Autumn (Four Seasons Book 1)

by Robert Sullivan

  Rebecca found the suite and walked in. The receptionist noticed her and said, “Can I help you?”

  “I’m here for an appointment with Dr. McCormick,” Rebecca said.

  “Are you Rebecca Daniels?” the receptionist asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Okay, since this is your first time, we need to you fill out some paperwork before you can go back,” the receptionist replied, handing her a clipboard with several papers on it.

  Rebecca went to sit down in the waiting room and filled out the paperwork. After some time had passed, a woman appeared in the doorway and said, “Rebecca?”

  Rebecca got up and said, “That’s me.”

  The woman extended her hand and said, “I’m Dr. McCormick. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Rebecca nodded and shook her hand. She followed the doctor down the hallway into a room with a couch to and two chairs. “Do you prefer the chair or the couch?” Dr. McCormick asked.

  “The chair,” Rebecca said, sitting down in it.

  Dr. McCormick sat down in the other chair and asked, “Did your parents set up this meeting for you?”

  “No, they didn’t know that I did this,” Rebecca replied. “I called on my own because I didn’t want to admit to anyone that I felt bad enough to get therapy.”

  Dr. McCormick looked on with interest and asked, “So why did you set this up then?”

  “A…friend…of mine said I should,” Rebecca said, clenching her teeth in fury at the thought of Spencer. “He said that I was too angry and that it was clouding my judgement.”

  “Why are you angry then?” Dr. McCormick asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rebecca replied caustically.

  “Did something happen to you recently that caused you to become angry?” the therapist asked.

  “What makes you think that I wasn’t always like this?” Rebecca demanded. She was not ready to admit that it was Anne’s death that was making her so angry to the therapist.

  “People who have lifelong anger issues would have had it addressed before they were almost an adult,” Dr. McCormick said calmly. “I’ve done some work with children in that regard.”

  “Good for them,” Rebecca said.

  “Do you have issues at home?” Dr. McCormick said.

  “Not really,” Rebecca replied. “My family is decent. I don’t really do anything with them.”

  “Why is that?”

  Rebecca shrugged. “I haven’t really been with them that long. I used to live in Topeka, but then I ran away to live here and got adopted.”

  “Okay, let’s explore your life in Topeka then,” the therapist replied. “What was it like there?”

  Rebecca paused. Since she had left the capital city some eight months prior, she had not given a second thought about it. There was nothing salvageable for her back in the city after all. “Well, I was always an orphan there,” she started slowly.

  “Who did you live with?”

  “My aunt,” Rebecca replied. “But she wasn’t any good to me as a parent. She was a heavy drug addict. I learned to take care of myself, by myself.”

  “You didn’t have anyone else there in the city?”

  “I did,” Rebecca replied indignantly. “I had my best friend, Anne. She was like the sister I never had.”

  “Was?” Dr. McCormick prompted.

  “Yes, she was,” Rebecca said, not taking the hint.

  “Where is Anne now?”

  Rebecca’s throat choked up. She was close to having to talk about Anne, something she had spent most of the last three months deliberating avoiding. “She came to Kansas City with me and was adopted by the same family as me.”

  “So she is with your family now?”

  “No,” Rebecca continued. “She died.”

  “What happened?” the therapist asked.

  “She was killed in the tornado,” Rebecca said, trying to stop the burning sensation she was feeling in her eyes.

  Dr. McCormick looked at her in an appraising way. Suddenly the pent-up fury that had been building for months suddenly burst forth as Rebecca started speaking all at once. “She went off to fight someone else’s fight and got killed. She was the closest thing to family that I ever had and she got herself killed!”

  The therapist said nothing as Rebecca continued. “Anne wasn’t supposed to leave! We had always talked about being friends for the rest of our lives, even when we got married and started our own families! We would always be sisters to each other and nothing would get between us! And then she got herself killed, leaving me alone with a family that doesn’t understand me and neither does Spencer who only cares about fighting!”

  The tears were flowing quickly now as Rebecca continued. “I haven’t known what to do with myself since she died! I’ve never been so unsure about anything like I am now! I can’t sleep, I can’t do anything except to feel like shit! I feel ashamed for feeling this way because I’ve never felt like this before, so lost and so alone! I just don’t know what to do!”

  “Did you love her in a romantic way?” Dr. McCormick asked.

  Rebecca shook her head. “She was like my sister, but I never thought of her as a lover. When I haven’t been scraping by just to survive, the only kind of people I was attracted to were men.”

  “Like this Spencer?”

  Rebecca glowered, but nodded slightly. “Before he cut me loose.”

  Dr. McCormick raised her eyebrows, allowing Rebecca to continue. “He’s the leader of the Conspiracy here in the city and is trying to fight the Black Hand. I used to be involved as his assistant until he decided I was too damaged to be a part of the fight and told me to go get therapy.”

  The therapist nodded. “I think I understand what is going on,”

  “What?” Rebecca said.

  “Anne was the only person you had for your entire life that you considered to be your family member. Her loss affected you heavily because of this, as you didn’t have anyone to turn to after it happened.”

  “I know this,” Rebecca said grumpily.

  “Let me continue, please,” Dr. McCormick interrupted. “There was one person you had started to allow yourself to open up to, but he cut you off which only compounded this feeling of loneliness. Now on top of your loss, you feel betrayed because the only other person in your life you considered opening up to cut you off.”

  Rebecca remained silent as Dr. McCormick continued. “I believe that you need to work on establishing a new relationship in your life to fill the role that Anne used to. I’m not saying that to be mean to Anne, but she did play that role in your life and I’m sure you reciprocated it to her.”

  “I didn’t get a chance to ask her about it,” Rebecca said grumpily.

  “That’s because you didn’t realize that you played that role for each other until you lost her,” the therapist continued.

  “Are you saying I took her for granted?” Rebecca said hostilely.

  “No,” Dr. McCormick replied firmly.

  “Then what are you saying?” Rebecca demanded.

  “People build close relationships, usually several in their lives that they interact with. You only had the one your whole life because of the situation you grew up in and now you’ve lost that relationship. I want you to work on starting to build more relationships in your life, probably in your family. I wouldn’t rule out this Spencer though if you want.”

  Rebecca glared at her and said, “And if I don’t?”

  “Then I want you to keep coming back here so you do have someone to talk to,” Dr. McCormick said. “These feeling are not healthy and could lead to something bad happening to you.”

  “Like what?” Rebecca said.

  “Have you had any suicidal thoughts since Anne died?” Dr. McCormick asked.

  “No,” Rebecca lied.

  “Well, in case you do, I’m recommending that you keep coming in to the office so we can continue to work on these feelings and get them resolved,” Dr. McCormick said.

&
nbsp; Rebecca sighed. “Fine, when do I have to come back in?”

  “I think every week for now will be good,” the therapist replied. “As things change, we can make it every two weeks.”

  “How long do I have to do this?” Rebecca demanded.

  “As long as necessary,” Dr. McCormick replied simply.

  Later that day, Rebecca was back in her room, staring at the ceiling. Having broken down in the therapist’s office had relieved some of her frustration, so she was not stirring with fury as she had been for much of the several past months. She did not feel like getting up to anything as of yet, but it was a start.

  Rebecca felt her phone ring and was shocked to see that it was Spencer calling her. Despite the surge of anger that coursed through her on seeing that name, she answered the phone with a tired, “Hello?”

  “Hey Rebecca,” Spencer said. “How have you been lately?”

  Rebecca sighed. “Fine, I guess. Are you going to let me back into the Conspiracy yet?”

  “You just needed some time away from all of this, Bec. It was for the best,” Spencer said cautiously. “Are you feeling better?”

  Rebecca was not about to admit that she had been to see a therapist. Nevertheless, she replied, “I’m a little better.”

  “When you are up for it, you can come back,” Spencer said. “But don’t go asking around for the Conspiracy. The leadership in New York changed the name of the group.”

  “What?” Rebecca said, sitting up suddenly.

  “Apparently, they’re reorganizing the whole organization up there and decided to change the name to the Continental Army,” Spencer explained. “Anyway, I’ve had to change the marketing for the Continentals here as a result. We are attracting a few more people now though because of it.”

  “Just because of a name change?” Rebecca asked incredulously.

  “It’s a very recognizable name. It’s the name of the army that fought the Revolutionary War,” Spencer said. “People are going to be attracted to an organization that has the same name as the army that fought to free this country when it was founded.”

  “So, you’re fighting to free the country from the Black Hand then?” Rebecca asked.

  “That’s the idea,” Spencer said. “Although I think there might be more to this than the Black Hand, but we can’t worry about that right now. Just remember, Rebecca, you’re welcome to come back whenever you feel like you are ready. You already sound better than you had before.”

  Rebecca, without thinking, suddenly burst out with, “Spencer, I want to hang out sometime!”

  There was a pronounced pause before Spencer said, “What?”

  Rebecca knew that she couldn’t go back now. “I want to go out with you sometime. Please.”

  There was another pause on the other side of the line before Spencer said, “I don’t know how soon I could do that, with how busy the Continentals are keeping me. I want to though, so I’ll try to make time for this Rebecca, I really mean it. I’ve got to go now. I’ll be in touch though.”

  Spencer hung up, leaving Rebecca to think about what she had just done. She had not planned to ask Spencer to go out, having been content up to that point to be angry at him for sending her away. At the end of the day, she still had feelings for him that stretched back to before the tornado. Much like she had let her emotions burst in therapy earlier that day, this desire got out as well before she could stop it.

  “What am I getting myself into?” Rebecca asked herself.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The Investigation

  Despite the warmth that stretched across the country for most of July, colder air was beginning to build in the Arctic as the sun had begun to sink over the furthest north. At the outset of August, cooler air suddenly pulsed out of Canada into the Northeast. The air ran into a moist air mass over the Eastern United States and forced the moisture out of the air in the only way it could, with a large amount of rain.

  Jared was watching the heavy rainfall from his apartment. Since the chaos in Philadelphia, the Black Hand was still growing, though at a slower rate since most of the gangs had fallen into line around the country. Jared had had to send representatives from the Black Hand all over the country to reorganize the gangs into something that resembled the Black Hand in New York City. Though they had the same overriding principles, each segment of the Black Hand was run in a local manner so as to best fit the conditions in each given area.

  For his part, Jared had been content to let things play out around the country for the moment. He was not going to try anything big until after the election, whether Liam won or not. He was perfectly content to let the local chapters of the Black Hand raise hell on their own. The low level of activity would be just enough to keep the country in fear of them and to remind them they were still around. He was determined not to make the same mistake that he had made in the wake of the Federal Reserve robberies some months prior.

  Jared’s messenger rang. His brow furrowed as he did not know why the Globalist Master would be contacting him at this point. He looked at the message which simply said, “Keep up the good work. This country will be yours if you keep this up.”

  Jared nodded and put the phone back in his pocket. There was no need to reply to it, as there were not any specific instructions like there usually were. Jared went to sit down in his recliner and turned on his new home theatre system to the news.

  “In international news, Russian forces were pushed back by Allied troops in Poland today, ending the yearlong Russian offensive to invade Central Europe. The Allied forces, led by the United Kingdom held a victory parade in the liberated capital of Warsaw.”

  “Who the fuck cares!” Jared shouted.

  “In the Far East, Chinese forces landed on the main Japanese island of Honshu today, marking a significant step in the Second Sino-Japanese War. With control of the seas and the skies, the Chinese government expects to take complete control of the island nation soon.”

  “Whatever,” Jared growled. “Talk about the Black Hand!”

  The news anchor, as if on cue, said, “Closer to home, there were several attacks late last night in several cities across the nation that have been attributed to the Black Hand. These attacks ranged from robberies, arson, and murders. Witnesses at all of the attacks reported that they attackers were wearing the signature armband of the terrorist group, leading to a positive identification by authorities. No arrests have been made at this time due to lack of information on the individual Black Hand members.”

  “Good,” Jared said. It was a comfort to know that his forces were being careful and not getting caught. They would do a lot more damage to the country from outside of federal prison as opposed to within.

  “We now turn to our roundtable as we discuss the Black Hand threat to our security and whether anything can be done about it,” the anchor said, turning to three other journalists.

  “Good luck with that, assholes,” Jared said, cracking open a bottle of beer.

  “Since the Black Hand abducted Globalist Presidential candidate Liam Hensen, they have seemingly grown all over the nation with little being done to stop them. Is there any way that they can be slowed down?” the anchor asked.

  “It does not appear likely at this time that the Black Hand will be stopped anytime soon,” one of the panelists said. “In the past it seemed that the heightened gang activity was not connected from city to city, but over the past couple of months it seems that most of the gangs in the country went over to the Black Hand following the Hensen abduction.”

  “It’s difficult to say that all of the gangs went over to the Black Hand,” another panelist countered. “For sure, the Black Hand exists in New York, but these groups elsewhere could just be copycat groups looking to piggyback on the Black Hand’s success here in the city.”

  “Well, whether or not they are a part of the real Black Hand, the gang activity has ramped up significantly in the last couple of months and the local authorities are completely overw
helmed by it,” the first panelist shot back. “It’s likely that if this problem is to be solved, it will have to be done on a national scale, either by President Hoch or whoever wins the election this fall.”

  “Are any of the candidates capable of leading a successful campaign against the Black Hand?” the anchor asked.

  “It will likely take a near military lockdown of the entire country to root out the Black Hand,” the third panelist said. “That won’t go over well with most Americans, especially with current frontrunner Conservative candidate Felicia Hall.”

  “Hall does not have a solid strategy against the insurgent Black Hand,” the first panelist started. “Her beliefs won’t allow for the kind of extreme strategy needed to rid the country of this scourge.”

  “Liam Hensen’s plan seems like it could work, in that he has a plan,” the third panelist said. “It’s probably the best-case scenario for the country short of having the Army go through and clear the streets, which would be an awful episode for the country.”

  Jared turned the TV off, content with what he had just heard. It was a comfort to see people on national television talk about how he could not be stopped. As for their belief in Liam’s plan, he knew it was all nonsense, so he did not worry about that. He was rankled by the idea that Felicia Hall was currently leading the race, as he did not know what she might do to try to stop him. As powerful as the Black Hand was, they were no match for the United States Military.

  The rain was refusing to let up. Jared figured it was for the best; he was currently the most wanted man in the country and it would be a risk if he were to try to leave the apartment. His ventures outside had been limited as a result since the beginning of June and he was beginning to feel frustration start to build up. He did not have a plan to leave the apartment at the time though, not unless the Conspiracy tried something.