Abandoned Treasure

Chapter 47

Jade Storm’s POV

Spider Monkey’s townhouse, Silicon Valley

Wednesday, December 9, 2018

“Thanks for coming so quickly,” Spider Monkey said as she let me into her home. “Did you bring the files?”

“Of course,” I replied, handing her a flash drive. “Everything the DEA has on the Sons of Tezcatlipoca. I looked through it last night after they kidnapped Harleigh Ryder. There’s not a lot in there; this is the first time they’ve shown up in Florida.”

“I’ll take a look.”

We made it to her computer center and sat in front of a pair of computers. Monitors around the room showed local and cable news, plus some status displays. Spider Monkey could remote link into her Google account from a third computer in the corner; these two were strictly for hacking and other illegal activities. “Thanks for coming over today. The Steel Ladies are going nuts after the attack on the Orlando clubhouse.”

With the time difference in California, the attack happened at six in the morning our time. “I called my boss and told him I have a sick kid. I owe you, Spidey.” I looked at the news channel, where a helicopter shot showed the burned-out clubhouse and the motorcycles out front. “How many club members died in that?”

“Five from the Orlando Chapter and three from other charters. Three cops, plus one of Canvas’s friends from Minnesota and his security dog. Add in Easy and Peasy Ryder, plus Harleigh missing and feared dead? It’s going to be a huge funeral service. Word is the Orlando clubhouse is a total loss.”

It was the first I’d heard about Rori Nygaard’s involvement. I knew Rori and Chase, plus her parents, were Club members. The Council trials had brought that out last year. If Arrowhead was there, that dead dog was a werewolf. Would the Pack enter the war on the side of the Steel Brotherhood? I pushed down the questions for now. “Is the Brotherhood going to war?”

“They have to,” Spider replied. “We can’t let this slide.”

I didn’t tell her that the Sons had called the Oracle for help, and I’d arranged for a Cartel safe house in Ocala for their reinforcements. “What is our priority?”

“I got a call from Frame earlier. He needs me to hack into the surveillance computers of the businesses around the Orlando clubhouse and delete the footage, so I’ll be working on that.”

“Why?”

“He didn’t say, just that he needs it gone. They probably did something that wasn’t quite legal.”

Or they shifted. “Are you deleting just the time of the attack or everything?”

“Whatever is easier, I guess. I’ll probably put a worm into the system so it gets the offsite backup too. When the cops question why it’s gone? They’ll blame it on the Sons.”

They would. “What do you need me to do?”

“Find some intelligence we can use against them,” she said. “Rosters, addresses, bank accounts, phone calls, and contact lists. If the Brotherhood national leadership goes to war, I want to be ready to help.”

I smiled at the thought of making the Sons bleed. “I can do that.”

I set up my hacking laptop next to her extra terminal, then spent about five hours digging around the Dark Web hacking the Sons of Tezcatlipoca computer systems. I didn’t mention that I’d known the backdoor access login since I helped the Cartel configure them and their security protocols. “I’m inside the Oakland chapter system,” I told her as I sat back. “The data files are encrypted. What do you want?”

“Download it all to the removable drive,” she told me. “I’ll crack the codes later.”

When I finished, I moved to the Los Angeles chapter. “Hey, they use the same backdoor access code.”

“Dump that while I start on this one,” she said.

I spent the rest of the day doing the data transfers before I ‘broke’ the codes using my laptop. I’d known the password for months but pretended my codebreaker figured it out. I left her the key on a Post-it note. “Remember, I was never here. I’m a DEA employee. If it gets out that I was involved in the hack? They’ll walk because I didn’t have a warrant.”

“Don’t worry, Jade. Anything I give the Feds will be anonymous, and I’d never give you up. Everything was from my server, after all.”

“I know. I have to get home to the kiddos. Good luck, Spidey.”

After dinner, I brought Nathan to the computer room and told him what had happened. “The Steel Brotherhood doesn’t know they might be wading into a war between the Sons and Arrowhead,” I told him. “Could this be the chance we’ve been waiting for?”

“The Cartel won’t be pleased with all the attention the Sons are drawing.”

I chuckled. “I can’t believe the other Chapters are happy with this either. A biker war is bad for business.”

“So what is the plan, baby?”

“Spider Monkey and the Steel Brotherhood can do a shitload of damage with the information she’s gotten today. When the Sons are reeling, we convince the Cartel they are a liability. Get them from two sides.”

“Three if the Feds get involved.”

“The DEA and Orlando police are ALREADY involved. Three cops died today, and one almost died in Harleigh’s kidnapping. The key is keeping the Feds focused on the Sons, not the Brotherhood or Arrowhead.”

He shook his head. “Now we’re protecting a Pack and a bunch of human bikers?”

“If it’s Alpha Rori’s pack, yes. Keeping werewolves and werecats hidden from the government is good for everyone. As for the Brotherhood, Spider Monkey is a friend.”

Spider Monkey didn’t call me back, and I returned to work Thursday.On Saturday, we watched the funeral service in Orlando.Everyone except us was surprised to see Manilo Correria there; the Oracle arranged for him to fly in and gave him a safe house. The cocky bastard even forced his way onstage to express his shock and outrage at a ‘rebellious’ group took action outside the Club’s control. No one believed him, including the DEA men who walked off to talk to him. It was good public relations, though.

The Cartel had us set up a meet for him after the funeral to ‘get him home,’ but didn’t have me book anything.

It wasn’t a huge shock when the surviving Sons ended up dead in Mongo’s home, or Manilo ended up face down in an orange grove. The Cartels didn't have much patience for people who harmed their business. Punishments for screwups were swift and brutal.

I was surprised on Monday when an FBI team took down the Oakland Sons drug shipment without anyone in the DEA offices hearing about it.I got called in to seize the office computers and search for evidence under the supervision of Headquarters personnel.

Spider Monkey had gone to war, and she was using the Drug Enforcement Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation as muscle.In a single day, the Oakland chapter was in ruins.