“Yes, sir,” Kait said.
“Hopefully these searches will provide a direction for the investigation.”
“I want to make sure we don’t overlook the potential terrorist connection in our research on Hamid,” Nina added, ignoring Sulyard’s scowl over her stepping in. “He has a heart condition, and his mother restricts his movements. It’s not hard to see he resents it and feels isolated. He’s recently started bucking authority. So he has a grievance, and he’s trying to fill a hole in his life. Couple that with his Muslim background and he’s ripe for radicalization by terrorists. I could have the tech people check his computer to see if he’s been watching extremist videos, or posting and chatting with other radicals.”
“Lange, you take care of that,” Sulyard said, without even looking at Nina.
“My financial report will reveal any money given to these organizations,” Jae added.
“His mother also mentioned he’s been more withdrawn of late, and he clearly has anger issues,” Nina added, waiting for Sulyard to jump all over her. When he didn’t, she went on. “His mother says he’s bucking authority at all turns right now. His room is filled with dark posters, including Marilyn Manson. Though idolizing such dark rock groups is more typical of a teen heading toward an active shooter scenario, like a mall shooting and not involvement in terrorist activities, it led me to question his mother.”
“Okay, Lange, you good with following up on this lead?” Sulyard asked Becca.
She nodded, and Nina gritted her teeth before she said something to Sulyard that would totally get her kicked off of the investigation.
“I’ve never been to Triple Falls, Brandt,” he said to Nina. “But I’m guessing there’s no video surveillance in the area.”
“None,” Nina confirmed. “But I’ll be glad to double check.”
“Okay.” He kept his focus on her. “We also need to obtain database information for the Hacktivist group. Since you can’t modify this information without leaving a trail, it’s safe to have you take point here. Find out the name of the database administrator. Get a list of everyone who viewed the cache posting before it was taken down. Then you can get started working the list.”
“It could be a large number,” Nina warned.
“Then it’ll keep you busy and away from the other areas of the investigation.”
Nina resisted the urge to stick out her tongue at him. It was a childish response, she knew, but one she wanted to do, nonetheless.
“One last point,” Sulyard said. “In case any of you haven’t made the connection, Tyler shadowed Brandt last year. We need to make sure there’s not even a hint of favoritism shown to this kid. In fact, I want everyone extra vigilant where he’s concerned.”
That was just what Nina had been afraid of and all the more reason she needed to try one more time to suggest her help. “I’ve developed a rapport with the Stone and Ahmadi families. I could serve as the family liaison and keep them up to date on information you’d like disseminated to them, and answer their questions if I can. It would keep them out of your way.”
Sulyard stared at Nina, his gaze searching, prying for something before he shrugged. “We’ll give it a go for a day. If I find you’re helpful and you play by the rules, we’ll continue.”
“Yes, sir.” She couldn’t wait to tell Quinn about this small victory.
Sulyard clapped his hands. “Okay, people let’s get to it. As of now, we’re working around the clock.”
The group broke up, and Nina shot to her feet to catch up with Jae. “I hate to add one more thing to your list.”
“Hah!” Jae exclaimed. “You agents do it all the time. What do you need?”
“I want you to keep monitoring the chat room from the Bonneville Dam investigation.”
Her penciled-in eyebrows rose. “You think it’s related to this investigation?”
“Think about it. We have a stolen computer that holds the ability to hack the No-Fly List, and we have chatter about something of value for sale.”
“Oh, man, like wow. It could be related, right? I mean this could turn out to be a terrorist plot like 9/11.” The words flew from Jae’s mouth. “Does Sulyard know about this? If not, why didn’t you bring it up in the meeting?”
“Calm down, Jae. It’s just a hunch. Nothing more.”
“Yeah, but Nina, your hunches are usually right on the mark and this . . . the chance to alter the NFL . . . well that scares the crap out of me.”
Nina felt the same way and hoped for once in her career, her hunch didn’t pay off.
Chapter Thirteen
ENDORPHINS FLOWING, Becca pounded up to the FBI building and used the heavy metal fence surrounding the property to stretch her hamstrings. Light shone through windows, disappearing in the foggy morning. The sun wouldn’t be up for hours, and despite fatigue, the team continued to work. Which was why she needed this run. Needed it badly or she’d fall asleep at her desk.
She concentrated on breathing to return her pulse to her usual resting rate and reviewed her night. As soon as the staff meeting had broken up, she’d headed straight to Bryce’s house. It had been the wee hours of the morning, but what better time to find the family home and catch them by surprise. It had worked well to get to the truth, and Becca was all about finding the truth. It was a principle she lived by. She’d had enough lies and deceit growing up and didn’t tolerate them in her life.
Not that the Youngs had been deceitful. They’d filed a police report for the break-in and even confirmed it by giving Becca the case number. Plus they’d readily agreed to the supervised hotel stay. She’d quickly gotten them settled with an agent at the hotel, then traveled to Hamid’s house and oversaw the electronics seizure.
Now she needed to contact the detectives at PPB to inquire about the investigation and, if the computer techs had completed imaging the drives from the Ahmadis’ machines, she’d start reviewing the files.
Her breathing near normal, she headed inside to clean up. In the shower, she ticked off a long To-Do list she’d formulated while running. She couldn’t take a step forward until she organized herself. Then her focus would be laser sharp and she wouldn’t lose precious time along the way. Despite her misgivings about Quinn, Becca had to be there for Ty. Nina was counting on her, and she wouldn’t let her friend down.
After dressing, she went to find Kait. Despite Sulyard’s boycott of Kait’s connection to PPB, Becca hoped Kait would quickly connect her to the right detective. Becca located Kait staring through the conference room window where Nina sat facing the window, her expression brooding.
Kait’s concern for their friend was etched on her face. Becca was surprised Kait wasn’t in the room with Nina, offering encouragement as she usually did.
Kait turned, and when she spotted Becca, she frowned. “She’s been like that since you left, and I don’t know how to help her.”
“I’m not sure we really can help her,” Becca said, wishing it wasn’t true. “Other than to quickly close this investigation and stop Quinn from breathing down her neck.”
“She doesn’t need this, you know?” Kait shook her head. “Not after she worked so hard to put him out of her life. It’s not fair.”
“Fair?” Becca said. “If you want to talk about fair, I—”
Kait held up her hands. “I know. I know. No need to lecture me. Life’s not fair. I get it, but that doesn’t mean we have to dwell on it. I just want her to be happy.”
“Like you are, you mean? Disgustingly happy.” Becca wrinkled her nose.
Kait smiled, her eyes dreamy. She was obviously thinking about Sam. The far-gone look made Becca grimace. She was all for marriage and family for people like Kait and Nina, but not for herself. No way. Not now. Not in the future. There were so many foster kids depending on her—she needed every available hour to help them. No
point in wasting time talking about it.
“Since we confirmed the break-in at Bryce’s house, I’ll be contacting PPB when the sun comes up,” Becca said, moving them on. “Have you heard if Greco has finished Hamid’s prints? If the local police managed to lift any prints from Bryce’s car, I’m hoping they might belong to Hamid.”
Kait’s eyes narrowed. “Just got an email from Greco. The photos Quinn took of the shoeprints were a bust, but Hamid’s fingerprints matched latents Greco lifted from the cache box.”
“So, at the very least, Hamid touched the cache box.”
“Right, though it still doesn’t tell us if he put the computer inside and placed it at the falls.”
“But if PPB found his prints on the car, it will at least tie him to the computer theft.”
“If you want, I can expedite things by calling Sam to set up a meeting with the detective in charge of Bryce’s case.”
“That’ll make Sulyard mad.”
“So?” Kait said as she winked. “Since when did we let that stop us?”
“Never.” Becca chuckled.
The three of them had more education, experience, and training than the other CAT teams across the country, so they often took liberties that would get some agents in trouble, but not them. They didn’t flagrantly violate orders, but there were times when a case called for coloring outside the lines. Becca and Kait were fine with that, but Nina often had to be convinced to play along.
Kait shoved away a wisp of hair that had escaped from her clip. “What I’d really like to do is have Sam give the file a thorough read, then take over the case. But his lieutenant is a lot like Sulyard. He sees Sam as having a potential conflict of interest with anything FBI-related. I may be willing to risk my job, but I won’t ask the same thing of Sam.”
Becca liked Sam. He was a standup guy and she didn’t want to get him in trouble either. She just wanted to do her job and do it efficiently. “I’m not sure we need Sam to get involved, other than to find out who handled the investigation.”
Kait tipped her head in surprise. “Really? With the way you often run roughshod over people to get things done? It’s not likely a detective in charge of a simple B&E is a seasoned detective. I would have thought you’d rather work with someone who has experience and doesn’t waste your time.”
“Roughshod? Really? I’m not that bad.” Becca flipped up her hand. “Wait. Don’t say anything. Maybe I am, but in this case, beyond getting the detective’s initial report, I doubt I’ll need to partner with PPB, so it doesn’t really matter.”
“You never know what might come up. It would be good to have someone who you can call any time of day.” Kait stopped and thought for a moment. “Sam’s partner, Connor, is definitely good at his job, and Sam trusts him completely. Plus, he’ll be cooperative. I’ll call Sam right now and see what they can do to get Connor on the case.”
“Now?” Becca checked her watch. “It’s not even three. He’s got to be sleeping. I need to check in on the computer files first. You could wait an hour or so and give him a little more time to rest. I don’t want Sam to get mad at you.”
“First off,”—Kait smiled sweetly—“he never gets mad at me. Not often, anyway. Second, once I wake him up, he’ll call Connor and direct any anger at him.”
“Great.” Becca groaned. “That’ll make a good start to my working relationship with Connor.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Kait said, squeezing Becca’s shoulder. “Connor’s a nice guy, and he won’t hold it against you. Against Sam, maybe. But not you.” Still chuckling, she headed for her cubicle.
Becca hoped her friend was right. Otherwise, she’d need to find a way to persuade Connor into helping, and she wasn’t nearly as good at coaxing as Nina or even Kait. No, Becca was more the ‘meet on the basketball court, toss some hoops and wager on the outcome so he’d lose and have to help her’ type.
Too bad there wasn’t a hoop here or at the police station. She’d have a far better chance at success doing that than flirting with a man to get what she wanted.
WILEY SWUNG INTO Kip’s covered parking spot and got out. Man, he was glad to get out of that piece of junk Kip called a car. He’d had enough of tailing agents around in the cold. But it had paid off. He’d learned the Feds were putting Hamid up at a hotel near the airport. Wiley had no idea why, but it wouldn’t stop him from going forward with his plan. So, he’d hacked the hotel’s electronic records to find Hamid’s room and hidden the bogus phone in a fire hose nearby, thus allowing Wiley to make any texts he sent from Brandt’s phone to Hamid match up with the kid’s location.
Yawning, Wiley opened the apartment door and stopped dead in his tracks. The lights were on and music from a video game played in the background. Crap. Kip was there.
“Dude.” He charged at Wiley the minute he stepped through the door. He was wearing black pants and a threadbare white dress shirt with an equally worn bowtie. He thought he had a professional appearance at work, but he only looked like the immense geek he was. “Why in the world aren’t you answering your phone?”
Because it was you, fool. Wiley tugged the balaclava from his face. “Guess it must be on silent. What are you doing home anyway? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“I’m on my break, and I wanted to talk to you.” Kip dropped into the beanbag chair by his gaming console.
Wiley needed to grab his things and get over to Brandt’s house. He didn’t have time to have a heart to heart with Kip. “I’m kinda in a rush. Can this wait?”
“You’re in a rush?” Kip arched a brow below mousy-brown hair. “Now, in the middle of the night?”
“Got a chick waiting for me.” Wiley offered the lie that could always be counted on to disarm Kip. “So make this fast.”
Kip eyed him suspiciously. “Thought you said your scars kept you from getting any chicks.”
“Can’t get any worth looking at, but . . .” He lifted a shoulder in an offhand shrug. “So what did you want?”
“Did you see the Hacktivist site today?”
“No,” Wiley answered, but Kip now had his full attention. “Why?”
“You remember that Hamid kid we met at a Meetup? The one who kept complaining about his heart condition and his mom not letting him do anything?”
“Vaguely,” Wiley lied. He lounged on the edge of the sofa so he’d appear bored when he was now dying to know what this was all about.
“Yeah, well he’s the one who put the computer in the geocache. Now, he’s posted this frantic plea. Says the FBI is searching for the computer and whoever has it needs to return it to him. Says it’s a matter of national security. If he doesn’t turn it in, he’ll go to jail.”
Wiley snorted. “Yeah, right. Sounds like he reconsidered and wants it back.”
“He seems legit, man.”
“There’s nothing on the machine related to national security. Trust me. I’ve spent hours scouring it from top to bottom.”
“Even if he’s just blowing smoke, you should probably still give it back.”
Right, Mr. Goody Two Shoes. “It’s mine now. I found it fair and square.”
“C’mon, man. Think back to when you were a teenager and all the dumb stuff you did. Wouldn’t you have wanted someone to give you a break?”
He’d never been dumb enough to do something like this. “I need the money I’ll get for selling it, man.”
“Tell you what. I’ll buy the machine from you and give it to Hamid.”
“Nah, I’m not taking your money,” Wiley said, though he’d gladly do just that. He just wouldn’t turn over the computer. Ever.
“Don’t think of it as my money. Think of it as selling the computer like you planned to do.”
“Same diff.”
“Look, man. I don’t want this kid to go to jail.” Kip lean
ed forward, his eyes narrowing. “Don’t make me report this to the FBI.”
Wiley resisted curling his fingers in a fist and bashing the idiot’s face in. “You’d do that? I thought we were friends.”
“I don’t want to, but if it keeps the kid out of jail. Yeah, I think so.”
“Have you already told Hamid I have it?”
“Nah. I wanted to talk to you first. You’ll give it back, won’t you?”
“Yeah,” Wiley lied as convincingly as he could. “If I can keep using your car, I’ll arrange to get it back to him first thing in the morning.”
“Sure. Fine. The bus isn’t that bad.” Kip pushed to his feet. “Hamid’s phone number’s on the site.”
“Okay.”
“You’ll do this today, right? Like you said?”
Wiley nodded. “As soon as I can meet up with Hamid.”
“I meant it about the money. I can afford a coupla grand, no sweat.”
Idiot. “Okay. I guess I’ll take you up on it, then.”
“I can do an electronic transfer today.”
Wiley didn’t want to leave a trail from Kip to his bank account. “I’ve been cash only since I got out. That a problem?”
“Nah, I’ll stop at the bank on my way home from work, and you’ll have it tonight.”
“Hey, thanks man.”
“What are friends for?” Kip said, a dopey expression accompanying his stupid sentiment.
Wiley nearly gagged. Friends. He didn’t have any friends. Never had. Not even as a kid. Not with his parents. They scared everyone off.
Even if they hadn’t, people were always out for themselves anyway. Finding Wiley’s weaknesses. Exploiting them, then turning on him. He couldn’t afford to trust anyone. Kip might be putting a roof over Wiley’s head, but if Kip kept pushing this thing about returning Hamid’s computer, the dude would find himself six feet under in the blink of an eye.
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