by Dave Daren
“Hey,” Anthony greeted on the second ring. “Is everything okay?”
“It is,” I said. “The feds and I are on the way to Gryffon. The judge signed off on the subpoena. You’ll never guess who was assigned as the federal investigators.”
“Let me guess,” the mobster said in an amused tone. “The same guys that keep paying you visits?”
“The very ones,” I said.
“Well, at least you know them,” the young Febbo said. “How long do you think it will take for them to get you all of the information?”
“I should have all of it in a few days,” I said. “But most of it should be available later tonight. As long as their tech team doesn’t take forever.”
“And we’ll have access to everything?” the mafioso asked.
I could hear the excitement in his voice and smiled. We were finally getting somewhere, and it was all legal. Well, the information from the laptop wasn’t, but hopefully it would all be supported by the Gryffon company hard drives.
“Everything,” I told him. “I’ll start comparing their spreadsheets to the payoffs that we found on the laptop.”
“This is good news, Hunter,” Anthony said. “Let me know as soon as you find anything.”
I glanced over at my phone as the line went dead, and then focused on trying to find a parking spot. I grinned when I saw that the feds had blocked off an extra two places behind their huge white van. I slid into the one right behind them right before the back doors swung open and a middle-aged man with thick-rimmed glasses hopped down. I was far enough back that he had room, but he still frowned at me before he turned to grab his bag.
Hank pulled up behind me in his black Chrysler 300. The hood’s wax job reflected the late morning light, and the tinted windows made it impossible to see who was in the car unless I looked straight through the windshield. The bodyguard checked his weapons twice before he climbed out, and then again after he’d shut the door. He acted like we were about to storm a castle rather than walk into the building in the company of five federal agents and the two investigators.
“We’re not going to war,” I chuckled as the large man came to stand beside me.
“It’s my job to be prepared,” he reminded me.
“I doubt that they’re dumb enough to attack us in front of federal agents,” I countered.
“Desperate people,” Hank said in an ominous tone.
I sighed, shrugged, and then turned to see if I could find Hisashi and Monroe among the throng of feds that were congregating in front of the Gryffon building. I spotted them a few feet away from the door. It looked like Hisashi was briefing them on protocol while Monroe glowered at them as if it were the agents that had committed a crime.
“He’s not really a people person,” I muttered as I started toward the group.
“The kid?” my bodyguard asked as he fell into step beside me. “No. But he’ll learn to play ball if he wants to make it far. And that bald guy seems to know what he’s doing. He’ll straighten him out.”
“Maybe,” I said. “He’s got more balls than brains.”
“That’s because he’s young,” the Italian man laughed. “We all do at that age.”
I laughed as I remembered the first case that I’d worked in law school. I’d had a summer internship at the white shoe firm that had hired me, and they’d assigned me to a merger. I’d thought I would find some way to make our clients millions, and I had discovered a clause that saved them a huge chunk of change, but I’d pissed off a lot of associates who’d been jockeying for a partnership in the process. I was pretty sure that’s why they hired me after I graduated, though, so I suppose it had worked out.
The simple truth was that I had no problems doing what needed to be done for my clients, and that was still the case. Fortunately, I usually spent less time poring over reams of paperwork with my current clients, though the documents from the laptop were giving me flashbacks to my old job.
“Are you ready, Mr. Morgan?” Hisashi asked when I reached him.
“Yes,” I replied with a calm smile.
In fact, I was so excited that I wanted to jump around like a little kid, but I held it in and kept the serene grin on my face as I followed the FBI team into the building.
“Good morning,” an olive-skinned man with black hair said in a thick accent that reminded me of Galic’s.
He had on a dark gray Zegna suit, Armani tie, and shiny black Gucci shoes. His entire outfit cost what I made in six months at the white collar law firm that I used to work at, though it would only take me a month to afford it working for Anthony.
“Good morning,” Hisashi said as he offered his hand. “My name is Agent Hisashi, and this is Agent Monroe. He and our team are here to serve Mr. Galic with a subpoena.”
“Yes,” the man said without hesitation. “I have been made aware. My name is Matija Stankovic, but you may call me Matt. I am the Gryffon company’s head attorney.”
“Of course, you are,” Monroe sneered before he shot a glare my way. “You attorneys are all the same.”
I bristled at the implication. I was nothing like the man in front of us. For one, I tried to help my clients find legal solutions, like the subpoena, and Matt looked like he would sell his own grandmother for a bottle of Jack Daniels.
“Ah, Mr. Morgan,” Matt said as he turned to look at me.
The gray eyes that studied me were cold, but his smile stayed the exact same like it had been tattooed on his face.
“Good morning,” I said with a nod. “I hope we didn’t surprise you too much.”
“You did not,” the lawyer said with a wave of his hand. “I actually expected you much earlier. Perhaps you stopped for a coffee. You like vanilla lattes, correct? With three shots?”
I refused to give him the reaction that he wanted. I’d been followed, but I wasn’t surprised that Galic had sent someone to tail me. What did concern me was that whoever it was had blended in so well that neither Hank nor I noticed them. I would have to figure that out later, though, since we had a more important task to complete right then.
“I do,” I said. “But the three shots are usually for really long days. I expect today won’t be that bad.”
“I’m sure,” Matt replied before he turned to the feds. “You’re welcome to search any company computer on the premises. I should let you know that we’ve recently had one stolen.”
The high-priced lawyer shot me a look and then turned back to Hisashi. The bald agent watched our exchange with interest, but he was seasoned enough that he managed to keep a look of mild interest on his face. His partner, however, gaped openly and almost started to say something before the older agent shot him a quick warning glance.
“How convenient,” I said.
I knew damn well that the laptop had been stolen since I’d been at the heist, and the guard that I’d knocked out had recognized me, so Matt knew as well. But, if he wanted to accuse me, then he would’ve already done it.
“Not really,” the gray-eyed man said. “But what can we do? There are a lot of desperate people out there. They’ll do just about anything, and at least no one was seriously injured.”
That confirmed it, and I stifled a sigh. The guard had identified me to Galic the moment that he’d woke up.
I was more surprised that they hadn’t actually tried to kill me yet. I would’ve been an easy target if that Impala had caught up with me on the LIE, and Hank had said that the driver was armed. I had already passed on the laptop, but maybe they thought that I still had it. I decided to use that as leverage if I needed to, but for the moment I’d continue to play dumb.
“I’m glad no one was hurt,” I said.
“Yes,” Hisashi said as his attention shifted between both of us.
He looked like he had a million questions, but after a few seconds he just turned to his team.
“You know the drill,” the bald agent said. “Copy everything. And if you find any deleted files, copy those, too.”
“Yes, sir,” the middle-aged man from earlier said.
The team surged forward as they went in search of any electronic devices that belonged to the company. They must’ve had the blueprints to the building, because they weaved through the maze of hallways without hesitation.
“Mr. Landis?” the smoking-hot receptionist asked as she came in through a side door.
She had on a black dress today, but it was just as tight as the purple dress that I’d seen her in. She looked at me quizzically, and then at the other men and women around me.
“This is Hunter Morgan,” Agent Monroe said.
The young agent practically fell over himself as he walked over to the voluptuous woman. He had a stupid grin on his face like he was about to ask her out, but he caught himself and cleared his throat as he donned a neutral expression.
“That’s James Landis,” the woman said as she ignored the agent.
She walked behind her desk, set her coffee mug down, and then flashed me a bright smile.
“I never forget a handsome man,” she said.
Monroe rolled his eyes before he could stop himself.
“And how do you know Mr… Landis?” Hisashi interrupted.
“Oh, he came in for a security guard job,” the gorgeous receptionist said with a wave of her hand.
I’d severely underestimated her. I had thought that she was just a pretty face at the front desk, but she’d managed to remember me after a five minute interaction. I kept the smile on my face, though it felt wooden as I forced it to stay in place.
“You must be confusing me with someone else,” I said. “I’m a lawyer.”
“Well, you clearly weren’t good at being a security guard,” the woman laughed. “He only lasted one afternoon. I think it was the training videos. Those things could make anyone think about a change of careers.”
“Hunter Morgan, security guard,” Matt said in an amused tone. “That does have a ring to it.”
My shoulders were tense as I waited to find out what the feds would do with this new information. I hadn’t done anything illegal. I had lied on my application, but that wasn’t strictly illegal, and I’d only been there for one day.
“He does have one of those faces,” Hisashi said with a shrug. “Monroe, let’s go check with the team. I want to make sure that they don’t miss anything.”
The younger agent started to object, and he even managed to open his mouth. He probably wanted to ask more questions about James Landis, one-day security guard, but he must’ve caught onto what Hisashi was saying, because he nodded his head and followed after his partner.
“They won’t find anything,” the high-priced lawyer said as soon as they were out of earshot. “Except for maybe your alter ego. Nate keeps meticulous records.”
“I don’t know who that woman thinks that I am,” I said. “But she’s mistaken.”
“Of course,” the slick man said with a shrug. “It’s all just a misunderstanding. Like your search of the company computers.”
“I assure you, that was very intentional,” I said.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked around as casually as I could. I didn’t want the man to think that he’d succeeded in crawling under my skin, but I had to admit that I was impressed with how fast the Serbians had cleaned things up.
I had almost forgotten that Hank was there, but as I stared nonchalantly around the lobby, I spotted the beefy man as he leaned against the wall near the door with a thousand yard stare as if he wasn’t listening to a word anyone was saying, though I knew that the bodyguard missed about as much as the eagle-eyed Hisashi.
“And completely useless,” Matt continued on as if there hadn’t been a pause in our conversation. “Do you really think that there’s going to be anything in the company hard drives?”
“I think that you’re scared,” I said.
“I have nothing to be afraid of,” the gray-eyed man said.
I was about to say something else when Galic walked into the lobby. He had a new case in his hand, and his knuckles were white as he gripped it. He glanced my way, narrowed his eyes, and then looked over to his lawyer.
Matt gave him a bright smile that would’ve put a used car salesman to shame, opened his arms, and then strolled over to give the tough-looking man a quick hug.
“Mr. Galic,” the Gryffon’s attorney said. “I thought that you were going to be out in meetings all day.”
“I was,” Vlado said. “But my last meeting was cancelled so I thought I would come get some work done. I see the feds are still here.”
The Serbian mobster managed to look irritated and unbothered by the presence of the FBI. He even managed to flash a grin when Hisashi came back out to check on us.
“Mr. Galic,” the bald agent said with a small nod of respect. “I was starting to think that you wouldn’t be here today.”
“I had business outside of the office earlier,” the dark-haired man responded. “Are your people almost done, yet?”
“Almost,” the seasoned agent said. “My partner is supervising the last of the search now. I hope you don’t mind, but we’ll be taking copies of all of your files so that they can be inspected later.”
“Naturally,” the face of Gryffon said. “It is to be expected. I’m sure that you will find nothing of use to your investigation. My company is run legally.”
“Of course, of course,” Hisashi said as he bobbed his head. “Just procedure. You understand.”
“You should check his case,” I said as I strolled over. “He may have a company laptop.”
“I do,” the Serbian man said with a smile as he handed the silver case to Hisashi. “But this is a new one. The other one was stolen recently.”
“Yes,” the older agent said. “Your lawyer mentioned something about that. I’m glad that you’ve been able to get a replacement so quickly. Could you open this for me?”
Galic did as he was asked, and I watched as Hisashi pulled out the laptop. The FBI agent took it over to the receptionist’s desk, turned on the power button, and then waited as the machine booted up.
It started without any problem and opened immediately to the home screen. The thing didn’t even have a password yet. The computer must’ve been brand new, or maybe Galic had been expecting a visit from the feds after the last one was stolen.
“All clear,” Hisashi said as he returned the thin laptop to its owner. “It looks like you just got this.”
“I did,” Vlado said with a shrug.
“Are you almost done with your search?” Matt asked.
He looked toward the federal agents that moved around the hallways with silver cases of their own.
“Should be finished at any moment,” Hisashi said. “I appreciate your help with this, and I hope it hasn’t thrown your day off too much.”
“We are always happy to help the FBI,” the high-priced lawyer crooned.
“I’m sure,” the bald man said. “I’ll go check with my partner and see where the team is at.”
The two men watched as Hisashi wandered off with his hands in his pockets and an unbothered air about him. They started to talk to each other in hushed tones, and they spoke in what I guessed was Serbian.
I pulled out my phone and acted like I was checking for messages, but I pulled up a recording app. I had no idea what they were talking about since I didn’t know the language, but I could always have it translated later. I wanted to know what was so important that they couldn’t say it in English.
The team of FBI agents were on their way back to the lobby as I inched closer to the two men. The feds looked irritated, and I knew that they hadn’t found anything worthwhile on any of the computers.
I looked at Hisashi, but he shook his head. I hadn’t expected Galic to have something obvious on the hard drives, but I also had his old laptop, and I could compare that to the files I’d receive from the FBI. I was sure that I’d be able to tie at least one name to the payoffs that we’d found.
“Are you finished
?” Matt asked as he greeted the team. “I assume you haven’t found anything that was worth your time.”
“We’re going to take copies back to headquarters anyways,” Monroe said.
The younger agent had his chest puffed out as he stood to his full height, but the way he clenched his jaw only confirmed that the computers had been clean.
“You’re more than welcome to do that,” the high-priced lawyer said. “As I’ve said, Gryffon runs a clean company. I’m sorry that you’ve wasted your morning on this.”
“I appreciate your concern,” the younger agent sneered.
“We get paid either way,” Hisashi interrupted with a grin. “It’s no skin off of our backs. Come on, Monroe. You owe me lunch.”
The bald FBI agent strolled through the lobby with his partner and the team of tech guys behind him. He seemed completely unbothered, like it was just another day, but I had no doubt that the man wouldn’t give up so easily.
Vlado Galic watched the agents go with a smirk on his face, leaned over, and then said something to me in Serbian before he sauntered away with his new case clutched in his hand.
I frowned, narrowed my eyes at the face of Gryffon, and then huffed as I followed the feds out of the building. I waited until I was back in my car before I could breathe easily again. I tugged my phone out of my pocket and smiled when I saw that it was still recording. I was sure that the goon had threatened me or let something slip or else he would’ve said it in a language he knew that I’d understand. And I knew I could use whatever it was against him.
All I had to do was find a translator.
Chapter 8
I powered on my car and listened to the engine purr as I put my seat belt on. I stuck my phone in its holder, put my briefcase in the passenger seat, and was about to put my car in reverse so that I could back out when someone knocked on the window next to my head. I threw the car back into park, pushed the button to roll down the tinted window, and then smiled at Agent Hisashi.
“Did you need anything else from me, Agent?” I asked.
“I have a copy of the hard drives for you,” the bald man said as he produced a black USB. “The guys didn’t find anything, and I’m not hopeful, either. But, maybe you have access to something that I don’t have.”
