Chapter 22
The following evening, they sat on the floor of their temporary flat, backs against the couch, eating.
Joe had made a pasta dish though Kaden hadn’t eaten all of it.
He knew Kaden was worried about what was to come.
So was Joe, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen to Kaden.
It didn’t matter what he’d have to do, he’d do it.
Alistair had called them on the burner phone and given them a rundown on Blake.
Mostly things they were likely to find out in the interview but some that they wouldn’t.
He didn’t sound like a nice guy. A mistress in her early twenties.
A child he rarely saw. He never gave to charity.
Maybe Alistair was worried they’d back out and was trying to convince them. Joe kept that thought to himself.
No sooner had that call ended, than Kaden had another on his own phone. He mouthed dad to Joe.
“Hi,” Kaden said.
Joe got up to wash the dishes.
“Everything’s fine,” Kaden said. “I feel great… No, I’ve not remembered everything but some memories have come back.
We’ve moved to another place for three months.
I’ll text you the address. Doing a friend of Danny’s a favour…
Muswell Hill… Not Jalis now—Joe. That was the name we used when we were gaming. ”
Joe looked his way and Kaden smiled at him.
“I’m doing a day-in-the-life article for a government minster tomorrow.
Eli Blake…” Kaden chuckled. “I don’t think Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would be up for one, no…
I am, Dad. I promise… My memory… I told you.
It’s coming back in bits… No, I can’t remember how I ended up in hospital… Yep. We will. I promise. Okay… Bye.”
He turned to Joe. “Shit.”
“Should you have told your dad about Eli Blake?”
“Probably not, but as long as I don’t tell him anything more…”
They sat together on the couch and Joe snuggled up to him.
“I can’t think of any way of explaining what happened to me,” Kaden said.
“Is he going to keep asking you?”
“Probably.”
“Do you want to tell him the truth?”
Kaden shook his head.
Joe nodded. “Walk me through tomorrow. You must have it perfect in your head by now.”
“I don’t want you to come with me. I can take his picture.”
Joe sat up straighter. “What? No!”
“It’s not up for debate.”
“You don’t get to decide that for me.”
“Yes, I do,” Kaden shot back. He took the device from his pocket. “This is where it changes. This is where it stops being just an interview. I can’t let you get caught. Which is why you’re not coming in.”
Joe stood up and faced him properly. “So I just sit outside while you take all the risk? That’s your plan?”
“My plan is that if something goes wrong, it’s only me in there.”
“And you think that makes it better?”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t,” Joe said sharply. “It just means you’re doing something stupid on your own.”
Kaden’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t even know how to use the camera properly.”
“Then show me,” Kaden fired back.
“Are you trying to control everything because you’re not sure you can actually do it?”
Kaden’s expression hardened. “This isn’t about me.”
“It is,” Joe said. “You’re scared.”
Kaden didn’t deny it, but he didn’t agree either. “I’m keeping you out of it.”
Joe shook his head. “Too late for that.”
Silence hung between them. Their first disagreement but Joe couldn’t give way on this.
“You think I’m going to let you walk in there alone with that thing?” Joe was quieter now but more certain. “Not happening.”
Kaden exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “Joe—”
“No,” Joe cut in. “We started this together. We finish it together.”
Kaden pulled him down and into his arms. “I don’t—”
Joe put his hand over Kaden’s mouth. “This is better done with two. He’s expecting two of us. I can distract him while you put the device in place. Don’t even think about arguing with me. I’m coming with you.”
He released his hold and Kaden sighed. “I don’t—”
Joe put his hand back on his mouth. “No more I. Only we. We arrive on time. We act like we belong there. We smile and set him at ease.”
Kaden took Joe’s wrist and pulled his hand away. “This isn’t a game.”
“I know. I’m there to do a job. I need to take a few formal shots in a place with good lighting and an interesting but not revealing background, and I’ll take a few more while you’re talking. I’ve read up on what to do. I’ve watched photographers at work.”
Kaden looked at him, really looked this time. “And if it goes wrong?”
“Then we deal with it,” Joe said. “Together. Anyway, I think Alistair will help us. He won’t want to risk us giving anyone his name.”
Kaden held his gaze for a few seconds more, then looked away. “Fine,” he said at last, the word swollen with reluctance.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the device and turned it over between his fingers. “It looks harmless, doesn’t it?”
“Yet it has the power to bring down a member of the government. Maybe more than that.”
Kaden gave a quiet chuckle. “This feels like something out of a film. What if Blake has us sitting somewhere else? A different room? What if he notices me trembling?”
“Tell him you’re awed to be in his presence.”
Kaden burst out laughing. “Right.”
“I need some shots of his office. That will give you opportunity in there.” Joe slid his hand into Kaden’s. “Drop your phone. Fasten your shoe.”
“What if we don’t do it?” Kaden said.
“Don’t do any of it?”
“Don’t leave the device,” Kaden clarified. “I do the interview. You take the photographs. That’s it.”
Joe studied him for a moment. He wasn’t sure what was going through Kaden’s head.
“Then we walk away with whatever he chooses to tell us,” Joe said.
Kaden nodded slowly.
“And Alistair will be very pissed off,” Joe added.
Kaden gave a small, humourless laugh. “He will.”
Silence stretched between them.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t,” Kaden said. “I just—” He stopped, as if searching for the right words. “I don’t know where the line is anymore.”
Joe squeezed his fingers. “Maybe that’s the point. Maybe there isn’t one unless we draw it. If it turns out that Blake is being set up, we can speak out.”
“If we’re not dead.”
Joe gaped at him. “What?”
“Sorry. That’s not going to happen. My imagination running away with me.” Kaden took a deep breath. “I’ll plant it when he’s distracted. Maybe when he gets up, or if he turns to grab something. I’ll scratch my ear when I’ve done it so you know.”
“What if you need to scratch your ear and you’ve not done it.”
Kaden gave a choked laugh. “I’ll have to suffer the itch.”
“What if you don’t find the right moment?”
“I will. Or you can make one by getting him to stand in a way that hides what I’m doing.”
Kaden looked down at the device, then closed his hand around it.
The next morning, they arrived exactly on time.
Joe was the one who was anxious now, plagued by restless energy that skittered under his skin as if something was crawling inside him.
Had Kaden felt like that about him? His fingers twitched at the camera strap and he found himself needing to constantly swallow, human characteristics he didn’t like.
Kaden, by contrast, had gone quiet. He was calm and collected, the way Joe should have been. Maybe he was hiding his true emotions.
The door opened and Eli Blake stood there. The first thing Joe noticed was that his teeth were too even and white. They looked wrong for someone his age. He was shorter than both of them, wearing a dark blue suit and tie, his face wreathed in a broad smile.
“Good morning, Mr Blake. I’m Kaden, this is Joe.”
“Good morning. Please come in.” Blake stepped aside.
Joe followed Kaden, forcing himself not to hesitate as he crossed the threshold. The house smelled faintly of polish and something herbal. Everything was very tidy. The hallway was huge.
“Thank you again for agreeing to this,” Kaden said. “I know you must have an insane schedule so I appr—”
“Was it your idea?”
“No. I follow the lead of my editor. I had no idea he’d approached you. He knows I like variety writing these articles though.”
“Your last one was about a microbiologist, right?”
“Yes.”
“Your boyfriend?”
Oh shit. “He was. Not now. I admit that one did originate with me. He was worried about the lab being targeted by animal rights protestors.”
“Let’s make the most of the time.” Blake gestured them further inside. “I thought we could do this in my office.”
“Great,” Kaden said. “The place where everything happens.”
They followed Blake down the hallway and into a very tidy study with a large desk, a life-size framed photograph of Blake on the wall, a built-in bookcase with books neatly shelved and French doors leading onto a garden.
Was that normal, for people to want such a huge portrait of themselves in their home?
Especially with that look on their face, as though they’d just strangled a puppy. Joe was alarmed.
He circled, already considering how to give Kaden the opportunity to plant the device. The chair Kaden would sit in was a little way away from the desk. He’d have to get out of it to reach the intended hiding place.
“Mr. Blake, could I take a few shots first?” Joe asked. “If you could stand near your desk—yes, there—that’s great.” Click. Click. “Maybe by your books? That’s good. Just a couple more. How about by the window, looking out onto that fabulous garden.”
Blake’s back was to the room and to Kaden. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaden bend near the desk but as Blake began to turn, Joe stepped into his line of sight. That had been close.
Blake settled in his chair. “Shall we begin?” He checked his watch.
Kaden nodded and sat down. “I’m not recording. Just taking notes.” He pulled out a notebook.
He wasn’t recording, but Joe was.
“Let’s start with the basics. What does a typical day look like for you?”