Free Brain by Candace Blevins Page B

shrugged. “I knew how to hide online, and I was careful about how I was paid. No one found me until you .”
    I smelled the lie, and figured it was time I let her know exactly how much I knew about her. I stayed on the other side of the sofa and kept my voice soft. “Because Putin is in bed with the Russian Mafia, he told our government some stuff about you, to put them on your trail. You haven’t just been running from the Russians, but from the NSA and Homeland Security.”
    Her head snapped to me in surprise — I’d found out way more about her than she’d expected. I gave a tight smile as I told her, “I know what we’re getting into by helping you.” I looked at Duke. “She was right. I told her I didn’t want her laying a single finger on any electronics until I gave the okay. She seems to be trying to earn some trust with us.”
    “Did you know she’s read through the Atlanta gang force’s notes on us?”
    I shook my head. “No, seems you still get the award for knowing which questions to ask.”
    “I told her she has three days to give us everything she knows or has deduced about the Disciples. If she wants insurance, she’ll need to come up with something else.”
    I looked at Ice in question, and she shrugged. “Haven’t had time to consider it, yet.”
    “You told me she’s smart,” said Duke. “I assume she’ll come to the right conclusion.” Duke looked back to Ice. “Okay, chicklet, something you aren’t telling me about what you found in our file in Atlanta. Spit it out.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Ice
     
    I shook my head, rolled my eyes, and said, “They keep track of the MC during the full moon… well, the nights around it, too, so three nights in all. I don’t think they really believe they’re werewolves, but it seems to be the running joke, and they try to set up surveillance, and even follow them outside of the city and county. It’s kind of crazy.” The two of them exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher, and I added, “I don’t want to know where they go. None of my business. I’m not asking, just telling you what I saw in their notes.”
    Brain chuckled. “You know how misdirection works. Looks like we’ve successfully sent them on a wild-goose chase… or in this case, a werewolf chase. Why were you hesitant to tell Duke what you found?”
    “Come on ! It just sounds crazy!”
    “Yep, that’s the idea,” Duke said. “Okay, anything else?”
    I looked at Brain. “You have at least two hacker identities online. I doubt anyone else saw the similarities between the way Wulff and Cyclops build code, but I had a reason to look, and I saw it.”
    He nodded. “Which means we’ve worked together, long ago, before your problems with the Russian Mafia.”
    I tilted my head I agreement. “The online game that led to a half-dozen of us getting job offers.”
    “You have to know why I didn’t take it, why didn’t you?” he asked.
    “I was still in college, wasn’t ready to get a real job, and… I knew it was the government, and didn’t want to work for Uncle Sam.”
    “Did you know it was the NSA?”
    “The people who knocked on my door introduced themselves as NSA.”
    He shrugged his shoulders. “They didn’t when they came calling on me. Not sure if that was because of my dad, or what.”
    “Am I supposed to know who your dad is?”
     
    * * * *
     
    Brain
     
    Fuck , I shouldn’t have mentioned my family. I tried to look nonchalant as I answered, “You said you only investigated the president of the Chattanooga and Atlanta chapters, and the club as a whole before accepting the job from the Disciples… so probably not.” I looked towards Duke. “I’m guessing you want to move her today?”
    “You really think befriending her is the way to go?”
    “We’d have never gotten information from her with torture. We’ve made the deal, Duke.”
    Duke shook his head, looked at Grace a few seconds, back to me. “We’re gonna have two men on her for the next