Outside the Law

by Michelle Karl

  His uncle laughed gruffly. “We’re all at risk in this business. Every single day. And if I can’t do something to help my favorite nephew catch the bad guys and save the girl, then I’d be a pretty terrible uncle. And let’s face it. If I don’t do this and something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  Noel swallowed the lump in his throat. He and his uncle had never been particularly close, but he understood. Family helped family. Law enforcement types looked out for their own. If the situation was reversed and his uncle phoned him for help, he’d do the same in a heartbeat.

  “Okay,” he said, giving in. “Call in the favor. And then tell me what I need to do.”

  * * *

  Yasmine watched as a battle played out across Noel’s features. She’d begun to feel nauseated by the pain, but they desperately needed to determine a game plan, a way to try to wrest back some control over the situation.

  Noel hung up and placed his phone on the dashboard. “We’re going to get another phone call in a few minutes,” he said, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it. “I’ll do the talking, but I’m going to put it on speaker so you can hear.”

  He looked across the row of gas pumps and then at her. Her heart lurched, and clenched her hands into fists to quell the nervous tension. “Listen, when the guy calls, don’t say anything, all right?”

  That didn’t sound good, but she nodded her agreement. “Is this, uh, aboveboard?”

  Noel pressed his lips together and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to ask those questions. In fact, we’re not allowed to ask those questions. I have a feeling that in the United States, it might not be considered aboveboard, but my uncle has called in a favor from someone who can hack into things for us, and he doesn’t seem bothered by it. My uncle’s a good man. He wouldn’t knowingly break the law. That means whoever he’s calling in a favor from is either a civilian or...” He stopped before he said it, but Yasmine could put two and two together.

  “CIA?” she whispered. “An agent stationed outside of the United States?”

  Noel didn’t say anything but looked at her pointedly. They sat for what seemed like an eternity, waiting and keeping watch. Yasmine’s stomach churned in anticipation and her head spun. What if the people after her found them before the call came in? What if Noel’s uncle wasn’t able to get in touch with his contact?

  She was about to suggest they fill up the gas tank while they waited when the phone buzzed.

  Noel reached for the phone and swiped to accept the call. “Noel Black here, FBI.”

  “Good evening, Special Agent Black. My name is Shaun.” The caller paused as if choosing his next words very carefully. “I understand you’re in search of some sensitive information that is, let’s say, difficult for you to obtain with your current credentials.”

  Yasmine swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Shaun sounded friendly enough, at least, but the whole situation was nerve-racking.

  “That’s correct,” Noel said. Yasmine noticed that his hands had balled into fists, which he squeezed every few seconds like a pulse. “Did my uncle explain the situation to you?”

  “He did. Financial records for Anthony Clarke, manager of a military equipment inspection facility contracted by the Department of Defense. Those were easy. The local police, not so much, because I had to look past the public records. I will say this, however. I didn’t notice anything strange with the police records. Your facility manager, that’s another story.”

  Yasmine caught Noel’s eye and rolled her index fingers around each other. She wanted Noel to keep Shaun talking, but to do it quickly. They’d already spent too much time here. Noel nodded, already on board.

  “And?” Noel said.

  “I’m going to send to you what I found in a digital format, secured on a cloud storage account. I’ll also send details on how to access the account, because you’ll want to see this for yourself and then decide what to do with it.”

  “Of course.” Noel’s fists squeezed again. “Something to be concerned about, I take it?”

  “I’m no special agent, but it looks fishy. Anthony Clarke has been receiving financial handouts from an offshore account at what looks like a dummy corporation. The good news is that I’ve seen this kind of thing before. However, this one was hidden extremely well. Want to take a stab at who it belongs to?”

  Noel’s face went blank, but Yasmine’s mind screamed an answer. When Noel didn’t speak up, Yasmine did. Noel visibly flinched as she ignored his instructions not to speak. “It’s got to be the Department of Defense. There’s no other explanation, but at the same time, it hardly makes sense.”

  “You got it. Miss Browder, I take it?”

  “Yes, sir. Can you tell who set it up?” Yasmine touched Noel’s shoulder. He still hadn’t reacted to Shaun’s information, but neither had he stopped her from interjecting into the conversation. If anything, he looked mildly relieved.

  “I’m still trying, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to break through the security in front of the information without tipping off the person who set it up. I can’t give you a name, but at least you know that someone at the Department of Defense isn’t playing by the rules. This trail is telling me that there’s untested military equipment being rushed into the field to advance quota and receive a bigger financial payout from the Department. The money then moves from the inspection facility and back to this Department of Defense shell account, which pays out a portion of that to Anthony Clarke.”

  Noel slammed his fist on the steering wheel. “Those unethical, heartless—”

  “Huh.” Shaun’s voice came through the line again, hesitant.

  “What is it?” Noel growled, then sighed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t shoot the messenger. I’m just frustrated.”

  “I understand. You’re not going to like this either, so brace yourself.”

  “Tell me.”

  “There’s a second account that’s also receiving payouts from the shell account. But I can’t hack it. Can’t trace it, can’t see into it, can’t tell anything about it except that...wow. Wow.”

  “Shaun.” Noel came dangerously close to growling at their contact again. Yasmine touched his shoulder, trying to calm him down. If he annoyed the man doing them a favor, they’d be back to square one. They needed him on their side. The tension in Noel’s shoulders eased with Yasmine’s touch, but only slightly.

  “I know, I know.” More silence. More typing. “These payouts to the second account? They’re massive. Much, much bigger than what Clarke is receiving. That facility is moving a lot of untested parts, putting thousands of American soldiers at risk. There’s no other way there could be this much money going into the second account. I wish I could see who it’s for, but I’m blind here.”

  “How much money?” Yasmine spoke before Noel could. “Can you see that, at least?”

  On the other end of the line, Shaun grew silent. Moments later, his words were strained. “Millions. Whoever’s on the receiving end of that second account is getting millions from the shell account. The Department of Defense isn’t supposed to work like that. They’re federally accountable for their finances. Wherever this money is going, someone over there doesn’t want anyone to know about it. And that can’t be anything good.”

  TWELVE

  Moments later, they ended the call with Shaun, thanking him for his willingness to assist them. Shaun promised to send the cloud storage account information as soon as they were off the phone, but reminded them that now that they had this information about what appeared to be incredibly corrupt financial reporting at the Department of Defense, it would be up to them to figure out what to do with it.

  Yasmine had an idea of her own, but she wasn’t sure that Noel would go for it. It was risky, but at the same time, it was the only option she could think of that wouldn’t end with them staring down the b
arrel of yet another gun.

  “Thoughts?” she asked. “I know what I want to do, but you’re FBI. Let’s hear your plan first.”

  He ran his hand down the side of his face. “I see only one way out of this, Yasmine. And I don’t think you’re going to like it. I really don’t.”

  “Try me.”

  He raked his eyes across her features as if searching for some falsehood in her words and tone. “I’m not joking.”

  “Neither am I. Noel, we’ve been shot at, my brother is dead and even your FBI mentor is worried. This is no time to hedge your thoughts. Spit it out.”

  He nodded and slipped his phone into his pocket. “You’re right. In that case, since we don’t know who else we can trust, I say we go straight to the source.”

  “The Department of Defense,” Yasmine and Noel said at the same time.

  Noel stared at her in surprise as Yasmine continued. “I agree. That was going to be my suggestion, too. Shaun said that the Department doesn’t typically behave this way, that they report federally just like any other government organization. There’s no way the entire Department knows about this, so there must be a few select individuals who’ve set this all up. I can’t even begin to guess where that amount of money is going, but if we take this paper trail information directly to the source as evidence—”

  “—they’ll have to act. They’re not going to want this to continue or get out to the public. Could you imagine the damage that would do? The American public and the world’s media would skin the administration alive. Not to mention that millions of dollars funneling into a mystery account is terrifying enough. That could be going anywhere, to anyone. And that much secrecy—”

  “—is worrying. Really, really worrying.” Yasmine rested her head against the back of the seat. “So, now what?”

  Noel tapped the keys. “We fill up the tank and go to the Pentagon.”

  “You want to drive all the way there?”

  “You have a better idea? We’ve lost our tail, and I’m not willing to risk us being cornered on a bus or train. I know you’re in no shape to drive, so I’ll manage it.”

  “Noel, the Pentagon is seven hours away.”

  “We have no other choice. Wait here. When we’re full, I’m going to pay cash. I doubt anyone is monitoring our cards, but it’s a needless risk.” He slipped out the door, and Yasmine closed her eyes as Noel pumped the gas. God, give us strength. Seven hours in a car with Noel? He’d be exhausted by the time they made it to DC, but she agreed with his logic. Better to drive there and control the situation the whole time than risk being located and found on public transportation. It also put fewer civilians in the potential path of danger.

  As Noel walked toward the station kiosk to pay, Yasmine leaned back in her seat again...and played back Noel’s words about credit card tracking. They couldn’t be too careful, sure, and yet here they were inside an FBI vehicle. Government vehicles are traceable.

  Without a wasted second, Yasmine exited her side of the Suburban and crossed to the driver’s side. She opened the door and gingerly crawled onto the floor before flipping onto her back so that her legs dangled out the driver’s side while she stared up into the inner workings of the vehicle.

  She scanned the dark mess of wires, looking for anything out of place. She wasn’t great with cars in general, but identifying and disabling a tracker was a basic military skill—and there it was, a small box about half the size of a paperback book attached to the inside of the dash. Aftermarket GPS trackers were effective but not complicated devices. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled.

  “Need any help there, miss?”

  Yasmine sat up in surprise and nearly smacked her head. A middle-aged man stood by the vehicle, looking for all the world like he couldn’t believe a lady would be able to examine the inner workings of a car all by herself.

  “No, I’m fine, thank you,” she began to say, but she made it only halfway through the sentence before the man blanched and backed away. He almost ran as he slunk back to his vehicle, a compact car that appeared to contain other passengers.

  Weird. Yasmine lay back down. She gripped the GPS transmitter and tensed for one final tug. It came free, and she immediately ran her fingers along the edge for a switch, then thought better of it. She slid out from her place on the floor while ignoring her protesting ribs and looked up to see Noel walking too quickly back to her, his face ashen.

  “We have to go.” He tossed a small white bottle to her but kept his voice low as he approached. “What part of stay in the car didn’t you get?”

  She held up the tracker, then dumped it into the trash can next to the gas pump. “GPS. I don’t recommend destroying government property, but if we leave it turned on, anyone after us will waste time coming here, and we’ll be long gone.”

  Noel’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I should have thought of that.”

  She shrugged. “You’re new. I should have thought of it earlier, too.”

  “Still.” He motioned for her to get back inside the vehicle. “Let’s move. Don’t make eye contact with anyone, and keep your head down.”

  “Don’t scare me. What is it? Have we been spotted?”

  Noel’s grimace betrayed his frustration. “Please trust me. I’ll explain on the road, but we need to go. Now.”

  She didn’t appreciate being told what to do, but after all they’d been through, she knew it’d be foolish not to take him at his word. With a slight nod, she rounded the vehicle, keeping her gaze lowered while trying to look inconspicuous.

  She reached the door just as a man appeared from the rear, the same guy who’d asked a few minutes ago if she needed help. This time, he had a second guy with him. The first man reached toward her. “Hey, lady!”

  She ignored him and pulled open the SUV door. What on earth was happening?

  “Don’t respond. Get in,” Noel urged, already in his seat.

  She tried, but the second man’s arm shot out to block her from getting inside, a mixture of fear and anger on his face. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave this woman,” he said, looking over his shoulder at Noel. The lunacy of his statement almost caused Yasmine to laugh, but Noel’s stiffened posture told her that would be a bad idea.

  “I’m taking care of her,” Noel replied, his words curt.

  “Yeah? Says who? Because I say you’re the one who came in here with the lady, and it was only after you arrived that the alert came up. Maybe you’re helping her escape.”

  “Escape?” Yasmine stared at the stranger. “Listen, mister—”

  Noel reached into his jacket, presumably to pull out his badge, but the stranger who’d blocked her path had diverted Noel’s attention. Yasmine shouted a warning as the first man appeared at the driver’s side and yanked it open to take a swing at Noel.

  “What is going on?” she shouted at Noel.

  “You’re on TV,” he grunted, still grappling with the man. “Get in! Get in!”

  Yasmine looked up and saw other customers pointing at the gas pump TV displays. Her face and name were splashed across the screen—across every screen—and a red bar scrolled across the bottom of the image, decrying her as a dangerous person, wanted by the FBI.

  “Oh, fantastic,” she muttered. “Auntie Zee is going to kill me.”

  Arms suddenly closed around her neck and waist. She shouted in pain at the pressure on her ribs and reacted on instinct, grabbing the arms and shifting her weight to toss her attacker, the motion earning her another stab of pain. The man flew over her shoulder and landed in front of her with a thud. He was a citizen performing what he believed to be his civic duty, no doubt, but—

  “I’m FBI!” Noel’s shout stopped the men in place. He held up his badge, flashing it to the other nearby patrons and the men who’d attacked them. As news of a ten-thousand-dollar reward flashed up on screen for
information leading to her arrest, Yasmine realized just how motivated these people were to make a citizen’s arrest.

  Yasmine climbed over the man on the ground and back into the Suburban as Noel held his badge aloft through the window.

  “As soon as you tell me we’re clear, we go,” he said.

  She checked to make sure they wouldn’t run over the man on the ground, then slammed her door. “Let’s get out of here.”

  * * *

  Noel pulled out of the parking lot before Yasmine had even buckled her seat belt. Once he saw she was secured, he stepped on the gas pedal and zoomed down the road. He buckled his own seat belt at the first turn, earning a look of frustration from Yasmine.

  “We had to move,” he said, thinking she was upset about his delayed act of seat belt safety.

  “It’s not that.” She sighed and thumped her head against the seat rest. “Wanted by the FBI. I thought Crais was on our side?”

  “He is,” Noel growled. He has to be. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

  “If the explanation is that we’ve been double-crossed by your mentor, we’re going to be in real trouble.”

  “He wouldn’t do that.” Noel focused on the road again, trying to push aside the doubts and fears that assaulted him from every side. Crais betraying them? That would mean they really didn’t have anyone left to trust. There’d be no going back to the FBI, no career left for Noel after they sorted this out. Crais was too high up at the Bureau, and Noel would be a marked man for having assisted Yasmine during her escape from...whatever this was. From whatever they’d pinned on her. “It’s not possible.”

  Even he heard the waver in his voice.

  “But why only me, Noel? I don’t get it. Why don’t they want you?”

  That was easy to answer, and Noel felt good to be able to explain at least one thing about what they were going through. “Because the FBI doesn’t want to lose face. Could you imagine putting a wanted notice out for a brand-new FBI recruit? They don’t let just anyone into the Academy, and the level of scrutiny we’re under during training is enormous. If they put my picture up as a wanted person, it’d be a simple process for the media to figure out I’m a new FBI special agent and get the Bureau torn apart in the media. The FBI would come out looking like an organization of fools who can’t do their jobs. Makes more sense to put up your picture as a wanted person and discipline me internally once I’m back in their hands.”