Final Cut (The Kate & Jay series Book 4)

by Lynn Ames

  “You see here?” He pointed to a string of code. “This gives Vector access to the development status of new weapons systems and designs.” He glanced back at Lorraine, then returned his attention to the screen. “This here? This gives them a blueprint to your latest technology to counteract cyber-spying.”

  “Holy Mother of God.”

  “And this? This one provides them with all the codes to hack into the new encryption software protecting top secret communications between Homeland Security and all of its agencies. The pièce de résistance, of course, is the thing Vector was actually supposed to be doing, creating secure technology to protect sensitive conversations for top-level officials, except that they gave themselves a way to eavesdrop and record every conversation.”

  Lorraine’s face paled, and Sabastien was afraid she might pass out. “Are you okay?”

  Lorraine blinked. “That’s…”

  “Horrible. I know.”

  “And you can prove it? All of it?”

  “Every line of code, every back door they opened, every aspect of the system with which they tampered.”

  “Do it quickly, before they catch onto us. Capture it, save it in several places, print it out just in case, and get out of there. Make sure you don’t leave any traces behind. We don’t want them to be aware that we know.”

  “Oh, Lorraine. What do you take me for, an amateur? Sabastien is on the job.”

  “Good. And as soon as you’ve got that squared away, finish figuring out a way to safely get the information to Peter ASAP.”

  “As I said before Veronique interrupted us, I am only a few keystrokes away from making us secure once more.”

  Lorraine jumped up and gave Sabastien a big, loud, kiss on both cheeks, and he blushed to the roots of his hair.

  “I love you, Sabastien Vaupaul. You really are a genius.”

  She was gone before he gathered his wits about him to respond.

  Peter paced back and forth in front of the white board. On it, he had created a timeline of hacks perpetrated by John Robie prior to, and immediately after, the Vector hack.

  “What is the common thread here?” What was it Lorraine’s profiler had said about Robie? She said he had a persecution complex. Peter stared at the board again.

  He uncapped a marker and began circling the dates of each hack. Then he opened Google on his computer and typed in the name of each affected company and searched each of their websites for press releases and announcements of what projects they were working on just before John Robie hacked them. By the fifth search, he’d found the pattern. “Gotcha.”

  Peter’s computer chirped, indicating an incoming e-mail. The sound was loud in the silence and it startled him. He clicked to open the message and his eyes opened wide when he saw that it came from one of the accounts Sabastien had set up.

  Peter opened the e-mail and scanned the contents.

  We are secure once again and we have news. I am sending you a birthday greeting via a new e-mail address. I hope you will enjoy the gift. I would love to Skype with you to wish you greetings in person. Ping me if you are able.

  Peter read the note again, making sure that he understood the message. Sabastien was sending him the proof, wrapped up with a ribbon. When his computer chimed again, Peter opened the new e-mail and eagerly double-clicked on an encrypted, zipped file. He saved it to an external hard drive, opened another laptop with a new IP address, connected the external hard drive to it, and opened the files.

  When he’d finished reading the report and all of the attached documentation and printed all of it out, he sat back and smiled with satisfaction. Everything was coming together. Now all they needed was to finish solving the John Robie/Black Knight puzzle.

  “Well, dummy, if transmissions are secure now, why are you trying to do this alone?” He double-clicked on Skype and placed a video call to Sabastien.

  “Kate?”

  “Peter? What’s going on?”

  “Where are you right now?”

  Kate heard the urgency in Peter’s voice and wanted very much to know what was causing that. Had he found the Black Knight? Were Lorraine, Sabastien, and Vaughn okay? Had they found something? Could she ask Peter? Were their communications secure? There was no point in taking unnecessary chances, so she decided to be circumspect. “Where you and I were the other day. Why?”

  “That’s perfect.”

  “Because…?”

  “I need you to drop whatever you’re doing and meet with a friend of mine.”

  “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  Kate tamped down her frustration. She wanted to be able to speak freely. How was she supposed to know who she was meeting and where to go? And was Jay supposed to come with her?

  “Am I going to need any details? Like who, what, where, when, how, and whether it’s a table for two or three?”

  “Table for three. I hope you’re hungry right now. It’s a business meeting, so bring your three hundred-page portfolio. I’ll arrange the details. I suggest you stand outside on the curb, enjoy the sunshine, and wait for your ride.”

  The line went silent. Kate scratched her head and tried to decipher the cryptic message. Table for three meant the meeting included Jay; that was easy enough. The three hundred-page portfolio… He means the manuscript. He wants Jay to bring the manuscript. Whoever was meeting them obviously had to have a way of tracking their whereabouts without needing any input… Trust, Kyle. Trust Peter.

  Kate stepped back inside the hotel where they’d been sitting in the lobby when Peter called. Dara still was at the reception desk, arranging the hotel rooms so that neither Kate nor Jay’s name appeared in any computer systems. Kate found Jay window shopping at the gift shop at the far end of the lobby. “We have to go.”

  “Why? Dara is still checking us in.”

  “I know. I’ll let her know we have to go out for a little while. We’ll be back in time for dinner.”

  “Where are we—”

  “Sweetheart, I love you, but now is not the time for questions. Keep your briefcase with you. I’ll ask Dara to have a bellman bring our bags up to the room.”

  Kate strode across the lobby and touched Dara on the sleeve. “Jay and I have to go run an urgent errand. Will you be okay here?”

  Dara raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Of course. I’ve got everything under control. I’ll get you your room and have the bags brought up. I’ll text you the room number.”

  “I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t…”

  Dara squeezed Kate’s shoulder. “Don’t give it a thought. We’ll be fine.”

  “It’s just that this is important and unavoidable. We’ll be back in time for dinner. Will you join us?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I can.” Kate hustled toward the front door and motioned for Jay to join her.

  They’d barely reached the sidewalk when a large black SUV pulled to the curb in front of them. The back passenger door opened. “Ladies, can I give you a ride?”

  Jay stepped back, her fear palpable. Kate steadied her with a hand in the small of her back.

  “He’s a friend of Peter’s, sweetheart. We’re safe. Get in.”

  Jay stepped into the car, sat, and hugged her briefcase to her. Kate followed behind her and sat next to her.

  “I’m sorry for the cloak and dagger.” The man next to Jay was beefy and balding, with a slightly bulging belly. “I’m Derek LaPointe, Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security.” He held out his hand and shook theirs each in turn. Then he tapped the driver on the shoulder. “Let’s roll.”

  Kate narrowed her eyes. The name sounded so familiar to her, but at the moment, she couldn’t recall why.

  “Where are we going?” Jay asked. Her left arm still clutched the briefcase to her chest.

  “Someplace I know we can talk openly.”

  The driver made a left-hand turn, and suddenly Kate knew their destination. It had been many years since she’d been there. “I lo
ve the Willard Hotel.”

  Derek smiled at her. “Me too. For so many reasons.”

  “Anyone want to clue me in?” Jay asked. “Kate, how did you know where we’re going?”

  “You’ll see in a minute,” Kate answered.

  They pulled into a garage and the SUV stopped in front of an elevator. The driver came around and opened the door for Kate and Jay.

  “This is our stop, ladies. Please, I would ask you to leave your cell phones in the car.”

  Jay looked to Kate, and Kate nodded. She removed the cell phone from her pocket and placed it on the seat. She motioned for Jay to do the same.

  To the driver, Derek said, “Wait here. We won’t be too long.” He walked over to the elevator and inserted a key into a keypad on the wall. The doors opened, and he motioned for Kate and Jay to step inside.

  Jay’s eyes were wide and she was clenching her teeth so hard that her jaw bulged. Again, Kate put a hand on her back to reassure her.

  The elevator doors opened to reveal a room several steps away. Derek led the way to the room, and used a retinal scan to give them access. The three of them entered the room and the door closed behind them.

  “Welcome to our SCIF,” Derek said.

  “Sensitive Compartmentalized Intelligence Facility,” Kate explained to Jay. “This room has double-reinforced walls and blocks out all recording devices.”

  “One of the most secure meeting places in D.C.,” Derek boasted. “I wanted to be certain we were clear.”

  “How do you know this place?” Jay asked Kate.

  “The Willard Hotel has been here since 1850. This room was created… Well, I don’t even know when, but I attended more than one meeting here when I worked for the president.”

  “Derek, no offense, but why are we here? And why is your name familiar to me?” Kate asked.

  “Ah. I wondered if you’d remember.” Derek shifted from foot to foot, his eyes on the far wall. “You never met me, but I know both of you and everything that happened back… Well, back in ’89.”

  “You do?” Jay asked.

  “Yes. At the time, I was Deputy Director of the FBI. Peter came to me and asked for my help with your…case, Ms. Parker.”

  “That explains it,” Kate said. “How do you know Peter?”

  “We served in Vietnam together. That man saved my life—dragged my ass out of a POW camp. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

  “Speaking of being here, why are we here?” Jay asked.

  “Peter called me a little while ago. I hadn’t heard from him in years, although apparently he’d been following my career. He said he had something big and very sensitive, and he needed someone he could trust absolutely and who had access to the president. Peter will be here in the morning, by the way. He and I have a meeting scheduled at oh-seven-thirty. If the information is as vital as Peter says it is, and I’ve never had a reason to doubt him, then we’ll take it to the president.”

  “We, as in…?”

  “The four of us.”

  “Oh,” Jay said.

  “Not to question your authority, Derek, but how is it that the Deputy Secretary of DHS has direct access to the president?”

  “You’re very sharp, Ms. Kyle. Every bit as sharp as Peter said you were. You are correct that I would normally be too low on the totem pole to rate an audience with the president, except that I was, at one time, Director of the Secret Service under this president. I spent time with him every day.”

  “Until you were appointed to this current position,” Kate said.

  “Exactly.”

  “You still haven’t directly answered the question. Why are Jay and I here?” Kate asked.

  “Although Peter wouldn’t go into any specifics about what he possesses, he did go into great detail about you, Ms. Parker—specifically about the scrutiny you’ve been under—and I did some checking. Frankly, although I’d seen some vague justifications from the FBI for surveilling you, it wasn’t much of a blip on my radar until Peter brought the situation into sharp relief. On behalf of our government, I want to apologize for what the FBI has been putting you through. I want you to know, I personally had a…discussion…with the Director of the FBI, and you are no longer under surveillance of any kind.”

  Jay swayed with relief and Kate put an arm around her. “Thank you.”

  “I’m not done yet.” Derek cleared his throat. “Peter asked me to do something else, and I told him I would.”

  “What’s that?”

  “He asked me to read your manuscript.”

  Unconsciously, Jay tightened her grip on the briefcase.

  “I see that you are reluctant, and I can understand why,” Derek rushed on. “But here’s the thing. Remember that I know a great deal about what transpired during the Hyland situation. In fact, like you, I was one of those required to testify before the Hyland Commission. More importantly, I’ve seen the documents in question—the ones that were leaked. Peter assures me that if I read your manuscript, I will recognize that there is no disclosure of top secret information therein. If he’s right, then I will personally bring that information to the president and have you exonerated.”

  “Why would I need to be exonerated if I’ve done nothing wrong?” Jay stiffened.

  “Perhaps exonerated is the wrong word,” Derek said. “You’re the writer, not me. What I mean to say is that I will see to it that the truth comes out—that what you’ve written doesn’t in any way violate national security or disclose top secret information.” Derek pointed a finger at Jay. “If, and I emphasize if that’s true. But the only way I’m going to know that is if you allow me to read your manuscript.”

  Kate looked to Jay. “Peter trusts this man.”

  “I know he does, but you’ll pardon me if my recent experiences with the Feds have made me a little skeptical.”

  “I’d like to tell you we have the luxury of time, ladies, but we don’t. If you give me the manuscript now, I will read it tonight and personally hand it back to you in the morning. I give you my word that no one but me will see it, and I will make no copies.”

  “Jay,” Kate said gently. “Peter asked him to read it. We have to trust that, and him. We have to trust somebody.”

  Reluctantly, Jay opened her briefcase, removed the copy of the manuscript she had brought with her, and handed it to Derek. “You might want to vet the movie script also, since it’s based on the manuscript.” She handed that over as well. “Same conditions apply.”

  “Of course.”

  “I hope you’re a fast reader.”

  “Fortunately, being able to quickly digest information is one of the requirements of my job. Besides, I love a good thriller.”

  When Kate and Jay were safely in their own hotel room, Jay said, “What the heck just happened?”

  Kate shrugged. “Sounds to me like Peter has all the proof in his possession. Sabastien and Lorraine must’ve isolated actionable information on what Vector and the Commission are up to and they must’ve found a way to get that to Peter.”

  “Do you think he figured out who the Black Knight is?”

  “He wouldn’t have risked calling Derek to meet if he hadn’t solved that piece of the puzzle.”

  “God, I wish we could find out what Peter knows. We need our own SCIF.”

  Kate laughed.

  “Did you notice that Derek only mentioned the FBI harassment? He didn’t say a word about the IRS thing.”

  “Either he doesn’t know about that, or Peter was saving that for tomorrow.”

  “Or we still don’t have the physical names of who made the wire transfer and who at the IRS came after me.”

  “And Dara.”

  Jay nodded. “And Dara.”

  “Speaking of which, we should call her. It’s almost dinnertime.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Peter finished eating dinner at Tonic and decided to take a stroll. It was a nice enough night, though more humid than it had been the other day. The messa
ge from Derek indicated that he’d successfully convinced Jay to let him read what she’d written. Peter was glad for that; he hadn’t been entirely sure Jay would go along with it.

  While he was on the subject, he wondered how long it would be before his friends figured out that if he was meeting with Derek at seven thirty tomorrow morning, he must either be in D.C. by now, or at least be on his way here.

  He wandered past the Vietnam Memorial, pausing to touch the wall. For a moment, he got lost in the memories of so many friends and comrades lost. Then he moved on, drawn to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which suited his mood.

  If everything fell into place as he believed it would, by this time tomorrow night Lorraine, Sabastien, and Vaughn would be on their way home, and the Black Knight, Vector, and Michael Vendetti would be out of commission. Peter snickered at his own pun.

  His phone buzzed. When he saw that it was a text from Kate asking where he was, he congratulated himself on his prescience. He typed, If you’re available, meet me at the haunted place. He pressed the Send key, then looked up at the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.

  His phone buzzed again. Be there in ten. He couldn’t decide whether it was a blessing or a curse that Kate so easily understood the meeting place he referenced, but some things didn’t bear thinking. So instead, he picked up the pace and headed for the Lincoln Memorial.

  By the time he arrived, Kate and Jay were jogging up the steps. “Going somewhere special, ladies?”

  “Just out for a little exercise, actually,” Jay said. She gave him a big hug. “Thanks for this morning and the decoy.”

  “You’re welcome, squirt.”

  “And thanks, maybe, for your friend. I’m not sure about that one just yet.”

  Peter nodded sympathetically. “I understand. But Derek is a good man, an honest man. He’s above reproach. I trusted him with my life in ’Nam, and I trust him now.”

  “Why didn’t we go to him sooner?” Kate asked.

  “We didn’t have enough evidence. If I’d gone to Derek before we’d figured out all the pieces of the puzzle, he would’ve told me there was nothing he could do without proof. I wanted to keep the loop as tight as possible until we had everything we needed.”