Galilee Rising(62)

She frowns. "This is why we work alone." She folds her arms across her chest. "So he really didn't tell you?"

"Of course not. He'd never betray you like that." I shift on the couch so I'm facing her. "But, for the record, that was a pretty shitty thing. Not trusting me. He and I got into fights because of it."

"I know. He came to us like every other day begging for permission. I almost gave in a few times--he was so pathetic--but Bren held the line. It cut Jem up something fierce keeping it from you. I think he was ready to bare his soul to you the moment we touched down in town. You made quite the impression on him last year. And the moment I realized you were into him too, I decided to help things along. It was such a pain in the ass to get him to that party, let alone getting his hair cut. Never knew he could be such a babe. Should have kept him to myself, huh? Huh?" she asks, nudging me. Her smile drops when she notices my miserable expression. We sit in silence for about thirty seconds. "If it's any consolation, he really likes you. I've never seen him so happy as when he's talking about you."

I stand. "It's not." I move over to Doris and sit, pulling up the file. "I sent all our data but the partial print ID to Harry O'Hara. I have to warn you, he might suspect--"

"Let's just can the shop talk for now, okay? I know you're hurting, and let's face it, I'm the only person you can talk about it all to."

"I don't want to talk. I want to find this bastard before he sets off another bomb. My fucked up love life can wait." I spin in the chair to face her. "Besides, there's nothing to talk about. We hung out a few times, we weren't engaged or anything. Never even went on a date. The relationship never made it past the gate, and that's probably for the best. It never would have worked, even without his psychotic brother showing up. He's too…smart for me. Too shy. Not to mention the whole superhero angle. It's weird. No offense."

"None trying to be taken."

"We had a few laughs, but it was bound to end sometime, why not now? Okay? End of conversation." I spin back to the screen. "So, we know of two accomplices, Danny Watkins and Gary Acevedo, and that he had at least three more. The question is how did he recruit them?"

"To the best of my knowledge Cain's never worked here before, at least not as Cain."

"Well, he's basically a mercenary. It's not a big leap to think someone here hired him once upon a time. According to the files the only known connection between Acevedo and Watkins is James Ryder. I've sent this information to GFPD as well. I'm sure they'll try to interview him, but I can't see him being cooperative. Our best bet is to let Doris do her thing. Now, there's too much footage for her to go back in time all over the city, but I've programmed her so if Acevedo or Watkins show up anywhere, she'll alert us right away."

"Sounds great."

"I know you said Cain changes his appearance a lot, but on the off chance he gets sloppy I'd like a picture. I know Jem has some of him as a child, so I can send it to a colleague who has software to age him up."

"He didn't tell you?" she asks, eyes narrowing.

"What?"

"They're twins. Identical twins."

My face falls. "Oh. I-I didn't know." Christ, what else didn't he tell me? "That'll make it harder then. Doris will just spot Jem and alert us." There goes that plan. I lean back in my chair. "What do you think Cain's next move's going to be?"

"Not a damn clue. If you're right, and he wants people to hate us, he might continue the bombings. He still has a shit load of explosives left. Or, if he's really serious, he'll attack Jem Ambrose, not Lord Nightingale."

"Has he ever done that since he became Cain?"

"Strangely, no. I mean he showed up at his apartment or the hospital before to taunt him, but he's never gone after him as a doctor or threatened to out him."

"Maybe he's proud of that aspect of Jem's life," I offer.

Lexie slips into the chair beside me. "Total possibility. Those two have the sickest relationship I have ever come across. I don't know how much he's told you about his childhood, but it was seriously fucked up. The fact Jem turned out half as well adjusted as he did is a miracle."

"I know."

"He won't be able to kill him," she says more to herself. "I don't think he'd do it for anyone or anything, and that's the only way Cain will stop. Not a doubt in my mind of that. Sometimes I think Jem can't kill him because he just wants to punish himself." She sighs. "He was so…happy. You make him so happy. Now it's all fucked up again. He's petrified something will happen to you, so don't let it, okay?" Her cell buzzes, and she pulls it out to check the text. "Bren. He might have a lead on who hacked into the BNN footage. Miles Raitt?"