Code Name: Aries by Janie Crouch

7

Ian

Nearly every minute of the next twenty-four hours pissed me off.

Not a single damned thing went right. Landon got as close as he could to pick us up, but it was still a lot on Wavy’s feet.

She was still insisting she didn’t need medical attention when we dropped her off in front of the town’s lawn and garden store. She insisted that was where she lived most of the time.

I wanted to know more about that—what the hell did most of the time mean?—but forced myself to leave her there on the curb with a thanks and a terse goodbye. Although she assured me she was fine, I still felt like an ass. The look Landon shot me made me feel ten times worse.

I was here in Oak Creek for a purpose. That purpose was not Wavy Bollinger, no matter how engaging and charming she might be.

Landon and I drove back to the Mayors Inn, one of only two hotels in town, where we’d set up rooms to use while we were here.

I showered, got checked out by the doctor one of my assistants had sent, then Landon cleaned and dressed the burn the bullet had left on my arm. Neither of us had to say how lucky I’d been. How lucky Wavy had been too. If those shots had been made by someone a little more skilled at long-distance shooting, both of us would be dead.

As soon as he was done, we began working the case. There was a shit ton to do. First and foremost, uploading what I’d recorded at the Hemingway building to the tech team to see if it provided any actionable intel. Every time I thought about what had been lost when my tablet fell to its death, I had to remind myself to unclench my teeth.

It had been the tablet that had fallen to its death, not me. Living to fight another day was always something to celebrate.

But bad news poured in as the hours went on. First, we found out that Kendrick and Neo hadn’t made any progress on the drive.

Silas Varela, a low-level Mosaic goon, was holding something over Neo’s head to make her sabotage the process. He had evidently hurt her pretty badly—leaving bruises all over her body but only in places no one could easily see. Kendrick found out and was nursing her.

I offered to take Varela out of the picture. We could relieve the pressure on Neo and throw him in a holding cell somewhere until this was all finished. But whatever the man had on her, she wasn’t willing to risk it and wasn’t sharing what it was. Kendrick was still trying to figure it out and needed more time.

Time, one thing we didn’t have.

If this Varela bastard was willing to hurt Neo, then he was willing to hurt others. We needed to do something about that. Kendrick promised to keep reporting back as they made any new progress.

Dead end number one.

“You ready to go back to the scene of the crime?” Landon asked me a few hours after I’d gotten off the phone with Kendrick. “I’ve heard from our law enforcement connection. The warrant to search the Hemingway building has come through. They’re willing to let you walk through with them in an advisory capacity.”

“Contact must be Omega Sector.”

“Yep.”

My interaction with the federal task force had been short-lived. For the past few years, we’d stayed out of each other’s space. That had worked better for all parties.

Of course, for the past few years, we’d thought Mosaic was gone. Interacting with Omega Sector now was inevitable.

I stood, leaving a mass of paperwork around me on the small hotel desk. “Let’s go. I just hope we’re in there soon enough that Mosaic hasn’t been able to wipe everything.”

We both were on the phone as we headed out of Oak Creek back toward Reddington City. The Zodiac tech team was still poring over my phone footage. But if we could get what was actually inside the building, that would give us so much more data about Mosaic.

Landon and I were each talking with different contacts as we arrived in Reddington City. I let out a curse when some sort of police blockade had us circling around the south side of town to come back up to the Hemingway building. Any sort of delay now added to my frustration. Every second gave Mosaic more time to hide their tracks.

When we stopped more than a mile away from the building, I knew that there was a bigger problem. Nothing was moving, at all.

Landon and I got out of the car. As soon as we did, we saw it.

Smoke. A shit ton of smoke farther ahead of us.

People were lined up along the block, watching. Landon walked over to an older lady and gave her one of his charming smiles.

“Do you know what happened here?” he asked her.

She shook her head, tsking. “There is a huge fire in some office buildings up the street. I heard a lot of people died.”

Landon and I looked at each other, then took off running toward the Hemingway building, dodging people as we went. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on, although I hoped I was wrong.

We were able to get past the first set of barricades with a little stealth. But as we got closer, we were stopped by policemen.

One grabbed me by the arm. “Hey, you can’t be here. This is for emergency personnel only.”

I shrugged him off. Landon and I weren’t emergency services. Hell, we didn’t even have a badge. But I could see that it was, in fact, the Hemingway building that was burning.

I needed to get inside to see if there was anything to salvage. I had given nearly everything to stop Mosaic the first time. I wasn’t going to let a uniformed cop who had no idea what was really going on stop me from getting inside. The officer grabbed me again, and I spun, a growl on my lips.

Landon’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. It was the only thing stopping me from doing something that might get my ass thrown in jail, like taking a swing at a cop.

Landon pulled me behind him and shot the officer a smile. “We’re part of the investigative crew. What exactly happened?”

The guy shot me a look but then shrugged. “Buddy, I don’t know, but you can’t be here. I’ve got strict orders. There are a lot of dead people.”

“Thanks, Officer. These two are with me. I’ll take it from here.” A voice came from behind us. I turned to find a man I’d never seen holding up a federal badge. The cop nodded and walked off to go stop someone else from getting too close.

“Callum Webb. Omega Sector sent me as your liaison.”

We shook the man’s hand. Webb was tall, standing eye-to-eye with my own six-foot one, with dark hair and eyes. Early-thirties and fit—and an awareness in his eyes like every Omega Sector agent I’d met, like my Zodiac team did. His suit may have been off the rack at a relatively inexpensive store, but he was ready to move if needed.

“I’m Ian DeRose. This is Landon Black.”

Callum nodded. “I know who you are. I was actually around when you went up against Mosaic the first time, but you wouldn’t have known me.”

“We need to get into that building.” I pointed towards the smoke.

He shook his head. “Nope. I’ve already checked. Firefighters only. Too crispy.”

Goddammit. “What the hell happened?”

Callum led us a little out of the way as more emergency personnel ran forward. “I’m still finding that out. Official word is catastrophic electrical failure, which caused a pretty massive explosion. So far, we have at least eight dead bodies.”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. Mosaic had burned the entire building down to keep us from accessing what was inside. “Fuck.”

Callum nodded. “They didn’t just blow up that one building, they took down the one on either side.”

This kept getting worse. “I was inside there two days ago. There was a massive amount of info about Mosaic in that building.”

Callum crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m going to assume you got caught?”

I turned to him. “I’m not dead, so I didn’t get caught.”

“Had you used proper channels, brought us in on your plan, we could’ve caught Mosaic by surprise before they had a chance to erase everything and kill innocent people in the process.”

I mimicked his posture, crossing my arms over my chest. “Last time I went through proper channels with you guys, it almost got me killed.”

He winced. “I read the report about that. I’m sorry.”

I nodded. “We didn’t have time to take this through a committee, so Landon and I went in. Once we knew there was something, we called for a warrant. The warrant was probably what tipped them off.”

Callum had the good sense not to argue that. “If Mosaic is back in play, we want to take them down.”

“Based on what I saw, they’re not only back in play, they’re pretty damned organized and widespread. I got some of the data on my phone. My tech team is going through it. I’ll let you know what we find.”

Callum nodded. I was a little surprised he didn’t insist on letting his people handle it. Good. My people were better and faster than anyone working for law enforcement.

It didn’t take long to realize that staying here was going to be a waste of time. There was nothing we could do on scene, and it was going to be hours if not days before anyone could get into the building. By then, there wouldn’t be anything usable about Mosaic. I already knew that for a fact. Callum was staying and agreed to keep us in the loop if he found anything. Landon and I drove back to Oak Creek.

Dead end number two.

We made it back to Oak Creek, and I crashed for a few hours. The report I woke up to from Callum confirmed what I’d already known would be true: there was nothing left in that building after the fire. Not a single computer or so much as a sheet of paper had made it out in recoverable condition. And the final body count was eleven. Dozens more injured.

“You want to go get a bite to eat at the Frontier?” Landon asked as we both sat back, trying to process the loss from the fire.

“No. Bring me something back.”

“You sure?”

Did I want to see Wavy? Yes. For multiple reasons. To find out if her feet were okay. To thank her one more time for saving my life.

To see her smile.

But nothing had changed in the hours since I’d dropped her off. She was still a distraction I couldn’t afford.

“I’m sure. I’m going to touch base with the tech team, see what they got from my footage.”

I didn’t expect Landon back for a while. I figured he’d be chatting with the good citizens of Oak Creek—one waitress in particular, which had me more pissed at everything because I couldn’t be the one there talking to her—rather than rushing back. But he proved me wrong, walking in with coffee and a lunch plate before I’d had a chance to get all the details from my tech team.

“Jenna, Landon just walked in. I’m going to switch to video.”

Jenna Franklin, cohead of the tech department, made the transition without missing a beat. “We’re working all angles with what you recorded, including a possible side channel attack to root up data—hey, Landon—and should have the results of anything viable within forty-eight hours.”

“Hey Jenna,” Landon replied, setting coffee down in front of me. I nodded in thanks.

“Is there anything usable right now?” I asked. I wanted to take some sort of action. Mosaic had almost killed Wavy and me and had killed nearly a dozen innocents.

My trigger finger was getting antsy.

“Erick Huen,” Jenna said.

I had to put my coffee down before I crushed the paper cup. Landon’s eyes shot to mine. “What about him?” I asked.

“He’s definitely part of this new Mosaic. His name was found in your footage in at least two different places. We’re still trying to see what else we can find about him. Do you know him?”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “He was my brother’s best friend. And was presumed dead.”

Landon whistled through his teeth. “Last few months are starting to make a lot more sense now.”

“I’ll take this conversation as instruction to focus on Huen,” Jenna said. “We’ll get you all relevant info ASAP, boss.”

“When it comes to Erick Huen, give me all info, whether it seems relevant or otherwise.”

Jenna nodded. “Will do.”

We finished the call, and I turned to Landon. My food was growing colder, but I couldn’t stomach it right now.

“Erick Huen.” I leaned back in my chair. “No wonder all this Mosaic shit has felt so personal. He hates me because I killed Grant.”

Landon shrugged. “Grant deserved to die.”

“This changes things. If we’re dealing with Erick—” I broke off when my phone rang. “Sarge. What’s going on?”

I put it on speaker so Landon could participate.

“One of our facial recognition software programs pinged an ID for Bronwyn a few hours ago.”

“Where?”

“New York. I’m going after her.”

Landon and I rubbed our eyes, not responding. By the time Sarge made it to New York, Bronwyn would be long gone.

“You don’t need to tell me anything,” Sarge said. “I know the chances of finding her are slim. But I also know the chances of me sitting in this office here in Denver without going fucking crazy are even lower. So, I’m going. I’ll take personal time if I have to.”

I let out a sigh. “You don’t have to take personal time. Just . . . watch your back. We found out that Erick Huen is part of Mosaic, which means this is more personal than we first figured. Take somebody with you to New York if you want backup. Report immediately if you have any info.”

“Roger.” Sarge disconnected the call without saying goodbye.

“That dude really has to work on his people skills,” Landon said.

“I don’t think Sarge considers people skills a skill at all. People are nothing more than a necessary evil for his job.”

Sarge was older than us. Set in all his ways. Wasn’t interested in being friendly. Although there was no one I’d rather have at my back in a fight. He would die for the people he cared about.

But was this obsession with Bronwyn because of that need to help one of his teammates, or was it more personal?

Sarge wasn’t ever going to sit around and talk about his feelings, so we might never know.

I forced myself to eat the cold hamburger. “I guess we’re a man short for the time being.”

Not a good time for it. Dividing was the quickest way to get conquered.

I sat at that tiny desk on the crappy chair for a few more hours poring over the footage Jenna had sent to me for any relevant details they might not recognize.

Except for Erick’s name, I didn’t find much. I’d had enough.

“I’m going over to the Linear facility. I’ve got to work out some of this shit either in their gym or their ring before I rip my own hair out.”

I couldn’t stay in this hotel room any longer. Mosaic was pulling farther and farther away from us, and I had to get this pent-up frustration out of my system.

A knock on the door stopped me.

I looked at Landon. “Expecting someone?”

He shook his head. We had our weapons out and in hand when I looked through the security hole in the door.

Wavy.

I didn’t want to see her. Not right now, not in the mental state I was in, but I opened the door anyway.

“Hi.” She said, big smile on her face as always. “I brought you some pie as a midday pick-me-up. I promise I won’t throw it at you.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I appreciate it.”

She shifted from one foot to the other. I could tell she wanted to talk to me, to try to ease me out of the dim hotel room and into the light.

Into her light. The light of her smile.

I couldn’t. I couldn’t do this with her right now.

“Thanks for coming by with the pie.” My voice was harder than I meant it to be. Too curt. Damn it, I was handling this wrong. I was frustrated, but I didn’t need to take it out on her.

“You’re welcome. Would you like—”

I cut her off. “Now is really not a good time. But thanks again.”

“Oh, okay.” She paused. “Well, you’re welcome. Enjoy.” She gave me an awkward wave, her smile falling as she turned to walk away.

I closed the door, wanting to throw the box across the room.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about?” I knew what he was talking about. I was an asshole. “She brought some pie. I took the pie. I said thank you.”

“Jesus. You think Sarge doesn’t have people skills? How about asking her how her feet were? How about inviting her in to chat for a second? How about going out with her?

I shook my head. “It’s not like that. This is not what I’m here for. She is not what I’m here for.”

“She saved your life. Then you couldn’t take two minutes of your precious time doing nothing to make her feel a little welcome? You’re right. You do need to go to the Linear Tactical facility. And if you want to get in the ring, I’ll be glad to kick your ass.”

“You’re welcome to try.” Landon and I were evenly matched in the ring. I was bigger and stronger, but he was quicker.

“Fine, asshole. Why don’t you take out your aggression on someone who deserves it?”

“Like you?” My eyes narrowed at him.

He pushed by me and out the door. “Like yourself. Let’s go.”

Landon didn’t say a word to me the entire way to the Linear Tactical property. We parked in front of the office and went inside. Zac Mackay and Finn Bollinger, Wavy’s brother, were sitting at their desks.

“Can we use your sparring gear and ring?” Landon asked without greeting as he walked through the door.

Zac didn’t miss a beat, although he shot a look at Finn. “Sure. You guys need a referee?”

“No, I’m going to kick his ass. No referee necessary.” Landon spun back around and headed out the door toward the training facility.

Zac and Finn studied me with almost comically wide eyes.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Landon that angry,” Zac said. “He’s always so easygoing, I didn’t think he ever lost his cool.”

I watched my friend through the door. “He doesn’t normally. He thinks I’m being an asshole.”

“Are you?” Finn asked.

“Yes.” I didn’t tell him that it was his sister I was being the asshole to, or else I’d probably be fighting two people.

Zac stood up. “I think I want to see this.”

Finn was right behind him. “Oh, me too.”

Great. Now we got to have an audience as Landon rightfully beat the crap out of me.

I had wiped the smile from Wavy Bollinger’s face. No matter how shitty the news I’d gotten had been or how bad the situation was with Mosaic, I’d had no justification for doing that.

I deserved whatever I had coming.