Hadrian's Wall (28 page)

The fact that I was
completely
broke made me
feel vulnerable.
Not having money
sucks!

Although she said she was
hungry, Charity barely touched on her burger. When I asked her
about, she claimed that she’d lost her appetite because we hadn’t
done more shopping...that I wasn’t enjoying the “girls day out”
that she had planned for us. What bothered me more was that
I would eat, but she didn’t. She would pay for,
but I didn’t.
I took a quick look at the
various shopping bags, wondering what else she could have found to
buy.

We chatted as we finished our meal. Charity
laconically answered my questions about the town, her work in the
laboratory, and her biochemistry course at UWall until I finally
decided it was time to shut up. I was relieved when half an hour
later we returned to the cable car platform and in a matter of
minutes we were back in the lower city.

Back in the car,
I heaved a sigh, staring
at the landscape
while
Charity backed the Porsche out of the parking
space. We skirted around the downtown area so she could show me the
famous “private” entry of Panthers’ Cliff or “Cliff House”—the name
which she obviously preferred people use when referring to her
home. However, one must agree that it isn’t difficult to understand
why the unwanted nickname became a favorite amongst the locals
rather than the “official” name because of those huge statues. With
all the mystery surrounding the
pets
of Adrian Cahill, the founder,
it would be impossible not to associate the place with the big
cats.

Along the way, I noticed
the same F150 pickup I’d seen at the hospital was now following the
Porsche at a discreet distance. But before I could think much about
it, I was thunderstruck at seeing the view that made me forget
everything—even how to think.
Nothing
could have prepared me for
the four huge stone panthers flanking the entrance gates of the
Cahill property. Behind the walls, the road that wound along the
cliff disappeared into trees, so dense that it was impossible to
get even a glimpse of the mansion located at the top.

Charity pulled off of the
road and
parked the Porsche
a few yards from the gates.

I looked down at the panthers. The
difference between these and those on the other side of the cliff
is that their faces are turned towards the horizon, as if watching
for something that might come from far away. Three of them were
distributed symmetrically around and above the huge gates, forming
an elaborate porch.

The fourth panther—the
biggest of all didn’t have yellow eyes like the others.
His eyes were precisely cut green quartz. He
stood out in front of the gates...lonely, as if he was planning to
quietly leave the property. Its position made a kind of passage for
each blade of the gate. I assumed that on the one hand, cars could
exit and on the other hand, enter...or vice versa. Charity’s voice
broke my concentration.

“I can’t take you to the
mansion because there is a specific security protocol that must be
followed. I would have to ask permission to bring you onto the
property and once that permission has been given, you will have to
be prepared.”

I didn’t get what she was
telling me, so I shrugged, as if it didn’t matter that I saw the
mansion. Perhaps such protocol involves what one can or cannot do
beyond those gates, like the procedures for visiting the White
House or Buckingham Palace.
No,
thanks!
I wasn’t interested in dealing
with protocols.

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” I
said. “Just curious, why do you do all this? I know you people are
rich, but...”

That’s overkill!
I completed my own thought.

“It’s natural that very
rich people have enemies,” she began... “or opponents, you might
say...” She hesitated and when she resumed, her voice was somber.
“A few years ago, there was an attack...an attempt made on my
uncle’s life.”

Her hesitation didn’t pass
unnoticed. The event must have been serious, of course. Was that
the reason why Adrian Senior became ill? Charity didn’t seem afraid
of what happened to her uncle, but she was definitely angry. I
swear I could see her eyes flashing behind the mirrored lenses of
her sunglasses.

“Since then,” she
continued, “Stephen has taken full responsibility for the family’s
safety. He selected and trained an elite team of bodyguards. All of
the team members are descendants of the first families who came
with Cahill to America. They all live on this property.

Stephen...that name was
not unfamiliar to me
.

“He is your cousin, too, right?”

“Yes. Stephen and Vincent
are my cousins. Their parents died and Adrian’s
mother adopted
them as her own
children before she died.”

She stared at me. Her
family pride overflowed when she said, “You see, the Cahills are
responsible for their people, but their people also protect us. We
are the pillar of this community. In many ways, we still live like
a real clan with its ‘fortified castle’ behind the village where
families find refuge in times of...” She took a deep breath before
finishing. “...times of war.”

Interesting...creepy, but
interesting. I could even imagine the scenario that she
described...and the scene!
I remembered
countless nights watching a succession of movies to escape from my
nightmares...tiptoeing to the TV room and spending the night in the
company of old Hollywood stars. Teachers always questioned why I
kept falling asleep during the lessons. They thought it was because
of my...mental problem and somehow, they were right.

I believe I watched too many movies, epics,
or adventure...from Errol Flynn to Christopher Lambert. As far as I
know, during the Middle Ages, the castle walls were meant to
protect the families who lived in the surrounding village. The
feudal lord was the great protector of his people—or at least,
should have been.

The clans were formed by large families,
which included neighbors, servants, and entire families of tenants,
thus constituting the basis of a whole community. It was common for
people living in the same village to be cousins in varying degrees,
as well as brothers, uncles, nephews, bastards...all with the same
surname.

“The burden of
responsibility over AC shoulders is enormous,” Charity said,
interrupting my reverie. “Someday, the people here will depend on
Adrian. Obligation comes like an inheritance, but can be seen as a
curse. Therefore, he is committed to such...
authority
and everything else that
comes with it.” She spoke with caution, as if weighing each
word.

I reflected about what
she’d said. To be able to manage such a legacy, he would have to be
a very disciplined man, patient, and above all, very determined.
Not only were mountains of money involved, but the jobs and the
lives of the people who serve the Cahill family.

For a moment, I
felt sorry for
Adrian.
Before, I had been mocking the wealth or perhaps the
ostentatiousness of the Cahill family, Charity’s clothes, her
predilections...but maybe I was spurning them more to protect
myself than by voicing my contempt. The thing was like “sour
grapes”—now I was seeing that there was no reason to envy them.
Yes, they were living a glamorous, celebrity life, but it could
also be a lonely one. Even though they’re surrounded by so many
people, it would be sad if they didn’t know who to
trust.

Suddenly, an almost
imperceptible buzz sounded and the majestic gates began to open
slowly. A magnificent graphite-colored car, the kind you only see
in action movies, was flying down the road at full speed. It braked
sharply and cut in front of Charity’s Porsche. I looked at her and
was astonished to see that she remained absolutely calm.

A black Range Rover appeared behind the
Porsche.

Hmmm
... Charity’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the Range Rover.
It was as if she could see through the tinted windows. “Today
is
Justus and Russell
’s turn to watch his back.”

My jaw dropped in
astonishment
. How did she know who was
following whom? Ah, sure, the kind of car. There was no way to see
through the glass...none at all!

The graphite gray car
remained stopped in the middle of the asphalt roadway. The driver
gunned the engine twice, but the vehicle did not move. Charity
laughed. Until that moment, I didn’t even realize
that they were carrying on a “dialogue” between
them.
I was too focused on the
tinted windows
, trying to
see what was going on inside the car. I suspected who the driver
was, even before she told me.

He honked and gunned the engine again.
Charity responded with two light touches on her horn and that was
it. He sped off down the road, closely followed by the Range
Rover.

“As you can see, AC
also
likes cars,” she
said casually. “I think he’s going to the hospital. He must be on
duty today.”

“That was
stealth
on wheels! You
guys really like cars, don’t you?”

She nodded, smiling.

“But, unlike me, he prefers
luxury sports cars with lots of horsepower and preferably those
that aren’t officially on the market. Adrian loves attending auto
shows...” She gave me a sly smile. “That’s a Lamborghini Reventon
Roadster. It means that AC doesn’t have patience for subtleties
today. He wants action.”

“How do you know?”

Charity laughed and raised
an eyebrow, looking like one who knows a
secret...
or many secrets!

“He has a small collection of cars, one for
every mood or for every occasion, you might say.”

Well then,
he’s not just a rich boy, or a mere millionaire,
he’s a billionaire!
With every bit of
information I was receiving about him, more and more I realized
that he was out of my
league
.

“And the Range Rover?” I asked to distract
me from my depressing thoughts.

“Security,” she explained.
“Adrian doesn’t like to be accompanied by bodyguards, but after
that last incident... Moreover, he
is
the heir of an empire. Security
has become essential to his wellbeing, even if it is an undesirable
measure.”

Heir to an
empire
...

“
Nobody would like that
, I suppose...
arriving at the college or the hospital surrounded by a battalion
of bodyguards. It must be very embarrassing.”

“There isn’t
a battalion
of
bodyguards,” she objected, seeming uncomfortable about my comment.
“Only a few were chosen. They constitute a very discreet group.
They’re almost invisible.”

“I
nvisible? Almost” Automatically, I looked back at the stretch
of road where the F-150 was parked. Charity followed my
gaze.

“They are invisible
when
they want to be.
That’s Stephen’s pickup. He’s escorting us today. Normally he takes
care of AC exclusively, but given the circumstances, he wouldn’t
allow another...” She bit her lip and fell silent.

She looked as guilty as if
she had blurted something that she shouldn’t...
as if I could guess what it is
. She
was always talking in riddles.

“Stephen is the head of security?” I
asked.

“Exactly. He’s escorting us
through our tour around town.”

My face must have
reflected skepticism about his
almost
magical capabilities as a
bodyguard, because she quickly added, “Okay, you noticed his
pickup, but he’s so proficient that you didn’t notice him following
us. In fact, he went into all the places where we’ve been
today...even inside the museum.”

My goodness! Now I’m
impressed
...

Stephen Cahill.
Uh huh!
I had to admit
that the guy was really good. I hadn’t spotted him anywhere. As
Charity mentioned, I’d only noticed the pickup following us. I
suspected that now Stephen was
no
longer
interested in remaining
invisible.

I understand that whole
the scheme was necessary because Charity couldn’t walk around
without protection. The Clan could not falter and allow a possible
kidnapping...or something much worse. I thought about living in the
orphanage when I considered myself to be suffocating,
but living as they live, like birds trapped in a
golden cage...that’s got to be hard, no matter how much money they
have
.

The more I listened, the
more I saw the distance between Adrian’s world and mine increase. A
guy like him was not for me. I wasn’t worthy, not could I be
prepared to live in the kind of situation he lives in every day.
Adrian Cahill was
the
perfect guy—a star, a god, a prince—an unattainable
person.
That’s it!