Still no sign of Ulrik. Where was he? Ryder couldn’t help but think they were missing something that was right in front of their faces.
There were still sections of Ireland to be scanned. While that worked, he checked on the mortals on Dreagan. The software program he’d written that captured all the information about the humans was collecting data at a rapid rate, cataloging it perfectly.
Ryder scanned the list. Over fifty agents on Dreagan. Surely MI5 wouldn’t continue to keep such numbers on Dreagan when there were other threats across Britain.
Something kept nagging at Ryder. He began to read over the data on the agents more closely.
There was a tap on his shoulder. He blinked and looked up to find Kinsey standing beside him. The annoyed look on her face had him asking, “What is it?”
“You did it again.”
“Did what?” he asked, glancing around before he paused the music.
She pointed to the three monitors he had taken over. “You got engrossed. You’ve been staring at those screens for three hours. I’ve left twice without you even hearing me.”
Ryder slid a hand down his face. Damn. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. If he was going to take responsibility for Kinsey, he couldn’t allow himself to become so absorbed in his work.
“Don’t worry,” she said as she rolled her head from side to side, stretching out her neck. “I went to the kitchen and the bathroom only. What are you looking for?”
“I’m no’ sure. Just a feeling that something isna right.”
Kinsey put her legs together and bent forward, placing her hands on the floor to stretch. “You said MI5 was used against you before. Perhaps that’s what you’re thinking about.”
He watched as she remained in that position for a moment before she straightened, flipping her long hair over. “Possibly. My feelings are no’ usually off.”
“All right.” She came to stand beside him. “Since I’m still searching through tens of thousands of e-mails of crapola, give me something else to think about for a bit.” She read over the data on one screen. “Wow. That’s a lot of information.”
“I wanted to make sure we had everything.”
“What about pictures of these people?”
Ryder cut her a dry look. “It’s the first thing taken.”
“Show me.”
With a few punches of the keys, he pointed a monitor toward her. The faces of the MI5 agents began to play through one by one every three seconds.
“Stop,” Kinsey said.
Ryder quickly halted the rotation. His mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Your instincts weren’t wrong,” Kinsey with a sad look. “What are you going to do?”
Ryder looked into the face of Esther North. She wore colored contacts, making her eyes brown, and dyed her hair black. Not even the fake nose and chin could hide who she was.
“Whoever taught her is good,” Kinsey said.
“MI5 trained her.”
Kinsey looked down at him. “Is she with MI5 then after what we saw in her file?”
“That’s a good question. I’m going to need to show Con and Henry this.”
“Henry has already been up here twice. He tried to get your attention to see if you found anything about his sister.”
For once, Ryder was glad he’d been too preoccupied to know someone was there. “You didna tell him?”
Kinsey shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t know him. I figured it’d be better if it came from a friend. But he suspects we found something.”
“You can no’ lie to a spy, especially one as good as Henry.”
“Thanks for the reminder.” She began to walk around the rows of monitors when her mobile rang. Kinsey halted, her gaze going to Ryder.
His head followed Kinsey as she rushed to her phone. Her face lost color when she read who the caller was.
“It’s my boss,” she said.
Ryder stood, drawing her gaze. “Put it on speaker and answer it. Stay calm. Doona let them know you know anything.”
She gave a nod and hit speaker as she answered, “Hello?”
“Kinsey. It’s Cecil. How is everything going at Dreagan?” came a nasally British male voice over the line.
Kinsey licked her lips and sat in her chair. “It’s going good.”
“Are you finished yet?”
Ryder gave a nod when she looked at him.
“Almost,” Kinsey answered.
Cecil chuckled over the line. “That’s my girl. Have you upsold them on anything?”
“Not yet. I’m almost at that point.”
“They’re powerful and the company is loaded,” Cecil said. “I don’t care what you have to do, but get something sold.”
Kinsey held Ryder’s gaze. Her violet eyes held worry and anxiety. “Their system is pretty good, and they know it.”
Ryder gave her a smile of encouragement. They needed her to stay, but it couldn’t appear easy. She needed to have a reason.
“No system is bulletproof. You’re the best we have, Kinsey. Find their flaw and use it against them. Make them see how vulnerable they are.”
Ryder wanted to roll his eyes. Vulnerable, his ass. Dreagan was the most secure system on the planet. It was more secure than any intelligence agency in the world.