Page 28 of Dan

“What the hell did I just hit?” Ryan tapped a few buttons on his phone, and the large metal toolbox appeared in front of them.

“We put the stealth netting over the box, just to be sure we weren’t left unprotected if it didn’t work. It wasn’t visible to any of us. We asked Sophia Ann to put it in the middle of a path somewhere on the property, but not tell us. Brilliant. Absolutely, brilliant!”

“Wait a minute,” frowned Code. “You said your parents inherited the company, but it’s named after them. Yancy Zachary Xavier.”

“Yes. It’s named that now, but they renamed it when my grandfather died. He took over when his half-brother died. He wasn’t a very good man, from what I understand. It was Bay Dynamics when my grandfather changed the name.”

“But what was it before that?” frowned Ryan.

“My half-uncle called it Faser Industries.”

The group of people around her were so quiet, Finley wondered if she’d said something offensive.

“You’re certain?” asked Luke.

“Yes. My grandfather and his half-brother didn’t see eye to eye on the business, which was why he refused to work for him. Something happened, I’m not sure what, and my half-uncle died. My grandfather took over, calling it Bay Dynamics, and began making things for the tech industry. When he started to get sick, he encouraged my parents to get more involved in the business.”

“Fucking Faser,” frowned Ryan.

“Do you know that company? How? They’ve been gone for decades now.”

“Faser was attempting to inject soldiers with a tracking technology that would allow you to find them and kill them in seconds,” said Luke. “Trak met Lauren because of what Faser was doing in New Mexico.”

“Was your father close to his half-uncle?” asked Dan.

“From what I understand, yes. My grandfather was trying to build his business by himself. My grandmother died very young. When Grandpa was on the road or away on business, my father would stay with his half-brother.”

“I think maybe dear old uncle planted some seeds in your father’s head. And they weren’t good ones,” said Luke.

“I really didn’t know him at all. As I said, he died before I was born. All I knew was the company my grandfather tried to create. I don’t think my half-uncle was a good person.”

“He definitely wasn’t,” said Code. Finley stared at him, signs of shame on her face. “Finley, it has nothing to do with you. I’m sure your grandfather was trying to bring the business back to a respectable place.” She nodded, giving him a weak smile.

“Do you know anything about the items in your great-uncle’s estate? Maybe his notebooks, anything like that?” asked Luke.

“I really don’t. I can only assume that they went to my grandfather.” The others just nodded, their minds swirling with thoughts. “But. At the time of his death, my father was a high-school student working part-time for him. He may have given my father any files that he didn’t want my grandfather to find. As I said, they were close. My grandfather wasn’t close to either one of them.”

“We need to find what’s in those files,” said Dan.

“I can go,” said Finley.

“No.”

“Nope.”

“Not happening.”

A dozen voices echoed the sentiment as well, and she just shook her head, holding her hands over her ears.

“I could get into the offices, and no one would think anything about it,” she said. “You can go with me. Find out if my parents are in town. If they’re not, the offices are empty. People usually work from home. The only thing operating full speed is the manufacturing lines.”

“We could call and say we want another meeting with him,” said Paige. “Maybe this time, we ask them to meet us in Los Angeles or Portland. That should throw them off a bit on our location, but get them out of the office long enough for you guys to get in.”

“We didn’t exactly leave the security team with the warm fuzzies,” smirked Dan. “Eric did a real number on them.”

“Then send Eric back with me,” said Finley. “Whoever went in the first time should be with me the second time. It will tell them that I know who they’re trying to get to. G.R.I.P.”

“It’s a dangerous game, Fin,” said Luke. “This isn’t something you’ll be able to go back from. Once your family knows that you’re working with us, they’ll never want to speak to you again unless it’s to torture you. Besides, Eric will want to be with Sophia Ann.”

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