Framed [COMPLETED]

Chapter 13

"Good morning Penny!" Jake says to the receptionist.

"Good morning, Mr. Green. You have three phone calls from Chief Aspen and Ms. Forge is in your office."

He looks through a pile of mail.

"Thank you, Penny. This is Olivia Newman."
Penny's welcoming personality shakes my hand and I follow Jake into an office.

The office has a wooden desk in the middle, a rolling chair and two cushioned chairs in front. Then a beige couch on the right side of the room by the windows. I look at the bookshelf with books about law and couple with historical books.

A woman stands up and shakes Jake's hand.
"Ms. Forge. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"As you." Ms. Forge has a thick European accent. "What are the developments?"

"Not much. Olivia is with me today."

I snap my attention away from the bookshelf and look between them. Ms. Forge has mocha brown hair pulled into a tight bun and olive skin.

"Ah, yes. Chief Aspen would love to meet with you soon, he asked me to hand deliver this paper to you. Please return it signed by tomorrow morning. Good day, Mr. Green." She nods her head and stands up to leave. "Ms. Newman."

I tip my head. The door closes and I sit in front of Jake.

"So, your real name is Jake Green?" He looks up from the paper still in his hand.

"Yes, but you must refer to me as Jake Verdin. I'm on a very important case. If my cover is blown it won't look good."

"You're undercover? And I think your cover was blown a long time ago."

Jake gives me a warning stare, "Yes. But I am a lawyer. The state police hired me to go undercover for them. Four years of work, trust, and loyalty to the state and the gangs."

"Why?"

He rubs his temples.

"Someone like you should never have to go through what the gangs are planning because of your father."

"But why?"

"Look, I can't tell you details. I've already told too much. Once you walk out these statehouse doors, I'm Jake Verdin and I'm a member of Dead Mercy."

"And Salvation."

"Yes."

"So anyways, you said you've been undercover for four years. You're twenty seven. You wouldn't even be out of law school by then."

"I told you. No more."

I put my hands up in surrender.

"Where are you from?" I ask.

"Wouldn't you know? Casey gave you my records."

"But they are clean."

"The police took care of that. And I'm from a small town in Georgia."

"Really? You don't have a southern accent."

"I lived in the Midwest until I was four."

I nod and we stare at each other. I never realized how green his eyes are.

"What sports did you play in high school?" I ask.

"Soccer, football, and baseball."

"I play soccer! What position?"

"Striker. You?"

"Left midfield."

He points to a picture mounted on the wall of a soccer team with Adams Valley High School typed on the bottom.

"You should come to one of our games, I have conditioning next week."

"Well, after the case is wrapped up I'm moving back to Adams Valley to take care of my little sister, practice law, and coach the team."

"How old is your sister?"

"Twenty two, but she gets sick a lot so someone is always around her." He shuffles some papers around and I pull a book off the shelf.

I flip through the pages of the book as dust flutters off.

"So, what happened last night?" I break the silence.

"I got drunk."

"Obviously, but why?"

He sighs, "SM is getting suspicious and he offered to go drinking. I only planned on having one drink, but he pressured me into having more."

"So you were peer pressured." I smirk.

"It's not like that, Olivia. When I refused to drink more than the third, he showed me a gun in his jacket."

"No he didn't!"

"Yes, luckily I didn't spill anything. But you got information and I barely remember anything after the fifth drink. If the chief knows, I'm kicked off the case.  I just hope SM didn't find out any information either." He smiles a second later. "Thank you for helping me though. I appreciate it."

"Any time."

                               •••

The day continues with Jake on the phone, filing papers, and simple conversation. I feel as if I could trust him but something is still off.
Penny announces her leaving for the night.
The sun is almost down and Jake throws his suit on, shoving some papers in his brief case.
"Ready to go?" He asks. I nod and put my purse on my shoulder.

We're silent all the way to the elevator. Two other people join us in the elevator. Jake eyes the men and then looks concerned at me. The elevator dings at each level.

We step off the elevator to the parking garage. The two other men get off with us, one muttering about going home to his wife and the other looking in his brief case.

We get to the car and I look over to see one getting in a car behind us and the other getting in the car on my side. I hop into the car and Jake pulls out, blasting the A/C.

He glances in his rear view mirror every turn. He mutters a curse and tells me to hold on, making a sharp, last minute, unwise turn. The car behind us does the same turn.

"Jake! Who is that man?" I readjust myself.

"A man from Dead Mercy. He has three triangles, meaning he's meant to kill for a reason."

"Wow. Jackson is a coward for not doing the dirty work himself!"

Jake laughs, stepping on the gas. Then it happens. Metal forced against metal, glass flying as if gravity doesn't exist, tires smelling of burnt rubber, and a scream I didn't know I had in me. The man with the brief case drove deliberately head on into us. I sit in shock. I feel a hand grab my shoulder and I let it take me from the passenger seat.