giddiness in my voice. Goodnight Rylee, stop acting like a teenage
girl with your first crush – it’s embarrassing .
Ruzek eyes me with humor in his eyes. “Yes, this means you
can call him when we are done here.”
I suddenly feel like I am receiving permission to talk on
the phone from my parents, not that I have any idea what that would feel like.
Our parents never knew what we were doing, or even cared for that matter.
Either way, I am excited. I hold the phone in my hand and swipe to unlock the
screen, only to see a picture of Austin and me staring back. Now I really can’t
help the girly smile on my face. Ruzek notices my reaction with a slight shake
of the head.
“There are a few rules to go with these phones,” he tells
us. “You cannot talk to anyone on them, text or otherwise, besides each other,
Austin and myself.”
He stops to assess our reactions. J looks confounded by the
development and I couldn’t care less. I would agree to just about anything to
be able to talk to Austin at this point. Convinced we are onboard with rule one,
he continues.
“You will need to keep your other phones active for all other
communications and you cannot use the new phones inside Rylee’s house. As far
as we know, J, your house should be fine, but we will run a sweep before you go
home. Oh, and do not use them in any of Rylee’s vehicles, and that includes any
of yours that she has access to, J.”
By the time he finishes laying down all the rules, I have an
uneasy feeling in my stomach. Why can’t we use the phones in anything I own?
J has the same question. “Why all the restrictions? Is there
something we should know?”
Ruzek takes a deep breath, and it is obvious he is ready to
deliver the not so good news.
“There are listening devices in both Rylee and Austin’s
houses. We only found them on the first floor and in obvious locations,
signaling that whoever planted them was in a hurry and definitely not a pro.
There was also one in the Jeep you drive, Rylee, and one of the other cars. We did
not remove any of them in hopes we can use them to our advantage.”
I try to process the new information. It is hard to believe
someone has gone to so much trouble to spy on me. I feel completely violated.
However, I still have one remaining question,
“If the devices are in my house and car, why can’t I use my
old phone and just stay away from the bugs? It has never been out of my sight
long enough for someone to tap it.”
Ruzek looks at me with compassion swimming through his
features. “I am sure it hasn’t, but we suspect he installed spy software on it
from afar and uses that to monitor all activity on your phone. One of our techs
is here and, with your permission, I would like him to check.”
I stand up, pull my old phone from my pocket and hand it to
him. Ruzek walks back out the door and I turn to Jeremy in a state of utter
disbelief.
“Can you believe this shit? Are we living in a James Bond
movie or something?”
He looks at me with a hint of sadness. “I don’t know, Ry,
but it scares me. All we can do is hope Ruzek is able to use this to their
advantage like he said.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes and I try to wrap my
mind around all the information. I am about to stand up and leave the room when
Ruzek reenters. The pity in his eyes tells me this will not be good news.
“It is, as we suspected, running spy software in the
background.”
Jesus. What’s next? Car chases and leaps from a helicopter? It
doesn’t get any more 007 than that. This whole situation is fucking crazy and I
am sick to death of it.
Ruzek looks between my brother and me, seemingly unsure how
to proceed. “Have you decided how you will handle Jeremy’s discharge?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Jeremy yawn and notice how
exhausted he looks. I decide Ruzek and I should take this conversation
elsewhere.
“Ruzek, why don’t we go get a bite to eat? Then we can
discuss this further,” I say
girl with your first crush – it’s embarrassing .
Ruzek eyes me with humor in his eyes. “Yes, this means you
can call him when we are done here.”
I suddenly feel like I am receiving permission to talk on
the phone from my parents, not that I have any idea what that would feel like.
Our parents never knew what we were doing, or even cared for that matter.
Either way, I am excited. I hold the phone in my hand and swipe to unlock the
screen, only to see a picture of Austin and me staring back. Now I really can’t
help the girly smile on my face. Ruzek notices my reaction with a slight shake
of the head.
“There are a few rules to go with these phones,” he tells
us. “You cannot talk to anyone on them, text or otherwise, besides each other,
Austin and myself.”
He stops to assess our reactions. J looks confounded by the
development and I couldn’t care less. I would agree to just about anything to
be able to talk to Austin at this point. Convinced we are onboard with rule one,
he continues.
“You will need to keep your other phones active for all other
communications and you cannot use the new phones inside Rylee’s house. As far
as we know, J, your house should be fine, but we will run a sweep before you go
home. Oh, and do not use them in any of Rylee’s vehicles, and that includes any
of yours that she has access to, J.”
By the time he finishes laying down all the rules, I have an
uneasy feeling in my stomach. Why can’t we use the phones in anything I own?
J has the same question. “Why all the restrictions? Is there
something we should know?”
Ruzek takes a deep breath, and it is obvious he is ready to
deliver the not so good news.
“There are listening devices in both Rylee and Austin’s
houses. We only found them on the first floor and in obvious locations,
signaling that whoever planted them was in a hurry and definitely not a pro.
There was also one in the Jeep you drive, Rylee, and one of the other cars. We did
not remove any of them in hopes we can use them to our advantage.”
I try to process the new information. It is hard to believe
someone has gone to so much trouble to spy on me. I feel completely violated.
However, I still have one remaining question,
“If the devices are in my house and car, why can’t I use my
old phone and just stay away from the bugs? It has never been out of my sight
long enough for someone to tap it.”
Ruzek looks at me with compassion swimming through his
features. “I am sure it hasn’t, but we suspect he installed spy software on it
from afar and uses that to monitor all activity on your phone. One of our techs
is here and, with your permission, I would like him to check.”
I stand up, pull my old phone from my pocket and hand it to
him. Ruzek walks back out the door and I turn to Jeremy in a state of utter
disbelief.
“Can you believe this shit? Are we living in a James Bond
movie or something?”
He looks at me with a hint of sadness. “I don’t know, Ry,
but it scares me. All we can do is hope Ruzek is able to use this to their
advantage like he said.”
We sit in silence for a few minutes and I try to wrap my
mind around all the information. I am about to stand up and leave the room when
Ruzek reenters. The pity in his eyes tells me this will not be good news.
“It is, as we suspected, running spy software in the
background.”
Jesus. What’s next? Car chases and leaps from a helicopter? It
doesn’t get any more 007 than that. This whole situation is fucking crazy and I
am sick to death of it.
Ruzek looks between my brother and me, seemingly unsure how
to proceed. “Have you decided how you will handle Jeremy’s discharge?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Jeremy yawn and notice how
exhausted he looks. I decide Ruzek and I should take this conversation
elsewhere.
“Ruzek, why don’t we go get a bite to eat? Then we can
discuss this further,” I say
Similar Books
