by Eason, Mary
“Why, Gina? Why would you sell out your own father--your country to become just another one of his patsies?”
She took a step closer and I leveled the gun at her. Gina might take me out, but I wasn’t letting her have my son.
“You can ask me that? Why do women do anything? For love of course. I love Judah. And he loves me. He’s promised that we’ll be together soon. No more keeping our love a secret.”
“Gina, you’re not that stupid. Don’t you see he’s only using you? You‘ve lost your value to him.” I said and she took another angry step toward me.
“Shut up Cameron. Just shut your mouth. You don’t know anything about it. You always thought you were so smart. You and Noah with your secrets. You thought you were better than me, but look who got the best of you and your precious husband. And where’s Noah now that you need him? Probably dead for real by now.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked before I could stop the words. I didn’t want her to know just how much she’d hurt me by that.
“He was out of it. We actually believed Noah was dead, gone for good. He would have never have had to die this way if it weren’t for my father. Dad thought he was so smart, keeping his little golden boy a secret. But you see he slipped up. Forgot to get rid of the evidence. That’s how I found out that Noah was still alive. Of course, when dad discovered the attack, he called in Noah. At first, that threw us a little. But only for a second. You see, Judah is so brilliant. He figured out a way to get rid of Noah and accomplish what we’ve been working for all these years. You’re too late. You can’t save yourself and you can’t save Noah. He’s done exactly what we wanted him to do. He’ll be dead soon.”
I felt myself flinch at those words and I knew that she’d seen my weakness. Gina smiled and came a little closer.
“Drop the gun, Cameron. You’re not going to use it with your son so close by. I mean, what happens if you miss me and hit him instead?” She saw me glance around in the darkness, suddenly uncertain. I was afraid that Ben might be close.
The bizarre conversation between Davis and my brother continued and I knew that no matter what I had to disarm Gina.
“Gina, look it’s not too late for you. Give yourself up and things will go better for you?”
Her derisive laughter told me just how little she believed what I was saying.
“Better for me? You know the price for treason. There is no turning myself in. Judah and I will be leaving with the boy tonight. Unfortunately, for you, you’ll be dead as will your friend Davis.
We stood silent in the darkness, both with our weapons drawn, ready to fire and I prayed that I would be quick enough to wound her before she accomplished her goal. I needed something to divert her attention if only for a second to give me the advantage I needed.
The sound of Ben calling out for me from the entrance of the cave was an unwelcome answer to my prayers. For a split second, Gina was distracted and I took that opportunity to fire first.
The bullet hit it’s Matt, straight though the heart. She dropped lifeless to the ground.
“Baby, I’m coming. Stay there.” I called out to Ben before taking the gun from Gina’s hand. I knelt next to her and checked for a pulse. There was none.
Slowly, I managed to drag Gina’s body into the brush along the path and then I went back for my son.
“Momma.” He ran to me and was crying so hard that his little body was shivering from reaction.
I held my son in my arms until I was able to quiet him a little.
“Ben, listen to me. I have to go back for Uncle Davis.”
“No, momma!” he said and clung to me even more.
“Baby, I have to. He needs me. And I need you to do exactly what I say.”
“No, momma I’m afraid.” Ben was crying and clinging. I finally forced myself to untangle his tiny arms.
“Baby, you’re safe here. You stay in the cave and don’t move until I come for you, or you hear me on the radio. You got that. Ben are you listening?”
“Yes,” he answered, his voice quivering.
“Baby, you’re safe here. Just start counting and see how long it takes for me to call you on the radio, okay?”
“Okay, momma, he said and sat down against the stone wall just as we heard the pounding footsteps of Bo.
“Bo,” Ben exclaimed as the dog ran inside the cave, growled before he realized who we were. Then he came to us and started licking my son’s hand.
“Okay, baby, now you remember what I said?”
“Yes momma.”
“Okay, Bo will keep you company, but start counting now.” I listened until I heard Ben’s tiny voice start with one before I walked out of the cave and surveyed the terrain.
I didn’t see anything, no sign of life around me. There wasn’t any movement nearby. I had to believe that Judah and Gina were up here alone.
I circled around to the same way that I’d left the house stopping every little bit to look around me and make sure that I wasn’t being followed.
When I reached the basement window, I slid inside and listened. It was then that the strange broken conversation was broken by the sound of gunfire. I started up the steps when I heard my brother’s laughter. I knew instinctively that Davis had been hit.
From the tips I’d picked up on I knew that they were in the great room.
I slipped through the window and headed for the great room, pausing only for a second outside. The door stood slightly ajar. I nudged it open a little further and saw Davis laying on the floor in front of the fireplace with Judah standing over him. Gun leveled at his head.
I never hesitated. I burst through the door taking both men by surprise.
For a second Judah turned to look at me in shock. And I surveyed the situation. Davis was bleeding from the upper chest area. I couldn’t tell how serious the wound was but I knew that he’d lost a lot of blood. Davis needed immediate medical attention.
I saw surprise registered on my brother’s face. He was expecting me to be dead by now.
“Well, well. If it isn’t my little sister,” he said with a grin. “Glad you could join us, after all. She never did listen much, Davis. Don’t take personal.”
“Drop the gun, Judah.”
Judah smiled again but kept the gun trained on Davis.
“What, you going to kill your own brother? I don’t think so. Don’t worry, I promise it will be painful for the both of you. Drop the gun or I’ll kill him right now. We both know you’re not going to use it.
“Don’t count on it Judah. I killed Gina, I won’t even think twice about killing you.”
I saw Davis’s startled expression and added. “Gina was the mole. Judah here had her believing he loved her. She killed Adam as well. Did you promise to marry her? What did it take to get her cooperation?”
For a second I saw Judah waver and then he grinned at me. “She was beginning to get on my nerves anyway. All that whining and attention she needed. You did me a favor.”
I didn’t take the bait. “Drop the gun, Judah. I’m not kidding. I wouldn’t think twice about taking you out either.”
“Really? Don’t you want to know where your precious hubby is first, little sister? I can tell you Cameron. Maybe I can ever see to it that he doesn’t suffer...much.” Judah watched my reaction with pleasure.
“Cameron, don’t believe him. He doesn’t know where Noah is.”
“Shut up,” Judah said, angrily waving the gun at Davis. “Just shut up. You’ve wanted to get her in bed since the beginning. You could care less about Noah or The Organization.”
“Drop the gun, Judah.” I said again with a cold calculation that I hoped he sound convincing.
“Cameron, we’re family--you and me. We can take your son and raise him the way he should be. You don’t need to worry about me. I promise I won’t hurt either of you. You can trust me Cameron.” He added gently taking a step closer to me. “You know I would never hurt you.”
“Don’t trust him Camer
on,” Davis said.
“Don’t come any closer Judah.”
“Cameron, he’s not on your side. He’s just using you. He’s been sent here to clean up a mess. That’s you and Ben. He’s here to keep you quiet.”
“Cameron, don’t listen to him. He’ll kill you and Ben.”
“Who are you going to believe, little sister? Someone that wants you dead, or your family. Your brother. You’re own flesh and blood.”
Judah took another step closer and I hesitated for a second.
Davis saw my uncertainty and lunged toward my brother before falling back down, too weak from the loss of blood to move.
Judah leveled the gun at me, no doubt believing I would be an easy kill. Out of sheer reflex reaction brought about my years of training, I aimed my own weapon and fired beating him to the punch.
I watched my brother’s eyes as he looked at me in disbelief just before he fell to the floor.
Davis struggled slowly to his feet and took the gun away from Judah’s lifeless hand, feeling for a pulse.
“Is he?” I asked and he nodded. Then I sank down to the floor tossing the gun away.
I was shivering so much that I couldn’t find the strength to stand. Slowly Davis came to my side and lifted me off the floor, holding me close.
“We need to get you some help Davis,” I told him as I led Davis to the sofa. I opened his shirt and saw that the wound looked to be mostly a flesh wound but he’d lost an awful lot of blood.
“Someone’s on the way,” he said struggling back to his feet. “I’ll be all right. It’s not serious.”
It was then that remembered that the radio was still broadcasting everything that was happening inside the house.
“Ben, oh my God. I’ve got to go to him.”
I reached for the radio and called out to my son.
“Ben, it’s me. I’m coming for you. Stay there.”
“Cameron, this is Matt. I’m here with your son but he won’t budge until you say its okay.”
“Matt?” I said and glanced at Davis who nodded.
“It’s okay Cameron. You can trust Matt.”
“Ben, baby its okay to go with Matt. He’s a friend of your father’s. He’ll bring you to the house, okay?”
“Okay, momma.” Ben’s tiny voice came through loud and clear and I started to cry.
“Is it over Davis? Is it really finished?”
“I think so. At least as far as Judah’s bloody rule is concerned. There’s still an attack to try to prevent. I don’’ know if we’re going to be able to stop it in time. We were able to get some of Judah’s people talking. The ones that we’re taken into custody, but we may be too late.
“We have to get you and Ben out of here still. I know it’s hard,” he said as I continued to cry. “But you have to keep it together. You can’t lose it in front of Ben.”
I nodded and glanced down at the man that I’d just killed.
“We have to cover him up, Davis. I don’t want to see him like that. I don’t want my son to see him like that, either.”
Davis found a blanket and put it over Judah’s lifeless body.
“I can’t believe it, Davis. He was going to kill me and Ben wasn’t he. My own brother.”
“Cameron, he’s not your brother Cameron,” Davis told me as we stood looking down at the body of the man I believed to be Judah.
“What do you mean, he’s not my brother? Of course he’s Judah.”
“No, he’s not. His name really is Elijah Jacobs. He took on your brother’s identity after he killed him. I’m sorry Cameron, but Judah has been dead for years.”
“But I was so sure...”
“I know. I’m embarrassed to say, he had us all fooled for a long time. Shortly before your parents started searching for you brother in that North Carolina town, this person, Elijah Jacobs, recruited him for the purpose of somehow gaining access to your father. I guess he was planning to use your father’s position somehow. But apparently, Judah got wind of it so he had to be killed. Elijah resembled your brother just enough that he believed he could pass for Judah. He wanted your parents to believe he was Judah and apparently, they did for a while.
“We now know that they found out the truth and were about to expose the whole thing to the Bureau. That’s why he killed them. Before they could expose the truth. And then he came after you.”
“Did Noah know any of this, Davis?”
“No, Cameron. None of us knew the truth until just a few days ago.” He stopped and watched me for a moment before adding. “Don’t blame yourself. He fooled an awful lot of people. Elijah Jacobs was good at what he did.”
“That’s certainly true enough. He had me fooled. Oh, Davis there’s so much that I don’t understand about all of this.”
“I know and you’re not alone. We’re still trying to fit all the pieces together. It will take weeks possibly months to figure it all out. But you need to know one thing. Noah was on your side.”
“So, Gina was the mole all along. That spoiled rich girl act of hers really had us all fooled.”
“Yes, for a while we weren’t sure who it was. I just got the word of Adam’s death before Judah appeared. When we couldn’t find Gina, well it finally made sense. She certainly was the last person anyone would have suspected. Including her own father.”
It felt like hours since Ben and I had fled up that mountain but in reality, it had only been less than an hour.
In less than an hour, I’d been responsible for taking two lives. I’d learned that the man I’d believed to be my brother was an imposter.
From outside the front door, I heard the sound of Ben and Matt coming up the porch. In a moment, agents would surround this whole place. There wasn’t much time to say all the things I needed to say to Davis.
“Davis,” I began but couldn’t seem to find the words. I think he understood.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Come on let’s go through to the kitchen. I don’t think we should stay here. We don’t want Ben to see any of this.”
“No, you’re right.”
Within minutes after Ben was returned to my arms, dozens of agents descended on the house, combing every square inch of it. While the medical team treated Davis, numerous field agents asked me so many questions that my head began to spin. I marveled that I’d ever been a part of this game before. I’d lived for this moment. Now I only wanted to be alone with my son.
I was thrilled to see Matt again even under the circumstances. Shane was there as well. All of us were finding it hard to believe Gina had been the double agent.
But no one wanted to talk about Noah. I knew that they had to know something from the way they looked at me with so much pity. But no one wanted to tell me what they knew.
Once Davis was patched up, I finally found the strength to ask him about Noah.
“Is he dead Davis? Noah’s dead, isn’t he? Tell me, for God’s sake. No one is telling me anything but you know something, don’t they? Tell me what you know, Davis. Is Noah dead? Gina said we were too late...”
Davis glanced over to where Ben stood with Matt close by and motioned for him to take my son away for a moment. They went off to look for Bo.
“Cameron, we don’t know that. You can’t give up hope.”
“No, it’s different this time, Davis. I don’t feel him. He’s dead.”
“Cameron, stop it. We don’t know that for certain.”
“He was there, wasn’t he? Noah was at the attack. Davis, please...”
“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “Yes, we know Noah was at the sight of the attack. But Cameron he was able to avert it from happening. Although there have been some casualties. We’re still searching for Noah.”
“Oh my God. Davis, I can’t do this,” I told him as he pulled me gently into his arms. “I can’t go through this again.”
“Yes, you can baby. Because you don’t have a choice.” I glanced up and saw that he was watching Ben and Matt petting Bo. “You have him to consider.
And you don’t know for sure.”
“What will happen now?” I asked him wearily.
“Well, The Organization’s cover is blown beyond repair, not that there‘s much of its members left anyway. Adam’s dead. His daughter killed him when he found out the truth about her. Matt and Shane will be reassigned.”
“As will you?” I added and saw him nod. “Who will take over Adam’s command?”
Davis grinned at me and knew the truth. “Well, you’re looking at him honey. I’m the new man in charge. Just got the official word tonight. Apparently, they don’t want to wait, I guess they’re afraid of what might happen next.
“Can you believe it? After all those years in the field, I’m being called in. Me in charge.”
“You’ll make a great leader, Davis. I’d be proud to serve under you.”
Again, that sad little smile of his told me there was more to come.
“You won’t have to. All the documents from The Organization have been destroyed. Along with all records of you and Noah. You are now officially done. It’s over for you. You and Noah are just a pain of average run of the mill civilians.
“But how?” And then it dawned on me. Davis had done this for us.
“Don’t know. Can’t really say. But you have nothing to worry about from us. No one is ever coming after you again.”
“You know there are still dozens of terrorists who know who we are, don’t you, Davis?”
“Yes, I know. That’s why for a while you and Ben will be taken to another location to live. You’ll have new identities and we’ll keep a close watch over you. But I really think you’re safe this time. It’s over for you.”
“Thank you Davis. But how will Noah find us...”
I couldn’t finish that statement. I wasn’t sure Noah was alive. I’d lost my connection to him.
“He’ll find you, Cameron. I’ll make sure of that.”
I could only smile and watch as my son and Bo played together. Oblivious to the truth of what had happened here tonight.
“I’ll have to tell him the truth, someday.”
“Yes. I wish...” Davis stopped.
“What do you wish, Davis?”
