Secrets (7 page)

Steve’s face
registered a split-second flicker of shock and surprise, returning
to normal instantly. “And you have not heard anything from the
kidnappers?” he queried.

“No,” Sonya
replied, “nothing!
Madame
Lalonde was so sure that someone
would call, but nothing. We left while she had some appointments.
Maybe someone called when we were out! Sylvain, maybe you should
call her instead of texting.”

Immediately
pulling out his cell, Sylvain hit speed dial for his grandmother.
Its ring was not answered. He then dialled her cell. Again, no
answer. “She always come home at this time,” his worried voice
declared. “We go home, Sonya, she be worry.”

“If you will
give me a moment alone with Steven, I shall drive you both home. My
car is downstairs and I am very familiar with Paris as I have
called this city my home for decades. Mike, would you be so kind as
to accompany them to the elevator? I shall be out momentarily.”

Mike nodded and
opened the door for the others. Neither Sonya nor Sylvan refused.
It occurred to Sonya that BB was accustomed to being obeyed. Then,
she remembered that he was retired from the RAF, and thought that
he was definitely accustomed to being obeyed.

“How the hell
did this happen?” Steve demanded testily, pacing back and forth and
rubbing the back of his head. “I thought that Grégoire had taken
precautions for his men.”

“As did I,” BB
replied serenely. “He just sent a text to advise about the
kidnapping and that he has every eye and ear looking for them. I am
not pleased! Grégoire has a great deal to explain.”

Steve took a
deep breath. “You do realize that this is no longer just an
operation. My family is involved, and make no mistake,” he stated,
looking BB directly in the eye, “I will not look the other way in
this instance no matter what MI5 and MI6 wants or needs.”

BB inhaled
slightly, surprised at Steve’s statement and his emotional
response, and he obviously considered his next words very
carefully. “This is an operation,” he replied quietly. “We follow
protocol.”

“No, it is no
longer the same!” Steve rebutted. “A child, a young woman and an
elderly lady have been sucked into this! And may I remind you, that
Bryan was a temporary stooge who was used without his knowledge.
This is non-negotiable. These are not department employees!
Department employees are aware of the circumstances in which they
work and understand as Lucien understands, the risks. Non-employees
do not!” Steve stated with emphasis. His eyes had become burning
green embers in his face and his anger was escalating.

BB sucked in
another breath, calmly stting, “You do not give the orders here, I
do.”

“Let us not
dicker,” Steve countered in a chillingly quiet voice, an inflexible
look crossing his face. “I have options. You know that. I am here
because our cases intersect into one mission. I can and I will
access others if you cross me on this!”

A slow smile
filtered across BB’s face. “You continue to surprise me, Steven.
Were I in your place, I would have said the exact same thing. As it
turns out, this is also my family now and because of that, I agree
with you.”

This took Steve
completely by surprise. He had never contradicted his stepfather,
not even when he left the RAF and joined MI5, despite considerable
opposition from BB. Now he knew that BB was MI6, but at that time
he did not. His MI5 training came into play and he waited in
silence, allowing it to force more conversation. BB had much more
to lose than he did, given that his son was waiting for them at the
elevator.

“We shall do
whatever we can to make this unfortunate circumstance cease. The
case will take second place. Are we agreed?” BB asked.

Steve held out
his hand. “We are! Whatever resources I can muster, we will
use.”

BB shook his
hand. “Mine as well. Now, let us make this happen!”

With that, he
marched to the door, holding it open for Steve to follow. They
joined the group at the elevator and once on the ground floor, BB
requested that Mike drive with Steve. He then climbed into his
Mercedes with Sonya and Sylvain and gave his chauffeur the
address.

Both young
people were surprised at their mode of transportation, eyeballing
one another and not saying a word. The trip to
Madame
Lalonde’s home was silent. It occurred to Sonya to wonder why BB
knew the address, but today had been so strange, she was beginning
to believe just about anything could, and would happen.

The Mercedes
arrived at
Madame
Lalonde’s home and all was in chaos.
Police cars were parked and there were blockades. BB emerged from
the Mercedes, assisted Sonya and Sylvain to step out, and then
marched up to the
gendarme
at the blockade, flashing some
sort of identification that garnered immediate attention. They were
allowed passage without hesitation, Steve and Mike at their
heels.

Sylvain was so
upset that he ran into his home shouting his grandmother’s name.
What appeared to be a paramedic stopped him just short of an
emergency stretcher. Upon the gurney, Madame Lalonde lay, bandaged
and bloodied.

Sonya had never
in her life felt more like heaving than at the moment that she saw
Sylvain’s face when he first spied his injured grandmother.

A firm hand
gripped Sylvain’s shoulder. BB quietly spoke something into his ear
and Sylvain nodded. BB approached the stretcher and then whispered
something into
Madame
Lalonde’s ear. She smiled, and when BB
held her hand, she visibly squeezed it. He spoke to her again and
she called a police officer over.

The three of
them spoke for several minutes, after which
Madame
Lalonde
called her grandson over and hugged him as best she was able. She
then spoke to him privately, gently wiping the tears from his
face.

He then nodded,
kissed her cheek and returned to Sonya’s side, leaning against her
as she encircled him in her arms. He laid his head on her shoulder,
bravely watching as his beloved grandmother was loaded into an
ambulance and whisked away.

BB and Steve
spoke to the police officer in charge after which, they approached
Sylvain and requested that he come into the house. Sylvain clasped
Sonya’s hand and they both entered the house.

It was a
disaster. Drawers had been emptied everywhere, cushions had been
dumped on the floor and bookcases overturned. Upstairs was no
better than downstairs had been. Sonya and Bryan’s bedroom had been
absolutely trashed. Bryan’s backpack had been ripped apart and
every drawer and had been dumped. Their suitcases were in shreds as
was Sonya’s computer case.

Sylvain never
let go of Sonya’s hand as they went from room to room. He spoke to
the officer as they entered each room, unable to tell them if
something had been taken. Until the chaos was cleared, it was
impossible to tell if anything was gone. His grandmother was the
one that would know, and his worry about her was palpable.

Steve and BB
seemed to be clearing the way with the police and within minutes,
they were sitting back in the Mercedes.

The police
officer that seemed to be in charge came to their car and spoke
briefly with BB. With a nod of his head to the officer, BB spoke
momentarily to his chauffeur and the Mercedes glided away from the
nice street upon which resided the lovely home of
Madame
Lalonde, and then turned onto a busy road. From there, Sonya had no
idea where they were, other than the fact that Steve’s car was
almost stuck to their bumper.

The interior of
the Mercedes was silent and BB was seated in front with the
chauffeur. Sonya could see his ramrod straight back and part of his
profile. He said not a word, even when his cell phone rang. He
simply listened and then hung up.

It broke
Sonya’s heart to see young Sylvain’s face. He was doing his utmost
to be brave, but every now and then, Sonya could almost feel him
relive the vision of his injured grandmother.

“Where will
they take
Madame
Lalonde?” Sonya asked.

“To the
hospital,” was BB’s minimal reply.

“I would hope
so!” Sonya retorted somewhat sarcastically. “Sylvain is entitled to
know which hospital. She is his grandmother and his guardian! Are
we going to the hospital to see her?”

Sylvain’s teary
eyes looked up at Sonya in what seemed to be thanks, and she
squeezed his hand. Given his age, she felt that he was holding up
very well. First his father’s kidnapping, then his grandmother’s
injury and then the trashing of their home, were happenings that
individually were difficult, but clustered together were a major
blow.

“Was
Madame
Lalonde badly hurt?” Sonya continued
relentlessly.

“Not too badly,
she was bruised, her nose bloodied, but she was not seriously hurt
otherwise. She will be checked out by a doctor and then placed in a
safe house, where she will be free from fear of another attack,” BB
replied with what seemed to Sonya, some emphasis. Sylvain seemed to
sigh in relief.

A safe house,
Sonya thought. Somehow, it seemed like everyday business to BB.
Truthfully, she had expected Steve to be the one taking over, given
that he was MI5. Of course, she reasoned, they were in France and
he was British interior intelligence and probably had no pull here.
However, whatever the identification that BB had shown to the
police at the Lalonde house had received immediate recognition. It
was puzzling.

“So, where are
we going? To see
Madame
Lalonde?”

“No. We are
going to the safe house. She will be escorted to join us as soon as
she is cleared by a doctor,” BB replied, somewhat preoccupied.

Well, at least
they now had an answer of sorts. A slight smile crossed Sylvain’s
face, and he silently let out a sigh of relief. It was then that
Sonya allowed herself to actually look out of the car and view the
scenery. The sun lit the lovely city of Paris, with its
architecture and green boulevards. It literally glowed in the
bright light of late morning.

Their little
caravan continued to drive, turning here and there, and Sonya had
not a clue where they were, or where they were headed. They passed
through some gates and down a pretty road. Sonya felt that perhaps
they were in a residential neighbourhood. Finally, their car
entered a driveway and the garage door automatically lifted. The
Mercedes drove in and Steve pulled his sporty little car beside the
Mercedes. He and Mike climbed out and the garage door closed almost
silently behind them.

The chauffeur
was immediately out of his seat and around the car to open BB’s
door, while Sonya and Sylvain joined Steve and Mike. Then, the
chauffeur opened the house door and glanced around the hallway as
their little group followed him, finally arriving at a living
room.

“Please make
yourselves comfortable,” BB requested. “Steve and I need to talk
for a few minutes, but we shall be right back.” With that they both
left the room, step in step.

Mike sat in an
armchair and watched their retreating backs. “Well, today is
turning out very differently than I thought it would!” he
announced. “Are you two all right?” he asked Sonya and Sylvain.

Sylvain
silently nodded and Sonya was certain that he was just as confused
as she was. “I’m not so sure, Mike. We still haven’t heard from
Bryan and Lucien. They will call the house, and there is no one
there to answer,” her voice wavered a bit.

“Calls are
being transferred, it is all arranged,” Steve reported as he
entered the room. “If they attempt to contact any of you, the call
will not go unanswered.”

BB interrupted.
“Lunch will be served in about half an hour. Maurice can show you
to your rooms and you have time to freshen up.”

With that,
Maurice stood and walked down the hallway, obviously expecting them
to follow him, which they did. He climbed a set of stairs at the
end of the hallway and opened bedroom doors, indicating which one
had been earmarked for each of them.

Thanking him,
Sonya stepped into her room, which although small, was really most
charming. It’s seamlessly mismatched furniture and warm colours
made it welcome and cosy.

So, she mused,
the chauffeur’s name was Maurice. He was a very good looking man,
his dark hair and hazel eyes giving him a somewhat exotic look. He
reminded her of Steve the first time that she had met him. It had
been at John and Sara’s, the day that the family learned that Steve
was really Johnny and Mike’s half brother. He had the same feline
grace, and although slim, appeared to have a strength and
athleticism that was not normal day to day.

Immensely
relieved that she had covered all possibilities when packing her
tote bag, Sonya mentally thanked her sister, Susan the world
traveller, for her lessons in packing. Sonya removed the shirt and
jeans from the tote bag and hung them up in the closet. She placed
her tote bag under the bed, her computer upon the dresser and her
overnight essentials and makeup upon the adjoining bathroom’s
counter, where she splashed cold water on her face.

The reflection
looking back at her from the mirror seemed to be the same as it was
yesterday, but today’s vision held the tension of the gut wrenching
worry that she held for Bryan, and for the situation that she and
Sylvain were now enduring. Pulling her hair out of its ponytail,
she brushed it loose, threw on some lip gloss, squared her
shoulders and stepped out of her bedroom.

Sylvain
appeared out of his room at the same time and they both walked down
the stairs and into the living room together, surprised to find it
empty. Before they could sit down, someone walked slowly and
painfully into the room, with one arm in a sling.