Page 31 of Beneath Submission
~Twenty-one~
“This vendetta that Mr. Colin has will never end unless he is put away once and for all,” I heard Xavier state as he slowly pulled his t-shirt over his head.
It had been three days since Xavier was released from the hospital and he was already working on a way to put Mr. Colin away once and for all. There was no evidence to indicate that he sold me to Mr. Sakai, but there was enough to prove that he took me and held my brother ransom. I knew exactly how Xavier felt, but he needed to be careful. After telling Detective Wallace and Detective Sloan everything he knew and his affiliation with Colin Gates, they decided to make a deal with him. If Xavier offered to help them put Mr. Colin and Mr. Sakai away for good, he wouldn’t have to spend any time in jail. That was, as long as he stayed out of trouble.
“I know how badly you want Mr. Colin to pay for what he did to me, but you need to let the detectives handle it,” I suggested.
Xavier was too agreeable with me when he said, “You’re right, Tessa. I need to keep my nose clean.”
He was up to something, and I knew him well enough to know that whatever it was, it would be dangerous. Walking over to where he was standing, I helped him with his shirt and said, “How about we work on a way to help my father get Criss Cross up and running again?”
Turning to face me, he pulled me into him and said, “You’re right. I have some money saved up. Maybe he could use it to restart.”
I thought it was very thoughtful of him to offer, but there was no need. The insurance ruled it as vandalism and they had already agreed to cover the damages. It would be a long process, but my father would come back stronger than before. In the meantime, he still had orders that needed to be filled. Luckily, he kept most of the old equipment, that still worked, in the large building next to the main warehouse.
Giving him a kiss, he held me even closer. I knew that we were going to be late and as much as I wanted this, I knew that it needed to end before it started. Pulling away, I said regretfully, “We better go before we are late.”
My father wanted us to come down to Criss Cross and help with some of the mess that was caused by the vandals. He thought it would speed up the process of getting back what was lost. When we opened the door, Aiko was standing on the other side. I found this very strange considering she was planning on helping Agnes with breakfast.
Giving her a curious stare, I asked, “Aiko, is there something wrong?”
“Not at all, my friend. Breakfast is ready, and everyone is already in the dining room.”
Following her down the hall and then down the stairs, she kept looking back at us as though we were going to ditch her. Focusing on the back of her head, I began to think about how funny she was acting since the day that Xavier had been released from the hospital. I knew that I was probably the only friend she had, but the way she was clinging to me was beginning to make me think that she was afraid she would lose me.
Xavier must have known that something was up by the way he tugged on my hand to get my attention. There wasn’t anything that I could say, considering she was within earshot. The only thing I could do was place my finger over my lips and shake my head. Hopefully he knew that we would need to talk about this later when we were alone.
~*~*~*~
When we arrived at Criss Cross reality sunk in as I gazed over at the warehouse to see the damage that had been done to the outside of the building. I had no idea how bad it actually was. Opening the door, Xavier stepped out of the car and held his hand out for me to take. When I stood outside the car, it was clear that the only reason that someone would do this to my father was because they wanted to send a message. It was just as Mr. Colin said, he always gets what he wants.
Aiko was sitting in the front with my father and when she had stepped out of the car, her first reaction was a loud, “Wow,” as she looked up at the building.
As we headed inside, the damage was even more extensive than the outside. It felt like a punch to my gut when I looked over and saw the expression on my father’s face. Everything that he had worked so hard to build was gone. Kicking away the debris to make a clearing, he headed toward the steps which led to his office. I was afraid to find out how much of the second floor had been damaged, so I held back while Xavier followed behind him.
Instead of standing around, I decided to start cleaning up the mess. Looking around the room, I spotted a door that had a plaque on it that read ‘Utility.’ When I opened the door, I found that there was a large garbage can on wheels along with some additional garbage bags to line the can. Pulling one from the roll, I placed it inside the can and rolled it out of the closet and toward where most of the damage had been left.
Xavier and my father had been gone for some time and I was beginning to wonder what was taking them so long. Tying the full bag, I pulled it from the can and placed it by the entrance door before heading up the steps to the second floor. When I reached the top, I could faintly hear Xavier and my father’s voices coming in the direction of my father’s office. Heading that way, I stepped over the debris trying hard not to trip.
When I reached the office, there wasn’t much left of it. About the only thing that hadn’t been touched was the leather couch that the two of them were seated on. Walking up to them. I looked at them equally before asking, “What are you two up to?”
I knew that they were contemplating some sort of plan by the way they were sitting there. I really didn’t blame my father, but I was totally against anything they might have planned. The last thing I wanted was for them to get hurt. Taking a seat between them, which caused them to move apart, I looked at Xavier and then my father and announced, “Whatever you two are thinking about doing, don’t. I never want to feel the way I did when I thought I would never see you guys again.”
My father took hold of my hand and said, “Colin Gates can’t get away with hurting people any more. I’m afraid that if we don’t do something, then other people are going to get hurt.”
My father was right. Mr. Colin needed to be stopped, only I didn’t want my father or Xavier to be the ones to do it. I looked at my father and then to Xavier and asked, “Don’t you think it would be better for the detectives to take care of this?”
Their eyes were on me and I felt like I had asked something ridiculous by the way they were looking at me. Lowering his hand to mine, Xavier took hold of it and said, “Tessa, do you really think Laurel and Hardy are capable of taking care of two of the biggest criminals in LA?”
Xavier had a point. Looking back at how they handled Mr. Colin at the party, he might not have been released. Wallace and Sloan weren’t the smartest men, but that still didn’t mean that Xavier and my father needed to go after them.
Standing to my feet, I looked down on them and expressed my opinion on the matter. “I really don’t care who goes after those two. I only know that I don’t want it to be you.”
When I left the office, I was pretty certain that neither one of them were going to do as I said. Matter of fact, I pretty sure that they continued their conversation the minute I left. Knowing that what I wanted wasn’t going to make any difference, I walked down the steps and resumed cleaning the mess that had been left in the lobby. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Aiko had most of the mess around the reception area cleaned. The large trash can was heaping full of trash and needed to be emptied.
Wiping her hand across her forehead, she asked sadly, “Why would anyone want to do this?”
Stepping up to her, I replied, “You don’t know Mr. Colin. He is capable of doing much worse if he wanted to.”
