Falling Up

42. Surveillance

The morning was hectic, and Noah was run off his feet, managing the garage by himself. It wasn't like Jason to just disappear on him, but after the revelation this morning, he could understand that he probably wanted some time to himself.

And even though he was probably being watched from different angles, he felt safe as he saw a black car watching the garage from across the street, knowing that it was the FBI and they were keeping track of everything by looking after him. Not that he felt he needed it anymore. With his new found fighting skills, he had a pretty good chance of taking anyone on, even Vincent. But it comforted him knowing that someone would be looking after Riley and Jason as well.

As the hours trickled away, Noah continued with his work, spending the last three hours of his time repairing the transmission on an old Honda. In this opinion, it would have been more worthwhile scrapping the car and buying a new one, but the owner seemed to hold some sentimental value to the rusty-looking tin bucket of a car.

He rolled himself out from under the car as the rickety wheels scrapped against the concrete floor and wiped his hands on a nearby rag, glancing at the clock on the wall. 1pm. And man, was he getting hungry. Just as the thought of a giant bowl of ramen crossed his mind, in walked Tyrus.

Although today, he didn't look like his usual self. He wasn't wearing his pristine suit like normal. Instead, he was in a pair of casual jeans and one crinkled looking white shirt that was half rolled up messily against his forearms. As Tyrus came closer, Noah got a better look at his unshaven stubble and messy hair that looked like he had tugged on it one, two, many times.

Tyrus walked in swiftly, heading straight towards Noah, who got up off the floor and wiped the rest of his greasy hands against his dark grey overalls. If Tyrus was coming here to get him on his side to get Jason back, then he was in the wrong place.

Noah leaned up against the car, crossing his arms over his chest as he was ready for whatever was coming his way.

"Have you seen Jason?" asked Tyrus, looking more frazzled than usual.

"No, I've been giving him some space. As should you," countered Noah. "How could you do that to us, Tyrus? How could you do that to him? I thought you cared about him."

"I do, Noah, but now isn't the time." Tyrus looked nervous as he ran his hand through his hair for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "Look, my team lost track of Jason a couple of hours ago. We haven't been able to get in touch. Has he contacted you at all?"

Noah scrunched up his forehead in concern before he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at his screen. "No, I haven't. I just thought he needed space. After this morning, you know."

Noah dialled the number for Jason immediately. Jason always picked up, regardless of what he was doing, and he expected this time to be no different. However, when he reached Jason's voicemail, he immediately hung up and called again. After doing this another four times while pacing the length of the garage, he finally gave up and turned to Tyrus, looking pissed.

"Where is he? You promised you would keep us safe." Noah stormed towards Tyrus, pushing him harshly in the shoulder. "You promised you would keep us all safe. So tell me, where the fuck is my brother? I thought you had people watching him."

"We did. And we're working on picking up his location."

"Well, work harder!" Noah said, slamming the door of the fragile-looking car a little too harshly that he was worried he had caused even more damage to the rickety vehicle.

Not a moment later, an officer came into the garage holding a tablet against his arms and looking somewhat nervous at approaching. His appearance was much like any regular customer entering the shop, but Noah was already familiar with the faces of the people who manned the FBI vehicle outside.

"Sir," he said, walking up to Tyrus while watching Noah cautiously from the corner of his down-turned eyes. "We found CCTV footage that you might want to watch."

The officer held out a tablet as Noah walked closed to see what Tyrus was being shown. He didn't care if it was sensitive information for the FBI only. He was going to help find his brother, no matter what.

As they watched the footage, his face fell, casting a shadow across his eyes. It was the security camera footage from a nearby building showing the scene unfolding in clear view. The camera was directed at the front of the car with a clear view of the driver inside. Jason.

Jason's car was at a standstill because of the traffic on the tight road and Noah watched as Jason's arm tapped away on the corner of the steering wheel.

Out of what seemed like nowhere, the passenger side door opened along with the back door on the driver's side and two men slid into the car.

Without even a second glance, it was clear as day who it was. Vincent.

It happened so quickly that it did not surprise him Jason didn't have the time to move or react. Vincent handcuffed him to the steering wheel and, less than a minute later, they drove off.

Tryus's knuckled turned white before he threw the tablet at the wall, breaking it into small pieces.

"Find him!!!" he yelled with such a booming voice that even Noah was caught off guard, moving backwards a couple of steps in fear of the anger radiating off Tyrus.

The officer who brought in the evidence stumbled backwards. "Y...yes s...sir," he mumbled before almost running out of the garage and back towards the van they had come from.

"Fuck!!" yelled Tyrus, turning around as he stormed over to the wall and sent his fist straight through the drywall. He cursed again, punching his now bleeding fist against the wall over and over until Noah came up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

Tyrus stopped, leaning his head against the wall as he breathed heavily, releasing his anger.

"We'll find him," said Noah. "But right now, I need to know. Is Riley still safe?"

After a moment, Tyrus straightened his back and faced Noah, picking up an unusually calm voice as he straightened his sleeves on his shirt. "She is still under our watch, and Kain is with her. I've asked him to stay with her until you pick her up this afternoon. I recommend you come up with some excuse for Jason's absence."

It was strange for Tyrus to one minute go from frazzled to nearly emotionless and it didn't take an idiot to see how lost Tyrus seemed without Jason around. At first, he was sure that Tyrus was just using him to do his job. The facts all lead to that conclusion. But looking at the man now, Noah sensed Tyrus had a deeper connection that extended well past his work requirements. But that didn't mean he was recommending the right solutions in his state of mind.

"You think I should still keep this from her? She needs to know that Vincent is out there," exclaimed Noah, frustrated at both Jason and Tyrus wanting to keep this from Riley.

"You'll only make her worry. Jason wouldn't want her to worry about him. It could set her back, mentally, that is. I'll pay for the damage," Tyrus said, pointing to the dented wall before turning and heading back out towards the van as though nothing had happened.

How could he even think about keeping this from Riley? She deserved to know, but he knew Jason didn't want her knowing about Vincent. But this was too much, wasn't it? Jason had been taken and surely this changed the circumstances. Yet he was torn between the two. Telling Riley felt right, regardless of the consequences, but going against Jason's wishes, especially now that he wasn't here, seemed equally as wrong.

There wasn't much he could do but pace back and forth along the length of the garage after Tyrus had left a few hours ago. He felt so helpless that somewhere out there, Jason was being held by Vincent and god knows what Vincent would do to Jason.

All he could do now was pick up Riley from college and hope to god that he could keep her safe, that they could all keep her safe.