A New Start

Chapter 2: Meeting the Chapmans

The car ride was awkward to say the least. With me not being able to talk and Tim shifting every so often, it made me start to squirm. Not only was it awkward, I was starving due to the fact I hadn't eaten lunch. I believed Tim sensed it because he asked the question I was not able to ask "Would you like to stop for food?" I nod enthusiastically as he began to turn into the nearest McDonald's. We pulled up to the drive thru and I showed him what I wanted by putting the combo number on my fingers. Putting up the number two for a quarter pounder with cheese, he told the lady over the intercom. As we waited in line, I saw him struggle to ask me a question. I put my hand on his shoulder and nodded to make the situation clear. I was ok with him asking questions and the easy part was nodding yes or no. I saw him take a sigh of relief as he pulled up to the window. Paying the lady and getting our food, I quickly dug into the food. Handing him his burger, I saw a smile on his face. I gave him a quick grin as I took another bite into my burger. Instead of awkward tension, it was a comfortable silence.

Walking in the office I see people sitting in a horseshoe shape. On the board I see not only a familiar face but a very familiar name. A name that I hadn't heard in a long time due to him being in the lower ranks of the operation we were in. Yet again, Gary Lahote was a man that was there when the raid went down and knew that I ran. Seeing his face made me want to curl up in a ball and never look back. However this was my new job and had to make the most of it. So as much as I didn't want to, I look at Tim and gave him a nudge in the ribs. I nodded my head in the direction and give a huff. He seems to get what I'm going at because I hear him say "Guys I think she knows him." I raise my eyebrows and nod my head in confirmation. I see multiple eyes shoot my way and I make my way to the group. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" I hear a man teasingly say. I turn to find it was the man with the dark hair put into a braid. I grab a marker and quickly start writing on the board. 'I don't have a tongue' I write. I turn to find his expression seldom and everyone looking away awkwardly. I shift my eyes to Tim and find him nodding his head. I sigh and start to sign to Tim. From the weird expression on his face, I quickly figured out that he didn't know sign language. Heaving another sigh, I grab a notepad and start to write out what I know. Writing on the pad I started to explain how he was a good friend of mine but had turn to a darker, more violent path. I explained that he was a major hot head and would beat anyone who would come into his way. I also explained how he beat me until I couldn't breathe one night. That the scar was still residing on my right side and was covered by a tattoo that I drew. The last thing I wrote down was that he would bolt given the chance and that he was a fast runner. 

Handing the notepad to Tim, he began to explain everything that was written down. I watched everyone's expressions and took a mental note of everyone. Beth had a clenched jaw and a fire that wouldn't extinguish until she caught him. Duane Lee had a blank face as he began to process the information given to him. Dog had clenched his talking stick till his knuckled turned white and his face bloomed a vibrant red. Baby Lyssa had a sad look of pity as she stared at me. I shot her a glare however and she turned away. I pursed my lips as this happened. I didn't need anyone's pity, I had enough of my own. The last person I looked at was Leland. From the earlier altercation I thought he wouldn't care as much on this. Boy was I wrong. His face was red from fury and his body was slightly shaking. Why would this make someone like him angry? He was supposed to be the calm one in this situation not the other way around.

I nod Tim my thanks as he finished the last sentence on the paper. I hold my hands in front of me as they began to think of a plan. As much as I wanted to put in my input, I didn't feel like writing it all down. Instead I sat back until someone said my name. "Katherine" I hear Leland say "Is there anything else that we should know? Hangouts? Friends?" I think for a moment before grabbing the pen and paper again. I write down on the paper 'He usually hangs out with someone named Ryan Wales. He is not only medically insane, he has his own drug lab in the basement of his house. Since he deals with a lot of chemicals, he gets a great contact high from it all. If it's strong enough, he'll be knocked out for a good 5 hours. Trust me, the last time that happened I thought he was dead.' Handing the paper back and seeing the gears turn in his head, I began to get nervous. Was this not enough? Was this too much? Should I have-

Getting shook out of my thoughts by catching the last end of Leland's sentence "..she should show us where the house is. If she's the informant then she should be the one that should walk up to the house." I felt my eyes get wide and I began to shake my head no. How dare he think I would put myself in a dangerous situation again to satisfy his needs? I felt myself shake with anger before I abruptly stood up. I saw Tim come near me but I put a hand up, telling him to stop. I point to outside as I grabbed a cigarette from the pack on the table. Walking past Leland, I shot him a dirty look as I walked out the door. Lighting up the cigarette as I walked right out the door, I took the first puff of the cigarette. Exhaling the dangerous fumes, I began to reflect on the past twenty four hours. Not only am I free, I have a job, a home, and food in my system. This was a lot more than when I first came on the island. I felt myself smile as I finished the last drag of the cigarette. Putting out the lit out stick with the tip of my shoe, I walked back into the office feeling like I was on top of the world. 

A/N Hey guys, if you guys could comment that would be great! I love hearing feedback and it motivates me to write more. I might not be able to write much this week because I do have finals this week. However, I will try my best to update the week of Thanksgiving and hopefully give you a double update! Have a good rest of your weekend guys.