Page 69 of Rescuing Erin

“Yes, he’s putting together the pieces. He’s happier than a pig in shit down in the basement. Gerard delivers his meals personally and keeps him watered. No one else in the White House but the two of us know he’s down there, and I don’t think he’s slept,” Tom told the group.

“He’s hunting.” I chuckled. “Men don’t sleep when they hunt.”

“I’ve moved my meeting up. I leave for Camp David tomorrow. Gerard will stay here, as far as the rest of my detail will know, he has a stomach bug and can’t fly. I’ll be back by dinner.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Zane asked before I could.

“When have I ever given into a threat? Do you think some fuckwit is going to stop me from running this country?”

Tom Anderson was a lot of things, one who backs down wasn’t one of them. Even if it meant putting himself in danger. I guess I knew where Erin got it from.

“All I’m saying is, someone with extreme capabilities took out your man. They’ve taken Erin. Maybe postponing your trip is the smart thing to do,” Zane tried to appeal to his sensible side.

“All the more reason for me to go. Right now, someone thinks they have me by the balls. But they’re about to find out mine are made of brass, and I will never give in.”

Zane let out a sigh. “I figured you say that. Let’s go over what we know.”

“This is Tex’s latest SITREP.”

Tom handed the situation report to Zane. While he was going over the latest intel, I studied the picture of the crime scene.

“I see two surveillance cameras on the building.” I pointed to the picture. “Where’s the footage?”

“Tex is working on that now. He’s also checking traffic and security feeds from the surrounding buildings,” the president answered.

“Listen up,” Zane started. “Tex found the connection between Warren and the NSA. Get your note cards ready because this shit is layers deep. Warren has been employed by Camio-Telecomm for the last year. They were running in the red until Warren came aboard and Camio was awarded an 889-million-dollar DOD contract. The North America Industry Standard code shows the scope of work awarded as telemarketing and product services in the amount of 660 million.”

“We know the NAICS codes for the contract are bullshit. What’s the real contract for?” Linc inquired.

“Information gathering,” Zane continued. “After the contract was awarded, Camio acquired a small media outlet for an overinflated price. It was a bad move on Camio’s part, but with the government money coming in they could afford it. Once Tom nixed Angel, the contract was terminated.”

“So, Camio is behind Erin’s abduction and the threats against Tom,” Jaxon stated.

“What was the information being collected used for?” I asked. “I’m not tracking how spying on the American people would help telemarking.”

“But it would help the news outlet Camio purchased,” Leo deduced.

“Bingo.” Zane tossed the SITREP on the table. “Once Camio knows how the general population feels on any given topic they can control the narrative. Either in support of the topic or against. How easy will it be for them to put out false information and influence public perception one way or another. Interference, meddling, and manipulation.”

“Warren wasn’t after influencing anyone,” I told the room. “His sole purpose was revenge. He wanted me dead to rub Zane’s face in it. He didn’t care about anything else.”

“I agree.” Zane’s voice hardened. “Two birds, Colin. He got to line his pockets and piss on me. That is until he underestimated you.”

Just thinking about Warren had my blood boiling. He’d set all of this in motion because Zane had exposed his lying ass for the coward he was. He’d stalked Erin, scared her, kidnapped her, and tried to kill me.

“Smart bastard,” I said.

“What?” Declan turned to look at me.

“He knew. He didn’t give the first fuck about Angel. He fucking knew Tom would never actually cave and reinstate the program, even if he took Erin. As soon as Tom had her back, he’d shut that shit down. Hell, he’d dismantle the whole cyber division if he had to. But Warren knew, once there was a threat against Erin, he’d hire us to protect her. He never cared who was with her, only that Camio took her and her guard alive.”

Not a word was spoken, but every man in the room knew I was right. It could’ve been any one of us hanging in that room, and Warren would’ve been satisfied. His only objective was to torture Zane Lewis.

But there were still too many loose ends. We were missing something.

“Where does Greenwold fit into this? He’s the asshole that’s behind the cameras in Erin’s apartment and hiring those guys to run us off the road. I’m assuming Tex has figured out the cyber, counter-intelligence department is behind his system breech?”

“He’s still working on it, but that is the assumption, yes,” Tom answered.