Page 33 of Drifter
“Give me a sec.” That’s War’s low voice I hear in the background. “It’s a decoy. He wants you to play with the locks to waste time. Whatever he’s hiding is not in his desk. This is your last resort,” War says.
“Got that?” Orion asks.
“I heard him.” I sigh. Fuck! I promised Sasha, and I can’t go back on my promise.
“Yo, guys!” Motown turns to us with a wicked grin. “I think I found our answer.”
I move to him, and Hawk asks, “Whatcha got?” as he steps closer.
“Behind the bookshelf is hollow. Listen,” Motown taps the wood panel where he removed the books. “I have a gut feeling there’s something behind this.”
Both Hawk and I start searching for a button or a trigger. I run my hands along the side panel of the bookshelf and notice where the smoothness of the wood looks more worn. I flash my light on it and see what we’re looking for.
“I think I’ve got it. Stand back,” I say.
Hawk nods and steps back, Motown following suit. This has to be it, I silently plead. The bookcase slides open to reveal a door. The good news is there’s a hidden door; the bad news, it’s a keypad, and where are we going to find the combination?
“Shit!” I spit out.
Automatically, Orion chirps in my ear. “What is it?”
“The door has a keypad,” I tell him.
“We have two options. One, take a picture of the keypad and see what numbers are most worn, and we’ll comb through to find possible matches,” Orion says.
“That’ll take a year,” Motown jumps in.
“Or, I hack into the system that installed it and find out how to change the code. Bad news is, you won’t have long to get the evidence to the feds, and McGrath is going to know about this sooner rather than later. He’s a paranoid fuck with reason, because he’s as dirty as they come, and I’ll bet you my last buck that he hits that room every morning like clockwork,” Orion adds.
“Can we buy ourselves some time? Keep him out of the office somehow?” Motown asks.
“Give me a minute?” Hawk heads to the door. He looks over his shoulder, giving the order. “For now, concentrate on the combination. I’m going to see if I can come up with a plan to keep McGrath busy for a day.”
I send a picture to Orion, and I can hear him talking with Wildcard and typing furiously away while Hawk is gone. The minutes tick away, and it feels like hours. Motown is pacing the room, and I’m becoming more and more frustrated.
When the office door clicks open, Hawk comes in with Simon right after him. “I’ve got a plan, but you’re not going to like it,” Hawk states.
“I can get a meeting for Dad off-site. I can set up a day where we’re out with clients. But no matter what, he’ll want to come back to the office at some point. He always does, and there’s nothing I’d be able to do about that. Unless…” Simon looks at Hawk.
“Look, the only reason we can see McGrath opting to go elsewhere is if Sasha decides to show up for a family dinner,” Hawk says.
“No fucking way! I’m not putting her in the same room with the guy who tried to kidnap her the other day. That’s fucked!” I growl.
“I’ll be there,” Simon starts.
“No offense, man but this hasn’t gone well for her in the past,” I point out.
“Then you come too,” he offers.
“Do you think daddy dearest will go for that? I doubt it,” I say.
“I can set it up. Tell him that she’s willing to come if her boyfriend can come along,” Simon answers.
“You’ll have backup, brother. Men will be posted around the property. We’ll be right outside if shit goes south,” Hawk adds.
“I promised her she’d never have to see him again. I’m not going back on my word,” I state.
“She’ll want to do this if it means being clear of him forever. It buys us enough time to get the shares we need and we can hand him and the Russians over to the feds. It’s a win-win,” Motown says quietly.
