Jack
I managed not to run to my laptop to google Silas Ryker because I knew Rey trusted me to keep him safe, but I had a weird feeling I’d heard the name before somewhere. Rey had been so adamant about not being able to even find out if there was a missing person’s report about him, that I knew he meant business.
So, when my curiosity got the best of me a couple of days later, I did what anyone with any connections would, and decided to call Edgar.
“Hey, buddy,” he replied, sounding happy.
“Hey.” I found myself smiling. “You sound good.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty good, actually. Just got off a yacht job in the Mediterranean and am heading to Sicily for a vacation. A friend has a place there.”
I chuckled. “Friend with benefits?”
“Oh yes. She has some very nice…benefits.”
I shook my head. “Well, as happy as I am for you getting your hands on those benefits, I actually needed to ask something more serious.”
His tone changed immediately. “Yeah, of course.”
“You still have contact info for that hacker chick, what’s her name?”
“She goes by Iris. And yeah, sure. You need her services?”
“Yeah, sort of. Can you get me her info or give her mine? Tell her I can pay and that…it’s…” I struggled with words. “It’s for someone very important to me.”
“Huh. Never thought I’d hear that tone from you.”
I frowned, glad that he couldn’t see me, and we ended the call pretty quickly.
* * * *
Couple of hours later, I was getting ready for bed, when my cell rang with an unknown number.
“This is Cook,” I replied.
“I heard you need help,” a feminine voice stated. “What do you need?”
I grimaced. She didn’t sound pleased. I lowered my voice, just in case Rey was still awake or listen or whatever. I was paranoid about this. “There’s an underaged friend of mine who ran away from a shitty situation nearly a year ago now.”
“Uh-huh.”
“He told me his first name and his father’s name recently, and he’s not told either of those to anyone else for safety reasons. Not even the people who he trusts fully and who took him in when they found him in the streets.”
“I’m following.”
“Right, so, he’s convinced that if one of us was to look into whether there’s a missing person’s report or anything, somehow his father would find out. Because he has ‘connections,’” I said in a tone she knew I was quoting Rey.
“Okay. Makes sense. And you want me to see what I can find out?” At my affirmative noise, she asked, “Why do you care? What’s in it for you?”
I hung my head and sighed. “He’s…special. To me.”
The ire in her tone startled me. “Look, I’m not going to—”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” I said quickly. “It’s not that he doesn’t want to, but I wouldn’t…I’m not that kind of guy.” I wanted to say that I promised I was telling the truth, but I had a feeling she didn’t deal in promises.
“So why then?”
“Because I want him to be able to live freely. He can’t get his GED yet, because his father would know where he is if he went to get his ID and so on. At least that’s what he’s been telling our friends.”
