Hope & Despair- Full Circle

by Alan Wild

  Dinner was wrapping up, and the doorbell rang. He checked to see who was at the door and told Dario to go get the door. Once Ray made it in and to the table, he asked him how Nate was doing. He said, “Nate will be okay. He is a tough guy that fights for everything he has. Everyone sees him and questions his knowledge and his abilities because he looks young. Nate busted ass and graduated high school 2 years early, then he finished college early also. He wasn’t working on finishing early, he finished early because he is brilliant. That is why I chose him as a partner.” Oliver asked Ray if he had a chance to talk with Nate to see if he had family or friends to take care of him. Ray said, “I will talk to Nate in the morning; he was still out of it after his surgery.” Oliver told Ray to get a plate and help himself, he asked him to let them know as soon as he found out. “If Nate doesn’t have someone to take care of him, I want him to stay here. We have enough space and enough people here to help him with anything he could need.” He excused himself and asked Owen if he could gather Noah and Ajay so they could start their meeting.

  They were all together in his office, and he thanked Owen for scheduling the meeting. He said, “I wanted us to meet to work out some details. With Owen joining our team, I want to make sure that we utilize his skills. He said, “Ajay, I would like you and Owen to work together. I want to make sure that Owen has the details on what everyone is working on. I would like full transparency unless I state otherwise. Owen, I would like you to send out an email at the end of the day with a recap of what everyone is working on. There are several reasons for this; first, it is to make sure that we are all on the same page. Second, we don’t want two people to work on the same thing. I also want Ray to be in the loop, so he also knows what everyone is working on in case he needs additional information; he can ask for it. Ajay, I want you to meet with everyone and delegate tasks. I want the schedules set through Owen, so we know who is keeping watch. I would like you two to work together and find three people for our security department. We will need one head of security, and you can hire him or her first, then they can be part of the hiring process. I would like the new hires to already have them conceal to carry license.

  Ajay, when you meet with everyone, ask for referrals. Finally, I would like both Noah and me to be kept up to date. After all, this is Noah’s case. More importantly, the reason for all of these extra steps is because we are all targets now. It is no longer just Noah and me at risk. It is everyone who is in this house. Noah, I know you have your own work to do. I have a huge favor to ask. Can you create a web site for our agency? I would like to establish a professional online presence. I have a few ideas that I would like to run by you before you start. Noah said, “Of course, whatever you need. I can get a site up in just a few hours. Noah grabbed his laptop, rejoined Oliver, and began taking notes.”

  He gave Noah the option to work in his office with him, and he decided to stay. He started working on a few ideas that have been floating around in his head. He started off by texting Owen, and he provided the realtor's contact information and asked him to schedule a showing for the new location of their new agency. he looked over at Noah and asked, “Did you provide the name and contact information for the lawyer that your grandmother used?” Noah said, “I did, I only had his name and his location. I didn’t give an exact address because I have all of that information at home. I had a thought, now that you asked me, I had several emails from him back when my grandmother died.” He asked if he could send Oliver a few of the emails. He wanted to look into the lawyer and see why he failed to do his job. He wants to figure out what his deal is. He had a feeling about this guy. He sent Willa a message and asked her to forward the copy of Noah’s grandmother’s will that she had so he could review it. Something is just not right. How can you have a will and not list all of your assets? He also asked Willa to look into the will for the husband of Noah’s grandmother. He wanted to look into both last wills in trust and compare them.

  Willa quickly responded to the text, telling him that she will have everything that they have sent to him via email. As usual, Willa came through. She sent him everything that he asked for and so much more. He pulled up the last will and testaments for both Noah’s grandmother and her husband. He made sure that they were side by side. He immediately noticed that the lawyer used specific verbiage that would satisfy Noah’s grandmother because it is so vague. It leaves room for interpretation where most wills listed assets correctly. Noah’s grandmother had to know precisely what her husband left her, so now He had to figure out why her will, leaving everything to Noah is so vague. He read the emails that Noah forwarded to him, and they left him even more confused. The only thing that he had a complete understanding of was that this lawyer did not do what he was paid to do.

  He looked at the signature on the email and called the number. He waited while the line rang and rang with no one picking up and no voicemail. Lawyers have people answering phones. This is Denver, not a small town like you see in the hallmark movies. He quickly gave up hope of reaching the lawyer and focused more on the assets. The man who left his fortune to Noah’s grandmother was brilliant with his investments. He noticed that there is an investment group that is managing the portfolio, so he called the firm and asked to speak to someone on the team managing the investments. Noah provided the information that was requested, and the manager came on the line. He said that he apologized that there has been a delay in the payment transfer; however, they are working on getting the issue resolved. Oliver asked, “Who requested that the funds be liquified?” The manager said that it was requested by Noah Blain. He looked at Noah, and he just shook his head and said no. He informed the manager that in no way did Noah request this transaction. He asked the manager if there was a way to stop the transaction? He explained the situation and informed him that Noah is the target of a crazed psychopath. He provided the manager with the contact information for Sergeant Ray Matthews. He asked if we needed to get a court order to stop all transactions until we can resolve all of the criminal activity. The manager reassured the men that they did not need to get a court order; however, he suggested a few extra steps to secure the account. He asked, “Can we take care of the security issues in person, where we can provide proof of identity.” The manager admitted the transaction was suspicious. The amount of money that is involved, the FBI has already been notified. He asked if he could work with DPD and connect them with the FBI. He asked for his direct contact information, and He let him know He would pass it directly to Sergeant Matthews.

  Noah and Oliver walked out to see if Ray and Dario had left yet. Oliver was happy to know that they were still eating. It made him happy when he was feeding his friends. He reminded himself to get back on track, and he informed Ray that they had information. He explained the situation that someone tried to liquefy the funds and transfer the money. he said, “Now the feds are involved.” Ray said, “I have a few contacts that I can reach out to. I will see what I can figure out.” he provided Ray with the Manager’s contact information. Ray said, “You do know that the FBI will probably take over the case?” he looked at Noah and gave him a sympathetic smile, and he reassured him that even if the Feds take over, they would still work on the case unless they were told not to.

  Ray began to look through his phone and was getting ready to call someone. Oliver had a thought, he asked Ray if he would talk to Summer before he called. He said, “I want to make sure that she clears anyone you speak with.” Ray gave me a look that clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with my request. He quickly explained the situation with Summer and how her partner was killed. He said, “Someone in the FBI had exposed him, and he was murdered.” he realized that Ray may not know who her partner was, so he asked him,

  “When is the last time you spoke to Brian?”

  Ray asked, “Brian from college?” Oliver said, “Yes, he finished college and was recruited by the FBI.” Ray looked down and said, “Brian is one of my contacts, but the last I heard, he was undercover.” He knew t
hat Ray was close to Brian when they were in school, so he placed his hand on his shoulder and explained that Brian was Summer’s partner.

  He said, “They were partners, and they were in love. Brian was thinking of leaving the FBI and joining my team, but he was murdered before he could join us. Summer couldn’t figure out who she could trust, so she left her position and joined us. Ray looked shocked, he held out his arms and said, “I am so sorry you found out this way.” Dario could tell how upset Ray was, so he asked if he would like to reschedule their date. Ray said, “No, I think being with someone would be helpful. I would like to change our plans though; I don’t know if dancing is the best thing for me right now.” he told Ray and Dario to go out and try and have fun. He said Ray, “You can talk to Summer in the morning.”

  Oliver walked around and told everyone that they needed to just help themselves to whatever they needed. He told them about the supplies in the basement. Oliver said, “I don't expect you all to work non-stop. You can go to the theatre and watch a movie or something. I just wanted you here in case something happened.” Willa said, “Well, in that case, I don’t mind watching a movie before I turn in for the night. Hey Ollie, do you have any popcorn? This queen must have her snacks.” Oliver said that he has both microwave popcorn and he also had a theatre style popcorn maker in the theatre. Willa said, “Lord almighty Ollie, you do it up right” The group was going to the theatre, and Oliver said, “Guys, I have some stuff to do. I might join you later. Noah, if you want to hang out with me, cool. It's up to you and what you want to do.” Noah was talking with Willa about their favorite movies, so Oliver told him he would be in his office.

  Oliver sat at his desk. The only thing in his house that was old was his desk. It was a polished solid oak desk built by his great great grandfather. This desk was built in the late 1800s and is massive, and Oliver thought that it would withstand anything he could do to it. It was given to him after his mom died. His Uncle explained that his mom spent so much time at that desk. As a kid, his mom would draw at the desk while their father conducted business in front of the office. Oliver’s was offered the desk after his siblings both declined the desk. He moved it into storage with the stuff from his apartment in San Diego. He sat at his desk, intending on paying some bills and catching up on his email. He opened up his email and didn’t see anything exciting that he wanted to address at that moment. Oliver was waiting for the information on the building he wanted to purchase.

  He realized that the email could have gone to the spam folder, so he opened it up and began sorting through it. He discovered an email that was labeled Noah. He didn’t recognize the email address. He opened the email, and all it contained was a video. He was curious as to what the video was about, but he knew he couldn’t take the chance on his computer because he had so many confidential files on the hard drive, he grabbed his phone. He had all of the necessary antivirus protection on all of his devices, but he figured that his phone was the safest. With the phone in hand, Oliver opened the email and played the video. The video was taken by a smartphone and was poor shaky footage of Oliver and Noah in the hospital waiting room. The video switched from the waiting room to the recovery room where Nate laid in bed. Oliver forwarded the footage to Willa, asking her to track the email to find out where it came from. He knew that Ray was on a date, but he couldn’t wait, he needed to bring this to him so he could get someone posted outside Nate’s room. As he was firing off the emails and text messages, another email with a video attached came in. Oliver was sure that the house in the video was Noah’s. The first part of the video was of the house, and there was nothing out of the ordinary, but then the video footage changed, showing the house after the murders happened. It was shocking to look at, but Oliver knew he couldn’t look away. The email with the last video contained a message. It read, “If you send Noah home, I will allow the little bitch cop to live.”

  Oliver was in shock. He just stared out the window. He realized that he was in some pretty deep and dark shit. Whoever was doing this was serious.

  Noah stood watching Oliver staring out the window. He said, “You are deep in thought, what are you thinking about?” Oliver was startled, and he jumped a foot off the chair he was sitting in. His phone flew under his desk, and the only thing that Oliver could think to say was, “Fuck.”

  The reaction from Oliver was upsetting to Noah, he realized that this situation that Noah had put Oliver and everyone he cares about in has a bigger effect than he first thought. Noah said, “I am so sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you. You were so deep in thought, and you had a worried look on your face. Oliver held his arms open to Noah, and once he was close, Oliver wrapped Noah in his arms. Oliver said, “I received a few very upsetting emails. I know I told you that I would not keep secrets from you, and I don’t want to keep this from you, but It is very upsetting. It would only upset and worry you. Noah asked if Oliver could just tell him what was in the video, so Oliver sat him down and began describing the videos.

  Noah asked Oliver if he had let Ray know about the videos. Oliver said, “I just forwarded the emails to him.” Oliver heard his phone sound off for the tone for his text message, and he tried to retrieve it. He had to get down on the floor because his phone somehow fell all the way under his desk and behind the drawers. Oliver smiled when he discovered a picture drawn under the desk. Oliver assumed his mother had been the artist. Noah made sure to comment on the lovely view from where he stood.

  Oliver decided that there was nothing that they could do about the videos until the morning. They already notified Ray, and he assured Oliver that there will be someone watching over Nate until he is released. Ray did ask to meet with Oliver and Noah in the morning. Oliver and Noah decided that they had more than enough excitement for the night, so they went to watch TV in Oliver’s room.

  Chapter 13

  Oliver Thaddeus

  Oliver had a restless sleep and rose to take a shower and brew a pot of morning caffeine fix. Feeling fresh, he made his way to the kitchen. Halfway down, he smelled the coffee first, then he realized that someone was in the kitchen, cooking. Oliver was surprised to see Noah and Owen, cooking breakfast, and Summer was making toast and English muffins. He told everyone good morning, gave Noah a kiss, and said, “What do we have here?” Noah was buzzing with excitement, and he said, “You are always the one to take care of us, so we wanted to make you breakfast.” The thought was touching, and it made Oliver smile. He sat and watched as the men made their way around the kitchen. He couldn’t help himself, he had to laugh at the fact that Noah really didn’t know how to cook. With Noah’s awkwardness on full display, Oliver couldn’t stop smiling. Oliver was not someone who was attracted to the surface of what people choose to show to the world. He watched people and read their body language, examined facial expressions, and listened to the things that they didn’t say. Oliver loved things about people that most never noticed. This morning, he loved that Noah was awkward and uncomfortable. He stepped out of his comfort zone to help make Oliver happy.

  Ray let Oliver know that he was on his way, and he wanted to speak to everyone. Oliver asked Owen to get everyone together, so they are ready for the meeting. The team was gathered at the table when Ray arrived. Oliver started the session by thanking Owen, Noah, and Summer for breakfast. Ray couldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat while Oliver spoke. It was time for Ray to talk, and he placed his plate in the sink. He started off asking if anyone had any additional information. Oliver told the team about the emails he received with the attached videos. He asked Willa if she had any information on the email address or if she could lift any metadata from the videos. Willa explained that she did not expect to find anything.

  Ray said, “I want to start off with the videos. The perp recorded Noah’s house before the murders then again after. Whoever we are dealing with is not only mentally deranged, they are extremely dangerous. They do not care about surveillance cameras or security guards. Last night, this sick piece of shit got past th
e police officer watching over Nate, and they left another package on his bed for Noah. Inside the box was a severed hand. We are looking at the video from the hospital and working to identify the victim, but it is not looking like something we will discover before this sick asshole strikes again. I can’t stress how important it is for all of you to be on high alert because now, we need to expect that we are all targets.

  We reviewed the video from Ollie’s surveillance feeds. Last night was a prime example of how brazen they are. Nate is going to be released tomorrow because he is at a higher risk in the hospital. Oliver offered to allow Nate a place to stay while he is recovering. He will be here tomorrow. Ollie will have a nurse stay with Nate. I will have an officer stationed outside the house. I’m relying on you all to do the background checks for the neighbors and the nurses. I want each person who enters this house to have a background check. I want everyone with a license to carry a weapon, to carry at all times.”

  During the entire meeting, Noah didn’t say a word. He sat quietly with his hands folded on his lap. He didn’t move one bit. Oliver could tell there was a storm brewing inside that beautiful head of his. He was afraid because of his past experiences with people who are generally quiet and reserved are the ones that you have to watch. When they have had enough, that is it for them. Some people will shut down, others would self-harm, and sometimes they would explode in an epic display of rage. Oliver knew that he was a planner, and this time, he was shut out of luck. He had no idea what to expect from Noah. Oliver said, “Hey, team, I want to take a moment with Noah. Our meeting isn’t over, so don’t go too far. We will be back in a bit.

  On their way up to Oliver’s room, Noah kept pulling on his T-shirt collar. He seemed to Oliver to be very uncomfortable like his shirt was suddenly strangling him. Once in the room, Oliver closed the door. Noah spun around with a look of a caged animal. He kept pulling on his shirt, and with one pull too hard, it ripped. This was the tipping point for Noah. He looked down at his hands and ripped his shirt the rest of the way, and he let out a scream that was packed full of every emotion between rage, hurt, and humiliation. He yelled, “I can’t take this anymore.” Noah was out of control. His hands continued to rip at the shirt into shreds while he sobbed uncontrollably. He sank to a puddle on the floor. Oliver ran to his side and cautiously reached out to touch Noah on the shoulder. He quickly withdrew his hand when Noah jumped out of his skin. Oliver tried again to pull Noah into his arms. Noah became rigid and then fell into Oliver’s embrace and allowed himself to be comforted.