"Yuyan!! Over here!" Amy called through the crowded bleachers. She scooted over to make room for Yuyan to sit next to her. "Glad you made it." She beamed. "I don't normally watch volleyball, but I figured you could use the full American experience. Not to mention that the football team is playing out of town this weekend, so there's really nothing else to watch."
Ming gave Amy small smile then turned her attention to the game. "Boys do not play?" she asked.
"No this is just for girls here."
"I see. And why do they not wear pants?"
"Those are volleyball shorts. It allows them to move freely."
"Oh! They look like underwear." She grimaced eliciting a giggle from the girl next to her. Though Ming was pretending to be a clueless foreigner, she had firsthand experience with the game of volleyball. Back in her high school years, she played the game competitively. It was mentally exhausting playing a naive teenager, but the ruse had proven to be fruitful.
In the short amount of time she had been attending the school, she had learned that Amy's stepfather was not only the principal of the high school but also one of the largest financial supporters of the mayor and good friends with the police chief. This information would explain the lack of cooperation from law enforcement if he was indeed the man responsible for the missing girl. She had also learned that Amy had quite the reputation among the students. Many of her classmates had secretly warned her not to get to close to Amy, though they behaved in friendly manner towards her. The strangest warning came from the girl's boyfriend, Josh of all people. "Hell is run by people like her," he whispered in her ear while they stood in the lunch line. Before she could ask what he meant, Amy had approached him and the two engaged in a steamy kiss while mumbling 'I love you' to each other.
"That Becka," Amy growled next to her, snapping her from her thoughts. "I don't know why they keep her on the team. She sucks."
Ming directed her attention to the girl mentioned just in time to see her hit the ball out of bounds. Their eyes met for a brief moment before the girl's gaze shifted to Amy. Flames crossed Becka's irises and her lips set into a thin line. "Shake it off," a team member encouraged. Becka nodded to her teammate and returned her focus to the game. Ming watched as she skillfully returned the ball over the net each time it came her way. "She not bad."
"Hmpf. She's a joke."
"You no like her?" she asked innocently.
Amy opened her mouth but closed it before saying a word. She let out a sigh before moving her eyes to Ming. "Trust me, Yuyan. It'd be best to avoid the likes of her."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. She's the crazy b*tch I told you about."
"Oh! So, she's the one." Ming turned her attention back to Becka with a keen interest. If Amy wants her to avoid Becka, then Becka should be one of the first people worth getting to know. Well, her and the creepy boyfriend.
*
Sarah decided to contact one of her old colleagues to help her brainstorm the information she had managed to compile on Jessica. Since it wasn't an official case, her access to sensitive information was limited to whatever she could find in public forums. Therefore, she would an insider's help to access case file information. "Is Mr. Jeffries in?" She asked the dark haired, male receptionist. "My name is Sarah Gabbard. I don't have an appointment. I'm just a friend." She kept her maiden name for her husband's sake. In the public's eye, he was single which made him more popular. And due to her line of work, it was safer if he wasn't directly linked to her by name. As far as the world knew. She and Jason Montgomery were strangers.
"A friend?" the man asked looking over the brim of his glasses at her.
"Yes. A friend. He said to just pop in whenever I was in town. Is it a bad time?" she smiled at him.
"What did you say your name was?"
"Sarah. Sarah Gabbard. Though he calls me India most of the time."
"One moment." He said as he excused himself from the lobby.
She sat on sofa as she waited for her friend to come out. She let her eyes wander over every square inch of the office taking note of each hidden camera in the room. If one didn't understand the nature of this man's business, one may think he was overly paranoid. She smirked to herself as she of the number of hidden camera's she had in her home. One could never be too careful.
"Miss India?" the receptionist called from the desk.
"Yes?"
"Mr. Jeffries is currently unavailable, however; he left this file for you. If you have any questions, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for him to contact you. You understand." He slid the thick manilla envelope across the desk, his eyes glancing up to the camera above him to let her know they were being watched. "Have a nice day."
Taking the file in hand, she merely nodded her understanding with a 'thank you' and left the office.
Back in her office she leafed through the information her friend had left for her. He had included copies of the case reports as well as copies of the correspondence the girl's father had received during the course of the school year.
He also included missing person reports for a few other students including the woman he had sent in undercover. Lin Ming? What could have happened to her? She was the best of the best when it came to disguise and escape. She was someone Sarah had always looked up to, though she was a few years younger, she was a remarkable infiltrator. If something bad happened to her... the thought made her shudder. Lin Ming had some powerful people behind her. Touching her would be like starting a world war.
Among the files she found a handwritten letter from her friend that made the blood in her veins run cold. 'If you've received this file. They've already killed me. They'll come for you too.'
She immediately scanned all the documents to store them on an external drive. She put the original file in an overnight envelope and sent them to the one place she figured would be safe. She made several copies of the external drive and sent them to various offices throughout the world. Shanghai, San Francisco, Miami, Bangkok, Paris, Houston and Mexico City.
Next, she made a call to her hacker friend on her encrypted phone. "I have a name for you. Donna Manning. Miami." She heard a series of tones in her ear acknowledging the request. Using her personal phone, she called her husband. "Hey, hun. How much more recording do you have?"
"We're on our last song. Why?"
"For the day? Or for the album?"
"Just the day. We should be able to knock it out by tomorrow though. Why? What do you have planned?"
"I think we should take a vacation." She offered with a smile.
"Sounds great! Where to?"
"Mom's." her voice shook a little.
"Oh. Why don't you go ahead of me. I'll head there when I finish up tomorrow."
"You sure?"
"Of course. Besides, I already know you bought the tickets. I'll stay with Luke tonight, okay?"
"Perfect!"
*
"Mind if I crash at your place tonight?" Jason asked Luke when he hung up the phone.
"Sure. Things cool with the missus?"
"Oh, yeah. We're good. She's just heading out of town."
"What? And you don't want to be alone?" Luke giggled. "Scared of the dark now?"
'I'll explain later.' He told Jessica as he felt her questions rising. "That's it! You got me. I'll buy the beer." He placed his hand over his heart in mock panic.
"You can drink now?" Luke sounded surprised.
'You can't drink!' Jessica yelled in his head. 'I'm not even of age yet!'
Jason shook his head. "Nah, man. The beer's for you."
"How about dinner? I'll buy."
'Oooo fajitas?' Jessica swooned.
"Mexican food?" Luke raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "Since when do you like..."
'Shit! That came out of your mouth, didn't it? I'm sorry.'
"Never mind. Another gift from the new heart, I take it... Well, I happen to love Mexican food and I know just where we can get the best fajitas in town."
Jason smiled sheepishly at his friend. What could he say without sounding utterly crazy? "I'll follow you, then."