by Leigh James
Lauren tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I remember—I was there. But it doesn’t justify our sinking to the same level.”
“We’re not. I am trying to avoid more people getting hurt. Wes keeps offering to go to China, to take care of Li Na himself. Do you think I want that? After what he’s been through?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Of course not.”
I stepped closer to my sister. “You know I don’t believe in violence—I hate it. I’m going to threaten this woman, but I’m doing it for her own good. I won’t do anything to disappoint you, but we need to make this work.”
“Fine,” Lauren said. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
She raised her gaze to meet mine. “That I recognize you when this is all over. And that you won’t do anything you’ll regret.”
“Fine,” I said.
Lauren smoothed her hair. “Fine.”
But I wondered as I headed to my sunny, cheerful office…could this actually turn out fine?
Back at my desk, I sent Leo and Dave a text.
Set up the email account. I’m contacting Biyu today.
10-4, Dave wrote back. A few minutes later, he sent me a link to the account.
Taking a deep breath, I drafted an email to Biyu Lin, wondering if I was about to ruin her life.
Chapter 20
Wes
Even though Hannah objected, I went to the big meeting at Paragon.
“I need to keep up with what’s going on. I’m back to work, remember? Just on restricted duty.”
Levi and I had finalized the paperwork this week—I was now officially a Betts Security employee.
She frowned as she stalked through the hallway to the conference room, with me close on her heels. “What exactly does ‘restricted duty’ mean?”
“It means I can go to meetings. It means I’m filling out paperwork and attending training sessions so I’m ready for active assignments. But I’m not actually doing anything I enjoy, like shooting bad guys.”
Her eyes flashed. “Your shooting days are over, big guy.”
I held open the door for her, admiring the way her dress showed off her legs even though she was being ridiculous. My shooting-bad-guys days were far from over. I tore my eyes away from her and cased the room; I didn’t have to be on active duty to protect her. But all I found near the conference table were the usual suspects—Lauren, Gabe, Dave, Leo, Levi, Asher, Bethany, and Ellis standing protectively near Fiona.
Lauren motioned us toward the table. “Have a seat. I’m just reviewing a couple of things before I start.”
Hannah made a beeline for Fiona, hugged her hard, then grabbed the empty seat next to Bethany. I clapped Ellis on the shoulder and found my own seat.
Bethany and Hannah chatted for a minute, eagerly catching up. Then Bethany’s sharp eyes traveled over to me, taking in my dress shirt and laptop.
“So,” she asked Hannah, keeping her voice low, “both you and Wes are completely back to work? I thought he was still doing rehab.”
“I’m back full-time, but Wes is on restricted duty. He sort of excused himself from his wheelchair.” Hannah made sure she said it pointedly, so I could hear.
“But you guys are good?” Bethany asked.
“Yeah—we’re great.”
I could hear the grin in Hannah’s voice.
“Aw, that’s wonderful.” Bethany clapped her hands together. “I’m so happy for you that you finally met the right guy. He’s got that big, protective, kick-ass thing going on—I totally get it.”
Even though I was pretending not to listen, I couldn’t help but puff my chest out.
“What’s new with you?” Hannah asked. “How’s having a bodyguard?”
“Randy’s fine. He does what I tell him.” Bethany lowered her voice. “It’s Levi who’s driving me nuts.”
“What’s going on?”
“He won’t stop checking on me. He offered to personally protect my house. He asked me to dinner.”
Hannah laughed, but when Bethany glared at her, she disguised it as a cough. “The nerve.”
Bethany arched an eyebrow. “I don’t have time for dinner, not with a thug.”
Hannah motioned across the conference table to Levi, who was checking messages on his phone and studiously not looking at Bethany. “He’s not a thug—that’s an Armani suit he’s wearing.”
“He’s pretty, I’ll give him that much.” Bethany frowned as she shot a look Levi’s way. “But you know how I feel about dating. After Tony, I’m done. Fool me once, fine. But I’ll never be fooled again.”
“Just because Tony was an ass doesn’t mean you have to be alone forever.”
Hannah had mentioned that Bethany was divorced, and that it had been nasty.
Bethany tapped her pen against the table. “I think it does. Besides, I’m too busy to date. I had fifty billable hours last week. Who has time for dinner?”
Hannah looked as if she was going to argue further, but Lauren cleared her throat. “Sorry for the delay. Let’s get started.”
She turned on her laptop and faced the room. “You all know why we’re here. We’ve decided to go after Li Na Zhao preemptively, before she attacks us again. My sister deserves credit for coming up with this campaign—she’s the brains behind this operation.”
Lauren smiled while Hannah blushed.
“This is the prototype I uploaded to Paragon’s server earlier today,” Lauren continued, turning on the projector and adjusting the image. “It’s for a sensor that tracks unusual metastasizing of cells. The potential customers are patients who are in remission from cancer who need to monitor the growth of their cells on an ongoing basis. If you look here”—she zoomed in to the center of the device, which looked like some sort of microchip—“you can see the ‘brains’ of this device. Similar to the patch, this is its sensor, which analyzes the data stream on a constant basis. This technology is different from what’s already available because it’s implanted directly into the patient and can continually monitor cell activity once it’s in place.”
Lauren took a sip of water. “The problem with this chip, what you can’t see from the prototype, is that although this technology will produce a stream of information, it will only be partially correct. There’s a timing lag, a disconnect between what the sensors are actually seeing and what they’re reporting. But the defect isn’t obvious unless you know exactly what you’re looking for.”
“So it looks like it works, but the reporting’s actually faulty?” Fiona asked.
“Exactly.” Lauren motioned to the image on the screen. “I uploaded all the specs to the server today, and I had legal working around the clock to prepare patent and preliminary FDA filings. But those regulatory documents are fakes.”
Bethany scowled. “Legal prepared fake FDA documents?”
Lauren nodded.
“Why didn’t you run this by me first?”
Lauren just raised an eyebrow as if Bethany’s tone explained everything.
Bethany scribbled furiously in her notebook, muttering to herself. I thought I caught the words ungrateful, reckless, and sneaky, but I couldn’t be sure.
Lauren ignored her. “Li Na’s watched me for years, and she knows that I don’t make FDA applications lightly. I believe she’ll take the bait. Once she does, I know she’ll try to rush this to market and blow through the Chinese regulatory process. I’m betting that Li Na and her team won’t see the problem, they’ll just see the results—and that will be good enough for them.”
Gabe raised his hand. “Are you going to tell the board of directors about this?”
Paragon’s long-suffering board of directors had overseen the company through corporate espionage, murder of a former board member, internal treason, kidnappings, hackings, and other nefarious activities. Their collective heads were probably spinning.
Lauren sighed. “No. They’ve been too close to our more…er, questionable activity over the past year. I’m
shielding them and letting them sit this one out. You are, too,” she told Gabe. “So if Allen Trade asks you to play golf, tell him you’re busy.”
Allen Trade was the board’s president and a friend of Gabe’s.
Apparently, Allen wasn’t invited to this particular party. Gabe shrugged. “Probably for the best.”
Bethany scribbled something else into her notebook, then raised her hand. “Is this technology something you want to pursue when this is over?”
An unexpected smile broke out over Lauren’s face. “It’s more promising than I initially thought. It’s years away from being market-ready, but I believe we’ve found Paragon’s next big hit.”
Leo raised his hand, and Lauren motioned for him to speak. “Once we’ve confirmed that Li Na’s copied the files, we’ll monitor the situation closely. I think the main concern is making sure the product doesn’t actually get to market in this condition.”
Hannah cleared her throat. “But we need to be sure that Li Na’s proceeding and planning to fast-track it to market.”
“How will we know that?” Bethany asked.
“I have a source inside Jiàn Innovations.” Hannah’s voice was quiet but clear. “This person will keep us up-to-date on what’s happening.”
Ash whistled. “Nice.”
Bethany tapped her pen, looking less than pleased again. “How exactly did we get a source?”
Hannah shot Lauren a look, then turned to Bethany. “I reached out to them. They were happy to help.”
“Happy?” Bethany stopped tapping. “I’m not really getting a ‘happy’ vibe from any of this.”
“Let’s talk later,” Hannah said quickly.
“I have an update.” Fiona looked pulled together in an elegant black sheath, but there were dark circles beneath her eyes. “My attorneys have signed off on the license agreement with Jiàn. They’ve been in contact with Li Na’s legal team. We’re ready to finalize the paperwork.”
“Why did you do a license agreement?” Levi asked.
“I didn’t think Li Na would believe that I’d changed my mind one hundred percent about selling the company. An exclusive license allows Protocol to retain rights over the therapy, but Jiàn will be able to begin manufacturing and distribution if the Chinese government gives them the green light. Which I believe they will, much faster than we’ll get final approval in the US.”
Fiona lined her phone up neatly with her laptop. “But the technology Li Na gets won’t work correctly. The initial specs are legitimate, but once they’re in Jiàn’s servers, we are going to attack them with destructive code. Leo and Dave have reverse-engineered the virus Li Na tried to insert into Paragon’s servers a few weeks ago. If the virus makes it past Jiàn’s firewalls, no one will be able to detect it. Li Na will think everything is fine, but the virus will target Protocol Therapeutics’s files, rewriting some of them. Once she goes to pull the trigger with the new technology, it will malfunction.”
“So we’re letting her steal technology that doesn’t work, and we’re selling her technology that’s defective,” Levi said. “That’s all great, but how is this ruining her again? Because I’d like to get that part.”
“Since it’s clear that she won’t be extradited any time soon and we don’t want to send Betts personnel to physically harm her, we’ve decided to ruin her professional life, which is all she appears to care about.”
Lauren motioned to Hannah, who took the floor.
“Li Na’s been very vocal about what she and her company can do for Shenzhen. She will brag about these technologies, making sure every person in biotech knows that she’s bringing two new amazing cancer products to market. Trust me, this is what she’s been waiting for, and she will make a colossal deal about this.”
Hannah tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and continued. “Which is where I come in—I’ve been in touch with my contacts, feeding them tidbits about a huge biotech story that I know is coming down the pipeline. I’m generating excitement and curiosity. Once Li Na moves forward, her own publicity team will move into high gear. There’s going to be a lot of buzz.
“I’ll tip my contacts that the Jiàn Innovations story is the Next Big Thing—and that I have special industry-insider information. I’ll work them up into a frenzy. The whole world will be watching her. And when the launches backfire, she’ll fail catastrophically, and even better, she’ll fail in public. Li Na’s reputation will be in shambles, and Jiàn Innovations will be a cautionary tale taught in B-school. Done and done!”
Levi grinned. “I like it.”
“I like it, too.” But Hannah didn’t smile back. “I’ll like it better when it works.”
After the meeting wrapped up, Fiona, Hannah, and Lauren began to talk. I took the opportunity to approach Ellis. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” His eyes kept roaming to Fiona and sweeping the rest of the room, on high alert.
“I think we’re safe in here.”
His blue eyes snapped back to me. “We’re safe until we aren’t.”
“I heard Fiona’s moving forward with this plan because she feels like her family is safe. You’re doing a great job. Congrats.”
Ellis frowned. “I don’t really think congratulations are in order.”
We grimaced at each other. I loved my brother, but he could be the consummate buzzkill.
Hannah waved us over. “Fiona and I need to talk more—we’re going to grab lunch at Mado before she heads back to the office. Do you guys want to come?”
“Love to.”
Ellis nodded, too—it wasn’t as if he’d let Fiona out of his sight.
Mado was the hottest new restaurant in Palo Alto, and I was pretty sure they didn’t serve Bud in a bottle. I chuckled to myself as we headed out, wondering what in hell my brother was going to order.
The restaurant was packed with the typical Silicon Valley crowd—men wearing those odd fabric shoes that were the hot new thing, and of course the jeans, T-shirts, and hoodies that were iconic markers of our geographic location. The women were more varied; some in dresses, some in sweaters, but mostly in neutral colors. Silicon Valley wasn’t particularly stylish, but there still seemed to be a dress code, and people trying to identify as part of the tribe.
The clothes might not be fashionable, but Mado was. There was a Mado in New York, London, and LA. The fact that Palo Alto had gotten one meant we’d arrived.
We sat down in our booth, and Ellis scowled at the menu. He didn’t look particularly enthused about the destination.
“This looks amazing.” Hannah scanned the lunch options. “I think I’m going to try the crispy Brussel sprouts and the tuna-sashimi tacos.”
“Sounds great,” Fiona said. “I’m going to get the same, except I’m getting the edamame appetizer.”
Hannah smiled in approval. “I’ve heard it’s delicious.”
Ellis watched them as if he were waiting for the punchline.
I tapped his menu. “What are you going to order?”
“Uh…”
Fiona leaned forward. “You might like the short ribs—they’re marinated in soy sauce, so they’re pretty normal.”
Ellis offered her a rare smile. “Thanks. Normal sounds good.” But a scowl crept over his face as he watched the busy bar area. “Wes. At the bar.”
The tone in his voice told me to turn around cautiously.
I scanned the busy lounge, unsure of what had him on alert. “Who’re you looking at?”
Ellis straightened himself. “The guy in the gray fleece hoodie. I’ve seen him before—this week, but I can’t place it.” My brother cursed under his breath.
I watched the man. He had broad shoulders and short hair, and blended into the crowd with his uniform of sweatshirt, jeans, and Chuck Taylor sneakers. But I could tell from his posture that he knew how to handle himself, and also that he was carrying concealed.
“Fuck,” I said, unceremoniously, making the women jump.
“What is it?” Hannah asked.
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I took her hand and squeezed it. “Nothing you need to worry about. I got you.”
“We’re being followed.” Ellis moved slightly, putting his body a fraction in front of Fiona in case he had to shield her. “Don’t get upset. He doesn’t know we’ve seen him. We’re just going to sit here and eat like we planned. He doesn’t seem like he’s going to shoot us—he’s just doing surveillance.”
I whipped out my phone. “I’ll text Brian and have him do a full check outside to make sure there’s no one else.”
As I tapped out the urgent message, Hannah shuddered and Fiona went pale.
“Don’t worry. Wes and I will take care of him.” Ellis kept his voice low, soothing.
I kept Hannah close as my brother and I briefly locked his gazes, silently acknowledging the situation. We were both armed. Mr. Gray Hoodie didn’t know we’d made him, and we could use that to our advantage.
We would use that to our advantage. I knew how my brother operated, back from when we were growing up. Whether it was hide-and-seek, a “friendly” game of neighborhood football, or capture the flag, Ellis and I were an unstoppable team, demolishing the other kids with our commitment and fierce determination to win.
Most of the time, the other kids quit or went home crying. Or both. Weenies.
“So, just act normal?” Fiona asked.
Ellis smiled again, clearly trying to keep things on an even keel. “Normal sounds good.”
Fiona nodded, looking resigned. But she ordered wine when the server came.
My phone buzzed a minute later. “Brian said the lot’s clear. He called for backups.”
The muscle in Ellis’s jaw jumped. “Perfect. We’ll be ready.”
“What does that mean?” Hannah scowled. “Wes isn’t ready for a fight—he’s on restricted duty.”
She made it sound like I should be kept in a bubble.
“I’m fine.” I squeezed her hand again. “And there’s no way I’m letting anyone near you, babe. Not ever again. So don’t fight me on this.”
