Page 30 of Reclaiming Chaos
Chapter 14
Carlee
It was a lot to process for anyone they invited into their little meeting space. Few made the cut.
“How many people know about this place?” he asked.
A good question that told her he was already thinking ahead. “There are six of us so far. Come on and let me show you around.”
She led the way through the mismatched couches and furniture in the room to another door across the way. She paused with her back to the wood and her hand on the doorknob. “This is our war room. We do remote viewing and make our predictions, and this is where we tie everything together. So, don’t freak out.”
She probably should have kept that last statement to herself. He’d for sure freak out. Everyone did the first time they processed what all of this meant. She shoved the door open and held it wide for him to enter.
His breath caught as he entered the room. His body turned rigid. She tried to remember what it looked like through new eyes.
There were six workstations—each with desks complete with a computer for research and noise-cancelling headphones. Photos and drawings had been tacked on every available wall space including the long board standing in the center of the room.
She stepped farther inside and turned, walking backward, holding out her arms. “This is where the work gets done. We each have our own station.”
“What exactly is it that you do here?” Ridge’s eyes darted around the room.
“At work, we’re given photos, images they want us to focus on, and most of us have no problems in doing so. Only we aren’t given the full picture, only fragments.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I might be given a person. Whereas one of the others might be given a place, and a third remote viewer might be given another party in the picture or even a secondary location. We are never given the same thing. It’s like looking through a camera lens. I see one portion of a room; whereas, if I turn and pointed in another direction, someone else would see the rest of the picture. It’s how Russell has been getting away with this the entire time.
“It wasn’t until his wife’s death that we actually started talking to each other over cocktails after work when we began to put the pieces together. It’s taken us years to get where we are.” She turned and gestured to the board in the middle of the room. “To figure out exactly what he’s done.”
“And what is that?” Ridge asked, moving to the board.
“Blackmail and murder.” She crossed her arms over her midriff. “Although, I must admit, he’s kept his hands clean.”
“And how exactly did he accomplish that with a murder?”
Her lips twitched. Ridge was so good at paying attention to detail, she wondered if he’d be that detailed in bed. He was going to make a perfect partner. “He uses those he’s blackmailing to do his bidding, and in return, he keeps his hands clean and gets what he wants.”
“And if they don’t do his bidding?”
“Their secrets get exposed. Careers and personal lives have been ruined.”
“That is until I overheard a private conversation,” Veronica said as she walked in. She held out her hand. “I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m—”
Ridge took her hand and shook. “Veronica. I remember. And what conversation did you happen to overhear?”
She gestured, the sweeping motion of her arm encompassing the whole room.
Carlee took his hand in hers and squeezed. “This may be a bit hard for you to see and even harder for you to understand. But please trust that we’re the good guys.”
Ridge’s brows dipped as his hold on her hand tensed. It was almost as though he knew he’d never be able to unsee the trouble brewing in the pictures on the other wall.
“Mr. Russell had a new target and was gathering data recently,” Veronica said.
“Who’s the target?” Ridge asked.
Veronica stepped out of the way, giving Ridge an unobstructed view. “You, Agent Bennett. You’re the next target he intends to blackmail.”
“And that plan to blackmail you is how we’re going to stop him once and for all,” Carlee said.
