Lila’s heart pounded. Despite the information proving nothing, she knew they were on the right track. The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. As their heels tapped on the shiny marble floor, they entered the cavernous lobby atrium. Marcia pointed out things already obvious to Lila such as the post office, coffee bar, and bookstore. People milled about or sat at tables scattered around the large atrium. They continued through the atrium and then angled left to a smaller corridor. They moved along the unoccupied hall past a few darkened conference rooms.
Marcia led her up two flights of stairs then came to a stop and pointed to the sign labeled Parking Structure 1. “Door 3G will be straight ahead.”
Lila smiled and thanked her then pushed open the door, obviously free to travel this stretch unaccompanied. She kept to the center of the roadway as much as possible, moving to the side when a vehicle approached. Dark parking garages always gave her the willies. A chill slithered down her spine.
Only a parking garage, a very public one. Get a grip.
She eyed the multitude of surveillance cameras scattered around the garage. The presence of the cameras didn’t bring about the expected relief. As she moved farther into the garage, she passed door C and stopped. Did she hear something? She whipped around but saw nothing. Did the lights dim even more?
She picked up the pace, then stopped as something dawned on her. Cody had been aware of her dislike of dark places, even to the point of placing nightlights in her room. Why would he send her through a dark parking garage? She turned and began to run back toward the building. Pulse racing, her footsteps slapped against the concrete.
Seconds later, a van roared around the corner and stopped. Three men alighted and with lightning-quick speed, one of the men grabbed her around the waist.
She dropped her purse and swung, trying to break the hold. Air swooshed in her ears and her skin prickled as if every nerve ending stood at attention. A large hand covering her mouth cut off her scream. He pressed so hard she thought he’d break her teeth. The scent of body odor wafted into her nose as she heard the creek of the van door wrench open. With the heel of her shoe, she stomped down on his instep.
“Bitch!” The man yelled in pain and released her.
“Leave me alone!” She jetted away before another man grabbed her by the hair. He tugged hard, gripping a fist full, causing her to fall to the ground. She grimaced as white lights flashed before her. Drawing in a breath, she pressed the compass pendant as the man tossed her inside the van.
Someone loomed over her. A quick prick to her arm then everything went dark.
Chapter 36
Jogging through the exterior door of Veridian’s coffee shop to the outdoor patio area, Cody plopped into the chair across from Moby. “I need to talk to you.” He’d been observing Moby from his first day on the DDI project. Although he couldn’t be sure, his instincts told him Moby wasn’t like the others.
“Hello to you, too.” Moby stirred the light brown liquid.
Leaning across the table, Cody lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “Have you ever heard of Stonegate?”
Moby shifted in his chair but kept his focus toward the pond. “I learned recently that a group of geese are called something different depending on where they are.” He pointed to the geese lazily paddling by. “A group of geese in the water are called a plump. A gaggle of geese would mean they are on land while a skein means a group of geese in flight.”
Cody sat back in his chair. Might as well let the man get out this bit of trivia, no matter how useless it was to him at the moment.
“See their feet paddling in the water? Reminds me of the swim lessons I took as a child. No matter how hard I tried or no matter what stroke I used, I always ended up treading water. Stuck, unable to propel forward.” He sipped his coffee. “I’m tired of treading water. I have a wife now, and she’s expecting our first child.” His voice was low as if coming to the conclusion in a moment of introspection. “I’ll tell you what I know but not here. Let’s take a walk.”
Cody tamped down his impatience. He needed to get as much information as soon as he could. Every moment they delayed on this another person could die, and he suspected those victims would be people he cared about. Jumping up, he matched pace with Moby as they made their way to a path circling the pond.
When they were well away from any Veridian building, Moby cleared his throat. “This place is evil. I was happy before I moved to the DDI team.” He grunted out a bitter laugh. “When I got the news I’d been “promoted” to a special project team I thought I’d hit it big. I made more money than I thought possible, and I finally had the means to buy a new house. We have a yard, three-car garage, and room enough for a couple more kids.” Moby stopped and kicked a rock. The stone tumbled down a short embankment and plopped into the water.
Cody remained silent. Reid and Adam once told him to allow people who want to talk uninterrupted time.
Moby shrugged. “Then I learned what the DDI really did. I struggled with my conscience for a few weeks then I went to Rick and submitted my resignation. He wouldn’t accept it. Told me once you’re a DDI team member, you’re always committed to the team. When I insisted, he threatened my wife and my younger brother who was about to come to the States on a student Visa.” He shook his head. “They told me if I went to the authorities or spoke to anyone about this, they’d kill my wife and destroy my brother’s chances of coming to America.”
Cody spoke up. “You did the right thing. Rick and Tally are dangerous.”
Nodding, Moby began walking again. “They have these meetings off-site. Sometimes they are gone for days at a time.”
“Do you know who they are meeting and where?” Cody’s gut clenched. This could be something they could use.
“No. I tried to hunt for information, but I didn’t want to go too far and be exposed.” He glanced around then shifted closer to Cody. “They are at one of those meetings now. I saw Rick with luggage a few days ago. I’m assume this is one of the long meetings.”
“Why are you telling me this? How do I know you’re not working with Rick and Tally?” Cody squinted in the sun.
“My family has been threatened. My wife is pregnant now, but she had an earlier miscarriage. I blame the stress of the threats. I shouldn’t have told her, so I take the blame for that.”
“I’m sorry, Moby.” Cody understood the soul crushing weight of guilt.
“Maybe it’s not too late for you. If you see an opportunity to get out—run. My fear is we’ll all end up behind bars one day.”
Cody considered the potential fallout for the DDI group when Veridian was exposed, and he had no doubt they would be brought to justice. Unable to give Moby any encouraging words, he remained quiet. Moments later a group of employees out for a walk approached and Cody and Moby headed toward the building.
Fifteen minutes later, they entered the DDI offices, each heading toward their desks. Cody settled in his chair, pulled up his computer screen, and ran a search for Peter Shaw. If someone confronted him about the search, he’d deal with the fallout then. Shaw wanted everyone to know he’d been named VP of Security for Skies International, which Cody understood meant he’d kill at Lance’s command. Nothing came up on the various social medial sites. Cody dug deeper and found a credit card charge for a gas station near Las Vegas. Pulling traffic camera footage and using facial recognition software, he spotted a black SUV with Shaw riding shotgun. He couldn’t make out the driver or the passengers in the back seat. The SUV appeared to be in an industrial area but after a few seconds, the vehicle turned out of camera range. Cody sighed and hit a button to exit out of the system. Additional searches turned up nothing more.
Cody shot a glance at his desk phone, which he instructed Lila to call after her meeting ended. By this time, Lila’s meeting had lasted close to an hour.
His computer alerted, letting him know he had an email. Glancing at the sender, he knit his brows. Who was Urgent? They had strict firewall p
rocedures so if this email hadn’t been deemed safe, he wouldn’t have received it. He opened the email and read the short message several times. Cody, urgent project. Click link and follow directions.
Without a name attached to the email, he could only assume the sender had to be Rick or maybe even Tally. Sher hadn’t said anything about a special project before she left. As he weighed his options, he faced the screen when another urgent email arrived, this time from Rick.
Please follow the link. I need this project completed ASAP.
He stood. “Anyone else get an urgent project?”
When he received no answer from his teammates, he circled through the area to discover he was alone.
Returning to his desk, he clicked on the link and braced for the next DDI horror show. A second later, his screen filled with a familiar scene. His mother’s house in Virginia? Then suddenly the scene pivoted to a man dressed in jeans and a MIT hoodie. He had shaggy brown hair giving him a youthful appearance.
“Hey, Cody. Kyle here. Remember me?” The man grinned into the smart phone camera.
Cody cocked his head and studied Kyle. “I don’t know you.”
“Yeah, you do. We were in ethics together at MIT.” He waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it, man. We have a few people in common, but they don’t exactly run in your circles, if you know what I mean.” He shrugged. “Anyway, a friend is interested in some information we believe you have.”
Dread burrowed into Cody’s bones as his pulse hitched. He leaned closer to the screen. “Who are you?”
“I told you. Kyle.”
“Who sent you to my mother’s house?”
Kyle threw his head back and laughed. “Do I really need to answer that question?” He climbed the crumbling concrete stairs and leaned against the house, just out of sight of the door and the front living room window where the shades half covered the window in a droopy slope. “We need some information we believe you have. Give us the location of the mine.”
Cody froze, his throat suddenly dry. “What are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about, but perhaps seeing your mother would spur your memory.”
“Stay away from her,” Cody hissed into his computer. He gripped the side of his desk as his mind flooded with possible ways to respond. Shifting in his chair, he hit a button to record the interaction.
Kyle held the phone at arm’s length in selfie fashion. “Where is the emerald mine?”
Cody shook his head. “I don’t know.” Although he didn’t know the location, Cody knew Kyle wouldn’t believe him.
Kyle smirked then made the sound of a buzzer. “Wrong answer.” He rang the doorbell.
Seconds later, his mother, with disheveled hair, answered the door. “Can I help you?”
“Mom, don’t let him in the house,” Cody yelled. But when Tina Green slumped against the doorjamb what little hope this would end well evaporated. She’d been drinking.
“Mrs. Green, my name is Kyle. Your son Cody and I were classmates at MIT. May I come in?” Kyle had slapped on his boy-next-door persona but even a bad impersonation would win his mother over.
His mother grinned and opened the door wider, stumbling as she stepped back. “Come on in.” She smoothed down her rumpled shirt.
Kyle stepped in and said, “I hope you don’t mind. I have Cody on the line. We made a bet I couldn’t find the house.”
The camera swung around allowing Cody to view a portion of the small living room. The console television which hadn’t worked in years sat against one wall with a photo of him as a toothless kindergartner. A photo of his older brother, Holden, as a long-haired teenager occupied the other frame. The camera’s focus lifted and settled on Tina.
“I guess you won.” Tina giggled as she fingered a strand of fake pearls.
“You hear that Cody, I won.” He flipped around the camera. “Mrs. Green, say hi to your son.”
“Hi Cody. You know I’m still waiting on that money you promised.” Tina’s grin dissolved as she stared at him.
“Mom, don’t say anything else to this guy.” Cody jumped up and scanned the area for his coworkers. Silence greeted him. Rare for everyone to be gone. Where was Moby? He slammed back down in his chair. How could he get his mother to understand? And where was Holden? His brother could usually be found parked on the sagging faded blue sofa. Today, of all days, he chose not to be there.
“Now, is that any way to treat your friend?”
“Tsk tsk, Cody.” Kyle turned to Tina. “I recently came into a large sum of money. Since your son has been delinquent in helping you, I’d be honored to give you a couple hundred bucks.”
Tina’s mouth dropped open. “Kyle, what a generous offer. I have diabetes and the medication is very expensive.”
“We’re not friends! Mom, don’t take any money from him. This man is dangerous.” Cody’s blood pulsed in his veins, threatening to explode as his worst fears rose.
“Honey, you’re being paranoid. Kyle seems perfectly harmless and wants to help me.”
“Do not listen to him.” Cody gritted his teeth as he willed his mother to have a bit of common sense for once. He could hear her offering to make him a cup of coffee, as if this hired gun had stopped by for crumpets and conversation.
Cody snatched up his desk phone and called Reid’s secured phone. Reid answered the call, and Cody whispered not to talk then he placed the phone near his computer. Cody considered tracing the man’s digital footprint, but he knew he’d hit a wall. Lance and his people were too smart to be easily tracked.
“Mom, I’m begging you not to talk to this asshole,” Cody said. Yet money commanded Tina Green’s entire existence. She’d sold out Cody before, and she’d do it again.
“My son is a bit overly cautious.” Tina placed her hands on her hips and leaned toward Kyle. “He’s making a lot of money at Veridian down in Dallas.”
Cody heard a shuffling noise then the man’s voice oozed in his ear. “Hey buddy, your mother tells me you work for Veridian. You must be on top of the world working for such a great company. I’ve even heard good things about your work. I ran into Senator Reynolds and he had some concerns about Veridian. A shame he’s dead now.” He shook his head as if broken up about the senator’s demise.
“Leave my mother alone. She doesn’t know what kind of swine you are nor the trash you work for.”
“Is that any way to talk to an old friend? Your mother is a beautiful woman, and I’d be happy to help her.” He turned his focus back to Tina. “Your health issues are concerning. I happen to have some special insulin. It’s much cheaper and longer lasting.”
“Mom, don’t take anything from him!” But she’d disappeared into the kitchen.
The camera flipped back to Kyle.
Cody jumped up and leaned over his desk. “Get the fuck out her house now or I will…”
“What? You’re over a thousand miles away. And I have money and meds.” He reached into his bag, pulled out a syringe filled with clear liquid, then lowered his voice. “Tell me where the mine is and maybe she’ll live.”
“I don’t know! I don’t know where the damn mine is. My mother is innocent. Let her go.”
“Wrong answer. Say goodbye to Mommy.” Kyle flipped the camera once again and sauntered in the kitchen.
“No. Don’t. She’s innocent.” Cody pounded his desk, as two pens rolled to the floor.
“Here’s your coffee, Kyle.” Tina placed the cup on the table and smiled. “Did you have a nice conversation with Cody?” Tina’s voice had that I’m-trying-to-impress-someone tone.
“Thank you, Tina. Unfortunately, I can’t stay.”
“That’s too bad. But what about the money and the insulin?” She puffed out her lips as if she were a pouting three-year-old.
Cody shut his eyes.
“A son should help his mother.” Kyle stepped closer to Tina.
She shook her head. “I can’t control Cody, who’d rather be rude than welc
ome an old friend.”
Tina spoke loudly to emphasize her point.
“Yes, that is too bad. Roll up your sleeve.” Kyle turned the camera to focus on Tina.
She sat at the kitchen table and shoved up the sleeve of her sweater.
“Mom, please don’t do this.”
“I need medication. I haven’t had my insulin in three days.” She blew out a sigh.
Cody traced over his mother’s image on the screen as Kyle pumped what he suspected was some type of poison into her. A few seconds later, Tina slumped in her chair then fell to the floor.
Muscles twitching, Cody stood. “You won’t get away with this.” He seethed. At the moment, he wanted to destroy anything, and anyone related to The Order.
Kyle switched the camera back to him as he cocked his head. “Oh, but I have. My employer sends his condolences.” The connection went dead.
Cody ended the call with Reid and forwarded the footage to his personal email. He ran out of the DDI, grabbed his cell, and called Reid again.
While talking to Reid, Cody sent him the video of Kyle’s visit.
Reid had already called the authorities in Virginia. “There’s a chance she’s still alive.”
Cody’s mind swam with dark conclusions, the light of goodness and fairness dimmed to the point where he could no longer envision an Alliance win. But he couldn’t go there. Even if he lost his life, he had to stop Lance and The Order.
Jamming the phone into his pocket, Cody bolted through the building. I have to get to Lila. He raced across campus to the executive building. Lance had likely killed his mother. Blood boiling, his rage ramped up the perspiration dripping from his face. The image of his mother on the floor of their kitchen replayed in his mind. If he ever saw Kyle or whatever his name was, he’d rip his limbs from his body one by one.
Entering the executive building, he ignored curious stares from employees as he rounded the corner and skidded to a halt. He’d never been up to the executive floors, and he didn’t expect to get far. Before visiting the fifth floor everyone had to gain admittance from a dedicated receptionist on guard in front of the special elevator.
Order of Truth Page 26
