CHAPTER 81: CHURCH AND DIVORCE

"Where do you think you’re going on a Sunday morning?" asked Annette, intercepting Ivan at the front door.

"Hey you might have embraced the progressive atheist lifestyle, but I’m feeling nostalgic for Gothic architecture and the echoes of an angelic choir," said Ivan, booking an Uber.

"Fine, but you better come up with something else, when Mikaela asks where you were. Don’t you dare try to convert her!" said Annette fiercely.

"Don’t worry. I know the rules," said Ivan, as the Uber pulled up.

He got into it, and it drove off.

Annette pursed her lips, staring after it.

"He’s up to something. I better take some precautions. I refuse to let him corrupt and poison Mikaela’s mind," she muttered to herself.

----

Ivan stepped out of the Uber and into the shadow of St. Joseph’s parish. The towering spires of the Gothic church loomed against the overcast sky, their intricate carvings of saints and gargoyles casting long, jagged shadows. The faint toll of the church bell echoed through the quiet streets, drawing him toward the heavy oak doors.

He spotted a familiar car - The Albrecht Automotive Streikkampfer. A warm smile formed on his lips to know that Aaron was here too.

Inside, the air was cool and heavy with the scent of incense. Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows, painting the stone walls with hues of crimson and gold. The church was almost empty, with only a few people sitting in the front pews. Ivan spotted Aaron seated in a pew further towards the middle of the church, and he slid into the pew next to him.

"Nice to see you here son," he whispered.

"I come here only occasionally, I’m not the regular religious type," whispered Aaron back.

"Still happy that you come here at all," said Ivan, standing up as the choir began to sing the entrance hymn.

----

"The mass is ended, go in the peace of Christ," intoned Fr. Viktor Goering, as the congregation stood up.

Ivan and Aaron made their way to the front of the church, where Fr. Goering was greeting parishioners.

"Well, if it isn’t Aaron Zakhrov, here in the flesh," said Fr. Viktor, extending his hand.

"I don’t believe we’ve met before, Father," replied Aaron, folding his arms.

"No we haven’t. However, I’ve heard of you through my young protégé, Fr. Abel," replied Fr. Viktor.

"I see," said Aaron, softening slightly, and shaking the priest’s hand.

"And you must be Ivan Zakhrov, Aaron’s father," said Fr. Viktor, turning to Ivan, and shaking his hand.

"Yes, I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Father," said Ivan.

"The pleasure is mine," said Fr. Viktor.

The growl from an inline-four motorcycle engine interrupted their conversation.

They turned to see a sleek black Kawasaki Ninja 1000SX motorcycle pull up to the church entrance.

A tall, lean figure in black leather gear and a full-face helmet dismounted, and removed the helmet to reveal the familiar face of Fr. Abel.

"You make quite an entrance, Father Abel. I think you’ve made quite a few postulants question their vows of chastity," said Fr. Viktor with a chuckle, as a few young nuns blushed at the sight of Fr. Abel’s toned physique sculpted by the leather gear.

"You sure they’re looking at me and not the fine gentlemen there with you?" asked Fr. Abel, grinning at both Aaron and Ivan.

"Yes, I’m quite sure. I had similar complaints about you being a source of temptation back when you were in college," said Fr. Viktor, causing Fr. Abel to chuckle nervously.

"By the way Abel, what brings you here?" asked Fr. Viktor.

"To see you, actually. I don’t know who you pissed off this time, Father, but the rector is opening an investigation into your conduct," said Fr. Abel grimly.

Fr. Viktor sighed wearily.

"Let me guess. I’m being accused of using my position as a priest to brainwash the parishioners into adopting certain political views," said Fr. Viktor.

"The gist of it, yes," said Fr. Abel.

"I merely interpret and preach the Gospel in a way that is relevant to the times and environment we live in," sighed Fr. Viktor.

"Well, your sermon today did use the incident of the workers’ union trying to demolish a Sirius Software cell tower as an allegory for the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal," said Aaron.

"And that’s why there are complaints. No-thanks to your polarizing charisma, Aaron," growled Fr. Abel.

"Hmm, maybe I have a solution then," said Aaron, a sly grin forming on his lips.

"You’re going to recruit Fr. Viktor into your super-villain lair, and make him use his psychiatry skills to do God knows what, aren’t you?" Fr. Abel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Only if he’s interested," said Aaron.

"Well, I’m listening," said Fr. Viktor.

"I employ you as a counselor and therapist for Sirius Software," said Aaron.

"I like it, but I still like my cassock. I’m not giving that up, unless I get expelled from the priesthood," said Fr. Viktor.

"That’s all right. I’m not asking you to give up anything, Father," said Aaron.

"Would that take care of the problem, Abel? I’ll not be doing any sermons," asked Fr. Viktor.

"I suppose that would work. We’ll still need to see the Rector though," sighed Fr. Abel.

"Very well, I’ll come to Sirius Software as soon as my business with the Rector is complete," said Fr. Viktor.

----

"You believe that your husband is a bad influence on your daughter?" asked Ruth Hirschfeld, as Annette sat across from her in the lawyer’s office.

"Absolutely! It’s bad enough that he undermines my authority, but now he’s become far more secretive and evasive. Just this morning, I caught him sneaking out of the house like a thief. And he gave me a lame excuse about going to church. I know he’s up to something," said Annette.

"All right, if you’re that concerned, we can first file a restraining order against him, and arrange for police protection for you. That will get you some distance. Next we serve him with divorce papers, and file for full custody of Mikaela," said Ruth.

"He’s also been rubbing his new job in my face. I want to take him to the cleaners!" snarled Annette.

"Oh we will, don’t worry about that. By the time we’re done, he’ll be handing over his entire paycheck to you. After all, that’s all those filthy male pigs are good for," said Ruth with a smile.

Annette sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Ruth. I feel so much better now," she said.

"Now then, I’ll take 10 percent of the divorce settlement as my fee. Are we agreed?" asked Ruth.

"Agreed," said Annette, shaking Ruth’s hand.

----

"Well, Mr. Zakhrov. If you want to get full custody of your daughter, you’ve come to the right place," said Stefan Stanislaus, as Ivan sat across from him in his office.

"That’s all I want. I don’t care if Annette wants the house or even if she wants alimony. I just want Mikaela to be safe from her influence," said Ivan.

"I’ll give it to you straight Ivan. Money does diddly squat in custody battles these days. Nine times out of ten, the judge hands the kids over to the mother the second she turns on the waterworks," said Stefan.

"You make it sound like I’ve already lost," said Ivan.

"One needs to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Now, let me outline the worst case scenario for you," said Stefan.

"All right," said Ivan, bracing himself.

"Just as you’ve thought you need to lawyer up, Annette has probably felt the same. So be prepared to find yourself served with divorce papers and a restraining order. Trust me, the system is lightning quick to set that stuff up," said Stefan.

"OK, what happens then?" asked Ivan.

"Regardless of whether that happens or not. Step number two is we have a sit-down with her lawyer and try to hammer out a deal without going to court first. That’s where the assets are divided, alimony and child support is discussed, and if all goes well, custody is agreed upon. The problem here with your case is that we’ll need to protect the fact that you’re working for Sirius Software. The second her lawyer finds that out, we’ll be looking at a much harder fight," said Stefan.

"This sucks," sighed Ivan.

"Totally. But if you want to win, you need to play the game. Now, if you want to get full custody, you’re going to need to prove that Annette is an unfit mother. That means getting her on record for neglect, abuse, or endangerment," said Stefan.

"How do I do that?" asked Ivan.

"Best case scenario in which she hasn’t served you yet, you start documenting everything. Record every conversation you have with her, and record her behavior with Mikaela as well. However, if you get back home to find the locks changed and the cops there, just get the hell away, and hire the best PI you know to monitor her," said Stefan.

"And then what?" asked Ivan.

"We present whatever evidence we have, along with character witnesses to prove to the judge which one of you would be a better parent for Mikaela. And no, you can’t use Mikaela as a witness. She’s too young to testify, and she’s too young to pick either," said Stefan.

"Great! My colleagues at MIT already think I’m a fascist dinosaur for driving a gas powered car and still wearing a suit. Meanwhile, Annette is the perfect progressive parent with pronoun bracelets and vegan meatballs," sighed Ivan.

"Technically, the judge isn’t supposed to care about that stuff. But in reality, they do, so our best bet is to show that you’re the better choice regardless," said Stefan.

"All right. Draft the papers. I’m ready to get this over with," said Ivan.

"Sure thing. I’ll make it so that its clear that you just want custody of Mikaela, and don’t care about anything else," said Stefan.

----

"Damn, Stefan wasn’t exaggerating. Annette’s already made her move," muttered Ivan, as he saw a police cruiser parked outside his house.

He sighed, and walked up to the cruiser.

"Here you go, Officer. My set of divorce papers," he said, handing a file folder to the officer in the driver’s seat.

"You seem pretty calm about this, sir," said the officer, a woman in her mid-30s, with soft brown eyes, and brown hair tied in a tight bun.

"Yeah, well, my lawyer told me to expect this. I’ll be out of here as soon as I can book a cab," said Ivan.

The woman smiled sympathetically.

"All right, sir. Just stay in my sight," she said.

Ivan pulled out his phone, but the rumble of an engine made him look up.

Aaron’s car was approaching the house.

"You should have told me that you were going to try and divorce Mom. I would have come with you," said Aaron, rolling down the window.

"Yeah, well, I didn’t want to drag you into this. It’s between me and Annette," said Ivan.

"Yeah, not happening. You’re getting my support whether you like it or not. Now get in, we’ve got to discuss our next move," said Aaron, as he opened the passenger door.

"All right, thanks son," said Ivan, getting into the car.

----

"Natasha, I need your PI skills," said Aaron, as Natasha entered his office to find him and Ivan seated there.

"What’s going on?" she asked, taking a seat next to Ivan.

"Annette just served Ivan with divorce papers and a restraining order. I need you to tail her and document everything she does with Mikaela," said Aaron.

"Consider it done. I’ll get Olga to help me," said Natasha.

"Thanks Natasha. I owe you one," said Ivan.

"Don’t mention it, Ivan. I’m happy to help. Consider this as my way of atoning for my involvement with Aaron’s expulsion from St. Ignatius back then," said Natasha.

"All right, I’ll leave it in your capable hands then," said Aaron.

"Will do. I’ll get started right away," said Natasha, getting up and leaving the office.

Aaron clicked his intercom open. "Vikram, I need you to cook Ivan’s salary books. Make it look like he’s being paid peanuts. Annette’s lawyers are not going to get a single cent from his Sirius Software paycheck," he said.

"On it, boss," replied Vikram through the intercom.

Aaron turned to Ivan.

"I suggest we get Fr. Abel and anybody else who can vouch for your character to be ready to testify," he said.

"Thanks, son." said Ivan, a hopeful smile forming on his lips.

"Don’t thank me yet. We still have a long way to go," said Aaron with a grim smile.