Generations Family Secrets (Cont.)
26 Jan 2018MMMMMalcolm
I heard footsteps coming up the ladder. Hidden behind what I thought was a couch covered with a sheet and dust, I tried to be as quiet as possible. I wasn’t too far from the ladder but I couldn’t see the opening without giving myself away. I could see Kay though. She was hidden behind what looked like a covered china cabinet or wardrobe. It was closer to the lab opening, but they wouldn’t have seen her if they weren’t expecting her.The Imperial was cussing to his cohorts. “We wasted three d*** days trashing this place when all we had to do was look up the house’s building permits. I would have never thought to research the plans, because in the Empire a simple bribe would have ensured they did not exist. I guess the f***** Feds are good for something at least.”
I grit my teeth and poked my head out from behind the couch. Three suited men were walking toward the lab. Two younger men bracketed the guy flapping his gums. He, I assumed, was the leader, Tom and Nancy’s killer, and the guy I really wanted to talk to. Rage rose in me.
They were almost even with Kay’s cabinet when I quietly rose from my hiding spot and rushed the nearest guy; one of the younger intruders. With nothing but my hands and Kay’s training as weapons, I wrapped my arms around his neck. As I leaned back, I kicked out one of his legs to keep him off balance and prevent him from throwing me.
“What the..?” the Imperial blurted. He pulled his gun and for a second I panicked. I remembered the look of the .45 my guardian used in that abandoned building. A similar .45 was pointed at my captive’s head. I remembered the results of the shot Nancy tried to block with her hand.
“I hope your boss cares about his employees,” I muttered into my captive’s ear.
“Phil! End this fool.” The leader ordered. “I’ll cover you.” Nothing happened. “Phil! I know your punk a** isn’t scared of some Federal. Kill him so we can finish our mission!”
I glanced over to where the other younger man was standing; only, he was no longer standing. He was lying in a pool of his own blood. The leader took a quick glance and saw him too.
In stereo we yelled out, “Ah hell!” He turned to me and my captive, leveled his weapon, and pulled the trigger. At the same time I pushed the man towards his boss, dropped to the floor, and scrambled for cover. Two shots rang out. I hear a body hit the floor and then everything is quiet.
“Drop the gun or your precious Imperial skin will be violated by this Federal knife!”
I emerge from behind some boxes to see Kay holding a knife to the guy’s throat. I grab the .45 off the floor.
“Where did you get a knife?” I ask her.
“I picked it up off the kitchen floor while I was locking all the doors.”
I scolded myself for not thinking of that. “You didn’t happen to grab something to tie this jerk up with, did you?”
“Nope.”
“Good.” I shot him in the knee. His screams of agony were a start but I knew I would get more; much more before I was finished with him. I dragged his worthless carcass to the couch.
“I don’t think he’ll be going anywhere. See if his cronies had weapons. I have a feeling my new friend here is going to give me a hard time.”
Kay came back first with an old desk chair. Man that woman thinks of everything. I placed the chair backwards in front of the couch and straddled it, glaring at the writhing man. A moment later she returned with two more .45’s, four reload clips, and two knives. Then she searched our guest and removed his knife and one more ammo clip. I smiled. Forty five more shots should buy me all the answers I want.
“By the looks of things,” I start, “you already know how this goes. Answer my questions and you die quick. Refuse and you die slow. I’m hoping you refuse.”
The man doesn’t respond; he just sits clutching his leg breathing hard through his nose.
“Why does the Empire want Tom and Nancy dead?”
“Who is Tom and Nancy?”
I flew off the chair, rushed behind the couch, and grabbed his right hand. Stretching his arm along the back of the couch, I placed the muzzle of the gun against his elbow.
“No, no, wait, wait, wait!” I pulled the trigger. “AHHHHH!!!”
“I thought I made it clear I was not in the mood for games.”
“Look…” he spat between clenched teeth. “I… was sent… to kill… Eric and Natasha… Romanov. I don’t know… a Tom or a Nancy.”
I glanced, confused, at Kay. “Okay,” I said. “Who are Eric and Natasha Romanov?”
“The owners of this house. It’s obvious they were scientists.” This guy, I thought, defiant to the end. He must have been born and raised on Achenar. “They stole some research and the owner wants it back.”
I was stunned. Tom and Nancy weren’t really Tom and Nancy; and they were fugitives. So then who was I? Was my name really Malcolm Goodwin? Was I really born on Earth? I shook my head, trying to dispel the questions.
“Who owns the research?” I asked.
“That’s none of your d**** business.”
I aimed the gun at his other knee. He spat in my face.
“Go ahead, you f***! Shoot ‘em all out! It won’t do you any good. I told you all I’m gonna tell you!”
I wiped my face and pulled the trigger.
“Malcolm!” Kay screamed.
“What,” I fired back. “He told me to.” She glared at me but I didn’t care. She would have done the same had it been her father; even her mother. Sure, my childhood had been a lie. But it was a nice lie for a while and it was my lie. I didn’t give anyone my permission to take it from me. The assassin had passed out from shock. I placed the gun to his head and expelled the last bullet.
“Wait here.” I tell Kay before disappearing down the ladder. A moment later I come back with a child’s backpack.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It’s my old John Jameson backpack. I found it in what’s left of my old room. Grab all the journals and the laptop and place them in it. We’re taking them with us.”
We closed all the outer doors again. We locked all the windows and closed all the drapes. I shut down the atmospheric filtration unit to close up all the vents; making the house as air tight as possible. By the time we left, it was dark outside. I wasn’t sure how long it would take the gas, leaking from the ruptured line behind the stove, to fill the house. I was also uncertain when the burner I left burning in the lab would ignite the buildup. All I knew was, by sunrise the sum total of my life would be the equivalent of the contents of a child’s backpack.