21. Chapter Twenty-One Cam #2
You eat it and shit it out.
I settled into the worn leather chair, Skeeter's laptop balanced on my thighs. The soft glow of the screen lit my face as my fingers moved across the keys. The tape fingerprint sat on the table beside me, just in case.
"Alright, you piece of shit," I said to the screen, "let's see what secrets you're hiding."
I navigated through mundane files. Porn, shitty music, the usual crap. But then something caught my eye. A folder labeled "Chimichunga_X" sat on the desktop, practically begging to be opened. I mean, with a name like that, it's gotta be something good.
I double-clicked, only to be greeted by a password prompt.
"Fuck me. Of course it's encrypted."
I leaned back, running a hand through my hair. I cracked my knuckles. "Game on, asshole."
I dove into the dark web, searching for decryption tools. My eyes burned from the screen's glare, but I couldn't stop. Hours ticked by. I barely noticed Lakey coming in and out, doing her thing before tossing a sandwich my way with a concerned look. I grunted in acknowledgment, too focused to eat.
Finally, the folder unlocked. I clicked through file after file, each one revealing more about Chimera.
"Holy shit," I said. "Lakey, baby! Get in here. You're gonna want to see this."
She came in, barefoot, hair still wet, tiny droplets falling onto the floor. "What's got you all worked up?"
I gestured to the screen. "Well, our favorite beady bastard? Turns out he was sitting on a goldmine. He was way more important to Chimera than he let on."
She leaned over my shoulder. I clicked open a file labeled "Operatives" and a map popped up, dotted with red pins.
"Well, fuck me sideways," she said, scanning the screen. "Are those...?"
"Chimera agents," I finished. "And look here, baby. There's one just a few blocks away."
"Oh, Cam. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
I leaned back. "You bet your sweet ass I am. We're gonna pay our neighbor a little visit."
This was our chance to get ahead, to finally have the upper hand against Chimera, but we'd need to play this smart.
"Listen, babe," I said, grabbing her hand. "This is gonna be tricky. We can't go in guns blazing. We need finesse, charm..."
"And a dash of psychopathy?"
I shoved the laptop off me and pulled her onto my lap. "Exactly. You up for a little roleplay, darlin'?"
She straddled me. "Always. What did you have in mind?"
As I outlined the plan, I could feel us clicking into gear. This was what we lived for. Tracking, hunting, the dance on the edge of danger. It felt good. Not the jittery, itchy good that came from killing marks. Something steadier. Something with a direction.
A mission that felt like I had a purpose, even if that purpose was slow murdering assholes who tortured women and children.
Something that actually made sense for once in my goddamn life.
Half of me was proud. I'd wanted to be a cop when I was young, so young I hadn't yet realized the state of corrupt decay within the forces.
Before I gutted a man for hurting my girl.
Now, I was glad I'd never had the chance.
These types in prison? With more money than they knew what to do with? Always get off. Always.
Now they wouldn't.
Maybe I would have been able to be something else, someone else, if Chimera hadn't existed.
Maybe I wouldn't have needed to gut a rapist, but I did, which led me, led us, here.
A sick feeling crawled up my spine. If Lakey and I were both products of the foster system, how did they plan all of this?
Was she always going to end up at that nun home?
Was I always going to end up in prison? Were the foster placements chosen?
Was Carmen selected? Were the Almines? Was every single moment of our lives, from the fork to the cliff to this apartment, mapped out on a whiteboard somewhere by people who watched us through the glass and took notes?
You were released.
How the fuck had they planned all of this?
More importantly, I couldn't figure out why the fuck we were even still alive. The more I thought about it, the more a sick ball twisted in my gut. There was more to this. More than we were piecing together. I just couldn't see the shape of it yet.
And now Cloak and the warden were in the same room, watching Lakey dance. In a club three blocks from our apartment.
They weren't hiding from us. They were checking in on us.
"So," I said, my hands on her hips, shoving the thoughts down before they could swallow me whole. "You ready to raise some hell?"
Lakey leaned in, her lips brushing mine. "Baby, you had me at 'roleplay'."
"Alright, let's get our shit together. We've got a busy night ahead."
She hopped off my lap. "What's the plan again? Sorry, I was daydreaming. Are we going full 'damsel in distress' or more 'lost pizza delivery'?"
I stood up, stretching my arms above my head, pulling the tension from my back. "I'm thinking we play it simple. Charming new neighbors who just moved in down the street. You can be your usual bubbly self, and I'll be the doting husband."
"Ooh, domestic bliss with a side of murder. I like it," she said, already rummaging through our closet. "How about this?" She held up a pastel sundress that screamed 'innocent housewife'.
"Perfect," I nodded, grabbing a polo shirt and khakis. "We'll look like we just stepped out of a fucking 1950’s painting."
Lakey slipped into character. One minute she could be shoving a severed cock down someone's throat, the next she was the picture of suburban perfection. She'd give a lesser man whiplash with her range.
"Don't forget to grab the pie from the fridge," I called out as I checked my reflection. "Nothing says 'harmless neighbor' like pie. Oh, you got a brown wig? If this guy is entrenched, he will recognize you."
“Already got it on.” Lakey appeared behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. "And I can fill it with poison, right? Wait, when did you get pie?"
I turned, cupping her face in my hands, stunned at how different she looked with the short brown wig.
She actually looked domestic. "I dunno, I found it in the freezer and thawed it in the fridge.
I think it's chicken, but who really cares?
Not like he's gonna eat it with us." I spun her in a circle.
Damn, she looked good as a soccer mom going out for dinner.
Might have to fuck her later like this. "No poison, darl'.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, we gather intel.
Then we decide how to deal with our new friend. "
"Fine, but I call dibs on the first stab if things go south."
"Wouldn't have it any other way," I said, kissing her forehead. "Now, let's go introduce ourselves to the neighborhood."
As we stepped out of our apartment, arm in arm with a pie between us, I felt that peace. The one that happened when the hunt started. Not jittery. Not manic. Just locked in.
Small steps were still steps, especially when it meant slotting one more piece into the puzzle. And this puzzle was getting bigger every day.
But so were we.