Here, finally, a chapter! 
It's a transitional chapter, so you might think like nothing happened in it, but i promise a lot will happen in chapter 5. I'm not completely displeased with it, but I'm not pleased either. Let me know what you think, okay?
Read on...
*-*-*
Chapter 4 – Shiver
Did she want me to change?
Will I change for good?
And I want you to know.
But you always get your way,
I wanted to say,
Don't you shiver? Shiver, Shiver
- Shiver, Coldplay
“Ok. Mommy has two oranges, daddy also has two and grandpa has three. If we all put our oranges inside the same bowl, how many oranges will there be in it?”
“Seven?”
“Yes, seven. Very good.” Sydney said with a smile. Melanie wrote down the answer with a look of concentration. She took her homework very seriously. The fact that she was now only on first grade was totally irrelevant. “Are we done?”
“There’s still one question.” Melanie said, as the phone started to ring.
“Dear, can you get that?” Sydney shouted to the general direction of the living room. “Now what’s the next one, honey?”
“It’s a written one.” Melanie said. “Written one” was how she called the extensive Math questions. “Numbered one” was the simple “calculate this” question. “Mr. Joe was at the supermarket…” She started, but interrupted herself as her father showed up at the kitchen door with a strict expression on his face.
“Mel, go to your room.” He said quietly.
“But daddy, the homework…”
“Melanie, go.” Vaughn repeated. “Now.”
Melanie quietly gathered up her stuff, a hurt look on her face. As she passed by Vaughn, she looked up and tugged at his sleeve.
“What did I do, daddy?” She asked, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Vaughn instantly regretted his words.
“You did nothing, honey.” He said, getting down on his knees to look her in the face. “Daddy loves you. But now mommy and I have to talk.”
“About grown-up stuff, right?”
“Right. About grown-up stuff. Now go finish your homework at your room and get ready to sleep. Mommy and daddy will go up soon as well.”
“Okay, daddy.” She said, took one step, and then came back and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.” Vaughn said, and Melanie wondered why he looked so sad as he did so.
She walked away, looking back to her obviously upset daddy and already concerned mother. She wished Aiish was there. Aiish always went upstairs with her when mommy and daddy had to talk. She’d tell her that everything would be okay and they would play or read a story…
Melanie could read on her own now. But she still wanted someone to tell her everything would be okay.
---
“Vaughn, what is it?” Sydney asked, with a worried tone and a heavy heart.
He looked down, and as he started to speak Sydney already knew what he was going to say. She closed her eyes as his voice entered her mind.
“It’s Ailish.”
*-*-*
Ailish had never really known the true meaning of the world surrealism until now. She felt like she was trapped in a dream, with the painful awareness that she wouldn’t be waking up.
She dispiritedly pulled her wrist to see how strong were her handcuffs. As she had expected, they were certainly stronger than she was.
Random thoughts passed through her mind without a determinate order, blending and fading quickly. She was only half-conscious of them, in a state of near numbness. She desperately wanted someone to tell her this was nothing but a nightmare. She wanted her mother to wake her up with soothing words like she’d done when she was five. She wanted to run to their bed and feel their warmth, and the comfortable sensation of being safe. She just wanted to be anywhere but where she was right now.
Her face shot up as she heard the noise of steps and keys. Only then she noticed the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She lowered her face to her hands so she could wipe them away.
She saw two dark boots that obviously belonged to a woman. Slowly she straightened up, and met the face of her kidnapper.
Her eyes widened with recognition. Old pictures flashed inside her mind, mixing with the pained expression on her mother’s face and the quiet understanding of her father’s voice.
She held back a gasp, as she closed her eyes and tried to organize her spinning mind.
“Mommy, why don’t you have a mommy like I do?” “Daddy, is grandma Irina at Heaven just like my other dad?” “She did what?” “But dad… why?”
Why?
That was exactly what she wanted to know.
*-*-*
Vaughn swallowed down hard, sitting down and putting his face on his hands for a moment before looking back at Sydney.
“They’ve called the police. The teacher said…” he trailed off. It didn’t matter what the teacher said. They both were well aware that in this case the police would be of no use.
“I knew that was going to happen. I could feel it. I knew it Vaughn. I thought I was being paranoid, that there was no risk…” She stopped. “Dad. He was so against her going, he repeated over and over that we shouldn’t let her… We have to call him. He…”
“I’ll do it.” Vaughn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sydney grabbed it and brought it to her face, looking up at him, her face twisted in pain and despair. Vaughn put his other hand on her cheek, and gently pulled her up.
“She’s gonna be fine, Syd. I know that’s hard to believe now, but we need to have faith.”
“It’s hard. It’s hard to have faith. It seems to be like life has to be constantly reminding me I wasn’t born to be happy.”
“Don’t say that.” Vaughn said, his tone more hasty than he had intended. “Don’t ever say that. You deserve happiness more than any other person I know, and self-commiseration will take us nowhere.”
Sydney looked down, and then into his eyes. They shone with tears just like hers did.
“I’m sorry. I know, I know I’m acting ridiculous. But it’s just… I wonder if this will ever be over.”
“It will. And, come on, we’ve got nearly a fifteen-years break.” He said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yes, I guess we did.” Sydney said, trying to smile. “Come to think of it, I was already starting to get bored.”
“That’s the spirit.” Vaughn said.
No one would possibly be deceived by their attempt of pretending things weren’t that bad, especially themselves. And still they tried, because it was the only thing they could do not to start sobbing their hearts out in the middle of the kitchen.
“I’ll call your dad now, and ask him to come over.”
“I’ll bring Mel a glass of milk and maybe read her a story. She shouldn’t know what’s happening. She’s too young.”
“I agree.” He said. Sydney nodded, and bit her lip again. Vaughn brushed his lips against a tear that rolled down her cheek despite her attempts to stop it. “We have to stay strong. For Ailish.”
Sydney nodded again.
*-*-*
Irina didn’t say anything. Instead, she slowly reached out a hand, and touched Ailish’s cheek, where the trail of the tears was still slightly noticeable. The girl swallowed down hard. Her hands were as cold as ice.
“You look just like her.” Irina said at last, drawing her hand back.
Ailish’s throat was dry, as her heart drummed against her ribs.
“So do you.” she said, forcing herself not to look away.
Irina looked down briefly, but whatever the comment might’ve caused her to feel, she hid it easily.
“What did she tell you? About me?”
Ailish felt her muscles relax only slightly as Irina back away a little. It was obvious that the “she” her grandmother had referred to was her mother.
“Enough.” Ailish said, forcing her voice out of her throat again. It was a lie. Her mother had told her nearly nothing. But her father had, even if a little. And she had searched, inquired, wondered…
“No, she can’t possibly have told you enough.” Irina said, shaking her head only slightly. “She doesn’t know enough.”
“That’s an understatement.” Ailish said, her voice stronger now. She couldn’t be afraid. Her mother wouldn’t have been afraid. She had to be strong. “She thinks you are dead. The fact that she doesn’t know enough is implied.”
“You are a smart child.” Irina said, appreciating the sarcasm that apparently ran on the blood.
“I’m not a child.”
Irina didn’t answer. She turned, and Ailish couldn’t see the thin smile playing on her lips. The girl had her genes.
*-*-*
“I think we should wait.”
“Well, we don’t agree.” Sydney said angrily. “This is my daughter we’re talking about.”
“I understand your concerns, Agent Bristow, but it’s my opinion that we should give the German police a day do to their job. Maybe the girl is just lost.”
Sydney closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths.
“If that’s your opinion,” She said, forcing her voice to remain control. “You might want to keep it to yourself.”
“We’re not asking for your cooperation,” Vaughn said, just as annoyed as his wife was. “This is not a request. We are simply informing you that we are going to get our daughter. For us it’s irrelevant whether you agree with us or not.”
“Jack, would-”
“Don’t try to use me as a resort, Kendall. It’d be a waste of your time. She’s my granddaughter.”
Kendall sighed.
“What will you need?”
“Standard material, and transportation.” Jack answered promptly. “And if you’re not willing to give it to us, we’ll get it on our own. It will only take us more time. We’ve only come for your aid because time is something we don’t want to waste.”
There was a tense silence for a moment.
“We’ll have a jet waiting for you tomorrow morning, with everything you might need for a regular CIA mission. But may I remind you that CIA will not be involved on this unless it’s proved that the girl was really kidnapped by an organization. If that’s the case, we’ll intervene.”
“Thank you, but we hope to rescue our daughter and bring her home safely without the need of CIA interference. The sooner this is over, and the smoothly it is done, the least traumatizing it will be for Ailish.” Sydney said.
Kendall nodded.
“We’ll be ready for you tomorrow.” He said, and walked away.
Sydney, Vaughn and Jack looked at each other. It was going to be a long night.
*-*-*
It's a transitional chapter, so you might think like nothing happened in it, but i promise a lot will happen in chapter 5. I'm not completely displeased with it, but I'm not pleased either. Let me know what you think, okay? Read on...
*-*-*
Chapter 4 – Shiver
Did she want me to change?
Will I change for good?
And I want you to know.
But you always get your way,
I wanted to say,
Don't you shiver? Shiver, Shiver
- Shiver, Coldplay
“Ok. Mommy has two oranges, daddy also has two and grandpa has three. If we all put our oranges inside the same bowl, how many oranges will there be in it?”
“Seven?”
“Yes, seven. Very good.” Sydney said with a smile. Melanie wrote down the answer with a look of concentration. She took her homework very seriously. The fact that she was now only on first grade was totally irrelevant. “Are we done?”
“There’s still one question.” Melanie said, as the phone started to ring.
“Dear, can you get that?” Sydney shouted to the general direction of the living room. “Now what’s the next one, honey?”
“It’s a written one.” Melanie said. “Written one” was how she called the extensive Math questions. “Numbered one” was the simple “calculate this” question. “Mr. Joe was at the supermarket…” She started, but interrupted herself as her father showed up at the kitchen door with a strict expression on his face.
“Mel, go to your room.” He said quietly.
“But daddy, the homework…”
“Melanie, go.” Vaughn repeated. “Now.”
Melanie quietly gathered up her stuff, a hurt look on her face. As she passed by Vaughn, she looked up and tugged at his sleeve.
“What did I do, daddy?” She asked, her eyes shimmering with tears.
Vaughn instantly regretted his words.
“You did nothing, honey.” He said, getting down on his knees to look her in the face. “Daddy loves you. But now mommy and I have to talk.”
“About grown-up stuff, right?”
“Right. About grown-up stuff. Now go finish your homework at your room and get ready to sleep. Mommy and daddy will go up soon as well.”
“Okay, daddy.” She said, took one step, and then came back and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.” Vaughn said, and Melanie wondered why he looked so sad as he did so.
She walked away, looking back to her obviously upset daddy and already concerned mother. She wished Aiish was there. Aiish always went upstairs with her when mommy and daddy had to talk. She’d tell her that everything would be okay and they would play or read a story…
Melanie could read on her own now. But she still wanted someone to tell her everything would be okay.
---
“Vaughn, what is it?” Sydney asked, with a worried tone and a heavy heart.
He looked down, and as he started to speak Sydney already knew what he was going to say. She closed her eyes as his voice entered her mind.
“It’s Ailish.”
*-*-*
Ailish had never really known the true meaning of the world surrealism until now. She felt like she was trapped in a dream, with the painful awareness that she wouldn’t be waking up.
She dispiritedly pulled her wrist to see how strong were her handcuffs. As she had expected, they were certainly stronger than she was.
Random thoughts passed through her mind without a determinate order, blending and fading quickly. She was only half-conscious of them, in a state of near numbness. She desperately wanted someone to tell her this was nothing but a nightmare. She wanted her mother to wake her up with soothing words like she’d done when she was five. She wanted to run to their bed and feel their warmth, and the comfortable sensation of being safe. She just wanted to be anywhere but where she was right now.
Her face shot up as she heard the noise of steps and keys. Only then she noticed the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She lowered her face to her hands so she could wipe them away.
She saw two dark boots that obviously belonged to a woman. Slowly she straightened up, and met the face of her kidnapper.
Her eyes widened with recognition. Old pictures flashed inside her mind, mixing with the pained expression on her mother’s face and the quiet understanding of her father’s voice.
She held back a gasp, as she closed her eyes and tried to organize her spinning mind.
“Mommy, why don’t you have a mommy like I do?” “Daddy, is grandma Irina at Heaven just like my other dad?” “She did what?” “But dad… why?”
Why?
That was exactly what she wanted to know.
*-*-*
Vaughn swallowed down hard, sitting down and putting his face on his hands for a moment before looking back at Sydney.
“They’ve called the police. The teacher said…” he trailed off. It didn’t matter what the teacher said. They both were well aware that in this case the police would be of no use.
“I knew that was going to happen. I could feel it. I knew it Vaughn. I thought I was being paranoid, that there was no risk…” She stopped. “Dad. He was so against her going, he repeated over and over that we shouldn’t let her… We have to call him. He…”
“I’ll do it.” Vaughn said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Sydney grabbed it and brought it to her face, looking up at him, her face twisted in pain and despair. Vaughn put his other hand on her cheek, and gently pulled her up.
“She’s gonna be fine, Syd. I know that’s hard to believe now, but we need to have faith.”
“It’s hard. It’s hard to have faith. It seems to be like life has to be constantly reminding me I wasn’t born to be happy.”
“Don’t say that.” Vaughn said, his tone more hasty than he had intended. “Don’t ever say that. You deserve happiness more than any other person I know, and self-commiseration will take us nowhere.”
Sydney looked down, and then into his eyes. They shone with tears just like hers did.
“I’m sorry. I know, I know I’m acting ridiculous. But it’s just… I wonder if this will ever be over.”
“It will. And, come on, we’ve got nearly a fifteen-years break.” He said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yes, I guess we did.” Sydney said, trying to smile. “Come to think of it, I was already starting to get bored.”
“That’s the spirit.” Vaughn said.
No one would possibly be deceived by their attempt of pretending things weren’t that bad, especially themselves. And still they tried, because it was the only thing they could do not to start sobbing their hearts out in the middle of the kitchen.
“I’ll call your dad now, and ask him to come over.”
“I’ll bring Mel a glass of milk and maybe read her a story. She shouldn’t know what’s happening. She’s too young.”
“I agree.” He said. Sydney nodded, and bit her lip again. Vaughn brushed his lips against a tear that rolled down her cheek despite her attempts to stop it. “We have to stay strong. For Ailish.”
Sydney nodded again.
*-*-*
Irina didn’t say anything. Instead, she slowly reached out a hand, and touched Ailish’s cheek, where the trail of the tears was still slightly noticeable. The girl swallowed down hard. Her hands were as cold as ice.
“You look just like her.” Irina said at last, drawing her hand back.
Ailish’s throat was dry, as her heart drummed against her ribs.
“So do you.” she said, forcing herself not to look away.
Irina looked down briefly, but whatever the comment might’ve caused her to feel, she hid it easily.
“What did she tell you? About me?”
Ailish felt her muscles relax only slightly as Irina back away a little. It was obvious that the “she” her grandmother had referred to was her mother.
“Enough.” Ailish said, forcing her voice out of her throat again. It was a lie. Her mother had told her nearly nothing. But her father had, even if a little. And she had searched, inquired, wondered…
“No, she can’t possibly have told you enough.” Irina said, shaking her head only slightly. “She doesn’t know enough.”
“That’s an understatement.” Ailish said, her voice stronger now. She couldn’t be afraid. Her mother wouldn’t have been afraid. She had to be strong. “She thinks you are dead. The fact that she doesn’t know enough is implied.”
“You are a smart child.” Irina said, appreciating the sarcasm that apparently ran on the blood.
“I’m not a child.”
Irina didn’t answer. She turned, and Ailish couldn’t see the thin smile playing on her lips. The girl had her genes.
*-*-*
“I think we should wait.”
“Well, we don’t agree.” Sydney said angrily. “This is my daughter we’re talking about.”
“I understand your concerns, Agent Bristow, but it’s my opinion that we should give the German police a day do to their job. Maybe the girl is just lost.”
Sydney closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths.
“If that’s your opinion,” She said, forcing her voice to remain control. “You might want to keep it to yourself.”
“We’re not asking for your cooperation,” Vaughn said, just as annoyed as his wife was. “This is not a request. We are simply informing you that we are going to get our daughter. For us it’s irrelevant whether you agree with us or not.”
“Jack, would-”
“Don’t try to use me as a resort, Kendall. It’d be a waste of your time. She’s my granddaughter.”
Kendall sighed.
“What will you need?”
“Standard material, and transportation.” Jack answered promptly. “And if you’re not willing to give it to us, we’ll get it on our own. It will only take us more time. We’ve only come for your aid because time is something we don’t want to waste.”
There was a tense silence for a moment.
“We’ll have a jet waiting for you tomorrow morning, with everything you might need for a regular CIA mission. But may I remind you that CIA will not be involved on this unless it’s proved that the girl was really kidnapped by an organization. If that’s the case, we’ll intervene.”
“Thank you, but we hope to rescue our daughter and bring her home safely without the need of CIA interference. The sooner this is over, and the smoothly it is done, the least traumatizing it will be for Ailish.” Sydney said.
Kendall nodded.
“We’ll be ready for you tomorrow.” He said, and walked away.
Sydney, Vaughn and Jack looked at each other. It was going to be a long night.
*-*-*