"Lets do this quick, alright? I have things to do." He has an accent, a thick mix between British or Australian. I can't tell really. He pulls out a note from his pocket. His hair is gold and short, and his cop uniform ctaches a few stares from almost every passerby. He smells nice though, like cherries. "You've got the letter, right?"
I nod, drawing my eyebrows together. "Wait you're from him?"
The man looks at me with crystal blue eyes, and smiles. His teeth go in every direction humanly possible. "Come on now, sweatheart, don't act like you didn't already know."
I clench my fists and brace myself. A part of me wanted this to just be questions about Jamie. Around us everything is normal. The crowds buddle together and twindle down every mintue or so, which wouldn't happen if Don's house wasn't an arpartment building for six on Main Street. Little boys, and mothers in strollers and men in bussiness suits walk past us oblivious that I'm being threatened by a phychopath and his "follower." I cringe. Just thinking about that, him having "followers" makes me shudder. Jake stands close by. I feel his body go stiff. "You're right. We knew. So shuttup and get to the point."
He glares at Jake and hands me a note. "Well isn't he lovely." He mumbles to me.
"He's got a point." I smirk and take the paper. On it's cover there's a giant 1 written on top, that's it.
"What is this?" I begin to open it when he grabs my hand.
"Not now, sweatheart." His eyes drift around us, distrustfully to Jake, then back to mine. "Later."
"What is it?" I whisper.
"Your first act." He smiles.
"What is that even supposed to mean? You, "him", or whoever you keep talking about, won't stop about this acting thing, and I don't see camera crews following me around going, "Congratulations, you've just been pranked!" "
Jake shoves his hand in his pockets. "If you're being pranked then you're not really acting . . ." He mutters.
I shut my eyes. "Shutup Jake."
"Listen tweetle dumb and dumber, I told you I don;t have time for nonsense." He leans in closer to me. "There are five acts. If you want what he has you must complete them all. They will test you on certain things. Your ability to react fast enough, your intelligence, how you improvise, how you overcome fear, and the last act is a test. I cannot tell you what it is, or what happens whether or not you pass it, but I can tell you to brace yourself." He flashes a look at Jake. "And he's going to be problem."
He leans back and straightens his tie. "Have fun."
The man turns to leave but Jake grabs his arm. There eyes peirce each other. Gold and ice burning like hot coals against one another. "What the hell is that supossed to mean?"
The man doesn't even twitch. "Because he knows about you now." He grins with the mirth of a little child and walks away, yanking his hand back to his side. He hands me the manilla folder before he leaves. "He also wanted you to have this." His eyes don't move away from Jake yet. "As inspiration or something."
I put the note in my pocket, not bothering to glance at it once as he jogs away. I just want this to be over with. I just want Jamie home.
I looked after his fading figure immersed in a horde of humans and vehicles and gas, running my index finger over the paper in my right pocket. I begin to walk backwards, heading towards the door at the top of the concrete steps, Jake follows. I look to him and his jaw is set. His eyes burn with rage.
Don waits behind the door. When we walk in he cranes his neck to look over my shoulder, searching for the “FBI.”
“What’d he want?” Max pops up in front of me.
“He just wanted to know what Jamie was wearing, where I last saw him; things like that.” The lie came easily, I didn’t even have to think about it. It was like breathing. That simple.
“Oh.” Max turns and waltzed away, his little toy robot hot on his heels.
Don asked me what I had told the agent. “I answered all his questions.” I paused a little, my voice wavering while I remembered the last night Jamie was here. “I last saw him playing monopoly in the den with Jade, Max and Kelsey, him wearing his favorite pj’s.” It wasn’t a lie. “He even gave me his card if I remembered anything else.” Lie. “I most probably won’t call him, though. They stopped the search.” Not a lie.
The kids bombarded me with questions, but before I had to lie anymore I pushed myself past them.
The carpet layering the stairs was the only thing that was soothing me at the moment. I could feel it under my sneakers, sinking softly. It was like walking at sea. The carpet was the sand floating up around at the weight and motion of my feet, at the whirl of the water.
"I need a vacation." I murmur.
I paused slightly. The room didn't feel empty anymore. I felt like I was being watched. I turned, and of course, there was no one there.
“I really need a vacation,” I mumble to myself. I begin to walk towards my bedroom again. I can hear the thump of my converse hitting the hard wood floor. Just as I’m shutting the door to get some peace and quiet, some one wedges their foot in the open gap. Assuming it was Max, I kick at it once and hiss, “Get out of here, dweeb. I'm not the mood.” I kick at the foot again.
“I’m telling Don on you!” Jake’s voice seeps in through the gap, high pitched and whinny.
I can't help but smile. “Awe Jake," I use my sweetest baby voice. "you really don't have to try and imitate him so hard you already sound so much alike."
"Funny." He scoffs. “Let me in?”
I hesitate, debating if I should. After a few seconds of having an argument with myself, I pull open the door. Jake saunters right in, hands in his pockets. He stops dead a few feet away, waiting for me to close and lock the door.
"I knew that guy wasn't an agent. He didn’t even show a badge. What a rookie.” This is the first time I have ever seen Jake roll his eyes. Ever. It was a historical moment, if you ask me. “You’d think being one of them, he would know these kind of things.” He continues.
I cross my arms and ask, “So, there are more?”
He shoots me a look. One that I defined as you-can’t-be-that-stupid. He’s leaning against the mahogany dresser, playing with the family portrait we all took at the beach two years ago. “Think about it, Isabelle. To be able to be a successful –yet psychotic- criminal mastermind, you have to have minions. Some smart,” he inhaled deeply. “And others not so smart.”
I subconsciously nod, as if my head had a mind of its own. Ironic, really. “Still. We need to find out how to track this guy.”
“Yeah, but how?”
“A hacker. We need a hacker. Some one who can trace back the calls.” I’ve begun to pace back and forth, biting my pinky nail. Attractive, I know.
“Isabelle?” Jake’s voice is a low pitch in the distance, even if he was just a few feet away. I was too wrapped up in my thoughts to even remember Jake existed.
“Yeah…we’ll get some one to find out what he’s planning. We'll need weapons too, just in case he attacks us. And he knows that you know Jake, you can't go out anymore, he'll find you. He'll kidnapp you too and then- “
“Isabelle!” Jake clasps his hands over my shoulders, turning my attention to him and stopping my rampage. “Just… just chill out, okay?” I nod. “Breathe in and out, in and out.” I do as he says, staring into his hazel eyes. They remind me of a tropical beach. With its palm leaf green trees, blues the shade of the ocean, specks the color of the radiant sun. "I'm not going anywhere." He smiles. "He won't hurt me, trust me."
"But how do you know that?"
The door rattles for a second. “Don wants me to check if you’re okay, Isabelle.” Kelsey’s meak voice travels through the door, soft as an angel’s kiss.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine kiddo.” I keep my eyes steady on Jake, our gaze too intense to break.
“Isabelle,” Jake says finally. “Just lay down. You need to rest.” He flashes this soft smile that would make any girl melt. His hands travel down to my wrists, pulling me towards the bed. I sit on the edge. Jake let’s go of my hands and turns to leave.
“Jake?” He’s halfway across the bedroom.
“Yeah?” He turns and looks at me. His eyes are soft, so vulnerable.
“Will you…will you stay with me?” I whisper. I knew it was stupid, immature, but I needed company. His company. He sighs lightly before giving me a smile. He kicks off his Nikes before climbing behind me. I settle down in front of him. It was a tight fit. His hand on my hip, my back pressed against his chest, his breath steady and warm at the end of my neck. It all felt good. Natural.
I guess we must have fallen asleep because I didn’t hear Don unlock the door. He walked in and pressed his lips to my forehead, casting a thin blanket over the both of us. And I didn’t hear him creep back out of the room, closing and locking the door behind him, like a swift mouse.