Page 37 of Deceive Me
Deacon leaned harder into the fists he’d planted on the edge of the table, getting nose to nose with the screen. “Are you saying my team isn’t doing its job?”
Sheppard’s eyes went suspiciously bright. “I’m saying your team—and I—are doing the best we can.” She blinked behind her glasses. A single tear escaped. A hasty swipe removed the evidence quickly. “Why do you think he’s not coming inside? Because I made damn sure he can’t, not without being seen.”
Deacon slammed one fist into the oak table. “It’s not enough.”
Elliot watched over Deacon’s shoulder as Sheppard threw a shaking hand up. “It’s all I can do, sir. Diagnostics are clear. Camera records show no interference—and believe me, my team has gone over it with a fine-tooth comb. Every feed is perfect. I’ve searched every line of code in the programs, every hidden niche, every back door. There’s nothing wrong with your security.”
“Sheppard, goddamn it!”
Elliot had her hand on his shoulder before she even realized she’d approached. “Deacon…”
He spun on his heel, his big body knocking into her, but the moment he saw her stumbling back, the worst of his aggression seemed to fizzle out. He grabbed her midfall and settled her on her feet, dark eyes burning with apology as the entire room seemed to hold its breath. Deacon ignored them all, however; for the longest moment it was as if no one but the two of them existed in the universe.
And then Fionn was easing himself between Deacon and the screen, leaving Elliot off balance and more than a little wary, though not of Deacon’s aggression. She managed threats much easier than she did emotions, and that look had been a physical caress, a stroke of pleasure that sent a hard shiver through her.
When everyone’s attention returned to the screen, Elliot took the opportunity to slip back beside Dain, giving herself some breathing space.
“Sheppard,” Fionn asked, “can we be pinpointing the exact location on the triggers? We know about where they came from, but do the diagnostics give you specifics? Is he targeting points in the blind spots of the cameras? Is that it?”
“Even if he was,” Dain pointed out, “we should pick up some hint on visual inspection. The north side is wooded, so minimal exposure. But this last alarm was on the opposite side, nothing but pasture and grass—nowhere to hide, no cover. How did he know patrols wouldn’t walk right up on him, out in the open like that?”
“Maybe he didn’t,” King suggested. “Maybe he’s a brazen bastard and took a chance.”
Elliot could see Deacon absorbing the rush of information before he blinked hard and pivoted to face the room.
“It has to be some kind of hacking bullshit,” Fionn argued.
“That doesn’t sound like Kivuli’s MO,” Dain said, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. “How does the ghost know when he can be a ghost? Some kind of surveillance?”
The question shot through Elliot like a bullet finding its mark. She glanced toward the screen, her gaze meeting Sheppard’s, recognizing the flash of awareness in the young woman’s red-rimmed eyes. “A drone,” they said at the same moment.
Hissed curses filtered through the room.
“Wouldn’t the satellite pick it up?” King asked.
Sheppard’s frown was their answer. “To be detectable, the drone would have to be flying during the same window as the satellite’s orbit brings it over the area. If it’s big enough, the machine can hover too high for human ears to hear the engines, which eliminates manual detection. For twenty-three hours a day it could be in the air with us completely blind to it.”
“What about antidrone technology? Some kind of jamming?” Elliot asked.
Fionn frowned. “You’re talking a feck-ton of money for anything like that. GFS has the technology on the compound, so we’re somewhat familiar. The system they use can jam a drone’s transmissions from two miles out, even interrupt the connection between machine and operator. But eliminating drone surveillance on private property is no’ monetarily feasible.”
Which meant they now had to adjust their security in response to a new threat.
“But the minute Kivuli or anyone else associated with Mansa steps directly onto Deacon’s land, they’ll be caught in the surveillance net, right?” King’s elegant brows were crinkled together. “So what are we worried about? Let them wear themselves out trying to keep us on our toes.”
“It’s not the false alarms we have to focus on, per se,” Dain agreed. “The question is, if Mansa is willing to spend six figures on a high-tech drone, how much more will he spend? Enough for serious long-range firepower? Enough to bomb us off the grounds, forcing us into a vulnerable position? Enough to—”
“Dain.”
The barked command startled her, but one look at Deacon’s white face, the stark fear in his eyes, and she got it. Without thinking she reached a hand out to grip his thick forearm.
Deacon turned blindly toward her, his back to the others. “I can’t lose her, Elliot,” he whispered, low enough that the rest of the room wouldn’t hear.
“You aren’t losing her. I won’t let anything happen to her, and neither will they.”
He nodded at her words, but she couldn’t tell if they’d actually registered. Rubbing a hard hand over his head, he pivoted back to the screen and Sheppard. “You have anything else?”
Sheppard’s trembling was no longer visible. She blinked at him from behind her glasses. “Not yet, sir. I’ll let you know when I do, I promise.”
