Next Exit, Dead Ahead

by CW Browning

  “I don't think you need to be worried about what Damon is doing,” Alina said, moving into the living room with her wine. She perched on the arm of the recliner where Michael had settled himself.

  “Well, that depends on what he's doing,” John muttered.

  Alina's eyes glinted dangerously and Stephanie hastened to intercede before John prodded Viper too far.

  “I'm still waiting on an answer from Angela as to what she's doing,” she said, joining Angela and John on the sofa. “Why is she staying with you?”

  Alina glanced at Angela.

  “You didn't tell her?” she asked her, sipping her wine. Angela shook her head.

  “Not yet.”

  “You need to,” Alina told her calmly.

  “Tell me what?” Stephanie asked. She looked from Angela to Alina and back again.

  “I told you something happened,” Angela said slowly, twirling her wine glass absently in her hand. “I've gotten into a....situation.”

  “That's one way of putting it,” Michael murmured.

  Alina's lips twitched and she shot him a glance, her eyes dancing.

  “Oh, spit it out, Angie,” John said impatiently. “What happened?”

  Alina watched as Angela's cheeks flushed and she hesitated. Alina sighed.

  “Rodrigo Frietas stole Angela's network credentials at the bank and used them to hack into the mainframe before he started turning up in pieces,” Alina told Stephanie and John matter-of-factly. Angela shot her a look of relief mixed with thanks. “Now, she's being followed by a man in a navy sedan. I suggested she stay here for a few days where she's protected by my security system.”

  Stephanie's mouth dropped open and John stared at Alina, stunned.

  “What?!” Stephanie found her voice first and swung around to stare at Angela. “When did you find this out?”

  “Yesterday,” Angela told her. “I got called into work by the IT department. They saw the logs on Rodrigo's computer when they were getting it ready for the FBI to pick up today.”

  “Hold on.” John leaned forward and set his empty beer bottle on the coffee table. “The IT department called you? Why would they do that?”

  “Because of the security breach, I had to change all my network credentials,” Angela explained. “Obviously, they had to tell me why.”

  “How did Rodrigo get your credentials?” Stephanie demanded. “Did you know him?”

  “Barely.” Angela finished her wine and set the glass down. “I met him a few months ago when a bunch of us went out for happy hour. I only knew him in passing. He was a friend of a friend of a friend.”

  “You could have told me!” Stephanie exclaimed. Angela looked surprised.

  “Why would I?” she asked.

  “Because he was my informant!” Stephanie told her.

  Angela gasped.

  “You mean, you're the FBI agent investigating his death?” she asked.

  “I told you she should know,” Alina murmured. She got up and picked up Angela's empty wine glass.

  “You knew she was the agent in charge?” Angela demanded, looking at Alina. “Why didn't you tell me?!”

  “It wasn't my place to,” Alina replied with a shrug and turned to go into the dining room. “I think we're going to need another bottle of wine,” she added as Angela sputtered incoherently on the sofa.

  “Ok. Let's start at the beginning,” John suggested calmly. “When did your IT department contact you?”

  “Yesterday.”

  “When yesterday?”

  “Oh, uh, in the morning.” Angela thought for a minute. “It was just after I left the gym, so it must have been around eleven.”

  “They called your personal cell?” Stephanie asked.

  “No. They called my work blackberry. They said my credentials had been compromised and I would need to come in and change all my passwords.”

  “Did they say what happened?”

  “Well, he told me that Rodrigo's head had been found and that my network credentials had been used on his PC to access the bank mainframe,” Angela told them. “Because of the severity of the situation, he suggested I come into the office and change all my passwords as soon as possible. I went in last night and met him at the IT building.”

  “You just up and went into an empty building at night because someone told you to?” John demanded incredulously. “Are you an idiot?!”

  Angela glared at him and pressed her lips together. Her eyes narrowed.

  “The building wasn't empty,” she snapped. “This is how things are done at a bank. You can't just change your password over VPN if it's been compromised. At my level, I have to be physically hardwired into the network. Normally, he would have come to my desk, but he said he was in the middle of something and I had no reason to doubt him. I called him at his desk phone on my way and he was already inside a secure building. Short of asking for ID and a background check, I did everything I could to make sure it was safe.”

  Alina's lips twitched as she twisted the corkscrew into the cork. She could hear the contempt dripping from Angela's voice and knew John had hit a nerve.

  “When did he tell you about Rodrigo's head?” Stephanie asked suddenly.

  Alina glanced up from the bottle of wine at the cutting edge to Stephanie's voice. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she paused in the act of withdrawing the cork. Michael glanced at her, his eyes mirroring her sudden attention.

  “When he called me, I think,” Angela answered.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I don't know. I think so.” Angela frowned, flustered. “Let me think. Yes. It was when he called me. He said it was a nasty business with his head. I didn't know what he meant until I saw him later. I thought he meant Rodrigo had hit his head.” Angela looked back and forth between Stephanie and John as a heavy silence fell in the room. “Why?”

  Alina's lips tightened and her hands stilled. Viper waited for Stephanie to confirm what she already guessed.

  “Whoever you spoke to couldn't have known we found Rodrigo's head yesterday morning,” Stephanie told her grimly. “That wasn't made public until last night.”

  Viper released her breath and pulled the cork out of the wine bottle, meeting Michael's glance across the room. He looked grim.

  “Who did you speak to?” John asked suddenly.

  “What?”

  “The name!” John said impatiently. “What's the name of your IT guy who called you?”

  “Kwan,” Angela answered. “Lowell Kwan.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “For the love of God, Angie, what the hell did you get yourself into?” Stephanie muttered, finishing her wine in one gulp.

  “Me?” Angela exclaimed. “You think I'm happy some geek hacked the mainframe with my credentials and then went and got his head cut off?!” She twisted around on the sofa and glared over the back at Alina. “See? I told you I shouldn't tell her. She's thinks it's my fault!”

  “No one thinks it's your fault,” Alina said calmly, walking over and handing her a full wine glass.

  Without a word, Stephanie passed Alina her empty glass. Alina suppressed a grin and went to refill it.

  “I'm assuming the name Lowell Kwan means something to you two?” Michael asked, breaking his silence and reminding them of his presence.

  Stephanie glanced at him.

  “Yes,” she said. “We think he's the head of the hacking ring we're investigating.”

  “You mean...you mean he's one of them?” Angela asked. Her mouth dropped open.

  “I believe so,” Stephanie said tiredly. “I have no proof, yet. You said someone was following you? When did that start?”

  “Last night. I saw them after I got home, and then again this morning,” Angela told her. “That's when I called Lina. I wanted to know if I was crazy.”

  Stephanie and John looked at Alina as she came into the living room and handed Stephanie her full glass back. She smiled slightly.

  “She's crazy, but not because of th
at,” Alina answered the unspoken question in both their faces. “A navy sedan followed her. I have it on my security footage. I would have a name for you, but this one was over-enthusiastic and scared him away,” she added and motioned to Michael.

  He made a face at her.

  “I didn't know what you were doing,” he retorted. “I saw someone acting shady and took care of it.”

  “Do we have anything to go on?” John asked. “Anything at all?”

  “Of course!” Alina went back to her seat on the arm of Michael's chair. “I have the car and tag number on camera. Give me five minutes and I'll have a name for you.”

  “How about you give me the video and let me handle it?” Stephanie asked dryly.

  “I think Ms. Walker is asserting her jurisdictional superiority,” Michael murmured, drawing a faint smile from Alina.

  “Sorry,” Stephanie said with a sheepish grin. “It's habit. I'm used to doing everything.”

  “Well, this is something I can do for you,” Alina said easily. “Use me while you have me.”

  “If Lowell is part of this whole thing, then why did he have me change my passwords?” Angela asked suddenly. “Why didn't he stay quiet and leave it to the FBI to hang me? Why the show?”

  Alina glanced at Angela, her eyes glinting in appreciation. Angela was quicker than any of them gave her credit for, and Alina was amused at the sudden look of comprehension that crossed Stephanie's face.

  “Oh my God,” she breathed, her eyes widening. She looked at Alina. “That's why you want her here where you can keep an eye on her!”

  Alina nodded.

  “He got what he needed from her,” she said quietly. “She's a liability now.”

  “Hello? I'm sure this all makes perfect sense to you, but I'm in the dark over here,” John interrupted. “What did he get? Why is she a liability now?”

  “Rodrigo used Angela's credentials to get into the mainframe and presumably plant some kind of a virus,” Stephanie explained, “but then he disappeared. Lowell would have been able to see whose credentials Rodrigo used, but not the password. With Rodrigo dead, the only other person who would know the password used is Angela.”

  John stared at Stephanie.

  “So, he called her in and had her change her passwords,” he said slowly. Understanding burst upon him suddenly. “She had to type the old password in to change them!”

  “Giving Lowell the password Rodrigo used to access the mainframe,” Stephanie finished.

  “But...if Rodrigo already planted a virus, why does Lowell need to get back in there?” Angela asked, frowning.

  “It depends on what the virus is doing,” Michael answered her. “If it's gathering information, it could be linked to a harvesting program that only responds to the credentials used to set it up.”

  “Or, if he's being thorough, he could be going back into the mainframe to remove it before it's detected,” Stephanie added. “I'm leaning towards what you said, though, Michael. They're too smart to run the risk of getting caught going in to take the virus out. Unfortunately, we won't know until we find out what they did on the mainframe.”

  “So he used me?” Angela demanded. “And now what? Now he's just going to kill me?”

  “Something like that,” Alina said cheerfully. “Aren't you glad you came over for lunch now?”

  “I think I should have her moved to one of our safe houses.” Stephanie ignored Angela's indignant sputter. “I can't let you take on responsibility for her.”

  Alina met Stephanie's gaze, amused.

  “Do you really think your agency can do a better job of protecting her?” Viper asked softly.

  Stephanie flushed slightly.

  “That's not the point,” she muttered. “It puts you in danger, too.”

  John started to laugh, but covered it up with a cough when Angela looked at him.

  “Steph's right, Lina,” Angela said. “If all this is true and I stay here, I'm putting you at risk.”

  “Don't be ridiculous,” Alina said shortly, standing up.

  “Well, if Michael stays too, then at least we have a Federal agent in the house,” Angela mused slowly.

  Stephanie glared at John as he started coughing again.

  “I'd feel better if I knew Michael was here,” she agreed, resisting the urge to laugh by biting the inside of her lip. Hard.

  “I can postpone going back to Brooklyn for a day or two,” Michael announced, his eyes dancing. Alina's dark eyes met his and he almost burst out laughing at the look of exasperation in their depths. “Do you have enough spare rooms?”

  “I'm sure we can work something out,” Viper replied, her face impassive.

  She picked up her empty wine glass and went into the dining room. She felt like she was in the middle of a Vaudevillian farce. What the hell was she doing? Alina picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass. If Harry ever got wind of this, he would never let her live it down. A Secret Service agent was supposed to protect her?

  “That's settled, then,” Angela said cheerfully. “I won't be any trouble, Lina. I promise.”

  Alina sipped her wine and turned around. Before she could open her mouth to answer, there was a sudden crash upstairs. Her gaze flew to the hallway as something banged at the top of the stairs. Alina set down the wine glass and was reaching behind her back for her gun when a high-pitched screech echoed down the stairs, pausing her hand.

  Yeeooow!

  A bell jingled frantically as something galloped down the stairs and a flash of orange streaked down the hallway and through the living room. Viper raised an eyebrow as Raven dropped over the banister and landed on the floor in the hallway, his black eyes darting into the living room. A loud, guttural growl was followed by an even louder hiss from behind the recliner and Alina moved into the living room, tilting her head to look behind the chair. A pair of panic-stricken green eyes stared back at her from an enormous poof of orange and white fur.

  Viper blinked.

  “Why does there appear to be a cat in my living room?” she asked softly.

  The silence in the room was deafening.

  Alina turned around slowly, pinning Angela with an astounded look.

  “Did you really bring your cat into a house with a wild hawk?” she asked incredulously.

  “I didn't think Raven would know she was here,” Angela stammered. “I thought he only went into your bedroom. I didn't think Annabelle would go in there.”

  Alina stared at her speechlessly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raven hop up onto the bar and start moving toward the end that was more in line with the recliner. Annabelle made her protest known by hissing again and letting out a loud spit.

  “Stop!”

  Viper spoke sharply and Annabelle abruptly stopped hissing. She hunkered down behind the chair and stared up at Alina with huge eyes. Turning her head to Raven, Alina stared at him silently. He stopped walking along the bar and settled down, glowering at her with his black eyes. When they were both quiet and still, Alina turned her attention back to Angela.

  “You do realize that Raven eats small animals?” she asked softly.

  Angela just stared back at her.

  “I couldn't leave Annabelle alone in the house,” she said defensively. “What was I supposed to do?”

  “I warned her,” Michael said. A grin tugged at his lips. “I tried.”

  “You should have tried harder,” John remarked and glanced over the couch at Raven. “My bet's on the bird. I'll put twenty dollars on it.”

  “Oh John, for God's Sake,” Stephanie said disgustedly.

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  “Angie, come here,” Alina said, shaking her head. “You take Annabelle and I'll take Raven.”

  “What are you going to do?” Angela asked, coming over and reaching behind the chair to pick up the hyper-extended ball of fur that was her cat.

  “Try to defuse the situation,” Alina retorted shortly and moved toward Raven.

  When Ang
ela picked up the cat, Raven straightened up, watching them with his beady black eyes. With his mistress advancing upon him, he shifted from one foot to another, bobbing his head. Alina held out her arm and he stepped onto it, his eyes darting between hers and the cat. Alina began to murmur something in a low voice and the hawk shook his head sharply, fluffing out his feathers and shifting his weight between his feet. Ignoring his obvious displeasure, Alina continued to murmur quietly, holding her arm up so the hawk was at eye level with her.

  Stephanie shook her head, watching as Alina mesmerized the hawk effortlessly. She had seen her old friend do this before through the years, but each time it was still just as bizarre. She would never understand this knack Alina had of communicating with animals.

  “You're lucky Lina can control that thing,” John told Angela quietly.

  “So are you,” Angela retorted. “You would have lost twenty bucks.”

  They all watched as Alina turned, moving out of the living room and down the hallway with Raven still perched on her arm.

  “Did you even close her bedroom door?” Stephanie asked as Alina disappeared up the stairs with the hawk. “How did Annabelle get in there?”

  “I thought I did,” Angela answered, carrying the cat over to the couch and sinking down. She stroked Annabelle's back absently. “I guess it wasn't completely latched.”

  “Poor Annabelle,” Stephanie crooned and reached out to rub her head. “Did the big bird scare you?”

  Annabelle started purring and her fur began to settle back down as she was fussed over by Stephanie and Angela. Michael looked at John and grinned as John rolled his eyes.

  “I think I would have bet on the bird, too,” he told him.

  The comfortable blackness of nothing disappeared as Viper came awake with a start. Her heart surged into her throat and her eyes popped open, awareness streaking through her like lightning. Something had shifted in the dead of night, unceremoniously pulling her from the darkness of her dreams. Her bedroom was dark and the house was silent, but something had disturbed the peace.

  Alina didn't move. She concentrated on the silence, detecting where the movement that had awakened her originated. After a second, she exhaled silently. Someone was in the room with her. She could hear their heartbeat and feel their presence.