~Chapter 14~

-Josh Taske’s House in Eugene, Oregon
Emma Lector wondered what she had gotten herself into. After being greeted by the gaping barrel of a shotgun, she had been told to sit at the kitchen table while Sniper, Josh Taske, and the men she assumed to be Wraith and Nathan Wolv conversed in hushed tones. Two women, one with red hair who Emma took to be the assassin called Scarlet, and the other with light-brown hair and blue eyes who she thought must be Lexy Taske, sat at the other end of the table from her. They went between watching her suspiciously and watching the men in the living room.
Now that she was here, Emma was at a loss for what she would do. Should she make a demand? Would that just anger the one the Underworlders called the Sharktooth? What would he do if angered, kill her? Should she just remain silent and calm and only offer information when asked? Would that make them see her as arrogant? Maybe that would also end with her death. Any way Emma looked at it, she was unprepared for this.
Finally, the conversation in the living room ended and Josh Taske and Wraith left the room. Emma glanced around at the others in confusion, fear making her pulse quicken.
Nathan gestured Emma to follow him. With Sniper at her side and Scarlet and Lexy behind her, Emma followed the mercenary called the Wolf up the stairs, through a bedroom, and into a world of computers and information. Josh Taske already sat at the circular table with two large computer monitors flickering behind him. Wraith stood just behind him and to his left.
Lexy went to sit next to her husband, and Nathan sat next to her. Scarlet guided Emma to the seat next to Lexy, and then took her own place beside her. Sniper opted to stand behind Emma, mirroring Wraith.
Josh stared at her a long time.
“Your name is Emma Lector?”
Emma nodded numbly.
“What are you doing here?”
Emma thought fast, trying to decide what tale she should spin to these dangerous individuals. The look from Josh convinced her, and she decided to stick with the truth.
“I was working for James Hughes, who is Chairman of the Board in New York City… I know he has put a bounty on all your heads, and I think I have information you can use to take him down. But, most of all, he cheated me and used me, and I want revenge.”
Nathan and Scarlet traded glances and smiles. Lexy looked surprised, and Wraith remained impassive.
Josh’s hard gray eyes remained unblinking, focused uncomfortably on her. They reminded Emma of Samuel Grayson for some reason.
“Miss Lector, what do you have that can help us?”
Emma swallowed hard, “Well, I know what James’ Plan is…”
Wraith finally showed some sign of being more than a statue as he looked at Josh.
“That could be useful.”
Josh nodded once, “Is that all?”
Emma shook her head, “I also know he’ll be in a place where, compared to the Regency Building, he is vulnerable.”
Josh glanced at Nathan, who looked like he was willing to hear her out.
“And what do you want in return for this information?”
Emma looked down at the tabletop, slightly embarrassed at her meager request.
“Only two things: that you let me help take James down, and you don’t betray me like he did.”
Josh’s eyes softened, the gray stone became soft mist.
“We don’t betray our allies, Miss Lector.”
Emma smiled slightly, “Please, call me Emma.”
Josh nodded an acknowledgement, “Very well, Emma.”
Nathan leaned forward, “’K, you can call me Nathan, that there’s Lexy an’ Red, Wraith is the silent type in the back an’ you’ve been talkin’ to Josh. Now can you tell us what James’ up to?”
Lexy slapped Nathan on the shoulder and Scarlet smiled apologetically at Emma.
“Sorry, Emma, you can call me Scarlet. Now, if you please, we really do need to know what James is planning.”
Emma nodded, “Okay, it started about five years ago when James was on Regent Taske’s think-tank. He came up with what everyone called “The Plan”. No one talked about it really; it was just “The Plan”. James submitted it to Regent and Regent approved it, but it was going to take some time to set it up. James needed a Hacker and a bunch of equipment and information before the plan to be initiated. He gave Regent an estimate, saying the Plan would be ready in five-years. He plans on putting the Plan into action sometime this year.”
Wraith’s eyes were slightly glazed over, “What exactly is the Plan?”
Emma took a deep breath, “The Plan is to steal all currency in the United States.”
The silence in the room could have been cut with a knife. They all stared at her in shock. Emma started to have second thoughts about her own plan.
Nathan finally spoke, “Uh, hey, Hon? You wanna run through that again?”
Emma braced herself and explained, “James had Cipher, the Hacker he hired, to design what is essentially a computer virus that once enabled and uploaded onto the Net, will divert all digital currency into a secured private account that only James controls and knows about. People might start to question the reason why their money is disappearing, but they will just blame it on identity theft or fraud. They will get a new credit or debit card and go on spending like they usually do. By the time people realize what is happening, James will have most of the virtual money in the US in his personal account. Then he plans on using that money to black mail the government and large businesses. He’ll tell them that if they do this for him, he’ll give them back this amount, they do this other thing, and they get this much back. And if they try to take him out or hack his account, he’ll just delete the money and the US will have to make more, rendering their currency to be worth far less than it is. It would ruin the country’s economy.”
Silence once again rained in the Den. The magnitude and audacity of James’ scheme hit them all like a ton of bricks. If what Emma said was true, and there was no evidence to say she was, James was going to mount a coup the likes of the world had never seen before.
Josh’s gray eyes came back to rest upon Emma.
“You said something about James being in a place where he is vulnerable?”
Emma nodded, “Yes, he is launching his plan from his villa in California, a few miles outside of Los Angeles. The place is built like a fortress, but the security is fairly low compared to the Regency Building. He’s planning on staying there for at least three weeks.”
Josh nodded and spun around to type something into one of the computers behind him. He glanced over at Wraith as he did so.
“Wraith?”
Wraith shook his head, “Sorry, I have heard of James’ villa, but nothing specific. And I have never had any reason to look into it until now.”
Josh waited a moment until the computer beeped quietly. He turned back around, his face creased in thought.
“I have nothing in my files either. He’s kept it a very well-kept secret.”
Nathan looked mad, “Then where in Hell to we find something? Or do you plan on us going in there with no intel?
Josh and Wraith seemed to have the same thought.
“The Regency Vault.”
Nathan looked fed up with all the mysteries and secrets.
“And what the Hell is that!?”
Josh ignored him and turned back to his computer, so Wraith explained.
“The Regency Building has a huge computer data vault that contains all the information the Board or Taske Family has collected over the years. James would have had to have files on his villa somewhere, even if they are incomplete.”
Scarlet raised a hand, “Uh, why would he have to? Is it required or something?”
Wraith shook his head, “It isn’t required, but if James ever wanted to do some renovating or remodeling, or if some emergency ever arose where he might have to break in, it is only prudent that someone like James would have some kind of blueprint or basic floor plan for the place.”
Scarlet nodded and, getting to her feet, started to walk out the door.
“Well, since we can’t do anything until we have some sort of picture of the place, I’m going to go down stairs, get a cup of coffee, and try to figure out how I’m going to live when James controls my finances in a few weeks.”
Nathan looked up at Sniper, “Sorry, Max, looks like our job is going to have to wait.”
Emma looked up in surprise at Sniper.
“Your job!?”
Sniper nodded, “Me, Nathan and Scarlet were planning on meeting here and heading off to accept a job in Europe. That’s why I was in Hollywood’s shop, to get a passport and ID.”
Emma was furious, “So both you and Hollywood knew where Josh was, yet you lead me along and acted like you weren’t sure!”
Sniper met her angry glare calmly, “Yes.”
Josh looked over from his work at the computer.
“Emma, if someone you didn’t know and didn’t trust was looking for a friend of yours, would you just point out where they live? Or would you try to give your friend some forewarning?”
Emma sat back, her anger sated by Josh’s logic.
“I guess I’d try to warn them.”
Nathan grinned, “They could have just said they didn’t know anything.”
Emma shot a killing glance at Nathan.
Sniper put his hand on her shoulder, “Come on, lets go get something to eat.”

After Sniper and Emma left, only Josh, Wraith, Nathan, and Lexy remained in the Den. They looked at each other, still slightly stunned by Emma’s news.
Nathan glanced at Josh, “Think she’s on the level?”
Josh rested his head in his hands and sighed.
“I think she’s telling the truth. Wraith, what do you think?”
Wraith’s green eyes were as cool and calm as ever.
“She’s telling the truth, at least to the best of her knowledge. If anything we have take James out, even if his Plan isn’t what Emma says it is.”
Josh sat up and nodded. Two loud beeps sounded from the computer behind him and he turned back towards it. Taking a USB drive from the hub on the desk, he handed it to Wraith.
“This drive has access codes for a backdoor I hardwired into the Regency’s Vault. It will get you in, and there is room on the device for whatever information you find on the villa, and on James’ Plan.”
Wraith accepted the USB and nodded once.
“I’ll leave right away. One of Steve Marr’s smuggler pilots over at PDX should be able to fly me to New York and back. Give me… three-and-a-half days or so?”
Josh reached out and grasped the Informer’s hand.
“Good luck.”

Downstairs, Scarlet sat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. She watched as Emma and Sniper entered the kitchen and the mercenary started rummaging through the fridge.
“There’s a few kinds of beer in there, some soda, a few apples, and I think some leftover pizza and breadsticks from the other night.”
Sniper looked over at Emma, “Anything sound good?”
Emma shrugged, “I guess the pizza sounds okay.”
Sniper nodded and handed her a Round Table Pizza box. He grabbed a Guinness and the smaller box of breadsticks and came to sit across from Scarlet. Emma sat down next to him, placing the pizza box in the center of the table.
She looked hesitantly at Scarlet, “So… Um, you’re Scarlet?”
Scarlet nodded, “Yep. And you’re Emma Lector.”
Emma looked embarrassed and uncomfortable, “Uh, yeah…”
Scarlet nodded a greeting to Sniper, “Max, how’ve you been?”
Sniper shrugged, “Since that job in Vegas a few years ago? I had a job in Texas, training border guards, and then I helped fight a small war in Mexico. After Mexico I’ve been hanging around on the west coast, picking up odd jobs. The Brussels job with you and Nathan is the first major job offer I’ve had in a while.”
Scarlet turned her sharp green eyes on Emma.
“So, what’s your story?’
Emma had just taken a bite of cold pizza, so Scarlet had to wait until she had swallowed before she got an answer.
“Um… born in Texas, worked my way into a position as secretary at the Whitehouse during Matt Gold’s term in office. I made the mistake of letting a handsome, to-good-to-be-true businessman lure me away from my position with the promise of love and riches. I found out just recently he was a lying, cheating scoundrel, so here I am.”
Scarlet shook her head and smiled slightly in mild wonder.
“Most gals I know would love to be seduced by a roughish scoundrel.”
Emma grimaced, “Wrong kind of scoundrel.”
Scarlet laughed.
Emma took another bite of pizza and, after swallowing, decided to try to alleviate some of the suspicion Scarlet obviously held towards her.
“So, um… what about you?”
Scarlet shrugged dismissively, “Eh, the usual sap story. Born in Florida and raised by a thief. We moved to New York when I was ten and there I met Josh and Nathan. My thief of a guardian was killed when I was thirteen, and that was when I started my career as an assassin. And I’ve been one ever since.”
Emma looked at the other woman in amazement, “You’re serious? What a life you’ve had!”
Scarlet dismissed her shock and awe, “It’s just a life.”
Wraith walked in just then and grabbed keys to Josh’s Ninja 3 from next to the phone.
“I’m going to be gone for a few days. Josh wants me to get the files on James’ villa from the Regency Vault.”
Scarlet waved at the Informer, “Good luck, you going to get one of Steve Marr’s pilots to fly you?”
Steve Marr was a smuggler who ran a nation-wide Underworld airline. Josh and the pilot had an unofficial alliance going back years. Steve had felt terrible after learning one of his planes had flown the assassin who killed Josh’s first wife and daughter to his destination. He had told Josh that if he ever needed transportation his fleet of airplanes and helicopters were at his service.
In answer to Scarlet’s question, Wraith nodded.
“Yes, Joe Binkley landed at PDX yesterday morning, and is scheduled to go out this afternoon. I called Steve and he said he’s radio Binkley to wait and give me a lift.”
Scarlet watched Wraith leave and repeated her farewell.
“Good luck.”