Under the Radar

Chapter 1-1

Chapter 1

“What the f**k!”

Wayne had come into the office suite oblivious to anything but disarming the security system, as always. Then he turned and saw the destruction someone had wrought in the reception area. The laptop that should have been on Rachel’s desk now lay on the floor, the screen destroyed. The upholstery on the client chairs had been slashed. The glass covering the pictures on the walls had been shattered, lying in shards on the green carpet.

He headed rapidly to his office. The door was locked. And a damned good thing, too. He pressed his thumb to the pad then pushed down on the handle. The door swung open and he saw everything in the office was as it should be. Taking out his phone he made a call.

“Lou,” he said when it was answered. “Get your ass down here. Someone broke in—No. As far as I can see they trashed the front office is all, but I can’t get into yours…—No, I didn’t check.” He chuckled ruefully and crossed to the door to Lou’s office. It was locked, and could only be unlocked the way his did, but with Lou’s thumbprint. Unlike with his door, however, there were what appeared to be pry marks by the lock. “They didn’t get in. They tried with yours, but not mine—Yeah, maybe we should, but I’ll wait till you get here.”

With a sigh, he hung up and looked around again, running his fingers over his short, dark, sun-streaked hair. At least that’s what he called it, trying to deny the fact that he might be beginning to go gray.

“Were you searching for something,” he wondered aloud. “Or just pissed at us for some reason and decided to make a statement.” There could have been one more reason, but he didn’t want to think about it until all other possibilities had been eliminated.

He asked virtually the same question ten minutes later when his husband—and partner in their protection business—came into the office.

“Since they tried to break into my office I’d say they were looking for something,” Lou replied. “When they realized they couldn’t get in quickly and quietly, they got angry and destructive.”

“Let’s hope.” Wayne looked at his husband. “I for one would rather not bring in anyone else just yet to help figure it out. At least not until we’ve gone over this,” he waved his hand around, “with a fine-toothed comb.”

Lou nodded, going into his office. A few moments later he came back with a fingerprint kit and set to work.

As he did, Wayne booted up his computer to check something. “He found the cameras, and avoided them. All they picked up on was his back, and he was wearing a watchcap, so he was being damned careful.”

Lou swore under his breath.

A while later Lou was shaking his head. “Whoever did this wore gloves, probably latex. Big surprise. Our prints, and Rae’s, have been smudged over.”

“Whatever he was after is in your office, I’d say.”

“Presumably, since he only tested you door handle and didn’t try to break in. Or, he tested both, and decided to start with mine.”

Wayne went to the hallway door, locking it and resetting the alarm before following Lou into his office. Lou put away the kit then sat down at his desk, kicking his feet up on it. He grinned a bit when Wayne shook his head as he settled in the chair opposite him.

“He was pro enough to get past the outer door security, and to spot the cameras, which isn’t easy given the way you set them up.” Lou tapped a finger against his lips. “On the other hand, he hasn’t been here before.”

“How do you figure?”

“If he had, he’d have known we use thumbprint pads to lock and unlock our offices. My bet is he thought that, once he was in the reception area, the rest would be a breeze. Or at least that he could get through our office doors with a lock pick or bypass another security box.”

They both turned when they heard the hall door open. Lou reached for the gun at the small of his back.

“Dad, what the hell happened here?” Rae called out.

“Which ‘dad’ are you asking?” Lou replied when she came to his office door.

“The one I knew would be here. I’d ask why you are, too, but it’s pretty obvious. Any idea who did this?” She stood, arms akimbo, looking between Lou and Wayne, a frown marring the sculptured beauty of her face.

“If we did, do you think we’d be sitting here?” Wayne replied sourly. He smiled a moment later when she came over to kiss his cheek.

“You might be, but not him.” She thumbed toward Lou. “He’d be heading after them guns blazing, if he could.”

Lou c****d an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m a hot-head?”

Rae laughed. “If the shoe fits…” Then she sobered, going over to sit on the edge of the desk. “Did the cameras pick up anything?”

“At first glance, only the intruder’s back,” Lou said. “He knew they were there.”

She nodded. “I take it he didn’t make it into either office.”

“He tried,” Wayne replied. “Our feeling is, when he couldn’t, he took out his frustration on the reception area.”

“Or he was leaving you a message. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” She was, with the broken laptop in hand. Setting it on Lou’s desk, she turned it over and expertly removed the hard drive.”

“Just what are you going to do with that?” Wayne asked.

“As if you didn’t know.” She went to the storage closet next to Lou’s file cabinets, coming back with another laptop exactly like the one that had been damaged. “Move it, Pop.”

With a shake of his head, Lou did. Rae sat down, flipped over the second laptop, removed its hard drive, and inserted the one from hers. Then she turned on the computer. “Good. He didn’t get into it,” she stated emphatically after a few moments. “If he had, the drive would have been wiped unless he knew the passwords.”

“A good hacker could have figured them out, if he’d decided to steal your laptop and try, later,” Wayne said.

Rae grinned. “Nobody, but nobody can bypass anything I set up, and you know that’s no brag.”

“Our daughter, the computer whiz,” Lou said fondly.

“And hacker extraordinaire,” she added. She turned on his desktop computer and ran a check. “Nobody’s tried to access this from the outside in the last hour.”

“And before then,” Wayne asked with a worried frown.

“The usual, someone or another trying to get information on a client. They should know better by now. Pop’s computer’s as secure as mine and yours.” She went back to Lou’s computer, glancing at him at one point. “To the fifteenth.” He nodded. “Plus, umm…” She beckoned him over to show him. “Five and three.”

“Got it.”

“As for you, Dad…” When Wayne rolled his eyes, she smiled at him. “You are such a—what’s the opposite of computer geek?”

“Technophobe?”

“Not really. You’re an expert at security.”

Wayne sighed. “Make it easy.”

Rae laughed. “I’m not changing your password. There’s nothing stored on your computer anyone would want to access, other than your security plans for clients and that’s so encrypted they’d go crazy.”

“I go crazy sometimes,” Wayne muttered.

“Poor Dad. I swear I don’t get how you can be so good with security, and suck so badly with computers.”

“Different skill sets, as they say.” He frowned. “And I didn’t do such a hot job here, if our invader was able to bypass the security box.”

“You know as well as I do that given the right equipment it can be done. You do it all the time,” Lou pointed out.

“Yeah but I’m supposed to be better than the average—”

“Bear,” Rae piped up, grinning.

“Who invited her to the party,” Wayne grumbled.

“You did, a little over twenty-one years ago when you adopted me.”

He smiled softly. “And I haven’t ever regretted it. Even when what’s his face over there,” he glanced at Lou, “had second thoughts about hooking up with me permanently because of you.”

“I had no such thing,” Lou protested. “Well, okay, maybe for a day or three. I never saw myself as parent material.”

“Well, you were wrong, weren’t you?” Rae hugged him. “You’re the perfect parent. Both of you are. But this isn’t getting us any closer to figuring out who broke in here.”

Wayne shook his head. “All business, all day.”

She chuckled. “You’re the one who raised me, so that’s your fault.” Sobering, she said, “There’s only a couple of things we’re working on right now that might have someone wondering what we’ve found out. So it has to relate to one of them or—” she turned her full attention to Lou, “—someone thinks they’ve found you.”

“And wants to make certain first.” Lou nodded. “Unfortunately, as much as we may not like the idea, it is a possibility.”

“If so, and they know about the office, chances are they’re aware of our house as well,” Wayne said, his mouth tightening angrily.

“So you move in with me for the time being,” Rae told him. “No one knows I’m more than just your receptionist. I was ten when you and Lou finally hooked up, and by then he was in the Witness Security Program. No one’s going to put two and two together.”

“Are you willing to bet Lou’s life on that, or yours, or mine?” Wayne asked.

“No,” she replied softly. “Never.”

“Then we’d damned well better figure out if this break-in was business or personal,” Wayne stated as he got up. “We’ll use my computer since it’s set up for analyzing the images from the cameras.”

Three minutes later, Lou and Rae were standing on either side of Wayne as he brought up the video images from the cameras. He slowed the intruder’s movements to a crawl as each of them looked for anything that might give them information about him.

“There,” Lou said and Wayne paused at the frame. “Not much but his hair is light.” He tapped the screen where the man had turned just enough to reveal what they could only presume was a strand of blond or light brown hair just over the intruder’s ear, showing under the watch cap. “Home in on that.”

Wayne did, then nodded as he hit ‘print screen’ to capture the image. “I see what you mean. His ear is pierced, although he wasn’t wearing anything in it when he came visiting.” He printed the image then they moved on. “He’s also Caucasian or Hispanic.”

“And he’s right-handed,” Rae pointed out. “Not that that’s any great help. He was wearing latex gloves but…” She pointed and Wayne zoomed in.

“Good catch. Chances are he broke that finger and it didn’t heal quite straight,” Wayne said. “Now we just have to keep our eyes peeled for an earring wearing, bent fingered man.”

Lou chuckled sourly, asking Wayne to continue rolling the video. “He wears tennis shoes, at least when he’s doing a B&E. Not a name brand.”

Rae snickered. “He’s cheap. Hold on a minute, Dad. Look.”

Again Wayne froze the frame. The intruder had half-turned as if he’d heard something from the hallway. Then he’d ducked his head and continued to what he’d been doing, which at that point was tapping the keys on Rae’s laptop.

“Not much, not enough for identification purposes,” Wayne said as he printed three of the frames.

Lou nodded. “Enough to show he’s got a sharp nose and thin cheeks.”

“Every little bit helps.”

“I wonder,” Rae said, “if he tried to get into the offices because he knew the cameras had caught at least part of his face and wanted to erase the evidence.” She tapped her lip. “I also wonder why he didn’t just destroy them when he came in, since he obviously knew they were there.”

“Too high up to get to easily, even with spray paint. Or, he thought he could avoid facing them, which he almost did.” Lou shrugged. “Either or both. I wish to hell he’d worn something other than what looks like sweats, so we’d have a better idea of his real build. He looks chunky, but the bit we have of his face says otherwise.”

Wayne shut down the video capture at that point, turning to Lou. “If he came looking for information on one of our clients, he’s not the brightest bulb in the pack, not to have done more homework on the security. Anyone who knows what they’re doing would have spotted the thumb-pads right off when they checked out the place.”

“Agreed. On the other hand, if, and it’s a big ‘if’, he was sent by someone looking for me, it would seem they’re just fishing right now.”

“I still think, after seventeen years that’s pretty much impossible,” Rae said. “Not totally, but…”

“In theory, yes. In point of fact, you know as well as I do that they’re not going to stop looking for me. Ever. My testimony did too much damage.”

They heard someone rap on the hall door just then, and again Lou reached for his gun. Wayne put a restraining hand on his arm, saying, “We are open for business and that’s probably Mr. Allan. I have a meeting with him in ten minutes.”

“He’s going to love the new interior decorating,” Rae said as she hurried out to the front office.

Her fathers followed, Wayne going to unlock the door while Lou headed to his office.

It was Mr. Allan, who seemed a bit nonplused by the damage. Wayne led him to his office, saying as he did, “A disgruntled client, or wannabe client to be accurate. He didn’t like that we wouldn’t take his case. Luckily the security guards heard the alarm go off. Unluckily they were on the ground floor when it happened. By the time they got up here…” He shrugged. “The joys of what we do. Now, let’s talk about what we’re doing for you.”