The Trouble With Bodyguards: Part 3 (10 page)

            
 “
Fuck that
,
” said Alex, striding purposely toward the front door of the house
.“I’
m not sitting here while that bitch has my baby. If he knows anything about it,
I’
m going to beat it out of him.
I’
m tired of him having such control over my life, even from his fucking cage.
I’
m going down there
.
”

            
 “I’
m going with you
,
” said Rick, taking her arm and leading her to where he had left his car in the neighbo
r’
s driveway. She slid into the passenger seat, and he revved the engine before peeling off down the street. The officers were not far behind them, their sirens blaring, and the lights turning on top of their cars. Traffic moved out of the way as the procession flew down the freeway, headed for a madman that might know where there daughter was taken.

              The lights were off when they arrived at the hospita
l—
it being after business hours and all of the patients tucked safely in their beds for the night. Alex jumped out of the car racing for the front door and began to bang furiously on the glass, screaming wildly to try and gain the attention of someone inside. Rick walked up the steps next to her, followed closely by the officers in the car that had followed them to the hospital.

              Inside, a light came on at the end of the long hall, and a man in a white orderl
y’
s uniform stepped through a door, pulling it shut and locking it behind him with a set of keys attached to his belt. He looked up, hurrying to the door when he caught sight of the lights of the police cars and the woman beating frantically on the front door. He pulled his keys out again, turning a dead bolt in the door and pulled it open.

            
 “
Wha
t’
s happening out here
,
” he said, confused and bewildered by all the commotion.

              Alex pushed her way past him, jogging down the hallway toward the door that he had come through, calling out at the top of her lungs for Jacob.

            
 “
Jake
,
” she yelled, "You fucker! Get out here where I can talk to you
!
”

            
 “
M
a’
am
,
” said the orderly, chasing after her
.“
Mam, wait just a minute
.
”

              Alex made her way to the end of the hall and began to rattle the iron bars that locked over the door to the day room. She knew from Ric
k’
s description of the place that this was the way that she needed to go in order to get to Jake.

            
 “
Open this door
,
” she demanded, rage boiling under her skin.

            
 “
M
a’
am
?”
the orderly said, looking to the police detective that was walking toward them.

            
 “
Do it
,
” said the detective
.“
We need to speak to one of your patients
.
”

His door opened, and the light overhead was flicked on, blinding him momentarily, his eyes having adjusted to the darkness of the room. He laid still, the thin blanket on his bed pulled up over his chest, his hands folded in his lap. He had heard her, his angel, screaming for him to come to her. He had wanted to dash out of his room and run into her arms, but he knew that was not the way to play this right now. He needed to act innocent, as though he had no idea why she had come. There would be time for them to be together, that time just was not upon them.

            
 “
Get up
,
” said the orderly, kicking the end of his bed.

            
 “
Ok
,
” said Jacob, attempting to look bewildered at being woken and dragged from his bed in the middle of the night. He stood, smoothing his pajama top, and walked through the open door that the orderly was gesturing for him to walk through. He was led through the day room and down the hallway toward the meeting room where the group therapy sessions were held each morning.

              He caught sight of her, his angel, sitting in one of the plastic chairs in the meeting room, her arms folded across her chest. She looked beautiful, radiant, a wounded warrior in a blue sundress. She was filled with rage; he could see it burning in her eyes when she looked up as he entered the room. It made him love her all the more. She stood from her chair, charging toward him, and his heart leapt with joy.

              His brother grabbed her arm, holding her back, and a fury burned through Jacob at the sight. He was keeping them apart, even now, when his daughter was missing. It was still paramount in his mind that his lovely bride shall never be with the man that she truly loves. He gritted his teeth, pausing just inside the door when he realized that the room was filled with cops.

            
 “
Jake
,
” said an older man in a detectiv
e’
s uniform
.“
Would you come and sit down. We have some questions we need to ask you
.
” He gestured at a chair that had been set in the middle of the room, the one usually reserved for the doctor that was leading the group therapy.

              Jake crossed the space, settling himself in the chair, his hands in his lap
.“
Wha
t’
s this all about
?”
he asked, looking around the room and making eye contact with each person as he passed.

            
 “
Where the hell is my daughter
?
” Alex asked, tears rolling down her perfect cheeks. It killed him to see her in so much pain.

            
 “
You have a daughter
?”
he asked, his face a mask of innocence.

              Alex leapt from her chair, crossing the space between them in an instant, and slapped him hard across the face. His ears rang, spittle collecting in his mouth as the skin on his cheek began to sing with pain.

            
 “
Alex
,
” said Rick, pulling her away from him
.“
That wo
n’
t do any good
.
”

            
 “
I do
n’
t care
,
” she said, tears streaming down her face
.“
This bastard has caused nothing but horrible things to happen to people his whole life. His mother killed herself because he was so awful to her. His father left you two alone to fend for yourselves because he was afraid of what his own son was capable of. He kidnapped me after convincing himself that he was in love with m
e—
though w
e’
d never met. Not once, but twice. He tried to kill you when you came to rescue me. H
e’
s been locked in a cage like the animal he is. Only now,h
e’
s found a way to keep tormenting u
s—
even from inside this prison
.
”

            
 “
Alex
,
” said Rick, holding her tightly in his arms, attempting to comfort her.

            
 “
He has you right where he wants you, does
n’
t he
?
” said Jake, tenderly touching the side of his face where she had struck him. It has begun to swell, and heat radiated from it as if he were aflame.

            
 “
What
?”
said Rick, addressing his brother for the first time since they had arrived.

            
 “
You twisted everything
,
” Jake continued
.“
Making me seem the monster andtaking no responsibilities for your own actions. If everyone would have just left me alone, left us alone, then it would all have been alright. It was your need to control things that led to this
.
”

            
 “
No,Jacob
,
” said Rick, tears rolling down his own cheeks now
.“
I did
n’
t do this;you did this
.
”

            
 “
Get your fucking hands off of her
,
” Jacob burst out, charging his brother, clawing at him with his fingernails, trying to free her from his clutches
.“
Sh
e’
s mine
!
”

              Rick let go of Alex, pushing her behind him for protection. Many of the policemen stepped in, helping to restrain Jacob as he flailed about, fighting to get at his brother, his only weapons his fingernails and teeth. They handcuffed him, forcing him back down into the sea
t—
which he had bolted out of. Jacob sat, panting from the struggle, rage boiling in his eyes as he stared hatred at his older brother.

            
 “
Fucking bastard
!”
he screamed, spittle flying from his lips with every word
.“
You do
n’
t deserve it! Not any of it! You stole my life from me, my love, and my family!
I’
ll fucking kill you
!
”

              Alex pushed her way past her husband, grabbing a fist full of Jaco
b’
s pajama shirt, pulling him close to her, looking him directly in the eyes as she said
,“
This is my life, my love, and my family, and you have no piece of it, and you never will. I hope you rot in here, alone and destitute, you evil freak
.
”

              His face fell. He looked at her with eyes filled with pain, utterly destroyed by her words. He had never had a chance to talk to her and tell her how he truly felt about her, just assuming that she understood. He saw now that she would never understand, that she would never love him, that he had lost her. He hung his head, tears pouring from his eyes, broken and sobbing.

            
 “
Tell us where she is
,
” said the detective, leaning close to Jak
e’
s ear as he wept
.“
Tell us where Gina is
.
”

            
 “
Gypsies
,
” said Jake, not lifting his head
.“
She said she was going to see the gypsies, near the shore
.
”

They tore down the empty freeway, weaving between cars, the lights and sirens of the police cars clearing the way before them. They knew, as did all people who had grown up as children in this city, the urban legend that said that each summer that the gypsies came and set up a carnival near the ocea
n—
and that they did a great trade in the buying and selling of children. It was a myth set forth by some parent, long ago, to keep their children from wandering off with strangers while enjoying a day at the carnival, but somewhere in the telling it had taken a life of its own.

              Children had gone missing each year during carnival season, and each year the carnies were questioned, their rigs searched, and nothing found. But people in this town had their suspicions, and everyone kept their children close at hand while standing in line to ride the carousel, or sitting on a bench eating cotton candy.

              The carnival was closed, the gargantuan rides dark behemoths silhouetted against the rising moon. As they drove down the fairway, the lights from the cruisers reflected off the mirrors and windows of each of the attractions, throwing distorted shadows across the sand of the nearby beach.

            
 “
Come out
,
” called the detective over the loudspeaker of his cruiser. He stood near the side of the car, and as Alex and Rick climbed out of their own car, dozens of people seemed to appear out of nowhere, the hiding places among the rides and attractions where they slept during their tours nearby. Some rubbed their eyes, as they had been sleeping, others carried half-empty liquor bottles, tipping them to their mouths every few seconds as they watched the commotion.

            
 “
Wh
o’
s in charge
?
” called the detective, and a man in a black t-shirt stepped forward, separating himself from the rest of the group.

            
 “
Tha
t’
d be me
,
” said the man, tipping his bottle to his lips again
.“I’
m the foreman
.
”

            
 “
W
e’
re looking for a baby girl
,
” said the detective, holding up a picture of Mia.

            
 “
Why do you fuckers always run to us when ther
e’
s a kid missing
?”
asked the man
.“
How many times do we have to tell you that we do
n’
t take kids
?
”

            
 “
We have reason to believe that someone brought this child here
,
” said the detective
.“
And that she was going to try and get you to take this one
.
”

            
 “
We do
n’
t take fucking kids
!”
yelled the foreman, dangerously close to the office
r’
s face. The detective flipped the cover on the holster to his gun, ready to protect himself should the need arise.

            
 “
Bill
,
” said a tentative voice from near the cotton candy vendor. They all turned, a small woman of about twenty stepping out of the shadows, wringing her hands in nervousness.

            
 “
Wha
t’
s the matter, Sally
?
” said the foreman, stepping toward her.

            
 “
I
,
” the girl hesitated, her eyes darting around at all of the police men, at their guns
.“
I do
n’
t want to get in any trouble
.
”

            
 “
You did
n’
t do anything to get in any trouble, did you
?”
asked the foreman.

            
 “
I did
n’
t take the baby
,
” said the girl, looking around at the police again
.“
She tried to get me to take it, wanted to trade me for cotton candy, but I thought that she was crazy and told her to go away
.
”

            
 “
You saw her
,
” said Alex, running over to the young girl
.“
You saw my baby. Where did they go
?
”

            
 “
They walked off toward the ocean
,
” said the girl
.“
The lady was holding the baby, and they went that way
.
” She pointed down the shore, away from the carnival.

              Alex and Rick tore off in the direction that the girl had pointed, guiding their footsteps by the light of the moon emerging from the clouds on the horizon. Ale
x’
s lungs burned from the effort, her heart hammering in her chest as she sprinted down the sandy beach. Tears stung her eyes, blurring her vision.

              Up ahead, further down the shore, she caught sight of a dark silhouette against the white sand beach. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized it as the figure of a woman, standing near the wate
r’
s edge, a child on her hip. Sucking in a fortifying breath, she charged faster down the beach, powering her body past its limits, to get to her child.

              Gina stood near the wate
r’
s edge, her toes dipped into the cool water of the ocean. Mia slept peacefully in her arms, her thumb stuck in her mouth andher legs pulled up to her chest. Alex slid to a stop in the sand next Gina, panting as she looked directly in the other woma
n’
s eyes, holding out her hands.

            
 “
Give me the baby
,
” said Alex, reaching for her child.

            
 “
I wanted a baby
,
” said Gina, slowly rocking Mia in her arms
.“
I loved him, and he loved me. But they would
n’
t let us have a baby, cuz w
e’
re both crazy. They do
n’
t know that crazy people need love,too. Who know
s…
having a family might have made us sane
.
”

              She handed Mia over to her mother, standing still and calm as the police officer locked the handcuffs around her wrists. She was
n’
t upset about losing her freedom; she knew that they would take her back where she belonged, back to him.

~ END ~