I promised I'd update, and I am.
Here's chapter 31
<span style='font-size:10pt;line-height:100%'>Chapter 31
“I’m going to the mall,” Hannah called out loudly.
“I’m coming with you,” Rebecca yelled back.
“No, you’re not!” Hannah yelled as loud as she could. Before she could get out the front door, Rebecca grabbed her and, looking her straight in the eye, said, “Yes, I am!”
As they walked out to the car, Rebecca demanded the car keys from Hannah. As she watched, Hannah stuck her hand into her pocket, and slowly brought the keys out. “Get in.”
Hannah sighed. Getting into the passenger seat, she watched out the window the whole ride to the mall.
“Where do you want to go first?” Rebecca asked when they arrived.
“I’m going in. You’re staying here.”
“I don’t think so, young lady.”
Hannah took off running towards the enterance, causing Rebecca to start running, too. Knowing right where she wanted to go, Hannah managed to get into Vanity before Rebecca could see where she had gone.
Taking a few clothes off the rack, she had an employee unlock a dressing room for her. Once inside, Hannah waited a few minutes until she heard a knocking. When she recognized the voice as Joshua, she opened the door and ushered him in. After a short kiss, he looked at her. “Do you have it all?”
“My dad keeps a stash in the basement.” Hannah pulled the envelope out of her pocket.
“Do you have the hair sample and the blood sample?”
“Here,” Hannah said, handing a smaller envelope and a small vial to Joshua.
“Good.”
“How long will the background check take?”
“It all depends on how much I find.”
“Let me know when you have something.”
“You got it.”
“I love you.”
“Thanks,” Joshua said and left.
~ ~ ~
Sydney was tense. A sniper had managed to hit both Mr. Raidon and her mother, and now she was in an old-fashioned showdown between Mr. Raidon’s guards and themselves. Another shot rang out and one of Masa’s guards dropped. The last guard aimed at the other CIA agent and shot, dropping him. The temporary distraction allowed Sydney to take him out. Picking up the phone that she had just recently got to replace the others, she called for a life flight out of their location.
While she and Vaughn waited for the helicopter to arrive, Sydney checked the pulses of everyone who had been shot. Mr. Raidon and his team were all dead, along with the other CIA agent that had been assigned to protect Irina. When Sydney finally got around to Irina, she wasn’t expecting much as she placed two fingers at Irina’s neck.
Sydney was pleasantly surprised, however, when she felt a pulse; it was weak, but it was present. Moving lower to the small hole right below Irina’s breasts, Sydney started applying pressure. Vaughn kneeled next to her. “Is there anything I can do?”
“We need to get the bullet out,” Sydney said on the verge of tears.
“There’s a first aid kit in the van. I’ll go get it.”
“Good.” Vaughn turned and ran back to the van. Coming back a short time later, he pulled out some long tweezers.
“Move your hand, Syd.”
“Are those sterile?”
“I assume so.”
“We need to be sure. Do you have a lighter?”
“No.”
“We need to find one.”
“Mr. Raidon smokes cigars, he should have one.”
“Go get it.”
Vaughn got up again, and returned this time with the lighter. Sydney kept her hand over the wound as Vaughn sterilized the tweezers.
“We need to get it out now.” Sydney nodded.
“We can’t do it through the shirt, though.” Sydney unfastened the buttons on Irina’s shirt up to a short distance above the bullet hole.
Vaughn looked at her. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” Sydney nodded. Vaughn slowly eased the tweezers into the small round hole. Irina arched her back with a gasp. “It’s okay, Mom. It’s okay.”
A few minutes later, Sydney heard Vaughn acknowledge that he felt it. When the tweezers came into view, they were holding a small round piece of metal. Quickly bandaging the wound, Sydney and Vaughn waited until the helicopter arrived and flew Irina to the nearest hospital.
“Are you okay?” Sydney asked Vaughn.
“I should be asking you that. You nearly lost your mother again.”
“Mom’s tough. She’ll make it through this.”
“Yeah.”
“How are you?”
“I’m ready to get home.”
“Amen to that.”
~ ~ ~
Two weeks later…
“Rebecca Williams,” Rebecca said, answering the phone.
“Can I please speak with Hannah?” Joshua said on the other end of the line.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Just tell her it’s an old friend.”
“I’ll need more than that.”
“It’s Joshua. We met when doing community service.”
“What do you need?”
“I’m really having a hard time, and she said that I could call her at any time if I needed any help.”
“Alright. I’ll go get her.”
“Thanks.”
Joshua waited until Hannah came on. “Get off, Mom,” she said in an annoyed voice. Joshua heard a click. “Okay. What is it?”
“I got the files you requested.”
“What’d you find out?”
“We need to meet in person. This isn’t something to say over the phone.”
“Vanity? Tomorrow?”
“Let’s shake it up. Let’s go to The Buckle.”
“What time?”
“Ten o’ clock.”
“I’ll be there.”
A dial tone indicated that the call was over. Joshua opened the first folder. You really need to get out of that family, Hannah, he thought to himself, looking at the information he had collected.
…TBC…</span>