Page 39 of No More Lies
“It’s already here? A few hundred miles away.” Dex put the ball down and the room got deadly serious.
“That’s where it landed, yesterday,” Mackie said. “The plane has already left. With regards to the shipment, that’s as far as I got. Reno-Tahoe is a public and military airport. VV transportation collects cargo from there, but I have not yet found any logs of any of their trucks collecting anything since the shipment arrived. But I can’t stay in their system too long. I have to keep coming in and out to stay undetected.”
“Is it possible Vegas is the target?” Ryan asked.
“Could be. It’s a high-profile place with plenty of people. would make a significant statement,” Sam said.
“How the fuck can it be that easy to get sarin on a private plane and here undetected?” Donnie looked around at the rest of the team.
“With a lot of help. This took some planning,” Sam said. “Who owns the plane?”
“VV Transportation. Which makes sense. There are requirements on transporting dangerous chemicals by plane, too. The intended final destination for that shipment is an agricultural company in Nevada. I’m looking into them.”
Sam stepped forward. “OK. We can look into them, but I’d bet my ass it’s not intended to arrive there. More likely the sarin will be offloaded beforehand. Possibly at the airport. If VV transportation is in on this, they have access to military bases. A much better target than an agricultural company.”
“Who is behind this VV company?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah, is he known? On any watch lists?” Dex added.
“Not that I can see,” Kelly replied. “He is of Russian descent but came here as a child. His father actually founded the company, but passed away last year and the son took over.”
“What’s his name?”
Kelly tapped on the screen, bringing up a picture. “Vladimir Volkov.”
Oh, shit. Donnie turned his head to Mackie, who met his gaze. Their team leader didn’t miss it.
“Something wrong, guys?” Dex looked at them, a clear question on his face. Silence fell across the room.
Neither spoke. Donnie cursed. Fuck, this wasn't going to be good.
“Donnie, Mackie? What the fuck is going on?” Dex folded his arms, no longer messing around.
Donnie glanced between his team leader and Sam. Both were waiting for an explanation.
“Don’t make me ask you again. Is there something you need to share with the team?” The earlier joking around forgotten, Dex’s voice was low and calm. The way it always was when he was royally pissed.
Donnie sighed. “Yeah, there is, and you’re not going to like it.”
***
STEVE DIDN’T MOVE. He couldn’t. He would never hurt his wife, ever, but hell, this time he was angry. Diane was crying openly after telling him what had happened with Volkov. He should comfort her, hold her, but all he could think of was how she hadn’t come to him straight away. Instead, she’d put their daughter in danger. That thought erected a wall of ice around his heart.
“I’m sorry, Steve. I was going to tell you tonight. That’s why I came home. After he came to the office today, I knew things were out of control and I needed help.”
“You should have told me the first time he mentioned Megan. I’m your husband and I have a right to know when someone threatens our daughter.”
Yeah, raising his voice wouldn’t help, but he could barely contain his emotions. Volkov was a dead man walking as far as he was concerned. No one threatened his family. No one.
“I thought he was all talk. Being a bully, trying to intimidate me. I didn’t think it was an actual threat. You have to believe me. Then yesterday, realizing he was watching us at breakfast, I thought I could handle it. I got scared. He said he had connections, military ones. I didn't want to worry you or put you in danger.”
“Jesus, Diane, I’m a special operator. Part of a black ops unit. I can deal with a fucking businessman. He threatened our daughter. Do you need to be a partner so bad you would ignore the danger? What kind of mother are you to put your job before your own daughter?”
She looked at him in horror, but he didn’t apologize. He couldn’t get his head around it. She’d had suspicions about this client for weeks, suspected foul play, and had kept it to herself. Why? Because of some damn attorney-client privilege rule and her career? The worst part was he hadn’t seen it. The bastard had pictures of him, and he hadn’t noticed them being taken. Hadn’t seen what was going on right under his nose. He turned away, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. Fighting wasn’t going to solve anything.
“I never believed Megan was in danger until today, and I came straight here to tell you,” she said through tears. “I tried to tell the partners, but they wouldn’t listen. I thought at first maybe I was overreacting. I never dreamed Volkov would go this far.”
Steve turned back and fought to keep his voice level. “All these weeks, the distance between us, the long hours. I begged you to talk to me just yesterday. You said it was this case but didn't mention any of what’s really been going on. You lied.”