Paralyzed - Chapter 21: Chain of Chaos - Part 2/3

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

Jake and Rae scramble to get things in order, knowing that time is short. But who can they trust and what are the next steps??Music provided by Taako @ soundcloud.com/madebytaakoAdditional tracks:"Awkward Meeting" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/"Take U There - Instrumental Version" by Rex Banner @Artlist.io"You Got Me" by Charly Twins @Artlist.io Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Seven Lamb presents Paralyzed Chapter 21, Change of Chaos, Part 2 Thank you. Are you sure you want to go to your place? I have to. All my shit is there. That's my point. You have no idea how much they know.

We can speculate. That's all it is, speculation. Okay, well, I say we call them. Call who? The feds? Are you insane? The feds? What? Jake?

You're a special agent. There has to be someone you can talk to. Right now? No. I don't want to talk to anyone, and I won't. Not about this. and neither should you were right with your initial assessment. After the second voicemail from Special Agent Torv,

I went back to Mom's Room and kissed her goodbye. Everything had been kicked into high gear, and we were now racing south to Jake's place. At least the calls have stopped. Who was that? Text from Ansel. Jake had received several texts from Ansel, along with several messages from Special Agent Robards.

You're going to reply to, at him? No. Not yet. You think they may have already found stuff? This Torv and Robards? No, not at my place. Not yet, but things will escalate.

So there's no going back? You knew this was a possibility. I did, but I always hoped it wouldn't become a reality. Go to my place, grab all my stuff, and put it... Where? Here, in your car. What? I just needed it out of my apartment, Ray.

Okay. Hey, and what about me? I have my laptop with me, but there's a lot of stuff in my place as well. My tablet and plenty of printouts that can be linked. Anyone you can have grab it? What about your next door, lady, who watches your dog? Seriously? A cat! Jake! A cat! I own a cat. You've been around him. You've played with him.

You bought him a toy on his gotcha day. What the fuck is a gotcha day? The day I got him from the SPCA. Oh, Jesus Christ. Fine, you cat. Can you call that lady? You want me to implicate Ms. Rowe? I want you to get whatever information you can out of your house. Maybe, uh, maybe I can call the captain.

What? No, are you insane? He knows I've been in talks with Roland. He does? To an extent, but he didn't want details. Talk about being implicated. That's why he didn't want details. Christ! Hey, easy there!

I still have to. to return this. Jake had punched the dashboard out of frustration. Sorry, okay, it's just we have a lot ahead of us. I know. Did she say anything else on your call? You were there. I didn't pick up. What? You're talking about Torv? I'm talking about Roland. Oh, I told you what she said. She kept repeating names, said David gave them to her. That's right, the fucking ghost whisper. You remember any? Just the ones we already had. Plus, uh, Jordan and a Hal? She said something about meeting Hal.

Ugh. What? That's all I can remember. No, it's... Where did she say she was again? Some inn in Idaho. And you tried calling her back? Twice.

It just rang. Man, she loves doing this shit, doesn't she? She was really panicky this time. Well, can't focus on her. Got anyone else that can get your stuff other than the captain? The only other person is Casey. Who? Just a beat cop.

She was a contact for Roland, briefly, but I really don't want to get her involved. She was already sweating bullets when your buddies came down from Boston. Not my buddies. I can't bring her back into this. It's not fair to her. What about us? No, Jake. Come on, Ray.

You don't have to tell her what this is about. She'll know. And who else? Forget it. I'll fly to. down. Now? I think it's too early to find us on a no-fly list. It is, but trust me, things will move fast, which means we have to move faster. I'm doing 90. Geez, ease up. What? We want to move fast, but we also don't want to draw attention. Damn. I let up on the gas a bit. The needle

slowly wavered down to 80 miles per hour. We still have some time, especially if they're on the West Coast. Are they? I think so. Think they're still investigating the crash site? That was a while, ago. But it didn't take time to go through everything. Unless they brought it back with them to the field office. The Boston? Yeah. Highly doubt it. Odds are they're working out of Seattle now or a local department piecing things together. They haven't called back since their barrage earlier and no one else is called, not your captain, not the chief, not Joyce, which tells me their hands are full. You're guessing that they called the moment they got my number. What if they've been preparing to take us in? No, no. They wouldn't be able to hold back. Now when this involves a detective, an ex-partner of Rollins,

and an FBI agent, they called the moment they knew we were involved. You're speculating. Would it kill you to be a little less combative? Trying to help us here. Right, when we get to my place, call Casey. The least you can do is go to your house. That ansel again? Yeah. What did he say? He called me an asshole. For not answering? Let's hope. I followed Jake inside. I couldn't believe I was back so soon. I thought back on that night. That night I slept over.

You're to blame, Ray. to blame for bringing him into this, not Roland. He started grabbing documents and books off his dining table. He was in a full-on panic. Do you, um, do you need any help with this, or... No, no, go call your friend, clear your house, and we'll figure out our next move. I already have some ideas. Exciting.

I went outside on the walkway and pulled my cell phone. No other missed calls, no new voicemails. Was Jake right about the way this would be handled? Part of me expected these people to be lying and wait. What if they were watching my house right now? What if they were out there? I looked out at the parking lot below me. I noticed a man on his cell phone walking by some freshly cut hedges at the far end.

He paced and threw a handabout. It seemed like a really intense phone call. I didn't have Casey's number, so I called the TPD and hit the. the extension. Hello? More. I need to talk to Officer Casey. Casey who?

Marion Casey, younger girl. She might be in service right now, but can you check? This has to do, New Tampa? No. Because I'm waiting on you. With what? The clock in times. All the interviews are typed up and I have the worksheets.

It's all sitting on your desk. I know the captain said you had to take off the next few. It's my mother. I know. Why didn't you tell me? Sorry. I was in a rush. Okay, well, all the reports are on your desk.

I guess I'll just keep looking into the new construction site, but the captain's not gonna sign off on much unless you're up to speed. Now, what's this Mary and Casey look like? Uh, you know what more? Never mind, Casey. Can you... Can you transfer me to the captain? The captain? Uh, sure.

One second. Captain Hiltz? Cap, it's right. Can we talk? Depends. Is this about your mother? No. A case? Not exactly. Okay. Can you give me ten minutes?

Sure. You call him from yourself? So? Yeah. All right. And with that, he hung up. My heart was beating rapidly now. Would this be a huge mistake?

I pocketed my phone and wiped my sweaty hands on my pants. I went back inside to see Jake now shoving some books into a duffel bag. You know, eventually I have to return the car. That's how rentals work. Just give me a second to hash out some details in my head, okay? I did feel bad. He looked to be in a real panic. And now I felt even worse.

How'd your call go? She's gonna call me back in ten minutes. Okay. I felt bad lying, but I didn't want to fight with Jake right now. Not while he was like this. Listen, the way I think about it, put all this stuff away so it doesn't look like we were involved outside of calls in my meeting with her. Not sure if they'll end up placing me out of the scene and I'll ask.

but I might be able to explain that away if I can talk to Barbara. Barbara? Ron, the retired cop. The moment they put you there, they'll know we were more involved than just some calls. I have an idea for that, too. What is it? We, uh, we get some help from the SAC. Who?

The SAC, a special agent in charge. It's who the feds assigned to Roland's case would answer to. Torv and Robarts? Yeah. How? Well, I'd have to get into the Bureau's database and add some files. I'd also have to make it look like Joyce signed off on my involvement. Jake, that's insane. You don't think he would realize?

Joyce signs off on a lot of cases. If I can get into the database... Jake, do you really want to do that? What are the choice do we have now? We have to get ahead of it. But you're... If I can add case files, play up that Joyce wasn't aware. But you're not in the field anymore. But cyber's been involved with Roland. You know that?

Absolutely. Nothing came across my desk, but I guarantee Ansel's buddies were getting help. But no one was assigned? Until now. He forced to smile. I don't know about this, Jake. What's not to know? You have a better idea? Let's have it. But I won't wait around for a knock at my door in handcuffs. I'm going down a fighter and so should you.

Okay. Fine. Good. I'm almost done here. Let me grab my other bag. You want to drink or something? Probably isn't much, but... I shook my head. I'm okay. He took a moment to come over to me. He put his hands on my shoulders.

Hey, I'm just... I'm just trying to stay ahead of this whole thing. You're proactive, you know? We knew this could happen. If we don't take care of ourselves right now, then we are royally fucked. Do you get that? I get that, Jake.

We scramble now, and it'll help in the long run. I still don't see how we get out of this. It won't be easy. That's why we keep moving. But all this stuff? I motioned to his duffel bag. You're going to put it in a gym walker, dump it in a river? No, this could be valuable.

But you want it out. For now, in case we get any surprise visits. But what's the point? If they come down on us, all of this is useless. Not yet. This will be I get out of jail free card. What the hell are you talking about? Let me finish and I'll explain later.

Okay. While Jake grabbed his other bag and kept packing and organizing, I waited. I waited for the captain to call. I sat on the couch and tried to remain calm, but I couldn't keep my leg from bouncing and nervous anticipation. I even put a hand on my knee in an effort to stop my jitters. That's when I noticed an earring on the ground.

I bent down, grabbed it. They spun it in my fingers. Same old Jake. Hey. Yeah? Has anyone else seen this stuff? This? No.

I didn't respond. I just put the earring down on his coffee table while he went back to packing. I looked around the room. Norman saw a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter. Two glasses next to it, one with the slightest hint of lipstick. Looks like I wasn't the only one lying right now. And there's my lie now. I'll be outside.

Okay, I'm almost done. I got nervous at first because the number was not one I recognized, but it was a Tampa area code. It had to be the captain, right? Please be the captain. Hello? Ray, it's me. The number had me worried. I'm at the lounge.

I figured with this kind of call, I may need a bit of privacy. And a drink. And another phone? That's right. You got five minutes. What's going on? Cap. I'm in deep shit.

Okay. What do you need for me? I need someone to go to my place and clear. Sorry, uh, to remove some documents. I looked into the apartment expecting Jake to be eavesdropping, but he wasn't. In fact, I could still hear him packing stuff up. Things related to Roland? Yes, I, uh, I was going to ask Casey, but Moore didn't really know her, and I actually think that...

Oh boy. No, no, I'll, uh, I'll take care of it. I really didn't want to involve you, but... Is there a possibility? that the feds are watching you right now? I mean, there's a possibility, but it's unlikely... Are you really with your mother? Not anymore. But you were?

Yes, but now I'm with a friend. Still up north? Yes, that's why I need help. I didn't want to give him too much info. I wanted to leave Jake's name out just in case. Jake would already be upset with me talking to the captain. Listen, I really don't want to involve anyone. This is my fuck-up.

No, Ray. This is both of ours. How do you figure? I told you. I let Kenton roll in help with the Sanders case. All I had to do was say no, it's out of our jurisdiction, but I didn't. You ever going to tell me why you let them help? You said you wanted to wait till later? Well, it's later. He took a while to respond. I looked to the apartment to make sure I was still alone.

Cap? Is there something you want to tell me? No, not now. But... But... But... But... But...

I will when you come back down. Wait, you are coming back down, aren't you? I... I... I... I don't really know. I think so. I need my stuff, and I can't leave Casper with Miss Rowe. But it's unsafe to go to your house right now. No, I don't think it is. At least... Not yet.

But... it will be. That's why I need my stuff out, ASAP. Okay, I'll go. But if I see anything... If I see anyone... I know. You have a spare key lying around? In the backyard, there's a little bird feeder.

On the top is a metal cap. It opens. It's taped inside. Okay. The gate should be open, too. I'll call Miss Rowe to let her know I have someone getting stuff for me. She's a little nosy, so this way she won't bother you. Or call the cops?

Exactly. All right. What am I grabbing? What am I looking for? All the paperwork on the dining table and my other tablet, which should be charging on the kitchen counter. There should be a bag by the table. You can shove everything in there. And if it's not by the table, it's in my closet upstairs.

What about a computer? I have my laptop with me. Okay. And the sooner you can... I'm going to go now, right when I finish this drink. Okay. I'll text you later when everything's secure. Thank you.

Let me ask you something, Ray. and I need you to be as honest with me as humanly possible. How serious is this? Can I expect some visitors of the department soon? Possibly, just not sure what soon is. That's why the urgency. I wish I could tell you more. I wish I knew more.

Okay, and you want me to hold it. Your stuff? Can you? I know it's a lot to ask. I'll hold it for now, but if I see you in handcuffs, I'm tossing it all. That clear? Crystal. Unless you want me to send it somewhere.

I could have him mail it to a PO box like I did for Roland so many times. But I wasn't sure how we were going to play this yet. And I really wanted to talk to the captain in person now. Ray? No, no, no, no, no. If I get caught, toss it all. Okay. I'm done here. Gonna head out.

Thank you. Oh, one more thing. Sam likes cats. Want me to grab Casper, too? Really? Call your nosy neighbor. Okay, Cap, I'll call her now and have her meet you outside. Sounds good. Thanks again.

You don't know how bad I feel about all of it. It's fine. Let's hope for the best outcome, though. I have my fingers crossed. Good. I'll text you later. Bye. Done? Yeah, thanks.

The bartender took the landline and hung it back up near the back mirror. Want another? I stared down at the empty glass thinking about my conversation with Ray. Was it legit? Was this all about to come crashing down? Would they implicate me? If they dig back far enough, possibly, to some extent, fucking hell. So maybe it was finally time to come clean, finally time to get ahead of it all. Everything okay? Yeah, let me get one more. You got it. My heart sank into my chest. I figured I could use another drink before I implicated myself definitely before I went home to talk to Sam

conversation I'd been dreading for years but I knew that stormy night when I put Roland on leave and nothing would be the same and eventually it would all come out including me Okay, uh, you go to the wait in here. Okay, uh, you go with waiting here? I can't go in. No, I know that. I know that. I just wanted to know if you're good with waiting in the car.

How long are you going to be? Five minutes, plus the walk. Just go. I gave her a quick head nod of understanding and left. I rushed down the steps in the parking garage. Not a place I ever parked, but we needed to be cautious. It's also why I made Ray drive. Finally. What the hell? I've been waiting 20 minutes. I gotta get back.

Chill, Ollie. Chill. Oliver was sitting at the rounded corner of the bar. What can I get you? The bartender wasn't even looking at me. He's stock in the fridge. It wasn't George. I didn't know this guy's name. Nothing for me. No? No. Finish your drink. Oliver only had a third left.

Give me a minute. I thought you were in a time crunch. I am, but I'm not chugging this. I can't be buzzed at work. What buzzed? This is my second one, waiting on you. I did he two shoes. I grabbed the glass and down the rest of his drink.

What the hell? Pay the bill, let's go. I thought you wanted to talk. I do, but not here. But... Come on, Adam, man. I'm in a time crunch, too. I walked back outside O'Reilly's been needed. I saw all of it through the window quickly laid on some cash and grab his coat.

What the hell is going on? This way. Where are we going, Jake? I'll show you. Something tells me I'm not going to like this favor. I can agree with that. Oh, man. We walked around the corner to the garage of stairwell.

You parked in the garage? What for? Just go. level three why are you being so secretive am I you know you are hey where did you park on the street

where else outside O'Reilly's on the corner where I always park why because you gotta carry some stuff what stuff but I didn't answer I just let him to raise rental

who's that it's Ray seriously Hey, Oliver. Oh, hi, Ray. Jake tell you why you're here yet? No, but I'm extremely nervous. What the hell is going on?

Ray, can you get the trunk? She bent down, popped it. I need you to hold some stuff for me. What stuff? Important stuff. Case stuff? That's right. Just for a few days.

Why, this has to do with your secret widespread data searches? Yeah, actually Oh man This is This is illegal shit, isn't it? Not illegal, no Just has the chance to incriminate us You use the word incrimination

And it's not illegal No man I don't want it It doesn't involve you, Ollie I shoved the bag into his arms Forcing him to take it What the hell is in here? Documents and books

I reached in and grabbed the second bag Same with this one I held it out to Oliver this time you took it willingly. Jake. Trust me. You don't want to know what's in it. I swear you don't have to lie to anyone.

And who would I have to lie to? Anyone who peeks inside, so don't open them. Come on, man. I don't want this shit. I can't afford to lose my job or worse. You're going to be fine. No one's going to ask you about this stuff. Just take it home, put it in your closet, and forget about it.

But you said for a few days. That's right. Just push it out of your mind for a few days. Fine. A few days, but that's it. That's all. I don't want to know what this shit is, but it's obvious, I don't want it.

A few days, promise. Thanks, you're a real mench. Yeah. So, uh, what's new? What's new? Yeah. Ansel's say anything to you? When?

I don't know, today? Haven't talked to him. Why? Just then my phone went off. I looked at it. It was a random number. I looked over to see Ray's concerned face. I ended up ignoring the call. No reason.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket. Oh, that reminds me. This is for you. He dropped one of the bags so he could pull an envelope from his back pocket. What's this? Amelia gave to me? Said it has to do it last night? How did that go?

Ali, my boy. I awkwardly motioned to Ray with a slight head tilt. Let's not bring that. that up right now. I looked over to Ray who shook her head in dismay and looked away. Sorry. I, uh, well, she gave this to me this morning, said I needed to give it to you. You didn't tell her we were meeting up today, did you? No, she just said the next time I saw you. Oh, I looked over the envelope. It was blank but thick.

It felt like a few pages folded inside, but I didn't dare open it here in front of Ali or Ray. Uh, thanks. No problem Okay, well We should get going Okay, a few days Jake Really A few days A few days

Uh About that girl he mentioned Nothing happened I threw the envelope into the back seat You don't want to open her love letter? It's no such thing Uh-huh Hey, right

Jake What's the plan now? That girl of yours is getting your stuff, right? Uh, yeah. Okay, good. Have a store it's somewhere safe unless you trust her. I do. Okay.

That covers that then. Meaning what? That doesn't help us much. It's a first step. So what's the second? The second step is clearing your computer. I don't have a VPN. I've been careful, but they'll be able to pull for my ISP.

That's expected. That's why I need to get to work. work on the case. What case? Roland's case. What are you talking about? What I plan on doing is forming a case, an extension of the Boston field offices. I told you, I forged Joyce's signature, and it looks like I was working on it the whole time. My calls to you and Roland and any search data will be part of the case. But won't Joyce know, or the agents I talk to? First off, Joyce signs papers four hours a day. Something could slide across his desk without him realizing. Come on, they log everything.

Which is why I change it in the database. I've already been looking into old records with another account. What account? A former special agents. Retired? He did. Then he died. What if they traced that?

They won't. All I need to do is for some paperwork to make it look like Boston reached out to us here. But I thought they did. You said cyber was involved. There's a cyber division in each of the 56 field offices, but there's a lot of interconnectivity, so I got to... to make it look like files landed on my desk and I helped them out. But you also have calls with Roland.

I could say I tracked down her number. And called her? Sure. I'm helping out with the case. But you're relying on the fact that no one will ask questions in Boston. Exactly. So I make a document and forge the SAC signature too. Make it look like he reached out without Torval Robards knowing. Again, won't he question that when he finds out?

The SAC probably signs paperwork half as much as the EAD. Aren't there other positions between the two on the hierarchy of command? Sure, but the SAC is all we have to worry about in Boston. Sounds far-fetched. I don't see any other way. You're going to forge signatures. I did it with Roland in her ID passport. It's not fucking hard. Seems like you'll be digging the hole deeper.

Listen, we're not to prove we weren't involved. We just have to prove we were involved very little. Eventually, they'll find and follow the trail. Sure, eventually. So, the best you can do with all your hacker intrigue and forging capabilities is delay. That's all I can do. So how does that help us in the long run? It doesn't. Then what's with the urgency?

We have to delay, Ray. In the hopes of what? In the hopes of finding Roland and solving this. Ray took a moment to ponder. What are you talking about? I thought you were done with this. I thought that's why we were getting rid of evidence. But we're not getting rid of evidence.

We're moving it. I told you this is valuable stuff. She turned away looking out the window, her head now resting on her hand. You want to solve this? We have to solve this. It's our only way out. I lost contact with Roland, Jake.

I know. But once we finish here, we need to find her. I can't stay up here. You don't have to. She turned back to face me, surprised by my comment. All this is going to take me a few days, maybe more, but I have to do it now. And what am I to do in the meantime? Head back down to Florida, go about business as usual,

but make sure whatever your friend, Casey, grabbed, was all of it. You don't want anything in your house in case any agents show up. That way it doesn't look like you've been working on anything, and your involvement is just a few phone calls with me and Roland. They cannot find this stuff until we solve it. Okay? Okay. What the?

Hi, Sam. What are you doing home now? And what's with the cat? A friend had an emergency, so I have to look after her cat for a bit. What kind of emergency? Family stuff, nothing too serious. Oh, okay. I left the litter box and some toys in the car, but I'll get them shortly.

She looked at the large bag over my shoulder and eyebrow arching. Work stuff. Okay. I kissed Sam on the forehead, then made my way upstairs. Uh, honey? Were you drinking? Went out for lunch with a friend. I went into my office and shoved Ray's stuff inside the closet.

I then went to my desk and pulled out my bottle of Lagovulin from the bottom drawer and my crystal glass. Hey, what's going on? I looked up to see Samantha in the doorway. She knew something was up, and why wouldn't she? Things had been iffy between us for a while now. With Ray's call, I felt things were about to come crash. rushing down. So now it was as good as any to finally reveal the secrets that had kept our marriage in an arm's length for the better part of five years. Eric? Maybe I was being rash. Maybe I could

stall for a bit longer, but I didn't want to. My heart ached. I gulped down my entire pore and leaned forward. Honey, I think it's time we talk. Paralyzed, written by Robert M. Lamb, edited by Mia Sukvili. Starring, Amy Lurray as Roland. Ariel Hack as Michelle and Chrissy. Jack Austin as Jake. Cattabelle as Ray. Gina Coyle as Torv.

Chris Titoly as Robards. Rachel Stidham as Mayor. Brian Messick as Captain Hiltz and Shania Lynn as Eden co-starring Mark Kroftus Nick Keeney Monica Ward Douglas Salway Rhino Alberts Max Carr Walter Mack Sherman Alpert

Kim S Clayton Flood Adrian Bordeaux Mike Lennhart Kevin McCready Cody Lohman Austin Medlin James Brown Adam Eben Ian Feller

Amber Simpson, Mitchell Lee, Steve Rhodes, and Nick Englehart. Music provided by Taco at SoundCloud.com slash made by taco. Additional tracks from various artists at artless.io and pawn5.com. If you enjoy this podcast, don't forget to rate and review. If you're looking for more shows such as this one, visit 7lam.com. Also, we are on Patreon. If you'd like to help us out, visit patreon.com slash 7LAM, the number 7, LAMB.

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