Freefall (Jaspar)

Chapter Ten

The front door cracked as it opened, presumably Dan returning, and clicked shut once more. Caspar rolled over, pressing his face into the cushions of the couch, groaning loudly. A single pair of footsteps approached, suffocating all of Caspar's last hopes.

Dan was home far too early, it was too soon. Cam was seated back at his makeshift desk in silence, having long since given up making any kind of conversation with Caspar. He wasn't in the mood for small talk, not when they were both just preparing themselves for whatever plan Cam and Sean had constructed.

Both brothers had joined Dan and Caspar for breakfast, before announcing that Sean would be staying at Caspar's apartment for the duration of the 'hunt', or until something changed. Caspar had immediately protested, and although Dan had tried to act as mediator in the brewing argument, Caspar could tell he was just as against the idea.

If Sean was given free reign over somewhere that Joe was likely to return to, there was no supervision to stop Joe from being attacked. Caspar suspected this was something Cam and Sean had thought about, or at least, he doubted it was just an added bonus that happened to come around.

Still, in the end, Caspar lost. He always lost. Dan eventually offered to guide Sean to the lone apartment, but shortly before the pair had left, Cam had stated that they could start discussing plans once Dan was back.

And that was now. Caspar didn't want to hear a word of what Cam had to say, but he couldn't let himself be ignorant in the weeks to come either. When the end game arrived, Caspar wanted to know exactly what to expect.

Dan must've already settled in the lounge, judging by Cam's words.

"Hey, trust everything went well?"

"Yeah," Dan acknowledged, his voice much closer than Caspar expected. "Not a whisper."

"Cool, everything should be fine then."

"So, what's this big plan of yours?" Dan asked, cutting straight to the point with nothing but curiousity.

"Sean and I, we were thinking. The demon's taken Phil, yes? We'll assume he's alive for the moment, for the sake of this plot. The demon has no reason to harm your friend, after all. We suspect it's rather, a safety switch, as you will."

Demon.

"What? How?" Dan spoke up again.

"Well, imagine it this way. If you had called the police, they would naturally assume Joe's taken Phil hostage. They could make no drastic moves, in the interest of Phil's safety. That much is obvious."

"We didn't tell the cops, though," Caspar pointed out, his voice more than likely muffled by the fabric. He didn't exactly feel like repeating himself though, so he let it be.

"Yes, we know. Which brings us to our next idea: the demon may be keeping Phil as a barrier. If any of us step out of line, we risk putting Phil in harm's way."

There it was again: demon. The word was starting to get on Caspar's nerves. Technically, Cam was right, but that didn't make it any less painful. It was like Joe didn't exist at all anymore. Even the apartment had become "Caspar's apartment," like he owned the entire place.

"So we can't do anything, then?" Dan asked.

"Not exactly. We just can't do anything obvious, something that the demon will recognise immediately. However, there are certain...precautions, that we can set."

"You mean traps," Caspar stated bluntly.

Cam sighed. "Not a word of choice, but essentially, yes. Traps."