The Blacklist (sequel to The Reluctant Spy)

Establishing Trust

"Mom, are there any houses on this street that are vacant?" Nyssa quickly stood up and waited anxiously for an answer.

"Across the street, three doors to the left." Marilyn pointed.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

Nyssa rushed out of the house and ran down the street until she came to the house that Marilyn talked about. There was no time to call for help. Instead, she rushed up the stairs and kicked the door in.

When she entered the house, she was immediately met with a pungent odor of smoke and burning plastic. Nyssa saw smoke trailing into the hallway on the second floor. She ran up the stairs and kicked another door down into a bedroom that was on fire.

There was recording equipment, cameras, even a couple of laptops that were already burning. Nyssa threw a floor rug over some of the equipment in an attempt to save what she could, but it was quickly becoming useless.

The fire began to spread to the walls. The smoke and heat from the fire was becoming too much for Nyssa, so she backed out of the room and ran down the stairs as fast as she could.

She heard a door slam toward the back of the house, so she followed. Two men ran from the house through the back gardens toward another street. A third man had a car waiting for his friends to make their escape.

Nyssa followed them as far as the back door and made a note of the car. It was a silver Ford Taurus. The men wore plain clothes, one was heavy set, and all three had dark hair.

After they drove away, Nyssa heard the sirens of fire engines and made her escape the same way that they did, through the gardens and doubled back to her mother's street.

Nyssa walked into her mother's house smelling like she had been fighting a fire. She met Marilyn at the door with a concerned look on her face.

"You smell of burnt plastic, Nyssa. What happened?" Marilyn asked.

"Oh, there's a fire down the street. The smoke must have drifted," Nyssa said in a raspy voice.

She continued coughing, trying to catch her breath as she walked through the house toward the kitchen. She washed and dried her hands then turned to face her mother.

"Mom, we need to talk about the men who came to the house. It's important."

"Well, I don't know, dear. This problem with my friend has me very upset. I can't think about anything else."

Nyssa rolled her eyes and sighed. She knew what was going on. She read the signs before. Her mother wanted something from her.

"Okay, then let's talk about your friend." The frustration was clear in her voice. Marilyn smiled and chose to ignore it.

"Her name is Karen, and her son's been living with her ever since she was diagnosed with cancer. Just four months ago, she completed her last set of treatments, and the cancer has gone into remission. But, there are all of these medical bills that took all of her savings. That's why her son is there, to help with the finances."

"Can we get to the 'in trouble' part?"

"He borrowed money from a loan shark, and now they want it back."

"What do you want me to do about it? He needs to call the police."

"Oh, the police can't help with something like that. Each time they see him, they beat on him. They need your help, Nyssa."

Nyssa watched as her mother did that pouting face that would guilt Nyssa into doing whatever she asked.

All this training I've had in the army. Combat skills and weapons grade with anything that can shoot or hold an edge, and I still can't fight against my mother's sad eyes routine.