Mickey checked in with his handler later that evening. He'd spent a while with Laurie before going home, gathering more info on both her and her brother. If he'd enjoyed the time with her, too, well, there wasn’t anything wrong with it. No one would ever know.

He reported on his impressions of Laurie and her brother. There were things about Laurie that he'd noticed that were, technically, irrelevant to the case, but he catalogued them anyway. How she seemed to care for her brother, even though he annoyed her. She was definitely keeping info about him secret, though that could just be because they were still strangers. She was protective of her brother, but he knew that she knew he was doing a bunch of stuff that wasn't strictly legal, although he was sure she didn’t know the extent of it.

She was stressed, probably in over her head. Her brother showed up on her doorstep and she lent him a place to stay. He doubted, however, she'd expected all the problems it came with taking care of a problematic youth, considering she was only a couple of years younger than Mickey and had been living alone in the eight years since she'd left her father's home.

It would only get worse for her.

He hadn't gotten a lot out of her brother, from the brief moment he'd seen him, to the time when he'd talked with Laurie about him before she got cautious with any questions to deal with her brother.

"I don’t think she knows what her brother is up to, exactly, but she knows he's into something. She got pretty defensive a few times when I asked questions about him that put him in a negative light, legally speaking, a few times she deflected the question or outright ignored it. Karl, I haven't technically met, but he looked like any other delinquent his age. Wherever he came from, whoever he was with, probably has a tie to the investigation."

Laurie wouldn’t know. He'd seen how troubled she was, even though she was defending her brother. She clearly knew something was up but had no idea how to deal with it. He'd have felt sorry for her—actually, he did feel sorry for her—but if Karl was into something he shouldn't be, then she shouldn’t have been protecting him.

There was a low hum, then a long silence over the phone. His report was done, so he just waited silently, not hanging up. His handler would be the one to decide their conversation was over. He expected questions, at least, but none came.

"It's been revealed that Karl seems to be the one responsible," his handler said. "The information came in, finally, so we're sure now."

Mickey clenched his jaw, feeling sorrier for Laurie. There was no way she could protect her brother from this, not from the government.

Karl was suspected of the theft of several sensitive Pentagon communications by using his father's login credentials. It had only been a supposition before when he was informed nearly two weeks ago of his new job. He would have hoped, for Laurie's sake, that the report was false since she was the one stuck with her brother, and would be involved in his problems because of it.

"The CIA only knows this because the general made, albeit reluctantly, a report of his son being caught at his computer but without much detail. But a preliminary investigation was carried out and it was at the time the information was accessed. The boy's father has been cooperative with the investigation but is unaware that Karl is now being directly monitored."

He nodded, even though his handler couldn’t see, agreeing to the silent order. "I'll make sure to keep a low profile, sir."

There was a short silence on the line, but he knew his handler was pleased. "The general was asked not to tell his children about the investigation. Whatever you're going to do out there, do it fast. People are going to be out for that kid's blood soon. There is only so long we can keep information of this magnitude in check."

Of course. The boy, as idiotic as he was, had managed to access some critical files. Mickey wondered if he even knew what he'd cost his country, or if he was just another spoiled brat wanting to get back at his father. He wondered if the kid knew the shit he was dragging his sister into. At any moment, if the people he was affiliated with felt there was a risk because of the info they got from him, they might just decide to cut their losses. Both Karl and Laurie would then be in danger from them.

No arrests could be made because no one was sure what the kid did with the information he got or who he gave it out to. They were definitely his Russian buddies, drug dealers that didn’t mind selling information, either. They needed to get something concrete on them and to make the arrest before the information made it out to someone who'd know the most effective way to use it to cripple the country.

After a few more minutes, he was finally excused and he ended the call. He made plans in his head, thinking of all the ways he could end this as quickly and quietly as possible, so Laurie wouldn’t have to be dragged into it. It was a matter of national security, after all.

Later that night, Mickey was monitoring the Nash house when he noticed Karl going out. Considering how late it was, with the rest of the house dark and quiet, he was probably sneaking out. Likely to go get more drugs.

Mickey moved quickly to follow, grabbing a few things on his way out. Lucky for him, they didn’t have a car, because that would have just been a pain. Tracking a car would be so much easier at night, but he was more worried about giving himself away. He could keep up with the kid just fine as it was and stay concealed, as long as he was careful. He grabbed his bike, tucking away some equipment in his dark cargo jacket, pulling up the hood.

He tailed Karl discreetly. Not that there seemed to be any need. The kid didn’t bother checking to see he wasn’t being followed, but that was no reason to blow his cover. If he was positive about where the kid was going, he wouldn’t want whoever the kid was meeting to notice him, either.

Mickey followed Karl all the way to a house in Ridgley. He stopped a distance away until he saw the kid go into the house, and snuck in closer. He set up his shotgun mic across the street and waited to see who Karl met with and what they talked about.