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“Hang on a second,” Marco said briskly. “If you didn’t give them to her, how did she get them?”
“How do you think?”
“Are you saying she stole them from you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
“I was worried the Zeppelins would find out I’ve been keeping tabs on them. If anything happened to me, or my laptop was stolen, I wanted backups. I made two flash drives and two copies of the photograph. I was putting them in separate envelopes when Steph stopped by and poked her head in.”
“How did she know what they were?”
“She asked me what I was doing, and I said,taking out an insurance policy against the Zeppelins.” Then shaking his head, he muttered, “I blame myself. I should have told her to mind her own business.”
“Fuck…” Marco muttered, shaking his head. “I can’t imagine her stealing like that.”
“You don’t know her. She’s driven, she’s stubborn, and once she becomes obsessed with something all bets are off. When she left and I discovered what she’d done, I drove straight to her apartment. When I pulled up, she was leaving on her motorbike so I went in. I’m embarrassed to say my actions were impulsive, but I was hoping to scare some sense into her and she’d return the envelope. She texted me a couple of days ago, but I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”
Marco stood quietly, staring at the floor as he processed the alarming information, then turned his eyes back to Max and fixed him with a steely gaze. “Did you make a third copy?”
“No, and after Steph stole mine, which you now have, I gave the other copy to my lawyer,” Max said solemnly, then taking a breath, he added, “Marco, Steph was hell bent on following you until she shot a great picture. Now I realize that wasn’t her only motivation. I was so concerned I put those cameras up outside her apartment so if the Zeppelins show up, I could call the police and get over there. Nice jamming job by the way, and before you ask, I have a camera on the outside of the building as well. Your guy missed that one.”
“Of course you do,” Marco muttered, rolling his eyes. “So tell me, Max, what’s on the flash drive?”
“Information I dug up about the Zeppelins, and more photographs, but none showing you with your FBI handlers. I use both a digital and regular camera. I enjoy the ritual of the developing process.”
“I can’t believe what Steph did,” Marco muttered, shaking his head. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Initially neither could I, but I stopped thinking about that and started focusing on getting the envelope back, then locking her up before she gets herself killed. That’s a joke.”
“Actually, it’s a good idea,” Marco agreed, thinking it was just what he’d done, “but you can leave Steph to me. I’ll keep her out of trouble.”
“Now that I’ve met you, I don’t doubt it, and I’m grateful. But who’s going to keepyouout of trouble? I want to help you nail these bastards. Maybe I can give you cover.”
“I can’t bring civilians into this without talking to my handlers, and I already know they’ll be against it.”
“Sure you can,” Max said, smiling for the first time. “Marco, you need backup, real backup, not those FBI bozos.”
“They’re not bozos. They’re sharp, or I wouldn’t be involved with them.”
“My apologies, I shouldn’t have made a rush to judgment,” Max said sheepishly. “Most of my dealings with law enforcement have been less than stellar, but Marco, if I can help, let me know.”
“I’ll keep it in mind. One last thing,” Marco said, lowering his voice. “You didn’t move out of this office recently. Based on the dust in that tray, the darkroom hasn’t been used in ages, and I’ll bet your apartment isn’t the empty one my boys searched.”
“Guilty,” Max replied, nodding his head. “In my game you have to be ready for just about anything. I set this up ages ago, and I’m very glad I did. I know how to stay invisible, but if the Zeppelins become aware of me and track me down, they’ll find what you did, nothing. Basically, I’m prepared for the worst and hoping for the best.”
“But why are you involved at all? Why are you risking your neck? What’s in it for you?”
Max let out a heavy sigh. “I’m worried about Steph. I knew she was after your photograph, and I followed her a few times. I snapped some pictures and sent a couple to a friend who has access to certain databases.”
“I’m sure you do,” Marco muttered.
“Yeah, well, he identified the people you met with, the two agents, and the Zeppelin brothers. I know where Oleg and Ivan hail from and what they do, which is just about everything evil under the sun. I didn’t tell Steph about the agents, but I did give her the gory details about the Zeppelins. She promised to back off if she saw them with you, then she stole the damn envelope. I wanted to wring her neck.”
“So… your involvement in all this is just about protecting Steph.”
“Pretty much, and if I can help, I’m all in.”
