A Locked Box

Chapter 31

   It seemed too easy. It had Kat alert for every possibility. She dipped into the correct room, eyes on the security camera at the end of the hall. She was greeted by two giants of men grabbing each of her arms. She fought, about to snap one of their necks when an all too familiar growl of voice interrupted. "You can let her go." The men released Kat instantly and stood dutifully at the door. "Katherine," She felt a strong urge to attack at the man's cold drawl. "Please don't kill my men. You already killed my messenger." She hated the way there was humor in his voice. He wasn't going to underestimate her. Not anymore.

   "Leave me alone or I'll do more than that, Jack," She growled with as much venom as a snake.

   "You mean your friend. What was his name? Devin Carver, right?" Kat turned rigid. The man chuckled as he turned his chair towards Kat and stood. His graying hair was tied back in a small ponytail. It was longer and lighter since Kat had last seen him. His pale skin wrinkled with a sickening smile.

   Kat stood silently as he walked around to the end table and poured himself a glass. He poured one for her, but she left it on the counter. "Please sit down. All I want is to have a simple talk with you." He smiled. "You can breathe easily. I won't be killing anyone in the near future."

   Kat stayed standing.

   "Your choice." He sat down in one of the huge leather chairs towards the side of the room. "I have a proposal for you."

   "I don't care," Kat growled.

   He looked unfazed. "I know you want out. I've known for a while. I wanted to see how far you would go."

   A shiver of anger rushed down Kat's spine. "You..!"

   He raised a condescending hand to silence her. "You were our best. I would only entrust this job to you."

   "No more games!" She seethed. "I'm done with listening to you!"

   He only blinked at her outburst. "I'm giving you an out. Simply finish this one final job and I'll let you go. All of you." Kat knew who he was mentioning. It seemed far too easy.

   Kat's eyes darted around the room. She searched for cues that this was all a trick. That they just wanted to draw the others out of hiding. She wasn't about to give in so easily even if she found nothing. 

   "There are no strings. You won't have any worries once it's done." He continued, sipping his amber colored liquor. "If you had listened to my messenger, this would have been a lot easier." He chided when he noticed no difference in Kat's stance. "I would take this deal. I am only asking once. For your sake."

   "You could care less," Kat muttered as Jack pulled out a pale yellow envelope. It was bigger than the ones Kat had seen since she had escaped. It would be a harder job for sure.

   "Katherine," He smoothed his wrinkle-free suit. "You have one chance to finally be free. Put your grudges aside and take the deal." He said, clearly growing impatient.

   Kat let the words sink in. It would be so easy.

                                                                                   ***

   "I've found her." Jake cheered with a small smile. Devin practically leaped to his friend's side. Peeking over his shoulder, Devin watched the live video feed. He recognized Kat's slim figure stride across the middle of the camera, head straight and eyes on some other unseen target.

   "Where is she?" Devin asked in a panicked tone. "Do you think she's okay?"

   "Calm down. She can take care of herself. That's not what I'm so worried about." Jake said as he started to type on his laptop again.

   "Then what could be the problem? Can't we just find her and talk her out of whatever she's planning?"

   "Devin, she was seen on a security camera," Jake said, his tone hinted at something worse than the difficulty of finding the elusive woman. Devin didn't understand. "If we saw her, she wants us to see her. It's evidence that she hasn't jumped off the edge." Jake pulled up a second camera feed. They had a clear look of Kat's expressionless face. "She's finishing something. And she won't be leaving us any time soon."

   "H-How do you know?" Devin stammered, brown eyes glued to her round face.

   "We worked with each other for years. Take my word for it. We've learned every single trick that either of us has. We have no surprises against each other." Jake smiled lightly. "And you'll get there someday."

   "What?"

   Jake sat back in his seat. "It isn't obvious? I truly thought you knew." He crossed his arms at Devin's blank stare. "She cares a lot about you, Devin. Why do you think she would run with you in tow?"

   "Well, I..." Devin shrunk under his friend's gaze.

   Jake smiled. "And you clearly care a lot considering you let this whole killer thing slide. You should just make it official at this point." He smirked at Devin's burning cheeks and loud protest. "Just know, that if you do in the end end up leaving her and hurting her, I will make you pay. She's already gone through enough turmoil."

   Devin gulped at Jake's serious eyes. "I-I won't. I would never want to hurt her!" He defended himself quickly.

   "Okay," Jake dropped his arms to his sides and glanced back at the computer screen. "We'll have to move soon to keep you safe, but I have a feeling Kat will be back soon with good news."

   Devin nodded, a small smile on his face. It dipped into a frown at the thoughts in his head as he returned to his position on the bed. "Devin," He looked up at his friend's call. "Don't worry. She can take care of herself."

   He nodded and thanked the loyal friend. He could only hope that he was right.