Maaze Part-3

Kate spent the entire week at home as advised by the police officer. She searched the websites of a lot of intelligence agencies of different countries. She looked for the Sandler surname but didn’t find it. She thought that maybe her mother was using her old surname. Kate didn’t know what it was. Plus, intelligence agencies didn’t list all the names on their websites. Only the names of the top executives were there on the websites. She finally gave up.

Kate was back at her office after a week. Things were not normal. There was a police car near the building. She had to inform them before going anywhere.

“Good to see you, Kate. How are you?” Mr. Andrews asked.

“I’m good. Feel good to be back.”

“Nice. Look, I know that you’ve had some rough last few days so take it easy for a while. Linda’s covering up for you. So, don’t work too much till you’re mentally feeling alright.”

“Thanks for being so supportive, boss. It really means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Kate went into her room and Steve followed her.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard him speak so politely. Turns out he’s a good human being after all.” Steve said.

“Yeah, he’s not that bad.” Kate said.

“I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for you. That man walked right into this office. I remember how happy you were that day.”

“Turned out to be a bloody murderer. Never trust a stranger. How did I make such a foolish mistake?”

“You don’t need to blame yourself. I would’ve done the same thing if I were in your place. You had your mind concentrated on finding your mother. That jerk played with your emotions.”

“I hope that the police catch him quickly. He’s still on the loose.”

“He won’t be for long.”

“Um, Steve, I wanted to talk to you about something. You said your dad was in the army, right?”

“Yeah, he was. Why?”

“Did he work with the intelligence agency at some point or did he have any contacts there?”

“Yes. He worked alongside intelligence officers for some time. He was appointed as a military expert in the agency for 5 years.”

“Oh, wow. He’s very experienced. Look, can you do me a favor? Can you ask your dad if he knew a female special agent whose last name was Sandler?”

“Sandler? Isn’t that your last name?”

“Yes. Look, I don’t want you to tell this to anyone else. I came to know that my mother is a special agent.”

“What? How?”

“The man who attacked me referred to me as the daughter of a special agent. He said that my mother won’t be proud of me because he fooled me so easily.”

“How can you trust that man, Kate? Everything that he told you was a lie.”

“I know. I know. Everything that he told me was a lie except this. I have a very strong feeling that he was not lying about this. He told me this thing before he was about to stab me to death. Isn’t this what the bad guys in the movies always do? Revealing everything when they think they’ve succeeded in their plan.”

“Ok, I’ll try asking him if you say so. I don’t know, Kate. These things are confidential. People who work in the intelligence agency don’t give out any information to civilians, not even to family members. My dad told me that they’re not supposed to tell anyone about the people in the agency. Especially those who’re still working. I’ll try my best, though.”

“Thank you so much, Steve!”

“You’re welcome!”

When Kate reached home that night, her aunt didn’t open the door for her. It was her cousin, Michelle.

“Hi! So good to see you after such a long time!” Michelle said.

“What a pleasant surprise, Michelle!” Kate said.

“Uncle Pete is throwing a party today. He got promoted.”

“That’s great news!”

“Come on inside.”

The entire house was decorated with balloons. All the relatives and friends were there. Kate’s aunt had prepared a huge Red Velvet Cake. Children were playing around in the house and causing havoc. Everyone looked as if they were having a good time. The house hadn’t felt so lively in a while.

“Kate, I would like to introduce you to Ryan, my Fiancée.” Michelle said.

“Hey! Nice to meet you.” Kate said.

“Nice to meet you too. You’re Kate, I presume?”

“Yes.”

“Michelle’s told me a lot about you.”

“Oh really, she has? You must be thinking that I’m evil or something. She would’ve told you that I am the one who always used to prank her and irritate her.”

“No, Kate. I didn’t do that. I told him about all the good stuff.”

“No, she didn’t.” Ryan said.

“Hahaha. I knew it.” Kate laughed.

Michelle punched Ryan.

“Ow! I think I’m going to leave you two to talk.” Ryan said and went away.

“How come you didn’t tell me?” Kate asked.

“Actually, he proposed to me just a few days back and I thought that you were not in the best state of mind. You were pretty disturbed. That’s why I thought I’ll tell you later.”

“Yeah, the last few days have been pretty rough. I’m better now. Went to work today after a week.”

“That’s great!”

“Come on, everyone! It’s time to cut the cake.” Aunt Barbara shouted.

Everyone gathered around.

“Managing Director of ARB Pharmaceuticals, Pete Sandler. The most hardworking and honest employee I’ve ever seen. Above all, he’s one of the best human beings I know.” Uncle Pete’s friend Jack said.

Uncle Pete cut the cake and everyone started clapping.

“I would like to thank my wife for always being by my side. I would like to thank a person who has always given me ideas, who has always motivated me, who is a true fighter. When she came in my life, I became a father and my wife became a mother. We’ve spent 24 years together. I’ve never referred to her as our child because I know she isn’t. She’s been searching for her mother since forever. We have raised her and taken care of her like our own kid. We didn’t have any kid of our own. We experienced what it’s like to be a parent thanks to her. I’ve always controlled the urge to refer to her as my daughter but I cannot do it anymore. If you allow, can I say that you’re our daughter?”

Kate’s eyes were full of tears.

“How can I give you permission? Children are supposed to take permission from their parents, not the other way around. You’re my dad and I’m your daughter.” Kate said and ran to hug Pete.

Barbara couldn’t control her tears. No one in the room could.

“Alright! Enough crying for one day, let’s eat dinner.” Pete said.

After the party was over, when everyone was leaving, Michelle held Kate’s hand.

“Kate, I’ve known you since childhood. Finding your mother has been the main concern in your life. When you finally find your mother, I would be extremely happy for you but I want to tell you something. Don’t sacrifice your present over it. The last thing your mother would want is you sacrificing your happiness to find her. I’m not saying that you should stop trying to find her. I’m just saying that you need to enjoy your life. Value the people that are here with you right now. I think that’s what your mother would want as well.”

“I think you’re right, Michelle. Thank you! Thank you so much for opening my eyes.”

“I’ll always be there for you, Katie. Good night!”

“Good night!”

Kate went to her bedroom. She didn’t go to her balcony that night. She went straight to bed.

When Kate left home the next morning, there was no police car to drop her to her office. When she called the police, they said that there has been no suspicious activity in her near proximity and that she was good to go on her own from now on. They told her that she should call if she notices anything suspicious. Kate felt relieved. She could now go to her office normally and not in a police car. She felt good to be back in the train.

Kate’s day turned out to be very busy. She finally got some time to talk to her friends during lunch.

“That new restaurant is really good. You should check it out.” Rebecca said.

“Really? I thought the food there is pretty bad.” Kate said.

“Hey, actually I wanted to talk to Kate alone if you guys don’t mind. We have to discuss something.” Steve said.

“Yeah, sure.” Rebecca said.

Everyone except Kate and Steve got up. Richard winked at Steve and went away.

“Did you tell Richard?” Kate asked.

“No, I didn’t tell anyone.” Steve said.

“Then why did he wink?”

“You know him. He’s an idiot. He keeps winking for no reason.”

“Ok. So, what happened? What did your dad say?”

“Well, I told my dad about your case and asked him if he knew anyone with your last name. He said that he would do anything to help you out but he cannot help you in this matter. He’s not allowed to give names or any other information related to the agency. He said he’s sorry.”

“Oh, no, it’s absolutely fine. He doesn’t need to be sorry. He’s just following the rules.”

“Yeah.”

“You tried your best to help me out. Thank you so much, Steve!”

“Well, actually, I did something else as well.”

“What did you do?”

“I really wanted to help you out, Kate. When my dad went out of the house for a while, I sneaked into his laptop.”

“You did what?” Kate shouted.

“Shh. Don’t scream.”

“That’s not right. You cannot do that. What if your dad finds out?”

“He won’t. You know me, I’m a tech genius. I erased all the recent activities.”

“Still, that was very risky.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Listen, there was a software which contained a database of all the employees in the agency. It required signing in. Those hacking skills came in pretty handy. I managed to hack into my dad’s account.”

“We’re going to prison for sure.”

“Take a chill pill. Nothing’s going to happen. The system couldn’t detect the breach. It takes 180 seconds for the system to do so. I was done much before that.”

“So, what did you find?”

“I searched the agency’s entire folder but I didn’t find anyone with the Sandler surname. Then, I saw another folder, named Project E-00241X. I searched that folder and there was one match. Patricia Sandler.”

“Oh my god!”

“There was no photo. Just her name and her designation. She’s a special agent.”

“Patricia Sandler. She is my mother. When you said her name, I got this feeling that she’s the one. She is my mom.”

“That voice from the inside never lies. I’m so happy for you, Kate.”

“How can I thank you, Steve? You did so much for me. You’re the best.” Kate said and hugged him.

“Anything for you, Kate.”

Kate wiped her tears. She finally knew her mom’s name.

“There’s something more I want to tell you, Kate.”

“What?”

“I’ve been interested in aliens since I was a kid and I like to gather information about them. I’ve watched a lot of documentaries and read a lot of books on them. You might be wondering why I’m telling you all this. Well, I found your mother’s name in the folder named Project E-00241X. E-00241X is the code used by a famous science laboratory to refer to extraterrestrials.”

“Extraterrestrials?”

“Yes, Kate. Extraterrestrials.”

To be continued…