“I don’t have to say anything,” Carr snapped. “I still want my lawyer.”
Logan shrugged.
“You can have it your way. If you don’t give out any intel, then there’s no reason for us to keep you. I heard you may end up in Guantanamo for interrogation there. If you cooperate with us, then we’ll put in a recommendation for you to remain stateside.”
Carr sat there for a moment as if pondering what he should do. He knew that he was in a sticky spot. Cooperating with Gray Tower would certainly be his best option.
Finally, Carr said softly, “If I give you information, they’ll come after me. Hell, they already did. I should be dead right now.”
“And it was Gray Tower who rescued you. Don’t forget that. You owe us, so give me something here.”
Carr shook his head and let out a heavy sigh.
“I guess I’m living on borrowed time,” he said. “I’ll tell you everything. I just want to let Miles know that I am truly sorry. I never meant it to happen this way, and I deserve whatever punishment is necessary. Just take out those bastards.”
Jack could feel Bryant tense next to him. He watched as his boss grabbed for Candice’s hand. She glanced at him and nodded. Jack knew that they were going to get answers today. They might not like the answers that they got, but at least it would be something.
Logan nodded and said, “Good. I’m glad we can work together and not against each other.”
“Sure. Sure,” Carr said quickly. “Just one thing though?”
“What?”
“Can I please get the hell to a bathroom before I piss my pants?”
Jack had to laugh as Logan rolled his eyes and pointed at one of the guards to take him to a damned restroom. This was about to get good.
Chapter 26
Miles watched eagerly as Orson Carr was led back into the interview room and sat back down, this time without restraints. The restroom break had improved his mood quite a bit, and there even was a glass of water on the table for him. If he cooperated, he would have a much nicer time with Gray Tower, and he certainly would fair much better with the Department of Homeland Security if he was willing to give them everything he knew on the Conglomerate.
When Orson sat back down, Logan continued the interview. What he heard made his blood run hot.
Eleven years ago, the Conglomerate had approached Orson about the prototype armor. They had wanted it for their organization, and it made sense. Having a small group of soldiers go into a place, finish the mission, and get out unscathed had been Miles’s goal when he designed the armor. The Conglomerate had wanted to do the same—with their own modifications, of course.
Just knowing this changed a lot as they now knew for sure that the Conglomerate’s dealings had been going back over a decade and most likely much longer. Miles wondered how big this organization had gotten if they were at it for this long. How much had they gotten their claws into? It was a disturbing question, and Miles wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer.
Orson had said that he couldn’t resist the Conglomerate offer. They had offered him a ton of money—enough to buy that ridiculous island and boast Cypherus’s revenue tenfold. Apparently, the company hadn’t been doing as well as Miles had thought at the time, and Orson was looking for anything to keep things afloat.
Anything.
That right there pissed Miles off the most. How could someone be so greedy to sell out like that? Or, if he gave Orson the benefit of the doubt, the man was naïve as hell and didn’t know any better.
Miles wasn’t quite sure how Candice was taking all of this, but he had to give her credit that she was calm and collected. Hell, in times like this, she was his rock. He felt so much better when she was around, more at ease and more confident. She was his other half, his better half, and he didn’t want her to disappear after this. He wanted her to stay.
After the Conglomerate had given Orson a ton of money for the computer code and the physical design of the prototype, Orson knew that Miles wouldn’t go along with the plan. Nothing like selling military-grade equipment to a shadow organization to really make you feel good about yourself.
Then, there was the dilemma: What to do about the design of the armor that Miles owned? Orson technically only owned the code. Plus, the Conglomerate didn’t like the idea of the armor being in other places if Orson cut ties with Miles and kept the designs. Miles would have easily found multiple other companies who would have worked on the project.
It was a sticky situation for Orson as he had already excepted the money, partially to keep his company afloat and also because he had just blown a whole bunch of it on the purchase of Faraway Cay. He had to do something to get Miles to sell his armor or quit the project all together, though he had no idea what to do. The Conglomerate stepped in and told Orson that everything was taken care of.
Then, Orson swore up and down in the interview that he had no idea what was going to happen next. He looked worried, pale even as he spoke about it.
Meanwhile, what he said made Miles want to run in the interview room and strangle the man to death.
No, that was too nice of a death, Miles thought. Maybe he would torture him first the way Miles’s family had been tortured by Jasmine’s death. That was what the man deserved. Miles didn’t care that Orson had no clue what was going to happen. He wanted to kill him.
Jasmine deserved vengeance.
Orson talked about how the Conglomerate had needed a way to get Miles to stop the armor all together. They wanted exclusivity, otherwise the effectiveness of the armor would be diminished. Since Miles wouldn’t sell because of a good offer or stop the project, the Conglomerate decided to do something drastic.
They had planted a bomb on the plane that Miles was supposed to be on, all because of a damned piece of equipment. If he was eliminated, then the Conglomerate would have an easier time either by buying the company or the prototype plans.
Except it hadn’t been Miles on the plane.
It had been Jasmine.
The only reason why the Conglomerate had stopped with her was because Miles had spiraled into such a depression that he had ended up selling his company. What he had been surprised to know is that the Conglomerate had ended up buying up his old company through a bunch of shell corporations.
After the Conglomerate had gotten their hands on the armor, the problem had been dealt with, and they left Miles alone.
When Orson was finished with that spiel, he looked at Logan intensely and said, “I just want you to know that I swear I had no idea that any of this would happen. I’m so sorry, Miles. I know you’re watching right now. I just needed you to know that.”
Miles cringed.
He understood that Orson most likely meant it. However, Miles doubted that he’d ever be able to forgive the man.
Candice looked pissed as well, but she held out her hand. He took it, welcoming the comfort it brought. Miles wasn’t sure how he would have been able to handle this news without her.
“I get what happened eleven years ago,” Logan told him, glancing back at the two-way mirror. “What I don’t get is why you continued to be associated with them, or did they just come after you for no reason eleven years later?”
Orson squirmed a bit in his chair.
“I learned the hard way that once you involve yourself with the Conglomerate, you’re in forever. At first, I just helped get the armor online. Afterward, they became more and more demanding. That’s why I ended up calling Gray Tower for security. They were beginning to scare me.”
Logan nodded.
“What did they have you do?”
“At first, it was just help them with the armor. They wanted some modifications to the design and code that managed everything.”
“What was the modification? Logan pressed.
Orson fidgeted in his seat some more.
“This was not my idea, just so you know. The Conglomerate was…picking up drug addicts off the streets and giving them training. They wanted s
oldiers who had a decent drug tolerance. They then put them in the armor with an attached patch of some sort of drug concoction that would give them mental focus and all of that.”
“What the fucking shit!” Logan exclaimed. “You’ve got to be fucking shitting me!”
He slammed a fist down on the table, the sound echoing throughout the room.
“My brother was one of those drug addicts they pulled off the street,” he snarled.
Miles watched as Jack quietly got up from his seat and walked out the door. He knew where he was going, and at this point, it was probably a good idea to have someone calm Logan down before it got ugly.
✽ ✽ ✽
Jack strolled into the interrogation room, cautious of not getting in the middle of the mini-tantrum that Logan was throwing. Not that Jack didn’t understand. He could now see why Nathan had been recruited, though he had to admit that the guy took to mercenary work like a fly to honey.
He also knew how pissed Logan was right now. Hell, if Jack had had a brother, he’d be livid too. The Conglomerate had preyed on some of the most desperate of them all—the addict. He knew all too well how that felt. Besides, had he really been that different from Nathan?
Jack had jumped at the chance to do something more and got his act cleaned up. He had the luxury of having a guy like Miles Bryant to steer him clear of that life. Nathan hadn’t been that lucky.
“Logan,” Jack said firmly. “Enough.”
His best friend turned to him, pure rage on his face.
“You heard what the fuck they did to Nathan!”
“I know, my friend, but there isn’t anything we can do about it right now. Carr will get what’s coming to him, and we’ll get Nathan back. I promise.”
It was a promise Jack intended to keep.
Jack watched as the anger dwindled from Logan’s expression.
“Sure, okay,” he finally said, turning his attention back to Carr. “Well, how did they…”
He trailed off and looked at Jack.
“Do you want me to continue this session?” Jack asked, picking up on his best friend’s cues.
“Yeah,” Logan said heavily. “I could use a break.”
Jack did a friendly slap on Logan’s back with his good hand, wincing a bit since his shoulder still hurt like a motherfucker.
“I got this, brother. Give yourself a rest.”
Logan nodded and left; Jack turned his attention back to Carr.
“So, after you fucked up a whole bunch of people’s lives working on this super soldier bullshit, what then?”
He wasn’t going to beat around to the punch.
“I thought they would leave me alone. I mean, I thought it was just business.”
Jack snorted and shook his head.
“But they kept contacting me for all sorts of things,” Carr continued. Mostly, they wanted back-door access into our software products. Occasionally, we’d do a full piece of software for them.”
“I want a list of every single product you modified or made for them?”
“Sure. Sure.”
“Then what?”
“The demands got worse and worse until I finally decided to beef up security on my island.”
“And you decided to contact the guy you screwed over? I mean, you are kind of responsible for killing his daughter.”
“I just knew Gray Tower would be the best, and it looks like you really are, Jack.”
“Thanks. I’ll let HR know. Oh, and by the way, you’re responsible for every guest and employee that got killed on that damned island.”
Carr’s face paled noticeably.
“I…I never thought of it that way,” he said softly.
“Yeah, it looks like you don’t think about anything but yourself. You just get what you want and screw everyone else, right?”
“No! That’s not the way it was supposed to be.”
“Look, all I know is that there’s a trail of bodies following behind you, Carr. You might want to start really thinking about the consequences of your actions.
“Oh, and one last thing. You almost got the person who I care about the most killed. You’re a lucky bastard that not a hair on her head was harmed, or I would have personally gutted you like a damned fish.”
It felt fucking good saying that, and the reaction on Carr’s face was priceless.
The door opened of the interrogation room opened and Jade Larsen slipped in. Her blonde hair was in a braid that felt to one side of her head. Jack had to admit that she was beautifully exotic in every way, but he could care less. He just wanted to see Kat at this point.
“Can I take over for a bit?” She asked. “I have some procedural questions to go over as well as some questions I have about the data dump analysis. Some things don’t quite add up, and I’d like to hear from the source about it.”
“Sure,” Jack said, leaving the room and turning to go back in the observation room.
He froze when he saw Kat standing out in the hallway. She looked fucking beautiful standing there.
Was she taking a break? What was wrong?
“Hey,” he said softly. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
She smiled and said, “Yeah, I’m okay. I just heard what you had said in there.”
“What part?”
“The part about the person you care about the most.”
“Oh, you heard that, huh?”
“Yeah, I did.”
He stepped toward her and grabbed her arm with his good hand.
“What are you going to do about it?” He asked, his voice low.
“I was going to let you kiss me,” she murmured.
Jack was about to lean in to kiss her when the security alert on his smart watch went off. He didn’t even have to look to know where the issue was at. Two security associates were running into the interrogation room at that very moment.
“Shit, what now?” Jack asked, turning to run back in the room.
Chapter 27
Jade Larsen stood across from Orson Carr and took a few deep breaths. She had changed from this morning to a more professional suit, instead of the jeans and a sweater she had on before while up half the night worrying. She also had a large binder with her that contained paperwork from the data dump. However, the papers were concealing the syringe from the Conglomerate.
She was nervous. Just because she had been a CIA analyst didn’t mean that she was actually out in the field. She did all her work at a desk for the most part. Jade wasn’t some badass like the movies showed. She was just some nerd who liked to look for patterns and did a pretty good job of it too. The idea of killing someone scared the shit out of her.
Yet, there wasn’t much that she could do. Jade hated that this had to happen, but she didn’t have a choice. She just had to suck it up and keep it moving or her family would be killed.
Putting on her game face, she heaved a heavy sigh and prepared to begin the interview.
It was showtime.
She began the interview with some preliminary questions for Carr, which he answered simply. Jade had watched Logan and Jack work him over, and he was now complying with everyone.
For her, his interview had cemented his fate.
As much as Jade knew that he should face a trial, Jack was completely right when he mentioned the “trail of bodies” following Carr. The man had screwed over people wherever he went without much disregard for their well-being. Whether it was intentional or not did not matter to Jade. Carr’s reign of destruction was going to end right now. She was going to be the one to do it.
She walked over to the table and set her binder down on the desk, watching Carr closely. Taking a few breaths, she tried to steady her nerves as she prepared herself to grab the syringe. She felt her hands shaking a bit as she continued to ask questions.
I wonder if they’re on to me, Jade thought worriedly. I probably look scared as hell right now.
Finally, she slowly moved around the table in a circle a few times, trying to ac
t like she was trying to intimidate him by pacing. In reality, the whole ordeal that she was about to go through was scarier for her. She was sure of it.
Jaded stopped her circling on Carr’s side of the table. She stood beside him at a distance where it would only take a quick grab to get to the syringe. The binder was easily within her reach.
As much as she wanted to prolong this, it was time. This just had to happen, regardless of how she felt. Her life was about to be over, but she was gifting life to her family. That was noble, wasn’t it?
She still felt like a horrible person, though.
Jade lunged for the binder and grabbed the syringe out of it. Once she brought herself off the table, she corrected herself upright and lunged for Carr’s neck. A guard came running from the doorway.
Damn, they were good, Jade thought as she took the tip of the needle to Carr’s neck.
Guns were raised before she could do much more. Alarms went off. She was screwed, though she knew that as soon as she walked in the room. The only thing that she could do now was attempt to stick and push through the poison before she was shot.
This was a shitty way of ending things. She didn’t want to die. Hell, she didn’t even want to do this, but what would happen if she didn’t? Her mind fogged for a moment before things got clear again.
Stick him.
“No!” Orson Carr screamed.
“What the fuck are you doing, Jade?” Was the yell that came from the end of the room.
Jade froze, knowing who it was.
Jack Hunter.
He was unarmed, though one of the security associates next to him was. His right arm was in a sling, so she wasn’t sure how effective he’d be with a gun anyhow.
She knew that he was going to make this hard for her before he even began. He was good, not only at his field work, but he was an amazing negotiator. The last thing she needed right now was Jack trying to talk her down when she knew he’d have some amazing arguments; she was still a bit on the fence, even now.
“I’m sorry, Jack,” she said, regret already starting to form. “I don’t have a choice.”
Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2) Page 22