Page 36 of Harris

“The cult?” Shaw asked.

“Yes,” Brick said. “As far as we can determine, Soloman was a backer of the cult. Another one of the money men.”

“We took away his cash cow,” Shaw said. “He must have been pissed.”

“I saw him before,” Jennifer said, causing everyone to turn toward her.

“You did?” Harris asked. “What do you remember about him?”

“He’s a grade-A asshole,” she said.

“That goes without saying, but do you remember anything specific?” Brick asked.

“Yeah, he likes ’em young,” she growled. “He couldn’t hide that lecherous look he gave the girls who were part of the cult. I’ve never seen him try anything, but I don’t doubt he would have if given a chance. He’s creepy, disgusting, opportunistic, and downs expensive tequila like it’s water. His liver has to be mush by now. He even had a case shipped in when he was in California, and he was there for only a week.”

“Asshole. You don’t mess with kids,” Darren growled, making Harris wonder if there was anything behind that response other than the normal rational disgust the rest of them felt.

“Agreed, but we need to get inside. How do we do that?” Fletcher asked.

“Spencer, find out if there’s a supplier in the area delivering abnormally large amounts of high-end tequila to the bar and anywhere else in the city,” Brick ordered.

“On it.” Spencer began searching as Harris opened his laptop. Being a computer hacker might help with the digging.

“I’ll take the out-of-country suppliers,” Harris said.

“Thanks, man. I’ll take North America,” Spencer said.

“What are you thinking, boss?” Stryker asked.

“Maybe there’s a way to get closer to Soloman through his drink of choice,” Brick explained.

“I’d love to lace his booze with an extra kick,” Stryker stated darkly.

“If we find he’s having it delivered to his residence, that might be doable,” Brick said. “Either way, the last item on this agenda is Apollo’s missing team member. His name is Robin, and he went missing over a week and a half ago. They believe this division has him and have asked us to help find and free him.”

“This file is thick. Apollo’s team must have been following them for a while,” Jennifer said.

“Yes, and this Robin was tailing Jaws when he went missing,” Brick explained. “Apollo is unable to track Robin for much the same reason Conor can’t get a read on Apollo. So they have no idea where he is.”

“Robin’s a survivor as well?” Harris asked.

“His mutation allows him to leave suggestions in a weaker person’s mind using only his voice,” Brick said.

“Suggestions?” Fletcher asked, with a look that was a mix of curious and concerned.

“He can suggest they do things. Like having someone order a tea instead of coffee or jump up and down,” Brick stated.

“Or drive off a cliff?” Shaw asked.

“Yes. In essence. However, the person needs to be easily suggestible.”

“Holy shit,” Shaw said while shaking his head. “The Noah Group must have some serious players capable of all these mutations.”

“Yeah, and they’ve gone through countless bodies to do it,” Harris growled.

“It’s not like they have to follow any ethics guidelines,” Conor said grimly. “They can collect or create human test subjects at will and toss them aside when they’re done.”

“That’s what we’re here to stop. No one has the right to unilaterally decide a person’s existence, control over their body, or any other aspect. Screwing with a person’s DNA is a slippery slope that should only be done under strict guidance and with precautions ensuring that no harm comes to that person,” Brick stated. “The Noah Group’s experiments have gone on without checks and balances even after being dissolved by their military backers. That has to stop, and we’re here to do just that.”

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