STORM: IT'S A CURSE TO REMEMBER

by Gurpreet Kaur Sidhu

  “Please state your name and your ID,” said the agent.

  Bruce cleared his throat. “Bruce Storm, 513-510-231-958.”

  “Thank you,” he said as he looked down at his file. He looked up and looked at Marvin. “Please state your name and ID.”

  “Marvin Stone, 212-412-061-980.”

  The agent replied, “Thank you.” Then he proceeded to look through the file that was sitting in front of him.

  The room was dead silent.

  After a few minutes, the agent looked up, first at Bruce, giving him a hard look, and then at Marvin.

  “Mr. Storm and Mr. Stone,” he began, “do you know why you have been summoned today into the chambers?”

  “No, sir,” they both replied simultaneously.

  “The brawl outside of the agency was brought to our attention when one of our agents reviewed the security footage. This behavior is unacceptable here at the agency. For the sake of the agency, we have decided to deactivate both of you for three months, starting today.”

  Marvin jolted out of his chair. “That’s a load of bullshit!”

  Bruce could see the rage in Marvin’s eyes. He lowered his head as he fixed his suit before facing up again.

  The speaker of the panel raised his voice. “Your actions have led you here, Mr. Stone. Do not raise your voice at the panel. If you didn’t want to be deactivated, you should have thought a better way of handling your personal business. I’ll be more than happy to deactivate you for a year if you want. I have no problem with that.”

  Bruce could hear Marvin’s heavy breathing from where he was sitting.

  The rage in Marvin’s eyes reached its peak. Marvin glared at the speaker before sitting back down.

  “Sir?” Bruce chimed in.

  “Yes?” the speaker responded.

  Bruce pulled out a folded envelope from the inside pocket of his blazer. “It has been a pleasure working for you, and for this agency, but my stay here has been long overdue.” He raised the envelope in front of him before putting it on the desk. “I am officially resigning from my position as Agent 513.”

  The speaker looked to his right and then to his left before he met Bruce’s eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that, Bruce. We all wish you the best here. As for retirement proceedings, the head of your department will explain everything to you. You’ll still be in our system until you’re cleared. Do you have any questions?”

  “No, sir,” Bruce responded. He rose from his seat and thanked each one of the agents.

  All the agents rose from their chairs. “It was a pleasure having you work for the agency,” said the speaker.

  Bruce nodded, quickly glancing from one agent to the other. He exited the room, feeling content. He walked down the hallway approaching the elevator. This is just the beginning, he thought, smirking to himself.

  Chapter 26

  The night turned in and unlike any other day in Lake View, the winds had picked up their speed. The howling noises could be heard through the homes, begging to enter. Leaves rustled across the concrete and roads. Children enjoyed hot chocolate in their pajamas as their parents sat in the living room drinking coffee.

  Mr. Brar, on the other hand, poured himself and Bruce iced water. The bottle made a loud clank as he set it in the center of the table. He looked at Bruce as he lowered into his chair.

  Bruce filled in Mr. Brar of everything that happened from the moment the SEA came and dragged Bruce out of his home.

  “I’m going to kill that bastard,” Mr. Brar exclaimed. “I’m going to kill him. I haven’t had blood on my hands for over a decade, but I’m willing to kill him, Bruce. I am.” His pupils dilated as the words spilled out of his mouth.

  Bruce ran his fingers through his hair, letting out an exhausted sigh.

  “Evan would have died if it hadn’t been for you,” Bruce said. He propped his elbow on the table, resting his head on his hand. “It’s all bullshit, Mr. Brar.” Bruce looked up, pinching the corners of his eyes. He scanned the room before meeting Mr. Brar’s eyes. “I gave my letter of resignation today.”

  Mr. Brar was taken aback. “I thought you wanted a seat on the panel?”

  “I did before, but that’s not what I want anymore,” Bruce said, as he picked up his glass, “I’m going to shut down the agency.”

  Mr. Brar’s face shattered into different expressions.

  Bruce took a sip. “The agency is not what used to be. It’s supposed to protect the public but it’s only created power hungry monsters. Now it’s all about getting the job done and moving up,” he said, pausing for a moment. “Marvin was engaged to Roy’s daughter at one point. Roy announced he was going to step down in the near future months and I think Marvin wants to run the agency so desperately that he’s trying to win back Shadow, get married, so he can take over.”

  Mr. Brar shook his head, feeling as if it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “That sounds absurd, Bruce. People only get married when they’re in love. If she doesn’t love him, she won’t marry him. It’s simple. No one can force someone to get married.”

  Bruce cleared his throat, flicking his eyes from Mr. Brar to his glass and then back at Mr. Brar. “We’re talking about The Secret Eye Agency here. We—sorry, I mean they are capable of doing anything. Mr. Brar,” he emphasized, “I entered the agency with a clean slate. How did they know I had a family? How did they know about Geneva?” he asked. “They have their ways. If Marvin wants to get married to the girl he wants, he’ll find a way, even if he has to drag her to the alter, unless she kills herself first.”

  “Evan told me the girl knows about the agency. Do you think she knows about who her father is?”

  Bruce shrugged. “All I know is that I don’t trust anyone who is linked to the agency,” he said as he ran his index finger around the rim of the glass. He pushed the glass forward. “All right, I should go,” he said, getting up, “I’ll give you a call once I get to the hospital and let you know how Evan’s doing.”

  Mr. Brar nodded.

  “Thanks for the drink.”

  “You know I don’t drink alcohol.”

  Bruce patted Mr. Brar’s back as he left the kitchen, heading to the front door.

  “You’re not doing this without me.” Mr. Brar shouted from the kitchen as he heard the doorknob turn.

  Bruce halted. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “It was nice seeing you after twenty-something years.”

  Bruce smiled as he closed the door behind him.

  Mr. Brar remained sitting in his chair, pouring himself another glass of cold water. “To family,” he said under his breath before chugging it down.

  Chapter 27

  Evan’s eyes snapped open. The room was white and silent. Am I dead? When he tried to move his head, he felt incredible pain. He was very well alive. When he tried to move his arm, he grunted in agony. It was sore and on fire. He took a deep sigh, not knowing where he was or who had brought him here, but the one person he didn’t want to see was Marvin. For all Evan knew, this was all part of Marvin’s ultimate plan—to make him suffer even more just as Evan thought it was all over.

  He closed his eyes. It was quiet and peaceful. Evan thought about what Marvin had told him, about his father being alive and his mother. It was something that Evan couldn’t begin to grasp. Twenty-seven years of being under the assumption his father was dead, then learning he had never died in the first place put Evan through quite a shock.

  Evan heard the sound of a door opening. Terrified of who it might be, his eyes remained shut. When the door closed, there was silence.

  The sound of a chair being dragged across the room rang in his ears. Then, a heavy sigh. Evan could hear the person shuffling in the chair, trying to get comfortable. As much as Evan wanted to open his eyes, to see who was sitting beside him, he knew it was safer just to keep them
closed.

  Then the door opened again. One of the nurses working on the floor walked in wheeling a cart with medical supplies she needed to use on Evan to treat the burns. She wore plum-colored scrubs, her hair tied in a bun.

  She gave a soft smile. “Hi, Mr. Storm,” said the nurse in a soft voice. “I’m going to change his bandages.”

  Evan felt the hair on his neck rise up. In that instant, he knew who that was. Evan would recognize his father’s voice out of thousands of people speaking. His breath caught in his throat.

  “I would say about two weeks until he gets discharged. However, he’ll still be in the process of recovering. He’s got first degree burns on his face. You see all that swelling and redness? So, it’ll be a few months before he’ll be able to do diurnal activities. He’s been in and out of sleep…” she said as she uncovered his legs. “His feet and legs really took a hit, though. Luckily someone called the ambulance when they did. Things could’ve been much worse.”

  “Yeah,” Bruce said. He stood up from his chair, walking closer to get a better look at Evan’s legs. “How many cases do you get like this?”

  The room fell in silence for a moment. “Not a lot,” she said. “They’re usually left to die. He got lucky, really lucky.”

  “He did,” he said as he pondered how Mr. Brar had put his life on the line to save Evan. The prayer he’d said when he was held in confinement. “Is there any more paperwork I need to fill out?”

  “No,” said the nurse, slowly peeling off the bandage from his right foot. “Just the discharge papers. That’s all.”

  “Okay.” He watched as the nurse did her job. She removed the bandages, applied ointment on the burns, then put on fresh bandages. Ten minutes later, Bruce thanked the nurse for her service as she pushed out the cart, again leaving Bruce alone with Evan.

  Evan’s eyes flickered open. He saw his father standing there with his back toward him.

  “Dad?” Evan said, trying to hold back all the emotions.

  Bruce’s head jolted toward Evan’s voice. He’d been waiting for Evan to wake up. Words seemed to slip away from him.

  Tears shimmered in Bruce’s eyes. He felt an emotion he had buried long ago come up to surface.

  “God,” Bruce managed to say, then breaking into a cry, said, “You’re awake.”

  Bruce bit his lower lip to stop it from quivering. Bruce knew how slim his chances were to see Evan…alive. Now, the moment he’d been waiting for was finally here. He looked up for a split second, thanking God for this miracle.

  “Yup. And you’re alive.” Evan smirked. He winced, feeling the pain afterward.

  Bruce swayed into his chair, scooting it closer to Evan’s bedside. He reached and placed his hand over Evan’s.

  “I have,” he said, trying to take a breath, “a lot of explaining to do…”

  “You do,” Evan responded, feeling a bit tired and drowsy. “What happened to Mom?

  “We can talk about everything when you’re better. You need to get your rest.”

  Evan nodded, trying to remain conscious.

  “Denise and Ryan stopped by to see you but you were asleep.”

  “Oh…really?”

  Evan looked at his father, wanting to say more but he struggled to keep his eyes open. With each blink, Bruce became increasingly blurry. Evan slowly drifted away, falling asleep.

  Bruce buried his face in Evan’s shoulder, feeling overwhelmed. He’d been given a second chance, and all he could do was hope and pray he didn’t screw this up.

  He eased back into his chair, and watched as Evan slept, reminding him of the day when he and Geneva brought Evan home from the hospital after his birth. All Bruce could do was watch Evan as he slept, feeling like it was the most incredible thing in the world.

  He wiped away the tears with his thumb and let out a deep sigh of relief.

  The door opened. Bruce looked over and saw the receptionist’s head peek through the cracked space. She motioned Bruce to step outside.

  “What is it?” Bruce asked, slowly closing the door behind him.

  “There’s a woman here to see Evan.”

  “Is she on the list?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Then send her home.”

  “Okay, sir.”

  Bruce quietly walked back into the room. He moseyed his way back to his chair, keeping a close eye on Evan. Before he could sit down, the receptionist once again called Bruce out of the room.

  “Sir, she’s saying she’s Evan’s next-door neighbor. I told her the protocol but she insisted on speaking to someone.”

  Bruce shoved his hand into his pockets. He clenched his jaw and asked, “Where is she?”

  “She’s in the waiting room.”

  “All right,” he responded and strolled in the direction of the waiting room.

  When Bruce approached, Shadow looked up from her lap, shaken up to see Bruce standing in the doorway. She recognized him from the pictures Evan showed her. According to Evan, Bruce had died.

  Bruce steadily walked over to the row of chairs facing Shadow, sitting across from her. He propped up his elbow on the armrest, resting his chin on his fist. His eyes focused on Shadow, not knowing what to think of her.

  “You’re Shadow, I’m guessing,” he finally said.

  She nodded. “Evan said you died in a car accident, but judging by where we are,” she said, looking around, and then fixing her eyes on Bruce, “there was never an accident.”

  Bruce nodded. “Why are you here?”

  “I wanted to see Evan.”

  “He’s sleeping right now. I think it’s best for you to go.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. It made her uncomfortable being emotional in front of someone she barely knew. She looked up at the ceiling, not really seeing it, trying to let the tears flow back.

  Bruce got up and walked over to the end of the row, picking up a Kleenex box from the end table and handing it to Shadow.

  “As long as he’s out there, he’s going to keep hurting people. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.” She looked at Bruce helplessly. “I don’t want to run anymore.”

  “How did you meet Marvin?”

  She looked up at Bruce in confusion. “My dad introduced me to him. Why?”

  Bruce began to pace back and forth with his arms crossed at his chest. He stopped in his tracks in front of Shadow. “And where did your dad meet Marvin?”

  “At a coffee shop…why does this matter?”

  “Everything matters. I don’t know you. You’re an outsider and I don’t trust anyone on the outside, especially when it comes to family.” He stood in silence for a moment and then asked, “What did Marvin tell your father what he did for a living? What does your father do for a living?”

  “He told my dad that he was a criminal lawyer. My dad is a biological scientist—”

  “Do you know what the agents are capable of?”

  “Yes, a little bit.”

  “Okay.” He moved onto the next part of the interrogation like a detective. “Did he threaten you after you moved here?”

  She nodded.

  “Did he come to your home and make threats?”

  She nodded.

  “It’s safe to assume you feared for your life, correct?”

  She nodded.

  “Did he give you an ultimatum?”

  “Yes.” She quietly sobbed. “Why are you asking me these questions?”

  Bruce rested his hands at his waist ignoring her question. “Then why is it that you continued to see Evan knowing you were being watched? Why didn’t you tell Evan to stay away?”

  “I did,” she whispered and wiped her nose as she answered, “I told Evan how dangerous Marvin was. I told him it was better if we didn’t see each other, for his sake, but…”

  Bruce c
lenched his jaw.

  Shadow saw the look in his eyes change from steady to fury.

  “You didn’t make it clear enough then!” he shouted. “You put my son in danger. He could have died because of you!”

  Shadow felt her heart sink and her nerves turn into a knot in the pit of her stomach. She blamed herself too.

  “I know. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

  Bruce paced with his hands on his hips. It took time for it to sink in before Bruce realized how he was treating Shadow. Bruce stepped back, ashamed of himself for talking to Shadow the way he did. He peered at her as she buried her face into her hands. He sighed, and then took a seat in front of Shadow.

  “I’m sorry,” he confessed. “I’m angry at myself, not you.”

  Shadow didn’t say anything. They sat in silence. After Shadow gathered her composure, and wiped away the tears, she looked at him, seeing a spitting image of Evan.

  She looked down at her wrist and then back at Bruce. She fought back the tears, feeling already drained from the tears she shed.

  “Evan,” she said, breaking the silence, “saved me. I can’t lose someone who risked their life for me. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make up for what he did for me. I get why you’re protective. I know how it feels not to be able to trust anyone,” she said as she rose. “Please let him know that I was here.”

  Bruce nodded.

  Shadow picked up her purse and left Bruce sitting in the waiting room. The florescent lights that she walked under and white tile underscored the sterility of the hospital. It was quiet. The environment up here was different. There weren’t doctors making rounds or nurses coming in and out of rooms. It wasn’t hectic like it was on the lower floors. It was safe to say anything that had to do with the SEA was different to the norm.

  She stood in front of the elevator, waiting to get on. The sound of footsteps caught Shadow’s attention. When she turned to look, Bruce was standing in the middle of the hallway looking defeated.

  Bruce had come to the realization that if he didn’t let Shadow see Evan, then he didn’t deserve the forgiveness he hoped for from his children.