Trust
MeChapter 5
Danny stopped in his tracks and put his hands on his hips. His eyes grew dark.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me!"
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.
"There were men crawling all over this place..."
"Michelle...", he tried interrupting her tirade.
"...with DOGS!"
"RELAX! Honey, come on..." He smiled as he spoke.
She stopped.
He walked towards the bed and leaned against the foot board.
"Michelle...there is nothing going on. Those men AND the dogs are part of the security team. They were performing a security check on the house. It's routine..."
"Okay!", she breathed in and looked down at her feet. She lifted her gaze and stared at him, "I don't think so!".
"You don't think... Listen. Every so often we run a complete system check and..."
His voice was calm, but his face showed how badly he was trying to control himself.
She shook her head. "This...This is NOT routine."
"Look. There are some...things..."
"THINGS? What THINGS Danny?" she yelled.
Danny stood up and turned his back to her. He couldn't face her and her questions. Lying to her, keeping things from her, was not a part of their deal. They had both promised that everything would be shared. The pain in her face made him want to tell her everything, but he knew that the truth would be even more painful. Once before she had called him a coward and that was how he felt at this moment.
"How can I tell you that I have to kill someone." That's what he wanted to say, but instead he said, "When you calm down...When...I can't do this now." His words were measured, quiet but to Michelle they said more.
"What? What can't you do Danny?, she pleaded as she placed her hand on his back.
He flinched at her touch.
"I..." he was in anguish.
He took control of his emotions and turned around to face her. He avoided looking in her eyes.
"I think you're rushing to conclusions. A routine security check...", he lied .
"I don't believe you."
She knew him so well and suddenly that angered him. All of his life he'd been cautious and reserved. He had lived his life trusting no one but himself...until Michelle.
"Are you calling me a liar Michelle?" , he said quietly, but she heard his anger.
"I...I", she gulped back the tears, "I know something is not right. You've been distant. I hardly see you. These meetings...You never tell me anything anymore..."
She watched him as she spoke and realized that he wasn't going to trust her with the truth. It shocked her. She felt like she had been punched in the stomach.
Truth. It scared her more. She didn't really want to know, or did she? "He doesn't trust me." The thought alone made her step back.
He was immediately aware of her emotional and then physical distance from him. "She thinks you don't trust her."
His first reaction was to move closer to her. He forced himself to remain where he was. "I'm failing you...I'm failing us.", he said to himself.
She turned away from him then. She didn't want to watch him lie to her. He was shutting her out and that hurt more than anything he could possibly tell her.
"Michelle, look, I'm sorry... There's nothing to be afraid of. I've been working and things are harder than I thought they would be. I'm really trying to make things the way we both want them to be...", his voice was softer. "That's not a lie.", he reasoned.
She grew angrier as she heard him speak. He was skirting the issue. It was too much for her. Stopping him before he continued, she turned around quickly the words rushing from her mouth.
"Danny, tell me...tell me", she beat at her chest with her hand in curled into a fist.
"I'm telling you. You're not listening..."
The explosion caused them both to lose their balance.
She fell against the bureau. He caught himself before he fell to the floor.
One of their bedroom windows blew into a million pieces. The glass flew, embedding itself into any available surface. The mirror above the bureau cracked and the pieces began to fall. Danny watched in horror as Michelle double over, her hands covering her ears. It all happened in what seemed like slow motion. The noise reverberated throughout the room. There was silence and the only thing moving was the curtain billowing in the now bare window.
Then the screaming began...
Carmen watched in horror as the car burned.
Her voice was lost in a silent scream and then, "NOoooooooooooo! My baby...My baby...Pilar! Pilar!" . She ran towards the flames...
Jimmy got to her before she reached the car. He felt the hairs on his arms being singed. His face grew red from the intense heat. "Mrs. Santos wait...No!" He turned her away from the inferno, wrapping his arms around her.
She struggled against him, her fists pummeled his chest. "Let me go. My baby...My Pilaaaar...", she wailed.
The servants were running from the house. Their screams mixed with the roaring of the flames.
"Ay Dios mio..."
"Senora!!"
Olga, the chofer's wife, ran from the house and began yelling, "Miguel? Miguel?" . She saw the car and began to wail.
It was a mournful wail...
Danny straightened himself and rushed towards his wife. She was kneeling on the ground, her hands covered her face.
"Michelle? Michelle? Baby?", he knelt beside her and held her close.
"Oh my God! Oh my God", she repeated over and over.
"Baby, let me look at you. Are you hurt? Look at me...", he pulled her hands from her face and searched her body for any signs of blood.
She was crying hysterically. The sobs causing her to hyperventilate. She gasped for air and looked at him. That look would haunt him for a very long time.
He couldn't find any injuries on her. "Michelle, honey it's okay. We're okay. Come on.", he hugged her to him and wiped at her tears with his free hand. "We're okay...", he whispered.
Knowing full well the war was beginning....
In her room upstairs Abuela Santos wheeled herself to the make-shift altar. She stopped in front of the statue of the virgin Mary and picked up her rosary beads. Pushing up with her arms she let herself fall to the ground. Grimacing, from the pain, she forced her body into a kneeling position and prayed, "Padre Nuestro que estas en el cielo, santificado sea tu nombre..."
She spoke loudly to drown out the sound of the screams and the crying.
The explosion brought back memories. Memories she tried to forget. Wars and vendettas. Guns and bombs. This part of her life she would never, as long as she lived, grow accustomed to.
Finishing, she performed the sign of the cross and then let herself cry.
"Danny! Danny!"
It was Tommy, one of the guards, at the door. He burst into the bedroom and ran towards them.
"Danny, one of the cars...", he was out of breath, trying to explain. Seeing them on the floor he stopped, "Oh man! Are you okay?" .
"We're okay!"
The screams from outside were getting louder. He thought he heard his sisters name being called over and over again.
He got up bringing Michelle with him. She was still sobbing. He picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down, he kissed her forehead. "Michelle, calm down...Sweetie please..." he begged her.
He turned to Tommy yelling, "What the hell happened? Where's Jimmy? My mother?"
"Danny, the car...the car...", he shook his head, gasping for breath, trying to find a way to tell him.
"Tell me!"
"It's Pilar and ...and Miguel."
Danny was losing control. He was frantic. He wanted Tommy to say it. He needed to hear the words even though he knew. He knew.
Michelle interrupted the silence. "Pilar's dead."
Danny stared. With a face etched in stone he said, "Dietz."
From the woods across from the Santos house Dietz watched the fire. The sky was gray from the smoke. Ashes fell around him. He watched the flames lick at the tree-tops. He smiled.
"It was your turn Pilar. First was Mick. Next will be Michelle. Then Danny. I always save the best for last. Then Carmen and I can make this family into what it was meant to be."
He turned and walked deeper into the woods. The detonator clutched in his hand.
Michelle opened her eyes and realized she wasn't in their room and she was alone. She focused on the wall opposite the bed and recognized her old room at Rick and Abby's house. Climbing out of the bed she went to the window. Drawing back the shade she peered out. It was dark.
"How long have I been sleeping?", she wondered. She felt groggy and she was thirsty. Looking around she saw that there was a pitcher of water on the table. She went to it and poured herself a glass. She drank the full glass of water without stopping. "I must have been given a sedative."
She looked down and realized she was wearing an old Springfield University T-shirt . She felt cold. Picking up one of the blankets she wrapped it around her and sat on the bed. "Pilar's dead.", she remembered and started to cry.
After the explosion and the news of Pilar's death she had gone into a state of shock. She remembered a man. "He must have been a Doctor" He had given her an injection and before falling asleep she had heard him tell Danny that she would sleep for a long time. "I should go to Danny", she thought. She got up too quickly and felt dizzy. She sat back down.
The door to the room opened. She looked up.
"Danny?", she asked.
"No honey, it's Abby. Are you okay?"
"Oh Abby...", she cried.
Abby hugged her close and patted her on the back. "Michelle, I'm sorry. It'll be alright...", she was crying with her.
"It was horrible. There was glass everywhere and the screams...the screams..."
Abby didn't know what to say to comfort her. Danny's call had been rushed and with little explanation. He had simply said, "Michelle needs you. Can you come? Please."
Danny had met Abby at the door and explained what had happened. His face was a blank mask, but the pain was so clear in his eyes. She had hugged him. When they separated there were tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away and said, "Michelle's going to need you when she wakes up. I'm sorry for involving you. I didn't know who else to call. Can you take her home with you?"
"Michelle. It'll be alright. Danny thinks you should stay with us for awhile."
"NO! He needs me. He needs me to be there for him. I can't stay here. I can't."
"Michelle, there are a lot of things going on. It'll be for a little while only."
"No. I have to be with him. Pilar...his sister is dead. He needs me."
"Okay. We don't have to talk about this now. Do you want anything? What can I do for you?"
"Abby, just hold me. Please." To Abby she sounded like a little girl and it broke her heart.
She had fallen asleep soon after. Rick had come in and Abby told him that Michelle wanted to go back to the Santos house. Furious he vowed to make Michelle stay with them, "She's not going back to that house. No way."
"Rick! Don't start that again. She's been through enough. Let's talk about this tomorrow. I don't think she'll wake up again, do you?"
"No. She should sleep until morning, but she's not going back. She's not."
Abby had rushed him out of the room then. They had spent the rest of the night arguing over Michelle. Finally, at about two in the morning, they had gone to bed. Michelle had been sleeping for hours by then.
The house was in chaos. Finally, when it looked like he had done everything he could for the moment he went outside and sat by the charred remains of the car with a bottle of Scotch in his hand. He thought about everything that had happened that day...
After the initial shock, he had told Tommy to call Doctor Ruiz and asked that Maritza, one of the maids, be summoned. He instructed her to stay with Michelle until the Doctor arrived. Then he had gone downstairs to find his mother.
Jimmy had brought a distraught Carmen into the house. Danny found them in the living room, Carmen looked like a deranged person. She kept talking about Pilar as if she was away at school, "When Pilar comes home from school for Christmas I want all of you to tell her how beautiful she is. She is beautiful you know. She's going to want her favorite foods. I think I'll redecorate her room too...." She rambled on and on with no sense of reality.
The Doctor had arrived and immediately administered a sedative for Carmen. They had taken her to her room. Michelle was still crying. The Doctor had told Danny that his mother and Michelle would sleep for the rest of the day and night.
While the Doctor had been taking care of Carmen and Michelle, Danny ordered the security team to run a complete sweep of the grounds. When John Vasquez, the head of security arrived, he ripped into him immediately, "What the hell happened? This is your fault. Where were you? You knew. You knew about Dietz. Your instructions were to check everything. EVERYTHING! Including the cars. I want Dietz. You find him. Find him and bring him to me." He had dismissed them, the rage building inside him.
After Abby had left with Michelle to the Bauer house he'd gone to see his grandmother. She had already been told the news and she looked like she had aged another twenty years that day. She had asked about Carmen and Michelle. She questioned his decision to have Michelle go to the Bauer house, "You need each other now more than ever. How do you think she will feel when she wakes up and finds you have sent her away?" .
"Grandmother, It's what I had to do. Abby and Rick will take care of her. I can't do that right now. I sent Pablo and Jose to guard them."
"What about what you need , mijo? You are going to need her tonight. You know that."
"I can't think of what I need right now.", he had argued.
He'd left his Grandmother and her knowing eyes and gone to see the car. By then, the remains of Pilar and Miguel had been removed. He opened the scotch and drank straight from the bottle.
"Peanut...I'm sorry. I should have protected you. I let things get out of hand. I'm sorry..."
He'd sat out there for what seemed like hours drinking. Begging his sister's forgiveness and thinking of what he was going to do....
Michelle woke up and looked at the clock. It was four thirty in the morning. She felt better. The effects of the sedative were wearing off. She got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She showered and got dressed.
The door to her room squeaked as she opened it and she worried that Abby or Rick would hear it. Quietly she made her way to the back door and thanked God that Meta was away on a cruise with her friend Ethel. She would have never made it out of the house if Aunt Meta had been there. She opened the door and found herself face to face with Jose.
"Jeez! You scared me.", she said.
"Mrs. Santos where are you going?"
"WE are going home. Take me back to the house."
"Mrs. Santos I can't do that. Danny said you were to stay here and that's what we're doing."
"Jose, that's your name, right? I think you misunderstood. I was to stay here until I felt better. I'm better now. Let's go.", her voice was filled with conviction and she hoped he believed every word she said.
"No. I don't think that's what Danny wanted."
"Jose, why don't we call my husband and YOU can tell him why I'm not coming home.", she was betting he wouldn't want to call Danny.
Jose considered his options.
"Mrs. Santos, I don't want to call Danny and you know it."
"Jose, I'll take full responsibility. Okay? Now come on. I want to go home."
Dietz watched as Michelle got into the car with Jose. Pablo stayed behind.
"It's not time, but soon. Soon..."
He hadn't expected to have to move this quickly. When he found out that Carmen and Danny were on to him he had stepped things up. Pilar's death had been simple to plan. That idiot Vasquez had checked the cars first. All he had to do was pay that boy who washed the cars. After security had left, the kid had let him in and the rest was history. Dietz knew the kid would never make it pass Danny's inquisition. Too bad. Killing him had been easy.
He drove away and headed to his hide out. It was time to rest. The calm before the storm...
Michelle made her way up the stairs. It was quiet there, unlike downstairs. There were men everywhere. Most of them were lounging around, drinking coffee, trying to stay awake. When she reached the top, she saw one of the guards sitting in a chair. He looked at her and tilted his head. She continued down the hall towards their bedroom. She hadn't thought to ask if Danny was there. "I wonder if the window was repaired?"
A door opened behind her. She turned to find Abuela Santos there. "Abuela!", as she rushed into her arms. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"
Abuela cradled Michelle's head between her hands and said, "Bien, mija. I am okay. It is hard. I thought with my old age, I had seen the last of such horrors...". Her eyes filled with tears, but she smiled through them and said, "I knew you would come. Danny needs you. Now go to him. He's in the blue guest room. Vete..." She kissed Michelle and pushed her away.
Michelle covered her mouth with her hand and blew her a kiss and ran to find her husband.
"He needs me."
Carmen tossed and turned in her bed. In her dreams she saw her husband dying in her arms. She felt the heat from his blood cover her hands. Then she saw Mick. Mick, the one most like her. In her visions, he was laying on the beach, dying and calling for her. She ran to him and his body disappeared when she reached him. Suddenly there was Pilar, waving to her, smiling and then there was fire. Carmen grabbed at the blankets suffocating from the heat. She cried out. Pain enveloped her body. It coursed through her veins. She sat up in bed.
"You will pay Dietz. You will pay!"
It was her first moment of clarity since she had seen the car blow up.
Michelle opened the door to the bedroom and as she walked she removed her shoes. He was sleeping. She could see the form of his body outlined through the sheets. She took off her clothes and seeing his shirt draped over the bedpost she grabbed it and slipped it on.
Slowly pulling back the sheets she climbed into bed next to him. He was sleeping on his side. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "I'm here. Baby, I'm here."
He moved reacting to her touch. She pulled him closer. He opened his eyes then and looked at her.
"Hiii! She smiled at him, trying not to cry. "Are you okay?"
He reached out and pulled her into his embrace.
He had gone to bed only after Tommy had come outside and told him that his Grandmother wanted him. He found her on the balcony overlooking the gardens.
"Daniel, you drank enough. It's time for you to rest. There is much to be done. Go to bed. I had Maritza make up the blue guest room. Manana...you can think some more..."
He had gone to bed and after restlessly trying to get comfortable he had fallen asleep.
Michelle kissed his eyes, his cheeks and hugged him to her. "It'll be okay."
He held on to her tightly and began to cry. The tears falling on her shoulder, wetting her shirt. His body was convulsing with the sobs. She held him and cried with him...
They lay together until the sun came up.
