Chapter 93

I

At 3:55pm, Kyla and Justina walked through the main entrance to the Times-Tribune building and up to the reception desk.

The receptionist looked up and asked, “Welcome to the Times-Tribune. How may I help you today?”

In a clear voice that showed little hint of the inner turmoil that Kyla was experiencing, she replied, “I have a 4pm appointment with Jeremiah Donovan.”

“Your name, miss?”

“Skylar Sullivan,” Kyla said.

“Ms. Sullivan, Jere is expecting you,” Carla, the receptionist, said. “I spoke to you yesterday when you asked to speak with him. I recognized your voice. You’re from New York State, aren’t you?”

Kyla didn’t know how to take that. She wondered how the receptionist knew where she was from.

“What makes you say that?” asked Kyla.

“Your voice, dear,” Carla said; “You’re from the New York City area. I can tell from your accent. I grew up there.”

“Oh, of course,” Kyla said; “I didn’t even consider that anyone would think that about my voice. To me, I don’t have any kind of regional accent.”

“Jere is waiting for you up on the fourth floor,” Carla said; “His office is down the corridor and to the right after you get off the elevator.”

“Thank you,” Kyla said. She and Justina made their way to the elevators. When they were out of earshot, Carla called Jeremiah’s office.

“Jere Donovan.”

“Jere, it’s Carla. Your 4 o’clock is on her way up. She has an adorable little girl about four or five with her.”

“Okay,” Jeremiah said; “Thanks, Carla. I don’t want any other calls or visitors for at least a couple of hours. Only emergencies on the floor about the run, okay?”

“Gotcha, Jere.”

“Thanks,” Jeremiah said, then hung up.

Carla was replacing the receiver back into the cradle of the phone when she realized the little girl looked familiar.

She looks like a young, female Matt Wilkes, Carla thought. That boy must be in some trouble.

Carla couldn’t have been more wrong, and secretly, she hoped she was.

===

Matt was in the observation room behind and above Jeremiah’s office when he saw Skylar and a little girl about four come in. Only a one way mirror separated him from the scene below.

He felt his heart melt as Skylar shook Jeremiah’s hand. My God, he thought, she’s so beautiful! He was finding it hard to not reveal himself before Jeremiah signaled him.

Matt looked at the little girl, and knew that was his Justina. She was older, but he knew that was his baby. He watched as Justina asked Jeremiah about the mirror on the wall above his desk.

Matt could hear everything going on in the room below, and heard Jeremiah answer the little girl’s question; “Sometimes, my bosses or the police are up there listening in to some of my interviews. There are some scary people who have been in this office, and that mirror has a room behind it so that if anything goes wrong, then someone will be down here in no time. It’s to keep me safe.”

Skylar looked up at it and asked, “Is there anyone up there now?”

Seeing Jeremiah hesitate for the briefest of moments, Matt Wilkes hoped he said no.

“Because of the information you say you have about A.R.M., there is someone up there monitoring recording equipment. If you don’t want the interview recorded, say the word and I’ll signal them to turn off the machine,” Jeremiah said.

“I was hoping that you would be recording this, because I can’t stand knowing what I know about these monsters,” Skylar said; “I’m certain they did something to Ben. I was told that the body that was recovered from the river near our home was his. I don’t believe it though. I think they killed him and dumped his body where it would never be found.”

“What if he’s not dead, Ms. Sullivan?” Jeremiah asked; “What if he was in fear for his life and in hiding?”

“I honestly never considered that,” Skylar said; “I can’t keep my hopes up, though. I can’t do that to my daughter.”

“Understandable,” Jeremiah said; “I don’t think I’d do that to my kids either.”

“You have kids?” Justina asked.

Jeremiah smiled, saying, “Yes, I have three daughters and a son. One daughter is in college. My son is still deciding on college; my second daughter’s 13, and my youngest daughter is nine, so they still has a ways to go before their mother and I have to worry about that.”

“You don’t seem old enough to have a daughter in college,” Skylar said.

“Thanks,” said Jeremiah; “I was pretty young when she was born.” He paused then said, “Let’s get to the interview, shall we, Ms Sullivan? I’m quite interested in what you have to say.”

Justina looked up at the mirror, wondering who was behind it recording stuff. Matt saw her full in the face, and thought, I have to get my family together again, or I may lose touch with my little girl forever.

For the time being, he sat and listened to Skylar’s version of what happened after he was kidnapped.

It wasn’t a pretty picture.

===

II

The men came to her door in the early morning hours, banging on it loud enough to wake up people in New Jersey. Skylar went to answer it, and a man forced his way inside.

“Skylar Scardino Sullivan, you and your daughter have been marked for extermination by the American Republic Movement,” he said gruffly, grabbing Skylar by the arm and forcing down the hall to Justina’s room. “Get your daughter and come with me!”

Skylar looked the man in the eye and said, “And if I refuse?”

“I’ll kill you both right here and walk away with a clear conscience.”

Justina saw the man being mean to Mama and started to cry. “Shut that mixed brat up will you?” the man asked impatiently.

“How dare you!” said Skylar; “How dare you force yourself into my home and threaten my family!”

The man slapped her in the face as hard as he could. Skylar didn’t collapse to the floor as he expected her to, so he slapped her again and again until she did. Meanwhile, Justina still screamed and cried for her mother.

“Shut up!” the man said to the little girl, grabbing her out of her bed and carried her out to a woman before he went back in and retrieved Skylar.

“So, you’re the little brat created by this illegal union between the races,” the woman said evilly; “Too bad you look just like your whore of a mother. I would have made a better mother than that bitch who bore you. But no, Benjamin had to be with her, and not me!”

“Remember, my dear,” the man said as he dragged Skylar out of her apartment by her hair, “this could’ve been you.”

“Fuck you!” she spat at the man.

Skylar looked at the older woman and said, “You’re Sheilah Cassidy?! What makes you so different from me? You’re just as white as I am!”

“I saw the light, Skylar,” Sheilah said; “And I turned that mixed race traitor over to A.R.M.”

“Ben chose me over you and you’re pissed!” Skylar exclaimed; “This is revenge, pure and simple.”

“So? It’s revenge. Big deal. I saw the error of my ways and joined this organization dedicated to the One Race One Faith cause. It will be a pleasure to get rid of you, Benjamin and your little brat once and for all!” Sheilah cackled, which sent a shiver up Skylar’s spine.

Skylar and Justina were thrown into a windowless van and were being taken to God knew where.

“Mama, I scareded,” Justina said.

“I am, too, Tina,” Skylar said.

Soon, they arrived someplace that Skylar wasn’t familiar with. She and Justina were marched into an office, where an imposing man sat, looking at the two of them with disdain.

“I’m Lincoln Marsh,” he said; “You’re marked for extermination, Mrs. Sullivan. Both you and your daughter.”

“Where’s my husband?” Skylar demanded. “Tell me where he is or I’ll kill you with my bare hands!”

“Where he is is no concern of yours,” Marsh said; “And I seriously doubt that you could kill me.”

“Try me!” Skylar dared him.

Marsh took notice of the woman’s bravado. I wonder, he thought, if I could make her my bitch. Nah, better yet, I’ll make her my press liaison to take that bitch Krysta Banks’ place.

“I have a proposition for you, Mrs. Sullivan,” he said; “What if you worked for me?”
“Never!” Skylar said defiantly; “I don’t work for murderers and thieves.”

Marsh looked at her, “Even if it meant you and your daughter would be safe? That you wouldn’t be exterminated?”

“That’s fucking blackmail, and you know it!”

“That’s right, Skylar,” Marsh said; “You work for me, and you and your daughter live. Refuse me, and I’ll kill you both myself. I’ll kill your daughter first and make you watch while I choke the life out of her.”

Skylar couldn’t bear to see that happen: her little girl looking to her for help and she not being able to do anything about it. She was trapped and she knew it. It was either work for this evil man, or watch him snuff out her Justina’s life before her eyes.

“I’ll do it, but only because I love my daughter more than I’ll ever love working for you,” Skylar said.

Marsh looked at her saying, “I thought you’d see it my way.”


*

Jeremiah thought he was going to throw up. Lincoln Marsh threatened Skylar’s daughter to make her work for A.R.M. He hoped the bastard was dead, because he had no conscience.

After swallowing the bile that creeped up his throat, he asked, “Then what happened?”

“I worked for the motherfucking bastard,” Skylar said; “I had no choice. This went on for a year or so. Back in March, Marsh returned to the office and told me he was leaving, and to not ask questions. He’d had a change of heart, and he would allow me and Justina to escape.”

“What was his ‘change of heart’?” asked Jeremiah.

“Apparently, he’d fallen in love,” Skylar said; “Her approval meant everything to him, and he couldn’t have her if he continued to be evil. So one day, he just left and never returned.”

“Is this about the time you stole the babysitter’s car?”

“Yes,” Skylar said; “She was a drunk and a druggie, and most of the time, she was passed out when I returned from work. Justina was essentially unsupervised for most of the day. When Marsh left, his goons came after me and beat the crap out of me, raped me, broke my arm, cracked a couple of ribs. I couldn’t tell them where Marsh had gone so they planned to kill me. I escaped, somehow made it home and got Justina. The sitter’s purse was open, so I stole her wallet, her car keys and we got out of there. What happened to her, I didn’t care. She was the one who turned Ben into A.R.M., and she was forced to watch Justina as I worked for Marsh as punishment for God knew what.”

“Sheilah Cassidy, right?” Jeremiah said, writing down the name on a pad.

“Yes,” Skylar said; “She didn’t hurt Justina, because Justina liked her. But, as I said, she was passed out on the sofa most nights when I returned home. Stealing from her was too easy.”

Jeremiah cut to the chase, “You said you know what happened to Kyla Scardino. You’re Kyla, that much I guessed. But someone was found in a bathtub in a house in Virginia that was identified as you. But since you’re sitting here, who was the mutilated female corpse that was found? A.R.M. took pains to make sure it was you.”

“Until they ran out of money, A.R.M. paid people good money to make anything appear to be something else,” Skylar said; “So it’s not surprising that they tried to make it look like it was my body that was found. I had heard later, long after I escaped, that Sheilah had been punished for letting me get away. It would not surprise me in the least that if the autopsy were repeated, they would find that it was Sheilah Cassidy.”

Matt, sitting up in the observation room, let out a low audible gasp. So that’s what happened to that bitch, he thought. She made Skylar’s life a living hell, and eventually, paid for it by the very people she worked for. Well, good.

“Mr. Donovan,” Skylar said now, “I don’t want people to know that I’m the one who spilled the beans about the inner workings of this evil and corrupt group. I’m sure there are people out there who would still like to kill me and my daughter.”

“You’re requesting anonymity, then?” asked Jeremiah.

“Yes.”

“I can do that for you, but you realize because your life is still at risk, that you may need to be in Witness Protection. There’s an FBI office here that can help you with that,” Jeremiah said.

“Only one thing that concerns me,” Skylar said, “and that’s what really happened to Ben. If he’s dead, I’ll have to accept it.”

“What if I told you that he’s not only not dead,” Jeremiah said; “but works for this newspaper?”

Skylar’s expression didn’t change, which worried both Jeremiah across the desk from her, but Matt up in the observation room.

“I don’t think I’d believe you until I saw him with my own eyes,” she said. Then, for the first time since she’d been in Jeremiah’s office, she broke down.

===

III

Matt’s arms ached for wanting to hold Skylar and comfort her. She had put up that wall that wouldn’t let her accept that he was somehow still alive. He had been gone more than half of Justina’s life. Would she even remember him?

He would take his family far away and start a new life somewhere. He was good with computers and newspaper editing software, and was certain he could get a job at any newspaper. Since changing his identity nearly two years before, no one had come looking for him. He was certain that Skylar and Justina could do the same.

In Jeremiah’s office half a floor below, Skylar was dabbing her eyes with a tissue and apologizing for losing control of her emotions, to which Jeremiah had said that it was quite all right, that he understood where she was coming from.

“So, you mean he’s here at the Times-Tribune?” asked Skylar.

“Yes,” Jeremiah said; “He came here not quite two years ago and works as a digital editor. He came to me when he overheard a conversation between me and my brother that mentioned your name, and told me his story, his real name, and that he wants to see you and your little girl before you left.”

“Wh-where is he?”

Jeremiah waved at the window, and within seconds, Matt Wilkes was standing in the doorway. All he had to say was, “Skylar?”


She looked at him with disbelief, then as she recognized him, with surprise.

“Benji!”

Matt took her into his arms as she broke down; “It’s okay, Skylar, I’m here. I’ve wanted to find you, if only to tell you I was still alive. I escaped, baby, and if you still want me in your life, just say the word.”

Skylar looked at him, tears still streaming down her face; “Of course I still want you in my life, in Justina’s life. Why wouldn’t I?”

Matt had to admit to himself that he didn’t have an answer to that.

Neither he nor Skylar saw Jeremiah slip out of his office to give the family some privacy.

He saw Justina sleeping in one of the overstuffed chairs against the wall of the office. He walked to it and bent down and said to her, “Hey, boo, wake up!”

Half asleep, Justina said, “My daddy says that to me.”

She then opened her eyes, and asked, “Daddy?”

“Yes, Tina-bo-Beena, it’s Daddy.”

“Daddy!” Justina said as she flung her arms around him. “We found you!”

“You’ve gotten to be such a big girl, Tina,” Matt said; “I’ve missed you so much!”

Jeremiah soon returned to his office and told Skylar and Matt, “There’s a car here to take you to the FBI office. They’ll take good care of you.”

“Jere, I don’t know what to say except thank you,” Matt said; “I never in a million years thought that I’d ever see my family again.”

“If it’s okay with the FeeBees, Matt, you’ll still have a job here,” Jeremiah said; “If you can’t stay, then I’ll be more than honored to write a letter of introduction to your next employer. Now go on and see what they can do for your family.”

After the family left, Jeremiah closed his office door, turned off the lights, and sat down at his desk.

Then, the tough as nails former assassin laid his head on his desk and wept.

===

“You so much as deviate from the road and take us anywhere than the FBI office, I will have no trouble blowing your brains out,” Wilkes said as the FBI agent driving made him and Skylar uncomfortable. He held a gun on the driver.

“Whoa, Wilkes, we’re on your side, remember,” the agent said; “What’s up with the guns, dude?”

“You’re making my wife uncomfortable.”

“My apologies, Mrs. Wilkes,” Agent Parkerson said.

“I should apologize, too, then, Agent Parkerson,” Skylar said; “I’ve been through hell and back, and I don’t want to find that I’m on the edge of being free that you’re not who you say you are.”

“I showed you my ID.”

“IDs can be faked,” Skylar said.

“Government IDs are such that counterfeiting is all but impossible,” Parkerson said; “I came all the way out from Washington just for this assignment. I’m supposed to be investigating what happened to my daughter in law’s twin sister.”

“I just want to get away from the people trying to kill me, Agent,” Skylar said.

“And so you shall, Mrs. Wilkes,” Parkerson said as they drove in front of the FBI building downtown. “See that female agent? She’ll take you in to see the Agent in Charge. I highly suggest that you put your weapon away, Wilkes.”

Parkerson exited the car first. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something that didn’t look right.

Someone walking down the street with a duffle bag suddenly stopped, opened the bag and removed a weapon. It was aimed at the gas tank of the car that the family was in.

Parkerson and the female agent, Davalos, both fired. Agent Davalos’ bullet found its way into the man’s chest, piercing his aorta. He was dead before he hit the ground.

“What the fuck, Davalos?!” Parkerson said.

“He knew that they were coming, Agent,” Davalos said; “He’d been staking out his position all afternoon.”

“No, I mean, the man’s deader than a doornail,” Parkerson said; “How the fuck did you know to shoot him there?”

“Just a little trick I picked up from Morbus years and years ago,” Davalos said. “In another life, I was known as Susie West, one of the BlackOps Girls.”

“Holy shit, Davalos, I had no idea you even knew him, much less were one of the five female assassins he employed!”

“Learn something new every day, don’t you?” Davalos said; “Now let’s get these nice folks inside and make ‘em disappear.”

Parkerson just shook his head. Wilkes' paranoia was justified, he thought.

===