A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"More coffee?" Christian raises his head up from the top of his desk and graciously accepts the coffee in my hand. Yesterday's break in at the magazine is still unsolved, but Christian's been holed up in his study, trying to find out as much information as possible. I ease down in the chair across from him and frown at the unshaven, sleep deprieved face in front of me. "You should go upstairs and take a nap. It doesn't have to be a long one. I can even wake you up in a hour or so."
"Ana, you and I both know you wouldn't wake me up. You'd let me sleep as long as possible.", he murmurs. "I can't nap now. I'm expecting a call from the detective that's been asssigned to work the break in. What's our precious boy doing?"
"Napping.", I smile. "So now that I've got some free time, how about you fill me in on what you've found out so far."
"Barney's actively working to determine what, if any, information was compromised. Just because the culprit destroyed the computers doesn't mean he or she didn't steal valuable information. They had the knowledge to deactivate the alarm so it's possible they got hold of files remotely."
"A quality Jack Hyde possesses."
"True although there are other computer experts in the world.", Christian says, making my mouth drop open. "I'm not defending him. I'd like to believe he's innocent, but it's possible he's not."
"Have you found out where he was yesterday?"
"Acccording to his credit card records, he was at the movies which don't last all night. I'm going to be heading over to his apartment soon so he and I can have a talk. I'm going to demand answers."
"You're seriously going to go and meet with the man who might have broken into the magazine?", I scoff. "It's dangerous."
"Ana, I'll be fine. I'm going to have Taylor with me the entire time."
"Who's to say that Jack won't look you in the face and lie?" I can see the inner turmoil raging through Christian. He wanted to see the good in Jack, and I know he's going to be crushed if he learns Jack is indeed behind the break in.
"He might.", Christian mutters while pushing his coffee away from him. "I feel sick about this entire shit storm. You and I both know trust is a big thing for me. It's not something I just go around handing out. However, I felt like Jack was being sincere with wanting a better life. He was convincing, too convincing." I get up and walk around the desk, easing down on to his lap.
"Don't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault. I had started to believe Jack was being truthful about changing." He's about to open his mouth when his phone rings. I start to stand, but Christian pulls me back down before answering his phone. He listens to the caller and asks various questions, gritting his teeth almost the entire time.
"Thank you." He sets the phone down and growls. "That was Detective Mark Hudson who's in charge of the investigation. He said the owner of the deli across the street from the magazine was closing up yesterday when he spotted a dark Sedan circling around the area. He thought at first whoever was in the car was going to stop at the deli, but they kept going. They drove by at least three times."
"Was he able to get a look at the driver?", I ask.
"The windows were tinted. Regardless, Detective Hudson's going to have the tapes pulled from all the street cameras to see if a license plate is visible."
"We need to think of this as a step in the right direction."
"Who would want to break into the magazine?", Olivia asks. Even though Sawyer has the day off, he and Olivia are at the house for a visit. I'm holding Oliver in my arms, but Christian is still gone to see Jack.
"Who knows.", I sigh. "It could have been someone with a vendetta against the magazine or someone out to get Christian."
"Jack Hyde.", Sawyer mutters from his seat next to Olivia. "When I was filled in on all that Jack Hyde had done, I knew the guy was bad news. I was a little shocked when Christian gave him a job."
"Jack promised Christian he wanted to be a better person. I was skeptical, yet Jack also had me believing he might be telling the truth.", I say as OIiver giggles. "Sweet boy, I love that sound."
"He still could be telling the truth.", Olivia shrugs. "All I know about Jack Hyde is what I've been told, but it just seems too easy for it to be him. Why break in and trash the magazine and not GEH? He goes to the building five days a week and knows his way around." What she's saying is true. It would have been easier for Jack to break into GEH. Why the magazine? "Also, if the magazine is the true target, what does Jack get out of it?"
"I suppose I've been so set on proving it was Jack that I failed to consider it could be someone else." Sawyer has gone silent but clearly is mulling over things. "Sawyer, have you got a theory?"
"It's one neither of you may like.", he answers nervously. "The magazine has been a big part of both of your lives. You've expressed how the staff is like family."
"Yeah. We've been there for each other through good and bad.", OIivia nods. "What are you getting at?"
"What if it was an inside job? One of the magazine's staff members might have done it."
"Anything is possible.", I reply. "I just can't stand seeing Christian so upset. We were finally drama free and then bam." I turn my head at the sound of the front door opening. Christian, appearing even more weary, staggers inside and leans against the wall. "Things with Jack didn't go well?"
"I'm not sure. I flat out asked if he was responsible for the break in, and he looked me directly in the eye and said no. He went to the movies yesterday with Rebecca King, a woman he met at the grocery store. Jack said after the movie they went back to her place where they had a coffee and talked for several hours. He offered to give me her number if I'd like to talk with her. Naturally, I took it and plan on calling her. When I first mentioned the break in to Jack, he looked utterly surprised. It's possible he's very good at hiding his true emotions. He also said he understood why he'd be one of the first people suspected. He went to say that his past is undeniable and has a way of coming back to haunt him."
"You felt bad for him, didn't you?", Olivia asks.
"I didn't want to, but something in his voice made me think he might be telling me the truth. He could be conning me again, however, I'm not so sure that's the case."
"I'm guessing Christian's going to have a difficult time concentrating on work today.", Gail says the following day while I'm helping her clean the living room.
"Yeah which isn't good since he has an important meeting this morning. He tried to prep for it last night, but I'd keep finding him simply staring at the computer screen.", I sigh as I dust off the shelf on the right wall. We continue cleaning in silence until the phone rings. "Hello."
"Ana, hi.", my mom says. "I made some oatmeal cookies yesterday and thought I'd take some to Christian. He told me about the break in at the magazine. How terrible."
"It is. Mom, how was Christian holding up?", I ask although I'm sure what the answer is, not well.
"He wasn't in the best mood even though he was putting on a brave face. I could see the anger and frustration in his eyes. If I had known about what happened, I wouldn't have bothered him."
"It's fine. I started to call you yesterday, but things were kind of hectic."
"I understand. If there's anything I can do, let me know.", she says.
"Thanks Mom. Did you have a good weekend?"
"It was pretty good even though we spent the majority of the weekend doing nothing but lounging around. We ate too much junk food and watched countless movies."
"Sometime doing nothing is the best.", I grin.
"Listen sweetheart, my break is almost over. I'll call you tonight to catch up some more. Make sure you give Oliver a kiss from me and tell him I love him to the moon and back."
"I'll do that. Bye Mom."
"Your mom brought some oatmeal cookies to my office today.", Christian says while changing out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and white tee shirt. "I wish I had been in a better mood at the time."
"She understands things are tough right now." I sit on the edge of the bed and drink in Christian's toned body. "You're sexy.", I blurt out. Christian whirls around to face me. "I'm just saying.", I shrug.
"You're sexy too.", he smirks. "I don't think Jack is the one who broke in to the magazine. I realize that was kind of random, but I've been wanting to tell you since I arrived home. Following my disastrous meeting with John Sullivan, I got a call from Detective Hudson."
"Before you continue, why was your meeting disastrous?"
"I couldn't concentrate. On a scale of one to ten, I was a five.", he murmurs. "I finally gave up and asked if we could reschedule, and Sullivan said yes. Anyway, Detective Hudson asked me to come down to the police department so I could look at some of the footage from the street cameras around the magazine. I agreed and went there about two. In a few of the shots the dark Sedan was seen. There was a two hour interval where nothing out of the ordinary occured. Then about six p.m. things changed. A short, dark haired guy was spotted loitering around the magazine. He'd walk back and forth as if he was looking to see if someone saw him."
"Was he the one driving the Sedan?"
"We don't know. The tape only shows him walking. The deli closes at five on Sundays so the deli's owner didn't see him. At six thirty, the guy disappeared out of view, possibly under the awning. From what Barney's told me, six thirty is also the time the building's security cameras went out."
"Even if the mystery man is the one who did the actual breaking into the building, Jack could have been the one who deactivated the alarm and cameras."
"I've considered that, but I don't think Jack had any part in what happened."
"Meaning we're dealing with an entirely different enemy.", I mutter.