Page 34 of Jase

“Zero-two-zero-seven-one-one-four-six-nine.Watch.” I manually turned the lock, typing in the code. It sprung back the moment I hit the green button. “See?”

“Okay. If this is a trick—”

“It’s not. Repeat the number back to me.”

“Zero-two-zero-seven-one…one-four-six-nine.”

“Again, Kody.”

Zero-two-zero-seven-one-one-four-six-nine.

“Perfect.”

Closer, she got towards me, a tear escaping as she forced herself the rest of the way through the barrier. The moment she entered, she jolted to a stop. I closed the door behind us, setting the alarm. The double beep had her spinning to me with round eyes.

“I’m sorry, who are you again?”

“Jase. How about that Chinese food? Are you still hungry?”

Kody stayed rooted by the door as I took in my opened living room and kitchen. It wasn’t filled with glass and fancy artwork like other men of my status would have had. No…mine was all dark colors and metal art. Pictures of war from all eras. Swords and weapons used for torture. I probably should have put those away, but she didn’t pay that any attention. Her mouth was gaping at the wall of monitors I had on my back wall. It looked more like a command center than a normal living room. Her own apartment’s view rested in the middle, on a television taller than she was. Two cops were walking around the space but didn’t seem interested in the now empty apartment.

“That’s my manager at the door.”

“He’s definitely not the one who was in there.”

Kody got closer, placing down her purse as she took in the movement of the two officers.

“Did he have blonde hair? Lighter than yours? Longer. Black clothes and gloves.”

My stare narrowed. “He did. How did you know that?”

“I saw him a few stores down.” She glanced to me. “As you pulled up. Our eyes met.”

“He found you? He saw you get in my car?”

“I…I don’t know. I assume he did. When you honked, I ran. I didn’t keep looking.”

“Shit.”

Bringing my laptop to life, I began weeding through the feed from the store, searching for the moment Kody ran outside. From the angle I had, I couldn’t see who she was referring to. She turned; stayed glued to one place for a few seconds, and then raced to my car. He was just out of frame. I type in different code, pulling up another camera, moving the angle so that I could see his exact movements.

“There! That’s the man I’m talking about.”

She quickly walked over, pointing as I zoomed in and let the feed play. From the view across the street, I could see them both looking at each other. I pulled up, Kody ran…and so did he. Right for her. He dodged a couple, crashing into an elderly man, sending him falling to the ground as we drove off. And running. He was still running, pulling out his phone as I shot through the light and turned.

“He’s not working alone. He’s reporting to someone. The question is who, and why can’t I find him in the system?”

I paused the feed, pulling up the restaurant. My mind was wandering, playing through scenarios. I was so deep in thought, I barely made out the hum of ringing in the background. I looked down, seeing my phone gone from the desk.

“Tiff, hey it’s me.” Kody hit speakerphone as she paced.

“I was just headed to your house.”

“No. No, don’t. I’m not there.”

“You mean you’re out? Oh, you had your appointment. That’s right. How’d it go?”

“Tiff, we need to talk.” She paused, sweeping her eyes over to me.