A Pack Is More Than Family

“Run.” Rory grabbed Molly’s hand, pulling her along as he veered into the alley. When she couldn’t keep pace, he scooped her up, holding her with one arm. “Put her down,” a man ordered, stepping into view from a dark doorway. He wore a long, black coat and held a pistol at his side. Rory had no doubt he knew how to use it. “No! She’s my sister. I have to get her away…” “Sure she is,” the man broke in. “I am,” Molly protested, wriggling until Rory put her down. She cast a fearful look behind her. “They’ll find us.” The man glanced past them. “Two guys, one blond, the other dark-haired? Seems like they already have.” “Shit.” Rory spun around, shoving Molly behind him. He saw the men standing at the end of the alley, the lights from the street behind them putting their faces in shadow. The man stepped between Rory and the men, raising his weapon. “You might want to rethink whatever you’ve got in mind,” he called out. “Keep your nose out of this, Deke,” the dark-haired man called back. “It ain’t none of your business.” The man called Deke smiled and from what little Rory could see of it, it wasn’t a nice one. “I’m making it my business. Now turn around and walk away before I decide to put a couple of holes in you. You know what’ll happen if I do.” The two men looked at each other, then spun on their heels and left the alley. The blond one called back, “This ain’t over.” “Yeah, it is.” As the man put his pistol away under his coat, he said “I’m Deke, well Deacon, actually, but most everyone calls me Deke. Now you want to tell me what that was all about?” Rory hesitated. “I guess we owe you that much for saving us. But, can we go somewhere else, first?” “You name the place,” Deke replied. Rory thought for a moment as he adjusted his backpack. “Up.” He gestured to a fire escape a few yards ahead of them. “That way we’ll see them before they see us if they come back.” “Smart kid. Okay, up it is.” Deke jumped for the bottom of the fire escape when they got there, pulled himself up to stand on the lowest step, then reached down. “Give me your hand, little lady.” “Uh-uh,” Molly said, clinging to Rory. Rory unwound her arms from around his waist, lifting her up with a whispered, “He saved us. I think he’s okay.” “Yeah, I’m the good guy here,” Deke said with a grin as he hoisted Molly onto the step above him. “Now you.” He held out his hand, Rory grabbed it, and seconds later he was on the steps as well. Single-file they made their way to the roof with Deke in the lead. Holding up his hand to keep them where they were, he went to the roof’s street side and looked down. “Free and clear,” he told them. After going to the parapet separating the building from the lower one next to it, he sat, looking at them in question. Rory took Molly’s hand, and they joined him. “So, who do I have the honor of saving, little lady?” Deke asked with a smile. “Molly,” Molly told him. “And Rory.” “How old are you, Molly?” “Twelve.” Deke arched an eyebrow. “You sure? You look maybe ten, if that.” “She’s telling the truth,” Rory said, frowning at Deke. “Okay, okay, I believe her. How about you?” “Nineteen.” Finally relaxing somewhat, Rory grinned. “And you?” Snorting, Deke replied, “Twenty-six and counting. Now for the important question, why were those men after you?” “No,” Rory said with a shake of his head. “The important question is who are they? They seemed to know you.” “So it would appear,” Deke agreed. “Believe me or not, your choice, but I don’t know them.” “Yeah, right.” Deke held up one hand. “Scouts honor, so to speak, but I don’t. Not personally, anyway. I’ve seen them around. Same goes for them seeing me. That’s it.” “Then why did they know your name?” Rory asked. “I’m infamous, in certain circles. Leave it at that for now. Why did they want you and Molly?” “I don’t know. We were, well…” Rory wasn’t certain he wanted to admit what they’d been doing. “From the look of the two of you, you’ve been living rough,” Deke said. “Nothing wrong with that. Well, there is, but unless you’re on the run from the law…Hell, it happens.” “The cops aren’t looking for us. Honest,” Molly said. “But someone is,” Deke pointed out. “Did you run away from home?” Rory shook his head. “We don’t have a home. Not anymore.” “How so?” When Rory didn’t reply, Molly did. “It burned down, and we got away but Mommy and Dad didn’t.” Tears welled up in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She buried her face in Rory’s shoulder. “Damn. How long ago?” Deke asked. “Three months, maybe. Yeah, about that,” Rory replied, stroking Molly’s hair. “When the fire happened…” He swallowed hard. “When it did, it was after ten at night. Mom and Dad were still downstairs, I was in my room. Molly was in bed. I heard glass breaking followed by an explosion. I could smell, maybe gasoline? Then Mom was screaming and Dad was shouting. I ran to the stairs, started down, and saw Dad, in flames, stagger into the hallway. He looked up at me and told me to get Molly and run, and…and stay hidden.” Deke frowned. “Did he say why?” Rory shook his head. “He said ‘Don’t let them get you’, and then…then he died. Molly was awake by then. She was scared and crying and I told her to get into my room and I grabbed my backpack, crammed some of our clothes into it. Smoke and fire were coming up the stairs, we could hardly breathe, so I…we got out my window onto the back porch roof. I told her to hang on to me, and jumped.” “He twisted his ankle,” Molly whispered. Rory shrugged. “Not so bad I couldn’t get us away. We went to the park down the street on the cul-de-sac where we lived and, damn it, the house was engulfed in flames by the time the fire department got there. Them and the cops. I almost went back, to tell them what happened, but with what Dad said, and I was sure someone had firebombed the house, and maybe they were still around somewhere, so…” “You’ve been hiding ever since.” “Yeah. Well, first we got out of town. I’d been working at a restaurant and had my tips. Dad wanted me to put them in the bank for college, like I did with my pay, but I liked the feeling of having some cash. You know what I mean?” When Deke nodded, Rory continued. “We hid until morning, and then took the commuter bus, the one that went between the city to the south of us through a couple of towns to the north, and got off at the end of the line. From there, we hitched out here.” He shivered. “I kept looking over my shoulder, wondering if whoever burned our house was following us. I didn’t see how they could, but still.” “We started living on the streets,” Molly added, having regained her composure. She wrinkled her nose. “We got food from dumpsters, mostly, ‘cause Rory doesn’t think it’s safe to beg too often. Someone might be looking for us. When we do beg, we spend it on real food.” “Smart,” Deke said. “So what happened tonight?” “We’ve been sleeping where we could, mostly places like up here,” Rory said. “And scrounging for food like Molly said. During the day, we’d sometimes go to the library because it’s safe and it has restrooms so we can clean up. They leave us alone as long as we behave. Anyway, we were there until it closed at six, and since we hadn’t had a decent meal for a while I decided we should go to the café a couple of blocks from there. When we finished it was already dark. We were going to where we’d been crashing, and then those two guys showed up. At first they were walking across the street from us for a couple of blocks, looking at us on and off, which made me real uneasy. Then one of them pointed at us, said something to the other guy, and they crossed the street. They tried to grab Molly and me, right when we got to the alley. You saw the rest.” “Yep. I’d say it’s a damned good thing I was around or they’d have both of you by now. Probably selling you to the highest bidder.” “Huh?” Molly said. “Human traffickers.” Rory shook his head. “The blond guy said something, when they were trying to get us, ‘You should have died in the fire.’” “That definitely makes it seem as if they were after the two of you, specifically,” Deke said thoughtfully. “No shit.” “Rory…” Molly said. “Sorry.” Rory laughed and ruffled her hair. Then his mood darkened again. “Now we have to…hell, I don’t know what to do. Get out of the city, I guess, without them finding us again.” * * * * “They know you’re in the neighborhood,” Deke pointed out. “I’ve got the feeling they’re still out there, real close, looking.” Rory’s shoulders slumped, but Molly didn’t seem that bothered. She looked up at Deke, wide-eyed and trusting. “You can keep us safe.” “Little lady, I’d love to,” Deke replied with a smile. “The problem is, getting you away from here, first.” “Why do you want to?” Rory asked, his expression suspicious. “Call it my white-knight streak,” Deke said. “Saving the fair maiden and her consort.” Rory snorted. “Try again. I wasn’t born yesterday.” Deke chuckled. “Okay, I’ll admit that was a bit over the top. Nonetheless, I do want to help if I can.” I need to know why those men are looking for them, and why whoever’s behind them wanted the whole family dead. He had a strong feeling he knew at least part of the answer, but until he was certain, he felt duty-bound to keep Rory and Molly safe. “How?” Rory asked. “Okay, for starters, I’m parked in a lot a block away.” “Just happened to be in the neighborhood?” Rory asked disbelievingly. “Actually, yes. I was going to the movies, the lot was the closest place I could find to park, and I was taking the shortcut through the alley when I saw you. Of course I thought you were trying to abduct Molly and I wasn’t about to let that happen.” “I guess it did look like that,” Rory admitted. “No kidding. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m parked close. I’ll get the car, drive to the end of the alley, and you two jump in.” Rory sneered. “Then you’ll try to sell us to the highest bidder.” “If I was planning on doing that, you’d already be tied up in the back seat of my car. After all, in case you forgot, I’ve got a gun.” Puffing out a breath, Rory nodded. “I guess you have a point.” “He’s not going to hurt us,” Molly said, gripping Rory’s hand. “I know he’s not.” Deke waited for Rory to come to a decision, relieved when the young man said, “All right. I don’t suppose we have much choice.” Not if you want to survive. Deke decided it wasn’t prudent to say that. Instead he said, “Let’s get out of here, or off here, I guess.” He led the way down the fire escape, checking first to make certain no one was watching. After telling Rory and Molly to wait in a doorway at the end of the alley, he went to get his car. Pulling up a couple of minutes later, he reached back to open the rear door, chuckling when they made a mad dash for it, tumbling into the back seat. “Where are you taking us?” Rory asked when Deke began to drive down the street. “To the safest place I know. My house.” Deke glanced in the rear view mirror and saw Rory scowling. “You got a better idea?” “I guess not,” Rory admitted. “If we’re going to trust you, we have to start now.” “Bingo.” Since Deke lived in the foothills outside the city, it took fifteen minutes before he was driving up a narrow winding lane through the towering trees to park at the side of the house. “Wow,” Molly exclaimed when they got out. “This is the middle of nowhere.” “Pretty much,” Deke agreed as he led them around to the back porch. Unlocking the door, he quickly disarmed the alarm box before letting them inside. “Kitchen, as if you couldn’t guess,” he said, taking them through it to the large main room. “You can put your backpack in here, if you want,” he told Rory, opening the closet next to the front door. When Rory shook his head, Deke shrugged, took off his coat and hung it up, slipping the pistol and shoulder holster off and stashing them on the shelf while the pair were checking out the main room. They seemed to have forgotten he had it, which he put down to everything else that had happened. The sofa and two arm chairs in the middle of the room faced a fieldstone fireplace along one wall. Rory shucked off the backpack, putting it beside the sofa. Easier to grab if he decides not to trust me, Deke figured. In one corner of the room there was a dining table with four chairs. Low bookshelves lined the wall on either side of the fireplace with a television on one of them. Opposite them was the staircase to the second floor—four steps to the landing, then taking a right angle to go the rest of the way up. Another set of taller bookshelves separated the bottom stairs from the door that opened onto his office. “Make yourselves at home,” Deke suggested, sweeping out one arm. “Are you hungry? Would you like some supper?” “Yes, please,” Molly replied. “I can help.” “You know how to cook?” “Uh-huh. Mommy taught me.” Suddenly tears were running down her face. Rory was beside her seconds later, wrapping his arms around her. “Hush, hush, it’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.” “I miss them,” she whimpered against his chest. “I know. So do I.” He sighed. “If we only knew why it happened.” “Perhaps I can help you find out,” Deke said. He had a sneaking suspicion why, not that he’d say anything at the moment. Unless I miss my guess, they have no idea what their parents were, and what they are. He knew. He’d known almost from the beginning, once things had calmed down and they’d gone up to the roof. Why the hell did their folks kept it a secret from them, or at from least Rory, because Molly’s too young so they wouldn’t have told her? “How can you help?” Rory asked. “I’ll start by taking a look at what the police and the arson inspectors came up with. From what you told me, it should have been damned evident what caused the fire. Of course you’ll have to tell me where it happened, and your last name. But first,” he added quickly when Rory started to say something, “let’s eat.” Going into the kitchen, with Molly right at his heels, Deke took a package of ground beef from the fridge. Setting it on the counter, he mused aloud, “Now what can I do with this.” “I know,” Molly piped up. “Meatballs.” “Only meatballs?” Deke teased. “Uh-uh. We need spaghetti, and canned tomatoes and eggs and spices and an onion and…” She frowned, looking at Rory. “Garlic,” he said from the doorway. Deke had everything she wanted except fresh garlic. “Will garlic powder do?” he asked. “I suppose. Do you have a bowl and pots?” “You bet.” He got what she needed and then, when she told him too, boiled water and dropped the spaghetti into it while she made the meatballs and the spaghetti sauce, after telling him to dice the onion. “You do know what you’re doing,” he complimented her. “Told you.” She grinned. While the sauce simmered, and the meatballs cooked in a frying pan, she ordered Rory to set the table. “Yes, your highness,” he replied, laughing. Deke told him where the dishes and silverware were, and he took them to the dining table. Eventually, everything was ready and they sat down to eat. “Maybe you’ll grow up to be a world famous chef,” Deke told Molly once they’d made inroads into the meal. “Nope. I’m going to be an ethologist,” she replied. “That’s someone who studies animal behavior, Deke.” He gave her a thumbs-up. “Or maybe a vet. And Rory’s going to be a teacher.” “Really?” Deke asked, looking at the younger man. “I hope. I took a year off after high school, to earn money for expenses because I was supposed to start at the local college in the next town this fall. I had a scholarship and would have lived at home so we didn’t have to worry about the housing costs, but with what happened that’s out.” “Once we figure out what’s going on and why someone wanted your parents dead, perhaps it’ll happen,” Deke said. “Them, and me and Molly,” Rory pointed out angrily. “We were there, too. It was just damned fate that I wasn’t in the living room when the fire started. If I had been…” He shuddered. “Agreed. Let’s finish and then we’ll go into my office and I’ll see what I can find out.” “Probably not much,” Rory said morosely. “You never know.” * * * * “Wow,” Rory said when he saw Deke’s office, or rather, the computer setup on the large oak desk. “What are you that you need this?” Deke grinned. “A secret agent.” “Honest?” Molly asked, wide-eyed. “That’s why you had a gun?” “No, little lady. Well, only when I’m writing a character that is. I’m an author.” He gestured toward a bookcase. “The gun was because I sometimes do research for a story in some pretty bad parts of the city and I’d rather be safe than sorry.” Rory went over to look at the row of books that took up the center shelf—all of them by D. K. Haggard. “That’s your last name? Any relation to Rider Haggard?” Deke snorted. “I should be so lucky. Speaking of surnames, which is why we’re here, what’s yours?” he asked as he sat down in front of the computer and booted it up. “Sullivan,” Rory replied. “Ah, nice Irish name. I guess I could have figured you might be from your given names. You’re not from there, though. Your accents are definitely Midwestern American.” “Yeah, we were born here,” Rory said as he took the chair beside Deke’s desk. “Mom and Dad were, though. Irish, I mean. They came to the States right after they got married.” Molly joined them, leaning her hands on the desk as she peered at the computer screen. “Mommy used to say they were fated and mated, not married.” “Interesting,” Deke replied, entering that bit of information into the document he’d started. “What were their first names?” “Kathleen and Finlay,” Rory told him. “No, with an ‘a’, not an ‘e’,” he said when Deke typed his father’s into the document. “Okay.” Deke made the correction and then asked where they’d lived before their parents had been killed. When Rory told him, he added that to the document, commenting, “See, I knew you were Midwesterners.” He minimized the document and went online. After entering the address Rory had given him into a search engine, followed by the name ‘Sullivan’, he came up with several hits. Rory hissed in a breath when Deke went to one of them. It was a news story from the day after their house burned down. The headline read, ‘Local family dies in house fire’. According to the short item, a fire of unknown origin had started at approximately ten P.M., quickly engulfing the house in flames. ‘This is an ongoing story’ it said at the conclusion. ‘It will be updated as we receive new information’. “How could they not know it was set, or whatever you want to call it? Firebombed.” “This is the preliminary story,” Deke said. He found one from the following day. “Here’s the more complete one.” “What the hell…” Rory spat out after reading it. He cast a quick glance at Molly and revised his words. “What the heck? They think I was responsible?” According to the story, the ‘arson investigators had determined that the cause of the fire was an incendiary device set to go off in the living room of the house. The only bodies they found belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Finley Sullivan, according to the detective in charge. They were burned beyond recognition but dental records confirmed their identity.’ “They can’t even spell his name right,” Rory snarled. “Easy, Rory,” Deke said. “You take it easy,” Rory muttered. “I’m supposed to have set the fire because they didn’t find my body, or Molly’s? How stupid are they?” “I suspect it’s based on the fact you didn’t call 911, or show up when the police arrived,” Deke replied. “Be glad whoever started the fire didn’t see you escape, or the police probably would have found your bodies inside or close by.” Rory shuddered. He’d had the same thought more than once in the days after the fire. “Our folks didn’t have any enemies,” he said, “so I suppose, in a way, the police are justified in blaming me. If they’d talked to anyone who knew us, they’d know I got along fine with Mom and Dad.” Deke brought up another story, dated two days after the second one. “Looks like they did,” he said once he’d scanned it. “Now the fact the two of you missing has been blamed on the person or persons unknown who started the fire. The police think they could have seen you escaping, caught up with you, and killed you, although your bodies haven’t been located, yet.” “That almost makes me want to get in touch with them, to let them know we’re okay.” “I wouldn’t,” Deke said. “Someone already knows you’re alive or those men wouldn’t have tried to grab you.” “What if…?” Molly frowned. “Maybe those guys did want to sell us to someone. Or, you know.” “We can’t rule that out, I suppose,” Deke replied. “But I seriously doubt it. Like I said, I’ve seen them around, and know a bit about them. They’re not connected to any s*x trafficking rings that I’ve heard. The rumor has it they’re bruisers for hire, meaning someone sent them looking for you. They obviously knew who you were from the ‘should have died’ comment you said one of them made.” “Then whoever set the fire knows we’re here in the city.” Not an idea Rory liked in the least. “If he didn’t before those men spotted you, yeah, he does now. Question. Do you have any family, aunts, uncles, whatever?” “No,” Molly and Rory replied at the same time. “Well, not that we know of,” Rory qualified. “They never talked about family or anything else about their life before they came here. When I asked, and I used to, they said they’d left it all behind to start a new life in a new country.” Deke nodded. “Did you ever get the feeling they were running or hiding from someone or something?” “Never,” Rory stated firmly. “Although,” he admitted, “I did wonder when I got older. Why cut ties with your family, which it felt like they’d done. I sort of figured they’d had a falling out with them, maybe because they got married and their parents didn’t approve.” * * * * “A logical conclusion,” Deke agreed. It was, up to a point, but there was more behind them fleeing Ireland—and he was sure that’s what had happened—than merely a Romeo and Juliet type family feud. “What kind of job did your father have?” he asked. “A very boring one,” Molly said, rolling her eyes. “He did people’s taxes.” Rory chuckled. “He was an accountant. That was only a part of it.” “Well, he didn’t like it,” Molly replied with a sharp nod of her head. “I wouldn’t either,” Deke told her. “But you do what you have to. Was it his company or did he work for someone?” “He subcontracted for a local firm and worked from home,” Rory said. So he found a job that kept him out of the public eye. Smart move if he was in hiding. “Not a bad way to make a living and stay close to the family at the same time,” Deke said aloud. “But not one that’s going to get you killed.” “You wouldn’t think so,” Deke agreed. “For sure not the way he was, by trying to wipe out his whole family. Especially since whoever did it probably hoped the arson investigators would decide the fire was caused by something like faulty wiring.” Rory chewed his lip before replying, “Whoever did it couldn’t have known Molly and I would escape. They must have loved it when the police said I’d set the fire for some reason.” “Not any more, I suspect, since the story now is that whoever did set it kidnapped and killed the two of you to cover their tracks.” “They wish,” Molly blurted out. “Yep, little lady, I’m sure they do. The problem is, now someone’s looking for you to do just that.” “Why?” “If we knew, we could stop them,” Deke replied. He got off the internet after adding details from the news stories to the document he was putting together, saved it, and then said, “It’s probably time—” “For us to get out of your hair.” Rory got up and walked to the office doorway. “Come on, Molly.” “Hold on,” Deke said a bit more sharply than he’d intended. “Before you set out halfcocked, I was going to say it’s late, you’ve had a rough day, or night, and I have two guestrooms you’re welcome to use.” “Can we, Rory, please?” Molly asked, gripping her brother’s hand. When Rory shot him a doubting look, Deke said, “Absolutely no strings attached. If you want to leave in the morning, I’ll drive you back to the city.” Sucking in a breath, Rory nodded slowly. “It would be great to sleep in a real bed. It seems like forever since we have.” Deke smiled. “And have a real shower?” “Don’t you know it. Okay, yeah, we’ll stick around for tonight. Then…” Rory shrugged. “One step at a time. Got it. Get your pack and I’ll take you up.” Molly, who had still been fairly perky as they climbed the stairs, took one look at the bed tucked along the wall of the smallest room, sat on the edge to take off her shoes, and then curled up with her head on the pillow. Moments later, to Deke’s surprise, she was sound asleep. “She’s good at that,” Rory said, crossing to pull up the comforter. He brushed his hand lightly over her hair, bent to kiss her cheek, and then rejoined Deke. “This will be your room,” Deke told him, opening the door next to Molly’s. It was small, too, with a single bed and a dresser. “The bathroom’s at the end of the hall. Feel free to shower. There should be clean towels and washcloths in the cabinet over the john.” “Thank you.” Rory yawned deeply. “If you hear a body falling, it’ll be mine, but damn I sure need that shower.” “If you do fall, I’ll come rescue you,” Deke replied. Rory set his pack on the dresser, saying, “You’ve already done that. If you hadn’t been there tonight…” “Someone watches over children and fools, or something like that.” “And I fall in the fool category, for running instead of talking to the police.” “I don’t think so. There was a reason your dad told you to get away and not let ‘them’ get you. If you’d stuck around whoever they are might have gotten their hands on you, once they found out you and Molly hadn’t died in the fire, too.” “Yeah, I know.” Rory slumped against the dresser, rubbing his eyes. Then he straightened. “If I don’t move right now, I’ll fall asleep standing.” He took a pair of sweats that had definitely seen better days from the pack and walked slowly to the bathroom. Deke heard the shower go on—But no falling body. He waited until the water went off again before going back downstairs. He had work to do if he was going to come up with something that would convince Rory it would be better if they stayed at the house, at least for a few days. Long enough for me to see what I can find out about the Sullivans before they emigrated here. It could take some digging if they covered their tracks as well as they should have. He tapped a finger to his lips in thought and then set to work.