Immaculate Spirit c1-242

by Newbiel

  Chapter 35: :

  Manhattan, New York. 20:42.

  Nathaniel Lyndon was currently sitting on the couch of his grandparents home. He never came here before and was shocked to see the huge penthouse apartment. He didn't even want to know how much it cost to live there and they lived rarely here to begin with. The apartment was there to throw a party or when his grandfather did not have the time to go back to the Hampton and needed to sleep. The penthouse had five rooms, three bathrooms and it had a view on Central Park. What made Nathaniel happy to no end was that there was a grand piano in the living room.

  Their own appartement was considered tiny beside this one and they did not have the room to have a piano. He was obligated to play on an electronic clavier to compose which was not ideal but bearable. Thinking about it, Nathaniel could not help to slap himself internaty. He was starting to get used to luxury and that was bad. Maybe living in university housing for college could do him some good. He didn't think about it before but now that perspective held merit.

  He starts thinking back to everything that happened today and a hard smile appears on his handsome face. Finding the hiding place of Droski was surprisingly easy, he thought. With the information that he had when looking through the files with his mother the day before, he already had a strong understanding of the working structure of this organisation. He just had to follow his lieutenant and it led him straight to his hiding place.

  Well that was not that easy considering that his lieutenant was rather smart and had some technique to dodge people tailing him like changing cars or making rounds to spot people following him. Basic techniques like that could work on cops but against him, that was wholly ineffective. Marc had CIA training and longtime experience in tracking the most infamous people on this planet.

  Once the building was located, he stopped by a few clothing stores to buy low quality clothing that he used on the raid. He spotted the back alley camera at first sight and wanted to make a show for them. He then strap towels against his arm, shoulder and leg to appear fatter and lower his gravity center to appear shorter. The fake limping after that was only the cherry on top of the gigantic present that formed the whole raid. He knew full well that the biometric scanner was too expensive for the police department but he didn't want to take any chance, especially when his family was on the line.

  He then came back here dodging every CCTV camera in the city and gave the clothes that he bought to three different charities on the way there, always useful to score good karma points he thought with humor. Like that if anyone checked on the camera of the building, they would only see that he did not exit the penthouse for the entire day. And if the camera was not enough as a proof, the undercover cop in the lobby would be a nice addition. As of now, he knew that he sent enough mixed up signals that no one would look at him and even imagine that he could be the one who did it.

  Right now he was still playing with his deck of card, learning magic tricks. He kinda liked it, the magic was simple enough when you understood the lining of the trick. Magic was all about deception, intelligence and quick hands motion. Luckily he had all three so things were progressing smoothly albeit slowly. He found out that the hands were faster than the eyes so he could imagine a few nice things that he could do in his daily life with this. As he was thinking, he was busy turning a card between his fingers, the only twist was that at each turn, the card would change its appearance.

  In a chair not far from him, his grandmother was looking at him with a sly smile. She did not have a clue at how he did that and each time that she asked, he would repeat the same thing. 'Magicians do not reveal their tricks!'. She went here this morning the second that she heard what happened last night. At first when she learned what happened she was shocked and scared. She loved her only grandson, something fierce and didn't want him hurt. She was then released to learn that he was alright and surprised when they told her that he took care of the five thugs alone.

  She could not help to be proud of him and at the same time proud of herself. Since he was her grandson, he was destined to be exceptional, there was no question about it in her mind. She knew she was biased but she did not care. She did not care either to learn how he was that proficient in everything he did, the only thing that mattered was that he was. Since they learn that the men who launched the attack were arrested, her husband and Jean had to leave to put pressure on everyone they knew and that had influence to make sure they stay in jail for life.

  Thinking about it, the eyes of Diane turn cold. That bastard wanted to take away her grandson! That was something that nothing in the world could be excused. She learned that the men in question had power and money but so did they and she would not be satisfied until he ended up dead of wishing he was. So what if you are ruthless and you have money? I have more than either of those than you. I will make you regret just hearing about us. Diane was a doting mother and grandmother but she could be even more ruthless than her husband when someone touched her family.

  Mary was there too but was on the phone still busy working. They were waiting for Robert and Karine to come back to eat together. The peacefulness of the living room was interrupted again with a ringing phone. Looking at his phone and the caller ID, Nathaniel made a little smile.

  "Hello sunshine."

  "Are you alright?" Answer Maggie with a little worry in her voice.

  "Yes, of course. Why?"

  "One of the news sites made the link between you and the attack on the prosecutor's home last night. A few of them reported that you were hurt in the attack." She answered visibly relieved.

  "No I was not, our security stopped them before that. Besides the fear and the sleep deprivation I'm fine." He reassured her.

  "You could have told me! I'm your agent! I wanted to learn that from you and not from a news reporter who wants to make a story." She shouted, resentfully.

  "I'm sorry Maggie. Things got out of hand here and I didn't have the time to think about it." He responded sheepishly. That was true that he didn't think about it, he had a little of a hard time remembering that now that he was a semi-public person, people depend on him and people thought about him.

  "I understand don't worry. How is everyone at home?"

  "Good considering."

  "I heard that they caught the bastard who did it."

  "Yeah, when someone attacks law enforcement, it's basically all hands on deck. It's only magnified when the press is involved." He explained with a bitter smile.

  "I'm not surprised. They say that they were dirty cops involved in the affair too."

  "Sadly it's true. Okay Maggie, I need to get going, let's see each other tomorrow ok? I will send you the address."

  "Fine by me. bye."

  "Bye Maggie." He said.

  He just hung up when his phone rang again and this time it was Taylor. He passed the next ten minutes reassuring her that everything was fine. Once that was done, he posted something on twitter saying that he was right and hoped that would suffice to end the rumors of him being injured. He would need to learn to deal with the press. After everything was done, he went back to the living room. He had exited the room to not disturb his grandmother. When he got back to the living room he was glad to see that everyone was there and seemed to wait for him.

  "Hi mom, hi grandpa" He said tentatively. He could sense that something weird was going on with the dynamics of the group.

  "Hi sweetie. Can you please sit? We need to talk." Said Karine with a reassuring smile.

  "It's this an intervention? You know that I don't drink, smoke or do drugs right?" He said with humor, sitting down.

  "We know sweetie. This is not about that." Mary said with a smile.

  "We want to know who trained you and when?" Said his grandfather, cutting to the chase.

  "Trained me?" Nathaniel asked, he understood right away what they wanted to know.

  "Don't play coy with me, you know what I'm talking about. You were combat train, I want to know when and by who."


  "The only people who trained me for combat were Jean and Amal, grandpa. Nobody else." He answered truthfully.

  "Bullshit!" He explodes.

  "Father! Robert!" Immediately Mary and Diane rebuked him.

  "Listen sweetie, I'm your mother, I know when you hide things from me. We talked about it and between what happened previously and what happened last night, that does not add up. You have skills that you should not have. You kick these guys down without even a single mark on you. This is not normal." Karine explain.

  "Maybe I was lucky?" He tried with a little smile.

  "You threw a kitchen knife who wasn't weight properly in total obscurity at five feet away with enough force to get through a phone and someone's hand. There is no luck involved in that, and don't even get me started on today's event, I saw the video."

  "Listen guys, I know that you are worried because you care about me and I love you for it but I'm telling you the truth. No, nobody trained me. I don't belong to any known or unknown organisation. The only people that know what I can do are in this room. I have these skills for an entirely different reason and truthfully I have difficulty wrapping my head around it. If you really want to know, I will tell you but I will like it better if you don't ask about it. Can you just trust me with my own secret?" He said pitifully. That was a hard conversation. He didn't want them to know but he didn't want to lie to them. They were his blood after all.

  Looking at the face of his family, he could see that Mary and Diane were willing to let it go. Karine was still worried but she knew better than anyone else that everyone deserved to have secrets.

  "Whatever you can do, you are still my sweet baby. If you want to keep that part to yourself, I will let you be." Mary said with a loving smile.

  "You have my vote" Said Diane simply, ruffling his hair. She was no stranger to keeping secrets.

  "Since you were born, you always had a strong moral compass. Will you tell me someday?"

  "Of course mom, I swear it." He promised.

  "Good for me then." Karine said smiling.

  With an unspoken signal, they all turned to Robert who seemed disgruntled to be the only one who had a problem with that.

  "What if I don't agree with that?" He said with a bit of a temper.

  "I would have thought that you would be the first to understand that everyone has a right to keep secrets. I presumed you have more than a few that you don't want us to find out."

  "With your skills, I would think that it will be easy for you to find out. Why did you not look into me?" He responded with hostility.

  "Truthfully? I was afraid that I would find something that would not sit right with me and after that I would not like you very much as a grandfather. I live a majority of my life without knowing you, I would prefer not going back to that time." He answered with sincerity.

  The anger seemed to flee from his face and be replaced with worry. The truth was that his grandson was right, over the years he did things that he was not proud of. He did not have a doubt in his mind that his grandson could really dig up skeletons out of his closet regarding how well he had hidden them. The stare that his wife threw at him in that moment could melt iron, she too knew very well that they were not saints. If something that he said or did could cut off the bridge with his only grandson, he knew that she would never forgive him. Hell, he would never forgive himself if that happened.

  "Okay you win Nathaniel. I will allow it." He sighed.

  "Grandpa, you can't allow or disallow anything that I do or say. I'm not one of your mens or one of your employees. You can't control me or order me around like you do with them. I know that you are wealthy, powerful and influential but bad news for you, everyone of those things don't hold any importance for me. I'm still technically a minor so my moms can do it but you can't. You can however advise me, tell me about you and your life. Teach me about what you have experienced in your life to help me avoid mistakes. Those are the things that i expect and want from you."

  Hearing that, Robert was frowning fiercely, seemingly thinking about what Nathaniel had said. Nathaniel was giving him some hard truth and Robert could react violently but it needed to be said. He already had two overprotective mothers, he didn't need a bossy grandfather with that. He appears to have made his mind and got to his feet.

  "I will think about it. Let's go eat now." He said before leaving.

  Seeing the smile of the women around him, he gave a little laugh before fist bumping with Karine.

  Chapter 36: :

  Manhattan, New York, 22:14.

  After dinner, the mood was much more relaxed. Robert and Diane were busy talking to each other quietly while Nathaniel was being rebuked by his mother.

  "That backflip was really necessary sweetie, I mean, really?" Karine said exasperated.

  "Believe me mom, that was the safest way to approach them. It was also the coolest and one of the best ways to scramble the evidence." Nathaniel said with a laugh.

  "Do I want to know?" Ask Mary, her eyes furrowed.

  "Believe me love, you don't." Answer karine, kissing her. "And for you young man, I don't want to see you around my office for the next six month! And no more emails either. The information was really helpful but I don't want my son to become a vigilante." She said sternly.

  "Mom, do you remember the story that you told me when I was ten?" He said with a bitter smile.

  "What story? I read you a lot of them over the years." She asks, her interest picked.

  "First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

  Because I was not a socialist.

  Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

  Because I was not a trade unionist.

  Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

  Because I was not a Jew.

  Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

  "You always told me that the only chance for evil to win is if the good people do nothing. I don't want to see evil winning."

  "I hate it when you use my own word against me." She said bitterly.

  "I know that you are worried and want to make sure I am safe. I will not go solve every crime that happens in the city if that makes you feel better, that's not my job. But if I'm seeing people who need help or if someone is in danger, I would act."

  "That's why we loved you sweetie, you always had a pure heart." Say Mary hugging him, tears threatening to spill.

  "And here I thought that you loved me because I am your son." He said cheekily.

  "Shush you, be good." Mary said while tapping him lightly on the head.

  "Aie! Child services, please help!" Nathaniel shouted, massing excessively his head in fake pain. He then started running when his mother wanted to hit him again while laughing.

  Looking at the two having fun, Karine flashes a loving smile. They have their up and down but she was glad that she had a loving family and especially a good son and wife. People always say that teenagers were a pain but that does not seem to be the same with her son even if he was difficult to manage in his own way. Other teenagers were sniffing glue at his age, hers was fighting crime. She couldn't decide at that moment what was worse.

  "We need to talk." Karine said seriously.

  "What is it mom?" Nathaniel asks.

  "What's going on love?" Mary asks, disentangling herself from her son when she has caught up to him.

  "We need to find a new apartment. I was talking about it earlier with the commissioner and the maire. Now that it is leaked, there is no putting back the genie into the lampe." Her eyes dimmed a little bit when saying it.

  "Oh" Mary said with sadness.

  That was the appartement where they got married and as such hold special value to them. It was in that appartement that her son came back from the dead. They had lived there for the last three years and loved it. Both of them were really sad to give it up.

  "I know love, I don't like it either. The mayor and the c
ommissioner both express their intentions to help us find something fast. We have a week to find our new home for security reasons. Past that time, the information about our address could not be guaranteed."

  "A week to find a new apartment in New York? That's crazy." Mary exclaimed. The last time that they had to move, they needed two and a half months and it was with help.

  "And what happens if another corrupt cop divulges our new address? We will have to find another house?" Mary was incensed, she loved her current home and did not want to give it up.

  "I was told by the NYPD and the Mayor office that they will take steps to make sure that this will not happen again."

  "Yeah right. Like I would trust them." Mary said with a huff.

  "Mary, I don't like it either but we have little choice in the matter. We can't continue living in a place that the russian mob knows about." Said Karine, feeling sorry.

  During the entire exchange, Nathaniel kept quiet. For starters, he didn't have much emotional attachment to the apartment like they do. He wanted to say that he would make sure that their next address was safe but he was on thin ice as it is. That would not stop him from taking measure to protect his family, he would just have to do it quietly. He already had a few ideas in mind that made him smile. He hurriedly killed that smile from his face when his two mothers looked at him at the same time. He could not help to shudder. A Mother's instinct is a very scary thing.

  "What are you thinking about Nathaniel?" Ask Karine suspiciously.

  "I understand your emotional attachment but I do not have it personally. I just want you two to be safe and if moving is the answer to that, it is a no brainer. " He said simply, shrugging.

  "We have the same perspective on this matter." says Robert, coming along with Diane. Their private conversation seems to be over.

  "We were talking about your problem and we made a decision. You see this penthouse is barely used anymore except when your grandfather and I need to sleep in the city. We would like to give it to you."