Young Offender, Part 6:
"But I don't understand. What kind of experiments are you talking about? I mean, Francoise, it all sounds so... bizarre," Jean-Paul said before taking a sip of hot tea.
"I can't tell you any more than that. It wouldn't be right if I told you more, because it would be an invasion of their privacy." She nodded toward Albert, Jet, and Ivan sitting with them at the kitchen table. "You must trust me. I'll tell you details later, but just know I'm telling the truth, and you must, must trust me." She gripped his upper arm for emphasis.
Francoise could read Jean-Paul's skepticism. His handsome face was furrowed in deep thought, rather than its usual devil-may-care expression. He jolted up and cast dark looks towards Albert and Jet. She knew he still didn't trust them. They, thankfully, hadn't said a word during her whole explanation.
He finally sighed and looked at Francoise with worry. "Of course I'll stand by you and protect you, but it's not fair for you to keep such large secrets from me."
"I know, but really, Jean-Paul, trust me. I was kidnapped, taken to an island laboratory, and experimented on. We escapade with each other's help and made our way here by way of Japan. That's all I can tell you for now. Anything else would put you into great danger. We are probably still being followed."
"But what kind of experiments, Francoise?" Natalie asked.
"We were all altered in different way," she said, getting irritable at Natalie's prying. Why didn't they understand she had to give her companions respect? Couldn't they see she was distressed and in danger?
Natalie looked skeptical, as well. Also, there was something in the look she shot Jean-Paul Francoise didn't care for. She couldn't quite understand it.
"Monsieur Arnoul, Jet and I will take our leave so we can make arrangements for him to get back to The States. I ask that you keep Ivan here until I can return," he said in French.
"But, Herr Heinrich, will it be safe?" Francoise asked as he and Jet retrieved their hats and coats.
"Just until morning. Then I'll come back for Ivan."
"Please be careful. And, Jet!" Francoise bolted from the table and walked over to the lanky redhead. He appeared confused. She couldn't think of much to say, she may not see him again if he could leave for New York tonight. The irritation towards him flew from her mind. All that was left was the memory of him risking his life for her during the escape. All she could say was, "Travel safely."
He gave her a brief smile, he grew abashed. "Hey, you watch out for those guys."
Francoise watched them leave the apartment as her chest grew tight and apprehension swelled. She pushed away her worry with the thought about how right Albert was to split them up. It was safer to be spread out. She looked over to Ivan, who sipped the rest of his tea.
/He's an extremely intelligent man, buthis logic is wrong in our case. We're safer in greater numbers. Not one of us, even me, is able to avoid or resist the Black Ghost indefinitely. They'll gain strength and come after us all. Then they will try to alter others to be like us. It is our duty to.../
"Stop it! I have no duty! This was forced on me! I'm just a ballerina! I hate violence! I will not be forced into it!" Francoise shouted at Ivan. Her body trembled; she was on the verge of sobbing. She calmed her breathing down when she realized Jean-Paul and Natalie wore shocked expressions at her outburst. Her face reddened in embarrassment because there was no obvious reason to them for her to yell at Ivan. She waved her hand at her warm face when she noticed Ivan's stern look of warning.
"I'm sorry I upset you, Francoise. I worry about all of us, as well. Our survival is my immediate concern," Ivan said and stood up from the table. /My long term goal is to rid the world of the Black Ghost. I will accomplish that goal, regardless of what I have to do./
She shivered at the frosty voice Ivan projected. She grew somber and nodded. "Let's get some rest, Ivan. I'll bring you some blankets and you can sleep on the sofa."
"I want to stay over too, Francoise," Natalie offered. Francoise felt slightly cool to the idea, but she pushed it aside. After all, Natalie had always been there for her through every trial and triumph. She felt she should include Natalie in her troubles now, but something told her this was too much to ask Natalie. She was even hesitant at asking Jean-Paul to share her burden.
She nodded reluctantly. "Sure."
"It looks like we have to get you a passport for when you land. There's a problem with you getting a ticket, though."
"I'll just use my acceleration device when I land. Sneak out. No problems there," Jet said, leaning back against the bench on the observation deck. He looked at Albert's furrowed brow. "I know what you said. I'll stand out. After all, only business men really fly on airplanes, but I can get a suit before then. What else is eating at you? About the ticket I mean."
"It costs three hundred... American."
"What! Why not five or six? I thought this was a bad idea. It'll take me a month to boost that kind of bread. Even with my new trick."
"It was the way I thought would be the quickest to get you home. We'll try a ship. We'll get train tickets, go to the nearest port city, and then put you on a boat back to New York."
"Fine. Whatever I have to do. How much do you think that'll cost?"
"Don't know yet. It's getting late. We better find a place to rest. I did want to give Francoise some time alone with her brother."
"I agree. He thinks we're the ones guilty of something. Figures," Jet griped and followed Albert out of the bustling airport. "Too bad I can't just fly myself home. Gilmore told me the boosters won't hold out long enough," he whispered, glancing around the crowd for eavesdroppers.
Albert's lips twisted into a wry smirk, but he didn't say anything. They found a nearby cafe, ordered coffee, and acquired a newspaper. Jet looked around and found a place to buy cigarettes. He lit himself one and offered one to Albert.
Albert took it, barely taking his eyes off the newspaper. Jet didn't bother looking at the French type. He could speak passable French, and understand it fairly well, but he still couldn't read it. He wasn't even interested in learning. School had always been a drag for him. The teachers gave him a hard time and the goody-two-shoes "socs" looked down on him. He took a drag off his cigarette and enjoyed the first rush of nicotine he'd had in close to six months.
He remembered running from the cops and hiding behind several crates. He also remembered his irritation at seeing his pack of cigarettes was empty after he felt safe enough. He had crumpled the pack right before the men in dark suits approached him, claiming they wanted to help him get away from the cops.
He tried to shake off the memory with a drag off his cigarette and looked around the bustling street. There was a large part of him that wanted to see those men again, teach them a lesson. Sticking with Ivan could get him that. Still, he was horribly homesick.
"...over to the bakery and..."
"What?" Jet snapped at Albert, vexed that his revenge fantasy was interrupted.
Albert sighed, ground out his cigarette, and said, "You need to take what's left of our money and go to that old lady over there sweeping. The sign in her window says she has a room for rent above her store. French people that age typically don't care for Germans, but adore Americans. Just rent it out for one week. I want to make sure we weren't followed to France, and I want to make sure Francoise will be safe here. Her brother certainly doesn't understand the whole situation, so he needs a few days to take it in. That'll give us time to figure out how to get you back to New York."
"Geeze! You need to lay off acting like everyone's old man," Jet said, before draining his lukewarm coffee. He stood and turned; he was excited to try out his sloppy French on someone besides Francoise.
Francoise woke up and stretched. She looked over to the trundle bed on the other side of the room where Natalie was still sound asleep. Natalie had wanted to talk about what had happened to Francoise some more, and she seemed interested in what Francoise was doing in the company of strange men.
Natalie had even asked if one them was a possible love interest, which stunned Francoise. She burst out laughing at the absurdity. She explained to Natalie that Albert was recently widowed and that Jet was an obnoxious thug. Francoise had feigned exhaustion after that, and they fell silent, unlike their other sleepovers.
She quietly slipped out of her darkened bedroom after she slipped a robe over her pink nightgown. It was her own nightgown, not something borrowed or stolen. A wave of relief and thankfulness swelled as she left her room and walked over to the dim parlor. She worried seeing Ivan sitting on the sofa, wearing oversized pajamas borrowed from Jean-Paul.
"Did you sleep well, Ivan?" Francoise asked the apparent teenager.
"I can't sleep right now. I'm saving up my capital energy. It's at a high, and until I use it up, I doubt I'll sleep much."
She sat beside him and put her hand on his hands balled up in his lap. "What a terrible curse you carry with you." She paused as she pondered her next words. "I know that Herr Heinrich has plans to leave with you, but..."
"You want me to stay here with you, rather than go with Herr Heinrich."
She felt miffed. Francoise whispered, "Please be careful about that certain thing you can do with thoughts. I haven't told Jean-Paul everything about you, yet, and Natalie is still here. I'd rather she not know about all of us. Yes, I do want you to stay, because I'm worried about you. I mean, there is wisdom in parting, but I can't help being concerned for you. Those people, your parents, are so horrible."
"You were going to stay by my side and protect me from Erika when she attacked me, weren't you? I never did thank you for risking you life for me. All of you were willing to stand up to her. But, if I must choose to stay with you or go with Herr Heinrich, I'll go with him."
"But why?"
"Because when he finally does come to rest and no longer has to worry about us, he will likely fall into a deep depression. He's running from his pain by devoting himself to protecting all of us. If I travel with him, I'll be able to slowly drain his depression with my abilities."
"He has nowhere to go?"
"Just like me: no home, no family. Like I told you, his wife was killed in front of him. He hasn't dealt with it yet."
"How sad for you both."
"On the contrary, Heinrich and I are the lucky ones. You and Jet have too much keeping you bound to..." Ivan paused; Francoise could hear Jean-Paul rummage through his burrow. "Your brother is awake. We'll talk later."
Francoise turned her head to see Jean-Paul open his bedroom door. There were bags under his eyes and his shoulders were slumped. "Jean-Paul, you look exhausted."
"I couldn't sleep very well. I was trying to sort things out in my head."
"Monsieur Arnoul, you should go to the police and continue to plead for them to look for Francoise," Ivan said.
Jean-Paul looked a little taken aback. He put on a reassuring smile, which Francoise knew was a mistake, and knelt in front of Ivan. He ruffled the Russian's odd, starlight colored hair, and said in a tone reserved for small children looking at his plane, "She's back now, and they still need to find the men who did this." He then stood up and looked at Francoise. "We'll go to the police station after you get dressed. You'll need to tell them everything so they can find those men and they can be brought to justice."
"But, Jean-Paul, they have influence with the police." Francoise' throat tightened; her vision blurred. She managed to say, "Don't you see, there is no justice for what we've been through."
She noticed Jean-Paul looked shocked at her declaration; it was right before tears rolled down her cheeks and sobs came welling up, in spite of her desire to control herself. She felt his large hands on her shoulders, he tilted her chin back slightly. She meet his eyes and wasn't surprised to see anger and determination there.
"My same big brother. Always so protective of me. Alway willing to beat up anyone picking on me," she said after she got control again.
"I guess for now, a few days at least, it won't hurt to pretend you're still missing. But, on one condition."
"But, what...?"
Jean-Paul held up his finger firmly. "When I get back for dinner you must tell me everything that's going on, and I want to talk to those men who came with you."
"I think Jet is leaving soon, so is Herr Heinrich."
"I know, but I want a full picture of what's going. You asked me last night to protect them, too." He gave her a warm smile and squeezed her shoulders. "I was too surprised last night to really think straight, but I need to try to help them. It's the right thing to do."
She flung her arms around his chest and gave him a fierce hug that he returned around her neck. "Thank you so much."
He gave her a fond kiss on the top of her head and said, "Of course. I'll go to the police and ask after you. Then I have a delivery flight to make. It's down in Nice, so I'll be back before dinner. You should stay indoors and keep the drapes closed. I'll leave Papa's pistol on my nightstand. I know you hate it, but if I stay home suddenly after visiting the police station, and they are looking for you, it would look suspicious. You need to protect yourself."
"Okay. I'll stay in."
"Good girl. I'll be back as quick as I can."
"I should go check on Albert and Jet," Ivan said.
"No, you should stay here with Francoise," Jean-Paul insisted. "I'll go and find them tonight."
Francoise wasn't surprised to see Ivan remain quiet as Jean-Paul stood up, went to the door, and put on his jacket. "Take care. There's fruit to eat."
After he left, Ivan stood up and went to Jean-Paul's room. Francoise said, "Wait. I know you're thinking of going anyway."
Ivan shut the door, a brooding expression on his thin, pale face.
"Francoise? Did Jean-Paul leave?" Francoise turned to see Natalie standing in her bedroom doorway.
Francoise nodded and asked, "Are you hungry?"
Natalie nodded. She and Francoise got apples from the small kitchenette. Ivan eventually came out of Jean-Paul's room, now dressed in his over-sized navy suit. He stooped and picked up the suitcase hiding the four, green uniforms. His intense eyes met Francoise's.
"I'm going to go see the other two. They'll be back before evening, I'll make sure of it."
Francoise nodded, tight lipped, and let him leave the apartment, in spite of her concern.
To be continued.