50: The Cellphone

Aaron, Sophie and her dad were desperately in need for some idea that would give them a course of action for the future. It didn’t take too much convincing to make Mike believe in what was going on. He had seen his share of unexplainable crap but still nothing came near what he faced that night. Aaron’s mind was in a frenzy. He knew that they had to do something soon. They were sitting ducks, if they decided to stay. It was just a matter of time when Rick Hudson’s men showed up at his doorstep. All three sat silently for a while. Aaron decided to break the ice.

“So, I’ve been running all around the country and the elders had me relocated every time my safety was threatened...”, Aaron spoke. Mike raised an eyebrow.

“Elders?”, Mike asked in a whisper.

“A body of older and wiser werewolves that use their resources to protect the Alpha”, Sophie butted in. The daughter’s response somehow shocked him even more. Mike was just about to ask when Sophie added, “Aaron is an Alpha but his powers are dormant”. Mike shook his head in confusion. It was too much for him to process. Aaron scoffed at the word ‘wiser’. The very presence of the father and daughter at his house, contradicted the statement. The necessary and potentially fruitful conversation had been too easily sidelined. The father daughter duo had jumped down the rabbit hole of Aaron’s background. Aaron didn’t like it.

“As I was saying, I’ve had myself relocated with different names and jobs but my recent few relocations have been less than successful. The time it took them to find me kept narrowing down and my previous relocation lasted less than a week”, Aaron gravely informed. Sophie and Mike intently listened. “My faith in my elders has been badly tainted. I can’t wait for them to provide me another passage. There is obviously a leak within their ranks. There was no way Hudson’s men should’ve known about my arrival at the subway station”, he continued. Sophie kept playing the incident in her mind again and again. Now that she remembered it, everything seemed suspicious. There were several persons among the crowd that stole glances at her, she remembered. “Apparently, my running around isn’t helping me much these days so we need to think of something else”, he added. Mike was confused. He was wondering what the boy had in mind. ‘If he was not running, what other option does he have? Camouflage?’, Mike thought. He looked at Sophie for some clue and caught her smirking at Aaron. “Your daughter suggested that I fight back. What do you say?”, Aaron asked.

“Full marks for unpredictability I would say but .... how are you planning to do that?”, Mike reluctantly responded as he scratched his head. Aaron was out of words. He hadn't thought about that part. Whatever he thought of, had guns and a lot of dramatic bloodshed in it. He didn’t need that. Mike was in deep thought. He looked determined to produce something out of that messed up situation. “To plan anything against Hudson, we need to know him as best as we possibly can. If he is what you say he is, our info must be spot on”, Mike said. Aaron and Sophie agreed with him. “How much do you know about him?”, Mike asked Aaron. Aaron didn’t have a satisfactory answer.

“In addition to him being a vampire, only the things that everyone else knows”, Aaron responded sounding defeated. Mike didn’t seem to mind.

“Going after his family is off the table. We need to know who handles his security, who has his passwords, who goes with him on flights and who keeps his deepest secrets”, Mike laid down his plan. Sophie and Aaron both knew that all the qualities that he mentioned, were in a single man. But Sophie knew one thing that Aaron didn’t. Mike pulled out a cell phone from his breast pocket. The phone was wrapped in plastic. “This belongs to the man that kidnapped Soph. Maybe it can be of some use”, he said and offered the phone to Aaron. Aaron recognized the phone. It was Ronald’s. It ran a shiver through him. That man was the most trusted man of Rick Hudson. Killing him would mean that he had royally pissed him off and now Rick would do anything possible to get his hands on Aaron. Even just imagining Rick using his vampiric powers in a state of rage, scared him. “But it’s locked. Phones these days have so many codes and pins. I couldn’t crack it. I could hand it to my tech guy but it would waste too much valuable time”, Mike added and yanked Aaron out of his miserable day dream. Mike would need to send the phone out of city to his trusted I.T. guys and it would take some time. Time was a luxury they couldn’t afford. The door knocked loudly and startled all three of them. Aaron contemplated going for his gun.

“Yo! Aaron! Did you guys order pizza!?”, Big T shouted from outside the door. The nerves were calmed in an instant but the shock was enough to give a stroke to someone with a weak heart. Aaron Shouted a ‘No’ in response. “Okay!”, Big T responded and walked away. It gave Aaron an Idea. He stood up and dashed to the door. He opened the door and Big T was on his way downstairs. The big man looked back at him with a warm smile. Aaron walked out of the room and walked near him.

“Wassup!?”, Big T greeted him and Aaron responded with similar warmth.

“Hey buddy, do you know somebody who can unlock a phone?”, Aaron bluntly asked. Big T looked to have an affirmative answer at the tip of his tongue but he refrained with caution. He eyed Aaron with concern.

“It ain’t stolen is it?”, Big T inquired. Aaron chuckled.

“No, just a cousin gifted it to me from abroad. He forgot the password”, Aaron told Big T. Big T bought it.

“My wife’s dumbass brother does shit like that but I can’t guarantee nothing”, Big T spoke. Aaron was fine with it.

“Where and when can I find him?”, Aaron asked with urgency in his tone.

“Five houses to the right and he doesn’t have a job so you can find him at home any time of the day”, Big T said. Aaron thanked him and Big T motioned a ‘My pleasure’ as he walked downstairs.