Mark of the Two-Edged Sword

by K A Bryant

  A light in the distance. It's an open doorway.

  I'm standing in the sun, in a field. Behind me in the distance, The Vatican wall and my problem with drink. My mind feels new. I didn't expect this.

  My enemy, crazy Wilkes pushing me, led me to someone I would never have encountered, the Cardinal. It feels right. It feels normal that the real me, the whole me came out in this place. I reconnected. It's not hard to get lost in a character played. Play it long enough and it embodies one, like it or not.

  I feel as free as the sunshine on my face but the mission isn't over. '00:01:13'.

  My phone rings. It's Jean. I answer it and speak to and hear her through my ear piece.

  “Did you get her?" I ask looking at my phone.

  "Do you have the drive?"

  "Yes, I do. Do you have her?" I press.

  "Sorry, Caleb. I tried my best. Don't do it, Caleb-" I hang up.

  Wilkes' caravan is approaching from my left in the distance. I am disappointed in her answer. Two things died today. That woman and my trust in Jean.

  "Jean, I was thinking, you're right, he'll probably kill her anyway. I may as well destroy it," I say.

  "Cal! I’m near. I can get you and we finish this mission.” She says.

  I can hear the helicopter coming from behind me.

  "Did you at least get to her?" I say, looking at the device.

  "Yes, yes, but the place is like Fort Knox."

  "Really."

  "You can't trust him! And destroying it won't help. See it through. Give it to me, and we turn it into P.O.T.U.S. together," says Jean.

  "Seems he's not the only one I can't trust." I say.

  The red dot on the tracking device I'm holding in my hand from a tracker I stuck to her shirt when I touched her shoulder in the bathroom shows she never left the area in the chopper. She circled in the distance and came back.

  "Who do you work for, Jean?” I ask her.

  She doesn't answer. Wilkes's is here. The timer "00:00:03" At least twenty of Wilkes’ men exit the vehicles a few yards away. To my right, the other vehicle has stopped and Richard with two armed guards has stepped out. Jean's chopper appears hovering behind me.

  "Answer me Jean! YOU came to ME. You told me you were sent to help me and knew about it all! My contact at the orphanage, everything." I say angrily.

  "Caleb, it's not what you think. We'll talk and sort it out later. Right now, I need that drive."

  "Caleb!" yells Wilkes from a few yards away to my left. "Your time is up."

  I look up at the line swinging a few feet from my grasp. Gretchen gets out of the vehicle on my right.

  "Caleb, I'm MI6," says Jean.

  I feel my jaw drop and I look at the helicopter.

  "I'm not your enemy, Caleb. I'm your sister."

  "GET DOWN!" Jean yells.

  The helicopter raises, but not fast enough. She’s hit! The explosion deafens me and knocks me off my feet. On the ground, I can see pieces of metal hitting the ground around me. I hit that stone wall pretty hard but I've got to see! Did she jump? Did she get out? No. A ball of fire. Nothing. The helicopter is gone.

  "I always keep my promises!" Wilkes yells.

  The debris settles, Wilkes approaches me. One of his goons put the launcher in the back of their truck. The new Ron hands Wilkes the tablet. He starts punching in numbers.

  "Wait!" I throw my hand up and get to my feet.

  My jaw won't release. Jean had to be lying. She had to be. Don't trust anyone. Dad said only give it to someone who doesn't want it. She wanted it. Badly. The tracker showed she never left the area. She was a liar. She could've been lying to get me to trust her again. Too many if's.

  "No! Son, you can't," yells Richard.

  Richard shouldn't be here. It was him in the vehicle that pulled up opposite Wilkes’ truck. Richard's walking toward us. He's got his chest held high like a peacock as if trying to make himself look bigger and more fierce than he really is.

  "Well, well, look who’s come to visit. I thought you would be dead by now," says Wilkes, adjusting his tie approaching Richard.

  They're face to face with each other. Wilkes is smiling.

  "Yes. I won't let you succeed, Wilkes." Says Richard.

  Richard looks resolute. I can tell he's scared. Gretchen walks up behind Richard and puts her hand on his shoulder. He's not made for this. He's made for a sofa in Italy in a cozy villa. Her loose large white linen shirt flaps in the wind and her hair is pulled back and tied with a decorative gold hair clip at the nape of her neck. Her signature palazzo pants barely touch the tops of her black flats. Richard pats her hand.

  "Seems quite the gathering. You do know the only reason I don’t kill you right here and now is because of my promise to your father. He saved my life. I spare yours. Give it to me, now." says Wilkes. “Time to choose, Caleb. We know what they are here for."

  Richard looks at me and I toss the drive to him. He catches it and squeezes it tightly, backing up from Wilkes with Gretchen. His armed men keep their guns focused on Wilkes and his men. He looks scared but relieved. Why are they stopping? Some thing’s not right.

  Wilkes looks too calm. Too content. He's not looking at Richard. Wait, he's looking at... Gretchen.

  How did I miss this? It's her. She's the one. She's the lead scientist Wilkes was talking about! She's the lead scientist Wilkes made a deal with.

  "RICHARD!" I yell to warn him.

  Too late. Gretchen put a small pistol to Richard’s head. Richard stops walking and looks at Gretchen. The pistol now at the center of his forehead.

  “My love?” asks Richard.

  "Let me guess, poor Richard," says Wilkes. "You thought she was yours."

  I can't bear the look in Richard's eyes. The pain. Gretchen pulls the trigger.

  "You chose poorly, Caleb. I might have let him live," says Wilkes.

  Richard's fist is still clenched. Gretchen opens Richards hand and takes the drive, holding it up like a diamond to the sunlight. Nothing. Not a tear, no remorse, nothing.

  "Doctor, so good to see you again," Wilkes says to Gretchen.

  Wilkes extends his hand and she steps over Richard's body. Ultimate insult. The new Ron's gun never left its aim at my head.

  "Let me guess, you thought it was he.” Wilkes, laughing. “Looks the part, doesn't he? Actually, he was one of them, but she, she was the mastermind. She convinced him she loved him and that doing it this way protected her.

  “You see, he stole the other scientists’ data. He bought into the deal. But then, he couldn't live with his decision. He reached out to your father for help. He wanted to do the right thing. The righteous thing. Get the drive and destroy it.

  “Gretchen, the perfect actress. She made him believe she was on board. Find you, find the drive. Kill me. And oh, for love, people will do anything for love." Wilkes kisses Gretchen on the head. "The others didn't trust her, so she brought Richard in. The other scientists trusted Richard with their data," ends Wilkes.

  Gretchen steps toward me. A cold breeze blows between us. I know my fists are clenched and I've never hit a woman but hey, today may be the day.

  "You look puzzled, my dear Caleb," says Gretchen.

  "About this, no. I'm not puzzled. Just wondering how a woman like you got so cold. You murdered Vin, didn't you? You were the only one outside at the time he was killed. You rush inside, hysterical, knowing what Richard would do. No one was after us, were they?"

  "You are a clever one, aren't you? Keep going." She clasps her hands and tilts her head.

  "You play the helpless older couple, I need parents, and boom. You think I'll feel dedicated to help you. A parental piece to my broken puzzle," I say.

  "That's the small scope of things. You don't play well with others and didn't stick to the script. In fact your little emotional crack-up almost wrecked everything.

  Suicide, really! So pathetic. Like a whining baby, you tried to go to pa-pa faster than you should have. You want to know what made me
so tough? Simple, I'll tell you, life. Over-achieving passionate parent. Alcohol, taking to drink. Tell me, do you still feel your stomach knotting for it? You weak man! If we didn't need your services, I would have let you drink yourself to death.

  You want a confession? Okay. Here it is. Vinchenzo's role was done. He played it in perfect innocence because he believed every bit of it. Just like you.

  I designed your memories. Your dreams. Chose your lodgings,” She glances at Wilkes clearly smiling behind his sun glasses, “my choice. I needed you clutching to the bottom of society like a drowning rat. Then, you saw, Rosie."

  I bite down. She shouldn't have said her name.

  "... we dropped you off in front of her house and it did exactly what I needed it to. It snapped your memories to the forefront of your mind and put you on the right course.”

  “Oh, I knew you wouldn't go for her, the children and all," she tosses her hands, "but you still felt for her and that's what I needed you to do. Feel.

  I pull the gun Dread gave me pointing it right at her face. I hear several guns cock. I grab her turning her around using her as a shield. She didn’t even struggle.

  "One question, tell me the truth" I say to her.

  "Let me guess. Did I kill your parents? Poor Caleb. Still looking for closure?"

  "As much as I would like to say yes and see the look on your face when you pull the trigger, I'm sorry to disappoint you. You will just have to keep looking." She says.

  I’m not a murderer. Self defence is one thing, this is another. But, she does deserve it.

  She pulls away, I know I released my grip. My gun is aimed at the back of her head. I want to end this. I pull the trigger.

  I hear the empty click when I pull the trigger. What?

  "Know your subjects," Gretchen says facing me holding up the drive she must have pulled from my pocket.

  She’s a pick-pocket too.

  "I thought that was Dread's gun. I just had to get a tad closer to see for certain. Let me guess. You thought you could trust him. You can trust no one it seems," she says walking to Wilkes.

  I could have grabbed her and snapped her neck, what good would that do? One of Wilkes men would just shoot me here. And, the mission is not over.

  I look at Dread standing in the wings. Policia sirens are blaring around the exploded chopper. They're coming closer. I can see the lights.

  "Good Bye, Caleb. On second thought, I have paid my debt to your father." says Wilkes.

  Dread steps forward, the traitor. He hit me hard. I buckle to my knees. I grasp at the dirt at Gretchen's feet.

  I grab her ankle.

  Dread kicks me in the ribs. I roll to my back and see Wilkes and Gretchen get into their car.

  Wilkes holds his phone up for me to see the live feed of her monitors blinking and beeping. I had a feeling before, but now I'm sure. I see a slight lift in the front of the wig on her head as the woman in the bed twitches as her life escapes her.

  Wilkes needed to think that I was afraid of losing her because what I need from him is more valuable than making him feel foolish for a moment. Think, don't feel. Besides, nothing draws out snakes like the flailing of a wounded rat. So, I flailed for the sake of the greater good.

  I need to know where, when and to whom he is planning to sell this data too. That person, is the biggest enemy to all countries.

  "I will watch you die, slowly," I say to Wilkes.

  "Finish him," Wilkes tells Dread.

  Wilkes steps into the black vehicle with Gretchen and their men. They all drive away passing approaching Vatican Police cars.

  "It's over," says Dread.

  He pulls his handgun. The view is not as comforting staring down this end of the barrel. I step backward. I wonder, is he waiting until Wilkes car is out of sight before we escape? Did he turn? He must be real. All this time. Wilkes’ vehicles are out of sight. Why is he still pointing it at me? I see.

  "Sorry, Caleb. Just doing my job."

  "Me too,"

  A jolt. It's awake. That part of me I hid so well all these drunken years. I step forward. My technique a bit rusty, but now, the gun is mine.

  The Vatican police lights approach. I don't want to kill him but if he lives, he'll never stop hunting me.

  I lower and shake my head as if disappointed side-step toward him, grab his gun, turn his wrist until the gun faces his head. I press his pressure point on his wrist and his own finger pulls the trigger. Dread drops face forward in the dirt. It's done. Had to be done. This is me. I hurry to the vehicle to my right.

  Good. The keys are still in the ignition of Richard and Gretchen's vehicle. It starts and I head up the street toward the town. My ear piece still in, it's time to call him. I know he's been waiting. Watching. He's probably boiling mad at me by now. I haven't seen him since his last visit to the orphanage. He came faithfully. Disguised as a monk therapist to nurse me through my anger issues and help me break my silence.

  It was there, he recruited me. He told me about my father's double deep cover and how my life would be in danger. He had Chen, secretly teach me martial arts in the center of the monastery’s elaborate maze garden. Defence moves, tactics.

  We studied my father's strategic plans that were classified as military top secret. I learned his strategies, how he thought. This was a side of him I never knew.

  He gave me Leo, the liquor store guy who was actually a contact agent. My pretend drink problem was to have me go to the liquor store every night, a form of check in. Leo sees me, as usual and all is well. If I don't show up, or seem off kilter, Leo is supposed to call him. My scene at the liquor store was my signal to Leo. I knew he would act accordingly.

  The toy store owner, poor sap, he was ours too. He was really a toy store owner, and really married to that lady. His job, make sure I was there also. Every night sitting on the curb outside of Central Park.

  I had to ask Wilkes about them because, well, never trust anyone. But, Tony and the toy store owner proved true. After all, I'm still alive. You must truly trust someone when you tell them to hit you with a car.

  Driving in Italy on this narrow street, finally alone. I dial the number I have memorized. It's ringing.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  It rings in Washington D.C.

  "Hello," says Jason.

  I remember that voice.

  "It's me." I say.

  Silence. What is he doing? It sounds like he's walking outside.

  "First, are you safe?" asks Jason.

  "For now. You?" I ask.

  I can hear him stop walking.

  "I hear footsteps behind me," Jason says lowly. "I can't see more than five feet in any direction. This snow. I'm going to my car. By the way, you're wanted for murder."

  "At least it's not for murdering you," I say.

  "Funny. So, you know."

  "I do."

  "I can't clear your name right now without risking this mission."

  “It will clear itself,” I say, “ how are things on your end?”

  “Funny you should ask. It’s gotten complicated. Listen, I know I told you when we first met that your only job was to find the drive and get it to me … but… we’ve got a mole and I don’t know who to trust. Right now, you’re the only one I trust.

  Are you 100%? Suicide, Caleb? You should have called me. Remember, the little gold key. The safe deposit box… the phone was in there all the time. That's what it was for, emergencies."

  "It wasn't real, Jason," I ease his mind.

  "Follow directions. That's what I told you. If you needed help, you had Leo... what did you say?"

  "It wasn't real, Jason. It was Leo driving the taxi. I set it to happen when our guy closed the toy shop to make sure he was outside and could call the ambulance. Check the street cameras, you'll have eyes on everyone who showed up at the scene. Someone knew what hospital I was going to. The Mt. Sainai Hospital explosion was not a terrorist attack.

  “That was you!” Jason says.

  “Wilke
s has those resources. The explosion and manipulation of the press.” I say maneuvering through the narrowing road. He's quiet. He's thinking. That’s good.

  “Leo was derelict in duty. He should have given me a heads up.”

  “I gave him no choice, Jason. He was following orders.”

  “Last time I checked, the orders were supposed to come from me.” Jason grunts.

  “It worked.” I say lightly.

  I can hear him pressing the cars key fob. It doesn't beep.

  “What's wrong with this thing? The batteries must be dead. Great.” says Jason.

  “Hurry up and get out of there, Jason. Something doesn’t feel right.”