Page 2 of Cold Silence
“Can do, but I think you’re wasting your time,” Vogler said. “There’s no sign of a break-in, and the only sign of the theft—other than the missing equipment and download of the software—was a problem with security cameras. They were either disabled or malfunctioned last night around 2300 hours for about an hour, but the institute’s exits showed no sign of forced breaching, and the alarm wasn’t activated.”
Travis ran through what he remembered from his prior time on site. “Employees access the institute by key card during operating hours. Key cards are tied to each employee, and we can identify who came and went and at what time. This is true for everyone. Only exception is the time for management who have extended hours. But when I worked there, it was cut off at 2200 hours and needed special permission from Dr. Reed to be on site after that.”
“Nothing has changed.” He narrowed his gaze. “There was no key card access last night. If there had been, it would point to an individual and there would be no need for your services.”
Curiouser and curiouser.“How did the thief get in?”
“That’s one of the big questions we need to answer, and why I called you in.”
Surely they didn’t think his skills were needed here. His deployments on ops usually took him to sub-Saharan Africa in covert operations, not hunting down a thief in the United States. “Won’t local investigators handle this breach?”
Vogler shook his head. “We aren’t informing law enforcement of the theft. This requires covert skills to keep the investigation under wraps. Plus, in addition to locating the thief, you’ll provide protection for Reed.”
“Cl—Dr. Reed—needs protection?” The words shot out of Travis’s mouth before he could filter them.
Vogler eyed him for a long moment before replying. “We believe she’s at risk for abduction, and we need to put our strongest man in place to keep her out of enemy hands.”
Questions swirled in Travis’s brain, mixing with concern for Claire. “I don’t understand. If the thief got what he was after, why would she be in danger?”
Vogler’s jaw firmed. Travis knew his commanding officer well enough to know he wouldn’t like the next words out of his mouth. He braced himself.
“Because of the simulator’s value, the project team opted to keep certain details out of the written specifications,” Vogler said, pausing to flex the muscles in his jaw. “That way, if the technology ever fell into the wrong hands, the prototype would be useless without this additional information. Of course, the data is on file at a secured location, but other than that, Reed is the only person who possesses the information. Security at the offsite facility makes stealing the written documentation impossible so?—”
“The only way the thief can deploy the prototype is by obtaining the specs from Dr. Reed,” Travis finished as a sense of foreboding settled over him. “Which means if this really is an inside job, then the thief knows she alone holds the key and will likely force her to share it.”
“Hence her need for protection.”
Travis had way too much experience in obtaining information from noncompliant subjects, and he couldn’t abide thoughts of Claire in such a situation.
And maybe being killed once she provided the information and they no longer needed her.
The room closed in on him. He dug at the knot on his tie. He wanted to help Claire, really he did, but could he let go of his personal feelings long enough to achieve this goal on his own? “Seems to me deploying the entire team would be more effective than sending one guy.”
Vogler shook his head hard, the steely resolve he was known for lifted his shoulders even higher than his already near-perfect posture. “A team of twelve would alert the institute staff to the problem. No one but Reed and her superiors at the institute know about the theft. We want to keep it that way. We don’t want to send the thief into hiding or force him to act immediately on abducting Reed. You’ll go in under the guise of testing the latest equipment. That allows you to stay close to Reed and quietly investigate while no one is the wiser on the theft.”
Stay close to Reed.Close to Claire.A distraction that could threaten his performance.
“I have also requested civilian support from a world-class forensic lab—the Veritas Center. I’m told they’re the best of the best not only in physical crime forensics but IT as well. And as a bonus, they’re out of Portland, Oregon, so if one of them lets it slip about the case, which I highly doubt, it shouldn’t make it back to Orlando.”
Operation Cold Silence. The op name was starting to make sense. Claire had to remain silent on the code and everyone investigating had to keep it quiet too.
“They’re sending a team to process the facility after hours tomorrow,” Vogler continued. “I’ll expect you to coordinate with their team leader and report on the crime scene findings.” He handed Travis a packet of papers. “We have a flight that will put you on the ground for business opening in the morning.”
“Yes, sir,” Travis said, trying to sound enthusiastic about his assignment, though he had no experience with crime scenes.
“You can handle this, Chapman.” Vogler crossed his arms, his shoulders remaining in a hard line, proving he didn’t intend to back down. “You’ve gathered intelligence on enemies before and have plenty of experience in capturing high-value targets. Simply consider this thief high-value and you’ll succeed.”
“That I can do.”
“I’ll text you the contact details for the Veritas Center’s forensic expert. After they complete their evaluation and you do your initial assessment of the situation, I’ll entertain requests for deploying additional support. But keep in mind that this operation remains on the QT until I say otherwise.”
Fine. Travis got it. A covert mission it would be. A forensic team for one night then basically him and Claire alone. The last thing he wanted, but he would do it. And do it well. “You can count on me, sir.”
“We always do,” Vogler said, then dismissed Travis.
In the hallway, Travis glanced at the flight details from the colonel and his watch. He had barely enough time to check a handgun out of the armory and pack his duffle then take a quick flight from North Carolina to Orlando. He would touchdown that night and be at Claire’s side first thing in the morning, as Vogler had said. That gave him a short time to work through residual issues with Claire and get his head in the game.
Failure to clear his brain could put her right in the enemy’s hands—costing Claire her life.
