Calculated Extortion Read online

  Mike rubbed a hand down his face. “Shit. This just escalated. Someone tell Martín to make sure he has extra security around?”

  “Thought that was us,” Parker quipped at the same time Scarlett nodded.

  “Everyone have their weapons?” Mike looked around and each agent lifted their suit jacket. When Scarlett did nothing, he said, “Is the intern going in unarmed?”

  Scarlett lifted her pant leg. On it was a smaller version of the standard issue Glock the rest of them were carrying. “I’ve never had to use it, but I’m trained. Under the circumstances, it seemed like a good idea.”

  “Well, don’t hurt yourself in there,” Mike said, forgetting for a moment they had an audience. Great, he was going to get all kinds of shit for going soft on their profiler. So what? Even if she outranked him, she still wasn’t that familiar with fieldwork. He cleared his throat and stood a little taller. “Alright, guys. Here’s the plan. We go in and say we are completing informational interviews. Parker, your guy is first. Then Alexis’ pick. Then I’m going to see what I can glean out of Jen.”

  “Whoa, take it easy on the details, Moretti. Not sure I can keep all of that straight,” Scarlett said with a cheeky grin.

  “What? The rest is here in your reports.” He pointed at Parker and Alexis. “You guys need a refresher course? No? Okay. Let’s do this. Oh, and be on the lookout. Our suspect may know something is up. I don’t want to fill out the paperwork if you guys get shot.” There. That was something they expected from him.

  The check-in at World Partners for Peace was similar to the last time Scarlett had visited, with one notable exception. Martín Vásquez was there to greet her and her fellow agents at the door. Scarlett shook his very sweaty palm. She leaned in while she shook his hand. “It’s okay. You’re perfectly safe. We’re all armed. Just stay close, and we’ll be right here if anything happens.” Instead of relaxing, he froze in place. Great. She’d elicited a deer in the headlights response. Maybe Mike was right to offer her the opportunity to practice her undercover work.

  Alexis stepped forward and guided him towards the larger office area without him noticing that he was being shepherded. Well done, Alex. Inside of ten minutes, they were seated at a conference room table. Pete Smythe had been called to the conference room first. “This was the IT director who didn’t mention the breach,” Parker explained. “We just need to find out if he’s hiding something.”

  Pete poked his head in the door and paused for a moment before slowly pushing it open, scanning the room. He shook each of their hands but his eyes remained on Martín.

  “Mr. Vásquez, am I getting fired?”

  “No, Pete. We just want to ask you some questions about your day-to-day job. The team thought it’d be good for me to learn alongside them.” Martín’s voice was calm and nonchalant. Good job, Martín. He recited his lines perfectly.

  “Is this because I didn’t catch the hacker? I…I wasn’t shirking on the job. I didn’t know there was a vulnerability. We just have a complex system…”

  “Easy, Pete. We’re not here to blame you. We just want to understand how complicated the work is to get you some help if you need it,” Scarlett lied smoothly, but Mike had seen and heard everything he needed to know. Liars often kept it short and simple while trying to redirect the line of questioning. This guy was practically confessing to something he didn’t do. And there was zero animosity towards Martín. Since he’d been the point of contact, there should be…something. He gave the team ten minutes for their questions. When it was still clear Pete wasn’t their guy, Mike hit the metaphorical big red button.

  “You weren’t behind the hack, were you, Pete?” Mike asked, without preamble.

  Pete’s jaw dropped and he raised his arms in the air. “Are you kidding me? Do you think I would even consider doing that? I’m sorry, but how long have you known me? Five minutes? I don’t care who you work for but I won’t stand here and be accused of lying, cheating, and stealing from this organization. I have dedicated my life to this place and you just dropped in. Look through my computers, my house, my car. I don’t have anything to hide.”

  Mike raised his hands. “Sorry, Pete. I had to ask.”

  “I’m sorry, Pete. Let’s continue this conversation outside.” Martín Vásquez rose, glared at Mike and mouthed, “I’m going to do some damage control.”

  As the door closed behind Martín, Alexis lifted an eyebrow. “Going for subtle?”

  Scarlett answered before he could. “Large hand gestures. Excessive explanation. Normal speech patterns. He’s not behind this. Good job, Mike. Poor Mr. Vásquez has some work to do but we can cross him off our list.”

  Mike was speechless. He’d just assumed everyone would be annoyed that he was doing the wrong thing for the right reason and was prepared to face the consequences. Apparently, Scarlett agreed that they didn’t have time to mess around if the CEO was facing a death threat. Alexis rolled her eyes. Parker chuckled and said, “Oh great, now there’s two of you.”

  Scarlett and Mike laughed. Mike shrugged. “It worked.”

  A few minutes later, they began the process again. This time with Alexis’ suck-up, Nick Burket. When he entered the room, he made a beeline for Alexis and held her hand just a second longer than everyone else’s while staring at her eyes, then her…shirt. When they asked him introductory small-talk questions, he directed his answers to Alexis with a smooth smile. Oh, this one wasn’t guilty, but it was funny. Mr. Burket wasn’t sucking up because she was a consultant who might fire him. He had the hots for Alexis. On second thought, he could have the hots for Alexis and still be their hacker. That would be less funny.

  Scarlett looked up from taking notes on the discussion and said, “Nick. What do you know about computers?”

  “Oh, I know a lot about computers. Use them all the time in this line of work.” He winked at Alexis. Mike choked back a laugh and Alexis finally caught on. He was proud of her self-control—she waited until Nick was talking to Scarlett to kick Mike under the table. Martín Vásquez came back into the room, took his seat, and gave Nick a nod. Nick sat up a little straighter.

  Scarlett said, “Do you ever write your own code, apps, or software?”

  Nick raised a questioning eyebrow. “No, but I’m willing to learn.” He directed his answer to Alexis before his eyes flicked over to Martín. “Mr. Vásquez, are these people trying to fire me?”

  “Why does everyone keep asking that?” Martín threw his hands in the air. “No, Nick. We’re just trying to learn more about what everyone is doing here at the charity so that we can use our funds appropriately.”

  “See, that sounds like code for getting fired. And I’m way too valuable to the organization.”

  “Do you have a reason for me to fire you, Nick?” Martín asked, arms crossed. Martín was way off script, and Scarlett’s eyes widened. Unlike Mike’s calculated strike at Pete, Martín’s approach and tone were scaring someone who hadn’t been crossed off the suspect list just yet.

  Nick sat up straight. “No, sir.”

  “Any grudges against me you want to talk about?” Okay. Time to reign in their CEO-turned-interrogator.

  “No, sir.” Nick’s eyes went wide and his voice rose. He began to play with his tie and his body shifted away from Martín.

  Scarlett rose and stuck out her hand. “Nick, thank you for your time. I think that’s all we have for you right now. And you still have a job. We’ll call you if we need you again.” As Nick exited the room. Scarlett let out a big breath. “That was close. Classic signs of distress. Keep the red flag on that guy just in case.”

  “So he did it? Why’d you let him leave?” Martín said. He’d half-risen from his seat, his hands were on the table and he looked ready to punch someone or run.

  “Easy there, cowboy,” Mike said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He may have just been uncomfortable. And Jordan, our IT guy, is watching your systems while we’re here. He’ll keep an eye on him.”

  Alexis
looked at the sheet. “Jen’s up next. Let’s see what she knows about Nick.”

  Scarlett tapped her pen on the table while they waited for Jen to arrive. The longer they stayed in the conference room, the more warning they gave their unknown subject that someone was sniffing around. The IT guys all checked out and none of them seemed to fit the bill. They’d have to go back to the drawing board. Again. Scarlett had missed something. They’d all missed something. Well, so far, Mike had been on point. Maybe he was going to pull a rabbit of his hat with the last interview. She’d keep an open mind and have a back-up plan. Mike was whispering quietly to Martín, who put his hands in the air in surrender before crossing them and going silent. A shadow outside the conference room gave her enough warning to shake her head at Mike, who shook hands with Martín and then took his seat.

  A soft tap at the door was followed by the entrance of a quiet, professional woman. Her mannerisms were small, almost timid, but her back was straight. According to Alexis’ research, Jen Duncan was a single woman in her 30s who had recently donated some of her own salary back into the organization. Hardly the type of behavior one would expect of a hacker stealing from a charity. Still, Jen the accountant had a lot of access to sensitive financial information so perhaps she knew more than she was letting on. Women lied most frequently to protect someone else. Maybe a hacker boyfriend? Scarlett kept her careful smile in place as she shook Jen’s damp hand and her mind raced through the possibilities. Martín’s manner shifted 180 degrees from their last interview. His accusatory glare had disappeared and upon noticing Jen’s nervous disposition, he moved to the other side of the conference table to sit beside her.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Jen asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Alexis said at the same time Martín said, “No.”

  Alexis continued. “We’re just hoping to ask you a few questions about the selection process you manage for the charity donations.” It was a question they’d planned in advance. A slam-dunk question intended to put her at ease before they asked the hard ones. However, she froze before carefully moving her hands to fiddle with her necklace. She was definitely hiding something.

  Jen cleared her throat. “Of course. We have a procedure and a scoring system that we use to rank donor opportunities. There are some exceptions, of course, based on extraordinary circumstances.”

  “Such as?” Scarlett asked. She pulled out a pen and notebook as if to take notes. Jen shared a look with Martín. What was that about?

  Jen’s voice trembled. “I…I have to go. I can’t do this.” She stood up from her chair abruptly and a tear ran down her cheek.

  “Jen, wait.” Martín Vásquez stood and placed a hand on her arm. She shook it off and power walked out of the conference room. When Martín began to follow, he found Mike blocking his path.

  “Why don’t you have a seat, Mr. Vásquez. I think we have some time.” Martín Vásquez rubbed his forehead, and Mike said calmly, “Is there something you aren’t telling us about you and Ms. Duncan?”

  Martín swallowed. “Nothing of interest to the FBI.”

  “Why don’t you let us decide if a romantic relationship is of interest to us, Mr. Vásquez?” Alexis’ tone was steady and direct.

  “What? No. Absolutely not. I’m a happily married man twenty years her senior. She’s become a very good friend of mine. I would never.” Scarlett leaned back and crossed her arms. If Mr. Vásquez was going to dig himself into a hole, she wasn’t about to stop him. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. “Jen is a wonderful employee. She’s as objective as you can be in this type of business, which is something I appreciate a great deal. Until recently. See, she had a family member who needed assistance, and as much as I would have liked to help her through the foundation, we turned her away.”

  “That’s a little harsh,” Alexis said.

  “I understand it seems that way. But there’s a reason we have a policy. If I make exceptions for one employee, it would set a bad precedent. We don’t want people to believe you have to know someone who works here to receive a donation. I forwarded the case to a friend of mine at another charity. Her family member’s case is being reviewed but due to the sensitive nature of the case, I’m not allowed to share any information with her until they make a decision. If the family member hadn’t been related to Jen, they likely would have received the donation from us already. She’s angry with me that working here counted against someone in need. We’ve been friends since she started here nearly ten years ago. This is affecting our friendship and it’s been a challenging time for both of us.”

  “So you believe she’s still mad at you?” Scarlett asked, not looking up from her notes.

  “I refuse to answer any questions that will incriminate my friend. She wouldn’t steal from me. Period.”

  Mike held up a form from the insurance company. “She didn’t steal from you. In fact, isn’t it true that as a senior accountant, she’s one of the few people at the company that knew World Partners for Peace had insurance coverage for a cyberattack?”

  Martín leaned in towards the agents and folded his hands on the table. His voice was softer now. “But, she doesn’t know how to hack into our systems. You said yourself, it was sophisticated. If you want to find someone who could do this sort of thing, you’d be better off accusing Emma. She’s a better programmer than some of my IT staff and she’s only sixteen. You might as well point to our high schooler as your criminal mastermind.”

  Alexis skimmed the list of employees. “Emma Moore? You mean Jen’s niece? Who recently faced a mountain of medical bills from fighting cancer? The Moore family wasn’t the one you turned down, was it?”

  “Aw, hell.”

  It was hard to say who moved first, but Scarlett was closest to the door and led the group out of the conference room, closely followed by Mike. Emma’s desk was near the conference room and was hard to miss with the “Intrepid Interns” sign above it. Emma was sliding a backpack on her shoulders while Jen’s head darted.

  “Don’t see a gun,” Mike whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Scarlett to hear.

  “Keep looking, Mike.” Jen’s eyes were wild when they met Scarlett’s, and she used her hand to place Emma behind her, like a mama bear standing in front of her cub. Emma peeked around Jen but there was no fear in her eyes, only curiosity and confusion.

  “Jen. We need you to come with us.”

  “Not happening.”

  Emma’s eyebrows shot up at Jen’s anger. “Auntie Jen!”

  Jen kept one arm extended and her eyes darted, looking for something. Scarlett watched her carefully. Desperation was a dangerous thing and Auntie Jen was throwing up some major red flags. Jen darted through a small gap between the cubicles, followed by Emma shouting after her. Scarlett was small enough to squeeze through the gap and she followed the two women. The others ran around the outside but she had a few seconds head start—enough to head off…something. Jen ran towards the entrance and fumbled her bag. When she dropped it, Emma bent to pick it up.

  Scarlett ran around her and said over her shoulder, “Stay here, Emma!”

  “I can help!” Emma shouted. Scarlett bit back her frustration and kept running. Parker and Mike were close behind her and would have to handle Emma. Her professional opinion was that Emma wasn’t a threat and if she was wrong, Scarlett was the one with her back to the potentially dangerous sixteen-year-old. If she slowed down, Jen would be on the loose doing God knows what. Scarlett reached the stairwell just as the door slammed shut. Damn. Mike came up behind her as she pushed the door open and they both ran up the stairs after Jen. Two flights later, their suspect darted out of the stairwell with Mike and Scarlett on her heels. There was no noise behind them, which meant Parker and Alexis were managing Emma and whoever else might be involved.

  “Where’s she going?” Scarlett spat out between breaths.

  “To the observation deck.”

  Scarlett burst through the doors to the observation deck
. Jen was approaching the fencing at the edge of the building at full speed. “Oh no. She’s going to jump.” Jen was in a delicate position and acting on pure flight response. They had to stop her before she did something she could never take back.

  “Freeze! FBI.” Mike’s voice boomed out from behind Scarlett. Jen slowed to a stop. She put her hands in the air automatically, eyes darting between them and the fencing designed to keep people from falling off the building. Would it hold? It was colder than Scarlett expected considering the warmth of the day. The wind chilled her as it whipped past.

  “I can’t do this. I can’t face my family.” Jen locked eyes with Mike but began to inch closer to ledge behind her. They had to do something. Give her an out.

  “Mike, stand down. I think this is all just a misunderstanding.” Mike narrowed his eyes and then nodded his head, once. He lowered his weapon and Jen blew out a breath.

  Scarlett kept her eyes on their subject. Scarlett and Mike had backed her into a literal corner. Scarlett shifted a few steps and Mike followed her lead, giving Jen a subtly clearer path to the door back to the stairwell.

  “Why did you do it, Jen?” Scarlett crossed her arms and put her weight on her back foot, as if she had all the time in the world. It had to be related to Emma, but it’d be nice if their subject could confirm it. Own it. In front of two FBI agents.

  “I was going to put it back. It was a loan. I’ve already paid some back. It’s just that, I was trying to get it approved through normal channels, before they took everything from my sister and her family. But it was too late. The insurance covered the ransom. I was going to move things around, pay them back, with interest. Make it right.”