Page 145 of Broken Wheels

“Thank you,” Brady said with a wide smile. He reached into his messenger bag and removed a folder. “You told us you only found out yesterday about the imminent attacks in Chicago.”

“That’s correct, so we had to move fast.”

“See, that’s what’s confusing me.” Brady removed a sheet from his folder and held it up. “Because I have a document here, authored by you, that lays out plans for your teams to go into Chicago—to clean up after the attacks on those five locations.”

Murmurs filled the air, moving in a wave around the room.

Spencer frowned. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have the slightest idea what you’re talking about. What document?”

“The plans to go into Chicago are not the most confusing part,” Brady continued. “No, the real mindbender is the fact that this document is dated three months ago.”

The rumblings grew louder.

Before Spencer could get another word out, Brady held up another sheet. “I have a similar document here that refers to the attack on Stutton. Yet again, it details the cleanup operation—months before the attack took place. And there are more.” He lowered the sheet. “So, Mr. Spencer, do you possess impressive powers of clairvoyance? And if you knew the attack in Stutton was going to take place, why didn’t you swoop in to stop it, like you did in Chicago?”

A deathly silence fell, and Josh shivered.

Spencer cleared his throat. “Now I understand. You’ve been fed this information by Dr. Josh Malone, haven’t you? This has all been concocted to lay the blame at my door and thereby save his own neck.”

“Sorry, Mr. Spencer, but that theory doesn’t fly anymore, because what also worries me is that these documents refer to attacks that the American people didn’t even know about. Does Kingsman, Georgia ring a bell?” Brady held aloft a manila envelope. “What this folder does not contain is any reference to Dr. Josh Malone. It does, however, raise many questions, Mr. Spencer, about your involvement. So many, in fact, that I’ve passed it along to the FBI. I’m sure they will want to talk to you about this at some point.” Brady squared his shoulders. “Because to my way of thinking, it looks as if you knew the exact location of the Chicago devices because you planted them there. Now why would you do that?” The noise level in the room increased, and there were some calls for Brady to shut up and sit down, but Josh spotted enough faces to know not everyone was buying Spencer’s theory about Josh concocting all this.

Brady ignored the raised voices and speared Spencer with an intense gaze. “I’m not saying you personally planted the devices, but you definitely had knowledge. And let’s not forget the video footage from Stutton. That was your doing, wasn’t it, Mr. Spencer? You had someone already on the ground, suited up. Or else it was a drone. Either way, you wanted us to see the carnage. And I’m sure the FBI will have a long list of questions for you to answer.” Brady turned toward the rear of the room, and smiled. “Speaking of which, I believe these gentlemen would like a word or two with you.”

Five men in dark suits made their way to the stage, and the buzz of voices filled the room. When they reached the lectern, the leading figure leaned in, covered the mic, and spoke to Spencer in a low voice.

Josh held his breath once more as Spencer stepped down from the stage and was escorted to the rear of the room. Cameras followed his progress, and when the doors closed behind him, accompanied by a loud eruption of voices, Josh grinned.

“Gotcha.”

Chapter 44

The fallout following Spencer’s arrest was almost immediate, and for a few days, it seemed there was always something new to read, to watch, to listen to…. Chalmers kept CrossBow in the loop as to what was going on. Spencer’s company’s assets were seized, all files were confiscated, and each employee was brought in and questioned. Most of them spoke in glowing terms about having Spencer as a boss, but a few said he had a vibe that was a little too intense.

Josh had snorted at that. Yeah, having a psychopath for a boss might have that effect.

Spencer’s arraignment had been nothing short of a media circus. There had been protests from his followers about the length of time between the FBI taking him into custody and him entering a plea, rumors spreading like wildfire that they hadn’t arraigned him right away because the FBI were busy fabricating evidence.

Josh had his own theory about that. The process had taken that long because the FBI wanted to make sure their evidence was airtight before making a move.

Spencer made bail, not that anyone had ever doubted he would, but he was told to remain in DC and his jet was impounded. Josh had expected a flurry of interviews, with Spencer making huge declarations of innocence, but he’d gone suspiciously quiet.

No one else did, however.

The talk shows paraded a never-ending stream of guests who claimed to know the truth, but mostly spouted things that had already been disproven—such as Josh being responsible for the horrendous events. Not that it stopped the media from really playing up that angle, which whipped the Spencer camp into a frenzy. Like he’d told Dixon, Josh was consigned to the fact that he was now stuck in a prison of his own making. However, he made good use of the downtime by making plans to open a business of his own, just in case Gary and Michael decided having him around was too much of a distraction.

I couldn’t really blame them for that.

The best thing about the whole debacle was that Josh and Gary were out of the safe house and back at CrossBow with the men who loved them.

But will Dixon be willing to step out of his comfort zone?

“What are you thinking so hard about?” Dixon laced their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze.

No time like the present.

Josh didn’t look at Dixon. “If I have to go, would you leave with me?”

“Yes.”

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