11. Daisy
Chapter eleven
Daisy
We park my SUV in the lot near Vinny’s cabin and begin the quarter-mile trek up the trail to ours. There’s a dark blue Dodge Challenger we don’t recognize, but it’s easy to draw conclusions from the rental decal in the lower left corner of the windshield. We have company.
“Owen must be waiting for us,” I say as I trudge up the hill.
“Scott shouldn’t be too far behind him with their equipment.
Only my brother would rent a car that’s flashy and stands out.
He prefers stealth when he’s in the woods with camo paint, but in everything else, he likes to be the center of attention. ”
Angel frowns. “Shouldn’t your perimeter alarm have sent you an alert? Even though the laptop is useless, your phone should have pinged.”
“Not if Owen knows how to bypass it. He likes to dress in tactical gear and sneak up on you, so keep your eyes and ears open.”
Vinny mumbles, “It’s a family trait.”
Turning on my heel and walking backward, I grin. “You know it! Owen taught me everything I know.”
Angel and Vinny stop in their tracks, their gazes moving past me toward the cabin. The looks on their faces are anything but welcoming. I turn slowly and see a man who is far too handsome for his own good, leaning against the steps as though he’s posing for a modeling spread.
My blood turns cold, and my hand reaches for the modified weapon I carry hidden under my shirt. “Who are you, and why is my front door open? I’m sure the campground doesn’t look kindly on heating the outdoors.”
The man stands, straightens his suit, and walks toward me with the confidence of a man who always gets what he wants.
His salt-and-pepper hair, crystalline gray eyes, and one-day-old scruff that screams “sexy” do the opposite of what he’s trying to accomplish, which I’m sure is for me to fall prey to his young Sean Connery good looks and melt into a puddle of goo.
“My name is Bennett Gray, and I believe you’re poking your nose into places it doesn’t belong.”
Angel steps in front of me, blocking me from Bennett’s view.
Vinny also becomes a human shield, his broad shoulders expanding when he widens his stance and folds his arms across his chest. The fact that neither of them is reaching for a gun leads me to believe that Bennett isn’t so much a threat as he is an annoyance.
He’s also the man whose name is attached to my case file.
I, however, have my hand on my modified weapon, ready to shoot Bennett with a simunition round if he even twitches in the wrong direction. I love the paralyzing agent because it allows me to shoot first and ask questions later. Literally.
Angel widens his stance. “We have every right to poke our noses wherever we want. For the last 15 years, you certainly haven’t been doing it.”
Vinny adds, “Let’s cut to the chase. You’re here because our search triggered a shutdown virus.”
Last night, Vinny warned that we’d be getting company. I just didn’t realize it would be this soon.
“You are correct,” Bennett says, his voice deep, rich, and smooth as melted Godiva chocolate. “But I’m also here to help where I can while protecting confidential information. Two months ago, the file for the disappearance of Sadie Alekseev was accessed by one Officer Angel Conway.”
Bennett looks pointedly at Angel. “Before you ask, yes, I was aware you were looking into the teenager’s disappearance.
It wasn’t until the shutdown virus was activated that I realized you were doing more than reading the file because you were bored.
Might I ask what has garnered your attention in a kidnapping case on American soil? ”
I laugh and push my way past Angel and Vinny. “I could ask you the same question. Why is the CIA interested in domestic abductions? It’s not in your purview.”
“You first,” Bennett replies.
“Actually, credentials first,” Vinny says. “No one says another word until I see ID. I want proof you are who you say you are.”
Under my breath, I ask, “Do spies carry ID? James Bond never showed credentials.”
Angel snorts. “Bennett is no Bond, despite his desperate attempt to appear so.”
Bennett reaches into his back pocket, which puts me on alert. I draw my gun quicker than he can blink.
“No need for such hostilities, Mrs. Conway.”
“Huh?” I ask, confused by the title he’s given me.
Angel’s neck turns red as Vinny bursts out laughing. I’m not sure what’s funny until Vinny says, “The cabin is rented under the names Angel and Daisy Conway.”
“That’s some pretty wishful thinking,” I murmur to Angel.
I’m impressed when Angel goes with the flow and doesn’t back down. “A man can only hope.”
Bennett looks between us as he shows us his identification. “So, your name isn’t Daisy Conway?”
I shake my head, keeping my gun pointed at Bennett while Vinny takes a peek at the ID.
My finger isn’t on the trigger, at least not until Vinny determines whether or not he’s a threat.
“No. It’s Daisy Zurkowski. I work for Southern Knight Protection Services, a subdivision of Shining Knight.
We are looking into a missing person’s case. ”
The sound of approaching footsteps catches our attention, but I don’t look behind me until Vinny hands back Bennett’s ID and says, “He’s legit.”
While I already assumed as much based on his knowledge and the fact that he’s the CIA officer who took the case from the FBI, Vinny’s confirmation puts me enough at ease that I holster my weapon.
I’ll admit, I’m impressed that Bennett Gray didn’t flinch once.
He’s one cool cat who I hope will be more useful to us than a hindrance.
When I turn around, I see Scott and Owen walking up the hill, both with their weapons drawn. I motion for them to lower them. “Don’t worry. He’s not a threat. He’s just a spook.”
“I take offense to that,” Bennett says at the same time my brother quips, “All the more reason to put him out of his misery.”
“Hey!” Angel exclaims. “We’re not all bad.”
“Fine. You and Vin-man get a free pass, but only because I like the both of you,” Owen retorts. “It goes to show that point-zero-zero-zero-zero-one percent of the CIA can be trusted. I can now pin all my hopes and dreams on the U.S. being protected from foreign enemies.”
“Let me guess, you’re former FBI,” Bennett quips.
“Current,” Owen says, holstering his weapon once he and Scott join us.
Bennett takes a step back toward the cabin and gestures to the open door. “Now that introductions have been made, can we go inside and talk? It’s not exactly the warmest weather out here.”
“Sure,” I say, brushing past him and giving him a quick shoulder check. “Then you can tell me why you broke into the cabin and what you were looking for. If your goal is for us to trust you, you aren’t off to a great start.”
Bennett holds his arms out while Angel pats him down for weapons and finds none. “Your trust is not my endgame, Ms. Zurkowski.”
I stop at the doorway and turn around, narrowing my gaze at our unwelcome guest. “Then what is?”
Bennett meets my challenging stare without blinking. “Justice. Though I’ll warn you now, mine may look a little different from yours.”
The cabin becomes crowded with the six of us milling around. Bennett is forced to sit in the chair at the center of the room while Scott and Vinny lean against the walls, just waiting for him to make a move. Angel and Owen position themselves next to me with their arms folded and stances widened.
Bennett glances around the room and senses the distrust. “Let the interrogation begin.”
“What were you looking for when you invited yourself into my personal space?” I ask him. “And how did you bypass the perimeter alarm? It’s shielded against EMPs and hardened against signal jamming.”
He chuckles. “It wasn’t difficult, Ms. Zurkowski.
I am CIA, after all. Knowing it was there was half the battle, which was easy enough to ascertain because you gave me a backdoor into your system by activating the shutdown virus.
I didn’t have time to break the encryption on the alarm’s signal, so I isolated its operating frequency and flooded it with interference.
That forced the system into a reconnection cycle, and while it went through a three-second reconfiguration as it searched for a different frequency, I had just enough time to penetrate the invisible barrier. ”
Owen sneers. “You could have just waited for us down in the parking lot.”
Bennett smiles at my brother. “What fun is that? At least now you know there is a vulnerability and can take measures to patch it. I did you a favor.”
Angel takes the smallest step forward as his gaze moves around the room. From all outward appearances, nothing has been touched. “What were you looking for?”
Bennett doesn’t fidget in his seat. “You, Mr. Conway. My understanding is that you were given a direct order to stand down, an order you have violated and could be arrested for disobeying. Rather than take you to my superiors, I’m here to assist you.”
“While protecting the CIA,” Owen quips.
“Yes,” Bennett says. “That’s a given. Loyalty has its rewards. Mr. Conway, you’ve already had a taste of what happens when loyalty is questioned.”
“Who is Kenneth Johnson?” Angel asks, ignoring the jab. “Is he a CIA asset? Is he the one kidnapping the girls?”
For the first time since we’ve met, Bennett looks mildly uncomfortable. “First, you need to tell me how you came across his name. What prompted you to search for him?”
I push past Owen and Angel so that I’m face-to-face with Bennett.
“We didn’t just come across his name, Mr. Gray.
He’s here and a person of interest. Funny thing, though.
He seems to be well aware that he’s on the CIA’s radar and doesn’t seem scared of that fact.
He dared us to arrest him. Why is that? Why did the name Kenneth Johnson trigger a shutdown protocol? ”
“Because I believe he’s involved,” Bennett says. “I don’t know exactly how. What I do know is that he’s been showing up at the crime scenes for the past five years.”