Perhaps not as public a venue as I thought.
Alexis descended the steps next to the building. She swiveled her head around until she spotted him seated under the shade of a tree, steps from the asphalt lot. Her eyes glanced skyward. She couldn’t find the drone but needed to believe it was up there somewhere.
With a deep breath, Alexis closed the distance between them. Nathan looked over at her and nonchalantly said, “I started to think you wouldn’t show.”
“I almost didn’t.”
Nathan tilted his head to the side. “Why did you?”
“It’s not every day Nathan Miller wants to talk to me. Let’s say I’m curious to hear what you have to say.” Alexis watched his expression beneath the dappled shade of the tree. She felt his eyes crawling over her. Growing uncomfortable, she shifted from one foot to the other. He stepped away from the bench, and she caught birdsong wafting on the breeze.
Nathan said, “Maybe I want to talk about your accusations? Your unproven accusations. How’s your little crusade coming along, anyway?” His eyes glittered and his lips curved. “Have heard nothing from you in a while now.”
Alexis felt her cheeks flush and squared her shoulders. A rush of anger hardened her voice, “Did you ask me here to gloat?”
Nathan raised his palms. “I had nothing to do with that smear job, sweetheart.”
Alexis scoffed. “Yeah, right.”
“Recall, I was laid up at the time.” Nathan’s eye whirred as he gazed across the now empty railroad tracks. “Not my style anyway. I wanted you gone…I have more permanent methods.”
“I guess your partner found that out.” Alexis watched a faraway look come over Nathan’s face. He stood silent a moment—his agitation plain as day.
Nathan said, “I’ll let that go, sweetheart. You’re obviously the paragon of virtue here.”
Alexis fumed. “And I’ll let that go because I’m used to dealing with assholes. Clock’s running though, you want to talk, you better start soon.”
“Is that right?” Nathan took a step closer. “We may not like each other, but I know you can recognize an opportunity when you see one. You’re not going anywhere. I’m not wrong, am I sweetheart?”
Alexis gritted her teeth. “Call me sweetheart one more time.” They stared at each other until Alexis turned away from his smug expression. “Get to the point of all this, Miller. You’re making my skin crawl being this close to your filth.”
Nathan began to pace. “We can help each other. If we work together. With your help, I can restore your credibility.”
Dismissive, Alexis asked, “You going to admit I didn’t attack you?”
Nathan smiled thinly at her. “What would be the point? Thanks to your smear campaign, my word is not exactly trusted. Besides, I have something more mutually beneficial in mind.”
The way he said mutually beneficial made Alexis shudder and her skin feel in need of a good scrub. “You expect me to trust you?”
Nathan answered, “You don’t have to trust me. We both want the same thing. Enemy of my enemy, and all that jazz. Help me find the son of a bitch who attacked me. I get a dangerous criminal off my streets and you get to prove you had nothing to do with attacking me. Win-win.”
Alexis said, “You mean you want revenge, and you want me to help you get it.”
Nathan stopped pacing and faced her. His smirk turned her stomach. He said, “What I want are safer streets. How I get them should be irrelevant to you.”
“You wish,” Alexis said, “Assuming I agree to work together, why should I believe you’ll help restore my reputation? You have to know as soon as I can publish again, I coming for you.”
Nathan laughed. “Do what you want, sweetheart. Nothing about your little enterprise scares me in the least.”
“I can leave you know.”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Alexis ran her fingers through her hair. I should go—now. There is no way I could ever trust him enough to work together. As of right now though, I can’t work at all. She glared at him. Curiosity got the better of her and she asked, “How do you plan on finding your attacker?”
Nathan lifted his chin and pointed over her shoulder. “You see what I see over there?”
Alexis turned her head to look. Beyond the walkway, a single building dominated the skyline. Puzzled, she looked back at him. “AmeriGEN?”
Nathan countered, “Antonio Reyes.”
Still puzzled, Alexis asked, “Is that who attacked you?”
Nathan groaned. Astonished, he said, “You media types really are all the same. Not one lingering notice of the victims you report on.”
“Again,” Alexis said, “I can leave.”
Nathan explained. “Antonio Reyes was one of the thirteen people murdered inside St. Luke’s Church. He is also the reason the other twelve were killed. He was the target—they were the cover.”
“What made him the target?”
“He worked as a researcher for AmeriGEN on their ectogenesis project. Officially. My investigation uncovered a resignation letter he wrote. The gist of it being he could no longer do what AmeriGEN had him doing. He planned to leave the company and the country. A one-way ticket to Spain had been purchased in his name. He was afraid of something.”
Alexis said, “You’re aware the police already arrested and charged a suspect in those church murders, right?”
Nathan shook his head. “Who? Gene Nolan? Nothing more than a fall guy. He didn’t do it—he couldn’t do it.”
“He confessed.”
“Good for him—changes nothing.”
Alexis lifted an eyebrow. “Why so certain?”
“The UCPD didn’t make everything about the case public,” Nathan said, “Evidence collected from the scene pointed the finger at someone very specific—someone who can do the impossible.”
“The impossible?” Alexis asked.
Nathan answered, “No one ran. None of the victims in the church even moved from their seat. One person killed them all before anyone could react. The same thing happened in Bennington Place. A scan captured an image of the killer there—between the frames. This killer moves faster than you can blink.”
Alexis rolled her eyes. “I didn’t believe it either, at first,” Nathan said, “The evidence doesn’t lie though, even if the police might. I saw the impossible with my own eyes, right before he attacked me.”
“I’m not seeing it,” Alexis said, “An AmeriGEN employee got killed along with twelve others. Do you have any actual proof he was the target? A resignation letter and a plane ticket only proves he planned to move. There are nicer places to live. Unless you have something more than that, you’ve got nothing to connect AmeriGEN to anything. The police letting a serial killer roam free while locking up an innocent man, however—that has legs.”
Nathan said, “That’s not the deal.”
“The deal?” Alexis said, “I don’t recall agreeing to anything. You didn’t even ask for this to be off the record.”
Nathan chuckled, a cruel sound lacking any hint of mirth. “You want to play it that way? Go for it. But let’s walk it through first. How do you do it? You go after the police—again—with either an anonymous source or me named. How hard would it be for the media machine to spin your words away in either case? You’ve been accused of attacking me, so who’s going to believe I’d tell you anything?”
She watched his smile broaden. He said, “And an anonymous source after the hatchet job you did on me—you’ll be labeled a cop hater and brushed aside. Hope your nose is clean. You go after the force and they’ll come after you. So which option do you like?”
Alexis stared at his smug expression. “You’ve got nothing concrete on AmeriGEN,” she said, “It’ll never fly.”
Nathan shook his head. “Were you even listening? The church killer moved faster than you can blink. How is that possible? Maybe a company at the forefront of genetics could be behind s
uch an advancement? If anyone could, I’m betting it’s them. Not to mention, I had just left their offices when that thing attacked me. I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Why would they attack you?” Alexis said, “Aside from your obvious sparkling personality, that is.”
Nathan crooked an eyebrow. He stepped closer and Alexis took a step back. Nathan answered, “The same reason they killed Reyes. I dropped the name Horde Protocol—the project Reyes worked on that spooked him.”
“What is it?” Alexis asked.
“I don’t know,” Nathan admitted, “but, to them, it’s worth killing over.”
Alexis paced in a tight circle. “Why come to me with any of this?” She asked, “If you’re so convinced of AmeriGEN’s wrongdoing, why not take it to Sky Network? Or the police? Why come to me?”
Nathan frowned at her. “You’re forgetting my credibility problem again. Sky Network, or any big media, will never move against AmeriGEN on my word. And I’m not exactly well thought of by the police these days either. They’d just as likely arrest me for interference as listen to me. So, that leaves you, sweetheart. I don’t like it any more than you do, but fact is we both want something here and together we can get it.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Are you in?” Nathan asked.
Alexis stared at his smirk and hated herself. I should tell him where to go—where to stick his offer. There’s no way working together is a good idea. I should do anything else but work with him. And yet…The Ransom is shuttered and my reputation is in tatters. This may be my only shot at getting it back. My only chance to bring the Cabal to justice.
She chewed on her bottom lip a moment. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. “I’m in,” Alexis answered.
Nathan winked at her. “I never had a doubt.”
43
Nathan dunked his toast in the egg yolk. He chose a table near the front window of Sunrise Diner to wait for Joe to arrive. He lifted his coffee mug for a drink, but a commotion by the door caught his attention.
“You can’t come in! Your kind are not welcome here.”
Nathan grumbled and set his cup down. He recognized Joe. His deer in the headlights expression roused a protective instinct within him. Nathan rose and said, “He’s with me, Benny.”
Benny’s tone softened, and his gaze fell to the checkered floor. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nathan, my mistake. I didn’t know.”
Nathan glowered at him. “And I didn’t know displaced people weren’t welcome here. Perhaps I need to pay more attention to your business.”
Benny paled. “No, Mr. Nathan. That’s unnecessary. A mistake is all.”
Nathan waved Joe over. To Benny, he said, “My friend here will have the special. On the house.”
Benny nodded. “Of course. Right away.” He slunk away to the kitchen, and Nathan sat across from Joe.
“How sweet.” Behind Joe, Quinn said, “You do have a heart.”
Nathan raised his eyes to Quinn’s smiling face. His superior countenance curled Nathan’s lip in disdain. Joe removed his dirty cap and said, “You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?” Nathan asked.
Joe said, “Always been good scraps in the bin out back. Maybe now, not so much.”
Nathan stared at Benny in the kitchen through the open partition. “Don’t worry, Joe. I guarantee Benny won’t change a thing.” Nathan cleaned the rest of his plate, popped the toast in his mouth, and sat back to wait.
“You mean he’ll keep feeding your buddy here garbage?” Quinn said, “You may have a heart but guess you’re not all that generous with it. How big of you to make sure the downtrodden have access to what you throw away.”
Nathan frowned.
Joe stammered, “I—I have news.”
Swallowing his food, Nathan washed the taste away with coffee. He said, “I figured. What’s up?”
Joe glanced around and said, “Three nights ago, a family was wiped out.”
Nathan leaned forward. “Taken?”
Joe shook his head. “No. They were cooking dinner outside the old soup kitchen. The father used to donate meals to the place, back before the wall. I knew him then and got to know him better since. He was good stock.”
Nathan rotated his wrist over the table—motioning Joe to get to the point.
“Sorry,” Joe apologized, “Got off track. His whole family was killed. Wife and teenage son.”
“Do the police know about this?” Nathan asked.
Benny slid a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast in front of Joe. He forced a smile and returned to the kitchen. Joe gave Nathan an odd look. Nathan explained, “I’m out of touch with the police at the moment.”
“Tell him why,” Quinn said. He appeared next to Joe and prodded Nathan. “I’m sure he’d love to know his savior is a devil. What are you being investigated for again?” Quinn tilted his head to one side and let his mouth hang open. “Come on, Nate. Tell him.”
Nathan slammed his fist against the table. The plates rattled and Joe jumped in his seat. Nathan steadied his breathing and apologized, “Sorry. I haven’t been sleeping well.”
Quinn bantered, “Who has?”
“Oh.” Joe eyed the food on his plate, and Nathan knew it represented more food than he’d seen at once in quite some time. Nathan clenched his jaw. Joe said, “Police found the bodies the next morning. Not saying anything though. My people are scared. We know it’s the same guy from Bennington Place.”
Nathan tensed his shoulders. He rotated his left shoulder to no relief. “I’m working on bringing him down, Joe. Believe me, it won’t be long now.”
“How are you working on it, exactly?” Quinn asked.
Nathan ignored the jibe and kept his gaze on Joe. He lifted his fork and held it over the plate. Joe paused for the longest time without touching the food. “Eat,” Nathan said.
Joe looked across at him. “So much food, you know. This could feed a lot of us.”
Nathan reached in his pocket and peeled off a few bills. He gave them to Joe and said, “So could this. Eat up, you’re looking too skinny.”
Nathan rose and grabbed his coat. Joe asked, “What do I tell people? This guy has scared everyone real bad.”
Quinn stared at Nathan and said, “Tell them there are worse devils in the world.”
Nathan shrugged his coat on and placed a hand on Joe’s bony shoulder. He gave it a light squeeze. “Tell them to hold on. Same as before—stick together to stay safe. They have my word—I’ll end this nightmare.”
Alexis watched Nathan make himself comfortable. The sight of him on his sofa—his foot up on the table—sickened her.
“So, what have you found?” Nathan asked.
Alexis sat in the chair opposite him. In a clipped tone, she said, “Plenty. Meet my researcher, Elise.” Alexis placed her tongue against her cheek. “She likes you about as much as I do.”
From the corner of the room, Elise said, “Charmed.” Her voice held all the warmth of an ice cube.
Nathan slouched on the sofa and curled his lip. “I’m sure.” His left eye whirred, and he stared past Alexis to an empty corner of the room.
A haunted, far-away look came over him, but Alexis made no mention of it. “Elise has dug into Horde Protocol. Turns out you may not be one hundred percent full of shit.”
Nathan looked back at her and asked, “Dug in how? I’ve had a guy on this for a while now, and he’s delivered nothing.”
Alexis leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. She looked across at Nathan and quipped. “Could be you kept him too busy elsewhere. Perhaps breaking into secure government networks?” Alexis watched for a reaction and again his eyes drifted to the spot behind her. His lip curled away and bared his teeth.
Alexis leaned back and accused Nathan. “I know it was you. Your guy hacked Identchip. Did you find what you were looking for?” His eyes remained focused behind her. She noticed the twit
ch in his cheek and the tension in his shoulders. She turned her head and asked, “What do you keep looking at?”
Nathan blinked and whispered, “Nothing.” He dropped his foot from the table and leered at her with a vile grin. “Can’t help yourself, can you? When I restore your reputation, I’ll enjoy watching you destroy it again with such baseless accusations. Until then, can we stick to the plan?”
Alexis stared right through him. She seethed. Her mouth opened, but Elise interrupted, “Maybe your guy isn’t up to par?”
Nathan’s brow pinched. His gaze slid to Elise, and he said, “And you are?”
Elise placed her hands behind her head and boasted. “I have the information, don’t I? If it’s on a network anywhere, I can find it.”
Nathan lifted an eyebrow at Alexis. “Researcher, huh?”
Alexis smirked. “Researcher, hacker. The digital age dawned a long time ago, you might want to catch up.” She turned to Elise and said, “Tell him what you found.”
Elise nodded. “Their server is well protected with traps and firewalls on every approach, but I got in for a brief period before being locked down. I slaved their boot drive and ran a bit search for the keywords horde and protocol. While that ran, I executed a back-door protocol of my own leaving a ghost program behind to mirror future usage of the terms and relay them to my server.”
Nathan blinked and scratched at his head. “And all that means…help me out here.”
Elise answered, “I have yet to come across a better protected network. Whatever’s on there, it will take more time than their security will allow to find out.”
Nathan looked confused. “So, you have nothing?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Nathan scoffed. “Well, excuse me, princess. I’ve only understood about every other word since you started talking.”
Alexis noticed his eyes shift over her shoulder again. She said, “During the brief window of access we had, Elise discovered Horde Protocol revolves around their advances in ectogenesis.”
“Ectogenesis?” Nathan repeated, “The baby thing?”
Elise snorted. “In your vernacular, I suppose.”
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