Mansur turned away, not wanting to say anything. But Wentz was weak and frightened. He knew he’d fucked with the wrong equipment and the wrong people.
“It was his idea. I was prepared to pay my fines, lose my job, whatever.”
“Shut up,” said Mansur.
“Mr. Mansur, I believe, as an attorney, you are aware that Mr. Wentz has the right to speak in his own defense,” said Georgie. “I, for one, would like to hear what he has to say. Continue, Mr. Wentz.”
“I don’t know how, but he knew that I’d been arrested. Next thing I knew he was knocking on my door offering free legal services as long as I did something for him.” Mansur squirmed, slowly closing his notebook, his hand gently resting on the top. “We get stuff through here all the time that’s put out by G.R.I.P. I thought it would be easy to hack into. I was wrong.”
“Damn right you were,” frowned Sophia Ann. “In case you missed the fine print, Mr. Wentz, you tampered with, destroyed, and attempted to reverse engineer patented, copyrighted materials. We will be charging you and Mr. Mansur as an accomplice.”
“I’ve done nothing,” said Mansur.
“Bullshit!” yelled Wentz. “I won’t fall for you. You wanted that pathetic piece of shit you call a son to be able to track his ex because he thinks she destroyed his life. She reported him to the cops like they should have. His son killed a woman and her unborn twins in a hit-and-run. It was a murder for hire.”
“Shut up!” screamed Mansur.
“A murder for hire,” frowned Georgie. “Your son intended to kill Mrs. Samson.”
Mansur’s head popped up, surprised that she knew the names of the victims. He stared at the group around the table and then stood as if expecting they would allow him to leave.
“Not so fast, Mr. Mansur,” said the colonel. “You have committed multiple crimes, and you’ve been bold enough to do it within the Pentagon. I find that ballsy and stupid all at the same time. You will be placed under arrest by our military police and Pentagon security.”
“I’ll get out,” he said with confidence.
“You won’t get out any time soon,” said Georgie. “We’ll be filing charges as well. Of course, if you’d like to tell us where your son is, that could provide an excuse for leniency.”
“My son is innocent,” he said in a disbelieving tone.
“You know that he isn’t,” said Carl. “We all know that he isn’t.”
“Khloe Jones needs to show her face and meet with my son. She’s the cowardly one at this point. All he wants is a chance to tell his side of the story.” Georgie laughed so loud the entire room jumped.
“Cowardly? I think a man who kills a pregnant woman and runs is far more cowardly than a woman who leaves behind an alcoholic, violent killer of an ex. Ms. Jones is safe and happy in her new life. She has no reason to face your son. If he desires to prove his innocence, then have him step forward and tell his side of the story.”
“He won’t get a fair trial, you know that.”
“I know that because he ran, people will see him different. Had he stayed when he could have told his story years ago, the public might think differently of him,” said Georgie.
The MPs stepped into the room, securing Wentz and Mansur in handcuffs. As they left the room, Mansur turned to them.
“I’ll be out within the hour,” he smirked. “You won’t ever find my son.”
“Add harboring a fugitive to the list of charges,” smirked Georgie, nodding at Jill. “That should tie Mr. Mansur up for a few weeks. I’ll bet there are a few folks behind bars that would love to get their hands on you.”
Mansur stopped in his tracks, then started to speak and changed his mind. As he left with the MPs, Georgie smiled at Jill.
“He’ll be screaming for help by Tuesday,” smiled the woman.
“We need him to be screaming for his son,” said Aiden.
“Excuse me, sirs, ma’ams,” said Hunt.
“Sergeant, I’m so sorry. You’re free to go,” said Jill.
“Well, I think I might be of help to you. You see, I knew that the equipment should have worked, and I was so confident about it I wore a new device each time we met here.” Sophia Ann smiled at him.
“Thank you for having such confidence in our equipment,” she smiled.
