The Project 01 - White Jade

I want you to get her into a home, someplace where people will look out for her. I can ' t do this anymore. George says it ' s time you took a bigger role. "
    Her husband, the accountant. Carter thought he was a pompous ass.
    " And what does George think that is? "
    " You should take some time off from that stupid job of yours and come out here and find a place for her. "
    Shelley th ought Nick was a paper pusher , working for some obscure government department doing meaningless, bureaucratic things she d idn't want to understand. He let her believe what she wanted.
    " What does Mom want? "
    " It doesn ' t matter what she wants. She ' s not competent to decide what she wants. What she needs is for you to step up to the plate. "
    Now she was into sports clichés.
    " I can ' t come to California right now. How about you and George look for a place? "
    That set her off. Carter held the phone away from his bandaged ear while she shouted. He walked to the counter and poured another drink . He thought about telling her where George could put his ideas.
    While his sister was busy yelling he thought about his mother. She was in the early stages of the disease, not far enough gone to forget she had a house or where she lived. Most of the time, she still knew who she was. She also knew she was losing it . I t upset her, a lot. Living in her house was important to her, even if Shelley didn ' t think so. It wasn ' t time to move her out, yet.
    " Shut up for a minute, will you? "
    She stopped mid-yell. He heard a deep silence at the other end.
    " She doesn ' t need to be moved out. Get someone to move in with her, a live in helper. "
    " We thought of that. George says it ' s just putting off the inevitable, why not get it over with? Her house will bring a nice price on the market. It would pay for her care. "
    Now he understood the urgency. Good old George, a solution for everything, with a nice, tidy sum to go in his bank account. The whiskey won out over family harmony.
    " You tell George to go fuck himself, Shelley. You get someone to look after her, someone competent, and I ' ll help out with the cost. But don ' t even think about putting that place on the market and pushing her out of there. You and that asshole you call your husband try it and I ' ll make a lot of trouble. "
    " You can ' t talk to me that way! "
    " I just did. "
    He slammed the phone down on the counter. He poured another drink . He sat down, thinking about his sister.
    His father had never gone after Shelley when he was drunk . S he still defended hi m . It was one of the reasons they didn ' t get along.
    He ' d calmed down by the time Selena came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a soft, white robe and toweling her hair.
    " Who were you talking to? "
    " My sister. She called about our mother. "
    " What did she say? You were shouting. "
    " Nothing. I don ' t want to talk about it right now. "
    " See? "
    " See what? "
    " How easy it is to not want to talk about nothing? "
    She tossed the towel, sat down on the couch and began com bing out tangles in her hair.
    After a moment she said, " The grenade thing got to me. Nothing ' s normal anymore. Last week I was giving a guest lecture at UCLA. Now Uncle William is dead, my car is wrecked, someone tried to kill us at least twice and I was drugged and betrayed by one of my best friends. Then you show me how to throw grenades. What the hell ' s going on, Nick? "
    " You've landed feet first in a big pile of shit. Now you have to deal with it. "
    She stopped combing and looked at him. " You have a way with words. "
    " Would it make any difference if I sugar coated it? It ' s different for me. I was trained to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission. You haven ' t had that training. The fact is you ' re a key player. You ' ve got to go along for the ride and hang on. "
    He took a drink. " It helps to know you have options, skills if you need them. "
    " Like what? "
    " Like knowing your weapons and knowing you can use them. "
    Selena put the comb down in her lap.
    " I didn't mean to jump on you back there at the range. I didn ' t like the idea I might have to blow someone up. "
    " Nobody in their right mind likes the idea. "
    He wanted to put his arm around her . H e didn ' t do it. H e didn ' t want to start something s he wouldn't let him finish .
    " Yang hasn ' t had time to get people in there. We ' ll get in and get out. We ' re not going unless we know where the formula or the emperor or whatever is hidden.