Deception - In The Beginning (Book 5) - A Prequel

Chapter 17

"They did what now?" James was incredulous at the audacity of the two brothers.

"Auction, in Queens, Cameron switched the diamond she was after, tackled his brother.... almost died." Apparently, the whole thing was a set up to steal the Lynx Diamond under the scrutiny of everyone at the auction house.

She had him disguised as some French drug dealer, collector or something of the kind. Attended the auction with MW who knocked out the guards and Mike Alvarez. He was supposed to obtain the diamond with no one the wiser. Of course, with the Black twins nothing is as it seems. Cameron had pulled a switch and then had been knocked out by his brother who was under the assumption he was this Henri dude.

It had been a mad rush to try and remove the guards and Henri out of the closing vault. Jonathan hadn't the time or strength to do it, leaving Henri on the floor of the vault with the air being sucked out. Kay had discovered the truth too late that it was Cameron in disguise –

After an agonizing time watching in horror as Cam lost consciousness, Jonathan had managed somehow to rouse his brother, urging him to the door. His last few minutes had him engage the locks releasing the door.

"Is he alright?" James was hopeful that the genes coursing through his grandson's veins had managed the impossible.

"Yes sir, he's a bit winded and has been taken to hospital, just to make sure. Jonathan is being returned to Rockland at this moment.... I'm sorry it isn't better news." His heart started to return to his normal state – he was getting too old for all of this. But he had to hang in there until they understood their purpose. He had to get Jonathan out of prison, and soon, their purpose in life had to be attained. A lot of everything depended on it.

Percy was in the Chairman's office, watching and waiting. The news hadn't been ideal, and the problem still existed.

Charles cleared his throat. "My that is quite the story. Those two are going give me more grey hair at this point. What is the outcome of this...this event?"

This wasn't going to be easy; Cameron was again in the position of not being trusted with the Head of the field office, Ms. Deakins – she had temporarily removed her agents, Mike and Kay from any active case, which effectively excluded Cameron from the agency as a general rule. If they were to allow this to play out until they could come up with a better solution, something would have to be done to ensure the continued assistance, no matter how insignificant it was, so that Cameron would not get involved in anything else that could put this whole mess into the ditch.

"Can we help someway, give them something to focus on – even in the short term?"

Cameron sorted it out all on his own, solving a case of a missing murder victim. He had his resources back on track. Jonathan was still in prison but at least Kay was still able to assist.

Then all hell broke loose.

MW somehow broke into the prison and accosted Jonathan, goading him into telling him his brother he wouldn't do everything in his power to get him out. She had the proof he was innocent and had shown it only to have Cameron not betray Kay's trust. She meant more than he did to his twin.

Jonathan didn't know what to think, he knew there was something going on between Kay and her feelings towards his brother, but would he really betray him for a woman? MW promised a lot – wanting him to help her.

Meanwhile Cameron had just returned from a group outing. Touting the sorrows that had all been dealing with and drinking to "bastards that were fathers" and the like. He had a massive headache and was content to sleep in the chair he'd collapsed into. It had been a stressful, few weeks – MW just out of their grasps, always one step ahead of him. He even tried is skills at opening that lock box only to find the safe deposit box had already been removed through a hole that had been cut from the other side.

Forgetting that Gunter and Jordan and arranged an electrical deterrent on the doors leading into the bank, he grabbed ahold and received an electrical shock which ensured yet another trip to emergency.

His dexterity was shot which had him more than willing to drink his problems away with his team.

"Cameron time to wake up." God he must really be drunk – too much, too quickly. I could swear I heard her voice – in his home.

Cracking an eye open he saw the barrel of a handgun shoved into his face. Bringing him to full consciousness but still quite intoxicated, he shook his head. "What do you want now? Think you've done pretty much everything to screw with my life and Jonathan's." He had a smile directed at him and then he heard his brother's voice through the earpiece she'd handed him.

He grabbed the bottle of aspirin from the table, swallowing three without water. The rambling was saying something that didn't make sense to his pickled brain. Until a phrase he remembered, his brother was talking to him in code. Hiding the fact from his tormentor 'way to go Johnny'.

After a considerable amount of 'arguing' Johnny had him open their family trunk that stood in the most inappropriate and troublesome spot in the Library. It always had been there since they were boys, Jonathan had the code to open it – to what he didn't really know, neither did his twin. It was connected to the old clock on the shelf above the trunk, turn the hands to a certain time and pop the lock.

The staircase had been a revelation, yet another secret of the old building. Thirteen steps down, a dark, dingy corridor lit with turn of the century gas lamps led to a small ornate office, filled with books, paintings and it appeared spaces for the five items MW had been stealing over the past six months or so. In the center of the room was a wall with the picture that Cameron had found in the warehouse when he had been abducted. If you looked closely all the pieces fit, one for each of the individuals save one in the picture and, of course, Alistair Black.

All this was percolating through his alcohol impaired mind. "Cam, what's happening?" Jonathan's voice in his ear – he tried to explain it but was at a loss as he saw the automaton, one of his great grandfather's creations no doubt, stand slowly. The minute MW stepped on the floor it started throwing knives.

Between Jonathan's assistance and Cameron's quickly clearing mind he deciphered the patterns on the floor. Barefoot and maybe not steady, but competent he trans versed the short distance to the desk, deftly removing the map which the robot had drawn.

MW was caught off guard with the coin being thrown on the floor at the precise moment to render her gun-less, allowing the magician to disappear through the open panel just behind the desk. It led out into the old abandoned subway tracks.

She was smart and was rushing behind him quickly, catching up to him within minutes. "Not so fast Cameron." The gun was at his temple when he saw the others of his team, accompanied by Kay, coming towards them from the opposite direction. Deducing that Dina must have told them about his plans to make an illusion with disappearing tram cars.

"Let him go." Kay was pointing her handgun directly at him.

"Now Kay you know you aren't going to shoot your boy here." MW was caressing his face with the pistol one minute and then there was a searing pain in his shoulder.

"You shot me!"

"Only a little bit....I shot her more."

The pain of the bullet grazing his shoulder was much less than the shot he'd taken when he was battling to save both Kay and Isaac from the spy last month. It was worth it; they'd caught her finally. Jonathan was going to be free.

That is until she traded information for a deal with Justice. Cameron was livid and Jonathan was returned to Rockland, the thumb drive was not given up, even after Jonathan had spent time with her in interrogation, working with the team to rescue the ambassador.

It wasn't fair.... just not reasonable, they had played by the rules, done everything that was possible to do and yet, here they were in the same predicament they were a year and half ago.

Something had to be done, in any way it could be accomplished.