Chapter 17
It wasn’t often that a helicopter with government tags flew over Mount Grove, Pennsylvania, let alone landed on one of their roofs.
But when Keys had designed his building, he knew he would be catering to the elite who would be interested in a security system like his.
It had taken some doing, and a small fight with the FAA, but Keys finally got his building approved for a helipad pre-construction.
Angel’s sister, Deputy Director Lyra Mathews, had the honor of being the first one to use it.
She arrived a little after nine in the morning two days after Keys’ secrets had been revealed and the Non Cras descended on the small town.
While Oscar and Rose now had access to the VDMC clubhouse and property, not much had changed.
Several of the ol’ ladies invited Rose over, but being the introvert that she was, Rose had declined the offers, making up excuses like wanting to spend time with Poison or she was helping Keys with various projects.
While she claimed that she didn’t want Oscar to get overstimulated, Keys knew it was actually her who was overwhelmed.
Rose was not used to being the center of attention, and it wasn’t like it was every day that Keys brought home a new girl.
To them, Rose was an enigma they wanted to get to know.
Boots, or Viktor, who had been patched into the club last year, was taking all the club kids on an adventure that morning, including Oscar.
A Californian cowboy born and bred, Boots had worked it out with the club where he could develop a patch of club land into a small paddock.
After some construction and rezoning, Boots had finally gotten his horses cross country and was getting them set up in their new home today.
Not only were the kids going as a distraction, but Jasmine would also be there to do a medical assessment of them and she planned on making it as educational as possible for the children.
Several of the ol’ ladies had already asked Boots for riding lessons once he got his horses situated.
Oscar loved having cousins, and had jumped at the opportunity to see the horses. His excitement made Keys contemplate making him a sibling all the more. But that, unfortunately, was a future consideration.
Lyra was older than Angel by six years, with the same dark hair and the same sharp jaw. Unlike Angel who had several dozen tattoos on her body and dressed mostly in jeans and t-shirts, Lyra was clean cut and wore a killer gray three-piece pants suit that looked tailored.
After several failed voicemails, Angel had come to Ghost and Keys the day before with the news that she doubted her estranged sister was going to get in contact with her.
Keys wasn’t one to judge. He hadn’t spoken to his own brother in over a decade.
But he did hack into Lyra’s work computer and took control of it until she called her sister back.
Ghost and Thorne met the helicopter up on the roof while Keys, Angel, Rose, and Poison waited down in the lobby.
It was decided that less was better for this meeting, when normally Ghost would be accompanied by Lucky and Bulldog, and Poison by Scissors and Wendigo.
Not wanting too many voices in the room or for Lyra to feel ambushed, they kept the meeting as small as possible.
Lyra was accompanied by three agents, all of whom looked like they hadn’t seen the field in a long time.
Keys approached with his hand outstretched. “Deputy Director. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
While she didn’t hesitate to take his hand, her eyes were less than kind. “I am not accustomed to being summoned like a dog, Mr. Davis.”
She threw his name out like a threat, which, in a way, it was.
Keys hadn’t told her his name, leaving only the instruction for Lyra to contact Angel if she wanted control of her computer back.
But it wasn’t that big of a surprise that she learned who Keys was, given the connection to Angel.
Unlike Scar, Keys didn’t keep his identity beyond his road name a secret that his friends only learned after his supposed death.
Apparently, Keys still held some animosity about that. Oops.
“You’ll be interested in what I have to say,” Keys assured her, letting go of her hand.
“So you’ve stated, and yet I still have no idea why I am here.” It did not pass his notice that neither Angel nor Lyra had yet to acknowledge each other.
Keys ushered her towards the conference room. “Your men will need to remain in the hall. What we will be discussing is above their pay grade.”
Lyra paused, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Keys could see her assessing the situation, much like Angel did, but there was a deadliness to Angel that Lyra lacked.
She was cold, emotionless. Her weapon was her position and authority, and likely her connections to her father, a highly respected and influential senator.
Whereas Angel was a weapon. Even without her sniper skills, she was deadly enough that when a gang of outlaws tried to take her on, she kicked their asses with her hands bound.
With Bree’s help, because she would, of course, teach her paraplegic daughter to be just as ruthless.
Finally, Lyra said, “Very well. I assume you would also like me to leave behind my briefcase and any devices I have in my possession.”
“Not necessary,” Keys told her as he opened the door to the conference room. “You couldn’t record anything in here if you tried. Besides, I want you to have the full experience of what my building is capable of—for when you report back to your father.”
There was the slightest of hesitations in her confident stride.
Keys had been trying to be better at reading body language, and while he wasn’t certain, he did believe that he’d surprised her with his knowledge of her father’s request. The man hadn’t wanted Lyra to report back on his daughter, or the grandchildren and son-in-law he’d never met.
No, he wanted to know about the technology Admiral Davis’ son had created.
Prick.
They filed into the conference room. Keys took his place on the far side of the table in the middle with Rose to his left.
Both of their laptops and tablets were already waiting for them.
Angel moved to stand at the back of the room.
She’d done little but glare at her sister since her arrival.
Ghost sat on Keys’ right, which felt awkward.
But this was Keys’ building and his meeting, and per Ghost, Keys needed to get over that feeling.
Poison placed herself on the other end of the table, making it obvious that Lyra was meant to go in the middle.
As the door closed automatically behind her, Lyra took her seat across from Keys without complaint, putting her briefcase on the floor at her feet.
Immediately a projection of her briefcase appeared in the center of the table with a detailed viewing of what was inside it, including stacks of paperwork, a laptop, breath mints, a ridiculous, but accurate, number of pens, and a gun she did not disclose she had in her possession.
Her jaw ticked slightly. “The theatrics are not necessary,” Lyra observed wryly.
“Slightly necessary,” Keys argued with a shrug. “I wouldn’t want my reputation to precede me, and for you to not take seriously what it is I am about to tell you.”
Lyra’s eyes flicked quickly to Angel and then back.
Leaning forward on the table, she said bluntly, “Let’s put all our cards on the table then.
I knew this day would come eventually. You’re aware of the favor I did for Selene three years ago, and you wish for me to repeat it.
I’m sure you can make your own identities just fine, but they cannot hold up to the level I am able to get for you.
Sorry to disappoint, but it won’t be happening.
I am not so heartless that I could allow a young girl who’d been brutalized to continue on like that.
What I did was a single favor for that child.
And if you think you can exploit it for your continued gain, you are sorely mistaken. ”
Keys and Ghost exchanged a glance. While Keys did not correct Lyra’s misassumption that he was unable to create identities that would hold up to federal scrutiny, he did correct why she’d been summoned “like a dog” to Mount Grove.
“Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Talbot Corrigan of the Des Moines field office is a dirty agent. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Tyson Kennedy scandal, seeing as it was your office that signed off on his current deal to remove him from prison in exchange for the names of his clients and accomplices.
Unfortunately, it has been brought to our attention that he left a name off his list, his true partner.
He’s been providing Kennedy with access to protected witness files and locations for at least two years leading up to Kennedy’s arrest, possibly longer.
He’s also directly responsible for the murder of at least one handler and the exposure of at least one protected witness. ”
Lyra’s chin lifted ever so slightly as she realized her misstep. “That’s a significant accusation.”
“I have significant evidence.” Keys nodded to Rose.
Rose slid her tablet across the table. Lyra caught it with a single hand, her eyes flicking about the room before she picked it up.
Using her laptop to control it, Rose walked Lyra through the trace logs, the pathway fragments, the timestamps, the correlations between Corrigan’s access queries and Kennedy’s subsequent movements…
Lyra listened in silence, her eyes scanning everything as Rose spoke. If Keys thought her expression was emotionless before, it was nothing compared to the hard mask as she looked at the data before her.