Finding You Again
Chapter Eight
"Every time I see you I can see right through you, knowing I can never change your mind. I look into your eyes for the last time. I realize for the first time. While everyone is around, I'll take a moment to let you know that I'm down. Have all my questions been ignored? This time I'm walking out the door."
Right Now, by Hawk Nelson (Tooth & Nail Records) from Letters to the President
15 YEARS AGO
LONDON, ENGLAND
Joe Hardy stirred. He didn't know where he was. The last thing he could remember was a deafening explosion and his brother and wife's screams.
Was he dead?
He didn't think so.
But where was he?
His eyes opened fuzzily. He sat up. He was lying in a hospital bed in a gray, dingy room. It didn't look like a hospital room. Slowly, he rose. Getting back his balance, he tottered to the only door, a steel, vault-like contraption. It was locked.
He sighed and sat down on the bed. It could be a long wait.
PRESENT
WASHINGTON, D.C.
"What did we do?" Joline asked shakily.
"Yeah, and why did you kidnap us?" Darren chimed in.
"My, my," Arthur Gray said. "You have your father's looks but your uncle's impetuosity, young Darren," he said.
"You…you know my dad?" Darren stammered. "What's this all about?"
"Have a seat," Arthur Gray ordered tersely, gesturing to two hard, gray, uncomfortable looking chairs. "I'll tell you everything you need to know. But a very condensed version. I've got an assassination to stop in a few hours."
Eric lay on his bed, wide awake. He had never felt more alive. He didn't know what to do with the excitement that filled his mind. He knew that feelings were distractions, but he couldn't seem to shake the nerves off. He decided to give into them for a few moments and let them die down on their own.
So far it wasn't working. But that was okay. He had three hours until the first assassination attempt.
Soon, Philip Walker would begin his speech about ridding America from its poverty.
It would be the last speech he would ever make.
"What? An assassination to stop?" Darren was incredulous. "I thought you were the bad guys."
"No. I am part of the Network, a secret agency kind of like the CIA but nothing so…crude. I have worked with your grandfather and both of your fathers many times before."
Joline felt her pulse quicken. "You knew my dad?"
"Don't you mean I know your father?" the government agent asked. "Didn't you come to D.C. because you were convinced that your father is alive and in the city? You saw him on TV, didn't you?"
"How do you know?"
Gray smiled grimly. "We know a lot of things we shouldn't, Ms. Hardy. We're the government."
"So is he alive?"
Gray hesitated, then shrugged. "I suppose it would do no harm to tell you. Your father is alive."
Joline's face lit up. Darren nudged her and muttered, "I'm not sure if we should trust him, Jo. We should be careful."
"Very good point, Mr. Hardy," Gray said, nodding in Darren's direction. "But you needn't worry about the Network. We will release you as soon as it's safe."
"But wait, what about my father? If he's alive, you can take him to me!" Joline insisted.
"Calm down," Arthur Gray commanded. "First you must know what has gone on in the past fifteen years. It's a long story, so I'd better get started."
~Emachinescat ^..^