Morning Diamond

The Attack

“What the crap? Why are you always taking her side? You know she cannot have any attachments here. Besides that, we don’t know who’s safe to be around her and who’s not. What if this guy is trouble? Are you stupid?” Mark briskly rubbed his smooth head in frustration. “Bloody Hell, she’s almost eighteen and we are too close for mistakes now.”

“Relax, it’ll be fine. Personally, I would much rather have her here where I can watch her than have her out on the town. If she’s here, she’s safe! If he's here, she won't try to rebel and sneak out to meet him,” Keith replied with a hint of irritation. “Look, she’s been very restless lately. If we don’t start giving in to her…” He raised a hand to stall Marks argument. “Within reason… she’ll do something reckless and I don’t want to think of where that could lead. Giving in for one night won’t change anything, not in the long run anyway. We’ll be gone soon enough and they won’t have time to make a love match.”

“I see your point.” Mark sighed. “Guess I’ll play nice too, but I won’t like it,” Mark replied with a wicked gleam in his eye that would have made Claire a little uneasy.

“Yep. Now go put a shirt on. If pretty boy shows up and you’re half naked he’ll wet himself.” Keith chuckled, “Then again you’d have to deal with her if you do anything to upset her friend. That could be entertaining. Little sprout that she is; however, I am positive you don’t want travel down that road of temper.”

Mark laughed. Claire could be quite the little spitfire when she wanted to be. He reached up to rub the small scar above his eye. When she was seven he had told her she couldn’t have a puppy. She screamed at him then, before he could stop her, picked up a rock and threw it. Nine stitches! “Yeah!” He smiled fondly at the memory. They gave her a puppy for her birthday a week later. Mark still missed the little brute. He died last summer after being hit by a car.

***

“You know, she should throw that vase. It might knock the gun out of his hands; he’s not holding it very well. Look, she has the opportunity; he’s not even looking at her. Then the other guy could jump him and bam bad guy captured, murdering done!”

“Claire, if she did that the movie would be over.” Mark stated, not at all interested in the scene. He’d been watching Mike closely all evening. Mike was obviously uncomfortable with the attention as well as the violent movie the brothers had picked to watch instead of the comedy he had brought over. He kept looking at Claire nervously and fidgeting.

At first Claire caught herself wondering what was wrong with him- he never acted nervous- but it seemed the more he squirmed at the bloody scenes, the more Mark seemed to relax. She decided Mike must be acting to put her brothers at ease.

“It’s what I would have done.” She responded.

Keith rolled his eyes and stood. Claire noticed his slight glare when Mike’s draped his arm over the back of the couch behind her. Claire got a sneaky suspicion Keith wanted to rip the offending limb from Mike’s body. When Keith caught the challenging look in Claire’s eyes he turned his back on the couple. “Anyone want a drink? We have Kalo or Krisn.”

“Kalo” Mike and Claire called in unison then smiled at each other.

“Krisn.” Mark called. Claire heard Keith chuckle. He always teased his brother for favoring the fruity drink over the bubbling fizz of the dark soda.

“Cups or straight from the….what the…?” Claire flinched and glanced at Mark with a guilty look on her face.

“Oh Mark, I forgot to do the dishes tonight.” She confessed quietly.

“Mark!” Mark winked at Claire, silently reassuring her he’d calm the ‘mother hen’. Keith hated a dirty house. She mouthed a thank you as Mark passed her to join Keith in the kitchen.

“What’s the matter, can’t handle a few…..” Claire tried to disappear into the couch. She hadn’t thought there were that many dirty dishes, but it if there were enough to shock Mark, it had to be bad. She felt Mike’s arm move to drape over her shoulder. She looked up at him her guilt shining in her eyes. He chuckled and ran a finger softly down the worry line between her eyes. The look in his eye made her catch her breath. He was only inches away and suddenly the dishes no longer mattered.

She swallowed in anticipation and leaned closer, wondering if her first kiss would be as wonderful as she imagined. Her eyes fluttered and began to close, but as suddenly as Mike had pulled her near, he lightly pushed her away. A deep disappointment filled her. Mike gestured with his eyes and Claire turned her head. Keith emerged from the kitchen. That was close.

“Where’d Mark go?” Claire before Keith interpreted the atmosphere of the room.

“Can’t hold his Krisin.” He flashed a broad cheesy grin. Claire gave him an exasperated look and rolled her eyes; looking back to the TV she attempted to calm her racing heart. The masked murderer raised his axe, and brought it down on a young man. A woman screamed just as Mark burst into the room, startling Claire and causing Mike to jump defensively in front of her. Claire momentarily wondered if the movie truly did bother Mike.

“DOWN, NOW!” Mark called while knocking the younger man aside and diving at Claire. The force caused the couch to tip and Mark cradled her as they flipped. Before she had time to reprimand him for breaking her couch, explosive sounds filled the air and all around her things shattered off the walls. Mark’s body felt very heavy and his weight crushed her as he protected her from the debris flying through the air. An eerie silence fell.

Cautiously Mark rolled off his sister and looked around. Claire lay flat on her stomach, stunned and unable to move. What just happened? Unexpectedly she was yanked from the ground. Mark swept her up and crushed her to him-protecting her as if she were a small child- he darted from behind the couch and headed for the stairs.

“Grab the pretty boy!” Mark called and began taking the stairs two at a time. Claire watched over his shoulder as Mike said something to Keith before jumping over the small couch and out of Keith’s reach. Keith followed suit just as another explosion rocked the house. Keith paused-looking undecided-then turned toward the stairs. Mike disappeared into the kitchen. Claire lost sight of them both as Mark reached the top of the stairway and darted around the corner.

“Mike, Keith!” She cried out to them. “What’s happening? I don’t understand!” Claire’s asked Mark. He kept his eyes straight and answered with a hushing sound. He rushed forward, pausing only long enough to kick open Claire’s bedroom door. He set her on her feet inches from her closet door. “Mark, please, tell me what is happening.” She demanded, quietly. Tears stung her eyes and she tried to push aside the panic she felt. Rule number three in her brother’s imaginary hand book. NEVER Panic!

“We’ll explain later. We have to go. NOW!” Mark threw the closet door open, making it scream in protest to the rough treatment. He was shoving clothes to the side when Keith came up behind her and began pushing her towards a small cupboard.

“Where’s Mike?” She dug her heels into the carpet and looked around her. She could hear shouting downstairs. It sounded as though an army of wild animals were stampeding through her living room. She could hear glass breaking and men swearing. That would be a beast to clean tomorrow! She struggled against Mark, “We have to get Mike!”

Keith grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “There’s nothing we can do for him, I’m sorry. We have to go NOW!” Keith turned her towards the closet just as Mark pulled the back panel from the wall. She gasped. There was a hidden stairway behind it. Mark quickly squeezed his body inside.

“Follow Mark,” Keith commanded while pushing Claire through the passageway. Keith followed then quickly fixed the clothes and closed the wall. Mark produced a flashlight from somewhere and handed her a heavy backpack.

Claire’s heart thundered in her chest. Her mind whirled with confused thoughts. How did they know? Why were they prepared for something like this? Were her brothers really businessmen or where they secret agents of some kind? That explained a lot. They had an unyielding and steady flow of cash, and with their master fighting skills…

Her thoughts whirled and her body trembled as she moved down the narrow corridor. Gone was the rhythmic rise of her chest in exchange for shallow gasps of thin dusky air which left her lightheaded. To add to her turmoil voices of unfamiliar, angry, men surrounded her.

She paused and a firm hand touched her shoulder causing her to yelp. Instantly a hand covered her screams. “Shh, Bear.” Keith whispered. As if to emphasize the importance a deathly silence surrounded her. The angry voices were gone and both Mark and Keith stood perfectly still. Mark grabbed her flashlight and suddenly she stood in complete blackness.

“Never panic, never panic.” She repeated to herself loud enough only she could hear. The silence seemed to drag as she stood-paralyzed-on the step. Her body began to ache. In her chest her thundering heartbeat threatened to expose their location. Finally, a muffled voice drifted through the wall.

Slowly other voices began to join and soon the angry sounds surrounded her once again. Keith’s hand slowly moved from her mouth and back to her shoulder. “Go.” He whispered.

They quickly made their way down the stairway. All around her the shouting became impatient. “Where is she?” “She couldn’t have just vanished.” “Where’d she go?” They weren’t looking for her brothers? Her eyes widened, and she felt her heart pause. They wanted her.

She stopped abruptly causing Keith to bump her. She looked up at him. The sorrow and guilt in his eyes seemed to confirm her suspicions. Her knees began to tremble with such ferocity she feared she would fall. Her hands shook so badly she could barely grasp the thin hand rail at her side. Slowly Keith began to move forward, forcing her to take the steps with him. She leaned against him for support as they moved down the stairway.

At the bottom of the stairs Mark handed her his flashlight. Her eyes widened as she looked at the large impending wall before her. If the men in her house found the secret stairway she was standing in her tomb. She flashed the lights around her, searching for some secret hidey hole. But there was nothing but solid earth and stone at the bottom of the long stairway.

“Keith?” She whispered, desperately. Both her brothers quieted her with a firm finger against her lips. She looked from one to the other, panicked by the knowledge she was standing in her grave. Mark turned and began running his hands over the thick rock wall. Within seconds Claire heard a light click and Mark smiled triumphantly, his eyebrows pumped up and down at her. Keith moved around her and assisted Mark in pushing the large boulder. Claire’s eyes widened when the rock began to move.

"Let’s go.” Mark grabbed Claire’s hand and pulled her through the newly made doorway. Her breath caught when a cold breeze chilled her. Mark dropped her hand and turned to help Keith push the boulder back in place. She took the opportunity to look closer. The small latch and several hinges on the flat surface of the stone resembled that of a door. She watched her brothers close it and heard the resounding click as the latch settled into place. Mark reached up and slid several bolts into place.

“What’s that door made of?” Claire asked, astounded by the appearance of a large boulder on one side and a metal door on the other.

“A flat rock we found in the woods. We melted steel around it to fashion it into a door. It’s quite heavy, but easier to push as a door than it would have been otherwise.” Mark responded.

She nodded feeling very numb from the constant demand on her emotions. She turned to flash her light down the corridor. She didn’t see much. She lifted Marks light to flash both pillars into the darkness. The effect did nothing to sooth her. The light was unable to illuminate the end of the tunnel. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Mark looking down at her.

“We’ll be okay now.” He stated. It took her a moment to register he now spoke in a normal tone. Tears filled her eyes. How she wished she could believe him, but something told her this was just the beginning. “Come on.” He took one of the flashlights and grabbed her hand. She followed silently reflecting on the nights events. She knew three facts. One: Those men were after her. Two: They could not go home. Three: her brothers were not telling her something, and whatever it was it would change her life forever!