Brie grabbed Levi and hand him help her get things together for him and Jasmine to go spend some time with Gramma and Grampa. Levi was packing his and Jasmine’s clothes while Brie searched for the key to Jordan and Davina’s lock box. “Levi, do you know where the key might be?” she asked her grandson.
“No Gramma, I don’t. Maybe Mama Davi has them on her. I don’t know.”
Brie sighed. “Ok. Do you have all of yours and you sister’s clothes packed?”
“Yes ma’am, Gramma.”
“Good boy. Take the suitcases down to Grampa for me and wait there. Tell Grampa that I’m having a little more trouble than expected finding your passports.”
Levi nodded and ran out the door pulling the suitcase behind him. From the stairs he shouted, “Gramma, Mama Davi’s home and she doesn’t look happy.”
“Thank you Levi”, she shouted in return and continued to carefully dig through the drawers looking for the keys.
“What are you doing?” Davina shrieked.
Brie turned and looked at her daughter in law. “Davina, calm down. I’m looking for the key to the lock box to see if the kids’ passports are in there.”
“Why do you need the kids’ passports?”
“Because David and I are taking them to Israel with us.”
“You can’t take my kids from me. The doctors are saying that Jordan’s lucky to be alive because the damage to her ribs was enough to puncture a lung.”
“Davi, I need you to calm down and think about this logically for a moment, ok. Can you do that for me? At least just sit down and calm down so that you can listen.” Davina took a seat on the bed. “Davi, listen to me. This is in your, the kids’ and Jordan’s best interest and you know it. This is just temporary until Jordan gets better. She’s going to be pretty messed up both physically and emotionally for a while. Your father in law and I feel it’s best to take them to Israel so that they don’t have to watch their Mama Jordan struggle with what’s happened to her. You want the kids to be safe right?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then this is what needs to happen. You know it and I know it. Anyway, they’re going to get to see Aunt Jessi and the new baby, and David and I will take them to Tel Aviv so that they can play on the beach of the Med. You know that we won’t mistreat them. Now, settle down and help me find their passports.”
Davina sighed and pulled her keys out of her pocket. “Here’s the lock box key. Their passports are in there.” She looked at Brie. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes Davina. I’m positive. You’ll be free to take care of Jordan and not have to worry about the kids and the kids won’t have to watch you and Jordan suffer. And believe me, you’ll both suffer. Jordan’s suffering because of her injuries and the abuse she sustained. You’re going to suffer because when my daughter digs her heels in and decides to do something, she doesn’t let go. Like her father, she’s a pit bull. Once she sinks her teeth in, she doesn’t let go. Whatever comes of this, I want to be kept informed of everything. What she’s doing, what she’s planning, ect. Ok?”
“Yeah Mom. I got it. You and Dad will be kept informed.”
“Thank you, Davi. Just calm down and stay strong. Jordan will be back to normal before we all know it and the kids will be back here with their Mama Davi and Mama Jordan.”
---------------
When he saw black on black flood the warehouse, he knew he had to tuck tail and run. He didn’t know who the men were, but he knew that they were well organized and the men that dropped his soldiers from outside had the building had familiar bullet work. He’d seen bullet work like that before on several occasions. The ghost that killed President Gentry, the Major, and several others throughout history. The bullet work looked like Matthew Cartwright. But, there was no way in hell it could have been Matthew Cartwright. He had been confirmed dead over 20 years before. He died just before Reckless Disregard got their big break.
Grissom should have known that messing with fire would get him burnt, but he certainly didn’t see it. He saw that he’d missed an opportunity to bring the Draiman family to its knees. David Draiman had always been a loud mouthed, opinionated pain in the ass that he couldn’t get rid of. It seemed like every time they had found him and his band members during the Regime, they just slipped back under the radar. Then, there was the blatant show of anarchy in Austin in 2017. The Never Again Speech would haunt the Utopians forever as it haunted David Draiman since he gave it.
Grissom knew he needed to get back to his office and regroup before making a new plan to eliminate the Draiman’s. You may have won this round, Mr. Draiman, but I promise you that you will not win the war, he thought as his private jet landed at LAX. And you will regret ever having crossed me, sir. You will wish that you had paid the money for turned yourself over because when I finally get my hands on you and your wife I will be sure to make you regret not having a set of balls big enough to sacrifice yourself for your daughter. You will rue the day you ever denied me anything. And that, Mr. Draiman, is a promise. And I don’t make promises without the intent to keep them.
The limo ride to his office was similar. He thought of the men that hit his warehouse. He wondered why he hadn’t heard from any of his men. Surely Walters or Carter should have called by now. Unless… no. They would have had the commonsense to get away. Hell, Carter wasn’t even there last night. He had to have known that the warehouse was ashes and embers by now. Whoever the psycho with the flame thrower was would have to go too. He was obviously not a friend to the Utopian Movement if he was torching a stronghold. Maybe if he heard from Carter soon he would be sure to ask how soon he could expect him to come back to LA.
Little did Grissom know, but Carter wouldn’t be coming back to work for him. He knew who it was that rescued Jordan and he knew how to get in contact with them. And, in the long run, Grissom would be the one to pay.
---------------
The days passed rather quickly. Before they knew it, Levi and Jasmine Draiman were on their way to Israel with their grandparents. Levi was sitting in his window seat facing his grandparents and stared out the window over the Pacific Ocean as the sun came up and the light spilled over the water from the east. “WOW!!” he said breathlessly. “I’ve traveled a lot with Mom and this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”
David smiled crookedly at his grandson. “Levi, if you think this is cool, you should travel with me and Gramma more often. You will be amazed at every turn.”
“So you and Gramma see cooler things than the sun coming up over the Ocean?”
“Yeah. Gramma and I were in India and went riding on an elephant. Gramma got that tattooing that your Mom gets but it was all over her arms, neck, back and feet.”
“Really?” He looked at his grandmother. “Gramma, you got henna done?”
“Yeah, and they threw in custom designs. I had the Believe symbol, the Devil’s Do Not, The Guy. It was a long process, but it was worth it. I loved it.”
“That’s cool.” He looked back at his grandfather. “Grampa, do you think that you and Gramma could take me diving while we’re here?”
David and Brie exchanged a look. “Let us think that over, ok?”
“It would be really cool to go diving to see all of the different fish and stuff like that. Please?”
David laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. If I take you down, you won’t be down there for long. Gramma and I don’t stay down for very long anymore.”
“How long do you and Gramma stay?”
“These days? About half an hour. There are other things that Gramma wants to do when we’re traveling.”
“You don’t have any say?”
David shook his head. “Not normally. I just let Gramma call all the shots.”
Levi nodded. “Interesting.” He took a moment to look out the window then turned back to his grandfather. “Please Grampa? Please take me for a dive? I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll sweep and mop the entire house for a month.”
David set his iPad down on the tray and laughed. “Oh my God, boy. Fine, Levi Joseph, I will take you for a dive. I’ll call a friend of mine in Tel Aviv to see if there’s a class you can take and I’ll take you on your first dive. But, you’re sweeping and mopping the house for two months if you’re out here that long.”
Levi nodded repetitively. “If that’s what you want Grampa, I’ll do it. This is gonna be so COOL!!”
“Settle down, Levi. Take a deep breath and get control of yourself. If you keep this up I won’t take you. You getting to go diving is all hanging on how you behave the rest of this flight. Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. Now, listen to some music, read a book; do something to occupy yourself until we land in Tokyo.”
Levi grabbed his iPod from his bag and started listening to his music as he read a book. It was a simple chapter book that his Uncle Jeremiah had turned him on to. It was part of a series that was older than his parents, and aunts and uncles. It was called The Boxcar Children. It was about kids between his age and his older cousins’ ages that were orphaned and lived in a boxcar until they found their grandfather. After that they solved mysteries. It was a fascinating series. He really like the character Henry and how he always took care of his brother and sisters. He felt like he could relate to him at times.
He was lost in the seventh book of the series, The Woodshed Mystery. The book was older than his grandparents, which he thought was funny.
Before he knew it the captain was speaking over the intercom and asking everyone to buckle their seatbelts because they were beginning their descent and to wait until the lights went off. He asked everyone to exit the plane in an orderly fashion and thanked everyone for flying. Levi put his reading pad away in his bag along with his iPod. As they flew into the airport, Levi sat and looked out of the window. The buildings were fascinating and everything was colorful. Wow, he thought. Mom’s never brought us here. This is so awesome. I wonder if we’ll get to eat while we’re here in Japan.
When the seatbelt light went off he watched his grandparents stand and help his little sister get everything together. He just quietly gathered his bag and waited for his grandmother to lead the way. “So, Grampa, how long are we going to be here?” he asked once they were in the line waiting for customs.
“Long enough to do a few touristy things, perhaps grab a bite to eat, then we’re back here to catch a flight to India. That stop will be short enough for the plane to refuel before we fly into Ben Gurian in Tel Aviv. From there, I have a pilot friend who will be flying us to Jerusalem in his private plane.”
“That’s so cool, Grampa. You know all kinds of awesome people, don’t you?”
“Just one of the perks of being David Draiman, Levi. It’s just one of the many perks that come with being me.”
---------------
Thomas Carter wasn’t afraid of his former employer anymore. When he arrived at the warehouse the day after it had been burnt to the ground, he knew that Grissom had bitten off more than he could chew with David Draiman and his family. Kidnapping Jordan was the biggest mistake Grissom could have made in his life. Thomas knew that and knew how to exploit it. But, first, he had to get his wife and children to safety.
He made a few phone calls from what his buddy in the CIA called “a burner phone”. It was a phone that couldn’t be traced. He had to make arrangements to get his family out of California. He called a cousin of his in Washington State who was going to take his family in until this whole mess was over.
Once that was over, he just needed to figure out a way to locate Jordan Draiman. He was going to help her in any way he could to take out the man that had beaten and broken her. No one deserved to be treated the way she had been.
On the news the reported that there was a mystery celebrity in one of the hospitals in Colorado Springs and the warehouse fire. He had a feeling he knew who the celebrity in the hospital was. What he really needed to know was how to get ahold of her to offer his assistance.
No comments:
Post a Comment