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Home / Urban / HERE COMES THE KING / CHAPTER 9 - Fathers and Fury
CHAPTER 9 - Fathers and Fury
Author: Tom Kay
last update2025-09-20 10:06:33

The Anderson family wine cellar had become a stage for fifteen years of buried secrets, with three generations of men facing truths that would reshape everything they thought they knew about justice, betrayal, and family loyalty. James Anderson stood in the emergency lighting like a ghost made flesh, his presence transforming every assumption that had driven the conflict.

Ral stared at his father with emotions that cycled rapidly between joy, rage, and devastating confusion. The man he had mourned, the man whose murder had defined his entire adult life, was standing twenty feet away holding a weapon with steady hands.

"Father." The word came out like a prayer and a curse combined. "Where have you been?"

James Anderson looked older than his sixty years should have warranted, his brown hair now silver and his face lined with the weight of difficult choices. But his green eyes carried the same intelligence that Ral remembered from childhood, now sharpened by years of planning and patienc
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  • CHAPTER 129 - THE DECISION

    Sarah called three days later. Her voice was measured, careful, the tone of someone who'd wrestled with impossible choice and finally reached conclusion."Can you meet me at the food bank tomorrow morning? Before we open. Just you, me, Tom, and Marcus. We need to talk about your future here."Ral arrived at dawn, stomach tight with anticipation. The food bank looked different empty—warehouse space stripped of the energy that came from volunteers serving hundreds of struggling people each week. Just metal shelves and concrete floors and three people who would determine whether his attempt at redemption could continue or ended here.Sarah stood with arms crossed, defensive posture suggesting she hadn't reached easy peace with whatever decision she'd made. Tom leaned against sorting table, expression unreadable. Marcus stood near the door like he might need quick exit."I spent three days thinking," Sarah began without preamble. "Three days reading about what you did, who you killed, why

  • CHAPTER 128 - THE TRUTH COMES OUT

    Six months into his new effort at living, Ral arrived at the food bank for his regular Saturday shift to find Sarah waiting with serious expression and newspaper in her hand."We need to talk," she said quietly, gesturing to small office away from other volunteers.Ral's stomach dropped. He recognized that tone, that look. Someone had found out.Sarah closed the door and placed the newspaper on desk. It was article about former network operative being arrested in Europe, story that mentioned the "coordinated assassination campaign" that had eliminated network leadership fifteen years ago. Mentioned unnamed American operatives who'd served prison time for terrorism-related charges."I googled the details from this article," Sarah said. "Found old court documents that weren't completely sealed. Found your name, Maya's name, everything about what you did. Thirty-four deaths across six continents. Thirteen years in federal prison."Ral said nothing. What could he say? The truth was in fro

  • CHAPTER 127 - TRYING TO LIVE

    Ral woke Monday morning with unfamiliar feeling—something resembling determination instead of just resignation to another day of survival. Meeting David had shifted something. Seeing Maya build real life with someone who accepted her despite everything made Ral realize he was choosing isolation rather than accepting it as inevitable.He could choose differently.At warehouse that morning, coworker named James invited him to join group getting lunch together."Thanks, but I usually eat alone," Ral started to decline automatically.Then stopped himself. "Actually, yes. I'll come."James looked surprised. "Really? You've turned us down for two years straight. Thought you hated everyone.""I don't hate anyone," Ral said. "Just got used to being alone. Trying to get unused to it."Lunch was awkward at first. Five coworkers talking about sports, families, weekend plans—normal conversation Ral hadn't participated in for years. He mostly listened, occasionally adding comment that felt clumsy

  • CHAPTER 126 - DAVID NEETS RAL

    Maya called on Thursday evening, voice tense with request Ral had been expecting since she'd told David about her past."David wants to meet you," she said. "He's processed everything I told him about the campaign, the deaths, the prison time. Now he wants to meet the person who coordinated it all. Wants to understand who I am by understanding who you are.""When?" Ral asked."This Saturday. Lunch in Baltimore. Neutral location. I'll be there too obviously. He's not trying to confront you—he genuinely wants to understand.""Understand what? That I coordinated thirty-four deaths protecting my daughter? That I'm monster who destroyed dozens of lives including my own? What's there to understand?""That we're humans who made terrible choices in terrible circumstances," Maya replied. "That we're not purely evil people, just damaged people who did evil things. He wants to see that complexity instead of reducing us to crimes we committed."Saturday arrived cold and gray. They met at diner ne

  • CHAPTER 125 - TWO YEARS FREE

    Two years after release, Ral had settled into routine that resembled life if you didn't look too closely. Wake at five, warehouse shift by six, home by three, evening alone in apartment reading or watching TV. Weekly dinners with Maya. Monthly meetings with parole officer. Simple existence designed to avoid attention and minimize chances of violating parole conditions."We need to talk about something," Maya said during their weekly dinner. She looked nervous, which was unusual. Maya had faced down federal prosecutors and prison violence without showing fear."What's wrong?" Ral asked."Nothing's wrong exactly. I met someone. His name is David. He's a teacher. We've been seeing each other for three months."Ral absorbed this information slowly. Maya having relationship meant she was building life beyond their shared history. Meant she was moving forward while he remained stuck."That's good," he said, meaning it despite complicated feelings. "You deserve happiness after everything.""

  • CHAPTER 124 - SIX MONTHS LATER

    Ral's parole officer approved independent living after six months of perfect compliance at the halfway house. He found a small apartment in Baltimore's working-class neighborhood—one bedroom, kitchen barely big enough to turn around in, bathroom with pipes that rattled. But it was his, first space he'd controlled since surrender thirteen years ago.Maya had gotten similar approval in DC. They met for dinner at cheap restaurant halfway between their cities, no longer needing supervision for visits now that they'd both proven they could follow parole rules."This is weird," Maya said, sitting across from him in booth with cracked vinyl seats. "Eating dinner in public like normal people. No guards watching, no time limits, no rules about what we can discuss.""We're not normal people," Ral replied. "We're parolees who coordinated thirty-four deaths. Normal people don't carry that history.""I got a job," Maya announced, changing subject. "Nonprofit helping ex-convicts find employment. Us

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