Page 24 of Fate Awakened

Incessant pounding from my left has me whipping my head in that direction.

What the fuck is that?

“Just a moment. And while you’re waiting, start coming up with some names that may help move this along,” the voice replies while the boots take him to the exit on my right.

The sound of faint yelling slips into my ears. The voices are muffled, so I can’t hear the words, only that whoever’s out there is fighting about something. I mentally roll back through what information I’ve given them so far. Nothing stands out.

I have to find out what they’re going to do with Elle. I can’t give them anything until I know she’ll be ok.

The voices quiet outside, and the door reopens. Before he can resume his questioning, I speak.

“I want to know if my friend Brielle’s okay. She has nothing to do with any of this. You’ve no reason to involve her. I’ll do whatever you need. Please leave her out of this.”

“What makes you think we’ve involved her?” He asks, his demeanor still calm.

“You knew when I’d be there to pick her up. My guess is you’re intercepting her communications or have GPS trackers on all her tech. I know you planted Cain to get close to her to keep an eye on me. I assume this was to ensure your program code wasn’t sold off or given away. I know he was part of the team that reclaimed the software from the warehouse, and I know his team raided my house this morning. I will do whatever you ask, but please leave her out of it.” My words are firm but pleading as I finish.

“Where did you get the program code?”

“From you, K messaged me through Signal. He made the drop at our normal location with instructions, just like always. The money has been paid every week since. I’m not sure why you’re asking me this; just ask K.” I state, wondering if maybe something had really happened to him.

“How long have you been working with K?” he continues.

“Since junior year. Look, is K here? He can confirm my involvement. The way I see it, we’re all on the same team here. I’m working for you. Can you please take this bag off my head and let me out of here?” My request comes out in a huff as frustration fills me.

I was doing my job. The job they hired me for. There’s no reason I should be tied up like some criminal.

“There’s where you’re wrong, Mr. Anderson. You see, this K you speak of, he doesn’t work for me. He’s a thief. It never belonged to him. So you’ll understand my surprise when it began making requests to our servers from your IP address a few days later.” I inhale sharply, shock running through me as I process his declaration.

If the code didn’t belong to K, they think I’m just as much a part of it going missing.

“I had nothing to do with stealing it. I swear. He told me it was his from some family business up north. I should’ve known he wouldn’t have access to such advanced tech.” My anger builds as I realize the shit K just threw me into, and not just me, Elle too. Panicking now, I continue.

“She has nothing to do with this. Do what you want with me, but leave her out of it.”

“She isn’t your concern,” he replies sternly, causing my protective instincts to flare up.

“The fuck she isn’t!” I shout, forgetting my place as I battle the warring emotions. Clenching my fists, I continued, “You people dragged her into this with your fake tutoring scheme. Yeah, I know all about Cain already graduating. You planted him there to get to me. Well, you have me, and I can be useful to you. I have skills that I’d be happy to use for your needs. I’m willing to make a deal, any deal, but my one stipulation is that she goes on with her life unharmed and uninterrupted.” I finish, setting my jaw and counting the beats of silence as he sits, weighing my words.

Please take the deal.

Despite the cold air circulating the room, a sheen of sweat appears on my forehead as I sit anxiously awaiting his response, Elle’s fate and mine hanging in the balance. His silence is deafening. I don’t know how much time passes before he finally speaks. Slowly… killing me with anticipation.

“Tell me, Keith, how long have you been in love with Ms. DelaCourt?”

The weight of his question pulls the air from my lungs as if I’d been punched in the gut unexpectedly. My jaw drops, and I sputter, trying for denial, confusion, or anything. But no sound or words fall.

Is my bargaining for her that obvious? How could he know? She doesn’t even know.

Before I can formulate a coherent thought, his light laugh reaches me, making me stop to think about what this means for Elle.

Would they hurt her? Kill her?

As my mind spins over the implications, his footsteps head to my right, and he walks out, the door closing with an audible click that feels like a gunshot straight to my heart.

What have I done?

Chapter 11

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