Chapter Twenty-Four
My eyes opened to a blurry sight. Blinking a couple of times, I allowed them to clear only to see Yuri leaning over me. I jumped in shock as I stared at how close she was to my face. I opened my mouth to retort this to her when I noticed the expression on her face. Her face was contorted into an evil glare as dark circles broadcast her blue eyes. Her lips were positioned in a sinister smirk and there was a growling sound coming from her. My heart sped up in fear as I scooted back from her. As if sensing my fear, her expression disappeared, and she was Yuri again.
“Autumn, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I pushed up to a standing position making sure to avoid her eyes. There was a slight pounding coming from the back of my head. Reaching back, I touched a hand to the spot. Withdrawing it, I stared at the smear of blood on my hand.
“You hit your head pretty good on that stone right there.” Yuri said.
“Oh.”
I wiped my hand on my pants and walked past her where Taylor and Kerry were standing chatting. “Are you guys okay?”
“I think I’m okay. My body has the shakes however.” Taylor said. “What in the hell just happened?”
“I think the painting really was cursed you guys.” Kerry said looking like a scared little girl.
“I might have the shakes, but I don’t think I’ve gained any magical powers Kerry. So the painting couldn’t be cursed.”
“Well I was just saying.” Kerry fired back at Taylor.
The two began to bicker as I took a glance out of the corner of my eye at Yuri. She stared at the painting in silence, and I had to wonder if maybe Kerry was right. Maybe the myth was true. Joaquin didn’t go through all this work of hiding the painting if it wasn’t true. But could the painting really be filled with a dark curse? While I felt fine, I couldn’t help but think that the shock we got from the painting had something to do with Yuri’s evil expression.
“We need to go.” I simply said. I headed back up the platform to get the painting.
“Are we taking the frame too?”
“No. We’ll just get the painting out.”
Flipping it over, I cut the back of the frame and removed the painting. Taylor reached into her bodysuit and removed the plastic tube that will cover the painting until we got back to school. I rolled up the painting and stuck it inside the tube and sealed the end.
“What’s with Yuri?” Taylor said giving her a look.
I turned to stare at Yuri who slowly looked over at us. “I’m fine.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I said with a shaky smile.
“I think not!”
The four of us jumped as we turned towards the double set of doors. A man stood at the top of a ledge holding a gun as more men entered dressed in the same uniforms the guards were wearing. In fact, they were the exact same guards.
“Oh my God, we’re busted.” Kerry cried.
“No we’re not.” I said. I stared up at the man as I took in the expression on his face. This man was not with security. A smirk came to his face as a sinking feeling settled in my stomach. “It’s him.”
The girls glanced at me and then back at the man as recognition began to show on their face. Kerry made a step to move and the man pointed a gun at her.
“Bad move, Miss Athlete.” He said smiling. I grabbed Kerry’s hand as she shook from the fear of the gun being pointed at her.
“It’s okay.” I whispered. “We’re going to be fine.”
The man walked down the steps followed by his security as I glanced over at the opening in the ceiling. I tried to calculate if the four of us had enough time to make it there before he got to us. I figured even if we did reach the opening, one of us would end up getting shot. The man followed the walkway from the steps over to the path that connected to the platform. I silently wondered how he got passed the guards.
“How did he get in?” Yuri said voicing my thoughts.
“I don’t know.” Taylor said in a panic voice.
The girls were scared and so was I, but someone had to take charge. This was the man that killed my father. I wouldn’t let him know how shaken he had me. Clearing my throat, I tried to act normal. “You know who we are. I think it’s only right that we know who you are as well.”
The man gave a laugh as he stopped in front of us. The silver gun gleamed in our direction. “Why dear old Autumn, don’t you recognize me?”
I stared at the guy. He had short black hair cut close to his head and blue eyes. There was a large curved scar that went from under his right eye to the top of his head. His face was also covered in freckles. At first glance, he looked like no one I knew. But as I took another look, my breath caught in my throat. “Mark!”
The girls glanced at me and then turned back to stare at Mark. It was him, but he no longer looked like the Mark we knew. His blond hair was gone and his face was no longer the smooth creamy clear that Yuri used to brag about. I turned to look at Yuri who finally had showed a sign that she was still my best friend. There was a look of shock on her face, but she also looked hurt. She felt betrayed and I couldn’t blame her.
I turned back to Mark as he mocked our shocked expressions. “Don’t look so shocked girls. You of all people should know about secret identities.”
I shook my head trying to make sense of what I was seeing. “This can’t be true. I know you didn’t kill my father, you couldn’t have.”
Mark cackled in laughter. “Oh contraire, I did. But don’t take it personal. I was just following orders.”
“Orders? Who’s Orders?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Mark said smiling. Waving the silver gun at us he said, “No need for explanations, just hand over the painting.”
“Not until you tell me why you killed my father.”
“And tell me why you betrayed me!” Yuri added as tears streamed down her face.
Mark eyes darted over to her as a look of anger came in them. “You’re one to talk. You never once confided in me about you and your little best friend here secret adventures. I had to find out from others about my own girlfriends whereabouts. Do you know how that made me looked in front of my boss? Then you go and dump me for my best friend, destroying my cover, and making me have to resort to other measures in order to keep tabs on you. You’re lucky I haven’t killed you yet.”
“So that’s all I was. I was just your cover!”
“From day one.”
Yuri lip trembled as she fought not to cry. Mark seemed to like the reaction he gave her as his anger resided and he smiled at her. It was like watching him abuse her all over again.
“He’s lying Yuri.”
“What?” He said turning to me.
“You’re lying about the fact that she was just a cover. If she was just a cover, you wouldn’t have added in the part about her dumping you for your best friend. That actually hurt you, which means that you actually cared about Yuri more than you’re trying to let on.”
Mark growled with rage as he used the butt of the gun to smack me in the face. My face flew to the side as I felt blood coat my tongue. My head was already ringing and the added force seemed to irritate it more. But I wouldn’t cry. Not in front of him.
The girls stepped towards Mark as his men pointed their guns at them making them stop. I waved a hand to let them know I was fine. Spitting out the blood, I turned to face him. “You just proved my point.”
“Enough of this!” A guy behind Mark suddenly yelled. “We don’t have much time. It won’t be long before someone notice the gunshots and screams. The police will be here soon.”
Mark turned to me and held out his hand. “Give me the painting Autumn, now!”
I stared over at the girls as our eyes connected. We communicated with our eyes knowing what needed to be done. Turning around in a blink of an eye, Kerry ran towards Mark letting out a battle c
ry. Mark who had been focused on me, turned towards Kerry in confusion. It wasn’t until Kerry was right in front of him, that he realized what was happening. Instead of tackling him, she rushed a guard beside him, knocking him back into the others. Mark tried to raise his gun, but I sent a kick to his arm, making the gun fly out of his hand. Taylor and Yuri tackled the other guards sending them into the water. I sent a kick to Mark’s chest knocking him down into the water. My foot ended up getting tangled with Marks leg as we both flipped over into the water. My body floated under the water as Mark sent a kick to my head to push himself up. The kick was enough to make my eyes blurry, but not enough to take me out fully—though I was pretty sure that if I take one more knock to the head, I would be unconscious again or in some serious trouble. By the time I got back to the surface, Mark had climbed up onto the platform. He was so busy trying to stand to his feet that he didn’t see Yuri who was approaching him from behind. Once again, she had that look on her face. But this time it wasn’t directed to me, but at Mark. An unsettling feeling surged through my stomach as I stared at her. Something wasn’t right.
Mark finally turned to see Yuri, but it was too late. Yuri’s hands shot out and latched onto Mark’s arm. I watched in horror as Mark’s body shook with convulsions. Black lines ran up and down through his veins as the a loud sound of something cracking could be heard.
“YURI NO!!” I screamed.
Hearing my scream, Yuri turned to face me. She took one look into my eyes and let go of Mark’s arm. Her eyes went from me and back to Mark who lay jerking on the ground. “I…I didn’t mean to. It just happened.”
I hurried out of the water and ran past the unconscious bodies of the guards. Yuri was crying heavily beside Mark’s feet. I squatted down beside her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay Yuri. Everything is going to be okay.” I turned to see Kerry and Taylor staring at Yuri with fear in their eyes, and I wondered if mine showed the same, despite the fact that I was trying hard not to show it. “You guys take her. I need to have a word with Mark.”
Yuri headed towards the girls as I turned to Mark. Despite that he had killed my father, I couldn’t help but to squat down beside him, and grab a hold of his hand. I had no clue what Yuri had done to him, but I knew whatever it was had taken the life out of Mark. He was dying slowly and painfully.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Mark eye’s landed on me as he gave a painful choking laugh. “Why are you being nice to me? I killed your father.”
“I know.”
Mark stared at me as the arrogant gleam in his eye began to fade. “I…I know you won’t believe me, but I didn’t want to kill your father. I disliked you a lot, but I never wanted to hurt you that bad.”
I blinked tears away as my throat tightened. “But you did.”
“I had to.” He suddenly cried. “You have no idea what would have happened to me if I’d refused him. He would have made me suffer much more than I am now.”
“Who? Who would have made you suffer?”
Mark gave a squeeze of my hand as his body began to shake more seriously. His eyes widened as he fought to catch a breath. Locking eyes with me he said, “We call him…The Invisible Spider.”
Mark gave one more shake and then he was still. Staring down at him, I felt a slight wave of sympathy for him. I didn’t know whether to believe what he said or not. I removed my hand out of his grasp, and reached up to close his eyes. “Goodbye Mark.”
I turned to stare at the girls when suddenly a loud shrieking alarm went off. The girls stared back at me as the sound of running footsteps could be heard.
Taking a running jump, I dived off the platform into the water as we swam for the opening. I had no idea what was going on inside the museum. All I cared about was getting up that rope. By the time I reached it, Yuri and Taylor had already made their way up the rope, and Kerry was hallway up it, hidden by the walls of the well. I grabbed onto the rope—thankful that I had did the rope climbing exercise in the gym, and pulled myself up it. I made it just inside the walls of the well, when I heard someone shout “over there!”
The girls pulled me out of the well and together we sealed the top back. We grabbed our masks and clutches, making our way out of the secret hidden room. Slamming the door shut behind us, we headed back over to the opening in the wall and back through the sewer. Water splashed around us as we looked around for the opening that would lead us back to the restroom at the Jeu de Paume.
“There it is!” Kerry shouted as we turned the corner.
The four of us took turns maneuvering through the hole back into the restroom. From here, we could hear the sirens across the way at the Louvre Museum. Outside was probably flooded with police by now. We wasted no time dressing and making sure that we didn’t leave anything behind.
“What about the tracker?” I said.
“Don’t worry. I got something for it.”
Taylor removed some rubbing alcohol pads that she’d found in one of the offices at the Louvre. We rubbed the stamps off of our hands until they were no more. Grabbing the clean trash bag out of the trashcan, we stuffed our bodysuits in the bag and headed out of the restroom. We made our way back through the museum and out the back door. Peering around the building, we could see the numerous cars of police as they littered the lawn of the Louvre. It didn’t seem like any of the partygoers had exited the building yet, and I knew it was because of the tracker. By now they realized the painting had been taken and soon there will nowhere safe in Paris to hide. We needed to leave.
We left the Jeu de Paume and moved passed the crowd that was growing on the sidewalks. I spotted a taxi nearby and waved to get its attention. It pulled to a stop as the four of us crowded into the backseat.
“Take us to the airport please.”
“Will do.”
The taxi pulled off down the street. The Louvre Museum began to grow smaller and smaller, and then we could no longer see it.