Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) (24 page)

Chapter 48

L
amar made several phone calls before leading Sara into a small conference room. Two other men waited for them.

“Glad you both could make it on such short notice.”

One of the men, who looked to be a couple of years older than Sara, spoke up. “Haven’t made it home yet.”

“Sara, this is Todd Jenkins. He’s our computer guru. He’s been trying to trace the credit card charges back to their source. And this”—Lamar nodded to a Hispanic man about Lamar’s age— “is Tony Castro, also a computer expert, who knows the streets better than anyone in the Denver office. He’s been following up on the few leads we have.”

Both men nodded to Sara before turning their attention back at Lamar. Their nods weren’t friendly, nor was the look in their eyes.

“Priority change, men. The party believed to be behind the credit card crimes abducted a young man about four hours ago. According to Sara, he has less than twelve hours to live from the time of his abduction. That gives us less than eight hours to save him. The clock is ticking.”

Tony cut in. “What about her? Isn’t she the prime suspect?”

“Sara Beckwith is involved. She was their programmer. When Derry Conway was abducted, she called me.” Lamar glanced at her. “She’s willing to work with us.”

Sara fidgeted. Was all this necessary?

“Sara, tell us what you know. What happened last night?”

All three men stared at her. She was put on the spot, and didn’t like it.

Lamar knew the story, but she recounted the details for Tony and Todd. They were silent until she named the man behind it all.

Todd interrupted. “Mr. Levy a kidnapper and embezzler?” Disbelief was clear in his tone.

As Sara gave irrelevant details to the crisis at hand, he pounded away on his laptop.

“Okay,” he interjected, “according to our database, Mr. Levy owns or leases eleven different buildings or offices around the metro area, most of them in south Denver.”

“And you won’t find Derry at any of those.”

Todd glanced up from his laptop. Doubt still filled his gaze. “You know where he’s at?”

“I know where he’s not.” Lamar’s team wasn’t the group of gun-happy bumbling idiots she’d pictured.

“Okay, you worked with Levy on his dark side.” Todd crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “You should know how he thinks. Where do you think Derry
might
be?”

His hard stare cut into Sara. She glanced at Lamar. His look was more sympathetic. He gave her a slight nod. It reassured her.

“Levy has at least two other buildings, maybe three, that are not in his name. Look up Mike Kowalski. See what he owns or leases. Levy keeps his illegal operations under Mike’s name, hoping to add a layer of separation between himself and the crimes.”

Todd leaned forward and started typing. He came back with the answer by the time Sara finished her explanation. “There are three properties under the name Mike Kowalski.”

“And I am sure all three have surveillance cameras and alarms,” Sara added. “You can’t get near them without Levy knowing you’re there.”

“I might be able to tap into them, and put them on a loop.” Todd talked as he typed. He was finally starting to trust—or, at least, believe—her.

“Try it, and you’ll alert Levy. I know the girl who set them up. She’s very good. If you don’t have the right codes going in, it will sound an alarm.” Kai changed the codes every month, and she was the only one who knew them.

Todd put a map up on the screen showing where the three properties were located. “There are two older buildings and a warehouse. Any guesses as to which one he’s holding Derry at?”

Sara stood. All these questions were a waste of time. “He may not be in any of them for long.”

“What makes you think that?” Tony studied Sara.

She grabbed the back of the chair, leaning in a little as she gripped it tight. “Levy’s men didn’t come back last night. Mike was the one who took Derry to wherever they are holding him.” She pushed the chair in a little. Turning, she started pacing. “If Levy thinks Mike’s been arrested, he’ll move Derry. Maybe kill him and dump him up in the mountains somewhere. So whatever we do, we need to do it now. We’ve already wasted too much time.”

Lamar stood. “She has a point. Any ideas?”

He moved around to the front of the room next to a whiteboard. Todd and Tony talked about hitting all three buildings at once, but that would involve a larger team and take too much time to set up. Plus, there was the chance that Derry may not be at any of them.

“We need more manpower. I want Faircloth’s team in on this. It’s right up his alley.” Lamar remarked.

“Who’s Faircloth?” Sara didn’t like the idea of others being pulled in.

“He’s part of our criminal investigation division. Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing.” Lamar turned slightly. “Tony, give him a call. And while we wait, we need to come up with a plan to verify where Levy’s holding Derry.”

“And for that you need me.” This was going nowhere fast. Sara pulled her chair out and dropped into it.

“How so?”

“As you said, I know Levy. I know how he thinks. He wants money. To him, money is power. That’s all he cares about.”

“Okay, and how is giving you up going to help him achieve his goal?”

Sara laid out her plan. None of them liked it, but time was running out. They had no other choice.

***

“You sure you want to go through with this?” Lamar glanced down at Sara as the two walked down the stairs to the lab.

“It’s the only way. I got Derry into this, I need to get him out.” She followed Lamar through a set of double doors and over to a slim woman in her mid-thirties seated at a desk. She stopped typing and looked up.

“Diana, we need your help.”

She pushed the keyboard forward and propped her elbows on the desk. “Everyone does. What can I do for you?”

“I need a special tracking device that is electrically undetectable and impossible to find visually. Have anything that might work?”

“Always the impossible. Who’s it for?”

Lamar pointed to Sara. “Her. She’s going into the lions’ den.”

Diana rose—she was shorter than Sara—and stepped up to her. “Open wide. Let me see your teeth.”

“Why?” Sara stepped back.

“Trust me.”

Sara stepped forward again. “I feel like a horse.” She opened wide.

Diana smiled. “No, we could never get away with doing this to a horse.” She looked in. “Small teeth, but I think I have something that’ll work. Follow me.”

She headed to the back of the lab where two men were working. “Robert, can you help me with one of those mouth trackers?”

“Sure. Who’s it for?”

“This young lady.” Diana gestured to Sara.

Robert rose from his seat and maneuvered to a locked cabinet. He returned with a small metal box.

As he worked, Diana turned to Lamar. “These are new. They work on a very high frequency, and are clamp- or- crush-activated. The drawback is they are short-lived, no more than three hours tops, once you activate them.”

Robert used a pair of tweezers to pull the device out and lay it on the table. Sara could barely see it.

“How do you expect me to crush something I can’t even see?”

He glanced up from his work. “It will be implanted in the back of your mouth, between the upper and lower molars, glued in at a contact point.” Standing up, he grabbed a small set of colored disks and matched them against Sara’s teeth.

“I’ll cover it with a hard material that matches your teeth.”

“So, no food for a while?”

Robert smiled, “We can’t have our undercover agents going hungry. It’s covered in an insulator. Nothing will affect it until you activate it and the only way to activate the transmitter is to bite down and grind your teeth back and forth. It takes the rolling action to work. Before you do that, you can eat or drink or do just about anything you would normally do as if it weren’t even there.”

Twelve minutes later, Lamar and Sara walked out of the lab.

She kept running her tongue over the area where Robert had hidden the micro-transmitter.

“You sure this will work when I bite down?”

Lamar’s deep voice betrayed his concern. “I sure hope so, or I lose two people today.”

***

Lamar glanced over at Sara as he drove. She wore the same dirty clothes that he found her in. Her face and body still carried the signs of hiding in the weeds and being dragged through the window. All in all, she was a mess. Just how she should be.

“You sure this will work, and we’re not just wasting our time?”

“You sure this Faircloth won’t blow the whole thing by coming in with his guns blazing? I don’t trust him.”

Lamar understood her concerns. “I’m the agent in charge. He understands that. But you didn’t answer my question.”

“It better work. Ted’s in deep with Levy. He’ll make the call.”

“And what are you going to tell Levy if he asks about his men?”

They had gone over this several times, but Lamar wanted to make sure Sara had the right answers. Putting an untrained, untried civilian at risk was a bad idea. He shouldn’t have let her talk him into it.

“That last I saw of them, they were searching the neighborhood around Derry’s house.”

“And as soon as you know where Derry is, you bite down.”

“No, I’m going to let Levy continue torturing Derry.”

Sarcasm, a sign she’s scared
. Understandably so.

She pulled her legs up tight in the seat and wrapped her arms around them. “Sorry. It’s just—”

“I understand.” He reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “I just need to be sure you remember.”

“I know. I’ll bite down the second I see Derry.”

“We’ll be there in a matter of minutes.” Lamar pulled the car into a parking lot on South Colorado Boulevard. “And if you feel your life’s in danger, bite down. Don’t wait ‘til you find Derry. I don’t want two dead bodies to deal with. We’ll get both of you out.”

“Sure.” She stared out the passenger’s window.

He wasn’t convinced.

She opened the door and started to get out.

“I’ll be praying for you and Derry.”

“Think it’ll help?” Her tone was skeptical.

“I wouldn’t do it if it wouldn’t help.”

“Thanks.” Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out the jump drive and handed it to him. “All my banking information, including my account number and password, is in a password-protected encrypted file call ‘futuro’. It’s Italian for future. The password is ‘salvo’. It means safe. This also contains all of the credit card scam programming and information about Levy.”

“You know you’re giving away your last bargaining chip?”

“It doesn’t matter any more.”

Closing the door, she walked away.

Chapter 49

F
rom the alley behind the strip mall, Sara could see the door of the computer store. Before heading in, she grabbed a handful of alley dirt and rubbed it into her palms, making them almost black. Then she added a little to her face. She wanted to look the part.

It was early, just past eight. She wasn’t sure if Ted would be in. If he wasn’t, she’d have to find a different way to get Levy’s attention.

Running the last fifteen feet, she pounded frantically on the door and yelled. It only took a few moments for Ted to appear.

“What in the world? Sara! What are you doing here?” His eyes widened as he looked her over.

“You have to help me!” Sara was out of breath. “Mike—and—his men—are after me.”

Ted looked up and down the short alley. “Sure, sure, come on in.” He helped her through the door.

“What happened?”

They entered a storeroom filled with shelves and boxes. Near one wall was a desk containing a monitor, keyboard, and stacks of papers. His office.

“Mike and his goons found me last night. They grabbed Derry, the guy who was helping me. Probably killed him by now. I barely got away. You have to hide me. If they find me, I’m dead.”

“Yeah, okay. Here, sit down.” Ted led her to his desk. “You’ll be safe in here.”

“Oh, thank you. I know this is a big risk for you. If Levy ever finds out, he’ll kill you too.” Sara placed her grimy hand on Ted’s arm. “This really means a lot to me. I mean, I know Levy’s offering a lot of money for me and all. You won’t tell him I’m here, will you?”

Sara talked like a stupid airhead. When she mentioned Levy and the reward, Ted’s eyes shifted away from her. It was only a matter of time before he called Levy.

Stepping back, out of her reach, he brushed the dirt off his arm. “You look terrible. When was the last time you slept?”

Sara acted weaker than she felt. “I don’t know. Night before last, I guess. I just need a place to rest for a while. Then I’ll be out of here. Levy will never know I was here.”

Ted moved halfway toward the door. His gaze shifted back and forth between the two-way mirror that displayed his store and Sara. “Hey, don’t worry about that. Can I get you something? Anything?”

“I could sure use something to drink.”

“How about some coffee? I can run next door. They have great coffee.”

“What about your store?”

“I don’t open for another hour. I came in early to receive a shipment and do some paperwork.” He looked into the store as he talked, not really paying attention to her or her answer.

“Coffee would be great.” Sara wasn’t sure if she really wanted the coffee, but she needed to give Ted an out to make the call.

He headed toward the door. “Want anything in your coffee?” He glanced at her over his shoulder.

“Black is fine.”

Ted ducked out the back door. Sara dropped her arms along with the façade.

***

Derry gasped for air. His lungs were starved. Where was he? What happened? Wasn’t he supposed to be dead? Vance electrocuted him. How was he still alive?

He opened his eyes. It was dark. He lay cockeyed on something, something big and lumpy. Moving his hands around, he encountered a face. A cold lifeless face. It was Seth. Derry yanked his hands back as he bolted upright. He’d been lying on a dead body.

The sudden move brought pain to his body. His muscles were stiff and sore. His head screamed in agony. Derry rubbed his face with his hands, and let out a small moan. He jerked his hands away as he recalled that one of them had just touched Seth’s dead face. He wiped it on his pants before taking a moment to survey his situation.

His joints and muscle ached. Any movement caused more pain.

Using the sliver of light that came under the door, he made a quick study of the room. Two sets of shelves ran along either side, and a third down the center. Seth lay next to him, staring. Derry closed his eyes and turned his head away.

He was in here because they thought he was no longer among the living. If they came back and found him alive, they’d finish the job. He worked his joints and massaged his muscles before slowly rising to his feet. Quietly, he made his way to the door, reached for the handle, and slowly rotated it. It was unlocked.

Opening the door just a crack, he peeked out to see Vance working on the electric chair. He was splicing the cables together that ran from the chair to the controls. The woman he’d seen earlier appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

“Come on. We need to make a run.” She turned around and started back up the steps.

Vance barely glanced at her. “I’m not your driver.”

She hesitated only for a second. “Mike’s not answering his phone, so you are now. Levy’s orders.” Her voice faded as she climbed. “I need to get Sara’s computer over to Ted’s, and you need—” The rest was too faint to hear. It didn’t matter. The good news was Vance followed her up the stairs.

Slowly and painfully Derry worked his way across the basement and up the same path Vance had just taken. At the top step, Derry took a seat. He was lightheaded and needed a short break.

Men’s voices came toward him. His position was exposed. He had three choices: stay where he was and get caught; go back down the stairs and start all over and maybe get caught; or run for the door and hope not to get caught. He chose option three.

Using his last bit of strength, Derry pulled himself up and lunged for the door. Shoving his body against the crash bar, he flew out the door and off the short landing into the alley. Daylight blasted his eyes as he fought to keep his balance.

He needed a place to hide, before those men came out to investigate the loud bang the door made when it hit the wall.

He raced across the alley and stumbled behind a dumpster. Falling into the filth, he waited and listened.

***

Sara slowly sipped the coffee while Ted paced in and out of his office-storeroom, checking the alley every few minutes. She asked
him if something was wrong. He said he was just waiting for the delivery. He was lying. He was waiting for one of Levy’s men.

Ted’s pacing was starting to get on her nerves.

“What kind of delivery is it?”

“Is what? Oh, yeah. A shipment from Samsung—tablets, mostly.”

“In your store? Isn’t that kind of low tech for you.”

“Uh—not really.” Ted was not good at hiding things. He made another trip to the rear door. This time, he didn’t return right away.

Either the delivery was here, or Levy’s flunkies had arrived.

“Yeah, she’s in here,” Sara heard Ted say. It wasn’t the delivery.

He reentered, followed by Vance and Kai. Sara jumped to her feet and bolted for the door into the store. Vance took off after her with large strides. He quickly caught up. He grabbed her around the waist, then tossed her back into the storeroom. She flew across the room and smacked her back against the wall before sliding to the floor.

She glared at Ted, who took his post beside Vance. “You little traitor. You said you’d help me.”

“I have debts to pay. Sorry.”

Sara noticed Kai move in behind Ted. “You, too? Are you here to gloat?”

Kai appeared hurt by her words. “No, I’m here to use some of Ted’s equipment.” She held Sara’s computer in her arms.

“It seems you have no friends.” Vance’s smile gave Sara a chill.

“What are you going to do with me?” It was easy to play this part.

“I am here to take you to Mr. Levy. What happens then is completely up to him. But first, I must make sure you are not working with the police.”

Kai moved past Ted and set the computer on his desk.

“Why would I come here and ask this traitor for help if I was working with the police?”

“Maybe you think you are smart enough not to get caught. So, before I take you anywhere, I must check you for tracking devices.”

“You better not touch me.”

Vance paid her no mind. He set a bag next to her computer. “Take off your clothes.”

He reached into the bag. Ted got a stupid smile on his face. Kai looked away.

“Drop dead.”

“You will do as I ask, or I will remove them for you.”

Kai turned toward Sara. “He means it. Levy’s orders.”

Sara glared at the audience gawking at her. “Leave the room.”

“No. You will do it here, where I can see.”

She crossed her arms, holding them tight against her body. Naked? In front of Vance and Ted? Never. “I guess you’ll have to force me, because I’m not stripping in front of a gallery of Peeping Toms.”

Vance took a step toward Sara.

She rose and held up her claws. “Come any closer, and I’ll rip your eyes out.”

Vance glanced at Ted. “Leave.”

Ted started to say something, but stopped on the first word. He turned and left.

“Better?”

“What about you? Kai can search me.”

Vance glanced around the storeroom. “Kai, take her over there.” He motioned to a stack of boxes that stood about shoulder high.

Kai hesitated before approaching. Apologetic, she said, “Please, I have to,” grabbed Sara by the arm, and led her to the boxes.

The women stepped behind the boxes. Taking one more glance at Vance to make sure he couldn’t see anything, Sara stripped down most of the way.

“She’s clean.” Kai smiled. “Well, not clean, but I can’t see any wires on her.”

“She’s not done. I said everything.”

Sara complied. “Okay, that’s everything.” She tossed her last piece of clothing to the side.

Vance retrieved a hand-held scanner from the bag and handed it to Kai. “Run this over her whole body. If she has any hidden bugs, it will tell us.”

Kai turned on the device and held it up to within three inches of Sara.

Sara jumped back a little. Her skin tingled. “What’s that thing going to do to me?”

Vance gave a short laugh. “Nothing. Now stand still.”

Sara stood, eyes on Vance, as Kai scanned her body.

“She’s clean.” Kai smiled again as she turned it off and handed it back to Vance.

Sara reached for her clothes.

“Leave those.”

The storeroom was chilly, and Sara was cold and exposed.

Vance slid the device into the bag and pulled out some sweats. He tossed them to her.

She quickly put them on. They were too big for her, it didn’t matter.

“Now, come with me.”

Vance grabbed the pile of clothes and led her out to his car, dropping the clothes in the dumpster as he passed.

Kai stayed behind.

***

Something stank. Derry opened his eyes. He lay in a pile of trash behind a smelly dumpster. He’d fallen asleep or passed out. How long? No way of telling. It was still light out, so hopefully not too long.

He pushed himself up and rose to his feet, using the dumpster as cover. The sleep had done him some good. The pain in his joints was much less. His shoulder and leg hurt, but were useable.

He glanced down the alley in both directions. It was clear. As he began to step out, a car turned into the alley. He quickly ducked back behind the metal sanctuary, then peeked around the edge of the big green monster. The car stopped next to the building where he’d been held.

Vance stepped out. Rage surged through Derry’s body. That man would pay for what he’d done. As soon as Derry could find help, he would come back here.

Vance stepped to the back door of the car. Opening it, he yanked someone out. Derry’s heart stopped. It was Sara. That murderous demon had Sara.

He had to stop him. He must save her.

As Derry prepared to step out, the door to the building opened. Three men came out. He moved back behind the dumpster. Even in top shape, three men plus Vance were more than he could handle by himself. He’d have to wait.

***

Vance smiled as he pulled the straps tight on Sara’s arms and legs. She knew what was coming. She had unwillingly watched as Steve was murdered this way. “Where’s Derry?”

“Who? I don’t know anyone named Derry?” Vance continued his work.

As she watched him, she noticed dark red sticky areas on the chair. “Is this his blood?”

“It does not matter. Shut up.” Pulling out his phone, he made a call.

It only took a couple of minutes for Levy to show up. Slowly shaking his head, he gazed down at her. “My, how the mighty have fallen. And after all your efforts to escape. Yet here you sit.”

“Where’s Derry?” She gave Levy the hardest, coldest stare she could muster.

He barely glanced at her. “Who?” He smiled.

“Derry. The man you tortured in this chair earlier today.”

“Where are my men?” He looked into her eyes.

Was he hoping to read the answer in them? She stared back. “Who?”

Levy lost his smile. “What’d you do? Call the cops on them? Get them arrested?”

“The last I saw of your dogs, they were running through the alley, searching for me.”