Chapter 9

Adam's heart was still in his throat when they stepped off the elevator. He stopped when he saw everyone, including Del. His boss looked at him, then down to Jin and his hands. His mouth twitched.

"We're waiting on Ian," Autumn said.

"Charity was bringing everyone up to speed," Del said.

"Including you?"

"Yeah."

No explanation, but from the smile on Elle's face, he knew that Emma must have texted her what was going on. Adam figured he would find out soon enough what was up.

Ian Smith came striding through the doors. "Hullo, everyone."

He eyed the Brit with curiosity. They had crossed paths once or twice because of his work. He tended to deal with security for foreign dignitaries or celebrities. For some reason, those types always seemed to like an English accent. On top of that, he always dressed like a reject from a BBC police drama.

"About damned time. What were you doing?" Autumn asked.

For his part, Ian didn't look offended. Of course, he was probably used to her if they were good friends. "I was driving over here."

It had been less than twenty minutes. The two of them made an odd pair. He knew they weren't dating. At least, he didn't think so. Adam didn't get a romantic vibe from the two of them. It was more like…they knew each other well. If he didn't know better, he would think they were related, but he knew Autumn had no surviving family with both her parents gone.

"What do you have for me?" Ian asked Charity.

For a second, she said nothing. Her mouth hung open. Adam looked at the Englishman. He was tall, with dark hair and steel blue eyes.

"Good God, don't look at her. You make most women lose a good deal of their brain cells around you," Autumn said. "Besides, her FBI husband will shoot you and hide your body if you don't stop."

At the mention of her husband, Charity shook herself out of her stupor.

"Sorry, folks. He's just so pretty. We found out the woman working as Jin's PA was using an alias."

"Sorry, but why would you need my help with that? I understood that you were the best of the best."

Charity smiled. "Thank you. No, this has the feel of a true legend."

"Ah, and Autumn was worried that the Alphabet People would know you were looking for someone in their ranks?"

She nodded.

"The name?"

"Samantha Charles."

His smile dissolved. "The fuck? Do you have any ID?"

"No."

"That tracks," he muttered.

"Don't tell me this is the one." Autumn was shaking her head. "This is his white whale."

"Barracuda, not a whale."

"Why does that sound familiar?" Charity asked, lost in her own thoughts.

Adam looked between Ian and Autumn. "Someone needs to explain."

Autumn glanced at her friend, and when he kept staring at the screen with the name on it, she shrugged.

"So, back in Ian's previous life for a British Alphabet Group, he had a rival."

A snort. "She wishes."

"See, even allies have their own arguments. This Samantha and Ian had issues."

"Issues?"

"She got to someone and used him as an informant. Well, I guess it happened a few times, didn't it?"

Ian snarled at her, which made Autumn giggle. "Also, her name isn't the Barracuda. It's just what he calls her."

"Oh, damn, I have so many questions," Charity said.

"I bet I have all the answers. And just so you know, Charles is his middle name."

"Shut it," Ian said.

Autumn didn't even spare him a glance. "Spies. They're all a bunch of bitchy little babies."

"This is all highly amusing, but I need her real name," Adam said.

A sigh from Ian. "I don't know her real name, and I have only seen her once. Lord knows she probably can change her appearance. But she is a genius at computer stuff." He looked at Charity. "That's probably why you couldn't find anything on her. I'm surprised you found that much."

"So we don't have a real name." Adam sighed. "I hate to do it, but we'll have to contact the CIA."

"Jesus, don't say it a third time," Autumn groused.

"They aren't Beetlejuice," Ian said. "Also, they won't tell you anything."

"Why is that? If they had an active op, they would want us to stay out of it. I can ask in a way that makes it sound like we're trying to be nice about it."

One eyebrow went up as Ian crossed his arms across his chest. "First, they would be suspicious if you try to be nice. Everyone in Alphabet City knows you, so your being nice would set off all the alarms. Second, she was burned about eighteen months ago."

"They do that?" Jin asked. "Like in Burn Notice?"

Ian glanced at Jin. The slow smile grated on Adam's nerves. "I have not had the pleasure."

"And you never will," Adam said.

There was a cough that sounded like Del. Adam was sure his boss was trying to cover up a laugh.

"Jin Phillips."

Ian nodded in her direction and gave Adam a look of understanding.

"And yes, they do. I have no idea what she got into, seeing that she was more of a white hat hacker than an agent."

"Wait…shit, I might know her. I mean, I have heard of her," Charity said. "About eighteen months ago, someone came online, digging around a lot of the darker parts of the internet, someone who posted to boards."

"That could be her. I'll give credit where it is due, that woman can hack into anything, including some of the most secure agencies in the world."

"I bet it's her. She goes by the name Barracuda."

He blinked. "She does what?"

"She uses that handle. That's why it sounded so familiar."

"But I never called her that."

Autumn shook her head. "You go on and on about her all the time and the woman is a hacker. I hope you know better than having AI in your house."

"Of course not."

"We know that she's former CIA, is interested in the case we're working on, and has disappeared. She might have gone missing because of her old life, not what she was doing for Jin," Charity mused.

"True, but I doubt it. She might have gone under, but I have a feeling it was because someone triggered a warning," Ian said.

"Yeah, I would agree," Autumn said, turning toward Jin. "She probably had some kind of warning system just in case anyone started looking for her electronically."

"That's worrisome," Jin said.

"No, what I don't understand is why she would use one of her old aliases." Ian glanced at her. "You have no connections to any spy agencies?"

She shook her head. "I just host a podcast."

"Wait, you do that Beyond Murder? I love the show. Everyone in the office does, in fact."

She could feel her cheeks heat. "Thank you."

"Then it has to do with what you're working on. What does this have to do with the Alana Kim murder?"

Adam glanced at his boss, who nodded. "And we've found Dylan Brewer, too."

"Where was he?"

"On a trail near Waimea Falls."

"He's dead?" Ian whistled. "That is damned weird, right? That you start investigating, and he is found?"

Adam frowned. He was right. "That is really odd. We need to check out the tourist who found him."

"With your permission, I'll call an associate about the Barracuda and see if I can find out what she was burned for."

Adam nodded, and Ian stepped away to make the call.

"Did Sam suggest this investigation?" Adam asked Jin.

"No. In fact, it was Dr. Nells who mentioned it to me. Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out why Samantha applied to work for you. I wanted to make sure that she wasn't involved in the killing."

"She would probably be too young for that."

"True."

"But I had only picked up a few books before I hired her."

"Did you buy them online?" Autumn asked.

"No," Charity said, interrupting before Jin could answer. "That would have been insane. Trying to keep up with who bought the books or checked them out would definitely be too big of a job. I have a feeling there is something more behind this."

"Okay, thanks, mate," Ian said as he walked back toward their group. "I'm not sure it means anything to you, but she was on the trail of a serial killer, one the CIA would rather not talk about. That might be why she found you."

"Me? What would I have to do with a serial killer?"

"I think she assumed she could hide. If she were researching unsolved cases, no one would suspect it was her."

"But if she's as good as you say she is, she wouldn't need that," Jin said.

"No, it's smart. Hiding in plain sight. If there's a public face, your podcast, to the investigation, there's a good chance that the CIA or whoever didn't want her digging into things wouldn't find her."

"You keep saying the letters," Autumn said.

Ian continued to ignore her.

"But I'm still not getting it."

"From my experience with her, she has a need for revenge. If this is tied to why she was burned, then I would think that she did it for that reason alone. Truthfully, I would hate to be the person who got her burned because she won't stop gunning for that person until they are fried to a crisp. I'll keep sniffing around through my back channels."

He motioned with his head, and Autumn rolled her eyes. She followed him out.

"That was weird."

"Weird?"

"Did you hear the way he talked about her?"

"Yeah. Someone has a crush," Tamilya said.

Jin glanced over at the other woman. "Ya think? It's like the ultimate love/hate relationship but the spy version."

"I think we need to work some theories out about the new information. Plus, we need to find the name of the witness who found the body."

"Oh, I have that," Charity said. "The name is Raymond Reynolds."

"What?"

"I was talking to Bea over at HPD, and she gave me the name. She can't understand why they didn't have it attached to the file."

"Are you sure it was Raymond Reynolds?" Elle asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"I just identified a body this morning as Raymond Reynolds."

"And this guy had connections to Joyous Wave?" Adam asked.

"Damn, I do not like the way this is stacking up," Jin said.

"Why?" Adam asked, caught by her tone. He knew her well enough that when things started to come together in a story, she would get excited. This was different.

"True believers of cults do not ever give up. That's why so many of them commit suicide together or fight off authorities until the very end. If this does have some connection to Joyous Wave, there could be a few people involved. All of them would be impossible to trace."

"Pfft," Charity said. "I will hunt them all down."

"First, though, make sure you work with Ian to find Sam. I'm more than a little worried that she's missing. It could be that she wanted to disappear, or her old life came knocking. If the Joyous Wave members are tangled up in this, they could be after her."

Charity nodded. "No problem."

Autumn had returned just as he mentioned Joyous Wave. "Those nut jobs are insane. Make sure you're careful."

"Raymond Reynolds was the witness who found the body," Adam said.

"Knowing that creep, he helped kill him. Or at the very least helped dispose of the body. Good riddance."

"I want you to work as a liaison between us and Ian, Autumn. That way, we might keep the Alphabet People out of this."

"Knowing them, they already have a bead on her. They wouldn't hurt her, though. They would have never burned her if they really didn't want her around."

"Really?" Jin asked.

"Oh, yeah. Why do you think I don't like invoking their name? Freaking Alphabet People."

"Let's take five and then meet back here to work on theories," Adam said. Everyone murmured their agreement. He took Jin by the hand and led her into his office.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "It's a lot to take in."

"And you're still worried about Sam."

She sighed and nodded again. "I am. I just never got the ghosting vibe off her."

Without saying anything, knowing that both of them needed it, he pulled her into his arms. He could feel her heart beating against his chest as he held her.

"We'll figure it all out, and we'll do everything within our power to find your friend."

She leaned back and studied him. "I know. Even in those darker moments, when I was fearful of what would happen to me after I physically healed, I knew you would be there."

Tears filled her eyes, and he felt as if he had been stabbed in the chest.

"Don't cry."

"No, I want to say that there were a few things that kept me going, but knowing you would be there, that you would check on me, it kept me going. You are a good man."

Then she snuggled against him. Adam tightened his arms around her, silently vowing to himself that he would do everything he could to make sure that he never let her down.