Chapter 8: Risk Taker

Maya literally slept with one eye open after that late-night message from Mr. Blue about the next-door neighbor Nick Somers. When morning finally came she took a sigh of relief and kept her gun back to the vault. But just for extra security that morning before she went for her usual morning run she hid a dagger somewhere in her tights hoping she wasn't going to use it. Fate definitely had other plans, as she left her house she found the two brothers warming up on the road wearing marching track suits.

"We were just waiting for you. Good morning!"

"Good morning Mark. Nick"

"Maya!"

"I hope I won't be interrupting" mark noted when he noticed the two of them staring at each other.

"Not really. But I bet you'll be the last one"

"Yeah which is expected because I'm not a professional athlete posing as a banker and I've never been in the army...let's go" Mark started of the jog.

He took it as a head start, behind him Maya and Nick ran side by side in silence. They caught up with Mark a few moments later, sandwiched him between them running at a pace he could manage.

"This is fun, tomorrow being the weekend you have any plans?"

"I'll go to see my mother. What will you guys do?"

"A barbecue with friends and family Nick has been away too long"

"He is exaggerating. It's been a few months"

"Family needs to stay close"

"Exactly"

The three joined other neighborhood dwellers in the park for Aerobic exercises, the numbers were a bit low but enough for another Maya masterclass on stretching, the others joined in. Mark was so proud he kept telling everyone she was his neighbor, that and also introducing Nick to everyone who cared to listen. They had to drag him away for the return jog back home and in his defense, he pointed out working with politicians had taught him the importance of networking. When they got home he made sure Nick and Maya had the privacy to talk.

"I couldn't help but notice you are armed"

"Jogging alone in this neighborhood isn't safe for a girl" she kept stretching.

"You had us"

"I didn't know we were going together. What is it with all the doubt?"

"Nothing" he forced a smile, "Maybe if you treated me nicely"

"This is the best you can get Nick. See you around, when are you leaving?"

"Not anytime soon. Laying low until something am avoiding boils over"

"Okay. I have to prepare for work" she went up the stairs that led to her house.

"You're not going to ask what am avoiding?"

"Does it have anything to do with me?"

"No"

"Then I don't care"

The more she talked to Nick the more she had her doubts about why he showed up out of the blue and why after months of living in the neighborhood Mark decided to be extra nice to her even to an extent of inviting her over for dinner. Was it just her trust issues or it was a coincidence? There was a chance it was all connected her and whatever the reason Nick was there. As she took her breakfast after a reflective shower, Maya decided to do a deep dive through the top secret read and delete files from Mr. Blue and see what Nick had been up to recently. His ledger had a lot of red. In fact, so much red that he ought not to be a free man. Why? What was Blue not telling her?

Like he said it was work for the police and she was going to leave it to them. As she drove to work that morning, Maya looked forward to a great day at the bank and a cozy weekend with her mother back at home, also a rather uncomfortable talk about her father. However, there was an early sign that she was not going to have a such a great day, when she got to the CBD she noticed a tail.

"Calm down. Calm the fuck down this is just a coincidence" she slowed down to have a clear view of the plates and the moment they stopped on the traffic she texted Detective Stewart. He called immediately.

"Mrs. Stock, why do you want me to run the plates?"

"Because, I'm being followed. My best guess is the man you're looking for, do you want my help or not?"

"Okay. Just a minute" he hung up.

When the traffic lights hit green Maya drove out of there as fast she could, the car tailing her was in pursuit and it didn't take long before they got flagged by the traffic police and it turned into an unprecedent car chase. Stewart called back, but Maya was not in a position to speak.

"Come on, out of the way!" She screamed recklessly overtaking other motorists, the police managed to block her but the car that was tailing her took a quick exit road.

"Get out of the car!"

"Officer, I was being followed"

"Out of the car! Hands where I can see them!" The angry cop ordered.

"Believe me" she obeyed and got out of the car. A female cop searched her thoroughly.

"License and Registration"

"In the dashboard" she pointed, "can I pick the phone? It's detective Stewart he must be worried I told him I was being tailed possibly by a man he is looking for"

"The FCNB case?" The cop asked curiously.

"Yes"

"Her story checks out" the female cop showed her colleague Maya's documents, her license and work ID.

"Okay. Go ahead. You’re off the hook just this once"

Maya went back to the car and drove off, she called Stewart.

"Sorry, I ran into some problems with the traffic police"

"The car belongs to Someone by the name Daniel Rice. I have sent a unit to his last known address are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. He ran away I think if you find the car you'll find him he hasn't gone far"

"Yeah about that. I don't think that's possible"

"What do you mean you don't think that's possible?"

"Daniel Rice died two years ago. Whoever was tailing you is either an imposter or he was using a stolen car. We will keep looking don't worry get to work"

"Okay" she hung up.

Maya was getting really confused. If it wasn't the bank robber then who was it? Who knew her route to work so well? All the possible scenarios were not pointing in that direction, she took him out of the picture. There was no way he knew her route to work and he wasn't stupid enough to show his face around that soon...that was just her thinking. Yet on the other side of the argument she realized he could have as well traced her phone number.

Maya parked her car at the reserved parking spot in the basement and rushed to her station. She was late.

"You're late!" The manger echoed what she already knew.

The bank was full of customers and back in business like it had never left.

"I'm so sorry sir. I ran into some trouble with the cops"

"Speeding?"

"Yes…but it was not my fault. I was being followed I've already informed the detective he is handling it"

"You think it's the robbers?"

"Might be"

"Okay. That's a genuine reason. Get to work"

Just like that she was off the hook. She shut the office door and quickly switched on her computer, logged into her private email and send a message to Mr. Blue.

"I was followed to work just minutes ago. Do you think it has anything to do with the files?"

She waited patiently for him to reply, checking her watch and the screen hoping every time she did his response would be there. There was fear in her eyes and it was about to get worse.

"I can't tell at the moment. Let's wait for Stewart's report in the meantime stay at work and be careful"

That wasn't the response she was liking forward to. What did he mean he didn't know? Maya typed her response.

"Okay"

Before she could log off there was a soft knock on the door. She quickly tilted the monitor away and walked briskly in her stilettos to get the door, the moment it opened she was hit by a deja vu. A handsome masculine man in a black suit was standing by the door carrying a black leather briefcase, he was wearing a warm smile. Her heart skipped a beat there as she stood frozen looking at his eyes that were sucking concentration out of her not out of amazement but fear.

"Mrs. Stock can I come in?" He asked Ina gentle voice and that didn't make it any better. It was him.

"Yeah sure"

He walked in confidently. Maya shut the door and quickly rushed to her desk, logged off the email before turning her concentration to him.

"How can I help you"

"You look nervous everything okay?"

"Yes. All good" she was not good at hiding it. I mean she was with other people but with him it was as though she was lacking a certain degree of control with her own body.

"For you" he fished out a Rose from his coat, "A beautiful rose for a beautiful lady"

"Thank you" She took it cautiously and placed it on the table next to the landline.

"Don't even think about it" Knox fished out a rubber coated gun same place where the Rose had come from, "Hi beautiful, missed me?"

"Was it that you back on the road? Southern bypass black Mercedes"

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"You were tailing me with a stolen car"

"No, I was not. I was seated in the banking hall patiently waiting for you to come in. You didn't see me because you came in looking scared. What do you think of me?" Knox kept his gun away, "I'm sorry for scaring you with the gun. But can you just give me five minutes of your time? Please, and don't call the cops on me"

The sad part is. Maya believed him. She believed he was not the one who was chasing her a few minutes back.

"How do you intend to get out of here?"

"The same way I came in. A businessman walking out of a bank" he leaned back into his seat comfortably.