Framing Felipe (39 page)

dare
to
struggle.
She
didn’t
want
what
was
in
that
syringe
in
her
body.
Her
situation
was

tenuous
enough
as
it
was
without
introducing
suspicious
drugs
to
the
mix.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
153
–
Holley Trent

The
Visa
pressed
his
lips
to
her
ear
and
whispered,
“I
did
it.
Me.
Bashed
her
head
in.

Made
it
look
like
he
pushed
her
from
the
high
wire.”
He
laughed,
and
Sarah
knew
without
a

doubt
this
man
had
no
soul.
He
couldn’t
have.
If
he
had
any
fear
of
Hell,
he
wouldn’t
laugh.

Bile
foamed
up
her
throat
and
she
clamped
her
teeth,
meditating
on
sure
things
and

finding
her
center
the
way
Dana
taught
her.

Chauncey
was
safe.
The
wolves
were
out.
The
bears
released.
Patrick
had
an
advantage.

And
Felipe…how
long
could
Felipe
hold
that
form?

“Oh,
that
stupid
whore,”
Jacques
continued,
now
pacing
the
ground
in
front
of
the

office.

The
fourth
Visa
who’d
been
minding
Sarah
aimed
his
sights
on
Dana,
now
that
Sarah

was
under
duress
of
the
syringe.

Jacques
kept
pacing.
Kept
posturing.
“It
was
arranged
from
childhood.
She
was

supposed
to
be
mine!”
His
voice
deepened,
yet
increased
in
volume
at
the
end.
It
was
the

closest
thing
to
a
villain
speech
Sarah
had
ever
heard,
and
it
scared
her.
She
couldn’t

believe
people
like
him
existed
in
real
life.

“Spawned
you
two
freaks,
just
like
your
father.
Maybe
it
was
for
the
best
she
died
so

there
wouldn’t
be
more.”

Keep
your
cool,
Felipe.
Even
as
she
thought
it,
she
knew
it
was
something
that’d
be

damned
near
impossible
if
she’d
been
in
his
shoes.
If
that
fool
had
called
her
mother
a
bitch,

he
wouldn’t
have
lived
long
enough
to
get
the
next
word
out.
But
then
again,
she
wouldn’t

have
lasted
much
longer
after
that
herself
with
all
the
muscle
around.

Now,
RV
park
residents—human
or
freak,
Sarah
couldn’t
tell
which—pressed
hands

and
faces
to
the
glass
of
their
homes,
peeking
out,
but
too
scared
to
assist.

Sarah
couldn’t
blame
them,
but
she
hoped
at
least
one
of
them
had
the
good
sense
to

dial
9-‐1-‐1.
If
Mr.
Tolvaj
could
hold
on
just
a
bit
longer…

“You’re
never
going
to
find
him,
Castillo.
If
he
were
a
good
man,
he
wouldn’t
have
left

you
two
in
the
dust,
huh?
Maybe
he’s
dead,
too.
Oh
well.
He’ll
never
get
found.
And
guess

what?
When
I’m
done
with
the
two
of
you
idiots,
there’ll
be
nothing
left
of
you
to
find,

either.”

So,
Fabian
was
alive.
Maybe
there
was
hope.
Sarah
swallowed,
cognizant
of
the
needle’s

placement,
and
made
good
eye
contact
with
Dana.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
154
–
Holley Trent

Dana
closed
both
eyelids
in
a
long
blink.
At
your
leisure
,
she
was
saying.
She
trusted

Sarah
to
do
what
she
needed
to
at
the
right
time,
even
if
it
was
reckless.
They’d
clean
up
the

mess
later.

“Hey,
boss.
Here’s
his
girlfriend,”
the
needle-‐wielding
Visa
yelled,
now
back
in
the

original
form
he’d
taken
as
a
circus
hand.
Must
have
been
his
natural
one.
“Guess
what?

She’s
the
same
bitch
who
fed
info
to
the
FBI
at
the
club.”

“Oh.
Good
to
know.”
Jacques
raised
his
gun,
and
though
Sarah
should
have
been

concentrating
on
that,
black
smoke
was
now
pouring
out
of
the
office
behind
it.
It
pulled

her
attention
away
from
the
needle
prick
at
her
neck.

She
growled
out
her
anger
as
a
blur
of
fur
streaked
past
in
her
periphery.
Patrick.
He

darted
between
the
trailers,
and
she
was
unsure
if
anyone
had
seen
him
beyond
her.
But
a

quick
glance
at
Dana,
whose
eyes
tracked
to
the
left
briefly,
indicated
she’d
seen
her
dirty

cat
as
well.

A
shot
rang
out
during
Sarah’s
moment
of
distraction,
and
she
saw
the
flames
from
the

trailer
at
the
same
time
Felipe
phased
to
his
physical
form
in
front
of
her.

The
fiery
pain
in
her
side
registered
as
she
hit
the
ground,
Felipe
falling
on
top
of
her.

She’d
been
shot?

“Felipe?”
she
croaked,
trying
to
will
her
heart
rate
down,
hoping
it’d
keep
her
blood

loss
to
a
minimum.
It
was
more
important
than
ever
she
be
whole.
Healthy.

“
Querida
?”

“Just
checking.”
She
closed
her
eyes
on
the
pain,
and
there
was
darkness.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
155
–
Holley Trent

Sarah
watched
the
hospital’s
on-‐call
surgeon
quietly
exit
the
room,
and
she
blew
out
a

deep
breath,
letting
the
events
of
the
day
fully
settle
in
her
brain.
For
the
most
part,
she
felt

like
they’d
failed
their
mission.
Jacques
and
his
Visas
got
away
at
the
first
sound
of
sirens,

and
Felipe
was
no
closer
to
locating
his
brother.
But,
the
good
news
was
the
fire
he’d

started
when
Jacques
was
busy
terrorizing
them
all
destroyed
many
of
the
contracts

binding
the
long-‐time
performers
to
the
troupe.
They
could
leave
and
no
court
anywhere

would
tell
them
otherwise.

Felipe
did
find
his
birth
records
and
passport,
along
with
Fabian’s,
and
squirreled
those

out
before
lighting
the
match.
He
was
thirty-‐four
years
old
and
born
in
Cataluna,
Spain
to

Felipe
and
Jacqueline.
That
saint’s
medallion
had
belonged
to
his
father,
and
he
hoped
to

get
it
back.
He
hadn’t
realized
he
dropped
it.

The
door
swung
open
and
a
hand
gripped
the
divider
curtain’s
edge.
Sarah
braced

herself
for
yet
another
nurse
or
doctor
checking
in
on
their
charge,
but
no.
She
breathed
a

sigh
of
relief
to
see
part
of
her
troupe.

Doc
trailed
Dana
and
Patrick,
and
bringing
up
the
rear
was
an
ashen-‐faced
Felipe,
who

walked
with
a
slight
slump
to
his
shoulders.

“Hi,”
she
said
to
them
all.
“Is
everyone
all
right?”

Dana
brushed
some
hair
back
from
Sarah’s
forehead
and
nodded.
“Mr.
Tolvaj
is
in

critical
condition,
but
stable.
We
put
the
Gypsies
up
at
Eric’s
lodge
until
we
can
figure
out

something
else.
They’re
watching
over
Chauncey.”

“Send
Chauncey
to
my
parents.
I
told
him
I’d
get
him
a
home.”

“Okay.”
She
smiled,
but
it
was
a
weak
one.
“I’ll
do
it
in
the
morning.
I
think
it’ll
be
good

for
him
to
get
far
away
from
here.
Your
parents
have
enough
land
out
there
in
the
boonies

he
can
shift
and
run
during
the
full
moon
without
being
spotted.”
She
gripped
Sarah’s
hand

and
squeezed
hard.
“Sorry,
honey.
That
whole
thing
was
a
mess.
We
should
have
had
more

bodies
there.”

Sarah
tried
to
sit
up,
and
cringed.
“No!
Don’t
apologize.
I’m
the
one
who
jumped
in
that

van
trying
to
play
lone
gun.
If
it
weren’t
for
you
and
Patrick,
I’d
probably
be
toast.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
156
–
Holley Trent

“It’s
my
fault,”
Felipe
said,
edging
close
to
the
bed
and
raking
his
fingers
through
his

disheveled
hair.
“I
thought
I
could
confront
him
on
my
own,
but
everything
by
then
had

become
so
intertwined
that
we
all
had
something
at
stake.
I’m
sorry
it
took
me
so
long
to

come
to
you.
I
saw
the
needle,
but
I
thought
you—no,
I
knew
you’d
hold
down
the
fort
while

I
got
the
papers
I
needed.
Still,
it
was
stupid
of
me
to
leave
you
exposed.”

“You
trusted
me
to
hold
them
off?”

He
raised
his
shoulders
in
a
small
shrug
and
his
face
pulled
into
a
grimace
as
he

reached
for
his
wound.
She’d
been
the
one
carried
off
in
an
ambulance,
right
behind
Mr.

Tolvaj.
His
gunshot
wound
had
yet
to
be
tended.
He’d,
literally,
disappeared
when
the
cops

arrived.
Fortunately,
the
few
non-‐weirdo
residents
of
the
campground
couldn’t
remember

seeing
him
at
all.
They
saw
and
heard
some
animals—one
of
which
attacked
Sarah—and

they
saw
a
bunch
of
men
with
guns.
“I’ve
seen
you
work.
Know
you’re
careful.”

“I
wasn’t
at
my
best.
I
was
distracted
by
that
pedophile,
and
I—”

“Hey.”
Dana
snapped
her
fingers,
and
when
Sarah
raised
her
gaze
to
the
lead
Shrew,

she
found
her
wagging
her
index
finger
at
her.
“Don’t
go
there.
Yeah,
you
were
tired
and

couldn’t
react
to
the
twelve
million
explosions
going
off
around
you.
I
felt
like
everything

was
happening
in
slow
motion
myself,
and
I’m
nowhere
near
as
tired
as
you.
You
did

damned
good
given
the
circumstances.
The
past
few
months
for
you
have
been
pretty

shitty,
and
we’re
going
to
fix
that.”

Sarah
cocked
up
a
brow,
but
before
she
could
say
anything,
Felipe
held
her
face

between
his
hands
and
stared
into
her
eyes,
assessing
her.
Dana
backed
away,
whispering

to
Patrick
at
the
door
while
Doc
scanned
Sarah’s
chart.

“
Querida.
”

She
stared
into
his
pale
gaze
and
found
his
eyes
tired.
She
felt
like
if
she
could
see
into

his
soul,
it’d
be
weary.
Exhausted.
Maybe
even
a
little
frightened.
“Yeah?”

And
his
eyes
were
just
as
penetrating.
He
seemed
to
be
reading
her
fear
and
hesitance

and
desire
and
everything
else
she’d
been
trying
so
long
to
suppress,
but
couldn’t
anymore.