The Snowflake Trilogy

by J. J. Jones

  I left the room first and went out to my car. I looked around cautiously to see if anyone looked suspicious, but I didn’t see anyone. So I pulled the car around to the back and waited patiently for Logan to join me where we had agreed I would pick him up. It didn’t take too long before I saw him slink carefully out of the room and around the back. He made his way carefully to the car and into the passengers seat. It wasn’t much of an exit, but I was pretty sure we left without anyone noticing Logan or that I had anyone else in my room.

  We drove back into town and to the bank where Logan’s safety deposit box was located. Logan gave me all the information I needed to access the box. We parked a few blocks away in order to avoid being seen by anyone.

  “If anyone seems to notice you, just run back to car without accessing the box. It’s not that important. Don’t get caught,” Logan told me.

  “Okay,” I said nervously.

  “You’ll be fine. They’ll never expect that I’d be working with someone like you,” he said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I said a little hurt.

  “Sorry, it’s not what it came out like,” Logan tried to back peddle, “they just won’t suspect a black woman to be helping me, that’s all.”

  “Whatever,” I got out of the car, not quite sure how to take that comment.

  “Tanisha,” he called after me.

  “Logan, it’s fine. Let’s just get this over with,” I said as I slammed the door.

  I put on my sunglasses and walked toward the building with the information tucked safely in my pocket. As I turned the corner and approached the front of the building, I started to notice all the “undercover” agents lurking around the building. They were easy to spot. I tried to seem as calm as possible as I walked into the building, even though my heart was racing and I could feel my breaths becoming shorter. But the agents didn’t even look at me twice. I breathed a short sigh of relief as I pulled open the door and walked inside.

  I pulled off my sunglasses, letting my eyes adjust to the change of light. A television blared in the corner. Logan’s picture was plastered on the screen. There was a reward of a million dollars now just for information. I was shocked. I stood there for a brief moment staring at the screen. A million dollars – that was a lot of money. Of course I was tempted just for a moment, but I couldn’t do it. I knew what they would do to him if I turned him over. It was inhumane. They would kill him or turn him into some kind of human experiment. Either way, I knew that it wasn’t worth a million dollars in my bank account to see that happen to anyone. Even living a life of luxury, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, knowing that I had turned him in to a fate like that. I turned away from the television and walked toward the front desk of the bank where I would need to give the required information.

  There were multiple agents posted inside as well. Again, they didn’t seem to notice me. I watched as they targeted two other individuals that were inside the bank instead. I was relieved that they were there. It was going to make my job easier. I noticed that they had cornered the two individuals and were starting to ask them questions. I tried not to stare, but one of them was making quite a scene. It was a woman and she was acting quite offended for being targeted. I think her attitude only raised more questions with the FBI agents. Maybe Logan was right and being black would help.

  I continued walking slowly to the front desk and pulled my gaze away from the woman as the FBI agents were escorting her to a small room off the lobby.

  “Good morning, how may I help you?” a man stood behind the counter looking a little flustered with all the commotion.

  “Morning,” I said trying to keep my voice calm and act normal. “I need to access my safety deposit box.”

  “Sure of course, do you have the box number?” he asked.

  “1307,” I said still trying to keep my cool.

  I saw his face contort slightly as I said the number of the box, but he said nothing about it.

  “Do you have your key?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I said trying to sound confident. I wondered for a moment if all of these questions were standard or if he was beginning to interrogate me because I was accessing Logan’s box.

  “Alright, I will just have you sign in the register, please fill in all the boxes with your information and then I’ll escort you back.” He turned around a book with places for my name, signature, the date, time and box number.

  Logan had warned me about this and told me I wouldn’t be able to falsify my information. The man would ask for my driver’s license or passport after I had written down the information to verify that it was the same. I quickly wrote down all the information and spun the book around for him to see.

  “Great, thank you, Miss Barnes. Do you have an identification with you that I can verify your information? Like a drivers license or passport?” he asked politely.

  “Yes, of course,” I quickly dug in my purse for my wallet where I was able to retrieve my license. I handed it to him where he inspected it for what felt like hours. I tried to keep myself calm, telling myself that everything was going to be fine, but I couldn’t tell if he was stalling or trying to make this take longer than it normally would. Every second seemed to take minutes and every minute seemed to take hours.

  Finally he handed back my license. I shoved it back in my wallet. “Please follow me,” he said leading the way back to the safety deposit boxes. As we walked I felt my knees knocking together nervously. I had to take deep breaths to keep myself from hyperventilating.

  “Please wait here, I will bring your box to you.” He walked away to a separate room. I could see him the entire time behind a gate as he accessed the box and pulled it from the wall. The box was larger than I had expected it to be. I reached into my pocket and felt the key tucked safely inside. I waited as he brought the box back out of the gated room and into the room where I sat comfortably on a chair in front of table.

  He brought the box back and placed it in front of me on the table.

  “Thank you,” I said politely.

  “Of course, mam. If you need anything, I will be out front. When you are finished, please press the button by the door and I will come back and replace the box. I will also need you to sign the register again as you leave.”

  “Yes of course,” I said as he left the room.

  I quickly unlocked the box to see the contents inside. A large rucksack had been stuffed inside. I’m not sure what I had expected to see, knowing that Logan had told me a million dollars was in there, but I had hoped it would have been a little less bulky and inconspicuous.

  Regardless, I didn’t have time to sit and examine the contents of the bag. I pulled it from the box, a little overwhelmed by the weight. Not that I had ever carried a million dollars before, but it sure felt heavier than just money. I shut the box quickly and re-locked it. I pressed the button by the door and waited for the man to come back.

  Part of me expected him to come back with the FBI agents, but he came back alone.

  “Finished?” he said taking a look at the rucksack I had slung around my shoulder.

  “Yes, thank you,” I replied.

  “Alright, let me put the box away for you,” he said.

  “I’ll just make my way back out if that’s alright,” I said. “I won’t forget to sign the register as I leave.” I said a little playfully putting my hand on his shoulder teasingly.

  “Yes, of course that’s fine,” he said smiling back at me.

  I had no idea if that was normal protocol, but I was glad that my womanly charm had done the trick to get me out of there. I walked quickly to the front and signed the register indicating my time of departure from the bank.

  I looked around for the undercover FBI agents and didn’t see them. There were either still questioning the other woman, or were off doing something else. I was grateful they weren’t out in the deserted lobby as I practically ran to the exit.

  I knew that I wasn’t out of the woods yet. Now I had
to get back to the car and Logan with a huge bag slung around my shoulder. I was sure to raise a little attention from some of the FBI agents as I exited the bank just for the nature of the bag.

  I pulled out my sunglasses and tried to walk normally as I could. I dropped the bag to my side hoping to shield it’s size somewhat as I walked. It was bulky and awkward. As it brushed against my leg, something continually jabbed me that sure didn’t feel like cash. Again I wondered what else might be in the bag other than the cash.

  As I walked I kept expecting to be surrounded by fifteen or twenty FBI agents. I thought that maybe they had let me go inside and get whatever was inside the safety deposit box just so they could seize its contents. For a second, I thought that I had been so stupid to think they wouldn’t take notice of me. Now they were just waiting for the perfect moment to take me in. Were they watching me now just to lead them back to Logan. I felt myself becoming paranoid the further away I got from the bank. I hadn’t had a single person approach me. It seemed unreal that they wouldn’t have even asked me any questions. Everything seemed too good to be true. I started to look behind me and around me wondering where all the FBI agents were hiding.

  In the end, I walked around the corner and no one even approached me. No one followed me and no one talked to me. Perhaps Logan didn’t have the smartest FBI agents after him, because I was able to turn the corner, and was pretty sure no one was following me. I glanced behind me multiple times, but I felt pretty confident that I had made it. Relief spread through me and I took a deep breath as I turned back around.

  As I turned back around I was startled when suddenly a man appeared in front of me out of nowhere.

  “Excuse me, mam,” he said quickly, “do you have the time?”

  “Uh,” I was caught off-guard and unsure how to respond for a second, “I’m sorry, I don’t.” I noticed that he was dressed in normal clothing and didn’t look at all like any of the FBI agents, so I wasn’t worried about that. He flashed a smile at me, that kind of smile that creeped me out. I thought maybe he was hitting on me or something. More than anything, I just wanted to get passed him and back to the car and Logan. I quickly sidestepped him and continued walking.

  “Excuse me, I can’t help but notice that you are wearing a watch. I just asked you for the time. Is it that hard to look at your watch and give me the time?” his tone changed a little as he pressed me for the time.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said startled by his brashness. “I don’t normally wear it,” I looked down at my wrist, “It’s 10:33,” I said.

  “Where is he?” he snarled grabbing my arm as I looked back up.

  I knew immediately that this man was not FBI, but I wasn’t sure what he was. I looked into his eyes and saw that they were blood red and the longer I refused to reply, the more angry he became. And the more angry he became, the more his face contorted. His teeth were sharp and jagged reminding me of a wild animal. He had hair that was shaggy and unkempt. His sideburns connected with his beard which was long and scraggly. He looked horrifying. Everything about him reminded me of something, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

  I was unsure what to do for a moment. I didn’t want to turn on Logan, but I also didn’t know if this thing would harm me in order to find Logan.

  “Where is he?” he hissed into my ear as he grabbed me with both arms. I dropped the rucksack to the ground and struggled against his grip. I felt his hands tighten and squeeze harder and he continued to ask for Logan’s location.

  I still refused to speak, both out of terror and loyalty.

  The man began to shake me, as he yelled, “Where is he? Come on, you bitch. I know you know where he is, just tell me.”

  For a brief moment, I thought he would tear my body apart limb from limb from the fierceness of his shaking. I wanted to scream, to run, to do anything to get away from him, but I couldn’t do anything. I was no match for him or his strength. I felt the life being squeezed from my body, and even if I had wanted to speak, I don’t think my lungs would have worked.

  Then a flash of color, a blur and a rush of air came back into my lungs. I felt my body collapse onto the hard concrete sidewalk, but I welcomed the feeling compared to what I had just experienced. Through my blurred vision, I saw my white bear use super human strength to throw the man to the other end of the block with ease.

  I felt my body picked up, and at first I assumed it was Logan, but the scent was unfamiliar to me. I smelled blood and dirt. I knew that Logan didn’t smell like that. For the second time in twenty-four hours I felt a gun pointed at the side of my head.

  “Don’t move, or I will shoot you,” a second man hissed in my ear.

  I stood stark still, believing that this man really would shoot me if I moved. I shifted my gaze to look at Logan who was just turning around from sending the other man down the block.

  “We don’t want her, we want you,” the man said still holding the gun to my head.

  “So take that gun away from her head and turn it toward me,” Logan snarled back.

  “That’s not exactly how this works, Logan,” the man curled his upper lip into a smile and wrapped his hand gingerly around the gun.

  “Is this pretty thing someone special to you? Do you care about her, Logan?” the man picked up a piece of my hair and twirled it in his fingers. I shuddered at his touch.

  “Don’t touch her,” Logan said protectively.

  “Oh, so she does mean something to you,” he confirmed. “Well then we will be able to make an easy trade here.”

  “I’m listening,” Logan said through clenched teeth.

  “We will walk back to wherever you have your car stowed. I will escort our little lady here and you will walk in front of us. Any funny business and she gets shot.”

  “And then?” Logan said.

  “And then we’ll discuss our plan from there,” he said. “For now we walk, you first.” He waved his gun at Logan indicating for him to start walking.

  But the man had made his mistake. He had taken the gun away from my head just long enough for Logan to make his move. I had a hard time even processing everything as it happened so fast.

  Logan moved in between me and the man. I heard snarling and growling back and forth. The next sound I heard was a gunshot. I felt a warm sticky sensation spread across my face and arms. I reached up to touch my face and pulling my hand away, I saw that it was coated with blood. I immediately thought of myself and wondered if I had been shot somewhere, but I felt no pain. I looked around me, and saw that blood was oozing from a wound in Logan’s shoulder.

  Logan turned to face me and I briefly saw the other man was crumpled to the ground in the fetal position. I hadn’t seen what Logan had done to him, but whatever it was, he wasn’t moving. Logan quickly picked me up with his uninjured arm and swiftly moved back to the car. My mind was focused on Logan’s shoulder where he had been shot.

  “Come on, we have to get going,” he said quickly. “All the chaos and noise will have alerted the FBI. I’m sure they will find their way here soon. We need to get out here now.”

  “But Logan, you’re hurt,” I clamored still looking at his shoulder.

  “We’ll deal with it once we are safe. For now, don’t worry about it,” his tone was commanding and final. We arrived at the car. “I need you to drive,” he said.

  “Okay,” I said staring at his arm.

  “Tanisha, look at me,” he said drawing my eyes up to his own, “We need to get away from here, and I need you to drive us. Can you do that?”

  “Yes,” I said confidently, trying to ignore the blood running down his arm and dripping onto the ground.

  “Alright, let’s go,” he turned and jumped into the passenger’s seat as I started the car and drove away.

  Chapter4

  Logan leaned his head back against the headrest as I drove us out of town and toward the southern border. I drove as fast as I felt was safe, hoping that we would be able to pull over soon and work on his arm. I glanced at h
im every few seconds to make sure he was doing okay.

  His blood was starting to make a small pool on the floor of the car. The smell of fresh blood filled the car with a metallic aroma that made me want to vomit.

  “We need to get further out of town before we stop,” Logan spoke weakly. “I will be fine, just keep calm and continue driving, Tanisha.”

  “But Logan, your arm, we need to get you some help,” I said feeling the desperation coming out in my voice.

  “Stay calm Tanisha. I will be just fine, but we need to keep driving. It won’t do either of us any good if we get caught. Just keep driving for awhile. I’ll tell you when we can stop.”

  “You’re losing so much blood,” I said worried for him.

  “It’ll be fine,” he said calmly.

  I couldn’t understand how he could be so calm about being shot. I wanted to scream at him, tell him he was crazy, but then again he was the one who had been shot and was slowly bleeding to death in my car.

  It was then as I drove that I realized he had taken a bullet for me. He had saved my life. I suddenly felt extremely indebted to him. I wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of the right words to thank him for what he had done for me. I looked over at him to try and convey my feelings, but I saw that his face was contorted in pain. I realized that now was not the time.

  “Okay, pull over at the next exit. Let’s find a secluded place to work.” He said between clenched teeth.

  “You don’t want to go to a hospital?” I asked.

  “No way,” I could tell that he was smiling and trying not to laugh since it probably hurt to laugh.

  I didn’t quite understand why my question was funny, but I didn’t think now was the time for more questions and explanations.

  I quickly took the next exit and scanned the area for an abandoned building or even a closed restaurant where we could park in the back. After driving for a minute or two, I found an abandoned warehouse that I thought would work just fine. I pulled off into a side parking lot and waited for Logan to give me further instructions.