That confusion wouldn’t last. These were professional criminals. My little disruption wouldn’t knock them off their game for long.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Grace Calderon stand up from her seat as she realized what was happening.
I needed to get out of there. These people were dangerous, and the fact that we were in public wouldn’t protect me once they decided to take me out.
Jumping down from the vehicle, I took off running after Jordy and the boy. The two of them had managed to cover a good amount of ground during my brief distraction. They were already at the end of the hall, almost to the construction area. In just a few more seconds, they would disappear among the manmade labyrinth of concrete and metal.
My first instinct was to follow them. Run after these two victims and keep them safe from the monsters pursuing them. I’d failed so many times to protect people in the past. Surely, this time I would succeed.
Behind me, I heard the running footsteps of the handlers, close enough that I could almost feel their breath on my neck.
Without warning, I was suddenly struck by a memory so clear it was as if I’d traveled back in time.
I wasn’t standing in the airport anymore. Instead, I was once against standing on my sister’s front lawn. I’d just gotten the call that my cousin and her ex-husband were found murdered and rushed over to my sister’s house. There, I’d found her taking care of our cousin’s child. The poor boy had suddenly found himself as an orphan and didn’t even know it yet. At only six years old, he probably didn’t even understand what that meant. He was happily playing in the yard while his whole world changed without his knowledge.
My sister and I had immediately started arguing as soon as I arrived. She never agreed with the way I handled our cousin’s case and insisted that more was going on than just a custody battle. With both our cousin and her ex-husband turning up dead, my sister’s suspicions were proven right, and she was on the warpath.
Our argument had devolved into hurling insults at each other when a car drove down the street. Unlike the cliché Hollywood scene, the kidnappers hadn’t shown up in a sketchy white van or anything like that. The car had looked perfectly respectableand wouldn’t have caught my attention at all if it weren’t for the blacked-out windows.
As a lawyer, knowing the law was my job. Not just criminal law, but all kinds of different laws that most people didn’t even think about. Because of that, I knew that our area had made blackout windows on residential cars illegal several years ago, so the sight of that car instantly rubbed me the wrong way.
Just like when Jordy grabbed the kid away from the handlers, the bell ringers also acted quicker than I ever expected. The car barely even slowed down. As it neared my sister’s house, the passenger side door opened, and someone darted out of the seat. They grabbed my little cousin right out of the yard and were already running back to the car before anyone realized what was happening.
It was my sister’s husband who acted first. He saw everything from the house’s front porch and took off running across the yard after the kidnappers, shouting for my sister to call the cops. My sister didn’t listen. Instead, when she realized someone was about to kidnap our little cousin, she also took off running. There was no hesitation as she threw herself in front of the car to keep in from driving away, bouncing off the hood and breaking one of her legs in the process while her husband wrestled with the man holding our cousin. It turned into a brutal fight, but in the end, my sister’s husband managed to wrest our cousin out of the kidnapper’s grip and the car drove off empty-handed.
And what did I do during that whole scene?
Nothing.
When I realized what was happening my brain just froze. I’d never been involved in any sort of physical altercation. I’d never even set foot inside a gym or taken an exercise class. I spent all my time sitting behind a desk going over paperwork and reading through legal journals. That was my world. Neat and organized, with everything written out in black and white text on a page.There were no quick decisions. No calls to action. I relied on logic, not instinct.
Now, when I needed my instincts to kick in, I found that I had none.
Halfway through the altercation, when my sister was lying on the road clutching a broken leg and my brother-in-law was raining down punches on a kidnapper, I finally managed to snap myself out of my stupor and move. I tried to run forward, but all I managed to do was trip over my own feet and face plant in the dirt.
In the end, I was absolutely useless.
When it was all over, my sister couldn’t even bring herself to look at me. Not only had I failed our cousin, but when our cousin’s son was nearly kidnapped, I’d just stood there and watched it happen. I didn’t blame her. I could barely look at myself.
I’d failed my family. The only way they’d talk to me again was if I changed.
So, I left the law firm I’d been working for and took some time off to travel the world and gain new perspective. I visited other countries, trained at various dojos, and meditated at temples, all to try and hone my mind and body into something useful.
It had worked. I was in better shape than I ever imagined, both mentally and physically. I was ready to finally act and redeem myself. I would be the one to save victims from the bell ringers, rather than the person who stood to the side watching someone else take the risk.
Except, as I watched Jordy running off with the boy toward the construction area that would offer them safety, I realized that history was once again repeating itself. I wasn’t the one saving the victim. Jordy was the one saving the victim, and I was once again in the position to stand behind and watch.
As I continued to run, I started to laugh under my breath.
Maybe this was the way it was always meant to be. Maybe some people were always meant to play a supporting role.
I thought I would be disappointed, but as I watched Jordy and the boy finally reach the contraction area and listened to the footsteps of the handlers behind us, I was overcome with a sense of contentment. I was satisfied with my position. Jordy and the boy didn’t need me to save them. They could save themselves. However, that didn’t mean I had to be useless.
Following Jordy and the boy into the construction area, I stopped as soon as I passed under the first scaffolding structure. Here the makeshift hallways were narrow, and the plywood walls blocked off the florescent light of the airport, casting the area in dense shadow. I waited under the arch of the scaffolding, holding my breath in anticipation.
This time, I didn’t freeze, and I didn’t hesitate.
The moment the first of the handlers rounded the corner, I struck out and punched the man square across the face.
