Sure
“What’s the matter?”Quinn asks.
“Nothing.Why?”
“You sighed.”My gaze lifts from my phone screen to the back of Quinn’s head.“Noah said you and Adrien had history.”
He did, did he?
“From a different life,” I say, knowing that’s all I need to say for Quinn to understand.
“Well, I suspect Adrien’s part of this op will wrap up shortly.Unless you can convince him to let us keep pulling the thread.”
She’s right.“The problem with letting it run is that every day this continues, more members get compromised.But shut it down too early, and we lose our chance to identify the buyers.Adrien’s caught between protecting his business and stopping a larger operation.”
“There’s no need for him to stress.We won’t be able to monitor for long.Someone’s going to catch on.”
“How long do you think we have?”
“Based on the setup downstairs?This isn’t amateur hour.Whoever’s running this will notice any disruption quickly.Days, not weeks.”
“He was thinking about shutting everything down today, and I talked him out of it.”
“Keep talking him out of it.”There’s one last click of keys and the monitor screen shifts to black.“I’m done here.Let’s go.”
“How much footage are we talking about?”I ask.“I mean, how much are they gathering and keeping?”
“Based on the server capacity?Years worth.This operation has been running for a long time.”Quinn frowns.“And the organizational system suggests multiple buyers.This isn’t a one-off—it’s a marketplace.”
I stand, scanning the space one last time.“It does seem someone with an operation like this would set up their own monitoring system.I mean, when you do something like this, you’ve got to think to yourself that it’s a matter of when, not if, you’re going to get caught.”
“You would think.But that’s the addiction, right?Or maybe not addiction—arrogance.People who set up operations like this believe they’re smarter than everyone else.”
“A smart operator would recruit from the models with club access.Built-in cover, natural access to members.”
Quinn pauses, thinking it through.“No.That’s risky too.And one of them could tell someone they’d been recruited.Technology.It’s everywhere and so misunderstood.And it doesn’t gossip.”
She smiles like it’s a wicked good thing.
“Maybe,” I say, holding the door for her.“But in my experience, sexy delivers.”
“Useful for some.”Her tone is neutral, but the implication lands:You’re one of those people.
I could tell her that most of my covers dress medown—that the best disguises are forgettable, that beauty is a tool I wield, not who I am.But Quinn’s already down the corridor and explaining feels like proving something I don’t owe her.The best disguises are forgettable, and when trashed, leave no semblance to the person beneath.
When we reach the bottom floor, taking care to follow the path of the looped surveillance footage, we exit the building.Adrien is waiting with Noah.
We each have our directives, and not much is said before we part ways, with Noah and Quinn heading off to get a cab on the avenue.
After they’re out of sight, I turn to Adrien.“Are we going back to your office or…”
A black sedan pulls up to the curb and Adrien opens the back door.
“What’s this?Where are we?—”
“I’m sending you home.I’m not done for the day.My driver will take you.”
“I could’ve gotten a cab with the others.”I’m affronted, but the part of me that’s most flustered is the part that will have to report back to my boss that I didn’t get more from Adrien.
