Vendetta (22 page)

    
Lucy screamed.

    
“LIE’S! Leo you wouldn‘t do this to me, tell me he’s lying!” Lucy shrieked at him.

    
“He’s telling the truth,” Leo said, with watery eyes. He looked at Mark when he spoke.

    
“You think I’m going to fall for this sob story? You don’t think I know what’s going on here? You’re all turning against her, you’re flipping on her, because she’s the stupid broad that admitted to everything already! REAL classy guys, throw the crazy lady under the bus!” Mark laughed. “Do you believe this crock, Williams?” Mark asked sarcastically.

    
Williams nodded his head.

    
“It’s the absolute truth. It’s all part of another F.B.I investigation. It stems all the way back… starting with the Agent who gave away your personal information and many others who are in the Witness Protection Program,” he stated.

    
Williams lowered his gun, relieving his aching arms, and proving that the threat was gone.

    
“This stand-off needs to end, Mark. No one is in any danger here. The only threat is you, just put the guns down,” Williams said sincerely.

    
“I’m an F.B.I informant,” Dom admitted. “Once I began investigating Lucy, we discovered her connection to the pre-existing case, regarding the witness protection breach. We, the F.B.I and Leo here, decided to work together… and quickly. There was no time for finesse. We couldn’t jeopardize the Federal case,” Dom looked over at a stunned Lucy.

    
“Williams just found out about an hour ago. I couldn’t tell you, Marko. They wouldn’t let me. It damn near killed me not to. Believe me when I say… that it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my LIFE!” Dom pleaded.

    
Marks arms swayed and shook with fatigue, but he wouldn’t put the guns down. “You couldn’t try to save her though? You just led my innocent daughter, out to slaughter…. just so you didn’t have to COMPROMISE your investigation!” Mark felt sick to his stomach. “You’re sadistic, all of you,” Marks head swooned. He was struggling to rationalize.

    
“No wonder you were so eager to help with everything… her burial, the autopsy, everything! You felt guilty… you were trying to ease your guilty conscience about what you had done! Did it work? Did it make you feel better when you paid her funeral bills?” Mark felt his adrenaline return. He then put both guns on Dom.

    
Williams quickly drew on Mark.

    
“Mark, please… there’s so much more that needs explaining. Come on buddy, I know your paranoid as heck right now, and you have every right to be! But I need you to realize that what we’re saying sounds crazy… but is 100% true,” Williams begged.

    
“I don’t care. I don’t care about any of this anymore,” Mark mumbled.

    
“You’re right!” Dom yelled and got his attention. “Marko, your right, It wasn’t easy to go through, but it was necessary. I will explain more to you soon, but the next words I speak to you are very important. You must trust that I’m telling you the truth. I don’t deserve it…. I know. But I need you to believe in me,” Dom insisted.

    
Mark went wild. His eyes were darker than death itself.

    
“YOUR truth and MY truth are different, aren’t they? SWEAR! SWEAR on my dead daughter’s body, that you’re telling me the truth!” Mark yelled ferociously. “SAY IT!”

    
“I can’t swear to that Marko… I can’t! She is not dead, she is ALIVE!” Dom finally exclaimed.

    
Mark and Lucy stared at Dom in disbelief for what seemed like minutes, but were only seconds.

    
“What?” Mark looked at Williams who had once again, lowered his gun. Williams had a look of pure relief on his face.

    
“You’re LYING!” Mark shouted. The room began to spin; he was dizzy and going into shock.

    
“She’s alive and well! I promise you,” Dom reassured him.

    
“That can’t be… I saw her laid out in the… the hospital,” Mark felt his sanity slipping away. He didn’t know what was real anymore. This revelation shocked him to his core.

    
“I know this a lot to take in, just try to stay calm. You’ll get all of your answers soon enough. Just put the guns down,” Williams added.

    
Mark felt his arms go numb. Maybe they fell on their own out of pure exhaustion, or maybe he just gave up and dropped them.

    
Williams caught hold of Mark‘s arm, as his body slumped to the floor. Williams sat beside him on the ground, amidst a whirl wind of police activity. He safely secured his weapons and put the safety’s back on, putting them in Marks holsters. They watched in silence as agents poured in, taking away a screaming, hysterical Lucy. Leo walked out, with his head hung low, not looking up at anyone.

    
“Everything’s alright now, you’ll see,” Williams assured Mark. A feeling of relief washed over his body, triggering an instinct. This familiar feeling made him think that this could be real.

    
“Where is she?” Mark looked bewildered at Williams.

    
“She’s been at Anita’s, all weekend long,” Williams assured him.

    
Dom, who had been dealing with Fed’s and Police outside in the hallway, now came in and knelt beside Mark on the floor in the kitchen. Williams got up to give them privacy.

    
“He’s not talking much. I think he’s in shock,” Williams mentioned. “I’m going out to the dining area.

    
Mark asked Dom. “How could you of done this?”

    
“We drugged her wine. There was never any poison in the icing… we got to that in time,” Dom looked at Marks blank expression as he began to stare at the floor, and continued.

    
“Allie responded differently to it than we thought… I didn’t expect her to stay out as long as she had.  She didn’t suffer a second though… she doesn’t remember a thing either. Her breathing was so shallow, that it appeared she wasn’t breathing when you saw her at the hospital. The doctors and the nurses… they were all F.B.I… stop me when you want, it’s just all pouring out of me now, Marko…. Will you ever forgive me?” Dom asked sincerely. “This is the worst thing I have ever done to anyone. I‘m so sorry for causing you this pain and heartache, it’s the ultimate kind of betrayal,” he acknowledged sullenly.

    
Mark didn’t answer him. He just leaned his back up against the wall, and put his head between his knees.

    
Dom realized that Mark wasn’t going to respond to him just yet… but there would hopefully be plenty of time for explanations later.

    
Williams poked his head into the kitchen entry way.

    
“Someone couldn’t wait any longer to see you, and I think we can all agree, that it’s been long enough,” Williams said. He held open the double doors.

    
Mark couldn’t believe his eyes… his mouth fell open. He felt as though he were frozen to the floor, unable to budge.

    
“Dad?” Allie came in searching for him. Spotting him quickly, she ran to where Mark was and skidded to the floor onto her knees, wrapping her arms around him immediately. “Dad, are you okay?” she cried.

    
Marks eyes welled up with tears that flowed freely down his face. His eyes were fixed open. He put his arms around her, still unbelieving that this was actually happening. He had to be dreaming, he thought.

    
“Allie, baby girl,” Mark closed his eyes and held her to him tightly. She wasn’t a dream, she was very real.

    
“Let me look at you,” he could barely manage to speak. He wanted to see that she was whole.

    
Mark held her tear streaked face in his hands and brushed her hair back. He never thought that in a million years he would be able to look in her eyes again. She smiled at him with the same crooked grin she always has.

    
“Oh, dear GOD, thank you! You’re alive,” he wept. “Thank you Jesus…. I don’t deserve this. Thank you, Jesus!” Mark prayed over his daughter.

    
“I’m okay, dad. Really I am,” She assured him. “Are you alright? I know you were TOTALLY about to blast some people away a few minutes ago,” she laughed through her tears.

    
“I’m so sorry, dad! I wanted to tell you sooner,” she hugged him tighter.

    
He got up onto his knees and grabbed her again, kissing the top of her head. “I‘ll be alright, honey. I’m just not EVER letting you out of my sight, again!”

    
Mark continued to pray over his daughter, and praise Jesus for his miracles. Allie had never heard her father pray before, but she liked it. Finally, she felt safe and totally secure in his arms, thankful that this ordeal was finally over.

     “Thank you, Jesus,” she whispered, smiling.

     Allie may have missed him all weekend, but Mark had missed her for a life time.

                                
CHAPTER 18

                       
        BIGGER FISH

     Allie and Mark slowly emerged from the kitchen.

    
They had been talking; going back and forth on whether Allie could make a phone call without the Fed’s approval. She knew that many people would want to know just what the heck had happened for her to rise from the grave. So they discussed the most appropriate thing she could say.

    
“I know exactly what to say, but due to an ongoing Federal investigation, I’m not allowed to go into details,” Allie confirmed with a know-it-all smile.

    
Mark reluctantly agreed to let Allie call Jen. Allie sat down at the nearest table, eager to use Marks cell phone. She couldn’t wait any longer to tell Jen she was alive and well. Mark listened nearby, and walked over to Williams, who was leaning against the wall.

    
“The media is going to have a field day with this. The Fed’s are going to have to give them something to go on,” Williams rubbed his forehead, massaging his headache.

    
“What all does she know?” Mark asked, nodding towards Allie.

    
“She knows that Lucy and Nick turned out to be bad people, and they tried to hurt you both. She knows that her and Dom kept secrets from you, and everyone else. They were trying to do the right thing by the Fed’s,” Williams paused.

    
“She’s very bright, Mark. She has handled all of this surprisingly well. I think the hardest part for her, was letting people think that she was… well, dead,” he said poignantly.

    
“What do you mean by all that? Are you trying to tell me that she knew about this charade, and that she’s a part of it?” Mark was getting angry again.

     “Yes, a
pparently so; she has signed all the paperwork and cooperated fully, just as she agreed to,” Williams carefully explained. “She was working with the F.B.I, Dad.”

    
“That’s ridiculous, she may be eighteen, but she’s still just a little girl. How could they take advantage of her like that?” Mark was beyond pissed. “I get that there was never any poison, and she had a sleeping pill, but what if something went wrong with the pill? Didn’t Dom say she reacted differently to that?” Mark looked sternly at Williams. “Why wasn’t I brought in on this, before my daughter? Was she recruited?”

    
“I don’t have the answers to that, my friend. I wish I did,” Williams said truthfully.

    
“Basically, the F.B.I. used my family as bait, to catch a bigger fish, didn‘t they?” Mark said frankly.

     “Basically
, yeah,” Williams agreed.

    
“I don’t understand why Allie would go along with any of this. It doesn‘t make any sense,” Mark was puzzled.

    
Mark was very tired and his voice was weak.

    
“I don’t know either, Mark. It’s all crazy to me. I’ve never seen an investigation conducted like this. I would be less than understanding as well,” Williams agreed.

    
“Something like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the C.I.A was backing it… just to get the so-called, bigger fish,” Williams speculated.

    
“The nerve of the F.B.I. is absolutely incredible. I still can’t fully wrap my head around all that has happened. It’s going to take some time to rethink all of the events, and try to see something I didn’t see before…-” Mark’s mind was reeling from the days confusing events.

    
“The investigation is over, Mark. What the heck am I even talking about? There never was an investigation for us to solve. All though we damn near had this figured out in two days, didn’t we?” Williams and Mark both laughed and smiled at the notion.

    
“Maybe, you should just take your daughter, and go home. Give it a few days, and we’ll definitely call you and keep you updated on everything. Okay? For real this time! Just be the “grateful, doting father“, and nothing more. Get some sleep for goodness sake, you look like crap!” Williams patted his friend on the shoulder.

    
“Yeah, I suppose.” Mark grinned.  “I don’t think I want to get involved in it anyway. All these years I’ve tried to shield Allie, to protect her from knowing the awful truth and here it all is, laid out for her to see. I never wanted for her to get involved in anything like this. I’m so thankful to God that I’ve got everything that’s important to me now. That’s all that matters,” he watched as Allie put the cell phone down.

    
Allie stood up and walked over to her father and Detective Williams, and hugged her father’s arm, grabbing a hold of it tightly.

    
“Allie, I‘m not sure if you’ve formerly met him or not, but this is Detective Williams,” Mark said. “He was your personal homicide detective,” Mark grinned.

    
“Hi, there, I know that you’ve helped my dad quite a bit over the last couple of days. Thank you so much… for everything. It’s so nice to meet you!” Allie smiled warmly.

    
“It’s very nice to meet you too, Miss Allie. The pleasure was all mine,” Williams looked into the eyes of the young girl he fought so hard to defend. “It’s not every day that a Homicide Detective… gets to meet his victim,” he said, deeply touched.

    
Allie grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it for a moment, shaking it, respectively.

    
“You’re a very strong willed young woman, to have gone through this ordeal as well as you have,” Williams applauded her. “I think I might know who you get it from.”

    
“Thank you Detective Williams,” Allie said sincerely.

    
Mark’s eyes squinted, as he thought of what she might have gone through.

    
“You know why I did it, don’t you Dad? Do you have any idea at all?” Allie turned towards Mark, looking at him seriously.

    
“I don’t actually. I have many questions Allie, but I would love to hear whatever you have to say,” Mark answered as he reached out to smooth her hair around her face.

    
“I did this to end it, once and for all. To me, this meant… no more hiding for either of us. I felt that it was an opportunity to expose the secrets that we have hidden for so long. It’s all over now and there’s no more wondering “What if,” Allie looked at her father very earnestly.

    
Mark now saw his little girl, as the strong, beautiful woman that she had become. He watched her face, and listened to how passionately she talked about what she was able to accomplish. How deeply proud and confident she was.

    
“I believe Dom got involved when he discovered that another agent had talked to me already. He tried to talk me out of it, but it was no use. I told him to work with me or against me. What he didn’t expect, was my own, personal vendetta, to have all of these questions answered that I have had on my mind… and in my dreams, for as long as I can remember,” Allie painfully disclosed.

    
“I wanted to know all of it, and I wanted to stop it from happening again.”

    
Mark suddenly understood her reasoning. He continued to listen carefully, not saying a word, and letting her say her peace.

    
“I knew it would hurt you, momentarily… but I didn’t think it would have lasted for two whole days. Something went wrong, and we couldn’t find you. I also knew there was a risk to drinking the wine with the sleeping agent. But it was my idea, and my decision to make. Please don‘t hate Dom for it,” Allie pleaded.

    
“Allie, I know that your eighteen now, and that you’re more than capable of making your own decisions… but there is more than a miscommunication between Dom and I. Don’t you worry about that that. I’ll deal with that on my own time,” Mark stated.

    
Williams stood by silently listening.

    
“But, what did you mean by something went wrong? You tried to contact me sooner?” Mark inquired.

    
“Yes! We couldn’t find you after you left Julie’s last night. You didn’t go where you were guys were supposed to or something. Not that I’m complaining, too much,” Allie smirked.

    
“Then this morning after Captain Haddock was “finally” briefed by the Fed’s… you disappeared again! Only Dom guessed where you might be… and then he called Detective Williams,” Allie gestured at Williams.

    
Marks mind was too frazzled to think all of this through. He HAD hid Julie so no one could find her… and he was with her last night.

    
Williams intervened.

    
“This brings ME to ask a question of my own… Where on earth is Julie? We found her car at the hotel she was SUPPOSED to be at… but she’s not there,” Williams looked exasperated.

    
Mark laughed, and said, “I guess it’s safe to bring her out of hiding now, isn‘t it? How about you give us a ride to pick up her car, and then I‘ll show you?” Mark asked.

    
“What are we waiting for?” Williams responded.

    
Mark quickly reached out and grabbed William’s arm, surprising him.

    
“Thank you for fighting for me. It couldn’t have been easy. I appreciate what you’ve done for me and my family. Thank you, brother, it won‘t be forgotten,” Mark said sincerely.

    
Williams pulled him in for a quick shoulder hug, and smacked him firmly on the back.

    
“Anytime, brother, let’s go get Julie and get you guys home. You deserve it,” Williams declared.

    
“You’re on to something,” Mark agreed, smiling.

    
“You got the phone?” Mark asked Allie.

    
“Yeah, it’s right here,” she said, as they walked out of the restaurant.

    
“Why don’t you call Julie and tell her to pack up her things. Let her know we’ll be at the hotel in ten minutes,” Mark said as they walked across the parking lot.

    
“No, way I’m not calling her! It would freak her out big time. It would almost be better to just show her in person, so she doesn‘t think it‘s a cruel joke or something. It took me like five whole minutes just to convince Jen it wasn’t a prank call,” Allie said seriously.

    
“This whole thing has been a bit of a cruel joke,” Mark thought.

    
“Alright, I understand. Let’s go get her and take her home,” Mark decided.

    
“Home, like to OUR home?” Allie asked excited.

     “Yeah, maybe, w
hat do you think about that?” Mark stopped and anxiously looked at his daughter.

    
“It’s about time!” Allie winked and smiled.

                                   
CHAPTER 19

                     
             HUMBLE PIE

     Julie turned off the television and tossed the remote onto the hotel bed. She sat down in the chair by the window and curled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her knees. Perhaps she would watch the cars in the parking lot again and people watch some more. This hiding business was boring as hell.

    
Any other time in her life, she would have loved a whole day of doing nothing, but all she thought about was Mark and Allie. Julie couldn’t imagine ever recovering from the loss of such a sweet soul like Allies. She thought about Allie a lot that day. Julie remembered this one particular time, back when she had finally received her Masters from college. Allie had this “great idea” to surprise her and they all went to Skate World. Mark was so wobbly on his skates. Allie danced circles around him, holding on to his hands.

    
Julie couldn’t remember having laughed so hard before that. Nick had thought the whole thing was childish and faked a headache, so he could leave early. Remembering Nick made her stomach turn. This was still one of Julie’s favorite memories though. It always made her smile and filled her heart with complete joy. Instead of smiling now, Julie’s mouth tightened up into a frown. Tears filled up her eyes and now leaked out the corners, trickling down her face. She knew that without Allie and Mark, she would never feel that joy again.

    
Julie now wondered if she would ever see Mark again. She was very worried about him. So many things went through her mind. Sometimes, she would get so worked up about it, she would think about taking off and going to look for him. She even kept her bag packed and ready to go just in case. But she knew that leaving wouldn’t be a good idea. Mark didn’t want her to find him. Whatever his plan was, it didn’t seem like it would end well for anybody. All she could do now was hope and pray for some divine miracle.