It was now obvious to everyone why Snowbers had gone through such an effort to find someone –anyone- else to take the inheritance of Andrew Wilson.
To claim the fortune, the will explicitly stated that the inheritor had to be willing to take custody of Wilson’s granddaughter, Mary Wilson, and his adopted daughters, fraternal twins Kasey and Emily Pureheart Wilson.
And Emily was a major terror, Dennis and Calvin all rolled into one and a hundred times smarter than Jason Fox.
Snowbers had neglected to mention this to the twins’ only blood relative, second cousin Ace Goodheart. Now the young man had signed the papers accepting custodianship –and there was no going back.
But Brighthead and G-Force, watching Emily, had seen something else –a shattered heart, torn and wounded over the devastating loss of the only father she’d ever known.
Upon returning to the Institute of Science with the girls and the team, Dr. Brighthead set a few things in motion.
The selection of the Board of Directors for Wilson Co. went well. The four promoted personnel from within the company did not realize that the other six were Institute of Science personnel, specially chosen to make sure that no part of the Wilson Corporation fell into Galactor hands –and to make sure Wilson Co.’s other priorities were in order.
The four bodyguards that had worked for Andrew Wilson were officially hired as Institute of Science security and assigned to the living quarters of the Wilson girls.
Grief counseling was instituted for the girls. Kasey and Mary were sent to one of the regular counselors who worked with the children of IS employees. But, except for group sessions, Brighthead assigned Emily to the psychiatrists who handled the team’s counseling, part of the reason being they were already used to G-4’s pranks.
Initially, living quarters for all the girls were set up at the Institute. And it soon became clear that it would be dangerous for the delicate Kasey to live anywhere else. Her lungs –weak since birth, vulnerable to the slightest injury and disease- required both a very controlled atmospheric environment and constant monitoring. Outside trips would be both rare and short. They also found out –fast- that Mary had trouble with unfamiliar environments, getting lost very easily. This virtually dictated that neither of the girls would be living outside the Institute environment.
It was easy to find a nanny/governess for the two younger girls. A pediatric nurse from the Institute’s private hospital, with her own two children grown and gone, was happy to take the job. She was able to provided not only the medical care that Kasey required but also the gentle love and patience the grieving girls desperately needed. Significantly, even though Emily refused to accept her authority, neither did she interfere with or terrorize her; her concern for her sisters overrode her unspoken insistence that those in charge ‘prove’ themselves to her. As Brighthead had gambled.
He also wagered on something else: by putting Emily into the same physical and mental training regime as the team (though he had no intention of sending her into combat, or letting her see them in Birdstyle), she would both redirect a good deal of her energy and be challenged to levels higher and farther than she ever known before. And it paid off.
Emily calmed down. Not only did the challenging environment demand more than she’d ever have to give before, but it enabled Ace to ‘prove’ his right to be in charge of her. She also learned to respect the other team members, and accept their guidance –and their support as she grieved. Her progress was such that within three months –as soon as the remodeling of his shack was completed- Emily was allowed to go live with Ace.
But, as the incident with the macaroni and iguana proved, she was still a outrageous prankster –especially when she and Pewee worked together.