Page 33 of Into the Dark
Jake nibbles hard on his thumb and forefinger nail as he stares at me.
“And I need you to promise me that if Jake—if we do what you say then you will see us through this. Safe. I need you to promise that you’re on our side here.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt—that is not the aim here. Jake, you know what the aim of this is.” His voice is calm and measured and filled with authority. It calms me. “If you follow my lead, I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make sure everything works out. For everyone.” He sounds genuine, and I suppose I have no option but to trust he is. Jake still feels tense, though, and I suppose I don’t blame him. But I know Mark better than him. I’ve known him for twelve years, and I have to trust he has my best interests at heart.
I nod, leaning into Jake’s body. “So what happens now? Now that I know. How do we protect him?”
“It’s not your job to protect him, Alex,” Mark says. “It’s mine. And Jake’s. And I still don’t want you involved. Any more than this here, now.” He looks at Jake then, pointedly.
“Yeah, I agree,” Jake says. When I look at him, he’s smiling softly. “He’s right on this, baby. You know this, and that’s already enough. Too much.”
I want to argue, but I know they’re both right. I know why Jake told me, but I also know the less I know the better. Hasn’t that always been the case where Jake is involved?
“So I understand it, the danger comes if these people he’s informing on find out?”
“Yes. But that isn’t going to happen,” Mark says. “No one is going to find out anything if we do this properly. No one but the people in this room know Jake’s identity. That’s how it works. So there is no danger of anyone finding out.”
Beside me Jake shifts on his feet. “Well, actually, they already know.” The air seems to whisk out of the room as Mark and I both whip around to face him. “I mean, they already know someone’s talking.”
“Are you serious?” Mark looks pale. Which worries me further.
“Yeah, Fred knows. He doesn’t know it’s me, but he knows someone is talking.” He tightens his hold on me. “Don’t worry, baby. I have it under control.” He gives me a small smile.
Don’t worry? Is he insane? I count the hours since I got him back: twelve. Already I’m thinking of losing him again.
“How is it even possible?” Mark looks suspicious. There’s accusation in his eyes.
“Well, I’m hardly gonna grass on myself, am I? Looks like your side isn’t quite as squeaky-clean as you’d like to believe.”
Mark goes red at the accusation.
“Fred has a contact, apparently—someone in the Met or connected to someone in the Met. Anyway, they told him someone’s been talking.”
The ground seems to move from beneath me. Why on earth does Jake sound so calm? The fear seems to have seeped right into my bones, weakening my very core. I glance from Jake to Mark and back again.
“What does this mean, Mark? Someone in your team knows about Jake? How is that possible?” I ask.
Mark runs his hand over his face and walks over to the bed. “No. No one knows Jake’s name except me. No one knows the names of any of the CIs except those involved in conversations at the appropriate level. That’s the process. I had to be transferred to this investigation precisely because Jake came to me, and I haven’t told anyone.” He directs his stare at Jake then. “Do you know who? Who Dan suspects.”
Jake shakes his head, his jaw clenching ever so slightly. So slightly Mark won’t have noticed it, but I do. He’s lying. “Fred has no clue who it is.” It’s the faint twitch of his eye, the slight tightening of his jaw, the hollow timbre of his tone. Why he’s lying to Mark I don’t know.
“How do you know they don’t suspect you?” Mark asks.
Jake smiles again. “Well, do I look dead?”
I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming at him to take this bloody seriously for a second. I’m convinced a large part of it is bravado, though, for Mark’s benefit.
“What does this mean then?” I ask Mark. “If this Fred person knows. Surely it means things are more dangerous now than they were before.”
Mark nods, fixing Jake with a hard stare. “Well, the way I see it, we have two options. One: we move fast. You come in, and we take a full and proper statement—and by ‘we,’ I mean ‘I.’ You tell us everything. You agree to be a witness in the crown’s case against Freddy Ward and any named associate. You agree to give evidence at trial attesting to any crimes mentioned in your statement that incriminate Freddy and any named associates. Then you watch as we put him away for a very long time. You’ll be given a nominal sentence for your involvement—which, let’s face it, will be a fucking joke given what you deserve. You’ll probably do half of it and walk. You leave a free man and go on your way. I’m certain Alex will wait for you.” He glances at me briefly, a pitiful smile on his face.
The urge to hit him overcomes me again. This is Mark’s preferred option, I’ve no doubt about that. He wants Jake in prison where he thinks he belongs. And for all I know, he does belong there. But I’m not going to lose him again. Not to prison, and not to anything else.
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure we’ve talked about this already,” Jake says. “I’ve no problem doing my time, detective, but I’d never leave that fucking place alive, and you know it. No matter what little segregated box you put me in, they’d find a way to get to me. You know that, so let’s stop fucking about, yeah? I have a son.” He turns to me, eyes soft. “I have her. And I’m not bringing any of my shit down on their heads while I’m still breathing and able to stop it. No one knows I’m the one talking. That was the deal we made. “
Mark sighs loudly, but I can’t look away from Jake. The strength and surety in his voice and eyes make it impossible for me to look away from him.
“Then I guess we go with option two then.”