Living In Infamy

Chapter Three- Colby

After saving (Y/n), I headed back to the hideout the FBI had given to me. It was pretty small, and had spotty internet service, which was detrimental to my assignment. But now I had a reason to leave the apartment I was renting. I was going back to talk with a dear friend of mine: Juniper.

I walked on the leaf-covered path to a cozy little place, a cabin nestled back in the woods just off the hideout. I don't how this place was missed when literally next door to the cabin was a beat down shack that became an FBI safe house. There was no internet in the cabin, and no phone service, and no way for me to be traced. The only one I knew who was there, was a little girl named Juniper. She brought me food when I stayed there, me enjoying the break from constant phone calls from my boss.

I knocked on the door of the cabin, smiling when Juniper opened the door.

"Hi Juniper," I said with a wave.

Juniper waved back with a small smile.

"May I come in?"

She stood aside, permitting me to enter into her cabin. The inside was one big room that was mostly bare. The only furniture that existed in the place before I discovered it was a rough bed frame, an old stove, and a few boxes that poorly functioned as a table. Everything else had come from me.

I sat down on one of the Macgyvered chairs and looked at her. "How was your day?"

Her hand gestures were melancholic as usual.

"Same thing?"

She nodded her head before turning back to the pot on the stove.

Juniper couldn't talk, but we communicated with our hands (even though neither of us knew or used sign language). The way she gestured told me everything I needed to know. When her gestures were big and loud and she was smiling, she was excited. When her face scrunched up in anger and her arms went flying around, she was mad. But most of the time, her head hung low and her arms barely moved from her sides. She was melancholic, saddened by her life.

"Tell me about your day." I leaned back in my chair, sipping the tea she handed me.

Her arm movements started like normal, barely moving from her sides. Then, they got bigger and more excited. She was just hungry for someone to 'listen' to her, and I was the only one who would. She stopped abruptly in the middle of her story, wildly gesturing at me. I sat up straighter.

"What is it Juniper?"

Juniper was my unofficial informant about the Los Diablos crime ring and their movements. She was a lonely child whose parents were part of the gang. From what I could gather, her parents had died when she was very young. Los Diablos never took care of her, but they didn't bother being careful with their words around her. They figured because she couldn't speak or write, she couldn't communicate with anyone. And then I met her.

She pretended to flip through a notebook, writing stuff with a pencil.

"Here you go," I said as I pulled out the requested items. We did this before when simply waving wasn't enough to get a point across. Her writing was very choppy and hard to read, considering no one ever taught her, but I could read what she wrote.

"They... are.. planing... a attack?" I read out loud as she scribbled away on the paper. "Apart...ment... tonight."

She nodded her head violently as I read her words.

"Dan....g..er. G..i..r..l. (Y/n)'s in danger?"

She nodded her head again.

She knew all about (Y/n). Once I had found out that Juniper knew the members of Los Diablos, I knew I could find out if (Y/n) was one. Juniper denied knowing her, even after I showed her a picture. (Y/n) was not part of the gang. At least, not that Juniper knew of.

"Thank you, Juniper, but I have to go now. I have to warn her."

She nodded her head and opened the door for me. I smiled and waved at the girl before I took off at a sprint. Juniper's words wrapped around my brain with my footfalls. I knew I could trust her information. I spent hours talking to Juniper and her information was never wrong. A small part of my brain wondered why she wasn't well cared for. She was one of there's. Why was she treated so differently?

When I finally got out of the woods, I checked my phone. I had so many missed calls from a number I didn't recognize. When I checked my voicemail, my blood ran cold.

"Hey, Colby. It's (Y/n), the girl whose life you saved today. I was just wondering if you wanted to-. Oh dear lord what is that?!"

The message cut off. I went to the next message, scared of what I would hear. Her voice was hushed, like she didn't want someone to hear her.

"Colby, I'm scared. I don't know if I should call you or if I should call 911."

Please don't call 911, I silently begged the phone. This gang has members in all sorts of high places. Her safety could be at stake if she calls 911. This mission was top secret from the Bureau. Anyone who didn't need to know about the assignment, didn't know. And still, she'd been in danger since her and I were seen together in public. Since very few people knew, there had to be a mole in the system. Likely there was more than one. I don't know where the moles are. If she calls that phone number, she could be in grave danger. The gang has members all over the place. Any word back to them would be really bad.

"Honestly, I'm too scared to move right now. I, I saw a person outside my apartment. They were hiding in the shadows. I, I don't think they expected me to be home right now. Oh shit, I think they see me."

The phone hung up again and I ran so fast to get back to my rented apartment. My lungs burned as I moved to the third message she left me.

"I don't think he saw me. Colby, I'm so scared. Please get here as soon as you can. And bring the police."

She rambled off her address as I was digging through her files. It saved me the time of trying to find it in the mess of papers. I took off, running to her apartment. I was so glad that I picked the apartment I was staying in. It was a block away from her place.

When I finally arrived, I had multiple side stitches, but I didn't care. I was here. I walked up to the back of the apartment complex, following her instructions, and saw (Y/n), her back to me. The light was on inside the door, casting everything behind her in shadows. I walked up behind her and gently rapped my knuckles on the door frame. She jumped.