The B-Team (Benson Security)

Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“Can’t sleep?” Dimitri said into the darkness of the cell, lit by a faint blue glow that was the equivalent of a prisoner’s night-light.

“Worried about Julia,” Joe answered. “And wondering what the hell’s going on here.”

They’d arm wrestled over who got the thin plastic-covered mattress on the tiled platform and who got the one on the tiled floor. Dimitri lost. His head was now inches from the stainless-steel toilet, and his back ached.

“Julia has her family; she’ll be okay for the night.” Dimitri sounded more confident than he felt. “Belinda won’t let anyone upset her.”

“She’ll try, but the fact I’m in a holding cell is enough to bump up her blood pressure.”

“If there’s a problem, someone will contact our lawyers. You haven’t heard anything, and no news is good news.”

“None of this is good news.” Joe sighed loudly. “We’ve been here all day, and they still haven’t questioned us. Who knows when we’ll get out of here, and Julia’s due any minute. I’ll be really pissed if I miss the birth.”

“Not gonna happen, bro,” Dimitri said. “We’ll talk to the lawyers in the morning and see if we can hurry this up some.”

“Yeah.” But Joe didn’t sound too convinced. “Who’s still out there? They didn’t bring Ryan in for questioning. Beast and Belinda are at my house. Sarah was at home. Callum fought to have Isobel stay with their kids. Who does that leave?”

“I heard they set Rachel and Harvard free this morning.”

“Typical. Rachel probably pissed off the commander, and he was happy to see the back of her.” Joe sounded amused. “There’s Claire too. Grunt said she planned to go shopping today. What about Katrina? I don’t remember seeing her when the conference started.”

Dimitri’s stomach clenched at the mention of his younger sister. “I saw her at breakfast, and she headed to the office early to get in a walk first, but I didn’t see her in the building. I don’t think the cops lifted her either.”

“Good,” Joe said firmly.

“Yeah.” Dimitri wasn’t sure how his sister would cope with being locked up against her will—again.

“She’s not the same woman we rescued,” Joe said, as though reading his mind. “She’s stronger now. Grunt told me she ran self-defense classes at the women’s refuge in Invertary before she took the job in the States. He reckons she’s got some serious skills.”

Dimitri felt that ache of loss that always reared its head whenever he remembered who Katrina could have been. Who she’d wanted to be. Before some monster stole it from her.

“My sister’s not the same woman she was when we rescued her; she’s not even the same person she was before she was taken. She was destined for a life in academia, writing papers that would influence governments and change how the world treats refugees. Now she’s practicing martial arts, running a security office, and spending her downtime at the gun range.”

“But she’s alive,” Joe said softly. “And she’s thriving. Lot of women in her place wouldn’t have made it.”

They’d both seen the evidence of her captivity, and they both knew exactly what she’d endured. But Dimitri couldn’t think about it without an icy rage stirring in his belly, making him want to lash out, to make someone pay. It didn’t matter that Katrina’s abuser was dead. There was always another monster out there awaiting justice.

“At least with Julia and Katrina,” Joe said, “there are two level heads in the mix.”

It was a weak attempt at a topic change, and Dimitri grasped it with both hands. “What do you think the gang’s doing to try and rescue us?”

Joe groaned. “Rachel’s probably threatened at least half a dozen people by now.”

“Isobel and Claire will have come up with a million plans. All of them inspired by cartoon plots.”

Joe barked out a laugh. “Bet Julia made her sister set up whiteboards in our bedroom.”

“Sarah’s probably got a graph detailing the statistical chances of our long-term incarceration.”

“Beast will be standing on the edge of everything, watching and waiting to see what he can do, while Belinda gets more and more dramatic with every passing minute.”

“Yeah, and Harvard will be too busy watching Rachel to be of any use to anyone.”

Joe laughed harder before groaning. “You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Hell yeah. Ryan’s in charge by default. I almost feel sorry for him. For once, he gets to experience what it’s like to run a mission staffed with people who are hard to keep under control.”

Their laughter bounced off the cold tile walls and echoed around them.

“At least Megan’s in here with us,” Dimitri said through his laughter. “Her out there helping would be like someone trying to kill a fly with a cannon.”

“You don’t think she’s doing anything helpful in here, do you? Because there’s no way that’s good.”

“I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s doing in here,” Dimitri said with another chuckle.

He adored his wife, but sometimes their relationship was more like a lion with its tamer than a standard marriage. There was no telling what Megan would do next or who’d be injured in the process. He grinned at the ceiling. Damn, she was fine .

As their laughter died down, Joe spoke again. “Do you think they’ve figured out this whole thing’s personal yet?”

“You mean the grudge against Lake? I’m certain the lawyers will have filled them in by now.”

“No.” Joe sounded thoughtful. “This doesn’t feel like a grudge. It seems more organized than that. Plus, a man like Commander Fitzwater doesn’t put his reputation on the line out of bitterness. You saw how he was dressed; not a single loose thread, not a button out of place. His shoes were polished until you could see your reflection in them. A guy who takes that much pride in his uniform cares about what it stands for and the power it gives him. A guy like that doesn’t risk his career for a decades old grudge. No,” he said again. “There’s something else going on here. And taking Lake down is just the cherry on top.”

Joe had a point. “If I was outside, I’d have a quiet word with DI Singh. I get the impression she isn’t too pleased with how things are going. And her rep as a cop is solid. Bet she knows more than the commander thinks she does.”

“Yeah, she didn’t look happy at the raid this morning.”

“None of us were.” There was silence for a moment while Dimitri thought about the commander’s actions when they stormed the Benson Security building that morning. “He singled Elle out,” he said. “That seemed weird.”

“Yeah,” Joe said slowly. “It was strange he didn’t give the triplets a pass too. They made a deal with MI5, and what cop wants to start an interagency war?”

“But he let Ryan go,” Dimitri said thoughtfully. “I know he isn’t officially on the team now, but he was for years. Which means he’s a part of everything Fitzwater’s investigating. Why let Ryan go? If he has evidence of our crimes as a team, Ryan should be charged along with the rest of us.”

“Maybe it was accidental. There was a lot going on. Ryan probably got overlooked.”

“I don’t buy it. His face was all over the news for weeks. He’s the most famous member of Benson Security, which makes him pretty damn hard to overlook.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Joe said, sounding frustrated. “He took the triplets, who’ve only been with us six months, but left Ryan?”

“Elle and the triplets.” Dimitri mulled that over.

“No, Elle and Evan,” Joe said suddenly.

“Crap.” Dimitri sat up in the middle of the poor excuse for a mattress and found Joe staring at him from the platform. “He wanted our computer specialists.”

“He wanted clear and unrestricted access to our files, that’s what he wanted. Which is a helluva lot easier when you take out the gatekeepers.”

Dimitri ran a hand down his face. “But he can’t get access. The files are locked up tight, right?”

“All he’d need is someone’s login info and password,” Joe pointed out.

“Yeah, but how would he get that? It’s not like we’d hand it over to him.”

They stared at each other with dawning comprehension.

“Callum,” they said at the same time.

“I thought he’d stopped writing everything down on Post-its,” Dimitri said.

“I’m pretty sure he’s just become stealthier about where he keeps his info. If the cops search the office, they’re bound to find something he’s squirreled away.” Joe got up and went to the door. “I’m going to see if they’ll let me call my wife.” He glanced back at Dimitri. “After all, she is due any minute.”

“Good idea,” Dimitri said with a shake of his head.

Callum McKay—the only security expert in the world who hated passwords and refused to memorize them. Dimitri always knew it would be something dumb that took them down, but he never would have guessed Callum would be the source.

Julia melted like ice cream in the sun when she heard Joe’s voice on the phone. Ryan signaled to the rest of the team to clear the room to give them some privacy, and they quietly gathered their things before heading out.

As he was about to follow, Julia waved him down. “Joe’s come to the same conclusion we have,” she said. “That the commander’s after our files. He says to grill Isobel about Callum’s passwords because that’s our weakest link.”

“We’ve already gone over that with her,” Ryan said gently. “She insists he doesn’t leave them lying around anymore.”

“Joe says to ask her again.”

Ryan didn’t bother arguing or pointing out that Joe was locked up instead of here, dealing with the crazies that made up their makeshift rescue team.

“Will do,” he said, then skedaddled before Joe made any further attempts to manage things from a distance.

Belinda hovered in the doorway, keeping an eye on her sister.

“When she’s done talking, make sure she sleeps, will you?” Ryan said. “It’s the best thing for her. Plus, I told Sarah all the pregnant women were sleeping while we worked, and if she wakes up to find out Julia didn’t sleep, she’ll be mad.”

“Got it,” Belinda said. “All pregnant women sleep through the night.”

“Thanks.” Ryan patted her on the shoulder as he passed.

When he reached the kitchen, where everyone had set up to work, he sighed. He should have taken a leaf out of Harvard’s book and taken his wife home to her own bed. He could have searched the files just as easily from his house as here. And he wouldn’t have had to deal with his “team” while doing so.

“I’m making coffee,” Isobel said cheerfully as he entered the room.

“I’m on sandwiches.” Claire motioned to the pile of buttered bread in front of her.

The promise of food made Ryan feel a whole lot better about his decision to stay at Julia’s. He pulled up a chair at the kitchen table, where someone had placed the laptop he’d been using.

“Joe said to ask you about Callum’s passwords,” he told Isobel.

The famous Scottish temper that afflicted half of the Benson Security staff flared. “I already told you,” she snapped. “He doesn’t do that anymore. He’s reformed, and it’s a bit offensive that everybody keeps asking me about this. Do you think I’m lying? Honestly! This borders on harassment.”

“To be fair.” Claire was being generous with the sandwich toppings; Ryan was happy to note. “Callum does have a reputation when it comes to online security. We even hear stories in Invertary.”

“Well stop it.” Isobel’s eyes flashed. “It’s reckless gossip, and I won’t stand for it.”

Claire rolled her eyes. “Touchy much?”

“I’m going to touch you in a minute.” Isobel turned to her, wooden spoon in hand. “Really hard, across the backside, for annoying me.”

“Calm down.” Ryan held up his hands wearily. “It’s late, and tempers are fraying, but we’re all in this together. Fighting won’t help get Callum and Grunt out of jail, will it?”

Isobel deflated like a kid’s balloon. “Sorry,” she muttered.

“Aye, sorry,” Claire added.

Neither apology was sincere.

Ryan reached into his messenger bag and took out some pain meds. With the way things were going, a migraine would hit any second now. Thankfully, the kitchen lapsed into blessed quiet as everyone worked or prepared food.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

“The lawyer called,” Belinda said as she walked into the room. She held Julia’s phone, and Ryan took that as a sign that Julia had fallen asleep. “Elle can’t remember anything about this Darian Fitzwater guy, so she has no idea where we should search for information on him.”

“Well, that’s a bummer,” Claire said, her focus on finishing off the sandwiches.

Ryan’s stomach rumbled. “She say anything else?” he asked Belinda because he could multitask.

“Yeah.” She looked worried. “Apparently, Elle can’t give anyone access to the codes needed to wipe the server, but she said that if we find a way to do it, that’s what we have to do. Ms. Patel’s working hard to get at least one of the people who has access to the codes out of custody as fast as possible.” She smiled at the American team boss. “I don’t suppose you have access to them, Rochelle?”

Rochelle and Rodrigo had turned up about half an hour earlier. After being kicked out of the embassy, they’d grabbed some food and headed to Julia’s. Their report wasn’t encouraging. The embassy wouldn’t intervene in the investigation but said if it got to the pressing charges stage, they’d reconsider their stance. Rochelle had been quietly furious about their lack of support, while Rodrigo seemed unbothered. He was the same laid-back guy Ryan remembered from South America, meaning there wasn’t a whole lot that upset him.

Rochelle shook her head, looking as weary as the rest of them as she tied her curly black hair up in a knot on top of her head. “We never got to the stage where I was given access to the codes. I guess because Evan was authorized, that was enough for the American office.” She shrugged. “It makes sense. It’s not the kind of information you want floating around with too many people.”

“What are these codes, anyway?” Claire asked. “Are they like a special password, or is it a set of numbers that have to be keyed in at the same time—like they do in the movies to launch nuclear weapons?”

“I guess both?” Belinda looked around the room.

Ryan nodded. “As far as I remember, from what Elle told me, you log in to the server and command it to delete everything. Once you do that, it prompts you to enter the specific code, which is more complicated than your average password.”

Belinda nodded. “The lawyer said it’s a long string of letters, numbers, and symbols.”

“Oh!” Isobel dropped a mug. It bounced off the counter before hitting the floor. She bent and scooped it up. “Still in one piece,” she announced before looking a little embarrassed. “Uh, guys, I think I might know something about this code thing.”

The room fell heavily silent as everyone turned to face her.

Ryan groaned. “Please tell me this isn’t one of those passwords Callum didn’t write down and hide somewhere.”

Isobel smiled nervously.