Realise - Real Lies

ZUGZWANG

Check it out here as well: https://jaderoxx30892.wixsite.com/reallies/post/chapter-26-zugzwang

Ethan's POV

Valdifiori looked at me in shock, "You want in? Do you think this is a party that I can invite you to?" "Well I will leave you to make it happen. You are smart. You can make it happen," I smirked. "Ethan Matser breaking the rules. I am a skeptic," she said suspiciously. "When you get screwed over as many times as I have, it gives you perspective," I said thoughtfully. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't get you in. After the debacle that happened, I am pretty sure I am this close to being crucified," she said angrily. "What debacle?" I asked. "The woman disappeared. Apparently she had an accomplice who helped her escape. That bitch," she said gritting her teeth. "Well I have a solution for finding her," I said. She looked at me, "How?"
"She gave us a clue before leaving. There one thing that she wanted or more precisely one person she wanted to speak to above everything else," I said. "Dominic Stavros," she stated. "Exactly, so that's where we start. Let Yang do the initial talk," I said. "Why Yang?" she asked. "I checked the charges against Stavros. He has cyber crime charges and Yang would be best suited to built rapport with him," I said as a matter of fact. She smiled, "I must say Matser, I may have underestimated you. I would have never thought of this." "And yet you are my supervisor," I said in a snarky tone. She narrowed her eyes at me, and completely ignoring the comment she said, "Let me make the call to the prison and get Yang the access he needs. I would want a full detailed report tomorrow. Get back to the office now." I left, taking the elevator to my office floor. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, my phone rang. It was Yang. I picked it up and I heard his voice boom through the phone, "I got access to Dominic Stavros. What did you? Hypnotize Valdifiori or dazzle her with your smile?" I laughed, "Something like that. Regroup at my place?" "Sure thing. Ethan don't forget to check up on your hookup," he said. I was about to correct him when he just hung up.
Okay things were going as planned. But I didn't believe for a minute that Valdifiori trusted me. She might not be a good agent but she wasn't an idiot either. I had to tread carefully. Yang and me would have to be very careful about what we told Valdifiori tomorrow. The rest of the day was uneventful. I hadn't told Jade that Yang was able to contact Dominic. And Yang and me had already established that we would talk about the progress back at my place. It was safer that way. So I was completely in the dark about the conversation Yang had with Dominic and honestly I was getting really impatient. I wondered if he had something to say or did he not say anything at all. Based on what I knew about him, he would probably not trust anyone. Maybe mentioning Jade would change that or maybe he would get aggressive. Only time would tell. I packed up and was about to leave when Valdifiori passed by my desk, "Report. Tomorrow?" I nodded with a tight smile as she left the office. I got into my car and got home. As soon as I stepped into my house, the delicious aroma hit me. I knew it very well but I couldn't believe it was coming from my apartment. I softly tiptoed towards my kitchen. Jade stood in the kitchen leaning against the fridge with a recipe book in her hand, reading intently. "What do you think you are doing?" I asked. "Trying to make something decent from the not expired products in your refrigerator," she said rolling her eyes. I flinched, "I really wasn't expecting to have any company. That's why I don't have fresh groceries." "So what do you eat besides expired spaghetti sauce?" She asked. "I eat at the cafe across the street. Not everyone has the time to cook. Are you cooking Shepherd's pie?" I said pointing to the casserole dish in the oven. "Yes. Though I don't think the carrots you had were good so I had to skip that. I hope you are ok with that," she said quickly. I loved Shepherd's pie. I didn't remember when was the last time I cooked in the house. "Yeah that's fine," I said. The knock on the door startled both of us.
I walked to the door and peeped through the peephole. Yang. I opened the door and Yang walked in sniffing the air, "You started cooking again? Good for you Matser." "Unfortunately it isn't me. My kitchen has been invaded," I said. "Wow goody. I am starving," he said as he sat down at the dining table. Minutes later we were all seated at the table watching Yang gobble the pie. He finally looked up surprised, "What?" "Would you bother to tell us what happened?" I snapped. "You first. What did you find out about Valdifiori?" He asked. I told them about the exchange. "Sounds exactly like the people Jake worked with," Jade said. "That's what I thought. Now what happened with Dominic Stavros?" I said.
"Ok first of all, this was delicious. Thank you Jade. And I got to the prison to meet Dominic. He initially refused to meet anyone. But then after a lot of ups and down, he agreed to meet me. When I sat down in front of him, I got straight to the point. I told him that Jade had asked me to meet him and guess what he said?" Yang asked. "What?" We both asked in unison. "Who? He said Who?" Yang said. "Well isn't that obvious? Why would he agree to that?" I snapped. "Matser, that man was not ready to meet anyone, so I thought the best approach was to be direct," Yang said. "What happened next?" Jade asked. "I asked about the drive and he pretended he didn't know what I was talking about," Yang remarked. "Okay this is useless. Do you have the video of your interrogation. I am sure he must have hinted at something or at least I can gauge him and then I can talk to him tomorrow," I said getting impatient. Yang shrugged and got his laptop out. He switched it on and opened a video file. The video showed Yang seated at a table. A few seconds later a man in a prison uniform sat at the table. I slyly checked Jade reaction to it. A surprised look painted her face. The video continued as Yang had specified. The man/Jake seemed utterly disinterested in the questions. "Is this a joke?" Jade asked me and Yang. "Not really. Even if it was, I don't see anything remotely funny about this," Yang muttered.
"What's the matter?" I asked Jade. She blinked multiple times back at the screen and to us, "Who is this guy?" "Dominic or Jake or whatever his name is," Yang said. "That's not him," she replied. "What do you mean that's not him? That's Dominic Stavros. I confirmed that myself," I said quickly. "Ok that maybe a Dominic Stavros but that is not Jake. Maybe there is another prisoner with the same name?" she asked. "Nope just the one. The only one who got arrested on the flight on the day you mentioned," Yang said. "How is that possible? Are you sure the Interpol arrested him?" I asked. "Absolutely, I saw it," she said. "You saw it where?" Yang asked. "It was on the burner phone that I found in Richy's car. Layla recovered the video," she said. "Ok if that's the case and he really got arrested by the Interpol and he is not in the Interpol prison, then where is he?" Yang retorted. I sighed, "Where is he indeed?"