They arrived first. “Who are they?” I asked. “Two men in black suits,” Sarah replied. “They arrived at the house in a black van.”
I saw them from the bedroom window and immediately realized they were up to no good. David and I managed to sneak through the back door and hide in the neighbor’s shed. We watched as they broke down the door and entered the house.
There they turned everything upside down, looking for something. And then they left. We waited until dark and walked to the nearest town. From there, we drove to Cleveland.
I had Mary’s address; John mentioned it once. “Weren’t you followed?” I asked. Sarah shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
We were very careful. I threw away my phone so they wouldn’t track us. I bought a new one here in Cleveland to send you a message.
“I don’t know if you understood?” “Understood,” I nodded. “That’s why I came to the cabin. And, apparently, I almost ran into the same people. I told them about my visit to the cabin, how I hid in the woods from strangers in black suits, about John’s call and his warning.”
“So it’s true,” Sarah said thoughtfully. “We really are in danger.” “But why? What did John do? And who are these people?” All eyes turned to Mary.
If anyone could shed light on John’s secrets, it was probably her. The old woman sighed and got up from the sofa. “I’ll make some tea,” she said.
The conversation would be long. While Mary busied herself in the kitchen, Sarah and I exchanged news. I told her about the note found in the safe’s hiding place, about the strange coordinates and codes.
“What does all this mean?” Sarah wondered. “It sounds like a spy novel, not real life. Maybe it is,” came Mary’s voice, returning with a tray of teacups and a plate of biscuits.
“Perhaps John really is connected to what we would call espionage.” She placed the tray on the table and sat down in the armchair opposite us. “Actually, I’m not John’s aunt,” she began.
“I’m his curator. Or rather, I was, until he decided to quit the game.” “Curator?” I asked again. “In what sense?” “John works for the special services,” Mary explained.
“Or rather, he worked. He was an undercover agent for an international criminal group specializing in arms and drug smuggling.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“John? A special services agent?” It sounded so absurd, so implausible, that I almost laughed. But Mary’s face was completely serious. “Are you joking?” Sarah asked, apparently feeling the same way I did. “I’m afraid not.” Mary shook her head.
John was recruited 15 years ago, while still a student. He was specially integrated into the organization. To do so, he had to create a new personality, a new biography.
And then another, when it was necessary to expand his circle of contacts. But why did he have to get married? Sarah wondered. “Why start a family if he was working undercover? This is part of the legend,” Mary explained.
“A family man inspires more confidence. Besides, it gave him a certain stability, an anchor in the real world. Undercover agents often lose their sense of their own personality.”
Family helped John remember who he really was. “And the second family?” I asked. “Why did he need me if he already had Sarah and David?” Mary looked at me sympathetically. “It wasn’t planned.”
John met you during one of the operations. You were only supposed to be a source of information, but he fell in love. He truly fell in love, for the first time in many years.
He shouldn’t have married you; It was a violation of every rule, but he couldn’t resist. His words took my breath away. John truly loved me.
I didn’t pretend, I didn’t play a role, but I truly felt something. “If you’re his guardian, why did you allow it?” Sarah asked, and I sensed bitterness in her voice. “Why didn’t you stop him when he decided to start a second family? I tried,” Mary sighed. “I convinced him it was too risky, that he was endangering himself, the women, and the child.
But he was steadfast. He said he’d overcome it, that he could protect everyone. And I must admit, he succeeded.
Until recently. “What changed?” I asked. Mary hesitated, as if weighing how much she could tell us. Six months ago, John received information about a large shipment of weapons.
It wasn’t a common weapon, but a chemical one, prohibited by international conventions. He passed the information to management, and an operation was set up to intercept it. But something went wrong.
The criminals learned of the impending raid and managed to escape. They suspected there was a mole among their ranks and began investigating. John realized the circle of suspects was narrowing and his exposure was in danger.
It’s only a matter of time. He decided to disappear, fake his death, and start a new life. With the two of you.
How so? We exhaled at the same time as Sarah. “He had a plan,” Mary continued. “He prepared documents, money, new identities for you and the child.
He was going to talk to each of you first, explain the situation, and then arrange your meeting. He hoped that, if not you would become friends, you would at least coexist peacefully for the sake of common safety. But he didn’t have time.
They discovered him sooner than expected. “What’s wrong with him now?” Sarah asked, her voice trembling. Mary held out her hands. “I don’t know.”
He contacted me three days ago, said I needed to keep a low profile, and that he would get back to me when it was safe.” I haven’t heard from him since. A thick silence fell over the room.
Each of us tried to comprehend what we were hearing. John. He wasn’t just a person leading a double life, but an undercover special services agent.
It explained a lot. His frequent absences, his strange phone conversations, his reluctance to talk about his work. But accepting this truth wasn’t easy.
So what do we do now? asked David, who until then had been listening silently to the conversation. Are we in danger? Mary nodded. I’m afraid so.
If the criminals track John down, they can get you too. To use it as leverage or simply for revenge. So now we have to hide for the rest of our lives? asked Sarah bitterly.
“Not for the rest of our lives,” Mary shook her head. “John left you a path to salvation. Emily, you mentioned a note with coordinates and numbers.”
I nodded and took the folded sheet of paper I found in the safe’s hiding place out of my pocket. “Here, read it yourself.” Mary took the note and studied it carefully.
I thought so, she nodded. “These are the instructions John prepared for you on how to find shelter and money. The coordinates point to a place in the Pennsylvania woods.
There’s probably some hiding place with documents or keys. The mention of the tooth… It’s about John.”
He really does have a cavity in his tooth with a microchip. It contains the encryption key to access the server with additional documents. And the access code to the account.
Apparently, this is for the bank account that holds the money for a new life. But how will this help us? I asked. John disappeared; the encryption key is with him. How can we access these documents and the account? Mary thought.
Maybe there’s a copy of the key. John was forward-thinking; he probably made a backup. Maybe it’s in the cache, at the specified coordinates? So we have to go there? Sarah clarified.
“I’m afraid so,” Mary agreed. “But it’s risky. They could follow you.”
I remembered the strange men in black suits who searched Sarah’s cabin. Were they criminals looking for John? Or perhaps special services agents, John’s colleagues, trying to find him or protect his family? And you can’t help? I asked Mary. If you’re his curator, you should have resources, connections.
The old woman shook her head. “I’ve been retired for three years. Officially, I have no connection to John’s operation.
I can advise, provide temporary shelter, but nothing more. Besides, the situation is complicated. John has been acting on his own responsibility lately, without always informing the leadership.”
So I’m not even sure who I can trust. So we’re on our own, Sarah summarized. Only we can help each other.
Silence fell. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. The situation seemed hopeless.
Danger threatened us, John disappeared, and the only way out was a mysterious hiding
