Chapter 11
After coffee, Jewel insisted they swing by Kalliopi’s place so she could get the lay of the land—AKA see what kind of space there was for her to go on a decorating spree.
Kalliopi sensed before she saw that something was off.
As Kalliopi opened the door, she gazed upon a scene of chaos: it was tossed.
Her own belongings, as well as those of the condo, were tipped over and thrown around.
The violation of her property and her safety angered her more than scared her, though.
“Whoever did this better hope I don’t get my hands on them!”
“Wait here,” Stan said, motioning for both Kalliopi and Jewel to take a step back while he took his gun from its holster and clicked off the safety. Had she been armed herself, Kalliopi would have insisted on being part of the sweep, but since she wasn’t, she impatiently waited for him to return.
Within minutes, he reappeared in the doorway. “Whoever ransacked the place is gone. Why don’t you look through your things and see if they took anything?”
“My laptop’s right here, and I didn’t bring anything else of value,” she stated, before remembering that physical property wasn’t the only thing worth breaking in for.
“Crap, intelligence. They wanted info on the students. I had print-out copies of all our travel information, plus other important documentation, like the troop roster!”
“And these papers are gone?” Stan confirmed.
Kalliopi nodded her head, feeling shock creep into her veins.
“Do you want me to call it in?” Jewel asked in a steady tone.
Kalliopi glanced at her. For a young cadet who likely hadn’t been on any field assignments yet, this very well could be her first interaction with a crime scene.
But not only that, it was actually a scene connected to a large case that FUC had been on for years now.
“Why don’t we let your dad call it in?” Kalliopi suggested, hoping not to offend the girl by calling out her lack of experience. “They might ask for a lot of details that you’d end up needing to ask him for, anyway.”
“I’ll call it in,” Stan said. “Jewel, stick with Kalliopi. Shadow her to see how to walk through a crime scene. Kalliopi, do an inventory of your clothes and personal care items.”
Jewel looked quizzical at the last statement, so Kalliopi explained, “For my scent. If they decide that the next step is kidnapping me, they’ll want a starting point for tracking me.”
“Right.” Jewel’s eyes widened at the idea, but to her credit, she nodded bravely. “So, this has to be Zagan, right? It’s too much of a coincidence that—”
Kalliopi placed an index finger to her lips to break Jewel off mid-sentence. She pulled out her phone and opened the notepad, typing out a message to Jewel.
They may have bugged the place, so no discussing the case.
Jewel nodded in response and followed as Kalliopi started rummaging through the clothes on the floor to assure herself that everything was still there.
* * *
Stan stepped outside the condo and got into his car so he’d be sure no one was listening in. He dialed Richard, who picked up on the first ring.
“We’ve got a problem. Harriet’s old place has been ransacked. You know, the place where Kalliopi is staying.”
“Is she hurt?”
“No. Luckily, she wasn’t here when the place was broken into. Not sure when that might have been, though.”
“I’d assume sometime after she left it this morning,” Richard prompted.
“No.” Stan shook his head. He hadn’t exactly wanted to advertise his dating life, but it was now information important to the case. “She’s spent the last few nights at my place.”
He thought about playing it off as insisting she stay with him for protection, worrying about her ever since Ash told them about Zagan, but why worry about keeping things secret?
They had bigger things to worry about. “We all know it’s gotta be Zagan or someone working for Zagan.
They took some printouts she had with info on the cadets, so it’s unclear if they’re after her or targeting the cadets next.
I’m uncertain whether he stole information from her laptop, though. Can we get tech on that to be certain?”
“Of course. Is there anything else missing?”
“I’m not sure yet. She’s going through her clothes to see if they took anything for trackers. Let’s get a few FUCs over to the dorms to watch over the cadets for now. Cancel all their campus activities for the time being. I don’t want anyone abducted on our watch.”
“Done.” Stan heard the keyboard clacking, indicating Richard was firing off instructions to others as they spoke. “Now, do you want someone else to collect the Milos team from the airport so you and Kalliopi can focus on the condo inspection?”
“Yeah, I’d guess Kalliopi probably doesn’t want to leave the cadets for too long.”
Stan hung up the phone with Richard just as Jewel and Kalliopi were stepping out of the condo. Kalliopi had bags with her, clearly clearing out of the place.
“Everything I packed is clean of devices,” Kalliopi said after Stan helped her load her bags into the trunk and the three of them were back inside the car.
“I had my transmission detector, which I used on the bags and everything I put inside. It’s not strong enough to sweep the whole place, but it can at least double-check that I’m not packing something I shouldn’t into the car with us. ”
“Good thinking,” Stan replied. He took a look in the rearview mirror at Jewel. It was a little odd to have her with him at a crime scene, but she seemed to be holding it together well as she sat back and observed. It was a sign of a good cadet. “Did you find anything missing?”
“A sweater,” Kalliopi confirmed. “I left my laptop in there for the techs to fully look at, but I did manage to take a little look at it. There was one file downloaded today, with the cadets’ personal info.”
“We should put a firewall up on campus computers and the cadets’ cells,” Jewel piped up from the backseat. “Then we can track anyone who tries to access them.”
“Good idea. Go ahead and fire off an email to Richard with the suggestion.” Stan used Jewel’s distracted moment to take Kalliopi’s hand.
“It’s going to be okay. Richard is filled in, and they’re mobilizing the team.
The cadets’ security will be increased, and a team will be here momentarily to do a deep investigation. ”
* * *
The tech squad found three listening devices. One was in the kitchen, another in the main bedroom, and they placed the last one over the webcam of Kalliopi’s laptop to listen to keystrokes for passwords.
“I’m glad we found the one on the computer before I started typing anything. Of course, Zagan is unaware that he’d need my fingerprint to get into many of the programs. Wait—” Kalliopi’s eyes widened. “He may have lifted that off the laptop!”
“Don’t worry, ma’am. I’ve encrypted login codes for the time being, and once we get back to WANC, I’ll place a COC for retina scans for your passwords instead of the regular thumbprint. The scans are impossible for a novice to hack,” said Jet, one of the senior tech squad agents.
“That’s comforting. But if you need anything from MILF, let me know and I’ll get one of my soldiers on the phone.”
Jet’s eyes lit up. “Your tech support is legendary! I will ask if I need anything.”
“Okay, Jet. Sounds good,” Kalliopi said before turning her gaze to Stan.
“Since they don’t need me here anymore, I’d like to get back to campus and check on the cadets.
” Jewel had already gone back with some of the agents who’d helped sweep the place.
She had classes but had also promised to check on the cadets and report back to them.
Even so, Kalliopi wanted to see them in person.
She might have only met them recently, but as the only Milos adult accompanying them, she felt a duty to them.
“Let’s head out now.”
“Perfect.”
Once she was back in Stan’s car, she texted Echo, a stork-bat corporal MILF and now a cadet.
Round up all the cadets for a headcount in both dorms ASAP.
Within seconds, a reply appeared.
Ma’am, yes, ma’am.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips. She hadn’t realized how worried she’d been about the cadets, as she’d allowed the condo investigation to take up all of her attention. Stan glanced her way. She looked up from her phone and patted his thigh.
“I’ve gotten a hold of Echo. She’s responded to my text, thank goodness.”
“Good, it sounds like they are safe.”
“Well, we won’t know that until I see them all for myself, but seeing her response makes me feel better.”
Stan placed a hand over hers on his thigh and brought her hand to his lips. After he kissed each knuckle, he placed her hand back on his thigh, this time higher.
“I’m glad you are feeling better.”
“Yeah.” Kalliopi nodded as she took in a breath and let it out before continuing. “You seem to keep me calm.” She gave his thigh a squeeze before returning her gaze to her phone. “Shit, and I don’t mean The Talks!”
Stan visibly stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
“Echo did a preliminary headcount, and Fedor, one of the male cadets, is missing!”
Stan placed his palm over Kalliopi’s again. “We are unsure if he’s officially missing yet. He may not have received the text from Echo. Or he could be in the showers. We will find him, Kallie. I promise you that.”
“And what if Zagan took him? I can’t have this happen, not again!”
Stan visibly stiffened again. “If this is about what happened when SHIT went down—”
Kalliopi silenced him with a raised palm. Tears began to well in her eyes, but she’d be damned if she let the floodgates open. Not today! They were facing an enemy, and she refused to let Zagan get the best of her.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been around the takedown of a cell. I wasn’t a MILF back then. I lost my sister, Karyme, when the lab was infiltrated. They saved me but didn’t get to her in time. Her death made me want to become a MILF to put a stop to these pop-up labs.”