The Piece System

Chapter Thirty-Three: JAKE

Everything felt frozen. Like a thick, stagnant cloud had settled over London, depriving him from managing even a smile. Every time his eyes moved, the world seemed to spin and stare, watching him from every dark corner. Nothing mattered anymore. This was it.

The past two days had been spent in that phase. Just numb and dying without actually slipping away. At this point, when the guard led him out of the cell with the others, he wished he had. Then he wouldn't have to watch the melancholy looks of the others twist into fear. He'd caused this. Him. Jake. He'd been so caught up trying to make a difference in something he couldn't change, he'd forgotten to stay by something that could. His family's safety. Sure, he'd done it all for them, but all he'd really done was made it worse. And in the back of his mind, he'd known that the whole time.

He'd also spent a long time thinking about Caleb, seeing as he couldn't talk about him.

Really, it made sense. There was always the question of why the vandal didn't take Alex's file, and Caleb was why. Taking the file would help the Renegades end Pawn slavery, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Then there was the issue of who in the Renegades would ever obstruct the cause. It was obvious now. The vandal became a Renegade with no intent on pushing back against upper pieces because he is one, instead he would help them. It all made sense. Even the way Caleb so easily believed Jake didn't kill Kieran made sense—of course he knew it wasn't Jake, because it was him. And he was a Queen, albeit a disowned one, which would've made it easy to pay off the police with the fake evidence framing Jake.

It all made sense and he hated it. He hated that he missed it before. Especially with how Caleb was always there. He was in Alex's house all the time. He could've easily found the file even if he wasn't looking for it just by being a constant presence. Alex wasn't perfect. All it would've took was one slip up, and Caleb must have took advantage of it.

Did he even care about her?

And what's more, is Caleb must have been the one Brennan had spoken to on the phone. Of course Brennan was the one he would go to, they'd met before. And their connections to Alex meant they would work together to keep it from her. Jake's face dropped.

Caleb had seen him with Alex before they'd even begun working together. Back in her apartment, he'd turned up at the door.

Caleb had seen this coming from a mile off, before Jake even knew what he was doing.

And now he had Sophie.

Jake looked up at the grey sky, clouds rolling in and drowning the last slither of sun. He didn't even have the energy to sigh. Charlie didn't even have the fire to make a sarcastic remark. Nothing. Piper was quiet. Faye didn't speak. Ryan stayed by Jake's side the whole time. For the two days, barely a word had passed between them: there was nothing to say.

He looked at the passage in front of them. The towering wooden walls that hadn't been there last time they'd seen the sun now snaked all around the plaza. Every inch of its insides was crammed with Pawns. But the guard didn't lead them to join the back, no. She took them past the hundreds of metres of planks to the execution platform itself. Jake's eyes drifted to the noose hanging from the beam.

When Caleb had told him he was ignoring half his army, he'd not given it much thought. He'd not listened, which was exactly what Caleb said he would do. Now he wished he had. If he had done something to learn about the upper pieces instead of going along with everyone else in thinking they were mindless, indoctrinated Set drones, maybe he would've worked it out. He looked at the platform again, up at the rope hanging from the beam, horror flashing before his eyes at the person he saw tied there. Ginger hair would plague him for the rest of his life—the next few hours. He blinked at he was gone. The noose was empty. Jake screwed his eyes shut, dragging the image out of his head.