"Didn't go to bed, Sir," Paul stated.
Davin looked over them both. "Right. Let's go upstairs, and you all can catch me up to speed, then naps for both of you."
"We're fully caffeinated now." Taylor gave her best smile to cover up the fatigue that still wanted to pull her mind into a fog. "I won't be able to sleep for a while."
"Fine, but I will be watching you."
Taylor settled back into the uncomfortable desk chair. She picked up where she left off in scanning the computer log for activity. Paul said nothing to Davin about her theory and the person he was looking for in the video footage. She needed to tell her boss all about what happened.
"Who wants to go first on their version of what exactly happened last night?" Davin sat on the love seat beside the desk where Taylor worked.
"I need to tell you something, boss. It has to do with last night, but also with my past." Taylor retold her suspicions to Davin. To his credit, he only interrupted when he had a clarifying question. When she was done, she stared at her boss. "Well, do you think I'm crazy?"
"What I think is that this guy has more answers to our questions. Paul, were you able to track him at all?"
"I found him. I talked with him last night, too." Paul sat on the bed across from them. "I thought he looked vaguely familiar, but I didn't know where from. His hair and eye color are different, but he resembles Gregor."
"Did he say anything important to you?"
"No. He tried to make a joke about why I ran into him. I wrote him off as a rich man who doesn't know anything aboutactual emergencies." Paul winced. "If I had known who he was, I wouldn't have brushed him off."
"Do either of you think he had something to do with last night's break-in?"
"I don't think so. He tried to warn me that whatever was going to happen last night, that I would be blamed for it." Taylor admitted.
"Do you know what happened to him after the lights went out?"
Taylor shook her head. "No, Sir. I went to the bathroom to change and get to the room when the lights went out. When I came out of the bathroom, it was dark and I couldn't find him. I decided to run up to the room instead of wasting energy looking for him. I don't think he knew what was going to happen…" Taylor trailed off.
"What is it, Ertz?" Davin stood behind her.
"There was a file copied last night, and the last log in for the computer was my alias. Sir, I think McNite was right. Whoever did this is trying to frame me."
"What file was copied?" Davin's voice was low.
"The schematics for the new underground missile silo in Alaska." A rock formed in Taylor's stomach. What was she going to do? It was a federal offense to steal the location and layout of secret government weapons stashes. If those stolen plans made it into the hands of the enemies of the US, this could be the start of the next world war. They needed to figure out who stole the schematics before she ended up in a federal prison or worse.
The door to her hotel room flew open. SAC Hollands and Senator Schulz both strode into the room. A room that was getting smaller and smaller. Davin stood between her and SAC Hollands as he updated the two, leaving out her theory about McNite and Kam.
Hollands peered around Davin. "We're going to have to put you in holding, Special Agent Ertz."
"With all due respect, Sir." Paul stood next to Davin, creating a wall between her and the SAC. "Ertz was downstairs when this incident occurred. There is no way she could have done this."
Davin raised his hand to keep Paul from arguing. "Sir, allow us to take Ertz back to Alaska with us and keep her at a safe house. We will keep working on the case, and when we prove her complete innocence, she can return to duty."
Hollands worked his jaw, but Senator Schulz was the one who spoke. "Hollands, you and I both know that she didn't do it."
The support from the Senator shocked her.
"Alright. But she doesn't leave the safe house, and I expect you both not to discuss the case with her. She is not to be anywhere near this. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Understood, Sir."
"And, Ertz." Taylor peered over Davin and Paul's shoulders. "Keep your head down. We'll keep this under wraps until we know more."
It wasn't prison. Yet. She would take what she could get, but her gut said that this wasn't going to be an easy case.
