Free Wolf Island by Darren Shan

my hands
     up, frustrated.
    “We all know how you feel,” Meera says sympathetically. “But until she makes a move, there’s nothing we can do. The world’s
     a big place. You could hide seven hundred werewolves just about anywhere. We can’t —”
    “I could find them,” Timas interrupts. “If I had access to your mainframe,” he adds, smiling at Antoine.
    “I told you — the records have been wiped,” Antoine scowls.
    “It’s virtually impossible to wipe a mainframe completely clean,” Timas says. “That’s one of the reasons I was surprised you
     still used one. I can perform at the very least a partial restore.”
    “We’ve had experts working on it for the last six weeks,” Antoine says sharply.
    “I’m sure you’ve employed some of the best people in the business,” Timas says earnestly. “But I’m the
very
best.”
    “Even assuming you could restore it,” Shark rumbles, “how would that help us? She’s unlikely to have outlined her secret plans
     on a work computer.”
    “You can’t move that many bodies around without leaving a trail,” Timas says. “If I find out more about the creatures, I can
     use that information to fish for clues on the Web.”
    “What do you mean?” Shark asks.
    “They didn’t take the cages,” Timas notes. “That means they transported them in cages of their own. Once I know what the cages
     are made from, I can search for companies who specialize in this type of construction and find out if they’ve filled any large
     orders recently. If they have, I’ll learn where they delivered the cages to.
    “If I can determine how the werewolves were tranquilized, I can track the drugs back to where they were manufactured, then
     trace them through delivery records.
    “How did they transport the creatures — airplanes, articulated trucks, trains, boats? I’m assuming they moved at least some
     of them across international borders. There will be a trail of red tape, no matter how surreptitiously they went about it.
     I’ve followed such trails before and enjoyed a large measure of success.
    “Do you want me to continue explaining or shall I get started?” Timas addresses this question to Antoine Horwitzer.
    Antoine’s torn. “Is he really that good?” he asks Shark.
    “Yes.”
    “If he can do what he says… he will have access to confidential information. He’ll have to sign a privacy clause. We need
     absolute affirmation that he’d never reveal —”
    “You present the forms, he’ll sign them,” Shark cuts in.
    Antoine struggles with the idea for a couple of seconds, then sighs. “Very well. I’ll log you in and provide you with the
     relevant security codes.”
    “No need,” Timas says, sliding into Antoine’s plush leather chair. “I can crack them. The exercise will serve as a useful
     warm-up.”
    “How long will it take?” Shark asks as Timas’s fingers dance across the keyboard.
    “A few days, I imagine,” Timas replies absently. “Quicker if we get a lucky break. Longer if she’s hidden her trail artfully.
     I’ll need complete privacy. And my equipment from the helicopter.”
    “I’ll have it sent down,” Shark says, and ushers us out.
    “Perhaps I should stay and keep an eye on him,” Antoine says nervously.
    “No chance,” Shark responds firmly, and pushes out the suave chief executive, ignoring his spluttering protests.
    Some of the rooms on the uppermost floor have beds, or couches that pull out into sleeping cots. Members of the higher echelon
     move around a lot between buildings owned by the Lambs. Given the secretive nature of their business, they often prefer to
     stay onsite rather than check into hotels.
    I’m sharing a room with Spenser and James. They don’t speak to me much. They know I’m part of Beranabus’s world of magic and
     demons, but they’ve had little first-hand experience of that. They find it hard to think of me as anything other than an especially
     large but otherwise