Secret Ops: Ty's Revenge

by Kim Vanderpool

I hobble to the locked door looking closely at the knob. How hard can it be to pick a lock? I mean people do it all the time right? This is a simple door. Nothing special about it. I know what’s on the other side will give me some insight as to who these people really are. OR at least who Lazarus is anyway. I kept my fork from lunch so I’m hoping it will work. If not then I will just have to find something else. Bending the prong of the fork back just so. I place it at the key entry. It’s too big. Damn it.

  Looking around I don’t see anything small enough to insert in the key hole. I hobble around in the dark opening drawers in the kitchen. Suddenly I hear someone coming down the hall. I turn right then left, not sure which way to go. I need to slip past and back to my room. It is going to be difficult with this make shift IV stand. Picking it up with my good hand I duck in the laundry room. At least this is what I think it is. It’s dark here as well so it’s hard to tell. I gently close the door. Now I am in the laundry room and now way out. It won’t be long before Lazarus or someone comes looking for me.

  What the hell am I supposed to tell them? Easing the door open just enough to see. I find that it is indeed Lazarus in the kitchen. Just fucking great. His back it turned to me. Opening the door wider he suddenly turns opening the fridge door poking his head in. It looks as if he is making breakfast. Picking up my makeshift IV stand so I don’t make any noise. I slip out of the laundry room. Lazarus is humming a tune so he doesn’t hear me. Easing around the corner I run right into Ty. He looks down at me. My face burns with embarrassment of being caught. What the hell do I tell him? I need to think fast.

  “Morning.” I smile.

  “What are you doing out of bed?” He doesn’t look happy.

  I calm my beating heart down enough to answer. “Couldn’t sleep.” I say lamely.

  “So you thought you would do what?” He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

  “Going for a walk.” I keep smiling.

  “Where were you going for a walk to?”

  “Just around.” I am digging my hole deeper. There is no way he is believing a word I am saying.

  “Is that so?”

  The way he says this I know he doesn’t believe the words that are coming out of my mouth. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep and I’m getting tired of staring at the same four walls.” That is part of the truth.

  “So, you thought you would go exploring in the dark?”

  “Well I didn’t want to disturb any of you. Everyone has already done so much for me. I didn’t want to be so dependent.”

  “What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Lazarus comes up to me and Ty.

  “She was exploring.” Ty’s lips form a thin line.

  I think I might be in trouble here. I look to Lazarus smiling. “Yeah I couldn’t sleep so I was just going for a walk.”

  “A walk?” Lazarus looks for me back to Ty. Neither one of these men looks happy. Lazarus takes hold of my arm leading me back to my bedroom. As Ty takes my Make shift IV stand. Neither one of them saying a word. They have their own silent thing going on here. As if they know what the other is thinking and I’m out of the loop. “I’m sorry.” I apologize. It falls on deaf ears. Neither one says a word.

  Chapter 15

  Ty

  What the hell was she doing up this time of morning. I want to believe what she is telling me, but I don’t. There’s another reason for her to be snooping around. We help her back to her room and Lazarus gently lays her back on the bed. Flipping on the bedside lamp I make my way over to stand beside Lazarus. It would be so easy to get her to confess what she was really up to. Instead I part the sheet on her injured leg. Lazarus grabs the bandages. I slowly peel off the tape exposing the stitches that Dr. Bailey had recently put back in.

  “It looks good. You seemed to have kept them intact.” I say none too kindly. For some damn reason I’m disappointed in her. I wanted her to be different. The kiss we shared earlier meant something. I don’t want to think on it too much. I know that was an asshole move on my part. I shouldn’t have gave into my urges. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of her while she is in the condition she is now.

  “Sorry.” She says again not meeting my eyes.

  “If you want to move around you have to get it Okayed with Dr. Bailey. Don’t take upon yourself. You could have done real damage to your leg.” Lazarus explains.

  She looks everywhere, but at us. I want to hold her and scold her at the same time. What is the matter with me? I’ve never been like this over any woman and that make me even angrier. “Keep your ass in bed.” I demand hotly. Tango and I had argued over this woman. For some damn reason I didn’t want him hauling her ass to the base for questioning. So Sara and I are staying here for a few more days to make sure Tango doesn’t.

  Sara even went as far as to beg me to take Jessica home with us. Sweet little Sara has taken to her. Now I’m not so sure if that is wise. We really don’t know who this woman is or where she came from. So I’m going to have to keep Sara distant from Jessica until we find out more about her. Sara is a sweet child who has been wronged in so many ways. I don’t want anyone else to hurt her and I’m scared to death the Jessica isn’t who we all think she is. If that be the case then Sara’s heart will be broken. I definitely need to keep Sara away.

  Lazarus applies the new bandages. He leaves the room and I wait until he has gone before I say anything. “What is the real reason you were up?” I know I must be freighting her. I hold her stare and wait for her to answer.

  She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. It’s as if she is contemplating what to say. “I couldn’t sleep so I thought I would just go for a stroll around the house.”

  She’s lying. This woman has no idea who I really am. If she did she wouldn’t be lying right now. Keeping my cool is hard. I want to demand her to tell me the truth. Demand her to tell me why she was snooping around. Thank god, Lazarus locked his study door. He has things in there that no one wouldn’t want to know about. I get the suspicion that she knows about the locked door. “Try again.” I say harshly.

  Her eyes widen and she looks pale all of a sudden. I have not had a reason to be this way with her before. The sudden change in my attitude has scared her. Good she needs to be scared. She needs to know what I’m really capable of. “That’s all.”

  I get only inches from her face. “You really don’t want to lie to me.” I says above a whisper.

  “I’m not.” Tears threaten to break free any moment.

  “If I find out you’re lying. I won’t protect you from Tango any longer.” With that I walk out. I want her to think on what I said. I have learned a thing or two from Lazarus. Leave the person to think about the unknown and never let them know when you’re bluffing.

  “It’s the truth. I don’t know how long I’ve actually been here. I just needed a change of scenery. That’s all.” I hear the tears in her voice now. I want to pull her in my arms, but I don’t. With my hand on the door knob I roughly pull it open and walk out.

  It hurts like hell to scare her, but we can’t make mistakes here. If we do then we all could die. We don’t know who this woman is and we can’t let our guard down. People die when you let down your guard. Even though I doubt she is like William or Vancard, who is dead now, but that’s beside the point. She can’t be trusted until we find out more about her.

  “Well?” Lazarus asks as I come back to the kitchen.

  “She’s lying.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Pretty sure.”

  “Want me to have a crack at her?”

  “Nah. I think if there is something going on we will soon find out.”

  “You like her, admit it. I saw the disappointed look on your face when you figured out she was lying.”

  “Shut up man. It’s nothing like that.” I say pouring myself a cup of coffee to keep from having to look Lazarus in the eye.

  “Sure it isn’t. Keep lying to yourself.” Lazarus laughs.

  “So, what does Tango want
us to do?” I change the subject.

  “First, he wants us to get the finger prints of… Jessica. Ash is going to run it through his system to see what comes up. In the meantime, we are at a standstill. No word from William yet. He’s gone underground.”

  “I found a file in William’s office on Sara. There are photos of her and her parents. I haven’t had time to go through it yet.”

  “You’re just now telling me about this?” Lazarus looks surprised that I have kept this a secret.

  “Like I said. I haven’t had time to even look at it.”

  “Think we should bring Tango in on this?” Lazarus looks skeptical.

  “I would rather be the one to look at it first.” Just in case. You never know what Tango will do.

  “I understand.” Lazarus nods. He’s thinking the same things I am. We both know that if Tango gets his hands on that file he will be all over it. Right now I don’t want to turn Sara’s life upside down, well not any more than it already is.

  “I just need time to go over everything before I hand it over to him.”

  “Okay.”

  I’m not sure what I’ll find in that file. I hope it will give us some insight of Sara’s life. I make my way back to Sara’s room to check in on her. Making sure she is still asleep then go to my own room. Once the door is closed I pull the file out of my bag. I’ve been putting this off for a while. Afraid of what I will find. Slowly opening the file I start reading.

  Brandon and Lauran Roberts, daughter Sara Roberts. Brandon Roberts place of employment: Owner of five star restaurant Brandon’s palace. Lauran Roberts place of Employment. Owner of L R design. Combined Estimated worth 72 million dollars. Life insurance of combined couple. 132 million dollars.

  I stop reading for a moment. No damn wonder William wants Sara. This child is worth a fortune. There’s no doubt in my mind that William will come after Sara. She isn’t safe. I continue reading. The more I read the more my stomach turns. William has everything in here. From the time of the kidnapping of the family to the designation of the place where the family is to be held. I can’t believe William kept such a documented file.

  There are single photos of Lauran Roberts and Brandon Roberts. William has had his eye on this family for a long time. From the looks of the photos he had surveillance on this family for a while. They had no idea. Even the people surrounding them didn’t have an idea. There are photos of Sara at school playing with her friends on the playground. She was much healthier looking then.

  There are death certificates of both parents. I read over the autopsy which looks bogus. I wonder if these are even real. Reading further I find that Sara is the sole survivor. No siblings. It doesn’t mention of any Aunts or Uncles. Which surprises me. Either William hasn’t completed his search, which is more likely. Or he was in the motion of changing Sara’s name completely. That doesn’t make sense though. How the hell could he get the inheritance if he changed her name? He would still have to show proof of who she really is. Unless he had someone on the inside.

  Closing the file I don’t feel any better about things than I did before. I’m confused about what I should do. I know Tango needs to see this file, but at what cost to Sara. William needs to be found there’s no room for error here. Sara’s life hangs in the balance. She has to be protected at all times. If I had known that she was in this much danger I would have never left her to begin with.

  Not being able to stand looking at the file any longer I make my way back to Sara’s room. She is still sleeping soundly. I can’t imagine what this child has gone through. No wonder she doesn’t trust people. I feel like the luckiest man on the planet that this innocent child trusts me. I smooth the hair from her face and make a silent promise that I will do anything and everything to protect her. No matter what the cost. I will not let William get his hands on her.

  I look out the window at the early morning dawn creeping up over the horizon. I know Lazarus has the best security that would make the most secured place look like kids play. But that still doesn’t stop the worry that crosses my mind. I know William is determined to get his hands on Sara and I know he will try anything to succeed. We can’t put her in hiding just for the fact we don’t want anyone knowing about her than who already does. I look back at her small little form lying snuggled under her covers and feel my anger rise. How could William do this to a sweet innocent child? How could he take the only family she has ever known away from her? One question that enters my mind is what was he going to do with Sara once he had her money? The answer to that question sends chills down my spine. Taking a deep breath, I exit her room with one more look over my shoulder. Cassie is right. I need to do this the legal way. I have to file all the necessary paper work. In the meantime, Cassie doesn’t have much to go on. When I took Sara to see Cassie she wouldn’t even look at the woman. Cassie asked Sara a series of questions. Sara kept her head dropped and held to my neck tighter.

  Now that I know Sara’s last name. We will have more to go on. I dread having to call this in to Cassie, but I have to. For Sara and her parents. Even though I don’t think I can part with her. She has stolen my heart. I feel the need now more than ever to keep her safe. And I’m afraid that if there are other relatives that they won’t be able to keep her from the clutches of William.

  If William finds out that she is with other family members than no one is safe. Taking the file and handing it Lazarus who is cooking breakfast, for Jessica no doubt.

  “This the file?” He says flipping through it.

  “You wouldn’t believe the details that’s in there.”

  Lazarus takes a seat at the kitchen table reading the file. I finish making Jessica’s breakfast. Taking a deep breath, I fill her plate taking it to her. I know she isn’t asleep and I need to apologize to her. I shouldn’t have said what I did, but she needs to know that she has to be truthful with us. There is no room for lying. Especially with Sara’s life on the line.

  I knock on the door and wait for her to bid me to enter. “Breakfast.” I sat the tray on her lap.

  “Thanks.” She reaches for the toast breaking off a small piece.

  She won’t meet my eyes. Rubbing my hand down my face; I contemplate what to say to her. She keeps her gaze on her plate. “Jessica. I’m sorry for earlier. We have a lot going on.” That’s as much as I can say without giving up too much information.

  “It’s okay.”

  “No. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Really. It’s okay.”

  “Maybe I can talk to the Doc and see if he’ll let you come sit in the living room for a while.”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.” I don’t know how to comfort a woman. I couldn’t even soothe my ex-wife. Leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind me. Leaning my hand against the wall and close my eyes. Jessica wouldn’t even look at me. I realize she is dependent upon us. What the hell is wrong with me? I shouldn’t have acted the way I did.

  “Daddy?” Sara comes out of her room yawing.

  “Good morning, sweetie.” I push off the wall taking her hand leading her down to the kitchen. “What do you want for breakfast?”

  “Cereal.”

  “Cereal sounds good.” Sara and I enter the kitchen. Lazarus is still reading over the file. He quickly turns the photos over of Sara’s parents. Which I’m thankful for. I have no idea what her reaction would be seeing them.

  “Daddy. Azarus needs some cereal too.” Sara states looking up at me with those big beautiful eyes. I smile at her and take three bowls down.

  “Ty. Did you read all of this?”

  “Yeah.”

  “My god. I can’t believe William went into great detail. I need to check out the autopsy. Nothing on this looks real.”

  “I thought the same thing.”

  “Daddy. Hurry.” Sara tugs on my shirt.

  “Here you go.” I sat her in a chair at the table. Placing her cereal in front of her and sliding Lazarus’s to him
.

  “What’s this?” He asks grinning.

  I shrug smiling. “Sara’s idea.”

  “Daddy. Jessica needs some cereal too.” Sara whispers in my ear as I take a seat beside her.

  “It’s okay she has already eaten,” I answer Sara, “I agree. There’s a lot in there.” I say referring to the file.

  “Okay. So we get Tango on this, then go from there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know he is going to want to send you.”

  “I figured as much.”

  “Then what about…” He lets the question die, but I know what he is referring to.

  Who is going to stay with Sara? I haven’t had time to find a babysitter that I can trust. I can’t ask ash’s wife because she is due to have their baby any time. Maggie is still recovering. Sara doesn’t like Sylvia and then there’s Jessica. Well let’s just say I don’t even know her, so that is a defiant no. I’m not leaving her with a total stranger. Damn I had no idea this was going to be so hard. I didn’t realize single parents had it so rough. What they must go through is unbelievable.

  “I have no choice, but to call Aaron.”

  Lazarus chokes on his coffee. Whipping his mouth he gives me a look that says I’ve lost my mind. “You are going to do what? I didn’t think the two of you were on speaking terms after the divorce?”

  “We aren’t.”

  “Then how are you going to convince her to come all the way here to…sit.” Lazarus looks over to Sara making sure she isn’t listening.

  “Let me worry about that.”

  Lazarus rinses out his bowl walking to the next room to call Tango. I hope Sara gets alone better with Aaron than she did with Sylvia.

  Chapter 16

  I haven’t talked to Aaron in a long time and I’m not sure she will even answer my call. She is the only person I can trust at the moment. She hates me, but I know for a fact that she will love Sara. I just hope Sara will like her in return. Sara doesn’t trust people and there are a few select few that she does. Although it still boggles my mind that she has taken to Jessica so well. I wonder at that moment how well Aaron and Jessica will get alone. I don’t ponder on it too long. If I do I will end up talking myself out of calling Aaron.