I studied the table while heat rose in my cheeks. “I owe you an apology. I should have listened to you earlier and stayed here. You shouldn’t have had to risk your neck to come and rescue me. Again.” I met his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Some rescue, when you’d already escaped. I just showed up in time to beat you senseless.” He shook his head. “No. If I had believed at the time that there was significant risk to you, I would have made it clear. And I would have made sure you were protected. I’ll accept your apology if you’ll accept mine.”
“Of course. No apology necessary. So what happened?” I swallowed hard. “Am I back in Fuzzy Bunny’s sights now?”
“No. Fuzzy Bunny definitely thinks you’re dead,” Spider reassured me.
“But… who was the guy who grabbed me, then?” I stammered. “Jeez, please don’t tell me I’ve run afoul of some other nutcase criminal organization now.”
“No. That was Eugene Mercer,” Kane said. “He was working with Fuzzy Bunny.”
“Eugene Mercer? The analyst from Sirius? But I thought Fuzzy Bunny captured him and beat him up. I thought you suspected Mike Connor. Why…?”
“It was more complicated than we first thought,” Kane said. “It turned out Connor was innocent of everything except poor judgement. Mercer encouraged him to bypass the alarm on the door, and when Connor sneaked out for a smoke Mercer disabled the jamming devices so Ramos could test the hacked fob. Then Connor concealed the breach because he didn’t want to get in trouble with Sandler.”
“I’m glad he wasn’t involved,” I said. “He seemed like a nice kid.”
“Ramos and Sandler were Fuzzy Bunny’s direct contacts,” Kane explained. “Sandler had been employed at Sirius for a number of years. It seems Fuzzy Bunny got to him and turned him sometime in the last year or so.”
“So he wasn’t a spy to start with?”
“No, it doesn’t look that way. We don’t know what they offered him, but he was in deep. Sandler faked security clearances for both Ramos and Mercer to get them into Sirius. Ramos had access to all the restricted areas in Sirius because of his janitor’s role. Mercer had the know-how to hack the fob. Mercer was also smart enough to never make direct contact with Fuzzy Bunny.”
Spider picked up the tale. “The only reason we connected Mercer at all was because of that one phone call from Ramos. And the fact that something seemed to be missing when we put together what we had. Neither Ramos nor Sandler had the skills to hack the fob. Ramos was an agent, not an analyst, and Sandler was only a manager. There was just something off about the whole thing.”
“But how did you ever figure it out from one phone call?”
“We didn’t,” Kane replied. “There was more than that. And thanks to Webb’s good work, we found it.”
Spider flushed and smiled. “I dug into Mercer when I was following up on that phone call. I ran across an email that didn’t make sense. It was just a one-liner, sent to an obscure email address. It didn’t mean anything to me, and I didn’t catch it right away.”
“At the time you left on Friday morning, we still hadn’t been able to question Mercer in the hospital,” Kane added. “He had been there since JTF2 pulled him out of the warehouse on Wednesday night. He was incoherent, apparently suffering some kind of drug reaction. When we finally talked to him late Friday morning, he told us he’d been abducted from his home at gunpoint. He said they’d beaten him and tried to force him to divulge information about the fobs, but he’d stood up to them and refused to tell them anything.”
“He was pretending to be such a hero,” Spider scoffed. “The noble martyr. It was enough to make you puke.”
Kane nodded. “And that was another thing that made us suspicious. Actually, it was Wheeler who nailed it. Thanks to you.”
I frowned puzzlement. “Me?”
“You made some comment to Wheeler. Something about the dramatic effect of a nosebleed.”
“Right,” I agreed. “Minor injury, major drama.”
“Exactly. It made Wheeler think. We had another look at Mercer’s hospital records. His only physical injury was a broken nose and two black eyes. It just didn’t feel right. Considering what they did to you in the short time they had you...”
Kane glanced at Spider’s haunted face and altered course. “Anyway, it was one more thing to make us suspicious. And that’s when Webb hit paydirt.”
“I went back over the records,” Spider explained. “And I noticed that same one-liner email repeated at random times. It was a signal. Any time Mercer needed to communicate with Fuzzy Bunny, he sent an email with an encoded date, time and meeting place. He had all his meetings in person. No phone records.”
“Smart,” I said slowly. “But why would he keep the old emails?”
“He didn’t.” Spider gave me a mischievous wink. “I have ways.”
“Remind me never to try to hide anything from you.”
“The problem was, I couldn’t identify his contact,” Spider said ruefully. “Different email address each time, and each time a dead end. I figured out the code for the meetings, and I could do a traceback on the email, but I couldn’t get solid proof that he was contacting anybody at Fuzzy Bunny.”
“So we lay low and kept tabs on him,” Kane said. “And sure enough, another encoded email went out yesterday afternoon. Spider cracked the code to identify the time and location for the meeting, and Germain and Wheeler got into position to secretly monitor it. We didn’t realize at the time that Mercer had captured you.”
“He said he was going to deliver me to his associates,” I said. “He said they wanted to find out who I was working for and where I’d hidden the hacked fob. He thought I was some kind of secret agent. I played dumb, but he didn’t believe me.”
“You’re probably lucky he didn’t,” Spider commented. “He likely would have killed you otherwise.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was hoping for.” I looked up to meet Spider’s horrified eyes. “Well, it was better than the alternative.”
He swallowed. “I guess…”
“But he knew who I was,” I told Kane. “His associates knew who I was. They know I’m alive. They’ll still be looking for me.”
“No, I’m quite sure you’re safe,” he countered. “Don’t forget, Mercer didn’t have any contact with Fuzzy Bunny between Wednesday evening and yesterday afternoon. Sandler told them you were dead. Fuzzy Bunny received the message from Mercer, but as usual, there were no details in the email, just the meeting time and place. And we picked up both Mercer and his contact. As far as Fuzzy Bunny knows, you’re still dead.”
I breathed a sigh and sat back in my chair. “Thank God. So Mercer was just acting of his own accord when he kidnapped me. That’s what he meant when he said he expected they’d reward him.”
“Yes. We think he’d decided to lie low at Sirius and maintain his cover. That would allow him continued access to the facilities, and he could have reproduced the hacked fob later.”
“That would be the smart thing to do,” I agreed. “He already had all the clearances. But I still don’t understand how he ended up in the hospital.”
Kane nodded. “We haven’t finished questioning him yet, but we think he was monitoring the network at the warehouse Wednesday night, in case you were forced to access it. He would have wanted to analyze the data record. We suspect when he heard gunfire and realized something had gone wrong, he decided to cover his ass. If he was tied to a chair and covered with blood, he could claim he was an innocent victim.”
“So he tied himself up? And punched his own nose?”
“We think so. It would be easy enough to do. Nylon ties are easy to tighten once they’re started. He could have secured both his legs and one wrist to the chair, and then just slipped his other wrist into a loose tie and tightened it by pulling on the end with his teeth.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “So he lay around at the hospital a couple of days to divert suspicion. And went back to work a hero.”
>
“Yes. But he must have seen you yesterday.”
“Yeah, I was all over town yesterday. I would have been easy to spot. He would have had lots of time to go and set up on my road. Thank God I was in Calgary…” Heat spread at the memory of what I’d been doing in Calgary and I went on quickly, “…or he’d have known I was alive earlier and told Fuzzy Bunny.”
“Yes. Wheeler and Germain contacted me as soon as they overheard him tell his contact he had you,” Kane said. “We had no idea where he might have taken you, and he wasn’t talking after they took him down.”
“How did you find me, then?”
“We tracked you through your cell phone. Luckily, Mercer made the mistake of leaving it in his garage. I didn’t actually expect you to be there, but I got over there as fast as I could, hoping I’d find a clue. That’s why I hit first and asked questions later.” He grimaced. “In the end, I did more harm than good.”
“No, you didn’t. I don’t know how much longer I’d have stayed on my feet. I’m glad you were there. So you have Mercer and his contact?”
“Yes, Germain and Wheeler are taking them to Calgary now.”
“So it’s over. That’s the last of the loose ends.”
“Yes.”
“Thank God.” I sagged back in my chair. “So does Fuzzy Bunny even know the key has been found?”
“We don’t think so. Sandler had been at the warehouse half of Wednesday night after I called him in. He was pretending to research the network. In fact he was locking it down, as we discovered too late. We found a call record from Sandler to his contact around four o’clock that morning. There was another call record just around noon Thursday. That must have been when he told them he’d killed you. With an ego like his, it must not have even occurred to him that he might fail.”
Kane leaned back, grinning. “He made the call from home, and he didn’t come in to work until just before he went to the warehouse for the last time. So he wouldn’t have had time to tell them. As far as they know, you’re dead, and the key has never been found.”
His gaze sharpened. “That’s what you meant last night. When you said you didn’t tell Mercer about the key.”
“Yes.”
Spider broke in. “But they must have suspected you had the key, or they wouldn’t have tried so hard to capture you.”
I shook my head. “No, Mercer said they thought I’d been working with Ramos and I had another hacked fob.”
“Good.” Kane rubbed his forehead tiredly. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if they got their hands on that key. Without your help, we never would have even known it existed. And if you hadn’t made it out of Sandler’s sim, he could have told us that accessing the network had killed you, and we would have believed him. Then he could have stolen the key at his leisure. Who knows when, if ever, we would have started to suspect anything.”
“So will you be able to nail Fuzzy Bunny this time?” I asked.
He nodded. “We’ll get a piece of them. They’re far too big and too smart to put all their eggs in one basket, but we did some serious damage. Almost a dozen of their people were killed outright, and we have more in custody.”
We sat in silence for a few seconds, each occupied with our own thoughts.
I sighed. “So I can go home. And go back to my normal life.”
“Yes.”
“You guys are the best,” I said inadequately. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“No need to thank us,” Spider said. “This is our job. We should be thanking you.”
Kane reached across the table. “Yes. Thank you.”
I took his hand and returned his gentle squeeze. “I’d say, ‘my pleasure’, but I’d be lying.”
Chapter 49
I let myself in the gate at the end of my lane and locked it behind me with a feeling of pulling up the castle drawbridge. The world outside could go fuck itself. I was home, and I intended to stay there for a while, working on my house and enjoying my freedom.
The day flew by while I absorbed myself installing the in-floor heating system and the first of the floor tiles for my bathroom. By the time I called a halt there was still time to bake some bread, and I relaxed and enjoyed the therapeutic yeasty smell while I kneaded. Around nine o’clock in the evening, I patted the smooth, hot loaves with satisfaction and inhaled the delicious fresh-baked aroma, basking in normalcy.
I was just turning away when a muffled thump from the front yard pumped terror through my veins. I dashed to the bathroom for my crowbar, my mind rocketing through the possibilities.
I’d locked the gate. Nobody should have been able to drive up. I was miles from town, so nobody should be arriving on foot.
As I crept toward the front door with the crowbar clenched in my fist, I cursed the fact that the interior lights were on. The blinds were closed, and I couldn’t peek out without being in full view of anyone outside.
The sound of the doorbell convulsed every muscle in my body, pain scoring my too-tight grip on the crowbar. I forced myself into analysis mode, trying to ignore the panicked thudding of my heart.
At least now I knew there was definitely somebody out there, and they weren’t making any attempt to sneak up on me. I took a deep, steadying breath, berating myself for not installing the fisheye lens that I’d left lying in its package on the table. I was definitely going to do that. Tonight. If I lived.
The doorbell rang again, followed by a knock. Pulling myself together, I moved closer to the door and called out, “Who’s there?”
“John Kane,” the deep voice replied.
I gasped relief, immediately tempered with suspicion. Anybody could call out a name. I clutched my crowbar, opening the door left-handed as I stood away from the path it would follow if somebody kicked it from outside.
The door swung open to reveal Kane himself, and I blew out a breath. He frowned, taking in my white-knuckled grip on the crowbar. “You need a fisheye lens in this door. I meant to mention it the last time I was here.”
I nodded vigorously, sheer relief making me babble. “Come on in. You’re right. I’ve got one already, right there on the table. I’m going to install it tonight.”
He came in, sniffing the air, and I locked the door behind him.
“It smells good in here.” He zeroed in on the loaves. “Is that fresh bread?”
Taking a deep breath, I pried my stiff fingers loose to set the crowbar down, and gave him what I hoped was a casual smile. “Want some? It never gets better than this.”
He glanced at his watch. “I’ve got time for fresh bread.”
I got out a plate and turned away to hide my shaking hands while I cut a couple of thick, warm slices. I set the plate on the table along with butter and a knife, and he dropped into a chair and wolfed down the bread.
“More?”
He nodded. “Please. I missed supper.”
“Don’t you ever eat regular meals or sleep regular hours?” I asked as I passed him the loaf and the knife.
He shrugged, slathering on the butter. “We’ve been busy tying up the last of the loose ends and writing reports. I’ve been pressed for time because I have to fly out tonight to deal with some critical business overseas. I’m glad you were here. I wanted to touch base with you before I left.”
I watched him warily. “I need to ask you something.”
He gestured at me to continue, swallowing a mouthful of bread.
“Is there any chance of legal repercussions for me as a result of all my various, um, adventures?”
He shook his head. “No. The only thing that was working against you was your possession of the key. I’m satisfied you were telling the truth about how you got it. Everything else… you’ll be considered to have been working as part of the team, under my orders. The only place that information will appear will be in my classified reports.”
I sank into a chair, surreptitiously letting the tension leak out of my shoulders. “Thank God. Thank you, too.
”
He leaned back, stretching out his legs and locking his hands behind his head. I stole an appreciative look at those bulging biceps again. Yum.
I realized he was speaking, and dragged my attention back to what he was saying.
“Because of you, we were able to uncover a potentially disastrous situation before it happened. Our government owes you, and I’ve put that in my report. I’m sorry it came at such a cost to you, though.”
I shrugged. “I’m just glad it’s resolved. And I’m glad none of the good guys got hurt. Much,” I added sheepishly. “Has everybody recovered from my kind attentions?”
He laughed as he rose. “No permanent harm done.” As I stood, too, he nodded at my scabbed knuckles. “Next time, aim for a softer target,” he advised, rubbing his chin.
I gave him a wry smile. “I was going for your throat. I just had lousy aim. Luckily.” I trailed him as he headed toward the door. “That pretty much sums up this whole episode. Luck.”
He hesitated and turned back to me. “Aydan…” He frowned. “The reason I came by… I… wanted to ask you something. Completely off the record. Just between the two of us.”
I glanced up at him. He’d taken me by surprise when he turned, and I was standing a little nearer than I would normally have chosen. That close, he was very tall and broad-shouldered, and I resisted the urge to step closer. Quite a bit closer.
Modulating my voice to casual interest, I replied, “Okay, shoot.”
He looked down at me, his grey eyes piercing. “Last night, when you were drugged, you said ‘They know about me’. And you were ready to lay down your life to protect classified information.”
I held up a hand to stop him. “No, I was ready to lay down my life because I’m a coward. I fear being tortured and maimed more than I fear death.”
“You’re no coward,” he said softly. “And I don’t believe in coincidences. I want to know. Aydan, are you an undercover agent?”
I met his eyes, trying to make him believe me. “John, I’m just a civilian. The whole thing was coincidence. Pure dumb luck.”
Never Say Spy (The Never Say Spy Series Book 1) Page 31
