My name is Grace Juliet James. I am now 17 years old and live in Summitview, Washington. I am writing in my new journal and this is my story.
When I was 15, I was taken away from my home in Ocala, Florida. Of course it was for my safety, but regardless I was taken away. Well first of all you should know my background story. My parents were both FBI agents working Beijing, and they lost their lives protecting this country. I now have the last letter to what seems like the endless puzzle Dr. Xavier Mitchell has been on his whole life. I now live with my father's closest friend and my guardian until I am 18, Jack Harper. He has a wife, Anna, and 6 children. Though three are adopted; Derek, Mellissa and Abigail; everyone fits together well. Including me. The other kids are Ella, Jacob and Ben, the youngest who is now 20. We all live together in the biggest house in town and the story for the locals is that I am Anna's niece and my parents died in a car wreck. It convinces them so I play along.
This is my story. It's nothing really amazing, but I'm supposed to write it all down. It might not end the way you want, but it's my story. Ok, here it is.
June 14th, 2010 3:15 PM
Today is my friend's party but I'm not aloud to go because no one will be watching me. They act like my body guards naturally, all the time. But I don't mind because I would prefer to live. Of course I would rather die than give Mitchell the code to the security of the entire country including the president. So Mitchell should just try to come and get the letter. I've got the whole freaking country protecting me. I'm the only one who knows what the letter is, too. It's Z. Not, it's not actually. Did you seriously think I would tell you? Yeah, like right.
I miss my parents and for a while I didn't see how I could continue life until I came here. Another small town but more rain and less sun. I truly love the Harpers. They are a kind and generous family. And I still haven't thought of a way to repay them for keeping me safe now. Or until this whole thing blows over. Yet again I say: Yeah, like right. That won't happen until Xavier is stopped. Hopefully, that will be soon so I can be a normal teenager again. I live on the second floor in my own room with a bathroom. Nice. I love sleeping in that huge cozy bed, the rain lulling me to sleep. With Ben sleeping in the room right next to me. Oh, that's another thing.
I've kind of had this thing for Ben Harper ever since my first day here. I walk in the door after a long day of traveling with all my things in boxes in my soon-to-be room and he just sits there on the coach and says "Hey, I'm Ben. I remember you from the agent of the year ball 2 years ago. Yeah, you feel in that punch fountain after you tripped on your dress while you were dancing. Not to graceful are we?" he looked at me and smirked the most wickedly beautiful smirk I have ever seen. I will remember those two days forever. But my fist few moments were ruined by that unpleasant memory he brought up.
Today is Monday and I have been home from school for about a half an hour. It was a boring day filled with my friend Amanda telling me how sad she was I about me not going to her party. And I just kept telling her I can't Anna needed me home for something. But she continued to bombard me with that comment all day. Sometimes I wish I could just scream to the entire world that I was being pursued my parents killer. That might make them shut up for a moment. But instead I keep my mouth shut and tune them out as much as possible. But better here with the annoying pests than in some foster home. All those comments and my silent false answers tell me I am running from the true horror. The fact that Xavier and his men are still out there searching for me till the ends of the earth. I know I'm safe here, that they could never find me because they have practically erased any memory of a Bridget Rose, what used to be my old name before they wiped me off the face of the planet. That thought still haunts me. And sometimes late at night when I lay in my bed, all alone in that big room, I think I can still hear him say the words he said to me last before he killed my parents while I listened to him do so on the phone.
"Now that he's told you, I will hunt you down, squeeze the information I need out of you and them kill you like a tiny bug" My reply? Oh, that was not going to scare me. I needed something more than a bug analogy.
"Good Luck." I said in a flat, strong voice. Bam, Bam. And then a dead line. That was the last time I heard both of my parents voices. Over a phone held by the man who killed them and was coming to kill me. My dad lead me on a scavenger hunt to find out what the missing piece was in the first place but now I had it. It was my piece of information. My burden to bear.
…..
I have to make this quick because dinner will be ready soon and I at least have to look presentable. We always sit in the same places at the table. Jack on one end and Anna on the other and then on the right side: Derek, Ella and Mellissa. And on the other: Abigail, Jacob, Me and then Ben. Yes, I get to hold hands with him every night when we pray! We go to the Methodist church down the road. I was raised Catholic but I don't mind going to Passage. I love spending my Sunday mornings there. Well most of them. Sometimes we go out of town together, but not often. The Harper's just put in a new security system so pretty soon I'll be able to stay home alone! Hopefully that will be tomorrow when everyone except Ben is leaving town to go to Paris.
Ben doesn't like having to baby-sit me. He looks at it like that and technically I guess he's right. Basically we make minimal contact and stay out of each others paths as much as possible. I want to talk to him but every time he looks at me he doesn't make eye contact and walks the other way! Very annoying!
Well, Anna just called me to dinner. Night! Got to go get ready for some hand-holding!
Now this is were our story gets interesting.
June 15th, 2010
Everyone left early this morning so breakfast was extremely awkward. Ben made pancakes for the two of us and we ate in silence, staring at our plates and our eyes only meeting twice. As soon as that was over I went up to my room to get ready for the day and write this down. I've been up here ever since.
…
It was almost 8 o'clock when I heard a soft knock on the door. Tap, Tap, Tap. I told Ben to come in and he did, but surprisingly he sat on my bed. Oh no.
"So, I have to run to the store. Would you like to come?" his face was pretty blank, but I could tell he wanted me to come or he wouldn't have asked.
"Sure, I'll be right down." I closed my journal and grabbed a pair of shoes.
The car ride to the grocery store was quite and tense. I have no idea why, but it was. Ben was a wonderful driver and drove very fast so the torture was over quickly. We grabbed what we needed and headed back to the tiny space of awkwardness. This time though, I asked him what he had done all day.
"What work I could get done." He answered plainly. I realized we were in front of the house and unbuckled my seat belt. Ben grabbed my wrist as I put on foot outside to walk inside. I felt my cheeks burn with excitement. They burn even now writing it.
"Thank you. For coming with me tonight. I enjoy spending time alone with you." He stroked the back of my hand with his rough thumb.
"You're welcome." I said softly and he let go of my hand. I helped him bring the groceries in and put them in their proper places in the kitchen without another word.
"And… I'm sorry for what I said to you when you first came here. It was rude and I hope you forgive me. I was just so nervous, I guess." I think it was the most he had ever said to me.
"Of course I forgive you. I thought you had forgotten all about that…" I said as I finished putting away the remainder of the groceries.
"Oh, I forgot to lock my car I'll be back." Ben turned and saw something outside that he didn't want to see.
"Grace, do you remember what we practiced?" he turned slowly his face extremely serious. I then saw it too. Men. 10 at least, dressed in all black and heading toward the house. They looked menacing of course but I wasn't afraid. I had to be strong.
"Yes, I do. I'll go there now." I said as calmly as possible and went to the stair case and ran up them as soon as I was out of sight. I saw Ben go to a panel on the wall and turned on the alarm and metal armor that covered the windows instantly. He also turned on the security cameras on his way up the stairs right behind me. I was running into my room and I grabbed my phone and hid under the bed like I was told to when I first came to Summitview.
"If anyone were to ever come for you, you come and hid here. If we are gone you call me. I'll record your call and you tell me whatever you can tell me about them. Okay?" I remember Jack's words perfectly.
So I dialed his number and he picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Jack, they're here."
"Who's here? Grace, be specific. Anna, everyone come here now."
"Xavier and his men. Well I didn't exactly see Xavier. There were probably 10 of them on one side of the house. Ben turned on everything. Oh God, they're in the house. I hear Ben struggling and the men yelling."
"What are they yelling?" Jack asked as I heard him pull the phone into the tape recorder.
"'Where is she? We only want the girl.' Ben isn't answering anymore." I couldn't help but cry.
"Do they have any accents?" I heard Mellissa ask. She specialized in dialects and pin-pointing the origin of were they were coming from.
"Um, British and Scottish and southern American."
"I can hear them coming up the hall." Derek said in a stressed tone.
"Grace, stay focused. This next part is very important. They are going to take you. Your whole life you have been pursued, and now they've found you." I let about another hushed cry then. "Honey, stay with me. When they take you leave the phone under the bed and scream out everything you see on them. Hair color, tattoos, eye color, race, how many, everything. Do you hear me? We need everything. To stop them. Oh, and tell me if you can see Xavier. That is extremely important." Jack finished. I could hear the intensity in everyone's voice.
"Ok, they are coming in my room. I see Ben's shoes. He's here. Someone is dragging him in here." I said in a low whisper. "They are looking through my things. Ok one of them is talking in another language. Here." I laid the phone closer to the men.
"What is it, Mellissa?" Jacob asked.
"Cantonese. Spoken only in a small part of southern China."
"Ok, their gone. They left." I sighed with relief. But then I felt something touch my feet. And then it yanked me from out under the bed. I screamed and then remembered what I had to do. I had dropped my phone when I was pulled, so that much was done.
"White male. 6'2. Scar on his right cheek. Dark hair. About 6 in the hall. And Xavier! He's here!" I man then covered my mouth and I bit his hand and screamed some more. I struggled but they were too strong. There was another man. So I screamed the facts about him as well. I hoped that was enough. The men carried me out into the hall as another smashed my phone.
"NO!" I screamed before he did so.
I was down the hall and shoved into a black car before I knew it. I never saw Ben.