Home is not a Place

17• Debate

FELIX

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Someone is at our apartment door. I sit on the couch in between Ajax and Tony, all of us sharing a conversation about what new inventions I need to come up with. Apparently, the watch I made with the built-in flash drive was a hit.

Drake and Ethan sit on stools at our kitchen counter, but once the sound of the knocking rises in the air, everyone goes silent as tension rolls in.

Ethan slides off his seat and walks toward the door, pulling out a gun that he had tucked away in the back of his pants. Drake follows him, taking precautions as he hides behind the door where attackers can't see him.

Nobody ever knocks on the door, and nobody ordered pizza. Who is here?

I glance at Ajax and swallow. He looks calm and collected while I'm sweating in my underwear.

Ethan opens the door, gazing at the silhouette of a man before him. My heart doesn't stop racing until he says the words, "Jerome! What're you doing here, old man?"

Ethan moves out of the way as Jerome steps inside, gazing at all of us with his brown eyes. "We need to talk."

After Ethan shuts the door, Drake comes out of hiding, both of them following Jerome into our open living room area. Jerome stands front and center, in front of our TV, while all of us gaze at him curiously.

"What's wrong?" I ask, concern igniting in my veins.

"Well, this video went viral overnight." Jerome says as he turns on his phone and casts a video onto our TV.

Vanessa pops up on our screen as she helps people out of a car after a car wreck. I immediately sit up, watching the scene unfold. As she tries to get a person in the driver's seat out of a red vehicle, a man moves to help her.

I recognize him in an instant. He's Ethan.

I turn to gaze at him. He shifts his weight, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't tell us about this.

My attention is brought back to the video when the car erupts in flames, Vanessa getting trapped inside. My breath hitches as I squint, trying to make out where Vanessa is.

Seconds later, the vehicle explodes, ending the video.

Jerome stares at the screen for a moment, and then he turns to Ethan. "Do you mind explaining this?"

"Yes." Ethan steps forward, meeting all of our gazes with honest eyes. "Because of this car wreck, I got in late and wanted to sleep. I was going to tell you all this morning, but I haven't gotten around to it."

"Well, did she fucking die?" Tony's mouth is open as he stares at the frozen video.

"What?" Ethan gazes up at the screen. "No. She escaped from the back."

"Jesus." I hear Tony say as I swallow a lump in my throat.

"It was just a random car wreck." Ethan promises as he uncrosses his buff arms. "Vanessa went to help the wounded, and I followed her. Afterwards, I made sure she got in an Uber safely, and then I came here and went straight to bed. I promise I was going to tell you all."

I believe him. He's never lied to us before, and there's no reason for him to keep this from us, so I press for the next topic. "Jerome, you made a trip out here because you wanted to show us this?"

"Yes," he pauses, gazing at Ethan. "And because the intel you got on William Fitch checked out. He's in the U.S., but he won't be for long. Your intel says he's going to Washington, and he's looking to sell a weapon of mass destruction to the highest bidder."