Page 23 of Gabe

Something else must be going on. I’d never been very good at navigating social situations. It was why I always kept everything formal. Formal interactions had a set of rules I could follow. Casual interactions were messy.

Yet, living in such close proximity with three other people for so long, it was impossible to not make a mess eventually.

These thoughts plagued me all the way to my meeting with the director. Even as I pulled my car into a parking spot near the lake where we’d agreed to meet, my mind was still hyper-analyzing every interaction I’d had with Frankie over the last few days.

The director’s greeting brought me out of my thoughts.

“Gabe. Glad you could make it. Sit down.”

Director Thornton sat on a park bench overlooking a small lake. A wisteria tree draped its branches over the water on his right, and on his left a spot on the bench remained open and waiting for me.

“Are you actually glad, or are you just saying that?” I asked as I took the seat.

“I am glad,” he said, though his eyes remained pointed forward toward the lake. “Though I wish the situation was different. This should be a formal meeting. Not something Lily has to arrange off the books.”

“I would have preferred that too.”

We sat in silence for a moment. The wind waved the wisteria branches like a curtain and several ducks floated by on the lake’s surface.

“Why did you do it?”

The director’s voice was flat. He could have been asking about anything.

Just for reassurance, I slipped a finger inside my own sleeve to feel the handle of the knife hidden there.

“Do what?”

The director huffed out a little laugh and shook his head. “The fact that I have to specify is a sign of how bad the situation has gotten. Let’s start with your first offense. You kidnapped several people we were trying to place under witness protection.”

I scanned the lake. There were a few people walking the path around the water and I automatically categorized them based on their potential danger level.

Not far away, a jogger dressed in colorful running gear was coming closer.

Danger level low. Even if they were an enemy trying to hide in plain sight, they would pick an outfit that allowed them to conceal more weapons.

“I didn’t kidnap anyone. The Roth brothers, along with the two civilians, came with me willingly. Besides, you know why witness protection was a bad idea for them. It already failed the Roth brothers once.”

A little farther down the path, a mother pushed a large baby stroller.

Danger level high. That stroller could be used to hide a variety of things, from a camera to an assault rifle.

Finally, Director Thornton turned to look at me. The situation was obviously causing him stress. He looked like he’d aged several years since I’d seen him last.

“At first, I was suspicious of the Roth brothers. They were only a little more than teenagers when they ran from witness protection the first time. Barely adults. Yet, they supposedly managed to stay off our radar and avoid the Mariano family. It doesn’t seem possible for two people so young.”

I looked away from my surveillance of the lake. “Supposedly?”

“I’ve had my suspicions...” he trailed off but didn’t look away from me.

I gave him a moment to collect his words and returned to my surveillance.

On the opposite side of the lake, a man fed the ducks along with a young girl.

Danger level high. I wished I could say that a father feeding the ducks with his daughter wasn’t suspicious, but with our current enemies being who they are, the presence of a child did not allay suspicion. There was no guarantee the girl was even related to the man, and they were positioned perfectly to have a clear view of both me and the director.

Eventually, Director Thornton found his voice again. “How could the Roth brothers have stayed alive for so long without help?”

My vision tunneled, and for a moment I saw nothing but the director’s face. “You think the Roth brothers sold out to the Mariano family and are now working for the man who killed their parents?”

---