Chapter 17 #2
When Rose finished speaking, Lyra lowered the tablet to the table and sat back in her chair. She laced her fingers before her on the table, eyes scrutinizing the tablet that had gone blank as she processed everything she’d just been told.
“The evidence is compelling,” she finally said. Looking up at Keys, she warned, “It was also obtained through means that would be inadmissible in any federal proceeding.”
“We’re quite aware,” Keys told her with a nod of his head. He felt Rose’s ankle link around his under the table. “Which is why I’m not handing it over to our lawyer or a prosecutor. I’m handing it to you.”
Lyra tipped her head slightly. “To what end?”
He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. “Do with it what you will. Despite your differences, Angel believes you are a voice for justice and that you will not exploit this information for your own gain, instead defending and protecting the victims of Corrigan’s deceit.
How you build a case from it, what official channels you run it through, how you make it look like your people found it… That’s all on you now.”
Lyra quietly inspected him for a heartbeat. “You’re giving me a roadmap,” she surmised.
“I’m giving you an opportunity,” he clarified. “One that I believe will benefit us both.”
Lyra’s eyes fell back to the tablet, even though no information showed on it anymore.
“And what is it you are asking for in exchange? I’m aware of how you work, Mr. Davis.
” Her eyes went to Poison and Ghost as well.
“Why would you give this to me instead of simply taking Corrigan out of play your way?” she emphasized evasively.
Though Poison made a noise down at her end of the table, Keys ignored it. He was very aware that this was not the bloody end of Corrigan that Poison desired after his involvement with Kennedy.
“You had a right to know what became of your agent,” Keys explained to Lyra.
“His death was unforeseen by me, and I wish to make that right. And while you are correct that there are deadlier methods others at this table might prefer, this is how I am choosing to rectify my mistake. Bring Corrigan to justice, and allow your agent to rest in peace.”
Lyra tapped her fingers on the table quickly, the first outward sign of emotion this entire meeting.
“I have one condition.” At Keys’ raised eyebrow, she continued, “There’s a man in WITSEC whose name, location, and protection details will be provided to you before we leave this room.
In exchange for Corrigan, I want him…removed, by any means necessary. ”
Angel shifted against the back wall as her eyes narrowed on her older sister. “What are you up to, Lyra?” she growled.
Lyra ignored her, only raising her chin higher in defiance as she stared Keys down.
Keys’ fingers were already moving over his keyboard, and a moment later, the image of a man in his mid-thirties with a beer belly appeared on the same projection in the center of the table that the contents of Lyra’s briefcase had.
If Lyra was surprised Keys found the information so quickly, she did not show it.
“Gerald Webber,” she told the group. “As I am sure Mr. Davis is discovering now, the man’s a pedophile and a child murderer.
” The disgust on her face could not be faked.
“When Webber realized he was losing his case, he turned state’s evidence to avoid going to prison where people convicted of his crimes don’t generally last the night.
The unfortunate part of my job is that I not only protect the innocent, but also the criminals. ”
“Witness protection exists for a reason,” Rose stated defensively. Keys knew it had nothing to do with coming to Gerald Webber’s defense and everything to do with her having once been one of those criminals.
“So does justice,” Lyra argued pointedly.
“I tried to argue against it, but it was out of my hands. And when I suggested castration, the case was removed from my care and handed over to someone less likely to stab the man on sight. I learned later that he’s been offered counseling while in protection.
Counseling, like he’s the one who needs healing instead of having his dick chopped off. ”
Keys’ fingers paused on his keyboard as he realized his assessment of Lyra had been wrong. She wasn’t cold and unfeeling. She just masked so completely that it took something extreme to break through.
Realizing the others were looking at him, he confirmed, “Everything she said is true.”
“It needs to look like an accident. Nothing can lead back to me.” Lyra’s eyes traveled to Angel on the back wall. “Or Selene.”
“As much as removing a pedophile’s dick would make my day,” Poison stated, leaning forward, “I have a hard time believing you would allow a man like Corrigan to continue to roam freely in your agency, regardless of whether we ‘remove’ this fucker or not.”
Lyra’s jaw tightened as she turned her attention down the table to Poison.
“You’re right. Corrigan will be handled either way, but I have a hard time believing the same for you in regard to Webber.
You have two hackers at this very table who could find him in a matter of days with or without my intel.
So the way I see it, both of our…dilemmas get solved without anyone’s identity at this table being revealed. ”
While she did not look at Rose, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that it was Rose she was speaking of. Under the table, Rose’s leg stiffened against Keys’. He quickly lowered his hand to her thigh, squeezing.
Poison’s eyes narrowed. “You’re asking us to make Webber disappear, which means you know damn well we have the willingness and ability to do so.
And yet you sit there in your uptight pants suit threatening to expose my sister?
Not very smart on your part, Deputy Director.
” Poison said Lyra’s title like a mocking joke.
“Or extremely smart, Ms. Benson,” Lyra countered.
“Of everyone here at this table, I am the one with the most to lose. I came prepared because I thought this meeting was about something very different, but I am not so foolish as to not seize an opportunity such as this. My knowledge of who is or is not at this table ensures that you will not go above my head if you are not satisfied with Corrigan’s outcome. ”
The two women stared at each other for several long moments before Rose said, “Your discretion is appreciated. By all of us,” she added more pointedly at Poison than Lyra.
Lyra turned her attention across the table. “As is yours.” She reached for her briefcase, flicking it open with her thumbs. “I will need everything you have on Corrigan, and a safe pathway for me to send you everything I have on Webber.”
* * *
It was late afternoon as the Non Cras set out.
Unlike the VDMC who kept their partners out of club business, the NCMC Knightmares knew everything.
With a nomadic club, that seemed appropriate.
Still, not everyone within the club were fighters, and since Poison made it very clear that they would be returning to Mount Grove after handling Webber, Sissy remained behind to spend some more time with her family.
Scotty was thrilled by this, and made himself into a Scotty backpack that he forced his big sister to carry around. It was a good thing Sissy had been working out since joining her wife on the road.
Oscar was exhausted from his day in the sun with his new cousins and could barely keep his eyes open during dinner.
It became an early evening for all of them, with Keys and Rose taking advantage of the safe sex kit Keys had stashed in their bedroom.
At this point, there really was no point continuing to classify it as her bedroom.
Keys would be moving his things out of the clubhouse sometime in the near future—or whenever he got tired of wearing the same clothing over and over again.
The downfall of going to bed so early was that Keys was awake at three in the morning.
Not wanting to disturb Rose, Keys made his way down to the computer lab in a pair of sweats.
The Non Cras had a multi-day ride ahead of them, and had stopped for the night at a motel.
While Keys didn’t think they would go hunting for trouble, it had a way of finding Poison regardless of where she was or who was with her.
After two energy drinks and a pack of jelly beans, Keys was ready for a bathroom break when a slight anomaly caught his ear.
He paused, turning back to face his lab.
Behind his numerous monitors were several black tower workstations built by Keys himself with the best components available including multiple processors, maximum RAM, and high-end graphics cards for processing power.
Each one was tall and imposing with ports and blinking green, amber, red, and blue lights.
Cable management was essential, leading several color-coded routed cables to the workstations as well as smaller NAS (Network Attached Storage) units and a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) system that kept everything running if power was cut.
Overall, the aesthetic of the room was calming.
The space was climate controlled with the continuous hum of the cooling fans, like never-ending white noise.
And despite the stillness of the room, Keys’ hackles started to rise.
While he could argue that it was four forty-seven in the morning, he also knew his system.
He’d built it literally from the ground up, and he knew every sound, tick, and nuance, no matter how minute.
So what had stopped him?
Picking up a tablet that was placed on the shelf next to the door where he was standing, Keys did a quick scan of his system. Just as he was about to call it sleep-deprivation mixed with paranoia brought on by a sugar high, he heard it again.