Chapter2:Taylor

The helicopter just dropped us off on the tarmac, Harlin and I were told to wait here, outside the helicopter. I kneel in front of my sister. We're waiting for the men in black that saved us to come down from the helicopter. My hair is blowing all over the place. I'm so tired, but Harlin is panicking. We do not understand where we are and mommy didn't end up fetching us. Truth is, I don't think they are ever fetching us. "I just wanna go home, Taylor. Why won't we go home to McKinney? I swear I'll eat spinach, please Taylor," Harlin cries, her big blue eyes scared and I know that look. This isn't good. I grab her on the top of her arms and shake her, "Harlin listen to me, you can't lose it now, you need to hang in there for a bit longer. If they see you go crazy they will separate us, do you understand?" She cries louder and I turn my head around to see the one man coming from the plane. My attention snaps back to her and I shake her harder, "You understand Harlin," I snap at her the way daddy did when she got all weird. And she nods her head and looks at me before staring at the man coming toward us. The big muscular man is younger than the bald one and the old uncle with the beard. He has a long nose, and deeply burned skin. He was the only one who really spoke to us. He said we'll be safe. He talks funny like the people from Rico's Pizza shop. But I like him, I trust that he is telling us the truth, we will be safe. "Come on, there's a car waiting for us. The rest of the guys would wait here," The nice man says to us and I grab Harlin's hand. "What's your name?" Harlin asks as we follow him. "Agent C." "That ain't your actual name," I respond. Feeling a lot braver than I did 2 hours ago. We rush after him, my legs paining with each footfall I take. My stomach growls in hunger. We run down to the other side of the tarmac and the place takes us to what looks like a school. We see the black car with a man standing outside of it. He is even taller than Agent C. "Come on," Agent C says as he ushers us into the car with the tall man jumping in the driver's seat. We rush so fast from there. We drive past a river and into a place with big houses, like Mansions and castles everywhere. We drive up a long road and take the first right. Big, gold and black gates block us from going anywhere further. "This place is enormous, Taylor," Harlin expresses this with sticking her head out the window. "Yeah," The gates open and we go down a long driveway lit up with lights. We stop in front of the house where another man is waiting for us in a black suit. He is older than my daddy. Agent C opens the door and Harlin grabs onto my hand as I get out of the car first. The place looks so fancy that it is only then I realize how dirty we must look. The old man by the door smiles at us, his face is warm and he looks like a good man. Not like the ones by the restaurant. He takes out his hand, "I'm Marcus Bray, what do I call you lovely ladies?" Harlin, forever the brave one takes his hand and smiles, "I'm Harlin and that's my sister Taylor." He frowns but keeps his smile, looking from Harlin back to me. "How Old Are You?" "I'm 5 next week, Taylor's 8." "Wow, you are big girls. Why don't you go on inside, and if you run down the passage and knock on the door, you might just get Kevin up to make you some hot chocolate? What do you say about that?" He smiles, and it is so big and honest that I get a little happy. Harlin takes my hand and we rush inside and down the long passageway, and knock on the door. A few seconds later, a boy opens the door. He has dark blue eyes and messy long blonde hair that stands up in all directions. His top skin is bare, but I can see the lines on his face from sleep. He is wearing long blue track pants and is so tall. "Who are you?" He asks us, and I can hear he is a Texas boy, which meant we weren't that far from home. I didn't like boys as yet. Harlin always teased me I would probably grow up liking girls. Maybe I would, but he looked somewhat alright, I guess. "I'm.." I begin "We are visitors of Marcus Bray, he said we should knock on this door for chocolate milkshake." I frown at my sister's boisterous explanation, since I knew it was hot chocolate and we weren't guest. We were… No, I can't say it. Not until I know for sure. He folds his arms across his chest, "Alright, but I should warn you, the milkshake machine is toast." He walks past us and turns right. "I think we should follow him," Harlin mumbles, tugging my hand. "Why did you lie?" I ask her as we follow his direction. "He could be the helps son." I roll my eyes at that one. "I highly doubt that." Marcus Bray "Did you tell the others to leave?" He asks Agent C, as they head into his home office. "Yes sir, and as ordered, I wiped all traces clean. I pulled up the children's profiles, there's something you should see sir." Marcus closes the door, knowing Kevin would take care of the two girls without waking up the entire household. And then the boy and he would have a talk. He still couldn't understand why Kevin preferred to stay here this week, but he presumed it had something to do with his older brother's arrival. But he would get to that issue another day. Agent C walks around Marcus's desk and pulls up the files. Marcus bends over as the Agent stands in full position. The more he reads, the more dread fills him. This couldn't be real. He checks the file on one child. "Which one is this?" "It's the youngest, sir." "Call Michael Stone, tell him we need him to wipe out everything on this file. No one can know of this. If I find Frankfurt alive, I would strangle the fucker myself. What was he thinking?" "Sir, you would have to wait in line." Marcus would smile at the young soldier's remark, but what he just saw was no smiling matter. "Do the children know about this?" "I suspect the older one might sir, she found the safe house on her own. She was also talking to the younger one, about something, shaking her." "They are so young. Do you think they know where the file is? I can see two intellectual minds growing up together as trouble." "Sir, I am not sure. When I asked the older girl, it puzzled her about what file I was talking about. The younger one just started smiling like she didn't know what I was even saying. But with her girl IQ level, I doubt that is the case. What are we going to do?" Marcus walks around the table and sits on the brown leather sofa. There were many options, but the right one would be to kill the children or hand them over to the pentagon to do it. "We must split them. We must watch the small one closely, without so much as a sliver of awareness. If this file is accurate, the girl is a very rare type of genius. And the other one, well. They would need new identities. Ages, birth dates, everything." "And the big one sir, she doesn't have the same structural patterns as her sister but I believe she might know more than she is letting on sir. If she has the file, it would make her a target if the Pentagon ever found out." "No, she'll be fine." "How sure are you?" "Very, I am going to tell her myself. And then she can choose, live a normal life on my terms or die." "Sir." "From now on, no one would know Frankfurt ever had kids, let alone these two. You would leave here and tell no one about what you saw. According to you and me, those girls never existed." "Yes, Sir," Agent C says as his jaw tightens. "You'll make a great boss one day," Marcus tells the Agent as he leaves the room. Marcus heads straight to the kitchen and the sound of the girls talking with Kevin stops him for a moment. His initial plan was to send them off to separate parts of the world. But what if he could keep them around? He knew of a woman who would be a splendid mother to a hot-tempered kid. And he knew a genius who could help an intelligent one. However, the youngest would need a familiar face to stay. A reason to belong. But first he would need to chat to the older girl, and then to Kevin. The boy was almost 13, hardly an age to not be wise. "Papa," The sound of a soft voice, stops him in his tracks and he whirls around as his youngest daughter, Natasha, stands in the hallway wearing her long pink gown. Black hair curtails down her back as she smiles and opens her arms. He is hesitant, but his heart melts and he walks to lift her up into his arms. "I thought you weren't coming." "I'm here baby," He whispers as he gives her a kiss on her head carrying her back to her bedroom. Tomorrow he will figure it all out. But seeing his daughter, his heart caved as the reality of his decision hit him. One of those girls had to die. He would have to take care of it himself. Then he will hand in his resignation. Your love is like a cocoon, the thought of it, drenched with the idea of your beauty, like a butterfly, splashed in color, but the reality is like a moth, ordinary and simple. I don't know why I keep hoping you are different. Sienna Bray , 12/08/2020 There were many ways to describe Kevin Stone. I'm sure we all had our own words about the Ghost, but his presence, and his frozen gaze as it stared into the cruxes you thought were hidden, was the most common. Growing up, I wanted to believe there was something dormant in him, that his unfeeling soul had an inkling of emotion, which didn't surround his need to protect the ones he loved. I wanted to believe many things when it came to Kevin Stone, and at 16 I was sure I had him pegged. I didn't know then what I knew today. But it was at the tender age of 16 did I get my first actual glimpse into the man we likened to a ghost. I saw the spark of something real in him, but it wasn't aimed at me. It was her, always her, Natasha Bray. I want to say, or better yet, I should say she didn't deserve him, BUT she did. Natasha deserved way more. It was him who was lacking. Kevin Stone had one vital fault. He was without emotion except when it came to her, and even then, I wondered to what degree his emotions ran. I remember the last time I saw him; it was 10 years ago; I was a wild girl living a lie, and he was my executioner. Liston Hills