Complete
Novel The
Black Knight Squash Fiction League Match #3 The Loose StringsThe Racketeers
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Chapter 13
Back To School
by Pierre Bastien
Hayden stared out the window of the #428
Greyhound bus, en route to Concord.
The lush reds and oranges of fall had by
now given way to the grays of winter. Hayden stared at the bare
branches of trees as they whipped past. She tried to keep her mind off
the last few days, instead preferring to watch the landscape as it flew
by, or count cars on the highway.
Hayden couldn’t help the thoughts creeping
into her consciousness. There was that gunshot when she tried to call
her mom. Was Ted still alive? Hayden thought so, felt it in her bones,
but couldn’t be sure.
Hayden also thought of that explosion at
the safe house in Tarrytown—did her Dad survive? He was at the other
end of the house when the car blew up. He was probably alive, but she
couldn’t be sure.
Funny, thought Hayden, both my parents
could be either alive or dead. Life was simpler back when they were
both definitely dead.
Her parents had died during her junior year
of high school. She had gotten used to being on her own. Now all these
parental figures were reappearing in her life. Hayden admitted to
herself that she’d been too trusting of them. For all her
self-proclaimed self-sufficiency, she really had a weak spot for an
older figure taking an interest in her.
First it was her father’s old protégé,
Jean-Luc, who had contacted her out of the blue, and helped her strike
out on a new, exciting path. She’d always liked Jean-Luc, but was
probably too eager to be taken under his wing, and should have
questioned his motives.
And then there was Jack. He swooped back
into Hayden’s life so quickly. She should have stopped to think things
over. Instead, she was quick to follow his lead, and look where that
led: Ollie was dead.
Enough, thought Hayden. Opening her bag,
she pulled out the bottle of single malt she’d brought from the safe
house, uncorked it, and took a quick swig. She let her thoughts float
in and out, but mostly she stared out the window as the sun began to
set. Exhaustion set in, and she dozed off, head resting against the bus
window.
In time, the Greyhound pulled off the
highway and started winding its way through the local streets of
Concord. Hayden awoke as the bus pulled into the familiar, drab
station, with the word GREYHOUND printed in caps on the sign above the
entrance.
The passengers disembarked and waited for
their suitcases to be unloaded from the belly of the bus. Hayden, who
had only a small bag with her, went straight to the taxi stand and was
soon on her way.
The cab snaked through town, and Hayden
took in the familiar sights. They drove past Juliet's, a local greasy
spoon. People always raved about their chicken finger subs, but Hayden
found them repulsive.
The cab continued on past the campus.
Hayden took in the familiar architecture, brick and concrete
everywhere, looking rather pale in the winter dusk.
They finally reached their destination, the
St. Exodus Inn, a charming boutique hotel just down the road from
campus. This was Ted’s favorite place to stay whenever she visited. If
she had gotten Hayden’s messages, this is where she would be.
Hayden paid the cab driver and walked in to
the hotel’s reception area. She asked for Ted Vaughn. Sure enough,
there was a Ted Vaughn here. The receptionist dialed the room, spoke
with someone, then told Hayden she could go right up to room 202.
Hayden made her way there and knocked on
the door. Would it really be her mother? When the door opened, it was
Ted, smiling at her.
Hayden, relieved, bear-hugged her mother,
and went in.
“I got your messages,” said Ted. “Sharp
thinking, as always!”
“It’s good to see you, Mom. We have a lot
to catch up on.”
“That we do,” replied Ted. She brewed a pot
of tea while Hayden looked out the window at the cold winter landscape.
“So,” began Hayden, as they sat down with
mugs of warm tea, “you said you were traveling with Dr. Karwah. Is she
here?”
“We are traveling together, but she’s down
the hall in another room. We booked two rooms, knowing you’d be coming.”
“Thanks Mom,” smiled Hayden, relieved that
her mother had taken care of the room for her.
“Mom, a couple days ago, I tried to call
you in Quebec. Someone picked up, but then I heard a gunshot, and the
line went dead. Is everything okay?”
Ted looked puzzled. “I haven’t been at the
Quebec house in weeks, sweetie.” Hayden returned the look of puzzlement.
“Mom,” sputtered Hayden, “how are you and
Dad both alive? What about the car accident? They said you were both
dead. I went to your funerals.”
Ted began to tell the story.
“When you were about 12 years old…I had an
affair with Jean-Luc. I think I mentioned this to you in my letter.
Jack knew about the relationship. And the weird thing is he never
seemed all that upset about it. You know how your father takes
everything in stride.
“Jean-Luc left the agency around that time.
He just wasn’t able to come to work anymore with Jack as his boss. Even
though Jack seemed oddly undisturbed, Jean-Luc couldn’t bear it, so he
left. He ended up freelancing. He fell in with some bad guys. Let’s be
honest—they’re gangsters. But Jean-Luc was happy enough.
“A few years later, Jack started wanting
more adventure and action. He wanted to get back in the field, and get
out from behind a desk. The agency wouldn’t hear it though. So Jack
starts saying he wants to drop out and go work for Jean-Luc. I couldn’t
believe it, but he was serious.
“So we came up with a plan. Jack faked the
car accident. He set everything up so that he could make a clean break
from the agency and join Jean-Luc in secret. And I also left my life,
the one I’d built with Jack. I left to be with Jean-Luc again.
“By that time, you were a junior at St.
Exodus. You were so capable and confident. We felt you were old enough
to take care of yourself. And I didn’t want to see you dragged into the
criminal world we were entering. I didn’t think it matched your
personality. I thought you’d be happier on your own.
Hayden, who had been listening passively,
suddenly snapped. “On my OWN? Jack is most definitely BACK in my life,
and in fact, he just had me kill Ollie! And Jean-Luc, well he was back
in my life too, but now he’s DEAD!”
“I know, honey,” replied Ted. “The thing is
they both wanted you back in their lives. Jack had trained you since
you were a baby. And Jean-Luc…” she trailed off.
“Jean-Luc WHAT?” hissed Hayden.
“He cared about you more than you may
realize,” said Ted. “You see, the thing is, when you were 12, that
wasn’t the first time I was together with Jean-Luc…”
Hayden stood up, knocking her chair
backward. Every hair on her skin stood on end, and she stared wide-eyed
at her mother, who peered down into her teacup.
Just then, the lights in the room cut out.
As Hayden tried to get her bearings, she heard a woman in the hallway
scream at the top of her lungs.
