CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Marilyn removed the hard drive to her computer and tossed the rest of it out the window on the side of the interstate. If she could salvage the hard drive and what was on it, she’d be able to start again.
If not, she’d recreate it all.
Turning on the radio, she turned to the all-news station, listening for updates on the arrest of her father. He would be held in federal protection, probably without bail at this point.
Knowing that she needed to stay under the speed limit, she drove carefully and casually back towards D.C. One thing Cain had been right about, was the tenacity and skill of the Legacy team. Whoever was handling their tech truly understood their world.
Connecting to a laptop virtually, that you had no business or personal connection to, wasn’t child’s play.
It was difficult and required extreme skill.
For that alone she would respect them. But respect didn’t matter at this point.
She needed to keep them away just long enough for her to do what needed to be done.
She made several phones calls, hoping that people wouldn’t think she was crazy.
On her second laptop, she downloaded the zip files of communication she’d kept over the years from Cain.
They would see everything. As she pulled into the parking spot across from the federal building, she hit send. And waited.
After parking in the underground garage, the team made their way to the floor where Cain’s hearing was being held. Ben and Kiel spoke with the Marshalls, trying to convince them to take him out a different way, but they wouldn’t listen.
“They don’t give a shit, brother. They could care less if this guy dies. Either that, or they think his daughter isn’t capable of killing him,” said Ben.
“Either way, let’s watch and follow them out,” said Tanner.
Cain pled not-guilty as they expected, in spite of the mounds of evidence the courts cited. For fear of running, he was held without bail for the time being. When the courts notified him that his wife was found dead earlier that morning, he said nothing, just staring straight ahead.
“Counselor? Is your client stable enough to stand trial?” asked the judge.
“We’ll be having a psychiatric evaluation, sir. I’m not certain yet.”
The Marshalls turned him toward the door, leading him down the long hallway and then down the massive staircase. So far, no one was out of place but a slew of reporters were standing outside.
“This could get crazy,” said Ben.
“It’s about to,” nodded Hiro.
“Senator! Senator!” came the cries from the reporters.
“My client will not answer questions at this time,” said the attorney.
“Senator? Were you aware that your illegitimate daughter, Marilyn Sanders, formerly an employee of the government, released hundreds of documents today that were sent between the two of you?”
Cain looked up for the first time, staring at the reporter.
“Were you aware, senator?” asked another reporter.
“The allegations in this document are serious, sir, including murdering her mother.” Came the cry of another.
Then the unthinkable. The unimaginable. Marilyn stepped from the crowd, Ben and Kiel ready to pounce. But she just stared at him, then turned to face the reporters.
“I am Marilyn Sanders, illegitimate daughter of Cain Hampton. One of many. He has manipulated, bribed, bullied, and threatened me for years. And, he and his wife killed my mother.”
That was all she said. She was done. Cain fell to the steps, his face pale, his body cold. Dead from a massive coronary as Marilyn walked away.
“Not so fast,” said Ben gripping her arm. She turned and looked at him, nodding.
“It’s fine. I’m ready now.”
It would be weeks of testimony, investigation and hearings for Marilyn. In the end, she was charged with the murder of the young soldier, conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, and about forty more charges. She didn’t kill herself and didn’t deny anything she’d done.
After her sentencing, AJ asked to speak with her at the jail.
“Why did you want to see me? You already proved that you were better than me,” she said with a smirk. “Much better.”
“I know that,” he said calmly. “That young sergeant wanted to meet with me about something important to me. Something very important and now I’ll never know what he had to tell me.” Her face fell and she shook her head.
“It was an accident. I didn’t mean to shoot him. I thought he was sent by Cain to kill me. It doesn’t make it any better but it wasn’t intentional.”
AJ thought about his options then stared at the woman.
“Did he have anything on him? Anything he was trying to give to someone?” he asked.
“No. But ask the other soldier. He rushed into the alley as I was leaving.”
“Other soldier? There was no else on the cameras,” said AJ.
“He came from the other end of the alley. I thought he was going to chase me but he just stopped at the body and I ran. Maybe he took something from him.” The guard opened the door and gripped her arm, taking her back to her cell.
“I really am sorry,” she said staring at him.
“I know. And thank you for giving me that piece of information. It will be very insightful I’m sure.”