Chapter 189

The RV pulled into the parking lot of Snake Bite Grill, or rather, Horse Bite Grill. The police cars parked behind them. Olivia parked across the street. Yamamoto spoke through the intercom. “Sir. My men have secured the perimeter of the restaurant. It’s closed, per your instructions. We have the place to ourselves. The chief of Rexburg Police and the chief of Idaho Falls Police will meet you here. Along with our liaison, Ms. Powell.”

“Let them in,” Louis said. “Secure every exit of this lot. And check the roofs of the surrounding buildings.”

“Already done, sir,” Yamamoto said.

The RV door opened. The guards guided them inside through the kitchen. The restaurant was empty, except for Mark and a few employees, who were cleaning the tables. Mark saw them and rushed over.

“Mr. Collins! I heard what happened! Are you all right?” he asked, his face pale.

“We’re fine, Mark,” Louis said. “Go home for the night. You’ll be paid for the full shift.”

“Are you sure, sir?” Mark asked. “I can stay and help.”

“If you insist, you can serve drinks and snacks for everyone.” Louis looked at the guards and police officers entering the restaurant. “Don’t get in the way.”

“Right, sir,” Mark said. He turned to the remaining employees. “You heard the boss. Let’s get to work.”

Louis led the women to the same large table in the corner. The guards took their positions as Yamamoto guided two men in police uniforms and Olivia to the table.

“Mr. Collins,” Yamamoto said. “This is Chief Henderson of Rexburg Police, and Chief Morgan of Idaho Falls Police.”

“Chiefs,” Louis said, nodding to them. “Please, have a seat.”

The chiefs sat down, their faces serious. Henderson spoke first. “Mr. Collins, we are truly sorry for what happened tonight. This is not the kind of thing that happens in our city.”

“Your apology is accepted, Chief,” Louis said. “But why were your men blocking the road? Did you know something was going to happen?”

“No, sir,” Henderson said. “We were following orders from the mayor’s office. He said we were to keep the protest contained and to prevent any ‘outside agitators’ from entering the campus.”

“Outside agitators,” Angelique repeated, her voice dry. “Meaning us?”

Henderson shifted in his seat. “The mayor was concerned about your presence, Miss Bourbon. Especially the influence you might have on the students.”

Olivia cleared her throat. “The government of the Central Union respects your right to peaceful protest, Mr. Collins. But we also have a responsibility to maintain public order. Especially when foreign dignitaries are involved.”

“And who are you exactly, Ms. Powell?” Gladice asked, leaning forward. “The welcome wagon?”

“Fine.” Olivia sighed. “I’m Agent Powell. Union Intelligence Service. And I’m here to ensure your safety and to understand what happened tonight.”

“I knew it!” Maeve said, pointing at Olivia. “She’s a spy!”

“I am a government agent, yes,” Olivia said, looking at Maeve without flinching. “But I’m not your enemy.”

“We’ll see about that,” Maeve said.

“Let’s focus on the shooter,” Louis said, turning back to the chiefs. “Did you identify him?”

“My men are processing the scene now,” Henderson said. “But preliminary reports indicate the individual was an international student from the Republic of Nevada. A sophomore at BYU-Idaho.”

“A student?” Donya stared at him. “Why would a student do such a thing?”

“We don’t know yet, ma’am,” Henderson said. “He had a valid student visa and a gun license. But he shouldn’t have been carrying a weapon in student housing or on campus.”

“Was he alone?” Angelique asked.

“As far as we know, yes,” Henderson said. “Our teams are still questioning witnesses and searching his room.”

“What about the weapon?” Louis asked. “Was it registered?”

“Yes, sir,” Henderson said. “A scoped Remington 700. A common model. He had a hunting license too.”

“A hunting rifle with a scope,” Savannah said. “That’s not for hunting rabbits.”

“It’s for hunting deer and elk,” Henderson said. “This is Idaho, ma’am.”

“Is he a Mormon?” Willa asked.

“Not according to his records,” Henderson said. “He was listed as ‘no religious affiliation.’”

“So a random atheist student from Nevada decided to take a shot at me with a hunting rifle,” Louis said, leaning back in his chair. “Does that make sense to you, Chief?”

“No, sir,” Henderson said. “It doesn’t.”

Mark came to the table with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of iced tea. He poured a glass for each of them and placed the tray on a nearby stand before quickly leaving.

“Do you have any enemies in Nevada, Mr. Collins?” Morgan asked. “Anyone who might want to harm you?”

“In Nevada? Only the casinos I’ve won money from,” Louis said. “But they looked happy when I left.”

“This is not a joke, Mr. Collins,” Henderson said, his face hardening. “A man is dead. And you were almost killed.”

“I’m aware of that, Chief,” Louis said. “I’m the one who almost got killed. So let me ask the questions. Is he associated with a terrorist group known as the Common Roots Foundation?”

Henderson and Morgan exchanged a look. “We are looking into that, sir.”

Angelique leaned forward. “Are you aware that this organization is still operating in your country after yesterday’s attack in the Dominion? That it’s connected to the kidnapping of Louis, Gladice, and me?”

Olivia stepped in. “We are aware of the allegations, Miss Bourbon. But we have not found any direct link between the foundation and the incident. The organization claims to be a legitimate charity focused on humanitarian aid.”

“A charity that uses human traffickers and assassins?” Savannah stared at her. “That’s a bold claim.”

“We have no proof of that, ma’am,” Henderson said. “Our investigation is ongoing.”

“You don’t need proof,” Willa said, her fingers tapping on her phone. “I just found the shooter’s Tengri account. It was set to private.”

“And?” Louis asked.

“And you can make a call to Mr. Cruise so that we can have access to it,” she said.

“Of course.” Louis took out his phone and dialed. It went through in a few seconds.

“Mr. Cruise.”

“Mr. Collins, I’m happy you’re safe. I have been monitoring the situation. How can I be of assistance?”

“We need access to a Tengri account. Immediately.”

“Of course. What’s the username?”

Willa read out the username.

“Got it. We will send you a secure link to the account’s data in five minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cruise.”

“My pleasure, Mr. Collins.”

Louis hung up. Olivia looked at him. “I’m not sure that’s legal in our country, Mr. Collins.”

“I don’t care,” Louis said. “And neither should you. If this shooter is connected to the Common Roots, then your government has a problem.”

“We will cooperate with your investigation, of course,” Olivia said. “But we must follow our own laws.”

“Your laws didn’t protect me tonight,” Louis said. “My men did.”

Henderson and Morgan took a sip of iced tea without saying anything. Willa’s phone buzzed.

“I have the data,” she said, her eyes scanning the screen. “His name is Daniel Lee. Twenty-one years old. Born in Elko, Nevada. Both parents are deceased. He got a scholarship to BYU-Idaho last year. His major is computer science.”

She scrolled down. “His private posts… there’s a lot of political stuff. Anti-Dominion, anti-Collins. I’d say he’s a communist, judging by the memes he shares and the slogans he posts.”

“Let me see,” Maeve said, leaning over Willa’s shoulder.

Willa turned her phone. Maeve’s eyes narrowed as she read. “That’s straight People’s Army shit right there.”

“What do you see, Maeve?” Louis asked.

“Songs. Poems. Art. The same stuff we had in Beckley,” Maeve said. “But this guy is not one of us. He’s not a worker. He’s a student. A poser.”

“But he’s a good shot,” Gladice said. “That’s not posing.”

“Anyone can be a good shot with a scope and a steady hand.” Savannah glanced at Cherish. “Even Cherry can do it.”

Cherish blushed. “I can shoot. But I only shoot cans and bottles.” She paused. “And rattlesnakes.”

The police chiefs exchanged a look. Chief Morgan cleared his throat. “Mr. Collins, if we could see the data you’ve obtained…”

Willa locked her phone. “You’ll get it when we’re done with it.”

“That’s not how it works, ma’am,” Henderson said. “This is our investigation.”

Louis looked at him. “If you ask nicely and treat us with respect, I may consider sharing our findings with you.”

Henderson’s jaw tightened. “We are treating you with respect, Mr. Collins.”

“Are you?” Louis asked. “Because you tried to block us from the protest. And you let a shooter onto the campus. That doesn’t seem very respectful to me.”

Henderson leaned forward. “Campus security falls under the university police department. Not ours. We responded as soon as we got the call.”

Louis shrugged and turned to the women. “See? That’s decentralized police for you. Not even their own jurisdiction.”

Morgan cleared his throat. “Sir, we are doing our best to investigate this incident. And we need your cooperation.”

“And you have our cooperation,” Angelique said. “We let you sit at our table. And we let you ask questions.”

Olivia looked at Willa. “Miss Locke, I must insist that you share the data with us. It’s crucial for our investigation.”

Willa met her gaze. “You just mentioned it may not be legal. If it’s not legal, we can’t share it. We’d be incriminating ourselves. You don’t want that.”

Olivia stared at her. “Let’s say I have the authority to grant you immunity for any potential violation of the Central Union law regarding data privacy.”

“I want it in writing,” Willa said. “Signed by your president.”

Olivia’s face tightened. “That’s not possible on such short notice.”

“Then no deal,” Willa said.

The two police chiefs looked at each other. Chief Morgan cleared his throat. “Now, back to the incident, we need written statements from each of you for our records. We’ll need to know your perspective of the event.”

“You can call my legal team or the Supreme President’s Office in the Dominion,” Louis said, his arms crossed. “I’m sure they would be more than happy to provide you with a full statement and to answer all your questions.”

“Mr. Collins, we need a statement from you now,” Henderson insisted.

“You’re not getting one,” Louis said. “We’re tired now. We don’t want to write statements.”

“We have the right to detain you for up to twenty-four hours if you refuse to cooperate, Mr. Collins,” Henderson said, his face hardening.

“Please do that,” Angelique said, her eyes cold. “We would love to see the international reaction when a group of Dominion citizens, who happened to be victims of an assassination attempt, are illegally detained in the Central Union.”

Henderson stared at her, then at Louis. He snorted and stood up, followed by Morgan.

“We will be in touch, Mr. Collins. I expect full cooperation of your legal team,” Henderson said.

“They will be more cooperative than me,” Louis said.

Henderson nodded to Morgan. They walked to the door. Olivia stood up too.

“I will also be in touch, Mr. Collins,” she said.

Louis stood up. “May I have a word with you, Agent Powell? In private.”

Olivia hesitated, then nodded. “Of course.”

Louis led her to the restroom in the hallway. He closed the door behind them.

“What do you want, Mr. Collins?” she asked, her voice low.

“Let’s make a deal, Agent Powell. We’ll give you everything we find. And in return, you’ll give us unrestricted access to any files you have on the Common Roots Foundation and any individuals associated with it.” Louis paused. “Plus, you’ll deal with the local police and make sure they don’t bother us again.”

Olivia stared at him. “That’s a big ask, Mr. Collins. Especially the last part.”

“Not as big as the mess your government is in. A foreign dignitary gets shot at on a university campus. In your country. I’m sure VOP will have a field day with this.”

“You don’t need to threaten me, Mr. Collins,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “I’m aware of the political implications.”

“Good. Then you’ll agree to my terms.” Louis held her gaze. “If you are cooperating with us, I will make sure VOP doesn’t go too wild with this story.”

“I can’t promise anything, Mr. Collins,” she said, her face serious. “The media has a mind of its own.”

“Not in the Dominion,” he said. “We can make you a hero. The brave agent who helped the Collins Eight uncover a terrorist network. Or we can make you a villain. The incompetent spy who failed to prevent an assassination attempt and then obstructed the investigation.”

“That’s blackmail, Mr. Collins.”

“That’s politics, Agent Powell. Now, do we have a deal?”

Olivia looked at him for a long moment. “I’ll need to make a call.”

“Make it,” Louis said. “I’ll be back at my table.”

He opened the door and walked out of the restroom. He returned to the table. The women were looking at him.

“What’s going on, Louis?” Angelique asked.

“I’m making a deal with our spy,” he said, sitting down. “She’ll help us. Or she’ll be sorry.”

“Did you threaten her with your dick?” Gladice asked, winking. “Because that works too.”

“I threatened her with VOP,” Louis said. “It’s more effective.”

“Is that ethical?” Donya asked.

“Do you care?” Savannah asked.

“I do,” Donya said. “We shouldn’t use our power to bully people.”

“Bullshit,” Maeve said. “We should use our power to get what we want. And we want to find Brother John.”

“I agree with Maeve,” Willa said. “This is a negotiation. And we have leverage.”

“I understand that,” Donya said. “But it doesn’t feel right.”

“Neither does getting shot at, Donya,” Angelique said. “But it happened. And we have to deal with it.”

Olivia came back to the table. She sat down. “We have a deal, Mr. Collins. I’ll give you everything I have. As for the police, let’s just say I’ll do my best. In return, you share your findings with us. And you keep the media under control.”

“Done,” Louis said.

Olivia nodded and took out a tablet. “I’m sending you a secure link to the UIS file on the Common Roots Foundation and a list of known associates in the Central Union. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

Willa’s phone buzzed. She opened the link. “I’m in.”

“Now, about the shooter, Daniel Lee,” Olivia said. “I want access to the data you collected.”

“You’ll have it,” Willa said, transferring the file to Olivia’s tablet. “Check his messages. I think you’ll find something interesting.”

Olivia scrolled through the data. She nodded. “I see.” She stood up. “I’ll be in touch. And I wish you a safe night, Mr. Collins. Ladies.”

She walked out of the restaurant.

“I think our spy just became our informant,” Gladice said, grinning. “I like that.”

“Let’s go back to the RV,” Louis said. “We have a lot to read.”