Ghost in the wires.

4.Cousins?

"Hello, Mackenzie, or do you prefer Mc?" Alan asks me. I am trying to assess him, but it is tricky. Even if my demeanour is more relaxed around him, I will be aware of his actions. Better safe than sorry.

"Hello, Mr Bloomingdale, or do you prefer Alan? I answer back. I try to suppress a smile when I hear him laughing.

"She sounds like you, A, and also behaves like you," Eric comments, smirking at Alan.

Alan frowns at Eric, and he slightly moves his head in negation.

" I suppose you wonder why all this secrecy about your arriving here in Duskwood?" Alan directed his question toward me. At his question, I just raised my eyebrow.

" I hope that is just a rhetorical question, and you will not make me waste my time by making me start to ask about all this secrecy." Eric's booming laughter cuts through the verbal sparring between Alan and me.

"My friend, she is good, " says Eric, still laughing, but he stops when Alan sends him an annoyed stare.

"Jake is safe; he must spend a week in the hospital. He suffered a concussion, and when the explosion occurred, metal shrapnel from the mine door got into his back. "He will be released next week from the hospital without any doubt," says Alan, looking straight into my eyes.

"What do you mean by "Jake is safe?" I ask him; I find it strange that he starts with that. I hear Eric's small gasp and see Alan's small smile."

"So, you caught on to that; no wonder he teamed with you. Let me be very forthright with you: This hacker was spared only because I needed information regarding a specific case," he says, annoyed.

"Spared by whom?" I inquire, a little perplexed, wildly because Alan stares at me with a scowl. To be honest, everything about this circumstance makes my head spin. There are just too many questions and no answers.

"I'm afraid I can't offer you too many details right now. All you need to know, Miss Kenneth, is that you and Mr. Hacker will spend a significant amount of time with me once he is discharged from the hospital. Eric will drive you to the hospital. I suppose you want to see your "friends"?

As I watch Alan go back to where he came from, I ask Eric, "Does he act like this all the time?" Eric smiles and glances at me before saying, " You'll learn to accept his quirks."

"Eric, do you have any idea about what he is talking about? Eric smirks: "I do, but the only thing I can tell you is that Jake is a highly brilliant man who knows how to persuade Alan to join him." he says as we walk back to the car.

During the entirety of our journey to the hospital, I was trying to understand how Jake was able to persuade Alan to help him. When we pulled up in front of the hospital, Eric turned to face me and said, "One thing before entering, Jake is registered like the cousin of Dan. Thus, he will be Jake Anderson."

I stood there shocked, unable to grasp the information, even if the idea of Jake being Dan's cousin was hilarious. I start laughing loudly at the thought.

"I had the same reaction when Alan started planning all of this. Now, Mc, I have to return to the station. Best wishes." said Eric with a smile.

I hop out of the car and wave to Eric; as I turn around and see the emergency entrance, my heart starts to pound.