Page 56 of Omega Tricked

He cleared his throat, and I heard rustling sounds. “Hey, boss. Have you found out anything useful?”

“I have.”

“Oh, yeah?” He sounded breathless.

I hesitated. “I… I found the license plate to Dad’s car on the grounds of the compound.”

There was a thick silence, and then he rasped, “Seriously?” He sounded shocked.

“Yes.”

“Shit. So… you were right. Your dad did get inside.”

“Looks like it.”

“Did you find anything else?”

I stamped down my frustration. “No. I assume they chopped the car up into parts to hide its existence.”

“Probably.”

I exhaled roughly. “I… I think he’s dead, Gabriele.”

“Aww, hell.” Just two soft words, but they had a lot of passion behind them. “I’m sorry.”

I shrugged, even though he couldn’t see me. “I just don’t see him being alive after a month.”

“You sure he’s not just tied up somewhere on the compound?”

I winced. “My gut says no. Plus, the odds of someone holding Dad and Sal for over a month? Why bother? No one is asking for money, or anything. What would be the point of holding them? They couldn’t hold them forever.”

“True.”

“Knowing Dad, he wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.”

“Also true.”

“The guy in charge of security here, he’s a colossal asshole. His name is Charles Pederson.” I gripped the phone tight. “He knows everything that happens around here. If someone killed Dad, he either did it, or he knows who did.”

“Okay. So what do you want me and Hank to do?”

“I have a plan. I’ll need you two to help me grab this Charles guy.”

“Grab him?” He sounded uncertain. “How do we get inside? You said the place is like a fortress.”

“It is. There’s no way you could get in here.” I laughed stiffly. “But I don’t want you to break in.”

“I’m not following.”

I chuffed. “Instead of breaking in, we’re going to get Charles to come outside of the compound, and then we’re going to grab the asshole.”

He was quiet. “Do you really think that will work?”

I smirked. “I think it will. The guy detests me. He’s been trying like hell to get me in to his office so he can interrogate me. I’ve been spending all my time avoiding that. But I’ve decided I’ve been going about that all wrong.”

“You have?” He sounded thoroughly confused.

“Yeah. I’m going to confess to Charles that I’m not who I said I was, and that I had a hand in Dylan’s kidnapping. He’s going to take pleasure in throwing me out of the compound.” I laughed harshly. “Then we grab him and take him to a prearranged spot and question him. Forcefully.”