Page 113 of Whistleblower

“Excuse me, sir?” The guard paces toward me. “We’re almost done. If you need to relieve yourself, I’ll be ready to go in five. I don’t know my way back to the entrance, I’ll need an escort.”

The guard squints between me and Porky. “You’ll be okay for a moment?”

I smile warmly. “We’re amicable.”

“All right then, I’ll be right back. Just holler if you need anything.” He hustles off toward a small building about fifty yards in front of us. I watch him walk away in absolute shock and horror that it actually worked.

“So security around here…”

“Is a joke,” Porky finishes for me.

“Okay, you have five minutes of as much privacy as we’ll ever have. Warn me of what?”

Porky glances over his shoulder one more time before lowering his voice to the point I almost can’t hear him. “Right when I brought you on board to Empress, the government contacted me about collaborating. I wasn’t surprised they wanted Empress’s technology. It wouldn’t be the first time an authoritative agency was interested in illegal surveillance. When I initially refused, I was bribed, then blackmailed…then forced. They did the same to my partner. We both had secrets we wanted to stay buried and we were scared. Eventually we gave in. Everything would’ve stayed under the radar and they would’ve gotten their way, except they didn’t account for you, Eden.”

I push two fingers against my temple, trying to make sense of all the loose puzzle pieces. “That’s why you offered me a full-time role. I found that marketplace because you wanted me to.”

Porky nods. “It had to look like an accident, but I knew, Eden. I knew you’d do the right thing. You were stronger than I was.” Holding his head, he solemnly shakes it from side to side. “They threatened my wife...my daughter. I had to play the game their way.”

“Who, Porky? Who is they?” I see the guard in the distance heading back to us. “Quickly,” I urge. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that I already know who. The hairs rising on the back of my neck tells me I can answer this just the same as Porky.

“Who do you think? The very people you ran to.”

Shit. I feel nearly nauseas as the truth washes over me. I’m working for the people who are trying to hurt me. There’s a mole and I have no idea who it is. He could be waiting for me right outside of this compound, eager for me to spill every detail Porky just gave me. Or maybe he’s back at the compound, waiting for the report.

Is this why Callen didn’t want Linc to know where I was going? Is he using me too? But Empress is gone. What do they still want?

Porky rises, and I follow suit. “I’m sorry, Eden. I wish I would’ve never involved you in this. I wish I would’ve never invented Empress’s tech. We’d all be better off.”

His tears are pouring now, and I realize why he’s in shambles. Porky is serving time for a crime he was forced to commit. The very people who prosecuted him are the true guilty party. Leaning over the little table between us, I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him into a tight hug.

“No contact!” the guard shouts from a few yards away.

“When this is all sorted, I’m going to come back to help you too,” I whisper in his ear before releasing him and holding my hands in the air. “Sorry!” I say back to the guard who has finally reached us. “I didn’t realize. My fault. It won’t happen again.”

“Are you finished here, ma’am?”

I nod enthusiastically. “Yes, sir.”

I rehearse my game plan as I follow the guard back to the main entrance. I only know one person I can trust, and I have to get back to Linc as quickly as possible. PALADIN is not afraid of the FBI. If there is anyone safe to share this secret with, it’s them. I won’t say much to Agent Harmon, I’ll simply tell him that Porky had no information and denied everything, unhelpfully. Callen will know I’m on the way back, there’s no stopping that, but I’ll secretly call Linc to come meet me at the airport as soon as my flight lands.

As promised, Harmon is waiting for me just outside of the entrance.

“How’d it go?” he asks, looking relieved to see me. But now, everything feels layered. His question sends an uncomfortable chill down my spine and I am very aware of how alone I am. I didn’t ask her to budge in, but my rational brain leaps to the forefront of my mind anyway.

Lie, Eden. Stay calm and act casual. You can’t afford to tip him off.

“He was unhelpful to say the least,” I say with a little shrug. “He denied everything.”

“Damn. That’s a shame,” Harmon says, striding right beside me. When I get a length ahead of him, he grabs my elbow pulling me back. “Whoops, this one, ma’am.”

He points to a black sedan with windows so darkly tinted that they blend with the trim color. I try to gulp down the lump in my throat.

“That’s not the car we came in.”

“I made a switch, just to be inconspicuous,” Harmon says. It’s a lazy lie, that makes no sense at all.

Run, Eden. Now you should run and scream.

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