Secrets of the Fall (8 page)

Timothy
came up to us and instead of standing in front of the room as though he was
going to conduct a meeting, he came and sat down with us. “Look, I know we’re
at a corporate boardroom and all, but this is more of a family matter than
anything. I have children close to your age, and I can imagine what you are all
going through having your father and brother missing. You don’t have to put on
any professional or corporate image with us. We may be a billion dollar
corporation, but we’re a family business too. I’ve known your father from day
one of him starting this corporation, and have known him even before. He and I
were in the same unit. We’re friends and not just colleagues. So I have a
personal stake at helping with this operations, too.”

Timothy
looked around the room and said, “We have been briefed with what the situation
is. There’s good news and not so good news.” Timothy looked at Drew for a brief
moment, and I thought it was because Drew was the Donovan put in charge of the
rescue mission. I saw Drew looked down, his hands shaking. Whatever Drew knew,
I was getting worried. Did Drew know more than he seemed?

Rachel,
who had never been one to refrain from saying whatever was on her mind blurted
out, “What happened? What freakin’ happened to my brother and father, dammit?”

Timothy
said, “The good news is, your father was released from where he was held hostage.
He is alive and well. There was another person from military released with him,
and she was in good health.”

“So
they’re coming back home?” Rachel asked. “Dad and Nat?”

Timothy
said, “Mr. Donovan is heading back today, along with the other hostage.
Unfortunately, Nat’s whereabouts are still unknown.”

Timothy’s
face literally looked more wrinkly and tired, exhausted even as he looked over
at the members of his team. He was about to say something when Drew asked,
“What about the Special Forces? Were they able to locate him?”

Timothy’s
eyes blew up wide as he stared unbelievably at Drew. He said, “It was not in
the Plan, Drew. You knew that.”

“But
we went through all the motions to set up a Special Forces,” Drew said.

“You
did,” Karen joined Timothy. “You wanted it to seem as though we did get a
Special Forces team, a second one to go in.”

“Didn’t
you?” Drew asked. “It could be done...”

“Didn’t
you get the message, Drew? It was not in the Plan.”

Drew
got and looked at Karen and Timothy. “Let’s make it in the Plan. This time it
is.”

“Why?”
Timothy asked. “We thought that would be the best way.”

Drew
looked over at me, sitting there, not quite sure what was happening except that
Nat was still missing. Gosh, Nat was still missing, yet Mr. Donovan and some
military person was flying back tonight. I spoke up. “Tim, Karen, everyone…Nat
is an important member of Donovan Dynamics and a very beloved member of this
family. Is there anything we could do to find him? Anything else? It doesn’t
make sense that he was out there to help save Mr. Donovan, had gotten Mr.
Donovan released, but now went completely off radar. Someone has got to know
what happened to Nat.”

“We’ll
try out best,” Timothy said finally. “If we have to send another Special Forces
team, we will.”

“Good,”
Drew said. “We have to at least try.” He came over to me and put his arm around
my shoulders. “We’ll find him, Summer. Don’t worry. We will find him for you
and for the sake of getting closure.” 

While
Rachel and I looked at each other, not sure what they were talking about, Drew
walked over to Tim and Karen and talked to them for a while. I think they were
discussing what to do.

I
reached over to Rachel and squeezed her hand. Rachel tried to act normal, but I
could tell she was upset and worried by the news…Nat was still missing. She
looked like she was going to cry, and I wanted to, too. “Rach, let’s stay
positive,” I said. “He’s still missing. He isn’t gone, thank God,” I said,
dreading and not wanting to say the word “dead”.  “If the team over there could
get your father and some others out, especially since that was supposedly a
very tight and dangerous operation, then they can find Nat.”

“I
know,” Rach said, a tear ran down her cheek. “I missed him so much. When Drew
moved down to Malibu to go to USC this semester, and Mom was getting on my
nerves at home, I would always go over to Nat’s place and we’ll talk. He’s so
grown up for his age, Sum, and so wise. I mean he’s only about two years older
than us, but he’s like a father figure to me more than Dad ever was. Plus I
could talk to him about everything.” Rach gulped. “Even about Ryan, you, or
Astor.”

I
raised my eyebrows. “Me?” I licked my lips. “You talk about me to Nat?”

“Nothing
bad, Summer, just about how he thinks Astor would feel about you being with
Nat, and what to do to get Astor to notice me.”

“Rach!”
I almost laughed. “You do have a crush on Astor!”

“Doesn’t
every warm-blooded female in America?” Rachel asked.

“Yeah,
true, but…”

“Don’t
worry, Astor still talks all the time about you. He’s still worried about that
stalker and checks to see if anyone’s tried to break into the Academy again or
if there is vandalism. He really cares about you, Summer,” Rachel said
seriously. “I’m a little jealous, but I realize I do like him because he cares
about you. If he didn’t, I would think he’s the most heartless arrogant…”

I
hugged Rach. If there was one thing, Rachel was loyal and got my back, crush on
a major heartthrob or not.

“So
Nat and you talk about me?” I asked again.

“Mostly
Nat…he wanted to know how serious you were with Astor that one time Astor
showed up at the Academy’s Open House and Astor helped Drew cater it. He also
wanted to know how you were doing when the Academy was vandalized. I mean, I
know you and Nat are close, and he’s probably the most self-confident guy I
know, besides Drew, but sometimes, I feel as though when it comes to you, Nat
had some deep insecurities. He would worship the ground you walk on, if you let
him.” Rachel took a deep breath. “Oh God, Summer, if anything bad happened to
him, I would be devastated. Devastated. I’m closer to Nat than to Mom and Dad.
Mom and Dad…they couldn’t care less about me, but Nat…he always cared. He always
did the right thing even if it meant he had to sacrifice his own happiness for
everyone else.”

Talking
about Nat with Rachel brought back everything I loved about Nat, and I found
myself dripping tears uncontrollably down my cheeks. My nose was stuffed up,
and I couldn’t breathe. I stood up and grabbed my purse. “Excuse me,” I said
quickly while I walked out of the room and quickly down the hall, looking for
the ladies’ room.

I
was composing myself in front of the mirror in the ladies’ room when the door
opened, and the strategist Karen Waters walked in. I immediately wiped my
cheeks with my hands, and said, “Hi.”

“Hey,”
Karen said, coming towards me with her arms held out. Out of characteristic
with her role at Donovan Dynamics, she gave me a quick hug and then stood back.
She had a kind but serious expression on her face. “It’s going to be alright,”
she said.

“I
hope so,” I replied. “I really hope so…Nat is…well, he’s very special to me.”

“I
know,” Karen said. She took a deep breath, looked away, and said, “He’s a
pretty great guy, isn’t he? I’ve known him for a few years now, and he’s always
has been respectful, kind, spectacular, and incredibly bright. One of the
smartest brains at Donovan Dynamics.”

“Really?”
I said. “You could tell in just a couple of years?” I asked.

“Oh,
yes, quite a genius,” Karen said. “He is pretty much the brains behind Donovan
Dynamics’ Cyber Security and Intelligence division. Everyone in that group
working on this search was supervised by him at one time or another. Believe
me, we want him back just as much as anyone.”

“But
he just started taking on his father’s duties here,” I said. “He has college,
his mother’s health, and other stuff to think about, let alone run divisions
here.”

“No,
he’s been doing so since he was a kid.  He would spend his nights and weekends
at the office poring over the computer, helping his father out. Like I said, he
was a genius. I have every confidence that he was the one to get Mr. Donovan
out safe and sound. Nat’s a hero-type, too. He’d stay behind to make sure
everything went smoothly.  He wouldn’t leave anyone behind. He’s a real leader
and team player. That is why everyone here, despite Nat’s age, admire and look
up to him. We will try our best to find him and bring him back.”

“You
mean Nat had been working here since Donovan Dynamics began?” I asked. Why was
I so shocked? It was his father’s company so of course he would be part of it,
but somehow I was shocked. Nat knew a lot more about cyber security and
intelligence than I’ve ever realized.

“Take
heart in knowing Nat is no ordinary young man, Summer. He’s very resourceful,
bright, and capable of unbelievable things. Without him, Mr. Donovan could not
have built Donovan Dynamics into what it is today…the world’s largest and
foremost private security corporation. Whatever is making him stay out of the
picture must be something special.” Karen looked at me quizzically. “You and
Nat are close, as in more than friends?”

I
nodded. “Had a crush on him since we were toddlers and then we finally got
together this winter.”

“Had
any major fights with him?” Karen asked.

“No,”
I said, “we were getting along great before he left.”

“Knowing
how he is such a focused guy,” Karen said, “it would take something very
personal and deeply felt for him to disappear from the radar like that…I mean,
now don’t take this badly, Nat does have the means to communicate with us, if
he choose to…but we haven’t heard from him at all since he left.”

“Why
would he do that?” I asked.

“It
makes me wonder, too,” Karen said. “But looking at you, having met you, having
seen you and Drew together, well…there is more than meets the eyes…” she raised
her eyebrows in a question.

I
gulped. Then it hit me what was clear and visible to Karen…Drew and I were
passionately kissing each other in the lot outside of Donovan Dynamics right
before meeting everyone for our first meeting. We were probably very visible
for everyone to see. And the way Drew was so protective around me in front of
everyone, it was clear he and I had something going on. I wanted to bang my
head on the wall, thinking how awful something liked that looked, and of
course, if I was Nat seeing the love of my life with my own brother, I would be
heartbroken too. Not wanting to go back home to deal with that.

“I
see,” I said. “Well, if he could be here now, he would see how devastated and
affected I am with him missing…how much I cared for and loved him. He would see
that no matter what appears on the surface, things are not what they seem, and
there is always a chance to work something out if we could only sit down to
talk about it.”

Karen
nodded. “Point well-taken. Sounds like Nat didn’t fall for some ordinary girl,
too. Talking of which…” she looked at her watch. “If you stay here long enough
or decide to come back tomorrow morning, we are hoping to see Mr. Donovan and
the other hostage as they stop by.”

“I’d
like to see that,” I said. However in my heart, I was dreading the meeting. For
Mr. Donovan to come back safely while Nat was still missing and in danger made
me angry with the unfairness of it. Nat did everything for his father, He
helped step in for his father to care for his mother’s mental illness. He
stepped in to be more of a father figure to Rachel and Drew than his father, He
helped covered for his father, kept his father’s dirty secret of having an
affair with his secretary from his mother until he finally told her, and now I
found out Nat helped build up Donovan Dynamics from the start.

I
was furious to think Nat gave up so much for his father, while his father was
coming back safe and sound to Donovan Dynamics and to his mistress. I couldn’t
care less to see him now. Not when Nat was still missing.

“I’m
sorry,” I said, “I just realize I have to go back to Malibu tonight to take
care of some things at home. Drew might be staying here, though. He could be
here to see Mr. Donovan again. I’ll be going back home with Rachel.”

“Alright,
Ms. Jones,” Karen said. “That’s perfectly alright. Life goes on, and of course
you have other obligations. You should live your life, think of other things,
do things outside of this so you wouldn’t drive yourself insane with worry.
Seriously, you should go back home to get back into your routines, go back to
taking classes in college, teaching and running your acting classes, play
volleyball than worry about this.  There is nothing you could do at this point,
Summer, but let us handle it. This is what we do, and we will do our very
best.”

I
hugged Karen and said, “Thank you, this meant a lot.”

Then
I walked outside where Rachel was gesturing to me. She still had tears in her
eyes, but she was surprisingly calm. “The jet’s in the hangar, and my ride to
the hangar is here. You want to come back to Malibu with me? All this waiting,
wringing, doing nothing is driving me crazy. I have to get back to the Academy,
do something else. I mean, I love Nat and all, but I feel so useless in that
room while everyone is so busy in discussion planning some kind of Special
Forces attack or rescue…something. Drew is right in the middle of it. I think
he’ll be here all night.”

“I’ll
have to tell him I’m going with you,” I said.

“Good,
because from the looks of it, if you don’t, you’ll be sleeping on the couch in
the lobby all night if you wait. He didn’t even have time to wave me
‘good-bye’. He nodded and went back to talking to the team. They are planning
on getting some results tomorrow. They have no time for us right now, Summer.
We might as well go home and wait to hear about some news tomorrow.”