Angel on Fire (25 page)

Chase’s cell phone rang, interrupting their conversation.  As he answered, Angela leaned against the window sill and mulled over what she knew.  If she were in trouble, she wouldn’t hesitate to turn to Cat or Maddie unless … well, unless she would put them in real danger.  Going to see them now would put them in danger.  But what if Cat had the chip or even the software guy like Chase suggested?  Then she would be doing them a favor, right?  Angela chewed on her lower lip until it started throbbing.  Part of her wanted to talk about the issues with Chase and let him make the final call.  The other part of her insisted that she remain independent.  After all, she couldn’t afford to depend on a man who might turn and run from her at the first opportunity.  The moment that thought entered her mind, Angela knew she was going to
Maddie’s
cottage.  Right now she wasn’t sure of much, but she did know she could count on Maddie and Cat to help her always. 

The moment Chase answered, Zach demanded, “You used your own
fuckin
’ name in Manchester?  What the hell were you thinking?”

“Sorry, Sir,” Chase admitted without hesitation.  “But I couldn’t exactly gain Angela’s trust by lying to her about who I was
,
could I?”

“You
never
use your own name on an op.  Shit, Romero.  Where the hell was your head, soldier?” Zach snapped out.

“She knows your name,” Chase retorted. 

“That’s different.  Mac knew who I was, and there was never any reason to use a cover name around Angela.  I saw her so infrequently anyway that I wasn’t even on her radar screen.”  Zach growled and Chase winced.  “Monroe’s going to be looking for you now that he suspects Angela is with you.  I swear, if your screw up puts her in danger, they’ll never find your body,” Zach threatened, his voice dark with promise of retribution.    

“Understood, Sir,” Chase acknowledged.

“We’ve got a bigger problem,” Zach admitted after a brief pause.  “I ran into a couple of colleagues earlier today.  We need to find the man who designed the software, the one Mac was protecting, ASAP.”

“I thought we were looking for the program itself,” Chase commented.

“Everyone pretty much agrees that the software itself is so small that finding it is like finding a needle in a haystack.  It’s much harder to conceal a living person than a small computer chip.” 

Chase paced across the room, keeping one eye on Angela.  Things were heating up and he needed to get her out of the line of fire.  They could only keep her hidden so long though.  Zach was right.  To ensure Angela’s safety, they had to locate the software and its creator. 

“Talk to Angela.  Whether she realizes it or not, she’s the key to finding the designer and the software.  Your biggest problem is that everyone knows she’s the key.  Mac painted a bull’s-eye on her back.  She has to know more than she realizes.” 

Chase heard Zach sigh and his eyes widened at the sound.  Zach didn’t show emotion.  In fact, the men joked that Zach was really a robot. 

“Look, Chase, this is no longer fun and games.  My sources informed me that this program could seriously affect the economy worldwide.”

“How so?”
 

Zach paused for a moment and Chase knew he was picking his words carefully.  Often that meant that Zach didn’t have enough information but knew enough to start piecing the puzzle together.  Chase could only imagine how many agencies were involved in the mess at the moment if things were as dangerous as Zach had implied.  “I don’t have all the information yet.  I’m hearing different things from different sources.  But everyone seems to think the software can be used to manipulate the financial markets in a way that mimics the natural crashes that occur when a large group of people sell a stock over a very short period of time.  Think of it as
a software
similar to the ones used for automatic trading programs, only this one can handle a large volume of stocks at the same time.  Do you remember hearing about incidents where one or two stocks crashed to almost zero value?”

Chase made a noncommittal sound of agreement in hopes of encouraging Zach to continue.  He had a feeling he knew where Zach was going with this. 

“Now imagine a software program that could crash the entire Fortune 500 instead of one or two stocks.  Chaos would ensue.  People and other governments would lose faith in our economy.  Reversing all the trades and transactions on that scale would be challenging enough, but the psychological impact on the market would be devastating and long lasting.  Capital would leave at a rate never seen before and the downstream effect would paralyze our economy.” 

“Shit,” Chase breathed as the reality hit home.  This was big, as big in many ways as an attack on U.S. soil.  If an enemy got its hands on the software, it could topple the U.S. economy.  It was a far better way to destroy the U.S. than a physical attack.  The loss of life and infrastructure would be almost negligible for the enemy.

“Now do you see why it’s so important to keep an eye on Angela?  Aside from the fact that others will hurt her if necessary to find the software, she may be the only one who could lead us to it.  I’m not the only one who knows that Mac was assigned to protect the software and its creator.  Both are gone and Mac’s dead.  He mentioned Angela’s name in that voicemail, so right now it’s our best clue.  Others will eventually look to Angela for information.  You need to take her underground.”

“I’m working on it, Boss.”  Chase lowered his voice and turned away so Angela couldn’t hear.  “Angela wants to visit another friend of hers.  I’m starting to think it might be a good idea.  She lives in an out of the way place, which should be safe enough for now.  It’ll buy you some time to locate the software.  Plus, we’ll be able to check out the possibility that Mac sent a clue about the software or its designer to her friend.”

“Get moving then,” Zach ordered.  “The FBI’s probably running your aliases as we speak.”

“Grab your stuff, Angel,” Chase demanded as soon as he disconnected. 

“What’s going on?”  Angela threw her clothes in the duffle before hurrying to the bathroom to gather her toiletries. 

“I used my real name in Manchester.  You mentioned it to Sheriff Bates, and somehow the FBI found out.  They’ve connected me to Zach.  That means they’ll be running all my aliases.  We need to go now.”  Chase finished collecting their stuff and checked his weapon before glancing at Angela and nodding toward her waist.  She rolled her eyes but lifted her shirt, showing him that she was wearing the gun as promised.  An almost smile crossed his face as he slung both duffle bags over his shoulder leaving Angela her purse and the laptop case.  “Let’s get the hell out of Dodge.”  He extended a hand and tugged her to the door.

“Where are we going?” Angela asked as they made their way to the circular drive at the front of the hotel. 

“On a date.”
  Chase’s eyes twinkled.  “Aren’t you having fun?” he teased.  Angela
shrugged,
her confusion obvious.  “Chase?” 

He nuzzled her ear.  “We’re going to hop on that bus.”  A glossy, black charter bus idled in front of the main doors to the hotel.  “And go for a ride.  I’ll explain more
later
, okay?”  Chase ambled over and ushered Angela up the stairs. 

“Hey, this isn’t an airport bus,” the driver objected.

Chase shot him a dirty look.  “Changing hotels,” he growled, and the driver paled. 

A perfectly coiffed young blonde with ample cleavage cast a disparaging look at Angela as she trailed behind Chase.  The blonde thrust her chest out and flashed her pearly whites at Chase.  “This seat’s available, handsome,” she twittered, but Chase ignored her.  He gestured for Angela to slide into a seat near the window.  The blonde continued staring at them and Chase shot her a smile.  With his eyes on the blonde’s, he grabbed Angela’s hand and raised it to his lips. 

The blonde glared, and Angela shot her a beaming smile.  “Where are we going?” she whispered, hiding her face against Chase’s shoulder to muffle her question. 

“Gambling.”
  She glared, but he simply smiled and tucked a stray curl behind her ear before pulling out his phone and sending a quick text message to an old friend who might be able to help them get to Michigan. 

As the bus sped north along Interstate 65, Angela snuggled against him.  He rested his head against hers, periodically kissing her curls.  The sound of the engine drowned out the other passengers’ chatter, and he felt Angela relax, falling asleep in his embrace. 

Thirty minutes later, the shuttle drove up the long circular driveway and jerked to a stop under the deep red awning.  As the door squeaked open, the driver announced in a loud booming voice, which jolted Angela awake, “Welcome to the casino.  Please make sure to gather all your belongings.  Busses depart every hour on the hour until two am.  Enjoy your evening.” 

Still sleepy, Angela stumbled as she stood, and Chase wrapped an arm around her.  When they stepped off the bus, Chase nudged her away from the other passengers who hurried toward the large glass doors.  They rounded the still running bus, and Angela wrinkled her nose at the exhaust fumes as Chase guided her toward a set of stairs, leading the way down with her hand in his.

Despite the darkness, Chase moved effortlessly down the steps and along the stone walkway.  Angela squinted and hissed, “I can’t see, Chase.  It’s too dark!”  She crashed into his back and felt him chuckle.  He slowed and pulled her to his side.  Wrapping his arm around her waist, he murmured, “Just stay next to me and you’ll be fine.  We’re almost there.”

“Almost where?” she grumbled under her breath, not really expecting an answer.

As Chase led her down the concrete walkway, Angela found the sound of their footsteps unnerving in the night’s silence.  Shivering, she stopped as Chase tugged her toward a long wooden dock.  “Where are we?” she demanded, staring at the large body of water in front of her.  She might have enjoyed the serene beauty of the lake with the moonlight shimmering on the calm surface under other circumstances.  At the moment though, she only wanted to know what in the world Chase planned to do at the edge of what she guessed was Lake Michigan. 

“Friend’s got a boat,” Chase finally muttered as he glanced around the marina and frowned. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath as he scanned the horizon.  

“Docked here?” she questioned.  “Wherever here is,” she muttered under her breath, feeling tired and frustrated.  As grateful as she was for Chase’s assistance and support, she hated not being in control of what was happening.

“No,” Chase snapped, sounding as frustrated as she felt.  When he took a deep breath and turned away from her, Angela suspected he was trying to control his temper.  They remained silent for a few minutes until Chase confided in a low voice, “He has a slip in Chicago, but I asked him to meet us here.  Let’s just wait here for a while and if he doesn’t show, we’ll grab another bus.”

“And go where?”  She tossed her hands in the air and tapped her foot.

“The shuttles run into Chicago.”  Chase rubbed his head before snaring her eyes with his own.  “Look, babe.  I’m trying very hard to keep your cute, little ass out of the fire.”

Angela turned to face him, hands on her hips, death rays shooting from her eyes.  “Well, pardon me for questioning you, but it is my life and I should have some say in it.”

Chase threw his hands up and stalked a few feet further down the dock.  As he stood there, staring at the water, Angela glanced around.  This probably wasn’t the best time to fight with Chase.  Getting mad at him didn’t exactly accomplish anything.