by Aneta Quinn
"Carter..." I pause for effect, as if I'm going to say something incredibly important or meaningful, then say, "Good night", and quickly hang up before he can say anything else that's remotely cheesy or confusing to my already messed up mind.
I slide my phone onto my side table and roll over, punch the pillow so the feathers make a more comfortable shape, and then end up staring up at my ceiling. The moon faintly leaves a dim glow on the walls as I continue to just lay there and think, or not think whatever way you want to see it.
Carter is slowly getting further and further under my skin, and truth be told I'm not as freaked out as I should be. Usually ....well honestly there really isn't a 'usually' type scenario because there's never been anyone I've ever let inside my house, meet Alek, or seen again after the standard night of vanilla sex.
The more I think about all the small things he's said about being someone different underneath, and how he lets himself act sometimes, makes me realise there's something I'm missing about him.
As I lay in bed and start to think of everything else that should have been at the forefront of my mind, I decide I'm going to skip work tomorrow and do some observations on Abram's manor. Alek and I can buy some donuts and coffee and do a mini stake out, except that we're so far from cops it's not even funny.
I roll over and shut my eyes, trying to get a few hours of sleep in. Having made plans for tomorrow makes me feel a little more at ease.
Chapter 11
Kayla
"There's couple of dogs too" I say, as I spot another Doberman walking up the small grassy hill through my binoculars.
"A couple? You gotta be a bit more specific. You don't want to prepare to take out two dogs and then find another army of them around the corner" Alek says slightly grouchy.
"No grumpiness please, I bought coffee for that reason. There's two out in the yard during the day but at night he releases two more, so four dogs all up" I answer like a know it all.
"How do you know that if we haven't observed at night?" He asks surprised.
"See those mini roller doors on the side there by the garage?" I ask as I pass him the binoculars so he can take a look.
"Yeah?"
"They keep more inside the garage around all the cars, but at night he lets them out because there's less guys patrolling at night. I know that because that's what the antique warehouse on my last job did, except they had six because their land was bigger. It's standard security, which is stupid of them, but a plus for us."
"Oh" is his only reply as he puts the binoculars down on his lap, and takes a donut out of the container.
"I'm the brains behind the computer and technology, not the layout of land and puppies" he teases.
"They are so far from puppies it's not even funny, Alek, and I'm not taking them out either because I'm not a monster. I'll just have to literally be invisible and get passed the puppies, the guards, and the cameras."
"I finished the bug by the way" he says, referring to the little clip that I need to attach to Abram's computer to access literally everything. Once we get that we’ll be able to get through his firewall and use his system to transfer money to anywhere worldwide – which is kind of the first step, taking away his millions. The second step is to kill him after he watches his world crumble around him, but Alek is still against that part of the plan, and I guess I’m still not 100% on whether I actually have it in me to go through with it.
"Is that what you were working on last night?"
"Yeah, it works perfectly by the way, not that you'd doubt my abilities" he grins as he sips his coffee.
We sit in the car for a few minutes just silently eating and sipping our drinks, until finally he gets the conversation going again.
“So…Carter figured it out did he? That it was Mikhalov?”
“Yeah…I was so stupid. I pulled up the blueprints right in front of him not realising he’d know who they belonged to. I mean come on…who knows where their boss lives?” I scoff.
“You know where your boss lives” he points out cheekily.
“My boss’s, boss’s boss actually, smart ass.”
After we sit in the car for a little longer I get the idea to hack into his camera system and his network, keep an eye on who comes and goes so we get a better idea without having to sit out here just asking for trouble.
“Hey Alek, would those bugs work on the camera system and his network?”
“I don’t see why not. What are you thinking?”
“You have any with you, or was it just the one you finished?”
“I have a few, hold on a sec” he says and twists in his seat to grab a small metal case behind his seat. He pulls it onto his lap and clicks open the latch, then as he opens the lid his lips pull into a proud grin at his handy work. He pulls one of the tiny bugs out, which to me looks almost like a little butterfly hairclip that girls’ wore in the nineties.
He pulls one out carefully from the casing and holds it out to me on his palm, his eyes almost shining with excitement and pride. I pick it up gently, and grin at him as I fasten it in my hair like a hairclip.
I open my door and start to get out, until he grabs hold of my forearm, “Are you seriously doing this in broad daylight?”
“It would be more obvious if we waited until night, at least in daylight I have plenty of reasons to be around here.”
“Reasons like what?”
“Runaway kitty?”
He shakes his head at my stupidity, but releases my arm and starts playing with the leftover bugs in the case, “Just watch out, alright?”
I simply nod and shut my door, then start to jog slowly down the street. I’m in a tight black tank top, long black gym tights, and some dark Nike studio trainers which are amazing because they’re so light weight and flexible. I pretty much just look like any typical jogger out for a run.
I head down the street and turn right, which will lead me directly past the massive iron front gates of the manor. I’m trying to spot a camera that’s further away from the few guards, or somewhere that won’t bring the dogs to attention. I slow down to an almost walk when I’m in front of the gates to get a better look inside, because the rest is blocked off by a sky high solid brick fence all around the house.
One of the guards stands to attention when he notices me, and I just give him a small smile as I keep walking. I stop and bend over, resting my hands on my knees feigning like I’ve just run a marathon, and try to surreptitiously take a look through the gates.
“You alright there?” asks one of the guards who I realise is quite young, probably around my age. How the hell he got himself into this job I have no clue. He leans against the small intercom as he waits for my reply.
“Yeah” I puff out trying to sound breathless, “Just ran too hard” I add.
He nods once and reverts his eyes back out on to the street, taking a moment to look down from one end to the other. I stand straighter and rest my hands on my hips, now pretending to stretch and lean back. I manage to glimpse a camera further down on the wall that’s closing off the property from the section of trees around the corner.
I give him another small smile and start to jog away, heading towards the trees that seem to be out of sight, this is almost too easy. The more I think about it the more I realise he hardly has much of a challenging security system. All the cameras are pointing inwards onto the property, and I’m guessing with the minimal amount he has, that they don’t even begin to cover the entire expanse of his land. Maybe he thinks the dogs will cover everything else, as well as the guards who seem bored out of their minds.
I manoeuvre between the groves of trees, until I’m right against the outer brick wall where the camera is, pointing towards the ground on the other side of the brick wall. I watch for a moment as it swings slowly and gradually from left to right, counting out in my head.
One…
Two…
Three…
I keep counting until I reach twelve. There’s about fifteen se
conds of time between the cameras tilt of left to right, leaving about twelve seconds of uncovered time on each side.
I touch the clip in my hair to make sure it’s secure and then jump up, grabbing hold of the branch just above me. I swing my legs out and manage to hitch myself up onto it, before jumping again to get to the branch next to it that’s higher.
I’m still a bit of distance away from the wall, but there’s another branch that can help me reach it. Before I swing on to it I sit there with my legs dangling, allowing myself a moment to have a look at the property now that the wall isn’t obscuring my view.
From this side you can see a tennis court, and a ridiculously amazing swimming pool that looks more like a jungle lagoon than anything else. There’s a Jacuzzi joined on to it, and a mini waterfall that has the water cascading down into the pool surrounded by rocks. It looks as though there’s a small cove that goes behind the waterfall, but it’s too hard to be sure from this far away without the binoculars.
Again I touch the clip in my hair to make sure it’s still there securely, and try to stand up on the branch, leaning against the thicker part of the tree trunk for support. I take a quick look around to make sure I’m still out of sight and perform what I would like to call a graceful flip from the branch, to the other one, and then swinging myself onto the solid brick wall. Any gymnast would be proud.
I stand momentarily with my arms out to gain my balance, and then bow to no-one in particular as if I’m competing in a gymnastics competition - because I’m an idiot. I carefully walk along the top of the wall to the camera and squat down next to it, still out of sight from its view since it’s pointing downwards to his yard.
I drop down onto my butt and dangle my legs over the edge of the wall, facing outwards, and start to fiddle with the camera wires. I pull out the little pliers I had wedged between the waistband of my tights, and carefully cut through the outer PVC sheath of the cable and armour. Once I get through that, I unclip the bug from my hair and gently attach it to the wire, making sure it fastens tightly to the central insulation.
I grin at my handy work, tuck the pliers back into their hiding spot, and stand back up. I look down to the ground to calculate the distance and turn towards the house. I give it a stupid salute and then do a back flip to the ground, landing in a low crouch.
Again I stand up and bow, because apparently I’m still too immature to be serious in this kind of situation.
“Thank you, thank you…I’ll be here all night” I say to no-one in particular, and turn to jog back to the car. I make my way through the trees, right by the front gates giving the guard a small wink when I pass, and full out sprint to the car around the corner on the other street. When I get in the car all sweaty, all I can do is grin at Alek.
“So?” he asks.
“All done. Sometimes I amaze even myself, Alek, you know that?” I joke.
He smirks and then points at my phone sitting in the centre console, “Carter called a couple times.”
“He probably thinks I’m avoiding him” I say as I grab my phone and unlock it with a swipe, probably a little too eagerly. Sure enough there are two missed calls from Carter, and a text message.
Carter: Too tired to come to work today? I was kind of looking forward to accidentally bumping into you.
Me: I’m always too tired for work no matter how much I sleep… I just needed a day to sort a few things out.
Carter: Did I push you too hard?
Me: With what?
I ask that knowing full well what he’s referring to, I guess I just want to see what he’ll say.
Carter: With all my questions, trying to get to know you, melt that ice barrier around your heart :)
Me: ha-ha. No, I actually like all your questions. I like how you’re slowly making your way under the surface of that frozen heart of mine.
I can’t believe I just said that. I wait patiently for him to reply and tap the phone against my leg while I wait. Alek looks over at me while he drives, but doesn’t say anything, probably knowing how much of a struggle I’m going through in my mind at the moment. Finally Carter responds.
Carter: You know I was joking, right? You are so far from an ice queen it’s not even funny. Sure you might be a little difficult to get to know, but I’m sure you have your reasons, right?
Me: You’re lucky I can take a joke otherwise I’d have to teach you a lesson or two.
Carter: Does this lesson involve a little bit of wrestling between the sheets?
Me: Is sex all you think about Carter?
Carter: Honestly? After hearing you last night …yes. All I could think about all day was your voice and how you sounded last night when you slowly slipped your fingers lower, knowing you were so wet just for me.
Holy shit. No doubt I’m bright red right now, so I slide lower in my seat and prop my feet up on the dash, and keep typing on my phone.
Me: Can I see you tonight?
Carter: Babe all you had to do was ask…
Me: Your place or mine?
Oh my god I sound so desperate. I don’t really care right now though because I’m on a weird high of happiness after my little successful attempt of hacking or whatever you want to call it.
Carter: How about I pick you up at six and I take you somewhere?
Me: Like a date?
Carter: If I say yes are you going to back out?
Me: No…
Carter: Okay than, yes…like a date.
Me: See you at six Carter x
Oh you idiot…calm the hell down, there’s no need for kisses in a message.
Carter: x?
Me: Yup.
That’s the only explanation he’s going to get…if you’d even call it an explanation.
Chapter 12
Carter
So according to what Jimmy found about Kayla Remy, or previously known as Krysia Deminski, she moved to New York at the age of eleven. He barely found that as it is, because according to him that name was completely wiped from the system, which isn’t normal.
I’ve heard that name before…Deminski, Deminski. I run it over in my mind, until Jimmy continues reading out his info. Deminski is a known family across Europe for being illustrious thieves, who eventually started stealing from the rich to give to the poor – kind of like a Robin Hood thing if you will.
The rich obviously didn’t like that and they were found murdered in their home in Poland, their eleven year old daughter missing and presumed dead after never being found.
Fuck me. No wonder she has a hard time trusting people, or letting anyone love her - this is insane.
I thought my world was a fucked up twisted way of living, but apparently she’s had it just as bad, if not worse. That reminds me of my wallet when I first decided to talk to her and can’t help but grin, knowing she actually did steal it for whatever reason.
Glad she agreed to a date, I feel like I have an opportunity to prove to her that she can trust me, that she can let me in, and maybe I can do the same with her. I’m going to show her how much sweet Carter is good for her. Why? I have no idea. Maybe I feel like I need to help her instead of the other way around.
After hearing what I did from Jimmy, I wish I didn’t know any of it, or at least heard it all from her first. That’s something huge to keep your mouth shut about knowing, but I’m going to let her tell me in her own time. I guess it’s my own fault for asking Jimmy to look into it all.
Sweet Charming Carter, coming right up.
Chapter 13
Kayla
So it’s ten minutes to six, and I’m sitting patiently on the couch waiting. By patiently I mean checking my phone every few minutes, and staring holes through the front door.
“Will you just stop, Bunny” Alek says from the dining room table. He’s got some equipment spread out again that he’s fiddling with.
“Stop what?”
“I can hear you mentally pacing up and down, burning a hole through the floor in your mind.”
�
�I am not” is my best and only come-back.
“Just relax would you, you’re even making me freak out and I don’t even know why” he chuckles, “You’re acting as if this is the first date you’ve ever been on.”
“Well technically…it kind of is. I don’t think I’ve ever been on one before” I say and check my phone again.
“Okay calm. the fuck. down. You’re going to have fun. Just act as if you would normally, except you’ll obviously have all your clothes still on” he laughs loudly at his own joke, so I throw one of the couch pillows at him forcefully.
“Says you who hasn’t had a real girlfriend since eighth grade.”