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W hen he got to Nelson’s door, it was closed. He could hear Nelson talking, so instead of knocking, he edged closer, trying to make out who he was talking to, and what they were saying.

Nelson was talking to another man, but they spoke so softly that their conversation was almost impossible to decipher. He stood close to the door anyway, trying to at least hear a few words.

Before he’d gotten anything, a chair scraped across the floor in Nelson’s office. Jake immediately stepped back across the hall, and by the time the door opened, he was leaning against the paneling, scrolling through his phone.

Fred Windsor emerged and reared back when he saw Jake. “Dunbar. What are you doing here?”

Jake frowned at Windsor. That was none of his damn business. But instead of saying that, he answered, “Windsor. How’re you doing?”

Windsor stared at him a moment, then nodded and walked quickly down the hall toward his own office. Jake watched him go, wondering why Windsor had been so jumpy. So nervous.

Could he possibly be one of Nelson’s fellow Russian assets? Because of Windsor’s odd behavior, he’d call Diana and give her a heads-up about the guy. Tell her she might want to take a look at him, too.

Just then Nelson turned in his chair and saw Jake leaning against the wall. “Dunbar. You waiting for me?”

Jake pushed away from the wall. “Yeah. Your door was closed, so I figured you were in a meeting. Just need to talk to you for a few minutes.”

“Sure,” Nelson said. “Come on in.”

Jake threw himself into Nelson’s guest chair, still warm from Windsor’s ass.

“What’s up?” Nelson said.

“Wanted to get some info from you. I’m going to do a little surveillance at the place where I’m meeting the potential sources. I need the address and the room number where we’re supposed to meet, and the name and phone number of the agent who’ll be my backup.”

Nelson stared at him for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Great idea,” he said, but his expression said the opposite. Why didn’t Nelson want him doing that surveillance? It was a good question, but Jake figured he wouldn’t get an answer.

Nelson opened a desk drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. Handed it to Jake. “This is the address.” He tapped the paper. “Street address and office number.”

“Great,” Jake said, studying it for a moment, then sliding it into his wallet. “And my backup?”

“It’s gonna be someone from the Brooklyn FBI office,” he said. “I’ll text you the name and his or her phone number when I get it.”

“Sounds good.” He leaned back in the chair and watched Nelson. “I’m gonna take off this afternoon,” he said. “Find a hotel in Brooklyn, then get the lay of the land. Watch the building for a few days to see who goes in and who comes out.” He gave Nelson an easy smile. “Not sure it’ll tell me anything, but the more information I get, the better prepared I’ll be.”

“Yeah,” Nelson said, his voice flat. “The more information the better when you’re going undercover.”

Jake stood up. “I’ll keep you in the loop,” he said as he exited Nelson’s office.

After returning to his office and unlocking the door, he checked his tells, which were exactly as he’d left them. Leaving them in place, he grabbed his briefcase and walked out the door. Locked it again, then exited the building.

As soon as he was in his car, he pulled out his phone and called Livvy. She answered after one ring. “Jake. What’s up?”

“You know anything about spycams?” He explained about his keylogger and finding that someone had logged into his computer. “I’m on my way to an electronics store to buy a camera that I can install in my office, somewhere it won’t be too noticeable. I need some recommendations.”

A long silence hummed low on the line. Finally Livvy said, “Wow. That’s shocking. I didn’t think the FBI spied on their own people.”

“I didn’t either. But I suspect Nelson or one of his Russian buddies are behind it. I want to have proof of who’s doing it before I take it to Diana.”

“That’s a great idea, but you need to let her know as soon as you identify the perp,” Livvy said immediately. “Logging into another agent’s computer is a big deal. An even bigger deal is whoever did it must have used your ID and password. And I’m assuming you don’t leave that lying around. They had to get it from someone in IT. So someone in that department is involved, as well. And Diana needs to know about it.”

“Yeah, I plan on calling her. But I want to get the cameras installed before we leave for Brooklyn. That’s my first priority. After that’s done, I’ll call Diana.”

“Okay. Good,” she said. Cleared her throat. “I’ve used spycams on a few jobs. These are the ones I’d recommend.” She listed several brands and models. “All of them are small, which makes them easier to hide, and they can be accessed remotely. I’d get a few of them, and put them in different places in your ceiling. Different angles. And put one in front of your desk, so you can clearly see the face of the person who’s hacking into your computer.”

“Excellent suggestions,” he said. “My first thought was that I’d wait until this evening, and we’d do it together. But I’d like to get out of town this afternoon. Being in my office is making my neck itchy, especially after I found someone had hacked my computer. Having the spycam won’t stop the hacking, but at least we’ll know who’s doing it.”

“Definitely half the battle,” Livvy said. “We could do it on our way out of town, if you want my help,” she said.

“I’d love your help, but do you really want to be seen at the FBI building? That would raise a shitload of questions that neither of us wants to answer.”

“You’re right,” Livvy finally sighed. “I got carried away because I’m so anxious to nab these guys and get rid of the problems in the Bureau.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Jake said. “But you’ll see all the surveillance tapes. When we catch these guys, it’ll be your work as much as mine.”

“It’s not the credit I’m worried about,” Livvy said quietly. “I want to have your back. Protect you from this shit show.”

Jake’s heart stuttered for a moment. “Thanks, Livvy,” he finally said. “That means a lot. And I want to protect you, too. You’re not risking your reputation, because you were smart enough to get out of the Bureau before all this crap came to light. But you’re risking your life. God knows what Nelson has planned for me at that meeting in Sheepshead Bay.”

“Grab a few extra cameras, and we’ll plant them in the room where you’re supposed to meet these guys. Forewarned is forearmed and all that.”

“Great idea,” Jake said. “I’m gonna pick up the cameras then come back to the building and install them. I shouldn’t be too long. Once I’m home, we can take off. Get out of D.C. and take a deep breath.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Until we get to Brooklyn and have to go up against the Bratva. But at least you’ll have backup this time.”

“Yeah.” A whip of regret snapped through him. He wished he’d been able to back up Livvy when she was in danger six months ago. “See you soon,” he said as he hung up.

He drove to the store where he’d bought the keylogger, parked and walked inside. There were only a couple of other customers, and they were looking at different tools. Jake spotted the woman who’d helped him with the keylogger and walked over to her.

“Hey, Alana,” he said, glancing at her name tag. “I was in here a couple of weeks ago and you helped me pick out a keylogger. Now I need some spycams to see who’s logging onto my computer.”

“Sure,” she said. “Follow me.”

Part of one wall was lined with tiny cameras. Thank God he’d talked to Livvy, because he would have had no idea where to begin. “One of my colleagues recommended these three brands,” he said, rattling them off. “They need to be small, easy to install and not obvious. And I need to be able to access them remotely.”

Alana nodded. “So you want something with storage in the camera and remote access, right?”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “Do you have anything in one of those brands that’s small enough to easily hide but also has decent storage?”

“Where are the cameras going to go?” she asked.

“In the ceiling around my desk,” he said.

The woman turned to study the display. Finally reached for one very tiny camera. “I think this would work well for you.” She glanced at him. “It’s not the cheapest option we have, but I think it’s just what you need.”

Twenty minutes later, Jake had paid for the cameras with the credit card he’d gotten from Diana and walked out the door with six of them and very specific directions on how to install them. Besides the cameras, Alana had sold him a screwdriver specifically fabricated to easily install the cameras, and a box knife that would cut cleanly through the ceiling tiles without leaving signs that they’d been disturbed. The cameras came with a booklet on how to install them and how to access them remotely.

Leaving two of the cameras in his glove box, Jake headed back to his office building, eager to get them installed and get out of town. Once he was in the building, he was relieved that he didn’t see a soul on the way to his office. Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he locked it again and went to work.

Thirty minutes later, four cameras were installed -- two that would face the computer, so he’d know what the hacker was looking for, and two on the other side of the computer that would reveal the face of the person.

He made sure he picked up all the debris from the installation, including the tiny bits of ceiling tile he’d had to cut out. Once he opened the app on his phone that accessed the camera feed, he could see his own face very clearly on the screen of his phone.

Nodding, he grabbed the bag with his trash and stuffed it into his briefcase, along with the instructions for the cameras. Alana had assured him they had batteries that would last at least six months, probably closer to a year.

Jake made a face as he spotted a few more pieces of ceiling tile on the floor. He stuffed them into the bag. If they didn’t get this solved within a year, he and Livvy and the FBI were in trouble.

When he got back to his apartment, he heard Livvy pacing back and forth. When she heard the door click open, she stopped and drew her gun. Edged close to the wall, then peered around the corner. Blew out a relieved breath when she saw him and re-holstered her Glock.

“Thank God,” she said, her shoulders relaxing. “I was picturing all kinds of awful scenarios, including Nelson catching you installing those cameras.”

“Nope,” he said. “Got them in, got the mess cleaned up, then took off.” He plopped his briefcase on the table and drew out the bag of trash from the installation. “Got two more to take with us for the office where we’re supposed to meet these guys. I’ll drop this trash in the garbage on the way out, so no one knows who dumped it there.”

“Good.” She narrowed her eyes. “Have you called Diana yet?”

“No. I was focused on getting those cameras installed, then getting back here.” He sucked in a lungful of air. “First full breath I’ve taken since I walked into the building with those cameras.”

“Give her a call now so we can get going,” Livvy said. “Being in D.C. is making me nervous. I want to be driving away.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Me, too. I’ll call her right now.” He pulled out his phone and touched Diana’s contact information. She answered almost immediately. “Director Redfield,” she said in a very business-like voice.

“Madame Director, this is Jake Dunbar,” he said. “Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Of course I do,” she said. He heard the wheels on her chair moving over the floor, then the click of her door shutting. The snap of the lock engaging.

“What can I do for you, Jake?” she asked.

“Livvy and I are at my apartment and we’re getting ready to leave for Brooklyn. I wanted to let you know that I installed a keylogger on my work computer about a week ago, and when I checked it this morning, someone had been in my computer.”

Redfield sucked in a breath. “Any idea who it was?”

“Not a clue,” he said. “But I bought some spycams and installed them before I left the office this afternoon. I left an old computer there -- I wiped it of any important information, leaving only old files on it, before I stuck it in a drawer. If anyone tries to access it while I’m gone, they’ll see nothing important and I’ll have their face on the spycam app.”

“Nicely done, Jake,” Diana murmured. “Let me know if you get any hits on the spycams, and if you do, who tried to access your computer.”

“I’ll do that. And I’ll keep you in the loop with this job.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not sure this is significant, but when I went to speak to Nelson this morning, he was meeting someone in his office with the door closed. I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but his door is seldom closed. I waited, and Fred Windsor finally walked out of the office. He acted nervous. Wanted to know what I was doing there. Instead of answering, I asked how he was doing, and he walked away. The whole interaction felt…odd.”

Finally Diana said, “An odd question doesn’t mean Windsor is guilty of anything, but I’ll poke around in his phone records and assignments.” She sighed. “I’m clearing a block of time to dig into Nelson, and I’ll add Windsor, as well.” After a beat of silence, she said, “I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful, but please be cautious. Wary. You have no idea what these Bratva members are planning.”

“No, I don’t. But I bought some extra spycams, and Livvy and I are going to install them in the room where I’m scheduled to meet these men. So we’ll get some idea of their plans.”

“Good,” Diana said. “That’s very good. And let me know if someone accesses your computer and who it is.”

“Will do. Take care, Diana.”

“You, too, Jake.” The phone disconnected.

He turned to Livvy. “You hear all that?”

“Yeah.” She rubbed her palms down the thighs of her jeans. “I’m all packed. You want to throw your stuff in a suitcase so we can get out of D.C.?”

“I’m on it. Won’t take me long,” he said as he headed down the hall to his room. “We’ll be out of here in fifteen minutes.”

It was closer to thirty, after Jake and Livvy left tells all over the apartment. Finally they tossed their bags into the trunk of Jake’s car, put their briefcases on the back seat, and drove out of the parking lot.

Jake looked over at Livvy and found her watching him. “We’re gonna do this, Livvy. I’ll take that meeting, you’ll have my back, and maybe we’ll figure out what Nelson is up to.”

“I think what Nelson is up to is making sure you’re dead,” Livvy said bluntly. “But I’m here to ensure that doesn’t happen. So let’s go see what Sheepshead Bay is like.”