“Yeah, it has…” I trailed off. What was there to say? I had absolutely nothing.
After a few beats of awkward silence, she said, “I brought the papers for you.” She reached into the bag she had strapped across her chest and shuffled some things around. She pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to me. “All signed and initialed. Can you send me a final copy or whatever when it has been filed?”
“No problem. Thanks for bringing these with you,” I said. I glanced around the room. Just as I thought, every single person was watching us. The thought of everyone’s eyes on me made me so uncomfortable it was making it hard for me to talk to her.
I felt a small hand on my arm. Just like that, everything felt right again. I looked down at Reese and smiled widely at her. “Hey, sugar.” I leaned down to give her a quick kiss, wanting her to know I had nothing to hide in front of Shannon, or anyone for that matter. “Reese, this is Shannon. Shannon, this is my girlfriend, Reese, and this is our son, James.”
Shannon smiled. “Hello, Reese. I’m sure you probably aren’t thrilled to meet me and I completely understand that. I want you to know that I’m sorry for what my sister has done to you,” she gestured to Reese’s still booted foot, “and I’m so glad your son was returned to you safe and sound.”
Reese stood taller, “You’re right, I wasn’t thrilled about you coming here, but you arrived with signed divorce papers. That’s a good way to sway the jury in your favor.” Reese paused and looked down at her foot, “You don’t need to apologize for your sister. From what I know, it wasn’t your doing.”
Boar interrupted, “Shan, are you okay to stay here with Reese and the other girls while we go discuss a few things?” She nodded. “Do you want one of the boys to stay out here with you?”
“No, babe, I think I’ll be okay. Go do what you need to do. I’ll wait right here.” She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. They seemed to genuinely care for one another. Not at all what I expected when I first learned that her and Boar were together.
We left the girls in the common room and went into the room we used for Church. Phoenix didn’t tell Boar very much over the phone. Once he had been filled in on all the details, Boar asked, “So, you want me to help you find my son?”
Phoenix nodded, “That and anything you could shed light on would be appreciated. Reese has gotten Melissa to shout out a few things in anger, which is how we learned about her connection with Omen. I know it’s a lot to ask.”
Boar looked around the room, seeming to pause for a brief moment when his eyes landed on Carbon before continuing. “I don’t mind helping in any way I can. That boy is a disgrace. I haven’t considered him my son for a long time now. Some of the things he has done…” he shook his head. “I didn’t raise him like that. I don’t know where it comes from or why he is the way he is. I tried everything I could think of to change his ways, but nothing worked. Finally, I just had to wash my hands of him.”
Carbon was silently taking this all in. Studying every move Boar made, analyzing every word he said. Boar must have felt his scrutinizing gaze. He raised his head and looked directly at Carbon. He softly said, “You must be Heather’s boy. You’re built like your father, but you’ve got her eyes.”
Carbon nodded, but I noticed his jaw clench and his fists tighten in his lap. Phoenix noticed, too, and quickly redirected the focus of the conversation. “You likely won’t be able to help us with this, but it’s a good starting point.” Phoenix pulled out Melissa’s cell phone and opened her text thread with Nemo/Omen. “You have any idea what language this is?”
Boar nodded. “I know what it is, but it’s not a language, not like you’re thinking. Shannon’s told me on several occasions that Melissa was constantly making up her own languages and codes for words, so she could communicate without anyone else knowing what she was saying. Shannon liked to point out how she couldn’t communicate with anyone if no one else knew the language. Anyway, I’d guess that’s one of Melissa’s made up languages, but I have no idea what it says.”
“Would Shannon know?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Call her to the door and we’ll ask her.”
Shannon stopped at the doorway. Boar showed her the text message and asked if she thought it was one of Melissa’s languages. When she said she did, Boar then asked if she knew how to read any of it. “Not really, but from what I’ve heard her say about it over the years, it’s like those little puzzles in the newspapers, where they mix up the alphabet and you have to figure out which letter is which.”
“Thanks, babe. Go on back out there. Shouldn’t be much longer,” Boar told her, kissing her cheek.
Byte leaned forward to take the phone back. “Is she saying this is just a cryptogram?”
“A what?” Phoenix asked.
“Never mind,” Byte grumbled. “I should have this deciphered soon.”
“Should we wait for you to do that before we continue?” Phoenix asked.
“Probably,” Byte said, already scribbling notes on a piece of paper. “Might answer some questions.”
Not even five minutes later, Byte had deciphered the secret code and translated the text messages between Melissa and Nemo/Omen.
Boar sat back in his chair and looked to the ceiling. He took in a large breath and blew it out slowly. “I know you don’t need my permission to go after my son, but you have it. I stripped him of his patch, so this has nothing to do with my club. As far as I’m concerned, this is just another piece of scum getting his dues.”
Phoenix shot Boar a skeptical look. “It ain’t my business, but that seems awfully harsh for beating up and almost raping a club girl. Did something else happen?”
Boar looked down at his hands. “Nothing that I could prove, though I wish like hell I could have. I would’ve turned him in or killed him myself.”
Phoenix sat quietly for a few moments. “Anything you want to share with us?”
Boar looked across the room at Carbon then back to Phoenix. Boar subtly moved his head in Carbon’s direction while keeping his eyes on Phoenix. Not subtle enough though. Carbon saw it and was on his feet in a flash. “You mean your piece of shit offspring killed my family?” he roared.
“Badger, take over. Shaker, Duke, you’re with me,” Phoenix barked, already moving toward the raging behemoth. Phoenix got him in a rear naked choke hold and forced him to his knees, Shaker and I standing on either side ready to pounce. “Lock it down, Carbon,” Phoenix demanded. Carbon’s body stiffened. He wasn’t fighting anymore, but he wasn’t letting it go either.
