“I have. What specifically did you need?”
“All of it,”Elliot said calmly.
“Then I’ll need a warrant. I’m sure you understand we don’t give information of this nature out without the direction of the court.”
“That won’t be a problem,”Elliot said. There was a moment of silence before he heard Elliot’s voice again. “I need to speak to Gabrielle Alexander, please.”
Well, going straight to the top. Gabby and his Uncle Jason ran the show now, and Charley was knee deep in corporate headquarters, too, although Talon wasn’t sure what she did up there other than drive her sister and Jason insane.
“Gabby, we need a warrant, federal, for all records concerning the Shoemaker extraction, processing, logistics, and sale of all rare earth minerals, please. This is regarding the MV Calypso Queen, which we liberated from pirates yesterday. There are specific questions regarding the cargo’s legality and the amount of time it took to report that yellowcake uranium had been stolen.”
He couldn’t see Shoemaker, but Talon would bet money the man was pissed. He heard Elliot chuckle.
“Of course, and thank you.”
Talon heard Elliot stand up.
“The warrant will be processed, and a representative from my office will be here to pick up the information when it is served, probably within the hour.”
There was a sound of shuffling.“Ah, sir, just one more thing,”Marcus said.
“What?”The man’s voice was like a whip.
“You said something that concerns me. We didn’t tell you she was on the ship to inspect the cargo. For all we know, she could’ve been kidnapped from the shore and transported to the ship. How did you know she was doing an inspection?”
“Mr. Shoemaker is obviously distraught that his daughter was involved in any way in this incident.”The lawyer’s voice was cool and collected.“Is there anything else, gentlemen?”
“Not at this time,”Elliot said.
“That’s the end of the recording,” Dude said when silence came over the comms. “Elliot did put a note on this file. Let’s see … yeah, Marcus is working on the investigation, and a warrant has been issued. They’ve been file bombed, and he believes the excessive amount of documentation provided is an attempt to bury anything useful.”
“CCS should be able to sort through thatinformation quickly.” Talon frowned at the floor as he took a sip.
“Only if they know what they’re looking for.” Dude sighed. “It isn’t as easy as one would think. You have to know you're looking for a needle in the haystack, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Talon took another swig of his drink. “What else do you have?”
“Tell the guys to get their bags in order. We’ve been tapped to move locals.”
“When?”
“As early as tomorrow or a month from now. Depends on the circumstances, but we’ve gotten the nod.”
“I’m not going to be sorry to be out of Satan’s crotch.”
“Dude, that’s disgusting,” Dude groaned. “Stop saying that.”
“You’re the second person to tell me that today.”
“Then get the drift. I’m clear.”
Talon smiled and reached over for his phone. He swiped the phone and then had a realization. Riley couldn’t text him if she lost his number. She was still in a bad way when he saw her. He sucked at this communication thing, didn’t he? He thumbed in a short message.
Talon:Checking in. How are you doing?
Bubbles formed almost immediately.
Riley:Okay.
