Data Capture

by Jesse J. Thoma

  “No,” Quinn said. She looked a little flustered and took a bite of her waffle. “But if I could do a small part to make it a little bit healthier, I’d be happy.”

  “I know you will,” Lola said.

  “Have you ever seen a brain light up on a scanner in real time? It’s so beautiful. It sparkles with possibility.”

  “I feel like I’m looking at something similar right now,” Lola said. Quinn’s eyes were dancing like they always did when she talked about her work. Lola was mesmerized. “Can I see it?”

  “A scan?” Quinn asked.

  “The way you talk about it. I want to see it. And it’s clearly so important to you.”

  Quinn looked thoughtful. Lola could tell the moment an idea came to her.

  “We have a training for a new group of techs on Friday. You can’t see any of our research participants because of confidentiality, but you could sit in on the first training. You can see my brain.”

  “I’d love that,” Lola said.

  “But it’s in the middle of the day. You should be sleeping.”

  “I’ll be there,” Lola said. “But only if you agree that I can take you out afterward. Friday is my night off.”

  “How could I refuse an offer like that?” Quinn asked.

  Lola couldn’t remember looking forward to anything more.

  On her way back to her apartment after she’d walked Quinn to her office, Lola thought about Quinn’s research. She believed so strongly in doing work she loved she was willing to start over completely to do it. She also wanted to do work she thought would make a difference in people’s lives.

  So much for not thinking about Holt’s offer until the case is over.

  Lola considered the work she did. There was no doubt it made a difference. She’d personally dragged a startling number of very bad people off the streets and put them back in the hands of the criminal justice system. But there were also a lot of people whose interactions with the law were less severe. Was she doing a public service by returning them to court? It wasn’t her place to judge. With the growth of Holt’s reputation, they had had fewer of the petty criminals and more of the high profile, dangerous captures. It was harder to feel ambiguous about a triple murderer on the loose in your community.

  Not for the first time, though, she wondered if there was something more for her than chasing supervillains in the name of justice. What if George the First had had Holt’s foundation as an option? What if his killer had?

  With morose thoughts filling her head, Lola finally fell asleep after a long night. She’d been asleep less than four hours when her cell phone rang. She considered throwing it across the room, but glanced at the caller ID before sending it flying. The number was blocked.

  “Hello,” Lola said. She tried to clear the sleep from her voice and her overly tired brain.

  “Um, hi. Uh, do you still want in on the game?” The caller didn’t identify himself, but Lola could tell it was Brayden. He sounded like he was trying out his best bad boy impression while simultaneously trying not to wet himself.

  “I do,” she said.

  “Good. Meet me in thirty minutes. Don’t be late. I’ll text you the address.” Brayden hung up.

  “Little shithead,” Lola said to herself as she waited for the text. She dressed quickly and called to check in with whichever of the Wonder Twins was on duty.

  Dubs answered. “Aren’t you supposed to be getting your beauty sleep? Not that you need it of course. What’s up?”

  “Just got a call from the college kid I made contact with this morning. He’s texting me the address for a meet.” Lola felt her phone buzz. “Just came through. Can you have Max trace the phone number? It was blocked on my caller ID.” Lola read the address to Dubs. “I need everything you can give me on that address too. I’ve got thirty minutes to get there according to my new BFF. I’m tempted to keep him waiting, but I don’t want to push him. He seems like the kind that’s scared of his own shadow. I don’t want him to rabbit on me.”

  “CB twenty,” Dubs said. “And, Lola. Be careful.”

  Exactly thirty minutes later, armed with as much information about the abandoned warehouse as Max could pull up, Lola pulled her bike up to the address Brayden had given her. “It’s always got to be abandoned warehouses,” Lola said. Her comms were active so Dubs was along for the ride.

  “No proper villain would go for anything else. Unless a cave or volcano were available. Maybe an icy mountain fortress. Not many of those in LA though.”

  “Well, next time I’ll have H send me to Siberia. A little variety is good for you, right?”

  Lola opened the door cautiously and stepped inside. She wasn’t armed. She never was. Like Holt, she could handle herself well in a fight, but that didn’t mean she was going to walk blindly into a hail of bullets.

  The warehouse was exactly as Max had described, a giant open room with a small office in the back. Not many places for bad guys to hide. Lola slid inside and closed the door quietly. A group of people was gathered on the far side of the room. They all had their backs to her. It looked like the nondescript commercial setting from Kevin Garvey’s proof of life video.

  “Trusting idiots.”

  She approached silently. As she got closer she recognized Kevin Garvey. Fuck. “Dubs, I think we have a problem. Kevin Garvey is here, and he’s not a hostage. I’ll keep you posted on what else I see. Get Holt on the line if this goes south.”

  Lola waited until she was almost directly behind the group before announcing herself. There were five kids including Brayden and Kevin Garvey. All six almost jumped out of their shoes when she spoke.

  “Hello, boys. Nice place you got here.”

  “What the fuck?” one of the college kids said. “How’d you get in here?”

  “Well, you left the front door open,” Lola said. “And my invitation said don’t be late.” Lola felt a little bad for this sad pack, especially Brayden. She wondered how many pairs of underwear he’d gone through already today.

  “How do you know about our operation?” one of the other college guys asked.

  “Shut up, man,” said another. “Don’t tell her anything. We should shut her up for good.”

  Lola gave him a look that let him know he was welcome to try. He shrunk back behind one of his buddies.

  “She already knew,” said Brayden.

  “Quiet,” said Kevin.

  Lola evaluated Kevin Garvey. If she squinted, there was a slight resemblance to Isabelle, but she and Ellen must take after their mother. She tried to reconcile the man standing in front of her with the different descriptions given by Isabelle and his wife. She couldn’t make them mesh so she threw both out and focused on Kevin as if he was a complete unknown. In a sense he was, since he was supposed to be a hostage about to die. She glanced around. She was convinced this was the location of the video shoot.

  “How do you know about our little operation?” Kevin asked. He looked wary, but not overly dangerous. Not yet.

  “You can’t possibly believe you’re the only six on campus who know about it?” Lola said. “People talk. And nobody thinks of the custodian as being a person worthy of keeping their mouth shut around. You of all people should know that.” Lola looked pointedly at Kevin. She knew the comment hit home.

  “Tell who ratted us out,” one of the other guys said.

  “Wouldn’t even if I could,” Lola said. “And not relevant to current events. What is relevant to me is what happened to you?” Lola pointed to Kevin. “Rumor on campus is that you ran out on your wife, that you got whacked by the mob, and that you got kidnapped by some psycho. You look pretty good for a dead kidnapped man. If you got a lady on the side, this is a shitty place to show her a good time.”

  Kevin looked like he was weighing his options. He deliberated a long time. Lola found it interesting that the college kids deferred to him. He didn’t look like he could lead himself out of a bathroom stall, let alone lead whatever the fuck this was.

&n
bsp; “You got money to buy into our group?” he finally asked.

  “I do,” Lola said.

  “How much?” Kevin asked.

  “How much you require?”

  “One hundred grand.”

  “Whoa,” Lola said. She held up her hands. “You’ve got to be insane. I’m a fucking custodian. I’m looking to make money, not piss away my life savings to you clowns.”

  Dubs weighed in to the conversation through her earpiece. “That’s the amount the extortion email is asking Holt for. You think these guys…”

  Lola took a chance. “Hey, you guys in some kind of trouble? I’m not interested in any weird shit. If you need fast money to bail yourselves out and you’re trying to get it from me, forget it. I’m out.”

  She emphasized her point by heading for the door. Brayden was the one to retrieve her. “Hold up. We’re not in any kind of trouble. We’ve got a plan to fix it.”

  “Well, which is it? You’re not in trouble, or you’ve got a plan to fix it?” Lola raised her voice loud enough that the rest of the group could hear her.

  “Get back over here and let’s talk business. Don’t yell at the kid,” Kevin said. “How much will you buy in with?”

  “What are the terms? I need more details.”

  “We have a financial backer. Each week we each use an algorithm these boys created to enter daily fantasy contests. Hundreds, sometimes close to a thousand. Depends on the sport. We each can spend up to one hundred thousand entering, but our profit’s close to ten percent daily. We get a cut and the rest goes to our investor.”

  “Okay, and I need to buy my way in? What if I’m not interested in entering at that kind of level? I don’t have that kind of cash,” Lola said. She was impressed with the scope of their operation. “Sounds too good to be true. I get paying my own way, but that doesn’t explain why I have to give you personally a penny, or why you’re chillin’ in this damn warehouse.”

  Kevin and all the college boys looked uncomfortable. Lola was right; there was something not quite right about their operation, and she’d found a weak spot.

  “Oh, just tell her everything. We could use the extra person. Maybe it would get them off our back.” Brayden shrugged, looking resigned.

  “Shut up,” Kevin said.

  “Tell me what?” Lola pushed. There was a crack and she was going to take advantage of it.

  “You don’t need any of your own money. When we started, we were betting a little bit here and there, pocket change. But now, money is wired to our accounts every week and we use that to play. But we still get a cut, even though the money isn’t ours in the first place.”

  “Where does the money come from?” Lola asked.

  “I don’t know. Kevin is the one who set it all up, but he’s never told us, if he knows,” Brayden said.

  The boys looked at Kevin, who glared back at them. There was trouble in paradise.

  “You said you enter hundreds of games. How many accounts do you have?”

  “Twenty each,” Brayden said. “We don’t overlap more than a couple of teams per game so we’re not taking money from each other, but we need to have the big money games covered by a few iterations of the best lineups from the algorithm.”

  “You have this down to quite a science,” Lola said. “I’m impressed. So you keep a cut and the rest goes back to your mystery investor? What’s the problem?”

  “Kevin skimmed money from our investors. Now they’re pissed at him and want it back.” Brayden glared at Kevin. “And they’re holding us all accountable.”

  “Who are these investors?” Lola asked. She looked at Kevin this time.

  “The kind who don’t like being stolen from,” Kevin said.

  Brayden and the college boys looked mighty pissed. The skimming clearly wasn’t a group decision.

  “I’ve got it under control. I’m going to get the money back,” Kevin said.

  “That hasn’t worked out yet,” one of the other guys said.

  “It will,” Kevin said.

  Lola couldn’t believe what an amateur hour she was witnessing. These guys couldn’t put together a solid plan to bake a pizza.

  “So what, that’s why you want money from me?” Lola asked. “To pay off some debt I’ve got nothing to do with? What’s the plan to get the money back and make some more? It better be good or I walk.”

  “It will work. Everything will be fine in two days.” Garvey sat back in his chair, his attempt at confidence belied by the sweat on his forehead.

  “He’s got a daughter with a rich girlfriend,” Brayden said. “He thinks he can force her to pay the money.”

  “Which hasn’t worked at all,” one of the other helpful guys said.

  “He forgot to mention his daughter hates him and hasn’t spoken to him in years,” Brayden said.

  “That’s why your email threatened her as well as saying they would kill me,” Kevin said. “I wasn’t just relying on her love for her father.”

  “No fucking way,” Lola said. Dubs was laughing in the earpiece. “You fools are on your own. No amount of money is worth this shit show. Good luck with getting the money. Brayden, boys, I really do wish you luck. My advice is talk to your investors and tell them you have nothing to do with this moron.”

  Lola headed to the entrance of the warehouse. Brayden ran after her. He stopped her just before she got to the door.

  “You really think we should walk away?”

  “About six months ago,” Lola said. “Do you really not know who the investors are?” Lola figured they were bad news if they were willing to sink that much money each day into this foolish operation.

  “No idea. Kevin found them. Like we said before that, my buddies and I were betting a couple hundred bucks at a time. We were winning, but not on this scale. Now we’re the biggest sharks in the game. We’re not on the major sites, but we still win big.”

  “Has anything you’ve done been illegal?”

  “No.” Brayden look confused. “Of course not.”

  “Of course not. Good Lord, kid. Time to walk away. I’m serious. Cut bait. Kevin’s on his own. You and the rest are out of this game. Forever. You’re just going to have to trust me on this one. And I’d forget you ever knew the address of this place too.”

  Lola got on her bike and headed home. She needed a few more hours sleep, but Dubs was already informing her the rest of the team was gathering in the conference room for a briefing. No rest for the wicked. Sleep would have to wait.

  I guess this means the case is over. Do I have to go home? Do I have to leave Quinn? As much as she loved her chosen family, the thought of leaving Quinn made her chest hurt. She wasn’t ready to return to Rhode Island and breakfasts alone, learning from a textbook, and no chance of being dazzled by Quinn’s gorgeous smile.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Despite her case essentially being over, Lola was still in LA. Holt had asked her to stick around a few more days to coordinate with the LAPD, and she’d jumped at the chance. The information about a huge flow of cash into the online daily fantasy sports market had piqued the LAPD’s interest and she’d been meeting with representatives from their cyber crime division.

  But today was Friday and she had a date with Quinn. She hadn’t found a way to tell her yet that she was leaving. Probably because she didn’t want to say good-bye. They hadn’t made any commitments to each other. Hell, she’d only kissed her once before she even knew her, but Lola liked the direction things were going.

  Admit it, you like her.

  Lola waved hello to Jessica as she entered the psychology offices. For once Jessica didn’t seem interested in teasing her.

  “You okay today? You don’t look like your usual annoyingly competent, better than all the rest of us, self.”

  “Just fine,” Lola said. Apparently, she needed a better poker face. “Is she in?”

  “She’s running a little late from a meeting across campus. Go ahead and wait in her office. You look dead on your feet.”r />
  Lola hadn’t been getting much sleep. She’d kept her custodial job since she was sticking around for a few more days. If she was honest, it was an excuse to stay close to Quinn as much as to keep up her fake identity. She’d also been meeting with LAPD and phoning in to briefings back home, all of which took place during normal business hours.

  She slumped down on Quinn’s couch. It smelled like Quinn—jasmine, citrus, and a hint of cedar. She fought sleep, but it didn’t take long to claim her.

  Lola was awakened by a soft caress on her cheek and the touch of soft lips to her own. She opened her eyes slowly and saw Quinn kneeling next to her, her hand resting on Lola’s thigh.

  “Hi,” Quinn said. “I’m sorry to wake you. And for kissing you. You looked so beautiful, I couldn’t help it. And if we are going to make it to the scanner, we have to leave. You should feel free to sleep here until I get back if you want. You still look tired.”

  “I’m not sorry about either,” Lola said. She pulled Quinn onto the couch next to her and put her arm around Quinn’s shoulders, holding her close, but didn’t take her physical affection further. She needed to tell her she was leaving before she did that. It was the only fair thing to Quinn. Then they could both decide what they wanted from the time they had left together.

  “So you still want to see what I do?”

  Quinn looked shy about sharing her work, and it made Lola’s chest ache just a little more. It scared her to react so strongly, but it felt like the kind of fear you face, not run away from. “Of course I do. Lead the way.”

  This time when Quinn interlocked their fingers, Lola didn’t pull away. They walked hand in hand across campus to the neuroimaging lab.

  How am I supposed to leave this behind?

  Lola tried to concentrate on what Quinn was telling her, from what the scanner looked like, to what the training would entail. She was finding it difficult tonight to focus given the other thoughts weighing on her mind. Once they walked into the lab, however, and Quinn entered her domain, Lola was mesmerized. All other thoughts flittered away as she watched Quinn go to work.