In the spider's web

Chapter 11

...He laughed....He was actually laughing at me. This went on for a good 10 seconds, before it slowly died down.

"Now answer me honestly Clara, did you practice that in your head, before you came here?" Another burst of laughter escaped him.
"It just seemed a little too choreographed"

As his laughter died down a second time, I kept a serious expression on my face, as I leaned back and crossed my arms.

"I'm deadly serious Jim"

"Alright Clara, do tell"

With a mocking smile on his lips, he made a hand gesture, ushering me to continue.

"My motivation behind all of this, has been to make sure that no one suffers the same fate as me, because of your actions"

"Oh, and here I thought, you just wanted to make my life miserable" He muttered from across the desk.

"Well can't it be both?" I questioned rhetorically with a smile.

"Nevertheless, you simply can't be allowed to continue running your business as you have thus far. Therefore, I'm taking over. From now on, I pick our cases, and I approve of the final plans, before it's sent back to the clients. There will be no more killings from now on. Everything will go through me."

A snorting laugh escaped him.

"Is this a joke? Are you kidding me right now? Because, honey, you have no idea what I've got going on out there in the big, bad world. It's certainly not a job for a lady, such as yourself"

"Don't patronize me darling. You have no idea, what I'm capable of. Never underestimate a woman with a mission."

"Clara, you really don't know, what you're getting yourself into. I hired the people in the café today for a reason. The same reason I had you drugged and transported to my house discreetly."

"Oh, and here I thought, you were just an asshole with a power complex" I said with a small smile.

He glared at me from across the table.

"Look, you don't get to be as successful in this business as me, without making a few enemies along the way. If we had been seen together in that café by the right people, you would have been kidnapped and tortured for information by the end of the day. And that's just for being seen talking to me. Now imagine if information about the leverage you have on me got out. If the right people found out, that killing you would mean taking down me and my business, you would be tracked down and killed within an hour of them learning the info".

"And who exactly are these people, you keep referring to?" I questioned, with a confused expression.

"Government officials. Among others. The MI6 have been after me for a while, and as I remain a person of interest to them, they have no evidence, linking me directly to any crimes. You would change that... Maybe they wouldn't even kill you right away. Perhaps they would kidnap and torture you first, to verify the information."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk, as he placed his chin in his hands.

"Tell me Clara, have you ever been waterboarded before? The first time is always special"

He looked off into the distance with a small smile, as if he was recalling fond memories.. Or maybe he was just imagining me being waterboarded.

A short laugh escaped me, as I stood up, and even I could hear it sounded a bit manic.

I began pacing back and forth in front of the desk. He had to be bluffing! The government wouldn't treat an innocent civilian like that. Innocent? a small voice in the back of my mind, asked sarcastically. Okay, I was a hacker after all. A hacker that had worked for Moriarty for 3 years. Oh God, the blood on my hands... Well I hadn't known, what he used the information for. I couldn't have known. Couldn't you? that annoying voice asked again.
I stopped my pacing and took a deep breath. This was neither the time nor the place to sort out my moral quarrels.

"Among others? What others?" I questioned, and turned to Moriarty. He was watching me intensely.

"Fascinating" he mumbled.

I made a hand gesture ushering him to get on with it.

"Well, the people I work with aren't exactly angels. Neither are the people I socialize with, nor the clients I take on. Let's just say, that there's a lot of... unpleasant people who wants to take me down."

I slumped down in my chair again, while processing this new information. Was it really new information though? I mean, I might not have known the severity of it all, but I always had an idea of, what I was getting myself into. I just had to decide, if the trouble was worth it. I thought of my family's death, and how I had promised myself, that it wouldn't have been in vain. It was too late to back out now anyway.

"This change nothing," I exclaimed, with a calm voice.

"I thought you might say that," Moriarty began with a sigh, "then you should at least stay here, for your safety and mine. If you get kidnapped, it'll be the end of both of us."

I stood up with a jolt.

"Under no circumstances will I live under the same roof as you. I'll work here, so I can keep an eye on you, but I'll live in my own house."

"That's just plain stupid. Your house isn't safe, what's supposed to stop you from getting ki-"

"Well that's not entirely my problem is it? As you said, both of us will suffer if anything happens to me. Besides, you're the mastermind, figure it out. Now if you'll excuse me, I've had a long day, so I'm going home. I'll see you Monday. That way you'll have plenty of time to do some redecorating in here. I'll need a desk and a decent computer with a Linux operating system" I said, as I turned and marched out of the room.

I almost made it down the stairs to the foyer, before he caught up with me.

"Jonathan will come with you. You'll need some sort of protection" Moriarty said, with a frustrated sigh from behind me.

The security guard guarding the door stepped forward.

"Sir?"

"I don't want any of your minions in my house" I argued, as I turned around with crossed arms and glared at Moriarty, who had come to a halt halfway down the stairs.

I involuntarily gulped, as my eyes met his. So cold. His hands were in his pockets, and the features of his face had grown dark, dangerously dark.

"He won't set foot in your house, only observe from a car parked on your street okay? Can you possibly live with that Clara?" he spat, as he starred me down.

Okay, he was definitely getting angry. Even though I didn't want to admit it, he actually scared me, when he was angry, so I wasn't exactly keen on sticking around right now.

"Fine. Let's go Jonathan."

Jonathan didn't move. It looked like, he was still waiting for Moriarty to give him some kind of order, which came immediately after.

"She needs to stay alive. Any sign of danger and I mean ANY, you grab her and take her to a safe house. When you're sure no one is watching or following you, you'll bring her back here."

"Yes sir" he nodded, and opened the front door for me.

"Oh and Clara?" Moriarty called

"You don't breathe a word of the things we discussed to ANYONE. Have I made myself clear?"

"Duh" I responded, as I walked through the door, mostly because I knew it would piss him off.

I smiled, as I heard the door slamming behind me. 

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