Lou’s first words in hours filtered into his thoughts. He couldn’t say it now, but he did jab his fries into his pile of ketchup with unnecessary force. Levi liked Jacob just fine, and he was a good distraction. If Lou wanted to get jealous over someone else having his attention for a little while, he would just have to deal with it.
Jacob
The brush smeared along the rough canvas, leaving a vibrant streak of green in its path. After Levi had fixed the light, and Jacob had replaced the bulb with something brighter than a tea candle, he’d found his workspace was usable. It was only after his dinner with Levi a few days prior that he’d actually found the motivation to try and get something on the canvas. The longer he put off painting, the more likely he was to look suspicious to anyone who might see.
A buzzing brought his head up, and he cast a frown of confusion around the room. The phone the DDI had given to him sat on the large bed, screen lit and shaking. Sighing, he set the brush and palette aside on the bedside table he’d pulled over to use. He picked up the phone and swiped the answer button.
“Hello.”
“When you can do nothing, what do you do?”
Jacob couldn’t put a name to the voice, though it sounded familiar. The code phrase, though, he knew instantly.
“The impossible,” Jacob gave the corresponding phrase he’d chosen before leaving for Gilcreek.
The woman chuckled. “An interesting phrase, Agent Ryder. I would love to know what brought you to that answer.”
Jacob shrugged, digging through his bag. “Seemed like the right answer at the time.”
“Is that so?”
“Isn’t that the point of those things? To come up with an answer that fits you?”
“It’s an old koan actually, a type of Japanese riddle that both does and doesn’t have an answer. There are many interpretations of what sort of answer an individual should find to each one, but I think you nailed it perfectly. Yes, it is to find the answer that speaks to you the most.”
He pulled out his headset, jamming it into the phone and the bud into his ear. “Then what’s so interesting about it?”
“It’s supposed to be about enlightenment, but I think it says more about you as a person than any vaunted state of higher mental and spiritual existence.”
Jacob blinked. “Is this a work-related call, or did you call me to...talk about Japanese puzzles?”
“It’s been a few days since your last report. We’ve received your other reports, done ever so diligently. But when a pattern breaks, we make sure to contact the agent in the best way we have to check up on them.”
It wasn’t the director, he’d know her voice. “Oh. Right, didn’t even think about that. I’ve been settling into my new...life.”
“And got distracted.”
“About sums it up. Trying to get some painting done at the moment.”
“Ah yes, it says here that you were assigned as an artist, a painter. How has the inspiration gone?”
Jacob turned to the canvas, cringing. “Uh, sure.”
“You sound so incredibly confident about it.”
He sighed, eyeing what looked to him like simple smears of green and blue on the canvas. It was supposed to be the rolling landscape surrounding Gilcreek. All he had to do to get a good view was walk outside the motel door and turn right. It was absolutely beautiful, with the lush forest surrounding everything in a cloak of tranquility. A mountain range towered on the horizon, both secure and intimidating in the same breath. There was an isolation to Gilcreek that was both horrifying and comforting all in the same glance.
And he wasn’t really close to capturing that on the canvas, but he did know who he was talking to.
“Oh, you’re the one from the front desk,” Jacob said suddenly.
She chuckled. “We weren’t properly introduced, were we? My name is Shirley. Director Harrison has assigned me as your handler for this assignment.”
“Huh, didn’t know you...handled.”
“What, you thought I was just a secretary?”
“Pretty much.”
“You’ve been with the DDI long enough to know that not everything is as it appears. I’ve worked here for over twenty years, and I assure you, I’m more than capable of babysitting a few wayward agents.”
Jacob huffed. “I’m not wayward.”
“Lost, confused, not sure what they’re doing. Call it what you want. I’m the woman in charge of keeping an eye on newer field agents, particularly those undercover.”
Talk about multitasking. “Well, on that note, I apologize. I didn’t mean to go silent. It might