I told him everything from the past and finished with Claire’s death and what should have been mine too.
That was the end of that saga.
He gazed down at the table as he processed the information. It was a lot. Fucking a lot to tell and a lot to take on board.
“I’ve spent the last five years trying to find Balthazar,” I added. “Never getting close. I went off on my own mission trying to find the son of a bitch and never once got near enough until days ago.”
Jack lifted his head. “Days, son?”
“Yeah that brings me to the next part of the story. Weeks ago I was commissioned by Ethan to do a job. He found me. The man found me. Following the success of the mission the promise was to assist me to find Balthazar Kane. It was the only reason I agreed to it. The job was to steal back some blueprints from a mob boss. The blueprints were for a super nuke. I never realized the job would include a web of several layers of traps and players like you wouldn’t believe.”
By the time I finished telling him everything Jack was completely blown away. I could see the intrigue in his eyes and the expression on his face. Hearing the details of the past was a lot to take in, but the more recent stuff was like I was talking about some Hollywood Michael Bay film, minus the blowing up of buildings. That was what it felt like, living in a film like that.
“Fucking hell, Xander. What the actual hell?” He shook his head. “All of that? And Balthazar Kane in the mix?”
“Yes. So I’m here. It sent me here to you. I didn’t want to involve you. I never did before because you’re my family. You are, and I wanted to keep you out of it. I stayed dead because I thought it would give me some advantage to find Balthazar. He thought he killed me so I became the shadow and hoped it would end somewhere. Then this all happened.”
“You are very lucky Xander. Very lucky.”
“I owe my luck to Frankie. He didn’t have to help me.”
“No he didn’t.”
“I know he’s got to be worried about his family.” I would be if I were him. He’d said Giovanni wouldn’t come for his family but I wouldn’t put it past him to try. It was natural for me to factor that in.
“Of course. And um… the girl?”
My breath stilled. I’ll admit I avoided talking too much about Jia. I shouldn’t though. I was serious about her and I meant what I said when I asked her to be mine.
I wanted her to be mine in every essence of the word. I wanted her to be mine and when that day came I was done doing all of this.
I was completely done. I’d go to Europe with her and she could do what she wanted. There were many things I was good at so I wasn’t worried about myself.
When I asked her to be mine, I felt it was right to ask, so she would know I wasn’t just with her for now.
Talking to Jack about her though would be difficult. The only woman I’d ever spoken to him about was his daughter.
“I’m not going to let her father get her Jack,” I declared.
He nodded. “Because you love her.”
It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
I nodded but I knew the awkwardness of the affirmation was evident.
I hung my head down feeling the weight of it, feeling a little more of that failure of being unable to take care of his daughter like I said I would.
Then he reached across the table and tapped my knuckles.
I looked up, met his gaze and pressed my lips together.
“Xander, you don’t have to feel bad admitting your love for someone else. It’s been five years since Claire. I would have hoped you’d move on. She would have definitely wanted you to.”
“It’s hard. It was hard. I will never stop loving Claire, Jack. I never forgot her.”
He gave me a curt nod accompanied by a warm smile. “I know, that’s something I know and you don’t have to explain anything to me when it comes to that. Way back when, there would have been very few people I would have allowed to date my girl. I could see your love for her from day one. It was never a question to me or a wonder. And I know it wasn’t the kind you forget.”
“Thanks, that means a lot.”
“Good. By the same token I know this girl, this woman –Jia Marchesi –must mean a lot to you to put your neck on the line with the mob.”
Jesus, when he said it like that I definitely felt the gravity of the situation weighing down on my shoulders.
“What the hell am I gonna do Jack? It’s all so complicated.”
“One step at a time boy. What have I always told you about complicated?”
I smiled. “Complicated is a bullshit word to cloud over something that looks difficult.”
He chuckled and nodded. “And what have I always said about difficult?”
“Go back to the place where it all began, the part where it was easy. Start from there and work my way forwards.”
He made a show of clapping. “Well done my boy. So let’s do this. Start where it all began.”
I thought for a moment and decided to retrace the events that had occurred. “Giovanni steals the blueprints and becomes a threat to national security. The Ra try to steal them from him but are unsuccessful. He gets away and hides the prints then I get hired to steal them back.” That was the first part.
That was exactly what happened at the beginning.
Jack narrowed his eyes though. “There are missing parts to that story.”
“What do you mean?” I wasn’t following what he meant. That was what happened.
“It doesn’t fit. Giovanni is small time and The Chameleon does not work like that. Not so messy so that the Ra would simply find out. They would have been told, the question is by who.”
Shock seized my next breath. Giovanni had said the same thing. So did Frankie. Jack saying it too was absolutely something to take note of. It carried all the weight of significance it could have for a man like him to point that out. I hadn’t even thought of it myself. Me with all my exposure to The Ra and Balthazar.
“There’s a rat in Giovanni’s circle,” I informed him. I was sure now from what Frankie had said that the rat had to be Armand. It made sense and fit.
“The rat is just a rat, an enabler. Less than small time. There’s no way that guy would have been able to make contact with the Ra much less be in touch with a man like Balthazar.”
“Damn it to hell. Who could it be?”
“My guess is since the blueprints are what I would a hundred percent label as classified, the only people who could have known they were stolen would have come from high up. Like CIA or SMF high up.” He held my gaze and my attention. “If someone high up knew about the prints being stolen then only they could have passed on the intel to Balthazar. No mere rat could have done that. The rat’s just part of the game.”
My blood ran cold. It ran cold and my thoughts stilled. “You think someone in the CIA or SMF is working with the Ra?”
He raised his shoulders into a shrug. “Xander I think you’re aware that I trust no one and the most valuable lesson I could have taught you is that everyone has a price. Everybody can be bought. If you fall outside that category then that’s great but it’s something you have to bear in mind.”
“Ethan said the SMF had been called in to deal with the situation.”