Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
It turned out that Hal didn’t need that much convincing. Jane just had to play a few rounds of some new video game he was beta-testing for a friend without complaining. Apparently, the friend needed some “newb” who wasn’t very good to give valid feedback.
Despite being offended—she considered herself decent at video games—she nevertheless accepted his terms. Though the not-complaining part might be tough.
Saturday evening, Jane sat with Hal in the back of a rental van down the street from Matthew Scott’s two-million-dollar residence in North Capitol Hill. The large home had privacy despite its proximity to its neighbors, a rooftop deck with views from the Olympics to Lake Union and Downtown Seattle.
Had she been less content with her life, she might have felt envy at her boss’s ability to afford something on such a scale. But it was way too much house for one person or even two, if Scott had a significant other no one knew about. She preferred something small and practical.
“You bugged everything?” She stared at the shifting feeds on the monitors in the van. “How did you get in without being spotted? This neighborhood is like a beehive that never stops buzzing.”
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ve been a surveillance expert for more years than you’ve been alive.”
“What? Since you were a teenager?” Although knowing Hal, he’d been hacking into systems from birth.
“If I don’t want them to notice me, they don’t.” They sat in an upscale sprinter van and not some murder van with no windows. In this neighborhood, they wouldn’t attract attention. “And before you ask, don’t. This vehicle is on loan from a friend who will remain anonymous for certain reasons.”
“Reasons like he’s wanted by the law? Or reasons like you stole his van and don’t want anyone to know?”
“Yes.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help laugh. Hal was ridiculous and talented in the best of ways. The guy lived under a lucky star. Nothing bad ever seemed to stick to him, certainly not the various charges aimed his way through the years.
“I know, I know,” she said in apology. “Don’t ask questions.
Sorry. I’m just nervous.” She couldn’t be tied to this.
Not that anyone would associate her with Hal.
Or she hoped they wouldn’t. Just because Hal and the others on Team Ten maintained a shadow profile in the U.S.
didn’t mean they couldn’t be identified.
Though Team Ten didn’t officially exist, people knew of them. Rapp had known, but then, that said a lot about him—that he knew of a bunch of off-books mercenaries often employed in secret by the government.
To be fair, Uncle Chris hadn’t tried too hard to isolate himself from Jane the last few years. She had a feeling he wanted people in high places to know she had connections.
Funny how her uncle trusted military might a lot more than he trusted law enforcement. Jane knew they all had good and bad points, but that calling to protect the greater good appealed to her in whatever way she served.
“You don’t have to sit here for this,” Hal said. “Heck, I don’t either, technically. But it feels more fun this way. Like we’re on a stakeout.” He grabbed a bag of gourmet popcorn and two cans of soda from the minifridge next to him. “Complete with all the chow.”
“This is sad. You’re as bored as I am at home.” She accepted the drink.
“Well, that and I’m giving Raine some space. She’s out of sorts, needing something to punch. I’d rather it was Joe than me.”
“Good call.” That wasn’t exactly why Jane had opted to spend her Saturday night in a van with Hal, but she did appreciate the distance from her moody cousin. “You know, I get that she can’t tell me what went down to sour her on her job. But she’s not great at expressing her feelings.”
“Pot, kettle. Hel-lo.”
“I’m an open book.”
He just looked at her as he shoveled in a few handfuls of popcorn and said with his mouth full, “Do you believe the lies coming out of your mouth?”
“Hey, not being a fan of drama doesn’t mean I’m a liar. I choose to detach emotionally from the job so I can focus on what’s important. Raine takes everything to heart.”
“Because she has to get deep to see the truth.”
“Maybe.” She popped open the soda and took a swig. “Or maybe she’s just a hothead like Uncle Chris who runs around feeling everything to death instead of being objective and getting the job done.”
“I will give you fifty bucks to say that to your uncle’s face.”
“What am I, stupid?”
He chuckled. “A hundred? A thousand?”
“Do you have a thousand?”
“Joe does, and he owes me.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. That boyfriend of Shantelle’s… I found some dirt on the guy. She’s no longer seeing him.”
“Hal.” Jane shook her head. “You need to let the girl make her own choices.”
“Hey, don’t blame me. I just passed the word. I’m not involving myself in anyone’s business. Well, just yours.” His smile blinded her. “You owe me big. If your uncle knew you were using my talents, he’d insist on billing Uncle Sam for my services.”
Not to mention rubbing it in her face that she’d finally caved. He’d been telling her to use the family’s talents for years, but she’d always resisted, trying to keep on the straight and narrow at work.
“Oh stop. You know this isn’t official.” Her face heated, the embarrassment at what she’d stooped to not beyond her. “I’m desperate. I tried all the legal ways of finding out if my boss is scum. I got nothing.”
“That’s right. And that’s when you come to me,” he ended in a low, creepy voice.
“I swear, if you rub your hands together and crow like a dastardly villain, I will sock you one.”
He grinned but didn’t give the evil laugh she knew he wanted to.
“Please note the personal security feeds of our target. He’s home, and he’s alone.”
She watched as Scott pulled into his driveway, waited for the garage to open, then drove inside before the garage door shut behind him.
Hal scrolled through his many views of the man’s house, and she watched as Scott walked inside and up the stairs into his living room, then up again to one of his four bedrooms.
When he pulled off his tie and started to change clothes, she studiously looked away.
“He’s not a bad looking guy, I guess,” Hal commented. “If you like the professional hot yoga and gym type. I guarantee none of that muscle is from actually being out in the field and running from insurgents.”
“Since when are you a combat snob?”
“I’m not. I prefer no yoga and no gym. Give me a hand-to-hand workout or a fast walk and I’m spent.”
“Just let me know when he’s dressed.”
“Prude.” Hal drank loudly, gave a gentlemanly burp, then tapped the screen. “He’s back. And joy, he’s calling someone.”
Haversham, as a matter of fact. As Scott moved into the kitchen to get some food, Jane perked up when she heard Sullivan’s name mentioned in the conversation that he’d put on speaker.
“I’m telling you, Jon. It was the right move. She had to go. And now I’m ready for what comes next.”
And so was Jane.