The Doorway by TW Smith (microsoft ebook reader txt) 📕

had to admit even if the significance completely escaped him.  Still, anything with Smaug the dragon was alright by him so he took it with him.  Still intent on concealing his discovery, he re-locked the chest and returned the key to its hiding place.  He fleetingly observed the torn pages from his mother’s copy of her book but knew better than to think that those pages would ever be found given all the secrecy shrouding this situation already.  He confidently hid his acquisition in the back corner of his closet.

The following evening, still intrigued with figuring out what the secret was, he asked his mom to rent the movie the Hobbit and was almost surprised when she agreed.  The movie had its share of deviations from the story cast to print but it was still entertaining.  The dragon on the towel was a perfect representation of the dragon in the movie which was really cool onto itself.  Regrettably, no new insights were to be found in those hours.  He inwardly complained to himself that he could have been reading a book instead.

Two days later, when his mom announced to him the reservations to the beach front house, he manages to forget all about the towel and the secrets and pretty much everything else for that matter.  His mom worked a lot despite her affliction and thus usually didn’t really feel up to much when she was at home so such vacations were a rare treat.  He was determined not to waste this one.  With only a week to go before the day of departure, he decided to start packing now.  Even more thrilling was the news that he was going to be driving.  He had been afraid that his permit would go to waste before he ever got a chance to practice driving and take the test.  At that moment, there was nearly nothing that could have erased the smile spreading from one ear to the other from his glowing face.  His surge of enthusiasm was so contagious that even his mom couldn’t help but smile for a little while although hers really didn’t hide her pain very well.

The next few days were a blur of chores and helping in any way he could to ensure that nothing remained to jeopardize their travel plans.

Chapter 2

The day of the road trip finally arrives and David is up especially early loading the luggage into the back of the car and making sure that his drivers permit, the car registration and the proof of insurance (yes he had read the driver’s hand book twice so far and was intent on not forgetting a single word of it when it came time to take the test) were all in order.  It didn’t take an act of fate to ensure that he was the first in the car and he waited patiently for his mom to be ready.  The songs on the radio seemed like really good traveling music just then with the tapping of his foot to a melody by Joan Jet audible through the open windows.  His mom stood on the porch for a moment smiling at David’s eagerness as if considering whether this trip was actually such a good idea.  In the end, though perhaps reluctantly, she slowly descended the stairs and allowed David, who had gotten out and walked around the car, to open and close her door for her.  She reflected aloud what a considerate child he had grown into.

They traveled a little while in silence while she rested her eyes.  Once she had directed him to the highway, there was really nothing for him to do but stay in his lane.  He beamed at her while he sang along to the music.  As if her words were drawn out by destiny, or perhaps Destiny’s Child … which happened to be playing on the radio, she started the conversation with the hobby nearest and dearest to his heart, books.

“So, what are you reading these days?”  The question felt very genuine but her voice sounded really tired.  He knew that she had had a terrible time since her hip injury but her motivation and resolve showed signs of advanced decay and he constantly worried about her.

“Running beneath the shadows,” he announced proudly and cheerfully, hoping he had concealed his growing anxiety.  Her reaction was not what he had expected.

She clearly made no effort to hide her fretting what-so-ever.  “My book?  Really?”  After composing herself a little she continued, “I mean, haven’t you read that like three times already?”

A little chagrinned by her question he responded “well, ten actually but who’s counting?”

“I’m sorry.  I really am flattered that you enjoy my story … my book so much but there are so many … stories out there that it seems a shame to repeat the same one.”  She looked over hopefully but David didn’t catch her express thanks to a brief surge in the volume of the traffic.

“It’s alright mom,” he soothed though the displaced memory of secrets still hidden in her book and that chest resurfaced in his mind.  What was she hiding behind those sleepy eyes of hers was all he could think about until the traffic died down a little allowing renewed conversation.

“So who is your favorite character?” Her question was softer than before, almost reminiscent.

“Oh, Sienna to be sure.”  There was no hesitation in his answer whatever which brought a smile to his mom’s face.  He took her silence as an invitation for elaboration so he continued.  “Well, I mean aside from sounding like a really hot girl,” he couldn’t help but notice the sudden flush of his mother’s face, “she is so confident; like she could take on the world and be the last man standing … well, the last woman anyway.”  Now it was his turn to get flushed.

"So what do you think Sienna was like as a girl?" asked his mother with a whimsical smile on her face.

"Oh, I'll bet she was the most beautiful girl in school, and the smartest … and the most clever.  Way out of my league, that's for sure."  When his mom raised her eye brows, he flushed a little and hurried on.  "She was obviously really smart and had a big heart but extremely daring.  I can just see her in pig tails giving her mom no end of trouble.  The thought of a game of hide and seek where Sienna’s mom searched in vain for the vanished girl sprouted in his mind.  I would have loved to read about her childhood too.  Will you tell me about 'her', mom?"

"I think that your perception of her childhood is really the most important,” she casually evaded.

“I’ll bet she read everything she could get her hands on too, probably drove the teachers nuts.”  David thought for a moment before continuing.  “She was probably the most beautiful girl at the prom too.  I’ll bet my prom is a total bust when I don’t even have a date.”  Some of the energy drained from his normal enthusiasm.  There were lots of thoughts about how wonderful Sienna’s childhood must have been.

Oh, I’m sure you’ll have very fond memories about your prom,” she consoled.

“And I’ll bet she had her first job lined up before she even graduated.  I wonder if she started with the CIA or maybe the FBI.  I’m sure it wasn’t the DEA or she would probably be a lot less likable.  And …”  He paused when he noticed the reminiscent look on his mom’s face.  He wondered if she had been thinking the same thing when she had dreamed up the story.  The pause gave his mom room for another question though David was still considering the most likely scenario of how Sienna had become a spy.  His mind finally settled on his favorite conclusion that she had witnessed a murder and in eluding the bad guys had fallen in with a covert operative who ultimately recruited her for black-op missions because she proved herself so resourceful.

“What about Lyle?”  David was only a little surprised but as usual his mother found excuses to avoid any conversation about her writing and her past.

 “You mean that back-stabber?  No, I’d never want to be like him.  Not only did he betray the perfect woman, he tried to kill her.  I mean really, what kind of man could do such a thing?” he answered innocently.  “I mean, I can’t imagine how she had thought he was so charming.  Though he admittedly had a way with words, he certainly had an awful lot of secrets too.”He proceeds to take the opportunity of the remaining car ride to re-recount all his favorite parts of the book including all the things he loved about Sienna and all the things he hated about Lyle as his mom listens with a wistful smile at her son’s obviously intimate knowledge of her first and only book, lines from which he was quoting verbatim as she had written them so many years ago.

The gist of the book:

The book starts by introducing the main character, Sienna Finelli.  She is a spy who currently works covertly with or for the American though there are only vague allusions to any of her past missions, all but the most current of which seem greatly shrouded in the utmost of secrecy.  It is quite clear that spies like Sienna are usually reserved for the most dangerous of international threats.  It really doesn’t come as a surprise when it is revealed that the American government would deny any association with her if she had ever been caught.

Sienna comes off as a tough girl that can be quite the charmer with an innate ability to blend in whenever it suits her.  It’s quickly obvious, however, that in moments of extreme fear, confusion or excitement, her composure tends to falter.  The tell-tale signs of such moments is the surfacing of her natural Irish accent.  She’ll usually try to pass this off as “her father shining through” as she makes light of the situation once her state of presence has returned.

On her way back from Libya, less than a mile from home, she crosses paths with a tall man with a British accent begging for help.  With as much vacation and comp time as Sienna has accrued, she is most inclined to let this man find his own solution, passing it off as the nature of the business.  When he presses in a most pathetic demeanor decrying that he’s in danger for his very life, she stops to at least hear what he has to say.  This man clearly seems to believe that there is a threat to his life.

Observing a nearly indiscernible shift in the atmosphere, Sienna suddenly drops into a crouch just seconds before something zips over her head.  The spray of macadam makes it clear that someone just took a shot at her, or him, and she takes evasive action grabbing a hold of his wrists with an authoritative quip and leading him into the nearest building.  Wanting to avoid as much exposure as possible, she leads him up the fire stairs and into a dark room on the third floor, checking as they went to ensure that the motion sensors she had arranged in