AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wait,” Mac said. The weight of Dane’s stare bored through her. He was sitting beside her. Being close to him reminded her of the closet. Seven minutes of pure torture that she wouldn’t mind reliving.
But this was different. This was Manu’s decision, and she wanted to make sure he had all the facts before he made it.
“Manu, we don’t know what we’re dealing with. If you hack into the building’s security system, then you’re breaking the rules. More, you’re putting yourself at risk. A Guardsman is dead. We don’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to put you in any danger.”
He stared at her. “I get what you’re saying, but I can also tell you what will happen first thing when I go in tomorrow, or rather Monday morning since this is the weekend. I’ll tell them about the GPS unit, and my boss will ask me to go look at the system and see if the culprit is on the video. The way I see it, I’m just doing my job. I’m anticipating my boss’s needs and being proactive.” He gave her a self-satisfied grin.
She couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, then. If you’re sure.”
He nodded as he pulled out his laptop from the bag by his side. Jace took away the plate of food, and Manu got all set up. “Do you think I should call my boss in the morning at a decent hour? It’s the weekend, and I don’t want to disturb him, but this seems like a big deal.”
Mac gave him a small smile. “Let’s see what’s on the video, and then we’ll make that decision.” She said a small prayer that it wasn’t her boss but knew deep in her heart it probably was. All the signs pointed to the fact that he was up to something.
“Okay, that’s fair.” Manu’s fingers sailed over the keyboard. “Here’s the feed,” he said and hit the play button.
“We’ll be here all night watching at this rate,” Tac said. “Can you speed it up a bit?”
A few keystrokes later, the video was rushing by. He turned his laptop a bit to the right so Mac could see the video. It went quickly. People came and went down the hallway. A couple of people, including Tom Rutledge, stopped at the window and spoke with Vic. They signed out various pieces of equipment.
“What if we’re barking up the wrong tree? What if someone signed this out, and Vic just forgot to write it down?” she asked.
“It could theoretically happen,” Manu said. “But it’s unlikely. Vic has been there for years. He doesn’t make those kinds of mistakes. Or so he tells me regularly.” He squinted at the screen. “There,” Manu said and stopped the fast forward and reversed the feed a few frames.
Mac squinted at the screen. Dane got up and moved behind her. Cain leaned over. Cass had come around the table to their side and was looking over Cain’s shoulder. “That’s the guy I saw with the guy in the navy hoodie. I’m sure of it.”
The man now had on a gray hoodie with the hood down. He was wearing a black beanie that was pulled low. He moved down the hallway and then stopped in front of the counter. He looked around and then produced a key. Unlocking the door, he disappeared inside.
Mac felt queasy. All her fears were coming true. She’d recognized the bracelet the man wore when he reached out and opened the door.
Two minutes and twenty-eight seconds later, the man in the beanie walked out of the room again. He locked the door behind him.
“Is there any angle where we can see this guy’s face?” Dane asked.
Mac wanted to say there was no need. She knew who it was, but the words were stuck in her throat.
“Um, yeah.” With a few more keystrokes, Manu had a different camera view on the screen. He started the video.
The man in the beanie turned and looked down the hallway.
“Sonofabitch,” Dane said.
“What?” Tac demanded.
Mac cleared her throat. “It’s my boss, Senior Special Agent Quinten Lawrence, AKA Casper.”
“Holy cow!” Manu exclaimed. He glanced back and forth between the screen and Mac. “What are you going to do, Mac?”
“Nothing,” Cain said. His voice brooked no argument. “Manu, I have to ask you to stay quiet about this. I know you want to tell your boss but let us investigate first. We have no idea what this means. You have to give us a couple of days to figure a few things out. If Lawrence is breaking the rules, then we need to find out why.”
Manu’s brow furrowed. “I guess I can do that. I think it would be better to tell my boss, though.”
Mac rested a hand on his shoulder. “I will take the heat if anyone gets upset with you. I’m telling you not to say anything. It will be on me, okay?”
He took a moment but finally nodded. “I guess so. It’s not like I won’t be busy. They’re constantly bringing me requests to look at different footage from around the city and asking me to find all kinds of data. My boss is hot to find those missing Navy weapons and tech.”
Mac tensed. That wasn’t something he was supposed to be discussing in front of these guys.
“What do you know about the missing Navy weapons?” Dane asked, but his voice was flat and his eyes were wary.
