Power Games

The next morning Mitch and I head up to the main house, hoping that there is some sort of update about the boys. I’ve tried to keep my distance from talking to Adam and Danny in particular just letting Mitch do all the talking between them.

Heading to the main house, we get some breakfast and sit down at the table “I don’t want this if we ever move in together” Mitch says laughing at me teasing as we eat breakfast. My father comes downstairs clearly he has a thousand things on his mind “Morning Dad, how are you this morning?” I ask as he sits down and Mrs Garcia brings out his breakfast.

“Not too bad, been already on the phone with Gerry this morning all I can tell you is that she is in Grantham somewhere because her car is parked down at the Secure Park on Liverpool Street and been there since about five pm last night” he looks dejected as he can’t really help any more than he can.

Mitch’s phone rings and he takes the call in the living room “So your mother told me you two spent the night in the Cottage” Dad probes me while Mitch is out of the room. “Yeah, we did but remember there are three bedrooms so we shared it in separate rooms,” I say sitting there not wanting to say anything about what Mitch and I did last night.

“Isaac, I don’t mind if you’re gay in fact I’m proud of you for not being afraid to be yourself” feeling a bit uncomfortable I just sit there and nod because I’ve never really thought of what I am and honestly, I think that labels are ridiculous and I don’t want to be with Mitch because he’s a guy, I want to be with him because he’s Mitch.

“Thanks, Dad, but we’re not anything because we’re just friends and I don’t know if Mitch is into anything like that really, we haven’t got to know each other that well,” I say as Mitch comes back into the room. “Sorry, just rearranging some meetings and appointments that I was supposed to have today,” he says sitting down to finish breakfast off.

“Have you heard from Danny this morning Mitch?” my father now invested emotionally in the situation that is at hand whether he thinks he is somehow to blame I’m not sure. “Not from Danny no, but I did hear from Adam who is our other good mate and Isaac’s neighbour and Danny has been staying with him but he’s pretty broken at the moment which is understandable” Mitch explains as my father agrees.

“Wish that there was more that we could for him this morning, I just can’t believe that Brendan would stoop to something this low” my father says as he sits there eating his breakfast. We sit there, somewhat awkward silence as we eat breakfast before he excuses himself for a daily briefing with the National Security boss about global issues.

“He asked about us again,” I say to Mitch as he laughs “Well what did you say?” he keeps eating like this is just normal breakfast conversation. “What do you mean what did I say? I denied it because this isn’t the time to tell my family about us because we’ve barely agreed on what we want to call this” Mitch looks at me “Well for me it’s pretty obvious that if we’re in love then we’re dating even though you still haven’t taken me out for a date when I’ve done it for you” he says laughing at me.

“You going to order Chinese food after we tried to build a plan isn’t a date alright but I’m happy to call it dating if you are” I see him wink and smile as I smile back and we figure out what we need to do. “We can’t stay here indefinitely; we need a plan of attack to try and find Tash and the boys” sitting there we try to think for a moment when it hits me.

“Brendan has a flat in the Market District that he used to rent out but now think he tries to use it at the B&B and it’s only about 3 blocks from where Tash’s car is parked” trying to remember exactly where it is. I sit there for a minute as Mitch rushes out of his chair “Well aren’t we going to find out?” he says putting his jacket on.

I shake my head “Not yet, I want to talk it over with Dad because he might be able to reason with Brendan more than you or me if just show up there all guns blazing”. I get the situation is bad but I don’t want Brendan to know that I’ve got Dad helping me at this stage because he has enough weapons he can pull to fight back.

Mitch and I take a walk around the Estate as I show him all the bits that he hasn’t seen and tell him of all the different stories about growing up here and then showing him the birdhouses that me and Grandad built together. “He was the man you idolised and wanted to be wasn’t it,” Mitch says as we sit down on one of the benches that we made together as I sit there and nod. “My grandfather was involved in Politics but he didn’t have it as his whole life’s goal and just put family first”.

I sit there and think about how things could have been different had I just had my grandparents here to talk to every day because they always knew how to calm me down and see sense with them. We sit there for a few moments as I have a moment telling Mitch all about my grandparents and what happened to them.

My phone rings and Dad calls us back up to his office because he has some information for us and we head up there as we walk into the office. “What’s the news?” I ask as we sit down not sure what has been going on. “After speaking to Gerry this morning he has agreed to make this a serious matter, it won’t be referred to the Grantham Police at the moment so we can do a bit more than what we were yesterday,” he says smiling hoping to get an end to this situation more than what we could yesterday.

“I was thinking before to Mitch, does Brendan still have his apartment in the Market Quarter you know his air B&B?” I ask Dad as he sits there and shrugs “Not sure and I didn’t really know about that”. “Well, he had it a while ago and it’s just weird Tash’s car was parked at the secure park down a couple of blocks away. Dad looks across “Yeah I know the one that you’re talking about now did you go and check it out?” he asks as I shake my head.

“We didn’t want to go out there and spook them and thought that it might be better if you went out there if Brendan is there or if it’s just Tash,” I say as Dad nods which he agrees with the plan. Dad has his office locked to ensure that anything that happens during this meeting is secure as his intercom goes off.

“Mr Keppel, Brendan is here to see you,” says one of the staff says as my father lets out a groan, “Could you please tell him to wait in the living room for me please, I’m on some official business,” he says as we nod. “I’ll talk to him down there and wait just here please” Dad walks downstairs as I sit there and look across at Mitch.

I wish I could throttle him at the moment as I sit there and try to listen in but the noise of the rest of the house is blocking it out; Sitting there for about 5 minutes I get up and head to the bathroom so I can try and listen in to the conversation. I can hear Brendan talking but not really hearing anything is annoying so I try to go down the stairs a bit but still can’t hear much.

Hearing footsteps I quickly head back into the office as my father comes up to get me “Could you come downstairs for a moment Isaac” he says as I look at him a bit worried about what is going to happen with this conversation. Walking downstairs Brendan throws his head back “What the fuck is he still doing here?” he’s clearly not impressed that I’m still him.

“He’s been here trying to help his friend where he can” Brendan scoffs loudly “He doesn’t have any friends because everybody in that town has seen what kind of person he is” I sit there letting him talk because getting into a full argument isn’t going to help anyone at the moment.

“Everybody has seen that he is a self-centred prick and now that this has happened, nobody in Yellow Peak will want him there and his life will be hell” Brendan looks smug as he says all that without me giving a reaction.

My father looks across at Brendan “Enough alright, Isaac didn’t do anything wrong in this situation and I’ve told you that more times than was necessary” Taking a deep breath my father doesn’t miss on Brendan “You have had an obsession with Isaac and trying to get him in trouble for quite a while so there is nothing that you can say that can prove otherwise”.

Shaking his head Brendan tries to get back “What the hell are you defending him for? He has done so much shit that he could’ve gone to jail for if we didn’t protect him and now you want to defend him” he says pointing at me.

Dad looks at me and then back at Brendan “I’m not defending Isaac for anything he did in the past but he has owned up to his mistakes and trying to put them behind him but you won’t let him live in peace, he has made his life in Yellow Peak and you should respect that rather than trying to do anything that you can to make his life miserable”. I don’t say anything as Dad goes at Brendan who still can’t admit defeat.

“A life built on a lie, this piece of shit causes us so much trouble and then just moves to some backwater hole and then thinks that everybody should be friends with him because he’s working hard… Isaac has never worked hard in his fucking life” he says still ranting about me actually making it in Yellow Peak. “You can’t think you can just drop everything and opt-out of all this without punishment for almost ruining everything for this amazing man who put all this around you” Brendan’s rant continues and I tune out as he calls my life a fraud and how self-centred I am.

Next moment I hear Mitch from behind me, “Listen you fucking arsehole, Isaac is one of the kindest hearted people that I have met and nearly everybody in town has grown to love him”. Brendan looks at Mitch with disdain “Who the fuck are you? This is private family business and I’m getting security to escort you off this property” Brendan says as he pulls out his phone.

“John, I need you to escort a trespasser off the property, he’s gotten into the house,” Brendan says as he rings the security as he refers to Mitch. “It might be best that you leave because you’re not welcome here and trespassing is a serious offence you fucking arsehole” Brendan getting smug thinking that he is the boss in the situation

Mitch sits on the couch next to me and looks at Brendan “You know that kidnapping and assisting in a kidnapping is also a very serious offence, punishable by up to 25 years in prison; Maybe you should be concerned if my friend wants to punish both you and Tash for taking the kids without permission”.

“I don’t know who you are but I want you out of my house because nobody invited you here and you're certainly not welcome,” Brendan says as the security comes to the house and Brendan stands up. “That is the person who should be removed from the property,” he says before my father stands up. My father stands up “John, your presence isn’t required here, I don’t know why Brendan called you other than having a temper tantrum, Mitch is a guest of Isaac and both were invited by myself”.

John leaves as Brendan looks across at both of us “What are you doing Dad, he is not welcome here” Brendan is getting increasingly frustrated. “Yes he is welcome here, he is a friend of Isaac’s from Yellow Peak and is also your brother's lawyer and he is here to help Danny get his boys back home where they should be”

Brendan looks at me “Of course they should be back in Yellow Peak but as both Natasha and I agreed, whilst Isaac still lives there then it’s not a place I want them to be with”. Mitch can’t help himself as he again launches into Brendan “That’s not your decision, it’s up to Danny and Tash and to punish one of the nicest people in town all because you have a petty hate against your brother and want to keep having your affair with Tash that everybody knows that she has been seeing someone else but nobody knew who” Mitch doesn’t let up in anything.

“Yes, Isaac leaked the information about you but he needed space from you, the constant spying with the car parked out the front and then you turning up when we had the barbeque for him to help him get settled into town and get to know people better,” he says as Brendan’s face is getting angry. “You were out the front; I saw you standing there trying to spy now how did you know about the barbeque?” Mitch might only be a small practice lawyer, but he’s got the courtroom skills.

“Uh… well… Isaac was posting all about it on social media so of course I was going to see what was going on because it was hardly being quiet in town” he scrambles to make a coherent and effective answer as Mitch continues to rip it apart.

Sitting there I laugh as Brendan is struggling now under pressure “No you didn’t because I’ve deleted all social media other than WhatsApp and then I only use it to talk to my friends in Yellow Peak so you had to hear it from somebody that was living in Yellow Peak, the same person you’ve got all the updates from haven’t you?” I say as Brendan admits defeat finally.

“You win Isaac, I mean if you’re proud that you could get away with everything then you did then you know what I’m glad for you,” Brendan says as he slumps back into the chair. “I was only trying to look out for you and the family but at the end of the day, you didn’t want to accept that protection,” he says as he is still trying to snake his way through all this.

“Oh the fuck you were trying to look out for me, if you wanted to protect me and the family then you wouldn’t have been spying on me all the time and sitting outside of my house,” I say as I see Dad nodding looking at me proudly. “You would have let me live my own life out there, I have never denied what I have done or my mistakes and everyone close to me knows what I did because I’ve never been anything but honest about it all and Yellow Peak gave me the reality check that I needed and you know what, I’m proud to be a Keppel with the legacy especially with our grandparents but I don’t want to be in politics,” I say as I get emotional talking about it all.

“This situation never needed to explode to where it got to and I won’t apologise for leaking the information about you because I needed to get you off my back for a while because I couldn’t do anything without you sitting outside my house in secret,” I say as I look at him. “If you told me that you were coming to visit or wanted to check in on me then I would’ve been happy to show you my house and everything I’m doing out there, but you wanted to go behind my back, using Tash to get the gossip on me and then do anything you could to destabilise everything that I had done out there”.

“Honestly, yes I gave you the ultimatums but I was never thinking about me for those, I was thinking about Danny who is one of the kindest people I’ve met in my life and honestly cares about me more than you ever have,” I say looking at him and scrolling through my phone. “This is Danny and his boys; I know that you don’t like me Brendan but this battle is between you and me, not Danny, not Kyle and Carter, not Tash, but you and me”.

Mitch nods “Danny would give anything for his boys, they are the most treasured things in his life, I’ve been mates with Danny since we started primary school together so for well over 20 years” Dad sits silent but listening intently to everything that Mitch and I had to say. Mitch keeps going “When he found out he was going to be a Dad, it was the proudest moment that he could ever have and then when Carter came along it put the icing on the cake, those two boys love their Dad so please don’t punish two innocent boys”.

Dad sits there as he wipes his eyes as I show him the photo of Danny and the boys together from a few weeks ago. Brendan sits there “Alright, I don’t know where they are I organised for Tash to stay at my apartment in the Market Quarter last night, I will talk to her and see what she can do,” he says defeated and clearly affected by what everything that both Mitch and I had to say and probably seeing Dad upset.

“Can you call Natasha to come here please Brendan, Mitch or Isaac could you please ask Danny to come here as well; I think that we need to settle this situation once and for all” Dad says to us as we agree.

“I don’t know if Danny will necessarily come here with what happened,” I say as Mitch goes and calls Adam to see if he could bring Danny down here explaining the situation. Dad looks at me “If Mitch settles the situation, then I think we can work out a solution that will make sure an amazing father can be reunited with his boys”.

I follow Dad into the kitchen “What is going to happen with Brendan and Natasha?” I ask concerned because I don’t want them to have anything to do with Danny or be in Yellow Peak anymore. Dad looks at me “They can talk about things but honestly, I think that it would be best if both Brendan and Natasha go as far away as possible from Yellow Peak and Danny, their situation isn’t going to be the best for the boys”.

Going down to the cottage for a little while, Mitch and I sit there just talking as I feel a bit deflated “I just can’t help think that this could still be an unmitigated disaster because there is no way that Tash is going to leave the boys”. Mitch looks at me “Honestly, I think that all this situation is going to make her the one who is untrustworthy in town and that there really is no place for her in town anymore”.

We sit there for a little while as Mitch’s phone buzzes “It’s Adam, they’re here now” he says as we get up and head towards the house. I walk up with a sense of dread and walk up to the house as we go in and see Adam and Danny sitting there and as Tash sits in the living room with Brendan and Dad.

Danny doesn’t say anything to me as Adam tells us that Danny isn’t the greatest of moods as we all sit down in the living room. Dad sits there as everyone sits down “Thank you all for coming, this is an awful situation that none of us should be in and I hope that we can settle it with the best outcome for everyone”.

A loud groan comes from Danny who is nudged by Adam to be on his best behaviour, my father sits there and takes control of the meeting “Now Danny, both Isaac and Mitch speak of you highly and were devastated when they heard the news of the boys being taken”. Danny interrupts “Kidnapped because of your family,” he says as my father nods. “Correct it is kidnapping and I have spoken to my National Police chief about it” Dad speaking with authority and putting Danny at ease.

“The behaviour of Brendan, Natasha and to some extent Isaac was very poor and to you Danny I apologise that you became involved in the middle of the petty arguing between my children and that will stop” Dad is laying down the law to everyone.

“No arguments because this is what is going to happen and everybody will accept it otherwise, I will move things across to the National Police, are we all understanding each other?” My father says looking at everybody but delivering it in particular to Brendan and Natasha.