Chapter Fifteen

Jason knew with an almost absolute certainty that he would be watched and followed. He knew Veronica was someone who loved to have total control over everything and everyone around her, which was why their relationship had failed in the first place. It would be typical of her not to ask him too many questions and allow him go off before setting someone after him. So as he got into his car, he tried to act as casual as possible. With time, the tail will show itself, he mused. Not that he wanted to stay hidden from Veronica, but he just didn't want to be followed, at least not yet.

As he drove through traffic, Jason didn't bother checking the rearview mirror for any follow-ups, he had other plans in mind. He carefully scanned the roadside shops and buildings. He was searching for something.. somewhere specific. Soon, he found what he wanted.

Parking his SUV by the side of the road, he walked into the boutique. From what he could see, it would be perfect for what he had in mind. He stopped to smile at one of the staff who had been secretly eyeing him and she blushed, hurrying off in confusion. He then strolled to the headgear department which was not very far from the entrance, in fact, it made an easy angle with it. Here, he picked up some expensive hats, trying them on with no little interest, all the while looking at his reflection in a mirror and adjusting himself and the hat into all manners of positions. A different member of the boutique's staff soon joined him.

“Good day, sir. Is there any way I can help?”, she asked confidently.

“Oh no honey,” Jason replied with a winning smile. “I assure you I've got this totally covered. I'll be done in a minute and by then, I'll be walking away with your finest hats.. after I pay for them of course.”

“Of course,” the girl echoed with a bright smile. “If you need anything or have any problems f...”

“I'll let you or anyone else know. Thank you, dear.”

“You're welcome, sir.”

Jason breathed a sigh of relief as she walked away to attend to another customer. While he was talking to her, he had positioned himself in such a way that he could see anyone coming into the boutique, but the view had not been excellent and he feared that he might have missed one or two people.

Now that he was alone, he returned to the mirror which he had strategically placed to provide a view of the entrance and proceeded to try on as many more hats as possible. But it didn't take him long to spot his ace. Tall, strongly built and alert, he immediately attracted Jason's attention. As he watched him through the mirror, he saw that the man's eyes were constantly roving about the place, but his feet were moving relatively slower. When his eyes caught sight of Jason, he focused on him briefly before pulling back a few feet, perhaps to watch from a less conspicuous position.

Having achieved his immediate goal, Jason picked two hats and an overcoat and went straight to pay for them. As the items were being packed, he took care to keep himself in the man's line of sight in order to divert his attention from the clothes he had just bought.

As expected, Veronica's man waited a little before tailing Jason out of the boutique. This time, he was with a newspaper and a pair of glasses. Feeble attempt at disguise, Jason thought as he strolled away from his car with the bag containing the items he had just purchased. There was an alley up ahead and he branched into it. He knew he didn't have much time, barely seconds. Quickly, he ducked into a corner and threw on the overcoat and one of the hats, the second hat he stuffed into one of the overcoat pockets together with the bag. Turning 360 degrees, he quickly retraced his steps like a man in a hurry. He really was in a hurry. He had to get rid of Nika's man as fast as possible. For God's sakes, the guy was promising to delay him!

Just as Jason reached the entrance to the alley, he bumped into the man and they both apologized. The tail stopped to have a good look at him, perhaps he thought he looked familiar. But Jason had the new hat almost over his face and was walking quickly away with a different gait, so the man continued into the alley.

"Shit!", he swore beneath his breath as a quick look around assured him that his target had double-backed. He turned around immediately. Before he could take a step, Jason lashed out a strong strike with the edge of his palm, hitting the man on his carotid artery. Down he went.

As the man lay unconscious, Jason worked fast, wearing him his hat, himself donning the second hat and turning the overcoat inside-out to display a slightly different color. Then he walked briskly through the alley.

"Taxi!", he hailed the first cab he saw as he reached the street.

***

“Hey Jacy, what gives?”

“You're doing well for yourself, Ron.”

“Glad to know I'm not alone in that line of thought,” he chuckled as he arranged some items in a carton.

Ron was an old friend, actually an Army buddy. They had served together and had been very close, even after service, until different lines of work took them apart. Ron started a tech shop while Jason went into the FBI. Now, as Jason looked around Ron's shop, he could see that his friend had really grown since the last time he saw him. Anyway, he had always been good with electronic stuff.

“So what do you want, Jason?”, Ron asked as his friend's silence continued.

“Umm..,” Jason feigned hesitation as he continued to look around. “I think the FBI are on their way here.”

“What!”, Ron was stunned.

“Well,” Jason shrugged, “I'm not so sure. I mean I just gave their man the slip a while back, but he may have had backup or perhaps they planted a transponder on me. Can't say which.”

Ron didn't bother to ask questions. Muttering a curse beneath his breath, he rushed his large frame away and soon returned with a hand-held detector.

“You bastard,” he growled angrily at Jason. “You deliberately led them here. C'mon, get your fucking hands up.”

With a smile on his face, Jason lifted his hands to enable Ron check for a transponder. The man didn't spare any effort. From Jason's shoes to his fingertips to his hair, he ran and re-ran the detector while Jason struggled with trying to keep from laughing.

“You're clean,” he muttered at last, almost out of breath.

“Sure that thing's good enough?”, Jason teased, nodding toward the detector.

“Better than your dumb brain I'm sure,” Ron retorted as he made his way to the front door as fast as his legs could carry him. He locked the door, turned on the CLOSED sign and led Jason through a metal door in the back.

Eventually, they found themselves in a small, well-furnished but semi-dark room.

“No one can find us here. Office is a little way ahead, but for now, I can't trust you that far.”

“Sure feels safe being underground,” Jason sighed, sitting on the nearest couch he could find.

“So state your business or I smash your butt right now,” Ron growled, his large hands on his waist, looking determined to carry out his threat.

Jason looked at him for a while and leaned back in the couch. Picking up the remote control, he started browsing through the channels on the flat screen TV in the room.

“Why don't you take a seat, Ron?”, he asked carelessly.

“No, thanks. Tell me what I wanna know.”

“Well,” Jason yawned. “I'm looking for Randy Barlough.”

There was complete silence for a while. Jason knew that Ron had been taken unawares, but keeping his eyes on the TV, he pretended like he didn't know.

“I.. uh I haven't seen Randy some ten years now,” was Ron's reply.

“Okay,” Jason shrugged carelessly in response, yawning again.

“That's all?”, Ron asked, clearly surprised.

“Yeah,” Jason answered absently. “Ain't you got coffee or something?”

“I'll fix you coffee,” his host muttered, going toward an array of kitchen utensils and a coffee maker. As soon as Jason saw his back, he quickly switched to alert mode. His eyes roved about the room searching for something specific, something blunt.

Stealthily like a cat, he picked up the detector from the coffee table where Ron had dropped it. It was not heavy, but he would have to make do with it.

“So why so scared of the FBI, huh?”, Jason asked, even though he knew why, but just to keep his friend more relaxed and distracted.

“None of your business,” Ron muttered, still busy with the coffee.

Jason knew his friend was heavy, strong and had a keen sense of hearing that he could never hope to equal, so he had to be careful with what he would do next. Ron picked up two cups of coffee and started to turn around.

“By the way, as for...”

He didn't get a chance to complete the statement. He was on the ground, sent there by Jason's strong blow delivered to the base of his skull. His cups and their contents were scattered about on the floor. Jason breathed a sigh of relief, but he knew his work had only just begun.