Page 73 of Don't Game Me
Quan pulled out into traffic. “What exactly did he ask you to take? I wanted to ask before, but we were so rushed to get all this into play today. I forgot.”
“Financial data.”
Quan whistled. “Jesus. That’s not good. That must’ve been hard for you to break into NJ Legacy, not to mention the ethics of the whole thing with your brother as CEO.”
“I didn’t have a lot of time to get much.” She nibbled a nail, pondering if Quan was right. Maybe she should stay away from home.
“You simply gave Symphis all the information free and clear like he asked?” Quan glanced her way just as he pulled into a turn lane.
What if someone from the Stadium organization could somehow monitor them? She gazed at all the electronics in the car. Paranoia running high, instinct said not to reveal the truth. “I didn’t send everything I found. I didn’t want to completely screw Jake and Noah.”
“Ah. Smart girl. But don’t you think what you did send might hurt them?”
“I don’t know. It looked like information on ordering.” She’d not only cut stuff out of what was in the files but also modified all of it. She even put in a few backdoor flags that if anyone tried to contact one of the sellers from which those records said NJ Legacy bought, it’d notify her. Then, perhaps, they could trace its source.
“Did you keep an original file of the financials?” The light changed, and he turned to merge onto the highway.
Weird question. This entire conversation had her squirming. A part of her wanted to tell him the truth. No reason not to trust him, but then again, she didn’t know who to fully trust at the moment. “No. I didn’t have much time and had to deal with the original file.”
“Okay. Probably good not to have it. Interesting this woman at Comic-Con decided to involve Jake. Did you get the feeling she did it because it’s the one thing in the universe you didn’t want?”
“Yes.”
“A high price to pay, then. I need to follow her. Fortuitous that she took the phone from you. I can track that.” Quan’s smile was almost zealous.
“You really think this woman can help us get Symphis?”
“Our investigations into the Stadiums in Europe indicate Symphis is a woman. What if it’s this girl? How sociopathic to make you think you’re out when she might actually be the one who’d pranced you about like a puppet?”
She’d had a fleeting thought that Stardust wasn’t legit. The whole interaction didn’t settle right. “I need to be out. I can’t play those stupid video games competitively anymore. I hate working for Pascal. Everything GenShare designs is unnerving. My life’s goal isn’t to make stuff for spy agencies, no insult intended to you and your work.”
Quan shrugged. “Let’s focus on this woman. She may be the only one who knows Symphis’s identity, if it’s not her. Let’s keep our eye on the endgame. This is about a lot more than you and me, or Jake. This is about preventing more deaths and securing the future of video gaming.”
“Where is she?” Jake demanded of the girl identified to him and the five FBI agents as Lisi Jackson.
“She who? You mean the girl in the Leia getup?” The woman’s extra-long eyelashes slow-blinked twice.
“Of course, I’m talking about her.”
Lisi shrugged and pointed up the aisle. “Went that way. We had some business. Did it and now it’s done.”
She was gone. Where would she go? How long had she been planning this? The questions hounded him, like they had been every moment since she’d first disappeared. A sharp pain in his chest hit every time he wondered if Becca planned everything, even them sleeping together. Had he been played?
She wouldn’t use you like that.His heart railed against his brain, demanding that he find her to give her a chance to explain all of this before he jumped to conclusions. Obviously, she’d been cornered and coerced. He needed specific clarification on how far that coercion pushed her.
There’s nothing she wouldn’t have done to keep her family safe,his brain countered. Nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind to focus on Lisi, who might actually give the FBI task force a substantial break in the case against Symphis.
“What kind of business did you transact?” Jake’s mind read and re-read Becca’s message. It contained nothing useful.
“Stand aside, Mr. Allen,” demanded the gray-haired man in a blue bomber jacket, blue chinos, and blasé brown shoes. Everything about the man was forgettable, which was probably a bonus in his line of work. He flashed his FBI badge to Lisi. “I’m Agent Reynolds. You’re going to accompany us and answer some questions.”
Lisi tapped a long blue nail on the badge. “Is that real, or are you jerking my chain?”
“Ma’am, I don’t joke around. If you don’t come willingly, I will be forced to arrest you.”
“That sounds exciting. I do love a decent set of handcuffs. But you don’t have anything to arrest me for, or do you?” The bored expression she gave him seemed artificial, but not something she threw out to hide fear. It came off to Jake as if she forced herself to have emotion.
