Page 45 of The Flame of Carson (Blackout Security Inc. #3)

G rant sighed as he finally walked into his house.

Gage had called him just as he was leaving Blackout for the day.

He, Ethan, and Lance had met with McCandles and Cain.

Jimmy had stayed behind to oversee the cleanup.

Tony and Eli were still working on cracking Anderson’s laptop.

Last Grant heard, the two had discovered that the hard drive was still intact and now they were working from Tony’s house on trying to break the passcodes to find out what Anderson had hidden there. This was some good news for a change.

McCandles and Cain reported that the device that killed Anderson was sophisticated and designed for maximum destruction.

Cain speculated that had more than one had been slipped in, there could have been severe structural damage.

McCandles believed whoever sent the device had only intended for Anderson to be killed.

That told Grant and the others that Anderson’s partner, his so called “brother” was concerned about Anderson betraying him.

Grant had just dropped his bag and was toeing off his boots when his phone rang.

Kicking off the boots, he walked to the cordless and picked it up on the third ring.

“Whitney.”

“Hey Grant, did I catch you at bad time?”

Grant smiled softly and dropped into his recliner. “No Evelyn. It’s never a bad time for you to call.”

“I was just...oh hell, my gut told me to call you. I don’t know why, but Sean always told me to trust my gut. So, this is me trusting my gut.” Evelyn sighed.

Grant had to laugh, “Thank you for that. I needed to laugh. The last two days have been a bit of a cluster. The man targeting Stacey got a hold of her. He then contacted Gage, and we went to get Stacey back. She’s fine and back home with Gage.

Then earlier today, while they were giving their statements to Major McCandles and the feds, Anderson’s partner managed to get an explosive device into Anderson’s cell. ..”

“What? How did that happen? Wouldn’t it have set off metal detectors or something?” Evelyn interrupted.

“You would think. The thing was hidden in a bag of chips that was delivered with Anderson’s lunch tray. That tells us that Anderson’s partner is not just smarter, but probably more dangerous.” Grant replied.

“Lord almighty. Poor Stacey. Poor Gage. He had to have been going crazy when she was taken.”

“Damned near, but I managed to get through to him before we went to get her back. They both seem to be keeping it together.”

“Well, I’ll still say a little prayer for them that their nightmare is over.” Evelyn paused, then hesitantly started again. “ Um, Grant would it be all right if I...I mean...well...”

Grant sat up a little, “Evelyn, what are you wanting to ask? Just spit it out.”

“Would it be all right if I come to visit you?” Evelyn blurted out, the words all strung together.

“I think you asked if you could come visit. That right?” Grant chuckled.

“ Yes.” Evelyn answered shyly.

“Honey, I told you after I moved here with Ethan and the others. Whenever you want to come visit, you’re welcome.

You never have to ask. Just tell me when you want to come out and I’ll make sure the guest room is all set up and ready.

Tell you what, Lance and Alora are getting married in about six months.

Why don’t you come out a week or so before and you can be my guest? How does that sound?” Grant suggested.

“I say you’re on Grant.” Evelyn agreed.

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A week after the death of Anderson, Ethan asked Gage and Stacey to meet with him at Blackout.

Stacey and Gage entered Ethan’s office and found McCandles, as well as Tony and Elias there.

Stacey mentally calmed herself. For the last week, the unanswered questions regarding Anderson’s death had been nagging not just her, but she knew they were bugging Gage as well.

She hoped today they would get some answers.

She and Gage sat across from Ethan, who was seated behind his desk.

She could not read his expression and was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Thanks for coming in. How are you doing Stacey? I see the brace is off.” Ethan began.

“I’m feeling all right. The doctor removed the brace yesterday, but I still can’t hit the gym again until after the new year.” Stacey answered, glumly. “I go back into the office tomorrow though so that’s a plus.”

“Ethan, my patience has been shot these last couple weeks. Please tell me you called us here to tell us you have some answers.” Gage spoke up, trying valiantly to keep his voice calm.

“I did. Jimmy and Cain released their findings on how the device was even delivered to Anderson. The cameras in that area of the federal building caught a man walking through the delivery entrance. He had a security badge and everything. He entered the mail room first. From there, he’s seen entering a men’s room.

When he walks out again, he’s no longer wearing the delivery uniform but a suit and tie. ” Ethan started.

Here’s where Elias picked up, “This guy was careful, and I do mean careful. He seemed to know where the cameras were and avoided anything that give away his facial appearance. From the mail floor, he made his way down to the area where Anderson was being held. We weren’t able to catch him getting into the area where Anderson’s lunch was prepared, but when he walked into the holding area, he was carrying the tray.

“It’s during the time we lost sight of him that we suspect he switched out the bag of chips.

After he handed over the tray to the MP, the guy walked out of the holding area.

He took one of the elevators up to the lobby and walked right out the front door.

The last we have of him on footage is just as the device exploded.

He turned briefly toward the building then headed west down the sidewalk. ”

“So, are we thinking this guy was Anderson’s partner? The guy he called “brother”?” Gage questioned.

“We do.” McCandles nodded. “Once I get back to base tomorrow, I will be setting up my own intel team to try and find out who this man is.”

“Eli and I may have a lead on that.” Tony said.

“He and I were able to finally make some headway on the laptop we recovered from the building where Anderson had taken Stacey to. We still have some digging to do, but what we have uncovered so far leads us to believe that Anderson’s partner was a Marine and was still in after Anderson was court-martialed and then discharged.

We found additional messages that elaborate on the ones Eli, and I found right before you and Stacey were taken to the safe house. ”

“These new messages seem to deal more with whoever his partner’s target is.

So far, we only know that before Anderson was taken into custody, his partner was not in Austin.

While I haven’t proven it yet, I think Anderson’s partner saw Anderson being taken down in that building where he took Stacey. ” Elias added.

Stacey frowned. Her mind replayed that night, trying to see if she had seen anything that she did not think to mention. Then it hit her. “Son of a bitch.”

“Stacey? Babe, what is it?” Gage inquired, facing her.

“I was thinking back to that night. I don’t know how I could have forgotten to say anything.

A few minutes before I spotted Gage on the stairs, Anderson had moved to a camera he had mounted on the table beneath the monitors.

I watched him turn it on but couldn’t figure out why.

” Stacey explained, meeting Gage’s eyes.

“Not long after, I saw you on the stairs and then that alarm sounded.”

Gage caught on now, “Shit. If what you’re suggesting is true, that camera would have had a full view of the room and the alarm was sent by his partner who saw me and was warning Anderson.”

The office was silent now as everyone was processing this new puzzle piece.

If Stacey’s suggestion was right, that meant that Anderson’s partner, whoever he was, was more tech savvy than Anderson.

He had already proved he was stealthier and smarter by slipping into the federal building, planting the bomb, and walking right out, with no one any the wiser.

“Ethan, what are we going to do now? Anderson’s partner is still in the wind and has his eyes on his target.” Gage pointed out.

Ethan’s face was unreadable as he stood up and turned to stare out his window. “I don’t know Gage. Tony, you, and Elias need to keep working on that damned laptop. Pass everything you find onto Major McCandles. Until then, all any of us can do is wait.