“Here at the school?”
“Since I left home,” she whispered.
“What happened at your last school?” I questioned as the nuns started coming closer. I put my finger over my lips to tell her to be quiet and pulled her to sit on the dark, cherry colored linoleum. After the angry footsteps departed and my name was bellowed in the distance, I smiled back at London and she finally answered me in a whisper.
“I was in a private school in California, but the girls were mean. They beat me up because of who I am. I tried to protect them, but I couldn’t. If they would have stopped -,” her face fell.
“Who you are?” The question lingered in the air for what felt like an eternity as my child-like mentality conjured up things like super heroes and villains. Surely, she wasn’t like that.
“When people talk about my family they say my dad is in the mafia,” she whispered, and I snickered.
“Like in the movies?” I asked as she nodded.
“When my dad found out what the girls did, I was ripped out of school, but not before my uncle Anton left their parents broken and bloody. They pinned a note to the door for the girls to find that said, ‘an eye for an eye.’”
“That’s awesome,” I nearly shouted, and her face scrunched in confusion. She was absolutely adorable. “You’re related to karma.”
“Who?” she asked.
“It’s what happens when you do something wrong to someone good. Your uncle defended your honor like a prince in a story. Like karma.”
“I’m scared if you become my friend they’ll hurt you,” she barely allowed sound to leave her lips, as she hugged her backpack to her chest again. Her eyes shined like lapis lazuli and quartz. She was a diamond in the rough, and it was up to me to make sure she smoothed out the rough edges and stayed here at the school with me.
“You don’t need to worry about me,” I told her as I leaned down and made her look at me, so I knew she wasn’t crying.
“How can you say that?”
“Because I’ll never hurt you.”
“There you are,” Sister Mary yelled as the door flew open. She lifted me off the floor, and pulled me out by my blazer. “I think Father Ryan should use the belt on you until you learn how to tell the truth.”
“Wait,” London called out. Sister Mary turned, but kept her hand on the back of my neck to ensure I didn’t go anywhere. “It’s my fault.”
I was confused. Did she not get that this was not a normal smart kid school? Did she understand when Sister Mary or Sister Katherine said belt it wasn’t a fashion accessory; it was a weapon?
“Explain,” Sister Mary demanded.
“You left me here and I got scared. Logan followed me into the closet and talked to me until I was calm. This place is so big, and-,” Sister Mary stopped her and released me.
“I apologize for leaving you alone Miss Montgomery, but do yourself a favor and forget you met Mr. Keenan. Some souls cannot be saved.”
Sister Mary placed her hand around London and they started to walk off to finish the tour. London looked back at me as they rounded a corner and I mouthed thank you for the distraction that kept my hide safe for one more day.
It was official. I was indebted to the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, and I was happy about it.
“Who’s that Logan?” George, a boy in my class, asked as I thought about how I was going to break all the rules to see her again tomorrow.
“I think she’s an angel.”
Chapter Five
London
“Avery,” I spoke into my mouthpiece for the seventh consecutive day of hiding behind a bush outside a hotel room while the target worked like herpes. Every time I thought he was gone, he popped up and infected another girl that was delivered to him by men who were definitely not from New York. “We need eyes inside the room. This isn’t working.”
“I will put in the request, but it could take a few days.”
“Are you really in the plant?” A familiar voice spoke behind me and it made me smile. I stood up and turned to see Sister Katherine. “Get out of there, you’re getting dirty.”
“Yes ma’am,” I replied and moved to get free. Then I wrapped my arms around her and held her too me. “I’ve missed you,” I confessed, and she whispered, ‘I know’ into my ear. “How did you find me?”
“Child, I have always known how to find you. There were nights when I just decided you needed your space and left you in the orchard to stare at the stars.”
“Could have saved me a ton of bruises had I known,” I laughed as she took my hands in hers and turned my palm upward to see I still had a scar from sneaking out one night.
“What about the scars I can’t see? How are those?” Sister Katherine asked, and I shook my head.
“I’m not there yet. I can’t talk about those,” I whispered. “Have you been getting my emails?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I have. I liked it better when you were writing me with pen and paper. I will never get used to a computer being able to read my messages out loud,” she explained, showing her age.
“I love you,” I grabbed her and pulled her back to me in a hug. “Did you come to New York to see me?” I asked as I released her.
“I came to see Logan,” she mouthed the words. I had to get her to repeat three times before my brain processed what my ears heard. Then she pulled her rosary into her hand and sighed. “I came to get Logan to come back with me. His father is dying, and he has requested his son be there.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but why are you looking for Logan here?”
“Child, the two of you are like magnets. Planets align from the pull you two have between each other.”
“Sister Katherine,” I rasped out her name. I didn’t want to hear it. That was the past and I was only looking forward.
“You two could never stand to be away from each other for more than a day.”
“Sister Katherine, he hated me after I left. He wouldn’t have come here for me,” I denied him ever wanting anything to do with me ever again.
“Sweet child, after you left, he graduated and moved to New York. I came to check on him years ago, he hadn’t found you, but said he knew you were close because his heart felt like it was home. He’s been here ever since.”
“He would have only followed me to rip out my heart as I had done to him,” I rambled as my stomach clenched, and I thought I was going to vomit. Logan was here, in New York. The thought that I could walk around any street corner and run into him was terrifying.
“London, true love forgives the sins of others.”
I was about to speak when the hotel room door opened and Michael Pierce walked out with a large, silver briefcase. There was nowhere to go, no way to hide us both. I turned my back to him and gave Sister Katherine a pleading look.
“Sister, can you give me directions to the Empire State Building?”
The dark-haired criminal must have been eyeing her closely as her eyes followed him down the hall. My breath caught, and my heart raced when I heard the words leave her mouth.
“Hello,” she spoke to him. “Tell me son, have you found God?”
“Uh,” he started to answer.
“You stare at me as though you want to believe, but haven’t found him yet. I can help,” She offered when his phone rang. I was saying a silent prayer that I wouldn’t blow my cover and I would still have a job after this.
“Sorry, Sister I have to get this,” he told her as he answered. I closed my eyes, breathed through my mouth, and let go of the Sister’s hands so all my senses could focus on hearing him speak.
“I have the guns, and I took care of the delivery girl. I will be in London the following Thursday night, back in New York on Saturday, and then we move into Cairo by the second Sunday of next month,” Michael told someone in Russian. I tried to listen for a reply, but they spoke in a language I had never heard. I was lost.
The elevator bell rang, and Michael stepped onto it and held the door open for Sis
ter Katherine and me.
“Are you staying in this hotel, Sister?” Michael asked. My stomach clenched, and I knew it was over for me. The men at work would never let this one go.
“I am,” Sister Katherine showed him a key card. “Room 719. If you ever need help finding God, you know where I am.”
Michael stared at me, studying my face. I kept my eyes to the floor. I could see everything I needed to see while looking lost and sad with the use of my peripherals. Everyone stayed silent until Sister Katherine took my hand.
“Are you ladies going down?” He asked after we didn’t move toward the opening. That sentence alone was a jagged sword slicing into me reminding me, that I was screwing up my job.
“You go ahead. I am going to stay and help this child find her way,” Sister Katherine declared. He let go of the open door button as our eyes finally locked. Those green eyes were now ingrained in my head. I saw the smirk he shared as the doors started to close and I knew I was in trouble.
“Avery,” I spoke out loud. “I think I’ve been made.”
“Hold for instruction,” he replied instantly. I turned to Sister Katherine as everything closed in on me.
“I’m so sorry. I think I just put you in danger. You should get away from me as soon as possible,” I nearly cried as the reality of my words hit me.
“Let’s go get some lunch,” she offered, and I shook my head.
“You don’t understand.”
“I do. I know you don’t work for a bank just like I knew how to find you. God brought me here. Maybe I was meant to save you or maybe I was meant to be here for a reason that hasn’t come to light yet.”
“I can’t allow you to be in harm’s way,” my voice tremored.
“I’m at risk when I step outside, when I take a shower, when I chase the dog out of the chicken pen, and even when I go to church. We are always at the mercy of our creator. Now, I say let’s go get some lunch,” she was as stubborn as I was, but I would let her have this one because I needed her away from his room in case he returned.
We got a cab and I made all the appropriate phone calls. I spoke to my boss who was livid. I talked to Brooklyn who seemed concerned when I told her I couldn’t meet them for dinner. The truth of it was I wouldn’t do anything to attach her to myself until I knew if I was a target. Until we knew if the events had put me on Michael’s radar. I was so distracted by the calls that I didn’t even notice we had left the city until we pulled up at the gate in front of my dad’s house.
“Why are we here?” I questioned as Sister Katherine gave me that look that said I already knew why.
“Time to start fixing what was broken.”
The men stood on guard smoking cigarettes across the large yard. The house looked to be newly painted, as it was now dark brown with white trim. The driveway was filled with a convoy of dark SUV’s that stood ready to go at a moment’s notice. Then my attention turned to the swing hanging from the tree.
I remembered my mom pushing me in that swing when she explained they were going to send me away. When she tried to tell me, it was for the best. Her explanation was that my dad was a dangerous man and someone would hurt me if I stayed. She lied. I got hurt even though I left.
A new anger rippled through me like a lightning bolt scorching a tree when I saw my dad with a cane step out on the porch. Then Alec, a beast of a man, stepped out beside my dad. Alec was my dad’s new right-hand man. With muscles, the size of Volkswagens and a height that made him similar to those concrete towers my sister loved to look up at. He was terrifying if you didn’t know him, and equally scary if you did.
“He’s waiting,” Sister Katherine whispered, and I nodded as I reached for the door handle. “I am going to be with you every step of the way. Now, take a deep breath and open the door,” she reassured me. I hadn’t been back here except to get some things from my old room in nearly a year.
“Zdrastvuite nanoчka,” I spoke as I climbed out of the cab. Giving him a standard hello.
“Moya milaya,” he spoke loudly from the porch calling me his sweet girl.
“Hello Mr. Markovich,” Sister Katherine greeted him as she followed me out of the cab. “Its been a long time.”
“It has, Sister. Please come inside and enjoy a nice glass of ice water on such a warm fall day.”
I had never seen my dad display this type of hospitality. Truth was, I hadn’t been around to see my dad be cordial to anyone. Everything I knew about the man came from newspaper clippings and the rumor mill. It was truly a scrap book relationship. It was filled with photos of the good times, and therapy for the bad. I took Sister Katherine’s arm and we walked down the long pathway to the house and inside the front door.
I had heard stories about blood stains, and body imprints in the walls, but when we walked inside, it was freshly remodeled. You could still smell the paint in the air. Everything looked new except for this one white, cracked-marble tile behind the front door. I stared at it wondering why it was there in a sea of brown hardwood. I envisioned a childlike story where it might have been a trap door.
“I was left for dead there,” my father spoke up and my face turned to look at his blue eyes. They were so much like mine. I looked at all the scars that covered his body and couldn’t even imagine living through some heinous act where I was left with a thousand cuts. I had to look away and turned my focus back down to the tile.
“What happened?”
“Your sister was placed on her first case and I decided to intervene. She didn’t know I tried to stop him. I didn’t want her to know I was trying to protect her. But, things progressed differently than I imagined, and she’s the one who found me.”
“I’m sorry,” I spoke softly because I didn’t know what to say. Then my phone rang, and I excused myself from the conversation.
“Montgomery,” I answered when I knew it was my boss.
“I have reviewed the security footage, listened to an uptick in chatter, and we do believe you have been identified as someone of interest. This does not mean that your cover is blown, but because you disobeyed a direct order, it changes things on how we proceed. You were to only watch him and not be seen. You were to translate and report, not interact. Due to these actions you are hereby suspended pending an investigation into the actions that caused him to request an informative packet on you from someone he knows inside the FBI.”
“Yes, sir,” I responded with disappointment. I wanted to argue, but in truth it would do nothing except piss him off even further.
“I have made a fake bio for you to keep your cover just in case you get to come back to work for me. Until then, if you do decide to proceed on your own with this case you should know doing so will lead to your termination and you will be alone out there with no support from the CIA.”
“I understand,” I replied, as I realized he was telling me to continue my tracking. My boss knew I already had a grip on Michael’s ever changing schedule. I have to do my job and keep everyone safe from me now that I had been something that piqued his interest. The only way to do that was to identify Michael’s crimes and put him away.
“I’m sorry I can’t stay. Sister Katherine, would you like to ride back into the city with me?” I lied, but I didn’t want to keep up my training in some charade to keep them from knowing I was just suspended. I didn’t want the disappointment of blowing the job to leak out in front of my dad or Sister Katherine.
“Does the CIA want you to translate something else?” My dad asked, and shock stole my breath.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Who do you work for?” My dad narrowed his eyes as if interrogating me. The best I could hope for was a believable lie to get me out of here.
“I work for Chase Manhattan, it’s a financial institution.”
“Moya milaya, you couldn’t lie to me when you were four and tried to tell me you didn’t take the last ice cream sandwich and get it all over your dress. It stands to reason that you can’t lie
to me now, either.”
“Dad, I can’t-,” I started to explain, but he walked over letting his cane angrily tap the floor and my words fumbled. I shouldn’t be afraid of the man who cast me away. I shouldn’t be hiding things from the father who didn’t want me. I shouldn’t want his approval, but I do.
“You and your sister want to be heroes. You want to be a champion for the good people, but in doing that, it puts you in danger from the bad. When you put yourself in an unpropitious situation, involving those you deem immoral, it becomes easy for me to know everything.”
“I’m not trying to be some advocate in good versus evil,” I stuttered. “I work for Chase Manhattan!”
“London,” my dad called me by my name instead of the ‘my sweet’ pet name he usually did. The look on his face and the silence that followed told me that no matter what I said or did I couldn’t walk away with the false story I told everyone else about where I worked.
“Don’t tell Brooklyn,” I whispered as I took a deep breath, and then sighed. “She can’t know.”
“Agreed,” Alec spoke up with a thick Russian accent. His English was better than my dad’s, but he couldn’t hide the dialect that told the world where he was from. “I can’t watch over both of you in separate places. The less she knows the better.”
“You’re safeguarding me?” I inquired and once again he was the strong silent type. “I don’t need your protection. I can handle myself,” I saw them all chomping at the bit to unleash an amassing debate that would prove me wrong, so before anyone could argue I announced “I have to go.”
“Child, come in here and sit down. We are going to eat with your father and then you can leave,” Sister Katherine was adamant as my father and her shared a look between each other.
“Let’s not play mend the broken girl,” I sardonically spoke. No one returned my stare as my dad and Sister Katherine had some conversation that didn’t use words. I knew I wasn’t getting out of here. So, I confessed. I caved and told them both the truth that I was on leave. That it was a dick measuring world and I didn’t have the parts to compete. I confessed I wanted to go and start compiling everything I had on him – to take the initiative and save my job.
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