Chapter 23 Aiden #2
“Yep. But like I told Kesley, I’ll keep looking. Just be ready to go in blind, because, unfortunately, that seems most likely.”
Aiden wasn’t surprised given that keeping things off the web was the only way to guarantee information you wanted to keep from the world would actually stay hidden.
Some of the projects he’d been involved with during his time as an architect had included vaults or bunkers the existence of which was a secret to everyone except the construction and design teams and the client themselves.
No online trail existed, and only a single paper copy of the blueprints was handed to the customer upon the project’s completion.
Still, he had hoped Nyle’s skills would’ve been sufficient to bypass that annoying detail somehow, but if Marcus had kept things off the internet, then there was very little a hacker could do.
“Don’t worry, you two,” Nyle piped up as the pause dragged on, a smile erasing his frown. “You won’t be on your own. I’ve tweaked the encryption and frequency of our comms so we’ll be able to keep in touch. At least for the most part… as I don’t know what extra jamming they might have in place.”
“Sounds good,” Darren said, pulling up the warehouse’s plans that they did have. “Shall we go over the layout now?”
The four of them spent the early afternoon working out the three potential points of entry to the hidden sublevels and the best routes in and out of the warehouse itself.
They decided to check out the location near the data & power room first. With that taken care of, Nyle explained what systems he could disable remotely and how Darren and Aiden could handle any he couldn’t.
“I think that’s about as good as our plan will get,” Rick said, stretching his arms above his head.
“I agree. We’ve covered everything we could think of,” Darren chipped in just as Kristen showed up, telling them Bea had the Maine ready for departure.
Nyle clapped his hands. “Kris, babe, I’ll leave the earring and Sara’s AI to you.
You don’t need to do much other than monitor for errors in the AI’s data files.
” He turned to Darren. “Even with her help, we couldn’t figure out how to replicate her.
I think it’s some kind of an intentional design choice.
But she let me poke in her data sets, so once I’ve copied those over, we’ll be able to access the knowledge she has without having to hook her up every time.
” He directed a smile Kristen’s way. “If you run into any issues, give me a call.”
“Will do.” Kristen smooched Nyle’s cheek. “Now get going. Bea’s waiting,” he urged and turned his attention to Darren. “She’ll keep the Maine in orbit, but I hope you won’t need her saving your asses until after you’ve retrieved the ring. Good luck!”
Disguises donned, Aiden and Darren accompanied Rick to the restaurant in central Atlan where he was meeting his friend.
They left a couple of tables between them, opting to blend in with the rest of the customers and listen in via the earpieces all three of them wore.
Just as a waitress brought over their drinks and a sharing platter, a tall man in his fifties joined Rick.
“Hi, Tim.” Rick shook the older man’s hand, flashing a friendly smile.
“Rick. It’s been ages! How’ve you been? How’s the business?” Tim laughed, plopping into the chair across from Rick.
“Eh, you know. Getting by. On both accounts. Been up to much?”
Stroking his graying beard, Tim laughed. “Got married, settled down. You know, the usual. And, frankly, you are the last person I expected to hear from.”
“Yeah, well, I’m looking to do the same and could use the opinion of someone local.”
“Last time we talked, I got the impression you weren’t a fan of dear ol’ Mars,” Tim said, swapping the table as he laughed again.
“Guess my time has come, too. My partner’s been eager for us to get a place of our own.”
Tim hummed in agreement. “So, you’re looking to buy?”
“Yep. Happened to remember you had a friend who worked in real estate. That still the case?”
“Mhm…” Tim paused as the waitress brought over their food and drinks, thanking her with a huge smile. “Bryan Stakov. Got me a great deal on my place.”
“You vouch for him then? I reached out to someone a week ago, but it was a scam. So glad I dodged that bullet.”
“Yep, Bryan is the real deal. All round a great guy. He mainly deals with properties ready to be moved in, but he usually has a few still under construction as well, if you don’t mind waiting a few months.”
Rick and Tim slipped into a discussion about the available options and then Rick had Tim call Bryan.
While the two men explained to Rick the process, Aiden noticed Rick fiddling with the ID-cloning device in his pocket.
As if feeling Aiden’s gaze, he gave the thumbs up a few seconds later and then resumed asking questions about the options Bryan had offered.
Aiden tuned out the rest of the conversation, instead focusing on the selection of cured meats and olives that made up the sharing platter. He was aware of Darren watching him eat and even if he didn’t meet Darren’s piercing gaze, the weight of it was tangible enough to make his shoulder tingle.
“Aiden? Are you sure your shoulder’s okay?” Darren asked, concern bleeding through his words. “I was careful, but we’ve got a kit in the Maine’s medbay.”
The gravelly quality to Darren’s voice had Aiden look up over his thick-rimmed glasses at the man.
There was heat in those indigo eyes, making them even more hypnotizing than they normally were, and Aiden felt himself sink deeper into them with every second.
A surge of heat made him feel trapped in his clothes, and he wanted to tear them off so he could feel Darren’s naked body against his skin.
“Aiden?”
Aiden must’ve stayed staring mutely at Darren for a while, because uncertainty had wormed its way into Darren’s tone and the handsome features of his face.
“There is no need. My shoulder feels fine. I just…” Aiden didn’t really know what or how much to say, and then he forgot about it as something in Rick and Tim’s conversation snatched his attention.
Darren’s knitted eyebrows as he seemed to concentrate on what was being said suggested he’d also picked up on it.
“…working at the warehouse still?” Rick was saying with casual curiosity.
“Yah.”
“Team leader?” he followed up, tossing nachos in his mouth.
“Nah, not anymore. Got promoted to night shift supervisor a few years back.”
Rick whistled. “Congrats, man. How’s that new role been treating you with the increased responsibility? What, is it like, thirty-forty employees you’re in charge of?”
Tim laughed. “Try a hundred forty.”
Interesting.
Whistling again, Rick steepled his hands on the table. “Damn. That’s a lot of staff for a warehouse. Thought they’d mostly switched to using drones?”
“Yeah, they have, except for this one. Don’t really know why they need so many, but I don’t get paid to care either.” The older man shrugged and took a long swig from his drink, then tipped his chin at Rick. “What’s that smirk for?”
“Your bosses wouldn’t happen to be looking for another supervisor?”
Tim laughed. “Why? Are you also looking for a career change on top of settling down? Got bored of… What was it… Cargo logistics?”
“Yep, that. And it depends. Are they hiring?”
“Nah. I got a new team leader hired recently, so we should be good for a while. Although…” Tim snorted and shook his head. “Sammy, one of the guys on the night shift’s been cutting it close lately. He’s not a TL, but he’s the one that handles offloading.”
“Is the pay for that role worth it?” Rick probed, his voice low and conspiratorial.
Aiden knew Rick had a way with people, but he hadn’t really realized just how good his friend was at this sort of thing. It really was no wonder he’d gotten all the way up to a Director of Management role at the cargo company.
“Yah. You get a bonus too ‘coz of the weird hours. It’s a good start if you don’t mind hanging on for a year or two until you land a promotion.”
“Ok, Rick. I’ve got all I need,” Nyle’s singsong voice rang in Aiden’s earpiece.
Rick patted his friend on the shoulder. “Sounds good, Tim. Keep an ear out for me, eh?”
He let the topic die there and for the next hour moved onto stuff of no importance to their mission. When he and Tim finished their third drinks, the older man took his leave and Aiden and Darren slipped into the free seats on either side of Rick.
“Nyle,” Darren addressed the blond through the comms. “We are going after this Sammy. Can you get me a location?”
“Already have it and, luckily for you, he’s off tonight.
” There was some shuffling of fabric and the clank of cutlery, and then Aiden heard Kristen remind Nyle over the Maine’s speakers to eat while the food was hot.
“And also,” Nyle said around a mouthful of something, “I took the liberty of picking a second guy. Sending over the details to you now.”
A second later, Aiden’s phone pinged with both Solomon ‘Sammy’ Mahdur and Daniel ‘Danny’ Nielson’s files. The two men worked the night shift at the warehouse and lived together in a condo not far from this restaurant.
“Danny, who happens to be Sammy’s bestie also has the night off and, as tradition stands when that happens, they are both getting wasted at The Spar in downtown Atlan, so I suggest you guys head there,” Nyle instructed with glee.
“You got them on visual?” Darren asked as he led them out of the restaurant and hopped into a taxi shuttle. Aiden and Rick boarded after him.
“Yep. These two sure know how to hardcore party,” Nyle laughed around another bite. “You won’t miss them, trust me.”
The heavy traffic made the trip to the club last forty minutes, in which Aiden’s thigh was plastered to that of Darren. Rick was in the front seat, chatting with Nyle and occasionally Bea, who was also entertaining herself with the antiques of the two drunk men.
When they arrived and entered the club, the loud electro music and the sweaty crowd would’ve swallowed Aiden if not for the grounding force of Darren’s hand as it wrapped around his.
Sammy and Danny were indeed easy to spot, both of them having moved to the dance floor.
They were swaying and shaking their hips to the rhythmical beats under the effects of various substances, half of which were probably more questionable than the DIY stuff Aiden had seen the inmates drink.
Still, it was the men’s inebriated state that made them an easy target three hours later in an alleyway behind the bar.
Incorporating the moves Darren had shown him, Aiden rushed out from behind a bin and took care of Danny, knocking him out without much resistance.
At the hands of Darren, Sammy followed, slumping to the ground a moment later.
With Rick’s help, they dragged the two men to the shuttle parked at the opening of the alleyway, stuffed them into the wide trunk and merged with the unsuspecting morning traffic, heading for the hotel so they could get ready for their infiltration mission tonight.