system, and plant spyware to keep an eye on the company’s cash flow. Striker would have eyes and ears on the players. Jack would serve as backup. Striker gave the operation a four hour window, and then we’d need to exit.
We reviewed the photos, names, and titles of different employees whom we’d run into along the way. Next, we studied the floor plans, so we knew who worked in which office, and where the exits were located. While we discussed possible scenarios, this was going to be a seat-of-the-pants operation.
Striker stood. “Rallying point at eleven-hundred.” The men shuffled out. Striker steered me through the door with his hand under my elbow.
“We’re heading to Treasury now?” I asked.
“Yup. We have a client meeting at nine thirty. I have an appointment with a new team this morning, two guys transferring in from New York. They need Iniquus to intervene, and I’m making the initial contact. I want you along to see what you think.”
“Okay, but can we run by Starbucks on the way? I didn’t get to drink my coffee.”
***
I twisted my wedding ring around my finger and stared out the window at a nanny pushing a stroller as we passed down the side street.
“You look like you’re brooding,” Striker said at the stoplight.
I turned to him. “I was thinking about a dream I had last night, again.”
“Again? That’s intriguing. Care to share?”
“I spent the nanosecond of sleep I got last night fighting a ginormous demon rat. Once I finally had it trapped, I called over to animal control to come kill it,” I said.
“But instead they put a tracking collar on it and released it back out to see where it would go.” Striker finished for me.
“I’ve told you this one before.”
“A few times,” Striker said. “Does it mean anything to you? Is this one of your psychic fortune telling things? And why did you only sleep a nanosecond?”
“My psychic what? No. I don’t know. Maybe? Look, I started having this dream right after I showed you the Sylanos-puzzle, when I was at the safe house. I originally puzzled through the Sylanos crime cartel and handed my findings over to Spyder sixteen months ago. Sixteen. Okay, then Spyder goes off-grid the same day I passed his answers to him. Weird huh? And then you never got that file. That’s strange too because this was a huge deal to Spyder. Huge. But no one at Iniquus was acting on my intel — for over a year. Because what? Spyder forgot to hand them the file? That’s crazy. Spyder must have decided to keep the intel to himself.”
“Okay.” The light turned green, and Striker eased his car into traffic.
“Okay? You said you and Spyder were on the same team right?”
“Correct.”
“Spyder left you with nada — left you flapping in the wind. You only got the answers because I happened to be under your protection at the safe house, and you asked me about the case. It didn’t strike me as odd then. It sure strikes me that way now. So I gave you the answer to the puzzle last October and started to dream about rats.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“I guess it means I’m not done. I think the rat is Sylanos. So tell me, what happened to the information after you took it to Headquarters? Did they act on it? Obviously, Sylanos is out and about, not in a cell somewhere, because why else would Spyder say that Sylanos became a Hydra?”
“I don’t know what they did with your data – I wasn’t delegated to that case anymore. It got re-assigned when Spyder left. I can call Command to find out if they’re willing to share.”
“Spyder probably has a better idea what’s going on. I’ll talk to him about it tonight.”
Striker shot me a glance full of…something. What in the world was that?
Before I could ask, Striker whipped the car into an open parking space and jumped out. Huh. I’m not so easily put off a subject, Striker. I’d bide my time and bring this up later.
We parked about a mile away from the Treasury
We reviewed the photos, names, and titles of different employees whom we’d run into along the way. Next, we studied the floor plans, so we knew who worked in which office, and where the exits were located. While we discussed possible scenarios, this was going to be a seat-of-the-pants operation.
Striker stood. “Rallying point at eleven-hundred.” The men shuffled out. Striker steered me through the door with his hand under my elbow.
“We’re heading to Treasury now?” I asked.
“Yup. We have a client meeting at nine thirty. I have an appointment with a new team this morning, two guys transferring in from New York. They need Iniquus to intervene, and I’m making the initial contact. I want you along to see what you think.”
“Okay, but can we run by Starbucks on the way? I didn’t get to drink my coffee.”
***
I twisted my wedding ring around my finger and stared out the window at a nanny pushing a stroller as we passed down the side street.
“You look like you’re brooding,” Striker said at the stoplight.
I turned to him. “I was thinking about a dream I had last night, again.”
“Again? That’s intriguing. Care to share?”
“I spent the nanosecond of sleep I got last night fighting a ginormous demon rat. Once I finally had it trapped, I called over to animal control to come kill it,” I said.
“But instead they put a tracking collar on it and released it back out to see where it would go.” Striker finished for me.
“I’ve told you this one before.”
“A few times,” Striker said. “Does it mean anything to you? Is this one of your psychic fortune telling things? And why did you only sleep a nanosecond?”
“My psychic what? No. I don’t know. Maybe? Look, I started having this dream right after I showed you the Sylanos-puzzle, when I was at the safe house. I originally puzzled through the Sylanos crime cartel and handed my findings over to Spyder sixteen months ago. Sixteen. Okay, then Spyder goes off-grid the same day I passed his answers to him. Weird huh? And then you never got that file. That’s strange too because this was a huge deal to Spyder. Huge. But no one at Iniquus was acting on my intel — for over a year. Because what? Spyder forgot to hand them the file? That’s crazy. Spyder must have decided to keep the intel to himself.”
“Okay.” The light turned green, and Striker eased his car into traffic.
“Okay? You said you and Spyder were on the same team right?”
“Correct.”
“Spyder left you with nada — left you flapping in the wind. You only got the answers because I happened to be under your protection at the safe house, and you asked me about the case. It didn’t strike me as odd then. It sure strikes me that way now. So I gave you the answer to the puzzle last October and started to dream about rats.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“I guess it means I’m not done. I think the rat is Sylanos. So tell me, what happened to the information after you took it to Headquarters? Did they act on it? Obviously, Sylanos is out and about, not in a cell somewhere, because why else would Spyder say that Sylanos became a Hydra?”
“I don’t know what they did with your data – I wasn’t delegated to that case anymore. It got re-assigned when Spyder left. I can call Command to find out if they’re willing to share.”
“Spyder probably has a better idea what’s going on. I’ll talk to him about it tonight.”
Striker shot me a glance full of…something. What in the world was that?
Before I could ask, Striker whipped the car into an open parking space and jumped out. Huh. I’m not so easily put off a subject, Striker. I’d bide my time and bring this up later.
We parked about a mile away from the Treasury
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