Chapter Text
Kaz’s questions about Haskell and his pawn shop and the guys in the back became far less important the next morning as Da got them started on making an office in the basement. It was a large room, extending the full width of the house. There were no windows so they plugged in a couple standalone floor lamps, placed board planks on cinder blocks extending across the long wall, and pushed three chairs in at expanses of board that became desk space. Kaz was at the far end against the wall and was having a good time creating his own office space. He took an old glass jar and placed pens and pencils in it. He set in the upper left corner a decorative wooden box with a lid to hold special objects. Kaz and Jordie ran upstairs and down gathering their books, notebooks, paper, and favorite things. Their Da pulled out a number of items from the storage room in the barn, things he said he had been collecting whenever he had business in Lij. So they fixed a glossy white board to one wall, set up bookshelves for text books on homeschooling, computer coding for kids, tips for young game designers, etc. And another plank board table to hold what their Da called the ‘peripherals.’
Kaz loved that day so much his body and mind had buzzed with energy. He sat in his new place, in front of the bright light of his laptop and looked down the planks to the right. Instead of sitting for lessons at the kitchen table and moving everything to and from so the table could be repurposed, they now had a place for their things to sit undisturbed. Kaz felt cozy in this dark space. It reminded him of those moments before he fell asleep each night, with each person floating separately in their own minds, in their own beds, but together under one roof.
For lunch they all took their sandwiches and water down to their desks and ate while their Da told them more of what they would be doing now that they had added computers to their studies.
First, their Da was clearly happy with all of the interrelated things the boys were learning in putting in a home and property security system. Those first few weeks of winter were spent connecting all of the outdoor cameras and infrared sensors to the new intranet they had configured and hooking it all up to a wall-mounted wide screen above their Da’s desk space. When they finally got it working, the big screen divided into numerous little picture windows that showed the area of the property seen by each camera and sensor. It was comforting to bring the outdoors into their enclosed bunker. Whenever their eyes began wandering away from their homework, the boys would see moving pictures of trees bending from the wind, a rabbit cautiously making its way unseen from its burrow, a herd of deer drifting by, or a fox sniffing after the rabbit trails.
Second, although they were too far out from Ketterdam to get access for internet connection (which their Da said was fine as they should enjoy their boyhoods away from the madness of the rest of the world), he compromised and began subscriptions to two newspapers, the Lij Register and the Ketterdam Times to be sent to his PO Box in Lij. He picked the papers up with the rest of the mail once a week and the boys delved into them the minute they arrived. They read the papers by themselves, read whatever interested them, and came to him after with written questions. It was amazing how many questions could be generated in young minds from reading stories and adverts from a tiny town where they actually knew some of the names of those in the stories and pictures; and then the questions and assumptions they had reading about people they didn’t know from a much larger city.
Da fielded questions about government, politics, social work, society events, charity events, crime, business, the stock exchange, sports teams, and advertising. This approach gifted him with informal lesson plans directed by his sons’ own interests and disinterests. Some things were surprisingly hard to explain like why anyone would read a horoscope to know what was going to happen to them in a day (Kaz laughed himself silly with this). Once Jordie commented on how sad it was that they couldn’t live in a city and that other kids (read ‘girls’) would think Jordie’s life was very dull in comparison. Da assured Jordan that in only a handful of years Jordie could decide where he wanted to live, even if it were in Ketterdam or Lij, and could decide what he wanted to do. Maybe go to a formal school, maybe apprentice with a journeyman for a skill set.
Kaz, not yet in his teens, was unconcerned about where he would live so many years into the future, and focused freely on scholastics. He drew a map of Lij and in small block letters in pencil began noting the names and events from the newspaper on it. This grew cumbersome after a while and Kaz used his lessons in coding and graphical user interfaces to create a simple program that allowed him to build maps. It was as Kaz attempted to build a map of Ketterdam that he remembered one of his questions about their one time visit to the city.
“Da, how did you know the exact way to Haskell’s Pawn Shop in Ketterdam? Do you know other streets and canals and districts they talk about in the paper, to help me build a map?”
Da rubbed his hand over his chin and looked away for a moment. Then he looked at Kaz and said, “Well of course I’ve been to Ketterdam before! Your Ma and I both visited actually. Haskells…it’s pretty well-known for selling certain types of things for lots less than full price. I can help you block out general areas of Ketterdam if that’s what you’re after.”
“Yes, I would like that. But Da, what were those men doing in the back room behind the curtain?”
“Son, it’s simple. People always want more money, but they don’t want to have to work for it. They want to feel the uplift of winning some easily, so they bet their five kruge that something will happen. Other people bet their five kruge that the same thing won’t happen. Then there is the middle man, the one who collects everyone’s five kruge and holds it until the outcome is announced. Those were the men in that back room. They were watching a baseball game, holding many people’s money. When everyone saw the outcome, the winners were given their payouts, their own five kruge plus however much extra the middle man had set for the winners. The losers are out their five kruge and the middle men use that money to pay the winners.”
Kaz was intrigued by the scheming of it. He pulled a notebook to him, flipped to a blank page and began writing out examples of betting strategy (although he did not realize that was what he was doing). His Da did though, and spent the next hour mining his memory for everything he knew about lotteries and bookies; also, he was very grateful Kaz did not know about online search engines. Kaz was brilliant, but he followed his own internal logic when it came to morals. He wasn’t sure if he should begin a lesson series on ethics and morals, since they didn’t go to church for such things, or let it ride until Kaz was older.
As Kaz’s de facto teacher, he knew Kaz was a genius. He congratulated himself on setting his youngest son on the path of modern electronics and systems and mathematics. He knew from his previous career that Kaz had the potential to be a much sought after asset. When and if the time came, if Kaz wanted it, he could become legendary on a big scale. Or he reminded himself, Kaz could choose to be a flower bulb farmer and run an online commercial presence, establish a database seed catalogue, run a laboratory for unique cultivations, and live a normal life. He worked hard for his boys to have options that would not include needing aliases and hiding from enemies.
But he also made sure his boys understood that they had real life experience that most city kids didn’t have. They knew how to protect themselves and their property; they knew how to protect their livestock from predators, how to take care of dead animal carcasses, how to spread lime and timelines of decomposition, and how to live with scavengers. They knew how the animals treated mating and sex, pregnant females and difficult births. They knew the short lifespan of animals, they saw mothers reject those with defects or illness, and they knew death. They saw animals bond with other animals. They knew how to fight, how to shoot, and how to work hard. They weren’t soft. He was proud of them.
These were significant differences from the other kids in Lij and as Jordie’s voice changed and his legs got longer, and as his strength of form and character became apparent, the more attention he got each time they visited the town. Kaz watched as Jordie fell into conversations with friends at the general store, the regional farm coop office, and in more hushed tones, the library. The library conversations were the most interesting to Kaz as the older kids relaxed without their parents hovering nearby. They didn’t seem to count Kaz who was usually lurking at a nearby table, or sat on the floor, back propped against the wall, with his nose in a book.
The library in Lij was a very small building along the main road with a big picture window and a small door, and operated by Mr. Nellis. It was his retirement project and although he began with his own money, the town had enjoyed it so much that the council began setting aside a budget for it. The library mostly offered a range of modern and classic books for children and young adults educational books as a resource for home-schooling families, popular novels for adults with limited time and access to other entertainment, and a small collection of non-fiction books on the subjects of nature, vehicle and home appliance maintenance, and computers.
Lately, Kaz noticed that when he and Jordie returned their books, Jordie would slip a brown paper wrapped one out of his jacket and hand it over to Mr. Nellis and that when they checked out, Mr. Nellis would add a brown paper wrapped book to Jordie’s pile. After some sneaking around, since Jordie had told him to mind his own business when he had asked about it, Kaz discovered to his great disgust that Jordie and Amber were reading the same romance books and passing notes to each other within them. Kaz’s eyes could only roll so hard, he thought, as Mr. Nellis distracted him with a new book titled Compendium of Magic for Young Magicians.
But if asked, each would say that their very favorite time for reading was when their Da read from his favorite paramilitary thriller series and indirectly revealed his specialized knowledge of lock picking, the quietest methods of breaking and entering, boosting of cars, canvassing of a room, how to get out of handcuffs and zip ties, how to hold a hostage, how to work on the mind of someone holding you hostage, and how to infiltrate various security systems. The stories themselves were exciting and fun, but their Da’s experience inspired a solid hero worship from both boys.
And thus did the two years following the purchase of computers from Haskells’ expand and solidify their world. The steady rhythm of their days created an idyllic serenity filled with the joy of following, without censure, the interests of their hearts and minds. On the part of their Da, there was the contentment of working the family farm, defending his home, and building his boys into men; for Jordie there was the pride of working side-by-side with his Da, the tenderness of learning his Amber’s heart, and the joy of teasing his younger, more serious brother; for Kaz there was the loyalty of his mother’s crows, the glee of winning all of the strategy games, the drama of his magician shows; and lots of humor in all of their endeavors. They didn’t say the words often, but a strong love was shared between them.
Their next challenge came in mid-January, at the celebration of Kaz’s eleventh birthday.
After they had finished with settling the animals for the night, they gathered in the kitchen to celebrate his birthday with a meal of roasted chicken and herbs, baked sweet potatoes with butter and brown sugar, and a small chocolate cake Jordie had wanted to make for Kaz. It was a box cake, with store bought frosting that Jordie had decorated with a flotilla of peanut butter chocolate cups on top. Jordie led them in a loud and wailing version of the Happy Birthday song that had them all falling around laughing until they gasped for air.
Their Da said they wouldn’t be able to sleep after all of that! But he didn’t limit them in how much they ate of it or how much cocoa they drank. Lying in bed later, eyes wide and a smile on his mouth, Kaz pronounced it the best day ever. His eyes fell closed as his Da shut his bedroom door.
The next morning as Kaz and Jordie put on their snow boots, zipped up their coats, and flung open the back kitchen door to walk out to the barn, they found a strange metal object on the wooden stair well. It looked like a huge four-legged bug and had a flat plastic bag taped to the top. Kaz went to grab it but Jordie flung out his arm and barred him from moving forward.
“Stop! We need Da to see this just as it is.” Kaz nodded and ran upstairs yelling for Da.
Their father came quickly as he too had been about to leave for the barn. When he saw the object, Kaz saw a dark frown deform his Da’s face. He looked to the snowy path, the yard, the tree line and all they saw was normal and silent. Da grabbed the object and brought it into the table.
“What is it?” asked Jordie.
“A drone!” said Da. “It flies and is directed by a handheld console. Someone could stand out on the main road and fly this in and land it.”
He tore off the tape and plastic and opened the pouch to find a single piece of paper. All eyes were on the paper, reading it together:
“Compromised. Your name on Rollins desk. Move fast – The Broker”
Their Da stared at the paper. Then the paper crumpled in his hand, he bent over the table and slammed his fist down, making the drone jump and skitter. He yelled NO very loudly.
The boys were scared and they didn’t make a sound. He looked at them and barked: “Go take care of the animals.” They ran. They got through their chores panting white puffs of anxiety as they went. They came back together to find their Da still at the kitchen table, talking to himself over a steaming mug of coffee.
Jordie got himself a mug and Kaz got some for the first time too. Jordie raised his eyebrows, looking from the mug to Kaz.
Kaz whispered, “I am eleven now! I can have coffee!”
They sat at the table and waited on their Da to speak.
Kaz decided it was time for some of his questions. He said, “Look, Da, I know about the visitor who surprised you one night in our living room. Is this thing from the same person?”
Jordie turned and glared at Kaz. “What? When? Why didn’t you say anything?”
Kaz just shook his head and looked at Da. “It was after his visit that we got the gadget box and set up the cameras and sensors. It was after that we got the laptops and began computer monitoring. Who is looking for you? Why are they looking for you? What will they do Da, when they find you?”
Their Da dropped his chin to his chest and breathed deeply. He raised his head and looked at them both. “You may want to know things, but to tell you anything is to make you valuable to my enemies. What we really need is to decide what to do with this warning. Here are the basic facts: I have enemies from my work before I became a farmer. This Rollins, while no real threat 15 years ago, looks to be one of them seeking revenge. But I also have friends from that time and one of them, known as The Broker, found me and visited here, warning about security. Today’s use of a drone shows that we did a very good job of securing the property, since he chose not to make it in on foot like last time.”
“We have guns. We have traps. We have bolt holes. Rather than just give up and leave the farm, and all the animals for an unknown length of time, I’m thinking we could ride this out. The Broker is still in the game, a government guy in his day job, and I think he might be overstating this to be on the safe side, but…I could take you both in to town and ask around for someone for you to stay with for a while.”
Jordie and Kaz quickly shouted “No way! We stay together Da! We know how to shoot and we are not leaving you!”
Their Da seemed pleased. “Well that was easily decided No surprise really as this family has a long history of protecting what is ours.”
The boys nodded solemnly. And the Rietveld men prepared for the grim possibility of deadly force.
Just like he did that day in Haskell’s shop, their Da became a different person after the drone and note. He wore a pistol in his underarm holster at all times. He moved and propped loaded shotguns and rifles to whatever room they were in. He began giving orders in a terse unemotional voice. The boys saw his face and the barely restrained rage beneath his skin and became the best soldiers they could be.
He made pot after pot of coffee. He laid out the old plat map of the property and made adjustments according to the passage of time and all that he had done to the property over the years.
Jordie and Kaz would have told anyone asking that their Da was a quiet man, not given to speaking just to hear his own voice. But he now muttered out loud, the words a narrative to every decision and action he took. He wasn’t so much telling Jordie and Kaz things they should know, as reviewing everything he was thinking by saying it out loud. Kaz listened and remembered.
They needed to down trees to fall across the road leading to the house (they could cut them up later for firewood). The boys needed to put on their snow boots and run around the yard and in and out of the woods and fields, making multiple cross paths everywhere, to hide any tracks they might make in escaping the house, should that need to happen.
Then they made a concealed exit from the house to the woods by digging a trench from the main floor bedroom window on the west side. It was the least visible window of the house, facing away from the main drive and facing away from the cleared backyard and entry to the barn buildings. They banked the snow to the ledge of the window and dug a small trench through the snow from the window to the tree line, and placed white tarps over top. Then they had lightly spread snow over top of the tarps. Should anything happen while they were in the house, this was their concealed exit point. This was where they would group before splitting up and taking separate routes to individual hiding places in the woods. When the danger had passed, their Da would signal for them to meet again. Two blasts of the whistle for back at the house, one long for break cover and run to the nearest neighbors.
Next Da inspected their Go bags and every item within: protein bars, water bottles, electrolyte packets to add to water, water purification tablets, a knife and holster, a lighter, first aid kit, mylar blanket, extra set of clothes, two sets of wool socks, a knit hat, gloves, binoculars, single tube night vision, 30ft small nylon weave rope, toiletries. Then Da dropped plastic zip pouches next to them. They opened them to find picture IDs, birth certificates, health vaccination records, and a small stack of money totaling $500. They recognized the pictures as the ones their Da always took at each of their birthdays, standing in front of the front door. Each one recording the changes to their faces and bodies, as well as their height relative to the door frame.
“Da, my papers say I am Kassten Wilhelm Rietveld.”
“And mine say I am Jordan Frederic Rietveld!”
“You know how predators track our livestock by scent? Humans in the world beyond our farm track each other by names and records. These are just in case we need them, and I can make other sets if need be.”
Kaz asked, “Did you just make these names up or are some of them real?”
“Real?” echoed their Da, softly laughing. “They are real when we make them so.” Then, he looked to the side as though listening to another voice, and relented. “Your Ma named you both. Jordan carries the family name of Frederic, and Kassten carries her family name of Wilhelm. Rietveld is your real last name. Huben was her maiden name and that is all you need to know about names right now. I just want you prepared for anything. Jordie, I want a word with you; Kaz set your Go bag next to the exit window.”
“Yes sir.”
When Kaz’s footsteps receded down the hall, Da said,
“If anything happens to me and you are in a situation with authorities at a hospital or the police, you should know that there may be trouble with Kaz’s records. Your birth is registered with the authorities, but in all that followed the death of your Ma, I failed to get his registered. This is just for you to know, not to volunteer to others. Without a way to verify, most will take the easy path and accept his documents.”
Jordan stood tall and nodded solemnly as he accepted this baton of adult responsibility for his younger brother. He would fulfill his father’s trust.