Page 3 of Monkey Business

“I probably don’t say this enough, Gaspar, but I’m grateful for your friendship. I’m grateful that you trusted me enough to work with us at REAPER and then risked your entire family by bringing us here.”

“There was no risk involved, Nine. You’ve always been a brother to me. You trusted in me and my brothers and sisters, you confided in me, and bringing all of us to REAPER made us feel fulfilled. Besides, I think the true thanks goes to Mama and Pops. None of this,” he said, sweeping an arm over the property, “none of it would be possible without them.”

“Agreed. You know, I find myself thinking about all those brothers that didn’t make it. I mean, they came home but couldn’t do it. How many didn’t we get to help?” frowned Nine.

“Brother, we can’t think about that. Look how many men and women we have here. Hundreds! We couldn’t save them all, Nine. Maybe we weren’t supposed to.”

CHAPTER TWO

“Hi, Dad,” smiled Lucy, kissing her father on the cheek. Violet walked up kissing him on the other, both girls turned, giving Nine a hug. “What brings you guys out here?”

“Lucy, Violet, you know damn good and well why. We heard about the circus convention or competition or whatever the hell it is. No more animals. None. I don’t care if it’s a damn flea circus. I want nothing else here.”

The girls both giggled, shaking their heads.

“Dad, we’re good. We know that. Besides, Sniff and Dex went to the fairgrounds yesterday, and it looks as though they’re all treated fairly well. I mean, as well as animals in cages can be. They’re healthy, fed properly, none seem to be sick or distressed.”

“Thank goodness,” frowned Nine.

“We know that we’re pushing your buttons with all the animals, but just know that we are trying to get them to the point of going back to their own environments. It’s just that some won’t ever be able to do that,” said Violet.

“I know, I know,” frowned Gaspar. “You have to know how difficult this is for us old guys. I mean, Mama and apparently Trak are speaking to the gator! Semu signs to everyone and is the self-appointed damn bodyguard for the tigers and the elephant. If I told anyone on the street this, they’d commit me.”

“Dad, you’re perfectly sane. With all the magic at Belle Fleur, this should be the least surprising thing you hear,” smirked Lucy.

“What about the new group of working dogs?” asked Nine, changing the subject.

“Oh, they’re spectacular!” said Violet. “We have five Dobermans, eight German shepherds, and three Belgian Malinois’. They’re all smart, full of energy, and we’ve already got departments ready for them. Five will go to the Marines, five will go to NYPD, and the other six are going to various federal agencies. They’re going to do a lot of good out there.”

“You guys did good,” smiled Nine. “I’m proud of all of you.”

“Thanks, Uncle Nine,” smiled Violet. “One thing we are planning on doing is getting a few horses here just for us. We’ve always tended them and returned them to their owners or sold them, but we’ve discovered that they could be helpful in search and rescue. The dogs are used to the ones we currently have, and I think they would be an advantage for us if someone were lost in the bayou or anywhere else.”

“I’m cool with that,” said Gaspar. Then he looked at his daughters and frowned. “You don’t have a fucking unicorn or anything, do you?”

“No, Dad,” laughed Lucy. “Not yet.” The girls laughed as they walked away from their father, linked arm in arm. Gaspar could not have been prouder of both of them.

“They’re good girls, young women,” he corrected himself. “You should be proud of them, Gaspar. They’re examples of what happens when we do our jobs.”

“That’s for damn sure. I cringe every time I think about them being sold off as kids. Makes me fucking sick, brother. I’m getting too old to even tolerate shit like that, and I’d damn sure put a bullet in some asshole if I needed to.”

“Luckily, we don’t have to. Our sons, grandsons, nephews, hell, even the girls are all working to end shit like that,” said Nine. “Makes me fucking proud of all of them.”

“I heard from Molly and Asia. The shelter is running at capacity every damn night. They have a couple of graduate students from local universities acting as nighttime dorm managers. Some of these kids have homes. They just don’t want to go back to them.”

“Well, that’s not fucking suspicious at all, is it?” frowned Nine. “We can’t fix everything. We give these kids a safe space and warm food. Everything else we deal with when we have to.”

“We say it all the time. We can’t save them all. But kids? I can’t imagine being a kid and not wanting to go home,” said Gaspar.

“We’ve seen our fill of those over the decades. I’ll never understand why someone has children when they know they won’t or can’t take care of them. I mean, I get that everyone has a story, but some of these people do it not caring at all.”

“Once again, it shows how lucky we are. Mama and Pops didn’t have a lot of money when we were kids. I mean, Robicheaux Oil and Gas was still a young, hungry business. Pops was doing alright with it, building it, but there were still fifteen mouths to feed. I’m not even sure how they did it, Nine. I never even asked that question.”

“Maybe you don’t want to know the answer,” he laughed.

“That’s the damn truth. I love what we have here. I love that we get to do what we love with the people we love. I don’t know how long it will last, but can I pray for forever?” he smirked.

“I damn sure am,” laughed Nine. “Come on. Let’s go see how the other businesses are doing. We didn’t get a chance to check in on the spa or Gwen the other day.”

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