times. That’s why whoever is after the tech needs to wait.”
“I still don’t get it,” Dom said. “Dumb it down for us, Serra.”
Excitement bubbled inside her as things began to fall in place. “Don’t you see? Once I was ready to bring the concept to the Alliance, I transferred the specs on site for the team in Light City. Whoever is after the tech didn’t understand my code and couldn’t break into their system, so they had to wait until after the prototype was created and the final tests are run. They have to be waiting for me to be given the finalized schematics, which I will once we calibrate the prototype for anything we find during testing. That’s what they’re waiting for, I know it is.”
“So, why don’t we just destroy the link on the data unit?” Arik suggested.
“Or postpone the testing until we catch these fuckers.” Dom amended.
Serra shook her head. “We can’t do that.”
“We can,” Archer countered. “You’re clear of this and we want you to stay that way. I’ll be damned if someone is going to try to use you to commit treason. And they were. Whoever is behind this was setting you up to take the fall.”
“And when I find the son of a bitch behind this, I’m going to make him wish he decided to boot his own ass out of an air lock in space instead of dealing with me.” The threat was said in a voice so filled with rage that Serra had no doubt Jax was serious.
“Now, this is going to be fun,” Dom said, his dark eyes glittering with anticipation as he refilled his plate with food. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten down and dirty with you, Jax. Arik here is of a more peaceful nature.”
“Logical. You mean logical. You can’t just go around killing suspects. If they’re guilty—”
“They signed their own termination orders as soon as they got involved with this,” Archer argued. “We’ll get the information we need first. We always do.”
The smile on the men’s faces sent a shiver down Serra’s spine. “I think I’ve come up with a plan that will help us catch whoever is behind this without beating confessions out of people.”
“You aren’t getting anywhere near these assholes, Serra,” Jax ordered harshly.
“Listen,” she said in a rush, wanting to pitch her idea before he argued anymore. “While I was swimming yesterday I figured out how to build a track and trace program that will stop the data flow to the outside source on an outgoing relay basis. We can use it to filter whatever information we want, like faulty schematics so that they will think they have the finalized plans, but I can ensure it won’t work. If those plans are transferred, we can tag it with a digital marker that will lead us straight to the buyer, but this will only work if the tests are completed as scheduled. If you pull me out now, they’ll know we’re on to them.”
She waited for a response, but was only met with silence. Looking around, she saw that all of the men were gawking at her. Sully and Dom’s hands were frozen in mid-air, their forks halfway to their mouths. Arik had a small smile on his face, while Jax simply stared at her. “What?”
“How long was your swim?” Dom asked incredulously.
“About a half an hour, give or take a few minutes.”
Archer smirked at Dom. “Our woman is wicked smart.”
Serra preened a little bit from his compliment, but tried to hide it. “Thank you. You know this is a better plan, and it will allow us to follow the seller back to whoever their contacts are on the other end. In order to create the program, I’ll need access to a lab with better equipment then you have here. Speaking of, you know none of this would have happened if I’d been allowed to build my own data unit instead of using the Alliance crap they give everyone.”
“Let it go, baby,” Archer said, patting her knee.
She glared at him. “I need my assistant, too.”
“No.”
“Non-negotiable, Jax. I need Troy Takeshi to do this.”
“I still don’t get it,” Dom said. “Dumb it down for us, Serra.”
Excitement bubbled inside her as things began to fall in place. “Don’t you see? Once I was ready to bring the concept to the Alliance, I transferred the specs on site for the team in Light City. Whoever is after the tech didn’t understand my code and couldn’t break into their system, so they had to wait until after the prototype was created and the final tests are run. They have to be waiting for me to be given the finalized schematics, which I will once we calibrate the prototype for anything we find during testing. That’s what they’re waiting for, I know it is.”
“So, why don’t we just destroy the link on the data unit?” Arik suggested.
“Or postpone the testing until we catch these fuckers.” Dom amended.
Serra shook her head. “We can’t do that.”
“We can,” Archer countered. “You’re clear of this and we want you to stay that way. I’ll be damned if someone is going to try to use you to commit treason. And they were. Whoever is behind this was setting you up to take the fall.”
“And when I find the son of a bitch behind this, I’m going to make him wish he decided to boot his own ass out of an air lock in space instead of dealing with me.” The threat was said in a voice so filled with rage that Serra had no doubt Jax was serious.
“Now, this is going to be fun,” Dom said, his dark eyes glittering with anticipation as he refilled his plate with food. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten down and dirty with you, Jax. Arik here is of a more peaceful nature.”
“Logical. You mean logical. You can’t just go around killing suspects. If they’re guilty—”
“They signed their own termination orders as soon as they got involved with this,” Archer argued. “We’ll get the information we need first. We always do.”
The smile on the men’s faces sent a shiver down Serra’s spine. “I think I’ve come up with a plan that will help us catch whoever is behind this without beating confessions out of people.”
“You aren’t getting anywhere near these assholes, Serra,” Jax ordered harshly.
“Listen,” she said in a rush, wanting to pitch her idea before he argued anymore. “While I was swimming yesterday I figured out how to build a track and trace program that will stop the data flow to the outside source on an outgoing relay basis. We can use it to filter whatever information we want, like faulty schematics so that they will think they have the finalized plans, but I can ensure it won’t work. If those plans are transferred, we can tag it with a digital marker that will lead us straight to the buyer, but this will only work if the tests are completed as scheduled. If you pull me out now, they’ll know we’re on to them.”
She waited for a response, but was only met with silence. Looking around, she saw that all of the men were gawking at her. Sully and Dom’s hands were frozen in mid-air, their forks halfway to their mouths. Arik had a small smile on his face, while Jax simply stared at her. “What?”
“How long was your swim?” Dom asked incredulously.
“About a half an hour, give or take a few minutes.”
Archer smirked at Dom. “Our woman is wicked smart.”
Serra preened a little bit from his compliment, but tried to hide it. “Thank you. You know this is a better plan, and it will allow us to follow the seller back to whoever their contacts are on the other end. In order to create the program, I’ll need access to a lab with better equipment then you have here. Speaking of, you know none of this would have happened if I’d been allowed to build my own data unit instead of using the Alliance crap they give everyone.”
“Let it go, baby,” Archer said, patting her knee.
She glared at him. “I need my assistant, too.”
“No.”
“Non-negotiable, Jax. I need Troy Takeshi to do this.”
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