Author's note: Well, three weeks from my latest story chapter isn't bad, but it still requires room for improvement. On that note, I have recently cleared a few things up mentally, which has resulted in me being capable of writing faster!
I make no promises, but I'm going to see about knocking out the next chapter of this story within a week. Like I said, no promises, but it's a challenge I am eager to meet! Now, shall we begin?
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Elizabeth was focused on the road ahead of them, as the group made their way to her house. Amy and Eva were busy chattering about what their game plan was, now that they've left the house and the life they had. Jason was on his cell phone, talking to his friend on the other end of the line.
Liz had to take a deep breath as she kept her eyes on the road. A lot was happening, fast, and it was making her head swim. It was one thing to finally have had the woman she'd been chasing for a while now. Having that woman and her mother in her car, helping them make it to a place away from their male relations, was another entirely.
"All right. Sounds good man. I'll see you in twenty," Jason stated, just as he hung up the phone.
"Everything all right?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, it's all good. Just have to meet the man at a Timmies about fifteen minutes away. He'll meet there to help out with the laptops," Jason informed her. He gave the location and Elizabeth nodded.
"I know that Timmies. I go there sometimes when I go to visit my mom," she told him, making the course correction needed. Soon, they were in a more urban locale of the city, with houses and townhomes dominating the streets. They pulled into a small shopping plaza, where the Tim Hortons was located. Jason looked around and didn't see his friend's van anywhere, so they had little choice but to wait.
"While we're waiting, I'm going to grab a couple of coffees. You ladies want anything?" the redheaded man asked.
"Large peppermint tea please!" Liz told him.
"Café Mocha please!" Amy told Jason, with Eva echoing her request.
Smiling, Jason went inside and got in line. He only had to wait five minutes before he could put his order in, and he also ordered a dozen assorted donuts. He figured that some pastries would be welcome by the women. Another five minutes saw him with his order in hand and he walked outside with it.
Just as he made it to the car, Jason saw Luke's nondescript brown van pull into the plaza. He smiled and was grateful for Luke's timing. He knew that Luke liked his coffee obscenely hot and hoped that he'd get there before it got too cool. Jason waved, flagging him down and he pulled up next to Liz's Impala.
"Jason, my man! How you doing bro?" Lucas' baritone voice crowed as he got out.
Lucas Barton was a solid looking man, who stood at five foot eleven with a slightly thick frame. His dark chocolate skin and tightly packed, short hair spoke volumes of his Congolese heritage. Unlike most men of African American bloodlines, he didn't have brown or black eyes, but green eyes. He possessed a wide, flat nose like most black men, but sported a beautiful smile.
He was a little husky, but it was something he was slowly turning into muscle at Jason's insistence. Luke's posture was indicative of too many days spent at the keyboard and not enough on his feet. His dress sense marked him as a complete nerd, as he wore pendant shaped like a wolf's head, much like Geralt of Rivia.
He also wore a green Triforce T-shirt underneath a short sleeve button up, which was completed with khaki pants. The pockets of said pants were festooned with various tools and wires that Luke always kept on him. The final touch of his look was the ratty red high-tops he wore and the black horn-rimmed glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose.
"I'm doing all right. Got you a coffee, just the way you like it," he said as he offered him his drink.
"Sweet! Black, four sugars and a shot of caramel?" he asked.
"And scalding hot. Plus, I grabbed some donuts."
"Dude, you are awesome! So, where are the laptops you want me to fix?" Lucas asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Just a sec," he said as he gestured for the ladies to come out of the car. They did so reluctantly, but they trusted Jason and his judgement. Both Eva and Amy had brought their computers out and held them in their hands. Luke looked at all three women and his eyebrows climbed up his brow, as Jason introduced them to his friend.
"These ladies are having serious issues about being followed by... men who they don't want to be found by. They would like to be sure that their hardware is clean, as it's the only thing they figure is the culprit," Jason explained.
"What kind of men?" Luke asked, already standing on their side of the matter.
"The kind that are like that sanctimonious little shit I gave a shower to all those years ago," Jason told him.
"Oh! Assholes like that bothering fine ladies like this? Consider it done!"
"Thank you, Lucas!" Eva said thankfully.
"Please Mrs. Marston, call me Luke," he replied. "Shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours to handle this. Jay, I'm going to need you to come with."
"No worries man. Ladies, you head on off and get yourselves safe. I'll be along as soon as Luke is done with the computers," Jason told the women. Liz and Amy gave him a hug before he left and Liz exchanged cell numbers with him, so she could text him the address when he was ready to stop by.
He then hopped into the driver's seat of Luke's van while Luke hopped in the back. They left first, so that Luke could get a good start on the laptops. Unlike some people who did work like this, Lucas had his entire workshop in the back of his van. It was one of his oddities and quirks, that he worked best when he was mobile. It also helped that if anyone wanted to try to find him, they would have a difficult time locking onto his signal.
Jason took a long and winding route that ran through several of the nearby suburbs. Having done this for Luke on several occasions, Jason knew that roundabout routes were best. Especially if there was tracking software or hardware involved. Lucas started to go through the hardware first, to make sure there was nothing hidden there.
"Looks like you were right Jay! Just cracked open both laptops and there are tracking bugs in them," Luke said from his lab.
"I hate it when I'm right. Are they anything exotic?" he asked his friend.