Page 25 of Volatile Waters

Harry was flabbergasted. “Wow. I would never have a girl as my best friend.”

“You say that now, Junior, but she’s special. And, apparently, I’m not the only one who knows it.” Timothy added, “That’s why I have her hidden away while I lay as bait.”

Harry promised, “My dad will make whatever is happening go away. He makes everything go away.”

I could hear Timothy trying to be careful with his next words. Harry was painfully naïve of the treacherous man his father was. Harry was unaware he was only a couple of years away from being forced into the drug dealing industry. Timothy spoke as if not wanting to be the one to burst the bubble Harry was presently living in. “It hurt to learn my dad wasn’t what I thought him to be.”

“What do you mean?” asked Harold Junior.

Timothy further explained, “As a child, we tend to believe lies easily. We trust the elders in our life. As we get older, we sometimes finally see what’s been in front of us the whole time. Or, at least recognize a lie when told one.”

I did my best to ignore how his situation mirrored my own, but there was no denying it. I had just experienced the same realization.

“Like Little T?” Harry almost cheered, completely missing the hidden message.

Softly, Timothy replied, “Yeah, Little T is actually the reason I learned the truth. But that’s okay. I’m glad her coming into my life opened my closed eyes.”

Harry’s mood shifted. His voice also got quieter. “I used to have a brother like you.”

There was a pause before Timothy found the courage to ask, “Used to?”

“Yeah.” I could hear Harry struggling to share more. “He was shot… I, uh, saw it.”

“Fuuuuuck,” Timothy hissed.

“Yeah.” Harry sniffled. “We were in Russia. It was cold. I wanted hot chocolate.” His voice was almost a whisper. “He waved to me from the sidewalk outside, way below our hotel room… He never waved to me again after that.” Harry took a deep breath. “Have you ever seen hot chocolate and blood mix?”

It sounded as if Timothy was fighting for composure, his voice tight and constricted. “No. No, I haven’t. I’m sorry you have.”

Already showing signs of brushing off emotions, a survival technique some have to learn early on, Harry casually replied, “I guess the baby was to replace him, but my mom refused her.”

“What baby?”

Shit. Kid, stay out of it.

“An infant that screamed on the plane, always wanting a bottle.” He sounded somewhat annoyed with the memory.

As if scared of the answer, Timothy cautiously asked, “When did this happen, Harry?”

“My mom cries it’s been over a decade but feels like yesterday. That’s all she will say about it.”

“Holy shit.” Timothy mumbled, “That’s where she’s from.”

Already with regret for the kid with a good heart, my eyes slid shut. Harry didn’t reply, probably lost in the memory, but Timothy had now connected events that would cost him his life.

I turned off the device because my stomach started churning. I sat up in bed, fighting my sudden nausea. “Stupid American food.” I even paced my room, trying to shake it off.

Food poisoning or not, we had work to do, so I got on my cellphone and called Kirill. When he answered, music from the strip club blared over the receiver. “Yeah?”

“Yeah?” I asked, annoyed and still feeling ill. “Stop sounding ignorant and get your asses back here.” After hanging up on him, I grabbed four syringes from my nightstand full of the product we bought from Harold.

They were full of the drug needed to snuff out a promising life.

Back on the lake to further spy and listen to what was happening inside the lake house, I was very agitated when calling Harold. Believing the deal was complete and the threat was over, since I had received the false document and a bank transfer of a million dollars, he casually sat on the couch with the boys while eating dinner from white To-Go boxes. He had planned on returning Timothy home that very night, not knowing his actions to involve Timothy had irrevocably changed the course of my mission.

Harold eyed his vibrating phone, then answered, sounding concerned, “Hello?”

“Do you think I like to play games?”