Failsafe

by Traci Hunter Abramson

  “Charlie?” Nelson bolted out of his chair, relief rushing through him. “I’ve been looking for you for weeks.”

  “I don’t have much time, but I have some photos of the people who killed my dad.” Charlotte gave him an e-mail address. “The password is the name of my dad’s favorite place to go fishing.”

  Before Nelson could question her further, the line went dead.

  “Was that Charlie Martin?” Larry asked as soon as Nelson set his phone down and turned to his computer.

  “Yeah. She said she’s sending me pictures of the people who killed Dwight.” He opened up his Internet browser and accessed the e-mail account she had given him. A single e-mail was in the inbox. He opened the first of two attachments. A computer-generated image of the Chinese man he had seen on a local traffic camera stared back at him.

  “Looks like we were on the right track with our prime suspect.”

  “What about the other one?” Larry asked.

  “Well, I’ll be.” Nelson tapped the computer screen, anger seething into his words. “That’s the guy who showed up from NSA to collect all that computer equipment from Dwight’s place.”

  “Are you sure? We saw him on the traffic photos driving a black SUV, but it was hours after the murder.”

  “Which means he would have had plenty of time to leave the scene of the crime, switch cars, and come back,” Nelson pointed out. “He said his name was Nick White. Check him out, and run the license plates on the second vehicle. Let’s see if he really is associated with NSA.”

  While Larry went about his task, Nelson read the short message from Charlotte.

  Need your help. Please run facial recognition on the attached composites and return any information you can find back to this e-mail address. I’ll explain as soon as I can. C.

  Nelson looked up the phone number for Ken Holtz at the NSA. He dialed the number but wasn’t surprised when it went straight to voice mail again. “Ken, it’s Sheriff Hendricks. I have an ID on our murder suspects for Dwight Martin and Kurt Dorsey. Give me a call back. I’d like to chat with you about them.” He gave his number and hung up the phone.

  He turned to Larry. “Did you find anything?”

  “The SUV had government plates, but it just came up as Department of Defense.”

  “What about the background check on Nick White?”

  “It’s clean. Driver’s license shows him as a resident of Laurel, Maryland. No criminal record. Not even a traffic ticket.”

  “Let me see that.” Nelson waited for Larry to print off the report and hand it to him. He read through it with a shake of his head. “It’s definitely clean. A little too clean.”

  “You think it’s an alias?”

  “We are dealing with the intelligence community. It’s possible.” Nelson pondered his options. “Call up the police department in Laurel and see if they’ll send someone out to check this guy’s apartment. If he’s there, tell them to hold him for questioning. And send his photo through facial rec. Let’s see if he’s really who he says he is.”

  Larry read Charlotte’s message over his shoulder. “Are you going to give Charlie what we’ve got?”

  “Yeah, I am,” Nelson said. “Holtz might not be cooperating, but I do think he’s right about one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Charlie’s on the run, and until these guys are apprehended, she isn’t going to be safe.” Nelson hit the reply button. “I owe it to Dwight to do anything I can to help her.”

  “We don’t have much on these guys yet. Do you want to wait until we see what facial rec and the cops in Laurel turn up?”

  “No. We can send her updates as we get them. Besides, it’s possible Charlie knows who they are. She said she’d explain when she can. Let’s hope that’s soon.”

  Chapter 37

  Charlotte saw the reply to her e-mail pop up only five minutes after she called the sheriff. “Look at this. He already responded.”

  She opened the e-mail and read through the message. “The names are Xi Cheng and Nick White. Sheriff Hendricks said they were caught on local traffic cameras.” Charlotte continued reading. “And get this.” She felt an increased energy. “Nick White showed up at the farm with an authorization to take possession of all of Dad’s computer equipment.”

  “Sounds like we found our man,” Kade said.

  “Pull up the attachments he sent you,” Ace instructed.

  Charlotte did as she was told, opening the background file for Xi Cheng first and then splitting the screen so they could view Nick White’s at the same time. Ace leaned over her shoulder, taking a closer look.

  “Kade, pull the DMV record for Owen Werthcamp.”

  “Werthcamp?” Charlotte asked.

  Ace didn’t respond, instead shifting his attention to Kade’s computer at the next workspace over. Charlotte shifted in her chair so she too could see his screen. He followed through with Ace’s request. All of them fell silent when Owen Werthcamp’s photo filled the screen.

  Charlotte was the first to voice all of their thoughts. “It’s the same guy.” She turned her attention to Ace. “How did you know his name?”

  “He looks just like his father.”

  “Who’s his father?” Charlotte asked.

  “Felix Werthcamp was one of the three original founders of the guardian program, along with your dad and Dwight. Guessing this guy to be in his thirties, it’s likely he’s Felix’s son.”

  “Where’s Felix Werthcamp now?”

  “Dead,” Ace answered.

  “At least, we think he’s dead,” Kade amended. He spoke to Ace. “Is it possible he used the initial setup of the guardian program to disappear himself? He would have had access to everything he needed to create a new identity or become a ghost himself.”

  “He’s dead,” Ace insisted. “That was my first job as a guardian. To make sure he wasn’t pulling a disappearing act.”

  “Why would anyone suspect he would try to disappear?”

  “I’m not sure, but Dwight did mention once that Felix was pretty upset after your dad died and Dwight was named program director. Apparently, he felt the job should have been his.”

  “How did he die?” Charlotte asked.

  “Car accident.”

  “Just like my parents.”

  “And just like with your parents, foul play was suspected,” Ace said. “Dwight was worried someone was trying to stop the program before it started. That’s why he relocated to the farm in Pennsylvania and the flow of information was so strictly protected.”

  “Any idea who could have been behind it?”

  “No. Investigations were conducted into both accidents, and Dwight and I did a containment analysis of the guardians. Nothing popped up. Only a dozen people even knew about the program’s existence, and that included the three founders and the three original guardians.”

  “What do we do now?” Charlotte asked.

  Ace retrieved a rolling suitcase from the side of the trailer. “Actually, I have a job for you.”

  “A job? I thought you wanted me to go back with Jake.”

  “You can do this while you’re at his farm.” Ace placed the suitcase on a workbench. He unzipped it to reveal multiple pieces of computer equipment, two handguns with several clips of ammunition, and a cell phone. He then handed her a backpack-style briefcase. “There’s a clean laptop in here.”

  “What’s all this for?”

  “We’re looking for the buyer. Someone had to fund the attack on us. We’re still searching for where intel could have leaked, but we want you to try to come at it from the other side. See if you can find any indication of who might be paying to put us out of business.”

  “Since it looks like Xi Cheng is Chinese, I’ll start in that region of the world. A lot of money filters through Singapore and Hong Kong.” Pleased to be able to do something to help get the guardians operational once more, Charlotte decided to push her luck. “Ace, I’d like to bring Jake into the circle of c
onfidence.”

  “Why?”

  “If I’m staying at his house, he deserves to know at least who I really am and why I was out riding in the country on horseback.”

  “Charlie, you know you can’t tell anyone about the guardians. Even with so few people knowing about it now, we’re having trouble finding the leak.”

  “I know, but can’t I at least tell him that I’m helping look for my dad’s killers or that I work for the NSA?” Charlotte asked. “It will make it a lot simpler to explain what I’m working on.”

  “I’m sorry, but we just can’t authorize that right now,” Ace said, the sympathy in his voice indicating he understood her disappointment. “Kade and I are both programmed in the speed dial for the phone. Don’t try to contact any of the other guardians. We need to limit contact.”

  “I wouldn’t know how to contact them anyway without access to the database.”

  “I’m not going to lie to you, Charlie,” Ace said, his voice grave. “If we don’t get this resolved soon, we won’t have a choice but to activate the database and risk our operatives or walk away and hope they can manage on their own.”

  Stunned by the extremes encompassed in the options Ace laid out, Charlotte asked, “If we walk away, do you really think the operatives who rely on the guardians would be okay without our support?”

  “I think we would lose at least half a dozen within the first month alone,” Ace said. “The guardians may operate off grid, but we do make a difference. That’s why the program has continued for the past two decades with the CIA’s and NSA’s blessing.”

  “It has to be someone in one of those two agencies who leaked the information about my dad and where the equipment was stored.”

  “We’ll keep searching.” Ace looked down at his watch. “You said you told your friend to wait until five?”

  “That’s right.”

  “That gives us a few more hours.” He stood up, closed the suitcase for her, and picked it up. “We can get a lot of work done in that amount of time.”

  “What kind of work?”

  “It’s time we see if we can figure out exactly who Xi Cheng is and what he wants with us,” Ace said.

  “I’d also like to know if Owen Werthcamp really is Felix Werthcamp’s son,” Charlotte said.

  “Let’s get to work.”

  * * *

  By three o’clock, Jake couldn’t stand it any longer. Working, reading, browsing through the bookstore—nothing could keep him from thinking about Hannah and wondering if she was coming back. How was it, he wondered, that she had become so important to him in such a short time?

  They had only been dating for a month or so, and it had only been a week or two before that that she had stumbled into his life. Too anxious to sit still, Jake drove out to the farm where he had left Hannah’s horse, collecting his trailer and the mare before returning to where he hoped to pick Hannah up.

  Evening rush hour was beginning to pick up when he parked on the far side of the parking lot and started pacing outside the truck, always watching in the direction Hannah had headed that morning. Four thirty came and went, each minute ticking by slowly. Sweat began to bead on his forehead, and he felt it trickling down the back of his shirt, the summer heat not yet dissipating even though evening was approaching.

  He saw a shadow first. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes, despite the sunglasses he currently wore, and an immeasurable wave of relief washed over him when he saw Hannah approaching. She pulled a carry-on suitcase behind her, and in addition to her leather bag, she had a business-style backpack over one shoulder. He closed the distance between them. “Is everything okay?”

  Hannah nodded and managed a half smile. “Is the job taking care of your grandmother still open?”

  “You’re coming back?” Jake asked incredulously. His hand immediately reached for hers, gripping it firmly.

  “If it’s okay with you.”

  “Of course it’s okay. I was afraid you were going to disappear just as quickly as you arrived.” Jake swooped down and kissed her. His fears and anxiety from the past several hours poured into the kiss. He sensed similar emotions in Hannah until slowly everything seemed to melt away.

  He thought of how she had come into his life at the exact moment he’d needed her the most and hadn’t even realized it. His heart swelled in his chest, and he pulled back, lifting a hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear. “You know, sometimes I think you are an angel sent from heaven to help me in my time of need.”

  “Not an angel,” Hannah muttered under her breath. “A ghost.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Here. Let me take that for you.” He lifted the suitcase and put it in the backseat of the truck. “What is all this anyway?”

  “It’s some stuff I need for a project I promised my friend I would work on for him.” She slipped the backpack off her shoulder and put it on the floor on the passenger’s side. “I can do it in my spare time.”

  “You know you can use your time however you want. You’ve done an amazing job keeping my grandmother happy and occupied. As long as she doesn’t try to burn the house down or go driving off somewhere, you can juggle things however you want.”

  “Thanks. I was hoping you would be okay with it.”

  Jake held the car door open and waited for her to climb in. When he settled into the driver’s seat, she said, “Let me know if you need me to drive part of the way.”

  “You drive?”

  “It’s been awhile since I lost my driver’s license, but I can drive.”

  “So you really are from this century.” Jake started the truck.

  “What? Why do you keep asking me that?”

  “One of the main characters in my current project travels through time from the past. There have been times when I have imagined you doing the same thing.”

  “You can’t seriously think I’m from another time.”

  “Hey, I live in a fictional world most of the time. Anything is possible.” Jake noticed the way the tension in Hannah’s shoulders relaxed. “Let’s see if we can find someplace to pick up some food before we hit the road. We can eat on the way so we don’t lose too much more daylight.”

  “Actually, I already took care of that.” Hannah opened the briefcase she was carrying and pulled out two sub sandwiches. “My friend and I stopped by a sandwich shop on my way back here.”

  “You didn’t get me tuna, did you?” Jake asked, wrinkling his nose. “I hate that stuff.”

  “I know.” She smiled. “That’s why I got you roast beef.”

  “I love roast beef.” Jake took the sandwich she offered to him. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to meet your friend,” Jake said.

  “Maybe next time.”

  “Do you have a time planned to meet with him again?”

  “We haven’t set anything up yet, but at least now I have a way to contact him.” Hannah held up a cell phone.

  “A cell phone?” Jake exaggerated his surprise. “First you tell me you can drive, and now you have a cell phone. It’s like you’re a whole new woman.”

  Hannah fell quiet at that.

  He looked at her, confused. “Is something wrong?”

  “I just have a lot to process. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I’m not very good company right now.”

  “Hannah, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  “I want to be able to talk to you, but I have a few things I need to work out in my mind first.” Before he could respond, she asked, “What about you? Have you decided when you’re going back to New York?”

  He hesitated. He had been postponing making any real decisions while waiting to find out if Hannah was staying. Now that she was, he was free to return to his old life, where meeting with his agent would be a simple matter of hailing a cab and meeting him downtown. Faced with the possibility of keeping Hannah in his life, he wasn’t sure he was ready to make the break with the routines he had established here in Virgini
a.

  “I’ll be staying for at least a few more weeks yet,” he said noncommittally.

  Hannah looked at him seriously. “I’m glad you’re not leaving yet.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter 38

  Charlotte’s mind raced as she drove down the country roads toward Jackson Hills. It felt odd to be behind the wheel after so many weeks of relying on others to provide her with transportation. Driving the truck with a horse trailer attached made her feel like she was back home working on the farm, pretending to be like the other farmers and ranchers in the area.

  Jake shifted sleepily in the passenger seat beside her. He had dozed off within minutes of her taking over, and her heart melted a little at the sight of him, his eyes closed, his face shadowed with two days’ worth of beard. Clearly he hadn’t bothered to shave this morning. Not that she blamed him. Five in the morning was a lot earlier than his normal wake-up time.

  She thought of the task Ace had given her and his insistence that she not reveal her true identity or profession to Jake. This wasn’t the first time she had been forced to circumvent the truth, but before she had been able to let rumors planted by her dad replace any need to lie outright. Except for her first internship with NSA, she had always worked for her dad. All of their friends just assumed her work had to do with running the farm, not helping administrate and support a top-secret program for the government.

  For the first time in her life, she found herself chafing against the secrets. Discovering who she really was should have been something she could share with Jake, and she hated not being able to confide in him, especially since he had tried so hard to help her find the answers.

  She reached a passing lane on the main road and pulled to the right so the car behind her could pass. The vehicle that had been tailgating her for the past several miles pulled into the left lane and zipped by her at twenty miles over the speed limit. Three more vehicles followed behind it, and Charlotte relaxed her fingers on the steering wheel, finally recognizing the tension that had built up in her body from driving for the first time in so many weeks.

  By the time the passing lane ended, she no longer had any headlights visible behind her, and she was relieved to take the turn on the winding road that would lead to the farm entrance.