Dirty Deeds

by HelenKay Dimon

  Chapter 25

  Daniel stepped into the office. His gaze bounced around the room before settling on the extra laptop sitting on the edge of Astrid’s desk. “What’s going on in here? It’s well before regular hours.”

  Gaige doubted Astrid could sell a fake answer to that. The real one would only cause trouble, so Gaige didn’t even bother. He had what he needed, or at least most of it. He was convinced someone set Astrid up. Looking at Daniel, Gaige couldn’t help but wonder if they’d found the real trouble.

  “Why are you here?” Alec asked.

  Daniel barely spared him a glance before looking at Astrid. “You’ve been given enough deference. I’ll handle the questions.”

  Astrid shifted around until she stood behind her desk again. All of her focus was on Daniel and his unexpected visit. “You’re not scheduled to work this early.”

  “I was concerned about all the unscheduled visits, then there are rumors about something happening where these two are staying. The police aren’t talking, but the neighbors are. It seemed like a good call to get a jumpstart and head in early.” Daniel had his hand on the top of his gun. “Did they force you to bring them in?”

  There was nothing subtle about that. Gaige was about to cut off the questioning when Astrid spoke up.

  She shook her head. “That’s not what this is.”

  But she couldn’t really say any more than that. Not until they knew who on the inside was involved in the fake seed deposits and emails.

  They’d walked with Daniel around the building before, and Gaige didn’t remember seeing the gun then. Having it show up now was not a good sign.

  While he watched Alec scan the room and assess, Gaige raced through his memory on Daniel. Nothing in his background suggested he couldn’t be trusted. If anything, his long and impressive military career suggested the opposite.

  The guy was married with a son. No money issues. No recent financial windfall. So, Gaige skipped all the obvious tricks to end this. Instead of coming up with an elaborate plan, he went with the truth and would try to read body language. “When is the last time you went into the unused vaults?”

  Daniel frowned. “Why?”

  “I’m your boss.” Astrid’s sharp voice cracked through the room. “Pretend I asked the question and then answer.”

  A muscle in Daniel’s jaw twitched. He might be an institution around here but Gaige had to wonder if he didn’t also have a problem with authority. Answering to a woman might be too much. That could give him motive to sabotage and bring the whole place crashing down.

  It seemed extreme, but people did stupid things. That happened all the time.

  “We check them once a day.” Daniel didn’t flinch when he gave the schedule. He didn’t seem to mind being asked except for the fact that someone dared to question him.

  “We?” Alec asked.

  “Security.” Daniel leaned toward Alec. “And I don’t work for you, so consider that your last question.”

  As far as shows of strength went, this one by Daniel was pretty good. He also held the gun, so that meant he would win most of the arguments. But he would not win this. Gaige needed one thing, and he was determined for Daniel to make it happen. “We need to get inside those vaults.”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m going to say no to that request.”

  Astrid talked over him. “It was an order.”

  “I’m not sure what’s happening here but until I know, no one is going on another tour of the building, scheduled or otherwise.”

  “Meaning?” Alec asked.

  “I’ll recheck identities and make some calls.”

  Daniel was in full security mode now. It was a good plan. Unfortunately for Daniel, they didn’t have time for it. With Astrid on their side—and Gaige guessed that was a little iffy right now—they had a shot at getting the evidence before it disappeared or burned in an unexpected fire.

  Astrid’s fingers curled into the back of her chair. “Stand down. I need everyone to stay calm.”

  “Look, Daniel.” Alec sounded out of patience and bored now. “This isn’t looking good for you.”

  Daniel held up a hand. “I can guard my own reputation.”

  This wasn’t working, so Gaige tried a new tack. Go right after the issue. “Why the transportation schedules? Why Syria?”

  Daniel’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

  The shock sounded sincere, but Gaige had been fooled before. People could lie on demand. Some became even more convincing when cornered. He knew that now. “We’ve seen the correspondence and the attempts to clean it up.”

  Daniel stared at all of them for another second. Slowly he raised his hand and put his phone to his ear. “Einar? I know I told you to rotate off shift earlier, but I need your help in Astrid’s office.”

  Two security guards were two too many. They had a shot at overpowering one man with a gun. They had a very high probability of welcoming a bullet if they wrestled with two.

  “I don’t think so.” Alec said the words as he body-blocked Daniel into the wall.

  The older man slammed into drywall. The phone dropped from his hand and the stack of papers on the table by the door fell to the floor with a soft fluttering sound.

  Gaige moved then. He elbowed Daniel in the stomach, knocking him off-balance. Daniel reached for his gun but Gaige was right there and grabbed his hand. They wrestled, shoving, each landing more than one punch. The man was strong for his age and very determined.

  Then Alec swooped. He shoved Daniel harder into the wall and held him there with a hand on his chest. “We need to come to an understanding.”

  Daniel looked past Alec to Astrid. “Do something.”

  “Let him go,” she said with a shaky voice.

  They didn’t have much time. Daniel had called for reinforcements. Others could be on the way from outside the building. Gaige had no idea who to trust, except for Alec. But he did know someone was willing to use force and search cabins. That meant there would be more guns before this was over. As the guests, he and Alec were the only two not allowed to have them.

  Gaige reached in and slipped Daniel’s gun out of its holster. That would even the playing field a bit.

  “Give me the weapon.” Daniel pushed against Alec. His gaze darted around the room. There was no question he planned to win back the advantage. Maybe use something else as a weapon.

  Gaige didn’t want to wait to find out.

  Astrid came around the side of her desk yelling, “Alec, you never said—”

  He shot her a killer stare. “Astrid, we need to move.”

  Daniel yelled over all of them. “No one is leaving here.”

  “Wrong answer.” Gaige had the gun. He didn’t aim it at Daniel and didn’t intend to use it, but he kept it where Daniel could see it. Gaige was pretty sure that was the only thing stopping him from dragging Alec to the floor in hand-to-hand combat.

  “You’ll need to shoot me,” Daniel said.

  “Also not true.” Lightning fast, Alec spun Daniel off the wall and stood behind him. He had Daniel in a headlock. The older man’s legs kicked out and he scratched at Alec’s arm. Four seconds later he turned boneless as he lost consciousness.

  Alec caught him. Lowering Daniel down, he protected his head until he slouched against the wall. After a quick check of his pockets, Alec held the guard’s badge and a set of keys.

  “Alec!” Astrid’s gasp echoed around the room. “What did you do to him?”

  “He’s asleep. He’ll be fine. I promise.” Alec pitched his voice low. It sounded soothing, though Astrid did not look ready to be appeased.

  She looked back and forth between the men. “How can you—”

  “If you’re being honest then whoever is framing Alec and his company is also framing you.” Gaige didn’t know how else to say it. It was a harsh truth, but it was the truth.

  The comment seemed to knock some of the horror and indignation out of her. She swallowed as she nodded. �
�Now what?”

  Gaige knew they were throwing a lot at Astrid and asking her to buy a story that seemed impossible, but his patience had expired. They couldn’t spare any more time on this. He held up the gun. “Einar is around here, so we should get going. We take this and go to the vaults as planned.”

  Chapter 26

  They set off on the walk to the vaults, knowing the cameras caught every move. Alec hoped that being with Astrid would prevent too many questions. If anyone came to check, they’d told her what to say—this was a Drummond emergency and everyone on the night crew should go back to work and prepare for the upcoming shift change.

  Alec had no idea if the story would hold and he didn’t care. No matter who was behind the subterfuge and attacks, they likely were watching, which meant he and Gaige had a very small window to get anything done.

  He concentrated on that because if he let his mind go he’d analyze the Tony piece in this. Tony had access to almost everything at Drummond except the company checkbook. His badge and access codes allowed him to go anywhere in the building. He often acted in Alec’s name. People trusted him. Alec fucking trusted him.

  The idea that he couldn’t…no, he refused to go there.

  Tracing those emails back to Tony hit like a physical blow. Alec actually felt the words slice through him when Gaige said them. He heard the shock in Gaige’s voice even as it echoed through him.

  But he couldn’t think about that now or what that meant about his instincts or what other lines Tony might have crossed. For now Alec let himself believe Tony was just another person singled out for framing in this thing. That he was innocent of all of it.

  They made it through four sets of locked doors without trouble. Between her keys and Daniel’s, they had access to every door and every lock. Standing in front of one of the empty vaults, Astrid hesitated. She punched in her code then stopped.

  Gaige stood behind her, watching. “We don’t have much time.”

  His voice stayed calm and even. Despite the adrenaline pumping around him, he hadn’t rushed her through the process.

  “I’m shaking.” She held up her hand, and the bracelet on her wrist jangled as her fingers bounced.

  “Here.” Gaige held out a hand to her. “Your key.”

  Alec didn’t have any tact left. He was a man used to having his orders followed. He yelled when he had to, and he was right on the edge of using that solution now. “Astrid, I’m trying to clear your name and get to the bottom of this.”

  She gave the key to Gaige. “As far as I can see, this begins and ends with you, Alec.” As she talked, Gaige ushered them inside. “There is nothing…”

  Just a few feet in and they could see it. At the far end of the large room was what looked like plastic sheeting that ran the width of the room. It was taped down and held fast, creating a bubble of sorts.

  The material blurred the image of what was behind it, but Alec saw the yellow hazmat gear and boots. The masks and oxygen tanks. Equipment and what looked like plants of some sort.

  His mind cleared and his sole focus shifted to the man-made, sectioned-off smaller room inside the vault. “Jesus.”

  Gaige took a step forward. “What is that?”

  Astrid grabbed his arm. “A clean room. A place for scientific research or experiments.” She shook her head as her voice grew dull. “It shouldn’t be here.”

  That was an understatement but Alec understood the shock. In unison they stepped closer, but not too close. In addition to the vault fans other equipment hummed. Whatever was being done in here was not yet completed.

  “How could Daniel and his team miss this? Both the day and night shifts.” Astrid’s body went slack as she stood there, almost listing to one side. “I don’t get it.”

  “They couldn’t.” That was the point. There was no denying that now. Whatever this was, some people at Svalbard were in on it and spending a lot of time hiding the truth. Alec glanced at Astrid, saw the stark shock on her face and knew this had been going on without her knowledge. She trusted what the security monitors told her. She had no reason to check in person or question her security team.

  Everything would change now. Every protocol would be reassessed. All of that would happen so long as they could clear the area and bring Seth and his team in without incident.

  Astrid stood between the men and Gaige looked at Alec over her head. “It’s too risky to look inside, right?” Gaige asked.

  Alec didn’t know what was behind that makeshift curtain, but it needed a contained area. It required special equipment. This was well out of his comfort zone. He’d spent time in war-torn areas and seen some horrible shit. He feared he was looking at the type of human experiment that led to widespread destruction.

  Astrid looked at Alec. “Don’t do it.” When he didn’t immediately agree she glanced at Gaige. Her gaze switched between them. “This is too dangerous. That could be anything. Deadly. We store seeds but some of those seeds…” She stared at Alec again. “We can’t.”

  Alec followed her thoughts. She didn’t need to say them. Some of the world’s deadliest toxins came from seeds. This could be about healing not destroying, but Alec couldn’t tell that from out here. And someone needed this to be top secret, which meant that same someone needed this room not to be found. By the time Seth got there or they got help this could be gone, along with any hope of stopping it.

  “We need the suits,” Alec said as he walked. He reached out and grabbed for one.

  “Wait, listen to her.” Gaige grabbed Alec’s arm. “We’re not touching that.”

  Alec saw the determination on Gaige’s face. The absolute certainty that they had to wait before taking this final step. But there was no way Alec could let this go or hand this off. Not with Daniel in the building and them not knowing who they could trust.

  No, he’d failed in the past. Been too late or not watched for the right signs. He would not be at the start of something potentially lethal and just let it happen. He refused.

  “I’m going in.” Alec didn’t give himself a chance to rethink it. He pulled down the suit and stepped into it.

  “Alec, that could be anything.”

  “We have to know.”

  “We have to call—”

  “Who?” They were deep underground in the side of a mountain. At the mercy of the weather and other humans with guns. “We don’t have many choices here.”

  “Right.” Gaige pulled down a suit and started putting it on.

  “You stay out here.”

  “You go in, I go in.” Gaige tucked Daniel’s gun inside the waistband of his pants and reached for the protective hood.

  “Fine.” Astrid helped them then. She checked their suits before zipping them up.

  A few minutes later they were ready. The sense of urgency wound around them. Pressure pushed down until Alec could hardly breathe. But he ignored it and focused on the adrenaline coursing through him. He let that guide him in.

  They unzipped the outside plastic wall and stepped into the small space before the second wall. Once inside there, that was it. If it was too late to turn back, they might know immediately but they could be infected…with something.

  “You’ve both lost it.” Astrid uttered the words right before the flap closed.

  Then they were inside. Them and the machine that beeped. The table with the notes and all the equipment spread out. There were glass-encased shelves at one end that could have been used as a freezer or refrigerator if the room wasn’t so cold on its own.

  Alec tried to make out the seeds. Searched his mind for the right answer. He felt a tug on his sleeve and looked over to see Gaige standing beside him. He had papers clenched in his fist and what looked like a computer drive. He pointed back at the entrance.

  Whatever he found must answer some questions. Alec didn’t fight him. Being in there was like walking in fog. He could hear his breathing and the deep whoosh of oxygen as it pressurized the suit.

  He was ready to strip out of it.


  They got through the first entry point. Alec saw a red button and instructions. He hit it and a stream of wet steam hit them from both sides. They stood there until the machine turned off and the light turned green. Alec could only hope that universal signal for go held here.

  Another minute and they were out of both sets of walls and back into the larger vault area. Alec stripped the helmet off first. When the air rushed in, he inhaled a huge gulp. He’d never been without oxygen but it felt like the confining suit was choking him. The rest of the suit came off and then he stood there, watching Gaige take off his suit while trying to read the now soggy documents in his hand.

  Astrid was right on top of them now. “Well?”

  “Abrin.” That’s all Gaige said. He dropped the word then looked up. “What is it?”

  That couldn’t be right. “It’s from the rosary pea.”

  Gaige shrugged. “That sounds innocent enough.”

  He was exactly wrong. Alec couldn’t describe every plant, but he knew about this one. His company worked in parts of the world building food resources and offering alternatives to wheat and other products. That meant he had a working knowledge of what not to eat, and abrin fell in that group.

  “It’s highly toxic.” Alec called up every fact he knew. “Maybe thirty times as much as ricin.”

  Just saying the word ricin sucked all the life out of the room. Astrid’s mouth flattened and she began to shake her head. “It can’t be.”

  Gaige was more direct. “Are you fucking serious?”

  Ricin was deadly. The military investigated using it as a biological weapon starting in World War I, possibly before. Terrorists used it. Hell, it had been used by the KGB as a tool to eliminate defectors. The name was in popular culture and known. Abrin wasn’t…but it was potentially so much more lethal.

  “Inhale it or ingest it and it’s deadly. There’s no antidote.” At the right dosage, it was a guaranteed death sentence. At lower dosages it could still result in illness.

  “There’s also no case of it being weaponized,” Astrid said.

  Alec glanced over his shoulder at the room behind him. “Yet.”