Chapter 3: Surprises

Nyssa finally entered her apartment two hours later to find her sister laying on her stomach on the bed with her upper body propped up by her elbows. She smiled at Nyssa who was in no mood for games.

"Do you happen to know how painful it is to walk twelve blocks in heels? I can't feel my feet right now, and I may have sprained my ankle," said Nyssa as she nearly slammed her door.

Before she took another step, she unzipped her boots and kicked them across the room. She felt the burning in her feet as she walked across the cold wood floor in her stockings.

"What happened to you? I said to park in the back of the hotel."

"I was in a stolen car with a gun. The cops showed up ten minutes after you went inside. Our mission was in danger of being compromised, so I returned to base."

"And, broke into my apartment." Nyssa tossed her jacket at her sister and proceeded toward the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

"I wouldn't have to if you let me have a key to your apartment," Lucy said as she stood up and crossed the room toward the bar.

"Aren't you more comfortable breaking in?" Nyssa took a few sips from the bottle before placing it on the bar.

"What is your deal with me having a key?"

"It's a security thing. I don't just give out keys to people."

"I'm not people. I'm your sister. I'll bet your boyfriend has one," Lucy said with a pouty face.

"He is not my boyfriend, and no, he doesn't have one." Nyssa sighed.

"Well, he's something to you, or you wouldn't be acting like this. Did you have a fight last night or something?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"When I saw you this morning, you had quite the bruise on your jaw. Now, you've covered it up nicely with the makeup. But, boy, it was a shiner."

Nyssa walked around the bar past Lucy and headed toward her wardrobe against the wall by the bed. She pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a sleeveless knit shirt. She started changing her clothes while Lucy walked toward the refrigerator for something to snack on.

"He came over last night, and things got a little heated."

"He hit you?" Lucy asked in a concerned tone. Nyssa could tell she was getting angry.

"Before you start assuming anything, I was the one that started the fight. We were yelling at each other, and I got so mad I punched him in the ribs."

"Really! Should have aimed a little lower." Lucy laughed as she pulled out a yogurt smoothie then closed the refrigerator door.

"Actually, after I got him in the ribs, I did aim a little lower," Nyssa smiled. "But, that's when he popped me on the jaw. It was an accident. He apologized after it happened."

"I'll bet that wasn't the end of the fight. You have a nice little red bruise on your neck as well." Lucy walked over toward her sister and examined the bite mark on her neck. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say it looks like a bite mark."

Nyssa's cheeks became red as she turned away from her sister pretending to looks for her slip-on shoes. Lucy's eyes grew big as she asked the next question.

"Did you sleep with him last night?"

Nyssa ignored the question which Lucy took as yes response.

"Nyssa, how many times are you going to touch the flame before you realize that it burns?"

Nyssa was about to respond when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and saw that it was Marilyn. Nyssa gave a heavy sigh then answered the phone.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Nyssa? Hi, sweetie! Will you pop by my house for a bit? I have something for you to do for me."

"Mom, I'm pretty busy right now." Nyssa rolled her eyes while Lucy giggled.

"Come by anyway, darling. It's very important. I'll see you soon."

Before Nyssa could say more, her mother hung up. Nyssa growled as she sat on the bed to put her shoes on.

"So, you're going to see Mom?" asked Lucy with a mischievous grin on her face.

"I suppose so. She hung up before I could say no, so I guess she's expecting me."

Lucy loosened the cap off of the smoothie drink and took a sip.

"Good. While you're there, why don't you ask her for Dad's car? You know that when she moved back here, she brought that thing with her from Georgia."

Nyssa looked at her sister with confusion. Obviously, she knew nothing about that. She had forgotten all about that old car. She assumed that her father, Frank, still had it.

"You mean that old '68 Mustang? The one that Dad was always working on?"

"That's the one. It's still sitting in Mom's garage. I guess she still kept it because of Dad."

Nyssa finished getting her shoes on and walked back toward the bar for her water.

"Well, if you knew about it, why don't you take it?"

"I prefer more modern sporty vehicles like a Porsche 911. Besides, you and Dad were always the gear heads."

"Yeah, leaving me to do all the work." Nyssa took one more drink then turned to grab her leather jacket.

"You do realize that asking Mom for anything is like asking a Russian mob boss for a favor. He'll give you what you want with a smile, but believe me, you'll pay for it." Nyssa grabbed her keys from the side table by the bed. She pocketed her cell phone, ready to go.

"Alright, I'll ask her for the car," said Nyssa as she opened the door. "Hold down the fort for me. I'll be back."

Lucy smiled as Nyssa walked out of the apartment. She remembered those days when her father tried to teach Nyssa how to work on car engines. Michael was still an infant, and Lucy had no interest in cars. So, Nyssa was the oldest and became the "son" that Frank always wanted.

He was a hard man, especially on Nyssa. Yet, when they were once a real family, Nyssa thought the world in Frank. He was her best friend and greatest father. He could do no wrong in her eyes, and she loved him very much.

As time moved on, the work with the Irish mafia in America was becoming more demanding and more dangerous. Frank spent days and sometimes weeks away from his family. Tensions were rising in the McBride household causing a growing rift between Frank and his wife.

That rift extended to the children. Nyssa had the worst time accepting that Frank was not the father she remembered as a little girl.

When Frank left for New York or Boston, she would spend more time with her rebellious cousins in Georgia. When Nyssa was a young teenager, her family did not earn enough money to pay their bills. So, Nyssa would join her cousins in stealing and stripping cars for parts. Other times, she would transport the family moonshine across the county lines. Transporting illegal alcohol made the most cash, and Nyssa was glad to do it. It was also where she learned her driving skills.

Each time her father returned, Marilyn would tell him of his daughter's criminal activities. He became angry and fought with Nyssa each time becoming more physical. Nyssa was left with some bruising on her body.

When the FBI started investigating Frank, they offered him a deal. He would get witness protection for himself and his family if he testified against the Irish mafia. He chose another path, to abandon his wife and children and travel to Ireland to join the McBride family in the IRA.

Marilyn and her children never saw Frank again until Lucy left when she turned seventeen to find him in Ireland. Like her father, she joined her Irish family and fought with the IRA against the British.

She fell in with a radical Irish terrorist group who did not care so much for a just cause as they did for carnage and fear. They wanted to kill as many people as they could, no matter who they were.

Lucy changed at that moment and left the IRA, vowing never to get involved with them again. She spent some time traveling the globe living off of the money she took from the bank robberies she pulled while working for the group. She stayed off the grid until she heard that Nyssa had returned to London.

Lucy made a decision to change her life around and join her sister. But, she was having fears about Nyssa's obsession with this blacklist. She hoped that her sister would accept her new position and work with Jack helping the people who really needed it.

Lucy kept quiet about that all morning. She felt that it was another conversation for another time.

A knock on the front door brought Lucy from her thoughts. She put her smoothie drink down and pulled her .380 from its holster under her skirt. She walked over to the door and pulled it open.

Lucas was met with the end of the .380 a few inches from his face. He held up his hands in surrender then glanced up to see Lucy holding the gun. She had a stone expression and made no attempt at lowering her weapon.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked with her voice having the same heavy American Southern accent as her sister.

"Lucy McBride," said Lucas. "I'm not here for you. I want to talk to your sister."

"Well, she's not here." Lucy lowered her gun and walked away leaving Lucas to close the door.

Lucas entered the apartment and closed the door. He scanned the room for any clues to Nyssa's whereabouts.

"Where is she?" he asked.

Lucy walked to the bar and placed her gun on the bar. She reached for her smoothie drink and took another sip. She turned around to face Lucas before she answered him.

"I can't say. She's just out. That's it!"

"Where is she, Lucy?" Lucas asked again. The irritation was coming through in his voice. "She's in a lot of trouble."

"And, who are you? Her knight in shining amour? Just what is it with you and my sister anyway?"

"Look, you need to trust me. She's in danger, and I'm trying to help her."

"Trust you? That's funny. I don't know any Brits that I can trust. I don't even trust Jack. I only put up with him because Nyssa trusts him. See, I don't think you've earned that privilege just yet, even if you two did sleep together last night."

Lucas threw her a surprised look. She raised her brow and nodded her head.

"Yeah, I know about it. I saw the bruise on her jaw too. I was all ready to go find you and rip you a new one when she explained that it was an accident. She didn't say anything about you, but I know my sister. She's been through more than she can handle, and she doesn't need this. So, if you want to see my sister, you'll have to find her on your own. I'm not gonna to help you."

Lucas could see that there was no point in arguing with her. He left abruptly and nearly slammed the door on his way out. As he was taking the steps two at a time, he pulled his mobile phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"Malcolm, I need you to do a scan of the CCTV cameras for me. I need you to help me find where Nyssa was going in the last hour. Send me the address when you get it."

Lucas hung up the phone and rushed to his car. He hoped and prayed that he would get to Nyssa before Dolby or the police would.