Chapter 9

Alabama

After fleeing Mississippi we found ourselves in Alabama. Jackson and the others had gone off to find a microscope Mitch could use to examine the sample we took from the wolf. Leaving Abe and I to try and find anything out we can about these animal attacks. After staring at a computer for too long I sit back and rub my eyes as Abe sits across the small table we have managed to grab at a bar.

"You alright?"

He asks handing me a beer.

I nod.

"Yeah, my eyes just need a break."

Abe chuckles.

"You are just like Jackson."

I look at Abe a little confused.

"Whenever we are gone on safari, Jackson is always worried about you back home. It's nice to know that when the two of you are apart you worry about each other so much."

I chuckle softly and nod, after taking a sip of my beer.

"That obvious?"

Abe nods and laughs.

The two of us wait another thirty minutes before the others meet us at the bar. When they arrive I finally put my laptop away and we move to a larger table to fit the six of us. Before Chloe goes off to make a phone call and Mitch begins to explain his findings.

"Once I increased the magnifications, I saw a chemical signature. A string of benign molecules that have no bearing on the bacteria whatsoever."

Jamie Sighs.

"Audience Mitch. Remember it."

This was clearly not the first time she's said that today, but Mitch continues.

"It means the bacteria was man made. And it was signed by the chemist who created it."

Abe nods.

"Then we need to talk to the chemist who created it."

I shake my head.

"It's not that easy. The signature is more like a graffiti tag. You can see it, but it doesn't tell you who painted it."

Jamie sighs.

"So we are at a dead end."

Mitch shakes his head.

"Not yet. I forwarded the signature to a guy I know a M.I.T. He might be able to come up with an ID for us."

Chloe comes back and sighs.

"Pack your bags. We're going to Rio."

Abe begins to laugh.

"I love this job."

I look at her a little confused.

"What's in Rio?"

"You and Mitch said if you could find out what all of these animals we've encountered have in common, you can maybe find a way to figure out what's happening. Well you can add bats in Rio to your lists."

"Bats in Rio?"

"Thousands of them swarming all over Rio, in broad daylight. That's weird, right?"

Mitch shrugs.

"What the daylight thing? Bats are nocturnal, but it's not unheard of."

I shake my head.

"Thousands of them though?"

"Yeah,"

Mitch's phone goes off.

"Oh, excuse me guys."

Jackson stands and looks at Chloe.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

The two of them step a few feet away. Not too far, but just far enough not the be heard in the now crowded bar. But before long Mitch comes back.

"That was my guy at MIT, He was able to ID the signature. It was a chemist who used to work at… Reiden Global."

Jamie cocks her head up, very cocky and in your face like.

"What? I'm sorry. The company that you all keep telling me isn't the root of all evil? That Reiden Global?"

I shake my head and sigh, trying not to laugh. I love her sass.

"Did you get a name?"

"I did, Leo Butler."

Jackson steps back toward the group, back within ear shot.

"Leo Butler?"

Mitch nods.

"Why? You know him?"

"No, but I sure as hell want to."

Chloe takes a deep breath.

"Okay, Jackson, you stay here with Jamie and Katherine and find this Leo Butler. The rest of us will go to Rio."

Not too long after this we head back to the hotel and I start researching Leo Butler, finding out as much about him as I can, which isn't much. Jackson, whom had decided to take a shower, walks out of the bath room with a towel around his waist and laughs at the sight of me on my laptop.

"Did you do this much research before moving to Africa to be with me."

"More… and don't be so cocky, it wasn't just for you. Abe was very charming when I was there too you know."

"True, but you two didn't spend as much quality time together as we did… at least I hope you two didn't."

I laugh softly.

"Please, I'm not even sure I was ever out of my families sight. Even during our quality time."

Jackson laughs and shrugs as he gets dressed, before walking over to me, leaning over to give me a sweet kiss. I kiss him back as i close my eyes, feeling his hands on my cheeks as he almost pulls me up out of the chair. Once I am standing Jackson begins moving his hands down my body to my hips, as he moves back toward the bed. Once he reaches the end of the bed, his knees buckle, as he falls back onto the bed he pulls me on top of him. I giggle softly, as the two of us continue to share increasingly passionate kisses. Sadly, the moment is ruined when we hear a knock on the door.

Jackson puts a finger to his lips and whispers.

"Maybe if we are quiet they'll think we're out."

We wait a few seconds, before hearing a knock again. However, this time it is followed by a voice. Jamie's voice.

"Guys, I know you two are in there, I watched you walk in."

Jackson sighs as I slide off of the bed and stand.

Once he is up he kisses me deeply one last time.

"We will continue this later."

I nod as Jackson goes and lets Jamie into the hotel room.

"Did you find anything out about Leo Butler?"

I nod.

"Word on the street in that Butler has been blackmailing Reiden ever since he went underground and dispersing the money to various charities. Charities all over the world that give money to people who've been wronged by Reiden."

Jackson points to the papers in Jamie's hands.

"Are those internal Reiden Documents?"

"Yeah, I've made some friends over the years. Bloggers. Hacktivists, People Under The Stairs. But they got us these. Which is completely illegal."

I chuckle softly.

"I like it."

Jackson shakes his head.

"We have to find him."

I place a hand on Jackson's shoulder.

"We will get there. Jamie and I pull this information out of thin air, give us two minutes together and i'm sure we'll find him."

"A guy's got to live while he's out there being Robin Hood, right? It appears Butler has been paying himself with a portion of the blackmail money routing it through shell companies, PO boxes all over the Gulf Coast. I think with a little time and some luck. We can get his actual address."

We hear another knock on the door. I sigh softly.

"Is there a party we are throwing I didn't know about?"

Jame goes to open the door.

"Miss Campbell. Agent Shafer FBI. We met at the prison."

"Of course Agent Shafer."

She raises my voice slightly.

"I see what you did there. You said my name louder than necessary as if to alert somebody in your room of my presence."

She shakes her head.

"No not at all. How's you know we were here?"

"Ms. Tousignant asked me to keep her in the loop on Evan Lee Hartley's manhunt. She told me where you'd be staying."

Jackson comes and opens the door wider.

"Agent Shafter. Please, come in."

"Great."

"No, Jackson I don't think…"

"So have you found him? Hartley?"

"Uh I didn't say that. I implied it so you'd let me in."

When we walk back into the main area of the suite, I notice the papers are gone and Jamie steps out of the room.

"Nice Subterfuge game."

"Well, I am a trained professional."

Jackson crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

"What do you want?"

"What does Reiden Global have to do with the prison fire?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well Reiden Global was hacked yesterday and somehow, some of their documents found their way into Miss Campbell's email address."

"How?"

"We have a cyber crime division, you know. We're good like that. So, first, I find you scam your way into a crime scene at the prison and now, you've hacked into Reiden Global. So, how about you tell me what you're really up to?"

Jackson clears his throat and looks over at me. We sit down onto the couch, I glance over at Jackson then back to Shafter.

"Well. we found a link between Evan Lee Hartley and a man named Leo Butler. We needed the information from Reiden Global to track down Leo Butler and see if he knows where Evan Lee is."

Shafter nods.

"Okay, let's go find this Leo Butler."