by Kris Buendía
Shit!
I don`t know if I should go. Or if I should be in the Miller mansion. I don`t know what to do and I don`t know if everyone is ok or if Gabe fulfilled his threat.
I run to my room and I grab the first thing I can wear, I get changed and rush. I have to go to the police,to Duncan, to my friends and even my father. I have to do something because this silence is filling me with terror that something horrible is about to happen.
When I get out of my room and go to the living room, a loud noise makes me scream and cover my head. My throat hurts and I`m out of breath, so I cough very loudly.
“CLEAR! “ Men are screaming.
I walk forward because this must be something more than a nightmare.
“Freeze! “ They are pointing guns at me ”We are form the CIA!”
CIA?
“Put your hands behind your head and walk forward very slowly” They command me to but I can’t move.
Tears are fogging my view and as a reflex I put my hands up very frightened, doing what they tell me. The sound of the clothes they wear and their covered faces is enough to make me close my eyes and don`t say anything. Nothing makes sense and I can`t resist it.
“Stop and get on your knees.”
“Oh my God” I whimper “What is this?”
The sound and the coldness of the metal that touches my wrists becomes the worst sensation of all. None of this makes sense and this has to be a mistake.
“Please” I beg them “Please...you are making a mistake. Can somebody please tell me what’s going on? Please, please...don`t hurt me.”
I feel I`m about to pass out, but I stand firmly when I hear the voice from the man behind me and the roar of the men looking for something or someone in my entire apartment. While others point guns at me, without mercy and like if I was some kind of threat to national security, when really I`m only a woman that is slowly breaking.
“Mrs. Miller” he immobilizes me like if I were to try and escape” You are under arrest under the charges of trafficking and international robbery of high end gem stones.
“WHAT!? “ I scream at him and try to break free my hands, even though it`s evident I can`t “WHAT YOU ARE SAYING MAKES NO SENSE! SIR, PLEASE YOU ARE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE!”
“Mrs. Miller” he stops me “I recommend keeping quite…”
His voice becomes an echo in my head, I can’t hear anything else besides the word “Trafficker” rumbling like a bomb over and over inside me. This definitely must be a nightmare, the worst one. I will soon open my eyes and be in bed, not here. In the one I was once happy and my mother was still with me.
THIS IS NOT REAL.
I repeat that to myself a million times while I think I listen to the word “rights” and if I understand what he is saying. I think it was a question, I`m not sure. And no, I don`t understand what he is saying. I haven`t even been inside a police station in my life. The movies about thief’s and bandits from the FBI and CIA are still very surreal to me and not my favorite.
On the other hand, my body weighs and can`t resists and I have to fall to the floor in my apartment. The blow to my head is so strong that I don`t know what is real or not.
My mother.
She never wanted to leave me. Being a little girl I was very confused in what I wanted to be when I would become a woman like her.
THIS IS NOT REAL.
She would never let this man going into her house like this, throwing everything around and pointing guns at me.
I know it`s not real. How could it be?
How could I be the person that they say I am?
I think they are wrong, the crime I committed is call: “murder”. Yes, I am guilty, but I didn`t plan it. I have proof that shows otherwise and I accept full responsibility. But not this. This is not real. I haven`t stolen anything in my life, I wouldn`t dare to and even less gems. What does this mean? Precious gem stones? Is he talking about diamonds?
I feel a lot of pain in my entire arm, all of my weight fell into it.
“Somebody call an ambulance” I hear him say it again to somebody “It looks like she can`t breathe or is having a panic attack”.
He is wrong.
I`m just in shock. The fear is gone, and I realize that none if this is over.
THIS IS REAL.
But even though I want to open my eyes, I can`t. They can kill me right here, but they have to now that I`m innocent. They have to tell my father, my friends and Duncan if he still cares, him too.
I never wanted to hurt him like I did, but I need him now, I need him to come and rescue me. Where has he gone to? I want to scream his name, but a dark piece of cloth covers my head and I`m dragged out of my apartment to who knows where.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
The cold metal in my cheek is uncomfortable, but also the pain in my neck. I don`t know how long I`ve been unconscious for and in this position, but for what is the pain I say it`s been a while.
I open my eyes and my eyes resist to because of the bright light over me.
Where am I?
I can`t identify anything. There is nothing on the walls, and I can`t hear any other voice. I don`t know where all the men are, officials or agents, or whatever. None of them are here and nobody is pointing a gun at me.
I don`t feel relieved at all either. The silence doesn`t bring anything good and empty rooms either. When I try to bring my hands to my head and massage it I realize that my wrist are still handcuffed.
I close my eyes and open them again. I do this over and over again until I wake up.
This is not a fucking nightmare!
I fix my eyes on what is in front of me. Some kind of window or mirror. I`m not an idiot, I know that there is somebody on the other side looking at me. And any minute now somebody is going to walk in through that door. I must have my mind clear and tell them that they made a mistake bringing me here.
I think about Gabe and I doubt that he would have been able to set me up like this. Everything seems so real, starting with the fact that nobody has hurt me, and I have a clear picture of how little of a man you have to be to hit a woman.
“Plea...” I don`t recognize my voice. I have a knot in my throat and I want to cry. I think about it, but it doesn`t help me either, I can`t scream because I don`t even know where I am.
In the CIA?
Yes, I could be there. So then, somebody is really looking at me behind that mirror.
“Please” I speak clearly” Is there somebody there? I need to talk to somebody. I need to know if my father and friends are alright.
My eyes fill up with tears when I remember him too.
“And...Duncan Ford” my voice breaks as I pronounce his name “I just need to know that they are ok, please. Somebody, anybody, please...help me. I don`t care what you do to me, I just want them to be safe. Somebody...somebody wants to hurt them. “
I struggle to keep my composure and stop crying.
“It`s all a big mistake. My name is Lana Taynor, I`m a doctor at Rose Saint Hope Hospital in Washington D.C. My friends are doctors: Agatha Matthews, Dixon Mortis and Moe Clarke” I pause for a second and clear my eyes and get rid of the tears” Duncan Ford is...he lives in the same building as me, he is important to me.
I cry loudly and I fight with myself to try and stay calm and prove my innocence. I don`t care that they told me to be quiet, whoever is on the other side of the mirror must know that I`m not supposed to be here.
“They called me “Mrs. Miller” I hate having to say it “I am Senators Gabe Miller`s ex-wife. I don`t know if this has something to do with him, but I can assure you that I`m not a criminal. I haven`t stolen anything in my life, maybe I`m not being clear but…”
Then the door opens and I`m forced to stop talking. Not because I don`t have anything to say, it`s because of what my eyes see, that makes me shut up.
“Duncan” I wish I could smile at him, but seeing him here in
front of me and seeing that he is ok calms me” What are you doing here?
He doesn`t answer my question. In exchange, he sits in front of me. He tidies his three piece suit and combs his hair with his fingers. He looks so good. But I don`t know if he has realized that this is not any place for him to act so natural.
“I brought you here. “
He takes a deep breath and the pupils in his blue eyes are very dilated. I always knew that his eyes showed the truth that his lips couldn`t say.
“You what? “ I almost start laughing “This doesn`t make any sense Duncan. “
“Don`t keep insulting me, Lana. You insult me every time you lie to me.”
“You think this is some kind of game? Look at me!
He stands up and moves his chair over closer to me. He leans in, his jaw is trembling and this emotion out of him is something new that I see in him.
“You are part of my mission.”
There is horror in my eyes and he is not affected by it at all. I don`t recognize the tone of his voice or the look in his face.
“Explain yourself.”
I`m going to doubt him. I will be a coward and I will give him one chance to explain himself to not believe what I`m thinking right now. The weight is getting lighter and just like if they had opened a window, everything started making a little more sense.
“I`m a CIA agent and you were my mission.
Those words are stuck with me instantly like knifes through my heart.
CHAPTER
TWENTY EIGHT
Before becoming a swindler.
Duncan
Getting out of my apartment for the second time to go to work, is a routine that is starting to weigh on me. Dorian is right, I have to get a distraction, start having a social life, but I won`t fall in love again, no fucking way.
Those days are over for me. I`m not the kind of guy that falls in love to cheat, I`m neither the kind of man that fucks a different woman every night with the pretext of not having some kind of hole in my fucking heart.
I`m just Duncan Ford, agent and head of the CIA.
How did I become the boss?
It was because of love precisely. The woman that was my wife and also an agent, gave me the position as the boss. I finally lost her in her last mission. She fell in love with her target and she was almost killed for it.
I don`t blame her. I threw her into that, and she fell in love like never before and that love made her fight to prove the innocence of the man she was order to capture.
The son of a bitch ended up being innocent after all. We all doubted it, she never did, and because of the love that I still felt for her, made me believe and cooperated to prove his innocence.
I don`t regret it and I`m no less of a man for doing that shit for her. I owed it to her.
And now I`m here. Waiting for the fucking elevator to open its doors. But at least I`m not the only one. Two women that I`ve never seen before stand beside me. One is dark skinned and I think that her smile is not because the woman next to her made her a joke.
She looks like she is hiding. I don`t need much imagination to realize that she is attractive and despite not making a huge effort to dress up this morning, clearly the dark skinned one did.
Now that I remember, I`ve seen that face before, even though she can`t say the same.
“Good afternoon” says the dark skinned one and the elevator arrives.
They are the first to go in and I recognize that ass. It belongs to my new next door neighbor.
“Good afternoon ladies” I answer kindly.
As we go down I mentally prepare the instructions for my team which I`ll be meeting shortly.
They on the other side, gossip under their breath and I know who`s the star in their conversation is.
“Cute.”
I hear one of them say, I insist it`s the dark skinned one. My new neighbor reprimands her and I start getting flustered that she think things too much.
What the hell?
I don`t know her, I shouldn`t care at all, even though I find it really amusing that I have her close by. I would like to teach her that with that attitude she will be missing out on the good things in life. I know that I, have moments that I want to take the first woman I see in a bar, take her to the bathroom, not important if it`s the man`s or woman`s bathroom, put her on her knees and make her open her mouth to take me in.
My phone rings interrupting me, thank God.
I see that it`s agent Dorian.
“I got you message” I start saying before he talks.
“We got a new lead, I just cracked it, but the rest of the team are not here yet.”
“I`m on my way there right now” I take a deep breath.
“Do you want me to continue until they arrive? “
“No” I answer exasperated, the team knows what their job is “The incompetence is not part of my job description or yours. “
Dorian clears his throat, signal that the team have just arrived.
“You are on speaker” He tells me and I don`t mind scaring them a bit.
“Fire all of them” the mumbling on the other end of the phone makes me laugh to myself, ever since I became the boss, I`ve never had to fire anybody. I have one of the best team most of the time.
“They are telling you to fuck off” I hear laughter” Hurry.
I was expecting that.
“Yes...fine.”
I hung up and I forget that I`m not alone.
“A handsome jackass.”
I can`t help but find that funny. That was definitely my shy neighbor. The fact that she finds me attractive and a jackass doesn`t offend me at all. Something tells me that I will hear more from her, even though she doesn`t have the nerve to look me in the eye. I know that once she does, she won’t be able to resist.
The elevator doors open again and I`m the first one out.
I think I hear something like “bye” but I can`t stop. I have to meet up my team as soon as possible.
....
The meeting room is totally quite. The new mission, that has nothing new, we have been after this for some time and now, finally the leads are starting to fall like dominoes.
We will soon apprehend the precious stone trafficker that has been living in the shadows under our noses leaving no trace.
Until now.
Gabe Miller. Nothing more and nothing less than one of our state senators. I never liked anything about this guy. But, even though he moves leaving breadcrumbs in his political life, there is something that doesn`t fit in.
His wife.
What the hell is his wife doing living in my apartment building?
And why did I she have to catch my eye ever since I saw her?
Precisely today was the first time I saw her and now I`m looking at hundreds of pictures of her, and I find her even more attractive because of her eyes, her hair and everything about her has a sign saying:
“NO FUCKING WAY”
No fucking way must I get involved more than just being a normal neighbor.
“Agent Ford?”
Dorian is waiting for my answer.
“Nothing will change” I say firmly “We didn`t count with having one of the pieces of the puzzle so close. Lana Miller is an important clue, and if I have to act like a friendly neighbor to reach our goal, I will. “
They all nod and agree with me. I`m not the type of boss that stays back in his office giving orders. I work with my team and I take the same risks as they’d being an undercover operative.
My undercover work was a part of my life that I hoped I would never have to relive again.
“Maybe Mrs. Miller will meet architect Ford today.”
A diabolical smile forms in my face. I can feel it. I hope she doesn`t make my job easy, it would be too boring.
Whatever the outcome, I must keep my head cold and my hard friend in my pants also, if not, I`m screwed.
TWENTY NINE
Before going home, I have no fucking clue what I`m going to find. That is why my plans change and I decide it`s better to go for a drink to clear my head and stop thinking about the same thing over and over again.
The same loneliness.
Call me crazy, but alcohol has a special taste when you have nothing to lose, once you have lost it all.
I usually don’t talk to anybody. I`ve learned my lesson of not allowing myself to fall in love with any woman. That doesn`t make me want to become gay either. I can have any woman I want those nights that I can`t handle my hard friend anymore. Fucking and saying goodbye have become boring as well. Or just fucking, not even saying goodbye, just opening the door and leaving for it to never happen again with the same person.
I get out of my pathetic and horney thoughts when I hear the loud voice of the woman sitting next to me chatting with the barman. He seems to be very entertained as he asks:
“So, he left you?”
When she moves back to answer, I recognize her face.
You've got to be fucking joking with me. I complaint to myself when I recognize my target in sight.
“Noooo...I left him” she drunkenly babbles” I left the house...without any luggage or jewelry, I just left...and now, I have the best apartment in the city in one of the biggest buildings, a closet full of new clothes and I`m enjoying being single, here with you. Is it pathetic?
“No…”
“Yes” I answer to make her shut the fuck up.
My whiskey is almost half, so, if somebody wants to go far in honestly, is going to be her. Just what I need.
“Excuse me?“ She tells me and I don`t bother looking at her” I have my own therapist next to me, go and find your own.
The barman smiles and asks me:
“More ice, sir?”
“I think he has had enough” she rushes to answer and I find it funny. I think I`m going to have fun with this.