"Do you think they like me?" Nef asked, as she rolled on top of him in their bed.
Jay regarded her serious face, seriously.
"It's hard to say really." He teased. "Of course they do. I told you before."
She made a disgruntled face at him.
"Yes, but they might have been being polite. Or I might have done something to change their opinion."
He chuckled, giving her a little kiss.
"What could you have do...? Oh shit. What have you done Nef? What crazy stunt have you pulled this time?"
"Nothing, I swear. Don't you trust me?"
"That's a loaded question and you know it. There are some areas where you have my complete trust. Others not so much." Jay rolled her off him, into an embrace. "They absolutely frigging adore you. Almost as much as I do."
"Cool. Now all I have to do is get into Jacob's good books."
"That'll be easy. He's got a thing for older women as beautiful as you are. He's six years old though so I don't want you taking him parasailing or skydiving."
They were now both up on their elbows gazing into each others eyes.
"He's seven actually. At least that's what Sophie said. She could be another deceptive, evil woman, like me."
Her eyes flashed with mock indignation.
"I didn't say you were deceptive. Evil? Yes. Deceptive? Also a yes, but I didn't say it."
"Is it safe to come in?" Sophie hollered from outside.
"Just a second." Nef responded giggling. "I just need to unlock his handcuffs and remove the ball gag."
"Can I borrow them? Only sometimes he won't shut up." His big sister riposted.
"I can hear all of this you know." He called.
"So she's removed the ball gag. What about the cuffs?"
"Just come in. It's not like you haven't seen me naked before."
Sophie's head appeared around the door as it eased open.
"Shame. I was hoping to see a bit of action. I only heard it last night."
"Your bedroom's on the other side of the cabin." Jay exclaimed in disbelief.
"I've got good hearing, what can I say."
"Sorry, I can get a bit vocal. I'll try to keep it down next time." Leilani leaped out of bed.
"No sweat. You can be as loud as you like, the kids rooms are pretty much soundproof."
He was engaged. What should it feel like? Happy? Relieved? Right now he felt confused and nervous. Not about his naked fiance, who was parading around the room. Not all engagements were like the one he'd had with Kelly. Most led to a marriage. This would be a royal marriage. Although they'd have to keep it pretty private, due to the politics involved, there'd be customs and protocols to follow. He might even have to ask King Palau for permission to marry his daughter. Where was Holly when he needed her? She'd know all this stuff. She'd been a fount of wisdom for him since this whole ridiculously complicated thing started. He'd barely scratched the surface of the whole deal. It involved a lot of media crap. There was the diplomacy crap as well. They'd been a couple for nearly 6 months now, and he was still barely keeping his head above water.
Nef's part was far harder to. She wasn't coasting through it, but handled things far better than he did. Mind you, that could be because she got to order him about. Treat him as a member of staff. More accurately, treat him like people thought a lowly member of staff should be treated. Back on Tuvah it was a lot more relaxed. A situation like this had to be rare, if not unique. They could get married, but no one must know. It was to protect him from the attention of the vultures who circled the beautiful Polynesian Princess, with a checkered past. Most of which was still hidden. It would remain so thanks to the work of Marie, Miles and Lev. No kiss and tell stories would surface, if those concerned knew what was good for them.
Miles and Lev had sliced and diced their way through a lot of former people. Who were now stains on brickwork and smouldering furniture. Those that hadn't been fed to wild animals, at least. They'd cut off the head of the snake that had haunted the royal family for years. Marie was still tracking down the few fugitives that remained. The two special forces soldiers had been graphically brutal. Allegedly. Marie, for one, was delighted with their handiwork, which she'd shared with those who might be tempted to try to harm the two princesses.
This was only the beginning. Tianni was 9 years old. It would be another 9 before she turned 18 and Leilani could introduce her to the world of international diplomacy. Rubbing shoulders with the wealthy and powerful could wait until then. While he felt proud of both of them, he was still well out of his depth. As he had been when he eventually spoke to the CIA, FBI and HLS, regarding those super efficient chips Dale had designed. That no one else could comprehend.
The main problem, there were several, being that over time the processors became slower and slower. They were still three or four times faster than anything else on the market. The Kreuz Corporation had spent millions trying to work out what was going on. They'd failed. The schematics and technical details they'd stolen through Sophie, were incomplete. That's why they'd gone after Jay all those years ago. When they couldn't find him, they'd had to deal with the fallout. Some very lucrative contracts were in the balance. Both with the military and their civilian customers. The only partial solution they'd come up with was to use the processors in parallel. Then, when the Department of Defense discovered the chips were storing and transmitting data to each other, they'd come down hard. As far as they could tell nothing sensitive was being sent to foreign powers. Many of whom were also using the chips.
It was this that saved Kreuz from being torn to pieces with multiple criminal charges and accusations of treason. They passed over all the technical information they had, along with the patents, to the government. They still manufactured the chips under license. Their profits had been badly affected though. Firstly by having to use more of the product to produce the same results and secondly losing all the licensing income. No one could fathom what Dale had done. They'd come to the conclusion they were missing vital information. The Kreuz Corporation gladly ratted Jay out. Though, because of his history, the Feds were pretty confident he wasn't capable of designing a Lego fire engine. What they really needed was Dale's initial work and notes.
Luckily for them, and Jay for that matter, he was able to help them. That encryption they'd need a town sized quantum computer to crack, had a key. The one Dale had given him, in a sense. The Book of Genesis from a specific edition of the King James Bible. All of it, word for word. 38,262, they told him later. After they'd checked of course. Even with the encryption key there were weeks or possibly months of decoding to do. Dale was indeed a fricking genius. His work decades ahead of anyone else on the planet. The fact he'd done this from his basement made his achievements even more outstanding. Jay suggested his friend was due some posthumous recognition for the work. The only awards it had won had been gifted to the Kreuz corporation after they'd stolen the designs.
The extended, and re-extended, family were all together at last. Jacob welcoming Tianni with a well practised bow. Miss Boyle must have given him lessons. Aside from the online ones she always made sure to produce. It was time for a trip, he was told. Jay could take the older kids, Jacob and Tianni, for an overnight camping expedition. They were up to something. They wanted him out of the way while they did it. Jay didn't need any special powers to know this for certain. Disturbingly for him, Leilani was in on it. She might even be the ringleader. If that was the case he needed to be very scared. There would be a lot of cardiac events in his immediate future. Acquiescing was all he could do. No lone man could oppose this many women. Two of whom were pregnant.
Their small party headed over to the other side of the lake. It was close by, but out of sight of the cabin. Common sense told him he should ignore their instructions. Camp close by, and spy on them. Tianni or Jacob would give him away though. It was like one of those role playing video games. The ones where the player is aware that their current quest is a trap or a double cross. One that you had to fall into, in order to get any further in the narrative. Once they were at the campsite his worries fell away, for the most part. Being with the kids was therapeutic. Adult things had kept them apart far too long. Once they'd pitched the tents he soon got into enjoying their company. Children were so much simpler than adults to deal with. At least that's what he'd found.
When they returned the following day, there was a big black SUV parked in what passed for their drive. The type of vehicle favored by federal agents. It had Washington DC plates. The ladies were out on the deck enjoying themselves. As far as he could tell. Sometimes it was difficult working out if women were happy. They all looked up at him, after welcoming the children home. The four of them had that look ladies have, when they know something you don't.
"So what have you been up to while we were gone?" Jay inquired, trying hard not to sound suspicious.
"We've been arranging your wedding." Liz smiled.
There was something about the way she said this, that set off alarm bells. Why? It was a good thing wasn't it?
"Am I invited?" He asked his future wife with a weary smile.
"I expect we could fit you in. Even at this short notice. Let me check. First things first though, will you be free on the 16th?"
He was going along with this. He had no choice.
"That depends. Which month?"
Leilani stood up, draping herself from his shoulders. Rubbing her nose against his with a giggle.
"This month."
Here was the cardiac event he'd predicted.
"That's ten days away. Aren't there things I have to do? Apart from showing up. Holly? You'll know this. Aren't I supposed to ask King Palau for her hand in marriage or something like that?"
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, as he heard the deep masculine voice behind him.
"Ask away. I'm all ears." Palau replied.