Chapter 7
Felix
Felix ran to Sec HQ as fast as he could manage.
He was a fast runner at the best of times, but at that moment, he broke speed limits, despite the plug in his ass rubbing against him.
If anything, the reminder made him run faster.
When he finally got there, the door banged back against the wall, and he ended up with two guns in his face, which he promptly ignored as he focused on the computer Sam had been stationed at before he’d jumped up.
Pushing the chair aside, his fingers tripped over the keyboard, making the computer do what he needed it to.
“Shit, Felix. You nearly got your head blown off,” Greg said from behind him.
“So far, all we could see was that the camera stopped working just after the wedding started. We couldn’t see who did it; it just went blank,” Sam said.
“They’ve cut the camera at the source. Maybe they cut the actual cable, which is why it stopped streaming completely.
Either that or they’ve figured out a way to bypass it without it leaving a footprint,” Felix mumbled to himself more than Sam or Greg.
“Can one of you get back to the chapel and check the camera itself? I need to know whether the cable has been cut.”
“I’ll go,” Sam said and took off.
Felix’s hands trembled as he stabbed at the keys, trying to find out what had happened to the camera feed.
It reminded him of when Dominic and Randall had been having problems. Someone had gone in and removed all traces of the camera feeds from houses but had left nothing behind to show who or what had done it.
It had annoyed Felix something rotten when he hadn’t been able to trace it.
All was good in the end, but he hated it when something outwitted him.
He should be able to do everything with computers—after all, he’d been trained to be the best by one of the best.
Greg’s phone rang. “Sam? Uh-huh. Okay, thanks.” He ended the call. “Sam says the cable hasn’t been cut. Does that mean it was done remotely?”
“Yes. I can’t think of any other way it could be done. Surely someone would’ve seen it if they had messed with the camera itself before creating the grave.”
“So it’s possible they could’ve done something with the camera?” Greg asked, making Felix pause.
He cocked his head, working through the potential ways the camera could’ve been interfered with. “Ring Sam back.” Greg did, and Felix kept talking. “Ask him to check the cables and see if anything is attached to them. Anything that doesn’t look like it fits or should be there.”
Greg relayed the information. “He says there’s nothing there.”
Felix nodded. “Okay, then remotely is the only other way.” He turned back to the computer.
“But how the hell do they keep doing this without me being able to find the fuckers?” he muttered.
He hated letting Brett down. He’d asked him to do one thing, and he couldn’t fucking do it. “I have to get back there.”
He left Sec HQ with Greg on his heels and a laptop in hand, and hotfooted it down to the chapel.
He slowed as he saw the Army trucks and studied the faces of the military personnel he passed along the way.
He stared at one for slightly longer, knowing exactly who she was.
She stared back without emotion but tracked his every move.
He finally looked away as he passed her and slipped into the chapel, heading straight for the camera to double-check Sam’s findings.
Nothing was amiss. He continued towards the back, where the most important people were.
Brett was standing by the door, a murderous look on his face.
Felix wouldn’t want to be on the end of that look, but judging by the people outside, he was sure he knew who it was aimed at.
“Boss?” For a brief second, he was on the end of that look, and then it softened—very slightly.
“Anything?”
Felix closed his eyes for a second and shook his head. “I’m sorry. They seem to have done it remotely, like the other times. I can’t find them.”
Brett sighed softly, barely a whisper of air from his lips, but Felix felt it all the way to his toes. His boss was worn out, and there wasn’t much anyone could do about it.
“It’s fine. It’s not your fault. Okay, can we check the additional cameras in here and see who moved from their seats during the ceremony?”
Felix opened the laptop and rested it on a small table nearby. He brought up all the cameras so he could flick between them. “It might take me a few minutes to look through all the footage. We do have a lot of cameras in here.”
“Well, hopefully, one of them caught something.” He turned to Greg. “Can you get photographs of the grave from every possible angle? I took one earlier, but I want to see if there is any kind of message within the decoration itself.”
Sam appeared. “I think we might need to say something to the guests. They’re getting a little antsy.”
Brett nodded and left with Sam. Felix settled himself at a small table in the corner of the room and focused on the cameras.
“Do you need any help?” Maddox appeared beside him.
“I thought you were looking for Matt and Van?”
Maddox shrugged. “They are nowhere within the chapel. We’ve searched every inch.”
“What about the surrounding areas?”
“I didn’t think we’d want to do that with the crowds being outside and all. They’ll pick up on something.”
“I think that’s a moot point. They already suspect something isn’t right. The ceremony finished more than half an hour ago. But no, I’m good. Check in with Brett.”
Maddox’s face clenched but cleared almost immediately. “Will do.” He walked away.
Felix didn’t like the guy. Apart from the fact that he gave Brett hell and sent his stress levels even higher than they already were, there was something about him that gave him the chills.
He always listened to his instincts, but they were his and his alone.
No point in causing drama where it didn’t need to be.
His gaze tracked every movement, be it guest or guard, but nothing seemed amiss.
Until he caught it. The slight jump of a guest towards the back that he’d been staring at.
He rewatched it. The guest definitely jumped as if someone or something had startled them.
He checked the timestamp. Three minutes before Nina had announced it.
What had gained their attention—and why wasn’t it on the cameras?
He checked all the other cameras at the same timestamp, but there was nothing.
He rubbed his temples. It was almost impossible for what had happened to happen. A startled guest, cameras being cut, a rose grave, Matt and Van disappearing… There had to be something here.
Brett came back in. “I’ve reassured the guests as much as I can, but they’re asking questions. Mainly why they can’t leave their seats.” He glanced at Felix. “Any luck?”
“Nothing concrete. I can’t see anything. It’s almost as if they had a bag of party tricks…” Felix remembered something he’d read not long before. He cast his mind back, trying to recall the details.
“Felix?”
“Sorry. My words reminded me of something I’d read.
There had been some new tech developed that allowed people to ‘disappear.’ It projected an image of what was behind them onto something they held in front of them, effectively making them invisible.
I believed it was still a way away from being readily available, though. ”
“It’s certainly a view to look at. But what would the tech look like?”
“This was done on a large sheet of metal that held lots of small screens.”
“If someone had one of those, I think we’d know about it.”
“But if they placed it down somewhere, we wouldn’t see it because it would project what it was leaning against,” Felix countered.
Brett nodded slowly. “Do you think it’s likely?”
Felix shrugged. “I’ve run out of other ideas.”
“I’ve sent Maddox to keep an eye on the congregation but warned him to keep his mouth shut. He’s trying my patience.”
Felix’s mind flicked back to Maddox’s offer to help. “Boss… I’m going to recheck the chapel for Matt and Van.”
“Maddox already did it.”
“I know.” He met Brett’s gaze, steady and strong, knowing what he was implying but needing to do it, anyway.
“Okay. Let me know if you find anything.”
Felix closed the laptop and carried it with him. He started outside of where the Sutcliffes were being held, and opened every door, checked every corner, every cupboard, every curtain. He opened the janitor’s closet and switched to a private line on his earpiece, knowing only Brett would hear him.
“Boss, I’ve found them. They’re knocked out but breathing fine.” He wasn’t at all surprised to find them, and that was his instincts blaring at him again.
“Where are you?”
“Janitor’s closet, near the middle of the left-hand side of the seats.”
He stared at Matt and Van, shaking his head. Had Maddox not checked this room, or had he been the one to put them there?
Brett came down the side, pausing to crook his finger towards where Maddox had been standing. They both walked towards him, and Felix studied Maddox’s expression. He appeared confused, but when they walked around the door and saw the two guards, Maddox raised his eyebrows.
“I thought I checked that one! I was sure I checked everywhere,” Maddox said, thunder in his tone and on his face. “This is bullshit. They must’ve been put there afterwards.”
“Keep your voice down,” Brett admonished. “How could someone have done that when we have so many people watching now?”
Maddox threw his hands in the air. “I don’t know. Maybe the same way they managed to make a rose grave when we had hundreds of people here.”
Brett glared at him, and Maddox pursed his lips. “Go back to your post and stay there.” Maddox stormed off. Brett refocused on Felix. “We have paramedics on the way.” He paused. “Why did you want to double-check?”
“Gut feeling.”
Brett nodded. “I have to go and update the Army. Can you stay with them until the paramedics arrive?”