“You sneered,” Jasper said.
“I’m not a fan. To me, it’s a moral gray area,” Hailey said. “Granted, he sells the photos to news outlets, and that brings emotional awareness to the situation and might boost needed donations. On his website, it says that money from his photography sales goes to affected areas. Is it true that he gives the money? He’s not listed as a 501(c)(3). He said the proceeds from the book will help recruit and train disaster response workers worldwide. You can see the images on his website. They’re poignant. He’s good at what he does.”
“And yet?” Rylee asked.
“It feels exploitative of the suffering. I’m very much conflicted by it all. WorldCares asked that we not be included in the images. He’s honored that request.”
“If anyone who has a signed Iniquus contract is at those disasters, Iniquus sends in a team to extract them. Are they in the photos?” Rylee asked.
“We have a computer system dedicated to protecting our client’s safety from the Internet. For example, say one of our people is doxed, they scrub that data to stop such things as swatting. That ongoing search looks for any image of anyone working for Iniquus. If we were on Dr. McLeod’s website, we would pay to have them removed for security reasons.”
“If he knew that, he could focus all of his efforts on taking Iniquus photos.”
“He could,” Hailey agreed. “Surely, someone sat him down and had a conversation. We do everything necessary to keep our operators safe in a world where privacy is at a premium.”
“Pretty soon, I’m going to start wearing a variety of silicone masks,” Dakota said. “Or start walking around in war paint stripes, like we did at the races.”
“Is that why you did that?” Rylee asked. “It looked like modern art.”
“How long do you think that will hold until you can’t thwart the computer with the paint?” Jasper asked. “Has Iniquus considered balaclavas? Other groups have started using them.”
“We’re not criminals,” Hailey said. “We wouldn’t want to dress the part. We’ll keep working to stay a step ahead.”
“How dangerous is your work, Dakota?” Rylee’s mouth pulled into a frown.
Dakota’s job put him in the thick of things. If he were identifiable, it would end his ability to operate.
He reached under the table to squeeze her hand, so she’d know everything was okay.
But that flash of fear for his safety, that was why he’d always promised himself, whether he was with the Navy or the Secret Service, that he’d step into a different role once he foundsomeone who cared, something that was mostly behind a desk like Jasper and Kumar, with some field trips with Tank. Dakota had seen too many good women and loving families absolutely devastated by the constant strain. And he wasn’t selfish enough about his career to make his loved ones pay the price.
Had Dakota known about Iniquus back when he left the Navy, he would have liked to throw his hat in the ring for a spot on one of their tactical teams. Back in his prime, he wouldn’t have minded traipsing around the world, pulling college students and executives out of their emergencies.
He would have seen a lot of the world that he hadn’t seen when he was stationed on either side of the Red Sea.
Yeah, in the military, he’d seen a lot. A lot of it he’d like to forget.
Instead, his career took him to the Secret Service, where he tried to protect the integrity of the US dollar by stopping counterfeiters. That brought him primarily to Peru and Colombia.
Once Tank held his certifications, Dakota would take up assignments closer to home.
He paused for a moment as he realized that he’d already made up his mind to talk to Jasper about a lateral move out of the field.
When had he made that decision?
It was time to make a career move—this was a huge acknowledgement of his shifting priorities—he wanted a family life.
He wanted to reach out and bring peace to someone just by sitting close and holding her hand.
Dakota liked the harmony and comfort he felt last night with Rylee, and he wanted that for himself as his constant.
Possibly, Rylee wanted that in her life.
Could things work out between them?
It was early days.
Too soon to tell
