Burn Out *18+*

Chapter 24

Two days later, I was finally given enough time to open my laptop and do some much needed research. The laptop was surprisingly old and clunky with a tiny screen. It reminded me of something business men would use to look important at airports five years ago. I wouldn't be stunned if I found out that Jasper had specifically requested this piece of junk to make sure that I knew that I was not getting anything with bells nor whistles. Maybe he hoped the slowness of the system would deter me all together.

When I logged into the server with the clear instructions provided, I was confused at how barren everything looked. Growing up, I had seen my mother's computer set up at home a million times. There should have been a dozen more widgets, shortcuts, and tons more information when I opened up the primary application. I should have been assaulted with a thousand things I never wanted to know. But I was getting the bare minimum here.

I answered a call from a random number as I began exploring the system a little more. Since I had no formal training, I would have to learn how to use it myself.

"Hello?"

"Hey, I'm looking for London."

"Speaking." My fingers flew over the keyboard as I tried to place the voice, but I knew I had never heard this woman speak before. Despite all of the calming things I was repeating to myself, my body responded with tension and apprehension. Was this finally the call about my mom? Would I finally be allowed to step off the ledge? Did I even want to at this point?

"My name is Sandra; I have worked with Jasper Kingsley and he recommended you to me."

My typing stopped. Jasper had recommended me for something? The man who had child-safed my computer could not have put my name in the hat for anything good. I felt myself turning brittle and cold.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he said you were the visionary with Zara's wedding dress and I'm having a bit of a conundrum. I'm going in on a sting and have a very specific dress picked out, but I'm not brave enough or dumb enough to go in without a gun. I was hoping you might have some suggestions to help me conceal a decent weapon."

And just like that, I softened all over again. "Why not get another dress? Something like taffeta and chiffon should be able to hide something. They're not as unforgiving as other fabrics."

"I'm working with a man who has very particular tastes. If I tell him I'm not wearing his dress, he'll sense something is off. I can't risk that."

"What is the dress like?"

"Uh, it's tight and grey."

I repressed the urge to roll my eyes or place my face in my palms. "Can you send me the dress? I might be able to sew something in it for you so you could keep you gun on you, if needed."

"Unlikely, he checks all of the outgoing parcels and I already tried it on for him, he knows it fits perfectly."

"How about a picture?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

I ended the call with Sandra, unsure of what to do about the knotted feeling in my gut. It had been too long. I wanted news on my mother. I needed to know. Good or bad, I needed to know.

But this, this was also good. More connections. More pieces coming together. the more people who knew my name in the industry, the better.

My fingers moved over the mousepad on their own accord, clicking and typing as my mind and body tried to wind down. I would be one of the first people to know if something had happened to my mother. I had to trust that they would tell me. but clearly, I did not because I was typing her name in, clicking the little magnifying glass.

And there she was. The picture was outdated, a couple years old at least, but it was still her with her dark hair and her sharp eyes. She looked every bit as serious in that photo as she was in real life.

Beside her picture was a short, tiny blurb in bright red font: MIA. Last known location: Big Pond, NS.

I wanted more. I needed more. Had someone been with her? What kind of assignment had she been on? Were there any traces of her to be found anywhere? How many people were working on this case? Obviously, it wasn't enough because she was still missing. With my limited access, I had no ability to click on any of the links pertaining to my mother's file, no additional information what so ever. What was on the screen was what I already knew and there was no way I was going to outsmart some of the best techs in the country and get around the security system.

Even if I did, there was Jasper to deal with.

I shoved the laptop away from me, feeling so ill and so frustrated all at once. I wanted to do a thousand things. I wanted to pull out my hair, bite my lip until it bled, scream at the top of my lungs. I also wanted to pull a blanket over my head and lay down. I wanted the world to pass me by without even knowing I existed, because I couldn't just move on with my life as if I wasn't missing a core piece of it.

With a little mew, Inkwell leapt off the floor and right into my lap. His wide, innocent eyes stared up at me just as my own began to water.

I had no answers. I had no direction.

But I had a family legacy to fulfill.

I typed Calvin Aquino into the search bar and hit the magnifying glass. 

~~~Distraction Section~~~

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