Michael interrogated me for a good fifteen minutes before we finally retired to watching the television, with a very strong hand gripping my arm, as if he was making sure I didn't run away.
But I didn't say a word about the letter. I very simply told him that I went to get the paper and was petting the neighbor's dog before I came back.
Tomorrow night. Tomorrow was Michael's birthday. His mother would be coming here, so would Mr. I and Delilah, which would make it thrice as hard to leave for the Moonlight Cinema, which was three miles away.
How could I get them to let me go? Useless ideas came to mind: I could jump down a window when they weren't looking, I could go to the cinema with the excuse of forgetting to buy a cake for Michael, I could lock the people in the bedroom and rush out of the house - none of these ideas made any sense.
At times like these, I really wished my parents were here to advise me, even though they never did before. I wondered what they would have done if I were them - if they had to save Gran, without letting anyone know about what they had to give up for her life.
My key - the only legacy that was left from my parents - had to be given up. How could I give up my key? It was incredibly important to me - it was incredibly important to the Queen of England!
Ugh, I had to tell someone - but who could I tell? Michael? I couldn't do that. The cameras had caught the fact that I had told him and the others about Gran being missing. The police? Of course not. The kidnappers would be spying on that place too.
They would be spying on everyone they thought I would go to - they wouldn't go to someone they think I have no connection with. Someone like...
I turned to Michael. "Mike, how long has it been since we talked to Mrs. N?"
He didn't think much of that sentence and replied absently. "N? I dunno... been a while, eh?"
"What do you say we go visit her?"
Now he turned to me. "Hmm, maybe we could, but why?"
"No reason, just to make sure whether she is fine."
He studied me carefully, and I maintained my most innocent face. I even raised my eyebrows slightly, when he was staring at me too long.
"Fine," he said, giving up on his scrutiny. "Let's go tonight,"
"Tomorrow," I said immediately. He looked at me again.
"I mean, it is your birthday," I said, keeping my voice as steady I could. "Why not go see her then? Maybe we could give her a birthday treat from you."
He thought for a minute. "Well, that does seem proper." He said slowly. "Mum won't be able to come though. She said she would only be stopping by here for a few minutes. She's got that new job at school as assistant teacher, remember?" I nodded as he considered the idea for a couple of more seconds. "Alright, then." He concluded, sparing a smile towards me as he leaned comfortably on the sofa. "Tomorrow afternoon it is."
The car ride to her house took barely a hour, but for me, it seemed like eternity. I snapped twice at the driver to drive faster, earning reprimands from Mr. I and Delilah and concerned looks from Michael.
I tried to plan out my sentences, but to no luck. If anyone from Dunaway's side had been notified, I had to tell her what my problem was without anyone suspecting. I knew I had to get three points across - my grandmother had been kidnapped, Jenkins was asking for my key, and I had to somehow get Jenkins and Dunaway arrested without actually giving him the key.
We reached her house, a tiny, dull one-storied house that looked like it hadn't been painted in a long time. Mike, Mr. I, Delilah and I walked to the door and knocked. Even though we were standing outside, we could almost hear the echo of our knock.
The door opened to reveal a harassed-looking woman, with giant black circles around her eyes, which widened as she took in who was standing at her doorway.
"Eve?" She said, focusing on me, even though I was standing behind the other two.
"Ms. M," I said, for a minute forgetting why I was there and just thinking about how relieved I was to see her. "How are you?"
She gave me a small smile. "I've been better, but I can't complain, considering what you and Mr. E here have been through."
"Have you been visiting Mrs. N?" Asked Michael.
"Yes, I have." She moved away from the doorway. Sitting on a couch that was behind a coffee table, I saw Mrs. N. She looked well, but she also had a bandage around her head over her wound. Next to her was with another man with long blonde hair and a kind fatherly smile. But when I looked closer, I saw that his leg, which rested on a cushion on the floor, was covered in a thick, protective leg brace.
"Mr. I!" She exclaimed, standing up to greet us.
"Hello, my dear Mrs. N," said Mr. I, and he looked farther at the man next to her. "And Benjamin, it is a relief to see you well."
"Thank you, sir," said the man. "I must admit, I would be more relieved if I was allowed out if the house again." He chuckled, and Mrs. N nudged him good-naturedly, and she turned to look at me and Michael.
"How are the two of you?" She asked.
"We're fine, Mrs. N," said Michael. A pang of sorrow ran through me. That couldn't be farther from the truth. "We just came to make sure whether you were doing well or not."
Kate smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, like a mother of a five year old. "We should have visited you sooner." She looked at me. "Oh, child," her eyes turned sad. "I was so worried about you. I heard what happened."
Mr. I, Michael and I stiffened. She knew? Who told her?
"I wanted to see you," She said. "But Mr. I advised me that I stay away from you for awhile - just so that nobody gets suspicious." She sighed. "I know that it must be hard to hear about the escape, but we have to believe that the authorities catch him.
I sighed; I didn't know whether it was out of relief or disappointed. "I do believe so, Ms. M, but I also believe that Dunaway might be up to something very wrong while he's missing."
It was a foolish attempt, I knew that, but at that point I was so desperate, anything would have worked.
I saw her frown, but before she could say anything, Mr. I changed the subject. "Well, we might not know that for a while, but we do know for a fact that Ms. R and Mr. E are starting their final year of college soon!"
So, we sat around the coffee table, all six of us, and the adults started planning our careers. I had no choice but to sit there with Mike, smiling at the possibilities, pretending to consider the different career opportunities they laid out for me. Sweat beaded at the back of my neck as I saw the time. It was already 5 in the evening, and I had gotten nowhere. I didn't even know what to say to Mrs. N or Kate. It would be so much easier to just blurt it out and get on with the business of finding Gran.
As the conversation that had somehow turned to the educational path of each member in the organization subsided, Kate got up and offered to take the plates to the sink. I immediately said, "I'll help!" Though little startled at first, Kate smiled and gave her a couple of them.
As soon as we reached the kitchen, before she could go back, I spoke, "Ms. M." She turned her head towards me.
"Have you ever been in a situation where you would like to say something that requires immediate attention, but couldn't because of reasons undisclosed?"
She blinked a few times, trying to get used to the sudden onslaught of Latin words. But the look on my face was a signal enough for her to know that the topic they were about to discuss was a secret and couldn't be talked about openly.
"Depends." She said slowly.
"On what?"
"On what the situation is. It could be either a broken vase that decorated your room or a code that unlocked a safe full of jewels."
Now we're getting somewhere, I thought.
"Interesting answer." I said encouragingly.
She stood directly in front of me, arms crossed and serious look in her eyes, as if she was trying to get through what I was saying. "But a safe doesn't have to be opened by a code. It could be something more concrete."
"True." I nodded.
"What does your situation depend on?"
"Something much more fragile and meaningful "
Confusion made her brows furrow. "A simile serves a good purpose for understanding."
I put a hand on her shoulder, bring her closer as I whispered. "As meaningful as life itself."
That did the trick. She straightened up, shock in her eyes as I nodded. She said in a hushed voice, "Selfishness isn't a good trait."
"It would be selfishness were it my own at risk."
"Then whose would you save with such fervor?"
"One of the last of the line my mother belonged to."
Her eyes darted to the living room, but I spoke again.
"A woman who was a second mother to me - both literally and figuratively."
Her eyes were now the size of saucers as the whole situation came into the light.
"I have until the clock ticks over, when this day ends and shall never be repeated again."
Kate checked her watch as she reverted back to English. "Oh God."
"See?" I whisper.
"Where?"
"Moonlight Cinema."
"That's a half hour from here."
We both were quiet until she looked at me with a new determination in her eyes.
"How silly of us!" She said loudly as she walked into the living room, a convincing smile pasted on her face. "We still haven't given dear Mr. E a birthday present!"
Michael blushed as I hurried next to Kate, just as jubilant. "Yes!" I said. "We should go somewhere to celebrate."
"How about a ticket to a movie?" Kate asked.
Mike's face lit up. "Wait, really?"
"Definitely." I said. "You deserve it." You honestly do.
"All of us should go." She continued.
"Which cinema?" He asked excitedly.
"The Moonlight." I spoke. "It's the closest, is it not?"
Mrs. N nodded. "That seems like a nice way to celebrate." She smiled at the grinning boy. "Happy birthday, my dear."
"Thank you!" He jumped up. "Let's go!"
We laughed as Mike childishly ran out of the house. Mrs. N shook her head. "Let me get my keys."
Kate and I walked out, her head bent towards my ear and she whispered, "What they need to open the safe, we cannot give up."
"The badge wouldn't help."
"Weapons might."
"But they would hurt her."
She sighed heavily. "We might not have a choice but to take the chances."
I shivered at the thought of Gran being in danger. I didn't want to take any risk, but she was right - we didn't have a choice.
"Plan of action?"
I stared straight ahead, looking at Mike's excited face sitting in Mrs. N's car as a tear that I hadn't even realized formed trickled down my cheek. "...I don't know."
Kate looked at me worriedly and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We should tell them."
"What good will that do?"
"Surround, instead of surrender."
She had a point. With five extra agents, I could have the physical and emotional support I desperately needed, and we might actually be in a position of bargaining if we had the weapons.
"Alright." I agreed.
We (except Mr. N for obvious reasons) sat in the car and took it out of the driveway and on the way to the cinema, and Kate spoke up.
"I know." Was all she said.
Mrs. N glanced her way confused while Delilah, Mr. I and Michael stiffed.
"About Mrs. Edwards." Said Kate slowly. "I know she's kidnapped."
The car jerked badly as Mrs. N's foot stamped the brake out of shock, but still continued to drive. The other three in the car just glared at me.
"I though you said that we were supposed to 'lay low'." Delilah said giving me a withering scowl.
I shook my head, trying to keep my emotions in check and spoke slowly. "That was when I received the first letter. The second one... It told me to give up my key in exchange for her life. I - I know I can't do that... but what do I do?"
I was looking into Michael's eyes through the rear view mirror when I said this. He was my best friend and I needed him to be there for me, now more than ever. But the look he gave me, with sympathy so apparent in his eyes, it sent a hot wash of irritation down my back.
"Does anybody have any concrete clue as to what I'm supposed to do?" I said suddenly, startling them. "If not, then all of us should be pitied upon, not just me." I stared pointedly at Michael through the mirror, his eyes widening as he looked away embarrassed.
"Control your temper, will you?" My aunt's tight voice said. I immediately turned in her direction, ready to defend myself (in the harshest way possible), but when I looked into her eyes, I saw nothing but defeat. Utter hopelessness, the knowledge that none of us could do anything unmistakable in those brown pupils. The bitter words died in my throat and without realizing it I reached out a hand and grasped hers. She looked up in surprise as, with my gaze away from her face, I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb.
"I need your help." I said quietly. "I really need your help. I don't know what to do."
She sighed after a moment, and put a warm hand my mine. Nobody spoke for a whole minute before Mr. I said, "I think I have a plan."
I looked up at him, hopeful. "Which is?"
"We'll stay at the cinema until midnight." He said. "Hide in dark theaters for a few hours until its time to go. Eve goes out near the dumpster alone, armed, and the rest of us surround the place beforehand, guns at the ready. As soon as the person who comes to pick up the key arrives," he clicked his fingers to imitate something happening suddenly, "we go in."
"But what if the person sees you?" Asked Mrs. N.
"He won't." Mr. I promised.
"How do you know that?" Asked Michael.
"Because we will already be at the scene an hour before we're supposed to get there. The organization has taught all of us excellent stealth skills, and if you really did pay attention, you'll hide yourself well enough. Ms. R will come at midnight as asked to."
Everything was quiet for a moment as they comprehended the plan.
"Alright." I whispered. "It's the only plan we've got. I admit, we have made better ones before, but this is all we've got."
I looked through the windscreen on the car to see the cinema approaching quickly.
"Let's just go with the flow."