The room fell silent which made sense since they were in a library. Nolan and Emily propped themselves up on their knees and looked up at their swat gear covered captors. They tried to speak through their facial expressions and piercing gazes but everything felt foggy especially because of the language barrier. They didn't know what they were saying or how they should respond. The Swat like team only knew a few phrases and words in English but they keep using the word "Americans".
Before she knew it, Nolan was placed in a chair and handcuffed to the back of the metal thing that was more like a contraption; both were cold against his skin. The library was pretty warm compared to the weather outside. Emily looked frightened for his sake; she knew he wasn't good with interrogation and torture. He would either not know what to say, say too much or make some insult or pop culture reference they wouldn't understand.
"I can hold my own Ems…" he reassured her as keys jangled in the door and it opened to reveal a bald man with a little extra weight and muscle to him.
Nolan laughed, "Great I'm about to get tortured by Mr. Clean…"
Emily leaned forward in her seat, knowing it was Malcom Holden himself. "Malcom Holden."
"In the flesh," he quipped before leaning over to stroke her face. "Amanda Clarke, how are you? I knew your mother."
"Seems like everybody did, she got around…" she said with a scoff. "Let my partner go and we'll leave in peace."
"Does this look like a peaceful situation to you? You broke into my library, you second guess my motives… you search for me and come to my country."
"I did what I had to, you left me no choice…" she seethed and he did the same, his teeth clenching together and his jaw tightening.
""I left you every choice, run, hide, flee…" he said as he moved to the leg Nolan had broken a while back. He was still limping when he walked and when they were in the house he would use a cane or crutches to lean on and Amanda would call him Tiny Tim.
"Those aren't choices…they're too persuasive. I won't be manipulated," she said as she watched Malcom grip Nolan's leg, digging his fingers against his knee to make him squirm.
"Oh won't you?" he asked before bending down, preparing himself to use his man power to snap Nolan's leg, re-breaking it but the wrong way.
"Don't" Nolan yelped as his leg began to bend and the bone was feeling a lot of pressure. His leg was already sore and he could feel the muscle begin to tear which made him cry out in pain.
Emily would be manipulated by Nolan's pain. She wished it was her in the situation but it was him and she owed it to him to save him from physical pain again.
"What do you want?" she asked in a cool tone as if her words were blue and deep, serious and understated. The way she said the words, it was as if those words were never spoken before and the whole room cowered from the lackluster way she asked him what he wanted. It was like she cared too much and then didn't care at all.
"I want nothing; I want you and your boyfriend to leave well enough alone. I want to be at peace with my library and my home."
"He's not my boyfriend, he's my associate," she replied, ignoring the rest.
"Gee thanks Ems…" he said as he sighed, his head shaking. They had done this dance before, he wasn't even offended. He didn't take her words too personal when they were in situations like this. It wasn't the first or last time.
"Take your associate and go…" he said eyeing her.
"How can I? We're strapped to chairs" she retorted in a mocking tone.
That was when he let his anger come out, his hand striking hers. It was a backhand to the face actually and it made her cry out with a wince although she had been hit before in fights with Satoshi. It reminded her mostly of her time in foster care which was no picnic.
Darkness was born there and it stayed forever. Foster care had turned her into a sociopath, most things in her life had. A few of the parents had shown her kindness but at that point it was too late, she was rebellious and antisocial. She didn't fit in and was deemed and outcast much like Nolan growing up only he was an outcast because he was smarter than everyone else and perhaps too giving. He let people walk all over him and she never let anyone walk all over her. He would get pummeled, she would hit back.
Nolan bit his lip as he watched her get hit. He could see her fists clenched as if she wanted to do some damage herself. Her lip was now split but she held her tongue like a good little girl. She was no good girl, her morals were askew but she did things for the right reasons at least. They both did.
Nolan wanted to play martyr, it was time he stepped up and showed her he wasn't afraid but before he could sacrifice himself for her he was stopped by the loud sounds of blaring guns, guns like giant screaming alarms.
Blood splattered the walls as every single person fell to the floor, their corpses riddled with bullets. Even Malcom Holden fell and only two people were left standing, a young Middle Eastern man with dark gelled back hair and a middle aged strawberry blonde woman with a mole above her lip.
They held their machine guns tightly and Nolan held his breathe, afraid they were the next targets. Amanda was surprised. She didn't plan this nor did she see it coming. She was usually two steps ahead and she even looked to Nolan just to see him ponder if she had planned this out all along. She shook her head and he knew she was in the dark with him. They were so much so in the dark that they were practically underground.
"Nolan…"
"Ems…" he wheezed as he regained feeling in his leg.
Knowing he was fine she looked to her new captors, both of them approaching with their guns pointed.
"Don't move…" the man said as a dark strand of his hair fell into his face, covering the right eye. Brushing it aside he listened to Amanda speak.
"I don't think that's going to be an issue for you…."
The strawberry blonde leaned in and Amanda even held her breathe, hating how claustrophobic this was. She didn't like being tied up unless Nolan had a handle on the ropes because she knew if she could trust anyone than it would be him and Jack.
She thought she was going to get shot in the stomach but her arms were not restrained any longer and she began to regain the feeling in her wrists.
"Who are you?" Amanda asked as she rubbed them, the redness there but mostly her joints were aching from the pressure that was once positioned upon them. They released Nolan who eyed the suave man in the black army gear.
"Taryn Clarke…" she proclaimed as Amanda's ears perked up, her pupils dilating. "Your Aunt…"
Amanda felt like she was living a whole new world, not only was she once presented with the notion that her mother was alive but now she was presented with her Aunt in the flesh. She didn't even know her father had a sister.
"This is my lover, Ajat Rafiti," she said presenting the darker skinned man who wore tiny glasses that framed his face. He had a small patch of fuzz at his chin and a toned upper body. He was considerately younger than her Aunt who had crow's feet around her eyes and grey roots in her full head of strawberry blonde hair. She didn't look a lot like David at all, but for now she would trust the woman that just saved her hide.
Ajat smiled softly at them and dialed a number. "We've got a 584 on a 3 point 8 section. We're going to need a 782," he said, speaking in code. It was safer that way.
Taryn Clarke looked cold, just as cold if not colder than Amanda. She had ice blue eyes but they weren't warm in any way shape or form. "You have no idea how long I wanted to do that."
"Then why didn't you before today? Amanda asked as she stood up to meet her aunt's height, they were about the same although Taryn was maybe an inch shorter.
"All good things come to those who wait," she replied as she watched Nolan Ross scan Ajat with his eyes. "Who's your friend?" she asked Amanda, wanting to hear it from her. Of course she had known that the billionaire had been helping her for years but she wanted to get things in her niece's words.
"He's Nolan Ross, but you already knew that. Cut the questions, who the hell are you?" she asked, wanting to upper hand.
She was the one who was lied to, who was never told of this woman's existence. To be honest she wasn't so sure this woman was who she claimed to be. She would need proof that they were blood but that would be easy to get, a little hair, a cotton swab to the mouth.
"I already told you who I am Amanda, I'm your father's sister," she said softly.
"Where have you been all my life then?" she asked, feeling stiff and like she couldn't trust anyone. She looked to Nolan who was looking through Malcom Holden's pockets. He took his cell phone and decided to copy the information onto his with a very thin grey wire.
In an Uzbekistan prison…" she said looking at her "Do you think David was the only one who was persecuted? The members of the Clarke family have been scapegoats for crimes since evolution itself. Why do you think David was involved with the Graysons the first place? He started working with them to help me because I got mixed up and the same thing was done to him…"
Amanda bit her lip and looked away. So this was the circle of life she had to look forward to?
"I met Ajat there, he was my executioner…" she said as she looked at him, a bit of warmth seeping through.
"How did you manage to survive?" she asked as she went over to Nolan, wanting to keep him close.
"Well that's another long story for another day…" she said. "You should get out of here before the police show up…I'm a fugitive, we both are…" she said glancing to Ajat who was looking out the window, one of the very few.
"Will I see you again?" she asked, still in shock from everything that had just occurred. Everything seemed so…fleeting.
"I'll touch base…the last name on your list, its Salvatore De-Ammici," she said softly. "I believe you know him as the ex-husband of Conrad Grayson's first wife, Susan."
Emily blinked once and then twice, letting everything register. Coming to terms she gripped Nolan's hand so hard he winced. "Let's go…we're done here…"
She looked back to Taryn who crossed her arms, not giving her any semblance of emotion or the familial love she desperately needed. They weren't capable of it, the Clarke women turned out to be cold as ice but not my choice. They did that they had to in order to keep going.
Taryn trusted Ajat and Amanda trusted Nolan.
"We're going to need an army…it might take a while," she called to her niece."
"We don't have a while," Amanda replied, going through the back doors and not looking back this time.
Nolan looked at Amanda in the car, his face an enigmatic icon. "Well that was all very anti-climactic…"
"Yeah until my long lost Aunt came in to the picture. Did my dad ever mention anything to you about a sister?" she asked.
Nolan shook his head as he gripped the steering wheel. Sometimes he just didn't trust her around vehicles. She liked to speed and weave through lanes and it always made him sick to his stomach.
"Not a snippet…" he replied as he tried to figure out the roads in Belarus again. He wondered how long they would stay. He wanted to go home. They could handle one guy, couldn't they?
"Well then, it just means he lied to the both of us…"
David Clarke hadn't lied per say, he had just kept things from them both and maybe it was for their own protection. He never intended her to actually travel down a road paved with vengeance; he had hoped karma would take its turn.
Back at the Stowaway Nolan had called for the gang to come home so everyone seemed to pile into one place at once. Free drinks were served and continued to go out, people smiled and laughed but Amanda seemed to perch in the corner like a bird away from its nest.
Jack spotted Emily in the corner and sat down next to her, offering her some Jamison. She took a sip and let it burn her throat. "I prefer the blueberry port…" she said in a sullen voice. He put his hand on her knee and she almost gasped not expecting his hand there and forgetting she was wearing a dress.
"You don't look so good…Wanna talk about it?" he asked as he removed his hand.
She nodded and he helped her to her feet. "Let's go outside…" he said, leading her to the back.
Standing in the humidity she knew it would be a few minutes before she started getting overheated. August heat was the worst.
Autumn was close; she loved autumn, the smell of the leaves, the holidays, and the air.
"What really happened where you were Amanda?" he asked as he watched Nolan interact with Charlotte and Declan inside.
"I have an Aunt I never knew about, I've said to hell with the rules and we have a battle to fight…one we might not make it back from and I've dragged Nolan into it and he doesn't belong there…he's going to get hurt..." she said softly. "I've hurt enough people for one lifetime. I just want it to all be over."
"I don't want you to get hurt either," Jack said as he looked into her dark eyes with his own pair.
"That just has to be part of the equation," she stated definitively.
"Let me help you, you should have to fight this war alone. Remember when we were kids and we used to play with those toy soldiers I had and you would always plan the battles? You had these strategic plans laid out like you dreamt about them. You're so smart, smart enough to know that you don't have to do it alone…" he said as he cupped her face.
She found warmth in his hands, like she was linked to the past before everything went to hell.
She just wanted the world to stop, even if it was just for a minute.
Taking her into his arms he pulled her close, their hips touching.
Lips pressing against hers he didn't care to take his time. He kissed her deeply and she fell into his heated kiss, her hands on his shoulders as if she was trying to brace herself. She got lost in those lips, his facial hair rubbing against her upper lip, his stubble at her skin.
His hands were workers hands, a bit rough to the touch as they held her blushing cheeks.
Through the window Nolan saw the whole thing.