Page 37 of Code Name: Admiral

“Roger that, sir.” I thanked them both again and ended the call.

When I returned to the main room, I returned Tank’s phone, then found Alice at her workstation. She looked up when I approached.

“Any progress?” I asked.

“Maybe. I’ve isolated a pattern in the communication protocols. Whoever is leaking information is using a sophisticated encryption method, but there are traces. Like fingerprints.”

I leaned over her shoulder, studying what was on the screen in front of her even though it meant almost nothing to me. “Can you track them?”

She hesitated. “Working on it. But…”

“What?”

“The encryption. It’s not something a street-level hacker would use. This is government-grade stuff.”

The implications made my stomach turn. “Meaning whoever it is has access to high-level bureau data resources.”

“Exactly.” She pulled up another screen. “Look at these timestamps. The leaks always happen within hours of sensitive information being uploaded to the FBI’s secure servers.”

It was as I suspected when Doc asked how high up this went.

“We’re not looking for a low-level agent, Pershing.”

“Understood.” There weren’t very many people within the FBI who would have the kind of access Alice was suggesting. Adding in the Department of Justice as well as senate intelligence grew the list but only slightly.

While she continued working her hacker magic, my intention was to get with Diesel and Tank to develop an action plan for the teams K19 was sending our way. That would include developinga list of suspects. “By the way, K19’s sending backup. They should arrive within the hour.”

Alice nodded, not looking away from her screens. “Good. Because whoever this is, they’re going to realize we’re looking soon. And when they do, we need to be ready.”

“We will be,” I assured her, though my gut churned with worry. We were poking a very big bear, and when it struck back, it would strike hard.

However, we had no choice. Sarah’s murder and the suspected corruption within the bureau or even higher than that, along with the Castellanos, were all connected. I sensed that, within the web of what Alice was discovering, there was evidence so significant that whoever was working with the crime family would want to eliminate all potential threats. Just like they had Sarah.

“Incoming,” said Tank, looking at his phone.

“Grit?” I asked.

“Affirmative.”

I stood and walked over to the front door, meeting him when he came in.

“Admiral.” He nodded grimly.

“Come with me.” I led him to the camp’s lower level so we could speak privately.

“Tank filled me in on the basics. How deep does this go?”

I studied him, weighing my words carefully before I spoke. “Deep enough that we’re taking the investigation off official channels.”

“You don’t trust the bureau?” His expression was unreadable.

“Right now, I don’t trust anyone I can’t verify personally.” I met his gaze. “We’ve confirmed multiple operations against the Castellanos were compromised. All from high-level sources.”

Grit was silent for a long moment. “You realize what you’re suggesting?”

“I do. That’s why K19’s sending backup.”

“Where does that leave me?”

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