Chapter 12 #2
She shook her head. She’d been subdued when they’d left the police station, but she’d rallied on the drive over. Nothing kept Maggie down for long.
“I just need to get some work done. Organize some bookings, and my least favorite job—” she wrinkled her nose “—pay some bills.”
He got her set up in his office. Ace followed up on some of his other work—mostly background searches and surveillance. He looked over at the drone that Vander had shot down. It rested on a side worktable.
Time to see what he could get out of this wreck.
Ace fiddled with it, assessing the model and design, then got out his tools. Using a screwdriver, he opened up the guts of it.
Hmm . He wondered if he could get any data off it. He pulled the chip out, and connected it to his computer.
Whoever was after Maggie must have a decent computer guy on the payroll. Someone had hacked her drone, and someone had been controlling this one.
The chip was damaged, but he managed to pull some data off. He noticed something that came up a few times, buried in the code.
Like a signature.
Ace straightened. Hackers, especially the arrogant ones, sometimes liked to tag their work. Like a graffiti artist.
Over and over, buried in the code, was QU1CK51LV3R.
Quicksilver. Who are you, asshole?
Ace sat at his computer and opened up a window for the dark web. A few quick searches, and he had some info.
He glanced over and saw Maggie was still busy, frowning at her laptop screen. His gaze traced the slender, sexy line of her neck. It made him want to bite her.
Leaving her to work, he slipped out and headed to Vander’s office.
His boss was on the phone, chewing someone out.
“Trucker, you want to keep things easy with me, you quit fucking around with this.” A pause. Then Vander’s tone darkened. “You want to test me?”
Ace waited in the doorway. Vander could be one scary motherfucker. His boss glanced over and held up a finger.
“I didn’t think so,” Vander said. “Good choice. You owe me a marker, Trucker. I’ll call it in when I need it.”
Vander shoved the cell phone in his pocket.
“Trucker?” Ace said. “As in Eugene ‘Trucker’ Patterson, head of the Iron Wanderers MC?”
“That’s him. Every now and then, Trucker likes to flex his asshole.”
The Wanderers were a wild and dangerous motorcycle club. They ran drugs, and were protective of the patch around their clubhouse.
“Whenever Trucker thinks he might like to expand his territory—” Vander leaned against his desk “—I disabuse him of the notion.”
Vander had few qualms about bending the law to do the right thing. Norcross Security often operated in the gray to keep people safe. Few people had any clue just how much Vander did behind the scenes—and in the shadows—to keep San Francisco as safe as he could.
“How’s Maggie?” Vander asked.
“Cursing as she pays her bills. She’s okay, considering.”
“You’ll get her there, Ace. And we will find whoever is after her.”
Ace nodded. “I have a lead. I got something off the drone you toasted. Did you have to shoot it to smithereens?”
“I was more interested in saving yours and Maggie’s asses at the time.”
“Right. The code on it has got a hacker’s tag in it. Quicksilver. There’s not much on him, but I found a hacker out of New York that uses that name.”
Vander nodded, his gaze narrowing. “Let me make some calls. Maverick Rivera and his woman, Remi, could help.”
Ace and Vander had helped out Mav and Remi in New York. Mav was a tech billionaire, and Remi a white-hat hacker called Rogue Angel.
“I was thinking that,” Ace said.
“And I’ll talk to Hawke.”
Ace lifted his chin. Killian Hawke was the shadowy, lethal owner of Sentinel Security, and Remi’s boss. He’d also helped during Mav and Remi’s thing. His security company also did a lot of cybersecurity.
“Let me know if they know this guy,” Ace said.
“On it. I’ve got yours and Maggie’s backs, Ace.”
“Thanks, Vander.”
As Ace headed to his office, he heard Maggie’s throaty laugh. He found Saxon with her, one hip hitched on the desk beside her.
“Hey, Ace,” Saxon said.
Ace lifted his hand.
“You taking good care of our girl?” the man asked.
Ace glanced at Maggie and saw her cheeks heat. He grinned. “I am. Very good care.”
Saxon rolled his eyes, then patted Maggie’s shoulder. “You need anything, you let me know.” He rose, letting his suit jacket fall back into place. “Oh, and Gia’s planning something, so brace.”
Maggie blinked. “Planning what?”
“No clue, but I know she’s worried about you. And when my woman puts her mind onto anything, watch out. She wants to do something to cheer you up.”
Vander appeared in the doorway as Saxon left. His face was serious.
“We have a video call with Killian. He’s got something for us.”
Ace’s pulse jumped. “Already?”
Vander nodded. “Pull him up.”
Maggie wheeled her chair closer to Ace’s, while he sat and tapped the keyboard. Vander stood behind them.
A second later, a man’s face appeared on the screen.
Killian Hawke was lean, had a hawkish face, and black hair. His dark eyes looked sharp. In fact, that was the word that sprung to mind looking at him: sharp. Like a knife ready to cut at the right moment.
“Vander, Ace,” Killian said.
Beside Ace, Maggie’s eyes widened. Hawke also had a voice Ace was sure drove the women wild.
“Killian.” Ace nodded at Maggie. “This is Maggie Lopez.”
“Ms. Lopez. I’m sorry to hear about your troubles.”
“Thanks. And it’s Maggie.”
“I received information from Vander that you think Quicksilver is involved. He’s a punk. Real name is Joseph Cantor, twenty-three, originally from London. He’s out to cause anarchy and end the oppression. Believes everyone should be able to do exactly as they please, laws be damned.”
“Sounds charming,” Maggie said.
“He sometimes hires out. Big jobs, small jobs, he doesn’t care. He just takes what appeals to his sense of chaos.” Killian frowned. “That said, I’ve never heard of him agreeing to murder before. He’s not afraid to break the law, but he prefers jobs that don’t involve a life sentence.”
“Any idea how to track him down?” Vander asked.
“I’ll send you the file my team has on him.” Killian looked up, meeting Vander’s gaze. “I can tell you that the guy loves cotton candy. Addicted to the stuff. If he’s in San Francisco, he’ll be buying. A lot of it.”
Maggie blinked and gave a hiccupping laugh. “One of my would-be killers likes cotton candy?”
Ace rubbed her back.
“There are a few hackers that he might associate with on the West Coast,” Killian continued. “Kevin Farrell and Nick Chan.”
Ace’s gut hardened. “I know them. They go by Cowboy and Lone Wolf.”
“We might need to pay them a visit,” Vander drawled.
“One more thing,” Killian said. “Vander sent me your photograph of the bomber.”
“It’s not a great shot,” Ace said.
“I can ID him,” Killian said.
Both Ace and Vander leaned forward.
“Who is he?” Ace barked.
“A dirtbag by the name of Ross Booker. He’s from New Jersey. He and Quicksilver have worked together before. Bank robbery and an arson attack.”
Ace glanced at Vander. Finally, a break.
“Thanks, Killian,” Vander said. “This is just what we needed.”
“Anytime, Vander.” Killian smiled at Maggie. “Stay safe.” The screen went blank.
“We track down Quicksilver and Booker, and shut them down,” Ace said. “Find out who’s giving their orders.”
“Yeah, we want whoever is pulling the strings.” Vander rapped his knuckles on the desk. “Let’s go and visit Farrell and Chan, Ace.”
“I have a tour this afternoon.” Maggie looked at her watch. “In just under two hours.”
“I’ll line up Rhys to stay with you, while Ace and I run these hackers down,” Vander said.
Ace kissed the top of her head. “Rhys will take good care of you.”
She grabbed his hand. “You be careful, too.”