Chapter 4 - Preparation

Jacques opened his eyes to see a group of unfamiliar faces looking down at him. He wasn't sure if what he had been through earlier was a dream or not, but he was vaguely sure who the people around him were. But still, he was slightly confused.

"Where am I?" He sat up and rubbed his head, which was still slightly aching.

"In safe hands, of course!"

"Thunder Bay," he replied seriously, "at least that's what your people call this place. You had a blackout while driving just now and almost got shot by a..."

"...Resistance assassin?"

"Right. But... How did..."

"A woman, I think so, told me when I was out cold. Say, she also did mention that you were coming..."

"Ah, so you've met our Queen already. She's a wonderful person." The captain grinned at Jacques.

"Guess I haven't properly introduced myself yet, I'm Captain DeMarco, head of this mission. Second-in-command over here is Smithson. The rest of the team are Blake, Terry, Jack, Tim, Scott, David, Fang, Tek and our top pilot, Andy."

"Nice to meet you..." One by one Jacques shook their hands. "What are we doing here?"

"Well, there was a second plan that we intended to use in case you were targeted, which was to bring you back to Kharak. But since we're currently too far away from the best spot for initiating Hyperspace Drive, we have to wait for at least another six hours before launching."

Something buzzed lightly in his pocket, it took Jacques a while before he remembered what it was. He retrieved the cellphone and saw that Mark had called him. Without skipping a beat, he pushed the green button and place it up to his ear. "Mark?"

"How does Starbucks sounds?" The caller exhaled. "In an hour?"

"Sure!" He looked at his wristwatch, it said 12:34 p.m..

Jacques kept the cellphone back in his pocket and scrambled to stand up.

"Just where are you planning to go?"

"To meet my son of course. I've been waiting for this chance in a million years"

"Uh, you do know that you're in danger, don't you?"

"Right, you guys can tag along, right?"

"I suppose so..."

"Do I really have to follow you all to Kharak?"

"Yes."

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Oh you definitely will."

"All right then. Another question: Is there enough room for another person? And a cat?"

"Err... I'll have to check that with the pilot. Wait a minute, did you say a cat?"

"I'm not leaving him behind if I have to go there."

*******************

He failed. Miserably. He wished that he could put the gun to his head and pull the trigger before anyone got word about it. But his objectives were not accomplished yet, he could not return to the Headquarters yet until Jacques was killed.

The Resistance will continue.

*******************

Mark never forgot that fateful day ten years ago. He was a young kid at that time, crossing the fringes of being a child into a teenager when the horrible accident happened. It shattered his life forever.

He remembering standing at the porch and waving goodbye to his parents, who had planned to dined at a fine restaurant to celebrate their thirteenth anniversary together. Little did he know that it was the last time he saw his mother alive again.

He clutched the coffee mug in his hands harder than usual.

Although ten years have passed, he never got over the pain of losing his mother and in so, he initially blamed his father for not protecting her enough, but he now reconsidered his actions, which was perhaps or maybe overboard. He was actually glad that his father called him earlier.

The tinkling bell at the door indicated that someone had come in, Mark spun around to see his father pushing the door and peeking into the shop. Once he spotted Mark, he stepped inside the shop, which was reeking with fine coffee.

Jacques took his seat at the table without a sound, both of them avoided eye contact and the silence lasted for another painful minute. Mark was the first one to speak up.

"So, was the thing that you mentioned on the phone earlier?"

"Mark, first of all, I just had to tell that I am VERY sorry at what had happened on that day of the accident. Yes it was an accident and there was no excuses for that. I missed her as much as you do.

Mark looked down in silence, still fiddling with his thumb.

"The thing is, your mother never got a chance to tell you that she was diagnosed with advanced brain tumour a month before the accident. She was naturally sad and depressed when she received the news but she avoided showing that emotion when you were around. She didn't want to upset you along with herself. She wanted you to lead a full life without her."

Mark's face was twisted in surprise after hearing it. He dropped his head to his hands and started to sob quietly.

Jacques got up to sit beside his son, he placed an arm over his shoulder and patted in sympathy.

"I know the feeling."

Jacques waited for him to calm down before telling him about his next plan.

"Son, I have to leave here soon, and I won't be back in a long time, possibly never. Someone is after my life, I'm scared that they might target you or hold you hostage if they can't find me, so I have to ask you this question: can you come along with me?"

"What? Is this a joke?"

"See those four men at the table over there? They're here to escort us to the place."

True enough, all four men turned to face Mark and Captain DeMarco nodded at him once.

"Holy shit, you're serious about this."

"So, yes or no?"

*******************

As soon as they left the café they were quickly bundled inside by the four men behind them. Before they returned to the ship, Jacques asked the driver, Jack to make a detour back to his house.

After a quick scan of the place again, Jacques retrieved a sleeping Kit from the sofa, snagged a bag of kitty treats from the kitchen, just in case he'd starve. He was about to declare "target retrieved" when he spotted the same photo album on the table. Jacques stood there for a few moments, looking at the same face he never wanted to forget.

"Are ya done yet? We're due to set off in less than an hour!"

What the heck, he took out the photo in a hurry with one hand and stuffed it into his jacket. He also shut down the main power switch, he didn't want the entire place to be reduced to a smouldering pile of ashes when he wasn't around.

"I'm done, let's go."