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Mark Sylvester was crying his heart out. His office phone sat off the hook beside him, the person on the other end having just given him the news he dreaded hearing. One of his cases came to a sad end, the poor girl he had been fighting hard to get free of her abusive situation settled matters her own way to make the pain go away- she killed herself. Mark was at a crossroads in his life. This was the third time one of his cases had been interfered with by his supervisor, Arthur Davis. Arthur was told to drop the cases but Mark went against his wishes and pursued them, forcing the issue when his latest failure had started to come to a head. This was the second time he had fought before Judge Hall to remove a child only to be shot down by the judge for, "Overreacting" and, "Inciting ill will in the community." It was a total mockery of the judicial system. Mark had all of the evidence from doctor's reports to claims from school officials to physical evidence collected after a rape but it wasn't enough to convince the judge to act. Mark had had enough of the abuses. He was putting in his two weeks' notice immediately. He was done as a social worker in Missouri. He tried as hard as he could yet nobody wanted to allow him to do his job right and help the children who needed to be helped the most. If there was one thing working in Mark's favor it was that the media had finally paid attention to the situation out in Newhall, Missouri. The Kansas City press was sniffing around and would soon begin asking hard questions. Normally their part of the region was ignored but this time they were making inroads and finding a real story. One of the doctors had talked, Mark knew the doctor was as frustrated as he was and leaked the story. Mark was forced to, "Take a vacation". He was entitled to one and hadn't been able to take one for two years. He knew the real reason for him being gone was to make him into a scapegoat, blaming him for bumbling the investigation. Mark was smart enough to keep copies of all memos, time and date stamped and copied to his lawyer who had no connections to the town nor its powerful civil servants. This would also give him enough time to get his resume together and find a new job once his two-week notice was given when he came back. There was no reason to continue, he had no drive to do so and with an investigation looming and people out to get him he wanted to be covered legally. They thought they were about to railroad him but he had ample time to push back hard now. He looked over a map of places he could go and focused on the one place that had any meaning to him: Boston, Massachusetts. He knew what would be found there would be a sympathetic ear and advice from people who were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in. Two people he trusted above all else live there, whom he knew who would not hesitate to tell him what he should do and damn the consequences. He had to see the Finns, John and Valerie. He hadn't spoken to Valerie and John in over two years but they were his best bet for figure out what to do next. He hoped they would remember him but he had to take the chance. He needed their advice. Mark called the number John had given him the last time they were in Newhall. That last time he saw John and Valerie were the highlight of his year, after that thing started to deteriorate for him. His cases started to get backed up as Arthur Davis started to ignore his work. Judge Mitchell retired six months later leaving him with a new and unsympathetic judge in Judge Hall. From there, things got worse. He was unable to do anything without Arthur personally approving the cases leading to multiple kids being hurt as a result of delays or unwarranted interventions by Arthur. Mark hoped visiting the Finns would lighten things up for him as he sought a new job elsewhere. Valerie was shocked to hear from Mark after all the time that had passed by. Mark asked if she or John were available to meet with him the next week, getting her to invite him to stay with them for two weeks. He couldn't turn down the offer; it was saving him money letting him have a small nest egg to tide him over until he found a new job elsewhere. Valerie was to the point and told him, "I know something has happened that riled you up. You could use some friendly faces and people who understand. There's quite a few people you need to meet who will help you out a lot, not counting a certain young woman." Mark was concerned. She was cryptic but he trusted her. Valerie read his mind and added, "It's not what you think, there's a lot of people who will be glad to meet you in person. You are a legend among them, they just want to meet the superhuman hero that Jaimie painted you as being." Two days later Mark was on the first flight out of Kansas City International Airport heading for Logan Airport in Boston. Valerie was waiting as he picked up his bag from the carousel, with two small kids in a stroller. She gave Mark a big hug and introduced them saying, "This is Cat and JD, our son and daughter. John is teaching right now so he couldn't be here. I have an appointment scheduled for you in a half hour so we better get moving." The twins surprised him. Valerie smiled and said, "They were born 14 months after we moved away and were being watched my parents when we last saw you. I'd have loved for you to meet them but Scott's situation mattered more than introductions. We didn't even know we were having twins until they were born, Cat came as a complete surprise." Cat glared at him as Valerie talked about them, getting JD to laugh at her keeping an eye on the new person. They drove to what Valerie said was the middle schools. Mark looked around and saw it was nothing like the buildings back home but wasn't surprised as the city was unlike Kansas City or even St. Louis in its design. Valerie ushered him into the office where he was met with another shock, Dorothy Vega there to greet them. Dorothy embraced him, kissing his cheek. He knew she was hired to be principal there but this was a more outgoing, passionate Dorothy Vega. Dorothy asked him bluntly, "What has happened to make you come halfway across the country from our humble little hellhole?" Mark retold the events of the past two years, getting gasps from both Valerie and Dorothy. Both were on the verge of tears, they knew the girl well and knew that the boys behind it were always trouble. He was struggling to come to grips with what happened and when he admitted that he is likely to be facing a lot of flak from being the scapegoat both told him sharply, "Not if we have anything to say." Valerie excused them to let Dorothy get back to work. Alice Rodriguez, the other principal, came over and embraced Mark tightly. Mark took several seconds to remember her, smiling as he realized she was the person who accidentally outed Jaimie to Dorothy and who helped her during her first full year as a girl. Valerie and Mark excused themselves after another quick chat, with Alice brightly smiling over finally meeting the man in person. Valerie drove them another mile, this time stopping near another large school. The twins saw the school and demanded to be let out, saying, "Daddy!" over and over again. The four walked over to the school before waiting outside the main office for John, with the twins getting grumpier as they waited. Valerie introduced Mark to the various teachers as they walked by with two, Beth and Ben Herman, being told softly, "We'll talk later" as they walked out. Valerie caught the attention of another person, this time getting a big hug with the twins saying, "Hi uncle" to him. He leaned down and kissed both, getting hugs from them as he did. Mark realized that he had seen him before, with Valerie smiling as he recognized him. Jake Bollinger did the same, with Valerie finally telling them, "Jake Bollinger meet Mark Sylvester." Jake grabbed his hand, shaking it then embracing Mark tightly. Mark was stunned but Valerie told him, "Jake owes you a lot. He met his new wife through John and Jaimie. The same goes for Ben and Beth, in fact, both couples are having children and if not for you they would not be together or be parents." Mark was starting to realize what she was doing. She was doing a whole, "It's A Wonderful Life" parody. He then looked down at the twins, realizing that they wouldn't be there if not for him and Jaimie. Valerie nodded, then added,, "John wouldn't have gotten the nerve to get close to me if not for Jaimie and it was you who allowed that to happen." Jake looked at the clock and told them, "You better get over to the field. The whole group is going to be there as it's a home game." Valerie nodded and led the five over to the baseball field where a crowd gathered for a game. Mark saw John immediately and watched as he made his way over toward him. John didn't mince words and asked him, "How are you holding up? I know you wouldn't be here if it wasn't serious." Mark looked down at the ground and admitted, "It's rough. I'm blocked from doing my job and helping the kids. Nobody will do anything to protect them and those who are supposed to protect them are working actively against them. I don't want to lose another one." John saw the hurt in his eyes and let it drop. Valerie whispered something into Jake's ear which caused him to become furious and excuse himself. John nodded at Jake who was fighting an inner rage that he and Valerie had seen only once before and it wasn't good for the person who was on the other end of it. Mark changed things and asked how Jaimie was doing. Valerie and John both laughed and pointed to a girl kissing a boy wearing a #7 jersey. Her back was turned so they couldn't see her face, Mark thought they were joking. Mark asked,, "Seriously, where is Jaimie?" John softly said,, "That is Jaimie." Mark looked closer and as she turned her head slightly he gasped in shock. It really was Jaimie! Mark tried to form words but John beat him to it, saying, "Almost four years and a hormone induced puberty will do that to a girl." Mark just nodded silently, she was no longer the short, awkward kid he once knew. This was a skinny, outgoing, well developed young woman. John led him over towards the bleachers where he called Jaimie over. Jaimie broke her embrace, blushing as she came over. She spied Mark and ran full speed towards him, tears streaking her face as she grabbed him into a hug. Jaimie held him tight, Mark let her get her built up emotions come out. Mark eventually pushed back and looked her over. She was beautiful. He couldn't see any trace of the old Jaimie. There was no emaciation, no fear, no anxiety. This young lady was nothing like the person he once knew. She was strong, healthy, and from the looks of things, she was in a stable relationship. She was thriving. She was what he had hoped for four years before. Jaimie led him to the bleachers and sat him down next to her. John tried hard to suppress his smile as Jaimie was beaming at seeing Mark again. Jaimie's friends watched in suspicion as the two sat down watching the game. Michael Finn recognized Mark and asked what was going on, getting a quick, "Later" from his parents. Their friends tried to do the same getting the same response. Michael finally asked,, "If he is here then something bad happened, so don't try to lie to us." John shook his head and admitted, "This isn't the time or place, but something bad did happen out west and it hurt Mark badly. Your mom invited him to stay with us over his 'vacation' while he sorts through some things. We will let him tell people the whole story later, I believe your mom and grandparents are going to want to do something but what he needs to hear has to wait until we are all together." Michael silently nodded and walked away, joining his friends and telling them what John told him. John could see Mark was feeling better being around Jaimie, in fact, he was almost enjoying himself. The two had always had a spark and Mark was seeing the energy he hadn't felt in four years. Jaimie looked at her dad and knew he was thinking that she was doing a good job of dealing with Mark, she missed talking with him and it felt great to see him again. Jaimie told him about the things she had done since they moved east, blushing at mentioning Richard and her dates. She loved telling about Reyna, Reed, Kylie, Nichole, Sam, Virgil, Daisy, Christina, Paige, and Miles. Mark was intrigued by the stories, noting how much she had been involved but not involved. The game ended with Winnisimmet High losing 3-2 but making it interesting until the end. Miles did well pitching, making Jaimie smile as she told him, "He is good but won't let anyone talk him into playing beyond high school. He just plays for fun, mom and dad are proud of his humility." Mark watched as Jaimie rushed off to hug #7 again, kissing him then dragging him towards him. Jaimie had a big smile on her face and announced:, "I wanted you to meet my boyfriend, Richard." The boy was timid and surprised to see Jaimie talking to a total stranger. Jaimie just continued smiling, saying, "Richard this is Mark Sylvester, he was the social worker who allowed dad to foster me four years ago." Richard put things together in his head and smiled. He embraced Mark, saying proudly, "Thank you for doing that for them, she is an amazing girl." Mark saw the two had love in their eyes and made his excuses to leave the two to themselves as he sought out John. John had a big smirk as Mark approached. Mark asked him softly, "How long have they been going out and is that an engagement ring on her finger?" John answered quickly, "Three years, and it's a Claddagh Ring, basically a commitment ring. All 22 of the dating teens have them, but only four are actually engaged." Mark tried to grasp the enormity of the group. John sprouted off the names of all of the teens and their relationships to one another. Mark had to sit down. He quietly said,, "I told you long ago to have her and Michael start interacting with others, you didn't hold back in doing that did you?" John nodded, telling him sharply, "Most of them have been together since kindergarten. There's a couple who moved to the city and the four who moved from out west. I'll tell you more when we get home, I know Valerie has something planned regarding this for you. She wouldn't have come here unless it was meant to give you a soft introduction to the group." Cat was eyeing Mark suspiciously from her carriage. John saw Mark's concern and giggled. Mark was serious as he asked, "Does she always stare at people like that? It's like she doesn't like what she sees." John nodded, saying, "She see something about you that interests her, she is trying to put her mean face on but she only does that to people she thinks she can either manipulate or be friends with. I think she recognized your name or your picture. Don't worry about it, she will either ignore you or demand your attention. JD here doesn't seem to mind you which is probably causing much of her annoyance." They drove a few minutes to the Finn home, being met by what seemed like a hoard of people. Jaimie's smirk gave things away, she had to have texted the others to get them to come by. Mark was dumbfounded; Jaimie grabbed his hand and led him in with the group following behind. Mark sat down as Jaimie introduced everyone. She started with the girls, introducing him to Courtney, Claire, Jenna, Jessica, Stacy, Rebecca, Jessie, and Christina. Then she introduced the guys, showing off Richard, Will, Eric, George, and Reed. She smiled as she introduced her other brother, Miles, to him. Michael told her to stop fooling around and just start the storytelling as it was what she was really trying to do. John stepped in and told Jaimie to sit and let him handle it. He started by telling about Jaimie and Michael's first day of 7th grade and meeting the group, quickly befriending Will, Richard, Jenna, Courtney, and Claire. He then told about Stacy and Rebecca being, "Related" to them through their mom getting the usual snicker from the group. He finally added the story about Jessie, Eric, and George joining later on. Miles, Christina, and Reed waited for John to tell their tale but he instead told Mark, "All of these kids are together due to Jaimie. Each of them is vastly different than they would have been had she not encountered them. Indirectly she has made friendships and happy couples that would not have happened otherwise." Mark nodded and looked closely at two of the teens. John grinned and said, "Remember the last time we met? Scott and Jessica were involved. I know you remember Scott well, he was the town troublemaker. He's the reason for Jaimie and I getting together. Correction, his cousin is as her scream caught our attention making us run to aid Jaimie. 20 months later you got Scott away from his birth father and gave custody to his aunt. He was adopted by his aunt and uncle as their own and hasn't once regretted the move. You got him away from a bad situation and allowed a father to have the son he always wanted and a mother to have another person to love." Scott and Jessica blushed deeply at hearing that. Mark looked at Christina and Miles to which John retold the story about Roland and Miles' birth father. He then told about Christina's birth parents and their thefts. John added a somber, "Miles was given a chance to start anew and thrive with us. He would not have had that if not for our friend Anne and her quick thinking. He is the first of several lives you have indirectly saved." He turned to Christina and added, "She found a mother who cared about her for her not for her money. She was able to see the good in people and not their monetary value. She found love in the person she cared deeply about for years but could never act on." Turning to Reed John shook his head and admitted, "There are downsides to Jaimie being with us. She was brutally assaulted during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. We didn't tell you about that before because it was still painful. The people who assaulted Jaimie used people like Reed's family. Reed's birth parents were terrible people who fought hard to get rid of Jaimie and eventually me from the schools. When that didn't work they resorted to trying to kill Jaimie. Our niece saved Jaimie's life by stepping in front of Reed's birth father's knife, nearly dying and needing emergency surgery." Mark's face dropped. Jon continued further saying, "Jaimie's assault back then led to a shakeup in the city police department with massive corruption being unearthed. The man who led the charge in standing up against the corruption had to go on the run with his best friend. They worked hard and alerted all of the right people to the problem and after a short stint in hiding while arrests were made they finally admitted that they were deeply in love. He received a promotion to chief of police while she received a promotion to an investigator for the attorney general's office." Reed added in, "Mom and dad helped save Nichole and Nigel's life while the group was in England." John nodded telling him the story about Nichole and her situation then added, "The surgery she had to undergo was sexual reassignment surgery, she got what her heart desired because of Reed's birth father. After that happened his mother fled and Reed and his sister nearly died in a fire but were taken in by his new parents. They wouldn't have survived in a group home and worse his sister would not have been allowed to be his sister because of the abuse towards girls like her and Jaimie." Mark nearly fainted. Two young girls like Jaimie? Mark asked softly, "How many are like Jaimie?" John spouted off two more names, with a big smile as he told about Jaimie directly impacted Reyna Toro's life. Mark recognized the name and smiled at knowing that Jaimie had never even met Reyna until recently and had helped her greatly just by giving courage to others. John smiled and told the story about James, Tanya, Sam, and Virgil York. Sam entered with her best friends Iris and Francesca and blushed as she saw Mark staring at her. John nodded adding, "She is the spitting image of her mother, and we are proud of what she has done for Iris and Francesca." Sam blushed as John said that, looking at Mark who was in a state of shock. The door opened again and Karen Smith and her husband came in carrying their newborn son whom John quickly snatched up and doted over while the parents got settled. Little Nigel Jr. just cried and demanded to go to someone else giving the others a big laugh while Mark tried to figure out what just happened then laughing at the old family joke. Seconds later the door opened again and an energetic little girl rushed in followed by four tire looking teens. Two stopped in their tracks. Bryan and Hannah Smith's jaws dropped at seeing Mark again. Hannah spoke first, asking sharply, "Why is Jaimie's social work here? What the hell happened in that cesspool now?" Bryan was glaring at Mark waiting for an answer but Jaimie cut him off, telling, "He's here for a social visit. Something did happen but he hasn't told us yet. Sit down and listen, dad's doing his best imitation of a psychologist." John continued, asking Nichole to come over. Nichole smiled brightly, introducing herself. John assured Mark, "In a roundabout way she owes her life to you." Nichole got what John was saying, asking John, "Did you tell him about the trip?" John nodded to which she added, "Uncle John got my old teacher and headmaster arrested for doing bad things to me and stealing from my school. He got dad's old boss fired and got us a lot of money for all of the trouble they put dad and me through. He got mom to stay with dad and keep him company leading to them falling in love and having my baby brother." John finally told Mark about Daisy and Claire's connection to him. John was blunt in saying, "Without you we would never have met Claire and her mother would be paying my brother Roland money to keep away from Claire and Daisy. They would never know they had cousins, an uncle, and aunts. Daisy would never have gotten her operation to remove unnecessary parts of her birth defect. Lilly would not have any other family except her children, now she has multiple family members." Jaimie cut in and summed it all up by saying, "The point of all that is that you helped a lot more people than just Scott and I. You gave people who were all alone families, jobs, children, and friends. I know that you know that Scott would have been in jail already, framed by his supposed friends so they could save their own skins and Jessica would be just another girl. Miles would be dead, Uncle Roland would have seen to it. Reed would be hurt badly and Kylie would still be Kevin. Uncle Nigel and Nichole would have died. Will's dad would have beaten him up without anyone knowing. Christina would be miserable with no friends and no boyfriend. Daisy would be miserable. Sam and Virgil would have been beaten badly by their grandmother. Aunt Tanya would have died. Plus Nigel Junior, DJ, Cat, and JD would never have been born. Jake Bollinger Junior and Benny Herman would not have been conceived as the baby's parents would not have gotten together." Mark was on the verge of tears. Jaimie had just said the most amazing thing: Mark's actions had caused so many lives to be touched. He knew that Jaimie, Michael, Scott, and Jessica and their families were affected but this was overwhelming. Jaimie nodded and proudly said,, "You needed assurances that you were making a difference, well we are all testament to it." John calmed the group as Mark gathered his thoughts. He asked that Scott, Jessica, Michael, and Jaimie come with him to the office so the news could be broken. When Mark led the four teens upstairs John told the others, "Stay here. Mark is going to give them terrible news and they will need their friends now more than ever." Quentin and Greta Nelson, John and Valerie, along with her parents Evelyn and Joseph Johnson walked up to the office and stood by Mark as he told the foursome, "Two days ago I was told that Sylvia Palmer committed suicide. She was repeatedly raped by her stepbrother and his friend and as a result became pregnant. Her mother refused to listen to her pleas for help and when she went to me for help my attempts to remove her were denied. I tried to appeal to the courts but that too was denied." Mark was starting to cry and his voice was breaking up but he continued, "Sylvia was incredibly skinny so when she started to show she was receiving constant bullying from her classmates. She begged me to get her away from her family but each time I tried I was denied. After the second month, Sylvia couldn't withstand the constant harassment and shunning and took her own life." Mark broke down. He tried to regain his composure and was barely able to get out, "She called me just before she slit her wrists, telling me that she was sorry for causing so much trouble and knew that it was best to stop as nobody wanted to do anything to help her. I tried to plead and send an ambulance but by the time it got there it was too late, her wounds were in such a way that they couldn't stop the bleeding." Mark lost it completely. Scott was red with rage and swearing under his breath. Valerie looked at him and asked softly, "Phillip and Jason?" Scott nodded, saying softly, "Phillip was her stepbrother. Jason had the hots for her for years. Jason's dad is the judge, he knew all the right people and swore he'd take the bench when Judge Mitchell retired. Philip's dad is the sheriff, he escaped being removed when Uncle John's case turned against the county. He is dirty and everyone knows it but never did anything because they were afraid of what he would do to them." Mark told him sharply, "Those two did it alright. Their fathers blocked every move. I tried to have the case heard in another county but was denied by my bosses." Joseph and Evelyn asked him softly, "Do you want help? We know exactly who to talk to in the state to get this examined thoroughly." Mark asked him sharply, "Can you make them all pay for what they did to her? She deserves justice. I am going to be blamed for this but I don't care anymore, I just want justice for Sylvia!" Kennedy came upstairs to check on them, growing concerned about the group missing. She caught the bulk of Mark's statement. She smiled and told Mark, "I know someone who can help you out, if you don't mind burning all of your bridges back west." Mark's eyes were red and his face filled with fury. He only uttered two more words before collapsing into a nearby chair:, "Do it." Kennedy laid out her plans to an eager Mark. She called Anne and asked her to meet with Mark the next day then told Mark, "You need to get out of there immediately. You are going to blow the lid off that place and show everyone just how corrupt they really are. A death of a beautiful young woman because one abuser's father is the judge and the other abuser's father is the sheriff and both are friends with your boss is going to be hot news. You need to secure all your files and make multiple copies. Trust nobody. In fact, I think Anne should go with you and gather information on your behalf." Valerie smiled, she knew what Kennedy had up her sleeve. She told John with a big grin, "Call Leslie and ask if Mark could stay with her for a few weeks while Reed and Kylie's old home if finished. Then ask Patrick and David if they are willing to share the house with Mark. I'm sure Lilly would prefer that they have someone to watch over them so they focus on their work instead of being eligible bachelors." Mark tried to object but Greta cut him off, telling him sharply, "They are paying you back for what you did for them four years ago and what you did for us two years ago. The guys are good folks, they are John and Valerie's nephews. Anne is the regional supervisor for Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and is a licensed social worker like you. She will get them to talk, and she is in need of an experienced social worker with your heart." Anne called back immediately and told Valerie she would meet with Mark the next day at her office. She asked that he be prepared to show his abilities first, she wanted to see him at work before helping. Mark smiled and admitted, "She's good. I like her already." Leslie called back and was glad to open up her apartment to Mark. She told him on the phone, "You come highly praised and you did a good thing for Scott and Jessica so I couldn't deny you help. I can also guarantee that our aunt and uncle will demand to meet you to thank you for what you have done for Jaimie and Scott." John and Valerie burst into laughter, they knew without hearing that Jorge and Victoria were mentioned just by the look of shock and horror on his face. The kids slunk downstairs while the adults were helping Mark. Scott was still fuming and looked like he wanted to destroy everything in sight while Jessica and Jaimie were visibly crying. Michael tried to hide his frustration but broke down as well. Stacy, Richard, Courtney, and Eric comforted their significant others while the rest sat stunned at the sight. Michael finally pulled himself together enough to tell the others what happened and why they were so sad. He told them, "Sylvia was Jessica's best friend before Scott's dad's abuse caused them to need to come east. We four grew up with her, played with her, worked on Uncle John's projects with her. She was such a good person but her mother had to remarry a terrible person. Philip and Jason were Scott's friends in bullying until Scott snapped after he hurt Jaimie. The two tormented everyone and Sylvia had to put up with it because she was family to them. They raped her! They did it without a care! She couldn't defend herself! Nobody wanted to help her, only Mark tried to help her and they stopped him from doing it!" Michael broke down again as the teens sat in silence. They comforted the four as best they could but it was futile, they couldn't do anything where they were. This was something the adults had to do. After a half hour of thinking Joseph and Evelyn laid out their plans. They told Kennedy to contact William Kelly and have him coordinate the leak. He had the right connections and he knew who to trust. Mark recognized the name and just nodded, saying sharply, "I know my name will make the newspapers but at least it'll be sympathetic instead of trying to call for my head. They can't spin it to make themselves look better without exposing themselves." Mark told them that he had the papers with him and would turn over all files to the authorities. The two smiled and told him back, "Copies will suffice; you need the originals for your court appearance. You remember why you would need multiple copies and originals kept separate and secure", alluding to his key role in John's custody case. Kennedy received a text from someone and had a big grin. She proudly announced, "My friend in the Attorney General's Office out in Missouri will be having a word with the Missouri State Marshals and Missouri Highway Patrol about the wrongdoing by Judge Hall and Sheriff Baker. He wasn't too happy to hear that a sheriff exerted pressure on a state agency to do his bidding and a judge openly ignored all legal rights of a child in ruling on a matter against a member of his immediate family especially in a major case such as rape. They won't brush this aside or give it a once-over, this is going to be a deep investigation." Hearing this news made Mark smile. Things were looking up for him but he still had to worry about his job. Joseph saw his concern and added, "I'm on good terms with the head of the agency and will see to it that you are neither fired nor reprimanded for what you are doing as you have proof you were being set-up for a fall by Arthur Davis. I'll wait until after tomorrow's meeting to talk with him, I am sure you will know then why I wanted to wait." As Mark went downstairs he was nearly knocked over by Cat who was upset at seeing him. She cried out, "You made Jaimie and Michael cry, you meanie!" Mark didn't know what to do so just stood there letting her pound away at him, burning off her anger towards him over seeing her siblings hurt. Karen calmed her down and told her softly, "He didn't make Jaimie cry, someone else did. He is happy that you love your sister enough to fight him but he's too big for you." Cat glared at Mark and ran off to hug Jaimie, keeping him under constant watch. Karen just shook her head and whispered to Mark, "She never showed that kind of emotion before, especially towards her sister. We think she has been sneaking out of her bed and sleeping with Jaimie but until now we didn't know why." Mark tried to say something but Karen stopped him, telling him softly, "She is trying to protect her big sister; she knows Jaimie has been through a lot and everyone keeps an eye on her but you are the first person she has lashed out at. She needed to do that for her own sake as much as yours. You know how she feels about you now so you will be able to handle her; she will keep an eye on you and in doing so won't be getting into trouble. It's the best for everyone." JD ran up to him and hugged him. Karen started laughing as Mark winced. John came downstairs in time to see his reaction and calmly stated, "JD will do the opposite of Cat especially when it comes to adults. Don't read too much into the affection, it's all for show. He just wants to see how his sister reacts, judging by her glare she isn't happy so he will do it again tomorrow just to get the same response from her." John announced it was time for the twins to go to bed which signaled the group to disperse. Scott hugged Mark deeply, thanking him for caring about Sylvia when nobody else did. Jessica cried again and asked that he make sure she got a proper burial. Greta and Quentin left in silence, Mark figured that the shock still hadn't caught them yet or they were trying to put on a brave face for their children. After all of the others had left Valerie ushered the twins and teens to eat a light meal. Mark felt like an invader in their personal space but was told to eat as well since he hadn't had a chance yet. Miles fed JD while Jaimie fed Cat, who was still keeping a close watch on Mark. Michael tried to make light of her antics but got the same glare from her making the others laugh and her grunt in disapproval. The twins went off to bed, Valerie put down Cat while Miles put down JD. Michael was the first to ask Mark what his plans were, being sure to keep away from sore spots. Mark told him honestly, "I'm meeting this person your mom and grandparents want me to meet. I am still unsure about meeting with this person Kennedy is telling me about but it's important that I do so for Sylvia's sake." Miles came back in and announced, "She's Christina, Jenna, and Paige's mom. She works for DCF here and she will check the facts of the case closely. Mom, grandma, and grandpa will check them against the state laws to see where her rights were infringed upon and use that against them. Aunt Kennedy's friend is a good person, he is close friends with her, Aunt Karen, and Uncle Nigel and won't hesitate to help out." Mark didn't know what to say. The boy knew more than he let on. Valerie sensed Mark's astonishment and told him sharply, "Miles is our resident problem solver. He is able to sense connections that others haven't seen or can't see due to other issues. He is right, she will look over the files from a fresh perspective as a supervisor and we will work with her to point out the legal issues. William you have indirectly met, he testified on John's behalf and grew to be friends with Karen, Nigel, and Kennedy through their children. He wants justice as much as anyone and will ensure you get back up from the press instead of the propaganda pieces the trio will try to push out." John chimed in with, "You didn't want a fight but we don't back down when kids are in danger. You saw it before, we never have and we never will. We don't like to throw our muscle around but there are times when it is necessary to protect people from bullies and evil intentions. You are one of us, and you need help. We help our friends and family and you are both." Jaimie grounded Mark for a second, telling him softly, "It's Aunt Kennedy's job to look out for people trying to do harm to others and abusing their power and it's Aunt Anne's job to look after innocent people. Let them help you, they can do more than we realize and do it through proper channels and get the right people who can actually do things to make changes make them happen." Mark acquiesced to Jaimie's irrefutable logic, a smile creeping over his face at seeing Jaimie demonstrating on him her calming effect that Mark had only heard about but never seen. The group went up to bed with Mark making careful notes about what he needed to show to Anne and Kennedy. John and Valerie talked a bit and formulated their own plan, with John telling Valerie that it was best that Jaimie and Michael go about their weekend plans and let Miles and Christina keep Mark company. She read his mind, Miles was new to him and the two were direct results of his influence on the family so interacting with two whose lives were changed for the better due to him would boost his confidence while they themselves worked to secure his future. In the morning Jaimie had to leave early for work while Michael went out for a day with Reed, Eric, and George. John and Valerie announced they were going to do some work on Mark's behalf allowing Mark free time to calm himself and get to know the area. Miles was drafted to be his escort with Christina keeping them company as the twins would be with them. Cat was still scowling at Mark but brightened when Christina came over. She stuck out her tongue at him as she jumped into Christina's arms, silently telling him she didn't want anything to do with him while Christina was there. To her credit, Christina admonished her for acting that way towards Mark making Cat show some remorse but still glowering at him when Christina wasn't looking. Miles just shook his head and had Mark talk about Newhall and the area he worked from. Mark knew he was probing him for the truth and wasn't surprised at his analyzing his answers. Miles admitted to him, "Mom, Jaimie, and Michael don't talk at all about that place but I can understand now why they don't. It's different from here but it's still just as corrupt. They just hid it better and aren't afraid to use medieval mentalities to keep the shroud over their exploits." Christina chimed in with a soft, "You are lucky to be such a good person, you are trying to help and people just won't let you. Mom is trying to find more people like you but it's so hard to get people who don't just go through the motions to clear a case, she wants people who follow up and help before and during the time they are needed not after." A knock on the door led Miles to open it and let Anne and Paige inside. Paige smiled at Mark as she entered, he immediately spotted her ring and was in disbelief that someone so young was already engaged. Miles caught his look and told him bluntly, "The four of them didn't bother acting like they needed to wait, the only thing keeping them from marrying right now is Aunt Karen and Aunt Anne but knowing them once they are all 18 and have their diplomas Bryan is moving in with Paige and Pete is moving in with Hannah." Anne coughed and looked angry but burst into laughter as Miles cringed. Anne formally introduced herself and told Mark, "It's nice to finally meet someone who shares the same beliefs about the children in need of protection." Mark extended his hand as Miles, Paige, and Christina slunk away with the twins to give them privacy. Anne dropped all formalities and asked him sharply, "I'd like the whole story from your perspective. What did you try to do and when? I know you tried to help her in her final minutes but there is more to the story that I need to know." Mark liked her already, she was sharp- tongued and to the point. Mark took a deep breath and started his tale, "It started two years ago after Scott and Jessica moved east. Scott's revelation that his father was abusing him caused Sylvia to come forward to her teacher and ask for help. Her teacher and principal followed proper procedure and notified us as well as the sheriff about the abuse. That's when the trouble started but none of them knew it yet." Anne raised her eyebrow in surprise as Mark noted the timing. Mark nodded and continued, "The deputies took the information down and told the girl that they would investigate but nothing came of it. I sought out the report but nothing was filed by them. The deputies pretended that they had no idea what was going on but I knew they were told to drop the investigation by the sheriff. Sylvia told me the names of the boys who raped her, one was her stepbrother. The other was his best friend, the sheriff's own son. The deputies who investigated were both related to the sheriff." Anne asked him quickly, "Was there any attempt to seek out an unbiased agency to investigate on the county's behalf?" Mark nodded but told her, "I tried but it was shot down right away by my boss. He told me that it was a waste of resources and that the girl was lying or the story was exaggerated to make the boys look bad. I knew it wasn't true, I saw the marks on her body and had the doctor's reports saying it was definitely not consensual." Anne cringed and asked him to continue. Miles and Christina were listening in from the dining room, close enough to hear but not intervene. Mark knew they were close by and asked them to just sit down and listen as they were probably the few who didn't have any connections to Newhall in some way. Anne pointed out that she did but Mark countered with, "You visited for a very brief time and didn't get to see it for what it was so I don't consider you as having connections." Christina countered with, "Mom he has a point, Jenna got to meet Sylvia and all you got was a glimpse of her from the stage." Mark nodded and continued, "After the case floundered I was forced to work on others with my boss telling me to pigeonhole it. I have the memos from him regarding the case to show the exact wording. After a few months she was showing signs of abuse again but this time refused to come forward so I had to note it in the file then hide it away." Miles made note of the timeline and what Mark had as evidence. Anne smiled at his eagerness to help and whispered:, "Are you sure you don't want to become a social worker?" He countered with a soft, "Jessica and Jenna are better suited, I am not quite sure what I want to do yet." Mark was proud that the boy was taking this seriously and trying to help even though he didn't have to do anything. Anne nodded at him to continue so he stated, "After a year and a half she called me directly and begged me to help her. The abuse had gotten worse and the boys were using her as their own personal sex toy, openly taunting her about nobody being able to help her. I recorded a phone call from her and you could hear the two taunting her in the background as she tried to hide. She never had a chance to end the call so it recorded her screams and pleas with the two explicitly stating ?our dads won't let that idiot help you so stop screaming and take it or we will make sure you never tell anyone again." Shock appeared on all three faces as Mark nodded, playing the recording on his phone. Christina was visibly crying as Mark stated, "I took this to my supervisor and demanded action. He told me to drop it, the sheriff and judge were never going to allow any action to be taken. I told him that this was going to end badly and it would be on his conscience that it fell to which he scoffed and said I was an idealist who needed to learn the system before it was too late. He then told me not to investigate further or else he'd fire me for insubordination. I demanded that he put it in writing which he scoffed at until I replayed what he just said making him furious and tell me that he'd get me back." Anne asked if he still had it to which Mark played the recording. She smiled and told him bluntly, "He just nailed himself there, blatantly ignoring a confirmed abuse case and threatening illegal action against an employee for following proper procedures. Kennedy's friends will love all of this. Please continue, I know it's hard but I need to know what happens next." Mark nodded and told her, "The next week I got a call from Sylvia. She was pregnant and needed help badly. Her parents were outraged, blaming her for the whole situation. Her stepbrother denied any wrongdoing and claimed she came onto him. Jason's dad even went so far as to get a restraining order against her, claiming she was lying and besmirching his reputation. She was pregnant with twins and was so skinny that she started to show around the ninth week. Her friends abandoned her and her family openly detested her. She came to me begging for help but again all efforts were blocked." Mark had tears starting to well up, Anne took a short break to allow him to compose himself. Christina got him a drink while Miles checked on Paige and the twins. He didn't tell her what was being discussed, knowing the twins were listening and knowing Cat would do something to Mark if Paige started to cry. When Mark was composed he began again, "She pleaded with me to help. I kept the voicemail recordings and the emails from my boss telling me to stop the case. I went to the judge directly and when that was blocked I went to the adjacent county and begged the judge there to help. He scoffed at taking action, especially against a fellow judge's wishes despite the overwhelming evidence. I was unable to help and within hours after the final refusal, Sylvia took her life. I tried to beg her to stop but she said she had already started and just wanted to let me know that I was the only one who truly cared about her and I needed to get out of there while I still could." Mark broke down again. Anne comforted him, telling him softly, "You did all you could. You were going against every hurdle and short of physically removing her yourself which would have earned you kidnapping charges you did your best. She knew you cared and wanted you to know that she was thankful for it. You tried, you failed, but you tried. Very few would have continued to try after the first blockage but you never give up. You are one of the best social workers I have ever encountered and I am going to see to it that you have a job here if you are willing to work for us. We need you." Miles smiled and told him proudly, "Told you so. Aunt Anne learned from your handling of Jaimie and then used your example to save Scott from people who wanted to take him away from Uncle Quentin and Aunt Greta. She helped me and Christina when we were in foster care, going so far as to adopt Paige and Christina to keep them away from their birth parents. You are a hero and mom and dad and grandma and grandpa will help you. It's the least they can do for you." Anne smiled and told him the story about Scott's situation starting with the attempt to discredit John and send him to jail by Penelope Clarence. Mark was shocked to hear someone would stoop to such a level but Anne smiled and stated, "The joke was on her, she is now in prison for what we found out about her and her husband. Reed and Kylie, who you met last night, are her kids. They were taken in and adopted by Kennedy and Willie Pena, and Kylie herself is like a younger Jaimie only with more eagerness and less ability to rein in her girliness but we love her just the same." Christina and Miles burst into laughter as Mark was perplexed. Anne filled him in on the whole Reed and Kylie story which he had partially heard the night before but this time adding in her perspective and a harsh criticism of her lazy employees. Mark asked about the quick adoptions which Anne admitted, "They were more for the kids' sake as the harassment and mental toll was too much for them especially Reed. We had a real fear that he would commit suicide if the adoption wasn't sped up to stop people from harassing him about his former parents. Dr. Dane and Dr. Eliza agreed, with both offering their strong criticism and full support for an appeal if it didn't happen right away. Judge Matthews thankfully didn't hesitate at granting it and gave the order right away, he has a soft spot for abuse victims especially after Miles was nearly kidnapped the year before." Mark looked at Miles who told him the full story about him. Christina added that he did the same regarding her parents after her birth parents tried to kidnap her. Mark got the sense that the Finns as a whole were a family that nobody messed with without it becoming a full blown storm. Miles read his thoughts and said, "Uncle Jake once joked that messing with our family was like messing with a tornado. The EF scale didn't stand for ?enhanced Fujita' it stood for ?enraged Finns' and anyone dumb enough to get in our way when the storm was brewing was taken down fast and hard and without mercy." Mark asked if they fought a lot, Anne countered with, "None of us look for a fight, it always finds us. Miles came into John and Valerie's life after problems at his group home caused by the caretaker and Roland's goons, Christina was due to greed and vanity and trying to cover their tracks, Reed and Kylie was due to ignorance and hatred that had nothing to do with them, Nichole and Nigel due to prejudice and abuse of power, Sam, Virgil, and Tanya due to racism and classism by a woman who is about as evil of a person as you can ever encounter. All came together by pure luck but all became part of the family and got the full help of the family." Kennedy, John, Valerie, and the Johnsons entered as Anne started her speech. She timed it perfectly as she heard the cars outside and saw them enter. All of them had smiles on their face as they listened. Anne summed up the family nicely. Kennedy added a sharp, "Family comes first and just because you aren't blood does not mean you aren't family. All of us learned it in some form and all of us are proud to see it in use." Mark turned to John and Valerie and asked what was going on now. Kennedy sat next to him and showed him the email response from her friend who was all too eager to start proceedings to investigate on his behalf and would be very interested in reading and listening to his evidence. Anne added,, "He has damning evidence against the three big players, four if they go after that other judge for ignoring the abuse of Judge Hall as well." Joseph added, "My friend is speaking with Sylvia's father about what happened and he is going to be starting legal proceedings against social services on her behalf. It won't bring her back but whatever he gets out of the lawsuit will be used to help abused kids. It'll also help her siblings, she was the only kid he lost to his wife and it sounds like it was on purpose., " Another knock on the door brought Kennedy smiling as she showed William Kelly into the living room. Kennedy explained the situation to which William shook his head in horror and told him, "This will get lots of print. I'll call my contacts right away and get them to start the ball rolling. You hit a gold mine if your evidence is as damning as I suspect. Keep all originals in a safe place, I suspect you will be visited by a goon squad who are going to tear apart your home looking for them. In fact, I'd leave them with Anne as they would not think to look into her but would look into John and Kennedy's involvement since they are the ones who are known and connected.." Mark asked him pointedly, "Why help me?" William smiled and said, "Because Kennedy asked and thanks to her my son got justice for what his teacher did to him. Plus you did a lot of good for two kids who are making us all proud." Mark asked Kennedy quickly, "What is that about?" Kennedy retold the other story about Kylie, one that Anne didn't feel was her story to tell. Mark understood now, William nodded and added, "The folks out west needed to repay me for helping them with some of the details of their coverage of the abuse story so it's also professional courtesy at work. But this is the kind of stuff they eat up and will have your back fully especially as you have so much damning evidence that anything less than prison for them would spark public outcry!" Miles smartly said, "Now you know what I mean? This is at least an EF-2 working on an EF-3." John shook his head and added, "It's an EF-5, you haven't experienced an angry Jorge and Victoria which I suspect they are going to be once the sheriff and his goons make their move on Tuesday. This goes beyond us, this is widespread damage." Mark had only one response to that:, "We will be ready." Kennedy, William, John, Valerie, and Anne left leaving Mark with Miles, Christina, Michael, Paige, Jaimie, and the twins. Jaimie asked that Cat come inside for a second, telling Mark, "Now would be a good time to win her over." He understood what she was trying to do and had to think of a way of fixing the problem. As soon as she came inside she glared at Mark. He ignored it and knelt in front of her, asking her quietly, "Why are you mad at me?" She blurted out a harsh, "You hurt Jaimie!" Jaimie whispered to her, "He didn't hurt me, I was just crying." Mark asked her softly, "Did you think I hurt her because she was crying?" Cat nodded silently, her glare starting to crumble. Mark saw the opening and asked her, "Do you want to know why she was crying?" Cat nodded again, this time looking at Jaimie to gauge her reaction. Jaimie didn't react, telling her to go on. Mark softly said, "Jaimie's friend died. She, Michael, Scott, and Jessica were friends with her for a long time and they were sad to hear that she had died. A lot of people cry when they hear someone died, they miss them and know they will not be able to see them again so they get very sad. She was hurt but it was her feelings that were hurt not her body." Cat looked up at Jaimie who whispered, "My friend died a couple of days ago and Mark told us about it. He wants us to help him do something for her. He didn't hurt me, someone else hurt her. Mark is a good person, you shouldn't be mad at him for something he didn't do." Cat listened intently to Jaimie. She was just over two and a half years old but understood more than people realize. Cat said, "Sorry" to Mark and hugged him, crying into his shoulder. Jaimie whispered to Mark, "That's the best you will get from her, she never apologizes for anything." Mark whispered back, "She just needed to hear the truth." Cat let Mark go and walked off to find JD and Paige. Christina asked him how he knew what to say to her, Mark lowered his head and revealed the truth about his job, "We have to talk to kids of all ages regarding tough situations. Sadly she isn't the youngest kid I've had to talk with but thankfully she is able to handle the truth. I wish more were like her, if she is anything like her mom, dad, and cousins she will be a force to be reckoned with." There was a joint, "I hope not!" from the three teens as they burst into laughter. Christina broke the laughing to ask what Mark was doing until Tuesday. Jaimie was perplexed and asked what was happening that day, to which Miles shot a quick, "The story will break Monday morning, that means someone will try to steal the information Tuesday to prevent Mark from using it against his boss, the sheriff, and the judge." Jaimie realized what he meant and asked:, "Should we tell Uncle Jorge and Aunt Victoria?" Miles nodded, adding, "Uncle Willie needs to know too. I say have dad, Uncles Dan, Quentin, James, Alex, and Mike have a large lunch with them." Mark asked what he meant by that getting a smile and quick, "All of them are police officers. Dad, Uncles Dan, Quentin, and James are reserve officers while Uncles Alex and Mike are state troopers. Uncle Willie is the chief of police." Mark's mouth dropped as Jaimie nodded. Christina softly told him, "Uncles John, Dan, Quentin, and James only joined to help the city after Uncle Willie requested it, Uncles Alex and Mike work with Uncle Willie on the joint drug task force. They take their jobs seriously and were the ones who helped uncover Roland's kidnapping and drug ring." Mark asked softly, "Why all the ?uncle' names?" The two looked at Jaimie who retold the story, "It was originally a joke between the moms because dad treated the girls like his own nieces during a sleepover and it grew as all of the parents got closer. The moms and dads take pride in their titles, they either didn't have family or had families who didn't want anything to do with them when they heard they were associating with me. Give it enough time and you might even get called ?Uncle Mark' by us." There was more chitchat among the four of them until Paige brought the twins inside. Cat walked past them and went to her toys while JD sought out Miles for attention. Jaimie quickly commented, "She is definitely over you, she ignored you like she does everyone else she has no use for. You aren't her favorite so she doesn't give you any attention." Miles joked, "She ignores Jaimie now but she will be begging to be let into her room tonight after she has another nightmare" prompting a glare from Cat followed by a burst of laughter from Paige and Christina. John, Valerie, Kennedy, and the Johnsons came in after several hours. They brought dinner with them, with a man and two kids following behind them. He introduced himself as Willie Pena and the two youngsters as Reed and Kylie. Mark looked at Kylie closely and smiled, she was going to be stunning when she got older especially as she had a naturally feminine face and great hair. Kennedy sensed his thought and added,, "Willie is already getting ready to fend off the boys and girls when she gets older." Mark blushed as Kylie looked back and forth trying to figure out what they were talking about, blushing when her brother whispered:, "He thought you looked very pretty." Jaimie told them that Cat finally stopped her anger towards Mark and all it took was him telling her what was going on. Valerie asked how he knew to do that, he openly admitted, "Kids want the truth. She is smarter than you think and accepted it at face value when she saw her sister agreeing with me." John let it got and told him what they had done. He had set things up so he would stay with Leslie for a couple of days as pieces were maneuvered into position elsewhere. He knew they were coming for him and let it slip that he was staying with Leslie, claiming to be his new girlfriend. Leslie agreed to help and the only condition was that he had to go meet his aunt and uncle the next day. Joseph gave him the basic plan from his end. He contacted a colleague who was in contact with Sylvia's birth father. He was outraged and swore that he'd work with the investigators. He produced documents that showed that there was a conspiracy between the sheriff and the judge regarding Sylvia's custody. She should have been with him after the divorce was finalized but Judge Hall changed it to award sole custody to her mother and made claims against him that were never looked into but were enough to appear to justify awarding her to her mother. Mark was intentionally left out of the situation with Arthur Davis acting directly. Mark admitted that he had no idea that her father was still alive let alone that he had been denied custody. Had he known he would have appealed on his behalf in his father's home court citing the abuse as reason. Evelyn added that they were seeing a pattern of the sheriff using the judge to do his dirty work and the judge using the sheriff to get people to back off legitimate appeals against his dirty decisions. Valerie chimed in and said, "This leads us to believe that at least two deputies will be coming east to confront you, likely with a warrant for your arrest on trumped up or nonexistent charges. I'll step in on your behalf and fight the charges in court in this state, seeking a full hearing before a judge to fight extradition. This should buy us enough time to let the officials in Missouri move against them. They can't just sweep you away, even with those two throwing their weight around they still have to abide by the laws of this state." Kennedy smiled and added, "Anne will be making a trip out west on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She is going to be checking with your supervisor regarding your employment. We expect him to make false accusations against you, showing the falsified documents. She has seen the originals already so she knows what they should say. She will ask if they were filed before the court and when he tells her that he did we will have him nailed for filing falsified documents and criminal conspiracy. He will be the weak link in their armor so he will turn quickly and allow us to go after the real criminals- the sheriff and judge." Mark couldn't hold back his smile. John giggled at his excitement and told him, "EF5 working on an EF6. We still have bigger guns we could call in if need be but we will save them for reserve. If they get involved it'll be a repeat of four years ago. We can only hold them off for so long and if one catches wind I don't think we could hold them back." This was enough to let them drop the subject until Tuesday. Willie got the ball rolling and asked Mark about his schooling and life. Mark opened up about being from Kansas City itself and seeing all of the rough parts of life and wanting to help those who were in need of help. He studied at the University of Missouri earning both a bachelor's and masters degree then got a job with the state right away and had been working hard for 12 years. Mark listened as Willie told him about growing up in the city and his life after school. John and he exchanged a few jokes about one another prompting Valerie to claim, "Keep that up and I'll have Melanie come by to tell him the really juicy stuff!" Both of them shut up fast as Mark asked:, "Who's Melanie?" Jaimie, Miles, Christina, and Paige burst into laughter as John and Valerie tried to fight for a way of explaining without going into the convoluted details. They were saved as the doorbell rang and Melanie, Dan, DJ, and Rebecca entered. Jaimie smartly said,, "That's Melanie." She wasted no time and asked,, "What is going on, why are you looking at me funny?" Jaimie smiled and told her sharply, "Dad and Uncle Willie were teasing each other trying to make Mark laugh at them so mom said if they keep it up she'll have you come by and tell the really juicy stuff." Willie and John cringed and blushed in embarrassment as Melanie gave a sly grin and added, "Oh, really? They really know how to tempt fate at times." She extended her hand and told Mark sharply, "I'm Melanie, Valerie's sister, and John's oldest friend. These two know not to try to get into a story battle as I'll tell all of their deepest, most embarrassing stories that neither wants to be told especially as I keep a few that none of the kids have heard yet ready to go.." Mark looked at the Johnsons trying to figure out what was happening, John filled him in on why she was Valerie's sister. Mark understood fully, grateful that the Johnsons had taken her on as family to help ease the rest of the family. Valerie tried to shrug it off as no big deal saying, "Lilly and Melanie were like my sisters anyway. Mom and dad are happy to have more children especially ones who love their attention. They get another few years to spoil little ones before they get to spoil their great-grandchildren." John, Dan, and Melanie all looked at her with shock over the joke. Evelyn and Joseph burst into laughter as they tried to figure out who she was talking about. She smiled and admitted, "Patrick and David are the right age to start their own families, it's inevitable. Who did you think I was talking about? The others are at least six years away from starting families!" The three let out a sigh of relief as Mark tried to suppress his laugh. She tricked them by preying on a deep fear and knew she'd get that reaction from Mark. He had to admit she had a great point and they did jump to conclusions a little early without thinking about all of the kids. The group ate with Mark watching as Cat changed from ignoring everyone to demanding constant attention from Reed. JD and DJ simply acted like normal toddlers and ate then played. Cat was different, the more he watched her the more Mark was intrigued by the little girl. Kennedy leaned close and told him how Cat and Reed had a special bond, he was the only non-adult who could handle her and she enjoyed being around him more than any other person. She told him about the neglect being a big reason for his learning about kids with Kylie nodding as Mark looked at her. He had to respect Reed for giving up a lot of his childhood to be the big brother his sister needed and ensure that she was safe and happy, he would make a great father one day. The rest of the evening was quiet as the teens went about their usual routines and John worked on his classwork. Michael came home late after a day out with the other guys and didn't seem to give Mark any notice. He did tell him softly that Scott was still angry and Jessica was still shaken but both were working through it thanks to the help of their friends. Mark understood why Michael wanted to be away from him and told him softly, "Just be there for them, it's the best thing possible you could do for them. Scott is holding back his grief and needs to let it out. Jessica is in a state of shock and will eventually break down, have her boyfriend help her and if need be you help her as well." Michael understood and went to his room. Early Sunday morning Mark woke to the sound of Cat crying in the hallway. Jaimie didn't open her door for her and she looked like she was scared to move. Mark lifted her up and brought her to her bed, telling her she was alright and she was safe. She hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder as he tucked her in, letting her fall back asleep silently. Valerie heard the noise and watched Mark laying her down to sleep. He tried to apologize for overstepping but she shushed him, explaining, "If we didn't trust you to do the right thing we wouldn't have let you stay here." He quietly replied,, "I wish I didn't have experience doing that for little children but it's something that came with the job at times." Jaimie popped her head out to see what was going on, still half asleep as she asked. Valerie asked her if she locked the door which Jaimie slapped her head at. She asked where Cat was and cringed at Mark having to put her down again. Mark asked her if she did that a lot getting a gentle nod from Jaimie. He looked at Valerie and asked her, "Has anyone talked with her about the nightmares? It seems to occur a bit too often. She's only two-and- a-half but she's incredibly bright and whatever is going on around her could be affecting her. Try to talk with her when you get the chance, she might need to know things are going well and whatever she is worried about she doesn't need to worry about." Mark's revelation hit both of them hard. They were concerned with her daily actions that they didn't think about her nighttime actions as being out of the ordinary. What was worse was Miles was right in predicting it would happen. Mark admitted,, "I'd be a bad social worker if I didn't notice something like that and offer some measure of assistance." Valerie hugged him for helping them; Mark just shrugged it off and told her, "She may start acting a little more sociable. She won't be like Daisy but she definitely won't be like Bryan and Hannah." The three went back to bed for a few more hours. Mark was satisfied that he had made a difference even if it was only a small one for friends. Later at breakfast Cat hugged him for no reason getting John and Miles to nod in understanding. Mark told the two, "You set me up, didn't you?" Miles sheepishly said,, "It's been happening too much and mom and dad didn't seem to notice as she only goes for Jaimie who just falls back asleep after." John added, "You needed a little confidence boost and she needed to see that you weren't lying just to get on her good side. She is genuinely happy, and she may start sleeping better after Valerie and I talk with her." Mark's confidence rose after hearing this. Michael shrugged all of it off asking if they were still going to force Mark to endure Victoria and Jorge. Valerie sharply told him, "Keep that attitude up and you will join him then clean the pans after." Michael backed down, going to his room to sulk. Mark shook his head and announced, "He's talking Sylvia's death hard and doesn't want to show it. He's suppressing his emotions." Valerie asked how he knew, Mark pointed out the deflections and non- reactions to Cat's change in behavior. John thought it over and admitted Mark was right, he made a phone call and told Mark that Michael's girlfriend Courtney would be coming by to comfort Michael. Mark nodded, knowing she may be the only one to get him to release his pent up grief. Miles and Mark talked about Missouri with Miles paying close attention to what Mark was saying. Miles was doing his usual problem-solving routine but adding in the ripple of trying to understand the place that was so hated by his family. He asked a few pointed questions, trying to grasp how that place could be so different than his hometown while also so similar. Mark was sharp in saying, "I could go all day about the differences but the truth is that it's hands off vs. hands on state level control. If we had more state control over some agencies we might have prevented this but we don't so it's always possible locals can manipulate the system." Miles begrudgingly agreed and added,, "Sometimes it stinks to have too much control but you have a reason for wanting it given how some people can easily manipulate things to their advantage without fear." Courtney arrived and took Michael off to his room to talk, under the express orders to only talk and go no further. Michael's face blushed deeply at the statement from his parents but Courtney didn't hesitate to comply. The two talked for a good hour before they came out, faces tear stained and eyes red but Michael was noticeably calmer and less anxious. Courtney pulled John and Mark aside and told them, "He didn't want to cry in front of the others but he is broken up about her death more than you know. Sylvia was his first crush and he still cared about her despite being halfway across the country. He knows you are going to get her justice but he is still hurt that someone would let those two animals do that to her. Promise me you will get those bastards, I can't stand seeing him miserable like this." She started to cry and rushed home leaving John and Mark stunned. Before they could react Leslie Finn was at the door and asking if Mark was ready to leave. Mark looked over to John asked,, "Is it always this busy at your house?" John and the others started laughing, getting a quick, "Today's slow by comparison" from Michael who started to crack up laughing. Leslie tried her hardest to keep a straight face but succumbed to Michael's joke. She asked if any of the others were coming along as well getting a quick, "No" from the teens. Cat was the only one interested in going but she was held back by John earning a scowl and grunt from Cat. He told her Mark needed to do this alone which she seemed to understand but wasn't happy with. Leslie drove the mile to Jorge, Victoria, and her building in silence, letting Mark take in the city's sights and sounds and observing his surprise at how different her neighborhood was from John's neighborhood. Leslie finally told him softly, "It's not as glamorous as John makes it seem, the real city is crime ridden, dirty, dark, and scary. Willie is trying to improve things but they don't happen right away. Things have changed, but there is still the long war to fight and Willie has to pick his battles." They pulled into a driveway and exited, being immediately greeted by an elderly Latino man and a heavyset and energetic woman. Mark immediately took them to be Victoria and Jorge, which Leslie confirmed by saying, "Aunt Victoria, Uncle Jorge this is Mark Sylvester, the man John and Valerie told you about." Victoria immediately embraced Mark, enveloping him in a crushing hug. Mark tried to wiggle out only to be caught tighter. When she broke her embrace Mark took a few seconds to gather his wits only to be embraced by Jorge in a similar tight embrace. The two were proud of him for doing so much for the family even if it was four years before. Jorge escorted them inside and told him to sit down, lunch would be coming shortly. Mark tried to decline it but Leslie sharply said:, "Nobody refuses a meal from Uncle Jorge, it's something that everyone who has encountered our family learns." Mark acquiesced and let him feed him. The doorbell rang and Victoria loudly shouted:, "Come in Nichole." Mark cringed at the booming voice but was surprised by the lack of response from Leslie and Jorge. He watched as the young girl came in and sat down next to Leslie and him, smiling at them. Leslie asked why she was there to which she said, "Dad had to work and mom had to take the baby to the doctor and the twins are out with Paige and Pete. Aunt Rachel and Margaret are also out with Nancy and her dad so Aunt Victoria said she'd watch me until dad got home." Nichole turned to Mark and asked if he was going back to Missouri. Mark nodded, telling her, "I have to officially resign and terminate my lease as well as pack up the few things I own." Leslie asked her if she finished her schoolwork getting a blush and nod, but Leslie saw through the lie and told Victoria to have Kylie tell her what the work was and she'd get it for her in a bit. Nichole blushed and tried to apologize but was admonished for trying to take advantage of the situation and deflect attention from herself onto Mark. Mark just observed. Their dynamic was different than the others. Leslie caught his observation and bluntly said, "John and Karen are easier to manipulate than I am, she knew you were here and tried to take advantage of it. It might have worked if it wasn't the same thing her brother and sister or John and Roland tried on my at the same age." Mark nodded in agreement, smiling at her sharp wit and instincts. The group talked for an hour before the meal was finally cleaned up. Nichole begrudgingly took Victoria to her home to get her homework. The trio walked out to the porch and sat to talk. Mark and Leslie did most of the talking with Jorge adding in a few observations. For the first time since he arrived Mark felt better about the situation as he wasn't reminded in some way or another about his past, the duo were simply people who were hosting him for an afternoon. Jorge had a steady stream of people saying hello and giving Mark an odd look. Mark felt self-conscious as they often asked if he was Leslie's boyfriend. Jorge nodded, with Leslie telling Mark, "It'll make the attempted break-in on Tuesday all the more likely. The more it looks like we are together the more the more likely they are to strike here." Mark felt bad lying to good people but it was for the better and Leslie was a decent person who he enjoyed spending time with. Nichole returned with Victoria, looking very unhappy. She went into the living room with a low grumble escaping her lips as she went to work on her homework. Victoria smiled and proclaimed, "She didn't realize how much she had to do" earning a laugh from Leslie. After another hour John arrived with Mark's things and helped him get settled into Leslie's apartment. Nichole was still grumbling about having to do her homework which left John on the verge of laughter as he watched her trying to solve her math problems quickly. Mark just shook his head in disbelief, John the uncle and John the father were something he really liked and the kids and teens made him smile at how well adjusted they were to his unique family. An hour later the fire alarms went off in the building across the street prompting the fire department to respond. The engine that arrived was led by a family friend named Paul Douglas so the crew talked with Victoria and Jorge for a bit. Nichole came out and hugged her uncle/best friend's father and introduced him to Mark. Paul grabbed Mark into an embrace, thanking him for what he did for Jaimie and John. His company looked on in surprise then put things together and offered their own thanks as well. Mark asked if they were the same folks who were working the day John took Jaimie by the station getting a big smile on their faces as the event was discussed. Paul proudly said, "We all were, and we are glad it helped her get over her PTSD quicker. She paid us back with a nice donation which helped multiple people. She is a godsend to this city." The deputy chief with them gave them the all clear prompting their thanks as they made their exit. Nichole heard the whole exchange and asked what they were talking about prompting Mark to tell about Jaimie's first night in the city. Leslie added in that she and her mother were happy that he went to such great lengths for her and added that he was never happier than he was to help her overcome that fear. Nichole smiled and hugged Mark, for no reason except to show she cared. Nigel came by to take Nichole home after a solid six hours with Victoria and Jorge. Leslie asked how the baby was doing getting a tired, "He's a screamer, thankfully the neighbors haven't complained." Mark watched as the two made their goodbyes and smiled, knowing this was a side of the family that few get to see. They may have money through various legal means but they were still a solid family. As they went upstairs Mark got a phone call on his cell phone from a colleague. The news caused Mark's face to drop: his house had caught fire. He was suspected of arson and Sheriff Baker had gotten Judge Hall to issue a warrant for his arrest. Mark asked when it happened, noting the exact time the fire department responded. Mark thanked his friend and told him, "Thanks for letting me know, I'm going to check with my lawyers and see what my options are. I'm staying with my girlfriend right now so I may not be getting home for a while." Mark ended the call and told Victoria and Jorge, "It's begun. They burned down my house when they couldn't find my files. They are going to use a charge of arson to go after me." Leslie smiled and told him wickedly, "How could you burn down your house when you were in this city the whole weekend. Ironically we were talking with the fire department here when this happened. It'll be hard to claim you were two places at once." Mark smiled and said a hearty, "We got them!" Mark called John and Kennedy to tell them what happened. Both were on the verge of laughter at what Judge Hall and Sheriff Baker were willing to do to ensure they weren't removed from office or sent to prison. John told him to sit tight, he'd talk with a few people in the state fire marshal's office to get their take on what could possibly be used to claim he was at fault but didn't hold out much hope that their claims would pass the reality test given that he had been gone for so long. Monday morning Kennedy and Valerie came over and laid out their plans. Mark met with a federal official who identified himself as a member of the ATF and was very interested in this case now that it crossed state lines and would end up on their doorstep shortly. Mark told him what his colleague had told him about the timing and how he had eight witnesses, all of whom were firefighters and who had ironically been talking with him during the fire out west. The man nearly wet himself in laughter over the sheer irony of him being with firefighters when his house was burning down. He was able to obtain the audio of radio transmissions from the fire department and there was no way that their story could be refused because they would have to go against the paper, computer, and voice records in addition to eyewitness accounts. In fact, Mark could be heard in the background of one of the transmissions, talking with Paul as the deputy chief updated their dispatch about the alarm. Paul even mentioned Mark by name as the ladder company greeted them. IIt was irrefutable that he was on the other side of the country at that very moment when he was supposed to have caused the fire. The agent made a call to a colleague out in Kansas City and had him obtain the fire's records, his colleague was told that it was a confirmed arson case with the supposed suspect being not only innocent but there was a larger conspiracy going on. The kicker was that he had a great alibi with agents laughing at the whole series of events. Mark and Valerie tried their hardest not to smile at the feds taking a keen interest in Mark's case. They were assured that whoever did it likely had done it before and would make some of the previous fires in the county suspicious. Mark had not only uncovered a federal arson case but had caused a closer inspection or other cases and may be the key to taking down an arson ring. The agent was interrupted by two friends of the family, Alex Vincent and Mike Daniels, entering and who informed them that a couple of deputies from Missouri that were in Boston and had made contact with their colleagues at the airport. Alex and Mike coordinated with the agent to set a trap at Leslie's apartment while leaving enough wiggle room for the deputies to show their hand. They already knew that the deputies wouldn't make their move on Mark yet, they were still awaiting word from out west to make their move, with the state police doing the dirty work after they made their break-in to steal the files. The break-in was key, they needed that to nail them but Mark still needed to lay low. The agent agreed but had them inform the Fugitive Recovery Team that they would be held back during the raid that would not actually occur. They would offer assistance but not act, if need be they would use administrative maneuvers to stall for as long as possible. Alex and Mike got the drift, the warrant would be invalidated by a federal judge in Missouri and the true arrest would be the wayward deputies. Kennedy asked if it meant what she thought it meant, the agent smiled and said, "The warrant will be rescinded and an arrest warrant will be filed against the deputies. John Finn and your husband get to arrest them for breaking and entering and we will nail them for federal explosives or some other arson charges." Mark sputtered, saying, "Explosives?" The agent nodded, explaining, "Without seeing the scene to me the only way they could have done it is they created a bomb to go off with nobody around, whether it be a simple Molotov cocktail or something more complex. You were away too long for it to be you and you would have been caught at the airport with residue on you. My colleagues are chomping at the bit over this, it's not often they get to go after a simple case but it's great practice and after hearing the reason why they did what they did my colleagues want to nail the guilty parties. The fact that they are public officials is icing on the cake." Anne Connors rang the doorbell and let herself in, nodding to the agent as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Kennedy and the agent excused themselves as they went to do some work on Mark's behalf with Valerie heading downstairs to stop JD from destroying Jorge and Victoria's apartment. Anne smiled sweetly and asked Mark if he would accompany her to her office for a few hours. Leslie gave her a big knowing grin and suggest Mark take the opportunity to observe how a colleague works. Mark couldn't refuse the offer, having nothing else to do that day it beat sitting around bored. A half hour later in Anne's office in Boston Mark was introduced to the staff as a guest from Missouri's Department of Social Services. They pretty much ignored Mark and went about their business. Anne asked Mark to walk around and observe their interactions with clients, having him sit in on several interviews with families to learn some from the other social workers. Mark watched as multiple families came inside to meet with the staff but there was one that troubled him. He asked Anne what the story was with a little girl and her mother, noting that there were some marks on her upper arm that look like they were from fingers handling her rough and that she seemed pretty agitated at being there, more so than simple anxiety over being among so many strangers. Anne walked by and saw them as well, asking to have a word with the child without her mother. Anne took the girl aside and asked her to show him the marks on her arms, revealing multiple bruises just as Mark suspected. She softly asked how she got them, the girl winced and said softly, "Mommy". Anne asked her to tell her the story of the girl reluctantly telling her that her mother grabs her and pushes her around when she didn't do things the way she wanted or do it fast enough. Mark asked her how old she is getting a soft, "Six". Anne thanked her for telling them, then let the girl go back to her mother. She wasn't the least bit pleased and genuinely scared Mark. Mark saw the worry in her eyes and asked:, "Did I just step in it?" Anne nodded, saying, "You pulled the pin on a live grenade. She is going to have to be removed from her home for her own protection until her mother is deemed fit enough to care for her. She needs to be evaluated, this sounds like either an anger management issue or there is something driving her frustration and anger. Whatever the reason, she isn't safe there and you may have just helped both of them with your observation. The way she is reacting I think you might have actually saved that little girl's life." Anne received a sharp complaint from the social worker who was working the case regarding taking the girl away from her mother and talking to her without her, in particular, being there. Anne listened to it then asked, "Did you notice the marks on her upper arms? The girl told us that she was being flung around and grabbed roughly by her mother for not doing things the way she wanted them done. She is going to be removed from her care until such time as she proves she is no longer a danger to the child. You should have seen them up close, Mark here spotted them from across the room. She should have been interviewed without her mother present, she would have told you the truth if you just asked. Don't complain to me that her mother was complaining, I know damn well why she complained- she knows she just lost her daughter!" Mark watched as the social worker left, her mouth opened up in shock. Mark made rounds again and observed that he was being scrutinized closely but he also noted that the interviewers were taking closer looks at the reactions and bodies of the children. Mark realized why Anne had him come, when he returned to her office after a third lap she confided the truth to him, "You are more observant than anyone I have ever encountered and you are empathetic towards children in ways few are capable of emulating." Mark tried to shrug it off but Anne added, "I know what you did for Cat and how John and Valerie talked with her last night. She is a lot happier now that her parents know she doesn't like so many people around her or all the attention people give to her, they didn't think about it until you made them talk to her. I'm offering you a job here, with the full support of my boss and the head of the state's Health and Human Services department. You are a valuable asset and we would be foolish to let you slip through our fingers or worse, allow you to work for another state." Mark accepted her offer. This whole day was a setup by Anne. Miles had been right in his prediction and he was finally seeing that the family was more than just relatives. Mark asked if she had planned this since Friday getting a quick, "Actually, Thursday. Valerie mentioned you were coming to visit and spoke highly about you and your background check was already on file with the company we use so it wasn't much to consider you as an employee. The only thing missing was an interview which I felt was useless as you have more experience than most people out there and have handled tough cases with dignity and respect. I really wanted to see how your new colleagues reacted to a newcomer with a different point of view and a new set of eyes." Anne drove him to Leslie's apartment after her lunch, telling him she'd contact his current supervisor to get his take on Mark but adding that it was going to just be used for Mark's defense since he already has the job. Mark talked with Jorge for a while, getting his take on events and learning more about him. Jorge and he talked about sports, particularly baseball. Mark was a fan; he was saddened to hear that the kids lost interest after the confrontation with Jaimie at Kaufman Stadium. Jorge smiled as he admitted, "They learned how money doesn't equal being a decent human being. Plus they still like some players, Miguel Toro is their favorite. He is actually the favorite of all of the teens." Mark asked what he was talking about, getting the rundown of the three interactions with him so far. Jorge then told him about Miguel's niece being friends with the 8th graders. Mark asked what she was up to as he didn't recall seeing her Friday afternoon. Jorge smirked as he proudly told him, "Jessie and she was setting up their sleepover, it's why Sam came by with Iris and Francesca, James was driving them there. You will meet her in due course, Miguel will want to show his appreciation." Leslie returned from her classes with a smile on her face, seeing Mark seemed to have brightened her afternoon. Mark excused himself from his talk with Jorge as Leslie unlocked the door to her apartment. Mark talked with her about her classes and was surprised to hear that she was working on a degree in childcare instead of something else. Leslie giggled and told him, "It's just so I can get my license and we can expand the day care business. Melanie would be able to have more free time and Tanya could have more responsibilities in the office. Lupe was a godsend for Melanie, I could take on more classes this semester and finish up my degree sooner thanks to her." Mark started to see the connections. He asked,, "Just how many of you are working together?" Leslie told about James and Greta's investment firm with Karen as the receptionist/greeter/facilitator and Dan's contractor business. Beverly was working as the accountant for all of them while Gabby handled their computers. Mark asked about the others getting a smile and quick, "Quentin doesn't do residential architecture so he is often in Boston working hard to change the skyline. Dr. Samuels is basically the doctor for all of the kids and teens, and his wife is semi-retired as a nurse who has helped with the kids when they needed someone to care for them when their parents had to work. Lilly helps out at the day care and often acts as Gabby's assistant whenever she has a big meeting with clients. I'm trying to get her to get her degree when Daisy goes to elementary school in a year but she has her heart set on simply being a stay-at- home mom since she doesn't really need to work thanks to her deceased husband's investments." Mark shook his head at the total size of their group, all of them working together to help each other out. He wasn't surprised though that Valerie worked as the de-facto lawyer for all of them along with her parents. Mark was proud of the whole group, in fact, he was elated that this whole group came together because of John and Jaimie and all of them attributed the whole thing to him. Leslie received a text from Valerie and asked to see them immediately. Mark's reaction was one of foreboding, he expected something terrible. Leslie smiled and admitted, "They found something interesting that you might want to know. If it was serious enough they'd call directly or just come to us." At the Finn home, Joseph and Evelyn gave him some interesting news about his home. The tax records were a blind, the home was owned by a company that was in fact owned by the brother of Judge Hall. It explained why he had a warrant out for Mark's arrest so quickly and made things more interesting as it was now a possible fraud investigation. Mark didn't respond to the news, he expected something like that. He rented the home from a realty company, but he never knew who actually owned it. It all made sense now. He had a thought flash through his head and blurted out, "The only person who knew I was going to Winnisimmet was Valerie, I didn't tell my colleagues. How could they have known that I was flying here unless they heard it? The place wasn't just tossed and burned to cover the break-in, they had bugs in there too. They were listening to my conversations! No wonder they could counter what I was going to do- they were ready ahead of time!" All three lawyers smacked their heads at the realization. Valerie contacted Kennedy while Joseph and Evelyn called someone out west as Mark looked on. Evelyn spoke first saying, "You just turned a simple arson case into a criminal conspiracy plot and got the feds very interested in this beyond the current norms. They want Paul Douglas, Alex Vincent, and Mike Daniels to go out west tonight to investigate. Mike and Alex helped in some arson cases and have dealt with bugs inside apartments and homes before and Paul was on the department's arson squad until he transferred back to working on an engine company. They aren't known out west, they would have trouble going against their experience." Valerie smiled as well, telling them, "Kennedy is going west with them to act on behalf of the state. She will be seeking a probable cause hearing for Mark and will serve as the go-between for the agencies and us. She will be assisted by an old friend of ours who just so happens to be related to Sylvia's father. Leslie asked about her and Mark specifically regarding the attempt to arrest him. Joseph could barely contain his smile as he said, "They are here under false pretenses and the state police are going to let them make the mistake of breaking in. Kennedy got a state judge to refuse the extradition pending a quashing by the Missouri courts. Right after you left Dan and his crew started installing cameras to catch them in the act and placed fake documents in the apartment. They are also under surveillance by several detectives so the can't make any move without us knowing. The troopers are just waiting to secure a search warrant for the deputies' hotel room and baggage. If it looks like they are going to mail or send them via FedEx or UPS they will be arrested on the spot. Sean will put you up for the night as it won't be safe for you two." Cat and JD woke up from their naps and came into the room to see what was going on with Cat immediately going for Mark. Valerie asked her if she wanted to go to the playroom, getting a look of surprise from the others. Mark figured out what was going on and asked:, "Did you move their toys and things out of the living room to give her and JD their own room to play?" Valerie shook her head and admitted, "You were right, there was something wrong. Thankfully it's a simple fix and the kids should be happy with it." Valerie led Cat to the new room in the attic. Cat was happy to see the toys spread out and the larger space for her blocks and dolls. JD just plopped down and started playing, Cat hugged her mom tight and said a soft, "Thank you, mommy." Valerie had a tear in her eye as the others slunk downstairs to give her some time to process the lovely moment. Leslie and Mark drove back to her apartment and gathered what they needed for the next two days. They were met by Paul, Alex, and Mike who asked about the layout of Mark's home and where things were supposed to be. Mark wasn't good at vocalizing things like that so he drew a rough floor plan of the house and then told them where to look for certain items that wouldn't be found normally. If certain things were disturbed beyond what a firefighter would have done then they have the evidence it was a break-in. Paul grinned at that, Mike and Alex just groaned at Mark giving him incentive to lord some facts that they didn't know over their heads. Mark just grinned as he didn't mean to make Paul's day but it was nice to know that he could do that for an adult as well as a scared child. Alex looked closely at the image and asked Mike, "Are you thinking what I am thinking? They fooled around with the electrical then put a light on intending to cause an overload?" Mike nodded, with Paul adding, "That would be the only way to get this to go up and make it look like it was done by Mark. The problem is it would take only a couple of hours, he has been gone at least a day or more before the fire. You two just proved it was arson and declared him innocent without even setting foot in the house! Even more important you have given us a second place to look- they had to have done this low-tech along with setting him up. I think it's a Molotov cocktail along with fiddling with the wires as I doubt they bothered to take a close look at the house." There was laughter coming from behind them as the ATF agent made his presence known. Alex and Mike looked at him oddly but he simply said, "That's why I asked you three to come along; you are looking at it from a law enforcement point of view that Paul would not entirely see. Paul is looking at it from the firefighter point of view that you overlooked with the complexity. We have to get moving, our plane leaves Hanscom in an hour and the Air Force won't be happy if we are late." Kennedy arrived with her own bags and the five set off for Bedford and their government transport. Leslie was a bundle of nerves as they left, holding Mark's hand tight as she feared for their safety. That subtle movement wasn't missed by Victoria and Jorge who both smiled at Leslie's action. Mark asked softly, "What about their sons?" Leslie smiled and admitted, "They are probably staying with Willie as Reed is their close friend. The three are of one mind at times despite Reed being a year younger. Plus they will have Kylie keeping them in line and on their toes." The two set off for Sean's home and sure enough, the two teens were with Willie and Reed outside. They helped Leslie into Sean's home as he waited outside with Willie. Mark was silent about the whole situation but Willie broke it assuring him, "Kennedy is a bulldog when it comes to helping people. She will get that warrant removed and the agents will get the real people put away." Kylie came out and told them, "Mr. Kelly called, the article is running tomorrow morning. He said his friends are very eager to talk with Mark when he is able to." Mark thanked her and asked sharply, "Is he reliable?" Willie nodded as Reed added, "He only cares about the truth and thanks to you he knows it. He won't let anyone portray you as anything except innocent. The local paper will be against you but that won't matter when the TV and major newspapers pick up the story." Sean beckoned all of them to come in and eat as it was going to be a long day on Tuesday. Reed, Eric, and George ate fast and went off to do their homework while Kylie tried to delay it. Sean sternly told her to eat and stop delaying getting Willie to laugh at the whole scene. Mark wasn't sure what was going on but enjoyed the family acting like it was just another day. Sean finally admitted to Mark, "Kennedy is my niece and the kids have learned that Willie is a good dad but can be a softy particularly towards Kylie, she is a total daddy's girl. Luckily I can spot that kind of behavior easily. Reed knows not to fool around but Kylie likes to push boundaries. She hasn't stepped over them yet but it's only a matter of time." She stuck out her tongue and giggled as she ran off before he could react. Sean failed to hold back his laughter and added, "See what I mean? She's a total minx who isn't afraid of authority." As Leslie and Mark were eating Kennedy, Alex, Mike, and Paul were in a Department of Justice jet heading west. The five outlined their plan of action with Kennedy working with the local ATF office while the four would investigate the house. Kennedy asked how they would justify three Massachusetts people helping out west to which the agent opened a sealed briefcase and handed Mike, Alex, and Paul credentials. They were temporarily appointed ATF agents due to the needs and concerns of the case. Mike and Alex were thrilled, Paul was a bit put off but let a little smile out. Alex wasted little time and joked, "You finally went blue over red." Paul shot back, "Technically I was already blue, as I am still a special deputy sheriff for Suffolk County and retain the badge. Or did you guys forget we have to be appointed one in order to make arrests in arson cases?" Mike started laughing as Alex realized his goof up, Kennedy just shook her head and smile. The agent was stoic but knew all along which was why he brought Paul in the first place. The flight was faster than any commercial flight given that it was a governmental flight. After four hours they touched down at Whiteman Air Force Base and were greeted by members of the local ATF office. The group was escorted out and drove for an hour to the hotel then ate a late dinner before turning in. Kennedy touched base with Willie, Sean, and Valerie and let them know they were all set for the next day. A couple of hours later during the middle of the night, Willie received a phone call from the detectives assigned to tailing the Missouri people. They were on the move, heading towards Winnisimmet and dressed in all black and comically also carrying bags. The surprising thing was he saw clear outlines of guns in their waistbands so it was definitely a good thing that he had the couple leave for the night. The break-in was on. Willie called his state police contact and told him that the Missouri people were on the move and to expect them to seek assistance in a few hours. He added that when the appeared at the barracks they were to be held until Willie and his people arrived. The plan was in motion on their end, now they just waited until they made their final moves. John and Valerie were texted an alert from the cameras. They watched the live video of the deputies tearing the apartment apart looking for the documents. Leslie had removed anything breakable or that could be torn so there was little left in the apartment. They tried to tear open the walls with little success, just making a big mess. They eventually found what Valerie hoped they would find and scurried out, not even bothering to clean up the mess. They broke a window to make it look like an amateur job but it was almost comical how they did it as one almost cut his arm open on the glass. A few hours later the deputies walked into the Kensington State Police Barracks. They introduced themselves and stated they were there to execute an arrest warrant on behalf of their home state. They were told they would have to wait a bit as they were a little busy at the moment and were shorthanded. This was all a ruse, they were just waiting for Willie's people to finish their search of the hotel room. They found what they were looking for, in fact they found a lot more than that. The deputies sensed something was amiss and tried to get up only to be interrupted by two troopers coming in and asking them if they were ready to execute the warrants. The deputies each had crooked smiles on their faces as they said:, "Let's do it." The four walked out to two unmarked cruisers drove to Leslie's apartment. Willie was outside waiting, smiling as the troopers exited. The deputies asked what this was about, one of the troopers smiled and said:, "We are here executing a warrant; we never said it was your warrant." Willie and two Winnisimmet Police officers came forward and said:, "You two are under arrest for breaking and entering, burglary, malicious destruction of property, witness intimidation, filing false reports, and criminal conspiracy." The two tried to protest but Willie showed them the files that were found in their hotel room. Willie evenly said, "Care to explain how these came into your possession? These say, "Property of Mark Sylvester" on them and have been confirmed to be documents in the possession of one Mark Sylvester of which is neither of you." With another smile he said, "Mark, can you identify these?" He stepped forward and said bluntly, "These are dummy files I kept in the apartment. They were in a strong box in Leslie's bedroom. The only one with a key is Leslie so the only way to get them was to tear open the box." Willie nodded and dismissed them. He then showed them a video of the two entering the apartment, tearing it apart, and breaking the window. Willie asked Leslie if they had any permission to be there to which she snarled, "Nobody had permission to be there. We weren't even there. They broke in and caused serious damage to the walls and window." The two tried to claim they were trying to make an arrest. The troopers asked them sharply, "Under what right do you have to do so? You aren't officers of the law in this state, and you didn't act within guidelines for apprehending a fugitive. This was a burglary, and you two are under arrest for it." The two tried to claim Mark was a fugitive with a warrant. The troopers smiled and added, "I am sure he is, and we will contact the US Marshals about him. However that will take several hours and possibly won't happen until tomorrow. As he has not broken any laws in Massachusetts and we have only your claims to which you have already shown are dubious at best we can't take him in yet. Don't worry, we will make an arrest." Leslie and Willie both held back laughs as the two tried to figure out what was going on. The two troopers watched with Willie as the dirty deputies were hauled away in handcuffs. Mark told them, "As we haven't heard from Kennedy yet you are still required to take me into custody." The two nodded but told him, "You are being placed into protective custody, I believe Reserve Officer Finn is available" Leslie burst into laughter as Mark tried to fathom what they said. Willie tried to break it to him but Leslie beat him to it, "You are going to have to go with John and Valerie for a few hours or until the warrant is rescinded." Mark realized he was technically under arrest but realistically he was just being a guest again. Willie just shrugged and admitted,, "A lot of people would love to have that kind of detention." Mark shot back, "Not many have to deal with a clingy two-and-a-half-year-old." Leslie countered with, "She is only showing her appreciation, it's JD I'd be worried about." Over in Missouri Kennedy, Paul, Mike, and Alex were going over the details from the fire and desperately trying to suppress their laughter. Paul shook his head at the flimsy evidence against Mark. In fact he wondered how they had even gotten anyone in the fire department to go along with it is beyond belief. Mike and Alex were equally puzzled by the statements from the owner and the prosecutor, something smelled rotten and didn't add up in their statements. The local agents were impressed by the hard work they put in in such a short period of time. Paul eventually had enough and suggested they visit the building because there was nothing more they could do directly, that was now in the hands of Kennedy and the prosecutors. The groups split up with Kennedy and the local agent heading to the court while Alex, Mike, Paul, and their agent went to Mark's home. Kennedy and the agent were seen right away by the prosecutor. She laid out her reasons for being there and insisted that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would not allow the extradition of Mark Sylvester without a full hearing to be held in front of a neutral judge. She stated that their court had ruled that the warrant was rushed and that the investigation was faulty, that this was backed up by the ATF agents with her. She stated that until he had a proper probable cause hearing she would have a federal court overturn his warrant on grounds of violating his constitutional rights. The prosecutor was deeply offended and stated they would fight her. She simply said,, "So be it, we will see you in a few hours in the next county as we have already secured a hearing there with the support of the governor and attorney general's office." The ATF agents looked at her oddly, she simply shot back, "I'm no fool, I smell the judge's handiwork. Joseph and Evelyn's friends in the state did an appeal on Mark's behalf yesterday while these clowns were sitting pretty and got the case moved out of the county. Judge Hall can't intervene this time." The group left with Kennedy trying hard not to let her anger show. This place was simply rotten to the core, much more so than Winnisimmet had been. She texted Valerie with a sharp, "No wonder you guys left fast, it stinks out here." The group piled into the black SUV and drove on to the next county, meeting with the judge there and started laying out the case from their point of view. The fact that the ATF were involved was not lost and the judge gave it his full attention. He asked for everything they had about the fire and only accepted copies not the originals, telling them, "Those you will keep under lock and key in a secure place until trial if it happens. Pardon my pun but I am not about to play with fire regarding the federal government." The angered and upset prosecutor entered as the hearing got underway officially. The judge reviewed the evidence and heard why it was faulty with the prosecutor trying hard to defend the evidence but failing badly. The judge nearly laughed as Kennedy finally told them, "When the fire occurred Mr. Sylvester was in Massachusetts, having been there for just over two days. I know for a fact as I met him Friday evening. We have his voice on fire department audio talking in the background while the deputy chief is talking. So unless he is able to teleport or fly at the speed of light he was over 1,000 miles away at the time." The judge dismissed the case and rescinded the arrest warrant. Further he ordered an investigation into the fire from the state, saying, "There is something seriously wrong here and I want to get to the bottom of it." The ATF agents smiled and added, "Our agency is investigating. We have agents currently on scene checking the building and expect them to have the real story soon. Expect the real arsonists to be placed under arrest within a few days." Kennedy and the agents walked out with smiles on their faces. The prosecutor shouted, "This isn't over! You can't protect him!" The judge heard this and demanded to know what was going on. Kennedy pointed to a nearby newspaper and stated, "The judge, the sheriff, and many others are going after Mark Sylvester for attempting to get justice for a rape victim. Based on what this man just said it now includes the local prosecutor's office again. Your honor, based upon his outburst I believe that we just found out why Mark Sylvester was railroaded by the state. If you would be so kind as to hold him in custody, I believe the agents are going to want to talk with him." Kennedy again turned and left. The agents asked her sharply, "How did you do it?" She just smiled and said, "Their own arrogance did it. He couldn't help but try to go after me but didn't expect the judge to react that way. It's actually due to your presence that the judge did anything, I don't think he wants the feds coming after him for what some other idiots are doing in the next county." Mike, Alex, and Paul were having a field day investigating Mark's home. They saw right away that there was tampered electrical work as expected. What also didn't surprise them was there was a lack of burning from the panel showing that it wasn't the place of origin. Paul saw clear burn patterns from accelerants and even spotted the bottle tossed aside making him shake his head at the sloppy job done. The biggest shocker was they found several broken bottles that were clearly Molotov cocktails. Alex and Mike shook their heads at the idiocy of the situation, Mark didn't drink and glass broken from the windows was inside meaning they were tossed through the windows. Paul just grinned as he had called this same scenario back in Winnisimmet. The surprise of the day were the electronic bugs found in several places. The fire didn't consume them as the accelerant was sloppily tossed around. The agents photographed their placement, seized them and bagged them, saying, "Unless there is a warrant on file these are illegally placed. Mark was right, they knew he was leaving and heading to the Finns." The agent didn't break a sweat and ordered the forensics team to examine the cocktails, the electric panel, and the accelerant container for fingerprints. The team was busy at work as several deputy sheriff cruisers stopped outside the house. The team continued their business while the agent in charge talked with the deputies. He as suave and knew they were there to keep them from finding out the truth. It was too late though, so he just bought them time. He asked them sharply, "What can I do for you gentlemen?" The deputies told him sharply, "You are under arrest for trespassing on a crime scene." The agent smiled and stated, "This crime scene is now under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Any attempt to interfere with this building or any investigation into the fire here will result in being arrested for obstruction of justice charges. Clear out of here now." He turned away and two more came forward with guns drawn. The agent smiled and stated, "So be it. You three are hereby placed under arrest for interfering with a federal investigation." Mark, Alex, two other agents and the technicians came out with guns drawn. Paul was handed handcuffs and walked forward towards the deputies and read them their Miranda Rights. He removed their belts and guns then placed them in their own cruisers. Once they were secured Paul read the names and nearly fell over in laughter. They were either related to the sheriff or the judge. One was a Hall, another was a Baker. Mike snidely said,, "No coincidences, just plain old ?cover your ass' nepotism at work." Kennedy tried hard not to laugh as she was told the events. They all gathered at the hotel and compared notes, the feds were already building a case based upon a series of corruption and nepotism. They were excited that a simple arson case turned into a much larger case, one that could make careers of the agents. The lead Kansas City agent talked openly with Kennedy. After a while, she started to notice something about him. She asked him his last name, to which she gasped. His name, much to her shock, was Michael Jones. Kennedy asked if he had a brother. He nodded then sharply said, "The bastard tried to use the state to force his views on people. He framed several innocent people to make his career and the last time he tried it he went up against someone who was prepared to fight back. The guy won the right to adopt his foster child, a transgender girl." Kennedy asked if he knew a, "Valerie Johnson". He shook his head and said, "She deserved better than the scumbag. He dumped her, claiming she was seeing other men. I think he may have gotten her pregnant but I lost track of her after he dumped her and didn't want to pry into her life." Kennedy excused herself quickly and called Valerie. She quickly asked,, "Did Michael's birth father have any relatives?" Valerie softly said,, "I don't know, he never talked about them." Valerie asked quickly, "You found a brother or sister, didn't you?" Kennedy softly said, "Michael has an uncle. He is an agent for the ATF out in Kansas City. He doesn't know about Michael nor you." The agent, Michael, made his presence known and said:, "He does now." Kennedy's face dropped as Michael Jones asked her for the whole story. She sighed and told him, "You look like him, your name matched the last name of the man Valerie told me about as being his biological father, and being from this area it was a bit too much of a coincidence. I wanted to confirm with Valerie before I asked you directly." Michael smiled and asked,, "How is he doing?" Kennedy showed him a picture of his nephew and Reed, with Michael smiling as he said, "He doesn't favor our side of the family as much as he could have. That's good." Michael asked about what happened to his nephew since his brother was put in jail. Valerie retold the events in her own condensed version and watched as he sneered at all of the chaos surrounding the family. She added, "He found strong friendship with Reed, Eric, and George, my son and Alex and Mike's sons. He is also wealthy in his own rite, he has a standing job offer from our friends' stock and investment firm after he graduates college." Michael couldn't help but smile. He offered her two pictures, that of his son and daughter. Both were roughly Kylie and Daisy's age. Valerie called back and asked what happened. Kennedy just smiled and admitted,, "Michael has a namesake and cousins." Valerie went silent for a minute then said, "I'll talk with him when he gets out of school. He already has enough to on his plate dealing with Sylvia's death I don't want to overload him. You know how fragile he is despite his tough facade." As they were talking the forensics people called to inform them that they had multiple matches on the Molotov cocktail bottles and the accelerant container. Two of them matched the deputies in Massachusetts; the others matched the landlord and Mark's supervisor Arthur Davis. The deputies had no reason to be at the scene. In fact, the two deputies had little actual law enforcement training at all so had no business at a fire scene. Mike and Alex burst into laughter, they nonchalantly asked:, "Any chance of this now being a confirmed federal case as they crossed state lines after committing a crime and were intent on trying to commit another crime?" The ATF agents all laughed as one added:, "It's textbook, in fact, it might even make it into one when all is said and done!" Kennedy and Valerie were texting back and forth. Mark was on pins and needles for two hours awaiting Kennedy's phone call. Valerie's sudden change of mood scared him but what she told him shocked him more than anything. Michael having more family that he knew about was big news and he would be taking it hard but thankfully he had support around him. Mark asked what was being done about his supervisor, Valerie smiled and said, "Anne made the call this morning. She's talking with them in person. She made a surprise trip out west to talk with your boss and should have the false information soon. She kept this under wraps to avoid any potential tip-offs." Anne entered the office in Kansas City early. Her appointment was the first of the day and there were few people in the office at the time. She brought with her a, "Colleague" who was going to observe her or so she said. The two were shown into the office and sat down. Anne announced that she had received a resume from Mark Sylvester and wanted to confirm his employment and get an accurate record of his work. She was told he was unreliable, incompetent, fought with judges and law enforcement personnel, and had very recently been found to have been involved in an arson attempt. Anne didn't let the misinformation phase her and asked about what prompted him to seek employment elsewhere. Arthur Davis stated, "He falsely accused two boys of raping one boy's stepsister and tried to have her removed from her parents' custody. He kept trying for several months to remove her until the girl could no longer take the strain of the false accusations and committed suicide. He claimed it was our fault and left in a rage. I was on the verge of ordering a mental health evaluation and am in the process of firing him for insubordination and seeking manslaughter charges against him." Anne smiled and said,, "Do you have any documentation to show that he was knowingly harassing the boys and the girl's family?" Davis showed copies of documents, Anne looked them over and saw they were blatantly false with strong evidence of being hastily rewritten and fake signatures added. She showed it to her colleague who nodded then stood up, stated:, "You are hereby under arrest for filing false reports, falsifying documents, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit burglary, and manslaughter." The man showed his badge, he was a Missouri Highway Patrol detective. The man claimed foul play but the whole interview was recorded. Anne stated, "I was doing this as a favor to the State of Missouri. My agency is actually interested in hiring Mark Sylvester as a social worker for our Department of Children and Families and after meeting with him personally, I am ashamed that he ever had to associate with you as a professional. You lost one of the best social workers ever to set foot inside an office." The office was sealed as several Kansas City Police officers assisted the highway patrol officers in seizing the records. The detective stated, "We will look through these and check them against the originals Mark has. Sylvia's case isn't the only one this weasel impacted. I hope we find the link between him and the judge, I want the state marshals to have more than just one case to take him down for." Anne nodded, it was a terrible reality but more kids were likely hurt because of this situation. Anne's actions caught Sheriff Baker and his goons off guard. They were in a heap of trouble as Mike, Alex, and Paul were told that the last sets of prints were of Sheriff Baker himself. He was directly involved, there was no refuting it anymore. Valerie called Kennedy with an update on the two deputies back east. The search of their room showed they had bugged Mark's cell phone and read and recorded his phone calls and text messages. They also found several knives and guns on them. The guns were unregistered and during interrogation, they turned on Sheriff Baker and Judge Hall. They were instructed to, "Get rid of the problem" by taking out Mark and if necessary Leslie. They were then told to make it look like a drug deal gone bad by planting several ounces of cocaine on Mark. They didn't take the drugs with them, they were looking for the documents first then would go back to do the deed." The group acted fast and went after Sheriff Baker directly. This was now a conspiracy to commit murder. They went to a federal judge and got the arrest warrants issued for all three major players with Kennedy stating their case and why it was now a federal issue. The judge didn't take any pity on them, stating, "They abused the legal system for perverse means and tried to use it against an innocent party whose only real crime was being a decent human being." They had to arrange a quick meeting with the Missouri State Marshals to arrange for the agents to enter the courthouse without being noticed. The marshals took delight in taking down someone who had irked them for the last two years, in fact, they offered to have several off-duty marshals come to keep the deputies from trying anything. They accepted, provided they don't say anything to anyone. The move was swift. They entered the courthouse through the rear accompanied by the marshals and entered the courtroom of the judge. The bailiff was pulled aside by the marshals and told what was about to happen and warned not to interfere or he too would be placed under arrest. Judge Hall sensed something was amiss and told the bailiff to remove the new people from the courtroom to which he acted as if he was complying. As Judge Hall finished the current hearing the marshals moved forward and alerted the clerk that the session was terminated. The agents moved forward and announced,, "Judge Hall you are hereby placed under arrest for criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit murder, judicial misconduct and various other crimes." The crowd inside the courtroom gasped as the judge was led out in handcuffs. News crews were already outside and watched as he was led to an awaiting black SUV and transported to a federal courthouse. Kennedy and the others slipped away without being noticed, with Kennedy's phone ringing right away. William Kelly was on the verge of laughter as he said, "Darn, I was hoping you would have been on camera." She tried hard to suppress her laughter and said, "Can't help you there, we went out the back. We will give your buddy a quick interview when we are able to, we still have one more rat to catch." The group rushed to the sheriff's office and was met by deputies trying to get in their way. They were told in no uncertain terms to move out of the way or they too would be placed under arrest. There were a few who refused to move, but they were also known to be closely associated with Sheriff Baker. The remaining deputies placed their colleagues under arrest with the sergeant stating, "You guys were lucky. These guys ain't state guys, feds don't play around." He nodded to Michael who said, "Glad you were able to corral them for us." Sheriff Baker was inside his office and couldn't hear the ruckus outside. Michael and another ATF agent knocked and entered after being told to do so. They stood towering over Sheriff Baker and stated, "You are hereby under arrest for arson, criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to commit arson, conspiracy to commit murder, and various other state and federal crimes. You escaped the last rotten apple cull but you won't escape this time." He started to laugh, saying, "I'll be out in a minute." Michael snorted and said, "Two problems there: we don't give a damn about your friends and your buddy Judge Hall is already in custody. In fact, he's facing harsher crimes than you are." His colleague added, "Your buddy Davis at the DSS is already in custody as well. The murder plot failed, Mark Sylvester is alive and well and your deputies are in custody facing federal prison time. Guess they forgot they can't just snatch someone from another state without a fair hearing." Sheriff Baker was walked out with his deputies cheering at his arrest. The duty sergeant was put in charge by the Highway Patrol detectives until the ranking lieutenant was back from vacation. The sheriff's stooges, the men who happened to be related to him and the judge, were also taken into custody and escorted away. There were several news crews outside and each clamoring for updates about the arrest but all were told to await a news conference at the federal courthouse in Kansas City. Kennedy, Mike, Alex, and the Boston ATF agent kept out of sight as Michael Jones handled the press. They appeared to be plain clothed detectives so nobody took notice. As the media mass broke up one of the reporters came over towards them and asked, "Which one of you is Kennedy Pena? I have a message for William Kelly." All of them pointed at Kennedy, she asked what the message was and was told:, "Tell him this was bigger than the picture, and give him these." He handed her some more pictures, which caused her to gasp and smile. It was of a younger Jaimie, with her birth parents. The man said with a smile, "The others in our family may not be happy with her gender change but not all of us feel the same. SHE is happy, and that's all that matters." Kennedy told him to wait, then showed him a picture of her own. She smiled and said,, "She's doing fine and is destined for greatness." He looked at her as if she was joking asking, "Is that her? She looks nothing like these pictures." Kennedy just smiled and said, "She's a growing girl. Even her social worker, the man who knew her best before her adoption couldn't recognize her." He asked for a copy of the picture then told her he'd show it to the rest of the family but doubted it would change minds. He gave her his card and said, "Give this to her and we will set up some sort of meeting. I at least want to meet her once." Kennedy thanked him and told him she'd try her best. Alex and Mike asked what that was all about, getting a quick, "Michael isn't the only one with long lost family in the area. Jaimie has distant relatives here and one of them is trying to be civil about her change. He is trying to reach out to her, enough time has passed that he is starting to see the idiocy of the others rejecting her." The two smiled and walked back to the SUV with Paul. At the federal building the group debriefed the ATF regional director on the case The Boston contingent's job was done, there were more crimes to be investigated but those were now in the hands of the FBI. The FBI agents assigned asked the group about possible theories with Mike and Alex both thinking there was an insurance fraud angle on the arson. Paul agreed and thought there could be more than just one arson case tied to the four with the ATF guys needing to check into the county's fire department. The way they acted it wasn't the first time they had torched a place. The agents looked at the three with surprise but Kennedy giggled. She pointed out, "Those four couldn't have concocted anything elaborate, they barely hid their connection to the real estate company that owned the torched house. The only way to get the job done so fast was to have practiced it before. Their biggest mistake was leaving fingerprints behind." The group was dismissed with thanks as the agents started their investigation. They had one more stop to make, the press conference with the media. Kennedy, Mike, Alex, and Paul were introduced with their thanks being heaped on by the agents. Alex and Mike were singled out for praise, Paul and Kennedy were gladly letting them have the spotlight as they were the ones who broke the case open in the first place. After the dog and pony show and a few minutes of questions of which many of them couldn't be answered due to legal proceedings, they were finally back in the ATF office. Alex and Mike were pulled aside and offered places in the agency with both accepting pending talks with their sons. Paul declined his offer, saying he was content to help out anytime they needed assistance but adding that there were others who were more qualified and better experienced and deserving in the area. Kennedy had to fend off an offer from the Justice Department officials. She politely declined on the same grounds as Paul but also added, "I don't handle politics. If I did I'd be in the running to take over my boss's job in four years. I enjoy my job as it is and would prefer not to have to fear for my job every four years." Not used to being rejected the deputy US Attorney tried to reason with her but Alex and Mike intervened and not so politely pointed out she lived back east and would have to move west and that she had declined an offer of a judgeship and private law firm posts, her mind was set and it wasn't a good idea to press her with the backing she has from higher office holders. He backed down as Paul read off the list of family friends and friends of friends, the fact that she had a governor and an ambassador behind her caused a big cringe of shock with Kennedy adding the state's Attorney General was also good friends with the US Attorney General and she'd already gotten the same offer back east but chose not to accept it. The group headed for the hotel and gathered their things, with Michael stating he was going with them to escort the deputies back west. He planned to work with the agents in Boston for a day then take the prisoners west after their extradition hearing. The four knew he was hoping to meet his nephew but didn't let on, the others making small talk during the flight. They were met in Bedford by Valerie and the Johnsons, who were there officially to drive the four to Winnisimmet but were really there to meet Michael. Valerie's eyes watered as she saw Michael emerge from the plane, he was so much like his brother that it was spooky. Joseph tried to say something but he couldn't find the right words. Kennedy, Mike, Alex, and Paul introduced them to Michael, with Valerie breaking down and hugging him. He tried to pull back but let her cry herself out. After several minutes they had to get a move on and drove off. Valerie was driving with Kennedy and Paul, with Alex and Mike driving with the Johnsons. Kennedy told her softly, "I have something I need to give Jaimie., " Valerie took a deep breath and asked:, "You met another McKinnon?" Kennedy nodded, adding, "He is trying to reach out to her if only to know that she is doing well. Even if the other McKinnon family members don't she will know one tried." Valerie was silent but hopeful. Paul softly added, "The look on his face told he was proud of what you and John are doing for her. She changed so much that they wouldn't know who she was. Whatever they have against he is out of ignorance and spite, he saw the beauty in her." At the house, the younger Michael and Jaimie were told to speak with Kennedy and Valerie. Alex, Mike, and Paul went off on their own to talk with their families giving the two some privacy. Michael was told about his uncle and cousins giving a glare and tearful, "Why?" Kennedy softly replied, "He is to your birth father what your dad is to Roland. He would never have allowed what he did to your mom to happen and would have helped you two out all those years. He wants to meet you to know that you are alright and connect with your paternal family. You never have to see him again, he just wants peace of mind that you are doing well." Michael tried to deny the request but burst into tears, saying, "I don't want to but I have to. He came all this way just for me." Valerie lovingly shot back, "He's trying, he didn't have to but he wants to try. You don't have to contact him anymore, but give him a few minutes to meet you and you don't have to have anything to do with him again." Michael acquiesced and agreed. Jaimie was growing concerned. Kennedy told her about the man she met and his connection with William Kelly. She handed Jaimie the pictures he gave her and said, "He's your cousin. He just wanted to know you are alright. The other McKinnon family members still don't want anything to do with you but he is trying to change that. He just wants to meet you, he has seen what you look like and doesn't believe you are the same person as the little boy in those pictures." Jaimie took the card and read the name. He was a reporter with the Kansas City Journal, a newspaper her mom and dad used to read. She nodded and told them, "I'll email him and set up a Skype call. I don't want to get my hopes up though." Valerie smiled and said, "It's all you have to do, you don't have to go beyond a simple ?hello thank you for the pictures'. He will understand." John and Willie came in and asked what was going on, getting a digest of what happened out west. The two just nodded and added,, "We will support you no matter what happens." Miles was glum though and added,, "You two should be glad that you found more of your birth families, Felix's family ran off and disowned him long before I was born." He burst into tears prompting Michael and Jaimie to rush after him. John and Valerie calmly told Kennedy and Willie, "He's putting on a show, he will be back later good as new and with Michael and Jaimie rethinking their feelings about their relatives. It's all a show." A half hour later as the four was talking about something else Miles slunk into the room partly smiling and stated, "Michael is trying to set up a time with his uncle and Jaimie emailed her cousin. Both are going to Skype with the families sometime during the weekend." John asked,, "The waterworks worked?" Miles nodded, apologizing for laying it on a little thick. The others weren't entirely convinced but let it slide since it wasn't worth the fight yet. Mark entered the house with Leslie and was surprised to see Kennedy back so soon. She gave him a huge smile and announced, "Three under arrest, a fourth likely facing indictment for fraud and conspiracy charges soon. The two in jail now are going to be extradited to Missouri on more serious federal charges. The FBI is taking over from the ATF once the forensics are officially finished and you are likely to be asked to come to Missouri to give your statement ensuring a conviction of all of them." Valerie added, "You also unintentionally got Michael together with an uncle and his family we never knew he had and got Jaimie some support from blood relatives. They are going to meet them at some point, so they will join you on the trip west." Mark sat down at the news, it was more piling onto the already improbable story. Kennedy left while Jaimie and Michael came down. Valerie's phone rang and she smiled, telling Michael, "Your uncle would like to speak with your tomorrow. He needs to talk with Mark but he wants to meet you. You don't have to do it, but I want you to. Lance Jones is a terrible person but you shouldn't condemn his brother for what he did." Michael nodded and agreed, adding, "If I don't want to speak with him anymore I'll tell him so, but I want to know." Plans were made for the next day. The two went to bed while Mark and Leslie went back to Sean's home. Dan wouldn't have her apartment finished until the next day but Sean was happy to have the company for a few more days. The two got along great and Sean was a gracious host, accepting help cleaning and eating a decent dinner the past two nights thanks to Leslie and Mark cooking for him. The next morning Mark spent several hours talking with the agents about the case. They were in a conference with the Kansas City FBI agents coordinating the information and building a strong case on the federal level. The state crimes were clear as were the arson charges, but since there were wiretapping, phone hacking, and electronic surveillance charges since no valid warrants were ever issued for such devices he was needed to give his side of the story to allow them to exclude and exonerate him from the investigation as well get a sense of where to focus their attentions next. The agents had a strong case building just on the strength of the actions against Marl alone. The trio proved there were multiple RICO act violations at work. The kicker was that there were multiple civil rights violations found during the investigation into the DSS office which was directly tied to the big three- Arthur Davis, Judge Hall, and Sheriff Baker. Mark helped as much as he could, even providing copies of all of his personal files and original reports. It was clear that his reports were altered and what was changed was in favor of certain individuals with others being named as the victims or the perpetrators instead. Several cases of rape were never brought before judges and multiple cases of physical violence against children were ignored and denied. The more they dug into the files the more the crimes were piling up to the point that the powers that be in Washington were looking closely at the results. Mark and Michael Jones drove off to Winnisimmet after they were released by Michael's colleagues. The US Marshals Service would handle the prisoner transfer directly while they figured out which district would be suited for the trials. Michael told the other agents this was a personal visit which got odd looks but Mark countered with, "He has family in the area" getting a simple nod. Mark prepared the family for Michael's entrance. Michael waited for the nod and walked in after a gesture from Mark. Michael's jaw dropped as he saw what looked like a younger version of his brother, only with a slightly different nose and cheeks and lighter hair. The younger Michael's face grew red as he saw the face of the man who tried to stop his dad from adopting his sister nearly four years before. The two stood in silence until Jaimie strode in and stopped cold. She looked at both and shook, mumbling, "Not him! He's supposed to be in prison!" John held her tight and whispered, "He's Michael's uncle. He is Lance Jones' younger brother." She looked up and saw both staring at her, waiting for her to do something. Valerie moved the two into the living room while Jaimie took the twins up to the play room. The elder Michael sat the younger one down and stated bluntly, "Lance disgraced our family and went against everything we stood for. I have tried hard to distance my family from him and my wife and I hope that neither of our children takes after him. We would have tried to help your mother had we known about what he did to her especially after you were born. I know you don't want anything to do with him but I hope you at least give us a chance to make amends." The younger Michael tried hard to fight his urges but he admitted, "Dad showed us that even good families have bad relatives. His brother is like your brother, so I can't say no to your request." Uncle showed his nephew his two cousins, both looked like him and both smiled brightly. The younger Michael smiled as he told him about their quirks and traits, with his younger cousin matching him in so many ways. As they were talking the elder Michael was staring at the mantel. Something bothered him about one of the pictures. The younger Michael asked why he was staring at the picture of Jaimie, getting a gasp from the elder Michael. He asked softly, "What was her last name?" He got back a quick, "McKinnon" getting another gasp. The elder Michael bowed his head and sighed, telling him, "This makes what my brother did even more despicable. Our mother is a McKinnon. Her niece and nephew died leaving behind a little boy." Michael was stunned and mumbled, "Are you serious? Not only are you my uncle but Jaimie's also a cousin?" There was a noticeable gap before he replied, "Yes." The younger Michael screamed,, "JAIMIE GET DOWN HERE NOW!" This led Jaimie to rush downstairs in fear. Her brother calmed her and asked,, "Are you sure your parents didn't have any relatives?" Jaimie calmly said,, "You know there are only a couple of distant relatives and only one who has even tried to have anything to do with me." Pointing at the elder Michael her brother told her, "Your mom is his cousin. Our great grandparents are the same. You are not just my sister by adoption, you are my cousin by blood." Jaimie looked at the elder Michael and softly asked:, "Is it true?" He showed her an old family photo his wife put on Facebook, one that featured the cousins all together. She made out Michael and Lance Jones and her father. She also recognized her grandparents with Michael pointing out, "That woman is my mother, this was taken not long before her brother died." Jaimie pointed at him, mumbling softly, "Grandpa. Mom and dad said he died before I was born." A tear ran down her face as she looked up and asked, "Is this for real? After all these years?" The elder Michael nodded, saying softly, "We weren't told about you. Lance had to have known and clearly didn't care. If we had known my wife and I would have taken you in as our own right after it happened. The others may not have wanted to claim you as their kin but we would have." Jaimie asked about her reporter relative. Michael smiled and said, "He's my second cousin, he's the member of the family most likely to go against the rest of the family. Until now that is. I'll talk with him and set something up, I may be able to get some more pictures for you than he could get. The family won't dare go against me or my wife." Jaimie started to cry and hugged him. The younger Michael just ate up the image. He and Jaimie were finally linked in a way nobody could deny. He looked up and saw his mother and father watching and told them, "We need to go west, it wouldn't be fair to know and not meet our cousins." John told him flatly, "Friday after school. We will take the late flight back Sunday." The elder Michael told them he'd contact his wife and kids to let them know they would be coming by. John saw him out and asked him, "Are they going to be tolerant of Jaimie? I don't want her getting her hopes up for nothing." Michael swiftly said, "I raised my kids to ignore what their relatives were saying about certain people especially people like Jaimie. They are eight and six, they shouldn't have anything against Jaimie. If they say or do anything I'll know it's because of cousins and we will put a stop to it immediately even if it means cutting them off from the rest of the family. My mother and father saw us as Joneses and not McKinnons anyway; severing ties completely would be no big loss." John thanked him for his time and let him go. Jaimie hugged her father deeply for looking out for her again. Michael simply brushed it off saying, "He's a good person, but it's nice to know there are more people like us out there." Valerie asked softly, "Jones?" Michael shook his head and said,, "No, people who would choose doing the right thing over what their relatives want." Miles finally came down with the twins and asked:, "What did I miss?" Jaimie and Michael burst into laughter and said:, "Nothing much, just an uncle, aunt, cousins, oh and Jaimie is also my cousin as well." Miles' face dropped as Jaimie nodded. He acted like it was no big deal but said, "There was always something funny about how you two got along so well. I guess there is something in the blood." The two chased him as John and Valerie laughed at him getting them back so directly. The rest of the week went by fast as John made the preparations for the weekend. Jaimie emailed her cousin and arranged for a get-together, but leaving out that the elder Michael and his family are going to be there. Michael was antsy all week, not even Courtney's calming influence could slow his anxiety. Mark was able to actually relax on Thursday, enjoying a trip to the city with Valerie and the twins. Cat enjoyed dragging him around, with JD laughing as her frustrated face as Mark slowed her down. Mark wasn't into the touristy or historic landmarks, he was more into the calmness that not having to worry about something happening. To nobody's surprise, he and Leslie enjoyed the final night in her apartment. The two went out to a private dinner and spent hours talking to one another. They shared a lot in common outside of the social services area that few others knew about. Valerie and Karen were encouraging her to interact with Mark, he needed a close friend and Leslie needed someone to talk with about anything other than the kids. Friday afternoon Mark and the seven Finns said goodbye to the family as they boarded their plane for Kansas City. Leslie gave a quick kiss on Mark's cheek making both blush as she realized what she had done. The rest didn't say anything, letting the two enjoy the moment. Mark just smiled and pulled away, joining the Finns in the security line. Four hours later they landed in Kansas City and exited, heading right for their hotel. The next day Mark met with the agents and was allowed to remove his personal items from his now former home. He had few things left undamaged, just some clothing and personal items. He was in and out in under 15 minutes, with the agents making no comments about the meager possessions. John told him his renter's insurance policy would be honored, it took a little arm wrestling from Valerie but they agreed to a full payment for the policy as well as closing out the account since he was both moving and the house was likely to be seized due to the criminal act. Back in Kansas City Mark decided to relax in his hotel room while the rest dealt with the newfound family. Miles was the only one on edge. He wasn't even related to the Jones nor McKinnon families yet he was more nervous than his brother or sister. When the time came they met at the hotel's restaurant with the elder Michael doing all of the introductions. Michael's wife Sarah embraced both Jaimie and Michael tightly. Her son Neil reluctantly hugged them while her daughter Faith practically knocked them over with her enthusiastic embrace. Miles keep to the back with the twins, not wanting to bring any attention to himself while the other two had their moment. Sarah asked what the big secret was that Michael had. He told his wife, "You remember my cousins who died eight years ago? Jaimie is their daughter. She was a McKinnon, the one the others refused to help." Sarah looked closely at Jaimie and gasped. Michael nodded, saying, "The stories are true but it doesn't excuse what they did. She found someone who took her in and helped her when nobody else would. My brother knew about her for a while and tried to break them up, partly because of jealousy over his ex-girlfriend finding the perfect man for her and her son and partly out of greed that he is serving time in prison for." Sarah asked her softly, "Are you Michael's sister now?" Jaimie quietly said, "Yes" which she smiled and said,, "Then the hell with the others, if they can't accept you for what you are then they aren't people we want to have anything to do with." Michael asked Jaimie, "Are you comfortable with calling us ?aunt and uncle'?" She shot back, "We have eight already, another one wouldn't change anything." Sarah asked if she was kidding, Michael smiled and said:, "Officially we only have two uncles and a great uncle but our friends are so close that we all consider our parents as aunts and uncles." Jaimie added, "We have about 10 aunts as well, plus a great aunt. We are all small families but we come together as one large one when we have to." Faith broke up the shock by asking, "Who's that?" pointing at Miles. Jaimie and Michael didn't know how to break it to her, simply said, "Our brother." Sarah asked what they meant, Michael told her, "Mom and dad adopted him a year and a half ago after they fostered him. Our uncle Roland tried to kidnap him and hurt him to get the money his dad owed him but had it broken up by mom, dad, Aunt Kennedy and Uncles Mike, Alex, and Willie." Sarah's face dropped. Turning to the elder Michael Jaimie added:, "Lance Jones isn't the only bad seed brother." Faith went over to Miles and asked:, "Are you our cousin too?" He tried to deny it saying he isn't related, but she hugged him before he could react. The mood was lightened after that as the group got to know one another. Jaimie and Michael's distant cousin made a visit late into the meal and met with Jaimie privately. She thanked him for the pictures and said she was glad that he did something special for her. She knew he was going to get a lot of trouble from relatives but she appreciated his efforts. He told her sharply, "They live in the 19th-century mindset. Michael there knows what I mean and I am glad that he got away from the influence. William spoke highly about you and I am glad to have met you in person. I won't take any more of your time so thank you for yours." She hugged him and saw him off, coming back to the table with a big smile. Her brothers teased her about it to which she said:, "He's a good person, he will make the family name mean something." Miles joked, "Someone had to pick up the slack after you chose the name ?Finn'" getting a, "True" from Michael. The family dinner broke up with invitations to the Joneses to come east at any time. Neil complained that nobody would believe their story to which Miles said, "It doesn't matter, as long as you know the truth. You have more cousins and they have a lot of family, if you are lucky you might even get to see how big our family really is." The End...