As The Fire Burns ch 3
Blue Bay Harbor
Cam had been working since he'd gotten the request from the Volcano's to find Alexis. He had to admit, for someone who didn't know how to properly disappear Alexis had done pretty well. Legally, Alexis Hanson had graduated high school a semester early and declined college, which technically was true. However, the only activity under her name was some hefty bank withdrawals.
Cam leaned back in his seat and sighed. He had tried to track her phone, but he had known that wouldn't work. His best guess being she had removed the battery and GPS, meaning it was a useless piece of metal and plastic. He knew she was traveling, as the bank withdrawals were scattered across the globe. But there was no telling where she was now.
His computer blipped at him but he ignored it. Life had been pretty laid back since the Lothor and Mesagog fiasco. He had spent the last two years helping instruct the new batch a students, some of which were worse than Tori, Shane, and Dustin when they started out. Other than that, he continued with his own life. He worked on his computers, he honed his samurai abilities, and he went to college a few days a week. He didn't mind that kind of life. But if something was coming after ninjas, he had a bad feeling it.
"Well you look miserable." A feminine voice said. He turned to see Kapri leaning against the wall, arms crossed, relaxed and at attention at the same time.
"I'm not miserable, just frustrated." He replied. "Alexis Hanson has disappeared."
"I'm aware. And it's not because of her. Something else is bothering you." Kapri said matter-of-factly.
"How do you know?"
"One, because even though you deny it our family has actually grown pretty close in the last few years and I know you. Two, when your worried you come down here instead of your office." Kapri told him without a hint of doubt while she looked around Ninja Ops. Many things had changed about the blonde, her intelligence and maturity included.
Cam sighed in defeat. "Fine," he admitted. "I'm worried about whatever's hunting ninja."
"How considerate, since as a samurai you're in no apparent danger."
"I'm trying to be serious."
"And I'm trying to lighten the mood. Not to mention you need to save your worrying for when we actually have an enemy before us."
"And you don't worry about the enemies we can't see?"
"Shadows can't hurt us." Kapri shrugged. "When they try to, they stop being shadows."
"I wish I had your confidence." Cam turned back to his screen. "Right now I've got to try to find Alexis."
"Tori's fire cousin right? Hunter's ex?"
"Well, if you want to put it delicately." Cam said sarcastically.
"What do you have so far?" Kapri asked curiously.
Cam didn't know how his cousin could help but he showed her anyway. "Besides occasionally taking a lot of money from her bank account, nothing." Kapri thought about it for a second.
"What about deposits?"
"She never deposits money."
"Well duh, why would she, it's a trust fund, it refills itself. I mean can you see if there are any deposits of the same amount into other accounts." Kapri told him.
Cam looked at Kapri. She looked back. "That's actually a really good idea."
Kapri raised an eyebrow. "Meaning I normally have bad ideas?" Cam ignored her and searched the deposit records of the bank. Alexis normally took around 3,000 dollars from her account on a bi-monthly basis. Cam wondered what a girl in hiding would need the extravagant life-style. Unfortunately, the bank didn't have any results. Kapri shrugged apologetically, but Cam wasn't done. He broadened his search to a particular instance, at a bank in a small village in Spain. The village had two other banks nearby, and between them three people deposited the same amount Alexis had taken. Two of them were men.
"Gotcha."
London
She wore a red dress and white shrug and was waiting outside a fancy hotel. The people passing had no doubt she was some young debutante, rich and possibly noble. She was assuredly on her way dinner or a party, and waiting to be picked up by a handsome young suitor. They were partly right.
Alexis had helped Duke George Montly, and in return he'd invited her, well Scarlett Hayes, to dinner and an opera with him and his parents. Apparently first dates with the parents were common for London socialites.
George wasn't Hunter, and he wasn't like him in any way. Hunter was serious where George was funny. Hunter was stubborn, and George didn't need to be, he got his way so much he didn't mind the opposition. The only trait the two shared was their cerulean blue eyes. Alexis wasn't as attracted to the guys who were different than her first love, but it took her mind off him, and she felt like she finally was starting to move on. Of course she wouldn't know until she saw Hunter again.
Blue Bay Harbor
"Cam, tell me you have good news." Tori begged when she walked in the room, Danny trailing behind her.
Kapri and Cam looked up and both smiled. Tori and Danny waited expectantly, but neither Watanabe would say anything.
"We're just waiting until everyone gets here." Kapri said.
"Save time if we don't have to explain it twice." Cam added.
The 5 minutes it took Dustin, Hunter and Marah to arrive seemed like torture.
Kapri registered the look on Hunter's face. She couldn't quite place it. The options going through her head were angry, annoyed, upset, worried, anxious. No wonder he was always brooding.
"Okay, so here it is." Cam started. " For the last few years Alexis has been living completely off her trust fund. Every few months she shows up at a random bank in a random place to get some money. The VA originally sent agents to these locations when they started looking, but it soon became pretty obvious she was never there." Danny nodded in agreement. "Naturally she couldn't walk around with all that money on her. We've figured out she's been putting the money into an account at a different bank, under a new name. Everyone," he pulled up a picture of a tan auburn-haired girl, with a lean frame and unmistakable green eyes. "meet Scarlett Hayes. And she is in London."
A/N- shorty chapter today, but I'm sitting at a restaurant and am trying to finish before dinner arrives. Thank you so much to everyone supporting this story, and may I say, welcome back. I'll try and update every few weeks, but hey, no promises. Next chapter or one after that, REUNION!
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