I Spy

Chapter 6

The longer I thought about it, the more angry I got. The more angry I got, the more I cried. The more I cried, the more I wanted to punch someone. I stalked out of the lab, after wiping my eyes so that no one would see what that I had been crying. Blinking in the bright light, I hurried toward the back alley where I knew Kevin would be. He didn't see me coming, and I slammed him up against the brick wall. I may have been tiny, but I had loads of strength packed into me, and after he struggled for a moment, he gave up, and looked away, seemingly terrified. 

For a moment, I couldn't even speak, as tears poured over my face. "Why didn't you tell me?" I whispered. I waited a moment, and he didn't answer. "Why didn't you tell me?!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the alleyway. He looked down at the ground. "Seventeen years, and you just conveniently kept forgetting to mention that my mother was your twin sister?!" Again he didn't say anything, but he finally looked me in the eyes. "I trusted you," I said, my voice finally lowering. "I considered you my father. I trusted you," I repeated, my voice nothing but a hoarse whisper. "I trusted you and you deceived me, you lied to me. How could you?"

He looked at me for another moment before he said, "Come over for dinner tonight." I started to object, but he cut me off before I had a chance. "I know you're mad at me, but I have to tell you some stuff, and I can't do it here. Just come for dinner tonight. Go work on your mission. I'll see you tonight." As soon as he finished, he slipped away, and when I turned he was gone. I could have searched the entire alley to try to find a trap door, but as good of a spy as he would, by the time I found it, he would have been long gone. I knew this battle was lost, and I made my way back to  my apartment, before I texted Thomas, asking if he would like to go to the park and hang out for a while.

It sounded like such a childish thing to say, unless of course, you remembered the fact that Central Park is basically the only non-pavement part of NYC, and sometimes you just need a break from it. In typical gentleman fashion, he offered to pick me up from home, and walk me there, but I declined. If he came to my apartment, which was so obviously a one-person place, it would blow my whole cover story. I told him I would meet him there, and after a brief, but flirty, argument, he finally agreed, realizing that the battle was lost.

I splashed some cold water on my face and blotted it dry before I dabbed some makeup on, and combed my long straight hair. I slipped into a pair of fawn colored leggings, and a turquoise shirt with a brown beaded belt. I quickly through together a basket of food to take with me. Some bred and meat, cheese, and little tubs of condiments. Some fruit, a couple of cans of tea, a couple of soda. Some of the left-over banana nut muffins. I folded a table cloth that would word as a picnic blanket, and stuck into the basket, after I had packed all the food, some paper plates, and plastic silverware. Glancing into the basket one last time, all I could manage to think was, 'Oh, I am good!'

Thomas was already waiting by the main entrance to the park when I got there, and we laughed as we looked at each other, because he was also holding a picnic basket, filled to the brim with food. "Great minds must actually think alike," he laughed, rather than a traditional greeting. I couldn't help but smile in return. "Come on," I cried. "Let's go find somewhere to set up!" After walking nearly the entire park, and bickering over where would be best, we finally settled down, under a tree in the middle. We shook out both blankets, and began to spread out  the food. He practically dove for the muffins, and I did the same for the fried chicken that Linda had so obviously made for him. 

We talked as we ate, covering every topic from sports to shopping, from cars to music. Finally, though, Thomas dropped a bomb that made things different, but was extremely helpful for me. "Thea, would you want to, um, maybe like, go on, like, a real date? Um, with me?" The way he struggled through the question was adorable, and I leaned over to hug him, and said, "Of course I would!" He smiled, and blushed, looking extremely satisfied, yet embarrassed, it was extremely endearing. We packed up and walked back toward his house, where he dropped off his picnic basket. I glanced at my watch. Shit! It was almost six. If I didn't hurry, I was going to be late to Kevin's explanation dinner, speech, or whatever you wanted to call it.

"I have to go, I'm late for dinner with my, erm, parents," I told Thomas. The lie flowed much less smoothly, as I now found it hard to see them as parents anymore, especially Kevin. Despite the fact that  he actually was my uncle, I now found it difficult to even refer to him as so. "Can I walk you home," he asked, concerned. "Thank you, but no," I replied. "I appreciate it though. I'll text you tonight," I told him. I kissed him on the cheek, and hurried toward the Kingsley's. I knocked the code, so they would know it was me, and Aunt Ginny opened the door. She smiled, weakly, and moved aside, so I could trudge into the den, where Kevin was already seated.

I sat down in the recliner that had been my favorite as a child, and pulled one foot up underneath me. "So, what can you possibly have to say?" I asked, extremely sarcastically. "I mean, it's only been seventeen years." Ginny snapped, "Well, maybe if you'd shut your smartass mouth for ten seconds of your life, he would tell you!" I was taken aback by this. Ginny had rarely, if ever, yelled at me, or anyone else. It  just wasn't in her nature. Kevin looked as if he felt guilty. Good, he deserved too.

"I know that I should have told you that I really was your uncle. From the beginning. But please, understand that it was for your own safety that I didn't! I didn't want you to lose the only other people who loved you as much as my sister and her husband did. The people who killed your parents weren't concerned about killing them, and they wouldn't have hesitated to kill you. They wanted your allegience, but they haven't succeeded, not fully anyway." He paused at the horrified look on my face.

"They're....dead?" I asked. Even though I'd known that it was a high possibility, it still felt like a kick to the gut. Uncle Kevin nodded sadly. "My sister and her husband, your mother and father were killed three days before your second birthday. Murdered in cold blood. It was only by my position in the Agency that I was able to take care of you through most of your childhood. I owed it to Joanna."

My heart felt like someone had taken a knife, plunged it it, and twisted it around. Surely I would die any moment. But the moment didn't come. I sat there in silence with the Kingsley's. They were the closest things I'd had to parents. Their presence comforted me, but I knew that I needed to be alone and mourn the truthfulness of the fact that I had always feared. I stumbled back to my apartment, and as I did, a cascade of tears began to pour down. I laid down on the couch, pulling a pillow close to my body, and continued to sob until I fell into a restless sleep, filled with dreams of the brutal murder of my parents.