Page 30 of Snow

At least one person here liked me, Nova thought to herself.

She looked at Derek again. “So, Commander, what exactly do you need from me? Because I’m guessing this isn’t just a meet-and-greet, nor am I here for just a regular acquisition review.”

“You would be correct,” Derek said. “We need eyes inside the rig, and after speaking with Mr. Silverman, along with the heads of several other agencies involved, we’ve determined that having you and one of my guys go out to the rig would be the cleanest way to do it without raising any red flags.”

Nova looked at Derek as if he had two heads. “Wait a minute. You want me to go out to the rig? As in the middle of the Gulf?”

Derek nodded.

“What would I be doing out there?”

“You’ll be there under the pretense of the acquisition, like reviewing contracts, personnel files, vendor agreements, everything an attorney would normally dig into before a deal closes. My guy will be embedded as an engineer with Silverman Petroleum, performing routine equipment inspections and maintenance. This will give us access to all areas of the rig. As you do your job, if you see or hear anything that doesn’t seem right, let our guy know. The two of you will be working together and will always have a way to contact each other at all times.”

Derek’s voice was calm, like he was laying out a routine assignment. And maybe to him, that was natural.

Nova nodded slowly as her brain tried to absorb everything.

“Okay. So, two covers and two access points.”

“Exactly. The goal is to keep everything looking legitimate while you both investigate. I understand this isn’t what you signed up for. But we wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t important. If there’s something dangerous happening out there, we need to know before it’s too late. And do it without tipping off anyone who might be behind it.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. This was insane. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly as she leaned back in the chair.

How did a simple corporate acquisition turn into a James Bond movie?

“How long would I be out there for?” she asked.

“I can’t give you a firm timeline. It could be a few days, maybe a little longer. The goal is to gather enough intel to justify a full federal investigation. We don’t want to raise alarms too early.”

“I’m assuming that Gulf Tide isn’t aware of this.”

Derek shook his head. “No. However, some of the agencies do have people inside their corporate headquarters poking around.”

Nova looked at Mr. Silverman. “Will Gulf Tide suspect anything by you sending people out to their rig?”

Mr. Silverman shook his head. “It’s actually standard practice. When a company is acquired, especially in a high-value deal like this, it’s expected that the purchasing firm, which is us, will send representatives out to examine the assets. It’s written into the pre-acquisition terms.”

“And will Gulf Tide be sending their own legal counsel to oversee the visit?”

“No. We offered, but they have elected not to, citing that since the rig wasn’t fully operational, they feel there is nothing our people could find that would jeopardize the sale.”

“Wow,” Nova stated, sounding surprised. That was surprising and a very stupid decision on Gulf Tide’s part.

Nova sat back in her chair again, letting the weight of the situation settle in her chest. She didn’t want to say no, especially if she could help. But what were the risks?

“Is it dangerous?” she asked, looking at Derek. In her peripheral vision, she noticed Snow shake his head and mumble something to the guy next to him.

“I won’t sugarcoat it. I can’t promise you zero risk,” Derek said. “But as long as your cover holds, there’s no reason for this mission to go south. Plus, you’ll have one of my guys with you, and the rest of the team will be stationed offshore on a shadow vessel just out of sight. We’re also coordinating with government agencies and the Coast Guard. So, if anything were to happen, we’re not that far away.”

Nova sat there replaying everything she had heard. She looked around the table, seeing that everyone was looking at her as if she were the last piece of a very dangerous puzzle.

It was equal parts terrifying and humbling. However, she knew they were depending on her. If something did go wrong, at least she was skilled enough to defend herself.

But then another thought hit her.

She looked at Derek. “Who would I be working with?”

Derek hooked his thumb toward Mr. Sexy Blue Eyes. “You would be partnered with Snow. He has some background in the industry, so it won’t be as challenging to get him up to speed on things.”