Tais-Toi

Chapter Eleven

Why Washington?

"Because the headquarters of the CIA are situated in Washington." I blink a few times with my eyes. The CIA? Is she joking? I only know the CIA from series on the TV. This is unbelievable! Where's the mafia? Those guys are always involved with stuff like this. Some kind of terrorist organization. "Now you look like your mum when she first heard the CIA was involved." Heather laughs. I just smile because I know there won't be any sound when I laugh. When I look at her, she continues the story. "She stayed in Washington for three months. Three months of learning how to shoot, recognising bombs, fighting... She trained for real fights before she became a real agent and got put on a real mission. A mission about a group of boys."

A group of boys? I wonder who that could be?

"One Direction." She specified. What?! You mean that boyband from 20 years ago? She met them? "We believed the mafia was planning an attack on them." And there they are. The mafia. Now it makes completely no sense. "We didn't know what would happen to them so they needed new bodyguards. I was one of the new bodyguards and she was even more undercover: as their new stylist."

You are in the CIA?! I interrupt her. So that's what Gwen meant when she said that she could be dangerous!

"Yeah." She says, showing me her badge. I stare at it and it looks so... real. Is all of this story really true? "We knew one day they would find out that we were undercover, but for that moment, they needed protection on their new world tour. For months, we didn't hear anything, we didn't see anything. Nothing really happened. Until suddenly, when we least expected it, they attacked in Toronto. Your mother saved them all. Of course, they found out who she really was and her cover was blown. The years after that were extremely difficult, also because she gave birth to you and Gwendolyn. Your dad was her rock during those unstable times. However, the boys came back, and so did the mafia. She had to go through some horrible things."

What kind of things? I ask curiously.

"It's not up to me to tell you that. That's your father's job."

And she saved everyone again from those horrible things?

"I'm sorry, but no. That was me and a large team of agents. We rescued her after we finally figured out where she was." This story begins to make more and more sense. But still, I don't know. There's something not right about it.

How did you figure out where she was? Heather waits for a few seconds to answer, then she doesn't answer. Instead, she shows me a brooch.

"She got this brooch on the beginning of her first mission. On this brooch, there's a little button. When you push it, we will know exactly where you are and that you're in trouble." I look astonished at the brooch. This once belonged to my mother. It's the first thing I see that belonged to her since her death. Dad threw everything out after the funeral. Gave it away, sold it... whatever.

Can I...? I ask while pointing to the brooch.

"Yeah, of course." She says and she gives me that little thing. Slowly I go with my finger over the contours and I feel my eyes becoming watery. This was my mom's. It's part of my mom.