Wasp (Uncommon Enemies: An Iniquus Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller Book 1)

by Fiona Quinn

  Lynx went back to the video that showed Lily laying on the tracks, eyes open, looking like she was unable to move.

  “I’ve seen this video,” Gage said. “To me it doesn’t look like she’s hurt. It looks like something else is going on.”

  A light knock sounded at the door and Brainiack opened it, accepted some papers and brought them over to Prescott. Prescott peeked at them, and then flipped them over on the table.

  Lynx walked over and pointed at the current screen. “The videographer is focused on the band and then a scream sounds, and they turn to show Lily on the track. The person filming is perfectly positioned to show Lily laying there. Notice that the videographer doesn’t respond. There’s no gasp of surprise. No bobble of the image. No scream or move to help. In today’s society, we often see a bystander record instead of intervening, but typically you see or hear the human reaction. Not so here. Later, as we go through these tapes, you’ll see that in this crowd, there are no other phones in hands at this point. Everyone else in the crowd is focused on the horror that’s unfolding in front of them.” She paused. “Did you receive some information you’d like to share, Special Agent?”

  “This can wait. Thank you.”

  “Moving on, then. Gage, you mentioned her lying there. Initial thoughts might be that she lost her balance because of drugs or alcohol, but I bet when Special Agent Prescott shares his new data, it will indicate that she was substance free, or perhaps had enough alcohol in her system to account for a glass of wine. Another explanation might be an adrenaline reaction called freeze. Everyone in this room has been trained to overcome freeze and every one of us hopes that training works, because in the field, freezing can mean death. Now, if you look at Lily in this still, you see her muscles aren’t rigid, they’re lax. Not adrenaline freeze. Something else is impeding her ability to stand and get to those oh-so helpful arms that are reaching out to her.”

  “That was said with a heavy dose of sarcasm,” Nutsbe said, turning to look up at the screen.

  “Yup, I’ll get to that in a second.” She started the News Nine video. “This is what the videographer wanted you to see next. The light of the approaching subway train. Everyone was trying their best to bring attention to the crisis. Again, no other phones are out. Flailing arms. You can make out the shock on the engineer’s face. Boom. He’s doing everything he can to stop the forward movement of the train. But look, Lily got to her feet. She sees hands that can drag her out of the way and she reaches for them. The video bounces up, and then back down, taking in the horrified crowd. We all know she’s been hit. Lily was killed. That’s the story we’re supposed to understand. A tragic accident.”

  “You don’t think it is, though. You think someone killed her.”

  “I do. Let’s look back at the Metro security footage. Remember, I started trying to figure out when the band had arrived because it was odd. Look who’s arriving at the same time. A group of men, nicely dressed. They’re all wearing similar clothes. They aren’t talking, but they all arrive within fifteen minutes of each other. All in bulky clothes, gloves, hats, scarves. It’s cold. It’s December. No worries. But see how they’re standing out of the view of the security camera? They don’t get on the first subway.” She scrolled forward. “They don’t get on the next. But then two move to the area where Lily will eventually die and three go back near the stairs. Here comes the crowd from the theater, they seem to be gravitating left, away from the men who are already there waiting. See these three men near the stairs? They move in such a way that Lily is herded to the right side of the platform, away from the others.”

  She played the rest of the security footage. They could see Lily fall. They could see hands reaching for her. It was hard to see anything else.

  “Tech was able to work some of their magic for me,” she said as she moved to the third screen. “This is a close up of that group of men surrounding Lily.” They watched as Lily fell. The men worked to block others from getting near her. Then, when she was reaching for their arms, they pulled just out of her reach and she was hit. “You can’t see that in the normal view of the accident. Now here’s something I want you to hear. I had tech remove the sounds of the reggae band and the milling crowd. Play that track please, Nutsbe.”

  ZzzzzzzZzzz ZzzzzzZzzzz…

  “What the heck is that?” Brainiack asked.

  “Have a guess? Play it again, please.”

  ZzzzzzzZzzz ZzzzzzZzzzz…

  “A stun gun?” Nutsbe offered.

  “That’s what I think. It lasts three seconds. Three seconds and a push would land her on the tracks, still conscious. But it can take up to fifteen minutes, depending on various circumstances, to pull oneself back together after being stunned. The reggae band, by the way, left before any emergency personnel arrived on scene. So let’s try a hypothetical. Someone pays a band to play at this time. They’re there to make enough noise that no one standing around would hear a stun gun. They also had someone in place to film their desired narrative and make sure these five men are never focused on.”

  “Why is that important?” Gage asked.

  “The metro’s security footage is kind of meh. And they have clear bystander video that tells the story. Lily’s body will be crushed, so hopefully if all goes to plan, everyone will get lazy and assume it was a freak accident. The guys position her where they want her. They stun her, push her onto the track, block anyone else from helping, then they leave. From the police report, I can put a name and face to everyone else there, but not these five, and not the band.” Lynx turned a sweet smile on Prescott. “I’ll bet your report says they found two very small burns below her waist about two inches apart. Is that right?”

  Prescott turned the photo over and slid it across the table. It showed two burn marks on Lily’s skin. “I’m impressed.”

  Lynx smiled. “Looks can be deceiving, Special Agent.” She seemed to find great amusement in that phrase. Gage thought there was probably a pretty good story behind it.

  Lynx walked to the last screen and picked up the remote. “Now, it seems clear that Lily Winters was killed intentionally. But the reason you wanted to know the cause of her death was that you think there may be a link between Lily’s death and Zoe’s attack. Commander Kane asked me to find that link.”

  Every man in the room pulled themselves up straight and leaned forward.

  “The last thing I wanted to show you is this.” There was a close up of a man’s left wrist. Right where a man’s watch would go, and about the size of a watch face, was a geometric tattoo.

  Titus walked over to the screen. “Is this the best that tech could do with clarity?”

  “I’m sorry, it is. But we can see it well enough to make a comparison.”

  Titus turned abruptly. “To what?”

  Lynx clicked forward and there were four images dividing the screen. The top two were pictures that Gage took in Zoe’s condo. One of the other images was a black silhouette. Those three each had a red X marking them as deceased. The remaining image was the man they had in custody.

  Titus’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen.

  “Two from Zoe’s place, one killed at the exfil house, one in custody. All four have the exact same tattoo in the exact same place.” She clicked one more time, and there was a close up of the tattoo. “At least one man involved in Lily’s murder has this symbol in common with the four men who have made attempts on Zoe. It’s also possible that one of these four men is also the man in the picture from the Metro station. And that, gentlemen, makes me believe that yes, these crimes are connected.”

  Titus pushed his phone into its holster. He stood, planting his fists on the table top. “Lynx, amazing as always. If Strike Force ever forgets how special you are, you’ve got a place on my team.”

  “Ha! Well, thank you. Glad I could help.”

  “Yes, thank you so much,” Gage said.

  “That call was telling me that the cobblers have the new papers ready, and they’ve pur
chased cruise tickets for Zoe and Gage through the Panama Canal.”

  “Oh, that sounds lovely. Maybe I won’t ditch the trackers and run. I could use a bit of a vacation.”

  “Nope, we need you in action,” Titus said. “Speaking of action, we sent a car to ask Senator Billings to come in and answer a few questions for us. He agreed and is in the interview room waiting on us.”

  “How’d you get him to do that?” Lynx asked.

  “We insinuated that we had information about Lily’s death. I’m glad we actually do. Do you have time to at least get us started with some questions?”

  Instead of answering Titus, Lynx turned to Gage. “Gage, it looks like you have a thought.”

  “Last night I had the chance to look in Billings’s wallet. I saw a card with that symbol on it. I’d love to know whose business card that is.”

  “Me too,” Lynx replied. “And, Commander, if the guy’s already in house, I can get things rolling.”

  ***

  Titus led Prescott and Gage to the elevator. When they exited onto the executive floor, the vibe was completely different from the one they just left. Downstairs contained the fine-tuned, well-oiled mechanics of the Iniquus security machine. This, Gage thought, must be the floor where they collected the money to make the place hum. More in keeping with the country club façade, there were conversation areas with deep leather chairs that called for comfortable chats about where the kids went to college and upcoming vacation plans. Gage could imagine the movers and shakers enjoying a brandy and an imported cigar, before real points of interest were hashed through, deals made, and contracts signed.

  Gage looked down at his clothes, currently covered in mud and blood. He’d be more at home after a shower and a change. He hoped he didn’t run into any of the executives. They had offered him a contract, an extremely generous contract, and he was tempted for a number of reasons to take it. They had been understanding about his being on the fence concerning his next step. They left the contract on the table until his re-up yea or nay with the Marines. Gage wanted to keep that contract open, and his present state seemed disrespectful. Titus was equally dirty, though minus the blood, and he didn’t seem to care about muddy boots on the thick pile carpet, so Gage let his concerns go as they turned into a room.

  The lights went on automatically as they sidled down the long, narrow gallery. Captain’s chairs with writing desks stood in a nice neat row in front of a wall of darkened windows. Behind the chairs was a buffet holding sandwiches, water bottles and fruit. All three men loaded up their plates then sat down and ate. Just like with sleep, Gage had learned many years ago that in his line of work, grub didn’t come on a schedule. If you had access, avail yourself. It could be a long damned time before you saw food again.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Four

  GAGE

  As Gage finished his second sandwich, the lights in the room in front of the observation windows flicked on. Lynx came through the door with Senator Charles Billings. She waved her hand to indicate a chair to the right. This put Billings face to face with the men. Lynx sat kitty-corner at the head of the table.

  Lynx struck Gage as very young, much younger than his twenty-eight years. And very innocent, especially when she smiled. She was a trap. A good one. After seeing her in action figuring out Lily’s murder, he thought the whole cheerleader, girl-next-door routine was a power tool in her arsenal. Lynx wore her hair down, while other women wore upswept military styles. She had on a full-skirted, bright-pink dress, while others wore black and grey. It all seemed carefully engineered to confuse, distract, and disarm people. He hoped Zoe would get a chance to meet Lynx. He bet they’d get along very well.

  “Senator, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your coming in this evening. How are you holding up?” Lynx leaned forward and her voice conveyed genuine sympathy and concern.

  “This has been a very difficult day.”

  “I can’t even imagine. I saw your news conference this morning. I know you’ve been in senate hearings all day. Did you have time to eat? Can I call for some food? Something to drink?”

  “No, no, thank you. I had my driver go through a drive-thru on the way over here.” The senator glanced at the door, then his watch. “Will they be here soon?”

  “I’m sorry. Will who be here soon?”

  “I was told that Iniquus had information about Lily, and they thought that it was important that I hear it privately. That’s why I’m here. Where is Mr. Spencer and the others?”

  “I’m afraid they are otherwise occupied. I’ll be helping you today.”

  “You?” It was almost insulting how dismissive this guy acted toward Lynx, and Gage was offended on her behalf. Titus, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying this immensely. Titus looked the way he always did, stoic and hard-assed, but having fought enough fights next to him, Gage knew the man was highly amused.

  “I wanted to begin by telling you how sorry I am for your loss.”

  Billings turned his head away, tilting his face down.

  “I heard you’re staying with your friend Colonel Guthrie. I’m pretty sure I’ve met him before—kind of a pronounced nose, scar on the chin, a bit of an ass?”

  Lynx’s pretty mouth saying “ass” had Billings turning toward her with the hint of a smile. “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “You’re going after Montrim Industries, that’s a big get. A sixty billion dollar a year get. Thank you for your courage. Did the secret service give you someone to help protect you during the hearings?”

  “No, why would they?”

  “Sixty billion a year in military contracts…that’s big. If Montrim Industries was to collapse because of the hearings…”

  “No one can touch me. I’m too high profile.”

  Lynx tilted her head, considering him. “I can see that. But others involved with this don’t enjoy such an advantage. Lily Winters, for example.”

  His lips quivered. “Her suicide is a great tragedy. I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for the role I played in her death. I had no idea that she was depressed. That she was suicidal.”

  “Suicide? No, no, no. I heard the speculation on the news too. The pundits all think she took her life because you refused to leave your wife for her. But we both know how they blow hot air to fill the news cycle. No, Lily was killed.”

  Lynx let that last sentence settle in. They had been going along conversationally then, boom, she dropped the bomb. She slipped it right in, and Gage knew why. She wanted to gauge his reaction, just like he had wanted to see Colonel Guthrie’s when he said Zoe was in the hospital. What Lynx got from Billings was complete bafflement. It was like watching the senator take a blow to the sternum. He actually recoiled. “What?” he choked out.

  “You didn’t know? Surely when you opened her video message on Thursday morning, you would have seen how happy she was. If anyone saw that, they’d know for sure that Lily wasn’t suicidal.”

  Senator Billings seemed to realize that Lynx was much more than he’d thought she was. He seemed to be scrambling, trying to figure out the situation. His brows drew together, and he shook his head, as if he were warding away her words.

  Lynx pushed on with her sweet smile and conversational tone. “You didn’t get her video message? She sent it first by accident to a friend of hers. Whoops! So embarrassing. But surely she sent it on to you after?”

  “I didn’t get a video from Lily on Thursday,” he insisted.

  “Oh.” Lynx picked up a remote and pushed the button. “Well, let me show it to you so you can tell me what you think.”

  There was a still shot of Lily the way Gage remembered her, with big, black smiling eyes. As the video began though, Gage became instantly uncomfortable. This was definitely not a side of Lily that he’d ever seen.

  “Charlie,” she crooned as she batted her lashes. “I miss you.” She gathered her long brown curls and moved them off her shoulders. Lily reached down and pulled off her sweater. She slid her han
ds under her breasts, covered by the turquoise stretch lace of her bra, and lifted them up, pushing them together to create even more cleavage. “The girls miss you too.” She pouted, then slid one bra strap from her shoulder, then the other. She reached around to unhook her bra. Holding it in place with one hand, she smiled again. “They can’t wait to see you tomorrow. They want to be somewhere where they can be free and available to your hungry mouth all weekend.” She flung the bra to the side and was soon pinching and pulling at her nipples. “And that’s not the only part of me that wants your full attention.” She rubbed the flat of her hand down her stomach to her crotch and left it there. She tilted her chin coyly. “Which parts of you would like my full attention? Will you send me a picture?” She blew a kiss to the screen, and it went black.

  Gage had twisted to the side and was watching out of half-shut eyes. He both needed to see and definitely did not want to see that. He felt his face relax again when it turned off.

  “So, no dick pic in return?” Lynx asked with not a bit of audacity that she would serve up such a question to the senior senator from Wisconsin.