Chapter Sixteen - Part Three
969 Words
Present
Men jumped back as a table was overturned in their direction.
Only three men in the room dared to look at the man who flung the furniture with annoyance.
Everyone’s eyes tracked his movement as he paced the office.
Finally, he spoke.
“Casmin, Adrian, Leon – stay.”
Then he growled with dark menace, “Everyone else get out.”
It took only three seconds for his large conference room sized office to clear of bodies.
Etienne stopped pacing and stood at a window. He leaned, bracing his hands on the window frame.
“She’s gone.” He said despondently.
The three men exchanged looks with each other.
“Perhaps it is best she’s gone, and you just leave it at that. It’s clear she feels unsafe with you.” Leon gently said.
“Of course she fears for her safety! SHE SHOULD!” Etienne roared after turning to face the room again.
He resumed pacing.
“You won’t let her go?” Casmin asked.
“No. She must pay what’s due.”
“Why?”
“You bloody know why.”
“Because she left?” Adrian asked.
“For her betrayal!” Etienne yelled. He came up to a helpless side table and with one grasp sent that piece flying, upending all the books and the file that sat on it.
“You need to pull yourself together.” Adrian said determinedly.
“What?” Etienne stopped and turned to face his friend.
“You have always been calm and level headed. But with anything pertaining to her, you are moody, unpredictable, and –” He glanced around the room at the upended tables and their contents, then looked back at Etienne, “destructive.”
Casmin added, “When she’s in the picture, you are not the ruler you should be. Can be and was.”
“She’s left twice now. This last time you used several resources and man power to try and find her. For what, to keep her against her will? She obviously isn’t going to stay. Just let her go.” Leon spoke diplomatically.
Etienne gritted his teeth and turned to his table against the wall that was holding the liquor. He poured himself a drink then stomped to a window with his back to his friends.
Casmin and Adrian resumed seats in the chairs they had stood from when Etienne turned over the table. Leon settled himself in a chair along the wall nearby.
They waited for Etienne to speak again.
By the time Etienne turned around, he had been finished his drink for some time. Holding his empty glass with one hand and the other in his pocket, he spoke to the trio.
“Fine. I’m calm, cool, and collected. I’ll resume how it was and should be.”
With the hand holding his glass, he pointed with his index finger to gesture and emphasize his next point as he snarled.
“But. I will find her. And she will pay.”
************
Ada sat against a tree on a high hill, watching the sun rise.
She watched the dark hues transition to pinks, then to the bright light that marks the beginning of a day.
She scoured the hills for any dark figures that would cut through the grass or break free of the tree line.
No one emerged.
There was nothing disturbing the vegetation as it danced in the slight breeze that blew through.
She relaxed.
She made it.
No one was following.
She had escaped.
She blew a breath of relief, then sat forward to plan her next actions. She mentally made a note of the roadways that she could see from her vantage point in the light that she couldn’t make out in the dark. She knew which way she came from, she could see the cityscape in the background, so she knew which way she needed to go next.
There was a farm on the other side of the hill she sat up on.
She pondered on whether to leave after a quick nap, hitch hike her way to the border, or whether or not to approach the family of the farm and beg for a little hospitality and a ride. After a few moments she decided that she doesn’t have the physical strength to carry on her journey on foot. She would also run more risk of being recognized if she went out in the open.
She prayed that the family she decided to approach, either didn’t catch the news last night or were one of the very few of Etienne’s territory that did not hold him in high regard.
She picked up her bookbag and stood up. Black dots popped all over her vision. She shook her head and stumbled down the hillside.
To the door of the house.
She caught herself as she tripped up the stairs. She steadied herself and knocked on the door.
She leaned on the door jamb while she waited for someone to open the door.
It was opened by a woman in her 70’s who had aged gracefully into her years wearing a simple tee shirt and jeans.
Ada greeted the woman in the local language, “I’m so sorry to bother you. I request some assistance.”
The woman looked shocked, but still warmly said, “Of course. What do you need, dear?”
Ada felt her strength leave her body as relief flooded her. Her vision blurred and started to fade. She fought to maintain consciousness.
“Sanctuary,” Ada whispered before collapsing at the woman’s feet.
- Writer
