Page 48 of Duty Compromised
Jace: Dude spends literally every spare penny on tiny plastic soldiers. Credit card statements show purchases from Games Workshop, eBay listings for “rare Primarch figures,” whatever those are. Last month, he dropped two grand on something called a “Titan Legion.” His apartment probably looks like a shrine to the Emperor of Mankind.
Me: You’re joking.
Jace: I never joke about financial forensics. Or grown men who paint miniatures for fun. Actually, strike that. I definitely joke about the second thing. Your security head is basically a weaponized nerd with a badge.
Me: So no red flags?
Jace: Unless the Chaos Gods are involved, he’s clean. At least financially. Though spending $500 on something called a “Mortarion, Daemon Primarch of Nurgle” should probably be illegal. I’m sending you pics of his eBay history. It’s…extensive.
I scrolled through the images Jace sent. Raymond’s purchase history read like a fantasy novel glossary—Space Marines, Orks, something called Tyranids that looked like H.R. Giger’s nightmares. The man had spent more on miniature soldiers in the last year than I’d spent on my truck.
Jace: Best part? He’s got a painting blog under a pseudonym. “GrimDarkPainter47.” Posts detailed tutorials on “dry brushing techniques” and “battle damage weathering.” His latest post is a 3,000-word essay on the proper shade of red for Blood Angels armor.
Me: This is the guy who acts like I personally insulted his ancestors by existing in his building.
Jace: Probably imagined he was challenging you to honorable combat for the glory of the Imperium. I’ll keep digging on the others, but honestly? If someone’s using an inside man, my money says they’re being manipulated, not paid. These people are too smart to leave obvious financial trails.
Charlotte’s phone rang, the sound sharp enough to make me look up. She didn’t react. Didn’t even twitch. The phone continued its insistent buzzing on the table next to her, but it might as well have been in another dimension for all the attention she paid it.
I walked over and checked the screen. Alex Richards.
“Charlotte.” No response. I touched her shoulder gently. “Charlotte.”
She blinked up at me, pupils dilated like she’d been staring into the quantum realm itself. For a second, she looked completely lost, as if she’d forgotten where she was. Her fingers still hovered over the keyboard, frozen mid-keystroke.
“What?” The word came out rough, like she hadn’t spoken in hours.
“Your phone,” I said, holding it up. “It’s Alex.”
She stared at the screen, processing the information like it was written in a foreign language. The phone stopped ringing. Started again immediately.
“Should I answer it?” I asked.
She nodded slowly, still partially caught in whatever coding fugue she’d been in. “Yeah. Yes. Answer it.”
I swiped to accept the call. “Dr. Gifford’s phone.”
“Who is this?” Alex’s voice was tight, stressed. In the background, I could hear what sounded like multiple people arguing.
“Ty Hughes. Charlotte’s right here, but she’s deep in coding mode. Want me to put you on speaker?”
“Yes. Charlotte, are you there?”
She leaned toward the phone, blinking rapidly as if trying to shift her brain from code to English. “I’m here, Alex.”
“Thank God you’re okay. I heard about the accident yesterday and got your email that you weren’t coming in this morning. But Charlotte—” His voice shifted from relief to something sharper, more urgent. “Did you take the stabilizer code drive out of the lab?”
Charlotte’s entire body went rigid. Every muscle locked up like she’d been flash-frozen. “I?—”
“Please tell me you didn’t remove classified materials from a secure facility without authorization. We’ve been through this before.”
I watched the color drain from her face as the implications hit her. Her fingers curled into fists on the table.
“Alex, I can explain?—”
“You need to come in immediately,” Alex said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Right now, Charlotte. Bring the drive with you. We need to talk about this before it becomes a bigger problem than it already is.”
Chapter 14
