“Then allow me to draw your attention to exhibit A,” Stryker said. “An invitation to Mr. Marlot’s upcoming charity gala to be hosted at his giant estate. Or the giant estate he has here in L.A. Online records show he has twenty-six residences spread across the country, and those are just the ones held in his own name. I’m sure there are more purchased through shell corporations and trusts. But this one is all we’re concerned about. If in fact the info is stored there.”
“Oh, it is. Or it was. And I doubt they’ve moved it because of all the security protocols they put in place when they built the servers,” Annika said. She hopped off Matteo’s lap and walked toward the TV.
He couldn’t help but smile. It was interesting seeing his babygirl switch from Little mode to experienced hacker.
It was also interesting to see the jump from the scared young woman living on the streets to a very capable woman who was willing to take down the man who’d robbed her of a career, money, and even food.
His heart swelled with pride.
“Can you pull up an image of his property?” she asked Stryker.
“Already have one.” He tapped on his phone and a satellite shot of a large compound in the mountains came on the screen. Matteo recognized the topography. It was somewhere near L.A. and in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“This building is what they call the data farm.” Annika pointed to a giant warehouse-looking building.
It was from up high, probably the Google Earth view, so Matteo couldn’t make out a ton of detail. But from that angle it was evident just how massive the structure was.
“Over here,” Annika continued, swinging her finger to another building that was smaller and sleeker-looking, “is the offices. Then, way over here, is the private residence. Yes, he actually lives where he works.” She shook her head and turned to look at Matteo. “This guy is a weirdo.”
Matteo held up his hands as if surrendering. “Hey! We live where we work, too.”
He winked.
She giggled.
Even with all that was going on, Matteo could barely fight the urge to scoop his sweetie into his arms and carry her upstairs. They needed to finish what they’d started earlier.
He could wait, though. Barely.
“The gala’s invitation states the event will be held in the ballroom. Where is that?” Stryker asked.
“Here.” She pointed to the residence. “It’s huge!”
Matteo blurted out the question on his mind before he could even filter it. “You’ve been in this guy’s home. Did he ever freaking try anything?”
He could fill anger rising deep within him. If Edward Marlot had harassed his little girl in any way, no amount of money in the world could save him from Matteo’s wrath. That was for damn sure.
But he instantly regretted answering the question in front of a room full of people. He didn’t want to embarrass his babygirl.
She didn’t seem to mind, though. She actually chuckled a little bit and waved it off. “Don’t worry, Daddy. I don’t think Edward thinks about sex much. He’s… not like most humans. He’s incapable of intimacy. Constantly thinks about technology and stuff like that. The guy literally thinks he’s going to colonize other planets someday. He’s driven by his obsessions.”
Matteo was glad to hear that. Not that he gave a crap about Marlot’s strange projects. He was just relieved that he hadn’t tried to force himself upon Annika.
Marlot had enough to answer for already. He didn’t need to put anything else on the tab.
The tab Matteo fully planned to collect on.
“Sorry to interrupt the presentation,” he said. “Please. Carry on.”
“Annika, how hard is it to get from the ballroom to the data farm?” Stryker asked.
“Outside? Nearly impossible because he’ll have guards patrolling the place. They’ll have dogs. Even drones. I’m telling you, Edward is paranoid! Inside is different, though. There’s a series of tunnels that connects the property. I’ve seen them. They were rarely guarded. Back when I was there, at least. But we have one big problem.”
“What’s that?” Stryker pressed.
“Retinal scanners,” she answered.
Matteo’s mind was spinning. This all seemed like something from a movie. He wasn’t even sure he understood everything. “Do you mean like something that scans people’s eyes to unlock doors?”
