Family Always Has Your Back - 5. TC4 — Chapter 5: Smith/Turner vs the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, Adam and Robert concluded their business in Boston. Tuesday was a meeting with the law firm that their Florida family court lawyer, Adam’s cousin Carol Smith, contracted with for the lawsuits against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Turner estate. They went over the evidence and testimony that Adam and Robert would give at the hearing. The father and son spent most of the day doing so.

Duncan and the other three boys spent time at the spa’s fitness center, and pool, when they weren’t out seeing the tourist sites.

~.~

Adam’s alarm went off at 6:30 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2018. He got up, letting Duncan sleep, and took a quick shower before he got dressed in a black suit. A crimson red necktie adorned the white dress shirt. He closed the master retreat’s door and walked across the presidential suite’s living room to the bedroom where Giles and Robert slept.

At just past 7:00 am, Adam softly rapped on the door.

“Good morning, Adam.” Giles opened the door. “Rob’s in the shower. You can wait in here.” He walked away from the door, seeing Adam had entered behind him.

Adam stepped in, shutting the door. He shook his head with a brief grin at the fresh musky scent of sex in the air.

Giles, in a light pair of sleep shorts, flopped on his stomach onto the bed. “Don’t mind me, I’m going back to sleep.”

“Before you doze off, are you awake enough to talk a bit?”

“Yes, but I’m moving to the couch. Otherwise I’ll fall asleep on you.”

The hotel divided the queen suite room into three parts. A sitting area near the window that held a couch, a desk, a chair and a tv. The bedroom part with the queen-sized bed, nightstands, and a dresser, and then the bathroom area. Two doors, one that linked the Presidential Suite, and the other to the public hallway, rounded out the major features, and decorated in the same style as the main suite.

“Sure.” Adam sat in the chair as Giles plopped down on the couch. A wince of pain crossed Giles’ face with a hiss.

“You need to use more lube and foreplay. The tenderness shouldn’t be as bad after a few more times.” Adam shook his head. I’m giving anal sex advice to my son’s boyfriend. Goddamn.

“Is that your personal or professional opinion?” His tone came across as half-awake playfulness. Giles sat cock-eyed, his left foot on the floor, his right leg bent and pulled up on the cushions, and he hugged himself while his head rested on the back of the couch. His half-slit eyes looking at Adam. “What do you want to talk about? Sorry if I sound grumpy, I’m not a morning person.”

“No worries. You should see Duncan in the morning before he has his coffee. To answer your first question, both. Personal experience, when I was your age, and my first time. I wish someone with more experience had sat down and talked me through stuff. We didn’t have PornHub or the internet, back then, to give us an idea of what to expect. Also, I have a Medical Ph.D.”

“I didn’t know that. Rob only mentioned you had a mechanical engineering doctorate with a focus on medical tech.”

“Dual-diploma concentration, a limited time test program offered with M.I.T. and Harvard. I could take courses that satisfied both programs, and then the specific courses for each degree. I didn’t do residency so I can’t get licensed.” Adam gave him a grin. “For what I want to talk about… I messed up and have been too hard on you and Rob. For that, I apologize. Also wanted to thank you for taking care of him on Monday. That was hard on Rob, all of us really. However, it showed me how much you two care for each other.”

The admission stunned Giles. “Oh.” He rubbed a hand across his face, took in a lengthy breath of air, and let it noisily. “Apology accepted, but I don’t feel you did anything wrong. You’re my boyfriend’s dad, and I expected it. I thought you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you, Giles… just didn’t want either of you to become heartbroken. There was this weird feeling I was getting with you two, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. You’re not my kid, but I care about you.” Adam picked up a pen from the table and twirled it with his fingers.

“You care for me?”

“Yes, I do. You’re a part of my Son’s life, and by that you’re part of my life. Jeremy also told me what you did for him, with the meditation book. If you think I hated you because you and Rob are dating and having sex, that’s not true.” He chuckled some. “I hope you don’t mind if I hug you. I can be a physical person in showing affection.”

“I don’t mind at all. There’s been a few times I’ve wanted to hug you, but again I thought you hated me.”

Adam gazed off for a moment, during a lull in the conversation, before he made eye contact with Giles. “You’re a fine adolescent man, who deserves to be happy. You shouldn’t blame yourself for stuff that happened in your past, it was not your fault. I don’t know what James did, but you carry the guilt like it’s a Sword of Damocles hanging over your head.”

Giles looked pale and stared at him. “How… how… did you know? I just told Rob and the other guys what James did. They wouldn’t have said anything, and I know my parents wouldn’t either. They only know a fraction. Only my therapist, and the other boys know everything.”

“Just a feeling when I look at you. It’s something I’ve been able to do since I was a little younger than you are now. Truth-be-told, it scares me. You can ask Duncan about some stuff I predicted.” Adam gave him a soft smile.

“Is that the reason you didn’t want me or Rob to become heartbroken?”

“It is. I’ve been getting mixed signals from both of you until last Saturday. If I had to guess, before last Saturday, I would think you and Rob would’ve broken up, and never would’ve gotten back together. Since then, you both are more accepting of each other. I’m not talking about you two going further physically… it’s more like you two shattered a barrier.”

“Um… Saturday was when I told Rob the truth.” Giles cleared his throat of the frog that was developing. “I felt like shit after I told Rob a lie about how many guys I’ve been with and being a little pushy. Then… then… we talked after, and I came clean. I was afraid Rob would dump me… I was looking for a way to get out of the trip too. However, he didn’t dump me and told me he wanted us to be together on the trip.” He paused again. “It was also the first time someone told me they loved me, outside of my family. I love Rob too and realized that a few days before we left on this trip.”

“If you want to talk about it, it’ll stay between us. It’s also another reason I care. I want to help with what you’re going through.”

“I need to think, first, but I might take you up on it… but I have a question.” He cleared his throat. “Why are you doing this, Adam? I don’t get it. From inviting me on the trip to the cabin on the train—” He motioned around the room. “—now you’re allowing me to stay in a suite, with your son, knowing we were screwing. You got permission from my parents to let me drink beer, this morning you gave me advice on sex with your son, and you just told me you care about me. The most surprising thing is you know stuff only a handful of people do.”

“The quick answer is I’m treating you like adults. I’m trusting you and the other boys to make your own choices, without interference from me. Oh, I will help you guys if you need it, but I want you to try to work things out for yourself. I wanted you to come on the trip, because I felt it was important for you to experience this with Rob. The cabin and the suite, well I’m not stupid, I know you and Rob will go at it. That is from personal experience, with my first proper boyfriend. Honestly, I don’t mind talking about sex stuff, Duncan and I are open about it, but there are some things I don’t want to know as a dad. The train was so you and Rob could have some privacy, and the suite here was a surprise from Erin. If you remember, I’d said we would be in two double rooms, with you boys sharing one.”

He chuckled some. “The beer is because I would allow Rob and Travis to have it, Jeremy if he wants, and I didn’t want you to be left out. It was your mom that didn’t have an issue with it and said she wouldn’t care if you did it back home, under supervision. Your dad was the holdout until he thought it over. I told you why about the advice, and why I care about you.”

“Okay. I get it now. I’m surprised about my parents giving permission… They said I can have it at home too?”

“Yes. When we get back, they want to talk with you about it. It’s not my place to… ah… discuss it with you. However, they said no hard liquor… Monday was a one-off. Though Travis drinks whiskey at home.”

“He does? Wow…”

Adam was about to respond when the bathroom door opened. Robert stepped out into the bedroom; with only the towel he was using to dry his hair. It blocked his view of the room.

“Heya, babe. I think we have time for me to suck you off before Dad knocks.” Robert moved the towel from his head and spotted Adam and Giles in the sitting area looking at him. He hastened the towel to cover himself, and his face darkened to a shade of scarlet. “Dad… good morning.”

“I’ll wait in the living room for you, Son.” Adam stood up and headed towards the door. “Pleasant talk, Giles.”

“Yeah it was.”

Adam almost had the door shut before he started laughing. It didn’t take long for Robert to join him. He was dressed like his father, minus the suit jacket. They hadn’t coordinated their outfits; it was a random occurrence they chose the same while they packed for the trip. The two walked over to the in-room elevator.

“Did you have enough time?” Adam smirked as the elevator’s doors shut.

“DAD!”

~.~

The hearing was at 10:00 am for a closed-room deposition. At 9:45 am, Adam and Robert’s lawyer, Geoff Keller, informed them the Commonwealth would settle, if there was no claim of wrongdoing.

They sat outside the courtroom, with their lawyer going over the proposal.

“When do they need to know?” Adam asked.

“If you accept the deal… as soon as we get into the courtroom.” Mr. Keller had an aggravated look. “This was intentional, to force you to make a snap decision. I’ve not had time to go over this, so there may be some hidden poison pills in it.”

“Can we ask for an extension?” Robert looked between his dad and the lawyer.

“Unfortunately, no.” He let out a frustrated breath. “Your options are, take the deal which I advise against, or do the deposition. I have a feeling; they will ask for a delay.”

The Bailiff stepped out and looked over at the trio. “The judge is ready for you.”

“Thank you.” Mr. Keller looked at his clients. “What would you like to do?”

Robert ran his hands down his face. “I say we tell them to go fuck themselves.”

“Agreed.” Adam paused and let out a long calming sigh. “Can we inform the judge of this?”

“I’m going to.”

The trio followed the Bailiff into the courtroom. Because of this being a deposition, and not a full trial, the courtroom was small. A raised platform held a spot for the judge, the clerk, and the court reporter sat at the far wall. In front of the platform, a long wide table running lengthwise towards the door, and several chairs on each side. They set cameras and microphones up to record the testimony. The Clerk of the Court swore them in before they sat down.

The Judge, a middle-aged African American man, looked over some papers. “I see here the Commonwealth has filed a motion of continuous. Can you please explain?”

“Yes, your Honor.” The State Attorney picked up a document. “We filed a motion on behalf of the Turner Estate, asking for a summary dismissal.” She passed some documents over to the judge, and to Mr. Keller. “They argue that it would be an undue burden upon the family to proceed with such a frivolous lawsuit. With that motion in consideration, we felt it’s warranted to delay proceedings until it’s resolved.”

“Your Honor. I must object to this motion of dismissal and motion of continuous. Not to mention, that the State produced a settlement agreement, not fifteen-minutes ago, with a deadline to accept before we came into the courtroom.” Mr. Keller handed over the settlement paper. “My clients decline the agreement the State provided. Furthermore, the undue burden would be to my clients, and having them disrupt their lives to come to Massachusetts, seeing as the Commonwealth has objected to teleconference.”

The judge looked over the documents, and then at the State Attorney. “The objection is sustained, and I dismiss both motions. Let me remind the State that it was your office that caused this ‘frivolous’ lawsuit, and these ambush stunts are beneath the dignity of the Commonwealth. I would expect this kind of tactic from a slip and fall lawyer.”

The deposition started after the motions were denied. Robert was asked questions about his time in the foster care system for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families. The case file, that the admin assistant Emma had copied for him, was entered into evidence. Adam went next, detailing the court proceedings that former State Attorney Matthew Turner did to disrupt the custody proceedings. It shocked Robert to hear how much it cost for Adam to fight the charges. A little over $550,000 in court costs for family, civil, and federal appeals courts, and attorney fees for both Florida and Massachusetts. The sum didn’t include what he paid for Robert’s old house.

“That’s all the questions I have, your Honor.” Mr. Keller said.

“Does the Commonwealth have any further questions of the young man and his father?”

“No, we don’t, your Honor.”

The Judge looked over to Adam and Robert. “Before we adjourn for today, I went over the settlement agreement during your testimony. You did the right thing in rejecting it as proposed.” He turned his attention towards the state attorneys. “I should hold you in contempt of court for the travesty this document is. Please tell me this was not a legitimate offer, and only an opening for negotiations.”

“Your Honor, that was the offer they allowed me to make on behalf of the Commonwealth and the Turner Estate. With all due respect to you, Mr. Smith, Master Turner, and Mr. Keller, that would not be the offer I would have made.” She paused. “Considering the situation, and circumstances, of this case… I’m also allowed to negotiate a settlement.”

“What are you willing to offer to the Plaintiffs?” The Judge moved a notepad in front of him.

“Regarding Mr. Smith, the Commonwealth will reimburse the costs of the court filings, and 50 percent of the cost for the real estate. Punitive damages as awarded by the court.”

“And for Master Turner?”

“For the child, the Commonwealth will settle, paying $3millon to the aggrieved.” She paused as she took a drink of water. “In both cases, the Commonwealth accepts no wrongdoing, and a Non-Disclosure Agreement will need to be signed.”

“Mr. Keller, I’ll give you a thirty-minute recess to confirm with your clients.”

“Thank you, your Honor.”

The Bailiff showed Mr. Keller, Adam, and Robert to a side room to talk.

“What do you think of the offer?” Mr. Keller asked as they sat down. He took out a notepad to make notes.

“Why so much for me?” Robert glanced between the two adults in the room. “Three million is a lot of money for what happened.”

“It’s only a fraction of what a jury may award you. What do you feel about this Adam?”

“For my part of it, that’s more than enough for me. I want them to admit that Matthew Turner tried to fuck us over, using their office, instead of punitive damages. That’s the only condition I have. For Robert…” He looked over to his Son. “I think we should take the offer. Just to put it behind us, but I’ll leave it up to Rob to accept or not.”

“Yeah, I’ll take the offer.”

“Alright, let’s go give our counter offer.”

The three reentered the courtroom. Mr. Keller went over the counter offer for the settlement. The State Attorney agreed to it. Adam declined punitive damages in lieu of an apology, which the State Attorneys agreed to. With their business settled, and authorized by the Judge, they adjourned the court. Documents for the settlement were to be mailed to Mr. Keller’s office, who would then make sure they are signed by Adam.

~.~

Adam and Robert were walking through the courthouse heading for an exit. They whispered to one another.

“Dad. Can I ask you something personal?” He kept his voice low.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“Three million is too much for me. Honestly, I’m not comfortable with the amount of money I already have… especially being a big brother now to Jeremy.” He glanced over at his father. “I don’t want him to feel like he isn’t important, nor part of our family.”

“How do you want to handle it then?”

“I want to give Jeremy half of it… not just the settlement, but everything. He’s gone through a lot more than I have, and he can’t sue anyone for his parents’ deaths, that I know of. Is that okay?”

Adam gave his son a one-arm side hug. “I’m proud of you. If that’s what you want, we can decide on how to split it fifty-fifty and get all the paperwork written up. When do you want him to know?”

“Once we get home, I don’t want Giles or Travis to feel awkward about this. I’m kinda feeling that way just talking about it. Also, I’ve been thinking, and I want Jer to have half my shares of our company.”

“If that’s what you want, we can do that too. Think about it, I’m not saying you’re wrong, but think about it.” Adam nodded. “We’ll wait till we get home to work on it all… but first, I’m going to stop in the men's room. You need to go?”

“Nah. I’ll meet you in the coffee shop, Dad. My stomach is growling, just those two pieces of toast at the continental breakfast didn’t last long, and I need something to drink.”

“I’ll be right there.” Adam rubbed his son’s back and turned to head for the restroom.

The men’s room was the same as you would typically see in most municipal buildings. Three urinals on one wall, four stalls, and a row of sinks and mirror on the same wall as the urinals. It was empty, and Adam stepped up to the last urinal next to the wall.

A few moments later, another man in a navy-blue suit walked in and moved to the urinal on the other end, leaving one between him and Adam. Adam didn’t pay him any attention, as he thought about the court case, and Robert’s request. I want to do something for Travis and Giles. How am I going to pull that off?

“So, Mr. Smith… How’s your brother Tibot doing?” The man was doing his business and didn’t look over.

A chill ran down Adam’s spine, as he looked over at the man. “Pardon me?”

“I know who you are, Mr. Smith, and your brother. Let’s skip the pretense.” He zipped up, flushed, and moved to wash his hands.

“Who are you?”

The man chuckled. “I would say, Mr. Smith, but given who I’m talking to, call me Mr. Doe.”

“What is this about?” Adam finished up and went to wash his hands. “If you know about me and my brother, then you know we’ve not had that much contact with each other until recently.”

“And that is why my employers wanted me to send a message to him.” He looked at Adam, his tone was neutral, belayed no hint of intent. “The favors he called in, have significantly impacted business here in Boston. However, we agree that the Turners overstepped.”

Adam let out a small frustrated breath. “And… what’s the message, Mr. Doe?”

“Once your brother is done keeping his nose clean for his parole, Tibot needs to come to Boston for a meeting. He will know who I’m speaking about, and I can assure you that the Smith boys, and family, are perfectly safe. Your nonno, grandfather if you’ve forgotten about your roots, was well respected. Also, my employers felt that we owed you our help because of that. Regardless of you being a frocio, family is important, and should be respected.” He paused letting that all sink in.

“I also have a warning and a piece of advice for you, Mr. Smith. If I were you, I’d get a gun and keep it in a handy place. Your son’s nonno Matthew Turner is not a happy man. For now, my employers are keeping him contained from hiring outside help, but we don’t control everything.” He pointedly looked Adam in the eyes.

The chill ran down Adam’s back again. “He’s trying to have me killed. I knew the son of bitch was dirty, but Goddamn.”

“Who said anything about you?” Mr. Doe said without emotion. “Honestly, we are not sure who he’s going after. It could be you, your son, or even your brother. He’s found out how he was turned in.”

“What?” Fury that Adam has only felt once before, when he heard of what had befallen Robert in foster care, began to boil in him. “You let your bosses know, if Robert gets hurt because of this bullshit… I will be coming for the person who did it, and who authorized it. Don’t fuck with this frocio or my family.” He took a step towards Mr. Doe as he clenched his fists and looked ready to kill the man. “Do you understand that message?”

“Crystal clear.” He smirked looking at Adam. “Now, there’s the man, I knew you were. Your nonno said as much. Mr. Smith, you should have been recruited over your brother. Too bad you’re gay.” Mr. Doe looked at his watch. “My associate can’t keep blocking people from coming in here. Tell Tibot we’ll put you and yours under protection, and that will cancel out anymore favors he’s owed.”

“Will that go over with your employers?”

“Who says, I don’t employ myself?” He nodded to Adam with a cocky grin. “Good day, Mr. Smith. Enjoy your time in Boston. You, your husband and sons, and their friends will not be molested here. We’ll have someone talk with Matthew Turner, and per our arrangement with your brother, he will not be killed by us.”

“Oh, one last thing, and I want to make this perfectly clear. We’re not responsible for what’s happening in Tampa. No one in our organization. It’s shitty timing and unfortunately, we cannot stop it. I’m telling you this, because Capo Lorenzo Russo did a lot for us, before he died, and it’s a debt that will last two or three generations. Call your lawyer and tell her to be on watch.” Mr. Doe turned and left, leaving Adam alone with his thoughts.

“Fuck me…” Adam shivered as the door closed and quickly washed his face.

He left the restroom and hurried to the coffee shop in the courthouse lobby. He stopped at the entrance and looked around for Robert. He spotted his son, rushed over to his side, and pulled him up into a hug.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Robert caught the worried look on his father’s face.

“Not right now. I promise to explain everything once we’re back to the hotel. Look at me, Rob… I promise I will tell you, but I must talk to Duncan and your Uncle Tibs first. Cool?” Adam led Robert out of the coffee shop, his arm around his son protectively.

“I’m cool, Dad.”

~.~

The father and son pair stepped off the private elevator into the presidential suite. With a hand on Robert’s back, Adam led him into the living room, where Duncan and the other boys were waiting there. A look of fury was on his face, while Robert looked confused.

“Duncan… come with me, please.”

The two adults left the living room and went into the master retreat. Adam shut the bedroom door with a little more force than what he wanted.

“Hun, I don’t know what has gotten into you, but you need to settle down!” Duncan shook his head as he got the first word in, staring at Adam. “You’ve scared the boys, and me, with that cryptic message of getting back to the hotel room.”

Adam still looked furious, but he sat on the edge of the bed. “I just had a mob boss ambush me while I was taking a piss at the courthouse. Wanted to send a message to Tibs and told me…” Adam expelled a frustrated breath. “That motherfucker, Matthew Turner is trying to hire a hitman. They don’t know who the target is. It could be me, Rob, or Tibs.”

“Tell me everything.”

Adam told Duncan everything that Mr. Doe had said. He was no longer furious, and he hugged himself while his head hung down. “I feel like shit now.”

“You shouldn’t feel that way. You’re not the asshole in this, Matthew Turner is.” Duncan sat down next to Adam and rubbed his back. He leaned in and kissed Adam, first on the cheek, and then lifted his head to kiss him on the lips. “Once you get your act together, call Tibs, and then you need to tell Rob what happened. I’m not saying tell him everything, especially about the hitman, but he needs to know.”

“When Mr. Doe told me about the hitman, it felt like someone was trying to take Rob from me again. I was so furious, and just wanted to protect our son. It took everything I had, not to beat Mr. Doe to death. I’ve never felt like that before, and it scared me.”

“If there is anything, I’ve learned from Tibs about the mafia, it’s that they keep their word. If Mr. Doe wanted to hurt you, he would have done it.”

Adam placed the call to his brother and explained everything to him Mr. Doe said, including the warning that something is happening in Tampa. After the call ended, Adam and Duncan stood up and walked together back to the living room. The four boys sat on the couch, with Giles holding an obviously upset Robert.

They both sat down, before Adam turned his attention to his son. “Rob, I’m sorry for making you wait till we got back, but the courthouse was not the place to discuss it.”

“That's fine, Dad… you don’t need to apologize, I understand.” He repositioned himself on the couch, still in a one-arm embrace from Giles. “Will you please explain what happened?”

Adam nodded and ran down the talk from Mr. Doe, sans the part about the hitman, and how it made him feel. Adam also came clean about what actions Tibot used to help them out. The boys all sat stunned at the end of the talk.

“That’s it. You all now know the full story.”

“Dad… Uncle Tibs, is a member of the mob, and that’s how he got us back together?” He ran a hand through his hair, nervously, while Giles kissed his cheek.

Adam nodded yes. “That he did, Son. I was so scared I was going to lose you again, after that talk today.”

“Who's doing it, Dad?” Robert snuggled in closer to Giles.

“Your grandfather, Matthew Turner.” He let out a frustrated breath, stood, and walked over to the in-room bar. He grabbed himself a beer.

“When will that son of a bitch leave us alone? Hasn’t he put us through enough?”

“I hope he learns his lesson. I’m getting sick and tired of it as well.” Adam took a drink of his beer. “Giles, Travis, Jeremy… I wanted you three to know what was up, so you wouldn’t be nervous when Duncan and I get a bit more protective of you four.”

“Nervous if you did that? Adam, you made me nervous just hearing what happened!” Travis fidgeted as Jeremy pulled his boyfriend into a protective hug.

“Based on what we know, I’m fairly certain that we’re safe.”

“What are we going to do now?” Giles leaned over and kissed Robert on the cheek. “Are we going to stay?”

“We are for now. Duncan and I have surprises for you tomorrow.”

The six of them sat and talked for a bit, before they went about the rest of the day together.