One step closer, one step back.
"Yo, Beck." The sound of someone snapping their fingers brought Michael out of his thoughts, but the glare he gave the man in front of him did very little to irritate him. "It'd help if you pay attention."
"I am," Michael said through gritted teeth, the grasp he had on the backpack he was holding tightening so much that it turned his knuckles white. After his talk with Kyle he had set up a place to meet with Zack Reynolds; from there, he had been assured, he would be able to find Jack. The fact that everyone had a price was so true in this case that, for the first time in a long while, Michael was very glad for it. With the money he was going to give Zack he would be able to get the information he needed and would be able to get Tess home. That was all he cared about.
"Did you get the money?"
Tossing the backpack over to him, Michael did his best to keep his temper in check. "Talk. Where is he."
Zack smirked, pretending to weigh the backpack and ignoring Michael completely. "I would count the money, but you're a friend of Kyle's and he says you're good for it. But if it's not all there--"
"Listen to me, you bastard," Michael interrupted with a sneer as he grasped the front of Zack's jacket and jerked him to him. "You have your goddamn money, and I don't have time to spare with your damn taunting or threats. So, once again: Where is he?"
There was only a small moment of silence, Zack staring at Michael right in the eyes with no sign of intimidation or anger whatsoever. "He's in Nebraska. Marc recently got a place there, and it was even confirmed by the security personnel that there's a woman being held hostage there. Jack is there, of course."
Michael let go of his jacket then, taking in the information. "How do I know you're good for all this? The fact that you're Kyle's friend doesn't mean shit to me."
"You'll have to trust me."
"Try again."
Zack raised an eyebrow, a corner of his lips quirking a bit. "Connections, Mr. Beck. My life consists of it, and I'm a free agent, of sorts. I give information to the highest bidder. In this case," he added as he lifted the backpack onto his shoulder, "you just happen to be the winner. And not to worry, my transactions are all confidential. No one will know you're on your way."
"If I know Jack, he already suspects I'll be there and that it's just a matter of time."
"That's your business. Mine, as far as I'm concerned, ends as soon as you turn to leave." He took out an envelope from the pocket of his jacket and handed it over. "You have everything there. Directions, number of guards, and all that. Coordinates, even. No blueprints of the place, though; you didn't give me enough time to prepare."
Michael looked up briefly from the documents he had been inspecting and looked for any signs on Zack's face that he could be lying or setting him up for something. But, from what he could see, there were no signs at all, so he just nodded. Heh, and what other option did he really have? As Alexander Johnson he had no other way of getting Tess back; this was his only solution.
Without much else, Michael made his way back to his vehicle. He needed to get home, throw some things into an overnight bag, get his laptop and a few guns he would be using, and he would head off to Nebraska.
______________________________________________
Driving in the middle of the night had always relaxed Michael, but tonight it didn't. Not even the road could take away his mind away from everything that was going on, but part of him was glad for it because he was going to need all the rage he was starting to feel so he could throw it all back in Jack's face. He was going to make him pay for everything, and now even more for touching Tess.
By his calculations he was halfway there. This was going against everything that Damian had ever taught him, Michael realized as he rolled down the window so the cold air could wake him up, but he didn't care. He could already hear Damian tell him to be smart about an operation this important; about waiting and analyzing everything to make a good plan so they could win in the end. Except, in this case, it didn't really matter and all that seemed pointless; the end result would be exactly the same - he would face Jack. He would get Tess to safety. No planning could stop that from happening, so why should he waste even more time by waiting?
A sudden yawn caught him off guard once a car - the only other one on the road at this hour, it seemed - passed by him. Before he could turn back completely on the road, though, bright lights on his rear view mirror caused him to squint and, before he could realize what was going on someone rammed their vehicle into his. At once Michael tried to regain control again, get away quickly, but before he could do so he was rammed again from behind and the car swerved off the road.
Michael wasn't sure what came next. Everything was a blur, and there were so many noises...
But he didn't have to try and make sense of it. Before he knew it, once everything stopped, everything went black.
"I am," Michael said through gritted teeth, the grasp he had on the backpack he was holding tightening so much that it turned his knuckles white. After his talk with Kyle he had set up a place to meet with Zack Reynolds; from there, he had been assured, he would be able to find Jack. The fact that everyone had a price was so true in this case that, for the first time in a long while, Michael was very glad for it. With the money he was going to give Zack he would be able to get the information he needed and would be able to get Tess home. That was all he cared about.
"Did you get the money?"
Tossing the backpack over to him, Michael did his best to keep his temper in check. "Talk. Where is he."
Zack smirked, pretending to weigh the backpack and ignoring Michael completely. "I would count the money, but you're a friend of Kyle's and he says you're good for it. But if it's not all there--"
"Listen to me, you bastard," Michael interrupted with a sneer as he grasped the front of Zack's jacket and jerked him to him. "You have your goddamn money, and I don't have time to spare with your damn taunting or threats. So, once again: Where is he?"
There was only a small moment of silence, Zack staring at Michael right in the eyes with no sign of intimidation or anger whatsoever. "He's in Nebraska. Marc recently got a place there, and it was even confirmed by the security personnel that there's a woman being held hostage there. Jack is there, of course."
Michael let go of his jacket then, taking in the information. "How do I know you're good for all this? The fact that you're Kyle's friend doesn't mean shit to me."
"You'll have to trust me."
"Try again."
Zack raised an eyebrow, a corner of his lips quirking a bit. "Connections, Mr. Beck. My life consists of it, and I'm a free agent, of sorts. I give information to the highest bidder. In this case," he added as he lifted the backpack onto his shoulder, "you just happen to be the winner. And not to worry, my transactions are all confidential. No one will know you're on your way."
"If I know Jack, he already suspects I'll be there and that it's just a matter of time."
"That's your business. Mine, as far as I'm concerned, ends as soon as you turn to leave." He took out an envelope from the pocket of his jacket and handed it over. "You have everything there. Directions, number of guards, and all that. Coordinates, even. No blueprints of the place, though; you didn't give me enough time to prepare."
Michael looked up briefly from the documents he had been inspecting and looked for any signs on Zack's face that he could be lying or setting him up for something. But, from what he could see, there were no signs at all, so he just nodded. Heh, and what other option did he really have? As Alexander Johnson he had no other way of getting Tess back; this was his only solution.
Without much else, Michael made his way back to his vehicle. He needed to get home, throw some things into an overnight bag, get his laptop and a few guns he would be using, and he would head off to Nebraska.
______________________________________________
Driving in the middle of the night had always relaxed Michael, but tonight it didn't. Not even the road could take away his mind away from everything that was going on, but part of him was glad for it because he was going to need all the rage he was starting to feel so he could throw it all back in Jack's face. He was going to make him pay for everything, and now even more for touching Tess.
By his calculations he was halfway there. This was going against everything that Damian had ever taught him, Michael realized as he rolled down the window so the cold air could wake him up, but he didn't care. He could already hear Damian tell him to be smart about an operation this important; about waiting and analyzing everything to make a good plan so they could win in the end. Except, in this case, it didn't really matter and all that seemed pointless; the end result would be exactly the same - he would face Jack. He would get Tess to safety. No planning could stop that from happening, so why should he waste even more time by waiting?
A sudden yawn caught him off guard once a car - the only other one on the road at this hour, it seemed - passed by him. Before he could turn back completely on the road, though, bright lights on his rear view mirror caused him to squint and, before he could realize what was going on someone rammed their vehicle into his. At once Michael tried to regain control again, get away quickly, but before he could do so he was rammed again from behind and the car swerved off the road.
Michael wasn't sure what came next. Everything was a blur, and there were so many noises...
But he didn't have to try and make sense of it. Before he knew it, once everything stopped, everything went black.