by Alexa Shaik
“He’s gone through so much, you’ve got to understand honey,” her mom had said.
“Oh, right, like I haven’t!” she burst out.
“He came here yesterday and...”
“What! So you two talked? Did you invite him?” she was furious. “I thought you were on my side, mom!”
“I am, honey... but listen to what he has to say... please.”
“Ugh...” she’d said.
“Oh jeez,” she said in the present. She would continue burying her feelings of love for Keith and unleash her hatred. The nerve he had asking to see his son! Sure, he was his, but he was never a dad to Kendall and that’s all that mattered. For all she cared, Kendall had one parent, her. And that’s all there was going to be.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Kendall walking sluggish towards her.
“Did I wake you up, little man?”
“Yeah... but I wasn’t fully asleep.”
“Come here,” she said as she scooped him up. He was holding on to Mr. Fuzzy, a small bear he had always gone to bed with since he was little. He put his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder.
This was the way it was supposed to be, she thought to herself. Her and Kendall against the world. And Mr. Fuzzy, of course. She kissed his forehead and rocked him, as she had done when he couldn’t fall asleep.
“I love you mom,” he said, drowsily.
“I love you too, Kendall.” She said, a tear falling down her cheek.
CHAPTER SIX
“Yo, Keith... stop here. I’m gonna get me some donuts.”
“Trey, you promised none today!” Keith complained as he pulled over at the curb and parked in front of the donut shop.
“My man, I didn’t have no breakfast. How’s a black man supposed to work with no food? It is a free country, you know.” He said, running inside. Keith laughed. Trey had been his friend for a long time and they had both joined the police force a few weeks ago. They were partners now.
“So... how was Saturday?” Trey asked as he got back in with a bag full of donuts and a cup of coffee. He had a big appetite but he’d been able to maintain a masculine body.
“Kyra hates me,” Keith said, focusing on the road. Trey whistled and bit on a donut. “That bad?”
“Yeah,” he replied. He hadn’t told Trey about Kendall yet. He’d freak for sure. “She told me that I would never be a part of my son’s life.”
Trey choked on the coffee,” A son? You... have a... a son?”
“Yes,”
“Bruh, that’s messed up. For real.”
“Four years old... I don’t know what to do, Trey. Kyra won’t let me explain what happened.” Before Trey had a chance to respond, they got a radio call.
“There’s a situation at the Boston Private Bank. Five men are holding bankers hostage. All units report immediately...” Keith took the siren box and put it on top of his black BMW X6 and accelerated as soon as the siren started sounding and cars made way. Trey took to the radio and began responding as Keith hurried to the bank.
They got out of the car and turned the siren off. There were two police cars at the scene when they got there. They both approached the chief of police as they strapped on their bullet proof vests.
“Chief, what do we have here?” Trey asked, pulling out a pair of binoculars to look into the bank. The chief, Eddie Murray, was a medium sized, fifty-six-year-old, with a black moustache and a short temper. His hands were on his waist, while giving orders.
“They call themselves The Ruff. Their leader, Tony Parelli. Most wanted in Boston. He’s been in jail for arson and robbery with violence. Each two years.” He took out a laptop from inside his car and showed them Tony’s picture. He was roughly, thirty-four with shoulder-length dark hair and a strong angular face with piercing eyes.
“I want you two to go in there,” Ed said focusing his binoculars to the top of the building.
“Say what now?” Trey said in shock.
“You’ll get in through the shaft up there and come out through the one in the toilet...” he clicked on the laptop and showed them the internal structure of the bank.
“The toilet you’ll come out of is directly near the waiting area... you do your thing and get me those men!” Ed said looking directly at them.
“Yes, Sir!” they said in unison. They were wired with earpieces and a mouthpiece on the collar of their shirts.
“Don’t mess this up, Gorbachev and Hudson,” Ed warned them sternly.
“I still can’t believe this is my job. I should have listened to my mother when she told me not to be a cop,” Trey whispered to Keith who was following him closely behind. They’d come up through the building on the left, entered the shaft and were now crawling quietly through it. Keith only smiled and went on through the shaft. At last they got to the opening of the toilet and they continuously got out, careful not to make any sound.
“Now we’ll sneak...” Keith started but heard the door open. Both of them scrambled into a stall and kept still.
“I’m telling you, Leo, once we get our money I’m going to Vegas!” said one of them, in a deep voice.
“Tommy, my man! I’m going to the Bahamas where the real pretty ladies are,” said the other.
Suddenly, the door to the stall opened exposing Keith and Trey to the robbers. They were in masks and held M1014 guns.
“What the hell are you two doing here?” one of them asked. Before they could answer, the other said, “Get the hell out right now!”
“Keith got out, followed by one scared Trey. The guns were pointed to their heads and Keith wondered how they’d get out of this.
“Wait...” Trey said, “Before you kill us... lemme say goodbye to my brother.” Keith looked at him, confused. What was he up to?
“Make it quick and snappy!” Trey nodded and looked at Keith.
“All these years... you’ve been more than a brother to me. I’ll... never forget the day you told me about your grandpa’s kick butt moves...” Trey said, smiling. Keith got the message immediately and smiled back.
“Yeah, remember how it went?” Trey nodded and started singing.
“It goes left and right, one hand on my hip and the other in the air!” They both sang along the actions, “I think I should get my dancing shoes...” The robbers looked confused and lowered their guns.
“Stretch your hands and lift them up in the air...” Trey winked at Keith and without any warning, punched both of them at the same time and the robbers fell, unconscious.
“That’s how it’s done!” Trey said laughing and hi-fiving Keith.
A few minutes later, they walked out of the toilet confidently in what Tommy and Leo were wearing and brought their guns with them.
“Act normal,” Keith warned Trey, analyzing the hostage situation.
“No worries, bro,” he said, walking slowly towards the center. There were about twenty-five people being held hostage and they were seated on the floor, looking traumatized.
“Tommy! Leo! What the heck are you doing standing there? I need you watching over these people!” Tony shouted to them from the counter. “Amateurs,” he said, under his breath. He had no mask. Keith and Trey went around, pointing their guns at the hostages.
When Tony went back to the safe, Keith took out his badge and whispered slowly to a woman and her kid, “I’m an FBI agent. Keep calm and we’ll get you out of here safely, okay?” The woman nodded quickly and held her son closer. Strangely, they reminded him of Kendall and Kyra. He shook his head, trying to focus on what was in front of him. “Tell the rest of the people not to worry, we’re dressed up like them but we’re not them.” She nodded again in understanding and Keith stood up and talked quietly through his mouthpiece, “Chief, we have access. 25 hostages. None injured. Tony’s in the safe with the other two. All are armed.”
“Okay, both of you. Be very careful and don’t let anything hurt those innocent people. And get me Parelli,” Keith looked at Trey and Trey nod
ded back.
“Okay, Tommy! Go help Stone. Leo, follow me! We need to make sure everything’s in order! The bags are ready,” Tony said as he came out of the safe. He dragged Keith along to a room across the elevator that led to a flight of stairs. They went down quickly. “The police are outside waiting for us. We need to take the amount we have. What’s our next stop?”
“Cincinnati,” Keith said without thinking. They reached a parking lot outside the other side of the Bank where a white van waited.
“Perfect,” Tony said, rubbing his hands together. “You covered gas? Or did Tommy fill it?”
“Tommy,”
Tony turned to him. “You’re not Leo, are you?” Keith paused for a beat before Tony broke into a run back the stairs. He ran after him and caught his leg as he was climbing. Tony slipped and held on to a railing and tried to kick Keith’s face. Keith managed to get up before he did and punched his face. He grunted in pain and returned the favor. Punches were thrown and kicks dished out. Keith was winning, he had Tony pinned to the stairs. Tony suddenly, reached for a knife from his jacket pocket and dug it into Keith’s arm. Keith let go, grunting, as the pain spread through his arm and Tony got the chance to get away. Before he took off, he removed Keith’s mask, squinted at him in anger and said, “You’ll pay for this!” he went down the stairs and after a while, Keith heard the van take off.
He gathered his strength and managed to get up and go up the stairs. The police had found their way in the building and were getting the hostages out safely. When Keith appeared at the scene, Ed and Trey approached him, “Where’s Tony?”
“Gone,” was all Keith could say. Trey noticed the gash on his arm, “Bro, let’s get that looked at. There’s an ambulance outside.” Keith felt like he was in a daze, like the world was spinning. They had the gash cleaned and bandaged and they stitched up some minor wounds on his face.
“You lost a lot of blood. Just be grateful it wasn’t very serious,” the paramedic said, “Go home and get some rest.” Keith closed his eyes. Home and rest. Exactly what he needed.
“Gorbachev! You let Parelli go?” he heard the Chief ask furiously, as he walked to the car. He opened his eyes and turned to see him glaring hard at him.
“It was against my will, sir,” he said, slowly supporting his bandaged arm.
“Do you know how bad this is? That he’s on the loose?”
Keith scoffed. He was angry, too, “With all due respect, sir, I had a knife struck on my hand. I’m really tired and have a huge migraine. I’d be grateful if we could discuss this tomorrow.”
Ed looked hard at him and nodded. Keith murmured a thank you and opened the door to his car.
“You sure you’ll be able to drive? I can skip the rest of the day,” Trey asked, as Keith started the car. He was standing by the driver’s side window.
“Yeah, bro. I’ll call you later,” he said and drove away.
He got home and went looking for an ice pack. His arm stung and there was blood seeping from the bandage, from when he had moved it driving. He winced and decided against changing the bandage, as he faded into sleep. If the nightmares were going to keep him awake, he was going to count on the pain and the migraines for sleep. Even though that was unlikely.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Kyra paid for the groceries and walked out of the store. It was about 7:30 pm and she’d just dropped by the store to grab a few things for her mom and some for herself. She would pick Kendall up since he was with Lydia.
As she walked to her car, she felt someone grab her hand, “Scream and I swear you’ll regret that!” A rough voice said. Kyra dropped her groceries and her steps faltered but the man dragged her roughly.
“What do you want?” she asked, her voice shaky. It was clear she was scared. She tried yanking her arm but the man pushed her against a Prado and brought his face close to hers.
“It would be such a shame to kill such a pretty face,” he said slowly, running a steel knife next to her face. She shuddered and shook her head, begging him not to hurt her.
“Hey!” A voice came from the dark and for a moment, the man turned away from Kyra. She took the chance, knocked the knife out of his hand and tried pushing him off her.
“Freeze! FBI!” the man came running. The man took off quickly when he saw the other guy with a gun. Kyra peered into the dark and recognized Keith. Impulsively, she ran into his arm and started crying, shaking and trembling.
“Kyra?” he asked, puzzled. He hugged her with all the strength he had in him. “Did he hurt you?” She pulled back and shook her head, “No, but I was so scared. He had a knife!” she hugged him again and Keith tried calming her down. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” Then it hit him. He had seen that face before. Tony Parelli.
Ed was right. Tony was dangerous and now that he was on the loose, nothing would stop him. He would hunt Parelli down. But he wouldn’t think of that or of his aching arm at the moment. He could only think of Kyra right now and how he would protect her. From Parelli and anyone else who’d try to hurt her. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes. He cleared his thoughts and was at the moment. Kyra needed assurance that she was going to be safe and Keith would make sure of that.
“Hold still,” Lydia said to Keith as she applied antiseptic on his arm wound. He grimaced and set his jaw trying not to scream. His wound had reopened and Lydia, who knew a thing or two about nursing, was stitching him up.
“Thanks,” he said when she was done. She’d also taken care of the cut on his brow and gotten him an ice pack for it. After the ordeal, Keith had taken Kyra to Lydia’s. They hadn’t exchanged a single word in the car. Until she noticed blood seeping through his arm, when he dropped her off. Let me call my mom!” she’d ran inside and called her. Then Lydia had insisted that he stay. So here he was.
Lydia was mad, furious at him. When she was done dressing his wound, she stood in front of him and crossed her arms over her chest. “An FBI agent?!” Keith smiled, knowing he couldn’t stop himself. “Yes.”
“What happened to being a lawyer? It’s safer, we both know it and you earn money. Why would you give that up?” It was clear that she was worried about him. She went on, “You think I don’t watch news? Keith Gorbachev in pursuit of Tony Parelli. And he... he stuck a knife in your arm!”
“Mom, come here,” he said motioning for her to sit down. He put his good arm around her and kissed her cheek,” I’m sorry for scaring you. But I’ll be fine. I hate that you have to see me this way, I get it.”
“But an FBI? Seriously?”
“It was a personal choice I had to make. I can’t stand in court and watch injustice go on every day. It all starts out in the field. I love it. Please, you’ve got to understand.”
Lydia rested her head on his chest, “You’re a good man, son. But if anything happens to you...” her voice caught and Keith hugged her tighter.
“Hey, I’ll be right here. Nothing will happen to me.” He had a son now and a family to protect. And he would stick around for as long as it was going to take.
Keith sat on the edge of the bed, his face in his hand. Lydia had begged him to stay the night in the spare room. He was so tired, and the pain in his arm throbbed. His head felt heavy and all he could think about was sleep. He was about to enter the comforter when he heard a knock on the door. Before he could answer, Kendall opened the door. He was wearing his ‘Cars’ pajamas and was holding a teddy bear to his chest.
“Hey, buddy, what’s up?”
Kendall walked up to him.
“I had a nightmare. My mom’s asleep and I didn’t wanna wake her up.” Keith was clueless on what to do but he had to think fast. “Come here and tell me about it.” He made room for him on the bed and he hopped on. “It was dark and the... burglar... came out and covered the house and Sandy was dead and Easter Bunny had shrunk...”
“Slow down, bud. Did you watch Rise of the Guardians lately?”
Kendall nodded quickly.
“Now I see where the night
mare’s coming from.”
“I don’t wanna go back there. The burglar will get me,” Keith smiled.
“Okay, you want me to tell you a story?” He grinned and nodded, “About you!”
“Me? Huh... let’s see. I was born in Russia, lived there till I was sixteen. My dad died when I was twelve and I never knew my mom. So, I lived with my granny.”
“Didn’t you have brothers or sisters?” he asked, looking sad.
“No, I was an only child. My granny died when I was seventeen. I got a scholarship to come study in the U.S. after high school. I studied law as I worked at a restaurant, McKinney’s.”
“I know that place. They’ve got the best fries in town.”
“I was a cashier. Then I met your uncle Ian. He was eighteen then,” Kendall had his head on Keith’s chest, cuddled in his covers.
“You know Uncle Ian?” he asked, surprised.
“Yeah. He used to invite me here a lot so I got to meet your granny. And... your mom,” he said, his mind going back to the first time he met Kyra.
“Let’s go check your room now,” he said all of a sudden.
“But your story was getting interesting!” Kendall said, standing up. Keith got out of bed and scooped Kendall with his good arm. He carried him to his room and put him down. “Let me check if the burglar’s here.”
Kendall nodded and Keith looked under his bed, in the closet, outside the windows then said, “No sign of him here,” Kendall smiled.
“Looks like you scared him! Granny said you’re a cop. That’s so cool!”
“No, it’s actually not. For you. Your mom would like it if you’d be safe and I would too,” he said, directing him to bed and tucking him in.
“I wish you were my dad,” Kendall said with a smile. A smile that tore Keith inside but he managed to compose himself and ruffled his hair, smiling.