by Ammar Habib
But it did not happen.
A long time passed as the two men stared at one another. The uneasy silence slowly passed between them. He looked to see if any hints of anger came into Ethan’s eyes, but none came. Not even the slightest suggestion.
Gradually, Ethan rose to his feet. “Don’t you think…” Unable to finish the sentence, he shook his head as he looked at the ground before coming back to Brett. “Don’t you think it’s about time we move on?”
Dumbfounded by what he heard, Brett blankly stared at Ethan’s face. Was this a dream? It had to be. Any moment now he would wake up in his cold bed. Was his mind playing tricks on him again?
“If my mother was the angel you say she was; if she was anything like Katrina, I think it’s what she would have wanted. It’s what David wanted. It’s what Jonathan wants. It’s what Cathy wants. And…it’s what I want.”
His father slowly rose to his feet. He was completely speechless. He wanted to say what was in his heart, but his mouth refused to open. He wanted this more than anything else but could not say it.
“We’ve both said terrible things to each other, and done horrible things. But…but we have to forgive each other. We have to forget the past if either of us wants to move on and be happy.” Ethan moved a little closer to his father. He needed to hear something, anything to know that his father wanted the same thing that he did. “Dad?”
The single word brought more joy into Brett’s heart than he had felt over the last ten years. The simple word was the one thing he had been yearning to hear. The one word he had dreamt of hearing come from his son. The one word he had convinced himself he would never hear. Tears began to stream down his cheeks. His caring eyes looked down at his son as he was speechless. He had waited for this moment for years and now could not even utter a single syllable.
Without thinking, he suddenly moved forward and wrapped his arms around his son. For the first time in his life, he hugged his lost son as the tears began to increase. A single word came from his mouth as his head rested against his son’s chest. “Ethan…”
He felt Ethan’s caring arms come around him. For the first time in Ethan’s life, he saw his father crying. For the first time in his life, he felt love for his dad.
For the first time in his life, he knew that brighter days were ahead. There was a light on the horizon. A beautiful light. A beautiful light that was coming into his life.
A beautiful light he would never let go of.
Chapter 22
Quest’s End
The patrol car slowly came to a halt alongside the curb. The door quickly opened and the police chief stepped out of the vehicle. He looked around the abandoned streets that surrounded him. There were several other patrol cars parked along the road. Some officers could be seen standing under the sun, but most were searching the buildings.
It would have been a warm day if not for the thick layer of clouds and the gust that was blowing in from the sea. That always seemed to be the problem with Crown City’s weather: it was constantly changing.
Waiting under the shade of one of the buildings was the mayor. Dressed in his black trench coat, Mayor Chavez’s two bodyguards stood on either side of him in their black suits, red ties, and sunglasses. The mayor’s hands were buried in the pockets of his coat as he watched Richard get out of the vehicle.
Motioning for his driver to stay put, Richard made his way towards the mayor. The mayor’s eyes followed Richard the whole way. “I don’t like what I see here, Richard.”
“There’s a lot of ground to cover. This is a large area and it’ll be weeks before we finally go through all of it.”
The mayor glanced down the street at a group of officers exiting a building. “And how many people might that lunatic kill in those weeks?”
“It’s been over two weeks since he attacked Victor and his henchmen and he hasn’t been sighted since. Maybe he’s given up.”
A sarcastic smile formed on the corner of Chavez’s mouth. “Is that something you’re willing to bet your life on?”
“He’ll know we’re on to him. The men haven’t been very discreet in their search.”
“They’re your men. Maybe you should control them better.”
“It’s hard to control scared men.”
“If he does know we’re on to him, then he would have moved his hideout by now. In which case, we’re wasting our time and our resources.”
“Are you suggesting that we end the search here?”
The mayor moved a little closer to the police chief. “That’s not exactly my call to make and I’m not about to call Griffin and tell him that I’m changing his plan.”
“That makes two of us.”
“The longer this takes, the more people are starting to fight the status quo. I’m sure you heard about the incident last night with some of your men in Fifth Ward. The last thing we need in the headlines right now are stories about a bunch of drunken cops trying to assault a woman and then getting their asses handed to them by a mob. People idolizing the nation’s most wanted criminal doesn’t exactly maintain order.”
“It’ll end when we kill him.”
“And what if it takes too long? It won’t matter if we kill him then if the people have developed a backbone of their own by then. Every day citizens are standing up to the police. The president called me this morning. He said that if we can’t contain this situation, he’ll be forced to declare martial law in the city.” There was a short silence. “Have you considered faking his death?”
“Of course. But if we fake his death and then he appears again, the backlash will be too great. It’s not worth the risk.”
“That’s too bad.” Chavez glanced up at the heavens. “Griffin wants a report on our progress. And he wants to know if we found the reporter who published that article. I’ll tell him we’re confident that we’ll find the killer…and the reporter.”
“And when we don’t? What then?”
The mayor put his hand on the chief’s shoulder. “The one thing I’m good at is finding somebody to throw under the bus.”
“I’m sure it’s a skill that comes handy in politics.”
“You have no idea.”
***
He could hardly stand the suspense right now. Sitting at the desk of his new editor, William waited for a response as he leaned forward on his wooden chair. The editor finally looked up after what seemed like a long time. “You know I can’t do this, William. I can’t publish this.”
“W-what are you talking about? Don’t you realize what this means?”
“I know what it means. It means bringing out irrefutable evidence of the mayor ordering the assassinations of civilians and using the police as his personal hit squad.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“It’s a death wish. What you have is a one way ticket to the grave.”
William rose to his feet. “Sitting and doing nothing when you have a chance to do something! That’s the damn death wish!”
The editor looked at William for a few seconds. “Sit down, William.”
The reporter ignored the command. “I thought you had a duty to tell the truth.”
“No, I have a duty to protect the lives of my employees and my family.”
“And here I thought we were trying to do our job as reporters and let the public know the truth.” He paused for a second. “The people killed by the mayor...they’ll never have justice?”
“Maybe in the afterlife.”
“You’re so full of it.”
“I’m not going to end up like your friend, Carl. I’m not going to widow my wife and leave my children fatherless.”
William looked away. He took a deep breath trying to figure out what he could say, what he could do, to change this man’s mind. His gaze fell back onto the editor after a few seconds. “You don’t understand. I’m not asking.”
The editor blankly stared at the reporter.
“If you don’t do this, he will come for you.”
There was a long silence. The editor did not even need to ask who William was referring to. As they both looked into each other’s eyes, the editor tried to decipher if the man was bluffing. He knew that William had been a top soldier in the military. According to the rumors, he had led a Special Forces squad. He had been trained on how to lie, making it impossible to know if he was telling the truth. The editor looked away. “So you’re the one who’s responsible for what happened at the Times.”
William did not reply. He didn’t have to.
“I should have known better than to let you in here.”
“No. The police and cartel are responsible for everything that’s happened. Them and them alone.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
“So do we have a deal?”
“…Why do you want this so bad? Why can’t you let this go?”
William looked down, wondering if he should tell the truth. After a few seconds, he looked back up at his editor. “Because the mayor is responsible for the death of my wife.”
A long silence that consumed the room as the editor blankly stared at the reporter. “…so you’re willing to risk the lives of many just for this so-called justice for your family?”
“I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
After several moments, the editor sighed. “Where’s the information?”
Reaching into his pocket, William pulled out a small memory chip. He put it on the desk and slid it towards the editor. “This is a copy. The original is in a secure place.”
The editor took the card into his hands.
“How long until you can get this published?”
The editor stared at the device. “…Monday morning.”
“Fair enough.” The reporter turned to leave.
“Just know that anybody who gets killed because of this will be blood on your hands.”
William answered without looking back. “My hands have been stained with blood for years. A little more won’t matter.”
***
Walking through the glass doors of the lobby, Ethan escaped the outside weather and entered to the ground floor of his building. He wore nothing but a pair of brown cargo shorts, a green t-shirt, and a slight smile on his face.
Moving away from the glass doors and towards the golden doors of the elevator, Ethan walked by the receptionist. He gave a silent nod to her and she smiled back before looking back down at her computer.
It had been a long past few days. Only two days ago, Ethan had been sitting in his father’s living room, taking the hand of his long lost father and fulfilling his grandfather’s one wish.
The golden doors of the elevator closed as Ethan hit the button for his floor. Just as he did, the phone in his pocket began to vibrate. Pulling out the device, he saw that his brother was on the other end. With the quick click of a button, Ethan answered it. “Hey, Jonathan.”
“Ok, so what happened?”
He couldn’t tell if Jonathan was bursting with joy or completely distraught. Ethan smiled as he decided to play dumb to the question. “What do you mean?”
“Dad’s never called me like this. He couldn’t even say anything. He was just crying on the phone the whole time.”
Even Ethan had a hard time believing this. “Dad didn’t say anything?”
There was a long pause before Jonathan replied, “Did you just call him ‘dad’?”
Ethan lightly laughed.
“Tell me everything, Ethan!”
“That might take a while.”
“I’m coming over! I’m coming over right now!”
“Well I have to get ready. I have to go to a dinner party tonight. How about you and Cathy come over Sunday. Bring Ben too. I’ll ask dad to come along. We can do lunch at my place…and I can introduce you all to Katrina.”
There was a semi-second pause on the other end. “It’s about time! I haven’t even seen a picture of this gal. Why not tomorrow instead? I can’t wait ‘til Sunday.”
“I have plans.”
“…with Katrina?”
“She wants to take me shopping.”
Jonathan let out a loud laugh on the other end. “And the torture begins! Bet she said she only wants to go to a couple of stores.”
“Good guess.”
“That’s what they always say, but you’ll learn soon enough. What party are you going to tonight? I didn’t realize you were this popular.”
“I’m not. It’s more of a business thing.” The elevator doors opened up, revealing Ethan’s penthouse on the other side.
“What kind of business thing?”
“One of those with a bunch of well dressed stiffs.”
John chuckled. “Don’t have too much fun there.”
“Trust me, fun is the last thing I’m expecting.”
“Alright, Ethan. Well we’ll see you Sunday. What time should we come?”
“Uh…how about one?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Great. See you then.”
“Take care.”
Ethan hung up the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. It had been a busy night. Ethan had spent nearly ten hours down at the warehouse under the cover of darkness. The police were not being too discreet about their search of the docks. He wasn’t sure how they had gotten wind that his base was in that area, but it did not matter anymore. By the time the sun came up, the warehouse had been emptied of any evidence of Ethan’s endeavors. The only things still there were the tall wooden poles and the tables. All of the equipment had been moved to a secure location where no one would ever find it.
While he had been clearing out the building, Ethan didn’t feel a single twinge of regret. He knew that it was the right thing to do. For once, he had found peace in his life. Wherever Naira was, she would understand. It had not been coincidence that Katrina had been on the rooftop that stormy night. It was a sign. Something must have sent her there.
Ethan collapsed headfirst onto his soft bed. Letting his thoughts wander, he closed his eyes with a smile still plastered on his face. Rolling onto his back, he stretched out his arms as he situated himself on the bed.
His second chance at a happy life was finally here. He had everything he could have hoped for. His family was back together, he had the girl of his dreams, and his life was filled with endless joy.
He felt like a new man. For once, he was following his heart.
Chapter 23
Times of Change
Police Chief Richard Dawson stared at the man sitting across the living room from him. Dressed in a trench coat, he pointed a handgun directly at Richard’s chest. The police chief kept his gaze fixed at the barrel of the gun, expecting a bullet to eject at any moment.
Holding the weapon, Victor readjusted his right arm, which was held by a sling. Victor slowly rose up from the red armchair. “You must’ve known this was coming.”
“Give me more time. I’ll catch both of them.”
A cruel smile came across Victor’s face. “No you won’t. You don’t have any leads. You have no idea who this reporter is. Your plan with the tracker failed and ruined our only shot.”
“You―you can’t kill me. It’ll take forever for Griffin to find somebody as loyal as me to lead this manhunt.”
“You’re just as replaceable as an old car, Dawson. By lunchtime tomorrow, your replacement will be sitting at your desk.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
Richard’s eyes widened in shock. “He can’t do that.”
“According to recently passed laws, the mayor can appoint anybody to fill the vacancy until elections. And tomorrow morning he’ll appoint me as the new police chief of Crown City.”
Richard looked down at the ground, knowing that he had been duped. “So he finally did find somebody to throw under the bus.”
“Don’t worry. Chavez will be joining you in the afterlife soon enough.” Victor cocked the weapon. “Tomorrow the papers will tell the story of how you accidently burned your house
down while intoxicated. They’ll be plenty of drugs found in your bloodstream to make it a believable story.”
Richard was silent as he stared at the man who would replace him. After the long silence, he slowly rose to his feet. “My body may taste the fire, but your boss will be burning in Hell for eternity.”
“Hell?” Victor let out a low chuckle. “He’s been there. And it spat him back out.”
***
William looked at the map sitting on his dining table. It displayed the northwest district of Crown City. Standing under the dim lights, he kept his hands pressed down on either side of the map to keep it from curling back up. His handgun sat next to the diagram. A thick red line had been drawn across several streets of the map and showed the daily route of the man William had been tracking.
Shaun O’Hara.
The reconnaissance skills he’d honed to near perfection in the military had come in handy. O’Hara did not even know he was being followed for the last three days. He knew what times of the day he ate, drank, slept, and worked. William knew where this officer was at any given minute.
But tomorrow night, William would interrupt O’Hara’s schedule. An interruption that would end his life. His miserable, worthless life. But before he killed him, William would look into his eyes. He would make sure he knew exactly why he was being killed.
He looked up at the gun. Tomorrow. That one word separated him from his revenge. This next day would feel just as long as the years it had been since his wife had been killed. The night would be sleepless and the day would never end. But he would wait. He had waited years for this.
He could bear to wait a few more hours.
***
It was a sight Ethan thought he would never see.
Brett sat at the end of the long, brown dining table. To either side of him sat Ethan and Jonathan. Next to his brother sat Cathy, while Katrina sat across from her with a sleeping Benjamin in her arms. Lunch had been finished almost half an hour ago, and the pile of dirty plates was stacked in the kitchen sink.