Silent Cries: Discoveries

By Rob Joy

This story began when I could not sleep. I was having movie-like visions that kept me awake at night. Night after night of not being able to sleep, I decided to write these visions down. Over many years I would get these dreamlike visions in bits and pieces. They were jumbled and in no particular order. As soon as I had written them down, the vi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Lacquer Press & Marketing Inc.
• Release date: Aug 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948288033

Rob Joy

Rob Joy is a passionate evangelist, speaker and author. He is founder of Storming the Nations, a ministry committed to seeing a social and cultural change in the UK for the glory of God. He is married to Lydia and they live in the South of England.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Police Commissioner Alberts looked up at the two men in front of him and smiled ‘Welcome back.’

Once the niceties were over and the men were seated in the chairs provided, Inspector Oliver Thomas handed Steven and John a file ‘your assignment’ he said sharply.

This was Steven and John’s first day back at work after nearly two years leave. The leave followed a four-year undercover stint that began when they were nineteen. Although the undercover operation was successful some activities they were involved in were not quite legal and they suffered personal injury. Under their aliases the boys were sent to a prison hospital for six months as much for recovery as for punishment. Steven and John were then released but official records say their aliases then spent a further eighteen months in solitary confinement. Meaning their aliases were released from prison at the same time as they were sent back undercover.

Inspector Oliver Thomas was not in favor of Steven and John returning to the Undercover Task Force as Special Officers. However, under their aliases of Stefan Chalk and Jack Cheese they had quite a reputation on the street and an even bigger reputation in the police force for getting the job done.

The Undercover Task Force was made up of about a hundred police officers, both undercover and administration. Twelve of the best were selected and became special officers, identities unknown even to each other. These twelve including Steven and John, were only known to Commissioner Alberts and Inspector Oliver Thomas as they were often used for internal investigations. Steven and John were the only ones that worked in a partnership.

While completing their three-month refresher course at the police academy Steven and John spent their spare time identifying the other ten special officers. Oliver had informed them that often officers unwittingly reported on each other. Having identified them, Steven and John knew who to be wary of.

Opening the files Steven and John read that this assignment was sending Chalk and Cheese to the docks to discover how shipping containers were being emptied. The shipping containers were being unloaded from ships, inspected by custom officials but when opened by the owners they were found to be empty. The police had one undercover officer in place for the last three months with no results.

Through the local Parole Officer Chalk and Cheese had jobs arranged as part of the loading/unloading crews at the docks. A few days in, Chalk and Cheese were called to the Manager’s office. Knowing that they were recently released from prison he advised that he would not tolerate any misbehaviour or trouble from the police.

He pointed to their wrists, indicating the circling scars, ‘I can see that you were part of the Hong Organization’ he said ‘there are other guys like you working here, I don’t want new gangs being formed. You will be watched.’

Chalk and Cheese had already come into contact with a few men that carried the same scar on their wrists. None seemed too pleased to see them. After the police dissolved the Hong Organization the men involved tried to separate themselves from each other.

Two weeks into the assignment Chalk and Cheese had a fair idea who was behind the robberies but had not yet worked out how and when. They suspected one of their supervisors named Gus. He had been a dock worker for twenty years, an old hand who knew that docks like the back of his hand. Gus micro managed his crew, wanting to know where they were, what they were doing, who they spoke to and what was said for every minute of every shift.

Chalk and Cheese kept to themselves for the most part working in teams when required.

The work was very physical and Cheese struggled through each day.

In their lunch hour and after Cheese’s usual twenty-minute power nap the two went for a walk among the thousands of shipping containers stacked on the wharf. One day, talking as they walked, Chalk’s hand trailed along the ends of the containers. His fingers brushed over a padlock. He stopped dead in his tracks as the lock opened.

Chalk closed the lock and then gave it another slight tug, the lock opened. Watching, Cheese tried the lock on the next container, it did the same thing. Checking all the padlocks on the containers of the first level of the row they walked down they found at least half of them opened.

Chalk and Cheese waited until the Manager had left his office at the end of the day’s shift. They broke in and hacking the computer they found that each container number that held a defected padlock contained items or products that were classed as easily disposable on the black market. They had the how, now they need to find out when.

Closing up the Manager’s office Chalk and Cheese walked out of the shipyard and headed to the shopping centre office. Advising Inspector Oliver Thomas of their findings, the police had a couple of hours till dark to set up some surveillance. While Chalk and Cheese went back to the docks to begin a visual surveillance, Oliver arranged the infra-red cameras and organised more man power.

The docks came to life around six o’clock on a normal morning as men arrived for work. At four am the headlights of two trucks lit up the dark wharf. Gus and another supervisor, whose name escaped them, were driving. The trucks drove through the stacked shipping containers, stopping one row away from where Chalk and Cheese discovered the defective padlocks.

Six men jumped out of the rear of both trucks. In the headlights of the vehicles the men were given instructions by Gus and then they spread out in three rows transferring the contents from the shipping containers to the backs of the trucks. In the headlights Chalk and Cheese were able to identify each man by name or section they worked.

One and a half hours later at exactly five thirty every man closed the containers, loaded the trucks; climbed aboard and the trucks drove away. The police surveillance team followed discreetly.

By six o’clock, men including Chalk and Cheese were arriving at work. At ten am the wharf was shut down as crime scene investigators arrived and all the identified men were arrested. The trucks had been impounded an hour earlier. All employees present were questioned, whereabouts ascertained and had statements taken before being released.

Chalk and Cheese went home to sleep before the de-briefing that afternoon. At the de-briefing Oliver Thomas informed them that due to their success of this operation it had been decided to keep them in position for the next six months. Chalk and Cheese were to investigate and recommend procedures to close loopholes for the importation of drugs, weapons and other contraband through shipping channels.

With the weekend off Steven and John spent it with Alexis and Sara. Not seeing the girls everyday while undercover meant the time they were together was special. Dinner and dancing on Friday night followed by a day at the beach surfing then gaming and partying on Saturday night. A trip to the farm on Sunday where Steven and John played with their little brother and sister, Kyle and Mia and lunched with their adoptive father and his wife, Peter and Molly. The afternoon saw all four on cross country motorbikes tearing their way around the farm.

Alexis and Sara left after dinner on Sunday night. Both Steven and John commented to each other how nice it would be for the girls to move in. But both were also hesitant as they still relied on each other and still needed that relationship. They were unsure of how Alexis and Sara would react to the revelation that they had slept together in the past and still needed each other to overcome their insecurities in the immediate future.

The need for comfort from each other was lessening but it didn’t take much for an incident or situation to bring back the nightmares and their insecurities. Steven was now completely free of drugs and had been for some time but that did not stop the cravings. He had always used drugs to bury his demons but John had helped him find other ways.

Chapter 2

It was lunch time the following Monday before the workers were allowed back on the wharf. Chalk and Cheese waited with all the other men and women at the gates for the crime scene investigators to leave. The shift leaders cracked the whip as delivery schedules were behind and there was a backlog of ships waiting to be loaded and unloaded. Chalk and Cheese kept to themselves, not doing anything to stand out but doing enough to be noticed.

Several days later Chalk and Cheese had finished their shift and were heading to the office to punch out their time cards. Walking through the maze of shipping containers, again Chalk was trailing his hand along the padlocks as he had done previously. About halfway down the row a lock opened. Chalk and Cheese stopped, looked at each other. All the other defective padlocks were found on containers stacked in the northern end of the wharf. Chalk and Cheese had been working containers in the southern end of the wharf. It seemed the police missed one.

Using his mobile phone for light Chalk slipped inside the dark container to have a quick look at the contents. ‘Vases’ he said to Cheese as he shut the door and relocked the padlock.

‘Must be something else or it would not have this lock’ replied Cheese.

Taking their time, they dawdled back to the office. They had a ten-minute window of access to the computer in the manager’s office at shift change. After punching out their time cards they waited for the managers to meet on the dock and go through their hand over procedure. Chalk kept watch as Cheese hacked into the computer, located the manifest of the container and looked up the listed contents. Vases from China.

Only one in five containers were inspected by custom officials and this one had passed its inspection. It was waiting to be collected by its owner. Chalk and Cheese decided to take a look, something did not make sense. Finding somewhere to hide till it was dark was easy on the wharf. As soon as it was dark they pulled their beanies over their faces and pulled on their gloves. Using their mobile phones as torches for light they began to inspect the crates. Opening the first crate they found vases, lying in thick straw. Eight vases in each crate, about two hundred crates. There was nothing in the first four vases. The surprise came in vase number five and six. Diamonds.

Inside the two vases, a small plastic bag with somewhere between twelve and twenty diamonds.

Holding up a torch each and staring into each other’s eyes, a silent conversation took place. Two hundred crates, two bags per crate, average fifteen diamonds per bag meant six thousand diamonds minimum. The best part, no one could report them stolen. Chalk and Cheese both nodded and turned away, they had a lot of work to do.

Painstakingly Chalk and Cheese opened every crate, located the vases with the packets of diamonds and then closed the crates back up. By the time they were finished no one would ever know the crates had been opened. In the early hours of the morning they closed up the container and headed home.

Chalk sent Cheese straight to bed as he was exhausted. It had been a long day and night. Chalk opened the safe in his house and put in the four hundred packets of diamonds.

The next night Chalk and Cheese took out the packets and had a good look at them. The packets held mostly white diamonds but there were a few others scattered in, gold, pink, yellow, green and black. Sizes were varied as well as cut and uncut. The diamonds were sorted and re-bagged and placed back into the safe. Both knew that it would be many years before they would be able to move these diamonds. Quick research on the net showed at current value, depending on carat size and quality they had somewhere between one point five and two million dollars in diamonds, maybe more.

Checking the locks on shipping containers and taking advantage of finding any defective locks made working on the docks worthwhile. Their ‘fence’ was kept busy and the proceeds helped to fill the empty space in their home safes. Although they didn’t find any more diamonds, they did find other products that could be easily sold on the black market.

Another month went by. Chalk and Cheese had their recommendations to give but decided to hold them back for the time being. They were enjoying the work and freedom. If they worked too quickly then Oliver may pull them out and they were not ready to leave. They did report a couple of minor cases of drug importation and one case of hand guns, these were investigated by Oliver’s men and more arrests followed.

One lunch time during their fourth month on the docks, Cheese received a call from Tony. This was unusual for three reasons, one, it had been many years since Tony or Rob felt the need to ring them. Two, they knew the boys were working undercover and three, the call was coming in on John’s personal phone. Waking from his power nap Cheese had to find the phone hidden in the bottom of his backpack. Answering the call and putting it on speaker, Tony advised Steven and John that their place was under surveillance. Four cars, big antennas, two front and two on the rear street. One male in each car, dressed in suits they had been there all morning.

Chalk and Cheese wandered up to the wharf entrance and quickly identified two more cars parked on the street as Tony described. Large sedans, big antennas, one male occupant in suit. One car faced left and the other right. No escape.

Someone had made the connection between Chalk and Cheese and Steven and John. Who the hell was it? Chalk and Cheese had left their motorbikes in the university car park and walked to the wharf that morning. They made a plan for their departure after work.

Management were slow in replacing the two dozen men arrested in the last few months. Being behind with their schedules on Monday some of the men were being offered overtime to help catch up. There was an unwritten rule that newbies were offered overtime last. Chalk and Cheese were still considered newbies, so it caused some angst when they were offered double shifts before some long term employees.

These men were waiting for Chalk and Cheese at the wharf gates when the shift was over. About eight men who were not offered overtime jostled and threatened Chalk and Cheese as they tried to leave. Chalk and Cheese refused to give up the double shifts and told the men where to go in a most undignified manner. This led to a scuffle on the footpath. More threats were made to their safety and punches were thrown, Chalk and Cheese retaliated and a fight broke out.

Two went down with broken noses and another two were bent over holding their privates. Cheese looked up at one stage and saw the two suited men get out of their sedans and head towards the fight. This distraction allowed his two assailants to get the better of him. Cheese took two heavy blows to his stomach and as he doubled over winded another swung from the side landing a punch just under his rib cage knocking out the little air left in his lungs. Cheese ended on the ground gasping as the man used his foot and kicked in him in the stomach.

Chalk saw Cheese go down and his temper took over, like a prize fighter he quickly took out his two assailants and then began to pummel those attacking Cheese. Realising that they were not going to win the two men gave up and collecting their mates they took off.

Chapter 3

Chalk went to Cheese, but Cheese brushed him aside, ‘the’ gasping between words ‘cars’.

Chalk looked towards the two cars on the street in time to see the two men get back into their vehicles and continue the surveillance.

‘Back in their cars’ he said.

‘Who the fuck are they?’ Chalk questioned before turning his attention to Cheese.

Unable to get enough air in his lungs while struggling for breath Cheese began to panic. Chalk quickly knelt in front of him, gripped his shoulders, locked their eyes and began to breathe deeply. He held it then release the air slowly. After Chalk did this a couple of times Cheese copied and it wasn’t long before his lungs began to fill. The feeling of panic left him.

Sitting on the ground assessing their injuries Chalk checked that Cheese was able to continue and go through with their plan. Cheese nodded ‘as soon as I can fill my lungs up, I’ll be good to go.’

Slowly and gingerly Chalk and Cheese, holding his ribs, made their way to the university. Normally they would use the facilities here and change back into Steven and John before riding their bikes home, but today they needed to get a look at the men following them.

Arriving on the university campus they headed for the research centre knowing that Alexis and Sara would be finishing any time soon. Sitting on a park bench they waited. They didn’t bother to look for the suits following, they knew they would be there. It wasn’t long before a group came out of the research centre, Alexis and Sara among them.

Chalk and Cheese put their motorbike keys in their hands and stood up, as they did Alexis and Sara saw them, making eye contact. Apart from a slight pause in their head movement they gave no sign of recognition. The group of girls began to walk away, Chalk and Cheese followed.

A short distance later Chalk and Cheese moved quickly, pushing their way through the group. The girls protested at being pushed around and as they passed Chalk and Cheese dropped their keys into Alexis and Sara’s bags. Then they took off running into the nearest building, hearing the group of girls complaining about their rudeness.

In the building they went room to room, not doing anything wrong just making their presence known to any of the occupants. Running through lecture rooms and disrupting classes and into the next building. Finally, someone called security. Chalk and Cheese put up a half-hearted chase then allowed themselves to be cornered and caught. Chalk and Cheese were held in the security office as they waited for the police.

The police arrived. Handcuffed and arrested, Chalk and Cheese were escorted out of the university and walked towards a police van parked on the street. A large crowd had gathered as news of the escapade spread quickly. Alexis and Sara were there watching as were the suited men.

Cheese elbowed Chalk, who followed his gaze. One of the suited men was talking to a police officer waiting at the police van. He held up some identification, it must have been official as the police officer continued talking with him. Looking at the suits, Chalk and Cheese did not recognise either of them.

Just before the door of the police van shut Chalk and Cheese saw Alexis and Sara holding the motorbike keys in their hands, grins on their faces.

Alexis and Sara could take the bikes home but they could not get into the garage or house as Steven and John had not added their thumb or palm prints into the system, something they would have to rectify.

Chalk and Cheese were questioned and held at the police station for a couple of hours before being released without charge. They were banned from the university campus.

The boys changed back into Steven and John and met up with Alexis and Sara sitting on seats by their parked bikes. Alexis and Sara fussed over them. Black eyes, cut lips, skinned knuckles and numerous body bruises. They took Alexis and Sara home on the back of their bikes as the girls insisted on tending to their wounds and giving them a warm bath.

The boys drove past the front of their home looking closely at the surveillance cars and then drove around the block and stopped at the end of the street. Opening the garage door by remote control Steven and John watched the reaction of the suits sitting in the surveillance cars. Both sat up straighter in their seats and their mouths moved as they spoke into a walkie talkie.

There was a bus stop just before their driveway from this direction. Steven and John sat on the idling bikes and waited. Alexis and Sara asked what was going on but received no answer apart from a ‘hold on tight.’ Sara and Alexis wrapped their arms around Steven and John waist’s resting their heads on their backs.

A few minutes later a bus pulled up to the bus stop. Steven and John gunned their motorbikes and roared past the bus, swerved in front of it and into their garage, lowering the roller door behind them.

‘What was that all about?’ asked Alexis as she took off her helmet.

Steven and John took their hands, scanned their prints in the scanner and took Alexis and Sara upstairs to John’s house. At the rear of the house they pointed out the two surveillance cars and then the other two at the front of the house.

‘We don’t know who they are or what they want’ said Steven as they made their way back to the lounge room.

John dropped onto the couch ‘it’s been a shit of a day.’

‘What happened today, why did you guys get into a fight?’ Sara asked as she sat next to John holding his hand and looking at the cuts on his knuckles.

Together Steven and John told the girls about the phone call from Tony, the surveillance cars at the docks, the fight with the dockworkers about overtime and their plan to get a look at the men in suits by getting arrested at the university.

‘Why did you drop your keys in our bags?’ asked Sara ‘And who is Tony?’ asked Alexis.

John leaned back on the couch, rubbed his face and moaned ‘shit.’

Steven sat next to John and placed a hand on his leg ‘Someone has made the connection between us and our aliases, that is why the surveillance cars are here and at the docks. We didn’t want the police to make the same connection when they arrested us, the bikes are registered in our real names.’

‘Oh’ both girls replied in unison.

Sara looked at John saying ‘you look exhausted’ as she gently touched his swollen cheek.

John closed his eyes ‘I am’ he said, then ‘can you girls give us a minute?’

Alexis and Sara said that they would go downstairs to Steven’s house and see what they could find to make a meal for the four of them.

Once Alexis and Sara had gone downstairs John opened his eyes and turned to Steven ‘what do we do now?’

‘I don’t know’ he said rubbing his hands through his hair, ‘we need to find out who they are.’

John moved to the floor pulling Steven with him. They said cross legged on the floor facing each other with their hands locked by fingers as the scars on their palms touched. Their foreheads touched briefly before Steven pulled back and told John that he looked like shit.

‘Don’t make me laugh’ said John ‘it hurts too much.’

Steven released one hand and lifted John’s top revealing black bruising already coming out on his torso.

As their hands relocked Steven winced ‘I think I have a broken finger.’

So much had happened that day, Steven and John needed to process. How to handle the workers at the docks, who was following them and how had the connection between Steven and John and Chalk and Cheese been made. Also Steven and John needed to take this opportunity to begin to educate Alexis and Sara to their closeness. The girls would accept it or run!

With their hands linked they sat on the floor for some time as the current flowed through them. A silent conversation was taking place.

Oblivious to everything around them Steven and John did not hear Alexis and Sara coming up the stairs.

Entering the room with bags of ice in their hands, Sara began to say ‘dinner is underway’ but she pulled up short as she took in the sight of Steven and John sitting on the floor holding hands. ‘What are you doing?’ she asked slowly.

Opening their eyes and looking at each other, John replied ‘we’re talking.’

Sara had a confused look on her face ‘but I don’t hear any words’

‘We don’t need words’ said Steven. ‘This is what we do.’ Releasing one of their linked hands they showed the scars on their palms.

‘We connect’ said John, making it sound so simple!

Chapter 4

Alexis put her ice on the coffee table, moved it out of the way and then sat on the floor forming a triangle. She took the unlinked hands and held them to the side of her face, one on each cheek. Closing her eyes, she sat still for several seconds then exclaimed ‘I can feel it. There is some sort of current, I feel it.’

Opening her eyes, she looked from one to the other ‘You don’t know what to do, do you? You’re scared?’

‘Earlier you asked who Tony was’ began John.

Steven continued ‘Tony and his brother, Rob are our business partners.’

‘We met them when we were kids on the street.’

‘In our teens we began a business as a front….’ here, Steven hesitated.

‘A front for our illegal activities’ John finished for him.

Steven and John’s eyes never wavered from each other.

‘They are the only ones who know the whole truth. Our aliases, our illegal activities. They are our protectors.’

‘But over the years they have steered the business into a legit one.’

In unison Steven and John turned their eyes to Alexis ‘We have not used the business for anything illegal since we met you.’

‘The police?’ questioned Alexis.

John shook his head ‘they know our aliases but not about our own activities.’

‘You’re afraid that it might be police outside and they know about your activities?’

Neither Steven nor John could say yes to this question, locking eyes again.

Alexis could see fear in their eyes. ‘This business, are we surrounded by it?’

‘Yes. C & C Security is ours.’

‘What now?’ asked Alexis?

Steven replied ‘I get John to bed and get you girls home, safely.’

‘Not before we eat and tend your wounds’ said Alexis.

John broke eye contact with Steven and looked to Sara who was still standing in the doorway. She had not moved or said a word while this exchange took place.

‘Sara?’

‘This is all a bit much’ she said shaking her head ‘I’ve never known anyone who has broken the law, real criminals, I mean.’

‘It’s okay, I understand.’ John said as he lowered his eyes. Steven squeezed their still linked hand.

Alexis broke the moment asking Sara to get the bags of ice so they could ice the bruises. Silently Sara helped Alexis ice faces, hands and torsos. Alexis strapped Steven’s broken finger before using both the bathrooms upstairs in John’s house to draw them each a hot bath.

John fell asleep during his bath. Alexis was concerned. If Steven and John had had the same day, why was John so exhausted?

Sara had gone downstairs to finish dinner, so Alexis, oblivious to his nakedness woke John, dressed him in a robe and helped him down the stairs. Steven followed shortly after.

Finishing the meal Steven announced that he would take the girls home.

Both Steven and John hardly said a word over dinner.

As Alexis cleared the table she turned to Steven ‘there’s more isn’t there?’

‘Yes’ he said holding her hand ‘but not tonight.’

‘I will put John to bed before you take us home.’ Alexis stated.

‘Avoid the stairs. We have a double shift tomorrow. He can sleep in my room.’

‘Where will you sleep?’ questioned Alexis.

‘In my room.’ Steven replied simply. Alexis stared at him. Sara said nothing.

Steven stared back, ‘not tonight’ he closed the coming conversation. Friggin’ hell, he thought, it’s just like looking in Johns eyes.

Steven took Alexis and Sara through their C & C offices and through the buildings into the garage housing the work vans. Hiding in the back of the van Steven was able to deliver the girls home undetected by the surveillance cars.

Using the C & C Security vans Steven and John were delivered to the docks at six am. The manager was aware of the attack on Chalk and Cheese but as there were no further instances during the day he choose to ignore it.

When they returned to the van at ten pm at the end of the double shift, Travis the driver told Steven his girlfriend was in the back.

‘What are you doing here’ asked an angry Steven.

Alexis would not be put off, ‘Well, I guessed you would use the vans like you did last night to get in and out undetected. I didn’t know any other way of getting into your house.’

Alexis looked to John ‘you look a bit better.’

‘When we get back I’ll add your prints to the security devices’ said Steven, ‘you can’t do this again.’

‘I bought dinner’ said Alexis holding up a white plastic bag, trying to appease Steven’s anger ‘Chinese.’

John began to open his mouth to ask a question but Alexis was one step ahead of him ‘I told Sara I was going out with another friend tonight. Give her time John.’

John could only nod. Two shifts of manual labor, his mid-section was stiffening and sitting on the floor of the van, did not help.

Seeing him wince Alexis said ‘another hot bath for you when we get home’ and then holding Steven’s hand ‘while dinner is heating I will re-strap your fingers.’

Steven put his arms around her and pulled her between his legs as he backed up to the side of the van.

As soon as van pulled into the garage Chalk and Cheese’s mobile phone began to ring. Then from their backpacks came the sound of their personal mobile ringing. All four phones registered a ‘private’ number. Steven and John looked at each other and pressed ‘ignore’.

Alexis heated dinner while Steven and John bathed. She replaced the strapping on Steven’s broken finger and rubbed lotion on John’s torso.

After eating John laid on the couch in Steven’s lounge room while Steven took Alexis into his office and entered her thumb and palm prints into the security system. Alexis had access through the garage, the external doors to both Steven’s and John’s house and to the internal doors of their home offices. Steven and John were not concerned about Alexis having access to their home offices as the computers also needed thumb prints to be turned on.

Steven did not give her access to the back doors of their C & C offices or any doors of their business.

The lounge room was in semi darkness, only lit by the lights over the dining table. As Steven and Alexis came into the room John sat up gingerly. Alexis sat on the short end of the ‘L’ shaped lounge forcing Steven to sit on the opposite end of the long ‘L’ to John.

‘The timing could not be worse as you’ve both just worked a double shift but I came here tonight because you started something last night Steven and we need to finish it.’

Turning to John, Alexis said ‘John, you’re my brother, I have loved you, although unknown to me. I have loved you all my life. Now you’re in my life, I know you, I love you more. But I have missed so much of your life. You have suffered greatly and I don’t know anything about it. You give me snippets but I want it all. No matter what, I want to know it all.’

Now addressing Steven ‘Steven I love you with all my heart. I feel so close to you. You and John are so close, it makes me so jealous. I am trying to understand it but there is a lot more for me to know, I am sure of it. I want all of your story too, not just the bits you think I can handle.’

Alexis paused looking to the boys for a reaction, there was none, ‘so Steven pour us some drinks cause I’m not leaving till I have it all.’ Steven sighed as he rose. He could not resist Alexis. Putting glasses and bottles on the coffee table he was just about to sit and pour when Alexis’s mobile rang.

Chapter 5

‘Shit’ she said looking at the caller on the screen.

Steven and John listened to the quick one sided conversation.

‘Oh, you are, are you?’ said Alexis ‘I’ll come get you.’

Hanging up Alexis looked at John ‘Sara is at the garage door, she knew I was lying to her’.

John’s eyes lit up briefly then dimmed as Alexis told him to go slowly.

Steven gathered another glass as John went very slowly to let Sara in.

Expecting Alexis to let her in Sara was surprised to see John. John saw her hesitation, he held her hand guiding her inside ‘It’s okay, I understand how hard this is for you.’

Although John said it, he was really confused, he really did not understand what was happening. Both he and Steven accepted who they were, now it seemed Alexis would too. John did not get Sara’s reaction.

Sara hugged him gently ‘I love you John. I want to be with you. But your life has been so different to mine. Your past, your job, it’s scary.’

John held her face in his hands trying to think of the right words, ‘Sshh. Just being here, giving me, us, a chance, that’s enough for now.’ Leading her by the hand John took Sara in to the lounge room. Alexis stood up and hugged her, whispering to each other before they sat side by side on the couch.

Steven looked at John as he sat next to him on the couch and as their eyes connected Alexis jumped in ‘No, no you don’t. No more silent conversations. Use Words.’

Steven turned to Alexis with icy eyes, ‘Do you think this is easy?’ he snapped, not happy to have this forced conversation.

Chastised Alexis sat back and watched in awe. Sara watched with fascination and uncertainty.

Steven and John locked eyes, sending words back and forth, among them, Fraser, Dad, truth, last time, then a decision made, it ended in a very slight nod.

Steven and John locked their fingers as the scars on their palms touched. To no-one in particular John asked ‘How do you want to do this, us talk or you ask questions?’

‘Both, I guess’ replied Alexis, then there was silence, no one spoke.

Alexis opened with the first question. ‘Last night you told us about your business as a front, a front for what?

‘When we started it, it was a front for our illegal activities.’ Releasing their hands and turning their bodies slightly so they could still look at each other but more facing the girls.

Wanting more, Alexis said ‘Come on, total honesty, spill.’

Taking a deep breath, ‘we steal. We have a ‘fence’ that gets rid of whatever we steal.’

Alexis was direct, ‘Did you make lots of money?’

‘Yes’

Quietly Sara asked ‘What did you steal?’

‘From warehouses, businesses, anything, any item that could be sold quickly and not easily traced.’

‘How much money?’

‘Let’s just say, we could retire now.’

‘How long have you been stealing?’ Sara asked warily, having lived a sheltered life she was slightly excited to hear about this style of life but it also scared her.

‘Dad reckons we made our way into the city centre when we were about nine.’

‘And you’ve stopped now, stealing I mean?’

‘Yes. Tony and Rob have been running a legit business for years now and it keeps expanding.’

‘We have not used the business to steal for a couple of years.’

Both Steven and John thought of the diamonds that they had recently put into their safe, but the diamonds didn’t come through the business.

‘What do you do, in the business?’

‘We write the computer programs that we sell with our security systems and all the office software.’

‘Put up the capital and we own the buildings.’

‘If you are so good with computers, what about cybercrime.’

‘We dabble from time to time.’

‘So you haven’t stopped completely?’

‘I guess not.’

‘And this is when you began using your aliases?’

‘Yes’

‘Are you going to tell us those names?’

‘No’

‘What happened to honesty?’

‘Some things you don’t need to know’ jumped in John as he could see Steven getting angry.

‘And now you think someone has made the connection.’

‘Maybe’ Steven shrugged his