Chapter 26 #2
“If we slow this down…” He did so as he spoke. “You can see here, just as the bowl begins to disappear, there is a straight line. I think it’s a frame. It’s damn good,” he muttered. “And it would definitely hide anyone behind it.”
“But then, if it shows what is directly behind it, why could no one see the grave being placed?”
Felix tilted his head. “I’m assuming it’s so clever—or the user is—that it can be used to take a video of the background and use that instead.
It’s the only way I can think they could get it done.
” He shrugged. “Well, we’ve figured that out now, so let’s get onto these traces.
Do you want to help, or do you need to get going? ”
“I can help. Thanks for this, by the way. I enjoy computers, but I’m not completely confident with them yet. I was struggling when you weren’t here, I’ll admit. Even with your dad’s friend helping.”
Felix grinned. “I’ll get you up to speed in no time. We can never have too many tech whizzes.”
They spent several hours tracing the calls and listening to the audio.
Neither of them recognised the voices, but when the locations came back, Felix bit back a curse.
Either someone knew how to reroute locations—which was highly likely because of all the other tech they had use of—or someone in Felix’s house sold him out.
“They’re too fucking good!” Felix shouted, pushing away from the desk and pacing across the room, his hands raking through his hair.
The creaking of Brett’s chair preceded him. “What’s wrong?” Brett asked, coming to stand near him, and it took all his focus to keep himself from launching at him.
“All the calls trace back to my house.” Felix stared at him. “I doubt very much they actually did. I have the program working to debug the location in case it was rerouted from somewhere else, but it’s going to take ages.”
“Talk to me about all this technology they’re using. What is it? Where does it come from? Who has it? Like, is it easy for people to get hold of or expensive?” Brett said, leaning against the table.
“It’s all super expensive. In all honesty, the only people likely to have this are billionaires or…the military,” Felix reluctantly admitted.
Brett nodded. “And are there specific areas within the military that are likely to have it more than others?”
Felix paused, thinking through the question.
“Technically, anyone within the military would have access to it because it belongs to them, but I doubt anyone below a certain clearance would have access to use it.” He knew where Brett was going with the questions, and he sighed.
“Yes, a Lieutenant Colonel would have that access, and not only that, the department would have access, too.”
Brett nodded, staring at the floor. “Another checkmark in the box leading to Venus,” he muttered. “Okay, anything else?”
Felix’s phone rang before he could answer, and he checked who it was before answering. “Austin? Everything okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. Why is there some guy here asking to take my laptop?”
Felix sighed. “Because we have evidence that a photo you had on there was sent to someone else—with or without your knowledge—and we need to figure out if anything else was done on it.”
Austin was silent for a moment. “Fuck. I have everything on there, Felix. Everything. I’ll let him take it, but only you can have access to it. Got it?”
“Yes, okay.”
Austin gave him the login details and ended the call.
“Everything okay?” Brett asked.
“Yeah. Austin wasn’t very happy with having his laptop removed.”
“Do you think he’s hiding something?”
Felix shrugged. “I don’t think it’s anything to do with what we’re going through, but he will definitely have secrets he wouldn’t want to get out.” He exhaled. “I’m so tired of this.”
“I’m sorry. Why don’t you head home?”
“You don’t need to be sorry. They do. And no, I can’t. I need to look at Austin’s laptop when it gets here.”
Brett’s phone broke the silence, and he stared at it for a second before flipping it around so Felix could see who it was. Venus. He put it on speakerphone.
“Brett Cage.”
“Beloved brother, it’s about time you answered my calls. I’m beginning to think you don’t care about me.” Venus’s voice lacked the warmth most people would have.
“That’s because I don’t particularly. What do you want, apart from to control everyone around you?”
Venus’s chuckle sent shivers down Felix’s spine.
There was no humour in it at all, but there was something about Brett’s words that had Felix trying to link things together, and as they did, Felix’s eyes widened.
Brett frowned at his expression, but Felix waved him off, silently telling him to keep going.
“I want what I’ve always wanted, Brett. I want permanent martial law.”
Brett snorted. “That will never happen.”
“Of course it will. It’s already in the pipeline, brother. I just need to complete two more steps, and it’s in the bag.”
Brett licked his lips, gaze locked on Felix. “And what two steps are those, may I ask?”
“Wouldn’t that be telling? What I can tell you is that you and lover boy need to meet me for a rendezvous.
I’ll send you a message with the details.
Anyway, I’m glad you’ve finally started catching up.
I was getting a bit bored, if I’m honest. I thought you were cleverer than this, Brett.
It’s taken you far too long to realise you’re already in the web and the silk is tightening as we speak.
Slightly different analogy to normal, but you get the picture. ”
The call ended, and Brett gripped the phone tight enough that it started complaining.
“First, how did she know we were getting closer?” Felix asked. “And second, I think I might have just figured out her plan.”
“Which is?”
“When you were talking to her, you said, ‘What do you want, apart from to control everyone around you?’ Correct?”
“Yeah. She’s always wanted more. She has never been happy with where she was, no matter what it was she was doing.”
“Okay. What if it’s not just martial law she’s looking for? What if she wants control of everything?”
“How?” Brett asked.
“She has control of the military now, right?”
“In some ways, yes.”
“And Malcolm has control of the cartel, and they are supposed to be in a relationship, right?”
“Yeah.”
He said the next sentence more slowly. “And you have sway with the royal family, right?”
“But she would never get that through me.”
Felix swallowed. “Unless something turned you into a machine, instead of the human being you are now,” he murmured.
“Like what?”
“Like the death of the people you care about. Dominic. Owen. Nick… me.”
He watched it dawn on Brett how far-spread Venus’s plan might actually be.
“Shit.”
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