Games We Play

by Isabelle Arocho

“These two knuckleheads needed help. I don’t think Noah even knows how to turn on a computer.” Gage was the team technical genius. He was a field agent if need be but he felt most comfortable behind a monitor running point for the team from afar. “What are you wearing?”

  “Maggie wears denim skirts and frilly dresses and all that shit I detest. Hey Wayne and Noah.” She smiled at them, there wasn’t anyone on the team she didn’t get along with besides Nicholas but now that was different seeing as he was more focused on playing with her tonsils than arguing with her.

  “Hey, little lady.” Noah greeted. For him everyone was little, he stood tall at 6’7 and a wall of pure muscle. He looked like the last person you ever wanted to cross with such a powerful build and intense Italian features but he was actually the nicest guy you’d ever have the pleasure of meeting.

  “Hey.” Wayne kissed her cheek. “Tell me you have some food in this house. I’m starving and I know Nick likes twigs and shit like that.” After Gage, Wayne was the person she got along with the best. It was easy with his bubbling personality. He was first generation native Kenyan with thick rimmed glasses framing his face and while tall in the normal world at six feet even he looked like a little screwy kid next to Noah.

  Sasha laughed and pointed to the kitchen. “Go for it.”

  Nick asked the rest of the group, “What has Pete told you?”

  Noah answered. “We know he wants an outline no how to put the killer’s timeline to come after Maggie and her husband first rather than last.”

  “Wait. What does that mean?” Sasha knew she was playing the main target but never that Nick was at the same risk. She didn’t like it.

  Gage dug in his messenger bag and pulled out a case folder. “After some more searching into the victimology we realized he kills five random women and then a couple to finish the cycle of seven.”

  “I didn’t notice that when I was reading over the case files. It makes sense now, the Marshals didn’t want Maggie to come home married because it made for a better cover story. They wanted her to come married and be the ultimate temptation for the unsub. Whispers of the first two murders are making their way around town and everyone is suspicious. I want to out the fact he’s back and put the town on alert. I want him to have no choice but to come after us.” Sasha glanced at each of their faces, Nick still didn’t like the idea and neither did Gage but he knew her the best and knew it would be pointless to try and change her mind. Noah was ready for whatever was decided and what his task would be. “Ok then, let’s get working on mapping out a plan.”

  Chapter 15

  When they finally called it a night hours later Noah and Wayne camped out in the living room with Nicholas while Gage bunked with Sasha. They were like brother and sister and everyone on the team knew it. Gage was an only child and Sasha wasn’t close with the sibling she had, when she started on the team she and Gage gravitated to each other instantly. Thinking back on that day reminded her of Carolyn. They were adults now and it was foolish to be upset about the past any longer. When this case was closed she made a mental note to make more of an effort with her sister other than the occasional email every week.

  “I need some advice.” Sasha spoke.

  Gage was laid out on the bed, with a groan he looked at her as she joined him on the bed. “My brain is fried.”

  “We both know that’s not possible. Something changed with me and Nick.”

  “I think we all noticed the lack of fighting between the two of you. You disagreed but you didn’t go full out into a yelling match that would’ve ended up having nothing to do with the actual case.” He, like the rest of Pete’s team, had witnessed countless fights between Sasha and Nicholas. “Have you finally realized all the fighting was built up sexual tension?”

  She scoffed, stuttered, and grew mortified all at the same time. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling. “What?”

  Any shred of sleep left his grey eyes as he smiled at her expense. “Yup, I get it now. All that faking for the sake of the public you realized you liked it a little too much.”

  “No. That’s not what happened and I haven’t realized a damn thing. It’s Nick changing the game around. He’s been saying all these nice things and kissing me when it has nothing to do with putting on a realistic show. He told me he wants to build on what’s happening between us but I don’t know exactly what that is. What I do think is that being away from home has shaken a few screws loose and when we do get home he’s going to realize his mistake.”

  “What mistake? That he’s attracted to a beautiful woman and he’s a lucky son of a bitch? Nick’s smarter than you give him credit for and he knows exactly what he’s doing.”

  “I know he’s smart and he’s experienced. He knows all the pretty things to tell a girl so she drops her guard and when he gets what he wants it’s bye-bye relationship.”

  “Do you want a relationship with him?”

  “I don’t want to be used for sex and if he does realistically want to build on this then yeah a relationship is what we have to have before I let myself go any farther.” Sasha gave it thought and allowed herself for a small moment to picture a relationship with Nick, coming home to him every night and waking up by his side. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Hell she had to stop kidding herself, it sounded perfect.

  “How far have you gone?” he wiggled his eyebrows.

  “Shut up.” She slapped him across the chest which hurt her hand more than it hurt him. For a bona fide geek he was in great shape. “What should I do?”

  “Everything you’ve told me you need to tell him and you need to tell him why this isn’t the easiest subject for you.”

  “Um…any advice that doesn’t involve me actually having to talk to him?”

  “No, fresh out of super mind control that will magically let him know everything. Can I go to sleep now?”

  “No. I’m tired but not sleepy. Talk to me about what’s going on back at the bureau, please?”

  “Pete’s been interviewing with a few new prospects for the team. He’s leaning toward a woman named Billie Savich.”

  Sasha’s interest was thoroughly peaked. “Another girl? Have you met her?”

  “Yes, she was nice enough but pretty nervous. She’s a CID analyst looking to get into field work. I spoke with Pete and he said even though she doesn’t have the experience some of the other candidates had he liked her drive. He said the same thing about you and you turned out decent enough.” Gage teased.

  “So decent I can kick your ass all over the gym mats when we get back home. You’ve bored me enough, you can get some sleep now.” She pushed him back onto the pillows. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” She moved carefully down the stairs and into the kitchen not to wake any of the guys up although with how they were snoring it didn’t look like anyone was going to hear a few foot steps. She went straight for the freezer and grabbed the vanilla ice cream box. Ice cream was the best snack in the world and the quickest to grab. She turned on the stove light and hoped on the counter to enjoy her snack alone.

  It didn’t take long for her thoughts to drift back to the 7Xs killer and wonder if the plan could work in their favor. It made her sick to think of another woman falling victim to his deep evil ritual. She hoped off the counter and moved over to the table where the case files lay. Right on top was the autopsy report on the latest victim Genny Dava. Following his symbolism with the number 7 he killed each victim with seven stab wounds, one to the liver, each shoulder blade, right thigh, the carotid artery, and the heart. The stabs went deep piercing through each muscle clear through to the other side. Every autopsy report said the same thing; every victim was alive for the stabs through the non vital areas and the one to the carotid and heart happened within seconds of each other and the cause of death. The reason he used a couple as victims six and seven was only something the unsub knew, he didn’t kill the man any different than the women in any of the cycles.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” Nick asked softly from behind her.


  “I guess it’s just not late enough or early enough into the morning. What else could cause wounds to these specific spots?” Her mind was solely focused on the case and she couldn’t allow herself to be affect by his closeness or all the conversations they kept putting on hold creeping too close to the surface.

  “I have no idea.”

  “That’s a first.”

  “It does happen.” He pulled out a chair and sat with her at the table. “Gage ran a search on any crimes similar to this before the unsub started his reign and nothing came up. It could be these areas mean something to him but not necessary injured with stab wounds.”

  “Just injured like maybe some sort of accident?”

  “There are too many variables to try and narrow down a search and point us in the right direction. I don’t like it but forcing his hand and bringing him to us could be our only shot.”

  “Exactly why I suggested it. Going to the sheriff’s office and involving the local law enforcement is going to put my sister smack in the middle of this.”

  “Do you think she’ll blow your cover?”

  “On purpose? No, but worried and nosey makes for a bad combination. You couldn’t sleep either?” she knew he couldn’t be up because she woke him, she had used her best stealth skills to avoid making a peep in the kitchen and yes she was very proud of that.

  “Have you heard the snoring coming out of Noah?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, a fright train has a better chance of drowning that out. I was talking to Gage and apparently Pete’s looking at some fresh meat.”

  “He’s approved for a twelve member team and with our caseload piling higher and higher he’s been looking into new recruits for a few weeks now.” Nick explained casually and Sasha was glad he wasn’t using this time alone to try and push for that conversation she was trying to ignore.

  “There’s a woman he seemed to like a lot. I hope he hires her on because it’ll be nice not to be the only girl. I’m gonna head off to bed now.”

  “Goodnight Sasha.”

  It was safe to say the morning came much too fast for all the campers in the house. Nicholas had finally managed to succumb to his exhaustion some point after five and now it was only eight. He needed to pee and of course his bathroom was in use and Noah was already standing in wait for the next turn. He jogged up the stairs and decided to try his luck with Sasha’s bathroom.

  Luck was on his side because both Gage and Sasha were still asleep nearly on top of each other. The queen size mattress proved to still be too small for these friends. His urge to pee lay forgotten as he banged on the bedroom door. “Rise and shine. We have half hour left to get to our appointment with the sheriff.” Pete had taken care of the arrangements last night after they called him with their laid out plan.

  Sasha sat up first. “Crap.” She pushed her messy hair out of her face and noticed Gage hadn’t gotten up fast enough for her liking. “Come on dork, I can’t sleep neither can you.” She pushed him half off the bed.

  Nick smirked and continued to the bathroom after seeing first hand there was absolutely nothing to worry about with Sasha and Gage. Now that he thought about it there wasn’t a guy she showed any interest around the office and if she dated in the last year she kept it well hidden from the office. After finally peeing and washing up he left the bathroom to find Gage disappeared.

  “He went in search of coffee.” Sasha answered, her words muffled from the pillow she had her face buried in.

  “Downstairs is like a frat house right now so I’m gonna grab my stuff and change here if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure. I’ll hit the bathroom now.”

  Nick forced himself not to laugh at her wrinkled and disheveled appearance, she looked like something the cat pulled from a gutter and dragged home to play with. In a still adorable way of course. At the closet he grabbed the first pair of pants and shirt in front of his hand. He already had his pants changed and belt in place when he noticed he had a one woman audience. His chest wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before, she had woken before him every day that week and saw him asleep on the couch he was sure but that didn’t mean she had no reaction now. He enjoyed her admiration, the way her eyes shifted from an obvious green into a dark shadow of its usual color.

  When she noticed she was caught peeping she turned hastily on her toes and moved to the other side of the room. “Almost done? We don’t want to be late.”

  He wanted to reach out and grab her around the waist when she walked past him but he used every bit of common sense he had and restrained himself. He didn’t want to push her away because of his strained libido. He was going to honor her wish and wait until they put all their cards on the table. She thought once they got back home and in their usual routine the spell brewing between them would fade away. He was going to have to prove her wrong and he couldn’t wait. “Yeah we wouldn’t want that.”

  Chapter 16

  Sheriff Deacon Howard was a southern black gentleman who still liked to open his wife’s car door every time they were out together but he was a gentleman who didn’t like any bullshit and appreciated that character trait in others. It was a trait these FBI agents had, they weren’t trying to dick him around or keep him out of the loop because he was a small town sheriff. Deacon was small town but by no means stupid.

  He had met with Noah and Wayne yesterday and taken an instant liking to the duo. Wayne’s African accent reminded him of his late mother and that brought warmth to his heart every time the guy spoke. Deacon wasn’t all the surprised to learn Maggie Walker was actually Sasha Madden undercover. It never felt right that Maggie would decide to return back to the town she lost everything even if it wasn’t Maple Oaks fault. He had been a deputy at the time and worked hard trying to bring some closure to little nine year old Maggie that never came. Now maybe they could all right that wrong. Seeing Sasha threw him back into time, he knew the girl well. “One of my biggest trouble makers went and became a fed?” it was very amusing to say the least.

  The man with the deep blue eyes next to her lit up. “Really? I think we need to hear about this.”

  “No, we need to focus on work and catching the deranged fuck that is targeting innocent women.” Her dirty mouth hadn’t changed a bit that was for sure. He remembered vividly a thirteen year old Sasha cursing up a storm after she had been brought to the station for fighting.

  After raising three kids Deacon knew when an argument was on the horizon and how to defuse it and stay on track. “I’ll share all stories at the celebratory dinner we’ll throw after this monster is off the streets. I spoke at length with your chief and as long as you keep me involved in your decision making you have the full support of the sheriffs department.”

  Sasha said, “Thank you.” Poor girl seemed to have the weight of the world on her shoulders and such a burden was never left the person unaffected. Her stakes in this investigation were personal now after the killer made contact.

  “The press conference is scheduled to interrupt all major networks during the lunchtime rush.” It was certainly an ambitious plan the agents were attempting and one Deacon hoped worked. It was far past time Maple Oaks locked away this killer.

  Noah said, “They’ll be sticking around until then out of your hair of course.”

  Deacon smiled at the young FBI agents as they piled out of his office. He wasn’t letting his ego get in the way of good police work, the town needed help to remain safe and that’s what they were all trying to do. He was willing to leave his ego at the door and admit the need for help if it meant locking a madman behind bars. Alone he whispered a soft prayer to bless every officer with the knowledge and safety this takedown would need in spades.

  Sasha was having an odd sense of deja vu as she walked the halls of the police station. Not much had changed, the walls were still an ugly yellow and every room smelled like old stale cigarette smoke. It was against the law to smoke inside the police station now but that law did nothing for the old stenches already
left behind day after day.

  Deacon Howard was a sharp man and she wasn’t surprised at all he remembered her after she admitted her real name. After her parent’s death and endless fights with her sister at home and classmates at school she spent a good chunk of her teenage years at the police station. The sheriff at the time, Jerry Martin, and Deacon both took pity on her and avoided sending her to juvie in exchange she work around the office filing papers and cleaning the offices and interrogation rooms every day after school. She was surprised no one ever asked her to add painting the walls on her long list of chores but back then and now she seemed to be the only one bothered by the scent.

  Noah and Wayne sat around the desk while she, Gage, and Nicholas pulled in different chairs to the small corner office.

  “There’s still a few hours to kill.” It was Nick to point out the obvious. “Any ideas?” he directed the question to Sasha.

  “I’m not going to kill time telling you what the sheriff meant about my past. I’m not your entertainment. Out of the five of us I’m the one you can’t miss this press conference, you need to decide who’s going to get some breakfast.” Sasha was sure she wasn’t the only one starving. During the morning rush out of the house none of them stopped to grab something to eat.

  The four men each exchanged a look, a silent challenge of sorts as they all stood and started playing rock-scissors-paper-shoot. Sasha couldn’t believe her eyes, four grown men playing a child’s game in order to make a decision and they all swore they were smarter than her. Fat chance.

  Nick lost the battle. “Fine, I’ll be gracious about it but I don’t want to hear any bitching if the order is wrong. The best you get out of me is drive thru.” He passed around a notepad for them to write down what exact number they wanted off the fast food menu.

  Sasha got a good laugh as she watched Nick sulk out of the office. She doubted it was the action of having to pick up the food that left him bitter, it was merely the fact he lost. “Men are weird and I think you all are the worst of the bunch.”