Whisper My Name

Chapter 38

March 9, 1992

Niagara Falls, New York

We live on faith

In the hands of those who guide us

And tear the page

On the fear we left behind.

~ Allies ~ Heart ~

Raffi Torres listened with excitement as Mike updated him on the search for Marlena Brady, "And you're sure?"

"I'm sure boss. I tracked them to Niagara Falls. They're renting a cottage under the alias' of Matthew and Kathryn Andrews," Mike told him. "It's them. What would you like me to do?"

"Nothing," Raffi said with a low growl. "Absolutely nothing. Francis fucked up twice, and got himself killed. You keep an eye on them, but I'm handling this. I'll be there in a few hours." It was no longer business, it was personal. As irritating and difficult Francis was, he was still family, and Raffi refused to allow his death to go unpunished. John Black would die, and he would die at the end of Raffi's gun. No one else's.

"You sure? I could take care of them both right now," Mike whispered hurriedly. "They're sleeping. They wouldn't even know what hit them."

With a frustrated sigh, Raffi said, "And what about cleaning up, Mike? You gonna handle that by yourself? Think! No. You wait for me, and a clean up crew, you hear me? We're gonna get this done, and it's gonna be done right. All you gotta do right now is make sure they don't know we found them, you hear me?"

"Yeah. I hear you," Mike said. He stared in frustration at the small cottage that stood less than a hundred feet away from him. Nestled inside were John Black and Marlena Brady. It would be so easy to take them out while they slept, but Mike knew that if he fucked this up, Raffi wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Marlena reached her hand out, softly caressing the face of her son, "You're beautiful, D.J." He looked so much like Don, but then she'd always known that he would have. A halo of brown curls sat atop his head, and he smiled at her with such kind eyes. Glancing around Marlena whispered, "But I don't understand, why are we here?"

"This place is special to you," D.J. replied as if that answered everything.

Marlena looked around the cabin. She was back in Colorado, standing on the back porch. The snow was falling softly, and she was wrapped in a blanket, the quilt from the bed, while everything around them was lit with the light of a full moon. John had been right, it really was a magical night. "Yes," she said softly. "Yes, this place is special to me."

"A baby is coming," D.J. whispered with a smile, leaning toward her in a childlike manner, as if he were telling her a secret. In reality he would have been about twelve years old, but the version standing before her was barely eight it seemed.

"I wondered... I thought it was possible." Marlena's palm smoothed over her abdomen. Her period was a few days late, and she knew that pregnancy was a very real possibility. She sighed softly, "John's baby. Our baby together."

D.J. leaned closer, grinning widely, cupping his mouth gently, he said softly, "I'm getting another chance."

The child's eyes flashed with excitement, and Marlena stared at him for a moment. He was getting another chance. Did that mean that her baby with John was... Marlena stumbled over her next words, "H-how? How is that possible?"