“Well, you fucking nailed it,” said Patrick. “You scared the shit out of me. Why do we need to get to the tech guy first?”
“Because I need to be sure he didn’t have the entire plan worked out. The colonel said they didn’t have it perfected but what if this guy does. What if he’s holding out on them for more money? If he’s having money issues, then that would be something he would do.”
“She’s right,” nodded Quinn. “Okay. We find the tech guy first and bring him to a place where you can question him. It can’t be here, Victoria. Where do you suggest?” She smiled at the men as she walked away.
“Get creative. I’ll be there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Who are you? Why am I here?” asked the young man seated before them. He looked fifteen but according to the data and prints, he was twenty-seven. Graduate of MIT and Dartmouth, he’d been working for the DOD when he was recruited by Gustav Bernhard for triple the pay and a huge bonus.
He had to admit that it bothered him a bit that he was potentially endangering his own country but the money was too good to walk away from.
Sitting in his favorite coffee shop, he stared at his brand-new car parked at the curb when suddenly another vehicle side-swiped him, taking off the driver’s side mirror.
“Hey!” he yelled running out of the shop. “Hey, you idiot! What the hell are you doing?”
“Sorry, buddy. I didn’t see the car. Foreign piece of shit,” murmured the big man. Another large man stepped out of the SUV and the geek stared at them.
“Oh, I see,” he nodded. “Tell Gustav I’m still working on it. It’s not as easy as he thinks it is.” JB and Sebastian smirked at one another.
“You need to come with us,” said JB.
“Fine. Fine, but he’s going to fix my car.” JB opened the back door and without even looking the nerdy kid slid into the backseat. Beside him was another large man.
“Hello, Reginald,” said Hiro.
“Hey, who are you?” Hiro gripped him around the neck, holding the cloth to his face. Within seconds, he was out.
That was the last thing Reginald remembered. Three men, one with something on a cloth over his mouth, the others apparently just muscle.
“Where am I? Who are you? Is Gustav here? I want to speak with him!” he repeated.
“Sorry, Reginald,” said Victoria with a smile. “We’ll have to do.”
“Hey, who are you guys?”
“It’s cliché, but your worst nightmare,” said Hiro. Reginald looked down at his bound hands, sensors on his head, chest and arms. He tried to wiggle free but the bindings were incredibly tight.
“Stop or you’ll hurt yourself. I need answers,” said Victoria.
“Sure, honey,” he grinned. “Let’s you and me go somewhere private.” Hayes stepped out of the darkness with a look that told Reginald he’d fucked up. “Okay, okay. It was just a joke. What do you want?”
“Who are you sending the data to from the suitcases?” asked Victoria.
“What? What suitcases?” he stammered.
“You’re lying. Your heartrate is excessive and could become dangerous. Take a deep breath and calm down. Who was getting the data?”
“I-I don’t,” he started.
“Don’t fucking lie dude. You’re going to piss me off,” said Hayes. “You developed the fiber-optic technology to weave into the suitcases, allowing for information to be collected and sent regarding take-offs, landings, flight personnel, passengers, and patterns for all commercial and military flights.”
Regionald sat stunned. How could they know this? How could they possibly know what he’d done? No one should be able to figure this out.
“I’m only going to ask one more time before I start breaking bones,” said Hayes. “Who were you sending the information to?”
Sebastian stepped toward him, JB beside him and Reginald’s fear was palpable in the small shack.
