Chapter 1: Prologue - LYON

"Kat, lock down every f*ck these f*cks are up to their sh*t again." Swear to f*ck if one of my kids catch this sh*t I'm a level Washington, then I'm heading to the Hague to finish off the rest of these greedy f*cks.

"Colt, what's wrong? What's going on?" She came running out of the kitchen with a look of fear on her face that I had not meant to put there. She is still so damn cute with her round ass and baby-feeding tits.

"Nothing's wrong, babe!" F*ck, when am I gonna learn how easily panicked she gets? I pulled her into my chest and kissed her hair before putting her away from me again.

"Where are the kids?" Thank f*ck they were almost outta school. This thing seemed to have a trickle-down effect, moving from state to state at rapid speed. Who knows when they're gonna make their way here.

My phone rang in my pocket, and I pulled it to see Mancini's number in the readout. "Hank, what's good, brother?"

"Get your family ready, the plane will be there in two hours to get you."

I smiled at Kat like this f*ck didn't just put my gut on high alert. I took the phone away from my ear and pressed it against my chest. "I gotta take this call babe, be right back." I took the stairs two at a time and headed up to my office for some peace and quiet. "Tell me!"

"This thing isn't what it seems."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't have time right now; I'll tell you once we meet up. We got too many pregnant women and children to take chances, so I'm bringing you guys in."

Bringing us in? The f*ck is he talking about? "Law and the others?"

"Everyone, just be ready when my people get there."

"Where we headed?"

"The island."

...

I had less than two hours to talk Kat into packing up our nine kids and heading out without alerting her to the fact that there was sh*t going on. Her trusting ass still believes whatever the lying f*ck newscasters say on the Tel-lie-vision.

Hand sanitizer, my ass. How the f*ck can something that can kill you be stopped by that watered-down sh*t ? I don't know if it's from the Big Guy upstairs or manmade; either way, I'm not trusting these f*cks with my life. Lying f*cks!

Sh*t, damn, Mancini could've given me some warning. I was just this minute thinking about this sh*t . I called Jared and told him to get our boys ready; I'm not leaving them behind. I had to get around Elena's nosy ass to talk to the pothead, but the old man knew how to read between the lines and act accordingly.

...

Three hours and four planes later, we were all headed out; I left no one behind. Kat's sneaky ass was up to some f*ck because she didn't question me once. But as soon as I mentioned the island, she hot-footed it upstairs with her phone to call the snoop brigade. Whatever, I'll deal with her sh*t later. I had more pressing things on my mind, like how safe is this place gonna be?

I didn't have much chance to talk to Law and the SEALs, just enough to make sure we were all on the same page. Mancini's top-secret ass is not to be taken at face value. F*cking friends and sh*t .

I rested my head back on the chair as the plane took off with one of the trips strapped to my chest. I was too damn tired to figure out which one. Kat and her damn kids had made leaving a f*cking national event.

Wait! I came wide awake and looked around the inside of the plane. Most everyone was either getting ready to sleep or was gazing out the windows of the plane as it soared into the air. I relaxed once I saw that little head of hers. F*cking Mengele was the last one to leave the house after I had to go get her out of her lab. She brought half that sh*t with her; it looked like.

Her mother and sister had packed her clothes then I had to answer fifty f*cking questions about where we were going and why. I can still hear her trying to work me. "But daddy, why? I just spoke to uncle Hank yesterday, and he didn't say anything about going to the island." She had that look on her face, the same one I used to have as a kid when the adults were trying to snow me, and I saw right through their sh*t .

"I don't know, kid, why don't you ask him when you see him. We done here? Can we leave?" My hands were already laden down with the sh*t she wanted to take with her. She looked around the room one last time, then sighed like an eighty-year-old woman before nodding her head indecisively and following me out the door. I have a feeling if I hadn't made the first move, she would still be there doing who knows the f*ck what.

I closed my eyes again and thought about how strange it was that I'd just taken Mancini's word for it, no questions asked, something that I wouldn't have done before. That trust, now that I think about it, had come way too easy. It's too late to second guess yourself now, Colt, you f*ck!

...

Mancini

"Come and sit down babe; everything's going to be fine." She's been pacing ever since we landed. I sat and watched her with the baby on my chest, trying to get her to sleep. She hadn't taken kindly to being dragged onto a plane right around her bedtime and had screamed her little lungs out for damn near three hours straight.

I patted her back and cooed at her as she rooted around on my chest. My heart felt settled for the first time since this sh*t started. My wife and child are safe; now, all I need is for our friends to arrive safely.

Everyone here had been checked upon landing, but since they live here year-round and hardly go to the mainland for anything except once a month or so for supplies, I felt safe that they were okay to be here.

The staff of twenty was going to be needed once everyone got here, what with all the kids. My parents were already upstairs in bed, and my uncle and cousin should be here with their families at about the same time Lyon and the others arrived.

I hadn't meant to have this meet now, but it was as good a time as any, I guess. People were making moves, and sh*t was about to heat up in the world. I thought we had more time, but it's obvious now that we don't.

I closed my eyes and tried to get the last few moments of rest before they get here. I'm pretty sure there isn't going to be much of that to be had in the coming days. Colton alone is going to take at least a damn week to come around. Sh*t, I wanted to be more prepared for this. Oh well!