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Chapter 4

Greg Parker stood silently on the walk outside the two-story Victorian row house. The closed door and dark porch light kept the home from looking inviting, but he knew differently. His ex-wife would keep the place neat and clean and he was sure there would be pillows on the sofa and chairs, a candle or two or maybe a scented oil burner, and lots of family photos in frames on the walls. With that last thought his gut wrenched and he knew he should get going.

It had been a strained and strange evening, starting with the hockey game with his son and ending with his team members being dispatched to address a possible threat to Eddie or himself. Or heaven forbid a threat to one of their sons.

Without Ed and Clark along, the silence between Greg and his son would have suffocated them both. Except for being related, they had little in common and had seen each for the first time in ten years only a few weeks before. Greg's ex-wife had been furious that Dean had contacted him, especially after learning that the boy had changed his mind about visitation with his father and had started insisting on it. The courts had agreed that at 16, Dean was old enough to decide for himself.

It had taken his mom quite a while to accept that the kid wanted to know his father, and a lot longer before she'd allow him to go anywhere with her ex-husband. The hockey game had been their first outing lasting longer than an hour and farther than two miles away from the boy's home. Greg concluded that she had agreed to let Dean go to the game with him only because Ed Lane and his son would be going too and Ed would be driving. Though she had misgivings about Ed, and had not been shy about voicing them, the fact that Greg would not be alone with Dean and that another boy about his age would be going too, had seemed to pacify her.

Ed had been having his own family problems and the game had been a chance to show his wife that his family, his relationship with his son and with her, did not come in second behind the job and it had been especially important for him to spend time with Clark since finding out that he'd soon have another child. Greg and Ed had steered the conversations which started with hockey, and went back to hockey, and Clark, though a little younger than Dean, had seemed to relate very well to the boy, especially when talking about the Maple Leafs and rival Canadiens.

Their four ACC seats had been great and with the game as a distraction, they hadn't needed or wanted to talk about anything else, especially family matters. Greg hadn't seen or spoken to his son in so long and had been struggling to get reacquainted with the kid, to know more about him and to figure out what made him tick. And he had known the boy would have the same problem, especially with his mom's feelings and the way the pair had separated and then divorced. For Greg, the purpose of the lawsuit had been to force visitation so he could get to know his son. He wasn't the same man he'd been 10 years ago and wanted another chance, not at the marriage, that was clearly over and his ex had remarried, but another chance at fatherhood. The boy's visit had precipitated everything and now Greg was getting the chance to know Dean and for Dean to know him.

The drive after the game had been good, with the conversation alternating between hockey and silence, but mostly hockey, which had probably been better than any number of deeper subjects that both fathers and sons would have been eager to avoid. Dean's mom had been waiting and she had ushered the kid inside with only a slight head nod to Greg and had probably just been glad to have Dean at home, safe and sound and her ex outside the door when she had closed it. He wanted to believe that before she pushed the door closed that her mouth had formed a small smile, perhaps a hi or thanks for taking care of our son kind of a smile, but he couldn't be certain and decided he had imagined whatever it was her mouth had done. The car headlights came on, momentarily startling him, and Greg realized that he had been standing there staring at a closed door, a dark porch and a past life.

Settling into the front passenger seat of the car, he took one last look at the house before Ed started the car and they drove away. Greg's thoughts had not been on Ed, Clark, the road, the traffic or anything about being driven to his own home when his cell phone began ringing, and he pried it from his pocket.

Earlier that evening the fifty-something man hadn't set off any alarms, at least not at first, and both SRU officers had natural and finely honed internal radar so they probably should have sensed something about him. Neither he nor Ed had even noticed the guy until he'd been in the restroom at the same time and then again in line with them to get pretzels. The kids had just been handed their warm doughy treats when Greg had noticed the stranger that he had seen earlier. The man hadn't been obvious, but he had definitely been looking at their group with just a little too much interest, and if Greg had had to guess, the interest had been focused on him or his son. He appeared to be in good shape and good health and was pretty good looking for an older guy. Greg had noticed a couple of women checking him out and decided it had been because he was tall and striking, with chiseled features, kind of rugged looked and had piercing brown eyes. Greg hadn't been suspicious of him at all until he'd been close to them, having apparently followed them, listened to their conversation and then he had walked away without buying anything. While the boys waited for their drinks, Greg and Ed had quietly compared notes and decided that the guy needed to be checked out.

Ed had gone back to the seats with the kids while Greg had followed the man back to his own and then with the man in sight, he had made a call. Jules had been more than concerned, insisting that she get another member of the team and a couple of other officers and find the guy and maybe put a little pressure on him to find out what he was planning. They'd arrived at the arena too late, but after speaking to ACC security personnel they had learned that two men, one matching their description, had walked to the pub just around the corner and Spike had gone inside to see what they were doing. He'd observed them sitting at a table, Jon's back had been to him but he'd seen Jack and he had decided to leave them to finish eating while he talked to Jules. The two SRU officers had just decided to approach the two men when they had been observed leaving the pub and walking north.

The conversation with Jules had been short since there hadn't been much to talk about. He'd told her to let the man stay the night at his hotel because there had been no reason not to let him and wait on a background check. The guy hadn't broken any laws, at least not yet and he had suggested that he and Greg meet. And while it didn't count for a whole lot, he had been with Jon O'Neill who shared the same surname. For that reason and a gut feeling, Greg had been okay with letting Jack go until he could see him and speak to him the next day. He knew that Jules or Spike would confirm that O'Neill was actually registered and staying at the hotel and would have someone keep an eye on the doors. And that person or persons would let someone know if the man went anywhere. He had considered investigating O'Neill, off the record and discreetly, but with the man being an American, keeping it discreet would have been a problem. Greg had decided that he would hear what the man had to say before jumping to any conclusions and he had tried to put it all out of his mind when he threw himself into bed as soon as Ed had dropped him off.

Jon lounged in a chair while Jack sat on the bed with his back against the headboard with his legs splayed and a pillow underneath his left knee. They had spent the last several minutes in Jack's hotel room discussing life in general but mostly Burke and the Burke look-alike and Jack had told Jon a little about the last time he had seen the CIA agent. Jon and Jack had severed ties and Jon had been back in high school for only a few months when Daniel and Dr. Lee had been taken hostage and held for ransom by anti-Honduran revolutionaries. Burke had then helped Jack retrieve them, or if you listened to Burke tell the story it had been Jack helping him in the jungle, and the two had come to an understanding about a past event that had haunted them both. Returning to the US from Central America, Jack had used a contact or two to put in a good word for Burke and only a cryptic message left on his home answering machine had informed him that Burke was happy in his new assignment.

Jon hadn't seen look-alike Burke up close like Jack had, but he had been pretty certain that the man was not just a brother. There were a lot of questions, but Jon had to wonder if Parker had a twin or even knew he had a twin. Stranger things had happened over the years with twins being separated at birth and not knowing about each other. He stretched his arms above his head and flexed the muscles in his shoulders. The shower had been great, but he was tired and needed to be heading home soon.

"How much are you going to tell Sergeant Parker?"

Jack's eyes narrowed as he looked at the younger man. Jon was in great shape, but he had played hockey for 60 intense minutes and was looking tired, but not as tired as Jack was feeling. Knowing he would have to be cautious with anything he told Parker, Jack replied, "Not as much as he will want." Seriously, what could he tell the guy? Jack knew that he would need to be honest, but not very forthcoming.

Jon pushed a button that should not have surprised Jack. "I want to be at the meeting. Will you call me?"

Jack's eyebrows almost hit his silver hairline as he stared at the young clone. He must be tired because he should have seen that coming and he also knew that it was a lousy idea. The kid couldn't be serious, could he? Oh yeah, but a hockey star, playing in the public eye every game did not need any negative publicity and Jack was not certain that their being questioned would even be kept under wrap. Thinking that he should call his own chain of command, Jack expressed his own opinion, starting with, "I don't think that's a good idea, Jon."

He explained his position, why the kid needed to stay out of it, and the two were silent for many seconds before Jon finally agreed. And it was after Jack had agreed to tell him what he found out about Parker and Burke. Then Jon had called for a car and Jack lightened the waiting time by telling him about his visit to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station that morning, and the younger O'Neill made Jack laugh with a few stories of his own, including several about getting back and forth across the border. Jon had faced a whole new set of challenges while playing professional hockey in Toronto and serving in the U.S. Air Reserve at Niagara Falls.

He had been with Detachment 925 Air Force ROTC at the University of Wisconsin at Madison before graduating in two and a half years and had then joined the Air Reserve with the Joint Chiefs' blessings. He was a unique reservist, a cross between an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) and a Traditional Reservist (weekend warrior) and was scheduled to serve until his 25th birthday when his active duty rank could kick in or until his 26th birthday, depending on the state of the universe, and according to the President, his hockey career.

Hayes admired Jack O'Neill and knew that the young clone was every bit the same man, except younger, and would most certainly throw himself into his Air Force career, striving and succeeding at everything he attempted. A military career required sacrifice and Hayes knew that Jon's would be just as great as Jack's had been. As President he had been able to reward the older O'Neill in small ways, though not nearly enough to properly repay the man for all he had given. Knowing that the younger O'Neill carried the same memories as Jack, up until 2003 that is, Hayes knew it had been a horrific burden and giving the young man an extended childhood had been his pleasure. The kid hadn't really had a childhood, at least not his own and playing professional hockey had been a dream. With his own natural abilities, Jon had made the college team and then the professional one and the President had been adamant about leaving him alone to fulfill his, and Jack's dream on the ice. If they needed him, he could be activated earlier than 25 or 26, but Hayes had expressed hope that it wouldn't happen. It was the least that they could do for Jon O'Neill, and by extension, for Jack too.

It had been a short night and Jack was envious of Jon, who could not only survive, but actually function on little sleep. He'd come back to his room from the breakfast area to find the phone message light blinking and had guessed that Greg Parker must have called to arrange a meeting, but he had been very surprised to discover that it had not been Parker, but Major Paul Davis who had called. After speaking with Davis, Jack had called a friend in D.C. before shaving and showering. He had tossed a damp towel onto a rack and wrapped a dry one around his waist when the phone rang.

Greg had woken early and gone into work early and was not surprised to find Ed already there too. The two men had talked briefly the night before so the first thing they had done was run a quick general internet search on Jack O'Neill. They had found very little because he was not listed in the D.C. phone directory and did not own his place of residence, at least not the address given on his driver's license. He'd been arrested for murder in 2003 and cleared of all charges, and had owned property in Colorado and Minnesota. After learning that the man had been in the Air Force, Greg and Ed knew that he'd lived other places too and they were discussing a more extensive background check when Jules walked in, much earlier than she usually ever did.

"We have to know more about him," she had stated emphatically after reading what they had found out. "Just because he was with Jon O'Neill doesn't mean he's okay."

Greg had agreed, but for different reasons and after further discussion and a phone call a few minutes later, Greg had contacted O'Neill without knowing anything else about him. Jules had been against him meeting the man alone and Ed, while not seeing the man as the same threat that she did, had convinced Greg to let the team back him up. It hadn't been long before everyone was present and voicing their opinions, with Jack's murder charge being a hot topic. Greg had let them all talk for a few minutes and then he had put a stop to it.

Now 15 minutes ahead of the agreed meeting time, Greg plopped down onto a chair to wait for O'Neill. He had wanted to meet him alone, but with the team being over protective that was not going to be possible, so he had agreed to meet in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express while two of the others checked out the hotel room. He'd elected to wear his uniform, mainly to remind the man that he was speaking with a police officer, but also because the team could get a call at any time and they needed to be ready. After speaking with the manager, Greg and Ed had been certain that O'Neill had gone back to his room after breakfast and was still there, presumably waiting to come down to the lobby for his meeting with Greg.

Ed was sitting across from Greg on a small sofa and Spike was positioned down from the front check-in desk, where the manager had been nervously wondering what the police were really doing in his hotel. Wordy and Jules had entered the stairwell to climb up to the fourth floor to wait for O'Neill to leave his room so they could then get inside, and the rest of the team had stayed outside in the parking lot with the van.

Greg had just reached for a magazine from the end table next to his chair when a uniformed Jack O'Neill strode into the lobby from the outside, surprising everyone when he removed his hat and walked right up to them. Greg and Ed were immediately on their feet looking at Jack, who smiled at their surprise. Spike had come from around the corner and after a look from Ed was on the radio quickly to alert Jules and Wordy that the man was not in his hotel room and that they should get in there.

Offering his hand, Jack greeted Greg first. "Sergeant Parker, it's nice to meet you. I'm Jack O'Neill." Then he offered his hand to Ed, who took it while looking at him closely. "Officer Lane. It's good to see you."

Jack was a master at disarming with charm, and surprise, and after shaking the two men's hands, he smiled and asked, "How did you and your sons like the game last night?"

TBC

Relationship between Greg and his ex-wife – I'm guessing. Where do Dean and his Mom live? I'm guessing. On the show I think Dean said he'd come north to get to Greg's workplace. As for Dean's age, on the show I think it came out that he's 16.

Relationship between Ed and his wife – I only know she wants their family to have priority and she's pregnant. I'm guessing about everything else. As for Clark, I don't know how old he is but for my story he is a little younger than Dean, maybe almost 15 or 15 going on 16, but a little younger than Dean.

Thank you for reading and thanks in advance for reviewing.