by Nikki Rose
“Hey, man. Where the hell are you? The whole agency is in an uproar after last night. They have teams out looking for you,” Hunter’s voice was low and calm. I knew of all the guys, he’d be the one to keep his cool the most.
“I’m somewhere safe. For now. I know it looks bad but you gotta know I didn’t do what they think I did.”
“You didn’t?”
“Of course not. How could you think I did?”
“I just thought that maybe you had your reasons.”
“No, I didn’t. Someone set me up.”
“Hang on. Chris wants to talk to you.”
“Mason?” Chris’s voice was a low whisper.
“Hey.”
“Listen, whatever happened last night, you need to come in and let us sort this all out. Running and hiding is only making it look worse. If there were some extenuating circumstances then I’m sure we can work something out. I’ll make sure the Director understands.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“What do you mean you didn’t do it?”
“Someone else planted a bomb on the boat. It wasn’t me. He was my CI. What reason would I have to want him dead?”
“Mason, listen to me. They’ve got evidence.”
“Evidence? What the hell kind of evidence could they possibly have on me? I’m telling you I didn’t do it. I called his cell when I got outside the boat, just like I was supposed to. They must have had something rigged to go off when I called.”
“They’ve got video surveillance that says otherwise.”
“What?”
“The Director had Mikey and his team pull surveillance from all surrounding areas. There was one of you going to the boat the night before with a green duffle bag. You boarded the boat, was there for about half an hour, then you were back on the cam again but the duffle wasn’t in your hands. It doesn’t look good, man. If you weren’t setting the bomb, you need to have a really good answer for what you were doing on that boat.”
“I wasn’t there.”
“What do you mean, you weren’t there? The cam was timestamped and tested. No one tampered with it. It was you.”
“I don’t care what you think you saw. It wasn’t me.”
“They have a car matching yours and someone who looks like you on the camera so unless you have an evil twin I don’t know about.”
“Send me the footage.”
“I can’t—”
“Send me the fucking footage. If I’m going down for murder, I damn well deserve to see the evidence.”
“Okay. I’ll email you what I’ve got.”
“Thank you.”
We hung up and moments later my phone dinged with an incoming email. I clicked to open the video attachment and waited while the surveillance video opened. It was night but the camera was in a well-lit area near the boatyard. There was nothing but crickets chirping and empty sidewalk until finally someone who looked a lot like me walked down the sidewalk toward the boat. There in his hand was a large, green duffle bag.
I had no idea how the video was possible. The man in the video looked like me. Though there was never a clear shot of the face, his profile could pass for me. He seemed to be about my height and weight. Same hairstyle even. The time stamp on the video was for just after midnight. I switched to the next video that had arrived in my email. It was timestamped a little before the last one. This cam covered the empty parking lot. A black sedan slowly pulled into view. From the look of the car on the video, it was the same make and model as mine with my doppelganger in the driver's seat.
I fast forwarded the video, watching as my look-alike parked, got out of the car, retrieved the green duffle from the trunk, and walked out of frame. Nearly twenty minutes passed before he came back into view. The empty-handed man climbed back into the driver's seat and pulled out. There was never a clear shot of the license plate which was unfortunate for me since it was probably the only piece of evidence that could have proven it wasn’t actually me.
I let out a sigh of frustration and tucked my phone back into my pocket.
“Everything alright?” Hana’s voice startled me and I looked up to see her standing in the doorway of the kitchen. It was a good thing she hadn't tried to escape. I’d slipped up and not paid attention to when she came out of the bathroom because I was distracted.
“Not really,” I turned my back on her to get the plates off the counter and took them to the table while she grabbed the cups of coffee.
“Did you really not do what they think you did?”
“No, I didn’t,” I let out a frustrated sigh as I dropped into my seat.
Hana lowered herself into the chair across from me and took a sip of her coffee, “So, why do they think you did?”
“They have some security footage of someone who looks like me driving a car that looks like mine to go plant a bomb on a boat two nights ago.”
“But it wasn’t you?” I could hear the doubt in her voice still and that irritated me but how could I expect her to believe me when I wasn’t even sure my own team did?
“No. Last night I was meeting him to exchange some intel. When I called to let him know I was there, it must have triggered the explosion somehow.”
“Then if it wasn’t you—and I’m not convinced it wasn’t—it would have to be someone who looks like you. Which means that other-someone has to be out there somewhere. You just have to find him which you can’t do from my house.”
“You’re just trying to convince me to leave your house.”
“Maybe. But, it's also true. If you didn’t do what they think you did, then you need to be out there looking for who did.”
“Easier said than done when I’ve got a whole agency and the local police out looking for me.”
“What kind of agency are you involved with? This all seems kind of shady to me.”
“I can’t give too much information about where I work but please just know we are the good guys.”
“Are you really the good guys or do you just consider yourself the good guys. I mean doesn’t everyone think they are the good guys in their own story?”
“You have a good point there,” I said around a bite of my omelet. “We work to help keep people safe.”
“So, is this like a government type job? Like the CIA or something?” she was clever. Even criminals could say they are keeping people safe, just the wrong ones. She was asking me to clarify without actually asking me to give away more information than I could, which I respected.
“Yes.”
With just that one single word, I felt lighter. She let out a soft breath and her shoulders relaxed slightly. I wished I had tried to explain everything better the night before. Things might had gone very differently if I had, but if I was honest with myself, I was flustered and exhausted. I felt like a kid pulled under the waves, not knowing which way was up.
“If that’s true, I feel even worse about slicing your chest.”
“It’s okay. I probably deserved it for breaking into your house,” I smiled at her and took another sip of my coffee but I hadn’t missed the ‘if’ in her comment.
She glanced at me from over her own coffee cup, “yeah, probably.”
I let out a small chuckle and went back to eating.
There was a loud angry pounding on the front door. I tensed while Hana nearly jumped out of her seat.
She looked at me with those large doe eyes.
I held my finger up to my lips to tell her to keep quiet but the pounding continued. The knock didn’t sound like a cop’s, even an overzealous one. I hoped whoever it was would just go away.
“I know you’re home, you fucking bitch. Open the damn door before I bust it down and use your security deposit to pay to replace it.”
I motioned for her to stand and followed her into the living room. I wasn’t so worried that she would give me up this time but I still couldn’t be one hundred percent certain.
Another bang on the door made us both tense.
“O
pen the fucking door, you worthless bitch,” the male voice from the other side of the door had me seeing red. Speaking to her that way was unacceptable and it made me murderous.
“Friend of yours?” I mouthed and she scowled at me.
“Landlord.”
“Get rid of him. I don’t want to have to hurt anyone,” I whispered.
She paused with her hand on the doorknob and I nodded, giving her the okay as I stepped out of sight.
She opened the door and put on the worst fake smile I’d ever seen. “Cole, what brings you by so early?”
“You fucking know exactly why I’m here. You were supposed to have your rent to me yesterday but here I am this morning and no rent so I’m here to collect.”
“I told you I just needed a few extra days. I’ve got a buyer. The one alone would be enough to pay the rent. He just had to okay the purchase with his wife to make sure she liked it first which she did. I’m waiting on the payment to go through.”
“I don’t want to hear your sob story. I want my money. I’m not running a fucking charity here.”
“I know that, and as soon as the payment goes through, I’ll have enough for rent plus the forty-dollar late fee. You told me last week that would be okay. That I’d have to pay you the eight hundred for rent plus twenty a day until it was paid.”
“Well my stash ran out so I need the money now. Unless you want to work out some other form of payment.” he pushed her back and forced himself into the living room.
She stumbled and scrambled to push him back out the door but it was too late, he turned the corner and my gaze locked with his sunken in, bloodshot eyes. The guy was clearly on something.
“Who the hell is this?”
“No one. You can’t just push your way in here. Get out.”
“You running a brothel now too?”
“I’m a friend. And I believe the lady told you to get out of her house.”
“Hey man, why don’t you stay the hell out of it. This is my property which means everything under this roof is mine. I have the right to demand payment or I can throw her ass on the street.”
“You had a payment arrangement with her already. You need to honor that.”
“And what if I don’t? Huh? What are you gonna do about it, big shot?” Cole poked his finger into my chest close to where the bandage was, sending pain radiating deep in my chest. I wanted to wince but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he caused me pain. The guy was an idiot and an asshole but I was surprised he was so stupid to be messing with someone six inches taller than him with at least twice the muscle. He said his stash had run out but he had to be on something the way he was acting.
“How much does she owe you?” I grit my teeth trying to keep myself calm.
“Eight hundred. Plus, fifty for me having to come over here and hassle it out of her.” He was taking advantage of her and it pissed me off. Under normal circumstances I would have taught this guy a lesson in manners, or more accurately, my fists would have. But I couldn’t afford any more attention.
I turned and walked out of the room and straight to the bedroom where my go bag had been dropped in the corner. I dug through my bag for the inner pocket where I kept roughly five-thousand dollars at any given time in case I needed to disappear quickly.
I flipped through the cash, counting out the right amount and hurried back down the hall. I didn’t want to leave that creep alone with her for more time than I had to. I neared the end of the hall and could just barely hear his voice.
“Guess he’s leaving us to negotiate new terms,” he leered at her and I did everything I could to control my temper.
I stormed back into the living room and shoved the stack of bills into Cole’s chest, speaking to him through clenched teeth, “here’s nine hundred. Now get out. And next time, I expect you will honor any agreements made and speak to Hana with respect.”
Cole was too busy counting the cash to pay attention to a word I was saying. He almost ran into the door jam on his way out to go buy whatever drugs he was jonesing for.
As soon as Hana closed the door, she turned to me, “You didn’t have to do that. I was serious about the payment—”
“I know but the guy was a liability the longer he stayed here. Hopefully he was too messed up to connect the dots about the man hunt but I’ll have to be more careful now.”
“I’ll pay you back.”
“Just look at that as restitution for me taking over your home last night.”
“Thanks. But I’m still going to pay you back.”
“We’ll see. Come on. Our breakfast is getting cold,” I motioned her to the kitchen and let her lead the way.
CHAPTER 5
Hana
After spending the strangest weekend of my life getting to know the mysterious man staying in my home, I was starting to feel at least somewhat at ease with him. Getting to know Mason was like putting a puzzle together starting from a random center piece, without having the finished image to work off of. He was an enigma.
We’d found ways to pass the time together since we obviously couldn’t leave the house and risk him being seen. I’d shown him my studio and given him the private tour of all my paintings. We played cards and scrabble which he beat me at every time. It surprised me how many high scoring words he knew and I realized that I’d misjudged his amount of book smarts, probably because he looked more like he’d rather spend his time in a gym than a library. Then again, like they say, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
We sat together on the couch watching t.v. When a commercial came on, I took the opportunity to hit mute and turn to him.
“What are you going to do about this whole being set up thing? You can't just stay here indefinitely.”
"I know. I need to get some answers. My team can only do so much without risking themselves and I won't put them in that position. There could be answers down at the marina."
"But you can't exactly go for a stroll down by the crime scene. Surely there will be police all over the place." Why was I helping him? He practically forced his way into my house and tied me up, yet something about him just didn't seem like the criminal he was being accused of.
"That's why you're going to help me."
"Help you? Why would I do that?”
"Because the sooner I get answers and clear my name, the sooner I'll be out of your house for good."
He had a point. If helping him meant getting my home and my life back sooner, then I had to do it.
After lunch, Mason and I got ready to go. I led him out to the garage to my old beat up Accord. I bought my car used and after years of rough wear and tear, she didn’t look like much but she still managed to get me where I needed to go.
“At least you drive something with some trunk space.”
“Trunk space? Why?”
“I’m a wanted man. I can’t exactly go riding shotgun, now can I?” Mason rounded the car to the driver side and opened the door, leaning down and popping the trunk.
“You’re going to ride in the trunk?”
“Unless you have an invisibility spell handy?”
“Are you a Potterhead?” I studied him as he tossed his duffle bag into the trunk.
“D and D,” he smirked. I never would have imagined him as being a D and D nerd. There was something about that fact that made me like him more.
Then, as though the past twenty-four hours hadn’t been crazy enough, I did something I never imagined I’d do. I watched as Mason climbed into the trunk of my car, and I closed the lid.
“Are you okay in there?”
“I’m good. I’ve been in tighter spots than this with my team. Just remember to take it easy on the turns,” his muffled voice came through the cracks in the trunk.
“Oh, yeah.”
I felt so strange as I climbed into the driver's seat, opened the garage door, and started the car. I pulled off my street and was heading down the main road when I saw a road block up ahead. The flashing lights
and multiple police cars sent my heart racing and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Oh no. Oh no, oh no,” I mumbled to myself as I slowed to a stop for one of the policemen standing on the side of the road.
I took a deep breath and tried to will my nerves to settle before he approached and knocked on my window. I turned to look at him and smiled as I pressed the button to roll my window down.
“Hi, officer. Is everything okay?” Relax. Breathe. Everything is fine. You are just on a casual drive.
“Where are you headed today?”
“I was just going out to the marina and to do a little shopping.”
“May want to steer clear of the marina. It’s a crime scene today so they have a big portion of it blocked off.”
“Oh no. Was that what all those sirens were about the other night?”
“Yes, ma’am. We’re still looking for the man responsible. Have you seen this man? He’s a suspect and considered extremely dangerous,” the officer held up a picture printed from a security camera with yesterday's time and date stamp. I wondered if that was the one of Mason or the one of the look-alike. Either way, I studied the picture for a moment. I was slightly tempted to tell the policeman the truth, that Mason had broken into my home, held me against my will, and was now in the trunk of my car. But, how would I explain him forcing me to drive him with him in my trunk. I’d look guilty. And, as crazy as it sounded, something in my gut told me he was innocent. I took a deep breath and shook my head from side to side as I handed the officer back the picture.
“I'm afraid not,” I couldn’t look him in the eye as I answered so I looked at his ear instead and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“Well, with a dangerous man like him still loose, you may want to rethink being out and about alone. It’s not safe.”
“Thank you, officer. I’ll probably just do some quick shopping and skip the marina then just to be safe.”
“Good idea. If you see this man, call 9-1-1.”
