I pull myself away from him. Clearing my throat, to clear the air and this is a quite a stretch, but my mind too. It actually works because I suddenly remember something from the academy.Turning to him, my eyes take him in, as critically as I can manage.He hasn’t had a shower in a while, neither has he shaved. He should be uncomfortable, plus he would be driving, even his patience must stretch thin somehow, I just have to wear it out. Looking up in the rear view mirror, I see Jake working furiously on his laptop. I sigh inwardly, he would have to see me in the worst state possible.Kelly’s words float back into my mind.My pride means nothing if Jesse chooses not to speak.“You know how to start a car without the keys…” I start.He glances at me with raised brows, lips already raising in a laugh.“I am sure everyone knows how to. Didn’t you learn?”I frown at him in confusion.“Why would I learn to steal someone’s car??”“You have always been a goody two shoes? You never broke
Even if I have been leader for a while, my leadership style has always been leading the team in the way they wanted to be led. Everyone had to agree on every decision I took as captain. It was more or less just a title. Still, I was at the helm of affairs.Letting him lead me-well us, Jake and I- and leaving everything in his hands was new to me. “I trust you.” Jake had said when I apologized for going with Jesse.His eyes held no judgement, just that look of pure admiration, I had looked away almost immediately. “How long until we get there?” I ask, already itching to be safe.I feel like we are being watched. Maybe it’s pure anxiety from Jesse’s words, or maybe my gut is finally working again, and we are being watched. Looking around, I am grateful for the cover of the night, but it meant we were on the last bit of our extra time. “As soon as we find a car, it should take no more than an hour.” Jesse answers, walking next to me.“Find a car? Like an Uber?”He snorts. “No, are
Huh?What did that mean?I look from Jake to Jesse in confusion.His eyes are narrowed, head cocked to the side as he watched Jake’s hand on mine.The knot in my throat is back, every nerve in my body is asking me to pull away from Jake, but Jesse doesn’t own Jake, I have known him for longer, why would I pull away from my team member because a suspect doesn’t like it? Jake tugs on my arm, jerking me out of my head.He walks out of the room with me in tow.I mean, he is taller than me, nothing like Jesse’s absurd height, still… is it okay to be dragged around like this? I am still his captain… “You were right.” he says after taking a deep breath, still not letting go of my arm.“About what?”I am distracted. I can’t stop replaying the look on Jesse’s face when I walked out with Jake. It’s obvious he has a thing for Jake, if he could lie about it before, that look on his face…. a shiver runs down my back just thinking about it. “The trackers. They might be old models, but no one els
During a negotiation, the one with the upper hand has to make it stay that way, or else the rug gets pulled from beneath you. Like it did with Jesse.But I still have a chance. Someone like him loves to be out and about, he should start to feel antsy very soon, and he would spill. Stepping outside the holding, the fog in my head clears.Jake is still working on his system, his brows are furrowed, eyes squinted in disbelief. I want to know what he is working on, but he would tell me when he was done. Back to my negotiation.Time is running out, I have to bluff my way to a few more hours with the prime minister, he hasn’t sent any messages, but I worry he is gathering the money somehow. He is a politician after all. I try calling him, it doesn’t ring.First alarm bell goes off in my head. Clients are required by terms of service, to keep their lines free for when we have to reach them, and the same is required of us as well. His back up line doesn’t connect either.Something is w
“We have to take him to the hospital.”I sigh, nodding. This case has taken a very wild turn, tossing around all the possibilities that weren’t in the textbooks back at the academy. There’s no legally right or wrong anymore, just what I am willing to do. “Until we know who in particular is after his life, I don’t think taking him in public is our best bet.”“You think they are after his life?”Why am I taking his words as the gospel? He could be lying to get out of here. Except I know he isn’t, he could have left, but he doesn’t care enough about himself to do so it seems. “It’s safe to assume they are, until we know otherwise.”Jake nods, his eyes returning to the screen, they widen for a few seconds, then his fingers jump all over the keyboard, I take that as my cue to leave, it’s always best to leave him when he is in his zone. Jesse looks the same way I left him, pretending, bruised, and still so pretty.I let out a shivering breath, assuming it would take away the last part of
“Captain? you need to see this.” Jake says walking into the room, he halts at the door, his eyes immediately fall to Jesse. Stiffly, I turn around to see what he sees.Jesse has gone back to pretending to be unconscious, his eyes shut, chest barely moving even as he breathes. I can’t believe the amount of relief I feel when I see him pretending.I trust Jake, so why would I…? Swallowing, I walk out of the room with Jake who gives me an eager look.Outside the room, the place is still a mess, Mave and Kelly nowhere to be found, Joseph too.“Look at this.” Jake hands me a small, broken tracker.I turn the object around in my hand, the insides are ripped out, but it’s unmistakable. “Where did you find this?”He walks over to the back of the old air conditioning, and he pulls out a second one, this one is still active, he brings it to me. “The whole place is rigged with them.”So nobody betrayed us then, Jesse was wrong. I smile to myself, almost clutching the tracker to my chest.“T