Secrets (4 page)

“No question,
our mothers were cut from the same cloth. No small wonder that they
have remained friends for so many years. I’m amazed that they kept
these secrets for so long, to be honest. But, sadly, there is
nothing that anyone else can do.”

“So what’s the
next step?” Sonya inquired kindly. “Do you have any idea who your
father is? Could Ilsa at least tell you that?”

An interesting
look crossed Mike’s face as he answered. “In all probability, it’s
Steve’s stepfather, Air Marshall Blackburn. At least that’s what my
mother said, not that I believe a word that she says anymore. Steve
is going to arrange for us to meet, and we have had DNA testing
done. As a matter of fact, the Air Marshall is the reason that all
of this has come to light, and why I am in Paris right now.”

Almost on cue,
Steve Hunter appeared in the doorway of the
café
, smiling
and waving when he spotted them. As he marched across the room
towards their table, he was matched step by step by a very handsome
and dignified older gentleman, ramrod straight in posture, exuding
power and command in his very being.

When Steve
reached the table, he embraced Sonya, shook hands with Bryan and
then butted his fist against Mike’s shoulder in greeting.

Then he took a
step back, and placing his hand against the shoulder of his
companion he began to speak, his cultured British accent seeming to
suit the occasion. “I am very pleased to introduce to you my
step-father, Air Marshall Blackburn. Sir, I would like you to meet
several members of my family. My cousin Sonya and her husband,
Bryan, and John’s brother, Mike.”

The elegant
gentleman’s radar like eyes analyzed the entire group in one sweep,
his dark lashed, steel blue eyes resting upon Mike for a
millisecond longer than the rest.

“It is my very
distinct pleasure to meet you,” his upper-crust British accent
declared. “Steven has assured me that you would not object to an
uninvited guest, but I do apologize for gate crashing your reunion.
Unfortunately, my curiosity overtook my sense of decorum. Please
forgive me, but I was most anxious to meet you.”

Sonya stood and
took his hand. “You are so very welcome to join us. Please, sit!”
she demanded, as Steve pulled out a chair. The Air Marshall did
take his seat next to Sonya.

Mike sat where
he was, somewhat mesmerized. So this man, in all probability, was
his father! How different he was from the father that he had known
all of his life.

What struck
him, strangely enough, was how much Sonya had seemed to be so like
their Gran. The entire family knew that she was identical to their
grandmother in looks, but today, she seemed to be the embodiment of
their grandmother’s innate sense of grace and ability to read a
situation. And he was so impressed. Sonya was the youngest of the
many cousins, but today, she took on the air of their matriarch.
Sometime when he hadn’t been looking, she’d developed into quite a
wonderful woman.

“It is a great
pleasure to meet you,” Mike finally said to Air Marshall Blackburn.
“May I ask, what name do we use to address you?”

A huge smile
split the older man’s face, lighting his eyes until they glowed
with mirth. “Dad,” he quipped immediately. “Of that, I am
convinced,” he qualified with certainty. “My family called me Merl,
short for Merlyn,” he smiled. “But, my nickname is BB, which would
be my preference.”

While this
dissertation was taking place, Steve simply sat in silence and
observed as his ingrained MI5 training dictated that he should. He
was seeing another side of BB that he hadn’t even known to exist.
And he was simply floored.

It occurred to
him that BB’s unusual request to join his family for lunch had been
a very rare event. In a flash of insight, he saw that the venerable
gentleman might have had some anxieties about meeting for the first
time, the man that both he and Steve had no doubt whatsoever was
his son.

Bryan broke the
silence at the table by lifting his glass. “I would like to propose
a toast to family, which we are all aware isn’t always clear cut.
It’s the people that we love and those that we wish to hold dear.”
Glasses were raised and the lunch continued without any more
awkwardness.

From Sonya’s
perspective, she could see both the profile of the stately BB and
that of her cousin Mike, a man that she had known all of her life.
With a start, she realized that they not only had the same profile,
but identical dark lashed, steel blue eyes. There was no doubt in
her mind whatsoever, that these men were father and son.

Her heart bled
for Mike, for his pain, for this upheaval in his life, and for the
hurt that his mother had heaped upon him without warning. And she
was grateful that their new cousin, Steve, had facilitated this
meeting. As awkward as it had been, it certainly could have been
worse.

On the other
side of the coin, he had a father that was sitting in front of him,
an obviously patrician man, someone that Steve had described as a
rigidly honest and honourable man. Truth be known, he could have
done one hell of a lot worse. It could have been tragic. Ilsa could
have told him that she didn’t know who his father was. That would
have hurt much, much more she imagined.

Their lunch
lingered for hours. It wasn’t forced, it simply was family enjoying
each other and in the case of Mike and BB, getting to know each
other, at least on a superficial level.

Saying their
goodbyes, Sonya and Bryan walked home from the
café
,
reliving some of the nicer moments of their lunch, dissecting just
how difficult this had been on Mike. And on BB.

Obviously the
stately gentleman appeared to be delighted to meet Mike, and Sonya
thought, to be proud of the man that his son had become without
him, regretting no doubt, the fact that he had been cheated of a
lifetime of knowing him.

Perhaps, they
would form a bond of sorts, and hopefully, something more. Mike and
Steve were staying at a hotel in Paris and they all planned to
connect several more times during their respective visits to the
City of Lights.

“Well Sir, what
did you think?” Steve asked BB.

BB thought for
a few minutes as they drove along the roadway to his home. “Sonya
is a stunningly beautiful woman, and she is obviously very
obviously in love with her husband. I think they make a well
matched pair. I wonder though, if she knows what he was up to a few
years ago in Paris.”

“You don’t mean
the Crusade mission do you? I didn’t realize that he was the talent
that Grégoire used,” Steve replied slowly. “Please tell me that he
wasn’t!”

“I cannot do
that Steven. He is an incredibly talented artist, and Grégoire only
uses the very best in his operations, as he has his choice of the
best of the best at the university. You know that. Fortunately,
Grégoire never advises his artists of the end results of their
travail
.”

“Well, shit! Do
you honestly believe that the cartel won’t know that one of
Grégoire’s artists is in France? They’ll hang him by his balls if
they discover that he was even remotely attached to Grégoire!
Especially after the stunt that he pulled the last time. It caused
them embarrassment!” Steve declared.

“Has Grégoire
at least put up some firewalls and protections for him? I would
hate to see either him or Sonya caught up with those goons that
Grégoire deals with. Not to mention, that bastard, Grégoire,
himself.”

“It is my
understanding that all protections are in place and that they have
bodyguards as we speak. I do have to echo your opinion regarding
Grégoire. Personally, I have never been able to stomach the smarmy
little man. He makes my, how do the Americans say it? He makes my
'spidey sense' tingle. The only problem that we do have, is that
Lucien is back.”

“Why? Doesn’t
he know how dangerous it is for him right now? He was the
intermediary in the Crusade mission, despite its failure. Hell’s
bells, both he and Bryan back at the same time? That spells trouble
so far as I’m concerned,” was Steve’s reply. “I can almost smell
it.”

“His son is
here, Steven! I am only now beginning to understand the meaning of
that depth of connection, and mine has only been superficial thus
far. It is a huge pull! I am only sorry that you were never able to
know your father. You would have liked Ivan Toth. Please do not
misunderstand. I am not saying that Paul was not a good father to
you, because he was. As my best friend, I know that he did
everything and anything that he felt he could for you and your
mother.” BB took a deep breath and exhaled.

“But?” Steve
pushed.

Taking in
another deep breath, BB continued, “But, I feel such a sense of
betrayal, for both Ivan and Paul and as well, for you and Mike. It
is a good thing that Paul is no longer here. He would have likely
choked Celine. And I would not have blamed him one bit. I could
barely be civil to her during our divorce. On the other side of the
coin, can you tell me that this state of affairs has not affected
you in a number of ways?”

Steve drove
along in silence for a few minutes. “Affected. That’s an
interesting word! How about saying that everything that I believed
I was, feels shattered. I’m learning to know an entire family – my
family – some of whom I have only met for twenty minutes. Emotions
run from flat out joy to have a large family, to a desperate search
to find some firm ground upon which to re-plant my feet.”

“I am so angry
at my mother that I find it difficult to be in the same room with
her, and that is becoming tougher as time marches on. What is
worse, is her firm belief that she and Ilsa did nothing even
remotely inappropriate! All they thought about was what they felt
and wanted! Not only did they betray you and Ivan, they betrayed
both Mike and me.”

“It’s going to
take some time in the gym with the punching bag to get rid of some
of the hostility that I feel. And, one look at Mike today, told me
that he’s feeling the same kind of anger. We’ll have a heart to
heart later back at the hotel. I think that it will do us both some
good.”

BB’s next
statement was cautious. “Given your unique insight into this
matter, do you think that his anger will affect whatever
relationship that he and I might be able to build?”

"Ah," Steve
thought, "that was the million Euro question!" He had to be careful
answering this one.

“I can’t speak
for Mike, only from my own point of view. If he is as angry as I
am, it will be his mother with whom he’s so livid. He is well aware
that you were cheated in the same way that he was. If it were me in
his place, I would make it a mission to get to know the man who was
my father. Mike has that opportunity. I did not, which is in part,
I think, some of the anger that I feel. Have you both done the DNA
testing?”

“Yes, several
weeks ago. I was expecting the results by now. After seeing Mike,
do you really think that there is much doubt about it?” the old man
challenged.

“Not in my
opinion,” Steve replied immediately. “And, that was my opinion back
in June in Calgary when I took a really good look at him. My
opinion hasn’t changed since. As turn about is fair play, how do
you feel about this twist of fate?”

“That is
something that I have been asking myself since this became an
issue. Surprisingly, I am at a loss to explain the plethora of
emotions that I am experiencing. Primarily, it is one of pride. He
is a fine man. I have done my research. I even have grandchildren,
did you know that?”

“If the DNA
results are what I believe them to be, I have a great deal to do
and say in the short time that I have left here on this good earth.
And, I feel a sense of urgency to do and to say it all.” BB took a
deep breath and straightened his shoulders.

“Are you ill?”
Steve asked with concern.

“Not to my
knowledge,” BB responded, “but I am no longer a young man.”

Steve was
surprised by this uncharacteristic candour. BB had never spoken
this personally to him, ever, despite the length of time that BB
had been married to his mother. But then again, Steve was the
go-between to his son, and as such, the pragmatic side of BB would
definitely use that to his advantage.

It was that
very pragmatism that had assisted him to climb to the top ranks of
the Royal Air Force. His rigid honesty and adherence to the rules,
along with his innate intelligence, had stood him in good stead. BB
had been instrumental to bring to light the issue of his own
parentage when he had observed both Steve and John whilst on a
mission to Gibraltar, six months previously. BB’s well-honed
instincts and rigid sense of honesty had been the catalyst to force
his mother and then Mike’s, to be honest with their sons.

It had been
just after that mission, following the solving of the murders of
two retired MI5 operatives when back in England, that Steve learned
of BB’s elevated status in MI6. Then, many things in his
relationship with BB made much more sense.

Theirs had been
a somewhat adversarial relationship, particularly when Steve chose
to leave the RAF to join MI5. The fact that BB had married Steve’s
mother shortly after his father had been killed in an air crash
many years ago had grated at the time, which he could now admit.
There was presently much more of an alliance between them. And it
pleased Steve.

Madame
Lalonde’s house was quiet when they arrived home, which surprised
Sonya.

“I wonder where
everyone is?” she speculated.

“Lucien said
something about talking his mother to the market and having lunch
somewhere,” Bryan explained. “I think he enjoys those little things
that we seem to take for granted, given that he’s away so
much.”