6. Deciphering the Unknown
6
Deciphering the Unknown
Darius
Lilith : I found him.
The text drops into our group chat, and we all clammer to respond, the succession of pings reverberating throughout the room.
Tony : Where?
Antoinette : Where the fuck is he?
Darius: Tell us.
The dots show up, and we’re all holding our breath as we wait, and wait, and wait. Finally, after what feels like hours, the message pings through.
Lilith : I was actually en route to you when I got the information. Be there in less than an hour.
Tony curses loudly, and another message pings through.
Tony : Cut the fucking shit, Lils. Just tell us.
Lilith : Calm the fuck down. There’s nothing we can do about it right this second, so just wait.
Antoinette : Is he alive?
Lilith : Yes.
That’s all I need to hear. I toss my phone down on the table, heaving a long sigh of relief at the knowledge that if nothing else, the man lives. Tony curses some more, obviously intent on being angry, even knowing that isn’t going to get us anywhere.
Antoinette looks down at her phone again, typing out a message. Nothing pings on my end, so I give her a look, which she returns with a short nod that means she sent a message to Carolina to come rein in her man.
We haven’t been looking for Matt for long, but it feels like a lifetime. When things first went south with his job, he went a little berserk, and we gave him some space to handle issues as needed, but somewhere along the way, things got fucked.
We’re not even sure exactly when he disappeared. We all figured he was out sowing some wild oats, living it up for once, and taking a much-needed break from us and our bullshit.
It wasn’t until Jessica reached out to us, asking what his fucking problem was, that we realized something was fucked up, and then we spent way too much time scurrying around like fucking idiots.
Tony and I had a conversation with Matt back when his career in law enforcement ended, and he had alluded to the fact that he felt there were many loose ends he needed to follow up on in terms of who may have aided in shortening his career and who may still be out there waiting to strike.
At first, his concerns were brushed off, but after a thorough briefing, PowerPoint presentation and extensive spreadsheets included, Tony and I agreed that he may be onto something.
What he failed to do was circle back and update us about his plans, which quite obviously took a turn deep behind enemy lines or, worse, ended up with him being taken prisoner.
I feel that same anger, that helpless rage that bubbles under the surface at the thought that anything could have happened to him while we had our damn pants down, all because he couldn’t be bothered to share his fucking plans.
We knew Matt and Jessica had become friendly since everything went down with Declan and Issa. We all assumed that was going somewhere, and I’m thankful she thought to reach out to us rather than just believing that he was a stupid, fucking ghoster.
Even though we were aware that something was going on between them, Matt never really divulged any secrets to us. We would joke around with him about it, and for the most part, he deflected it, but you can tell when a man is enamored with someone else.
Once we realized something was wrong, we threw everything we had at finding him, only to run into a dead end and a cold trail. The amount of blood that was shed in only a few hours was a bit extreme, but, of course, Tony didn’t give a fuck, and I don’t think any of us really did, but having it be all for nothing was like twisting the knife in the wound.
Luckily, Lilith makes good time, and before too long, she strolls in the doorway to be met by a rabid Tony. She gives him a bland look, putting a hand up when he rushes toward her. “Don’t even fucking try me, Tony. I’m not in the fucking mood.”
He stops short, glaring at her, but says nothing. Antoinette steps around him, enfolding her mother into a hug. Lilith returns her embrace, relaxing into her momentarily before pulling back and then walking further into the room to stop before me. We all gather around, and she finally says, “According to my sources, he’s basically been under our nose the whole time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you saying he’s in the city?” Antoinette asks.
Lilith shakes her head and replies, “No, but he’s in the state. Not too far from here, really.”
“How is that fucking possible?” Tony snarls.
Lilith gives him a patient look and then turns her gaze back to mine, and I can tell she’s contemplating her next words. I prod, “What is it, Lils? Just spit it out.”
“Matt isn’t who you think he is.”
I’m sure my eyebrows are in my hairline as I snort. “You’re going to have to elaborate because that makes no fucking sense.”
Tony scoffs, “Yeah, we’ve basically known him his entire fucking life.”
Lilith presses her lips together for a moment, sighs, and then says, “Yes and no. There was a short amount of time when you didn’t know him at all, and you guys were young enough that you probably didn’t know he just showed up one day.”
Antoinette steps closer to Lilith, her hand coming out to rest on her arm as she asks, “If that’s the case, why haven’t you said anything sooner?”
Lilith rolls her eyes at her, her shoulders shrugging and one of her hands waving dismissively, all at the same time as she mutters, “Not everything needs to be told.”
Tony glares at her, his fists clenching, and I can tell he’s contemplating doing something he might regret. Then he says, “You and your fucking secrets. I’m so sick of your fucking secrets.”
She rolls her eyes at him again and then says, “Some secrets are necessary, you imbecile.”
“Necessary, how?”
“Some secrets are more trouble than they’re worth. Some secrets are safer being secrets.”
I can’t exactly argue with this, given the lifestyle we lead. Sometimes, things are safer if you don’t know everyone’s secrets, which could be one of the reasons Matt has always been in trouble. He’s the keeper of everyone’s secrets.
“Is Matt aware?” I ask quietly.
“Yes,” Lilith responds. “I had to tell him when his job went to shit because I believed there may be a correlation.”
“And is this the reason he’s missing?” Antoinette asks.
Lilith nods. “That is highly possible, though I’m uncertain on the circumstances of his being where he is.”
Tony steps closer to Lilith until he’s mere inches from her, leans down until his face is directly in front of hers, and says, “And you don’t think that maybe if we had known this secret, we could have done something to prevent this from happening?”
“No, Tony,” she replies snippily. “I don’t.”
Antoinette interjects, “Well, maybe being prepared would have made us more aware of possible complications such as where we currently are, but arguing about it is entirely pointless now.”
Lilith shrugs and responds, “I didn’t know for certain it was going to be an issue, but I know just as soon as we think all the fucking dirtbags are gone, they just keep springing up like rats.”
Tony opens his mouth to say something further, and I interject, “Well, are you going to tell us what the story is or not?”
She gives me a dirty look, though I’m not really sure why, but then says, “Not to sound like Matt or anything, but it’s not my story to tell.”
I frown, shaking my head with a sigh, and then say, “Fine. But don’t think we’re not going to revisit this at some point.”
She nods, walks over to the desk where Matt’s laptop is, and opens the top. She types in the password, and it starts up, and Tony says, “What the fuck, Lilith? You know Matt’s password?”
“Of course, I know a bunch of his passwords. Matt and I worked together pretty closely over the last little bit, especially when I wasn’t dead-dead, so take from it what you will.”
She opens a mapping program Matt had created for himself years ago, putting in coordinates and then zooming in to a wooded area a few miles outside the city. Then she turns to us and says, “This is where he is.”
“Well, let’s go in and get him out,” Tony replies stonily.
She shakes her head, her fingers tapping on the desk. “It’s not that simple.”
“How can it not be simple? You know where he is. We go fucking get him.”
Lilith sighs, her head falling forward briefly as she stares at the desk blankly. After a few moments, she looks over at me as she says, “We can’t go in there.”
I reply, “Why not?”
“We’re going to get made within seconds. They all know us.”
“Even Antoinette?” I ask.
Lilith nods and then adds, “Antoinette, Agatha, me, you, Tony, everyone. It will be nearly impossible for us to sneak in there.”
Tony’s jaw clenches, and I can tell he’s getting pretty close to breaking shit. Then, Antoinette asks, “Well what are we gonna do? We can’t leave him there, not even knowing if he’s there of his own accord, so what are we gonna do?”
We continue to look at each other for a few moments, everyone contemplating our options, and finally, Lilith responds, “We’re gonna have to find someone who can do it. I’m not sure who, considering the majority of the people I trust would be known to everybody involved.”
Tony raises his hands in the air helplessly, shaking his head as he says, “There has to be someone who can get the job done without us having to worry about them turning on us.”
We all fall silent, each of us considering our limited options. Lilith and Antoinette turn back to the computer, but Tony moves closer to me, his voice low as he mutters, “Do you really think we’d be made that easily?”
“Sadly, she’s probably not exaggerating. We’ve used up all of our inconspicuous cards at this point in the game.”
“That fucking blows,” Tony snipes grumpily. “I wonder if we—”
Tony’s words are interrupted by a ruckus in the doorway, a loud squeak of the door punctuating we have a new arrival.