Knocked Down Read online

  He laughed and settled into the chair far too close to hers. “And if I don’t?”

  Carrie didn’t get a chance to answer. Someone had entered the conference room a few moments behind Smith. “You really want to mess with Michael Hellbrook? He earned his rep, you know.”

  Paige. Always and forever Paige riding to her rescue. Her sister stood with a white bag of take-out. Carrie was torn between relief at seeing Paige and irritation that her sister definitely wasn’t about to let Carrie handle Smith on her own. Always protecting, wasn’t she?

  “This is none of your business.”

  “I disagree.” Paige sauntered up to Smith’s chair and leaned into his space. Carrie knew what Paige was doing—she’d seen Paige threaten bigger people than her before. Paige could really play the toughie well when she wanted.

  “You have a problem with me, Davis?”

  “Daviess. I don’t know you, do I, Agent Smith? Where are you from?”

  “What’s it matter? CCU is where I am headed.”

  Carrie stood, leaning most of her weight against the table. It was one thing for Paige to help her when needed—but Carrie wouldn’t allow herself to be a push over. “And the CCU is where I already am. This isn’t getting us any closer to finding this guy. Get back to work, Smith.”

  He didn’t like that, at all. He stood and Paige stepped back. The guy was pretty big. Almost as big as the guy who’d knocked Carrie off a cliff the week before. That had her freezing for a moment.

  “Is that your call? I thought Gleason was in charge today.”

  “What are you trying to say, Smith?”

  “Is it that hard to figure out? I want to know who she fucked to get to where she is today.”

  Carrie cringed at the crudeness of his question. Paige stepped in front of him. “Why don’t you go ask Hellbrook to answer that question for you? I’ll bring the popcorn. Carrie, you bring the drinks.”

  “Paige, let’s get to work. We have something more important to worry about.” This, too, was something she’d heard before. More experienced agents had a problem with her appointment to the CCU. They had problems with her teammates K.D. Jacobs and Josh Compton, too. Because they were younger, more inexperienced, and personally cherry-picked by Hell when he’d formed his team a few years ago. And her teammate Georgia suffered censure all the time because her father was the head of the division. There would always be people who were upset by others’ successes—that’s how Georgia had put it. And Carrie had understood that.

  But why was she having this problem now, of all times?

  Paige shifted again, until she was right in Smith’s personal space. “When this is over, next time I see the Director of PAVAD I’ll tell him exactly how you think women get appointed to the CCU.”

  Carrie caught on fast. “His daughter is a good friend of mine. And teammate.”

  “Friend of mine, too.” Paige smiled that cold smile she used when she was truly angry. “Kiss the CCU goodbye, Smith. It just ain’t gonna happen.”

  He cursed them quietly, but he left the room. Carrie knew it probably wasn’t finished with him. “We really don’t get to say who gets into the CCU.”

  “No? Let me ask you this…If you went to Hellbrook and said that guy cornered you and asked such crude questions. And you didn’t think he’d fit in with the CCU, what do you think Hellbrook would tell the director? Hellbrook who everyone knows has final say over the CCU?”

  Paige was probably right. Still… “I had it handled.”

  “I know. But did we really have time? Two were faster than one. Watch your back, Care. He’s pretty pissed.”

  “Between him and Gleason…I’m glad I’m with Hell.”

  “I know. You don’t do agency politics very well. I don’t want you to have any trouble.”

  Carrie wasn’t anticipating any. Smith was just a minor irritation. “I know my place with the CCU, Paige. I’m not concerned.”

  Paige handed her the white bag. Carrie opened it and found her favorite take-out. Leave it to her sister to know…

  “But you might not always be with the CCU. And we don’t know a damned thing about this Lorcan guy. Or how he’ll respond to any of this.”

  Agent Lorcan. Why did the thought of him bother her so much? “No we don’t, do we? I’ll be so glad when this case is over and I am home.”

  The afternoon didn’t get any better. Smith spent most of the hours between three and six glaring at her and Paige. And Gleason—that woman made her condescension clear for everyone to see.

  And her favorite target was Carrie. She’d never understand it. Ever.

  Chapter Nine

  “We didn’t realize at first. I’m ashamed to say it was such a quick breach that the process didn’t even register in our system.” The bank president of the Portland Regional Deposit, the smallest bank in the city, was obviously embarrassed by such a mistake. Sebastian wondered how much trouble the older man had found himself in.

  “How long did it take?” Agent Brockman asked, a tone of commiseration in her voice. She’d put the man at ease with just a few words and Sebastian was glad he’d chosen to bring her with him on the first of the victim interviews. He’d sent the others in teams of twos to the remaining three victim locations. “To find the discrepancy, I mean?”

  “Three days.”

  “Any reason why?” Sebastian asked.

  “From what we can tell, our system was only down for thirty-two seconds. But that was long enough. Whomever did it knew exactly how to get in and out. It’s not just about the money, Agent Lorcan, though $400,000 is a large amount by any means. It’s about our customers’ security. If we can’t protect their funds, they will lose confidence in us.”

  “Anything special about the accounts hit?” Sebastian asked.

  “Not that we can tell. I have more details prepared. We notified them, of course. But most have chosen to stay with us.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. The hacker we’re dealing with was very skilled. You did what you could. But no system is completely secure.”

  ***

  When they were back out on the street Brockman started walking toward a small deli. Sebastian followed, curious about what she was thinking. She’d been almost silent since about halfway through the interview. “Care to share?”

  “Everything this guy has touched, wouldn’t it have a personal reason? Why do UNSUBs pick targets?”

  “Personal connections.” Eight times out of ten there was some connection. They just had to find it. “You think there was something tying the UNSUB to this particular bank?”

  “Not just this bank, what about this branch? I’m wondering if we shouldn’t do a geographical profile. I can call Paige and get her started on that. She’s very skilled in that. And the logistics of criminal planning. She’d make a great mastermind if she had a criminal bent.”

  “Something else I’ll keep in mind.”

  “Something else…” Brockman looked at him from considering blue eyes. She really was a beautiful woman. “It took them three days to notice $400,000 was missing. What’s the likelihood that they didn’t notice smaller sums?”

  She had a viable point. One he’d need to think about.

  They regrouped with the other agents in time for lunch. Sebastian looked at them as they waited for the pizza they’d all chipped in on. “Anyone capable of finding out if this hacker has been in the bank system on previous occasions? Sparks probably could, but we need her skills on other things.”

  Hernandez nodded. “I can. I worked in a bank in college. My major was mathematics, my minor in computer sciences. I’ve coded before.”

  “Great. After briefing I want you and Nugent on that exclusively. Find the data for the bank, if you do, search it out for the other targets. Do whatever you have to do. Brockman—you can handle securing warrants, I’m sure? You go back. Coordinate with Gleason.” He’d kept in touch with the woman he’d put in charge of the other half of the team, and so far he’d been impressed wit
h how efficient she was.

  Brockman studied him for a moment, and he wondered at what else she had to say. He pulled her aside.

  “You mean work with Sparks. Gleason’s coat-tailing on her work. According to my partner, anyway.”

  “I see.” Something he’d have to look into. “Just go with who you need. Don’t waste time.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  They returned to the table. Sebastian was mindful of the eyes on them. “Chalmers, Therez, go back with Agent Brockman. Get started on the ID theft. Collingsworth is convinced they’re related. I’m not—yet. Your job is to connect them. Or disprove.”

  “Yes, boss.” Chalmers nodded. “We’ll do so discretely. No sense in discrediting an agent like Collingsworth if we don’t have to.”

  “Thank you.”

  ***

  Sebastian looked at his team and Collingsworth. Almost two dozen people were gathered to hear what he had to say. He looked at the agents beside him. Brockman was cool and collected, like he was starting to suspect she always was. He wondered what would rattle a woman like her.

  Sparks was wide eyed behind the dark glasses she’d slipped on. She stayed close to his side, and Daviess’. The dark-haired woman stood in an almost daring, cocky pose. Ready to take on the world, this one.

  He looked back at the roomful of agents. “We have three profiles for two cases we need to consider today. Our first is the hacking case. It’s the most dominant at this time. You all know the specifics. I’m going to tell you who it is we’re looking for.”

  “We have a name?” A young, eager agent in the second row asked.

  “No. We have a profile,” Daviess said.

  “No offense, but haven’t profiles failed spectacularly before?” An older agent asked. Sebastian saw the man’s skepticism, and how it was duplicated on many of the other agents’ faces.

  “It’s not an exact science like many of you are used to. But what a profile will do is give us a starting point. Combine that with what our Agent Sparks and your Agent Nugent have found and we can start narrowing the names down from more than a hundred thousand potential names to a few. Maybe even as few as half a dozen as we get more information to add to the profile.” Sebastian had given this speech more times than he could count. And he hated that it was necessary. But one day, hopefully profiling would be more accepted within the ranks of the Bureau.

  “We’re looking for a man with an education in a tech science field,” Agent Brockman said. “He’s probably between the ages of twenty-four and thirty. He’s worked his field long enough to have earned some autonomy, but he’s still inexperienced in a lot of ways. He’s learning.”

  “He’s good at what he does so he has advanced in his career rapidly. He’s earned some autonomy. This gives him time to write his programs and plan his activities. The man’s work is sophisticated, but a bit sloppy. We’re talking about a hacker with an ego. But from what we can tell, he’s not polished at his craft—yet.”

  “But this profile changes if this case is connected to the ID theft case. It could be this is an older man, using a smaller group, younger, to actually take the risks associated with the thefts. That’ll change things. But it still leaves the possibility open that our hacker is only a puppet for another.” Sebastian moved to the center of the room and closer to the front row. He wanted all attention on him. Not the boards. Not the agents standing behind him. “But there’s something else we need to consider. Terrorism. Terrorism will change the profile. If this is a terror plot the patterns associated with the targets are telling us that this is probably a home-grown situation. This man is educated, and he won’t be another Timothy McFey with a truck and fertilizer. This will be more sophisticated. He’s already targeted an airline and a rail yard. If he turns them into his weapon of choice—well, we all know what could happen then. That will change our profile. He’s still well-educated. Possibly at one of the schools targeted. We don’t know yet; we’re having trouble reconstructing the high school and college’s records. But one thing is definitely clear, no matter how many individuals are involved, someone somewhere knows who these people are. We just have to find them.” Sebastian looked up and his eyes met Collingsworth’s.

  It was hard to read the man’s expression from so far away, but one thing was clear—Collingsworth was worried. And for an agent of his experience and skill, that told Sebastian quite a lot.

  Chapter Ten

  Paige’s partner was a nice woman; Carrie had already learned that. But this was the first time she’d had the opportunity to work a case with her.

  And her humor played off of Paige’s. Carrie would be the first to admit she didn’t always understand humor or sarcasm but it wasn’t difficult to follow the conversation between Paige and Al, as Agent Brockman liked to be called.

  And Al made a point of including Carrie. She appreciated it that.

  They’d doubled up on hotel rooms, and after a full day of absolutely no leads, the room was a haven.

  The day hadn’t gone well and she knew the failure rested on her shoulders. Everyone was waiting for her and the three PAVAD agents with computer forensic experience to find something that connected the two branches of the case.

  But they hadn’t.

  And the people working with her on that end of things didn’t seem to trust her to lead them. What was she doing wrong?

  Agent Gleason was the worst of the group, second-guessing every decision Carrie made. The undercutting was starting to affect the entire team. And Carrie didn’t know how to deal with that. Only Collingsworth’s man, Agent Nugent, seemed to follow the same logic Carrie had.

  “What you’re going to have to do is talk to the big guy himself,” Al said, after Carrie and Paige had filled her in on what the older woman was doing. “We’ll go with you. Gleason…that woman has an agenda, and she doesn’t like something you have. You can’t let her get a foothold. At least not for this case. You’re pretty well set with Hellbrook. And everyone knows that. Not to mention Ed Dennis. But this case…”

  “I can’t afford to let whatever it is she doesn’t like about me interfere with my ability to do this job.” And she wouldn’t. She’d dealt with people who didn’t like her and who didn’t think she belonged in the CCU, but never one who’d so blatantly tried to undercut or discredit her. “Time is valuable in these kinds of cases. We all know that. I just don’t understand why she doesn’t seem to understand that.”

  She was at a total loss on how to deal with it.

  “Listen, you go to this Lorcan guy, and spill. We’ll go with you. Back you up. I don’t know about me, but FBI Barbie here has some serious pull with the CCU bigwigs. Not to mention Hellbrook will be here the first time you call.” Paige always teased her about Hell, about how he and Dan Reynolds, the oldest member of her team, treated her. Paige rented an apartment from Dan and knew him quite well.

  “I don’t want to call in Hell or Dan.”

  “No big brother. I totally understand that,” Al said. Carrie had met her older brother quite a few times. Malachi Brockman’s team had transferred into the CCU and became Team Two when the PAVAD division was originally formed several months earlier. “Got to do it on your own, and all. But listen…you’re not alone. And what she’s doing is wrong. And it’s not helping the team at all. So…we call the big guy and see how he handles confrontation.”

  She didn’t want to be the Guinea pig. But they couldn’t afford any more setbacks.

  People’s lives could very well on it.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sebastian knocked on the hotel room door and waited impatiently for the agents inside to open. Agent Sparks had called him, and he’d heard something in her voice that had him concerned. What was going on?

  She wasn’t alone, but he hadn’t expected her to be. Agents Daviess and Brockman were bunking with her. All three women had serious expressions on their faces.

  Separately they were beautiful women. Side by side they were absolutely stunning—an
d any man’s fantasy.

  Did they realize? They’d received more than their fair share of masculine attention throughout the hours they’d spent in the Portland office, but as far as he knew, none of the trio had noticed.

  He found that quite telling, as well.

  These three worked well together, and he was starting to see why Ed Dennis was so strongly in favor of Daviess and Brockman being a part of the CCU.

  Agent Brockman was a natural leader and she’d stepped into the role as his second-in-command easily. Agent Daviess was damned good at reading people and she managed to get everyone in the Portland office to open up to her easily. Each woman played off the other’s strengths and weaknesses.

  After one full day of the two of them working with him and he knew their places on his team were secure.

  And even Sparks had impressed him with how she worked so diligently. Skilled, and greatly admired by the rest of the computer techs that surrounded her.

  She was like a goddess to a few of them and he found that amusing.

  She looked like one, where she stood by the window. She wasn’t rail thin, her curves were real and perfect and would have a lesser man’s palms itching to touch.

  But he’d never laid hands on a colleague before and he wasn’t about to start now with a woman ten years younger and a hell of a lot more naïve.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re having problems. And it’s your job to fix them.” The dark-haired woman was a bit blunt, and he got the impression she was still judging his capabilities as a leader.

  “What problems?”

  “This team you’re captain of? There’s a real bad apple in the bunch.”