Third Hour

by Lisa Phillips

  “Hopefully we’ll get a hit on something.” Haley glanced at Niall. “The anonymizer is like that thing we set up to trap those people who held Talia.”

  Mason saw her stiffen, but she managed to cover it. Mostly.

  Niall said, “With the virus thing?”

  She nodded. “The anonymizer masked who we were. Then when people logged onto that server on the dark web, a virus Talia wrote, injected with a traceable code, made everything they did visible to us. We sent that to the FBI, and they brought down the whole ring with our evidence.”

  Dakota got off the phone. “Alvarez set up a meet with some of Yewell’s guys. He’s trying to get in on what they’re doing, using an undercover persona he’s had for a while. If he can get with their group, he’ll let us know where Yewell is. Or any other intel he finds out.”

  Mason was impressed. “Wow.”

  Dakota shrugged. “He’s good. But Talia is better.”

  Talia said, “Different skillset.”

  “Maybe.” Dakota made a face. “But when he went up against those townies in Malvern County, he got his bell rung.”

  Mason had no idea what they were talking about.

  Dakota continued, “And when the hacker tried to implicate you by putting that bank money in your account, you sent it right back.”

  “Then I’m glad you’re not the one who does everyone’s yearly evaluations.”

  “You know I’d give you a bonus anytime.”

  Talia chuckled, but they all heard the edge in her voice. How she’d forced herself to sound relaxed, though she was far from it.

  “Especially if you can find this guy,” Dakota said. “I’m in the mood to watch Neema take a bite out of government cover-up.” She leaned toward the dog and petted her face. “Yes, I am. But I don’t think it will taste good. Not like barbecue. But I’ll get you a steak.”

  Nearly everyone laughed at her. Enough that Mason couldn’t distinguish the sounds.

  “You love that dog.” Niall shook his head.

  Josh pinned him with a stare. “And that’s a bad thing?”

  Niall lifted both hands, but it was Haley who said, “We’re going to get two kitties.” She tapped on her screen, unable to see Josh’s look of horror behind her. “I’ll show you a picture.”

  “Later.” Talia snapped her fingers. “Look at this.”

  Mason got up to look over her shoulder. Haley stared at her own screen. “I see it. Is that him?”

  “I think so.”

  Niall wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

  Mason shot him a look, then noticed Josh and Dakota had done the same.

  “What?” Niall said. “There’s been way too much kidnapping lately. To be honest, I don’t want either of them going anywhere near this guy.” He waved at Talia and Haley. “Not if they could get hurt.”

  Talia turned in her chair and looked at the NCIS agent. “I’m not worried about the worst that could happen. Because the worst already happened.” Her words were measured. Steady.

  Mason set his hand on her shoulder.

  Talia kept her attention on Niall. “Dakota was kidnapped. Josh got shot. You got kidnapped. Haley got brainwashed. Dakota got shot. So did Alvarez. And I got kidnapped.”

  Mason’s whole body went solid. These people had lived some crazy times.

  Dakota said, “It’s been a busy couple of months.”

  Mason coughed. “Months?”

  She nodded, but it was Talia who said, “Until we get this guy, we can’t assume things will be fine. Because they probably won’t. But I have something going for me—something that he doesn’t.”

  A muscle in Niall’s jaw clenched. “What’s that?”

  “You guys, and Victoria.” Talia took a breath. “I know you’re worried. I’m scared out of my mind that he’s going to grab me again.” He heard the tremor in her voice, but she continued, “That’s why we’re all going.”

  Mason angled his body toward her. “Where?”

  She looked up. “I know where he is. I know where he was when he hacked the bank and the Secret Service office, and it looks like he’s still there.”

  “You’re not coming.” Niall shook his head.

  “Last time I nearly got sold by sex traffickers, I was alone in the office.”

  Niall stood. “I can see how that—”

  Talia grabbed her purse and stood.

  “—might make you think twice about…” His words trailed off. “Talia.”

  She looked at Mason. “Ready?”

  He stood. “You’re not going anywhere without me, and neither will you be staying here alone. Or with Haley.” He leaned to the side and said to her, “No offense.”

  The other woman grinned. “You think I’m gonna miss the fun?”

  Niall let out a frustrated sound. “Doesn’t anyone listen to me? This place is secure.”

  “Nowhere is secure.” Talia settled her purse on her shoulder. “That’s why I’m staying with you guys while you bring him in.”

  “Deal.” Dakota stood and brushed off the legs of her skinny pants. “Pretty sure I’m never leaving you behind in the office by yourself…say, ever.”

  A smile played on Josh’s lips.

  Haley kissed Niall’s cheek. “Sorry.” Then she pulled on her jacket. “We do this as a team, so we can have each other’s backs. Isn’t that what you wanted, for all of us to work together?”

  He shook his head. “Not when it puts you guys in danger.”

  “Maybe you could work out your own issues later.” Mason pulled out his car keys. “Because right now we have a hacker to bring in.”

  Talia looked at him. And the way she did, he couldn’t not lean down and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “Make sure you bring your stun gun.”

  Chapter 18

  Talia was tucked in the third row with Haley. She’d rather have sat beside Mason, but Neema had climbed up on the seat and rode the middle row between the captain’s chairs with both front paws on the center console between Josh and Dakota.

  She shifted in the seat and tugged on the edges of the bullet proof vest they’d strapped on her. “Why are these so uncomfortable?”

  Haley glanced over with a smile. Mason shifted in his seat, twisting so she could see his face. “You leave that on.”

  “But we’re not even there yet.” The house where the hacker had breached the Secret Service office from was still forty miles up the road.

  Mason glanced at the rest of the occupants of the van. “How many of you have been in a car chase?”

  All of them raised their hands.

  “How many of those ended with the car flipped over?”

  Only one hand lowered. Niall’s.

  Haley said, “My brakes were cut. I slammed into a house. But when it was a car chase, I was in the trunk, and it did flip over.”

  Dakota shifted in her seat. “Josh’s truck got exploded with a grenade. But we were standing right by it.”

  “Okay, I get it.” Talia huffed.

  Up in the driver’s seat, she thought Josh might have muttered, “I miss that truck.”

  Dakota reached over and squeezed his knee.

  Mason glanced at her again. “I’m not saying we’re going to get ambushed.”

  Niall didn’t look up from his phone. “We probably will be, though.”

  “What I’m saying, and I think everyone in this car will agree, is that your life is under our protection. And we don’t take that lightly.”

  “I know.” She blew out a breath. “Too bad Stanton still thinks I betrayed your agency. I had a great idea of what to get him for Secret Santa.”

  Mason cocked his head to the side. “You give good Christmas presents?”

  Niall said, “Dude.” Like that was all the explanation he needed to give.

  Dakota waved a hand. “You have no idea. Just wait.”

  Talia stared at Mason, a smile tugging at her lips. “Just wait.”

  He g
ave her a tiny nod, a whole lot of promise wrapped up in that one action. He intended to still be here, and part of her life, when Christmas rolled around in a few months. And maybe more Christmases to come.

  He said, “I love Christmas. Rayna bakes these cookies, and they have a layer of caramel on top that’s covered by a layer of chocolate.” He made a humming noise for a second. “They’re so good.”

  It was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water.

  Mason saw it. Of course he saw it. Talia reached in her purse and dragged out her phone.

  “Everything okay?”

  She nodded without looking up. “I’ll just feel better when he’s behind bars.”

  No one said anything, but she could feel their attention on her. They were going to feel how they were going to feel. There wasn’t anything she could do about that. Not until this thing was done.

  Talia read the Bible verse her mom had sent her. Of course it was all about being surrounded, protected. She prayed through it, thanking God for the people here in the car with her. God had given her the best of the best, placing them right here with her when she needed them.

  Not when the hacker had hired mercenaries to kidnap and torment her. She didn’t blame them for not being there in that moment. God had a plan in mind, and His will had been done. It had hurt. It was hard now, trying to move on. But whatever God was doing, Talia knew it would be the right thing in the end.

  Maybe all this was needed in order to bring the hacker down.

  Maybe there had been no other way.

  She didn’t want to make a bargain with God but there was no way she could handle it if something happened to Mason’s daughter. And yeah, she’d never even spoken to the girl. But that didn’t mean Talia wanted to be responsible—even indirectly—for Rayna getting hurt or winding up fatherless. Talia knew what it felt like to grow up without a dad. She didn’t want Rayna to feel that missing part of her life, too.

  Talia found Victoria had landed in DC. She tapped to call the director and put the phone on speaker.

  “Director Bramlyn.”

  “It’s me,” Talia said. “You’re on speaker. Everyone’s here.”

  “Have you heard anything about Welvern? How did the surgery go?”

  “I’ll call and find out,” Dakota called from the front seat.

  “Keep me posted. I’m just about to head into a meeting with the Secretary of State.”

  “Be nice, yeah?” Talia said. “We don’t need him on our bad side.”

  “Perhaps he should be concerned about being on my bad side.”

  “I’m just saying—”

  “I know.” Victoria was quiet for a second. “Now tell me what you all are up to.”

  Talia told her about the hacker using the house they were going to as a base, from which he had hacked the Secret Service network. “The funny thing is, I actually looked at the listing for this house. It’s a smart house, and it’s for sale.”

  None of the rest of them thought it was funny. Not before when she’d told them, and not now.

  “So, this is a trap then.” Victoria’s voice didn’t betray one ounce of emotion.

  “Probably,” Talia admitted. “But right now this is the only lead we have. He’s been there. I accessed the security system, and we got footage of him entering. He wore a hood, but I’m sure it was him. Maybe he saw me looking at it and decided to get in there first. Maybe he left me a present.”

  “Yeah, like a bomb,” Niall said, loud enough for Victoria to hear.

  “I don’t want to hear later, on the news, that my entire team was blown up.” Victoria huffed. “Can you imagine living with Alvarez after that? It’ll be a nightmare.”

  Talia wanted to smile.

  Victoria said, “How will going to this house get us Yewell?”

  “It may not,” Mason answered her. “But it’s an angle my team isn’t exploring.”

  “The hacker touched the keypad to get in.” This was the part Talia was most excited about. “We can get his fingerprint.” She had a program on her tablet that could run it straight away. They’d have an answer as to who he was within a few hours. How could Victoria argue with that?

  “Be careful.” Victoria muttered a few more words under her breath.

  Haley leaned over to the phone. “We will.”

  “You know we’ll take care of her.” Dakota called out from the front passenger seat. “And we’ll get this guy.”

  “Mmm.” Victoria’s emotions finally began to bleed through her tone. “I’ve got to go.” She sounded like she was getting choked up.

  The line went dead.

  Talia had never in her life heard Victoria sound like that. It was kind of unnerving, if she was being honest with herself.

  “Do you ever figure she goes to a quiet place alone and just cries?” Haley said. “Like, she literally despairs over what will happen to us next.”

  Talia said, “No way. She’s like the Iron Lady.”

  Dakota glanced back at Talia. Her expression claimed she didn’t exactly agree with Talia’s statement. And maybe that was right.

  Maybe Talia was wrong.

  Haley said, “You think running his fingerprint will get us an ID?”

  “It has to.”

  “But that would mean somewhere along the line, he made a mistake.”

  “I’m counting on that.” Talia nodded. “We already know he’s good. I’m counting on him also being human. No one is immune from making mistakes.”

  Talia just prayed they weren’t making one by coming here.

  . . .

  Mason curled his hand into a fist. It was that or reach for her, to help her out of the car. Talia climbed out and took a look at the area around them. Trees. Dirt.

  “How far is it?”

  He pointed west. “Half a mile that way.”

  Dakota strode over. “Here.” She handed Talia a pair of beat-up sneakers and a balled-up bundle he figured were socks.

  Talia shot her a look.

  “Because you’d rather ruin your shoes tromping through the woods?”

  Someone snorted. Mason didn’t turn around to look and see who. Talia huffed out a breath and took the shoes. She sat on the edge of the open rear door of the SUV and took off her heels.

  “For the record, I prefer those.” Mason pointed to the shoes she tucked behind her.

  “Me too.” She shot Dakota a look and separated the socks.

  She might be bantering with him, but she was still shut down. The way she had been since he mentioned his daughter. The second he’d said Rayna’s name, talking about her cookies, Talia had pulled in on herself.

  Mason figured she’d suffered terrible tragedy, but life should be celebrated. She was allowing fear to swallow her and keep her from enjoying life.

  He wanted to know what she was like when the weight of this hacker’s continued evasion of law enforcement didn’t sit on her shoulders. When they’d caught Yewell once again, and she was between cases. He didn’t believe she’d never have another worry after the two men were caught. Life didn’t work that way. The next case would surface, and she would be back on the job. But it would be a whole lot less personal.

  He wanted to know what the sound of her laugh was like. Not the pseudo-humor she expressed now. That was subdued, muted. He wanted to know what her full-out, overwhelmed-to-the-point-of-tears laughter sounded like.

  “Ready?”

  Mason glanced over his shoulder at Josh. He nodded. The DEA agent attached to the team had snapped a leash on his dog—not that she needed it. The animal leaned against his leg, ears pricked. Looking like she needed the barest encouragement to set off running.

  Hunting.

  “Dakota and I will circle around to the south, come up on the back door.”

  Mason nodded. “Keep it low and quiet.”

  Josh didn’t need to be told that. He nodded his assent anyway, and the three of them set off. Mason waited for Talia to stand. “Good?”

  She clut
ched her purse to her side. “Yes.”

  The team had argued that she didn’t need something in her hands, but no one had a backpack she could use, so the argument was short lived. She needed her tablet and phone, as well as a few other things. No one could debate that fact with her. It was a smart house. She wanted to connect to the server and copy all the data on it.

  See what the hacker had left behind.

  She worried the edge of her lip. “He’s going to see us. Doesn’t matter how quiet we are.”

  “Josh and Dakota know what they’re doing.”

  “I know.”

  Mason squeezed her shoulder. It was nice she cared about them. This team had a deep connection with each other, one he couldn’t say he had with his colleagues at the Secret Service. Before meeting this task force, he’d considered them friends, as well as co-workers. Now he knew it was superficial. This team was more like a family in comparison.

  They followed Niall, with Haley bringing up the rear. Only Talia didn’t carry a weapon. If he’d had a helmet, the kind armed-response teams wore, he would have strapped it on her. All he could do now was pray for protection and favor as they walked through the woods to the smart house.

  If the hacker still had any kind of connection to the house, he would see them coming. Talia was right about that. There likely wasn’t a way to keep their entry from him.

  Still, they had to try to get the information from the server.

  Talia looked at her tablet as she walked. Mason held her elbow so she didn’t trip. She said, “There aren’t any signals going to the house that I can see.”

  He let go of her so she didn’t think he thought she couldn’t walk without falling. Some of the things Rayna had told him about how a woman’s mind worked were just baffling. “And you said there’s nothing on the power grid?”

  “If anything is on inside that house, it’s not connected to the local power company.”

  “So that would mean a battery or a generator, right?” Haley walked behind them. “Or solar power. Something not drawing power you can see.”