SteeleKizz, Inc

Super Sleuth

Jaxon

When Jaxon returned home, the house was buzzing with energy. The housekeeping staff was busy with cleaning, kitchen staff was up to their eyeballs in preparing food for the gala, and Kat, was, not Kat. It seemed that she had a bit of pep in her step. Jaxon had ditched the work uniform in a work locker, he took a shower at the Y and changed into a set of clothes that he kept there. While his work clothes would stay there and he would wash at a laundromat near work. That way, there was no evidence of where he said he was going versus how long he actually stayed there. It was a detailed thought out scheme on how he was going to keep her nose out of his business.

He combed his fingers through his damp hair. His gym bag strap rested on his shoulder as he came in and everyone seemed rather pleased to see him, if not, ecstatic. What had he done to put a chipper smile on everyone’s face? Kat shimmied down the steps when she saw he had returned.

“Oh Jacky boy!” She rang out. “I’m so glad to see you.”

She nearly skipped to him from the bottom of the stairs to where he stood in the foyer taking in the sight of pleasant homecoming. She wriggled her body against his giving a soft cooing rubbing his chest up and down feeling the toned muscles.

“Seems like you had a good work out today,” she said with a pleased grin spreading across her face.

“I did. I enjoy swimming. It’s relaxing to me, as well as, keeps me in shape.”

“I must remember that. I definitely love the results.” Her hands roamed elsewhere and he felt slightly tensed where she was exploring.

“Seems that everyone is in good spirits.” Jaxon said diverting the conversation to something else other than himself.

“You have a happy and fully sated Mistress, everyone else reaps the rewards,” she said nuzzling into his neck. “They have you to thank for that. However, I must agree, I prefer surprises.”

Jaxon went wide eyed as she explained the mood of herself and the house servants as she nibbled his neck. He swallowed a growing lump in his throat.

“So I can see,” he said, trying to find anything to follow her comment up with. “I guess I must give myself a gratitude of thanks for everyone then.”

She gave a soft moan of approval before she took a step back, her hands freely roaming over his body. “What’s this I hear you have a job?” she questioned. Her eyes roamed over him, eventually reaching him.

“I, uh, I wanted something to do when you were away. There’s just so much that I can do around here before I run out of stuff to do and become bored.” Trying to regain composure, he pulled her in closely. “You wouldn’t want me bored, now would you?”

She scrunched up her nose at the idea of him working, but hearing his explanation followed by his remedy for it.

“I suppose,” she said. Her face remained in a grimace. “Just don’t let it interfere with your arrangement with me. Is that clear?”

Jaxon let his eyes roll back. “It’s a part time job. I’ve already explained that my schedule has to be flexible. I need to make my own schedule. They were happy with that and I go in when I want. It’s a win-win situation.”

Smirking, she heard him and raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that quite smart?”

“Of course. I kept what you said in mind. It had to be that way.” Jaxon let her loose as she started to pull back.

“Good. You will need to be ready by late Saturday evening. Our guests will arrive around dusk. I anticipate you being dressed appropriately.”

“I wouldn’t do it any other way.” He kissed her forehead. “I am tired after my workout. I’d like to get some rest. Any plans for tonight?”

She shook her head. “Just preparations that my staff are working on. You are free to do as you like until tomorrow around three p.m.”

Shifting his bag strap on his shoulder, he lowered his arm before nodding. “Sure thing. I’m going upstairs to rest. It’s later than I expected.”

She turned her wrist watch checking the time, giving a noticeable huff. “Well, I guess you’re right. Sweet dreams, Jaxy.”

She pulled at the sleeve’s hem of her robe watching Jaxon stroll up the stairway and down the hall towards his room. Something in the way he moved, caused her to feel the heat rising up between her legs. She made her way to the lower quarters to check on the last minute work confirming its completion.

Slipping into her office, she locked the large dark walnut wooden double doors making sure they closed securely all the way. She stood at the doorway for a moment, her back pressed firmly against the doorway. She took a deep breath and headed to the hideaway door on the far wall and slipped down the spiral stairs to the basement. The smell of concrete mix, fresh paint, and sounds of men working filled the currently empty space. She looked around at the small spaced rooms on either side of the left hallway with a glass wall and locked entry. In the main area of the basement, were raised platforms about knee high and seating areas scattered throughout. A two stall bathroom between the two spaces. The hallway was partitioned off as they finished installing the sliding barn doors accessing the hallway for the holding cells from the rest of the social room. Kat marched towards the bar and found the bottle of vodka pouring herself a glass. She put the large bottle back on the lower shelf as she sipped the glass looking at the last parts of the Parlor being finished. The incognito garage door entry was open, stepping out from behind the bar, she wanted to make sure that the security cameras and motion sensors were set up and working. She looked at the corner security closet, seeing the grid of circuit televisions displaying the parking lot, and the rear gated entry. She grinned pleased with the work as it slowly came to an end. The next night, it would be show time.

Jaxon placed the bag off to the side as he entered his room. He flopped down with a fluffy plop onto the bed. He was hoping to mildly attempt to get some rest before nightfall came; hope being the optimistic word. The house was buzzing with busy energies, making it hard for him to relax and try to rest. Everything was coming at him in small segments. Tabitha going over a menu with the rest of her staff. Oliver directs everyone on where to go and what to do. It was a faint detection, but Kat was roaming somewhere else in the house. That was odd to him. Why so faint, he thought. The smells of food being prepared in advance wafted even up to his room from the first floor. Now, there were the added smells of new paint, strong cleaning chemicals that could snuff out any person, and freshly cut wood. The overwhelming smells made it hard to focus on everything at once. He refocused and turned down his senses so that he could try to rest.

Jaxon turned over onto his side to the small security box under his bedside stand. He pulled out the flask looking container, unscrewed the top, and lifted it to his lips. Maybe a bit of blood would tide him over until tonight when he could feed as he made mental plans where to patrol. He had a lot of work cut out for him, especially, if he was going to help the US Marshall with putting Kat away for whatever crime they had ready to pin on her.

After letting his mind settle on swimming under the midnight star-filled sky in the cool Scotland waters, he drifted off into a light slumber. He kept dwelling on what the US Marshall had said and what his plans were to snoop around the house and find out just what Kat is up to. It was not only important to him, but also to any missing persons.

When the sun set in the western horizon, the work crew packed up their equipment giving everything one last look over. The construction chief was discussing the bill and completed work with Kat. The electric crew would be in early the next morning to finish creating the mood lighting. She passed along the check and crossed her arms watching their vans leave from the back exit on the closed circuit televisions. The head guard approached Kat slowly.

“Are things ready as you planned, Miss Krzysztof?” he asked. His own eyes watching the security cameras scan the different areas of the back lot.

She stood still and quiet for several seconds before speaking. “If not, that check will be rescinded just as quickly as it passed into his hands. He’ll be the first person in my holding cells that I’ll auction off for not doing the job as I demanded.”

She turned her head and gaze to the tall dark skinned man. She mentally licked her lips. “We should be having a delivery late tonight. I suspect that the package will be put in cell number 15. I can only assume it'll be a handful. Be prepared.”

“We are as ready as can be, Mistress. I’ve got men set up to work overtime tomorrow night, just in the event that someone gets out of sorts. They are the best in my field.”

A devious grin lifted up the right side of her mouth. “Very good. They will be paid well at the end of the show. Possibly even a special treat afterwards, if they are adventurous enough.”

The lead guard returned a similar grin curious what type of payment she was offering. “I will pass that message along. Anything else?”

She lifted a finger up to the collar of his shirt pulling it down checking out what she can of his chest. “Not until tomorrow night. You’re dismissed.”

The man gave a single nod as he walked outside the garage entry and into the backyard. Kat watched him on the cameras. The sun had finally set and the parking lot was dark now, other than the light from the house beaming down onto the ground from within the house.

Jaxon slowly came out of his slumber tossing around this way and that. He looked over at the window trying to figure out if they were pulled closed or if it was night time. The yellow beam of light from the outside security lights barely lit up his room. The roof of the recreational building and the servants quarters blocked out the majority of the property lights. That was one small bit of gratitude that Jaxon had about the positioning of his room. Nighttime had finally come. He glanced at his watch confirming the time. It was still relatively early, at least by the servants still being around, type of standards.

It was just past supper, a tray must’ve been sitting outside his bedroom door, the smell of the savory foods were stronger than they had been earlier. A coppery metallic smell from a raw steak teased at his nostrils, causing his nose to insanely twitch. While it was tempting to rush out and pick up the tray, it would give away that he’d woken up. Wanting the rest of the house to get the impression that he’d slept longer than he wanted to, all the while, he was opening his mind to what was going on in the house.

Kat still seemed a bit distant until a couple hours after he’d sat meditatively in his bed. Having picked up a book from Nessa’s small library, he began reading it. Several internal pings in his mind went off as people left the house or came in, vaguely reminding him of the messaging system sound that he’d seen used on computers in the past few years.

When Kat’s presence became stronger, he looked beyond the walls as if he could see her through them. Odd, he thought again. She was in her office. Yes, it was on the opposite end of the house, but so was her bedroom in comparison to his. His door wasn’t that far from the stairwell where you could overlook the foyer, and the office was just beyond the stairwell leading up. That was something else he’d have to check on.

Eventually, the sub-servants left and went home, while the live-in servants started getting ready to head to the servants quarters. Oliver and Tabitha were always the last two in the house at the end of the day. He could pick their locations up easily, even as far as the servant and guest quarters. Oliver must’ve been in the kitchen with Tabitha as their homing beacons settled there. Kat was moving to her bedroom. She stopped near his doorway and then moved down the hallway to her room.

Jaxon had finished the book in quick time. Midnight had come and gone. He finally pried open his door and got the plate of food that Tabitha had fixed him. He’d started making odd requests, but as long as she knew he was eating it she didn’t grumble or complain. He looked over the tray and grabbed the cooled steak pulling and tearing at it with his teeth so that he could drink up the blood. There were several slices of bacon and sausage that she had made into jerky. He let those bits sit on his tongue relishing in their flavors. He’d found a container and put the uneaten parts in it. Returning the favor to his forest friends, he’d take the bites of food and scatter them around. This had caught the attention of bigger prey, bear, mountain lion, and wolves. That meant a hearty treat for him.

Getting his stuff ready, he opened the window and levitated up on top of the roof. He wanted an eagle's eye view of everything going on. Since returning from Scotland with Nessa, several things had changed that he noticed from this height. The rear parking lot and lower garage that once allowed for just two or three cars to be parked had been adjusted to hold several cars, possibly even a couple of commercial sized trucks. Poles had been planted along the exterior of the new parking lot and part of the way along the drive into the parking lot.

Something else struck him as different which had him rubbing his eyes, there seemed to be intermittent red streaks pulsating out from the poles in different directions, rarely if at all facing behind them to the rest of the property and the wooded area where he frequently hunted. They were quite undetectable to the human eye and had he not been examining the poles he too wouldn’t have seen them.

As if something knew what he was thinking, several of the red beams of light lit up. He watched their paths as they dimmed and lit up along the gravel parking lot. Squinting his eyes, he made out the silhouette of a rabbit hopping around scavenging for food. A metal clunky squeak came from below and a couple of guards came out scaring off the small creature back into the woods. Jaxon could hear them scolding the animal and complaining about the lighting system detecting animals erroneously.

How could they have known an animal was out there? Jaxon knew a bit about technology, but wasn’t advanced on it. Were there also cameras that picked up the movement and relayed the image to the guards somewhere else? Jaxon had to check this out. When the metal clunk sound came again, he looked down at the ground. He wondered how fast he would have to go or be to not trigger the IR sensors. Was he fast enough? He questioned himself.

Like he did when levitating the first time, he focused in on the last pole farthest from him and on the other side of the parking lot. He looked there and pictured himself going there. He stood up and got into his quarterback stance ready to receive the ball. Ready, set…. Just as he closed his eyes, focusing on that spot and the will to go there, as he stood up and opened his eyes, he was there. He looked around and no IR beams and no guards coming out to yell at him.

Hmm. “I’m going to have to try that again. He bent down again, and focused on the other end of the parking lot closer to the house and his room. This time, he’d keep his eyes open, but remain just as mentally focused. Ready..set. In a blur of a millisecond, Jaxon was there and ready to stand up. Maybe this was how he could also levitate and fly like Nessa does. He confirmed as he whizzed along, the IR sensors didn’t go off.

Good, he thought. Keeping to the shadows taking care to not set off the sensors, he looked at the pole. The cameras weren’t on eye level but higher up. He levitated himself up without much effort and examined them. The cameras seemed to be aimed primarily at this part of the drive into the parking lot and the parking lot. No where else, not even the garage door.

This was becoming even more peculiar as time went on. It really had him reconsidering just what type of person he’d gotten himself associated with. Nevertheless, he had to hold up his end of the deal or his family could possibly suffer dire consequences. He didn’t want to see either of his sisters in harm's way because he chickened out.

He was going to have to research more into this type of equipment and technology so that he knows how to handle different situations and scenarios when technology could be the key factor.

After several more tests of not setting off the motion detectors, he figured it was time to see what all else Kat had up her sleeve. He was going to bring out the inside guards. He had to determine where they were coming out from. The garage door looked like it always had.

Jaxon called back to the rabbit and his friends lying low in the shrubs near the parking lot. They had gotten upset over the new parking lot messing with their roaming area. He picked a handful of clover and tossed them into the middle of the parking lot. He warned them that they may get scared off again, but that those big guys wouldn’t harm them.

The rabbits seemed cooperative with Jaxon. Several rabbits hopped into the middle of the parking lot and started eating away at the morsels he laid down.

Jaxon had hid behind a tall bush as the guys barreled out looking around and not seeing anything but the small forest creatures. They stomped out the driveway to scare them off successfully. With their backs to the door, Jaxon quickly stepped out from the bush and made his way into the entry. Taking a quick look around, he confirmed that there was a small closet of screens that displayed what was out in the parking lot. However, it didn’t pick up on small animals clearly. That could be a good thing.

Jaxon scanned the dark basement and found a corner to hide in behind a large box-like structure while the guys came in and sat at the desk munching away as they ate and messed around with some of the new gadgets at their disposal. Jaxon lifted the hood so that the majority of his body blended into the shadows. This area had several of those same boxes placed throughout the majority of the space. There were also couches, chairs, and chaise lounges littered near the boxes. To the far end of the room, there was a bar and some stools. That part didn’t surprise Jaxon at all, especially with how Kat likes to drink. The further back he went, the darker it became. There was a small hallway and alcove that led to a large metal looking door.

Jaxon looked over at the guys too busy with their new toys, he approached it carefully. Putting his hand on it, it was made of metal, but he couldn’t tell. The garage door had also been changed to a sturdier metal. He just didn’t know what kind. They were cooler to the touch.

In the basement, there were no windows to look in or out. There was another door, going back to the security room closet that he hadn’t seen before. Come to think of it, recalling the layout of the house, Kat’s office would be directly above. Was that a secret passage up to her office? He thought long and hard for a moment. With all the work that has gone on down here, who knows what type of renovating she did. It could quite possibly be that she added something to set off his locating her.

The freshly painted walls and cut wood came from this room the strongest. The strong aroma would make any human’s eyes tear up. For him, it just stunk.

Jaxon had to figure out how to open that sliding door and see what else was there without getting caught by the security guards. He knew Nessa could throw her voice and wondered if he had that ability too.

Quiet as possible, he cleared his throat. He closed his eyes and whispered something aiming it at the closest guard.

“Huh? What’d you say, Bruce?” said the hefty guy.

“I didn’t say anything,” said the other one.

“I know I heard someone. Are you sure?”

“Go check it out. If you think so.” Said the guy further into the closet space.

Jaxon attempted to throw a whisper again, but to the other guy since the closest one stood up and moved to the doorway.

“Hey! Did you say something?”

The other guy at the door halted and looked back. “No.”

Both guys looked around the darkened space and headed to the doorway.

“Must be someone outside then,” said the sitting guy who was now standing and making his way to the door.

That gave Jaxon the chance to slide the door open enough for him to slip through a small space. This room seemed even darker since the glow from the security screens weren’t lighting up any of it. Closing his eyes, he was able to see better after a few seconds being in the dark. Everything was in shades of black and gray. It seemed to be a hallway.

Jaxon crept along looking to the right and left. There were small open spaces portioned off with small mats laying on the floor.

Jax’s brow furrowed. Who or what was going to be here. He approached one of the sections but came face to face with a glass wall and entry. He moved his hands along the glass and noticed that it had a secured lock on it. This puzzled him even more. Glass wall with locking door on the outside only. A space small enough for someone like himself to lay down in but not much else. Small mats placed on the floor. What the hell? Was all that Jaxon could say to himself.

There were about 15 of these rooms with the last space containing mats, cuff-like devices and blankets and sheets. This was beyond weird.

Now, to get out of here. He hadn’t closed the door all the way, so that he could get out relatively easily. He just had to make sure that the guards hadn’t returned to their post. Closing his eyes, he focused on their location. One was outside the door while the other was a couple of steps behind him.

Jaxon slipped out through the small opening and carefully pulled the door back into place. With the guys distracted for the time being, he headed straight for the new door. He turned the knob slowly, lifted the door up a bit so it wouldn’t squeak on the hinges and then closed it shut just as quietly and quickly as he had opened it. He stayed put making sure that the guards were still distracted. They were. He took a slow breath out and tiptoed up the circular staircase.

At the top platform, there was a keyhole. He peeped in it and couldn’t see anything. The room on the other side was dark too. He closed his eyes and focused on anyone that may have come into that room. All that he picked up was the guards grumbling at one another. Kat was still in her room. Oliver wasn’t around either. He opened the door and came into the dimly lit office.

Jaxon looked around the room. There was a large desk in the middle of the room but further back against the wall. Several bookcases lined one wall, several filing cabinets on another wall, a couple of paintings hung up high, and a high back chair behind the desk that looked to be made of leather. It was all decorated in dark colors. The wood of the desk, the chair, the framework of the windows, and baseboards. The walls were painted a deep green waist high and then tinged cream from the waist up to the ceiling. This room smelled not only old, but expensive. Everything in here was either bought brand new or was an expensive antique. The desk when he got closer showed small amounts of aging on the corners and top parts where a chair arm may have hit the edge when being scooted up.

Jaxon didn’t want to spend much time in this room, but he was certain that several secrets were hidden here that may help him and the Marshall’s case. For now, he needed to get back outside and hunt before daybreak.

He caught on to where the guards were on the sides of the property and the front. Confirming that the door to the basement in her office was closed as it was when he came in, he peeped out the window between patrolling guards. He opened it, levitated, and closed it as he went up to the roof. From there, he was scott free. Not many of the guards walking the perimeter thought to look on the roof. Either way, he made sure he wouldn’t be spotted. He stayed below the peak of the house and landed safely on the recreation wing. From there, he landed superhero style on the walkway leading up to the servants apartments. Casually making his way to the woodline, he patted his pocket making sure that the meat container was still there.

He made it to the dense woods where he unpacked the meat and scattered it along the way. He strolled to the overlook where he would watch and wait for his meal. He enjoyed seeing the city lights sparkle along the ocean side.

However, there was nothing like the starry skies of Scotland.