Chapter 12 The Informant
The informant
Kellin
Inever thought I'd find myself a felon at thirty-five, much less an undercover informant and hacker for the feds. Yet, here I am. In some twisted sense, I guess you could say I’ve made it—my name graced the pages of the newspaper, for better or worse.
And I certainly didn’t expect the FBI to show up at my door just as dawn was breaking, catching me considerably off guard. There I stood, bleary-eyed and half-asleep in my boxer briefs, with a raging boner courtesy of a dream about Scarlett. And honestly? I didn’t even bother to hide it. Fuck them.
I opened the door slowly, keeping the chain latched as a petty gesture. Rubbing my eyes, I squinted against the harsh light that pierced through the gap. Shielding my gaze with my hand, I peered through the crack, trying to grasp the absurdity of the moment.
"What the hell is this?" I scoffed, irritated that the cavalry had arrived for what I assumed was a grave mistake.
"Kellin, it's time to cash in on your end of the deal," Special Agent Richard "Dick" declared, dragging me back to my early prison days when he was assigned to my case.
"Didn’t expect to see you so soon, Dick," I replied with a teasing lilt, still reluctant to swing the door wide.
He chuckled like he hadn’t heard that line a thousand times before, stepping in closer and drawing his weapon with a flourish.
But it didn’t intimidate me. I’d faced bigger guns and wielded heftier ones in my time.
I knew all too well how the feds relied on intimidation tactics, and that’s one of the things that annoyed me the most.
"You don’t get to pick and choose, kid. Open the damn door, or I'll kick it in," he threatened, and there was no mistaking the seriousness in his tone.
As much as I wanted to see him smash down my door, I wasn’t keen on footing the bill for repairs, so I relented.
I closed the door briefly, rubbed my face, and unlatched it.
When I opened the door, I shot him a scowl, and he could tell just how much I wanted to throttle him—and make no mistake, I’m not a killer.
I’m a hacker. But man, I wanted to kill his ass for what he did back then.
Once they stormed inside and began rummaging through my belongings, Dick plopped me down at the kitchen table while a pot of coffee brewed in the background, filling the air with its comforting aroma of vanilla amidst the awkward silence.
His slicked-back black hair caught the kitchen light, and his thick brows concealed dark brown eyes brimming with secrets.
He attempted to hide behind a pair of black-framed glasses, giving him an oddly boyish charm, especially with his freshly shaved face.
But I wasn't buying it. This man was fucking evil, and I could tell he was up to something once again.
As I got up to make a cup of coffee, still clad in just my boxers, I caught Dick watching my every move while the other agents rifled through my stuff, presumably looking for something I wasn’t sure existed.
He was sizing me up, and I was doing the same right back.
I knew him well—better than he likely realized.
This was not our first time working together, but after the last one, I had hoped it would be our last.
"You want a cup or something?" I asked, pouring cream into the steaming dark brew with a hint of annoyance.
"Sure, black—"
"Black with six sugars. I remember," I shot back, noticing his expression falter before a fleeting smirk danced across his lips—quick but not unnoticed.
"So, what can you tell me about Dr. Scarlett Stone?" He asked, and my blood instantly turned cold.
Why was he asking about Scarlett? Did he know that we were fucking? Did he know about the murders? I was fucking scared, but with my back to him as I mixed in my sugar, I composed myself and tried to play it off.
"She's a damn good therapist," I joke, sitting back down at the table.
"Did you know that her father, Gerald Stone, is in prison in Bridgewater for murder? And that she's been going to visit him?" He throws it all at me at once, and my head begins to throb as I take a gulp of the hot, creamy beverage.
"Nope, know about none of it." I shrug and lean back, knowing he's about to tell me it all.
Dick leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table, his expression shifting from one of casual authority to something more conspiratorial.
"You really think you’re skating by on those charm tactics? You’ve been in her life for how long now? I’d wager you know more than you’re letting on.”
I bit my lip and shrugged again, unwilling to give him an inch. “Doesn’t matter. She’s a friend. Not a criminal mastermind. Whatever you’re linking her to has nothing to do with me.”
He chuckled, but it was devoid of warmth. “That’s what they all say. But we have surveillance footage of her meeting with some pretty unsavory characters. People connected to—let’s just say, less than legal endeavors.”
My heart raced. The last thing I wanted was to get Scarlett tangled up in this shitshow. Feeling the pulse in my temples, I contemplated my options. Could I protect her without dragging myself deeper into this mess?
“You know what? This sounds like a personal issue. Forget the intel. I’m out,” I said, trying to will my bravado back into existence.
Dick’s gaze sharpened. “Oh, you don’t get to do that. Remember the deal? You’re ours now, Kellin. It’s not optional.” He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. “Unless you’d rather have a nice long chat with a state trooper about your little side gig? I hear those walls can be very… isolating.”
I gritted my teeth. There was no denying it anymore—I was a pawn in a larger game of power and corruption.
Scarred by events I couldn’t control, I felt a surge of adrenaline mixed with waves of defeat washing over me.
My sacrifices thus far felt meaningless, just breadcrumbs leading me into a more tangled web.
"Fine. But if anything happens to her—" I started, fists clenched, feeling heat rising within me.
"That’s why we’re here. We’re all on the same team," he interrupted coolly.
For a brief second, I caught a flicker of something in his eyes—was it concern or a predatory glint? Whatever it was, I didn’t want to stick around long enough to decipher it.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” I asked, my voice barely above a murmur.
“We need you to make contact. Keep tabs. Dig up information. We want to know who she’s meeting, especially anyone connected to her father’s case. If she’s caught in the crosshairs, you might just be the only person capable of keeping your head above water.”
I set my coffee down with a clink, weighing my options. The thought of spying on Scarlett made my stomach turn, but hell, it wasn't like I had much choice, was it?
“And if I don’t?” I prodded, seeking some sort of leverage.
“Then you, my friend, can wave goodbye to freedom. And don’t think for one moment we wouldn’t send the boys after her too,” Dick warned, a smug grin creeping across his face.
That did it. Anger surged through my veins, urging me to lash out. But I held my ground. “I’ll do it. But you need to guarantee her safety. If she gets a fucking scratch because you’ve got your paw prints all over this, I’ll expose everything I fucking know. Do you understand?”
A glimmer of respect momentarily flickered in Dick’s expression as if he had underestimated me. “Noted,” he said with a nod.
I braced myself for what I was about to commit to, feeling a knot tighten in my chest. The brewing storms didn’t seem near their end. “So what do I need to do first?”
“Get her to trust you more. Move in closer. We need her to confide in you. And, Kellin—be careful. This is a game of chess, and if you play it wrong, it might just be checkmate before you know it.”
I sat back, the weight of the world crashing onto my shoulders a little heavier than before.
I’d become a pawn, but I’d be damned if I became an expendable one.
The FBI, Scarlett, her father—I was stepping into a world that felt more catastrophic by the second, and every decision I made now could shift the tide towards my salvation—or my destruction.
And as the agents continued to buzz about my apartment, I took a deep breath, resolved to step deeper into the chaos. Time to become the ultimate player in this treacherous game.
"Her father is who we really want, and we think she's helping him in some way with something," he adds, making this all make more sense to me now.
“Great,” I muttered, rubbing my temples. “Just what I needed—drama with a side of familial crime.”
Dick leaned back, his posture relaxed but his eyes serious.
“This isn’t just drama, Kellin. This is serious.
We think the good doctor might be involved in something much bigger than we originally thought.
You need to dig deep; find connections and help us understand what her father was really running before he got locked up. ”
I stared at him, the coffee now cold and forgotten. “You’re telling me to spy on her, infiltrate her life, all while she thinks I’m just her patient? Do you have any idea how fucking reckless that is?”
He shrugged, casual indifference laced with menace. “You signed up for this when you decided playing the field with us was a good idea.”
“Right, because being a felon trying to live a normal life in a world of criminality was on my bucket list,” I spat back. “Why not throw in the fact that I’m now infiltrating the life of a woman I genuinely care about?”
“Our goal is the priority, Kellin. If she gets hurt, that’s on you. You could save yourself and her. But only if you play this right.”
“If I play this right,” I echoed, the weight of it all clawing at my chest. “What if things spiral out of control? What if she finds out? What if—?”
Dick leaned in closer, silencing me with a sharp stare.
“Then you’ll have to deal with the consequences.
But I believe you have what it takes to pull this off.
” He paused to let the meaning of his words sink in, the impending pressure weighing heavily in the air.
“You’re good with people; you know how to read them and manipulate situations to your advantage.
But you need to move carefully. Keep your feelings out of it. Just another mission.”
I exhaled sharply, running a hand through my hair. Scarred memories of my previous dealings with the agency merged with the fresh anxiety of using Scarlett as a means to an end. She didn’t deserve to be tangled in my illicit dealings or—it made me nauseous just to think about it—my past sins.
“Yeah, because nothing bad ever comes from manipulating someone you care about, right?” I replied with a bitter edge to my voice.
“Focus, Kellin,” Dick snapped, tapping a finger against the table, his patience thinning. “Your emotions are your enemy here. Remember that. Get close; make her believe you’re in this for real. If she trusts you, she’ll let her guard down. That’s when you can start gathering the intel we need.”
I was staring at the table now, tracing the uneven wood grain with a finger. “What if she confides something dangerous? What if I can’t—even if I wanted to—bring it back to you? Can this really be kept under wraps?”
Dick shrugged, an unsettling confidence radiating from him. “You’re smart. Figure it out. You can handle it. Just don’t forget that our eyes are everywhere. You pull this off, you gain entry into a world where your past doesn't have to hunt you down anymore.”
I felt the reality dump down like an anchor in the pit of my stomach. This was it. I could back out, play it safe and potentially lose everything I’d rushed towards without realizing it, or I could dive headfirst into the chaos that Dick was orchestrating.
“If I do this, I need full protection for her. No games—if she’s in any danger because of me, you’re going to answer for it,” I asserted, hoping my conviction would at least soften the edges of the grim agreement we’d just reached.
Dick nodded, the slightest hint of appreciation flickering behind those calculating eyes of his. “Understood. We’ll protect her, as long as you keep your end of the bargain.”
“Not just for you, Dick,” I said, straightening my back, my resolve hardening. “This is for Scarlett.”
The agents projected an unnerving normalcy, nestling my life away into uncharted territory as I sank further into this whirlwind. I needed a plan, some semblance of a strategy to keep Scarlett safe while unraveling the truth about her twisted lineage that I had inadvertently become part of.
“Let’s get started,” I said, my heart hammering with a savage urgency as I braced for the dual lives I was about to navigate. It was a dangerous line I was walking, but I couldn’t ignore the stakes. For Scarlett.
As I looked back at Dick, one thought lodged itself deep within my mind: If I was playing chess now, I had to learn from my mistakes. The game had evolved into something sinister, and I’d be damned if I let anyone treat me or the people I cared about like a mere pawn.
It was time to take control.