Page 6 of Instinct & New Identity

“Do we get to stay together?”Iasked.

“Yes, your sister is a minor, so we will be transferring her custody over to you and offer you both protection in a new location,” the agent responded.

“We have to move?” my sister all but shrieked. “Whatabout our stuff and our belongings and my friends and our house?”

“Police officers are at the house now, assisting in packing up some things from your home so we can bring those to you,” the agent said. “Youcan give us a list of things if you need something specific.”

“I want to pick out my own stuff,”Valeriasaid.

“You can’t,” the agent said, but his eyes darted over toMiranda, hinting at something we clearly weren’t privy to.

My sister started to talk, butIheld my hands up and spoke over her.

“What aren’t you telling us?”Iasked slowly. “Whycan’t we go back to the house?”

Our attorney,Miranda, sighed and came over to stand closer to me near the hospital bed.Iliked her.Shehad been very nice and patient with bothValeriaand me through this whole process.Atthis moment, her proximity made me uncomfortable, though.

“The best way to keep you safe is to remove the target,” the agent spoke up. “Theofficial report from theFBIis that the two of you were shot while exiting the courtroom…and sustained significant injuries.Noone involved has any idea if you survived or not.Thisbuys us some time to move you to a safe location and keep you there until the threat is over.”

My heart dropped.Mysister gasped beside me.

“How willAbuelaknow how to find us?”Valeriaasked, barely above a whisper.

“The only people who will know your location are in this room, plus a few others at the highest levels of theFBIandMarshalService.”

Abuela.Ourfamily.Theyjust buried my parents, and now they will loseValeriaand me.

“But can we see them after the trial is over and the bad guys go to jail?”Valeriaasked.

“I can’t answer that,” the agent responded with no emotion in his voice but also with a very distinct finality. “Thereare too many variables, but we can reassess after that time comes.”

“What happens if they come after me the next timeItestify?”Iasked.

“For now, we will use your testimony from today, which was recorded, to use at later trial dates for this week,”Mirandaspoke. “Wewill meet with the judge privately to explain the situation to him and can allow for extra testimonies that would remain private through sealed courtrooms.Thesuspect and his attorneys will never know your new identity or where you have been moved to.”

“CanIat least say goodbye to my friends and family before we leave?”Valeriaasked, butIalready knew the answer.

“I’m sorry, no,” the agent said.

“As soon as the doctor clears you to leave, we will take you both to the safe house and get you set up with new identities,” the marshal explained.

And with that, my life fell even further apart.Losingour parents had felt like the worst thing that could ever happen to us, but now, being forced into a new identity proved me wrong.Anew identity and path of life that neither of us wanted.

3

VINCE

SevenYearsLater

“Stop!”Iyelled for what felt like the fifteenth time asIsprinted down the empty sidewalk at the man in front of me.

“Fuck you!” the manIwas chasing yelled back.

He may have been a punk, but he wasn’t in bad shape.Usually, whenIhad to chase these guys down, it didn’t take much.Thisone was definitely going to be worth every penny of his bounty.

Nine blocks later, he ran into an alley.Aswe turned the corner, he realized it was a dead end unless he chose to climb the fence.Oh, he tried.Hejust wasn’t successful.Ashe started climbing,Ijumped up, grabbed the back of his hoodie, and pulled him back down to the ground.

“Get off me, asshole!” he yelled asItackled him to the ground and flipped him onto his stomach.

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