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Jonas shoved his hands into his pockets. He frowned and shook his head. “I thought that with his intelligence, Magnus would listen. I tried to appeal to his rationality.”
Boony read Magus’ records. “His college scores were very high, and his I.Q. is right near the genius level. You probably shouldn’t have started with the direct threats first. The anger and tone in your voice placed him immediately on the defensive.”
Jonas sighed. He ran his hand through his spiked hair. “You’re right. But my old interrogating habits are hard for me to break. Even as I’ve gotten older, I still prey upon my ability to coerce cooperation. It’s a big flaw and probably part of the reason why Derek and I have butted heads so often.”
“Maybe the two of you are too much alike.”
Jonas forced a tired smile. “Well, there is that, too.”
“But with Magnus, he never had a record until the murder that he swears he was framed of committing. It’s possible, don’t you think, that he might actually be innocent?”
“It happens, Boony, but over the years the majority that hold the excuse that they had been framed have never proven it in court.”
“Isn’t it difficult to do that from inside a prison?” Boony asked.
“Yeah, I imagine it is. But even if it’s true that he’s really innocent, he is like a guppy in a shark tank. Grayson will tear him apart.”
“Have you seen his size?” Boony asked. “He’s another shark that Grayson will have to deal with.”
“Boony, I’ve worked with Grayson for over ten years. Grayson has made a lot of enemies during his lifetime. A lot of them. That’s why he has a team of security guards that put Olympic champions to shame with their build and size, and Grayson is larger than any of them.”
“That may be true, Jonas. However, you must remember that Magnus has knowledge and intellect on his side.”
“You don’t achieve Grayson’s wealthy status and sit at the top of the Forbes Billionaire List by being stupid. Grayson is a genius. He’s invented a lot of things and reaps much more than he has invested.”
Boony smiled. “I don’t doubt that. But there’s still a big difference between Grayson and Magnus.”
“What’s that?”
“Grayson has everything to lose, and Magnus had nothing left to lose.”
Jonas grinned and cocked an eyebrow while studying her. “I’m beginning to think that you’re on Magnus’ side?”
“If he’s truly innocent, I hope he succeeds in whatever it is that he plans to do. I tend to root for the underdog, sir. That’s where I place my money. And if he’s not guilty of murder, then more power to him. No intent to offend or excuse the theft of the Percival 3000.”
“None taken.”
Boony returned to reading more of Magnus’ file.
“Do you really think he might be innocent?” Jonas asked.
“There’s always that possibility, like you said. Did you read the report when he took down the two guards?”
“Not yet. I found out a few minutes ago. I understand that he hurt one of them pretty badly.”
Boony frowned. “Really?”
Jonas nodded.
“Well, I don’t know about that. Who knows what happened when the guards entered his room. Things get out of control sometimes. Magnus is a big man and might have accidentally injured the guard. But the thing that sticks out to me the most is that he didn’t take their weapons when he could have easily done so.”
“That’s true.”
“If he was a vicious killer, he could have killed a lot of people with those weapons. The guards first, but he didn’t. I think there’s the strong possibility that he’s innocent.”
“Email me a copy of his file. I’ll see what my former colleagues in the States can find out.”
“Sure.”
“What have you discovered about the mystery passenger?” Jonas asked.
Boony shook her head. “Nothing yet, sir.”
“Keep me posted. I need to inform Grayson about the two we have identified.” Jonas headed toward the door.
“Wait, Jonas. I found something.”
He turned on his heels. “What? Do you know who is he?”
“No. That I don’t know yet. But what I do know is that he was stationed at the Deimos Life Station.”
Jonas frowned. “Then why the hell did he come here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Find out,” Jonas said, walking toward her. “Can you pull up his image?”
“Not yet. All I have is when he landed. But he kept his helmet visor down and avoided cameras directly.”
Jonas rolled a chair up next to hers and sat down. “Show me what you have so far.”
Boony backed up the footage of Carter exiting the Deimos shuttle.
“Odd,” Jonas said.
“What?”
“He deliberately tried to conceal his identity the second he got to Olympus Mons.”
“Looks that way,” she replied, nodding.
“Zoom in on his briefcase.”
She did.
“Doesn’t seem out of the ordinary,” Jonas said. “But I wonder what he has inside it.”
“There’s really no way of knowing.”
“I’m more concerned about him than I am about Magnus.”
“Why?”
“Due to my CIA training and observations. He arrived on Mars unannounced, wants to keep his identity secret, and has fled with two prisoners to get back to Earth.”
Boony nodded. “That does seem suspicious.”
They continued watching the video footage. Dr. Carter carried the briefcase and causally tried to leave the landing bay when he was stopped.
“That’s Sylvia,” Boony said. “She seemed genuinely surprised at his arrival.”
“Hmm,” Jonas said. “But it still doesn’t tell us who he is.”
“I know.”
Jonas pointed. “He signed the landing sheet. Contact the landing bay. Find out who signed it.”
“On it,” she replied. She tapped an extension number on the console. “Hey, Barry. Help me out. Who signed the landing sheet yesterday when the shuttle from Deimos landed?”
Boony glanced at Jonas. “He’s checking.”
“Good. That’s good.”
“Really?” she said into her microphone. Disappointment showed on her face. “Thanks.”
“What is it?” Jonas asked.
“The signature isn’t legible.”
“Very suspicious.”
“I think so too.”
“Connect me with the Deimos Life Station.”
She pushed several numbers onto the computer panel to connect their radio frequency to relay communication with the chief security station supervisor on Deimos.
Heavy static came over the speaker.
“Something seems to be blocking our frequency,” she said with concern.
“Does that happen often?”
“I’ve never experienced that before. It seems deliberate.”
“Damn.”
“Sorry I can’t be of any more help.”
“You’re doing a great job,” Jonas said. He stood. “Keep looking. Surely he removed that helmet somewhere while he was here.”
“I’ll let you know the second I see his face and have the facial recognition scan for his identity.”
He sighed. “I’ll let Grayson know what we know. The day keeps getting brighter and brighter.”
“After you contact Grayson,” she said, “worry more about contacting Derek than over this shuttle. The Percival 3000 is Grayson’s concern now. Not ours.”
“I know. But Grayson won’t see it that way.”
Boony smiled. “What’s it matter? He’s on Earth.”
“Trust me. That’s still too close. I’ve seen him at his very worst, and this incident will set him off like nothing else ever has. Keep me posted.”
“I will.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Jonas exited the security office, and Boony brought up the footage of her and Magnus talking in the Vortex. She wanted to watch it one last time before deleting it.
Although Magnus was a giant of a man, he seemed timid and somewhat nervous when she had spoken to him. He possessed an honest smile. His demeanor was gentler than most of the men she had met, and he was certainly kinder in his mannerism than any of the cocky guards that had come onto her in The Vortex since she arrived on Mars. Something about him made her want to believe that he was innocent. His smile beamed warmly, which was even more rare for her to encounter.
“Safe travels, Magnus,” she whispered, hitting ‘delete’ and wiping their video existence from the camera records. “I hope you find the justice you seek.”
When the video disappeared, she stared at the monitor attached to the outside cameras at the Olympus Mons Landing Bay, which gave her a spectacular view of the night sky with the brightest array of stars she’d ever seen. On Earth too many streetlights glowed in the cities. The glare along with the pollution prevented one from seeing the clusters of stars clearly. A part of her hoped that the population on Mars never exploded like it had on Earth.
As Boony stared at the night sky, she was beginning to regret that she hadn’t taken Magnus’ offer and returned to Earth with them. By staying on Mars, she was jeopardizing her own freedom should Jonas ever discover her hand in helping Magnus and the others steal the shuttle.
“Be safe, Magnus,” she whispered.