CHAPTER 30

“You mean you’re going to badge in there?” asked Mrs. Swiss through gritted teeth. They were all speaking in muffles, trying not to alert the strangers that they were planning anything or that they were even aware of their presence in the upper room. The security team were currently doing a sweep of the area to know just how many had gotten in. Then Noah had come up with his outrageous idea, and she looked at him in utter disgust. Who is he kidding? Was he trying to get everyone killed? She couldn’t hide her obvious hatred now mingled with amusing disbelieve. Noah had just told the worst plan ever. She scoffed and turned to her husband. “Aren’t you going to stop him?”

“Do you have a better plan?” Noah asked her before her husband could come in. Clenching and unclenching his fist, he started talking again in low tunes. “We cannot just stand here and do nothing.” He was beyond reasoning. Every minute spent deliberating this was putting his family at risk, and he couldn’t bear to afford that. Those three are the best things in his life right now. And all of them were being held captive. “Look, this might sound insane but it’s the solid plan given the situation.”

The chief security man said on entering the room, “I think it could work. He had just done the final sweep, and there were no more hidden men in the compound aside from the two upstairs.

“Yes. Finally, thank you.” he was sweating profusely now, his eyes looking towards the doorways.

The security continued, “So far, it’s just the two in the room.”

In a hushed tone, Noah quickly went through the plan again, “I go in there, distract them while you get the perfect spot to shoot”.

“And if things go south?” Mrs. Swiss asked, her eyes were focused on her husband but the question was aimed at Noah.

Noah didn’t bother staying calm. He was losing it now “I have military training, and I won’t stay here and watch my family be threatened, and held hostage a second time. I have to be there”

Mrs. Swiss backed down, seeing the desperation mingled with fear in his intentions. She knew he was referring to the robbery incidence that happened two years ago. It had traumatized the kids. To date, they were claustrophobic; always in fear of staying in an enclosed area.

Robert walked towards the man, holding his shoulder. “Sometimes, the best we could do is get help.” he said, “Let the trained men help.”

If only he could let them. Nate was probably gone now while he had been standing by, watching, leaving things for others to do. He wasn’t about to make that mistake again. “I can’t.” he told Robert, “I did the right thing by getting back up.” turning towards the security men, as they trooped in with their guns, and mask, “Now, I need the backups to do their job. I’m going in there to distract them. Take the shot.” with that, he walked out of the room, and headed upstairs. It must have been the most stupid thing he ever does, but he had to do it.

“75seconds” the security officer called after him. He turned to his men, backing orders quietly. They all fell in line and began taking positions.

As he got in, Noah looked at his family and felt stricken by how sad they looked. His kids were seated on a chair, hands tied in front of them. Deep inside, he wailed. He swore off the several things he would do to the men when he has them. When they saw him, they yelled, but the men shut them up with a shout.

“Woman, need I remind you to keep your brats mute?” he said, glaring at Adriana.

Adriana shushes the kids, with a finger to her lips. She smiled at them, and they smiled back shakily. They were perspiring. She wiped it off and kissed them while exchanging looks with her husband. Did he get the signal? His head moved slightly, and she hoped it meant he had help.

Noah said nothing. He lifted his hands in surrender. But to his wife who looked at him, he nodded, telling her they had help. Help was behind them, looking for a clean shot. Adriana nodded slightly again. Her eyes darted towards the door. He was able to get that the other man was behind the door. He deliberated dragged his feet going in.

“Come in now.” teased the gunman. He pointed the gun at Noah. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

Noah started counting in his head. He stood blocking the doorway, knowing all their attention would be on him. 30. 31. 32.

“Come in” the man repeated sternly this time. He uncorked his gun and pointed with a growl. Behind the door, the man hiding shouted that he should step in quickly.

45. 46. 47. He started walking in, shivering. “Take it easy man” he pleaded. He was at the right spot now. 60. 61. 62. He eyed the man behind him, sizing him up without being obvious. At the exact moment, he pretended to be clumsy. Staggering on the door, he eventually fell, a bit too hard and knocked off the man behind. The man screamed out in pain.

The other man pointing the gun at Noah cursed angrily, as he went over, kicking Noah down. He tried helping his fellow up, and that’s when the gunshot reverberated.

With the other man knocked out of the way, Noah jumped on the man staggering behind the door. They struggled as the security men trooped in. Then another gunshot went off. Everyone stood for a while, confused. There should have been one gunshot, fired to the skull of the man pointing at Noah. And he was lying now on the floor, breathless. Where did the second come from? Who shot it?

“Mommy” Ethan called his mother, holding his shoulder. He was bleeding badly.

Elizabeth stood holding the shoulder down too, “Mommy” both chorused and Adriana screamed as her kids slumped on the floor. Everything became hazy afterwards. The man was captured and dragged away while Noah ran to his kids. Nathan was bleeding, and his breathing was uneven. He looked at the wound, checking the bleeding spot lightly. It was a graze by the shoulder, thankfully. The bullet had bruised him on its way towards the door. It wasn’t in the shoulder; the shell was right there on the floor. He got the handkerchief and quickly wrapped up the place. The ambulance wheeled into their compound and Noah lifted his son, “You’ll be fine, buddy.” He ran off with the kid into the ambulance. When he was safely secured on the bed, he got out of the ambulance to go get his sister. “It’s just a graze, you’ll be fine.”

Adriana was shaking Elizabeth, screaming when he got back in. Noah got the little girl from her, checking her too. It didn’t look like she had been hit. But she was out cold. He got up, and so did Adriana beside him. Both parents ran to the ambulance, ignoring the help from the paramedics that came with the stretcher.

They checked the girl’s vital, put her on the oxygen tank, and asked who was going with them. Noah went into the vehicle. There was only just enough space for one. So their mother wouldn’t be going with them. Mrs. Swiss and her husband drove a distraught Adriana to the hospital.

Some minutes later, they were outside the theatre, waiting for the doctor. He confirmed Noah’s precise statement. “You’re right.” the doctor said to both parents, “The boy…”

“Ethan” Noah corrected.

“Ethan was grazed on the shoulder by the stray bullet. There is no permanent damage done there. He’ll be fine”

“Oh, thank God.” Adriana said in tears, holding her husband’s hand firmly.

“And Elizabeth?” asked Mrs. Swiss “She’s in shock. Nothing a few rests wouldn’t do.” the doctor assured. “In the next couple hours, we expect her to come around”.

“Can we see them now?” asked Robert.

“Sure” the doctor nodded and moved away for the couple, who rushed into the theatre.

The twins were laid side by side. Ethan’s right arm was bandaged, and he slept with a peaceful smile. Adriana kissed his forehead while Noah held his hand. They moved to Elizabeth’s bed. She looked peaceful too but was still on oxygen.

“I don’t understand. Why isn’t she waking up?” Adriana asked, sitting beside her child. Noah rubbed her shoulder, holding her hand.

“I think it’s the twins’ connection thing.” said Robert.

“Like what happens to one becomes the other’s fate?” Mrs. Swiss asked, looking worried and amused at the same time at the suggestion.

Robert nodded, “It might sound outrageous, but it’s happened in movies and stories. Some twins are linked in a way. If Ethan wakes up, I’ll bet she will.”

“That’s preposterous.” Mrs. Swiss said. Then she paused, shaking off a feeling.

“You might be right.” Adriana said. “One day, the twins’ teacher reported an incident.”

“The day Elizabeth was punished and Ethan knew?” Noah asked.

“Yes. Telepathic connection. But she said something when I walked her out to her car.” Adriana went in, looking dreamily at her son. “She said Ethan started crying in his class like he knew his sister was being punished and weeping at that very moment. And he suddenly ran out of class to check her up”

“And she was in tears then?” asked Robert, finding it amusing.

“Yes”

“Up until now though, Elizabeth has never shown she had the trait. We always assumed it was Ethan” Noah added.

“It’s either that then, or shock” Mrs. Swiss, not buying the telepathic story one bit. But the twins definitely had shown unusual closeness. Something that happened the night of the robbery gnawed at her. She remembered Ethan shivering at the table. Not long after, a shaking Elizabeth came to tell her there were strange men in the home. “She had been in the corridor when the maid opened the door.” she began. She went to Elizabeth’s bed, holding the little girl’s hand, and rubbing it smoothly. “The night of the robbery. She wasn’t at the dining with us. It was just Ethan and me.” she looked up at Noah, “I was just about calling her when I noticed Ethan shivering. We didn’t know who was at the door. We only heard the doorbell. When I asked Ethan what was wrong, he said he didn’t know. A few seconds later, his sister ran in, shaking.” she smiled at Adriana and her husband, “That was the intervention we had. I heard the men shout, and quickly took them to the room where you found them, and I passed the phone to them.” If the little girl had been with them at the table, there would have been no spare minutes to get them to safety, and in turn getting help. But that wasn’t what this was about. “They might be telepathic after all.”

Adriana and her husband bent over the kids, holding hands with them. And when both kids started to cough, everyone burst into laughter. Mrs. Swiss and her husband waited for the twins to come around. They kissed both of them, promised them something if they recover fast and gets discharged soon. Finally, they bade the excited parents goodbye, and let the family have the room.

“How are you, kids?” Noah asked much later. The kids were doing better now. Elizabeth was breathing fine, and so was Ethan. Aside from the wrapped shoulder which the little boy insists doesn’t hurt, all seemed well.

“I’m okay” replied Elizabeth. “So am I” Ethan added.

“You had us worried.” Adriana said, rubbing both their heads.

“Sorry mom” Elizabeth hugged her mom. “Are the men gone?” Ethan asked.

“Yes, they are”

“What’s going to happen to them?” he asked “The police would take care of them since they are very bad guys” Noah informed them.

“Can we go home now?” Elizabeth asked in a pleading tone, “Grandma’s house is full of bad men”

The couple exchanged looks, knowing the little girl was referring to not just this incident but the robbery incident too. They would have to get the kids into therapy. “Might I suggest you look into therapy for kids?” he whispered to his wife, as the twins started arguing about something that had happened while being held, hostage.

“Oh, I think we all should see someone. This year’s being full of traumatic drama as it is.” Adriana replied, smiling as she pulled the kids for a hug. She beaconed to her husband and smiled contentedly when he entered the fold.

*****

“What’s going on here?” Evangeline asked, walking into the room. It was late in the afternoon, and though Jason was somewhere in the house, she couldn’t find him. They were still at the penthouse, amidst her protest. She had had enough of the building as it were since the incident last night. But Jason had insisted they should leave the next day. This morning, he seemed quite excited when he said they could leave when he was back.

And he’s being back for almost an hour, but she couldn’t find him. The bags were all packed. She was ready to leave the horrible nightmare behind. But where was he? She began searching the rooms one after the other. He wasn’t anywhere to be found. He wasn’t picking her calls either. Finally, she stood in front of the last door on their floor. Hearing some sound, she kicked the door opened, and some distance away in case someone dangerous was lurking around.

Four pairs of eyes turned towards her. “Jase” she called again. The room suddenly fell silent, and gloomy. He had been holding a hammer to the toe of the men who had attacked them. The three men were bleeding. Turning to James, Sam and Sloane, she asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Babe, what are you doing here?” he asked Evangeline, distracting her. Pulling her to himself, he asked, “Did you get some rest?”

Evangeline looked at him weirdly. What was wrong with the sweet man she knew and was starting to love? Why was he so hung up on finding this truth about his parents? She could understand he wanted clarity, but wasn’t this going too far? “Tell me you didn’t torture these men?” she whispered in his ear as he pulled her in for a hug with his free hand.

“We want them to talk before handing them over to the authority. We’re thinking CIA, not the police” Sam replied, hurriedly. He had heard the question Miss Evangeline asked.

One of the men spat out blood, and laughed weirdly, “CIA?” the other men started laughing too.

Jason dropped the hammer on the floor with an alarmingly loud impact and glared at the men. Beside him, James whispered, “Perhaps there’s another way to go about this” he mentioned, “My dad?”

“You think he might know something?”

James nodded, “I hope so”

“We should check that out.” he said, walking away with Evangeline. “And to answer your question earlier.” he stopped moving. Turning around to face her, he ran his hand down her hair, “I didn’t do a thing to the men. I only watched with a…”

“Satisfying grin?’ Evangeline asked, she started walking away to their suite. Jason followed behind hers, saying nothing. Opening the door to their suite, she stepped aside and let him go in first. She closed the door firmly before turning to him “Jase, you have to stop this” she pleaded.

“I know.” he sat down on the couch, and she sat astride him. Her hands circled him, rubbing first his back, then his face “Would you not want to know if your parents had been involved in anything shady?”

She pondered over it. It was a tricky question. If she said yes, he would feel justified. There wasn’t anything justifiable in pounding one’s fist into another human for any reason. If she said no, he would know she wasn’t being truthful. “I would want to find out.” she said. He smiled excitedly, “But, I wouldn’t put myself or anyone in danger to do it.”

“And have I?” he asked, checking his watch “You have somewhere to be?” she asked, “Go, we can talk about this later. But we will” she leaned over to kiss him, then stood.

“Thanks.” he said and was out the door. “James.” he said into his phone while walking out the door. James and Sloane were already by the car waiting for him. “Sam is with the men, I suppose?”

“Yes”

“Then let him keep them in a firm grip, they might eventually spill” he commanded. Sloane got the car door, and he stepped in. The man shut the door firmly and went to the driver’s seat while James sat beside him in the front seat.

It was a quiet drive to the place. Aside from the occasional guide, James gave Sloane, nobody said anything. Earlier, he had placed a call to his dad to let him know they would be coming. He had just got back into the country last week, and though he said nothing, James knew his father was pissed with him. He had literally bundled his father out of town to keep him from all the drama. The old man needed to rest but he was proving stubborn about it. And he would have loved to have him stay with their uncle a little longer, but the man was travelling too. His father rather than stay home and wait seized the opportunity to get himself back in Miami. “Take the turn left.” he said to Sloane again. The car swerved towards left, and he instructed, “Keep driving down, we’re stopping on the 5th building, black gate.” When he stopped, James smiled, “We’re here.”

Everyone got down, and James looked around sceptically. Noticing this Jason asked, “Something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. For all our sakes though, I should go first. My dad can be a little overboard when he’s angry” he said sheepishly.

“What did you do this time?” Jason asked, laughing. At that very moment, he was recalling an incident that happened when they were young. It was a school day, but he had been sent home from school because he was ill. The sickness was feigned of course. Little Jason just wanted to escape the horrors of the boarding school, and stay with his mother. But like always, his parents had been away. He was left in the care of the maids. Towards evening, he had wandered off to the chief security’s house which was right about their compound. And on getting there, stood back in shock at the scene before him. Everywhere was littered with bowls, and cups, and all manner of rubbish. And right where he stood, a bag had flown past his head.

“Sorry kiddo” James’ father had apologized on sighting him, “Jason.” he called, a bit shocked, “What are you doing here?”

James had been too shocked to say anything. He stood on the spot, silent. Behind his father, a boy had peeked, then seeing his father busy with someone else had dashed off.

“It was you I saw then” Jason had teased his friend when they officially met.

“Yes?” James asked, not sure he knew what Jason was on about.

“Your dad was throwing things at you” Jason and James started laughing.

“He three that intentionally”

“The bag?” Jason asked. He had thought the older man had done it without intending to harm him.

“He knew someone was in the compound. So he threw that to stop the person. What he didn’t know was who the person was.” he shrugged, “He’s a security man, always alert”

“And he throws things because?” Jason found that amusing “Fun maybe.” James had replied. “I believe he enjoys throwing things at me in particular whenever I get him angry.”

“What did you do that day?”

“I asked Jacob Smith for a cookie. He was in my class, and I didn’t know it was stoned.” James started laughing. “I got home that a mess. Mom said I shouted at dad and called him a mitten when he kept yelling at me. The next day, which was the day you came, was my punishment day”

Jason held his tummy, laughing hard. Both had a field day laughing. “Remind me to be wary of your father when he’s annoyed with you then.” As he remembered that incident, he looked at his friend, shaking his head. “What did you do?’ he asked again.

James feigned pity, “I had him shipped off to uncle. He didn’t like it. And he’s been back a week, and I’ve been so busy to visit”

“Sloane, please get the car started. Be ready to take him to the hospital” Jason instructed, smiling. He began walking towards the house.

“How good can you duck?” James asked. Somewhere at the house, he knew his father would be there, waiting for them to get to the right distance. He had barely said the words when a cup went flying past his head. Sloane let out a yell. “Sorry.” he said to his colleague with an apologetic smile. Turning towards the house, he shouted “Dad, we’ve got company.”

“Boss, think I’ll sit this one out, in the car.” Sloane said to their boss. When Jason nodded, he got headed back to the car, rubbing his head.

“Dad, I didn’t mean to stay away. Work’s been hectic” James explained, standing at the entrance. Knowing his father wouldn’t hurt Jason, he stepped aside, “Mr. Valdez is here.”

“Good evening sir” Jason curtsied to the older man, who curtsied and hugged him.

“Welcome Mr. Valdez” with his hand patting the young man’s back, he walked him to the dining table. “It’s been a while.” he said and offered him a drink.

“Thank you” Jason accepted the drink, and nodding at James said, “Please don’t be mad at James. I had him so busy”

“Is it true you were attacked?” asked the older man “Yes, and he’s been taking such good care of my family”

“Then you can come in”

“Thanks, Dad.” said James. He waved at Sloane and got in. Placing the file he had gotten from Jason on the table, he stood to get himself a drink. The refrigerator was almost empty. “I’ll restock” he murmured.

“You better.” said his father. He reached for the file, pulling it to himself, and started going through it. While he did, James checked on Sam and gave the update to his boss.

Then James sat with his father, watching him as he went through the folder. He had gone through the whole document once and found nothing that called out to him. Still, he was going through it again. This time, slowly. When he stopped on a newspaper clip, he exchanged looks with Jason. “Is something there?” he asked his father.

“I’m not sure”. The older man quickly went back to some of the paper he had seen earlier. He took the paper and placed it alongside the newspaper clippings. His brows were squeezed tight as he compared both. He pointed at the markings in the paper, and looked sternly at the newspaper too. “It’s the same date” he pointed out. “It’s like someone was sending a coded message using these” he held up both papers.

James and Jason bent over it, checking the folder. They frowned seeing the markings. “September 4th Jason readout, “And October 4th.”

“The same date.” James said too. He started looking at the folder for more. And there were several others. On every 4th, a newspaper was delivered. And each was always marked. A word or two was always underlined in green pen. three men wrote out the words. There were twelve of the papers.

“Leave it.” read Jason. “Stop.” he read another “Beware.” He placed the third down, “It’s all like a warning”

“Let it burn.” James read the one he held, “Be careful.” he picked up another, “They’re all just clues. There’s a story here. We need someone in there to explain it”

“Someone in?” said James’ father. He sat stunned, leaning back, and rubbing his forehead. He was remembering something about his wife now. “I can’t help but remember the story I told you about the cousin of your mother who was a spy in the Smiths’ camp.” he said. Something bothered him about this. He remembered his wife had a folder too. Nothing like this one, but wouldn’t hurt to take a look. “Give me a second” he excused himself to go retrieve it. He got back some minutes later with a small carton. “Let’s check some things here”

Dumping the contents on the table, the men got to work. There didn’t seem to be anything that could help. Finally, tired, and exhausted Jason asked that they take a break. “Perhaps we should do this later, after some light lunch?” he suggested.

“I found it” James’ father shouted, happily.

“What’s that?” James asked. His father was flinging an old photograph. He collected the picture, stared at it, turned it back, but found anything to be excited about.

“That’s the spy cousin” he pointed at the folder on the table. “We should look at that newspaper. The one where your parents plane crash was mentioned” he said to Jason.

Reaching for the file, Jason hurriedly went through each paper. He found the very one and gave the elderly man. “Here”

“Now, look at this” he called both men over. “In the picture is this woman spy, travelling with your parents.”

“They are with the woman in the private section?” Jason noted He knew what his boss was thinking, “It could only mean they were travelling together” James pointed out.

“If they had this woman, and let’s say the Smith’s know that the woman had been spying on them…” the older woman said, “And if she’s gotten in too deep?”

“It might be enough reason to want her, and whoever she is with, dead” Jason said, nodding off.

“Then again, I remember something now” the older man fished out another picture. In it was his wife, sitting very close to the woman. That wasn’t strange, but Mrs. Valdez was on the table too. “My wife and your mother used to be weirdly close. I didn’t understand why, but it was like they were being secretive about it.” he looked apologetically at his son, “I could have looked into it, but your mother hated when I spy on her. she thinks it’s silly of me to know what she wants kept secret from me” he stared at the picture, “And it’s women thing, they probably gossiped about your dad, me, everyone. So I didn’t see anything wrong in that.”

“The point, dad?” asked James.

“If these three women had met… couldn’t she be feeding them information?” he asked, “I’m not sure”

“It’s worth considering.” Jason said. “We can ask the Smith with Gaby. He might be able to solve this mystery”

Immediately, James brought out his phone and called Gaby. The man was in some sour mood over his brother’s death. They need him to hold off his revenge so they could get some answers. When he ended the call, he looked at Jason, “He wants us down there. He’s going to kill him today”

“Then we better get going.” Jason said, standing. “Thank you, sir.” he said to the older man, curtsying. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“Glad I could help” James’ father replied with pride.

“Bye dad.” James said, picking up his cap. The man walked them to the door and waved as they got in the car and drove off. “I’ll stop by the house briefly.” he told James. He had to let Evangeline know what he had just learnt. ‘Hey baby” he said, walking into the suite.

“Are we leaving now? I’m all packed” Evangeline smiled at him.

“Not now.” he looked at her apologetically. “We found something.” he said and told her all he found out. ‘Now, we are going to meet the last Smith standing for some answers.”

Evangeline stepped away, not understanding a bit why he had to do this himself. “Are we ever going to talk about last night?” she asked, angry at him for putting them all in danger. He had used them as bait, and now, he was walking into another danger. “Do you have some death wish or something?.” He looked at her confused, “You beat the man to a pulp. Doesn’t that mean you’re out of control?”

“I’m always in control”

“Like you were when you hit that man repeatedly?”

“Yes.” Jason replied, too harshly. He took a deep breath, “I was trying to disarm him”

“Maybe. It was a little overboard” she said, remembering he had gone on hitting the man even when he was bleeding, and lying down helplessly.

“What do you want from me?” he asked, exhausted.

“Maybe that’s the problem.” she stood up, stamping her feet hard on the tiled floor. “You are so masked up inside you’ve never really opened up to anyone” she looked at him, “Please let me in. what’s going on?” She said in a pleading tone. “Don’t do this”

Shaking his head, he disagreed. He had to. Can she not see how important this is for him? his dead parents? “I have to. I need to know what happened.”

“I know you do, but let your men handle it”

It was personal. He had to see this through.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to back down, she saw no other choice, “Then I guess, this is where we stop”

He stood up too and went towards her. “Where we stop?”

“I can no longer do this with you anymore. I’m leaving” she said. “I’ll get home myself.”

Jason walked towards her, stopping when she turned her back to her. “I won’t do anything, just listen to whatever he has to say.” he told her, pleading that she tries to understand. “I lost my parents…” he wanted to say more but held back. Instead, he said, “I need to at least know why.”