Chapter 11
EVELYN
“Okay, so here’s how we usually put a profile together,” Dominic said as he stood in front of a blank whiteboard.
Izzy, Liam, and I reclined in the leather chairs of the executive conference room.
Liam had his laptop open in front of him.
Izzy had her trusty tablet balanced on her lap, and I had a blank notebook in front of me.
As Dominic continued, I tried to keep my focus on what he was saying, not how he looked.
He was dressed in navy slacks and a sharp white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
There was a serious case of forearm porn going on, and I was fighting to keep my focus.
Ever since he kissed me on the cheek last night, it was like I couldn’t keep my focus off the man.
And it was just a kiss on the cheek. And I had four boyfriends.
Having a fifth would just be greedy, right?
“Building a profile isn’t a quick process.
It’s methodical, and you have to sift through a lot of data, but it’ll help us define how Kingfisher operates by tracking what he’s done in the past to predict what he will do in the future.
We’ll take everything Kingfisher has done and look for any connections, consistencies, or even inconsistencies. ”
Izzy leaned forward, her elbows on the table. “That’s a lot of data to sift through. Where do we start?”
“The starting point is victimology,” Dominic said, writing the word on the whiteboard.
“Who he targets and why. That’s where most patterns first emerge.
Why does he choose those people and not others?
Why are his hands in this pot and not that one?
Once we identify what connects the victims, we start to get an idea of how he makes decisions, which will give us more research points into his background.
” He wrote the rest of the questions under victimology.
“I’ve got that data loaded in our system,” Liam said.
“Based on the case files you shared with us, plus what I’ve managed to find in Director Keller and Judge Jefferson’s emails and the judge’s servers, plus anything I could find on the dark web.
I can run a script if you tell me what it should contain. ”
“Good, that’s a great foundation.” Dominic nodded. “The next layer after victimology is methodology. How does he operate? Does he use the same people? The same channels? How does he react when under pressure?”
“We have a little bit of that,” Izzy said. “You mentioned at the safe house that he doesn’t use the same people twice?” I remember Dominic saying that at the safehouse before the SID raid.
“It looks that way,” Dominic said. “But I think we should dig deeper and confirm that. Maybe there is a pattern to how he hires people. We do know he hires people that, if discovered, will take the fall for him. That means he’s powerful. And there aren’t many people with that kind of power.”
“We can track the money too,” Liam said. “It’ll take time, but it’s another thread we can unravel.”
Dominic nodded. “Definitely an important thread.”
“You asked how he reacts under pressure,” I said. “He’s patient, but he also has backup plans. He went after HQ the second we disrupted his trafficking operations.”
“Was that a reaction to us going after the trafficking operation, or was he already planning on doing that?” Izzy countered. “Because going after HQ took some planning.”
I nodded. That was a fair point. Dominic wrote the question on the whiteboard with the others.
“That tells us something,” Dominic said. “He’s patient and disciplined. He’s also smart and plans for multiple scenarios. That usually points to someone with a background in intelligence or law enforcement, as they are trained to think that way.”
Liam looked up from his laptop. “Or someone who learned from watching or interacting with people with that background.”
“Also possible,” Dominic said.
“What about the timing of his actions?” Izzy said. “Not the timing of his recent actions—although, we should definitely look at that too—but the timing of past actions. Maybe there’s a cycle or a pattern there?”
Dominic wrote her question on the board.
“When has he been most active in the past? When has he gone dark? Does the timing map to external factors like political cycles, fiscal years, personnel changes in law enforcement or in federal agencies? His actions in relation to those cycles could tell us where he sits in relation to those systems.”
I studied the board. “You think he might have another inside person somewhere? In a different federal agency?”
“I am almost certain he does,” Dominic said flatly. “With his reach and his ability to stay ahead of investigations? I would be shocked if Director Keller were the only one.”
The room went quiet for a beat as we all processed. Another person in a high-up position in a federal agency working for Kingfisher was a huge problem.
“Okay…” I said. “What’s the next layer?”
“Geography,” Dominic said, making another column on the board.
“His operations aren’t random. Their locations will have been carefully chosen, and we need to figure out why he chooses the places he does.
And why he avoids certain places. Both will help us narrow down a base of operations somewhere. ”
“And finally,” Dominic said, “the last layer, which is also the most difficult: motivation. Motivation isn’t what he does; it’s why he does it.
Is it for power? Money? Ideology? Ego? Figuring out his motivation will shape everything and tell us what he won’t compromise on, which is where he’ll make mistakes. ”
One of the screens in the conference room flickered to life as Liam displayed a spreadsheet. “I can start mapping the timing and geography. See what patterns I can find.”
“I want to cross-reference his operations against major law enforcement events,” Izzy said, tapping her stylus to her chin.
“See if he’s going dark during a nearby federal investigation, or if he’s operating as normal.
If he goes dark during certain agency investigations but not others, that might tell us where his inside person is located. ”
Dominic glanced between the two of them and then looked at me. His eyes widened slightly.
“What?” I asked.
The corner of his mouth ticked up slightly. “You have good people.”
I smiled. “They’re the best.” I sat up in my chair. “I guess that leaves victimology and methodology to the two of us.”
“I guess it does,” he said. “How do you want to get started?”
There was a knock on the glass door, and Marcus poked his head in. “Hey,” he greeted us. “Evelyn, can I borrow you and Izzy for a few minutes?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“I’ll get started while you’re gone,” Dominic said.
Liam was already typing, lost in his work, so I followed Marcus out of the conference room, Izzy at my heels.
We joined Marcus in his office, and he slid two stacks of paper across his desk at each of us.
“I’ve been doing some research,” he said, “and I wanted to share what I found about the nonprofit idea I brought up earlier.”
“About making the Archers a nonprofit?” Izzy asked, then picked up the packet and flipped through it.
“Making part of the Archers a nonprofit,” Marcus corrected. “The part where you help women and children get out of abusive situations.”
“Like a shelter?” I asked, frowning.
We did offer emergency housing to help the women get back on their feet, but we typically didn’t have long-term residents. We tried to connect them with other resources in the city or outside of it.
“Yes,” Marcus said. “You could have a public-facing part of the organization that women could go to. It would provide some legitimacy to the operations and give you a cover for operating. Plus, as a nonprofit, you can fundraise and ask for donations.”
“That would solve part of our funding problem,” Izzy murmured to me.
Right now, we self-funded or stole money from the rich assholes we took down and…repurposed it. Legal? A gray area in my opinion. I viewed it more as reparations, but the law probably wouldn’t agree.
“We could help you fundraise,” Marcus said.
“Not our money.” He raised his hand to cut me off.
“But we have clients like Donna Keesecker, who would definitely donate, and others who would support your mission. SDS could donate security services for the shelter, and this could free up the Archers for…other activities.”
I sat back in the chair as I scanned through the packet. He had put together the steps to becoming a nonprofit, board member recommendations, funding recommendations, and security concerns.
I looked at Izzy. She nodded.
“I think we should go for it. We’re busting at the seams, and this would allow us to come into the light a little bit and raise more awareness.”
“It could also make us a bigger target,” I said, but honestly, it was a good idea. It would let us help more people, and the extra money from fundraising and donations would be immensely helpful for getting the women set up in their new lives.
“It could, but that’s a risk we take anyway,” Izzy said.
I nodded. “I agree. Let’s do it.”
“Really?” Marcus’s eyes widened like he expected more of a fight.
“Really,” I confirmed. “I can file the paperwork—”
“I can take care of it,” Marcus said. “I didn’t suggest this to add more work to your plate. I can run everything by you if you want, though.”
“No, I trust you to do it,” I said.
His eyebrows shot up, and my brow furrowed. Was he surprised that I said I trusted him?
“Great,” Izzy said. “I’m going to head back to the conference room then.”
“I’ll join you in a bit.” I smiled at her.
Once she left, I got up from my chair, rounded his desk, and plopped into Marcus’s lap. His arms came around me hesitantly, like he wasn’t sure his touch would be welcome.
“Thank you for putting this together,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”
“Of course,” he said quietly. “Happy I could help.”
“Is there something wrong?” I prodded gently.