by Martha Carr
“Look, I wouldn’t normally say anything, but whatever you did, you didn’t cover your tracks very well.”
“Hey, I know how to cover my tracks, okay? And I’m telling you right now, I didn’t—”
Matthew pulled his phone from his back pocket and lifted it toward the narrow crack in the front door. He stared at her with deadpan skepticism.
Cheyenne blinked quickly and read the information on the screen: her IP address, her name, her address, and a timestamp of her double-click on Colonel Thomas’ Friends of the Bull folder. Damn. He’s good, or I was hasty and stupid.
“Please don’t deny it again.” Matthew’s phone went back into his pocket, and he folded his arms, glancing nervously down the hall at the elevators. “This is embarrassing enough.”
“Maybe your uncle shouldn’t be sticking his lying nose where it doesn’t belong. You ever think of that? Same goes for you too, neighbor. You said he was an investor. Conveniently forgot the part where he sits at the top of the damn FRoE pyramid, didn’t you?”
Her neighbor’s blue eyes flicked back toward her. “What?”
“Colonel Les Thomas, Matthew. He’s not funding the FRoE, he heads it. Calling a lot of the shots, and I gotta say, he’s doing a really shitty job right now.”
“That’s not right.” He took a step back and shook his head. “My uncle retired six years ago. He’s not active in anything. Definitely not as a colonel.”
“Well, at the very least, he’s been actively lying to you.”
“No. No way. He’s retired, Cheyenne.”
“He’s really not.” She gave him a tight smile and cocked her head. “I honestly don’t care whether or not you believe me, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. You know, when you find out your uncle’s been leading a double life, and he runs out of excuses to feed you.”
Matthew turned away from her, tried to look inside the apartment again, and pointed at her. “I came here about the hacking, Cheyenne.”
“Don’t worry about it. I called off my hounds, and you won’t get another alarm. Promise.”
“Okay.” Wrinkling his nose, he gritted his teeth and turned without another word to stalk back across the hall to his apartment.
Cheyenne had her front door shut and locked again before he’d even opened his. “That was seriously weird.”
“His own uncle.” Ember folded her arms and scowled at the closed front door. “Is he really that freakin’ clueless?”
“Maybe.” The halfling looked up at her desk in the mini-loft. “Maybe not. It is kinda hard to believe the cyber-security genius, Matthew Thomas, couldn’t pull any of that information up on his own.”
“That’d leave something of a mark on his reputation.” Tilting her head, Ember settled back against the armrest of the couch and shrugged. “Then again, who thinks they have a reason to vet their own family members?”
“Yeah, fair point.” Cheyenne drummed her fingers on her thighs and scanned their apartment. “Hypothetical neighbor ignorance aside, the only thing I care about right now is that I can’t get into the colonel’s computer before our little chat tonight.”
“You don’t think you can talk circles around him until he spills his guts about the Bull’s Head without even knowing it?”
“Ha. I like how confident you are.” Cheyenne stepped across the living room and slumped into one of the black leather recliners. “I probably could do that, but I need proof this time around, Em. Hard evidence that Les Thomas is giving classified FRoE details to the O’gúl loyalists and actively funding their bullshit with the war machines.”
“Okay. Then you could sneak into his office when he’s not there and poke around in his computer physically, right?”
“I don’t think me being at the base after hours without a good reason to stick around is gonna go over very well with any of the higher-ups. Even Sir.” Cheyenne cranked the lever on the recliner and pushed the chair as far back as it would go. “But I don’t need to touch his computer.”
Ember sighed. “You’re gonna try to hack it again, aren’t you?”
“Yep. Not from Glen, though.”
“Okay, you lost me.”
Cheyenne chuckled and spread her arms. “Hey, if I’m standing in his office and reading his files with the activator, there’s no other system involved. It’s technically not hacking into anything.”
The fae’s mouth opened in realization. “You’re right. That’s more like borrowing someone else’s computer to send an email.”
“I’ll get him, Em. Might take a little longer than I wanted, but this meeting won’t be totally useless. That’s for damn sure.”
Chapter Eighty-One
At 6:54 p.m., Cheyenne parked her dinged-up Panamera in the FRoE compound’s parking lot and didn’t bother locking the thing. Instead, she pulled out her phone and texted Rhynehart as she headed for the front doors.
Got called in for a meeting about the missing lizard. Probably a good idea for you to stay away from home base for a while. Shit might get pretty weird.
She watched her phone until the text was sent, then stuck it back in her pocket and opened the first glass door into the compound. If he doesn’t know what that means right away, I can’t do anything to help him.
The second she stepped inside the front lobby with all the empty cubicles, she found Sir standing in front of the hallway on the left. He scowled at her, arms folded. “You’re late.”
“I’m on time, and you know it.” Cheyenne headed in and grinned when he nodded at the hall behind him. “So I get to have a little sit-down with the colonel. Making me do all the heavy lifting for you, huh?”
Sir glanced quickly around and grimaced in irritation. “We’re not having this conversation here or now, halfling, so you can fuck right off into his office. First two left turns, and the elevators are at the end of the hall. He’s on the third floor.”
“A rain check, then.” She shot him a syrupy smile and walked past him. “That’ll be a fun talk.”
“Fat fucking chance,” he grumbled and stormed across the lobby.
Cheyenne followed the fairly simple directions to Colonel Thomas’ office. The halls were empty of FRoE agents, as were the elevators. Almost the entire third floor was dark, except for one office on the left at the very end.
Still might be a chance this is a setup. If it is, I’m pretty sure I can handle a few FRoE officers trying to take me down all together. If it comes to that. And Sir gets to skip out on the whole thing. Don’t wanna spike his blood pressure.
Her black Vans moved silently across the carpeted hallway of the mostly dark, mostly empty third floor. The door to Colonel Les Thomas’ office was wide open, spilling warm yellow light on the opposite wall. Cheyenne stuck the activator behind her ear and slipped into drow mode before she reached the office. Just so this asshole knows exactly who he’s dealing with when I step inside.
She turned the corner into the office and found herself in a room very much like Bianca’s personal study. Clearing her throat, she knocked firmly on the open door but didn’t expect much in response.
Colonel Thomas sat behind the massive oak desk at the far end of the office, his arms folded and one ankle crossed over the opposite knee. “Cheyenne Summerlin, I presume?”
“Colonel.” She stuck her hands into the pockets of her trenchcoat and strolled casually into the room. “A little birdie told me you wanted to have a chat. Face to face.”
The colonel snorted. “More like a screaming, cursing birdie, but I get the point. Please, take a seat.” He gestured at the two leather captain’s chairs in front of his desk.
Cheyenne shook her head. “I’ll stand, thanks. This won’t be a long conversation.”
“Really?” Colonel Thomas opened the center drawer of his desk and pulled out a tobacco pipe and a book of matches. “Why’s that?”
“Because you want me to tell you about the other break-in at Chateau D’rahl, and I can’t help you.”
The man tamped a pi
nch of tobacco into his pipe, then struck a match and puffed as the dried leaf strips caught. He shook out the match and set it gently on his desk. “Can’t or won’t?”
“Not much of a difference when they have the same result.”
Les Thomas chuckled and puffed on his pipe again. “How’s L’zar?”
He’s testing me, but I’ve been perfecting my poker face since I was eight. “You’d get a more accurate answer if you asked him yourself.”
“So, you don’t know where he is?”
“Right now? No. Your fellow officer asked about him the last time I was called in for a meeting.”
“Sounds like you have an issue with answering the same question more than once.”
“It’s a waste of everyone’s time because the answers haven’t changed.” Cheyenne raised an eyebrow and scanned the code the activator brought up in her vision. Every time she glanced at the colonel’s computer sitting off to the side of his desk, a new prompt revealed itself to dig deeper. Helps that this thing jumped right onto FRoE wi-fi. I don’t even have to see the screen.
“Well then, let’s move away from L’zar Verdys, shall we?” Thomas’ executive desk chair creaked when he leaned back in it. “I wanted to talk to you about the break-in this afternoon anyway.”
“So I heard.” With a mere thought, Cheyenne moved the visual her activator fed her to center over the top of the colonel’s head instead of on his screen. And there’s that encrypted file. Time to dig in. “I’m surprised this is a one-on-one meeting, Colonel. How come you’re the only one who wants to talk to me about this other little mishap?”
“Ah.” The man blew a thin trail of smoke from between thin lips. “We’re more concerned about the security at Chateau D’rahl than the prisoner who slipped past it this time around. He has no magic, as I understand it.”
“Hmm.” Cheyenne cocked her head. “Then it must be pretty awful security.” The activator flashed quickly in her vision, sending scrolling code across the top half of Colonel Thomas’ forehead before the message she’d been waiting for flared in bright yellow letters:
Full system scan complete. File Folder Friends of the Bull download successful.
Gotcha, Colonel.
“That’s the thing, though, Ms. Summerlin.” He rocked back and forth in his swiveling leather chair. “In 2000, after L’zar Verdys escaped the confines of his cell at Chateau D’rahl and surprised us all by returning to custody three days later, I personally headed the team that designed and integrated the prison-wide security upgrades, so as you can imagine, I’m intimately familiar with the way that prison operates when it comes to assessing potential threats. There’s nothing wrong with the security.”
Cheyenne gave him a pert smile and flicked her fingers at her side to wipe away the activator’s scrolling code from her vision. “Except for the second prisoner escape in the last two weeks.”
“This wasn’t a solo attempt, Ms. Summerlin. While L’zar apparently finds it amusing to test our patience with his antics, it’s impossible for an inmate to break out of Chateau D’rahl on their own. Especially an inmate who was brought into custody without magic or the ability to use it. Unless they had help.”
“Huh. Maybe L’zar helped him.”
Colonel Thomas tilted his head toward the tip of his pipe held loosely in his hand. He puffed three times and smacked his lips. “Where were you this afternoon when the prisoner escaped?”
Yep. He’s fishing. Persh’al wiped all the security cameras. Cheyenne gazed around the room and assumed her best nonchalant expression. “I’m not sure, Colonel. When exactly did he escape?”
“The system alarm activated at 1:13 p.m.”
“Okay. I was at my apartment in Richmond. I got home from teaching a VCU undergrad class at about twelve-thirty. Feel free to look me up there if you haven’t already. I didn’t leave my apartment again until I headed here for this stimulating exchange of useless information.”
“Is that so?” Thin plumes of smoke rose above the colonel’s head, dampening the light.
Cheyenne clicked her tongue. “You know, if my apartment building ever thought to install security cameras in the hallways, I guess you’d have proof. Not that I’m advocating for security cameras on my floor. There are only two apartments up there. And I enjoy my privacy as much as the next halfling, you know?”
“I’m sure.” He scanned her with narrowed eyes.
If he knows about his nephew living right across the hall from me, he’ll find that proof and lay off the hunt. Matthew’s cameras don’t show me stepping in and out of my living room through nightstalker portals. Points for a nosy neighbor with way too much free time. I guess.
The colonel looked down at a piece of paper on his otherwise pristine desk and touched it briefly with a fingertip. “You’ve spent a lot of time in the field with Agent Rhynehart, as I understand it. Is that correct?”
Cheyenne almost laughed. “Yeah. He’s a real shithole, too. He the one who put it in your ear to bring me in and try to interrogate me again?”
“Would it matter, Ms. Summerlin?”
“Not really. I’m keeping a running list of all the times Agent Rhynehart’s thrown me under the bus. Part of me wonders why I stick around to help you guys.”
The man’s lips twitched into a smile devoid of amusement. “As it stands, perhaps that’s because we still have plenty to offer each other in this working relationship. I think you’d agree.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never offered you anything, but if you’re speaking for the FRoE in general, then sure. Maybe.”
He sighed. “It’s been a pleasure, Cheyenne. Do let us know if you hear from your father or any other convicted prisoners from Chateau D’rahl. It’s in your best interests to continue cooperating with us to the best of your ability, you understand.”
That almost sounded like a threat. Cheyenne dipped her head. “It’s perfectly clear, Colonel. Have a nice night.”
She spun, stalked out of his office, and headed down the hall to the elevators again. Okay, that came a little too close for comfort. Even with tampered security footage, the guards still saw me at the prison. And Rhynehart. But it doesn’t mean shit if nobody can prove it.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside before stabbing the button to close them again. Then she pulled up a summary view of the encrypted folder she’d snagged from Colonel Les Thomas’ personal desktop. I’m the only one with proof. Just gotta crack this baby and decide how I wanna use it.
Chapter Eighty-Two
The second Cheyenne re-entered her apartment, Ember bombarded her with questions about the meeting. The halfling gave her friend a distracted summary before heading back up to the mini-loft.
“And he let you walk out of his office. Just like that.”
“Yeah, Em. If we hadn’t had Persh’al for our prison-break adventure today, I’d probably be telling you a different story right now. Or maybe no story. Who knows?”
Ember grinned. “You know, that troll’s all right.”
“Yeah. The troll’s all right. Les Thomas thinks I had something to do with the great escape. He brought up Rhynehart too.” Cheyenne snorted and turned on her monitor before sitting in her chair. “He’s probably shitting himself, wondering how the hell he’s gonna pin either of us down when it’s hearsay from a few FRoE guards who couldn’t even stop a magicless scaleback from breaking out of a tank.”
Ember draped her arm over the back of the couch and laughed. “It’s enough to piss anyone off.”
“He’ll have a lot more than that to be pissed off about when I’m done. I just need a little time to open up all his files, and then it’s game over, Colonel Thomas.”
“You’re looking awfully proud of yourself.”
Cheyenne peered through the iron bars of the rail around the mini-loft and grinned at her Nós Aní. “You know what, Em? I am proud. I walked into a mostly civil meeting with a guy I’m already ninety-nine-percent sure is responsible for all my issues
with the Bull’s Head, and I didn’t lose my shit. See? Totally possible for me to handle something delicately first without blowing anything up.”
“Uh-huh.” Ember tried to fight back a laugh. “Tell me you’re not looking forward to blowing stuff up, though, and I will call you a liar.”
“Come on.” Cheyenne scoffed. “I’m always down to blow stuff up. You know that.”
While Ember turned her latest show back on, Cheyenne selected every command the activator offered to sync Colonel Thomas’ downloaded files onto Glenn’s drives. Time to break your secrets wide open, Colonel. I hope they’re good.
She sent the encrypted files into the Bunker and gave her custom program as long as it needed to run the decryption and scan everything for malware or any hidden cyber-landmines.
Twenty minutes later, the Bunker’s notification popped up with the all-clear. Cheyenne rubbed her hands together. “Here we go.”
The first three files held the same information Matthew had given them, more or less: names of magicals, locations, and when they had their first meeting with Colonel Thomas. Cheyenne skimmed through the written accounts of those in-person meetings, which pretty much corroborated what Matthew had told them. Okay, but I don’t give a shit about Les hooking his nephew up with the Bull’s Head. That’s old news at this point. Show me something I can use.
Her activator skimmed through the file content and flagged the information she wanted in under two minutes. Cheyenne clicked through each suggested file source and went right to the activator’s search results. “Holy shit.”
“That sounds like the good kind,” Ember called from the couch. “It’s the good kind, right?”
“I mean, I found what I wanted, so that’s a plus.” Cheyenne scrolled through the files, her mouth falling open. “I was fucking right.”
“The FRoE’s been playing you this whole time?”
Cheyenne forced herself to look away from her computer. “Almost.”