That One Girl

Chapter 12

***Another 4500 word chapter where I tie up loose ends, write you Jaya/Coliel fluff, and offer you some Smith sibling antics. This book has capped 41,000 words and is about the same length as "Untamed" <3

Only an epilogue left!***

***(Cole's POV)***

"What information do you have for us, Commissioner?" I ask as Jay and I make our way into the bank.

He waves us over to a table where Lloyd and Zane are already seated. Kai and Skylor must have stayed at the police station to work on finding Nya.

The commissioner frowns. "I'm afraid there's not much to say. The Mechanic is a villain we've never seen before. He relies heavily on a weaponized metal arm." He sets a blurry photo of a man in front of us.

Lloyd squints. "Do you have any better shots?"

"Not still pictures, no. But I can let you look at the security footage." He readjusts his hat on his head. "This guy stole eight and a half thousand dollars earlier today. Police were able to track down a few of his cronies, but when he and his gang left, they all took different vehicles to throw us off their trail."

"And the Mechanic has eluded you?" I confirm.

"Yes. Why would I have you here otherwise?"

Jay laughs at my faux pas. "Du-uh, Boulder Brains."

I roll my eyes. "I was just making sure." I turn back to the commissioner. "What about the money? Have you tracked that down yet?"

"A lot of it, yes. We've recovered about five thousand dollars from the two vehicles we managed to catch."

Zane is the next to speak. "Do you believe the Mechanic is carrying any money with him, or is it possible he was just the leader of the operation? He may not want to attract unnecessary attention to himself by keeping a large amount of funds on his person."

"One witness said he did take some of the money with him," the commissioner replies. "He may not trust his crew to let him in on the funds if he lets them handle them all."

"Good point," Lloyd says. "Mind if we see that security footage now? Maybe it could give us a hint as to where the gang's headed. I bet they have a secret base."

The commissioner nods. "I got a copy of it earlier. Follow me."

He leads us back to a room with a DVD player set up, then hits a few buttons on the machine. The screen in front of us comes to life.

Jay leans over and whispers in my ear, "I really have to use the restroom."

I shush him. "It can wait. This is important."

"No, like, I really have to go."

"Stay here, Jay."

"I wasn't asking for you to tell me what to do. I was just letting you know." He pushes past me. "Catch me up if I miss anything good, okay?"

I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

The commissioner skips the video until he gets to a point a few moments before the break in. That's where we start.

He turns on the audio for us. "It's not hard to see what happens. The Mechanic comes in with four weaponed men – "

As he's speaking, the video shows the door bursting open. Shouts resound from a man in red and four figures clothed in black, and a shot rings out from one of the thug's guns.

"Everybody down!" a gravelly voice yells. It comes from the Mechanic.

It seems somehow...familiar?