Chapter 2
Taylor rubbed the grit from her eyes. She had been working through the files on the smashed computer all night.
There would be no rest until they knew if anything was stolen from the computer.
According to Senator Schulz, nothing else in the room was missing.
It took some convincing, but the Senator agreed to move to a different hotel until they could confirm if anything was missing from the device.
The man did not take lightly to being told what to do.
When Davin finally got on a video call, Senator Schulz reluctantly took his things to a safe location.
Taylor blew a stray hair out of her face. The blonde color was growing on her, but this style was driving her crazy. She pushed away from the desk and stretched her arms above her head. "I need to get some caffeine."
"I'll come with you. My eyes need a break from combing through security footage.
" To his credit, Paul didn't sleep last night either.
Even though they didn't know if anything was taken, he was determined to make sure whomever did this would be caught.
He was a good agent. And friend. Someone she could trust.
The smells of coffee filled her senses as soon as she walked into the lobby of the hotel. The line wasn't long yet. Most people on vacation weren't up at this hour in the morning.
Taylor and Paul ordered their drinks. Taylor looked at Paul, wondering whether to ask him to track McNite's movements last night.
"You should just ask me whatever has you all flustered."
Taylor sighed. "The man that followed me into the hall last night right before the lights went out, could you track his movements?"
Paul picked up their order and nodded to a small table in the corner. "Are you going to tell me why you want me to find him? The comms cut out as he approached you and I couldn't hear your conversation. That's why I was yelling your name."
Taylor took a sip of her double macchiato. This was exactly what she needed to lift the brain fog. "The man said his name was Ryan McNite, but I'm not sure."
"You think he was lying? Do you think he had something to do with what happened?"
Should Taylor tell Paul everything McNite told her last night? She had been turning it over and over in her head, and she still wasn't sure exactly what to make of the whole thing. She looked at Paul.
"You're going to think I'm crazy, but I think that McNite may have been Kam King, my dead fiancé."
"Walk me through it. Start at the beginning."
Relief washed through her that Paul didn't outright dismiss her crazy notion.
"Three years ago my fiancé died while serving overseas.
Everyone told me that I should let it go, but the story that we got from the powers that be didn't add up to me.
Call it grief or denial, but I couldn't bring myself to fully believe that Kam died that day. "
When Paul didn't say a thing, Taylor continued. "In my spare time, I've been looking into his death. Mostly hitting red tape and brick walls. Until last month, when you and Nalani gave the sketch of Gregor."
Paul's eyes darkened. "You mean to tell me that you think your dead fiancé was working with Spartak?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure. All I know is that this Gregor character looks similar to Kam.
" Taylor took another sip of her drink to calm herself before continuing.
"Last night, this McNite person knew things that only Kam would know.
I don't know for sure if it was him, but whoever he was, he'll have answers that I need. "
Paul drank from his cup, but remained quiet. "Gregor is the only reason that we got to Nalani as fast as we did. He probably saved her life."
Paul shifted in his seat and leaned forward. "I'll comb through the footage, but if he is a ghost, then he probably isn't going to appear on many cameras. I'll start with the hall that he confronted you in and trace his steps backward."
Paul laid his hand on hers. "Taylor, do you think he has something to do with all of this?"
She pulled her hand away. She had told him her crazy theory, and he didn't doubt her; she could trust him with the message McNite gave her last night, too.
"He warned me that whatever was going to happen, they were going to blame me for it, and then he insisted on coming with me.
I told him to stay there and that I had questions for him.
When the lights went out, I lost track of him. "
"I'll see what I can find, but Taylor, be careful. This guy could be Kam, or he could be someone placed here to keep you distracted from finding the truth."
Taylor was going to respond, but Davin chose that moment to walk through the door. He waved at them and went to the counter to order a coffee. Paul gathered up their empty drink containers and headed towards their boss.
"Good to see you two up."
"Didn't go to bed, Sir," Paul stated.
Davin looked over them both. "Right. Let's go upstairs, and you all can catch me up to speed, then naps for both of you."
"We're fully caffeinated now." Taylor gave her best smile to cover up the fatigue that still wanted to pull her mind into a fog. "I won't be able to sleep for a while."
"Fine, but I will be watching you."
Taylor settled back into the uncomfortable desk chair. She picked up where she left off in scanning the computer log for activity. Paul said nothing to Davin about her theory and the person he was looking for in the video footage. She needed to tell her boss all about what happened.
"Who wants to go first on their version of what exactly happened last night?" Davin sat on the love seat beside the desk where Taylor worked.
"I need to tell you something, boss. It has to do with last night, but also with my past." Taylor retold her suspicions to Davin. To his credit, he only interrupted when he had a clarifying question. When she was done, she stared at her boss. "Well, do you think I'm crazy?"
"What I think is that this guy has more answers to our questions. Paul, were you able to track him at all?"
"I found him. I talked with him last night, too." Paul sat on the bed across from them. "I thought he looked vaguely familiar, but I didn't know where from. His hair and eye color are different, but he resembles Gregor."
"Did he say anything important to you?"
"No. He tried to make a joke about why I ran into him. I wrote him off as a rich man who doesn't know anything about actual emergencies." Paul winced. "If I had known who he was, I wouldn't have brushed him off."
"Do either of you think he had something to do with last night's break-in?"
"I don't think so. He tried to warn me that whatever was going to happen last night, that I would be blamed for it." Taylor admitted.
"Do you know what happened to him after the lights went out?"
Taylor shook her head. "No, Sir. I went to the bathroom to change and get to the room when the lights went out.
When I came out of the bathroom, it was dark and I couldn't find him.
I decided to run up to the room instead of wasting energy looking for him.
I don't think he knew what was going to happen… " Taylor trailed off.
"What is it, Ertz?" Davin stood behind her.
"There was a file copied last night, and the last log in for the computer was my alias. Sir, I think McNite was right. Whoever did this is trying to frame me."
"What file was copied?" Davin's voice was low.
"The schematics for the new underground missile silo in Alaska.
" A rock formed in Taylor's stomach. What was she going to do?
It was a federal offense to steal the location and layout of secret government weapons stashes.
If those stolen plans made it into the hands of the enemies of the US, this could be the start of the next world war.
They needed to figure out who stole the schematics before she ended up in a federal prison or worse.
The door to her hotel room flew open. SAC Hollands and Senator Schulz both strode into the room. A room that was getting smaller and smaller. Davin stood between her and SAC Hollands as he updated the two, leaving out her theory about McNite and Kam.
Hollands peered around Davin. "We're going to have to put you in holding, Special Agent Ertz."
"With all due respect, Sir." Paul stood next to Davin, creating a wall between her and the SAC. "Ertz was downstairs when this incident occurred. There is no way she could have done this."
Davin raised his hand to keep Paul from arguing. "Sir, allow us to take Ertz back to Alaska with us and keep her at a safe house. We will keep working on the case, and when we prove her complete innocence, she can return to duty."
Hollands worked his jaw, but Senator Schulz was the one who spoke. "Hollands, you and I both know that she didn't do it."
The support from the Senator shocked her.
"Alright. But she doesn't leave the safe house, and I expect you both not to discuss the case with her. She is not to be anywhere near this. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Understood, Sir."
"And, Ertz." Taylor peered over Davin and Paul's shoulders. "Keep your head down. We'll keep this under wraps until we know more."
It wasn't prison. Yet. She would take what she could get, but her gut said that this wasn't going to be an easy case.
Kam tossed the wig and colored lenses into the dumpster.
He pulled the hood of his sweater up and tucked his hands in his pocket.
After spending the night lying low, he needed to get some answers.
The bug he planted in Taylor's room last night paid off.
She had been framed for stealing a file about a weapons silo.
Not good. If Lysander got their hands on that information, it was hard to tell what they would do with it.
He needed answers, now. Time to face off with his handler.