Chapter 7: Switched Sides

It was the earliest Knox had been home for a long time and when he calmed down he went to his home office to work on some of his inventions, bury himself in building a future he so much desired. It worked perfectly because it didn't take long before he got in his zone so much that he lost track of time. It was not until Katarina walked downstairs to tell him she was leaving that he realized it was night already. He was in black khaki shorts and a grey T-shirt, rolling on his wheeled chair from one monitor to another and talking to Hermes-his AI assistant, papers spread all over his messy and disorganized desk.

"Dinner is ready you've been here for four straight hours"

"Katarina, I'm trying to build my future after an old man refused to give me my birthright" he said busy typing away on his keyboard.

"A fight with your mentor?"

"Yes. A big one although I don't think he considers it that way...I'll be done in a minute you can go home and look after your kids"

"Don't stay up too long. Get company too"

"Thank you. Goodnight and drive safe"

Moments after she left Knox kept working, taking turns to type on the keyboard and the tablet and soldering wires on circuit boards turning the room smoky. His phone was buzzing on the table but he ignored it. The crew was definitely wondering where he was.

"Hermes, Run the code!"

He sat back to see if his invention was working. There was a series of binary numbers on the screen before the pictures of his entire compound came on the big monitor.

"Scan for heat signatures"

"No signatures detected!" A monotone male voice said.

"Show me inside the house"

The screen changed to live images of the house from the living room to the kitchen and the bedrooms.

"Show the office"

"Access denied"

"Override security Lima Knox XXVII"

"Please Input security passcode"

Knox keyed in an eight-digit code. His office came on the screen. He cracked a big smile and sank back in his rotating chair.

"That's enough for today. Upload the new upgrades to the house security system and link it to my smartwatch" he yawned walking out of the office scratching his beard his phone at hand, "I need to see everything, everywhere all the time"

"Copy that sir. You have guests at the front gate, two men. One is armed"

The live image came to his phone. The uncle had sent his boys to check on him.

"Let them in"

Knox went all the way to the kitchen, served his food and warmed it up on the microwave while sipping on a glass of wine. His guests arrived by the time he was taking a seat on one side of the massive L-shaped grey couch taking the entire leaving room, painted white and grey it had exquisite art hanging on the walls, a huge lacquered coffee table resting on a massive fluffy mat.

"Welcome, guys what's up?"

"The Boss is worried about you"

"No, he's not. You guys hungry? There's some food in the kitchen and the bar is full"

"No, we good"

"I insist. Help a brother out I'm dying of boredom"

"Call one of your girls to keep you company. He is expecting us back"

"I'm fine" he said rather rudely chewing on salad and stake.

The boys saw themselves out. They had confirmed he was alive and well, whatever was going on with him and the uncle was a mystery none of them needed to know. Foreseen, from the altercation of the previous day they knew the rather and son duo were going to squash the beef soon. Knox chose to grab a movie, but got bored halfway and went to take a shower trying to hit the bed early but sleep evaded him like a plague. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thoughts about his life creeping in his conscious. Lately, he had been having mixed feelings about his life needed a complete makeover. How? He had no idea and neither was that supercomputer in his skull giving him hints. But according to the emotional pump in his ribcage, it had something to do with Maya.

"Damn!" He grabbed his phone by the bedside table and took another look at that picture zooming it in and out.

An idea seeped in his mind that made him smile. He concluded that he was going to see her the next day and ask her out. Was she willing to go out with a criminal? He didn't know for sure but what if she was? There was a fifty-fifty chance she was either going to agree to go on that date with him or scream and call the cops on him. Finally, on the last agenda of the day Knox finally did what everyone was asking him to do that evening, he called one of his bimbos on the contact list. Moments later his security alarm went off.

"Hermes, what's it?" He pulled a tablet from one of the bedside draws.

"Sir, someone has tried to access your system from within the compound"

"Give me a live feed of the compound" he scrolled on his tablet checking all corners of the compound, "there's no one here"

"From the office sir"

"Impossible. Lock down the house" He rushed downstairs to his office approaching with caution. A close combat expert, Knox was among the most dangerous unarmed men in the city, “Hermes there is no one here"

"It's an error with the code"

"Yours or mine?"

"Definitely you sir. You might have put her name in the code as a failsafe"

"Jesus Christ what on earth is she doing to me" he laughed his head off, "lift the lockdown am expecting someone"

"Should we change the code sir?"

"Yes Hermes. But leave the failsafe, It's perfect. She is perfect" he went back upstairs, "let in the guest when she gets here"

***

After dinner the four of them got sucked into storytelling, laughing and drinking wine creating new memories. Maya and Nick seemed to have put on hold whatever secret that was preventing them from being free and just enjoy the night like their hosts. Tina started clearing the table and Maya saw an opportunity to help at the same time get away to grab some air. There was something suffocating about Nick.

"So, just between us girls. How's he?"

"Who?" She asked absentmindedly helping Tina wash the dishes

"Nick"

"Ooh, yeah. He is very handsome"

"Does that mean you'll go out with him? "

"Definitely" she smiled.

"He is a good guy. Although he hasn't so much luck in the dating scene"

Maya ignored her or she just didn't hear what Tina was saying, her mind was roaming somewhere far away from the kitchen. Relentless. Her host however kept talking the entire time until they were done. Back in the living room the two brothers were watching TV and drinking beer, the night had come to an end and Nick offered to walk Maya to her house even though it was a stone throw away and Maya was welcoming of the proposal. They left holding hands but the moment they got outside she broke free.

"Longtime" he said trailing behind her, Maya was walking briskly as though they were not together.

"Shut up"

"That is very cold considering we haven't seen each other for a long time"

"Last time I checked we were not friends" she said fumbling with her keys before the door clicked open and she blocked an approaching Nick from entering.

"You're just going to ignore me? Let's talk inside"

"I don't think so. What do you want Nicholas?"

"Trust me this is all coincidental. How are you? What are you up to nowadays?"

"I'm a banker"

Nick chuckled, he realized she was serious and stopped, sheepishly clearing his raspy throat. If only Maya could be more receptive.

"Okay. So that life's behind you?"

"Yes. You?"

"We both know there's no way out unless you're old or dead"

"Or you know the right people. Goodnight, it's past my bedtime I have work tomorrow"

"Okay. What do we tell them?"

"I'm not your type, you like blondes, you're not looking for anything serious...come on there are a hundred and one excuses"

"Fine. It was nice to see you. You still look great"

"You too Nick" she shut the door in his face and leaned on it before opening it again, Nick was on his way by the garden, "You keep your mouth shut, will you?"

"Noted"

"If not, I'll find you and we will have a talk. You know I can"

"I know mum. Goodnight"

Maya bolted the door and went to her room, switched on her desktop tapping away on her lap. She keyed in her password and opened the secret email and typed in Mr. blue's address;

"We might have a problem. Nick Somers is here, he knows who I am. Confirm his status"

The blue cursor on the dark screen kept blipping. A long-awaited reply finally came.

"Active"

She took a sigh of relief and logged off the computer. Her feet were already aching in the heels, she was feeling tired already and sleep seemed like a good idea. Until her phone buzzed and she groaned collapsing on the bed.

"I'm super tired so please no drama"

"How did it go?"

"What did you expect?"

"It went well. You didn't screw it up, didn't you?"

"No. He is not my type"

"What's your type? Criminal?"

"Yes. You're not going to get under my skin. Goodnight Anny and thank you for today. It meant a lot you coming to my rescue when I needed you the most"

"Deflecting. Welcome asshole. Goodnight"

Maya dragged her lazy body to the washroom. When she came back she changed into her pajamas switched off the lights and slid under her duvet hoping for sleep, her mind kept thinking about to what her mum said. Was she that lonely? Did she miss her father like Maya did? That Sunday was the perfect day to talk to her about it. After her father’s gruesome murder Maya had gone through the toughest period in her twenty-eight years of life, so tough that she disappeared for four and a half years and came back a completely different person. It was that night she realized that she had worked so hard to hide the pain that she didn't go through it and now it was back again. Fresh with a vengeance, her phone on the left bedside drawer beeped. She froze. It beeped again and she quickly grabbed it.

They were messages from Mr. Blue.

"I just got new info, Nick can't he trusted he switched sides"

"Don't approach. Be careful. The police will take care of it"

She gasped.