Navy SEAL Spy, page 18
Mr. Romo flicked his fingers in the air. “We don’t care about Gantt. What’s done is done. If he attempts to reveal any top secret information he learned here, we’ll go through the appropriate authorities.”
They obviously hadn’t gone through any appropriate authorities to murder him, which was why Gantt’s disappearance was suddenly off the table, a nonissue.
“What’s going to happen to McCabe? A-are you going to fire him or whatever you call it?”
Mr. Romo spoke up, a little too loudly. “He’s too valuable to discharge—a prime specimen, former navy SEAL, and now apparently loyal as hell.”
“We don’t know if that’s the real reason he returned.” Ginger rested a hand on Mr. Romo’s shoulder. “It could be some sort of ploy.”
Mr. Romo’s cold eyes grew icier as he rolled his shoulder, shrugging off Ginger’s hand.
Ginger snorted in a quick breath, her nostrils flaring.
Someone would pay for her dissension in front of the new girl.
“How can I help?” Katie folded her hands in her lap, all eager schoolgirl. “What do you want me to do?”
“Watch him through his computer activity as you’d planned to do. He rested last night and is ready to resume his regular schedule today, including classroom instruction.” Mr. Romo smiled, and the ice in his eyes cracked just a little. “Report anything suspicious back to us, of course.”
“Of course.” She twisted her fingers into knots. “Are you going to try a different vitamin formula on him?”
“Perhaps.”
Ginger rose from the couch and stepped between her and Mr. Romo. “That’s not your concern, KC.”
Mr. Romo hunched forward and nudged Ginger’s hip to get her to move to the side. “She’s just trying to be helpful, Ginger.”
Ginger’s eyes blazed for a moment before she eked out a tight smile. “Of course she is.”
Ginger Spann was a liar. She’d claimed to harbor no jealousy over Mr. Romo’s interest in her, but there it was—in her eyes. And it could mean trouble.
Hopefully, Katie would be long gone before Ginger could unleash the green-eyed monster.
Katie hopped up from the chair. “I’ll get right to work tracking McCabe and anyone else you need to look at.”
“You’re a good little soldier, KC.” Ginger took her arm and began maneuvering her out of the office. If this was to avoid Mr. Romo’s creepy group grope-hug, she was all for it.
“KC,” Mr. Romo called from his position on the couch, and Ginger had to stop hustling her out of the room, even though her fingers still dug into Katie’s arm.
“Yes?” No hug, no hug, no hug.
“We’ll find a place for you in our new situation.”
“New situation?” She shook off Ginger’s hold.
“Because of all the problems we’re having with the recruits here, we’re speeding up their training. They’ll be ready to roll in their new positions within the week.”
“I hope you do—have a place for me. I feel like I’ve come home.”
Ginger was back, placing her hand on Katie’s back this time. “That’s wonderful, now, first things first.”
Ginger practically shoved her into the elevator, and then held the door open with one hand. “Tell me, KC. Did you ever run into someone named Sebastian Cole when you were being shunted from foster family to foster family in San Diego?”
Katie’s heart slammed against her rib cage and she could barely breathe, but she furrowed her brow and tilted her head. “Sebastian Cole? No, I don’t think so, but it’s possible. Is he someone you know?”
“Yes, someone I knew.”
“If you have a picture of him I might recognize him, but it’s been almost ten years since I left the system.”
“I don’t have a picture, just wondering.” She let her hand slide from the door, and the elevator closed with Ginger still staring at her.
She slumped against the side of the car. What was that all about? Had Ginger been doing more investigating? Katie hadn’t wiped out her time in the foster care system in San Diego, but she’d cleansed any connection she and Sebastian had in that system. There was no way Ginger could tie them together, but she had to watch her back. Ginger was on the warpath.
She dropped into the chair at her desk and logged in to her computer. With the recruits shipping out soon and Ginger giving her the once-over, she and Liam didn’t have any time to lose. It was obvious that Mr. Romo accepted Liam’s story, and Ginger had her doubts. As long as Katie could keep shoring up Liam’s credentials, she could keep Ginger and Mr. Romo at bay.
Maybe she could shut down the facility as early as tonight. Would Liam be ready?
She couldn’t wait to see him again. She’d have to devise some plan to go out to the recruit barracks.
A couple of keystrokes later and she’d brought down a few more of the recruits’ laptops. She shot off a quick email to Ginger that she needed to investigate something on McCabe’s laptop, and Ginger’s okay came through in a flash—maybe too fast.
Katie gathered her notebook just to look official and made her way across the facility to the recruits’ area.
She hovered at the doorway of the main classroom just as Mr. Mills was taking a seat behind his desk.
She tapped on the door and he looked up, unable to mask the scowl that had twisted his features. “You again?”
“Sorry. I was monitoring the laptops and noticed some irregularities. Somehow there are viruses that are sneaking through, and they’re disrupting the automatic backups.”
“Maybe Romo should worry less about computer viruses and more about the mental health of the recruits around here.”
A chink in the armor? Katie wedged her shoulder on the doorjamb. “Are you talking about Dustin Gantt? I’d heard he hadn’t been too stable when he walked through these doors to begin with.”
“Is that what Mr. Romo tells you behind closed doors?” This time he didn’t even attempt to keep the sneer out of his tone.
She shoved off the door and strolled into the classroom, and Mills’s eyes popped at her approach, already regretting his words.
“I—I mean if Mr. Romo believes Gantt was on the edge, it must be true.”
“If that’s how you feel about Mr. Romo—” she sat on the edge of a desk “—why don’t you leave Tempest?”
“I’m perfectly content here.”
She shrugged and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Doesn’t sound like it. Is there someone other than Gantt having...difficulties?”
“Not that I know of.”
“McCabe...”
Mills jumped from behind his desk. “I didn’t say anything about McCabe.”
Katie widened her eyes. “No, I did. His is one of the wonky laptops. Will he be coming to class soon?”
“They’ll all be showing up in about ten minutes. Do you want to set up in the other classroom again?”
“That’ll work. Can you send McCabe over first?”
“Why him?” Mills was gripping the edge of his desk.
She and Liam just might have an ally in Mr. Mills. He was looking out for Liam. He was worried about him, afraid she had some kind of torture in store for him for escaping.
“No reason. I need to see him and Kenneth Chang.”
“I’ll send McCabe over first with his laptop and Chang next.”
“I appreciate that, Mr. Mills.” She hopped off the desk and tucked the notebook under her arm. Turning when she reached the door, she said, “You really should think about leaving Tempest.”
She went into the other classroom and paced the floor until Liam showed up. She almost ran across the room and jumped into his arms.
“Have a seat and log in to your computer, Mr. McCabe.”
He let the door slam behind him. “Have I been a bad boy again, Ms. Locke?”
“The worst.”
He sauntered toward her, placed the laptop on a desk between them and leaned forward. In a husky voice, he said, “I think I prefer you wearing decidedly fewer items of clothing.”
Her gaze darted over his shoulder at the door. “Quiet.”
“I thought that was quiet.”
“Sit down, log in and tell me what happened.”
He complied and started talking. “I staggered back through the gates yesterday afternoon. The guard at the gate freaked out, pulled a gun on me. I babbled on about losing my memory, losing my mind, and he called good old Dr. Nealy.”
“Nealy? He’s the head psychiatrist?”
“Yeah, a real mad-scientist type. I have no doubt in my mind he knows all about the effects of T-101. I’m not sure about the others.”
“What did Nealy do?”
“Talked to me, deemed me sane enough to return to my room and then called Romo.”
“Did you see Romo?”
“Apparently, he reserves that favor for you and Ginger.”
She pinched his forearm. “Shut up.”
“Did they tell you about me?”
“Yes. In a twist, I got the impression that Romo believed you, and Ginger did not.”
“That’s because she’s tougher than he is. He hides away while she does all the dirty work.”
“You might be right.” She held her bottom lip between her teeth while she tapped some keys on his keyboard.
“What’s wrong?” He scooted his chair closer.
“I think...” She twisted her ponytail around her hand.
“You think what?” He toyed with her fingers as they rested on the keyboard. “We’re in this together, Katie-O. You can’t keep things from me, not anymore.”
“Like how I feel about you?”
He squeezed her fingers. “Like that.”
“Is that why you left? Because I never told you I loved you?”
“I left because I was an immature idiot. I knew how you felt about me. Your actions couldn’t have been clearer. That’s all I should’ve needed. I still had to go on that last mission, but I should’ve insisted that you wait for me.”
“And I should’ve told you I loved you, because I did and still do—with all my heart, and now we have to get out of here, Liam. The plan is to speed up your training and ship you out of here before any more of you go off the rails.”
“I figured that. Is that what was worrying you before?”
She had to be able to trust him, to confide everything to him with no fear. “I think Ginger has it in for me now because she’s jealous of Mr. Romo’s...admiration for me.”
“Admiration?” He raised his brows until they disappeared beneath the golden lock of hair curling over his forehead. “Is that what they’re calling wanting to get in someone’s pants these days?”
“That’s what I’m calling it. She’d claimed she wasn’t the jealous type, but she lied. She asked me about Sebastian today.”
“How the hell did she put that together?”
“She hasn’t put anything together—yet. I never scratched my background in the San Diego foster care system, and Sebastian shared that same background. Let’s face it, that background is something that’s very attractive to Tempest, isn’t it?”
“That’s for sure. She’s just grasping at straws, but we don’t want to waste any more time.”
“Prospero isn’t like that, is it? I mean, look at your family—the four of you boys, rambunctious, competitive, close, parents still married after thirty years, can’t get more all-American than that.”
Her tone must’ve sounded as wistful as she felt because Liam brushed a knuckle across her cheek. “And I took that family away from you when I left.”
She shook her head. “They never belonged to me in the first place.”
“Sure, they did.” He grinned. “You should’ve heard the scolding I got from my mom for letting you go. She said even with the nose ring, you were the best thing that ever happened to me. And I didn’t even tell her about the tattoo.”
She sniffed and then Liam snatched his hand back when the door to the classroom opened. Chang looked inside. “Mills told me you need my laptop.”
“I’ll be calling you in about five minutes, okay?”
“Whatever.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Full of charm, that guy, but you know what?”
“What?” He logged off his computer.
“I think we can use Mills.”
“Mills can’t stand you.”
“Because he can’t stand Mr. Romo and Ginger. He thinks I’m part of their axis of evil.” She crossed one leg over the other and tucked her hands between her thighs so she wouldn’t start pawing Liam. “He actually criticized Mr. Romo to me. Backtracked like hell after, but he’d already put it out there. He might be helpful when it comes time to get the rest of the recruits out of here.”
“Tomorrow. Can we start tomorrow? With the information Gantt gave me and your magic tricks on the computer, I think we can shut this place down tomorrow night.”
“I think so, too. I’m ready.”
He chucked her beneath the chin. “Then why the sad face?”
“What happens to us after Tempest?”
“I have a brilliant idea, but I’ll save it for later. Don’t worry, Katie-O. I’m not leaving you again.”
Chapter Nineteen
The following day Katie did bug fixes for Frank in between checking the computers for the major systems on the facility—electric, networks, telephones, security. She could shut them all down with a few clicks on her keyboard.
Liam planned to approach Mr. Mills today, perhaps even show him Garrett Patterson’s notebook and the significance of his notations. Mills and Patterson had shared several interests and had lunched together on occasion. Maybe Patterson had even relayed some of his fears to Mills about the direction Tempest was taking.
And when it was all over? She couldn’t wait to hear Liam’s brilliant idea.
She’d reported to Mr. Romo that since tracking Liam’s keystrokes, nothing had jumped out at her as being unusual. She’d protect that man with her last breath if that’s what it took.
The hours dragged by, and a heavy air hung over the office. Clouds had been gathering all day, ominous dark clouds threatening the first snow of the season. But the atmosphere inside carried the same sense of breathless anticipation—or she was just projecting.
If any of the civilians had heard about another recruit’s escape from the compound and subsequent return, they weren’t talking about it. They weren’t talking about much of anything. Could just be the midweek doldrums settling in.
She’d received two instant messages from Liam, one indicating that Mills was in and one giving her the green light for tonight.
The electricity would go first. In case facilities put some type of generator into play, she’d take down the network next—no computer access. She’d already been playing with jamming the cell tower and virtually putting a halt to all cell phone calls into and out of the facility. The security systems had been a piece of cake—all cameras would be disabled, all security doors deactivated.
She had plans to meet Liam outside the facility once she’d shut it down, and he’d have free rein to set up the explosive devices. She’d leave her car here, if necessary. Otherwise, she’d blow past the parking kiosk at the main gate, which would also be disabled.
She plucked her cell phone from her purse and brought up her photos. She tapped one of Sebastian, enlarging it, and traced over his face, his big smile. She whispered. “This is for you, brother.”
The five o’clock hour crept up, and Frank stopped by her cubicle. “Are you working late again, KC?”
Stretching her arms over her head, she nodded. “Do you have anything else for me?”
“Nah, I got the word.” He winked. “You’re Mr. Romo’s and Ginger’s now.”
She gulped, her hands dropping to her lap. “What does that mean? I still work for you, Frank.”
“I know you’re taking orders from them now, and that’s okay. No worries. Hey, we all gotta climb that ladder somehow.”
A flash of heat claimed her chest. “I’m not trying to climb any ladder. I’m working on a special project for them.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, whatever. No worries. I’m heading out of here. See you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here, same time, same place.”
“Have a good one.” He saluted.
Ugh, did everyone in the entire company think she was in some weird relationship with Ginger and Mr. Romo? Why hadn’t Romo ever bothered to conceal his proclivities? And Ginger seemed proud of their affair. What self-respecting working woman would get confirmation out of sleeping her way to the top?
The sounds of the office packing up and leaving for the evening had her blood percolating. They planned to give everyone a chance to clear out, even Mr. Romo and Ginger.
Once the Prospero analysts put together those puzzle pieces from Garrett Patterson’s notebook, and the CIA got some of the other Tempest employees to spill their guts, the gloves were off. The CIA would come down hard on Tempest and the likes of Mr. Romo and Ginger and all the doctors working on the T-101 formula.
There would be a formal investigation into Patterson’s death and Samantha’s and Dustin Gantt’s, if they ever recovered his body.
All that had to happen and would happen, but Prospero couldn’t wait for the formal investigation. Outside of anything sanctioned by the CIA or anything legal, for that matter, Tempest had to be stopped now—and Liam was the man to do it.
Katie had all the processes set up and ready to go. She’d kept the security cameras running so she could monitor everyone’s departure.
How had Dustin put it? They didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it. For most of the people working at Tempest, it was just a high-paying government job that required secret and top secret clearance. They hadn’t signed on for assassination and murder—Samantha hadn’t.
