Edge of Grey

by Phelps, J. C.

  I was hit with a wave of agony again when I stepped into White’s apartment, but I was determined to find Posner, so I didn’t give in to the urge to mourn.

  As soon as I got inside the war room I called Joe’s phone.

  “Hey, this is Alex,” I said after he’d answered.

  “Alex?”

  His tone was hesitant.

  “I was wondering how Jake was doing,” I said.

  “He’s awake.”

  “He’s awake?”

  I let out a relieved breath.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “For what? If you hadn’t cut my bonds, I’d be dead. Nothing to be sorry for. But, if you feel like you need to make up to me you can come to the hospital in a dress like the one you wore for the Club Crimson job,” he said.

  “Ha. That’s not happening. I just want you to know you need to be alert. We got Alan, but Mark got away. I don’t know if he’ll try anything, but I thought you should be aware of the situation. Please tell Jake I’m glad he’s finally awake, but I can’t come to the hospital yet,” I said.

  “Hold on. You can tell him yourself.”

  “Hey, Alex,” Jake’s voice was weak.

  “Hey, Jake. Sorry, I can’t be there right now,” I said.

  “Did the guys find Will?”

  “Yes. At the lodge. You knew about Will then?”

  My heart dropped. I’d been holding out hope that Jake was one of the good guys, or, at least, wanted to be.

  “He had him at the lodge?” he asked.

  “Yeah. In a type of panic room inside his own quarters, I guess,” I said.

  Brown told me about their raid on Mesa’s lodge and how they’d found Will. They’d stashed him at the office building after the raid, but he was more than a little beat up. Just like the men said, Jake knew Posner had Will, but what my partners didn’t know was that Jake had no idea where Posner was holding Will. That made me feel better about Jake. He wasn’t really withholding information, he didn’t have any information to give.

  “No wonder I couldn’t find him again. I’m sorry I couldn’t come right out and tell you about Will. Posner put me under surveillance the day you walked into the lodge and I recruited you. I’d hoped you would have realized Will was in the cell next to you. That’s the reason I had you thrown in there. Then I thought, if the refinery was attacked, Posner would have me get Will out right along with Ruiz, but he ordered me to let someone else secure Ruiz and I was to secure Will alone. I brought him back to the lodge and Posner said he had another team to transport him to a new location. Now it finally makes sense,” his voice drifted a little.

  “Alex?”

  Joe’s voice came through the phone again.

  “Yes.”

  “He’s in and out. Sorry.”

  “If you can think of anything that might help me find Posner I’d love to hear it,” I said.

  “Of course,” he said.

  Joe gave me a list of properties and clients he was aware of before we hung up.

  I began searching on the computer for Posner’s money starting with the same account numbers I’d given Colin. They held the exact amounts I’d seen when transferring my own payment. I wondered what Posner was talking about when he told Alan he’d dumped the accounts. I started trying to find any records of Posner’s actions when my phone rang.

  “Yes?” I answered it.

  “He’s running with only five million. Looks like the last transfer was this morning. The account numbers you gave me were last on our list, but we froze them immediately after that last transaction. I’ve got people trying to track that money.” Colin’s voice came through the phone.

  “Damn, that transfer was to me. Pull your people off that one,” I said.

  “What was that for?”

  Colin’s tone was suspicious.

  “He bought my loyalty,” I said.

  Colin laughed.

  “Loyalty? What were you doing to Posner?”

  “Nothing! He offered me thirty percent of Mesa, but I refused. I was trying to stall and he didn’t take the bait. He paid me instead. For the record, I asked for ten million.”

  “You let him talk you down to five? You should have held out for the ten.”

  I laughed at his comment.

  “I should have. I would have had a fight, but Alan had a gun pointed at my head at the time. If Posner had blinked funny you would have found me and Joe in a pile of dirt,” I said, then laughed.

  “The story was funny until you added in that last part. Having your life threatened isn’t funny,” Colin said.

  “It would be funny if someone else told it.”

  I was disappointed in his reaction. Since he found out I was Penumbra our opinions, sense of humor, our friendship had changed.

  “That’s because I don’t get angry when someone else tells me their life was threatened. You’re special to me. I can’t stand the thought of you in danger,” he said.

  “Your overprotectiveness is going to be the death of our friendship.”

  “I’m trying, Alex. I swear. There have been so many times in the past year that might have been the last time I talked to you. It pisses me off I’ve never told you that I love you,”

  I tried to cut in to stop him. I didn’t want to hear this. I couldn’t hear this. I loved Colin, but not the way I loved White.

  “No. Alex. You will hear me out or I’m going to hate myself for the rest of my life if something happens to you. I can’t live without having told you this. I’ve been fighting with trying not to sound sappy, but I don’t care anymore. I love you. Honestly, I can’t see us married with kids, or even sharing a bed. Not anymore. It’s not that you aren’t attractive, but that’s not what I want from you. I can’t explain it beyond just saying I love you. I don’t think of you as a sister, but you aren’t a lover either. It’s much more complicated than that. You’re so much a part of who I am, losing you would be worse than death.”

  I was flabbergasted. He explained exactly how I felt about him.

  “Colin, that’s exactly how I love you, too.”

  We were both quiet for a full minute before Colin started talking again.

  “Bear with me. I’m still adjusting,” he said.

  I nodded until I realized we were on the phone and he couldn’t see me.

  “Of course. As long as you promise to do the same. I’m sorry about your latest girl,” I said.

  “We knew from the beginning she was a plant. Your father thought giving Posner the idea that I was in love with you would force his hand. He’d try to take you hostage and use you for leverage. That would force White and Associate’s hand and they’d go in and take him out to save you.”

  I was instantly angry.

  “My father used me as bait against my partners?”

  “Shit, Alex. I thought we just agreed to try to understand where the other is coming from. Damn it. I’m screwed now,” Colin said.

  “You aren’t screwed, but my father is,” I said.

  “That’s why I’m screwed. Just keep in mind that your father has the big picture in mind. He wants to take down Posner and he didn’t want your partners trying to retrieve Alan to make the trade for Will. That’s giving in to terrorists. We can’t do that or they’ll just keep coming back for more. You can’t forget that he and I oversee the full picture and you’re a precision instrument. Don’t you ever wonder why you go long stints without a job? That’s because we are behind the scenes trying to shape the situation, making sure all the pieces fall together or will fall together after we’ve set you loose. I know it sucks, but we manage you and White and Associates, too.”

  “Another word for shape and manage is manipulate,” I said.

  “Please. Think about this before you go do what you’re going to do. You might not like it, but it’s how the game is played. Your father is grooming me to take his place and just like I have to accept the fact that I have to put you in harms way, you have to accept that I have to look
at the big picture and try to mold the outcome in the best way possible.”

  What Colin said made perfect sense and I could understand his position and my father’s, but it didn’t make being used feel any nicer.

  I rubbed my forehead for a few seconds.

  “Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut for now,” I said.

  “Thanks.”

  “I guess it’s time to get boots on the ground. Posner hasn’t been gone long, but the more time we give him the further away he gets, even if he doesn’t have any money.”

  “We’re still digging on this end. I’ll call you if I get any new information,” Colin said.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  I dialed Green’s number but didn’t get an answer so I rode the elevator down to the interrogation rooms.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  THE FIRST OBSERVATION ROOM I tried was the right one. Brown, Green, and my father were watching through two-way glass. Blue and Black were in the room with Red and Alan. I imagined Black was security and the syringe in Blue’s hand suggested he was acting as the chemist, making Red the interrogator.

  Alan looked decidedly uncomfortable. He was strapped into a chair with his shirt off and was hooked up to a couple of machines, one to monitor his vitals and an I.V. bag.

  I heard my father saying they didn’t have much luck with Alan doing the same thing. When they first gave him the serum he was cooperative but within thirty minutes, the interrogation dissolved into crazy ramblings.

  “I thought you’d have started by now,” I said when my father stopped speaking.

  “This kind of thing takes a little time to set up,” Green said.

  “Is this what you did to me?”

  My father’s head swiveled quickly as he looked at Green and I kicked myself for asking this with my father in the room.

  “No. We just gave you the sodium pentothal, nothing to counteract its sedative properties like we’re doing with Alan. We didn’t have a lot of questions to ask you,” he answered me.

  “You gave her sodium pentothal?”

  My father’s tone was cold.

  “I was there and we only asked a few questions,” he said to reassure the Admiral and sent a sidelong glance to Brown.

  The Admiral glanced at Brown before he continued.

  “When did this occur?”

  “When she came back to us with a bullet wound. We used the sodium pentathol to sedate her so Blue could sew her up. We only asked a couple of questions to be sure she hadn’t been compromised,” Green shrugged it off.

  “I remember it,” I said. “They only asked me a couple of questions.”

  “Rarely does a subject remember what he was asked or what answers he gave,” my father told me.

  “I can assure you we kept our questions strictly about her connection to Mesa,” Green said.

  Brown came up to me and grabbed me by my hair.

  “What kinds of secrets do you hold up here?” he asked while shaking my head.

  After Brown’s show of curiosity, the Admiral let the subject drop and shot a cross look to Green. Who, when my father wasn’t looking, gave me his own cross look.

  I remembered a couple of questions they’d asked me, but if they’d asked more, I wanted to know what they were and what my answers were. I put that on a list of things to talk to my partners about, especially since I don’t remember Green being present, only Blue.

  “Blue’s preparing the mixture. It’s part sodium pentathol and part stimulant, so the subject doesn’t fall asleep almost immediately. Sodium pentathol is a strong sedative and if we don’t counteract it with a stimulant the subject is rarely awake longer than a couple minutes,” Green explained. “He’ll inject it into the bag of saline solution and it’ll be delivered slowly. It’ll take a minute or two, but he’ll come around to answering questions. It’s interesting to watch. I’m glad you came down to see this,” he said.

  “I’d hoped you’d already gotten some answers,” I said. “We can’t afford to waste time in finding Posner.”

  Blue injected his solution into the I.V. as I said this and we stood around for less than a minute before Red started asking questions.

  “What’s your full name?” Red asked.

  Alan didn’t reply so we waited another thirty seconds before Red repeated the question.

  “You know my name,” Alan said.

  “Progress already,” my father said appreciatively.

  “He didn’t give the answer,” I said.

  “But he’s talking.”

  My father smiled.

  Another fifteen seconds ticked by before Red repeated the question.

  “Alan Markus Posner, asshole.”

  Red smiled.

  “Where is your father, Mark Posner?”

  “I don’t know. Where’s Ms. Grey? I’d like to see her again,” Alan said.

  My father swore quietly.

  “Where is Mark Posner?” Red repeated, unmoved by Alan’s request.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What kind of vehicle did he drive away from the cabin?”

  “The Acadia.”

  “What color?”

  “Black.”

  “Where are you supposed to meet Mark Posner?”

  “I don’t know. He’ll call me with a location,” he answered.

  “When is he supposed to call you?”

  “Early this morning.”

  “What is the plan if he doesn’t call you?”

  “I’m supposed to take Grey to my apartment in Rio De Janeiro and wait for further instructions.”

  Red got the address of Alan’s apartment and Green wrote it down, even though they were videotaping the session.

  “How long do you wait for further instruction?”

  “One week,” Alan said.

  “Then what are you supposed to do?”

  “Assume Mark is lost and take control of all Mesa outlets outside of the country. I’m to contact Colin DeLange and let him know I’m holding Alex and arrange a trade. If her allegiance falters or DeLange won’t make the trade I have to kill her. Where is she?”

  “He’s fighting it,” Brown said.

  Red took several minutes to ask Alan about every office and operation Mesa controlled outside of the country.

  Green wrote all of this down as well.

  “Where’s Grey?” Alan asked again.

  Red looked at Blue who shook his head and gave the I.V. a flick with his finger.

  “I need a list of all the bank accounts you’re aware of,” Red said.

  Alan started to rattle off bank names and account numbers and then stopped midstream and asked where I was again.

  “Why do you want to see Ms. Grey?” Red gave in.

  Again my father swore.

  “She interests me,” Alan said.

  “In what way?”

  “In all the ways,” he said and smiled at Red.

  “Don’t you remember? Back in the day when we’d make bets on girls? I want to bet on her. I would have won that bet earlier if you guys hadn’t crashed the party.”

  I felt my face get hot and I was even more thankful my partners showed up when they did.

  “You lost that fight. She dislocated both of your arms,” Red said.

  Alan’s expression became arrogant with raised eyebrows and a condescending smile.

  “Foreplay. I’d have gotten them back in place in a couple minutes and then I’d have finished it.”

  “You would have killed her?”

  “No. I was just interested in a little fun.”

  Black’s hands were doubled up into fists and I watched as his jaw clenched and unclenched, but the blow came from Red.

  Alan’s head snapped backward and Blue immediately got up to check him. He slapped him in the face a couple of times before Alan regained consciousness.

  The Admiral knocked on the window to signal the men to stop.

  My three other partners joined us in the observation room.

&nbs
p; “What the hell is going on in there? Why did you let him own the conversation?” The Admiral asked.

  “I shouldn’t have given into it. I’ve never had a subject who’d been given the serum do anything other than just answer questions. He can’t completely resist because he’s talking, but he’s steering the conversation the way he wants it to go. I guess I wanted to see where it would lead,” Red said.

  “We have all of those account numbers as well as all the locations of the Mesa operations. I’ll get you copies of the transcripts,” my father said.

  He let out a deep sigh.

  “I’ve seen this kind of thing crop up with other unstable individuals. The drugs don’t work the same way on an unhealthy brain or something. As soon as he started talking about Alex back at the compound he was lost. We’d get nothing more out of him, especially when we indulged him. I don’t know why I expected this session to be any different to ours. Now that she’s come up it’ll be all you get. You need to go at him from a different angle. You have something I didn’t,” the Admiral said as he looked at me. “Send in Alex, alone.”

  “No,” Black said and advanced on my father.

  “Yes,” the Admiral said.

  “I don’t think that’s wise, Admiral,” Red said, stepping between him and Black.

  “If he’s resisting, he could come out of it at any time and those stimulants running through his veins could spell disaster. She can’t go in alone,” Blue said menacingly while he and Brown joined Black’s advance, closing in around my father.

  I stepped between them and my father.

  “Back off, guys,” I said.

  Colin’s words about the bigger picture were upfront in my mind.

  “Just give me a couple minutes with him. It’s worth a shot. We have to find Posner and the money trail has gone cold. It’ll take us weeks to check out all of the locations Alan already gave us. It’s time to look at the bigger picture and if putting me in there with him alone puts it in focus it’s worth it,” I said.

  “Wait,” Red said. “You said he talked about Alex back at your compound? He didn’t even know her. How could he be talking about her?”

  “Exactly my question. Since you let him stray I say we indulge him with the real thing,” my father said.

  “Okay, but any sign that he could break his bonds and it’s over,” Red agreed.