SteeleKizz, Inc

Leaning against the door of his restored Mustang convertible, Jaxon anxiously looked down at his watch with arms crossed. It wasn’t so much unlike his new friend to be late, but not when it came to meeting him at the safe house. He was customarily prompt. Jaxon shuffled in place, unfolding his arms and shoving his hands into his pockets. The moon was still high in the sky, but Jaxon didn’t want to waste any more time than he had to. With a long sigh, he moved towards the doorway of the more than dilapidated trailer. Taking a step onto the wooden platform, a loud creek echoed underfoot. Briskly scanning the area and taking a good sniff of the air, he didn’t sense any danger. All the smells of rotted, dampened wood and strewn trash on the ground still lingered, not to his surprise. It was a good place for a safe house. Anyone who passed by or peeped into the window would suspect that no one lived there. The property was overgrown with weeds and unkempt trees. It looked vacant. Jaxon reached for the metal door handle but stopped cold. He looked up from the knob to a red faint glimmering light aimed towards him from off to the side. He chuckled and tilted his head. “I think I can get to you faster than your bullet can reach me, Homer. Eh? Care to let me in?” Some mumbling and stumbling came from the other side of the first entry. Not long, a stench of old barrel whiskey filled his senses. Homer was drunk. That, to Jaxon, was a surprise. The handgun was still primed and ready, and an older man opened the door and looked at Jaxon, and then scanned everywhere else around him. “Do you have to give away my hide-out, Jack?” he grumbled motioning to Jaxon’s car parked in a makeshift driveway. Jaxon replied with a shrug. “Yes.” He said plainly. “You said to meet you here two hours ago. It’s now almost midnight. What’s going on?” Jaxon asked, but knew at least part of the reason just by the smell of stale liquor wafting around the door frame. He gave a quick clear of his throat as the man lurched to the door. The older man scanned the area around him, slowly pulling open the door to let the younger man in. He heard the noise and nodded. “Oh, yeah. You may enter, Jaxon.” Jaxon smiled and entered with his hands placed behind his back. “You look like hell. I’m sure you’re aware of that by now.” Once inside, Jaxon waited for Homer to walk him to the second entrance before going into scolding mode. “Eh, f**k off, pretty boy,” Homer laughed. “The boys at the squad house wanted to take me with them for another officer’s birthday party. Even though I objected, they managed to drag me along anyways. After two bottles of seven-year-old Scotch, I don’t think many left the bar without some help getting home. I just happened to remember to request to be dropped off here.” He felt around his body and fidgeted with putting his glasses on. The two men headed to another part of the trailer that led them to a secured entrance and larger lit room. Jaxon covered his eyes from the harsh brightness as he followed Homer. Homer contested even more than when he answered the door. He motioned for Jaxon to take a seat in one of the comfier chairs as Homer took the chair behind the desk. Opening several desk drawers and shuffling through them, Homer managed to find a bottle of pain medication and partially drunk water, which he promptly chugged. He looked to Jaxon, who was intently watching him try to wake up and shake off a miserable hangover. “It was worth it, my man, it was worth it. The gal who popped out from the cake was the manager of the bar. She said she’d always dreamed of doing it and finally had her chance. I can tell you this. That gal knows how to kiss.” Homer went into a momentary memory recall pausing to recollect the events earlier in the night. Jaxon recalled doing the same but it seemed much quicker for him. No one barely notices. “So,” Jaxon said to break the silence. “You wanted me to meet you here. What gives?” Homer shook his head and nodded. “Yeah. That.” He pulled out a thin file folder with some photos and papers tossing it across the desk to Jaxon. Leaning forward, Jaxon picked up the folder and skimmed through it. So far, no person that he recognized among those photographed, although some of the scenery and buildings looked vaguely familiar. The rest of the paperwork all read like Japanese to him. Most law officer paperwork made him feel like he was reading some kind of ancient text. “Okay?” he questioned. “No one I know here. A couple of places I’ve been to over the years, but that sums it up.” Homer nodded. “Yes, I know. You know that they have put me on desk duty. They are retiring me without really going through the motions. It’s entirely a farce. However, as I was in the archives doing some cleanup and filing stuff away, I came across this. Thought it might stir up some tidbits for you.” Jaxon looked through it again, this time glancing over the names. Nothing seemed to ring a bell. He shook his head and shrugged. “Still, no. What’s it about?” Homer pointed his finger at the picture in Jaxon’s hand as he sorted through them again. “That is Kat’s former boss and…husband.” He stood up and dashed to Jaxon’s side leaning his side against the chair. He pulled out one of the documents and pointed to a couple of names listed. Kat and the man in the photo. “He somehow got offed several years ago. No body. No details. Kat strangely enough never attended his funeral. You know, like most decent mourning wives would do? Instead, she was seen with a new main squeeze just days after. It wasn’t long until you came along as her prized arm candy.” Jaxon looked down at the picture again. It looked like it was taken several years back. Kat would have been, maybe, in the early twenties as he made over the man’s attire. The man certainly had the facial structure of someone from either Prussian or Soviet territory. Although, finding out that Kat was married to someone else before him, doesn’t surprise him in the least. He’s learned that she’s left out quite a bit before they married about her past. “Well, with everything I’ve told you about Kat so far, this doesn’t come as much of a surprise Homer. It is rather interesting to know, but…why are you showing me this?” Homer pulled out another file, much thinner, and pushed it towards him. “Look at that.” Jaxon took the second file and stopped cold. It was Kat and another younger man walking along the streets. The younger man favored the older man in the other photograph. He glanced up to Homer with a raised brow. “We haven’t been able to determine if that’s her husband that came back from the dead as someone younger. Or if it’s a son or another relative. We were hoping you might be able to find out for us. Is it her dead husband? Boy, you might just have more trouble than you thought.” Jaxon was beside himself. Who am I kidding to try to believe Kat anymore? Although the prospect of another male taking his place didn’t bother him in the least, it was the fact of how Kat had deceived him throughout the years of their courtship. What was she looking to do? He thought to himself. Am I just a pawn in her web of lies? With a low internal growl, Jaxon looked back down at the photo and etched it into his memory. He took in all the mannerisms, the look that Kat was giving him, and his attire and locked it away in his mental safe. It, too, favored the old Soviet stiff neck style of clothes, but with an updated touch. “I’m not sure how much information I can get for you. This isn’t something I want to argue about. Not with Kat.” Jaxon said. He had been focused so hard on the pictures of Kat and another younger man to not even sense or see Homer move from by his side to around his desk and sit in his chair. How can someone shake off being played for a fool, even if the feelings of true love aren’t there anymore? He had to weigh the pros and cons but felt deep within him that this bit of evidence would help him in the long run. “The squad boys kind of guessed this was just a relative, but for me, this is more than ironic. This kid, supposedly, has started hanging out with a rough crowd. Getting into a lot of dirt and trouble. It’s starting to raise alarms. If we can figure out who it is and how he came about, it might be in both our interests. Ya know?” Jaxon nodded and handed the files back. “ I’ll see what I can do. I try to distance myself from all her dealings, personal or business. It’s just, safer that way.” His gaze was downcast as he searched his heart and soul for an answer to his blight. He was tired of being a pawn in someone’s game. He finally stood up to leave. At the doorway, he paused with a smile and turned to Homer. “Ya know, one of these days, you’ll owe me a big favor.” Homer lifted the water glass and tilted it towards Jaxon. “A life debt. I can do that. Later, Kid.” Jaxon departed quickly from the desolate building. His exit confirmed that he had covered his tracks well enough that no one could follow him or figure out that he was there. Upon returning home, he had quite a few questions. To begin with, snoop around Kat's office. Find out more about this young man by rummaging through her papers. In his mind, he had no objections to someone taking his spot as her new play toy. He did worry about what would happen to him afterward. What did Kat have in mind if she did want to get rid of him? He wasn’t going to make it easy on her. He wanted out of her life, out of their contractual arrangement, and be done with her once and for all. He had no qualms about hurting feelings. There would be no depths he would take to make Kat not existent. First, Jaxon needed some guidance from someone he knew. Now he seemed to be looking forward to a weekend getaway in Scotland.