Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

JJ

When I got home after lunch, Four was watching television. I noted that it wasn't cartoons but the news instead.

"Is that a good idea?" I turned to Angel, who was sitting on another chair, laptop propped on his knee.

"I asked him what he wanted to watch, and he said he didn't care. I was flipping, and he was interested in this channel."

I didn't want to be that person who told another living soul who to be, so I nodded and went into the kitchen for a drink. Aziza would be there shortly, and I figured I'd make some coffee.

"Hey, how's the shop?" Mason and Gabe were in there, having just finished lunch, it appeared.

"Good. Wes and Darby seem to be exactly what that place needed, and Lizzy is relieved with the help."

"Yeah, they're good people." Mason gathered his and Gabe's dishes.

"Darby's a character."

Gabe snorted. "She tried to hug me the first time she saw me."

"Oh, Lord." I laughed. "How'd that go?"

"Told her we don't do that here."

I nodded. "She just shook my hand, so she clearly heeded your warning."

"Aziza's here," Angel shouted from the living room.

"Go." Mason shooed me. "I'll bring in coffee when it's done."

"Thanks."

Four came over, and Angel shut the television off. Once everyone was situated, Aziza smiled at Four.

"How are you doing today?"

"Fine."

"Sleep well?"

"The pills let me sleep."

Aziza cocked her head. "You said that yesterday. Without the pills, you can't sleep?"

"Sleeping is dangerous."

"Is that because of where you used to be?"

He nodded. "Always be ready."

I'd noticed sometimes Four spoke fluidly, and other times it seemed fragmented, and I'd wondered if he spoke the same exact way his brain was processing things.

"Before the pills, while you stayed here, JJ said he'd checked on you and you slept."

"Rested. Never slept."

"Do you like being able to fall into a deep sleep?"

"I like that it shuts everything off."

I supposed anyone who had trouble sleeping could understand that. Four was wired a different way. He couldn't embrace REM because his mind was likely always trying to protect him as best it could. The pill flipped the switch and for his health, it was a good thing.

Aziza, focused mostly on ways to calm the mind, asked some questions pertaining to his past, but nothing new was revealed.

After she told Four they were done for the day, he went back to watching TV, and she pulled me aside.

"Four is hiding a lot, and I'm almost sure it's things he may not be able to pull out himself."

"What do you suggest?"

"Hypnosis. I don't know if he's ready quite yet, but if we can uncover them, I can address them in a calmer way. Through hypnosis I can make it so he won't remember telling me, and that way we can do it in pieces."

"That's if he's susceptible."

She hummed. "True, but it's worth a try. What's in there won't be pretty, but in some ways brainwashing also works in a way that even good memories are suppressed. Bringing the happiness to the forefront could be healing for him."

"Yeah, I trust your judgment on this."

"Great. See you tomorrow."

I decided I'd start dinner so that Shep didn't have to deal with it when he got home. I wasn't an amazing cook, but there were a few things I was good at.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I saw it was Shep. He had a flat tire and would be a little late. I had just slipped the chicken into the oven and responded at the same time Nick and Noel came running into the kitchen.

"Everyone…we need everyone in here."

Within a minute we were all gathered.

"Where's Shep?" Nick asked.

"He got a flat, he's working on it. He'll be here soon."

Nick and Angel immediately got on their phones while Noel spoke.

"As you know, Nick and I have been digging everywhere. You all gave us a shit-ton of work. We got some good leads and were able to track the cell phone and establish a pattern of behavior. We're in the process of connecting to street cameras."

"That's why you came in here like the house was on fire?" I huffed.

"No, ass. While we were doing that, we were alerted to two things. One, the church where we went to remove Four's tracker got visitors." Noel put his tablet on the table.

On the screen were four men, dressed in dark clothes but not like robbers. They were in suits. Jackets fell to the knee and were perfectly fitted to their bodies, and their shoes were shiny. While I could tell they were men when they turned, each one had a mask that covered half their faces.

"What the fuck?" Mason whispered.

"They were prepared for the possibility they'd be on camera?" Gabe chimed in.

"Possibly, or it's a uniform. No idea. They searched the whole building for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. Nick and I were prepared to come tell you all, but another alert came through."

"Where?" I didn't think we'd set up any other cameras.

Noel looked at Max. "A neighbor called the cops to go to your residence over what appeared to be a break-in."

I shrugged. "We did leave the house in not such good shape. My bad."

Nick shushed me. "I don't care about that. Maxwell's street has a neighborhood watch and that watch set cameras up, so we weaseled our way into them because seriously, not a great system."

"Anyway." Angel motioned for them to go on.

"A cop car showed up; it was there by the time we connected. But a few minutes later, two black town cars arrived. And even though they didn't have on the masks, they faced the house only so we couldn't see them, they were the exact same guys or at least dressed the same as those at the other place."

"So, they have police scanners. So do we. They were probably tracking it," Mason concluded, and it was logical.

"Watch." Noel hit a key, and a video played.

The men arrived and went up to the officers. They spoke for a moment, and then the cops just left. Sure, it could have been them saying they lived there or knew who did, and that likely could have been convincing.

Three of the men went into the house after that, and the other pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on it. He stuck it to a spot next to the broken front door. All four men exited a minute later, got into the cars, and left.

"One sec," Noel said as he clicked a button, and the camera zoomed in. "I had to clean it up a lot." The note on the house was barely legible, but we could make it out.

Gabe read it out loud since not everyone could view the tablet.

"You have things that belong to us. We will get them back."

Well, that couldn't be good.

Four's voice from the doorway made us all turn.

"Time's up."

I knew he was right.