"Hi, Mama," Kim said, as she gave her mother a comforting hug. She could tell by the look on Caroline's face that her mother was nervous. Why wouldn't she be? They were all about to find out which of the two Romans was the real one and which was the imposter and, even though her parents had already decided which of the men to believe, everyone knew that all of their lives were about to change.
Kim looked across the fish market to where Marlena was standing, with Bo beside her. Roman - the one with curly hair - was about three feet away, had his arms crossed, and was scowling across his room at the other Roman. She walked over to the non-scowling Roman and held her arms out for a hug.
"Thanks, Sis," he said, taking her up on the offer.
Kim held him close. "I don't care what any silly test says. You're my big brother - no matter what."
He let go and looked at her sadly. "I wish that were true-"
"It is, and don't you forget it," she insisted. "You know me. When I say something, I mean it."
Roman smiled and was about to speak when the door opened and Kayla and Steve entered.
"You can't start a party without us," Steve said loudly, an obvious attempt to break the tension. That only seemed to garner a bigger glare from the Roman standing with Marlena.
For a moment, that made her wonder. She could not remember her brother being so uptight when she was younger. Then she tried to imagine the anxiety and stress he was experiencing and his scowl did not seem so out-of-place.
As Kim watched him, Kayla and Steve both made their way to the Roman near her and gave him assurances similar to the one Kim had given. While they were doing that, Kim walked over to Marlena and the other Roman and gave them each quick hugs.
"So when are they gonna get here," curly-haired Roman muttered. "I'm sick of waiting."
"It's the ISA; they do what they want when they want," Bo said, an obvious edge to his voice.
This Roman shook his head. "Ever since I've been back, all I've heard are nasty comments about the ISA. The ISA's an honorable organization and they're helping us get to the bottom of this mess."
"Yeah, right. . . . The ISA's so honorable," Steve said sarcastically, clearly having overheard. "They're real honorable unless you get in their way."
Roman's face began to turn red. "Hey . . . remember that I nearly died on an ISA mission."
"Roman!" Marlena caught his arm as he stepped toward Steve. "Just let it go."
"I won't let it go," Roman snapped. "My little brother and some guy I don't even know just bad-mouthed the organization that I fought and nearly died for, that I just lost the last seven years of my life for. So I don't appreciate them talking garbage about the ISA."
"They have their reasons," Kim said. "We all do."
Roman raised an eyebrow. "You do? Didn't you marry an ISA captain? Even if he turned out to be a traitor."
"Hey!" Bo and Steve said, nearly simultaneously. Steve stepped closer to Roman. "You don't want us talking garbage, don't talk garbage about Donovan. You've got no idea what you're talking about."
Kim had to smile at Steve's defense of Shane. A few months ago, that would have seemed as likely as a pig flying across the Salem River. "It's okay, Steve. Roman just hasn't been here for the past few years, so he doesn't know everything we've been through."
"Well maybe he should be told." That came from the other Roman. "The question is where should we start, pal."
"How 'bout with them kidnapping Marlena to make you do their dirty work?" Bo offered, the disgust plain in his voice. "That only nearly got all of us killed."
"Or how about when they left Shane for dead after that explosion?" Now it was Steve's turn. "He'd only helped bring down one of the biggest drug rings Salem's ever seen, and they couldn't even be bothered to search for the body. I'm sure Kim really appreciated losing her husband for all those months."
"Or. . . ." said the staight-haired Roman, clearly joining in Bo and Steve's contempt for the ISA. "If you want to go back farther, maybe he'd like to know how the ISA left me with Stefano and had Shane keep it secret that I was alive."
Kim's stomach dropped, as everyone seemed to lapse into stunned silence. Even that Roman seemed to realize that he had revealed something that he probably should not have mentioned.
"What is he talking about?" curly-haired Roman growled, but Marlena pulled him to the back of the fish market. Kim could tell they were having a heated exchange, but she could not hear what they were saying."
"I'm sorry," the other Roman said to Kim. "I shouldn't have mentioned Shane. We all made peace over that."
Kim shook her head, but Steve spoke before Roman could. "Not him - assuming he is who he says he is."
No, Kim thought. If he turned out to be the real Roman, they were going to have to revisit that revelation. That had been a very painful time for the entire family. But she barely had time to dwell on that when the door opened and in stepped Chief Tarrington and four other ISA agents.
"Hey, it's my friendly neighborhood firefighters," Steve said rather loudly. Kim had no idea what that meant, but she saw two of the agents scowl at Steve. Steve started to say something else, but Kayla elbowed him in the side. "Ow, baby, what was that for?"
"Aw, Mr. Johnson . . . ever the comedian," Tarrington replied. "Now that the jokes are over, I do believe we have important business to attend to."
Curly-haired Roman stepped forward and held out his hand. "Thank you for coming, Chief Tarrington. I appreciate you taking care of this personally."
"Roman Brady was a fine agent," Tarrington said, with an emphasis on the word "was" that nobody could miss. He shook the man's hand.
"Well he hopes to be so again," that Roman said.
Behind Kim, she heard Steve mutter, "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Tarrington obviously did not hear that crack, because he looked around the room and said, "Well, I see no reason to drag this out." He pulled an envelope out of his suit pocket. "In here, I have the results of the DNA testing. The results were sealed by the ISA laboratory in Washington and, as you can see, the seal is still intact."
Kim felt her entire body tighten. Her heart clinched and her stomach did a flip. Glancing around, she could the nerves evident on everyone in the room except for curly-haired Roman. He still appeared supremely confident that the result would be in his favor.
"Yes, well let me see," Tarrington said. He broke the seal, opened the envelope, and pulled out a sheet of paper. He studied it for a moment before he announced, "The DNA tests confirm that Roman Brady is. . . ." He glanced at the Roman with straight hair for a second, before looking at curly-haired Roman. ". . . this man. He is Roman Brady."
"I knew it," Shawn cried out loudly.
"It's a lie," shouted the other Roman. "I'm telling you it's a lie." Hearing the pain in his voice, Kim felt her heart sink. She looked at Marlena, who was standing open-mouthed in stunned silence.
Curly-haired Roman - the real Roman - stepped forward. "It's no lie, pal. I don't know who you are, but you are not Roman Brady, and I want to know who you're working for."
The other Roman shook his head violently. "It's not true."
Across the room, Tarrington turned to his agents. "Gentlemen, take this man into custody."
"Wait!" Kayla and Kim shrieked in unison. Kim could not believe it. Maybe the man was not really her brother, but he was not a criminal. She rushed forward, but an ISA agent shoved her aside and she fell to the floor.
The room erupted in shouts. Kim heard both Romans, some of the ISA agents, and Steve all yelling. Kim heard something crash as one of the ISA agents fell against a table next to her. The table and the agent collapsed to the ground.
"Kim!" Kayla rushed forward, grabbed Kim's hand, and pulled her toward the back of the room. Kim spotted her parents cowering by the fish market counter and she turned her head toward the front door.
Bo and Steve were each grappling with ISA agents. The man who was not Roman had a chair in his hand and was waving it in an arc to keep the remaining ISA agents and the real Roman at bay. Marlena was beside him, shouting at the agents to leave him alone. As Kim watched, one of the agents reached for his gun, but he was not fast enough. Roman - or the man who was no longer Roman - threw the chair at him. The agents jumped out of the way, giving not-Roman time to crash through the front door and race away from the store.