CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Marcel? We're headed to Las Vegas, where we think some of these servers are bouncing and working," said Gaspar.

"Bouncing and working?" frowned Pigsty, laughing at the older man.

"Shut up," growled Gaspar. "You know what I meant."

"I-I should like to go with you, but let me say goodbye to Amy first." Gaspar nodded, chuckling at his relative.

"Marcel, you don't have to go, but if you do, she'll be just fine. Everyone will be here with her, and no harm will come to her."

"I know she'll be fine. I worry that something will affect me in this other place."

"Mama and Pops both think you'll be just fine now. You and Amy are connected forever, Marcel."

"I trust you," he nodded. "Let me kiss my wife."

Code walked in with his laptop, plus a spare, as well as three different cell phones. He put them all inside a backpack and stood at the door.

"What are you doing?" asked Nine.

"Going with you. Who else is going to download everything? Hayes is on his way back from Salt Lake, and we can't keep putting the kids in these situations. I'll handle this one, and Monroe and Spencer are going to sit with Pigsty and help if needed."

"Code? We're not interfering in school or fun with these kids, are we?" asked Gaspar.

"Nope. I've made it very clear that they cannot be here without approval from their parents and signed releases from the school."

"Uh, huh," frowned Nine. "And you don't think these genius kids went around that rule? Maybe found a way to interfere in the text messaging and sent it themselves?"

"Oh, fuck!" roared Code. "Spencer! Monroe!"

"Yes, sir?" said the boys, running down the hallway toward the call.

"Boys, if I call Fitz and Jax right now, will they tell me that you were given permission to be here?"

"Yeah," the nodded excitedly.

"So, you didn't screw with the text messaging system and respond for them?" asked Code. Both boys blushed, looking down at their shoes.

"Well, I mean, we didn't want to bother them," said Monroe.

"Son, we don't want you lying to your parents," said Nine. "We love that you want to help us and that you're so very good at it. But other things are more important."

"Like school?" frowned Spencer.

"Like school," said Nine.

"But we're bored, and this keeps us not bored. We like doing new things and having challenges. It's fun."

"I'll call Jax and Fitz," smirked Pigsty. "They can stay here until I hear from them. We might be raising feral children."

"We might be," said Gaspar. "Hell, we all were when we were kids. In the summer, Mama and Pops never knew which island we'd gone out to or what part of the property we were on."

"Or did they?" smiled Nine. Gaspar frowned at his friend.

"Oh, hell. They would have known everything. Shit! I mean everything."

The two little boys giggle, covering their mouths, and Gaspar grabbed them, tossing them into the air.

"You two think that's funny, huh?" he said, tickling them. The boys laughed and laughed, the others smiling at the sweet scene that would have been impossible two years ago.

"Okay, both Jax and Fitz say it's okay for them to be here. Apparently, both have completed high school requirements, and we're working on a way to get them college credit courses."

"Can you do that?" frowned Nine.

"I couldn't. You damn sure couldn't. But them?" said Gaspar, pointing to the boys. "Definitely."

"I'm ready," said Marcel, walking back toward the men.

"Then let's go. You're about to get your first ride in a jet," smirked Gaspar.

"This is very exciting," smiled the younger old man.

Boarding the jets, Marcel was experiencing nervousness and a sense of childlike wonder. He'd seen planes fly overhead, and he knew that it was possible, but he'd never thought for even a moment that he would have the chance to experience it himself.

Whiskey gave him a bottle of water and a bag of his new favorite snack, popcorn. Once they were airborne, he began to ask questions about how the jet flew and how the men were able to jump from planes in combat.

"It must be very hard for you," said Gaspar, staring at his relation.

"How do you mean?" Marcel cocked his head to the side.

"Well, you watched as the world passed you by, getting more and more technologically advanced. Planes, trains, automobiles, telephones, televisions, computers. You were able to see the advent of them all but not touch them. Until now."

"Yes, that's true," said Marcel. "I was always curious, and when I could, I would listen to people speaking about them. I should have liked to have been at the forefront of them all, but I suppose it wasn't my time."

"How are you doing with all of this?" asked Nine. "I mean, you're suddenly alive, breathing, touching, falling in love, and getting married. That's a lot of change for a man your age."

"Ah, I see. A joke about my age," smirked Marcel. The others chuckled, shaking their heads. "I don't even know my age. I mean, when I died, I was thirty-six. I suppose I pick up where I left off."

"Did you die?" frowned Whiskey.

"I-I'm not sure. I remember being in pain, feeling the water fill my lungs. Then it was black. Then it wasn't. I'm grateful for whatever or whoever gave me this opportunity. My wife is not something I could have ever imagined."

"It's great that you two fell in love. I think you were meant to be there for her," said Tailor. "I think you were supposed to be on that beach that day."

"What were you doing out there?" asked Gaspar.

"I was dreaming about my life when I was alive. Before. I was remembering the sunsets of the bayous, our bayous. The sounds and smells. It was always something I craved to come home to."

"We've all felt that," smiled Gaspar. "I used to watch the stars, knowing that back home the others were seeing what I was seeing. But all I ever wanted to do was come home. Have our land beneath my feet. I wanted to see those sunsets, hear the frogs and gators, the sounds of the cicadas. I needed to smell the magnolia and jasmine and my mama's gumbo."

The entire plane chuckled, nodding their heads.

"Will you always stay at Belle Fleur?" asked Marcel.

"Always? Well, I guess so," said Nine. "I mean, they all belong because of their heritage. We were ‘adopted' by Irene and Matthew, but I suspect we'll stay. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," said Marcel, shaking his head. They all looked at him, knowing there was something else that was on his mind, but he didn't ask, so they didn't pry.

"Everything okay with you and Amy?" asked Angel.

"Oh, yes! I mean, it's amazing to feel a woman beneath me once again. To touch one that I love so dearly, so completely. May I ask, is it common for women to wear such provocative clothing beneath their outer garments?"

"Yes," laughed Angel. "Many women choose to do so, and aren't we the lucky bastards that get to see it?"

"Yes, I consider myself fortunate. However, I may go bankrupt buying her new items. I keep ripping them from her body."

"That's the idea, mon ami, that's the idea," said Alec.