29. Asher
ASHER
“Fourth door on your left,” Sterling says in my earpiece.
Declan and I didn’t want to alert anyone to our presence, so we entered Greenspan through a back door on the ground level.
Sterling has the schematics of the building, and he’s watching the cameras, tracking the asshole we’re after.
He’s been able to lead us through the building without anyone seeing us.
It’s a new thing for me to creep through one of my companies like a criminal, but I’m not here for a walk-through inspection.
Declan and I are here for answers, and we’re not leaving until we have them
“Code is four two three six nine.”
I punch in the code and open the door, revealing a dimly lit metal stairwell.
“Wait,” Sterling says. “Cameras down in three, two, and . . . go.”
Declan and I enter the stairwell and climb as silently as possible up three flights.
“On your left. This door requires a badge. Hang on while I override it.”
A minute later, the light on the pad next to the door changes from red to green, and we enter a filing room lined floor to ceiling with shelves of locked cabinets.
“The door to the research room he works in is on the other side of the room. He’s in there alone, so move quickly.”
The badge entry system panel again lights up green right as Declan and I reach it. I open the door and walk into a lab with metal tables, computers, and research equipment spread throughout. One man, Andrei Gusev, stands at a table, typing away on his computer.
“Hello, Andrei,” I say in a bright voice.
He startles and looks at me, his mouth agape.
“Mr. Langford . . .” he nods to Declan, “Mr. Langford.” His throat bobs as he swallows hard. “This is unexpected. H-how can I help you?”
“We have some questions, and we heard you were just the man to answer them. Let’s go.”
Declan grabs him by his bicep and leads him back through the filing room, down the stairwell, and into a small, very private, very soundproof room typically used for risky types of experiments.
As soon as we’re in the room, the lock clicks, seemingly of its own accord, locking us inside with no way out. Thank you, Sterling.
“Wh-what can I help you with?” Andrei stutters.
“We know,” I say, cutting straight to the point. “We know TDC Oil is sabotaging Greenspan, and we know you’re helping them.”
He winces, and then his face fights to morph itself into an anything-but-believable look of surprise. “That’s preposterous. Wh-what makes you say that?”
“Cut the bullshit,” Declan growls. “We know what TDC’s done; you know what they’ve done. What we want to know is what TDC’s next plan is or any other useful information you can give us. How useful you are will determine what state you are in when you leave this room.”
Andrei’s jaw ticks, and his eyes shift rapidly.
“I . . . don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Okay,” I say, resigned. I reach into my suit and pull out my handgun, then pull the suppressor out of my pocket and screw it onto the end.
“W-wait,” Andrei says. “I can tell you some things, but I don’t know everything.”
“Is it Sergei or Yegor who ordered the hits on Greenspan?”
“I . . . I don’t know. I get my orders from a guy named Ivan.”
Declan steps forward and gut punches Andrei. Andrei hunches forward and falls to his knees. He’s not Russian muscle. He’s a Russian scientist, and he’s clearly not used to this side of the violent acts he helps to perpetrate.
“Try again.”
“Ivan works for Sergei.”
“Good. And what is TDC’s next move?”
“They want Greenspan destroyed.”
“We know that part,” Declan says, lifting Andrei back to his feet.
“They want to undercut the power of Langford Holdings.”
“That’s also not a stretch to figure out. How do they plan to do that?”
“I don’t know!”
“What do you know?”
“I know the hacker they used is called the Ghost.”
Sterling hisses in my ear. “Fuck. I’ve heard of him. He’s a goddamn legend. No wonder all their tracks have been well covered. He’s a mercenary hacker and doesn’t really care what the job is. He just works for the highest bidder.”
“What else?” I demand.
“Yegor is putting pressure on Sergei. This was supposed to be done years ago. The research is getting closer, and Yegor wants it shut down before it gets any further.”
“Who ordered the questioning of my grandfather?”
Andrei’s mouth pops open again, but nothing comes out. “I-I don’t know anything about your grandfather. He died before my time here.”
“Surely you’ve heard something.”
“No. Nothing. I-I had no idea there was a connection.”
I can’t tell if the terror on his face is genuine because he doesn’t know or if he’s trying to hide what he knows.
“For the last fucking time, what is TDC’s next plan?” Declan growls.
“Th-they want the company, and they’ll do anything to get it. Your board is eager to give it to them. I-I don’t know what they’ll do to get it, but they have something planned. I don’t what, though!”
Declan twists and punches Andrei straight on the nose. Andrei crumples to the floor.
“Try again,” Declan says, standing over him.
“The sabotage isn’t working,” Andrei says through a nasally, wet tone, clutching his bleeding nose.
“They’re trying for a different tactic. They’re planning to hit Asher personally, where it hurts.
They can’t get control of Greenspan without going after Asher’s power.
” He looks up at me. “You hold too much power, and they want to take it for themselves. That’s all I know. ”
“So, you were nothing more than a mindless minion willing to hurt innocent people. Good to know.”
“Please,” he pleads.
Declan and I cross the room to put some distance between us, then I raise my pistol and aim it at his head.
“Akio Kobayashi is going to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair because of you.”
“I didn’t want to hurt Akio. I had to; those were my orders!”
I let out a derisive laugh. “You knew what you were signing up for when you were hired by TDC.”
“Please!” he whimpers this time. “You told me that how much information I gave you would determine how I leave the room. I told you all I know!”
“Like you, I lied.”
I shoot him between the eyes.
Robert and Wilkins enter the room a minute later.
“You three take care of the body and make sure everything is cleaned up,” I order the guards and Declan. I’m headed back to the office.”
I turn to leave, but Sterling yells in my earpiece. “Asher! Wait! Something happened to Ella.”
I freeze. “What?”
“The panic button in the security room at Langford Holdings went off a minute ago. I just pulled up the cameras. Ella is in the room, but she’s lying on the floor, unconscious. So is another woman. Emergency services are on their way.”
“Fuck!”
“Do you need help?” Declan asks, hearing Sterling’s words through his own feed.
“No. Take care of this.”
Fear like I haven’t felt since the night Ella was threatened by Kyle hits me in my core, and I race out the way we came in, desperate to get to her.