Arduous

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

[Anne, 12:30, Lucinas Funeral]

If this was difficult for me, it must have been arduous for Lucinas mother.

We had told her it was a car accident. Catherine and I have the injuries to prove it. We also took the precaution of smashing Lucinas punch buggy with bats. It was a good thing too, because Mrs. Smith wanted to see her daughters car.

I hadn't meant to kill her. I only wanted her on the ground, and not trying to kill me.

As Catherine had said several week earlier, her tiny form made for a great spy. Or, at least I hadn't suspected her. I've known Catherines 'I told you so. You should have listened to me' expression.

Although Lucina had betrayed us, I still cared for her. I wished for more for her.

Catherine and I were to keep an eye on the Prime ministers daughter, but we took time off to come to the funeral. Mr. Zonde wasn't able to come, since he was the secretary at the House of Commons.

"Thank you, Anne, Catherine, for being such great friends with Lucina." Mrs. Smith commented to us, just after the ceremony was finished and Lucina was buried in the Edmonton cemetery.

"I'm so sorry about what happened, Mrs. Smith." I condoled. She had long mahogany hair, umber eyes and the perfect tanned skin, just like her daughter.

"Oh dears, it wasn't your fault. God just needed her somewhere else."

If only she knew the truth of what happened.

Mrs. Smith was distracted by other family members coming to give their condolences. Catherine pulled me aside.

"Our plane leaves in an hour. I think we should get going now." Catherine uttered.

I nodded in agreement.

As we drove to the airport, I realized that I wasn't the only one who seemed to be having a hard time with all of this.

"You know, you can share your feelings with me." I offered.

Catherine burst into laughter. "Feel-feelings? Share my feelings? Anne, don't be stupid!"

"I dare you to call me stupid again!"

"Stupid!"

I punched her arm, just as we parked in the airport.

Catherine didn't react much, other than to sigh. "That punch should have been for Lucas."

Silence captured the car in its slimy tentacles.

Catherine exited the car first, and I followed her lead.

"Seriously, though, Catherine. I'm here if you need to talk about anything." I stated.

All I got was silence in return.

[Anne, 17:17, Ottawa]

Matthew picked us up again. He seemed to be in a better mood than before. He kept his mouth shut the entire time in our presence.

"Anne," Catherine poked me in the cheek, and I almost smacked her for it if I hadn't seen her serious expression. "I know what we have to do."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'll tell you once we get home." Catherine gestured to Matthew in the front seat. After the betrayal of our two closest companions, I didn't blame her for wanting to be careful around others in the Mafia.

We arrived to the cupcake not long after that. As we departed, Catherine grabbed my wrist, and to my dismay, yanked me along with her inside and down to our rooms.

We passed Lucinas room, and found it empty. Her mother didn't want any of it, so we ended up burning it along with Adams stuff.

We flopped onto Catherines bed, the door closed and shades shut. I was now extremely curious as to what she was going to tell me.

"Adam's last words gave me an idea." Catherine explained.

"You never did tell me what they were, other than they were ominous."

"'The only way to defeat us is to kill us all.'" Catherine quoted. "We need to bomb their Mafia Base."

"Are you insane?" I exclaimed, jumping from the bed. "First of all, thats a suicide mission. Secondly, do you even know where their Base is located, 'cause I sure as heck don't!"

"Yes to both. I have a plan though." Catherine reassured.

"That makes it all that much better!" I threw up my hands in frustration.

"Look at this, Anne." Catherine removed a book from under her mattress.

She opened the book and I saw the words, 'Belongs to Lucina Smith' written inside.

My mouth gaped open. "Wha... how?"

"I searched through her room while you were sulking."

I decided to ignore that last remark. Catherine flipped to a marked page and handed it to me as I took a seat back on the bed.

Dear Diary,

My mission is almost over. We have them in our trap. Catherine and Anne don't suspect a thing.

We are in Ottawa, the last stage of our plan. Adam and I are to surprise them tonight by revealing our identities. We were told not to kill them, but to rattle them. They said we would have another chance, but they didn't go into specifics.

Adam and I are to run away to the Russian Mafia Base at The Kremlin. I need to go.

Sincerely,

Lucina Smith

I read the entire thing a few times to make sure I read it correctly. She tried to cross out 'The Kremlin' several times, but I could still tell what it said.

"The Russian Mafia are hiding in the Kremlin. It all makes sense." I looked to Catherine for confirmation. "So, what was your plan?"

"We use the Mafia money to fly to Russia..."

"Without telling your dad?"

"No telling dad. That's a big no-no."

"Okay. Whats the rest of the plan?"

"We buy a bomb in Russia - I know a guy - and we..."

I interrupted once again. "How do you even know a guy who sells bombs?"

"Do you want to hear the rest of the plan or not?"

"Sorry, go on."

"And we wing it!" Catherine smiled, almost proud of her plan.

"Wing it?" I asked. I wasn't sure I had heard her correctly.

"Yup!"

"You really are insane! Where's the nearest asylum?" I got up from the bed, but Catherine pulled me back down.

"I'm serious, Anne. When have any of our plans go according to plan? We don't know what we're going to be bombarded with, so having no plan may just be better than having one."

Catherines phone went off, with an awful screeching scream.

As she answered it, I thought over what she proposed. I understood where she was coming from.

Catherine hung up and turned to me. "I have to go, but think over what I've said."

"Wait!" I grabbed Catherines wrist just as she was about to walk out the door. She halted in frustration. "Why do you keep on disappearing after you get these weird phone calls?"

"Trust me, Anne." Were her last words.