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Take What's Mine: Future Royalty
"Zugzwang." I stop tuning out the pair as they talk about clinics and other treatments.
"What?" James furrows his eyebrows.
"Zugzwang. Means you're already checkmated before you make a move." I look at the board.
"How so?" He shares a confused look with Mac and I show four ways on how I've won across the board. "Oh, my God. That's a thing?"
"Yeah. It's German." I lean back. "For the necessity of moving in chess when it is to one's disadvantage."
"Your father teach you that?"
"No. Takeda."
"Ah." He nods. "Well, thank you for the lesson. Gonna use that now. How's Vienna?"
"She's fine. At school."
"I told her. She saw my arm when I picked her up last week." He looks at the needle in his arm. "She's a very observant kid. Maybe even better than our agents." He raises his eyebrows. "She wants to see me, doesn't she?"
"I told her if she wanted to, she could. I'm not gonna make that decision for her." I shake my head.
"So, how's it going?" He looks between me and Mac and I bite the inside of my cheek. "You guys good?"
"You were much better at conversing back then. Then again, I was eight years old."
"And bright as a star." He grins. "You brought me home a starfish, you remember that? From the ocean. You filled up a container with water, you put salt in it, and you dropped the little guy in, and you gave him to me. You said it was a late birthday present, cause we didn't meet until after it passed. And I kept it. Kept it for years. Cause when you gave me it, you said a lifespan of a starfish is thirty five years. And that larger starfish typically live longer than their younger counterparts. And I told your dad, she's eight years old and she knows this stuff, imagine what she'll know in two years. Four, six, eight, ten. Imagine what both of them will know." He looks at Mac and my phone goes off, making me take it out.
"It's Charlotte. I'll be right back." I get up and leave, wiping my eyes. I stop once I'm far enough and I look at the unknown number, now answering it. "Hello?"
"Hello, old friend." A familiar voice comes through the speaker. "I have your daughter."
"Vienna." Her shaky voice comes through.
"Such a pretty name. And if you wanna see her again, you're just gonna have to come and find me. Alone. Bring anyone else, they die. So does she." He hangs up and tears fill my ears. My ears now begin to ring and the phone falls from my hand. I fall forward, but I'm grabbed.
