The Enraged

CHAPTER 17

“What?”

If Helen Cho hadn’t already been on her feet, she would have shot up as she’d yelled into the phone.

“They hadn’t expected to find anyone,” Central said. “The recon team was just there double-checking that there wasn’t any evidence missed from yesterday that might ID the intruders.”

“And who authorized that?”

A pause. “I did.”

“Why would you do that?”

“The client has made it very clear that they want these people found. I thought in the confusion yesterday something might have been overlooked. It’s standard procedure.”

Helen seethed. Great, another O & O standard procedure. She bit back a response that would have been unproductive. Central wasn’t the one to argue the point with. That would be Stone.

She took a moment to regain her composure, and asked, “How are your men?”

“Alive, but both will be in the hospital for a while.”

“What about local authorities? Have you been able to contain the situation?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ve spun the accident as being the result of road rage. It jibes with what witnesses reported seeing, so it was an easy sell. Once our men regain consciousness, they’ll be briefed before they can make statements to the police.”

“Any leads on the car that hit them?”

“The vehicle is registered to a corporation that doesn’t exist. It’s in police custody, but it’s my understanding they have yet to check for prints. I have a person in place who will forward that information to me as soon as that happens.”

Helen could hear a few keyboard clicks over the line.

“We do have photos of all three suspects,” Central said.

“You do?” Here, at least, was some good news. “E-mail those to me right now.”

“I should probably check with—”

“You should probably check with no one. Send them now!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Helen stormed back to her desk, woke up her computer, and waited for the e-mail. As soon as it arrived, she opened the three attached files.

The first image was of a Caucasian man behind the wheel of a BMW, the same BMW that had apparently caused the accident. The second was of another male, this one Asian. He was driving the Camry. The third was the Camry’s passenger, a woman.

Helen stared at the screen. She had met this woman before.

“Shit,” she said under her breath.

“Ma’am?” Central said.

“Nothing.”

“Have you opened the files?”

“Yes.”

“According to witnesses, the woman claimed to be a nurse. She and the Asian male helped the BMW’s driver out of his car and over to theirs. While she stayed with the injured man, the other one returned to the BMW and retrieved a bag from its trunk before they left.” Another click of a key. “I went ahead and ran the plate on the Camry, and came back with the name Misty Blake. The picture on the driver’s license issued to that name matches the woman in the picture I just sent you. I have an address, and will be dispatching a team there momentarily. I should have more answers for you very soon.”

“Have you reported any of this to the client?”

Central was silent for a moment. “Not yet.”

Good, Helen thought. At least something was still in her control.

“Have your team stand down,” she said.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me. Tell them to stand down.”

“But…the woman. We should—”

“You should do as ordered. Or would you like to be relieved?”

“No, ma’am. How would you like me to proceed, then?”

“As far as O & O is concerned, this project is closed,” Helen told him. “You will cease all surveillance, seal the records, and forward no more information to the client. Any inquiries from the client should be directed to me. Is that understood?”

“Are you going to tell this to Director Stone, or should I?”

“You will tell him. You will also tell him to get on a plane and be in my office first thing tomorrow morning. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She could tell he was eager to get off the line, so she said, “If there is anything else I should know about, tell me now, because if I find out you’ve kept something from me, your job isn’t the only thing you’re going to need to worry about.”

“No, ma’am. I believe that’s it.”

She let him hang on the line for several seconds before she said, “All right. Good. Please keep me posted on the condition of your men.”

“Of course.”

Helen set her phone down on the desk, and looked once more at the image of the woman on her monitor.

Misty Blake. Helen had never known her last name. To her, the woman had only been Misty, Peter’s executive assistant.

She had no idea what the hell was going on, but she knew she needed to get a handle on it. She also knew that Peter would have wanted her to protect Misty, so that’s where she decided to start.

She turned to her computer, found Misty’s record, and set about making the woman disappear.