“He’s one of our men. I’ll take you up in the elevator. I’ll let Jared know that you’ll be there and I’ll be in the lobby. Everyone else will be outside.”
“But he’s been there three years!” I realized the day Jared walked me to the library had been staged. He was protecting me.
“Three summers, actually. Call me when you’re leaving.”
It was almost one o’clock and Dad wasn’t there. Maria said he was in court. I told her I wanted to leave him a note and hurried in to his office. Five minutes into my snooping, I heard knocking and I cautiously opened the door, but it was Jared and not some crazed terrorist.
“Daniel told me what you’re doing and I’ll be right outside if you need me.”
“Thanks Jared. No one is helping him today?” I asked, looking at Sonia’s empty desk.
“One of the other secretaries is helping from her desk and a temp is coming tomorrow.”
An entire team of professionals had been here and found nothing, so my visit was absurd. I glanced at the old photos of me on his bookshelf and cringed. They had to be changed as soon as possible. I looked around and I was right. I found nothing. As I exited, Jared looked up expectantly.
I shook my head. “Did they look through Sonia’s stuff?”
“Yes, they searched her apartment, too.” Of course they did. I called Lily and told her to meet me at Dad’s office. Frustrated, I sat at Sonia’s desk and talked to Jared. I noticed Jared’s left hand and he had the same three tattooed dots that Daniel did. That’s what the bandage was covering. Was that the symbol for all the EMIT people? James Haydin didn’t have it, but he didn’t seem like a tattoo kind of guy. Maybe it was the symbol just for the time travelers. I’d have to keep an eye out for everybody’s hands.
Jared got called away. It was weird that he worked at the firm and also at EMIT.
I remembered that Mom had gone to the vet, so I called to see how Amber was. She said the vet found some strange electronic gadget embedded under her skin. They put a tracker in Amber! I was going to kill Daniel.
“Dr. O’Reilly had no idea what it was. He gave me the disc and said that it happened within the last week. Maybe while she was roughhousing on the sand, it somehow got lodged in. Thank goodness she has such sensitive skin and we saw it.”
After the call, I called Daniel. “Did you implant something in Amber?”
“No one from EMIT did that. I just checked. It might not be anything at all, but I want to see that disc. Can you get it from your mom?”
“I’ll try. Amber was with us the whole time …except for that one hour we lost her,” I said.
“The neighbor’s name was Laura Burke. I’ll have her checked out.”
I was getting paranoid without knowing what the gadget was, but if it was a tracking device and EMIT didn’t do it, that meant the bad guys were on the island.
It was almost five o’clock when Dad showed up.
“Buttercup, what are you doing here?” he asked and gave me a big hug, while I winced. There was no rhyme or reason to when Dad used my nickname, but here it was humiliating.
“Dad, please don’t call me that at work,” I said embarrassedly.
“Sorry, I forgot where we were for a minute. Been a bit pre-occupied.” He began looking at the mail on his desk.
“Its okay, Dad,” I added, changing my tone. “I heard about Sonia and I came to help.”
“That was nice of you. Sonia’s disappearance is so bizarre. I don’t know what to make of it. Her parents are frantic.” He reached for his briefcase and started putting files inside. “Let’s go home. I’ll work there.”
“I’m waiting for Lily, but you can go.”
“No, I’ll wait with you. I need to return some phone calls anyway,” he said.
I went to the bathroom and called Daniel.
“Do you think you’ll walk home?” he asked.
“Probably.” It had stopped raining and Dad loved to walk.
“We’ll be right behind you.”
My cell rang. Lily was downstairs in the lobby and I went to tell Dad.
17. CONCUSSION
“The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead.” Einstein
The sky was still overcast and it looked like it was about to rain. Dad was undeterred and we proceeded up Sixth Avenue. Looking around, I didn’t see Daniel. As always, traffic was at a standstill because of rush hour. On Central Park South, I saw a black van pull up alongside and presumed it was the agency tailing us home. When we reached Columbus Circle, Daniel appeared and I was so relieved.
Daniel and Lily walked behind Dad and I. It was too difficult to walk together. When Dad asked Daniel a question, Lily joined me in front to let them talk. I looked around nervously and noticed that Lily was watching me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just really tired. I haven’t been sleeping well. So tell me about Chad,” I said, wanting Lily to distract me.
As we got closer to home, the tension was slowly receding. The light changed, but Dad and Daniel missed it and didn’t cross with us. Lily and I stopped to wait for them. The van that I mistook for the agency pulled up and two men jumped out. One grabbed Lily and the other one leaped on me. They covered our mouths and began pulling us towards the van. All I saw was sheer terror in Lily’s eyes pleading for help. I turned and saw Dad’s horrified expression from across the street. Daniel started yelling and the one holding me got startled and released me. They raced across the street maneuvering around people and cars. Daniel tackled the guy, but the van with Lily sped off. Oh my God!
Daniel looked up and the guy pulled out a gun. Dad lunged at him. Suddenly, Dad crashed to the sidewalk with such force that I didn’t know what happened. Had he been shot?
“DAD!” I shouted and rushed over to him. After a few blinks, his eyes stilled and then closed. Looking up, Brad was handcuffing the man and Daniel was on the phone.
“Daniel, help me, please,” I screamed. Dad was unconscious and unresponsive.
Daniel kneeled near my father.
“Is he dead?” I was too scared to look.
“No, he’s breathing.”
“Thank God!” This was my fault. I should’ve told him about the danger I was in, that we were all in. I’d endangered my whole family. LILY! WHERE WAS SHE? My head was about to explode. Please let her be okay, I prayed. Don’t let them hurt her. Please, let Dad be okay.
Pierce and James came running from across the street. Instantly, there was a throng of people everywhere and I saw James brandishing a badge. At least ten agents swarmed the scene; men I’d never seen before.
“We need an ambulance!” I was frantic. “Where’s Lily? Please find her!” I pleaded with James Haydin. They must have a tracker in Lily’s phone. I didn’t know what to do. Terror overcame me as I grasped that Dad and/or Lily might die.
“A car is following the van and an ambulance is coming for your dad,” James informed me and walked away to talk to some men.
“What happened? Did he get shot?” I was hysterical. Daniel put his arms around me as I sat on the sidewalk next to dad, freaking out.
“No, the gun never went off. When he lunged at the guy, he tripped.”
“I have to call my mom.” I reached for my cell and Daniel stopped me.
“Before you call, we have to have the same story.”
I looked at him like he was a stranger. My father was lying on the ground unconscious and Lily had been abducted and he thought I cared if we had the same story. “Are you crazy?” I shrieked. “I don’t care. My father’s hurt and Lily’s gone.” My call got postponed anyway because the ambulance arrived and I rushed over.
As the medics prepped Dad, James came over. “Lily’s fine. She’ll be here shortly.” I was so relieved. Thank God! If anything had happened to Lily, I would’ve died. I should have warned everybody. I knew how dangerous this all was.
“Paige, call your mom and tell her your dad
fell and we’re on the way to the hospital,” James instructed.
A black car pulled up. I watched as Lily jumped out and ran to me. On cue, we both started crying and I held on to her so tightly. Seeing Dad on the stretcher, she asked, “What happened?”
“He fell and smashed his head on the ground or a pole. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay, they didn’t hurt me. They wanted me to warn you that you better give them the info or the same thing will happen to you that happened to Sonia. What are they talking about? I thought you gave them the envelope.”
“They’re after another one.”
Lily’s mouth dropped. “I can’t believe this.” Lily leaned on a parked car and looked white as a ghost. “We’re all still in danger?” she asked.
Daniel put both hands on Lily’s shoulder to steady her because she looked like she was about to keel over and tried to reassure her by saying, “You have security, don’t worry.”
“I have security! Big deal! I was just abducted. Where was my security? What about my parents?” Lily said shaking.
“No, they’re not involved in this, and they’re perfectly safe,” added Daniel.
“How do you know that?” Lily demanded. Lily was giving him a hard time, not wanting vague answers, but grew more and more frustrated as that’s all she kept hearing. Lily was right. Since everything was constantly changing, Daniel saying our parents were safe was ludicrous. My dad wasn’t supposed to get hurt. How could Daniel guarantee anything anymore? Tired of their verbal debate and knowing Lily wouldn’t win, I went over to the ambulance.
While Dad was being put in the ambulance, Daniel and Lily came over. Someone I didn’t know approached Daniel and I heard Sonia’s name.
“What happened?” I asked, but I knew the answer before he told me.
“She was found dead,” he whispered in my ear, so Lily didn’t hear. My body was shaking and fear was becoming a common emotion. How much more of this could I endure?
I mustered the courage and called. “Mom, Dad fell on the sidewalk and he’s unconscious. We’re on the way to the hospital” Mom became frantic and said she was on her way.
I got in the ambulance and Daniel kissed me on my head. “We’ll be right behind you. Lily will ride to the hospital with me.”
I closed my eyes and prayed that Dad would be all right. When the ambulance stopped, I opened my eyes and Dad looked small on the stretcher and so pallid.
As they wheeled him into the hospital, I stared at his unmoving form and my eyes filled with tears. After all, this was my fault. When I was asked to keep this secret, I never imagined anything like this was even possible. Everything I was involved in was dangerous, yet somehow I felt safe and believed that my family would be unharmed.
My parents always said if someone told me to keep a secret from them not to listen. So what did I do? I ignored their advice. All the red flags and all the warnings screaming in my head didn’t dissuade me either.
Because of that decision, I was standing in a hospital staring at my dad who was in a catatonic state. Why didn’t I tell my parents! Warn them about what I was involved in! I told myself that I was protecting them, but was I just being selfish?
Entrenched in this bizarre world where everything seemed so impossible, but was actually real, I succumbed to the adventure. All my perceived notions about what I would and wouldn’t do in certain situations went right out the window.
Suddenly, I noticed movement and saw Dad thrashing around. I rushed over to him. Looking around confused, Dad stared at me and appeared to be waiting for an explanation. “Dad, are you okay?”
He mumbled, “I think so. What happened?”
“You hit your head. We’re at the hospital.” Mom rushed in and was thrilled that he was awake.
“Oliver, how are you feeling?”
“My head hurts.” A door opened and a doctor headed towards us.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Carr. The nurse said you arrived unconscious. It’s a good sign you’re up and about. We need a CT scan, stat.” An orderly wheeled Dad away.
“What happened? The ambulance report says he fell and hit his head?” the doctor asked Mom and she looked at me for the answer.
“I’m not sure. I think he tripped and hit a pole or smashed his head on the sidewalk.” This hadn’t been a good summer for my family, first Nana, then me, and now Dad, not to mention Lily’s abduction.
“As soon as I have some news, I’ll find you,” the doctor said and left.
After all the insurance information was given, Mom went to make the necessary phone calls to the health insurance company. James, Daniel and Lily were sitting in the waiting room and poor Lily looked ashen. I hugged her and all I could say was, “I’m so sorry. I wish they had taken me.”
“If they took you, I don’t think you they would’ve let you go.”
“Probably not, but I wouldn’t feel so guilty. If anything happened to you…” my voice trailed off and tears welled up in my eyes.
“Calm down. I’m trying to forget it or I might break down again. Let’s worry about your dad right now.” She was right.
James and Daniel were whispering and I wasn’t sure what they were planning. James asked if we could all go outside. Daniel took my hand as we exited the hospital. When I glanced over, Mom was still on the phone.
Outside, James said, “Please tell your parents exactly what happened on the street today.”
Confused, I asked, “We can say that some men tried to kidnap us?”
“Yes,” James responded dismissively.
“My parents are going to freak out!” I said, flustered by the absurdity.
“Trust me. I’ll take care of everything,” he answered and seemed annoyed by my questions.
“Even that Lily was taken?” I asked, looking at Lily, who shrugged, not understanding what was going on either.
“Yes. Just tell her it was a mistake. A prank gone wrong,” drilled James. “Just leave out the gun part, please.”
“Okayyyyyy,” I said in a sing-songy voice. Mom was going to have a fit and this wasn’t going to work. When we got back inside, Mom was looking for me.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?” she asked looking concerned.
Before I had a chance to answer, James stepped forward and introduced himself, “I’m James Haydin, Daniel’s uncle.”
Mom shook his hand. “Lena Devon. What happened to my husband?”
“It was the craziest thing. Dad, Lily, and I were walking home and we bumped into Daniel at Columbus Circle. As we walked up Central Park West, Lily and I got ahead of them because they got caught at a light. Lily and I were across the street when a van pulled up. Two men jumped out, grabbed us and started dragging us inside.”
“What?” she exclaimed. Staring at me in horror, she cupped her hand over her mouth.
“Somebody yelled and the guy who was holding me let go, but the other guy dragged Lily inside the van and drove off.”
Mom looked at Lily. “What? How did you get away?”
“It was a mistake and they let me out,” Lily said.
“What mistake? What happened to Oliver?” Mom asked puzzled.
“Dad and Daniel ran across the street and the next thing I knew Dad was on the ground unconscious. He tripped and hit and smashed his head.”
Mom glanced over at James and Daniel and asked, “Were you there, James?”
“Not when they were accosted. Daniel called me after he called the ambulance. I was in a cab on Eighth Avenue on my way home. I arrived shortly after. The police were already there and basically it was a prank gone awry.” What was he saying? There were no police, just NSA.
“A prank?” she shrieked. “What are you talking about?”
James continued, “Apparently, some guy was trying to frighten his ex-girlfriend. He asked his cousin to scare her, but he mistakenly grabbed Lily.”
“Are they crazy? I can’t believe this! My husband’s lying in a hospital.”
Mom believed this crazy
story, which absolutely surprised me. At the same time, James does works for the NSA. Why wouldn’t a person believe him? Why would he lie?
Looking at Lily and I, she added, “I’m so glad you two are okay.”
“Thank you for being there to help,” she said addressing James. “Of course and you too, Daniel. I’m so glad you were there.”
“No problem. Glad to help any way I can. I’m really sorry.” Mom didn’t catch it, but Daniel was looking at me when he apologized.
He wasn’t responsible for this mess, but I was angry with everybody, even myself.
“What if Oliver had been alone with the girls? What would’ve happened?” she said. “Were they arrested?”
“I’m not sure. We followed the ambulance here,” answered James.
It felt like hours when the doctor finally came out. He said that there was no blood on the brain, but Dad had a bad concussion and needed to stay overnight. With a loud sigh, Mom rushed to his room and we all lingered outside. Peeking in, I saw her stroking his hair and talking to him. Step by step, I slowly entered and stood staring at my father. What had I done? Guilt consumed me and I couldn’t look him in the eyes.
Lily came in after she called Aunt Cecile. “Aunt Lena, I spoke to Mom and she’s waiting for Dad at the train station and then they’re driving straight to the hospital.”
“Let me go call her. There’s nothing they can do. Lily, you told her what happened to you?”
“Yes, she’s really upset, I told her I was okay, but maybe she’ll believe you.”
“I’ll do my best,” Mom said, as she walked out of the room.
I said, “Dad, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. My head’s hard as a rock.”
I know he was trying to make me laugh, but that was impossible. “Not funny Dad.”
“What actually happened? Everything’s a bit fuzzy. I remember walking home with you and Lily then I woke up here.”
Dad listened as I told him, but he didn’t remember anything.
“You’re kidding?” Dad said at the end.
“No, she’s not,” said Mom, as she came in. “What an asinine prank. Oliver you should sue them for medical bills, pain and suffering. Paige and Lily should sue, too. They’ve been traumatized and they could’ve been hurt. Those guys have to be punished.”
EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) Page 29