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Cole watched, amazed at her ability to take in information on the screens so quickly.
“Come on… where are you?” Joey whispered to herself as she worked. Cole jumped when she suddenly yelled. “Abort, abort! It’s a trap. Don’t move in.”
“Forget that. We can take a nerdy computer guy. I’m going in.” There was Jackson again.
“He’s not there!” Joey’s desperate yell cut through Cole like a knife.
“Jackson, don’t—” Flint’s command was cut off by a muffled yell on the other end of the line.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Inside her office,everything went silent as they waited for an update.
“Team Bravo is holding position. Even if one of us still can’t follow orders.” Marshall’s voice was full of irritation, and Joey relaxed into her chair knowing that no one had walked into danger.
Ryder’s calm voice came over the speaker. “Eagle, can you repeat your last?”
She leaned into the mic. “I said, he’s not there. I’ve got his location. He’s back inside Zia.”
“Are you sure?” Cole’s question came from her right and she turned. His warm eyes watched her, full of trust.
“Absolutely,” she nodded. “I don’t know what he left inside that house, but I don’t think we want to find out. “He must have found my beacon bug and set a trap. But I got him trying to dig his way back into our system.”
“Why would he go back to Zia though?”
She shook her head. “I don’t really know… But that’s where he is. I’m sure of it.” She’d gotten him, in real time with no ability to hide behind fancy firewalls or spoofed locations. She didn’t know why, but their mysterious hacker was back at Zia.
She turned to Flint. “Do you trust me?”
Flint tipped his head back and forth. “I don’t know, Joey. That seems unlikely. I’m with Cole, why would he go back there?”
Frustrated with her boss, she turned to Cole. “Well? It’s your company. Your project. What do you want to do?”
Cole’s eyes flicked between her and Flint, then back again. He gave a sharp nod. “We trust Joey. She got us this far. Let’s go to Zia and nail this guy.”
Relief and pride filled her at his words of confidence.
“Will he know we’re coming?” Flint asked.
Joey shook her head. “I don’t think so. But we need to hurry. He’s stonewalled for now, but he’s very good.” Surprisingly good, she realized. This was no research assistant selling secrets. From the security logs and the detection of the beacon bug, there was no doubt in her mind that this was an experienced hacker.
Did she know them?
After all, it was a small circle.
She sent a message to Vertigo.
I need a favor. Cross-reference current Zia employees with previous Raven Tech employees or contractors.
“What should we do about the house?” Ryder’s voice came across the line, tinged with frustration and impatience.
She chuckled. “Sorry, boys. Change of plans. You need to head to Zia Pharmaceuticals. Be discreet.”
“Aww, man. Do you know what a letdown it is to make it to T minus five seconds and then call it all off? It’s like having the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to win the game and then the star strikes out. Total letdown.”
“Game’s not over yet, Jax. Stop being so dramatic.” Joey smiled at Marshall’s words to his younger brother.
“Let’s go,” Cole said.
