Wired (Buchanan-Renard 13)

The silence as the two men continued to look at her so expectantly was unnerving. One second she was confident she was safe, and the next she was ready to put her hands out for handcuffs. Phillips finally went around his desk and took a seat while Agent Scott, his arms folded across his chest, studied her.

She desperately tried not to look at him, but it was impossible not to notice how attractive he was. She couldn’t believe she was thinking about such foolish things now. Focus, she told herself. Focus on the problem at hand. Her ability to concentrate was one of her strongest traits. How many times had the sisters of St. Dominic’s High School praised her for that very thing?

Were these men going to arrest her or not? She could feel the panic returning. Was this how Will felt every time the police knocked on his door? she wondered. Or was he more cavalier about it all?

She took a breath and asked, “Why am I here?”

Agent Scott answered, “I’ve been wanting to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you, Allison. Your talents are quite impressive.”

“Who have you been talking to?”

“A few people.”

“In other words, you aren’t going to tell me.”

He didn’t answer her question. He just smiled. The dimple in his cheek when he smiled made him look less intimidating. In fact, in any other situation she would have said it gave him a roguish charm. He had a lovely accent, too. British or Australian, she guessed.

Agent Phillips spoke up. “As you know, this is a new facility, and our work here is very important.”

“From the little I’ve seen, it’s impressive.” She glanced at Agent Scott and said, “I should get going.”

Just as she was getting up, Phillips asked, “How do you feel about taking a lie detector test?”

She sat back down. “I’m sorry. . . . Take a lie detector . . .”

“Yes,” Phillips said.

“Why would I want to do that?”

“We would like you to come work for us,” he explained. “But you’re going to have to pass a lie detector test first.”

She couldn’t quite grasp what he was saying. “You’re offering me a job?” She glanced from one agent to the other. Both were nodding.

Weak with relief because she didn’t have to worry about going to prison, she let out the breath she’d been holding in. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m going to have to decline.”

“Why?” Phillips asked. “You don’t even know what the job is or what your salary would be. How can you say no?”

Time to be blunt, she decided. “I don’t want to work here.”

Phillips looked astonished. “Why not?” he asked, and before she could answer, he said, “I don’t think you understand what a unique opportunity this is.”

“We know you want to finish college,” Agent Scott said. “We’d work around that.”

“She’s in her last year,” Phillips told him. He looked at Allison as he added, “It’s taken her five years.”

She smiled sweetly. “That’s right, Agent Phillips. It will be five years.”

Seeing that she was beginning to get irritated, Scott intervened. “I think you should take some time to think about it before you decide. We haven’t explained what you’ll be doing here.”

“I’m not interested, Agent Scott.”

“Call me Liam,” he insisted. “How about we talk later? You’re going over to Jordan’s tonight, right?”

How did he know that? “Yes,” she said.

“Good.” Turning to Phillips, he said, “Are we done here?”

“For now. I had hoped to test her today,” he admitted, “but we can wait.”

Allison wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She needed time alone to figure out what exactly was going on. She knew there was a hidden agenda. She just didn’t know what it was. How had they found out about her “talents”? Whom had they talked to? More important to know, what did they want her to do? If she had considered their offer for even one second, she would have insisted on answers to these questions, but the fact that they had manipulated her into this situation raised red flags she couldn’t ignore.

“If you come to work here, you’ll only have to answer to me,” Phillips offered.

He would be her boss? Did he actually believe that would be an incentive? “As enticing as that is, I’m still going to decline.”

Phillips came around the desk. “I hope you’ll reconsider.”

She shook his hand, then Scott’s, while she thanked both of them for letting her see a little of the cyber unit. There was only one problem with a quick exit: Agent Scott wouldn’t let go of her. She tugged; he pulled. “Is there a problem?” It was difficult to tell what was going on behind his smile.

“I was hoping you could answer a couple of questions before you left,” he replied. “I guess I could ask them tonight.”

Oh no. After this encounter, there was no way she was going to Jordan’s tonight. She decided to keep that information to herself and play along. “Yes, you could ask me then. Are you about ready to let go of me, Agent Scott?”

“Liam.”

Phillips drew her attention. “There is one thing we need to know before you go.”

She turned to him. “Yes?”

“Have you ever hacked into a government agency?”

The question shocked her. She wasn’t prepared for it. “No,” she answered emphatically. Technically she was telling the truth. She had e-mailed the FBI with sensitive information, but she had never broken into their system.

“FBI? CIA? NSA?”

“You can go through the alphabet if you want. The answer is still no. I haven’t hacked into any government agencies. It’s against the law.”

“Never?”

“Never,” she insisted.

“If you had, would you admit it to a federal agent?”

He had her there. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Now you understand the need for a lie detector test.”

“Sure, I do. I’m still not taking one.”

“Because?”

It seemed to her that they were back where they started. “Because I don’t want to work here.”

“About the government agencies . . . ,” Phillips said.

“Yes?”

“You’ve really never hacked . . .”

How obtuse was the man? “No, I haven’t.”

“Could you?”

He posed the question just as she skirted past Liam and headed for the door. She turned around and said, “I’ve never tried.”

Liam shook his head. “That’s not what he was asking. Could you?”

She decided to be honest, no matter how arrogant she sounded. “Probably.” She thought about it another couple of seconds, then added, “Yes, I’m sure I could. Happy now?”

Liam grinned. “You have no idea.”

SIX

Allison wanted to find out why she was being interrogated, but her curiosity was overridden by her desire to escape. Liam Scott’s piercing green eyes were staring intensely into hers, yet giving nothing away.

“Let me guess. You’re not going to explain,” she said.

“No, not now,” Liam said. He opened the door for her. “We’ll talk tonight, and you can ask as many questions as you’d like.”

“Will you answer them?”

“Yes,” he assured her. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

Before she could argue and tell him she wasn’t going anywhere with him at seven tonight or any other night, Agent Phillips spoke up. “Trust me, Allison. I’ll find a way to convince you. I think you’ll enjoy working here.”

She shook her head to let him know she disagreed, and when she turned back, Liam was gone.

“Would you like to see the rest of the facility now?” Phillips offered.

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“No, thank you.”

She didn’t wait for an escort. Quickly exiting Phillips’s office, she located Jordan and convinced her it was time to leave. When they were finally alone in the car, Allison began to grill her.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Agent Scott?”

“Who’s Agent Scott?”

“Liam Scott.”

Jordan drove through the gates and onto the road before glancing over at Allison. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t know they checked up on me and planned this whole visit to get me out here?”

Jordan looked completely befuddled. “What?”

“Liam Scott is coming to your home tonight for dinner, and he thinks he’s picking me up at seven and bringing me along.”

Since they were driving on a deserted gravel road, Jordan didn’t bother to pull over. She stopped the car and turned to her friend. “What do you mean, he’s coming over for dinner?”

Before Allison could respond, Jordan said, “Take a breath and tell me what happened. Start at the beginning and try to make sense.”

“I’m not sure I can. None of it made sense to me. You really don’t know Liam . . . ?”

“No, I don’t.”

“What about your husband? Maybe Noah invited him. They’re both FBI. Maybe they’re old friends, and he just never mentioned him to you.”

Jordan dug her phone out of her purse and went through her messages. There weren’t any from her husband, but there was one from her brother Alec, who was in town from Chicago. He hoped she wouldn’t mind the late notice, but he had a friend who wanted to meet her. They were coming over for dinner. Jordan read the message to Allison.

“Alec’s FBI, too, isn’t he?” Allison asked.

“Yes,” Jordan replied. “You still haven’t told me what happened.”

“Phillips had a file on me. He knew about my family, my years working on my degree—”

“Why?” Jordan asked.

“He was offering me a job. I think there’s more to it. If this was only a recruitment opportunity, why wouldn’t they have called me for a meeting? Why did they get you involved? And why would they have been so manipulative about us coming out here?”

“I’m sorry, Allison. I didn’t know anything about this.” Jordan thought for a second. “It’s a given they want something from you,” she said. “Maybe tonight your date will tell you what it is.”

Allison looked appalled, which made Jordan laugh. “Liam Scott is not my date. In fact, I don’t think I’ll come tonight.”

“Yes, you will,” Jordan said. “You’re curious to know what he wants, aren’t you?”

“You could find out and tell me.”

“Oh no. You have to be there. Besides, from what you’ve told me, I don’t think Agent Scott will let you decline. FBI agents like to get their way. What’s he like?”

Sexy. That was the first word that came to mind, but Allison wasn’t about to admit such a foolish thought to Jordan. Instead, she said, “Oh, you know.”

“No, I don’t know. Tell me.”

Allison shrugged. “He’s an FBI agent. He smiles, though. Unlike Phillips.”

Jordan put the car in drive and took off. “I guess I’ll learn more about Liam Scott tonight. I wish Noah could be there, but he won’t be back from Miami until next week.”

Several minutes passed in silence as Allison replayed the bizarre encounter in her head. “Phillips sounded so sure of himself,” she said.

“How so?

“He told me he’d find a way to get me to work for him, and I don’t think he’s one to bluff.”

“No, he isn’t,” Jordan agreed.

“He also said I would have to take a lie detector test, and I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

Allison trusted Jordan but hadn’t told her about all of her forays on the Internet. “Why do you think?”

“You don’t think you would pass.”

“I know I wouldn’t pass, and I could end up in prison.” Allison knew she had never caused any damage to the sites she’d broken into, so she wasn’t worried about being prosecuted for vandalizing them, yet the sheer volume of her hacks had to mean something. They could add up to a serious charge.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I’m not.”

Jordan didn’t miss a beat. “Okay, so don’t take the test. Stand firm. No one can force you.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me what I did that could send me to prison?”

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

Allison smiled. “You’re a very unusual woman. I’d be dying of curiosity, and I would probably nag you until you told me.”

“Is that your phone beeping or mine?”

“Mine,” Allison said. She saw that there were three voice messages, all from her aunt. The first message was quick and calm. Her aunt asked her to call as soon as possible. There was a problem, she said, but she didn’t give any further explanation. The second message was more aggressive. Her aunt’s voice had a bite to it. She said she had waited two hours for Allison to call back. Why hadn’t she done so? Did she realize how selfish and ungrateful she was? The third message was almost comical. In the middle of a blistering rant, her uncle began to shout at her aunt, and within seconds the two of them were in an all-out fight, screaming at each other. Unfortunately, Allison was used to their loud quarrels. The tirades in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? were polite disagreements in comparison to this couple’s arguments.

“Are you going to call her back?” Jordan asked.

“You heard?”

“It was impossible not to hear. Your aunt and uncle were shouting.”

Allison didn’t make any excuses for their behavior. “I’ll call when I get back to the house.”

Three messages so close together indicated the issue was serious. Was Will in trouble again? Of course he was. How many times had he promised he would not be so impulsive?

They were almost back to campus when Jordan said, “Has it always been like that? You know . . . the screaming and the anger?”

“Pretty much,” she answered. She quickly changed the subject, letting Jordan know she didn’t want to discuss her dysfunctional relatives. “What are you going to do about dinner? Your brother knows you can’t cook, doesn’t he?”

“I’ve gotten better,” Jordan protested.

“So . . . carryout?”

Jordan nodded. “I’m thinking Chinese.”

—

Allison paced around the living room. She didn’t want to go out tonight, not after the conversation she’d had with her aunt. It seemed that her aunt and uncle had gone over the numbers and were convinced there was a missing payment from Giovanni. The amount was substantial, and they believed Allison had either spent the money or misplaced it. She’d heard that she was ungrateful a good five times during the call, and after her aunt finally wound down and her uncle stopped shouting into the phone, Allison calmly explained that Giovanni hadn’t issued the check yet. The payment would come at the end of the month, just like all the others.

There wasn’t an apology. Just a brisk “All right, then,” before the call ended. Allison felt drained. She wanted to scream just to get rid of her anger and her frustration. Honest to God, she understood why Will acted out. They didn’t yell at him, but being the focus of their constant attention was worse than being ignored. When Allison put her headphones on and immersed herself in her cyber world, she could escape the fighting. Will couldn’t.

It was after her uncle lost his job that the fighting had become intense. Financially, they had been in good shape. They owned their house. There were some savings, and her uncle also received a pension. Then Will began to drain all their funds. Getting into trouble with the law was expensive.

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Her feelings for her cousin were convoluted. She was angry with him most of the time, but she also had great empathy for him. Her feelings for her aunt and uncle were even more confusing. She knew she was supposed to appreciate what they had done for her, yet she couldn’t stand to be around them and made every effort to stay away as much as possible. Since she had moved out, she had been back very few times, and each time she did return, she took something that belonged to her. Piece by piece she stripped her bedroom until everything she owned or cared about was now in the house she shared with her two friends. It had become a calm refuge for her, but soon she would be leaving it. Graduation was coming up, and she had plans. She was going to move to California. Just thinking about her future after graduation lifted her spirits.

Usually, as soon as she finished a stressful phone call from her aunt, she would find an hour or two to go to the gym and work out. Running on the treadmill helped her clear her mind. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time tonight. It was already half past six, and Liam Scott was going to be at her door at seven. He’d probably be prompt, too.

She wasn’t going to get dressed up for him. She changed into her favorite comfortable jeans, a long navy blue wool sweater, and flats. She glanced in the mirror. Her hair needed a trim, she decided. It was well past her shoulders. She swept it away from her face with a hair clip. Since she had a few extra minutes and because she looked pale and stressed out, she put on a little blush.

Her mind wandered back to the cyber center. Why hadn’t Liam told her what he wanted then? Why drag it out? Was it his intention to rattle her? If so, it worked. The fact that Phillips had offered her a job meant that she was in the clear, right? But what else was in her file? Liam Scott had looked at her as though he knew all her secrets. What if he was just waiting to charge her? Waiting until he could gather more evidence? Maybe he was using this evening with Jordan as a ploy to catch her when her guard was down? God, she was nervous. Let this be a lesson, she thought. She never wanted to forget this sick feeling in her stomach. She had, in fact, broken the law too many times to count, and even though her transgressions were, in her opinion, perfectly innocent, her motives wouldn’t matter in court. She vowed she would never do anything illegal again for the rest of her life.