“Not necessary,” Keys told her as he opened the door to the conference room. “You couldn’t record anything in here if you tried. Besides, I want you to have the full experience of what my building is capable of—for when you report back to your father.”
There was the slightest of hesitations in her confident stride. Keys had been trying to be better at reading body language, and while he wasn’t certain, he did believe that he’d surprised her with his knowledge of her father’s request. The man hadn’t wanted Lyra to report back on his daughter, or the grandchildren and son-in-law he’d never met. No, he wanted to know about the technology Admiral Davis’ son had created.
Prick.
They filed into the conference room. Keys took his place on the far side of the table in the middle with Rose to his left. Both of their laptops and tablets were already waiting for them. Angel moved to stand at the back of the room. She’d done little but glare at her sister since her arrival. Ghost sat on Keys’ right, which felt awkward. But this was Keys’ building and his meeting, and per Ghost, Keys needed to get over that feeling. Poison placed herself on the other end of the table, making it obvious that Lyra was meant to go in the middle.
As the door closed automatically behind her, Lyra took her seat across from Keys without complaint, putting her briefcase on the floor at her feet. Immediately a projection of her briefcase appeared in the center of the table with a detailed viewing of what was inside it, including stacks of paperwork, a laptop, breath mints, a ridiculous, but accurate, number of pens, and a gun she did not disclose she had in her possession.
Her jaw ticked slightly. “The theatrics are not necessary,” Lyra observed wryly.
“Slightly necessary,” Keys argued with a shrug. “I wouldn’t want my reputation to precede me, and for you to not take seriously what it is I am about to tell you.”
Lyra’s eyes flicked quickly to Angel and then back. Leaning forward on the table, she said bluntly, “Let’s put all our cards on the table then. I knew this day would come eventually. You’re aware of the favor I did for Selene three years ago, and you wish for me to repeat it. I’m sure you can make your own identities just fine, but they cannot hold up to the level I am able to get for you. Sorry to disappoint, but it won’t be happening. I am not so heartless that I could allow a young girl who’d been brutalized to continue on like that. What I did was a single favor for thatchild. And if you think you can exploit it for your continued gain, you are sorely mistaken.”
Keys and Ghost exchanged a glance. While Keys did not correct Lyra’s misassumption that he was unable to create identities that would hold up to federal scrutiny, he did correct why she’d been summoned “like a dog” to Mount Grove.
“Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal Talbot Corrigan of the Des Moines field office is a dirty agent. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Tyson Kennedy scandal, seeing as it was your office that signed off on his current deal to remove him from prison in exchange for the names of his clients and accomplices. Unfortunately, it has been brought to our attention that he left a name off his list, histruepartner. He’s been providing Kennedy with access to protected witness files and locations for at least two years leading up to Kennedy’s arrest, possibly longer. He’s also directly responsible for the murder of at least one handler and the exposure of at least one protected witness.”
Lyra’s chin lifted ever so slightly as she realized her misstep. “That’s a significant accusation.”
“I have significant evidence.” Keys nodded to Rose.
Rose slid her tablet across the table. Lyra caught it with a single hand, her eyes flicking about the room before she picked it up. Using her laptop to control it, Rose walked Lyra through the trace logs, the pathway fragments, the timestamps, the correlations between Corrigan’s access queries and Kennedy’s subsequent movements…
Lyra listened in silence, her eyes scanning everything as Rose spoke. If Keys thought her expression was emotionless before, it was nothing compared to the hard mask as she looked at the data before her.
When Rose finished speaking, Lyra lowered the tablet to the table and sat back in her chair. She laced her fingers before her on the table, eyes scrutinizing the tablet that had gone blank as she processed everything she’d just been told.
“The evidence is compelling,” she finally said. Looking up at Keys, she warned, “It was also obtained through means that would be inadmissible in any federal proceeding.”
“We’re quite aware,” Keys told her with a nod of his head. He felt Rose’s ankle link around his under the table. “Which is why I’m not handing it over to our lawyer or a prosecutor. I’m handing it toyou.”
Lyra tipped her head slightly. “To what end?”
He shrugged, aiming for nonchalance. “Do with it what you will. Despite your differences, Angel believes you are a voice for justice and that you will not exploit this information for your own gain, instead defending and protecting the victims of Corrigan’s deceit.Howyou build a case from it, what official channels you run it through, how you make it look like your people found it… That’s all on you now.”
Lyra quietly inspected him for a heartbeat. “You’re giving me a roadmap,” she surmised.
“I’m giving you an opportunity,” he clarified. “One that I believe will benefit us both.”
Lyra’s eyes fell back to the tablet, even though no informationshowed on it anymore. “And what is it you are asking for in exchange? I’m aware of how you work, Mr. Davis.” Her eyes went to Poison and Ghost as well. “Why would you give this to me instead of simply taking Corrigan out of playyourway?” she emphasized evasively.
Though Poison made a noise down at her end of the table, Keys ignored it. He was very aware that this was not the bloody end of Corrigan that Poison desired after his involvement with Kennedy.
“You had a right to know what became of your agent,” Keys explained to Lyra. “His death was unforeseen by me, and I wish to make that right. And while you are correct that there are deadlier methods others at this table might prefer, this is howIam choosing to rectify my mistake. Bring Corrigan to justice, and allow your agent to rest in peace.”
Lyra tapped her fingers on the table quickly, the first outward sign of emotion this entire meeting. “I have one condition.” At Keys’ raised eyebrow, she continued, “There’s a man in WITSEC whose name, location, and protection details will be provided to you before we leave this room. In exchange for Corrigan, I want him…removed, by any means necessary.”
Angel shifted against the back wall as her eyes narrowed on her older sister. “What are you up to, Lyra?” she growled.
Lyra ignored her, only raising her chin higher in defiance as she stared Keys down. Keys’ fingers were already moving over his keyboard, and a moment later, the image of a man in his mid-thirties with a beer belly appeared on the same projection in the center of the table that the contents of Lyra’s briefcase had.
If Lyra was surprised Keys found the information so quickly, she did not show it. “Gerald Webber,” she told the group. “As I am sure Mr. Davis is discovering now, the man’s a pedophile and a child murderer.” The disgust on her face could not be faked. “When Webber realized he was losing his case, he turned state’s evidence to avoid going to prison where people convicted of hiscrimes don’t generally last the night. The unfortunate part of my job is that I not only protect the innocent, but also the criminals.”
“Witness protection exists for a reason,” Rose stated defensively. Keys knew it had nothing to do with coming to Gerald Webber’s defense and everything to do with her having once been one of those criminals.
“So does justice,” Lyra argued pointedly. “I tried to argue against it, but it was out of my hands. And when I suggested castration, the case was removed from my care and handed over to someone less likely to stab the man on sight. I learned later that he’s been offered counseling while in protection.Counseling, like he’s the one who needs healing instead of having his dick chopped off.”
