Author's note:
This is the last story in this series, but not necessarily Belle's last story.

Chapter 17

Marta was astonished. “Brian? I-I-I don’t understand. Where’s Belle? What’s going on?”

“Who’s Belle?” Brian searched the room as if trying to make sense of his situation “I don’t know how I got here. Did I get away from the people who kidnapped me?”

Tears began trickling down Marta’s face. “Brian? Is that really you?”

“Yeah, I guess. Don’t know about this body, though. Can you explain this?” Brian gestured down to his body.

“Do you remember anything about what happened?”

“A little. You called me Belle?”

“That’s your name now, honey”

Belle/Brian raised an eyebrow. “I remember now, that’s the name they gave me wasn't it? Did I get away? How did I get away?”

Marta held her child’s hand. “You were rescued by a man who killed the people who took you”

Belle/Brian’s face was expressionless. “Good”

Marta hugged her child tightly. “It’s so good to talk to you, Brian. We never gave up hope you’d come back to us”

“I’m remembering more, mom. I know what happened. I guess I’m just a passenger in this body now. Belle runs the show. She’s a real good person, mom. She’s my sister, I guess”

“What do you mean, Brian?”

“The best way to explain it, I guess, is it’s like I’m watching a TV show as Belle lives her life. I don’t think she knows much about me”

“She knows you helped her live. She gives you credit for her survival”

Belle’s face remained expressionless, without emotion. Marta almost felt like she was talking to a robot.

“I don’t know about that. It was pretty rough in that place. I gave up fighting. If I hadn’t, I would have gone crazy. Then they did something that kind of split us up. Belle took over, and I let her. She was better at all of the stuff they wanted me to do. I guess it sounds crazy”

“No it doesn’t, Brian. It makes perfect sense. Do you want to see your dad?”

“No. It’s too hard just seeing you. I don’t want to put dad through talking to me again. I can’t stay and I don’t know if I’ll be able to come back. I don’t know much of anything, I guess”

Bob’s voice came from the hallway. “What’s going on, Marta? Come back to bed”

Marta squeezed Brian’s hand. “Hold on for a little longer. Your father misses you so much”

“I’ll try, mom”

Bob entered the room. “What’s up, girls?”

Marta held Brian’s hand. “Bob, I don’t know how it’s possible, but Brian’s here. Please whisper”

“What?” came the startled reply. Bob did remember to whisper.

Belle’s voice rang, free of accent. “Hi dad”

“Belle? Wait, Brian?”

“Yeah, dad. It’s me”

“But how?”

Marta interrupted. “I’ll explain later, Bob. Talk to your son”

“I guess I’m not much of a son now, dad”

Bob knelt down in front of Brian. “Nonsense, Brian. You were, no, are the best son a man could ever have” his voice was husky as tears brimmed in his eyes.

“Thanks, dad. Mom can fill you in on the details. I guess it’s enough for you to know I’m happy. Belle is living the life I might have had. I guess it’s fair to say that I wouldn’t want to come back like this. I couldn’t handle it. Belle’s a lot better at being a girl than I ever could be. She likes it, and she loves you two, just like I do”

“I know Belle has a hard time communicating with us”

“That won’t change. You need to learn to talk with her. I can’t help her there. It’s what keeps us separate, and keeps us from going crazy”

“I love you, son”

“I love you too, dad”

“This whole thing blows my mind. Can’t you stay?”

“No. I wouldn’t do that to Belle. But know that I’m there, watching. Mom can tell you. Also, don’t tell Belle about this. She’s sleeping now. I don’t want her to know about me. When she wakes up, she’ll be just like she was. Don’t mess that up, it’s important”

Bob could barely speak “Okay, son”

Brian continued. “As long as Belle is here, you won’t have lost me. She’s living for both of us”

“Okay, Brian. Just know that we love you and miss you every day”

“I know. I’m not gone, though. Sometime, you’ll see me in her. And when you do, know that I’m having fun watching”

Belle started to waver, as if waking. “Gotta go, guys. Teach her to play basketball”. A faint smile played around Belle’s lips.

Marta and Bob both whispered. “Good bye, Brian”

Belle shook her head as she woke up. “Que fais-je ici?”

Marta didn’t quite understand what Belle said, but she got the idea. “You were sleepwalking, honey. Let’s get you back to bed”

“Okay, Mom” Belle answered in sleepy, but unaccented English. Brian was still in there. Marta smiled, and looked at Bob, who understood perfectly. Marta put belle back to bed.

This would be their secret. If they told Sam, her first instinct would be to try to “fix” the “problem”. The process could end up destroying both psyches. No, this would be a special moment between mother and father. Brian was still alive, and so was Belle, their beautiful daughter. That was as good as it could get. It was good as it was going to get.

Chapter 18

A half a world away, in Delhi, India, Kevin was thinking of his girl, and listening to the conversation emanating from the office of Doctor Prasad Narang, CEO and owner of IndiaPower. His company was the largest generator of electricity in the country, and he owned four of India’s nuclear power plants and a major supplier of plutonium from his Mumbai breeder reactor. He was also a sexual deviant of the highest order.

Kevin had successfully bugged Narang’s office. He smiled as he listened. The fortunate thing about third world countries is that bribery is a way of life. Loyalty is bought and sold like a commodity, and it becomes much easier when the target is a world class asshole like Narang. It has only cost him one thousand American to get three bugs in the office.

“I saw the tape. That bitch is the one I paid for, Gibson. She’s my property and I want her back. I don’t care what it takes, get her!”

The voice on the other line was one Redmond “Red” Gibson, free lance trouble shooter. His services were available for the right price, and he wasn’t too picky about who hired him. It was all about the payday for Red, and he took a great deal of pride in getting the job done. It wasn’t personal, but get in his way, and it got personal real quick.

“Okay, Narang, I get it. One girl, two million plus expenses. I’ll take care of transport out of the country. You pay for the transportation. Payment in advance”

“Whatever. Get her. I want her back by January one. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Set up the air accommodations. She’ll want to travel first class” He laughed at his own little joke.

“Kill the parents. I don’t need anyone looking for her”

“That wasn’t part of the deal, Narang. Double the agreement”

“Fine” Narang sneered. “It’s nothing to me anyway. Make them suffer”

“It’s your dime. My team will be ready to go in twenty four”

Kevin leaned forward His brow furrowed. “That mother fucker! I’ve got a surprise for you, asshole” he whispered.

Kevin punched the keys on his satellite phone. “Boss? I‘ve got a hit. Just like you figured. Narang is going off the deep end”

The gravelly, unemotional voice of his employer responded. “Good. It’s time I killed two birds with one stone. Who’s the hitter?”

“Red Gibson”

“Too bad. I know him. His greed just put him on my list. Get back here ASAP. My jet is waiting for you at the airport. I already have Narang’s account information. The payment to Gibson will be deposited to my account when it is made. A phantom deposit will be made to Gibson’s account. He’ll be dead before he realizes he’s been had”

“Boss, he’s bringing his whole team”

“Good. Get to the airport. Your driver is waiting. Oh, and you’ll be receiving some company in about thirty seconds. You know what to do”

A shot of adrenalin went through Kevin’s body. Narang must have been alerted somehow to his presence. “Oh well” he sighed, “I guess the bribery game works both ways”

He chambered a round in his silenced Sig P226 tactical ops .357. He could hear the footsteps of two men coming down the hall. Grimly, he leveled the pistol at the door.

The door burst open and Kevin was ready. Three shots dropped the first one in less than a second. The man behind had clearly not expected Kevin to be ready for them. His eyes went wide with fear for a moment, as he realized hunter just became the hunted. He dropped with a double tap to the head and chest a moment later.

“Sorry, boys. You just picked the wrong day to show up for work” Kevin shoulder holstered his weapon and stepped over the bodies with no more feeling as if they were two mice caught in a trap.

The driver was waiting for Kevin at the front of the office building he had been using. He was at the airport thirty minutes later. Waiting for them fueled and ready was Pluton Industries’ Aerion SBJ, or Supersonic Business Jet. Eighty million dollars of speed, it could cruise at mach 1.5 for 4500 miles. Since Cerberus’ salary as CEO of the company was one dollar a year, it was the one luxury he afforded himself.

The jet was luxuriously appointed and looked like something out of Star Wars. They were wheels up in 20 minutes. They would be in Dallas in just over 10 hours with a stop for fuel in Germany. Not bad. Kevin reclined the comfortable chair he was sitting in and went to sleep.

Red Gibson had his team of three mercs together within an hour of getting the job. They were in Atlanta, and would be heading to Dallas within another hour.

“What’s the gig, Red?” Asked Red’s right hand man, Danny Badcocke. A former Army Ranger, he had enjoyed several profitable missions with Red, and this one would probably be no different. He had long since left any conscience behind.

“Grab and go” He handed Danny a photo.

“Pretty hot. What is she, fifteen, sixteen?”

“Something like that. Some dink in India claims she’s his property. We ice the folks too”

Danny shrugged “Whatever, how much?”

Red lit a Honduran cigar. “Four mil for the whole deal, plus expenses. Your cut is the same, thirty five percent”

“Works for me. Joe and Vinny are already at the airport. What kind of hardware do we need?”

“Nothing fancy. Tasers for the kid. She’s to be undamaged. The parents, on the other hand…”

Danny nodded. “Got it. Quick and quiet”

“Yeah. The customer wants them to suffer. I don’t like this guy, so they get it quick. Screw him. The more time we spend there the greater the risk”

“Have you done any research on the target?”

“That’s why I have you, Danny. Find out about her from your contact in DPD”

Danny got on the phone with his contact. He found out that DPD didn’t conduct the raid. The rumor was some guy named Cerberus actually got the kid. Danny didn’t like this at all.

“Red?”

“Yeah, Danny?”

“The word is Cerberus got the kid. This isn’t good. You know how he is with cases like this. I wouldn’t doubt if he’s still got eyes on her”

Red scowled. “Dammit! I knew this wouldn’t be a milk run. I’m sure Narang didn’t know this. I’ve heard bad things about this cat”

“It’s not too late to back out, Red”

Red shook his head “I already gave my word, Danny. Besides, Cerberus has never dealt with me. Let’s go, but pack a few more rounds, just in case”

Red’s Gulfstream V was rolling down the runway fifty minutes later.

Belle awoke at nine o’clock on Saturday. She felt unusually refreshed. Stretching, she went to the bathroom for her shower. It was chilly this morning, and she shivered.

Her pad was really soaked. Cringing, she pulled the pad off her panties and wrapped it in toilet paper to throw it in the wastebasket. Turning on the shower, she took care of her other business first. She took another couple of pills to combat the cramps and aches, and then got into the hot shower. It felt wonderful.

She took her time in the shower, until a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Belle? Are you going to leave any water for the rest of the city?”

“Désolé, Mama” Reluctantly, turned off the water and got out. The bathroom looked like a bad day in London. She patted herself dry and wrapped her head in a towel. Her pink terry robe was hanging on the door.

She left the bathroom in a cloud of steam, and her mother was waiting for her. “Don’t forget a new pad, and wear the same type of panties you wore last night”

Sighing, Belle said “Okay, Mama”

“I know it’s tough right now, But in a couple of days you’ll feel just fine”

Belle pouted “Achy, Mama”

“Did you take your medicine?” Belle nodded.

“Then let’s do some chocolate therapy!”

Belle brightened. “Chocolat? Yummy!”

“It always helps me on my worst days. Since you haven’t gone through this yet, why don’t we try some hot cocoa?”

Belle nodded enthusiastically. “Yay!”

“I’ll get some ready while you get dressed”

Belle got dressed, choosing a warm baggy blue sweater over a chemise. She put on a comfortable sports bra because her breasts were still a bit tender, and the extra compression felt better. She tried on a pair of her skinny jeans, but they felt a little too tight for some reason. She ended up putting on a denim mini with sparkly black tights for warmth. She wore ballet flats for comfort.

She came into the kitchen looking a little worse for wear. She was only wearing a little lip gloss and little else.

Marta had to smile. She knew exactly how her daughter felt at that moment. The cocoa was almost done. She had two cups ready. “You look lovely this morning, honey”

“Thanks…not …feel…lovely” Her hair was covering her face

Marta pouted back at Belle in sympathy. “I know, sweetie, but this will help” She poured two big mugs of cocoa with extra marshmallows. She gave a mug to Belle.

She enjoyed the aroma of the chocolate and took a sip. “Mmmmmm…good!” she exclaimed. She continued to sip, making little yummy sounds the whole time.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes!” she looked around the room. “Daddy?”

“He’s out in the garage, airing up the basketball. He said he wanted to shoot for awhile”

“Oh…basket…ball?” she looked confused for a moment, then she smiled. “Je me rappelle! Brian aime le basket-ball”

While Marta didn’t understand exactly what Belle was saying, her attitude conveyed it all. She remembered Brian liked basketball. “Yes, Belle. Brian liked basketball”

She stood at the front window holding her mug. She sipped it, watching her father shoot. She giggled when he missed and the ball bounced off his head.

“Would you like to go outside and try it?”

Belle finished the last of her cocoa. “Oui. Fun!” She pulled her hair back and put it in a ponytail with the scrunchie she kept around her wrist. Marta looked with a little amusement at her girl. She put her hair up like she had been doing it for years.

“Are you going to be warm enough in that little skirt?”

“Oui, Mama” She grabbed her jacket and a pair of mittens and went outside.

She walked outside to the makeshift court in the driveway. Bob had installed a goal years ago. It hadn’t gotten much use the last two years.

“Hello, honey! I saw you looking. Want to shoot?”

“Yes!” she replied.

Bob tossed her the ball and she caught it awkwardly. “Okay Belle. Just push it up, aiming at the front of the basket. Give it a try”

She pushed the ball up with two hands in typical girl fashion and by some miracle, it went in. Nothing but net. Belle’s eyes got as big as saucers. She bounced and clapped her hands. “Yay!” she yelled, her customary exclamation of joy in English.

“Great shot, kid! And here I was thinking you hadn’t played before!”

“I know! Good!” she clearly wanted to say more, but language got in the way”

“You know, you could do a lot better if you took off your mittens”

Belle smiled and took off one of her mittens. She showed the back of her hand to her father and wiggled her fingers. “Uh, Uh, Papa. Pretty Nails!”

Bob rolled his eyes. “Girls! Okay, let’s do it your way…”

They played for the next half hour. Belle missed way more than she made, and she really wasn’t dressed for it, but she had a good time bonding with her father again. She didn’t say much, but ended up just rebounding and throwing the ball to her father to shoot.

Marta watched Bob and Belle play, and it was almost like Brian had never left. This was a very complicated

Marta called out to the two. “Bob, the girl is going to catch her death of cold. Come back in here. I have some lunch ready”

“All right, Marta. Come on Kobe, let’s get something to eat”

“Shit!” Kevin cursed as he hung up the phone. Why wouldn’t they answer their phone? Gibson and his crew were probably already on their way to Dallas. He was too far away to be of much good, even at mach 1.5. Cerberus was not in Dallas at the moment, though he was on his way. There was one other thing he could try…”

Chapter 18

Red Gibson’s team landed in Dallas Love Field at Ten PM. Red told the pilot to be ready to be wheels up at 0030.

They rented an Expedition under one of the many aliases Red kept ready for just such eventualities. Danny, the driver, pulled up the address and punched it into the GPS. “They’re only about twenty minutes away, Red”

“Good. The less time I spend here, the better. I hate this town”

Red looked back at his team. “We’re hitting the target early. I want this quick, clean and above all, quiet. Ops in this environment are always tricky. You never know when Mrs. Kravitz will be nosing around where she doesn’t belong”

“Roger that, Boss” Vinny replied.

“We’ll check out the lay of the land when we get there. From what I understand, this is a typical suburban home, two thousand square feet, single story, two car attached garage”

“Vinny, you take care of mom and dad. Silencer on?”

“Check”

Joe, you’re the safety valve. Anything goes wrong; you protect the guys on the inside. Danny, you’re with me. We get the kid”

“Okay”

I want to be back on the plane at no later than 0015. Wheels up at 0030.

Their Expedition pulled up to the Kalisek’s neighborhood. They cut the lights, and pulled into the drive. The lights were out in the home. Good. They were asleep. Night owls were always a pain. Thermal imaging indicated two vehicles in the garage and three bodies in the house, all quiet.

“Go!” called Gibson in a whisper..

All the men quietly got out of the car. They were completely silent, professionals all. As they were assuming their tactical positions, Danny picked the lock on the front door. The door opened noiselessly.

Vinny crept into the bedroom. Two bodies were lying in the bed. He could see them clearly with his night vision goggles. Two quiet shots to the head, and they were neutralized. “Two down” he whispered into his throat mike.

Danny and Red crept into Belle’s bedroom noiselessly. A shot from the taser, and the small girl was no threat. They pulled the covers down, only to find a dummy.

“What the fuck?” spat Red as he looked at Danny. His eyes widened in alarm “We’ve been made!”

There was a loud thud in the hall outside the room. Danny and Red ran out to nearly trip over the body of Vinny. They started to make their way to the front door when a quiet, gravelly voice stopped them. “Hello, Redmond. I didn’t expect you to take this job. This one doesn’t have a future” Cerberus was sitting in the chair in front of the fireplace. It was now lit.

Red whirled at the sound, leveling his pistol at the source.

“Cerberus, I take it?” Red activated the laser sight.

“What do you think, Redmond?”

“I heard you might be involved in this”

“Then why did you take the job?”

“It’s just business, Cerb. Nothing more, nothing less. Right now, you’re standing between me and four million dollars, and I never miss getting my target”

“You’re going to miss this one, Redmond. The girl is under my protection. Give me your word you’ll move on, and you can go. Your friend isn’t dead. It isn’t too late”

“Can’t do that, Cerb. I gave my word” He squeezed off five shots, all striking Cerberus dead center mass.

There was silence. Cerberus slumped in the chair, unmoving.

“You got ‘im Red! You popped the legendary Cerberus!”

Cerberus then raised his head. “That was a mistake, Redmond. It will be your last. I suppose you could run, but it won’t do you much good.”

Danny emptied his clip into the body of Cerberus. He didn’t even flinch.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here, Red! This guy ain’t human!”

Red was already out the door. They ran as fast as they could to the Expedition. Joe was nowhere to be seen. Red made it to the truck first, with Danny close behind. “Start this motherfucker, Danny!”

Danny turned the key. Nothing. “Shit! SHIT! He rigged the engine, Red!”

The distinctive voice of Cerberus echoed from the back seat. “All right, Redmond. Let’s get something straight. I don’t like being shot. It…fucking…hurts. Now, you pay the price, but first, I want you to see something” the doors of the SUV locked.

“Shit! Where did you come from?”

“Turn around, Redmond. This is what evil buys”

Red Gibson turned around. To see the destroyed, burned skull face of Cerberus. He screamed, as did Danny. Simultaneous twin explosions from Cerberus’ Desert Eagles blew out the chests of the two mercenaries. Cerberus placed two gold coins on their eyes. “For the Ferryman” was all he said.

The next morning, the SUV was found in the driveway of the Kalisek’s house by a police cruiser who had been alerted by an anonymous call. Four men were in the SUV, dead. Their ID’s were with them along with the documentation of their intended job. There would be no trial for these men. They had already been found guilty.

The police arrived en masse shortly after the discovery. The media wasn’t far behind them. They had been tipped off as well, and they had the same documents that the police had. There would be no sweeping this under the rug. Detective Chris Mitchum was the lead. Phil Albano was his partner. “You can put this in the cold case file right now, Captain. It was Cerberus” Chris said sadly.

The Captain, Willie Gilliard, on scene due to the high profile nature of the case, agreed. “I know, Chris. Work it like any other case, but if what we found here is correct. I don’t know if I even want to find the guy. Hell, he left over six grand worth of gold coins on their eyeballs. Kinda eliminates robbery as a motive, don’t it”

Albano had to laugh. “Yeah, but I hate it when someone takes the law into his own hands”

Captain Gilliard shook his head. “This guy is next level, Phil. He knows what he’s doing. I’ve never seen a vigilante do what he does. When he does the deed, he gives you the reason he did it. These guys were going to kidnap the girl who lives here and murder her parents, all because they were paid by some wack job in India”

He paused, looking at the mob of reporters waiting for a statement. “No sense putting this off any longer. Time to feed the kitties”

In Delhi, Narang’s office was being turned upside down by the police. They had received thousands of video files detailing Narang’s exploits, including video of the women he had killed. Narang was no where to be found, he was on his corporate jet on the way to Myanmar, where he couldn’t be extradited. His satellite phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Narang” the voice was cold, unemotional.

“Who is this?”

“The one who ruined your little attempt to get at Belle Kalisek. Know me now?”

“Fuck you. You stopped me once, but I’m worth billions. I can hire wave after wave of men to do my bidding”

“She must be one special girl for you to waste your money like that”

“She means nothing. I get what I want. Always. You can’t stop me, no one can”

Cerberus paused “Narang, do you know what sucks about a fall?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“It’s the sudden stop. You are now at thirty eight thousand four hundred feet. That’s a hell of a fall”

Narang looked around the cabin nervously. “How do you know that”

“Look at your computer monitor, Narang”

There, in the monitor was the face of a hooded figure. His black full face mask had two mirrored eyeholes. The rest was blank. Not even air holes. “Who the fuck are you?”

“Cerberus. And my face is that last face you will see on this earth” He pulled off the mask, and Narang jumped back. “Good bye, Narang”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” He screamed as the jet exploded.

Belle and her family were back in their house after a day at the safe house. Belle’s cell phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hello, Belle”

“I know you! Cerberus?”

“Yes. I just wanted you to know that I’ve taken care of everyone who thinks they have a reason to hurt you”

“Thank you! I don’t know how I can ever repay you”

“Live a good life. You remind me of someone I care about very much”

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Who knows. I will be watching you, however. You’ll never be alone again. Goodbye”

The phone went dead. Belle smiled. Kevin was coming over tonight, and school was just around the corner. The next six months would be fun.