The Color of Your Eyes

Chapter 47: Equipment

"Eh... go inside here!" Lilly shoved Jake into a closet that was close to the entrance. It was probably wiser to hide Jake in Hannah's room upstairs, yet the Donfort sisters don't want to risk anything. So Jake found himself being wedged between a vacuum cleaner and a trash bin full of recyclables.

Hannah put a morning robe on and made her hair messy as if she was pretending to just be woken up. She then opened the door.

"Hello? Can I help you?" she asked through the crack. Jake opened the closet doors slightly, to be able to see a little through the small space.

"Hello Hannah, I'm Suzie, you know, the one who has been constantly asking for an exclusive interview the past few days," came the voice of a teenager.

Hannah coughed, more likely pretending to not feel well.

"Yeah, I know, you are Cleo's cousin, right? Sorry, but I have not been feeling very well lately, maybe next time," she said, indicating that the conversation was over.

"Is Cleo here?" Suzie asked.

"No," Hannah answered, with a hint of annoyance.

"Do you know anything about a hacker named Jake? I heard he was the knight in the shining armor who tried to save you," sounds of rustling paper could be heard, as if Suzie is pulling out a notepad.

"Look, I can't talk right now..." Hannah gestured, and Lilly who was also hiding in the shadows now came out to tell the unwanted guests off.

"Oh, I see your sister is here too! Great! Can you tell me the real reason why you deleted that video you made about Jake and someone named Lia? Who tipped off Alan the whereabouts of Hannah? Was that you?"

"Look Suzie, my sister is not feeling well, I am here to nurse her. Just go home before I call Cleo," Lilly is now raising her voice, clearly close to losing her temper as she flung the door open.

"Are those your computers?" Suzie pointed towards Jake's equipment, still on Hannah's dining table, visible from the entrance.

"Ehm, yeah, we are preparing for a LAN party. Have a good day," Lilly slammed the door before Suzie could react to what she saw.

"Phew, that was close..." Lilly whispered to Hannah who was shaking her head.

"Why did you have to open the door? Now she saw all that equipment. Let's hope she doesn't put two and two together and tips of the FBI or else..." Hannah sighed.

Jake got out of his hiding spot when he stopped in his tracks. He and his sisters could hear angry voices behind Hannah's apartment door.

***

"What are you doing here?" Phil asked in annoyance to Suzie and her male friend who accompanied her to Hannah's apartment.

"Looking for an interview," she answered promptly.

"Did you get one?" Phil raised his eyebrow.

"No, sadly, not. We were gracefully declined. But maybe you are interested in giving one? Half of my followers want to know more about Duskwood's infamous bartender, like if you are single, what's your star sign, what your type is-"

"Go home," Phil sighed and stepped aside to let Suzie and Cody pass him by.

"Okay, see ya soon!" Suzie beamed and scribbled something on her notepad, leaving an annoyed Phil behind as she walked away. The bartender shook his head before raising a fist to knock on Hannah's door.

After confirming that he was indeed Phil and not some annoying teenage reporter or undercover FBI agent, Phil was let inside.

"Thanks for having open communication with me Jake," Phil muttered sarcastically as he raised his sunglasses and placed them on his head.

"I was busy," Jake didn't react much, but his face looked like he just bit into a lemon.

"I could see that," Phil's eyes fell on the equipment.

Jake sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't take your calls. I was really occupied."

"Yeah, well, we have a problem. That is not why I tried to call you for the first time. First, I just wanted to tell you that the money has been transferred."

"Money? What money?" Lilly asked.

"Second, Thomas is not answering my calls. He was supposed to watch over Poke, but I cannot reach him for like over an hour now. Third, Poke's fiancé just approached me. She is worried about him and is thinking of calling the cops, aka Alan if he doesn't show up at 6 pm tonight."

"That's way before Alan is going to show up in Aurora's bar," Jake went to his computer. Suddenly Lilly remembered something that happened before Suzie showed up.

"Jake, weren't you going to call the others because of something you found out? It seemed urgent. Something that was really bad?" Lilly asked, looking concerned.

"That is correct. I just found out something that we have to discuss now, together. And I want Alan to come right now," Jake grabbed his facemask.

"I don't understand!" Hannah approached Jake. "The plan was for you to stay HERE. Where you are safe, where you are hidden. You weren't going with us to the bar when Alan is arriving. Phil was going to do the talking with the police chief. What changed? The plan was to keep you safe!" Hannah tried to stop Jake.

"It's still bright outside! There are people! What if someone suspects something, sees you, and calls the police?" Hannah grabbed her brother's shoulder.

"Is it because of Lia? Because of the state, she is in?" Lilly asked as she approached her brother as well.

"Lia's state? What do you mean?" now Phil looked bewildered.

"Jake managed to hack into Mike's security system and well... see it for yourself," Lilly pointed towards a computer screen. Phil went to turn it around, and he saw the live stream of Lia being held captive in a container. She was laying in a bed, obviously awake and crying.

"Lia..." his face changed from pissed and annoyed to a softer expression, he touched the screen, and for a brief second, Phil looked hurt. Jake looked both at Phil and then at Lia, before turning his face away.

"I'm going to get you out of there..." Phil whispered.

"We are ALL going to get her out of there, right Jake?" Lilly said trying to lift the spirits, but Jake looked away.

"Jake?" Lilly asked, now worried.

"Just call the others and let's meet up in the Aurora," Jake said before putting on his face mask, and without waiting for the others, he went to the apartment door, opened and then closed it behind him.