Chapter 34 - Micah

I waited a moment longer. The hand on my shoulder relaxed. Isoli’s feet shuffled. His head darted around the edge of the chopper. I squeezed the trigger. The former president’s body sprawled backwards. His faced glued to the sky. Thunder clapped through the suddenly ominous dark clouds that filled the sky.

A single drop of rain splashed on my forehead. One drop turned into a downpour. Endless water fell from the sky to the desert floor like tears.

My gun clattered on the hard ground. Rain washed down my face as I stood to face the voice behind me. Olivia slumped, pressing her stained red shirt to Eve’s stomach. The rain beat down, washing away the puddle of blood. I wanted to rush to help her, but something told me it was useless.
His brown eyes stared at me. His slender frame stood confident. He spoke to someone at the SUV without moving his gaze.
“Juarez, get the helicopter ready. Don’t waste any time.”
“Yes sir, what about the president?”
“He’s not worth much now is he? We don’t need him anymore. Leave him.”
“Yes, sir.”
A sad smile etched out on his face. He turned to Eve.
“How is she doing?”
“Her heart rate is dangerously high. She’s already lost consciousness and she’s bleeding out too fast. I estimate at least 40% blood loss.” Olivia’s voice cracked. She looked away.
“Who are you?” I tried to sound tough. I couldn’t decide how I knew him. His voice, I knew that voice. But why?
The man glanced back at me. Like he wanted to tell me something but didn’t have time.
“Juarez, change of plans, take Eve to the helicopter.” He opened his mouth to explain something.
“Don’t touch her!” I kicked up the rifle to my hands. The barrel glued on the man’s forehead. His hands shot up in the air. But he remained relaxed. Sympathy and sorrow spread across his face.
“I wasn’t asking if I could take her.” His tone stayed calm, betraying no fear. I glanced at Olivia.
“Can you save her? Can we get her to a hospital in time?”
For the first time since the prison, the first time we met, tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the falling rain. Her blood stained shirt rested at her side. She didn’t need it anymore, no blood came out of the wound. She didn’t answer.
“OLIVIA!” I pleaded.
“She’s gone Micah. I can’t do anything.” Her eyes were riveted to the shirt.
“JUAREZ! Take her now!” The man’s eyes stayed locked on mine as if he knew I couldn’t shoot him. Not right now. I shoved the gun into his head harder, trying to threaten. Juarez inched forward, unsure of whether to obey.
“What do you want with her?” I shouted, “Just let me bury her! She’s all I have left!” My voice lost it’s edge. I had a gun to his head. But I was begging. A sad, pained look shot visibly through the man’s eyes. He turned his head and looked away. I lowered my gun. Juarez gingerly picked up the body and carried it to the helicopter. I made no move to stop him.
“Who are you?” I thought I knew who he was. I just didn’t want to believe it.
“I wish there was a better time to tell you everything.” He stared at Juarez carrying Eve’s dead body. “I hoped you would recognize me first. It’s been a long time though, you’ve gotten so big.” He looked back at me with a distressed smile. “Micah, I think you know who I am.” His voice choked up. He looked at the ground. “I’m your dad.”
It made sense. Why I’d known his voice so well. His grey hair and slender frame had disguised him well. A million questions flooded my mind at once.
“You left us.... Why...?” I struggled to finish the question, afraid of the answer. “Why didn’t you come back?”
He grimaced. “I didn’t have a choice. Coming back meant getting killed. It meant getting you and Eve killed.” A single tear rolled down his hardened face.
“Yeah, a lot of good staying away did!” My eyes shot to my dead sister. I fought to hold back a deluge of emotions.
“I don’t have time to explain it all. I think someday you’ll understand it was survival. Maybe it was selfish, maybe I could have done more, but I don’t have the luxury of going back in time.” He paused. A guilty look spread over his face.  I looked at Olivia, still kneeling over the puddle of blood, the rain turning it a pinkish hue. He spoke again, “Come with me. Fight with us. You have talents. We can make things better.”
“Don’t lie to me, I know why you need me. I know they wanted my DNA. I just didn’t know it was you behind it. You’re sick.”

The man started to lose his patience. “Listen, I didn’t think you’d understand.” He bit the inside of his cheek, “I wrote you this just in case.” He handed me an envelope and turned toward the waiting helicopter. I stared at the note for a long time. He jumped in the helicopter and turned to look at me one last time. He had tried to manipulate me. I realized I couldn’t even trust him with Eve’s dead body. I shouted my final instructions.

“If I find out you tried to use her DNA, I’ll hunt you down. I'll find you. You’re not my father.” I hesitated, the helicopter lifted off the ground, the hatch still opened. “He died 5 years ago.”