“I have plans for tonight… sorry”, he simply answered and walked right out.
He would rather keep his distance for a while and watch how things unfold. The woman was dangerous and he could feel it in every inch of his bones; she remained an enigma he could not yet decipher.
Chapter Eleven
S
heltered in the darkness and making sure he arrived home just an hour into midnight, Jake remained in the backseat of the cab he had hired and looked around for any suspicious signs of the van he knew for certain now that it was tailing him. Spending about two minutes while the cab driver had been instructed to have his car running, he paid up and exited the vehicle cautiously.
The street was silent, just as it ought to be and in the shed of darkness, he crossed over to the other side of the road and headed right for the backdoor immediately. Heart racing and his pulse following suit, he unlocked the backdoor, took out his gun from his pants and held it firmly with his dominant hand while navigating through the darkness with his right.
“Everything looks cool”, he thought as he managed his way through the kitchen and stopped just at the hallway leading to the living room.
He had almost tripped had he ventured forward a few inches without looking at his feet. It was thin and almost unnoticeable too but the moonlight did good by shining brightly in his direction, granting him the opportunity to take note of the trip wire obviously set in place by whoever had been in his house or was still currently in it.
Jake opted to believe in the latter and slowly took to his safety while he crossed over the trip wire carefully.
“Shit!” he mumbled upon hearing the clicking sound of what he knew to be another trip wire placed just a few inches from the one he had seen.
It was a trap laid in another trap and he couldn’t have seen that coming. There was still no action in the room thankfully and the trip wire had only resulted in a vase falling to the ground, but it meant there was someone alert to his presence now and he had to be too.
“I wouldn’t move any further if I were you”, the cold confident and definitely disturbing voice spoke from the shadows.
Jake remained motionless and tried to pinpoint where the voice had come from. “You are in my house… you shouldn’t be making demands”.
A shot got fired immediately, showing him just where the perpetrator was hiding which was close to the front door as the bullet ripped into the wooden floor just between his legs.
Jake fired back in the direction and heard the man move out of the way faster than normal. He lurked around the darkness, peeling his ears keenly to the sound of any movement but by the time he would realize the perpetrator had circled around, he had the nozzle of a gun pointed at his temple and the man disarming him immediately.
“I really need to get myself another apartment”, Jake sighed.
“Yes you should”, the now distinctive voice replied. “Considering your house is so fucking easy to break into”.
Jake didn’t seem to care about the gun pointed at his head anymore as he turned around with a bewildered look sheltered by the darkness.
“Sean!?” he sounded surprised and somewhat angry.
The lights came on and Sean was standing by the switch with his gun in hand and a wry smile across his face. He flipped back the safety into place and tucked it away behind his back before walking over to the kitchen cabinet to get himself cereal.
“Wait a minute!” Jake raged after him. “Why are you in my house?”
Whilst trying to sound as confident as possible, he still could not help but wonder if Sean had been the one messing with him over the past week. It would definitely mean some serious trouble if that was the case, considering the man had some serious affiliation with the CIA.
“What kind of grown ass man stores up all these bullshit cereals meant for little kids?” Sean asked with his arms up while he poured himself some into a small bowl.
Handing the milk and taking a gentle sniff off of it to ensure it wasn’t spoilt, he made the mix and helped himself to a spoon before returning to the living room. Jake followed him around looking infuriated and still short on what actions to take or what words to use.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve been having people breaking into your house”, Sean said with a mouth full. “Your security is lame and even worse than Luke’s”.
With a raised brow, Jake asked, ‘You broke into the Captain’s house?”
Sean simply nodded and pushed away the remaining bowl of cereal before resting into the couch and crossing his legs over one another.
“I found out your sweet tooth Captain was tapping my wife”, he casually explained. “The son of a bitch was giving her the sweetness and it just creams my corn that whoever got to him got to him before I could”.
Unperturbed by whatever business the Captain had with the murdered lady, it still brought him some interest as he drew closer to the somewhat vigilant Sean whose eyes darted around the room swiftly.
Jake motioned to put on the remaining lights in the room but Sean kicked against it by raising his hand, “That’s just about enough lighting in here until I’m done with my business”.
“What business would entail you breaking into my house and threatening me with a gun to my head?” Jake sounded bolder now.
He needed the control he cherished so much through the years back. For some reason, it had slipped through his grasp from the moment his trophy box had been taken and his privacy had been violated.
“You have a network with a secure line don’t you?” Sean asked.
Jake nodded slowly and reluctantly. “I still don’t understand why you are here”.
“My wife… “, Sean paused and cleared his throat. “My ex-wife stumbled on something and I think it might have been what brought about her death”.
Interested and someway intrigued by the information, Jake felt his previously heightened guard slowly get let down as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest.
“And if I say no?” he asked, still trying to build up some control and not give in easily.
Sean got up slowly, flipped back the safety on his gun and pointed it in Jake’s direction, “There are several ways to make your house look like a robbery gone wrong or even more like you committed suicide and nobody will ever find the truth once I’m done”.
Jake called his bluff with a short snort and approached him, seemingly not being terrified by the fact a gun was being pointed at his chest. Coming just about close enough to feel the nozzle pressed against his chest, Jake locked himself in gaze with Sean before knocking the gun off with ease and precision.
“You’re going to hand me that laptop or things are going to get really crazy for you within the next few seconds”, Sean threatened.
Jake weighed his options but something about the man bothered him. He seemed intent on having the laptop by any means necessary but he couldn’t help get his interest piqued by what he needed it for.
“You tell me why I should help you and maybe I will”, Jake stood his ground.
Sean shook his head, sighed in exasperation and replied, “I will be doing your bloody department a favor if what Susan left me in these pictures is what I assume it is”.
Jake took a long stare at the man before nodding and walking away. He soon returned, holding the laptop in his hand and handing it over to Sean who graciously accepted it. Gaining easy access to the unrestricted laptop, Sean took out the phone he had taken from Mark and plugged it into the computer.
“Now what?” Jake asked to be carried along.
Sean looked up at him and smiled. “Are you familiar with the ancient concepts of hiding information in images?”
Silent and obviously being the first time he would hear of it, Jake folded his arms across his chest. “Let’s say I do, what does this have to do with my computer and why you are here?”
Sean shot him a disappointed look. “You don’t know
jack shit about what I’m talking about do you?”
Impatient and seemingly enraged, Jake waved his arms in the air and walked over to the couch. “Let’s say I don’t know, but what does this have to do with your wife’s death?”
Sean turned his attention to the computer, toggling it through and putting the decrypting process into place. The pictures began to unfold, almost as though she had hidden hundreds of pictures inside one and resulting in millions of images being processed by the computer.
“When we worked undercover missions in dangerous territories, we came up with this technique of having messages hidden in images we might take from random places or of random events”, he began explaining.
Jake listened to him with his eyes barely looking elsewhere.
“To any novice such as yourself, it appears as nothing out of the ordinary and as completely normal, but when you know what you’re looking for and how to process it, it can become a gold mine of information”, he added.
Jake asked immediately, “So you hope to find some information related to why your wife was killed by sourcing through thousands of pictures she put together?”
Sean nodded his head, snapped his fingers and winked at Jake before heading over to the kitchen.
“What do you have?” he asked nonchalantly while Jake took a look at his computer and the process going on in it.
The program had only processed about two percent of the entire thing, meaning it would take some time before anything could be gotten in the slightest.
“You guys are really weird”, Jake noted before getting to his feet.
Sean rummaged through his fridge and kitchen cabinets but seemed disappointed by all he could find and what he could not.
“What kind of guy are you?” Sean asked in a befuddled tone. “No food, no booze and you barely even have anything noteworthy of owning an apartment in this kitchen!”
Jake had never thought of it since he never received visitors.
“You never get many people to come over do you?” Sean asked with a raised and judgmental brow.
Feeling somewhat ashamed, Jake fumbled his words, “Yeah I…of course I have people... I mean, they show up sometime and leave and… “.
Snorting derisively and walking away to the couch where they both sat for a few minutes in silence, Jake continued to stare out his window and Sean noticed it but kept the observation to himself.
“We might as well just go out and have some fun while this baby gets through”, Sean offered.
Shaking his head and replying, Jake coughed softly, “No… I don’t want to go anywhere tonight… I’m kind of tired you know and I’ll be fine if you could just finish up and leave”.
“Well, that will be your loss because I’m taking that sweet ride outside”, Sean held out the keys to the impala and smiled.
Almost as though he had been kicked through the teeth, Jake winced and shot to his feet. “There is no chance in hell that I’m allowing you drive that baby!”
Dangling the keys in Jake’s face, Sean leaned closer and whispered, “If you decide to remain in here, then watch me”.
He was being baited and it worked perfectly. Jake stormed out the door first but Sean remained inside for a minute, heading over to the back door to barricade it before shutting all the windows and making sure the house was properly locked before they left.
“Are you always this paranoid?” Jake had to ask.
With a grin and soft scowl, Sean answered, “The question should be why aren’t you?”
Jake gave it some thought and realized the man was right; he had been dealt so much intrusion over the past week that if he got himself a dog for security or hired personal guards it would all be worth it.
‘By the way, get yourself a good alarm system”, Sean advised. “You can afford it”.
Jake made no move to argue with him as he put the car in reverse and pulled out of his driveway. He definitely could afford it but the problems with alarms are, once they get broken into, they let off warnings and such warnings only attract attention which was the last thing he wanted for his house or him in entirety.
“Did I mention you’re paying for the drinks?” Sean looked over to Jake and smiled cockily.
Jake shook his head and sighed. ‘I know a fun place”.
***
Sitting in the corner of the not-too-popular Irish watering hole he had visited once before, Jake felt good about himself with a soft smile as he looked around the room. The place was filled with unfamiliar faces, just as he liked it but Sean had barely said a thing since they arrived there. His demeanor had said it all from the moment they walked through the door with subtle grunts and sighs before they found a seat in the corner granting them a good view of the road outside.
“It is bad enough I’m spending my night with you, but it’s even worse when you bring me to such shitty place”, Sean finally let out how he felt.
Jake saw nothing wrong with the environment. He looked around again to be sure and bobbed his head.
“I like it”, he simply said.
Wearing a frown, Sean replied sarcastically, “Of course you’d like it… who wouldn’t?”
An almost topless waitress with heavy makeup approached with a wry smile and an enticing look as she wiggled and giggled before them.
“What’s it going to be tonight boys?” she asked.
Sean cast Jake a damning look and a rather judgmental one as well before sorting. “I’ll have the strongest thing you got”.
“I’ll have a virgin Cuba libre please”, Jake ordered.
The lady walked away almost immediately while Sean stared at her massive backside and Jake reprimanded him with his looks.
Snapping out from the stare, Sean turned to Jake, “Wait a minute! Did you just order coke?”
“I ordered some Cuba libre”, Jake reiterated.
Sean waved his hands, “That’s the same fucking name for coke or some sugary content in water”.
Jake didn’t care; he wanted what he wanted. They sat in silence for a few minutes while the room grew noisier with people having fun and the band brought into play made a mess of silence.
“What kind of woman was she?” Jake spoke with the corner of his mouth without looking at Jake. “Your wife… what kind of person was she when she was alive?”
Sean rubbed his chin and slowly sat back up. He seemed suddenly ridden with emotions and could barely hide them as he ran his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time.
“Susan was unlike any woman you would ever meet”, he began with a sigh. “Driven, willed, stubborn and someone who could handle herself under any situation and with any man”.
His tone grew somewhat shaky as he spoke but halted with the waitress bringing over their orders. Staring at the dark brown liquid in the glass, Sean didn’t seem to care what could be in the mix and gulped down a good amount before sighing out in relief.
“She was one of the best CIA operatives they recruited in years and I she just happened to suit my scrummy and scruffy nature if you know what I mean”, he laughed.
Jake shrugged. “She must have had some serious balls if she decided to stay with you”.
Taking no ill intent from the words, Sean burst into laughter briefly while Jake did the same as well.
“Why did she leave? How come you let her leave without tracking her down?” Jake sounded serious.
Sean took another gulp from his glass and rammed it into the table. “I messed up… I messed up bad and went on a bender with drugs, prostitutes and even almost got her killed on a mission we were sent undercover for”.
Jake noted the shakiness in his voice now and the discomfort that came with it. Sean remained silent for a while before downing the remaining of his drink and waving at the waitress to bring him some more.
“There was this one time she had to go uncover as a prostitute and even befriend many of the red district girls just to bust me and keep me f
rom messing around”, he continued. “Yet, she never got angry with me or even caused me problems… she simply watched out for me on every turn”.
It was taking a rather big toll on him not to shed the tears Jake could see swelling in his eyes. He couldn’t wait for the waitress to come over sooner as he took the glass from her hand and began drinking hard and at a stretch.
“It’s a good thing you won’t be doing the driving home”, Jake patted him softly on the back before turning to look at the waitress. “Keep it coming”.
She nodded and waked away immediately.
“I failed her… I failed Susan!’ he sobbed with his head bowed as the tears finally came rolling out.
Patting him on the back gently, Jake whispered, “it is alright buddy… it is alright… you will do good by her now at least”.
Sean looked back up and sniffed. “I will catch the motherfucker that did this to her… I will find him and I will snip his balls and you better darn well not try to stop me!”
Holding his hands up, Jake promised, “You can do whatever you want with the person and I will support you”.
He figured if Sean found Susan’s killer, then it would be a big win for him and should the vengeful man go a step further in killing the person, even better, since dead men can’t talk and such a person might be responsible for breaking into his place and taking his trophy box.
“I wasn’t really sure about you at first but Luke spoke fondly of you, which is why I came to you for help”, Sean returned the pat and hammered his hand into Jake’s back.
They will share the next few hours drinking, in hopes that the decryption would be finished by the time they got back. Jake felt anxious for some reason and hoped he could take a shot at whoever was messing with him and who most definitely had killed Susan Stein.
Chapter Twelve
Y
awning aloud with the feeling of having a heavy object on his chest, Jake slowly opened his eyes and felt them widen to the sight of Sean snoring heavily while he smacked his lips intermittently. Staring at the wall clock and noting it was just a few minutes past six in the morning, Jake slowly relieved himself of the man’s weight-- and snuck out of the couch to the bathroom.
Mangled Page 11
