He cleared his throat. “You already know Paul is the target.”
“Yes. That was made clear today.”
“He works for Mertech, a high-end research company.”
“And you also work there?”
He nodded. “I’m there as a temporary contractor. The problem is, the only position I could secure was in marketing. I’m nowhere near Paul in the building, and making a connection with him over the past few weeks hasn’t been easy. Everything has been too forced. Too obvious.”
“Because he’s some kind of scientist.”
“He’s not just any scientist. He’s the scientist. He’s leading Europe in bio-research. He has worked for Mertech for years off and on, traveling around the world. Aubrey just moved to join him for a more permanent position.”
“What is it he’s working on that’s so incredible?”
“It’s the reason I’m here. I need to copy his formulas and hand them over to Blackwing.”
“But what kind of formulas? What are they for?”
Vaughn sighed. I knew he didn’t want to tell me any of this. “The specific one I need to acquire changes body chemistry.” He paused. “It can eliminate all traces of any substance in the body during a test or an autopsy. Alcohol, vitamins, you name it. It’s like a masking agent.”
“But why would that be something Blackwing wants?”
Vaughn tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “It doesn’t matter why. What matters is that my assignment is to get a copy of the exact formula.”
“It does matter why. If something like this can hide chemicals in a body, then what do they want to hide? Drugs? Poison?” I covered my mouth. “You said autopsies. Is it so they can get away with killing someone?”
“Stop. This is why I don’t want to talk about it. You’re getting scared.”
I straightened my shoulders. “I’m not scared.” I could hear the shake in my voice. “Tell me. Why do they want it?”
“You’re right. It could be used to hide a poisoning. But this has to do with something a little more commercialized than assassination plots.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The client is Riker.”
“As in the sports manufacturer? The sporting goods giant?”
“Yes. That one.”
I pushed off the bed to sit forward. I didn’t care when the sheet hit the mattress. I wanted to put the puzzle pieces together.
“Wait. They do sponsorships.”
“They do.” Vaughn nodded.
“Huge athletes. Million-dollar contracts. Some of the most famous names in the U.S.”
“Keep going.”
My eyes narrowed. It was like the clues were there, I just couldn’t snap them in place.
“But why would they want to hide—” I looked at Vaughn. “No.” I shook my head.
“What do you think it is, babe?”
I folded my knees under me. “They want to cheat. They are going to give the formula to the athletes. If it can cheat any test, then they could use HGH, steroids, even drugs and alcohol if they wanted. Think how that would help in the middle of a scandal.” I looked at Vaughn. “You’re going to do this for them?”