Page 8 of Code Name: Admiral

The game had just changed, and I wasn’t sure anymore who was stalking who.

4

ADMIRAL

Once home from the office, I dug into the Gordon family’s background. The sisters lost their parents six years ago, when they died after being involved in a car accident. The police report was frustratingly sparse—a head-on collision on a rainy night, both parents pronounced dead within hours of one another after being transported to the hospital. It appeared straightforward, but the lack of information nagged at me, the same way everything about this case seemed to pull at threads I wasn’t ready to unravel.

While Sarah had attended college, Alice took a different path, and as evidenced by the money trail, it proved to be quite lucrative. She listed her job title as a computer programmer on her taxes, and by eighteen years of age, she was already earning six figures as well as paying self-employment tax, so she was clearly not on any one company’s payroll. The numbers didn’t add up in the way that made federal agents very interested, but that wasn’t why I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

After rising at dawn,which was typical for me, I powered up my laptop before making a pot of coffee. As I stood in thekitchen, waiting for it to finish brewing, my mind drifted to Alice Gordon—not the sister I should’ve been focused on.

The intrigue I felt was inexplicable. Perhaps obsession might be a better word since I hadn’t thought about much else since yesterday.

When my coffeemaker dinged three times, indicating it was finished, I poured a cup and returned to the table where my laptop sat. On the screen, there was an alert indicating I’d received a secure message from Tank. Steam curled up from the black coffee in the mug I held as I took a drink. It tasted bitter and strong, the way I needed it this morning after another restless night.

Cheshire picked up bleed at zero three hundred,read Tank’s message.

The “code name” he’d given Alice made me chuckle. That she’d picked up on our Van Eck Phreaking attempt was inconvenient but not surprising. To be earning what she was, she had to be damned good, especially considering she probably didn’t report a good percentage of what she actually brought in. The fact that she’d detected our surveillance attempt so quickly only added to my fascination.

Copy that,I responded, looking at the barely touched case files spread across my kitchen table. My usual methodical approach to an investigation was derailed by thoughts of red hair with pink streaks and a half smile that haunted my dreams.

This was so far from mymodus operandithat I went and took a look at myself in the mirror. Truth was, I looked like shit. I needed to take time off, but right now, there was no way I could. Sarah’s death alone made it impractical. Adding my cousin Bobby into the mix as the man responsible made it impossible.

A few minutes later, my cell pinged again, this time with a call from Tank. “Hey,” I answered.

“Mornin’, boss. Sorry about the no-go on the bleed.”

“Did you really think she wouldn’t figure it out?”

“Nah. Just maybe not as fast. She went through a quick diagnostic but didn’t initiate any countermeasures.”

“So she doesn’t know we know she’s onto us.”

“I’ll tell you, Admiral. Looking at what little code I could see, she’s a fucking cyber whiz.”

“Who have you got on her now?”

“Me and Blackjack. That’s one of the reasons I called. She left her building about ten minutes ago and appears to have set up shop at a coffeehouse in the next block. Oh, and there’s a report on its way to you now. We couldn’t find much.”

“Roger that, and thanks.”

“You got it. We’ll be rotating shifts at thirteen hundred. Atticus and Kodiak will take over then.”

“I appreciate this.” Since the other two men weren’t under contract with the bureau, Tank must’ve arranged for their off-the-books assistance. “Oh, and send me the coordinates for the place where she’s at.”

“Will do. Later, boss.”

Apparently, Grit had told him to tone down the “yes, sirs” too. Not that I necessarily agreed. But like my boss had said, none of us were still active duty. I leaned against the chair, trying to decide what to do next. My inability to focus was as atypical for me as my building obsession for Sarah’s sister.

I needed to get my head straight, but I had no idea how, especially after the first thing I pulled up when I opened Tank’s report were photos. Most were stills from security footage, allowing me to see a myriad of the woman’s expressions. Each frame captured a different facet of her personality—sharp intelligence in the set of her jaw, defiance in the tilt of her chin, and something vulnerable in the moments when she thought no one was watching. After viewing them all once, I went through them a second time and found myself grinning at the ones whereshe almost smiled. Those I looked at the longest, wondering what had taken place around her that she found amusing, and wishing I was in on the joke.

I wasn’t what someone might consider a computer expert. I knew how to use one, but that was about as far as my expertise stretched. Still, that Tank had complimented Alice’s abilities said something. In our line of work, respect wasn’t given easily, and Tank’s praise carried weight that made me even more curious about the woman who’d earned it.

My forehead furrowed when I saw another call from him.

“Hey, boss. Sorry to bug you again, but we picked up on our own hacker.”

“Alice?”

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