The conclusion of Indigo

Part Three
Aaron and Edyn sat on one of the queen beds in their hotel room. “You should have asked me before involving her, Aaron.” Edyn stated in an accusing tone. Aaron, bored with this argument, did not respond. His thoughts were still with Whit. He knew he was becoming emotionally involved with her. He did not want to prevent it for the first time in a long time. The line of work that the three of them had chosen did not leave much room for relationships. Sighing, he turned to his twin sister, “Edyn, I know you feel as if you did not have a say in Whit joining us, but she has proven that she is loyal. She did not run to the police or anyone else when I told her about us.“ Edyn opened her mouth to respond but Aaron help up his hand to show that he was not finished. “ I care about her, Edyn. I do. For the first time in a long time, I care about something other than the Crystalline group. I am not going to torture myself by fighting what I feel,” he finished. “When I am around her,” Edyn began, “I can feel her attraction to you. She feels the same about you as you do about her. I can also feel the pain she has inside of her. The loneliness she feels from not having a family. I was only trying to protect you from getting involved. I can see that it is useless. You have made your decision.” Aaron nodded, assenting that he had made up his mind about Whit.
Whit, surprised by the knock on her door the next morning, was still in her pajamas when she opened it to see Aaron standing on her doorstep. “I, uh…I came to make sure you were okay,” he stammered. Whit felt herself blush. “Come in,” she told him. “After you left last night I saw something that could be important,” she revealed. She went on to tell him about seeing Dolan watch him and then seeing Alan Kirk going into the newspaper office. Aaron listened intently, never taking his eyes off her. Aaron reached and grabbed Whit’s hand. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to the paper today,” he began with concern. “But if I don’t and Dolan knows you were with me last night, he will be even more suspicious. We have to find out how he is connected to Alan Kirk,” Whit reminded. Aaron agreed reluctantly that she was right.
Aaron made sure that Whit had his cell phone number before leaving her to walk to work be herself. Dolan was sipping coffee at his desktop when she arrived. He had been allowing Whit to do some accounts payable work and she had been learning how to layout the paper for printing. This morning she planned to work on the layout for Saturday’s edition. Dolan rose from his chair as Whit began setting up the layouts. “I have some loose ends to follow-up on for that accident, I will be out of the office most the day,” he said. Relief washed through Whit. She nodded and smiled at him. Dolan reached for the satchel that he carried with him everywhere. Rummaging through the contents, he appeared to be looking for something. “Damn!,” the exclamation caught Whit off guard, she had never heard Dolan get even a little irritated. “I forgot my voice recorder at the house, now I have to drive all the way there to get it,” he complained. Whit felt more at ease after Dolan left. She set about her work so that she would not linger on the reasons for Dolan’s recent behavior. Whit ran out of tape to place the articles to the pages of the draft copy of the paper, knowing that Dolan had more tape on his desk, she went to grab the dispenser off of his desk. She noticed a folded up piece of white paper on the floor by his chair. It must have fallen out of his satchel when he was rummaging around in it, she thought. Picking up the paper, she glanced out the front window to make sure that Dolan was gone. Whit unfolded the paper and read the contents.
Dolan,
We need to accelerate the plan. Harper is getting suspicious.
Please contact Monroe immediately. In addition, the girl you brought to the house the other day to ask about the supposed accident was the same girl I saw Harper talking to earlier this week.
Regards,
Alan Kirk

Whit took a deep breath. Oh, no! Whit thought, Dolan had taken her out to the Kirk house so Alan Kirk could identify her as the person he saw Harper talking to that day. Whit was more than just alarmed now. If it was not clear last night, it certainly was now that Alan Kirk and Dolan had known each other for a long time. Furthermore, Alan Kirk knew the accident was a falsehood. He had played along with Dolan during the fake interview. He knows Monroe Dusaunt by first name, Whit realized. Dialing Aaron’s cell number as she hurried across the square to his hotel, Whit was oblivious to the world around her. She nearly walked out in front of a car. The driver honked his horn as he whizzed past. Just as she was stepping off the curb to try again, someone grabbed her arm. “What are you doing?” Aaron asked, alarm in his voice. “You nearly walked in front of that car.” Whit noted the concern in his voice and it warmed her heart. He cares about what happens to me, she thought to herself. “I was coming to find you,” she answered. “We need to find somewhere completely private to talk.” She was suddenly afraid that Dolan might be watching her or he could have bugged her apartment somehow. “Let’s go get my car,” she suggested to Aaron.
Whit parked her Saturn in the lot at Midnight Cemetery. Neither she nor Aaron spoke as they walked the path to her family crypt. When they were seated on the bench, Whit turned to Aaron and spoke in a low voice, telling him what she had discovered, showing him the note and sharing her ideas about what it all meant. Aaron sat quietly taking it all in. He began absently playing with a strand of Whit’s hair. Whit concentrated on keeping her breathing normal. Aaron leaned his face closer to Whit’s face. Their lips were touching before Whit realized what his intention had been. He kissed her and she kissed him back. Whit did not want this to end. For a minute, they were alone in the world. When they pulled apart at last, Aaron kissed Whit’s forehead. “When I saw you that first day in the Koffee Klatch,” he began. “I knew I had to know you.” Whit nodded, unable to put words to her emotions. Aaron continued. “I don’t want to leave Midnight when we finish this assignment. I do not want to leave you. I am going to stay. Work in the field for a while longer. Midnight has more mysteries than just the Kirk family. I have been doing some research on the area.” He finished his speech with a deep breath. Whit could see the effort it took him to reveal his heart like that. “Aaron,” she began. “I think I love you.” They sat talking for a while longer. They decided that it was time to talk to Harper Kirk together.
Whit borrowed Ria’s car to keep watch on the Kirk place, waiting for Alan Kirk to leave for work. He finally left at noon. Aaron and Whit climbed the stone steps together and Whit knocked on the door. Harper opened the door almost immediately. She looked up and down Ragged Rock before opening the storm door. “He’s gone, Harper, “Whit said to the woman. “I watched him drive off.” Harper nodded. An unspoken message between the two women, Harper was afraid and Whit knew why. “What do you want?” Harper asked. “We want to help you and the kids.” Whit answered. “Alan wants to send them away doesn’t he?” Whit encouraged. Tears came to Harper’s eyes and she nodded curtly. “Alan thinks it would be best if the children went to a special school. He said he went there as a child.” Harper revealed, wiping her eyes. “Ms. Kirk,” Aaron began. “The school that your husband wants to send Drake and Rayna to is not a good place. They will learn how to use their gifts for personal gain. The man who runs that school does not have the welfare of your children in mind. He wants to train them so that he can gain from their abilities.” Harper looked from Aaron to Whit. “Please come in,” she said as she held the door open for them.
The inside of the Kirk home was a hodgepodge of themes. There were some African ornaments, a worn sofa, Asian themed pillows and throw rugs. The walls were a neutral color. Whit did not see any toys lying around as one ought to see in a house with children. There was no sign of the children. “Where are the children?” Whit asked. “In the backyard, playing,” Harper sighed. “I let them out when Alan leaves. He does not like them to be seen by anyone.” Whit looked out the back window and saw two blonde heads bobbing around. “Alan was not like this when we met,” Harper stated. “He was handsome, sweet and caring. He hid his abilities from me at first then one night I made him mad. It was some trivial thing, burnt dinner or something like that. The room got extremely hot during his tirade. I was sweating profusely. All of the sudden the inside of the trash can caught on fire. I could not figure out how it happened, there was no hot grease or anything around it.” Harper took a deep breath as if gathering the courage to go on. “Alan laughed at me as I searched for a reason for the fire. He yelled, “I did it Harper, I started the fire. I don’t need any help starting a fire. I can do it at will. Of course, I did not believe him. So he did other things, moved a chair without touching it, papers flew off of the table and the faucet turned on by itself.” Whit looked at the woman, she could not figure out why Harper stayed with such a man. Harper met her eyes. “I know what you are thinking,” she said to Whit. “Why did I stay with such an abusive person? Alan was not half as bad as my father and brothers. My mother died when I was very young. My father had no patience for a girl and my brothers followed his lead. When I met Alan, I know it was my ticket out of that hell. However, I went from one sort of hell right into another. Then the kids came along and leaving was not an option. Drake showed signs early on that he had the same abilities as Alan. Drake screamed and screamed when I was holding him. Alan would take him and he calmed instantly. It took me a little while to figure out that Alan was talking to the baby in his mind. We put Drake in school, which did not last long. He could not control himself. Alan withdrew him and taught him at home. Then Rayna came along, she was even more talented than Drake. She could shake her mobile at three months of age. I do not want the children sent to that place. Look how Alan turned out.” Harper turned to stare out the window at her playing children. Aaron, silent thus far, said “Harper, we can help you. I work for a group called the Crystalline group. We take children like yours and teach them how to manage their abilities, use them for the betterment of their world and to help those in need. I know Monroe Dusaunt and his academy is not the place for children. It is a training ground for soldiers who will fight in Dusaunt’s war on humanity. We will provide you with new identities and a new home in a new town. You and the children will be untraceable. Alan will not find you.” Harper looked at Aaron with pleading eyes. “It is impossible to get away from here. Alan comes and goes. Dolan is usually on watch when Alan cannot be around,” Harper said in a teary voice. “Dolan?” Whit interjected. “Why is he watching you?” “Dolan works for Dusaunt. When Alan decided to move to Midnight, Dusaunt sent Dolan to keep an eye on Alan and to help Alan in the event that children were born with abilities. The paper is just a cover. The office is paid for by Dusaunt as well as Dolan’s salary. Alan and Dolan were talking here the other night and Dolan said that a group called Crystalline has sent three agents. Dolan said that the plan to get the kids to Dusaunt had to happen soon.”
Aaron looked at Harper. “Harper, do you want to get your kids to a safer place?” Harper nodded emphatically. “We can help you but you have to be ready to run at a moment’s notice.” Harper nodded again. “I have three overnight bags already packed. They have been packed for months; I was trying to get the courage to run.” Harper revealed. “When will Alan be away?” Aaron asked. “He works until midnight tonight. Nevertheless, Dolan will surely be watching the house. He usually shows up at dark. Alan knows that I would never risk being seen in daylight.” Harper informed Aaron. “We can take care of Dolan,” Aaron stated with anger in his voice. “Do you know where the back door to the paper office is?” Whit asked. Harper nodded. “Great idea, Whit,” Aaron interjected. “Harper and the kids can hide there until it is safe to move them. Dolan will be so busy trying to get here to keep watch that he won’t see you leave.”
As they left the Kirk home, Aaron got on his cell phone to Patrick. “Patrick, we will need your expertise tonight. Meet me and Whit at the Koffee Klatch in half an hour.” With a click of the cell phone, Aaron grabbed Whit’s hand and kissed the back of it. Thirty minutes later, the foursome was squeezed into the back booth of the Klatch. “What kind of car does Dolan drive, Whit?” Patrick asked. Whit described Dolan’s hatchback and where it could be located. “Edyn, you will need to arrange the transport for the Kirks,” Aaron instructed. “What is she going to doing?” Edyn asked, gesturing towards Whit. “She is going to make sure the Kirks are hidden until it is time to get them out of Midnight.” Aaron answered impatiently. Aaron went on to describe how they were going to get Dolan out of the picture. Patrick would incapacitate Dolan’s car. Aaron would get the Kirks to the office. Edyn would get the transportation ready and let Aaron know where the drop point was going to be. When the meeting broke up, Whit had instructions to head back to the paper office.
The paper layout was nearly complete by the time Dolan appeared in the office at four thirty in the afternoon. Dolan typed on his computer for another hour. The sun was setting in the west and its beams were illuminating the office in a natural light. Switching off his computer, Dolan rose from his chair. “Well, I am taking off,” he said. Whit nodded and smiled. Dolan went off to the bathroom. Whit heard him close the door and turn on the fan. Whit hurried down the stairs to make sure the basement door was unlocked so that Harper could get inside. Once she was sure the door was unlocked, she ran back to the paper layout. The bathroom door was still shut and the fan still on when she passed. Good, she thought. I beat him back. Whit bent to continue the work on the layout. Suddenly, a cloth was placed over her nose and mouth. Instinctively, Whit began to fight. She kicked and hit the paper layout, the table and layout crashed to the floor. Whit tried to reach back and claw at the person who held her. She could not get purchase on skin at all. She began to grow drowsy. She could feel her mind and her limbs slowing and then blackness.
Aaron parked Whit’s Saturn down the road from the Kirk home. Patrick had incapacitated Dolan’s car at the man’s house. Dolan would be late for his Kirk watch tonight. Aaron was growing frustrated because Whit was not answering her cell phone. Perhaps Dolan was lingering and she did not want to answer in front on him. Harper Kirk appeared on her porch with the two children in tow. Aaron flashed the headlights twice. Harper headed towards the car. Once they were in, Aaron started the engine. The children did not ask questions during the drive. Harper must have informed them of what was occurring. Aaron parked behind the paper office and led the Kirks to the back door. The door was unlocked just as Whit had promised. As Aaron entered the basement, he felt that something was wrong. Where was Whit? He ushered Harper and the kids in the basement and closed the door. A movement of to the side caught his eye. “Whit?” he called. “Whit is occupied at this moment, Aaron.” Aaron stiffened at the voice. Dolan stepped out from behind a stack of boxes. “What did you do to her?” Aaron demanded. “She is taking a little nap,” Dolan answered in a mocking voice. “Did you really think I was completely ignorant of your plans?” he asked. “I had you and your party pegged the minute I saw you. I know a Crystalline when I see one. Oh, yes, your sister has her little ability; unfortunately, for you she has trouble guarding her thoughts. But you, my boy, you are the gifted one, aren’t you?” As Harper followed the conversation, her head went back and forth as if she were watching a tennis match. Aaron struggled to keep control. His thoughts, on Whit, Aaron’s hands clenched as he felt his anger swell. The shelves in the basement began to shake. Harper turned to her children. “It’s not them, Harper,” Dolan stated. “Aaron has been holding back some vital information.” Boxes began to levitate off the ground. Dolan took a step towards Aaron, the temperature in the room began rising, Aaron kept his attention on the other man. Waves of heat were generating off Aaron’s skin. Suddenly a hammer levitated into the air and flew at full speed towards Dolan’s head. The hammer slammed into Dolan’s temple, he dropped in a heap to the ground. The temperature in the room began to drop and the shelves stopped shaking. Aaron turned to the children. Drake, with a small grin on his face winked at Aaron.
Muffled voices cut through the darkness. One voice stood out among the others. Whit felt warm fingers stroke her cheek. She struggled through the oppressive darkness in which she found herself. A groan escaped her lips. “Whit,” the voice said. “Wake up, I am so sorry,” the voice apologized. Whit could not understand the reason for the remorse. Whit opened her eyes, staring right back at her were the brown eyes that had come to mean so much to her in the past few weeks. “What happened?” she murmured. “Dolan happened,” Aaron, answered. Helping Whit sit up, Aaron kissed her forehead and pulled her slowly to her feet. Her head beginning to clear, Whit recalled the events that led to her being unconscious on the floor. Harper and the children looked on with relief and concern. A banging noise downstairs got their attention. “HARPER!” a male voice stormed below. Harper sucked in her breath. “It’s Alan; Dolan must have called him and told him the plan. Take the kids and hide them and I will lead him away.” Whit and Aaron ushered the two children out the front door. Harper headed to the stairs.
Whit and Aaron did not wait around to see if Harper would be all right. They ran across the square with the kids in tow to Whitney’s apartment building. As soon as they were in Whit’s apartment, Aaron got on the phone to Edyn. She had arranged a Crystalline car to take Harper and the kids to a safe house for the night. “We have to go back for Harper,” Whit stated. Aaron nodded. He did not know what kind of situation they would be walking into with Alan Kirk and Dolan. Aaron decided it was safer to go in the basement door instead of the front. The basement was empty when they entered. “Harper must have led them away,” Whit guessed. A whimper caught their attention. Aaron rushed towards the sound. They found Harper crumpled in the corner, trembling. Beside her were the charred bodies of her husband and Dolan. Smoke still rising off the flesh. Aaron pulled Harper to a sitting position. She was crying uncontrollably. “Harper, what happened?” Whit asked. Harper shook her head. “Alan was so angry, I was sure he was going to kill me if I did not tell him where the kids had gone. Then something happened, I felt heat start in my stomach and the room got hot like it did before.” Aaron glanced quickly at Whit when he heard this statement. Whit did not seem to understand the comment. “Then Alan and Dolan burst into flames,” Harper went on. “I don’t know what happened. At first I thought maybe Alan had lost control but he never would have lit himself on fire.” Aaron began dialing his cell phone. “Patrick, we need some help.” Aaron walked off to another corner of the basement. Whitney helped Harper up and the two women left the basement and headed to Whit’s apartment.
The landscape was still dark at three a.m. Whit, Aaron and Edyn along with Harper and the two children sat in Whit’s Saturn in the empty parking lot of a closed grocery store chain. The drive to Kill Devil Hills had taken forty minutes. The children had fallen asleep. Harper sat in the back with a child on each side. A black sedan glided into the lot and parked next to the Saturn. A middle- aged man with salt and pepper hair got out of the back seat. Aaron opened the passenger side door and stepped out. “Foster,” Whit heard him say, “It is great to see you again.” Aaron and the man shook hands. Whit and the others piled out of the Saturn. Foster appraised the children with his eyes. He smiled broadly at Harper. “What beautiful children.” Harper thanked him and put an arm around each child. Foster stared a moment longer at Harper. “I believe, my dear, that you carry another child.” Harper, bewildered at this observation, started to shake her head. “I don’t think….” Harper fell silent for a moment. “I think you might be right,” she gasped, astonished. “I have not been paying attention to my cycle, I am two weeks late.” Foster smiled gently. “I think we will find that this new child has very strong abilities already.” The children and Harper said their goodbyes and got into the backseat of the sedan. Foster followed and the sedan drove away into the approaching morning. “What will happen to them?” Whit asked. Aaron wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her close. “They will be taught how to control their abilities. They will learn how they can help the world.” Whit turned in Aaron’s arms and stared into his eyes. “Did you mean what you said the other day? About staying?” she asked with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “Absolutely,” Aaron stated. Their lips met as the first rays of dawn crept across the vacant parking lot.
The End