| Subject: The Dragonslayer, Chapters 7 & 8 |
Author:
Jaron
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Date Posted: 20:38:21 12/16/01 Sun
In reply to:
Jaron
's message, "The Dragonslayer" on 16:44:37 12/16/01 Sun
The Dragonslayer, Chapter 7
“Can we go into the other room where Grace is?” Michael asked his guards.
“No tricks,” one said harshly. “You know the kid is the first one we will target.”
“No tricks,” Michael confirmed. “I won’t try anything while my son is here.”
Slowly, Michael rose from his position on the floor and taking Rene by the hand
walked into the next room where Grace was laying on the bed. Her red hair was
tousled and she looked like she was sleeping peacefully, except for the bruise on the
right side of her forehead. Rene climbed up on the bed beside her and brushed the
hair away from her forehead.
“Mom hit her head when they shot her with that tranq thingy,” he said as he looked
up at Michael. “She’ll be okay, won’t she?” He waited for Michael to reassure him.
“She”ll be okay, Rene. She has to drive the two of you out of here.”
“Daddy, I’m not going anywhere unless you go with me.” Michael smiled sadly at the
strength and conviction in his son’s voice. “You are going with us. Aren’t you?”
Michael clamped his eyes shut and prayed for the strength to say the right words to
Rene, to make him understand why he and Grace had to go and not look behind
them. He felt a hand grasp and hold his and he opened his eyes to see Grace staring
at him.
“I want to know the answer to that question as well, Michael,” she whispered. The
dazed look in her eyes from the tranquilizer slowly dissipating until her eyes held his
with a sharpness that demanded an answer.
Michael squeezed her hand and looked first at her and then settled his gaze on Rene.
“Rene, remember the story your Mom told you? About how the prince...” He cringed
at the use of the word prince to describe Grace’s view of him. “About how the prince
had to focus on the fight with the dragons?”
“Yes, Daddy, I remember,” Rene said in a small, scared voice. He crawled across the
bed and climbed into Michael’s lap, then he snuggled against Michael’s chest with
Michael’s arms going around him and holding him tightly. “But the prince always
fought off the dragons and killed them. What does that have to do with you not
going away with us?”
God, Michael thought, give me strength. He smiled, that was twice in the last few
minutes that he had prayed to someone he didn’t think he believed in anymore.
Maybe his belief was being tested. Maybe the belief was just hidden deep in his soul
and was just waiting to be rekindled. His soul.....did it even exist anymore? Then he
looked at Rene. Could someone souless have helped give life to this precious child?
Maybe his prayers would be answered. Maybe.....
“Michael, we are not leaving you!” Grace’s voice interrupted his reverie.
“Yes, Grace, you are!” Michael said forcefully before regaining control of himself.
“Grace, Rene, let me explain.” He took a deep breath before continuing. I have to
make them understand, he told himself. I have to make them want to leave me. He
sighed and turned again to the two people he loved above all others...with one
exception.
“Remember the story of the Dragonslayer, Rene?” Rene slowly nodded, wary of where
this conversation was going. Michael marveled at the maturity he saw in his young
son’s eyes. Rene was almost eight now, but he seemed older somehow. He seemed
to understand things that were far beyond his years and Michael was sad also that he
and his profession had most likely caused Rene to act older than he was. His
childhood was being stolen from him. “Well, just like the Dragonslayer, I have to be
able to concentrate on the dragons to be able to defeat them. If the two of you are
here, it will be hard for me to concentrate on fighting the bad guys who are coming
here for me. They will use you to hurt and defeat me. I will be stronger and be able
to fight better if I know you are safe.”
Michael looked from Rene to Grace and back to Rene. “Do you understand?”
Rene spoke first. “ Yes, Daddy, I understand, I just don’t want anything to happen to
you. I want to know that you will come back to me and Mom.” His eyes filled with
tears as he put his head against Michael’s chest. His tears felt hot as they soaked
through Michael’s shirt and seared his skin.
Michael stared mutely at Grace for her support. “I understand also, Michael. What do
you want us to do?”
The Dragonslayer, Chapter 8
The guards in the other room watched carefully as the little family drew together in a
group hug. They allowed it because Tillman had told them to allow it. They each felt
sorry for the little boy. When this was over, he would probably have lost his father.
Not many survived Red Cell interrogations and they all knew that this Michael was
slated for interrogation by the best that Red Cell had to offer. So they left the family
alone, even though they all thought that a plan was being hatched in that tightly-knit
huddle.
And they were right, we were hatching a plan, but it was still a plan that still
separated Rene and I from Michael.
“Grace, it’s the best I can do for now. You have to get Rene away from here before
the others arrive. I can withstand anything as long as I know the two of you are safe.
These men who are coming would not hesitate to hurt or even kill the both of you in
front of me if it would get them what they want.” Michael spoke brusquely and with
all the honestly he could muster. At least that’s what I thought I saw in his eyes. He
wanted to get us on the move as soon as possible. “You can help me by leaving now.
My team is on the way here now and if you meet them on the road, you can give them
the intel they will need to get me out of here.”
Michael looked at Rene and I and saw the fear and abject horror on our faces at the
prospect of leaving him, so I tried to put his mind at ease.
“Okay, Michael, what do we do?” Rene swung his troubled gaze to my face, surprised
and upset at my capitulation to Michael’s wishes. I looked at him and watched the
tears run down his face one by one. My heart sank, but I reminded him of what
Michael had said.
“We have to give your father fighting room, Rene. If we stay here, we weaken him and
we don’t want to do that, do we? We don’t want to give his enemies ammunition
against him, do we?” I saw his father’s steel come back to those young and innocent
eyes.
He nodded. “We have to go, Mom, I know we have to go, but I still don’t want to, but
I will if it will make Daddy stronger.” He looked up at Michael and we all hugged each
other even tighter.
“Now, this is what I want you to do....” and Michael told us his plan.
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