Deadly Testimony (Safeguard #2)(10)
“White-collar crime, and more than naughty. Anything involving Phoenix Biotech has more serious repercussions. That organization has serious funding and is involved in way more than cutting edge research.” Diaz sat in the other armchair and looked out the window, his gaze unfocused. A few months ago, they’d gone right into one of Phoenix Biotech’s facilities to extract a kidnapped woman—the younger sister of Diaz’s now-significant other, Maylin Cheng—and Diaz had barely come out of it walking. “It’s a slippery slope. A person starts out just with overlooking an email here, deleting an email there. Nothing intentionally wrong, per se. Then things slide into more questionable territory and they find they’ve dug themselves a hole.”
“Some of those corporate types do things they know are illegal and assume money and a good lawyer can get them out of it.” Maybe her comment came across a little sharp. But she’d met plenty of those during the social climber party she’d covered last evening.
“And we’ll get to know who those types are.” Diaz shook off his brooding and leaned forward in his chair. “We’re in shady territory here. We don’t know what to expect with Phoenix Biotech involved but they are willing to kidnap and kill their resources to accomplish their quarterly business goals. Keeping Kyle Yeun alive to testify against them in this case isn’t going to be easy.”
“Bring it on.” She wasn’t boasting, even though she liked a challenge. To be honest, she was spoiling for a fight and Phoenix Biotech tended to hire the kind of personnel who could give her a real one.
Diaz gave her a neutral look and continued without calling her on it. “Private security is going to be like this from here on out. The more we know, the more we can accept contracts on the right side of the law and maybe even help some people who otherwise find themselves in too deep for redemption.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “This is starting to sound like one of those television shows Maylin watches.”
Diaz chuckled at the reference to his significant other. “The concept is worth considering. Most important thing I’m trying to keep in mind as I establish Safeguard is making sure we’re still doing the right thing. It means we need to make informed decisions and I need people smart enough and with enough of a moral compass to continue making them out in the field.”
Oh. Here it was.
“I’m going to need to know soon, Lizzy.” Diaz was serious now. “Harte has a new fire team for you, with a commanding position if you want it. You could go back into active duty with the squadron in Centurion Corporation. Or you could officially be assigned to Safeguard Division.”
“Not an easy decision.” She kept her tone light but making the choice was anything but.
Diaz didn’t even pretend to be fooled though. “You’ve had a lot of time to prove your point, Lizzy. You had your time in the military. You’ve been a tactical asset to the Centurion Corporation. All along the way, you’ve proven to the people in your teams and the clients we work for how valuable an asset you are. I’m asking you to start becoming a strategic part of this organization.”
“You think I’m ready.” She didn’t bother making it a question. She was, in terms of skill set and experience. No need to hear Diaz confirm it to validate what she already knew about herself.
“I think you’re dodging it.”
Yup.
Diaz sighed. “And trust me, I don’t blame you. But there are ways to burn off those anger issues of yours besides going out on the high-adrenaline, high-risk missions. Last night wasn’t just a good deed.”
No. She’d been spoiling for a fight. Otherwise, she’d have called the police and run interference until they could arrive on the scene. This wasn’t some faraway place. Here, on domestic soil, she was technically as accountable as any other US citizen when it came to the consequences of disturbing the peace.
There’d been a high probability Diaz would’ve had to come bail her out of jail when she’d made the decision to get into a physical altercation. And she hadn’t cared.
“Fortunately,” Diaz continued, “you happened on a lucky situation.”
“Lucky for Yeun.” The man was sitting comfortably slouched in the reception area, watching his police escort pace. For a person too restless to stay put in a hotel room, he was showing a lot of patience here. Probably because he was here on his own terms, pursuing something he wanted. “We could just keep him here for the next few days until his trial.”
“Negative.” Diaz cut the air with one hand. “We’re not a safe house. None of the facilities are intended for overnight stay, much less something longer. Plus, this is a joint operation. It’d raise the question of why the man isn’t being kept in protective custody on police premises or elsewhere in government facilities.”
Point. She had no desire to sit around at a police station for hours, much less days.
“It’s a good opportunity for us, actually.” Diaz sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
The motion drew her attention to him and his rare smile was there. He had surprisingly white teeth. Maybe because none of them smiled all that often. Well, except Marc. He smiled all the time, around a mouthful of food.
“You plan on expanding on your thought there?” She crossed her arms. Whatever this was, she wasn’t absolutely sure she wanted to know.