Chapter Twenty Seven – Cici

I’m shell shocked, absolutely stunned. I stand in the middle of Will’s office in catatonic shock, just staring at the white wash wall as if I’m waiting for something to happen. Considering everything that’s going on, my mind is wearily blank. It’s as if my brain is as plain as the wall I’m looking at. Shock means nothing is getting in.

“Fuck,” I mutter, loud enough to shake myself from this moment. “Fucking hell. Fuck.”

All of a sudden, the slow motion bubble that I was just in the middle of speeds right back up again and everything whooshes around me. I can barely keep up with it. all I’m certain of is that Will has gone to find my son and I cannot let him do it alone. I can’t lose Jordan, I can’t let Will die, and I don’t want anything to happen to Michelle either. I should have warned her, maybe this is because she wasn’t on her guard. Or perhaps this would’ve happened anyway. It seems that Kingpin always has a plan. And this part might be a trap.

As I tear down the stairs after Will, I try calling Michelle. There’s still a small part of me that thinks she might answer her phone and all this will turn out to be a hoax. But as I get her voice mail and I recall the curt text she sent me, I understand this is the truth. Michelle is in love with her phone, she always has it turned on.

“Shit, Michelle, I’m sorry,” I sob pointlessly to the voice mail lady. “I didn’t want any of this to happen. I hope you’re okay. I really don’t want anything to happen to you. I love you, and I’m sorry.”

I push past people in the reception area and I get into the carpark just to see Will tearing out of it with the lights flashing on the top of his car. He knows where he’s going and he means business. Just as I slide into my car, I hear his alarms blaring out which mean he’s on the way. It’s time for us to tackle this. I bring the care to life and I slam my foot on the gas much harder than I would normally. If Will means business, then so do I.

The radio blares, almost drowning out the sound of the tires screeching along the ground. People on the sidewalk turn to stare at me but I don’t give a shit. Let them look, they’d be the same if this was their son in danger. I cannot believe that my child is in the hands of a criminal. I don’t even want to think what my mother would remark when it comes to my parenting skills now. She’d go berserk if she knew any of this.

It’s funny, now that I have a real reason to cry, my eyes are dry. I don’t have any tears for this, just a sheer determination to get this done. I’m kind of numb, I do feel empty, but deep, deep down I’m ready to face this. There’s some inner strength, a will power that I didn’t even know I had, rising to the surface.

Fuck this guy, I say to myself in a voice that sounds suspiciously like Will’s. I’m stronger than him.

Not physically, probably, but mentally. For Jordan, I feel like I can be strong enough to take anything on.

“Get out of the way!” I yell loudly while slamming my hand on the horn. “Come on, asshole!”

Cars keep cutting me up, almost as if they want to keep me away from the cop car that’s racing ahead. Or maybe I’m just driving too fast, like an idiot and I’m the one in the wrong. But right now, it’s easier to blame others. I’m finding it a little bit cathartic to yell and shout at drivers, letting my frustration out.

I don’t know where Will is going, it’s out of the main town, but I suppose this criminal won’t be operating somewhere obvious. It’ll have to be hidden to keep his empire a secret. And he’s done a good job of it too. So far, no one has discovered his place of operation, so I wonder why today he’s letting it known now.

This is a trap, it has to be a trap. Kingpin knew what Jordan would bring Will out into the open and that gives him the perfect chance to kill him. There’s no way this scenario is going to end well. I slam my foot down on the gas even harder. I don’t know what I can do, but I can’t do nothing. I can’t let anyone die. Not today.

Finally, I hear the screeching of tires up ahead with the sirens following, which means it’s time to turn off. Will’s going towards an old business park, one that used to be thriving but died out with the recession. I read in the local newspaper once that someone had purchased the whole thing and they were bringing businesses back in, but it isn’t something that I’ve ever shown any interest in. But now my son might well be here.

As I drive along, I glance my eyes from side to side, drinking all of it in. Maybe this is the perfect place for a criminal empire, it’s hidden but not too suspicious to make people pay attention. If it’s Kingpin that owns the place, because I can’t remember ever seeing the name of the mystery buyer, then it’s perfect for him.

I gulp down the thick ball of emotion that lodges itself in the back of my throat. I don’t like this one bit. It gives me a sickly, eerily sensation. Everything is wrong. I’m overcome with the sense that I really shouldn’t be here, but I ignore it because Jordan and Michelle shouldn’t be here a lot more.

Finally, I catch up with Will, but I keep my distance back from him. He might already know that I’m following him, but he might not. If he doesn’t, I don’t want to distract him. He has his nose firmly in the right direction, he’s about to catch his man and get his son back. One glimpse of me might derail him. I need to keep out of sight until I know exactly what’s happening. To keep us all safe. I creep the car along with my head hung low.

Eventually, Will skids his car to stop outside what appears to be a place that does laundry. It’s weird, definitely not what I was expecting, but then I’m very naïve when it comes to this stuff. I don’t know enough about crime to be right in the middle of a criminal investigation, but what else can I do about it?

Will jumps out of the car with his gun held high. I can see him waving it about as he screams, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. I kill the engine and drag the window open, but not all of his words come through.

“Give him the fuck back… know who you are… you’re dead for this… no idea…”

He sounds deranged. This has pushed him too far over the edge. I feel like he might be headed towards a mental break down. I need to do something. I have to get out and help, but I can’t do it. I’ve turned into lead. Nothing seems to be happening anyway, he’s completely on his own, ranting like a mad person. I don’t even think there’s anyone inside the building. Could this be the wrong place? It seems really strange if not.

I reach out, just about to grab onto the door handle to open it up when my cell phone blasts out making me jump. Now that some of the police know who I am, it could be them. Maybe someone wants to know what’s going on… not that I’ll know what to tell them. I barely know myself. But as I look at the screen, it sends a chill racing up and down my spine. It’s Michelle, she’s calling me and I have no idea what about. Is it because she’s inside, stuck, or is it because she’s fine and she wants to know what my voice mail was about?

“He… hello?” My voice stammers painfully as I answer. I can feel beads of sweat popping over my forehead, threatening to run into my eyes as I watch the scene unfold in front of me. Will is still shaking his gun around, he’s still out there and very exposed. When will this hell come to an end? “Mi… Michelle? Is that you?”

I hear her heavy breathing and very obvious tears. I think it’s safe to say that this isn’t going to be a reassuring call. “D… don’t get out of the car,” she warns me in a thick, emotion filled voice. “He… he can see you?”

“Who?” Immediately I snap my eyes everywhere. I half expect to see a gun trained on my head, but I get nothing. “Who’s watching me? What’s going on? Where are you? Do you have Jordan? Is he okay?”

Michelle says nothing to my stream of questions, but I can hear her crying now. I’m about to fucking freak out that something really bad has happened to my child. I can’t imagine anyone harming a baby, but it happens. It’s one of those things that you hear about, but you don’t think it’ll ever happen to you.

“Michelle,” my tone is warning now. “I need to know. Is Jordan okay? I can’t stay in this car otherwise.”

“He’s okay,” she finally tells me in a small voice. “He’s fine. I have him here.”

“And are you inside the laundry place? Can you at least tell me that? Will is going nuts out here…”

There’s a murmuring on the other end of the line. I have a feeling that Michelle is being told what to say. I sit tight, about to explode from anticipation while I wait for her to speak again. All of this waiting is killing me, I’m on the edge of my seat, clawing at the material, wanting to scream to let this all out.

“Cici, you just need to stay where you are. In the car. That’s what I’m being told. We’re coming out.”

Who does she mean by ‘we’? Does she include my son in that? Much as I want to burst from this car and run for the hills, the thought that it might cause Jordan any trouble is the only reason that I don’t. It kills me, I can feel every fiber in my body tugging and pulling at me to act, but I don’t. I do what Michelle commands.

I see Will suddenly stop. The yelling ceases and his body freezes. It must be happening now. I brace myself, roiling my shoulders upwards while I try to work out what he can see. I wish I could be in his eyes.

As a disheveled Michelle staggers forwards, like she’s been pushed, my heart flies with nerves. She’s holding onto a bundle of something that better be my child, my maternal instincts are screaming that he’s there, but I don’t want to get to confident just in case. The way that this day is going, absolutely anything is possible.

Just wait, I warn myself. Don’t do anything rash. Don’t act until it’s absolutely necessary.

Will’s gun lowers, his defenses going with it, and he leans forwards to have an intense conversation with Michelle. While they talk, I flick my eyes everywhere trying to find him. I don’t think Kingpin would bother to go through all of these theatrics to not turn up himself. That’s what all of this has to be about, doesn’t it? What else can it be for? I’m sure, even if he intends to kill Will, he wants him to see who he is first.