Quick note here: Sorry I missed the Friday after Thanksgiving, but…US holiday and all that. Now back to our regular schedule!

With this segment of Chapter Six of Repairing the Legacy, we continue the serialization of Repairing the Legacy. This is a rough draft work in progress and may not reflect the final form. Time period: set after the ending of The Martiniere Legacy main trilogy, before the Epilogue (for this chapter). I’m breaking longer chapters into sections for readability. This is the first part of Chapter Six. There will be four parts to this chapter.

PASSING THE BATON

October, 2061

GABE

“Do you need me to go to Dr. Sheri with you?” Ruby asked, as they finished cleaning up after breakfast. Mikey was in the barn, riding his Welsh-Shetland pony mare Rose by himself in the arena. They still avoided talking much about doctors around Mikey. He was much less reactive about the subject than he had been two years ago, but Mikey was still suspicious of Dr. Sheri, reluctantly allowing her to do quarterly checkups to monitor the medications that kept him healthy.

“Nah, I’m good,” Gabe said, feigning lightness. He didn’t blame Mikey for being nervous about doctors. He felt the same way.

Ruby scowled at him. “I know that tone, Gabe. Is this more than a typical checkup?”

God, he couldn’t fool his beloved. Even after twenty-one years apart. Then again, he couldn’t hide anything from her anymore.

Gabe ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. “I don’t know if it’s an issue or not. Turning sixty in March. Maybe it’s just aging, or the anti-aging serum wearing off earlier than expected. I’m running tired.”

No need to tell Ruby about the rest of it. The shortness of breath. The occasional chest pains—angina.

“It could just be normal aging.”

But he didn’t think so. He remembered those symptoms happening before his heart attack eleven years ago.

“Possibly,” she conceded.

But there was still that suspicious look in her eye—another factor was the slowing down of his libido, and both of them were aware of that. Ruby had seen the full range. Gabe was impotent due to post-G9 viral syndrome when they got together again. Then, after getting the anti-aging serum from Donna-gran, he was as randy as he’d been when they were young. Over the past few months, though, his arousal was much less frequent.

“I’ll tell you everything when I get back,” he promised.

“You’d better,” she growled as she slipped her synthetic emerald wedding and command ring back on, now that dishwashing was done. “Or else I’ll rub my ring at you.”

Gabe laughed, a faint hysteric note slipping in despite his control. Revealing his nerves. Ruby’s ring was the master of the Martiniere command rings given to Martiniere wives, tied to the mind control programming. While the two of them had worked out their own compromises when it came to her use of the ring on him, Gabe knew damned good and well Ruby would turn to the ring if she suspected that he hid important information from her.

His warrior wife kept him honest, these days.

“Trust me, dear. I know better than to hide things from you anymore,” he said, and kissed her before heading out, pausing on the porch to pull on his going-to-town jacket and Stetson.

His bodyguards waited at the truck for him. They knew to let Gabe drive unless he said otherwise. But they were always present, whenever he set foot off of the Double R.

Part of his life as the Martiniere. Would he ever be free of them?

Probably not, even after he handed off the title of Martiniere to Brandon.

#

Dr. Sheri put Gabe through the full range of tests, including a truly hellish stress test involving assorted medications that left Gabe exhausted. This yearly annual checkup was a mandatory part of his role as the Martiniere. The Martiniere Group paid for Dr. Sheri’s whole morning, so Gabe complied, even though he grumbled about it to himself.

But it was necessary. He had enough health issues over the years to take checkups seriously, especially for Ruby and Mikey’s sake.

Didn’t mean he liked what it meant about his life and mortality.

Heart attack, bypass surgery, two attacks of severe G9 virus. That didn’t begin to take into account his time as a saddle bronc rider, that short stint as a wildland firefighter before he met Ruby, injuries from Philip’s beatings, working as a mercenary with Rafe Alvarez—and then Philip’s cancer and cardiac problems that he was at risk of inheriting.

All pointed to the need for regular checkups.

At last, the testing was done. Gabe sat in Dr. Sheri’s office while she frowned at the results.

“All good?” he asked finally.

Dr. Sheri looked up, still scowling. “I’m referring you to your specialist. Waiting for her input about your results, Gabe. Sorry.”

He raised a hand, forcing himself to relax. “That’s all right. I’m glad you’re talking to Dr. Caruthers.” But his gut curdled. Dr. Sheri hadn’t referred his results to Dr. Amy last year, or the year before.

My suspicions are on point, then. The serum is starting to fail, and it might be triggering cardiac issues.

What did that mean? Would he be subject to post-G9 syndrome once again? Damn. It.

Dr. Sheri’s comm chimed, and she clicked it up. “Good to see you, Amy. What’s your verdict?

Dr. Amy’s projection looked past Dr. Sheri to Gabe. “Good to see you, too, Sheri. Glad you’re here, Gabe.”

“Should we arrange for a further consultation?” Dr. Sheri asked.

“Yes. Gabe, I want to see you in Los Angeles, for more testing,” Dr. Amy said. “When can you do it?”

“I’ll be on site at the Group headquarters in two weeks. We can do it then, unless you think I should do it sooner,” Gabe said.

“No, no, two weeks is fine,” Dr. Amy said.

At least it wasn’t a get your butt down here now situation that would make Ruby’s birthday and Mikey’s Gotcha Day—what they celebrated instead of his unknown birthday—difficult.

Gabe swallowed hard. No need to dodge the hard question. “What’s going on? Is the anti-aging serum fading in strength?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Dr. Amy said. “I’d like to check Ruby’s vitals as well, since you got the serum at the same time. But given your medical history—from the documentation that your grandmother Donna gave us, overcoming that many medical problems leads to an earlier fade in its effectiveness.”

Gabe nodded, keeping his face unexpressive as best as he could. Donna-gran’s final dose had lasted a year in her, instead of the projected five years. And the anti-aging serum could make cardiac problems worse as it wore off—that happened to Donna-gran with past doses.

“Are the problems you’re seeing cancer or cardiac?” God, he hoped it wasn’t cancer. Watching cancer eat away at his second wife, Rachel, still haunted Gabe. He hoped he wouldn’t subject Ruby to that fucking hell. He knew too damned well what that felt like.

“Cardiac,” Dr. Sheri said.

Just as he feared, from his symptoms. But at least it wasn’t cancer. “So what are we doing about it?”

“I’m putting you on different medication,” Dr. Amy said. “Sending you the recommendations, Sheri.”

“Is a return to post-G9 syndrome a possibility?” That was the hardest question of all, but he needed to know. Prepare for that contingency.

“I want to say no,” Dr. Amy said. “But I also want to explicitly rule it out. Our data on that serum is so limited. Right now, I would say G9 post-viral syndrome reoccurrence is possibly not a likelihood. However, before I give you a firm no, I want to do more testing. So what day works for you?”

“How about Friday the 21st?” The Friday before he spent that week at the Group. It would mean traveling early, and spending more time in LA—but it had to happen. “Let’s schedule Ruby as well.”

“All right, then, Gabe. I’ll see you and Ruby on the 21st. Plan to be here all day.”

God. That meant the full battery of testing.

Shit.

At least they would be able to celebrate Mikey’s Gotcha Day and Ruby’s birthday before going to LA.

#

Gabe stopped in Lakeside to have lunch at the Lakeside Café, by Thunder Lake. None of his friends sat at the big round table informally known as the “liars table,” where the older, semi-retired, and retired ranchers of Thunder County hung out to visit and swap tales that might have a faint connection with the truth. So Gabe selected a table on the deck overlooking the lake, in spite of the overcast and wind, huddling into his coat as he sat with his guards but wanting that outdoor exposure. He chose to be virtuous, and ordered a salad instead of the greasy fauxburger he really wanted. The Lakeside’s fauxburgers were close to the real thing, only with more salt and fat.

Both things that would have to be cut back in his diet—as he remembered from when Rachel had enforced a change in eating after his heart attack. He wasn’t ready to give up drinking yet. Food was manageable.

Back at the ranch, Gabe went in search of Ruby. She wasn’t in her office, or upstairs in their bedroom. Gabe didn’t want to message her. Not for this.

He went to the lab, as the next best place, especially since Mikey wasn’t in the house.

As he suspected, Ruby and Martin supervised Mikey’s home school science lab, all three of them working in a clean room. He waited until she looked up, and waved. Ruby said something to Martin and Mikey, then came out, pausing in the vestibule to strip out of her biosuit.

She took one look at him and her face tightened. “Bad news.”

He nodded solemnly. “We have appointments with Dr. Amy on the 21st.”

“Aw, fuck.” Ruby swallowed hard. “How bad is it, Gabe?”

“New medication. Cardiac, not cancer, thank God.”

“One small favor, though that’s bad enough, damnit.” She closed her eyes tightly, shivering. Then she opened them again. “And the anti-aging serum?”

“Dr. Amy thinks it’s fading in me. She wants to check you.” He paused. “And while she thinks I won’t experience a return of post-G9—she wants to test further before she says for certain.”

“Aw, fuck,” Ruby repeated. She launched herself at Gabe and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He held her close, burying his head in the intersection between her neck and shoulder, inhaling deep of that mint and lavender scent that always meant Ruby to him. She trembled against him and he thought she was crying.

His warrior wife? In tears? That meant she really was worried.

“Hey. Hey.” He raised his head. Yes. Ruby was crying; small, choked, sobs. “It’s gonna be all right,” he said softly. “We’ve got the Martiniere money now. It’s not like we’re broke and struggling like your grandparents were when they were sick. We can afford the best damn medical care in the world.”

She blinked at him and her lower lip quivered as tears streaked down her cheeks. “It’s not fucking fair, Gabe. We’ve been working our asses off to fix the Group and get it turned around. We’ve only had two years back together, and no time to play, not really.” Her face twisted. “I can’t lose you now. It’s not fair!”

“That’s going to change,” he said quietly. “I mean it, Rubes. I said when I took on the position as the Martiniere that I wouldn’t serve for the rest of my life. This—” he paused before saying his next words. So much left to do. But Mikey turned seven tomorrow, and Ruby was right. Two years together again was far too short. “This is the trigger that means I step down, hand the title over to Brandon.”

Ruby sniffled. “Are you sure, Gabe?”

“I could spend the rest of my life doing nothing but fighting the evil done by my fucking sperm donor, and it still wouldn’t eliminate everything he did.” Gabe exhaled. “Bran’s ready, especially if I’m around to advise him. He’ll be twenty-eight in December. Dad—Saul—was younger than Bran when he became the Martiniere.”

He still had a hard time not thinking of the man who had raised him for his first twelve years as his father.

“You’d actually walk away from being the Martiniere? Leave all that power? After everything you did to gain it?” Ruby’s voice quavered.

“Yes.” Firm. No hesitation. “I had that heart attack and bypass when I was forty-eight—eleven years ago. The doctors told me then that it was in part due to stress and overwork—didn’t know about the genetics from Philip. I’m sure that’s the case now—and I’ve had two G9 infections and a lot more responsibility dumped on me since then.” He kissed her brow. “You and Mikey are more important to me than the Group and the Family. Stepping down from the Group and the Family leadership doesn’t mean I’ll stop working—it just means a lot less work, and more time for the two of you.” Another kiss. “And you won’t have to work so hard covering for me in our mutual projects.”

“How much of a fight is it going to be, however? You’ve said that leaving the position before death is uncommon.”

“The biggest challenge will be selecting the Martiniere-in-waiting. And Bran’s youth may make that process easier. He’s been networking with the other Martiniere heirs his age over the past two years, building his ties. Our son is good at that, Rubes.”

She gulped, a faint smile now twitching her lips. “Yes. He is. How soon are you telling people?”

“I’m going to call Bran and Justine now.” Family first. “Then Eliot. The Board at the regular meeting in LA.” That would take care of the Group leadership. “Do you want to tell Donna-gran as part of the conversation about what your role will be as the Matriarch in the leadership transition, or should I tell her first?”

“I’ll talk to her.” Ruby’s voice steadied in contemplation of the task. “Today or tomorrow?”

“Let me talk to Bran and Tine first, all right?” It was entirely possible his sister might want to be the one to carry the news to their grandmother.

“In case Justine wants to tell her first?”

He nodded. “And what about Mikey?”

Ruby pressed her lips together, frowning. “Let’s play that one by ear. He reads my moods pretty well. I’d like to hold off until the day before we see Dr. Amy, just so he isn’t fretting. But if he starts sensing there’s something wrong—”

“Yeah.” Gabe hugged her again. “So I’d better start making my calls.”

She clung to him for a few moments more, then pulled back. “Love you.”

“Love you,” he said back, then kissed her.

*************************

Like what you’ve read so far? Check out the other stories in The Martiniere Legacy—all links here, both Amazon and other sources.

Justine Fixes Everything: Reflections on Mortality is now available at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo!

What’s it about?

EVEN THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE....

Over the years, Justine Martiniere has become the fixer for the Martinieres. Have a problem? Go to Justine to get it remedied.

But it wasn't always that way.

First, Justine needed to escape the abuses of her father, Philip. She didn't expect to fall in love with the man she married, Donald Atwood. But she did–and then she faced the choice between remaining married to Donald, or stopping her sociopathic, megalomaniac father.

Justine Fixes Everything is in part the unusual love story of Justine and Donald–and in part the saga of her rise to power, viewed in retrospect as she tells the history to Philip's clone Mike, as he recovers from surgery. It's about what she sacrificed to become powerful—and, at the same time, how that past comes to haunt the challenges she faces toward the end of her life.

Want more? How about an alternative Martiniere world where Ruby and Gabe meet in a different manner and meet more challenges?

ANOTHER MARTINIERE LEGACY STORY ON KINDLE VELLA—A DIFFERENT LIFE—WHAT IF?

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B09LH72GQG

One of the turning points of the Martiniere Legacy series is the death of Gabriel Martiniere's family in a plane crash when Gabe was twelve. That put Gabe's biological father, Philip, into the leadership of the Martiniere Group and the Martiniere Family, and expedited Philip's megalomaniac ambitions. But what if that crash hadn't happened? What would Gabe's relationship with Ruby, the love of his life, look like?

Billionaire nerd with a conscience, unlucky at love, striving to overcome the shadows of his past while trying to find agritech means to fight climate change.

Former rodeo queen, just trying to get her degree in agricultural robotics and make her mark on the world while trying to find agritech means to fight climate change, also unlucky at love and struggling with a shadowy past.

Can Ruby and Gabe successfully negotiate the complexities of the Martiniere Group and launch Ruby’s world-changing biobots without interference from competitors, while maintaining a relationship?

UPDATES ON A DIFFERENT LIFE HAPPEN EVERY WEDNESDAY, CURRENTLY SCHEDULED THROUGH FEBRUARY.