by Mike Ryan
“I’m sorry,” Cain blurted out.
“For?”
“I know you’re pissed about leaving.”
“It just seems like there should be another way,” Heather stated. “I can understand Cassie and the baby, and even the reporter, but I can help you.”
“Heather, you’ve been through so much already. Helping me has almost got you killed twice already. I’m not gonna take a chance on a third time.”
“You never did say what was in the files you got from Heyward.”
“Just stuff about the agency,” Cain quickly replied.
“And the stuff about you?”
“I don’t think right now is the best time to talk about it.”
“You’re sending me away and I might never see you again. When exactly will be the right time to talk about it?” Heather asked, slightly agitated.
Heather could sense there was something Cain didn’t want to say. It wasn’t just about the right time to talk. She knew it must’ve been something bad. Maybe he had a criminal record in his past. It seemed like a thousand things flashed through her mind of what might’ve been keeping him from opening up to her. One thing she knew, she wasn’t going to keep pestering him about it. Whenever people kept bothering Cain about stuff he truly didn’t want to talk about, he clammed up even further. Heather wasn’t going to do that to him, mostly cause she knew it wouldn’t do any good. But it also made for an uncomfortable car ride the rest of the way to the airport. Cain felt badly about what he was putting Heather through but honestly thought it was for the best that she didn’t know just yet.
Cain got to the airport a few minutes under four hours. He pulled into one of the lots and waited a few minutes before waking up the others. They got out of the car to stretch their legs and grab their bags.
“How are we gonna make it through security?” Heather asked. “They’re looking for us.”
“They’re really only looking for me. And they’re looking for Matthew Cain, not Thomas Nelson,” Cain replied, taking out a different ID.
With his hat on, and wearing a pair of glasses, he didn’t think there was much of a chance of him being spotted. They went into the airport and went through the security checkpoints without incident. They took a few seats as they waited for the plane to board. Cain got up to move around, not liking sitting in one spot for too long. As he walked around, he pulled out his phone to make a call. While he was talking, Heather figured it might be her only chance to know what was in those files. She turned to the reporter for answers.
“We’ve never really been properly introduced,” Heather started. “I’m Heather.”
“You can call me Falk,” the reporter replied, shaking her hand.
“Did you get a chance to study what was in those files from Heyward?”
“Oh yeah. Some really good stuff in there.”
“Is it enough to bring the agency down?” Heather asked.
“To its knees. It’ll crumble once some of the things in there get released.”
“Great. What about Cain? Did he get the answers he was looking for about his past?”
“Yeah. Poor guy. I feel sorry for him,” Falk answered.
“Why?”
“Well, I’m not sure I should say. I don’t think he’d want me to talk about it.”
“Oh. It’s OK. You can tell me. I’ve been there with him since the beginning. We actually lived together. Kind of roommates I guess,” she said
“Oh. You’re not dating or anything are you? Cause that’d be kind of weird and uncomfortable with…well, you’re not together right?”
“Oh. No. Of course not,” she stumbled. “No, we’re just friends. Nope. Never dated.”
“OK. I’ll tell you then. Just promise you won’t tell him I told you.”
“Yeah. Sure. I promise.”
“Well, it looks like he was actually married and had a son,” Falk revealed.
Heather was stunned and not sure how to reply. “You mean he got divorced before he enlisted in the military?”
“No. He was still married when Project Specter recruited him. They faked his death and made his wife a widow and his son fatherless. They used his injury to get him to join. Then they gave him more drugs to compound his memory issues to make sure he’d never remember them.”
“Oh my God,” Heather whispered, looking at Cain
“Yeah. I can’t even imagine what the guy is going through. They even lied to him about his real name.”
“It’s Thomas Nelson isn’t it?”
“No. His real name is Justin Clifford. They told him it was Thomas Nelson, but that was a lie too.”
Heather looked down at the floor and stared at the tiles. All she wanted to do at that point was cry. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. Cain had a wife and son. She imagined that would mean that their relationship would be over. She couldn’t blame him if he really did have a wife and son. But it sure did feel like someone just drove a knife through her heart. That must’ve been why he seemed a little bit colder and more distant than usual. Her eyes started to tear up but she quickly got her emotions under control and tried to put on a brave face. She didn’t want Cain to know that she knew. Cain started walking back toward the group and she wiped her eyes to make sure there were no tears on her face. Cain was about to say something but stopped when he noticed Heather’s face. It appeared her eyes were a little red which made him think she was beginning to cry.
“You OK?” Cain asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Just look like something’s wrong.”
“I’m fine. Just worried about everything. Guess it all just hit me at once,” Heather responded.
“OK,” Cain nodded.
“So who were you talking to?” Falk wondered.
“Eric Raines. Just wanted to let him know where we were and everything was still good.”
“I’m not going,” Falk told him.
“What?” Cain asked, giving him his icy stare.
“I look at it like this. The person they want most after you is me. Maybe they even want me more right now with my paper contacts. So if I go with the ladies that makes them a target,” Falk said. “I don’t want that on my head. If I stay with you, then maybe they won’t even bother with them and stay on us.”
Cain looked at the women and Emma for a few moments, thinking about Falk’s thoughts. He couldn’t believe it but Falk’s words actually made sense to him. He agreed that maybe it was for the best if Falk stayed with him.
“Raines knows you are coming,” Cain told the girls. “He’ll be there waiting for you at the airport and will keep you safe.”
Cain was still somewhat expecting an argument from Heather and was a little surprised when there was none. It wasn’t like her to just give up on something she wanted. Cain stood there, not moving, almost waiting for her to come up with some other plan. He knew something was wrong with her when she just sat there staring ahead, not even looking at him. He wrote down Raines’ number and handed it to Heather in case she needed to call him once they landed if something wasn’t quite right.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“It’s not like you to be silent like this.”
“I guess I know when I’m beat,” she told him.
Cain looked at Cassie, wondering if something was said while he was talking on the phone. He let it go, figuring if it was really important she would say something to him. They waited ten more minutes before they announced the plane was boarding. Cain walked the sisters toward the entrance.
“See ya, little one,” Cain told Emma, touching her nose
“Well, thank you for saving us,” Cassie said. “I never did thank you properly for what you did back at the house.”
“Thanks aren’t necessary. Hopefully I’ll see you all soon.”
“Yeah. Well, thanks again,” Cassie said, kissing him on the cheek. “Be careful.”
“I will,” Cain replied before turnin
g his attention to Heather.
“So how long are we staying with Raines?”
“Till it’s safe for you to come back.”
“Well, I guess just let me know how you’re doing from time to time if you can,” Heather said, her voice starting to crack.
“I will,” Cain replied, not sure what else to tell her.
“You take care of yourself,” she told him, tears starting to flow.
“I’ll try to end this as soon as possible.”
“I know.”
Heather gave him a final hug. She turned around and joined her sister as they walked toward into the tunnel. Cain waited for her to turn around and give him one more look, or a final wave, but she never did. He thought it was weird that she seemed a little cold as it wasn’t in her nature to act that way. He couldn’t afford to think too much more about it though and turned around. He grabbed Falk and they began walking through the airport. They only walked a few minutes before Falk’s phone began ringing. Falk took it out of his pocket and looked at it, unsure if he should answer the private number calling. He looked at Cain who nodded to answer.
“Hello,” Falk greeted.
“Put Cain on the phone.”
“It’s for you,” Falk said, handing Cain the phone.
“Who is this?” Cain asked.
“Did you really think you could get away from us?” Sanders asked.
“It crossed my mind,” Cain replied, recognizing the voice instantly.
“I just want you to know that it’s all on your head.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, let’s start with a certain cab driver that we both know of,” Sanders told him. “Oh, what’s his name? Patel is it?”
“Never heard of him,” Cain replied.
Sanders laughed. “You’re gonna pull that one, are you? We know he helped you. As a matter of fact, he’s about to meet one of our finest interrogation officers. Care to stop by and watch?”
A lump went down Cain’s throat knowing that Patel was in the clutches of Sanders and his men. He knew that meant Patel would never see the light of day again.
“So let’s talk exchanges,” Sanders said.
“Unless you’re talking the stock exchange you’re wasting your time.”
“Such a sense of humor,” Sanders responded, laughing. “No, I’m talking an exchange for Patel. Give me something I want and I’ll let him go.”
“We both know that if you truly have Patel that you’ll never let him go no matter what. You can’t afford to let him walk out of that building. He means nothing to me anyway. He’s just a cab driver. So why don’t you just skip the nonsense and get on with it,” Cain stated.
“Fine. If that’s the way you want it.”
“It makes no difference to me,” Cain responded. Outwardly, he was saying all the right things and what he thought Sanders needed to hear. Inside, though, he was beside himself that another person was losing their life because of him.
“So did you kiss her goodbye?” Sanders asked.
“What?”
“Heather. Did you give her a final goodbye before sending her away?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cain replied, a little worried about his reference.
“You think we don’t know where you are right now?”
“Just where would that be?” Cain asked, grabbing Falk’s arm as they both stopped. Cain did a 360 as he looked for any signs of Sanders’ men. He didn’t notice anything, which probably alarmed him more than if he did.
“What do you think the chances are that you’re gonna walk out of that airport?”
“I dunno. What do you think the chances are that I’m gonna rip your throat out?”
“I would say they’re not real good. You’re never getting out of there alive. Your reporter friend is gonna go down with you and your girlfriend and her sister will never reach their destination,” Sanders stated.
Cain had enough of Sanders’ innuendo about their demise and hung up.
“Do they really have Patel?” Falk asked.
“Yeah.”
“Are we gonna get him?”
“No. Can’t,” Cain replied. “If they have him he’s as good as dead. There’s nothing we can do for him.”
“He seemed like such a good guy,” Falk sighed.
“Yeah. We got other things to worry about now.”
“Like what?”
“Like they know we’re here,” Cain responded.
“What? How?”
“Don’t know. We gotta get out of here though.”
They began walking quickly until Cain suddenly stopped and turned around, thinking of what Sanders told him. He looked in the direction they just came from, worried about Heather’s safety. His head was telling him to just keep going to make sure Falk made it out OK but his heart was still thinking of Heather.
“We have to go back,” Cain said.
“What? Why?”
“They’re in danger.”
“OK. How bout you go back and I’ll go wait in the coffee shop up there,” Falk told him.
“I can’t leave you alone. It’s not safe.”
“Well, hate to break it to you, but being around you isn’t exactly safe either,” Falk joked, smiling. “Plus they’re looking for us to be together. Might be wiser to split up for a few minutes.”
“Point taken,” Cain replied. “Fine. I’ll be back in five minutes. You see anything that looks like trouble you call me and I’ll be right over.”
“No problem. Good luck,” Falk said, tapping Cain’s shoulder.
Cain wanted to run but knew that was probably a bad idea since that would bring attention to himself. He briskly walked, pulling his hat down just above his eyes to further conceal his face. He got to the terminal but it was already closed. The plane had just started making its way down the runway. Cain went to the window and watched as the plane took off, the wheels lifting off the ground. He envisioned when this moment happened that some weight would be lifted off his shoulders, that we would feel some relief. But he actually felt just the opposite. Sadness overwhelmed him and he couldn’t help but feel that maybe he’d seen Heather for the last time. He thought he was a step ahead of Sanders but he apparently knew they were there. Splitting up now almost seemed like he was sending Heather and her sister to their doom. If he’d only known Sanders already had a beat on them he wouldn’t have sent them away. It was too late now though to keep dwelling on it. He had to turn his attention back to Falk and focus on getting the two of them out of there. He walked past the flight board and saw her plane information and put his hand on it.
Cain got back to the coffee shop Falk was supposed to be at within a few minutes but was rattled when he saw a bunch of empty seats. Falk wasn’t there. He cursed himself out for a minute for being so stupid and leaving him alone when he knew Sanders’ men were out there. Cain turned around and tried to look through the crowd to see if he could spot Falk walking. It was too tough a task though with the crowd. Who would’ve thought it would be so busy at six in the morning, Cain thought to himself. He was only gone for five minutes but Falk could’ve been anywhere by now. It wouldn’t take long for them to be completely out of sight and stuffing him in a trunk somewhere at this point. Just as Cain was beginning to lose hope and think it was a lost cause, he felt a tap on the back of his shoulder. He spun around and threw a punch to which his intended target quickly ducked the blow.
“Hey there tiger. Ease up,” Falk said. “That was mildly uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, well, you were almost comfortably dead.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Why’d you sneak off?” Cain wondered.
“Went over to the newspaper stand,” Falk replied, holding up a paper.
“That was kinda stupid.”
“Figured I’d check out the news.”
“Do something like that again and I’ll kill you myself,” Cain plainly stated.
“Umm…understood.”
“C’mon, let’s go,” Cain said, pulling Falk’s arm.
“Did you get to the girls?”
“Plane already took off.”
Cain and Falk continued walking the concourse in the hopes of getting out of there quickly and without incident. They reached the escalator to go down to the first floor. Before getting on, Cain stopped and took another look around to see if someone was watching. He couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had tabs on them. Unable to see anything suspicious he nodded to Falk to get on. Just as Falk got on, he stumbled against the railing, a trickle of blood starting to show on his shirt. Falk briefly looked at his protector and wondered if this was the end for him. Cain looked on helplessly as another bullet ripped through Falk’s body, causing him to fall on the steps and violently roll down the escalator out of control. Cain immediately dropped to one knee and removed his gun, pointing it in different directions to try and distinguish his target. With no subject in sight he quickly ran down the escalator before the bullets came in his direction. At the bottom of the escalator he briefly checked on Falk’s lifeless body. Falk’s shirt was covered in blood and there was no trace of life left. He was gone. Cain quickly rooted through his bag and took out the folder he was carrying with the files.
Cain flew down the concourse until he got to the doors and noticed a couple of rough looking fellows approaching. There was no stopping him though; he was going through whoever was in his path. Cain bolted out the door, surprising the three suits coming toward him. The men quickly realized who was coming at them and removed their weapons. Cain already had them beat though and fired his gun before they even had a chance to respond. He fired one round at the chest of the first two agents who were walking side by side and then two more rounds at the agent walking behind them. Cain didn’t bother to check on their condition and kept running to his car. He reached the car without a problem and sped off. As he peeled out of the parking lot, the windshield shattered, a bullet ripping through it as Cain moved his head. The bullet made its way through the headrest before stopping in the cushion of the back seat. Cain wasn’t phased though and kept driving, another bullet going through the trunk. A few minutes later he made it out of the airport and was flying down the hallway. He couldn’t tell if anyone was following him but he wasn’t taking chances by slowing down.