More Than Eyes Alone Can See
11
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Tess hated walking into a dark house.
when it was dark that set her nerves on edge – even a house that she had been
living in for months. The only place
where she hadn’t minded the dark had been her dorm room while she had been at
school, and it had never been truly dark.
Either she or her roommate had always been up late studying for one
class or another. But here, in this
house in
. . . there were just too many memories of being helpless in the dark
here. Too many memories of nights where
she had cried out from nightmares and no one had come running, of wandering
around sightless while hearing the mocking comments of her half-sister.
places for someone to hide and use the darkness to their advantage.
stay in a place of danger trusting miracles.
dark
unknown is a thing worth fearing at times.
not fear of the unknown that scares you – it’s fear of the known.
he’s going to blast you for being out so late.
Tess, standing on her
back porch, tilted her wrist towards the moon so she could read what time it
was. Nearly one in the morning.
I did mean to be back before
now. And why should I think that anyone
is still up?
would have stayed up to protect himself, if not the children as well.
about the man, she would be left with the statement that he was very
vigilant. And even if he is up, what right does he have to be mad at me?
could only be run this late, and it’s not only for the kids’
safety but his as well.
that comforting thought, Tessa unlocked her back door and stepped into the
kitchen – right into a pair of waiting arms.
Fighting the urge
to struggle, Tess froze and waited for some kind of clue as to who had her
trapped. After several tense seconds a
rough voice in her ear asked, “Late night?”
A wave of relief
rushed througr, br, but Tess refused to give into it.
go. You should be in bed.”
“I’m getting real
sick of hearing you say that, niña.
if I had some company?”
company, invent an imaginary friend.” Tess
pulled away from Sands, angry at the stunt he had pulled but unwilling to show
it. She knew that if she did, he’d keep
pulling it, like a two year old who does something to make his parents laugh
and later they regret encouraging them.
And not only that, but if the mulish expression on his face was any
indication, she was in for a long night.
“Look, if you go to bed without making me talk ‘til I’m blue in the
face, then I’ll tell you a bedtime story.”
“A bedtime
story.” Sands actually sounded incredulous,
and Tess felt a surge of satisfaction at once again managing to bewilder
him. Even if it did mean that he thought
she was not only crazy but stupid as well.
“Yes, one filled
with secret identities, plots that endanger life and limb, and people willfully
flaunting the law.”
The slow light of
understanding came to Sands’ face.
“You’ve come up with a way to get out of the country.”
Tessa grinned
wryly. “Yeah, something like that.”
bedroom, leaving the woman to trail after him.
*********************************************
Earlier that Night:
//¡Ladrón! ¡Yo tengo
empresa para tu!\\
Lightfingers!
contact were not quite trustworthy, they were usually prompt with whatever you
needed and extremely resourceful. It was
that resourcefulness that she had to watch out for – if there was a price on
her head, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn her in.
At least the pistol she was wearing in a shoulder holster gave her some
measure of safety.
//¡Yo estoy
cerrado! ¡Largarse!\\
closed! Buzz off!
< sty style='mso-spacerun:yes'> //
motivo de mi aquí.\\
skittish shopkeepers to come out and see her.
“Lightfingers, drop the act and get your ass
out here already.”
A tall man in his
mid-twenties came out and surveyed her.
//¡Señorita sin nombre!\\
“Who else is back
there, ladrón?” Tess pointed her chin
towards the back room he had appeared from.
man didn’t mean that he had her trust.
//Solamente mi
vieja madre.\\
Tess made a show of
rolling her eyes. “Please, give your
dearest mother my regards, but I’d feel ever so much more comfortable
conducting this conversation in English, if you please.”
The shrushrugged, a
hank of dark hair flopping boyishly into his eyes.
you?”
Tess pulled a fifty
dollar bill out of her pocket. “This is
for your attention.” She
that she had it without asking.
Her companion’s
eyes stayed locked on the bill while he said, “My services are not that cheap,
“Yes, I do.
is in addition to your normal fee.
Consider it a present . . . to buy rich food for your poor mother.”
legal documents.”
“What kind of legal
documents?”
For the moment his greed ensured her secrecy.
“Four birth
certificates and four sets of adoption papers.
And then I need you to hack into the government’s system and make the
changes I need.”
“Not cheap,
“How much?”
“Three thousand.”
planning for.
Tess had enough experience dealing with men of this caliber to know that
he was vastly overcharging her, that she was being taken for
a fool, but she could live with that.
something simple, after all. The
documents were produced easily enough, but hacking into the government’s
computer systems could be risky.
However, the closer it was done to the coup, the better.
muttered something unpleasant in Spanish before agreeing.
night, I’ll give you another two hundred.”
thousand. As it is, I’m going to be up
all night finishing just the papers.”
“You were going to
be up all night anyway. I’ll pay an
extra five hundred.”
“Yes, but now I’ll
be up most of the day as well. Make it
eight hundred.”
“Seven-fifty, and I
can’t do better than that.” It was true.
This was going to take most of her spare
cash as it was, and she really wanted to keep some money on her if she was
going to be taking five people to Mazatlán before the end of the week.
The man shrugged
reluctantly. “Who am I to gouge a damsel
in distress? Seven-fifty it is.
Tess pulled out
four Polaroids and a magazine.
*********************************************
Present Time:
watched pat patient settle himself in her bed, she decided to be blunt.
found a way to get us out of the country.”
“And that’s what
kept you out of the house for the last four hours?” Sands drawled.
cigarette to his lips and lit it.
“Well, no . . . yes
. . . sorta.” normal'>Ok, I know I had control of this conversation at one time.
his joy in interrogating innocent bystanders, and it showed in his
prospect of being able to once again step into the role he had carved for
himself within the CIA, Sands had seemingly come to life.
other occasions, but this time the vibes he sent out were stronger.
will or of his hidden strength, this was it.
God forbid he ever get his hands
on a cinderblock room and a bare light bulb.
to get the services I needed.”
“Oh,
to get serviced. I would have been happy
to lend a hand.”
“
love-struck fifteen-year-old would see through.”
relax for the first time since she had come back to the house.
going to see everyone safely taken care of.”
“Don’t be so
unforthcoming, señorita.
kids to the States.”
Tess is much of an adversary – she’s much too transparent.
“What?”
herself. She sounded surprised in the
t unt unpleasant way.
Sands took an
extremely satisfying drag from his cigarette.
“That kid, Marcos – he’s quite the talker.
had. Had to fight to keep my lunch
down.”
Tess took a deep
breath to steady her nerves and ended up struggling to not cough.
could have, it had to be this one.
It wa so so bad when she was in another room or they were outside, and
it probably wouldn’t bother her if there was a bit more humidity in the air,
but in these close quarters her lungs were throwing a hissy fit.
to kill him when nothing else had yet, Tess reached over and snatched the
cigarette from his mouth.
“What the hell do
you think you’re doing?” Sands reached
for the rest of his pack, but Tess was quick enough to grab that as well.
mal> “You can do that
just as well when I’m not here, and I can’t talk while you’re smoking like a
chimney. The air is too dry here – I
have a hard enough time breathing without you adding to the problem.
not? Because if the answer is ‘not’, I
know I’d rather be sleeping.”
Sands let the issue
slide, figuring that he probably owed her that much.
repaid her the sooner he couet bet back to being an asshole.
Please, enlighten me.”
since you’ve been informed that I’ve taken Marcos and his family under my wing,
and you’ve so astutely pointed out that I’m taking them to the
with me, why don’t we start there?”
Quickly and with a
bare minimum of detail, Tess explained to Sands exactly what the plan was to
get out of
her decision regarding the children, and what she had been doing that
night. For the most part, she did it to
keep Sands from interrupting her with snide or unhelpful comments, figuring
that if he had any valid points to raise, he’d be able
to remember them until she got to the end of her explanation.
too busy summarizing to watch his face for tell-tale signs of perked interest.
Unknowingly, she
was giving away much more than a simple plan.
*********************************************
“You bought f
IDs
IDs.” Sands was having a hard time
wrapping his head around the concept. So
far, everything Tess had done had been somewhat predictable.
some of the chaos that had been caused by the Day of the Dead massacre.
law. Now – now – she was blatantly flaunting both Mexican and US laws, not to
mention immigration policies and a dozen other regulations on both sides of the
border. If she wasn’t careful, she was
going to make him extremely interested in her.
Sands heard the
apology in her voice as she said, “Know the rules so you can break them
properly.”
“Where’d you hear
that one?”
“I read it.”
indicated that her patient was waiting for an answer.
“You read
Esquire?” The intensity in his voice
made Tessa extremely wary. Something
she’d said had provoked some kind of reaction she didn’t understand in the man,
and it made her unwilling to share more information than she had to.
“Every now and
then.”
“Would you be
insulted if I started fantasizing about you?”
She didn’t answer.
“So what else did you get besides four illegal IDs?”
“A fifth ID and
eight forged government documents. Four
birth certificates and four sets of adoption papers.
make sure my friend changed pertinent government records, so if anyone does try
to trace the kids, they won’t find anything.
I took the liberty of changing their last names.
“You’re finally
telling me your last name?”
“No.
States.”
Sands didn’t
comment for a moment, but then switched topics on her.
that you already had a passport. Why
print yourself up a new one?”
“I didn’t.”
“Then why did you
need five IDs?”
“One’s for you.
passport got you into the country, in case someone was on the look-out for it.”
“And just where did
you get a photo for this ID?” Sands’
voice was dangerously low and unconcerned.
To the common bystander, he would have sounded as if he were asking what
time it was. She knew better – knew that
if she wasn’t careful she might end up with another bruise or two.
father had been the same way, had had that same rigidly indifferent manner that
had always made an appearance before she had been punished.
Tess bit her lip
and wondered when she was going to learn to how to tactfully phrase what she
said around this man instead of simply blurting things out.
I’m going to sound so silly. “I . .
. .”
“Spit it out,
“I bought a
magazine at the store and ld thd through it until I found a picture that looked
enough like you that we can get away with using it as long as half your face is
hidden. Which isn’t a
problem at the moment.”
Sands was quiet for
a moment before he started making a muffled choking noise.
realized that her patient was not choking, but laughing at her.
mixed feelings this raised. She had
never heard Sands express anything remotely like amusement before, and she was
glad that even despite – or perhaps because of – his circumstances, he had found
something to laugh at. However, she didn’t
exactly like the fact that he was laughing at her.
“So, whose picture
did you choose to give me a face, niña?
“I don’t want to
tell you.”
“Why not?”
“You’ll laugh at me
again. That, or your ego will get an incredible
boost from the information and I won’t be able to deal with you for days.”
“Now you’ve got my
attention.”
to tell you. Now rest up.
need to do as much recuperating as you can.”
And I’d really like to be able to get some sleep at some point before
the sun rises.
“Why leave in four
days? Why not tomorrow?”
“Because all the
stuff that I’m having forged won’t be ready until tomorrow night, because I
need to rent a car that will seat five people and an injured man, and because you
need some more time to recuperate.”
“I’m not a fucking
invalid.”
The conversation
had been going so well before she had mentioned that he wasn’t at peak physical
performance. Next time she’d have to
remember to blame something else for her hesitance.
crudely-performed surgery and had three bullets shot into him just three days
ago. Ok, so you’re up walking for short
bits of time, but don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’re still depending
rather heavily on the walls to keep from falling on your face.
there’s a rather large difference between laying on a soft surface and riding
in a car for several hours. If you think
a little head rattle sets off a headache, just wait until we’re on the
road. I’ve decided when we’ll leave, and
you’re not going to change my mind.”
Mmm . . .
pulling rank. And unfortunately, she
does have a point. As much as his
hackles raised at the mention of his injuries and the
way she seemed to rub his face in them, he managed to control his temper.
undoubtedly bordering on hysteria. As
the only man around, he had to keep her calm.
It was the least he could do.
“Just wanted to make sure that you had taken everything into account,
I don’t cherish the thought of being bounced around on what you people
call highways any more than you cherish the thought of having to bounce me
around.”
Tessa glared at the
man as she listened to the masculine superiority in his voice, but it didn’t do
too much good. She doubted it would do
her any good even if he could see her.
And for all she knew, he just had a pompous streak and wasn’t trying to
piss her off for once. “I’m glad that
I’ve managed to settle things to your approval.”
she cursed herself for letting him get to her.
“Now, if you would excuse me, I’d like to get to bed.”
she went to her bathroom to follow her nightly routine.
Sands smiled.
*********************************************
“Señor?
what he had to say to the man on the bed.
“Señor?”
Sands had heard the
boy the first time, but he’d been hoping the kid would go away.
mean anything other than he was so bored out of his mind that he’d even talk
with the boy. “Didn’t anyone ever tell
you that some people need their beauty sleep?”
“Sí, señor.
beauty, but when Alma asked if that was why you were sleeping, she said that it
would be pointless for you.” The boy
spoke to Sands for the first time in English, wanting the practice.
His audience wasn’t
paying attention, however. Sands
couldn’t decide whether he was supposed to feel insulted or complemented by the
statement. Who knew what had been
running through Tessa’s head when she had said that?
“Señor?”
“What, kid?”
“Can I talk to
you?”
“No.”
sleep. His entire body was
exhausted. When the kid didn’t say
anything else, Sands got suspicious.
Taking more care to listen, he heard quiet footsteps heading towards the
door.
Way to scare
the kid off. I really was starting to
think you were turning into a wimp there, Shel-don.
Damn
you. “I was being sarcastic,
kid.” The footsteps paused before once
again coming back to the bed. “What was
so important that you had to come wake me up instead of waking your brand-new
aunt?”
“I tried to wake
her up, but I couldn’t.”
“What do you
mean?” God, if the woman had croaked in
the middle of the night then they were all in a fix.
“I shook her, but
she only mumbled, and then turned back over, and I couldn’t get her to do
anything again.”
“No toque mé.”
Sands though for a
moment before asking, “What time is it?”
“Almost nine.
From what he could
tell, Tessa hadn’t gotten to bed until well after three.
hours, and Tess, tender heart that she was, had stayed up with her.
let her sleep, but another part said that wasn’t enough.
enough for her, she’d be able to go on five or six hours of sleep a night.
You sat on
that couch. Did it feel as if anyone
would be able to sleep on it?
Once again,
Sands hated being right. That couch was
nothing more than some plywood covered by thin pads.
floor. What do you want me to
do? Go wake Sleeping Beauty with a kiss
and then tuck her into bed? The
voice was silent. God, I hate you.
Holding back a
groan as muscles stiff with overexertion complained at having to support him,
Sands got out of bed. All I can say
is she’d better appreciate this. Why
did he think that? He knew that she’d do
anything but thank him. More likely
she’d scold him for getting out of bed and for letting her oversleep.
to expect from him, and that had to be worth the darts of pain making their way
up his spine. In fact, the more he
thought about it, the more he liked the idea.
Anything that would help him keep that woman from figuring out what was
going on in his head was worth doing.
Not to mention that she was amusing when she was mad.
Sands could hear
Tess tossing and turning in her sleep as he came into the living room.
on the couch, it wasn’t the rustle of cloth on cloth that made him pause, but
the whisper of someone talking in their dreams.
He should know what it sounded like by now, he’d awoken
whisperings. From what he could tell, he
doubted that her dreams were any more pleasant than his, and that annoyed
him. It was just one more step on her
way to becoming an actual person instead of a talking doll to be manipulated.
“Kid,
com’ere.” If he was actually going to do
this, he was going to need to be able to brace himself against something, and
the kid was the best thing he had. When
he felt the boy come to stand next to him, he wrapped his injured arm around
his shoulders and reached down to wake Tess up.
“Wake up, niña.”
*********************************************
“Are you asleep
Teresa? I thought I asked you stay
awake.”
hadn’t. It’s just that she was so
tired. She’d never stayed up for so many
days without sleeping.
“I’m sorry,
Father. I tried.”
did he mean, ‘a few hours’? It’d been
three days since she’d last slept.
“You
failed.” He met the eyes of someone behind her.
her arms. The unfairness of it all
suddenly struck her, and she fought. For
the first time, she fought back.
Don’t touch me!” She swung
out with an arm and was thrown against the wall for her troubles.
her father advancing on her, his eyes filled witolenolence.
descended.
*********************************************
“No toque mé . . .
. Lo siento.”
touch me . . . . I’m sorry. Tessa’s
muscles jerked as she fought back in her sleep.
Marcos watched her worriedly, afraid that she might try to hurt
Sands. He didn’t like the situation at
all.
Sands, on the other
hand, was fully prepared to feel a slap or a kick at any moment.
likely to react to outside stimuli in the same way they reacted in their
dream. “Com’on niña. You know that you’d rather
be awake while kicking my ass.” Tilting
his head towards Marcos, he asked, “Is she awake yet?”
“No, señor.”
Smothering a groan,
Sands bent over and said in a normal speaking voice, “Wake up.”
but assumed he had come close to his goal when he narrowly managed to move his
head before her arm shot up. “You awake
yet?” Something about the way she
groaned assured him that she was.
“Com’on, chiquita.
him get her to her feet without putting up a fight, which was a good thing –
otherwise Sands would have ended up dumping her on her bum.
her feet, Sands didn’t think that she was fully conscious of what was going on
around her. She leaned on him a bit too
much, let him support a bit more of her weight than she would if she had been
aware of who she was leaning on. Staggering,
with Tessa leaning on Sands, and Sands leaning on Marcos, and Marcos bracing
himself against the wall, the three made it down the hall.
*********************************************
Tess woke a few
hours later with an unfamiliar scent in her nose.
lay in bed and breathe deeply.
that? Soon after the realization
that she was smelling something new came the recognition that she was laying on
a soft surface, nothing like her couch, and that her body was close to another
heat source. What’s going on? Struggling,
she managed to open her eyelids, only to regret her decision to do so; Sands
face was uncomfortably close to her own.
Tess froze, her every muscle paralyzed by the thought of how she had
gotten into this position with a man she knew next to nothing about, but the
sensation of clothing rubbing against her skin brought her out of it.
she could comfortably see – he too was clothed.
Tess relaxed partially, still all too aware that she had no recollection
of getting into her bed.
wakes up. Sands’ breathing was deep
and regular. Carefully, watching and
listening for any change in his respiration, Tess eased herself off the bed and
onto the floor, kneeling by the side of the bed.
fine lines that marked her patient’s face.
Why do I think we were both safer
when he was simply ‘Giovanni?’ It was
intriguing, but it also made one think of someone who is easily fooled and
dismissed. Sands is too simple to turn
aside any interest. She wondered
what had caused those lines, and thought that perhaps they were made more
noticeable by the presence of pain. Her
eyes moved from his face to his arm – the bandage wrapped around his left bicep
was stained with blood. Had>Had he broken
open the wound while trying to get her into bed?
Leave the room now.
aware that there were too many things happening that she didn’t
understand. Now was the wrong time to
develop any sort of fascination with anything except survival.
representnythnything but
survival. She crept to her feet, ready
to bolt like a rabbit should so much as a whisper come
from the man she was watching.
again, I always did like the way a good mystery got your mind onto other
things. Maybe you should stay.
He’d kill me.
choice of demises.
You know you want to.
I know you want me to. But I
want nothing other than a cup of coffee.
The dark, rich, bitter brew that the populace of Mexico drank.
wood if left for too long. If nicotine
was her patient’s vice, then caffeine was hers – not that she
that overindulgence could tip the scales to the favor of the part of her mind
that constantly rebelled against her control.
She slowly backed out the room.
I think.
Tess retreated to
the kitchen and lit the burner under her kettle.
she glanced around the room, her eyes landing on the kitchen clock.
shouldn’t have slept that long. Her
fingers started drumming against the counter behind her.
kettle. Briskly moving as if energy and
speed could dispel her tumultuous mind, Tess poured the water into the cone
that held her coffee.
//Tía Teresa.
doorway. //Marcos said you were tired
and were taking a nap. Were you
the sink to continue draining – she had enough coffee in her cup to keep her
awake for some time to come. As if her
mind needed the help at the moment.
//Will you get your brother and tell him I’d like to talk to him
and ran off. Tess sat at the kitchen
table, staring at the grain of the wood and waiting for a picture to form
before her eyes.
“You wanted to see
me?” The boy was getting more confident
speaking English.
Tess looked
up. Marcos hovered guiltily in the
entryway, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Relax. I just wanted to ask you
a few questions. Come, have a
seat.” The boy sat across from her at
the table. “Can you tell me how I moved
from the couch to my bed?” The boy
flushed. “I’m not angry, just
curious. I can’t remember what
happened.”
Marcos
shrugged. “I woke up this morning and
you were still asleep. I tried to wake
you up, but you wouldn’t. So I went and
talked to el señor.
sleep better in a bed, so he made me help him move you.”
saying. Tess wasn’t sure what it was,
but he wouldn’t meet her eyes, and his feet were beating an aggravated tattoo
against the legs of his chair.
be bothering him? “Was I talking in
my sleep?” The boy nodded, eliciting a
sigh from Tess. It was bad enough that
she was haunted by unpleasant memories; she didn’t want anyone else to suffer
as well.
“I was
scared.” The quiet admission caught her
attention.
“Why’s that?”
“Because you
sounded scared, like someone was hurting you.”
The boy peeked up at her under his eyelashes.
Tess wasn’t sure what
to tell him. Someone had been hurting
her, but would he understand what it was like to fear a man who claimed to be
your father? What it was like to fear
half of who you were because you had seen the evidence of what it could
do? “It was just a dream, Marcos, and
dreams can’t hurt anyone.” The boy
nodded, accepting this explanation as easily as he accepted everything else she
said. “Now, go turn off the TV and get
your brother and sister to play a game with you.
Wishing that she
could dismiss the phantoms of her mind as easily as he accepted her
explanation, Tess remained at the table, staring down into the black reflective
surface of her drink. In its dark
mirror, her eyes appeared an indistinct brown, the only part of her face she
could easily make out. How she wished
that what she was seeing was real, that her eyes were a deep, dramatic brown
that was so common to her neighbors. But
they weren’t. They were a deep, bright
blue – a color that stood out from her skin.
Her father’s eyes.
“All that we see or
seem, is but a dream within a dream.”
Fighting the urge to throw her mug against the wall – to watch the dark
liquid of her mirror stain the wall as fragments of pottery flew everywhere –
Tess stood up and walked to the sink. As
she poured her drink down the drain, she wished with all her might that she
could wake up from the dream that had been designated as hers.