by Kailin Gow
Hector was right about finally getting The Dragon, capturing him and finally stopping him from being a threat to everyone I loved. But something was off.
Why would The Dragon run off out of the country when everything he was so desperate to have was right here?
“Hector,” I said. “Go get changed. Into something of this decade at least and take a hot shower.”
“Why?” Hector asked, suddenly a bit nervous.
“Because Hector, you stick out like a sore thumb everywhere you go. How are you supposed to be incognito tailing The Dragon?”
Hector gave a small and awkward laugh, “You’re right, Boss. I didn’t even think about it.”
“And meet me at the new warehouse at the far right of the compound when you’re done.”
“Sure, Boss,” Hector said. He headed towards a part of the compound where he, Luis, and many of the men had their own private condos. It was a sweet setup, having a luxury condo, on site for each of the men who worked for me. They worked hard and put their lives at risk for their jobs so I made sure they were taken care of.
I headed to the new warehouse at the far right and waited for Hector. The warehouse housed a few of The Dragon’s contraband, which we were going to use as evidence against him when the time came to bring him to justice. If we ever do apprehend him and take him in, instead of killing him during one of our confrontations. A small area of the warehouse was primarily The Dragon’s contraband. Those alone were worth well over several million. But to me, they were priceless. Collected and found over several years, I’ve lost a few of my best men trying to find, locate, and collect these possessions.
I spotted Hector walking towards me in the dark. He had cleaned up and was wearing a bright purple silk shirt and yellow pleated slacks. At least the matching yellow boxy blazer was missing. I shook my head, “The brown suit was less conspicuous than those yellow pants.”
“Sorry, Boss,” Hector said. “I didn’t know I was going to be out in the field tonight. I thought I would be able to stay here and…”
“I’m pulling your leg, Hector,” I said. “You are staying here tonight. I realized you’re tired and you’ve worked hard keeping tabs on The Dragon for me. But really…if you really want to get everyone’s attention, your outfits really screams it. Blend in, Hector. I’m afraid before you could even see where the Dragon is going or doing; he and his men had already caught onto you.”
Hector’s mouth fell open. “There is no way. I’m like an invisible ninja. I can’t be seen by the normal eye. Unless I want to be seen.”
I shook my head and said, “Hector, come with me. I want to show you something.”
“Okay, Boss,” he said. “Lead the way.”
I opened the warehouse door and turned on the lights. It wasn’t a routine warehouse visit, and I had already unarmed the place, overriding a few sensors and camera surveillance…something only I had the ability to do at the compound.
Hector was all eyes as I led him into a secured area with double thick walls and a bolted steel door. I opened the door and led him into the room. This was where The Dragon’s contraband was stored. I pulled out a steel box and opened it. “See this, Hector, this is a locket pendant found in a drawer at The Dragon’s former home before it was burned to the ground. One of our men lost his life retrieving it.”
Hector’s eyes grew wide.
“You’ve been trailing The Dragon for me for how long?”
“Four years,” Hector said.
“Have you seen any of these men come near The Dragon from this photo?”
Hector stared hard at the photo, bringing it close. It was a small photo and the images were already fading. “This one,” Hector said. “It’s Jorge, The Dragon’s little brother. The middle one…that’s The Dragon, but this man next to him, the clean cut preppy pretty boy who could pass for being a young Brad Pitt…I’ve never seen him before.”
“Whoever he is or was, he must’ve been close to The Dragon to have been in a photo with him. The Dragon would never allow any photos taken of him. This little photo taken about fifteen years ago, I estimated, judging by how young The Dragon looks, is the only photo anyone has ever found of him, as himself. Before the identity-changing surgeries he’d have.”
“This is rare, Boss,” Hector said.
“I bet The Dragon wouldn’t want this photo found or circulating.”
“No,” Hector said.
“So, now that you’ve seen it, do not mention it to anyone. You have the face of that man next to The Dragon ingrained in your memory?”
“Yes,” Hector nodded.
“Now instead of trying to find The Dragon, I want you to locate and find that man.”
“Got it,” Hector said.
“You don’t know where you’ve seen this photo. You don’t know about this warehouse’s location, and we’ve never had this conversation. Got it?” I asked.
Hector nodded.
“Good, now go enjoy yourself at The Rack Room, order yourself the steak or prime rib. You deserve it. You did a good job on this last mission. Get some rest, and tomorrow, get packed and go find this man.”
Hector nodded again before he left.
I placed the pendant into my pocket, locked and armed each of the layers of security in place at the warehouse, and left.
When I finally slipped back into my place, Rachel and Summer had left with Luis to go to one of the compound’s restaurants. The Rack Room was the steak and hearty foods restaurant. Bleu Lagoon was the gourmet restaurant where you can get cuisine from anywhere. The chefs and servers at the restaurants were all former undercover agents who had to keep a low profile once they got out of service. The Head Chef used to be an operative undercover as a private chef for a country’s head general. He was now retired and too old to go on any field missions, which was perfect for his position as the Head Chef at the compound.
I took out my new phone and checked up on our camera surveillance of the compound. I was able to zoom in and see Hector walking into the Rack Room. On another screen, I located Luis walking with Rachel and Summer to Bleu Lagoon. I watched them for a little while, happy to see Rachel and Summer laughing and enjoying themselves, as though they were at a resort and heading out for a nice dinner. Summer’s face was happy, but I could tell she was also worried. She had to be. After all, Drew was still in surgery.
I was about to switch channels to see the camera in the medical building when I saw Rachel’s hand reach out to squeeze Luis’ butt. Summer was walking ahead of them, and Rachel leaned into Luis to whisper into his ear before she licked it.
My eyes flew open. Out of amusement and surprise mostly. Although Rachel was my kid sister, it was still shocking for me to see her as old enough to be dating or having any boyfriends. But to see her openly ogling and coming onto one of my men, one of my most trusted men like that was surprising. But it was Luis, thank God, who seemed to be some kind of Catholic priest when it comes to women. Rachel can try to seduce him as much as she try, but it would be like trying to seduce one of those guards at Buckingham Palace. He won’t budge.
I switched to the front view and now I could see Summer’s face. Even a little worried, she was perfection. If she lived during the time of Troy, she would be Helen. If she lived during the Renaissance, she would be the most beautiful woman of all. She turned out to be the timeless beauty I’ve always known her to be since we were toddlers. Those eyes, those lips which I was so tempted to kiss today every time I saw her.
The Dragon obviously fell for her in the short time he spent with her. How could I blame him? A woman like Summer, despite how strong and smart she was, would make a man feel like a man who could conquer the world.
A woman like her would inspire the protectiveness of a man. It was a rare quality, but she had that allure which some of history’s greatest beauties have ever had.
I tore my eyes away from Summer’s face and shut my phone off. I had to get to work right away.
Something was brewing, a
nd although we have Summer back, the danger to her and to everyone I loved was far from over.
I turned on the cameras around the perimeters of my quarters and set the motion sensors on. I couldn’t be disturbed until I figured out what was in those servers that put everyone in danger.
The Louis Vuitton wardrober was placed in my room, and I went to work, taking out each server and arranging them in a circle on my dining room size table in the room.
“Let’s see what we have here,” I said, typing away and pulling up screen after screen of information.
There were lists of names from around the world that tied into hacking rings. There were videos of conversations between The Dragon’s people and well-known heads of corporations, dignitaries, and politicians.
Footage and recordings of corrupt politicians visiting whorehouses, taking bribes, and fixing elections. Conversations of media cover ups.
There were a wealth of incriminating evidence in The Dragon’s servers that could bring down the most powerful organizations and people in the world.
Why did The Dragon care enough about any one of these videos and recordings? If any one of these were exposed, what did The Dragon have to lose?
None of the people from these videos and recordings had been exposed, so maybe The Dragon was using these videos for blackmail? That was enough for him to want to retrieve the videos in order to keep blackmailing them. These were powerful people, and being able to control them was something The Dragon would not want to give up.
I looked through another folder and found videos of ordinary people just talking. Nothing at all incriminating in the conversations.
Why were these videos here?
I looked closely at a few of the videos and then it hit me…in the background. There was The Dragon sitting at a table exchanging envelopes with a man who was neither a politician or someone well-known. It was the man in the photo. The young Brad Pitt lookalike…only in this video footage, he was older.
I grabbed a shot of his face and tried to do a search in the files for any likeness of him in other videos, and two other ones came up.
One where he is again meeting with The Dragon but at some kind of outdoor camp. It looked familiar, and I zoomed into the background to some sign. It was written in a foreign language. The camp was surrounded by a fence…a fence I remembered trying to climb. My heart began racing as it dawned on me, the footage was filmed at the hacker ring building where I was sent to hack into a computer as part of an agreement to free my father, who was taken hostage…that trip where I left Summer behind and went to Afghanistan on a mission that changed my life.
The Dragon was there and so was this man.
Who was he and why was he there?
“Let’s see what this last video can tell me,” I said, opening the video. This time, the man is in a conversation with The Dragon, and he was saying to The Dragon about how good of a job The Dragon was doing, and how he felt The Dragon was now ready to step up and lead his men in another faction he has started.
The Dragon beamed proudly as the man patted his shoulder. Suddenly, the camera fell, and revealed the camera person who had filmed the footage. That was when I had the shock of my life.
A face flashed before me in the footage that had become as familiar to my own mother’s face.
It was Summer’s mother’s face that flashed before me. The camera person filming this footage before me of The Dragon having a conversation with someone like his boss, was Summer’s mother.
“Shit,” I said, my head spinning with the realization that Summer’s mother could be the real mastermind behind The Dragon.
My ears began ringing, and I felt as though all the blood had drained from my face.
Rrrring!!!
It wasn’t my ears ringing. My alarms at the perimeter of my quarters had gone off, and someone was at the front door. I checked my camera monitors and saw Summer standing outside the front door, trying to open the locked door. I turned off all the alarm system and pressed the button to automatically open the front door.
I should cover up and hide the servers I was working on, but I didn’t. It was Summer who I could trust with my life. She walked in, and looked around.
“Nat?” she called. “Are you here?”
“I’m in here,” I called.
She appeared at my doorway and once again I felt all the feelings I had for her come rushing to me. I loved this woman all my life. I would protect her with my life from anything and everything, but how could I tell her that all this time…the very enemy I have been trying to bring to justice was her own mother?
I was going to tell her. I had tried to be honest with her as long as I’ve known her, but when I saw her, I decided to turn off the screen of my computer.
Too late. Summer was already walking briskly towards me.
“Isn’t that? Isn’t that…” she was by my side staring at the screen right before the screen went black.
“What?” I asked, trying to look nonchalant about what I was doing.
“That was Xavier in that video,” she said. The way she said his name with a bit of affection, made me want to wring Xavier’s neck. How he managed to charm his way into Summer’s affections, was beyond me. “What is he doing with my father?”
Chapter 5
Summer
I’ve only seen Nat’s face turn pale as a ghost one other time before. It was the day we were having barbecue outside on the beach at the Pad when we heard that Nat’s mother Nadine, had tried to kill herself at their house in San Francisco.
It unnerved Nat, and he broke down crying and giving into his feelings for me that day as he tried to deal with his mother’s attempted suicide.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
It took Nat a few seconds to compose himself as he turned to me. “You recognize that man next to The Dragon as your father?”
“I think so,” I said. “Now I’m not so sure. I was looking at an angle, and the film was grainy.”
Nat turned on the monitor and the video had paused. “Are you sure this man is your father?” he asked.
I haven’t seen my father for several years since my parents separated. But I could still recognize my father anywhere.
The handsome man in the video footage was no doubt my father.
I nodded.
Nat blew out a low whistle and ran his hand through his hair. “No wonder why The Dragon didn’t want this in the wrong hands.”
“What do you mean?”
“How long have you not seen your father?”
“Since I was a kid. You know, a toddler. Before I met you at Aunt Sookie’s place.”
“So you are sure that man was your father even though it seemed like you haven’t seen him in a very long time.”
“I couldn’t be more certain,” I said. “Look closely…I have the same eyes as my father.”
Nat looked closely into my eyes and back to the face of my father onscreen. “You do have the same eyes. And your hair coloring…now I know where you get that color. “
“Nat, you mentioned Xavier is a dangerous, ruthless crime lord. Why is he with my father in this video? How would they even know each other? My father…he was a researcher. What would Xavier want with someone like my father?”
“Sit down, Summer. I have those same questions, and I’m trying to figure it out myself. I’ll show you the entire video. Maybe you can help me figure this out.”
I sat down next to Nat and could feel the tension in his entire body. He was struggling against something, and it was putting a lot of stress on him. I got up and stood behind him. “Go ahead and play the video. Whatever is on there, I’ll give you my honest opinion and if it’s something pretty awful, I’m a big girl. I should be able to face it, rather than have you shelter me and try to protect me from the truth.”
“Okay, Summer,” Nat said. “Let’s hope it isn’t what it seems.”
“Go ahead,” I said. “I’ve seen and been through plenty alre
ady to last several lifetimes.” I had to be strong for whatever I was going to discover in that video. I had to be rational and level-headed. I could tell whatever it was, Nat was having a hard time dealing with it. I began kneading his neck and shoulders with my hands, before I moved it down to his back, pounding on the tensed muscles, using pressure points that I knew of from studying some Chinese medicine to hit certain nerves in his system. He began to relax, and I continued kneading his muscles until the tension went away.
“Thank you for that,” he said. “You have magic fingers, you know.”
“I wished,” I said. “If I had magical fingers, I would snap it and make everything okay. Now for that video…”
Nat played the video, and I saw and heard my father congratulating Xavier for his work. He told Xavier he wanted to put him in charge of a new faction within his organization. Xavier was beaming with pride when my father acknowledged everything he’s done and his potential to be at the top.
The camera fell while filming, and for a brief flash while the cameraman was picking up the camera, my mother’s face appeared briefly in the video. She was the one filming the video. But why?
“Mom?” I asked. “Both of them knew Xavier?” I could not believe my eyes. I glanced over at Nat. “What is this video? Why would Mom know Xavier?”
Nat’s face was grim and serious. But he said nothing.
“Nat,” I began, “You don’t think my parents are part of Xavier’s crime ring?” My heart was pounding so fast, and my legs buckled underneath me, losing all my strength.
Nat turned and caught me as I fell down into his arms. “Nat,” I said, “This can’t be true. This video…there must be some explanation. My parents…they are not crime lords…they are not the ones behind The Dragon.” I clutched his shirt and said, “We have to find Xavier. I have to find my mother. Get her to explain this.”
Nat nodded. “Where is she? Where is your father?”
“Mom was supposed to come out for the wedding, but since I was kidnapped, I don’t know where she’s gone. And my father…I haven’t seen him for so long that when I tried to find him to send him an invitation and to get him to be at the wedding, my invitation was sent back with a ‘Return to Sender.’”