Unhappily Ever After B. 02

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

As was the case with Book One, Book Two of Unhappily Ever After

is a long, novel-length story that recounts the trials and tribulations experienced by a veteran who returns to civilian life and pursues a career path begun before joining the Australian Defence Force. He is forced to resurrect his 'stay alive' skills when he is betrayed by his wife, whose lover puts a hit order out on him.

Book Two picks up Stoney Bourke's life after he had been ambushed and critically wounded during what he hopes will be the final assassination attempt. Despite having witnessed the demise of his would-be killer, he knows there are others out there who want to hang his scalp on their belts.

---oooBJSooo---

I apologise for the time it has taken to get the second book in this duology finished but life and near death have a way of interfering with the best of our intentions. As so much time had elapsed between Book One and Book Two by the time I got back to it, I decided to do a full rewrite.

Although many of the points raised in the readers' comments from Book One had already been addressed in Book Two, a few additional things were brought to my attention that I thought were valid. Hopefully, I have addressed those points in the rewrite.

In an attempt to please as many readers as possible, I have left a few typos and technical and procedural errors in Book Two of Unhappily Ever After to satisfy the nit-pickers.

As each book tells its own story, I'd recommend reading Book One first to familiarise yourself with the backstory and the characters. Despite Book Two containing chapters that could be posted under different category headings, I have posted all ten chapters under Loving Wives for the sake of continuity.

Like Book One, Book Two will be posted in seven parts, all of which have been submitted simultaneously, with a request to the moderator that they be published on consecutive days.

I trust you will enjoy my offering, but I will be happy to receive your comments either way. It should be noted, however, that I have blocked anonymous comments. I know that might inconvenience a few readers, but my philosophy is that 'better one commenter be inconvenienced than ten trolls be allowed to spew their vitriol'.

---oooBJSooo---

Please Note:

The right of Black Jack Steele to be identified as the author of this work - Unhappily Ever After - Book Two - is asserted under worldwide copyright laws. All rights are reserved.

---oooBJSooo---

UNHAPPILY EVER AFTER

BOOK TWO

Copyright © Black Jack Steele 2024

CHAPTER SEVEN

May 02, 2021 - Sunday, September 11, 2021

Planning and Pest Control

Despite the effects of the emotional rollercoaster I'd been riding since the discovery of Kate's betrayal, I slept like a baby on the night of Mitch and Brianna's wedding. Waking fully refreshed the following morning, I felt that the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders.

After pushing myself through my usual morning exercise and meditation routine, I spent half an hour preparing a solid working man's breakfast, which I enjoyed while sitting out on the deck. With breakfast out of the way and the kitchen cleaned, I prepared a second brew before heading to my office to collect a pad and pen. It was time to begin mapping out my future.

There was nothing I could do in the yard until after the tent and chair-hire company had come out to retrieve their equipment. That would happen on Monday morning. So, that day - Sunday - would be spent packing up Kate's shit so I could get it and her car off the property as soon as was humanly possible.

Monday was definitely out, as I had a cleaning crew scheduled to come out to put the house back together and clean up the 'Little Caravan' after the wedding parties and caterers had wreaked their havoc on the place. Only after they had finished their work could I close up the van and arrange to return it to the Phoenix compound; which couldn't happen until Tuesday.

That meant Kate wouldn't get her shit until Wednesday. Too bad.

But after that? Who knew?

The one thing I

did

know was that some serious R&R was required. With the national borders remaining closed, any travel plans I might come up with would be limited to locations within Australia. But with the Western Australian border still closed and the Victorian border opening and closing with unpredictable frequency, I thought it best to limit any travel destinations to Queensland.

That wasn't a problem, however. It's a big state - one point eight five million square kilometres (714,300 square miles; more than twice the size of Texas, but with a population of just over five million) - and there were many places I hadn't yet seen. I figured that a six-month sabbatical would give me time to cover most of the out-of-the-way locales I'd always wanted to visit.

Of course, there had been a time - and not so long ago at that - when I'd thought I would be making that journey of discovery with Kate. But following her betrayal, any plans I might have had that included her were dead and buried.

'At least now she won't be cheating,'

I thought as I sipped my coffee. '

I wonder if that'll take some of the zing out of her new relationship?'

Planning for a trip would have to wait, however. I had other, more immediate matters to address. I couldn't simply throw my swag into the back of my truck and hit the road as I had work-related commitments. I'd have to finalise those before I could even think about taking off for parts unknown for an indeterminate period. And that wouldn't happen overnight.

There was also one other thing that was preventing my immediate departure. My brother, Jeremy, was getting married in early September, and I was to be his best man. That was one commitment I wasn't going to walk away from.

Among those I'd need to share the news of my breakup with Kate and my intention to take a lengthy sabbatical with were my family members. That was necessary from both a personal and business point of view. I knew they'd be disappointed about Kate because they had really liked her and, like me, had thought we would be together for the long haul.

I'd also have to tell Shirley Smith about our split and let her and her crew at Phoenix Constructions know about my plans to disappear for a while. She'd need time to find someone to replace me in my project management role. Three or four months should give her time to do that, I figured.

With that timetable in mind, I decided to aim for a mid to late-September departure.

Mike Slade - my property manager - and his wife Carla were two other people I'd have to inform of my intention to disappear for a while. Carla was our regular cleaner during both Sam's and Kate's time in the house. She usually came over on Mondays and Fridays to do a full house clean. Her schedule pivoted around her children, so she'd usually turn up after putting them on the school bus. She'd then finish in time to meet them when they arrived home. Carla was extremely efficient and was worth every penny I paid her.

With me planning to be away, she'd only have to come over to do a spot clean once a week. That wouldn't affect her salary, though. I'd continue to pay her the same weekly wage, as I knew she and Mike were saving to buy their own property. I'd miss them when they went but didn't begrudge them their ambition.

With all of Kate's clothing and other personal possessions thrown into garbage bags and deposited in her car, I manhandled her few items of furniture out onto the front verandah to be loaded into the removal van on Wednesday morning. There wasn't all that much. I'd calculated that all of it, plus her car, should fit quite easily into a three-metre by six-metre storage shed.

I have to admit to struggling over whether or not I should remove the spare key to her portable office from beneath the top drawer of her desk, but I decided to leave it where it was. If it were to fall off while in transit, it would land among the junk in the second drawer.

'What she carries around in her portable office is no longer of any concern to me,'

I decided.

The last thing to be thrown onto the pile was the mattress from my bed.

I then spent half an hour on the Internet buying a new mattress using the store's click-and-collect facility. With that done, I called the carrier I'd used in the past - I had his private number - and arranged for him to pick up the mattress on Wednesday morning before coming out here to deliver it and pick up a small backload.

My next call was to a car carrier. I'd used him to transport my truck for repairs and repainting after the malicious attempt at fitting me up for drug-related crimes a few years earlier. I had also used him to transport the rolling Mustang body shell for painting when that was scheduled. He returned it to me without a mark or a scratch. Of course, I didn't care what condition Kate's car was in when it arrived at its destination.

Stressing on him that timing was critical, I arranged with him to come out to pick up a car for delivery to the same storage yard where the removalist would be dropping his load. I impressed upon both contractors that, for their deliveries to be coordinated, they should be here by ten o'clock on Wednesday morning.

I then showered and changed before loading the contents of a couple of cartons of cold beer, ten New York cut Angus sirloin steaks and a couple of kilos of beef sausages into an icebox. After strapping it onto the back of my quad bike, I headed down to the fishing camp. The beer was left over from the previous afternoon's festivities, and the steaks and sausages were home-grown.

---oooBJSooo---

First thing on Monday morning, I called the storage facility that Kate had used to store her unneeded furniture and organised for a large locker to be reserved in her name, electronically paying the first month's fees in advance. What Kate did with it after that would be up to her.

By the end of the day, the house and grounds had been returned to their pre-wedding condition and the 'Little Caravan' - a name it would probably carry for the rest of its useful life - was ready to be returned to the Phoenix compound. That would happen on Tuesday morning.

While sitting on the rear deck, sipping on a cold beer on Tuesday afternoon, there wasn't a trace of the weekend's activity. It might have cost me a small fortune, but it had been worth every penny I had spent to get Kate and her friends out of my life. The only member of that group of people I had been sorry to lose was Kate's boss, Alan McGregor. In my few dealings with him, I had found him to be a straight shooter. In other circumstances, we could have been friends.

---oooBJSooo---

The relocation of Kate's belongings on Wednesday morning went like clockwork. With the mattress standing against the end wall and the furniture stacked along one side wall, there was plenty of room for Kate's sporty little Toyota. Thinking that it might be the last time I heard the throaty rumble of the big V8 for a while, I followed both trucks into town in the Mustang.

Once everything was locked up, I threw the spare set of car keys and the storage facility's card - with the gate and locker codes written on the back - into an envelope and sealed it. I then drove to her apartment building and dropped the envelope into her mailbox. I didn't think writing anything on the front of the small package was necessary. Nor did I feel the need to enclose a note. Everything I had wanted to say had already been said.

With the last reminders of Kate having been exorcised from my home, I made my way over to Tommy's place to see what he had found out about Hamlin.

It turned out that he was the bad boy of the Australian Federal Police. While there was no evidence of corruption, he was known as a womaniser, and none of his fellow officers liked having him anywhere within poking distance of their wives and girlfriends.

"That's how he ended up in the role of AFP-QPS liaison officer when the Special Branch task forces were set up," Tommy explained. "Everyone down in Canberra - including a few politicians - let out a sigh of relief when they heard of his posting to Moreton City.

"Where things get a bit interesting, however, is Hamlin's link to the owner of Chequers: one Marcus Paul Della Rosa.

"It turns out they both grew up in Griffith in the southern New South Wales Riverina region and attended the same school from kindergarten to year twelve. Despite their fathers being at opposite ends of the spectrum - Della Rosa's father was a wealthy winegrower and was suspected of being the head of the Mafia in that area, while Hamlin senior was a sergeant with the state police force - the two boys were as close as brothers. In fact, with their birthdays falling on the same day, they were more like twins.

"Both boys followed in their fathers' footsteps, with Marcus studying Wine Science, with a second major in Business, and Hamlin studying Criminology and Criminal Justice. They maintained their brotherly relationship through those years of academia because both degrees were available at the same university.

"Despite their close friendship, there are a few differences between the two men, many of which result from their chosen career paths. Marcus has risen through the Mafia ranks, and there is talk of him taking over the reins from his father when he decides to retire. Rumour has it that, as a 'made' man, he's well qualified for that role. On the other hand, Hamlin has never fired a shot in anger; not that anyone knows about, anyway.

"Talk of their close relationship has filtered up the line to Hamlin's bosses, who have conducted several covert investigations into their close bond. Although they have never found a single sign of corrupt behaviour, he has been warned that he should not be seen associating with his friend to avoid any perception of impropriety. Until he was posted to Moreton City, they hadn't had any known contact for about five years.

"One of the other differences between the two men is that Marcus has been married for the past eight years, and there isn't even a whisper of infidelity either by him or his wife. They have three children, all of whom they shower with love. He spoils his two daughters a bit but is as tough as a pair of combat boots with his son.

"Hamlin, as we already know, is single and has the morals of an alley cat.

"By the way, from what I hear, you handled your confrontation with him with aplomb and rectitude. Young Darren was impressed. On the other hand, Sailor was a tad disappointed that Hamlin didn't get past you; not that he really expected him to.

"Now that you're single, I think it might be about time for me to take you with me when I next head up to Cairns. With your healed scar on one cheek and your new duelling scar on the other, the girls will love you. But you've got to remember to stick with the script. It was

me

who saved

your

bacon. Not the other way round."

"I don't have a problem with that," I answered. "After all, it's true. You have saved my bacon several times since this load of shit hit the fan."

"I suppose that asking you to wear an eye patch would be taking things a bit too far?" Tommy asked. "Just to add to the theatrical effect."

"What? You want me to play Ruprecht to your Lawrence Jamieson?" I was referring to the names used by the two conmen in the film,

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

.

"Yes, I agree," I answered, pausing to watch as his eyes lit up. "It would add to the theatre of the occasion.

"I also agree that I think it would be taking it a bit too far."

"O... okay," Tommy stuttered as he fought to recover from a fit of laughter. "But don't discount the idea out of hand. Maybe you can cross your eyes occasionally. Imagine how that would go over when I tell them you were our sniper."

Just the picture of a cross-eyed sniper had me joining him in another laughing episode.

Once we had calmed down, I told him about my plans to disappear for a few months and asked him to keep in touch with me so I could link up with him when he headed north.

"Hang about," Tommy said as I stood to leave. "We haven't finished here.

"I know you're no longer interested in what Kate might be up to. But I thought you might be interested in what Hamlin is planning."

I sat back down again.

"I've been maintaining a listening watch on Kate's phone, just in case they decided to exact a bit of revenge for what happened the other night. It turns out that, from the time he was released from the hospital right up until I stopped listening, an hour or so before you arrived, Hamlin has done nothing but whinge and whine about how he's going to get you back for humiliating him and Kate at the wedding.

"He's also a tad peeved about not having had the opportunity to tie you to a chair and force you to watch him fuck Kate's brains out in your bed and have you clean them both up afterwards.

"Kate has been trying to convince him to put the whole thing behind them and look to the future. Unfortunately, he's having none of that. He wants revenge.

"Despite his cracked cheekbones and broken nose, he and Kate ended up at Chequers again last night. Most of the conversation during their dinner was a repeat of Hamlin's desire for payback. That was up until Della Rosa joined them, and Kate went off to the ladies' room, leaving her phone on the table. The conversation between Hamlin and his friend was interesting. I've cued up just that section of the recording. I think you should listen to it."

He hit the play button on his computer.

"Marcus, my brother,"

Hamlin said,

"I need some help to sort out a problem I have with Katherine's partner."

"Is he the one who did that to you?"

Della Rosa said. He was obviously referring to Hamlin's broken nose and racoon-like eyes.

"Yeah,"

Hamlin replied.

"He got in a lucky punch.

"I need to teach him a lesson, though, and I'm in no position to do it myself. Not just physically but also career-wise. I wonder whether I could impose on you to send a couple of your lads out to remind him who holds all the cards in this game we're playing?"

"I could,"

Hamil's friend answered.

"But before I commit to helping you obtain your revenge, I want you to think long and hard about what you're asking of me.

"Over the years, you and I have done favours for each other without keeping a tally. By my reckoning, however, we were about even; right up until you warned me about the planned combined state and federal police raid on one of my enterprises. As a result of that warning, I was able to relocate a few items before the raid took place.

"I won't tell you how much your warning saved me in dollar terms, but suffice it to say it was a considerable amount. That earned you a very big favour. A favour big enough that, should you ever need to acquire a new identity and relocate to a country with no extradition treaty with Australia, it would be covered. I would even throw in enough money to help you get started in a new life. That favour is still on the books.

"Now, regarding the man you want me to punish for disrespecting you. It seems to me that you have disrespected him and humiliated him to an extent far greater than he has done to you. If you had gone after my wife the way you have gone after his, I would have killed you. And let's be clear. While you refer to Katherine as his partner, he considered her to be his wife in the same way I consider Sophia to be mine.