Burke found that an odd statement. A friend is the last person he’d put in danger by dragging them into something like this. “Not likely,” he transmitted. “She had a key to the back door. She’s in this deeper than just helping a friend today.”
“Today wasn’t a one-off. You were very comfortable in that front office. You’ve helped them with something illegal, like treating gunshot wounds in a warehouse without reporting the people to the authorities,” Wilson recapped. “You’re one hell of a good friend.”
“I never said today was the only help I’ve given Valerie and Tom,” Stacy said.
“You need to tell me what you’re not telling me, or you’re my number one suspect for tipping those guys off that Ellison was here, and you left the back door unlocked so they could easily get in,” Wilson said.
“What? That’s crazy! Stacy would never!” Valerie defended.
“I didn’t,” Stacy said. “You don’t even know if those men were sent by Mark Ellison.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure they were,” Wilson said. “Who else would have been at the back door?”
Silence answered his question.
“Did any of you recognize those men?” Rogers asked.
All four denied any knowledge of the men, not that they got a good look at them.
“Does anyone else have keys to the building?” Wilson asked.
“There’s a keypad on the rolling door. Mark and about a half dozen others have the code,” Valerie said. “So they could have come in the front door.”
“And lose the element of surprise,” Wilson added.
“They didn’t need to. Just the fact that they were there would have surprised us,” Valerie said. “Unless they knew about you,” she added, finally getting it.
“Oh, she’s sharp,” Burke said sarcastically.
“So, how’d he know we were there?” Tessman broadcast.
Wilson repeated Tessman’s statement to the occupants of the white SUV.
“We’re the victims,” Tom Butler said. “Do you think we went through the trouble to get Brandon out and then sabotaged it by letting Mark know what we were doing?”
“No,” Wilson said. “Why would you do that?”
“We wouldn’t,” Tom insisted. “Maybe Brandon is right. Maybe we weren’t as careful as we thought we were. Maybe someone did see something in Minneapolis that gave our ruse away.”
“What’s the makeup of this militia group?” Rogers asked.
“What do you mean?” Brandon asked.
“What are their affiliations?” Rogers clarified.
“They don’t have any,” Brandon said. Even listening through comms from the other vehicle, Burke could hear in his voice that he didn’t understand the question.
“Are they white supremacists? Left-wing liberals or far right conservatives? Christians or atheists?” Wilson asked.
“No, none of the above. They’re just normal people who have seen the corruption in this country get worse over the last twenty-five years and are sick of it. They see that the government is run by a bunch of elitists who manipulate everything for their own wealth and power, regardless of party, and they’re prepared to defend our way of life,” Brandon said. “Every system is broken in this country and none of them are trustworthy.”
“So, what does this group plan to do about it?” Wilson asked.
“There’s a civil war coming.”
“Whoa, that kid knows the company line,” Burke said. “He’s one hundred percent one of them.”
“Agreed,” Wilson’s voice came through comms. Brandon Ellison would have thought Wilson concurred with him. “When do they plan to start this civil war?”
