Chapter Twenty – Will

“Will?” I suddenly realize that someone’s trying to get my attention. I’ve been so absorbed in what I’m doing that it’s taken me a while to drag myself out of my own brain. I’m on a trail, one that’s started with the pharmaceutical company and is sending me on a roundabout mission through all sorts of weird and wonderful paths. I’m sticking with it though, I’m sure I’m on the right track. “Sorry to disturb you.”

I glance at Jones feeling my spirit crush as I watch him hobbling on his crutches. He’s getting there, and he doesn’t complain about his leg at all, but I suppose that’s because of what happened to Andre. He knows that he’s the lucky one here. He faced the Kingpin and came out of it alive. Only because that was chosen for him, but still. It leaves me wanting to be a little nicer to the poor sucker. To everyone, really.

“What’s going on, Jones?” I smile, pointedly ignoring his flinch. “Everything alright?”

“Erm, not really.” His trembling hand reaches forward to hand me an envelope. “Here, this came in a while back and it’s been examined by some guys and they’ve told me to pass it on to you. I’m sorry.”

I take it from him, my heart sinking as I do. I already know who this is from, it’s his same signature bullshit. Kingpin has more communication with me. He’s getting increasingly insistent about it, which suggests to me that I’m getting closer. I’m stepping on his toes with my trail, and he’s getting himself worked up.

I don’t let any fear show as I take the stuff from Jones, I don’t want anyone to know that I’m freaked out. The last person that I was even slightly honest with wound up dead and I don’t want to be responsible for another body. “Thanks, Jones.” I chuck it on the desk. “I’ll have a look through it in a moment, okay?” I can’t open it in front of him, this is something I need to really isolate myself with. It’s all about me. “Thanks.”

He doesn’t look like he wants to leave, it’s almost as if he has something else to say, but at the last moment he shakes his head and he turns to walk, or hobble, from the room. My only guess is that he’s seen the contents of this envelope and he doesn’t like the look of it. Maybe it involves him, I don’t see how else it can be worse.

Tentatively I reach out for it and I grab it. My hand trembles, but I chose to ignore that. I don’t want to think of anything like nerves while I look through this. I just need to get through it. I peel it back, my pulse racing at the speed of light as I do, and as soon as I see what’s inside, I drop it to the floor with a clatter.

“No.” I shake my head rapidly. “No, no, no. It can’t be, this can’t be happening.”

Inside are endless reams of photographs about the one person who I never wanted to see on them. Cici, everywhere. She’s been followed for months, I thought that we were being discrete but obviously not. Somehow, I naively convinced myself that we were getting away with it, but Kingpin saw it all. Nights out, her teaching, out on her own, her belly swelling with every passing moment, even with Jordan. My baby boy. Kingpin knows about him. And the pictures end in the most sinister way of all. Dated today, timed this morning, Cici out with her mother and who I think might be Annabelle’s mom. I remember her from the wedding.

This is a clear cut warning, and Cici is out right now, exposed. Anything could happen. Intense panic coils and curdles through me as I think about her. What if Kingpin already has them both? What if I’m too late?

I grab my cell phone out of my pocket and I hit dial. It seems to ring forever, I can barely stand the sound of it. I pace the room while frantic thoughts dance around in my brain. Why didn’t she tell me? I could have at least made sure that someone was there with her. I asked Cici what she was up to today and she didn’t give me anything. I suppose it’s possible this was a spontaneous thing but I’m still freaked. I’m supposed to know where she is.

“Hello?” As she answers, sounding unperturbed I almost don’t know what to do with myself. “Will?”

“Where are you?” I demand. I know I sound far angrier than I should but I can’t help myself. I’m almost out of my mind with worry. I can feel myself spiraling. “What’s going on? What are you doing right now?”

“I’m at the apartment. Why? What’s going on? Why do you sound all freaked out?”

“Are you alone?” I answer her questions with one of my own. “There’s no one with you? Have you checked?”

“I’m alone. All the doors are locked. I’ve done a check of the place just like I always do…”

“You’ve been out.” I sound accusatory, maybe I should have calmed down a bit before I made this call. But I need to know, I have to be certain. I tug my fingers angrily through my hair. “You didn’t tell me.”

“No, I know, I…” I can almost hear the cogs in her brain working. “How do you know that?”

I sigh loudly and slump into the nearest seat. “I’ve had a warning, Cici. He’s sent in loads of photographs of you to the police station. Some of today, that’s how I know you’ve been out, and some of before. He’s been following you and now you’re in danger. You’re going to end up in trouble if we don’t sort this out.”

I might’ve said too much, but thankfully it gets through to Cici and she starts to understand just how serious this is. “Okay, so what do I do? Where do I need to go from here? How do I escape?”

I sink my head into my hands. Do I send her away? Will she be safer away from me or is it too late for that now? She’s already on Kingpin’s radar, obviously he knows more about what she’s doing than me.

“I don’t know,” I finally admit. “But I plan to take some time working it out. Just sit tight for now.”

I hang up the phone and immediately arrange some protection to surround my apartment block. I should probably have permission before authorizing that, but I don’t have time now. I need someone to watch Cici so I can get this done. Clearly, I can’t always trust her to tell me what’s she doing.

Almost as if she can read my mind, I get a text message from Cici: ‘I met with my mom today. The only reason I didn’t tell you was because I didn’t want to put too much pressure on it. I thought it was going to go badly. I’m sorry. If I’d known for one second that I could be in trouble, it wouldn’t have happened. C xx’

I sigh, knowing that she didn’t want to cause me any pain. None of this is Cici’s fault, but it wasn’t Andre’s either and look where it landed him. He’s now unjustly six foot under the ground, gone from this world.

‘It’s okay,’ I tap out a reply. ‘I just can’t keep you safe if I don’t know. W xx’

I hope she learns from this, I want her to realize just how important this is. She wants to speak to her mom? Fine, but I have to be in the know. I have to be in complete control of the situation at all times.

Ring, ring… ring, ring… ring, ring…

I shove my cell phone to my ear, expecting it to be Cici on the other end to talk some more, but it isn’t.

“Will? Is that you?” Oh, it’s Landon. My heart sinks. “What is going on, dude? I’m getting an earful here.”

“Huh?” I screw my eyes up as I try to work out what I’ve so clearly missed. “What have you done?”

“No, it’s more what you’ve done. Annabelle is freaking out because she says you have some kid with her cousin, or something. I did tell her that she’s going nuts because there’s no way. You aren’t the baby type.”

I roll my eyes rub my forehead. This is the last thing that I need right now! I suppose I have been neglecting my friends recently but I’ve had a lot on. Landon isn’t the type to care anyway, his company always keeps him crazy. He’s one of those rare people that I don’t have to explain myself to. “Er, yeah about that…”

“Are you serious?” he explodes. I don’t really want to let him on the secret, but Kingpin already knows. There isn’t any point in hiding it anymore. Cici has told her mom and aunt, now they all know. “I have just argued the toss with Annabelle, we’ve just gone nuts and one another, and she’s right? What were you thinking?”

“I love her,” I blurt out defensively. I don’t know why it’s so important for him to not judge.

“You’re in love? With Annabelle’s cousin? That’s fucked up, dude. It’s like… incest.”

“What the hell are you on about?” I smirk as I feel him pulling my leg. “We aren’t actually related, you know?”

“It’s still too close for comfort. It gives me the heebie jeebies. I don’t like it one bit. It’s gunna be all fucking weird at celebrations and shit now. We’re all linked.” He makes a shuddering sound. “So, what about marriage?”

I do want to marry Cici, I really do. That wasn’t just something that I said in the hospital because Jordan had just been born, but there’s no way I can plan a big wedding in the middle of all of this. “I don’t know, we aren’t really at that stage,” I try my hardest to play it off. “We both have so much going on…”

“You aren’t thinking about marriage, but you have a kid? Wow, that’s nuts.”

“Since when did you get to be Mr. Moral?” I laugh a hollow sound. I don’t want Landon to sense that anything is wrong. He doesn’t need to be in the firing line too! “I’m just doing things the other way around that’s all. I could ask when you and Annabelle are planning to have kids, but I’m scared that you might bite my head off…”

“Oh, yeah. I can really have kids right now.” His wry tone makes me want to wince. “Do you not know Annabelle? Can you not see how much attention she needs? Can you imagine if our child is just like her?”

“Rather you than me!” Never have truer words been spoken. “But I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about all of this. I guess me and Cici have been pretty self involved while we worked all of this out. We didn’t think to tell…”

“No, no, I get it.” As Landon comes to his senses, he becomes much more reasonable. “I understand it must have been a crazy time. If you already have a kid then you can’t have known one another long.”

“No, we didn’t, and it was all very unexpected. We’re still getting used to it ourselves.”

“Well, we have to go out sometime to celebrate. It isn’t every day that one of us has a child. Are you free at the weekend maybe? We could wet the baby’s head?”

“Erm, maybe.” I don’t want to commit fully, just in case. “I’ll be in touch, okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll see you soon, Will.”

As I hang up the phone, I smile to myself. That small talk with Landon has actually cleared a lot of the air. I suppose people can know about me and Cici now, and the more people that do, the better. Kingpin will not defeat me.