It wasn't like me, but I reached out and hugged the old man. The man patted me awkwardly on the back in return.
"Take care of yourself honey!"
The road twisted and meandered around the island's topography. There were no houses or signs of habituation other than the black asphalt road I traveled on. After five minutes of driving I rounded a sandy knoll and there it was on the steepest part of the island, my father's version of the white house, only this mansion was probably larger.
It had to be to house my father's many children. Not to mention grandchildren and probably a few greats by now. My father was one of those super rich tycoons that nobody knew about. A Bill Gates without the recognition, which is how he liked it.
I couldn't vouch for how honestly gained Bill Gates fortune might be, but almost to a penny I would say my father's wealth was the product of thievery, extortion, blackmail, drug running, human trafficking, swindling, and the list went on. What I wanted to know was, had my father added international terrorism to the list of sins for which he was responsible for? Everything within me wanted to stop the car and turn around from this place I had escaped from, but I kept driving, my hands white knuckled on the wheel.
I wished I had a gun, but having one was more likely to get me killed in this place than not having one. There was the problem of what I would do with a gun too. I'd probably put a bullet in my father's brain without a moment's hesitation. They'd kill me, but I would die doing the world a favor.
I pulled up at the gatehouse with its massive rod iron gates. Men, my half brothers, armed with submachine guns stepped out from the gatehouse and spread out around the car. My father had a lot of enemies and rarely, if ever, left his island fortress anymore.
I rolled down a window at the approach of one of the men. He stared at me for a second and I saw the moment when he recognized me.
"Lisa?" He said with evident surprise.
"Hello Marshawn. Can I go through?"
He ignored my question, "Why would you come back here? Don't tell me you've come to do us all a favor and kill the old he-bull."
I met his gaze without blinking as I responded, "I wasn't intending to, but if I have to it could become a possibility."
His face broke into a big grin. "Welcome back sister."
He straightened up and waived his arm. They opened the gate as he walked around the front hood of the car and opened the passenger side door to slide in beside me. The submachine was casually pointed at my side.