Page 41 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

Chapter Fourteen

“Idon’t like it,” Rochelle said as she helped herself to more coffee. One day, Noah was going to force her to get a blood test, just to see how much caffeine ran through her veins. “Us going after their money could interfere with the prosecution’s investigation into the Demon Brothers, and the last thing we want is to jeopardize their case.”

“Plus,” Evan said, looking dejected, “technically, I’m not allowed to hack anymore. I got into a bit of trouble with the government, and Mum, who’s a big-time human rights lawyer, stepped in to cut a deal. She’s friends with Lake Benson and talked him into helping. Next thing we knew, the government made us an offer: join Benson Security or go to jail. Do not pass ‘Go.’ Do not collect two hundred dollars. Worse, never see a computer again. I chose to accept Lake’s kind offer.”

“Which government did you piss off?” Violet asked, seeming not the slightest surprised by Evan’s disclosure.

He scratched his beard. “Take your pick. I was in my activist phase and wanted to prove a point to the overlords who rule us. Next thing I knew, the FBI, SIS, and Interpol were knocking on my door.” He shrugged. “I blame Mum. When we were kids, she dragged us to every protest march she could find. You can’t feedthree young boys a steady diet of ‘we must monitor our leaders and hold them to account’ and expect them not to do exactly that. Just sayin’.”

“If you can’t hack”—Violet narrowed her eyes at him—”what the hell is the point of having you around?”

“Damned if I know.” Evan shrugged. “Like I said, the choice was this or prison. It was a no-brainer.”

Violet opened her mouth to say something else, but Rochelle spoke first. “Violet, why don’t you go help Harris?”

She didn’t need to be asked twice. She was out the door in seconds. Back in London, Violet had made it clear that she saw meetings as a waste of time. Obviously, nothing had changed.

Noah considered his team. “Is itreallyhacking if he’s investigating a criminal’s money trail?”

Rochelle glared at him. “You’re supposed to be a good influence around here.”

Noah was offended. He was definitely one of the adults in the room. “It’s not like we’re asking him to break into the Pentagon. We’re talking about accounts set up by gang members who traffic human beings. I’d say that’s a gray area when it comes to hacking.”

Their boss plopped down in her seat and stared at Evan for a moment. She heaved a sigh. “Could you track their money? Is that something you can do?”

Evan stretched out his arms in front of him, linked his fingers, and cracked his knuckles. “In my sleep.” He flashed a cocky grin.

Rodrigo spoke up. “Their accounts are probably already being monitored by several agencies. It’s not exactly rocket science to figure out that you have to trace their money.”

“First thing they do,” Abasi agreed. “Thing is, the money ain’t so easy to trace. If the Metropolitan Police could have cracked where the James Family hid theirs, they’d have takenthem down years ago.” He lifted his chin in Evan’s direction. “What makes you think you can do what governments and law enforcement can’t?”

“Ah.” Evan settled back in his chair. “You want my CV. Okay, I was first arrested when I was ten and hacked into MI6—I wanted to find out if James Bond was real.”

Noah couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him. It was exactly the kind of thing his kids would have done—if they’d had Evan’s ability.

“Sorry,” he muttered when Rochelle glared at him again.

“After that,” Evan said, “Mum encouraged me to use my skills for the greater good. She had me mess with various politicians’ computers, depending on what she was protesting at the time. Nothing malicious, you understand, mainly stupid stuff to annoy them. I hacked the education minister and made maths problems pop up every time he tried to log in. Unless he solved the problem, he couldn’t access his data. Guy was an idiot and shouldn’t have been in charge of the country’s schools. He couldn’t even solve the most basic equations.”

“Yes, Evan, we get it. You can hack.” Rochelle rubbed her temples. “And you started young.”

“I’ll skip to the good stuff. Every now and then, I’ll do some work for a government agency. Different agencies. Different governments. If it’s something that wouldn’t annoy my mum, I take on the job. It’s one of the reasons I got the option to stay out of prison. The FBI tried to recruit me, but I have standards. If a job doesn’t pass Mum’s morality test, I won’t do it.”

“To sum up, you’re saying youcanhack into the Demon Brother’s finances?” Noah wanted to be clear.

“Is Iron Man a rich narcissist?”

“A simple yes or no answer, please.” Noah had begun to regret bringing up the topic.

“Yes. I just need a place to start.” Even cocked his head at Abasi. “You might be able to help me with that.”

“I know nothing about the Demons’ money,” Abasi said.

“But you might know who they’d get to launder it or which offshore bank they’d use to hide it. I only need a small thread, and then I can pull it until the whole thing unravels.”

Abasi looked intrigued. “I might have a thread or two you can try.”

Evan grinned. “Gr?—”