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“There has to be a way to do that,” Alder said, although she provided no statistics on the likelihood of there being a solution, maybe because she thought the number was too close to zero.
“There is,” I said quietly. When no one responded, I realized I hadn’t spoken above a whisper. I cleared my throat.
“Is something wrong, Ash?” TJ watched me with concern.
I hoped his look didn’t turn to disdain when he heard what I’d done. “There is a way to take down Calder.” I slid two fingers into my shorts pocket and fished out the tiny mini recorder disk.
Jensen whistled. “That is some serious old-school tech, right there.”
“Do you have a player?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not in here. Maybe in the tech room, but maybe not. It’s been a while.”
“Can you bring mine in here?” I asked.
He glanced at TJ, then at X. “I’ve already scanned it. It’s clean.”
TJ nodded, and Jensen left to retrieve my device, which was with our personal electronics in a safe outside the room.
“Do you want to tell us what this is about?” TJ asked. The furrow in his brow had deepened, and he was frowning. “What is that, and where and when did you get it?”
Jensen returned with my player and set it in front of me.
“I recorded this last night.” Dropping my voice, I said, “During the power outage.”
TJ winced, apparently processing my meaning before even hearing the recording. I slid the tape into the player and hit play before he could ask more questions.
“And I’m telling you, I don’t trust her, Kovac.” Senator Calder’s voice filled the room.
TJ reached across the table and pushed the recorder’s off button. “What the hell have you done?”
I glanced around the room. No one other than TJ would look at me except for X, who had stopped moving and now stood with her arms crossed over her chest, boring holes into my skull with her unblinking gaze. I swallowed hard and looked down at the table.
“I recorded a conversation between Luka Kovac and Senator Calder,” I stated the obvious.
“Jensen, when we’re done here, make a backup of that and run a transcript,” TJ said. He started to speak again, then huffed angrily and sat back in his chair. It looked like he was fighting to control his anger.
“We wouldn’t have sent a civilian into that house if we’d known you were going to expose yourself to that kind of danger,” X said.
Which was exactly why I hadn’t told them.
TJ laid his hand over mine, trapping it to the table. “If you had gotten caught... I can’t even let my mind go there. Why did you take such a risk?”
I pulled my hand out from under his. “To save my career.” Even as I said it, I didn’t expect anyone to understand.
Watching Luka posture in front of me for weeks as if I could be so easily distracted, sitting through lunch while he ordered for me and treated me like a brainless twit, listening to him introduce me as a lifestyle columnist as if it were some kind of hobby and not even a real job, had worn away at me. Having most of my colleagues as well as much of the reading public think I’d lost all credibility had broken my heart.
“I didn’t know if I’d get anything, but when I saw the senator staring at my cleavage all through dinner and laughing at my expense afterward, I figured it was worth trying a little flirting to win him over. That got his attention. Then when the lights went out,” I paused and caught my breath, then braved a look at TJ, “I showed up at his door with an innocent act that would make him instantly suspicious. The minute I left, he made a beeline for Luka’s office. I followed fifteen seconds behind him.”
TJ sat in silence. His disappointment was palpable. I wanted to argue that I hadn’t lied to him, but I’d omitted an important truth. Besides, I knew I’d walked into that house during his team’s operation with my own separate plan in mind.
I glanced at Kessler, who was always a source of support. If I could win one or two of the team members to my side, I might turn the tide. I couldn’t read her expression, but at least she didn’t turn away. “There’s good information on the tape,” I said. “Kovac mentioned a payment to Calder’s Cayman Islands account, and Calder mentioned some names.”
“Those might be good leads,” X said. “It’s too bad we can’t use them, since your recording is outside the jurisdiction of our warrant.”
“We can still use it to stop Calder,” I said.
The room went quiet, and everyone stared at me. I had their attention. Now I had to sell them on my idea.
