Lies and Legends

Chapter 4

"Miss Collins?" the man at the door asked.

Mindy smiled at me, then went to answer the door. "Hello sir. How are you today?"

He looked at her, his face expressionless. "We need to escort you and your niece to her place of residance," he said. "Follow me."

We grabbed our light jackets and pulled our shoes on. We waisted no time in getting in the car and getting on our way. He pulled up in front of our house, then walked around to open our door for us. I tried it myself, and Mindy smiled, "They only open from the outside. Kinda like a cop car." But it wasn't like a cop car. It was a new Buick. Not something you would use for a cop car.

He led us up to the door and knocked. Mindy pushed him out of the way and opened the door. "Hey sister in law" she said. My mom rushed in from the living room and, seeing the man that had accopanied us, her face lost all color.

"What can I do for you, sir?" she asked.

"I am here to speak to the four of you," he said.

"Four?" I questioned.

"You, Mindy, Lana, and Christina," he said. Lana was my mom's name, but... Christina was Nana's name. Why would he need to speak to her?

"This way sir," my mother said, leading him into the living room. He tried to sit in a big armchair at the far end of the room. That was Nana's chair, though, and I tried to suppress a laugh as she slipped in silently behind him and he almost sat on her.

"Well Walter, what can we do for you? You have already sat on my mother in law," my mom said.

"First off, I am here to tell you that, Lana Rae Collins, are under arrest. You will be held at Langley until further notice. But for now, I need to talk to the others. Lana Rae Collins, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law." the man said.

He then turned to me, but I interrupted him before he could speak. "Those aren't all her Miranda Rights," I said.

The man gave a half smile. "You are a very clever girl. You are right, those are not all her Miranda Rights. However, the CIA only requires us to read those Miranda Rights, and that only applies to our own operatives."

I looked at Mindy, giving her a questioning look, then, seeing her nod in agreement, I turned back, satisfied but a little disapointed that he was right.

"This house is bugged, Ali, so I suggest that you do not lie to me, because we have heard all that has already been told to you. But please tell me, in your own words, what your mother told you about your father's dissapearence," Walter asked.

"She told me that they were in Madrid and that they were together when they were attacked. She said that she was hit upside the head and that she was knocked. That she tried to help him, but she couldn't," I said.

"And you, from your conversation with Mindy earlier, do not believe that her story checks out?"" he asked.

"No. But then again, all I know is what my mom told me," I said.

"So you think that if you saw the file, you could better come to a conclusion as to what happened the night your father dissapeared?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut off. "No, she could not. I told the truth. To BOTH of you. She will not set foot in Langley, Walter. Ever. I will fight it until I die, Walter. She will never set foot in Langley," my mom insisted.

"Mrs. Collins, please stop talking. Remember your Miranda Rights," he reminded.

My mom scowled, but closed her mouth.

"Ali... May I call you Ali?" he asked, and I nodded. "Good. Ali, you asked Mindy to teach you how to be a spy. If you accept our offer, you will not only get training from the CIA but you will also be working on your father's case. You will be placed into the same rigorus training program as the adults who are accepted into the CIA, but we will also slow it down a bit, and bring in a professor to teach you your math and science and such. You will also be taught some new languages. All in all, we are willing to put you through schooling to become a spy."

"Sir?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Okay, so I just turned in my mom for lying to the CIA, right?" he nodded. "You want me to come work for you, and seeing as that you are taking my theory seriously, you feel as if I would be extremely qualified to work for the CIA. But I do not want to have my mom imprisoned because of a stupid theory I came up with at four a.m. Couldn't you just forget what I said?" I asked. But I knew what he would say.

"No, Ali, we cannot. I am afraid that we have substantial evidence to prove that your mom was in on the dissapearance of your father, even without your help," he said.