Chapter 37

~John’s POV~

“No Kyle we’re not there yet. It’ll be a forty-five minute drive at least.”

“Can’t wait till you guys get back here, I’m about to go out of my mind wondering what’s going on.” He said dramatically and I shook my head.

“Hopefully we’ll be back in a few hours, now can you put Simon on the phone?”

Ten minutes…I’d called Simon ten minutes ago and ever since Kyle had answered the call I still had yet to talk to the little nerd. I sighed, running a hand over my face.

“I told you…he’s in the shower, I’ll give it to him as soon as he gets out.”

“Just go in there and give it to him now.”

“So you’re comfortable with me gazing at Simon’s naked body?”

I chose not to answer.

“Alright if you insist.” He sighed again and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

“What do you want him for anyway? Thought you said everything was fine.” The devil continued.

“Just give him the phone.” I took a breath. If I kept this up the kid would give me an aneurism before my thirty-third birthday.

“I’m knocking, he’s the one taking forever to open the damn door.” He complained “By the way can you get me another magazine when you’re over there? I’m done with this one and I’m bo-”

“I’m here, what’s up?” Simon came on the line and I could clearly hear Kyle bitching in the background.

“There’s been a slight change of plans. If we don’t get the information we need we’ll be taking the son back with us for questioning. Hopefully it’ll draw Kelly out of hiding, so I’ll need you to notify the captain as soon as I give you the okay.”

“What about Kyle and Riley?”

“Don’t mention them, this is just a precaution. We don’t know what kinda guys we’re dealing with here and there’s no telling what he’ll do once we take his son.”

There was a pause.

“You do realize that if you arrest him and it turns out he’s innocent we’ll have a lawsuit on our hands right? This is a closed case John.”

I nodded. “We’ll have to take that risk.”

Another pause, then, “Alright, but for all our sakes I hope the son of a bitch is guilty as sin.” He said and clicked off. I dropped the phone onto the seat beside me.

“Alright we’re set.”

Nate nodded.

Looking out the window at the passing scenery made it easier to think about something other than the upcoming confrontation. Like the fact that when this was over Kyle would still be in the hot seat and we had yet to come up with a solid plan to keep him out of prison.

The ideas we’d come up with were contingent upon the captain’s discretion and while nobody could dispute the fact that he was a fair man, I didn’t like the thought of putting Kyle’s life in anyone else’s hands.

I turned my face from the window, resting my head against the seat of our rental. I tried to imagine how it would go down if the kid did get thrown back into the slammer and I cringed. His mouth alone would get him killed.

Just then my phone vibrated snapping me out of my reverie and I picked up the thing to glance at the screen.

‘Good luck and be safe. Luv Kyle’ the text read and the pressure only escalated.

Somehow I’d have to find a way to keep him out of prison and by the looks of it, my time was running out.

“I say we intercept him at his dorm, right as he leaves out for class.” Eddie offered, his eyes fixed on the road.

I shook my head, “There’s no telling whether he’ll be in his dorm at this hour.”

Eddie scoffed, “And there’s no telling whether he’ll even go to class.”

“He was a straight A student, graduated second in his year, something tells me he’s a guy who doesn’t miss class…especially not in his first year.” Nate added and I agreed.

“Or we split up, one of us goes to the dorm, two to the class and whoever gets to him signals the others.” Eddie continued and I hated the idea the second it was out of his mouth.

“We don’t know what this kid is capable of, he could have people watching him for all we know. We stick together.”

Eddie snorted. “Somehow I doubt he’ll be much of a problem.”

I shook my head, “Yeah well this is a guy who might have played a part in Menza’s death. I wouldn’t underestimate him.”

“Look guys we’re trained agents, we’ve been through worse shit than this, why are you making this harder than it needs to be? If it’s such an issue, I’ll go to the dorm, and you guys can stick with t-”

“We’re not splitting up alright? We already lost you once, it’s not fucking happening again.” Nate interrupted.

“If we still manage to keep our jobs after this we’ll have dozens of cases down the line and the chances of me or any of us getting hurt is pretty damn high, so what? You’re gonna put me on the sidelines every time? Cause I won’t work like that Nate.”

“After this case I’m out and something tells me John will be too. I told you about the company I’m starting, private investigating, that kinda thing... I want you to join us, it co-”

“No.” He cut Nate off and I gritted my teeth.

“Christ Eddie, would you just listen? The job isn’t worth your damn life and with the way things are going the likely reward at the end of this is a fucking tomb stone.” I raged.

“I’ve worked my ass off to get where I am and I’m not giving it up just because you guys want to throw it away. We’ll split up, cover more ground and find the kid.”

“Then do whatever works for you, but right now this is still my team, you’re on my case and you’ll follow my orders. We stick together, we watch each other’s backs and we’ll all come out of this mess alive. If you don’t like it, I can drop you off at the nearest bus stop and you find your way home.” Nate interrupted.

His icy tone, which I had grown accustomed to over the years was in place and clearly brooked no argument. He was our team leader after all and in situations like this, when he spoke, you followed orders no questions asked, which was why Eddie fell silent and the rest of the drive was spent as such.

……………………………………….

I glanced down at the small photo I held in my hand then back up at the faces walking by us. Still no sign of the kid. Beside me Nate’s eyes searched the moving crowd and across the way Eddie struck up conversation with anyone he could, trying to get a lead on Kelly’s son. So far no luck.

“I’m starting to think that maybe Eddie was r-”

“There he is.” Nate nudged me and I straightened glancing in the direction his gaze was fixed and sure enough there was the kid…no he looked more like a man than a kid now. Over the past year alone it seemed he’d gone and had a major growth spurt.

He was tall, wide chested, broad shouldered and too well dressed for a kid whose mother was a nurse and father worked as a prison guard. He wore his dark hair slicked back with way too much hair gel so that it took on an almost dirty look and his face hadn’t quite filled out yet showing off his slightly puffed cheeks with barely there stubble.

All in all I’d say apart from the clothes, he looked like a pretty average fresh-eyed freshman. He didn’t look particularly dangerous, maybe even a little bit clueless and slightly awkward but judging a book by its cover was almost always a stupid thing to do.

I watched as Nate stepped toward him and I signaled to Eddie who broke off his conversation immediately, making a beeline for the boy. When Nate finally approached him ad flashed his badge, I took in the kid’s expression; he seemed surprised, maybe even a little confused but there was no guilt, no nervousness or fear.

I approached only when they had managed to get him safely away from the crowd and by then Nate had already started his interrogation.

“…and this is your father Edward Kelly?” Nate asked holding up the picture for him to see.

The kid; James, looked at the picture, then at Nate with furrowed brows. “Yeah, but… I don’t understand, what’s this about? Is my dad okay?”

He seemed worried now, his expressive eyes going wide. “We’re investigating the murder of one Joseph Menza. He was killed over a year ago and an innocent man was convicted of the crime. We’ve officially reopened the case.” Nate explained, his face serious, eyes almost glinting.

Officially reopened... there went another misdemeanor to add to our growing list of misdemeanors.

“Okay, what does that have to do with me?” James asked uncertainly.

“You were present at a school- leaving party last year, the sixteenth of June correct?”

James shrugged. “Yeah I guess, but I didn’t stay long I had…I’m not really into parties.”

“Everyone signed the yearbook at the door that night, why didn’t you?”

He shook his head, brows furrowing again. “I don’t know, maybe I just didn’t feel like it, I hardly even remember that night, like I said I didn’t stay long. Why are you asking me all these questions?”

Nate pulled a sheet of paper from inside his jacket and unfolded it. “Says here, you lived with your father back then. Where was he that night?”

“Home. What’s this about? You don’t suspect him do you? He wouldn’t-”

This was getting nowhere. Either the kid really didn’t know anything or he was one hell of an actor. My money was on the former and that didn’t bode well for any of us.

“Where’s your father now?” I tried for a different line of questioning and he looked up at me and shrugged.

“How am I supposed to know? I’m here with you guys remember?”

“Where does he live smartass?” I bit out and James took a hesitant step back.

“I ah... I don’t know, he told me he moved out of the old place a few weeks ago. Said he’s staying with some friends upstate.”

“You’re telling me you don’t know where your own father is living? A man you’ve resided with for most of your life?” I asked skeptically.

“I live on dorm now, I haven’t been back home since I got here. He said he’d give me the new address once he finds someplace new.”

“When was the last time you saw the old man?” I continued.

“Last week…he came over to visit. Look I’m late for class okay I need to-”

Beep

We all glanced down at the sound of a phone beeping which came from the kid’s jacket pocket, the same pocket that the kid’s hand was buried in. Nate latched onto his arm, pulling the object out while the kid protested the action. When he glanced at the screen he cursed and held it out for us to see.

A single word was written across the face of the screen ‘RUN’ sent to the number labelled dad.

“You sneaking son of a bitch.” Eddie said shaking his head and the kid tried unsuccessfully to pull out of Nathan’s grasp.

I took the phone from Nate then, dialing the number on the screen and after only the first ring it was answered.

“James? I got your text, what’s going-”

“Your son is being taken into custody as we speak. He’s being charged with the murder of Joseph Menza. If there’s anything you need to say on his behalf I’d suggest you come quickly.” I rattled off an address and hung up when Kelly began to protest. Then I threw the phone to Eddie who caught and pocketed it.

Something was going on here, the text to his old man just proved it and it was time we finally got to the bottom of it all.

I watched as Nate pulled the kid along with us, choosing not to cuff him in order to avoid the stares of those milling around. It only took a gruff warning from Eddie to get him to cooperate and by the time we made it to the car, the once innocent looking kid was glaring daggers at us all.

I cuffed his hands before him only when we were safely hidden away in the vehicle, surprised that James didn’t even have the decency to look frightened. He only sat there, dry-eyed, alert and looking defiant as we pulled out of the campus parking lot and onto the main road beyond.

We would take him out of state, back to the precinct for official questioning. It was time we came out of hiding and by the time we finally got all the information out in the open, we’d disclose Riley’s location. As for Kyle…that would take just a little while longer.

…………………………………

We’d managed to get word to the captain through Simon and with a short phone call to the airport authorities, we were cleared for flight with James in custody. Without much to go on we couldn’t actually charge him but maybe we could hold him long enough to get what we needed.

By the time we had landed James was finally subdued, looking tired and finally just a bit uncertain. We picked up Eddie’s van from the airport parking lot and fifteen minutes later we were on the highway headed towards the precinct. It would be a thirty minute drive to the motel where Simon and the boys waited but we couldn’t risk the exposure which meant we would be heading straight to the precinct taking would take us all of two hours.

“This is ridiculous, my father is innocent.” James said for about the fifth time this whole trip and I repeated what I’d told him the other four times.

“If he’s so innocent then why did you warn him?” Again the kid had no response.

“You can’t just show up and drag me to another state, you’re breaking the law, you have to be.” He continued and I wished I could just ram a sock down his throat to keep him quiet.

“Like you and your father broke the law when you murdered Joseph Menza?”

“We didn’t do anything and if this goes to court it’ll be thrown out anyway after you practically kidnapped me.”

“Somehow I doubt that. Either you tell me what happened that night or you shut up, you’re giving me a damn headache.”

He looked away from me then, glancing out the window with barely concealed anger.

The kid was right though, this whole thing could blow up in our faces. This wasn’t an official investigation, hardly even sanctioned by the captain himself, which meant once again our boss would have to call in a few favors to save our asses and keep the case on the table.

It wouldn’t be easy. Not by a long shot.

…………………………………….

“Why do you have Simon’s phone every time I call?” I asked Kyle who had picked up on only the first ring.

I could imagine his shrug “I was bored so I borrowed it.” He said simply and I shook my head.

“This line needs to be free at all times, Simon knows that.”

“It’s not like I’m here making calls Johnny, I’m just fooling around with it and I answered on the first ring anyway didn’t I?”

“Give Simon the phone.”

“What’s going on over there, did you find his son?”

“Yes we have him in custody. We’re taking him to the precinct.” I explained.

“What’s he like?”

I shook my head. “What does it matter what he’s like? Give Simon the phone.”

“I’ll give him when we’re done talking. It’s not like you have an emergency right?”

I took a breath then gave up, I was only calling to check in anyway.

“Alright what?”

“I miss you, what time are you coming back?” his voice had gentled and I could hear his soft breathing on the line.

“I don’t know yet, as soon as we get what we want.”

“That’s hardly reassuring.” He mumbled.

“Yeah well that’s how it is.”

“I still can’t believe it’ll be over soon Johnny. I can’t wait to hug you and kiss-“

I cleared my throat cutting him off mid-sentence. “How is he?” I asked referring to Riley whose name I refused to call while James sat beside me. We couldn’t risk that and Kyle understood right away.

“You mean Riley? Either he’s dying or he’s just really tired because he’s been sleeping all day.” He replied and I snorted.

“Alright well tell Si- what the hell?” I exclaimed when the van jerked and the phone slid through my fingers to clatter onto the floor below.

“Fuck!” Eddie cursed, glancing around and I followed his gaze, letting out an expletive of my own when the van jerked again and I hit my head against the window.

Following close behind us was a black SUV which rammed into our vehicle once more before Nate hit the gas and we were speeding down the road.

“What’s going on?” James asked, eyes wide with fright as he tried to catch a glimpse out the window.

The van jerked again and I reached down to grab the phone from the floor before I grabbed hold of my seatbelt and strapped it on quickly.

“…going on? Johnny? Johnny?” I heard Kyle’s frightened voice once I put the phone to my ear

“Kyle, we’re-”

I ducked when the back window shattered and shards of glass went flying through the air. I felt one nick the back of my neck.

“They’ve got guns!” Eddie shouted again and I pulled out my weapon in a flash, glancing behind me and ducking when another shot was fired.

I reached across and pulled the kid down as I fumbled for the phone again.

“We need back up! We’re on route 66 off highway 11E, tell Simon!” I yelled into the phone then ducked again when another shot was fired this time from Eddie’s weapon.

“Oh my God Johnny, what’s happening?”

“Get Simon!” I shouted again as I was slammed into the door when Nate maneuvered the vehicle around the bend.

“John? What’s going on?” Simon’s voice sounded and rattled off the same instructions I’d given Kyle then; “Trace this call!”

A few moments passed while chaos erupted around us before Simon was back on the line.

“I’m tracing it now, what the fuck’s going on out there?”

A screech of tires sounded against the asphalt and again Nate swung ‘round another bend and out of nowhere another vehicle rounded the corner and blocked our path, the occupants just as vicious as the ones following close behind.

I threw the phone onto the seat beside James and raised my weapon, sending a few shots in that direction. Nate cursed, managing to swing the vehicle around the other SUV, missing it by inches.

Another window shattered and I glanced back, ignoring the warm stream of blood cascading down the side of my face. Behind us, two black SUV’s followed at a frightening pace, men with guns hanging out the windows, aiming at us.

Nate sped along, turning another corner, then another as we tried to lose them somehow. My window shattered and I brought my arm up to cover my face as I turned away from the flying shards.

“We can’t shake them!” Eddie shouted, glancing quickly at the road ahead then back at the vehicles chasing us.

“Hang on!” Nate yelled and we swung around another bend, my head slamming so hard against the back of the seat, I was sure I saw stars.

“Get down! Get down! Get down!”

…………………………………………..

AUTHOR'S NOTES

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER GUYS AND THANKS AS ALWAYS FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND SWEET MESSAGES!.

Check out my new book 'Skittles' which is out on my wattpad profile and if you haven't yet, follow me on tumblr for updates, ramblings and fun at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/twinzdouble

SHOUTOut: To denny1 who like so many others has gone through so much

ENJOY

-Double.A

-unedited.