Page 61 of Cyn
“So why so pensive?”
Slowly, she bobbed her head from side to side in thought. “I was thinking that it was nice to be able to work with Six, Devil, Nora, and you on this since, usually, I’m on my own. And that got me thinking about whether or not I like working on my own now as much as I used to. Which then, of course, led me to consider whether I’d still like the work in five years or ten years. I don’t have any answers, but I realized that before today, I’d never even asked that question of myself.”
“It wasn’t just the question about what it might look like for you years down the road that had you thinking, but the fact that you’re thirty-eight and haven’t ever really given it any thought?”
She flashed him a smile. “Yes, I guess that says something about my ability for introspection.”
He started to say something, but they were interrupted when her computer dinged, and a file popped up. This was the third encryption key they’d managed to break but judging by the amount of data on the phone, it wasn’t going to be the last.
She clicked the file open, and seven documents populated a list. Based on the individual file sizes, none looked that large, so she sent them all to the printer and printed two copies. Reaching over, she pulled them out of the device, separated them, then handed a stack to Joe.
“Shall we place a wager on whether or not we’ll find anything useful?” she asked. It wasn’t all that appropriate given the serious nature of the work they were doing, but she was trying to curtail her frustration at having so little to go on at this point. Especially with the specter of violence hovering so close on the horizon.
Joe’s gaze darted to the papers, then he grinned. “How about if we find something, we take a break and work out in that lux setup you have?”
“And if we don’t find anything?”
“Then we bypass all the machines and weights and go a few rounds in that sparring ring I spotted. I figure you’ll want to work off some of your frustration at that point.”
She smiled. “Actually, sounds like a win-win situation to me.”
“I’m an expand-the-pie kind of guy, what can I say?” She laughed, then reached for her coffee as she set the papers on her desk and got to work.
Four hours later, they were back in front of the computer after a lengthy sparring session followed by a rather pleasant shower. They’d brought an early lunch up with them, and Cyn couldn’t help but feel that it was like Groundhog Day—just sitting in front of the computer and waiting.
She glanced at her phone, willing it to ring; willing Six, or Devil, or Nora, or even Lucy to call withsomething, because she and Joe were coming up with a big fat nothing, and the hours were ticking by. Finally, not able to take it anymore, she picked up her phone and dialed her friends, putting everyone in conference and on speakerphone.
“Someone has to have something,” she said to no one and everyone. “Madam Heffelfinger would be so disappointed in us.” Joe shot her a look, but she waved him off. She’d tell him about their infamous instructor later.
Six snorted. “Unfortunately, I have to agree. She’d have us doing KPandlaundry if my search is anything like yours.”
“You have nothing?” Cyn clarified.
“What I have is the fact that John Waters has gone radio silent. No internet or phone activity at all. I’ve been on and off the games all morning and haven’t seen him crop up there. You’re monitoring the dark websites Lucy sent you, right? The ones you were on yesterday?”
She’d checked in a few times that morning, but no one seemed to be online. It was a Sunday morning; she figured the young men who frequented those sites were probably all still in bed.
“Yes, and nothing,” Cyn answered. “Devil? Nora?”
“Same as Six,” Devil replied. “Travis Persons is radio silent.”
“So is Michael Harrow,” Nora said.
“That, in and of itself, is interesting,” Joe said.
Cyn nodded. “The calm before the storm.”
“We should have put tails on them,” Devil said. They should have, but they hadn’t had the resources. They could have hired someone to do it, but none of them had ever operated in this way in the United States before. Usually, if they were running an op in the US, it was in conjunction with one of the federal agencies. Because of that, Cyn didn’t have a good security or investigative firm handy to call on. Something she decided to rectify once they resolved this situation.
“Where are they now?” she asked. The young men might not have used their phones that day, but those same phones could still be tracked.
“At the apartment,” Nora answered for Harrow, and Devil and Six concurred. Either all three men were together in the apartment or they’d all left their phones there.
“Anyone interested in a road trip?” Cyn asked. She was waiting on Lucy and didn’t want to leave her computer.
“On it,” Six responded, and Cyn could hear her already gathering her belongings.
“I’ll text you their address,” Cyn said.
