Change in Plans

by Meagan Fink

  “Good as new,” he says, as he comes over and stands in front of them. Tita smiles; hopefully, her nurse work hadn’t been a complete waste. He seems to read her expression and settles her doubt. “But it wouldn’t have been possible without your wonderful patch job, your doc was very impressed,” he says with a grin.

  Her smile widens, “Good. Well we should probably head over to our little alley, this isn’t a good spot to be around at night,” she says, glancing at the setting sun and the suspicious shadows that had started to appear.

  “Nah, not the alley. Don’t know what I was thinking before; no, we’re sleeping in comfort tonight. My back can’t take another night on concrete,” he says, stretching.

  “Oh really, and if not the alley, then what did you have in mind?” she asks amused.

  “Let me worry about that,” he says, and his grin turns mischievous.

  After a half an hour of walking down the street and the last rays of light start to fade, Luca pulls them into a small inn. Tita looks around at the place and then back at Luca, wondering why they were stopping there. The place wasn’t extremely fancy, but it was nicer than anything they had stayed in before.

  “Hello ma’am, how are you today?” asks Luca, as he walks up to the desk clerk.

  “Fine, how can I help you?” She’s an older lady, maybe mid-fifties, and she’s surrounded by a cloud of smoke coming from the rolled up piece of paper in her left hand. Luca gives a small cough but maintains a charming smile.

  “Well good, I’m glad to hear that; well, my companions and I were looking to rent a room for the night,” he says.

  “Two rooms for tonight,” says Tita quickly. He glances over at her and then gives a nod and an apologetic smile.

  “Of course, two rooms just for tonight. We’ll be out by morning,” he says.

  Tita leaves Luca to the bill, and she and Dyton walk up a flight of stairs to their room. Luca follows after them, and he takes the room across from theirs.

  After they had gotten settled in, there is a small knock on the door and Tita answers it to find Luca waiting in the hall.

  “Time for explaining yet?” he asks. She nods and tells Dyton she’d be back in a few minutes; it was time to tell him how their pasts were connected.

  10

  To My Darling Daughter Tatiana,

  I wish I could write this letter with your father’s input but the subject of this letter is the reason why I can’t. Your father and I were part of something that we both regret, however our participation was required by our family.

  In 1861 it started with two families. Our family and another family, the Morans, made an organization called Blackheart, which originally started out with its goal of protecting people, but it later took a turn for the worse. We started to do things that hurt others, once the Morans were the ones giving orders. But our family carried them out.

  Your father and I met in Blackheart; and we agreed that the organization was heading down a dark road, but things became much worse than we ever expected. Our family started to rebel, but it became final when the Morans ordered us to destroy an innocent village. That’s when our family left. We knew that there would be consequences, so we went into hiding. We received word that the Morans were slowly finding us, one by one, until it was just our family and my father; and we knew they wouldn’t stop until we were all destroyed. We were going to move to America with your grandfather, but we didn’t make it. Instead we found family that let us stay with them in the country, we thought we were safe. But good things don’t last long; your father was then enlisted in the military and that’s when Blackheart found him, that’s how he died. I know they’ll come for us and that’s why I’m writing you this letter, Tatiana. They’ll come for me; and I will do everything in my power to get you and your brother away from them, but it’s only a matter of time when they come for you as well. Your grandfather will protect you; he can tell you the rest and answer the questions I’m sure you have.

  I am so sorry that our mistakes will affect you and Dyton; but I can’t undo what’s already been done, no matter how much I try. I can only prepare you for what lies ahead. Be brave, Tatiana, for Dyton, for your father and I, but most important, for yourself.

  Luca scans the letter once again. This was the first time he’s ever read anything directly from a Lasko. He glances at Tita, she’s looking at the ground biting at her thumbnail.

  Everything had gone smoothly; he had convinced them that his family was trying to kill him, which, he thinks, isn’t going to be that inaccurate if this doesn’t go as planned.

  He also got his first surprise that Isaac had mentioned. He wasn’t expecting Michael and John to show up. Actually, now that he thinks about it, he wasn’t quite sure how he was planning to let Tita know that he was a Moran. But, I guess Isaac took care of that for me, he’s always so caring that way.

  Luca frowns; he knows what he needs to do but hesitates. Why? In the letter Emily made a good point, her mistakes weren’t her children’s. He folds up the letter and looks at Tita again. They’re sitting in a small waiting room at the top of the stairs; they’re the only ones there.

  “That’s how you knew all that stuff about my family, you’re the ones who we’ve been looking for,” he says.

  He hands the letter back to her, and she puts it back in her locket.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you knew who I was?” he asks. He wonders if she had known all along and that the stunt at the train tracks had been for nothing.

  “I only just found out when I saw those two men, they were there when my mother was killed. But they weren’t the only ones,” she says. The way she’s looking at him, he knows she’s trying to get him to realize something. He can’t think of what it is. Then his mind makes the connection; Germany 1940 in a small bomb shelter, he had gone with his family on a raid.

  “You were that girl hiding under the desk,” he says, and she slowly nods. He didn’t need to fake not knowing this. He actually didn’t. He thinks back to when he and his father had gone on a raid. His father had told him not to watch as he pulled the trigger that killed Tita’s mother.

  He was freaked out enough just hearing the gunshot. Tita might actually have seen her own mother killed. He had saved her life back then. He knew that if he had pointed her out to his family they would have killed her along with her mother, and there was no doubt that Dyton was with Tita too.

  He looks her in the eyes, she had been so honest with him about her life and about her childhood.

  “You know I had grown up hearing all these stories about your family---” he says. He doesn’t understand why he’s telling her this; maybe listening to her talk about her childhood had brought on the urge to share his.

  “The stories were told to serve as a warning, you know like “don’t rebel or you die” type of thing. But to me it seemed like an inspiration knowing that someone had the courage to question what they were being told. I never acted because it seemed to me that all your family stories were just bedtime stories,” he says, with a shrug. It’s true; he didn’t know anything about the Laskos, just what his brother had told him about how their two families had met, and who knew how much of that was true. One thing he did know for sure, his family did not like Tita’s family.

  But that was how he differed from the rest of the Morans. He liked that the Laskos had stood up for what they thought was right, even though the outcome wasn’t the best. Still, at least they had the courage he wished he had.

  “Those must have been interesting bedtime stories,” she says. He nods, they were more like lies of going to hell if you were bad than something to put you to sleep.

  “So what were you told as to how Blackheart started?” Tita asks.

  “I would tell you, but honestly, I’m not sure how much of it is true. I’ve realized that all that I thought I knew about you guys and my family, what I thought was certain and
fact, were just lies. So I’d answer your questions but I don’t know if that was what actually happened,” he says. He hopes it’s enough to deter her from asking anything more. The less questions about his past the better.

  “So I should just leave it to my grandfather?” she asks.

  “Yeah, I would,” he says with a sigh.

  After a moment of silence, Luca speaks what had been on his mind. “We need to hurry and get out of New York because, if my family figures out who you are, they’ll stop at nothing to kill you,” he says, with worry in his voice. He’s surprised by his genuine concern. Isaac had said that they were just after the grandfather; but what if he didn’t stick to his word, and went after Tita and Dyton as well?

  “I know, we’ll head out first thing in the morning. My mother told me our grandfather was living in Tallahassee, so that’s where we need to go,” she says.

  “You sure you still want me along?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. She looks at him for a moment; he tries to guess what she’s thinking. Of course she must be noting his amazing good looks, how could she possibly bear to part with him? If only, he thinks. He had saved their lives at the warehouse, and even before that in 1940, he had the money they needed to get to Florida, and he knew how his family thought. But, then again, she could be noting the bad things too; that, with him tagging along, his family could follow him easier because they knew how he thought. Or, even the possibility that he would betray them to his family, and lead Tita and Dyton right into their clutches, to get back into their good graces.

  Luca looks at her, how can she possibly trust him? They had only met last night, but saving someone’s life builds trust better than anything. Still, he wondered, if she knew everything about him, would she be so willing to trust him?

  “I don’t see why I would have changed my mind after today; of course you can still come, as long as you don’t slow us down,” she says teasingly.

  He nods, offers a small smile, and then gets up, holding his side as he does so. The wound still stung and the stitches the doc had put in pull at his skin.

  “I won’t, and, if for some crazy reason I do, then you can just ditch me,” he says.

  “Well hopefully it won’t come to that,” she says as she gets up and yawns. “Well, good night,” she says, with one last tired smile and walks down the hall to her room.

  I crouch next to the closed door with my ear against the slat in the floor; fortunately, the wood is thin and the conversation flows through easily. Papa and Isaac are arguing inside. Isaac doesn’t want me to come on the raid, but Papa thinks it’s time I learn the family trade. I hope Isaac loses.

  “He’s 13! He’s not ready for this, he’ll get himself killed!” yells Isaac. I feel like yelling at him that I won’t, but I stay quiet waiting for Papa’s response. I understand why Isaac is upset; if I get to go then he won’t be able to, we’d have too many people. Still, I should go, I’ve been good, it’s the least I deserve.

  “Isaac, how old were you when you first went?” asks Papa; I grin, now he’s got him.

  “That’s irrelevant! What matters is that he’s just a boy, have him wait a couple years.”

  “Oh I disagree, this is relevant, now answer me! How old were you when you first tagged along?” Papa’s voice starts to rise. I wait; I can just make out Isaac’s mumbled reply.

  “Fourteen.” Yeah, but I’m much cleverer than Isaac ever was! I’ve been sneaking second portions of dessert for over a year and no one’s ever found out; Isaac tried once but was caught and punished.

  “What was that? I didn’t quite hear you,” says Papa, his voice starting to get angry.

  “Fourteen, sir,” he says; his voice sounds humiliated.

  “Ah that’s right, 14. And nothing happened to you. You weren’t even close to being as prepared as your brother is now, so he will come with us. If you have anything more to say about it, tell it to the horses. Now get the other men, we move out in ten.” I hear footsteps coming to the door so I scramble back on my hands and knees to get up, but the door swings open. I stare up into Papa’s dark eyes waiting for the punishment, but instead he just grins down at me.

  “Better get up and get ready, we need to get halfway across Germany in about ten minutes,” he says to me with humor in his voice. I smile as I realize what I’m about to do; I’m going on a raid, a real one, not just the practice ones with the little kids, but a real one with Papa!

  Someone comes running down the hall and, as he rounds the corner, I see it’s John. He stops in front of Papa and pants for a second, catching his breath.

  “We have confirmation, all three of them are still in the bunker, we need to move out now, Ace,” he says. Michael runs up next to him and nods, signaling that all the men are ready. Papa nods and they run off toward the truck.

  Papa holds me by the shoulders and looks at me and grins.

  “You ready for this son?” he asks. I know he’s been waiting for this moment just as much as I have.

  “I was born ready, sir,” I say. His grin widens and he nods, he reaches up and takes off his hat, a round floppy thing that doesn’t really even seem like a hat. He looks at it for a second and then plops it down on my head, squishing my red hair; I look at him astonished. He loves this hat.

  “Now you’re a man. Now let’s go teach those traitors a lesson,” he says as he pats me on the shoulder, and we both run to the truck.

  Luca jolts awake in bed as someone knocks on the door.

  “Luca?” asks Tita.

  He glances over at the clock on the nightstand, its 6:32 a.m. “Yeah, just a sec,” he yells back, as he scrambles out of bed. His foot gets entangled with the sheets, and he falls to the floor with a thump.

  “Is everything all right?” asks Tita.

  Luca glances at the door making sure it’s locked. “Yeah, I’m good!” he yells back. His heart is beating furiously and his breathing is too fast.

  The dream had put him on edge. Why am I so unsettled by that? He wonders, I’ve had the same dream before, why is this time different?

  I now know the person on the receiving end.

  He walks over to the door and looks through the peephole. Tita is waiting with her bag over her shoulder; and Dyton sits on the floor leaning against the opposite wall trying to fit his fist in his mouth, and then proudly shows Tita his achievement.

  He runs to the bathroom and splashes some water on his face to wake up and then checks his side. It looks a lot better, not nearly as red and the swelling has gone down. He runs a hand through his hair and puts on his hat. He looks in the mirror one last time, time to finish this, he thinks, and then walks out the door.

  Two hours later they’re buying three tickets to Tallahassee, Florida. Luca walks up to the ticket counter and gets the schedule. Everything seems to be going according to plan, and he walks over to where Tita and Dyton wait and hands Tita their tickets. Her mouth falls open.

  He frowns, “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you not check where we need to switch trains?” she asks in a mildly accusing tone. He now understands. They need to switch trains in D.C. to get on the train to Florida. He knew that it wouldn’t be a problem because that wasn’t what Isaac had planned, but Tita doesn’t know that.

  “It shouldn’t be a big deal,” he says, trying to ease her worry.

  “You’re the one that said we couldn’t go because your family would check where the other train was heading. We changed our plan because of what you said,” she says, looking at him strangely. He glances at Dyton to see the exact same look on his face as well.

  He’s losing their trust.

  His mind races for something to gain control on the situation. “That was only if we were going to be staying in D.C. long enough for them to track us. As long as we don’t linger we’ll be in and out before my family even knows we are there.”

  Tita forms her
mouth into a tight line and Dyton mimics the expression. They almost look identical.

  “I don’t like that idea,” she says, shaking her head. She starts to turn around but he runs ahead of her and grabs her shoulder. She flinches at the touch and he quickly lets her go.

  “Sorry, listen as long as we’re quick, there won’t be any problems,” he says, as his eyes plead with her to trust him. If she knew what was good for her she would walk away right now, a little voice in his mind says, and he quickly squelches it.

  As long as Isaac sticks to the plan, Tita won’t have anything to worry about.

  Her frown deepens, still not open to the idea. Luca switches his gaze to Dyton. The kid seemed to like him, so if he can convince him, then that’s all it would take to get her to agree.

  Luca looks at Dyton. At first the kid averts his gaze, but eventually he meets Luca’s eyes. He raises an eyebrow at him. Dyton keeps looking at him and then sighs. “Come on Tita, I think we should go,” he says, putting a hand on her shoulder. Luca grins, he knew he liked the kid.

  Tita glances from Dyton to Luca, and he can see her determination waver a bit.

  “Fine,” she mutters, and he gives a broad smile.

  “But we don’t stay a second longer than we have to. We get there, buy our tickets, and get out, got it?” she says, giving him a stone hard stare.

  “Of course. Everything will go fine,” he says, nodding. She can trust him on this; he nods again, everything will go fine.

  11

  Finally, it’s almost over, they’re right where they need to be; I’ll make them pay, thinks Isaac, as John and Michael relate the story of their encounter with Luca. Now they’re waiting for confirmation about the girl and boy, just to make sure that Luca doesn’t try to pull something.