Noel pulled into the gas station with his head pounding. The vehicle was running on fumes, ready to sputter and die at any moment. He’d remembered there was a gas station and rest stop just off the main highway—and though he knew stopping might be a risk, the alternative was to have the SUV run out of juice in the middle of nowhere. He pulled up to the gas pump farthest from the road, using the other vehicles at the station as scant cover.
He pulled out his phone to make the call to his uncle, Chief Walter Black, who picked up on the first ring. “Noel? Is that my big-shot FBI nephew calling all the way from Quantico?”
“Hey, Uncle Walter.” His uncle sounded so excited to hear from him. He hated to be the bearer of bad news. “Graduated a few days ago, actually. I’m back in New York for a visit before starting work on Monday. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“No? Well, I’m proud of you. Going federal isn’t an easy job, but if anyone is cut out for it, you are.”
Noel swallowed hard. He’d thought that Uncle Walter might harbor some bitterness over Noel’s decision to leave the police force after taking a bullet to the leg during his second year on the job. He’d gone on medical leave and never returned. The lengthy recovery period had meant the only job he was fit for during recovery was a desk position—and so, out of frustration and by choice, he and the police force had amicably parted ways. His uncle had even vouched for him on his FBI application several years later, after he’d fully healed, but he still occasionally wondered if Uncle Walter remained a tad upset that Noel had quit police work.
“Uncle Walter, I’m going to cut right to the heart of why I’m calling as I don’t have a lot of time. I’m in trouble, and I’m hoping you can help.”
His uncle’s jovial tone turned serious. “Go on, son.”
Noel explained the situation as his uncle listened. When he came to the part about his FBI mentor telling him to pursue the case off the books, Chief Black sighed.
“This sounds incredibly dangerous, son. You sure you can handle it?”
“I can. I know I can. I didn’t endure police academy and twenty weeks of training at the FBI Academy for nothing. The issue I’m running into now, though, is that we need to access emails and financials for the facility manager, and I have no way to get to them. Because of what’s happening with Crais, there’s no way he can subpoena those records, and I can’t get to them any other way. I was hoping…well, that you’d know a guy.”
The silence on the other end sent Noel’s stomach into a tailspin. If they had no way to check out those records, they’d be sunk. They had no actionable proof on anything right now, nothing to go on. They’d be dodging bullets until Yasmine took one in the back and the FBI had him locked down. Or jailed for assault. But did he really want to bring his uncle into this?
“I’m sorry, uncle. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t be taking advantage of you this way.”
“Taking advantage?” Now his uncle did sound angry. “Listen up. Not only are we related, but also you’re law enforcement, same as me. Who’s going to have our backs if we don’t help each other out? You’re my people and I’m yours. This is what we do for each other. And it just so happens that I do know a guy, but you might not like it.”
Noel’s sudden surge of hope paused in its ascent. “Why not? What do you mean?”
“I mean…you can’t ask questions. About any of it.” Noel heard his uncle drum his fingers on the desktop. “I can call in a favor. Met a guy years back. Did him a solid. He promised me one favor, no questions asked, anytime I need it.”
Now Noel felt really bad. “Sounds important. You might need it someday.”
“Son, someday is today. Your life and the life of your friend are on the line. I’d say that’s worth calling it in. Might be that God intended I cross paths with that fellow for just such a time as this.”
God? Noel had never heard his uncle talk about God before. “I don’t want to put you at risk.”
His uncle laughed gruffly. “We’re all at risk in this business. Every single day. And if I can’t do something to help my favorite nephew catch the bad guys and save the girl, then I’d be a pretty terrible uncle. And let’s face it. If I don’t do this and something happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself.”
Noel swallowed the lump in his throat. He and his uncle had never been particularly close, but he understood. Family helped family. Law enforcement types looked out for their own. If the situation was reversed and his uncle phoned him for help, he’d do the same in a heartbeat.
“Okay,” he said, giving in. “Call in the favor. And then tell me what I need to do.”
* * *
Yasmine watched as a battle played out across Noel’s features. She’d begun to feel nauseated by the pain, but they desperately needed to determine a game plan, a way to try to wrest back some control over the situation.
Noel hung up and placed his phone on the dashboard. “We’re going to get another phone call in a few minutes,” he said, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it. “I’ll do the talking, but I’m going to put it on speaker so you can hear.”
He looked across the row of gas pumps and then at her. Her heart lurched, and clenched her hands into fists to quell the nervous tension. “Listen, when the guy calls, don’t say anything, all right?”
That didn’t sound good, but she nodded her agreement. “Is this, uh, aboveboard?”
Noel pressed his lips together and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want to ask those questions. In fact, we’re not allowed to ask those questions. I have a feeling that in the United States, it might not be considered aboveboard, but my uncle has called in a favor from someone who can hack into things for us, and he doesn’t seem bothered by it. My uncle’s a good man. He wouldn’t knowingly break the law. That means whoever he’s calling in a favor from is either a civilian or…” He stopped before he said it, but Yasmine could put two and two together.
“CIA?” she whispered. “An agent stationed outside of the United States?”
Noel didn’t say anything but looked at her pointedly. They sat for what seemed like an eternity, waiting and keeping watch. Yasmine’s stomach churned in anticipation and her head spun. What if the people after her found them before the call came in? What if Noel’s uncle wasn’t able to get in touch with his contact?
She was about to suggest they fill up the gas tank while they waited when the phone buzzed.
Noel reached for the phone and swiped to accept the call. “Noel Black here, FBI.”
“Good evening, Special Agent Black. My name is Shaun.” The caller paused as if choosing his next words very carefully. “I understand you’re in search of some sensitive information that is, let’s say, difficult for you to obtain with your current credentials.”
Yasmine swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Shaun sounded friendly enough, at least, but the whole situation was nerve-racking.
“That’s correct,” Noel said. Yasmine noticed that his hands had balled into fists, which he squeezed every few seconds like a pulse. “Did my uncle explain the situation to you?”
“He did. Financial records for Anthony Clarke, manager of a military equipment inspection facility contracted by the Department of Defense. Those were easy. The local police, not so much, because I had to look past the public records. I will say this, however. I didn’t notice anything strange with the police records. Your facility manager, that’s another story.”
Yasmine caught Noel’s eye and rolled her index fingers around each other. She wanted Noel to keep Shaun talking, but to do it quickly. They’d already spent too much time here. Noel nodded, already on board.
“And?” Noel said.
“I’m going to send to you what I found in a digital format, secured on a cloud storage account. I’ll also send details on how to access the account, because you’ll want to see this for yourself and then decide what to do with it.”
“Of course.” Noel’s fists squeezed again. “Something to be concerned about, I take it?”
“I’m no special agent, but it looks fishy. Anthony Clarke has been receiving financial handouts from an offshore account at what looks like a dummy corporation. The good news is that I’ve seen this kind of thing before. However, this one was hidden extremely well. Want to take a stab at who it belongs to?”
Noel’s face went blank, but Yasmine’s mind screamed an answer. When Noel didn’t speak up, Yasmine did. Noel visibly flinched as she ignored his instructions not to speak. “It’s got to be the Department of Defense. There’s no other explanation, but at the same time, it hardly makes sense.”
“You got it. Miss Browder, I take it?”
“Yes, sir. Can you tell who set it up?” Yasmine touched Noel’s shoulder. He still hadn’t reacted to Shaun’s information, but neither had he stopped her from interjecting into the conversation. If anything, he looked mildly relieved.
“I’m still trying, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to break through the security in front of the information without tipping off the person who set it up. I can’t give you a name, but at least you know that someone at the Department of Defense isn’t playing by the rules. This trail is telling me that there’s untested military equipment being rushed into the field to advance quota and receive a bigger financial payout from the Department. The money then moves from the inspection facility and back to this Department of Defense shell account, which pays out a portion of that to Anthony Clarke.”
Noel slammed his fist on the steering wheel. “Those unethical, heartless—”
“Huh.” Shaun’s voice came through the line again, hesitant.
“What is it?” Noel growled, then sighed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t shoot the messenger. I’m just frustrated.”
“I understand. You’re not going to like this either, so brace yourself.”
“Tell me.”
“There’s a second account that’s also receiving payouts from the shell account. But I can’t hack it. Can’t trace it, can’t see into it, can’t tell anything about it except that…wow. Wow.”
“Shaun.” Noel came dangerously close to growling at their contact again. Yasmine touched his shoulder, trying to calm him down. If he annoyed the man doing them a favor, they’d be back to square one. They needed him on their side. The tension in Noel’s shoulders eased with Yasmine’s touch, but only slightly.
“I know, I know.” More silence. More typing. “These payouts to the second account? They’re massive. Much, much bigger than what Clarke is receiving. That facility is moving a lot of untested parts, putting thousands of American soldiers at risk. There’s no other way there could be this much money going into the second account. I wish I could see who it’s for, but I’m blind here.”
“How much money?” Yasmine spoke before Noel could. “Can you see that, at least?”
On the other end of the line, Shaun grew silent. Moments later, his words were strained. “Millions. Whoever’s on the receiving end of that second account is getting millions from the shell account. The Department of Defense isn’t supposed to work like that. They’re federally accountable for their finances. Wherever this money is going, someone over there doesn’t want anyone to know about it. And that can’t be anything good.”