Secret Deception (Jonathan Black's Love Story)

Chapter 15: Sacrifice 99 to Fool 1

When I arrived back at the office Kay and Mike Alvez were still not back with Jonathan. I tried to call Cameron's number while I was driving, hoping beyond hope that this was just a misunderstanding. I got no answer either and my heart sank.
God dammit, Cameron. What have you gotten yourself into? I thought walking into my office.
I leaned against my desk staring unseeing at the doorway. I heard a commotion out in the bullpen and walked back out in time to see Jonathan walk out of the elevator. An unbelievable vision in his dark wash jeans and black leather jacket; I just watched him walk towards the conference room as if I was frozen. Constantly seeing him in that beige prison uniform over the white long sleeved shirt made me nearly forget he could look that good.
"Jonathan." I said his name before he entered the conference room.
His head whipped around towards me. It was his turn to freeze. Seemingly without thinking he ran towards me. Some of the lower level agents who were unaware of our connection pulled their guns but he didn't seem to see them. His arms wrapped around me and lifted me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his neck. I could feel his fear rolling off of him in waves.
"It's okay. It's okay." I said more to him but I raised my hand to signal my agents to lower their weapons.
Once every agent put their guns down I buried my face in his shoulder.
"We'll find him, Jonny. It'll be okay."
He nodded but didn't speak. I turned my head and pressed my lips to the skin behind his ear.
I could feel his breath against my skin, almost to the point of hyperventilating, his arms tightened around me.
"Jonny. Calm down, baby. Breathe. Deep breaths, baby. Focus on my voice, honey. You're having a panic attack. Breathe."
Slowly his breathing leveled out and his arms relaxed.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"Hush. Hush now. Everything's alright."
On the outside it looked like any reunion as opposed to him letting down his walls to me and letting me into his fear. It looked more like him, supporting me than me, supporting him. We mastered that early on in our relationship.
He pulled away from me and set me back on the floor.
"What do we do, Lexa?" He asked staring into my eyes.
"Come to my office and we'll go over everything you heard on the phone with Cam, okay?"
He nodded taking my hand.
I lead him to my office and shut the door. I had him sit in the same chair I sat Cameron in when he had that giant bruise on his face and I sat next to him. I took both of his hands in mine.
"Tell me what you heard, start at the beginning."
"I'd called him because I'd figured out the Mystery Woman's code. I knew she was going to target him but I didn't know how. When I told him he seemed unfazed. He listened and took everything I said into account, as he always does and he told me he'd be careful. Someone called his name but I didn't recognize the voice. He didn't say anything to them but, you know Cam, he acknowledged them. Then he told me he was surrounded by people with their phones in his face with their cameras or flashlights on him. I told him to run and it sounded like he did, the phone started cutting out so I think it was an alley or something. I heard him yell out but then the line went dead." He rambled a little but I didn't mind.
"Baby. Why didn't you call me?"
"I knew you had that party to go to and I didn't want to pull you away."
"Jonathan. Hear me. No matter where I am or what I'm doing, if you call me I'll come to you. You and Cameron have always been and will always be my number one priorities."
I pressed my forehead to his. A single tear fell from his eye.
"He's my brother, Lexa. What does she want with us?"
"I don't know, Jonathan. We'll figure it out. I'm going to have the team set up a press conference so I can ask anyone who saw him tonight to come forward."
He nodded.
"If you look like that for the press conference we'll get plenty of people coming forward." He teased weakly.
I shook my head with a smile.
An hour later at nearly 11pm I stood in front of a large group of reporters.
"At nearly 8pm we recieved a report of a large group of people converged on Magician Cameron Black, shortly after he was abducted in an alley close to the convergence. As Cameron's sister I am asking anyone who saw him this evening to call my personal office line shown at the bottom of the screen. We would like to piece together his evening so we can figure out where he went missing and who might have taken him. Thank you all for your time."
I walked off the stage and back into Jonathan's arms.
"We'll see who calls... if anyone. I'll call my technical analyst and see if we can pinpoint his last location off his cellphone. She's the best there is so if anyone can find him or his phone, she can."
He wrapped his arm around my waist and we walked back to the elevators to go back to the office.
"I need to get out of these damn shoes." I muttered.
A moment later he lifted me up into his arms.
"Is that better?" He asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Much." I smiled at him.
He carried me through the bullpen back to my office and sat me in my chair.
"What do we do now?"
"Now we wait."
I picked up my phone and dialed.
"Hey boss. I finished authenticating that video."
"That's great. What did you find?"
"It's real. 100% authentic."
I sighed and closed my eyes.
"File the request for appeal for me but first will you track Cameron's phone and tell me where it last pinged."
"Yeah, Alex. Let me call you back."
"Okay. Call my cell and have all calls to my office phone rerouted to my cell. I need to go home and change, maybe rest a little."
"Of course."
She hung up and I sighed again.
"Come on. Let's go home."
Jonathan followed me out of the office and towards the elevators.
"What did she say?"
"She'll call me when she pins down a location."
"No. Lexa. You said you wanted her to file an appeal?"
"We'll talk about it at home."
"Kay. Jonny is coming back to the house with me. We'll be back in a few hours. I called my technical analyst back in Virginia to trace Cam's phone."
"Okay, Director."
"Call me Alexia." I told her as the elevator doors closed between us.
When we got back to the house Jonathan walked around aimlessly.
"Hey. Come here." I said extending my hand to him.
He walked over to me.
"I need to get out of this dress and we need to talk."
"Half of that sentence appeals to me and the other makes me anxious."
I laughed as I lead him up to what would be our bedroom if we chose to stay in New York.
I sat on the bed and pulled the video up on my phone.
"Watch this." I said handing it to him before bending down and working to unclasp these ungodly shoes.
After the shoes were off I crossed the room to my walkin closet leaving him with the video to get out of my dress. I slid a plush bathrobe on and walked back to the room.
"You're sure this is real?" He asked me without taking his eyes off my phone.
"I had Penelope authenticate it before I showed you. You know she's the best there is. She says it's real."
He looked up at me with tears in his eyes.
"And they'll look into this?"
"I'm certain they'll hear my appeal. They know I fight for justice and not for personal vendettas."
He stood up in front of me and set his hands on my hips and pulled me closer. His lips met mine as his hands moved along my waist. I moved one if my hands up into his hair. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist.
My phone ringing broke our kiss.
"Carter." I answered breathlessly.
"I got a lock on Cameron's last location. He was in an alley off 5th street in New York."
"I know where it is. Thank you."
"He was about a block away from the Archive." I told Jonny hanging up the phone.
"We'll go to the scene at 1st light. Try to rest while I get a shower."
"I'd rather get a hot shower." He winked at me.
"Come on then, lover."
Waking up next to him reminded me just how incredible he really was. His abs tensed under my touch as I dragged my fingertips along the muscle fibers. I noticed new bruises and scars I'd never felt. He made a small noise and I looked up to find anguish across his face. I felt his hand ball into a fist against my back. I moved my hand up to cup his face.
"Jonathan. Jonny. Wake up. You're having a nightmare. Wake up, my love." I shook him gently.
He yelled out as his eyes shot open. I rolled off of him as he sat up.
"Lexa." He breathed my name.
I placed my hand on his back and sat up next to him.
"I'm here, baby. Breathe."
"I don't want to go back." He said turning towards me, burying his face in my shoulder.
"I know, baby. I know."
An hour later we pulled up outside the alley where Cameron went missing. I climbed out of the car and walked down the alley to where Kay was standing. She handed me Cameron's phone.
"How do we know where she took him?"
"It can't have been far. Run a fully forensic investigation and I'll see what my tech can find."
Jonny walked over to me with a small redheaded girl in toe.
"She says that I glow on this app she has."
"What?"
The redhead showed me her phone. When I aimed the phone at Jonathan he did in fact glow.
Cameron Black
1,000,000 points
"What is this?"
"It's an app that gives you points towards prizes and money when you find people or things that are registered in the app."
I handed her, her phone back.
"Woah. You glow too." She said aiming the phone at me.
Jonny looked over her shoulder.
"What does this woman want? She'd have been happy with either of you?"
"I don't know Jonny. Let's go back to the office."
Back in the office Kay walked up to me.
"We did some research into that app that she seems to have used to corral Cameron. There's a second part of it at a mansion in the lower east side."
"Okay. Let's go."
Kay, Jonathan and I drove out to the mansion.
"If you want to go ahead and solve the problems, go ahead. Kay and I are going to try to find the app designer."
Jonny leaned down and pressed his lips to mine before walking towards the next room.
"Hello, do you work here?" Kay asked a passing man in a black suit and white vest.
"Yes, and you are?"
"I'm Director Alexia Carter and this is Agent Kay Daniels with the FBI. We'd like to speak to the designer."
"Of course. I'll find her for you."
"Thank you." I smiled at him.
"Her?" Kay whispered to me.
I shrugged.
Kay and I wandered through the puzzle house and solved the many puzzles in my head. I knew Jonny was flying through the puzzles too. He was always amazing at these things. I heard a bit of a commotion and heard a door slam. Out the window I saw Jonathan running across the yard.
"Dammit." I sighed and took off after him with Kay close behind.
I heard Kay draw her gun.
"Stop!" She yelled at him.
He had a handgun in his hands, pointed at this woman with a red wig on and when she turned I recognized her. I raised my hand motioning for Kay to lower her weapon as I ran up behind him.
"Jonathan. Jonathan, listen to me. Put the gun down, babe."
I reached around and placed my hand on top of the gun pushing gently. He wouldn't look at me. I could see the confliction twisting his features.
"Dammit!" He hissed as he released the gun.
"Come here."
I put my arms around him.
"We'll get her, babe. We have to do it the right way or it won't matter what that video shows. Look at me."
He raised his head, pain in his eyes.
"Fight for me, the way I'm fighting for you. Let's go find Cameron."