Tyler Vaughn sat in front of his English tutor, wishing that his day would come to an end as soon as possible. He hated these stupid creative writing assignments his teacher kept giving him. Just because his father had taken a job at the local paper to cover-up his work with the CIA in Fiji and excelled at it didn't mean he was naturally good at writing.
"But everyone always seems to think that, don't they?" he muttered to himself.
"Did you say something, Ty?" asked the young girl beside him, diligently correcting his typos.
"Just mumbling, Elsie. So what's the verdict?"
"You are hopeless. I can't even help you fix this junk."
"Maybe I should just run away."
His best friend of four years couldn't help but laugh in his face. "Run away? Where are you going to run to?"
"America," he said stubbornly. "My home."
"Your home is in Fiji. You've been here for five years. I wish you would just give up on these dreams of returning to your 'homeland'."
He stared at her in shock. "Did you just use air quotes? Air quotes have been out of style for years now."
"I think they're vintage," she pouted.
"And, before I forget to tell you, just because your father moved you here when you were a baby doesn't mean you know everything there is to know about who belongs here and who doesn't."
"And I suppose you don't?"
"I never did, Else. Belong."
"Are you sure this doesn't have something to do with the pressures of high school? My father said that everyone freaks out a little during their freshmen year."
"Your father doesn't know everything."
"He knows a lot," she pouted.
Smiling, he poked her in the ribs. "Why don't we take a break from this and sneak out to play down by the beach?"
"I have studying to do," she protested even as he grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. "And you should finish this paper. It's due at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."
"I'll finish it after dinner. Promise. Now let's have some fun."
Lauren smiled down from the second floor as she watched her son play with his best friend. It was amazing the changes that Fiji had caused in Tyler. His introversion disappeared about fourteen months after they settled into the island. She figured it had something to do with the sensible young girl who lived next door to them. Elsie Ashmore was a godsend.
"What are you looking at?" Vaughn said, entering the room.
"Our son's happy, Michael. He's really happy."
"I know."
"How are we supposed to tell him what's going to happen to him one day? That he's destined to kill or be killed?"
"I don't know. Let's not dwell on it. I got a call from Lennox. He wants to see us in the office tomorrow morning."
"I'm getting tired of answering to that man when he keeps failing to come up with more information on our son and his connection with Rambaldi."
"Lennox is trying, Lauren. You know he is. He wants to know almost as much as we do. The man has become like an uncle to Ty. He cares for him."
"I know." Lauren laughed. "But I would classify him more as an older brother. Those two can get into some real shouting matches when they're fired up. Not exactly the uncle-nephew relationship, I think."
"I think I saw him sneaking Ty a beer last week." When he saw his wife's horrified look, he couldn't keep a straight face. "I'm kidding! Sneaking a beer to a young man is a father's job."
She smacked him really hard on the back of the head. "I have no idea why I married you, Michael."
"Sometimes I wonder." He just had time for one quick kiss before both of their beepers started to buzz. "Damnit. Lennox is always ruining our alone time."
"It's part of the job," she reminded both of them. She walked over to the door and threw Vaughn his coat which was hanging on one of the hooks. "We should move. Lennox might have made some progress."
"Doubt it," Vaughn mumbled. He followed his wife outside. "I'll start the car."
"And I'll deal with Ty," she said, rolling her eyes. She marched across the yard to the beach behind their house. "Tyler! Your father and I need to go pick up a few things at the store. Why don't you go inside and do your homework?"
"In a minute," he yelled back. He watched his mother wave and then begin to make her way back to the house.
"Your parents sure go to the store a lot," Elsie commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, it seems like every time I come over, they have to pick something up at the store. Have you guys never heard of the concept of stocking up?"
"They like things fresh," Tyler answered quickly. "Now how about a swim?" He didn't wait for her answer and ran down into the waves.
The lie he told Elsie was burning in his chest. He hated having to lie to the one person besides his parents that he trusted. But his mother and father both stressed to him on a daily basis that he couldn't let anyone know that they worked for the United States government and not an accounting firm and newspaper, respectively, like everyone thought.
"When did my life become a pack of lies?" he thought as he watched Elsie shrug her shoulders and dive into the water behind him. He really hated the position his parents had put him in. At least he knew that someday he'd find a way out of Fiji. It was beautiful and all, but, like he had told his friend earlier, it had never really been home.
Vaughn drove his truck into the tunnel that had a large sign marking it closed for repairs. "You know, I would really think that someone would wonder why this tunnel has been closed for repairs for over five years now."
"Secret entrances to CIA facilities never seemed to be noticed or questioned. It's uncanny," Lauren replied smartly.
The tunnel slowly turned into the beginnings of a parking garage, and Vaughn steered the truck into the first available, close parking space. He and Lauren quickly got out of the truck and hustled their way into the facility. Jim Lennox was waiting for them, patiently leaning up against a desk.
"New development?" Lauren asked immediately.
"Sort of. Jack Bristow got in contact with me for his yearly report on the other half of the prophecy."
"You can refer to Hope by name," Vaughn said. "She is a person, not an object."
"It's best if you try to keep your relationship with her less personal," Lennox suggested. "She is going to kill your son. Or was it your son that was going to kill her?"
"You're testy today, Lennox," Lauren pointed out. "Did Jack do something to rile you up?" She looked over at her husband. "He always does that. You know he always does that. Why does he do that? Does he find it easier to do his job that way?"
"We'll never know," Vaughn replied. "So what did Jack have to say?"
"Hope and her parents are doing just fine. They're moving back to Los Angeles."
"How is that possible?"
"The person in question," he said with a snide look, "seemed to call in all the favors the different spies in her extended family owed her. Hope arranged for it to be possible."
"We're not going back, are we?" Lauren asked, puzzled as to how this could be happening. She really didn't know what this latest news was supposed to mean to her.
"No. You won't be going back. We still need to keep the two children separated."
"We can't do that forever," Vaughn pointed out. "We've only been living in Fiji for five years, and Tyler is already restless. He wants to go back to the States."
"He never mentioned anything to me."
"He hasn't said anything to us either. That doesn't mean I'm oblivious to him. He doesn't want to be in Fiji. He wants to leave."
"We can't let that happen."
"We know. It's just so hard to keep telling Tyler that he can't leave Fiji without giving him the reason why." Lauren held up her hands before Lennox could say exactly what she knew he would. He had only given her the why-we-can't-tell-him-yet speech 1897 times. "Let's drop this little dilemma for right now. Tell us about your conversation with Jack since it was important enough to call us away from our son's side today."
"He and Irina had a secret conference thing that other day, and they've decided that with the lack of new intel, we have to just sit tight on this one for at least a little while."
"Tell us something we don't know," Vaughn said, flinging up his hands.
"Jack only authorized his daughter's move to L.A. because they think that Hope is going to be the one to commit murder. He wants to keep a closer eye on her." Both Vaughn and Lauren's eyes went wide. "You wanted to hear something new."
"You're lying," Lauren whispered.
"No. Jack and Irina thought about it. The probability factor is behind their granddaughter and not your son in the killing department. And, before you say it, Vaughn, no, I don't think Tyler is the kind of person to just let himself be killed by a girl. No one knows the specifics of their confrontation, but I think there are some major twists and turns ahead that need to happen in order to allow Tyler to be killed by Hope."
"So, everyone is just giving up on the concept that my son could be a murderer someday?" Lauren asked. "Because that's not only sloppy, it's stupid."
"Hope's the more likely suspect," Vaughn said, voicing his agreement with Jack, Irina, and Lennox all at once. Lauren shot him a look that quieted the rest of his word immediately.S
"So what now?"
"Now, you two settle back into your life in Fiji. You're going to be here for at least four more years."
"Why four?" Vaughn asked Lennox.
Lennox turned and sat down at the desk, obviously about to dismiss both of the Vaughns within moments. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. Turning back, he looked at both of Tyler's parents seriously. "Because that's how long we have until we lose control of the situation. Tyler's going to graduate from high school. And when he does, he's going to decide to go off on his own path. And when that happens, I don't know what we're going to do."