The Silence That Speaks (Forensic Instincts 4)

“You need help,” Casey stated factually. “From a person who specializes in cracking encrypted data.”

“Yeah, and who would that be?”

Casey’s gaze flickered to Marc.

He nodded. “I’ll call Aidan.”

“Who the hell is Aidan?” Patrick asked.

“My brother.”

Claire’s head came up. “You have a brother?”

A corner of Marc’s mouth lifted. “I’m not an alien, Claire. I have a life and a family outside of Forensic Instincts.”

“Yeah, but you never mentioned him,” Patrick said, and then waved away his own comment. “Forget I said that. Need to know. Special Ops. I get it.”

Claire was eyeing Ryan, who clearly liked this idea enough to calm him down. Actually, he was more than calm; he was nodding his approval. “Why don’t you look surprised?” she asked.

“You know why.” Casey interlaced her fingers on the table. “Because Ryan hacked everyone’s file and read up on all of you.”

“Yup.” Ryan grinned. “Like Yoda, I’m omniscient.” He turned to Marc. “Do you think Aidan would do it?”

“If I ask him like a respectful younger brother, then yeah, I think he’d do it. That is if he’s in New York and not traveling God knows where.”

Claire looked quizzical, although Marc’s comment made her smile. “Can I ask for details about this mysterious brother of yours, now that he’s been revealed?”

“Sure.” Marc gave an offhand shrug. “Aidan’s three years older than I am. We went to the Naval Academy at Annapolis at the same time—he was a senior when I was a freshman. Not a lot of fun for me. He went on to the marines and became a hybrid intelligence officer and communications officer. In English, that means he thinks like an intel officer and acts like a communications officer. Among his achievements, he breezed right through an intensive Cryptological Divisions Officers Course.”

“That’s how he can help us,” Claire murmured.

“Uh-huh.” Marc went on. “I can’t tell you much more because everything he did in the military was classified, so I’m in the dark as much as you are. But once he moved on to civilian life, he went to work as a troubleshooter for Heckman Flax. He’s been there since.”

“You said New York—do you mean he works right here in the city?” Patrick, along with Claire and Emma, looked startled.

“Yup.”

“Jesus, Marc, Heckman Flax isn’t just an investment bank. It’s like a hub for the financial geniuses of the world.”

“True. And Aidan is responsible for all their trading platforms worldwide. He travels everywhere at a moment’s notice to put out fires. And there you have the story of my brother. Happy?”

“Is he hot?” Emma asked.

Marc rolled his eyes. “He’s old enough to be your father.”

“If he got someone pregnant when he was in his teens, I guess that’s true,” Emma acknowledged. “But ick, I wasn’t thinking of him that way. I just wanted to know if he had your cool French-Asian looks.” She

paused. “Although you really don’t have too much of the Asian on your mother’s side, except the slight slant of your eyes. Mostly there’s steamy European blood.”

Marc was having trouble not laughing at Emma’s physical analysis. “Since you’re so into genetics and physical characteristics, I’ll let you meet Aidan and judge for yourself. How’s that?”

“Cool.”

Marc took out his cell phone and made the call.

“Hey,” he greeted his brother. “Are you in New York?” A pause. “Good. My team’s in a bind here. We need your expertise....Yeah, some files that have to be decrypted....Yesterday, if possible.” Another pause. “Yeah, yeah, I know—marines rule. How fast can you get here?...That’s no problem—just bring her. She’ll have plenty of people to entertain her....Great. Thanks. See you.”

He hung up. “Aidan will be here in about an hour.”