Page 115 of Reset
“Le Chevalier?” Fournier blustered. “He is but a myth.”
“He’s a myth who’s dusting your ass right now,” Harvard said.
“As things stand,” Lake said, “you only have to watch your back for Petrov and Albescu. We can keep going. The list will grow. It’s going to be hard for you to hide from that many of your ex-customers. And sure, you can try to convince them we’re behind the leaks. You might even manage with one or two. But not with ten. Or twenty. Or thirty. Because we will keep going until we pull on every string that even hints at having you at its source. We’ll expose it all, Fournier.”
It was the most Lake had said in years, and Ryan was kind of awestruck by it.
“And, meanwhile,” Callum said, “our hacker will find your files. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Especially seeing as the guy who wrote the security program the UK government uses was a silent partner in Benson Security.” Harvard was smiling again. “I’m sure he’d be happy to help his friends destroy your ass.”
“I-I can’t talk.” Fournier was pleading now. “If it gets out, I will be killed.”
“Baker man,” Dimitri said. “Your days are numbered anyway. Now, you gotta choose whether you want two bad guys on your tail or twenty. I know what I’d pick.”
Ryan crouched, bringing himself eye level with the Frenchman. “We only want to know one thing—who hired you to abduct me and Sarah Davidson. That’s it. Nothing more. You give us a name, and we walk away.”
Fournier’s shoulders slumped, then he cursed them out in his native language.
Looking into Ryan’s eyes, he said, “Professor Garnier.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
They were back at the hospital where they’d surfaced from the catacombs. Sarah’s anxiety grew with every step they took toward their destination. Although, she wasn’t afraid. That would have been impossible when she was surrounded by members of the most exclusive private security team in the world. The only two missing were Rachel and Julia.
“You doing okay, Stats?” Ryan asked as he squeezed her hand.
“No,” she said honestly, earning grins from everyone who heard.
“Me neither.” His smile settled something within her.
As they entered one of the older buildings at the back of the complex, a security guard approached them. Dimitri and Megan broke off from the group to deal with him, while the rest of the team never even paused as they walked down the corridor in search of Professor Garnier.
There was a secretary in the outer office. She took one look at the group and reached for the phone. Joe gently removed it from her hand, smiled, and took care of the situation. Meanwhile, Harvard positioned himself in front of the outer door as a sentry.
Lake opened the door to the inner office, and everyone else streamed in.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Sarah heard a voice say in French and English.
Sarah’s hands began to shake, and she fought the urge to run as Ryan sent her a reassuring glance.
“Professor Garnier?” Callum rumbled.
“Oui,” came the terse reply. “Please leave and make an appointment. I’m very busy.”
“This won’t take long,” Callum said.
The group parted, spreading around the large room and allowing Sarah her first look at the person who’d orchestrated her abduction.
Behind the wide mahogany desk sat an elegant woman, who looked to be in her late fifties, possibly older. Her hair was in a classic twist at the back of her head. She wore a tastefully patterned silk scarf, knotted at her throat, over a cream blouse. There were understated diamond earrings in her ears, although her manicured hands were without adornment. She was thin, to the point of being pinched, with a sharp intelligence in her brown eyes that never stopped assessing as she looked at them.
“I don’t know you,” Sarah said, feeling strangely disconnected from the whole experience.
Those sharp eyes focused on Sarah. They skimmed down to where she still held hands with Ryan, then up to Ryan’s face.
Recognition flickered. “Ah, now, I see.”
It vaguely registered that her accent wasn’t French—it was North American. USA or Canada. Sarah had never been good at telling them apart.
