Albert muted the television again.
“What the hell?” I was drawing a complete blank.
“You don’t remember having a head on collision?”
“No.”
“What’s the last thing you do remember?”
I thought past the pain in my head. “Journey dumping me.” I moved my arms rotating my shoulders. There was no pain anywhere else but my head. How could that be if I’d been in a head on collision?
Albert was now looking at me with a thoughtful look. But I was already one step ahead of him. Throughout my life I’ve experienced two kinds of black outs. One that seemed almost natural to me. Although, it was a change of personalities per say, I still remembered everything that happened.
However, there was another black out that have happened where there was a vague memory, but it was just out of reach. Always just out of reach.
“Anything in the news about me trashing a restaurant and leaving a pile of bodies?”
Albert shook his head. “Not a word… But then again, it never is. What happened?”
I exhaled. “One minute I was beating the sh*t out of that poetry reciting bastard. And the next I was surrounded by some cats dressed in full military gear. They didn’t trigger my alter until one of them picked Journey up and slammed her on the ground, hurting her.” I shook my head.
“The rest was history. When I came through again I was surrounded by bodies. Nothing new there. However, this accident.” I shook my head again. “That sh*t didn’t happen.”
“What did happen?”
I rubbed my hand along my head to my neck, trying to rub away some of the stiffness. “I don’t know….”
Albert slapped his hat against his thigh. “They f***en with your head, man! And I’m telling you, your dad got something to do with it. Something ain’t right with them people.”
For as long as I could remember, I’ve had Albert in my life. To a lot of folks, he appeared to be an old man enjoying his retirement years and before that, my driver. But looks were misleading. Albert was one of the deadliest men I knew.
Like me, he’d been a military man in his youth. He enlisted in the army at the age of seventeen. By the time he was twenty –three, he had been recruited for a hostage rescue and counterterrorism force, one of the “Tier One” units. They recruit almost exclusively from other SOF, in particular the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Now, he was what our government considered retired and extremely dangerous. The old fox liked to argue that he had a more impressive military career than I. Because of course in his day, the enemy was smarter, stronger and faster. Albert said the world wide web was turning the world into a bunch of pu*****. His words.
Although that was a bunch of poppy cock, I still trusted him with my life and the life of my woman and child. He has been telling me something has been going on with these black outs that I have no memory of for a while.
At first, I waved that away as nonsense.
But now…
Now, I was beginning to believe him. There was no way in hell I was in an accident. I sat for a minute and eternally checked my body again. Outside of my head I wasn’t feeling any pain anywhere else. This accident story was a bunch of bull****.
He lifted his hand to rub his head. “I don’t know, but whoever it is, they’re messing with my head too.”
Also something he’s been saying for a while.
“Do you have pictures of the wreck?”
He took out his phone and scrolled through it. This is why I trusted him with my life. He’d heard I’d been in a crash and I don’t doubt he’s done a full investigation already, which is why he knows I spoke the truth when I say it didn’t happen.
“They said the car came at you head on at thirty miles per hour.” He handed me the phone.
Son of a *****! My damn car was totaled.
“It’s only one problem with their story.” He took the phone and scrolled through a couple more pictures before handing it back.
“Them bastards!” I hissed, feeling rage waking up inside of me.
Albert had taken a few close-up shots of the smashed-up hood. Deep in the creases were brick particles that who’d ever smashed my car into a wall missed when they were cleaning up behind themselves.
“You got to figure this thing out, kid. You can’t keep pushing this to the back burner. You got a woman and child now that you need to keep safe. Whoever is playing with your head is now a danger to them. You understand that, right?”
I nodded balling up my fists wanting to destroy something. When it was just me and Albert was spouting what I thought at the time was nonsense that was one thing, but now things were not adding up. And there was no way I was taking a chance with Journey and Ayana’s lives.
“You’re not going to want to hear this, but I don’t think you can trust your parents. It may be wise to hide your hand from them.”
He was right, I didn’t want to hear that. I mean it was true that I didn’t come up in the warmest house. My parents weren’t the type that heaped on the affection. I don’t think I could ever remember them telling me they love me or me telling them for that matter. They often spoke about how proud they were of me, but that was about as far as their endearments went.
Still, they are my parents. What Albert was suggesting was unimaginable.
“You probably shouldn’t trust them noodle necks down at the bureau either.” He grunted. “Hell…you’re in a tight spot, kid. I don’t know where you should even begin your search.”
“I do,” I told him, as my soul cringed at the thought.
He chuckled. “Journey’s brother…”
I nodded. “I’d rather work with a leprechaun than work with
