May 2023

"Are you and Mommy getting divorced?"

Kyle snapped to attention from his search of a parking spot and turned to look towards the backseat. 

"What? Where did you even hear that word?"

His three-and-a-half-year-old daughter frowned in confusion in her car seat. Her twin brother stuck his tongue out at her.

"Told you they were not."

Kyle threw a glance at the road to make sure he wouldn't crash into anything, but traffic was practically at a standstill, so he turned back to his kids. "Alex, don't be mean. Jenny, what...?" He couldn't even begin to process her gem. Kids said the craziest things. They also spoke the truth which made the affirmation a little problematic. 

"Uncle Jerry says you shouldn't say what. You should say excuse me," Alex said, his tone light, obviously not getting the gravity of the situation.

Before Kyle even had the chance to direct a few choice words at Jerry inside his head, Jenny picked up the conversation. 

"Peter said his daddy hit his mommy and then they got divorced." Her light blue eyes were wide and curious. She looked so much like a tiny, black-haired Kay at that moment, it was frightening.

"Um... okay." Kyle returned his attention to the road, keeping a watch on his daughter in the rear view mirror. "But whatever gave you the idea that your mom and I--"

"You spanked her last night," Alex declared, bouncing up and down in his car seat.

Kyle moved his attention from the black tuft of hair to the blond one. "What?"

"You're not supposed to say what. You're supposed to say excuse me," Jenny said in a sing-song voice that almost perfectly matched her brother's from earlier.

Kyle was never letting Jerry babysit again. "Okay, I did not spank your mom."

"Yes, you did, you slapped her butt. We saw you!" Alex insisted.

Kyle pursed his lips and returned his attention to traffic, trying his best not to burst into hysterical laughter. He had no idea the kids had seen that. He and Kay had been in the kitchen, cleaning up the table. Her jeans were incredibly snug, and she looked so hot, he couldn't help it. Not like they got the chance to get all romantic and passionate for more than twenty minutes anymore. It was just minor things like that they could still get away with. Or apparently not. They needed to be more careful.

"Do we get along?" he asked, then watched the twins exchange a meaningful look.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked. She was always a little more wary while Alex was all about fun and rushing in.

"Me and your mom. Are we friends? Do we laugh together?"

"Yes," they both said.

"Do we all have fun together?"

"Yes!" This time they both jumped up and down with obvious enthusiasm.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. Mommy and I were just playing around."

"Like me and Alex?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, something like that." But with less pushing and more pulling.

"Huh," Alex said. "So why did Peter's parents get divorced?"

Kyle most certainly didn't like explaining stuff like that to kids, especially his own, but someone had to. He finally found an appropriate parking space and pulled over, then turned to face his kids.

"Listen. Sometimes mommies and daddies really don't get along. They fight for real, because of important things. Anger, screaming, that sort of stuff. Your mommy and I just joke around. It's called banter. We don't get truly mad at each other. But... Yes, sometimes it's serious and the parents don't love each other anymore."

"But you love Mommy," Alex said. It was a statement, not a question and Kyle was glad they were at least doing that right.

"Yes, very much. Just like she loves me and we both love you guys more than anything in the world. So there's nothing to worry about."

Jenny and Alex both grinned. "Okay," they said at once with that weird twin sync Kyle still had trouble getting used to sometimes.

Even if they looked nothing alike, they still had their own little world and a special relationship he couldn't even begin to understand. But he'd come to terms with the fact that he couldn't micromanage his kids' lives. Just love and support them. Give them the freedom he was given to grow and thrive.

Though since he was dumped on poor unsuspecting Max when he was two, maybe not that much freedom.

"Great, now who's ready for preschool?"

They both cheered because they couldn't wait to see their cousins. The kids were like an unbeatable pack, and Tom had already wondered how much it would take them to realize their power and eat the grown-ups alive.

Christine and Jessie were already there, talking, Christine leaning her elbows on the handle of the double stroller of her kids. Jessie was kid-free since Robin was already playing with Sammy.

Kyle had just gotten his own spawn down from the car when Sammy rushed over squealing and clapping her hands. Jenny joined her and the two girls started hopping around Alex who rolled his eyes in disdain.

"Hey, Sammy." Kyle ruffled her blonde waves then ushered all three kids towards the entrance to the building.

Robin waited there, pouting, obviously not daring to rush towards the street with his mom right there. But once his cousins reached him, he broke into a grin and hurried to Alex. It was a little scary how much he looked and behaved like Jimmy, even if he'd ended up with caramel hair and Jessie's green eyes.

"Sammy," Christine called, her tone chiding. "Don't run off like that." 

"But it's Jenny and Alex!" Sammy said as if it explained everything.

Then, completely ignoring them, the kids moved on the patch of grass in front of the preschool building and started chasing each other. Kyle watched them for a few seconds to make sure they'd settled into a pattern, then focused his attention on Sam's one-year-old twins, Jayden and Austin. Yup, he still couldn't tell which was which.

"Nice to see you're here," Jessie said as Kyle crouched next to the stroller.

"Kay had this thing at work, so you get me instead," he said. "Hey there, guys."

"Which is which?" Christine asked with a shrewd smile.

"Don't do this to me."

She let out a laugh. "Come on, Kyle. You have twins yourself."

"Yeah. Different genders. And one is blond and the other had black hair."

Sam's boys both had big brown eyes and dark hair, though it wasn't black like their dad's. They were such a good combination of Sam and Christine, Kyle was sure they would be heartbreakers when they grew up.

Christine shook her head, though there was a smile on her face. "Men."

Kyle straightened and stretched. "I hope Sam can tell them apart."

"Of course he can!" Christine brought a hand to her chest, feigning outrage.

Jessie giggled, keeping her eyes on the playing children. "I still find it weird that only you and Sam have twins. Though I'm not complaining. Dealing with one baby at a time is hard enough."

"At least you had the sense to wait a while between kids, unlike some other people," Christine added.

"Yeah, not long enough, though," Jessie said with a huff. "Not that I regret it, but holy hell, do I miss sleep."

Christine grinned. "Sleep? Sleep is for the weak!"

"Shush. Your kids sleep through the night! Jules is still a little fussy."

"True. But it could be worse. Think about Angie."

Kyle pursed his lips. Christine had a point. He hadn't even been aware someone could churn children out so fast one after the other. 

And right on cue, Tom appeared around the corner on his skateboard, like the totally responsible parent he was, his daughter Zoey riding with him on the board while tiny little Ryan was on Tom's back in the baby carrier.

"Oh, no," Christine breathed, seeing them as well.

Tom braked and stopped right in front of them. Zoey clapped her hands.

"Again!" she demanded.

"Nah, kiddo, enough for one day. Say hello to your aunts and uncle and go play with your cousins."

The brunette little girl gave Kyle's leg a short hug, blew Christine and Jessie a kiss, then hurried to join the chase with her older cousins. Though not much older. As Kyle watched them start a new game which seemed to be made entirely out of chasing each other, he couldn't help realize for the millionth time that it wasn't just Tom and Angie who had turned into baby churning machines. Maxi was rightfully harassed with nine grandchildren and the tenth on the way.

Zoey was just one year younger than Jenny and Alex who were a little over a year younger than Sammy. And still, Robin was right there between them, six months younger than his twins.

Not to mention that Angie and Jessie had their second kids almost at the same time and Christine followed right after.

So. Many. Children. And even if it had been hard and shocking, Kyle was glad they all got to experience this together and that their kids were close enough in age to be friends and loved seeing and playing with each other.

He was out of the whole diaper and sleepless nights stages though. After years of torture, his kids were old enough to require someone to wake them up in the morning.

And yet, as he watched Tom maneuver his carrier so that Ryan rested against his chest rather than his back, a bit of unexpected longing overwhelmed him.

You can't be serious. You can't want another one. Kay would kill him if he even brought it up. But he sort of did. And maybe she wouldn't really kill him. Unless they had twins again. Then, yeah, he was a dead man.

"What?" Tom asked, noticing his stare. "I know that look. Kay is going to kill you."

"Not if I don't tell her."

"Hey, Christine, you have the most kids. Give Kyle one of the twins, because he apparently wants another baby."

Christine's face lit up. "Really? That would be wonderful. Well, you having your own. I'm rather fond of these two."

"I honestly think we have enough kids running around at the moment," Jessie mumbled, and Kyle half agreed. "Especially with Jerry's little one on the way."

"Do you think his first word will be "language"?" Tom asked with his usual enthusiasm.

Even if he tried to keep a serious face, because Jerry was stressed out of his mind over becoming a father, Kyle couldn't help it. He joined Christine, Jessie and Tom who were already laughing.

"What was Sammy's first word?" Tom asked, sobering up. "Was it snowflake?"

Christine smiled, but it was sad. "If you must know, it was daddy. Though I hope so much she will be like her mother when she grows up."

Even after so many years, it was hard for Kyle to compute that Skye had been in their life and disappeared so fast. Like a shooting star, lighting up their sky. At least she'd left behind Sammy who was an adorable and considerate child. 

Jessie's phone beeped and she took it out. "Well," she said with a frown followed by an excited grin. "I think we're about to find out about Jerry's kid. Sarah just went into labor."

A knot of both nerves and anticipation twisted Kyle's stomach at the news. Jerry and Sarah hadn't even been sure they could become parents, so they must both be out of their minds with both fear and excitement. 

"Today?" Christine asked, looking at Tom. "But we're supposed to go and see Sam's presentation on his PhD."

"She's not giving birth now," Jessie said with a laugh. "It could take hours. You guys go and get bored by Sam's history speech. We'll keep you posted."

"Want a lift to the hospital?" Kyle asked Jessie.

"Sure, I didn't take my car out today." 

As they said goodbye to Tom, Christine and the kids and headed for the car, Kyle couldn't keep in a grin.

Yes, their lives had suffered a dramatic change in rhythm. Missions and secret trips around the world fraught with dangers had been replaced by kindergarten, diapers and sleepless nights caring for sick children. But the novelty more than made up for their lives winding down.

That and the need to think about all the ways in which everything could go wrong and how to protect their children.

There was no getting bored, and Kyle loved that.

🧭

Even if it had been years, people still stared. Their fame had wound down over the years, especially when they made it clear that the press would not get photos of their kids. But Tom, fame or not, always drew a lot of eyes because of his tattoos.

His arms were a canvas of all their past adventures, from Mexico, to France, India and Japan. Of course, he'd gotten them to cover the scars he'd gotten after one particularly nasty round of torture, just like the intricate tattoo of vines on his back, so it was better to be seen as potentially dangerous tattooed guy rather than totally creepy scars guy. Plus, he'd gotten used to all the staring. It was second nature to ignore everyone gawping at him.

Unfortunately, it was also second nature to sleep whenever he got the chance and Sam's presentation was really failing to keep him awake. Christine had to nudge him twice already. But honestly, out of everything history could offer, everything they'd been through, why did Sam have to pick Colonialism as his theme of choice?

"The influence the invading cultures had on the natives was groundbreaking," Sam was saying up in front, pointing at certain spots on the map of the world. "It wasn't even an issue of open war or hostile takeover."

"God, this is so boring," Tom mumbled, slouching in his seat.

"How many hours did you sleep last night?" Christine whispered.

He counted. Ryan had been very fussy since he was still teething. "Three? Four?"

"There you go. Sam's definitely not boring."

"And the most subtle ways in which entire civilizations were brought down was this." Sam clicked a button and the image of the world was replaced by an Egyptian depiction of Ra in his chariot.

Tom straightened in his seat, his attention now fully on Sam. He knew that image. They'd found it in a hidden Temple of Isis, somewhere in the Egyptian desert. Seven jewels fell from the chariot and towards the people who received them on their knees.

These were the jewels they'd been searching for for over seven years. And he'd never imagined they would be part of Sam's PhD thesis. 

Six had been found and were in the custody of the Agency. One was left and it was the only reason the Agency hadn't murdered them yet.

"Gifts from the gods," Sam said, turning to his audience. "Legends. Identifying with deities, with folk heroes and saviors. It's how the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas fell. It's how the power of Egypt faded, how Japan and India were taken over. There is no need for war if you pretend to come in peace." He changed the image again, this time to a fresco of Hernando Cortez. "All you need to do is pretend to be carrying gifts. The cultural assimilation and foreign diseases will do the rest."

The presentation continued for another twenty minutes as Sam moved through the rise and fall of the British Empire, but Tom couldn't focus anymore. That bit about the gifts, the strength in Sam's voice, the feeling of determination and certainty mixed with just the tiniest amount of dread coming from his twin...

He pawed next to him until he caught Christine's hand and squeezed.

"Ouch, Tom, what--"

"He found it," he whispered. 

Christine frowned. "Found what?"

"The last jewel. Sam found it. He knows where it is."

"How do you--? Really?" The fear in her voice was unmistakable, because she knew what that meant.

The end of their standby. The need for one final adventure and the end of the barely-there safety once the Agency realized they had no intention of handing it over to them.

She swallowed heavily and leaned back into her seat as everyone around them rose to give Sam a standing ovation. Tom did too, and let out a loud whistle to make things more fun. It attracted him a lot of unfriendly academic stares, but he didn't care. Sam needed the extra encouragement. 

His twin grinned and bowed, thanked everyone for coming, then started gathering his papers. Tom helped Christine out of her seat and the two of them headed deeper down into the amphitheater while most of the crowd queued for the exit.

"That was a very good presentation, Sam," his professor was saying. "Got a bit of historical drama in there for entertainment."

"History is nothing if not dramatic," Sam answered, but his attention was obviously on Tom and Christine now. "Glad you guys could come."

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Tom said.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "You slept through half of it, didn't you?"

"Totally did," Christine said before he could even try lying. She gave Sam a short kiss on the lips. "Congratulations, baby."

"You have to admit," Tom said, watching the last of the crowd exiting. "It was pretty boring." He waited a few moments to make sure they were alone, then turned to Sam. "Except for that part about lying to avoid war. Gifts from the gods, legends and heroes."

Sam's grin only widened as if daring Tom to ask.

"You know where it is, don't you?" he asked, his voice low. "The last one."

Sam swept the room again for potential eavesdroppers before nodding.

"Where?" Christine whispered.

"Brazil." He let out a huff. "Fitting, isn't it? Back to the beginning. Jungles and temples."

Christine squeezed his forearm. "Sam, what are you planning? What are you thinking?"

Sam looked from her to Tom. "We knew this was coming. We have to do what we have to do."

A low whimper escaped her and Tom put his hand on her shoulder. He knew exactly how she felt. Christine had grown and changed so much over the years that it was not a matter of cowardice or commodity. It was something all of them were aware of.

They no longer had the luxury of getting potentially maimed or killed. Also, all of them going together posed the risk of leaving a lot of kids orphaned.

They had families and responsibilities now. They couldn't just up and disappear for weeks to search for a jewel in some ruins.

The only problem was that if they didn't and someone else got it, everything could fall apart and no one would ever be safe again.

"We'll figure something out, Christine," Sam said, wrapping one arm around her and squeezing her against him. "I know it's not as easy as it used to be."

"Oh, so what we went through before was easy," Tom said, twisting his arms.

Sam smirked. "You know what I mean. We'll all talk and decide what to do."

"When did you figure it out?" Tom asked.

"Last night. I was looking at some pictures to use for the presentation and came across this." He reached for the desk and picked up a photograph of some hieroglyphs. 

"This wasn't in your presentation," Christine observed.

"No, because my presentation is public." Sam held it out and pointed at a few drawings. "The light of the gods, gifts from the heroes of legend."

Tom's stomach clenched and he wasn't sure if it was with excitement or dread. "And where was this taken?"

"There is a shrine buried deep in the Amazonian jungle, close to the border with Peru. It's obviously been found, but the archeological site has been abandoned for years. The working conditions were too grueling."

"Meaning?" Christine asked.

"Lots of people died from either the jungle conditions or traps is my guess. It's apparently a tiny thing and it wasn't considered worth the danger."

Tom quirked an eyebrow. "A jewel in a tiny thing?"

"It's probably huge underground or something," Sam said with a shrug. "Anyway, we have a lot of planning to do."

"But could it not be today?" Christine pleaded then gave them a small smile. "After all, you're a new uncle."

Sam's eyes widened in surprise and his face lit up. "Sarah gave birth?"

"Yup. To a healthy baby boy."

Tom turned to her. "When? I thought she was still in labor."

Christine took her phone out grinning and showed them a photo of a tiny bundle wrapped in a white and blue towel. "Jessie texted me. It was less than an hour ago."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Tom asked. "Let's go welcome baby Michael into this fucked up world, completed with his fucked up legacy."

"Don't you dare say that to Jerry," Sam pointed out. "He's stressed out enough as it is." He glanced at the photo in his hand. "I guess this could wait a while longer. If no one found it until now, another month or so won't hurt."

Christine sighed in relief and agreed. And even if Tom appreciated the respite, he had the same sinking feeling Sam did.

Were they sure no one else had found it? That no one else would? Because if they did, it felt entirely too out in the open.

And the stakes were huge.

🧭🧭🧭

And here we go again! For the last time, welcome to chapter one. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be sharing this story with you. I'm nervous and tense and want it to be great. And I do hope that this last bit here gives you a clue about exciting things to come.

Because apart from that... Well, you have families and ALL. THESE. CHILDREN. Well, someone was busy. Also, yes, lol, this is taking place in the future. I decided to actually give it a time stamp this time to make it clear... Maybe? Anyway...

Just a note that I'm going to keep this on a Friday update schedule, like I did Ruins. But because today is Tuesday, you won't have the next chapter up on Friday, but rather I will extract one day out of the week until I get to Friday. So next update will be on Monday, then Sunday, and so on.

Now give me feedback because I'm dying here.