Page 17 of Exposed

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The confession launched Madison’s mind into a tailspin. So much so, she blurted out the biggest question without regard to her insensitive tone. “Yours?”

Alex cut in. “Madison, it’s a long story, too long to explain now, but this is very, very important. Where did you get this?” He stroked Madison’s arm, but she pulled back. His hands opened, as he begged, “Please.”

She didn’t know what to think. She looked over to see Paco pull out a small, old-school flip phone. He only said three words. “Omega is compromised,” and hung up.

Madison sensed the gravity of the situation, and timidly poured out, “The man who gave me that also gave me this.” She opened her purse again, and showed Alex the photo, but wouldn’t hand it to him. Paco eyed it too, and he and Paco exchanged glances, fully understanding the magnitude of the situation. Madison felt out of the loop, marginally grasping the extent of the circumstances. Still, her own feelings consumed her. New tears welled up again, and her heart crumbled as she heard herself hush out a somber question. “Did you have anything to do with Jack’s death?”

___

Alex stood, stunned. Paco stepped in to interject, but Alex lifted his slightly trembling hand to stop him. He took a step back from her, and a deep breath before answering. “No,” he barely uttered. The realization jarred him. Despite letting her into his world, she didn’t know him at all. Maybe that was understandable, or even unfair. But still, the accusation hit him hard. For weeks he’d wrestled with how he’d share the tragedy of the past, and how those events bound them by a senseless chain that somehow led them to this point. But he’d never imagined she would assume he was involved, or worse, directly responsible.

Her question devastated him, setting a shockwave into motion that switched on his ever-ready autopilot—his last bastion of self-defense. Slipping back on a way of life he thought was over, he dealt with the demands and crisis of the moment, while suppressing everything else. Senselessly burying his feelings before the tidal way of emotions consumed him. For Alex, old habits didn’t die hard—they never died. They resurrected themselves just when his mind and body needed them most. And with that, his mind directed his body to leave.

“Paco, stay with Madison. I’ll take care of Yasmin.” He walked away, but Paco stopped him just outside the door.

“What do you mean? Madison needs you.” Paco gripped Alex by the arm and leaned to his ear. “And you need Madison.”

What started as a slight tremble was becoming a full body quake. He lashed out. “We don’t have time for this. Omega requires cleanup. Epsilon is being activated.” Paco squeezed his arm harder, and huffed his annoyance. Even with forty pounds on him, Alex was no match for a pissed-off Paco. “God dammit, Paco!” Paco’s expression turned from faithful to go fuck yourself. He let go, and Alex knew he’d gone too far. Paco had already suffered one devastating loss, and he was right to demand taking point for Yasmin.

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets, a feeble attempt to mask his state. His voice calmed. “Look at her. She can’t even make eye contact or let me near her. I’m no good here. I’m—” Alex looked down, trying beyond hope to conceal the flush of his cheeks, and the redness saturating his ears. Paco relented. He always seemed to know when Alex needed space, and the isolation of a car would let him breathe, and snap him from it quicker. “I’ll take care of Yasmin, I swear,” Alex was factual, but pleading, resting an assured hand on Paco’s shoulder. “Nothing will happen to her. This isn’t a full compromise. We don’t know how much has been exposed. It’s just a precaution.” He retrieved his phone. “And you—you take care of Madison. Find out what happened. And ...” he glanced through the door to see Madison despondently wiping more tears from her cheeks, “... tell her—tell her everything.” Alex rushed out, hurriedly placing a call on his cell as he headed to his car.

Paco returned inside. Madison had been sitting, but stood as soon as he entered, tearing up again. “Paco, I don’t know what’s going on, but if I’ve done something that put someone in danger —”

“Heeey, you haven’t.” He rushed over to pull her into a strong, warm hug. She sobbed harder. “Sh-sh-shhh. Yasmin will be fine. Alex will take care of it. He always does.” Saying it aloud, he grew more convinced. “Look, Madison, it’s really important that we know who’s been pushing all this to you. It’s what we call playback. They’re feeding you misinformation to try to gain real intel.” He cupped her cheek and pulled her eyes to meet his. “We don’t have a lot of time. We need to know who’s after Yasmin.”

Madison broke the bond to retrieve her handbag from the sofa. She handed it to Paco, and he pulled out the final document. “As far as I know they’re not after your, uh, wife.” Her timid voice let out the rest, “I think they’re after Alex.”

“Who is?” Paco asked, as his phone vibrated. He looked to see Alex’s incoming call and hit the speakerphone. “I have you on speaker. Madison shed some light on the situation. I’m not sure we’re blown. Maybe just inadvertently exposed.”

“Then what’s this about?” Alex asked, steady and calmly.

“Apparently, it’s personal.” Paco urged Madison with his eyes.

___

“Alex,” she stammered with a tremble in her voice, “I th-think they’re after you.” The care in her words poured out, and with it, his relief. Could his Madison be back? She sounds worried. Protecting her had become second nature, and kicked into high gear to quell her concerns.

“Well, it’s far from the first time someone’s tried to come after me, but I usually tend to keep my enemies closer. Who’s targeting me?”

Madison looked at Paco, then gulped a little before saying. “Frank Seaver.”

Paco added, “There’s more. He had the contract you gave to Madison.” Before Alex could wonder if Madison was part of a setup, Paco interjected. “If I were to guess, and, Madison, correct me if I’m wrong, the document looks torn up and crumpled, like someone decided she didn’t want it, then threw it away. And that’s when a low-life, opportunistic weasel picked through your trash, discovered it, and taped it back together in some lame attempt to use it against you.” Paco hit the nail on the head, but added, “Close?”

“Yes,” Madison said, displaying through her expression that, once again, Paco’s astute observations and recurring mind-reading were spot on. But Paco wasn’t just showing off, and both he and Alex knew why he’d said it. Alex has no idea about Madison’s grand gesture, discarding the contract without a second thought. Paco was deliberately letting Alex know Madison didn’t use his writing against him and wasn’t part of this ploy. The message was received, loud and clear. As much as he wanted to whip the car around to be with her, there was no time. the transfer point was closing in fast.

“Alex, you still there?” Paco asked.

“Yes. Still here. I might be pushing a hundred miles per hour away from you two, but I’m not going anywhere.” That message was just for Madison, a sentiment he’d expressed time and time again to her. “Look, Epsilon is in motion. It’s a good idea to maintain course. I’ll wrap that up. Probably another two hours. If you don’t hear from me, we’ll circle back at the penthouse. But, can you put Madison on?”

Paco unclicked the speakerphone, and handed it to Madison, then walked away, finding cause to peek into Madison’s bedroom.

“Madison?”

“Yes, I’m here. Alex, I’m —”

“Don’t say anything, just listen. I know you’re confused and unsure, and all of this could have been avoided if I’d just told you everything to begin with, but, as you’re probably figuring out, it’s complicated. And, I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m ready to uncomplicate it. This whole thing with Seaver will be part of some hostile takeover bid. They’ll end up offering me something called a golden parachute. It’s a huge lump sum buyout to ensure I quietly go away. Considering my options, maybe walking away isn’t an ending, but a beginning. Maybe, for us.”

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