a company want to build a testing site there? It would cost a fortune to protect it. And why that specific location. If they wanted land, it’s available. But Abrams wanted that land where the village was.”
We’d been trying to figure that out. Evette was right; there were acres of jungle that could be cleared. Hell, there was plenty of abandoned areas in the city Abrams could’ve leased.
“And you came up with minerals?”
“I read an article about a new project Abrams is working on—cognitive radars. They’re ready to go to market but there’s a hold-up on mass production.” Evette stopped and closed her eyes. A few moments later with a swift shake of her head, she said, “Monolithic microwave integrated circuits. That’s the hold-up. There’s a shortage of…something. A mineral or chemical compound needed to manufacture the chips. I can’t remember everything, the science behind the RF chips is well beyond my understanding. I need a computer.”
“So you think whatever mineral they need is in Timor-Leste?” Owen rejoined.
“I think so. Maybe. Why else would they want that plot specifically?”
I could think of a lot of reasons. The village and orphanage were tucked away, far outside of the city. Yes, the country was in the middle of a power struggle but that location was tactically sound. It would be easy to post guards around the perimeter and take out whoever dared to come close. Further, a country that is at war with itself tends to ignore regulations—environmental, human rights, employment laws. Hell, if you pay off the right people there was no such thing as regulatory oversight.
“No computer,” I told her. “We don’t have a secure connection here.”
“I’ll call it into Garrett,” Owen offered. “He was still at the office when I left.”
What else was new? Garrett practically lived in his office.
“We should go—”
“No, Evette. You worked ten hours straight today. You need to eat and relax and tomorrow we’ll go in and hopefully, Garrett will have more information for you to work with.”
“But, I’m not hungry.”
“But you’re gonna eat.”
Evette startled and stepped back.
Shit. Did I seriously just say that?
My stomach clenched when I realized I scared her. I hadn’t meant to bark at her. Hell, I didn’t even know why I did.
Yeah you do, asshole.
“You haven’t eaten all day.” I softened my tone the best I could but the damage was done.
Evette’s brows were knitted and I could see the questions forming.
“Why are you always forcing food on me?”
Fucking hell.
I was not answering that.
“What are you looking at over there?” I asked Owen in an effort to deflect.
For a moment Owen looked disappointed in me. He knew my past, therefore, he knew all my hang-ups. But his face cleared and I exhaled the breath I was holding when he let the topic drop.
“Zane has me looking into what happened a few months ago.”
It took me a second to remember what Owen was talking about—that was how full my head was of Evette. A wave of tension rolled over me and settled in my shoulders. A lot was going on at Z Corps. More than just helping Evette out of the jam she’d found herself in yet I was so caught up in her I was forgetting important shit. Almost two months ago when my team was in Idaho someone put a pipe bomb in the parking garage at Z Corps. The incident was caught on camera and no real damage was done. It was as if whoever planted it just wanted our attention.
That was bad. What caused real concern was that Leo and Thad’s houses got hit, too. The concern wasn’t the rocks thrown through their windows. The ploy was amateur at best. But it had done what it was intended to do and pinged onto our radar big time. Leo caught the guy who’d vandalized his house. A twenty-year-old kid with no priors. No known association with gangs or such. He swore he was just messing around and since throwing a rock through someone’s window didn’t come with a jail sentence the guy paid the fine and apologized. The case was closed as far as the police were concerned. However, none of us had forgotten—except me. I was so totally wrapped up in Evette I hadn’t thought about the case since she’d shown up.
“Did you find something?” I inquired.
“Awhile back Zane got a threat,” Owen announced.
This was nothing new, Zane probably got a dozen nasty-grams a month. It wasn’t surprising considering multiple people on every continent wanted him dead.