“Return to work and find out if he is keeping any secrets,” the voice demanded.
Rachel nodded and turned to leave the room, but before she did, she turned back, “I will do my job but you better hold up your end of this deal.”
“I am a man of my word,” the voice answered.
“Good,” Rachel replied as she walked out of the office.
Chapter
6
James awoke the following morning to the sound of an alarm blaring. He instantly got up, as did the rest of his roommates.
Tim yelled, “What the hell is that?”
Greg ran to the door, threw it open and looked out and down the hallway. He saw John standing there.
“Well, what are you looking at? Get up, all of you!” John bellowed.
They all heard him yell and jumped out of bed to quickly get dressed. They filed out of the room and into the hall and formed up along the hallway. James noticed the blonde with the pixie cut again. Her room was only a few doors down. He smiled to himself as he turned his attention to John.
“Okay, file out, your physical training starts now!” John barked, pointing to the door for them to go.
They all quickly filed out the door. As the last of them left, John followed. As John was closing the door, he slid a rock in the doorway propping it open. Every time a person went in or out with their key card, it registered. This was not to be on record. John moved away from the dorms to join the recruits already lined up on the field.
The door sat propped open for about five minutes before it slowly opened. Rachel stepped in and glanced around, looking to see if anyone was still there. She made her way down the hallway to James’s room. Once inside the room, she quickly went through James’s bag and belongings. As she reached the bottom of the bag, she found it, the teddy bear. She lifted it up and looked at it more closely. “We love you,” she read out loud. “Interesting thing to keep for a guy who doesn’t remember his mother,” she thought to herself. Rachel placed all of James’s possessions back into the bag and put it back under his bed, but she kept the bear in her hand. Rachel quietly left the building, the bear safe in her possession.
John ran the recruits through the obstacle course, timing them as they went. James completed the course the fastest. John was impressed with James’s time, as were several of his peers.
“Not bad dude,” Tim yelled, running up to James as he crossed the finish line.
James was out of breath, but smiling.
“Best time, you smoked everyone,” Tim patted James on the back.
James stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips, “Well, I tried,” he said as he caught his breath.
“Tried my butt! You are a master,” Tim laughed.
James looked around.
“What are you looking for, man?” Tim questioned.
James found her, the blonde with the pixie cut. She was sitting on the hill and watching. “What are the chances she saw?” James smiled.
Tim looked over to her, “You know she has a name, right?”
“Yes, I know she has a name, just haven’t asked her for it yet,” James replied.
Tim stood still, smiling at James.
“Oh come on, just tell me so I don’t have to ask.”
“Franchesca, but good luck. I don’t think you can get that.” Tim pointed to Franchesca. “But I hear her friends calling her Chessy.”
“Nice, thanks for the heads up,” James grinned, looking over to Chessy.
“James!” John yelled.
James was pulled out of his daze from staring at Chessy. “Yes sir,” James turned and ran toward John who was standing at the obstacle course.
“Nice time, keep it up. You and your group can all go,” John ordered, looking up from his clipboard.
“Thank you, sir.” James turned and moved back to Tim who was now standing with Greg.
“Okay, guys, let's go relax. We have boring classroom stuff this afternoon,” Tim said as James joined them.
The three of them moved back to the dorms; on their way, they were joined by Elliot.
“Okay young-in, you got some skills,” Elliot said, wrapping his arm around James’s shoulder.
James shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, “Thanks.”
As they all filed back into the dorm room, James looked around.
“What are you looking for, dude?” Greg asked.
“My stuff. It looks different.” James pulled his bag out from under his bed and went through his things. As he got to the bottom his bag he noticed that the bear was gone. James felt his heart drop.
“Dude, you don’t look too good, what’s wrong?” Greg questioned.
James just looked up, “Something of mine is gone.”
“What’s gone?” Elliot chimed in.
James was losing his breath. “Why would anyone take it?” he thought to himself. “I…I got to get it back.”
“What is gone? We can help you look for it if we know what it is.” Tim sat up on his bed.
James couldn’t tell them what was taken, they would tease him for keeping a teddy bear. “It’s personal, nobody would have any reason to take it.”
“Just relax, nobody would take anything from you,” Elliot added in.
James could feel his blood boiling, “It was you wasn’t it! You went through my things! Do you think this is funny or something?” James grabbed Elliot and pulled him from his bunk.
“I never touched your stuff, let go of me!” Elliot yelled back.
Tim and Greg were now up from their beds.
“Let go of him, James,” Greg said, reaching between the two of them trying to pull them apart, but James had a strong grip on Elliot.
“Tell me where it is!” James yelled at Elliot.
“I don’t have whatever you are talking about!” Elliot yelled back.
The yelling had drawn everyone’s attention; their doorway was filling up with their fellow candidates. James had pinned Elliot against the wall, “Tell me!”
The commotion had also drawn John’s attention. John burst through the candidates, “Let go of him now!” he ordered.
James could hear John’s voice but was so angry he couldn’t release his grasp on Elliot’s shirt.
John moved to James and calmly placed his hand on James’s shoulder, “Son, let go. We can figure this out.”
His gentle touch instantly calmed James. He relaxed his hands and released Elliot’s shirt.
“You’re fucked up in the head, you know that?” Elliot said, straightening his shirt as he stormed out of the room.
“Okay, everyone back to your rooms. Each of you need to be ready for class in thirty minutes,” John ordered the rest of the candidates.
“You are with me, James.” John walked James out of the room and to the administration building. “Please talk with her,” he said, pointing at Rachel’s office.
James was silent. He was still trying to keep a grip on himself. Struggling to hold his head up, he was staring at the floor. He had lost the last thing he had of his childhood. James slowly opened the door. As he stepped through the door, he saw Rachel sitting there with his teddy bear in her hands, “Looking for this?”
“You took it?” James questioned, clenching his fists.
“An interesting thing to hold onto for a man who claims to remember nothing of his mother and very little of his father. More attached than you are letting on? ‘We love you,’” she read aloud.
“Give it back.” James clenched his teeth. His body tensed with anger.
“I want answers from you. You are hiding something. You remember a lot more than you are saying. Your secrets could jeopardize everyone here.” Rachel stood up, shaking the bear.
“How is my childhood any of your fucking business? My possessions are mine.”
“Tell me what you remember,” Rachel crossed her arms.
“If I do, will you give it back?” James reached his arm out for Rachel to hand the bear back.
“
You can keep your bear, but I want to know everything.” Rachel said, sitting back into her chair.
James released his clenched fists and walked to the couch to take a seat.
“Okay, let’s start with the basics. Who gave you the bear?” Rachel held the bear up again.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me. Who gave you the bear?”
“I’m telling you I don’t know. I have always had it. I can’t remember a time I didn’t.”
“Do you remember your mother?”
James took a deep breath, “I don’t know,” he breathed.
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Rachel was intrigued.
“I am not sure if I have met her or not.”
“Do you mean your memories are fuzzy or what?”
James could feel his heart racing; he had told no one what he was about to tell her. He was terrified, but he wanted his teddy bear back. It was all he had left and if this could get it, he had to do it. “I met a woman who told me she was my mother, but I don’t know.” James’s breathing was heavy, and his eyes were downcast.
“Describe her.” Rachel leaned forward in her chair.
“Brunette with blue eyes. She was dressed in leather,” James whispered.
“Do you remember anything else?”
James shook his head.
“James, you need to tell me everything.”
“She killed a man.” James’s voice was trembling. “She killed him in front of me.” He could feel tears coming to his eyes.
“Who did she kill?”
“The man who took me from my father.”
Rachel could see the pain in James’s eyes. “James, tell me the rest. I know there is more, I can see it in your eyes. You need to get it out.” Her tone was soft and gentle.
James wiped a tear from his eye. He looked up, his green eyes locked on Rachel. “And then she killed herself.”
Rachel felt her heart drop. She had not thought the situation was this severe. Rachel was in shock. “How old were you?”
James’s eyes never lost contact, “Four.”
She took a deep breath, “Do you think she was really your mother?”
James averted his eyes to the floor. “I don’t know.”
Rachel stretched out her hand with the teddy bear toward James, “You're keeping this because you don’t know if it was from her, aren't you?”
James looked up to see her outstretched hand. He reached out and took the bear. He shrugged his shoulders as he stared at the bear in his hands.
Rachel knew she would get nothing more out of James. “Okay, you can go,” she said, standing up and moving to the door.
James slowly stood up and made eye contact with Rachel. He was furious she had taken it and forced him to tell her his past to get it back. He quickly moved past Rachel, out of her office and out of the building.
Chapter
7
James didn’t want to return to the dorms, but didn’t know where else to go. His emotions were running high. He ran out to the training field, still clutching the bear in his hands. He made his way to the tree line and collapsed next to a large oak tree. James was fighting back tears. He hated talking about all of it. There was a part of him that wanted to believe she was his mother and that what she had said to him that day was true, that she loved him and wished she could be with him. The other part of him wished it wasn’t her and that his mother was still out there looking for him and that he would get to meet her one day. He had longed for a mother since he had never had a mother figure growing up. His father’s women would come and go. They were always nice to him, give him candy and tell him he was cute, but his father never kept any around long enough for him to attach to. James dropped his head back, resting it against the tree.
James heard footsteps approaching. He turned to look; it was Franchesca.
“Are you okay?” she asked him as she approached.
James straightened himself up, “Yes.”
“I saw you running from the admin building, are you sure?”
“I’m fine. I’m fine.” James replied, trying to hide the bear behind his back. “I thought you were in class?”
“We got done early. I saw you from the classroom. What happened? What are you trying to hide behind your back?”
“Chessy, trust me, you don’t want to know. It’s better that you nor anyone else know. Why do you care anyway?”
“Hey, I just saw you looked upset and wanted to make sure you were okay. I know what happened between you and Elliot. If you don’t want to talk about it, fine, I will leave you alone.” Chessy said as she turned to walk away.
James wanted to ask her to stay, but couldn’t. He just watched her walk away. James pulled the bear out from behind him and looked at it, he felt tears again. He wiped them away and buried his head in his hands.
James sat there for an hour before Greg found him.
“Hey man, you need to come back in. It’s dinner time, and it doesn’t look terrible.”
James lifted his head to make eye contact with Greg. Greg could see his red eyes.
He sat down next to James. “I don’t know what's going on or why you are so upset, but I can tell you this. They can only get to you if you let them. My granny always used to say, ‘Something in the milk ain’t clean.’ She always knew when something wasn’t right, and right now, I know something isn’t right here.”
James could feel the bear against his back and pushed back into it to try to hide it further, but knew it was pointless. He pulled it out and held it in his hands.
“You have to make a decision. Do you want to stay here and find out, or do you want out?”
James just stared at the bear, he averted his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Greg.
“You don’t look like the type to run,” Greg smiled.
James felt a slight smile come to his face.
“Come on, let’s go. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about the bear and I won’t ask about it either. If you wanna talk, I’m here, and if trouble comes your way, I got your back,” Greg said, patting James on the back.
James finally looked up, “They want to know about my mother.”
“Seems like an odd thing to be worried about. Who was she?”
“I don’t know. That’s the problem.”
Greg could tell he was pushing a sensitive topic. “Hey, don’t dwell on it, we will figure this out, but seriously, I'm starvin’ here. Let’s go eat.” Greg stood up and reached out his hand for James.
James took it and stood up. He brushed himself off and followed Greg back to the dorms. James’s mind was wandering back and forth from his past to his present. He shook his head as he walked. He needed to focus on the present and on his future. He wasn’t going to let his past define him.
Chapter
8
Rachel knew she had to report what James had said, not only to her boss in the CIA, but also to her outside employer. She sat in her office the entire afternoon trying to decide who to tell first. This was more involved than she thought. This boy had been through a real trauma. Rachel never got the chance to decide. Ray and John entered her office just before she could get ready to leave.
“We need to know what happened today with James,” Ray asked as he took a seat on the couch.
Rachel took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.
“Rachel, seriously, he almost hurt another candidate,” John added.
“The boy is traumatized. He witnessed a murder and a suicide at four years old.”
John leaned forward in his chair. “Is he fit to continue?”
Rachel thought for a minute, “Yes, but he needs to be monitored closely.”
“I will have to take this up to the top, the President needs to know about this.” Ray said, standing up and walking out the room.
John just looked at Rachel as Ray exited. “You are lying and I know it. Ray may believe you, but I don’t.”
Rachel took
a deep breath.
John continued, “He is unstable, and you lied to cover for him. Why?”
“He’s a good kid, he deserves a chance,” Rachel replied as convincingly as she could.
“Let’s hope for your sake and the rest of the candidates' that your faith in him is worth it,” John said as he got up and left the room.
Rachel dropped her head to her desk. “What have I gotten myself into?” she wondered. She heard her phone vibrating on the desk, glanced up and looked at it to see who was calling. Looking at the phone, she put her head back down, it was her other employer. She knew what they wanted, and she knew where she had to go. Her arm extended, and she answered her phone. “Yes, sir, I am on my way.” She hit ‘end’ and dropped her phone into her red purse, which she picked up off the floor next to her desk. She made her way out of her office and past Ray’s office as she left the building.
Ray saw her leave and glanced back to John who was sitting in his office.
“Did she just leave?” John asked, looking toward the door.
“Yes,” Ray replied.
“She is hiding something. I don’t think she told us everything about the boy.”
“I agree, but I am not going to push it. As of right now, we have orders from the top to have him here. Until I have actual proof he is a danger, I will follow my orders.”
John rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t want to see any of these kids get hurt. I feel like we are not getting all the information from the top.”
“It’s the CIA. Why are you surprised we are missing information? We have orders: train the candidates and get them ready for their mission. Let’s just stick to what we do best and what we know,” Ray said, picking up his pen and working on his papers.
“Okay, fine, so why do they go in for blood work tomorrow?” John questioned.
“We have orders, just make sure they are there for it.”
“Okay, okay, okay, but something is off, I just know it,” John said, standing up and walking from the office.
James (Teumessian Trilogy Book 2) Page 3
