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“Not legal, clean cash” answered Gina. “Besides, you were right with what you said earlier this evening. I lied a bit with my brother here. I’ve held back on everything because he and mother have been my weakness since dad died. Now there is you and the kids to consider as well. You are correct in thinking that if there was no paper trail or witness to our relationship I would launch. I would sink a billion dollars into the pleasant dream company hosting it on so many servers around the world it couldn’t possibly be shut down completely. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead, put the lawyers on the firing line so they could be the first ones slaughtered. I would park my ass in a country without U.S. extradition treaty and hire a small group of mercenaries to protect me. Eventually the money and public opinion would win the day, even if I never did any of the other stuff.”
“Why don’t you then?” asked Janet.
“I just said why!” spat Gina.
“You protect the business. I protect the family. Find your place in the Midwest. Get things started. I’ll take care of the family” stated Janet flatly and calmly.
“You have no idea what will come “
“I have a pretty good idea. A very good idea actually” stated Janet in her mother scolding the children tone. “You called me sister for the first time tonight but you know nothing about me. My past. My family. Any friends I may have. I keep it in the distance for sure, but you could have inquired, not that you would have learned much. You call me matriarch but view it as more a title than reality. I was groomed for this sister. When you get ready to hire mercenary body guards come to me. My family can get you good, trust-able ones.”
“What . . . how . . . where did that come from?” Gina accidentally stated aloud.
“I have an uncle that’s a general. Another relative runs a private military company. He was once part of Executive Outcomes, the PMC which decided civil wars in Africa. Military families, no, wait, that is not fair. Military officer families where the member started as an officer and moved up with a long history of family members serving the country get raised with a devout sense of family. We didn’t always deploy base to base like other families. In truth we rarely did. As relatives climbed in the ranks we dealt with more security though. That whole drunken bikini whoring on the yacht phase I went through was my belated teenage rebellion. I’m older than you Gina. Did Bobby tell you that? Doesn’t matter. Well, it only matters if we want more than four kids. I’m fully prepared for what’s coming. Stash a war chest in an account which cannot be tied to us but can be accessed by us and used to fund lawyers. Otherwise I’ve got the ground game covered.”
“Oh, if you get ready to build or design a data center, tell me. I will put you in touch with a cousin who has been doing it for a living this past decade. I have another relative who is an architect. Her firm designs high end apartment and condo complexes. They are in pretty high demand, but I can get you to the front of the list, especially if you just want some options on one of their base patterns.”
Gina sat there stunned. Gobsmacked didn’t begin to describe it. Janet waited until Gina looked completely numb.
“Did you wonder why I’ve been pushing these little talks outside instead of the kitchen or dining room?” asked Janet. She let that question hang there for effect before continuing. “I grew up in a house under perpetual surveillance. Old habits die hard. God’s truth, I don’t know if this one is and I have no intention of looking. Most of my apartments were. That was another reason to climb onto a different yacht each night. If this place is, my family did it. On the plus side, at the first sign of trouble I won’t even have to call for help. Launch your company Gina. Do what you need to do. Leave protecting the family to me” Janet finished as she got up to go inside.
Gina got another bottle and finished it outside before going to bed.
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