Two private security guards stood sentinel on either side of the door.
I flashed my badge, then gently knocked on the door as we stepped inside. With the shades tight, the room was dim. The TV was off. Ava rested, her damaged face slick with ointment. She was at the stage where they didn’t put on bandages. If they stuck, it could be a nightmare to remove.
A monitor by the bed read out vital statistics. The peaks of her heartbeat blipped, and BP and O2 saturation displayed on the screen.
Sebastian sat in a chair by the bed. He stood to greet us and shook our hands.
"How is she doing?" I asked in a soft voice.
Sebastian frowned and shrugged. "About as well as can be expected, given the situation. They’ve got her on some heavy pain meds. She sleeps most of the time.”
“You have any idea who’s behind this?” I asked.
Sebastian frowned and took a deep breath. After a moment, he finally admitted. “I've been under a lot of pressure lately to hand over the platform data.”
"Who’s been pressuring you?”
Sebastian paused. In a hushed tone, he said, "Certain European regulators, government officials, foreign intel agencies, terrorist organizations, you name it. Everybody wants this information. They want me to hand over personal data and control of the platform. I won't do it. Various governments have been trying to drum up fake charges against me for years.”
“This would have been good to bring up earlier," I said.
"I didn't make the connection.”
I gave him a doubtful look.
He sighed. “Maybe I was in denial. I didn't think they would go to these extremes.”
“Have you heard directly from these people?”
Sebastian sighed, "I got a call this morning. He didn’t give me his name. He said his organization had been hired to facilitate the transfer of private data and control of the platform. He said if I did as he asked, he would guarantee the harassment would stop, and my family would be safe. I would have no problems moving forward. No more legalchallenges, no threat of arrests. I could basically write my ticket.”
I shared a look with JD.
"I'm freaking out. I can’t prove it, but this is the Consortium.”
“The Consortium?”
“An off-the-books clandestine agency paid to harass me until I comply. Run by Viktor Kovalenko. He’s tight with several politicians and the global elite. He’s also got ties to several terrorist organizations and facilitates the transfer of cash and weapons. Viktor wants the platform for himself. He’ll sell the information to the highest bidder and use it to blackmail and control people in power.” He sighed again. “I’ve been offered large sums of money before, but I’ve always turned them down. But nothing is worth this,” he said, defeated.
"I'll look into the phone records and figure out who made the call and where it came from, but I'm not holding my breath. These people are professionals and have covered their tracks well."
"They’ve given me 48 hours to comply. If I don't give in to their demands, they said they will attack someone else close to me. But this time, the damage will be more than superficial."
"I think it's time to step up security for yourself and everyone around you," I said. “They compromised your executive assistant. Everyone’s vulnerable.”
"I've already done that. I trust the guys who protect me. They’ve been vetted, and they’re paid well.”
“I’m sure you paid your assistant well, too.”
Sebastian frowned. “I tried to reach out to my sister, but she won't return my call. We’re not on the best of terms right now.”
"Is she local?”
Sebastian nodded.
"Is she involved in the company in any way?"
"She was. But her role has… changed. She has a reduced ownership," he said in a sheepish voice. "I'm really concerned about her." He took a deep breath. "There's been a lot of bad blood between us, but I would like to put all that in the past. I will pay you guys if you can find her and keep her safe. Name your price. Money is no object. I can’t watch someone else I care about suffer the same fate."
