The Darkest Moments

1

James 

"So what exactly is the game plan here?" Eldon asked as we all sat in the backroom. This club had always been my dad's scene but I never was a fan of it. I didn't like his work, the work he did here, behind the scenes, any of it
It was sketchy from the get go and if I had been given a choice, I would not be in this position 
"There isn't one" I reminded him
"We don't even know if she is going to show up" West added making me nod as we continued to look at the screen's showing the camera's on the wall by the door 

Tonight the entire place was packed but I was surprised given it was a Friday night. We were looking for the familiar blonde in the crowds. Once we could pinpoint here we would know that the person we were looking for was here too

"How did Michelle even find this girl? Didn't everyone think she was just some sort of myth?" Hunter asked and I nodded
"This is why you all need to learn to give that girl more credit where credit is due" Eldon proudly said making her roll her eyes

"Calm down puppy dog" Hunter said
"I think you'll find Eldon, West found the information on her and passed it over to Michelle to make some sort of heads or tails" I responded earning another nod from West 

This entire thing had to come to and end sooner rather then later. Dad was on his last legs and he's always told me that at the end of the day he wants to see this fulfilled in his lifetime. Given that that could be coming to an end sooner then anticipated, I can't let this one wish stay ungranted 
I don't know exactly the backstory of this girl, nor do I think we need to know 
The plan is to get close, get the information we need and leave it at that

She'll never need to get deeper then that, we won't inconvenience her more then needed and she'll easily be able to get on with her life afterwards 

"You came!" Michelle gushed making me remember about the mic she had tapped to her, it didn't pick up any of the back ground noise, curtesy of West being able to tap into it and fix that
"What is this place?" A soft voice said making me tilt my head until the screen focused on one camera, where our duo stood 

"Brunette, I didn't get that vibe you know" Hunter hummed while the rest of us rolled our eyes 

"This Riles is heaven on earth trust me. It's just the break you need" Michelle said handing Riley a glass full of clear liquid, we all know that it is not water
"God you make it sound like I need to be saved Michelle" Riley laughed, the moment the sound left her my ears pricked up and I watched the screen more intently 
She was carefree, almost like she didn't really know who her father was. She didn't know the shit that he does 
She didn't know the path of destruction that follows her 

"I mean there is a reason we don't drink at your house Riley" Michelle said as the pair walked over to the booth
"What is the end goal here?" West asked but I shrugged

Right now there wasn't one. We just wanted Riley to trust Michelle and it would seem that Michelle had already wormed her way in meaning we could start phase two any day now 

"Riley yo- Ca-" A third voice called but since we were filtering the frequency we weren't able to pick him up, I turned to look to West who was already nodding his head while adjusting what needed to be done 
"Who's your friend Riley?" Michelle said tilting her head to the blonde now stood next to the pair of them 
His arm drawn around Riley's shoulder, but the look on her face showed that she may not have wanted that there at all

"This is Callum, Callum this is Michelle. I told you about her the other day" Riley said looking back at the guy
"You never told me about him thought did ya" Michelle said trying to keep things as light as they could get

"It's a complicated situation" Riley said earning a frown from the guy
"I don't agree but regardless, I'll leave you girls to your evening. I'll see you later sweetheart" Callum said leaning down to kiss her but the moment they were about to, she shifted her head so that he kissed her cheek making me smirk lightly

"Hunter, find out who he is" I warned him before earning a groan as he pulled out his computer
"Eldon, find out anything you can about ties between him and Peter. There has to be a tie to her Dad" I said earning nods from them all while I looked back at the girls who were already off nattering 

--

It was a lot later in the evening, both Eldon and Hunter were still digging deeper on our two leads. West was going through all the footage from tonight leaving me to going back over everything we knew about Riley. None of it adds up as to why this Callum guy would be in something 'complicated' with her

"Evening boys" Michelle said waltzing in with a grin on her face, her pupils dilated slightly meaning if anything she was slightly tipsy but still level headed enough that she could do her job

"So this guy?" West said making Michelle pull a face
"he gives me the creepy vibe" Michelle grimaced as she sat down on the sofa next to Eldon placing her legs on his lap kicking off her shoes the moment she was comfortable
"We're going to need a little more then creepy vibe" I said making Michelle roll her eyes at me while I glared

"I don't know, Riley wouldn't really speak about him however he came to give her a necklace, apparently she left it in the car" Michelle said 

"A necklace?" Hunter asked and Michelle nodded
"I don't know much about you girls but is there a reason as to why would a guy be so concerned about a necklace that just had a ring on it?" West said making me raise a brow
"A ring?" I asked and he nodded pulling up a photo of Riley twirling it in between her fingers as she spoke with Michelle 

"You know I know you are good at what you do West but come on that's creepy too! How did you notice that when I had been sat with her all night and didn't notice" Michelle said making most of us chuckle
"It's West's job to notice things like that Michelle" I reminded her
"Yeah? What's my job then James?" She asked making me look at Eldon who nodded wrapping an arm around her
"Well you're the pretty face for starters" He said making Michelle roll her eyes

"Anyway, back to this ring?" Hunter asked and I nodded

"We need to know who this guy is and the ties to Peter. The moment we have that, the meaning behind that ring might come to light" I said making all of them nod 

Phase two will need to wait for a moment.. or two