Page 60 of Guarding Truth
The agent asked the waitress for coffee, and she returned with a cup.
Caleb knew the man had news, and he hated small talk more than anything else. “What’s the plan now that the hackers destroyed the not-so-safe house, Agent?”
Grief flashed across his features for a fraction of a second, but then it was gone. Caleb winced at his insensitivity. This man had lost two colleagues in their battle. “I’m sorry.”
“When we weren’t able to get ahold of our agents on the sat phone, we sent backup. A little too late though.” The agent sized up the ragtag crew at the table. “But thanks to you folks, we’ve apprehended two suspects that we think are involved with Rushmore.”
Finally, a win for the good guys. The agent continued. “First of all, we found the man you two tied to the stairwell of the office. Guess his partner left him behind. His name is Daniel Archer. Ring any bells?”
Juliette froze with her fork dangling in midair. “I know that name. But I don’t have an eidetic memory, so give me a second. I need the coffee to kick in.” She finished her bite, took a sip from her mug, and squinted. “Wait. I think he was the security guard at the bank. The one that was robbed.”
Agent McGregor’s face crinkled like he was holding in laughter at Juliette’s antics, but he held his professional demeanor in place. “Well done. He worked as a night security guard for First United.”
“That’s how they were gaining access to the bank,” Caleb said. “They had a man on the inside.”
Agent McGregor took a sip of his coffee. “More good news though. We were able to locate one of the drone pilots. He was a few houses down in a parked car. His name is Jeff Kline. He’s a highly skilled computer programmer. But it gets better, as the guy has a scar across his cheek—as if someone had whacked him in the face with a ‘best in customer service’ award.”
“So the hackers were the ones robbing the bank,” Jules said. “And this is the guy that pushed Caleb in front of the streetcar.” She stabbed another bite of eggs.
“We think they hired a couple of ex-military guys for some added support, but it looks like they’re doing their own dirty work. Whatever their mission is, it’s personal to them. These Savannah Rushmore members have gone rogue. None of the other cities where Rushmore operates have reported bank robberies or drone attacks. But it’s a big win for us, because we believe Jeff’s code name is the Architect. He may be the creator of their ransomware.”
“Does this mean they can’t launch the program, since their architect is in jail?” Juliette asked, right before taking a big bite of the cinnamon roll.
“That’s why we need to keep Ivy safe,” Caleb said with a glance at his very quiet niece. She moved food around on her plate with a fork. “If Ivy can recreate their program and make it work, they don’t need their architect.” He stirred his coffee with more force than necessary to combine the cream and sugar.
The man cleared his throat. “We’d like to take both you and Ivy into protective custody.”
Instant irritation. “But how can you keep us safe?” Caleb never hid his emotions well. “What are you doing to find these hackers and stop them?”
The plastic cushion on the agent’s chair squeaked when he shifted. “Ivy’s made more inroads with these hackers than we have. And that’s tough for me to admit. We’d, uh…we’d like to proceed with having Ivy make contact with them?—”
Ivy’s eyes pleaded with him.
“Did you not see the drone army they unleashed on us? It doesn’t feel safe to put a twelve-year-old out there as bait. There must be another way.” Several customers stared at their table, and he lowered his voice. “Use me. I can do the same things Ivy can. I’ve gone over their program and can fix their bug. I can act like I want to join them. What better way to take down the bank than to have the guy that created the security software on their side?”
Juliette shook her head. “They’ll see it as the trap that it is. Rushmore has tried to kill you several times. And they’ll still come after Ivy. She’s the easier target.”
The fine lines around Agent McGregor’s eyes deepened. His job carried a world of stress, and maybe Ivy was the man’s last resort. But what if something happened to her?
The agent cleared his throat. “We’d still like to have her contact Layna. Let them think that Ivy’s not told you anything. We’ll think of a reason that the tracker got damaged, like Ivy lost the bracelet. But if she makes contact, we can?—”
“No. Find another way.” Back at the safe house, he’d told Juliette that he’d consider it. But after drones had chased them out of the supposedsafehouse, he refused to let Ivy be dangled as bait.
His niece rested her hand on his arm. “Uncle Caleb, I want to help. I know I can do this.”
“Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should do it. These are dangerous people. You saw the drones. They’re ruthless.”
“Just think about it, Caleb,” Juliette said, still working on her pile of hash browns. “That’s all Agent McGregor is saying.”
“You want her to meet in person? Couldn’t she meet them online?”
The agent sat back in his chair. “We’d like to arrange a meeting between Ivy and Layna. In person. Someplace public. We need to draw the hackers out into the open.”
“And when Ivy gives them what they want? She becomes the very definition ofexpendable.”
Caleb ran a hand through his hair. This conversation was going nowhere. He turned to Juliette.
“Your job is to protect Ivy first, remember?” Why couldn’t she see the danger? Memories of that day on the mountainside assaulted him. This woman was too quick to take risks, and now she wanted to put his niece in the crosshairs.