They were nearing the end of the cruise. They had an overnight stay in one of the docks near Chile two days ago and Desiree had hoped that Berkeley would approach her.
She couldn't ask the twins about his specific activities. If she wanted to save their lives, she had to be careful. They bought her mission game pretty well. Of course, they bragged about finding out that the Chinese couple and Berkeley were friends and that they often talked at night time when they thought that twins were asleep.
She was sitting just a meter away from them inside the loud arcade of the ship. They were there to talk about their current mission.
"So?" she asked them under her breath. She was pretending to read the book Theo was reading the other day while the twins pretended to be immersed in Rubik's cube which, with no doubt, they could solve even with eyes closed.
"Why is it that we always solve the mystery first?" asked the taller of the twins. She'd had always been stopping herself from asking their names. She couldn't get attached to them, Theo had said.
"Because there's two of you while there's just one me," she told them.
"Still, you're older."
"And you are always beside your brother. Of course, you'll solve the mysteries first."
"It's not challenging enough."
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Dealing with kids required a lot of patience, she thought, no matter how smart they were. "Don't worry. We will get a more challenging mission after you give me your reports, sirs." She gave them a salute and they both rolled their eyes. "I'm serious. And this time, I will win."
The two kids straightened in their seats. "What is it?"
"First, reports on the mission."
"You first."
She pretended to think. "Uh, I didn't find out much, really. I tried talking to your brother to know what he's planning once we reach our destination but he wouldn't talk to me."
"That's because he's keeping it a secret," whispered one of the twins.
Desiree widened her eyes in a pretend surprise. "Really?"
The two nodded their heads. "Because it is a very big secret."
"Why?"
"We're not telling that one," said the other as he diverted his gaze from her. They didn't know.
"But you know what will happen after we dock in Chile, right?"
They both nodded.
"And?"
They stared at each other conspiratorially and looked at her. "We're going to ride a big chopper."
"A really big one," added the other.
Desiree blinked. "A chopper?"
They both nodded. "Yes. And they said we are going to have a very big adventure with the new friends."
"I am not that excited though, honestly," said the other, his face growing grim.
"Why?" asked Desiree.
He shrugged. "I don't know. They don't tell us a lot of things. I think we should know what they are planning, right?"
"And we are going to find out."
"You mean you don't know?" she asked.
"From the moment they took us out of that orphanage, we are blank."
She wanted to ask where they were really from, but stopped herself. No attachments, she thought.
"Well, you don't have to go with them if you don't want to," she said anyway.
"But where will we go?"
"I don't know...somewhere you want to be."
"I want to find my mother."
"Our mother."
She didn't know how to answer that one so she cleared her throat and tried to think of a good one. "I know people who can help you."
Their eyes lit up. And then their shoulders sagged. "But Mr. Ber—I mean, our brother said he will help us find her."
"You already said too much," said his twin. He turned to Desiree and asked, "We already won two out of two missions. What's the next one? It better be good. This game is a total bore."
"Okay," she said, crossing her leg over the other as she pretended to think. "Here's the next mission and you both have to be very careful. Though I know that I will win this one, I should still give you both a chance."
"Just say it," they chorused.
She leaned closer and started to whisper.
*****
Khaye's wound was healing. And she was getting bored.
Marco had left the house only once, leaving her alone, because of work. That was two days ago. And he had not left her side ever since.
Gian had called twice but Khaye refused to talk to him in both occasions.
"You should at least pretend that you are not thinking he's one of the bad guys, Khaye," Marco told her that afternoon.
"It's not easy right now," was all she said. They stared at each other for a while before she blinked and turned away. "I'll need some time to wrap my head around it."
"He wants to come here," Marco said behind her.
"Did you tell him where we are?"
"He knows."
"How?"
"I had to make a report two days ago. Of course, he knows."
She faced him once again, the panic in her voice apparent as she asked, "What should I do?"
"Try to act normal. He's your brother. He'll notice if something is wrong."
"But how can I do that when I fear his presence?"
"If he is working for Petroff, I don't think he can easily harm you. He's still your brother after all and he was genuinely concerned the last time I talked to him. I say we give him the benefit of the doubt but at the same time be cautious."
She started to walk back to her room. "I'll think about it."
"He's on his way."
*****
"What happened?" Theo asked the moment she entered the cabin.
"I told them to steal a gold watch from one of the passengers. Remember that Irish guy who hit on me the other day? It will be quite a challenge for them. It's also going to be a good distraction so they will stop asking questions."
"I wasn't asking about the stupid mission you were going to give the twins. I was asking about what they told you."
Desiree rolled her eyes and dropped on the bed. She closed her eyes and murmured, "They told me about the escape plan."
Theo was immediately looming over her. "What?" He sounded pissed.
"They have prepared a chopper the moment we dock in Chile."
"Why didn't you tell me that the moment you walked in?" he asked incredulously.
"And why don't you save your time and make plans now instead of nagging?" she asked dryly, keeping her eyes closed.
She heard his footsteps and the next thing she knew he was on the phone with Richard, making plans.
*****
A knock on her door came and Khaye jumped on her feet.
"Khaye, it's Gian," her brother said from behind the door.
She kept her mouth shut.
"Hey, look, I need to talk to you," he uttered, his voice low.
She clenched her fists and forced herself to walk to the door before Marco would do anything and force her to do the same thing. Opening the door, she took a deep breath and put a small smile on her lips. "Gian," she greeted.
The tension was obvious between them. She knew that Gian was suddenly aware of it but they both pretended it was okay. They hadn't seen each other in a while anyway.
"Can I come in?" her brother asked. Marco was standing in the middle of the living room, looking at them. He gave Khaye a small nod and she nodded at Gian in return. She stepped aside to let her brother pass and left the door open. Gian's eyes hovered at the open doorway for a while but didn't say anything. He carefully walked to the only chair in the room and sat down. "Look, I'm sorry that I haven't gone to see you for the past couple of days. I've been very busy."
The look on his eyes told her he was more than busy and fear started to rise up her gut once more. "It's okay," she managed to answer, rooted in her spot in the middle of the room.
"Can we talk? Just the two of us? Alone?" her brother asked in a whisper, his eyes darting to the door to check if Marco was listening. Khaye hoped he was but when she turned to look over her shoulder, the man wasn't there.
She shook her head. "We can talk now," she said.
"No. I meant talk somewhere else. Somewhere private."
"Where?"
"I know a place near here."
She started to panic and vigorously shook her head. "I don't want to talk to you outside of this house."
Gian's face suddenly changed. He stood up and a flash of anger passed before his eyes before it disappeared. He took the few remaining steps between them and before Khaye could step away, he managed to grab her upper hand. He looked down on her and whispered, "Please don't make this harder for me, Khaye. I really need to talk to you. Alone."
He was desperate to get her alone. She couldn't let him. If she wanted to live this through, she had to disobey her brother this time. She shook her head no. "I am not going with you anywhere. I don't trust you."
"Why?" he asked, his voice challenging and angry.
"You're...you're acting different. This is not you."
"It is because I don't know what to do anymore, Khaye. And that's why I want to talk to you."
"You know what to do. You have to find Desiree and find out the truth." She met his gaze, willing him to change his mind, to think about what he was doing to her.
Her brother blinked and let her go rather too roughly. "Fuck. This is all so messed up."
She frowned as tears welled in her eyes. "It doesn't have to be. Just do what is right, Gian."
He looked at her for a very long time. What flashed in his eyes before he turned to walk out the door scared her. Did her brother just look at her with disdain?
*****
Desiree wasn't really expecting it.
She was walking along one of the many corridors of the ship, wondering where the twins were and about Theo's plans with Richard two days from now, when he suddenly jumped in front of her with his seductive smile.
"Oh, so you now decided to see me," she said, feigning irritation.
Berkeley just continued to smile at her, admiring her from head to foot. "You know we can't compromise our plans, my dear."
She felt the cold rush through her spine but she ignored it. This was a crucial moment. "I don't even know your plans."
Berkeley reached down to grab her hand. He played with it and the next thing she knew, she was holding a small plastic wrap.
She frowned. "What is this?"
"Pills to make your husband fall asleep."
"You want me to drug him?" she asked, trying to conceal her shock.
He nodded. "I don't want him running after us while we escape with the packages."
She forced a smile. "And how do we escape?"
Berkeley just smiled and leaned down until his lips was against her ear. She fought with all her might not to cringe. "You'll know. Just give him the pills thirty minutes before we dock."
"It will just make him sleep?"
"He'll be so deep he will not even realize he is dying," he uttered, sending chills throughout her system.
She nodded her head and Berkeley leaned away.
He looked into her eyes with a smile. "And the moment he is down, you tell me. I'll be waiting outside the cabin door."
Before she could ask why, he turned and quickly disappeared into another hallway.
Desiree looked down at the pills, lost in thought.
*****
Khaye rushed out of her room the moment she heard Gian drive away.
Marco was just entering the house when she ran to him and grabbed him by the arm.
"Let's go. Let's disappear. Now, please, Marco, let's go!" she was saying as tears streamed down her face.
Marco fought the urge to take her in his arms and calm her down. He grabbed one of her shoulders and forced her to listen to his words. "Hey, what is it? What did he tell you?"
"I'm scared. He is not the same anymore, Marco. Don't think I am overreacting. I am not. It was not Gian I talked to. He suddenly changed. I don't know how or why. I just fucking know he's out to get me anytime!"
He wanted to be logical at that moment and be the stable mind between them, but he saw the desperation in Khaye and he found himself believing her fears. He couldn't risk getting her trouble once more.
"Marco, please. I no longer feel safe here. Let's just go. Let's leave."
"This is not a decision that we can easily make—"
"Then I'll go. I don't fucking need you anyway!" she screamed, turning away and running to her room.
He followed her in three strides. "Khaye, we have to make plans—"
"Yeah, make funeral plans because I'll be dead by morning if I don't leave this place!"
"Hey, calm down..."
"I am not calming down until I get as far away from here as possible! My own brother is out to kill me and I don't know how he can even do that! I don't what how much he gets from this, but I am pretty sure it's enough for him to forget I'm his fucking sister!" She was already grabbing her things and throwing them inside her bag when Marco suddenly grabbed her hand and forced her to face him.
He looked into her eyes and said, "Okay. We'll go. We'll find a place and Gian doesn't have to know where it is."
"Until you make another stupid report," she spat at him.
"I promise I will not tell anyone. Just fucking calm down and let me make plans."
"I am not that eager to calm down right now, Marco." A tear fell from her eye and she hastily wiped it away with the back of her hand.
"Just give me an hour to make plans. We can't just drive off to nowhere. We have to make sure that we are not followed. In case you forgot, this case just got a lot more complicated, Khaye. If Gian is working with Petroff and if they have something to do with Jamaica's death, then we really need to take extra careful steps."
"I don't care about the case anymore. I just want to be safe!"
"Okay, we'll do that. I'll keep you safe, okay? Just one hour. Then we're gone."
"One hour."
He nodded and left her inside the room.
An hour later, the two of them were driving into the night.