1927: Redemption

Surprise- Shock- Silence

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing

and right-doing, there is a field.

I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass

the world is too full to talk about.”

-Rumi

21 DECEMBER 2021- MIAMI, FLORIDA

Ace remained silent for a moment, he sighed and spoke with tense lines on his forehead, “James sent me as a spy to join Archer Lewis’s secret wing of WIC.”

Oh, joy!

You know what at this moment of Adeline’s life nothing can be considered as surprise and shock to her because everything WAS a surprise as well as shock to her.

“Well,” Adeline sighed to herself, leaning onto the table, her head in her palms as her elbows rested against the table. “Continue, I think you are never too old to learn something stupid.”

She hoped her grandfather knew what he had gotten herself into, asking her to save the family, and do the right thing after generations of wrongdoings.

Ignoring her stupid comment, Ace continued saying, “Remember when I supported your interruption?”

Furrowing her eyebrows, she replied, “No, wait what?”

Throwing her an ugly look, he said, “Yeah, me neither. So, don’t interrupt and listen ‘cause I’m not good at repeating it again, you better pay attention, Martinez.”

“f*****g start then,” Adeline said, throwing her hands in the air while leaning back in her seat.

“Okay,” resting his hand on the table, Ace leaned over and started saying, “After I got suspended from school- don’t ask how- I was-”

Adeline passed a mocking chuckle, interrupting, “I already know dude-” she stopped speaking when Ace glared at her so angrily that if looks could kill, she would have been dead by now. “Geez, sorry dude, continue.”

Taking a deep breath, having an angry look in his eyes, he continued pressing the first sentence:

“Like I was saying after I got suspended from school, I got engaged with bad people and after seeing my sisters watching my f*****g beaten up face and body, I left the house. James might have been visiting Crestview, Florida at that time, we met in our family’s cemetery. He was paying respects to your parents and his late wife, and there he saw me beside my father’s headstone….. that day was quite intense for me, well, I was not like this ten years back when James found me alone in almost a breakdown situation.

Huh……so, we chatted for hours, he did not know what happened back in Crestview while he was in London taking care of you…. After Jack and Rose’s death, he severed all ties from Jonathans and why wouldn’t he, Robert actually pushed his son and daughter-in-law into the mouth of misery…..long story short, he took me to London, provided food and shelter to me. Also a fatherly love…. Over the course of time, he became a father figure in my life.”

Ace took a moment for himself, settling the lump on his throat to stop himself from shedding tears. Adeline would not have minded if he did shed some tears, but she was thankful he didn't ‘cause she was very bad at tackling a situation like this. The one thing she knew when someone cried in front of her was to give a big nice hug to that person.

She did not interrupt him in between and let him have his moment, rubbing his face with his hands, he continued:

“At that time, James was working with WIC company, but he could not hold a place in Archer’s spy team….” Looking at Adeline’s slightly widened eyes, “Yeah, he had a spy team to keep an eye on every renowned scientist working on portals because after Jack’s incomplete theory which he did publish in journals, many scientists were engaged in completing his theory, which they obviously could not.

So, James asked me if I could find my way in Archer’s spy team. I obviously agreed because it was easy for me to be someone who Archer trusts because I was Robert’s grandson, seeing Robert’s exceptional love for me Archer believed that I will definitely work in completing my grandfather’s dream which her daughter couldn’t accomplish….. I fed him some lies and all, it took me a year to gain his trust.”

Listening to all of this, a question arose in Adeline’s mind as she asked when Ace was quiet for a moment, “But, how did you gain his trust?”

Ace sighed, his gaze fixed on the table, “Well, using you.”

And Adeline Martinez was NOT amused.

“Using me? Was there a reason to objectify me like that?” Adeline demanded in a very not nice voice. “Or is my fate so despicable that everyone sort of, kind of, USED ME?

Giving her a look, “Don’t get me wrong but you’re exaggerating and don’t interrupt.” That shut her up.

“James always kept you in his security, you should have noticed why you don’t have any friends while growing up-” seeing realisation dawned in her eyes, he continued:

“Yeah, so, I just happened to give your location to Archer everything which by the way James always knew, so it was not just me who wanted to ‘use you’.”

“What if something happened to me?” She muttered, her eyes cast downward.

“Yeah,” he agreed, asking, “but did something happen?”

Adeline had a pout on her face as she went down a memory lane, agreeing, “Nothing that I can remember.”

“Because nothing happened, plus he always had his eyes on you.”

This time she was really caught off guard, “Who?” Asked Adeline.

Ace gave her a flat look, his lips pursed in a tight little line when he quoted. “Your saviour, the beast or whatever you call him.”

The news came as a complete shock to Adeline. “He had followed me since the wait,” thinking about the time when the beast was telling her about him finding Jack and Rose dead, and herself as one day old. “Oh! Yeah! He told me about that. Okay-okay continue, and finish it fast we need to leave soon.”

Ace made a sour face, wait his face was like that only as he glared up at Adeline.

“Fine. Whatever. James knew Archer was behind you because Jack and Rose’s death led to so many theories, and you being alive just added spark to those theories. Archer knew about Jack’s adventure in the 1920s, he knew about the plan of getting mythical beasts’ DNA to form an army of invincible human beings. But, Jack deceived them and injected himself leading to his slow death as well as Rose’s dying while giving birth. Then the questions arose: how did you survive? Did your body somehow accept the beast's virus or whatever it was?

James did not know what Archer’s spy team was working on and when I got the entry ticket, I got to know- those fuckers had hundreds of documents on just you! They were researching you, they wanted to use you as a research lab dog, use your blood to test their theory and that’s the reason you never went to a hospital because obviously, diamonds are flowing in your f*****g veins.”

It took her a moment to catch up with reality and at first, she wanted to ask him if he was joking around with her or not, but there was no mistaking the look on his face. And besides, Adeline highly doubted Ace had ever told a joke in his entire life. The solar system would probably go out of alignment if he ever told a joke.

“Well, I’m no Einstein.” She said with a happy smile. “And, I don’t even try. Look what science did to our one happy family. Anyways, genuine question, like how you have thrown in my face of not having friends at all, why haven’t you met me in those years? You could have helped me with my geometry homework?”

“Oh, no,” he said quickly, an alarmed look coming over his face. “I hated shapes.”

Well, that made the three of us.

Adeline was about to open her mouth and ask him something, “Don’t, let me just complete this f*****g boring lecture.” Said Ace and continued:

“When James published that research paper on portals, Archer had never predicted that. And that was James mid calculated move, he wanted to lure Archer in another direction, but he never had thought of Archer confronting him on the portals, he thought that all the research of Jack was destroyed, and that was where panic engulfed James. He knew some of the other days, he was going to die.

James was not afraid of dying, he was afraid of you being afraid of living alone in the dangers. While keeping you safe and secure, he forgot to strengthen you and that was where he failed as a guardian to you. He gave you love, but not the strength and knowledge to fight the hate. He gave you ambitions, but not taught you patience to achieve them. And, that is the reason I’m here to push you in the right direction when you fail in making the right decision.”

Ace sighed, whereas Adeline was left teary-eyed. She sat back and kept her mouth shut, listening to what Ace had to say.

Blowing an amount of air out of his mouth, he took a deep breath, continuing:

“I asked James if we could fool Archer, but Archer is too intelligent for himself. Instead, James sent me with all the documents and letters he wrote to Crestview and asked me to put them in Jack’s secret condo. The night when I boarded the flight to London, I knew something was going to happen. I asked him if there were any shady movements in his locality, but he denied saying- Everything’s fine Arris, my boy. Come back safely, and this time you’ll officially meet your sister, it’s time for you to unite with her……

I did not understand what he meant by that at that time, but now when I think of it, I know what he meant by meeting and uniting with you. When I came back, he was dead and you were in hospital under police and your neighbour’s care. You didn't even remember talking to me….. you were just…. numb. And, that time I knew, if I had to pull you out of this heartbreak and make you the strongest version of yourself, I needed to strike on your impulse.

Make you think that you need to find out who killed your grandfather. And, I must say, I never met the beast, but man he understood what I wanted. But, I also wanted you to read every document which you couldn’t as it was part of his plan. For the five years, I kept Archer away from you as I could, also the beast helped a lot too. Finally, Archer found out, and I had to fly down to Crestview to personally get involved in our plan. Rest you know. Phew!”

Wow! That was something!

That was one hell of a speech and maybe Ace spoke too much for his own good and in his entire life.

At that moment, both of them decided to drown in their thoughts. Ace had the thoughts of what and how they would get the first thing, while Adeline was just absorbing the entire truth of her life which she got in pieces and was trying to complete the puzzle, though one thing was still missing- why having feelings for someone who was way older than her and whose she faces she never saw?

Like how Nicholas Sparks said- they sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is a great paradox.

And that had what they both did, sat in silence for the time being enjoying the comfort.