Page 51 of False Flag

“So he doesn’t know she was at the bachelor party?”

“I don’t see how he could. He knows nothing about anyone on any of my SEAL teams, past or present.” He grimaced. “Inviting him to a team barbecue wasn’t something either of us wanted.”

Gleeson nodded. “I would imagine that would be rough.”

Huang leaned forward. “Would your brother believe your interest is genuine if you asked to join the expedition?”

“What?”

“We want you to infiltrate the expedition team.”

“Why?”

“We’ve received intel from FMV,” Rand said. “This is not to be shared outside this room. Not even with the members of your SEAL team.”

That this was coming from Fallon was significant. He’d been OIC of Jake’s team before being promoted.

He nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Are you aware that Gerard Campbell’s Lost Civilizations expedition is headquartered on a privately-owned Gulf Island in British Columbia?” Huang asked.

“I know they’re on an island on the other side of the country. I wondered if it was in Washington, where Lloyd and I grew up.”

“Did your brother say who owns the island?”

“No, but he did mention a flight on a private jet, which I’m guessing would be owned by the same person.”

“The island is owned by Casper Osborne.”

“That makes sense. If I remember correctly, Osborne’s family—well, I guess it’s just him, now—owns a lot of land in BC and Washington. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, the last name Osborne was a lot like being named Boeing.”

“Has your brother mentioned Osborne in any of your communications?”

“No. He signed NDAs, but as I said, he mentioned the jet and island. Just not who and exactly where.”

“Casper Osborne was at the vice president’s residence when your brother was there. That information wasn’t included in the press release, but it also didn’t fall under an umbrella of secrecy.”

“Kind of surprising it didn’t leak,” Jake said.

“Considering the man in question has his thumb on the infrastructure of a significant portion of the internet, it is our belief that a lot of websites self-censor, knowing that a reference to Osborne’s whereabouts is a good way for a site to experience technical difficulties, making him something of a ghost online.”

“Except for when he wants to be seen,” Rand said with a cynical smile.

“Do you want me to infiltrate the expedition because it’s on Osborne’s island, or because the man himself is involved?”

“Yes,” Gleeson said, offering no further clarification.

Given that Jake couldn’t infiltrate the team as a SEAL, this would be off the books. Which meant he had a right to know details. “Why?”

Looks were exchanged, and it was Mooney who answered. “Over the weekend, FMV’s analyst broke the encryption on a set of Russian oligarch Grigory Laskin’s files that specifically mentions Osborne and financial dealings.”

“That’s not entirely surprising. Oligarch to oligarch, they’re likely to have a business relationship.”

“Yes, and it was Osborne’s security systems that protected Laskin’s network until we had a man on the inside.”

Rand—the man who’d been on the inside—remained silent and expressionless.

“You think if I’m on the island, I can get into Osborne’s files like we did with Laskin? I doubt he’s working on the expedition, which means access to his network would be impossible.”