Fragments of Trust(12)

Alan's POV

The way one returns to the safe house is a blur. Silent, Ariel sits next to me with glazed eyes from the kind of suffering I cannot start to heal. Every time I look over, I can see her mother's death replaying in her head. It was terrible, sudden. I hold the steering wheel closer, the fury inside me seething. Stella arranged for us, and we stumbled into her trap.

I kill the engine, draw into the garage, and turn to Ariel. She is engrossed in her ideas and squarely forward. I stretch out and lightly brush her arm. "We are going to fix this. We'll knock her down.

At last she looks at me, her eyes a mixture of sadness and resentment. "In what way, Alan? She always moves one step ahead. I cannot be losing people constantly.

Her voice breaks and slices over me like a dagger. I have never seen Ariel broken. Though Stella is playing games at every turn, I am not sure how much I could guarantee her that we will address this. I know only that I cannot lose Ariel either. Not for Stella, not for this struggle.

"We have to keep moving ahead," I reply with great conviction. "We have to get back together and decide what to do next."

Ariel nods, but her eyes show low light. When she follows me inside, Victor is waiting in the living room. His expression stern as he glances up from the maps strewn around the table.

"Any indicator of Stella?" Knowing fully well she has vanished into the shadows already.

Victor gives a shake of his head. She disappeared just after you left. But I found something. a lead that might turn around things for us.

I'm starting to get excited about it. What is it?

Victor moves a file across the tabletop. "One of Stella's men turned around." He is ready to chat, only to Ariel. Says he possesses knowledge that might turn around everything.

Ariel's demeanor becomes rigid. "For what reason should we believe him? Around Stella, everyone is searching for their bit of the pie.

Victor nodded. "I understand. But he highlighted something particular—about Marie. Said betrayal carries more than just what we know.

Ariel's face darkens and I sense her changing. Marie's treachery is a new wound; if there is more to the tale, we should know. Looking at Ariel, I wait for her choice. She looks at me and I see a flickering of will returning.

She probes, "Where is he?"

The meeting spot is a dark tavern on the outskirts of town, the sort of venue nobody would consider twice. Sitting waiting at a booth in the corner are Ariel and me. The low buzz of discussion helps one to blend in among the smoke-filled air. I watch the door, every nerve on high alert.

At last a man enters—a thin man with worried eyes. He finds us and moves over to get into the booth across from us. He draws out a crumpled piece of paper and sets it on the table, shaking hands.

"I have little time," he replies, looking around nervously. Stella finds out I'm talking to you; I'm as good as dead.

"What do you know about Marie?," Ariel probes, her voice sharp and straight.

The man pauses, his eyes flitting between us. Marie refused to turn on you. Stella is carrying something really large. For months she has been blackmailing Marie.

Ariel slants in and closes her eyes. "What does she have on there?"

"It's about your father," the man says, his voice low enough to whisper. "Stella has been keeping something about his death a secret. Marie learned, and Stella exploited it to keep her under control.

I get chills down my spine. Though no one ever dug deep enough to find the facts, Ariel's father's death remained always enigmatic. This alters everything.

"What do you mean"? Demand is what I seek. "What has Stella got to do with her father?

The man looks as though he might be about to spew his guts and swallows hard. Stella participated. She created an accident-like impression, but it was a hit. Your father was approaching something that may bring down her entire enterprise. Something too close.

The face of Ariel turns white. The shock, the incredulity—all there, warring with the anger boiling inside her since we began this battle. Her entire existence has been based on lies; today she is confronting the largest one of all.

With a shaking voice, Ariel adds, "You're lying." Why would Marie withhold that from me?

Stella made threats against her. She warned she would target you next if Marie did not cooperate. Marie saw herself to be shielding you.

Ariel closes her hands and lets tears fill her eyes. I stretch out, trying to ground her by pressing her hand beneath the table. I can see the walls shutting in on her; everything is whirling out of control.

"We need evidence," I responded, speaking deliberately. "Where's the evidence??"

Once again hesitating, the man passes a USB disk across the table. Everything is right here. Stella's orders, her transactions. Everything relates to the death of your father.

Ariel snatches the drive with a firm hold. "If you are lying, I will make sure Stella's least of your concerns."

The man nods, terror written in his eyes. I'm not dishonest here. But you have to go quickly. Stella is preparing for something grand; if you ignore her right now, she will burn everything down.

Ready to get out of this dive and decide out our next actions, I drag Ariel up. But the door slams wide as we are about to leave, and a bunch of men storm in on Stella's thugs.

We have been located by them.

"Run!" Shoving Ariel toward the rear exit, I yell. One of Stella's guys catches the man who met us and pulls him back when he tries to leave. As shooting breaks out and anarchy spreads around us, there is nothing we can do.

Trying to keep low, Ariel and I run across the rear alley avoiding gunshots. The air is filled with yells and gunfire, and every step feels as though it might be our last. We came upon a dead-end, and I could hear them shutting in. Trying to catch my breath, my heart pounds in my chest as I drag Ariel behind a garbage can.

Her voice strained, Ariel replies, "We cannot keep running like this." Stella always will be one step ahead.

"We're not running," I say, resolving flooding over me. We are fighting this for her. This ends now.

We hardly make it back to the safe home, but I slam the door closed and start to breathe deeply right away. Her fingers shaking as she pulls up the data, Ariel plugs the USB drive right away into her laptop.

Right there is everything the man promised. Proof tying Stella to the killing of her father, cover-ups, bribery. All there is, black and white laid out. But something grabs her attention as Ariel turns over the records.

Victor is here.

I slant over her shoulder and my stomach falls. Victor's name is buried in the fine print and appears all over the transactions. He has been feeding Stella information, betraying us at every point, and working with her all this whole.

Ariel opens her eyes and wraps the laptop shut, her breathing labored. Victor: He's been in on this?

I get the pain of betrayal really strongly. From the beginning, Victor has been selling us; he was our friend and guide through this problem. I find it amazing that I missed it sooner.

"We have been played," I add, my voice taut with rage. "He has been keeping us close and feeding Stella everything we do, strung along."

Rising, Ariel feels anger boiling over. "I am done depending on anyone. Victor, Marie, Stella—they all lie—and I will have them pay.

She yells out of the room grabbing her gun before I can stop her. Knowing she is on a warpath, I follow after her; nothing I say will help her to relax. We have been broken, betrayed, and corned. But this time Ariel will not be a victim.

She will be the one ending this regardless of the expenses.

Ariel left before I could stop her; I know she is headed directly toward Victor. Ready to follow, I grab my jacket but as I walk outside I see her car racing away.

I have to reach her before she acts in ways she cannot undo. But one thing is abundantly evident as the dust settles:

The actual struggle is still to start.