“Drugs?” She frowned. “She doesn’t sound like the kind of girl who would have been into that sort of thing.”
“She wasn’t, which is why, when they found both MDMA and fentanyl in her system, I immediately knewsomeone had snuck it into her drink without Zoe knowing.”
“You sound so sure.”
“I am.” A muscle in the side of his jaw bulged. “Zoe’s older brother died of an overdose a few years before, and she was very outspoken against recreational drugs. Campus police and the chief of police at the time all blew it off as another teen party girl who didn’t know her limits. But Hank and I knew better, as did Zoe’s friends.”
“What did you do?”
“The only thing I could do. I started looking into things on my own. Did some digging. Started leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for whoever was involved. It didn’t take long before I discovered Zoe’s was the sixth overdose on campus in two months. All with the same concoction in their system as Zoe.”
“Someone gave them tainted drugs,” Alex surmised.
Colt confirmed her theory with a curt nod. “I pulled a friend who was interning with the IT department, and he got access to the club’s security feed. Together, we went back through the footage until we found the guy we were hunting. Aaron Woods, the club’s manager was filling in behind the bar. Cameras caught the asshole slipping something into Zoe’s drink before he served it to her at the bar.”
“Did you hand the video over to the police?”
“I did something even better.” A calculated smile lifted his lips. “I started hanging out at the club and eventually became the asshole’s friend.”
“You didwhat?” Alex blinked, her mind working overtime to imagine the scenario he’d described.
But just as the story was starting to get good, their conversation was forced into an untimely hiatus when their server returned to refill their drinks. They waited for the younger man to leave before resuming their conversation.
“I went to the club night after night,” Colt continued. “I observed. Blended in. Danced, flirted, and ordered drinks I only pretended to consume. Eventually I gained Woods’ trust. Even got a part-time gig serving drinks for him on the weekends. After a couple months, Aaron decided I was a safe bet.”
“Wait, so you got him to admit to drugging Zoe?”
“Actually it was even bigger than that. Turns out, the guy was the city’s largest and most successful drug dealer. He ran an entire operation from manufacturing to distribution using the club as a legitimate front.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” Colt scoffed angrily. “Asshole ran a sophisticated underground network that netted over two million in cash that year, alone. He was young, but smart. As in child prodigy smart. But instead of using those brains of his to find a cure for cancer or become the world’s next tech billionaire, he chose to build a highly successful drug empire at the ripe old age of twenty-six.”
Alex took a moment to process the incredible story. “What did you do?”
“Bided my time and gathered as much intel as I could. I knew if I wanted the authorities to take me seriously, I had to have rock-solid proof.”
“I’m assuming you got it?”
“With a little help from Kevin, my friend in IT,” heconfirmed. “Woods had to leave early one night, so he put me in charge. Gave me the keys so I could lock up after closing. After everyone was gone, I went into Aaron’s private office, and between the two of us, Kev and I were able to hack into the club’s main server. When we did, we discovered an encrypted file containing a hidden account in a bank overseas. In addition to that, there was also another file. One with a list of client names, dates, dollar amounts, and quantity of sales dating back five years.”
“Insurance,” Alex presumed. “In case one of his clients decided to double-cross him, maybe?”
“That was my thought, too. Anyway, between that, the other intel I managed to collect during my time spent with him and his crew, and a recording I got of the bastard discussing Zoe and how he must’ve ‘given the stupid bitch too much’ the night she died. There was more than enough to put his ass behind bars.”
“Wow.” She couldn’t help but be impressed by Colt’s dogged pursuit of justice for his friend. “I bet the cops were grateful.”
His shoulders shook with a laugh. “You’d think. But the chief ended up taking all the credit.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. But that was okay. I didn’t do what I did for recognition. I set out to get justice for Zoe, and I did.”
She took a sip of her water before bringing the conversation back around. “Okay, but I thought the whole point of this story was to tell me how you got involved in the CIA.”
Another smile appeared on Colt’s handsome face as he finished the rest of the story. “The day Aaron and hiscrew were arrested, and the chief of police held a press conference touting the ‘hard work’ he and his department had put into bringing down the state’s largest ever drug ring. The mayor was there and everything.” His chuckle was deep. “The next day, as I was walking to my car after class, I was approached by a man in a suit. He said he was CIA, and he knew all about me and that I was actually the one behind the collapse of an entire drug empire.”
“But how?”
