Burn Out *18+*

Chapter 37

I caught a flight shortly after, amazed that I could make a call and be on a plane within three hours. I suppose not having to think about anything other than a change of clothes and a laptop helped with that. The numbness that I was so used to came creeping back, letting me sit in on the plane for hours without a single thought. When I landed and turned my phone back on, I saw that Jasper had tried to call me once forty minutes ago. That meant that he knew my mother was dead, which also could have meant that he saw what I had done, tracked my phone and my spending and was boarding a flight here now.

Even if he did, I had about eight hours to get what I needed.

The first thing I did was rent a car, making sure that it was one of the most common cars ever produced. Flash would do nothing for me here, and once I was driving, I scoped the area out for other white RAV4 SUVs. A discrete license plate swap was carried out in the back of a Walmart and part of me felt back that Jasper would undoubtedly follow my transactions and sick local law enforcement on this poor citizen who just happened to be part of my scheme. Some power creature was going to be slammed against the hood of their own car and questioned for hours over something that took me two seconds.

At the Walmart, I purchased myself a few blankets and pillows and snacks so I wouldn't have to tie myself to a hotel where I could be found. The less traces I left, the better.

Then I was hunting for a weapon that wouldn't raise any red flags. Sure, I technically could own a hand gun, but my certification hadn't come from a standardized gun course that other weapon-toting Canadian took. That last thing I needed was for a shop owner to call the local police to confirm that I could in fact, have a hand gun. So, I ended up at an electrical supply store. If nothing else, my purchase here would only serve to confuse the hell out of Jasper. And I really didn't want to go up against a man like Axel empty handed.

The man behind the counter repeatedly looked me up and down and asked me if I was sure about the size of the wire and that I only needed a foot of it. I just nodded and grinned, hoping that I didn't look entirely crazy with airplane hair and death rotting the sane parts of my mind. As I left the store, I admired the hefty weight in my hand. Perhaps not as efficient as a gun, nor as glamourous as baton, but it would slice through the air, no doubt. It had the flexibility to slice skin and the rigidity to break bones. Perfect.

The rest of my day was spent sitting outside a café, putting my computer science courses to work. Sure, Jasper would find out where I was eventually. He worked with some of the best techs in the industry. They would unravel my VPN and network web in less than a week, I was sure of it. But I didn't need a week. I just needed another twenty-four hours.

Then Axel would be coming for me.

After that, I didn't particularly care what happened. I was angry. I was here to avenge the leader in my life, the one who had shown me the path that I needed to follow. I should have been doing everything in my power to keep Jasper away from me so I could do what needed to be done.

But I was still holding on to my cell phone. I needed to get rid of it. It could be tracked. I knew that. But I couldn't make myself get out of the car and do it. My shaky fingers had unlocked it. My background was a picture from years ago, Dexter and I at a family friend's party. I was wearing one of the first outfits I had designed. He was wearing a hoodie that was so old the sleeves were fraying. But I was grinning beside him and his arm was around my waist.

I flicked through my pictures, somehow able to repress the death of my mother, but not this. There was a picture of us on a hike, standing by a blue lake that looked like something out of a painting. I was beaming at the camera. Dexter was looking at me.

I had a picture of his new rally car from Zara that I had excitedly texted to my dad.

I had a video of Dexter snoring on my couch with Inkwell napping on his shoulder.