Entrapped

06 The escape

Chloe doesn't want to prolong the tension of uncertainty any more. She musters all her courage and asks pertinently: "Is it you or you and your comrades that poisoned our parents?"

An ice-cold hand clamps her heart when he confirms her suspicion. "It was an eye for an eye; sweet revenge for the grief that Tony and Hunter inflicted on our family."

"Who are you and what did Tony and Hunter do to you?"

"It's only me and my brother left. Tony murdered our mother and Hunter our father. We have already dealt with Tony and now it is Hunter's turn."

"I don't understand, you are accusing Tony and Hunter, then why kill my mother? What did she do to you?"

"Tony murdered my mother here in South Africa, while our father was overseas. He had to hide and flee for his life and had to mourn his wife for a whole year before Hunter found him and murdered him. We paid Tony back by letting him mourn his wife for a year precisely before we dealt with him. That's an eye for an eye, you see."

"It doesn't make sense, I know Tony and Hunter and they are not murderers. They are only ex-soldiers. Tony left the army after they got the medallions for bravery from PW Botha for Operation Coolidge. He came back to farm full time. I'm sorry, I don't buy your story."

"Chloe, before your birth Toy and Hunter were in the secret service of the previous government. You wouldn't know that Tony left the farm from time to time on special missions for the government. They did the dirty work. That's exactly those medallions that made them loyal confidants of the government. Our parents were also part of the secret service and wanted to expose secret documents about the government's illicit deeds as soon as the new government came into power. Hunter and Tony were part of a special murder squad that secretly had to get rid of so-called loose links in a 'cleaning up' operation. They had to ensure that atrocities of the previous government never come to light. Tony had the order to eliminate our mother, which he did. Our father was overseas and not an easy target. The murder of our mother was the last order Tony fulfilled before he quitted the secret service and came home to farm for good, but Hunter tracked our father and eventually found him and murdered him. My brother and I were left without our parents and swore that we would track their murderers and take revenge."

Chloe now remembers how Tony would impress her with his specialized knowledge of spyware. She also thinks back to the visits Hunter paid them on the farm when she was still a small girl. She could see that there was a special bond between them. Sometimes she quietly sat and listened to their war stories and their ex-comrades. Hunter even acknowledged recently to her that they had blood on their hands and that they were not proud of what they did because they had to eliminate people in different ways as operational soldiers. But they respected each other in that they did the dirty work professionally and later could continue with their lives. Maybe they shared their experiences in the secret service when she was not listening to their conversations, but even then, she simply doesn't want to believe it. What this man said is not impossible and it makes more sense the longer she ponders it.

"You see, Chloe. We are not interested in you or the rest of your family. You must invite Hunter into the room and we will deal with him in payback for what he did to our father. We then will vanish like mist in the sun and you can continue with your lives."

However, what he tells her doesn't make sense at all. Questions simply run through her head. Who then is responsible for what happened to Zoey, Lyle and Quinn; who is responsible for what is going on at her place that forced her to move in with Isaac? Does this man imply that they had nothing to do with any of it? Who then? It could only be them, who else? This must be a bluff, but if so, why? What is their agenda? Why dish these lies up to her? What is really going on? She is back to square one. Tension gnaws at her guts. Her situation even deteriorated with these added puzzles.