Ben frowned as he looked down at his hands. He flexed his fingers as he recalled the feeling of squeezing them around the throat of the monster who tried to take Miriam. He would never deny that he’d enjoyed it. Taking the life of that predator had sent a wave of satisfaction through him. His eyes lifted and found Gabriella. He saw she understood his gesture. Her love for him never diminished in her lovely green eyes.
He looked back to Chanel. “I won’t judge either of them as I’ve killed and I wasn’t forced to do it-”
“To protect the innocent!” Gabriella exclaimed, unwilling to allow Ben to call himself a murderer.
The police officer shook her head. “What about this Tatiana?”
Ben sighed. He could see this was extremely difficult for Chanel as it went against her moral values and her offended sense of justice. “Again, I can’t and won’t judge her. I didn’t have to live through what she did. To live, she killed people she was ordered to kill. In the process, she became highly skilled at it. In my limited experience with her, she saved my life in New York and spared Liliya’s life, even though the woman was hunting her because she believed she had to protect Rose. She’s shown remorse for killing Liliya’s husband. I won’t judge her, but I do believe everyone should be given a second chance.” He saw a smile light up Ashley’s face as his words matched her beliefs as well.
Catherine gently tugged on Chanel’s hand until she was sitting once more.
Luis Hernandez chose that moment to ask his question. “Ben, you say you want our acceptance of these changes. You haven’t explained what the alternative is. What if we cannot accept this?”
Ben nodded. “My situation has changed due to these external threats which aren’t just going to go away. I should have worked harder to maintain my anonymity when it came to the engineering work I was doing. I caught the attention of people I shouldn’t have. That said, I have no choice but to accept the General’s plan. If it’s not acceptable, I’ll move out of the neighborhood. Set up a new estate outside of the city-”
“NO!” Trish, Gabriella, Catherine, and Hannah cried out, amongst other sounds of protest from the group before him. Ben held up his hands as he blinked in surprise. His audience was agitated now.
“If the plan the General and I worked out isn’t acceptable to everyone gathered here, I have no choice but to move. I don’t want to pressure anyone into accepting living conditions that make them uncomfortable.”
Gabriella stood. “Ben, you’re the glue that keeps this community together! When our husbands died in that plane crash, it was you who stepped up to make us face the truth that it wasn’t our fault and to acknowledge we had each other to lean on for support. You helped some of us stay in our homes, supported our businesses, and ensured others got the education needed to succeed. You can’t leave!”
“That’s very kind of you to say, but it doesn’t mean I get to dictate the terms for the neighborhood! Everyone gets a say.” Ben argued.
Gabriella wasn’t finished. She looked around at the gathering. “Is there anyone here who can honestly say their life hasn’t been positively impacted by Ben in some way? Is there anyone who hasn’t had their quality of life improved because of Ben’s actions?”
She smiled as she saw agreement on so many faces. She concentrated on the very few who were hesitating, and the hold out was Chanel. Gabriella raised an eyebrow at the woman who frowned but finally nodded.
She turned back to Ben. “You’re telling us the changes we will see, once this plan is in place, are negligible, but there will be a home on the street filled with people who will immediately respond to any danger we may face, should one surface?” Gabriella asked Ben.
He paused as he absorbed her words. “Yes.”
The brunette looked back to the group. “Does anyone have an objection to this plan?”
“Are we seriously going to ignore the inclusion of killers in our community?” Chanel asked.
“Does that mean you want me to leave too?” Trish asserted. “I’ve taken a life.”
“I’ve taken two,” Catherine admitted gently. “And you took the life of Margaux-”
“You- you can’t compare what I’ve- we’ve done to what they did!” Chanel exclaimed, staring in shock at her partner.
“Of course there are differences! But if you break it down, you have the act of killing, the circumstances which led to it, and the intentions. We’ve all done the act. For us, the circumstances were finding ourselves in life or death situations, and our intent was self-defense and protection. There is no moral ambiguity there. I believe we’re being told that for the two women, their intent didn’t matter, their moral position was irrelevant. They weren’t given a choice. They had to create the deadly situations then survive them,” Catherine said and looked to Ben who nodded his agreement.
“I’m sorry you were put in those positions. It’s one of the worst things to have to do, but you weren’t given a choice. The situations happened, and you did your best. For Liliya and Tatiana, due to their employer, it’s largely the same.” Ben asserted.
He saw Chanel was still shaken by Catherine’s defense of the assassins. He hoped he hadn’t damaged their relationship with this. He wished Cat hasn’t mentioned Margaux as it had to be a point of sensitivity for Chanel.
“Can we get a vote on accepting the plan? A raise of hands for those who support it?” Gabriella asked.
Ben watched the hands go up, and it looked unanimous then Chanel stood once more.
“I will support this plan, but if I determine the assassins are becoming a danger to the residents, I’ll take steps to have them put behind bars,” she insisted.
Ben held her eyes and nodded. Chanel raised her hand.
“It’s unanimous. Ben, please let the General know you can proceed,” Gabriella said with a relieved smile.
Ben nodded as his throat was too tight with emotion to speak at the moment. When he finally forced the lump down, he addressed the group. “Thank you for your faith in me. I can’t tell you how much it means to me!”
He took some deep breaths and nodded at the smiles from his friends. Tina and Lucy were beaming happily at him from the front row. “I do have another announcement I’d like to make while you’re all gathered here.” Curious expressions surfaced.
“As some of you know, my childhood… had some challenges. I got lost in the child welfare system, but I also had some good teachers along the way to helped direct me on a path to self-sufficiency. I got a good education and training in a field I was able to turn into a career. Recently, while we were in Beverly Hills, I met with two men working on a documentary about young people who were also lost in the system but were pulling themselves up from poverty to make a life for themselves. Phil DeMonte and his business partner Eric Thompson are going to make this film which will hopefully inspire others in the same situation. This planted a seed in my mind. I’ve been thinking about setting up a foundation to assist people in these circumstances. To help them dig their way out. They’ll have to help themselves rise above the crap keeping them down, but I can assist them with the mundane things like ensuring they get education, training, counseling, medical and mental health support, daycare, housing… until they get on their feet.”
“That’s beautiful, but it sounds like a costly undertaking, Ben,” Ashley said.
Ben nodded with a smile. “Due to Rainor Hahn’s robbing criminals with his crooked deals and the inheritance Gretchen set up for me, I now have the means to pay for this dream. I’m currently the owner of large, multi-block plots of prime real estate in seven different cities; Berlin, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Moscow, London, and New York City. The land is worth billions, but I don’t know the exact amount yet. I’m selling most of the Moscow property to a friend of mine in Russia. If I open an office there, I won’t be visiting it as I’m not exactly welcome in the country any longer.” He gave Trish a small smile.
“Aside from Moscow, I intend to sell off most if not all of the property and build foundation centers in each of these cities or a more suitable location in each of these countries. Depending on the success of these, I may set up foundation offices in other cities.”
The gathering was silent as everyone stared at Ben. That made him a little nervous, so he pushed ahead.
“I’ve spoken to some of you to get some preliminary guidance on how to set this up. I’ve also asked Catherine to head up the foundation. She’s done an amazing job with her local charity, and I want to incorporate it into the offerings of the foundation.” Chanel looked at Catherine in surprise. Ben was worried that Cat hadn’t shared this information with her partner yet.
He looked to Daphne who was staring at him wide-eyed. “I’d like to model the daycare centers after yours and would like them to follow Lisa and Lori’s early education programs. How it fits into the cultures of the different countries will be up to them to determine and adjust accordingly.” The twins were thrilled by the prospect but Daphne looked like the slightest wind would blow her away.
He turned his attention to Dominic who was grinning excitedly. “We have some more discussions to have on building versus renovating in these cities, and I need to speak with your designer.” Sophia was all grins as well.
Hannah was looking a little dazzled and Rain was almost bouncing on her chair with excitement. He nodded to them and their returned smiles warmed his heart.
Ben looked to Trish who squeaked. He chuckled as he smiled at her. “Would you consider being my Marketing Director for the foundation?”
“YES!” the redhead cried as tears began to flow and Ben struggled to keep his tears at bay.
He looked again at the gathering and smiled. “There are going to be plenty of opportunities, and it will take some time to get all the pieces in play. I ask that you keep the news of this venture under your hats as best you can. We don’t even have a name for the foundation yet? The fact that it’s being paid for with funds recovered from criminal activities may prove to be an issue too. Putting a spin on that will be one of Trish’s first challenges.”