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I swipe their attempts from my servers and get back to work. More data piles in. Someone else is sniffing around my security measures. A tingle goes down my spine.
Sitting back, I smile up at Alfie. “Looks like I’ll be headed into town sooner than I thought. In fact, I think I’m in the mood for some coffee tomorrow morning.”
He blinks slowly, deviousness and affection in the movement. I blink right back. “Same, buddy. Same.”
3
MAGGIE
Owen Caddel doesn't exist. At least not in the same way the rest of us do with our normal forms of identification like passports and Social Security cards. Oh, I have a few others with different names for emergencies, but I’ve never had to use them before. I do, however, know how to make them. I’m sure Owen has a handful of other names he uses as well. Owen Caddel is the one he’s sticking with at the moment.
It had been a major pain in the ass to sort through the data. There are way too many Owens in the world. The last name helped some. When I tracked down his information, it turned out to be all bullshit. It was all so clean. Too clean. I couldn’t find any trace of his documents being fake. I thought maybe Duffy was messing with me. I had no choice but to hack the WITSEC system. That was easy enough. I might have left myself a wormhole to get back in before I handed it back over.
I left it to see if Parks would catch it. He hadn’t. I mean, it’s possible they know about it and are leaving it be. No way to know for sure. Damn it. I hate how the government plays with your head. My father is right. You can never trust them. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Owen Caddel wasn’t on their list. Leaving me right back where I started.
“Anything?” I ask Ocean with a yawn. It looks like Owen stays holed up in his off-the-grid farmhouse. Or what appears to be a farmhouse. The second I got his address, Ocean was in hot pursuit. I had to pull her back. I didn’t have proof, but I had a sense that if she got too close with the drone, it would be gone in no time at all. It would be way too easy to fly in.
“Don’t do that.” She yawns back. “No movement yet, but maybe if I got just a little bit closer, we could see more.” It’s tempting, but I don’t want to give us up by making a rookie mistake with the drone.
“Don’t do it.” I can’t put my finger on this yet. I don’t care if you're a farmer living in the middle of nowhere, there is no way that you don’t have the Internet. So far, I’m not picking up on anything.
“I could use a new drone anyways,” she counters like they grow on trees. Not the kind she has.
“Could he have his own satellite?” I mutter to myself.
“What! He got a satellite and I only have drones?”
“Why do you need a satellite?” I ask her even as I steal access to one myself. My patience is wearing thinner with each minute that passes. I’m going in. I’ll clean up behind myself.
“What are you doing?” Ocean asks. I flip my screen to let her see. “Oh, do we have a satellite now? What else can I ask for?” I zoom in as far as I can. “A cat!”
“You want a cat?” That should be easy enough.
“No! There is a cat on his porch.” I grab my glasses and push them onto my face to lean in closer to the screen. Well, I’ll be damned if there isn’t the most adorable fluffy cat stretched out in the morning sun.
“He’s handsome.”
“Like his owner?”
A small growl leaves me.
“What? You’re the one that said the handsome thing about him to begin with.”
“You don’t have to throw it in my face. I only—” I cut the feed, pulling back.
“What happened?” Ocean asks.
“The cat distracted me! I almost got caught.” I blow out a breath. That was a close one.
“By this Owen guy or whoever’s satellite you stole?”
“I didn’t steal it. I borrowed it.”
“You know I can build a satellite. I’m just not sure how we would shoot it into space.”
I snort a laugh. “You don’t need a satellite.”
“Why not? Then a cat couldn’t sneak up on you.”
