It was a Friday evening and just as always, I and my family members had to go to dinner. I have a sister and a little brother for siblings, so I am basically the eldest of both. My mother is in her mid-forties whereas my father is in his early sixties. They are the best close people to me as they have done everything to ensure that we as their children are safe, and acquire everything we could have possibly needed. We prepared ourselves and as soon as we were ready we all boarded in my dad’s car and off we went to our favorite sushi spot in China town, a twenty minutes’ drive from our home.
We were foreigners in China. However, we had all acquired citizenship after about six months since we first settled there. Our original home is in the United States. So I guess you are probably wondering why we had to move from the most developed country in the globe over to China. Here is why: My father worked as a government official in the United States. He was among the members of the security detail of the president for about seventeen years before he was hired by the National Security Agency as a private investigator.
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It was just after a mission gone bad that my father got exposed and thus became a target. This jeopardized his security as well as that of his family and he was advised to relocate to a much safer place where he could lay low until those terrorists could be hunted down and captured (Peterson& Sengupta, 2019 p. 23). He was given compensation for the remaining years he had left to serve as well as all of our travel documents. We got pulled off from our respective schools abruptly and none of us truly had a choice but to comply.
We would always notice a sudden sad face that my dad would put on when he would be lost in his thoughts. However the many times we would ask him, he would never tell us what really happened in that mission. He would always grin and just smile saying, ‘that is for older boys like me to know, not you guys’.
My mother would always ask us to quit pestering dad about the past as it bothered him a lot, it is only that he would never show it to us. My little brother was especially fond of asking too many questions. One time he would ask why he could not go see his older classmates and the next he would storm out of the room when told to stop his habit of asking too many questions while all his parents have ever done is ensure his safety and wellbeing. I would always go find him, bribe him with his favorite doughnut and tell him to try to understand the pressure that dad was under before we eventually went back home.
I would definitely concur with how my brother felt about moving to this new place. It was indeed difficult settling in a place where we knew no one, let alone the language barrier. We were all used to our original home, where we had fully mastered the place; the streets, shopping centers and had numerous friends. All we could do now was video calls, snap chats and send messages to them, telling them how boring this place really was. But I would say that dad was the one hurting the most.
One time I had come home early from school and I think neither him nor mum heard me walk in. I heard them talking in a really low tone and since I could not help but eavesdrop, I went a little closer to their room to hear what they were talking about. ‘I got all of you guys involved in my own mess. I had the option of declining the NSA job, but I didn’t, even though I knew the possible dangers that it involved. I am sorry for being too greedy. Now I can’t help but wonder when the terrorist that now knows my name will walk in front of that door and kill my family.' Dad was actually sobbing. My heart leaped as I was really scared. ‘You did what you had to do to provide for our family. That is not greed. And no one is going to kill any of us. We have each…Brian, what are you doing? Where are your manners? ...’. Before my mother could finish her statement, I was already on my feet running for my safety.
That evening, we were summoned by my dad, except my younger brother. He then told us everything, beginning from the reason we had moved and why he had always looked so worried. ‘I just knew I would not hide this from you for a long time. I and Marquez had been assigned an investigation on a popular drug cartel leader who was believed to be in the United States at that particular period (Peterson& Sengupta, 2019 p. 23). He is believed to have been smuggling drugs and ammunition over to the United States ( Duchesne p. 9) . I was picked because I had done an undercover job in the same cartel and I was the only resource the company had that deeply understood how the subject worked and carried out his operations (Peterson& Sengupta, 2019 p. 23). I declined at first because I knew how dangerous this was. I had witnessed this man carry out brutal family killings without fear or guilt. The issue reached the president, who then persuaded me to consider taking the job, and assured me the security of my family’.
‘I had no other choice since the request came from the president. So I took Markez in with me and we began the investigations. It took us about two months to track him down. We had a tip from an anonymous source one afternoon giving us the location of the terrorist (Peterson& Sengupta, 2019 p. 23). It so happened that the location almost matched with what we had anticipated so we decided to go there and check it out (Madsen, 2009 p.7). We asked for back up as we headed there. On arrival, we figured it was a setup. He called me and told me he would spare my life this one time and if I was going to hunt him down any longer, he would kill my family (Madsen, 2009 p.7). Markez died after being shot on the neck. I thanked God for helping me get out alive and that is when I quit the whole operation, having lost my friend, something I will forever be guilty about. I was scared the terrorist would come looking for me and that is why we had to relocate. All of you are the most important people in my whole life and I would always put your security first before anything else. I don't want you to live your lives in fear, but for now, just rest assured knowing you are all safe with me. I love you guys so much.'
I thought about every word my dad had said in that evening five years ago as we drove to the restaurant to have dinner. He had sacrificed so much for all of us and we had every reason to give him the respect and support he truly deserved. ‘Hey, what is wrong with you? You have been staring at the empty sky for a while now', my sister shouted shaking my shoulder, and there I was startled and lost for a moment before I muttered, ‘it's nothing, really'.
We soon got to the restaurant where my dad parked the car and led us to the table he had previously reserved. We chit chatted for a while before our order was placed on the table, making jokes and generally having good family time. We all ate to our fill and as always, my brother cried for ice cream. That night we all decided we would have some ice cream so we stayed a while longer. It was the best night we ever had, as it seemed that everyone had put aside all their worries.
We then got back to our ride laughing at my brother's jokes and my dad drove off. It was after seven minutes of driving that my dad said that we were being followed by someone. We all dismissed the statement and continued talking. Suddenly, my dad began driving fast and that is when fear took the better part of us. It was true. Someone was indeed following us and was determined to run us over. In a blink of an eye, we were rolling over and I think I was unconscious for a while before I came to. Everyone was silent. I then heard my dad shout at me asking me if I could move my body. I tried and I just nodded. He removed a paper and a key from his jacket and told me to run as far away from home as possible, and just follow the instructions. I wanted to ask questions but he forced me out. The last thing I heard him say was, ‘I love you. You will figure things out.’
I am a seventeen-year-old teenager, whose family was brutally murdered by someone I do not know. The paper my dad handed me led me to someone who claimed to have been my dad's friend and was going to help me understand everything that had happened that evening. I do not know what pain could possibly exceed what I was feeling right now since I feel like my skin has just been ripped off my own body.
Works Cited
Madsen, Wayne. "National Commission calls for increased CIA, NSA, and FBI powers." Computer Fraud & Security , vol. 2009, no. 8, 2000, p. 7.
Peterson, Amy, and Ambar N. Sengupta. "Polynomials and high-dimensional spheres." Nonlinear Analysis , vol. 187, 2019, pp. 18-48.
Duchesne, Dale Paul. "The Mexican Drug Cartels As Hybrid Terrorist Groups". SSRN Electronic Journal , 2013. Elsevier BV , Doi:10.2139/ssrn.2342599. pp. 9
