ESCAPE

Lady Pinkerton failed to understand how her grandson could have been stabbed by one man, while all those other men were there with him.

"You were supposed to protect him!" she fumed.

"I'm sorry, lady Pinkerton. He said he wanted to have a one on one with Gareth and…"

"Enough of that nonsense! My grandchild is not a fighter! He should never be found fighting. He pays you all to fight for him!"

She shouted on and on, and was it not for the fact that she needed Dream to help kill Gareth, she would have ordered for him to be killed right at that very moment.

Lady Pinkerton went back to the hospital ward and looked at her grandson.

"You will have to live, Vine. You are a fighter. Pinkertons are fighters," she held the young man's hands.

Vine was not moving at all. His grandfather also came in, and he too started speaking words of comfort to Vine. There was no telling whether or not the man was going to make it.

***

In Travis and Aletha's home, Kiara was sitting on a couch, carrying her son on her laps. She had flatly refused to go back to the mansion, and lady Pinkerton, having no energy to either beg or force her, had let her be. She knew that the time was going to come when Kiara was going to come back home; but for the moment, the lady needed to concentrate on her sick grandson.

What she was not aware of, however, was that Kiara had plans of her own. From the night of the fight, Kiara had managed to get hold of the envelope with the fake passports; and she had no intention of wasting any opportunities. The third passport, which was supposed to be Gareth's, she burnt to ashes, and kept the remaining two.

It was too risky for her to cross the boarders using her real name, so she decided to use the passports done by Gareth. When she thought she was all set, Kiara left home.

Aletha was very much a part of the whole plan, and since the Pinkertons were in the habit of giving the Noels money in cash, Aletha had more than enough cash with her. She gave it all to her daughter.

The mother facilitated for everything, and before long, her daughter and her son had flown out of the country; to a destination known only by the mother daughter duo.

When Kiara landed in the East country, she went to a bureau de change so that she could get the local currency. She needed to find the man. She proceeded to go to the one place that Jeremy had always spoken about. It was a company that manufactured image sensors, LCD screens and various other phone and camera parts. They specialized in cameras as well, but they also manufactured parts. It was the best company in the country. Jeremy had dreamt about it all his life, always stating that if he ever got a chance to go to the East country, he was going to visit that place.

Kiara was directed to the Human Resources Officer, and she asked for a man named Jeremy Rain.

"Jeremy Rain…" the lady looked through her laptop. "When did he join?"

"I'm not too sure. Please check for me; it's possible that he did not get a job here, but I'm sure he must have left his resume. Can you check for me the recently sent resumes, if you have any Jeremy Rain?"

"Why do you need to see him so urgently?" she asked.

"He is the father of my son, and he just left home to look for a job. He has not called, so I am worried that something bad might have happened to him."

"Oh," the lady seemed touched by the little story. "Did you have a fight or anything? Why would he just disappear on you?"

"We did not fight. He just came to this country in search of a job. I'm afraid something bad might have happened to him."

"Have you checked in hospitals? Lodges…and maybe prison cells too, you never know." the HR officer offered her suggestions.

"I will do that. But please, for now may you help me by checking whether or not he applied for a job here. This company was his dream company to work for."

"Many people apply to work here. The list is long." As she spoke, the lady was printing some pages. Almost twenty pages came out, and she handed them to Kiara.

"I shouldn't do this. This can cost me my job, but I guess it's no harm if don't only once," she laughed. "Check through that list. Those are the people who applied for vacancies with our company."

Kiara looked at the papers in her hands. The names were not sorted in any way. She wished if only the lady had sorted them alphabetically or in any other way.

One by one, Kiara looked through the printed names. She went from the first page to the second; the third and so on, but there was nothing. She continued to search, and although she was tired, she had no option but to carry on.

When she got to the last page, that's when the idea struck her; that the possibility was very high that Jeremy had used a different name. Which name could he have used?

"I did not find his name here," she said dejectedly.

"I'm sorry about that. All the best in your search," the woman said.

"Ok ma'am, I am sorry to bother you, but may I have a glimpse on the CVs? If I see his credentials, in the event that he is using a different name, I can be able to tell that it's him after I see the details on the resume."

The lady frowned and asked, "Why would he use a pseudonym?"

Kiara was alarmed by the question. She needed to come up with an answer fast. "Nothing; I guess it's just desperation talking. I really need to find him."

"Maybe he does not want you to find him," the woman said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, men are men, you know. You have a son, and who knows, the responsibility may be too high for him. Sometimes man get scared when the wife comes from hospital with an addition. Knowing that I now have two people to care for can scare him off."

"I don't think so. He wants me to find him." Kiara stated with confidence.

"You sound sure of yourself," she smiled at him.

"I know that he wants me to find him."

Kiara knew what she was talking about, but it was impossible to impart the same to another person. How could she have told her about their promises to each other? Which words could she have used to let the woman know that when it comes to Jeremy, he was more than willing to wait for her? How on earth would she have made the woman know about the contents of his last letter; and the assurance she had in each and every word written by him? It was not something to be explained. It was not something that she expected anyone to understand. It was the story of the two of them; a story built up over many years. A story that only two minds could understand. And that story; parts of it, were hidden inside their most treasured books: the two diaries: his and hers.