“SILAS is what we code named out honey moon and for the love of God I cannot remember the date”, Sean explained. “If I get it wrong again, the entire program will self-destruct and we lose everything”.
Jake soon walked away, restless and somewhat judging by his expression.
“I don’t think I will forget such important day in my life”, Jake rubbed it in.
Sean shot him an angry stare but continued to fixate his gaze on the computer screen. Jake walked away to get his cellphone atop the kitchen table while Sean hoped some part of his memory would get joggled and bring the right date. It was all or nothing and that moment would either mar or bring him the break he needed on the investigation about his wife’s killer.
Jake toggled his cell and dialed the number he suspected to be Mike Rondon’s before holding it to his ear. He still had to deal with the man and whatever it was that he and Sarah Connell were planning against him. Feeling his heartbeat getting louder, he aborted the act and reached for his kitchen cabinet just around where he kept spare batteries for a burner cell he kept in there.
Dialing the number once again and not wanting to risk Mike already having his cellphone contact saved, he heard the first ring as sweat poured from his face. He could see Sean typing into the computer boldly now and he hoped the man was making the right choice this time around. With Sean’s head bowed and Jake waiting for the person on the other end of the line to pick, he heard the call connect and his heart stopped momentarily.
“Hello! This is Detective Mike Rondon, how may I help you?” the voice asked immediately.
Without needing to mention who he was, Jake could very well tell by the tone of his voice. He slowly let clamped his thumb on the red button and brought the call to an end before holding the burner phone tightly in his hand. There was confirmation now and he would find a way to deal with Mike appropriately but he also needed more proof.
“I need to get back into Sarah’s apartment”, he thought.
Sean slowly looked up from his computer, bearing the coldest expression Jake had ever seen on the man. His lips barely moved and his eyes shone darkly of nothing as he fell his gaze on Jake and wouldn’t blink.
Approaching with a few steps and stopping, Jake asked, “What’s wrong? Did you put in another wrong password?”.
Sean barely flinched and remains till where he sat while his eyes continued to get darker.
“You messed it up didn’t you?” Jake concluded and sighed. “Well, now that things are done, I have some personal work to do”.
He turned around and motioned to head to his room when Sean finally spoke.
“Why?” the man asked ambiguously.
Halting and looking back without turning around, Jake asked, “Why what?”
“Why?” Sean asked again, while slowly getting to his feet.
Clenching his fists and grinding his teeth well enough for Jake to see, he took another look at the computer before leaning towards it and turning the screen around just so Jake could have a good view of what was right before him. Jake took some time to look down at the computer screen while still keeping his focus partly on Sean.
The image was damning and so much so that he felt his lower jaw fall to the ground.
“That’s not right”, Jake protested with his hand pointing in the direction of the screen.
The image was precisely his, taken from a time he had stopped for a coffee by a roadside vendor not far from the station. To make things worse, there were no less than five images of him as the slide continued to display them one at a time. One in particular was of him visiting the red light district a few miles from his house, unfortunately he had not been there to kill anyone but just to scout.
“Sean!” Jake called out to the man. “I never met your wife before I never even knew she was a cop!”
“So you killed her, thinking she was a hooker or you fucking murdered her after you found out she was unto you!” Sean pulled out his gun from his back and aimed it at Jake.
The man was definitely a perfect shot and there was hardly any proper hiding space in the house.
“I’m going to make you suffer!” Sean promised.
Jake felt his heart go missing and his other organs begin to shut down faster than they would if they had been struck by a bullet. His airways felt clogged as his trachea wouldn’t permit ample air down his throat.
“I swear to you man! I swear to you!” Jake yelled
Sean pulled back the safety immediately, steadying his aim for a shot bound to wound Jake but not kill him. The man without doubt hoped to keep true to his words.
Time was running out for him and Jake could feel it. “If I knew her, why will I hang around or even try to help you decrypt the darn thing?”
There was no listening to reason and Sean pulled the trigger hard but the gun wouldn’t let out the shot as intended; the gun had jammed, granting Jake just the miracle he needed. He leapt for the floor and crawled towards the backdoor immediately. Struggling with the gun but to no avail, Sean tossed it aside and chased after Jake immediately.
Jake had managed to get one of the two bolts on the backdoor off but Sean was faster in reaching him. Yanking Jake by his collar and dragging him backwards, Jake struggled to get himself free. The man was in beast mode and wouldn’t let go so easily. Jake shrugged, punched at Sean and hoped to get away but Sean was hell bent on getting the man back to the living room where he would hopefully do some justice.
“You got the wrong man damn it!” Jake protested.
Sighting an opening Jake kicked hard into
