"What has Guardian ever done for you except to teach you to kill?" Kowalski demanded.
"They didn't teach me to kill, Uncle Sam did that. They gave me a purpose and a function. The missions I've completed for them have made this world a better place. What did you do?" He pointed at the two little girls in the photograph. "Your daughters were lucky. How many little boys and girls did you murder or sell into slavery? You disgust me. You're not a man. You have no honor, and when you die in prison for the crimes you committed against the thousands of children you sold, there isn't one person in this world who will mourn your loss. Your wife? She filed for divorce. Those little girls? You'll never see them again. I hope you enjoy hell because the one thing prison inmates hate worse than a pedophile are people who prey on children and sell them to those sick bastards."
Zane retrieved his pen and notebook. He stood and pocketed the information before he turned toward the door.
"Did she really file for divorce?" The question was soft, but it was asked.
Zane turned and examined Kowalski. The swagger was gone, but who knew if it was an act. "She cleaned out your accounts, filed for divorce and sole custody. She packed up and left Russia for the Mediterranean. If I find out this information is incorrect, her holiday will be shortened. Dramatically."
Zane stepped out of the interrogation room at the same time as Jared King exited the observation room. Jared extended his hand for the information Zane had acquired.
"We need to talk about a way forward." Zane didn't hand over the information. He knew Jewell's section could ferret out the information he needed. If there were anything to go on, he'd get with Jason to find someone to watch Jewell while he went on the hunt, because it was going to be a hunt and slaughter as far as he was concerned.
Jared crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Zane for several seconds before he nodded and turned on his heel. The 'come with me' was insinuated.
Zane drew a deep breath and looked toward the ceiling. He'd been skating on the fine line between his former life and his current one. If he couldn't show her brothers he was capable of living in her world, he'd never stand a shot of gaining their blessing. Not that he needed it, but he knew Jewell seemed to crave her brothers' approval, despite the little show she put on two days ago. His feet moved forward after his boss. Zane pieced his civil veneer back into place as they headed to the executive wing of the building. Kowalski would be taken back down to Guardian's holding facilities.
Jared waited for Zane by the elevators. "You got more from him in five minutes than my team of interrogators have in the last month." There was a small amount of respect in the tone of Jared King's voice.
Zane shrugged. "I'm sure your people didn't threaten to kill his wife and children."
"No, we can't use coercion to elicit information… not if we want it to stand up in court, and in his human trafficking case, everything has to be by the numbers. We can't let that bastard off on a technicality."
"I understand completely, but Vista isn't going to court." Zane entered the elevator when the door opened.
"He needs to be apprehended. He has violated at least a dozen laws in as many countries." Jared pushed the button to reach the level where Jason King's office resided.
"I beg to differ. He's a threat to your sister."
"He's been a threat to all of us. Yet we've managed to remain alive and if I'm not mistaken, keeping my sister alive is your basic function, at least until this threat is neutralized." Jared leaned against the wall and watched the floors change on the display.
Zane narrowed his eyes and turned his head toward his superior. Did the man doubt his desire to take care of Jewell? "Meaning?"
"Meaning if you take out of here chasing ghosts, who will be here to protect her?" Jared's eyebrow lifted, and his chin rose in an act that reminded Zane of Jewell.
"I won't be chasing ghosts. If there is a trail to follow, I'll find him. If not, then there is a Plan B."
Jared paused as the door opened. "Plan B?"
"Yeah, but you aren't going to like it any more than I do." Jared did a double take as they headed toward the executive offices.
Jared blew out a lungful of air. "Then we better hope we find a trail."
Chapter Sixteen
Jewell's phone had been ringing non-stop for the last fifteen minutes. Someone in HR had opened an email with an attachment… and of course, they clicked on the attachment without confirming they knew the sender. The malicious little virus had been contained, but now everyone in HR was screaming at her section as if it wasn't Clarisse Thompkins's fault they didn't have access to their systems. Oh no, they acted like it was her section's fault. Jewell wanted to find Clarisse and do bodily damage to the woman. People making stupid mistakes made her section's life miserable.
The phone rang again. She answered it with a keystroke and a growled, "What the fuck is it now?"
"I take it you're having a bad day?" Her brother, Jason's voice, resonated within the confines of her office walls.
"If I ever find a certain Clarisse Thompkins, I'll string her up and… hell, I don't know, I'll do something drastic!"
"What did Ms. Thompkins do to upset you?" That was Jared's voice, and the bastard was laughing.
"She didn't have the brains not to double click on an attachment from someone she didn't know. So now HR's systems have been quarantined, thanks to her, and I have three of my people trying to undo what shouldn't have been done, all while the powers that be in HR are screaming at us to do it quicker. I'd rather just leave them down for two days and teach them all a lesson."
"Right, well I can understand your angst. How about I get HR to stop calling you and you come to my office. We need to discuss a few things that have come to light recently. Also, bring your tablet."
"Like I go anywhere without it?" Jewell glanced over at her snack stash. Two bags of her good chocolate should be a decent offering. She knew her brothers were bottomless pits, but they were discerning pits. "See you in a couple minutes." Jewell grabbed a sticky note and scribbled Zane a message as to where she was going. She stopped halfway through the process and looked at the paper and pen in her hand. A slow smile spread across her face. She didn't want to worry Zane. That meant she cared and the validation sunk in just like warm sunshine on a cool day. She finished the note and put it on his chair before she grabbed the candy and her tablet.
Jewell headed down the stairs but stopped by Alonzo's workstation. "I've got to go to the X-wing. I'll be back shortly." Her staff had shortened the executive wing's name years ago.
Alonzo peered over his monitor at her. "Who did you tell off in HR to get you drug up there?"
"Ha! No one! I was good… well, I wasn't bad enough that they reported me, but this is a different issue. Do me a favor? Make sure Clarisse, the little sweetheart, takes at least three different training modules before you let her system go back online?" Jewell turned to leave but spun around before she pointed at Alonzo and directed, "Make them the longest, driest computer based training modules we have. I want her to suffer."
Alonzo laughed and gave her a thumbs up. Jewell spun again and headed out the door.
She managed to eat seven pieces of chocolate before she made it to Jason's office. Jewell tossed a piece of candy at Sonya when the woman pointed to the big conference room door while she was on the telephone. Sonya snatched it out of the air. They'd perfected the maneuver over the years.
Jewell pushed the door open, and stutter stepped when she saw her brothers, Nicolas and Zane sitting around the conference room table. Zane looked up as she entered and grabbed her attention. He smiled and winked at her from across the room. The feeling of safety and comfort that always surrounded the man seemed to seep into her pores. She smiled back as she walked across the room. She pulled a chair out beside Zane and tossed a bag of chocolate to Jason. He grabbed, opened and spil
led the candy onto the conference room table letting everyone take a piece or twenty.
"So why am I here? I'm assuming it has something to do with Vista?" She grabbed a handful of candy out of the bag she retained and passed it to Zane. He handed it to Nicolas without taking any.Naturally. Health nut.
"Yes, I think we need to consolidate our approach to this situation." Jason unwrapped the heavy foil from around his candy. He took a bite and chewed it for a moment before he spoke again. "Zane isn't convinced Vista died in that explosion yesterday. I'm not ready to put this case away without knowing for sure. Do we have a dead body? Yes. Do we know for sure that the guy down in the city morgue is our hacker? No, we don't. I agree with Zane that it was just too neat. The initial fire investigator's report is in. The explosion was fed by the natural gas line to the house. The inspector believes there was a detonation point in the basement. He believes there was a homemade triggering device. Guardian has requested permission to run forensics. The autopsy on the young man found in the house hasn't turned up anything of use. He was burned beyond recognition. They weren't able to pull prints. The report from the fire department says the house was rented by a housing management company. They were unable to get a hold of anyone until about two hours ago. The house was being rented by a Benjamin Lufkey. Age 23."
Jewell's fingers flew across the tablet. "Turn on the screen for me, Jace?" She didn't even look to see if he had before she accessed the wall mounted monitor. She looked at DMV records she'd called up and gasped. Everyone turned to look at her. Jewell glanced at Zane at the same time she swiped her hand across the screen and threw the image onto the seventy-inch monitor. A picture of the pock-faced young man with the broken voice that had registered both her and Zane the night of the competition appeared.
"Fuck me." Zane's almost silent comment echoed in the room.
"Do you know him?" Jason whipped his head toward Zane.
"Yeah, he worked the Black Onyx tournament at the Gaming Den. He was at the registration table." Jewell answered for them both.
"So there is a connection between the night you went out and the texts Zane received? This man could be Vista?" Jason asked.
Nicolas leaned forward his eyes cut to Zane and then back at Jewell. "How much personal information did you put on that form?"
Zane huffed and turned his head away from Nicolas. Jewell wanted to do the same thing, but she answered, "Nothing. I know better than that. I used my alias, so did Zane. The only thing on there that could be traced back to me is my handle. But they could only follow it back to a pay-as-you-go credit card and nothing else."
"What about you?" Nicolas's stare was pointed at Zane.
"Same. The apartment I listed as my address was provided by Guardian when I transitioned. There is nothing for anyone to find there. I did use my credit card, but it is my alias."
"But it tied you to Guardian. If he tracked your handle to your credit card, he could have found your name or at least the name you use now." Jewell tried to track the hacker's actions aloud.
"No personal items of any kind in that apartment?" Nicolas fired the question at him.
"What do you think?" The warning tone in Zane's voice prompted Jewell to place her hand on his forearm. His muscles bunched under her hand and then relaxed.
"I think you're both compromised." Nicolas's face reddened as he glanced from where Jewell lay a restraining hand on Zane's arm to Jewell and then back to Zane.
"I don't agree." Jason's voice cut through the tension. Jewell didn't move her hand, and Zane didn't attempt to make her. "We have a way forward now. Zane, I know you want to take the lead, but we need our investigators on this. Nic, you get the teams briefed and out in the field, as in I wanted them out of the building ten minutes ago."
Nicolas nodded and picked up his tablet and stylus. He rose while delivering Jewell one more long look. She had no idea what Nicolas's issue was today. He'd never been so hostile. If anything, the man was usually the welcome comic relief. Jewell watched him turn to leave before she swung her attention toward the other men at the table. "What's his problem?" She pointed to the door that slammed shut behind Nicolas.
Jared huffed out an indignant sound. "As if you don't know."
Jewell blinked several times as she stared at her brother. She didn't know. "I'm sorry, but I don't know. I've monitored all the feeds, the reports are being processed and are on time. We don't have any back-ups in any of the intelligence gathering departments." Jewell stabbed her tablet with her finger and confirmed she hadn't missed a suspense that would jeopardize any cases that Nic or Jared were working on. "No…" Jewell gulped at a horrible thought and lifted her eyes to Jared's. "Is he mad about the HR debacle? That isn't my fault. I don't know how to make it any clearer when we do quarterly and annual training. You do not open unsolicited email attachments from unknown sources."
Jared's mouth went slack as he stared at her.
"What? What did I miss?" She glanced over at Zane who gave her a reassuring smile.
"Nothing. Nicolas was upset because he figured out that you and I are seeing each other."
Jewell looked at Jason who was trying to hide a smile. Jared still looked at her like she had three heads. "Why would he be mad about that?"
Jared palmed his face. "Didn't you have a date with him on Friday night?"
Jewell nodded. "I did, but I canceled it because I wanted to play in the tournament with Zane. It wasn't like we were any more than friends. I told him I didn't want to be added to his list of conquests."
"He asked you out, Jewell, because he likes you." Jared glanced at Jason who shrugged.
Jewell swiveled her head toward Zane. "But I don't like him. I told him that. Why would I sleep with you if I like him?"
"Holy Shit!"
"Jewell!"
She spun at her brothers' simultaneous outbursts. "What?"
Zane put his hand over Jewell's. "I'll explain it later."
The low, gravelly voice didn't sound like a request to her ears, and she wasn't quite sure why, but something told her she'd messed up. Again.
Jewell grabbed a pencil out of her hair and bit off the brand new eraser. What had she missed? Why was everyone upset? She glanced at Jared who shook his head. Jace didn't seem too upset, but she was never sure with any of her brothers. Except Joseph. He was always pissed. That was just a given.
"Alright, so we have a way forward with the young man who lost his life. Jewell, we will need a complete background. Zane, until we know for a fact this kid was our hacker, you'll be working with Jewell. Track the accounts, phone numbers, and email addresses you got from Kawolski. However; if you find a lead, no matter how slight, Jared's people will take over. I'm not risking her life for your satisfaction. Understand?"
Zane nodded his head, but his jaw was locked tight. Jewell could feel the pent up aggression rolling off of him. She dropped her now mangled pencil onto the conference room table. "Zane believes Vista is still alive." She blurted the statement because she wanted to talk about the plan she and Zane should be formulating.
All three men directed their eyes toward her. "I want to set up a trap. If this guy was Vista and he is dead, then there is no harm in going through with it."
Zane sighed and leaned back into his chair. "We now have three avenues we are working to ensure we know Vista is gone. We don't need to worry about the fall back plan until we exhaust these leads." Zane looked at Jason after he finished.
"What is the plan?"
Jewell swiveled her head toward her brother. "Oh, it is simple. I announce that I defeated Vista, that I was the reason he was ousted from the Bravata. I simply state Vista was the reason the Bravata failed."
Zane added, "If he is alive, he wouldn't be able to resist coming after her. I think he is laying low now, biding his time, hoping we believe he's dead. The entire event was too contrived. If I had limited knowl
edge of operational tactics, it would be a ploy I'd consider. My gut says this kid," he motioned toward the screen, "was a victim or a patsy that Vista used."
"We don't run investigations on gut instincts." Jared leaned back in his chair and tossed his stylus onto the table. "But we damn sure pay attention to them when we have them. I don't like the plan, simply because it puts you in danger." Jared lifted his hands and rubbed his face before he leaned forward again. "My vote is to continue with this line of investigation. Follow the physical evidence until we find the answers we need." He turned to look at Jason. "You said you authorized Tori to go to the CIA and ask for assistance tracking Vista through their channels?"
Jason nodded. "They have a vested interest in making sure he's actually dead."
"Then I say let these avenues run. See what happens. If we need to implement Jewell's plan, we can address safeguards at that time."
Jason stood and stared at the kid on the screen. "I agree. The plan is a last-ditch effort." He turned toward Jewell. She blinked at the finger pointing toward her. "You are not authorized to do a damn thing without my expressed permission regarding this plan. Do you understand?"
Jewell scowled at her brother. "I'm not mentally impaired. I do understand instructions."
"And yet you disregard them." Jason rolled his shoulders and put his hands in his pockets. "Zane, if she fails to abide by my rules, you will pay the price for her disobedience."
"Hey, that's bullshit!" Jewell launched out of her chair.
"I agree. It is. But you have no regard for your own safety or, as you've proven, my directions. Anything you do outside the normal duties of your job will cost Zane. Think about that before you decide to countermand my decisions."
Zane stood and buttoned his suit jacket. "I accept your terms." He stepped away from the table and extended his hand so Jewell could precede him. She glared at her brother for several long moments before she slid in front of Zane and marched across the office.
"Take care of her, Zane." Jason's words caused her feet to falter.
Jewell (The Kings of Guardian Book 8) Page 12