it.” Eli brushed something off his jacket sleeve, though it didn’t look as if anything was there. “Point is your blowhard asshole act doesn’t impress us. You want to compare gun sizes, I’m in.”
“Don’t let the nice suit fool you,” Wade said. “He will kick your ass.”
Rick slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Why are we all here?”
“My boss is not happy.” When Rick started to talk, Eli spoke right over him. “There’s a deal in place, and you sending people to stalk Natalie and Gabe violates it.”
Rick’s expression went blank as he turned on Andy. “You told them?”
Not a surprise he got dragged into the middle of this. Andy expected that. Rick had been trying to put him in the middle of the private battle with Gabe almost from the beginning, make him choose sides. Why should work be any different? “Gabe reports to Bast. Eli reports to Bast. You can see where those dots connect.”
Rick swore under his breath before looking at Eli and Wade again. “Look, I can’t talk about this. Suffice to say, I’m watching out for them.”
“Now you sound like the lawyer,” Wade said under his breath.
Not one to be quiet, Rick upped the volume. “I have this under control.”
“No, you don’t.” Eli leaned forward, balancing his elbows on the table. “See, if we—Natalie’s side—complain about the surveillance, your cover is blown. That’s not a big deal in this case, other than the twisted part about tracking your own brother, but I’ll let you figure out how to deal with that at the next holiday dinner.”
“But once Eli and Bast report back to the CIA, the people who hire you will know you blew this operation,” Wade said, taking over. “That sort of things tends to make you not be the first guy they call when they need help in the future.”
“Are you two threatening me?” Rick sounded honestly stunned at the idea. No one questioned him. He’d risen to the top in record time. People depended on him for both his skills and his anonymity.
But Wade clearly wasn’t impressed. He just stared back. “Yes.”
“The deal is simple, call off your guys. Report back to whatever piece of shit is paying you that all is fine and Natalie is not a security risk.” Eli laid it out then sat back in his chair. “Then you can go back to playing, what was it you called it? Big boy games.”
“Fuck you.”
Wade winked. “Sorry, he’s taken.”
They made a good team, Eli with the calm delivery and Wade as the backup. Andy hated noticing that.
Rick thumped his fingers against the table. “Gabe is screwing her.”
The news didn’t exactly surprise Andy, but he wasn’t sure it needed to be broadcast. “This might be family stuff.”
Rick’s gaze shot to Andy. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“As enjoyable as this sick peek into your family dynamic is, let me get to the point.” Eli shifted in his chair and all eyes went to him. The move and the deadly cold tone assured that. “Bast negotiated a deal for Natalie. Part of which promised a release of information that makes the NSA digging into the public’s phone records seem like a good government idea if anyone went near her.”
“You think people will believe you have that sort of intel?” Rick shook his head. “It’s only leverage if you can prove the information exists and Natalie has it.”
“Last I checked, the CIA wasn’t supposed to be sneaking around, checking on U.S. citizens. Natalie has some files that suggest that’s happening on a regular basis. And the citizens in question, some of them, are connected and will get really pissed once this news is out.” Wade held up both hands as if in mock surrender. “Just saying it sounds like pretty good leverage to me.”
Eli nodded. “If whoever hired you continues to track Natalie, the subjects of the surveillance—the entire public—will see internal documents, and those suits at the CIA who are so worried about Natalie’s location right now will be more worried about finding their own places to hide.”
Wade cleared his throat. “The public hates this shit.”
The double-team impressed Andy. “You two sure you’re not lawyers?”
“We prefer to work outside of the law.” Eli kept his focus on Rick. “You might want to keep that in mind.”
Something in Rick’s affect had changed. He no longer looked ready to rip the walls down. “They’re safe. Gabe spotted my man and tried to scare the piss out of him.”
Wade glanced at Eli.