I must have stared at the message for about an hour, I was angry with her. I had so much I wanted to say to her, but a big part of me was relieved she was ok. My hand was shaking as my finger hovered over the message icon as I contemplated not opening it. "I don't owe her anything," I thought to myself, but I held out hope for months that she would text me, and she finally did.
A message from her deleted profile pop up on my computer screen, which read "Answer your phone," and before I had a chance to react, the phone started ringing. "Is this some sort of Joke, Aisling? I'm not a little kid, no more. I don't play silly games." There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Am I speaking to Adam?" The woman on the phone didn't sound like Aisling. My heart was beating out through my chest. Yeah, yes this is Adam. Who's this." There was another pause for a moment. "Are you alone Adam?" I looked around the room to make sure for some strange reason. "Yes! I'm alone. Look, this is starting to freak me out. Tell Aisling I'm not playing her silly games." "Adam, you need to listen, carefully. My name is Agent Garrison, of the C.I.A."
I hang up the phone. I was so angry, after everything we shared and been through and she would treat me like this. The phone started ringing again this time it was a different number. I answered it and the same woman replied. "Adam, this isn't a Joke. Your life is in danger." "Where's Aisling? I want to speak to her. "I'm so sorry Adam, but Aisling is dead. We believe she was killed by her father."
My whole world was coming down around me. My head was in a tailspin. I didn't know what to think. " What does her stepdad have to do with it?" "Her stepdad was an awfully bad man. For now, that's all I can tell you," she said before hanging up the phone. What in the hell was I after getting myself into? Why would the C.I.A want with me?
I laid in bed, tossing and turning all night. I couldn't believe I was on the C.I. A's radar. My heart was broken. I should have believed her. I should have done something. I couldn't save my mother, and now Aisling. I let everyone down. I was starting to think I was cursed. Everything I love perishes and turns to dust.
The next day in school I told eve everything. I told her about the phone call, the C.I.A, Aishling's father. She thought I was making the whole thing up until I broke down crying. "I need your help," I cried. "What if they want me to do stuff?" Eve looked at me as if I were crazy. "You should go to the police. It all sounds super dodge." "That will only make it worse. The C.I.A know everything." Eve still looked sceptical. "I don't know, it all sounds crazy to me. This could be Aisling playing some weird prank on you." I knew in my gut it wasn't a joke.
Later the evening I was sitting in my bedroom too paranoid to do anything. On the way home from school I couldn't escape the feeling someone was watching me. I kept looking out the window because the same car had been parked outside my house since I got home. I was probably just imagining it all, but what if they were watching me? What if Aisling's dad finds out about me? Or he already knows about me and is trying to find me. The C.I.A could find me why couldn't he? My brain was in overdrive. I sat watching my phone praying it wouldn't ring. I must've zoned out because I nearly lost my life when it started ringing.
It was the same number as yesterday. My knees trembled as I contemplated throwing the phone out the window, but I knew I had to answer it. "Hello!" There was the usual gut-wrenching pause on the other end. "Hello Adam, its agent Garrison." "I don't know what you want with me, I didn't do anything," I said as my voice trembled down the phone. "What do you know about Aisling's father?" said the agent in a stern voice. "I don't know anything about him, I swear. He was Aisling's stepdad. That's all I know." There was another pause, but this lingered. "Did Aisling tell you anything about him?" "No! I swear to God. All she would tell me was he was a bit mean to her." "I believe you, Adam." As soon as her words hit my ears, I left out the biggest sigh of relief. "You need to listen to me for a minute. What I'm about to tell you is classified information from the highest level of national security." I knew whatever she was going to say to me there was no going back from it. I knew whatever she was going to say to me was going to change my life for the worse. "Aisling's stepdad was indeed a bad man. He has done a lot of bad things to hurt this country. Aisling's stepdad was a terrorist and an extremely dangerous one. We believe Aisling found out and he killed her."
I was speechless I didn't know what to say. "Adam, we need your help to catch him."