Chapter 24

Alec listened to Seth swear and yell. Alec didn’t bother responding, because Seth didn’t really want a response. He wanted to be pissed, and he was pretty good at that. When he ordered Alec to get his ass on a plane back to Germany, Alec disconnected the call.

He looked from Tony to Gaige. “He’s not very happy.”

Gaige shook his head as he leaned back against the door to the suite. “There’s nothing new about that.”

“He’s also close by.” Seth hadn’t elaborated on the actual distance but Alec took that to mean Seth was, at the most, a quick flight away.

“What?” Tony frowned as he handed a bottle of water to Gaige then another to Alec. “How did he know we’re here?”

Alec twisted off the cap and downed half the bottle in one gulp. “The guy knows everything. He might suck as a human to anyone but his boyfriend, but he’s good at his job.”

That’s all Alec could say about that. No details. Caroline stood right there, which was only fair since they were in the hotel room she shared with Tony. Alec and Gaige had shown up twenty minutes ago with matching headaches from the stun grenade. Alec hated to drop in, but he needed a place no one could track. Tony had put the room under a fake name for cover.

The four of them huddled now in the living-room area of the suite. The hotel wasn’t fancy, but the room was big. When Alec had showed up with Gaige, Tony had shut the door to the bedroom area, but Caroline came out. She sat on the couch in a robe with her legs curled up beneath her.

“I guess I can’t know who we’re talking about,” she said as she played with the belt to her robe.

She was really smart. As retired military, she understood strategy. None of that meant she could know the intricate details of why they were really this close to the Arctic Circle. It was dangerous for her and might put her right in Seth’s crosshairs.

Alec leaned forward with his elbows balanced on his knees. The quick shift sent a new flash of pain searing through his brain. It was going to take a few days for the effects of the grenade to wear off. “Caroline, I’m sorry we intruded.”

“Again,” Gaige added. He stood next to Alec’s chair, leaning against the side.

Alec nodded. “Right, again.”

“I assume this is important or you wouldn’t be here.” She treated Alec to a wink. “Just so you know, Pam is not happy you left her at home. Good luck fixing that when you get back.”

Crisis averted, at least for now. She didn’t seem upset. The calm demeanor could be all for show, but Alec figured Tony would fill him in later. At this rate, Alec thought he might have to pay for any future wedding they might have as a way of making amends for crapping all over their personal time.

“I promise I’ll make it up to Pam.” Alec pushed up from the chair. “We’re going to move along and let you two get back to your evening.”

“It’s morning.” Gaige sounded far too amused when he filled in that blank.

But his response had Alec glancing at his watch. “Shit.”

Two in the morning. Calming the neighbors and dealing with the police questions had taken longer than expected. Seth eventually took over, so any report would disappear as needed.

“I’m coming with you.” Tony reached for his jacket.

Alec wondered if Tony remembered he was only wearing sweatpants and no shoes. “No.”

“It’s okay.” Caroline sighed. “If you need him you should—”

“We’re fine.” Alec had no idea if that was true, but he didn’t want to drag one more person into this mess. If the individuals involved in faking seed deposits and security information got trigger-happy, no one was safe. Someone had sent trained men to his house and two more to the rented cabin tonight. They had firepower and resources on their side. Alec knew from experience that was a deadly combination.

After convincing Tony to sit this one out, they said their goodbyes then Gaige and Alec moved into the hall. As soon as the door shut, Gaige glanced at Alec. “Are we?”

Alec didn’t pretend not to get it. He might talk a good game for Caroline’s sake but he had the same question. “We’ll know in a few minutes.”

“What’s going to happen in a few minutes?” Gaige asked the question nice and slow, separating each word with a slight hesitation.

“I’m going to blow up my professional relationship with Astrid.” She was the quickest way to get back into the vault, and Alec needed in there right now. Not at dawn and not once the workday began. Now.

Gaige shook his head. “You sure you want to do this?”

“That grenade shows the people behind this are getting desperate.” Next time Alec feared they’d use bullets instead of weapons meant to stun and distract. The idea of Gaige being hit, or jumping in front of a bullet…Alec refused to even think about the possibility. “So am I.”

Astrid arrived at the vault by four. She came alone and agreed not to warn security or insist on more information. They might have tickled her curiosity, but Alec worried something else was at work here. Astrid didn’t refuse, and it would be normal for someone in her position to refuse at this time of the morning.

But fifteen minutes later in her office, she did balk a bit. Alec stood across the desk from her while Gaige typed. He no longer had his own laptop, so he borrowed one of Astrid’s. That was the request that seemed to be one step too far for her.

Dressed in what looked like a fancy sweat suit, Astrid leaned her arms on the high back of her desk chair. “You might be taking the concept of a favor too far.”

Alec figured he’d passed that point days ago, but that didn’t stop him. This confrontation had to happen. They couldn’t wait for Seth or for tomorrow. If someone was sending an army after them, that meant they’d burn down everything and leave no evidence behind. That’s why Gaige had to work now.

“I’m about to go one step further,” Alec said, knowing this might destroy their working friendship. Normally that sort of thing didn’t matter to him. But he liked Astrid. They could talk crops and food resources for hours, and not that many people were willing to engage with him on that topic.

She made a sound that suggested she was just about done with bossy men. “Alec, you shouldn’t be in here at all.”

He hoped he’d given Gaige enough time. He honestly didn’t know. He glanced over at him and watched those fingers move furiously across the keys. “Well?”

Gaige didn’t look up. “Almost there.”

“What could be so dire that you need to contact your office about seed deliveries now?” she asked.

“Nothing.” Alec switched gears, hoping to throw her off-balance. “He’s breaking through the encryption and into your closed security system.”

Her arms dropped off the back of the chair and she moved to stand behind Gaige. “What?”

“I didn’t write those emails to you about needing a favor.” The comment worked as Alec expected. Her attention bounced back to him as he talked. “I also didn’t arrange for a late delivery of seeds. It wasn’t me either time.”

She blinked and shook her head. The confusion looked real. “That’s…but…that’s not possible.”

At the sound of her stuttering, Gaige looked up at her. “Who were you communicating with at Drummond?”

“Alec. At least I thought it was Alec.” She waved her hands in the air as she spoke. Her cool demeanor slipped.

Alec looked for any sign of panic. What he saw was pure shock. A raw and unfiltered haze. If she was lying, she should win a fucking medal because she was good at it.

“No, I mean who gave you the transportation routes for Drummond supply convoys through the Middle East?” Gaige leaned back in his chair and eyed her up.

Her mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”

Convoys and routes. The topic flipped so fast that even Alec rushed to keep up. “That’s what I want to know.”

“I just found it. Look here.” Gaige pushed the borrowed laptop forward, giving Astrid and Alec plenty of room to crowd in around him and look at the screen.

Not that it helped Alec. “What is this?”

“A dummy email address that traces back to Astrid’s terminal on this end. The subject seems to be supply routes in and around Syria,” Gaige said.

Syria. Alec’s mind raced to fill in the blanks. A war-torn area. The one country that had made a withdrawal during the entire history of the Doomsday Vault. He had no idea how it all fit together, but he knew it did.

Astrid studied the screen then shook her head. “I’ve never seen this before.”

“The computer says differently.”

“The computer is also where I got the email from you about the favor for the unscheduled vault openings. Yet you insist those are fake.” Her voice grew louder, harder, as she looked at Alec then back to Gaige again. “Either someone is playing a game…or you’re lying.”

Alec believed the former. His instincts about people were usually pretty good but he could get clouded. He spent so much time strategizing and analyzing that he sometimes missed personal cues. He depended on Finn for that.

“The trace on the Drummond email end is harder, but possible now that I have this piece. Give me a second.” Gaige pulled the laptop close to him again and resumed typing.

Astrid sat down hard on the edge of the desk, right next to the computer. After a few seconds she stared at Alec. “You’ve been using me this whole time based on a false story?”

He’d expected her to forbid Gaige from doing more work. She seemed too stunned at having been blamed to even notice. “I’m trying to get answers, Astrid.”

Gaige made a strange sound. “Tony.”

Alec’s stomach dropped. “What?”

When Gaige looked up, the color had drained from his face. Fatigue set in as he winced, as if waiting for Alec to level a blow. “The other end is Tony.”

“That can’t be.” Alec whispered the phrase, saying it more to himself than to the room.

“Exactly,” she said. “All of this is wrong.”

Alec’s patience snapped. Tension surged through him as he turned on her. “Astrid, you have two minutes to explain.”

“I don’t even understand what’s happening here.”

“Wait.” Gaige stood up and looked at Alec. “Why would she leave this on her computer with us here and me talking about security protocols? Why take the risk?”

The information had the walls closing in on Alec. He didn’t realize Gaige had asked a question until a few beats of silence had passed. “Say again?”

“This is incriminating. It’s buried, but it’s here.” Gaige turned the laptop around to face Alec.

“Because we’re being set up,” Astrid shot back.

“We need to look in the vault,” Gaige said.

She shook her head. “But you’ve been in there. There’s—”

Gaige was already waving her off. “One of the empty vaults.”

“We don’t think it’s really empty,” Alec said right after.

“The video is right there.” She pointed to the monitors sitting on the long arm of her L-shaped desk. One of them flashed with a constant stream of security photos, including ones from inside the vaults.

“The same person who spiked your system and planted the false emails has created a fake video feed.” Gaige sounded so sure as he reeled off the reality of what was happening while Astrid stared at bogus photos all day.

“Security checks the vaults,” she said.

Now that was interesting news. “Who?”

The door was pushed open and Daniel stood there. “Me.”