Angel on Fire (20 page)

“You’d better not be fucking with my goddaughter, Romeo!”  Zach snarled, using Chase’s well-earned nickname.  “Keep your paws off her.  She’s not one of your damn women!”

“I’m not, Sir,” Chase rushed to assure his boss even as he held Angela on his lap.  “I understand how special she is.  I promise I will treat her with the utmost respect.”

Chase held his breath and waited for Zach’s response, aware that Zach would pick up on what Chase had left unsaid.  “If you hurt her,” Zach vowed after a brief pause, “I’ll drop you in the middle of that Sheik’s harem in the Middle East naked and without a weapon.”

Chase cringed at the threat.  During a mission a few years ago, they had rescued a soldier who told them about the man whom the sheik had found hiding in the midst of his harem.  The sheik had tortured the man for 75 days before killing him.  The man had begged to die daily.  Chase agreed that having little pieces of his body cut off and served up on a platter sounded like a fate worse than death.

“Understood.
  I won’t hurt her,” Chase promised, silently adding the word intentionally.  “We’re moving.  Angela has an idea and wants to check it out.”

“Fine,” Zach agreed.  “Mac was handling security for a software engineer.  Both the software and the engineer disappeared the day Mac died.  See if Angela has any idea where Mac might have hid it.”

“I’ll ask.  What’s the software do?”

Zach groaned and Chase tensed.  “Remember that dip in the market we had a few months ago?”

Chase made a sound of agreement.  “The one they called a flash crash?”

“Yes.  Apparently, the guy we’re looking for wrote that program and uploaded it to the exchange.  The government tracked him down and had him modify the program.  Now the program allows the operator to control the market.  Whoever owns the software can make the market go up or down at whim.” 

“Shit! 
Any idea who wants it?”

“Who doesn’t?  From the chatter I’m hearing, someone put it up for bid a few weeks ago.  The highest bidder was supposed to take delivery the day Mac died.  I’m thinking he found out and hid both the software and its creator.  Everybody agrees Angela is the key and wants to get their hands on her.”

Chase agreed.  “Keeping Angela safe is my primary responsibility, right?” 

He heard Zach blow out a breath.  “Yes, but if you can find the software or the designer too….”

“Yeah, yeah, it’ll help keep us in business.  Before you go, Mac bought Blakely’s share of the company and kept it a secret. When Angela confronted Blakely, he insisted it was a loan, instead of a sale.” The image of Derrick Blakely threatening Angela on the front porch entered Chase’s mind, and he tightened his grip on her.  No one would get through him to hurt her again. 

“Speaking of Blakely, they found his car in the ocean.”  Zach let Chase absorb that information for a moment.  “My instincts are screaming that Blakely was involved up to his shoulders in this whole mess.  It’s possible he has the software and the designer and is on the run.  I feel like I’m digging around in the dark.  Hopefully, I’ll find the thread that will help me unravel the whole ball of yarn.” 

“They didn’t find him though?” Chase kept the question vague and his voice bland, hoping Angela wouldn’t ask.  There was no need to upset her at this time with the news.  It simply wouldn’t serve any purpose.  Besides, without a body, they had no proof that Blakely was actually dead. 

“No body.  They’re still dredging.”  Chase could practically see the wheels in Zach’s head turning as he moved the puzzle pieces around the board and planned his next move.  

“Touch base with Johnny B if you need anything.  Otherwise, I’ll be in touch.”  Zach disconnected and Chase sighed, feeling relieved.  At least Zach hadn’t taken him off the case.  Not that he would have left her without a fight. 

As Chase merged the Accord onto the interstate, he filled Angela in on his conversation with Zach.  Angela stared at him when he mentioned that the software permits the user to manipulate the economy.  “Okay, but even if someone gets ahold of the program, can’t we just re-create it and fix whatever the other people do to the markets?”

Chase thought for a moment.  “I suppose, but I’m guessing we can’t recreate the software.”

“Why not?”

“Probably because the guy who wrote it was a secretive geek and he’s the only one who knows what he did.  He’s the real prize, not the software.  If another organization gets its hands on him, it will force him to re-create the program.  Then it will make him modify it.  That way, even if we located the original copy of the software, we still wouldn’t be able to fix things.”

“Surely there are other people with this guy’s skills
who
can do the same thing?”

Chase shrugged.  “Probably but it could take them years to catch up to where this guy is in terms of writing the code.  By then, the whole world will be a mess.  Can you imagine what the world would be like if one person or a single organization could control the entire economy?  With the click of a mouse, that person could destroy an entire nation.” 

Angela frowned as she contemplated the possibility.  “I’m still hoping that Cat knows something about this.”  Angela wiggled in her seat.  Her butt was numb from sitting in the car for so long. 

“Why don’t you tell me more about your friend Cat, and why you’re so sure no one knows you’re friends with her?” 

Angela shot him a bright smile. 
“Cat, well, her name’s actually Catalina.
  Maddie and I call her Cat.”

“Maddie?”
 

“Yep.”
 She smiled, thinking about how she had met her closest friends.  “When I was eleven, Dad decided I needed to spend more time with other kids my age, so he sent me to summer camp in Michigan.”  She wrinkled her nose as she recalled the first few days of camp.  “I didn’t like it at first.  I was an only child, and my life had always been quiet and orderly.  I guess part of that came from living alone with my dad. Anyway, I was real quiet and shy at camp.  One of the other girls was a big bully, and she dumped a tray of food on my head at lunch.  I just sat there stunned.  Dad had taught me how to protect myself, but he had always told me I couldn’t use what he taught me unless I had been physically threatened.  I didn’t see a tray of food as a genuine threat.”  She shrugged.  “Anyway, as I sat there, with spaghetti on my head, another girl approached and called the first girl a bully.  She grabbed my hand and dragged me to the shower.” 

Angela smiled at the recollection.  The tall red headed girl had shaken her head ruefully at her appearance and shoved her into the nearest stall before ordering someone to find her some clean clothes.  Twenty minutes later, she sat at the end of the dock with her newfound friends who explained that being picked on by Chris, the bully, was practically a rite of passage.  Even now, in the car, she could almost smell the lake as she dipped her toes in the refreshing water, talking to the two girls who’d quickly become her best friends. 

Angela suddenly realized that she had been silent for quite some time so she offered Chase a quick “sorry, got a little lost in the past there,” before continuing her story.  “Cat was the one who rescued me, and she introduced me to Maddie.  It takes a lot to rile Cat, but boy, when you do, she has quite the temper.  Anyway, our lives were polar opposites, but somehow we became friends: Friends who only spent time together in the summer at camp.  Well, at least until college.  Then, even though we didn’t attend the same schools, we were close enough to visit once in a while.  Along the way, our friendship became a secret, except from a select few like Dad.”

“Why was it a secret?” 

Angela had asked herself that very question a few years ago.   To this day, she wondered whether some sixth sense had urged all three of them to remain silent, knowing that they would need each other one day.  Finally, she admitted, “It wasn’t intentional. 
At least, not in the beginning.
  But over time, we became more protective of our friendship.  Maddie and Cat’s families wouldn’t have approved, and we were afraid we would never see each other again if they found out.”

“Explain,” Chase commanded. 

“Mad is Madeleine Montgomery.”  She paused, waiting for Chase’s reaction.  When he didn’t respond, she sighed. 
“Madeleine’s Candies?”

“The candy company heiress?”
Chase asked.  “What kind of camp was this?”

“Normal camp.
  You know, riding horses, swimming in the lake, crafts, that kind of stuff.  Anyway, Mad lived a glamorous life, but she hated it.  She always said the people were pretentious and shallow.  She loved the dressing up part but couldn’t stand the rules and restrictions.  Cat lived at the opposite end of the spectrum.  She was a scholarship kid.”  Angela ran her hands anxiously through her hair, sending her curls flying.  “Cat’s dad was an abusive drunk.  He killed her mom and then committed suicide when Cat was seventeen.”   Silence descended while Angela sat lost in the past full of regrets. 

“I’m sorry,” Chase’s soft words broke into Angela’s thoughts, and she stared out the window, unsure how to handle the sympathy she heard in his voice.  When he reached for her hand, she squeezed his, letting him know without words that she appreciated his comfort. 

Nothing could ease the pain she felt as Cat’s loss reminded her of her own.  Now she was just like Cat – alone.  Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she exhaled loudly, trying to regain control of her volatile emotions.  “Anyway, I didn’t learn about Cat’s mom until summer when she didn’t show up at camp.  When the director refused to give us any information about Cat, Maddie and I broke into the office and, umm, Dad would say ‘appropriated’ Cat’s new address and phone number.”  When Angela cast him a sheepish look, Chase chuckled softly. 

“Mac taught you to pick locks?” 

“Of course.
  That was the first time I really used my skills outside of his presence, but I knew he would understand.  Sometimes doing the morally right thing is more important than following the letter of the law.”  Angela peeked at Chase out of the corner of her eye, hoping to gauge his reaction to her confession.  After all, she worked for the FBI, an agency that was known for its strong adherence to the letter of the law. 

As if he sensed her concern, Chase squeezed her hand once again before allowing his thumb to caress her soft skin.  “Morally right, legally gray,” he announced.  “Our unit follows the same code.  I don’t know if it originated with Mac and Zach but, based on some of the stories I’ve heard, it’s pretty clear that they both have a strong moral code.” 

“Did you actually know my dad?” Angela wondered.  She had avoided talking about her father because it hurt too much, but the quiet intimacy of the car ride bolstered her courage.  She wanted to know more about the man who loved and supported her and, since Zach wasn’t available, she thought Chase might be able to help.

Chase shook his head.  “No.  I heard stories about him over the years though.  He and Zach made quite the team when they were younger.” 

“What kind of stories?” Angela asked
,
intrigued by this side of her father she had never known.

“Let’s see.”  Chase paused, and Angela imagined him sorting through stories he had heard over the years, trying to find one he could share with her.  “Now remember, I can’t verify the accuracy of any of these stories.  Special ops missions are usually classified.”