Day Eight ∞ Friday evening
DAWSON WAVED TO WEAVER as Weaver came downstairs to the basement. "We've got a name! Her name is Mickmi."
"Hm. Never heard that one before." Weaver put on the headset and sat down beside Dawson. He could see activity on the two kitchen monitors: one, showing the wide view over the counter to the dining area where the family was sitting at the dining table and included the doorway to the hallway. The second monitor showed a closeup from the same camera, of the subject Danny, the girl, and the sister's back. The girl was wearing a scarf around her neck—it looked to him that she was covering the choker necklace he'd seen before.
The mother was speaking. "Yes, and even the EKG was normal. All that's left now are the results from the bloodwork, etcetera. So you see, dear, there's nothing to worry about. 'Jehovah preserveth the faithful', you know, and I'm taking extra supplements."
"I'm really relieved to hear that, Mom," Danny said. "You really scared us yesterday."
"I am sorry about that, dear. I must've been really stressed. Mickmi?"
The girl looked up from her food, clearly startled.
"I must thank you again for clearing my head yesterday. I don't know how you did it, but you even cleared a lingering migraine I've been having. It means a lot, what you did, considering..."
Mickmi shook her head. "Mention it not, Mistress McGahn."
"Oh... Don't call me Mistress McGahn; no one calls me that at home, it makes me feel so old! Just... 'Grace' will do."
"Okay... Grace."
They could see Danny make a surprised face toward his sister on the close-up monitor.
"Do you have skills in alternative medicine? I've been reading about it in magazines recently."
"Alternative? I understand not what you mean."
"As in non-traditional... Where did you learn to do that thing with your hands?"
There was a pause. Weaver stared intently at the girl's face—there was something there...
"I have always been able to do it."
"Mom, Mickmi's gifted," Gina interjected. Danny nodded and Mickmi looked toward them with a thankful smile.
"You're not just gifted, you know. You're blessed with a power given to you from the Lord; you must be a disciple of His. You could help a lot of people."
The girl's brow furrowed for a moment before she swallowed her last bite of food. "I wish... that were so, Grace. But, nay... it drains me too much." This time she did not look up.
"That's—"
"Excuse me, Mom. I've got some things to do." Danny pushed his chair back and stood up, taking his plate.
Weaver could tell that the subject thought his mother had said enough. He took off his headphones as the girl and the sister followed suit and helped to clear the table.
"There is something about that girl," he said, loosely shaking his finger at the monitor. "And it's not just that she's not comfortable around the mother. She's hiding something. I'm not sure about the sister, but I know our subject knows about it."
"Yeah, I think he probably does, 'cause he's protecting her," Dawson responded. "But do you think that has anything to do with our case?"
Weaver rubbed his chin. "I can't pinpoint it. There's something about her, but I can't say that it puts her on that ship. She's definitely not American though. When I go back to base I'll drop that tape off at the lab for linguistic analysis; that should narrow it down."
∞
"Danny? Just a minute."
Danny released the screen door and turned back to the kitchen where he found Mother putting away the last of the dried dishes. He leaned against the counter and waited.
She turned to him. "Dear, what are you doing tomorrow?"
"It's my day at the Davenports."
"Oh, is it that time again?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Then it would be too much for you to help me with the garden tomorrow... We bought a lot of flowers yesterday to put in the ground you prepared for me. Thanks for that by the way."
"You're welcome. Why don't you ask Sis to help you?"
"I will, though she's always complaining she doesn't have a green thumb... Perhaps I could ask Mickmi? It would be a good opportunity for me to get to know her."
Danny's guard went up immediately. "No, Mom—I know you're trying but she's coming with me tomorrow."
Mother wasn't phased. "So she likes gardening?"
"She likes nature."
"Okay then..." She turned thoughtfully to hang up the towel that was still on her shoulder. Danny was just about to leave when she continued: "But... aren't you spending an awful lot of time with her for her to be your sister's friend?" She looked back at him.
He pressed his palms against the counter top to prevent himself from closing them, and looked down at them, shaking his head. "Mom... Don't start with me."
"Oh... okay, dear." She hesitated, clasping her hands. "I just thought it—"
"Don't." He swung his head to meet Mother's gaze. "I'm going to talk with Mickmi now; we're working on something. Not that I need to explain any of that to you."
That remark made her quickly recover her mother-mode. "Don't be so touchy, Danny. I'm not trying to provoke my child. I just think it would be a good idea for me to get to know Mickmi. After all, she is staying under my roof."
"Yeah, okay," he straightened himself with a deep breath, "fair enough. Just mind the way you do it, though. She's a sensitive soul."
With that, he left the kitchen and went out on the porch to sit down. For a while, he sat staring straight ahead, aware that Mickmi was watching him from the other side of the bench.
"I am fine, you know," she said. "None the worse for wear."
He met her gaze; she had that serene smile that made his tension melt away.
"Yeah... I'm fine too—I think... It's weird hearing Mom quoting Scriptures—she's never done that before. I'm sorry if that makes you feel uncomfortable. With all the"—he lowered his voice—"differences, I mean."
"They matter not," she responded, tilting her head.
"I'll take your word for it. So... what should we focus on now?"
"We are not in the right frame of mind," she responded, pointing with her eyes past him. He understood: Mother could hear. Mickmi reached for the Tribune on the bench. "Here. You have not read your paper."
"Yeah, I was wondering what they've got to say about that thing," he said, taking it from her.
"And I shall study this." She showed him the folded paper in her hand. "Thirty-eight. Maybe something will come to me."
∞
Jagg locked his gaze with each member of the crew, one after the other. The guys were wearing smart-looking shirts under their unmarked jackets.
"Y'all know what you're gonna do," he said quietly. "Ram, Pace, you take turns as lookout. Pace, you first. Remember, we doing this as regular people shopping around in the name of love or... whatever reason. We gonna be right under their noses and they're not gonna know a thing. Lora will take care of that. Be top-dollar selective, and don't make it obvious by clearing the counter. We want to delay discovery. Got me?"
Everyone returned a serious nod.
"Okay. Let's put this to the test." He turned to Lora, eyeing her. "Can't you look a bit more relaxed... and casual?" He put his hand out to her.
Lora glanced at his hand, then lifted her eyes up past his shoulder, touching Sleek's gaze sadly for a moment. Tampering with Sleek's feelings troubled her still, even though he asked her to do it. It was an invasion of privacy—a moral prohibition which had been explicitly drilled into her before starting her training. But it was time to put it out of her mind.
She took a deep breath as she met Jagg's gaze, her face impassive. Then she gave him a nod and put her hand in his. Jagg deliberately interlaced his fingers with hers and threw a glance at Sleek to gauge his reaction.
Toni approached Sleek as the two turned the corner to walk Albany's equivalent of an upscale shopping street. She'd noticed the looks Lora and Jagg had given him and was puzzled over his unexpected calm façade. "What's up with you guys? You okay?"
Sleek pulled his gaze from the street corner and looked at her. "Nothing's up. I'm cool." He smiled wryly; there was no hint of jealousy on his face.
Toni scrutinized him. "I coulda sworn you two would've hit it off last night. What happened?"
"Naw... Nothing happened."
She put her arms akimbo. "Helloo? This is your sister speaking! Whatcha not telling me?"
Sleek got off his bike and put his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. "Well," he said, cocking his head thoughtfully, "you know I love you, Sis. We been through thick and thin... But now—guess what? I've got two sisters to look out for."
Toni eyed him with lifted brows. "Say what? What have you done with my brother?" The exaggerated frown on her face melted into a grin. "I totally love the idea, Sleeky! I've never had a sister before, but... You sure about that? 'Cause I know you were—"
"We've come to an understanding, okay? That's just the way it is. As long as my two sisters are okay, I'm fine," he replied calmly, then pointed with his head at TJ. "Go. It's your turn."
∞
Jagg appeared through the curtain to the restricted area, hitching the backpack onto his shoulder and returned to Lora's side. "See anything you like, darling?" he said as the female shop proprietor rejoined them on the other side of the glass display.
Lora snapped out of the zone she was in and looked at him questioningly as he put his arm around her and squeezed her elbow. He leaned in toward her and brushed his lips on her cheek. "Smile, Lora," he breathed. "Be the role. We're a couple."
She mentally shook off the feeling that kept nagging her and smiled in response, pointing at a diamond laden necklace in the display case without touching the glass. "I wish to look at that one," she said.
"Of course," the woman said and unlocked the case just as the boutique door opened with a pling.
Jagg and Lora didn't look around—they knew it was Toni and TJ. A male shop assistant went over to serve them at a different display. Jagg pointed to several other pieces, skipping some in-between. The woman took the first necklace out, laying it down on a velvet covered tray for them to inspect. "This is a classic, our most expensive piece. Sixty-eight one-half to four karat diamonds set in platinum."
Jagg nodded, taking it up to hold it in front of Lora. "Nice, huh?" He met her gaze, then slipped it into his backpack.
"Beautiful," she said as he received the next necklace and a matching bracelet.
After collecting a dozen of the most expensive pieces, Jagg thanked the proprietor. "We'll be back, won't we, darling?" he said.
Her eyes flared alive as she smiled and flicked back her hair. "Definitely. Thank you," she said to the woman, then turned back to Jagg. He eyed her in amused appreciation as she looked up at him just inches from his face.
"Let's go," he said, putting an arm around her shoulders and glanced at TJ and Toni at the rings display before steering their steps to the door. They headed toward the only other jewelry store on that street a few doors down as Ramiro came from the opposite direction and entered the store they just left.
∞
"Feast your eyes, guys: this is the only time you get to see all of this," Jagg said as he carefully emptied one bag after the other and spread the pieces of jewelry and watches out on the dining table with his gloved hands. "Don't touch."
"Woww..." Toni breathed.
"I've never seen so much jewelry at once before," Pace said wide-eyed, "except in a jewelry store." He bumped fists with TJ.
Sleek was holding his chin, nodding, while Ramiro leaned over the table studying the watches. Lora stayed back, watching everyone silently with a faint smile.
"Y'all did a good job today. And it's gonna take a helluva time for them to figure anything out—all thanks to Lora." Jagg placed two security tapes on the table with a satisfied smile and met Lora's gaze.
Everyone turned to look at her, and Sleek gave her a thumbs-up.
"We've also got these," Jagg said and carefully emptied a velvet pouch: a handful of cut diamonds of various sizes rolled out on the table.
There was a unified gasp and Sleek gave off a whistle.
"Those are beautiful!" Toni managed to say after she closed her mouth.
"Are... they real?" Ramiro asked.
"Sure are."
"Where did you find them?" TJ wanted to know.
"In the back room. They've got a little workshop there, where they do repairs and make jewelry. So they've got to have materials to build with. And a safe." Jagg spread them out with his fingers as he spoke and separated six similarly sized diamonds from the lot. "All of this should pay our debt with some to spare." He put the six into his hand and went to Ramiro who was nearest, giving him one. "This is today's reward. Keep it safe." He moved on to Sleek, and then around the table to Toni. "Make it part of your retirement stash or something."
He stopped in front of Lora and took her hand, turning her palm upward. "This is your share. You've earned it." He placed a diamond in the middle of her palm and folded her fingers over it, then locked his gaze with hers for a few seconds before moving on to Pace and TJ. "I'll get y'all some proper pouches to keep them in so you don't lose them." He returned to his spot at the end of the table and watched everyone as they inspected their stones, turning them in their hands, holding them between their fingers toward the light. Only Lora didn't move.
Sleek whistled again. "I can see why they call it a girl's best friend! Look how it sparkles!"
"Yeah, I can see it," Pace said excitedly.
"My own diamond..." Toni gave it an air-kiss and turned to Lora, grinning. "My new best friend... After you, of course." She patted Lora who looked down at her amusedly.
"Toni, Lora, you do the honors and wipe all the pieces free of fingerprints," Jagg said as he collected the remaining loose stones back into the pouch. "Sleek, you'll come on the road with me later to take care of business. We'll be back tomorrow."
∞
It was late when Lora pulled off her top and sat on the bed with her back turned to the door. She dipped a rag in the bowl of warm water beside her, squeezed it out and poured unscented soap on it to wash herself. She used her bare hands to wash her inked waist and left shoulder, noticing how the skin in those areas was beginning to feel tight.
"Oh, you started already," Toni said as she closed the bedroom door behind her. "Let me help you with the rest." She went to wash her hands, then sat down behind Lora's straight back.
Lora gathered her hair and pulled it over her other shoulder, turning her head to look in the mirror. Aye, she was satisfied with how the tattoo turned out; she lifted her right arm, noting how nicely the dark pattern curved around her waist.
"You've got amazing skin," Toni said as she applied the cleanser. "It's only been twenty-four hours and look how well it's healing: it's already started to peel."
"I focus to accelerate healing," Lora responded, observing Toni in the mirror as she gently worked on her back.
"I wish I could do that... It usually takes several days to get to this point! At this rate, it looks like you'll be fully healed before the end of next week!" Toni soaked the rag and squeezed the water over Lora's skin, allowing it to run down her back into the folded towel between them. Then she patted it dry with a fresh towel. "There. Give it a few minutes to air dry."
Toni removed the wet towel and washbasin to the bathroom, then returned to sit down on the bed behind Lora, who remained bare from the waist up. They sat in silence, allowing the time to pass until Toni took up the antibacterial ointment and started applying a thin layer over the tattoo.
"Lora," Toni said—she couldn't keep her mouth shut anymore. "What happened between you and Sleek last night?"
Lora didn't answer; she was contemplating which words to choose.
"He told me that nothing happened, but I know something happened..." Toni had reached halfway down Lora's back with the ointment.
Lora turned her head, looking down her shoulder. "Nothing happened. You said I must choose... I can not choose your brother." She could not keep the tightness out of her voice.
"You came to an understanding."
"Yes."
Toni handed her the tube of ointment so she could continue with her front. "I don't mean to be nosey but... why not? I don't understand. I could tell there was something between you two. And I can hear it in your voice. He got under your skin, didn't he?"
Lora remained silent as she applied the ointment. Then she lowered her hands and closed her eyes. She had managed to put what happened with Sleek out of her mind for a while today, but it still came back to haunt her.
"Why not?" Toni repeated.
Lora sighed. "Only Jagg can understand why I am who I am." She turned around to face Toni, who reached for the nightie and handed it to her.
"I don't see why that should be the issue. Sleek can be a moron sometimes... but he's good at understanding," Toni said as Lora pulled the nightie over her head and shook her hair out.
She met Toni's gaze. "And we both understand," she said tightly.
Toni studied her for a while, then gave her an encouraging smile. "Okay. I get it: it's a long story and you don't wanna talk about it... You should know I'm good at listening too, you know... anytime you wanna talk. Besides... according to my brother, we're sisters now. Yeah?" She tilted her head.
Lora drew a long breath and smiled wistfully. "Yes."
∞
—Daniel.
"Yeah?" Danny sat up with a start and looked across the bed at Mickmi, but she was fast asleep. His eyes started closing when he heard it again and his eyes flew wide open.
—Daniel.
The voice inside his head was unmistakable. He got up on unsteady feet and quietly made his way down the darkened stairs to open the front door. He blinked against the brightness of the floodlights: he couldn't see anything unusual, but he went out on the lawn anyway, heading for the perimeter. As he approached he began to discern the swirling mist between the pine trees and stopped when he felt his skin starting to tingle, the hairs on his bare arms lifting with static electricity. The pale mist contracted to vaguely outline a human figure, hints of hues dancing within the column of pale light.
—Daniel. I apologize for my intrusion.
"It's all right," he responded tiredly. "I'm not angry anymore... Thanks for stopping those spooks that night..."
—It is my job to protect The One.
"I get that... What's up now?" He had to stop himself from yawning.
—She needs more time. I shall give it.
"Give time?" He frowned, shaking his head. His foggy state of mind couldn't quite put that together. "How are you... gonna do that?"
—When the time comes, I shall be the distractor.
"You're gonna give yourself up?"
—I shall not be available.
His eyes widened as it sank in. "You mean, it'll be all up to me?"
The swirling column started to expand, losing density to a spreading mist. In a few seconds, it had dispersed and Danny was left standing alone in the night, feeling the weight of the responsibility placed on him.
It's all up to me...
∞
"Hey." Dawson shook Weaver's shoulder as he lay on the cot.
Weaver opened his eyes, a lingering giggle echoing in his mind. Although he couldn't remember the dream, he knew the face that caused that laugh—the toothy smile and the pigtails—the memory of the one good thing from his past.
Melanie.
As usual, the bubbly sound eluded his grasp, fading away. At least he wasn't being bombarded by the other faces. Dawson would never know how much those images of Cambodia still haunted him.
"Something happening?" Weaver asked and looked at his watch: it was almost eleven-thirty.
"The subject is up again. He went outside."
"That's at least the second night in a row."
"He must be an insomniac, running laps at night?"
"He knows we've been following them, I'm sure that's disturbing him. I wonder if he knows that we've bugged the house too... Pity we don't have eyes out there."
Dawson picked up the night vision goggles. "Should I go?"
"No, wait. He just came back inside," Weaver said as he saw the figure pass the doorway to the stairs on the kitchen monitor. "That didn't take long. I wonder what that was about?"
— ∞ —
*Bible references [ASV]: Thanks to 1969martinrichard for making these connections to add depth to my story!
Psalms 31:23 — "Oh love Jehovah, all ye his saints: Jehovah preserveth the faithful, And plentifully rewardeth him that dealeth proudly."
Matthew 10:1 — "And he called unto him his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of disease and all manner of sickness."
Colossians 3:21 — "...provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged."
©2016 by kemorgan65
Credit:
*Banner image is a composite.