Copyright
©
2016 - 2019 - This is an original work by Zeb Carter and is protected under copyright by U.S. copyright law. It is only submitted at Literotica.Com and any submission to any other site has not been authorized by the Author.
Author's Note
: This is a very long story and is the second in a series. There will be one more or maybe three more if I finish the last two. This installment is almost 62,000 words long, that's 17 pages. Please Enjoy.
Brotherhood of Janus 3: Council Business
Prologue
My mouth hung open in astonishment, as the gentleman across the table from me explained my inheritance. I knew my father had died, some years ago. What I didn't expect was anything from his estate. I knew he was wealthy, but I wanted nothing from him. For the past thirty years, I had been on my own with no contact, with him or the rest of my family for that matter. My children were grown and on their own, with children of their own. I do adore my grandchildren and would do anything in the world for them and saw them as often as I could.
As I listened to the lawyer, who had tracked me down, wonder at what he told me filled my mind. I wasn't to inherit my father's company or his investments. I was to inherit his membership in the Brotherhood of Janus, whatever the hell that was. That along with substantial amounts of cash, to allow me to do things to better my life, as the lawyer put it, hefting a box onto the tabletop.
"In here is all you will need to know about the Brotherhood. No, don't ask me any questions, I don't belong and am not privy to what or who they are. At the time of your father's death, his wife and several members of the Brotherhood sealed this, so I could deliver it to you unopened.
"You will find the numbers to the accounts and the amounts of each that are now yours in this," he told me handing an envelope to me.
I opened the envelope and took out the papers inside. As I unfolded the papers, another envelope dropped out. It was the size of a credit card and when I looked inside there were five debit cards. Looking at the paper I had unfolded, surprise was the only word I could use when I saw the amounts listed for the six accounts. My heart was racing as I stared at the numbers typed on the page.
"This is also yours," the lawyer says handing me a metal briefcase. "It contains enough cash to get you through the next month or so. You will have to visit each of those banks to activate the cards. You will need proof of who you are...well the papers explain everything.
"This is all that I know and all I can tell you about this transaction. Your brother turned all this down. The order of inheritance is through the eldest son, but we couldn't find you until recently. Offering your brother the membership in your stead is an alternative, he flatly refused and we were lucky enough to hear of an email to your cousin through which we tracked you down.
"Our business is now concluded, sir. Good luck to you."
"Ah...thank you, I think," I say stunned.
The lawyer, I never even got his name, although he did leave me his card, left. I sat there looking around the small room of a restaurant in which this meeting took place. I shook my head to clear my mind. Taking a deep breath, I gathered up the cards and papers, opened the briefcase and stuffed them in a pocket in the top. I sat for just a second as I marveled at the cash that filled the case. Slamming it closed I locked it, making sure it would not open accidentally.
A waiter appeared offering to carry the box out for me. I nodded my assent and followed him out of the restaurant to my car. I open the trunk and he placed the heavy cardboard box in closing the trunk lid. As he turned to go, I told him thank you and went to hand him a five for helping. He shook his head no.
"The gentleman you were with took care of that sir. Thank you anyway," the waiter says as he turned and walked away.
I drove home in a daze. When I got there, my wife was out, so I sat at the kitchen table and opened the box. On the very top of the papers, there had to be a couple of hundred file folders, there was a single booklet. It was about 50 pages, typed and bound. The title page inside the cover had printed across the middle, "Brotherhood of Janus - Bylaws and rules of Membership". There was a preface.
George J. Hood and Hyraim Janus founded the Brotherhood of Janus in 1865. The founding of the Brotherhood was for the advancement of members and their families. The Brotherhood required members to help other members in the areas of business and conservation of family fortunes. That was the primary reason for the formation of the Brotherhood. Only, later - 1920 - did the gifting of pleasure to each other in a monthly celebration come to be an additional aspect of the group. Although in the archives, there is mention of grand meetings of the Brotherhood council and once business concluded, refreshments and entertainment, provided by the member's wives, began.
Membership is either inherited or bestowed. Although there are instances, were short-term memberships were given for payment for the good of the Brotherhood. The first five hundred members are founding members. Even though the member currently holding one of the first five hundred memberships is only a descendant of the first member, they are always to be revered as one of the five hundred.
Looking at the number in the lower right-hand corner of the booklet I read my membership number. Zero-zero-zero-two-nine-three, I was a Five Hundred.
I read and reread the booklet. I read every scrap of paper in the box over the next month as I flew to Atlanta, Charleston, Nashville, Birmingham, and Miami to activate the check cards. For the sixth account, I just had to notify them that I was accepting the membership. That account held the projected dues for the membership for the next twenty-five years.
By the time, I returned home, I was conversant in the bylaws and rules of the Brotherhood and knew there would be a problem when I explained them to my wife, Jenny. Especially rule one-twenty-one. That rule says that the wife had to participate as a member of the Brotherhood in all aspects. This was the rule about Gatherings. It was long, involved, and never mentioned sex specifically.
I knew it meant divorce would be inevitable, so I had papers drawn up while I was out of town. When I returned, I explained the Brotherhood in as plain a language as I could. As I explained the purpose of the Brotherhood to her, she perked up at the mention of us now being financially independent. At the point of explaining the regional lodge's monthly meeting, she just shut down.
"So will you support me in this?" I ask her.
"What? You have to be kidding me. I'm sixty years old and I don't particularly like sex anymore, even with you. I love you, but I don't want to have sex with you. So why would I have sex with complete strangers in the setting you described?"
To tell what took two months to resolve as quickly as possible, we settled on divorce. I gave her one of the accounts. It had a substantial amount in it and we parted ways. It was a sad day, but the future appeared brighter, a little at least. I went about getting myself an apartment and started looking for some kind of business to invest in or buy. I also looked over the schedule of gatherings around the country and chose one to attend. It would be my first of many and would hold many surprises.
Chapter 1
Sarah was sitting next to me, a death grip on the armrests, as the plane hit turbulence. I chuckled. It had been two months since she joined the BID and became a Duchess of the Brotherhood. This was only the second time she needed to travel. That she was traveling with me, well that was a promise I made to her, even though we had made one trip together already. But that was to New York and was not a pleasant trip. We were now flying into Baltimore to investigate complaints made against the lodge there. Sarah was to be my partner at the gather for the weekend.
"Why didn't you tell me you were afraid of flying on our last trip?" I asked gently resting my hand on her arm.
"I didn't realize... oh hell," Sarah cried as the plane dropped out of the sky. It stopped about a hundred feet down. I was hoping that didn't happen on approach. "Anyway I was so mad I don't remember the flight going and I was so happy coming home, I don't remember it either."
"It's fine dear, really." I chuckled, kissing her cheek.
Sarah just looked at me, venom in her eyes. The plane again fell a few feet, then jumped back up. We would be descending into Baltimore within the next half hour. It would be a bumpy ride. Sarah cried out as the plane bounced again.
"How can you sit there so calm?" Sarah asked.
"I have spent my life flying. And this is almost the smoothest ride I have ever had. The worst was in a C130 flying into Korea. A downdraft hit the plane just as we were touching down. Landing gear collapsed and we hit the ground hard. Good thing a 130 is built to take something like that in stride. It never flew again, but everyone on board survived. One hundred and fifty souls lived that day."
"Oh my god, why are you telling me that?" Sarah said, shock on her face. Her fingernails now digging into my arm.
"There is nothing to worry about. The quicker you realize that the better you will be able to cope with flying."
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Of what? Dying? Of course. But if it's going to happen, there is absolutely nothing I can do about it."
Sarah looked at me. She nodded her head, she visibly calmed down. She released my arm and her seat arm. She moved her hands to her lap and she took a deep breath, which she slowly let out.
"What do you do to keep from screaming?" she asked calmly.
"I usually sleep. I found I can get to sleep much faster the more turbulent the flight."
Sarah laughed, looked at me and laughed again. I smiled at her nodding. From that point forward she was never visibly afraid of flying again. She took my hand in hers and held it without crushing the life out of it.
The pilot announced we were starting our descent to BWI. The plane turned to the left and slowed. Sarah looked at me, concern showing in her eyes. I nodded.
"Here we go," I told her.
"What do you mean, here we go?"
"There, we're through the cloud cover. Look out the window. We will be flying down the valley into BWI."
"Holy shit," Sarah whispered as she saw how close we were to the ground. But that dropped away as we flew on.
Then the plane started to waggle from side to side. Sarah's eyes were once again filled with fear. I just smiled and enjoyed the ride. At the very last minute, the pilot straightened the airplane out and touched down. Sarah sighed in relief.
"Holy shit," she whispered once more.
"Maybe next time we'll fly commercial into here... now there's a ride." I chuckled at her look.
We were in a Brotherhood Learjet. The Brotherhood had ten jets of various sizes. One had been allotted to me as a five hundred and the head of the BID. They had given me one of the medium-sized ones, seating ten. Feldman and seven of his best always flew with me. Feldman's force had grown as the BID investigators grew. There were six investigators, three men and three women not counting me and Sarah. When each went in the field, an eight-man Tac-Team would accompany them. We were still looking to add more, but that process would be long and arduous.
~~ Janus ~~
For the New York trip, we had twenty men and Feldman and two pairs of BID investigators. Myself, Sarah, Jimmy, and Lilly. The Council let us use its biggest jet. A 727-200. We filled less than half of the cabin, but it was the only plane big enough to take everyone all at once. The flight to New York was somber. Everyone on the plane knew Sally. She loved to talk to people. It didn't matter who they were. I think she knew everyone on the plane from her time living at the mansion.
The Chicago Lodge had become the de facto headquarters for the BID. There was an addition planned to increase the footprint of the mansion. The addition would be separate but connected via a walkway. It would be not only the new offices of the BID but the top floor was to be my living quarters. I did have a small apartment not twenty minutes from the mansion, but I was hardly ever there. By the time I finished with reports and so forth, from travel to other lodges, I was too exhausted to drive home.
