The screen flickered again.
-. . --. .- - .. ...- / .
“Negative.” Vega translated after a few seconds.
Megan had a question of her own. “How much time will it take for the fire to get down here?”
She held her breath and waited for the response, which came all too quickly.
..--..
Vega turned to her. “That’s the symbol for a question mark.”
Megan had improvised what she’d thought was the perfect plan once she realized the FBI was on the scene. Their jamming devices did not work on every frequency, and her father’s elaborate systems to prevent corporate espionage had worked perfectly, giving her enough time to put her backup plan in motion.
First, she had remotely unlocked the panel covering the crawl space in the control room where she had kept her father locked for the past week so he would roll out onto the floor to find the room empty. She had already retreated to the storage closet, but not before leaving one of the loaded guns confiscated from the Colonel’s team behind for dear old Dad to find on the main console.
She had previously disabled the intercom system so her father couldn’t alert the Feds that he wanted to surrender. Not that he would anyway. She knew he would try to shoot his way out, using whatever controls on the panel he could to give himself the advantage. She did not deactivate the camera system. She wanted her father to see the team coming to arrest him and go on the offensive.
In short, she had set him up to die.
After putting everything in place, she’d concealed herself in the storage closet with the hidden passage and bound her wrists in front of her body with a zip tie and pulled it tight with her teeth. Next, she placed a gag in her mouth and raised her arms to knot it at the back of her head. It had taken some manual dexterity, but she’d managed it without too much trouble.
Posing as her father’s prisoner would help sell her story to the FBI. She was the daughter of a madman. An innocent bystander and victim of his insane vendetta against the ones who had killed his beloved wife. He had become unbalanced after the incident, growing more paranoid over time until he began to believe his own daughter was a threat to his company. He had accused her of spying for his competition and locked her up until after the new DOD contract went through. He had probably intended to kill her at some point, but no one would ever know, because he was dead.
He was dead and she was an heiress. Most importantly, justice had been served.
She had orchestrated everything to pit her enemies against each other. She had no blood on her hands. Liars lied, cheaters cheated, and killers killed. They would be the architects of their own destruction, and she would bear witness to it all.
That had been the plan. And it had worked perfectly until Agent Daniela Vega had stepped into the picture.
When Megan had first discovered Vega’s true identity, she believed the Fates had delivered a chance for perfect justice. She had reflected on the situation, judged the FBI, and found them guilty.
Who investigated financial crimes? The FBI. If they had been doing their job, Senator Sledge would never have been able to take bribes from people like her father, who funneled money through the Colonel, making all of them rich. Making them believe they could do anything they wanted.
When she and her mother had been kidnapped, who had investigated? The FBI. If they had figured out what was really going on, her mother would be alive today.
Finally, after she had been returned, who had botched the investigation and allowed everyone responsible to get away with murder? The FBI.
Someone had to pay for their incompetence, and Vega had offered herself up like the human sacrifice she was about to become. If it was the last thing Megan did—and it probably would be—she would have her revenge.
She had used everyone’s personality traits against them. The senator had succumbed to greed. Arrogance had undone her father. The Colonel had fallen victim to his ruthless ambition. So what was Vega’s weakness?
The newspaper articles about Vega’s parents explained something Megan had not appreciated until now. How many times had she seen Vega save others in the game? Too many to count. Why would a federal agent risk her life for criminals?
Because Daniela Vega wanted to be a hero like her decorated combat veteran father to prove she was nothing like her mother.
A hero would be a sucker for a damsel in distress. Megan had already seen that when she had pretended to be locked in the storage closet. Now all she had to do was get herself into another situation where Vega would have to rescue her, then strike when she least expected it.
CHAPTER 66
Dani watched Megan edge farther forward, her body teetering on the thin railing.
“We might not make it out of here,” Megan said. “And I want to say something to the FBI.”
“Now you decide to make a confession?” Dani said.
“Not a confession,” Megan said. “I did nothing wrong. I want to give them a clue to follow. No one should get away with murder.”
“Who did you murder, Megan?”
“Like I said, no one. I’m not a killer.” She narrowed her eyes. “Everyone who died brought it on themselves. They died because of what they did.”
Dani turned the conversation back to the most pertinent point. “You said you might know something helpful. If it involves getting out of here, let’s hear it. Then you can tell the FBI whatever you want when we’re safe.” She didn’t add that Megan would be in handcuffs when she made her statement.
“Listen to me.” Megan leaned forward, her expression filled with intensity. “If you want the truth, you’ve got to see what’s in the mirror.”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Dani asked.
“You’ll find out later.”
Dani was heartily sick of Megan and her riddles. “This isn’t a game, Megan.”
“For me, it never was,” Megan said, jerking a thumb at her chest. “As far as getting out of here, I—”
Megan let out a scream as she wobbled. Taking one of her hands off the railing had thrown her off balance. “Help!” She flung her arm out, trying to steady herself.
Dani realized she would reach her faster by running around the other side of the balcony. She raced along, determined to pull Megan back. Suddenly the floor disappeared beneath her, and she began to fall. Chunks of what looked like the solid concrete floor but were apparently a thin veneer of gray plaster tumbled down through a hole that had opened under her.
She had been sprinting, and her momentum carried her to the far side of the opening. She managed to grasp the edge of what she realized was a trapdoor. She kicked the air with her dangling feet, fighting to haul herself up. The loosened chunks hit the pressure plates below.
Laughter drew her attention, and she glanced up to see Megan enjoying the show.
“You’re pathetic,” Megan said. “Worse yet, you’re predictable.”
Megan had put on the exact performance necessary to draw Dani into her trap. Dani could not let her win. Not like this. She clawed at the edges of the floor, desperate to find a hold. Her fingers latched onto a piece of rebar in the concrete that had been part of the original construction. It wasn’t much, but it stopped her from falling.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Megan said, leaning forward to see why Dani was once again inconveniently refusing to die.
Dani wasted no energy on a response. She focused every ounce of her concentration on leveraging her body to pull herself up. She managed to get up to her elbows. Now all she had to do was swing her feet a few times until momentum carried them high enough to catch her heel on the edge.
“No!” Megan rose to get a better view. Her feet were on the bottom rail, and the backs of her thighs were pressed against the top rail. “Fine,” she said. “You won’t go on your own, then I’ll help you.”
Megan intended to come over and kick her, stomp her hands, or do whatever else was necessary to break her tenuous grip. It wouldn’t take much. Dani redoubled her efforts, determined to get herself up before Megan reached her.