“I’m fine. I’ll take the Metro.”
The driver softened his tone and tipped his head toward his shoulder. “Please, I insist. The bar has been stocked with Mountain Dew at Mr. Raven’s recommendation.”
Her eyebrows shot skyward. “Mr. Kensington asked Raven what my favorite soda is?”
The driver fidgeted. “Well, no. That was my doing, ma’am. Please get in the car.”
Joey sighed, already moving toward the van in surrender to the sweet siren call of the caffeine-loaded beverage. “Hey, kids, I’ve got some candy in my van,” she said in an exaggerated deep voice. “Fine. I feel like I should know your name, though. I keep calling you Jeeves in my head, but that’s probably rude.”
He smiled. “My name is Jared, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you, Jared,” she said, holding her hand out.
“Likewise, ma’am.” Jared shook her hand and then stepped aside so she could climb in.
She paused, one hand on the top edge of the door. “Call me Joey.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with another smile.
Joey settled into the luxurious seats and pulled an icy Mountain Dew from the cooler built into the console between seats. She could get used to this–when Kensington wasn’t in the car with her.
She pulled her phone back out and began responding to texts, starting with Flint.
Joey: All clear. Headed to BTS now.
Then she responded to Ryder and Tank.
Joey: I’m sure of it. It’ll be a long assignment though.
Joey: Seriously, Tank? Another one?
She could only laugh. This was the third housekeeper Tank had gone through in the last two months. He responded right away.
Tank: Ryder thinks they’re scared of me. I think I’ll try to avoid seeing this next one in person.
Joey: If that’s true, it’s ridiculous. You’re a teddy bear…One who can kill a man with his bare hands. But a teddy bear, nonetheless.
Joey’s heart surged with sympathy for Tank. He might come across as gruff and uncommunicative, but once you gave him a shot, he was perhaps the most loyal, kind man she’d ever met.
“Hey, Jared? Could you take me to–” She clamped her mouth shut. She’d been about to ask him to drop her off at Black Tower Security. But if Jared didn’t know who she was, and she assumed he didn’t, that wouldn’t work. She searched for another option and spotted a billboard. “The Screaming Peach?” she finished lamely.
She saw Jared’s eyebrow raise in the rearview mirror, but he didn’t question it. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled tightly. “Thanks. They have the best lemonade.” The bookstore and cafe chain wasn’t exactly what she needed, but at least it was on the way home.
Peach lemonade in hand, she waved good-bye to Jared and opened the door to her apartment building. After he’d driven off, she went back outside and drove her own car to BTS. This sneaking around part was ridiculous. No more fancy car rides from Jeeves. As much as she’d enjoyed the peace and quiet.
It was after six when she arrived at BTS, which meant Dolores was gone. The retired CIA field operative was Flint’s favorite misdirect. While she was friendly and welcoming, she was also shrewd and capable of handling herself if things were ever to heat up at BTS headquarters. Joey swiped her access badge to enter the building and used her handprint to get beyond the lobby into the employee-only area.
Joey ran a hand along the edge of her largest computer monitor. “Hey, baby, did you miss me?” Dropping into her seat, she let out a sigh. This was home. And after spending all day in the uptight corporate cage with no access to a phone, computer, or her bag of tricks, she was ready for the second phase of her day. She turned on her music, dimmed the lights, and quickly lost herself in the tasks at hand.
“What in the world?” she mused out loud. She was layers deep into Kensington’s finances. Mostly, it seemed on the up-and-up. Charitable donations were easily tracked, but there was a string of transactions she couldn’t understand. In Kensington’s accounts, there were contributions to a trust with no charitable standing that she could find. In fact, the trust documents were completely sealed, so she couldn’t see anything about what was happening inside the trust. She could see that money was being distributed from the trust, but she couldn’t see who the payments were being made to. Maybe the Syndicate was using these blind trusts to move assets around? The potential implications flooded her mind, giving her a hundred more leads to follow.
“I brought you dinner.”
Joey whirled at the sudden intrusion. Tank stood in the doorway, extending a Chinese takeout container. Joey’s stomach rumbled in response. Once she got to know him, it amused her how his words and the tone were so mismatched. Tank was gruff and commanding, even when he was being thoughtful.
Reluctantly, she turned away from her computer. It would take a long time to find those documents. She turned down the Disney songs playing from the small speaker on her desk. “Thanks. I probably should have eaten on the way here.” As it was, the lemonade had given her a sugar rush strong enough to push her through the last hour of digging into the background on everyone she’d met today. Tammy, Jared, Patrick. A deep dive into their finances, background, family, and contacts was already helping her feel like she had regained the upper ground. And then she’d circled back to digging into Kensington.