End Game

by Rachel Dylan

  Jay nodded. “Let’s give this plan some thought, because we’re only going to get one chance. If we blow it, then they’ll just lawyer up and we find out nothing.”

  Izzy frowned. “But if these guys were willing to murder three people, why would they tell us anything? Wouldn’t they just stay silent?”

  Marco could tell Izzy hadn’t fully processed the potential plan. “We don’t walk in the door and ask about the murders. We have to be more discreet than that. I think we start by targeting mid-level employees before we head up to the top of the company.”

  “Ah,” Izzy said. “That’s what Bailey meant by a cover.”

  “Exactly.” Bailey smiled.

  Jay’s phone started buzzing, and he stepped out to take the call. Bailey used the brief interruption to do a coffee run, leaving Marco and Izzy alone.

  “How was it working with Jay? Did you learn anything?” he asked her.

  Izzy opened her notebook. “Definitely. He’s a nice guy. And it was really good to witness such a highly skilled interrogator in action.”

  “Are you saying I’m not?” Marco couldn’t help but laugh.

  She shook her head. “Sorry. No, I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “It’s okay, Rookie. I get it.” He paused. “All joking aside, what’s your read on all this?”

  “You really want my opinion?”

  Her reaction made him question if he had been too hard on his rookie after all. “Absolutely.”

  “I think the off-book employment is key, but I’m still confused as to why they set up Kappen. Why him? Why another SEAL?”

  Marco was glad she had thought about this. He was seeing her grow as an agent by the day. “We know there was a personal beef between Battle and Kappen. It also makes sense that to take down a SEAL, you’d need someone equally matched. To that you add his history with PTSD. What better person to frame than someone with a personal grudge and a record of psychological struggles? Kappen makes a great scapegoat—if that’s truly what happened here. We obviously don’t have all the answers.” But he really wanted them. Needed them to be able to bust open the case. There was still a nagging fear in his gut that whoever was responsible would kill someone else and that time wasn’t on their side.

  “While we have a minute, what’s the deal with what happened to Bailey?” Izzy’s eyes widened. She had every right to be concerned.

  “Unfortunately, we don’t know. At this point, it seems like a random crime.” He wasn’t going to share his fears with Izzy. He needed more to go on before he went down that road.

  “Is she okay?” Izzy asked.

  “Yeah. Bailey’s tough. She’ll be fine.” He was also a bit shaken up over this, but he’d never show that weakness to a rookie. “We have to keep our heads in the game and determine if Kappen was just a fall guy and if this is all connected to a yet unidentified company the victims worked for.”

  Izzy looked skeptical. “Don’t you find it odd that these guys who put their lives on the line for our country would have gotten into something nefarious? I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

  Marco had asked himself the same question, but Izzy needed a reality check. “One thing you’ll learn in this job is that we see some of the hard truths. The darker side of humanity. And there’s one fact we have to come to grips with. Even those we believe are heroes can sometimes be villains.”

  Izzy averted her eyes but didn’t say anything.

  Bailey and Jay walked back into the room a moment later. It was time to get to work.

  CHAPTER

  ELEVEN

  Izzy had watched while the others debated the best course of action. Did they come up with a cover story and use the DoD credentials? Would they just go in as themselves?

  Of course Marco had big ideas about how they should handle things. He always had ideas. But he wasn’t the only one. Bailey and Jay did as well. In fact, everyone had them except her. Maybe she was being too hard on herself, but she felt at a loss.

  Did she have any good ideas? She sat silently and watched the debate, but she feared to speak up. What if everyone thought what she said was stupid? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been told that.

  Around these seasoned agents, she truly felt out of her league. It was better to be silent than to look like an idiot.

  “Izzy, you be the tiebreaker here,” Bailey said.

  “What?” Taken off guard, Izzy wasn’t expecting to be called on, but now wasn’t the time to freeze. She wanted to provide her best assessment. “I say we go with the audit option.”

  The audit option, as Izzy understood it, would be for them to pose as DoD auditors in order to talk to key people at the companies. These companies all had DoD contracts with audit requirements—meaning the DoD could come in at any point and conduct an audit. It was also the option Jay had suggested. She’d only worked with him two days, but she already felt a loyalty and bond that she didn’t feel toward Marco.

  “I can admit when I’m wrong,” Marco said. “Auditors it is. Jay, are you good working with Izzy again?”

  “Absolutely,” Jay said.

  Izzy planned to soak up as much knowledge from Jay as she could. “How are we going to divide the list?”

  Marco unceremoniously ripped the piece of paper in half. “You two take the top half, and we’ll do the bottom. They’re in alphabetical order.” He handed her the torn sheet of paper.

  “Come on, Izzy. We have work to do.” Jay stood.

  Izzy grabbed her gear and followed him out of the room.

  He walked quickly down the hall. “All right. We need to talk about how we’re going to approach this.”

  Izzy’s short legs could barely keep up as she trotted down the hallway.

  “You’re going to need to put on your game face,” he told her.

  Her worst fears were materializing in front of her. “Are you worried I can’t handle this?”

  “No. I’m worried that you think you can’t.”

  He’d obviously identified her insecurities in the short time they’d worked together. “Shouldn’t we do more preparation first?”

  Jay stopped and turned toward her. “You don’t want to just walk in there?”

  “No,” she answered honestly.

  Jay frowned. “If we had the luxury of time, I’d agree with you, but we don’t. We don’t know if more people are in danger. And this is also a shot in the dark. We can’t sit around and pontificate. We need to act.”

  “You really think someone else could get killed?” Izzy found herself asking quietly.

  Jay shifted his weight from foot to foot. “We can’t rule it out.”

  “Then I guess you’re right. There’s no time to lose.” Izzy’s heartbeat sped up.

  Jay took a step closer to her. “I’m not trying to scare you, but my gut is screaming that something sinister is going on here.”

  Dread settled into her stomach, and she hoped they could figure this mess out in time.

  About an hour and a half later, they were stationed outside BF Solutions.

  “I assume you have some sort of plan?” Izzy asked.

  Jay gave her a little smile and looked down at his watch. “We’re going to do some impromptu questioning of employees as they exit the building.”

  “But how will we know if we’re talking to the right people?”

  “We won’t, but we don’t have an accurate way to prescreen people, so we’ll just have to do our best.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re trying to teach me some bigger lesson here?”

  “Because I am.” He laughed. “Our jobs these days rely a lot on technology and electronic means to connect the dots and solve complicated puzzles. But sometimes you just have to get out there and pound the pavement. Just like what you did as a cop.”

  He had a point there. “All right. Are we dividing and conquering here?”

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”

  “I can handle this.” If she couldn’t question ra
ndom people in a low-risk situation, then what good was she? As Jay said, she had been a police officer.

  “Looks like our first wave of employees is leaving for the day.” He opened his car door, and she followed suit. “Remember, we’re DoD auditors. Flash those credentials. You have every right to be here. You can’t act uncomfortable or out of place, or they will know something is up.”

  “Understood.” She wanted to demonstrate to Jay that she could be useful and could operate independently without a babysitter.

  Izzy focused on a tall black-haired woman walking out of the building. She moved quickly, as if she had somewhere to go. It was now or never. Izzy hightailed it over to her, flashed her DoD credentials, and introduced herself.

  Immediately upon hearing who Izzy was, the woman stopped cold. “What’s this about?”

  “What is your name, ma’am?”

  The woman looked at Izzy closely for a moment before responding. “I’m Regina Fairbanks.”

  Izzy couldn’t believe this turn of events. “Are you related to the Fairbanks that BF Solutions is named after?”

  Regina tossed her hair over her shoulder. “My father started the company.”

  The quick internet research Izzy had done on the ride over was paying off big time. Otherwise she wouldn’t have known the Fairbanks connection. “And what’s your role?”

  “I’m VP of human resources.” Regina tilted her head. “Maybe if you told me the nature of the DoD audit, I could direct you to the correct person.”

  “I’m not at liberty to reveal the exact details.” Izzy put on a serious face. “See that man over there?” She pointed toward Jay.

  “Yes.”

  “He’s my boss, and he will kill me if I say too much. I’m pretty new.” Izzy had learned early on that the best lies had threads of truth.

  “So it’s not just you here?” A frown pulled down on Regina’s bright red glossy lips.

  “No. The boss doesn’t let me venture out on my own yet.” Izzy decided to push further. “But I do know this is something big,” she said in a hushed tone. She just hoped she wasn’t overplaying her hand.

  “Why don’t we head back inside?” Regina didn’t wait for an answer and turned, walking briskly toward the building.

  This woman had something to hide. Whether it was related to the case remained to be seen. Izzy shot a glance at Jay and made eye contact. He could see that she was on the move.

  Once they got inside the building, Regina faced her. “Please have a seat in the lobby. I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”

  Izzy didn’t like the sound of that at all. “I’d actually prefer to be taken up to your office. One of the things we’re doing is spot checks on how records are kept.” She took a step toward Regina and purposely lowered her voice. “And I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but you should make sure you have your employment roster in order.”

  Regina tilted her head to the side. “My employment roster is always in order.”

  Izzy had hit a nerve by going into an HR-related topic. The problem with this strategy was that Izzy was having to make all this up on the fly. She hoped she wouldn’t paint herself into a corner at some point. “Regardless, the DoD would like to have the full cooperation of BF Solutions in this matter.”

  Regina blew out a breath in frustration. “All right. Come with me.”

  Izzy’s heart pattered with excitement as she followed Regina down a long hallway to the elevator bay. She couldn’t believe she was actually pulling this off. She figured there was no time like the present to start poking around. “I’m not that familiar with your company. Do you hire mostly on-roll or do you also contract employees?”

  “That’s relevant to your audit?” Regina raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

  They got off the elevator. “Yes, actually, it is. I can’t say any more than that, though.” Izzy stood firm, a careful balancing act between playing dumb and acting at least mildly competent.

  Regina crossed her arms. “We hire a mix of both.”

  Izzy followed Regina down the hall and into an immaculately decorated corner office. “Former military?” Izzy could feel herself holding her breath, waiting for an answer.

  Regina sat down behind her large mahogany desk and motioned for Izzy to take a seat. “Some, yes. But we do a lot in the tech space as well as engineering.”

  Maybe Izzy should take a step back. “Do you provide actual security services?”

  “Very little. I’m completely confused as to how that could be relevant, though.”

  Izzy shifted in her seat. “I was asking for my own benefit so that when my boss asks, I can give him the information. You must know how hard it is to be a woman in this field.” Yeah, she had played that card.

  Regina’s dark eyes softened. “All too well. And believe me, it’s just as bad, if not worse, when your father runs the company.”

  Good. She’d formed a connection with Regina. Now was the time to go in hard to get to the key issue. “Do you hire any former special-ops types?”

  Regina shook her head. “Not on a regular basis. They usually go elsewhere, but we have one or two.”

  “Could I meet them? Are they here?” Izzy was really jumping in.

  “No. They aren’t here. They’re on assignment.”

  Izzy needed to do something to divert. “Let’s talk about the gender breakdown.”

  Regina rolled her eyes. “I knew it. This is an employment-related audit. We strictly follow all DoD guidelines with regard to protected classes.”

  “Any lawsuits in the past year?”

  “Related to that?”

  “Yes.” Izzy needed to push this a little.

  “One, but it was settled. Those settlement terms are confidential. I can’t discuss them without talking with our legal counsel.”

  “Understood.” Izzy decided to go at it a different way. “This is kind of an awkward question, but I’m afraid I need to ask.”

  “All right,” Regina responded with skepticism.

  “Do you believe your company could validate all of its operations?”

  “How so?”

  “With a paper trail. Either hard copy or electronic.”

  Regina’s eyes widened. “I don’t like the sound of where this is going.”

  Izzy raised a hand. “I promise you this is SOP. I’m asking this question of other companies as well.”

  Regina didn’t seem so sure. “I think maybe I need to call our lawyer.”

  That was the last thing Izzy wanted. “No. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  “I think it is, given I think you’re asking if we’re engaged in any off-the-record work that we can’t substantiate. Is this about auditing our books? Our financials?”

  Izzy was more convinced than ever that BF Solutions had some skeletons in its closet. She had no idea what. But the last thing she wanted was to get into a tit for tat with a lawyer. Other people were much more suited for that. Like Bailey.

  “I think I need to circle up with my boss. I’ve probably already said too much. I’ve been told I can be too helpful sometimes, if you know what I mean.”

  A sly smile spread across Regina’s lips. “You know, it’s important for women in the defense industry to stick together. I’ve been in this business much longer than you. How old are you? Twentysomething?”

  “Yes,” Izzy responded but didn’t give her exact age.

  Regina leaned against the desk. “You’ll learn some tough lessons, but I can’t tell you anything else without getting our lawyer involved.”

  Izzy nodded. “I’ll head back down to talk to my boss. I doubt anything else is going to happen right now.”

  “I can escort you.”

  There was clearly no way Regina was going to let Izzy roam around, although that was exactly what Izzy wanted to do.

  A few minutes later, Izzy stepped outside the building and saw Jay standing alone. She walked over to meet him, and they headed to the car.

  “What ha
ppened?” he asked.

  “They’re definitely doing something they’re worried about, but I don’t know if it’s our problem. BF Solutions doesn’t specialize in areas that would be a great fit for our guys.”

  Jay patted her on the shoulder. “Good job. I’ll want the full debrief later, but we need to make a stop by Arlington PD.”

  “What?” Her stomach dropped.

  “While you were working your magic, I talked to Marco. Since we’re already out this way, he wanted us to talk to the detectives working the Rogers case and figure out why they jumped ahead of us.”

  “All right,” she said softly.

  He looked closely at her. “Izzy, are you okay? You’re getting a little pale.”

  She had to put on a strong face. “I’m fine. Nothing a protein bar can’t fix.” She didn’t know how she was going to even take a bite of anything, but she couldn’t tell Jay what was really going on.

  By the time they pulled up to the main precinct, Izzy was fighting back waves of strong nausea. She tried to rationalize with herself that the likelihood her fears were going to come true was very small.

  As they walked inside the familiar building, Izzy felt the walls closing in on her. Her fingernails dug into her palms. She fought to keep her breathing steady as her pulse drummed loudly.

  “Izzy, what’re you doing here?” a friendly, familiar voice called out.

  She turned and saw Andrew Leahy. “Hi, Andrew. We need to speak to the detectives in charge of the Michael Rogers case.”

  “Let me find out who that is. Just hang tight for a sec. The coffee’s still awful, but it’s hot, and you know where to find it.”

  “It must be nice to see your old friends here,” Jay said when Andrew had left.

  “Yes.” Andrew had been a friend. But she couldn’t say the same for everyone. Not even close.

  “Want some of that bad coffee he was talking about? Maybe it will give you a kick of energy.”

  Coffee was the last thing she wanted. She thought she might get violently ill any minute. She hadn’t expected her reaction to be this strong and awful, but it was. “No. I’m good, but I can take you to the break room if you want some.”