Page 35 of Dichotomy

The note under Luke Jones drew my eye as Grace moved closer. “Kingfisher?” was written in red and underlined. It was the only word on the scrap of paper. I frowned. I thought Kingfisher was an organization. Was it a person? Or did that just mean that Luke Jones worked for the Kingfisher organization? Although if Kingfisher was a person and he was the Kingfisher, that would make sense. The Citadel guys had certainly deferred to him and were even a little scared of him. I racked my brain but got a sharp headache for my trouble. I should have been paying attention better, but I was distracted because the room was spinning.

I studied Luke Jones’s mug shot. He certainly had a dead look in his eyes. But did that make him a criminal mastermind? What was the Kingfisher even involved in? There was still no confirmation of if it was a person or just an organization. There was barely a whisper of the name on the dark web. So how did he stay hidden? There were too many questions and not enough answers.

“I’m in,” Liam announced, breaking my concentration.

“Have you found anything yet?” I asked, leaning over so I could see his screen.

“Boss Lady, I’m good but not speed-of-light good,” Liam said, smirking at the screen. “Give me a moment.”

“Well, I am speed-of-light good,” Sebastian announced. “I’ve got something.”

“What is it?” Alexander asked.

“Remember that recording that they played for you yesterday at the station? I was able to trace the email that it was attachedto. They attempted to mask the IP address but not well enough. It traces back to a personal residence of one Director Thomas Keller.”

I blinked at him. The FIA Director sent it? “How did he get it?”

“Working on that right now, my darling.” Sebastian typed furiously.

My cheeks heated as I thought about what those fingers could do. I pushed the thought out of my mind. I had to focus. I could ogle my boyfriend later.

“I think I know where he got it,” Liam said, documents opening on the screen below the live feed. “It looks like the recording originated from Luke Jones’s phone. It was sent to the director shortly after Jones was released.”

I closed my eyes and thought back. I vaguely remembered him typing something into his phone after that conversation. I didn’t realize he’d recorded the conversation, though. What else had I missed?

“Why would he send the director the recording?” Adrian asked over the comms. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does when the director was the one who ordered him to be released,” Liam said.

“He, what?” I leaned closer to get a better look.

“I just found a communication from the director’s office to the chief of police directing him to release Luke Jones because he is a confidential informant for another case.”

A confidential informant? He certainly didn’t speak like a CI. But maybe he was? Was he a CI for the FIA for Kingfisher? That didn’t make any sense, though. Liam was a great hacker, but he wasn’t the only one out there. This wasn’t even trying to be hidden, so was it real, or was it just a ploy to get us off the trail? My brain spun, and I pressed my palms to my eyes as Itried to think. Most of my concussion symptoms were fading, but tonight was too much for my brain, it seemed.

“Almost done,” Danny said.

I looked up at the feed to see they were done photographing the board and had moved onto the files on the agents’ desks.

“Good,” Alexander said. “Finish up and get out of there. We can piece it all together later.”

I felt guilty. I was supposed to be giving the orders, but my brain was so overwhelmed at the moment. I was grateful Alexander was taking the lead.

“What should we do with the key?” Grace asked.

“Leave it under Agent Haye’s desk,” I said. “Like halfway underneath, so it looks like he just dropped it.”

“Good thinking, boss.” Grace leaned down and placed the key at the corner of the desk like it had slipped out of his pocket when he sat down.

“Where should we place the bugs?” Danny asked.

“Try below the windowsill, in a light fixture, and above the door,” Liam replied. “They’re small enough that they shouldn’t be picked up.”

“And if they are?” Marcus asked.

The argument about bugging the offices had been a big one. On one hand, the information we gathered there could be invaluable, and on the other hand, if the bugs were discovered, the agents would know we were there. But Dominic had handed me the key, so it really was a matter of whether I trusted him or not. My gut said yes, but my brain was cautious.

“Just place the two of them. One in the light fixture and the other under the windowsill behind the bulletin board.” I settled on a compromise.