Page 20 of No Reason to Trust

Before he’d gotten anything, a chair scraped across the floor in Nelson’s office. Jake immediately stepped back across the hall, and by the time the door opened, he was leaning against the paneling, scrolling through his phone.

Fred Windsor emerged and reared back when he saw Jake. “Dunbar. What are you doing here?”

Jake frowned at Windsor. That was none of his damn business. But instead of saying that, he answered, “Windsor. How’re you doing?”

Windsor stared at him a moment, then nodded and walked quickly down the hall toward his own office. Jake watched him go, wondering why Windsor had been so jumpy. So nervous.

Could he possibly be one of Nelson’s fellow Russian assets? Because of Windsor’s odd behavior, he’d call Diana and give her a heads-up about the guy. Tell her she might want to take a look at him, too.

Just then Nelson turned in his chair and saw Jake leaning against the wall. “Dunbar. You waiting for me?”

Jake pushed away from the wall. “Yeah. Your door was closed, so I figured you were in a meeting. Just need to talk to you for a few minutes.”

“Sure,” Nelson said. “Come on in.”

Jake threw himself into Nelson’s guest chair, still warm from Windsor’s ass.

“What’s up?” Nelson said.

“Wanted to get some info from you. I’m going to do a little surveillance at the place where I’m meeting the potential sources. I need the address and the room number where we’re supposed to meet, and the name and phone number of the agent who’ll be my backup.”

Nelson stared at him for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Great idea,” he said, but his expression said the opposite. Why didn’t Nelson want him doing that surveillance? It was a good question, but Jake figured he wouldn’t get an answer.

Nelson opened a desk drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. Handed it to Jake. “This is the address.” He tapped the paper. “Street address and office number.”

“Great,” Jake said, studying it for a moment, then sliding it into his wallet. “And my backup?”

“It’s gonna be someone from the Brooklyn FBI office,” he said. “I’ll text you the name and his or her phone number when I get it.”

“Sounds good.” He leaned back in the chair and watched Nelson. “I’m gonna take off this afternoon,” he said. “Find a hotel in Brooklyn, then get the lay of the land. Watch the building for a few days to see who goes in and who comes out.” He gave Nelson an easy smile. “Not sure it’ll tell me anything, but the more information I get, the better prepared I’ll be.”

“Yeah,” Nelson said, his voice flat. “The more information the better when you’re going undercover.”

Jake stood up. “I’ll keep you in the loop,” he said as he exited Nelson’s office.

After returning to his office and unlocking the door, he checked his tells, which were exactly as he’d left them. Leaving them in place, he grabbed his briefcase and walked out the door. Locked it again, then exited the building.

As soon as he was in his car, he pulled out his phone and called Livvy. She answered after one ring. “Jake. What’s up?”

“You know anything about spycams?” He explained about his keylogger and finding that someone had logged into his computer. “I’m on my way to an electronics store to buy a camera that I can install in my office, somewhere it won’t be too noticeable. I need some recommendations.”

A long silence hummed low on the line. Finally Livvy said, “Wow. That’s shocking. I didn’t think the FBI spied on their own people.”

“I didn’t either. But I suspect Nelson or one of his Russian buddies are behind it. I want to have proof of who’s doing it before I take it to Diana.”

“That’s a great idea, but you need to let her know as soon as you identify the perp,” Livvy said immediately. “Logging into another agent’s computer is a big deal. An even bigger deal is whoever did it must have used your ID and password. And I’m assuming you don’t leave that lying around. They had to get it from someone in IT. So someone in that department is involved, as well. And Diana needs to know about it.”

“Yeah, I plan on calling her. But I want to get the cameras installed before we leave for Brooklyn. That’s my first priority. After that’s done, I’ll call Diana.”

“Okay. Good,” she said. Cleared her throat. “I’ve used spycams on a few jobs. These are the ones I’d recommend.” She listed several brands and models. “All of them are small, which makes them easier to hide, and they can be accessed remotely. I’d get a few of them, and put them in different places in your ceiling. Different angles. And put one in front of your desk, so you can clearly see the face of the person who’s hacking into your computer.”

“Excellent suggestions,” he said. “My first thought was that I’d wait until this evening, and we’d do it together. But I’d like to get out of town this afternoon. Being in my office is making my neck itchy, especially after I found someone had hacked my computer. Having the spycam won’t stop the hacking, but at least we’ll know who’s doing it.”

“Definitely half the battle,” Livvy said. “We could do it on our way out of town, if you want my help,” she said.

“I’d love your help, but do you really want to be seen at the FBI building? That would raise a shitload of questions that neither of us wants to answer.”

“You’re right,” Livvy finally sighed. “I got carried away because I’m so anxious to nab these guys and get rid of the problems in the Bureau.”

---