Page 9 of Sloth
“In broad daylight?”
He shrugged. “You won’t even know I’m there.”
“Nah, we’re good. Thanks though, bro. Maybe tonight if we haven’t had a break. So… back to the task?”
“My thoughts exactly.” Parker waved Max over to the table.
As Max approached, he noticed Mary stood with a dagger in her hand, twirling it expertly between her fingers. Immediately, he went on high alert. Muscles locked. Adrenaline buzzed. But the woman didn’t seem to notice him. She was lost, frowning at Sloan’s laptop screen.
Jeez, that woman freaked the shit out of him. Fifty five and with more kills on her belt than his old squadron. He’d best be staying on her good side, and she already distrusted him because of the bad water under the bridge between him and Sloan. He shifted to stand to her right. The side without the dagger in her hand.
“So,” Parker started. “Sloan was asked to look into the financial records of a company we recently discovered linked to the Syndicate through Misha’s connection. It took some time, but she’s traced the payments to a location. This is it. Sloan. Bring it up.Sloan.”
Sloan sat there, hunched and still fuming, hands fretting in her lap. Part of Max preened to see her uncomfortable around him, the other part still felt empty. She grit her teeth and brought up the relevant satellite footage. Zooming in, the map quickly filled with black space.
“Black site. Military protection,” Parker said.
“History?” Max prompted.
“Google Earth dates the restriction back twenty-five years.”
“That’s about the time we destroyed Biolum Tech,” Flint said, coming from the workshop to stand next to his wife. He placed a steadying palm on Mary’s shoulder and squeezed. “Wasn’t there a military officer who came in to speak with Julius the day we extracted the kids? You think they’re still involved?”
Mary nodded. “And an Asian business man.”
Max fumed. He’d dedicated years to the military, and no matter where he was in the world, there were still corrupt assholes using their service positions for power. From what Parker had told him about their history, the Syndicate experimented on children. They manipulated and brainwashed vulnerable people into becoming suicide bombers or members of theirFaithful, promising them rebirth as clones healed of their genetic deformities or inflictions. He doubted these people followed through with their outrageous promises.
“Have you searched the current whereabouts of these old contacts?” Max asked.
The condescending look Sloan sent his way could melt stone. “What do you think?”
“I think you did a quick search. But, people change their names. They get sloppy.”
“Well, Akiko Ito and Amare are alive and kicking. Nowhere near the site. Akito is in Kyoto, and Amare is randomly in Alaska. I have no idea what for.”
But Max’s gut was telling him something. Not to be dissuaded, he addressed Mary and Flint. “You both worked at this Biolum Tech?”
Flint’s voice was a deep rumble. “Yes.”
“I know it was a while ago, but have you searched for old known associates who live locally to the black site?” Max asked Sloan. “Anyone your parents used to work with. Janitor? Lunch lady? I know the black site is a fair way from the city, but it looks like it’s under an hour’s drive from the closest town. If anyone is living off-site, it would be there.”
“Like you said,” she replied. “People changed their names. Moved on. That sort of thing. At a site like this, most employees live on base.”
“How would you know if you haven’t looked?” Hot frustration crept up Max’s neck.How could she expect success if she assumed so many things?“Leave no stone unturned.”
“I thought you were supposed to check all of them,” Daymo asked Max, deep in the Middle Eastern desert.
“I checked four out of five containers. None of them held armor-piercing bullets. It’s sweet. Don’t stress. She’ll be right, mate.”
Max shook the memory away before it took hold of him. He did not need to go down that rabbit hole today.
“Have you looked, Sloan?” Parker asked.
“Yes!”
“Really?”
She paused. “I checked a few.”
