Now, he had a smile on his face, but it didn't make him any less determined to find this guy. Then, once he had everything running and doing most of his work for him, Jason found his phone and dialed. It rang four times and went to voicemail so he hung up without leaving a message and called again.
"Gonna cut off your fucking dick," Knock answered.
"Do that after you hear me out," Jason said. "KoG forums had a post on the login page today. Copied there so every last person can see it. No walls to protect it, and it's aimed at you and Jericho."
"Fuck me running," Knock breathed, sounding like he was now awake. "Why us?"
"No idea," Jason admitted. But then he stopped. "Shit!"
"Talk to me, Cyn," Knock demanded.
"How the fuck did we get that login? That kid at your school traded it for a lighter sentence. Any bets as to whether or not he made a new account? Did the fucker even get jail time?"
"He hasn't even had his trial yet," Knock said. "But let's say he did get back in. Would he actually tell Soul Reaper that he gave the feds access? Seems like the best way to not only get kicked out, but also to become the next target."
"People have done dumber things," Jason pointed out. "But it would explain why you two were targeted. He hated you, and Jericho fucked him over. Not the other guys you hang out with. Not the girls she knows. This is about you and her, and that would make sense if it came from him."
"Could it be him posing as Soul Reaper?" Knock asked. "Because I'm reading this shit right now, and I'm not sure this is the same person as the old one. The phrases are close, but I dunno."
"Game of cat and mouse," Jason mumbled, trying to figure out why that phrase seemed so familiar. "Where have I heard that before?"
"Um, it's one of the moves Paradox uses," Knock said. "I know we've referenced it a few times in tournaments. Can't remember if that was in chat or talking, though."
"And if it was typed into chat, anyone could see it," Jason realized. "It would be on all the streams. It's also a pretty common phrase, though. Hunting and evading. I mean, it could apply to all this work we've done to catch him so far." He snarled out a string of profanity under his breath. "I'm overthinking this."
"Well, just don't get locked in a rut," Knock said. Then he paused. "Hey, baby? Yeah, it's going to be a strong coffee kind of morning. When you're done, call the crew, ok?"
"I don't even want to know which one that is," Jason admitted. "Right now, we just need to figure out if this is the real deal or not. I don't care where he is - yet - or anything else. I just want to know if we've got the wrong guy in jail for this."
"Even if we do," Knock said, "I can prove that Arturo is involved in some way. He's a part of KoG, and a big one. So I say we let him take the fall for this. And if this other guy is the real Soul Reaper, then we'll hit him as being the replacement. I'm pretty sure their little protections are going to end up backfiring, or we can make sure they do."
"This is supposed to be legal," Jason reminded him.
"Fuck legal!" Knock snarled. "Legal went out the fucking window when someone shot at us. It was long gone by the time I got involved. We are never going to win this if we're the ones trying to fight with our hands tied behind our backs. You play it legal, Cyn. I'm pulling out all the stops. Arrest me if you want. I no longer fucking care, because he just came at my girlfriend and that's crossing all the lines I have left."
The guy had a point. It was exactly how Jason had felt when the militia had gone after Zara. When a man's lover was threatened, nothing else mattered. Jason wasn't about to stop the kid, but there was one big problem he had to deal with right fucking now.
"Can we do this?" he asked. "Knock, can we figure out a way to say that Arturo is Soul Reaper without taking the chance of the real one getting away scot-free? Or are we taking the chance that both might get away?"