The Sniper

by Kimberly Van Meter

  “Who?”

  “His body was identified by a man named Derek Nichols and before you ask, yes, I have a contact number for him,” Mina said. “Chances are the phone number is bogus but the man has to be buried somewhere legally and that requires a working contact name and number. The man was released to the Burns Mortuary downtown. You might find someone there who knows a bit more about our mysterious ‘Olaf.’”

  “Good work, Mina.”

  “Now we’re going to a mortuary? What is this, the Halloween tour? Maybe we could drop by a cemetery on our way to round out our day of creepy experiences,” Jaci said with a shudder.

  “Dead people aren’t creepy—they can’t hurt you. It’s the live ones I worry about. Some human beings are messed up folk. Trust me on that one,” Mina said. “Now get out of here before I’m seen talking to you and end up on my own slab.”

  “I owe you one, Mina,” Nathan promised as he and Jaci exited the room and headed for the stairwell.

  “Do we really need to go to a mortuary?” Jaci asked.

  “Unless you know someone who knows their way around computers and can hack into the mortuary’s business files, then yes, we need to make a trip to the mortuary.” At Jaci’s sudden reflective pause, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you know someone who can hack into computer files without being detected?”

  “Maybe,” she hedged, chewing her lip. “But you’re not going to like him.”

  “Him? Him who?”

  “My roommate, James. His nickname is Ghost because he can get in and out of any computer program or system without being seen. He’s a bit of an obnoxious hacker in his free time.”

  Nathan’s gaze narrowed. “What does he do for a living?”

  “He blogs.”

  “Blogs? That’s a job?”

  Jaci scowled. “Yes, it’s a job and a well-paying one if you know what you’re doing.” Nathan made a sound of disbelief and she said, “Listen, he might be our best bet at finding the information you’re looking for. You dragged me to a morgue to check out a lead, the least you can do is try and test out my source. I can ask Ghost to access their computer files and see what information they logged. It will save us the trip and besides, the mortuary wouldn’t volunteer that information without a warrant and it’s not as if you can actually legally procure that right now. So, backdoor channels are our only option.”

  “You’re right,” Nathan admitted though not happy about it. “But we’re not going to your apartment. He’ll have to log on somewhere other than his ISP. Does he have a laptop?” She nodded. “Good,” he said. “I’ll give you a burner phone to call him and set it up. We need to meet somewhere semiprivate yet public at the same time. Safety in numbers and obscurity.”

  “How about the public library? It’s huge but they have areas for private computer use. In fact, there’s one computer bay that’s a closed room for people who use Dragon for dictation and can’t have outside noise messing it up.”

  “That’ll work,” he said, impressed.

  “Good,” she said, rubbing her stomach and looking around. “In the meantime, we need to find some food. I’m starved.”

  Jaci and the dictates of her raging appetite. “There’s a taco truck around the corner. We’ll grab something there and then meet your roommate.”

  Jaci agreed and eagerly followed him. He forcibly shoved away the warm and comfortable feeling of being around Jaci. This was temporary and if anything, this recent situation had only reinforced his previous belief that being around him put Jaci in danger.

  A few blocks up he ducked into a Chinese restaurant and reemerged with a packaged phone, gesturing for Jaci to keep moving as he ripped the packaging open and powered it up.

  “I can understand kung pao chicken being on the menu but disposable phones?” she asked.

  “The Chinese restaurant is a front. Our operatives need to be able to get burner phones at odd hours. The restaurant enables us to get what we need when we need it with no questions asked.”

  “What kind of life do you live?” she asked, incredulous. “What else is on the menu?”

  “Anything. Guns, ammo, cash.”

  Her eyes bugged. “Cash?”

  “Not a lot of cash, just enough to get you around. And it has to be accounted for.”

  “You mean you have to provide receipts?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Huh. Crazy.”

  He acknowledged her observation with a brief grunt of agreement. He’d been doing this for so long he’d lost his amazement at how far removed daily operations were from civilian life. He didn’t tell her that he also received his assignments from that small Chinese restaurant storefront. The last job had left him questioning too many aspects of his life, which was a liability in his field. He’d actually talked to Tom about it and his friend and mentor had given him solid advice. “The minute you start questioning your objective, you put yourself and the department at risk.”

  Truer words. How many times had he parroted the same advice to rookies who found they couldn’t cut it out there in the field? It was one thing to want the supposed glory of being a sniper, quite another to actually have the stones to pull the trigger without second-guessing your actions.

  Jaci accepted the phone and quickly dialed her friend’s number. He listened as she carefully gave him instructions on where to meet them but danced around the reason, saying, “You know how you’re always looking for the next big challenge? Well, I think I’ve got one for you. Bring your laptop and all your toys. You’re going to need them for this job.”

  She hung up and handed the phone back. “He’s in, and his spidey senses are going nuts. He loves this kind of stuff. He’s a genius, and I don’t mean that figuratively—he’s been a member of Mensa since he was twelve. Computer tech stuff keeps his mental acuity sharp, he says.”

  “Whatever. We’ll see how good he is when he delivers.”

  “You’re such a grouch. He’s a good guy. Don’t be mean to him. He was there for me when you weren’t,” she said pointedly, which only served to make him want to punch the guy’s lights out. “So behave yourself,” she warned him.

  Nathan refrained from commenting further and instead pointed to the taco truck. “Lunch,” he said and Jaci actually emitted a squeak of happiness as she hurried toward the small truck without shame. At least he knew food could still make her smile.

  He allowed himself the small victory—it might be all he could get.

  Chapter 8

  Jaci and Nathan arrived at the library and found that James was already waiting for them in the room. The minute Jaci walked through the door, James jumped up and folded her in a tight hug, completely ignoring Nathan for the moment. “Geez, girl, you know how to scare a guy. What’s going on? Not that I’m not totally intrigued by the opportunity to dig around in other people’s playgrounds but something tells me this is big.”

  Jaci offered a tremulous smile and looked to Nathan. “James, this is Nathan. I don’t even know how to explain because I don’t understand myself but all I know is that some really dangerous people are after Nathan and me and it’s not right for me to ask for your help but I didn’t know who else to turn to.”

  James eyed Nathan with open disapproval, saying to Jaci, “The same Nathan who dumped you, broke your heart and left you homeless?”

  Nathan’s face colored and his jaw tightened but he allowed Jaci to take the lead. “Yeah, the very same. But we have bigger problems than my love life. Sonia is dead. She was killed right in front of me two nights ago and whoever sent someone to kill me is still out there and we need to figure out why.”

  “Why would anyone want to kill you? You’re a graphic designer, for crying out loud. It’s not like you build bombs for a living.” He looked to Nathan with open suspicion. “Something tells me this has
everything to do with you. Why does somebody want you dead?”

  “Your instincts are good.” Nathan’s mouth twisted in a cold smile. “But they’re not good enough to warn you that certain questions shouldn’t be asked. Can you do what we ask you to do or not?”

  James glowered, clearly not liking Nathan one bit. “Listen, bud, if you’re asking me to put my ass on the line you better tell me what I’m up against. I’m willing to help Jaci but I couldn’t care less about you. Do you have any idea what she went through when you left her? And now you come around tearing up her life again and you expect me to play nice? Ain’t gonna happen.”

  “James, please,” Jaci pleaded with her friend. “I really need your help. I’m not asking you and Nathan to be friends but you are my friend and I need your help so please, can you do this for us?”

  James and Nathan squared off like two dogs waiting for one another to strike but to her relief James backed off with a dark look sent Nathan’s way. “I’m doing this for you, not him.” She nodded. He unzipped his laptop and set it up. Within minutes he had a mobile network up and running. “What’s this place I’m hacking into?” he asked.

  “Burns Mortuary, downtown. Do you know the one?”

  James nodded. “My grandfather’s service was held there. Nice place. But not exactly big on security, if you know what I mean. Tapping into their system will be like taking candy from a baby.”

  “We’re looking for who took financial responsibility for Olaf Girgich. We need a name and a number.” Nathan leaned forward, watching James do his work. “And you need to do it in a way that no one can trace you.”

  James graced Nathan with a sardonic look. “They don’t call me Ghost for nothing. Stand back and watch a master do his work.”

  Sadly, it didn’t take long for James to hack into the mortuary’s mainframe. “It scares me how easily you gain access to private material,” Jaci admitted softly sharing a look with Nathan. “You make me want to bury my money in a jar in the backyard.”

  James chuckled. “Not a bad idea. But I don’t hack into the banks. Too big of a target.” He scanned the information scrolling on the screen, then leaned back with a satisfied smile. “Got it. Your dead guy was cremated with no services and the cremation was paid for by credit card. Don’t people realize that a credit card is the easiest way to track someone’s whole life? If you have to pay for something, pay with cash.”

  “Who paid for his services?” Jaci asked.

  “Hayes Logistics Inc.”

  Nathan looked stunned. “Are you sure?” he asked.

  “Who is Hayes Logistics?”

  “That’s a business cover for our department, named after Walter Hayes, our very first director in the U.S. Department of Informational Development, or ID, for short.”

  “I’ve never heard of that branch of the government,” James said with suspicion. “It sounds made-up.”

  “And you never will. Part of what makes our department exceptional is the plausible deniability. We get in, we get the job done and we are out. We leave no trace behind.”

  “Sounds like a good way to get killed and have no one be the wiser,” Jaci grumbled and James agreed. She looked at Nathan. “So what now? You already knew that someone in your organization was trying to kill you and me. What does this mean? That they used the company credit card?”

  “There are only a few people authorized to use the card and they’re all top-level officials.”

  “Great. So you’re saying that not only are we being hunted but we’re being hunted by people who are considered untouchable?” Jaci felt ready to throw up. “And here I thought things couldn’t get any worse.”

  “In my experience, things can always get worse. But yeah, that’s about the right of it.” The crease in Nathan’s forehead gave away his concern, which only made Jaci feel worse. Nathan looked to James. “Just how good are your skills?” he asked, challenging him.

  James looked affronted. “Better than most. Why?”

  “Because if you’re as good as you say you are, I have another job for you. It doesn’t come without risk. ID has far more security than Burns Mortuary does.”

  “Are you asking me to break into a government mainframe, possibly putting my life at risk and breaking several known laws that if caught, could land me in federal prison for the rest of my life?”

  Jaci shook her head. “No—”

  But Nathan overrode her, answering with a firm “Yes.”

  James held Nathan’s stare for a long moment, but Jaci could tell James was tempted. He could never walk away from a challenge like that; at his heart he was a devious little hacker who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put his skills to the test. “Don’t do this, James. You’ve helped us enough. We’ll find another way.” She looked to Nathan for backup. “You know how dangerous this is. Don’t let him take the risk.”

  “He’s a grown man. He can make his own choices. No one is twisting his arm to help us. Are you in?” Nathan was being ruthless.

  “I’m in but I can’t do it here. I can’t get a secure enough line in a public library. Give me a day or two to set it up and we’ll meet again at a designated time and place.”

  “James, this isn’t a game. The people after us are killers. I don’t want to watch another one of my friends die.” Jaci was near tears. “I never should’ve called you. I’m so sorry.”

  James’s mouth tilted in one of his signature grins that never failed to melt the geeky ladies who fluttered around him. “You always were a worrier,” he teased. “No need to stress. No one can catch me. I’m a ghost, remember?”

  If Jaci hadn’t been ready to lose her lunch right there on the tiled floor of the library she might’ve laughed at James’s chutzpah but as it was she was too stressed to find the humor. She glared at Nathan. “If anything happens to my friend, I swear I will never forgive you.”

  “I never really thought your forgiveness was ever on the table.”

  Jaci stared, unable to believe how that one single statement could cause tears to spring to her eyes. She hated to think she could be so easily manipulated but the truth was, her heart leapt at the open regret in Nathan’s voice. A needy piece of herself craved the knowledge that Nathan wasn’t as stonyhearted as he’d appeared the day he’d tossed her aside and that side was clearly winning over the other side that couldn’t care less if Nathan was hurting over what he’d done. Was it even possible that Nathan felt sorry for the pain he’d caused her? She couldn’t go down that road—not right now. All that mattered was that no more of her friends died. Well, she didn’t want to die, either. No more dying. For anyone. “How will James contact us?” she asked, trying to stay on topic. “You destroyed my phone, remember?”

  “Call this number.” Nathan scribbled the burner number on a scrap of paper and put it in James’s hand. “Only call when you’re ready.”

  James accepted the scrap of paper and tucked it into his pocket. “Yeah, like I’d call you to chat.”

  Nathan ignored that and directed Jaci out of the room. They left, not so quickly that they would attract notice but to Jaci it felt as if they were running like guilty fugitives.

  They were in the truck and heading back up the mountain as quickly as possible. The two-and-a-half-hour drive back to the cabin along a terribly maintained road kept Jaci’s thoughts from straying too far into painful territory. But as they walked into the cabin, each silent and engrossed in their own thoughts, Jaci couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head. She’d have given anything at that moment to know if what she’d seen was real or if she’d simply been imagining that somewhere deep down Nathan still cared.

  “Did you ever love me?”

  Nathan stopped, her question shocking him. He stared a long moment, burning a hole in her soul. She trembled and held that intense gaze without backing down. �
��Did you ever love me?” she repeated. “I need to know.”

  The moment stretched painfully long between them and Jaci thought she might suffer from a heart attack before he answered.

  “Don’t do this,” Nathan warned quietly. “It’s not going to do either one of us any good to answer that question.”

  “Why?”

  “It just won’t. Whether I loved you or not doesn’t change the facts. And that’s all that matters.”

  “It matters to me.”

  Nathan shook his head. “Let it go, Jaci.”

  * * *

  Nathan couldn’t get out the room fast enough. Did you ever love me? With every fiber in his being, with every breath in his body. Didn’t she realize that’s why he would do anything to protect her? If it were in his power he’d take her so far away from anything that might ever harm her that she’d practically have to live on another planet. That was the irrational side of him, the part that reacted without thought but with pure emotion. In a perfect world he wanted the privilege of sleeping beside her every night, and tickling her until she squealed, and taking her to dinner to watch her order something on the menu only to decide she didn’t like it and then pick at his food instead. And when he said it was a privilege, he wasn’t exaggerating. Anyone who had the opportunity to be with Jaci should consider it an honor to spend time with her. But it wasn’t as if he could admit that as though he was some lovesick teenager. If he were to come out and confess to all of those things then she would ask why he left or why he broke her heart in such a terrible way. And then he’d have to share every little detail of what he’d done in his job, every dirty secret he’d ever kept for ID. And he didn’t think he could do that. He didn’t want to see the light die in her eyes when she truly processed that he was a killer. Frankly, it was her influence that had made him realize his job wasn’t something to be proud of.

  Being with Jaci had been like having a light shining on all the dark and musty places in his soul, chasing away the shadows that had lived quite comfortably in all the nooks and crannies.