Sierra and I flipped up our goggles and dove into the room, aiming our weapons in various directions through the smoke. Fingers perched on our triggers, we were ready to engage at a moment’s notice. But once our commotion subsided, the ambiance of the room returned and it became obvious that the room had no hostiles in it. To be sure, we waited the few seconds it took for our eyes to adjust to the light and for the smoke to dissipate. Then we saw everything, and I was forever changed.
I shook my head because it was too painful to finish the memory and I needed to focus on the job at hand to fulfill my duties to the Padre.
I continued following the floor LEDs to the largest room in the building where the Padre stood near a table in the far corner. I made my way toward him, noticing the warehouse had gone to hell since our last job there. The lantern on the table cast odd shadows over evidence that squatters had vandalized everything left of the warehouse. You almost wondered if the yuppies taking over the neighborhood welcomed the buildings becoming dilapidated and condemned so they could justify the “redevelopment” that destroyed any remanence of industry. They would undoubtedly replace the building with more overpriced espresso shops where people with too much time and money congregated to agree with each other too much on too many things. Pretension aside, those places never made much sense to me since my go-to morning drink was simply coffee with cream and sugar.
“How’s the car, Charlie?”
“We’re good, boss. Do you need me to wear my piece up front?”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
We waited in silence for the next twenty minutes until the sounds of someone entering through the rear entrance could be heard. There had to be a few people because the rumbling of several footsteps didn’t stop for a couple of moments. They weren’t very subtle, that was for sure.
With my eyes focused on the door they would come through, I was slightly taken aback when two large, dark figures entered followed by a smaller one. As they got closer, I could make out the silhouettes of two shockingly enormous men. The other figure was holding something. Once in the light, I could see two bodyguards wearing military-grade vests and jackets while the man behind them was well groomed in a nice black suit and holding a briefcase.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” His Portuguese accent was distinct, but his English was just fine.
“Good evening to you, sirs.”
“I am in the market for a restored Cessna 172. Do you happen to know where I can find one? I am willing to pay top dollar for it if it has been properly restored and is accompanied by a capable pilot.”
The Padre inhaled deeply, then went through the motions. “Please forgive me, but I only have a restored Cessna 182. I do have a capable pilot. Would you like to see the aircraft to ensure it is to your liking?”
“Yes, I would. Is the aircraft available here and now to see?”
“It is. Do you have a valid ID and something of value for us to keep as a show of good faith?”
“Most certainly.” The man placed his briefcase onto the table, retrieved a netphone from his inner coat pocket, swiped it a couple of times, and tapped it twice. The case clicked open and the man turned it around to us.
The Padre skipped his customary visual scan and went right for his netphone. Scanning quickly, he seemed pleased with the results, and he placed the phone back into his pocket, closed the case, and moved it to the floor next to him.
“Much appreciated for having sufficient collateral. Allow me to provide you a preview of the aircraft so that you can properly assess it. I promise that you will be pleased.”
The Padre placed the product case gently on the table and opened it. I used to be neutral to the sound of the case opening, but it now filled me with despair. As usual, the case was turned toward the buyers before I had a chance to glance at the product, but I was fairly certain I knew what it was. The smaller man driving the transaction moved closer to the table to get a better look at the contents. Like every other buyer, his eyes darted back and forth almost like he was reading something, and like clockwork, a grin crept across his face. The man had a pleasant look about him, but his smile seemed more maniacal than anything.
“This aircraft is more than satisfactory. I will have the mechanics at my hanger do the final diagnostic on it, but I do not have any concerns right now.”
“Thank you, sir. And in terms of a pilot, please pardon our inability to find a qualified one within the time frame we were given. Therefore, I would like to provide my assistant to you as a show of good faith while we locate an appropriate pilot for you.”
I had been holding a sharp gaze on the buyers until the Padre finished that last sentence. Awestruck, I turned to the Padre, back to the buyers, and then back to the Padre.
“Please excuse me while I give my assistant some final instructions.”
The Padre gestured me back a few feet and leaned in to whisper with a look of certainty on his face. “You quit when I say you quit. You’re going to provide protection to our clients for a few days while we sort out the last parts of the deal. Do a good job, and maybe we’ll talk about you being done when you get back. Maybe.”
I was welling up with equal parts anger and fear as the Padre spoke. There was no way in hell I was going with any of our clients, and sure as hell not on the night I was trying to quit. For him to set me up without even so much as a discussion meant I could never trust him again. At that moment, it became quite clear what I needed to do even if it was going to be one of the craziest things I had ever done in my life.
With the utmost confidence, I whispered back, “No.”
The Padre squinted at me, seeming legitimately confused. Then he scowled. “Excuse me?” Anger seeped through his teeth.
“I’m not going with them.”
Clearly frustrated, the Padre dug into me. “I’ll pardon your momentary lapse in judgment as stress-related, but it’s for your own good that you go with the buyers. Show me up on this job, and you’re not going to like what comes next.”
What comes next? What the hell did that mean? Are my worst fears were coming true? My family had suffered enough through no fault of my own, and it seemed like I was putting a target on their back if I didn’t keep working for the Padre. But something inside of me said that if I didn’t end it that night, it never would end, so I stayed firm.
“No.”
His intense stare into my soul broke as he moved back up to the table with a customer-service grin on his face. “Gentlemen, my apologies, but please excuse us while we finalize some details. Please take the product with you and wait by the door in the rear. I’ll be sending my assistant with you shortly.”
Obviously annoyed, the neatly dressed man shot back, “Sir, I will remind you that we are on a strict time schedule and only have a few minutes to spare. Please send your assistant to us quickly so that we may get back on the road to our next engagement.”
One of the massive men in front slammed the bulky briefcase closed and effortlessly lifted it from the table. They wandered back to the hallway, and then it was just the Padre and me. I turned back to the Padre, but instead found myself looking down the long metal barrel of his hand cannon.
Click!
The chilling sound of the hammer lifting up shook me to my core.
“When you signed on for this job, I told you that you’d have to do things that you might not like. You agreed to those terms. Now, I know you saw the product on the other job, and all of a sudden, you want out. Did you think we were saints? That’s not how the world works. I didn’t want to tell you this, but I know your family has spotted lung. I know they don’t have much time. If you want to see them for as long as they have, you’ll do as you’re told. Oh, and just so you know, one man’s disease is another man’s fortune. Where do you think we get our products from?”
My rage boiled over. “No!”
In a sin
gle motion, I knocked the gun from the Padre’s hand and decked him in the eye with everything I had. As a mountain of a man, he barely moved from the hit but was clearly dazed. I pulled my 9mm from my waistband, but even in his stunned state, he was able to knock it from my hand and push me away. I gathered myself enough to kick him in the gut, staggering him, and then I took the opportunity to get another hard hit to the same eye. Blood spurted onto my coat, and he toppled over. It was time to run like hell. With the back exit blocked by the client, I needed to leave out the front door, so bolted the forty feet in that direction.
“You get your ass back here or you’re dead! You and your family are dead! You hear me, Charlie!”
The warehouse was filled with his echoes as I grabbed the door handle. Opening the rusty door, the morning’s sun flooded the building, and I looked back momentarily to see the Padre pulling out his netphone, likely to call for backup. Not watching my step, I landed in a massive hole in the concrete stairs, fell two feet, rolled my left ankle hard, and then, face planted onto the sidewalk. Struggling to stay conscious, I could hear the door shutting behind me, and as it did, images of Sarah and the kids popped into my head. In that moment, I could only muster one thought.
I’m sorry.
Chapter 14:
One Last Cry for Help
“I’m sorry. I know this isn’t easy for you, but I think it’s the only way we’re both going to be able to move on.” I truly believed it.
Mom looked up at me, her eyes welling with tears. “Honey, what if something happens? What if you need me?”
I shook my head. “Mom, I’m looking at apartments just in the city limits. It’s a thirty-minute drive on the speedway, or if I need to get out this way, I can take the bullet and be here in about the same time.”
“I know, but the last twenty-two years of my life were spent taking care of you. It’s really all I know at this point.”
“And that’s precisely why I think it would be best if we make a clean break. It’ll be jarring at first, but we will live and learn. You should travel. Or you could even go on a date!”
Her red eyes opened wide, and she sighed. “Oh, Ryan. Everything’s just changing so quickly. I was scared half to death when I heard someone entering the shower this morning, and then I realized it was you. Maybe I should talk to someone about it.”
“You can always talk to me. But you’re right. Sometimes talking to professionals is helpful.”
I put the starfruit juice in the refrigerator and the bread in the pantry, finishing up with the groceries I’d just carried in the house for her, another first.
“It will be okay, Mom. You have always deserved a life beyond just taking care of me, and it’s time for you to have it. Let me know if you need anything else, Mom.”
I had about a half hour before Helen was meeting me to go to the Cameron Walsh speech, so I decided to go to my room for a bit. Walking toward the stairs, I paused at the lift that had taken Auto and me up and down so many times. I had done that just about every time I found myself needing to take the stairs since coming home. It really highlighted how I had a whole new perspective and feeling of genuine control of where and when I moved. That was becoming the norm for me, and to my delight, it was getting more and more difficult to remember finer details of just how disabled I had been. Still, the many memories would be with me forever.
The worst was when I had forgotten to fully charge Auto. Getting stranded anywhere was no fun, but it was especially bad in the city. There had to have been hundreds of people passing me, all staring as they’d walked the three feet of pavement around me. Worse yet had been the kind souls who thought I was homeless and had put physical credits in my lap. It probably made me a bad person, but I’d never stopped them to give the credits back. Regardless, my mom had been used to dropping everything to come to my rescue. More than anything, I was glad those days were over. On the contrary, I could come to the aid of others if they got stranded.
Focusing back on the stairs, I deliberately took each step with care, feeling every inch of contact between my feet and the wood. Making sure to plant my heels hard, I used my powerful hips and quads to propel me up and forward. I had no use for the railing since I wanted to do it all with my legs. At the top of the stairs, I walked down the hallway to my bedroom on the right and headed for my desk. Placing my netphone down, I pressed two buttons to bring up the holograms of the apartment advertisements I had flagged. I flipped through them, trying to decide the best one for me.
There was one unit that stuck out above all the rest. It was a large space—three bedrooms—and it even had a balcony. The building was older, but to me that meant it had more personality and a sort of nostalgia by proxy. I was compelled to apply for the place in that moment and sent a message to the building manager.
After I hit submit, I swiped through my netphone and stumbled upon the journal app I hadn’t opened since recovery. The dreams hadn’t stopped, but I felt like I was doing a good job of ignoring them per Tony’s advice. But part of me was curious about what I would find if I searched for works of fiction that had a character named Charlie. If I found anything even remotely similar to my dreams, I would be able to put them to rest. And so, I did some quick searches: books, movies, plays, video games.
The whole process reminded me of when I had first gotten Auto, and to celebrate my new automated mobility, my mother had put together a scavenger hunt. She gave me a map of the neighborhood with clues on it, and I had to figure out what and where the items were. It was the most fun I had ever had as a child, and I’d really appreciated my mom for taking the time to put it all together. After two days of looking, I’d begun to see the logic in the items she’d chosen and the places where she’d hidden them. I had been looking in an area for an extended period of time, and then realized that I was looking for the wrong thing in the wrong place. That was the feeling I was having about the search for Charlie. I was pretty sure I was looking in the wrong place, and that feeling was validated by the lack of meaningful results. Then my research was interrupted in the most pleasant way.
“Hey there, tall, dark, and handsome!”
Ready to joke back, I turned around but found myself speechless.
Helen, in all her glory, was standing in my doorway. My mind was as paralyzed as my legs had been my entire life. I had made it a point in my life never to objectify people or reduce them to their parts like so many people had done to me and my shriveled legs while I sat in Auto, but this woman’s long legs, creamy skin, and light brunette hair came together into one hell of an attractive person. Her tight jeans, white blouse, and leather jacket all emphasized her curvy figure, and in my stupor, all I could do was mutter.
“Holy cow.”
Quick as always, she rebutted. “Now, Ryan. It’s not nice to call a woman a cow.”
“No, it’s just…that…you’re…you…you’re standing. Walking. And you’re here. In my house. We always talked about hanging out more, but it’s nice that we’re finally able to do it. With legs! Holy shit!” I thought it was a nice save.
“Right. Well, it’s nice to see you too.”
I motioned for her to enter my room. “Yes! Come in. Have a seat. If you want. I don’t sit much these days. But you can if you like.”
“I’m good with standing.”
“So how were the last parts of your procedure? Did you fall off the balance beams like me? I did at least a dozen times.”
She scowled. “Yes, it was rough, but I got through it. Like I thought, it wasn’t nearly as hard as the dark times right after migrating.”
“Agreed.”
“How’s life been at home?”
“Good! Mom’s adjusting slowly, but she’ll come around. I haven’t really let loose by running or sprinting yet, but it’s definitely on my to-do list.”
Helen glanced at the hologram on the desk and moved next to me for a closer
look. I could almost feel her beauty emanating from her, and she had the most intoxicating fragrance on.
Pointing to my search result, she said, “So, what’s this?”
“Oh, this. It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.”
I figured I could share my situation with her since she had completed her migration. “If you remember I had asked you about having strange dreams or memories that didn’t seem like your own? Well, I am still having those, and I was just trying to do some research to make sense of them.”
She nodded. “Oh. Smart. Find anything interesting?”
“Nothing yet, but I’ll keep looking. I made it one of my new life goals. Had to do something to fill the emptiness left by getting legs, as strange as that sounds.”
“Not strange at all. I had the same feeling when I was leaving ADG. So, I decided I want to complete a triathlon! I’m sure the running and biking will be fine, but the real hurdle for me is getting back into the water for the first time since the accident.”
“Wow. That’s awesome. You’ve got me beat. The only other thing I have planned is to get an apartment.”
“Yeah, I feel like I have handled the whole procedure pretty well. All that hard work really did pay off. That said, I know the speech is important to you and all, but I have to admit that I’m not really looking forward to going back to ADG tonight. Part of me just wants to—”
“Move on?” I couldn’t help but interrupt.
Then we turned to face other, meeting only inches from each other’s face, and I looked deeply into her gorgeous brown eyes as she batted them.
“Yeah. You too, Ry?”
As taken as I was by her, I didn’t miss a beat. “Definitely. But another part of me sees it as the horse that I need to get back on. You know, to fully move on.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Man, it sure is nice having someone who can relate during recovery. I’m not sure if I could have gotten through it so well without thinking about you the whole time.” She smiled.
Between Two Minds: Awakening Page 16
