by D A Rice
The Ezekiel that Jackson had seen tonight didn’t match the upstart youth they had on file. There was a sense of maturity that hadn’t been there before. He’d been arrogant back then. Jackson had seen the videos of his interrogation. He’d seen Ezekiel’s haughty nature. The boy had given the FBI everything, but it was as if he did it just to prove that he could. He had to have known he was a dead man walking.
What could’ve happened to Ezekiel to make him who he was now? The hacker said Jackson would see him again and Jackson believed him. He folded his hands in front of his face, lost in his contemplations.
Jackson didn’t know what to think of the hacker he’d seen tonight. Hours later, they were still dusting every surface and taking pictures of everything they found. Montoya couldn’t come in right away, so she’d trusted Jackson to get the job done until she could. But all they’d been able to find so far was a desk in one of the rooms.
Denbrook leaned out the window, nodding to Montoya in greeting before meeting Jackson’s eyes. “Pretty clean, as per the usual MO. We aren’t finding any equipment to suggest a hacker even lived here. However...” Denbrook shifted uncomfortably, “you guys actually better come take a look. I think it’s something that’s better believed seeing with your own eyes.”
Montoya and Jackson shared a look and stood, following Denbrook back inside. The apartment was bare, with nothing in the kitchen or living room except a few pieces of plastic wear, which were promptly put into evidence bags. They‘d found very little food in the fridge, but they did find a blanket on the floor with a pillow.
It was a one-bedroom apartment, and the one bedroom held the desk and nothing else. Jackson had taken it all in before his team arrived. Every inch of the place had been photographed. Jackson pulled his gloves back on, walking behind Denbrook and Montoya, who pulled on a pair of her own.
The desk was taken apart methodically, pieces leaning up against the wall. Strewn about the floor were piles upon piles of documents, all spread out so they could be seen. Neat, familiar, handwriting printed information on each. Jackson guessed the Recluse had meticulously written out everything he knew. It looked like he’d also documented evidence to be used against Arachnid and probably himself. Knowing he would turn it over someday, the hacker had hidden it in a place the other group wouldn’t find it. Jackson knelt, taking it all in, “where did you find this?”
Denbrook shrugged, kneeling beside them, “the desk was hollow. Pretty ingenious actually,” He glanced back at it. “It looks like something bought from IKEA, but without a single drawer. All this,” the scientist waved at the paperwork as Montoya started meticulously sifting through it, “was stuck inside the top and sides where no one could see them. Not unless they knew where to look, or were clever enough to figure it out. I’m guessing he didn’t want just anyone finding his business,”
“How did you figure it out?” Montoya wondered as she picked up a file and opened it.
“The Recluse said Jackson would find him here, right? After hours of searching the place, there was nowhere else it could be. I followed my hunch.” Denbrook shrugged, glancing around the room. People were moving in and out like a steady stream, swiping every surface for fingerprints they likely wouldn’t find. Montoya’s eyes widened as she read the contents of the folder in her hand.
“The hacker wasn’t kidding. This is everything he’s done, all his records, time in jail, personal annotations,” she picked up another folder, “Arachnid.” Her eyes narrowed.
Jackson dropped the papers he’d picked up and shifted to look over her shoulder. The file was full of coding and explanations of what each program did. “This looks like plans he took from them, ways to trace it back, ways to catch them in the act. He’s literally giving us his access to their network. Why would he do that?”
“He’s giving us proof, Jackson, the proof we need to take them down,” she lifted another document and her brows creased in confusion. “This one looks like a journal, or copies of one anyway.”
Jackson took them from Montoya’s extended hand absentmindedly, his thoughts already tracking in a very different direction. Something wasn’t right. He began to pace as he spoke, “yes he’s giving us everything he knows we need, but why does it seem like he’s saying goodbye?” He looked up, meeting the agent’s gaze, “He’s giving us everything; discreetly and in paper form. He said that we’d see him one more time, but why give us all of this now?” Jackson’s tone was disconcerted as he flicked the folder in front of him.
Ezekiel had all but turned himself in, then disappeared. It was almost as if he was protecting them from something. He’d told them many times to not come after him, that he’d come to them. Once, Jackson would’ve thought it an excuse for the hacker to get away. But the Recluse had disappeared plenty of times before without ever introducing himself first. This was different. Jackson started, his eyes snapping to Montoya, “I think he’s in danger.”
Montoya raised an eyebrow, the file on Arachnid tight in her grip, “you think Arachnid knows who he is.”
Jackson’s gaze fell back on the copied journal in his hands and nodded, the gears in his head turning. “I think they know, or they’re about to find out and somehow...” He opened the file, it was definitely a journal, and it was dated recently. “Somehow Ezekiel knows it,” he finished as he scanned the file’s contents. What would this journal tell them about what was going on?
He began to read, his eyes narrowing as each word confirmed his growing suspicions. He met Montoya’s gaze. “We need to go. Now.”
…
Rei blinked her eyes awake to find herself laying on the couch by herself. One of her blankets was tucked around her with care, a pillow placed under her head. She sat up slowly, rubbing the confusion from her eyes, “Eli?” She asked, her voice a soft hoarse.
“I’m here, Rei, but I’ll need to leave soon,” came his voice from behind her. She turned to find him sitting at the island counter, leaning on an elbow over something. She stood, the blanket falling off her shoulders, and came to stand beside him. He looked exhausted. Eli didn’t move as she pulled one of the other island chairs closer to him and sat.
“What are you doing?” She asked curiously, peering over his shoulder. He shifted so she could see what he was staring at. It was his tablet with the keyboard clicked in, propping it up. He glanced at her, his eyes sparking, a small grin forming as she glanced away from him. She could see his lips twitch up higher out of the corner of her eye and felt her cheeks heat up.
“I was just checking in on a friend,” Eli finally responded, not even bothering to hide the scrolls of information crossing his screen. He turned to face Rei, leaning on his elbow. His hand came up to brush a strand of hair out of her face, looping it around his finger as his eyes watched, almost mesmerized. “I wanted to be here when you woke up. So I waited.”
“You remember everything? You were there?” Rei knew the answer, but his smile as his eyes shifted from his fingers in her hair to meet her gaze made her shiver.
“I remember. I’ll always remember you, Rei,” his voice sounded sad.
Rei watched him for a moment. When had she gotten to know him so well as to be able to read what he wasn’t saying so completely? “There’s something big going on, isn’t there?” Her voice was soft as she moved her hand to touch his. His finger in her hair twirled the strand again as he pulled it away. Tracing the side of her face gently, he dropped his hand into his lap.
He glanced to his tablet as he spoke, “there’s so much about me you don’t know. So much I wanted to tell you.” His gaze found hers again, “but I can’t. Not yet. My life has always been dangerous. I feel that your danger is only just beginning.” His hand dropped on the counter to cover hers., “I wish I could be there to protect you more than I will be.”
Rei’s brow furrowed as she watched him, “the wolf in my dream…”
“Is very real, Rei. For some reason he’s taken an interest in you. Though it isn’t because of me, it’s
an interest I know well. I’m convinced the wolf in your dreams is also the faceless head of Arachnid. There are too many connections for him not to be.” Eli shook his head and leaned back thoughtfully. “The same Wolf took a very personal interest in me, before he realized he couldn’t control me and tried to have me killed.”
Rei gasped, a chill sliding down her spine. For a moment she was speechless, “what does he want with us, Eli?”
“What connects us, Rei?” Eli smiled, his eyes gentle as he watched her process it all.
“Our abilities?” Rei guessed, and Eli nodded in approval. She realized suddenly that she’d accepted her gift for what it was, and not what people made it to be. Rei stood, the smile dropping from her face, “this isn’t good, Eli. What am I going to do without you here?”
Eli’s smile turned sad as he watched her pace. “You’ll do what you just did, Rei. Keep the light on and be brave. I can’t protect you from everything, as much as I would love to.” He reached out a hand to her and she took it. He tugged her closer into his embrace, his hand finding the back of her head, threading her hair between his fingers gently. “Trust me when I say, Rei,” he started, eyes intense on hers, “that I would like nothing more than to stay with you. One day, I think I’ll have that chance, and I hope that it’s sooner than later.”
“Why can’t it be now?” Rei found herself asking in a whisper.
Eli’s smirk twitched, widening on his face a fraction, “because I can’t run from who I am anymore. It’s time, Rei. You have something you need to finish, and so do I.” His forehead met hers, his voice growing even more gentle, “we’ll see each other again. I promise.”
A pounding on the front door made Rei jump, her eyes popping open in fear. Eli’s grip on her tightened protectively, one hand on the small of her back, the other in her hair. “I believe, Rei, this time they’re here for me.” His eyes shifted past her as the deadbolt turned and Rei relaxed. Damion, she thought before tensing again, but Damion at six in the morning? She moved to turn but Eli held her steadfast, making her meet his eyes again. “Rei….” he started before he was being pulled away from her with a jerk.
Rei stumbled before Damion caught her, turning her to face him abruptly, “Rei! Rei, I’m so glad you’re ok! I couldn’t get a hold of you and I knew something happened...” He pulled her close as men in dark uniforms shoved Eli to his knees on the floor, cuffing his wrists behind him. He didn’t resist, holding her gaze with his intense golden ones, he smiled softly at her. She pushed Damion away, but he caught her around the waist, “Rei, don’t.”
“But he’s not dangerous!” Rei jerked in his arms, but he held her steadfast.
“Rei, you have no idea who he is. Have you been watching the news?” Damion seethed in her ear as someone moved past them, snatching the tablet off the counter as he passed. But Rei wasn’t listening, She couldn’t take her eyes away from Eli, who remained silent, his face stoic. His eyes never left hers. She could almost see the warning in them.
Rei turned to Damion, “let me go. He can’t hurt me, even if he’s dangerous. Not right now.” Damion’s eyes narrowed but he released her. She collapsed in front of Eli, who’s gaze shifted to Damion over her shoulder before narrowing marginally. If she hadn’t been watching him so intensely, she would’ve missed it.
“So much I wish I could tell you,” he whispered, his focus once again on her.
“Tell me now, Eli,” Rei whispered, leaning forward so that her head was leaning on his shoulder in half a hug. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders lightly. “Tell me how to help you.”
He huffed a small laugh into her ear, his breath tickling her neck as he turned his head to look at her. “You can’t help me here, Rei. All is as it should be. But you need to tread carefully. The path you’re on is narrower than you know.” Then he was being yanked away from her again and shoved out the door. Rei blinked away tears, coming back to herself as Damion knelt beside her, an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, Rei,” he said. His tone prickled her, and she looked at him with a start. Recognition came next as she, once again, took in her surroundings and the people in her home.
“Damion-- ” Rei said, voice pained. She tried to move away from him, but his grip tightened, “where is Detective Jackson?”
Damion’s eyes hardened as he watched her, “I was wondering when you would notice these men were different.” He cupped her chin with his free hand, his grip on her shoulders pulling her closer into him. He studied her, his gaze dark, a little bit sad, and completely unknown to her, “I really am sorry, Anna Rei.”
Something pricked her neck, making her gasp. She leapt back as Damion finally released her. Trying to stand on her own, her hand came up to her neck in shock. Rei stumbled, her arm catching the chair she‘d been sitting in only moments before. Her eyes met Damion’s in horror, “what did you do?” She asked, but her eyes were darkening around the edges, her voice heavy, “what did…. what did you… do?”
Damion’s sympathetic voice travelled to her from so far away, “just relax, Rei, it’ll all be over soon. Relax.”
The last thing she remembered was strong arms catching her before the darkness did.
21
“This place has been ransacked,” Denbrook noted, picking his way through toppled over chairs and couch cushion debris. Jackson, with his gloves on, was lifting a needle off the floor near the island counter in Rei’s apartment. Pulling out a small package with varying colors on the front, Jackson squirted the last few drops from the syringe in. Sealing the package tight, he broke the capsules inside before shaking the package. Bringing it up to eye level, Jackson compared the colors inside to the ones on the package.
“Looks like a positive on narcotics,” he said to himself, elbows resting on knees as he glanced around. He was still beating himself up and he knew it. Why hadn’t he thought of her sooner? He’d had no doubt that if Arachnid was looking for the Recluse, they would’ve stopped here at some point. It hadn’t taken long for her connection to him to become well known within the precinct. Arachnid could’ve easily found out as soon as they knew who the Recluse was. Ezekiel had all but shouted his warning to Jackson, and they’d still been far too slow.
“Jackson,” Montoya said as she entered the living room from Rei’s bedroom. “I just got a hold of Theodore Williams, he’s on his way now. He’ll be chomping at the bit to know how we screwed this up, might I add.” Right now, they were searching the apartment based upon the technicality of exigency. With Rei’s life in danger and her dad on the way, Jackson wasn’t about to wait for a warrant. When they’d gotten there, they’d found the door wide open with only destruction inside. As her power of attorney, Rei’s dad had given consent to search the place right away.
“No technology,” Denbrook added from the far side of the living room, stirring Jackson from his thoughts. Denbrook had been meticulously going through the debris for about an hour, Jackson guessed. “Didn’t you say she had a phone?”
The detective stood before he stuck the syringe into a clear plastic tube, into a sponge at the bottom, and sealed it. He nodded as his head came up. “Yes, she had a phone and a laptop, according to her dad,” he glanced at Montoya here. “Yeah, he called me too. I can’t blame him, though.” He glanced around the apartment, “I would be freaking out, too.” What he wouldn’t say, was that he already was. Jackson had a daughter around Rei’s age. He couldn’t imagine walking into this if it’d been her. He turned to Denbrook again, “Is technology the only thing that’s missing other than our victim?”
“From what I can see, yes. T.V. is still here though, so basically they took anything that could send out a signal. I would guess anything either one of them could have snuck onto their person, no matter how discreet, was taken. Apparently, they were taking no chances.” Denbrook answered, poking through couch cushion stuffing distractedly.
“Arachnid. Only they would think that far ahead when it comes to technology,” Montoya cursed as she
turned around in the living room, “but what would they want with Rei? I mean, using her to get to Ezekiel is one thing, but this place was torn apart, as if they thought she was hiding something.”
“If you knew who the Recluse was, and that he was protecting someone, what would be the first thing you would look for?” Jackson asked, moving into the kitchen as he ran his hands along the counter and under it, searching.
“Bugs,” Montoya breathed glancing around, “they were expecting us to blaze in here; they didn’t have time for delicacy.”
“And they were expecting trickery from Ezekiel, having been bested by him before,” Jackson smiled to himself as he continued to probe. If he knew anything about the Recluse, Ezekiel would’ve known what Arachnid would do. He would’ve found a way to communicate with him that Arachnid wouldn’t expect. A note only he would leave.
Montoya raised an eyebrow at him, “you clearly think the same.”
Denbrook stood slowly, his eyes watching Jackson curiously. “If I was a genius hacker, I would’ve made something of my own, something that Arachnid would’ve overlooked entirely.”
Jackson nodded, “my thoughts exactly,” he said, pulling open the freezer door. He smiled. “Montoya, do you know why some people put flowers in the freezer?” he asked.
Montoya gave him a look, “I’ve never heard of anyone putting flowers in a freezer. The fridge, yes, because it keeps them fresh. Why?”
Jackson pulled out a single rose, hidden behind a pack of mixed vegetables. He showed it to her, so she could see what was hidden among the petals. It was a small paper spider. Jackson brought the rose back up with a grin, “fresh enough for you?”
…
“Outpatient psychiatric care!” Mrs. Wilkins grinned, squeezing her daughter’s shoulders, who smiled beside her. “Dr. Heek is going to get you feeling better, honey. You’ve already made such progress!”
Nikki nodded once but said nothing more as her dad signed the papers he needed to. She didn’t even notice when she’d been moved. Inside her head was cold and darkness. It tore at her from the inside out, but she didn’t know she was supposed to feel anything else. His voice caressed her mind, you are mine. Do not forget you are mine.
