Chapter 21: Byte

BYTE

After they took Gabby back for surgery, we joined the other club members present in a private waiting room. Patch's status at the hospital, coupled with the Marks family name, had the hospital staff treating us like royalty.

Phoenix pulled Shaker and me off to the side shortly after we entered the room. "I'm not sure when, but the police will be stopping by to get a statement from Gabby. I told them what I could at the scene, but they'll want the details from her and Patch. Has she said anything that we didn't already know?"

Shaker and I nodded at the same time. "I haven't had a chance to verify it, but Lauren told Gabby she is Lawrence Hastings's daughter," I said.

Phoenix let out a low whistle. "I can't say I saw that coming. Where's she been all this time?"

"I don't know, but I can try to find out when I have some time," I said.

"Does Gabby know why she shot her and Patch?"

"Patch was collateral damage. She shot Gabby to try to make her cooperate, which obviously, for lack of a better word, backfired."

"Cooperate with what?" Phoenix asked.

"She thought Gabby inherited money from Lawrence and wanted half of it," I explained.

"Why would she think that?"

"Gabby's trust fund," Shaker said quietly. "She thought the money came from Lawrence, not Keegan and Mom."

"What do you need to verify her story?" he asked.

"My laptop," I said. "Flint has a key to my house. I'll see if he can go by and get it."

"I'll call him. You two go get something to eat and sit down," he said and pointed to the bags of food that had just been delivered to the room. "You both look like hell."

"I'm guessing your mom had something to do with this," I said to Shaker as I picked up a deli sub and a bag of chips.

"She likes to feed people. It's her love language," he smiled.

Before I took a seat, I walked over to speak to Jacquelyn. "Thank you for dinner."

She immediately engulfed me in a hug. "No, thank you. You've been taking care of and protecting my granddaughter for weeks. I owe you a lot more than a sandwich."

"You don't have to thank me. I love her. I'll take care of her and protect her for as long as she'll have me," I said sincerely.

Jacquelyn smiled. "I'm glad she has you," she said and patted my cheek. "Go eat, and see if you can get Keegan to eat while you're at it."

"Yes, ma'am," I said and picked up another sandwich.

I dropped into the chair beside Keegan and held out the wrapped sub for her. "I promised your sister I wouldn't let you worry too much while she's in surgery, and I think I just promised your mother-in-law that I'd get you to eat. I'm not sure why they both think I'm the Keegan whisperer, but they do, and I'd rather not disappoint either of them."

Keegan took the sandwich from my outstretched hand. "Fine, but if I throw up, I'm blaming you."

"I'll take that blame if you promise to aim for Shaker," I said.

Keegan smiled. "You're wrong for that. He hates vomit."

"I know. But wouldn't it be fun to see him do the Shaky Jakey dance?" I asked.

Keegan snorted a laugh. "Yes, yes it would."

"What are you two laughing about over here?" Shaker asked.

"Nothing," we said at the same time.

He shook his head. Over the years, he'd gotten used to our antics. "Jake and Quincy are on their way," he said.

"Shit," Keegan cursed. "How'd they find out?"

Shaker grimaced. "They saw it on the news and put two and two together when they couldn't get ahold of you, me, or Ranger. Jake called Flint in a bit of a panic, so Flint told him what happened."

"I'm not sure they should be driving," Keegan said worriedly.

"They're not. Flint's picking them up and driving them here," Shaker said.

"Were they mad?" Keegan asked.

"Why would they be mad?" I asked before Shaker could answer.

"Because we didn't call them right away, and they had to hear about it on the news."

"I think they're shocked and worried, not mad," Shaker said.

"Honestly, Keegan, when have you had a chance to call them? You literally just sat down a few minutes ago," I reminded her.

"I know," she conceded. "This whole situation is just awful."

"Tell me about it," I commiserated. "I don't think I'll ever be able to get the image of her appearing at the back door covered in blood out of my head. And then Patch," I paused and shook my head. "I knew he was hurt worse than Gabby, but I had no idea how bad it was."

"I hate that she was hurt, but I'm so damn proud of her," Keegan beamed.

"Me, too," I agreed and nudged Keegan with my elbow. "Eat your sandwich."

"Fine," she huffed and took an exaggerated bite. "Happy now?" she asked with a mouthful of food.

She'd almost finished the entire sub when Jake, Quincy, and Flint arrived. "Mom," Quincy cried and rushed into Keegan's arms. "Are they going to be okay?"

"Yes," Keegan assured. "They're both going to be just fine. Patch is already out of surgery, and Gabby should be out soon."

Flint filled the empty chair beside me and handed me my laptop. "I'll swing back by your place on my way home to let Shadow out and put the chickens up for the night."

"Thanks, brother," I said. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," he said. "I heard Gabby took down the shooter and saved Patch's life."

"She did," I said proudly. "Word travels fast around here."

He shrugged. "My dad's the president. I tend to hear things before the others do." He shifted in his seat and gestured toward my laptop. "You need any help with anything?"

Suddenly, I recalled all the times he'd asked me that same question and felt like an asshole for not asking sooner. "Are you interested in computers?"

"Not the shit they were teaching at school, but the stuff you do looks interesting," he said.

"If you want to learn, I'll be happy to teach you," I offered.

"You sure? Because I'm going to take you up on that offer."

"I'm sure," I said and handed my laptop back to him. "In fact, you can have your first lesson now."

"Really?" he asked excitedly and opened the computer. "What are we looking for?"

"We need to find out who Lauren Wiener's biological parents are," I said and started explaining how we were going to go about it.

Flint was able to follow my instructions with little to no difficulty. There were even a handful of times where he knew what to do next without direction from me. He definitely had a knack for information retrieval, or as some liked to call it, hacking.

"I've got it," he said. "Here are her birth records. Diana Wiener is listed as her mother. The father's information is blank."

"Yeah, I was kind of expecting that," I grumbled. "We'll come back to the father. Let's see if we can find out where the mother is."

Flint opened a new tab and started typing. "Is this her?" he asked moments later.

"I think so. Click on the details and see why she's incarcerated."

"Human trafficking and kidnapping," Flint said.

"Open a new page and type her name and Lawrence Hastings," I instructed.

Flint did as I said and brought up numerous articles listing Diana Wiener as an accomplice in Lawrence Hastings's and Harold Hensley's human trafficking operation.

"Of all the things you learn from me, what I'm about to tell you will be one of the most important. I've seen numerous hackers go down because they didn't follow this one rule. If you can get the information by another means, do it. I don't care if hacking will take less time. If you have another option, take it. Especially if it involves anything with high-level security, like government websites," I explained.

"Is that what we need to do now?" Flint asked.

"Yes," I said and motioned for Phoenix to come over.

"Got something?" he asked.

"Yes, and no. I don't have information on Lauren's father, but her mother is currently in prison for human trafficking and kidnapping. She was working with Hastings and Hensley. Do you think Luke Johnson might be able to tell us anything about Diana Wiener and her daughter?" I asked.

"There's only one way to find out," Phoenix said and pulled out his phone.

"Luke is our go-to guy for anything FBI related. It just so happens that he was the lead agent on the case against Hastings and Hensley. So, while we could hack into the files and see for ourselves, it's safer for us, as well as the club, to ask for the information since we have a contact. If you're ever in a situation and you're not sure if you should proceed, just ask me or your dad."

"Got it," Flint said. "Is there anything else we can do while we wait to hear from Luke?"

"Actually, there is. And this is another example of asking for the information instead of getting it ourselves," I said and got to my feet. "Follow me."

I stepped out into the hallway and scanned the area for Dr. White. I spotted him at the nurses' station and waved him over when he noticed me.

"What can I help you with?"

"Well, it's a little unconventional, but I promised I'd ask. Gabby and Patch have both asked about the status of the shooter. I'd call and ask myself, but I know they won't give that information to just anyone. Is there any way you could find out about her injuries for them? Even though she was defending herself, I think Gabby's worried that she may have caused permanent damage, and I'd like to put her mind at ease."

Dr. White smiled. "I have a friend who works in that ER. I'll call and ask. Give me a few minutes."

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Gabby saved my friend's life. I'm happy to help," he said.

"Is Gabby really worried about Lauren's injuries?" Flint asked when Dr. White was out of earshot.

"No," I said and tried to stifle my laughter. "She wants to know how much damage she caused so she can brag accurately. Her words, not mine."

Flint chuckled. "That's hilarious."

Dr. White returned a few moments later. "Lauren Wiener has a grade four concussion. She has fractures to both eye sockets, her right cheek, nose, and left jaw. It will take some time, but she should recover without permanent damage, with the exception of her nose, but that really falls under cosmetic."

"Thank you, Dr. White," I said and extended my hand to shake his.

"What were you talking to the doctor about?" Keegan asked as soon as we returned to the waiting room.

"I was getting your sister's bragging rights like I promised."

"Really? What'd he say?" she asked.

"Gabby did a number on her," I said and relayed the list of Lauren's injuries.

"Damn. No wonder her hands are so bad," Keegan said.

"Byte," Phoenix called. "Patch wants to see you."

I followed Phoenix to the recovery area. "Go through there and stop at the sink to wash your hands. He can only have two visitors at a time, and Badger's back there with him now."

"Got it."

"Before you go, Luke got back to me. He said Diana's daughter, Lauren, was sent to live with Diana's parents in Idaho after her arrest. That's all the information he had."

"Thanks, Prez." The information didn't seem like it would be helpful, but it was more than we had.

After washing my hands, I went through a set of doors and easily found Patch, since he was the only patient in recovery.

"Hey, brother," I said and reached out for his hand. "You look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you." And he did. His color was much better, and his breaths were steady and even.

"Thanks, man. How's Gabby?"

"Still in surgery, but she was doing pretty well before they took her back."

"Good. Let me know how she is once she's out."

"I will," I promised.

"Tell her not to worry about school. We're both going to be out for a while, but we can do five or six days a week to make up her hours if we need to," he said.

"Can I tell you not to worry about her school?"

Patch chuckled, followed by a groan. "Okay, fine. You made your point."

"She's asked about you constantly since she got here," I said quietly. "I'm pretty sure she would have refused to go to surgery if she didn't have an update on you."

"I figured as much," he admitted. "She's far more advanced than any other nurse practitioner student I've worked with. Hell, she knows more than ones I've worked with for years. There was no bullshitting her. She knew exactly how bad my injuries were, and she knew what to do until help arrived."

"She claims she was just following your orders," I said.

"She was already digging around in my chest to find the bleeder before I ever said a word. Don't let her sell herself short."

"I think modesty is in her nature."

"Yeah, I think you're right about that," he agreed.