Too late to apologize - part 10
I am soooo sorry for beeing so late. It's still a little complicated for me, I am drowning in a glass of water, but i don't give up. I have also so much of you all to read, but i can't do right now, even not next two weeks. But It's cool, i'll have a lot of fanficts to read in a row After that 🤩
Back to this story now : Jake is now safe, thanks to MC. But will he forgive her for having lied ?
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It was the sound of a door latch that woke him up, immediately putting all his senses on alert. Someone was moving silently near him. He opened his eyes to get his bearings, and remembered that he was in a hotel room near Duskwood, but he was not yet awake enough to remember the latest events. He had been on the run for so long, accustomed to danger, that he thought his pursuers had found him.
Wherever he stayed, he made a pseudo 'emergency scenario', just in case. Here, the layout of the place was a bit problematic because the main door was the only exit. He had organized himself without too much difficulty to be able to leave quickly, but would have little chance to get out of it if however someone penetrated the hotel room. And that was what was happening.
On the lookout, he mentally examined the floor plan of the room. The door to the room, as well as a window leading to the outside, was behind him, complicating the situation. He groped as discreetly as possible to reach the weapon he was Hiding under his pillow every night, but without success. He would have to fight with his fists. The pressure went up a notch, the adrenalin ran through him in its icy current, something was wrong ... the missing weapon under his pillow, and him falling asleep with his back to the door when it was contrary to his plan of action, it was really bad.
The presence stopped at the foot of the bed. He was waiting for the right moment, heart beating, ready to pounce. He just needed the intruder to move forward a little more so that he would be in his field of action. He tried to control the rhythm of his breathing, to avoid being carried away by panic.
An unexpected smell of coffee came to break his concentration, that was not coherent with his vision of the situation.
- "I know you are awake " said this now familiar voice.
He opened his eyes slowly, and saw her come towards him and put down a paper bag and two cardboard cups on the bedside table. He looked around and saw that they were alone, and that he was not in danger, but his heart did not slow down. With difficulty, he sat up. She grabbed the pillows and slid them behind his back and head, so he could lean back comfortably on the headboard.
-" Good morning Jake" she said softly.
- "Good morning" he replied almost imperceptibly. His throat was dry, his voice pasty. She was a very different MC from what he had seen or imagined of her so far. She wore a rather strict dark suit and her hair was pulled back severely. Her face was pale and tired, her frowning eyes showed some concern. At first sight, she had nothing of the spontaneous and cheerful young woman he thought he knew, and this painfully reminded him of the context.
- " How do you feel this morning? " she asked in a soft voice. Joining the gesture to the word, and stretched her hand towards his forehead. He let her do so with a certain impatience, and the contact of her hand on his skin made the heat rise on his cheeks. Her face lit up then, a big smile on her lips, digging two dimples on her cheeks
- "thanks God, the fever has dropped", she saïd, obviously relieved.
And SHE was again in front of him : his MC, with her childish smile and her eyes that expressed so much sweetness. A real smile is the most beautiful jewelry, it makes you glow, it reveals you. No matter who she was, federal agent or not, her magical smile was meaning everything.
- "Yes, I think I'm not too bad, considering the circumstances" he answered, doubly honestly, which made her smile even more.
- "I thought you might be hungry and thirsty" She said as she handed him a coffee and a paper bag filled with pastries, which he accepted with a nod. Her gaze wandered over hid almost totally undressed body before returning to his eyes, her cheeks burning. He noticed, or course, and that added to his trouble .
- "Jake, I'm going to have to leave now and I probably won't be back until tonight. I brought you some food, so you'll have enough for lunch. Of course you are not a prisoner, you are free to leave if you wish. But you should rest and stay away from the internet, until you get better.
I wish I could stay and tell you everything now, but I don't want to draw attention now, by being away for no reason, and risk your safety"
They stayed silenced for some Time, looking at each other, she was searching for words and the hacker seemed lost in thought, overhelmed by emotions.
She sighed before continuing:
- "I feel that you will leave, don't you ?"
Jake took a deep breath and lowered his eyes, as a confession. She knew him so well. She knew he would need to take a step back and regain control of the situation, reacting under impulse was too dangerous. And next to her, he was unable to think clearly.
-"Please don't go away," she continued. "You are weakened, and you need rest and it would be unreasonable for you to do so.
I know it may be too late to apologize... but I need to talk to you. I've hoped to tell you everything so many times, but I've never done it for fear that you'd disappear and we'd never find Hannah.
Please give me a chance to explain myself, I have so much to understand too. I know you are not the criminal they say you are. I know that there are corrupt agents in my unit, and that your life is in danger. I also think that you are looking for proof of your innocence but I am missing pieces to put the puzzle together."
The young man raised his head, looked at her again, and nodded but was still silent. There were so much in his head, In his Heart.
The truth is that he was impressed by her, and moved for the confidence she had in him. It was a strange feeling, both pleasant and terrifying. The feeling of having reached the end of something, because someone was believing in him, because he would never be alone again. This feeling was exhilarating, and he was afraid of breaking the spell, and same time, that fear of losing control, of losing his mind, of never beeing able to let her go after tasting her.
In front of his silence, unable to read on Jake's face, Mc lost more and more the means. She rubbed her hands together nervously, and her voice was no longer so sure.
- "What I can tell you too, is that I ... I didn't play, I meant what I said. About ... I mean you know what...
I'm scared, I can't lose you Jake" She spoke slowly, giving Jake time to answer or react. But In front of his silence, she felt discouragement invade her.
-"Please Say something ..."
He looked at his hands for a few moments, looking thoughtful, obviously troubled. He opened his mouth several times and then changed his mind.
Finally, in an uncertain voice, he answered her :
- " I ... I don't hate you"
Lilly walked through the doors of the Rainbow Café 15 minutes late. A little uncomfortable, she was now regretting having agreed to this meeting. Sitting at a table at the back of the bar, the smiling federal agent stood up when she got close to the table.
- "Thank you for your time, Miss Donfort," Agent Solis greeted her.
- "You're welcome, sir," Lilly replied, growing increasingly uncomfortable.
-"Don't say what we're doing to save Jake. And don't say you're his sister" , MC's warning resounded in Lilly's head.
-" I took the liberty of contacting you because I'm afraid you're the only one with a clear mind about the situation," Solis said, getting right to the point. "You had the intelligence to see through agent Mc Martins' game. This woman is ready for her ends at any price and I don't like her methods."
The flattery of the fed having its effect, Lilly relaxed a little.
-" You seem to be attached to Jake Andrews, but I can guarantee you that I'd better get to him before she does." Solis kept on.
-" I understand but I don't know how to help you. Mc was her primary contact. There's nothing I know that she doesn't know and he trusts her blindly."
-"Maybe you can contact him, or your sister, and ask him where he is. Under the pretext of helping him? Or ask him for a meeting?"Solis asked.
-" He wouldn't come, he won't come out of hiding, if he went to the mines it was only for MC" Lilly Asserted
- "I don't get it. You mean, he did for Hannah?" Solis replied, surprised.
- "For Hannah yes but mostly for MC, because she wanted to go there herself, and Jake wouldn't let her go. He would never have agreed to risk her safety"
-"Why would he do that?" Solis looked really intrigued.
-" It's so obvious he has feelings for her" Lilly began, but when she saw Solis' mouth twist into a cruel sneer, she knew she had made a mistake. She tried to defuse it awkwardly, but the harder she tried, the deeper she sank. She finished the conversation as quickly as she could, pretending to have to go to Hannah's bedside, at the hospital.
As soon as he left the café, Solis pulled out his phone:
- "Locate Mc immediately, I want to know where this bitch is. And from now on I want to know every move she makes, and get your ass to duskwood, I'm going to need help here."
Slipping into the driver's seat, he placed both hands on the wheel, thoughtful. After all these years, maybe he'd found a way to get rid of the hacker asshole who'd made his life miserable, and the psy bitch at the same time.
Four years earlier, he'd thought getting the cartel's money would be a formality, but the geek had been tougher than he'd imagined.
When this little jerk had the nerve to refuse the deal, and had managed to escape, he had been wrong to try to capture him. To get the money back, he had, by greed, missed several times the opportunity to put a bullet in his head. Instead of keeping quiet, making himself forgotten, Nymos had continued to look for trouble. Solis had to get rid of him, before that little bastard opened his mouth and expose him. Getting rid of the Probie was no big deal. Anyway, he also have understood for long that he would have to take care of her at some point.
As she drove away, Mc replayed the scenario of her conversation with Jake. She was angry at herself for panicking, for not having been able to express her feelings more clearly. After trying to do some work at thé police station, she headed for the hospital.
Hannah was receiving treatment, so Mc was not allowed in the room at first. So she asked to meet Richy.
After declaring her identity to the policeman in front of her room, she knocked on the bedroom door and entered.
Paul Roger, sitting on a chair next to the bed, looked at her from head to toe as she walked into the room. At the sight of the FBI badge, he suddenly stood up, obviously very upset.
-"will you leave us alone? He already explained what he had done. He needs to rest. Get the hell out!", He shouted
-"Dad, It's okay, she's a Friend," said Richy's voice was soft and he gestured for the cop to sit down. Paul grunted but agreed to his son's request and slipped away for a coffee.
They remained silent for a moment, not knowing how to start, the emotion was too strong.
-"I'm sorry, MC, for everything", he said humbly, his eyes filled with tears. "I hurt so many people, he continued slowly. I don't even understand how I got this far. I just had to open his eyes to what we had done, and then it all went wrong, I don't know what came over me... but I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I promise."
He was obviously very agitated, his hands were shaking, he was sweating profusely, his pupils were dilated. A nurse rushed into the room, giving the young woman a disapproving look. Richy asked for an anti-anxiety drug to calm him down, which the nurse refused, arguing that he needed a doctor's permission, and that he had already had a very large dose.
-"How long have you been taking this stuff, Richy," MC asked. She wondered if an excessive intake of anxiolytics could not have led Richy to go so far. It was a rare side effect, but still possible. Or, she was looking for excuses for his horrible actions.
-"A few months now, since I couldn't take what was done to Jennifer. I know I've been taking a lot, but now the pills don't work as well. I need more".
-"You can ask him later, there's no need to agitate him any more than he is now"Ordered the nurse
Richy tried to explain that he wanted MC to stay, but the nurse still kicked the fed out of the room.
So she went to visite Hannah, but The welcome was not much warmer : accompanied by her parents, Lilly was already in the room. She sank into her chair, grumbling
-"Here is the agent Mc Martins." Declared the blond girl of an acid tone. " She is indeed the MC who helped to find you, Hannah"
-" Thank you for your help, how can we express our gratitude to you" said sincerely Hannah's father. He was an attractive man, there was a certain resemblance with the hacker. He was tall, solid, and had something reassuring in his attitude. But Jake had that extra "je ne sais quoi" that made all the difference.
-"I must point out that she never cared about Hannah, her only goal was to capture Jake, by any means, including seduction.", hissed Lilly, whose anger was only growing.
Mc looked at Lilly coldly, she was starting to get on his nerves. Hannah stammered a thank you, but her look showed no gratitude, but an ill-concealed animosity. Mc figured she probably didn't know Jake was her brother, and wondered which bothered her more : Mc seducing Jake or wanting to capture him.
The cop wondered what she was doing here. Lilly was right: this wasn't her investigation, it was in Alan's hands and Hannah didn't even know her. She had been worried about a girl who didn't know she existed a few hours before and who must have considered her a potential Rival, and surely a traitor.
-"Your colleague, Agent Solis, told me about you and your questionable methods." continued the blond girl snappishly.
-"What did you say to him? I hope you didn't tell him about what we discovered together?"
- "Discovered??? Don't prétend WE Discovered anything ! You knew all about him, You knew his name was Jake Andrews, Solis told me! So don't tell me you didn't know he was our..."
-" Lilly !!!!! Shut UP !!!" Exploded MC.
-" He is our what ? " Hannah asked In a panic. Her father turned white as a sheet. Although Andrews was a common last name, he had hit on the name of a former lover, and all became clear to him.
- "You don't know how to hold your tongue! You pretend to be so concerned by Jake and his well-being but you don't even ask about him : He's out, he's okay and free" cut in MC, who wanted only one thing : to leave and I do not witness the family drama that would not fail to happen.
She was pretty much on edge when she left the hospital. She called Sally, who was still with her father and the deputy director of the FBI, whom William Carpenter had deemed above suspicion.
The call was quite brief, as it was mainly to inform 'officially' about the corruption in the cybercrime unit. Sally had continued to dig but had found nothing new that would help Jake.
So far, the evidence only indicated that Jake had been threatened and that there were corrupt agents in the cell, probably 7 in all. The identities of the shrink's accomplices were not known, but Solis was mentioned several times. The involvement of Johnson was also discussed, even if neither Sally nor Mc wanted to believe it, it was necessary to consider this possibility.
While corruption was evident, there was no evidence that the hacker was innocent of the murder of the two agents. And even though Carpenter and the deputy director now seemed open to the possibility that Jake was a victim and not a murderer, MC was still very careful.
Jake had admitted that the evidence to clear him was within the FBI, so she asked to give the data to Jake to decrypt and present the evidence. The deputy director agreed, under certain circumstances : the hacker had to make a move on the FBI as well to show his willingness to cooperate.
She went then to the station to meet Alan and tried to work on files and évidences. But she had a hard time concentrating, her thoughts were on Jake, she was so in a hurry to see him. She had written to him to ask how he felt through the Dark Forum, and the fact that he answered had given him hope that he would not run away. Unable to be productive, unable to think of anything else but him, she apologized to Alan in the middle of the afternoon, she sent Jake a message to tell him she was on her way back, and left the police station.
Jake had been walking in circles all day in that hotel room, replaying the events in his head. He had prepared to leave, then changed his mind several times, oscillating between the urgency to run away and hide, and the irresistible urge to hug her.
He now remembered the events of last night. She had saved him, she had healed him, and seemed to want neither to kill him nor to imprison him. Her gentleness, her patience, the way she had looked at him, fingers on his forehead, on his skin. He thought he even remembered that after she asked him to fight and heal, she had kissed him.
The sheets, his own skin, the whole hotel room smelled of her perfume. So I was unable to leave this place, so he finally waited for her.
Lying in wait behind the bedroom window, having thought about her every second of that long day, he had a shiver of excitement when he saw her car pull up. And when the door opened on her long legs, he held his breath, impatient to see her again.
He wouldn't wait a second before holding her. He would embrace her, savoring the moment when seconds becoming hours, when they would feel their breath on their lips, just before they kiss. Savor the rising desire and him and rejoice to see it in her eyes. And she would be his.
She was heading towards the hotel room, and looked in the direction of the room and their eyes met. They both smile, happy.
The rest went very quickly. In their bubble, neither of them saw the car arrive in the parking lot. When he saw the hooded man get out of the car and knock MC out, he screamed. In panic, he rushed outside just to see the car leave the parking lot, taking the woman he loves with it.
