“It’s on the East side.”
“How easy is it to get in that way?”
“Not too difficult if you have the special access card.”
“Not the regular badge you have?”
“No, it’s different.”
“How many people have access to it?”
“Two that I can think of off the top of my head. General Thomas and Nick.”
“Any idea what happened to Nick’s badge?”
“Last I heard it was amongst the possessions found in his car.” General Wessex was adamant about getting Nick’s affects.
“It’s General Wessex.”
“What? What is?”
“Who’s behind this. Nick’s kidnapper. He’s been vocal about keeping Payton out of the investigation and getting her father’s possessions. He’s got the motivation.”
Colin’s eyes lit up in understanding. “To erase any connection to himself. He was always jealous of Nick, it’s not surprising, but that doesn’t explain why he would kidnap Nick.”
“Nick is head of cyber terrorism. Maybe Nick has knowledge on Wessex that he could use against him. Call Duke and warn him to be on the lookout,” Alex commanded as he ran down the hallway to get back to Payton, hoping his hunch was wrong.
Chapter 31
“They should be back by now.” Payton paced, nibbling on her thumbnail. She checked her watch. It had only been ten minutes since they’d left. She mentally did the math for how long it would take to walk down the hallway to outside and search the perimeter before coming back. It wouldn’t take longer than ten minutes.
It wasn’t that she was just worried about their safety, but she had to tell them what she and Duke had found on the flash drive. Her father had loads of data on the flash drive. She didn’t even understand half of it, but she now knew who the boss was. She had been so wrong.
“Payton, sit down. You’re giving me a headache with all the pacing,” Duke said never looking up from his screen.
“I just have this feeling something is wrong, Duke.” She hated just standing there idle. Payton needed something to do.
“Light bulbs go out. It’s nothing to worry about. I don’t know Alex as well as Colin, but I’m sure he knows how to handle himself if something goes wrong. Or if there was danger, they would call.”
Like Donaldson and Bradshaw lurking in the dark waiting for them. She couldn’t think like that. Both men were more than capable of taking care of themselves. “They both do,” she begrudgingly admitted. “That doesn’t mean they are invincible. You have no idea the kind of people that are after us.” Well, Donaldson and Bradshaw were easy enough to handle. The boss, she now knew to be Major Diesel, was another story. He was a snake in the grass. Lethal and cunning. Colin’s description was spot on—though at the time he’d told her, she thought it was inappropriate—weasel.
It took Payton a moment to realize Duke had stopped typing and was giving her a droll look.
Oh yeah. He knew Diesel and the backgrounds on Donaldson and Bradshaw. So yeah, he knew what kind of people were after them.
“You’re right.” She threw her arms up in defeat. “But I still can’t shake the feeling something is wrong.”
Duke chuckled. She didn’t find the humor in the situation. “You’re perfectly safe here.”
Payton rolled her eyes. She didn’t feel the same way. She felt open and exposed in this little office space. There were no windows, only the door. That should make her feel better. Only one way in and out. It would make it difficult for an ambush; instead it made her feel like a fish in a barrel.
Payton jumped when a gunshot rang out. Duke groaned in pain before falling out of his computer chair; he flopped on the floor unceremoniously.
“Famous last words,” a male voice chuckled from the doorway. “Hello, Payton.” He smiled coldly. She didn’t recognize the man standing in front of her. The man she’d known the past few years was a complete stranger now. It was as if he’d been wearing a mask this entire time and only now had it come off. She’d known he was the bad guy before this moment, but knowing and seeing it with her own eyes were two different things.
Payton bellowed like an Amazon warrior and charged him, knocking the gun to the side leaving his chest exposed. She spun into him and elbowed him in the face. Glee washed over her when she heard the crunch of bone. That was for her dad.
Gripping his wrist that held the gun, Payton twisted, her other hand came over the top of the gun, bending his wrist back at an awkward angle until his grip loosened. She tossed the gun away hoping it was far enough away, he couldn’t get to it again.