Rio.
“We just caught a break. We’ve received information that suggests the SOR has been testing aerosol dispersal methods, maybe trying to find the best delivery system. We may have destroyed their warehouse, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this threat.”
Could this day get any worse? Grizz remembered the fallout from before, with fish and animals dying after coming into contact with the poison. If they released the same compound into the air, the results could be devastating.
He refused to let his thoughts go there. He had to focus on stopping the fire.
The dense trees cleared, and Grizz got a good view of the compound from the same location Josh and Dani had snapped those pictures. Flames shot high into the sky from one building. But the main building remained untouched by the fire. So far. The fire was tracking toward the center—to the building where they suspected the chemicals were being housed. Grizz’s anger raged hotter than the fire. If that building exploded, the chemical fallout could impact Alaska for miles.
For the second time today, Grizz prayed for a miracle.
ELEVEN
Dani pacedin the conference room, unable to contain her nerves.
The compound was on fire, and with the complication of dangerous chemicals, the stakes were even higher. Dani heard the status updates through Rio’s radio.
Grizz was prepared to enter a burning camp to stop the fire from spreading to that center building. She closed her eyes and could see the smokestack puffing out white smoke. She knew exactly which building housed the chemicals.
While she wanted to be part of the action, her stomach tightened at the thought of Grizz rushing into a burning building.
Her hero, whether he walked away from her or not.
A knock sounded at the door, and Rio looked up from his computer. “Jamie. I’m so glad you’re here. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
A petite woman entered. Her cargo pants and boots made her look like she belonged in the Alaskan wild with Grizz. The two braids that hung over her shoulders made her look younger than she probably was, but her laptop bag and computer accessories communicated an air of authority.
“Jamie Winters is our tech wizard, and she’s been following the money trail for quite some time on this case.”
Jamie sat at the table and set up a complete workstation with two monitors and a printer. “Dani Barlowe. I’ve watched your newscasts. And I’ve heard how instrumental you were in getting us this intel.”
Dani shot the woman a smile and took a seat across from her. While she knew the value of processing data and tracking the senator down, her mind was fixated on what was happening on Copper Mountain.
On Grizz and the rest of the hotshots.
Why had the radio gone silent?
Rio turned to her. “Look, I know you’re worried about the fire on the mountain, Dani. But I asked Jamie to come in and debrief with you about the senator. We know he got off scot-free the last time he was indicted. We won’t let him walk this time.”
She sat back in her chair, her reporter instincts churning. “Where did these mercenaries get the money to create an elaborate high-tech secret base in the woods? A project that didn’t catch the attention of local law enforcement or the FBI. They didn’t spare any expense. An RPG took out a helicopter.”
“True.” Rio clicked away on his laptop keyboard, then looked up. “Jamie has been looking into the funding source. I just sent an email to have our forensic accountants look into any significant transfers of money from a key list of high-ranking government officials that we’ve had our eyes on. Let’s see if this goes any higher than the senator.”
Jamie turned her screen so Rio could read the information. “I’ve already been looking into Senator Geoff Deville’s accounts. He’s made several transfers that are all ten dollars under the limit that would draw our attention. To an offshore account.”
Dani shook her head. “The senator was cleared of embezzlement. This doesn’t definitively tie him to the funding of the terrorist group in the woods.”
Jamie turned her laptop and made a few clicks. “Except these charges happened after his indictment. I think the whole thing was a cover-up. Sorry, Dani, but you were used. My hunch is he planted the fake story about the embezzlement, knowing there’d be an investigation. But he hadn’t embezzled the money, at least not until a few months after he was cleared of all charges. Your story painted him as the victim, and he used the press to hide what he was really doing.”
Rio sighed. “If the senator is funding the militant group with stolen money, he’s probably bribing and threatening anyone who might be able to connect him to this. He’s the one who quashed the investigation.”
Dani said, “I’ve always suspected that he bribed that judge. Maybe my story wasn’t that far off base.”
The senator had used her to hide his crimes in plain sight.
The radio crackled and Grizz’s voice rang through. “We’re preparing to breach the building, but sparks have lit the main hut on fire.”
“That’s the place we suspect they’re housing the chemicals.” Dani fidgeted with her hair. Of course Grizz would be leading the charge to run into a burning building.
