Outside Forces

  ***

  “So you see, Nate?” Kaito laughed lightly. “None of our men touched that girl on the mountain. And my son, Taka…he had nothing to do with any of this.”

  Nate was worried. If this was how things really went down, he knew that things had drastically changed within the organization over the past decade. Taking a target up the mountain like this would have been nothing extraordinary fifteen years ago. The magic would have happened at the top. The Russian would have pushed Lucy over the edge, made to believe he had killed her, but Lucy would have been a member of the team and would have fallen into a net or caught by other means a few metres below the edge and out of view. And it would have ended there. The Russian would have been brought down from the mountain having believed he actually murdered someone. He would scan the papers the next morning, searching for any news of a body found in the mountains, but in a place like Heart Mountain, the body might not be discovered for weeks, months, or even years. That was how it was done: clean. They would have let him live with the knowledge of a pretend murder and see how he behaved in the weeks and months following.

  But why did they take so much effort to take him up the mountain just to have him die in a car accident later that night? And who above would approve something like this? This seemed awfully creative, and he doubted Kaito could have come up with this on his own.

  “You really think it’s that simple?” he said to Kaito.

  “I do, Nate. Now, I want you to bring me my son home to me.”

  It was Nathaniel’s turn to laugh, but he couldn’t find even so much as a giggle hiding anywhere inside him. “I can’t. Not until I know you’re staying clear of Metcalf. ”

  A heavy sigh came from Kaito. “You know I can’t do that…” he said.

  “Kaito. If you want him back.…”

  “Ta, ta, ta, Nate. You won’t touch my son. I know you.”

  Nathaniel wanted to scream. He was getting it from all sides. He hoped he could end it all soon. “I will, if you don’t stop.”

  “No you won’t”

  “I will,” he repeated.

  “You won’t. I know you. I’ll call you, day after tomorrow.”

  Nathaniel couldn’t take it anymore. “Just tell me what this is really this about.”

  Kaito only laughed, as if this was some big chess game and he was moving his queen one more position closer to checkmate. “Ta ta for now.”

  “You stay away from Metcalf.”

  Kaito disconnected.

  “Kaito?” Kaito was not acting like the good friend he once knew.