Realise - Real Lies

Pandora

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Jake's POV

Damian looked at me as if i had told him that Santa doesn't exist, "Is it possible that you are mistaken?" "No I feel it Damian, something is off" I said. "He has been helping us correct? So he is still an ally," Damian said. "No he has been hiding stuff and I know it. I don't think we can trust a word coming out from his mouth. He is being too secretive and it is weird. I don't even believe the recording. Johnson would never conspire to kill his own mentor. Come on," I said. "Just because you won't do it, doesn't mean someone else wouldn't do it Jake," Damian explained softly. The loud banging on the door interrupted us. Damian looked at me and silently walked towards the door and peeked outside, "It's him." I nodded telling him to open the door. Time to face the music. Damian opened the door and unlike the other times, Liam's composure was completely lost as he walked in. Wasting no time he barked at me, "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO, YOU BASTARD?" "Excuse me?" I replied, surprised by his tone and profanity. "Explain to me why did my pilot call me and tell me that no one boarded the fucking flight when you got a call from Richy, saying that they did?" He asked angrily. "What? They didn't board?" Damian looked at me completely horrified.

Richy's POV

"You promised me, nothing would happen to her," I yelled at Johnson on the phone. "Davis, calm down. I told you she is fine," he said calmly. "I don't even know where she is," I said. "Listen. It is just temporary. Tomorrow night, she is free to go okay?" He replied. "No I need to see her. Now or else..." I trailed off. "Or else what?" He asked challenging me. "Remember the recording? I know what you did with Wayne. He confronted you about Ragwort didn't he? And he asked you to quit. And he died a day later. Isn't that suspicious?" I said confidently. Silence prevailed for a few seconds. His voice was now cold, "I would be very careful of what you are insinuating Davis." "It's insinuating if I am not sure. I am sure you are behind it. You have 30 minutes. I need to see her if not you are going to be in huge trouble," I said and I hung up, hoping it was gutsy enough to make him cave. I thought back to the sob story that Johnson had given me. It was the day Liam had given me the recording. It was the night before Jake, Jade and Ethan had come to rescue me. Unlike what everyone thought, I wasn't a prisoner. Liam had given me the recording and while it was shocking, I had to take it with a grain of salt. I didn't know Liam from Adam so everything he said was up for a debate. Liam had told me that Johnson was in town and I turned up in his hotel room as soon as he got to Geneva.
He stared at me as if he had seen a ghost. Granted. That's what the story must have been back home. "What.... How....," He stammered. The amount of time that I had met with Johnson, I had never seen him stammer, so this was a weird sight to witness. "Richy, what are you doing here? Are you ok?" He asked me. "I am fine," I said. "What the heck happened? How long have you been here?" He asked. "Ever since our road trip I have been here," I said. "What the fuck? Are you out of your mind? Do you realize what sort of shit is going on back home? Do you even know what crap Jade is going through because of you? What the fuck is your excuse? Explain yourself," he said angrily. "I will. After you explain this," I said placing the recorder on the side table and hit play. The recording started. I watched carefully as Johnson stood motionless. His face betrayed no emotions, probably garnered by years of being a lawyer. When the recording finally ended, I saw him sigh deeply and collapse on a chair, "How did you get this?" "Is that what's important? Tell me what do you have to say about this? You are like family to her and I want to give you a chance to explain this." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "It seemed so long ago. I was young, when I was approached about Ragwort. I didn't know at the time what they did. Just that I had to handle a few pro bono cases here and there. They weren't even cases. Just handling people who were falsely accused. And it was early on in my career. I had started out, I was planning to get married to Rachel, Rachel was pregnant, it was just one thing after the other. I really needed to be more financially stable and since they were just accusations, I thought I was good. Before I got to know anything I was in too deep. I wanted to get out, but I couldn't. They had roped me in, saying that it was a rehabilitation program and that I was helping for a higher cause and I believed it. I really did. And that's what made me swallow the bitter truth pill. I wasn't doing anything wrong, I was just helping a cause. I did do my research, I kinda had a feeling that Luke was involved with something bad, but I ignored it all. It was not until Wayne literally smacked the truth in my face that I realized I was so so wrong. That's when I thought of dropping out. After the conversation with Wayne, I went back home and called the person who used to set me up with these cases and told him that I was out. He was very understanding and said that it was great we were ending things on good terms. Even quitting the firm didn't seem so bad as it felt like a punishment for the crime and I was ready to accept it. A day later, Wayne was found dead. And on my doorstep was a picture of Rachel and my kids with the words - Are they next? I got the clue. I would never be allowed to leave. I was part of Ragwort forever."
I listened to him patiently. His words seemed true. There was no reason for me to doubt him. The main was coerced into working for them. He did it for his family. It was wrong but he had his reasons. Was it enough to forgive him? Of course not, but it was something Jade would need to know. She was the one who had lost her father. Only she could decide if Johnson could be forgiven. Yesterday after Jake had told me about his worry, I had reached out to Johnson and told him about Jake and about everything that was happening. I told him that if anyone could help us, then it was him. Plus, Johnson had told me that he planned to take down Ragwort himself. He had one last thing to do at the meet. He had to keep his position intact until then and for that he needed Jade. Liam already had the drive and the last piece of the puzzle was Jade's biometric. He mentioned that the drive had information that could bring down Ragwort and it had to be opened. As long as it had been in the locker, the secret was safe. He was safe. His family was safe. Jade was safe. But then after, Hannah had been kidnapped, Jade had removed the drive from the safe and they knew. They knew the secret was no longer safe. And that had started a chain of events. Johnson even mentioned that Liam wasn't trustworthy. That he knew more than what he was saying and that everyone associated with Ragwort could not be trusted. And right about now I believed that statement, Johnson was associated with Ragwort and right now I did not trust him at all.