Page 31 of Until the End

Also, the Outliers had created Ever Shield, a malicious program, and tested it, rendering Boundless Informant, ECHELON, and Stellar Wind—all covert global surveillance systems—null and void for one minute forty-five seconds. On the other hand, they had never used it again when they could’ve crippled the United States.

Her band of techies had been dangerous, for certain, but not evil.

Kit wasn’t a victim, but he gathered she wasn’t a traitor to the United States either. She was a smart survivor—something he admired—who was caught in the middle of this quagmire.

This was personal for her. She had skin in the game. The fact that she wasn’t looking for revenge for her murdered friends, asking for justice instead, told him plenty about her character.

Staring at her, he saw the desperate woman from the park, begging heaven for help. She needed his. More than she realized.

The thought of it tugged at his heart and weighed on his shoulders.

He nodded. “Okay.”

The immediate relief in her was visible, only strengthening the odd sense that she was somehow his responsibility. Sure, she fascinated him as much as she riled him up, and there was no denying he was attracted to her. But this was the first time he’d saved a civilian in such a one-on-one, intimate way.

Maybe that was why he felt a connection, an obligation to keep on protecting her, but her conditions would be a major sticking point for his boss.

Kit wasn’t going to cave under intimidation, and his boss was a titan accustomed to putting people in their place and winning at all costs. Getting Kit out of the Gray Box unscathed and doing his job at the same time was going to require a careful balancing act.

Castle had never acted as a mediator, and if his sister, Maddox, knew what he was about to attempt, she’d get a big kick out of it, but he’d taken notes from Reece. The guy was prior Delta Force, a demolition expert also trained in negotiation.

“What’s the next step?” she asked, her weary eyes glassy with desperation. She clung to his hand like she was counting on him, had the utmost confidence he’d save her again.

“A high-speed tutorial on how to play this in the conference room.”

Castle went over some quick rules for her to follow as they walked back to the conference room. “Got it?”

She nodded, looking uncertain, but time was up. They went inside.

“I’m glad you could rejoin us, Miss Westcott,” Sanborn said. “I was ten seconds from sending Doc to check on you.”

“I’m sorry I kept everyone waiting.” Kit took her seat. “I wasn’t feeling well.”

The room had filled in with two more of the team, upping the testosterone. Sean “Ares” Whitlock had joined the group. He was an operative who had been stationed at one of the other parks during that morning’s op.

Beside him was Reece. He mouthed, “Sorry. Didn’t want to miss this shitshow.”

Great.

Sanborn slapped the folder in front of Kit. “Sign the documents.” He set a ballpoint pen atop the paperwork.

They hadn’t used paper NDAs in years. Sanborn must’ve had these printed special. Castle assumed his boss didn’t want a stranger skilled enough with computers to use encrypted software and back doors into IRC laying a finger on the precious Gray Box system. Their networks accessed classified data from the full spectrum of the intelligence community. Now Kit’s identity as a hacker was established, the boss was probably patting himself on the back for the precaution.

As Kit picked up the pen and read the documents with furious focus, her lips pursed, like it was killing her to concede even this. She winced and hesitated more than once—stirring him to tap her knee with a knuckle—but she signed each one with only a single sigh.

Attagirl.

“How do you know about Z-1984, Miss Westcott?” Sanborn asked.

“Would it be possible to have a lawyer of my choosing present first?”

“No.” The word was sharp and final.

Kit shot Castle an anxious glance and he reassured her with a subtle nod.

She repeated her story, this time allowing the fear and grief to surface. As he’d instructed her to do. Kit’s blustery defenses and spunk would backfire with Sanborn.

To win him over, she needed to be genuine.