Page 32 of The B-Team

“I’m not at liberty to say who our witness is,” he said stiffly. “But they have evidence of you giving them the code needed to hack into a private server. And proof that you’ve harassed people online.”

“Let me explain something.” Elle rested her forearms on the table. “There are white-hat hackers and black-hat hackers. The white hats hack for good and share their code to do it. They’re often employed by, say, governments or law enforcement and used to track down criminals or test internal security.

“As a white-hat hacker, I’ve shared lots of code with other good hackers. Now, Freddy K once belonged in the white-hat camp, and I passed some code on to him. When he moved to the dark side, I cut all connections with him. Which means any codehe has is dated, and I can prove he got it for legitimate reasons and under legal circumstances.” She sat back in her seat. “And, FYI, Freddy knows that. He’s playing you. What does he want?” She grinned. “You caught him doing something naughty, and he thinks I’m his get-out-of-jail-free card.” That was hilarious. “Ms. Patel will wipe the floor with him in court. Won’t you?” She turned to her lawyer.

“I don’t think this will make it to court,” she said, her eyes on the commander.

“There’s still the matter of harassing people online,” he snapped, obviously upset that his case was slipping away in front of his eyes.

Elle leaned into the mic again. “Prove it.”

“We have witness testimony that you threatened to ruin their online life,” he said. “And then proceeded to do so.”

She batted her lashes. “I threaten that kind of stuff all the time. Ask my colleagues. They’re usually the ones I threaten.” She held her hands wide. “But I know you can’t prove that I’ve ever done anything more than threaten. Or joke about it.” Because she was too damn good to leave a trail.

The commander’s head turned red. “We have witnesses?—”

“Who can prove Elle threatened them. Nothing more. Anyone could have hacked their online presence, and without evidence, you can’t say either way that it was Ms. Roberts-Knight. In other words, you have nothing.” Ms. Patel gathered her paperwork.

“We know she spent years trying to track her now husband down on the dark web,” the commander blustered. “We know that searches for him set off alarms in more than one security agency, including our own MI6. And Ms. Roberts-Knight herself has admitted to trying to hunt him down—in front of my predecessor, I believe?” He glanced at the detective.

“Yes, sir. It was in her notes.”

The commander looked triumphant.

Elle sighed. “You’ve never played any kinky games with your wife, have you?”

The young detective coughed and reached for his water.

“What my client means,” Ms. Patel said, “is that the searches were a form of flirting between her and her husband at the start of their relationship. She had his consent to find him. He will testify that he gave her access to the areas she searched. At no point were any sensitive databases accessed. At most, the crown would reprimand my client and her husband for being careless in their play.”

The commander jabbed a finger at her. “You still broke into places you were never meant to go. That is the definition of cybercrime.”

“Do you have any evidence of this?” Ms. Patel asked.

The detective shifted in his seat. “We have taunts Ms. Roberts-Knight placed on dark web communication boards, saying she was hunting Mr. Knight down and would find him.”

“Yes,” Ms. Patel said. “But do you have evidence that she actually did it? Has any government agency come forward with proof she hacked them? Is there a trail of her doing so? A witness? Anything at all, gentlemen?”

There was silence. It wasn’t pleasant.

“In fact,” Ms. Patel continued, “on more than one occasion, my client has assisted this police department with their investigations. She handed over information her brother gave her, making it possible to bring down the James Gang. The crime organization her father ran, and whose exposure caused her brother to lose his life. This is just one example of the many occasions she’s helped law enforcement in this country and abroad. I’m sure that I, too, can find several witnesses to testify to Ms. Roberts-Knight’s upstanding citizenship. Witnesses will be easy to find, Commander, although it’s very clear from thisconversation that evidence is in short supply. Now, if you have nothing else, I would like for you to release my client.”

The commander stood, fury etched into his brow. “We are legally entitled to hold Ms. Roberts-Knight for twelve hours, and I intend to keep her here for the duration. We may have more questions for her as other information comes to light.”

“That’s your prerogative.” Ms. Patel motioned for Elle to stand too.

“I will also seek permission to hold her for the fourteen days allowed to investigate terrorism charges.” The commander’s tone was pure spite.

“Again, that’s entirely your right,” Ms. Patel said evenly. “But I’m sure your superiors will be just as eager as I am to see what evidence you have to justify a terrorism charge. Are we finished?”

Elle smiled at her lawyer as the detective spoke into the microphone and ended the interview. All the while, her stomach roiled. Sure, she looked calm, and she believed they didn’t have a leg to stand on with their investigation. But that didn’t mean she was safe. There were plenty of innocent people in prison.

As the police officer waited for Elle to follow him back to her cell, she turned to face her lawyer.

Before she could speak, Ms. Patel held up a hand. “This is not a secure room.”

Elle nodded. “Just tell David I’m okay and that you’ve got this under control. You do, don’t you?”