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“Did you get the feeling that either Fenton or Mercer knew about Everett?” Ryan asked.
“No.” Casey shook her head. “I’m not saying they didn’t play a role in his disappearance, but I don’t think they know where he is now. If they did, the Bureau would be hauling their asses in.”
“They’re not the same,” Claire pronounced.
“Who?”
“Mercer and Fenton. They have different levels of involvement. Fenton’s aura is dark. Mercer’s is much grayer. It’s also more muddied, as if he’s torn between dark and light.”
“He sounds like a friggin’ Jedi knight,” Ryan muttered.
Claire shot him an irritated look. “No. He’s torn, part victim and part offender. I feel sorry for him.”
“You would.”
“Ryan, cut it out.” Casey was in no mood for this. And, frankly, she was surprised. Ryan didn’t sound teasing, he sounded downright obnoxious—a line he rarely crossed, especially during intense team discussions.
He seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same moment, because he looked sheepish and unusually off balance. “Sorry, boss. I’m just on overdrive since the fire last night.”
Casey’s gaze flickered from Ryan to Claire and back, but she accepted his explanation with a nod.
“I agree with Claire,” she said. “Mercer’s like a fly in a web. I’m sure he’s playing dirty politics. But I don’t think he’s in this thing anywhere near as deep as Fenton.”
“True. Even so, I don’t think Fenton knows where Everett is,” Marc noted. “If he did, he’d get him here to save Justin.”
“Well, someone knows where Everett is,” Patrick replied. A long, thoughtful pause. “Unless, of course, Everett faked his own death and disappeared on his own. Anybody considered that?”
“Yes.” Casey answered that one right away. “I considered many things. That’s the other reason I called this team meeting. I want to explore various scenarios, and either eliminate or confirm them, one by one.”
“Getting our answers by whatever methods necessary?” Marc asked quietly.
“Getting our answers by whatever methods necessary,” Casey replied. She knew exactly what Marc was implying. She also felt Patrick’s scowl. Still, she didn’t hesitate or back down. “We’re moving forward with one goal in mind—saving Justin’s life by finding his father. I don’t care how we do it. But it has to be fast.”
“Casey…” Patrick interjected.
“I know where you stand on this, Patrick.” Casey waved it away. “But the circumstances have changed. We’re operating at a federal level now. The FBI now knows we’re all over this, and that we’re not going to stop. They’ll thwart us every chance they can. We’ve got to anticipate their attempts to do so and sidestep them before they can gain traction.”
“You have a targeted plan?” Marc asked.
“Yes. And you’re all going to help me fast-track it to completion.”
With that, she swiveled her chair around to face the wall. “Yoda, please create a virtual workspace.”
Yoda responded instantly.
“Creating a virtual workspace, Casey,” he said. A minute passed, and the video wall came alive, bathing the room in an electric-blue glow. “Virtual workspace created and ready.”
“Please create topics as follows: Criminal Offender, Fugitive, Confidential Informant, Dead, Witness Protection.”
She pivoted again to glance around the table. “Anything else?”
“He’s not an illegal. He’s not a military deserter. I think you’ve covered it all,” Marc replied.
“That should do it, Yoda,” Casey informed him.
“Topics created,” Yoda announced.
Immediately, the master video wall was divided into five equal sections, each section headed up by one of the topics Casey had requested.
