DauilandBoard

Alan Hall ran. He ran out of Grazod’s office, through the casino, and burst through the front doors. Behind him, the massive neon sign seemed to sneer at him: CALYPSO CASINO. His life was in shambles, and only one thought dominated his mind: I must get to my family. It was late at night, far past 10:00 o’clock, but no matter. He needed to get home. He needed to warn them.

Rain lashed down in torrents, as if even the clouds themselves were unleashing a mournful deluge for him. Alan ran to the parking lot, already soaked head to toe. As he climbed into his car, he realized he was shaking.

The forty minute drive home was torturous. His jaw set, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that they began to hurt, he drove on, watching the mile counter on his navigational computer incessantly. When he became stuck in traffic, Alan laid into the horn mercilessly, nearly running over a young couple crossing the street with umbrellas. Finally, he pulled into his driveway. The clock on the car’s dashboard read 11:56.

It was still raining when he stepped out and slammed the car door. Suddenly, he realized that his wife and children were probably asleep. He walked as quietly as he could up to the front door and unlocked it. He closed the door, threw his soaking coat off, turned — and saw his wife standing right in front of him, figure illuminated in the light from the living room floor lamp, hands on her hips.

“Where the hell have you been?!” she demanded.

“Patricia, I—” he began.

“Don’t ‘Patricia, I’ me!” she interrupted angrily. “I’ve been worried sick! Out till midnight without even a call!” When Alan tried to respond, Patricia shook her head angrily and continued. “And don’t give me that bullsh*t about helping out in the office. I don’t give a damn what you have to say for yourself this time, because this is just too far!”

A creak from a floorboard upstairs caused Patricia to stop her yelling. Patricia pursed her lips and signaled for Alan to be quiet. “Mommy?” came a small voice from upstairs. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Jake,” Patricia said soothingly. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be up in a moment, dear.”

She and Alan stayed silent as they listened to the sounds of their son going back to bed. As soon as his door closed, Patricia opened her mouth to continue yelling, but Alan interrupted her.

“Pat, listen to me,” he pleaded. “You need to take the kids and get out of here. Now.”

“I need to—what?” Patricia said, perturbed. Then she took a deep breath. “Let’s discuss this in the other room,” she said quietly, leading Alan out of the foyer and into the living room. She sat on the couch and beckoned for Alan to do the same. “What are you saying?” she asked, unsettled.

Alan swallowed roughly, composed himself, and proceeded to launch into an abbreviated version of everything that had happened in the last few months and before. Everything he had lied about—the gambling, the debt, the syndicate. The one thing he left out was what Grazod had blackmailed him into doing. All he said was that he had threatened to hurt them unless he continued being a spy. He knew what he had to do to protect himself and his family—even if it meant killing his friend. He knew that if he told his wife, she’d only try to talk him out of it. “I’m in deep sh*t, Patricia. I f*cked up bad.”

“That’s an understatement,” she said, seemingly struggling to hold herself together. “Jesus Christ, Alan. What the hell are we going to do?”

“Don’t worry, Pat. You know what, no. There’s no way you can worry more than I am right now. I’m freaking out, Pat. I’m scared.”

“You should be,” Patricia said, shaking her head. “To endanger your family like this… Jesus f*cking Christ. I’m married to a criminal.”

“I know,” Alan said despondently, closing his eyes and dipping his head. Suddenly, his eyes shot open and he sat up quickly, gripping Patricia’s shoulders. “Listen to me. I have a plan. But I can’t let Grazod get his hands on you. You need to take the kids and get the hell out of here. Go to Whalani—my cousin Silvia lives there. I’ll give you her address. You’ll be safe there. There’s no syndicate in Richomp.”

Patricia pushed Alan away, then closed her eyes. “Alan—oh my God, Alan. This is f*cking insane. What about the house—all our things—not to mention how we’ll get there—”

“You have to leave it all behind. Silvia will take care of you. And here, I want you to have this. There’s more than enough to get you to Whalani.” From behind a hidden bookshelf panel, Alan pulled out a lockbox loaded with cash.

Patricia took one look at the hundreds of stacks inside the metal box and slammed the lid shut. “I’m not even going to ask where you got this—”

“It was my grandfather’s. He left one for all of my brothers. Considering he didn’t bother giving any to my sisters, I never wanted to use it. But now I think it's time.”

“Okay,” Patricia said. “Okay,” she repeated, more firmly. “I’m going to go wake the kids. You stay here,” she said firmly when Alan tried to follow. She returned a few minutes later, three kids in tow — dressed, tired, and confused, clutching favorite stuffed animals. As Alan looked at them — 10-year-old Emma, 8-year-old Jake, and toddler Coco — his heart swelled with pride, and a determination to keep them safe.

“Daddy!” Jake said, running forward and giving him a hug. “Ew, Daddy, you’re soaking!”

“Heya, champ,” Alan said, ruffling his hair. He noticed that Emma was standing back suspiciously, holding Coco’s tiny hand.

“Daddy,” Jake said, staring up into Alan’s eyes. “why are we getting up so early?”

“You’re going on a little vacation, Jakey,” he said, trying to sound upbeat. “You’ve always wanted to visit Richomp, right?”

“Richomp!” Jake said excitedly, jumping around. “Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!”

“Dad,” Emma said urgently, “it just doesn’t make sense. I’ve got school tomorrow. And why aren’t you coming with us?”

“Of course Daddy’s coming, sillypants,” Jake said from behind his mother.

“No, honey, he’s not,” Patricia said sadly, speaking for the first time in this confrontation.

“Why not?” Emma pressed.

“I’ve got a few things to take care of. But I’ll see you very soon,” Alan managed.

“We need to go,” Patricia said, blinking back tears. Alan tried to do the same but failed as Jake gave him a hug.

“Bye, Daddy!” he said, smiling. “See ya soon!”

“Bye, bud,” he said, tears silently streaming down his face. “Have fun on the flight.”

“Plane! Yippee!” Jake yelled as he ran out the door.

“Dad, you’re crying,” Emma said as she hugged him. Standing on her tiptoes, she wiped his tears away.

“You’ve gotten so tall,” Alan said, hugging her tightly. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Look after your mother for me, okay?”

“OK,” she said. If she was confused about this, it didn’t show as she took her little sister’s hand. Leading her along, Emma walked out of the house, giving a small wave to Alan as she left.

Alan wiped away a tear and turned to his wife, the only person left in the house. She stared at him sadly for a few seconds, and he held her gaze. Suddenly, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.

“Be careful,” she whispered.

“I will,” he whispered back.

If only he could believe it.

…