Page 44 of False Flag

She’d google how the bidet worked after she talked to Freya. Which she would do as soon as she was done sweeping the room for bugs with a gadget FMV had provided. Room cleared, she made the call, which was brief. And, in spite of the clean sweep, coded. No doubt the techbros were listening through other means.

“Darling! So glad you arrived safe. Is everyone on the team there?”

“So far it’s just me and…” She hesitated. She’d made a huge mistake in not telling Freya about where she’d first met Jake. But how was she to know his brother was Gerard’s new right-hand man?

“And?”

“Lloyd. Lloyd Burns. He’s familiar. Reminds me of someone.”

“What?”

“I can’t put my finger on it. I keep thinking he should have dimples. Like that guy I had a crush on that one time at camp? You remember him?”

“Cabin three guy? He seemed nice.”

She couldn’t help but smile even as she wanted to groan. “Yes, well, religious differences got in the way. But he was cute.”

“I see.”

“It gets worse, actually. Remember my high school boyfriend? Beau Sommerville? He’s here too.”

“Motherfucker.”

Staci tried to imagine her real stepmom saying that, and a sharp laugh erupted from her. It was either that or cry.

“How is that possible? I’ve been watching out for him.”

Karen would have said that. She’d believed Staci when she said Beau was behind the attack, and she still lived in the same town as Beau’s parents.

“He’s on Gerard’s security team.”

“Do you feel safe with him there? As security, he’ll have keys. Access.”

“I don’t know. I spent the last year trying to figure out how much of his anger and resentment was always there, and how much came from consuming disinformation. The Beau I loved once would never have hurt me.”

“That boy is long gone. He’s all in with his new beliefs. He lost everything when he was court-martialed, and even though you weren’t part of that, he most certainly blames you. Be careful.”

“He saw me. Last December. I think he was working security at the fundraiser.”

“He should have been locked up in December.”

“That’s what I thought too. I guess he was released early? There was no reason to notify me. I wasn’t part of the prosecution.”

“I have alerts set for him. I don’t like this. It doesn’t make sense that Gerard hired you when he must know you were the victim of a Truther attack.”

“Maybe he thinks he can win me over?” That sounded false even to her own ears now. She’d kind of believed it when she spoke to him in person, but Beau changed everything. “And then there’s the NSF grant. No other archaeologist would touch this.”

“Don’t be so sure. I can think of several who could be bought for the right price, and with Osborne on board, Campbell isn’t worried about money.”

Staci felt more uneasy than ever. Instead of her laying a trap for Gerard, it was entirely possible that Beau had laid one for her.

Her selection wasn’t a coincidence.

Hell, even Jake’s brother worked for Gerard.

This raised the question: had Jake’s interest been real, or was he merely doing his prophet’s bidding?

Chapter Fifteen