For two days Jordi, Aiden and T-bone scoured everything they could on Defalt, and after those two days, they finally had gotten somewhere on the code Alex had seen. T-bone decided to try a new trick he'd been working on at night, and this felt like the right time. He soon was keying away and soon the screen on the wall was split up, showing funds Defalt was pulling out of the accounts he had located and it showed the bank he had it going into. T-bone had found a way to trace the code, to find out where it was being used and how to watch it in real-time. They watched as Defalt pulled in half a million in just a few minutes and soon the connection was severed. T-bone spent the next hour tracking where the signal was originating from and when he found out, Aiden and Jordi left to take care of some business. T-bone then looked at Alex who was just sitting there next to him, and he could see something was on her mind.
"Hey, why so sad? I thought when Aiden finally found this guy you'd be jumping for joy, because then you get to get out of here." She turned and smiled at him, walking over and sitting on his desk.
"I don't know, maybe I like hanging out with you guys, at least I feel safe." He nodded as he looked to her and a small evil smile crossed his lips.
"Do you want to make Defalt pay for what he did?" She thought that was Aiden and Jordi's job, but the look T-bone had her curious.
"How?" He turned and started typing away, and soon she was shocked as T-bone started draining money from Marcowitz account and donating it to various charities. He then smiled at her, taking out a large chunk of money and putting it into an off shore account. He then pointed to the screen.
"That's for you. Take that money and go someplace warm. Find yourself a good guy to take care of you and just leave this place behind you." Alex looked up at the screen then back to him, leaning down and kissing his cheek softly.
"I can't take that. Besides, what if the good guy I find doesn't want me? I mean I have been used or what's that saying? Rode hard and put up wet. No, I won't find anyone who can look past that. You take that money and find someone you can trust, someone you can tell your secrets and go have some fun that involves anything but electrodes and circuits." He shook his head as he listened to her, reaching up and taking her hand.
"If you find a guy who is too stupid to get over your past, then he was no good anyway. You deserve to be happy." He could see her tearing up and he knew what was coming next as she stood up to lean over and hug him close. She was quiet as she held onto him, then as she buried her face in his shirt he knew something had her upset. She pulled away, wiping her eyes before turning to go up to her room, but T-bone grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
"Tell me what's wrong." She slowly turned around to look at him, shrugging as she thought about Aiden and what to tell T-bone. He turned his chair and rolled close to her before standing up. "You can talk to old T-bone, you know I'll listen." She laid against his chest and he rubbed her back lightly, not sure what else to do.
"I asked Aiden to stay with me the other night, but he said it wouldn't be a good idea. And now when he looks at me, it's like he sees me differently." T-bone pulled away from her, smiling as he looked at her.
"I think he cares about you, a lot. Now I don't know why he wouldn't stay with you, maybe it's because I'm here, but I know for a fact that he likes you and wants to do what ever he can to protect you." She took in a deep breath, nodding but not really sure she was convinced that Aiden liked her. She walked away, going to make something for lunch while T-bone kept working. She would glance at her phone from time to time, hoping to see a message from him, but nothing. Poppy on the other hand had texted her non-stop, asking if Aiden had found Marcowitz or if she was leaving anytime soon, but the truth was, Alex didn't want to leave, not alone at least.
When are coming out of hiding, I miss you, you kept me out of trouble.
I miss you too, but truth is, I feel safe here.
Maybe it's Aiden who makes you feel safe
He does have that affect on people, but it's not just him, it's T-bone too and Jordi
Listen to you, three protectors but really you need to rejoin society, maybe get a social life now
Poppy, I just don't know if I can, not yet. Not until I know for sure that Marcowitz is no longer a threat.
I understand, Let me know when you're out in the real world again.
Alex turned her phone onto silent, not wanting to be bothered anymore while she moved around the small efficiency kitchen. She was busy cooking with the radio on, singing alone when T-bone came up to watch her, standing the in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest. She sang softly, not realized he was behind her and when it got to the chorus of the song she sang a little louder.
"Cause boy I need love. I don't get enough. And all I ever wanted was for your damn arms to put themselves around me and say, hey girl, you're they prettiest thing my eyes have ever seen, come and lay your bones down with me, come and lay your bones down with me. Hey girl, you're they prettiest thing my heart has ever known, come and lay your bones down with me, come and lay your bones down with me." T-bone cleared his throat, causing her to jump and spill the bowl of vegetables she had chopped.
"I'm sorry Alex, I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed as she turned to him, throwing a piece of carrot at him.
"I think you just don't like my cooking, so you sabotaged it." He hadn't heard a genuine laugh in the past few days and it felt good to hear it again. T-bone decided to tease her slightly, walking over and hugging her as he spoke softly.
"Hey girl, you're the prettiest thing my eyes have ever seen." She laughed as she smacked his arm and he joined her until his phone rang. "Excuse me." he walked out into the hall, answering whom she figured was Aiden. She watched him as he paced, his expressions changing as he looked up at Alex. She could tell that he was hesitant about something, but once he hung up she knew he had to go.
"Aiden and Jordi have gotten themselves into a tight situation. I gotta go bail 'em out. You stay put, and when I leave I want you watch out for anyone coming in. I will turn the bridge so you should be safe and I'll call you when I'm coming back in." He then kissed her forehead before rushing out the door, leaving her there alone for the first time. After T-bone was out she watched the monitors, seeing him cross the bridge before it turned, leaving her stranded on the little island. She kept herself calm, they would be back in no time, surely they aren't far, and should could always call for help. She turned the ringer back on her phone, hoping to hear from T-bone or Aiden soon saying they were on their way back.
She had lost her appetite, not able to eat now that she was worried about Aiden. She put the food away, then she went down and grabbed a book she had brought from home, trying to read it, but her mind wouldn't focus. She tried for an hour before she finally gave up and put the book down. She then noticed the screens flickering on wall, and she walked over slowly, not sure what was going on. The screens all went black and a masked face appeared, talking through some voice digitizer.
"Aiden Pearce and Raymond Kenney, The Vigilante and the creator. You two should be working with us, helping us free the information that CTOS has collected but instead you are busy just trying to save some damsel in distress. Does she know who you really are? Does she know the deaths that you two have caused? The jobs you used to take?" Alex felt a lump in her throat while her stomach turned. There was no way these two could have killed anyone. But what about the car he blew up to save her? The way he shot two more men without question? Maybe Aiden wasn't who she thought he was, but then again everyone deserves a chance to tell their own side of the story. The screen turned while the voice kept talking, but Alex wasn't listening. She was too busy staring at the screen. She then noticed the small screen on the desk, it appeared that who ever hacking in was stealing information, so she started shutting down. When that wasn't going fast enough, she ran and started flipping the breakers, taking power out to the whole computer system.
She sat in the dark, the images of Aiden they had shown haunting her. Maybe he was no better than Marcowitz, a killer and thief. Her heart was torn, after all he had done nothing but help her but then again now he and T-bone were draining out bank accounts. Then there was Jordi, no doubt there, he was criminal. She decided she would let Aiden tell his side of the story, she had to even though part of her wanted to run away right now. The thought that kept her though was T-bone and what he had said to her. Not only had he assured her how Aiden felt, but he found it easy to show her he cared just with little things. He had taken her out in his busted old Taco Truck and made sure she had a fun time, even wasting over forty dollars to win her that huge stuffed puppy.
She jumped and screamed as her phone rang in her hands and she answered quickly, relieved to hear his voice on the other end.
"Hello."
"Alex, thank god you're alright. Is the power out? We pulled up out front but we can't come back in." Aiden sounded grateful to hear her, and she couldn't help but cast some of her doubts aside.
"I had to flip some of the breakers. Look, I'll go turn them back on and explain when you get inside." She hung up and found her way back over to the panel, turning the power back on. After five minutes Aiden and T-bone walked back in and as she stood there he walked over to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her close.
"He got away again, but I promise you we won't stop until I know for sure you will be safe." She felt guilty for ever doubting him, but she realized that there were things about him she did not know and that maybe she should take a step back to find out more.
"T-bone, after you left, you were hacked by some masked guy claiming to be part of Dedsec. He said some pretty shitty things about you guys, although he called you Raymond Kenney. Plus, he tried to download some of your files, so I cut the power, hopefully stopping anything he may have gotten." After that T-bone dove into his computers, leaving Aiden and Alex standing there looking at each other for a long minute.
"What did he say about me?" Alex could see his concern, not for what was said, but how she was reacting to it.
"That you were dangerous, that you were a killer, and that you two should be working with him or them, whoever." There was no fear in her eyes and after what T-bone had told him in the car, he wanted to take her in his arms and taste her kiss, but it would have to wait just a while longer.
