One Night

21:00

The emerald green eyes stared deep into Jeana's soul.

"Who are you?" Jeana stood rooted at the doorway, her innocent, sky blue eyes widened in curiosity.

"I'm..." Jeremy suddenly felt his throat tense up, almost as if he was choking. Jeremy pointed to the logo above the breast pocket of his cyan uniform, trying again, "I'm..."

Jeana squinted her eyes, shaking her head quizzically.

Nothing came out. Jeremy gulped. This was harder than he imagined. He felt his breathing quicken as seconds ticked by with him unable to give a proper answer. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, numbing his mind with nervousness - and a tinge of excitement. Screw this. His fingers reached into his left thigh pocket, feeling for a certain object.

"Jeana, you're here!" Jane's voice suddenly came from behind, shattering the moment, "He's Jeremy from Swiftair Services! Here to repair dad's messed up air conditioner."

Jeremy fiddled with the object in his pocket as Jeana continued examining him. With the attention span of a seven year old, however, she quickly lost interest.

"I on the other hand am cleaning up dad's mess. Jeez, it's such a pig sty here," Jane went on, a broom in hand, "Where have you been all this time?"

"Took a nap!" Jeana leaned against the side of the doorway, craning her neck to survey the cleanliness of the room, "Wow... I can't remember the last time I've been here."

Jeremy loosened his grip on the object and stood up, eyebrows etched. Calm down. He reminded himself, turning towards the broken air conditioner. As Jane and Jeana continued chatting light-heartedly, he got to dismantling the machine piece by piece, a keen ear kept to the ground.

He peeked at his watch. 21:00.

Soon, the air-conditioner wouldn't be the only thing he'd be tearing apart.

--

The downpour mercilessly drummed against the windscreen of Auditore's car, obscuring his view. As he activated the wiper, Auditore heard the car door slamming shut.

A soaking wet mess slumped into the passenger seat next to him, hastily buckling his seat belt.

"I swear to God, I will shoot you if you don't get out my car right now," Auditore growled. The soaking wet mess, however, had braved the rain to accompany his mentor. He was not giving up that easily.

"Just listen to me sir!" Kelvie clung on to his seat belt as Auditore attempted to shove him out, "I'm here to help!"

"You've helped enough Kelvie, now get the hell out of my car!" Auditore yelled, pushing the intruder out of his car. Kelvie was the last person he wanted to see now. Kelvie, however, was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Please sir, I know you don't have anyone else. We are dealing with the Ripper here, going out on your own like that would be suicide!" Kelvie begged, "Let me help you. Two is better than one."

Auditore released Kelvie from his clutches. Overpowering Kelvie was not a feasible option, especially since the confined position they were seated in left little room for movement. He silently cursed himself for not locking the doors earlier.

"I know how much this case means to you," Kelvie reasoned, "but you must remain rational about this. You can't do this alone."

"You..." Auditore could feel his face burn with frustration, "How much do you think you really know about this case? Do you even know who you're dealing with?"

"I..." Kelvie was temporarily lost for words.

"Unlike you, I've taken the training wheels off a long time ago," Auditore raged, "and the last thing I need is some punk ass kid to drag me down and lecture me about what's rational."

As Auditore sat in the driver's seat seething with anger, the rain pattered steadily against the windscreen, filling the few seconds of silence that followed.

"Sir, you do realise you're being baited into a trap right?" Kelvie asked.

Auditore shrugged, looking away. Something caught his eye in the side mirror.

"Of course you'd know that, you're Agent Auditore after all," Kelvie went on, "so why are you doing this? Has the scent of cheese driven you insane?"

With the flip of a button, Auditore locked the car doors.

"Let me help you. The trap is designed for one, not two," Kelvie continued, oblivious to the slight movement Auditore just noticed behind the car, "He'll be expecting you, not me."

Took those ingrates long enough. Auditore chuckled to himself, engaging the gear. Next moment, he stomped on the accelerator, his black SUV screeching and jerking forward. Kelvie grabbed the door handle, his heart nearly jumping out his chest.

Auditore peered at the rear view mirror out of the corner of his eyes. Somewhere in the distance, he spotted a few operatives sprinting after him, clad in familiar blue kevlar. Another second there and I'd probably end up in handcuffs. Auditore scoffed as he accelerated further, leaving his stalkers in the dust.

"Fine," Auditore said calmly, occassionally checking the rear view mirror, "you can come along."

"I'm..." Kelvie struggled to catch his breath, "I'm glad you changed your mind sir."

"But on one condition," Auditore steered the speeding car carefully, his eyes peeled on the slippery road ahead, "Tell me everything you know about the case."

The wiper blades squeaked noisily as they rhythmically glided back and forth across the windshield.

"Sir, I don't understand your..." Kelvie sensed something amiss.

"Cut the crap kid. New trainee under my charge right after my missing ex-partner of two years gets brutally murdered?" Auditore grunted, "Your dad seriously insults me thinking I'd fall for that hogwash."

Kelvie licked his dry lips.

"Let me guess," Auditore drove on, his car continuing to pick up speed, "you're here on a mission."

Beads of perspiration started forming on Kelvie's forehead. Where are we going? He wondered, realising Auditore had taken an unexpected turn away from the city, onto a dirt road.

"You're not here to learn from me," Auditore snarled, his words slow and insidious, "You're here to investigate me."

They were isolated deep in the woods by now, with no building, no sign of civilisation in sight. Kelvie's eyes darted around, in search for any clue indicating his location. There was none.

"You're here to find out if I had anything to do with Emma's death," Auditore went on, his right index finger tapping on the steering wheel, "and you figured getting into this car - with me - would bring you closer to the answer."

Kelvie's hands started trembling uncontrollably as Auditore's bloodshot eyes gradually centred on him.

The tapping on the steering wheel stopped.

"Well you're god damn right."

TO BE CONTINUED

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