by Angela Blake
Ivy stared at him for a few seconds before giving a short nod and making her way inside.
Trey watched her leave and remarked, “She doesn’t seem to like me very much.”
Zack grinned as he recalled the way Ivy’s face had stiffened when Trey had started talking about bringing him back into the game, “She doesn’t like strangers all that well. And she’s a tad possessive.”
“You like her.” Trey observed. “You look at her like I look at Mindy.”
Zack put a hand on his shoulder, “She’s mine. Be very careful with her. She’s on edge today.”
Trey had noticed the haunted look in her eyes and the tremor in her hands, and wondered what had happened to her today.
In a few minutes another car rolled up, and an older man got out of it. He shook Trey’s hand and greeted Zack.
He was introduced as Ethan Mason, the current District Attorney. A tall man, with a harsh face, weathered by the elements, his eyes holding darkness that few carried within them.
Ivy handed both men cold juice and introduced herself, her nerves a little ragged.
Zack squeezed her hand, an act that did not go unnoticed by either man.
“I would like to hear your version of the events that transpired, Miss Mills,” Ethan asked, his face set.
Ivy took a deep breath and then told them about how their team had been recruited, and about what Noah had discovered. Her voice hitched as she came to the part of when she had found Noah, and there was anger in her voice, and a little regret, at how she had uncovered the data and what she had done.
After she was done, there was a heavy silence in the room, the only sound that of Fabian’s barking in another part of the house and the wind and rain beating at the windows.
“You’ve had quite an adventure, Miss Mills,” Ethan remarked.
Ivy didn’t say anything in response, and then she looked at Zack, who got up and left the room.
“Am I going to get into trouble for this?” Ivy asked.
Ethan and Trey shared a look, and then Ethan replied, “You’re perfectly safe. You might be called on to testify-“
“That won’t work,” Ivy said abruptly.
When Ethan frowned, she held out her hands, palms up, for both men to see.
Trey leaned forward and then swore softly, “You burnt off your fingerprints?”
Ethan looked startled at the revelation, “You did what?”
Ivy tucked her hands out of sight, and said softly, “I don’t exist now, in any system. I erased everything, every bit of data on me, on every database.”
Ethan crossed his arms across his chest, and cocked his head, “Isn’t that a little extreme?”
Ivy grimaced, “You didn’t see their system. It was so complex that tracking me down would not have been a problem. Any security camera, any card transaction, any movement on any digital front would have been used against me, to find me and bring me back. I’ve never seen such a secure system in my whole life. The only thing they have on me now are the hard copies of my prints and my data and I’ve hardwired their system so that every time they try to upload anything related to me, it malfunctions.”
She took a deep breath, and then continued, “The only reason they caught on to me was because I made a mistake and I thought I could trust the police. They had distributed hard copies of my picture to the police.”
When Zack returned with the hard disk, he found both men staring at Ivy with a newfound respect in their eyes. However, they looked at him when he entered and their eyes fixed on the small box in his hand.
“I want to see what’s on it.” Trey said and Ethan made a sound of agreement.
Ivy glanced at Zack before looking at him, “The data’s encrypted. I need to run it through a program first. It’s going to take a while.”
Trey was familiar with the world of IT and he found himself quite taken aback at how her nimble fingers extracted information and bypassed hot zones that could potentially destroy the data concealed in the harmless looking drive.
“You’re a hacker,” Trey said, realization dawning on him of just who he was dealing with.
Ivy glanced at him, before returning to what she was doing, and he continued, “You’re not just any hacker. Xavier1981, that’s who you are.”
When Ivy’s fingers stilled on the keyboard and she turned around to look at him, the blood draining from her face, Zack put his hand on her shoulder, “What’s going on? What is Xavier1981?”
Ethan’s eyes were slightly wide, and his nostrils flared, “You’re that hacker?”
Ivy’s panicked eyes moved over to Zack and she moved closer to him, as if seeking protection.
“What the hell is going on?” Zack snarled, sensing Ivy’s fear as if it was almost tangible.
It was Ethan who spoke up, “Xavier1981 was a hacker in the Darknet, one of the most dangerous ones, I would say. I thought you were a guy. He- I mean, Ivy, leaked files of paedophiles to the authorities. In around ten years, the number of people involved in child pornography we’ve put away increased tremendously.”
“Even the military has files on you,” Trey murmured. “Who would’ve thought you were right here in Dallas?”
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Ivy muttered under her breath. “You can’t prove that that’s me.”
“Actually,” Trey said, slowly. “Nobody said you were in trouble. We were interested in acquiring your skills. Even our best hacker, isn’t up to par with you. When you disappeared a few years back, we thought you were dead.”
Ivy blinked, “You want me to work for you?”
“Why did you say she’s dangerous?” Zack asked, standing in front of her protectively.
“Because the military tried to look into her, and she hacked us, just to show that she could.”
CHAPTER 11
Ivy didn’t meet any of their eyes, and Zack made a mental note to get all her secrets out of her so that he wasn’t constantly surprised by them.
“It was a warning, and we understood that she had no ill intentions. But then she disappeared, and that was it.”
“So, you’ve always been a troublemaker?” Zack raised a brow at Ivy, whose cheeks turned slightly red, as she muttered, “More or less. But this one was not intentional.”
When data started flowing over the laptop screen, they all looked at it and Ivy started explaining everything.
“These are the names of the people, according to what position they occupy in this ring. There’s a list of names of victims, along with numbers that identify them. Whoever devised this entire structure was so meticulous that even their buyers are accounted for. There’s another section of this, which I can’t understand. It’s got number, only numbers.”
Trey leaned forward, and his eyes narrowed, “I worked in an Anti Terrorism unit before joining the SEAL program. So, I might be able to help you out.”
His eyes moved over the constant numbers, and then his eyes widened by a fraction, “These are dates and coordinates, of warehouses, shipping dates, ports. We’ve missed one date which was yesterday, but there’s another tonight.”
He leaned back in his seat, and Ethan smiled, the cold smile of a shark having found its prey, “You’ve given me everything. Names, bank accounts, paper trails. I’ll need an army for this. This is spread all over the country.”
Trey bared his teeth, “The SEALS will be fully involved. We’re not letting these bastards slip away.”
The two men shared grim smiles, and Ivy wondered if she was off the hook.
“What about me?” Ivy asked, hesitantly.
Trey smiled at her, “We’ll give you a new identity. Fortunately, there are ways to generate faux fingerprints. You’ve done your country a great service and you’ve saved countless lives, Miss Mills. We’ll discuss your job proposition at a later date, but for now, we need to nip this in the bud.”
Zack, who had been silent in this entire exchange, now spoke up, “
Then, maybe you want to start with the two individuals in the back barn. One’s dead. The other isn’t in great shape. But you can have him.”
“They broke into your house?” It was Trey who asked, his voice so cold that Ivy had to suppress a shudder.
“Somebody fed them information. I don’t know who it was, but they had a close knowledge of the working of this ranch. I’m still conducting my own investigation, but you’re welcome to try your hand at it.
Ivy’s hand crept to curl around Zack’s larger one, offering comfort. She knew how much he trusted his men and this must have come as a huge blow to him, “They went after Sam. We had all been drugged, but Zack and I didn’t finish our tea and Sam drank an entire glass of milk, so he was completely out.”
“How did one of them end up dead?” Ethan asked, both men looking at Zack, expectantly.
“I shot him.” A tremor in Ivy’s hands.
Trey eyed the young woman, “You’re full of surprises, Miss Mills. How are you dealing with it?”
Ivy shrugged, but her eyes were haunted.
Trey looked at Zack, “I’ll arrange a seating with Linda for Miss Mills. It’s the least we can do.”
“Linda?” Ivy asked.
“She’s someone you can talk to who will help you come to terms with what happened. You’ve been through a lot. And you won’t want to have a meltdown one of these days. It’ll help you.” Trey glanced at Zack, “Zack trusts her.”
Zack nodded, “She’s good.”
Both men got up, “Let’s go take a look at your visitors. Thank you for this, Miss Mills. We’ll collect the other hard drive from the safe deposit box. We’ll be in touch soon.”
Ivy remained in her seat as Zack grabbed three umbrellas and handed them out. With one last look at Ivy, he left with the men, taking them to the barn.
That was it?
She had expected to be in trouble or something. She raked her fingers through her scalp. What would Zack think of her past? He had sounded shocked but not angry.
She got up and then frowned when she saw the hard drive on the table. Leaving it where it was, she went to put some water to boil on the stove. She needed her hands to be busy, so she went about the kitchen, throwing some stuff together to make an afternoon meal.
Maybe she could talk Zack into giving her riding lessons.
Her mind wandered.
She liked this type of hands-on life. Now that everything was settled, maybe Zack could give her a proper tour of the ranch. She wanted to stay. She liked living here. It felt like this was her family. She had had a taste of what family life was like and this seemed so close that she could almost reach out and grab it.
A clutter behind her and she saw Shawn enter the kitchen from the screen door.
“Hi, Shawn.”
“Miss Ivy,” Shawn touched his hat in greeting. “Is Zack around?”
“He’s out by the barn. What’s in the bag?” Ivy asked, curiously.
He shook his head, “I just came from seeing a patient. Thought I would check up on you while I’m around.”
“Thanks. I think the stitches are healing quite nicely.”
He seemed a bit distracted, so Ivy asked, “Are you okay? You seem a little strung out.”
The last part was said a little slowly.
“Yeah.” His eyes darted around the room, and Ivy raised a brow, “Are you looking for something?”
“No. Just had a long night. Which reminds me, I heard something happened here last night?”
His wording was too strange and Ivy found herself a little confused, “Someone broke in.”
“So, what happened?”
He was very eager to know, a little too eager, and Ivy’s eyes narrowed.
Hearing the familiar pitter patter of feet as Fabian and Sam descended, an age old instinct warned her to get them out of here.
She moved to the fridge, and grabbed a random box, not even bothering to see what was in it, as long as it was opaque.
“Sam,” She called out and moved to the connecting doorway to the living room, where the stairs also ended. The boy looked at her.
Feeling Shawn right behind her, Ivy kept her posture relaxed, “Take this to barn to your Uncle. He forgot to take this, otherwise he’ll have to come back for it.”
Her eyes were desperate and Sam must have seen it, because she saw the hesitation in his face.
‘Go’, she mouthed, fear in her eyes. Not for her, but for him.
When Sam nodded and ran out with Fabian, Ivy turned around and saw Shawn unplugging the hard drive and putting it in the black bag.
“What are you doing?” She said, a bit sharply and realization dawned in Shawn’s eyes, as he straightened.
“Shawn, put that back.”
There was an ugly look on his face, as he shook his head, “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss Ivy. The men who want this are willing to pay a lot of money.”
He studied her, “And a lot more if you’re dead.”
His eyes glinted, and she saw him take out a gun, and point it in her face, “I hate to do this, but you were a dead woman the minute I walked in. I was going to kill the kid as well, make it look like a murder-suicide, but I couldn’t have Zack coming back. I guess I’ll just settle for shooting you.”
Ivy stared at the gun, and wondered if she had just run out of luck.
***
Zack stepped outside the barn, letting Ethan and Trey conduct their own interrogation. Taking out a cigarette, he was about to light it up, when he saw a small figure hurtling towards the barn at full speed.
He took a few steps forward, before recognizing Sam.
Fabian was not too far behind.
The child was out of breath as he reached him and Zack kneeled on one knee to see if he was okay, “You good, buddy?”
Sam panted and thrust a box in his hands.
A little taken aback by the gift, Zack opened it and saw sliced raw capsicum in it.
“Uh, thank you?”
But Sam was grabbing his sleeve and pointing towards the house.
Zack’s mind was so occupied by the situation in the barn, that he missed the message that Sam was trying to send him.
“You need to go back Sam, and put this box back in the fridge or Ivy will be really mad at you.”
Hearing Ethan exiting the barn, Zack focused his attention on the DA.
Sam kept tugging at his shirt and now Zack was starting to get annoyed, “Sam stop it!”
Ethan was speaking and Sam was getting on his nerves, and Zack was starting to feel his temper fray.
And then he heard a voice he hadn’t heard in a whole year, the scratchy voice of a child who hadn’t spoken a word in so long. “Uncle Zack, Ivy is scared!”
Zack’s world reeled at hearing the voice and it took him a few seconds to comprehend what the child had just spoken. Shoving Sam at Ethan, he ran towards the main house, his blood running cold.
The sound of a gunshot had him increasing his speed, and he saw Trey not far behind him. His men, who had been working nearby, all dropped what they were holding and rushed towards where they shot had been fired from.
Ivy was on the porch, and she held a rifle at Shawn’s neck, who was lying on the ground, and she was yelling at him, “You stupid fucking, son a bitch. You think because I don’t have a dick, I can’t protect myself. Think again, you no good –“
Zack covered the remaining distance in three long strides and grasped Ivy by the waist and held her to him, “Are you okay?”
Then, he saw the wound on her shoulder. Granted, it looked like a flesh wound, but his blood turned hot with anger, and he turned around. Before he could do anything, Trey had his driver pick him up and cuff him.
“Sorry, Zack. But he’s a player in this right now. I need him fully functioning.”
He looked at Ivy, “You’re astounding. Let me be the first to tell you.”
“Ivy,” Zack murmured her na
me, but Ivy was angry, “He tried to shoot me in the face. He wanted to kill Sam.”
His men were torn between anger and awe, and Zack knew that none of them would ever mess with her. They would put this woman on a pedestal.
“You need to stop cursing now. I don’t want those to be the first words Sam says, now that he’s speaking again. Now let me take a look at your wound.”
Ivy waved him off, her eyes wide, “Sam’s speaking?”
Zack grinned, “Yes.”
Baffled and oh, so happy. Ivy batted his hands away when he tried to look at the wound, “The bullet scraped me. I’ll just disinfect it and put a bandage on it.”
Zack led her inside and wouldn’t leave till he had seen to her wound. When Ethan brought in Sam, Ivy held him to her, her emotions in turmoil. Finally, she cupped his face in her palms, “Are you okay, baby?”
“Yes,” His words were shy and his throat a little scratchy, but he was speaking again.
“It seems like you managed to get the informant after all, Miss Mills,” Ethan spoke, his eyes studying her. “Do you need me to call for a doctor?”
When he gestured towards the bandage on her shoulder, Ivy shook her head, “No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”
He just nodded, his eyes still watching her.
***
The next few weeks were chaos.
Rounding up the trafficking ring had been made much easier with the data that Ivy had provided. The other hard drive had been retrieved from the safe deposit box and the military was fully involved in the entire operation.
The newspapers were filled with the outrage from politicians who had held some level of knowledge of this, and mostly filled with pictures and articles of the traumatized individuals being returned to their homes, undergoing counselling. Many claimed that this was just a publicity stunt. Many journalists tried to find the source of the data. Nobody was successful because nobody can hide secrets better than the military can.