Jail Bird. by Em. Z. (best free ebook reader .txt) 📕

I bit my lip against blowing our cover, and instead asked as I began to stand, "What's the latest on Ike?"

"Haven't gotten a lead on him lately. But I'm still looking. I promise I'll find him, Jane."

I nodded, swallowing thickly. "I guess I should go tell victor, eh?" I asked, letting nervousness and sorrow cloud my voice as I stood.

He nodded back, his eyes telling me what his voice couldn't - to be careful about this.

I gave a small, weak smile in acknowledgement of his look and turned, heading for the beach.

As I walked, I scanned the beach, trying to be casual about it. I noticed a man standing at the shore. His back was turned to me, and his head was bent to look at the sand. He had his hand to his ear as if he were talking on his phone. I gave him a casual smile as he looked up at me.

He gave a polite smile back, his eyes assessing me.

I kicked sand as I walked, pressing my lips together as I thought about how I was going to tell him this without giving away that I knew what Ike was up to. I ran my hands through my hair.

Perhaps I could tell him to act as if I were breaking up with him - leaving him. And as we were "fighting" I would tell him about what my father had said. Of course I could just drag him into the bathroom and just drop the idea of acting. But that took away all the fun. I wanted to put my acting skills to good use.

It took a few minutes more to reach the house, and I froze as I saw the flashing lights of cop cars. I noticed one of the policemen push off from where he leaned defensively on the car. 

I furrowed my eyebrows, my heart rate accelerating. I began to jog over to where he stood. "What's wrong? What happened? Is everyone alright?" I called as I was halfway there.

He met me, and suddenly grabbed my arm. I was pushed to my knees, as he pinned my other arm behind my back. "Ms. Harington, you're under arrest for assisting the criminal, Mr. Dirk Harington. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to an attorney-"

"What? What are you talking about? Let me go!" I struggled as he slapped his cuffs on my wrists.

He ignored me as he continued his speech, pulling me to my feet. I looked around for some help, and found Victor standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at us.

"Victor! What are you doing?" I cried, struggling in the cop's grasp.

He only stared at me, his eyes emotionless.

I was shoved into a cop car, staring at Victor in utter confusion - and hurt.

***

I sat in the holding cell, staring at the ground with emotionless eyes. Apparently Victor had gotten an anonymous call that told him I was with my father at the Bay. The police had also gotten the call. Seeing as Victor couldn't very well admit that he was working with Dad...he gave me up.

I was back to my old, cocky, sarcastic, uncaring self. And I was enjoying it.

I was hurt, and ashamed, and utterly annoyed with Victor. If I saw him again, I'd probably take my fist and show him just how bruised my knuckles could get. So I did what I always did. I hid my feelings behind a powerful, solid concrete wall of cocky, uncaring smiles and Jail-Bird attitudes. I even corrected the eyebrow thing in the mirror today.

I looked up from my thoughts as someone approached the cell door. Kent stared in at me, and I smirked at him.

"Hey, big bro! What's up?"

His look was disgusted. His eyes squinted as he stared at me. "Who are you?"

"What are you talking about? Obviously you've never met me before." I rolled my eyes.

Kent shook his head, wrapping his hands around the bars. "Jane...this isn't you. I know you. What happened?" He asked.

I gave him a weird look. "Kent, seriously, I'm fine. I'm happy! I'm finally back to my old self. I was tired of being a freaking pushover." I scoffed.

He opened his mouth to argue, but was stopped when the one person I didn't want to see appeared beside him.

"Ah, Vicky! Or maybe I should call you Lucifer. That's a better term for the devil in disguise. I could call you Lucy for short." I snickered.

His eyes were full of regret.

"Jane...I didn't mean for this."

I became serious, all traces of my joking self gone. I shifted my eyes to Kent. "Could you give us a minute?"

He didn't argue. He turned, smacked Victor on the back of the head, and left.

I looked back at Victor. "Didn't mean for what? Hmm? Let's see...not only were you using me to get to my father, but you were also using me to get to Ike. What better way to get rid of me after my usefulness then to throw me in jail?" I stood up and shrugged, leaning back against the wall.

"Jane, it wasn't like that at all!" He growled.

"I'm over it, Victor." I said, carelessly picking at my nails.

He was silent for a full minute. "You...y-your what?"

I looked up at him, grinning easily. "I'm over it. Over us. Over what happened. Over. It. You didn't want me. You wanted to use me. Fine, it's in the past." I shrugged again.

It was a total, and complete lie. But Victor couldn't have known that. Pain scratched at the wall that kept my fragile heart from ripping, as Victor stared at me in hurt. But I pushed it back, reinforcing the wall with Crazy Glue.

"How...can you say that, Jane? How can you just be...over it?" He asked me.

"Because, Victor. You rejected me. I gave you my last and greatest secret and...you tossed it on the ground like a weed. I'm no fool, Victor. You had no right to be angry with me. That was something that no one knew but my father, mother, and Kent. No one knew that. No one. I hated myself for this secret I kept locked away, for this curse that plagued my body. And you didn't even have the courtesy of showing a little kindness to me." For once, I let every single emotion show on my face - Every raw, tortured feeling that passed through my system communicated to him. "You hurt me too much, Victor. And I can't come back from it."

He stepped back as if someone had swung a burning torch at him, his hands in fists. He looked as if someone had knocked the air out of his lungs, as he struggled to breathe. 

He opened his mouth to speak, his eyebrows furrowed, but the chief appeared before he could get a word out.

"Victor, I'd like you to be present when we question her. I've got a few questions I think you'd like to answer as well." He said.

Victor seemed surprised. "Okay."

He opened the door, staring in at me. "Ms. Harington."

I felt a grin curve at my lips. "Hey, Bossman!" I greeted.

He gave me a look that said he was not amused. Opening the door, he stepped aside so I could walk out. They followed me down the hall. I gave calm, but deadly stares to the inmates who cat-called to me, and then I smiled sweetly and flipped the bird.

We stepped into the conference room and Bossman sat me down. He and Victor sat down across from me, and I examined my nails with a bored expression.

A woman came in and sat in the corner with a notebook, her pen poised to write.

"Ms. Harison, I've been told you were speaking with your father, is that right?" He asked me.

I looked at him with a sarcastic expression. "No, the anonymous caller was just a big joke I played. Ha-ha!" I smiled briefly, before my face went blank again.

He stared at me with a humorless stare for a moment, "Alright. What did he say to you?"

I thought for a moment, tapping my chin with my finger in a condescending manner. "He said "fuck the po-lice." I then fell over laughing, clutching my stomach.

"Alright, Jane. I'll cut you a deal. If you answer the questions I need answered, You'll get out in half a month." He said.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Okay. He said he got his black convertible from Uncle Jacob, and that Aunt Grace divorced him." I said.

Victor shot me a knowing glare, and Bossman just stared at me as if he couldn't believe he was wasting time on this.

"Jane, tell us what that means." Victor ordered tersly.

Bossman looked at Victor with a raised eyebrow, but I sighed heavily. "It means that I'm in danger, and that he was threatened."

"By who?" Victor asked.

"Who do you think? Ike's got him more wired than Robo-Cop. He wants me in here, Victor. The anonymous call you got confirms that. He's got a plan. He wouldn't send Dad to talk to me, even if he threatened him. He knows we'd communicate somehow, that our little "Language" is easy to slip by even the careful listeners. He wants me here." I repeated, letting it sink in.

Rage boiled in Victor's eyes, and he clenched his fists on the table top.

"Why in the world would be want you in jail? He can't get to you here." Victor said.

Victor was right, of course. It had to be something more. He was planning something, and I was a key component. But what was it? My gut told me it was something big. Something I wouldn't like. If I were Ike, why would I put the girl I was stalking in jail? Certainly not to protect her. So why? He wanted me out of the way? For what? He makes my father talk to me, and then calls in to the police for it? He had to be...wait.

I sat back, my mind beginning to calculate faster and faster. This was the perfect place to kidnap me.

No one would think that I was in danger because, honestly, who would be stupid enough to kidnap a girl in a building full of able bodied people who were legally obligated to beat the shit out of you?

Ike, apparently.

"Victor, this is a trap. He's planning something that we don't-"

"Ah, Jane? You've got a call." A police officer poked his head in the doorway with an apologetic expression.

Quizzical, I stood up and followed him. He led me to the pay-phone, where the phone sat idly on top of the box. I picked it up, sucking in a deep breath before pressing it to my ear. "Yeah?"

"Hi, is this Jane?" It was an average voice, with a slight New Jersey accent.

"Depends on who's asking."

There was a click, and the line went dead.

I pulled the phone away from my ear, staring at it with furrowed eyebrows. "The hel-?"

Suddenly, I was pulled into a hallway, my mouth covered to muffle my yelp. I was now out of site of the two still in the conference room.

"Hello, my love." 

My face went pale at the familiar voice. "Ike." I whispered.

A dark chuckle rumbled up his chest, reverberating through me. "Okay, so here's the deal. I'm going to put these handcuffs on you, and this cap, and we're going to walk out of here. If you try to tip anyone off, I'll press this button I've got here on my belt, that will paige my assistant, and he'll pull the trigger on your dearest brother. Do I make myself clear?" He growled.

I gave a small nod, to which I recieved a chuckle. "Good girl."

He slapped the cuffs on my wrists, stuffing a cap on my head, and pulling my ponytail through the hole in the back.

He pushed me forward. "One more thing - keep your head down."

He took my silence as agreement, and took my arm roughly, pushing me forward in front