Chapter 34 #2
“Stay put. It’ll be over soon,” he replies, hanging up.
We continue to watch as several more lights come on.
They gather in the dining room as the boss stands up, ranting.
He picks up the vase of flowers I set in the center of the table and throws it at the wall, and I jump a bit, so Zander puts his arm around me in a side hug.
He sends two men off again as we watch the others ransack the house, opening doors and cupboards, paying no mind to our belongings.
The couch gets overturned, and I’m assuming they keep going where we can’t see.
He gestures to one of his men to go outside. Zander calls Troy, updating him on the FBI’s ETA and about the man who left the house. “Troy is going to get closer on foot to monitor the driveway in case someone tries to leave.”
While watching the clock, I see one guy come back into view, shaking his head.
The boss is clearly agitated now. When the second man re-enters the kitchen, the boss makes a phone call where it appears no one answers.
He calls again, but his lips don’t move.
A third call has him yelling down the line.
He starts searching himself, and I can see him looking at the walls and corners.
“He’s looking for cameras. Shit,” Zander says, brows creasing as he sends a text. “Don’t worry, darling, the cameras and lock for this room are independent of the house and have backup batteries.”
This is surreal. It feels like a dream, no, a nightmare. How was my life so mundane for the first 15 years, and now it’s all this? Oh my God. What about the other guys? “Dad, find out where Seb and the others are, please.”
“They’re safe and secure, darling. I already asked.”
Blowing out a huge breath, I stretch my neck out, trying to release the tension. I watch the boss work his way around the kitchen, stopping near the corner cupboard. He seems to stare at the camera, then turns and directs one man out of the room. Dad reaches for a lantern as the lights go out.
Something smashes into the kitchen camera, and I flinch backwards as Dad turns on the lantern, setting it on the desk area.
We still have 3 cameras on, although the image is grainier and in black and white.
The boss appears to be screaming at his men now.
He makes another call, then does a circular motion with his hand, and they leave through the patio doors.
This is like a reality tv crime drama, but it’s my life instead. Imagine if Dad hadn’t built this room…
Dad and I stay glued to the cameras for several more minutes, but we don’t see anything else. “What do we do?” I ask, not liking that we don’t know what’s happening.
“We wait. Troy is out there, and the FBI should be too.” Zander grabs an MRE, offering me one, but I decline, too nervous to eat anything of substance.
He opens it up and prepares some kind of pasta dish.
It comes out steaming hot after a brief wait and includes snacks and fruit.
I’d be impressed by the pleasant smell if I wasn’t internally freaking out.
Zander gets me to have some water and crackers once he’s done, starting a new movie, another comedy. I try to focus on it, but my eyes keep wandering to the cameras, although I don’t catch any movement. “Should you call Troy?” I ask after an hour.
“No, it might distract him when he needs to concentrate. He’ll reach out when it’s over. Our job is to stay here.”
I’m exhausted by the time the movie ends. It’s been close to two hours now since we lost visual. Zander doesn’t seem worried and encourages me to relax back into the chair and get some sleep. “That’s not going to happen, Dad,” I reply. Who could sleep with all the unknowns?
He pulls on the back of my chair, and a headrest comes up, and then he grabs a blanket, covering me. “Just try. We don’t know how long this will take. I’ll be awake the entire time, and I’ll let you know as soon as I get an update.”
He switches to a tv show I haven’t seen before. It seems funny, so I attempt to settle in, wanting to do anything but rest. What's taking so long? If Troy and the FBI are here, shouldn’t it be over? This and many other questions swirl around and around like water draining down the sink.
I wake sometime later to see Dad drinking coffee, still watching the sitcom. “I can’t believe I fell asleep,” I say, rubbing my eyes and sitting up straighter. My neck has a kink in it, but the rest of me is fine. “How long did I sleep?”
“An hour, darling.”
“Should it take this long?”
“Bureaucracy can be very slow,” he says, checking his texts.
“A new message?” I ask, leaning over.
“Yes, from Troy’s phone, telling me it’s safe to come out now.”
“Oh good. We can leave,” I reply, getting up and stretching my arms over my head.
“Not yet. Someone has his phone. Troy would never send that text. He’d come here and use the code to open the door.”
Say what now? I slump back into my chair. “How do you know?”
“I’ve worked with him for so long, I know him better than anyone. We had a plan in place in case we ever needed to use this room. The other would come to the door and enter the code only we know once it was safe. Never phone or text. In person or nothing.”
“So the bad guys have him?” I ask, freaking out a little at the thought of something horrible happening to Troy. What about Gabby and Seb? Would they have to go into foster care? I couldn’t let that happen, not after my awful experience. Troy is such a nice guy. I’d hate to see him hurt, or worse.
I feel Dad shaking my shoulder, and I blink a few times. “Are you with me, darling?”
“Yeah, sorry. My mind spiralled for a minute. I’m back.”
“That’s okay. You’re doing really well tonight. I was saying my guess is one of the FBI agents has it, assuming they showed up on time. Remember, they had an investigation going into their agents. One of the bad guys is likely here and snagged his phone and is trying to lure us out.”
“For what purpose?”
“It depends on his goals, who he’s working for,” Zander shrugs, “but none of it's good.”
Damn. “I’m glad you’re in here with me, Dad. I would’ve probably opened the door after that text.”
“Me too,” he smiles. “How about a drink and a snack? I don’t have tea, but there are a few sodas and instant coffee.”
I grab a soda for some caffeine and sugar to keep me awake as I try to focus on the tv show. Another hour passes with no news, except for the occasional text telling Dad it’s safe to come out now.