Read Online Paradise Hacked (First Circle Club Book 2) by Alex Siegel - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alex Siegel
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life for the good of humanity."
She winced. "No money?"
"Just the satisfaction of a job well done," he said. "You can't tell anybody either. That's how my team rolls. Still interested?"
"Fine," she said bitterly. "I suppose that's what I asked for."
"And don't try to con me. My management would put you in a place much worse than any prison. Give me your number."
Cat told him a phone number, and he wrote it down on a notepad.
"When I call, it had better not go to an answering machine. I won't leave a message. See you later." Virgil left the laundromat.
He found the rest of the team half a block down the street. Lisa was peeking around the corner of a building into a parking lot. Alfred and Sara were standing out of sight.
"What's going on?" Virgil whispered.
"Those guys are sitting in a car," Lisa said. "I think they're making a call."
Chapter Five
Colonel Jack Knox was sitting in his office. It wasn't a bad place to work considering it had been a family room just a month ago. He had a standard desk made of steel painted green. His chair was well padded and comfortable. A bookshelf held a mix of award plaques, framed certificates, and manuals. A big bay window allowed sunlight into the room, but unfortunately, he had to keep the curtains closed so the neighbors wouldn't see inside.
The phone on his desk rang.
He grabbed the handset. "Hello?"
"This is Captain Kyle, sir. I just finished meeting with the Illinois State Police."
Knox knew the captain as a particularly skilled and honorable officer. He ran most of the field operations for the Special Unit and was often the lead man on sensitive assignments. He had a characteristic scar under his left eye.
"How did it go?" Knox said.
"I think they tried to use some kind of mind-control on us," Kyle said.
"Huh?" Knox straightened up. "Explain."
"It's difficult to be specific, sir. One of them had a voice which affected my brain. I suddenly felt very relaxed and cooperative. I wanted to tell him everything and almost did. It was like a truth serum but without an injection."
"Did you talk?"
"No, sir," Kyle said. "Thanks to our training, my lieutenant and I were able to resist, but it was hard. I've never felt anything like it."
"Did you identify the State Police officers?"
"Our body cameras got pictures of their faces, and I used my phone to photograph their ID cards. I already sent the photos to intelligence."
"Good," Knox said. "Well done."
"I should also mention my lieutenant lost his wallet, sir."
"How?"
"He doesn't know," Kyle said, "but it just contained fake ID. Nothing sensitive. Should we come back to headquarters?"
Knox paused. "No. Find a safe location to wait. Make sure nobody is following you. I'll send an electronic countermeasures van to make sure you're not bugged."
"That's a wise precaution, sir."
"Bye."
Knox hung up his phone, stood, and quickly jogged upstairs. He went to a room which had once been a bedroom but now served as his intelligence and security center. A man and a woman wearing Army fatigues were seated at computer workstations.
"I was told you received some pictures," Knox said as he entered the room.
"Yes, sir," the woman replied. Her name was Corporal Ramirez.
"And?"
"The identification is fake. They certainly aren't with the State Police."
"Spies, eh?" Knox said.
Ramirez shrugged. "Very possible, sir. We're running the faces through all the usual government databases. No matches yet."
"Any progress on that phone number we called? The one for Detective Blandish?"
"The phone is registered under a different name which is also fake. We're having a difficult time getting the location of the phone. Somebody keeps blocking our trace."
"How?" Knox said. "I thought you guys were the best."
"Apparently somebody out there is even better. We're also seeing covert intrusion attempts. The attacks are sophisticated."
"How sophisticated?" Knox said.
"Professional grade. We needed help from the Pentagon to determine where the
She winced. "No money?"
"Just the satisfaction of a job well done," he said. "You can't tell anybody either. That's how my team rolls. Still interested?"
"Fine," she said bitterly. "I suppose that's what I asked for."
"And don't try to con me. My management would put you in a place much worse than any prison. Give me your number."
Cat told him a phone number, and he wrote it down on a notepad.
"When I call, it had better not go to an answering machine. I won't leave a message. See you later." Virgil left the laundromat.
He found the rest of the team half a block down the street. Lisa was peeking around the corner of a building into a parking lot. Alfred and Sara were standing out of sight.
"What's going on?" Virgil whispered.
"Those guys are sitting in a car," Lisa said. "I think they're making a call."
Chapter Five
Colonel Jack Knox was sitting in his office. It wasn't a bad place to work considering it had been a family room just a month ago. He had a standard desk made of steel painted green. His chair was well padded and comfortable. A bookshelf held a mix of award plaques, framed certificates, and manuals. A big bay window allowed sunlight into the room, but unfortunately, he had to keep the curtains closed so the neighbors wouldn't see inside.
The phone on his desk rang.
He grabbed the handset. "Hello?"
"This is Captain Kyle, sir. I just finished meeting with the Illinois State Police."
Knox knew the captain as a particularly skilled and honorable officer. He ran most of the field operations for the Special Unit and was often the lead man on sensitive assignments. He had a characteristic scar under his left eye.
"How did it go?" Knox said.
"I think they tried to use some kind of mind-control on us," Kyle said.
"Huh?" Knox straightened up. "Explain."
"It's difficult to be specific, sir. One of them had a voice which affected my brain. I suddenly felt very relaxed and cooperative. I wanted to tell him everything and almost did. It was like a truth serum but without an injection."
"Did you talk?"
"No, sir," Kyle said. "Thanks to our training, my lieutenant and I were able to resist, but it was hard. I've never felt anything like it."
"Did you identify the State Police officers?"
"Our body cameras got pictures of their faces, and I used my phone to photograph their ID cards. I already sent the photos to intelligence."
"Good," Knox said. "Well done."
"I should also mention my lieutenant lost his wallet, sir."
"How?"
"He doesn't know," Kyle said, "but it just contained fake ID. Nothing sensitive. Should we come back to headquarters?"
Knox paused. "No. Find a safe location to wait. Make sure nobody is following you. I'll send an electronic countermeasures van to make sure you're not bugged."
"That's a wise precaution, sir."
"Bye."
Knox hung up his phone, stood, and quickly jogged upstairs. He went to a room which had once been a bedroom but now served as his intelligence and security center. A man and a woman wearing Army fatigues were seated at computer workstations.
"I was told you received some pictures," Knox said as he entered the room.
"Yes, sir," the woman replied. Her name was Corporal Ramirez.
"And?"
"The identification is fake. They certainly aren't with the State Police."
"Spies, eh?" Knox said.
Ramirez shrugged. "Very possible, sir. We're running the faces through all the usual government databases. No matches yet."
"Any progress on that phone number we called? The one for Detective Blandish?"
"The phone is registered under a different name which is also fake. We're having a difficult time getting the location of the phone. Somebody keeps blocking our trace."
"How?" Knox said. "I thought you guys were the best."
"Apparently somebody out there is even better. We're also seeing covert intrusion attempts. The attacks are sophisticated."
"How sophisticated?" Knox said.
"Professional grade. We needed help from the Pentagon to determine where the
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