I lean forward on my elbows and steeple my hands in front of my face. “The code that Savannah wrote with John is very sophisticated. It’s years ahead of what Shawn can do. But this hack today? It was practically layman.” Hunter and Rory nod, and Savannah tilts her head, thinking through my theory. “Shawn on his own? Not capable. We should’ve fired him a while ago. Shawn with Savannah’s code? Genius.”
“Would John give the code away?” Rory asks.
Savannah shrugs a shoulder. “I’m not sure. Maybe?”
Shouts echo from the hall. “Get your hands off me!”
Emmett Slade enters the office, shoving Shawn into the room ahead of him. “We found him trying to sneak out the fire exit in the stairwell.” Brooks Hale and Hollis Calder walk in behind them.
Shawn rights himself, tugging on his shirt to straighten it, but he looks just as disheveled as the last time I saw him. Heglares at Hunter, Rory, and me. “You,” he spits and beelines for us.
We all jump to our feet, blocking his way to Savannah, but Hunter reaches Shawn before he can get to us. Shawn takes a swing at Hunter, but Hunter ducks and returns a hit of his own. Hunter’s punch lands on Shawn’s right cheek.
Our three security employees move to intervene, but I lift my hand. “Stop. Hunter’s got this.”
Shawn recovers from the blow and charges Hunter, grabbing him around the waist and pushing him backward. Savannah gasps and tries to take a step forward, but Rory holds her in place.
Hunter allows Shawn to drive him backward into the wall of windows. Hunter’s strong and skilled enough to lay this guy out in ten seconds flat, but he’s toying with Shawn. When Hunter looks at Savannah and sees the worried expression on her face, he breaks Shawn’s hold and lands a punch to the side of Shawn’s head. Shawn falls to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Hunter kneels over his prone body, straddling his torso and trapping his arms. Shawn thrashes to get free, but Hunter wraps a hand around his neck.
“All because we rejected your stupid idea?” Hunter shouts.
Shawn laughs, drops of blood flying from his mouth and landing on Hunter’s white shirt. “You’re just angry because I bested you. The great Ghostline was taken down by his subordinate.”
“Taken down? You’re delusional.” Hunter shakes his head.
“Admit it. I won,” Shawn persists through clenched teeth.
Hunter narrows his eyes. “What the fuck do you think you’ve won here?”
“I proved that I’m better,” Shawn hisses.
“No, you proved that you’re a scared little boy who throws tantrums when he doesn’t get his way.” Hunter sneers down at the pathetic man. “Now tell me how you got that code.”
Shawn’s smile is filled with abjectness and red. “I have friends in high places too, ya know.”
Hunter leads Shawn in a specific direction to get some answers. “You mean a friend in Green Haven?”
Shawn rolls his eyes. “Does it matter?”
“Yes.” A vein in Hunter’s neck throbs as he applies pressure to Shawn’s neck.
“Alright! Alright!” Shawn croaks. “I don’t know who gave it to me. A package was delivered to my apartment. In it was a memory stick containing the code, a burner phone, and a note.”
“What did the note say?” Hunter pushes.
Shawn rushes through his answer. “I was given specific instructions with a name and an address. I was told to use the code to hack RHL’s system and shut off their security. The next name and address came on the burner.”
“How much did you get paid?” Hunter rages.
“One thousand each time,” Shawn admits.
Hunter angles his head. “Why Gabriel Castillo?”
Shawn’s nostrils flare. “I deserved more. Everyone is always undervaluing my services, so I decided I was going to give myself a payday.”
Hunter scoffs, belittling Shawn’s desire to feel important. “So what? You took out an ad in the classifieds?”
Shawn squints, snarling at Hunter. “The dark web,genius.”
