, mine or the rest of the crowd's as Alex came down the tunnel and bursting onto the field. His long blonde hair waved in the bright winter sunlight, his megawatt smile that earned him legions of female fans beaming. Yes, Alex had tens of thousands of female fans, but he was mine. All mine.

I still didn't believe it myself, that I was dating the most handsome professional athlete in the entire country, even before I'd graduated college. I'd met Alex at the beginning of the season during a Spartans press event that Tabby had gotten me into. I was a fish out of water, nervous around all these local celebrities. I saw four newscasters, a television actress, and more. Yet somehow I'd worked up the guts to talk when Alex came up to me, and we'd been dating ever since.

"Jeez Andi, could you keep it down? My ears are ringing enough as it is, and we're in a luxury box," Barbara complained next to me. She was dressed vivaciously, and had come only because it was a family event. She was in college too, with her going back to Europe to continue her education soon. She wanted to get her master's, while Carter and I were content with getting a bachelor's and then adding on in a manner similar to what our parents had done, a lot of self study. Mom actually self-taught herself sociology in order to back up the false degree that 'Joanna' had earned from the University of Was.h.i.+ngton, while Tabby, in addition to her formal MBA, learned a lot about medicine from Mom, becoming a halfway decent medic as well as a business genius. Barbara was different, and so there wouldn't be too many more opportunities for the entire family to hang out together. "By the way Andi, you're missing watching your brother's game."

"What is your brother doing?" Mom asked, leaning casually against Dad, her hand resting on his thigh. They were using the opportunity to, as they called it, "go dating" again. So they were both acting like they weren't in their forties, but instead back in the times before I'd been born. "Do tell me he's staying out of trouble."

"If you look carefully, Riley's talking with two of the cheerleaders. Last thing he told me before going down was that he's taking one of them out after the game. I think the Asian girl," Barbara said, pointing.

I looked, and sure enough, Riley was casually chatting with two of the girls. "Riley!" I yelled. "What is he doing?"

"Probably trying to pick up a new girlfriend," Dad said. "You know how he is."

Dad sighed, and took Mom's hand off his thigh. "You're right, I guess. All right, let me go gather him up."

"d.a.m.n shame, that one girl looks cute," Barbara said in a low voice after Dad left. "Maybe if Riley won't do anything, I could."

"Barbara Sophie McCaffery, behave yourself," Mom said with a laugh.

"Yes Ma'am," Barbara said in a resigned voice. Mom chuckled and took a drink of her champagne. Meanwhile, Barb looked over at me and stuck her tongue out, wiggling it. While she might not do anything publicly, most likely she'd be trying to hook up with exactly the same cheerleaders that Riley was talking to. She and him shared a sort of rivalry, although from what I could tell, Barbara had the edge in terms of seduction skills. It wasn't that she was a heart-breaker, far from it. She approached every partner with the clear intention that it was just for fun, probably just one time, and why not have some fun with it? Certainly not my style, but I wasn't one to criticize family.

The game was great, Alex getting four sacks in a performance that was sure to earn him player of the week if not consideration for defensive player of the year honors. The highlights for the rest of the game consisted of Riley being brought back to the luxury box by Dad, and him promptly escaping again in order to go back to what he was doing. When both of the cheerleaders Riley'd been talking to disappeared only to reappear about halfway through the fourth quarter, I guessed what had happened.

"Riley can get himself back from the stadium," Dad said, "and I'll have a word with him in the gym later."

Part of me wished I could see that. Dad's idea of having a word with you in the gym would involve discussion for sure, but it would also involve a large amount of swapping punches and kicks, or occasionally escrima sticks and staffs.

"Riley can get a ride home with me and Alex," I said, "if I find him."