2 Brooklyn James Read Online Free Page B

constructed of iron and stone.
    She makes her way hastily to the corner letting loose on a hundred-pound heavy bag that hangs from a mount firmly secured to a large beam in the ceiling. Her sequences of rapid-fire strikes and kicks, called ‘blitz’ training, serves its purpose in defusing her aggression. She works the bag over with a series of jabs, hooks and uppercuts before working up to knee strikes, front and roundhouse kicks. The sounds echoing off the basement walls are of solid punches and kicks accompanied by the rattling of the chain on which the bag pivots. Her controlled breathing becomes brisk and audible within seconds of her exertion.
    The elevator dings as it arrives from the floor above. Dr. Patricia Ryan, followed by William Truly, step out of the metal box into the basement. Looking around, Dr. Ryan questions, “Where are Aubrey and Gina?”
    Emily ignores her, continuing to fire away at the water-filled leather bag.
    “That’s a good way to break your hands,” William Truly scolds, eyeing Emily’s hands free of tape and gloves, her knuckles raw and reddening with each strike. He positions himself behind the heavy bag, holding it still, attempting to lessen its recoil.
    Emily strikes the bag harder now, requiring William Truly to post more firmly against it, some of the punches and kicks perfectly placed and with such force knocking him back.
    “Where are they?” Dr. Ryan asks again her patience wearing thin.
    Emily bends over, her palms resting on her knees catching her breath. “You tell me.” She gasps in and out attempting to replace the oxygen briefly depleted from her lungs.
    “How should I know where they are? Last I knew they were in New Orleans with you,” Dr. Ryan scoffs, eyeing Emily’s right hand, bleeding at the knuckles. Pulling at the scarf perfectly accessorizing the neck of her sweater, she grabs Emily’s hand, wrapping the fabric tightly around it.
    Emily jerks away, standing upright, her lungs fully functional once again. “Where are they? The men at the Louisiana State Pen? Briggs and Tulane?” Emily walks to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water. “Are you playing games with her…Gina?” She holds the bottle to her lips, comforted by its saturation, before continuing, “That’s cruel, Mother, even for you.”
    “You think I sent you girls on some wild goose chase? All this planning and preparing for nothing. You think that little of me?” Dr. Ryan argues, her feelings bruised.
    “Now Tricia,” William Truly consoles using her nickname. “That’s not what Emily’s saying.”
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Emily pipes up. “You should’ve seen the look on her face when Aubrey and I came out of that place without Briggs and Tulane.” Emily slings the water bottle against the wall of the basement. “I have no loyalty to the woman, but a deal’s a deal. Do you know what you’ve done?” Emily paces, her hands fiercely gripping her hips. “You recruit Dr. Godfrey, bring the woman back from the dead, turn her into some Vigilare for your own intent and purpose. You’ve wrecked her life. You make her believe she’ll get her revenge on the men who killed her family. Then you pull the rug out from under her? What the hell is that?”
    Dr. Ryan throws her hands up in the air, shaking her head. “I can’t listen to any more of this,” she says gravely, hurt by her daughter’s conclusions. She departs the basement, passing Dr. Gerald Godfrey who slowly makes his way down the stairs entering the cool, dark underground dwelling, reminiscent of a lair, a hideaway.
    Emily watches Dr. Ryan walk away, feeling partly vindicated but mostly guilty.
    “You know you have to make that right,” William Truly reprimands his daughter, eyeing her disappointedly.
    Reluctantly she nods.
    “Hitting the ol’ heavy bag, huh?” Dr. Godfrey acknowledges Emily, a proud smile displayed on his round face.
    She gives him a weak smile, sliding down the wall