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“Hawkman fromLegends of Tomorrow?”
“What? Oh no, Carter Hall is the name of Fletcher’s IT guy. Genius out of MIT. Graduated at like twelve. Devoted to Fletcher. He’s the one who’s been attacking our firewalls. Somehow, he got hold of Seamus O’Donnell’s prison record…”
“Shit. That led him to being my guardian and Poppi working for Sir Godfrey.”
“Do you think they know about Sir Godfrey’s father and all the crap he got up to with the Nazis?”
“In all honesty, I don’t think the man collaborated with the Nazis. I do think he scooped up jewelry taken from their victims, but still, I suppose that is only one step removed from working with those goose-stepping bastards.”
“Is the necklace in the safe?” Mia asked. She always worried until she knew whatever they had stolen was in the safe, or better yet, in the hands of those to whom it truly belonged.
“It is, although it spent the night in my pillowcase…”
“What?” Mia squeaked.
“I didn’t have time to get it into the safe, so I hid it in my pillowcase. I wasn’t really planning on spending the night with Fletch, and if I did, I thought we’d be at the Savoy, but things changed, and we ended up here.” Claire laughed. “He searched the millhouse and barn this morning when he thought I was asleep. Although, gentleman that he is, he did feed my horses and muck out their stalls.” She shook her head. “He never knew how close he was to that necklace. But it’s in the safe now.”
“When is it leaving?”
“Just as soon as our contact can make the connections and get here. I would say it’ll be gone before the end of the week.”
Mia got up and started pacing, taking sips of her coffee as she did so. “I’m telling you; this has to be the last one for a while. Things are heating up all over.”
“But if we quit now, won’t they figure out it’s us?”
“I think that we’re past that stage, and what’s worse, I don’t think Fletcher and his group are the only ones who know.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Claire, knowing that it took a lot to spook Mia.
“I had an anonymous—and I do mean anonymous—note from someone who broke into our secure chatroom on the dark web.”
“How could that happen?”
“I don’t know. Those firewalls and protocols are bulletproof or at least they should have been. The only way in was through one of our couriers.”
“Hawkman?”
Mia laughed. “I wish, but no. I checked out his systems—personal, the one he keeps for Fletch himself, and the one for Silver Arrow Security. I couldn’t break in, but I could get far enough to tell it wasn’t him. I don’t have a clue who it is. I tried to shut down the chatroom, but I’ve been locked out of any of the administrative stuff. I can access it like anyone who has the passwords, but I no longer have any control.”
“How could somebody lock us out of our own chatroom?”
“I don’t know, Claire. If I thought it was Carter, I would just assume he was working under Fletch’s orders. But it isn’t him. I’m sure of it.”
“What is it, Mia? What has you so afraid?”
“They didn’t just get into the chatroom and shut me out, they left a message, and they left it where anyone who had access to the chatroom can see it.”
“If the message is to me, why would they leave it for anyone to see?”
“My guess is, they want to frighten everyone—not just us, but anyone who’s looking to do business with us.”
Claire looked at her quizzically. “What did the message say?”
“It was a threat, Claire,” said Mia, a shiver passing through her body.
“Mia, what did it say?”
“Basically, it said he or she knows who you are—but they didn’t reveal your identity. They want us to give them the Grenadine Necklace…”
