Project Perses: Redemption

Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Six

We had seen Vanessa, Ellis and Adler off on the Amtrak to Penn Station shortly after 11am.  The morning had been tough, and not just because of the revelation that Vanessa and Alia would be, for all intensive purposes, leaving my life soon.  It was more, so much more.  It had taken about an hour for Vanessa and me to return to the team, garnering looks from every single one of them when we emerged from the privacy of the suite down the hall.

Whatever they assumed, I didn’t care, since if they assumed what I would have assumed, they would have been right.  It wasn’t a “farewell fuck” to use the urban slang, but more of a desperate goodbye.  We clung to each other in the darkened room, knowing that this was the end for us.  Vanessa had been clear; I was not to look for them…I would let her go to protect them both.  Whether I liked it or not didn’t matter and I had to accept it.

If it’s true that most people can only love one person totally and completely in their whole life, I knew Vanessa was mine.  Walking out of that suite after her, feeling on top of the world because of what we just did while at the same time like Armageddon was right around the corner, I knew I was screwed, royally.

So much for not being distracted.

Dad and I stood for a few minutes on the train platform before we turned to start walking back to the van he had ‘borrowed’ from the parking area behind the hotel.  Turns out it was the same van Mitchell’s men had used to transport me before.  Riding in it gave me a serious case of déjà vu.

“Penny for your thoughts.”  Dad had said, glancing at me as he pulled out of the parking lot.  I hadn’t said a word since they had boarded the train. 

“Will I see her again?”  I questioned, fearing I already knew the answer.

“You’ll get a brief reunion when we meet up with them at the Barclay, just for a few minutes though.  Any delay could put them at risk.”

I nodded, staring out the window.  “You know, I’ve never seen Alia.”  I let that hang in the air, not saying any more.

Dad doesn’t say anything right away, and his silence causes me to glance over and take in his rugged profile.  He looks exactly like he did when I was really young, like in the few family photos we had of when I was like, four. Finally, his lips parted and he uttered, “This whole thing is shit.” 

I gawked at him, not sure what he meant, but he continued. “Our lives, how we exist…it was bad enough with what happened to me, then with what you grew up dealing with, and now, that little girl is going to live with the outcome of my life and yours.  She’ll be more advanced than you, you know.  Already her skin is almost impervious. Ellis filled me in.  She’s strong too.  He said until she gets older, he won’t be able to determine the extent.”  Dad’s eyes shifted my way.  “That’s why he elected to go with Vanessa; she’s going to need him."

I simply nodded and turned back to the window.  “I think I already knew that.  Dad, when I was growing up, did you ever ‘sense’ me?  Like feel my presence or anything?”

Okay, I knew the question was bizarre, but to his credit, Dad didn’t laugh.  “Ah, no, that would be new.  Wait, are you saying?” He took a couple of quick glances at me then returned his eye to the road.

“I’m not sure, but out in the field I swore I felt something, like when you put two magnets near each other…and I know this is gonna sound crazy, but I think Alia did too cause she laughed and stuff in response to what was going on, my thoughts."

“Jesus.”  Dad said under his breath and then whistled.  “That’s the kind of stuff Ellis was talking about.  With you, they kind of speculated when you would reach ‘maturity’, so to speak.  There are things you can do that you don’t even know about yet I’m sure…but with her, she is like an unwritten script, Aiden.  There’s no telling what that little girl could do."