Conjuring Darkness

by Melanie James

  “You have got to be joking. That didn’t really happen! Did it?” Is this really how the mysterious ‘The Kid’ came to be? She thought.

  “Boy Scouts honor.” He said, before holding up two fingers in a mock salute. “The monkey bolted across the grassy field in front of us. I had that old pistol loaded and ready so I quickly raised it and fired at it. Well I missed. In order to fire it faster I took the heel of my free hand and fanned it across the hammer just like you see on those old westerns. Rapid fire just like it was a semi-automatic handgun. That monkey was hopping around and dodging away as dirt and grass kicked up around it. The guys were all yelling. Some were cussing and some were cheering me on. One of my teammates, Martinez, grabbed an M-16 with a grenade launcher. I had counted my shots so I knew I only had one round left in the cylinder. I knew that I would have to wait until he stood still. The monkey ran and climbed up into a tree that was so dense with leaves we couldn’t see him at all. Suddenly we hear this loud excited chatter of dozens of monkeys in that tree. Martinez launched a grenade and when it exploded there was nothing but leaves and branches everywhere. As the dust cleared we saw the monkey with the grenade. He was standing up holding the grenade high in the air and chattering as if he was threatening us. It was the most surreal scene I had ever witnessed. It was an incredibly long distance for a pistol shot, but I drew the pistol up carefully aimed and fired. I missed the monkey but I must have hit the grenade. The grenade flew out of the monkey’s outstretched hand and it exploded just as he went to pick it up again. We all just looked at each other completely shocked by what had happened. Then everyone was laughing. Martinez started giving me a hard time. ‘You looked like you were in one of those old spaghetti western movies man. A fistful of bananas! Haha! You were shooting that old gun just like those gunfighters.’ Well they all had a good laugh. Someone said my name should be Wild Bill or something and then one of them called me the African Kid, and Kurt decided to start calling me The Kid. It just stuck. I actually hate it and never call myself that, but I don’t bother to stop the very few other people that would be calling me by that name.”

  Lexi had been picturing the whole scene in her head and she laughed so hard that she was in tears. Buddy had lifted his head up and despairingly groaned for her to continue massaging his back with her toes. “So that is also the same pistol you were carrying yesterday I assume.”

  “Yep! More people know me by that damn pistol than anything else. Now you know.” Ryan laughed. “Let’s see, you had a few more questions. I know you were originally asking about some other things. Yes I am single. Always have been. I never wanted to be settled down. It doesn’t fit my mysterious image and all.” He laughed a little and then stopped to look at her smile.

  The sun lit her face and the breeze lightly tossed her hair about. Her green eyes were smiling back at him. “Where was I? You probably wanted to know where I’m from. Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi originally. I’m an only child. When I was twelve our place got destroyed in a hurricane. My parents were both killed. No I don’t have much to say about that. I had to move all the way up to Wisconsin, where my grandparents on my mom’s side had a small farm just outside of a town called Mukwonago. I loved the fact there was a large marsh nearby full of fish and wildlife and it reminded me of the areas of the gulf coast where I would go fishing with my Dad. That was when I started my love affair of adventure. I would go exploring in an old canoe through the marshes and rivers. I always dreamed about being able to keep going, finding more places to explore. I spent a lot of time alone so that probably had something to do with not wanting to settle down. Not enough adventure for me as I got older so I left for the Navy as soon as I was out of high school. I figured it would be the best way to get out and see the world. I served twelve years as a SEAL and then doing this.”

  “What is this exactly?”

  “Well let’s just say I get to call my own shots. If someone needs help or special transportation in dangerous places then I’m the right guy, for the right price.”

  “So you’re a smuggler too?”

  “Well I prefer not to use that name, but sometimes certain people will pay a lot of money to move stuff without worrying about it getting intercepted by criminals, or maybe they would rather not have to deal with customs agents. Above all they want someone who isn’t going to ask too many questions. Money, relics, whatever it is, I will help them out.”

  “Let me guess for the right price?” Lexi smirked.

  “Yeah that pretty much sums it up. I also specialize in recovering kidnapped victims. There are plenty of kidnappings down here and families will pay anything to get them back. Again for the price, I’m their man. Actually that’s how I got Buddy. One of my clients bred Newfoundland Dogs and he could tell I really liked one of the pups so he gave him to me. Okay now it’s your turn. You’re in the hot seat now. I have a few questions for you.”

  Kidd smiled, he could tell she was relaxed enough to let her guard down a little and give up some information about her sister that could be helpful. “First tell me about yourself. What do you do? Tell me about your sister, your relationship with her.”

  Lexi looked down at Buddy who was snoring in a deep contented sleep. Lexi and Ryan were both running their bare toes through Buddy’s thick soft fur. She had the urge to run her toes over the top of Ryan’s foot, but hesitated.

  “Well, I have been pretty much stuck in my own world most of my life. We moved around quite a bit when I was a kid. I only have my one sister Kate and she is eight years older than me. I guess you could say I am a bit of an introvert, although I’m not sure if that would be the best word for it. I’m not shy, I just tend to keep my personal feelings inside. I’d say that I became used to being okay with spending time alone, so maybe that’s why.” Lexi stopped as if she were at the edge of a pool and checking the water before jumping in.

  Ryan picked up on Lexi’s hesitation and gently nudged her in by sharing more of his thoughts. “I think I know what you’re trying to describe. I feel the same way. I tend to keep people at a distance. I’m perfectly fine talking to people and having friends and all, but I never get too close. I guess it’s like there’s a wall around me that I’ve worked hard to build and keep in place. So yeah, I get it.”

  “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying. Well our parents were both archaeologists originally from the Ukraine. They died in a plane crash when I was fourteen. Okay see this is the stuff I never talk about, and I don’t know why I am now. What is it about you that makes me want to open up and share this information that I’ve kept to myself for so many years?”

  Lexi took a deep breath and exhaled. She steadied herself with deep breaths that filled her lungs. Some of it was easy to discuss, but other parts she would much rather keep bottled up inside of her.

  No. I’m done now. She silently argued with herself. I don’t think I want to go over this. I’m perfectly happy petting your cute dog and drooling over you. Isn’t that enough? At least he is a good listener. He seems so...sincere and decent. I should just make up some quick little story. No I can’t lie to him. You had better be worth it, Ryan Kidd.

  Talking about these memories was something that she had no desire to do.

  “Hey Lexi. It’s okay if you’d rather not talk about all that.”

  “No. No it’s alright, but only because you seem like you’ve cracked open your tough shell and told me about yourself. I can tell you haven’t dealt with the loss of your parents and maybe I haven’t either.”

  “I know that it was the defining event that shaped who I am today.” She continued. “I hope that someday you’ll talk to me about your experience like I am going to. Anyway, Kate was twenty-two when our parents died. We were living in England then. We had a house near the college where my parents both taught. Kate was attending college there as well. She was old enough to be my legal guardian. We didn’t have any other family and it was so damn hard."

  Lexi had never talked to another individual about t
his ever. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as the repressed emotions left their hiding place.

  “Our parents had planned to be gone for eight weeks. They always worked together and once Kate was old enough to take care of everything that needed a legal adult to handle, they could leave us behind for periods of time. I had made a big calendar and hung it on my wall. I would mark off every day they were gone. On the day they were expected back I had glued a family picture of all of us together. I was so excited for all of us to finally be reunited.”

  She looked down at Buddy as she wiped the tears that started to escape. “A man from the university came to the house one day and he looked like he was delivering the mail or something. He gave us a letter. A notice that told us our parents were gone. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe it. I went to my room and stared at that calendar. There were only four days left to cross off. I went into complete denial and the next few days I crossed off the boxes like usual. The last day came and went and then I had a meltdown. My life was forever changed. I think most girls will tell you that at fourteen they started going head to head with their moms, at least to some degree. Not us. We were best friends. She was everything to me.” Lexi’s eyes were flooded with tears and she stopped to wipe her face off.

  Ryan was leaning forward in his seat his forearms resting on his thighs, his hands clasped. He hung his head down and thought of how he could pull something positive out of this for Lexi.

  “Hey...Lexi?” His voice quiet and soft all joking set aside for the moment. He wanted to find a way to comfort her and to let her know he knew exactly how she felt.

  “I know that feeling.” Ryan continued. “I suppose you could think about how the defining moments of growing up had nothing to do with that day. Think of all of the days not just the bad. Think of all the memories before that. Try to remember those happy times are the things that made you who you are, much more than the loss.”

  “I think I know what you mean. If I can just let myself soak up those good experiences I would probably have an easier time dealing with my fear, for lack of a better word, of just being more open. You too. Everything you just said applies exactly the same way to your own life. Maybe you should try to practice what you preach.”

  She wasn’t trying to be mean or callous with her words, simply trying to get him to see that they weren’t so different after all.

  “Wow! Who would have guessed that sitting here we’ve just saved a small fortune on therapy sessions by using the Lexi and Ryan method?” He laughed to lighten the mood.

  “Another thing that I’ve finally learned about you is how you came to have that British accent.” Ryan observed.

  “It’s pretty watered down by now I think. Anyway, we were fortunate that our parents had left us enough money plus life insurance to allow us to live decently. There was also plenty of money to pay Kate’s college tuition and mine when I was old enough. About a year after the plane crash an American came along, Kurt. He was there to talk with us to see what we knew about our parents work. I guess the American intelligence community had an interest in their work for some reason. Much of the work our parents did was in the Middle East, but also in Russia near the Black Sea. The rumor Kurt said he heard was that they had uncovered something by accident. Some evidence that someone, perhaps the old Soviet KGB, had killed a large number of people and buried the bodies in a mass grave. I don’t know too much more about that or if the CIA ever determined that they had come across a crime scene of some kind. I know there was never anything on the news about it and if we asked Kurt if he heard anything more, well he would just say that he hadn’t heard another thing about it.”

  “So that was the first time you or Kate ever met Kurt?”

  “Yeah. That was how Kurt came into our lives. Even though Kurt was about ten years older than Kate, they hit it off immediately. Kurt was working in England then so they spent a lot of time together and became very close. As soon as Kate graduated from the university she and Kurt were making plans to move to the U.S. Next thing I know we were in Virginia where Kurt’s new position was. They got married and I went to high school in Virginia. Kate went right into grad school and worked towards her dream. After high school I went to college as well except I didn’t end up an archaeologist like Kate. I studied English and completed my bachelor’s degree. I was looking for an opportunity to make use of a degree in English and about a year ago, I came across a realty listing for a small bookstore in Dillon Montana. I figured it would be perfect for me. Well I don’t know about the location, because I could barely find Montana on a map when I made an offer on the place.”

  She thought back over her excitement at the time. She was so happy to find the ideal place to start her own dreams and life.

  “I took the remainder of the money I had in the bank and decided to buy the store and an old farmhouse outside of town. I didn’t even think twice. I also liked the fact that it was pretty far from the East Coast, the only place I have lived in the states. I teach a few writing workshops at the community college there as well.” She laughed.

  “I have the most uneventful boring life you can imagine. Sorry I don’t have any fantastic stories about grenade slinging monkeys to share. The highlight of last year was signing up for Yoga classes and tanning sessions. Anyway, I haven’t heard much from Kate in the past six months and now, of course, not at all. I feel awful that I didn’t keep in better contact with her.”

  A loud sigh escaped as she thought more about Kate. Her fear for her sister had subsided some, but not enough. She knew she wouldn’t be able to fully believe that Kate was fine and dandy until she was standing next to her. Even then she was going to have to poke her or maybe even slap the shit out of her for dragging her into this. Or thank her.

  “So that’s about it. Oh and I have a black fluffy cat named Allie and a very good best friend Marcie. No other family just us. Um, just throwing this one more thing out there. No boyfriend, I’ve never had one. The only dates I’ve ever gone on ended up in such a disaster that I have sort of dropped out of that game. So now you know my awkward secret. And now I have this mysterious adventure suddenly tossed into my lap. One things is for sure though, if Kate needs me I sure as hell am not letting her down. She’s the only family I have left. So I guess it’s just you and me Kid!” She smiled at the word play on Ryan’s last name, and realized that in one conversation she had shared more with Ryan than anyone else she had ever met.

  Chapter Five

  Ryan motioned for her to come back inside. He flicked on the monitors that brought up maps of the Middle East. “Here’s what I’m wondering about. You see Kate is purposefully traveling and communicating like she is worried that someone, other than the two of us, will be looking for her. Kate’s letter made a point to say she was in Israel visiting Dr. Jakub Meier. Why would she mention that to you? If she wanted you to just bring her the coin, she could have said to bring it to her directly and eliminated that detail. Of course the letter is incomplete. We have to consider there may have been a reason for it, other than some mail sorting machine that chewed it up.”

  Lexi cut him off, “I guess I hadn’t considered she would have made the letter incomplete on purpose. What reason could she possibly have to do that?”

  “Well if she did it on purpose it would be so she didn’t have to explain any more than she needed to, in case someone tried to intercept it. Or the mail sorter just got hungry. I really don’t know.” Ryan kept one possibility to himself and that was perhaps Kate was forced to write the letter. “To play it safe we need to follow Kate’s trail and see if we can find out if someone is following her or something.”

  “Really? Who the hell would be tracking Kate? Why? Is that why someone grabbed me at the airport?” The concern in Lexi’s voice had risen the pitch of her voice.

  “Okay first, those guys that grabbed you were just common thugs. You looked and acted like an easy target to them. Unfortunately kidnappings are still a very real problem in Medellin even after
the major cartel was broken up. There are plenty of the lower level cartel bums that got left out in the cold after the bosses were taken down, and these guys resort to kidnappings as a way to make a living. So although it is unlikely that your kidnapping had anything to do with Kate, we have to be vigilant and at least consider that if someone is following Kate, they could be watching you.”

  He noted the look of concern on her face at the mention of her or her sister possibly being followed. He was certain that she didn’t understand why anyone could want anything to do with either of them. He would do what he could to ease her into his theory as gently as he could.

  “The reasons for someone following Kate? Well, maybe that coin is very valuable. They may know she has knowledge of its whereabouts and they are watching to see if she is going to retrieve it. There could be one more thing, Kurt’s death. Despite what I told you about honor and suicide, I have to tell you something else. The number one way for our government to permanently silence someone is by killing them and making it appear to be a suicide. It has become the M.O. for the CIA and many other groups. That does concern me. It also concerns me that Kurt went to Israel. Did he visit Doctor Meier? If so, why? What was Kurt’s tie to the coin? Perhaps we don’t even need to know, but if we are going to see your sister I want to know who this doctor is. I am pretty confident that Kate is directing us to the doctor.”