Chapter 2: Spying
Ali left at 7PM, after giving Ray and the kids a kiss goodbye. She looked sexy again and Ray felt a little jealous that she dolled up like this for Girls Club possibly others would enjoy it instead of him.
Brittany came and picked her up and said they were going to a restaurant in the town over called The Cabin followed by drinks at this bar called Loco 87.
Ray still had access to her 360 Phone Locator so he checked it at 7:45PM and sure enough she was at the restaurant. He breathed a small sigh of relief. He went back to what he was doing and getting the kids ready for bed. At 10:15 he checked again and it located her phone at Loco 87. He cursed himself silently for thinking Ali might be lying to him. In all their time together they never kept secrets so why start now?
As he readied himself for bed he suddenly heard a beep. Followed by another beep a minute later.
“What the hell?” He thought. He found the culprit. One of the smoke alarm batteries were low and needed to be swapped out.
“Crap, knew I should have picked them up when I was Home Depot earlier today.” Ray said as he realized he was out of batteries.
He knew there was no way he was going to sleep with that going off so with the kids fast asleep he decided to make a quick run to the 24 hour convenience store 3 miles away to get some new ones.
He drove out the back side of his neighborhood for a mile or so and passed the soccer brothers house. It was on a big piece of property for the brothers to work on their soccer in their large yard but the house itself was a ranch that was not all that big.
He noticed lights on in the house, a few cars parked on their driveway and some music. “They must be back from their overseas trip” he assumed.
But just as he drove past he did see a familiar Range Rover tucked away on the far said of their driveway. It was Brittany’s. The same one that picked Ali up earlier this evening. At last he thought it was. He checked his phone again but it said Ali was still at Loco 87.
He took a deep breath and told himself that he was just being paranoid. He should just go get the batteries and then get back home to his kids. But, the seed of doubt had been planted. He decided to drive by the soccer brothers' house on his way back. He had to see it with his own eyes.
He continued on and bought the batteries at the convenience store. His mind was racing the entire time wondering if his wife was lying to him and was she at the soccer bothers house. And if so, what the hell was she doing there?
He decided to pass the by the house of the way back. Ray knew he could easily do a drive-by without being noticed. He kept his distance, observing the cars in the driveway. Yes, Brittany’s Range Rover was there, along with a few other vehicles. Maybe Britney split up with the other women to go hang out? They are friends after all maybe there’s nothing more to it. He could see lights on behind some of the windows.
Ray's heart was pounding in his chest as he approached the house. He didn't want to believe what his mind was suggesting, but he couldn't shake the feeling of unease. He pulled over to the side of the road, about a hundred yards from the house. The music was still blaring, the bass thumping through the air.
Ray took caution not to be observed by the security systems they have on site. Which wasn't that hard for Ray because that was his business. Ray’s company does high-tech surveillance and security systems. He has set up security cameras in buildings, schools, homes, you name it. In fact, he actually proposed doing it for the boys soccer house at a discount, but for whatever reason, they did not want to go with him. They instead went with one of his competitors that were very easy to hack into. Ray would know because there were times he had to do it. All he would need to do is get a router jumper hooked up to one of the cameras, and it would allow him access to all the security systems in their house. Illegal, and not exactly ethical, but if the money was right…
Ray could see shadows moving behind the curtained windows, the party in full swing. He thought he heard muffled sounds behind the music being played. He couldn't make out exactly what, but it sounded like... laughter? Moans? He strained to listen, his heart pounding in his chest. He could not be sure.
Fuck, Ray thought. What the hell is going on in there? He looked at his watch and it was 30 minutes since he left. He desperately wanted to stay to investigate more but was scared of leaving the kids alone in the house too long. Reluctantly, he got back in his car and went home. But he had a pit in his stomach, a gnawing feeling that something wasn't right. He was conflicted; he wanted to trust Ali, but the evidence was mounting. He couldn't just ignore this.
He arrived home, batteries in hand, and replaced the old ones in the smoke detector. The beeps stopped, and he let out a sigh of relief. But the unease remained.
He checked on the kids, found them fast asleep in their beds, and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He looked at himself in the mirror, his reflection staring back at him with a mixture of concern and anger. He splashed water on his face, trying to clear his head.
There was one way to know. He was not going to accuse his wife unless he had proof.
He knew it could destroy their marriage, their family. But he also knew that he couldn't live with the lies and deceit. He had to know the truth. He had to find out what was going on.
Two hours later, Ali returned home. Ray was still awake, his mind racing with what he had seen and heard. He could hear Ali quietly moving around downstairs, before she headed to the bedroom. She did her normal routine of a quick shower before climbing into bed.
Ray feigned sleep but knew peaceful sleep would not come until he knew what was going on at Girls Club and specifically what was going on at Carlos and Antonio's house.
The next day, Ali left a little later in the morning for work and Ray got the kids on the bus out for school. Ray asked Ali how her night was and when she thought next Club would be so he can make sure he has it in his calendar. She gave the normal "It was fun, normal wife stuff. Food at restaurant was good. Probably not another one for 2 weeks or so."
Ray decided to work from home to do a little investigative work. Checking out the Ramirez's soccer schedules the last 3 months, they were not traveling during the last 3 months of Girls Club. Which was about 5 times. But that does not tell much. They were also leaving for an overseas tournament and would not be state-side again for 2 weeks which corresponded roughly to the next Club. That gave him some time to get the equipment he needed to tap into their security system.
He ordered a Wi-Fi router jumper and a few other items online, making sure to use his company's account to avoid any red flags. He also pulled up the blueprints for the soccer brothers' house, committing them to memory. He knew the layout of the house like the back of his hand, and he knew exactly where the security cameras were placed. He had studied the home extensively when he pitched his security system to them, and he knew their weak spots. While doing this, his paranoia kicked in as to maybe why the brothers did not go with him. Not because of his work, but because they did not want him potentially having access to what they were doing in their home!
Ray made sure no one saw him as he drove to the soccer brothers' house two nights later. He parked down the street, out of sight from their driveway, and deliberated for a moment. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, potentially illegal, and could destroy his marriage and family. But he needed to know the truth. He needed to see it with his own eyes.
He grabbed his bag, which contained the Wi-Fi router jumper, a laptop, and a few other tools, and made his way to the house. He moved quickly and silently, using the shadows and the trees for cover. He had studied the security camera placements and knew exactly where to avoid.
The router would only allow him to tap into the cameras and microphones to see them real time. He would not able to go back and see the history of what the cameras filmed, just watch real-time going forward.
He found out camera out in the back that would allow Ray to mount the router. It was a simple hook-up and would be indetectible to anyone outside of a security expert. Once done, he slipped back into his car and booted up his laptop. It took him about 20 minutes to upload and configure the software before he got access to the security cameras. Bingo, he was in.
The house layout was not much. It was a very large living room with plush couches and lounge chairs with a 100" TV mounted on the far wall. There were 2 cameras in the room recording all angles. There was a camera in the kitchen as well as one in each of the 3 bedrooms. One in the garage and 5 on the property. None in the bathroom. The brothers splurged on the camera quality, 4K so whatever will happen, it will be crystal clear in picture and sound. This also allowed Ray control of the cameras so he could move and zoom in if needed. This would all he needed for proof.
He made his way home and knew he was going to have some anxious days ahead until when he will need to use it.
The next two weeks repeated. Ali was in a good mood around the house. They had their own date night the next Friday that culminated in a great night of sex. Ray initially thought as hot as she looked, she still was not as done up as much as when she did Girls Club but he also could have been overthinking things. Ali rode him with wild abandon that night that Ray never experienced before. As he lay afterwards in post orgasmic bliss, he wondered if he was making himself crazy for nothing. His wife was happy, sexy and banging his brains out in their weekly sex sessions. What is the issue?
Everything felt right. Ray shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He was letting his suspicions ruin something wonderful. He had a good wife, a great life, and a fantastic sex life. Why was he letting this insecurity gnaw at him? He started to have a twinge of regret doubting her and a bit of anxiety with bugging the Soccer Brothers house.
But as they got closer to the next Friday night Girls Club, he started to see Ali a bit more secretive with her phone, a little eager about how much she was looking forward to it. She mentioned she was looking really forward to it thanks to stress of work this past week. Hitting a Sushi place downtown then a comedy club. Probably another late night. Ali once again got her nails done again the afternoon of, this time a sharp purple color. She wore a dress that showed off her legs.
Ray had to admit, she looked stunning. He felt a pang of jealousy, knowing she was dressing up for others. But he also admittedly felt a twinge of excitement, wondering what she had in store for tonight. More pressing, would he be seeing her tonight on his surveillance video?
Ali gave Ray a kiss goodbye, her lips lingering on his for a moment. "I love you," she whispered, her eyes sparkling. "I'll see you in the morning."
Ray watched as she walked to Brittany's Range Rover, her hips swaying gently. He couldn't help but feel a mix of anticipation and dread. He had his laptop booted up and was able to see into the Brothers House. They had gotten back last night and otherwise that was all. Ray opened it up a few times since he installed it to see how it worked but promised himself he would only do it to see if his wife was there and not anything else. And as of 7PM, no one was home at Carlos and Antonio's.
Ray spent the evening with the kids, putting them to bed and reading them a story. He checked his phone at 8PM and the 360 App said Ali was at the Sushi Restaurant 10 miles away.
He looked back at his monitor at 8:30PM and notice Carlos and Antonio were in the house. They had some music playing and were drinking some beers. He saw Carlos get up and head to their door. In came 3 of what Ray assumed were friends, and/or teammates. All three were were young men, probably under 25, 2 were black and another one looked to be South American. All were dressed casually in shorts and T-shirts. Carlos got them some beers while the tall African lit up a large joint. The men lounged around in the living room on the various couches chairs laughing, drinking and smoking. Ray would return to the screen every 10 minutes or so with little changing from what he saw.
And then, 9:45PM rolled around...
At 9:45 PM, the front door of the soccer brothers' house swung open, and in walked Ali, Brittany, Elizabeth, and two other women from the neighborhood: Janine and Talia. They were all dressed to impress, their heels clicking on the tile floor as they entered the house. Carlos greeted them with a wide smile, ushering them into the living room where the other men were already gathered.
Ray's heart pounded as he watched the scene unfold on his laptop screen. He knew what was about to happen, and he couldn't look away. He looked at his phone and saw that it said Ali was at the comedy club?! Huh? Does she have a way to hack this and show it is somewhere she is not?? "God, how deep is this?" Ray wondered.
As the women settled in the living room surrounded by the soccer players, Ray simultaneously felt a pit in his stomach and arousal in his loins. He was shaking with nerves wondering what was going to unfold.