A GAME OF CHASE

All about me

Jacob stared at the words on the screen for a few moments, debating what to do. He hated the idea of helping her, but she had already lied to him once, she could easily do it again. But still...he didn't really want her to die.

Maybe this is how he ends up like the rest of them, he thought bitterly. Maybe he'll end up like his father, a murderer.

He sighed and typed a reply.

"Sure, why not?" he replied.

"Great! Meet me at the warehouse tomorrow at noon. We'll go over the details then."

"Okay, see you tomorrow," he replied and then he tossed his phone aside and buried his face in his hands.

What did she mean by 'we'? Did she mean together? Did she even realize what she'd admitted? Was she really that desperate to escape the life she was leading? He had the feeling that there was more to her story than what she told him. Something more sinister lurking within her.

Sighing deeply, he stood up from the couch, stretched and headed upstairs to his bedroom. He lay down in bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He wasn't tired, but he guessed that it would probably take a while for him to fall asleep.

He thought back to what Ava had told him earlier today. He remembered asking her what happened and how she wound up at Juvie, but that wasn't nearly as important as what happened after that. He still had questions. Questions he desperately wanted answered. Questions he just couldn't stop thinking about.

For the rest of the night he stayed awake wondering what she might have in store for them tomorrow. What would she ask him and what would he tell her? What could she possibly want from him that would require them to work together again?

He couldn't remember ever feeling so confused before.

*****

The next morning, he awoke to sunlight streaming through the window. He rolled over, reached out for his phone, opened the app, checked the time and realized that he still had a couple of hours until noon.

He glanced out the window and saw that it was still bright outside, but gray clouds were slowly covering the sun. He looked at his watch. 7:30am. Damn it! he was supposed to meet Ava at 12 o'clock.

Jacob sat up in bed, looking around his bedroom. There was a small coffee table sitting in front of the TV that occupied almost half of the space on the far wall of the room. His desk was situated between the coffee table and the bed.

On top of the desk sat a box containing a variety of tools and materials. Sitting in front of it was his laptop, which he switched on. He opened the browser and entered a search engine and entered 'Ava Myers'. He scrolled through the various articles, searching for anything about a con artist and a thief. The first article that came up was an article about a robbery at a pawn shop a few years ago.

The crime scene wasn't recorded, but a close inspection of the surroundings showed several pieces of jewelry being stolen. He looked at the time. 9:00am. Great, he still had plenty of time.

Jacob took the mouse and clicked 'Next'. Another article about a bank robbery came up on the screen and Jacob skimmed through it until he found the part he was looking for.

The bank robber was arrested. Apparently, he was involved in several other robberies as well. According to the eyewitnesses, he had a black hood over his head when he entered the building and wore a ski mask as well.

Well, Jacob figured, there was nothing else to do except wait for Ava to call.

About ten minutes later, he heard his phone ringing. Glancing at it, he saw that it was Ava calling him. He picked it up and said hello to her.

She was quiet for a few seconds and then said, "Good morning. Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking," Jacob replied sarcastically, "Are we going over to the warehouse today?"

"Yes, I have something important to show you. Do you have any objections?"

"None at all. Just send me directions."

Ava proceeded to recite directions to the warehouse. Immediately he got the directions from Ava via a text message, he called one of his best friends, Damon Stone to update him on the situation and also to make an extensive research on Ava Myers.

A few rings and Damon picked up on the other end.

"Hey, Damon. I've got a thing for you to do right now and I need it in about 10 minutes or less, if it's possible," he said, sticking his leg into his shoes.

"I'll get started on it right away. What are we working on here exactly?"

"We're gonna go over to the warehouse and look around and when we're done, you carry out a research on the name I just mentioned earlier."

"Sounds easy enough, but why am I doing it? I'm pretty sure you have better ways of getting information than me," Damon said, slightly irritated.

"Because I'm gonna give you all the info I find, but I can only do that with an unbiased witness."

"All right, I guess that makes sense," Damon conceded, sounding a little suspicious.

They talked for another few minutes and then Jacob hung up. He grabbed his keys and wallet, and left his apartment.

***********

As soon as he arrived at the warehouse, he went inside and headed straight for the door that led to the second floor. It was unlocked. He walked toward the stairway, taking the stairs quickly and heading up towards the third floor. As he ascended the steps, he began thinking about the conversation he'd had with Ava yesterday evening.

On sighting Ava, he c****d his left eyebrow, expecting some sort of explanation from her but he got none. So, he started the conversation.

"So, you've got a lot of nerves as a con artist to call me up here, asking me to aid you in a heist, Ava!" he spoke with so much venom dripping from his words but within him, his emotions were on the rise.

"You can cut off all ties you have with me after you're done helping me with this heist. Like I said in my last message to you, this is my last heist and I need you as a jewelry expert to help me out here with some details," she said, not maintaining eye contact with him. She was ashamed of his actions but she didn't want to get tangled in something she couldn't finish.

"So, I'm just here for authentication or actually going with you to the whole operation thingy?"

"You will be doing both."

"You do know that I have a reputation to maintain and I can just as easily report you to the authorities, right?"

"I know."

"So, why still come to me when you know that I can do that?

"I don't know but I have a feeling that you won't let it happen. I see the way you look at me, Jacob," she said, slowly as she walked over to the table.

"And you think that is going to cut it?"

"Enough talking, get over here," she signaled him to the table that had a large paper sprawled on it.

"What is this?" he asked her, quizzically.

"The plan. Everything will be explained to you shortly."

Jacob stared at her skeptically. "This isn't the plan. You said that you needed me to authenticate a necklace."

"Well, I guess I should start by explaining everything," she stated, placing her hands on the edge of the table and leaning forward slightly. "My name is Ava Myers and I'm an art con artist. That means that I'm a con artist who conned people into believing she has artistic talent. Basically, I pretend to paint landscapes and create jewelry using a camera and a computer. Then when I'm done with the paintings, they appear online. I sell them at auction and collect the money."

"That sounds like a scam."

"It is a scam! But I can't change that fact. And besides, you said you wanted to help me so why not make use of it?"

"I never said that..."

Ava smirked.

"I'm helping you out here on a long limb but you have to promise me that none of this jeopardizes my safety."

"Yeah, I promise."

Jacob got exactly what he wanted from her without her knowing anything -- a confession. He quickly sent a text to Damon who was outside, spying on them.

Jacob: Did you get all of that?

Damon: Yeah, I did but how did you get involved with her?

Jacob: It doesn't matter. Just keep that as evidence. We'd need it soon. You can leave now.

And with that being said, Jacob focused on Ava as she explained everything to him again.