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“So you can confirm no one was in the comms room when I was talking to Jessa just now? No one heard the conversation we just had?” Logan looks up from his phone and motions for me to take a seat.
“Confirmed. I called in a room clear just before you walked in. Tex and Waldo were in there running reports and writing up their evals like you asked them to. Hunter was assisting them, and Eagle was listening in and providing intel. No security feeds were being monitored, and all four men cleared the room when I called it in.” Link’s voice echoes over the phone.
“Send the recording of my talk with Jessa to my computer, then remove it from the feed in the comms room and store it off-site. I also want a list of everyone on base who was on their phone or logged on to any of our computers from the time we arrived at base yesterday until midnight. Keep this between us.” Logan is deep in thought and watching my reaction as he leans over and hangs up without saying goodbye.
He’s not one for pleasantries when he has the scent of something.
“So, where do you want me to start?” Logan asks with a look that tells me he already knows my answer.
“Torture? You could have warned me before you dropped that bomb.”
“I wasn’t sure until I saw her reaction to the footage. I’m sorry, Jack. Until we know what happened, I can’t help her. You know that.” Then, leaning back in his seat, he reaches for a bottle of water on the desk, twisting off the cap and taking a long drink before continuing, “We need to talk about something else. Last night. You’re right. The hack wasn’t Jessa.”
There it is. The elephant in the room. I know what this means, and so does Logan. Leaning across the table to grab my own bottle of water, I take a big gulp before saying the last thing any of us wants to hear. “It’s one of us.”
Logan sits silently for a minute, disappointment etched onto his face.
This means it is one of our own trusted team members. One of our own over a known hacker. This was something neither of us saw coming, and it’s a tough pill to swallow.
Logan takes a deep breath, then hangs his head in acceptance. “Process of elimination leads me to believe it isn’t either of us, or Link. I can’t be one hundred percent sure about anyone else until we rule them out. Link’s on it.”
I mutter a profanity under my breath.
Until everyone else is cleared, we can’t trust anyone. When Link was hired, his own paranoia about accountability led him to set up a cross monitor on himself. His own team would have reported him for anything out of the ordinary. On top of that, he started with us about three years ago, which is two years after the initial malware was uploaded.
“So, for now, we keep this information between us. Look, Jack, I know I’m an asshole for saying this, but we need Jessa to get in touch with Zane. We need both of them on our side if we have any chance of taking Maxwell down. You know if that happens, his old man might be forced out of retirement, and we can end it all.”
He looks at me for understanding. I know he’s right. It’s going to take all of us, working together, to eviscerate their empire. But I also know asking Jessa for this right now will backfire. She has her back up against the wall, and she already doesn’t feel safe here.
She figured out we had a mole during the interrogation, and she almost tried to warn us, but she stopped herself. She knew we wouldn’t have believed her, not then.
“I know we do, but you need to give Jessa a little time to bounce back. Just let her breathe for a bit, okay? Tonight is downtime. The guys will be hanging out in the common area. I’ll ask the women to join us. Play some cards, watch a movie, sing karaoke…whatever. Everyone should be there. We can monitor the guys too. See if anything is off,” I offer, hoping to buy Jessa some time to find her way back to a clear head and a safe space.
Logan considers my request. I can tell he agrees with me. He just hates that I’m the voice of reason.
“I’ll allow that.” Taking one last gulp of water before ending our meeting, he slides his chair back and looks me straight in the eyes. “But I’m not singing karaoke. No matter what.”
CHAPTER14
JESSA
Watching yourself experience something you don’t remember is surreal. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I needed to be restrained and drugged, and I don’t remember any of it.
Logan only played that small part of the video, and I can’t stop obsessing over everything he didn’t show me.
What did I say? I couldn’t have given them much to go on, or things would be in motion today, and Dana and I would most likely be locked away, for our protection—and theirs.
Still, my curiosity is getting the better of me, and I wish I had a distraction. I wish I could sit down at a computer and lose myself in some code.
I haven’t gone this long without putting my hands on a keyboard in years. If Dana knew how much time I really put in, how late I’d work after she turned in at night, she’d have me committed.
I have an endgame with Zane, and I am so close to crossing the finish line and cutting all of us free.
Being captured, especially by Jack, wasn’t part of the plan though, and I still need to work out how to execute everything and take down Maxwell with these new obstacles.
Having a computer would solve so many issues right now.
Instead, I’m banned from anything that needs power, and I’m currently under strict supervision. I got up to turn on a light earlier, and the young one they call Grey looked like he was going to tackle me.
