“Let’s do this,” Elias muttered.
Together they entered the lobby of the four story building that comprised the entirety of the Eagle Tech company. Elias had done as much homework as he could on the place, but the only pictures he’d found of the interior were prior to Eagle Tech moving in. They’d no doubt changed the floor-plan.
Elias prayed his cover story held water. Oh, and that no one recognized him seeing as they catered to the same type of people.
“Mr. Allen,” a younger man with pitch black hair in a trim cut suit approached Elias with a welcoming smile.
“You must be Torres. Samuel Torres?” Elias took the guys’ hand.
Torres glanced between Elias and Isaac. “That’s me. Thanks for stopping by. Crossing a few things off your list before the holidays?”
Elias inclined his head. “Something like that.”
Torres gestured at the marble floored entry decked out with Christmas trees and fake snow. “Well, let’s have a quick walk around and let me tell you about what we can do for your personal security.”
Elias paused and really looked at the lobby layout. It was from the same decade, maybe even the same company who’d built the old Aegis Group building. Right down to the weird box thing in front of the elevators.
Man, just looking at this place brought back memories, and not the good kind.
Hopefully they didn’t blow this place up, too.
“Lead on,” Elias said.
To his credit, Torres was a thorough salesman. They walked from department to department chatting about the services, man hours, expenses. Elias even found himself thinking of uses for their services to supplement and take a load off Zain. Too bad Elias could never bring those ideas up now.
They trekked up and down the floors, showing off their mostly empty departments, what with reduced holiday hours.
The place was impressive. They packed a lot of operating power into a small space. That said, something was beginning to nag at Elias. Why would a tech security company develop any kind of bomb? Was it offensive or defensive? A counter measure to ensure client’s protection? Where did it fit in?
He just didn’t get it, no matter how many questions he asked Torres.
“Elias, you need to speed it up, stop yapping so much,” Jo finally whispered into his ear almost forty-five minutes later.
It was decision time.
They had two options. This tour was supposed to cement which of those two they tried. Either they did it now, or they came back later at night. The issue Elias saw was that security was far too tight to get in without raising some kind of alarm.
Elias’s mind went blank as he caught a glimpse of a janitor ahead of them. The man’s face, Elias had seen it earlier today. He’d shot at that man trying to get to Jo.
Fuck.
They weren’t ahead of the competition, they were neck and neck with it.
The race was on.
6.
Thursday. Eagle Tech, Seattle, Washington.
Isaac was in over his head. What the hell was he doing?
Jo was holding something back. He just knew it. But what?
Any moment now this Torres guy was going to realize they weren’t really potential customers, and it was all going to go to hell.
Besides, what was going to happen if Jo and Elias actually pulled this off?
Elias glanced over his shoulder. “Did you get that?”
“Yes, sir,” Isaac said without hesitation. They were discussing how long security videos were stored for clients.
“Why don’t I show you our cyber division? Follow me this way,” Torres said.
Great.
Another room full of people Isaac didn’t want to see.
They stepped out into a hall. Isaac hung back, letting Elias play his role.
“Elias, you need to speed it up, stop yapping so much.” Jo’s voice surprised Isaac so much he jumped. Thankfully, no one was around to see him.
He muttered under his breath and quickened his pace.
What were they going to do? And what was Isaac going to do about it? There was no way they were going to really pull this off. It was impossible. Wasn’t it? Or had Giovanni lied?
They’d gotten this far. The cat would be out of the bag soon if Dion didn’t catch up to them soon. Isaac wasn’t supposed to have to kill her himself. That was Dion’s job.
How the hell had he gotten into this mess? He should be at home or at Giovanni’s. The Christmas party was tomorrow. It wasn’t fair he’d miss out for this bullshit.
Elias’s stride faltered. He froze for half a step.
Torres paused whatever he was saying to turn.
“Is there a bathroom on this floor I can use?” Elias asked.
“Sure, just around this corner here.” Torres gestured ahead of them.
What the hell was this about?
They rounded the corner and Elias entered the men’s restroom at the same moment Torres’ phone went off with an incoming call. He stepped away the moment the bathroom door closed to answer it, leaving Isaac alone.
“Isaac? Get in here.” Elias’s disembodied voice coming through the comm had Isaac jumping again.
“What the hell?” he muttered and pulled the bathroom door open.
It was a normal office bathroom done in gray tile and white marble. Elias paced the length of the space.
“We’re alone,” he said, and stopped with his hands in his pockets.
“Okay, and?” Isaac shrugged.
Elias stared back at him. The guy could make a stone nervous with a stare like that. “And I saw one of the guys from this morning wearing a janitor uniform. The other team is here.”
“Shit. Do you know which one?” Jo asked.
Sweat broke out all over Isaac’s body.
God damn it. Dion. It had to be Dion. He knew to keep his head down. What the hell was he doing?
“We have to do this now, before they get to it,” Elias said. “Isaac, stay in here. I’ll make an excuse for you. Let Jo in that first floor north entrance. There isn’t a camera on it. Jo? Make sure you wear something over your clothes you can take off. Use the east stair to access the second floor. The server room you want should be there. Use the code breaker to get in, but keep your head down.”
“On it,” she said.
“Good. Keep me updated.” Elias nodded and turned on his heel like a fucking general commanding his troops.
What an asshole.
Isaac waited until the door closed to begin his own pacing.
“Hey, I’m headed your way now,” Jo said through the comms.
He didn’t respond.
What the fuck was he going to do? What the ever loving fuck? How was he going to cover his ass on this one?
God damn Giovanni for putting him in this position.
Elias’s voice started up, droning on with his conversation with Torres, providing a constant layer of noise to Isaac’s thoughts.
He should go. Run now. Get out while he still could and leave these two lovebirds to figure it out themselves.
Fuckity fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He blew out a breath.
This place was a security company. They had to have enough security to stop this mad plan. Right? And in the grand scheme of things, he’d rather deal with building security over anything Giovanni would throw at him. These people worked within the bounds of the law. Giovanni did not.