by Robin Mahle
“Then it’s settled.” He began to rise. “Thanks for the coffee. I should probably head back.”
“Already?” She looked outside. “Looks like it’s starting to snow. Why don’t you stay? I have the guest room all set up. We can watch some cheesy movie on TV. Come on. It’ll be fun. We could use the downtime.”
Aaron regarded her with surprise and not a little trepidation. “Well, sure, I guess so.”
“Good. I wouldn’t mind the company, you know? Unless you’ve got work or something.”
“No. No. I’d love to hang out. Watch some crappy TV. Hey, you got any beer?”
“Do I have beer?” She pulled open the fridge and gestured toward the plentiful stock. “Of course I do.” She grabbed a bottle of beer and a Diet Coke for herself and headed back into the living room.
Aaron followed her to the sofa, where they both took a seat. He watched her flip through the channels in search of something on. He couldn’t have cared less what it was. He was just happy to be with her and that she wanted him around.
“Oh, I haven’t seen this in forever.” She turned to him. “This came out when we were back at school, remember?”
He viewed the television for a moment and couldn’t place the movie. He had no idea what it was, but Lacy knew. “Oh yeah, sure. I remember this.” He closed his eyes just for a moment, reveling in her touch as she rested her head against his shoulder.
“Hey now. You’d better not fall asleep. This just started.” She nudged him.
“I’m not falling asleep.” He took a drink and kicked off his shoes, placing his feet on the coffee table.
She looked at him for a moment and soon followed. “Perfect. Thanks for this. It’s nice having a friend around.”
“Yes—it is.”
With the rise of the morning sun, Lacy was already in the kitchen making sack lunches for the kids. She was just about to shout at them to hurry when they both trotted down the stairs. “There you two are. I was just about to come looking for you. You both brush your teeth?”
“Yes, Mom,” Olivia replied.
Jackson only nodded.
“I’ve asked Celeste to take you guys to school, okay? I have to go straight to work this morning and Uncle Aaron is asleep in the guest room, so I need to make sure he gets up too.”
“Uncle Aaron’s here?” Jackson asked.
“He is, but he’s still...” Before she could finish the sentence, Aaron appeared.
“I’m awake. Kind of hard to sleep in this house with you two trouncing around upstairs like a herd of elephants.”
They both ran to him.
“Uncle Aaron!” Olivia called out before jumping into his open arms. “You said you would teach me how to break into computers and stuff, remember? When are you going to do that, huh?”
Aaron glanced at Lacy, who appeared miffed, as evidenced by her folded arms. “I’m not going to teach her how to break into computers.”
“You’re not?” Olivia’s brow furrowed. “But you promised.”
“Ixnay on the omputercay,” he whispered.
“Huh?”
“Never mind.” Aaron stood and cleared his throat. “Any coffee left?”
Lacy still wore a stern expression but poured him a cup. “Here you go. We’ll talk about this later.”
“Thanks.” With a sheepish grin, Aaron sipped on the coffee.
“Okay, who’s ready for school?” Celeste clapped her hands as she entered the kitchen. “Hello, Aaron. Good to see you.”
“Good morning. You too, Celeste.”
“And how did you sleep?”
“Very well, thank you.”
“Right, then. Let’s get out of here, kiddos. Don’t want to be late.”
“Thanks, Celeste. I shouldn’t be late tonight.”
“Just let me know if things change. Say goodbye to your mom, guys, and hop in the car. We need to skedaddle.”
Lacy waited until they left through the kitchen door to the garage. “Okay, then. I’d better get dressed. You know where the towels are? Be ready in twenty.”
“Sounds good.”
Lacy made her way upstairs and into her bedroom. Last night had been a pleasant reprieve, one she knew couldn’t happen again. Not unless she made sure Aaron knew where she stood. She’d seen it in his eyes last night. The way he looked at her. The way he placed his arm around her as they sat on the couch.
She held a towel against her face and stepped out of the shower, and on closing her eyes for a moment, felt Jay’s touch on her damp skin. “I miss you so much.” But the moment faded and Lacy again opened her eyes. She was alone.
“Bout time you showed up.” Aaron swiveled in his chair. “Been here for ten minutes already.”
“You have not.” Lacy approached. “No way did you beat me by ten minutes. Although you were driving like a bat out of hell.”
“Says you. Anyway, should we lay out a plan?”
Lacy set her things down on her desk and walked back toward him. “Like we talked about last night, I’ll stop by Bruce Quintero’s house and if you want to have a look around SynDyn, then I’ll leave that up to you. But be careful. Don’t get caught.”
“Please. What do you take me for? An amateur?”
“Just—be careful.”
“I will. You do the same.” Aaron pulled his coat off the back of his chair.
“You’re leaving now?”
“Why not? The sooner I get there, the sooner I can get back and get down to business.”
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll head out too, then.”
The day was clear upon Lacy’s return to Bruce Quintero’s home. She assumed he would not be as happy to see her as he was on her first visit. She approached the steps of his townhome and rang the bell. Several moments passed and she wondered if he wasn’t home or he was and didn’t want to answer. She tried again. This time, footfalls sounded on the other side of the door and it opened.
“Lacy? Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Hi, Bruce. I’m sorry to bother you again. It’s just me this time. Could I—could I come in?”
He peered beyond her, checking the sidewalk and streets.
“It’s just me, Bruce.”
“Yeah, okay.” He opened the door farther. “Come on in.”
“Thanks.” Lacy took off her coat and folded it over her arm.
“Why are you here?” He headed into the living room. “Weren’t you able to reach out to SynDyn and get the answers you needed? Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” She waited for him to sit down. “I have a friend who’s checking things out over there, actually. I just had a couple things, you know, just to clear my head of these ideas that Jay might’ve been involved with SynDyn.”
“Lacy, like I said, he didn’t have anything to do with them. We didn’t hang out much, Jay and me. The occasional golf game, but that was really about it.”
“Yeah. Of course. So, do you know the kind of work SynDyn did?”
“Sure. Government IT work. Didn’t I mention that before?”
“Right. I think you did. Yeah. So was it for military? Or State or something like that?”
“You know, I can’t remember, actually. It was a few years ago. And I was just the account manager and made sure Argus was doing what it was supposed to do. I really didn’t get involved in SynDyn apart from that.”
Lacy noticed his hands again. He was nervous. “Bruce, do you think Matthew Greiner maybe wasn’t working in SynDyn’s best interest?”
“Matthew Greiner? What do you mean? He got them the government contracts. Seems like he did them a huge favor. I got to tell you, Lacy, I’m not sure what you want from me. I haven’t dealt with Greiner in what, like three years? I don’t know anything other than what I’ve already told you. Is there a question you wanted to ask? Because forgive me, but I don’t want to sit here and keep guessing what it is you’re looking for.”
“Okay. I’ll be honest with you. It appears as though Matthew Greiner has committe
d fraud. And it looks to have happened around the time he worked for SynDyn.”
“Fraud? You’re a data analyst. Why would you be working on a fraud investigation?”
“Because I do more than just that, Bruce. I can’t tell you anything beyond that. So I just need you to trust me. Last time I was here, you seemed a little anxious when I mentioned SynDyn. Why was that?”
Bruce’s eyes darted back and forth. “Look, I don’t want to get into any trouble.”
“You won’t, okay? I’m not here to make problems for you.”
“These guys—SynDyn—they ran things differently. Matthew Greiner, my contact, well, I knew something was off when I signed him.”
“How? What was off?”
“I mean, like you know, a background check. Argus runs background checks on anything relating to government work. They were contracted with the Pentagon. And from what I understood, a contract was pending with the State Department too.”
The hair on Lacy’s neck stood on end.
“I don’t know for what. It required clearance. But anyway, because it was government work, we have to know who we’re dealing with, you know? To protect Argus. We had to make sure we weren’t dealing with spies or something like that. I know that sounds crazy, but…”
“It doesn’t. I remember the policy on security clearance work.”
“Okay. So then I put in the request for a background check. Next thing I know, Greiner’s threatening me.”
“What?”
“He threatened me. Said I needed to sign off on the deal, forget about the background check, and just do it.”
“Did you tell Scott?”
“I needed the commission, Lacy. I—I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid. I just figured, you know, it’s just a job. Not worth getting hurt.”
“No. Of course not. So you signed off. Did you happen to see a background check on him?”
“No. I cancelled it. No one ever ran it. He said he would know if we did. And he would at the very least get me fired. I didn’t want to know what else he might do.”
“I understand.”
“All I can think is that this guy was maybe getting kickbacks from someone in government? I don’t know. I really don’t.”
“It’s okay. This is enough.”
“Are you going to have him arrested?”
“I won’t. No. That’s not what I do. And I won’t bring you into this. I promise you. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you. Thank you, Lacy. But just know, Jay was a good man. A good person to work with. He did nothing wrong, from what I know.”
“Welcome to Synergy Dynamics. How may I help you?” A bright-eyed young woman smiled as Aaron approached.
“Hi. I was hoping I could submit my resume?” Aaron had a quality about him. He was a computer guy, no doubt, but there was something in his eyes—sincerity. Genuine sincerity. Women picked up on that. And when they did, he usually got his way.
“What position were you looking for, sir?”
“Programmer.” It was a shot in the dark, but he figured everyone needed a good programmer, even if he had no real idea what this company did.
“Okay. Sure. I’ll take it for you.”
“You know.” He leaned over the desk just a little, the sparkle in his eyes gleaming. “I don’t suppose there’s anyone here I could maybe talk to about the position? Just a few quick questions to see if I might be a good fit?”
“Well, that would be like an interview, right? I think they’d want to call and schedule something like that with you.”
“Sure. Sure. Well, you know, this would be more like an introduction. If at all possible, I’d love to hand over my resume to the person doing the hiring. Just so I could lend a face to the name.”
“I’ll have to check. You can have a seat over there and I’ll make the call.”
“I don’t mean to be a pain, but do you have a restroom I could use while I wait?”
“Of course. And you’re not being a pain. It’s down the hall and to the right.”
“You’re too kind. Thank you so much. I’ll be right back.” Aaron walked along the corridor and spotted the bathroom, but that wasn’t where he wanted to go. Earlier, he rushed to the office ahead of Lacy for a reason. And that was to get the schematics for the SynDyn building. Child’s play. He knew exactly where the servers were kept but knew they’d be under lock and key. That didn’t matter, though. All he needed was to see them. The servers, for him, were as distinguishable as an Android and an iPhone. Determining the type was all he needed. And now, he also knew the type of software they used. The kind receptionist was very helpful with that information. Her monitor displayed a screensaver. And when he leaned over, he got a good look at the copyright information and webmaster beneath the SynDyn logo. He could work with that.
But for now, he had to get upstairs. He stepped onto a waiting elevator and pressed the third floor button. No security key necessary for that floor, luckily. That would’ve meant the end of this little adventure. Unless by chance he did garner a meeting with an IT director, which was highly doubtful.
Upon reaching the floor, he walked down the hall, passing by staff who seemed to care little whether he belonged there. The server room was just ahead and, as expected, it required a keypad entry code. No matter. The windows, which were partially obscured, still offered enough for him to capture on video.
The hall was clear for the moment. It was now or never. Aaron retrieved his cell phone and aimed it at the window, videotaping as much as he could of the room. The number of servers, the size and shape. It was all he needed.
In the lobby, he returned to the front desk. “Sorry I took so long. Guess I was a little nervous.”
The receptionist crinkled her nose. “Mr. Yi is busy, I’m afraid, and doesn’t have time to meet. He did ask that you leave your resume with me.”
“Perfect. Thank you for checking. I do appreciate it. Have a good day.”
Lacy returned ahead of Aaron and heard him enter through the back of the building. “Finally. I’ve been dying to tell you what happened.”
“Same here.” He dropped his carrier bag on his desk. “You first.”
“Bruce was threatened by Matthew Greiner over Argus’ standard background check. SynDyn also had a contract pending with the State Department.”
His mouth agape, Aaron replied, “No.”
“Yes. I don’t know if there’s anything there on that front, but I do know now that Greiner is not who he says he is.” She filled him in on the rest of the story, waiting for a response. “So?”
“Wasn’t as much as I’d hoped for, but better than nothing.”
“What do you mean? We know this person is hiding something. And that would explain why we haven’t been able to find anything on him prior to 2010. He’s connected with State and possibly others. I think this is a big find. And I’ll tell you, Bruce came across other subs signed on with them to do work. I’ve got a list of companies. We might find a front right here.”
“That’s what we need. Right there. That list. You did good, Lacy.”
“I’m glad my work meets with your approval.”
“That’s not what I meant. I just wasn’t sure if Bruce had anything, that’s all. But he did. And it’ll prove useful.”
“So tell me about your morning?”
He pulled his cell phone from his pants pocket and plugged it into his laptop. “I got video of their server room. It was secured, so no way in.”
“How on earth?”
“I’m good. What can I say?” He clicked on the video. “It could be clearer, but I think I can work with this. And, I know what software they use. At least some of it. And that’ll be all I’ll need.”
“You really think you can get in with this?”
“Uh—yeah.”
“Okay. You get in and we’ll start with this list of companies. I’ll bet you we’ll find Greiner on one of them.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Chapter 10
Red, the symbol for good luck, already featured prominently in the streets of Beijing as the Chinese New Year approached. Banners advertising the impending celebrations fluttered in the breeze as Axell travelled through the city. The rare clear day was likely a result of the winds casting away the smog over the mountain range.
His first stop was to be the US embassy to see an old friend. Located in the Chaoyang district, and near his hotel, Axell made his way inside the compound. “Afternoon. I’m here to see Hank Abrams. Trevor Axell. Langley.” He displayed his CIA credentials. “He’s expecting me.”
“I’ll let him know you’re here, Mr. Axell. Please have a seat.”
Axell stepped away but didn’t sit down, knowing it would only be for a moment. Abrams was nothing if not punctual.
“Agent Axell, good to see you again.”
“Hank, now come on. You know I don’t do any of that field-ops stuff anymore. It’s just Trevor now.” He shook Abrams’ hand.
“Sure. Follow me. We’ll talk in my office.” He started toward the rear of the building. “They keep us USAID folks tucked away in the back. Hope you don’t mind.”
“Ah, the red-headed stepchildren.” Axell laughed. “Been there, my friend.”
“Right through here.” Abrams held the door. “Have a seat. I’m sure you must be tired after your flight.”
“I’ve been sitting down for hours, although I did have a nice walk through the city streets. When do the New Year celebrations start? I noticed quite a few banners.”
“Mid-February. They all close up shop for about a week and the party goes on. It’s an incredible sight. Sorry you’ll miss it. Unless you plan on staying that long?”
“Oh no. I’m afraid this is an abbreviated visit.” Axell sat down.
“Well then, let’s hear it. What’s going on? Must be important for you to come all the way here. Who authorized the trip?”
“Director Handley.”
“I see.”
“Yeah.” Axell adjusted his shirt, brushing the sleeves to smooth them over. “Listen, I was hoping you could help me get some information.”
