Keeping Secrets part six

By Annie Lisenby Smith

Paige feels every breath Piper takes. Crushed against the double-crossing CIA agent, the scent of her department store perfume mixes with the pungent smell of gun powder from the handgun Piper presses to Paige’s jaw.

“Mom?” Paige cries, her voice weak from fear.

“Let her go,” Alice commands again, this time speaking lower, steadier.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Piper sighs, digging the barrel of the gun into Paige’s cheek.

“Piper,” Alice softens her voice more, “let’s talk. Just the two of us and work this out.”

“There is nothing to work out, Alice!” Piper yells. “You have something I want, and you will give it to me or you will all die!”

“Okay, let’s do that. Let me give you what you want,” Alice says. “Tom, you go back to the car with Nathan. I’m sure I’ll be out soon.”

Piper’s grip on Paige lightened helping lower the pounding in Paige’s ears. She’s able to take a short breath thinking she can walk away, go to the car with Tom and her dad. This could finally all be over. But Piper doesn’t let go, doesn’t drop her gun.

“I’m keeping her as collateral,” Piper says leaning her head against Paige’s. The oddity of Piper’s cheek resting against her hair sends a shiver down Paige’s spine. This woman is messed up in so many ways. Paige can’t help but question how Piper ever became a CIA agent.

Alice takes a slow breath before speaking over her shoulder to Tom. “Go ahead, take the car around to the side. I’m sure that both of us will be out soon.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Tom asks with a look of dread.

“It’ll be fine,” Alice says then turns her gaze to Nathan and repeats. “It’ll be fine. I’m sure of it. Piper wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt my daughter.”

With hesitation, Tom slides back into his SUV, the engine still running. Nathan hesitates. His gaze stays on Paige until she smiles, a tight smile, but one to tell her dad that she’s really okay, even if it’s a lie. After Nathan climbs into the SUV, Tom steers it slowly around the side of the hangar.

“Now your turn,” Alice points to Roberto and the other goons.

“Beat it,” Piper nods her head toward the hangar door.

“But boss?” Roberto questions Piper.

“Just go,” Piper huffs. “She’s just an accountant and a 14-year-old kid. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m fifteen,” Paige whispers under her breath as Piper loosens her grip on Paige but not on the gun. But Piper doesn’t acknowledge her, just pulls her arm leading Paige toward the office.

Stepping through the doorway, Alice’s gaze darts from the pieces of broken glass and plastic on the floor from Paige’s destroyed phone. And Paige thinks she sees a quick look of admiration flash through Alice’s eyes.

“Shall we sit?” Alice nods to the desk and pulls up a rickety metal folding chair from the corner. Piper shoves Paige into the chair next to the desk and drops into the rolling office chair.

“And how about we put down the gun?” Alice asks, more of a command than a question. Paige can’t help looking at Alice’s ankle, looking for the bulge of the gun Alice had pulled out earlier that night. That was when she’d showed up totally unexpected after Paige’s summer marching band practice and the whole night had taken a wild turn.

“It’s late, and this has taken too long,” Piper says setting her gun on the desk between her and Paige. “Let’s just get this done. Where are the files?”

As Piper settles back in her chair, Paige looks at the gun on the desk. It’s not far away. She could reach out and grab it if she really wanted. Flashes of lessons from the hunter safety class in seventh grade fill her mind. Looking closely, she sees the small lever near the trigger, the safety. It’s just a little switch that swivels to the side. Paige is relieved to see it’s in the safe position.

“Okay,” Alice begins with a sigh. “I do still have the files. I just can’t get to them now. That’s what I was trying to do earlier.”

“I know, Alice, like when you stopped at that boy’s house,” Piper says. A flicker of fear fills Paige. That was Brayden’s house, the guy she’s been crushing on. Paige never imagined that Piper knew about that when she texted him the tail number of Piper’s plane. What kind of trouble had she just made for Brayden?

But Alice doesn’t falter with this knowledge that Piper has been surveilling her. She continues, her voice steady and calm. The only sign of her apprehension is in the twitch of her left pinky finger.

“Yes, of course you know about that,” Alice says. “I’ve got the files in a safe place. Don’t worry, I haven’t blown into a conch shell to rally the cavalry.”

“What?” Piper squints in confusion at Alice.

But Paige knows exactly what she’s saying. The woman she’d studied in fifth grade history, Nancy Hart and written “The Conch and the Cavalry” essay. Her and Alice had laughed when she made that the title of her paper. And when Paige glanced at the gun on the table, she clearly saw Alice nod in agreement.

“It’s an old phrase from around here,” Alice brushes Piper off. “Basically, I haven’t uploaded the original files to the server or anything. They’re all safely on a flash drive in a very secure location.”

“Then tell me the location!” Piper leans forward, her breath blowing back stray strands of Alice’s hair. Paige leans to the side and reaches for the gun, pulling it inches closer to herself. Her lungs don’t work for the moment it takes her, her heart stopping in her chest. If they get caught, Paige has no idea how they’ll talk their way out of it.

“It’s safe, okay?” Alice shrugs. Her nonchalance is tainted by that twitching pinky and tap of her foot. She won’t be able to drag this out long, Paige knows that. She reaches for the gun again and slides it another inch.

With a quick turn of her head, Piper’s gaze lands on

Paige. For a moment, Paige thinks she’s been caught. Pushing her glasses up her nose to hide her roaming hand, Paige sinks into the chair wishing she could disappear from all this.

“Piper, I promise,” Alice says recapturing Piper’s gaze. “It’s safe. And I’ll give it to you if you give me what I want.”

“What is that?” Piper asks.

“Out,” Alice replies as Paige reaches for the gun again. “I want out of the CIA. I want to go back to my family. The only way I can do that is if you set us up in witness protection.” Paige’s heart drops, but not because of Piper, because of Alice. Witness protection? That’d mean moving, a new school, new friends, never talking to her friends or Brayden ever again.

“What’s the catch?” Piper tents her fingers in front of her mouth.

“I want a big house in a good school district with a very, very well-paying job,” Alice says, her gaze darting to the gun. Paige slides it another inch closer. “And nowhere too cold either.”

Another slide. Paige is relishing reliving Nancy Hart’s story, the subject of her report. How Nancy Hart welcomed the English soldiers into her home, had her daughter blow the conch shell to rally the neighbors, and how she’d gotten the solders so drunk on her homemade liquor that they didn’t notice her moving their guns a few inches every time she passed by to fill their glasses again. Eventually, Nancy Hart took the upper hand and overtook the soldiers with their own guns.

Nancy Hart took back her life, Paige thinks as her mother describes giving their lives away. She hates hearing Alice add details to the new life she wants Piper to give them, but she loves that Piper hadn’t noticed her… yet.

“What else? A ride on the next rocket to space?” Piper sneers. “Geez, Alice, you know we can’t do all that.”

“Yes, we can,” Alice leans forward, closer to Piper but also closer to Paige. “I’ve seen the receipts, the tax records. We’ve done it before. And we’ll do it again or you won’t get your precious little flash drive so you can hide the fact that you’re aiding a known drug and antiquities smuggler.”

Even though her pinky finger is still twitching, Paige has never seen Alice look more in control. Before she’d disappeared to work for the CIA, Alice would have never talked to someone like she is to Piper now.

Biting her lip as she thinks, Piper turns to look out the office door and Alice jumps into action. She leaps for the gun that is only six inches from Paige on the table, but not quickly enough. Piper thrusts herself between Alice and the gun, tumbling into Alice and taking them both to the floor.

Paige squeals, raising her hands to protect herself from the flailing women. On the hard cement floor Alice struggles against Piper’s strength. Piper is quick and slippery like a fish. She’s on her feet before Paige can decide what she should be doing. But seeing Piper’s eyes squinted in determination, her hair disheveled and wild as she lunges for the gun, Paige knows what to do.

Thrusting herself up from the chair, Paige uses her body to block Piper as she reaches for the gun. The cold metal feels wrong in her hands. It’s too heavy, too awkward. But her fingers still wrap around the grip before Piper can grab it.

Paige whips around and ducks low to avoid Piper’s grasp. She catches Alice’s gaze and tosses the gun. The world stops. Paige watches the gun float through the air and land in Alice’s hands. Alice lifts the gun and points it directly at Piper’s chest.

“Finally, this ends now,” Alice says flicking off the safety. Paige stumbles as she runs for cover behind her mother.

Frozen, Piper’s gaze is locked on Alice. Paige watches the wheels turning in the woman’s eyes as they flicker between Alice and the gun in Alice’s hands.

There’s no sound except Paige’s quick breaths as she waits to see what Piper will do next. Alice keeps the gun steady on her former boss and friend, her finger no longer twitching. It feels like years have passed before Piper raises her hands in defeat.

Before she can say anything though, the sound of a siren cuts through the night. Alice, Piper, and Paige look out the office door. Red and blue flashing lights flicker into the hangar. And in the flash of lights a new expression invades Piper’s face. She lifts her hands in surrender as her eyes widen. When the first police officer steps out of his cruiser just inside the hangar Piper begins to yell, “Help! Help! They’re trying to hurt me!”

The look on Piper’s face is pathetic, she’s acting the part of the victim so well that all the cops’ guns turn to target Alice and Paige.

“This didn’t go how I thought it would,” Alice sighs as she lowers the gun to the floor and raises her hands. “Put your hands up, Paige. We’re about to be arrested.” n

Friends of Jolly Mill hosted its annual Jolly Mill Christmas open house on Dec. 2 and 3 at the mill, located at 31630 Jolly Mill Dr., Pierce City. The event featured treats, hot chocolate, coffee and a visit from Old Saint Nick.

1. Justin and Stefani Burris

2. Front to back: Kinzlee Franklin, Kaiyah McGlumphy, Kilyn Franklin, Tiffany Franklin, Jacob Myers and Michael Myers.

3. From front: Ricky Gerard, Gwen Gerard and Bob Haskins, whose family once owned the mill and adjacent park site.

4. Mason and Brinley Smith and parents, Craig and Kayla Smith at the historic one room schoolhouse.

5. From front, Cade and Brock Flehmer, Erin Flehmer and Stephen Flehmer.

6. Destinee Sanders and Parker McCall.

1. Seated: Annalise Midyett and Santa. Back, from left: Amailah, Amanda and Alex Midyett.

2. Larry Hyde

3. Alexis and Jack Davis

4. Keiron Dye, Sarah Hancock, Robyn Hancock and Jack Davis

5. Nora Roderman and Santa

Email your pet’s photo to: monettcommunity@ gmail.com

If you think your furry or feathered friend is the cutest in the area, let us know! We invite you to share a photo of your pet to be featured in Connection’s Cutest Pet contest. Photos should be sent in the original JPG format at the highest resolution possible. Remember to include your pet’s name, city of residence and your contact information.