Full Domain (A Nice Guys Novel Book 3)

by Kindle Alexander

  “Julie, are you having problems getting on?” a man behind a desk asked as they passed by his office.

  “I wasn’t. No,” she said loudly and never stopped her pace. “You can see why Thomas may have scheduled this during his downtime. We aren’t very computer literate around here. He’s always got his hands full with us.” She opened the door to the pastor’s suite of offices and extended a hand. He did what every well-mannered man should do, he reached back to take the door, letting her walk in first. She seemed to like that move. Her smile lit up her face as she moved forward. “Thank you!”

  “Julie, I can’t get on.” An older gruff voice came from an office just to the side of her desk. He hoped he’d turned enough and stayed in a decent position to give Kreed and Connors a good layout of this area. He pivoted slowly, seeing two offices and an exit door, the window of which showed it led out to the street they were staying on. He turned his body slowly to make sure they got that shot.

  “Have a seat right here. I need to go help him.” Julie pointed to a chair at the end of her desk.

  “Pastor Helps, there must have been a hiccup in the system. Restart it like Thomas says to do,” she explained as she disappeared inside the office where a disgusted grumbling could be heard.

  “I don’t know why we need these things. They never work right.” That sounded like his very own grandfather talking. The generational gap was alive and present in this place, for sure.

  “Give it time to reboot and I’ll be back. I have to call Thomas anyway.” Julie came out of the office a little frazzled, rolling her eyes dramatically, but her smile was still bright.

  “Let me get him on the phone. What was your name again?” she asked, taking her seat while picking up her phone. She didn’t wait for his answer as she began dialing. The high of moments ago began to fade. Aaron hadn’t anticipated the Hasselbeck guy might live close enough to just come on over. He had to remind himself that even if the guy did show up, all that meant was he was back to his original game plan. It would still take a while to figure out what was going on. Aaron was the only one who knew how to quickly override and restore the system. Still, even with that knowledge, he found himself mentally crossing his fingers, hoping Thomas didn’t answer.

  “Hello, Thomas, it’s Julie. I have a couple of things to talk with you about. Call me when you get a minute,” she said, that bright smile faltering as she stared at her own monitor. “I got voice mail.” She placed the phone back in the cradle as three things happened simultaneously. First, the pastor barked he couldn’t log on and he had a deadline to meet. He needed to email Deacon Silas Burns. Aaron prayed the bureau caught that little jewel of information. Second, Julie’s phone lines began to light up, and third, the main office door opened.

  “The whole place’s down, and I can’t find Jeb,” someone said.

  Aaron supposed Jeb was the IT guy they’d mentioned earlier. Aaron weighed his best options. He wasn’t supposed to act overeager, so was now a good time to offer his help? Hell, he didn’t know. On instinct alone, he finally said out loud, “I could take a look. I have my master’s in information technology from New Hope University in Oklahoma.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not. Let me talk to Thomas first,” Julie said, biting her lip as she reached below her desk. Aaron supposed her CPU was there.

  “He’s taking his grandkids to Oklahoma for the New Year,” the guy sticking his head in the door said. Aaron looked back to see several others standing behind him. Probably the entire skeleton crew.

  “New Hope in Oklahoma is my alma mater. It might help me get the job if I can fix this problem,” Aaron suggested, sliding a hopeful look at Julie.

  Aaron fought the shiver skating up his spine as he turned to see Pastor Helps leaving his office and walking toward Julie’s desk. Aaron had to school his features as the creepy factor in the room quickly escalated. The guy looked a million times older than the statue outside. The vibe rolling off him wasn’t good at all. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what caused it, but he knew his blood pressure spiked right then. It took everything for him to stay put and not move away. Aaron looked around to see if any of the others experienced those same sensations and no one seemed to notice, which was odd for how strongly he was picking up the bad juju standing next to him. Aaron narrowed his eyes and looked back at the pastor.

  “Let him look at it. I’ve gotta get this out soon,” Pastor Helps snapped.

  “Can you call instead of email? You can use my phone,” Julie offered. She was clearly the most sensible of the bunch. As much as he wanted this to play out the right way, it was never wise to let anyone off the street in their systems. Just look at what I’m planning to do if you need proof.

  “You know I can’t use your phone for this! Let him try. Can you fix it, son?” A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and the shiver he could no longer hold off rolled down his spine.

  “Maybe God had this young man coming in when he did because of the evil in this world always fallin’ down upon us, Julie,” Stella, the receptionist, piped in from near the doorway.

  “Amen, sister Stella,” came from someone behind him.

  “Can I use your computer, Julie? I need the most up-to-date one you have,” Aaron said carefully, wondering if anyone in the room would know how ridiculous that sounded, but he figured the pastor probably had the most updated equipment out of anyone here, just based on his position, and it would kill two birds with one stone if he could get inside that office.

  “That would be Pastor Helps. Do you mind, sir?” Julie asked, clearly caving under the pressure.

  “Of course not, if you’ll get it working,” he said, shuffling aside to let Aaron up. Okay, this was working out better than planned. He couldn’t believe it. A large part of him had been prepared to walk inside the church offices and be immediately denied, turned away before he got his foot in the door. Instead, this played out in the best-case scenario. Thankfully, the timing helped. Pastor Helps was on a deadline.

  Aaron followed the slow moving pastor into his office. Once behind the door, he resisted the urge to do a thumbs up in front of the cross pin clasped to his shirt. He was just so excited to be getting this far inside already.

  “What do you need from me?” Pastor Helps growled, drawing him from his thoughts.

  “Nothing, sir. Let me just take a look.” The pastor stood between him and the computer. When he didn’t move, Aaron lifted a hand toward the CPU.

  “How long’s this gonna take?” Could he use any other tone than that snarled-sounding timbre? Did he preach sermons with that voice?

  “There’s no way to know until I can sit down and see what’s going on, sir.” Aaron started forward, scooting around the pastor. He wouldn’t let the old man get cold feet now. He needed in their system. That was the only reason he continued talking. “If it’s a standard system restore, it won’t take thirty minutes.”

  “Well, don’t touch anything on my desk.”

  Aaron nodded and kept his face passive. The guy sounded more like an extremely old, grumpy grandfather than a motivating godly pastor of such a massive complex.

  Aaron sat in the large leather chair and turned toward the monitor. He could see the pastor standing behind him through the darkened screen. Who knew if he planned to move or stand there watching him the whole time, which meant he’d have to hide the paths he took. Centering into himself, Aaron took a deep breath and began. He worked for several minutes before Pastor Helps moved from behind him to a seat at a small table nearby.

  “What’re you finding?” Even though the sudden noise startled him, the evangelist’s voice might not have been so cold and annoying that time.

  “It looks like a virus was downloaded, probably in an attachment somewhere. The staff needs to be more careful of things like this. People are too evil in today’s world,” Aaron said, watching the pastor in the reflective screen.

  “I swear computers make the world a worse place. Can you tell wh
o downloaded a virus? We don’t allow random searching on the internet. It goes against our doctrine. There’s nothing but the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth out there on the internet,” Pastor Helps barked.

  “Yes, they do, sir. And yes, I can see if it’s traceable.” Aaron picked up his pace. He was currently working on creating a virtual tunnel. He kept his eyes down at the keyboard as he registered the webcam’s little flicker from the corner of his eye. It would be the only time that happened, but provided the verification he needed that he’d done this right. The screen went dark then wild numbers and letters flashed for a moment before going dark again. Accomplishment washed over him. He’d gotten in.

  “Where do you call home?” Pastor Helps asked. Aaron was almost done. He rebooted the system and waited.

  “Kansas, sir.” Between Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, he wasn’t sure there was much more of a Bible-beltish area. He hoped that gave him street cred in the religious community.

  “I spent some time there. What church were you raised in?” The pastor seemed talkie now which made him a little nervous. He had hoped he could bullshit his way through any conversation thrown his way. The anxiety made his palms sweat, and he brushed his hands down his trousers at the same time the monitor lit up, drawing his attention to the screen. He was surprised they didn’t have password protection on this machine. That was a pretty standard requirement in today’s world. Actually, that made no sense.

  “My parents are fundamentalist, sir. They felt most of the churches in our area didn’t teach the true lessons of the Bible. So a few of the families in our area who shared the same belief started a small church in the Topeka area. I went to Oklahoma to finish school. I was hoping I could come up here and fellowship with your branch. They just don’t have the fellowship in Oklahoma like you have here.” Aaron hoped that lie came off as sincere.

  “Hmm,” Pastor Helps grunted. “We have parishioners who travel several hundred miles to attend church every Sunday.”

  “That’s how I heard about your church. I’m looking forward to hearing the teachings from the word of God at the worship service this Sunday.” Aaron had no idea what that meant compared to what Pastor Helps said, but it was part of the pre-rehearsed call-notes Director Skinner sent over. “My parents homeschooled me and my brothers and sisters, and we had strict Bible study every day. I do miss being able to share the scripture with those around me.”

  He’d been told over and over that less was more, but he couldn’t stop his brain from thinking of his socialite mother, who always had a cocktail in her hand, trying to homeschool any of his brothers or sisters. The thought was almost as comical as the act. She would have called in one of the many household staff to deal with such a trivial task.

  “That story sounds very much like many of my flock. Redemption Apostle got its start in much the same way your parents’ church did. The lack of preachers to be dutiful watchmen and preach God’s judgment is exactly why the world is in such a state of decay today. We have to diligently spread the word. It is up to us to be God’s watchmen. Too many men claim to teach the wrath of God, but they are nothing more than false prophets spreading fables—the very reason we’re opening congregations in a few other states. It’s a slow process. But the children of God need to be vigilant and spread the word. The absolute judgment of God awaits those who fail to repent. I respect your parents’ dedication to the Bible and the Lord’s teachings,” Pastor Helps responded.

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Aaron nodded, not prepared to say anything more. He had no experience with a church like this one. The few times he’d been inside a church in his adult life, he’d felt a sense of love there. This place—and most especially this man—radiated a disturbing creepiness. Aaron tested a few things before he pushed back in the chair. “I think we’re good. I should probably check the computers of everyone working today, but it looks like you’re back online.”

  “Well, that didn’t take all that long at all.” Pastor Helps stood pretty fast for an old man who shuffled when he walked.

  “No, sir, it was easy to find. Do you want to make sure you can send your message?” Aaron asked, hoping he could get a visual on the email the man needed to send in all haste.

  “I need privacy. Why don’t you go check Julie’s computer. I’ll call you if I have a problem.” Pastor Helps quickly pushed behind his desk to sit in the chair Aaron had just vacated, almost running Aaron over in the process.

  “Yes, sir.” Aaron left the office a little slowly, unsure how to do anything more to stay without coming off as too pushy. Connors would just have to do the rest on his end.

  He headed toward Julie’s desk as the pastor called out, “Give him a job, Julie.”

  “Good job! I’m back up, too.” She had her hand raised for Aaron to give her a high five.

  “I should check your computer. I found a virus known to have crawlers.” Same words used on a CSI episode he and his buddies made fun of all of the time.

  “I wish Thomas would call back in,” she said reluctantly, rising from her chair for Aaron.

  “Was the pastor serious about hiring me?” Aaron asked, not responding to her statement. Julie rose, and he took her seat and began working quickly on her machine.

  “Oh, absolutely, Pastor Helps isn’t a big fan of computers. He wouldn’t have been happy if no one could get this fixed today.” Aaron listened and decided Julie would be his biggest concern. She seemed the most reasonable of them all. When it came time to verify with the quick flash of the webcam, he let out a series of coughs.

  “My throat’s dry. Must be the cold air,” Aaron said, looking over apologetically.

  “I’ll get you a water bottle.” The second she turned away, he hit enter and watched as he got the confirmation he needed to indicate that the bureau had access.

  “Here you go.” Julie handed him the water as he stood, angling the chair for her to sit.

  “I’m glad I checked. It was in your system too. Probably everyone’s. I should look,” Aaron offered.

  “Oh, praise be to Jesus. Josiah, you’re a dream. I believe God sent you to us today.” Julie swiveled toward him in the chair and looked up at him. Aaron smiled and took a drink from the bottle of water. He’d done what he set out to do. Julie stood abruptly and patted his shoulder. “Come on. I’ll show you the way around and get you some paperwork. You should be paid for today. I don’t know how much, that’s between you and Thomas, but I’ll get your new hire paperwork added.”

  He couldn’t help the fist pump he gave and Julie laughed at his excitement.

  “Welcome to our family.”

  Chapter 15

  Holding a hand to his ear, Kreed pressed the earbud in to make sure he captured every word Aaron said. Kreed bent forward, watching the screen as Aaron expertly navigated his way through the various offices of the church, creating an opening for the FBI. In a few short hours, Aaron managed to give them visual as well as audio and access to all of the internal workings of the church’s administrative headquarters. As he focused on Aaron and his safety, Kreed also had Connors and his team talking in his ear. He heard several ‘fuck yeahs’ and ‘the guy’s brilliant’ each time Aaron accomplished something new. Without question, Kreed tended to agree, but the darkness he detected while listening to the pastor speak freaked him the fuck out. Something wasn’t lying right in Kreed’s gut regarding that old man.

  Kreed’s internal instincts had him tense and reactive. For what, he didn’t know, but he’d armed himself as if he were going on a raid and stayed poised to do whatever it took to get to Aaron. The doorbell chimed. Kreed jerked his head in that direction, quickly tugging the earbud free to remove Connors’s nonstop voice from his ear. He stared at the wall separating him from the kitchen that led to the entry, like the walls would magically open to show him the answer of who rang the bell.

  Seconds passed before he heard some noise in the general vicinity of the front door. He hated moving from the co
mputer screen, but he did, staying along the walls, quietly walking through the house to carefully lift a front window blind, seeing a man carrying a box toward the front door. A moving van was parked at the curb. Kreed relaxed. That was most likely Aaron’s delivery.

  Kreed swiftly went back to the monitor to see Aaron exiting the building. The relief of him leaving the church drained some of the tension from Kreed’s body. He moved back to the window, lifted the edge of a blind, and watched Aaron keep his head down and begin to jog his way across the street toward the house.

  He’d managed to get his work done and stay in one piece. Good job! Kreed headed back to the entryway as he listened to metal clink against metal as the key unlocked the door. The cold wind swept through the house as he caught the sound of shuffling boxes. Kreed stayed right around the corner of the door, letting Aaron handle the boxes until he heard the door close. He eased around the wall, meeting Aaron, who had a bright smile plastered across his handsome face. The nervousness and anxiety of the last few hours immediately faded away. Aaron was excited and coming straight toward him.

  “It was a piece of cake,” he said, beaming. He lifted a hand, and Kreed obliged, raising his for a celebratory high five. “What a serious rush.”

  “You did really well. We got good visual and everything you gave us is working spot-on. Connors is astonished, which is kind of a little weird, but they’re already at work, digging in. He’s like a kid in a candy store.” Kreed trailed behind Aaron as he moved to the kitchen, reaching for a glass then filling it with water from the refrigerator.