by Lyn Stone
"This links Persand to the robbery," she said, wriggling in her chair, lifting her other foot to the chair and clasping her hands together around both legs.
"If it's what we think it is," he replied.
"It has to be," she said, sounding nearly as desperate as he felt.
Rain beat down on Victor Bruegel's roof as Miami suffered an unusual winter deluge. A boom of thunder woke him from a sound sleep in time to hear the subtle purr of his phone.
He cursed and sat up. Victor hated interruptions of any sort, especially when he was sleeping. He felt he had earned the right to uninterrupted rest.
Angrily he reached over and punched the speaker phone button. "This better be an emergency," he snapped, plowing his fingers roughly through his thick curly hair and massaging his scalp. Increased barometric pressure made his head ache.
"It is, sir. The company computer system has been violated. Not the usual attempts, but someone searching for information."
Victor sighed. "Do something about it then. That's what I pay you for, Terrence. Trace whoever it is and find out what they're after." He coughed. "And make sure they don't get it!"
He could hear Terrence swallow hard before answering. "We traced the hacker, sir, and actually found his location. I don't think he was trying all that hard to cover his tracks. It's like he wanted us to know."
"Well?"
"The hacker is at a hotel on Grand Cayman. The computer is registered to Benjamin Michaels, manager of the Beresford bank in Ellerton, Virginia."
The bank job in Ellerton had obviously failed. He had known that was a distinct possibility and planned for it. Still, he rolled his eyes and cursed again. God, Michaels must lead a charmed life. He was supposed to be dead by now. Even the memory of him was to be reduced to smut. Damn him!
Terrence continued, unaware of his announcement's full impact. "The room at the Cayman Hibiscus Hotel where he is located now is in the name of Danielle Sweet." There was a significant pause before Terrence added, "She used a government issued credit card."
Victor hadn't expected the feds to move this quickly, though he had counted on their getting involved in the investigation. In the course of that, Persand would be involved, but only as a target of theft. Victor had even planned to let the feds dig around a little. Just far enough to find Ben Michaels's name on the org chart in just the right place. "How far in did he get?"
Terrence didn't answer nearly as quickly as Victor would have liked. "Pretty deep, sir. He breached payroll and employee information."
Not good if Michaels was doing the hacking and had noticed a Benjamin Michaels there. He might guess he was being set up. But even if that happened, he would have trouble convincing the feds that he didn't own a piece of the company. And it would be doubly obvious that he was involved since he would have to admit having access to the company information. Yes, this could work to the advantage.
Terrence was still talking. "The hacker entered your peripheral files, too. Of course, you have everything there well coded. What are your orders?"
Victor had frozen in place, his bare toes digging into the plushness of the carpet as he sat on the edge of the bed. This was not good.
"Find and dispose of Michaels immediately," he said, trying to sound calmer than he felt. "Also anyone with him and any individual who received a transmission from him, electronic or telephonic. Understand?"
"You wish Mr. Kelior informed?"
"Immediately. All resources on this, Terrence. It's crucial we kill this investigation and everyone associated with it. Move now and report back when it's done and everything is secured."
"Yes, sir." Terrence disconnected.
That should take care of that, Bruegel thought to himself as he crawled back into bed.
No one, not even Kelior, knew the full scope of the plan. Victor could easily deny any knowledge and had no apparent motive for being involved.
No chance of discovery, Victor assured himself. However, sleep would not come when he tried to dismiss the concern. He sat up and lifted the receiver again.
When Terrence answered, Victor spoke. "You understand who must take the blame for these disposals?"
"That goes without saying, sir," Terrence answered in his usual monotone. "It will generate more business."
��� Scanned by Coral ���
Chapter 6
"What did he say?" Dani hovered, unable to sit still as Ben put down the phone. In light of what he had discovered on the Persand Web site, he had decided to call Fontenot immediately, at his home number.
"He'll get us the video tomorrow, but he had already compiled a lot of info since I last spoke with him about the robbery. Apparently a client arrived almost immediately after the transfer was made and arranged for most of the money to go to an account in Geneva. The new account belongs to a corporation that was already set up with the Swiss bank. I have the name, but he couldn't give me the account number until tomorrow. I can't hack that without some serious consequences that even you couldn't iron out. I'm sure both will be useless by then anyway."
"Oh, goody," she muttered darkly. "This was a wasted trip."
"No it's not. We'll get the video and have a face that could provide an identity." He gave a bitter laugh. "I'm more interested than ever in seeing that face now."
"Why's that?" she asked, thumbing through her notes.
"Because this fellow managed to drop one of my business cards. While he was providing his own fake identity papers."
"How interesting," Dani said, her eyes narrowing on her notebook as she recorded it. "Pretty clumsy attempt, though."
"I am innocent," he told her, sounding too defensive, even to his own ears.
"I know," she said, still scribbling.
Ben copied what he had downloaded from the computer onto a slender flash drive and sat back, tapping the arms of his chair with his fingers.
"Crap. I couldn't back out fast enough," he grumbled. "Not even sure if it was possible, given our spotty connection here. The download took longer than I hoped. They're on to us at Persand."
Dani reached for her satellite phone. "Can they get a fix on our location?"
He shrugged. "Depends on their resources���yeah, probably���considering how fast they jumped on my tail. They followed me home, at least as far as the local island network."
She exhaled harshly. He watched as she punched in a speed dial number for Mercier. They had already spoken twice in the past half hour. "Jack, we're sending you what we've got for analysis." Her brow furrowed slightly. "Okay, done."
She clicked off and turned to Ben. "Send everything, even all the encrypted stuff, org charts���all of it. Attach it to an e-mail." She rattled off the government address. "Our transmission might be picked up, but they likely already know we've got the data."
Ben switched to his mail program and sent the information. They watched the screening bar as the green squares progressed. The files took nearly a minute to process. "This is so insecure it's not funny."
"Yeah, be interesting to see what they do about it, won't it?"
Ben thought interesting wouldn't quite cover it if what he suspected was true.
She had fallen into deep thought again. Her features looked pinched and her color had faded. He was about to try to snap her out of it when she blinked and stared at him.
"We should get out of Dodge," she declared, jumping up. "Right now."
She bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry, Ben. You shouldn't be involved in this and the danger of it is a fact. We have to leave here right away. I'll keep you safe."
He laughed out loud, closed his computer and zipped it in its case. "Ah, Ms. Sweet, you are a real piece of work."
"No, I'm serious. We need to leave the Caymans immediately. Let's get our things together and get out of here." When he didn't move immediately, she added, "You did promise your mother you'd stay safe."
Ben didn't detect any sarcasm in the reminder, and what she said was true. "What about the vide
o and the details Fontenot has for us? We can't leave now."
She pointed to the phone. "Call him. Tell him to send it to Mercier. Trust me, we need to get out of here now."
"Okay, if you really think the danger's that great. Meet you outside in the hall in five minutes. You have a plan?"
"Get to the airport as fast as possible and hope we can get a flight out." Her urgency was contagious.
"Maybe Fontenot can help us there. I'll call him now."
She looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Do it fast."
Ben shook his head as he put through the call to Fontenot.
She clutched his forearm for a second as she turned to go. "See you in a few."
Ben didn't move until the door connecting their rooms closed behind her.
She believed him. The thought produced a genuine grin. She even wanted to protect him. He didn't need that, but it felt good. He was back in the game, even if it was only temporary.
"Hey, Jim. Ben Michaels here," he said as Fontenot answered. "Need another favor." Even calling in favors brought back old times.
Dani hurriedly dressed in a lightweight coral pantsuit Carol had loaned her. Her navy shoes didn't match it. The jacket and pants were a bit loose. Sis must' have put on a few pounds even before she got pregnant.
Her bag was stuffed with clothes, winter outfits she had brought with her for the visit, a few summer things borrowed from Carol's closet. No one knew how long this op would last or where it would take her. She adjusted her shoulder holster and buttoned up so it wouldn't show, then rolled her bag out into the hall.
She waited impatiently for Ben beside the elevator until he exited his room with his small weekender. A feeling of impending doom washed over her again. Unsafe. Get away.
"Jim offered his boat," he told her. "It's docked a half mile away at the marina. We'll probably have to hoof it at this time of night."
"Not a problem," she assured him. The elevator opened and they got on. Dani willed the thing to hurry, wondering if they should have taken the stairs. Ridiculous thought. They were on the top floor and rolling suitcases.
The hotel smelled of doom and had since right after Ben hacked into Persand's records. Sometimes a premonition took that form, concentrating on only one of her senses. Peculiar scent this time, one she didn't recognize other than its definite link to danger. The desk clerk was dozing as they exited. The few people still in the bar were quiet, not even glancing their way. The streets looked deserted, giving the place an otherworldly feel.
Dani breathed deeply as they walked, exhaling that miasma of evil that had pervaded, enjoying the J mixed outdoor scents of the local flora, booze and salt water. "I've never been here before," she said. "Have you?"
"Nope," he admitted. "Too bad we won't be here long enough to enjoy it."
His step was light, his gaze alert. The man was I enjoying every minute of this little trip, no matter what he had promised his mama.
"So we head for Switzerland to see who shows up to claim the money," Dani said, quickening her step. The feeling was coming back. The scent. And heat this time. Scorching heat. She began to sweat beneath her borrowed suit.
She tried to push the feeling aside. They were safe now, out of the hotel where she had sensed the danger was. Maybe this was just a leftover wave of warning to get well away. In a hurry. She walked even faster.
"Whoever gets the money or transfers it will have to provide identification just like the guy did here," Ben was saying. "Gone are the days when you could zap the stuff around anonymously. I just wish they hadn't picked my bank." He said it as though every red cent in that bank belonged to him, Dani thought.
He continued, "Fontenot said we could take his boat to Cayman Brac and fly out from there. He'll send someone over to pick it up."
"I'm glad our buddy Fontenot's being this accommodating," Dani said. "They're coming after you, after us, for hacking into their files," she told him honestly. "I feel it."
"You really think they will?" he asked, stopping for a second and glancing around them.
"I know it," she declared, unwilling to explain how she knew.
"Then hang on a minute," he said, taking out his cell phone.
Though she had listened to his end of the conversation, Ben spelled it out for her after he put his phone away. "Fontenot's making flight reservations for us using his credit card so we can't be traced by yours. We'll head for Geneva by way of Toronto."
Dani stared at him. "You took me at my word. About the risk."
He reached down for the handle of his bag. "Your word's good, isn't it? And you are running the op."
She picked up her pace as they again headed for the marina. "You've done something like this before, haven't you?"
He smiled. "Now what would a banker be doing skulking around like a spy? I'm just getting into the spirit of the game, that's all. Using common sense."
"Just what did you do in the army?" she demanded.
"Waded through a lot of sand," he said lightly. "Well, shall we go sailing or you want to stand around and wait for the Cayman connection to show up?"
Dani tried a laugh, but it sounded more like a cough. "Am I being a little overdramatic?"
"And paranoid, too. Paranoia is our friend. What if we were followed as we left Virginia?"
He could be right. They could have been followed here. Or whoever was on the Cayman leg of this operation could have received word they were on their way. All she knew was that it was not safe to remain here. Thank goodness Michaels was buying into that without insisting on proof.
She shook her head and kept walking. They were way too exposed walking down a dimly lit, deserted street rolling their luggage. The feeling was growing, intensifying, the one she thought would be left at the hotel. It was much stronger now than it had been there, and encompassed more than her sense of smell.
Her nerves were zinging like crazy and they didn't calm in the least when she stepped on the boat. There would be trouble here, she thought to herself, but they had nowhere else to go.
"Is this thing seaworthy?" she asked.
He surveyed the length of it. "A Beneteau thirty-footer. Good boat. She's old, but looks sturdy and should get us where we're going." He leaned to the side of the cabin entrance, then held up a key. "Right where Fontenot said it would be."
They stowed their gear in the tiny cabin and changed their shoes so they wouldn't slip on the deck. As he donned a sweatshirt over his short-sleeved pullover, Dani spied the Beretta tucked into the waistband of his cords.
"Loaded for bear, I see," she commented. "Be sure the safety's on. Don't want to get butt-shot." She glanced around. "Do we have a life raft? Vests?"
"Roger that." He pointed out the items. "You ever sailed before?" he asked.
"Duh. I'm from Iowa! I hope you've done this before and don't expect me to cut jibs or anything!" She made a face.
He laughed out loud. "Not a problem," he said. "We have a motor."
He leaped back up on deck and offered her a hand. Dani took it reluctantly. Touching him did things to her insides. She didn't like how she waited for the opportunity, how she craved it happening. The warm clasp of his large fingers closing around hers felt too intimate. She'd been alone too long, that was all.
She tugged away as soon as she reached his side, unwilling to let these powerful sensations dull the others, the ones their lives might depend on. "Can we leave now?"
"In a minute. First I need to check the fuel and make sure the radio works. Charts were posted below, did you see?"
Dani hadn't noticed. "You're very observant."
He clicked his tongue. "And careful, too. I have no desire to wind up lost in the Cayman trough."
"You do know what you're doing here, don't you?" she asked.
"We're about to find out." He pointed to one of the ropes that secured the craft to the dock. "Untie that, would you?"
Her gaze raked up and down the marina as she helped him cast off. "Let's get the hell out of
here."
When they were some distance out, Ben cut speed, ordered Dani to take the wheel and grabbed the binoculars she had brought up from the cabin. He studied the shoreline.
The motor buzzed faithfully as they made their way to Cayman Brae, the second largest island of the Cayman group and the only other one with an airport.
Dani hurried below without a word as soon as he took over again, probably to call in and report.
When she returned, she moved in close so he could hear her over the roar of the motor. "Boss says you're officially off the case now," she said, firming her lips and fixing her eyes straight ahead.
No way in hell was he stepping down. Dani might be fully competent to carry this off. Her team might find someone with qualifications that matched his when it came to accessing the necessary data. But Ben meant to see it through no matter what.
He didn't waste breath arguing with her. He had an ace up his sleeve. They both knew the destination of the money and the account numbers. But Ben had learned, during his little mining expedition into the Persand site, the name of the individual most likely heading up this debacle. He hadn't given Dani that information and he wouldn't. Not yet, anyway. First he had to figure out why this was happening.
For a fleeting moment, he thought of his mom and how she would suffer if she found out he was smack in the midst of something potentially worse than what he had faced before. He knew she would just have to cope somehow.
He looked back over his shoulder toward Grand Cayman, now a mere slit of a shadow on the horizon, haloed by a faint glow of lights.
His pulse leaped and he faced forward again, urging more speed out of the aging craft.
"I said you're out of it, Ben!" Dani repeated, almost shouting.
"I heard you," he shouted back. "But I can't quit right now."
"You have to," she declared firmly, her voice hoarse. "Orders!"
"Sorry, the timing's just not good for me," he shouted.
"What do you mean?"
He took one hand off the wheel and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Look behind us."