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“Alone, no,” Kennedy agreed. “However, we think that McMahan was monitoring Hoxha’s computer. This is how we see it playing out: In Helsinki, when you met Amanda, you were in an Iniquus uniform, and a picture of the two of you was taken and forwarded to her phone.”
“Okay,” Nutsbe nodded.
“After her arrest, Russians went through the phone, and in that picture are you, Amanda, and the Russian president.”
“That’s right, he moved through that room. We didn’t approach him.”
“The Russian investigators latched on to that picture and asked Amanda for your name and affiliation.”
“She would say she doesn’t know my name, but I work with her university,” Nutsbe filled in.
“She had to have remembered your affiliation with Iniquus. Iniquus has done a lot of damage to various Russian schemes. The SVR would recognize the Iniquus name. If we were in the Russian investigator’s shoes, we’d want to know your name explicitly. So they got Amanda to call you. That we know as fact. Like I said,” Kennedy pushed forward in his chair, “Intelligence was monitoring her phone after her grandmother informed the consulate of her arrest.”
“Okay,” Nutsbe’s mind was mile-a-minute trying to piece this together.
“The goal, we believe, was to get you to swipe the screen and, in that way, obtain your fingerprint to compare to their data bank.”
“But Amanda wouldn’t know who to ask for,” Nutsbe insisted.
“She could have described you to communications,” Finley offered. “And she could narrow it to Panther Force.”
“True. Okay, so they got the swipe. Still, how did they put it together with my name? Wait a minute; the FBI knows about this because you all use this AI advancement. Of course, you do.” Nutsbe leaned back in his chair, looking up toward the ceiling and thinking, “And McMahan would have wanted to keep a close eye on Hoxha from the beginning to see if that connection was trustworthy before McMahan got himself tied up in anything.” His voice faded as he tested that theory in his mind. Could it be?
“Bingo,” Finley said. “You were on Hoxha’s computer, weren’t you?”
Nutsbe sat up to look at Finley. “I was. And I swiped. And McMahan would have had those prints. This was years ago, before he did anything illegal with Hoxha. I was only on his computer once. At that time, McMahan could have had someone look at the IAFS to give him my name. Back then, he might have backburnered it because Iniquus was working on the company’s Montenegro retreat security, so my involvement wouldn’t have raised any suspicions. And again, McMahan wasn’t doing anything wrong. If he was watching for me to swipe again, I never did. Just the one time.”
“And at some point,” Thorn added, “he could have handed the information over to Albania or Russia. I’m getting the picture.”
“Bingo again,” Finley said. “In this working scenario, Russia had your fingerprint and the data from the FBI. They would know your fingerprint was associated with Hoxha and McMahan.”
“Hoxha anyway, and years ago,” Nutsbe insisted.
“Year’s ago. And uninteresting at the time. But things have become complicated for all the players in that scheme since then.”
“Right,” Nutsbe said.
“And when your Amanda-swipe matched the sound pattern of the print on Hoxha’s computer, suddenly your name rises to the top like cream. After the Amanda call, intelligence started hearing your name in dangerous circles.”
Nutsbe wasn’t a fan of the sensations around his jaw and neck. It took effort to remain stoic.
“That’s what we believe happened. And when we know more, we’ll share more.” Kennedy stood and pointed to the board. “Thank you for your notes. We’re going to keep working on this situation.” He turned to his partner. “Finley, anything you need to add?”
“Not now, no.” He lifted his phone. “After speaking with Command, I want to go back to the office and think about all this.”
The two men lifted their hands as a parting salute and left.
“Amanda Bradshaw,” Titus said. “Son of a bitch.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Nustbe
“Now that the room is cleared,” Nutsbe said. “Amanda Bradshaw was arrested? Why the heck was Amanda Bradshaw in Moscow, to begin with?”
“You haven’t read the paper today?” Thorn asked.
“Been a might busy. How about you catch me up?” Nutsbe asked.
