Page 123 of False Flag

EarlGrey: Been wondering that too.

exBmil: Tired of waiting.

Ace: That info is above paygrade.

KingCrab: Better be soon. BigA is a problem.

Ace: She’s cut off here. She’s harmless.

KingCrab: Even a declawed cat can scratch with its hind paws.

exBmil: It was a mistake bringing her on board.

Ace: We need her.

Crash: Do your fucking jobs and forget about the bitch.

exBmil: Hard to do when she’s my job. And now we have the new guy to lock down. He’s a problem too.

Ace: GC will deal with BigA and Frog.

Frog was likely a reference to Frogmen, the predecessor to the Navy SEALs.

EarlGrey: When? He was supposed to be here two days ago.

Ace: Problem with the boat delayed him, but he’s arriving tonight.

“I agree,” Teague said, “Ace really wants everyone to think he’s Gerard, but I think Gerard tells him what to post. For all we know, Gerard is a lurker.”

Vicki read the conversation again. “I figured KingCrab was Beau and exBmil was Lloyd, but after reading it again, I see your point. KingCrab is the one who makes negative statements about Staci that exBmil follows up on.”

“This chat happened the day before Lloyd was killed. Staci picked up the drive from their shared office that evening. We don’t know what conversations Lloyd had after that.”

Vicki stared at the lengthy conversation that continued on to include a vehement statement by Ace that the Truther attack on Staci, Drew Bishop, and Dr. Ellen Garrison had been a false flag.

“I hope Jake is successful today so I can send Staci transcripts of these chats.”

Teague frowned at the screen. “I want to dig in another direction. Do we have intel on where Riley was on the day Staci was attacked?”

“No. We didn’t even have his full name until Staci was in Victoria with Jake ten days ago. Freya is working on that end of the timeline to see if it’s likely someone on the team was her attacker.”

“The team was supposed to be composed of fans who donated to the fundraiser and applied for jobs. Do we have a list of donors?”

“Yes. Jake got it. It was one of the files he copied from Gerard’s computer. The only person on the team who didn’t donate is Dahlia, which makes sense because she was already Gerard’s employee.”

“Was Vice President Daniels on the list?”

“A politician making a donation instead of asking for them? Surely you jest.”

Teague smiled. “Sorry. Lost my head there for a moment.”

Vicki’s computer pinged, and an email notification slid into the top right corner of the screen. The preview said she’d received a Dropbox link from…

Holy crap! Staci.

“Staci?” Teague’s voice carried the same shocked tone she felt.

“Leave,” she commanded.