XIV

November 9, 2016

1103 Hours

The doors to the compound busted open, and with it James and Dan. The brothers came stumbling out heaving from the running they just did. They didn't want any extra guards that were in there (if there were any) to notice them and follow them out. Especially after they killed their boss, Jir. Once Dan and James got a few meters away from the building, they stopped to take a breather.

"Man. I would hate to see how his stocks are going to suffer," Dan joked in between breaths. He looked over at James, who was sitting down taking in the air around him. Dan noticed James' hands were still clamped. "What did they do to your hands?" James opened his eyes, and looked down at his involuntary fists.

"I don't know. Probably an injection that caused the muscles to retract. I basically have a temporary death grip," James explained. "I hope."

"Yeah, well. That needs to go away before we can go to the killer's house. Which, by the way, you never told me who it was." James nodded his head. "You have a lot of explaining brother."

"Yes. Yes, I know, I know. Let me get my thoughts in order, and then I'll explain everything, alright?" James asked. Dan nodded, mouthing the word "okay" as he was still out of breath.

"We're not in great shape at all," Dan said. James chuckled, and pointed at Dan with a finger.

"You're not in great shape. I'm already calm," James said. Dan made a face, and had a look around their surrounding.

"Okay, well. I'm going to take a piss over there, and when I get back, explain everything." Dan walked over to a hill, and went over it. Disappearing into the woods.

Rogers looked at the greenery surrounding them. It was beautiful. He's never been to this side of Texas before. Rogers lived in Arizona for the first half of his life, and all he remembers about now was the heat and the barrenness. Here in Texas, there was still heat. But there was also cold, green, and a sense of pride. Everywhere he looked, he saw people representing their state with pride, and he liked that.

A collection of beeping distracted Rogers from the outside. He looked towards Sanine who was on the phone. She looked at him, and mouthed, "the boss".

"Hm." Rogers grunted. The idea of anyone being above her never occurred in his mind. After a moment of silence, Sanine lowered the phone, her face showing concern.

"What's up?" Rogers asked. Sanine put away her phone back into her pocket.

"Well. My boss never misses a call. He's very punctual about that kind of thing. He didn't pick up when I tried to call him," She explained.

"Who is your boss?" Rogers asked.

"Ever heard of H&H?" Sanine asked.

"Yeah. They're the company Houses & Holes. They basically have a monopoly on all retail and anything that goes into the ground. Richest company ever known to man. Why?"

"Well, my boss is the Assistant CEO to H&H." Rogers was astonished.

"Jesus lady! He must be one of the richest men alive!"

"Yes he is. Personally, I think it gets to his head sometimes. Anyway, he came to me one day, and said he's been observing me. He liked how I handle business, and asked to join his team."

"His team?"

"A list of people that he considered 'close'. It was technically illegal what he was asking these people to do, but none of us cared. We were getting big bucks, that's for sure. Then he got found out."

"Found out?"

"Yeah. These two detectives found documents and evidence on this team, and everyone dispersed. My boss lost millions. Fortunately, I was always his favorite, so there was no need to keep me on document. We always had tight communication with each other. I was never found out, so I stayed on his 'team'. I say it like that, because it's not a team anymore, just me."

"Shouldn't your boss go to prison for that?"

"The legal system, you know. Everyone on the team went for lifetime sentences, but the American government was too afraid of what would happen if a man with that much power was behind bars. They settled on taking away a lot of his money, and slapping him on the wrist." Sanine laughed lightly. "Like that would phase him. He did have a obsession with those detectives. And he finally caught them."

"Who are they?" Rogers asked. Sanine looked at Rogers, and smiled.

"I'm sure you know them. Here's their card," Sanine said as she pulled a card out of her wallet. Rogers took the card, and read it. He made an "oh" face as he realized who the detectives were.

"Dan and James." Rogers said. Sanine nodded and took back the card.

"Why they were at my funeral though, I have no idea. My son's funeral. I'm afraid they're investigating me, but I can't be too sure." Sanine said. Rogers looked at her incredulously.

"They were at your funeral? That's crazy."

"Why is it crazy?"  

"Because they came to me in prison asking questions. Like why I stole your son's console."

"You told them what you were supposed to tell them, right?"

"No, of course I did! I told them it was part of my 'style'. Signature, whatever." Sanine sighed with relief.

"So maybe they are investigating me. For my son's death. Who would hire them to do that though?" Sanine thought about it, and then came to a realization.

"You okay there, lady?" Rogers asked. Her face was quickly turning red, and he realized that something was really not okay.

"He wouldn't." Sanine whispered. She looked at Rogers' confused face. "My ex. He always thought I was crazy. Then my son died... he thought I did it... he has the audacity to hire those two. That son of a bi-"

"Ms., we're almost there," the driver announced. Sanine calmed her posture, and sat back. She took one deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

When she opened her eyes, she looked straight at Rogers, and said, "They're dead."

"Spill it." Dan said as he walked over the hill. James sighed as Dan sat down in front of him.

"Okay, here we go. I lied to you about the bug. I told you that I couldn't find it because I believed that you shouldn't be on the case anymore." Dan was going to say something, but James held out a hand to pause him. "Let me explain."

"The fact that Rogers was connected to this case was too much of a coincidence, man. He brought back too many bad memories of Chelsea, and it was affecting you. Big time." Dan stayed silent, realizing that James was right.

"What was on the bug?" Dan asked.

"Rogers had an inside guy at the prison. That guard that escorted him, his name is Hank. They talked about how this person, Sanine, told Rogers that he took and hid the console."

"The console James? Really?" Dan asked, interrupting James.

"No, it's all connected! See, Sanine wanted to make it look like a regular burglary, so anyone that looks at this investigation can assume it was a just a burglary gone wrong."

"Are you saying that Rogers is innocent after all?" Dan asked.

"Yes! He went to prison because he knew Sanine was going to bust him out. That's why he went to the police station and turned himself in! People may look at that, and say, 'Well it was just him feeling guilty', but after meeting Rogers-"

"He doesn't feel guilt." Dan finished. James smiled, and Dan was thinking hard.

"So how do you know who the killer is?" Dan asked.

"The revelation came to me when I was in my room. I had time to think to myself, and I realized something. Process of elimination. I thought about all of the people that were connected to this case. Rogers, his wife, Hank, and Braydon's parents."

"We know it's not Hank and Rogers because they talked about Sanine," Dan said.

"Yep, and it's not Rogers wife either."

"Why do you say that?"

"I met them at your funeral, before I realized that he was the one killed your daughter, and despite them being criminals Dan. They seemed like they were truly in love. She wouldn't risk it."

"I guess."

"But here's the one that makes the most sense. Kathy." Dan sat there in silence.

"What're you saying, James?" Dan asked.

"Look, I'm saying that she killed her own child. Then she framed it on Rogers, promising him she'll get him out of prison as a reward."

"You really think that she can kill her own son like that?" Dan was a little irritated that James could think like this.

"Well, maybe? Look, I'm not 100% sure about it or anything, but it's a high probability!" James said. Dan calmed down a little, and sighed.

"I suppose you're right."

"That's it. That's everything that I know about this case."

"That was a lot, wow." Dan commented. James nodded in agreement. Dan's hand reached to his pocket to grab his phone, but it wasn't there. "Oh, duh."

"Jir stole our phones, huh?" James asked. Dan sighed and looked back at the building.

"Well I don't want to go back in there, you?" James shook his head.

"We can always buy new ones. We're gonna get paid after we catch her you know."  

  "If she is the killer." Dan said abruptly.

"Yes, of course. If she's the killer."

The rustle of leaves caught the detectives' attention. Soon they heard the engine of a car. They looked at each other straight in the eyes, and went to the walls of the building to make themselves less open. The car was on the other side of the building, so Dan decided to go check out for himself. Telling James to stay, he went around the corner to check out what was here.

It was a limo. A large man-

Another one? Dan thought.

-got out of the driver side, and went to go open up the door for its passenger.

A girl with a large furry coat walked out. Her dark red hair almost bounced as she stepped out of the limo. She looked at the building, revealing her face to have sunglasses on them.

"She looks familiar." Dan commented. His attention was snapped away when another door opened on the other side. Rogers stepped out, and looked at the building as well.

"What in the world." Dan wanted to surge forward and strangle Rogers right there, but he was afraid that the driver, or the girl, would have a gun. Rustling behind him, James looked out of the same corner as Dan. Rogers and the people with him would have to look hard to see the brothers peeping around the corner they were at.

James caught his breath, and turned away from the corner. He immediately sat down in the overgrown grass that leaned next to the building. Dan looked at him, and then back at the group.

"What is it?" Dan whispered hoarsely. James was blinking fast, his way of thinking really hard about something. Dan looked back at Rogers. James wouldn't be surprised that Rogers was here, so it would have to be either the driver or the woman. The driver was nothing special. Tall, sturdy, bald, had sunglasses on. Typical brute. It had to be the woman.

Dan focused on the girl, trying to look past the glasses. The hair triggered something in him, but he wasn't sure. Then he remembered the funeral. Dan's eyes widened, and turned away from the corner to sit with James.

"Is that...?"

"Yep." James said, answering Dan's question before he even had time to say it. Dan exhaled.

"Guess we know who it is now, huh?" Dan asked.

"Yep."

"You were right." Dan peeped around the corner, and saw the group going inside the doors.

"Well now we can't go back for our phones now. They're in there, and we certainly don't want to get caught," Dan explained.

"Yep."

"Oh, snap out of it James. You guessed it! Looks like Kathy is our killer. The heartless monster. How can she take her own child's life?" Dan asked. James shrugged, then shook his head violently to try to get back into reality.

"You're right. Oh man. I really didn't want it to be her," James confessed, "She was so nice!"

"You only talked to her for, like, ten minutes," Dan commented. James shrugged again, and got up to look at the car. He looked over at Dan with an idea.

"Still know how to hotwire a car?" James asked. Dan looked from James to the limo, and made a hesitant face.

"It's been a really long time... I don't know."

"Well, looks like you have to remember fast, or else we're never going to get out of here."