Unexpected Calling

Chapter 21

After eating a late breakfast,  a taxi was hailed to get me to the hotel. I looked out the window. I had never been in a city as big as Washington DC before. I almost felt claustrophobic,  seeing the huge buildings and skyscrapers. Being in a rundown country like North Korea for so long made it seem even bigger.  And the traffic was horrible! I was glad I grew up on a small town.
   When we arrived at the hotel,  I gawked. It was huge.  I had to look straight up to see the end of it, and each room had a balcony that was lit with hanging lights.  It wasn't a starlit sky like in Idalou, Texas,  but it was kinda pretty. I walked into the building and gawked some more. There was a huge dining room to the left of the automatic doors and to the right,  there was a waiting room the size of Texas.
I walked up to the front desk,  trying to cover my surprise.
“Hi,  how can I help you?”The young woman typing at her computer asked me.
“Um,  I believe there's a reservation in my name.”I said. She looked up.
“Yes,  and what is your name?” She asked. I almost said Henryson,  but then remembered I was to use my alias until Jeremy and I got home. 
“Uh,  Colrid.” I answered. She typed on her computer some more and nodded. She stood and turned around,  walking into a room that was behind the desk. 
“Alright.” She chimed, when she returned with a room key. 
“You're in room twelve twenty six. Have a nice day.” I smiled and nodded. I walked towards the elevator and muttered, “Twelve hundred and twenty six rooms!” I shook my head. Having never left the city I had lived in, it would take me awhile to find my room.

                                       ~'~'~

I walked up to the old office building that Jarrod had made into the bomb storage center. A guard stood at the door, watching the coming and goings of the people on the street. I held a briefcase in my hand and assumed a devil take it attitude. The guard eyed me and the case. I stopped at his brusque command. Better to comply than to draw suspicion. He took my briefcase and began to question me.
“What is your name?”He asked in Korean.
“Lee Newman. Parts designer and engineer.”I responded in the same language.
The name rolled off of my tongue easily thanks to hours of practice with Zeke and my dad. I didn't flinch as the guard’s hands neared the false side of the briefcase. I couldn't give him any reason to doubt me. Finally after a thorough search of the case and my person, the guard sent me forward. As I passed him I ushered my dad and Zeke in behind me. As Zeke diverted the guard’s attention, my dad crept up behind the man and delivered a swift blow to his head.
Immediately, I opened the briefcase and swiftly pulled out a tiny box: an electronic pulsing device. I pressed the button, and instantaneously all electronics within the designated area were disabled. Dad hid the guard behind some bushes to our right, gagged and tied him up, then we ran into the building, slowing to a casual pace when a couple men walked around a corner and passed us. We took two rights and a left, then my dad grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“Jeremy,”He hissed. I took one look at him and knew he had something up his sleeve. His eyebrows pushed at each other worriedly.
“Jeremy, let me try to find Carol.”He pleaded. I sighed and looked away.
“Dad, you said yourself that they moved her.”
“They did, but that was three years ago. If she's here, and we blow-”
“Wait, so now your mom’s alive too!?”Zeke interrupted.
“Yes.”My dad answered, exaggerating certainty. I shook my head.
“Dad, you don't know that.”
“If there is the slightest chance that she’s here-”
“Dad, we have a job to do.”He shook his head.
“No, you have a job to do. I'm going to find her. If I'm not out by the time you get the bombs set, leave without me.”Without another word, he turned around and jogged away.
“Dad!”I hissed. I grimaced and hit the wall with my fist with a growl, then got a hold of myself.
“Come on. Let's get to the storage area.”I ordered, walking before Zeke responded. He caught up to me.
“We're not gonna leave him here!?”I shook my head.
“No, but we need to hurry so we can find him before he gets himself killed.”Zeke nodded. We walked as fast as we could while looking relatively normal. When we reached the main storage building, I covered Zeke, while he pulled the bombs from the suitcase, activated them, and put one in each compartment. It took us thirty minutes to finish the job, then we left the room and walked back to where Dad had left us.
  He wasn’t there. We waited nervously, praying he would come around the corner so we could leave this place.
Suddenly, two figures raced around the corner. A man and a woman. Zeke and I pulled out our guns, thinking they were Koreans, but as they drew closer, I held out my hand.
“Wait!”I cried.
“Mom!”I whispered breathlessly. She let out a sob and rushed to me. She was so frail and thin, so much smaller than I remembered.
Amazingly, she reached me before Dad. She ran into my arms and cried,
“My baby, my baby!”Before I could say anything or get over the shock of her actually being here, Dad arrived and screamed,
“Move, move, move!”I looked up and saw a group of two dozen, bloodthirsty men running around the corner. I hurriedly pried  my mother off of me and practically dragged her until she got a hold of herself.
Shots were fired and the ringing of ricocheted bullets echoed down the hall as we ran. It felt as if we were running in slow motion.
  Dad made sure to stay with Mom, who was farther behind because of the mistreatment she had received.  Zeke and I were side by side, forcing ourselves to slow to stay with Dad and Mom.
  A blood curdling scream stopped me in my tracks.
“Carol!”
I turned and saw blood on the tile floors. “No!”I screamed. Mom was on the floor, blood pouring from a wound in her back. Dad had knelt beside her, his face pale. All the while shots were aimed at us. Dad was shot in the shoulder, resulting in more blood and terror. I ran after them, unable cry out.
Dad fell against Mom and didn't move. As if it weren't enough, the Koreans continued to fire at them until they were no longer breathing.
“Henryson! Jeremy! They're gone! We have to run!!”I heard Zeke’s desperate shouts. But I was unable to comprehend the meaning of his shouts, so lost in horror and grief. Bullets whizzed past me, and some nicked me, but I didn't feel or acknowledge them.
  Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and forced me to run the other way. Reality struck, and I wept as we flew down the halls and rushed out the door. We exited the building and just as we did, I felt searing pain run through my leg. I fell to my knees with a cry, but Zeke grabbed me under my shoulders and carried me until we made it to the car. He shoved me in the back seat and ducked bullets as he sped through Pyongyang. I looked out the back window and saw the angry men fire at the car a few more times, before stopping and stomping back to the warehouse.
  I sat up, taking deep breaths and winced. My pants were torn and blood soaked my leg. I took my shirt off and  tore it into shreds. To stop the blood flow, I tied a peice around my thigh as tight as I could get it. I grunted and gritted my teeth as I tightened it.
   Just as the car pulled to a stop, the ground shook, there was a huge boom, and everything went black.

💮Author's note💮
Oh my gosh!😢😢😢 Such a sad chapter! I almost cried with Jer when his parents died!

Ok, y'all so there is one, maybe two chapters left then the epilogue! I can't believe I'm almost done! It's so exciting!

Thank you all for sticking with me!

Love you! God bleeeeesss!!💛💜💛