Doubt (16 page)

“
Ah, yes. Calling out to our Lord our God, Father to all, is a good start,” Raffe said in his monotone voice.

He reached out his hand.
“Do you believe in God?” he asked bluntly.

“Yes, of course I do. I have always had a strong faith in God. But I definitely don’t believe in religion.”

Now
, why did she have to admit that?

R
affe shrugged.

“
Religion is a manmade institution. Not made by the Almighty One. So, no worries. You have passed the test.”

He motioned to her wit
h his hand to come towards him.

“
That’s it?” she asked.

Suddenly, she felt as if
something released her, causing her to free-fall again, but this time, it was downward and much, much faster—dizzyingly faster. She reached out her hand, or tried to.

“
Dear God, help me! I don’t want to die!”
she screamed in her head.

When she
realized that her body was about to go “splat” onto the ground below, she felt arms underneath her swooping her up, and holding her tight. Her body felt like it was drifting down like a feather falling from the sky. She realized Raffe had caught her and was flying her down into the arms of Kerim.

The bile
was rising in her throat against her will. The disorientation in her head and general chaos around her was overwhelming. The many faces looking down at her revealed their mouths moving, but their words were unintelligible. The storm still blustered above. All this made her want to crawl up into a fetal position and retreat.

S
he watched Raffe transform from a winged angel back into his human form. Then she noticed that the storm seemed to have lost its anger, and the thunder was now a dull roar.

“
Cristal, are you okay?”

She
turned and saw Kerim’s face looking down on her. His look of sincere concern comforted her. But, before she could enjoy the moment, another voice interrupted her thoughts.

“
Cristal, oh, my God!”

She turned
and saw Harry. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and terror was written all over his face.

“
Please, be okay. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Tears were streaking down his cheeks.

Harry Doubt, crying for
me? I must be tripping out.

Kerim pulled her closer
to himself and away from Harry. She let her head lean against his chest, and felt calmed when listening to his heartbeat.

“
Let’s lie you down in the van,” he said, as he carried her away from the gawkers.

A loud
sound like a firecracker blasting in her ear made him freeze in his tracks. She saw Kerim staring at something in front of him. With the little bit of energy she had left, she turned to see what it was.

Oh
, freak. This can’t be happening!

STANDING A FEW FEET AWAY, Yaffa Bauer had her 9mm semiautomatic pistol pointed at Kerim’s chest. Cristal saw several other agents in black suits surrounding her, and they had their weapons drawn.

“
Kerim Ilgaz,” she said, “I am Yaffa Bauer, National Security Agent, informing you that you are suspected of terrorist activity against the State of Israel and the world. You do not have to say anything. Whatever you say might be used as evidence against you. Refraining from answering questions might strengthen the evidence against you. Place the woman down and come with us without resistance.”

Kerim
stood as still as a statue.

Yaffa said something to the other agents and they
instantly came swarming around them. She saw Raffe, in human form, walking up to Yaffa, who waved her gun at him, yelling and screaming that she was about to shoot.

He spoke to her in Hebrew
, saying something that caused her to stop. She motioned to the other agents to stand down.

Turning to Kerim, she said,
“Okay, your friend here is going to prove that you are not behind these terrorist activities. I’ve asked my men to stand down. I will be going with you. But if you try anything, I will have my men shoot you on the spot.”

Kerim
stared at Raffe, unsure of his plans.

Kerim, did you know
that Raffe was this weird bird man?
She spoke to Kerim in her thoughts.

He frowned, his jawline tensing.
That meant no.

Yaffa turned,
faced them and asked, “Who wants to join us to find out the truth?”

Walid looked over his shoulder at his friends
, who seemed to be shrinking in their shoes, before stepping forward. “I will join.”

Harry stepped forward
, and said, “I’m in!”

“
Count me in,” Serena said.

Rinaldo
replied, “If they go, I go.”

Harry said,
“Leave Cristal here. She needs to rest.”

Yaffa shook her head firmly.
“No, she is necessary.”

She pointed at Gabriel
, and said, “He must come, too.”

Gabriel looked around and pointed at himself
, saying, “Who, me?” He turned to Kerim, his eyebrows arched.

Yaffa nodded.
“We watch you every day. You and Kerim are conspirators.”

Gabriel
said, “No, not me. I’m just a gamer. I’m not a terrorist.”

Kerim shot him a glare, his nostrils flaring.
He whispered in Cristal’s ear, “Can you stand?”

She
said, “Yes, I’m feeling better now.”

He gently lowered Cristal to the ground
, and then offered his hand for her to grab, helping her stand.

He reached up and held her face in
his hands, searching deep into her eyes. “Cristal, do you believe in kismet? A pre-destined moment, where fate steers your life? In a direction you never meant to go. Where reality takes a back seat to what only your heart appears to know?”

Her heart filled with a warmness she
had always yearned to feel. She had never heard such beautiful words before.

“
Kerim, that sounds like a poem. It’s so beautiful.”

He
smiled, his grey eyes softening. She could see tiny tears sparkling in the corners.

He said,
“It’s a song I wrote for you. When we get out of here, I promise I’ll sing it to you.”

She
swallowed hard, tears welling in her eyes. “Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” There was an ache in her heart, and the pain felt like it was being twisted like a dagger.

He kissed the tip of his finger and then placed it on her lips.

“
Believe in me and never doubt. Promise?”

She gulped
, unable to say anything. Hot tears streamed down her face.

Why does this
feel like you’re leaving me? I can’t live without you.

“
Promise me,” he whispered, his eyes were probing hers while his fingers stroked the tears away.

Finally
, she agreed and said, “I promise.”

“Very touching. For an innocent man, you bleat like a martyr. Let’s get moving,” Yaffa called out.

Kerim
gave Yaffa a dirty look. With his fists clenched, he took a step forward. Cristal could feel her heart racing.

Don
’t do anything crazy, Kerim!

Yaffa raised her gun and pointed it at
him. “Don’t move, or I’ll shoot.”

The other agents
followed suit and leveled their weapons.

“
Cristal is staying here,” Kerim said in a low voice. He reached out his hand and guided Cristal towards Raffe.

The agents raised their guns.

“Kerim!” Cristal cried out as she stumbled into Raffe’s arms.

She
frantically looked over at Serena and Rinaldo, praying that they could do something, anything to stop this. Counting the number of agents that surrounded them, along with where they were positioned, and the weapons directly pointed at them, she realized that they were outnumbered and couldn’t win this battle.

Not s
urprisingly, it was Harry who stepped forward.

“
Kerim, let’s just all go together,” he said.

He placed his hand on
Kerim’s shoulder.

“
We will prove that you and Gabriel are innocent. And we can deal with Yaffa later.”

Kerim
gave him a blank stare, his body tensing. He shoved Harry’s arm off his shoulder.

“
Leave me alone,” he said. Reaching for his Lucky Strikes, he mumbled, “I need a smoke.”

Yaffa
’s face tensed and squared off.

Cristal’s mouth dropped open.

Oh
, sh*t! She thinks it’s a gun!

“
Yaffa! Stop! It’s just a pack of cigarettes!” Cristal cried out. She tried to run, but Raffe wouldn’t let her go.

Gabriel must have
seen Yaffa’s reaction, too, because he rushed towards Kerim, and shoved him out of the way.

Shots rang out.
Bap! Bap! Bap!

In horror,
Cristal watched Gabriel crumple to the ground as the bullets pierced his body. Kerim and Harry grabbed him before his head hit the pavement.

“
Gabriel!” Their screams echoed in the air.

“
Raffe, I demand you to let me go!” Cristal cried out.

Raffe
blinked and released her arm. He stepped back and let her pass. With a burst of adrenalin, she sprinted towards Gabriel’s motionless body. Serena and Harry were kneeling down beside him and trying to revive him.

She flung herself down
on the ground, kneeling into the pool of blood that was pouring out from underneath his back. She scanned his body to see where the exit wounds were. She saw three bullet holes in his chest. The voice of her CPR coach rang in her head.

Focus, Cristal.
Remember the ABC’s of CPR. Check Airways, Breathing, and Circulation.

Her training
in cardiopulmonary resuscitation was keeping her calm. No air, no breath, but there was a shallow pulse.

Good
. He’s still alive. Hang in there, Gabriel.

She blew into
his mouth and pumped his chest.

Breathe, dammit, breathe.

After thirty compressions
, he still wasn’t breathing. The weak beat of his pulse earlier had kept her hopes up, but to her shock, there was no more pulse. Serena knelt down beside her grabbing Gabriel’s wrist.

“Keep going, Cristal,” she said.

Cristal began pounding on his ribs in desperation.

Beat
! Come on, beat for me!

She
slammed her fist into his chest over and over. Serena shook her head to indicate that there was still no pulse.

“
Gabriel! Don’t! Don’t die on me!” Cristal said.

After a few minutes,
she realized that it was too late. Her body was shaking, and her energy was spent.

“Cristal, he’s gone,” she heard Serena say quietly.

“
Nooooo!” she screamed, with her eyes looking up into the dark purple sky. “How could You take him?”

Like a mad woman
, with hands that were soaked in Gabriel’s blood, she shook her fists at the heavens. She demanded an answer from a silent God.

“
Cristal, please don’t,” Harry said.

H
is voice sounded broken. He wrapped his arms around her as she moaned into his shoulder. Suddenly, her body shivered, and she felt herself sobbing from her delirium. She opened her eyes and saw Walid and the others standing around, watching.

Cristal
pushed Harry’s arms away and stood up, numb with grief.

Where was Kerim?

She looked over and saw a group of agents standing next to their vehicles. The sight of those bottom-feeding sharks made her heart pound so hard in her chest that she felt like her ribs were going to crack.

“Cristal!” Kerim called out.

She turned
and saw him being held by two agents, while waiting for another agent to open the door to the vehicle.

“
Kerim!” She called out and ran towards him. That’s when Yaffa stepped into her path with her hand extended out and signaling for her to stop.

“
Stay back, girl. You don’t want to be arrested, too,” Yaffa said with a sneer.

“
Murderer!” Cristal screamed, as she felt every cell in her body begging to snap Yaffa’s neck.

S
he imagined all the ways she could destroy her, when to her surprise, a bolt of energy from inside her body blasted out from her hands. She assaulted Yaffa’s lard ass over onto another agent.

Cristal looked down at her hands in amazement
at what had just happened.

Holy crap, did I do that?

Cristal bolted over to Kerim, and she threw her arms around him. The two agents who had been holding him must have been freaked out with what they just witnessed, because they released his arms and stepped back without question.

“
You can’t leave. You can’t,” she said, sobbing into his shoulder.

Kerim kissed her on the cheek, saying,
“Cristal, please stop crying. It rips me apart to see you like this.”

Her chest was burning as if flames were torching her body from the inside.

Keep calm,
she told herself.

All of a sudden
, a high-pitched sound blasted through the air. The ground began shifting in violent waves, ripping cement and uprooting trees. Kerim reached down and grabbed her around her waist and started to run.

The fear she felt earlier was replaced with an incredible calm
, as if she were only an observer watching the chaos around her. Everyone was scattering and looking for cover.

Serena and
Rinaldo ran to the van; the agents scrambled to a building across the street. Walid’s friends crouched beside the wall.

Harry, on the other hand,
was standing motionless, staring at her with a sad look on his face. He couldn’t be her protector anymore.

“
Stop or I’ll shoot!”

Now what?

Cristal turned and found herself looking into the barrel of Yaffa’s gun.