Getting revenge on Derek and getting my sister April to college is my sole motivation.
Sean doesn’t bring it up again until we have finished eating and we’re outside the restaurant saying our goodbyes. He pulls me in for a deep hug and whispers into my ear that he will notify me if they manage to find him. I nod, gripping my flowers tightly between my fingers, feeling a promise in his words.
I just hope and pray that he doesn’t find out that I’ve been lying to him before he gets to the bottom of this. It might be selfish, but I now need him, and that is almost more important than any cash that Zach is paying me...
5
Sean
I’m tempted to kiss Michaela as we say goodbye again, but for some reason the vibe doesn’t feel quite right this time. I’m not sure if she’s feeling a little vulnerable and exposed because I practically forced her to let some of her guard down, or if it’s the mention of her horrible ex-boyfriend, but it’s enough to have me holding back. I would much rather wait until the moment is exactly right.
I don't mind anyway, we have a solid bond connecting us now, a reason to keep in touch and that’s good enough for me. I definitely don't feel like I’ve experienced enough of this girl yet, and I cannot wait to get to know her even better.
As I arrive back at the office, I feel like I have a massive kick up the butt to get this job done now, even more so than before. I have even more of a motivation to get this software created for Michaela’s sake, and for some unknown reason that feels even more important than beating Zach down and getting the CIA contract. For the first time ever, I’m putting someone else’s needs before my own, and that actually feels pretty good. I feel like I’ve gotten to know her even better now, and that everything I get to know I like more and more. At least she isn’t a honey trap – I think I would have been able to see through her if that were the case! She seems to be nothing more than a genuine person with trust issues – which I can totally understand now, given her history.
I pulled the body language thing out of the bag to try and find out if she was lying to me, and I ended up pleasantly surprised. Of course it turned out that she wasn’t fully being honest, but I get a feeling that she hides her past from everyone because she’s so embarrassed about it. She has a poor family with nothing but problems, a sister that needs her and an ex-boyfriend that totally screwed her over – it’s quite a depressing story and to be honest I might try to disguise that too if it were mine.
But I can make this better for her, I’m sure of it. I can use what I have to help her.
I know that harboring a grudge over an ex-boyfriend might not be the healthiest way of dealing with things, but I can understand it after what he did to her. I get the feeling that once she’s solved this, she will be free, and more able to move on with her life. Maybe even be with someone new...
God, just look at me! Planning a relationship with some girl that I’ve only just met, who would have ever thought it? Certainly not me! I think everyone thought that I would still be a bit of a playboy at forty years old, and to be honest I sort of thought that myself. I never thought that I would be ready to even consider commitment. Sure, this may not work out in the end, but even if it doesn’t, it shows me what I’ve been missing from my life. I no longer want to screw around with random chicks who I don't know because I want to be with someone.
“How are we doing, Gavin?” I jump straight to it as soon as I get back to his desk. “How is it coming along?”
“Good,” he replies slowly. “In a way.” I give him a look, needing him to continue with far more details than he’s currently giving me. “Well, I have the basics down, but due to the amount of processing involved, I’m having a few issues with getting the timing down.”
“What do you mean exactly?” I ask, sliding back into my seat and finally giving him my full attention. “What’s going on with this?” There aren’t any distractions now – I need this fixed and right away.
“Well, it does the job, it actually does exactly what the CIA wants it to, it just takes a very long time to do so.” Gavin looks stressed and frustrated by this, which makes me smile. I recognize that quality within myself, the need to get things finished. I cannot start something and not see it through to the end, and neither can he. Maybe that’s why we get on so well!
“Okay,” I nod, trying to process all of this. “So we need to find ways to speed it up.” For a brief second I think about Zach, wondering if he’s managed to get this far, before shaking thoughts of him from my mind. He’s the last damn thing that I need to be thinking about right now, I can’t get distracted again. I need to keep my head in the game and get this job done. The only way I can beat him is to be that much faster. “Let me see an example of what you mean.”
Without allowing Gavin to see exactly what I’m doing, I send the picture of Derek, the one that Michaela sent to me, to the machine and I allow that to run through the software. As Gavin explains the exact processes to me, my heart pounds in anticipation, just waiting for something to happen. Although she didn’t give me too many details on this guy, he sounds like a bad dude, one that we could do with catching anyway. If he did this to one girl, then chances are he’s done it to more, and while I can’t exactly ensure he gets justice, I can do something... surely? Knowing where he is a big step towards that anyway, so I at least need that done.
“I see what you mean,” I finally jump in, nodding quickly. This really is slow – and painfully so. This will never live up to the standards that it needs to be. “It hasn’t gotten anywhere; the CIA will need it to be much quicker. We have CCTV footage in the system from all over the city, so something should have been picked up by now...”
Going off on a tangent, as I normally do when I get a good idea, I start to fiddle with the code, wanting to finally get it right. I rearrange the search formula to be able to narrow it down to certain areas, to see if that will help. I might not know anything about Derek or what he does, but if he’s the con artist that I’m starting to think he is, then I might have some ideas.
I start to put in locations that are known for drug selling, money laundering, and all other kinds of shady businesses that I can think about, just praying, and after a while, a face pops up, which causes me to almost yell out in excitement. Who knows how long Michaela has been trying to track this guy, and I’ve done it already – in only a few short minutes. She really will be impressed.
“Derek Moss,” I read aloud, feeling an increasing level of excitement. This is him, it has to be! That’s the same face, that same grimace... this is the man that screwed Michaela over and turned her into the guarded person that she is today. He’s ruined her life, and he definitely can’t continue to get away with that. And now I know exactly where to find him, operating in a selection of night clubs that are known for bad behavior. They are always being raided and shut down by the police, but they continue to pop up over and over again. I can’t wait to tell Michaela that I have something for her... “Twenty-seven years old, arrested but never convicted for assault and battery..”