Order of Truth

by Lisa Caviness

  Chapter 30

  Lance sliced through the water on his fiftieth lap in his California beach home’s oversized pool. The Mediterranean-blue pool water reminded him of his villa in Cap d’Antibes. Soon, he’d take the baby there. He pulled up to the side and gripped the greenish-blue tile, dipping the back of his head into the water.

  Delphine. Disgust and desire. His feelings for her vacillated between the two emotions but last night he’d made the decision to kill her. She would be of no use soon. The pediatrician told him the baby should receive mother’s milk for at least six months. As beautiful as Delphine was, Lance couldn’t stand the thought of her for another few weeks. He had his people locate a woman, in good health who’d be willing to sell her breast milk. Lance agreed to pay top dollar. Nothing but the best for his son.

  “I woke up and you weren’t there. I missed you.” Katarina sauntered toward him topless as if she were on a European beach.

  Ah, I miss the topless beaches of Europe. Katarina’s breasts sparkled in the mid-morning sun.

  “I needed to think.” He climbed out of the pool and wrapped a plush towel around his neck.

  “Stress isn’t good for the skin,” she encircled his neck and planted butterfly kisses along his collarbone.

  Lance replied with roaming hands and a physical appreciation for Katarina’s assets.

  His cell phone buzzed on the lounge chair, breaking the passionate scene. Lance pulled away. “I have to take this call. Wait for me inside.”

  Katarina nodded and sashayed into the house.

  Lance tore his gaze from her glorious ass and answered the call he’d been waiting on. “Shaw, what do you have?”

  “Lila and her boyfriend visited Jennings. We let them get away. The Jennings kill went as planned. We’re still running down your father’s close associates and have almost completed the rest of our target list.”

  “Excellent,” Lance said. “I want everyone afraid to talk to them.”

  “What about the old woman? Our men spotted her in a conversation with Lila at Struthers’s funeral.”

  “I want her alive for now. Good work with the senator. Son of a bitch got what was coming to him. All he had to do was make sure Skies got the UN contract. Senator Harper stepped up. I’ll make a note to donate to his next campaign. Also, I have a special recon I want you to conduct.” Lance tightened his fists as he gave Shaw the details.

  “As the Veridian DDI contact, I’ll be sure to express pleasure with the team. Expect to hear from me soon on the recon.” Shaw hung up.

  No one could trump him. This would end all resistance. His family and their friends had caused enough trouble. Their intrusion would be crushed. But he’d make sure they suffered first.

  Lance considered the old Order mantra. Ordo Ortus, Order Rising.

  Chapter 31

  Cody shifted in his seat again and glanced up at the wall clock inside the DDI team offices. Although staying holed up at the farmhouse with the Alliance appeared to be a better, safer option he needed to be at work to find out as much as possible. In a couple more hours he could get back to Lila and the team, who were reviewing all they’d learned from Willa Dickerson, and looking for Morris Beak.

  Pivoting to his screen, Cody stared at the blinking cursor and huffed out a sigh. He had a job to do.

  He hadn’t seen Rick and Tally all day. Perhaps they were laying low after murdering the senator. So far, none of the team members had said a thing about the senator’s death. He looked up from his screen. Although shielded by a dull gray cubicle partition, Cody stared in the direction of his coworkers on the other side. How could they live with themselves? Maybe the senator had been the first death. Maybe they believed the other scenarios were only tests or perhaps they were being threatened, too.

  He’d been working on a report, which on the surface appeared to be nonlethal. The project covered itself with legitimate security pursuits, but the tests that crossed the line were pure evil. He couldn’t be sure how the information in his report would be used, so he kept some areas intentionally vague. Keeping his job was a priority for the sole purpose of bringing down The Order, Lance, and Veridian.

  Cody attached his report to an email and sent it off to Rick. Staring at his own calendar, which thankfully was devoid of meetings for the day, he clicked on Rick’s. Some of the managers chose to open their calendars so their teams could always find them. Rick wasn’t one of them. Neither was Tally.

  As some of the team filtered out for the day, Cody stayed behind. He expected his every keystroke was being monitored so he had to be careful. Wading into the inner workings of Veridian would be like dodging bullets in a war zone. For now, he stayed within areas appropriate for his position. Cody ventured into the common directories on the company’s intranet. He perused various files and if anyone had been tracking his keystrokes, they’d believe he was looking for employee information. He checked the company’s clinic hours, the cafeteria menu for the rest of the week, and read a few articles on Veridian’s community service pursuits. Venturing into department public folders, he rooted around, already familiar with some of the projects. He didn’t expect to find a folder entitled “evil deeds” but he wanted to know as much as possible about Veridian projects. With the company hierarchy on his screen, Cody studied each department. The DDI, as expected, wasn’t listed. Each DDI member had been designated under special teams in the employee directory and they all fell under the authority of Robert Gumfrey, CLO. He’d never met the man or been told he ultimately reported up to him. Cody planned to research Gumfrey this evening.

  Waiting until he heard nothing on the other side of his partition, he printed off a copy of his report then jumped up. On his way through the hive, he plucked the report off the printer. The room remained empty. He marched up to Rick’s office and twisted the knob on his door. When it opened, he ambled in with the report. All areas of the project team area were monitored by surveillance cameras and Cody expected Rick’s office was included. On first glance, the office appeared like any other, but something had to exist which would gain leverage on Rick. A large L-shaped desk sat in the center of the room, with the two guest chairs in front. Off to the side sat a bookcase with three shelves and a set of cabinets at the bottom. Cody longed to inspect the inside of the drawers, but such a bold act might come back to bite him. A face-down picture frame sat on the edge of Rick’s desk. Cody hadn’t seen the frame in previous visits. He slid the report on Rick’s desk, knocking over the frame. Cursing, Cody bent to retrieve the object. He flipped it over and stared at a smiling Rick with his arm around a woman and two little boys, grinning in front of them. The foursome wore winter attire and posed in front of a sign that said Welcome to Zurich, Switzerland. Scrawled in the left corner, someone had written Rick, Stacy, Frankie, four, and Sammy, seven. Rick had a family? He replaced the picture, shut the door quietly, and sauntered down the hall.

  Chapter 32

  As soon as Cody entered the farmhouse, Lila longed to rush into his arms but stopped when she glimpsed his dull expression and the woman standing beside him.

  He met Lila’s gaze then said, “Everyone, meet Angie. She and I are good friends from grad school. We both work for Veridian.”

  Smiling, Lila shook her hand. She remembered seeing Angie at the Veridian charity event. Her first thought had been she and Cody were a couple, but as she’d watched their interaction, she concluded they were indeed just friends. Their easy friendship made Lila long for the days when she and Cody shared a comfortable relationship. Could they get there again? Was that what she wanted?

  Reid crossed the room and shook Angie’s hand. “We are a covert FBI task force. Each of us here have been personally affected by The Order. Some of us are connected to this by blood and others have been thrown into to the fight by our relationships. This isn’t your fight. If you choose to continue, none of us can guarantee your safety but we could use your computer skills.”

  All eyes turned to Angie, who appeared a bit s
hocked at the attention. “I appreciate the warning. I’ve known Cody for a few years now. He was there for me when I needed someone. I’m in. Plus, I’m sure you’ve already performed a background check on me.”

  “Smart.” Reid nodded. “You’re now read into, meaning accepted into, our mission. Welcome to the Alliance.”

  “Sounds badass.” She flashed a grin then sobered. “But I understand the serious nature.”

  “Welcome to the team.” Adam shook her hand, then smoothed back his jet-black hair.

  Carson greeted her and waved everyone to the table. “We didn’t get anything fancy, just pizza.”

  “Perfect,” Angie said following Holly.

  “Lila, can I speak with you?” Cody took her hand and led her into the bedroom.

  As soon as the door closed, he gathered her into his arms. “Are you okay?”

  “No.” She sighed. “I can’t help but think about the warnings I’ve received. I think we’re getting closer. To something.”

  “We’re going to end this. I promise.” His gaze speared into her as his ran his hand up and down the length of her arms.

  “You can’t make that promise,” she said, her voice soft.

  Cody focused on the floor then looked at her. “Maybe I’m jumping the gun, but I don’t want to lose you. Even if we aren’t together, I’ll always want the best for you.” His jaw tightened. “I hope you believe that.”

  Lila held on to him. “I believe you but all of this…us back together. I don’t know.”

  “We don’t need to rush.” He touched her chin then lifted her head as leaned in to kiss her.

  Her head swam with conflicting emotions. The kiss held a dizzying effect while her head sifted through all the reasons she should shut this down. Maybe there would be a time she could devote to sorting through her feelings, but with the growing danger surrounding them she couldn’t focus.

  “I want to take you away from all this.” His voice was low as he moved a stray hair away from her face.

  “I’d settle for a night when I’m not looking over my shoulder.”

  A knock sounded followed by Holly. She stuck her head in. “Sorry to interrupt, but we need you guys out here.”

  When she and Cody settled in at the table, Holly smiled and patted Lila’s arm as she handed over a plate.

  Holly had been rooting for her and Cody’s reunion for several years. Lila had no idea where she and Cody would end up, but having a friend like Holly would help, no matter what happened.

  Reid pulled a slice of pizza from the box. “We need all hands on deck. Justin and Marissa are arranging their schedules and should be here shortly.” He turned to Angie. “Did Cody update you on our situation?”

  She set down her fork. “Yes. I had heard rumblings about The Order and Lance Sinclair years ago but when there weren’t any arrests, I figured there was no truth to the rumors.”

  “Which is exactly what Lance wants everyone to believe,” Carson said.

  Angie shook her head and glanced at Cody. “Hard to believe we’re working for the enemy. I had no idea Veridian was evil, but you know what they say about absolute power.”

  Reid nodded. “The Englishman, Lord Acton. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He turned to Lila. “Why don’t you update everyone.”

  Lila explained the strange conversation with Willa Dickerson. “She told me how she came to live at Babylon Hall and her husband’s involvement with The Order.” Lila told them about Willa’s cane and how she used it to calm her patients. Rubbing her temples, Lila furrowed her brows. “A memory is there, prickling on the fringe. It’s like after you wake up and you know you had a dream but the memory is just out of reach.”

  “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.” Reid patted her shoulder. “Do you have the map box?”

  She nodded, looking up at him. “I scanned all the documents and have stored them in multiple places.” She pulled on her bracelet. “I have a copy on this flash drive. I also have the actual map box with me.”

  Cody turned to Angie. “Lila found a map box containing her great-grandfather’s diary and other documents related to The Order. It’s been helpful in deciphering some of the codes and complexities of the organization.” He finished one pizza slice and reached for another.

  “We need to find as much information on Morris Beak as possible. Willa warned me against meeting him, but I believe he’s critical to finding out about the emerald mine and secret island.”

  Holly moved a stack of papers. “There are so many moving parts. I’m still trying to understand why all this about a secret emerald mine and island has come up now. Ivan has been dead for several years.”

  “Willa didn’t understand. And now we have two emerald plates locked in a portable safe. She got a letter, delivered to her by courier, instructing her to give me the emerald plate. The sender is someone named Hugo Castille. She didn’t know him. Neither do I.” Lila pulled the note from her purse.

  “No one else touch it.” Reid rushed into the kitchen and returned with a plastic bag. With the bag in hand, he pushed the paper inside. Then leaned over Holly’s shoulder as they read the letter through the bag. When they finished, he handed the note to Cody. “Anyone recognize the name Hugo Castille?”

  Everyone shook their heads.

  “I’ll have this analyzed. Maybe we can get some fingerprints. This directive came from someone and it’s not Lance,” Reid said.

  “We’ve started working the Morris Beak angle.” Adam closed an empty pizza box.

  Angie wiped her hands on a napkin. “What do you want me to do?”

  Cody placed a half-eaten pizza slice on his plate. “We’re going to hack into Veridian and get some answers.”

  Angie pushed one of her braids aside and tapped her fingers together. “You just said that in front of an FBI agent.”

  “I’m not worried about your past. We’ve all had to make some ethical decisions. Everyone here will understand if you don’t want to take the risk,” Reid said.

  “Cody and I have already discussed this. He wouldn’t let me come here until I made a choice. I’ll admit to a history of hacking, but I’m a white hat now. I’m choosing to look at this as performing a public service. If only from the aspect that Veridian can’t abuse their power.” Angie stretched her arms. “Let’s do this.”

  Two hours later, Angie and Cody sat at the table with their laptops. They’d set up a secured internet connection and mounted safeguards to mask their identities online while everyone else studied the documents and files from the map box.

  Cody’s fingers tapped at the keyboard. “I’m in the dark web, which is like the deepest core of the internet. I’m using a TOR browser which ensures my anonymity.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Angie said, her fingers flying over the keyboard. “But I see some of my old friends.”

  “I thought everyone was anonymous,” Holly said, peering over Cody’s shoulder.

  “A lot of us go by aliases.” Angie cocked her head. “Meet Glamzam.”

  Lila grinned. “Cool name.”

  Angie shook her head and made a show of tossing her braids around. “Thanks.”

  Cody rolled his eyes. “Hey, Glam, I’m in. Everyone knows Veridian is currently a publicly owned company, but right away I’m finding rumors about a group called Stonegate who want to acquire it and take the company private. Does the name sound familiar?”

  Lila tapped her fingers on the table. “No. What about you, Reid?”

  “I’m not aware of Stonegate, but I can do some checking.” He set aside a document and pulled out his laptop.

  “Maybe I can find out.” Sitting at the table and opening her laptop, Lila logged into the HTP network. Minutes later, she pulled up an electronic file labeled Stonegate. When she opened the file, she stopped when a warning flashed. Unauthorized Access. “Damn. I can’t get in. But the fact there is a file indicates HTP has done something on behalf of Stonegate.” She rubbed her eyes,
then tried another avenue. “I’m not finding anything about a company called Stonegate. Everywhere I look is a big dead end.”

  “I can’t shake the feeling that we’re swirling around in the middle of a huge shit pile.” Cody rubbed his eyes and sat back against the chair.

  Reid stood and began to pace. “Let’s review. Jack contacted the FBI about important evidence and a week later he’s dead for what we can assume is having the hidden evidence against Lance. In addition to Peter Shaw, the corrupt ex-FBI agent working for Lance, we know there are a number of other agents with allegiance to The Order. Garvin Jennings and his wife were killed by a weaponized Veridian drone moments after handing Lila an emerald plate with some type of code on it. Willa Dickerson received a note compelling her to also hand off an emerald plate to Lila. Neither Garvin nor Sheila mentioned a note.”

  Reid stopped pacing and placed his hands on the back of Holly’s chair. “As far as we know Willa Dickerson is still alive. Yvonne is working on placing someone to guard her outside her house. Then the latest death is Steve Dorman’s on the HTP premises.”

  Lila’s heart jumped a few beats as she consulted her laptop. Several clicks later, she inhaled. “Veridian stock, as of today, is trading at a little over $100 a share. Acquiring companies usually pay at least a 20 percent premium over the current stock price. If Stonegate were to acquire Veridian, they’d have to shell out billions. Assuming that Lance takes ownership of the emerald mine and it’s worth as much as Jennings indicated, that money would significantly boost Lance’s position to acquire Veridian.”

  Cody rose from his desk chair and glanced out the patio glass door. “If Lance gets Veridian, he will own the world. Veridian has over two billion users. They have government contracts, both with the US and internationally. They have access to information in schools, universities, technology, and other companies. Most people don’t even know this company’s reach. The Deep Dive Initiative will be child’s play.”