Chapter Sixteen

Kyle always dreaded meeting with Scorpion. He wasn't a patient man or a calm man when angered. Kyle normally just sat there and waited for Scorpion to detail the plan and then he went out and did the plan to Scorpion's specifications. This time felt different. Kyle couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it did. There was something off about meeting Scorpion after he'd just broken into that author's apartment. Had he found something? Had something happened inside of the apartment?

Had Scorpion found the evidence that Kyle hadn't and was planning on killing him?

Kyle didn't want to know if he was walking towards his death or not. If it was going to happen, he wanted to be completely unaware of it. He banished any thought of Scorpion painting the walls with his brain and instead focused on his deep loathing for Clare Edwards. She was the reason he was doing all this. He knew that she didn't know him well enough to call this a personal vendetta, but Kyle knew everything about her.

It was personal for him. Partly, anyway. Scorpion had promised a shortened prison sentence and a decent sum of money, and that's all it took to secure his cooperation. Top it off with being able to avenge his cousin's death by putting that whore of a wife who killed him to jail just made it too sweet of a deal for Kyle to refuse.

He could do without Scorpion, though. The man was dangerous. More dangerous than he could imagine. With the type of job he held, it would be a fatal mistake to even get on his bad side. Remembering that he wasn't supposed to be thinking about it, Kyle one again focused on Clare, but realized that he'd arrived at their designated meeting spot. He sat down on the bench, and waited only a few minutes before Scorpion emerged from the shadows and sat down next to him.

Kyle swallowed nervously.

"I finally managed to get a hold of the phone records between Jake and Clare just prior to the incident at the apartment."

Kyle continued to stare straight ahead, listening intently.

"Just prior to going to see Goldsworthy, she delivered some... unwelcome news, to say the least."

Knowing that he'd eventually have to speak up, Kyle cleared his throat. "What was it?"

"That the one night that Jake "forced" himself on her had gotten her pregnant." Even though Kyle could not see him, he suspected he was sneering.

"Pregnant?" Kyle repeated. "How far along?"

"My guess would be about three months."

Kyle paused before asking, "How did Jake respond to the news?"

"He punched her." Scorpion replied simply. "Left her with a gigantic black eye."

Kyle resumed looking forward, opting not to say anymore unless asked a question. His mind was slowly wrapping itself around all of this.

"I believe that she had sex with Goldsworthy that night in hopes of duping him into thinking he's the father." Scorpion explained after a moment. "He's caught up in her lies just like the rest of us were."

"What do you want me to do?" Kyle asked, wanting this little meeting to be over with now. The longer it went on, the more he suspected the he might have been right about being killed.

Kyle felt Scorpion stand up. "I want you to take it easy for a little bit, lay low. I planted something inside of Goldsworthy's apartment that will help him realize the truth about Clare Edwards"

Law low? Kyle repeated to himself. His gut feeling got worse. "For how long? Is there anything else I can do in the meantime?"

"There is, actually." Scorpion said, the tone of his voice suggesting that he was actually almost amused. "They've hired a lawyer by the name of Declan Coyne. I scanned over his information. He, too, went to Degrassi Community School. I suspect that he was lured into this business in almost the same manner Goldsworthy was. Determine how far in she dragged him. See if he is... malleable to persuasion."

Kyle nodded his acknowledgment. He was relieved to hear that he could do more than just sit around and wait for his next set of orders.

"We'll be in touch."

Knowing that was the sign that the meeting was over, Kyle leaned back on the bench and folded his arms across his chest and contemplated the whole situation again. Especially Clare Edwards. He'd hoped by now she would have some sense to just give up, but this Goldsworthy character from her past seemed to have given her a a renewed sense of hope and belief in life. Kyle knew that Jake wasn't happy that she'd somehow manage to slip from his near ironclad grasp.

As Jake had said in the last letter to Kyle from prison, she was so close to breaking. She would finally be his.

Kyle shook his head. He could feel the rage and the grief once again threatening to consume him. If he had it his way, he would simply strangle Clare and get it over with. None of these carefully laid traps and moves that Scorpion was so fond of. But when he said that Clare would ultimately get what she deserved, that Kyle just needed to trust him, Kyle did so with little reservations. Jake had always spoken the world of Scorpion. How much better of a police officer he was. If Scorpion had a plan to get back at Clare, Kyle would support him.

It didn't hurt that he promised a little money and gotten him a reduced prison sentence, of course.

With a groan, Kyle hauled himself to his feet. He should go back to the apartment and try to get some sleep. He had a new mission tomorrow and he needed to be well rested if he wanted to get any results.

Nodding to himself, he started making his way back to his apartment.

He never did see that right across the street from the bench he and Scorpion were sitting on, that Eli and Clare were eating inside.