Page 57 of No More Lies

“You got a picture?” Dex asked.

Kelly brought up a picture of a young white male.

“He’s nineteen. Worked as grounds crew, primarily overseeing cargo planes.”

“All that fucking intel we recovered on Reborn,” Steve directed his question at Kelly. “After the bombing, the intel Tyler found out, not to mention what was recovered from the houses we raided. You’re telling me we had no idea about the sarin, or a connection to Volkov?” His accusatory tone didn't go unnoticed.

“No,” she answered calmly. “We found nothing to indicate this.”

“The Aziz brothers are obviously the buyers.” Steve was pissed. “Something like this takes months to plan and requires a lot of money. You haven't found that money trail either?” How could they not have uncovered something?

“Watch it, Steve.” Dex growled.

Steve ignored him. “These bastards are getting the better of us. I thought only the best worked for Onyx, yet we cannot get a lead on them? Meanwhile they’re buying sarin from Russia? This is bullshit.”

Steve threw up his hands and turned his back on the team.

“Williams. Enough.” Sam’s tone silenced him.

Sam’s phone rang and he stepped aside to take the call. An uncomfortable silence fell on the room until Kelly broke it.

“The Aziz brothers know we’re looking for them,” she said quietly. “They know what intel we collected and are covering their tracks. Every time we find a new lead, it ends up a dead end.”

Steve went to speak, but Donnie caught his eye with a glare. He turned away, sensing he better keep his mouth shut. He wasn’t mad at Kelly specifically, but she was the intel team leader.

Sam rejoined them, face like thunder. “Mackie, Dale’s going to call. Bring him up on screen and loop in Liam.”

An all too familiar feeling churned in Steve’s gut. Sam said nothing. He didn’t need to. The look on his face said it all. This was going to be even more bad news. Seconds later, Dale Sanchez appeared on screen.

“Boys, I won’t waste any time here. First, Megan is safe. Nothing out of the ordinary at the school so far today. No strange cars or suspicious activity. Agent Adams has checked in.”

Steve nodded. “Thanks, Dale.”

“Let’s read the team in on the new information,” Sam said.

“What new information?” Steve asked, voice tight.

“I sent agents to see Natasha’s lawyer, Melanie Costas. Ms. Costas didn’t turn up for work this morning. They went to her house. No sign of her there either.”

Steve swore under his breath as Dale continued.

“Sam sent me the information Diane had on Volkov and we’ve been digging into his life. Volkov’s previous family lawyer, Arnold Janssen, is also missing. His office is closed and there’s been no sign of him in two months. Bank accounts, credit cards, untouched.”

“Family? Friends?” Dex asked.

“Yeah, we checked them out. He’s a bit of a loner. No friends to speak of. Only child. Parents deceased. We found an uncle, but he has no idea where he might be, and says they barely talk. Apparently, it was just him and his cats. It’s not a close community, but a neighbor said he hadn't seen him in a few weeks, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. He keeps himself to himself. Police checked his house. No signs of a break in, nothing out of place, but there were two dead cats. There’s a good chance that Mr. Janssen is, too.”

“Janssen disappears and now Costas has? That’s no coincidence,” Steve said.

“I agree,” Dale said.

“What about Natasha? Any luck on finding her?” Dex asked.

“Yeah. That’s where it gets interesting. Ms. Costas’ car was on Natasha’s driveway, but no one is answering the door. Pinged both of their phones. Nothing. Working on a warrant to search the place.”

“You think Volkov snatched them?”

“Not ruling it out. I have a car stationed outside the house while we wait for the warrant.”

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