Cassidy's P.O.V.
"He's waiting at the safehouse now." Said Blue.
Blue had come by about an hour or so ago and told River about his meeting with Cato.
Apparently Cato was ready to have a talk with River which River didn't like the slightest bit.
"If he wants to talk to me so bad why didn't he do it the day after we left Blairwood? Why wait 2 weeks?"
"He was letting you recover from your injuries, more specifically your head injury."
"Bullshit. Cato isn't the type of guy to wait for someone to get better before he chews them out."
"Well then you can ask him why when we get there. Come on. You know that if you dont meet up with him now he's just gonna come knocking on your door in a few hours."
River groaned then finally stood up.
"Oh and one more thing.... He wants Cassidy there too." He continued as he looked at me.
"Oh great." River sarcastically replied.
I forgot to mention, the silent treatment was still very much happening.
............................................
We arrived at the safehouse at a quarter till 4.
Kids were running around everywhere as Tommy and Caesar sat in lawn chairs watching over them.
"Hey beautiful." Tommy said to me as we walked past him.
"Watch it." River threatned causing Tommy to laugh.
We walked inside and saw Stone sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Where's Cato?" Blue asked.
"Upstairs." Stone answered.
Stone was a mysterious guy. There was something about him that seemed.... Interesting.
I followed Blue and River upstairs and we stopped outside a set of double doors. Blue turned to River and spoke.
"Please try to control yourself. Cato's gonna bitch at you. He's already bitched at us 5 so thats inevitable. Just dont lose your temper. Try to be reasonable."
"Okay dad." River said as he pushed opened the doors and he and I walked in.
We were met with the stares of Mathias, who was leaning against the desk with his 'hitman' gear on that made him look like he was on the swat team, and a man in a suit with white hair that looked a bit older who was sitting in the chair behind the desk.
"Ah, we meet again River. Wonderful that you decided to show up after all. I honestly thought I would have to drive to your house myself." He paused and looked at me, then smiled. "You must be Cassidy?"
I nodded my head yes.
"Nice to finally meet you Cassidy, I'm Kratos Catonis.... But you can call me Cato."
"Kratos... Isn't that Greek?" I curiously asked.
"Smart girl I see. Yes it is. My mother is Greek."
"Kratos was the greek god of strength, might, power, and sovereignty." I added.
I'd always had a huge interest in Ancient Greek history/mythology.
"Wow, thats very impressive. Once again you are correct. Do you know where my last name, 'Catonis', comes from?"
I thought about it for a while but ultimately came up with nothing.
"I dont believe so. Though it sounds like it could be Greek as well."
"Not exactly but I guess to some degree it could be. My father's bloodline traces back to a Roman woman named Porcia Catonis- the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus."
"Marcus Brutus..." That name sounded familiar. Then it clicked. "Marcus Brutus was the leader behind the assassination of Julius Caesar!"
"Nerd." River mumbled.
"So your great, great, great, times however many, great grandparents were Marcus Brutus and Porcia Catonis? Thats insane. And Cato is just a nickname from your last name?"
"Actually..." He began. "Porcia Catonis's father was Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis. But he went by Cato. That sort of followed down the bloodline."
"Thats so awesome."
"Glad you think so." He stated. "You know, I like you. Why dont you and River have a seat please."
I sat down down in one of the chairs in front of the desk while River didn't move at all.
"River, would you like to sit down?" Asked Cato.
"I'll stand. Thank you." River replied as he stood with his hands in his pockets.
"River." Cato said as he stared at him. "There's no need to be stubborn."
River rolled his eyes and gave in as he sat down.
"Why do I have the feeling that you dont want to be here?" Cato asked.
"Oh I dont know maybe because I dont?" River remarked.
Cato laughed as he clasped his hands together and placed them on the desk.
"Thats my favorite thing about you River. You aren't afraid of authority. I'm convinced that even if I was the president of the united states you'd still talk to me with the same smart alleck tone."
"What can I say, I'm not one to discriminate."
"As much as I admire your confidence and fearless nature, that mouth of yours is bound to get you in trouble one day."
"Everything about me is bound to get me in trouble one day. Can you just skip to the point please? I already know why you wanna talk to me."
"Why then?"
"Because I went after Mark again."
"Not necessarily. Its because in the midst of chasing after Mark, you almost got other people killed as well as your self."
"Wrong, I almost got myself killed. I didn't ask anyone else to follow me. I didn't ask Max to, I didn't ask Daniel to, I didn't ask Mathias, nor Tommy, nor Stone, nor Caesar, nor Blue... They put their own lives in danger."
"To help you."
"Like I said, I didn't ask for their help."
"You didn't have to ask. You knew Maxwell would automatically follow you."
"That was still his decision. Just like it was Mathias's decision to come to Blairwood."
"It was your decision!" Cato said, scaring the hell out of me with his sudden outburst. "Mathias, Blue, Caesar, Stone, and Tommy are assigned to make sure you dont get yourself killed! You know for a FACT that they wouldn't have been able to just leave you at Blairwood to fend for yourself even if they wanted to because I wouldn't let them!"
"Mark pointed a gun at my girlfriend's head. Mark pointed a gun at my newborn kids. You're damn right I went after him and I'd do it again if I had to."
"You're not understanding what I'm saying River..." Cato said while trying to maintain his temper. "I dont care about you going after Mark. In fact I encourage it. However,when you do it without checking in with me first, I won't tolerate it. I will not tolerate it. We've had this very discussion before. I told you that I dont want you chasing him on your own."
"I can handle myself."
"Oh really? Is that why Mark had you hostage in the warehouse?"
"Thats the first time he's ever caught me."
"Which should open your eyes to the fact that you CAN get caught. He CAN kill you. Then when he does, while you're 6 feet underground, your girlfriend's going to be raising your kids by herself. Your newborns are not going to know what it feels like to have a father. Remember when you lost your mother? I doubt you remember a whole lot because you were so young. And I know that you question how different things would be today if she was still alive. Thats exactly how your 4 youngest are going to grow up. With vague memories of their father and they're going to question every choice they ever make and wonder how different things would be if you were still around. You dont want that. I know you dont. And the only way to keep that from happening is to stop trying to fix this yourself. You've got 5 men ready to spring into action with you at any second of the day. Take advantage of that. Inform me of your next move before you do it. River you are one of if not the most important asset of this organization. If something happens to you, there's no hope."
"Organization? What organization?" I asked.
Cato looked at me but didn't answer.
River stared at Cato with a menacing glare.
Whatever was going on was way beyond my knowledge.
I wasn't sure if I really even wanted to know.