Torn (Deep 8, #5)

46. Roger

FORTY-SIX

Roger

Two men who appear to be highly trained mercenaries escort me to the door. The teams staked out here in the canyons will have a bead on me soon and pick me up. We’ll have to strategize how to get Lucas the pieces, save Harlow, and blow up the headquarters.

It will be no small feat, and the fear of failure grips me, especially since I’m related to the ringleader. The president wants him in custody alive. I’m not sure how this is going to fall out.

Without the shade of the clouds, the sun is blinding in Western Australia as I walk awhile before I hear a truck behind me. Shielding my eyes with my hand, I can’t make out the vehicle. I wave my arms, hoping to stop it to hitch a ride back to Perth.

The windows are blacked out and I can’t see who’s inside. Without a weapon, I’m a sitting duck. The passenger window rolls down a crack.

"What’s the password?" someone says in an American Southern accent.

"Fuck the password. I need a ride. It’s a matter of life and death." I step closer to the truck.

"Where’s the blond bombshell you were with?"

The window is open enough for me to push my hand through and grab whoever is on the other side. My hand lands on someone’s throat.

"Hey, let go, mate," Declan’s Scottish accent comes back in full bloom. He rolls down the window. "We were having some fun."

"While you’re having fun. They have Harlow and we have forty-eight hours to get them what they need, or she dies," I bellow. Everyone in the truck gets quiet.

The back door opens. "Get in," Mac says.

Declan turns around. "Sorry. I’m still working on my timing for humor. Where’s Harlow?"

My eyes meet each of them as I deliver my news. "Lucas is holding her captive until he gets what he wants."

Everyone in the truck gets silent as they process what I have said. "Come again?" Campbell questions.

"That son of a bitch," Declan mutters under his breath. "Lucas is the head of Deep 8, isn’t he?"

"I’m sorry, but yes, he seems to be calling the shots. I don’t get the sense there is anyone above him. According to him, he’s in tight with the Chinese and the Russians." Fury runs through me, and I’m about to explode, but I have to keep it together for Harlow.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You’re nothing like him." Mac reads between the lines.

The drive takes about twenty minutes from Lucas’s lair. On the way to their post, I give them as much detail as possible about what has happened and the layout of the place where Harlow is being held.

"I got to give him credit. Lucas had us fooled and led us on a wild ride to do his dirty work. Well played. We need to keep in mind he may be nuts, but he’s not stupid," Dean says. Mac hits him on the shoulder.

"It’s fine. He has a Messiah complex, but there are weaknesses he may not be aware of. He’s the least self-aware person I know," I grumble.

"I called ahead to let Pippa and Peter know what's happening," Campbell says from the back of the vehicle.

The campground design includes four large tents surrounding an extra-large tent. We pile out of the truck and head into the middle tent. Pete and Pippa have their noses close to their screens, tapping away on their keyboards.

"Glad you could join us, Roger," Peter says without looking up. "The trackers worked enough for us to locate you and Harlow. We’ll get her out, no worries."

"Trust me, there is plenty to worry about." My words are cut off by Pippa’s ringing phone.

"It’s my secure line, but I don’t recognize the number." She pushes the answer button.

"Hello?" She says on speakerphone.

"It’s Harlow. I need you to contact a top-notch tech, Hank Davy, at the ASIO. His code name is Terminator. Tell him to take care of my cat. He'll know what that means. I trust him with my life. He needs to go to my apartment in Sydney. Find the replica of my father’s sailboat. Tell him to tear it apart if he has to. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but it might be the answer to shutting down whatever Lucas has going on. Hurry. Time is running out." The line goes dead.

Eyes turn to me. "I have no idea what she’s talking about. I didn’t know she owned a cat. She never shared this with me. Maybe something came up in her conversation with Lucas."

Everyone’s attention lands on Dean. "She doesn’t own a cat, and maybe that’s the point."

Pippa breaks her phone and disassembles its parts. "We can’t take a chance of them tracking this phone, even if it is secure. We are too close to getting the answers." She begins to search for Hank Davy. "I found him. He’s a high-level tech at the ASIO. We’ll never get to him from that angle. Many techs dabble on the dark web. Let me put out some feelers and see what I can find out."

"We have forty-eight hours to get everything together and bring it to him before he takes her life. What can I do?" I run my fingers through my hair.

A hand lands on my shoulder. "Remember, she’s a trained agent. She can hold her own. We’ll storm the castle if we have to," Dean says. "Besides, we have what he needs. For once, things may go our way."

His words bring me little relief. Even as a trained agent, she is easily outnumbered. I know she’ll use her head and her skills, but it pains me that I can’t be there with her. My head needs to stay straight. We may have the advantage for once.

My father, ah, what a joke, thinks he’s got all the answers, and this is the space where most of his mistakes will be made. I’ve studied him my entire life. I know his moves and have learned a few tricks over the years. The element of surprise is on my side.

"I got him," Pippa yells. "I’ve contacted him through the dark web, and I sent a message to his email at work. Let’s hope he gets it in time."

We spend the rest of the day strategizing about how to storm Lucas’s fortress. The team members have picked up on the fact I’ve been calling him Lucas instead of my father but haven’t approached me about it, nodding their heads in understanding. The more I distance myself, the clearer I become on the objective. Save Harlow and destroy his program at all costs.

Dinner is quiet until something pings on Pippa’s computer. She jumps up out of her chair as it falls to the floor. "This might be Hank."

We amble over and stand behind her to see what’s going on. The dark web is a complete mystery to me, so I don’t pretend to know what I’m looking at.

Pippa taps on her keyboard faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. "Peter, your phone is about to ring because it’s the only secure line we have left."

On cue, Peter’s phone rings. He answers it through the computer. "Hello?"

"I’m on my way now. What the hell is going on?" His words sound far away.

Pippa gives the shortened version of the world on the brink of collapse. Hank is quiet. "When I get there and find the boat, I’ll call you back." The line goes dead.

"Does he know what to look for?" Beck questions.

"None of us knows what to look for. I thought maybe he should look for a zip drive or chip," Pippa responds, worrying her lower lip.

Most of the team goes back to eating, and I pace the floor, anxious to hear from the Terminator. I wonder what that code name is about. Even if he finds something, we can’t get it back here in the next forty-eight hours.

An hour later, a ping echoes in the room, and Pippa picks up Peter’s phone, putting it on speaker. "Hank, what did you find?"

"I found a zip drive in the mast of the model boat. Where are you located?"

"We’re in Perth."

"I know a guy with a private jet. I’ll drive to the airport and be there in under five hours. I have my laptop, and I’ll look at what’s on the zip. This will be faster, and it sounds like you could use my help. I’d do anything for Harlow."

"Thanks. See you soon." Pippa ends the call.

Why would he do anything for Harlow? Maybe another one of her fake husbands.

"If it is something that can stop what Lucas has put in motion, how are we going to get it in?" I ask, knowing there will be no easy answer.