Zane’s unnerving gaze got to him almost as much as Suri’s incessant sobbing. The girl that rescued Nole exited the shack, brushing past him in the process.
“You could have comforted her a little,” she muttered to Zane, loud enough for Nole to hear. Zane ignored her words, turning to inspect the men scattered within confines of the shack. Nole heard a loud banging from within the quarters. The trapped Pents were getting restless.
It became painstakingly obvious that the unconscious Pents were Zane’s doing. Even though he had accused him, Zane saved Suri, and had it not been for the assistance, both he and his sister might have been killed. She could have… died… because of me.
“Suri,” Nole consoled, “I’m so sorry.” Her weeping softened noticeably with his words. He loosened his grasp and held her at arm’s length, trying to discern her current feelings for him. He was certain she felt betrayed by his inability to help her. His plan had failed. “Where’s Caden? He was supposed to be watching you.” She sniffled in response as Nole realized he was shifting the blame for his inability to protect Suri on Caden. “Where is he?”
“I-I don’t k-know,” she choked out.
“What?"
The unmistakable sound of Enforcer sirens grew louder from where he kneeled.
“Hey.” A hand rested on Nole’s shoulder, making him flinch violently at the sudden contact and causing the hand to withdraw. He whipped his head and saw the Zane’s companion looking at him earnestly, her dull green eyes meeting his. “We need to go,” she said urgently.
The tone of her voice was soft, yet firm. He dismissed her and turned back to his sister, who was no longer crying, but sniffling. The sirens grew louder with every passing minute and the muffled shouting from within the shack persisted. He squeezed his sister’s shoulders, trying to get her to focus on his words.
“Suri, I need to know where Caden is.”
“H-he said he would be right back,” she answered, the tears flooding her eyes. “He said he wanted to check on something, so I listened. I listened to Caden like you said. And then,” her voice shook. “A-and then those guys came and they told me to listen them or, or…” she trailed off, beginning a new cycle of sobs.
Listening to his eleven year old sister recount the details of her kidnapping renewed his guilt, but he pressed on. He closed his eyes, unable to bear seeing her in such a state. “Where did they take Caden?”
“I don’t know,” was all she managed to get out before the tears streamed down her cheeks anew.
The crying echoed in Nole’s ears, as he imagined where his brother could be. If they kidnapped Suri, what did they do to Caden? His ears rang; not because of the approaching sirens of Enforcers, or the commotion of imprisoned gang members, or the inconsolable weeping of his sister. He couldn’t think, couldn’t decipher what was creating the deafening screeches that reverberated in his head.
“Listen,” the girl began again.
“Shut up!” Nole shouted over the ringing. He glared at her vehemently. “Where’s my brother?” he yelled at her. She met his look of hatred with one of sympathy, which angered him more. He didn’t want her pity. He wanted answers.
As if in a trance, Nole let go of his sister and advanced toward one of the fallen Pents before him. He kneeled beside him and grabbed hold of the man’s jacket lapel, shaking him. “Where is my brother?” he demanded, losing his patience.
The man’s head rolled as he regained consciousness. The Pent’s boney hands clutched Nole’s as he tried to gain control of the situation. “Where did you take my brother?”
“Get off of me,” growled the Pent. One of his hands withdrew from Nole’s grasping fists and reached for the weapon in his waistband. Nole caught sight of the movement and reflexively snatched the pistol from the gang member.
The man’s face contorted in fear. “Hey,” he pleaded, “Wait kid. I don’t know anything.” The hand that gripped Nole’s trembled fiercely. He studied the Pent as beads of sweat became visible on his forehead and his eyes dilated.
“Tell me,” Nole warned.
I have to find Caden. I have to get Suri to forgive me. I have to find Murphy’s killer. I have to have the memorial.
The ringing in his ears was accompanied by a throbbing migraine. He rested the barrel of the handgun in between his enemy’s eyes. “Tell me where he is, or so help me, I will kill you.”
The man blubbered as he stuttered a response, “W-we only took the girl! I swear, please!”
A grimace appeared on Nole’s face, unconvinced by the man’s words. He pulled down the hammer and rested his finger on the trigger.
“Stop!” A pair of short arms embraced his torso. “Please, Nole, stop.” He cast a glance over his shoulder and saw a terrified Suri, her eyes red and puffy, but not wet. He hadn’t realized she’d followed him. The gun loosely hung from his fingers and he sat there in silence.
She saw me. She saw the real me. The part of me I’ve been hiding from them for past year.
His breaths came out in shallow increments. He lifted the pistol from the man’s forehead and set it beside his leg. The reality of what happened hit him like a bus. He felt sick to his stomach.
I was going to shoot. I know without a doubt in my mind, I was going to pull the trigger. And Suri saw me.
To the bewilderment of the gang member, Nole unhooked Suri’s arms and stood up. He took a few steps, trying to shake off his relentless headache, but vertigo overtook his body. He collapsed to his knees and heard Suri call out to him before losing consciousness and allowing a blissful, dreamless sleep to overtake him.
***
“You’re telling me he almost shot the guy?”
“Yeah. He seemed kind of out of it.”
“And you said he was shouting about a brother of his?”
Cad-en.
A damp cloth soaked his forehead as he lay in a dimly lit room. Though he could hear muffled voices, he saw no one. Slowly raising himself off the bed, he peeled the washcloth and removed the warm bed covers from his body. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, he ruffled his sweaty brown hair, glancing around the clean, sterile white room. A hospital?
Next to him was a tray with an unopened bottle of water resting on top. He stood up, puzzled by the surroundings. The cool touch of the tiles beneath his feet surprised him; both in the sense that his shoes were missing and in the sense that the room was air-conditioned. Nole and the bed were the only occupants of the barren white area, with only a single white door to his left.
He stumbled unsteadily as he abandoned the bedside, but regained his bearings. He furrowed his brow as a slight throbbing in his head pulsated pain throughout his body. When he finally managed to get to the door, he rested his fingers on the brass handle and opened the door silently as an abyss of sunlight temporarily blinded him.
He crept through the confined space, hearing a set of voices echo down the corridor. When he reached an entrance to another room, he could hear them clearly. There were two; one familiar and one foreign. The familiarity of one of the voices confused him because, for a split second, he couldn’t place the origin of the voice.
“Did the Enforcers see you two?”
“Maybe.”
A long sigh filled the air. “Where’s the sister?”
Sis-ter.
Sister.
Suri!
The memories barraged his thoughts. Suri. The Pents. Zane and the girl. Murphy dead. Caden gone. He burst into the room and saw two people in what appeared to be a kitchen. He recognized the freckled girl he’d encountered earlier sitting at a small round table. Also in the room was another woman. She stood at a counter with her back turned so all Nole could see was the washed out blonde hair that reached just beyond her shoulder blades.
“Where are my brother and sister?” he demanded, clenching his fists and glaring at them. The girl stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, while the woman hadn’t even flinched when he entered.
“Sit down, kid,” warned the woman, “You’re delirious.”
“Where are they?” He raised his voice now. The girl glanced nervously at the woman who still stood at the counter. “What did you do with them?”
The woman turned, revealing a face riddled with wrinkles. Nole guessed her to be about sixty-five, maybe a little older. Her blue eyes were as faded as her hair and her high cheekbones accentuated her hollowed cheeks. The lines on her forehead creased as she gave Nole a stern look, and her dry, painted lips twisting into a shape that wasn’t quite a frown, but bore semblance to one. She stirred the contents of a mug methodically before turning to dispose of the utensil in a nearby sink.
Her stick-like figure sauntered back to the center table, where she sipped loudly from her drink. “This needs some scotch,” she stated dryly. Nole was frustrated with her indifference.
“Your sister’s safe,” interjected the girl, conscious of Nole’s annoyance.
“She’s fine,” added the old woman. “She would be dead had it not been for Zane and Olivia.”
“Dead?” The mention of death associated with Suri’s name did not compute with Nole; at least, he wouldn’t let it.
“She’s safe though,” the girl emphasized, glaring at the old woman.
“What do you mean would be dead?” he persisted.
“I mean, had Zane not saved her from those Pents, she would be cut up into tiny bits and pieces right now.”
“Betty!” the girl yelled.
“He needs to hear this, Olivia.” She took another swig of her drink and turned back to Nole. “And you would be dead if Olivia here hadn’t rescued you.”
The words sunk in and the vivid memories of the episode followed suit. He knew what the woman was referring to. As he had predicted, the unconscious Pents that were scattered around his frightened little sister had been Zane’s doing. And the girl, Olivia, had saved him as well. Nole’s eyes danced around as if he were experiencing a dream in that instant. He felt nauseous recalling the rest of the gruesome details.
“My brother,” he said, snapping out of his memory. “Where is he?” Olivia looked over at the woman, who peered into her mug as she swallowed another mouthful.
“Beats me,” she finally answered setting the mug on the table. “Your sister told us what happened with that, and it sounds a lot like he abandoned her.”
The instant the words left her lips, Nole slammed his fist so hard on the table that the cup spilled over. The steaming liquid spread its brown glistening color over the wooden surface, but he ignored the mess, fuming from her words. “He wouldn’t abandon her!”
Olivia bit her lip in trepidation, her eyes bouncing nervously between Nole and the old woman, Betty. He was breathing heavily and his fist still rested on the table. Caden wouldn’t abandon her. Caden loves Suri.
The woman glowered at him through slightly squinted eyes, and her lips twisted into a smile, revealing long, slender teeth. The sound of her cackle echoed around the small room. “I was right about you, boy.” Nole was still enraged by her words when she returned to the counter for another cup. “You know, your sister gave us a pretty convincing argument about what a great brother you are.” He relaxed his fist and removed it from the table. “But I guess she doesn’t know you, and I mean the real you.”
A hum from the floor vent came on as a cool blast of air surrounded the room. “You don’t know me,” he said in a level voice that even surprised him.
“Oh, but I do,” she replied with her back turned. She retrieved another spoon from the drawer underneath the counter and stirred her drink once more.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Olivia lower her gaze to the table, but he kept watching the old woman, who continued. “It’s just a little perplexing if you ask me.” In a recurring fashion, she tossed the spoon in the sink and approached the table, but this time, she carried with her a newspaper. Gulping down another mouthful, she flung the paper to Nole’s side of the table, over the spilled drink. It landed in front of him, but he maintained focus on the woman. She nodded her head at the paper, beckoning for him to take a look.
When he followed her gaze, the first thing he noticed was a large, black and white image of himself side-by-side with a portrait of Murphy. Momentarily entranced by the photos, his eyes ventured to the article title, “Young Man Wanted: Kills Uncle of Captain Enforcer.” She sighed, dispersing the rising steam from her mug.
“A noble brother who diligently provides for his siblings, yet a brutal murderer at heart.”