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Part 12
Michael’s warning ringing in my ears, I jerked abruptly when the door bell rang. Maria looked at me curiously.
“What?”
“Umm, nothing.” I replied. “Can you look at the window and see who’s at the front door?”
Casting me a long look, she peered out the window and waved, “It’s spaceboy. I’ll get it.”
Michael was here. Finally. I felt like I’d been waiting for hours for him to arrive. He would be the litmus test for me. If Michael believed what I had to say, if he believed or even agreed with my suspicions then maybe, just maybe I’d have the manpower I needed. It’s not that I can’t do this without his help…I can. I just, it’s just that all of a sudden I am aware of how difficult and dangerous this could be. Alex was dead. Whoever had killed him had done it to keep him quiet. They had killed him with a brutality and a ruthlessness that I would deal with me the same way if I came in its way. Maybe, Michael would be my insurance against that. He had proven himself to be quite capable as a protector. It was his job after all. And that horrible night, I could have sworn we had come to some sort of silent agreement. In our own ways, we had maybe agreed to be vigilant, to protect those that we cared about. This was more than just about vengeance and the truth. This was about protecting Maria and Kyle…they were the only two left who mattered.
“Hey Liz,” he spoke quietly. His entire manner subdued, but coiled for action. He had obviously meant his warning over the phone very seriously. He looked different. I don’t mean physically, no physically he was very much the same: tall, tough, grim, spiky hair. No, it was something else. Something inside him, underneath his skin had changed. It was more than maturity and sorrow, no…what was it? And then it struck me. It was the way he stood and moved. Previously his anger at the world and his unhappiness oozed out his every pore. His desire for violence was evident, but not anymore. No. Right now he looked like a soldier. Stoic in demeanour, his body coiled for action and an undercurrent of deep seated violence simmered – he looked like a man ready for war.
Maybe, maybe I had found my ally after all.
Swallowing against my uncomfortably dry throat, I nodded in response. He stalked across the room and stood in a corner, opposite from me. I noticed the deliberateness of his move. He could see both the door to Alex’s room and out the window from where he stood.
Protect your back and cover your flanks.
Never walk into a room you can’t walk out of.
The two thoughts flashed through my mind abruptly. I could have sworn someone I knew whispered them in my mind. Michael unconsciously straightened and pulled Maria to his side.
Steeling myself to face their combined reactions I started to speak. Maria still didn’t know everything that I knew. She didn’t know about the dreams, and the weird bits of sentences that floated through my mind’s eyes at odd intervals. She didn’t know about my growing sense of unease – someone was shadowing me, someone was watching. Shrugging off the dark mood, I started my story.
“Ok, what I’m going to tell you will seem strange and I’ll sound crazy. But I have proof.” Forestalling Michael’s comments, I spoke urgently, “I’ve told Ria some of it but not all and that’s because I can’t keep doing this repeatedly. I need to get it all out in one shot.”
Fixing my gaze on Michael I continued, “I need you to just listen to me Michael and not say anything until I’ve finished. I’ll answer whatever questions you have after that, ok?”
His unblinking gaze remained fixed on my face. Aside from the slight movement of his chest he had been standing completely still. He could have been carved out of wood or granite. A slight jerk of his chin was my only indication that he had granted me a reprieve.
Here goes nothing, I thought to myself. “Ok, well…as you know, I don’t think that Alex’s death was a suicide or an accident. I think it was deliberate, premeditated…Alex was murdered. I know this because I knew Alex. I mean, Ria and I knew him better than anyone else on the planet and whether or not you agree with me about murder Maria, you know that he didn’t kill himself.”
Maria nodded unwillingly, easing away from Michael.
“Ok, first I thought that maybe somebody had hit his car, you know? Wheel traction, skid marks and strength of impact would indicate if it was an accident or not. Anyway,” I continued pushing my hair behind my ears. “His car was totalled. It was a mess but I didn’t find anything. Then I went through his computer, files, school records.”
Michael raised his eyebrows at the mention of school records. “Aren’t those confidential, Parker?” He asked sardonically.
Flushing at the implication of his words, I said shortly, “Yes. It doesn’t matter how I got them, what’s important is what they said. Alex’s host family in Sweden was called the Olson’s and he became really good friends with their daughter Leanna. But, I called Sweden pretty much non-stop for the past 48 hours and there are no Olsen’s living at that address, or have ever lived there.”
Maria inhaled sharply. Her reaction much more contained than I had hoped for. Moving forward to stand next to me, she just motioned me to continue, her eyes scanning Michael’s face.
“Myth number 2 – the people who live there don’t know any girl named Leanna.” The silence in the room had thickened. It seemed that I had managed to keep Michael’s interest and attention, after all.
My voice gathering force, lost some of its earlier hesitancy. Pointing to the pictures I’d arranged on the corkboard, I said, “Myth 3 – the building in the background of all those pictures does not exist in any of the places Alex said he went to.”
And now the final piece, “The building where Alex and ‘Leanna’ took this picture does not exist. It was razed to the ground ten years ago. And this is the very same picture Alex scanned into a locked document and wrote, ‘Leanna is not Leanna’ repeatedly!”
Stalking forward, Michael carefully looked at all the pictures. His face a complete blank, I had no idea whether he even believed me or not. But he hadn’t laughed yet. He hadn’t asked me a biting question. All things considered this was not going so badly. Grabbing Maria’s hand I squeezed. We both knew this was the moment. She needed Michael’s agreement almost as much as I did.
After an interminable silence, he asked quietly, “How do you know about the building?”
It was silly of me, I should have expected that question but I hadn’t. Oh God! Maria didn’t know what I had planned on doing, what had stopped me. She didn’t know about the horrible fight with Max that had ended whatever little feeling I had towards him. He hadn’t had faith in me. After everything was said and done, at the end of the day, he hadn’t even been my friend, when I had needed one.
“Lizzie?” Maria’s questioning voice rang in my ears. Hands on my shoulders she spoke to me directly, “whatever it is Lizzie, I can handle it, ok?”
Gulping down my anxiety, my gaze flickered towards her and Michael, before settling down between them. Speaking so softly that they strained to listen, I confessed. “I was planning on going to Sweden.”
Looking up, I met Michael’s startlingly perceptive hazel gaze. His eyes glittered for a second, like a thousand stars caught in a sun-burst. He spoke almost to himself “that explains it.”
Catching the end of his sentence, Maria’s pale face flushed. Eyes sparking with temper, she glared at me and I almost stepped back. “Did he hurt you?”
Startled by the unexpected question, I gasped, “who?”
“The rat bastard,” she growled dangerously. “Did he hurt you when he tried to stop you from going, Liz? Well did he?” Not knowing what to say, I simply kept silent.
Fuming, she sent Michael a scathing look and spat out, “You listen to me spaceboy, he might be your fucking king, but he’s acting like an asshole. If he touches Liz, or talks to her, or even looks at her in a way I don’t like – I will rip his fucking head off…and not you, not God and not some army will be able to stop me. Do you understand me?”
Appalled by the level of rage she was exhibiting, I was struck dumb. I remembered now, why if something had ever happened to either Alex or myself we had often just told each other and downplayed it in front of Maria. Like a tigress defending her cubs she was fearless when it came to defending us, to protecting us. The last time I had seen her this angry she had kneed Jimmy Mallory in the balls and broken his nose, leaving him a sobbing heap in the quad because he had hit Alex. I know we, both of us, mocked the famous Deluca wrath, but we never forgot the truth of it. I wondered how Michael would react to her anger.
He took his time to answer her. Rubbing a finger across his eyebrow, a classic sign that he was thinking or deciding something, he looked at both Maria and I long and hard. Coming to some sort of a decision he lowered his hand and spoke confidently and clearly. “I understand.” Then, “you won’t have to rip his fucking head off, Ria. I’ll give it to you on a platter.”
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Others --
“Well, well,” he mused aloud. “It seems that she has potential, this human girl you think of so highly.”
I looked at him surprised. Praise for a human no matter how faint, was praise indeed. Swallowing my excitement at his acknowledgement, I hoped that it would all work out. There was still the question of the boy. He had fought grimly and hung on. His spirit was strong and any mention of Liz and Maria elicited recognition from him. Maybe, we wouldn’t lose just yet.
“Has an ally come forward yet?” He asked. The concession had been hard won but I knew that she would need all the help that she could get. I had hoped for someone else. Someone a little older, a little less foolhardy but I’d intervened too late.
“Yes,” I responded sourly. Always quick at reading my moods, he snickered.
“Not your favourite then?”
“No,” I snapped back, well aware that he was baiting me but unable to stop the reaction. “I don’t trust him but I know he’s one of your favourites.”
Running a hand across his smooth cheek, he replied, “Aah yes, the irony of it all. It is quite delicious. Where is your sense of humour? Don’t tell me the cloak of responsibility has choked the last of your dismally limited attractive features! ”
Growling, I replied, “This is NOT funny. I don’t find it amusing that you would trust Nikkei’s kin over my lieutenant.”
Ignoring my hastily spoken words, he laughed under his breath. “Nikkei’s kin? It amazes me how you have managed to survive all these years without even a modicum of information.”
My temper fraying, Alex’s despair beating a steady drum in my temple, I groused, “If you have something to say then spit it out. I don’t have time for your games.”
His brows drew together abruptly. Eyes glittering crystalline hazel, he replied without a trace of humour or emotion: “He’s Nikkei’s brother, Ser, blood among brothers or loyalty to the cause. Now which do you think will win out?”
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Liz –
My mouth opening and closing like a fish, I just stared at Michael. The implacable hardness of his words left no doubt in my mind that he meant just that. Ria on the other hand accepted his statement as her due and flashed him a smile.
Struck by how out of control the situation was, I spoke, “Michael, Ria, I really don’t think that’s necessary. Max,” pinned by their identical gazes, I continued with some difficulty, “Max understands the situation now. He gets it.”
Maria simply sniffed and Michael arched an eyebrow. Desperately trying to change the direction of the conversation, I asked, “Umm, now what?”
“Liz, you remember Alex was talking about some project of his?” Maria asked me, her brow furrowing with the effort to remember.
“Yeah, some sort of computer language program,” I replied not quite sure where this conversation was heading.
Clapping her hands together, she spoke quickly. “You remember he said something about a super computer at Las Cruces where he could do his work?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, completely lost.
“Well, we should go check there. Since everything about his study abroad is a lie, maybe we should go check if he even went to Las Cruces or not?”
“We? I don’t think so.” Michael stated firmly. “The two of you are gonna stay put and safe. I’ll go and find out about the computer and Alex.”
Seeing Maria and my identical expressions of vehement denial, he continued impassively. “Do not test my patience on this one. This is the way it’s gonna be from now on. Either I do stuff alone, or we – the three of us – do stuff together. There will be no solos. You understand me Parker?”
Before I could respond, a low mocking voice came from the door, “Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary Guerin. I can tell you what happened at the uni!”
Hands pressed against my pounding heart, I whirled around, just as Maria shouted, “No, Michael” and Michael’s hand sparked.
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Sean –
“…I’ll go find out about the computer and Alex!” Guerin said authoritatively.
Hmmm…..choices, choices, decisions, decisions.
You remember that question I asked you earlier? Well, have you figured out what the answer is? No, oh well, I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.
Mikey G’s solo comment was just the best cue anyone could hope for. Seriously though. My family is totally into drama, aside from Maria and Aunt Amy that is. My father’s side, now they give acting a whole knew meaning all together. My dear departed parent may he burn in hell, now he did a damn fine job pretending to be a human being. Oh yeah, props to him. If he hadn’t died so young, I’m sure he’d have made a name for himself in Hollywood.
Anyway, that’s all irrelevant to the matter at hand. The question of the hour is – what did I decide? Well, to tell you the truth, I haven’t quite decided yet. I like keeping my options you. I learnt that much from my father and my mentor…always keep your options open. I never was one for jumping in head-first, not like Mikey G. Nope, he was a little too gung-ho for my liking. But you had to give the man credit, agreeing to go along with two crazy chicks was definitely a sign of courage or stupidity. I guess if he lived until the end, I’d have a chance to find out. Or maybe, I could find out now – just as he tries to burn a hole through me.
“No, Michael!” Ria shrieked, her voice louder than a siren but it didn’t faze Rath, who at the moment was too startled by his inability to burn me to pay attention to her.
Sigh, I knew this was going to be dramatic. Centering myself, feet planted shoulder width apart I flicked my wrist outward and water gushed out. It hit him in the chest, pushing him backward, breaking his concentration. The fire sizzled out. Sputtering in anger, his yells mingled with Ria's screams as the cacophany of sound threatened to shred my ear drums. Well, enough of this crap.
Blowing a piercing whistling, I shouted. “Oye! If you’d all calm the hell down then maybe we can talk about Alex Whitman!”
The immediate silence was deafening. Dusting the sparks off my clothes, I addressed all three of them in turn,
“How you doin’ Parker?”
“Nice to see you again cousin!”
Glancing at Rath, I couldn’t resist flashing him my widest grin. “You gotta do something about that aim, man! Oh, and some of us…well, we don’t burn. Remind me to tell you about that later.”
“Sean?” Parker asked her big brown eyes the size of saucers.
Atta girl! I knew she’d be the first one to recover. Man, even freaked and unhappy she’s classy and hot. Knowing that wasn’t quite the reaction she was looking for, I introduced myself:
“Sean Den-Sa Nickolai. I’m Nikkei’s brother.”
