Chapter 5
Moto sat at Ben’s dining room table, a streetlamp shining through the window as rain pattered on the air conditioner.
An empty pizza box separated them, the screen of a brand-new laptop shining brightly in the dimly lit room.
Every file had been restored, every setting, as if Ben’s actual computer had been replicated in every way and now sat before them.
Moto had calmed down, his earlier anger dissipating as he went through the damning files that had gotten Ben arrested.
This was what Moto was good at, searching root directories and email headers, tracking down spoofed email addresses and hacked bits of code.
Ben was good at it, too, though not as good as his brother, Ben’s natural affinity paling in comparison to some of the best computer training in the world.
Still, it made Moto sad to think what Ben could have made of his life and hadn’t. Ben had been every bit as capable as he. But they were different men, and they’d made different choices. Ben took a beer from the refrigerator and held it out to Moto.
“No, thanks.”
Ben opened it himself and took a long pull. “Lawyer’s going to meet us at the crime scene tomorrow.”
“Good.” Moto wanted to get as much information about the murder as possible.
If it was necessary, maybe he’d even call in Trace from HERO Force to double-check the forensics.
God knows forensic evidence had freed more than one innocent man, just as he hoped the digital forensics he was soaking in could free Ben.
“So, what do you think? Am I going down for murder?”
Moto sighed, tossing his pen onto the legal pad in front of him and running his hand through his hair. “They’ve got some pretty compelling evidence.”
“But it’s all made up.”
“Says you. Proving that is going to be difficult.” There were several files that appeared to have been created before the agent was killed, showing a detailed accounting of dirty money in and clean money out, and Ben’s supposed plans to further grow the business for his money laundering client.
They could have been planted after the fact, but if that was the case, it had been done by someone with exceptional skills.
Ben had been right to call him in, but unraveling this web was going to take some time.
Time he would be spending with Davina and Wyatt. The thought made him tense up. He was a trained warrior, ever prepared to do battle, but he was powerless against the two of them. “What was it like?”
“Getting arrested?”
“Raising my kid.” He hadn’t planned on asking. For the first time in their lives, the tables were turned—Zach was jealous of Ben, and he didn’t like it one bit.
“He’s the best thing in my life.”
Zach winced. He’d asked the question, but he hadn’t expected the answer to be so painful. He’d never seen himself as a father, never planned on having kids, but now that he knew he had one, he was slowly understanding just how much he’d missed.
Ben absently fingered the label on his bottle of beer. “I saw him a couple of times a week. Babysat. Helped Davina when I could. She went back to school, you know, got her associate’s degree. Works as an ultrasound tech up at the hospital. She’s done real good for herself.”
Moto pointed with his chin. “Give me one of those after all.” Ben moved to the kitchen. “She wanted to be a doctor,” Moto called after him, remembering her dreams. “Go to medical school.”
“She’s trying, but she can only do two courses a semester with her job.”
“She’s in med school?”
Ben shook his head. “Got to finish her undergrad first.”
Guilt was a physical force pushing down on Moto, and he drank deeply. He’d been out West pursuing his dreams, reaching for the stars unencumbered, while she’d be back here struggling for what she wanted, her entire timetable turned upside down by parenting his child. “Shit.”
“Looks like you did pretty well for yourself. Navy?”
“SEALs.” He pushed the bottle of beer away from him. It tasted like bad decisions and an utter lack of control.
“I know. Degree?”
“Master’s.”
“Surprised you didn’t go right for the doctorate. Why’d you leave the SEALs?”
That was a complicated question for him to answer to himself, and one he’d been struggling with for some time. But the answer surprised him, coming quickly to his lips. “I needed more control over my own life.”
Ben laughed without humor. “You always wanted to be in charge.”
“I love my country. I thought I could serve.”
“And you let yourself down when you couldn’t. Failure comes in all different forms, little brother.”
His eyes met Ben’s. Failure wasn’t the word Zach would use, and he hated that it was appropriate.
He had failed as a Navy SEAL. He wasn’t able to put his love of country before his love of self.
He’d served with Razorback, for God’s sake—had watched the other man lose his face in the name of freedom.
And shame upon shame, he hadn’t wanted it to be him. “I do good work for HERO Force.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“But I do it on my terms.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
Moto clenched his teeth, then took another sip of his drink. Ben was goading him. He took several deep breaths, then pointed to Ben’s files on the computer screen. “Who are these people you were working with? Whoever planted this shit has top-notch computer skills.”
“Foreign investors. That’s all I know. Moved into the area a couple of years ago, started buying everything up.”
“And you were their Realtor.”
“I thought it was my lucky day. I was finally coming into my own. Business went from middle-of-the-road to booming literally overnight. My commissions were three times what they used to be, then four, then five. All the transactions were anonymous.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“Not here. Some places. Too many concerns about money laundering. I had no reason to suspect anything was out of the ordinary until that federal agent showed up, asking questions.”
Moto shook his head. “So you know that anonymous real estate transactions can be used as a cover for money laundering, but you didn’t suspect anything was wrong until the federal government knocked on your door?”
“That’s right.”
“Jesus, Ben.” Moto pushed out from the table and stood. “Who the hell do you think you’re fooling here? Is it me, or is it yourself?”
Ben sat back, his jaw set. “I looked into the company. Researched it on the internet, including their corporate officers. Everything I found made it look like they were on the up-and-up.”
“Except they weren’t. You had to know the whole damn time.
” He shook his head and gestured to the computer screen.
“This is just like you. You haven’t changed a bit.
You’re complicit. Even if you had nothing to do with that agent’s actual death, you were up to your ankles in illegal activity and chose to turn a blind eye. ”
Ben stood up. “I did not. I asked questions, wanting more details about the transactions and exactly what the properties were being used for. Then the president of the company came to see me. He told me I had potential, that I just needed to trust them on some things, and my loyalty would be rewarded.”
“So, he bribed you to shut up.”
“What do you want from me, Zach? I fucked up, okay? I trusted some guys I shouldn’t have trusted, and they fucked me over. I thought this was the chance I’d been waiting for.”
“You have to take some responsibility!”
“I thought DeRegina was the real deal. You should look him up yourself just to see—”
Zach’s head jerked back. “Who?”
“Archie DeRegina. He’s a real big shot in Germany, owns a whole conglomerate with government contracts and stuff.”
“Archie DeRegina is the president of the company you work for?”
“Yeah.”
“Ben, DeRegina is famous in crime circles. He’s a drug dealer, responsible for importing more than half the heroin that comes into the US from Afghanistan.
The government’s been trying to pin him with something for years.
” DeRegina was as big as they got, and the small potatoes in front of them didn’t make any sense.
“Why the hell would a guy like DeRegina be interested in small-time real estate deals in this neck of the woods? Even with all the property he bought, it’s only a fraction of a percent of his business, and he’s exposing himself to risk by including you in his scheme.
I need to call HERO Force.” He pulled out his phone, the digital clock on his home screen reading just after ten p.m.
“Fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair. He’d lost track of time, knee-deep in computer code. “I’m late to meet Davina. I’ll call HERO Force from the car.”
“What should I do?”
Moto closed the computer and tucked it beneath his arm. “Just hang tight. I’ll see you tomorrow morning with the lawyer.”