I was about to turn and run in the other direction, but the dream that I got shot in the back popped into mind. Was that nightmare a warning? I heard someone approaching from behind and was terrified. Suddenly, Daniel was standing in front of me. I stared into his eyes and knew that I was involved in something really dangerous.
“Hi!” he said. He bent down and hugged me. I didn’t know what he was doing. He suddenly lifted me up and turned me so that my back was facing the men.
I knew the hug wasn’t real, but I was so happy to be in his arms. I felt safe.
As Daniel released me, I managed to ask, “What’s going on?”
I glanced behind me and saw that they had stopped moving. One was on his cell.
Without answering my question, Daniel put an arm around my shoulder and pushed me back to where I entered the park. We walked in silence. Something bad would’ve happened if Daniel hadn’t shown up, I knew that.
“What’s going on?” I repeated. “Who were those men?”
“What men?” Daniel asked flippantly, attempting to pretend nothing happened.
I said angrily, “What did they want? And don’t tell me you don’t know.”
“Not here. Let’s go to my apartment.”
When we got to the street, he raised his arm and a black car with tinted windows materialized. This was the type of car I’d been seeing all over Long Island and now all the pieces were falling into place. I hadn’t been imagining anything; I was being watched. Terrified, I began shaking. Daniel put his arm around me and I suddenly realized that his interest in me wasn’t romantic at all. That’s why he hadn’t kissed me or even tried.
The driver nodded at Daniel, but they said nothing to each other. I refused to look at Daniel and stared out the window feeling so deceived.
Once we were safely inside the Dakota, I collapsed on the sofa. He was watching me and I waited for him to speak.
The silence was killing me. I demanded, “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Daniel kept looking at his cell as if he was reading something. He finally put down his phone and faced me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what’s going on. Please trust me, you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“What do you mean you can’t tell me?” I said loudly, wondering if his uncle was around.
“I can’t talk about it. It’s classified,” he answered, as if that should end my questions.
I wanted to scream at him, but decided that before I antagonized him I had to get some information. “You work for the NSA and you’re spying on my family?” I asked acting composed, but inside I was enraged.
After a long pause, he admitted, “Yes. I’m protecting you.”
“What do I need protecting from?”
“It’s classified,” he repeated and kept staring at his cell.
“From our first meeting in Central Park, you’ve been watching me?”
“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly.
I couldn’t believe it. I never needed to search for Daniel. He’d been following me all along. I felt like such a fool! “Did you delete your photo from our computers?”
“Yes, there can’t be pictures of me.”
What did that mean? Suddenly, I thought of Pierce being in Cutchogue. “Has Pierce been watching me too?” I asked. Daniel nodded. I suddenly remembered my sightings of Daniel out there. “Have you been on Long Island?” Again, he nodded.
“Oh, my God, I wasn’t crazy,” I exclaimed, but I felt crushed. “You’ve been using me.” It was one thing to think it, but completely different to have it confirmed. I wasn’t able to hold my emotions in check any longer. “You’ve been pretending to like me. How dare you?”
“It hasn’t been all work. I do like you and that’s been a problem.”
Temporarily, I was on cloud nine because he admitted that he liked me, but none of this made sense. The NSA has nineteen-year-old spies. “How old are you?” I demanded angrily.
“I told you. I’m nineteen,” Daniel said.
All of this must have something to do with my dad. “Is this about my Dad or his firm? Does my dad have something they want and they want to use me to get it? Were they planning to kidnap me?”
“No, that’s not what’s going on here. We’ve already investigated your dad and he has nothing to do with this. We’ve narrowed down the threat to you.”
“ME? What threat? What are you talking about?” This had to be some joke. “You’re kidding right?”
“No, I’m quite serious. Something catastrophic will happen in the US and you’re involved. Our job is to stop it.” My head was spinning and I felt dizzy. People were after me and I was in danger.
“That was why you were in Chappaqua the night of the black out. Was that a real black out?”
Daniel nodded and said, “It was. We were concerned that it wasn’t. That’s why I stayed with you until Lily’s parents came home.” Again, he reminded me that I was his job.
“Where were you?”
“The parking lot of the swim club, behind Lily’s house,” he admitted.
“I saw a car out there during the storm. What do these people want from me?”
“We’re not sure yet, but they think you have whatever they need.”
“I don’t have anything!”
Daniel said nothing.
“Who are they?” I asked.
“We’ll know soon.”
Daniel’s cell rang and he went out of the room to take the call. I texted Mom and told her I was running an errand. I stared at my cell and realized that my parents could be in danger. Daniel walked back in just as I started to panic. “I need to go home and warn my parents.”
He knelt in front of me and took my hands. “You can’t tell them. I won’t let anything happen to any of you. Please don’t say anything to anyone, not even Lily. It would change things.”
“What do you mean? Change what?” I asked confused. “You’re not making any sense.”
Daniel got flustered and stood up. “That’s all I can say. Just know that you’re all safe.”
Even though I didn’t want to, I did trust him. “I won’t say anything, but if anyone gets hurt, the deal is off. As far as Lily’s concerned, I’m not promising anything.”
“If you tell her, just tell me, so that we’re not surprised and can protect her if need be.”
“Are you telling me that she could be in danger too?” I shrieked.
“Yes, it’s actually best that you don’t say anything. We’re…” Daniel said and his cell beeped. “Excuse me, let me check this. We need to know who those men in the park were.”
“One of those men, I’ve seen a few times now.”
Daniel put his cell down and was surprised. “Where?”
“Once across the street from my building, at the block party and today in the park.”
“The agents said they’ve never seen them before.”
“How is that possible? You’re following me. Wouldn’t you see somebody else that was following me? You were even with me at the block party.”
“I was a little preoccupied with all your friends and we presumed you were safe since I was with you. We’ll check satellite footage and the camera surveillance.”
As Daniel talked to his uncle, I closed my eyes and rubbed them, trying to give myself time to think.
Daniel finished his call and I asked, “Were the things you told me about yourself true?”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly?” I was annoyed at that statement. “Is this your uncle’s apartment or did you rent it for your job?” I asked looking around the room.
“This is my apartment. My uncle is staying with me.” Daniel watched my reaction.
“You have a home in London and an apartment in New York!”
“Yes, both properties were left to me.”
“You can stay in New York? You don’t have to leave?”
He shrugged. I was hurt, but did I have a right to be? He worked for
the government and this was his job. I’d fallen for a spy and he’d be leaving when the job was done. My hard, angry exterior totally crumbled and I began to cry. I didn’t care that he saw a blubbering idiot since it didn’t matter in the scheme of things.
Daniel looked uneasy, but put his arms around me. I leaned my head on his chest and sobbed.
“Nothing or no one will hurt you,” he said softly, trying to comfort me. His voice was so soothing that I was afraid to move and lose the closeness with him. His phone rang and he released one arm, but kept holding me with the other. After hanging up, he said that the agency was tailing the men and that they were ex-French Secret Service agents.
“My dad’s working on a French case right now. Maybe this does involve him.”
“Yes, in part it does, but the crucial part will not …I mean doesn’t,” he stated.
“Why do you keep saying will?”
“Just trust me. I’ve already said too much. Just know that the NSA is protecting you.”
“When I googled the agency, it said the NSA doesn’t follow people around.”
“We’re a division of the NSA and our rules are different.”
“What division?” I stared at him, surprised that he actually admitted anything.
Daniel quickly closed up and answered dismissively, “It’s classified.”
“Even the name? Give me a break?” I snickered and turned away from him. I was sick of this.
Seeing my frustration, he relented. “The division is called EMIT. There is no record of it and it doesn’t exist. Understand?”
I nodded my head and I thought of my phone. “My cell phone has been acting weird. Are you guys responsible for that?”
Daniel nodded and said, “Yes, I’m sorry but you’ll continue having problems with it.”
“Even if I get another one, I’ll have the same problems?”
Daniel nodded.
“But why? I don’t understand!”
“We put a tracking device in it and it causes some problems with older cell phones. They’re working on correcting it.”
“It’s not old. I just got it four months ago. It’s the latest iPhone,” I whined. “Besides, my cell has a GPS so why do I need a tracker?”
Daniel ignored my comment and went back to staring at his cell.
“Damn, our team lost those men!”
I had enough and told Daniel that I wanted to go home, where I felt safe.
The walk home was totally silent. Daniel kept looking at me, but said nothing.
At my building, I saw Dad getting out of a cab and when he spotted us, he waited. I had to introduce Daniel.
“Dad, this is Daniel Haydin. Daniel, this is my dad, Oliver Devon.”
They exchanged pleasantries and Dad invited Daniel to come inside. He accepted. What was he doing? At the same time, his job was to watch me. No point in skulking around corners.
When we walked into the foyer, Mom was surprised to see Daniel and her look said it all, ‘So this was your errand?’ She invited Daniel to stay for dinner and we actually had a great time. The only awkward moment came when she asked him where his parents lived. After hearing that they were no longer alive, she looked at me like she was going to kill me for not telling her.
Daniel and Dad talked about England and Daniel’s boarding school. History and world affairs were Dad’s favorite subjects and it seemed like Daniel knew everything about everything. They talked about all the anti-American sentiment in the Mideast.
I said, “Since 9/11, things keep getting worse, especially since that crazy movie came out.”
Daniel agreed, “It’s definitely a big problem.”
“American culture is viewed as immoral in those parts of the world,” Mom added.
“Our views are diametrically opposite of theirs. Islamic fanatics believe that all the wrongs in the world are an American depravity issue. As long as they continue to teach that to the youth, they’ll continue breeding terrorists,” said Daniel.
“Well, honestly, it must be hard for the people there to believe in America’s good motives when they are always being bombed,” I said.
“Mahatma Gandhi says, ‘I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.’ The problem is that sometimes there is no other option,” Daniel insisted.
They discussed the turmoil in the Middle East, the Taliban, the oil situation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, North Korea and the economic meltdown.
Dad was impressed by Daniel’s knowledge and said, “Daniel, you’re so knowledgeable about the Mid-East.” I realized how uninformed I was.
“I studied the Middle East at school, the history, religion and all the conflicts in that region. I found it fascinating.”
When they started talking about English football, I realized that Dad and Daniel had a lot in common. They were got passionate talking about the Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal teams.
Daniel’s cell rang and he walked into the living room. I overheard him say that he was at our house for dinner and would be home soon. Why didn’t his uncle know where he was, if I was being followed? Or did his uncle call to tell him to leave?
Daniel told us that he had to go. Well, that answered my question. I walked him to the door and he whispered, “Stay strong.”
When I went back to the kitchen, I waited for the comments to begin.
“I liked him. He’s very bright,” Dad said.
“He’s mature for his age, which is surprising,” Mom said.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked suspiciously.
“That someone that smart would be taking so much time off from school. He seems to need guidance. If his parents were around, he’d be in college.” If Mom knew what Daniel really did, she’d be crazed.
“It’s tough for a child to lose his parents. I’m sure he’ll get his act together,” Dad said.
“His parents left him a trust fund and he can do whatever he wants,” I said and left the room. I couldn’t take it anymore.
I sat on my bed and called Lily. I didn’t say anything about what happened in the park. We never kept secrets from each other, but now I was trying to keep us both safe. I wondered why Daniel felt so confident that all would be well. How could he know for sure?
I wrote everything down in my journal in great detail so I wouldn’t forget what happened in the park. Someday, I might actually need to tell the authorities if something horrible ever happens. I made a copy of the Eiffel Tower photo and placed it in the journal just in case something happened to the one in my purse.
Again, I woke up from another nightmare. The dream must have been a byproduct of the day’s events. Two faceless men chased me and cornered me in an alley. Hoping it was a robbery; I threw my handbag and begged them to take it. They laughed and I felt hands covering my mouth making it impossible to scream. Panic seized my body and I woke up.
I was unable to sleep to go back to sleep. I could’ve been killed today. I knew that I should tell my parents about Daniel, but I was afraid to. Every cell in my body was telling me not to endanger them. My parents always told me never to listen if someone told me to keep a secret from them. Yet, here I was doing just that.
Suddenly, I remembered that I never gave Dad the file from the office. Is that what those guys were after? I tiptoed downstairs and found the shopping bag in the den. I took the file upstairs and found a sealed envelope lying inside. I was afraid to open it so I placed the envelope inside a book on my nightstand. I hoped that Dad didn’t need it. If he didn’t ask for it then it wasn’t for him. I really needed to find out what was going on. Maybe Sonia was involved in this? She gave me the file and she was out sick on Tuesday. This had to involve Dad’s office. I didn’t care what Daniel thought. He had to be wrong. I went downstairs for water and left the file on the table in the foyer.
I tossed and turned all night and started thinking crazy thoughts about Daniel. Was he the bad guy? The darkness was making me delusi
onal because I trusted Daniel. The next time I saw him, I would give him the envelope. He’d know what to do with it.
8. SURVEILLANCE
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Einstein
When I woke up, I began freaking out about those men in the park. I didn’t want to leave the apartment. Were they after that envelope in the file? Or me?
Dad and I we walked to work together and I was on pins and needles the whole way there. At work, everything seemed normal, but Sonia was out sick again. She looked perfectly healthy the day before and I wondered if she was involved in this horror.
After work, Lily met me in the lobby and we walked home. I couldn’t concentrate on what Lily was saying because I was nervously looking around. At least, I knew that the agents were following us and was relieved about that. Please keep us safe, I prayed to God. Lily sensed that something was wrong because I wasn’t responding to her questions.
Lily asked, “Are you all right? You’re acting weird.”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“I know something’s wrong,” Lily said angrily. I had to tell her something.
“I’m just worried about Daniel. I like him, but I have a feeling that he’s leaving soon.” Then a crazy thought occurred to me. If they were all looking for that envelope in the file and I never gave it to Daniel then he’d have to stay and protect me. What a great idea! On second thought, that was a stupid idea. I wanted him to stay for me, not to just protect me.
“What makes you think he’s leaving?” she asked.
“I just get this feeling,” I confided truthfully. Daniel would leave when this case was finished. I knew that. “He does have a home in London.”
EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) Page 13