C.N. - chapter 26

'...and that was the library.' Mr. Dragon concluded, and we exited the oak doors of the library. 'Where do you say we ought to head to next?' He asked.
'I think you've showed me everything.' I remarked. Mr. Dragon had an excellent home, it had everything from a theater to a scientific lavatory which we did not go into, I hope Theo and Heathcliff get a chance to go on this tour like I just did. We came into the game room where the chess board was still set at our sixth game.
'Quite right I have, what do you say we go back to the kitchen and fix ourselves-' He didn't get to finish.
Wolfgang stormed in through the doors with a red face, clenched fists and fury in his eyes. He looked like a bull at a Texan rodeo. The doors were pushed aside with so much force the sound was like a thunder strike.
'CLARK! CLARK GABLE!' Wolfgang yelled and ripped open his dress shirt, probably in anger.
'Where?' I asked and frantically looked around for any sign of Clark Gable, I didn't see him.
'WELL WHAT THE HELL IS IT BOY!' Mr. Dragon roared in a equally loud and furious voice, just like a dragon, 'DO YOU NOT SEE THAT WE HAVE A GUEST WITH US! SHOUTING MY NAME AROUND THIS PLACE LIKE A MAD MAN! WHAT GOTTEN INTO YOU IN THE TIME I WAS AWAY!'
I was at a loss for words. Mr. Dragon's name was...Clark??? Clark Gable??? THE Clark Gable???
'YOU LISTEN TO ME CLARK! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THE HELL'S GOTTEN INTO ME! I'LL TELL YOU LOUD AND CLEAR!' Wolfgang's chest heaved and his fists clenched and unclenched, he was roaring, just like a tiger, 'FIRST YOU DESERTED ME WHEN I NEEDED YOU MOST! THEN YOU SUDDENLY COME BACK INTO MY LIFE, PRETEND NOTHING HAPPENED AND TRY TO BOSS ME AROUND! AND NOW I FOUND OUT YOU LIED! YOU LIED TO ME FROM THE BEGINNING YOU SON OF A-'
'Beep.' I said, I covered my ears.
'YOU SHUT UP YOU STUPID FARM BOY!' Wolfgang screamed and made me shut up entirely, I think it was the voice that did it, not the 'stupid farm boy', which I didn't mind. He turned back to Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon (still could not believe that) and continued his yelling, 'ALL MY LIFE...(holding back tears, I think) ALL MY LIFE YOU TOLD ME MOTHER DIED GIVING BIRTH TO ME! WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO GET AT!? MAKING ME FEEL GUILTY ABOUT BEING BORN!? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED!? IS IT!?'
'WHO TOLD YOU THAT NONSENSE, BOY! STOP THIS RAVING THIS INSTANT!' Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon roared. And just then, I think the answer to his question came through the door, in the form of Theo and Heathcliff, both panicking at the sight of Wolfgang and his dad in a shouting match between tiger and dragon. That aside, I was genuinely surprised, a man past his mid-age, one like Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon (despite the six-pack) who can shout at this thunderous volume is an astonishing sight to behold.
'THIS DID!' Wolfgang threw a notebook into the ground with such force it landed with a splat. 'READ IT YOURSELF YOU OLD FART!' Clark Gable/ Mr. Dragon seemed to have recognized the notebook.
'I thought I ordered that thrown away.' Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon whispered, Wolfgang heard it.
'HA! YOU ADMIT IT! YOU DO! IT'S ALL TRUE! YOU LIED TO ME, YOU LIED TO ME RIGHT FROM THE START! I HATE YOU!' Wolfgang screamed at the top of his capability, his voice cracked, and tears came out.
'Damn,' Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon whispered and then added, 'Damn that housekeeper Phil, must have thought my wife's diary is a soap novel and kept it, damn that Phil.' He turned his bloodshot eyes on Theo and Heathcliff, 'Damn you too.'
Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon took his hand from behind his coat, he was holding a shiny silver pistol and raised it at Theo or Heathcliff, or them both. This took place in a matter of seconds.
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' Heathcliff and Wolfgang yelled simultaneously, but Wolfgang acted faster and moved in front of Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon just as he pulled the trigger, it was just like in an action-adventure movie, everything happened in slow-motion.
Wolfgang fell with a cry, Theo covered her mouth in horror, Heathcliff said, 'Mamma mia!', the sound of machinegun fire and shouting was heard outside the door, a commotion taking place, and Clark Gable/Mr. Dragon placed the barrel of his pistol firmly against my skull. He was cool as a cucumber.
With the calm and collected voice of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, he said, 'Alright, everybody, we have a hostage situation, so sit back, and enjoy.'

T.N - Chapter 25

After some sneaking behind cars to hide from passing terrorists, we somehow managed to find Heathcliff’s phone. It was inside of the Dragon’s specially made and furnished truck, quite in plain view. The door handle was unlocked, making it easy to just snatch the phone and run out of there. I had to be careful that the phone didn’t fall out, as the pocket of my jeans wasn’t the most secure. I ran into my room, which was easy to find, and of course, Heathcliff followed me (much to my barely veiled dismay).

Once I closed the door, I took the phone out of my pocket. I turned it on, and saw it was locked. “Heathcliff, what’s your password?” I asked. Heathcliff opened his mouth to reply, and then I cut him off. I knew what it was going to be. I typed in “Theodora” and the phone unlocked. “Seriously, you need a new password.”

“But it shows my devotion and love to you, my—“ I cut him off with a wave of my hand. I turned my attention back to the phone.

I checked to see if the GPS tracking ability was still on, which it was. I then navigated the complicated workings and managed to compose a message to Grandfather. It was brief, but enough to give him an idea of where we might be (I thought we were underground) and our statuses. Plus I had to tell him that it wasn’t just me in trouble; he had to save Heathcliff and a complete stranger (Charlie).

When I was finished, I decided a safe place to put it would be in the desk. I opened a drawer, and found the diary again. I placed the phone inside, and then took out the diary. I didn’t know if I should tell Wolfgang about her and this journal. From the entries, it appeared that she had fled shortly after he was born, and therefore Wolfgang never knew her.

“What is that?” asked Heathcliff, peering over my shoulder. “Have you been keeping a diary?”

“Do you think I somehow managed to bring a diary here? And I haven’t even written a diary in my life, ever.” I opened up the diary to the first page. On it, written in simple, elegant cursive was the name Laura Gable (née Jeshua).

“Who is that?” asked Heathcliff. “Am I supposed to get it?”

“If you had a higher IQ, yes. But my standards are rather low, so I didn’t expect you to get it,” I said rather sincerely. I guessed it sounded more biting than I meant since Heathcliff gave me a childish pout. I ignored him (although I felt a little stab of conscience digging in). “Do you see the last name of this woman? It’s Gable, the same as the Dragon’s and Wolfgang’s. This woman is Wolfgang’s missing mother!” His pout was completed wiped off by his look of surprise.

“I always assumed she was dead, you know. That’s what my parents told me when I asked.”

“Huh? So you knew that Wolfgang didn’t have a mother?”

“Yeah, I asked my parents because I thought it was odd for a kid to be missing one of his parents. I never brought it up again.”

“Oh,” I said simply. So there was something that Heathcliff knew that I didn’t.

A knock sounded at the door, and I placed the diary back on the desk. I walked over to it and opened it slightly. I was taken aback when I saw Wolfgang standing there. “Can I come in?” he asked awkwardly.

“Shouldn’t you be in bed, or talking to your dad? I mean you weren’t feeling well this morning, so you should be resting,” I said.

“Thanks for your consideration, but I just need some time away from him. I know that sounds silly since I’ve just been reunited with him, but I’ve forgotten how utterly overbearing and annoying he is. And I’ve been resting in bed for the entire morning.” He looked at me. “So are you going to leave me out here, or let me in?”

“Sorry,” I said, and I opened the door for him. He seemed stunned seeing Heathcliff sitting on my bed, and didn’t respond when Heathcliff gave him an awkward wave. “Before you get any funny ideas, Heathcliff followed me here. I don’t have the energy or the will to kick him out.” Wolfgang looked relieved. He looked over at the desk, and saw the book there.

“What’s that, your diary?” he asked, and before I could stop him, he picked it up and started reading it. I tried grabbing it out of his hand, but he kept on moving it out of my grasp. I could see that he’s read past some incriminating evidence, as his expression darkened.

“Where did you find this?” he asked quietly.

“In the drawers, in the desk,” I told him carefully.

He shut the diary loudly, and then started to head out of the room.

“Where are you going?” I asked rather alarmed. This wasn’t an explosive anger of the moment, but one that seemed to have been simmering for a long time.

“I think I’m going to have a little talk with my dad after all,” he said coldly, and he slammed the door shut behind him.

C.N. - chapter 24

Another thing Mr. Dragon and I found that we have in common is our ability to eat quickly. After we finished at the exact same time and divided Heathcliff's share as well, we got up, left the dining room and Mr. Dragon showed me to the gaming room via a secret tunnel located behind the refrigerator in the kitchen. He told me that taking the secret tunnel as to the main hallways saves him at least ten minutes, so in no time we emerged from behind the refrigerator in the gaming room (also the den) and Mr. Dragon showed me to the table with a build-in chessboard. He went to the stereo system and put in a CD, after a while I recognized it to be Gone With the Wind, and we whistled to the main theme as we played five quick games and Mr. Dragon taught me the name of each piece and their range of movement. I found international chess very similar to Chinese Chess, except for the abundance of pawns in this chess.
We were into our sixth game and Mr. Dragon was discussing the prospects of marriage with me (since he brought up the subject of what I want to do with my life and I said I plan to get married to my sweetheart once I return home from this trip), when the door slammed for apparently no reason. Mr. Dragon leaped from his chair like a soldier on row call and made it to the door in two seconds flat. He investigated the source of the slamming but found nothing.
'Blast the engineer who designed this place!' He said, 'The wind is not properly ventilated in this building, I had in mind to fix that some day.' He thought for a bit. 'Now what were we discussing just now?'
'We were discussing marriage.' I said.
'Ah yes, why don't we go back to our game later, this door here just gave me an idea that I ought to show you my humble home. While we're at that, I say let's continue our discussion.'
'Certainly.' I said.
So we went out of the den and made a left, and we kept talking about marriage.
'So what does your sweetheart of yours look like?' Mr. Dragon asked.
'Like Vivien Leigh.' I said, 'And the thing I like about her most is that her hair is the color of dark chocolate, and it always smells nice.' Thinking about her brought a smile to my face.
'Really! What a coincidence! My wife too looked like Vivien Leigh, though she always denied it.' Mr. Dragon chuckled, 'What do you intend to do after marrying your sweetheart?'
'I thought we might start a small business together, making candies like gummy bears, cola bottles, gum drops, peach slices, jelly worms and all those. I always wanted to run a candy store, and I really like cola bottles.' I said. 'We'll buy a small shop in town and start out there, and then we can buy the land so we don't have to pay rent, and then we can pass it down to our children.'
'Oh? Is that all you want to do with your life?' Mr. Dragon asked.
'Yep, I don't think I'll need any more than that. Me and my sweetheart, we make a really good team as business partners too, she is excellent at maths and accounting, and I can man the store. And the best thing is, there isn't a candy store in the town yet, only a convenience store that comes with the gas station, and they only have limited selections of candy to choose from. So when we open up business will always be good.'
'That's very thoughtful, boy,' Mr. Dragon said, 'Where did you find the inspiration to start off this candy store, if you do not mind me asking?'
"Of course not,' I said, 'I went to the big city for the first time when I was eight, it was because dad was going off to protest with the farmer's union about increased taxation, they were going to do it in front of the parliament and it will take a long time, he said, so he dropped me off at a candy store and left to join the picket line. I had ten dollars on me at the time so I bought some of everything and I talked with the clerk, who was a really nice fellow, and when dad didn't come back he offered to stay with me in the store for the night. That's how I became inspired to think about starting a candy store, I took down the names of all the candy in that store I stayed in and that's what my own store will stock once I get the business started.'
'And what happened to your father?'
'He got arrested by riot police during the clash with union workers, they charged him with assaulting a police officer.' I said, 'But according to him, the police threw the first punch and they also had better equipment like batons and tear gas, so technically speaking when he assaulted the officer it was in self-defense.'
Mr. Dragon laughed, 'Yes, the police are always using the law as an excuse to bully lesser folks, and they get paid a handsome amount by the government to do it too.'
'Were you also wronged by the government some time in your life?' I asked.
'Yes, big time too, I nearly lost everything to them.' Mr. Dragon sighed, 'And one of the reasons I almost lost everything was because of a wife who didn't approve of my work.'
'Was it the result of an unhappy marriage?' I asked.
'No! My wife and I were a pair matched in heaven, it couldn't have been better, but then again, the catch was that she let her decency get in the way of things and thought it her duty to prevent me also from achieving greatness.'
'I don't get it, don't happy marriages last forever?'
'Bah, humbug!' Mr, Dragon waved his hand dismissively.
'You quoted Scrooge.' I said.
'Aye yes, quoting Scrooge is the only way to describe it.' He said.
We stopped walking and arrived outside a door with a sign that read, 'Parking Garage'.

T.N - Chapter 23

I wasn’t exactly lying when I said I wasn’t feeling well, nor was I really telling the truth. I wasn’t strictly ill, but I was absolutely exhausted, as I had spent all of the previous night reading the rest of the journal and thinking about it. The rest of the journal wasn’t particularly exceptional, until near the end, where Laura kept on trying to convince herself to leave. I guess she finally found enough reasons to leave, as she hasn’t been in the picture for a vey long time.

For some reason, I thought of Heathcliff’s cell phone at that moment. The last I remembered of it, the Dragon had slipped it into his pocket and entered the truck on our way here.

“Heathcliff,” I said, stopping and turning around. “Whatever happened to your phone?”

“My phone?” he asked, puzzled. “Whatever for? Right now, we need to focus on escaping this dungeon of a fortress!”

“Uh, don’t you remember? Your phone has GPS tracking?”

“I’m sorry darling, but I don’t get it.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered under my breath. Just how stupid could he get? “Before the Dragon took it, I had called my grandfather, and he was going to be able to track us down with it?” I explained to him slowly. “If he hasn’t turned it off, my grandfather should be on the way.”

“Oh, right! Of course I knew that—“

“Do you remember if he took it out of his pocket at all?” I interrupted him.

Heathcliff paused to think. He started to mutter to himself, and so I crossed my arms and waited for him to figure it out.

“I believe he took it out…but where?” he declared. I was surprised he could remember, as he was drunk at the time. I would’ve expected his memories to be a bit more impaired.

“And when was this?” I pressed.

“Uh, um… his face furrowed into an expression of grim concentration. “I think…in the truck?”

“Brilliant,” I said. “I know where they are, thank goodness. Now is just a matter of getting there from here.”

That took a lot longer than I expected, as Heathcliff seemed to have escorted me in the wrong direction. It took us some exploring to try to orient ourselves, and thankfully, one of the few women workers here pointed us towards the bedrooms (exactly where we needed to go).

We walked past a rather large set of doors, and I could hear music playing in the background. I believe it was the theme to “Gone With the Wind.” I could hear two people whistling to it, and my curiousity was aroused. Heathcliff and I peered through the small crack that the door offered and found myself looking at Charlie and the Dragon playing chess. They were sitting at a table with a built-in chessboard, sack dab in the middle of an impressive den. Humph, fitting for the Dragon to have a den. They started to talk.

“So what are you thinking of doing with your life, young man?” asked the Dragon, moving his black piece forward. Charlie stared at the board for a bit, and then moved a piece to counteract.

“I don’t know…probably go back home and marry my childhood sweetheart,” shrugged Charlie. “I’ve known her since we were small, and everyone’s been bugging us to get married already.”

“Hmm,” replied the Dragon, and he smoothly captured one of Charlie’s pieces. “Don’t just jump into this. I’ve been meaning to tell Wolfgang this too, but you know, things have been rough so far.”

He watched Charlie move another piece, and then he moved a piece to place Charlie into checkmate. They reset the board, and started playing again.

“Marriage can be a wonderful thing, especially if both parties are deeply in love with each other. But marriages, even the deepest ones, can slowly accumulate mistakes and grudges, and then fall apart.”

“What makes you say that?” asked Charlie.

“I once was married. But things came apart shortly after Wolfgang was born. She fled, leaving Wolfgang and me alone. I don’t wish that upon anyone, so you must think carefully about it.”

“Oh,” said Charlie simply. Of course, at that moment, Heathcliff lost his balance and nearly knocked the door open. Thankfully, I managed to shut it, but rather unfortunately, I also managed to slam the door.

I grabbed Heathcliff’s hand, hauled him up, and started running as fast as I could away from the door and towards the trucks to find the phone. 

C.N. - chapter 22

I didn't remember getting into a bed when I woke up the next day, and I didn't remember getting into a bed with Heathcliff, who was curled up next to me, hugging himself.
There were no windows in the room, and a lamp was turned on at the far end of the room. I saw that I was still in the same suit from yesterday, it was now crumpled and the dust had fallen off. I got up and looked around the room. Other than the bed, there weren't any other pieces of furniture except for a stool which the single lamp stood on. I wondered what time it was.
Just as I was wondering, there came a knock at the door, the door opened and a bald man in a black suit (like every other one of Mr. Dragon's employees) walked in. 'Breakfast is served.' He said.
'It's morning?' I asked. It did not feel like morning, I had a very strange dream during my sleep in which I was running in slow-motion across a beach, parallel to the waves, and then I saw Heathcliff running next to me, and then Wolfgang appeared running on the other side of me, and then Theo appeared, and then Mr. Dragon, and all of Mr. Dragon's workmen in their black suits. Then we were all bounding in slow-motion across the sand, huffing and puffing, and I could distinctly hear Chariots of Fire blaring across the beach, and the sky was blue, and it looked just like the scene in that movie where the British track athletes run across the beach as the credits roll. During this dream, I was very happy, and I felt I had enough energy to run across the world. Nobody spoke, but I was certain in the dream everyone was happy to be running.
'Yes, seven o' clock, eastern standard time.' He said, 'Now, get ready and wake up the other guy, the Dragon dislikes straggling guests.' He closed the door behind him.
I woke Heathcliff up, who wasn't very happy to be woken up as he was dreaming about some romantic endeavor with Theo before I entered his dream and interrupted him. He saw fit to describe to me the every detail of that dream as we splashed water on our faces in the bathroom, which though I thought was fascinating, I later learned that Heathcliff has many such dreams, making them less fascinating the more you hear them. I did not ask him about his dreams after I learned this the long way, but that will be another story.
Since we were already in our slightly rumpled suits, we did not have to change and went with the bald man to the dining hall, a room at the top of many flights of stairs and corridors. All of this place appeared to be made of the same type of gray cement, making for a dull looking military barrack. I asked the bald man this question and he replied that Mr. Dragon is planning to paint the walls following Theo's wedding to Wolfgang, which sent Heathcliff into a fit and he uttered a string of upper-class insults I still believe are too silly to mention here. I stood Heathcliff while he had another seizure, and we were delayed three minutes, the bald man informed me, tapping his shoe impatiently during Heathcliff's fit.

When we showed up at the dining hall, a spacious room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows looking out into the mountains and the sunny sky, Mr. Dragon was already seated at the head of a long table draped by a white tablecloth. He was sipping a glass of red liquid. The dining room was cylindrical, with another cylindrical room within it that housed the kitchen.
There were five plates and pairs of silverware laid out on the table, I took the seat next to Mr. Dragon and Heathcliff next to me, he didn't say much but I observed that he was nervous.
'Good morning boys, pleasant day it's looking out to be. I assume you enjoyed your first night here?' Mr. Dragon said. He took another sip of his drink.
'Oh definitely, I had a dream-' I began, but Heathcliff elbowed me in the ribs out of sight of Mr. Dragon, and cut me off.
'Wonderful, just wonderful. Now look at the time! My son has always had a bad habit of waking up late. Very well, let us begin without him and his bride.' Without meeting my eyes, Mr. Dragon checked his watch and rung a bell that was on the table. A bald man (a different bald man, I think) came out of the kitchen, balancing three gigantic plates piled high with food on his two arms, and served out breakfast, which included bacon stripes, mashed potatoes, toast with cream cheese, raisins and dessert pastries.
'Dig in, boys.' Mr. Dragon began to munch away at his plate, I did too and found it delicious, Heathcliff sat looking at the food with a bewildered expression.
'What is it?' Mr. Dragon asked Heathcliff, 'Is your appetite not in a good mood this morning?'
'This is a monstrous amount of food, I say.' Heathcliff said.
'Yes it is, I'm known for my extraordinary appetite, do you not remember? I was always the first one to ask for seconds at your father's dinner parties back in the days. To this day I still compliment your mother's cooking, truly beautiful.' Mr. Dragon said, 'Now have a taste, she gave me a few of her recipes and I kept them.' Mr. Dragon resumed eating.
Heathcliff ate a few bites and said, 'I cannot intake all this food! Just by looking at it I can tell there are more calories in there than ten chocolate milkshakes! My body refuses this pile of carbohydrates!'
'Why on earth do? Who cares about the calories when it's wonderful to the taste?' Mr. Dragon said, amused.
'I won't let this into my system! It took me a long time to get this six-pack and I'm not loosing it on unhealthy breakfasts!' At this, Heathcliff lifted up his dress shirt and showed me his abdomen, where six blocks of muscles were barely visible beneath some skin that looked kind of flabby. It was a fine accomplishment to get that far to a six-pack, I'd say a few weeks working on dad's farm should make Heathcliff build the full six-pack, to show him an example, I lifted up my own dress shirt to show him the six-pack I have, and Heathcliff turned white as the tablecloth. Mr. Dragon looked on with the same amusement.
'How did you-' He gasped.
'Aw you boy's are just amateurs!' Mr. Dragon declared, putting down his knife and fork, still chewing, 'This is a real six-pack.' He lifted up his shirt, and beneath was one of the finest abdomen I've ever laid my eyes upon, it was even finer than the ones that belong to guys on football teams. Heathcliff was about to faint in shock. For a mid-aged man, Mr. Dragon had outdone most young bodybuilders. If I were Wolfgang, I'd be extremely proud of my dad on this part.
Just then, Theo walked into the dining room, escorted by yet another bald man. Both the bald man and Theo were quite taken aback by the sight of me, Heathcliff and Mr. Dragon comparing our abdomen muscles in various degrees of fitness. We at the table concealed our upper bodies and tucked in our shirts with haste, and then we said (altogether), 'Er...good morning, eh?'
'Um...good morning.' Theo said, then she hesitated a bit, thinking, and said, 'Wolfgang said he isn't feeling well, and neither am I, we won't be joining you for breakfast.'
'What, is that so? (sigh) Shame, shame, my own boy not wanting to have breakfast with me on the first morning after we are reunited.' Mr. Dragon sighed, 'Very well, go tend to your fiance and yourself, it's a pity you're missing out on this fine meal but I will not voice any further objections.'
Heathcliff jumped at the chance, 'Wait, I'm not feeling well either! As I've said, I cannot eat this food, and I am not hungry, I will escort Miss. Theodora to...Wolfgang.' I thought it must have cost Heathcliff dearly inside to say Wolfgang's name, because he said it as if vomiting.
'I cannot believe this! Nobody wants to dine on this fabulous morning with me? What's gotten into all of you?' Mr. Dragon exclaimed. 'Go ahead, you're all missing out on a meal, one of the few pleasures a human is capable of enjoying, it's a terrible pity none of you seem to grasp this fact.' Mr. Dragon shook his head and went back to eating.
'I don't have anything to do elsewhere.' I said, realizing what I should do, 'I'll finish the food, if you need any help with it.' I said to Mr. Dragon.
'Well, well, well, now that's the spirit boy!' Mr. Dragon gave me a pat on the back, 'You know, you remind me of someone I was very fond of. After breakfast, I suppose we ought to keep our chess agreement, shall we?' He said to me.
'Good idea!' I said, 'And we can do a bit more whistling.'
'I know the perfect tune we can try, I'll tell you about it as we finish this food. The rest of you, you are all dismissed!' He called to the others.
Heathcliff and Theo exited the dining hall quickly, and it was only Mr. Dragon and I left in the dining hall. He asked me whether I know the film The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which I did, and then we did a whistling rendition of the famous main theme of the movie. This time, Mr. Dragon ordered one of the bald men to brink a tape recorder, so we could record our duel-performance for later listening.
It was a great morning.

T.N - Chapter 21

To say that Heathcliff and Charlie were a mess after the trip would’ve been an understatement. Their eyes were bloodshot, they couldn’t walk properly, and any comprehensible speech through their slurring was punctuated by drunken laughter.

What on earth did Heathcliff drink? He normally avoids alcoholic drinks like the devil; he knows he makes an absolute fool of himself when he gets even the smallest glass of alcohol. The only times I’ve seen him drink was if he needed the courage, or if he was tricked into it. Either the Dragon had some impressive persuasion skills (I wouldn’t have been surprised) or he was tricked. Either one was possible.

“The bedrooms are this way,” the Dragon called over the boys’ laughter. “I suspect you’re tired. Come along!” For some reason, I don’t know whether it was my imagination or not, but I thought that the Dragon’s voice had softened a tad, and he sounded almost fatherly.

I glanced over at Wolfgang. He had a mixed expression, and I could see hints of jealousy, surprise and a bit of joy. He shook his head quickly, and then started after his father. I had to hurry after him so I wouldn’t be left behind. Who knows what the terrorists would think if they saw me by myself.

By the time we caught up, the Dragon had already deposited Charlie and Heathcliff in a room. I peeked into the room, and saw them sound asleep. Charlie was sprawled on the bed across from Heathcliff, who was curled up into a fetal position. I shut the door quietly behind me, and I saw the Dragon beckon me over to a room. Wolfgang had disappeared somewhere.

“This will be your room. Wolfgang will be placed in another room. I noticed you two didn’t seem to be very…comfortable together when you came out of the truck. I'll send some clothes over. You can't sleep in the dress you'll be wedded in!" He laughed.

"Thank you very much." I know I was in an interesting situation, but you must show gratitude when it's due.

He looked me over, and I felt rather vulnerable. I was by myself, in front of a man that could easily kill me if he wanted to. Instead of killing me, he just gave me a small, sad smile. "Don't break my son's heart," he said softly, brushing past me.

I watched him disappear around the corner. I tried to remember if I've ever seen Wolfgang's mother during the conferences that our parents had had in the past. But nothing came to mind.

I sat down on the single bed, taking in the room's decor. The walls were butter yellow, softly lit by the various lamps placed around the room. The floor was made of hardwood, matching the desk across the room from where I was.

It was an interesting writing desk, very antique, and well loved. I stood up to look at it more closely. I could see scratches in the wood, and ink blots where the ink well had tipped over, or a pen wandered off the page. There were a few drawers also built in, and so I tried to open them.

The first few I tried were stuck, the wood swelled up from old age and moisture. Finally, I found one that actually opened. There were a few pens scattered inside, and a book with an unlabelled cover. I picked it up, and found it was quite small, and the pages were well worn. Some of the corners were dog-eared, and a ribbon hung out of one of the sections. I opened it to where the ribbon marked its place. I found a journal entry, dated to about 20 years ago:

Journal,

I don't know where to start. I've found out today that I'm pregnant with our first child! It was a joyous day for my dear, but I'm afraid that our child will have to take over the family business. I know it is useless trying to bring up the conversation again with my husband, but I wish he would go back to more...lawful pursuits. He is clever at disguising it, but I fear Damian North is catching on, and that we may have to flee. But I don't want to spoil my dear's happiness. He has wanted a child ever since we were married all those years ago.

We have already started discussing names. If it is a boy, I want to name him Wolfgang, but my husband wants to name him Sebastian. If it is a girl, I was thinking of perhaps Grace, or Hanna. He hasn't decided on any girl names yet, but he said that maybe we should name her (if it is a her) after myself.

I can hear my husband coming. I must sign off for now.

Your friend,

Laura

Someone started opening the door, and so I shoved the diary back into its drawer. A terrorist stood at the door, and he was holding a bundle of clothing. I took it from him gratefully. As he left, he shut the door behind him and locked it.

I quickly changed into the clothing. The jeans were a bit too long for me, and the t-shirt too baggy, but they were comfortable. I lay down on the bed and thought of the journal entry I had just read. Who did it belong to? I thought back to what the content was.

A wife to someone practicing something illegal (and hiding it from my grandfather), pregnant with her first child whom she wants to name Wolfgang...

It has to be the missing mother of Wolfgang.

C.N. - chapter 20

The last thing I saw before entering Mr. Dragon's military style armored truck was the sun, it was setting. The inside of the vehicle, in sharp contrast to the outside, was designed like a stretch-limousine. The windows were tinted, the seats were cushioned, and there was a small table patterned with black and white squares, for chess, I thought.
'Do you now see why I insist we ride together.' Mr. Dragons said as he, Heathcliff and I all sat down on the white cushioned seats, 'This was the only car I furnished, the others were intended for my workmen and they only. These men, very capable, very reliable, as long as a wage can be negotiated, they ask no questions, leisure is not their preference, so I saw no need to add these leather seats to all my other vehicles. Shame my son does not see that, but you two, you at least (pointing to me) know what's better for you.'
Heathcliff sat silently, I asked a question, 'Is this a chess board?' I pointed at the table.
'Indeed it is, it serves multiple purposes, there's one of the more apparent ones.' Mr. Dragon opened one of the cushions next to him, it was a concealed compartment, he took out a bag with chess pieces and put Theo's phone in there, turning it off to save batteries, I supposed.
'Do you play?' He asked me.
'I can play Chinese chess, but I don't know how to play this chess.' I said.
'Chinese chess! Now how on earth did you learn that?' Mr. Dragon exclaimed.
It was a short story, so I elaborated to make it more interesting. 'The mechanic at the gas station near my house taught me, the car dad used to have was as old as he, it broke down a lot and he always sent me to tow it to the station with the tractor, that's how I came to know the mechanic really well and he taught me Chinese chess, he told me he learned it from his father, and his father learned from his grandfather, and his grandfather learned from his grandfather's father, and-'
'Okay, okay, I see your point.' Mr. Dragon said, 'We ought to teach each other our chess sometime, I'm past my midlife but I've always enjoyed trying new things.' He snapped his finger, and the checkered tabletop split open four ways like a sliding door, and inside were several glass bottles filled with transparent dull yellow liquid, five glasses and a cassette player. Mr. Dragon took out one of the bottles and three of the glasses. He opened the bottle with a cork and poured for each of us.
'Let us drink to our health, and a good time.' He raised his glass, I raised mine, Heathcliff hesitated, he asked, 'What is this?'
'It's apple juice, not the cheap water-mixed type, this is absolutely pure.' Mr. Dragon said, and drank.
Heathcliff took a sip and nearly spilled the glass, 'It's champagne!' He exclaimed in shock and covered his mouth. I was midway through my first taste and thought the juice must have came from some apple I've never tasted, because the juice had a spicy flavor and smelled funny too.
'Still sensitive to alcohol?' Mr. Dragon asked him, 'You haven't improved your drinking abilities, I see.'
'You-you villain, vile dastardly malevolent evil calculating despicable horrendous ill-natured hateful spiteful malicious villain! You said it's apple juice!' Heathcliff said accusingly.
'I did, this champagne is twenty percent apple cider.' Mr. Dragon said smugly.
Heathcliff's face turned red all of a sudden, he burped began a fit of giggles and said, 'What's up, dawg?'
I laughed too and so did Mr. Dragon. I felt very happy and very flushed in the head, so I took off my suit jacket and thought about what I should say next, I asked, 'Anyone what to hear a joke?'
'Yeah? Sure.' Heathcliff said, he burped again and giggled some more.
'So, why did the chicken cross the road?'
'Why?' Heathcliff replied.
I rubbed my eyes because they were getting watery, and then I said, 'If it didn't there wouldn't be a joke.'
Heathcliff fell into a fit of laughter, I laughed along with him, and Mr. Dragon smiled.
I felt giddy and the last thought before I think I abandoned all common sense was wondering what Mr. Dragon's apple champagne contained that made me feel so wonderful and dreamy (I didn't think I was drunk, and if I was, I wouldn't be because I have quite a strong tolerance of alcohol, it's Heathcliff I was worried about).
I hadn't felt so happy since the time my sister took me to her prom. Actually, she was caught in the tool shed with her then boyfriend (later divorced) by mum, they were in semi stages of undress and mum was extremely mad, her scream was heard by the next door neighbors a half kilometer away. As punishment for attempting to be deflowered before the age of twenty, mum made her take me as her prom date, forsaking her then boyfriend. The graduates all made fun of me, thought they focused mostly on my sister, who got the worst of it, but I had a lot of fun and tasted beer (which I didn't like because it was bitter and I still couldn't figure out why people like it) for the first time in my life. Another girl let me kiss her too (I didn't know how lovers kiss, so she taught me).
I shared this story with Heathcliff and Mr. Dragon during our long ride, and a few others which I believe took place in the vehicle but I couldn't recall. Then Heathcliff shared his stories, they were mostly about his glorious youth days, it had been all about pursuing his true love (since the age of six) Theo back then, and he detailed to us many of his ploys to win Theo over, to various degrees of non-success. Though I can not recall the precise details, Heathcliff's ploys include singing love songs outside her window in a suit of real armor with a borrowed mandolin (age nine), presenting a personal speech professing his love for her in front of all parents, graduates and teachers at his elementary school graduation ceremony (age twelve), and hacking into the high school registration catalogue (with the help of professional hackers paid five hundred dollars per hour out of his own pocket) to personally create the exactly identical class schedule and assigned teachers as her (age fourteen). Finally, at our request, Mr. Dragon told us a bit about his own experiences as a self-made billionaire, mostly the tricks, scams and bribes business persons and the business world use against the civilian population and the authorities to evade justice and increase their own benefit. I realized his account was more of a general how-to (control the world) guide as to about episodes of his life, nevertheless I found it quite fascinating. Heathcliff and I had more of the champagne during this time.
At the near conclusion of our journey, the vehicle moved across more uneven surfaces, and Mr. Dragon announced we were traveling over water. I did not believe this and thought it was a clever joke, we laughed over it and then out of the blues I began to whistle a familiar tune. It was the whistle tune from Disney's Robin Hood movie (Robin Hood being a talking fox), both Heathcliff and Mr. Dragon recognized the tune and we whistled in chorus, then we whistled Stand By Me, Say You, Say Me, Love Story, and Star Wars (which was quite incredible and would have been a thing to marvel at in later life had we recorded it).
When the vehicle grounded to a halt, Mr. Dragon kindly took Me and Heathcliff in his arms and guided us out of the vehicle into a windy, spacious and dimly lit tunnel of a place, the ceiling was a half-cylinder like an airplane hangar. He then led us towards a door marked with the sign 'BEDCHAMBERS'.
From one of the other vehicles emerged Theo and Wolfgang, walking apart and both looked like they did not have as good a time during the ride as Mr. Dragon and Heathcliff and I had. Still supported by Mr. Dragon because our knees where shaky and our vision impaired, Heathcliff and I waved and smiled giddy banana-sized smiles at Theo and Wolfgang. Wolfgang, seeing our expressions, must have been mildly jealous, he expression said so. Theo, on the other hand, did not look jealous, but something along the lines of horrified. I supposed she was unwilling to admit being in the company of Mr. Dragon was better than with Wolfgang, who had probably realized his blunder too.
I fell asleep soon after, where exactly, I did not know at that time.