Once Upon a Time….
“I said get the hell out of here you bitch!!!” Nick screamed as he tried getting up and lunging at Ariana, only to be stopped by AJ.
“Calm down Nick.”
“I’m not going to calm down, this is all her fault! It’s her fault that Patty is dead!!”
“Nick cool it now!” AJ yelled when he saw the evil smirk on his captor’s face. The last thing he needed was for the psycho to hurt his baby brother. After a few more seconds of struggling in his brother’s embrace, he finally stopped and allowed himself to calm down.
Ariana watched with amusement and that all too familiar mix of sadness and jealousy. When it seemed like things had settled down, she took her seat on the chair across from both boys and crossed one leg over the other. “I am sorry about your friend Nick, but I had nothing to do with that.”
“Yes you did.” He said in-between gritted teeth, “You are the reason she is dead.”
“You are the reason she’s dead, not me!” She yelled right back at him.
“Shut up!” AJ defended.
“Well it’s the truth. If he hadn’t gone over to his little girlfriend’s house she would still be alive. It’s your fault so why don’t we just stop playing the blame game kid, okay?”
“I hate you and so will Howie when he finds out about you.” He growled. The amount of hate behind his words, even made AJ wince a little bit.
“He will hate me, you’re right. But I can’t help that now. Someday he’ll understand just like you will.”
“I won’t understand this, not ever!”
“I came in here to tell you boys a story.”
“We’re not interested in your stupid bedtime stories Ariana, all we want is to go home.” AJ said, leaning back but keeping his hand on Nick’s back and rubbing gently in concentric circles to keep the boy calm.
“Oh I have a feeling that this one you’ll want to hear. It’s about a man who abandoned his girlfriend and child for something better.”
AJ sat up straight but Nick still didn’t understand, “I am not interested in why your life is so bad. My life is bad too and I don’t kill people.”
“Oh boo friggin’ hoo, yes your life was oh so bad. Please kid, give me a break.”
“What’s going to happen to us?” AJ asked, not really wanting Ariana to continue on with her story because he had a feeling he wouldn’t much like how it spun.
“After I’m done with my story…” She said putting up her hand to stop him from asking anymore questions. “Okay now where was I? Yes, the man who left his girlfriend only to start a new family. What a prick, huh?”
She moved closer to the boys as she went on, “Well see this guy was already married but he never bothered to tell his girlfriend about it, then you know what he did? He knocked her up! When she told him about the baby, he said she should have an abortion because he wasn’t ready to leave his wife, not yet he said…maybe somewhere down the line but not quite yet.”
She seemed to be zoning out a little as she fell into her own story, “The girlfriend ended up having the baby all alone, no support whatsoever. He didn’t even come to see the child. He acted like it didn’t even exist. Eventually he stopped coming around all together. It was too much to handle, he had told her. He couldn’t keep up the charade anymore. It wasn’t fair to her or their baby.”
Ariana let out a little sad laugh, “That was the first time he ever even acknowledged the fact that the baby was his, the day he blew her off for good.
This sent her into a horrible depression. She started drinking and by the time the baby was four she had already witnessed her mother getting arrested. The baby was put into foster care for the first time on her fourth birthday. What were you doing on your fourth birthday?”
Nick was growing annoyed as this story was progressing. Ariana was able to tell by the way he kept shaking his legs as he shifted positions, rolling his eyes and letting out little sighs of boredom along the way. “Is there a problem?” She asked the young blonde a she defensively crossed her arms in front of her.
“Yeah, why don’t you just come out and say this story is about you and your mother? Why all the ‘girlfriend’ and ‘baby’ crap. We know you are talking about yourself so why don’t you just come out and say it?”
She smiled once more, wanting to reach over and smack him across the face, but stopping herself blaming his lack of understanding on his youthfulness. The fact that she had kidnapped him never even occurred to her as a reason for his reluctance to care. In her mind, he was her right, the reward for all her father had done wrong to her. She glanced over at AJ then, to see a look or worry on his face. He was afraid she was going to hurt his precious baby brother. The way he was looking at her, made her feel as if she was crazy, but maybe there was also a slight sense of understanding hidden behind those eyes.
“Fine, you’re right Nicky. I am talking about myself and my mother. Sometimes it helps to pretend I’m not me when I say this because reliving it as me is too painful.”
“No one is asking you to relive anything. I told you I could care less what you had to say.” Nick spouted as once again the calming hand of his brother tried to censor his anger.
“Frankly, I don’t care whether you want to hear it or not you little spoiled brat! What I have to say is important so I suggest you listen.” Nick nodded, seeing the anger on Ariana’s face and the faint whisper of “Please stop.” from his brother.
She waited a few more seconds to see if he was going to run his mouth off again and was happy when he didn’t. She knew that he did care deep down inside. He probably just didn’t want her to see it. Isn’t that how teenaged boys are?
“So it’s okay for me to go on now, perhaps without interruption?”
AJ nodded at her, “The floor is all yours, go ahead and tell us what you feel you need to tell us.”
She smiled at AJ, she really did like him. In time she was sure she could get him to like her as well, this way no one had to die. “Thank you AJ.” She nodded back at him before continuing her tale. This was the climax, the big reveal and she wanted to make sure she got it right. There would be no do-over from this point on. All the times she had rehearsed this moment in her head was now coming to reality. All the years she had waited, practicing the right words while talking to herself in the mirror. She always envisioned that Nick would be the only one to hear this story. AJ was just an added bonus.
“Well, this girl… me…I built up a hatred of the man who left me and my mother behind. I had plenty of time to think about it. Every time I had to pack my stuff and move out of the house because of my mother’s endless drinking and drug problems. I always used to think ‘I wonder if his other family is going through this shit too?’ I really started to hate him with a passion! He never once checked up on us, not even when I found him and called him. I think I was about 7 or 8 at the time. I know that’s young but I was driven even way back then. I found his phone number in my mother’s purse, next to a vile of crack. When I called, his wife answered. She thought I was calling for her oldest son who was a little younger than me at the time. She thought it was adorable that I was doing the calling and not my mother for this play date. She didn’t realize that her husband had caused me to lose my childhood way before then.”
She glanced over at the boys just to see if she could read their expressions. They were both staring quietly, Nick down at the ground but AJ straight at her. “You know where this is going, don’t you?” She asked him.
“Just continue.” He answered in a sad, low voice. He did know exactly where this was going. Maybe he had expected it all along.
“It’s hard growing up without a father and with a mother who was slowly self destructing. All she ever did was talk about him like he was the best thing that had ever come into our lives. She acted like he was the Messiah and we weren’t worthy of his time. I think she actually believed he was better than us when all he was, was a lying, no good bastard.”
She paused, because she felt herself getting angry and losing control. When she thought about him too much that is what usually happened. She almost always ended up throwing something across the room or punching a wall, that’s how mad he made her. “Anyway…my mother just got worse and worse, when she wasn’t drunk or high she was beating the crap out of me and telling me it was my fault my father left us. I wanted to run away but there was really nowhere to go so I just stayed.” She looked up at them again. AJ was still watching her as if she was a movie screen but Nick seemed to be content with just staring at the ground. “Then it happened. A drug raid…it wasn’t even supposed to go down at our house. It was the house next door. They were the ones with the meth lab but they came into our home instead. They barged down the door screaming and then I heard the gunshots.”
Now the young blonde finally looked up as she finished her story, “He shot my mother right in the chest. He said he thought she was reaching for a weapon but she was only reaching for me, trying to get me out of the way. That was one of the only times I felt protected by my mother and it ended up killing her. You want to know the irony behind this? It was my father that did it! After shooting my mother he walked over to her and then actually let out a small sigh and a fake ‘Oh my God what I have done?’ Then he looked over at me. He knew who I was. He knew I was his daughter, I could tell by the soft way he looked at me. He had tears in his eyes I am pretty sure. He turned away from me just as I reached for him. Turned away from me like I wasn’t even there do you believe that? I had just lost my mother and my own father was too scared that someone would notice him caring about me.”
She let out another sigh and wiped a tear away that was escaping down her cheek. “His partner is the one that sat with me and let me play with his walkie talkie as we waited for children and youth to come and get me. He wouldn’t even look at me when his partner asked him what he was going to do. You know what my father said? He said ‘it’s not my problem.’ And then he walked away from me forever.”
“That sucks…” Nick whispered, which kind of took her by surprise.
She let out a small laugh as she wiped away some more of her tears, “Yeah, it really does suck, doesn’t it? I was put into foster care and then given to a family that completely messed me up. All the time I was with them I never forgot about my father though, not once. I built up a hatred of him and I vowed to get my revenge and now it’s finally happening.” Her voice suddenly changed more cold and harsh, “Finally happening.” She repeated one more time.
“I don’t get it, what do you mean?” Nick asked as AJ shook his head.
“Well, I now have two of his sons sitting here with me.”
AJ placed his head against the wall and let out a sigh but Nick still wasn’t getting it. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Nick, you are my brother. The evil villain in this story is not me, it’s your father. He did this to me and because of that, you’re going to pay!”
Now that the truth was out, just the way she had always rehearsed it, she thought she would feel a great sense of relief or triumph but instead she only felt emptiness as she watched both of her brother’s sit there in a stunned silence.
Jack’s pulse quickened as he hard the two brothers coming down the steps of the basement with Anita close behind. He didn’t want to kill anyone, not this way but if he had to he would be ready. “I really don’t think they’d be hiding in the basement, I mean it’s not like they are children anymore.” Anita said with the smallest amount of disgust in her voice.
“I don’t think they’d be hiding from us, but maybe someone else.” Kevin said just as they reached the bottom.
“Like who?”
“Has Patty’s boyfriend been over recently?” Brian asked as he flipped on the light switch in front of him.
“Why? What’s Charlie got to do with any of this?”
“Maybe nothing, but he is wanted by the police for assault and battery. Are you aware of that?”
“No, of course not! He attacked someone?”
“A fellow agent.” Kevin answered as he stood only a few feet away from Jack who was well hidden from view.
“I always thought that boy was bad news…do you think he’d try to hurt my daughter?” She sounded alarmed.
“I don’t know.” Kevin was just about to turn around, just a little bit to the left, where Jack’s hiding spot would be revealed, but instead he moved away back towards Brian and Anita, “Anita, why don’t you head on upstairs and let Brian and I check around a little more down here.” He said giving her a slow nod.
“Okay…I’m going to go try calling some more of her friends.”
“Good idea.” Brian replied.
Jack let himself relax a little bit as he moved further out of view. He didn’t realize that Kevin had seen him out of the corner of his eye and was just trying to figure out how to make his move.
Once Anita was safely up the steps, Kevin motioned for Brian to follow him as he drew his gun and walked back over to where he saw someone hiding. He wasn’t sure who it was but he was desperately hoping it would be Nick. Maybe the kid was afraid to come out with Anita there but without her, he would feel better even though the size of the person in question was much bigger than his brother.
Another nod signaled to Brian to draw his own gun and move to the other side of the steps where this person was hiding. Once in position Kevin counted to three with his fingers and then made his move. “I know you’re in here hiding so put your hands in the air and move out where I can see you.” He said this forcefully and with a great deal of authority in his voice.
Jack didn’t have much time to think about what to do. His instincts told him to shoot but with two of them there once he got one, the other would most likely get him. He could try to make a run for it, but once again with two of them there he wouldn’t make it past the thirteenth step before getting tackled to the ground.
“Okay I’m coming out…hold your fire.” He said as he put his hands in the air and walked out from his hiding place.
Kevin kept his gun aimed at the man who he recognized instantly, “Jack Roberts…what are you doing here hiding in this basement?”
Jack was hoping that Kevin wouldn’t remember him from so long ago but he wasn’t exactly surprised either. “Hello detective Richardson…I’m sorry to have startled you. I’m afraid this is all one big misunderstanding. I’m sure my girlfriend can vouch for me.”
“He’s the boyfriend.” Brian said, putting his gun down. “I’ve seen him come and go.”
Kevin nodded but still wouldn’t put his gun down, “Why were you hiding?”
“I’m embarrassed to say I thought you were breaking in and robbing the place.” He answered half laughing, like he believed his own words.
“Even after Anita came down here with us?” Kevin wasn’t completely buying this story. Something wasn’t right.
“I knew it was safe but then I just felt like a total ass for being scared. Once you guys were gone I would have come out.” Jack was proud of himself for the calm way he was acting. If Ariana was here she would be absolutely giddy.
Finally Kevin slowly put his gun down, not sensing any danger, “Have you seen Patty recently?” He asked when Jack let out a sigh of relief that a gun was no longer pointing at him.
“I saw them earlier; she was with a boy named Nick. They said they were going back to his place. I told them to wait until I got home but they must have left.”
“He said he was heading back home?” Brian asked looking over at Kevin while he waited for Jack’s answer.
“Yeah, he seemed like a stubborn thing.”
“He is.” Kevin answered and nodded his head.
All three men headed for the steps with Jack sandwiched in between both brothers. Kevin still wasn’t buying the story. His shifty eye movements as he talked signaled that he was hiding something. Of course, that could have just been paranoia as well. When they reached the top, Anita seemed surprised to see her boyfriend standing behind Kevin. “I thought you weren’t home.” She said to him.
“I remembered I needed something downstairs.” He seemed more unsettled talking to Anita, both brothers made a mental note of that.
“What did you need down there?”
“A pair of pants from the dryer.”
“Why?” Jack was growing annoyed by his girlfriend’s questions. Couldn’t she just shut up and let the two stupid agents leave?
“It’s not important.”
“None of Patty’s friends have seen her.” She said looking at Kevin and biting on her bottom lip.
“Jack said that he thinks they went back to my father’s house, but we were there a little bit ago and there was no sign of them.” Kevin answered.
“Maybe we should go check again.” Brian said, wanting to get out of there. He felt like they were just wasting time.
Kevin nodded, “Maybe, that’s a good idea…Anita; please call me if Patty or Nick resurfaces, okay?”
“Sure and you do the same if you find them.” She replied.
“I will.”
When the brother’s left the house they walked down the driveway and got into the car, neither of them saying anything until the doors were shut and the car was a safe distance away. “Why are you stopping here?” Brian asked when Kevin stopped the car just up the block.
“Because one of us is going to follow Jack when he leaves.”
“One of us?”
“Yeah, do you want to or do you want me too?”
“What is the other one of us going to do?”
“Go back to Dad’s.”
“You think he’s involved, don’t you?” Brian asked looking at the driveway they just left and getting anxious.
“He had a gun on him Brian.”
“What?”
“A gun, he had one hiding between his belt and his pants. I saw it when we were moving up the steps.”
“Why didn’t you….”
“Because he wouldn’t have told us anything and Anita was in there. He seemed too off balance and I didn’t want to take the chance that he would try to aim and fire. This way, we follow him and see where he goes.”
“I am worried.” Brian admitted now knowing something was definitely going on.
“Me too…so, why don’t you get out of the car and grab the bus to dads? You can get the bus right there.” He said pointing to the corner. “And I’m going to follow Jack.”
“I thought you were giving me the choice.”
“I changed my mind.” Kevin said winking at Brian and allowing himself to smile.
“Do you at least have any money for the bus?” Brian asked reaching in his pockets to find no change at all.
Kevin grabbed his wallet and took out a five, “This should be good enough.”
“Do bus drivers carry change?”
“I have no idea. I haven’t been on a bus since high school.”
“I’ll go break it at the candy store.” Brian said laughing and shaking his head,
“Kev…please be careful. I don’t like the idea of you following this guy all alone.”
“I’ll be fine Brian, you be careful too.” Kevin said reaching over and squeezing his brother’s shoulder.
Within a few minutes of Brian getting on the bus heading back to his father’s house, Jack emerged from Anita’s place like a man with a mission. The man looked around to make sure no one was watching him and then got into his car and backed out of the driveway.
“Okay, here we go…” Kevin said to himself as he maintained a safe distance between his car and Jack’s.
