Page 23 of Ground Zero

Assistant Director Cook’s voice came from the speakerphone in the center of the table. “Agent Mendez, bring them up to speed on this morning’s events.”

Sheridan took a breath, choosing her words carefully. “Adams escaped during an attempted arrest. But that’s not the most concerning part.” She looked at each man in turn. “Four men claiming to be FBI Cyber Crimes arrived when I was trying to apprehend Adams. They had weapons drawn and appeared ready to eliminate your colleague rather than transport him.”

Deafening silence filled the room.

“Eliminate him?” Jake leaned forward. “Are you saying someone tried to kill Maverick?”

“I’m saying four armed men who weren’t FBI agents knew exactly why I’m here on Lantern Beach and who I was looking to apprehend. I think they followed me straight to Adams.”

“We had reports of that happening,” Chief Chambers confirmed.

Sheridan watched everyone’s reactions carefully. “Adams managed to run into the water toward a boat anchored near the shore. He swam out, jumped onboard, and raced away.”

She’d come up with that story. Witnesses on the beach could dispute it, but she hoped she still had some time before that happened.

“A boat?” Ty frowned. “Adams doesn’t own a boat.”

“Then someone helped him,” Cook said through the speaker. “No other FBI teams were deployed to Lantern Beach this morning—other than the team that arrived at Blackout with Mendez. Whoever those men were, they weren’t ours.”

That was what she’d thought. But that also presented another interesting possibility.

Real FBI agents were looking for Adams. Fake FBI agents were also looking for him.

She’d thrown out the story that someone different in a boat had picked him up.

The picture she’d painted made it look like Maverick had a lot of different enemies working against him . . . which just might make all of this even more complicated.

CHAPTER 12

Sheridan felt the weight of suspicious stares from the men around the table.

These guys had worked with Maverick for months. They’d trusted him, relied on him.

And now she was telling them that someone wanted their colleague dead. Or that he could possibly be a traitor with multiple enemies.

“Who would want to eliminate Adams?” Colton shook his head as if unable to comprehend the idea.

“Someone afraid of what he might reveal,” Cook replied.

“Or someone who needs him to look guilty,” Sheridan countered. “For all I know, these guys might have been trying to kill me in order to get to Adams. Maybe they need his expertise in order to help them enact whatever plan they want to unleash.”

As the discussion continued around her, Sheridan found herself studying each face at the table.

Were one of these men the mole Maverick suspected? Did one of them know more about this morning’s events than they were letting on?

Tension built in her chest with each passing minute.

There was more going on here than met the eye, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what.

Maverick finally broke through another layer of Blackout’s security.

His colleagues had changed some of the protocols since his access was revoked, but they’d overlooked a few pathways he’d built into the system.

The data that filled his screen made his blood run cold.

Someone had been altering files in his personal directory for weeks.

Weeks.