Shadows Peak |✔

Chapter 36: Jasper

A delicate knock on Brenan's door drew the focus of all three guys, and only one thought came to Jasper's mind.

Margot. Finally.

When Brenan opened the door, the woman they met earlier walked in, no longer in her work uniform, but a simple, knee-length, navy blue dress. Her long dark hair was knotted into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, and her face seemed tired. Lucas stood up from his seated position on the bed and motioned for her to have a seat there, but she stayed standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed.

"Start explaining," she directed, looking at her cousin more than anyone else.

Quickly doing as told, Brenan motioned for Margot to follow him to his computer. Jasper kept his distance, Lucas doing the same, to give the relatives their own space. He knew it would be hard to accept the fact that their government was responsible for the deaths of so many; it would be easier to believe it was a senseless act of a girl rather than a cold and calculated play for power by a system meant to protect them.

Brenan pulled up the video from the dreaded day that still made it hard for Jasper to breathe at the mere thought of it.

"I need to show you something, Mo," he said as he clicked play.

The footage was too much for Jasper to watch for a third time, so he averted his eyes. The only sounds heard were the breaths of those watching the scene unfold. After the way he reacted the last time he watched the tape, Jasper refused to take another look.

As soon as I get you back, Syd, we'll both be able to put that day behind us.

"You see that girl right there?" Brenan asked, pointing to the screen. "The one with the long blonde hair?"

"Yeah," Margot answered. "What about her?"

"The person she's talking to is Jasper, and that's their friend, Liz," he explained, an apologetic look on his face when he made eye contact with Jasper as he mentioned her name.

"Okay...so?"

"Just watch what happens next," he said.

The sudden jumping back of her body indicated to Jasper that she must have just watched the three of them get hit by the stray chunk of limosine. The speechless look on her face when she glanced at him confirmed as much, and he looked away, not liking the way her sympathy made him feel.

It only reminded him that he had lost something; that he was someone people could pity.

"Mo, that girl is Sydney Donovan."

"What?" she gasped, now focused on her cousin. "But-but that doesn't make any sense. Why would she-"

"She didn't."

Margot's face jerked in Jasper's direction at the sound of his voice, but her face showed she was hesitant to believe him.

"Sydney is my best friend," Jasper spoke, keeping his head down. "That day broke both of us in a way I doubt we'll ever fully recover, just as I'm sure it's broken you."

Her eyes stilled on him as he continued, noticing the way his words seemed heavy with emotion and truth.

"Liz died that day, Sydney was framed for that act of terror, and I had to send her away in order to protect her. In a matter of just a few hours, I went from having everything to having nothing, and now we're so close to uncovering what the real criminals are trying to hide," he said, now raising his head to look at her. "Are you going to help us do that or not?"

She was silent for a while; too quiet. Jasper was growing inpatient, wondering what was left to consider.

"Brenan, show her the clip with the reporters," he instructed, trying to speed up the process of convincing her.

As the clip played, Margot's eyes were glued to the screen.

"That's just minutes before the bombing," Lucas commented, now standing next to her. "Now, what would possess them to keep the news crews from going forward?"

When she didn't respond, he answered his own question.

"My guess is, they didn't want the distributors of their daily propaganda to get blown to bits."

Jasper noticed a firm twitch on Margot's lips as she stared at the screen. Then, her hand went to a locket hanging from her neck. She opened it, looking at its contents for just a few seconds before closing it.

"So, are you in?" Jasper asked, needing to know if they'd hit another dead end or not.

"Hell yeah," she answered with determination in her eyes. "Those bastards are going to pay for what they did to my little brother."

A bittersweet nod of the head showed Jasper's approval at her cooperation, and his mind was starting to look ahead.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"We've got it all worked out, but it's risky, Mo," Brenan answered. "It requires us getting those two in and out of the security building safely."

"We're also going to steal a high level clearance code while we're in there," Lucas added nonchalantly.

Her eyes grew big at the magnitude of what they were saying.

"Are you both stupid?" she scoffed, looking between Jasper and Lucas. "Or do you just want to go to prison?"

"We don't really have a choice," Jasper stated with a serious tone. "If we don't get that code, then we don't find out who really killed Liz and Parker."

And Syd can't come home.

"And let's be honest," Lucas added. "If we're right and the woman now running this nation did do this...then what else might she do? I mean, she killed a bunch of kids! What's worse than that?!"

No one dared to answer his valid question.

What else might she do?

Thoughts of what could happen if they got caught started to bombard Jasper's mind, and he looked up at the three people that were in front of him. Brenan and Margot had a reason to be here; someone was stolen from them and they needed justice. But, then there was Lucas, who was only there because of him. If anything happens to him, it's on me.

"Okay," Margot said, breaking the silence. "Just tell me what to do."

While Brenan jumped in to catch his cousin up on all the details of their plan, Jasper's eyes looked over at Lucas, praying to God that he wouldn't lose another person; that he wouldn't lose him.