Chapter 70
Peter waited impatiently as Dawn sifted through the FBI’s servers. She had assured him that the FBI wouldn’t know what they were doing, smiling slightly as she delivered the promise.
There was a sharp knock on the door and then Merchant was entering.
“So what’s the big emergency?” he asked, walking right up to Peter’s desk. Peter told him all about the two FBI agents and his dinner with Sprain.
“Agent Burr? Tall guy, preternaturally calm, likes tying betas up and caning them ‘till they pass out?” Merchant made a gesture like he was swinging a cane.
“I don’t know about that last part, but yes. Do you know him?” Peter crossed his arms and willed Merchant to be serious.
Merchant nodded, grinning. “I do, yeah. He actually owes me a pretty big favor…” Merchant trailed off, his eyes narrowing. “He better not think that this makes us even.”
Dawn cleared her throat, and Peter turned to see what she had.
“Agent Burr is not on your case,” she said, turning the computer toward him and Chad.
“The agents in charge are Dale and Ritter. It looks like Gilroy Sprain got in trouble when he tried to embezzle funds, and he tried to make a deal by selling you out. It doesn’t look like they have any other evidence. ”
“I’ll talk to Burr, but this sounds like something he’d do. Would you have agreed to the deal Sprain offered if it hadn’t been for his visit?” Merchant sounded like he hoped the answer was no.
Peter lifted a slow shoulder. He really didn’t know.
“Fuck. He’s going to say we’re even.”
Peter lifted an eyebrow. “What did you do for him?”
“You sure you want to know?” Merchant had that look in his eye, and Peter knew better than to press the issue. As long as it didn’t involve him or Tank Security he didn’t care.
“Forget I asked,” Peter said. Then he turned to Dawn. “Is it true that Biotech Universal is using the research they stole to manufacture their own product?”
Dawn nodded. “It looks like it, though it’s inferior to what Novotech has in the pipeline.”
“Well, let’s try to salvage this. Merchant, your guys aren’t doing anything right now, are they?”
“We’ve got that gig for the state department a week from now, but that’s it. Why, you need me to burn down some factories?”
Merchant looked a little too excited by the idea, but Peter wasn’t going to deny him his job satisfaction.
“If you would.”
Hopefully Peter’s gesture would convince the new CEO of Novotech of Tank Security’s usefulness.
***