Available Darkness Season 1

at risk.”
    “I don’t know what else to say, John, I’m sorry a million times over, I swear to God, I am. But I’m not leaving.”
    “Excuse me?” John asked, grinning but finding no humor in Larry’s audacity.
    “I’m not leaving you,” Larry said. “I know I put us at risk, but I’ve been thinking ever since the night I buried you, of a way out. And I’ve got an idea. It’s not a sure bet, but it’s the only thing you have right now. If I leave, Jacob’s men will find you and Abigail. I don’t know what they’ll do, but it won’t end well for either of you. You know it and I know it.”
    That was it.
    If Larry wasn’t gonna leave, John wasn’t going to hold back any longer. He balled his fist and swung hard, hitting Larry square in the jaw, knocking the bastard out cold.
    As Larry’s head hit the floor with a sickening thud, Abigail gasped. John spun around, having forgotten for a moment that she was there.
    John was flush with shame.
    “He’s right,” she said, “we won’t survive without him.”
    “I know,” John said as he bent over to pick Larry up and dragged him to the couch. “I know.”

    * * * *

CHAPTER 3 — Caleb Baldwin

    Caleb stood outside his uncle’s home office, fighting the butterflies in his gut. He was surprised, and a bit ashamed, how quickly he reverted to his youthful nervousness in the presence of the old man.
    Duncan Alderman wasn’t really his uncle, but rather a longtime friend of Caleb’s adopted father, Ed Baldwin.
    The butler, a large, stocky man named Otis who looked more like a merchant marine than a butler, asked Caleb to wait in the hall, where Caleb found himself admiring the bright art popping from the dark red walls.
    Duncan Alderman lived in one of the nicest homes Caleb had ever been in. As a child, Caleb used to get lost in the huge halls and the home’s gigantic library. Caleb’s adopted father, Ed, used to say that Duncan had done “well for himself,” which always seemed like the biggest understatement Caleb had ever heard. He wasn’t sure if it was Ed’s way of lessening his close friend, Duncan’s accomplishments, or if it was part of some modest act which Duncan insisted on. In any event, Duncan was easily the richest, and most powerful, man Caleb had ever known.
    Duncan came from old money — incredibly old money — wrapped up in Alderman Enterprises, a global firm with its hands in everything from clothing to food to weapons. He was also with the agency for a long time before taking a “consulting” position, meaning that even the agency’s director answered to him.
    In many ways, Duncan was more of a father than the workaholic who raised Caleb. Duncan had never had time for family or kids. So he loved having Caleb over as a child, doting on him and providing those things the Baldwins couldn’t.
    While this created tension when Caleb was a teenager, as he tried to play two father figures against one another in an attempt to find himself, the relationship was mostly positive. Duncan helped ensure Caleb’s rise to the top in the FBI, though professional jealousy worked against Caleb as much as it did for him. But that just made Caleb tougher and gave him the edge he needed to handle the bullshit the job threw at him.
    “Caleb!” his uncle’s voice boomed as he emerged from his office and greeted Caleb with a hug, “It’s been ages.”
    “Too long,” Caleb said.
    Duncan led Caleb into his office, gesturing to an oversized chocolate leather chair. Duncan sat across from Caleb in its twin.
    “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Duncan asked.
    Caleb fought the butterflies again, trying to choose his words perfectly so he could properly gauge Duncan’s reaction and see if the man would lie to him.
    “I want to ask about my brother, John.”
    Most people would have missed the split second of narrowed eyes before the mask went snug on Duncan’s face. Caleb didn’t.
    Duncan said, “Excuse me?”
    “I want to know everything you can tell me about John.”
    Duncan smiled, folded his hands in his lap, and said, “Why don’t you tell me what you know ?”
    Caleb wasn’t entirely surprised by his uncle’s caginess. The man had always treated conversation like a fencing match, parrying with words.
    Caleb, not having the energy or desire to go toe to toe in a verbal spar, decided to just throw it all on the table, “Here’s what I know — I’m having flashbacks of a brother I didn’t even know existed. Possibly two