jaded

Noah let out a laugh and shrugged. “Deal,” he responded, putting a hand on his heart and then reaching into his bag of crisps with it. But he was less focused now on eating his snack than he was thinking about the look she had on her face for that nice second it had lasted. He’d remember it. It seemed a genuine smile. It was very satisfying and enjoyable to see, more so than many smiles, maybe because he never seemed to see one on her.

“I play the guitar,” he said, half smirking, half finishing chewing on his crisps. “Gotta say my favorites have always been 70′s and 80′s. Some 90′s too. Y’know… Queen, Led Zeppelin, Toto, Kansas, Survivor - those are the one’s most people tend to know. I grew up trying to learn a lot of their songs.” He let out a small laugh. “Although recently it’s been a lot of classics. I don’t play the piano but my niece is taking ballet and she absolutely insists I play ballet things for her to dance to on the guitar. Not so easy, lemme tell you.”

Jade raised her eyebrows when he mentioned he played guitar. “Just full of surprises, aren’t you?” she said. She tapped her fingers on a box nearby. She remembered when she knew just enough piano to get by as a pianist...a musician with big dreams. Her target was a popular musician with a rising number of followers, but he had a dark secret that made his success. She wondered if Noah had any skeletons in the closet. Everyone had skeletons. It was one of the first things Jade thought of when she saw someone new.

“Not bad,” she told him. “I thought you’d be more into German grunge bands.” She munched on one of the chips. There weren’t any journal entries about many of Katya’s likes, dislikes, or preferences. Katya wasn’t coming back...so maybe it was time for Jade to make some decisions. Jade had never been so nervous before pretending to be someone else. “Personally I like Creedence Clearwater Revival,” she said. “And the Eurythmics.”

Noah huffed, smile ever present. He wasn’t one to give up too easily. “Oh come on, Kat,” he complained playfully, only realizing afterwards that he’d decided to nickname the detective. “Since when have I ever done anything appropriately? I get drunk at my own brewery, I let my niece have ice cream before lunch sometimes and I’m sitting here eating a bag of crisps instead of tryin’ to ply wood apart to get us out of the belly of a ship.” He crunched on a crisp. “Besides, you won’t be doing this over the weekend, will you? I don’t have that much of a bad luck streak with thefts.”

He chuckled. “I can offer music and a free 6 pack of beer to take home?” Noah leaned down to reach into the box he was sitting on. “… You may not want me to owe you anything, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to hang out with my new cop buddy.” He took out another bag of crisps and tossed it over to her. “At least some time where a crime isn’t involved.”

Jade couldn’t help but smile a little when Noah mentioned what he did that he deemed “inappropriate.” It sounded a lot like something Jade would do. Not Katya Kaminski, but Jade Deveraux. The two would probably enjoy each others’ company more if Jade was The smile faded away and she became the very serious Katya Kaminski again. “If I say yes, to having dinner with you...will you stop calling me your new cop buddy?” She raised her eyebrows at him, hoping he’d agree to her terms.

Jade held her hands up, catching the bag of chips. “Depends on the music though,” she said. She finally gave in, opening the bag and taking a chip out. “What kind of music do you like? I guess I should know if you have any taste at all before I have dinner with you.” Jade felt herself loosening up, but she couldn’t completely let her guard down. She didn’t want to get Noah into any trouble, especially after learning he had a young niece who seemed to worship him.

Noah wasn’t the best at comforting people. He felt inadequate sitting there with the bag of crisps in his lap and a sympathetic look on his face. He hoped his expression and his words seemed as genuine as his sympathy felt. As much as Noah didn’t like his father and though he left his mother in Germany, he couldn’t imagine the thought of losing either one of them forever… much less to such a horrible accident. It was the same for his sister and his brother and, of course, his little niece. He had long since knew that he would die before letting anything happen to his family. Sometimes it felt like they were all he had.

“I think it’s a good thing you didn’t,” he pointed out. A small smile curled his lips. “It looks nice on you.” The question had him looking a bit more sheepish. A hand reached behind his neck to scratch absently and his gaze lowered slightly. “Uhh, yeah. My little sister and my mum are in Germany. My dad is… God knows where right now.” His eyes rolled and he gazed back at Katya with a grin. “It’s just me, Stef and Ida here… Hey, you know… maybe you should come over sometime for dinner. I kinda owe you.” He shrugged. “Plus, it’s always good to get some law enforcement buddies.” Noah said in an obviously joking, playful manner. Although it certainly was true, it strangely enough hadn’t been his intention. He was just a sociable guy who liked to get to know people.

Jade’s own parents were sitting at home in Canada...at least that’s where she’d last left them when she checked in on them. Eventually, her checking in stopped and she lost touch. Jade smiled at Noah, but it ended up being a little sad as she thought about Katya who should be the one here talking with Noah. Getting the compliment and the awkward small talk. If there was one thing that Katya and Jade had in common, it was a strange sense of loneliness despite surrounding themselves with others constantly. “Thank you,” she said softly. 

When Noah suggested dinner, she laughed and shook her head. “Very kind of you to offer, Mister Kohler, but you don’t owe me for anything. And, I don’t think it’d be appropriate to have dinner together.” She reminded herself to keep him at a distance or things could end poorly for the both of them. The reason her cons ran so smoothly was because she avoided forming personal connections with people, making it easier to leave them all behind for the next job. “It would be good to have law enforcement buddies,” Jade said, thinking about how it would have been useful for her to have a friend in law enforcement, “I have to decline your invitation, especially as I am conducting an investigation into some vandalism and theft of your brewery’s ship.”

Noah grinned at Katya pointing out the conversation wasn’t appropriate. He was a lot of things but appropriate was often not one of them - at least not when he was curious and wanted to have a conversation. The grin quickly faded away as she continued. He listened, his expression morphing into something more sympathetic and then guilty. “Bloody hell… I’m sorry, Detective…” He paused, suddenly feeling a bit awkward for making her bring that up. “I didn’t know… Can’t imagine what that’s like.” 

He noticed her fidgeting with the ring and hesitated, trying to resist the urge to ask about it and ultimately failing. He lacked a lot of impulse control. “Is that from home?” Noah finally asked, looking at the ring and then vaguely gesturing over with his chin. “The nice ring?”

"It’s fine...It’s...” Jade let out a sigh. “It’s been a while.” She wasn’t entirely sure how long it had been since Katya lost her brother and parents. Around that time period, her journaling was less frequent and it was hard to decipher all her ramblings. She gave a half smile to him. Seeing the genuine sympathy in his face made her feel slightly guilty that she’s lying to him. He’s thinking she’s all alone, but Jade’s parents were actually alive. Jade was alone by choice. He reminded her of some of the other marks she had when she was running her cons. With each of them, she’d fallen in love with bits and pieces of them, but she loved the game far more than she could love any one person. Except lying to Noah didn’t feel like it was part of the game despite all of Jade’s actions and motions feeling the same as when she ran a con.

Jade furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at the ring. “Yeah...it is,” she said, more at the ring than at Noah. It was small with a thin band and a delicate emerald in the center. She wasn’t sure if it was an old engagement ring or something else. There was a bunch of stuff Katya left behind that people would never know the meaning of now. The journals she wrote in didn’t always have the answers. Jade was left behind piecing together what she could and she had to accept that it wasn’t all going to be true. She removed the ring and looked at it in the dim light. “I was thinking of selling it at one point...Decided not to though...obviously. Just couldn’t let it go.” She glanced at Noah and put Katya’s ring back on. “And what about you? You have a brother and a niece. Any other siblings or family members in the area?”

Noah munched on a crunchy crisp, nodding, but taking a moment to respond. Finally he spoke. “Yup,” he said, swallowing and taking another out of the bag. “She’s a firecracker, that one. Like her uncle.” He grinned and then gestured to her with his chin. “What about you? Any small ones in your life? Niblings or children… or otherwise.” He raised a brow, realizing he wasn’t even sure if she was single. “You married, Detective?”

Now that he truly thought about it, Noah didn’t know anything about her except she was a detective named Katya Kaminski and like to be strictly business. This was a real opportunity to get to know her, even if they would be stuck in a musty boat with little hope of getting out in less than an hour. He was hoping it would be a good thing - he was almost sure it would be.

Jade knew that as soon as she asked about Noah’s personal life, she was about to open up an opportunity to get tons of questions from him about her own personal life...well, rather Katya’s personal life than her own. Jade’s personal life was messy. “You married, Detective?” Jade had to restrain herself and keep herself from laughing or smirking. Had she been married? A few times. All of which lasted under a year. “This conversation is hardly appropriate, Mister Kohler...but no. I am not married.”

She thought about the rest of Katya’s life and how now, technically the Kaminski family bloodline was at an end. Her parents were both dead along with her brother and she ended up dead as well. “I had a brother, but he died. Cancer. Parents too. Plane crash. It’s just me.” Hopefully that would end this uncomfortably conversation, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t. Noah was a persistent and curious person. Jade started to fidget with the ring on her finger that belonged to Katya’s grandmother. It was one she was wearing when she died and Jade took it, initially with the hopes of selling it.

Noah meandered over to some of the boxes and seemed intent on prying it open as the detective continued to worry. “… Yes,” he murmured distractedly to himself, reaching into the box and fishing out what looked like… a bag of crisps. Probably meant to have been given t the convenience store downtown. Noah took it and sat down on an unopened box before finally glancing over at the Detective. “Right. We can worry about that,” he begun, opening the bag with the sound of plastic crumbling and air escaping.

“Or we can enjoy some crisps and wait. Every moment I’m stuck down here means another moment Stefan’s gotta worry about the business without me. He owes me anyway. I spent the whole day yesturday with Ida while he was on his date.” It was an unfair comparison, especially since he adored spending time with his niece and Stefan would have to be calling a particularly annoying business partner that day. But nothing shut up his conscience like a good bag of crisps and some time to do nothing for once.

Jade stared at Noah and furrowed her eyebrows as she watched him dig out a bag of chips. They were trapped on a boat and what he was thinking of was eating. She let out a sigh, resigning herself to the slim possibility of dying with this idiot. Maybe the boat would blow up and put her out of her misery. She wasn’t sure what it was about Noah Kohler that made her dislike him. She was beginning to wonder if it was fate or karma that she kept running into him. 

Jade crossed her arms over her chest as Noah started munching on the chips...or crisps as he called them. Jade mentally scolded herself for not using the slang that Katya used as often as she should. She looked away from Noah and stared at the wall in front of her, but Noah insisted on talking. “Ida’s your niece?” Jade wondered if she had any nieces or nephews she didn’t know about. There was one more of them in their set. Her missing sibling could be dead, but they could also be thriving with a spouse and kids and a white picket fence. 

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

HANNAH FONTAINE | THIRTY THREE | PROFESSOR | ALIVE

Jade first met Hannah Fontaine, a literature professor, while attending one of her lectures at a local university. Jade, under the guise of Amelie Swan, a French woman working at a bookstore, went up to Professor Fontaine and praised her for her engaging and interesting lecture. She immediately asked the other woman out to coffee, claiming that she had a few questions and expressed interest in auditing one of her classes. Hannah accepted the invitation and by the end of their coffee “date,” she was intrigued by “Amelie.” The two parted ways, but Hannah eventually visited “Amelie” at her bookstore. The two spent hours talking on and off while “Amelie” worked her shift. Hannah would ask “Amelie” about books she liked, enjoying her unique perspective on them. Soon, these little meetings and run ins turned into real coffee dates and dates at museums and libraries and then dinners and nights in. On their six month anniversary, Hannah asked “Amelie” to marry her, which she happily accepted. The two got married very shortly afterwards and lived happily, until after a month when “Amelie” disappeared, taking all of Hannah’s money with her. Hannah was ready to go to the police until she became aware that “Amelie” knew a dark secret: Hannah’s father, a well known and respected police officer, had tampered with evidence that pointed to Hannah as the main culprit in the death of one of her childhood friends.

Noah never really considered the idea he might have made a vengeful enemy. Sure, he had fights but they were stupid and he never held anything against the men nor did he think that they held anything against him. He tried to recall if there was ever anyone particularly annoyed with him but came up short. “Maybe,” he admitted, sounding uncertain. “… You could be right. I just really can’t think of anyone.”

The attitude was not unexpected. He could tell they might be in a bit of a bind and he didn’t blame the Detective for being a bit stressed as a result. Noah tried to keep his cool as he made his way up and pushed at the door. When a couple attempts didn’t work, he banged very hard on it a few times. Surely, he’d be going to bed that night with a huge, purple brush on his elbow. “HEY,” he called out, hoping someone was around. “HEY, ANYONE THERE?” As expected, no one responded.

Noah pursed his lips and turned, noticing Jade try her phone. He sighed. “Don’t bother. The docks have shitty wifi as it is and we’re under a ship that is built to keep it’s cargo safe and untouched at the bottom of the ocean if it sinks. It’s too thick to work.” He made his way down. “It looks like we might be fucked until someone comes around to free us… when they realize we’re still here.”

“Shit,” Jade muttered. She walked away from Noah and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She began pacing around the space, trying to figure out what to do. She couldn’t be stuck and she couldn’t be stuck with him. She had somewhere else to be tonight, but instead, it looked like Jade would be stuck in here with Noah Kohler. She wondered how the real Katya Kaminski would have handled a situation like this. Even after reading all those journals and figuring out how to imitate her, Jade knew she could never really be her and that she didn’t completely understand all of Katya’s decisions. The deceased woman was erratic and impulsive despite her honest, perceptive, and level headed approach to her detective work. 

Jade paced around for another minute or so before sitting down on the floor. She shoved some boxes away from the wall so she could lean back and wait. She positioned herself so she was looking directly at the door. “Someone might come and free us hours from now. You said it yourself. The crew is somewhere in town having drinks and food. It’s a holiday and they’ve been out at sea working for days so they’ll be out for a while...” Jade turned her gaze up to look over at Noah. “And by then, whoever locked us in here just now will be long gone. I’m more concerned that whoever is up there could be...further damaging the ship.” She was really hoping that whoever was up there wasn’t planning on blowing the ship up to kingdom come or trying to sink the ship with the two of them in it.

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

NATHAN FELDSTEIN | FORTY TWO | FINANCIAL INVESTOR | DECEASED

Jade first met Nathan Feldstein at a coffee shop where she ran into him with her drink. She spilled his drink at the same time and then offered to pay for his dry cleaning and another cup of coffee. Instead, Nathan offered to buy her a cup of coffee. Jade was masquerading as Natasha Pierre, an event planner who had just moved into town. What Nathan didn’t know was that Jade knew Nathan’s habits and schedule. Every morning, he showed up at that coffee shop before heading to work. “Natasha” started to go to the same coffee shop at the same time each morning, always “running” into Nathan and would talk until they both had to go to work. Following their meet cute and numerous run-ins after that, Nathan got the courage to ask “Natasha” to a party as his plus one. Soon, the two went on date after date after date and Nathan asked “Natasha” to marry him, believing he had found the one. The two got married, with “Natasha” planning everything. They were happy for months until “Natasha” disappeared on their six month anniversary. She disappeared from their home along with all of his money. She told him not to contact the police or try to find her or she would tell everyone that he had been taking money from clients for himself. Nathan started to pick up the pieces, but was later killed in a car accident. Jade attended the funeral, but stood in the back and changed her appearance so no one would recognize his wife who ran out on him wit his money.

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

VIVEK SADANA | THIRTY ONE | LAWYER | ALIVE

Jade first met Vivek Sadana at his law firm while interviewing for a job as a receptionist at the front office. Jade was masquerading as Emily Mills, a girl with no real direction but trying to get her life together by getting a job. Vivek had always been a bit of a stickler and had a hard time relaxing. “Emily” was charming and optimistic and vivacious. She always came into the office, leaving flowers and bringing in pastries. She would strike up conversations with Vivek, trying to get him to loosen up. Soon, “Emily” was able to break through Vivek’s barriers and started to break him down. Her energy was infectious and Vivek was starting to be able to relax and become a more cheery person. Eventually, “Emily” said she was thinking about moving, but Vivek asked if she would stay in town a bit longer because he wanted to have dinner with her. Dinner soon developed into Vivek asking “Emily” out on a date. One date turned into another and then a night over at Vivek’s apartment. Vivek was hooked and then he found himself asking “Emily” to marry him, completely ignoring his parents’ desire of him marrying a girl from India. Vivek cut ties with his family and married “Emily.” Vivek was the happiest he had ever been until “Emily” disappeared forever, taking all of his money with her. He was set on contacting the police until he found out that “Emily” knew his darkest secret. She knew that he had taken money from a local gang to pay for his law firm in exchange for protection.

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

JENNIFER DAVENPORT | THIRTY | MODEL | ALIVE

Jade first met Jennifer Davenport at a restaurant’s grand opening. Jade, masquerading as Laura Simmons, an artist and filmmaker, saw Jennifer waiting for someone who never came. What Jennifer didn’t know was that her supposed Tinder date was removed from the equation by Jade beforehand. “Laura” came to Jennifer’s rescue when she noticed an ex that she didn’t want to know that she was being stood up. Jennifer was very interested in “Laura” and thanked her for coming to her rescue. The two decided not to let the dinner reservation go to waste and they had a wonderful meal and became fast friends. “Laura” and Jennifer started to spend more time together, finding the restaurant to be one of their favorite places. The relationship changed when “Laura” asked Jennifer if she could model for a piece she’d been working on. During one of their painting sessions, Jennifer fell for “Laura” and the two became a couple. After months of dating, “Laura” asked Jennifer to marry her. Within a few more months, the two had a glamorous and beautiful wedding. The two had a honeymoon and bought a nice, new apartment in New York. But soon, “Laura” disappeared and Jennifer for everything she had. Jennifer was ready to go looking for “Laura,” but stopped when she realized that her wife knew a dark secret. Jennifer had sabotaged another model in order to get into a fashion show that rocketed her into success. Jennifer stayed silent, not wanting her image and reputation to be tarnished.

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

SEBASTIAN KEATING | THIRTY THREE | MUSICIAN | ALIVE

Jade first met Sebastian Keating (stage name Sebastian King) at a bar where he and his band were performing. Jade, masquerading as a woman named Amber Odell, a struggling musician. The two instantly hit it off, with “Amber’s” love and passion for music attracting Sebastian. After his show, the two had a drink and went back to his apartment. For the first time in his life, he found himself not wanting to sleep with her and force her out in the morning, never to call her like he would promise. No, Sebastian couldn’t let her go. He was enchanted by “Amber” by her elegance and her creative mind. He knew from that night that he’d be with her forever. He kept finding reasons to meet with her and eventually, those meetings and songwriting sessions became dates. Finally, he couldn’t wait anymore and he popped the question. “Amber” said yes of course and the two got married in a court house. The two were together for over a month when “Amber” suddenly disappeared into thin air along with all of his money that he inherited from a rich grandfather. He was ready to go to the police until he found an envelope where “Amber” told him that she knew his darkest secret, that he stole songs from his dead friend and is currently profiting off of them.

JADE DEVERAUX’S FORMER MARKS

ISAAC MEDINA | THIRTY SEVEN | DOCTOR (SURGEON) | ALIVE

Jade first met Isaac Medina at the hospital where her friend was being treated. Little did he know that he was her next mark. Jade was masquerading as Bethany Chambers, a journalist searching for her next big story. As she talked with Dr. Medina in the hospital cafeteria, she asked him if he would be the subject of her next story. She already knew that he had a bit of an ego, so it didn’t take long for him to say yes. "Bethany” and Isaac started meeting almost every day for her story. Pretty soon, the two spent time outside of her working on her story. She eventually told him her story got cut and she wouldn’t be seeing him again. But by then, she already had him hooked. He didn’t care about her story anymore; he only wanted to be with her. The two started to go on real dates and spend even more time together. And then, he proposed. The new “Bethany” and Isaac Medina couple were happy and in love, or so it seemed. After over a month of being a happy couple, “Bethany” disappeared, but not before taking everything he had and threatening to expose his darkest secret if he told the police or tried to come find her. He stayed silent, not wanting people to know that he covered up a death of a patient that he accidentally caused, fearing he would lose his medical license.

Noah shook his head at the question about Germany. “No, I don’t think so. And if anyone’s got grief with a bloke or two it would be me - not Stefan. Plus, we left Germany a while ago now… If anyone had a bone to pick with us they would have done it a year or two ago, don’t you think? And I doubt it would involve something as petty as this.” He sighed and looked around, sticking hands into the pockets of his jacket. But the next question had Nate looking back up at her and laughing. “Woah. Please, it’s not as bad as it was in my glory days. Rare, in fact. I don’t think it’s a concern, Detective. Cross my heart.“

He meant to continue speaking when the two of them heard the door shut. Nate turned around and squinted at the door in confusion while the Detective rushed over to try and open it. The fact that she couldn’t came as a surprise. It shouldn’t have locked. Nate started to walk over and grit his teeth, now feeling slightly nervous. “Uhh, no… No. The men went to get provisions and probably a couple of drinks. We were the only ones on board. That’s what they told me.”

Nate stopped at the foot of the stairs. “Is it not opening? Let me try.” He gestured for her to come down.

"I don’t know about that,” Jade said. “People can tend to hold grudges and it’s entirely possible they forgot until something triggered them to want revenge. Perhaps they saw a news article about your successful brewery or saw an advertisement or social media post.” She tilted her head to the side to get his reaction to her statement. She crossed her arms over chest and watched as Noah looked through all the damage. She did feel for him, understanding that this is part of his business. This wasn’t a con where she was out to steal his money and so things were different for Jade at this moment in time. “If there’s one thing I know about people, they show you different sides of themselves and they show you want they want you to see. Maybe that one side for these people that they don’t show you is pettiness.”

Jade swore under her breath and yanked on the door again. There was a hint of panic that started to rise in her chest, but she took a deep breath to push away any negative thoughts. Keep it cool. Keep your cool, she thought. “I think I know how to open a door and it’s not opening,” Jade said. Despite saying this, she moved aside to let him give it a try. One part of her wanted to try and shoot the lock, but she also knew that a ricocheting bullet in an enclosed space meant a potentially disastrous outcome. “I’m assuming this is the only way out.” Jade pulled out her phone to call someone, but being at the bottom of the ship meant shitty cell service.