He put his head against his legs and sighed. He just started playing soccer matches again in his head to kill time until something happened. He didn't want to think anymore. Didn't want to fall asleep. This was the only way he could turn his mind off for a while.
That's when he felt a very gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked up and their eyes met. Her eyes were the exact same brown with gold flecks that his was. This woman. She was the one from the warehouse. His mother. But that couldn't be. She was dead. He'd seen the explosion himself.
"Oh my gosh." he saw her say by reading her lips and then she went to his pant leg and pulled up to look at his calf. He saw her eyes fill with tears, "It's really you. Isn't it? " Then she touched the side of his face. Had he died? Had he fallen asleep?
Then she put her arms around him, and he could feel her crying, she smelled really good like flowers and soap and was soft. She held him for a good long time. Then she finally let go. "Oh, my sweet boy. It's really you, isn't it?" Matty wasn't sure how to respond. He just looked up at her with pure confusion. How could his mother be alive? She wiped her tears on her sleeve and kissed his forehead. "That's ok if you don't remember me. I remember you. And I am not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. Where have you been? Were you there to kill Billy Melrose?"
She touched his face. Matty looked at her and nodded no. "If you weren't there to kill him. Why were you there?" Matty tapped "SOS" on her forehead. "SOS? Help you went to Billy for help." Matty nodded yes. "So, you aren't working for Karbala." Matty nodded no. His mom had adjusted him, so he was sitting on her lap now." She was playing the hair on the back of his neck. Then she took her hand and turned his head towards hers and was petting his hair. "Do you want to get out of here? Go home."
More than anything in the world. It was like she was reading his mind. He nodded yes. She smiled. "I'm going to need you to trust me and do everything I say. Ok? I hope this works. I'm so glad they put you in one of the old holding cells and not the new ones." She kissed the top of his head. He saw her mutter to herself. "Harry, I hope you weren't just pulling one over on me." She walked over to the corner panel and knocked "Pop Goes the Weasel" on it. Nothing happened, then she did another one and absolutely nothing happened. He saw her sigh.
Then she walked over to the next corner, and a panel opened. He saw her smile and say, "Thank you Harry." Then she reached out her hand. He came over and took it even though he had three broken fingers on his right hand. She seemed to realize that right away and moved so she was holding his wrist instead. There was a string in the tunnel, and she tugged it. It was very dusty and full of spiderwebs, but the lights turned on when she pulled the string. Then she closed the panel behind them, and they started walking down the dusty tunnel.
They got to the end, and she knocked again, and another panel opened. She pulled on the string and the lights turned off. The panel opened into the parking garage. She walked him fast to a car. "I don't have my purse. That's upstairs in the office. Shoot!" But she went to the bumper and pulled a taped key out from under it. Then she opened the back door and said, "I'm sorry about this sweetheart but lie down on floor for now," Matty nodded and did what she said. Then she went in the back and pulled out a picnic blanket and covered him over with it."
It was dark under the blanket, but he felt the car start to move. Then he felt the car stop moving and she pulled the blanket off him. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. That can't have been comfortable." She had pulled into a gas station. And she pointed for him to come sit in the front with her. He climbed into the front seat. And she put her hand on his hand and ruffled his hair. "I figured you would use the door but whatever works. Both your brothers would have done it the same way as you. The hard part is done. Let's go home."
She never took her hands off him the whole way after they left the gas station. Matty didn't mind though. It felt good. Her touches were gentle and soothing, and he'd had a really bad couple of days.
They parked in a park. "It's not a long walk but I need to buy us some time. So, I'm parking here instead of the driveway." She grabbed his wrist gently. He just went with her.
They started walking in back yards and went through a fence and then they got to a yard. They went to the back of a garage. She picked the lock of the back door. Then she moved a carpet and there was a trap door. She opened it and they went down a little ladder and there was a steel door with a number panel. She punched in a bunch of numbers, and it opened. They went in and she closed the door behind them. They were in a storage room. There were boxes and all kinds of stuff. She led him through to another door which opened to a little hallway where there were two rooms across the hall from each other and a door at the end. They went into a room that looked like it was an office. There was a row of monitors. and a computer at the other end.
She had him sit on the love seat. He sat on it. It was comfortable and felt familiar. It felt like he had been here before. A flash of him lying there playing a game while his father was on the computer flashed in his head. That is weird. "Welcome home sweetheart. Now I need you to pay attention. I'm going upstairs but you need to stay down here. You see this button. You push it if you see anyone at all pull up into our driveway." All the monitors showed different rooms in the house. I'm going to get us some supplies from upstairs that should last us a few days before we have to break into your daddy's food." She wrinkled her nose when she said that.
Matty watched his mom on the monitors. She was fast and organized. She went to the kitchen first and had a box that she put all kinds of food from the fridge in. She brought it down. The room downstairs she was in wasn't on the monitor. He wanted to go see her. But she had told him to watch the monitors. He didn't want to disappoint her. Not after her rescuing him.
Then she was back upstairs. She was in her bedroom now. Grabbing clothes and things. She took three more trips. Then she came in the office. He felt her hand on the back of his head. "I'll set the alarm. I can hear it down here if someone comes. I don't need to go back upstairs but I need to put everything away now. You want something to eat while I do this sweet boy?" Matty hadn't really eaten anything in a couple days. He nodded yes.
She smiled. Then she made him a sandwich and brought it to him. It was peanut butter and fluff. It was disgusting. He hated fluff but it was nice of her to make him a sandwich. Then she watched him eat it for a second. "Oh my gosh. Give me that. I forgot. You don't like marshmallows or fluff. How could I forget that? Phillip kept telling me I brought the wrong baby home from the hospital because you don't like marshmallows. But then you told him that he could have all the ones allotted to you. He's going to be so happy your back. You and he used to be really close despite the age difference. He adored you. Both of them did actually. They are both going to be thrilled to have you back. Your grandmother too." This time she handed him a plain peanut butter sandwich and it was much better. Actually, it was the best peanut butter he'd ever tasted. She smiled at him lovingly. He ate it. He was hungry again. She put all the food away really quickly. Then she came and sat next to him "You smell like the agency. Let's get you a bath and changed hopefully before the cavalry comes." She kissed his forehead again.
She went to the bathroom in the bedroom. The bedroom was really nice. There was a display of signed baseballs and a weird thing with flowers sticking out of it, "That's your father's Tibetan Ram's horn. I always thought it was ugly, but I guess it's one of the few things he had from his father. He didn't like me always putting flowers in it at first but then when I stopped. He seemed disappointed. Most of the stuff down here was your father's. He designed this whole crazy place. It was my compromise when he moved in. Your daddy wasn't exactly the suburban type. But he moved here for me Then you came along, and he wanted you to grow up in this house. God your daddy loved you."
He smiled. He knew his dad loved him. He tapped "I love you" in morse code on his forehead every single day when he woke up and before he went to sleep. His mom looked at him. "The bath's ready. I put bubbles in it. I did not bring any toys though. I'm sorry about that. You get undressed and I'll see if there is anything waterproof you can play with down here while you're in there." Matty didn't care. He took showers usually at home. She left him alone in the bathroom. He tried to get undressed but with his broken fingers and arm. He got his shirt stuck on his head and it to try and take it off. It was stuck on the bridge of his nose.
His mom came back and said "Oh sweetheart, I'll help you. C'mere." She helped him get undressed and he got in the water. She was looking at his back and making a face. He wished she did not see the scars. But all she said was, "I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again. If you have to stay down in this basement forever so be it" She sounded so much like his dad.
When his dad first saw his scars, his dad had told him, "I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again. They'll have to kill me first." His mom then was washing his hair Then she said, "Close your eyes sweet boy so no soap gets in them." He did and she put her hands over his eyes and then dumped water over his head. Then he got out of the tub, grabbed a towel, and put it around his waist. She dried off his hair with another towel "C'mon I'll help you get dressed." They went in the bedroom. "There was a pair of light blue pajamas on the bed." "Now these might be a little big for you. Your smaller than I expected. I've been making you a bag of clothes in case you came home. Every year since you disappeared." He put the underwear and pajama pants on himself. There were no zippers or anything. She helped him with the shirt.
"You look good. Less like a fugitive." She kissed the top of his head and then said "It's been almost 3 hours since we left now. I am guessing the cavalry is coming soon. Let's go in the office, ok?"
They went into the office, and she sat on the love seat with him. She then said, "Alex sweetheart. Where were you? I know you can't answer me. Need to keep it questions you can answer yes and no for. How about if I guess?" Matty nodded. "Were you in the DC area this whole time?" Matty nodded no. She nodded. "Did whoever you were with treat you ok?" Matty nodded yes. Then she turned her attention to the monitors. "We will talk about this later? It's showtime."
She went to the office chair. Matty stayed on the love seat, but he did not have a good view of the monitors. So, he went and sat on her lap. She gave him a quick smile and kissed the top of his head.
Three people got out of the car. One of them was the nice young man from the other day. A very pretty blonde woman and a stocky older black man. Then his mom said, "That's your brother Phillip."
His mom was gently stroking the hair on the back of his neck. It was a very calming and soothing touch. It made him feel loved. He had no memories of her other than the warehouse. He wasn't even sure that she was actually his mother. How disappointed was she going to be if she realized he might not even be her real son. She was risking everything for him. He knew it. What if it was all a lie? What if he wasn't Alexander Matthew Stetson. But he had nobody else. He would tell her when things calmed down.
When it was safe he could go back to England. Irene didn't have anyone either. She would take care of him. Then he could live in his house and go back to his school. But for right now.
He looked at the monitors again. "Her car isn't here. She might not be home." The blonde woman said. Phillip spoke. "If she took him. She brought him here. She probably parked at the park or down the street where Lee used to. The panic room would be the best place to take him. Nobody can get in there unless she lets them in." Then the older black man spoke. "Why would she do this? You saw the boy. Do you think it's your brother?" Phillip sighed. "He's too young. My brother would be 10 now. But maybe he just looks young. I don't know. I mean the hair color is right. God if it does turn out to be Alex. Henderson is lucky all I did was punch him."
The blonde woman spoke "Well isn't there a secret entrance? Why don't we just use it." Phillip sighed. "I don't know the code. My parents never gave it me." Francine looked at him. "Well would your brother or grandma know it?" Phillip sighed. "Lee never gave us the code. We were teenage boys when we built that thing. I mean giving Jaime & I the code would give us the perfect opportunity to sneak out of the house. Mom wouldn't let him. And believe me even if my Grandma had the code at one time. She probably won't remember it. She locked herself down there for like a whole day once. Remember?"
His mom started laughing, "Phillip is protecting us right now. I never stopped Lee from giving the kids the codes. There are cameras everywhere outside. If they had snuck out. Lee would have it on camera. It didn't matter."
Matty smiled at his mom, and she held him on her lap. He read Phillip's lips. "Look when we go inside. Let me talk to her. She can see us on camera but there aren't microphones out here. She will listen to me. I can talk to her. Get her to come out. Ok Billy?" Billy nodded. "Ok Prince. If we can talk her into coming back. We may be able to keep this from Dr. Smyth."
The three people went into the house. Billy spoke first. "Amanda, its Billy, Francine, and Phillip. Are you here?" His mom adjusted him slightly and reached for the microphone. "I'm here sir." Then Billy said, "Why did you take the boy?" Amanda sighed. "The boy is Alex sir." Then Phillip spoke. "Hey mom, I am here too. Why do you think he's Alex? I saw him too. Isn't he a little young?" She sighed. "He just looks young. Sweetheart. It's your brother. His mannerisms are right. His eyes are right. His hair feels like Lee's. He has a scar on his leg in just the right place."
Billy spoke, "Amanda I read the medical file on the boy. He has a lot of scars. A lot of these kids too. It could just be a coincidence. McJohn estimates that this boy is 7 or 8 years old. Not 10." She sighed and kissed the top of his head. "I am his mother. Every single part of me knows that this is Alex." He saw his brother run his hand through his hair. "Mom, what if he's not? We've gotten our hopes up before." His mom held Matty tighter. "Yes, well last time. I know I was wrong as soon as I saw the other boy. This is different sweetheart. You'll see. He's just scared and he's not dangerous at all. He is actually very sweet."
The blonde woman spoke, "That sweet child took down three grown men, Amanda. You didn't watch the footage, did you?" She looked at him. "Yes, I saw it. Gosh I think that footage is even more proof that he's Lee's son. None of them were seriously hurt. Alex was hurt much worse than any of the men. You can tell he was just trying to get away. He has a normal haircut. He's deaf. Karbala would have gotten rid of him. Someone else has been taking care of him. Who it is and what their motivations are yet to be determined. But I do not think Alex will hurt me. Will you sweetheart?"
Matty nodded no. Then she said, "You ran a DNA test on him, right?" Billy answered. "We did Amanda, but we probably won't have the results until next week." She sighed. "Well then Alex and I will just stay down here until next week. That test is going to prove what I'm trying to tell you."
Then he saw Billy whisper something to Phillip. His mouth was hidden so Matty was not sure what he said. Phillip nodded to him. "Mom, you remember when I was a kid, and I put sugar in Dean's gas tank?" She smiled. "Yes. There is no forgetting that." Phillip spoke. "I knew I had gone too far. And I hid up in the treehouse because I was convinced you were going to kill me. Then Jaime came up in the treehouse too because he didn't want you to kill me."
"Yes." his mom answered. Phillip sighed. "I pulled the ladder up so you could not climb up. Then you remember what you did? "Before she could answer Phillip spoke again. "You called a truce with me. You said you just wanted to talk." So, I let the ladder down and you had Jaime go into the house. And you and I just talked things out. We talked about how I was acting out because of the divorce and that Dean was the first serious guy you had been with since Dad. We worked it out. You did not kill me. All you did was cut my allowance and have me apologize to Dean. That is all I want to do now. How about I come down there and we just talk? I am calling a truce."
His mom smiled a little. "Just you. Francine and Billy stay upstairs, or I won't buzz you in. And give Francine your gun." Phillip made a face. "You're my mother. I would never shoot you." She sighed. "You are also an agent sweetheart. Leave the firearm upstairs with Billy & Francine." He nodded. Then Francine took his gun. "Wish me luck." Phillip said. "Um it might be a while. Help yourself to whatever is in the cabinets or the fridge. That is cool right mom?" "Well, I brought a lot of stuff downstairs. But yes, help yourselves to whatever you find up there."
Phillip went downstairs and Matty watched as he just punched in a code. The door opened right up. He closed the door behind him quickly. She took Matty's hand, and they walked to the room. She went over and hugged Phillip. "Hello sweetheart." Phillip had a lopsided goofy grin on his face. "Hi mom. How's your day going? You blew me off for lunch." He saw Matty's rejected peanut butter and fluff sandwich on the counter. And he grabbed it. "I'm starved. Do you mind?" She smiled. "Help yourself. Alex didn't like that one because it had fluff on it." Phillip looked at her and smiled. "Oh yeah. He hates marshmallows. I used to tease him about that. Maybe you aren't nuts?"
Then Phillip said, "One second and we can talk. Just got to do one thing. Francine, I'm so sorry about this but well she's, my mom." And he walked over to the sink and pulled out his earpiece and ran the garbage disposal. And they heard Francine cry out in pain from the monitors in the other room.
Then they went back into the office and Francine said, "What the hell Phillip?" "Look even if it turns out my mom's crazy. She is still my mom. And well my family will always be more important to me than my job. Does not matter if my mom's cracked or not. I will stand by her whether this kid is my brother or not."
Billy spoke. "Philip you're throwing away your whole career." Phillip smiled. "Yeah well, I'm not sure I want to be loyal to a place that lets people torture kids. But my mom well she has always been there for me, so I am going to be there for her now. Sorry. Just go back to the Agency let the old man do his worst."
Amanda spoke, "Phillip and I need to talk. I'm turning off the microphone. I really am sorry about all this. I know you two were just trying to help."