Chapter 13

A month and a half pass and no one has seen or heard from Jenos. As the days pass by, Raine becomes more concerned and depressed. She spends more time around her mother when Darlene comes home from work to curb the loneliness caused by his absence. On a Friday after school, she is approached by a gentleman in a dark green jumpsuit. He stops her and stares at her with his cold blue eyes.

“Are you Raine McLeod?” Raine blinks in surprise and nods. “Uh, yes. Why do you ask?” “I’m Roger Braxton. I had worked with CorSec before it was reformed into the PSS. I continue doing what I did then but I do it freelance.” Raine looks him over, trying to find things to fit his claims. “Then what do you want with me?” Roger smiles lightly and leans closer, lowering his voice.

“I’m aware that your cousin Jenos has been missing for some time. I’ve got a lead that he’s joined a dangerous gang of criminals that had been involved in numerous assaults and theft incidents.” Raine shakes her head and steps back from Roger. “I don’t believe you. Jenos wouldn’t do those things.”

Roger steps closer to her, grabbing her shoulder. “It’s true, he is a part of them. What I need is your cooperation. If nothing’s done, the gang will escalate to even more heinous crimes like murdering innocents. I need your help to stop them from harming the citizens.”

Raine turns away from him, standing and thinking about how this can possibly be true. “Jenos…” Roger places a hand on her shoulder. “I know it must be difficult for you to accept it, but it’s the truth. Please, help me protect our city.” Raine closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No, I… I don’t believe you. He never would do that…” Roger moves to face her, bending on one knee to look up into her face. “It’s hard to swallow, but that’s how the truth can be at times.”

Raine looks into Roger’s face, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. “What am I supposed to do?” Roger hands her a comlink and a scrap of paper. “Use the frequency set on the comlink to try and get a hold of him. It doesn’t matter too much what you say, just that you get across you want to see him at their place. Afterwards, contact me on the number on the paper. Tell me what happened and you may have to go with him there. If so, when you’re inside, activate this.”

He pulls out a homing beacon and hands it to her. “The button on the bottom turns it on and off. All you have to do is turn it on and it’ll send me it’s location. Then me and a few other former CorSec members will attack it. It’s a classic set up operation. I’m counting on you, Raine.”

Roger walks away, leaving Raine alone in the street. She pockets the items and heads home, hoping to finally be able to talk with Jenos again. Roger looks behind him and sees her heading away. He smiles to himself and continues walking away.

Raine enters the house and sets the items in her room, wanting to talk with him later on when they would have more time to talk. After a while, Darlene comes home and the two talk a little while making dinner. Rostan enters the house and they all eat dinner. Raine excuses herself when she’s done and goes to her room. She sits down on the bed and tries to calm herself down.

She looks at the comlink, holding it in her hands before activating it. “Jen?” She speaks into the comlink. After a short time, a voice responds. “Raine? Is that you?” Her heart beats quickly at hearing his voice again. “Yes. Jenos, it’s good to hear you again.” “It’s good to hear you as well. But, where did you get this frequency?” His voice takes a slight edge.

“I’ve been fiddling around with a comlink for a while, trying different frequencies to find one that you might use,” she lies. “I miss you.” She hears a sigh before he speaks. “I miss you. I’m sorry, but there’s something I’m doing right now and I don’t have the time to visit.” Raine hears a few voices in the background but can’t make out their words. “When I’m done I’ll tell you about it. I promise.” Raine pulls the comlink closer as she whispers into it.

“But I miss you, and it’s been a month and eighteen days since I last saw you…” She hears another sigh, this long longer than the first. “I know, I’ve been keeping track of the days. It’s not that I don’t want to see you, I do. I just have things to do that prevents me from it.” “But Jen…” “I’m sorry, Raine. I can’t. I have to go now. Take care. I love you.” The connection is cut and she looks at the comlink in disbelief. “He was right… Jenos is…” She lies down and doesn’t even try to stop the tears falling down her face.

After about ten minutes of crying, she composes herself again. She writes the frequency that the comlink was on and turns to the one Roger wrote down. “Hello, Roger?” After a slight pause, she hears his voice. “Hi. I take it you talked to him?” Raine nods her head, then remembers comlinks don’t show images. “Yes, I did.” “Good. What did he say?” Raine bites her lower lip. “He said he was doing things that kept him away. I tried to get to see him, but he couldn’t.” “I thought as much. Listen, whatever you do, don’t contact him again. If you’re patient, he’ll call you. When he does, let me know.”

“Oh, okay…” She hesitates, not knowing if she’ll be able to do so. “It’s important that you don’t. Trust me on this, he will come around.” Raine nods slowly to herself. “Okay… but, why are you so interested in him?” She doesn’t hear a reply, but rather, the connection being cut between them. I wonder what’s going on. Something’s telling me not to trust Roger.

She sighs and turns off the lights before plopping onto the bed, her head on the pillow. Things are getting crazy now. First Jessica hasn’t talked with us in forever, and now Jenos is probably getting mixed up in something. Why can’t things just be normal… She closes her eyes and decides to try and get some sleep. Over an hour passes and she finally manages to fall asleep.