CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Bishop Security
Somewhere outside Beaufort, South Carolina
December 3
The team sat at the granite-topped racetrack table in the large, glass-walled conference room of Bishop Security.
Tox leaned forward on his forearms and intertwined his fingers on the table. “Let me get this straight. We are saying that an unknown subject tracked down Miguel Ramirez's friend Luis, who then texted the phone Cam used as Miguel Ramirez, claiming,” he looked at the sheet that listed the transcribed texts, “someone was looking for him?”
Nathan nodded. “Correct.”
“So, I’m assuming Cam had some unfinished business with these men?” Chat looked to Nathan.
Nathan met Chat's knowing gaze. “He had unfinished business. We don’t know with whom.”
Nathan picked up Cam's leather journal. “These are Cam's notes, observations, and theories concerning the possible existence of The Conductor, a lone person or entity that controls nearly all global trafficking.”
No one spoke.
“Twitch has scanned the journal and uploaded it to your secure Bishop dropbox. No one above him at The Agency lends any credence to this. But I’m not ready to dismiss it. Before Cam went MIA, he was being followed by men hired by Senator Harlan Musgrave.”
“Musgrave has a good reputation,” Ren said.
“True, but he did business with my father, so he can’t be as clean as he appears.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. “I put out some feelers with some of the less than upstanding associates of Musgrave's and my father. Let's see if anyone knows what Musgrave is up to.”
“And these ‘less than upstanding’ people are just going to volunteer this information?” Tox asked.
Chat answered. “Having Nathan Bishop owe you a favor is good incentive.”
Nathan crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m willing to work in a gray area here because we need to know Musgrave's interest in Cam, and we need to know now. Because if it's connected to Miguel Ramirez's disappearance—”
“Then Cam's cover has been blown,” Ren stated.
“Exactly,” Nathan confirmed. “At this point, all we know is that Musgrave hired a local security firm and that Cam spotted their car on three separate occasions. The job was terminated the day Cam went to New York.”
“That's two coincidences too many,” Tox said.
“I agree.” Nathan tapped the spine of the journal on the table. “But until we get more intel, we can’t proceed.”
Chat steepled his fingers. “I’m assuming you have a plan.”
“More than one, depending on how things play out over the next couple of days.” Nathan spun his chair slightly to face Tox.”Is your brother in the States?”
Tox's twin brother Miles was a fixer who worked for everyone from underworld figures to politicians. He operated using the alias Caleb Cain. Despite a dark past, Miles had proved very helpful to the team.
“New York. He's there for a couple of weeks for a job.” Tox held up a hand. “I don’t ask.”
“Good. I may need a favor.” Nathan turned to Twitch. “Any word on Finn?”
“I’ve contacted him through the usual channels, but so far, nothing.”
“We could use his input.”
“I’ll keep trying, but you know Finn.” Twitch finished quietly, “He's impossible to reach.”