Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Lexi
Crazy tired and bewildered by an animal that actually liked me, I did the only sensible thing I could think of in the moment: I called Slash and put him on speaker.
“Cara?” His voice cut through a background hum of voices, clinking bottles, and music. “It’s after midnight. Are you okay?”
“Not exactly,” I said. “We’re in a situation.”
“Define ‘situation,’” he said, suddenly alert.
There was no easy way to summarize, so I briefly told him everything about our initial encounter with Ginger and that she came from a lab and could seemingly communicate with us.
I glossed over that part a bit, because it still seemed a bit crazy and I needed to process it further.
I explained the advanced GPS technology and how I blocked it and about the mysterious man trying to get into our penthouse to take the dog.
I finished off with the encounter at the emergency vet and the guys trying to take the dog back.
“We don’t want to go back to the hotel,” I finished. “They know where we’re staying.”
“Agreed,” Slash said. “Where are you now?”
“In Gray’s car behind a McDonald’s,” I said. “We’re eating fries, drinking coffee, and wondering how we suddenly became the Scooby-Doo gang.”
“If we’re the Scooby-Doo gang, I’m Daphne,” Basia called out. “I love, love her outfits. I bet we can all guess who Lexi is.”
I rolled my eyes as Slash spoke again. “What was the name of the lab, cara?”
“Tango Bio Research Solutions,” I said. “We did a cursory Google search on the phone, but there is very little online transparency.”
“Not a problem,” Slash said. “Hold on a sec.” I heard him call out. “Hey, guys. Stop right there. Just because I’m on the phone doesn’t mean I’m not calling that bet. However, we need to stop for a few minutes since the ladies have a problem.”
The noise in the background immediately stalled and Slash came back on the phone. “Lexi? You guys stay where you are. Give me a few minutes to update the guys and do a little digging of our own. I’ll call back in a few, okay?”
I agreed and Slash hung up, although I suspect he let me deliberately listen in so I could hear how much fun they were having.
I put my cell in the cup holder on the car door. “We interrupted their man party,” I said, stating the obvious.
Basia shook a box of fries at me from the front seat. “I hope Xavier is not drunk.”
“Xavier never gets drunk,” Gwen said. She held a small pup cup full of whipped cream, which Ginger was delicately licking clean. “Elvis doesn’t, either, except for the time he proposed to me. I still think that was weird.”
I cringed, remembering how I’d hidden in the shower while Elvis proposed to Gwen in the bathroom where I’d been trying to sober him up.
In fact, I could picture them all—Slash, Elvis, Xavier, Hands, Finn, Beau, and Rock—sitting at my dining room table surrounded by beer, chips, chocolate cake, and other snacks that probably violated food safety laws. They’d be having a blast.
“I bet they were neck-deep in a poker hand, probably nearing the end of some marathon session when I called,” I mused.
“Someone, probably Hands and Slash, was preparing for the face-off for the grand poker finale. I only named those two as finalists because Xavier and Elvis have terrible poker faces and Finn and my brothers suck at card games in general. They’re only there for the food, alcohol, and male bonding, if you believe in such a thing.
However, since my call, I think they will have abandoned the finale, at least for the time being.
My guess is Slash, Elvis, and Xavier are currently in our office, laser-focused and digging through databases on the lab.
Beau is checking police reports, and Rock is combing news archives for anything weird about them. ”
The car was silent and then Gwen snorted. “Not too bad, Lexi. I can see that. It sounds about right.”
Gray looked at me over her shoulder from the driver’s seat. “Okay, Sherlock, what are Hands and Finn doing?”
“Operational planning,” I said automatically. “In case it’s needed.”
“Yeah,” Gray decided and then sighed. “That’s exactly what they’re doing.”
A smile crossed my face. I didn’t say it out loud, but there was something comforting in knowing my friends well enough to predict their chaos patterns. Unfortunately, it was the uncontrolled variables of human behavior that always seemed to throw a wrench into my life.
Slash called back forty minutes later, and I put him on speaker. “You still behind the McDonald’s?”
“Yes,” I said. “Safe, sound, and smelling like fries.”
“Good. We found some information.”
“Great,” I said. “But before you say anything more, you don’t need to come up here. So tell Hands and Finn to stop packing the cars.”
There was a surprised pause. “Excuse me?”
“We’re fine, Slash,” I said. “We’re in no immediate danger.
We have the dog. We’ll turn her over to a shelter tomorrow, but we just want to dig a little more into this lab before we hand her over.
We need to make sure Ginger is safe and the lab is not engaging in harmful or unlawful activities, which is what we suspect.
We don’t need rescuing and it’s not that big of a deal.
We just require a place to sleep tonight that isn’t the hotel and whatever useful intel you may have found. ”
“First, who’s Ginger?” Slash asked.
“The dog,” I said. “Ginger, the dog.”
“You…named the stray?” he asked slowly.
“Yes. Of course we named her. We couldn’t just keep calling her ‘the dog.’”
There was a long silence. “Slash, are you still there?” I asked.
He finally responded, “I’m here. I’m just processing the favorable tone you’re using while talking about an animal. Hopefully you’re not under the influence of alcohol. Or perhaps this is just an elaborate ruse to convince me and the other guys that you girls are having more fun?”
“I’m drinking McDonald’s coffee,” I protested. “That’s hardly under the influence, unless you’re worried about the caffeine keeping me awake all night so that I can maximize my fun. And technically, hanging with a dog isn’t exactly what I’d consider fun.”
“Fine, then let’s get back to the real topic,” he said, his voice brisk. “Clarify this for me. Someone threatened my wife and her friends at her hotel room and in a dark alley, and you’re saying you don’t want backup? You want us to stay here…and have fun?”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.
Two of the guys were really small, Slash.
They didn’t have guns or guts. Basia stepped hard on one guy’s foot, and he howled like a baby.
Another one looked like he was about to cry.
And the third one was really skinny and shook so hard when we confronted him, I thought he might pass out.
Honestly, I’m pretty sure the four of us could have taken them easily, and that includes a seven-month-pregnant woman.
My guess is they’re scientists from the lab, and not enforcer types.
Except for the bald guy. But even he seemed a bit out of his depth.
Maybe he’s a manager or something. All bluster and no real capability. ”
“That describes pretty much every lab manager I’ve ever had,” Gwen confirmed.
“Seriously, take it from the pregnant woman,” Basia called out. “The guy party can continue. We’re completely fine.”
Slash didn’t say anything.
“Slash, come on. You know we’re capable,” Gray said after a minute. “We’d tell you if we needed you. We can handle keeping one dog and ourselves alive until the morning. Lexi is right. These guys didn’t pose a real threat.”
I could practically feel his disapproval radiating through the phone. But Slash was nothing if not respectful of our choices…even when he disliked them.
“Fine,” he said at last. “But only because Hands has an idea.”
“Oh?” I asked. “We’re all ears.”
“He has a colleague who has a beach house in Atlantic City. It’s empty for the season, but secure. There’s electricity, water, and a keypad lock. I’m texting you the address and the code. You can stay there tonight, and after you return the dog, we can resume this discussion. Deal?”
I looked around the car, and everyone shrugged, so I replied, “Deal.” Just then my phone dinged with the text. I read the address aloud while Gray plugged it into the GPS.
“What did you find on the lab?” I asked.
Slash exhaled. “Enough to not like any of it. I had to use nonpublic sources to get most of the information. It’s not classified, but it remains sensitive.
Officially, Tango Bio Research Solutions started at the height of the Cold War as a DoD-sanctioned animal research lab.
Originally, the lab evaluated the effect of various chemical and biological weapons on pigs and primates to project the results to humans.
They also ran a chemical weapons testing lab in Utah and had the biological research facility in New Jersey. ”
“Gross. They purposefully exposed animals to chemicals and biological weapons?” Gwen interrupted him.
“They did,” Slash replied. “Anyway, when the government terminated those testing programs in the early ’70s, Tango transitioned to other federal contracts, developing drugs to help soldiers recover from nerve gas exposure.
They spent a lot of money but were never very successful.
But underneath that, they continued to have a separate company and program for the CIA where they tried making animals into spies.
The operation was called—and I’m sorry to have to say it, because it’s bad—For the Birds. ”
“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.
“I wish. Anyway, this questionable CIA research project, with an ever more questionable operation name, went on for decades.”
“Wait,” Basia interrupted. “You’re telling me the CIA was training animals to be spies?”
“Birds, cats, dogs, pigeons, fish, insects, and some robotic prototypes,” Slash replied. “Most of the projects failed, and the CIA shut the whole thing down in the late ’70s.”
“But Tango Bio survived?” I asked.
“Sort of. The CIA operation was located in the Arizona desert. The government stripped out everything and sold the facility. But apparently, in the mid-1990s, some researchers who were doing the original work for the CIA bought the facility and resurrected the research there under the name Vision Zone Technology. Again, their research efforts never amounted to much, and in 2006, the state and federal governments shut down a subsection of Vision Zone for illegal and unethical animal testing. An employee outed them by leaking their activities to a young investigative reporter whose story broke their operation wide-open.”
“Let me guess,” Gray said. “The part where they were still trying to make animals into good spies.”
“Yes, that was part of it,” Slash confirmed.
“They were apparently testing extreme behavior modification techniques as well as electronic implants. Anyway, about ten years ago, Tango Bio Research Solutions, which was still hanging around, bought back what was left of Vision Zone Technology. Though they aren’t a government contractor anymore, Tango allegedly does mostly cutting-edge medical technology research and development.
So, they folded Vison Zone’s biomedical mission, assets, and personnel into their own at their facility in New Jersey. ”
I sighed. “I see where you’re going with this, Slash. Long story short, you think Ginger might be a Cold War sequel.”
“Maybe. Just keep her close for now,” he said.
“And stay quiet. We’ll stand by for any additional information requests.
Just text us when you get to the house and are safely inside.
And if anything starts to go down, call the police.
If we need to, we can get at the lab in other ways, you know that.
So, promise me you’ll be smart about this. ”
“I’m always smart about these things,” I said.
He paused for a moment. “Are you still having fun?”
I looked down at Ginger, who had somehow managed to wedge her head onto my lap and was gazing up at me like I personally controlled the supply chain for treats. I absently scratched behind her ears.
“Sure,” I said. “I’m sitting in the back seat of Gray’s car with a stray who thinks I’m her emotional support human, heading to a beach house without my bathing suit in November. I’m having so much fun.”
“That sounded dangerously close to sarcasm.”
“Close. But, before you ask, the bet is still on, and the girls are in on it.”
That got his attention. “Ah, I see. So, the girls are playing now?”
“Very much so,” I said. “How’s the guys’ weekend going? Are you actually winning any real money or are you relying on your suave Italian charm and good looks again?”
He chuckled. “Ouch. That hurt. If you must know, cara, I’m doing fine. Being wildly lucky, fortunately.”
From somewhere in the background, my brother Rock’s voice floated through the line. “He hasn’t lost a hand all night, and he keeps reminding us of it like a public service announcement.”
“That’s only because I haven’t had any bad hands yet,” Slash protested, but I could hear the humor in his voice.
“Tell that to my bank account,” Elvis shot back. “I need a big payout to cover all of Gwen’s wedding ideas.”
Gwen leaned toward my phone. “For the record, Elvis, those ideas are called memories. And you’d better fold and save our money. I have a lot more memories in mind.”
There was some laughter from the guys’ side, and I smiled despite myself. “Look, it’s okay to have fun. We’re not denying you that. Just don’t try and top ours. It won’t work out in your favor.”
Whistling, protests, and trash talking ensued from the guys. “I take it you informed the guys about the bet, too,” I said to Slash over the ruckus.
“Of course,” he said smoothly. “Like you, I insisted on full transparency.” He paused for a moment. “But in all seriousness, you guys be careful. Okay? And call when you get to the beach house. Ti amo.”
“We will, and I love you, too, Slash.”
I hung up and exhaled a deep breath. The exchange had provided us a few moments of levity, but we still had to protect Ginger. The car fell silent except for the hum of the engine and Ginger’s soft breathing.
“Okay,” Gray said finally, shifting into drive. “Mission accepted on all fronts. But first, let’s go find that beach house.”