Page 30 of Locked Down

Ryker climbed the stairs.For the last two days,since he heard Davis's secret phone call, he'd been waiting for an opportunity to get into the man's bedroom.He'd just bought himself a few minutes by being kind toTony,and specifying he had calls to make, so now was his chance.

He entered Davis's room and tried not to laugh. It was the epitome of successful Texas businessman decor. The furniture was dark and heavy, and the bed was huge.The drapeswere thick, as was the carpet.The entire ambiance was oppressive.

Ryker hated it. He slung the jacket over the back of the chair in the corner of the room and took a moment to survey the area for hidden cameras. He didn't think Davis would set one up in hisownbedroom, but he did a second pass just to be sure.

Then he went to the closet and started his search. It took less than two minutes to find the burner cell hidden in the pocket of Davis's robe.Actually,he probably called it a dressing gown, pretentious jerk.Ryker snorted softly. Not a master criminal. Or at least not at the trade craft kind of stuff. He flicked on the cell. The idiot hadn't even password-protected the burner. He looked at the last number dialed, whichwas different thanthe last incoming number. He snapped a photo of all the numbers with hisownphone, shut the device off, and returned it to the same pocket wherehe'dfound it.

Now, he had to find whatever Davis had been looking at. He moved to the desk and scanned the surface. Nothing caught his eye. He thought back to the sounds he'd heard. Papers. Davis had been rustling papers. It sounded like a lot of them. He stood and let his gaze roam over the room.

Found it!In the corner of the closet, a flash of white was visible under a stack of sweaters. He went back to the closet and moved the sweaters. He picked up a legal-sized envelope. Pulling out the documents, he scanned the front page. It was Vic's will. Was this what Davis had been reading?Didn'tseem likely. Still, why keep it up here? Why not down in his office? He flipped through it and realized there were two documents. The second one looked like a sales contract. He scanned it.Buffalo Ridge.He wasselling Buffalo Ridge? What the hell was it?

The sound of footsteps reached him. He quickly put the will and the Buffalo Ridge paperwork back in the envelope and put it back on the shelf under the sweaters. Then he grabbed the jacket off the chair and folded it over his arm. His back was to the door when it opened behind him. He turned to find Martha standing in the doorway. She was a tall woman witha shock ofwhite hair usually worn in a bun at the top of her head. Her white blouse was crisp, eventhough it wasafter ten p.m., and her long brown skirt was wrinkle-free.

"Hi, Martha,"he said with a smile."The Senator asked me to put this up here. Is it okay on the back of the chair?"

"Yes, that's fine.Tony said you wanted dinner…"her voice petered out as she glanced around the roomas if ensuringeverything was where it should be.

"Yes, sorry, I got sidetracked. I had to make some calls and then drop the jacket up here. Did Tony save me any of your amazing chocolate chip cookies? I warned him about eating them all."He gave her his biggest smile.

Her cheeks turned pink."That's so sweet. Yes, I saved you a few."

"Excellent,"Ryker said as he came up beside her. He offered her his arm."How about we go get dinner and some cookies."She smiled and took his arm and let him lead her from the room without a backward glance.

* * *

Ryker settled deeper into the couch in the little office off the kitchen. It was lateandDavis had gone to bed hours ago, but Vic's will and the Buffalo Ridge papers niggled at him. What the hell was Davis up to?

Ryker glanced at his watch. He should head home and get some shut-eye, but some sixth sense stopped him. Something just felt off.He'dlearned to trust his instincts in the military, and now that he worked for the Society, that had become even more important. He often workedaloneso he had to live by his instinctsin difficultsituations.

His cell vibrated in his pocket. He glanced at the screen. Archer. He couldn'treallytalk here."Hey,"he answered.

"You can't speak freely."Archer understood the problem immediately."It's fine. Just listen. I've found the mole. Or rather, Cash has found the mole. Turns out it's one of our cleaning crews.They were also caughtin the snowstorm at the location in Virginia, but no one thought to mention it. Cash has…spoken with them, and several of them confessed. Davis calls them to go into a room in the Society and plant listening devices before a big meeting. Heapparentlylistens in, andthenwhen the meeting is over, he instructs them to go back in and collect the listening devices again."

"Oh wow!That's…clever."

"Yes, it is,"Archer agreed.

"It also means that he has someone in scheduling,"Ryker said in a low voice.

Archer grunted."Yes, there's no telling how many crews he has working for him either.As to who is telling himschedulinginformation, I've alreadyhavenarrowed down the possibilities.Cash and Rush are going to speak with her now."

Ryker was glad he was not part of that meeting. It would get ugly fast."Will you confront him?"

"Davis?"Archer asked."No. I will eliminate his teams, andnothing will be saidabout it. And before you ask, no, this is not enough to convict him of breaking the rules. The cleaning crew doesn't know who is paying them.Theyjustget orders and follow them.Theyare well paid. We know it's Davis, but once again…I cannot prove it."

Ryker sighed.

"Also,"Archer continued,"I did not get to the couple in time. Tim and Kathy Gupta are dead. Their seat on the board is now empty.In light ofthe current circumstances, I will not offer the token to their daughter.Ifshe comes with it in hand, then I'll deal with it."

"Sothat's onethat'savailable,"Ryker stated.

"Yes,"Archer agreed."And someone took a shot at Remy."

"Jesus? Is she okay?"

"Yes.She'smoved into a safehouse facility that Callahan Security runs. They'll keep her safebutit means that Davis is stepping things up. We have to get to the bottom of things and quickly."

"Understood,"Ryker said.He wanted to say morebuthewasn't at liberty to say what he wanted, given his surroundings."I'llget back to youon things when I am able."

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